# How was your commute today?



## ph4tcharlie (Aug 4, 2009)

Well how was it?

Mine was good... hadn't been able to ride at all for the 10 days leading up to today, so it was a bit harder to get into the groove.

Forgot my battery pack for my big light, so I had to ride the last 5 miles on pothole ridden bikelanes with a little flasher.

Got honked at when I was as far right as I could be without getting doored. 

All in all, it was a good commute... I ride alongside two different freeways (on a bike path) and get to see the traffic backed up for miles... People feverishly trying to type out their morning emails on their blackberry or looking ragged from sitting in traffic. Then I break away from the bike path and the traffic, and it all looks like a rat race in my rearview mirror.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

morning was good but not memorable. i had several (three) unscheduled meetings after work so by the time i got off it was dark and i too had forgotten my light. luckily, a fellow commuter had driven to work and offered me a ride. i ain't lazy, but sometimes its nice to sit back and let others do the work! :thumbsup:


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## Flystagg (Nov 14, 2006)

Morning ride in was beautiful weather, nice enough that I didn't care about being 10 minutes late, night ride I was pretty worn out, but still nice, only thing memorable was my chain dropped when I backpedaled to trackstand at a stop light, so I had to get off to put it back on. I hate putting a foot down on my ride, 9 out of 10 times I don't have to.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Pretty normal: the weather was dry which makes all the difference to me. This time of the year good weather means just slightly below the freezing point. No snow yet, so I am still running the fat slicks.

It is not really dark yet, during my commuting times. Just enough that I want to have some lights to ensure I am seen. The streets that I take are so quiet that drivers have lots of room to go around me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm still basking in the glory of the time change. Actual sunlight in the morning is awesome...takes the chill off. Upper 20's this morning. Crispy fall weather. I've been fighting the flu, so i blew snot rockets for 6 miles. Saw the usual dozen or so deer on the way... didn't do the iPod today, just took in the stillness. Good ride.


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## Homebrew7 (May 8, 2008)

30 degrees, no wind and I'm also enjoying the time change. 

The light gods were kind this morning and I made good time and felt fast. 

I actually saw 5 riders today which is rare for November, I guess the promise of 60 degree weather is bringing them out.


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## spazzy (Aug 15, 2004)

35 degrees and raining...lame weather to commute in. Im glad I am a student and my commute is only about 2 miles round trip, but I guess coming and going twice or 3 times in a day makes up for the short length...


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Close to 70 degrees this morning for my 10 miles in, love this time of year!


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

nice this morning about 65 here in Hilo had somthing wierd going on with my rear tire it was picking up all the little rocks and pebbles and flinging them at my seat tube (I modded my rear fender) like it was brand new....(the tire) but it isin't in fact it has a few thousand miles on it...


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Pretty "special" today.

5 degrees c , in a storm. Sleet on the way home. I had to walk up the steepest hill because of the wind blowing in from the sea. I just couldn`t pedal fast enough to stay upright!

Fist time I`ve endured that in 3 years.....


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## Dogbrain (Mar 4, 2008)

Mine was delightful. It was sunny this morning and about 40-45 F. I even stopped to take this picture of my bike with the intent of posting about how awesome my commute was this morning. I love Oregon. Oh yeah that's a bike path that goes through the old covered bridge.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

when I saw that bridge I knew it must be Oregon, best place on earth! Where bouts you live?


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Fun, but fairly uneventful as always. Except there seemed to be an unusually high number of people pulling out in front of me. One section of bike lane was littered with chunks of asphalt that weren't there yesterday morning, but they made for an interesting skills session. Weather was a bit warm and sunny and the sky was clear. Earlier this week, I discovered a hidden section of dirt road, right smack in the middle of my town and going in the direction of my commute so I've been looking forward to hitting that every morning. Ride report and photos coming once I get them formatted and uploaded.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rode the mtn bike today for the heck of it. Kona Dawg, full susp. A bit slower, but a nice change every once in a while.


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

Oregon was especially nice for the commute yesterday...


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## BBrown (May 5, 2009)

Nice sunny day, 45 low wind, they took the bike rack in at work getting ready for the snow so parking is going to get a bit challenging. I guess they need to give me a bigger office so I can have indoor parking 

Oh ya, +1 for Oregon, first 23 years of my life there, miss it like crazy


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## Dogbrain (Mar 4, 2008)

Sizzler said:


> when I saw that bridge I knew it must be Oregon, best place on earth! Where bouts you live?


I live in Philomath. I'm a research assistant at OSU so I commute to Corvallis. We have two pretty sweet bike paths that connect the two towns.

The ride in this morning was nice but not sunny. There's some serious rain moving into the valley from the ocean today with wind gusts up to 40 mph. I'll be riding west when I go home tonight so that should makes things interesting. Oh well, that's why I've got an Oregon suit :thumbsup:


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Not so great; I've been driving to campus since Tuesday. I have a cold  I am really hating this especially since the weather is amazing this week (highs in the 80s). I'm hoping I feel good enough to ride tomorrow.


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## rshughes (Jul 13, 2007)

Mine was completely effin' horrible. Biking to/from work is 25 miles each way and takes around 1:35. Driving is only 15 miles. I haven't been riding the past week because I have been recovering from a nasty cold/flu. Tonight the 15 mile commute took 1:50. Yes, you read that right: to drive 15 miles took 1 hour 50 minutes. The good news is that this will be extra motivation on the mornings when I need a little extra push to convince myself to bike to work instead of driving.


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## dcc1234 (Nov 5, 2008)

*commuting with remnants of swine flu*

My commute is about 8 miles each way.

I'm now at day 12 since swine flu infection and still have lingering cough. Around day 5, when fever went away, I resumed bike commute. Co-workers of course think I'm crazy for biking in when 'sick'.

I'm taking it easy tho-- sometimes putting the bike on the bus etc. so I don't think I'm prolonging my illness or overdoing it.

think this SF just takes a while to fully go away.

Anyway, I bought a couple of the MS lights which are talked about extensively on the 'lights' and night riding forum.

This light makes the night time commute sooooo much fun!


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## bigpedaler (Jan 29, 2007)

A lit-le breazy...but jolly good in the end, mate.

Actually, the ride in sucked -- I was late, had to take the short, direct route, but going home, I bucked the wind and had a good time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

rshughes said:


> Mine was completely effin' horrible. Biking to/from work is 25 miles each way and takes around 1:35. Driving is only 15 miles. I haven't been riding the past week because I have been recovering from a nasty cold/flu. Tonight the 15 mile commute took 1:50. Yes, you read that right: to drive 15 miles took 1 hour 50 minutes. The good news is that this will be extra motivation on the mornings when I need a little extra push to convince myself to bike to work instead of driving.


Yuck! I used to have to drive 20 minutes each way and I got sick of that after a few years. I can`t fathom how people deal with hour-plus commutes by any method of transportation. Also, I seriously doubt I could ride 50 miles per day round trip on a continuing basis- aside from the fact that each of those 25 milers would take me well over that hour!


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

12 hour shift
ended at 8
rode 9 miles
at 11 mph
raining .31 in/hr 
with 110 lumens
100% fun!


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## BBrown (May 5, 2009)

Sizzler said:


> 12 hour shift
> ended at 8
> rode 9 miles
> at 11 mph
> ...


I love riding in heavy rain as long as it's over 50* under that and it starts to suck a little bit


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## Drew K. (May 30, 2006)

ride in this am i got a flat in my rear tire. changed it out and enjoyed the tail wind the rest of the ride!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Wind warning in effect I got 5 k into the teeth of 60 to 90 km/h wind, for the ride home.

Probably faster due to the funnel effect in the river valley.

Ouch they just added a light rainshower, to the forecast.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

40% chance of precipitation today. None coming in, we'll see what happens on the way home?

I'd been off the bike for a couple of weeks due to me recovering from some surgery related to this incident, so I'd been walking to work. This week I started biking again in earnest, and as always happens after a lapse in being on the bike I've really been pushing myself hard to make up for lost fitness opportunities. I'm a bit sore. :yesnod:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

dcc1234 said:


> I'm now at day 12 since swine flu infection and still have lingering cough. Around day 5, when fever went away, I resumed bike commute. Co-workers of course think I'm crazy for biking in when 'sick'.
> 
> ...
> 
> think this SF just takes a while to fully go away.


That about sums it up for me also. I think the commute helps, since I'm hacking up goo and blowing snot rockets all the way to work and back. I'm down to an annoying cough and congestion at this point.

Today it was raining, but not too bad. Sun came up and shot an orange glow on the ceiling of clouds...wicked rainbow over the valley with a dark black/blue cloud background. Came around a corner and there was a big 'ol buck on the shoulder of the road... he picked his head up and posed in the sunlight with the rainbow behind him. Pretty cool moment.


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## Main Line Cycles (Nov 6, 2009)

today's commute was _awesome_! SEPTA, the local public trans. authority, is in day 4 of a strike, so there was more car traffic than usual. blew by a ton of cars backed up at stoplights. weather was high 30s and clear, with a nice stiff headwind that had me gasping and wishing i'd trained harder this season. that wind has held all day, so the ride home is gonna be hellafast. maybe i'll take the long way.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Ran over a wood screw*

which ruined the casing of my tire. Caught the bus/walked home. Replaced tire already for tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Gary- you`re just now getting back on the bike? I bet you were really chomping at the bit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Today it was raining, but not too bad. Sun came up and shot an orange glow on the ceiling of clouds...wicked rainbow over the valley with a dark black/blue cloud background. Came around a corner and there was a big 'ol buck on the shoulder of the road... he picked his head up and posed in the sunlight with the rainbow behind him. Pretty cool moment.


Sounds killer! If you`d had a camera, it could have made for a Fux moment! Then again, a lot of times I think we`re better off just enjoying things like that as opposed to trying to grab it with the camera and missing the experience in the process.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang, Gary- you`re just now getting back on the bike? I bet you were really chomping at the bit.


Well I've been on the bike since the incident in July, it's just that from the procedure (mid-October) until last week I had to stay off. Only about two weeks! I did a lot of walking and hiking to try and stay in shape a little. Though any time I saw someone fly by on a bike I would silently curse them (j/k).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeehaw! Gale force tail winds! :thumbsup: 

My avg work to home trip runs around 13 to 14 minutes. I`ve done it in 12 a few times, but that`s really busting my butt. Today was 9:32, spinnin and grinnin the whole way. After I got my speed up, I only dropped out of the big ring once for a car backing out of a driveway and once for a stop sign. I watched my speed fluctuate between 24 and 28 for close to a mile and gave it hell on the best downhill in order to to spin it up to the 40 mark!

Now I just hope they die down before I have to pedal back into it this afternoon


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## veloreality (May 10, 2009)

scary considering i got out of a dui(or wet and reckless whatever its called when your on a bike) not even a block away from my origin.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

IT FUGGING SUCKED!!!
commute home last night was bad too!
took the bus, had crazy people who're enamored with the sound of their own voice freely voicing their opinions the entire damn time... racist cracker pseudo-gangster speak. ooooh joy!

(been down with the flu, cold n wet riding would've made it worse)

back on two wheels as of monday though, nothing like a couple rush-hour bus rides to remind you how much riding into work is worth to you!


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## ants (Jul 29, 2007)

rocked, three minutes to the trailhead and then a gentle little single track ride before busting a lung up to the pump track and a downhill home :thumbsup:


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## Ranman (Sep 17, 2005)

31* on the way in 55* on the way home. So.......sweeeet


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## dcc1234 (Nov 5, 2008)

*don't freak out the deer*

Hope I won't get slammed for cross-posting, but my commute earlier this week was quite memorable, but not necessarily in a good way. Wrote about it in the Lights forum.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=6332870#poststop


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

dcc1234 said:


> Hope I won't get slammed for cross-posting, but my commute earlier this week was quite memorable, but not necessarily in a good way. Wrote about it in the Lights forum.
> 
> http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=6332870#poststop


When deer freak, they freak _hard_. They fall into a blind panic and just bolt, even if it's headlong into danger. I was driving home from work years ago when I had a doe in the middle of the street run straight at the car, head on! She turned away at the last minute.


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## bigpedaler (Jan 29, 2007)

About 37F this morning; legs weren't there, took the short way in and had a HOT breakfast. Coming home tonight, took the scenic route, had a good time! About 50F @ sunset, next to no traffic in the few areas I have to deal w/ it.

Actually looking forward to the times when I'm riding in the Dark dark, not just the dim; new light on the front of the bike, curious how it will do while rolling! Nice round glow in the garage, but that's not much of an indicator.


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

Cold (mid 30's) and a little slower than I would have liked.

The 1.8 mile ride took 7:08 min. 

51 seconds stopped at lights and signs.

Top speed of 34.5mph and average speed of 15.1mph.


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## stumonky (Mar 27, 2004)

Fair-weather commuter here from south Louisiana, temps were nice this morning at 57°, dry but humidity was up (hard to notice when the temp is cool). Forgive me for not commenting on the whole memorable or not, since I tend to ride with no goal in mind. I would say a memorable ride would lean more towards the bad (i.e. someone cut me off, I got a flat, etc.) So with that said, this morning was uneventful but I couldn’t have asked for better. I crossed another cyclist deep at the bottom of the tunnel walkway (I go under a waterway to get to work instead of the traffic-ridden bridges) which caused me to stand up and crank on the 48-16 single-speed ratio. Have to admit I usually love to fly through the tunnel but the extra effort was welcomed today. It also seemed there weren’t as many motorist on the streets since many are on vacation this week, which made the solitude even sweeter.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

My second Sigma computer went crazy this morning (In less than a year):

The first one (SIGMA BC906 9-Function Topline Wired) stop working properly the very same day I bought the Second One, yeah...what are the odds?....so I didn't care too much...contacted Sigma, they gave me a RA#, I sent them the computer...and almost 2 months later I'm still waiting.

The second one (SIGMA BC1606L CADENCE DTS Double Wireless) start to reset by itself on and off the bike this morning....I contacted amazon this time...they already send me a new one...they always treat me right..I'm happy for that... but I don't know for how long I will be using Sigma.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

It seems unseasonably cold here in the Bay Area. The lows are supposedly in the lower 60s but it feels much colder than that. Must be the moist air. Lately when I've been riding to work my ears start to ache from the cold. Sometimes my lungs hurt too from huffing in cold air. This morning I actually had to break out the winter gloves. They aren't cycling gloves, but they're warm and get the job done. The upside to the cold weather is I can scorch through the park on the way to work without having to dodge people. The down side is it means more people in cars. -_-;


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## BBrown (May 5, 2009)

28* and breezy this morning... had to put on an extra layer... nice ride, took the scenic route 12.5mi. 46min. Feeling a bit slower when it's cool out, lots of fresh air though


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

*not today but...*

someone else's comment reminded me of this, figured I'd share.
was sprinting into work, converted mtb commuter, single speed, fenders, nothing flash just kind of useful.

this guy zips up on his performance hybrid and stares me down.
when I'm at the lights he's really looking my bike over.
so the light goes green, I do my thing and pedal off.
several lights later he pulls up and he's angry, he says "what're you running?"
so I give him my gear ratio
"no I mean what kind of bike is that"?
soul cycles hooligan, it's a mountain bike.
"what're you... I mean your bike's not better than mine, it's not even a road bike, your tires and your gear ratio sucks, how're you faster than me?"

I carefully considered my words; Maybe I'm just stronger than you.
Indignancy and vitriol followed (expectedly)

But I left thinking that he didn't really give me any other option.
He poked fun of the bike, the gear ratio, and the tires.
I felt like saying, sorry, but you kind of left me with nothing to comment on but the rider.
If my bike/rider assembly is smoking your bike/rider assembly and as you so grumpily pointed out the bike part of my assembly sucks, then...

lord knows I wasn't exactly burning the ttires that day.
just wondered if he spewed angry at other riders as well, or maybe if I somehow pushed his buttons by wearing baggy clothes or something?


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## BBrown (May 5, 2009)

byknuts said:


> someone else's comment reminded me of this, figured I'd share.
> was sprinting into work, converted mtb commuter, single speed, fenders, nothing flash just kind of useful.
> 
> this guy zips up on his performance hybrid and stares me down.
> ...


That's awesome!! Laughed out loud when I read that. I ride a converted MTB/Commuter with some low nobbys. I've passed a few rodies (nothing against rodies) and usually don't get a hi back when I'm passing in my baggy commuting clothes.


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## rshughes (Jul 13, 2007)

*Fortunate to have good friends*

So this morning's commute didn't quite go as smoothly as I had hoped. I was about 20 minutes into my 1 hour 40 minute ride when I heard the phhhht, phhhht , phhht sound of air coming out of my rear tire. Since I am running tubeless tires I tried to get the Stan's to fill the hole. Unfortunately I hadn't added any Stan's in probably 3 months and so this didn't appear to be working, and because I didn't want to waste any more time, I decided just to yank off the tire, install a tube, and be on my way.

I pulled the wheel off and removed the tire and that is when it struck me - I took my tool pouch off of my bike yesterday because a friend had wanted to ride my bike off-road (the pouch primarily holds tubes and other odds and ends I might need while commuting and I don't usually bring it when mtn biking) - I didn't put it back on this morning. I was sitting there with my tire off and no tube available to put in. Oh sh!t!

I was only about 4 miles away from a friend's house and since it was almost 7 AM I gave him a call. It took him about 25 minutes to get there and he brought me a couple of tubes and helped me get on the way. Obviously, a 40 minute delay in my commute put me way behind schedule - because I was running so late, I was cranking extra hard so now my legs are spent.

Given that it is now raining outside and 50 degrees, it is shaping up to be a long, cold, wet, tiring ride home. That being said, it will still be better than being stuck in traffic!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> When deer freak, they freak _hard_. They fall into a blind panic and just bolt, even if it's headlong into danger.


I left my garage door open one time and when I got home I trapped a doe in the garage with the front end of the Jeep. She was in there eating trash and just hanging out. We both froze, made eye contact for a second, and then she started trying to hit her head on the rafters and put her feet through everything, whether it was a steel post or not... I slammed it into reverse and got out just before she started heading for daylight (through the windshield), and luckily she didn't damage the Jeep. Can't say the same for the drywall.

I haven't had any issues shining lights on them from the bike though. I see deer literally every day on my commute, almost always more than 6 or 7. I have come close enough to hitting them on the bike that I could smell their breath (if it had been a buck I'd be missing an eye) but I have never had one panic from getting blasted with the headlamp. I have certainly seen them panic though. It goes beyond all reason. They completely lose their mind.


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## A girl from Seattle (May 3, 2007)

Jeez, I'm glad I don't have to worry about deer on my commute! Those things are totally brainless.

The ride in today was perfect. There was a snap in the air and frost on the ground. I felt the frozen leaves crunch under my tires. Saw the morning sun shining on downtown across Lake Union. Spotted a beaver in the marshy Montlake side of Lake Washington. Why didn't I start bike commuting years ago?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I'd still rather deal with deer than people. Perfectly happy with my few close encounters with deer compared to riding in the city.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

riding on a 100% asphalt environment is way too far from being nice...the only animals I can see are dogs barking from homes when I pass by...cats and rats....the other day I saw a dead rat and believe me that thing was huge! easily as big as a cat! :lol:

couldn't commute today...I went to Mexico D.F on Monday and returned to MTY yesterday...enough time to catch a killer flu :madman:


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## JohnsD90 (Nov 15, 2009)

Mine was great, went outside started the car up got ready and had a nice heated ride to school at 50mph. It was real nice. Oh, you meant on the bike.


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## JohnsD90 (Nov 15, 2009)

Mine was great, went outside started the car up got ready and left then i had a nice heated ride to school at 50mph. It was real nice. Oh, you meant on the bike.


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

Fast.

I woke up 30 minutes late for work.

I averaged 18mph on the 1.9mile commute half asleep.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

15 degrees and blowing snow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

joshed said:


> Fast.
> 
> I woke up 30 minutes late for work.
> 
> I averaged 18mph on the 1.9mile commute half asleep.


^^ Not bad considering you're still in knee-hab. :thumbsup:

Mine was cold, but mellow. Finally broke out the PI Lobster gloves for some toasty fingers in the sub-20's we've been having. Packing them home in the backpack sucks, but it's better than sweaty hot hands.


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

Tested out my brand new Bontrager booties. Rode home during a Tornado Watch, 40mph wind gusts and torrential downpour. I could barely focus(literally) with my contact lenses going in and out. My 5-mile ride from work felt like an eternity looking down at my maximum speed of 13mph. Haha! I'll ride year-round like this, long before I ride in snow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

A girl from Seattle said:


> Jeez, I'm glad I don't have to worry about deer on my commute! Those things are totally brainless.


???
Are you sure you aren`t talking about the pedestrians we were just "dissing" in another thread?

Anyway, I guess we all sort of adapt to our environments- for me, traffic and rain = major bummer. Snow, wind, coyotes and bunnies are part of life. Sure wish I had deer on my commute!


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

On third day of not riding due to a foot injury. I feel like a slug . . . :nonod:


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

Sizzler said:


> On third day of not riding due to a foot injury. I feel like a slug . . . :nonod:


Heal up quick man.

My commute was even faster than yesterday. I wasn't late today, just decided to push a little harder and I got lucky and only hit 1 light the whole way.

Average speed: 20.2mph (on my 48/16 single speed road bike)

Also doing my first mtb ride this weekend. I am going to keep it to a mellow xc ride. I cannot wait to be able to ride my big bike again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Joshed! You`re healing up fast- that`s great.


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang, Joshed! You`re healing up fast- that`s great.


Thanks! =]

I am really trying to get my fitness back up for a good 2010 dh race season. Really hoping to get more top 10's in the pro/semi-pro classes.


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## rshughes (Jul 13, 2007)

This morning was the first time this fall that I have had to break out the colder weather gear and put away the shorts (it was about 35F). As I was gearing up, I turned on my lights which illuminated my car which was covered with a nice layer of frost and all that I could think was, "In 5 minutes those heated leather seats could be toasty warm." 

My discipline prevailed and I had a great ride in - and even shaved 4 minutes off of Monday's time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nice work. Heated leather is very tempting. 

18* this morning when I left the house. I had a snot rocket completely backfire in the chamber this morning. The 'clava, jacket shoulder, and backpack strap all got hosed. It was pretty intense.


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## A girl from Seattle (May 3, 2007)

I hear you about the heated leather seats! Good job to us all for riding anyway. It was really really cold today for me too, I had to wear 2 merino wool undershirts, long underwear, toe covers and Goretex gloves to stay warm. Kinda shivery now that I'm sitting at my desk at work. It's worth it though!


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

This morning's ride was much slower than the rest of the week. My legs got worked at physical therapy yesterday.

Average speed: 16.1mph

Time to switch to my winter gloves. My hands this morning were freezing!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

RE: snot rockets- wife complains that I used to get her in the face, seems the slipstream effect kept them at least mid-air long enough for her to ride through them.
want domestic harmony? learn to shoot 'em down, not back.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Heated leather is very tempting.


Sounds like a Judas Priest song.


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## DoubleIPA (Apr 10, 2008)

26 and sunny this morning in Portland. I could have used gloves with fingers.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> RE: snot rockets- wife complains that I used to get her in the face, seems the slipstream effect kept them at least mid-air long enough for her to ride through them.
> want domestic harmony? learn to shoot 'em down, not back.


I`ll have to keep that one in mind! I already learned the hard way that stokers don`t appreciate a good fart from the captain.

It got COLD here yesterday morning! Around 3 AM I walked outside from one part of the plant to the other and it wasn`t too bad. But by 7:00, when I got off, I bet it had dropped into single digits. Since it was fairly warm when I left for work, I didn`t bring heavy enough jacket and gloves and had an unpleasant ride to say the least. It was warm when I left this afternoon too, but this time I brought plenty of extras for the ride home.


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## Jvan_wert (Apr 8, 2007)

Commute? Hah it's Saturday here in Guam, no work today. Good thing too it was a bit chilly this morning at 78.


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## rshughes (Jul 13, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> I had a snot rocket completely backfire in the chamber this morning. The 'clava, jacket shoulder, and backpack strap all got hosed. It was pretty intense.


That is probably the funniest thing that I have read on MTBR in a really long time. Hopefully there wasn't too much collateral damage!


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Saturday is often a work day for me, so here I am. Chilly this morning, my jaw started to hurt. I might need to start wearing a scarf, it's really cold these days. Otherwise, almost no one on the road this morning. Lovely.



rodar y rodar said:


> I already learned the hard way that stokers don`t appreciate a good fart from the captain.


What are you talking about? _Everyone_ appreciates a good fart (or at least they should)!


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## Jvan_wert (Apr 8, 2007)

I'm still fortunate enough to not have to work more than five days a week, but my job is salary and I spend any where from 9 to 12 hours a day at work. The lonely road are the best. I find that the empty roads are the only time I can have a really good conversation with myself with out scaring others.


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## A girl from Seattle (May 3, 2007)

It was 22 degrees this morning but sunny. My commute in was beautiful! Here are a coupla pics. I was afraid it would be icy, but it wasn't. You guys are right, I DO have NO excuse not to bike commute!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice pics, Seattle! It does look beautiful!


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Great pics. That's gorgeous!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

great!! the ice was crazy, my wife got fof and walked a section of the rail trail as it was pure ice and slick and she was hauling our son today, and I skidded across the entire 12 foot width of the trail.

so we got the heck OFF the damn trail and rode the rest of it on busier but un-iced roads!!
but man did it ever feel good to be back on the bike, completely ignoring my usual rule of no riding for 2 weeks after snow.

rode the great pumpkin too, first time in it's current guise, brakes squeal like mad, needs work, but fun! 
(pic/current specs posted in show your commuter thread)


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## terra_firma (Jun 19, 2009)

WINDY and 25 degrees or so! Fenders are acting like sails and slowing me down. Have to change my gearing, far too high when my legs don't really have a chance to warm up during my 6 mile commute.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

It was beautiful this morning - 38 degrees and overcast, no wind. It was the first morning this week above 30-31 degrees and it felt great! (I don't do well in the cold - no insulation  ). It's supposed to rain all weekend, but the storm should be gone by Monday. We really, really need the rain here though...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Negative temps after a day of above freezing, after a day of 12 inches of fresh on top of packed base layer... gigantic frozen slush globs everywhere, lumpy ice and packed snow, freezing fog warning, 1/4 mile visibility, 4x4 required to get out of the driveway.... driving day number 5 for this year.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

Finished building the Big Dummy and took it on it's maiden commute today! Slipped on the morning ice and got drenched in the evening rain but it was the most fun I've had commuting in a long, long time! Here's a picture of me and my daughter test riding it yesterday afternoon:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cool! I didn`t know you were working on a dummy- more pixels!


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

This bike is some serious fun! Here's a few I took this weekend during the build:


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## BBrown (May 5, 2009)

The ride home yesterday was fun. It snowed 3" while I was at work. The guys at work were all out scraping their windows when I rolled out on my bike. It's a wierd feeling fish tailing on a bike but I found out if you keep your speed up you can get through most of the slosh.

This morning was 9* or -11* if wind chill counts. Head winds are a bit demorlizing, but cold head winds are even worse, dying to get 14mph this morning. I had some killer icecycles in the beard though:thumbsup: 

My wife told me that for the first time she is impressed after I rode yesterday. She went to her spin class and some chick is talking about how she saw some crazy guy riding in the snow and my wife was like, that was my husband. They were like, wow I need to get out and ride. Didn't see anyone this morning on the way to work though.

P.S. I don't think I'm hard core.. I just like riding my bike


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Trying to figure out what to wear...
Both ways, temps were around -15 Celsius (5F). No significant wind, except for what I was making myself. Only a thin layer of snow on the ground. Just enough to make the world look more bright.

My torso was a bit hot but the legs were a bit cold. Toes and fingers were bearable. I'll try a slightly different combination of clothes tomorrow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A jacket with zippered vents is a major help in those situations. 

On the legs at 5* F, I wear shorts/leg warmers underneath windproof/waterproof pants. Cutting the wind is the critical thing. I'll do insulated tights (Sugoi Sub-Zero) under windproof/waterproof pants sometimes also. That is a slightly warmer combo. .


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I try to do a combination that I can use with my regular clothes. The commute usually takes less than half an hour. Most likely, I'll try a windproof top layer for the legs and one layer less for the top.

I don't consider -15 Celsius horribly cold but I think my body is still in shock because temps dropped pretty suddenly. Some military studies indicate that it takes about a week before you are fully functional after a big change in temperatures.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BBrown said:


> The ride home yesterday was fun. It snowed 3" while I was at work. The guys at work were all out scraping their windows when I rolled out on my bike. It's a wierd feeling fish tailing on a bike but I found out if you keep your speed up you can get through most of the slosh.
> 
> My wife told me that for the first time she is impressed after I rode yesterday.


Most of last winter I was off the bike with a knee injury and scraping the windows was the worst part of not riding! I HATE scraping windows! All I could think about while I was warming up the truck and chipping that crap off the windshield was that if I were on my bike I could be halfway home before I ever got my truck out of the parking lot! And with three inches of new snow I`d also be thinking about how much fun I was missing out on.

Your wife is impressed? That`s good. Mine showed up at work a few times durring my first winter trying to give me a ride. She kept saying "...but it looks like it might snow", then "...but it`s starting to snow", and then "...but there`s too much snow". Finally she figured it out and just started to leave me alone. I still get offers for rides (not from her anymore) sometimes and people just can`t get it through their heads that somebody might prefer to ride. no mattert what he weather is doing.

Sizzler, I hate to hijack this thread with more on your Dummy, so (XT thumbies?) are you going to post a thread on that puppy?


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Sizzler said:


> This bike is some serious fun! Here's a few I took this weekend during the build:


I like the picture w/o the rack installed. Looks like a drag bike! Also, the support tubing around the rear wheel looks cool.


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

I don't think I can live where many of you do that's got to hit subfreezing temperatures. Much props to all the hardcore commuters that don't stop them from getting to wherever they need to go.

84 degrees this afternoon on the way home from work. I'm transitioning my bike back to stock, and after going back to the stock pedals, I can't wait to get the Eggbeaters back on the new bike. I almost felt unsafe kicking hard to get over in the turn lanes from the bike lane.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

84 degrees in december! That's madness. Yesterday I dug a path to the woodshed, and then grabbed the metal handle of the wheelbarrow... oops. Almost had to bring the thing inside to get un-stuck. Note to self: wear GLOVES below zero. GLOVES.


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

Crap, I totally forgot to mention(your gloves story reminded me), but I hit 1,000 miles this morning! I've had it since mid-April, and my goals were to hit 1,000 miles before the end of the year. So to also commemorate the liter mark, I bought new gloves(and a Fantom 29Pro SL).

Oh, tomorrow a cold front is supposed to roll through, and the high is 63 degrees. I'll still be in shorts.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congrats on the 1K. What`s that Fantom 29Pro? New bike?


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

*had My first flat in a long time!*

fresh corona bottle on the bike lane and I steered through the cleanest part but picked up a large chunk of glass....... I hate people that throw bottles out the car window! I have so many tubes to patch I need a new patch kit!


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Congrats on the 1K. What`s that Fantom 29Pro? New bike?


My goal was to reach 1,000 miles by year's end on my Motobecane 400HT from the time I bought it in mid-April.  Well, I did it yesterday so prematurely, I was going to reward myself by going up to a Fantom 29Pro SL. I bought it last Friday and took it apart. I hated the Delorean brushed aluminum color, so I took the frame to get custom painted to match our sport's cars(we show and I race mine). So for the past week, I've put the current commuter (400HT) back to stock. Going back to stock pedals suck after riding on eggbeaters for the last 6 months!

So yesterday, it was 84 degrees. A nor'easter plowed through north Florida today, and my 4 mile ride home felt like eternity with all the headwind keeping me below 16mph. It was 63 degrees and 10-15mph wind. At least it wasn't a hurricane! Friday is calling for 80% chance of rain! I'm ready!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We have been having 'freezing fog' conditions the last few days. It's been patchy and not too thick, so no big deal. Today's experience was a bit different...

Currently I have to ride on about a mile of snow packed dirt road before I get to frozen mud dirt road (which is the best traction in the world), before I get to pavement. The pavement has been a little slippery due to the freezing fog leaving a thin layer of ice behind. I could see pretty good today on the whole dirt road section, but about the time I got to pavement, it looked like my headlight was shining into a white wall. I could see the red flash of my superflash taillight in my pheripheral vision, becuase it was bouncing off of the fog behind me. Absolutely the thickest fog I have ever seen. It was all I could do to see the white line in front of me. I angled my headlight down and tried to focus on that white line. 

Then it got worse. I couldn't believe what I wasn't seeing. It was unreal. That's about the time I realized that my glasses were icing up. Putting them down on my nose, grandpa-style, and peering over the top of them helped, but of course I started crying instantly because it was about 18 degrees out. Fine, I thought. I can deal with tears frozen to my 'clava as long as I can see. The tension of the morning ride is just now melting off... the icy road and lack of vision and frozen eyeballs required so much focus. 

When I got to work I noticed something I've never experienced before. I had a shield of ice build-up on EVERYTHING that was facing forward. I bent my arm when I got off of the bike and it came crumbling off of my jacket like broken glass. I've had ice build-up on my goatee before, but this was crazy. The front edge of my front fender was at least a centimeter longer than normal, because it had an ice extension. The leading edge of my forks/handlebars/frame looked like Han Solo trapped inside the ice block. My shoes were a size bigger. My helmet felt heavy. I bet my bike gained at least a pound. 

Without a doubt, today was the weirdest commute I've ever had.


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## BBrown (May 5, 2009)

Nice, 32*F today it's amazing how a few days of 0*F makes 32* seem like a heat wave. It's funny every time I ride in colder temps I'm always thinking. Well... if it gets any colder I'll have to drive. It started with sub 40's then 30's then 20's. Now that I've rode a 0 I'm thinking well 15's not so bad. I'm thinking that I wont want to ride in negitive temps, but if I do I'll probaly think that it's not that bad.

rodar, I'm with you on people not understanding the riding thing. All this week the only thing I've heard is what the F**K is wrong with you?

Also, I finaly got yelled at for riding in the road. I've been commuting all year and haven't had any major encounters with drivers at all. But I feel like it's one of those cycling rights of passage when two idiots in their rusted geo metro honk and yell "get out of the road". While they are passing me in the completley open lane to my left. Of course there is a foot and a half of snow on the side walk so that is a no go. And of course I yelled back some choice words for them. Not that I really cared as much as I was just excited to be a part of the club.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Only Muddywings gets yelled at and told "Get on the road!"


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*My whole day was awesome! (quite long)*

*Little intro:*
So, last Sunday I went to a ride and realized the bike really needed some service...when I arrived home spent like 2 hours on it, cleaned it, used my new zep commercial degreaser!..lubed it..check brakes...all the stuff.

Then the bike was all the week at home...you already know I've been a lazy winter commuter.

anyways...I was back on the saddle today..

*Morning Commute:*
I woke up early today so I was with 20 min of spare time to kill...morning was cold (not as some of you can have) but as I was pedaling..the ride started to feel just really nice...I was just taking my time you know...just great.

*Day at the office:*
well... I think I haven't tell...I'm a Mech. Engineer and work for a Eng. Consultant Company (50/50 Mex-Ven)...I work with a few equipments but my main job is do/design HVAC systems, which for our clients (Oil&Gas) sometimes is quite complicated.

Since I was transferred from Vzla to Mex a year ago I have been trying to change how the HVAC systems are handled on the company...basically when it is time to subcontract the job...I won't start giving you lot of details...the thing is...finally I had green light to contact some vendors and ask for a quote under what I think is how this should be done...today I received the bids (last day I gave to them)...I found some little issues but, I think including the comments and all, I'm pretty sure the system will be like 200K under any of the vendors the Procurement Dpt. found....I went to the manager (who is great for letting me do this) and he said: Focus on closing it that way!....YEEY ME!

The whole thing for me is not only save some money, this way I (the designer) will be having more responsibilities and control on the system design, which I think was been delegated to much on third parties.

*Afternoon Commute:*
I leave the office as happy as I could be..shifting were just as smooth as my Deore RD can give... again I took my time on the road, thinking about how to close the job in one part and on the other the fact that I was bringing a precious load above my bag and I didn't want to ruin it.

On one part of the ride I shared one sidewalk with a motorcyclist...he was leading...getting rid off the pedestrians on our way...we ride together for the whole block...I turned right at the end and saw him getting in on the next sidewalk 

*My day was just awesome!*

PS.1: I pass my 1K miles mark on my way home!

PS.2: I arrived home and realized I had to take a "Blockbuster" movie back to the store...what did I did?....you know it...ride it there.

PS.3: My precious load: I'm Venezuelan, with a lot of Vzlan coworkers here...a wife of one the guys is cooking one of our Christmas plates..Pan de Jamon...delicious...basically: Bread stuffed with: Ham, Green olives, raisins and bacon...you know...if it has bacon must be good....well...is good!!

PS.4: My first encounter with a jerk on the road...half a mile from home...a pick-up pass next to me, really close...and the mo***r f***r yell at me: "AAAHAHHH"...I won't lie...I'm scared for life but the again..is not important...my day was just great!!..it doesn't matter.

PS.5: I'm going for another slice!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Martin, is your new cold weather gear helping at all, or pretty much the same? Your pan de jamon sounds good. Now I`m getting hungry- save a piece for me! Do you have tamales in Venezuela? Rosca de Reyes?

I had a pretty nice day too. It was sunny this morning and I hadn`t ridden more than about ten miles in a day for the last few weeks (snow storm aftermath), so I rode into town to pick up a few small items from the LBS and had coffee with my mom and dad while I was in the neighborhood. Got home after a 29mi RT in time for a nice nap before getting up to start my work week. Ride in to work was uneventful and the roads are mostly dry now.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@rodar
I think the gear is doing ok...but then this week it was rainy too and I don't have rain gear yet...I'm going to DC the 23rd to spend holidays there...let's see what is left on my pocket after that...Santa already decide to give me a Nikon D40...so 

we have Hallacas also for Christmas...is like a big tamal which have a lot of work behind it...usually the family get together to make them...the Guiso is a work of art which usually is a responsibility of the Grandmother or the expert Aunt...then everyone help a little to put everything together...last year was a success among our Mexican friends.

don't know why but Rosca de Reyes is not that common in Vzla...I knew about it when I was here on 2006 in a job.


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

Some of you guys are truly hardcore with the winter riding, but is just my motivation to get out there and ride to work, and everywhere else. I should have no excuse since I'll never see snow.

But now that most of you have chimed in, would you guys rather commute in 0 degrees or 100 degrees? I get plenty of the 100 degrees in Florida, and I'd still rather ride in the coldest weather (20's here) before riding in 100 degree heat. The humidity in northeast Florida is horrendous and feels like 120 degrees easy.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well... here in MTY we can get up to 110°F...I did commute during those days...humidity is not a problem.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The choice between zero and 100 here in Nevada would be a tough call for me, but I`d take either of them long before I`d want to ride in a humid hundred. Also, I know that when I get into the SF Bay area the thermometer usually says I should be basking in the warmth, but I find myself freezing my @ss off. And you won`t find me riding anywhere in the rain if I can help it!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Yesterday's snow made it Sloppy with studded tires.
I got more wet from the passing cars than myself


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> We have been having 'freezing fog' conditions the last few days. It's been patchy and not too thick, so no big deal. Today's experience was a bit different...
> 
> Currently I have to ride on about a mile of snow packed dirt road before I get to frozen mud dirt road (which is the best traction in the world), before I get to pavement. The pavement has been a little slippery due to the freezing fog leaving a thin layer of ice behind. I could see pretty good today on the whole dirt road section, but about the time I got to pavement, it looked like my headlight was shining into a white wall. I could see the red flash of my superflash taillight in my pheripheral vision, becuase it was bouncing off of the fog behind me. Absolutely the thickest fog I have ever seen. It was all I could do to see the white line in front of me. I angled my headlight down and tried to focus on that white line.
> 
> ...


That is insane! Nashbar has these mounts you can attach to your forks for lights, so you can have them low and pointing under the fog like fog lights. May or may not help some.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

I think this story is hilarious. I was on my usual route to work today and coming up fast on 3 kids on freeride bikes. They were on the sidewalk, parking lane, everywhere but the bike lane. That's fine, makes it easier for me to pass right? Well obviously they weren't paying attention because the one on the sidewalk plowed headlong into a yard waste bin, which naturally went flying out into the street, directly in my path. I was like "SH!T" and quickly swerved around it without looking behind me (stupid move). Fortunately there was no one in the lane. We all had a good chuckle. It was all just too stupid to get mad about.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Coming home tonite with 700x40 studded tires and 44x17 fixed. 2" on the ground with 3"-4" drifts . The Virgin snow way on the shoulder was good. The Packed snow was slippery in spots. Ela Road was bumper to bumper from Lake Cook Rd to Cuba. Passing all those cars for 2 miles was awesome. The east wind was Brutal but most of my ride home is North and West. 

I think I could have had a little lower pressure in tires. I had about 40-45. 26 miles today :~)


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

had a bad night, decided late night to try the schwinn-urt out this morning, so tore the pedals off the surly and did some late-night-work.
woke up to snow on the ground.
1.25 special'ed fat boy slicks, and a low psi rear shock meant interesting handling, 38x15= good for cruising but not for making up time
ritchey brake pads on craptacular generic v's= WOW... way better brakes than I thought!! put me into a skid more than once.
the pads are REALLY sticky but mushy, so when you're tuning it it feels like the lever keeps coming to the bars but on the road the wheels have been locked up LONG before then. curiouser and curiouser.
silent clutch hub still feels tight(ish) so will keep running it, praying for a new freehub soon.
between the silent clutch and the fat boys I'm dead silent. 
nothing but the wife's tire buzz and gears shifting to wake me up!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...*

first commute/ride of the year...I got ready to leave...got out the house and everything was wet but it wasn't raining...as soon I leave my block it was shower rain all the way 

Happy New Year to all the commuters!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Back on the bike today after two weeks off for the holidays... first day back is always a challenge in the cold, especially after two weeks of non-stop eating :lol:

...about 20*F this morning, foggy again...but nothing like my previous story.


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

martinsillo said:


> PS.3: My precious load: I'm Venezuelan, with a lot of Vzlan coworkers here...a wife of one the guys is cooking one of our Christmas plates..Pan de Jamon...delicious...basically: Bread stuffed with: Ham, Green olives, raisins and bacon...you know...if it has bacon must be good....well...is good!!


I love Pan de Jamon!! My wife and I just started making it for ourselves last winter. Not as good as my Mom's, but we are practicing.

As for today's commute, not bad. I never did winter commuting b/c I felt I couldnt b/c of the cold. I decided to get some winter stuff and give it a try. This morning was my coldest so far. I believe it started in the low/mid 20s with wind chill in the teens. High today is supposed to be 30F. The ride in really wasnt that bad. I wear sweat wicking tights, with thermals over that and shell pants rolled to avoid the chain. Top consists of sweat wicking t-shirt, thermal long-sleeve, then shell jacket. Full balaclava for the face. Fleece gloves. Socks with running shoes. Though temps will be higher this evening than this AM, I assume it will feel colder b/c the sun is down. Overall, winter commuting isnt as bad as I thought it would be.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

08HardRock said:


> I love Pan de Jamon!! My wife and I just started making it for ourselves last winter. Not as good as my Mom's, but we are practicing.


The Pan de Jamon is just great!...this one was particularly good, I took 2 to DC and by the second day there wasn't any trace of them


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice rides today, slickerier than expected this a.m. on the downhill run after the 15" snow this weekend (now a mix of plowed, packed and mashed), but made it without incident. Pulled over a few times to let a few cars by, likely we were both happier. I think I have too much of a death grip at times as the bolt-on grips are trying to work their way off. Temps 15F both ways, which now seems comfy - nice not to need googles, don't like the squished feeling. Only bummer the bus had a mechanical this a.m., so they were running 30mins late (the commuter bus usually only comes 1x/hr). Luckily I have started carrying my warmer "waiting for the bus hat", and wasn't sweaty since its downhill, so didn't get too cold. Found an excuse not to look at used cars today like I planned (they would still be snow covered in the a.m. and dark in the p.m.), so I've now been "in between cars" since Nov.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

I commend LUNARFX on reaching the 1000 mile mark. I had visions of the same but only made it to just over 800.

Today I had a lesson in why not to wash your bike in the winter. I washed mine Friday in 40 degree weather after a slushy ride on the trails. Commute this morning started OK at about 20 degrees and 10mph winds, until about 2 miles in when I tried to upshift and got no change, then tried to hit the brakes and no rear. I was down to three gears and front brakes, but counted my blessings with not having discovered the frozen brake cables on the mile long downhill. Tonight the bike will sleep inside upside down in the hopes the cables will drain and we'll attack it tomorrow.

I just can't stand a crusty bike on a sunny day.


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

Thanks! I thought 1000 miles for a person on a roadbike would be a breeze, but on a mountain bike, I thought was a bit harder. Especially all thousand miles on relearning how to ride all over again(coming from the roadbike world), and on somewhat knobby tires.

There were a few days I had to drive to work during Christmas week, only because the girlfriend had me running errands doing holiday shopping, on top of my holiday shopping. And of course New Year's Eve week was hectic trying to get errands done as well. (I can't fit our Christmas tree, decorations, and lights at work in my Camelbak, so I didn't have much of a choice but to drive as well. Now that everything is back to normal I'm looking forward to riding tomorrow on the new bike again! I've only got 43 miles on the odometer for the new bike.

I broke down and finally bought full-fingered gloves. It's actually supposed to be 24 degrees and a 20mph wind chill factor in Jacksonville, FL! I'm sooooo friggin' excited, because we just don't get these conditions! I just wished it snow for once!

p.s.
I'll be in Wisconsin
all next week for work.
Maybe I can stop by the
Trek headquaters and 
borrow a bike? That's 
if it's not 6ft of snow on 
the ground!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'*

the shower rain stayed all day long so at the end of the day the streets were like a storm had felt minutes before...I was able to avoid car splashes...but I think fenders would have been useful on today's commute.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Weather Forecast: it ain't funny*

this morning was still cold and wet...hopefully some sun show up today and I will be able to have a drier afternoon commute.

Now, weather forecast for the next 10 days:
http://www.weather.com/weather/print/MXNL0068

I know this ain't nothing for some of you but people is getting crazy about this Thursday and Friday weather and with my current gear I certainly won't have a pleasant commute on the next two weeks...I really need to prioritize an upgrade to my winter gear.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Fenders man, fenders. The water falling out of the sky is no problem...it's the stuff coming up from your wheels that makes it miserable. 






Cold/freezing fog for me again. About 20* again today. Fog presents an amazing opportunity to analyze your headlight's beam pattern, by the way.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

A bit cool.

I was OK in the morning, at around -13C about (+8 Fahrenheit). My hands were cold on the way back: temps went down to about -19C (about -2F).


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

Today's commute was good. 

Feels good to be back on the bike after a few weeks of bad weather and the holidays. =]


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## A girl from Seattle (May 3, 2007)

Echoing everybody's comments above about the pouring rain. My commute yesterday sucked so bad!! There were tons of "I have a New Year's resolution to bike commute" riders on the bike trail (not that there's anything wrong with that, just didn't expect so much bike traffic), it was dumping massive rain and pitch dark both ways, and it seemed like I hit every traffic light wrong and all the drivers were out to get me. :madman: Just one of those days I guess. 

But I'm liking the bike commuting so much (except yesterday!) that I've set myself a goal to ride 4,000 miles in 2010, a huge percentage of which will be from commuting. Work to ride, ride to work!!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Afternoon commute: just cold...yeeeiii!

did it fast and went to the LBS (car ride)...

Mission: Upgrading Winter Gear

Got:

Pearl Izumi Softshell

SKS Mud-X Front Fender

Blackbottoms Booties

I certainly will need a waterproof pant to use with the tights and improve the deal with the rain and cold together....any recommendation? (not to expensive please!!)


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

For a waterproof pant, I have been using the Novara Express Bike pants from REI. They have also been quite good for the wind and I can ride in 20F temps with these pants and shorts beneath even though they are thin. A bit noisy when walking to my bike through the office, but there are worse things. There are probably better pants out there, but these were an inexpensive experiment compared to the others.


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

That's just way hardcore man! Wish we could see pictures! On a side note, I'm praying to see snow before I leave for Wisconsin this Sunday. They're expecting sleet in south Georgia and the last time it's snowed here in Jacksonville, Florida was 1989.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Holy S**t!! My Gym is Smoking Friendly!!*

...I always have to stop in this Sauna Place, I tried some real gyms, but none of them were clean enough to my public showers minimum standards...but anyways...today I get there and when I was taking off my gear I smell what it seemed to be cigar smoke, turned back and  saw this guy (who haven't seen before) and he was smoking!!! WTF!...my first thought was: this guy may be the owner or something (couse here, if you are, you are entitle to break the rules)...I didn't want to say anything...I knew it was going to be worthless...but then I decided to look for a sign in the wall so he at least see me doing it...what did I found: ASHTRAYS EVERYWHERE!!!   

I´m usually alone when I get there in the mornings, and when its people, the ones I knew, well they don't smoke...so the air was always clean and it never occurred to me to think about it...I mean...it is against the law!!

The manager wasn't there today...but something tells me that when I tell him about it I won't get a positive response.  :madman: :madmax: :crazy: :nonod: :bluefrown:


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## redwarrior (Apr 12, 2007)

Commute yesterday: Lost another Planet Bike Super Flash Blinky. That's 2 since 06. I'll hit a pothole and the things just fall apart. I end up with only the back.

Lame.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-23 C lots of snow and car snot....

Chinook might blow in on the weekend...12 C...

Geez it will be a swimming pool then a skating rink.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

I feel for you on the blinky light, I just lost one of mine this morning as well. I heard it hit the ground mid-intersection, couldn't go back to get it as the light was just turning read. Watched in horror as the first truck through the intersection went right over it


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

redwarrior said:


> Commute yesterday: Lost another Planet Bike Super Flash Blinky. That's 2 since 06. I'll hit a pothole and the things just fall apart. I end up with only the back.
> 
> Lame.


I've lost one as well going down steps going through a shortcut a while back on the way home, and as sturdy as the plastic may be, it broke to a ton of pieces. Hell, I could barely find the battery after I tried to put it all back together. Still, I would recommend them over any other taillight.


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

Today was cold

2-4 F, wind chill -20 F at times-- 8 Miles.
Felt good though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Just back from a vacation, so no commuting for the past few weeks for me. I start again tonight and get yet another try for a 100% bike commute year. We`ll see.

On the bummer side of things, I had a mesage waiting from my boss on the answering machine. Due to layoffs, a rescheduling was needed in order to maintain coverage in the plant and the killer schedule I`ve had for the last four years or so (three 12 hour shifts per week) will be gone as of Monday. As much as it bums be out, I guess i don`t have much room to complain being as it doesn`t look like I`m going to be out job hunting this month. Brighter still is that it`ll probably mean more hours. After they deduct our lunches, we`ve been getting 34.5 hours a week, which was fine when it was spiced up with a little OT, but that extra has been long gone lately.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Lidarman, that scene is beautiful! Is it in or near Boulder?


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Rodar, too bad about the bum schedule (that's always a let down). Good thing you didn't lose your job though, and I guess this means more commute days?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

redwarrior said:


> Commute yesterday: Lost another Planet Bike Super Flash Blinky. That's 2 since 06. I'll hit a pothole and the things just fall apart. I end up with only the back.
> 
> Lame.


That surprises me. I've had the same one for 4 years of bombing down my seriously chattery dirt road on my rigid commuter. Is the lens part fallling off of the part that attaches to the bike? 
The worst I've had is the thing shutting itself off or going from 'blink' mode to 'solid' mode because of the bumps. I fixed that by bending the plastic overnight by lodging a stick into it and setting it by the fireplace.

Two solutions for you: My Bell Metro helmet has a strap on the back for clipping in a light. You could move it from the bike to your dome, and it wouldn't be subjected to the bumps as bad. 
OR, you could wrap the new one with clear packing tape after you put a battery in it, to attach the front to the back a little more permanately.


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## redwarrior (Apr 12, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> That surprises me. I've had the same one for 4 years of bombing down my seriously chattery dirt road on my rigid commuter. Is the lens part fallling off of the part that attaches to the bike?
> The worst I've had is the thing shutting itself off or going from 'blink' mode to 'solid' mode because of the bumps. I fixed that by bending the plastic overnight by lodging a stick into it and setting it by the fireplace.
> 
> Two solutions for you: My Bell Metro helmet has a strap on the back for clipping in a light. You could move it from the bike to your dome, and it wouldn't be subjected to the bumps as bad.
> OR, you could wrap the new one with clear packing tape after you put a battery in it, to attach the front to the back a little more permanately.


Yes, the light up part came off from the part that attaches to the bike. I was forced to hit a couple of nasty potholes on the way in to work. I heard it it the first time but not the second. This will be my new setup: Planet Bike self leveling helmet blinky on my helmet (duh!), Superflash on my bag with tape of rubber band or something to keep it together and a Blackburn blinky thing I keep on as a solid light on my rack.

Thanks for the tape idea. I was thinking 1 small rubber band but tape might work better...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My commute was interesting today. We got a little snow. The way to work was fine, but on the way back (more snow) I snapped my chain on the last hill before getting home. I felt like an idiot, but I went back out into the road, grabbed my chain, and coasted most of the way home.

I'm not super experienced in snow commutes. We generally don't get a ton of snow, and when we do it's not usually cold enough to stick on the roads with all the salt and other stuff they throw on. Would the snow have anything to do with my chain snapping (fairly new chain that hadn't seen any salt on the roads until today)?


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> My commute was interesting today. We got a little snow. The way to work was fine, but on the way back (more snow) I snapped my chain on the last hill before getting home. I felt like an idiot, but I went back out into the road, grabbed my chain, and coasted most of the way home.
> 
> I'm not super experienced in snow commutes. We generally don't get a ton of snow, and when we do it's not usually cold enough to stick on the roads with all the salt and other stuff they throw on. Would the snow have anything to do with my chain snapping (fairly new chain that hadn't seen any salt on the roads until today)?


Glad you weren't hurt. Maybe the cold made the metal brittle?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Glad you weren't hurt. Maybe the cold made the metal brittle?


I'll have to take a look at the chain later, but it looked like a link just popped open. I had a bit of snow on the chain, so maybe the cold mixed with the ice caused it to go. Luckily there were no cars behind me at the time.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

On the way to work this Morning 


And Back Home tonight


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## spazzy (Aug 15, 2004)

That is about what my commute looked like yesterday ^^^

I was loving every minute of it


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'll have to take a look at the chain later, but it looked like a link just popped open. I had a bit of snow on the chain, so maybe the cold mixed with the ice caused it to go. Luckily there were no cars behind me at the time.


I've never had cold/ice affect my chain. ... Is it a masterlink chain or did you have to press it together? Sometimes on a non-masterlink chain, the pin you press in to attach it seats funny, and that one link doesn't want to flex...results in fatigue at that one link when the thing is forced to bend through the derailleur, and it can wear through the link plate because fo the friction and POW...usually on an otherwise new chain.

...OH, my commute today was dark. Cloudy, overcast, no moon, a little foggy, a little rainy...super dark out there on the rural roads.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good commute, except had trouble with goggles fogging from the top down, which made me tilt my head up more for a good view, which made my helmet light point into the sky instead of down at the road. Gave up on them & it was teary but not frostbitey cold. Any tips on the goggles? Really cozy when they work but so far about 50/50 on the fogging.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Have you used any of the 'no-fog' products? There are ton's of opinions, but just keeping them really clean works well too. If you rub a little of any kind of oily product on the inside it helps a lot. Anything that leaves a little clear oily residue behind...peanut oil, hand soap, whatever...put a little on a paper towel and wipe the inside of the lens with it. 

Also make sure your hat/clava/whatever isn't blocking any vents on the top of the goggles. And don't stop moving :lol: airflow is everything. Also, if it's wet at all outside, put the goggles on in the house and don't take them off for anything during your commute. If you never move them or take them off, they'll last all day without fogging...but if you let the wet air in there, it's all over.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

My fingers were cold today.
Temps have been staying close to -20 Celsius but it felt colder today. No significant wind either, except what I made myself.
The snow situation is pretty similar to what Normbilt pictured, above but there's no daylight either way yet.

I just wear a pretty thin knit cap under the helmet. No goggles: just my prescription glasses. No problems with keeping my head warm for half an hour.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Have you used any of the 'no-fog' products? There are ton's of opinions, but just keeping them really clean works well too. If you rub a little of any kind of oily product on the inside it helps a lot. Anything that leaves a little clear oily residue behind...peanut oil, hand soap, whatever...put a little on a paper towel and wipe the inside of the lens with it.
> 
> Also make sure your hat/clava/whatever isn't blocking any vents on the top of the goggles. And don't stop moving :lol: airflow is everything. Also, if it's wet at all outside, put the goggles on in the house and don't take them off for anything during your commute. If you never move them or take them off, they'll last all day without fogging...but if you let the wet air in there, it's all over.


I'll have to try those. I only wear my goggles in the rain, and after about 10-15 minutes my face starts sweating and they fog up. My glasses inside them fog up to. I lift them so they will clear but then they just fog right up again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s the same problem I have with goggles- they work great as lonmg as you don`t mind not being able to see anything. I heard that dishsoap works to keep them from fogging, but when I tried it it didn`t help. Wrong brand or technique, maybe. I never used any over the counter solutions (Cat Crap, RainEx, etc), so maybe they work better. For now I just use them when I really need the protection and live with the fogging- hope you find a better solution.

A grand total of two commutes YTD for me, now (one trip in each direction). It`s been warm and drizzly and my yard is a mudhole. I did get the chance for a nice road ride last week in Phoenix. 60 miles in shorts with no gloves or mittens, no balaclava, and no long johns. Awesome! Almost worth cleaning off the 2600 miles worth of nasty road salt that my bike picked up over the course of the trip.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Finally completed a full week of commuting. Had snow on the ground (schools had 2hr delay) and about 27F. Not too cold, but the downhill turns were interesting. The reaction from co-workers was great as they asked "how", not "why" did I come in on my bike, while others stayed home today.

However, I realized that my bike left a salt/cinder pool on the floor when I came to strap in for the ride home. I was amazed at how much salt dropped off the bike, I can only imagine how much is still on it.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

RevRacer said:


> Finally completed a full week of commuting...


me too! :thumbsup:
I ended up with a race against a runner...never saw him before....we chit chat at the beginning of a hill near home...when we reach half of it he started to increase the pace...a lot...I wasn't going to allow it...stand up and see ya!! :lol:

first time I do that sprint...It was great! guess I'm going to include it on my commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cool! Good job to RevRacer and Martinsillo!

RevRacer, where did you leave that puddle of yuck? At home? Hope it wasn`t on any carpeting


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Thanks for all the goggles tips*

Thanks for the goggles info...I will try out your suggestions in the next cold snap & report back.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

RevRacer said:


> Finally completed a full week of commuting. Had snow on the ground (schools had 2hr delay) and about 27F. Not too cold, but the downhill turns were interesting. The reaction from co-workers was great as they asked "how", not "why" did I come in on my bike, while others stayed home today.
> 
> However, I realized that my bike left a salt/cinder pool on the floor when I came to strap in for the ride home. I was amazed at how much salt dropped off the bike, I can only imagine how much is still one it.


 After another 8" of snow fell 01/07 on the way to work yesterday it was 15F and still Snow packed roads mostly as I kept the the studded tire on with 30psi. On the way home, I pumped tires up to 60psi as the temped dropped to 10F the streets were mostly dry. It always amazes me to see the salt underneath my bike


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> RevRacer, where did you leave that puddle of yuck? :


Rodar, the puddle was actually in the shipping area at work, so concrete floors and no carpet thankfully.

Now the debate of whether to wash the salt off (potentially get another frozen cable) or not (and hope the aluminum doesn't rot) as we have another week of 20 degrees on the slate.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

This is more like it...
Temps went up to about -4 Celsius: Cool enough to be dry, not so cold it is Cold.

With the temps, humidity went up too, but the trees were still cold. So the humidity freezes on the trees. Cell phone snapshot outside the office:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Sweet. We went from 'so cold it's cold' directly to 'sloppy mess'...completely skipped the stage you're in. Maybe next storm...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, that is pretty. We get similar stuff sometimes and when there`s morning sun on it it must be the most beautiful sight in the world.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great commute this a.m. - I left on time so I wasn't rushed...enough snow over the weekend to "repave" the chatterbumps that had developed on my dirt/ice/snow road, so that part was faster, comfier & safer...dressed just right for the 15F...and 9 of 11 lights were green...what more can you ask for? 

nice pic perttime


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

I hadn't commuted in well over two weeks due to the holidays/fighting off a cold, but decided I could start back up yesterday. I apparently knocked all kinds of crap loose in my lungs and now I have a cold all over again (not sure if it's the same one...). I'm not going to let it prevent me from riding anymore (2+ weeks is too long to not ride!), but I'm going to see the doctor later today about it. Other than the coughing and congestion, it's been a beautiful week so far - this morning it was in the high 40's, no wind. I wore a scarf around the lower part of my face because even the 40 degree air was setting off my coughing... I must say though, right now, I am glad we don't get snow here (except on very rare occasions).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I have always felt like the bike ride helps shorten the duration of my colds... I blow snot rockets and spit all the way to work, and I swear it helps to get over it quicker.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

46x20 gearing
26x1.9 black turtle front, 700x35 twister pro rear
burley type trailer behind me hauling lil' mr. hefty, sheepskin and a huge selection of cd's for the daycare
crutches strapped to my backpack
hardpack snow railtrail for first 1/2 hour, road work for the last.

verdict: odd tire setups can make all the difference in the world!!
that and I think I want a new helmet, this giro semi isn't as snow goggle friendly as I'd been led to believe


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*I hate our car...*

yesterday was a no commute day for me, sadly after my first full commute week...I know....when I woke up yesterday I was already 30min late for work....after all was said and done (and a car ride) I arrived 1 hour late...

so I decided to check that noise that came from the front brakes on our car and do the oil change...verdict: 500USD doing the brakes and changing the terminals of the wheels and a not so urgent defect in the refrigerant housing (400USD to change it)...total with labor 1000USD :madman:

I decided to just fix the brakes....the wife and I finally agree that this is the end of our car (last year, sept, I spend 1K on the electric system, killing a bike dream at that time)

we were planning a vacation trip for our next long weekend at the end of January..is all gone now :bluefrown:

today the commute was wet and my mind...well you know...:sad:


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Having another issue stemming from the infamous "abscess incident" which some of you may recall has been going on since last July. Another surgery on February 1st. Probably be on and off the bike between now and early Feb. At least I can still walk to work and enjoy the fresh air and exercise and it's better than driving!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

snapped my chain on the way in.
looked like the pin walked itself all the way out, that's new to me! exploded roller/shorn/twisted plate I've seen, but this looked like someone had slapped a chaintool while I was riding and pushed the pin out!
pushed it back in for temp fix as I was only 6 blocks from work, no resistance whatsoever going through the plates (eeeks!)
was one of the coloured kmc cheapies.

wife felt so bad for me I'm getting a 710sl! :thumbsup: 
think I'm going to bring a small thing fo degreaser to workt oo...


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

Wasnt bad. But I was so focused on making sure I had all my layers on that when I left, I didnt realize I forgot my helmet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Having another issue stemming from the infamous "abscess incident" which some of you may recall has been going on since last July. Another surgery on February 1st. Probably be on and off the bike between now and early Feb. At least I can still walk to work and enjoy the fresh air and exercise and it's better than driving!


Bummer dude. Hope this is the final chapter of that story 



byknuts said:


> snapped my chain on the way in.
> looked like the pin walked itself all the way out, that's new to me! exploded roller/shorn/twisted plate I've seen, but this looked like someone had slapped a chaintool while I was riding and pushed the pin out!


Wow. In all these years of riding and commuting, I've still never snapped a chain. I've been carrying a chain tool and a masterlink for at least 12 years... I am fairly confident now that on the one day I don't bring those, I'll break a chain. Way to work the wife for new parts though :thumbsup:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

*whispers*
shhhh... I mentioned that the multi-tool chaintool was sorely inadequate, especially in -12 degree winds and she asked what would be better.
hrmmm, pedro's makes a nice big handled tool and...

(is it kosher to have fingers crossed that you wife might pick you up the chain AND the tool? or is that really reaching in the karma stakes?!)

let you know after lunch whether I'm a just a cad or if I'm livin' the dream 


(PS, gary, hope things get better for you man.)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ It is kosher. You shoud feel no guilt, and you should push for a new crankset too, because the chain braking probably had something to do with your worn chainring. If you're replacing one drivetrain part, you should replace them all. 


My ride was rainy this morning. Again. It's been soaking wet foggy or raining every morning for the past week and a half. I am so sick of it. Yesterday on the way home, the sun came out for maybe 45 seconds, and it was the most amazing thing....I can't imagine what an entire sunny ride would feel like at this point. Some day...


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

methinks that would result in: GOOSE GOOSE WE'RE IN A FLAT SPIN, I CAN'T REACH THE EJECTOR SWITCH PUNCH OUT PUNCH OUT!!


possibly with similar end results.



Edit: reading your comment RE sunshine reminded me of this past weekend, I convinced the wife we should skip through the park on the hardpacked snow, I rode around a bit on grenadier pond (35mm tires make cracky ice sounds!) and did a BIT of hillwork.
occurs to me that cheapo chains, a 46x20 and snow/hillwork may have contributed more than I thought to my chain trying it's best to "live the straight life". 60 pound trailer/kid combo through the snow probably did too. 
you know I'm starting to feel a bit dumb for being surprised that my chain made good it's escape.
always fought it but maybe a 1/8th chain isn't such a bad idea.


EDIT: PC-1 nickel and a pedro's pro chain tool... livin's the dream.
(she didn't bite on the cranks comment)


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Not cold here today at -2celcius, but pretty windy.

My bike realy needs a wash, the salt they lay down is bordering on ridiculous.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Gary, you did a good job last time by not putting up any pictures- keep it up. And this time we`ll cross our fingers that the sympathetic young nurse will be a woman!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*'Twas the night....*

....

..When out on the road there arose such a clatter, 
I sprang from my bike to see what was the matter. 
Away to the shoulder I flew like a flash, 
Thought the town plow was coming to clear off the "mashed". 
The plow on the crown of the newly paved road 
Gave the lustre of mid-day with sparks for show.

When, what to my wondering ears should appear, 
But a soaring whitetail - clipped the branches too near.
I whistled, and shouted, and called it by name; 
"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN! 
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN! 
To the top of the hill! to the top of the wall! 
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

About -10 Celsius today. The ploughed paths were in fast shape: mainly smooth and hard, but not slippery hard.

Trees are still pretty. Now I took a snapshot as soon as I arrived, just after 8 AM.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My commutes have sucked this week. I've had to take a car in to work every day so far. In addition to having to take a car, I got a flat (and a spare with no air). Ha!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I really need to start packing my camera or bust out the Cell phone...cool pics. 

FINALLY today we got back into the 'clear and cold' weather pattern that I'm used to in the winter. Back down in the low 20's and no fog today...the dirt road froze up nicely after a couple of weeks of nasty slippery slop. The chuckholes are still horrible, but the traction of frozen mud is outstanding. 
And now that the fog lifted I can see some evidence that we're past the shortest day of the year and are starting to swing back. It's been super dark for a couple of weeks. Today the clouds started to get pink only 15 or 20 minutes after I got to work... still needed the headlight all the way in, but the march towards that beautiful day when the sun comes up during the ride has officially begun.

Apparently we're in for a crazy week next week here in NorCal... offshore pacific storms being churned up by 200mph jetstream winds are stacking up...they're predicting that we get slapped in the face roughly once every 24 hours for several days straight. Potential for "several feet of snow in the sierra", etc, etc. We'll see how that goes.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

perttime's pic makes me wonder if commutting that early might be worth the lack of sleep.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Psssh. That's 8:00 AM. I'm on the bike at 6:30 and it's TOTALLY worth the lack of sleep.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Started out poorly with one of those dumb "I had it last night, I swear I put it right there & now I can't find it anywhere" mornings that put me out the door late. Luckily, the conditions were good, was able to speed pretty quickly down the dirt/ice/snow road and the rest of the hill & it wasn't windy when I got to the flatter section, so I made the bus by 5 mins. Along the way had a tractor trailer go by within an arm's length - annoying, unnecessary and a little unnerving, but got some satisfaction when I passed him in the backed up traffic at the light & didn't see him again. There were some seriously lazy bus commuters who complained when they had to walk almost 75' (horrors!!) because parked cars were too close for the bus to stop right at the bus stop where they were waiting - unbelievable! 

Goggles report: yesterday a.m. it was -4 F & dropping so I tried the goggles again. Had forgotten to pickup up the antifog, but I took care to not block the vents & to tried to seal it well, & I didn't move them once I went outside. Used the thin balaclava & a cap rather than the fleecy velcro facemask I like better. The thin balaclava seems better for the goggles seal but the it is pretty wet & gross by the end of the ride. The goggles stayed clear until about mile 7 & then started to grow just a small fog spot @ upper left, not really in the way. Thanks for all the tips, it sure was cozy to be able to keep them on. Also at about mile 7 got passed by another bike commuter without a word from him before, during or in reponse to my "Hi". When it's below 0 you expect a little more camraderie!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Today, I made an exception and stopped on the way home to take a pic of the "ploughed path. About 4:30 PM, or so. Much less light there in the "green zone".

I have some good route options that mainly keep me away from much car traffic.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> There were some seriously lazy bus commuters who complained when they had to walk almost 75' (horrors!!) because parked cars were too close for the bus to stop right at the bus stop where they were waiting - unbelievable!


When I used to take the bus, I was always amazed at the sheer number of people who would literally take the bus *ONE BLOCK!*


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Woo! Now there's sewage in my basement. This week rocks. Ha!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

snapped chain yesterday, today- wondered whether that bottle was glass or plastic, then found out.
only 6 or 7 block's walk home, ah well.
gave me the impetus to re-pedal the 1x1, change gearing, and tomorrow we see if those cafe bars are a keeper or not.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Perttime, GREAT pictures!

Yuck, Sockeyeus. Are you sure it`s sewage and not just that RevRacer parked his bike in your basement?

What`s up with all these snapped chains lately? I hope I don`t get the honor of joining your ranks.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Rodar, that was a cinder pool, not a septic pool 

But I feel for Sockeyeus as this week I had to stop riding after Monday. Doctor told me that I had to be off the bike while I am getting my rotator cuff treated. I wanted to argue, as it never hurts when I ride, but when I reached PT, they actually suggested that it could have been riding that brought it on. Of course the most prominent cause is the 40+ category. PT made a slight suggestion that the MTB handlebars might be more strain than the low grips on a road bike or maybe barends. 

OK, fine, I'll give the three weeks they suggest, but it has been 4 days and I already have car cabin fever.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ boo, sorry to hear it. 

I pushed really hard for some reason on the ride home today...decent weather for a change, I guess I was motivated. Hit every hill in at least a gear or two higher than normal. Then I arrived home to find a box from Pricepoint on the doorstep. That's about the best commute you could ask for right there. Contents: shifters and a seatpost for the 29er in progress...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Didn't I just say I wasn't looking forward to the rain??? It is here today, 1"-2" of rain and gusts up to 40mph forecast. Lucked out this a.m., just a light rain & some wind, took it easy on the wet ice on my road. Not looking forward to tonight, it is pouring now, 49 F, so the snow is melting like crazy too, flood watch in effect. The interstate southbound has been closed all day due to a fiery crash involving 2 milk trucks & 1 car, so it was a good day not to be driving on it. My bus ride will likely be slow due to all the detoured people, but thats OK, maybe the rain will let up again by the time I get off to ride. Here's a shot from a nearby webcam today (Stowe ski area watching their snow melt away).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No need to wait- I found a pic of MTBX in her commuting gear for tomorrow.


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## bigpedaler (Jan 29, 2007)

I was so happy to go out the front door this morning and NOT see ice on the roads, I didn't even care that I was riding into another 20+ headwind, this time at 30F.

Tonight, I was so f'n tired, it was all I could do to pedal home. With a tailwind.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Man do I hear that. 

Today's ride in was SKETCHY in terms of slippery-ness. I don't know how I got all the way here without going down. We got about an inch of new snow last night that was turning into freezing rain as I was riding in...you don't realize how much you rely on that white line until it's gone. One wheel over the edge of the pavement and it's over, but you can't tell where that edge is becuase the plow scraped the shoulder just as flat as the pavement before the new snow came and hid the transition...and if you get too far out into the lane there's a transition where the old pavement meets the new pavement, since they didn't re-pave the edges, just the middle... add to that the random dips and bumps that send your front wheel skittering an inch or two left or right at random, and the fact that the drivers don't want to leave their comfortable wheel ruts to give you any room. ...pretty stressful. 
Luckily it warmed up a bit today and even though it's dumping snow, the roads are just wet. I love these conditions. The fenders will keep the road gunk at bay, and you don't get nearly as wet as you would if it was raining. Just need to get home before it starts sticking...


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Ride this morning was great. It felt good after going more than a week without riding because of a stupid cold. I tried to ride it off, but it kept getting worse, and every time I rode, I would start coughing hard (chest congestion - blech). I'm finally over it and back to riding :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> No need to wait- I found a pic of MTBX in her commuting gear for tomorrow.


Hahaha I can always count on the commuter forum for good tips for dressing properly for the conditions! Made it home, rain got harder as I went, but only 3.5 mi from closest bus stop (but it takes me an hour since it is 1000' up & >1/3 dirt). Fine on pavement part, just ripples of waves coming downhill, occasional fallen branches to avoid, very foggy, but very little traffic. Interstate finally reopened about 11 hrs after the 2 truck 1 car accident. Hated the muddy section of my road, very tiring, stayed on the crown unless a car as coming. Then it firmed up again as I got higher in elevation, and pedaling got easier.

This was the first day that I added the little kayak strobe (+/- $30 princeton tec) to the rear blinky, made me feel better in the fog, and it is designed to float, so you figure it won't short out. Blinks slower than blinky, but very bright.

Consider myself pretty lucky today, considering...82 mph wind recorded in Cambridge VT...if I'd gotten that I would have needed the bike as an anchor to keep from blowing away.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Last week we had rain all week. This week we're getting snow. I was the first person in to work today due to icy roads. I was a bit surprised to see that another cyclist beat me to the bike path.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

*Ice, ice baby*

So I'm a pretty smart guy, right? I live off of a dirt road off of a dirt road, and I usually get more snow than just about anywhere else on my commute, becuase I'm also at maybe 500 feet higher in elevation than 'town'. So last night it was snowing a bit, and I decided to shovel a patch of asphalt in front of my garage, so that in the morning I can see how much new snow there is and decide if it would be ok to ride. 
Fast forward to this morning, there was maybe an inch of new stuff in my test section... and it looked wet out there, almost misty. "This is good" I thought, "roads will be wet, not snowy like yesterday when you couldn't find the white line to save your life."

So I take off down my dirt road, and it's pretty sloppy. Wet enough so that I cut through most of it, but super slippery and nasty. I got sucked into any pothole I got within 6 inches of...it was work getting down to the pavement, which was covered in that inch of fresh stuff I had seen in my driveway. This road isn't travelled much, so I expected this. It actually offered some decent traction if I stayed out of the tire tracks. This road decends down to valley-floor level, where I expected to get out of the snow, and sure enough, about half way to the 'main road', the snow started to dissapear. I got a little more confident as I picked up speed going down the hill, and then a car came by going uphill. The mirror-glare of his headlights bouncing off of the pavement told me one thing: You are an idiot. 
I had flown blindly into a skating rink of death. I was approaching the end of this road, where it forms a T with the main road. There is never any cars on my morning commute...except for today, when I could see a couple cars coming in both directions on the main road. I grabbed a little brake...zero to lock up in .04 seconds. I unclipped my right foot and started to drag it. Now I'm like a two-wheeled, one footed tripod of fear, sliding down the road in the dark, headlight pointing at the shoulder. I started to realize that there was no way this was going to stop me before the intersection. I was like a 12 year old kid pulling the biggest rear brake induced skid in history, except there were no rear brakes involved. I had no choice but to lay it down, which I pulled off rather smoothly I must say. I went down on my right hip and continued to slide for another 30 yards or so...long enough to really consider how much road rash I would be getting if I was skidding this far on dry pavement. At that moment the centimeter of ice separating me from losing all of the skin on my butt was the greatest thing in the world. 
I came to a stop just over the limit line right about the same time the couple of cars I had seen came by on the road. I walked across the road, realizing that I was in for a heck of a ride to work, and gingerly pedaled the next 4 miles without much difficulty. I had the front wheel catch a rut or two and squirt out from underneath me, but not enough to throw me down. When I got to town, the ice got worse...if that was possible. I actually walked the last 1/2 mile or so, which was probably more difficult than riding... the sidewalk was worse than the pavement. Heck of a ride today.

Here's a pic of part of my dirt road from yesterday's home journey:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, remember about a week ago when I suggested either changing your sig or lying when you drove? Maybe you should have taken the other option.

Seriously, it sounds like you had the biggest adventure since Herman Melville this morning! Didn`t lose any skin, I hope? When day shift started comming in today, every single person made a point to tell me how many cars they had seen in the ditch and to warn me of the slippery conditions. For some reason, I lucked out- there were a few little patches of what was undoubtedly the frozen banana peels that everybody had warned me about, but for the most part not too bad.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Reno, right? Same storm... sometime in the middle of the night it went from snow to freezing mist/rain. The most frustrating part of my commute is living in the woods and not being able to see the road conditions from home. It's a crap shoot some days... If I could do today again, I wouldn't have risked it. 
I didn't lose any skin, thanks for asking...it was that slick. A little bruise on the hip maybe... I'm at 100% for the hopefully thawed-out ride home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, must have been the same storm. What you described sounds like what everybody comming into work described- I have no idea why I didn`t get it like that all the way home. Glad you`re intact.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:eekster: Yikes CommuterBoy!! Sounds like a scary ride all around. Good thing you decided to bail when you did, excellent work. Then I saw the pic of your bike & road & said how does he ride that thing on that road even when it is not icy?!?!? Those skinny tires scare me. Of course now that I say that I will go down on my nice fat studded MTB tires any day now.

Glad you are in 1 piece, and not a flattened piece. Good luck on the ride home & keep the rubber side down. Hope you are not lamed up by then.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A few roads were closed due to ice jams and flooding today, but luckily not any that I have to take. A little detour that is no biggie in a car could mean a really long bikecommute. It had dropped to 28F overnight but it was dry. Once I got to pavement the roads were surprisingly dry, maybe because the snowbanks had shrunk so much that they were draining better. Some lawns were showing at the lower elevations. Made it to the 11mi bus stop in record time and enjoyed my coffee & started a new audiobook "Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain & My Long Trek Home" (plane crash!) while I waited for the bus.

Sadly, I found out at work that the woman killed in the car/milk tankers accident yesterday was someone at work's mother in law. Ironically she was on the interstate at 3:30 a.m. because she was on the way to the hospital for a medical problem. The 2 milk tanker drivers knew each other & the one who hit the jack-knifed truck burned up in his cab, there was nothing left but an engine block.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Dang. Sorry to hear that. 

I do have bike options... that one is the main commuter, and it's got pretty nice Vittoria 'cross tires on it, which do better than you'd think in the slop. The main reason for riding the cross bike in this kind of slop is the fenders. I have about a mile of dirt, which can be torture in conditions like that picture on this bike, but it's worth it when I get to the pavement and have the fenders working for me. In standard dirt, even packed snow conditions, even wet dirt/slightly muddy conditions, that bike is awesome... when it's as sloppy as that picture, I'm wishing for the other bike. I walked that hill behind my bike in the pic yesterday. The skinny treaded tires do pretty good in shallow snow on pavement, because they cut right down to the bottom and get some traction, but in slop with mud underneath, it's not what I'd call "fun". 

The other bike is a full suspension Kona Dawg trail bike. I ride it now and then when I don't need fenders, but it's a bit heavy and overkill for the commute. You can fly on the dirt and in the loose snow conditions with the fatter tires though. The Dawg would have been an advantage on the dirt road this morning, but no advantage on the ice. 

I'm building bike #3, a 29er hardtail, which I think I'm going to get some quick-mount fenders for...that will be the ticket for the sloppy dirt road in the winter.


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## Audiofyl (Dec 4, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> long enough to really consider how much road rash I would be getting if I was skidding this far on dry pavement.


or on a giant human cheese grater like I did.....


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

missed it for a while guys...

From my "super cold" adventure on the road two weeks ago a cough stay with me, a weird one, last Thursday on my now usual sprint near home I ended it like with no air (well that's normal) but coughing a lot and stayed like that the whole night, so I didn't commute on Friday and went to the doc on Saturday...the diagnosis: an allergy or something....a bunch of cough medicine and some antiallergics, and of course at least 5 non-bicycle days.

The truth is that I haven't kill the cough yet, I think I'm going to see a Pulmonologist or something this weekend, but as today was the 6th day...I commute today! 

wake up a little early so I could do an easy ride, was nice to be back, hope it could stay at least this way after the next visit to the doc.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Yesterday's commute was great - it was raining lightly in the morning and everything was still wet when I went home. I actually own fenders (maybe get to use them for a total of 5-6 days out of the year); they worked nicely yesterday. My feet got a little wet though.

Today the weather is clearing up. No more rain in the forecast. We really needed the rain we received the last couple weeks. We usually don't get below freezing at night, but last week (when I was driving because of my stupid cold) the doors on my car were frozen shut. It was quite funny (I got them open after some careful persuasion - I was worried about breaking the windows - they were frozen to the weatherstripping).

I know our weather here is very mild compared to most areas. I can't complain


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's why the first rule of winter around here is "don't wash your car in the afternoon"... when it drops to freezing and there's any water anywhere, everything freezes shut. :lol: Another good reason to ride bikes instead. 

Back to the usual high teens and clear around here. About time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Today was my first day since November with a car in the driveway when I left for work...I was quite pleased to leave it behind & patted myself on the back as I pedaled down the driveway. Perhaps too quickly, because I snapped the rear section of my front fender in 2 before the bottom of the driveway - I must have bent it toward the wheel getting it out of the car or putting the front wheel back on. I've been making good time since all that rain washed away the ice & my road is for the most part just frozen dirt now. That should change today as snow showers or squalls are in the forecast. Tomorrow will be more challenging to leave the car because the high is forecast to be 4F.


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## LUNARFX (Apr 20, 2009)

Still a nice 66 degrees here on the ride home. I almost hit a cat that darted off from under a car, and ran across the street. I did see something funny. I came up to an SUV with a vinyl wrap advertising on it for a local fitness gym called, Just Fitness or something like that. Rolled to a stop and unclipped at the light, when I inhaled a cloud of smoke. The driver was talking on the phone with his arm across the passenger headrest and cigarette pointing towards the passenger window. Some fitness guy huh? You guys still have more interesting stories with your commutes, but thought I'd share that ironic one.


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## langford (May 7, 2004)

Today's commute was rare, tailwinds both ways, but it was friggihn' cold on the way home!
The 11.5km (7.5 mile) ride in was good, temp a pleasant -3 C (25 F). Forecast for the ride home said temp of -5 and no wind. Temp was actually -10 (about 12 F) with a windhill of --15C (5F)!! That is at my limit and I wasn't really dressed for temps that cold, but once I got goinng it wasn't too bad, but the open areas were darn cold!! 
Felt so good to be on the bike I even rode an extra kilometre on the way home!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Temps were about the same here in VT, langford. 10F when I got home, and the squalls were winding down by the time I got off the bus to ride. Worst part of tonight's trip was the buses; I had to wait 1/2 hr for each of them,they got behind because of the snow, and my feet were turning to iceblocks waiting in the cold. Weird snow today, cars packed it down to a hardpack with a glaze, and it made wierd cracking noises as the studded tires went over it.

Best bus conversation overheard this week: Homeless guy says "The Saints did good, I might take a road trip down for the Superbowl...for some crazy partying, do a little day work dishwashing...stay in the shelter...he made it sound like a dream vacation!

Remembered late in the day at work that my chain was jumping gears on the rear cassette this a.m. (when I wasn't shifting). Called shop a few blocks away on the off chance that they were there...they were & said, yes bring it over, but they were not very helpful..."most people don't commute with XTR" (#1 is that relevant to the problem & #2 like there are even enough winter commuters in VT to say what most do).."it's OK its a titanium frame, it won't hurt it or anything (thanks for the newsflash & your permission)..."it's adjusted properly & works in the stand" (I had snugged it up a dite 2 wks ago when cable stretch got it out of adjustment), "it's probably some grit throwing it off, the rapid rise is very susceptible to that" (I've been commuting since Nov. without it happening and I just cleaned everything Sunday, and it hasn't done it on trail rides when it got a lot dirtier). Maybe he's right, but he didn't even bother to take a rag or some lube to it or anything if he did think it was grit - at least just for show or to make me feel better about the ride home. Oh well, I was not impressed but it did work fine on the way home.

Not sure about commuting tomorrow_..Windy and much colder with lows 4 below to 2 above zero. West winds (headwind for me a.m.) 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. Chance of snow 90 percent. Wind chill values as low as 30 below toward morning _UGH!


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## langford (May 7, 2004)

I'm in Hamilton Ontario, mtbx, not riding today because I have an excuse, taking the afternoon off for a weekend in Ottawa. Besides, it's friggin' cold here, too! Temps are supposed to be more reasonable next week, I should be able to get a few days of bike commuting in.

Wow, you ride the nice stuff on your commute? I ride an old Nishiki touring bike or an old Norco rigid mtb in this crap, the grit and gunge is tough on the drivetrain!!


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## redwarrior (Apr 12, 2007)

Only made the commute in to work yesterday in western Mass. When I rode in, it was snowing and a bit slushy but around 4:30pm a black cloud rolled in with blizzard conditions for about 1/2 hour. The temp dropped about 15 degrees and pretty much froze everything. As I have no studs, I had to have my wife pick me up. Even if I had had studs, I think I would have bailed. There were cars off the road and accidents all over the place. At 14o lbs and a 28lb bike, I'm no match for a ton plus vehicle sliding out of control toward be on the ice.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ That's why the first rule of winter around here is "don't wash your car in the afternoon"... when it drops to freezing and there's any water anywhere, everything freezes shut. :lol: Another good reason to ride bikes instead.


Good rule to live by in cold county. I'm sure most of us Las Vegans wouldn't even think about that :lol:.

I was going to complain about two idiot "commuters" I came across on my way home last night, but meh, I'll just run them over next time I see them. (joking )


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woke up & checked the temp, it was -5F, but the wind did not seem as bad as forecast. Decided to get dressed for biking & then decide when I went out the door if it was too bad out to ride. Layered up & added the facemask & goggles, plus some toe & handwarmer packets & was toasty. The 2" of new snow was OK on my dirt road, as few cars had been through it. 3.5 miles later, downtown was different, the snow was churned up to gray mealy slippery stuff & I opted for the uncleared & empty sidewalk, which had fine traction. Saw the bus 2 blocks ahead, but could not catch it before the light & there's no chance after that - darn! Decided to keep riding & stay warm rather than wait 1/2 hr for the next one. But the sidewalk ends & the road had not been plowed....some places there was enough "good" snow on shoulder to ride & a couple places I had to walk. I dropped the front wheel into a "hole" of deeper snow at one point, I must have gone off the pavement...it stopped the bike but since the going was slow, I didn't fly off. After 6+ miles of travel, I caught the next bus and the rest of the trip was uneventful. Continued cold for tonight's trip, but should be closer to a tailwind.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That sounds like a bit of an adventure. I'm glad I don't have to time it so I can catch a bus/train/whatever. That would certainly add an element of stress to those days with nasty riding conditions. 

We're down in the teens here in the Sierras, but it's been clear for a couple of days. Major change from the ice, fog, and snow that have been the norm for the last month or so. Supposed to snow over the weekend, but not start until this evening (fingers crossed)...hopefully it's still clear or just snowing lightly on the way home. I actually enjoy a nice light snowfall during the ride, especially if the road is still clear and dry. Those days are fun....like you're racing the storm home. And then after there's several inches piled up in the driveway that evening you can say "yeah, I rode my bike to work today." Good stuff.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

My commute this week was rather uneventful. Temps were decent, not too cold because of recent storms that passed through. Kind of took it easy since I've been off the bike for a couple of weeks. Had to drive today because I need to go to a Doctor's appointment far away (so I couldn't walk either).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RadioActive, are you in Las Vegas? I haven`t seen you on the NV forums (I`m just above Reno). The Vegas folks there are pretty active- looks like they`re always getting together for a ride.

MTBX, with all that riding you do AND the bus, you sure must live a long way from work. How far is your total commute?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> MTBX, with all that riding you do AND the bus, you sure must live a long way from work. How far is your total commute?


It's about 25 miles one way...I usually bike 11 mi in & 3.5 home, and the other 35 miles/day(round trip) are on 1 bus (a.m.) or 2 (p.m.). Makes for a long day but 2 hrs are on the bike & in the fresh air, so I can't complain. I am still amazed that the 3.5 mi uphill ride takes just as long as the 11 mi downhill/flat ride. 
I drove home the other day after getting my new used car & I was amazed how annoying it was to sit in the traffic in town - I don't notice it on the bike or bus. I also found that the long 25mph zone up the hill was no longer annoying while driving because 20mph seems fast to me now going up that hill. I'm sure the people behind me wanting to go 40 loved that.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> RadioActive, are you in Las Vegas? I haven`t seen you on the NV forums (I`m just above Reno). The Vegas folks there are pretty active- looks like they`re always getting together for a ride.


Yep, I'm in Vegas. I'm very new to the hobby; haven't made it to any other forums besides Mtbr. I'll look into the NV forums though - I am interested in meeting up with some other mtbers since my boyfriend doesn't seem too interested in riding with me (he'd rather ride his dual-sport). I do have a couple friends that ride though (luckily). So far, most of my riding has been pretty much limited to commuting.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

25 total? Oh- for some reason I thought the bus part was way over 20, then a whole bunch of bike on top of it. Sheesh- don`t know where I am sometimes!

the Nevada forum I was talking about IS on mtbr:
http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=96
Especially if you`re new to it, they`ll hook you up with some nice trails.

Gary, back on the bike already? Great! It was a lot shorter this time!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I drove wednesday to friday 

Temps were around -20 Celsius and there was more wind than usual. Survivable but not pleasant. My hydro brakes seem to have some issues in those temps too. And I was feeling tired. Don't know if I was slightly ill or if the cold has some funny effects on me. Maybe I'm getting old.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No more cold for me, this year. We usually get our cold in Dec/Jan with temps down to around zero F, then by Feb it warms up and the snow season starts. We got the cold as planned, with one unexpected early snow storm (about a foot in Dec). Let`s see if we get our regular snow season. It`s been doing a lot of piddly drizzling and light snowing this year, so combined with lack of sunshine to dry us out, everything is muddy. Last night I tried to take my truck to meet my wife at her sister`s house and couldn`t get it out of the mudhole where it had been slowly sinking in for several days (shouldn`t have parked it off the gravel, but I didn`t want it in the way). This morning, with the muck still frozen, I moved it out of the clay to a better spot.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Gary, back on the bike already? Great! It was a lot shorter this time!


Well, I rode most of this past week, but the procedure is Monday so I'll probably be off for most of that week. I'm hoping to get back to cycling regularly after that though. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thank heavens for you folks and MTBR, at least I can read about other's commuting adventures.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bus bike rack problems last evening...bus had to take interstate due to an accident on the regular secondary road route...& found out there that although bike was secured to rack, rack did not lock flat properly, leading to a few sickening lurches of the bike  ...but it held on until my transfer stop. Favorite bus driver had waited for me there with 2nd bus so I was spared waiting in the cold. As we approached my stop, there was another car accident (light has been broken a week but was fixed this a.m.) & rescue & cops were blocking the route. The driver radioed it in & told dispatch she might have to detour. I half jokingly said "you could go up the hill & turn around at the corner store" & she said "OK I'll do that", which put me up the steepest 1/2 mile of my trip in the 0-5F temps, a nice treat on a Friday. Rest of the ride was fine, a bit gusty but pretty close to a tailwind. On my driveway the 2" of snow there when I left had blown away, all the way down to the gravel, except for where the snow was compressed from my bike tracks in the a.m., leaving just the snowy treadmarks. Further up the driveway I found all that snow in a 2' drift on the short "T" leading to the garage.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Bad things...*

wasn't exactly a commute today, but as it was a little city ride I'll post it here.

I was cleaning my bike before the ride because it was really dirty and I found a couple of things:

I'm loosing my teeth! one at the third cog 



Then I saw this little staple:



which end up on this:



fortunately the slime work and I could ride without changing the tube, but honestly, I would need to do it, I felt like I was losing some air. I would need to pause here. I mean, seriously? a staple? I guess my trust on the triple puncture protection from this bontrager is now compromised.

something was telling me not to ride right?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm conducting a single speed experiment. I have always thought it was a horrible idea for the commute, especially a rural commute like mine. If I lived in a flat city I would totally have a singlespeed, but I never thought it was practical in my situation. 

Anyway I've been riding around in one gear (50x16) for long enough to do all of my possible commute routes and I've decided it's possible. Any lower, and I feel like I'm wasting time. Any higher, and the hills are terrifying. I have about a 1 mile climb at the end of my ride home...up the hill to the house, in the dirt. It's really tough in that gear...worse if I've been dealing with a headwind or anything on the way home. So I want to keep my 'bail out gear' option like it is now... I have no front derailleur, but I can manually shift into my smaller (32) sprocket up front with my toe (I'm actually getting pretty good at it). 

So I think I'm going to make a freak of a double-single speed set-up with a compact road crankset up front :lol: I just need a chain tensioner with enough 'swing' in the back to accomodate the two front gears. Getting excited about the idea. 

...Anything to stay motivated, right? :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The commute today was a little more challenging (and fun) than usual. It snowed over the weekend. All the roads were dry, but the bike path I follow was covered in snow and ice. Over the weekend kids had taken their sleds to the park. Their frozen footprints and sled trails made the trail a weird combination of rough and extremely slippery. It was definitely a bit sketchy out there.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Martinsillo, that might not be good stuff on your tire. You should taste it before you get it on your fingers to make sure it`s OK!

CB, you`re a studmuffin. Glad you like it, but I`m gonna do my part to keep the derailler departments in business.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> The commute today was a little more challenging (and fun) than usual. It snowed over the weekend. All the roads were dry, but the bike path I follow was covered in snow and ice. Over the weekend kids had taken their sleds to the park. Their frozen footprints and sled trails made the trail a weird combination of rough and extremely slippery. It was definitely a bit sketchy out there.


That does sound like a bumpy ride. There are a few ride reports over on rbr from TN and NC with some nasty looking snow and ice where it usually doesn`t grow- pretty cool pics.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I took the bus to work, and walked a bit at both ends. On the way back, I picked up the bike from the shop where I'd left it for some brake work.

Temps are looking nice but there's going to be more snow during the night. It might be hard going in the morning, unless the ploughs time their work just right...


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> the Nevada forum I was talking about IS on mtbr:
> http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=96
> Especially if you`re new to it, they`ll hook you up with some nice trails.


Sorry, brain fart! I have briefly browsed the threads over there before. I'm always nervous about meeting up with people I don't know (because I feel awkward in social situations), but I do want to join in on the fun. I'll have to check it out some more. Thanks for the tip!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hey, it's getting lighter out in the a.m.!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Yes! The march back towards sunlight has begun. Nothing better than that day when the sun comes up on my ride to work.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> The commute today was a little more challenging (and fun) than usual. It snowed over the weekend. All the roads were dry, but the bike path I follow was covered in snow and ice. Over the weekend kids had taken their sleds to the park. Their frozen footprints and sled trails made the trail a weird combination of rough and extremely slippery. It was definitely a bit sketchy out there.


You may want to consider one of these alternate commuters I have been looking at:
I think it will be slow on the return trip uphill though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was passed by "Silent Cal" (the unfriendly bikecommuter) again today, but this time he was on the bus  . 5F when I left, but not windy, and already up to 21F now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe Cal needs electric grips.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> You may want to consider one of these alternate commuters I have been looking at:
> I think it will be slow on the return trip uphill though.


Maybe I should just get some outriggers with skis mounted to my bike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe Cal needs electric grips.


amen brother.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Right Hook Even in the Middle of Nowhere...*

So tonight I was 1.3 miles from home, just before the "4-corners" intersection (no stop sign for me) where my road goes from pavement to dirt, and more than a mile from any other intersection, just to give you a feel for the rural area, and I hear a car slow slightly behind me...it passes me & I think, oh good, he (or she) can speed straight down the dirt road & won't be behind me on the packed snow/ice...but instead, right after pulling past me he took a sharp right across my path onto the cross street...luckily, not close enough to cause a collision, but close enough to be a really rude move & to cause me to make an "excited utterance" (*$#!!#@") The driver definitely saw me, not sure if he misjudged my speed (which had just increased because a hill crests right there, or if he was just in a hurry and "more important" than a bike. I have thought of the right hook as a phenomenon more common in developed areas with a lot of cars, driveays, etc, but I see now that bad drivers are everyhere.


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## taehome (Aug 11, 2009)

Ride in today was fantastic. We got 1" of snow overnight and had flurries during the ride in. The new snow quieted the studs down and made the road feel smooth. Temps in the teens so I was able to dress a little lighter. Unfortunatley the famialy had plans immediatley after work so I was picked up, bummer to since there was no wind and the snow was falling. Oh well there's always tomorrow.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> So tonight I was 1.3 miles from home, just before the "4-corners" intersection (no stop sign for me) where my road goes from pavement to dirt, and more than a mile from any other intersection, just to give you a feel for the rural area, and I hear a car slow slightly behind me...it passes me & I think, oh good, he (or she) can speed straight down the dirt road & won't be behind me on the packed snow/ice...but instead, right after pulling past me he took a sharp right across my path onto the cross street...luckily, not close enough to cause a collision, but close enough to be a really rude move & to cause me to make an "excited utterance" (*$#!!#@") The driver definitely saw me, not sure if he misjudged my speed (which had just increased because a hill crests right there, or if he was just in a hurry and "more important" than a bike. I have thought of the right hook as a phenomenon more common in developed areas with a lot of cars, driveays, etc, but I see now that bad drivers are everyhere.


I'm going to have to take the cynics stance and say that it was probably the later. Unfortunately, it only takes one vehicle to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to right hook you. I'm glad that you weren't hurt, stay safe out there!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> So tonight I was 1.3 miles from home, just before the "4-corners" intersection (no stop sign for me) where my road goes from pavement to dirt, and more than a mile from any other intersection, just to give you a feel for the rural area, and I hear a car slow slightly behind me...it passes me & I think, oh good, he (or she) can speed straight down the dirt road & won't be behind me on the packed snow/ice...but instead, right after pulling past me he took a sharp right across my path onto the cross street...luckily, not close enough to cause a collision, but close enough to be a really rude move & to cause me to make an "excited utterance" (*$#!!#@") The driver definitely saw me, not sure if he misjudged my speed (which had just increased because a hill crests right there, or if he was just in a hurry and "more important" than a bike. I have thought of the right hook as a phenomenon more common in developed areas with a lot of cars, driveays, etc, but I see now that bad drivers are everyhere.


I've had that happen in the middle of nowhere like that, with a car turning into a driveway. I think misjudging speed can be an issue...no one expects you to be any faster than your average kid on a walmart bike. There wasn't another car for miles in either direction, and this lady almost makes me run headlong into her quarterpanel. How hard is it to slow down and realize that the cyclist is doing somewhere around 20mph? Your only hope is that they felt really stupid and will think before turning next time... not that they will.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

taehome said:


> Ride in today was fantastic. We got 1" of snow overnight and had flurries during the ride in. The new snow quieted the studs down and made the road feel smooth. Temps in the teens so I was able to dress a little lighter. Unfortunatley the famialy had plans immediatley after work so I was picked up, bummer to since there was no wind and the snow was falling. Oh well there's always tomorrow.


Ah, bummer! I know what you mean, missing out on a ride through a little bit of fresh snow with flakes still drifting down. That`s the kind of ride that makes you forget about the hurricane days, the downpours, bad traffic days, and the "just plain feel like crap but gotta get there anyway" rides. Yeah, better luck tommorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...no one expects you to be any faster than your average kid on a walmart bike.


I think that happens a lot- especially probable in this case since she says she just crested a hill and sped up. Or maybe it really was an A-hole.

I had a kind of different version of that last week. Just a block or two out of work, I was approaching a culdesac on my right with a stop sign for the "other guy". A pickup getting ready to exit the culdesac stopped for an instant at his stop sign, looked at me, and I heard the engine rev and the tires squeak, then he jammed on the brakes and locked them up. It really ticked me off at the time, but in hindsight, I`m sure he first decided he could make it by in front of me, then reassessed and stopped.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m sure he first decided he could make it by in front of me, then reassessed and stopped.


...or he just did it to freak you out...you know is not impossible.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No, not impossible. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ 246

I had some of that nice friendly pacific northwest fog this morning. It finally migrated south and drove out its nasty freezing cousin. I saw a fox this morning while dodging potholes on my dirt road, which is a fairly rare thing to spot around here. Everything was wet and quiet, and the snow in the bike lane is receeding enough to let me relax a bit.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ 246
> 
> I had some of that nice friendly pacific northwest fog this morning. It finally migrated south and drove out its nasty freezing cousin. I saw a fox this morning while dodging potholes on my dirt road, which is a fairly rare thing to spot around here. Everything was wet and quiet, and the snow in the bike lane is receeding enough to let me relax a bit.


*Freezing fog finally flees - fox found in friendly fog.*
Neat - I am hoping to see more wildlife as it gets lighter. A woman got this great photo of a bobcat in her yard a couple days ago:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Messy roads this morning despite it being about 15F...icky slush glued to the bike when I got to work. There must be a lot of salt on the road (or maybe a different salt) for it to be working so well at this temp. A few more rides like this & I'll be wishing for 5F again.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

forgot how little traction schwalbe xr's have on 2" of snow when hauling a trailer uphill.
my son seems to giggle when I spin out and gouge my shins on the syncros mentals, glad someone thinks it's funny.

besides that, really fun ride once the trailer's off!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

almost two weeks off the streets, I'm moving from sad stage to angry stage, geez I'm just too grumpy today.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> *Freezing fog finally flees - fox found in friendly fog.*
> Neat - I am hoping to see more wildlife as it gets lighter. A woman got this great photo of a bobcat in her yard a couple days ago:


That's really neat - I wish we had more wildlife here. That's what I get for living in the middle of a large-ish city (though I think we had a cougar sighting on the outskirts of the city within the past week - the witnesses said "large cat", but it was probably a bobcat).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe it was NoTrash cougar. Was there a pistol in its paw and pizza sauce around its mouth?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe it was NoTrash cougar. Was there a pistol in its paw and pizza sauce around its mouth?


Now that did make me laugh - yes, out loud.
I dunno, seems to bear some ressemblance to CommuterBoy as well, but the spots are throwing me off.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe it was NoTrash cougar. Was there a pistol in its paw and pizza sauce around its mouth?


:lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The cold, wind & snow were trying to find every ***** in my "armor" this morning - brrrr. Only rode 4.5 miles, then hopped the bus. Managed to avoid the town plow with the big wings(opted to jump in the ditch when I heard it - he's got "priors" with my mailbox so better safe than sorry) & also a suicide squirrel on the steepest part of the hill (it actually went all the way across the street without changing its mind - phew!).


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe it was NoTrash cougar. Was there a pistol in its paw and pizza sauce around its mouth?


O_O W-what? W-who me? No, that was..... ummm.... "someone else." I've been hibernating lately.  Actually, I _have_ been home recovering and sleeping a lot. I'm getting antsy though, need to ride my bike or go to the driving range or something.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I just had a normal commute this afternoon!! it was great!! (well, a little rain at the end)... the bikebrightz was excellent...I see a second one in the future.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Put in an Extra Mile tonight..It was Warm out. 31 degrees


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

About as good as it gets in winter: -4 Celsius, well plowed paths, slight tail wind (probably means a slight head wind on the way home...)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Pretty flipping icy again here. Scary, tense ride. Kept it upright this time though, so that's good. I spent a significant amount of time off of the bike lane in the super squishy dirt just off of the road in order to have a little traction. That's a workout on 28c tires. Super hard to get back up on to the road with the polished icy edge of the bike lane dropping off down to where I was. 15 minutes longer than normal for the trip to work. It'll melt off today and be a nice ride home though.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Windy on the way to work. 
Windy and Snow Blowing in my Face on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes CBoy! Hope you made it home with less "excitement".

My ride home was not as good as usual - despite the clear skies, something about the weather was keeping all the woodsmoke hovering on the road, so instead of a brief "they've got a fire going, that smells cozy", it was closer to a choking smoke. Then when I got to the dirt, every car going by, even if they gave me a wide berth, would raise a cloud of choking/blinding fine dirt off the ice/snow that just reflected in my headlamp like a bad fog. Luckily its most uphill so visibility is not as critical.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Got a flat on the way home Thursday night (first flat during commuting! Can't complain  ). I somehow managed to pick up a 2" long 3/16" bolt in my tire. I am not sure how, exactly... I hit it at about 20 mph and must have hit it just right. There's a sewer rehab project going on currently along the street I ride (though garbage lines the bike paths even when construction isn't present). Since my commute isn't very far, and I was near my house, I just walked it home. Miraculously, it didn't damage my wheel.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow! I've never seen something that big cause a flat - on a bike or a car! My flat this winter was a short walk to the bus stop, so I was lucky as well.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, no kidding- besides big, it`s blunt. What kind of tires do you have? I want to make sure I don`t buy any!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Are you sure? You could probably pick up a "slightly used" one cheap from RadioA.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Looks like Continental Town & Country.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A black cat cross your path, break a mirror lately, walk under a ladder? No? 

I assume it was the not-too-pointy end in in the rear tire? If so, it may have bounced just wrong so its head was wedged against the pavement the shaft still in the air angled up at an angle, as the tip touched the tread. At 20 mph your kinetic force is either side of a ton depending on the weight of bike and rider. The head is not going to give backed up by pavement. A 3/16" bolt end is about 0.18 square inches in area so something like 10,000 pounds per square inch. That would do it. I wonder if any Kevlar tire would take that hit? Mythbusters plausible. Barely. If that was the scenario, Murphy's Law was working overtime.

I picked up a bright shiny brass drill shaving about 1 cm long shaped like a corkscrew where crews had been installing communications cables on my morning trip, The tire was flat within a hundred feet of where they had been on the return. There is no way it would have gone in unless I hit it on its point. As it was longer than round, how could it be pointy end up? I figured I hit it with the front and it bounced wrong, or picked it up on the rear tire and it fell off just so, after going almost all the way round, and I ran it through the tire. First flat in years that wasn't a valve failure. The improbable happens all the time just not as often as the probable.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Looks like Continental Town & Country.


Gary wins.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Gary wins.


Yep, you guys are correct. They've been good tires so far. I'm not sure that any tire short of one with Kevlar as BrianMc mentioned would have escaped unscathed. I was in shock when I got off my bike and looked down to see a hex bolt head sticking out of my tire. I also have never seen something so blunt puncture a tire, car or bike. Guess I should go look for some Kevlar tires :lol:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

RadioActive said:


> Guess I should go look for some Kevlar tires :lol:


you will feel more confident on your ride, that's for sure...but the sad thing is that no tire is really totally puncture proof...check the pics of my post on this thread...my triple puncture-proof tires were stabbed by a little staple and that was all they need.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

my bike is being transformed so no commuting this week... but I'll tell you a short story:

A co-worker is thinking on buying a bike to commute to work! 

Last Friday this guy started to ask me about what I do and the typical questions...I wasn't expecting anything since I have been asked so many times about it, but nothing really happens (I think he had asked already) but today he told me he want me to help him to choose a bike and see a couple of used ones that a "rent-a-bike shop" is selling.

we were here like half an hour checking his possible route on mapmyride...hes longest possible ride will be 3 mi, so I think (as I told him) that he won't even need to think about showers or anything. he seems like he is going for it. we'll see.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Should have stayed in bed*

Today's trip was not a good advertisement for they convenience of bike/bus commuting. I left my house at 6:35 and did not get to work until 9:15. I got down the hill fine & decided to ride to my transfer bus (11mi) since I was toasty despite the 5F temps...so I rode right by the local bus at a stop & soon it passed me. Within another mile my front tire was flat. Decided to wait for the next bus instead of fixing it in the cold. Crossed the street & caught the next one going the other way in about 20 minutes - this meant I could sit on the warm bus instead of waiting another 15 mins for it to loop throught town. Bus went way under speed limit but it seemed I still had plenty of time to make the connection - wrong! Had to wait another 45 mins to catch the 2nd bus, again getting on going in the wrong direction just so I could ride around another loop through a different town & stay warmer. Was glad I had my "waiting for the bus hat" to put over my helmet beanie, and my thermos of coffee, but still was cold waiting. Probably should have walked 10 mins to the coffeee shop but didn't. Got to work and 1/2 the computers were down, including mine, just a blue screen. Some gave up, took the day off & went skiing. I did some paperwork. Went to swap tubes at lunch but my spare was flat...have to go to hardware store for a patch kit. I hope this bad run is done, I thought they were supposed to come in only 3's.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Wow, what a bummer. It sounds like my bad luck rubbed off on you x10. I hope things start looking up soon for you too!!


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

7*F in and a fresh layer of snow in Denver this morning. Good stuff.

-Simon


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, that sucks. 

I took a dirving day today... we got a couple inches of snow at my house over night, and with the crappy decisions I've been making lately in terms of road conditions and ridability, I played it safe... of course it turns out that my house is almost the only place in the county that got any snow last night. Roads were mostly wet and clear. I had a little guilt rolling to work without even needing four wheel drive.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My flat repair is holding 
Extra traffic last night due to the big HS hockey game.
Cruised by backed up traffic this a.m. in the capital, but paid the price with all the spooge built up in the shoulder (pic- where's my frt der?) Made the 2nd bus today - the riders reported the bus I missed yesterday left 13 mins early!
I parked on the porch instead of inside since the bike was so dirty & I saw the circa '98 Trek 980 I found while helping a friend clean out an abandoned house had disappeared - I had planned to fix it up a bit for the work fleet (none are locked) used for in-town errands etc., but I guess it was a little too nice compared to the rest of the fleet. At least I had not put any time or $ into it yet.

Another reason not to drive in my town:
_Car stolen while driver pays for gas

Times Argus Staff - Published: February 9, 2010
BARRE - A 29-year-old Barre man who stopped for gas on North Main Street early Saturday morning reportedly had his car stolen by three people.

A man police identified as Justin Morse called the Barre City Police Department at 5:08 a.m. to report that two males - one in a blue hooded sweatshirt - and a female wearing pajama pants, stole his red Ford Escort when he went to pay for his gas, according to police.

Morse was getting gas at the Gulf station next to Mr. Z's Pizza and Pasta, police said.

The Montpelier Police Department found groceries, a phone bill and clothes belonging to Morse on Old Country Club Road about three hours later, the Barre City police said, but as of Monday afternoon, the car had not been found._

Unfortunately, they also reported a Barre driver picked up on his 4th DUI - yikes!


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## taehome (Aug 11, 2009)

The ride in was fun, had a nice tailwind.Heading home doesn't look quite as easy. The wind hasn't let up and it's still snowing. 
Here's a picture from the front window of work, looking across the street at the bird store. You can usually judge the wind by the flags. When I leave it'll be dark and I get to turn into the wind. Oh well, I'm sure most of you know what it feels like.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It could be worse...


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Looks like it might be a wet ride home tonight. I swear, Vegas is turning into the Pacific Northwest - we've had so much rain in the past three or four weeks! I love it  

Also looks like I'll be commuting in Idaho Falls this summer. I found out today that a research proposal I was written into was accepted, which means I will be spending 10 weeks at Idaho National Lab.  Good stuff...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats on your position in Idaho, RActive -and it sounds like it will be a lot more bike friendly weather in the summertime than in Vegas.:thumbsup:

TaeHome, hope you made it home against the wind- looks like "small craft" warnings should have been posted.


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## elvez (Jul 9, 2007)

very nice both ways, with 14mph winds. nothing out of the ordinary to report. except the new hot trainer at the gym smiled at me. i shoulda bought those bike tights way sooner!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wind sucks.
10 weeks in a new place is groovy!
What flavor do you think that tire is?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Hack-hack, Cough, PHTTT!*

I`ve been pestered by a head cold- sinus thing for the past week or so. Just a nuisance, nowhere near enough to keep me off the bike, but I`ve kind of taken it easy for a while. I woke up feeling spunky tonight, so decided to give it hell and really put the pedal to the metal on my way in to work. As soon as I stopped riding, I had a lovely coughing and hacking fit with plenty of phlegm involved, and now I`m sneezing and running through soggy paper towels as fast as I can reel them off the holder. Guess my cold wasn`t ready to leave yet.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

We got a good amount of snow a couple of days ago and the paths are not in best possible shape yet. Not all that bad but riding takes a little more effort. And then there's some "traps": a maintenance vehicle has left ruts in the hard snow and then a plough has hidden them with a layer of new snow.

It was colder than I thought in the morning. Should have taken the thicker gloves.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`ve been pestered by a head cold- sinus thing for the past week or so. Just a nuisance, nowhere near enough to keep me off the bike, but I`ve kind of taken it easy for a while. I woke up feeling spunky tonight, so decided to give it hell and really put the pedal to the metal on my way in to work. As soon as I stopped riding, I had a lovely coughing and hacking fit with plenty of phlegm involved, and now I`m sneezing and running through soggy paper towels as fast as I can reel them off the holder. Guess my cold wasn`t ready to leave yet.


Same thing happened to me last month after I pushed a little too hard on a ride. Cold came back with a vengeance and stayed with me for two more weeks. Horrible cough. I hope yours doesn't last nearly that long; get better!


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## kevmortensen (Aug 4, 2006)

wet and cold last night. Got hlafway home and it opened up downpour for 6 miles. Oh well, got home and cleaned the bike, took a shower, and getl great for toughing it out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> What flavor do you think that tire is?


I dunno, but I hope it's already buried here in the Flavor Graveyard along with the rest of Ben & Jerry's failed flavors.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The only thing interesting this morning was the re-appearance of the mystery biker on my dirt road - I'd seen him go by once before while I was snowblowing. I left a little late today, and there he was in front of me but on the wrong side of the road, until he got close to the crest of a blind hill, when he thought it was a good time to switch to the right side....I caught up enough to say "hello" & thought he'd slow down & chat but after a few peeks over his shoulder he took off like a bat out of hell, knees wildly flailing out, and flew down the next hill and disappeared. The mystery continues. Must be Silent Cal's cousin, identity unknown.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`ve been pestered by a head cold- sinus thing for the past week or so. Just a nuisance, nowhere near enough to keep me off the bike, but I`ve kind of taken it easy for a while. I woke up feeling spunky tonight, so decided to give it hell and really put the pedal to the metal on my way in to work. As soon as I stopped riding, I had a lovely coughing and hacking fit with plenty of phlegm involved, and now I`m sneezing and running through soggy paper towels as fast as I can reel them off the holder. Guess my cold wasn`t ready to leave yet.


Cold air is a great catalyst for producing phlegm! Hope you're feeling better soon Rodar.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, Gary and RA, but it really isn`t too bad- just have to keep it mellow for a while.

About mystery riders...
last year, somebody (Yankee in Germany, I think) was posting periodic updates about "getting his clock cleaned" by a mystery rider on his commute route and how he was gradually closing in. Anybody remember who that was? MTBX`s posts reminded me and now I`m curious as to whether he ever won a round of his cat and mouse game.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Almost got hit!! Again!! Same Intersection every time!! Damn People like to turn left in front of other cars and me included!! I guess a Red Jacket, Flashing white strobe and it being 7:00 in the morning is not enough for certain people!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> About mystery riders...
> last year, somebody (Yankee in Germany, I think) was posting periodic updates about "getting his clock cleaned" by a mystery rider on his commute route and how he was gradually closing in. Anybody remember who that was? MTBX`s posts reminded me and now I`m curious as to whether he ever won a round of his cat and mouse game.


http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=496853

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=505217

...nothing since March of '09


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

ae111black said:


> Almost got hit!! Again!! Same Intersection every time!! Damn People like to turn left in front of other cars and me included!! I guess a Red Jacket, Flashing white strobe and it being 7:00 in the morning is not enough for certain people!!


O_O Is it possible to pick a route that bypasses this intersection?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ae111black said:


> Almost got hit!! Again!! Same Intersection every time!! Damn People like to turn left in front of other cars and me included!! I guess a Red Jacket, Flashing white strobe and it being 7:00 in the morning is not enough for certain people!!


:eekster: Yikes! Sounds scarey - glad you were able to avoid a collision. Sometimes it feels like you need a tank not to be "invisible".


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We received about 7 inches of snow Monday night, so I drove in to work on Tuesday and Wednesday to avoid having to ride a busy street with people that don't know how to drive in snow (or how to react to a bicycle on the road). Today I rode in.

This winter hasn't offered many opportunities to ride the local trails, so I've been itching for a good hard ride. Today was the closest I've gotten in a long time. The roads were all clear, but my bike path was still covered in a thick blanket of snow with ice underneath. The snow and ice provided a very technical ride, like the one I described in a previous post only about twice as challenging. It was a blast.

After riding that stretch of trail, I returned to the road. I had put my foot down a couple times and walked across a foot bridge when I couldn't get any traction on my rear wheel, but I never wiped out...until I pulled into the parking lot. I hit a patch of ice and my rear wheel suddenly found myself riding sideways. My bike and I both washed out onto the ice, like a fumbling figure skater (minus the audience). Good times.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*and the short story...*

...ends really good!

my co-worker commute today on his new hard-tail!

we went yesterday to see some bikes at a bicycle warehouse...but didn't find something nice or good... the bikes were super low low end and even he wasn't very confident about the bikes. I left him there cause his wife was going for him..

Surprise!! he told me that the wife came for him with a bicycle as a present (he has his birthday today)...it was a full suspension and short frame...so they went and change it for the hard-tail.

he didn't think it twice...

14 min ride, a grin and some awareness of a new world already :lol: ...he told me:
"Dude, I saw an OXXO that I didn't new of (like 7-11s), and I saw where I can take some pants I need to fix!"

I didn't commute today but this made my day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

My ride home yesterday. 'Nuff said...


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

martinsillo - that's awesome news about your co-worker! Glad he's enjoying it.

CommuterBoy - gorgeous rainbow! Wish I saw more of those when we were having our good rains, but they sure are rare around here.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Special Ed: Yeah- Solomon! Thanks! And great pic from this morning`s commute, too!

Martinsillo- Aw, man. You mean you convinced that other guy to ride in and you pulled the ol "My bike is in pieces" trick? For shame! And how`s he going to get pants fixed at OXXO?

Sockeyeus- I think that makes four of us who`ve gone down in parking lots this year.

Wow, AEB111. What keeps happening at that intersection? You mean the people turning left don`t wait for enough gap in the straight through traffic?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Martinsillo- Aw, man. You mean you convinced that other guy to ride in and you pulled the ol "My bike is in pieces" trick? For shame! And how`s he going to get pants fixed at OXXO?


:lol: I won't be surprised when they open an "OXXO Textiles" or something...but my bike is in pieces  :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, do you always carry a camera? Neat photo.
Martin - Congrats on your new "convert"
s0ck - sounds like a fun ride

I was going to drive today, but could not find the car keys...must be around somewhere, as I used the car Sunday, then changed the oil & moved it back by the front door (the gardentractor/snowblower gets the garage). Hmmm...hope the key isn't out in the snow somewhere. Company for the weekend, so I'll be needing it - uh oh. Gave up looking because I realized if I didn't leave in 10 mins I would miss the last bus to work, so I changed & pedaled to the bus. I was the only one on the bus.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Don't hit the keys with the snowblower. 

I have a 2mp camera on the phone... not the best, but sometimes it's worth stopping and snapping a pic. I have a nice little compact camera, but I always forget to throw it in the bag. I'm going to make an effort to carry it over the next month or so to capture some of the amazing sunrise scenes I usually get as the mornings get brighter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Don't hit the keys with the snowblower.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

WET! lol.............


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I solved the key problem years ago. I just hang them in the ignition of whatever vehicle they belong to.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Me too. Sometimes they go in the ash tray just so the car doesn't beep at me. :lol:


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

*O_O* really?!? I guess I'm used to living in urban areas, because I won't even turn my back on the vehicle without locking the doors, much less leave the keys in the car.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gotta love small town America. If the Jeep's gone, my neighbor John took it to get his trailer unstuck again. It'll be back shortly. :lol:


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## UncleRobin (Dec 28, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Gotta love small town America. If the Jeep's gone, my neighbor John took it to get his trailer unstuck again. It'll be back shortly. :lol:


If only the whole world was like that. 



CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Me too. Sometimes they go in the ash tray just so the car doesn't beep at me. :lol:


+2 - Also on some cars if you leave the key in the ignition, it can down the battery.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Found my car keys today in the old jacket I wore Sunday...but not before shoveling around a bit between the car & the house hunting for them. I might have to go back to Rodar & CB's method, which is what I did with my last truck. I was a little afraid those newfangled electric door locks on this car would lock me out somehow though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I don`t blame you- I distrust those crazy locks too. So far I`ve managed to avoid electric locks and windows, but next time I have to buy a truck I might not luck out.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Gorgeous day today! Sun shining, windless, warm! My first commute of the week is still five hours away, but I took the roadie out for a spin this afternoon... with SHORTS! When I got home, there was a UPS box waiting at my door- the last of the materials I need for my next play project. I`m going to try my hand at frame building and that box was the last holdup.


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

*It was good....*

It was actually dry with some sun today in the Pacific NW. I took a new route over the hill to work and found a 1/4 mile section of single track. A little difficult rolling 32mm slicks at 80psi, but it was single track!


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## Calhoun (Nov 11, 2008)

I almost caved today.

I got back from the 24 hours of Old Pueblo late last night. I hadn't sleep well for three days and my legs were wasted from the race. My wife didn't need the car until 7pm, and I was already late for work. 

But I geared up and rode my bike to work, and it sucked.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

It was about 22 degrees with Blowing Snow in my face every time I was Going North Tonight..
Which is about 10 miles of going North
I did hear some coyotes in Cuba Marsh tonight.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Normbilt said:


> It was about 22 degrees with Blowing Snow in my face every time I was Going North Tonight..
> Which is about 10 miles of going North
> I did hear some coyotes in Cuba Marsh tonight.


Well, at least you got coyotes out of the deal.

Calhoun. you`re a maniac!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Gorgeous day today! Sun shining, windless, warm! My first commute of the week is still five hours away, but I took the roadie out for a spin this afternoon... with SHORTS! When I got home, there was a UPS box waiting at my door- the last of the materials I need for my next play project. I`m going to try my hand at frame building and that box was the last holdup.


Nice! What are shorts?? Good luck on your project, that should keep you out of trouble for a while.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been chicken the past two days. We received more snow, the roads are slick, and I don't trust the car drivers around here enough to ride my bike in to work. I'll ride tomorrow though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Quick ride in, good conditions & about 18F, pretty comfy. I was undecided about riding because snow is in the forecast...hoping the 1"-3" forecast does not turn into 4"-6" at my house before I get home. Hadn't ridden since Thurs because of family visiting, so decided to chance it. Nothing so far, so looking good.

I am #1 cool aunt now, my 16 y.o. nephew loved the snow groomer ride I got him for xmas. I told the operator to scare him a bit on the steep stuff. :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nice. I want a snow groomer ride. 

We had downright spring-like weather this 3 day weekend (mid 50's!)... I hit the desert on the dirt bikes with a couple of friends yesterday.......there is no kind of sore like dirt bike sore. No matter how good of shape I think I'm in from riding my bike, the motorcycle just destroys the legs. Today's morning ride was brutal :lol: I'm getting old.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Finally back on the bike this week! It's a short work week for me, but it's better than nothing. An added bonus is that we're apparently having our annual bout of unseasonal warmth this week.

Nothing much to report, except the usual clutch of idiot cagers (certainly didn't miss that); panicking when they see me and slamming on the brakes in the middle of the street for no explicit reason, signaling their turn three streets before the one they are actually going to turn onto, etc.... Otherwise, it was pleasant to finally get back on the bike and I have a lot of catching up to do. Wasn't as hard riding out, but it might be tougher tonight coming back since it's pretty much all uphill.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I could barely ride my bike trail today. My tires are just too wimpy for the wet snow. Once the snow nears 7 inches, I'm pretty much done. After spending too much time riding in place and feeling the pain creep into my right knee, I succumbed to the fact that I'd have to walk my bike out. Maybe we'll get a little sun today and the snow will pack down a bit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Allright, Gary! Don`t worry- next week you can get ten rides with your idiots.

s0ckeyeus, you ought to see if you can get that snow groomer to do a little surfacing on your bike trail.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> s0ckeyeus, you ought to see if you can get that snow groomer to do a little surfacing on your bike trail.


Ironically, the trail runs on the back part of my town's public works department. I guess they solely rely on our fluctuating temperatures to clear the path.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s why you should call MtbX- she`s got connections! Then you won`t have to rely on P.W, who is relying on Mother Nature. And who do you think put the snow on your route in the first place? No sense waiting for HER to get rid of it. Much faster to ask MtbX.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yep, no problem, it's on the way from VT...it should get there by spring.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh man I'd like to tear up that corduroy with the freshly sharpened edge of my K2.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

this morning was  all the way here :thumbsup:


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

It was So Nice out today Mid Twenty's that I put an Extra five miles in today. 
Think I'll do 32 miles again tomorrow


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Midnight ride. First commute of the year. It was great 30's on the way there 20's on the way home. Country roads most of the way, 21 miles each way, and 2 feet of snow everywhere but on the roads, they were mostly clear and dry. And yes there are some country roads in New Jersey.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Normbilt, that road sure looks like a nice ride- as long as there isn`t a lot of traffic, anyway. Is it typical of your commute route? Do the cars really stick close to that posted 25 MPH, or is the sign just there for decoration?


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## sinac84 (Nov 8, 2007)

So, I was driving 26 miles round trip to work until this past weekend when I moved into the apartment complex across the street from my work (Gold's Gym). I was excited about the location bc I don't have but maybe a quarter mile trip to work. Rode my CAAD9 to work last night after getting the FLEA light kit from Blackburn (crazy bright blinky lights). I just can't justify starting up my Xterra to drive a quarter mile to work. I figure commuting on my CAAD9 will save gas and wear-and-tear on my engine because I know its not good to drive really short distances. Of course when you show up to work on a bike everyone freaks out but whatever, after a week everyone will get use to a 220lb personal trainer showing up to work on a "bicycle". Most of these people are too outta shape to even ride that far, except for maybe my clients that I train. Happy and safe commuting everyone!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> Normbilt, that road sure looks like a nice ride- as long as there isn`t a lot of traffic, anyway. Is it typical of your commute route? Do the cars really stick close to that posted 25 MPH, or is the sign just there for decoration?


That road is in Kildeer IL which is a small Village which is a well to do area with a lot of patrol car. Kildeer is a great area to ride. The road in Cuba road which has some nice rolling hills.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Getting lighter and lighter every morning around here... It's usually the first week of March when the sun comes up on my ride. That's the best day of the year. Up to 30* F this morning...I ditched the heavy gloves, a layer on the legs, and the neoprene socks this week. Rode home yesterday in short sleeves and shorts with a backpack full of cold weather gear. Not getting too excited though, we usually have a big March in terms of snowfall.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

As it's been warm lately, I've unpacked a lot of my cold weather gear from my bag but I really wish I had my gloves this morning. It wasn't terribly cold, but very foggy. All the extra moisture in the air made it seem much colder.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Skipped work & the commute today & tomorrow & instead drove to Cleveland - yes, seriously! Trying out Ray's Indoor MTB during the women's weekend, 150 women are signed up! Never done anything like it, should be interesting! Still have to take off my studded commuting tires


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

my way home was about the love to my cascadias!!



specially in some points :ihih:



@mtbxplorer
really fun way to skip commute and work!!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

It was Really Nice on the way to work. Had All Vents Zipped open and front zip down 3/4.
Tonight I was Surprised how cold it was. It was only 20 but a lot of dampness in the air.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

OK my second commute of the year. Went pretty good except for the lady running a stop sign and almost clipping me. I purchased the Dinnotte 800-400 combo, these lights rock! I can see my rear light blinking in the road signs behind me a good quarter mile away.


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## UncleRobin (Dec 28, 2009)

crankyandy said:


> OK my second commute of the year. Went pretty good except for the lady running a stop sign and almost clipping me. I purchased the Dinnotte 800-400 combo, these lights rock! I can see my rear light blinking in the road signs behind me a good quarter mile away.


I have the same Dinotte 800/400 combo. Tonight as I was starting out for a ride, I realized I forgot my backpack. So I parked my bike and walked behind it to go back inside and get my backpack. That's when I was re-reminded how bright those taillights are. I felt like slapping myself for having such an obnoxious taillight.  Absolutely great lights imho.

UR


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

A bit colder than I like again: -19 Celsius, when I left home. 
The paths are in great shape: hard packed snow but not slippery, the worst was a couple of deep ruts at one crossroads. My route mainly keeps me away from cars and I only had to stop at two red lights.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My bike path route is getting old. I got bucked off yesterday afternoon and could not find traction in a number of spots. There's a thick layer of ice on the path that's covered in slushy snow. The frozen ruts that some idiot cyclist (me) has left on the trail add to the unpredictable conditions.

It was 18F and sunny this morning, but it will be above 40 on my return home. I'm not a huge fan of temperature swings, especially when the freezing line is right in the middle. As winter starts to begin its slow retreat, our temps will continue to be unpredictable from here on out. Luckily a bought a nice new Illuminite riding wind shell that is lighter and better vented than my normal one, and the sleeves zip off. $14 at TJ Maxx. Score.

Other good news: I have switched to my darker glasses. Spring is not far away.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm not a huge fan of temperature swings, especially when the freezing line is right in the middle. As winter starts to begin its slow retreat, our temps will continue to be unpredictable from here on out.


I hear ya. Lucky for me, snow usually goes away within a few weeks after a storm, but I know that freeze, thaw, freeze deal. How much longer do you likely have before it melts?


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Wet!! And unfortunatly I rode my trail bike (no fenders)  New Commutter should be done this weekend!!!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I hear ya. Lucky for me, snow usually goes away within a few weeks after a storm, but I know that freeze, thaw, freeze deal. How much longer do you likely have before it melts?


It should be gone by the end of the weekend. It's forecast to rain tomorrow and Sunday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Post commute comedy...*

I had a very pretty, although slightly damp commute home this morning. My wife was already up working on a project and ready for a break, so we decided to roll across the valley and she`d treat me to breakfast at our favorite local greasy spoon. Still pretty and not looking so damp, we had an inspiration half way to the restaurant: "Hey- let`s see if the Winter swans are still out on the lake! It might be a little bit muddy, but I bet we can make it." So we hang a right and follow the little gravel road out to the county wellhouse- so far, so good. But then, "Honey, I don`t think we should ride all the way to the bank- let`s just leave the bike here". "Nah, we`ll be fine- it only rained for a half hour." Well, for as sticky as it was, at least it was pretty easy to scrape off. Except from my cleats- wouldn`cha knowit. The only bike I still wear clicky pedals for. Well, I guess I deserved it. And who do you suppose had to pay the breakfast tab?

EDIT: Oh, yeah- as my wife suspected, there were no swans. We hadn`t heard the noisy boogers for a few weeks, but I wanted to find out for sure.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I had a very pretty, although slightly damp commute home this morning. My wife was already up working on a project and ready for a break, so we decided to roll across the valley and she`d treat me to breakfast at our favorite local greasy spoon. Still pretty and not looking so damp, we had an inspiration half way to the restaurant: "Hey- let`s see if the Winter swans are still out on the lake! It might be a little bit muddy, but I bet we can make it." So we hang a right and follow the little gravel road out to the county wellhouse- so far, so good. But then, "Honey, I don`t think we should ride all the way to the bank- let`s just leave the bike here". "Nah, we`ll be fine- it only rained for a half hour." Well, for as sticky as it was, at least it was pretty easy to scrape off. Except from my cleats- wouldn`cha knowit. The only bike I still wear clicky pedals for. Well, I guess I deserved it. And who do you suppose had to pay the breakfast tab?
> 
> EDIT: Oh, yeah- as my wife suspected, there were no swans. We hadn`t heard the noisy boogers for a few weeks, but I wanted to find out for sure.


Perfect opportunity to practice for tandem cyclocross! Hey, let's see some more pics of that tandem if you got 'em!


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Very relaxing day for commuting. Saturday, not too many cars, and it's the only day of the week I get to ride in the sunshine. Much warmer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

crankyandy said:


> Saturday, not too many cars, and it's the only day of the week I get to ride in the sunshine.


I don`t see much of that Saturday sunshine, but it sure looks like you`re enjoying yourself!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Mo tandem.*

You bet, Gary- can`t pass up an invitation like that!


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

rodar y rodar, please tell me those pics of shorts and t-shirts are from last summer.
I like the one where your overlooking the stream, :thumbsup: looks like some good riding out there.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, Cranky. Those pics are from several trips since Fall of 2008, but I COULD have worn shorts earlier this week- minimum temps around 30F, warming pretty good in the afternoons.

We got a surprise storm starting about dinner time Sat evening. Dumped well over a foot of snow and continued snowing most of the day yesterday, but it self compacted and melted at the same time, so now there`s only about six inches. I was worried about riding to work tonight, but it ought to be okay. Most of the roads are close enough so the worst that could happen is I might have to get off and walk it a bit.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

very cold but awesome first day on the new ride I might add gears..... was searching for more speed.....!


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> You bet, Gary- can`t pass up an invitation like that!


Nice! Especially loving the one at the top with Lake Tahoe as the backdrop.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Aaaargh! Paying dearly for my fun at Ray's Indoor Mtn Bike Park with a badly sprained ankle - should have swapped out my beloved ATACs for some flat pedals & probably would have just been banged up a bit. Was regretting my new-to-me manual trans car every time I used the clutch, even with tape, ankle braces,& advil. X-rayed today & not broken, just swollen & blue from toe to heel, and reduced to a hobble. Doc says 7 weeks to heal but hoping my PT pal can speed that up when I see her tomorrow.

rodar - does your wife like her new platform mud shoes? Or did you have to buy new ones after breakfast?


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

Was sick all last week and couldn't ride. Today was my first day back in the saddle and it felt great!!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I think my wife did like the elevation- had her up to almost 5 feet!

You too, Sizzler? Glad you got back after just a week, anyway. How`s the Dummy doing?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, MTBX- what exactly did you do?


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Snowed Monday morning so I put studs on.......overkill


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yesterday I had some crazy crosswinds crossing a bridge on my way home...between the dust going directly to my face and the wobbling bike I was very close to walk but then I remembered,I was safe actually...you know...I was swerving! :lol:


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

The Denver bike paths are pretty slick in areas right now. I love the feeling of accelerating with your rear tire locked up. I think Denver takes better care of their bike paths than the streets, the bike paths seem better plowed then the streets.

-Simon


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

martinsillo said:


> yesterday I had some crazy crosswinds crossing a bridge on my way home...between the dust going directly to my face and the wobbling bike I was very close to walk but then I remembered,I was safe actually...you know...I was swerving! :lol:


:lol: I see what you did there.

I've been out of the loop for a while... cool pictures, stories, and comedy folks. Sorry about the ankle MTBX..

I got the same surprise storm Rodar got...a little less snow over here on the CA side of the border. Weird storm. The valleys got feet of snow, and the resorts in the mountains got maybe 5 inches. Made for a quick transition back to a cold monday. I went for it again in spite of the freezing fog warning (totally scared after last time) but it was totally clear on my commute, thankfully.

And today I actually got my first rays of sunshine, barely. Just a quarter mile or so from work I got an orange blast over the mountains and below the clouds...hint of things to come. It was still cold though. I should have had the camera today...killer sunrise. It will be awesome until march when the time changes back, and it's dark again for a few weeks.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Ouch, mtbx! Hope you heal up fast!

It's been great here the past couple weeks. Highs in the high 60s last week - I was in shorts and a jersey. It cooled off a little this week with the threat of rain (we've already received about 75% of our annual rainfall!); we're expecting more rain by the end of the week (keeps thwarting my mtbing plans). Lately, I've been battling daily migraines, but luckily riding seems to chase them away temporarily. The lack of energy that comes with them is a downer, though.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

was great!!
snow and slush everywhere, but not much wind.
cars sliding sideways into the curb (don't sit at the lights beside front wheel drive minivans!!)
and my mud tires (tioga factory mud rear, tioga black turtle front) kept me upright and plowing through the snow.
was regretting the heavy-drag tires a bit on the clean sections but loving taking the tougher lines through the high banks!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang, MTBX- what exactly did you do?


It was not a spectacular crash, but I took a route in the inddor MTB park that went down a steep ramp (fine), up the next ramp(fine), back down 2 box-drops(fine), around the banked corner (fine), up and over a triangle peaked thing (fine), and recall a moment of indecision as to which of 2 2x10's to take next. They were only a couple inches off the ground but apparently I missed because the bike went out from under me to the right and my left ankle got torqued way too far on the way down since it was still attached to the pedal. Basically the bike acted as a nice lever to sprain my ankle. That ankle has some priors, so I was wearing an ankle brace & my hi-top MTB shoes, but something had to give.

Already missing my bike commute and even my bus.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Man I want to go there and hurt myself. That place sounds so fun.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Pics From Yesterdays Ride to work after a Fresh Snow


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Good luck with the ankle MTBX, hope you heal up soon!

It was POURING rain today. Usually doesn't seem to be raining that hard when I'm actually out in it. Good thing I repacked the cold weather gear in my bag and thank goodness for ski goggles. Worked like a charm!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Uhh,
my 30 minute ride to work was tougher than usual. We got a new layer of snow in the evening. Maybe 4 to 6 inches and the ploughs had not quite made it yet. Untouched snow would have been almost OK but there were enough footprints to make the unplowed sections a bit of a struggle. The plowed pieces were a little loose but that was not too bad. At some intersections, I got to try my MTB "skills" going over/through the snow berms left by the machines.

It was sort of cold too: about -20 Celsius. My back was sweaty and my toes were chilled by the time I rode the bike into the garage at work.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s raining here, too. I guess that`s better than Perttime`s -20C, but I don`t like it. I parked in the boiler room at work so at least I`ll get home with a nice dry butt. I really hate getting rained on.

MTBX, that`s kind of weird how it goes with driving pain. I spent some time driving last year due to a knee problem and I think it hurt worse to push my clutch pedal than to ride. Hope you can still walk around okay.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Raining, wet and cold, call me what you will, I'm holdin' out for better weather https://forums.mtbr.com/images/smilies/redface.gif


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I don't like rain much better than -20C 

The rest of this week does not look bad: it should be cool enough to stay dry.... 
More snow expected on Saturday and Sunday. I think we have enough already.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

About -13 Celsius on the way home. Pretty nice:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Driving day for me. Icy mess out there. We got several inches of snow last night and I played it safe for once... 4wd all the way to work, so I feel justified. That's 12 driving days since last August (school schedule).


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

very VOGGY!! volcanic fog........ LAME!! it tasted like i was eating funyon's all the way too work!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I wasn`t quite sure that you were kidding, so I checked to see.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vog
I guess you were serious. Is eating Funyions good or bad?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, vog, never heard of it. Rather not be biking or driving here today. Steady wet snow, packed into ice on the interstate, bumpy & slick, 35-40mph in the "better" lane, which today was the passing lane, since it was not 100% snow/ice like the right lane, which became the passing lane by silent agreement of all drivers. Wondering if I have power at home or not, many are out. 10-11" this a.m., snowing all day, another 12-20" tonight. I guess I will get in some aerobic excercise after all, with shovel in hand.

For more wierd weather stuff, see our recent "ice disc" in a river nearby
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...edia/VIDEO-Moscow-Ice-Disk-a-rarity-of-nature


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mmm...Funyuns. I wish my fog smelled like junk food and eggs.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> How`s the Dummy doing?


The dummy does me right! I was able to get a fixed gear for cheap last week so I have been riding that every other day. Can't believe how light it feels compared to the dummy!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

As I Left Work tonight it was about 25 with a 10 MPH northwest wind.It was not snowing and there was light coming through the western sky. I thought it was useless to have the Studded tires on.

As I got about within 8 miles from home it started snowing. The Snow got heavier and heavier. Within 5 miles it was snowing so hard I could hardly see. Then I couldn't see as I had to slow down just to see where the road was. 

With 3 miles left at an intersection i was taking a left, Cars could not figure the lanes as I was in the turn lane and cars in front of me some were turning one was going straight. The left turn arrow turned green and cars started to turn.The Expedition in front of me could not get traction in turn as he was then taking a right I was going straight and passed the struggling Expedition. By time I got home there was 2" on the ground. 

Thank Goodness I left the Studs on this morning


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## bipolarbear (Mar 29, 2009)

****! I haven't rode to work in a few weeks. Between being sick and having to transport large items to and fro, I haven't been on the bike much. (and it's actually been cold in Denver for once) I have been taking the light rail.

But, TOMORROW I WILL RIDE AGAIN!!!!!! 

Hold me to it boys, I've been drinking tonight and might try to wuss out in the mornin.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I wasn`t quite sure that you were kidding, so I checked to see.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vog
> I guess you were serious. Is eating Funyions good or bad?


Ooh funyionS bad!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Go get `em, Bear!

Hey, I want an ice disc too.


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## Self Motivated (Jan 2, 2003)

*Cold, windy and raining..*

Here in Southern NE the weather is positively the pits. I haven't commuted since Monday - which was one of the nicest days this year. Typical New England slap in the face! 
I may try for tommorow - but the rain in the eyes causes problems with visibility & virtually any type of glasses I try fog up too much on the uphills & stops. I threw together a "half-visor" that sticks onto the helmet with Velcro - we'll see if that helps.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

bipolarbear said:


> ****! I haven't rode to work in a few weeks. Between being sick and having to transport large items to and fro, I haven't been on the bike much. (and it's actually been cold in Denver for once) I have been taking the light rail.
> 
> But, TOMORROW I WILL RIDE AGAIN!!!!!!
> 
> Hold me to it boys, I've been drinking tonight and might try to wuss out in the mornin.


Warm this morning, 37! See you out there!

-Simon


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

bipolarbear said:


> ****! I haven't rode to work in a few weeks. Between being sick and having to transport large items to and fro, I haven't been on the bike much. (and it's actually been cold in Denver for once) I have been taking the light rail.
> 
> But, TOMORROW I WILL RIDE AGAIN!!!!!!
> 
> Hold me to it boys, I've been drinking tonight and might try to wuss out in the mornin.


Your low was like our high come on get out there Meow


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

think they said -14 celsius or so with natural wind (before you start making your own by pedalling faster)
supposed to be 15cm of snow today.
snow tire'd ti bike only, marathon tire'd 29er is useless in this weather.
loving it!

makes me want to get a forwardcomponents ebb and ss the thing as even xtr's miss shifts in this much snow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A few icy patches left over from yesterday's snow, but today was mostly nice out there. We're in that part of winter when a foot of snow overnight will ruin the morning commute, but it'll all be gone by the time you're driving home, making you feel guilty for not braving it in the morning. Lows in the 20's, highs in the 50's... snow, melt, snow, melt, snow, melt...


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

67' F and Wet..... we need some rain! Very little vog the rain usually washes it away. Had a errand to run before work drop off the power bill.


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## dcc1234 (Nov 5, 2008)

*when in doubt......*

Well, its Thursday and I'm tired! 

The whole way in today, I was thinking about bailing and putting the bike on a bus (I have lots of opportunities to do so). 

I resisted that impulse by following my maxim:

"When in doubt, ride"​
Also forced myself to do 40 pushups upon arrival, which is part of my AM routine. Anybody else do that?​


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Absolutely. I've been doing 50 a day right before I change clothes for the last 5 years. When it's a truly horrible ride, I motivate myself by letting myself skip the push-ups when I get there. Somehow this feels like a reward :lol:


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Well I haven't been commuting this week due to the weather and the fact I have no place to change or dry gear or anything, I did manage to get a few 20 mile training rides in. Yesterday in the pouring rain and mid 30's. today it was snowing sideways with some pretty strong winds. The forecast was for a blizzardcane, whatever that is. In all this slush and snow coming at me sideways, I also got my first flat for the year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

As good a week as any to be hobbling around on my sprained ankle instead of riding. 2' of snow followed by rain all day today, and now winds gusting to 65mph. Back to snow tonight & 45mph gusts continue tomorrow.

Andy, you don't sound very cranky considering the weather + the flat.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

I get really cranky when I can't ride my bike.:thumbsup: Too bad about the ankle, hopefully when it's healed you'll have warm weather and sunshine!


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Well, this morning*

I had a face to face with a huge rottweiler under the I880 fwy. That was fun. Then a 2 hour mixed terrain ride on the CX bike up in the east bay hills on the commute home. Grabbed a burrito and some beers and here i am ...stoked.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jrm said:


> I had a face to face with a huge rottweiler under the I880 fwy. That was fun. Then a 2 hour mixed terrain ride on the CX bike up in the east bay hills on the commute home. Grabbed a burrito and some beers and here i am ...stoked.


Everything after the dog sounds awsome! We`ve had two beautiful days in a row in Reno, but I`ve wasted them on sleep. Hope it hangs in for the weekend.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I lost my first commuter race today 

I woke up late today and left home like 30 min after my usual "leaving time"...was close to use our car but I'm going for my second perfect commuter week of the year and wasn't going to ruin that.

So...

I was stopped at a red light and just when it turns green a commuter roadie pass me by..WTF!!... I started the chase...s#1t..lost like 30sec trying to clip my unclipped foot...s#1t!!...he knew I was after him and he push it...that was at a 3 block straight part of our ride (with a little slope down)...I got it and pass him when we were yielding to the fastest avenue around.... so I said its done, I won!!..wrong!! he took a bold decision...a few meters before we take a slight left turn he choose to change to one of the fastest lines (we were riding pretty much between the slow lane and the space between the slow lane and the sidewalk) so he cut the turn and went ahead just at our last straight and crazy part of the ride (the bridge I said in my previous post here)... just after the bridge he was at his finish line...I lost :madman:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I wish I had someone to race. :lol: The deer don't stay on the road long enough. 

I tried a new 'long route' home yesterday. I really don't have many options, but this was a cool combo of the bike path by the river/rural two lane/highway/dirt road home. I 'google earthed' it at 9.7 miles. Nice change from the usual 6 miles...the diversity is pretty cool. I saw a scared cat, a memorial shrine, a bunch of canadian geese, and several deer. No other bikes. 

I need to scout it still, but there might be a section of pulled-up railroad line that I can take to cut from the bike path to the rural road... from what I could see it was all that giant gravel that's not really gravel but more like rocks...would be horrible on the 'cross bike, possible on the MTB. If it's just that stuff for a short section by the road, then I'm all over it. But if the the whole thing is like that it's not worth it. It would be 3/4 of a mile or so. 

And the bike path goes right behind the hardware store, so I popped in and bought an 8 inch bolt, a flared nut, some 2" fender washers a couple of nylon washers. BAM, headset press for my new bike, five bucks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Uh-oh! New racer on board! Pick it up, Martin- next year we`re entering you in the Vuelta a Chih. Joshed is going to write you a training program and Mtymxdh can supervise to make sure you don`t try any un authorized short cuts.

CB, that sounds like a cool route. I pretty much like mine, but a spin along the river sure has that beat.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: rodar..... I was just putting the numbers on my excel table and although my average time wasn't lowered a lot (just 2 min) because I really lower the speed after the race, I realized that my average cadence came up from 70 to 80.

I really don't understand the thing yet btw (cadence), I'm just writing down the numbers for when I do...or someone in the commuting forum explain it to me


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Wet again..... and funyun-y


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rainy and no Funyons. Friday- good. This week was far from the worst, but it`s been relatively crappy both at work and at home, so I`ll be glad to put it behind me.

Martin, somebody here might be able to explain what you want to know about cadence, but I really don`t seem to hear as much about it in mtb context as I hear on the roadie and recumbent sites. I`m sure the same principles apply, but maybe it`s harder to maintain in a mountain bike environment? If you don`t find what you`re looking for on commuting, I`d try the "Endurance Racing" or "XC Racing and Training" subforums, or even ask on a more road oriented site.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

cadence...
I am no real expert and have never measured mine. Apparently, something like 80 to 100 rpm is highly efficient, once you get the feel for spinning smoothly.

On trails it is often difficult to maintain a steady cadence, just because the ground is not steady.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yep, and even though you can't maintain road cadences on the trail, the smoother pedal stroke you have, the less likely you are to spin out on a difficult section like on wet roots or rocks.

Rodar, hope next week looks better all around. If life is a bowl of cherries, why do I I have the funyons?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mmmm. Cherry Funyons.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

As we have not had they coldest winter but in no means warn. 
It has been one of the snowiest. We have not seen bare ground since December 5th 2009. 
So far my 2010 Commuter Miles is 654 miles
All of which is done on a Fixed Bianchi San Jose Singlespeed.
If you want to improve your cadence and make your pedal stroke smooth and ROUND ride a Fixed gear. 

The Your Mountain biking will improve due to a better pedal stroke. Now I'm not saying ride your Mountain Bike Fixed but get on the road on a fixed to help you learn to spin.
Depending on where you live. My Gearing started on a 42x17 with a 700x32 tire.

Cadence computer will help but its amazing how lazy I was by coasting.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Waiting on the tsunami! No bicycle commuting today.....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ae111black said:


> Waiting on the tsunami! No bicycle commuting today.....


I wondered about you out there when they interrupted the Olympics coverage to talk about the quake and tsunami. Stay safe & check back in afterwards - sounds like a good call not to bike today!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

My Ride to Work was Better than this guy in the Ford Pickup.
This must of happen right before I got to the Intersection. 
Firetrucks and police were not on the seen yet.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)




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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, Normbilt, glad you didn't leave a little earlier. Looks like dos autos menos.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Did that occur to you when you saw Martin`s signature right below the picture? I wonder if he was thinking that when he posted such a cryptic little message


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Did that occur to you when you saw Martin`s signature right below the picture? I wonder if he was thinking that when he posted such a cryptic little message


Yes, exactly...and didn't know whether to quote Martin or Norm  so didn't quote either.

D-oh! Watching the Olympics & the ski tech guy just forgot to take off the ski-pair-tie-thingy when he gave his xc racer a new pair & they wouldn't go!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: you guys....you know I didn't mean that!....but yes! two out!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

car ride today...woke up late...I really need to get serious waking up Monday mornings...I can recall two other times this year...and I just killed the possibility of another perfect week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ Ouch. 

Today was Sun Day! The first day of the year when the sun comes up in full force during my commute and I get to bask in the orange glow. 28 degrees never felt so warm. This day makes the whole winter worth it. 

...then we set the clocks ahead and it's dark again for another few weeks, but still...


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

Good commute. I passed another cyclist and he tailed me until he arrived at his destination. Unless one asks, or there is a headwind, drafting angers me. It is like bringing tail gating to the commute, though I'm trying to view it as my helping a fellow cyclists get to work a little faster....


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

umarth said:


> Good commute. I passed another cyclist and he tailed me until he arrived at his destination. Unless one asks, or there is a headwind, drafting angers me. It is like bringing tail gating to the commute, though I'm trying to view it as my helping a fellow cyclists get to work a little faster....


I have drafted and been drafted doesn't bother me......

Unless the drafter doesn't bother to talk and be freindly...

That is the huge advantage of a bike, you can easily say hello and talk, that makes the drafting fun and safe....

If I have drafted someone I always tell them thanks for the pull.....

Course it is up to the guy who can still talk to do the talking...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I would be stoked to see another cyclist on my commute. It has only happened a couple of times in the 5 years I've been riding to work here. I think I totally agree...a silent drafter would irritate me, someone to chat with would be cool.


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

Being social is the important part to me. I do rock out to tunes, which might impact the experience negatively.

I went for a road ride on Sat. with my fixed 26" mtb and slicks and ran into a guy doing SS on an old SS 26" mtb, which is really pretty random chance and he didn't seem happy to talk to me. I hate with cyclists are boners.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Wet Wet Wet!! I changed my rear cog to 12t way more useable speed!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> I need to scout it still, but there might be a section of pulled-up railroad line that I can take to cut from the bike path to the rural road... from what I could see it was all that giant gravel that's not really gravel but more like rocks...would be horrible on the 'cross bike, possible on the MTB. If it's just that stuff for a short section by the road, then I'm all over it. But if the the whole thing is like that it's not worth it. It would be 3/4 of a mile or so.


I scouted this out this weekend in the Jeep. It's do-able, and it includes an old abandoned railroad bridge about 40 feet above the river... railroad ties spaced about 24" apart with nothing under them...so you're looking down between your feet at green water 40 feet below...I'll have to shoulder the bike and step carefully in my SPD shoes. Should add some adventure to the ride home :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Cloudy. Mid-30s coming in. Low 40s going home. Not bad, if not a little warm (or not warm enough).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I scouted this out this weekend in the Jeep. It's do-able, and it includes an old abandoned railroad bridge about 40 feet above the river... railroad ties spaced about 24" apart with nothing under them...so you're looking down between your feet at green water 40 feet below...I'll have to shoulder the bike and step carefully in my SPD shoes. Should add some adventure to the ride home :lol:


OK, have fun, but if you don't show up here, we'll know where to send them to look. I can see the report now:

Missing Person Report
Name: Commuter Boy
Last Seen: Old RR bridge over a green river
Home address: Somewhere in the CA Sierras

What do you mean you can't find him???


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well the bike wouldn't fit through the gaps, so it should still be on the bridge if I fall through... just look downstream from the bridge you find the bike on.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Back to the commute, had sun for the first3/4 of the way there today and it was in the 40's and mid 30's on the way home, felt great. Second flat of the year, same spot, think I got it out this time. Had a skunk try to out run me for about 100 yards, wouldn't let me pass.


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## pmorrise (Sep 7, 2005)

my ride to the office was great, first morning of sunshine in a long time here in Belgium, its amazing how cycling into a sunrise can set you up for a great day at work !..... roll on summer ;-)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Amen to that. This morning it was rainy, but I happened to have the camera with me yesterday, and I stopped and snapped a pic when I realized that it was going to be the first day of sunshine after the long winter. Then I took my new cool rickety bridge route home (OK maybe it's more like 30' above the water, but still). Yesterday was a seriously epic commuting day :lol:

The first pic is the sunrise I earned after riding in the freezing cold and dark for 4 months. 

The second two are part of my new favorite route home. I didn't realize how stale my commute was getting. An extra 4 miles and some new sights makes the whole thing new again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, that looks like a neat new route, nice find. I wonder when they pulled up the rails? I bet your chances of seeing anyone else commuting are going from slim to none.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey CB...you don't have to walk there!... you can ride your 28c tires on the edge of that bridge!

It would be great to build your own path there :thumbsup: ... like with the pieces on the first pic


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Wet yet again.....it was a fun commute none the less I buzzed a crackhead on the way in.... I got to work and changed out my 12t cog and put on my 14t cog which seems to be perfect for my town!


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## cutup75 (May 14, 2009)

Man, some of your guys' pics and commute stories are sweet! I I've been commuting for 3.5yrs to work on my Jamis Boss, 7 speed, rear brake bike with a rack and rear pegs and about 80 stickers. I only commute about 1/8mile to work, but rain, snow or sun I'm on the bike. I have a subaru but it's only used for travel. I LOVE riding my bike at night in the snow storms coming home from work! It's so relaxing! 

Happy trails!

BTW, my commute was great 830am sun in my face, on the bike path drinking a smoothie!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

martinsillo said:


> hey CB...you don't have to walk there!... you can ride your 28c tires on the edge of that bridge!
> 
> It would be great to build your own path there :thumbsup: ... like with the pieces on the first pic


I'm thinking when I get the new 29er done, I can just hit it with a ton of speed and skip right over the tops of those gaps. :lol:

MTBX, this rail line was actively used when I was in Jr. High...they quit using it when I was in high school, and pulled up the rails maybe 10 years ago. It connected the local sawmills with the outside world. The local mills started shutting down and there was no more need for it.


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm thinking when I get the new 29er done, I can just hit it with a ton of speed and skip right over the tops of those gaps. :lol:
> 
> MTBX, this rail line was actively used when I was in Jr. High...they quit using it when I was in high school, and pulled up the rails maybe 10 years ago. It connected the local sawmills with the outside world. The local mills started shutting down and there was no more need for it.


CB, are you located in central Oregon or NorCal? I see ponderosa pines and volcanic rock formations in your photos. Maybe northern AZ or NM? Great commute, very jealous.

I get to ride in the city with impatient drivers and hipsters breaking every law of traffic and common sense. Man, do I sound like a grumpy old man, when did that happen.


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

Great weather in Oregon today. Nice dry ride for the second day in a row, but the rain is coming later today. Last night with about 100' to go the bracket at the top of my seat post broke so I spent an hour last night rigging it with bolts and washers. I need my old bike to hang on for another two weeks until I get the new bike together.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

hydrogeek said:


> CB, are you located in central Oregon or NorCal? I see ponderosa pines and volcanic rock formations in your photos. Maybe northern AZ or NM? Great commute, very jealous.


Northern enough NorCal that it might as well be oregon. We get all the benefits of living in Oregon, plus we get to pay sales tax!


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

I've been noticing an increase in the amount of bike commuters lately. It's probably the nice weather (minus the rain we keep getting); today it's supposed to reach 70 degrees (only to cool back down by the end of the week). I passed a girl today whom I've seen before, but I couldn't catch up to a guy whom I haven't seen before. Both were headed to the university campus. Lots of cyclists on my little 3 mile stretch  I'm guessing I'll see more until it starts to get hot.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Allright! Lots of action today on the daily ride thread!

CB, I love your new route. I think Martin was suggesting you ride the side rails- If you try it, please get somebody to video your North Shore action.

Buzzing crackheads, sucking Funyons, tsunamis, man- some people get all the fun!

Howdy, Cutup! How `bout some pictures of your bike? Though I`ve never owned a Jamis, I`m kind of a fan, but I don`t think I`ve seen a Boss before. I`ll have to google one up and see what it`s about.

RA, how long do you expect before your commutes start roasting? Does your morning commute get nasty-hot too? I take it a lot of people start to leave their bikes at home in lieu of air conditioning in the Summer?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I saw another rider on my commute today. After work, I took a detour by the convenience store, which means I come into my neighborhood from the other direction and a little bit later. When I was about two blocks out, I saw an mtb plugging up the grade and said hi- the other guy answered and I recognized his voice. He works where I do (used to be my operator when I was still on the presses) and passes by my house to get to his. Since my department changes shifts a half hour before the rest of the plant, my detour had us both riding at the same time. It`s worth noting that the guy I saw is a Summer commuter, so I guess that`s another sign that we`re getting there.

We were supposed to get rain today and tommorrow. So far, it`s been dry.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Pouring rain all morning, so I get on the goggles, gloves and rain jacket. As soon as I hit the road, it stops raining.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Feelin' good. Tuesday and second day this week. 37 degrees light rain, Snuck into the faculty locker room to change out of my raingear. Gotta wash my neopreme gloves, my hands smelled like the inside of some stinky ass sneakers, scrubbed em twice and still couldn't get rid of the smell??????????


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Odor Eaters inside the gloves?


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Commuterboy, just wondering how that bolt and fender washers worked out for you?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Like a charm. I've done it before, but I lost the stuff. You need to put a couple of nylon washers between the nut and the fender washers (I used a stack of 3 washers) that are actually doing the pressing, so the nut doesn't try to rotate the washers and scratch the heck out of the headset cups. Otherwise just make sure everything is centered, grease the heck out of the insert and the head tube, and crank it into place. I do one side at a time. 

I use baby powder in my wetsuit to get rid of the dead sneaker smell...helps it slide into place when putting it on too. 



Snow for me this morning... pretty cool ride actually. virtually dry ground, but snow falling pretty heavily (dry enough snow that I didn't get wet at all). The sun came up over the horizon and did an upside-down sunset into the cloud bank about 5 minutes later...the entire duration of sunshine we'll get all day, I'm sure. I've never seen orange snow before.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yesterday I was having my first commuter birthday! :thumbsup: and I didn't remember  

was a normal Tuesday for me... as every Tuesday I add an extra mile to go to Blockbuster and take advantage of their "Martes de 15pesos" (~1$ a movie) took a shower and had dinner in bed with the wife watching the chick flick of the week I rented...it is always a chick flick and other selection for me (as she says: shooting and killing :lol...even I have mine, I'm amazed how my selection is turning more tender these days...I think I'm just starting to enjoy those movies 

nice and normal cold morning commute today.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

first ride on the steelwool.
needs more gearing sprinty's good, but need more speed!
might even go geard! 1x9? hrmmmm...
beautiful weather though, crisp air, grumpy people on cheap bikes who keep pulling in front of me at the stoplights when i keep passing them eveyrwhere else.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

See that, you learn something new everyday,sometimes two things, baby powder hmmm.......Orange snow? I've always heard west coasters were hippies. On my ride I've been catching the sunsets and the same herd of deer every time. One jumped the road about twenty yards in front of me last night.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

How do I post over there with you guys? I got things all out of order. The posts are going to be off the right side of the page pretty soon.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

crankyandy said:


> How do I post over there with you guys? I got things all out of order. The posts are going to be off the right side of the page pretty soon.


???


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Yeah I have to go up about a dozen posts to see the most recent. Real pain in the neck cutting the fingers out on these odor eaters.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

check Display Modes...up right...and select Linear Mode


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

crankyandy said:


> How do I post over there with you guys? I got things all out of order. The posts are going to be off the right side of the page pretty soon.





crankyandy said:


> Yeah I have to go up about a dozen posts to see the most recent. Real pain in the neck cutting the fingers out on these odor eaters.


You just lost any right to call anyone else a hippie :lol: How many moons does your planet have? Fried zucchini punching bunnies cowboy hat.


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

byknuts said:


> grumpy people on cheap bikes who keep pulling in front of me at the stoplights when i keep passing them eveyrwhere else.


Man, I hate that too. If I pass you then I am obviously faster than you so stay in the order that you arrive at the light. Nothing more fun than trying to find a gap between cars to pass someone that you have already passed several times. :madmax:

Post up some photos of the Steelwool. They look like nice bikes.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

I had a similar happening a while back. I didn't pass the guy - I hadn't even made it off campus - but I was sitting at the light to leave campus and some old fat dude pulls up and in front of me. Um, excuse me? You assume that you're faster than me, why, because I'm a woman? (I couldn't really think of any other reason why he'd pull in front of me). He was slow - I should have passed him (I ride fast going home), but he turned off after half a block. 

Rodar, it usually starts heating up pretty good in May. July and August are scorchers (110+ degrees). I would say most commuters will back off about mid-May to June (though I am not sure since I only started commuting last August). The heat doesn't bother me too much on my short commute, so I'll ride through the summer (though I'll be in Idaho Falls for 10 of those weeks and in the Sierra Nevada for 2.5 more this summer). Mornings are usually in the 90s and the sun isn't beating down on you yet, so it's a little cooler (good since it's uphill in the morning! :lol.


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> You just lost any right to call anyone else a hippie :lol: How many moons does your planet have? Fried zucchini punching bunnies cowboy hat.


Careful CB, don't you hail from Cascadia?  Where all the flower children of the 60's decided to live. Funny thing is that a friend of mine was raised in one of the NorCal communes and is now one of the most conservative guys I know. I suppose rebellion can go both ways.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

no steelwool pictures yet... today was a bit of a shakedown, not digging the set-up yet (REALLY need wider bars), so no pics till it gets sorted (ish) 
BUT here's the current spec; xtr levers, lx parallel push calipers, steelwool cranks, steelwool headset, litespeed ti bb, black brooks saddle, suzue rear hub laced to 319 rim with WI dingle freewheel, a campy/alex wheel up front, navy blue frame with polished headtube lugs (h-set's the same polish shade as the lugs!) and baby blue bmx grips and a nice silver bell on the bonty satellite bars (for now), schwalbe marathons; cross rear, xr front, solid stainless "window-shatterers" bar-end caps.
oh... did I mention... xtr cables and housing?
I'm a horrible tease, I know.  

anywho, it says northstar down by the bb, so I guess it's a northstar touring rig?
can't find it on their site. no disc mounts, but it's a REALLY nice ride, fit 38 out back and a 40 up front, both with fenders.


yeah my issue with the leapfroggers is simple... I pass you once, you wanna pass me back, no prob, I get that. but if I can outgun you before we even make it across the intersection away from a dead stop, and KEEP doing it at every light we hit, then don't EVER assume you'll be able to take me.
gears won't help you, that's grunt doing the job, not the bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

byknuts said:


> yeah my issue with the leapfroggers is simple... I pass you once, you wanna pass me back, no prob, I get that. but if I can outgun you before we even make it across the intersection away from a dead stop, and KEEP doing it at every light we hit, then don't EVER assume you'll be able to take me.
> gears won't help you, that's grunt doing the job, not the bike.


Am I right thinking you ride in TO? Usually better road manners than that, there. So maybe more than a few spokes shy of a wheelset. Not your great analytical thinkers. Let's see he passed me and...where was I? Oh yeah, he passed me, eh? And...

I had one do it, then blow through the light past me looking straight ahead and nearly getting hit in the process. A near Darwinian selection incident?


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

yup, I'm in core TO.
Don't get me wrong, most commuters are great, but there's this odd sub-sect that's just DETERMINED to pull around you at every light. 
I understand why it's done, because you think you're going to have the drop on whoever and sprint off into the sunset, I get that. 
But after 5 or 6 lights and you keep getting smoked and the only reason you even catch up is because I've been stopped at a traffic signal?? *shrug* just don't get it.
gotta ride you own pace, otherwise you get baited and end up riding into a red light across university avenue  

reminds me of a funny story, the wife was ambling home on her ghetto ss'd lemond.
little asian dude on a fixie pulls in front of her at the stoplights, light turns green and he takes off, 2 blocks later he's plateau'd, she's drafting him wondering when he's going to pick up speed, he looks behind, sees her and speeds up.
so she's hitting her stride and having fun (cause 3:1 gears aren't fun to huff around soft-pedalling), he looks back sees her still there and he starts going like mad, legs doing their best 80000rpm impression.
apparently he kept it up for most of her way home, just killing himself to stay ahead of her.
she gets home laughing, wondering if she blew some kind of cyclist etiquette or something...

dude, get a bigger chainring.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Ahh yes, Linear mode.............Moons, what moons?............fluorescent grape throwing tree


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> no steelwool pictures yet... today was a bit of a shakedown, not digging the set-up yet (REALLY need wider bars), so no pics till it gets sorted (ish)
> BUT here's the current spec; xtr levers, lx parallel push calipers, steelwool cranks, steelwool headset, litespeed ti bb, black brooks saddle, suzue rear hub laced to 319 rim with WI dingle freewheel, a campy/alex wheel up front, navy blue frame with polished headtube lugs (h-set's the same polish shade as the lugs!) and baby blue bmx grips and a nice silver bell on the bonty satellite bars (for now), schwalbe marathons; cross rear, xr front, solid stainless "window-shatterers" bar-end caps.


Sounds killer and I`ll be waiting for the pictures. I hadn`t heard of Steelwool, so had to search out their site- nice looking frames. I take it you posted about that bike already? I don`t remember seeing the thread.


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

Sunny and nice! 

After only commuting by bike 5 times during January / February, it feels good to be out now that the winter weather is starting to move on out.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

byknuts said:


> yup, I'm in core TO.


Good. So at least THAT idea isn't evidence I'm crazy. Though no proof of my sanity, either!

Born & raised 60 miles southeast near The Great One's home town. I agree with Michael Fox, I wasn't red white and blue when the ML was up against the S & S. What a way to end a drought! But I digress...



byknuts said:


> Don't get me wrong, most commuters are great, but there's this odd sub-sect that's just DETERMINED to pull around you at every light.


Had me worried if that had become the norm. Idiots, like the poor, will always be with us.



byknuts said:


> reminds me of a funny story,...she gets home laughing,


Yeah, she likely challenged his Macho 'Male must precede female' cultural norm.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

byknuts said:


> yup, I'm in core TO.
> Don't get me wrong, most commuters are great, but there's this odd sub-sect that's just DETERMINED to pull around you at every light.
> I understand why it's done, because you think you're going to have the drop on whoever and sprint off into the sunset, I get that.
> But after 5 or 6 lights and you keep getting smoked and the only reason you even catch up is because I've been stopped at a traffic signal?? *shrug* just don't get it.
> ...


Pulling in front of, rather than stopping behind other commuters at stop lights, AKA "shoaling." BSNYC posted a picture once where there were so many people shoaling him at an intersection that they were spilling out into the middle of the cross street.

I have no problem with people being slow, I'm not the fastest cyclist myself but it always amazes me how the slowest are also in the biggest hurry. Once I was on a longish ride to my girlfriend's work to meet her (I think we were going somewhere after work, I forget....) and the entire way this guy on a cruiser (no helmet) was running stop lights, even in front of cops! I would stop at the light, he would blow past me, threading cross traffic and I would catch up to him and smoke him once the light changed. I'd stop at a light and he'd blow past again. Repeat infinitely.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Pulling in front of, rather than stopping behind other commuters at stop lights, AKA "shoaling." BSNYC posted a picture once where there were so many people shoaling him at an intersection that they were spilling out into the middle of the cross street.
> 
> I have no problem with people being slow, I'm not the fastest cyclist myself but it always amazes me how the slowest are also in the biggest hurry. Once I was on a longish ride to my girlfriend's work to meet her (I think we were going somewhere after work, I forget....) and the entire way this guy on a cruiser (no helmet) was running stop lights, even in front of cops! I would stop at the light, he would blow past me, threading cross traffic and I would catch up to him and smoke him once the light changed. I'd stop at a light and he'd blow past again. Repeat infinitely.


Ahhhh!!!! I hate those dudes. They drive me absolutely nuts. :madman:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*!!*



rkj__ said:


> Sunny and nice!
> 
> After only commuting by bike 5 times during January / February, it feels good to be out now that the winter weather is starting to move on out.


Currenly not working but trying to keep commute ready and reduce stress. Tired of sand, grit, icy streets, or the trainer. I can choose to 'commute' in the heat of the day (43 F!) . The Sidis with double socks and booties are toasty and work better than insulated boots! Love the two sided pedals.

Glorious day and a wonderful ride. Except for one testosterone poisoned teen.

I try to avoid the hormone-induced stupidity of 'High School just out' time frame, since I can. I forgot why. It was the first nice day for a cruise after school. Crap.

A young idiot in a pickup with passenger to impress (or to goad him on?) who did not graze me simply because (of the grace of God?) of my dodging about two feet toward the shoulder to avoid the worst of a snow plow damaged piece of pavement where the bridge apron meets the road. No way he had time to adjust his distance. His front bumper was less than a foot from me as I rolled over that spot. I yelled some 'colorful metaphors' into the cracked passenger window (smoking? weed, perhaps?) and we exchanged 'salutes' after he passed. He picked a real good way to get on my bad side.

Might have been pissed that I did not stop at the stop and wait for him to come by when he was a half mile away. It is a long grade to a 10 % grade leveling some at the sign then the 10% overpass grade with wind behind. I attacked the grade and hit 90% max pulse. He wasn't in a great hurry as I was backing off to drop the pulse, yet he remained in sight for over a mile part of which was 55 zone until he turned and was hidden by buildings. Cruising.

I knew I could crest the bridge where he'd have a clear line of sight to pass easily and safely but unfortunately for him, a School Bus was oncoming and he had to brake fairly strongly not to hit me and throw me up over his hood and down on the interstate. Bad form in front of a School Bus full of witnesses. I could see and hear him brake hard when he figured out both lanes were occupied. No question he saw the ANSI vest, and three Super flashes and reflective tape, otherwise I'd be a stat. He either has no idea where the right side of the truck is or he tried to hit me. Neither is a good thought.:eekster:

Tomorrow I ride earlier.:thumbsup:

Sorry for the long post. Can't afford a therapist!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

People are morons. Someone on a bike suddenly becomes something to mess with rather than another person. Idiots. 

I'm about to leave on the epic bike path/old train track/rickety bridge/rural two lane ride... but I'm extending it a serious bit... 20 miler with a friend after work. Gotta go change. I love setting out on a nice ride after work...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> People are morons. Someone on a bike suddenly becomes something to mess with rather than another person. Idiots.
> 
> I'm about to leave on the epic bike path/old train track/rickety bridge/rural two lane ride... but I'm extending it a serious bit... 20 miler with a friend after work. Gotta go change. I love setting out on a nice ride after work...


If you have or had a teenager in the house (having been one doesn't count, you've got nothing to compare your brain function to), the study that says the frontal cortex where reasoning resides is not well connected until later in life. Explains a LOT. So you get the "What WERE you THINKING!!!" (Followed by dumb stare.)

I just hope to survive other people's kids moronic phase. Add in "We'll show him!" fueled by peer pressure and it gets dangerous. Easy to hide. Though they can still get you at home and there is a thread here somewhere proving that.

Lovely bridge. Funny how a picture comes back and haunts you. It kept crossing my mind. Don't know any contractors who redo decks and have to take a lot of used decking to the dump, do you? Or have scraps of outdoor 3/4 ply? Should be able to ride 2' wide strip down the center and on windy days the walk would be a lot easier.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I'm a high school teacher. Surviving other people's kids moronic phase is what I get paid for :lol: The only advantage I have is that most of the potential conflict is avoided because a high percentage of the morons recognize me from school. 

I might do something like that on that bridge. There's 3 or 4 other pieces of 2x8 scrap laying around in addition to what you see in the pic... enough to probably get me 1/2 way across with a (pretty narrow) ridable surface. I wouldn't have to find a ton more wood. It's really no big deal to walk it though...doesn't feel stupid at least.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> I'm not the fastest cyclist myself but it always amazes me how the slowest are also in the biggest hurry.


Doesn`t amaze me. The slowest people are the ones who most need to hurry, aren`t they?

Special Ed, if it`s an advantage for a high school teacher to be recognized away from the school, times sure have changed over the years


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...
> I might do something like that on that bridge. There's 3 or 4 other pieces of 2x8 scrap laying around in addition to what you see in the pic... enough to probably get me 1/2 way across with a (pretty narrow) ridable surface. I wouldn't have to find a ton more wood. It's really no big deal to walk it though...doesn't feel stupid at least.


Just drag some rails back & make a few bike mods:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

No commute today.

Took the day off, helped my parents with some bank business, and went for a trail walk with the dog.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Special Ed, if it`s an advantage for a high school teacher to be recognized away from the school, times sure have changed over the years


It's only an advantage when the kid about to throw the soda at the dork on the bike realizes that it's his 4th period teacher. :lol: Otherwise I'm still generally regarded as the spawn of satan.



mtbxplorer said:


> Just drag some rails back & make a few bike mods:


Sweet! I could rig up one of those with a cargo box and leave it on the bridge permanently...just use it to transport the other bike across the bridge. :lol: 
That would be sweet.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

need warmer cloths....... Too wet and cold now days!!!


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Had to drive Monday, also had to take the shorter route a couple of times because I was running late, but it was a good week of commuting over all.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> It's only an advantage when the kid about to throw the soda at the dork on the bike realizes that it's his 4th period teacher. :lol: Otherwise I'm still generally regarded as the spawn of satan.


I think when they saw my salt and pepper handle bar mustache and realized they were messing with an adult and not a Junoir High student, I got only the finger and not them stopping to teach me a lesson.



CommuterBoy said:


> Sweet! I could rig up one of those with a cargo box and leave it on the bridge permanently...just use it to transport the other bike across the bridge. :lol:
> That would be sweet.


Scary. Same thought as soon as I saw the pics. 4x4's for rails, 2x 4's on edge won't span as much and more warp prone. Remember, the all bikes weigh 50 pounds mantra? A 50 pound bike won't be stolen though it might get flipped mid span into the drink.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Trafficing in Cycling Adrenalin*

Ready for a true 'shaggy dog' story? Two miles from home on the 'commute' today:

So I'm on my Classic British Light Touring bike trying to stay below 90% max pulse on the last grade a half mile before my 10 minute cool down to rest pulse, and home.

A street T's from the right 100 feet ahead of me out of a 60's development. A newish Jeep approaches the stop slows and stops at the stop sign (true stops happpen there about 50% of the time but few are at the stop sign, as required by law). Says possible new driver to me.

I have my front light on, though not in the high mode or flashing. I have an amber Xenon strobe on the helmet front flashing away like a School Bus strobe, and an ANSI Vest lit up like the Vegas Strip by a sun just sneaking under my helmet visor (semi upright so front is visible) which would light the relective tape on the forks as well, and maybe the light weights on the spokes.

She looks at me, the other way, back right at (through?) me then starts. Having seen this before, and ready just in case, I yelled and braked. She responded to the yell. We both stopped. She before crossing my path. I before crossing hers. (Amazing how well set-up good quality side pulls work so well when there is no ice, snow, or rain, to mess them up. Love the cool stops on the old Universal side pulls.)

Afterwards I had to smile. Wait for it.. Her Liberty was nearly at my Mercian (http://www.merciancycles.com/), and she let me have my way by her, (Not with: by). 

Good thing the about the preposition 'by' not being the proposition 'with', because being run over would be a WAY better ending than what my spouse would plan for me.:madmax:

Loved the cute dumb**s grin when she realized how visible I was.

Laughter counters adrenaline nicely: no shakes from withdrawal.:thumbsup:


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Yesterday Interesting*

I was riding through oakland and noticed the news copters and thought it was a wreck or something. Then as i was passing under 880 i saw these kids riding bikes on the offramp. Im like WTF? and so went to check it out. When i got to the top of the ramp and on the fwy it musta been a couple minutes after the cops rushed the kids that were on the fwy already. This cop looked at me like he was gonna kick my ass and im like "dude no im not with them i work for Cal*rans and wanted tyo see what was going on and if i could help. The cop gives me this what a tool look and moves in some kids.

The irony of all this was that these kids were copying some kids @ Davis that tried to shut down 80 by running on the fwy. In the end i have no idea what this does to help the cause of funding universities in the state. If i was to say anything to the kids id say YOUR DOING IT WRONG


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No commuting yet for me with the bum ankle, but got the OK to go easy 5-15 mins on the trainer... but a beautiful day today, sunny & 40's, so I threw on the flat pedals & drove to the flattest, most scenic bikepath I could think of instead. Soft pedaled along Lake Champlain with views of the NY Adirondacks for an hour and a half, & it felt great to be out.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Getting there, Explorer. Bummer to be missing your commute, but at least you managed a bike path. I love bike paths! Maybe because they`re such a novelty for us around here.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

I did a week long bike tour around the adirondacks this past summer and caught the southern tip of lake champlain, that entire area is gorgeous.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The morning was uneventful, mainly packed snow.

Temps are rising to the freezing/melting point. I may adjust my route a bit to avoid the paths along the bigger streets: they tend to turn into the consistency of mashed potatoes first.

The way is longer through the park but it is probably easier and faster. Fewer traffic lights too...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

crankyandy said:


> I did a week long bike tour around the adirondacks this past summer and caught the southern tip of lake champlain, that entire area is gorgeous.


Was that the break in ride for your LHT? Do you have an online photo album from the trip, any chance?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Perfect conditions today. This morning was sunny and 39, good for shorts and my light jacket with short sleeves underneath. This afternoon will probably be in the low 60s. I may forgo my commute this evening. If the trails are dry, I'll have my wife pick me up and we'll head out to ride off-road for a change, otherwise it will be a beautiful ride home.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I'm about to go home...it is sunny and over 85°F :ihih: .. summer is coming.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

how was my commute?! it was STOMPY!!
wanna have fun? mess around with geared up single speeders and haul a trailer on a regular basis for months... then slip on some locomotive style tires on lighter wheels and bring a 9-shooter to the gunfights.

oh, different bars, ultegra flat-bar shifter (looks like a regular xt pod shifter only eet's polished puuuurdy), rack got added, otherwise same as it was.

went bimmer-hunting, funfun


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow 85!  Hot  Last year we did hit 85 F in the summer, but never even hit 90!

High about 40 today here, short lunch ride in long shorts - yee hah! Headwinds gusty to 25mph on the way out, so I had a speedy easy pedal back to work.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ve been shivering here. The thermometer is only down slightly from where it`s been, but it`s clammy-damp and windy. Was thinking about going back to shorts last week, but changed my mind.

Oh, yeah- Nice spokes, Byknuts.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Head wind on the way to work. Enough to make a difference. Hope the wind keeps up, so that the way home is effortless... 

... there's this joke about an old lady who was going to church in her row boat. The wind was against her, so she was praying for the wind to turn.... it did ... by the time she got on her way back home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ll have to remember that the next time I find myself rowing to church  

Those kinds of winds that turn around really tick me off. Or maybe they don`t turn around- maybe they`re English winds, driving on the left side of the road. That`s how it is that two guys riding towards each other on the same road can each catch the headwind- they`re riding on the right and the wind blows on the left. I`ll have to consider this possibility in depth someday while I`m battling a headwind opposite the headwind I just battled when I was going the other way.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Wow 85!  Hot  Last year we did hit 85 F in the summer, but never even hit 90!
> 
> High about 40 today here, short lunch ride in long shorts - yee hah! Headwinds gusty to 25mph on the way out, so I had a speedy easy pedal back to work.


well the weather is crazy here in MTY...we have very low temps when the north winds get here...so it is very variable during a month, a week or even in the same day...right now we have 59°F and the max is predicted to be 88°F for today. *(at 3:45 pm we reached 90!)*

yesterday, as soon as I left, it drop at least to 74°F, very nice as you should know


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

After about a month off, I was finally able to commute again. Given the roads here, I have to commute via sidewalk and bike path. Since we got a ton of snow and the plows pushed it all on the sidewalks, its been pretty impassable; but after a rise in temps, its finally melted enough. Let me tell you, it felt good; I maintained better endurance than I thought, probably b/c the wife and I still did jogs around the neighborhood. Temps were about 60F on my way home, which felt darn good and pretty much perfect for me. Only downside was that there was basically a sheet of sand leftover from the snow, so I had to be alert. It is good to be back.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather this morning was great. Unfortunately I snapped my chain (again) a mile out from work, and I forgot to bring my cell phone. I walked/scooted my bike to work.

I'm thinking I need a new chain and a new crank set. It's probably cheaper than just changing my chain rings.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Don't know which way the wind was blowing on the way home...
The TEMPS got me:
In the morning, I had a nice hard layer of packed snow to roll on. Now, it is no longer hard, but it is not soft enough to cut through either.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We got an inch or two of snow over night... I rode the mtb to work, and it was fine as long as I could stay far enough on the shoulder to be in fresh stuff...the tire tracks were a skating rink...apparently it had rained and frozen a bit before the snow started falling. A bit sketchy overall, but not horrible. People in cars looked at me funny. Car traffic was only moving at about 30mph on the highway. I didn't have time to make faces at them...concentrating too hard on keeping my weight centered and avoiding slippery bumps in the bike lane.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

We're having some crazy weather here. We actually had snow in the valley (and all over the mountains - must go snowboarding before it melts away) yesterday. We haven't had snow here in March since 1992. It was brief and didn't stick around long, but this is the desert! There were some strong winds that blew the storm in yesterday morning - I think I broke 10mph only once riding directly into the wind. The ride home was much nicer as the winds had died down (although a tailwind would have been nice). The high yesteday was 53 degrees - next Tuesday we're looking at a high of 76 degrees. Let the warming begin... 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I picked up more crap in my rear tire, though this time it did not lead to a flat (it penetrated the tire at an angle and did not make it through the inner wall). Some weird pin; not sure exactly what it is. It's 3/4" long with no head and it tapers to what looks like a tiiiny drill bit.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Accually Passed a Moped that was "cruisin" the bike lane this morning.....Dude was hitting like 12-15 mph on a flat section of the road. he finnally looked in his mirror and saw that I was tailing him he moved over so I could pass, Nice guy!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Always interesting to see what turns up on the roadside when the snow starts melting. A casual poll of the roadside detritus today found a bevy of littered Bud bottles, followed by a small litter of Labatt's, and a sprinkling of mini-Chardonnays. One of the wine bottles appeared unopened, but I didn't stop and check, being more of a beer fan myself. No treasures yet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

RadioActive said:


> ...
> Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I picked up more crap in my rear tire, though this time it did not lead to a flat (it penetrated the tire at an angle and did not make it through the inner wall). Some weird pin; not sure exactly what it is. It's 3/4" long with no head and it tapers to what looks like a tiiiny drill bit.


 Must be off a UFO, don't they hide those out in the desert somewhere? :skep:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

70 degrees here!


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Must be off a UFO, don't they hide those out in the desert somewhere? :skep:


Yup, Area 51. Guess their stash of parts is overflowing from the Test Site into the valley.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It was 67 F when I made my grocery run in short sleeves. Ten days ago I returned to swap out the light toque for the bellaklava in sub frezzing temps. Weird, but I like this. It is 59 F now at 10:00 PM, warmer than the warmest part of the any day back to November.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Mis Placed


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

*So Close...*

On the commute in this morning....3999.3 miles
I bought the computer last year April or May. 



-Simon


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I want a computer that doesn't freak out and reset itself every few months. I finally gave up and took it off. That is sweet. 4000 miles is a big year. 

Yesterday was a trip. Icy mess in the morning...snow overnight, ice everywhere from the freezing rain that came before the snow. By the afternoon it was pushing 50 and dry as a bone... short sleeves for the ride home, and even the dirt road was dry. Gotta love spring in the mountians. 

Last night I finished the new bike build... finished setting up the tires tubeless at 10:30 last night. This morning they were still holding air and everything looked good, but I was too scared to ride it to work...brand new bike, haven't had a 'shake down' run yet, never ridden tubeless...it just seemed like It would have been pushing my luck to ride it. I was seriously tempted though. If I can get a ride in this evening and everything works, I'll be riding in style tomorrow.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I want a computer that doesn't freak out and reset itself every few months. I finally gave up and took it off. That is sweet. 4000 miles is a big year.
> 
> Yesterday was a trip. Icy mess in the morning...snow overnight, ice everywhere from the freezing rain that came before the snow. By the afternoon it was pushing 50 and dry as a bone... short sleeves for the ride home, and even the dirt road was dry. Gotta love spring in the mountians.
> 
> Last night I finished the new bike build... finished setting up the tires tubeless at 10:30 last night. This morning they were still holding air and everything looked good, but I was too scared to ride it to work...brand new bike, haven't had a 'shake down' run yet, never ridden tubeless...it just seemed like It would have been pushing my luck to ride it. I was seriously tempted though. If I can get a ride in this evening and everything works, I'll be riding in style tomorrow.


Once you go tubeless you won't go back. I run tubeless on all my bikes. What set up are you running, ghetto tubeless or did you get a set of tubeless rims and tires. I think most people get frustrated with tubeless because they try to convert non tubeless systems to tubeless. I have always used tubeless rims and tires and haven't had too many issues.

-Simon


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm going ghetto. WTB speed disc rims (29er) using the Gorilla Tape method with homebrew sealant. I'm jumping in with both feet :lol: I read on the internet that this setup works great, so it must be true...


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

I dont know what I was thinking..... Tryed my uphill route with my SS would have done it but it was so cold my lungs and ears were burning.........


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Did Hawaii boy just say it was cold? :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pretty cool ,Simonns. This is going to be my first year with computers on all my rides (I even reset them for the new year), so I`m looking forward to seeing what I end up with for the year. I doubt I`ll hit 4K, but it might be close- I just reached the 600 mark a half hour ago and hope to rack them up a lot faster when the weather gets nice.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Is it OK to post my unemployed commute/non-commute?

Hoping it will be for real, real soon! Thirty miles today. Very good ride. Except for the dogs.:nono: 

Today: our first Croci are up along the front walk, peepers were chirping in the wetlands along Sand Creek, and the Red Wing Blackbirds were singing their Tchee-Kerree song. Not even St Pat's yet, and the last snow is just gone. Yet we have strong harbingers of spring! You don't hear those closed up in a glass and steel cocoon. If that weren't enough, the pungent aroma of former fodder filled the air saying: Spring! Of course that sealed away effect is kind of nice for that sort of thing. I thanked the person who invented bike fenders and my open mind to use them. Got in 5 minutes before the thunderstorm hit.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I want a computer that doesn't freak out and reset itself every few months. I finally gave up and took it off. That is sweet. 4000 miles is a big year...


I once got so frustrated at a computer that zeroed out after racking up a lot of road miles that I taped the magnet to the blade of an electric fan, and by morning I had my miles back. The max speed was a m a z i n g! :thumbsup:

Bri - good luck with the paid commute possibilities - and nice timing on the thuderstorm.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I once got so frustrated at a computer that zeroed out after racking up a lot of road miles that I taped the magnet to the blade of an electric fan, and by morning I had my miles back. The max speed was a m a z i n g! :thumbsup:


Cool!
I have one VDO altimeter that goes from bike to bike as I feel the urge. After one particular ride, I checked the elevation gain and it said something like 7000 ft of climbing for a three hour ride! I liked the idea, but knew there was no way that I had manged so much. On the way back home, I looked in my rearview mirror and realized what had happened- the front wheel was slowly rotating from the wind in the bed of my moving truck, so the altimeter was counting all the truck`s climbing with my own. Since that trailhead is about 4000 ft above the lowest point on my drive....


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## Ranman (Sep 17, 2005)

My Garmin 305 broke a few weeks back and had to send it in. Apparently they all have this problem. The USB jack comes lose from plugging in to charge and the battery starts to disconnect on large bumps. They were fast on the repair but I lost a week and half of ridding logs. Standard commute so I guess I can cut and past other days into the log but I like to watch my avg speeds.
O' I got to ride in on the last snow storm of the year here in NM. Managed to dodge most of the other ones. Course the snow here barely covers the ground and is gone by noon. Next up is the spring winds....yea.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Fixing to re-start my commute on Monday...my ankle is a lot better, but not up to the 3.5 mi. uphill to my house, so I will start at the bottom of the hill & pedal the remaining 7 mi to Montpelier. Rode 15 mi today on relatively flat roads and felt good, except when I tried to stand and pedal. Sights included a hand-painted "Troll Crossing" sign, cows, lots of steam from maple sugaring, the tallest monster truck I have ever seen, and a tiny post office the size of 2 outhouses.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Fixing to re-start my commute on Monday...my ankle is a lot better, but not up to the 3.5 mi. uphill to my house, so I will start at the bottom of the hill & pedal the remaining 7 mi to Montpelier. Rode 15 mi today on relatively flat roads and felt good, except when I tried to stand and pedal. Sights included a hand-painted "Troll Crossing" sign, cows, lots of steam from maple sugaring, the tallest monster truck I have ever seen, and a tiny post office the size of 2 outhouses.


Putting weight on that ankle and hammering probably won't be easy for awhile but it's good to hear that you're back on the bike!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good to be back! I also enjoyed my first commute without studded tires, so it felt smooth & speedy on the all season knobbies. A little messy, following yesterday's mix of snow & then rain, and still a lot of grime on the roads. I am considering extending my p.m. commute today to about 19mi by not taking the bus, since I won't be pedaling up my hill. We'll see what the weather does, how my ankle feels & when it gets dark now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good to be back!


Good to see you back.
I LOVE that postal outhouse! I suppose you could get in a lot of nice scenery with the extra flat miles you`re thinking about adding on until you feel up to climbng again.

Yesterday was a lucky combination of day off, wife off, and some really nice weather. Rather than let that be enough, we loaded up our tandem and drove to STILL NICER weather in Sacramento (sunny and forecasted high of 68F) to ride their unbeatable river path. Forgot the camera, but had what might turn out to be the best "two-gether" ride of the year. For those familiar with it, we road from near the Watt bridge, up the North side of L Natomas, lunch in Folsom, then back down the South side and back to the car- it took us almost five hours, but we still made it back before it got dark on us.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ sounds sweet. I had to promise the wife that a total teardown/paint job/rebuild of her mtb was next on the bike agenda. Hopefully we'll get some good rides in this summer. 

My commute today was dark...again. Brutal dealing with the time change after that couple of weeks of sunlight in the mornings. It's like January all over again, every year. I did have my newly completed mountain bike to ride, which was a good motivator. Ironing out shifting issues, preliminary cable stretch, etc. Need to throw it back on the stand when I get home and adjust the low limit screw... these are better things to think about than how dark it is.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I had to promise the wife that a total teardown/paint job/rebuild of her mtb was next on the bike agenda.


Pack it up and send it South. I hear Monterey (NL, not CA) is the world capital of frame refinishing and wifemoblie blinging.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Hahaha good one R&R! Sounds like a fine idea. Your river ride sounds great, esp with the sunshine.

As you suggested, I kept my eye out for noteworthy scenery on the extended ride today. My favorite was this "stairway to heaven" cut into the ledge at the cemetery. Also saw a sign of spring - water (instead of ice jams) and 2 mallards in the river.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> As you suggested, I kept my eye out for noteworthy scenery on the extended ride today. .


Love your pics. :thumbsup: Glad you're back. Now I'll have to reroute to get some nice ones in return.

About 49 F with a 10 mph N.W wind gusting to 20. Hurts after nearly 70 on Wednesday.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Just took my new (to me) bike in to work for the first time today. Its about a 4-5 click ride along the Bow River, with a final decent climb at the end that, sadly, I had to walk for the last 20 feet or so. Legs were totally spent.

Nice to note that given where I park the ride is not significantly longer than the drive.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

wife says the combo of 35mm marathons and compact trek geometry works a treat.
sorted with campy 10 speed mirage, shifters, der's, wheelset.
cranks are race face cadence 34/50
bars are special ed zertz 
funny how a zertz here and fat tires there can make it a luxo-boat compared to 23's and stiff alloy bars. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold this morning, or for what I wore anyways. Before I left the house it was 32F, but as I drove to a parking lot down the hill it dropped to 26F. That 4" of bare skin between the baggy knickers and skisocks (stylish, I know) was a bit chilly & my hands were too. Now it is clearbluesky & 60F! A little jealous of the roadies who went out at lunch but couldn't keep up with them on a good day anyways. Biking from work 15mi to a ski-town Waitsfield to hear a friend play at the pub, then surf her couch & back to work in the a.m. from there. Nice variety pack on the commute this week.


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## dankilling (Feb 24, 2004)

Fair-weather commuting began again in for me this morning. The old bones creaked a little when I asked them to move so early in the morning, but I felt great by the time I got to work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've extended the ride the last couple of days on the new bike. Good stuff. I've almost forgotten about the time change and the dark mornings due to the joy of a new bike. 

I think I have all the bugs worked out, now it's just about enjoying the thing and tweaking the set-up. 

MTBX, did you get that 'cross bike?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> MTBX, did you get that 'cross bike?


Not yet, but trying to figure out a weekend that works as I was just drooling over it earlier today. They live near the velodrome in PA & I want to go to see the races with them, but those don't start til June & I'm thinking I want to get the bike before then.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hard to stop and smell the roses when they haven't leafed out. However the croci are up wherever people have used chicken wire to keep them safe from squirrels.



The Tower Tree, Greeensburg, Indiana hasn't leafed out yet, but the grass is greening.


(BTW it is listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not!)


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Hey guys! I see you were having fun! 

MTBX is back and CBoy is enjoying the new ride... that's great!

I was a little busy this weekend...I moved my blog to the trusty and cheapy wordpress...did some errands with the wife and went to Mcallen because she flew from there to Tenerife today, yes, I'm wifeless again...and this time for two months  ... it sucks... but she needs to be there for a while...she is going to try to get her Spanish Nationality.

On the other hand, since I knew that, I was able to avoid getting her white shoes and bought a couple of things for the pugs instead  which btw is on the PC shop and will probably get it tomorrow.

From Mcallen I also brought the super tourist rack and the bar-end beacons (which were a pain to install btw)...so tomorrow is pannier day! 

ahh and I also add some reflective tape from HD! will post pic later on the proper thread


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Cold in the morning. Colder than expected. Unusually cold: -19 C (-2F) when I took the dog out; about -17C (2F) when I got on the bike... Should be much warmer in the afternoon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@ Martinsillo: ???
Tenerife is somewhere in Spain? Hang in there while she`s gone- I know it`s rough.

I just looked quickly at your new blog- very nice. It seems more navigation friendly than the old version. You didn`t take out all the commuting tips, did you? Also, congrats on your metric C. If you posted that here, I didn`t see it.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@rodar
yeah rodar...Spain.

about the blog, yeah, I was trying to go for that, mobileme (mac system) wasn't what I expected, I'm running the two months trial and won't go for it so, I did some research and went for wordpress. 

Yeah, the commuting tips are there and now people can also comment on them in the same page, which is nice. I did my first commuting metric C with the Trurly a few days ago...thanks!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I almost just got pitched over the bars on the morning commute...

I was back on the 'cross bike after a few days on the new 29er (don't want to wear the michelins down on the pavement too bad). So I'm overly confident descending my pothole infested dirt road in the dark, because the 9er just eats up the bumps and dips. 90psi on a rigid bike...not so much. On top of that it's darker than it has been because of cloud cover. 

So I'm going a little too fast to pick a very smooth line through the pothole minefield (downhill) and this horribly inconsiderate person has the nerve to DRIVE up the road while I'm biking on it. How lame, right? Anyway, now I have the complication of headlights in my face, and less than half of the right side of the road to work with...well right when I got up to the car, at that moment when you actually can't see anything, just before you pass each other, I HAMMERED what had to have been the biggest pothole on the road. My two-bolt stem lost its grip on my bullhorn bars, producing a sickening squeeking slipping sound (bars rotated down maybe 10 degrees), my weight shifted forward, and I distinctly remember my rear wheel returning to the ground well after the pothole, which it never hit...I was about one thousandth of a second from hitting the ejector button, but somehow I came out on top of the bike and didn't go down. I coasted it out to the bottom of the hill, where I discovered that I had also thrown a chain, and my superflash taillight had gone from blink mode to solid mode, probably out of fear. I think that's the superflash equivelant of peeing your pants.

I rode the rest of the way to work with my bars in this new weird position, which made my headlight virtually worthless because it was pointing at the ground about 10 feet in front of me. I came the closest I've come in a long time to hitting a deer about a half mile after 'the incident'. 

Busted out the multi-tool when I got here and re-adjusted the bars...everything seems fine, no deep scratches in the aluminum or anything, But I know that will make it more likely for that stem/bar interface to slip again. I had my doubts when I went from a 4 bolt stem to a 2 bolt, especially with bullhorns, your hands wind up so far out in front of the stem...serious leverage in an impact like that. 

...thankful that I'm not nursing gravel rash right now!


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## datalore (May 2, 2009)

Just got a new cycling computer for my commuter bike. This morning's stats:

Bike: Steel fixed-gear, 48t chainring, 16t fixed cog
Terrain: Home to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Weather: 10 degrees Celsius, sunny
Distance: 3.12km
Mean speed: 28kph
Max speed: 43.32kph

There are a bunch of busy stop signs and stop lights along the way that always reduce my mean speed.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I almost just got pitched over the bars on the morning commute...
> 
> ....thankful that I'm not nursing gravel rash right now!


All's well that ends well.

Had my bars drop after 6000 miles of use on Friday with no hint of looseness as warning. About 20 degrees of semi-free rotation. I was down in the drops for a headwind gusting over 25, which I seldom do. Same extra leverage issue. I guess the in and out of cold weather gradually backed the allen bolt a tiny bit or the clamp was hung up on a bolt thread and finally released. I know I had it torqured well initially. I did not have dark and a car beside me and a minefield of potholes as you did.:thumbsup:

Don't get cocky, kid. Luck beats skill any day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lot of excitement out there, I think a little too much excitement for CB - glad you were were able to get through that one! I'm sure all your bike handling skills from the ice this winter helped you stay on board. 

Data - never seen a chain in color - or one on the left, so I guess I've learned something here today.

Martin - hope your wife has a safe trip & that you are managing OK.

Pertime - that is COLD - I guess I can't complain about it being 25F this a.m. now. Hope we don't see those numbers again until next winter. We've had over 30 days above normal, but I am waiting for the other snowshoe to drop.

I biked to work from my friend's in Waitsfield, a nice ride, 18mi, on part of the route of the Green Mountain Stage Race, some hills, got up to 32 mph coasting downhill on the MTB. Saw a flock of about 20 wild turkeys in a field, some with their tail feathers fanned out.


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## datalore (May 2, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Data - never seen a chain in color - or one on the left, so I guess I've learned something here today.


It's on the right, so it must just be the photo. KMC makes chains in every colour of the


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

having a rack fixed to the frame and not only to the seat-post rocks...I barely felt the weight of the loaded pannier, in fact I had to check back a couple of times to confirm it was there...It just felt great.

now that I have both bags I'll try to do some "groceries trips", won't be able to carry a lot but will be an excuse to add more miles to the excel table 

@mtbx
thanks...she already called to tell me she was OK. Told me the flight was very shaky too, not nice for an 9 hrs flight :nono:


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> I almost just got pitched over the bars on the morning commute...
> 
> I was back on the 'cross bike after a few days on the new 29er (don't want to wear the michelins down on the pavement too bad). So I'm overly confident descending my pothole infested dirt road in the dark, because the 9er just eats up the bumps and dips. 90psi on a rigid bike...not so much. On top of that it's darker than it has been because of cloud cover.
> 
> ...


O_O Wow.... doesn't sound as bad as that time you hit that big rock and went flying, but probably scary enough. Good job hanging on and riding it out, that takes skill! Makes me want to go tighten my bar clamp now.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Today was one of the nicest day so far this year.
I decided to take the Seattle Langster this morning. A because I wanted to ride 
something lighter and it's Green 
It's Wednesday so I meet a coworker at Einstein Brothers Bagels for Bagels and coffee.Ihad a package to drop off at the Post Office so I had that strapped to the rack. It was myfirst ride on an aluminum bike and carbon fork this year.

On the way home I almost made it alway the way home without a headlight and I got to see the Sunset.

Damn I forgot my Camera this morning.


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## grandsalmon (Oct 24, 2005)

Glad you OK CB! The bike too.

This evening's commute back- here in Seattle, was very nice. Sun was shining right up to civil twilight. Spring is here, and the tree blossoms are poppin"! 

Been testing out my carbon Planet X bike the last few days, it just surges ahead with each pedal stroke. Made it from South Central District up to Lynnwood in really good time, and past some pretty bunched up cars around Montlake Bridge.
When you pass car jams like that, you always feel you are on the right machine.

I bring camera next time also.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

grandsalmon said:


> When you pass car jams like that, you always feel you are on the right machine.
> .


That makes me feel good when I make better time on my bike than cars.

I also feel smarter than someone who pulls up next to me in a Smart Car.
Maybe thisSummer when they next to me with their window open I'll yell out....
*Mine Is Smarter and wink at them *


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A gloriously uneventful ride this morning


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Had a nice peaceful ride in, 18 mi since I skipped the bus. I hope they repave some of this route - if you were on a road bike you'd have to ride in the middle of the road to have a safer smoother ride. Some pix below - out my front door, "Squashed Bikes" sculpture, and a roadside stream running good even with the wimpy snowmelt this year.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Now THAT is art. :lol:


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Checked the weather this am and saw it was above freezing so decided to ride in again. This time I brought my GPS and have learned what I thought was 4-5km is actually 6.8 km. I already feel like I have more energy having just ridden a couple of times. Will have to remember the camera before the ice gives way on the river.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Drove today because I had to take the car in for service.  At least it's finished already and I don't have to worry about trying to pick it up after work. My knee's kinda hurting anyway, so maybe it was for the best.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Drove today because I had to take the car in for service.  At least it's finished already and I don't have to worry about trying to pick it up after work. My knee's kinda hurting anyway, so maybe it was for the best.


LOL I had to drive in today too...... My excuse is TOO MUCH DAMN RAIN!  We are Having a Bit of a storm.......


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Second highest temps since last fall. Tested the helmet light on flash this trip. No smoke. Lots of light. Could see both flashing back at me at a stoplight, in the shiny liftgate of a Ford Freestyle. Yep, pretty obnoxious, about 1000 lumens at the mid setting. No replacement for being careful. Mad Eye Mooney's admonition of 'constant vigilance' or defensive riding cannot be set aside. Still the comment "I didn't see him" will be an admission of guilt, not an excuse. Might ride a tad bit further for a nice pic tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I feel bad syaing it, but MtbX`s injury has turned into a boon for us- lots of nice pictures! Is it bad to look at the silver lining?

It`s definitely Spring here, even though the temps will probably go back down a bit temporarilly. The first of my wife`s bulbs shot up while we weren`t looking to about five inches high, I was able to dig enough hole to plant our Christmas tree (last time I tried the ground was still frozen a few inches down), lots of tiny leaves buds showing up on my trees, and our little lawn is really getting green. In the Winter, I feed the neighborhood cottontails (don`t look, gardeners!), but I think we`re in the last few weeks of that- pretty soon there will be enough natural green popping up for them. Tulips, if nothing else. No work this Friday, the plant will be shut down. That means another short paycheck, but it`s also a good opportunity to take my first weekend tour of the year. I have a nice 2.5 day triangle roughed out in my mind, mostly through as yet unpedaled territory for me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ same weather pattern as Rodar.

This was the ride after work today, lucky me.... 15 minutes from the office. Did an out-and-back after work and hitched a ride home with wifey.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice CBoy...for the sanity of the thread, I won't show the "river" I have near home!

My ride today was as usual, well I add a mile to return the Tuesday Movies 

but hey... I can show you a nice pic... look what the wife left for me...










I will also add this for you guys... if you haven't bought this for home










DO IT!! your wife will love it and you won't regret it when home alone!


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ same weather pattern as Rodar.
> 
> This was the ride after work today, lucky me.... 15 minutes from the office. Did an out-and-back after work and hitched a ride home with wifey.


Wow beautiful!

I snapped a quick pic on the ride home. It doesn't capture the best angle, so I'll try again next week if the ice is left. Cool thing is that the geese are back!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Special Ed on the Biz! I sure wish it were closer to me.

Bilirubin, that`s nice. Your profile says Calgary. Is that where the pic is from?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very nice of your wife to leave you goodies, but you started cleaning up too early! You`re supposed to leave the mandil hanging on the door until the last panicked day before she comes home- didn`t they teach you that in college? Sheesh!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> This was the ride after work today, lucky me.... .


Talk about art! (Liked mtbxplorer's sculpture, too) Landscape with nice bike. Made me want to hop on and ride! Poetry not currently in motion! This is a very nice virtual group ride here..


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

almost got doored today...this taxi stops at a corner with its turn-light on...I went in to turn with him and didn't notice if it has passengers or not (my bad)... just when passing by, door opening... thank God I had space between the car and sidewalk.

@rodar...I know I know...but you know, home care training could be like a brain washer, and I really left a mess the other day installing the rack and reflective tape in the living room.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Special Ed on the Biz! I sure wish it were closer to me.


It's closer than that Sacramento river path 

It's pretty snow-free from just above the tunnels down...if you want a full day ride I'd wait a weekend or two. Melting off quick.

I can't wait to bomb this trail on the 'cross bike with the wheels and tires off of the new 29er. It will be the ultimate Biz Bomber with some 2.0 tubeless squish.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Martinsillo: Well, since you made the mess working on your bike, I guess we can let it slide  . My wife was gone for over a year at one point and I even moved my bike into the living room- had a BIG mess by the time she was able to come home!



CommuterBoy said:


> It's closer than that Sacramento river path
> 
> It's pretty snow-free from just above the tunnels down...if you want a full day ride I'd wait a weekend or two. Melting off quick.


Yeah, that`s true. Also a lot less crowded- later, when it`s stinking hot down in Sac you`ll have them beat with weather, too. But keep in mind that the museum to Devil`s Corral and back is a full day ride if we go on our singles  . If we take the tandem, I don`t know it it would be worth hauling it overall those ATV traps on the lower part. Do you think it`s still snowy and/or muddy from Gomaz to Westwood?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Definitely still snowy/muddy above Goumaz. Snow is still being measured in feet rather than inches at westwood. Top end is still cross country ski territory. 
They removed one of those lower ATV traps near the depot, There's just one now between the depot and the tunnels.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in, but saw this crater yesterday on the downhill, and stopped to cross the road and take a pic this a.m. Not likely to be featured in those VT bike tour company advertisements.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

For the record, that's a little bigger than the pothole I slammed into the other morning.
 

I don't think your titanium frame would absorb the vibrations from that one.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yeah, the only mad skills to use if you hit that one would be aerial maneuvers. Did I mention the local pro basketball team is called the Vermont Frost Heaves?? I emailed the pic to someone in VTrans ops & he promptly forwarded it to the crew to fix it. On my way home, they already had an orange barrel bungied to the guard rail to warn people...I will be interested how quick the real fix takes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, that is a big one. Is it frost heave, though? I`ve only experienced them (frost heaves) once and they were neither what I expected nor what you have there- maybe different meaning depending on where you are?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well, that 1 would not not really be a frostheave here either, those are perpendicular to travel & like a broken hump in road & often repeating, and they sometimes settle down on ttheir own once the frost is 100% out. Ours usually "break" & have a crack in top, runing your rollercoaster. That hole is more the sinkhole/pothole variety to get technical. I'm also told that road was paved with asphalt over narrower concrete (pre-any-interstate-in-VT), so the edges have poor underlying suppport .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks. Several years ago I got a ride from Valdez to Anchorage and many sections of highway were full of frost heaves. Great big whoopsiedoo things. I can see how they could be dangerous, but I thought it was fun- like a roller coaster.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Nice Rice to work this morning Stopped at Panera to get a bagel and I saw this Bugati.









Then I got to work and all hell broke loose. Very busy very short staffed. 
I broke a spoke on my front wheel going home last night on the Seattle Langster
then a spoke on the rear wheel of my Soma this morning.

This morning before leaving I realized that a nipple snapped on the Seattle.
Then fixed the rear spoke on the Soma before going home tonight.(damn 15 gauge spokes)

All in All a Good week with 168 miles so far for the week.Calling for wet snow tomorrow


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Mmmmm all around..my sister in Encinitas CA has sent me Carobou coffee & Green Mtn coffee here had it for 10cents a pod(cup) here recently because they put too much good coffee in each pod.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Normbilt said:


> Nice Rice to work this morning Stopped at Panera to get a bagel and I saw this Bugati.


Not a real Bugati. VW Bug-ati, by the tail pipe and bustle-like butt. I think they,made conversions for MGA's too. Still fun, nice, and fairly rare. A real one would likely have armed guards around it (7 plus figures).

No ride today.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

A bit chilly this morning, had to bust out the gloves. I've got a longish (nearly 9 miles) ride after work to meet my girlfriend at her work. I'm looking forward to the first long(ish) ride in some time. Maybe squeeze in a long one tomorrow since we're both off.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Since I didn't get my commute/non-commute in on Friday and did yard work yestterday, I got in 27 miles today. Trying to keep below 75% max pulse rate into wind averaged less than 12 mph outbound, but I didn't go to the drops as I wanted the too-fast drivers to see the ANSI vest. Upright has to kill 1 mph at least into 20 mph winds. Almost 19 mph homebound also trying to keep from blasting up the hills over the target pulse too much. Woo Hoo! Last time I had this much head wind outbound it changed around so it was also a head wind back.

The daffodils are up:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Not a commute*

but it WAS on my commuter. First mini tour of the year- two day loop route of Reno, Carson City, Dayton and Virginia City starting and ending at my back door. Nice temps, slightly cloudy, really windy for the last few hours.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice rodar...how many miles?...a one day tour?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks. Two days- not many miles, but a lot of climbing.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cool, I need to think about a thing like that...I will certainly need a day ride going out the city to feel like I really leave it


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Noncommute mini tour- beats the HE- double-hockey-sticks out of yard work! :thumbsup:

Got me thinking about a mini trip, and that's not necessarily a good thing...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Looks like a great trip Rodar, thanks for the pics. Nice to see a daffodil too, Bri.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, I was just looking at some bike parts on Craigslist that were in Dayton. Next time can you haul the trailer and pick some stuff up for me? :lol:

Looks like fun. I should do something like that this year...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That might be a while, CB. I left my BOB in Carson, on loan until probably mid June.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dang. Better start looking for parts closer to home :lol:



Rode the 29er in today... hoping to sneak in a trail ride after work. Doing that changes my whole perspective throughout the day... if the work day ends with a trail ride, it can't be that bad.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

We've had really nice weather here the past couple weeks - highs in the 70s. It's rather windy today though. The wind noticeably grabbed my front wheel a couple times on the ride in. Nice temps though - high 50s for the morning commute. 

This week is a short one for me. I took two days off to extend my weekend to head up north to Brianhead for some snowboarding and then to Bryce for some snowshoeing before the snow melts away. I'm getting a head start on spring break, since I have to work and volunteer over the break.


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## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

first time in toooo long! felt great even though it was like 32 degrees and there was no hot water at work for a showr :madmax: 

i fell 1000% better when i commute and i hate that i felt too busy to do it last spring (mostly cause the 50lbs i lost 2 years ago are back)  )


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RadioActive said:


> This week is a short one for me. I took two days off to extend my weekend to head up north to Brianhead for some snowboarding and then to Bryce for some snowshoeing before the snow melts away. I'm getting a head start on spring break, since I have to work and volunteer over the break.


This just when I was getting over my envy at the thought of two months in Twin Falls followed by a few weeks in the Sierra  
You`re killing me!


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> This just when I was getting over my envy at the thought of two months in Twin Falls followed by a few weeks in the Sierra
> You`re killing me!


Sorry! I figured I'd take advantage of being a graduate student while I can (lot of free time). My stay in Idaho is work-related, though, if that helps at all.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Not much, but what really helps is the thought of all those term papers I`m not doing. Go for it- I`m sure you deserve whatever good times you can manage!
EDIT: or since you`re a grad student, probably a thesis. I`m feeling better all the time


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The first half of this week looks all the same: frozen in the morning, various degrees of wet in the afternoon (wet snow, wet dirt, wet pavement, some dry patches).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back to normal March weather after last week's sunshine...inches of cold rain, flood watch, water over some roads, river on way home currently @ 6030cfs, so the whitewater kayakers having more fun than the bikers. I drove today. Supposed to clear for Th Fri Sat.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We're in that spring mode of 28*-30* in the morning, 60* in the afternoon...I ride to work in the jacket, leg warmers, windproof gloves, beanie...then ride home in shorts and short sleeves with a bulging backpack.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> but it WAS on my commuter. First mini tour of the year- two day loop route of Reno, Carson City, Dayton and Virginia City starting and ending at my back door. Nice temps, slightly cloudy, really windy for the last few hours.


*NICE.* Great place for it, too. I seriously have to start thinking about some mini-tours. That's something I'd really like to get started.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rejoice and be glad in it. I took the hint today!

The upper left is a farmstead on one of the fingers of the Wisconsin Glaciation. It stopped halfway down the County. Pretty flat on the glacial till, but up and down between the fingers or the areas south which are another 10,000 years since a glacier last visited. Just a nice rural scene on a sunny evening ride.

The upper right is 'The Duchess' with the 700C-35 Michelin City Tires from the errand bike and the 11-34 cassette (dinner plate size). The back roads were a tad hard on the butt last fall and no better now, so I upped the ante from 27" -28 mm to 35 mm and sure glad I did. I feel what the 650B guys are talking about! You can just see the reflective sidewalls and light weights on the spokes in the westering sun.

Lower left The Round Barn. Name sort of says it all. Historical building.

Lower right sunset over a pond looking from the 12th Green of the Country Club. Need Turner to get the colors right. Cell phone only hints at them. Oh well. Bike light test ride a huge success.

We are short on mountains and sweeping grand vistas close at hand. Now a 2-day trip. I can find some vistas.


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## JUNGLEKID5 (May 1, 2006)

it was wet and nasty


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BMc, are you in IN or WI? It`s looking decidedly Springy where ever.


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## grandsalmon (Oct 24, 2005)

...BMc...Thanks for stopping and shooting some NICE pics!


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

First commute for this fair weather commuter this year. It was 40 deg F this morning so a bit chilly start and forecasted to be mid-60s on the commute home. 28km roundtrip. I'm feeling good this morning!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar: Halfway between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Wisconsin was thoroughly glaciated last time. It stopped before it got to the Ohio River, right here, in fact.

GrandSalmon: Thanks. I figured a couple of days after March 21 was close enough to spring equinox to record a ride with more than one shot. You can blame/credit Mtbxplorer: she started it. Then Rodar y rodar upped the ante with gorgeous shots. I try to always carry the cell phone. But for someone who grew up with party lines and a hand crank phone, it is hard to remember you have this Star Trek technology so easily available. 
:madman: 

Miss my 35 mm zoom, though. 

Being photographed is an excellent deterent for most motorists. I am trying to make it second nature rather than respond in anger. I't hard when someone has put your life at risk, to remain calm and shoot them right between the eyes...:eekster: :nono: 
with a camera-phone..:thumbsup: :lol:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

*how do they do it??*

how do fixie riders in tight jeans ride... like at all?
Laundry needs to be done, tossed on some jeans that're snug across the thighs and calves, and even though I'd not characterize them as "tight" the compression over muscles trying their damndest to expand is noticeable!!

it's like out of the gate you feel you're 2 hours into the ride, where the muscles aren't snapping to attention anymore, or when your pants are soaked and heavy with mud, and the will is there but the legs just don't want to move.

sucks.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

My first Commuter Crash...a guy in a bike (me), a dog and a stopped vehicle.

So I was having the best of the commutes trying to improve my average cadence, which means I was going faster than usual (not that I do it fast the rest of the days)...so, anyways...

I was approaching this little park when I saw this large dog (it was a mix of a German Shepperd, you could tell by the ears) and as soon as he saw me got into the road, wait for me, and started the chase, barking...everything as usual, they chase, they got tired and turn back...well this time it wasn't like that...

First, this was my first time being chased by a large dog, second, this one didn't got tired and third, he didn't turn back. We ran the length of the park together and we even ran most of the next block too.

At the end of the block he stopped barking, I said, "well, finally, he is turning back", he was running on my right side, I turn to my right and he wasn't there, and when I turn my head to the left just to be sure...WTF!! the f##$in dog was trying to bite me! I swerve to the right doing the left kick trick at the same time...bad move...just when I turn my head back on the road I was heading to a stooped truck...couldn't avoid it...I crashed. I was able to swerve back the bike to the left but my body end up open to receive the impact...I did the shell move and wait for it...everything went to my right arm...I didn't fall but geez it was hard.

What do the Dog did? turned back! F"#k, at least bite me!

I got really dizzy by the impact...but was able to see the owner of the dog at the end of the park...a homeless guy...stayed on the curb for a while before continue...I though I was going to puke or something.. well, I think I'll just get a nice bruise on my arm.

When I started to ride I began to see everything blurry...I had to go back for my glasses


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ay, Martin! Tell us the important part! Is your Kermit Green powder job okay?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Commo_soulja: The 60 part sounds good, but I know what Bay Area 40 feels like.
@BMc: You had a zoom for your 35mm? High zoot!
@byknuts: The fixters around here wear BDUs.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: yeah the bike didn't receive any damage...somehow the saddle end up spinning 90° on the post, which also hit me on my left leg a little btw, but lucky me, that was all.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

martinsillo said:


> What do the Dog did? turned back! F"#k, at least bite me!


Elementary dog psychology, my dear Watson 

"If it is not moving fast it is neither threat nor prey."


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## datalore (May 2, 2009)

Last night, I bought my Salsa Las Cruces cross bike back from another rider. Naturally, I used it for this morning's commute. I had forgotten how well cross tires can smooth out the ride of an otherwise very stiff and unforgiving bike. It was also my first ride on a conventionally-geared bike in about a year. I think the hiatus from geared bikes really improved my stamina and helped to correct my over-shifting.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Wet Wet Wet!!!! Darn It.......................:cryin: :cryin: :cryin:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Martinsillo: Sucks. Good he didn't bite. Likely no rabies shots for the dog of a homeless person. That means painful shots for you and another wound to heal. So as they said in the cartoons, "Could be lots worser!" :arf: 

Did a timed 25 miles down a local highway with the big tires again and was glad in several places. Only 1 mph off my best on that trip of last year. I'll take it. Starting to understand the Pugsley. Kinda scary. :lol: 

Felt like Jim Carey in 'Truman' today. Seemed like every time I needed a left turn, or to pull into traffic or cross an intersection, after miles of no vehicles, suddenly I have them in excess. Our church's Treasurer pulled out of the County Club and almost T-boned me less than a mile from home. (Typical.) I was sure he had seen me to have not pulled out for so long most Cadillac that stop. It's going to be interesting to hear what he was thinking.:???:


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Today was Bagel Wednesday where a couple coworkers meet at a gathering place. We drink coffee and chow down on Bagels. Today we were riding all USA Made Frames with Two Gunnars and one brand new 2010 Cannondale Caad9 1.



Then We Ride To Work


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was warm, dry and very windy when I came in tonight. Now it`s warm and very windy and snowing hard.


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## langford (May 7, 2004)

Nice pics Norm!
My commute yesterday was my first since January 28 for some reason (no good ones!), a crisp -2C (29F) in the morning dark @ 6:30 am and a beautiful bare legged ride home at 5:30 pm with a sunny +15C (60F) and a tail wind for the last half of the 17 km (10 miles)ride. The old Nishiki International rode superbly, even with bags stuffed overfull with jacket, wind pants, long johns,thick socks, etc. on the way home. Great to be back on the commuting bike!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

car ride today and tomorrow...yesterday, as the day was ending I realize that a pain on my left scapula was actually badder than on the right arm...a movement I didn't recognize in the crash certainly did something there...it was a pain when sleeping with the right upper-arm/shoulder (which is already getting some nice color) and left scapula hurting.

hopefully I'll be back on Monday.

@BMc
yes...that definitely would turn this worse.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, no- that doesn`t sound good. I sure hope it improves over the weekend. You don`t think anything is broken, do you?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

no rodar, it seems that it is just muscular...if I don't feel any significant relieve tomorrow, will be visiting the a doc 

in the meantime, mother is a doc, and she already prescribe some muscle relaxant.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^Feel better man, that sounds like no fun at all. 

Snow this morning. What. The. Crap. It's almost April. Every March I have to remind myself that March traditionally sees more snow than January around here. I truly didn't even look outside while I was getting ready this morning, so it wasn't until I opened the door and headed outside that I saw the snow. Wasn't really dressed for it either. At least that crazy wind that kept me awake last night was over. Not too much ice, so it wasn't bad. It'll be 60* and sunny for the ride home probably. Aahhh, spring in the sierras.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice pix all, the bagel/coffee ride sounds fun. 
Martin, hope you feel better soon - I am sure the dog and the truck are feeling just fine!

Nice to see the sun again, blue sky, crisp air this a.m., about 28F. It was too bright to see the viewfinder, but took this one anyway. Nearby is a cow culvert, where they put in a concrete culvert big enough for the cows to go through for milking since the road is not safe for regular cow crossing from pasture to barn any more. They even blasted ledge to put it & the cow's ramp to it in.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice pix all....


Hey! Nice yourself.:thumbsup:



mtbxplorer said:


> Nearby is a cow culvert, where they put in a concrete culvert big enough for the cows to go through for milking since the road is not safe for regular cow crossing from pasture to barn any more. They even blasted ledge to put it & the cow's ramp to it in.


Having hit and killed an 8 point buck that dressed out at 295 pounds, I think it best not to tangle with 800-1000 pounds of Holstein. Bettter for them and better for the motorists. Besides you'd have something lining your fenders to help you remember the crossing if they'd not gone underground.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Hope your feeling better Martin. Take it easy on that shoulder!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Drop to 26F before leaving work with a 12 mph wind. Like a17F wind chill.

I picked up a pair of Pearl Izumi X-Alp Seek WRX. I just got them Tuesday, 
They worked great tonight.


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

We got your storm up here today CB. Cold, wind, rain, hail..... I was riding my old SS MTB today because I am swapping out my recalled fork on my new bike and have yet to finish. I was riding through an intersection which is also at the top of a hill. The wind was blowing so hard I thought I was going to come to a stop as I crested the hill. I need to get the Nasbar X back together, I forgot how hard it is to pedal the old MTB with fat tires.:yikes: I thought for sure the brakes were hanging up.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

34 degrees with a strong headwind most of the way. I felt like I was creeping along. Not too long ago the weather would have felt warm. It didn't feel as pleasant after a couple weeks with lows in the mid 40s to low 50s.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice ride in, but saw this crater yesterday on the downhill, and stopped to cross the road and take a pic this a.m. Not likely to be featured in those VT bike tour company advertisements.


Crater has been filled in since my email to VTrans! Just a quick coldpatch job, and still not 100% to grade, but now a pothole instead of a crater. And they left the orange barrel in place next to it, so they may be back to pretty it up later.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ That's impressive. I wonder if the VTrans people would come over and teach the CalTrans people a thing or two....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I dunno 'bout that. They had to blow up the Crown Point Bridge to NY in December after an emergency closure in October due to supports being unsafe. It's a long way around, even for car commuters. I don't know what any cyclists did before the temp ferry was up & running.
But if it's not snowing or icy VTrans might well get there to help CalTrans.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

I camped right next to that bridge on my bicycle tour last summer.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another harbinger of spring...



..the Sugar Maple in flower (picture yesterday before snow and rain took them, they don't last long). I can coun't on my allergies starting in big time very soon. Too bad it didn't bloom with a blue sky. The rain and snow did them in pretty much.



The restored bridge. Classic American Trestle. To island in Sand Creek flood control lake. Too bad the geese make the deck a challenge to walk on. It was to be part of a bike/walking path, I think.



The plaque and The Duchess and my shadow. (doing my Hitchcock-like cameo, I guess) 
 (Hitchcock Theme here)

Good I got the pics in while the sky was clear. The ride was the same ol' same ol' you know pedaling, stop signs, lights, too fast drivers, weird looks, and...

Oh yeah and being shot at (or at least towards). Depends on how lousy his aim was. 

Not sure if he was just blowing off steam, contemplating using it on himself, or playing scare the guy on the bike and lay in wait untill he gets close enough to nail his butt. Maybe I was just taking too long and he had the firearm equivalent of PE. Before the last three shots, I thought he'd been hit as he was lying on the access ramp from the road to the field he'd been in. Then I saw the pistol aimed straight up from his navel like some black parody of arousal. If he was happy I was getting close, I didn't want to know about it. Pretty long barrel, but then witnesses tend to overestimate the size of the gun.

Definitely not your 'normal' posture or actions even for Kentuckiana. Realizing he was quite alive, and not calling for aid, and possibly murderous or suicidal (my compassion was ebbing fast), I called 911 and booked it out of range. I was inspired. 'Getting the lead out' and hauling butt. Being shot at improved my performance substantially, I found. A shot came as it was ringing through, another during the call, and a third hit something metal in the ditch beside me and twanged it as I headed WAY out of range. Number seven. Before cruisers arrived, he started to walk towards nearest farmhouse, but he had not made it before the first cruiser arrived. So at least an officer sighted him too, although they witnessed no shots. A backup cruiser went flying by me towards the fracas.

Strikes me a surreal. 

It's times like these when I wish I'd listened to what my mother told me.

Why, what she tell you?

I dunno. I wasn't listening.
-Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

:lol:

Being chased by a dog into a truck starts to look good compared to being shot at!


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## AZnewbie (Oct 14, 2009)

WOW. Today was tough. Head wind was so strong waves were cresting in the canal... The opposite way of the flop!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Holy c! BMc, definitely, next time I'll be glad to crash to the nearest stopped car...

but let me tell you, I've been lucky to not be involved in such scene...if you have seen the news about MTY these days you could imagine...not in my ride time but a week ago two students were killed by grenade on my route, because they were confused by narcos...you know inside the campus!

glad you made it!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

btw..thanks for your words guys....I'm recovering very well...I'll be back on monday for sure..perhaps a city ride on sunday...pain on the left scapula is pretty much gone :thumbsup:

The arm doesn't look as bad as it hurts.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> Holy c! BMc, definitely, next time I'll be glad to crash to the nearest stopped car...
> 
> but let me tell you, I've been lucky to not be involved in such scene...if you have seen the news about MTY these days you could imagine...not in my ride time but a week ago two students were killed by grenade on my route, because they were confused by narcos...you know inside the campus!
> 
> glad you made it!


I've seen that bruise before! In a no warning OTB. I ripped the tendons real good. Took 5 years until I could stand sleeping on that side and I still have trouble with that. A decade to get my arm back to full motion. So yeah. Many of us know too well...

A shot in the ditch beside me is a far cry from hand grenades. Cripes!

The first shot I thought was a blown truck tire on the Interstate under the crossover I had just ridden down. The second made me think: gun. Sucker boomed! They hunt nearly all the time here, but I couldn't think of whether Rabbits were in season, or not. I saw someone in the field and thought they were too close to the road to be shooting a gun. Then he slumped down like he had been hit. I realized very soon after that, he was just acting crazy, I was GONE! Whether he actualy knew I was even there when he shot in my general direction, I don't know. A lot of Meth heads here and their brains are eaten away.

Riding bikes can be exciting!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Riding bikes can be exciting!


yeah it is! and sometimes painful :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrMc that is nuts! Glad you had some sprint in you. You may have saved someone's life that day - your own or others'. What was he thinking?? Your shadow doesn't look like a rabbit and you probably bike too much to be good eating.

Martin - That is very bad news that things have gotten so dangerous there - stay safe! 

Cranky - there should be a new bridge, by next summer I would guess.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I know that bathroom humor is SO puerile (look it up, if you must) but I couldn't resist:



I guess today's ride went in the crapper at this point.

Have to go around it. Here we go Loop dee Loo...

This is actually one of the three best pieces of pavement I frequently ride. So if this is someone's crtique suggesting it is a sh***y piece of road, I disagree. At least up till now.

No Martha, I don't think this is a scheduled rest stop.

The Century's idea of roadside amenities left a lot to be desired.

Another reason to ride Kevlar tires.

I hope it fell off the back of a truck because if it went airborne, I'd hate to have been on it.

A NASA $100,000 toilet after reentry.

I've gone so fast I've blown a tire. Or blown a gasket. Ain't never blown a toilet! Now THAT'S what I call haulin' a$$!

Bullets yesterday. Maybe the guy's using hand grenades today! Look's like he got a plumbing supply truck.

Shot at yesterday. Toilet dumped on me today. I give up.

I's my Potty and I'll cry if I want to...You would cry too, if it happened to you!

They did mean everything but the kitchen sink! 'Cause I haven't seen one of those yet.

In Heaven, the streets are paved with gold, but this is Southeastern Indiana, so....

Apparently septic tank gas is explosive.

Another broken (Democratic, Repubican: chose one) Party promise hits the road to reality.

I told you that flushing a lit stick of dynamite wouldn't work!

Plum(ber) out of luck.

I told you we are on the road to ruin!

Fred dropped off the toilet. He missed. He ALWAYS misses.

Landscape Littered with Loo one of the photographer's aliterative 'garbage as art' series.

Where is that 'Potty Mouth' commercail girl? We've got a Potty Road here.

The Deputy misunderstood. He was to go out here and break up a PARTY!

Now that's what I call a F**T!

NOT staged. Power cord further along. Tailgate forgotten, I guess.

Forgive me. Yesterday seems to have affected my sense of decorum, dignity, and decency. Laughter is supposed to be the best medicine...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: BMc, it was funny to me!

In this little side of the of the world...
well, my arm is turning like it feels









and..look!...I'm planning a mini tour for the next weekend!


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

A mini tour, that sounds like a great way to unwind! Getting shot at! Holy crap! I thought ******** in jamming the the foot down on the accelerator of their big wheeled pick em' up trucks was bad.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

crankyandy said:


> A mini tour, that sounds like a great way to unwind! Getting shot at! Holy crap! I thought ******** in jamming the the foot down on the accelerator of their big wheeled pick em' up trucks was bad.


A mini tour DOES sound good. Have to check when the park opens south of here.

Having had time to think about what transpired, I think he was playing a kind of Russian Roulette Suicide Quasi-attempt. Because it looks like accidental for insurance? Because his life is crap, and he thought he'd see what Fate would deal him? Playing back his staggering before he lay down in my mind's eye, when I thought that he'd been injured, makes me now think he was wracked with sobs. His first attempts may have been standing shooting straight up, he was too far for me to be sure he wasn't a fence post then. Aiming the gun straight up while prone makes more sense in this light and the bullet that came too close was likely a rain-down not a shot aimed in my direction.

Dumba$$ to do it along a road. A mini van with attractive young lady (same difference if she was an old and ugly, but I appreciated the beauty at the time, looked Angelic to me!) went both ways, turning past me at the side road and two cars, a semi and yours truly as cylcist any of which could have taken his lead fallout. Explains why I was wary and fled but not scared s***less and hunkered in the ditch behind the crossroad for cover. He wasn't aiming at traffic. If this scenario is true, the lack of malice and 'lying in wait' is a comfort. Dumba$$!

I'll post the Police Blotter - likely not much - Monday.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well, it seems I wasn't recovering to well at all,

I was doing some housekeeping tasks this weekend and during/after folding two weeks worth of clothes, my arm started to hurt real bad...well, turns out pretty much all the muscles that receive the hit are torn...other muscles are sort of working to compensate..or at least that's what I understood from the doc.

I'm going to rest until Wednesday, I'm going to do some rides after work around the block just to keep my legs in shape...I really want do this Mini-Tour...the next long weekend is in September or something like that and my vacation days already have a destination.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bummer Martin. Sorry to hear that.

I will never complain about my commute again... getting shot at? Holy smokes.

I used to ride a network of trails that went fairly close to a gun range...totally safe situation (assuming everyone was firing in the direction they were supposed to be firing in)...but the sound of gunfire while you're ripping down the singletrack really does help you dig a little deeper to get out of that area. I hear you there.

This cut-and-paste from the national weather service should sum up Rodar's commute today as well as mine. Supposedly It's back to snow around here by Wednesday or so  Pretty nasty winds already this morning...



> THE INITIAL THREAT IS A DANGEROUS DOWNSLOPE WIND EVENT THIS
> AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. RIDGE WINDS WELL OVER 100 MPH
> WILL MIX TO THE LOWER ELEVATIONS WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS OVER
> 70 MPH LIKELY TO AFFECT THE EASTERN SLOPES OF MOUNTAIN RANGES.
> ...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wishing you luck, Martin.

Wow, Surprise Valley all the way to Mono and Hawthorne? That`s a big area. Already plenty windy here and I can see some really ugly black clouds over you, CB. That`s a real bummer becaue we have some friends/extended family up from Jalisco for their first visit here. Today is my turn to be tour guide (my favorite job!) and it looks like the hiking I had planned won`t be much fun. At least they got some pretty nice weather for their day at Tahoe.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^100mph winds - yikes! Don't get blown away...we had steady 25mph yesterday with 35 mph gusts, and snow changing over to rain, but it's starting to sound calm in comparison. I did not ride in this a.m., but brought the bike in case it clears up some.

Martin, sorry to hear your arm is so bad, especially since you were gearing up for your mini tour and vacation time is so short!


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## langford (May 7, 2004)

A nice ride in of 17 km @ avg. 25 kph, on wet roads after an overnight rain. 
An Interesting (?) worm observation (Spring must be here, the worms are out!) Every worm of the several hundred encountered were perpendicular to the direction of travel of the road. Why???


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

To get to the to the other side??

:lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Installed new cables and housings last night. Super smooth shifting this morning. I wanted to wait until after the threat of winter to put the new ones on. This week it is predicted to be in the mid to high 70s. Bring it on.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Went for a ride in the rain today, not commuting just putting along did some road, a little bike path, and some singletrack about 25 miles, computer went out at 18 due to the rain, got a new i-phone and took some pictures of some singletrack and sent them to this thread, but I don't see them, got some more figuring to do, but I can't just sit and play all day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo: The colors gave me a baaad feeling about your arm. Didn't want to jinx you, saying so. Better discovered before you over do it. Hope you recover enough for the trip.

commutterboy: YIKES! Even as a tailwind! I read someone's wind scale for cycling and >45 mph = in the ditch, bike on top.  

langford: Intersting Ob. CommuterBoy: Cute. Real Cute :thumbsup: In a similar (less than helpful) vein: Skedadaling from the proverbial chicken (to avoid or to be the reason why the dumb cluck crossed the road)?

langford: In a more helpful vein: Which way was the sun? (Were they phototaxic? That is headed to, or away from the sun?) Warming with their max area (sides) to the sun? Likely minimizing dehydration if some headed toward and some away but none broadside to sun. Rocky and Bulwinkle weren't nearby herding them? 

s0ckeyeus: Yeah. Having minor issues with the friction and cables sticking. Partially was running the 6-8 chain with the 9 speed cassette fat-tired wheels off the other bike, shifted OK on the stand... The new 9 speed chain helped some. (Ya think?) Clean, lube, maybe replacing cables is next.

Got stuff to do including riding. Let's see NOT get shot at . Check. Not run into truck. Check. Not ride in 100 mph winds. Check. Not think about dumb worms. Check. Clean, lube cables. Check...


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Was ok was against the wind the whole time. The ride today also showed me that they really need to enforce the driving on cellphone law (this is mainly teenage drivers) a girl pulled out past the "stop line" then slammed on the brakes, luckily I was watching as usual and rode around her shaking my head. I think suburban driving is just as dangerous as you city folk, it is so uncommon here to see anyone on a bike no one thinks.

Was today movie prop day? There were guys wood chipping, street cleaning, ace hardware, etc all over the road today it was like a mini obstacle course.

*@Normbit* How does he like the new Caad9? And from what I understand Cannondale stopped making bikes in the US last year. The guy in the middle to the left in the second photo, does he notice any weight distribution issues with a pannier only on one side? I'm glad I got a kickstand now a lot of shop owners have yelled at me for leaving a bike lean against or window or close to one.

pink


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Light, drizzly rain that wasn't a big deal. Supposed to rain all week. Spring has sprung???


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Half an inch of new wet snow in the morning. I expect it will melt by the time I leave work.


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## AZnewbie (Oct 14, 2009)

Rode home in shorts and tshirt at 10pm. I love the desert... well until june comes along of course.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Doh! I drove in! Decided to take a two hour nap this evening before starting my week (at 11PM) and when my alarm went off I just hit the clock and stayed in bed for "a few more minutes". The next thing I knew it was 10:45.... Sh!T!!! I was on a roll- 100% bike commutes so far for 2010. Well, there`s always 2011, I guess. At least I just managed to save my butt at work. I clocked in at 11:03, which will go on the computer as 23.0 since it changes to 23.1 at six minutes after, I think. We`ll find out tomorrow night if I have an email from my boss.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Uhh, I'm happy to have flexible working hours.... Unless there's anything special, I can arrive a bit early or a bit late (an hour here or there), as long as I put in the total hours and the job gets done.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> The next thing I knew it was 10:45.... Sh!T!!! I was on a roll- 100% bike commutes so far for 2010. Well, there`s always 2011, I guess. At least I just managed to save my butt at work.


My sympathies, Rodar! I didn't realize you were on such a roll. I used to see someone on the 7pm-7am shift so I know it's a challenge, especially fitting in all your other life stuff. Just round uo or down like they do; if you ride 99.51% of the days, we'll call it 100%.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have a theory that the barometric pressure or something associated with a good storm affects people's sleeping habits a lot more than we realize. I think Rodar is the latest victim of this phenomenon. This storm kept blowing in all night, and unleashed some pretty heavy rain. It JUST started snowing (I've been at work for 20 minutes), which is just what they said it would do...at least the wind let up enough for me to have a halfway decent ride in the rain this morning...but I overslept my alarm by a good 15 minutes...I was in a a frantic rush to get out of the house...this happens regularly during a good storm. And on my ride in to work on these days I swear I see way less traffic. I think that people everywhere are sleeping in on accident because of the storm. Call me crazy...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, I guess I feel better now that I have two good options- either claim victimization by the barometer or a little creativity in presenting the statistics. Now I just have to decide which of the two is in my best interest.

For what it`s worth, I work 11 to 7 now but I worked 12 hour shifts for years (mostly 7PM to 7AM) and I`d love to go back to 12s. I really miss my 4-day weekends. And there used to be a bit of flexibility for us, too. When there were two or there of us on each shift, and no punch clock, we were SUPPOSED to work from X to X, but nobody really cared if something came up and we adjusted a little. Now that there`s only one machinist on most of the time, things are a lot more rigid. If there`s a little gap in coverage, that`s exactly when a bearing will seize up or a gear box will go postal, and management tends to get huffy if they find out that an expensive machine (along with a six-person crew) was down with nobody working on it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Four day weekends would be awesome. They can't convince the kids to come to school for 12 hours a day though, so until then I'll have to stick with only 10 weeks off in the summer 

Oh, weather update: It is officially snowing sideways. I can't see that tree across the parking lot.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Yikes! I go away for a few days and look at all the, er, adventures you all are having! 

We're getting part of the same storm down here. Strong winds today - up to 70 mph in the mountains (glad I'm not up there!), snow down to 4,000 ft. It was a tough ride; I head west in the morning, which happened to be directly into the wind (that's usually the case). Should be a good tailwind coming home! 

I was glad to be able to ride today. I thought I busted my tailbone while snowboarding on Friday, but luckily I just bruised it pretty good (I still can't get off the danged ski lifts without falling most of the time). It hurts to shift weight on it - standing up, sitting down, pedaling from a stop, certain twists of the body, etc, but it's feeling better every day. I'm also glad it's not broke because I have to help set up a playing field for a robot competition tomorrow (lifting things may be a challenge) and inspect robots from Thursday to Saturday (and I want to do some more snowboarding before the snow melts!).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have a theory that the barometric pressure or something associated with a good storm affects people's sleeping habits a lot more than we realize..... I think that people everywhere are sleeping in on accident because of the storm. Call me crazy...


OK, Your'e Crazy! I liked 'CommuterBoy' better. But I'd say rather that you are an astute observer. Check this out:

http://www.matthewckeller.com/Keller_PsySci_2005.pdf

Nice weather (high pressure VERY high correlation) improved peoples' moods especially in the spring IF they get outside. If trapped inside, it seemed to worsen their moods.

Now anyone who has or have dealt with people who are prone to depression, the wanting to sleep, hitting the snooze too often, and other behaviors are associated. SO feeling blah on a rainy morning after a rainy day, especially in the spring after some nice days and a hard winter, is PAR for the course! Feeling chipper: bright eyed and bushy tailed, up and at 'em! Feeling glum chum: stick in bed, stagger about bleary eyed, desire to curl up with a nice book and doze.

So what does 'Crazy' aka CommutterBoy win, Bob?

Absolutely Nothing! Except the knowledge that this theory of his is NOT an indication that he's nuttier than Rocky Mountain Oysters or riding a few kPa shy of full inflation, (The jury may still out, but it isn't a slam dunk case.)


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Doh! I drove in! Decided to take a two hour nap this evening before starting my week (at 11PM) and when my alarm went off I just hit the clock and stayed in bed for "a few more minutes". The next thing I knew it was 10:45.... Sh!T!!! I was on a roll- 100% bike commutes so far for 2010. Well, there`s always 2011, I guess. At least I just managed to save my butt at work. I clocked in at 11:03, which will go on the computer as 23.0 since it changes to 23.1 at six minutes after, I think. We`ll find out tomorrow night if I have an email from my boss.


It happens brother, it happens. Don't sweat it too much.



CommuterBoy said:


> I have a theory that the barometric pressure or something associated with a good storm affects people's sleeping habits a lot more than we realize. I think Rodar is the latest victim of this phenomenon. This storm kept blowing in all night, and unleashed some pretty heavy rain. It JUST started snowing (I've been at work for 20 minutes), which is just what they said it would do...at least the wind let up enough for me to have a halfway decent ride in the rain this morning...but I overslept my alarm by a good 15 minutes...I was in a a frantic rush to get out of the house...this happens regularly during a good storm. And on my ride in to work on these days I swear I see way less traffic. I think that people everywhere are sleeping in on accident because of the storm. Call me crazy...


This is true. It definitely effects my sleeping patterns, though I think the humidity has more to do with it than the actual barometric pressure. But who knows? It could certainly be related.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Perfectly calm, sunny, and about 70 degrees was my commute. Doesn't get much better than that!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Three and a half hours until I leave for work and I will NOT be taking another nap tonight. It`s currently snowing (sticking for the first time today) with a light breeze. Today has been a real mix- I think we`ve seen it all. Clear sky with bright sunshine, heavy cloud cover, gale strength gusts, dead air, snow, hail, rain. Temps have been pretty constant at least, somewhere in the high 40s or low 50s by my guess. I need a thermometer. For now, I`m just hoping that the wind doesn`t pick up again for my ride in.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey guys, thanks again for your words...

tomorrow is my first arm test going to work and will be also a gear arrangement test:










In the nicely strapped Sleeping Bag there is also my tent inside (thanks for the advice rodar)...I know I can put it on top of the trunk bag, but I want to leave it open since the food is going to be there.

planned elevation route...first day going down to Km92, second day to km 127 and back to 92, and third day from 92 to 0.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The sleeping bag looks kind of loose, Martin. It looks like it`s hanging more than cinched on and will probably get looser and lower with each bump in the road. Can you tie it more tightly to the rack struts to keep it from swinging and bouncing? And you decided against the pannier? If you aren`t going to use it, you might as well split the bag and the tent again and put one on each side- exact weight distribution is kind of an overkill, but close is definitely preferable. Good idea keeping room in the trunk for food. It should stay comfortable there without getting smashed. Your distances look pretty safe. Hope your arm does well.

Oh, I just reread you post. So, you`re going to ride to work with your load? Cool plan!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well, I push it down to see and it seems that is going to be good...I will probably think some better tying tomorrow....on the right side of the rack is going to be my pannier, it is very small, if I put the sleeping bag or the tent there, it won't be space for anything, if it fits!!

the Plan is...Tent-Sleeping on the left side....trunk bag with food (full, I don't plan to eat too much on restaurants)....and pannier on the right with anything else I think I'll need.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Today a few degrees above freezing and into a headwind. But the hill that so intimidated me when I first started out is no longer an issue


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

A couple of degrees below freezing, sun shining in the morning. The gravel paths that were soaked yesterday were hard as pavement.


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## AZnewbie (Oct 14, 2009)

Next two days are my "weekend" and I am not going to touch the bike. 5 days of commuting in a row for the first time has left me sore and tired. Today was hot, 80s and sunny and lots of bugs along the canal.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

What canal you ride? I was on the Western Canal from Dobson to Mills Mall tonight around 10, not too many bugs that late.


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## AZnewbie (Oct 14, 2009)

Very cool Tom, I ride from Baseline to Price Rd. I actually ride to the Chandler Mall. Kinda funny that we ride opposite ways on the same path to different malls. What do you do ride and what do you do there?

I ride a green ironhorse and im kinda fat. lol. I do loss prevention at Sears, which is basically catch shoplifters.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Another 4wd commute in the Jeep this morning. Curious to hear about Rodar's ride home this morning...pretty nasty out there. Conditions seem like it did the freezing rain thing until 2 or 3 in the morning, and then switched to snow on top. Very slippery with about 3 inches of fresh on top of the ice for me. Maybe I've gone soft after my freezing fog episodes this winter, but I drove with no guilt. I earned it riding through that wind over the past couple of days. 

This is our 151st school day of the year...my 13th driving day. Not bad with 40 school days remaining. My best year ever was 5 1/2 driving days... that was back when Al Gore made the snow go away for almost an entire winter.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

ok guys, I don't feel the arm any badder or better right now, so I guess that is good, let's see how it evolves during the day.

bumps in the road were a little pain, specially the little ones, I felt the hematoma vibrating with them  after a couple I tried to pass them only with the left arm on the handlebar.

you were right rodar...will work on a better tie tonight.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

AZnewb, I hope your rest helps you out. Can`t hurt, right?

SpecialEd, morning commute was a piece of cake today. Going in last night was pretty windy and it finally did get cold, but still not too bad. You got 3 inches? We got a few dustings, but that`s about it.

Martinsillo, I mentioned putting half of that on the other side because I thought you were going to leave the pannier at home for some reason. If you`re still going to use it, you`re probably on the right track with the bag and tent on the other side. Do you know how to use a loop to pull the cord nice and tight? Your bag will still be bulky, but as long as it`s tight you should be okay. Will you leave on Friday morning? Good luck with that arm!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@Rodar
*Do you know how to use a loop to pull the cord nice and tight?*
I guess not :lol: my knot was a simple one close to a shoe lace! :lol:

*Will you leave on Friday morning? *
Yeah, Friday 5 am....according to the people I mentioned the route there is a cave at km 30 were you can see the Bats entering or leaving, so the goal will be getting there at the right moment and see them coming back.

I saw the truck today btw, same spot waiting for me :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Trucker`s hitch:




This guy uses some specialized vocabulary, but his demo is very nice. It`s a little bit different for your use, but you`ll get the idea.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

AZnewbie said:


> Very cool Tom, I ride from Baseline to Price Rd. I actually ride to the Chandler Mall. Kinda funny that we ride opposite ways on the same path to different malls. What do you do ride and what do you do there?
> 
> I ride a green ironhorse and im kinda fat. lol. I do loss prevention at Sears, which is basically catch shoplifters.


Usually I am not on the canal, just decided to try something different last night. In the morning I start out from Baseline/48th St and head to Ray/101, then back in the evening. I ride an old black and white LeMond road bike with a rear rack and a pannier. Maybe I will see you en route some time.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Didn't do it!!! to wet  drove in with the trail bike in the back of the truck......Gonna hit some trails after work!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Trucker`s hitch:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


nice...thanks..will work on that..I will probably need to cut the rope in pieces to do a better job... I'll post something tonight.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode into a wind listed at 18 gusting to well above 20. A semi went by in the opposite traffic lane (I was on shoulder) where a valley accellerates the wind, and it acted like an airfoil. I was hit so hard my helmet rolled on my head, both the mirror arm, and the mirror on its end were twisted out of alignment. Those are stiff ball joints and only about 1" of area to the mirror. I can now relate to those gulls moving along when a inshore gust brings them to near zero ground speed. Cripes! Good it as brief and seemed to be much less on the rest of the body/bike. Boundary layer effect, I guess. Of course on the return the wind shifted round enough so dreams of highest gear and sailing on the wind were blown away. Got into second highest Once. Briefly.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey rodar...check this out!









Three perfect loops and three Trucker's Hitch Knots! :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianM: the wind blew your mirror out of whack? Must have been pretty hard!
Martin: You`re cooking with gas :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> BrianM: the wind blew your mirror out of whack? Must have been pretty hard!


Felt like I stepped in and out of a turboprop's wash. I was downhill accellerating the wrong way for about 2-3 seconds. VERY weird. Definitely in the ditch bike on top category if it hadn't been a microburst sort of thing. First time in 50 years of cycling. Always something new. All's well that end's well. 

Also FIRST day since last October with no underlayers at all! Sweated like a pig! Wind burned. Need to break out the sunscreen. Gawd that felt GREAT! 80 F today!. Spare water bottle time.:thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Snow's gone. Nice ride today. Spring break starts tomorrow


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Glorious day here today, sunny, expecting 65F! Can't go out til the end of the day or I won't come back! Nice ride after work to friend's. Checked it out on googlemaps & almost every turn had a photo:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...45.284089,78.662109&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=11&lci=bike

Also got a nice elevation map on mapmyride; click view elevation & scroll down


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ The east coast would be cool. You could ride through two states in one afternoon!


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

The ride in was pretty good although the road in was a bit wet, and I got some mud on my paints. At lunch I scored a new pair of pants, then took a look at my mtb and saw i had a flat. It's a bummer since I left the pump , patch kit & tube in the car:madman:

Going forward, I think I'll keep an extra tube, tire irons and pump at work.










I put this bolt on the seat post yesterday for more commutability.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Had the first "commuter race moment" in a long time this morning, when I was turning right out of my parking lot shortcut and saw a cyclist approaching from the left in the bike lane. I took off spinning and just like last time, by then time I reached the next stop sign he was nowhere to be seen. Not sure if I smoked him or if he just turned off somewhere, but it was great exercise. As non-competitive as I seem most of the time, I do find that another cyclist following is great motivation to ride harder and faster than normal. It's a nice training tool once in awhile.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jkmacman, your Giant looks REEEEEEEALLLY long in that picture for some reason. Wheelbase looks seriously stretched out. Is that just becuase I've been staring at my new 29er for so long? 

I pack a spare tube/pump/patch kit in the backpack, and keep a floor pump at work.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> jkmacman, your Giant looks REEEEEEEALLLY long in that picture for some reason. Wheelbase looks seriously stretched out. Is that just becuase I've been staring at my new 29er for so long?
> 
> I pack a spare tube/pump/patch kit in the backpack, and keep a floor pump at work.


Here's the commute to work on google mas as recorded w/my droid.



> Created by My Tracks on Android.
> 
> Total Distance: 6.58 km (4.1 mi)
> Total Time: 23:37
> ...


My commute is only 4 miles, but i should keep a pump in the bag i carry anyway for u-lock. Maybe get another heavy duty combo wire lock and at least keep the pump, tube & irons here at work. I have an extra top tube pump getting dust at home. In the mean time, I just saw my wife, she's gonna double back for me after work :thumbsup:

I just put on flat bars as well as the seat post bolt, so the mtb looks kinda low. I like the flatness but i'd prefer a bend in the bar for ergonomics. the tire guy had the coolest mtb bars ever. Kinda like road bars, they were drops but not compatible w/standard break shifters


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Happy New Year! Well April 1 used to be, and you brought presents. So when the New Year's was pushed back, some still came around with gifts or pranks, April 1.

So in thanks of the best riding day since 2009, I decided to try the 35 mm 'fat' tires on a rough bunch of scenic pavement I gave up on with 28 mm as a photo-commute/commune with nature.



At home the buds appeared well formed yesterday and threatening to open at 9:00 am. By noon, they were in full glory. See the little lipstick red ones and the leaves the oaks carry until new buds force them off in the spring. We just cleared that bed last week!

This should look pretty 'Vermontish' to one of you (at least):



Harrisville Quarry. This is in the southern part of the county were the galcial till dates to 20,000 years ago and the runoff of the melting Wisconsin Glacier 10,000 years ago cut a rolling topograpghy that went to the bedrock here. The limestone in the quarry beyond the bridge built many bridges and official buildings here in the 19th Century.



A half a mile on, we see a dry fit stone wall. Typical of New England, almost as rare as hen's teeth in Indiana. Imagine the labor! Makes climbing these hills look like child's play.



Same wall showing sloping hill behind. One of the milder ones, but not the flat pictures I sent before, is it?

Around the corner from the fence and hard to do justice to without a telephoto or tresspassing is another of the county's stone arch bridges.



At the other end of the road, the road recrosses the meandering stream and there is this three arch bridge. The Duchess is leaning against the bridge at mid span.



Looking upstream mid span. A mallard pair are swimming upstream don't know if I clicked in time to see them.



Looking west towards the church and the rolling topography.



To show you not all bridges are made of stone, here is another steel truss bridge restored in place with the modern wider bridge beside it the next road South.

[

Maybe ran out of memory on cell phone. Sorry for the low res/small pictures.

So other than discovering the only remaining sunscreen was years past the use date, today was perfect. These roads are definitely for big tires. I might use lower pressure next time. Missed a disguised rim bender of a pothole with a quick deke. Had a Boxer and a Hound mess with me even though I was barely walking pace after stopping for a drink. Thought they might just trot along. Nope. They came from three houses away. Soft talk: nope. Command, nope. Boxer still closing in on the foot. A little Halt! in the air above them to waft down, that stopped him. They still came out agressive on the return. They slowed at the sight of the Halt! but persisted for another dose a bit lower and with the wind really behind it. Tomorrow I'll have to report the owners. Sucks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jkmacman said:


> It's a bummer since I left the pump , patch kit & tube in the car:madman:


It takes a brave cyclist to ride regularly without a way to deal with a flat available.

Hey, what`s a "Droid"? Some kind of GPS? I like how you managed to get elevation and grade data on Google Maps. And you really move along, huh? That would be impressive for a roadbike, IMO. VERY impressive for mtb.

Gary, I know what you mean about having the hidden racer wake up. I see other riders only once in a blue moon (on my commute or otherwise), but I know that when we go down to Sac and ride the bikepath I get caught up in it. Usually it doesn`t last long though- after two minutes of me busting my butt the other guys are out of sight around the next curve and my wife hasn`t even noticed that we were flying along at 7.5 MPH rather than out normal 6.0


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

good commutes on the past two days...I even feel the arm better today than yesterday...I'll do the trip....preparing everything towards to...including putting back the granny... just in case 

hey rodar....

http://www.google.com/mobile/partners/verizon/search.html


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> preparing everything towards to...including putting back the granny... just in case


well, not happening without a crank removal tool... is up to my legs.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> good commutes on the past two days...I even feel the arm better today than yesterday


That`s very good news. Don`t worry about the granny (OMG!) too much. Five O`clock tomorrow, huh? iConste! Que descanses.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

The numbers are kilos. I just got some skinnier mtb tires from nashbar 1.85 michellin on front and back. The droid is the google phone and we have an array of threads on the gps section:thumbsup:

for the woods I got a delorme pn40 and I have a garnmn 405 for roadie stuff


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

75 and sunny on the way down today! Rode the whole way in a t shirt and sunshine! second time so far, even the ride home was pretty warm 55 with hardly a breeze. I'll take that any day. Made my first commute on the 1x1. The wide tires soak up these mangled pothole ridden cracked up poor excuse for streets with ease. :thumbsup:


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> hey rodar...check this out!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh and Martinsillo, one more tip, try and keep that orange rope out of your wheel, it'll really slow your forward momentum if it gets hung up around the hub!  Last year when me and my brother were rideing up this hill in the adirondacks, we looked up, and here she came, downhill on a mountaiin bike with a army duffle bag strapped on her back and it was stuffed to the top. She had on an army hat too and looked like she rolled right out of Vietnam, it looked like she was in the woods for a month. We joked about her the whole trip, we thought she might have a dead rabbit rolled up in leaves in that pack of her's for dinner. There's some hardcore bike packers in them thar parts.


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## grandsalmon (Oct 24, 2005)

Getting ready to roll out now- PNW temp has dropped some as "a storm" is heading in. We'll see. The last couple of days have been grand commuting- sunny with purdy clouds over the sound, despite forecasts for rain likely (but that is typical).

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/nepac/flash-wv.html

Last night my home crew called up with invite for a 10 day Moab/Fruita junket leaving a month from now. So I may have to leave my Planet X at home, and run my heavier commuters, tote hardcovers, rocks, so I don't caboose the whole time while in Utah, Colo.

While everybody is working on their Nashbar CX projects led by CB, I'll be finishing my Access 9r with bin parts and get that running before Monday. ( I had a in-my-head race with CB to finish before him but it didn't happen.)

Whatever the case, I have to get in whatever _better _shape than I am in now. The Home Boys In Nevada City are crankin' out 2 big rides a week, at least, as usual, always canyons involved. My Heckler is waiting in a shed down there, but I am bringing new wheels and fork, BB. May the steed reward me back with xtra vigor for the attention. Ha!

May everybody have a safe to & fro today!


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*Good Friday Commute*

These puppies came last night from Nashbar

YT-XAT-1.85 MICHELIN XC AT MOUNTAIN B *

$5.99 ea. put 1.85" on front and back for commuting (this is the stock wheel set). Wheel set 1 getting same tire 2" on back, maybe on front too, as I currently have 2.4" conti mtn king (not protection) on front and back. Any suggestions?



















Cooked to work, as I beat yesterdays time and I started logging at bottom of hill












> Track 11 (End)
> Last Updated by jkmacman 9 minutes ago
> 
> Created by My Tracks on Android.
> ...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jkmacman said:


> The numbers are kilos.


Sheesh! You shouldn`t have pointed that out to me- I was in awe!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Unseasonably warm weather 60-65 & sunny made for 2 great rides yesterday afternoon & this a.m. Yesterday after work (well, I left early, I couldn't take the sunshine!) the bikers were out, saw a pack of about 10 roadies, had a single roadie pass me without a word, then a bunch of 2-3 person groups and more singles, including 1 helmetless woman. wore a T shirt & shorts & was hot at first! I was going down a +/- 1 mile hill with a narrow but nice paved shoulder, but had to avoid what looked to be a car stereo in my path - you never know what will end up on the shoulder. Had a tandem loaded logging truck pass me twice, he must have stopped for something. This a.m., guessing about 40, added a few layers & felt great. Clear on the hills & super foggy in the river valley, glad I had my blinkys going. Still hilly on the a.m. ride, but a lot less elevation gain than the reverse route, so I bettered yesterday's avg by almost half.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Gary, I know what you mean about having the hidden racer wake up. I see other riders only once in a blue moon (on my commute or otherwise), but I know that when we go down to Sac and ride the bikepath I get caught up in it. Usually it doesn`t last long though- after two minutes of me busting my butt the other guys are out of sight around the next curve and my wife hasn`t even noticed that we were flying along at 7.5 MPH rather than out normal 6.0


You do that on the tandem?!?  Hee hee. I'd really like to get a tandem some day, though I'm sure between the "missus" and I it will be quite the comedy act.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

No dogs. No guns. Just an idiot who apexed the turn into the subdivision about 1 foot from the corner on an entrance hidden by a tall hedge. So much for yielding the opposite lane to any oncoming traffic. He couldn't see it until he hit the apex!. He didn't end up with a bike in his door only by my quick braking. A foot is way too close, and he didn't slow OR even change line! I yelled 'get on your side' , which I thought a rather restrained retort, under the circumstances. His response was unintelligible but clearly unrepentant. Followed by salutes. If he wasn't visiting, I'll be likely be seeing him again. 

Or maybe not. If he continues in that vein, his ride and license may both be done in. Gary TNTC, saw the other thread, and wondered if you thought that might call for a Big Bertha?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Talked with Norm who nearly creamed me a week ago Thursday. To refresh, he turned left from a lane in the same direction I was going just as I was passing in front of him and when I was convinced he had seen me and was holding for me to go by. He didn't sleep well that night. A good sign. (As is the lack of little stencilled pedestian, cyclist and vehicle 'kills' marked on his car door.) :thumbsup: 

I was descending the hill towards where the entrance to the Country Club 'tees' in (like that pun?) and he guesses that I was mostly hidden by the Country Club's Sign when he looked that way. He said it was good I had a loud voice. (Adrenalin helps.) He said he couldn't believe he missed seeing me as I was easy enough to see. For my part I am glad I didn't use any 'colorful metaphors'.:nono: 

We are invisible! We are cyclists. We all hail from the great State of Paranoia. Even those not out to get us sometimes act as if they are out to get us.  :eekster: 

Need to ride and do yard work. Back in a few hours with some pics: spring is popping here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Camera phone setttings changed. I need to reset it. For now lets go with the impressionistic output. Think Monet.

Weeping Cherry (lower branches thereof), Myrtle, & our first Dandelion . Tomorrow it's History. Tulips and small daffodils. Grape Hyacinth and Myrtle. Bottom Trout Lily and May Flowers. Magnolias are flowering as are Forsythia and the Calary Pears. My peach tree will blosom very soon. My eyes are itchy, so full blown hay fever is around the corner.

First mowing today. About two weeks late.

I will swap back to my 28 mm Panaracers tomorrow. It is supposed to rain and should wash the last of the stuff off the roads. Another ride with 15-20 mph winds and a 15 mph average at 65-75% max pulse rate. Still burning excess weight.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Mty - Teran - Mty*

Ok guys...I made it!..awesome first mini-tour!














































more pics on flickr too :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Mini tour?? Wow, Martin, it looks like you saw everything! Your photos showed such a variety of sights and terrain. Congrats on your safe and interesting journey!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yay! And nice pics, too- `specially the top one. I`m going to flickr to check out the rest. Hey, muracielagos with all that moon? You still have blood, don`t you?


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## AZnewbie (Oct 14, 2009)

Super easy commute last three days, but I think my legs are burnt out. Probably take the day off tomorrow


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@mtbx
Thanks!...yeah, it was a really great trip. On their website they call themselves an Oasis in N.L.... I'm really worried about how to overcome this mini-trip with another one in the same state....I mean...I even saw a Camel!

@rodar
I was late to see the bats coming in...but the locals told me that in the mornings they get in a disperse way...that the best is to go there at 6:30 pm to see them going out all at the same time...I think I'll do that with the car sometime.
Again, thanks for the help...I had to learn some things by the hard way, but that was great too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> more pics on flickr too :thumbsup:


Wow, man- that was great! You really found some nice scenery! And I`m glad you ended up grabbing a lot of local food, too -the way you were talking I thought you were just going to eat cold stuff you packed with you. My favorite thing about Mexico is eating from mercados, vendors in the plazas, and roadside stops.








I see you have a longer writeup on your blog- time to check that one out now.

EDIT: Whoops, not yet. You can bet I`ll be there to read all the gory details when you get them up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I am dogsitting this week so I'm trying to do less commuting & more trail riding with "Bode", a yellow lab, while his "mother" is skiing @ Snowbird. Some trails have opened, took him on 6 mi of singletrack yesterday & then this a.m. for 45 minutes on the snowmobile trails behind my house. He loved it & I forgot how much fun it is to have a good trail dog. It was nice to get a taste of early season dirt! Only downside is he likes to go in every pond & muckhole you pass, but I couldn't blame him, he was working pretty hard.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, man- that was great! You really found some nice scenery! And I`m glad you ended up grabbing a lot of local food, too -the way you were talking I thought you were just going to eat cold stuff you packed with you. My favorite thing about Mexico is eating from mercados, vendors in the plazas, and roadside stops.
> 
> I see you have a longer writeup on your blog- time to check that one out now.


yeah well, I prepared two large meals for the road, the first, a large spaghetti plate I ate it on Friday at noon, I was even able to heat it on a microwave in a little road store. The second, meat fajitas...was planned to be my lunch for Saturday, I had it frozen but when I checked it on Friday night it turned out to be already defrosted so I ate it as a dinner....those Tacos were my lunch for Saturday. :thumbsup:

I plan to post numbers and relevant stuff from the trip on the blog soon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ve had general yuck for most of the past week, but I noticed that it was looking very nice yesterday morning and no scary looking clouds in sight to the South or West (where our weather usually comes from), so I took advantage of a quick wind break and hopped on my roadie for a nice spin around the valleys north of town. Left around 8:30 and the wind was just starting to pick up as I was rolling back into my own valley around 11:00. Pretty sweet ride- got in over 30 miles and I think it was my only extracurricular riding all week. The five current day forecast looks much better from tomorrow afternoon on.



mtbxplorer said:


> It was nice to get a taste of early season dirt! Only downside is he likes to go in every pond & muckhole you pass, but I couldn't blame him, he was working pretty hard.


...and no shortage of muckholes this time of year, I betcha! So, now is it dirt season on all your carpeting? Probably looks like mine after tromping to the shed and back, then through the front room a few times!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...and no shortage of muckholes this time of year, I betcha! So, now is it dirt season on all your carpeting? Probably looks like mine after tromping to the shed and back, then through the front room a few times!


Yes, between the dirt and the doghair, the carpet is taking a beating. Does not compare with the first year I lived here though - my road was so muddy and rutted that you were basically grading it with the undercarriage of your car. Hit about 81 Saturday though, and sunny but cooler Sunday, so things are drying out slowly.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Nice pix Martin, I am jealous! 

Had to attend a "Transition to Office 2007" type of class today at the County Center. Makes my round-trip commute today about 10 miles, which is great.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool pics Martin... I wanna go on a mini tour. 

Spring break for me....this week, all my rides are for pure enjoyment. Might hook up the trailer and drag the kids up the rail trail for a little workout...if it will stop freaking snowing. Feels like winter break so far. 

Just installed a new 8 speed cassette, chain, and derailleur on the Nashbike... it's ready to shift like a champ when I go back to work. Took the fenders off too...hoping that will make it rain all week THIS week, so it's nice when I go back to the commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Snowing here today, too. Just might be the last "stick" snow of the year. What do you think, CB?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Just installed a new 8 speed cassette, chain, and derailleur on the Nashbike... it's ready to shift like a champ when I go back to work. Took the fenders off too...hoping that will make it rain all week THIS week, so it's nice when I go back to the commute.


Who but a bikecommuter hopes for rain during their week off??


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

More scenes of botannical sex. (No mountains, so whatcha goin't'do?)



Nice Magnoloia with a couple of close shots. About 1 year in 10 the frost doesn't nail these and they are glorious. This year was one. A nice Calary Pear specimen too.

I did a nano-micro-mini tour this afternoon. (32 miles, was to be longer but I had to deliver meals for Bread of Life (Like meals on wheels and had to short circuit the return). The SPF 30 is giving me a farmer's tan already. I prepared water and energy bar meals. (No Taco stands here.)

64 F at 7:00 this morning. That's a good afternoon temp this time of year. It was above 80 F today. The wind was 10-20 on the way out and died down to 5-8 at the end of the ride when I could have used it. Well at least it wasn't a headwind.



Westfield Covered Bridge, Westfield Indiana. Needed to be riding a Penny-Farthing to be in period. Bridge is 100 years older that the bike frame. Nice trestle and arch construction. You can see where trees coming down in spring flood have taken chunks out of the siding. The wood plank road bed rides very well. East end has plaque. Very fast descent to the west side.

Gotta go. Tornado Warning. Better now than when riding!


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Martinsillo, that mini tour through Mexico looked great! Man I wish I could order something from that taco stand, Mexican foods my favoriite. For some reason I thought you were touring the Adirondacks? Duh Anyway the weather's been unseasonably warm here in the Northeast, just got home and had a t-shirt on the whole way, and I was sweating!


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

By the way, what did you order from that taco stand?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey Andy...thanks...I'm in the office and can't see it now but on flickr there is a pic of my meal....was Tacos Mixtos (meat and sausage)

Take a second rest day today.. I was following an itchy throat and some fever I had on Sunday...the fever is gone, it was the sun probably ( I got a nice tan btw)... I thought it was going to be a cold or something, but no, the itchy throat it's been attacked as an allergy right now...back on the saddle tomorrow...my butt is thankful for this break anyways


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Beautiful photos, martin! Thanks for sharing! 

The weather has been crazy here. High winds all weekend and into yesterday; they blew in a storm that briefly dumped some rain on us about midday. The winds were coming out of the west, so I had a nice tailwind on the way home last night and I even hit 30mph (a personal best  ).

I was lazy last week - I rode in every day, but got a ride home Wed-Sat because I was volunteering for the FIRST Robotics competition held at my campus and so I got away late (after dark) and I kept forgetting to replace the batteries in my headlight.

Sorry about the crazy sentences; allergies are making me feel tired.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The last five rides have been windy and 1/2 to 2 X as strong as forecast even on the hourly forcast seen before setting out. Today was 15-20. No way Jose! Got back, and Ooops! the wind speed listed was 25-30. Sorreeee! 

I have never drifted laterally on both wheels 6-8" on concrete with those ice slits while riding straight before. It was gusting to about 40. Yeah, 45 mph is close to the blown into with ditch bike on top level. Semi driver's at least understood, so when I went to the shoulder (low tradffic road with a poor shoulder) they slowed and gave wide berth. The front tire center took on a sandpapered look from the wear. Tired of circa 15 mph runs. Time for the 28 mm and lighter wheels.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey guys...check this out...I promise stop bothering you with my trip soon 






what really amazed me was that they didn't fly away like the rest of the birds did when I passed them by.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> what really amazed me was that they didn't fly away like the rest of the birds did when I passed them by.


Birds of a feather flock together?  

Gracias! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, Martin, those birds are really loud on your recording. Love the trip reports, will have to check out your blog too. I'm still dogsitting & have had a lot of fieldwork this week too, so bike commuting on hold this week. Forecast of 60's & rain was way off today, it is sunny & 77.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Lots of "excitement" around these parts. Last night I'm riding home, just sort of lazily pedaling along, kind of tired when I hear Nynn-Nynn-Nynn-Nynn-Nynn-Nynn! coming up on my right. It's some fruitcake on an electric bike, trying to pass me on the sidewalk! I'm like *OH HELL NO*, I'm not getting passed by this guy! I hit the gas and smoked him.

My old cantis have been getting worse and worse and nothing I do really improves their stopping power (new cables, new pads, adjusting the yoke, etc). The back brake is basically useless and the front isn't much better. I'd already decided to replace them with v-brakes, plus some other upgrades and was going to order my parts this week when this afternoon my front brake failed right after I left the house. Coming down a hill I heard POP-POP-POP as the front lever got looser and looser. I guess the cable was unraveling, because as I was walking it back to the house I was fooling with it and the whole thing just popped open. Good thing I wasn't near the bottom of a really steep hill. Haven't ridden my hard tail for awhile so I guess I'll be commuting on that for a week or so until I get things fixed. Going to tune it up tonight, mount some lights and start commuting on it tomorrow morning. Today though, I didn't have time so I just grabbed my GF's bike and got back on the road. Thank gawd for bike addiction, you're never without a spare! Anyway, back on the road I was running late so I had to take the shorter route. At a stop light a roadie pulls up and shoals me and I'm wondering whats going to happen when the light changes. As the light turns green, I take off in a hurry as he's still trying frantically to clip in. Commuter victory is mine!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

back to the thread...

great weather today..shorts, sleeveless t-shirt and normal fair weather gloves...no tights or jacket are needed anymore :thumbsup:...well...just in the next few (i hope) rainy days.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar: 

An E-bike on the sidewalk? Jeesh! Somebody's going to hook him bad. Problem solved!

bike addiction: you can Frankenbike parts between them to your heart's content!

Did you buy a lottery ticket? It apparently was a lucky unlucky day.

Commuter victory : Why I love my two-sided pedals I don't HAVE to clip if I don't want to just then. Safer in traffic to have the option of later. 

By 'shoals me' you mean he pulled alongside you in the lane, or moved out in front?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No-Brakes Cougar, at least it sounds like you had a good time smoking the e-bike. Whaddaya mean getting worse? They used to work good, and then they didn`? That`s odd- wonder if it was just that fraying cable. Then again, if you`ve got your heart set on new goodies, don`t let me kill your good excuse 

It`s maintenance time for me, too. Back when I had a little money folowing through the ol checking account, I always ordered a few consumables whenever I bought a new batch of fun stuff and had a decent stash of everything. Now that I haven`t been buying goodies, the "warehouse" has run dry and it seems like every bike in the household needed something, so I finally ordered a whole batch of no-fun wear parts. $180 worth and not an upgrade in the bunch! I`ve got tires, cables, one chain, brake pads, and a few rolls of bar wrap comming in. And I went cheap on the tires this time- ordered a pair of Maxxis Overdrives ($26 ea) to replace the T-Serves (~40 ea) on my commuter. I hope they turn out to be a good value. The other tires I ordered are cheapos replacing cheapos, so no worries.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Just when I thought it was going to be a Dry Spring
Ride to work this morning



My ride tonight consisted of Mist Rain wind in the face and 38 degrees


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Gary the No-Trash Cougar:
> 
> An E-bike on the sidewalk? Jeesh! Somebody's going to hook him bad. Problem solved!
> 
> By 'shoals me' you mean he pulled alongside you in the lane, or moved out in front?


The funny thing is, about a month before I had another guy (non-electric) do the same thing, came up behind me out of no where, kept moving from the sidewalk to out in the street.... all over the place trying to pass me. He was persistent, I'll give him that. But when I give chase, if I can't keep up after awhile I'll just drop back. And yes, shoaling (a term coined by BikeSnobNYC) means he went around me and stopped in front.



rodar y rodar said:



> No-Brakes Cougar, at least it sounds like you had a good time smoking the e-bike. Whaddaya mean getting worse? They used to work good, and then they didn`? That`s odd- wonder if it was just that fraying cable. Then again, if you`ve got your heart set on new goodies, don`t let me kill your good excuse


My cantis were OK when I first got the bike, but lately I can't get them to grab the way I want. I've replaced cables and pads, tried all manner of adjustments but it's like they're just degrading. I don't know what's wrong. I've sanded the pads and cleaned the braking surfaces on the rims, too. I've decided to upgrade to v-brakes anyway since the ones on my girlfriend's bike are great. This just lights a fire under me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Normbilt! Did somebody spill a tankerload of green paint? There`s more green in those two pictures than in my whole state! I thought you lived on some kind of frozen tundra up there in IL.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang, Normbilt! Did somebody spill a tankerload of green paint? There`s more green in those two pictures than in my whole state! I thought you lived on some kind of frozen tundra up there in IL.


Green is the color you get when all that snow Melts that we had this winter, 
Lately we have had several days way above normal warm temps.

Color me Green


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

*Blizzard... Really?*

Ok, so for my first post on these forums, I figured it should be on the commuting thread! I commute to/from work only about 15 miles or so each way, but luckily for me I can ride trails most of the way traversing the mountain side. Anyways, today a freak blizzard came out of nowhere (so it seemed) and the temperature dropped below freezing for my last 15 minutes. There I am, pedaling away in a T-Shirt and shorts looking like a retard!  Hah! The last hill was brutal with winds pelting me with snow/hail all the way up. My fingers and knees are starting to get the feeling back now... Anyways, quite the ride! I guess a guy has got to be prepared for anything, eh? Lesson learned maybe?

Scott


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Running late, so I had to take the shorter route. I guess Spring has sprung (for the second time) here in the Bay Area? Nice and warm out. Last night I dusted off the hardtail, pumped the tires up to 40psi (probably the most air they've ever had in them at one time), mounted some lights and rode it to work today for the first time since the rain stopped. I forgot how much fun it is riding this SUV of a bike to work, I missed the hum of knobbies on pavement. Ordered my brakes and a few other upgrades last night. Should arrive next Friday, so that leaves me with about a week of "quality time" commuting with the beast.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*I saw Sea Otters diving for fish*

in the Alameda estuary as i crossed over the park St bridge. The rest of my commute was good..the sun was out

<img src=https://www.aroundjingletown.com/photoblog/images/0036.jpg>


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Bode's Pre-Season Trail Report*

MTBX is dogsitting me instead of bikecommuting. We walked the MTB trails today near work. I narrated the sights in this lab report.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Still on spring break here...it stopped snowing finally. Here's my 'commute' from yesterday  

Still haven't ridden the commuter with the new cassette, chain, and derailleur. I have to have something to look forward to about going back to work...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Damnit, Csmac! You aren`t supposed to order up a blizzard and snowball attack just to one up the recent midroute gunshots!

Well, we`ll let it slide this time since it`s your first post. 30 miles RT? Wow.
Welcome.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yeah, and Csmac, you are giving me flashbacks from this winter's commutes. So far no April snow yet here, but keeping my fingers crossed.

CB - that looks tasty!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> CB - that looks tasty!


Cool- how did I miss that pic? Last year when were up at the RR museum I remember seeing some info about new mtb/equestrian trails up North of town. Is that where you were?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

csmac2004: Welcome. I saw the snow on the weather channel in Michigan. Kathryn and I lived several places where late April snows were possible, and I experienced a May snow but not a tee-shirt and short day ending in snow. I commuted there but strictly fair weather back then.

Swapped wheels back and serviced both bikes and got test rides in today but no 'commute'. Sounds like the wind will be below gale force tomorrow. Be a nice change.

Otters are nice. So are mountains, water falls, and neat lift bridges.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Still on spring break here...it stopped snowing finally. Here's my 'commute' from yesterday
> 
> Still haven't ridden the commuter with the new cassette, chain, and derailleur. I have to have something to look forward to about going back to work...


Worth a couple extra weeks of snow for views like that! :thumbsup: on the build


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> Tacos Mixtos (meat and sausage)
> 
> Tacos looked delicious, and great pics, a real
> mtb tour


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Spring is in the air in more ways that one in PA and is rich with the aroma of manure which comes with these little black flies that nail you in the eye as you try to peddle out of the swarm. What a day to forget the sunglasses.

But, it was warm, I'm on the bike, and I could get a few extra miles in on the way home.

Thunderstorms forecasted today and I whimped out. Speaking of storms, anyone have any thoughts on how riding a bike affects your potential to be hit by lightning? I used to have a theory the rubber insulated you from ground (in a car anyway), but somehow the 1" of tire doesn't seem like enough to prevent an arc.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Had to wait for a Freight Train Today. Back to cold temps High 30's to low 40's


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## Stevirey (Jul 16, 2005)

*commute*

I got wet!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Getting dry.

The snow is almost gone, except in the woods and where it was stacked to clear the streets. What happens to melting snow? Correct: you get water. The water is not all gone yet, but there's so little on paths and streets that commuting is a pleasure again.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

That was like my ride home yesterday. I was stopped alongside a middle-aged woman on a recumbent. I figured on smoking her but when the light turned green she took off like some bat out of hell with rockets up it's ace! I mean, she was hauling tour de france style, passing cars on an uphill. I was dumbstruck until I noticed her electric assist hub!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

bit of a duel.
guy shoals up to me (with about 5 or 6 riders behind me, rude!)
I take off at the lights, decent pace, he passes me 2 blocks down in his 11 cog, good speed, so I tail him for a couple and wait for a nice spot with wide open sprint spaces ahead, gun it, don't look back.
Hold pace for 5 or 6 blocks until a red makes me drop anchor. He chooses this intersection to turn right around me while I'm stopped and zips down the street.

(oh and a courier with multi-coloured deep v's on a GT track bike blew both our doors off for a couple blocks there)

I gotta drop some weight off the steelwool, cause with the right conditions there's no way he should've let me F off on him like that!
Next time he'll have helium'd his tires and I'll be hurting.  

Oh, it's damn cold today, couple snowflakes in the air.
Not COLD cold... but for early April?!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sizzler, were you on your Surly limo? If you do any smoking with that beast, I`m impressed! Next time you see her you`ll know to grab ahold.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sizzler, were you on your Surly limo? If you do any smoking with that beast, I`m impressed! Next time you see her you`ll know to grab ahold.


Oh, I got all kinds of skills on the Dummy! Check out "Bunnyhopping a Big Dummy" in the Surly forum.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, I`ll have to check into that! If you have it licked I`ll head up there so you can teach me to hop a curb with a tandem. I only attempted it once and I think Abbot and Costello are both still laughing at us.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

April is doing its March and June impersonations back-to-back. Friends in Solon Ohio east of Cleveland had snow today so maybe Vermont tomorrow?

This morning was just above freezing and frost on the windshield of ungaraged cars. Got up to about 50. Yesterday morning was 65 and high in the low 80's. Wind shifted from SE ot NW at 10-15 gusting to 20 (like March). Meant the short ride route was into the teeth of it but the way back was full tail wind. I maxed out rpm in 53-13 twice. A rare treat! WooHoo! The old Campy Record hubs with 28 mm Passelas pumped up roll very nicely.

Here is another pic:



The Weeping Cherry is at full bloom and the spirea (yellow behind started 2 weeks ago and is shedding blooms. The neighbors' redbuds are a couple of the nicest ones here.

There is a road too dangerous to cycle which winds along forested hills with redbuds and dogwoods in the understory which if you catch them in flower are breathtaking.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool- how did I miss that pic? Last year when were up at the RR museum I remember seeing some info about new mtb/equestrian trails up North of town. Is that where you were?


Yup...14 new miles of singletrack. Designed for bikes...banked corners, etc. Very cool network. We ride as much as possible in the spring to keep the horse people off...still wind up with hoof-prints on some trails, but very sweet nonetheless.


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## AZnewbie (Oct 14, 2009)

Hopefully ill be back to riding the bike to work next week. Off this week with a pinched nerve in my neck. I can barely drive the car. So lame


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Hope you're feeling better soon AZ. Pinched nerve, ouch!

Wish I had fenders on my 29er. We had one hell of a rain storm roll in Sunday morning and it hasn't rolled out yet. I took an old SKS front fender and quickly mounted it up this morning before I left for work, just so I wouldn't get road crud in my face. I was short on time and used duct tape. This is quite possibly the worst kludge I've ever had the shame of being involved in. So deep is my shame that I simply cannot wait to get home so I can upload a picture to the internet. Seriously though, I am going to try to redo it tonight with zip-ties. I'm also debating stopping by REI and picking up some mountain bike fenders, but it doesn't seem worth it for only a couple of days. I'm hoping my ghetto fender holds out for now. I do need to mount the back one tonight (at least the frame has a brake bridge in the rear).


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Freaking wind... I hate wind...


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

nice out today low 80's


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol: that bike just screams "I don't care what you think". Love it. 


This morning was 30*F, but calm. I was fenderless, with new chain, cassette, and rear derailleur... gloriously smooth running bike. Aside from this head cold it was awesome. I did blow some very impressive snot rockets though, so the head cold isn't all bad.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

3.5 days off the bike...

Last Wednesday a killer flu strike hard on me, I rode to work on Thursday morning but didn't feel right to go home...took a ride to home that day and have used our car since then...I'm pretty much over it but I'm taking the car to do some car services today (yesterday too)...coincidentally, I was able to avoid heavy rain both days 

People here drive like crazy...109 car accidents in the city just yesterday...is raining! slow down!

Bike commute tomorrow! I was hating the traffic a lot today...kids are back to school from their long vacations and my 10 min car ride is now at least 25...pretty much what I do on my bike!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Danged sun came out and no wind this morning now that I`m back to work Grrrr. At least CB gets some play time out of it. And rain for Martin on his driving days. Hope it dries out for your ride tomorrow.


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## Homebrew7 (May 8, 2008)

I had a great ride today, passed about 1/2 mile of cars stuck in traffic for road construction, and made my 5.25 miles in ~17 minutes.

Plus it was warm enough for shorts and a long sleeve T.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride this a.m., frosty windshields but clear skies & my road has firmed up nicely for a speedy descent to town, just some good potholes at choice locations. Maxxed out at 38mph, that must have been on pavement, probably in the steepest part, a 25mph zone :eekster: Took the bus halfway (11.5 mi) to make an early meeting, which of course was cancelled when I got to work. Still on the MTB, but testriding that cross bike of my brother-in-law's this weekend in PA. Lots of fieldwork this week, including an inspection at a nudist colony (yes, really) - so I am hoping the weather stays cold.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cold weather for MtbX! I`ll keep my fingers crossed for ya! Now that you mention frosted windshields, I don`t think we`ve gotten any of that for a while- must be getting SOMEWHERE towards spring.

I just made a quick run to the supermarket, ostensibly to pick up a half gallon of ice cream, but the real reason was to roll my total milege over the 1000 point for the year. I was so sure the trip out and back would be enough that I didn`t bother to figure out exactly what number I needed to hit, but when I got home and added up the bikes I see I still missed it by a little over a mile. Nuts. Well, I`ll hit it tonight on my way to work.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Lots of fieldwork this week, including an inspection at a nudist colony (yes, really) - so I am hoping the weather stays cold.


:thumbsup: 
funniest confluence of images I've heard in a while!


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Lots of fieldwork this week, including an inspection at a nudist colony (yes, really) - so I am hoping the weather stays cold.


OK, I'll say it, but only because no one else has yet; pics?  (J/K)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Apparently, despite the bylaws requiring nudity, some common sense prevails & the members were clothed so far this week. Last fall, one soul braved it by the pool, and I couldn't decide if it was impolite to look or not to look; I opted for not looking; a co-worker suggested dark glasses to cover all the bases. But by and large these are not specimens that you want photos of. Someone told me today of another colony not far from my house; I'm told it is on a public road and has a sign reading "Nudist Colony Ahead - Please Maintain Speed!"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tough commute home tonight, got in at 8:45 with no headlight, but plenty of blinkies on the rear. Had plans to ride 13 mi to see some friends play music at a watering hole, have a few beers, and stay at a friend's overnight. Instead, it was cancelled, my buses were already gone & I had a late start to a 22.5 mi ride home. 

In Montpelier, I gave a parked 18 wheeler a wide berth & good thing - the driver opened the head-level door just as I went by. He was either delivering or stopping for a purchsase I imagined that even the car driver whose lane I had commandeered saw the logic when the truck door opened. I gave a "whoa" in surprise & leaned away from the door. No response from the trucker. 

At about 20 miles I saw the sun set over Camel's Hump (on the VT quarter) & knew the last 2 miles in the dark would be a PITA. Very little traffic, was pretty OK on pavement as the white line was visible and it's uphill so speeds are slow. Someone did let out a St Bernard, a Rottie & a Bassett Hound right when I was going by at a whopping 3mph uphill. They retreated when I stopped & told them to go home; the owners called for the dogs but were unapologetic.

The last 1.3 mi is dirt, and that as kind of surreal to ride - you could see here the road was but not any of the features like bumps, potholes etc. until you felt them. Only 2 cars went by, totally blinding, I pulled into a driveway & let them pass. On the plus side, this was my first ride up my hill since spraining my ankle & it was fine. Got my mail & walked up the driveway, clear and plenty of stars but no moon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Someone told me today of another colony not far from my house; I'm told it is on a public road and has a sign reading "Nudist Colony Ahead - Please Maintain Speed!"


I remember reading an article a few years ago about a "naturalist retreat" in Palm Springs that was split with one part on either side of a busy avanue and they wanted to put up a pedestrian bridge to connect the two parts. There was some kind of controversy (or maybe just joking- don`t remember) about having to put those slats in the chainlink so the people crossing would be invisible to motorists underneath and wouldn`t cause traffic issues.

This also seems like a good place to mention that several years ago one of the big casinos here had a billboard advertizing their current T&A show (something Brazilian) featuring a HUGE image of a very shapely bikini clad butt right next to 4 lanes of northbound freeway. I`m pretty sure they had to take that one down before the show ended.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> plenty of blinkies on the rear. see some friends play at a hole, have a few beers, and stay at a friend's overnight. Instead, it was cancelled & I had a wide berth & good thing . I imagined that I had commandeered a "whoa" in surprise & leaned away from the door. No response from the trucker.
> 
> I saw the sun Hump & knew the last 2 in the dark would be a PITA. was pretty OK as was visible and speeds are slow.
> The last 1 is dirt, kind of surreal to ride - you could see but not any of the features like bumps until you felt them. no moon.


warning... mention of frightening nudist colonies coupled with sleep deprivation may lead to creative editing.
(you gotta admit, it's just chomping at the bit for comedic exploration)
anywho, I'm done with the funnies. sorry if it's off-colour, if there's any offence let me know and I'll delete!

stayin up late swapping stuff: 
from spinergy spox to mavic aksium races, cogset, bb, 23's instead of the 40mm tires, kona stem and fsa metropolis bars gone, now running ancient control tech stem with ea70 bars and fenders/rear rack are gone.
how's my commuting?! 
will report back in the morning when we see if I really CAN out-drag an M3 for the first block!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice ride this morning...hopefully the rain for the rest of the week will be late at night like yesterday and my commutes will be on wet asphalt but not getting actually rain on it.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/tenday/MXNL0068

@mtbx
I have found myself better and prouder at home when doing a tough commute...hope that happens for you too.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

> 23's instead of the 40mm tires


sounds like getting skinnier

i went opposite went slighhtly wider up fron from 1.85" to 2" michellin AT still have 1.85" on rear

put 2" on rear of mavics and left 2.4" contis on front in case i get to some rocky trails this week end










been using my tracks & google phone to log data, i wish google would link it to there calender so i could see what days i commute. shooting for at least once per week

my shirt got wrinkly in my bag, next time i'll try and roll it tight, maybe use tie to keep it tort:thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm in that season where I wear the windproof gloves in the morning, and pack the summer gloves in the backpack for the ride home...it's about 30*F in the morning and 60*F for the ride home. 
This morning II was about a half mile down the road when I realized that I had put the windproof gloves in the backpack and was wearing the summer gloves... It's pretty fast downhill for the first 1.5 or so miles, so I just gritted my teeth and kept going. By about mile 5 I had some pretty chilly fingers. :lol: I just couldn't bring myself to stop. 
So I'm packing the warm gloves around today for no good reason, and I can almost type at normal speed again...


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm in that season where I wear the windproof gloves in the morning, and pack the summer gloves in the backpack for the ride home...it's about 30*F in the morning and 60*F for the ride home.


here it's like 50 deg f. so i opted for NO GLOVES. I really want to wear gloves, but it's just an extra thing. saturday morning at 7am when i'm closer to mtn i wear pearl izume cyclone gloves. but for the commute i don't wear the gloves.

must haves are glasses w/mirror and road id. i made a special trip to my car to fetch, but i need to keep an extra road id & glasses w/mirror close to commuter bike since i don't bike w/o them :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The past two weeks have been great (other than the pollen). My morning rides have started off in the low to mid 50s. It's felt a little hot on my evening rides. Yesterday it was 84.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Pretty good commutes today: almost the whole route was dry, mainly sunny too. In the morning temps were just above freezing, in the afternoon around +10 Celsius. Tried a little piece of smooth singletrack on the way home: time to dust the trail bike, I think.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jkmacman said:


> must haves are glasses w/mirror and road id.:


I feel naked without the helmet and gloves. If I got hit by a car, there's about an 80% chance that whoever came along next would know me... small town.

...but no gloves, that's crazy talk. :lol: I wear full-fingers all summer.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

jkmacman: yup, going faster.. er... skinnier!
I find it to be more interesting to try to outgun the same riders with slight tweaks in the equipment, instead of riding a whole new bike.
so this season the steelwool's seen schwalbe marathons; 35's, 38 cross and 40 xr, and is now in the other direction with 23 armadillos.
gets up to speed faster but doesn't want to stay there over the bumps as well (expected result)
but it DANCES around! side to side handling is WAY easier! almost stupidly so. 
more leverage from the flatter bar instead of the metropolis bar helps.

mutating these things is a balancing act... I lose the ground pounding of the fat tires, but gain handling around said potholes, I lose the traction in gravel, but gain overall speed on the road sections, I gain gears for hauling and climbing but gain weight and maintenance time...

I think my dream commuter is a beefy-tired, v-braked, 3 speed, pursuit bike. :skep:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I left late and had to book it to catch the bus. Frostly lawns again but about 55 now. I do the 2 prs of gloves too, so I have a lighter pair for the after work ride. Can't find the sunglasses I wore yesterday a.m...still hoping they turn up. My cell pix from last night with 2 miles to go:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No naked people hiding in the shadows of those sunset pics, I hope.

I finally broke the 1000 mile mark last night. I`m at 1011 now.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

i scored 4 mtb mich tires 5.99 each at nashbar as well as 3 pair glasses 10 bux each, same price for 3 pairs of gloves.

except i always seem to fetch 2 of one hand so i omit the gloves to speed things up:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> No naked people hiding in the shadows of those sunset pics, I hope.
> 
> I finally broke the 1000 mile mark last night. I`m at 1011 now.


Congrats on reaching a grand!

I just checked my GPS, the totals are on another screen so I had not seen it & I'm at 938...but I think I have a bus ride or 2 on there as extra credit when I forgot to hit stop before I got on the bus. I will have to go through and delete any rides with averages of like 40mph.

I was more worried about naked deer or bare bear jumping out at me.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I got the trail bike dirty, but not nearly as dirty as I thought I might.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> But by and large these are not specimens that you want photos of.


Yes, ironic isn't it?

Bloody cold last night! Had to bust out the gloves and skullcap for the first time in awhile. Days and evenings have been pretty warm though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I can breathe! Two days off with severe allergy symptoms. No point in an asthma attack or angina, I'll end up being monitored for a day or two what a waste of good riding weather!



Anderson Falls with soakers.



Bike Bitc_ (no way to talk about The Duchess) does another 38 miles.



Virginia Bluebells and bike. Side of road 1000 feet north of falls.



The flowers are an inch across, five fused petals in a tube, butterfly pollinated though a Bumble Bee Hovering could feed. A member of the Borage family and my first time seeing it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> I can breathe! Two days off with severe allergy symptoms. No point in an asthma attack or angina, I'll end up being monitored for a day or two what a waste of good riding weather!


Yes, breathing is generally a good sign! Glad you are feeling better. With all the beautiful flowering plants out there I can see why the allergies would act up. Nice pix of your travels. The Duchess' matching water bottle is a nice touch too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Handed the bus driver my punchcard last night & he handed me my Superflash blinky, which I had not even missed off my pack yet. No sign of the sunglasses, though. The remainder of the ride was uneventful, though I did make it up my hill in record time. This was not too hard to do since yesterday was partly in the dark & that was the first ride all the way home since removing the heavy studded tires. I had a brief wave of paranoia as 2 fire engines passed me, but the house was still standing.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

car ride today... I'm impressed how happy I am avoiding rainy commutes...I stayed up really late watching The Blind Side...a really nice story I didn't knew about...then spend hours looking for the real story on the internet...when I finally got ready to sleep I remembered that I needed to move some clothes to the drier 

hopefully, I will compensate my lost miles this weekend, I accepted an invitation to a long mtb ride this Saturday morning...Kermit is going to the mountains! (going full rigid, 1x8, rackless and fenderless for this one )


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

@ gary: best part of that sign is they mis-spelled matsurbate.

today: learning to not kill the skinnies over bad roads.
dealing with increasing cycling commuter traffic
college st through little italy and past the university used to be a nice place to stretch your chain and get moving, now it's cluttered with people wearing giant headphones and no helmet, riding through lit crosswalk crossings when children are trying to get to school, angrily dinging their bells at anyone who comes within 3 feet of the bike lane, but cheerily skipping into the car lane to frogger around you at every stoplight... and that was all just this morning.

*sigh*
time for a new route.
dammit, I put gears on my bike so I could get up to speed, at this rate I might as well go back to single speeding!


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

byknuts said:


> @ gary: best part of that sign is they mis-spelled matsurbate.


Hee hee hee. Sometimes the typos are as funny as the actual content.



> college st through little italy and past the university used to be a nice place to stretch your chain and get moving, now it's cluttered with people wearing giant headphones and no helmet, riding through lit crosswalk crossings when children are trying to get to school, angrily dinging their bells at anyone who comes within 3 feet of the bike lane, but cheerily skipping into the car lane to frogger around you at every stoplight... and that was all just this morning.
> 
> *sigh*
> time for a new route.
> dammit, I put gears on my bike so I could get up to speed, at this rate I might as well go back to single speeding!


Maybe being a year-round commuter breeds better cycling etiquette, but I'm always amazed at these people who wait until spring to bring their bikes out of the garage. It's like they've forgotten to unpack their manners and common sense.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tonight looks nice, 50's and sunny, but forecast is for up to 2" sleet/snow or maybe rain tonight, and rain tomorrow, lower 30's in the a.m. A little worried about that but going to ride anyway as I will be cooped up in the car to PA by midday tomorrow.


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## AndrewJL (Mar 6, 2009)

I commuted to school for the first time today (I ride to work 2 out of the 3 days I work)
it was in the mid 50's on the way in half of it is slightly uphill but part of that is on a road that follows the coastline and it has an ocean view. It was 65ish on the way back.

The only issue was (besides the 20extra min vs driving) that when I get to school I have to carry the bike up stairs and once I got to class I started sweating


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I don't know if we broke the record with 84 F or more or not. Felt like 85. I rode tonight and got in it was still 68 F! Trying to record my new lights. Drivers are yielding. Maybe the UFO-like high beam shape weirded them out.  You could see the beam like an airport beacon, especially on corners where you could catch a semi-side view.

It's 65 F at 7:30 am Friday. Rain this afternoon likely violent TS. Warmer now than forecast highs for a week. Ride now or wet later. So it is back to being April not June.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I don't know if some folks are upset about LaHood's DOT statements or what, but people have been a little more cranky the past couple days.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Found a nice 30' tape measurer in the ditch yesterday, made for a tres butch look on the knapsack waistbelt.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I saw a marmot and a jackrabbit this morning. And the usual dozen or so deer. But them marmots are skittish...That's a fairly rare sighting on my route.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rider on the storm. It a hard rain thats going to fall this afternoon so rode into the teeth of the wind. Doing better at that. Last time with this kind of wind only 12 mph out and not quite 18 mph back. Today, 14.4 out and 20.8 on the return and I was only briefly in high gear and not maxed out, either. Mostly second and third from top. Longest I have been in the 53 in a long time (switching it out for a 50, a bit more sane for me). Up shallow inclines in third gear from top at 90 RPM. Smokin' (for me I'm not as young as I once was). The semi erect posture is a bear into the wind, but as a sail? Wow!! Of course 27 x 1 1/8 (28 mm) instead of the Michelin City 700C 35's on the errand bikes' wheels helped some. Not quite dead (yet).

Saw a young ****. He should have been more skittish. He was QUITE dead. To stay with the rock tune theme: Another one bites the dust.


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## sportsman (Mar 2, 2004)

wonderful


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

sportsman said:


> wonderful


I like that pic!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

commuter reconverted :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just finished watering my lawn for the first time this year. I still don`t quite trust the sprinkler system not to freeze, so I did it by hand and got a good close look while I was at it. WTF?? There was 3/4 driveway rock scattered all over the grass. I guess I put it there myself when I was shoveling snow. Anyway, i suppose I`d better go clear out as much as possible before I mow it and end up shooting it through the living room window or something.
All the bulbs are up now, buds coming along nicely on the maples, roses and butterfly bushes are waking up, and a little plumb tree will be in full bloom in about two more weeks, I think.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> I like that pic!


+1 I need one of those bike markers in my drive.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Wind with me on way back. Had SUV pull out from ahead on right going my way with just adequate time. He dawdled like granny with an egg under his accellerator. I was in 53-15 at 80-90 rpm or so wind at my back sailing nice, so not standing still. Fun look in his mirror whan he saw me closing!  Gosh, he actually can use the accellerator! 
:thumbsup: 

Another 20 miles still working on my Grand. January and most of Feb really cost me accumulated miles.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I really need to manage my time better...since the wife left I have only done 122 commuting miles ...yesterday I setup Kermit as a commuter again, did some housekeeping*, saw a movie and end up sleeping early but tired...this morning wasn't able to get up early for my commute ride.

I'll try to take free-Mondays and do complete commuting days the rest of the week.

*don't get me wrong...home is not shiny, I'm doing just what is needed to survive.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> ...yesterday I setup Kermit as a commuter again


How was the mtb trip with your friends?

Awesome weather here this weekend. Probably over 70F. Went out to ride a rail trail with my wife yesterday in summer uniform and actually got hot for a while when the pedaling got hard. Of course, hte old lady was happilly bundled up like Frosty the Snowman


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@rodar
the scenery was really nice actually...we went deep in the mountains in a ride I've done before...the unknown zone (for me) was really nice...

...kermit/me and the terrain was another thing...it was pretty rocky and it wasn't that pleasant for my butt and arms...but may be I'm complaining too much  :lol: next time I'll take the camera!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Today was the first morning commute of 2010 with no jacket. 38* F!!! long sleeves and leg warmers was plenty. 70 in the forecast for the ride home. Finally.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Seasonal temps. Low 60's with cold NE wind yesterday. Needed silk under layer on top. After short sleeve Jersey only for almost a week. You get used to mid 80's fast! Same but 65 today. Here are pics from yesterday:



The Red Bud backdrop to Blue Bridge seemed worth a quick retake for you.



This is South Eastern Indiana, the Courthouse NEVER leans left! The Courthouse tree is leafing out. It is an earlier leafing species, but the exposure and elevation slow it up some. Maybe the Tower Clock Spring went dry?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> The Courthouse tree is leafing out. It is an earlier leafing species, but the exposure and elevation slow it up some. Maybe the Tower Clock Spring went dry?


Odd, that`s for sure. I`ve seen nopales and small trees growing out of walls and roofs in Mexico, but EVERYTHNG grows ANYWHERE in the climates where I`ve seen that. I sure wouldn`t expect it in Indiana.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Odd, that`s for sure. I`ve seen nopales and small trees growing out of walls and roofs in Mexico, but EVERYTHNG grows ANYWHERE in the climates where I`ve seen that. I sure wouldn`t expect it in Indiana.


Life finds a way.

Birds likely brought the seeds of the first one over 140 years ago. They fertilize it. It has a Ripley Beleive It or Not, citation, and attracts some tourism. This is not the original tree and there has been as many as eight at a time. They let each Tower Tree get a fair size, and trim it Banzai-like to keep it from growing quickly. When it threatens the structure, they allow one of its seedlings which are normally removed, to come ahead and cut the older one down. So the original was on a different corner. There must be a secondary internal roof to deal with leaks.

So even here with 40 inches of rain a year and almost no water holding capacity it grows. If mankind was gone, the forest would take over and it would be like the Mayan city complexes hiding in the jungle. It would just take twice as long with half the growing season.


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## terra_firma (Jun 19, 2009)

The normal 11.5 mile round trip commute went a little long; ended up being 18 miles on account of having to see the dentist. My first cleaning in 2.5 years. I take good care of my teeth but hot damn, there was some crap lodged deep in my back molars that took some awful prodding and picking to get out. Bleeding gums. 

My ride home from the dentist certainly helped make the pain go away :thumbsup:
Bleeding soon stopped too: )


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Getting better. Almost back to last fall's speed. After moseying along at 75% max heart rate for two weeks to drop weight, it was fun to throw another 5% on the power available with runs to 90%. A lot of time in the top three ratios, moving right along. WooHoo! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Impressions of Irena (new to me x-bike) commute vs MTB commute:

Irena was comfy and capable on both the poor condition pavement sections and the dirt section. She felt speedier on the flats but harder on the hills due to the lower gearing of the MTB. I stood on the steepest section, which gave me enough power, but I ran out of stamina to stand & walked maybe 1/2 block. Should be do-able with a little more conditioning for the standing hill climb. Overall on hills, more fighting at slow cadence than spinning, compared to the MTB. Here's the stats: 

22 mi full distance commute (no bus) MTB vs X-bike. Because of a 3.5mi long hill at the end I break up the 22mi ride into 2 segments on the GPS; the 18+ mi flatter section & the 3+ mi steep section. Here are the results:

4/13 MTB 18.98 mi time1:47:28 10.59 avg 
3.55 mi hill time 55:56 3.81 avg 

4/19 xbike 18.65mi time 1:33:22 11.98mph avg 
3.58 mi hill time 46:40 4.6 mph avg

4/14 MTB hill only 3.53mi time 43:20 4.89mph avg


I saved 14 mins on 19 mi flatter section on the x-bike compared to the MTB last week. The hill section was a toss up; I saved 9 mins using the xbike compared to last week on the mttb; but to be fair, 4/13 is when it got dark when I still had 2 mi to go, so the speed was slower than usual. On 4/14 I did the hill section 3 mins faster on the MTB than on tthe x-bike, but I had not done the full 22 mi commute either, so the legs were fresher.

Irena's numbers include a stop to dig a water bottle & the computer out of my pack, as neither are mounted on the frame right now. 

In the a.m. I get to try out Irena in the downhill direction.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The grass was frosty in the morning and the sun was shining. It should warm up a bit during the day. So I'll stuff the sweater in the pack and ride in jeans, T, and wind-breaker.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

one of my favorites type of rides...wet road and no rain this morning. Last night it was cats and dogs.

I started to check my HR on the large portion of the commute (home-showers)...will see if I get better numbers.

@mtbx
overall, I see you getting better avg numbers on your commute soon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Irena is fast for a big green tractor! nice. 

I had to throw the fenders back on last night after checking the weather for today... glad I did, wet morning. My brand new drivetrain is officially not brand new anymore. It was so clean.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Irena & I had a scare this morning on the commute :yikes: 
Speeding downhill 2+ miles from home & going at least 30mph on pavement & thinking, "I may have to actually slow down to make that next turn", when a black blur came from the right on a collision course. It was the big rottie that chased me uphill a bit last week (with the St Bernard & the basset hound), but instead he was in full chase mode. Despite my speed he came across at a perfectly timed right angle and at a silent full-out run; at the very last millisecond he put on the brakes, coming within a hair's breadth of the front hub. I didn't do much to avoid him, I know I braked but that may have been after, and if I veered it wasn't much, it just happened too quickly. It surely would have been a spectacular crash, even if he had just run into the front wheel rather than me running into him, since he must top 100 lbs, but luckily neither happened. I glanced back to make sure he'd abandoned the chase & he had returned home, pleased I'm sure that the intruder had been sent on her way. I hope Irena isn't too shaken up from her 2nd VT commute.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Irena & I had a scare this morning on the commute .... I hope Irena isn't too shaken up from her 2nd VT commute.


Cycling & Commuting: it can be so dog gone fun!

Oh and you get better numbers if the dog chases you.



martinsillo said:


> I started to check my HR on the large portion of the commute (home-showers)...will see if I get better numbers.


Good. Your last report on HR was a bit scary but I did not know how to say that, then. Chest pain while riding forced me to get a HR monitor. I was biking again for cardiovascular reasons and because I just needed a great excuse to do something I love. (Honey I need to ride, Doctor's orders!) Early on with it I found I was at 80-90% or higher all the time. I was attacking it like I was18: full out, all the time.. So I started to roughly follow the easy, moderate, hard and intensity day training guidelines modded from race training for a commute, fun and health. These include a 10 minute warm up at less than 65% max HR and a cool-down to the same. It took months for the cool down to actually get there without simply coasting for 90% of the 10 minutes, (which of course I could not talk myself into). Fifty pounds came off too with better fat burning regimes, and rest heart rate dropped 20, so it is hard to say what was cause and effect. You are doing the right thing. Listen to your body. Spare parts are hard to come by. I think I speak for all in this thread: we are rooting for you.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yikes! I had a pair of yellow labs on my commute for a while that would do that...the silent sprint out of the driveway and last-second screech to a halt...then they'd trot back home like they'd accomplished something. Freaked me out the first few times, but they never took it any farther than that.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Good. Your last report on HR was a bit scary but I did not know how to say that, then. Chest pain while riding forced me to get a HR monitor. I was biking again for cardiovascular reasons and because I just needed a great excuse to do something I love. (Honey I need to ride, Doctor's orders!) Early on with it I found I was at 80-90% or higher all the time. I was attacking it like I was18: full out, all the time.. So I started to roughly follow the easy, moderate, hard and intensity day training guidelines modded from race training for a commute, fun and health. These include a 10 minute warm up at less than 65% max HR and a cool-down to the same. It took months for the cool down to actually get there without simply coasting for 90% of the 10 minutes, (which of course I could not talk myself into). Fifty pounds came off too with better fat burning regimes, and rest heart rate dropped 20, so it is hard to say what was cause and effect. You are doing the right thing. Listen to your body. Spare parts are hard to come by. I think I speak for all in this thread: we are rooting for you.


thanks BMc...I thought about it and the plan is to have a complete hematology test asap and go to see a Cardiologist with the test and my numbers from the rides.

Today my AHR was 147, and my MHR 167 on a 30 min ride at a 12-13mph average speed...I still have my doubts on the polar (I had to change the chest-sensor the first week of having it.... and I got in Dec)...will try to check it on Saturday with the polar representatives here in MTY.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> thanks BMc...I thought about it and the plan is to have a complete hematology test asap and go to see a Cardiologist with the test and my numbers from the rides.
> 
> Today my AHR was 147, and my MHR 167 on a 30 min ride at a 12-13mph average speed...I still have my doubts on the polar (I had to change the chest-sensor the first week of having it.... and I got in Dec)...will try to check it on Saturday with the polar representatives here in MTY.


Not only a cyclist, but also brilliant. I suppose you have to beat the ladies off with a stick, too?

I don't know if you know your actual max heart rate so you can convert to % of max rate. I would not try to measure it when you suspect something is not right without doctor supervision. Young atheletes run up and down bleachers or hills untill it doesn't increase: Max Rate. The crude 'average human' method for those above 20 is 220- minus your age. I am 58, at 175 so mine is 8 % higher than predicted, some are lower than the formula.

For example, a max rate of 167 would be 95% of my actual max and 2% over my guesstimated one, the first would be OK on a real hard climb or sprint, the last not. The 147 would be 78% for me and a moderate rate with harder climbs thrown in. So it is very nice to know you actrual max HR.

I have a Sigma and it hates my lights' flashing mode RFI. The first time it read 230 I about freaked! That could only mean imminent cardiac arrest. Apparently some overdriven trucker's CB's will do it to it too. Got nice adrenalin hits to the actual HR after reading those numbers!

I checked mine with an electronic BP cuff. Within a beat. So if you have or can nab one, that helps.

The recovery time and rate to normal rest HR says a lot about your conditioning and efficiency. It should also be valuable info for the Docs. Take the monitor with you off the bike and record say each 30 seconds for 2 mins, each minute to 5 minutes, each 5 minutes until steady. Adjust timing to fit your rate of drop. Try to start this at about 65% to 50% of your max reading and not after blitzing up a big hill. 

Pulling for you, man.:thumbsup:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Polar Test said my MaxHR is 192 (220-28=192  )...so I was on my 76% today...12mph on a pretty flat ride should not put my numbers that high... I think...what really shock me is how fast I get above 150's...today of those 30 min, 13 were above 154.

well, I'll post some info after doc visit.

Today I'll probably get some rain on my way home 



BrianMc said:


> Not only a cyclist, but also brilliant. I suppose you have to beat the ladies off with a stick, too?


 let's say that if there were any, the wife would do the job for me  :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This is making me curious. I want to know some numbers about myself.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

I tried to keep up with a roadie once going like 22mph for awhile and my heart rate monitor was freakin out I was at 217 for like 2 mins wonder how long you can do that for.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Looks like I just beat the rain, riding in this afternoon. Good thing I finally got my regular commuter back up and running, those fenders will come in handy later. New Avid SD-7s work like a charm and the Speed-V Pro Gel saddle is surprisingly comfortable. I've never been much of a weight weenie, but it feels seriously lighter and more nimble, especially up top.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Warning Long Post:

I will paste in the exercise heart rate range info I have been using to regain my cardiac health as being on topic, if a side branch of the topic "How was your commute...".

It seems to me that you can't commute under your own power if you have no HR! :skep: You just aren't that fleet if you don't have that beat. (Tune: It don't mean a thing if if ain't got that swing).

Firstly I use the Max Rate - Rest Rate to find the Working Range for my HR. This makes sense because you are not below your Rest Rate and not suppossed to be far or long above your max rate, though some trainers try to push that. So 50% should be halfway. So I take my percentages of the Working Range and then add back the rest rate to get actual HR on the meter.

For example, say I want to warm up at at an HR of at least 50% of max but no more than 65% (my usual). 175-50 (my max - my rest pulse at the moment) so my working range is 125 and 50% of that is 62.5 + 50 rest rate = 112.5 for 50% of max on the meter. and 131 for 65%. Contrast that to 50% of 175 which is 87.5. An HR of 87.5 is easy for me to have anticipating the ride or mounting the bike and 65% would be only about 114! Further, the Interval/intensity training asks that you return to the 65% level. I have enough issues getting back down to 131 after a blast to 165-170+ on a roller coaster hill climb, so 114 would be a very long coast or a stop at the side of the road. My after ride cool downs are getting me down to low 120's and the 50% level isn't far off. I was down to the 50% level after a 10 minute cool down all last fall before the weather made it nuts. It works and makes sense to me. YMMV.

Got this Googling all over and I liked this best. But this is the link for the Interval training http://www.cptips.com/intervl.htm and it was the same site, different page.

Zone 1 65% of MHR (recovery rides)
Zone 2 65-72% of MHR (endurance events)
Zone 3 73-80% of MHR (high level aerobic activity)
Avoid 81-83% (Neither aerobic or anaeobic so training in this range improves neither)
Zone 4 84-90% of MHR (lactate threshold(LT,AT); time trialing)
Zone 5 91-100% of MHR (sprints and anaerobic training)

The idea that I had the HR at rest of a fit athlete told me that though we are not training for events we are in fact, training for commuting by commuting.

First of season if you have to regain fitness (why I hated not riding much this winter. Next winter: studs & better wet gear) lots of Zone 1 & 2 to burn off fat and recover fitness a few high intensity days for fun.

A week of athletic training aiming at improving speed, endurance looks like this:
One recovery day In Zones 1 or 2
One long mileage day (10-20% more than you plan for vacation day or Century, whatever)
Three High intensity days in Zone 4
One or two of the high intensity days can be intervals Which is good cause hills are natural intervals here, so high intensity IS interval training.
One or Two rest days or One or Two Zone 1 or 2 recovery rides. 
All rides have a Zone1-Zone 2 warm up and cooldown for 10 minutes. Mild stretching recommended before, harder stretching wiht warm muscles and tendons after cool down.

I don't really follow this since I am not training for a specific event. However I used this to set a rough limit of about 3 or 4 fast ride days per week and most hills are used as a form of interval training. I count rides into 20-30 mph winds as hard rides. I want to be no more than 80% on hills on my easy days and 95% on the faster ones. I made more progress (faster rides even in Zones 1 & 2) changing it up than slogging it out each day as fast as I could go. I can't seem to ride easier than barely in to Zone 1 threatening 2. I think I'd like a fixie: I just gotta pedal and can't coast that much unless gasping and needing to recover. This seems to be working for me. YMMV

What this has done. Lost 50 pounds. With discovery of food intolerance and treatment for same, BP down 20-25 points. I am no longer on slow release Nitro Glycerin, Statins, or Beta Blockers, I am on half dose of an ACE inhibitor and a baby aspirin. I take Taurine to help eliminate exercise angina and since I no longer have any, either it isn't needed or it works: I can hit my Max HR with breathing issues but no chest pain.

A neighbor's brother rode his last Hilly 100 here in Indiana at 85, two years ago. I'd love to exceed that. It is often held on or the weekend after my Birthday. Be a hell of a 90th! New wheels, cassette and chainwheels next month: I'll have my first go at it this fall. Two 50 mile (high intensity :thumbsup: ) days.

I also found you won't need to look at the readout much after you get used to how a certain amount of output feels. In fact, one of the signs of improvement is that you reach the limit for effort on the hill and you did it at 170+ instead of barely 160 max. Or you say hmm this is a nice pace but I feel like I'm riding easy and you are Zone 1 not 2 as you intended but you are going as fast or faster into the same or more wind. :thumbsup: It's working.

Hope you thought it worth the reading.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

***************************************************
Warning....dumb (me) posting:
I felt getting distracted by my HR monitor!
We are fine, but La Trurly needs some attention...nothing to be alarmed...it was her proud the one that really got hurt...

I'll elaborate the post later with a pic.
***************************************************
Dumb or dumber?

So... yes...I got distracted watching my HR! you know to check how high I was going!...

where?

well, here
just between the little white truck and the gray car going south...traffic was pretty much like on the sat pic btw...

Taking my eyes off the road my front wheel felt in those little curbs that are on some streets when they put coat over coat on the roads...well..tried to veer back..but it was too late..in fact it made it easy...a second before I was laying on the slow lane, pretty much taking the whole lane...fortunately the car coming was far enough to see me falling.

left knee took pretty much the whole thing...









La Trurly as I said, was hurt on her proud, she is tough...the rack has a little dent now, the rear fender needed to be adjusted and her RD cable got loose....I forgot my tools...of course!... so it was 34x11 all the way home...it was a good test for my legs...I barely did the hill getting home, but I did it.

Dumb or dumber?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> I fell by getting distracted by my HR monitor!
> We are fine, but La Trurly needs some attention...nothing to be alarmed...it was her pride that really got hurt...


:madman: 
I was thinking of warning you about that. I say screw the monitor in heavy traffic even if I am sprinting out of danger and the lungs and chest are beginning to tell me my max is VERY close, I don't look until I'm clear. Back off a tad, but don't look. Probably why I catch the numbers dropping and since I have no Max mem feature, it is gone.

34/11 = 42/14, 53/17 hmmm, yeah that's real nice on a bunged up knee. Not even a knife to screw the stop in to the 13?

Got two hours in but only about a mile shooting video of my vest/lights/reflectors at night. It was a dark and lonely road and the car sat abandoned while an insane cyclist circled like a vulture over a carcass....Hithcock's reputation is not in jeopardy, trust me.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I refuse to use HRMs or bike computers.
The numbers don't really interest me and I feel they'd take something out of my experience of riding. Distract me maybe 

(I do switch on Sportstracker on my phone for trail rides, but that is mainly to keep a log of where I've been and to share routes with other local riders.)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

perttime said:


> I refuse to use HRMs or bike computers.
> The numbers don't really interest me and I feel they'd take something out of my experience of riding. Distract me maybe
> 
> (I do switch on Sportstracker on my phone for trail rides, but that is mainly to keep a log of where I've been and to share routes with other local riders.)


I hate even having a reflector on my bike. 30 years nada (well they didn't have them early on, a full trig calculator was a pricey and rare piece) but I'd not have had one anyway. Hated handlebar clutter. Still do.

Only an HRM, no computer. No phone software. (Though I am considering it as my memory for where I have been isn't what it was.) I discovered that two hospitalizations with clots and chest pain, alters the point of view on these matters a tad. BUT to keep the rubber side down, requires judicious use. Biking likely kept me out of the hospital (given what some food was doing to me) until I moved here, and it seemed too dangerous. Now I see it is too dangerous for me NOT to ride. I have no significant blockages, but my BP goes up if I don't ride. So I shared what keeps me going for any who find it useful.

I only refer to the monitor when I want to have an idea how hard I am working or was just working. If I wanted more, I'd have one with memory and download/software features. I too, think that is getting too anal unless you are tracking a potential issue. Me? I'm just out to have fun and keep having fun cycling. I just have to be a bit smarter about it than ride full bore everywhere all the time. There are crashes, then there are CRASHES! There is down time and then 6' under. Risk management is complex.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

WOW I was underdressed this morning... looking out the window in the dawn's early light I could tell that it had not rained last night like the forecast said it would, so I stuffed the rain shell in the backpack and went with a long sleeve cotton T-shirt over my breathable short sleeve jersey shirt and summer gloves...what I COULDN'T see out the window was the snowflakes that were falling... April has fooled me again. 

I have this thing about stopping to dig around in the backpack, especially on the long descent after I leave my house...so I just kept going. Had some numb arms by the time I got to work. the shorts and legwarmers seemed to be enough. I'm seriously hoping that this is the last snow of the year...I mean seriously, it's almost May. Can we just move on?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice. Started out with baggy shorts over bike shorts (1st shorts morning), tech T, LS jersey, lite fleece vest & windvest. Down to the shorts, T, & windvest for the 2nd 1/2 of the 18mi rte from friend's near Sugarbush. No crazy dogs or drivers today. 1 wide load with an excavator was the only excitement, but it was reasonably well behaved. Hang in there, CB, yesterday my yard was down to 1 wheelbarrow worth of snow under the roof valley.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

car ride today 
today I can easily count my HR from my knee! :lol:

it was 32x11 yesterday not 34 btw, I was so mad to myself I just wanted to get home, could have stopped at a shop for a tool a knife or something.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Martin - Ouch! Glad you weren't hurt worse. It's not the falling that's so bad as falling in traffic!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, no! Martin, that looks fairly fainful. At least the blood matches you red sock well. Very coordinated.

The snow surprised me, too. But since I was up on the roof working on a fan when it started I knew about it first thing and didn`t get tricked. Who would have thought that a bicycling forum would give such a good overview on weather and seasons throughout NA and Europe?

Perttime, you definitely have a point about the distractions. For some reason, I can easilly ignore the computer on my commuter (and ov the tandem when we had one there), but I feel like a slave to the speedo on my roadbike. I moved it from the bars to the seat post so I wouldn`t see it while I was riding, but that`s worse because I catch myself trying to peek down between my legs to see it anyway. Gonna put it back on the bars.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: Gary...now that you say it...I actually remember me doing a 180º on purpose during the fall to see what could be the end but, well..here I am hehehe

yeah rodar, you can lose a little blood, but always glamorously! :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Martin - Ouch! Glad you weren't hurt worse. It's not the falling that's so bad as falling in traffic!


+ a whole bunch.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

not good today I got hit ........ im fine rims not :madmax:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

So, did you make the mistake, or the driver? Or both?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeah fatboy...we need details


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

fatboypup said:


> not good today I got hit ........ im fine rims not :madmax:


Did you get his insurance info? I was hit by a dude a little over a year ago. My damage looked almost identical to yours. I ended up getting an upgraded wheelset out of the deal. His insurance company paid for everything.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

2 martin: piernas peludos del cucuy?! andaleee!


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> yeah fatboy...we need details


crosswalk slam ............ I was entering the crosswalk at a very slow pace she was talking on the phone when she decided to turn right on red .......


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Did you get his insurance info? I was hit by a dude a little over a year ago. My damage looked almost identical to yours. I ended up getting an upgraded wheelset out of the deal. His insurance company paid for everything.


yeah i called her insurance last night and made a claim ..... first the lady was all cool about it and wanted to not go the insurance route and take care of things then when the cop whom doesn't seem to understand the laws said because I was cycling on the sidewalk on the "wrong" side of the street he could ticket me if I really wanted him to write up a full report. Then the lady starts to say well then I guess I need to contact my husband about this cause maybe I don't need to pay anything and she thinks we might have the"same" amount of damage because her underskirt on the lincoln navigator was "scratched" ... from now on ill dismount at crosswalks :madman:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

fatboypup said:


> yeah i called her insurance last night and made a claim ..... first the lady was all cool about it and wanted to not go the insurance route and take care of things then when the cop whom doesn't seem to understand the laws said because I was cycling on the sidewalk on the "wrong" side of the street he could ticket me if I really wanted him to write up a full report. Then the lady starts to say well then I guess I need to contact my husband about this cause maybe I don't need to pay anything and she thinks we might have the"same" amount of damage because her underskirt on the lincoln navigator was "scratched" ... from now on ill dismount at crosswalks :madman:


Sidewalks are dangerous. Even if it is legal to ride on them (which it isn't around here), you'd probably be better off on the road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, no! And it was a pretty rim, too!

Fatboy, I`m really glad you weren`t hurt, but I agree with Sockeyeus. Sidewalks are kind of sketchy, and that`s EXACTLY why riding on the left is a bad idea. Sometimes I guess it`s worth the chance for certain situations, but you really have to weigh the risks if you decide to try it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bummer! But on the bright side, you can cut those spokes, salvage the hub, and learn to build wheels while you roll around on the new wheelset that the lady's insurance buys you. You got no injuries at all? That's pretty heavy bike damage for no rider damage.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bummer! But on the bright side, you can cut those spokes, salvage the hub, and learn to build wheels while you roll around on the new wheelset that the lady's insurance buys you. You got no injuries at all? That's pretty heavy bike damage for no rider damage.


Im fine low speed I was just starting into the crosswalk and she was just starting to take off, besides the rim the shock got a lil scratch ........ im hoping it didnt mess up my brakeset


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, no! And it was a pretty rim, too!
> 
> Fatboy, I`m really glad you weren`t hurt, but I agree with Sockeyeus. Sidewalks are kind of sketchy, and that`s EXACTLY why riding on the left is a bad idea. Sometimes I guess it`s worth the chance for certain situations, but you really have to weigh the risks if you decide to try it.


yeah the left side was kinda poor choice on my part but i was riding a lil multiuse trail that spilled into the sidewalk ....... Im not sure if you can tell by this photo but this is a southbound trail on the east (left) side of the road ......


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

fatboypup said:


> Im fine low speed I was just starting into the crosswalk and she was just starting to take off, besides the rim the shock got a lil scratch ........ im hoping it didnt mess up my brakeset


Depending on what the verdict is on whose fault it was, the insurance could cover everything damaged. I was hit from the from (dude turned into me) so my front wheel was the only thing screwed up. The insurance company was just going to buy me a whole new bike, but I told them the crash wasn't that bad and that I'd prefer to bring it to a bike shop for a full evaluation. Luckily my shop was cool and worked out a deal that was great for me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s likely worth riding it then. But why the hell do bike trails even get built like that? Oh, yeah- budget.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

fatboypup said:


> yeah the left side was kinda poor choice on my part but i was riding a lil multiuse trail that spilled into the sidewalk ....... Im not sure if you can tell by this photo but this is a southbound trail on the east (left) side of the road ......


In that case, you shouldn't have much of a problem getting payment. The insurance guys I worked with were super cool. I hope you have the same luck.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> It`s likely worth riding it then. But why the hell do bike trails even get built like that? Oh, yeah- budget.


i was just trying to head home


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pup, sorry to hear about your accident, hope you don't get sore after-the-fact. 

I beat the thunderstorms last night, but was a bit ragged from the headwinds & doing the hills with my x-bike double chainring. Also, I am surprised how tired my forearm muscles are, I guess from having more weight on them compared to the MTB & the push/pull thing when climbing standing.


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

Wonderful ride into work today...pretty warm @ 50F, slightly overcast but clearing up in the afternoon. It would have been a perfect ride, but some douche in a truck almost took me (and another car) out backing up out of his driveway. And THEN yelled something angry out the window as if it were MY fault. Other than that little hiccup, it was a pleasant 20-22mph cruise into work.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Depending on what the verdict is on whose fault it was, the insurance could cover everything damaged. I was hit from the from (dude turned into me) so my front wheel was the only thing screwed up. The insurance company was just going to buy me a whole new bike, but I told them the crash wasn't that bad and that I'd prefer to bring it to a bike shop for a full evaluation. Luckily my shop was cool and worked out a deal that was great for me.


well she first took full blame untill the cop said if he was going to have to write a full report instead of us just exchanging info being i wasnt hurt that he'd site me for going against traffic, but the law says if on the roadway or shoulder you must travel with traffic but then again the law says the sidewalk and crosswalk are NOT the roadway ......... I hate when cops dont know the law ...... i was about to tell him fine site me but you need to site her for fail to yield the right of way, not stopping at a traffic device, wreckless driving ( on cell phone when she hit me) he really didnt like all that so I just took the insurance info and filed a claim. :nono:


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Depending on what the verdict is on whose fault it was, the insurance could cover everything damaged. I was hit from the from (dude turned into me) so my front wheel was the only thing screwed up. The insurance company was just going to buy me a whole new bike, but I told them the crash wasn't that bad and that I'd prefer to bring it to a bike shop for a full evaluation. Luckily my shop was cool and worked out a deal that was great for me.


id be fine with a whole new bike :thumbsup: cause thats practically what i have its not a month old :madmax:


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Good ride in today. It is Tempe Bike Week and today specifically was Bike to Work Day. So the city had a few free breakfast locations and a free t-shirt. Of course I think it is going to rain this afternoon so the ride home may not be so nice.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

Tom93R1 said:


> Good ride in today. It is Tempe Bike Week and today specifically was Bike to Work Day. So the city had a few free breakfast locations and a free t-shirt. Of course I think it is going to rain this afternoon so the ride home may not be so nice.


I doubt we'll get much rain if any :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm on the 29er today... risky heading in to work this morning with no fenders, but I got lucky. A little rain, but the roads weren't soaked enough to get me sloppy. Hoping to sneak in a trail ride after work. It's becoming a Thursday tradition... hour and a half on the trails, and meet the wife for a ride home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Commute for real for four days next week. Only 3 miles. Probability of locally violent thunderstorms and tornados for next week just went up, I fear.  

Scoped out the location: city hall. There is no bicycle rack even though it is a former school of the late 50's early 60's conventional design with a local playground in back. Figures. Spent $1.5 million moving here from the former and converted Neo-Classical Carnegie Library ($$) because someone messed up and the new elevator for ADA act access was 2 inches too narrow. Our tax dollars at work.

I considered and rejected several outside locking options as being too dangerous to pedestrians, trees, or the bike. I have narrowed my choices to tying up to the flag pole with the city flag in the middle of the front lawn (not the one with the Stars and Stripes it's too dangerous for the bike), or walk it into the building and the former gymnasium where we meet, as if I have done so all my life, since there should be lots of room. 

The job requires a vehicle, but the training doesn't. I wonder if I should drive the first day so the hiring process is done before they discover I'm a cyclist. Harder to fire someone than not complete the hiring process.

Much easier to ask forgiveness than get permission. Ideas?


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## DriveByBikeShooting (Mar 13, 2009)

rode my 29er to work today... 9 miles each way with a headwind of about 15mph each way aswell... averaged 12 mph... slooooow... got passed by grandma on a road bike!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Only moderate wind 10-15 but started NW and swung to sw-ssw and then round to south now. So rode out into opart of it and rode back into part of it. I HATE when that happens. I was hoping for it behind me and maybe average 18, nope 14.5. Maybe tomorrow between storms.

The azaleas are blooming!



Neighbors. I plow their lane and I sneak in and take pictures. Photocyclesynthesis. Veni Vidi Velocipedi.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Commute for real for four days next week. Only 3 miles. Probability of locally violent thunderstorms and tornados for next week just went up, I fear.
> 
> Scoped out the location: city hall. There is no bicycle rack even though it is a former school of the late 50's early 60's conventional design with a local playground in back.
> ...
> ...


Congrats on your real commute.:thumbsup: I would stick to the bike - if nothing else you will stick out from the herd. No bike rack at a city hall??? You must work on that when you get the job. I like the walk right in approach, especially if the weather is good (I make it a policy never to get on the bad side of janitorial staff). The flag pole souds OK to me, or if there is any front desk or security staff you could ask the best pace to park- it would be interesting to hear the answer.

I learned the hard way not to use a handrail. This winter I ran in to a state office building just to deliver something & there was no rack, pole, etc., so I used the handrail on the front steps. Sure enough, when I came out, the biggest woman in Montpelier was struggling up the stairs & berated me with "that's a really bad place to leave your bike". I said something about the lack of a rack but I did feel bad for making her trek more difficult and slunk off to work.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Yeah Brian...take your bike! Congrats!....you can always go for it if you need it...3miles is not too much.

You can also think on taking your car and leave it there if you have free parking , and of course if you are not going to use it later


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

byknuts said:


> 2 martin: piernas peludos del cucuy?! andaleee!


cucuy 

Yeah, I'm not into shaving...at least not yet :lol: .... although I had to quite do it around the wound..hairs were getting stuck into it...painful when moving.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Congrats on your real commute.:thumbsup: I would stick to the bike - if nothing else you will stick out from the herd. No bike rack at a city hall??? You must work on that when you get the job.


Census work. Full time temp.

QUOTE=mtbxplorer] I like the walk right in approach, especially if the weather is good (I make it a policy never to get on the bad side of janitorial staff). The flag pole sounds OK to me, or if there is any front desk or security staff you could ask the best pace to park- it would be interesting to hear the answer.[/QUOTE]

There is a receptionist. Good idea. Innocent cyclist looking for bike rack.

QUOTE=mtbxplorer] I learned the hard way not to use a handrail. This winter I ran in to a state office building just to deliver something & there was no rack, pole, etc., so I used the handrail on the front steps. Sure enough, when I came out, the biggest woman in Montpelier was struggling up the stairs & berated me with "that's a really bad place to leave your bike". I said something about the lack of a rack but I did feel bad for making her trek more difficult and slunk off to work. [/QUOTE]

That's why I'm not using the posts for the overhang at the back door: an emergency exit issue with the fire chief just inside. Can you say "Jaws of Life"?



martinsillo said:


> Yeah Brian...take your bike! Congrats!....you can always go for it if you need it...3miles is not too much.


I am doing 20-40 at a whack now not every day yet so 3 is a piece of cake I could go flat out, but I'd be sweaty. Did that and more through 10 years of college and a job between and the first 6 months at Ohio State. No it's the barely warmed up car or truck after 3 milles when you have a good bike intended for this I was having issues with. Apparently you agree. Besides gas is headed over $3 again!



martinsillo said:


> You can also think on taking your car and leave it there if you have free parking , and of course if you are not going to use it later


Or the truck. I can D lock the wheels and frame and cable lock the bike to the bed (throw on a tarp with bungees if it rains). I don't need a bike rack and I can leave helmet and tell tales in locked in the cab. I don't ride violent storms so the truck would bail me out. Good idea. I can still ask about a bike rack.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Tom93R1 said:


> Good ride in today. It is Tempe Bike Week and today specifically was Bike to Work Day. So the city had a few free breakfast locations and a free t-shirt. Of course I think it is going to rain this afternoon so the ride home may not be so nice.


I made it to the REI breakfast spot this morning, what a nice "treat"! Only felt a couple sprinkles on my way home, ended up doing 40.5 miles round trip today.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

*Bike VS Log - And log wins...*

Well, my commuting this summer had been going pretty well. I ride paved streets to work, and singletrack all the way home, it's a blast!

Unfortunately, last night I came through a little valley faster than usual, trying to gain enough speed to crest the next hill and didn't see the log laying across the trail 'till it was too late. I tried to stop, no dice... I tried to go around... No dice... So at the last minute, I tried to bunny hop (which I suck at) and still managed to plow through the dumb log...

Fortunately, from what I can tell, I have only bent my derailleur cage and dropout (both replaceable). And the derailleur was only an Acera one anyways, so good time to upgrade. 

But it still sucks that I had to drive today (LBS was already closed)! Oh well, I'll get it fixed up this weekend and be back on the trails on Monday!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

csmac2004 said:


> Well, my commuting this summer had been going pretty well.


Summer? Things must be improving- last time you posted you had just been ambushed in a mad snowball attack. Good luck with your repairs.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

Haha! Well, very true, but it's been amazing weather since then! We've been about 5° for lows and 25° for highs (about 41° to 77° F), bright and sunny.

And I don't post a lot obviously... 

Here's a picture of the peak/valley section of my commute that I can hit some pretty decent speeds... Unfortunately, unless I learn to read the trail ahead better or figure out bunny hopping more than an inch or two off the ground, I'll have to start slowing it down as this is the section where the dumb log jumped out and got me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, what a beautiful commute! Is that a gas pipeline? We`ve got a few around here that look just about like that, except all sagebrush for a backdrop.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

Yeah, I think it is actually (to be honest, I've never really looked around while on this part of the trail, I'm too busy just holding on!) Are you in California or somewhere similar? I've noticed a lot of pictures of that area in the States look a lot like where I ride here in Kamloops for sure.


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## Mr Cabletwitch (Apr 16, 2009)

Today was my first day commuting with my dog. I usually bring him to work but that always meant driving. Today he got the courage up to try the burley and I think he liked it. :thumbsup: 

Only bad part was I got a flat and had to ride the last two miles with all my weight on the front wheel so I wouldn't be late.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Mr Cabletwitch said:


> Today was my first day commuting with my dog. I usually bring him to work but that always meant driving. Today he got the courage up to try the burley and I think he liked it. :thumbsup:
> 
> Only bad part was I got a flat and had to ride the last two miles with all my weight on the front wheel so I wouldn't be late.


So you arrived dog tired? 

Couldn't resist.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Csmac- yeah, very close. I live in Nevada, about 45 minutes ride from the CA line.

Mr C- that sounds pretty cool. What kind of job is it that allows you to bring your dog along?


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Depending on what the verdict is on whose fault it was, the insurance could cover everything damaged. I was hit from the from (dude turned into me) so my front wheel was the only thing screwed up. The insurance company was just going to buy me a whole new bike, but I told them the crash wasn't that bad and that I'd prefer to bring it to a bike shop for a full evaluation. Luckily my shop was cool and worked out a deal that was great for me.


so after looking at the wheel the LBS said they cant rebuild it ......... and they cant get another pretty red one from Specialized/Alex cause they arent stocking anymore red ones  so he wrote me up a work order saying that. So the insurance can by me a new wheelset that matches or a new bike ..... the rims he is trying to get them to get me are the bontager rhythm elites which I know is a nice upgrade from what I have :thumbsup: The insurance claims lady is coming tomorrow to talk with me, *fingers crossed* theyll take care of me.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

Hard to commute when you’re unemployed. Been one year and six days for me. Fukkas outsourced my job to Bangalore, India, and now the work of one person (me) is being farmed out among four inept blowhards.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

fatboypup said:


> The insurance claims lady is coming tomorrow to talk with me, *fingers crossed* theyll take care of me.


This story may have some value to you. When my bike was totalled I presented the bill for $600 (1981 $) which included the same frame I had before (which being special order and not sold in a not built-up bike was $50 more than the NOS handbuilt frame exactly my size as if made for me that was in stock).

The insurance adjuster said "But your'e not going to buy the same frame you had but the better and cheaper one in stock."

"So...?"

You're going to end up with a better bike that you had!" says the adjuster.

"No, you are paying me what is costs to replace what I lost with EXACTLY what I had. If I chose to buy other parts instead, that is my concern, not yours."

"But you come out better off" he retorts.

"No you do. My wife came to the scene to find my crumpled bike, no me, and no one knew how I was. Imagine her state of mind for the 30 minutes until she was let in to see me. I spent from 5:00-5:15 lying on the road, another 15 in an ambulance, another 2 hours being checked over not knowing if I had microfractures of pelvis or spine. It took a week for the aches to dissiapate. I have been bikeless for two weeks. If I wait for the frame delivery it will be another 2 weeks. We haven't claimed ANY of that. I suggest you write the check."

He did. I probably could have had the built-up full Campy Record Cinelli (another $400) to cover my inconvenience, but I'm still riding the replacement: The Duchess. The Cinelli would have been hard to keep from theives on campus, wheras no one knew the much rarer Mercian was in the same league.

I hope you come out as well. :thumbsup:


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> This story may have some value to you. When my bike was totalled I presented the bill for $600 (1981 $) which included the same frame I had before (which being special order and not sold in a not built-up bike was $50 more than the NOS handbuilt frame exactly my size as if made for me that was in stock).
> 
> The insurance adjuster said "But your'e not going to buy the same frame you had but the better and cheaper one in stock."
> 
> ...


thanks, I only see they have two options in my mind pay the $715 for a new wheelset being I cant get the OEM rim or pay $1200 for a new bike so I can have exactly what I had ........ btw do they let you keep the old bike?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

fatboypup said:


> thanks, I only see they have two options in my mind pay the $715 for a new wheelset being I cant get the OEM rim or pay $1200 for a new bike so I can have exactly what I had ........ btw do they let you keep the old bike?


Dunno. Imagine they let the shop dispose of it. Ask the shop, they'll be familiar with insurance work.

In my case my bike was so customized they couldn't buy me the same bike off the floor. It was replace the frame and custom build a new bike regardless. A few parts were rebuilt or moved as is. A few were upgraded or replaces because they were too worn to bother with. Most were damaged in the crash. So there really wasn't anything left worth keeping.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Snuck a ride in ahead of the rain. Returning and 1.5 miles from home, a guy ran the Stop at the one subdivision faster than he should, had he had no stop or yield at all. I was glad I wasn't in water bottle throwing range. That corner is blind from the left until the last 20 feet. No way he could have stopped if I had been outbound. My wife saw the same stunt at a T near the soccer park at 11 with kids and cars backing out. Maybe the same guy. If so, he is an 'accident' waiting to happen.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Dunno. Imagine they let the shop dispose of it. Ask the shop, they'll be familiar with insurance work.
> 
> In my case my bike was so customized they couldn't buy me the same bike off the floor. It was replace the frame and custom build a new bike regardless. A few parts were rebuilt or moved as is. A few were upgraded or replaces because they were too worn to bother with. Most were damaged in the crash. So there really wasn't anything left worth keeping.


she offered me $500 saying she felt both parties where at fault ....... I told her I'd need at least the $715 for the new wheelset :nono: so let the wheeling dealing party begin ......


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Isn`t a $715 front rim kind of steep for a $1200 bike? Even a whole wheelset for that price sounds out of balance to me.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Isn`t a $715 front rim kind of steep for a $1200 bike? Even a whole wheelset for that price sounds out of balance to me.


well the whole issue is they cant get that stock OEM red alex rim  so if im gonna get a new wheelset thats not really what I want ill get a decent one .....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe it`s beside the point, but whatever Alex wheelset was on the bike originally could be upgraded very well for much less than that. It`s been a while since I shopped wheelgoods, but I bet you could get XT/717 (or equivalent preference) for $400 if you hunt around. Then again, they won`t be exactly the same, so maybe I`m on the wrong track. Those red rims really are pretty.

EDIT: Yup. $230 plus shipping, already laced.
http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=32


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe it`s beside the point, but whatever Alex wheelset was on the bike originally could be upgraded very well for much less than that. It`s been a while since I shopped wheelgoods, but I bet you could get XT/717 (or equivalent preference) for $400 if you hunt around. Then again, they won`t be exactly the same, so maybe I`m on the wrong track. Those red rims really are pretty.
> 
> EDIT: Yup. $230 plus shipping, already laced.
> * http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=32 *


I need a 29" these are 26
yeah I know the $500 will get me a much better wheelset than i have now but that red was awful sexy .... :madmax:

is pure any good? 
http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=134


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well...results are here....as expected Cholesterol an Triglycerides are very high... Trigs.. real bad...197!

knee wound is healing very slowly...but the pain is gone..I'm pretty sure I'll be back on monday...test ride planned for tomorrow.

@pup
I'm with rodar (if we have to choose a side :lol $500 will give you a pretty good wheelset and upgrade to what you have, but If you can get it better..well..get it. :thumbsup:


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> well...results are here....as expected Cholesterol an Triglycerides are very high... Trigs.. real bad...197!
> 
> knee wound is healing very slowly...but the pain is gone..I'm pretty sure I'll be back on monday...test ride planned for tomorrow.
> 
> ...


yeah i want an upgrade for sure we'll see how it goes I hope your feeling better and heal up quick :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> well...results are here....as expected Cholesterol an Triglycerides are very high... Trigs.. real bad...197!


I don`t understand much of that, but it doesn`t sound good. What are the implications and possible couses of action?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well, I now have to take some pills during 6 or 8 weeks and really get into a very low carb/frying stuff...taking out of the table the bad things...it surely has affected my cardio....something I understood is that, among other things, high Trigs are the ones that lead you to a Heart Attack.

Next week Mom (doc) and Dad is visiting from Vzla...will try to make the Cardiologist appointment after her arrival.

The High "Normal" Trigs..should be around 150-160...the lowest normal 35....wife take her tests in Tenerife two weeks ago...she got 49 points!


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I don`t understand much of that, but it doesn`t sound good. What are the implications and possible couses of action?


means he needs to eat more cheerios


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

So while the wheel woes go with the 29er HT ill have to pull this guy off the hook and put some grips on it for riding next week.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> well...results are here....as expected Cholesterol an Triglycerides are very high... Trigs.. real bad...197!
> 
> I don't know, my cholesterol came in at 300, was taking meds, crestor for over a year, made me wanna black out every time I stood up, lipitor makes my toenails and finger nails blue like I'm freezing but it's 72 degrees? The clincher was when I started vibrating, that's right, vibrating, like there's a jackhammer going off in my chest cavity, I'll take my chances with the heart attack, screw them pills!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Martin: ice cream bars aren`t "bad things", are they?
@Cranky: What did your numbers do when you were on the meds? Did they go right back when you stopped taking them?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

fatboypup said:


> she offered me $500 saying she felt both parties where at fault ....... I told her I'd need at least the $715 for the new wheelset :nono: so let the wheeling dealing party begin ......


Dumb cop. To bad he didn't cite her.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> well...results are here....as expected Cholesterol an Triglycerides are very high... Trigs.. real bad...197!
> 
> knee wound is healing very slowly...but the pain is gone..I'm pretty sure I'll be back on monday...test ride planned for tomorrow.
> 
> ...


High blood pressure + high triglycerides + high cholesterol is the signature of Metabolic Syndrome often a precursor to Adult onset diabetes. You don't want to have to hoe that row, man. Take your meds REALLY rework your diet as recommended (sweets big time, excess fats, too). Good luck. Remember it is hard to ride if blind (my mother's father) or if you lose a leg to side effects of diabetes (my father's grandfather and grandmother).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

crankyandy said:


> I don't know, my cholesterol came in at 300, was taking meds, crestor for over a year, ... screw them pills!


Yeah each of is different. Lipitor gave me the bad muscle pain and degeneration that they now warn you of (didn't then) that can lead to kidney failure and death. The Doctor told me the muscle breakdown product was the highest reading he ever saw in a patient.

So a different doctor said I had Metabolic Syndrome when my cholesterol was decent 180 and the triglycerides were on the cusp of normal/moderate. Basically I had angina without coronary blockage. They didn't understand, so they lumped me in another group where I did not fit.

She wanted me on another statin. I said no. She explained why she thought I should. I asked have you ever been so weak you had to use your arms on the railings to climb stairs, or when descending you were afraid of collapsing? Ever been able to lift the front end of your lawn tractor to mount the deck and two weeks later you can't lift a frozen turkey from the freezer? Ever felt on waking like you have been mugged by a gang of sadistic former kick boxers? She just stared at me. I said I'm not taking another statin, my former cardiologist highly recommended against it. It is three years and I stil have not regained all my strength and at my age likely won't. My last consult with her and that clinic. Oh, and she didn't like the fact I understood the chemistry enough to know I did not fit the group. That is knew her diagnosis was crap.

I am still one one BP med but half dose. I need to be below 110/70 regularly to try to go without it. I hope to leave it behind in time.

Yeah you need to take control if you don't fit the average.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

fatboypup said:


> So while the wheel woes go with the 29er HT ill have to pull this guy off the hook and put some grips on it for riding next week.


Nice slummin'


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Yeah, my cholesterol was down on the meds, and went back up as soon as I stopped taking them. My resting heart rate was 46 two years in a row when I saw the cardiologist. He said there's only a very small amount of plaque on one artery. They also had me on blood pressure meds over ten years ago, but a change in diet, and exercise and it's been very good without the meds.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Dumb cop. To bad he didn't cite her.


he said if he had to write up a full report he was gonna site me ......... :madman:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I'm Back!

Yesterday, test ride was good, no more bleeding, so it was OK to come today.

Lazy me, didn't go to check the HR on Saturday...so...if it is OK...HR was crazy as usual. 

@rodar: I guess if you take one daily and you do not stop commuting it should be OK


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> I'm Back!


Oh No! Run for your lives! 



martinsillo said:


> Yesterday, test ride was good, no more bleeding, so it was OK to come today.


Not necessarily. Zombies don't bleed! Normal skin colour, no gaping mouth, heart beat? Good to go, then. :thumbsup:



martinsillo said:


> Lazy me, didn't go to check the HR on Saturday...so...if it is OK...HR was crazy as usual.


Better to have a crazy one than not to have one at all. :yikes:

Been thinking about asking the doctor to prescribe riding for my cardiovascular health. Then the bike stuff would be a medical deduction!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: Brian...

I meant:
"Lazy me, didn't go to check the HR *Monitor* on Saturday..." sorry.


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## MikeOnBike (May 22, 2009)

crankyandy said:


> I don't know, my cholesterol came in at 300, was taking meds, crestor for over a year, made me wanna black out every time I stood up, lipitor makes my toenails and finger nails blue like I'm freezing but it's 72 degrees? The clincher was when I started vibrating, that's right, vibrating, like there's a jackhammer going off in my chest cavity, I'll take my chances with the heart attack, screw them pills!


I was on Pravochol for high cholesterol for several years when the weak/painful muscle side effect hit me. Pretty much brought my riding to a halt.

Doctor moved me to Welchol which works by binding to cholesterol in the small intestine and preventing the absorption of cholesterol into the blood. No more statin side effect.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> Been thinking about asking the doctor to prescribe riding for my cardiovascular health. Then the bike stuff would be a medical deduction!


That's something that should have been in the obamacare bill, make bicycle equipment tax deductible!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ I blew up a knee snowboarding and the physical therapist prescribed bike time... I was riding as soon as I had the range of motion back anyway, but he said there was nothing better for rebuildng those tendons and ligaments...never thought to buy a new bike and deduct it as a medical expense :lol: that would have been sweet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I am back on dogsitting duty for a couple weeks, so instead of commuting today, took my charge ( a 7 year old belgian sheepdog) on her first MTB ride before work. She wondered if she should herd it up at first, but when I discouraged that she settled right in & ignored the bike, figuring out that this was fun like hiking only faster. Belgians are fast, she only had to break out of a trot on the downhills, and ran an hour no problem. We saw a deer & 2 turkeys on the snowmobile trail. Her owner is on an interesting mission; transporting $100K of wine from someone's Cape Cod wine cellar to somewhere in Colorado, seeing friends there & getting flown back. VT'r are famous for piecing together "jobs" into a living.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

I was attending a conference last week, so I didn't get much time on my bike (or on the computer) since I needed to run between the university and the hotel where the conference was held (traffic is too crazy crossing the Las Vegas Strip for me to ride, so I drove). 

I'm back to my old schedule this week; it feels great. It's more than warm enough to ride in shorts and short sleeves in the morning now. We're supposed to hit 90 degrees tomorrow. Then the rain comes again and we drop back into the 60s or 70s... this is some of the craziest weather I've seen here in a looong time.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

MikeOnBike said:


> I was on Pravochol ...Pretty much brought my riding to a halt. Welchol ... No more statin side effect.


Tried it and another. Gut went on strike with either. Now I know that the food intolerances were part of that. No Cholesterol issue anyway. They wanted to bring it from mid normal to low normal or less because of a family history they did not understand (food intolerance again).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> She wondered if she should herd it up at first, but when I discouraged that she settled right in & ignored the bike, figuring out that this was fun like hiking only faster.


Had my first dog come out of nowhere full tilt in decades, fortunately barking, but first bark was at sidewalk third bark was 50 feet away and at my leg. Fast dog. Right out into the Y where I was bearing left. Where is traffic when you really need it? I only had time for one yell and this is a narrow chicane with oncoming coming up, so I unclipped the right foot, moved it forwad and when the dog went open mouthed for it, it got a SIDI Heel imprint on the tongue/lower jaw. I wasn't gentle. NEVER seen that dog there before in four years riding there. Newly acquired, moved in, or visiting, I don't know.

It will be interesting if that makes it more or less belligerent the next time I'm by there. I did not file a complaint this time as I am hoping the problem is solved. Of course. no one in sight or willing to step out and call it back. Nice looking dog, but a mid-small deer hound size and color and his actions were all-business. No time for spray or horn, so thanks to some here, "Plan D" was on my list and executed better than I thought possible. He ended up with a bad case of foot in mouth disease.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Mixed surface ride*

I headed North yesterday with the intention of riding a bit farther up US 395. It`s got a lot of traffic, but the huge shoulder makes a nice highway for getting from one place to another, even for a cyclist. I made it up three towns past the most northest point I`d previously ridden and even manged a detour to an extra town off the main drag (found out there was nothin there to see). By the time I turned around up in CommuterBoy territory, I was really tired of all the engine noise, so I backed up one town and headed for the hills. Good plan. I already knew that the top of that little spur off the Sierra had relatively flat and nicely maintained dirt and gravel roads that meander through an endless string of meadows and beaver ponds. Getting up there wasn`t easy, but it was worth the effort since I was able to catch everything at its prettiest- late afternoon golden light, then early morning sideways light, with a peaceful evening in between. But I didn`t count on subfreezing temps, so I didn`t stash my water in the bag with me and couldn`t have my morning coffee until 9AM  Back down to the valley after coffee and a few more hours of noisy traffic, now I`m home with stinky clothes and body washed, damp gear drying, and ready for a nap. Back to work in five hours


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ooh! ah! Nice pix, very scenic...except the snow, we're over that now, even though 2" forecast tonight. Hope work is OK despite the lack of sleep- jope you don't have to go on the roof after your short sleep!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

That high country (relative to here) snow pic reminds me of seeing north face snow banks melting in late July at 10,000 feet in the Canadian Rockies north of Banff. Snow was due in to stay the next week. Talk about having snow stay around a long time! Edith Cavell at 12,500 has permanent snow, and that snow bank told us we were close to that line for that latitude. 

Great pics.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice Rodar. I spy Honey Lake (I blew up my dirt bike going flat out on that lake bed a couple years ago). Where did you cut up into the hills? Guessing Doyle grade by your description (and the Beckwourth/Fitch Canyon sign). Or did you climb Janesville grade? I've done that one...ouch. And then dirt roads back to Loyalton-ish? Highway 70 back to civilization? That's a killer loop. 


As for the commute today... Rodar got back to reality just in time. We had a heck of a "wind event" last night. Today was pouring rain, trees had fallen down, fences were blown down everywhere, big branches had fallen out of the sky, the power was out...eerie calm and a downpour for this morning's ride to work.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

wow...nice pix rodar!

I made an "issues-less" commuter day yesterday! :lol:
Today temp was a bit cooler than usual, but made it on shorts and t-shirt anyway :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy crap! Here`s your wind event, CB. I just got back from work in what was without a doubt the strongest wind I`ve ever ridden in... and it was a TAILWIND! I submit for evidence the unadulterated picture of my max speed according to CatEye. For a while I had visions of smashing my PB for the ride home, possibly cutting over a third off the time, but I had to backtrack upwind for a block due to a downed powerline. I absolutely couldn`t pedal against it and even walking my bike took all I could muster. Branches are down wherever there are trees and several sections of my fence are gone. "Gone", in this case not meaning laying in the neighbor`s yard, but "It was all there when I left and I have no idea where it is now".


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Its that time of the year when the Cherry Creek that run through Denver starts to overtake the bike path that runs right next to it. So my commutes have been a little more interesting with riding through the flooded spots.
I also got rid of my 2000 Rockshox SID XC air for a Surely Instigator ridged fork. I bet the Rockshox had at least 10,000 miles on it. Good stuff.

-Simon


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, guys. C.B., you got it almost right. I made it as far as the rest stop just before Janesville, then went back to Milford Grade (the forgotten triplet) and came down Doyle. That`s my second time down Doyle but it was only the first time up anything on your side- first time I rode Doyle I had gone up via Frenchman. I need to pour over the maps because I smell a serious offroad epic up in that area.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Holy crap! Here`s your wind event, CB. I just got back from work in what was without a doubt the strongest wind I`ve ever ridden in... and it was a TAILWIND! I submit for evidence the unadulterated picture of my max speed according to CatEye. For a while I had visions of smashing my PB for the ride home, possibly cutting over a third off the time, but I had to backtrack upwind for a block due to a downed powerline. I absolutely couldn`t pedal against it and even walking my bike took all I could muster. Branches are down wherever there are trees and several sections of my fence are gone. "Gone", in this case not meaning laying in the neighbor`s yard, but "It was all there when I left and I have no idea where it is now".


:lol: That is beautiful. I'm glad someone else experienced it. I hit a break in the wind for my ride to work, but it's kicking up again now...my wife just called to let me know that we lost a tree (great...cleanup work for me) and we're missing a trash can. ...we're not in Kansas anymore!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

But maybe my fence and your trashcan are in Kansas. Hoping I beat BrianMC to the punch


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Thanks, guys. C.B., you got it almost right. I made it as far as the rest stop just before Janesville, then went back to Milford Grade (the forgotten triplet) and came down Doyle. That`s my second time down Doyle but it was only the first time up anything on your side- first time I rode Doyle I had gone up via Frenchman. I need to pour over the maps because I smell a serious offroad epic up in that area.


I could get from my front door all the way to highway 70 on dirt ... It would be easy to to piece together a ride from Truckee to Chester/Almanor on 99% dirt. Beautiful country.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I have a better handle on the Truckee/Stampede area than I do of the Frenchman/Davis/Antelope zone. Bordertown is within pretty easy riding distance from home and that gets me to Truckee, Verdi, Prosser, SR89, Loyalton... 
Well, you know how it goes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, CB & Rodar - stay out of the way of falling & blowing stuff! :eekster: 
Sim - stay dry! :thumbsup: 
Martin - nice to get a report with no injuries!  
RActive - welcome back! 

Rain changed to snow here now, but not sticking.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> But maybe my fence and your trashcan are in Kansas. Hoping I beat BrianMC to the punch


Sorry, just reading now. Busted! :lol: EXACTLY what I thought. 

Went in early. Like and hour early. After the School bus, but before frantic kids and mothers on cell phones in minivans with kids in the back blitzkrieged their way to school so they won't be late..again.

Smart move. Nearly had the roads to myself. I'll take a novel tomorrow. Threatening showers but didn't. At City Hall, I took the bike inside no questions asked. It was in my sight the whole time there. Perfect.

Sunny ride home. Rode at lunch to wear some of that off. Rear QR not quite tight enough. torqued that puppy on one launch into the brake pad/fender stays. I thought "man I'm getting slow." Not the usual acompanying noises, just a little power grab. Spun some wheels: aha! Not so bad then, for an old guy dargging a brake!

The wild geraniums are now in bloom at my house:



Nice to come home to.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Late April on the way to work


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Somebody has a few dandelions to pull!
Starting to get warm here in phoenix, for the ride home about 92 and some wind. Nothing like what you guys were talking about but enough to annoy me.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Sun was shining, birds were singing, cars in the street looked a bit frosty, a hint of green coming through the tan grass, some green on a few trees too. Slight head wind to work.

I'll try to do a little trail ride in the evening. There's rains coming later this week and I prefer to ride when the sky is clear.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wind is gone. It's snowing now. I don't want to talk about it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The sun returned today after nearly a week of clouds and rain. I had a cyclist behind me today for the first time ever (that I know of). I didn't see him until he turned off into a parking lot in the same business park I work in. 

At the end of my commute, the road was blocked by a couple trucks, a van, and a car. I had no choice but to turn off into a parking lot adjoining ours and ride up a steep grassy hill. Most of it was too steep to ride up, but I found a rideable section over some tree roots. It wasn't much, but it was more fun than asphalt.


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## stumonky (Mar 27, 2004)

It was really nice here this morning in south Louisiana, low 50s with little humidity. While on my commute, a co-worker clocked me descending at 35 mph inside the tunnel – should have seen the look on that pedestrian’s face when I was barrelling down on him face-to-face! Not too shabby for Surly 1X1, 3:1 ratio SS.

I was pondering post-ride this morning on my days I drive to work how little I can actually recall. In contrast, on this morning’s bike commute I recall: 1) a high school kid who asked “would you like a donut Mr. Bikeguy?” 2) decided along my ride I would change my route and follow traffic to prevent stoppage at one main 4-way intersection, 3) a guy in his pajamas trimming his jasmine bushes, 4) the pedestrian who gladly moved out of my way on the narrow tunnel walkway, 5) coffee spillage out my travel mug on to my leg (I hit that curb too hard), 6) a motorcycle who slowed as he past me, and 7) the reminiscing from the co-worker post-ride when it was all over.

All of that is better than any NPR report I may hear on Sirius if I had decided to drive…


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...but I had to backtrack upwind for a block due to a downed powerline. I absolutely couldn`t pedal against it and even walking my bike took all I could muster. Branches are down wherever there are trees and several sections of my fence are gone. "Gone", in this case not meaning laying in the neighbor`s yard, but "It was all there when I left and I have no idea where it is now".


Holy crap... Well, I was complaining about a my headwind on Monday and Tuesday to my wife... But I think I'll shut up now...

My commutes this week have been slow to home (wind) and wet to work, but still pretty fun! Found some new trails coming out of my subdivision, so I'm in love all over again and can't wait to ride them every morning!


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

We're getting the winds down here now. I heard about the winds you guys were getting up there in the Sierra on the news - 100 mph?? Forecast today said up to 70mph in the mountains, but only around 50mph here in the valley. My ride to campus was directly into the wind; slow but doable (if I had to commute more than 3 miles, I would've considered driving today). Should be a niiice ride home - not 49mph nice (er, that'd be breaking the speed limit on my commute by about 15mph), but faster than normal.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Thunderstorm rolled in before I left for work and I got soaked to the bone. Monsoon-level rains! That's the kind of thing where not even full fenders are going to keep your dry. I did have fun though, I really did!


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

It was beautiful this morning riding into work, but right now it's hailing with lightning and thunder. Should be an interesting ride home. 

I'm got my fenders on the road bike, and rain gear so I'm good. Might even have a wicked tailwind too!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A couple years ago, I was stranded in a crazy electric storm. The lightning was crackling over my head and the lightning definitely got my blood pumping. There have only been a couple times in my life that I've been terrified by lightning and that was one of them.

The other time I was in middle school and my friend and I had been playing outside during a thunderstorm. We got a little scared and sat on a porch to dry off a bit. Suddenly there was a huge crash and little balls of fire were floating around in the air. I thought I was hallucinating as the balls danced around, but my friend saw them too. I'll never forget that.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well....seems like the weather is crazy for most of us... here some north winds and shower rains cooled down the city...wasn't riding today anyways...I'm picking the parents up at the airport today... so I had to bring our car.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

One foot of snow,stayed home & telecommuted. Most of that 1' has slid off the roof & is blocking the front door in a 4' pile. Lots of snow on & falling off the trees, some trees falling from the snow. In town, 3 mi & 1000' lower, only got 3". Walked the dog I am taking care of on the trails out back we MTB'd a couple days ago.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang! Martin is right- CRAZY weather everywhere this week! A foot of new stuff, Xplorer? Is that business as usual for late April, or just your normal fare?

Stumonky, your cranks must have been spinning like a hamster wheel!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Gary, dry out soon.
Martin, hope your folks have a nice visit- have fun playing tour guide.
Radio Active, are you about ready to start your Summer adventures pretty soon?


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

Haha, this weather is strange!

This morning was clear and beautiful and the ride was awesome. While I was at work it clouded up, hailed, rained, and made it look like I'd get wet. But it cleared up quite nicely and I stretched my commute home to 15 miles to enjoy the afternoon. And then during dinner, not an hour after I got home it's hailing and raining again. And NOW, clearing up with a Double Rainbow. WTF?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Suddenly there was a huge crash and little balls of fire were floating around in the air. I thought I was hallucinating as the balls danced around, but my friend saw them too. I'll never forget that.


Ball lightning or St. Elmo's Fire. Yeah, people think you're nuts if they haven't seen it.

Thirty four cool F degrees this AM, well last AM. Windshields frosted pretty well. Had to break out the skull cap and the gloves with full fingers. Surprising how a light jacket and a good ride keeps you warm if there isn't a 15-25 mph wind.

Had a video camera strapped to the rear rack and drivers seemed a bit more kind. Too small a sample size. By makes me think a light plastic dummy camera might be a help.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Light drizzle and cool weather in the morning. Looks like some snow fell during the night but it was almost all gone by the time I went out with the dog.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang! Martin is right- CRAZY weather everywhere this week! A foot of new stuff, Xplorer? Is that business as usual for late April, or just your normal fare?


April snow is expected here, but we got very little this year, so this was a very late and heavier than normal surprise. At least my apple trees were not leafed out or blooming yet. 70's forecast for this weekend. Cold last night, the snow is now crunchy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We got a dusting of snow at my house, but it's warm enough (32 or so) that the roads didn't ice up. The morning sun came blasting sideways under the cloud canopy during my ride, and quickly dissapeared above it as I got to work...grey again now. Amazing shades of white snow and spring green in the orange and yellow sun this morning. 

I had a cool run-in with some deer this morning. There were 4 of them lined up to cross the street...the one in front was standing in the bike lane staring at me as I came around the corner, the rest were lined up single file behind this fearless leader. They seemed to think (as deer often do) that if they stood perfectly still for long enough, I would either vanish or somehow pass right through them without incident... then at the last moment, the leader seemed to realize that this was a foolish thing to do, since the guy on the bike wasn't slowing down (I jedi mind trick deer into action on a regular basis...no brakes necessary). The leader sprang into action and crossed the road without incident, as did deer number 2. Deer number 3 did not have time to cross the bike lane in front of me, and as she realized this she made a hard right and started doing that 'boing, boing, boing" effortless deer gallop right down the bike lane, maybe 15 feet in front of me (which quickly grew to at least 30 feet...man I wish I could accelerate like that). Deer number 4 also made a hard right and held pace with deer number 3 for a few boings, but then just before a large stand of bushes she peeled back off of the road to the right (I had effectively split the heard like a cheeta stalking impala). Back to deer number 3... as we passed this stand of bushes, there was nowhere for the deer to go except right down the bike lane or out into the road, which she didn't seem to want to do, so for a minute there we were both just commuting along down the bike lane. The best part was just after the bushes... it's right as I'm coming into town and there's one of those "SPEED LIMIT 25. YOUR SPEED:" signs with the digital read-out of your speed. So we round the corner and I see through the bushes that the deer is clocked at 20mph...I rang up at 18. :lol: Just before the sign (after the bushes) she peeled off to the right and circled behind the bushes to catch up with the family. This would have been an AWESOME morning for a helmet cam.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Ball lightning or St. Elmo's Fire. Yeah, people think you're nuts if they haven't seen it.


I've always thought it was ball lightning. St. Elmo's Fire sounds different to me. It was probably a once in a lifetime kind of experience.

As for the commute, it was 45 when I rode in, and it will be close to 80 when I get home. You all can keep your snow. The allergens are clearing up a bit. I had a great trail ride yesterday. I could actually breathe!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The deer sound like goofy quail. If you ever do get a helmet camera,...



s0ckeyeus said:


> It was probably a once in a lifetime kind of experience.


Zero times for me, so even less frequent than once in every lifetime. Sounds like I`m missing out on something good, too.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeah CB, we want a deer encounter vid!

not commuting these days...I'm going to have lunch with the folks! Mommy is cooking!..will leave them on a bus tour after that...besides vacations days here in Mex are too few....our work load right now is huge...will be leaving to San Antonio, TX on Saturday for a few days...to cover their shopping hungry in San Marcos :lol:.

this visit is more of a reunion than a touring trip...specially for dad and I...almost two years of only Skype contact.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

:lol: at the deer story. Didn't know deer "boing" at 20mph!


Windy here, but it was the right direction. I really hope the winds change direction by the time I am heading home or it's going to be a long ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:thumbsup: CB! Neat story. Yes, you would definitely be a youtube sensation by now if you got that on video...but I am glad to see you have such law-abiding deer in your area - not even speeding!

Quite unusual.. deer don't seem to go along the roadway for long, though I've noticed that moose will trot a long ways along a guard rail to go around it rather than bother to jump over it like a deer would.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes, very strange. They don't like to hang out on the pavement. They are usually aiming for dirt at the first opportunity, even if that means springing over a monster fence.

:lol: It's the first time I've clocked a boinging deer... I would estimate that the boing (all 4 feet hitting the ground and leaving the ground at the same moment) would carry the average deer up to maybe 28mph... completely effortlessly. then they switch to the hind legs/front legs thing and completely skip the 30's...from what I've seen, it's instant acceleration from 28 to 42 or so. The exception would be if that moment of aceleration happens on pavement. They just can't seem to get a handle on thier powerband and its affect on traction when on a smooth surface...it's like riding a two stroke in the snow :lol:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Reindeer run along roads all the time. I have not ventured into reindeer husbandry zones too many times in my life. But if you do, they are the thing to look out for when driving: grey animals on grey roads :eekster:

Last summer... This one was too fast for me to catch on a singlespeed mountain bike:









These guys were just taking it easy between the road and the shops:


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Radio Active, are you about ready to start your Summer adventures pretty soon?


Yep, I will be taking my PhD qualifying exams next Friday and then I head up to Idaho. I've been slowly packing over the last couple of weeks, so I should be just about ready to go by then. It'll be nice to escape the summer heat for a while.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

how's my commute? rear armadillo's chunking off. :skep: 
was enjoying the skinnies, but thinking the fat tires might be best.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> We got a dusting of snow ... Amazing shades of white snow and spring green in the orange and yellow sun this morning. I had a cool run-in with some deer this morning. ...the deer is clocked at 20mph...I rang up at 18. :lol: Just This would have been an AWESOME morning for a helmet cam.


Deer Commuter: Boy...was'at fun! Call'im deer stalker or deer rider. Just don't call'im Deer Abby! 

Nice. They are gorgeous. Poetry in motion. Except when ripping the hood of your car off at 70 mph! It's 'deer departed' then. Veni. Vidi. Venison. Honda makes a decent deer tenderizer. 8 points on antlers not license. 295 pounds dressed (so maybe 355-360 naked: big!). Ohio corn fed :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> One foot of snow. QUOTE]
> 
> That's a 'four-letter-word' for bike commuters. Should be: 's**w' closely realted to 's**t'.
> 
> Lovely Dec 24. Sucks hind teat (a four letter word, but not a 'four-letter-word'). in late April. ENOUGH ALREADY! I thought late March blizzards were the pits!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Had a truck barrelling down on me at maybe 50+ in the 30 when he got close enough to see the video camera on the back. I don't KNOW that he saw it, but there seemed to me to be an abrupt decrease in speed which I will confirm or not depending. If it is real, then, I have found something that makes some observant divers behave better. That leaves the ones on drugs, booze, too little sleep, or busy texting. Short of a machine cannon from an Apache attack helicopter on the rear carrier, heading for the ditch is the only option for them.

Previous videos went night mode on me in morning or bright day. Bungee cord switch adjustment. Would have liked to have seen two incidents too, including one I shouted at to get over. The front end was within a foot of my place in the lane while I was halfway down the side. Rear bumper cleared by more as I gave up the middle of my lane but may have been within 6". Felt like intimidation to me. May have been just dumba$$ driving. That was folowed immediately with a right turn signal with only 50 feet instead of 120 by statute (illegal right hand turn), and right turn completed about 20 feet in front of me. She'd have been screwed in the left lane had I been on my other bike and a lot faster accelerating and speed. A road hog, too impatient and not enough safety margin, and inconsiderate, even intimidating, but not really life threatening. That would have given me a good mad-on for days. Now just a shrug. So the avoidance of food I don't tolerate is helping.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I wonder how many folks actually see the camera? That would be a cool study. Helmet cam is on the shopping list. I have a few helmets I'd like to 'cam' from....dirt bike, mountian bike, snowboard. Fun video potential. Anyone know of any cheap ones that I could plug into a Sony handycam with the D/V plug? Not even sure how much something like that would cost... or if it exists.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

perttime said:


> These guys were just taking it easy between the road and the shops:


Cool reindeer! 
Sound like moose in terms of road danger though. I looked up from the passenger seat once at the driver's yelp, and saw a big moose nose looking in the driver's window from the center line!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Reindeer! Awesome! They`re the same thing as caribou? Don`t know- I`ve never even been anywhere that had them. Only gotten to see two moose and they were at quite a distance, half suberged in a swamp. This is getting to be like Marlin Perkins` commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy, you have strictly mule deer, don`t you? I`ve seen a few white tails near Eureka and up in Idaho- they`re even goofier (and boingier) than mulies. 

Good luck, R.A! I know you said they`re going to be working trips, but I sure hope you get to play some and take advantage of being in new places.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I wonder how many folks actually see the camera?


No deer, reindeer, or moose. Some Elks, Shriners, and Kiwanis, though.

Looked over the tape. One morning driver did NOT respond to the camera. Passed in comparison to my pace at something like 50-60 in a 30 zone! Without slowing and only 20 feet back he slaloms into the oncoming lane just behind the last oncoming vehicle. I'm glad I didn't have to take it onto the lawns there.

Lucky for the dog 100 feet further along, he was by. A Jack Russell terrier with harness and ownerless leash came after me, got too excited, (as is their wont), and was almost run over by another pickup coming up from behind.

The pickup that I thought slowed on the way home, did slow and passed at maybe 35 after approaching at 45-50. Whether it was the camera or realization that passing a cyclist in a 30 zone at 50+ is not good form, I don't know.

No wind and 44 * F this morning but this evening it was 72 * F and the gusts were 25 in the open and where they swept up a grade and hit the crest or were funneled in a venturi effect, much faster. They felt like you rode into molasses suddenly or somehow you instantly gained 80 pounds. Up a hill a half mile from home I'm cranking a nice 42/17 in to a 10 mph wind until 1/3 the way up, the blast set me back. I dropped to 42/34 in maybe, 10 yards. It shows on the camera like I had braked.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> CommuterBoy, you have strictly mule deer, don`t you? .


Rodar, OT, but speaking of mules, J Deere just welded my mule drive (for garden tractor) for $69! Wish I had learned to weld! Only about a 5"long piece of 1/2"round stock that had broken off, it fits in the slots on the tractor. My ex's brother welded & worked for a place with the sexist slogan "Men of Steel" on all their trucks & stuff...I always wanted to apply & see if they would give me a "woman of steel" truck.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Cool reindeer!
> Sound like moose in terms of road danger though.


Just a lot smaller. Reindeer stay on the road, so you have a chance of seeing them in time. Moose mainly just dash across it, coming from trees and bushes, giving you little or no warning.

... a moose has a lot more bone and muscle for crushing your windscreen and roof :eekster:

----
What is a reindeer? It is a semi-domesticated deer. Every year, the herds are collected inside some big fences. There some are butchered for meat and skins, and the owners mark the young ones of their does (the reindeer of several owners go together in a herd).

---

Grey day today, just enough water in the air to keep everything damp.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Half day at work today. I'll see what the 12:30 commute is like. Traffic was light this morning. It is practically a local holiday as horse racing fans gear up for the Oaks today and the Kentucky Derby tomorrow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

What we have here is a gigantic old pine tree that used to be forked into 3 pieces...after this weeks wind it is forked into 2 pieces... one of the biggest trees in the neighborhood. I was a day late on the pic... it was between two houses (literally landed on the fence) and small town etiquitte states that the first neighbor on scene with a chainsaw claims the firewood :lol: So it's cut into rounds already, but still a testament to the wind we had earlier in the week. 

Also in the pic is a deer moving slower than 20mph. I think she's sleeping. I'm not sure if she was a victim of the windstorm or not (I have a neighbor who lost a horse when a tree fell on it a couple years ago...heck of a way to go). I don't remember seeing the deer the morning the tree came down though... probably just another statistic. There are at least 4 that aren't smelling too good on my commute currently.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hmmm... I don`t know what a mule drive is (except maybe if it has to do with Tennessee Ernie Ford), but I thought it was a law to buy a welder when you bought a tractor.



s0ckeyeus said:


> Half day at work today. I'll see what the 12:30 commute is like. Traffic was light this morning. It is practically a local holiday as horse racing fans gear up for the Oaks today and the Kentucky Derby tomorrow.


That makes for less traffic? I would expect it to bring more.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> That makes for less traffic? I would expect it to bring more.


More in some spots, less in others. Most of the traffic on my commute is either related to the nearby schools or the migration of workers into and out of the business park. The howling winds outside my office might be a factor though...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh and yes Rodar, all mulies. I remember seeing whitetail when I was a wee little lad on the other side of the mountain (quincy area) but it seems to be all mulies on the east slope. On a side note, I saw a herd of antelope not very far out into the valley a couple weeks ago. You used to have to go way out in the desert to see them. They are so cool...closest thing we have to africa.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

*First Commute of the Year*

I used to commute three days a week for about six months. I had a friend who lived next door to my work, so i could shower and get ready there. He moved, so I stopped commuting by bicyle. A friend convinced me I could do it, and still be fresh for work. So, I did. Allowed an extra 45 minutes for cool down and changing. Wore a wicking shirt. Cooled off in front of a fan for 30 minutes. Baby wiped any areas that had sweated. Reaplied deoderant. Ran my head under water. Suited up. I feel as fresh as if I had showered after my ride instead of before. I think I shall keep this up. Unfortunately it is going to rain on my ride home, and I am not prepared for a rain ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

codwater said:


> Allowed an extra 45 minutes for cool down and changing. Wore a wicking shirt. Cooled off in front of a fan for 30 minutes. Baby wiped any areas that had sweated. Reaplied deodorant. Ran my head under water. Suited up....
> 
> ....I am not prepared for a rain ride.


Boy, am I glad I "work in construction or something".
Anyway, thumbs up to you for the dedication to go through all that. As far as the rain goes, I`m NEVER prepared to ride in it- I hate getting wet. Good thing I live in the desert


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hmmm... I thought it was a law to buy a welder when you bought a tractor.


If you can't or won't they sign you up for annual maintenance! :thumbsup: JD 445

Well they said winds 20-30 with gusts higher. They always seem to be about 20-25% low. It was 61 * F when I got up, went down to 58 back to 61 when I left. That is warmer than Tuesday's high. Will hit low 80's later. Rode in with SSE veering SSW at 15-25 with gusts higher riding half of the miles east and half north. North messed up with a light and stop signs so no gain just no headwind. Homeward the winds were now S veering SW 2--30 with the 40+ 'down the hill' issues of yesterday. Glad they weren't crosswinds. It took only 30 feet to go from the 42-17 approach ratio to the 42-34 crank it out gear. I sure make a helluva windbreak! The cooler is slightly more aero. All those helmet vents are extra wind resistance and the blockhead doesn't help!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The local forecast for Sunday night/Monday is a low of 34 and a high of 72. Now how in the wide world of sports am I supposed to dress for THAT? That's almost a 40 degree spread! Where is that Al Gore guy that caused all of this? I'd like to slap him around.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

On a positive note, today turned out to be the nicest day of the past 365, easily. I will be extending my ride home by at least 10 miles. I really can't comprend how horrible it is that I'm indoors right now. This is the spring day you read about in the brochure. I can't stop staring out the open window. Wow. Dead calm, 68 degrees, bright yellow sun, huge puffy white clouds, every scrap of dirt has something green shooting out of it, trees are flowering everywhere. Dust is non-existant because of all the rain, but everything is dry enough that there is no mud. The river is swollen, the mountains are white, the birds are singing...should I go on? This has the potential to be one epic weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> On a positive note, today turned out to be the nicest day of the past 365, easily. .... The river is swollen, the mountains are white, the birds are singing...should I go on? This has the potential to be one epic weekend.


"I meant to do my work today, but a brown bird sang in the apple tree, and all the birds were calling me..." Elton John

Yeah. A good "Mental Health" day. A sick of work day.

If you can, rearrange schedules, and go if you see another. They are not common.. You will be more productive the next day for it. The mental health benefits of spring are proven, BUT you must go outdoors. Even taking your laptop to a nice outside location will be a huge help. Welders have a bit if a problem, though.

To invert a Klingon proverb: "It is a good day to live."


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Double full rainbow at the end of the commute today.

But I drove to work - MTB'd with the dogsittee before work and she flushed a huge turkey 50' in the air.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Nothing special on the way into work, but I took the extra long way home extra late and crashed the ASU undies run. Well worth the extra 10 miles and riding home in the dark


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Double full rainbow at the end of the commute today.
> 
> But I drove to work - MTB'd with the dogsittee before work and she flushed a huge turkey 50' in the air.


Lovely. So ephemeral. So hard to capture well on film or digital.

I once saw a complete triple with my father and two brothers. It is a cherished memory. Dad said he had never seen a triple horizon to horizon before and since he was almost 4 X my age and 'ancient' in my eyes at the time (though over a decade younger than I am now), that special moment is invoked whenever I see a double. Thanks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice shot, Xplorer!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Awesome pic! We had a double fatty rainbow not too long ago that I got a pretty decent picture of. Does anyone know why in a double rainbow, the order of colors is reversed in the second rainbow? Serious question, I don't know... something to do with the way refraction of light works? Or is it a reflection of the first rainbow? Something to do with leprechauns?


My commute was windy. headwind all the way in. That's pretty rare in the morning around here. Windy afternoons are a dime a dozen, but windy mornings don't come around all that much. I was not celebrating. And CommuterWife hasn't given birth yet, but I'm entering that time when it might be foolish to ride to work, because it could be any day... didn't have to take any driving days with the last one, but if we go beyond the due date I'm going to have to start driving.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

Cold commute this morning... Jeepers, the weather can't make up it's mind! Saw a guy biking downtown with coffee in hand, hah! Maybe it was one of you guys on this forum... 

Told a guy who blew by me a bit too close for comfort to give me some breathing room next time and his mature response was to tell me to stay off the f%@#in road... Hah! Oh well, maybe next time he'll just run me right over and then I'll be sorry I ever opened my mouth!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Awesome pic! We had a double fatty rainbow not too long ago that I got a pretty decent picture of. Does anyone know why in a double rainbow, the order of colors is reversed in the second rainbow? Serious question, I don't know... something to do with the way refraction of light works? Or is it a reflection of the first rainbow? Something to do with leprechauns?


And for Bri's triple rainbow....

from Wikipedia:
Frequently, a dim secondary rainbow is seen outside the primary bow. Secondary rainbows are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the raindrops, and appear at an angle of 50°-53°. As a result of the second reflection, the colours of a secondary rainbow are inverted compared to the primary bow, with blue on the outside and red on the inside. The secondary rainbow is fainter than the primary because more light escapes from two reflections compared to one and because the rainbow itself is spread over a greater area of the sky. The dark area of unlit sky lying between the primary and secondary bows is called Alexander's band, after Alexander of Aphrodisias who first described it.

A third, or tertiary, rainbow can be seen on rare occasions, and a few observers have reported seeing quadruple rainbows in which a dim outermost arc had a rippling and pulsating appearance. These rainbows would appear on the same side of the sky as the Sun, making them hard to spot. One type of tertiary rainbow carries with it the appearance of a secondary rainbow immediately outside the primary bow. The closely spaced outer bow has been observed to form dynamically at the same time that the outermost (tertiary) rainbow disappears. During this change, the two remaining rainbows have been observed to merge into a band of white light with a blue inner and red outer band. This particular form of doubled rainbow is not like the classic double rainbow due to both spacing of the two bows and that the two bows share identical normal colour positioning before merging. With both bows, the inner colour is blue and the outer colour is red.

_I don't follow that explanation 100%, but I will definitely throw around the term "Alexander's Band" the next time I see one._

I took the pic with my new Commuter & MTB-proof (OK, resistant) phone, a Motorola Tundra (AT&T). Built to military specifications (Mil-STD-810F) to withstand dust, shock, vibration, rain, humidity, altitude and temperature extremes. So far so good.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Sweet. I knew someone would look it up for me 

How many MP's is the camera on that phone? I'm in the market for a beefy new cell phone.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ 2 MP, with 4 resolution settings & 3 picture quality settings. That one was medium resolution (of xs, sm, m ,l) & good picture quality (of good, better, best). Also has autotimer, video, & multi shot. I like that you can autosave pix, before I had to hit save etc. before taking next shot. Haven't figured out video saving yet though, I have had to send ones to save them so far. Perhaps I should crack the manual....


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This afternoon I was written up by the Railroad Police for trespassing. I didn't know I was trespassing or that there was even such a thing as the Railroad Police, but I guess I do now. Luckily I didn't get fined, but I do have to take the overpass and brave the car traffic.

The biking/walking trail I ride practically dead ends at the railway. There's an old road there that has been sliced in two by the rail line. I've always ridden as far as I can and carried my bike across. Now I will have to loop back around to the traffic light and cross with the line of cars. I guess I'll find something that works, but I really enjoyed my commute the way it was.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Railroad Police? Are they like the Central Park Rangers in that movie Elf? 


I'm about to either have a super-fast tailwind-infused ride home, or a brutal headwind...it's been shifty all day. We'll see...


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Interesting on the RR police. 

There is a canal trail here in the Phoenix area that is paved and actually quite nice but suddenly it is just split at some tracks with no easy crossing access. I have carried my bike up and over the 5 foot tall pile of rocks/track to continue on the trail but I wonder if I am not supposed to do that...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You may have avoided the Canal Police, but the Railroad Police aren't so easily fooled. Be careful out there.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Tom93R1 said:


> There is a canal trail here in the Phoenix area that is paved and actually quite nice but suddenly it is just split at some tracks with no easy crossing access. I have carried my bike up and over the 5 foot tall pile of rocks/track to continue on the trail but I wonder if I am not supposed to do that...


It is probably illegal, but who cares? I'd keep crossing until caught.

The railroad dude even turned his flashing lights on when he stopped me. Ha! He gave me a talk about liability and safety. I felt like telling him that it was either "chancing" a close call with a train/flying debris or getting run down by crazy drivers going over the speed limit. I'm on a bike for crying out loud. I know the risk (even though it's far less dangerous than flying down singletrack).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Awesome pic! We had a double fatty rainbow not too long ago that I got a pretty decent picture of. Does anyone know why in a double rainbow, the order of colors is reversed in the second rainbow? Serious question, I don't know... something to do with the way refraction of light works? Or is it a reflection of the first rainbow? Something to do with leprechauns?


I'll see what I can dig up on it. BUT... each successive one is fainter, the triple was just discernable. Sounds like reflection to me.

Read further now. Yep. Now I wonder if the Beatle's were playing on words with 'Alexander's Ragtime Band'.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tom93R1 said:


> There is a canal trail here in the Phoenix area that is paved and actually quite nice but suddenly it is just split at some tracks with no easy crossing access. I have carried my bike up and over the 5 foot tall pile of rocks/track to continue on the trail but I wonder if I am not supposed to do that...


My "not a lawyer" test for that kind of situation has only two questions:
1. Is it marked with signs, fenced or in some other way obviously private?
2. Is there something very wrong with riding there (easilly damaged, looks dangerous)?
If neither of those apply, I say go for it until you hear otherwise. Rock piles and such might just as well mean "no MVs". My views, anyway.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

....... where at?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It is probably illegal, but who cares? ... I know the risk (even though it's far less dangerous than flying down singletrack).


Blame it on the lawyers. There is a street which has a crossing that is railroad owned in Ottawa Canada. Once a year they close the crossing to maintain the freedom from a right of way establishment. So you have to assert your ownership or a right of way is established, next thing, they'd be forced to put in a crossing.

A nice short video of MTB technical riding might be nice to have on your cell phone and/or some video of cycling in traffic.

I had to speak to people who wanted to cut across my lawn when I lived in Ohio. I also did not see the logic of avoiding the sidewalk (a really nice wide one) to play tennis. They wanted exercise, yes?

"So, you're going to play tennis?"

"Yes."

"Good exercise?"

"Great!"

"I'd have thought using the sidewalk would be good for exercise, too."

"Point taken."

So I can see the railroad's point of view. Doesn't mean I like it. Maybe the cop enforces it one day a year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, RR right of way can be a serious inconvenience- they seem to be very loooong stretches of land. Around these parts, we have a group trying to piece together a recreational trail to follow the Truckee River about 40 miles from Lake Tahoe to Reno, then another 60 or so miles to Pyramid Lake, where the Truckee River ends. The two major holdups are the canyons on either side of Reno, which both already have roads, but the owners are concerned about liability and are reluctant to play ball. One of the big players involved is the UP Railroad, the other is a utility company- both need access for maintenance, hence the existing CLOSED roads. No telling if the trail will ever come through- it sure would be sweet, especially the Tahoe end. As is, to ride the ~40 miles from Reno to North Tahoe, your choices are either ride the freeway (legal in this instance, but discouraged and not for the meek), ride South for 20 miles, then a 3500 ft climb on a busy narrow road with little or no shoulder, or ride miles of unmarked dirt roads to skip the freeway part, then finish up on decent highway. The dirt option is doable, but not for many. If it were legal to ride the UP`s maintenance road, it would be a relatively simple one day out and back from Reno to Tahoe within the range of most recreational cyclists.


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

I say build some ramps and jump the RR tracks, that way you won't actually be trespassing if your wheels don't touch their right-of-way.  

Today was my first day back on the Nashbar X after spending 3 1/2 weeks out of town for work. Man I missed riding. I was in Montana, Idaho and Washington....all great places to MTB but I was so busy working that I couldn't even ride. There is something so wrong about that.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

hydrogeek said:


> I say build some ramps and jump the RR tracks, that way you won't actually be trespassing if your wheels don't touch their right-of-way.


That thought has crossed my imagination (so has the bug on the windshield effect).


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

how fast and how close do you have to pass someone, block after block, before they stop shoaling?
shoot me a dirty look every time you trundle past while I'm in line at the lights all you want. 
i'm not blazing past you because I'm racing you, I'm blazing past you because you keep shoaling in front of me at every light.
otherwise you'd only see me once.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Another thing I'm thankful that I don't have to deal with. 

COLD again this morning. I was underdressed again... The sprinklers that I rode past were leaving icecicles on trees and making big white frozen circles on the ground. The numb arms are probably worth not having to pack a jacket home in the backpack.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Brrrrrr, that is cold for May.

Nuts, that shoaling does sound annoying - hard to believe people dare do it block after block, I would have to crawl under a rock I would be so embarrassed to keep going in front of someone faster than me.

Picked up my Yakima bike & kayak holders for my factory rack yesterday; I have not opened the boxes yet to see how many pieces there are & if I made the right decision to save $20 by putting them on myself.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

OK I rode to work and back and racked up over 40 miles on a side trip. The Census data is not compatible with a bike. I have a locking box. I just can't secure the bike and box well enough. Then there's the issue with believing I am with the Bureau (Not THe Bureau, the Bureau), if I have this bike helmet with me. 

So do I count the miles in to work and back as a commute? I want to update my listing with another 'commute' day.

PS. Decided on the Nitto Randonneur bars, a new Nitto stem, new Aero levers, and I am converting The Duchees to 10 speeds and 700C. After 12 miles of errand and 'commute' I rode a 25 mile circuit with glancing headwinds and some glancing tail winds but never good for the top three ratios at 16.9 mph. Down 1 mph or so from last fall's best. 

PPS. Stopped at the Ford dealer to pay the repair bill on car. Was asked if I needed an oil change, said no but the AC was acting up, the fan motor seemed to slow a lot on the hills.  He also said he saw me riding and I was preety fast. Does a 58 year old's heart a lot of good, that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> Then there's the issue with believing I am with the Bureau (Not THe Bureau, the Bureau), if I have this bike helmet with me.


You're not wearing a short sleeve white dress shirt and tie, are you? :lol:


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

*First commuting week of the year has not dissapointed*

This week i spotted all kinds of stuff i would not have been around if i had driven.

1. Hot college girl washing her car in board shorts and a bikini top
2. Hot middle age woman mowing with a push mower in a similiar outfit
3. A flock of 5 green parots having a morning meeting on the side of the road
4. Noticed two squad cars as I neared an apratment building. When i got closer, I saw a 300 lb woman sitting on the ground with a busted lip talking to an officer. As I neared the other side of the building, I saw a 130 lb guy, who had really taken a beating. I know domestic violence isn't funny, but I would have loved to have seen his face when the rhino charged him.:lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> PS. Decided on the Nitto Randonneur bars, a new Nitto stem, new Aero levers, and I am converting The Duchees to 10 speeds and 700C.


 Are you serious, or is it a joke that I don`t get?
"Neato", understandable. 700c, maybe. But 10 Speed and aero levers? Somebody spike your Geritol?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

codwater said:


> 3. A flock of 5 green parots having a morning meeting on the side of the road


Parots? Your profile says New Orleans- do parots live there in the wild? If so, I really learned something interresting today


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> You're not wearing a short sleeve white dress shirt and tie, are you? :lol:


Need a black bike, blackwall tires, disc brakes to look like Police Issue hubcaps. Sounds familar... Shades, police shoes, black suit narrow blue tie pencil striped. Carry a holster for pens and pencils for that carrying a piece look. The helmet doesn't fit.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Are you serious, or is it a joke that I don`t get?
> "Neato", understandable. 700c, maybe. But 10 Speed and aero levers? Somebody spike your Geritol?


It became a pet project (obsession?) to modernize The Duchess. Still DT shifters, no brifters. 700C, stronger, more aero, and more easily adjusted wheels which fit a wider range of tires. Already had the 10 speed RD, FD, and crankset. I expect this is the last major upgrade.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Two swans flew over me in tight formation. I heard the honks behind me for a while but didn't turn to look. Then I saw them over my right shoulder, heading north. There's lots of small lakes there for raising the next generation.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Parots? Your profile says New Orleans- do parots live there in the wild? If so, I really learned something interresting today


Yeah, it seems bizzarre to me that we have parrots too. I have heard rumors that some escaped form a pet store 20 years ago and adapted. I don't know if i believe that rumor, but I seem them from time to time. They are always in small flocks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> Need a black bike, blackwall tires, disc brakes to look like Police Issue hubcaps. Sounds familar... Shades, police shoes, black suit narrow blue tie pencil striped. Carry a holster for pens and pencils for that carrying a piece look. The helmet doesn't fit.


I was thinking more along the lines of a backpack and a book of Mormon :lol:


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

my commute was good and here's my new wire lock I use with u-lock










google map of ride in

after exporting the gps data from my android phone and uploading it to garmin connect, my max to work exceeded 25 mph:thumbsup:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32494633


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey I rode to work on those same tires today. 29er version. They make a satisfying buzz on the pavement.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

codwater said:


> Yeah, it seems bizzarre to me that we have parrots too. I have heard rumors that some escaped form a pet store 20 years ago and adapted. I don't know if i believe that rumor, but I seem them from time to time. They are always in small flocks.


Well, that`s cool. 
About the rumors- sometimes the story is so good that it just doesn`t matter whether or not it`s true.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I saw a fish on my commute today. No joke. Took the river path, looked down just at the right moment, the early morning sun was angled right and the water was lit up, and there sat a trout. 
They stock the heck out of the river for the junior fishing derby every year, and that was just a couple weeks ago, so I'm sure the population is pretty high. Still not something everyone can say about their bike commute. No parrots though.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> No parrots though.


The only parrots I ever see around here are on cell phones. :rant:


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Hey I rode to work on those same tires today. 29er version. They make a satisfying buzz on the pavement.


Picked up these tires at nashbar for 5.99 each
the buzz may be from the direction you put the threads facing. I have these tires on 3 rims (conti 2.4 on front of match for the rear rim in pic)

anyways the front tire narrower part of thread is facing forward (as i look down at tire), while the rear tire, fatter thread is facing forward (as i look down), recently my wrench replaced the rim-tape on this front tire, and looked to see if was marked which part of tire should go foward (as many tires too), but he didn't locate any markings

it is possible that the sound is from the tire being mounted in the wrong direction


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

No, it's just because it's a mud tire on the pavement I think. I love a good tire hum. Reminds me of my jeep. I love the tires for the sloppy spring conditions. They clear mud like nothing else. I run the front 'forward' and the rear 'backward' like you mention. I think the 29er ones are labeled that way, with arrows for 'front' and 'rear' application.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> No, it's just because it's a mud tire on the pavement I think. I love a good tire hum. Reminds me of my jeep. I love the tires for the sloppy spring conditions. They clear mud like nothing else. I run the front 'forward' and the rear 'backward' like you mention. I think the 29er ones are labeled that way, with arrows for 'front' and 'rear' application.


either way it's a great tire for commuting and off-road too. for the commute i prefer it over the wtb all terrains i was running, and It's better than the worn kenda nevagal i was using in the woods


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

Started a new route today, which has me avoid any major streets. I can take paved trail through some woods in my neighborhood, this leads me to an adjoining neighborhood where I can take secondary streets to a nice, paved bike/pedestrian path. Its the same path I took on my older route, I just take it further back. I used to have to cross major roads with a lot of car traffic, but now this allows me to cross at a major bike crossing. This increased my distance a little but I really dont mind and am much happier with the ride overall.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gotta love a new route. mine was getting stale this year, and I found a couple new options that add either 3 or 5 miles, depending on which one I take... but both are totally worth it. Plus, you have that sick new bike to ride... a little more distance is a good thing.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I was thinking more along the lines of a backpack and a book of Mormon :lol:


Getting enough grief 'workin' fer duh guvmint".


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Gotta love a new route. mine was getting stale this year, and I found a couple new options that add either 3 or 5 miles, depending on which one I take... but both are totally worth it. Plus, you have that sick new bike to ride... a little more distance is a good thing.


I'm not gonna lie, its great; its like I have a renewed love for commuting. When I started commuting, it was more of finding the shortest, most flat route. Now I dont mind taking a longer route with some reasonable climbs and I feel I get so much more out of it. .


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

the wife sent me this pic a minutes ago...should be fun to ride.

specs here

Commuting again next week :thumbsup:


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

I guess that would be bikepooling


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Allright, free T-shirt and large bagel for the first one to see a wild parrot, an antelope, AND a reindeer on the commute route!

Hardrock, that route sounds great! Paved path through the woods? That`s the life! How long is it?

Wow, Martin- are you guys going to buy that tandem? Or rent one on your California trip? What`s the deal with it?


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## Ronin Six (Oct 1, 2009)

Got owned today by nothing but the lip of a parking lot driveway. Approached it at a shallow angle assuming the tire would just roll right over it. Tire decided to follow the lip of the driveway, I over-corrected and kissed the sidewalk concrete. Fat lip, snapped tooth. Ugh.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ronin Six said:


> Approached it at a shallow angle assuming the tire would just roll right over it. Tire decided to follow the lip of the driveway, I over-corrected and kissed the sidewalk concrete. Fat lip, snapped tooth. Ugh.


Doh!!! It even claimed a tooth!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@ronin
sorry to hear that... I know about falling that way...

tooth!? wow....bloody pics? :lol: joking

@rodar
she saw it in Tenerife a few days ago, and told me she dreams about it... I asked for a pic, thinking it was a roadie tandem... but doing some mtb tamdem should be really fun...she took the pic today...now there will be two dreaming about it.....answering your Qs...I wish I could...I haven't checked a bike tour in baja yet, but I doubt they'll have mtb tandems for rent... sadly but there isn't or will be a deal with it anytime soon 

other thing...renting bikes in Tenerife is killing btw...she took one for 3 hrs the other day...30 euros!!! almost 40 USD!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> the wife sent me this pic a minutes ago...should be fun to ride.


That Is SWE..EEET!:thumbsup:

Never rode a Century until Sept '09. Got ripping with a group for a piece and then noticed I was about 95% max HR (Ooops, can't play with the kiddies aka 25-35 year olds like I used to) and it wasn't the first 20 miles yet. So I fell in with a couple on a Candy Apple Red Mountain Tandem. I think it was a Connondale. Do they make them? Anyway, they were haulin' on fat knobbies (nice song on smotth pavement) so I asked if I could slip stream them, and we passed a lot and were seldom caught, so my HR came down to only 85% Max rate. Since my BP was still sky high then, I had to let them go at the first rest stop. Real pleasure riding with them. 

They were having a lot of fun tearing up the road. Maybe I should see if I can rent one to let Kathryn have a go. Trouble is, I suspect she'll want to be captain! Can't blame her, really. The view has got to be nicer than my backside.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ronin Six said:


> Got owned today by nothing but the lip of a parking lot driveway. ... Fat lip, snapped tooth. Ugh.


Sorry. I have a cap for an incisor to remember a 'less than graceful dismount, with jaw plant', too. Probably have scored a 9.9 had it been an Olympic event. So I had sympathetic pain spasms with your note. I guess I really do share your pain. :yesnod:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Maybe I should see if I can rent one to let Kathryn have a go. Trouble is, I suspect she'll want to be captain! Can't blame her, really. The view has got to be nicer than my backside.


Go for it! Tandems don`t turn out to be the ticket for everyone, but I think most cyclists would enjoy at least one ride to check it out, if nothing else. Captaining is just as strange as you imagine it would be  The time I have in the back seat doesn`t tell me much about stoking, but I bet that`s even more weirder. I`d like to try it more, but to swap places with my sub 5 foot wife would mean some major rearranging, and the saddle adjustment on the stoker`s beam we have is a PITA that I prefer not to mess with now that it finally seems to be working out.

And Cannondale does make tandems- both fat and skinny tire flavors.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

jkmacman said:


> my commute was good and here's my new wire lock I use with u-lock
> 
> 
> 
> ...


try the "Cardio Trainer" app being you have an android phone ........ its nice for GPS and biking etc :thumbsup:


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

My commute today? Amazingly it was actually a commute day. After having been unemployed for about two weeks more than one year, my former employer has enticed me to come back for about a month at almost twice what I was making as a fulltime employee (no benefits, of course). So, today was my first employment-related bike commute in over a year!

So, got on the 36tx17t Surly 11th Anniversary Edition (2009-spec) 1x1 “Rat Ride” (24"x3.45" tires) and rode to work and back. Round-trip mileage was 31.15 miles (took the “short” route, the “long” route round-trip mileage is over 34 miles). On the way back home, around about Monroe and San Tomas Expressway some hotshot commuter with gearing (read: front and rear derailleurs) comes up behind me and is pacing me for several miles. At one point he shoots past me. We again meet up at the next traffic signal. My usual routine always has been to track stand at the lights and stop signs since I don’t need to worry about re-clipping (Crank Brothers Candy pedals), and it provides instant acceleration when the light turns green. Of course he eventually catches up again, but I was maintaining a pretty solid 19MPH on a very limited-geared bike with not-so-big diameter tires.

He eventually split off to the left at one of the streets in downtown Santa Clara that leads to the University, but I proceeded up Monroe and lefted at Manchester, only to go across Washington to another sidestreet, ending up on Park Ave. A few intersections later, there he is again, catching up to me. We rode for a bit longer, and he asked if I minded if he drafted me, I honestly didn’t realise he was drafting me, and I said I didn’t mind (I’m not some arrogant roadie prick, you know).

We continued up Meridian (dangerous clueless drivers all talking on their non-hands-free cellphones—there is a supposedly “strict” law in California regarding using one while driving) until Curtner, where I took a left, and wished him a safe rest of his ride.

Was a great ride. I love the challenge when another rider pushes me to my limits! :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> We rode for a bit longer, and he asked if I minded if he drafted me, I honestly didn't realise he was drafting me, and I said I didn't mind....Was a great ride. I love the challenge when another rider pushes me to my limits! :thumbsup:


It's also nice when cyclists are respectful of each other. We get too little repect from motorists.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Allright, Porky! Paycheck time! Did they call you back on contract rather than payroll? 

I had a somewhat similar deal once. My last job ended when they closed our Reno plant and moved most of the operation to DesMoines. They didn`t offer anybody a transfer, but a few of us got to go for a little while to help set up the lines we had run here and train the new operators. Contract work- big hourly pay, comped plane ticket and hotel, but no bennies and it seems to me that we had to pay a bunch of SSA and workmans comp. We still made out very well for a few weeks though. Man, that seems like a lifetime ago!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I've been riding a lot recently as my car is in the shop. About 200 commute miles in the past week.

The first few rides were a challenge. I didn't do much riding at all in Feb/March and was finding that half way through the ride TO work, I'd start running out of juice in a big way. The rides home were better because I'd take a slightly slower pace, it was warmer, etc. By Friday, the third ride, it was clear that my previously hardened cycling skin where it contacts the saddle had softened considerably and there was much pain. The ride home was BRUTAL, one of the first rides I have ever truly disliked. It was windy - sustained at about 18 mph, gusting to 25 mph. No fun, no fun at all.

Then I had a few ride-free days. I worked from home a bit so didn't have to go in to the office. I finally rode in again yesterday. It was awesome. The ride in the morning was fantastic. No wind at all, crisp, cool air, beautiful sunrise and I was jammin. Averaged 18.5 over 23 miles and did the trip, door to door with stoplights, in 1 hour 20 mins. The ride home was also awesome. There was a bit of wind - 6-8 mph but it was nice and warm and made for a good spin home.

My fitness is almost back to where it was. I'm gonna help it along by crushing my friends today on a 'friendly' mountain bike ride


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

Rodar~ Unfortunately its only a couple minutes through the woods. But it is really relaxing b/c of all the green and shadows/shade created by the trees.... there is even a small creek. I definitely cant complain


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

nachomc said:


> I've been riding a lot recently as my car is in the shop. About 200 commute miles in the past week.


Studmuffin! 
Besides the miles, your route is pretty nasty, isn`t it? I remember somebody posting a ride report from a Sacramento area commute that featured miles of shoulderless roads spiced up with plenty of broken bottles. About six months ago- that was you, wasn`t it?


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Ronin Six said:


> Got owned today by nothing but the lip of a parking lot driveway. Approached it at a shallow angle assuming the tire would just roll right over it. Tire decided to follow the lip of the driveway, I over-corrected and kissed the sidewalk concrete. Fat lip, snapped tooth. Ugh.


Yeeesh, sorry to hear that man. It's because of random stuff like this I wonder if it isn't safer to wear a freeride helmet!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

nachomc said:


> I've been riding a lot recently as my car is in the shop. ... By Friday, the third ride, it was clear that my previously hardened cycling skin where it contacts the saddle had softened considerably and there was much pain. ... No fun, no fun at all.


Been there. Done that. Don't show the scars off in public, though. Glad you got home. It's bad when you have to walk just to ease the pain. Rest days can have a miraculous effect on the next outing, glad that happened for you, too. :thumbsup:

Sounds like you've rejoined the counter-culture commuting cyclist group: 'The Disruptive Element' here :band:


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Studmuffin!
> Besides the miles, your route is pretty nasty, isn`t it? I remember somebody posting a ride report from a Sacramento area commute that featured miles of shoulderless roads spiced up with plenty of broken bottles. About six months ago- that was you, wasn`t it?


That was ryball I think. My commute is a 'dream' commute as far as I'm concerned. It's 3. miles from home to the MUT, along wiiidddeeee nice roads with bike lanes, then 17 miles of wonderfully paved MUT along the American River and 2.5 miles along more wide roads with bike lanes to the office. The biggest challenge I have is the wind and the occasional kamikaze squirrel


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Haha! We ran over a squirrel on the ARBT about a month ago. He ran clear of us, then decided to do one of those patented squirrel instant U-turns and ran right under the front wheel of our tandem. Anyway, glad you don`t have to deal with the commute I thought you had. Hope you get the motorized option back soon.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Allright, Porky! Paycheck time! Did they call you back on contract rather than payroll?


Yep, relatively short-term contract, might not go more than 45 days, but significantly more money per hour than I was making when I was full-time. Sure beats what unemployment was paying.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

back on the saddle...sweaty commutes are just starting...is getting hotter every day...last friday we reach 107F.

I noticed a small Guard House construction on the neighbor residential area I pass trough every day...I hope they understand when I explain it to them...."yes, I go to work by bicycle, and this is my route"


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

107F already? I don`t know whether I`m envious or not.

It`s nasty weather again for us. No riding for me this weekend- slept throughg most of Saturday, spent Sun morning getting a Mothers Day dinner ready and the afternoon and evening with the family (can`t complain, though), hoped to ride today, but it`s been cold and cloudy with a damp, biting wind and occasional slushy snow of the sideways variety. I`m back on the bike in about two hours- sure hope I hit it while it`s not slushing.

On the bright side, I managed to give a third life to my piece of junk floor pump by hacksawing a bit of plastic from the base so I could hook the hose diredtly where a solid tube used to mount for a pressure gauge. I`ll miss gauge, but I can live without it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Just did some maintenance on the bike and it got twice as fast 

- replaced the pedals that had sloppy bearings
- tightened the BB
- put more air in the tyres (there's not much left of that tire killer stuff they spread on the paths to keep people from breaking too many bones when it is slippery... low pressures improve the odds of making it without punctures, while that rock shrapnel is on the pavement)

Streets and paths were wet in the morning but no rain. We might reach 25 Celsius (77F) later this week: "hot" enough that old people start dying of it....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin (& others), I am amazed at you hot weather commuters, at least when it's cold here you can add layers, not much you can do to make 107 comfortable.

Rodar, It must havea hacksaw weekend - I used one on my friend's 94 Mogoose Crossway hybrid that has been outside but under cover for a number of years , the front quick release was frozen. I knew I had one kicking around so I didn't fight with it. Seatpost also frozen solid, but I may not bother with that if the hieght is OK for her. I was surprised the cranks & hub locknuts came off easy though. 1 pedal wouldn't spin, asked LBS if they had a stockpile of cheap plastic pedals (Q: what do you want to spend? A: ""free to cheap!"), but they wanted $20 for cheapos from their takeoff bin - is it me or does that seem like a lot? Someone dug up a box of new plastic/chromo wellgos in the basement for $10, I took those.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

A SUCCESSFULL hacksaw weekend :thumbsup: 
Yeah, that sounds like a lot to ask for a set of pedals that they already sold once and probably won`t be able to sell again. I think I`d have looked at Wally`s, or even the supermarket if I couldn`t find them cheaper than that at the bike shop. How`s the cross bike doing?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I wimped out this morning. The band of heavy rain, which seemed an immanent threat, split around us to the north and south. My commute path wasn't hit. I'm kicking myself for being a wuss and bumming a ride with my wife.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeah guys 107F...but, we expect those kinds of peaks on mid May...seems like this summer will be real hot.

Yesterday on my way home I missed a little ditch I usually bunny hoop..I mean...I hit it real hard...my right rack bolt came out loose...needed to stop and adjusted it...the fender was touching the tire...no biggy.

Today, pulling out the bike I hooked my right foot on the left pedal which result breaking the ratchet of my bontragers! 

will write to customer service hoping a happy ending....I don't think they sell those as replacements.

*correction: they sell it.
**and they charge $8 for shipping! I'll ask how much will be if my LBS ask it for me


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

We've been pretty lucky in Phoenix this year that it hasn't hit 100 yet. We keep getting close then a front blows through and knocks the temps down by 15 degrees. Last year my high commute temp was 115 for the ride home (10 miles each way), and it isn't really as bad as you would think. Cycling speed is just about right so you get maximum cooling from your sweat. Stopping at lights sucks and you heat up very fast, but otherwise it's pretty nice. Now mountain biking when it is over 100 and your speeds are much lower, that can suck!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Tom93R1 said:


> Last year my high commute temp was 115 for the ride home... and it isn't really as bad as you would think. Cycling speed is just about right so you get maximum cooling from your sweat. Stopping at lights sucks and you heat up very fast, but otherwise it's pretty nice.


Same experience here with 105-108 and higher humidity. Stopping isn't pleasant but air cooling is fine. I need to have the LBS check: something goes wrong with the air conditioner motor on steep hills!


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

Weather is turning around up here after a couple weeks of cooler and wet weather. However, I had my first endo of the season this morning! I take trails from my house downtown on my way to work and the first section is a steep, narrow (about 6" wide) trail that winds through a bunch of clump grass. So, I cut a corner too close, caught a nice big clump on the front wheel and before I could blink I was eating dirt!

After I stopped laughing and surveyed any potential damage, I carried on. The worse damage was to the pear I had in my backpack....  Speed was pretty low right at that section, so no other damage other than pride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No heat problems here, low of 26F last night...but I am still dogsitting until Fri so no bike commute today - looks like a nice day for a late MTB with her when I get home, though. Looking forward to the bike in next week.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

40F, cloudy, windy, cold, 55F during the day so it's getting warming in Alaska!


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

I literally had to force myself out the door this morning. I turned back twice before finally closing the garage door. It was sub 50 but the winds were relatively calm.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Still cloudy for me today, but dry, not as windy and a little warmer. I had a dry ride in last night and very nice ride home in the morning.

Isn`t there some way to pump that extra heat from the poor guys in Phoenix and Monterrey to the poor guys in Calgary, Mineapolis, and Alaska? Maybe put in a few extra little inltes/outlets where the pipeline passes by me for the days when I`m whining about Zero F or a dry 100. Or would it be cheaper to just move to San Diego or Hawiaii? Naw, the pipeline would probably be cheaper than that! My inlaws live in Guadalajara- beautiful climate almost all year, rarely gets any wind to speak of, relatively cheap cost of living. But I`d be flattened in the first week of riding with that traffic. How hot does it get in Davis, CA?


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Lots of wind in Phoenix today, the warmth should be blowing to Minneapolis any day now. My ride home is the wrong direction to take advantage of the wind, unless I am doing this because I want a big workout!


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> How hot does it get in Davis, CA?


Just up the road in Sacramento, we get multiple strings of 100+ degree days nearly every year. The part that sucks is that it doesn't cool off at night.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I went on a trail ride after work, but as a commuter, I took note of these busy intersections, high accident areas, and enhanced traffic enforcement areas:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: funny pics..

I'm about to leave now...working extra hours on May due to a peak in one of our projects...reward: one free day and one pay day for every two worked.

This makes my commute a little less stressful due to lower traffic, which is kinda nice  , but last night I felt like I needed an extra hour of internezz :lol:


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## nhltfour (Apr 19, 2010)

due to the shi**y weather we have been having here in colorado....i decided to drive to work and school today....

BUT....

it was totally worth it. While driving to school on the highway this morning, I saw some lady in a Honda CRV cream this dresser that had fallen off the back of some truck. SOOOO worth driving the 20 miles to school today. This was no ordinary pansy wood dresser either. This was some manly dresser made out of solid oak or something. Pretty much destroyed the front end of this car. Made my day!!!! but i still feel kind of bad for the old granny driving.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

Pretty freakin’ nice today. Got a very very very very mild, almost unnoticeable tailwind on the way in to work (54 minute ride, arrived at 8:18AM), and lucky me—the wind changed direction into (a wild guesstimate) an 18MPH tailwind on the way home, took 47 minutes!!! Woohoo!!! Really a welcome addition to the limited 36tx17t gearing on these small-ass 24" tires. :thumbsup:


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Looking forward to riding tomorrow. Low winds forecast and a friend is picking me up after work to do some errands and have thai for dinner. Then another ride Friday and need to work on the mtb Saturday for an Amgen Tour ride to watch a bit of stage 1!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The sky was threatening to open up on me on my commute, but I made it to work without getting wet. The humidity was pretty high (90%). A big storm is chilling out to the north and west of us, dropping 3-4" of rain in some places. 

I just had my rear hub overhauled. It felt a lot smoother and faster than before.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

Tom93R1 said:


> We've been pretty lucky in Phoenix this year that it hasn't hit 100 yet. We keep getting close then a front blows through and knocks the temps down by 15 degrees. Last year my high commute temp was 115 for the ride home (10 miles each way), and it isn't really as bad as you would think. Cycling speed is just about right so you get maximum cooling from your sweat. Stopping at lights sucks and you heat up very fast, but otherwise it's pretty nice. Now mountain biking when it is over 100 and your speeds are much lower, that can suck!


I did 25 miles aday all last summer I was really shocked the heat didnt bother me ..... I had a harder time with the 40 degree winter mornings


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## Ronin Six (Oct 1, 2009)

Kinda stoked. My normal route one way was only 2.5 miles, which makes for only 10 miles daily if I went home again for lunch. Was good enough to warm up, but not really enough to break a good sweat.

Recently found a 6 mile route one way, so I could do up to 24 miles commuting each day (again assuming I go back home for lunch). The added benefit is it's a relatively uninterrupted route with much less traffic, and fewer traffic signals. 1/3 gravel trail, the rest is paved. 80psi in the gravel is 'interesting' though. LOL

Just now found it since I've only been commuting for a few weeks since, after not really riding on any regular basis for over a decade (2 kids, a few jobs, 2 heart surgeries, and a few moves can do that). The couple weeks of a shorter commute was a good warm up though while I found my lungs and legs again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

ryball said:


> Just up the road in Sacramento, we get multiple strings of 100+ degree days nearly every year. The part that sucks is that it doesn't cool off at night.


My first experience with 95-100+ at 11:00 PM with a light fog because it was so humid was Chamapign-Urbana Illinois in early August. You don't want to be stopped at a light after riding with traffic at 25-30+ (drafting) in the sun for very long! Developed alternate routes pronto.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

Tom93R1 said:


> Lots of wind in Phoenix today, the warmth should be blowing to Minneapolis any day now. My ride home is the wrong direction to take advantage of the wind, unless I am doing this because I want a big workout!


it seems the wind only blows in your face while riding here .......


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

fatboypup said:


> it seems the wind only blows in your face while riding here .......


Wind sure is strange, no? For me to ride into town, there`s a sort of baby canyon (for lack of a better description) about three miles long that has a headwind. Always. I could swear that two riders comming from opposite directions would meet and pass each other in the middle and BOTH of them would be riding into a headwind. I came to the conclusion that the wind there is British, always blowing on the left side so as to catch people riding on the "Yank" side.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Had a real tough day for the MTB cause today...ate crepes and drank beer to raise money for Girls Move Mountains, a cool group that does MTB & climbing programs for girls 11-16.
http://www.girlsmovemountains.org/home.html They even provide the bike & helmet if needed. It's looking even tougher Saturday night when I have to go watch 2 MTB movies (Women of Dirt & Follow Me) to help GirlsMM & VT Mtn Bike Assoc.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: explorer, good job!

Today I was very close to succumb to stay in bed and do the car commute...once I changed the alarm I couldn't fall sleep again...woke up, left home 10 min later than usual and arrived here just 5 min over the right time.

One of the reasons to woke up and ride was that on Tuesday, on my way home, I saw this little guys, probably around 9 or 10 years old, doing some jumps on a 1" high ramps, I didn't gave it to much importance, but yesterday they had this good amount of wood laying around, and one of the little fellas was doing some hammer work (with a couple of girls staring of course!)....I brought the camera today, hopefully I will capture them getting some air today! :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I discovered today that the traffic pattern is being altered on my busiest section of commute. I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but I'm hoping they are extending the bike/walk path over the bridge that crosses the train tracks. I'm hoping they decide to extend the trail all the way to a park near my house that has a new stretch of bike/walk trail that doesn't go anywhere. 

That would be the best case scenario. They might just be putting in an extra lane for southbound traffic. This would shrink the bridge and could make cycling a bit more complicated.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Alright, Xplorer! That does look like fun! I get my shot next week as a chaperone for my niece`s 8th grade campout/field trip. I`d like it better if pedals were involved, though.

I`m waiting for those BMX pics, Martin- if the rugrats aren`t out riding when you go by, you`d better go drag them out by their ears!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Alright, Xplorer! That does look like fun! I get my shot next week as a chaperone for my niece`s 8th grade campout/field trip. I`d like it better if pedals were involved, though.
> 
> I`m waiting for those BMX pics, Martin- if the rugrats aren`t out riding when you go by, you`d better go drag them out by their ears!


+1 to both. I try not to let the question "Are you a grandpa?" get me too much. I can ride circles round the usual questioner. But I seem to be gettting a lot of joy out of seeing youth explore their potential. Thanks for the smiles, guys. :thumbsup:

Gotterdun! Commuted to my 1:00 O'clock and back AND I get paid mileage! They didn't ask what I drove. Don't ask don't tell policy, I guess.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

will try guys...I think they still were on 16" wheels...it will be funny.

I'll leave this one here...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

sorry guys, I asked Pablito's and Pedrito's Moms to let them play but they wouldn't let them go out in the rain 

sort of a shower rain... no kids on the blocks...wood cut down to worthless pieces...sorry guys.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It is here! Weather that is warm enough to ride in shorts and T shirt.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yay! Get yourself a nice Scandinavian sunburn to start the season off right! I`m in shorts again, for about the fourth time this Spring with intervals of jacket, balaclava, and heavy gloves in between. No telling what next week will bring.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yay! Get yourself a nice Scandinavian sunburn to start the season off right!


:eekster:

I have some luck in that department... I tan relatively easily, and am not in the habit of lying still in the sunshine. (yawn)

I used to know this lady who would absolutely not get a tan. Once, after she got back from a week or two in Corsica or Canary Islands, or somewhere like that, she got remarks like: "You are looking a bit pale" ...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No reports from Commuter Boy this week- I guess Number Three arrived a little early. Hope all is well.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> No reports from Commuter Boy this week- I guess Number Three arrived a little early. Hope all is well.


Agree!!!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got 20 miles in last night finishing at 10:30. It was 72 * F and 85% humidity. FIrst night ride of the season with no underlayers! Of course the lights and reflective attracted one of the horn honking yelling idiot crowd, but they saw me.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

leaving home late in the morning brings new sights... in this case a nice encounter with a runner and his well trained dogs....a big brown Doby and a small dog (didn't recognize breed)...both dogs were unleash... the runner was on the road close to the sidewalk...the little one was following from behind always on the sidewalk keeping the same pace of the runner...the Doby was more energetic...passing the runner from time to time, but always checking the runner and coming back to his side...I thought there would be an "scene" with the dogs but I was impressed how they always took the sidewalk when a car (or me) pass them by....we took a whole block together and I had a red light at the end that allow me watch them for a while....it is always nice to see such well behaved dogs.


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

First morning of commuting in shorts and a tshirt! It's also "Bike to Work Week", so there was a "energizer station" set up on my route to work. They provided coffee, water, snacks, stickers, and this morning a free t-shirt. Pretty cool thing to do, and a great way to end the week! Happy Friday all.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Another awesome ride in today. I'm starting to get my legs back. The first couple of weeks were painful. Sore taint, sore back, sore legs, low speeds, etc. This morning was a great ride, I was able to focus on the awesome weather, the music pumping through my earbuds (on the bike trial only, step off ), and jammin on two wheels. Also this morning was the first where I wasn't wishing with all my heart that I had a car to drive so I didn't have to ride :lol: That's a good thing, cuz my car won't be ready for another two weeks 

I took a few pictures this morning, and will this afternoon for pic-a-palooza tonight


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

I don't want to ride home tonight.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

ryball said:


> I don't want to ride home tonight.


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: ryball! I'm totally with you today...gwad I've been like that since yesterday.....but is friday*! we can do it!!...for me, a full week!

* I'll come to the office tomorrow, but extra hours doesn't mean extra commutes too...probably next Saturday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hang in there, gang- except for the poor folks in Phoenix and Monterrey, we`ve gotten through the nasty weather and all that`s left is a cake walk!

It`s gonna ba a good day today. Our plant is shut down, so hardly anybody here. They let me come in to take care of a little project that has to be done when all the presses are down, which is a very nice deal. On these days I get to pick my own hours (I usually come in 4 hrs early and leave 4 hrs early), but the best part is that I can ride right through the boiler room door, cut through the roll storage warehouse, ride between the presses, and pedal up the forklift aisle right to the shop door. Saves me a little bit of time, and for some reason, I really get a kick out of riding indoors. I don`t understand just why that`s so much fun, but maybe Xplorer can Xplain it 

I get out of here at 3AM tomorrow, go home for a nap, then get my gear together for a double outing. Tomorrow evening I`m going to drive a couple hours and camp somewhere near the road to start a mini tour Sun morning with hopes of tying together a route I toured two years ago with where I had to call off a tour last Spring when my knee went on strike. Get back to the truck Tues afternoon and drive home for a shower and a night in my own bed, then leave Wed morning with my niece`s class for an overnight field trip to an old army fort and Pony Express station. After all is said and done, I`ll only have to work Thur and Fri nights next week and then it`ll be ANOTHER weekend! Weather forecast looks pretty good so far except "chance of showers" for Monday.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

full week here! yehaa! :thumbsup: ... eaten bug on the way here!  :lol:

We have some rain this afternoon in MTY, weather was very nice tonight :thumbsup:

wow! sounds like a very occupied and interesting week rodar...looking forward those "tour pics"

how was that commute ryball?


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

hahahahahahha, I'm home. My commute is a terrible, boring 17/18 miles half of which is through industrial areas (read: glass and garbage carpet).

I was just tired and wanted to start my weekend. Any day riding...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

ryball said:


> My commute is a terrible, boring 17/18 miles half of which is through industrial areas (read: glass and garbage carpet).


As a matter of fact, your terrible commute came up in discussion just last week. I was pittying somebody else for your route- see post 1040 of this thread if that doesn`t make any sense.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

This morning, I was faster than the wind. The light tail wind I had, that is 

Grass is green, the first dandelions are up, trees are looking nice and green. Tried to get a pic at the same place outside the office as I did in January, but the sun was shining into the lens...
http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=6498355&postcount=175



rodar y rodar said:


> Yay! Get yourself a nice Scandinavian sunburn to start the season off right!


My forearms are a bit red now, but it is just because some of my trail selections during Saturday's outing were tight between the christmas trees...


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## stumonky (Mar 27, 2004)

Day #1 – First day of ‘Bike-to-Work week’. 

Is it just me, or was everyone as excited to get to work today? Temps were nice at < 70 and made the humidity not feel as bad. I felt the same on my 4 ½ miler run earlier. Not much traffic and I started to think maybe everyone else rode the bike to work too, no such luck. Still quiet and desolate on the streets of downtown Houma all the way to the tunnel where I encountered a guy on a bike trying to pull a laundry hamper on wheels down the tunnel walkway. He was nice enough to move it out the way for me (after I came to a dead stop) and made for a nice slow standing climb to get to the top/crest of the tunnel on the east side. And while on Saadi St. I even saw my Uncle in front of his shop and like a dumb-asse, the best I could think to say was “Heeeeeeyyyyyyyy”. Oh well, made it to work – barely sweaty, life is good.

I will video my commute later this week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> No reports from Commuter Boy this week- I guess Number Three arrived a little early. Hope all is well.


Back in the saddle today boys and girls. The baby came on Mother's Day and everyone's doing great. Thanks for thinking of me. That week off made me worse than most of my students in terms of being ready for summer... now I have to wait a whole 3 weeks before my 10 weeks off, and I only get one 4 day weekend between now and then...poor me 

I sold the dual suspension 26" Kona this week... down to two bikes. I had a deal going with the wife that I got to have a bike in the stable for every daughter we had... this is daughter #3, so I guess it's time to start shopping again.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Congrats CB!

One bike for each daughter?...sounds like a good deal, but, when are you going to stop making babies?  :lol:


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

It's raining today. No ride for me.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

nachomc said:


> It's raining today. No ride for me.


Supposed to rain Wed, too. Better squeeze in Tuesday.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> As a matter of fact, your terrible commute came up in discussion just last week. I was pittying somebody else for your route- see post 1040 of this thread if that doesn`t make any sense.


:lol: yeah, that's me. And I take every chance I can to tell nachomc that I hate him and his commute. 

for reference - http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=5817810&postcount=531


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

ryball said:


> Supposed to rain Wed, too. Better squeeze in Tuesday.


I hope not. I can't ride tomorrow because I have an appt in the afternoon. Right now the 10-day shows no rain after today till next week Tuesday. WTF is May? So tired of all of this rain.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

ryball said:


> :lol: yeah, that's me. And I take every chance I can to tell nachomc that I hate him and his commute.
> 
> for reference - http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=5817810&postcount=531


I need to put up the pics from my ride on Friday .


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

nachomc said:


> I need to put up the pics from my ride on Friday .


I hate you and your commute.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

My ride in this morning was short and light (thanks to an extended ride on the transit). I picked up a cold this weekend (I have the worst immune system of any healthy guy I know). So, as it is just a head cold for now, I'm going to keep riding and just lighten it up a bit and spin easier where I normally try to crank up the speed. I think I'll stick to the paved streets as well this week as the trails are pretty intense... Probably throw my Kenda Small Block 8's back on for a few days.

Drove around town this weekend with the family doing the typical weekend errands and wished I could've been riding! I really dislike other drivers! 

Beautiful weather last week and this so far, though!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> The baby came on Mother's Day and everyone's doing great. Thanks for thinking of me.


Congrats to you and your family! I am personally partial to 3-girl families as I am the middle girl of 3!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Supposed to be nice all week! 70F and sunny now, but it was a brisk 35F with frost on cars when I left. Couldn't bear to wear a jacket or LS-jersey with the forecast, wore a thin T, a SS-jersey, and a windvest, plus baggies over bikeshorts. My core was comfy but the arms and hands (thin fullfingers) were chilly. Rode the full 22 to work & felt like I zoomed along on the x-bike (no bad hills in that direction), but not sure since I forgot to turn off or charge my Garmin after last evening's trail ride, and it died en route. Had lots of fun at Millstone trails (millstonetrails.com) yesterday, where there are 70 miles of trail through old granite quarries & woods. The trails incorporate a lot of the rock and were in great shape. This quarry had a100' drop straight down from where my bike is to the water...looks like something went through the rail to the left.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I bet every high school kid for miles around has proven his manhood by jumping into that quarry. Looks like a blast.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Sunny and about 37F. Saw a moose eating breakfast. Great ride into work!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congrats, Commuterboy and Mrs Commuter! A new bike for each girl? That sort of takes the sting ot of it. In a few years, when you can`t take the drama at the house on any given day, you`ll have plenty of escape options


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MtbX, that sure looks nice! I bet it`s even nicer on a hot Summer day.

My weekend trip was shortened for the weather. I accomplished my main mission and did a little extra playing around, then woke up to a very cloudy sky and decided to get closer to where I was parked. Later in the day the wind started picking up and it was sprinkling a little, so I just kept on boogyin till I was in the cab of my truck. Nice trip all the same, but I don`t think it would have been so nice by this evening.

PS, Special ED: the rail trail from Westwood Jct to Goumaz is STILL full of snow drifts!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Here are those pics from last Friday.

I live in the valley so this is my biggest climb, over I80.










Then I turn and head towards the bike trail:



















And here we are. This is what the next 17 miles look like:










New bar tape. The old baby blue stuff is OUT:



















The bike trail has a detour so I have to go about an extra half mile through this neighborhood to hook up with the trail again on the other side of the current construction project:










Crossing the American River:




























No pics from the other side of the trail. It's about 3 miles to the office at that point, but it's a much higher traffic area with a lot of stop signs and such. No time for camera games


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

That's a nice commute!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tom93R1 said:


> That's a nice commute!


He`s the envy of pedal commuters everywhere!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Almanor Country*

This weekend`s ride was the connecting link between these two previous routes:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/featherriver
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=177182&highlight=lassen

The guy in that crazy buggy was the high point of the show! The back half was a Corvair complete with trunk! I wish I had thought of it at the time, but I really ought to have snapped some pics from the other angles. Also really cool was a collection of antique stationary bikes in front of a little road house- motorized stationary bikes. I don`t know what the point of that would be, but I guess there must be some reason for them. Get nowhere really fast?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Pic from yesterdays ride home:










The dirt path goes under a couple of bigger streets, following a big drainage ditch through a green zone... actually, that "ditch" might be natural, not sure.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

First commute to work today. I take the Bus then bike about 4.3mi and I almost got hit by a car. I was going through the cross walk and this guy just kept moving forward to make a right, he did not even acknowledge me and he looked right at me like locked eyes before an epic battle looked at me.

No sweat either its all flat and I start work at 6:30am so its still cool out, when I head home I will be sweating like a pig though suppose to be over 70 here (that's warm for us Minnesotans).


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

It's starting to get hot out there. I left the house about 15 minutes later than usual, and it make the temp about 10 degrees higher. I was also shocked at the increased traffic volume that 15 minutes makes.This is the first time in my total of about 35 commutes over the past 2 years that I felt like drivers were out to get me. I tend to give drivers a little credit so long as their mistake wasn't just over the top. Cutting right in front of someone is unexcusable. The lady was driving her kid to school on the cell phone. I had several other brushes with drivers today that I don't want to get into. I may rethink my route if I can't get out of the hours on time.


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## stumonky (Mar 27, 2004)

I captured these on my morning commute. Sorry they are a bit blurry; they are screen captures from video I took. Southwest of New Orleans - Houma, LA


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, that's my backyard! Cool trip. I recognize all those places. I grew up swimming and fishing in all those pictures (except for the corvair dude one...he wasn't there). I think those stationary bikes (Crescent Mills?) are generators. 

And I'm stoked to hear the snow report... more water in the lakes this summer. 'bout time. 'They' say We're at 130% of "normal" snowpack this year.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Congrats to Mr & Mrs Commuter Boy on the new baby!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, love those pics, looks like a very scenic trip. Funny, I saw a guy with chopper bars on the front of his wheelchair about a week ago, I wonder if they have a forum. I thought those stationary bikes were for adding blenders or something....I think someone here sells smoothies mixed that way. 

Pertime, your path looks like a very nice route.

Stu, that tunnel looks a bit scary, how long is it?

I'm off to a women's trailride now in Stowe, then driving home (no late buses & no energy for a 30 mi night ride after the trail ride!)


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

great pics rodar!

Not commuting today...did wake up early but to do some ironing!  poor me
since I'm working on Saturday, this week will be a complete one too :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well, the younger women kicked my a** on the trail ride, but it ended up being a lot of fun. On the uphills at the beginning, I was wheezing and coughing, felt like my throat was closing up, like from an allergy or asthma, but maybe just working too hard. Got better when we got to the more techy stuff and the downhills, even though I had never ridden the trails before - it leveled the playing field a bit anyways. Super fun route, lots of tight turns, medium turns with good speed, rollers, rocks, roots, etc. My worn down commuter knobbies did just fine, didn't slip at all. Ankle felt good, liking the flat Deity pedals for the easy on/off, and trying the harder stuff, despite the efficiency loss on the uphills, and the crappier than usual bunnyhopping ability. Mosquitos came out if you stopped, no black flies though.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Pertime, your path looks like a very nice route.


I am really lucky to have that. That path takes care of most of my 5 mile distance, or so. The only thing I need to watch out for is people walking their dogs and children going to school 

If it gets really wet and muddy, I have the options to take a paved route via some minor streets.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Congrats to Mr & Mrs Commuter Boy on the new baby!


Thanks again. mama's been bugging me to give her bike a tune-up already... it hasn't seen much action in the past few months.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks like more sunshine for Perttime- hope your sunburn doesn`t sting too much 

MtbX, it sounds like all of you had a good time with your own well deserved Spring time. None of my business, but are you one of us geezers, too?

Mrs Commuter is already thinking about her pedals? Wow, she don`t waste no time!

The stationary bikes (in Canyon Dam) would make more sense if they were powering blenders or generators- maybe that`s the deal. The motors don`t show up in the pic I posted, but two of the gizmos were identical models and one still had a motor (generator?) hooked up to the gearbox.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks again. mama's been bugging me to give her bike a tune-up already... it hasn't seen much action in the past few months.


Wow, that's impressive, she gets an "attagirl"!

I got a nice thank you email from the woman whose hybrid I recently fixed up: "...And I rode to the end of the road and back on the bike! It runs better than it ever has. It was empowering to get on it and brought back that biking feeling! How I love to glide! It is flying to me!" She has not ridden it in years so that was very cool - she is now planning to alternate the bike with her daily walk. Now I just have to get an old helmet to her (hope she has a pinhead); she said she likes the wind in her hair (who doesn't), but agreed to wear it, esp as one truck did make her nervous.

My ride in was OK, started raining as soon as I left so had to slow up a bit on the big downhill. Caught the bus at the 11 mi mark, which was a good decision, because by the time I got to work it was raining much harder.

Rodar, I dunno, how old do I have to be to qualify as a geezer?? I certainly felt like one on the climbs last night. I just turned 48.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Good ride in this morning. There was a little headwind but it wasn't too bad. There was a lot of traffic on the bike trail heading east tough, which isn't very common. I was pulling a guy for a few miles, which was nice. I really don't mind pulling since having that second rider on your wheel helps you speed up too.

We'll see how this afternoon goes. Possible rain forecasted for 4 PM on, so I may either brave it, or I have a ride lined up if I want it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Looks like more sunshine for Perttime- hope your sunburn doesn`t sting too much


Ha 

No sunburn, yet anyway.

I have spent a couple of years of my life in ... Mediterranean climates, and clearly remember being struck by one thing, on my returns home: there's trees everywhere here. Even if the sky is blue, it does not necessarily mean that a lot of sunshine is reaching my skin all the time.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks again. mama's been bugging me to give her bike a tune-up already... it hasn't seen much action in the past few months.


Ain't Mama happy, ain't nobody happy!

Congrats on new family member. I suppose you already have the hand me down bikes planned out?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Today...I was going to succumb again but then I realized I was already waked up so...rode...and it was a nice commute:

I think I found a new reason to keep going...now that I am leaving home late D) and there is more people outside, I'm having new encounters on the road, which I think is always nice...and entertaining. 

The other day the runner and his dogs, today: A Commuter!...wasn't the same roadie I race months ago...this guy was on a cruiser, ss, coaster brake, rack and panniers on both sides, he even had a taillight!..he said "hello" I said "hello"...If I see him again I'll recommend a helmet... :thumbsup:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

today, i was a hipster.
56x17.
700x23 rear, 26x1.25 front.
short flats with bmx levers.
nervous handling? like a meth'd out weasel on a hot plate.
will post pics later, still a bit twitchy myself.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol: sounds like a good time.



BrianMc said:


> Ain't Mama happy, ain't nobody happy!
> Congrats on new family member. I suppose you already have the hand me down bikes planned out?


Thanks, and no...not really. I can't seem to hang on to anything long enough for that :lol:

I do have one 12" huffy that weighs more than my 29er, but that's obviously gotta go :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely, despite an inordinate number of dump trucks going by for some construction project. Cute handmade posters on stakes by the road in one village urging people to "walk and roll", "bike to market", etc. this week. In the same village I got honked at for making a left turn into a store, after checking lane, signalling, & hugging center line to let cars pass as I waited for a break in oncoming traffic - oh well, you can't please all the people all the time. I was passed by a nicely sculpted roadie who offered a friendly good morning - I managed a hi-ya before he was out of range.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Today is Regional Bike to Work Day in my area. There were two 'energizer' stations along the bike trail. I was putting down my fastest commute yet so I didn't stop. Averaged 19.5 mph across the bike trail and 19 flat for the full ride. Loving the rides this week!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rode straight to the market for donuts this morning...my turn to supply the office. Did the last mile one handed with the standard-issue donut box riding on one hip. 

In light of donut day, I am doing the 20 mile extendo-commute after work...might burn off at least 1/3 of the calories in that maple bar I just inhaled.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Funny, I was tempted by the donuts this morning, but opted for the dry cheerios, which turned out to be expired a couple mos. ago & stale. I wish I'd had a maple bar! Enjoy the extendo commute.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rode straight to the market for donuts this morning...my turn to supply the office. Did the last mile one handed with the standard-issue donut box riding on one hip.
> 
> In light of donut day, I am doing the 20 mile extendo-commute after work...might burn off at least 1/3 of the calories in that maple bar I just inhaled.


Totally worth it though.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks again. mama's been bugging me to give her bike a tune-up already... it hasn't seen much action in the past few months.


Any plans for a kiddie trailer with knobbies?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ already done. :lol: The other two love it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

So I started thinking on my ride today...dangerous, I know. 

I'm going to have a little cash left over after selling a bike... I've been wanting to run a fatter tire on my commuter, as in, like, big apple fat. I may be embarking on a little project here... I'm picturing a pair of matching 29ers. Same bike, two versions...one for pounding pavement w/drop bars, fat slicks, and the drivetrain and everything else stripped from the nashbike, and the other in pure mountain form (the winter project that I just finished). I think I could pull it off for a couple hundred bucks with the stuff I have laying around. Not sure if I'm ready to let the nashbike go though...


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I started thinking on my ride today...dangerous, I know.
> 
> I'm going to have a little cash left over after selling a bike... I've been wanting to run a fatter tire on my commuter, as in, like, big apple fat. I may be embarking on a little project here... I'm picturing a pair of matching 29ers. Same bike, two versions...one for pounding pavement w/drop bars, fat slicks, and the drivetrain and everything else stripped from the nashbike, and the other in pure mountain form (the winter project that I just finished). I think I could pull it off for a couple hundred bucks with the stuff I have laying around. Not sure if I'm ready to let the nashbike go though...


Selling your dual boinger? So let me see if I understand this, you're thinking matching Special Ed bikes or matching Nashbar CX?


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Starting to get a little warm here in Phoenix again, but that's ok especially since I just broke the 1000 miles mark for the year on the way home.


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## lnferno (Apr 1, 2010)

In honor Bike to Work day, I rode my heavy-ass Hardrock Sport Disc 29er 13.4 miles into work this morning. Colorado Springs has too many damn elevation changes to be doing this on a mountain bike. Getting a hybrid tomorrow! LOL

Distance: 13.4 miles
Elapsed Time: 1:10:27
Avg Speed: 11.4 mph
Max Speed: 27.4 mph
Avg Pace: 05' 16" per mile
Min Altitude: 6,411 ft
Max Altitude: 6,808 ft


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

It is starting to get hot here in New Orleans, and i am sweating a lot more by the time I get to work. I think I might just slow my morning pace down. I don't think I can stop bike commuting, because I have recieve 4 PHOTO TRAFFIC LIGHT TICKETS AND TWO TICKETS FROM AN ACTUAL POLICE OFFICER while driving my cage. Yeah, so I think I will stick to the bike. 

I tried a different route on the wa to work (through Old Metaire), and it cut about 5 minutes off my commute even with a wrong turn and put me on safter streets. But lord bless, it was the most boring ride ever. I am going to try it on my way home, but if it is just as boring, I may just use it as a change of pace from time to time. This is the third route I have tried, and each one seems to make my commute a bit shorter. It's nice to have options.

I also did my first night ride in the city yesterday. I bike to a friends house for a BBQ, and stayed till about ten. I have Knog beetles on the front and back of my bike, and I think they are pretty bight. It was very enjoyable. I think the temp must have been about 70, and the entire trip was on a two lane road with a wide shoulder for parking. I only saw two cars and two scooters in the stretch of about 4 miles. This was probably the most rewarding ride of the year (besides mountain biking).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gary the No-Trash Cougar said:


> Selling your dual boinger? So let me see if I understand this, you're thinking matching Special Ed bikes or matching Nashbar CX?


The full suspension Kona is gone... sold it last week. I'm thinking matching Special Ed bikes. The 'cross bike won't clear a 2.3" tire... After swapping parts over to a matching special ed frame I wouldn't be far from turning the nashbike into a singlespeed.... that would take a little more time, but I'm a couple weeks away from my summer break here. I'm thinking I could have a pretty sweet pavement-pounding drop-bar 29er for next year's commuting duties.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

gonna be 100+ degrees today ........ but hey I got a new pair of shoes to wear on the bike heheh


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yuck. I was eyeing these at the REI anniversary sale: http://www.rei.com/product/765247
If I was looking at 100+ in May, they'd be a mandatory purchase.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*Happy National Bike to Work Day*

I celebrated National Bike to Work Day (USA Holiday) by getting a full triathlon work out. Instead of eating donuts (my landlord thinks I look like a cop), I;


Swam laps before work 
Bicycled to work http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34032374
Ran at Lunch http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34031026


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I hit a lot of traffic last night on my way in. A good half dozen cars passed me and I had to wait at a stop sign. It`s overcast and windy again.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yuck. I was eyeing these at the REI anniversary sale: http://www.rei.com/product/765247
> If I was looking at 100+ in May, they'd be a mandatory purchase.


i didnt like the way my bunion stuck out of the side of them :eekster:


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> The full suspension Kona is gone... sold it last week. I'm thinking matching Special Ed bikes. The 'cross bike won't clear a 2.3" tire... After swapping parts over to a matching special ed frame I wouldn't be far from turning the nashbike into a singlespeed.... that would take a little more time, but I'm a couple weeks away from my summer break here. I'm thinking I could have a pretty sweet pavement-pounding drop-bar 29er for next year's commuting duties.


So selling your Kona left a gaping whole in your life that even a new baby can't fill, therefore you're looking at adding another bike to the stable?  Yes, I think you should.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Well it was nice and sunny on the way to work yesterday morning



It Rained before I left for home last night

It was Misty this Morning


Rained on the way Home


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Norm! :yikes: I hate you! :lol: 

my commute is so awful 

Thanks for sharing dude....now I see why you do so many miles!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well...not on my commute but I just realized I washed my Computer on the machine!! 

should I put it on the drier now? :lol: :cryin:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Decided to ride on the first (of many) 100+ degree days of the year here in Phoenix. It was nice to find my sunscreen missing from my bag when I changed for the ride home. Doh! I'm a little red, but not too bad. Took the long route home (Western Canal Path) and got a couple miles of gravel path as a bonus! Nice day for a ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> Norm! :yikes: I hate you! :lol: Thanks for sharing dude....now I see why you do so many miles!


+1 What a nice way to deal with traffic. Just watch out for the "Goose Grease" on the paths. Especially if you ride fenderless.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Jag, is that the RR crossing east of Cooper? I hate that, don't see any signs but I feel like I am not supposed to be there when I cross over it.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Tom93R1 said:


> Jag, is that the RR crossing east of Cooper? I hate that, don't see any signs but I feel like I am not supposed to be there when I cross over it.


Winner! Yeah that part is crazy. If you're going eastbound (as I was) there's a small sign right before you get to Neely that shows how to get to the rest of the path, but it just doesn't make sense, so I just carry the bike over the tracks and keep going.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

I've got a lot of catching up to do! We finally got internet access at the house I am currently staying at.
I am settling in up here in Idaho Falls quite nicely. It's pleasant, except for the winds - and it's cold! My cold-blooded, Vegas-born body is not liking the chilliness. 
I am working in town, so my commute is short (not 40 miles to the lab in the desert, whew). I've been driving, but I think I'm settled in enough to try to start riding in. I took a ride into town to the farmers' market today and rode around the river. On my way back, it started hailing on me. The stones that got through the vents on my helmet stung, along with the ones that smacked me in the face. The stones were small and the storm was brief. When I got back to the house, there were light snow flurries. I think I've regained feeling in my toes finally.  I do not envy those of you who have to commute in real snow.
I'll have to post a pic up of my mtb all geared out for my shopping trips. My poor mtb isn't looking much like an mtb anymore.
Now if only we could turn on the heat in this house! The owner is waiting until he gets the basement painted, which I hope is tomorrow...


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Normbilt said:


> Well it was nice and sunny on the way to work yesterday morning
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's a lot of goslings for one pair! You usually only see one or two at a time.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RadioActive said:


> Now if only we could turn on the heat in this house! The owner is waiting until he gets the basement painted, which I hope is tomorrow...


I hope the rent is very fair. In a some states, I think that no heat = no rent to pay that month IF it is a 'heating month'. If true there, it is a bargaining chip or the basis for decreased rent for a while.

Felt like crap most of the week, BP was higher than I have recorded in almost 2 years.:madman:

Looks like a sebaceous cyst I had removed and which was growing back and I was thinking of scheduling a doc visit about, ruptured on its own as it is much smaller now. That would explain a lot.

Even if I had't felt like I was a posible narcoleptic, the job and weather conspired against riding much this week. Got 33.3 in today. 17.5 mph mean. Can really feel the flat spots in the rims over 20 mph. You can see the front wheel and fork respond in a double stacato around the snake bite pothole damage. The sidewall distortions don't affect braking noticeably, so a little vibration is the only issue.

I am like a kid thinking of Christmas on December 1 while waiting for the rims to come from Australia and be built into wheels. I'd do it myself but they are all new parts or NOS from the builder, so it is cheap insurance. The Panaracer 700C 32 mm kevlar bead tires are lighter than the 27 x 1 1/8 I have now and a lot more cushy on the tushy. I will be able to get out of the saddle and not smack my knees on the bar ends.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Allright, R.A.- it might be cold for you for a while, but you`ll be feeling much better when you start seeing the highs from your "home" forecasts get up into the ugly numbers! Idaho Falls? I was thinking Twin Falls. I`ve never been to I.F. Hope it`s as pretty as Twin.

Brian, is it good that the cyst ruptured on its own, or does that make it more serious? What rims have you been waiting for? I really like my Aeroheats (mini Dyads).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, is it good that the cyst ruptured on its own, or does that make it more serious? What rims have you been waiting for? I really like my Aeroheats (mini Dyads).


Cyst: no idea on relative seriousness. It isn't a good thing. It is sealed off so likely sterile. It should be benign, but I will likely need it cut out again as it grew very fast this time (months were like years) and the effects of the rupture aren't good. It is unlikely to be malignant.

Velocity Deep Vees in silver (not highly polished which is another $120 for the pair). A favorite of bike couriers. As a Clyde trying to get under that 200 pound 'Clyde' threshold, and with the 'nice' streets here, 36 spokes and the deep vees are about as robust as road wheels get. Add a 32 mm tire for more shock resistance, and I have a much better wheel system than the low profile Gentleman 27" rims with 28 mm, that I have now. If I went 29'er or a cross bike with room for wider than 1.5", Velocity makes a wider version of the same profile that should be mucho strong. I looked at the Aeroheads with the Offset for the rear, but my source said the deep vees' strength trumps the offsets' geometry and you get a partial aero effect equla to 70-80% of a faired in wheel, so the wider tire's poor aero is more than offset. So I rely on his experience with the thousands of wheelsets he has built.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

BrianMC - I am staying with a friend, actually, so there's no formal rental agreement. I am only here for another week anyway, and then I move in with some other friends for the remainder of my stay (free rent as long as I take them out to dinner every now and then. I think that's a pretty good deal  ). The temp in my room here drops into the 50s at night, but I have 3 blankets on my little inflatable mattress and I stay pretty warm. I am used to camping in 30 and 40 degree weather, so it's bearable.

Rodar - yep, Idaho Falls. I'm pretty sure it's the only flat area in Idaho. :lol: It's nice - the river is a nice area to explore and the city has built a path along most of it. I believe the loop (up one side of the river, across a bridge, and down the other) is about 10 miles. It's really bike-friendly here, too. In fact, Idaho's laws really threw me off - 1.) you can bike on the sidewalk, and 2.) you can treat stop signs as yields and stop lights as stop signs. I felt uncomfortable riding on the sidewalk into town, so I jumped back on the road. I'll just ride the sidewalks when I have to.

I scoped out my planned route to work today via car - I wanted to make sure I could follow it all the way by bicycle, especially considering the road turns into a highway with an overpass over I-15. There is a path that runs alongside the highway and up over the bridge, so I am good to go. It'll be a 4.7 mile commute each way according to Google maps. I am looking forward to riding my bike to work again.

And yes, I am sure that when it is 80 degrees here and 120 in Vegas, I'll be happy I am here and not there.  But the snow and the hail (along with the typical IF winds) we had yesterday I can do without.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

this morning...

Saw a dog walking itself on the dirt road in the opposite direction, perfectly to the side like a proper pedestrian and *carrying a can of coke*. He didn't give me a second glance.

Left late and got stuck behind a school bus  on my normally 40mph downhill - but at the bottom were 2 sheriffs enforcing the 25mph so I was suddenly happier about going slow behind the bus.

Passed a coworker at the local bus stop but caught up with her about 5 miles later just in time to catch the same express bus at the 12 mile mark & avoid being late.:thumbsup:

About 60F this a.m., but 83 for this afternoon!:eekster:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bummer about getting stuck behind the bus- in somerespects, it`s a bummer missing out on a ticket, too. I`d love to get a speeding ticket on my bike 

83F? Groovin!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Going to be even cheaper soon...*

I just saw a flyer stating that all the bus fares here are going *down* by 1/2 on 7/1/10. For me that will mean I can ride up to 19 miles (with a free transfer to the 2nd bus) for a grand total of 80 cents. The bike goes on for free. WOW!! I hope it's not a typo!
:band:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's going to be the hottest week so far this year, but it sure beats all the rain we had last week (although I somehow remained dry all week). I haven't had a decent trail ride in over two weeks. I'll be hitting the trails as much as possible.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

7 more work days for me... then 10 weeks off. The rough life of a teacher. Looks like 15 driving days for the year. That means I'm somewhere really close to 2000 commuting miles, give or take (considering alternate routes, etc...no computer on the bike).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Saw a dog walking itself on the dirt road in the opposite direction, ...*carrying a can of coke*..


Was it a sealed can, or had it been opened ? If a Rum and Coke, it was likely a 'booze hound'! Sorry, couldn't resist. 

QUOTE=mtbxplorer]Left late and got stuck behind a school bus ... but at the bottom were 2 sheriffs enforcing the 25mph so I was suddenly happier about going slow behind the bus. [/QUOTE]

Hard to read a bike with radar or laser. If there was any other traffic their signals should be stronger unless a very tight and well-aimed laser. No macho in writing a ticket on a female cyclist. I am not sure that aiming a laser at a cyclist is a safe practice. It is illegal to do laser pointers on aircraft cockpits and emergency vehicles. Radar is absorbed by your clothes and body. So unless they have agood reference like a cruiser tracking you, I'd think it would be hard or unsafe for them to read your speed. Go to court: what judge would think your MTB would do 40-45? They wouldn't know a cross unless it was on a steeple.

QUOTE=mtbxplorer]Passed a coworker at the local bus stop but caught up with her about 5 miles later just in time to catch the same express bus at the 12 mile mark & avoid being late.:thumbsup: [/QUOTE]

As fast or faster than the bus. No wonder fares are being lowered.

QUOTE=mtbxplorer]About 60F this a.m., but 83 for this afternoon!:eekster: [/QUOTE]

Hot here too. No inclination to burn up the road: my temp was 102.7 and BP is crazy, so it's the doctor tomorrow. :madman:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB that is a stellar "attendance" record, you get a gold star. Enjoy your break. 

On the spur of the moment, I rode home on a new route today, basically overshot my town on the new bus route, then rode 7.4 mi back to my house from the opposite direction as usual, almost all dirt roads and avoiding the steepest/longest hills and streching the elev gain out more. Also a lot more shaded, nice in 85F! Thought I'd try "go home" on the Garmin 650 just to see how far it was, but somehow part of that road is invisible or impassable to all Garmin products, they always try to send you 15+ miles out of your way. It kept beeping at me as I rode into "uncharted" territory, and wouldn't quit til I hit cancel.

Got surprised by a dog who I didn't see or hear until he was running right next to me on the right; I jumped but he turned and headed back as soon as he was even with me, just for fun I guess. He was wet, so maybe he was in the river rather than at a house when he gave chase.

Bri, hope you feel better & find out something a Dr tomorrow. Dunno if that was a booze hound, it seemed to be able to walk a straight line. Glad you think the speed gun unlikely to work, would hate to lose that nice hill. I only caught up with the bus rider because of the transfer time/wait for her, it is definitely speedier than me.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Sporadic rain yesterday. A bit of a head wind today on the way to work but the rain has stopped for now.

I am going to have to switch roles between my bikes: I managed to destroy the HollowTech 2 BB on my burly steel MTB on Friday, and it did some damage to the threads in the BB shell too. The shop mechanic figured that an "old fashioned" square taper BB is the best bet to keep that frame usable. I'll make that bike my street bike (less torque to help the BB survive) and put the knobby tires and lower gearing on the Banshee.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, maybe Garmin is trying to keep you from pedaling off the edge of the earth?

Why would the spindle/crank interface make any difference on the BB shell threads? I can`t say the mechanic is wrong, but I don`t get it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It is not the crank interface, it is the BB construction:

The external BB is two separate bearing cup, hanging on the BB shell by a pretty short threaded section.

The "old fashioned" BB is effectively one chunk that has a good amount of thread at both ends. We are hoping that this will help the BB stay in place, together with some gap filling locktite...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well that makes snese. I hope it works for you.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

2:18am and still at the office!! :crazy:


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

I'm an unemployed construction worker slash over-aged college student, I switched schools and started the summer semester yesterday. After 3 weeks off it's back on, only instead of 22 miles one way it's only 8! Whew! what a relief!


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

perttime said:


> It is not the crank interface, it is the BB construction:
> 
> The external BB is two separate bearing cup, hanging on the BB shell by a pretty short threaded section.
> 
> The "old fashioned" BB is effectively one chunk that has a good amount of thread at both ends. We are hoping that this will help the BB stay in place, together with some gap filling locktite...


I also used to rebuild motorcycle motors, I'm digging this kind of stuff.
Rodar, how's that project coming?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

6:25am...going home now...morning commute..opposite direction :lol:...will be back in the afternoon....probably by bicycle.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

First commute to work here in Idaho. It is a beautiful morning, perfect for my first ride. It's 5 fairly easy miles each way, so I've increased my daily mileage by 4 miles. I'll try to commute as often as possible, unless the weather is nasty. However, I move at the end of the week; not sure where the new place is.

I'll have to bring my camera tomorrow. My ride is far more scenic than my old commute in Vegas (block walls and apartments, pretty much the entire way). I pass a dairy with sheep and goats, too; I ride past a nice little park and through a residential area, then across the highway and the river and along a nice road until I turn off towards the building where I work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Way to go, Idaho!



perttime said:


> *The "old fashioned" BB is effectively one chunk that has a good amount of thread at both ends*. We are hoping that this will help the BB stay in place, together with some gap filling locktite...


So is an ISIS drive unit... and no square taper wiggle and creak to deal with. If you compare an ISIS BB and a square taper BB the shell threads are identical, at least from my experience. I have an old one of each in the bottom of the tool box that I could take a pic of...


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

*New Route*

I did some riding with a friend this weekend and found some new trails for my morning commute. My commute, round trip, is now 90% trails and 10% streets, so I'm stoked! Anything to avoid the busy roads and half asleep motorists! And I only added about 7 minutes to the ride, which I think I will easily chisel down as I get used to the trails more and try out some possibly shorter ones. :thumbsup:

The trails were awesome, totally different terrain than what I ride home in. I was told today that Kamloops (where I live/work) has 5 different eco-systems in it's small geographical area. I haven't officially verified that, but it doesn't seem to be that far from the truth. Desert, sandy, rocky, ever green forests, roots, etc. Makes it tough for proper tire selection, but fun for variety for sure.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Exercise is supposed to boost the immune system, so only 99.9 * F and high of 86 * F outside, three cooler than yesterday for both!  

I seem to be punching through the usual culprits at my usual riding times. The flashing helm,et light head bob yied works pretty well for the cautious. They are actually REGISTERING my presence. There will still be some, but has come down frome almost all, to a lwrge percentage, to most, to a significant minority. Progress. :thumbsup: 

My new Mantra: "Don't get cocky, kid!" Which, since my wife long ago trimmed what little 'cockiness' I had (No. Not Mrs Bobbit, fashion), and I am far from a kid, it is suitably surreal. Salvador, eat your heart out.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Martin, I hope your busy spell winds down before your wife gets back.

Andy- wow, 2 x 22 is a long trip for a daily ride. Are you riding it all every day? My project is comming even slower than before, but still not stalled- I`ll post an update on the other thread.

CSMac, your route sounds pretty killer. How bout a ride report with pics?

Are sqare tapers known for creaking? Other than a short time with one Octalink and a few low quality cottered setups, I`ve always been square. No creaks for me except with cottered, and I excuse those because they look so cool!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another Tues nite women's trail ride today, so I drove in with the MTB along. Record hi's today (91F) so I was tempted not to go , but I actually had an easier time of it than last week - partly the different group, partly the trail, partly just how I felt today. A nice variety of people and bikes attended & mostly different people from last week's ride at a different location. We did 7 miles of trail. Back to the bike commute tomorrow, hope the chance of p.m. thunderstorms does not materialize!

I had to do some fieldwork today, so took lunch at a outdoor shop with bike stuff, thought I might find some shoes for my flat pedals (still using my winter Keen growler hiking boot,they are nice & sticky but too hot!). Instead found a going out of business sale & got some stuff all 40-50% off: 1 pr Spec. motodiva shoes, $79 from 140 (for x-bike/time pedals), some nice leg warmers @1/2 off to go with my knickers next fall/winter, 1 pr Planet bike windproof gloves, & 1 pr gaiters (mostly for ski/snowshoe, but could be good on the bike in slushiness). Good thing I'm not into fishin or huntin' or I would have spent a lot more!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Grrr... I`m sick of the weather! Spring sprung for the first time a good two months ago, but it won`t stick around- it keeps passing through for a visit and then wandering off again. Most of last week was long pants commuting, managed shorts for the weekend (a few snow flurries, but not very cold), then it turned nasty again. Tonight we have howling winds and it looks like something wet is going to fall from the sky before daylight, but i don`t know what color it will be yet. I don`t know how many times I`ve gone from shorts to light jacket to mittens and back to shorts this year, but if it doesn`t straighten out soon i`m going to wear out my closet door.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> So is an ISIS drive unit... and no square taper wiggle and creak to deal with.


I think there are others too ... but I wanted a low-cost solution that might keep the frame usable, out of parts that the shop had on their shelves now.

No rain today. Sunshine in the morning but I would not say it was warm.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

People continue to be cranky in the hot weather. Some dude behind me was trying to nudge me out of the way to make a right turn at a stop sign. No luck. I don't get intimidated that easily. I was there first, and I was not about to let him sneak in and steal my right turn when it came available.

The warmer weather took its toll on my trail ride yesterday. I got tired. Nearing the end of my ride I demonstrated a lousy attempt at a log crossing. Since my last ride, someone had cut the log to make it easier to cross. For some reason this translated into me not getting my tire high enough. My hamstring cramped as I went over the bars, and on the way down my leg became trapped between my handlebars, which had flipped around the wrong way, and my frame. Never having experience this before, it took me a second to figure out how to get my leg out. I couldn't pull my foot out. I couldn't move the handlebars. I couldn't move the frame. I felt like an idiot. Finally I found just the right angle to thread my ankle the right way so I could remove my leg.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It warmed up quickly, 81F here now. Got to work and showers were closed for cleaning (they usually don't do this til 9, not good timing on such a hot day), so I had to make do with a wet towel wipe down & head-under-the-faucet in the restroom. Tried out my new bike shoes that I found at that going out of business sale yesterday, and they are much comfier than my heavy hot hitop downhill/trek type boots I used with the Time ATACs previously (& all winter). Riding to Waitsfield after work, some good hills, but they have a pool at their condo!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Are sqare tapers known for creaking? Other than a short time with one Octalink and a few low quality cottered setups, I`ve always been square. No creaks for me except with cottered, and I excuse those because they look so cool!


I've had them start creaking after a few removals/re-installations. I like ISIS because you're not relying on that tension between the tapered peices (you just tighgen an ISIS crank until it bottoms out hard...over time you wear down the taper and eventually it's impossible to keep them tight. This has probably been my experience because I can't leave well enough alone, and I'm always finding a reason to remove and reinstall parts :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've had them start creaking after a few removals/re-installations. I like ISIS because you're not relying on that tension between the tapered peices (you just tighgen an ISIS crank until it bottoms out hard...over time you wear down the taper and eventually it's impossible to keep them tight. This has probably been my experience because I can't leave well enough alone, and I'm always finding a reason to remove and reinstall parts :lol:


ISIS suck big time...

I can blow through an ISIS BB in a month if it is even a little bit wet out.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Grrr... I`m sick of the weather! Spring sprung for the first time a good two months ago, but it won`t stick around- it keeps passing through for a visit and then wandering off again. Most of last week was long pants commuting, managed shorts for the weekend (a few snow flurries, but not very cold), then it turned nasty again. Tonight we have howling winds and it looks like something wet is going to fall from the sky before daylight, but i don`t know what color it will be yet. I don`t know how many times I`ve gone from shorts to light jacket to mittens and back to shorts this year, but if it doesn`t straighten out soon i`m going to wear out my closet door.


x2. Rain for me this AM. Snow two days ago. It is almost June, right?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> ISIS suck big time...
> 
> I can blow through an ISIS BB in a month if it is even a little bit wet out.


OK.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

*quiet and dangerous...*

after the announcement of bryant not even going to trial over killing sheppard... city seems different.
lots of wary cyclists.
making a point of taking the full lane now, wherever I can.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

If you dip it in soapy water first. I don`t blow through mine often because square bubbles don`t hold up worth beans.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I really hope so rodar.

In the meantime, I'll be back on the saddle, but no on an ordinary one, tomorrow I'll be commuting on a Brooks!!










I've read that it took you a while to break them...so I'll be doing it for when the Pugs is done....my fear, if what they say about them is true, is to have the strength to swap back to my old one when the time comes.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Got to see a little Sun Down tonight, and the Moon in the foggy marsh
Once the sun started to sink the fog rose from the ground 
A little humid


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Much cooler today, high in the 70's instead of 90. Beat the thunderstorms to my friend's pool last night...by the time it came through we were grilling steak on the covered balcony. Poured like crazy, the kayakers were on the road to their put-ins in full force this morning! Nice bike in, felt a lot faster than yesterday in the heat, but not as fast as I thought! Surprised to only see 1 cyclist on such a nice day. Another sponge bath, showers closed again, darnit.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Nothing of note happened this morning. This afternoon I'm going to check out a frame and other miscellaneous parts someone in the area is selling. I want to build up a commuter/beater I don't have to worry about.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

T minus 4 more work days until summer. I'm worse than my students.... 

Super wet this morning, but no rain falling during the commute. The sun blasted sideways under the cloud cover and lit up the wet world. Everything was green or yellow. This is what spring is supposed to taste like. Dark and cloudy now that the sun got up above the clouds.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

All the commuting stories make me jealous...my commutes have been via A321 or severely reduced due to attending kids sporting events after work. Just haven't figured out how to put the 13 year old in a tow behind  . Also I just discovered that my headlight battery just went on the fritz so we have to make a reasonably early depature.

Tomorrow might afford an opportunity though, temp down and only 30% chance of showers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

SInce I worked at home today, I rode out and back. 31.8 miles. The last stretch I am really beginning to hate to see an overtaking car approaching as I take the last hill. First it is a 30 zone that too many do at over 50. It is travelled by kids on bikes and skateboards but a midaday with school still in they are not present.

If the drivers would drop speed a tad I'd be up and over to a much easier spot for passing. It is a 40 foot rise over 400 feet the steepest part maybe 15 degrees. There is no decent pull off. You cannot see oncoming traffic until almost at the top. The wind has been against me both times and after about 30 miles, I haven't been eager to sprint it out of the saddle, something I need to prepare a bit ahead of starting up. Guess I need to practice last minute hill sprints.

Two of my last three rides that route I have had motorists pass or attempt to pass me when I was near the top of the grade almost to the stop sign. Bear in mind they have no clear site line over that hill when they begin to pass. The previous one I thought was allowing me to climb but gunned it by then suddenly slammed right feeding me his bumper and stopped for the sign. I was lucky I wasn't sprinting , because I don't think he knew he was by me.

This time, I checked and she was behind, as I hit 30/17 at 90 rpm and I was almost to the stop sign, so I figured she'd wait. Next thing, I am roling over the stop line by half a bike (running it as usual) and I find her stopping in the oncoming lane beside me. So if she had stayed she'd have been a mere 3 or 4 feet further back and not be passing me in an intersection. Stupid. I think they are focussing on me and missing the sign.

I have a lawn as an out to the right if I have to avoid a sudden lane change when an idiot discovers oncoming traffic. I just have to avoid being garrotted by the guy wires on the power pole.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

New commute is great! Anyone ever notice, the water coming off the front tire at night into a high power LED light looks like white laser lava shooting out of a volcano, cool as all get up, especially if you move the wheel back and forth! I was doing 45 miles 2 or 3 days a week since March, one or two weeks I managed 4 days, with my new 16 mile commute I haven't missed a beat, 4 days a week and twice on Thursdays, but then again I just started this week  Snow? Yikes, not here, it's like summer, Ahhhhhhhhh I even worked up a sweat riding in the rain at 10:00PM with just sandals and a wicking t-shirt on under my rain gear, actually the sandals were outside the raingear


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RevRacer said:


> All the commuting stories make me jealous...my commutes have been via A321 or severely reduced due to attending kids sporting events after work. Just haven't figured out how to put the 13 year old in a tow behind  . Also I just discovered that my headlight battery just went on the fritz so we have to make a reasonably early depature.


A321?
Your 13YO doesn`t like to ride or is it a situation where it would only be biking one way and not easy to pick up/drop off with the extra bike behind yours?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Andy, I`m glad you`re enjoying your Summer semester super commute- better than doing it in the Winter, eh?

Yeah, I`ve noticed that forwards facing roster tail in my headlights. I like it, too- never tried wiggling the wheel before, but next time I get a wet ride in the dark I`ll give it a shot. I like seeing pretty much anything moving through the beam, especially big fat snowflakes.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Got bumped by a big truck about an hour ago. 12 wheels or something. No significant damage but it just hit me that it could have been much much worse...

He was stopped at a "give way" sign, looking for traffic from the left, and I was coming along the bike path from his right... I guess he first saw me in his mirror, when I was on the ground. He stopped and asked If I want ambulance or police. As there was no real injuries or damage, I thought it better that we drop it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was raining again when I came in, but the wind died down just before leaving. Now it`s snowing pretty hard, but probably not for long. Bing didn`t say anything about white Memorial Day 



perttime said:


> Got bumped by a big truck about an hour ago. 12 wheels or something. No significant damage but it just hit me that it could have been much much worse...
> 
> He was stopped at a "give way" sign, looking for traffic from the left, and I was coming along the bike path from his right...


Yikes! Good thing you didn`t get smooshed by one of those wheels. So, the bike path runs parallel to the road and for the direction you were riding it`s against the flow of traffic in the lanes nearest to you? I thought they only put in those stupid parallel pathways here in the US. I`ve ridden a few and don`t like them for possibility of getting caught just like you did.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I've been hit once before at that point. Then I was going in the other direction.

Visibility is not bad there, except the bike path forks there too and this time I was really coming from the worst angle.

Drivers coming up the ramp have the "give way" sign on both sides, AND there's an extra sign under each to warn them of cyclists...

Here's a pic I took there a couple of weeks ago:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

perttime said:


> I've been hit once before at that point. ...Visibility is not bad there, except the bike path forks there too and this time I was really coming from the worst angle.
> QUOTE]
> 
> That is a tricky situation. Planners should have had the fork far enough from the crossover to have you visible out the right window at a reasonable distance from the intersection.
> ...


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I think I'll start using the dirt path route even in wet and dirty conditions...

Also, there's a new "light traffic bridge" under construction nearby, for access to a new residential area. That would also let me bypass that tricky spot, and ride on black top routes.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Glad you're OK perttime. It always amazes me how cyclists can get hit by a vehicle and still be fine.






In other news, I went for a run and drove to work this morning. My bike is in the trunk of my car, ready to travel 8 hours tonight. I'd rather have the bike in the car than on the back.

I bought the bike I looked at last night. I figured for $70 I couldn't go wrong. It was already stripped to build a single speed, but all the parts (Surly Singulator, poser-ish Chris King single speed kit, XT crank set, extra XT BB) were thrown in. I have some V-brakes that I'll put on, and I'll need to buy a chain, cables/housing, and a few other odds and ends. It should be a nice budget bike.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

It's cold this morning.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Unbelievable! He landed right on his feet, just like a cat. This was definately his lucky day, he should have went straight to vegas and bet the farm.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, that was pretty slick!

Here`s a funny one that came up with the similar vids that they always show- check out what happens to the guy`s wheel and remember it if you ever go looking at the new (almost) spokeless wheels.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Perttime, yikes!, glad it wasn't your time. It's interesting that the bikepath does not have a stop sign for the bikepath users. Similar crossings in my area make the path users stop at the road crossing, although many ignore it, or at least treat it as a yield sign. I think the cars just have a crosswalk marked if I remember right.

I drove today, trail ride later. I apparently don't remember how to commute by car...I left my yogurt on the roof... but it was still there 22 miles later, partly @ 65mph, thanks to the factory rack!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

oof. A week of no riding, mixed with a lot of yummy food (eggs, bacon, bbq, etc) made for a tough pedal this morning.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Of course the morning I should have had my camera with me, I didn't.

I came across a rooster and a chicken walking down the sidewalk. There's a dairy farm on the corner of the first light signal I come across on my ride in, and they have other animals, including chickens, so these had escaped and were going for a stroll. Kinda sounds like the opening to a joke: "A chicken and a rooster were walking down Broadway..." (the street I was on was Broadway).

It was a beautiful morning with some light sprinkles of rain. I crossed the bridge over the river and noticed low clouds sitting on the town downriver. That's when I wished I had brought my camera. 

It keeps raining on and off - rode home in some yesterday; looks like it's a big possibility I'll be riding home in some more tonight.

My SO is driving up here today and we're going to head off to Yellowstone for the weekend. My commute will change next week as I am moving out of one house tonight and moving into another. And I just got used to this route...


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*commutation went well*

my commute to work was my best 20 minutes of the day

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34827535

better than the weight room this morning and the time i spent in the pool doing laps for my upcoming triathlon

last friday i commuted and ran at lunch today i just went for a walk to pick up lunch










yesterday i did laps around garrett mountain, nj. although the mountin overlooks a downtain urban environment, you'd never know it as you see the horse ranch, wild turkeys and deer. nice place to do laps, unfortunaley they banned the mtb there









view of patterson, nj from garrett mtn


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Woohoo! I just found out that the other friends I am moving in with live just down the street from my current place! I'll be taking this route to work for the rest of the summer!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RadioActive said:


> There's a dairy farm on the corner of the first light signal I come across on my ride in, and they have other animals, including chickens, so these had escaped and were going for a stroll.


Could have been a real cock and bull story. Sounds like the bovine chickened out. Or maybe the hens feathers got ruffled at the thought of being leaft behind as just another chicken that came home to roost. 

Domestic chickens really are 'dumb clucks' and I hope they weren't cuisinarted in someones' nearly spokeless wheels playing chicken with oncoming cyclists. :nono:


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## Ronin Six (Oct 1, 2009)

Better weather today. Looks to be heating up a bit next week as well.

And with the warmer weather comes the thorns. Goatshead got my front tire on the way home. Gotta find a good way to prevent those.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

A little butt hurt. My Garmin broke. AGAIN. I like the 305, it's perfect for what I want/need, but that little design flaw it has where over time it stops working sucks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Since cheese from cows milk (beef cheese?) goes on cheeseburgers, maybe the Idaho chicken cheese is for grilled chicky sammiches? I think it was another big plan for Simplot that just didn`t pan out very well.



mtbxplorer said:


> I apparently don't remember how to commute by car...I left my yogurt on the roof... but it was still there 22 miles later, partly @ 65mph, thanks to the factory rack!


I`m sure you`ll get the hang of it again. If you ever get so used to driving that you ride 22 miles without noticing a yoghurt balanced on your bike I`ll definitely be impressed 

So you have your car back, Nacho?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Nice day for commuting: the sun is shining but the morning was not too warm yet. 12C (54F), or so.

The BB on the steel bike has not given up yet. I should really get a rigid fork for it: the sturdy suspension fork is a bit wasted on commuting.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I think I might have been cussed out by a mentally challenged dude on a bike (again). Every time I pass the guy (who always rides on the wrong side of the road), I get bombarded with a sudden outburst of profanity and vulgar references to his crotch. I don't know if it's directed at me or not. He's usually too far back to tell.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

swapped the skinnies back out for chunkies again as the increased cycling traffic is causing us to hammer on the more uneven pavement that casual commuters won't ride.
(and I finally burned through enough of my armadillo to show 6 or 7 small red patches of the casing! figured prudence would be best)

FYI: 300 extra grams of rear tire is roughly analogous to 4 teeth worth of cog.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We had nice weather here this weekend, but I really have the itch to get my new bike done (as if a bike is ever actually "done"), so I spent as much time as I could get away with sanding, filing, and brazing.

Byknuts, the Pasela on the front of my road bike is in similar shape to your Armadillos. I had just taken off for a ride one morning last week (Friday, I think) and I heard the air going PfftPfftPfft as I was still in the driveway. Turns out I hadn`t tightened down the brake shoe enough and it had twisted a little so one end wore a hole in my sidewall. I don`t have any extra 700 tires, so I booted it, patched the tube, and rode to the LBS, which had no 32mm Paselas in stock. BUT they`re pretty cheap at Harris, so I ordered a pair, plus I ordered new (wider) fenders for my commuter and a Cyo headlight while I was at it. Mrs Rodar doesn`t know yet- wish me luck.

Martín, ya mero?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ I feel your pain there...best of luck :lol: 

Shorts this morning (finally). 3 more commutes for this teacher. "Schooooooool's out, for summma!":rockon:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeap rodar! in less than 72 hrs!

fair commute today...I need to do something with the Brooks or start using an Ipod again...it does this horrible sounds...all the way! wiki wiki wiki...is driving me crazy!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whaaahoooo!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^ I feel your pain there...best of luck :lol:
> 
> Shorts this morning (finally). 3 more commutes for this teacher. "Schooooooool's out, for summma!":rockon:


Love that song. I was 18 when Alice sang "I'm Eighteen, Eighteen, Eighteen, and I LIKE it!"

Coming up on its 40 year anniversary. So if Betty White can host SNL, how 'bout a bunch of geriatric R & R's celebrating the 40th of that Teen Anthem? Actually they could make it a running gag. One version by Janis, Jimi, Moon, and other dead legends.... The different Elvis versions, and of course, Alice Cooper in full makeup!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No bikecommute today, women's trailride tonight if the rain stops soon. Went back to Millstone trails Sunday, some pix below: rode "rollercoaster" with these neat ramps over granite blocks, saw this old RR granite block transporter where it died I guess (that rock is on top of the car, and a whole pile fell off behind it), and my friend's dog had lots of fun discovering trailside streams and mudholes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

40 years for that song? Whoa! Rock and roll ain`t in diapers any more. 
OT, but for some reason I find it really interresting to hear folks doing the music from other generations. I`ve got Ella Fitzgerald doing Can`t Buy Me Love and Rosemary Clooney with Still Crazy After All These Years. And if you`re into Spanish pop or Mexican divas, Lola Beltran mangling Tomame o Dejame. Also, a screaming hot jazz version of Blondie`s Call Me- I think I`ll go dig that one up since I`m thinking about it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

AC/DC is in town now... and I went for a trail ride...  :skep:


... I like their sound. I cannot really get to terms with the lyrics of "Highway to Hell". Fortunately a local band has a translated version where it says "Tampereelle": "to Tampere", my home town.


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## c_kyle (Sep 2, 2005)

I rode into work yesterday and it was great. I took the longer route, which runs through all the busiest parts of town, and it was much better than riding through part of the ghetto.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

OT, but everything will be difficult today because yesterday a coworker collapsed and died while playing hockey with other staff. He was 52, seemingly fit, played hockey, competitive volleyball, and loved everything outdoors - he had spent most of the holiday weekend fishing. A fellow dog-lover (german shorthair pointers), I was going to show him the muddy dog picture I posted yesterday when I found out. Do something you love today, and spend some of it with someone you love.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, no- very sorry to hear that, MtbX.
Good advice for every day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow. The commute is suddently irrelevant. Except for the 'something you love today' part. Sorry to hear that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks all...please bring on the commute stories again, didn't want to derail that!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I can't think of a place where the contributors celebrate life more than here. But I am likely biased.  

We have all lost someone close .. or we will. So in their honor think of Queen's chant : 'Find me somebody to love' and alter it to 'Do something I love to do' or 'Ride somewhere I love to ride' When you're done? Find yourself someone to love. :thumbsup: 

Caution to those with committed SO (or one's that could/should be committed to a 'facility') in using C, S, N, &Y recommendation that 'if you can't find the one you love, love the one you're with'. In my household, if the sex didn't kill me, then having the extramarital sex would! Death by Miss Adventure. :lol:

Staying Alive (I know it's Disco) but I had great LDL Cholesterol, Lipids and CPK numbers this week together with a Doctor's office 120/80 (usually some white coat fever there). Like Gravity, Riding works! Now if I could drop the last 20 pounds....

So I gotta ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> yeap rodar! in less than 72 hrs!


Today?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides yesterday..took a 1.5 hr llunch to do a trail ride & later rode home the "back way" again on mostly dirt roads. A little roadside logyard and interesting clouds over fields...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You sure have a lot of cool stuff in your `hood, Xplorer. I think I like the quarry best because we really don`t have anything like that around here.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Coffee And Bagel Stop


Up Cook Street After Breakfast


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

perttime said:


> ...there's a new "light traffic bridge" under construction nearby...


The new bridge is done  
My pavement route is better than ever :thumbsup:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Today?


:yesnod: :ihih: 

I was still cleaning this morning! :lol:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

today was uneventful, but last night 

got caught in a deluge, riding like a fiend in the rain laughing out loud, scared some drivers, when the rain's coming down and you're stuck in gridlock, noone expects a laughing cyclist to scream past them hauling a trailer.
wife's glasses had so much rain on them she was almost riding blind! but we all got home safe, and at least the kid was dry... 

3 cheers for leftover chicken pho soup that chilled bones can microwave and serve in under 3 minutes!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Took the rickety-bridge route home yesterday, and popped out onto the road after the (long) shortcut in the middle of a construction zone.... 2 or 3 miles riding on the skirt between the chunky old edge of the bike lane and the pea gravel that they had spread all over the road surface... it was either riding on horrible chunked-up pavement or marbles...pick your poison. Cruising on my 28c tires at 70psi made me think even harder about the new commuter project with 2.35" big apples. Got home unscathed though. 

Tomorrow is the last day of work for me...then I have a 68 day weekend. If I dissapear for a while don't worry about me... I'll catch up with you all in august.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

By gum it`s an interresting day all over the world!

Normbilt, what have you got wrapped around your top tube? Emergency repair tape?
The S-curve leading into (off?) Perttime`s bridge looks cool! Wish I were riding that bridge.
At least somebody likes riding in the rain.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> The S-curve leading into (off?) Perttime`s bridge looks cool!


Onto or off depends on which way you are going  
There's a junction of paths on the other side, and a shopping center, so it is very well placed at that end. Behind me, when taking the pic, there's the end of a short street, paths on both sides, and buildings. I suppose the idea of the curve is to keep cyclists from riding off the bridge at warp speed, into children and what not, and to position the path with one side of the street.

Besides, the location of existing paths, structures, and landscaping limits the bridge location. I'd say it is in the best possible place where it could be done without re-doing everything else too.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Have a great vacation, CommuterBoy!

I chickened out today. I woke up to winds rattling my window (a common occurrence here, but usually not first thing in the morning). That's the only thing that will stop me from riding. So I drove... 

I have tomorrow off - it's supposed to rain (again...). I am planning a weekend trip to the Tetons since my wonderful SO left me his national parks pass. I am going to do some planning (and chores) tomorrow and then head out first thing Saturday. I figured I'd throw my bike on my car too in case I find any good riding spots. I am considering driving through the park and up through Yellowstone again on Sunday. Not sure yet. Anyone who's been to the area have any recommendations?


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

Got up this AM and rode my single speed (Surly 1x1 Anniversary edition, 36tx17t gearing on 24" wheels) to/from work (28-34 mile round-trip depending on the route I go). I then changed to my 29er coupled to the Burley trailer and picked up my boys from school (4.5 - 5 miles round-trip, but factor in towing roughly 100 pounds of dead weight for 1/2 the school-home route).


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Good riding today. I haven't ridden for about six days - I would have ridden Wednesday but I had CRAZY food poisoning (like, vomited for only the second time in my life) Monday so I gave myself an extra day to recover.

The ride in this morning was nice, but a little breezy with a 7-ish mph headwind. Not too terrible, and I was a little distracted playing with my new toy - a Garmin Edge 500 (replacing my 305). I had a lot of trouble with stop lights this morning - I caught LONG reds at all of them, some of which were made longer because no vehicles came up to trip the sensor so after waiting a couple of cycles I hit the crosswalk button. I was pretty stoked when I got to work as in the bike rack was a Trek OCLV Carbon womens bike. There's a lady in our office who I know rides (never spoken with her) and I've just been waiting for her to pedal to the office. Finally she did it. I am still the most frequent commuter but now there are two others who ride to work as well.

The way home was interesting. It was windy on the way home. 10-15 mph, gusts to a lot more than that. Thankfully the bike trail gave good cover from it, and with a few exceptions I wasn't getting hammered by the wind. The worst two parts of the ride were when I accidentally hit my shifter under heavy load and heard a not-nice THUNK from the chain/cassette as it shifted (no damage from what I can tell after looking tonight) and when I almost got rear ended for actually stopping at a stop sign. Guess it's not too common around here for a cyclist to stop and I almost got clobbered for it. That will learn me!

So far I'm really liking the Edge 500 over the 305. It seems to have more accurate data - the calories burned calculator seems much more realistic, the data points seem more frequent (based on my sporttracks view and not constantly watching my speed dive in sharp corners or under bridges/tree cover) and it's much lighter and more compact. The only complaint I have about it so far is that it saves its files in .fit format, which sporttracks doesn't yet support, so I have to download to Garmin Training Center, export to TCX, then import to sporttracks. Not a HUGE deal but a minor PITA.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I am sofaking tired of this rain. I don't have the gear or inclination to ride in it


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

Longer! Sweatier!

Due to some back problems and a wish to shake up my training, I took the long way on the country highway this week instead of gravel roads. It's so muggy down here that I've taken to wearing a headband. Not that stylie, but better than salt stinging my eyes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

RadioActive said:


> Have a great vacation, CommuterBoy!
> 
> I chickened out today. I woke up to winds rattling my window (a common occurrence here, but usually not first thing in the morning). That's the only thing that will stop me from riding. So I drove...
> 
> I have tomorrow off - it's supposed to rain (again...). I am planning a weekend trip to the Tetons since my wonderful SO left me his national parks pass. I am going to do some planning (and chores) tomorrow and then head out first thing Saturday. I figured I'd throw my bike on my car too in case I find any good riding spots. I am considering driving through the park and up through Yellowstone again on Sunday. Not sure yet. Anyone who's been to the area have any recommendations?


^^ If you go up through the Tetons into Yellowstone...keep going. The north end of Yellowstone is much lower in elevation than the south end, and the snow will be gone from the north end. I was camping my way south through there this time of year and the south end campgrounds were still covered with snow, but the north end was great. I had to skip the southern portion of Yellowstone and come down into the Tetons because there was nowhere to camp. The area between the two parks looked pretty awesome for riding...and there's always Jackson Hole... That's probably the coolest little corner of our country. I'm jealous.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Thanks for the tips, CommuterBoy! I'm thinking about camping at Jenny Lake in Teton. Sounds like a nice (and popular) spot. The weather may deter some tourists though... I usually prefer backcountry camping, but since I didn't plan this trip out too much (and I'll be alone - I've got my bear spray though), I'll stick to car camping. I think the next time my SO comes up, we'll look into camping in Yellowstone (or at least do more than walk the boardwalks. We're very avid hikers and to act like tourists just doesn't feel right :lol: )

Damn, it's raining... again. I was going to hop on my bike and ride into town to get some supplies for the trip, but I think I'll take my car instead. I thought SE Idaho was supposed to be dry!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

There were some sweet dirt backroads in the Tetons. We headed off on dirt roads lookng for moose, and got way back into the woods on logging/fire roads where there were no people for miles. It would be fun to do some of that on the bike. Yellowstone seemed much more regulated, but it didn't feel weird to do some exploring by Jeep in the Tetons.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Trails were calling today as it is supposed to be wet all weekend. About 15 miles of great trails start a 5 minute pedal from the office. Here's someone's video 



 I rode one called Burning Spear.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Well, looks like I'm changing my plans. I want to hit up this place:
http://www.snakeriverbrewing.com/
Probably spend the entire weekend in Teton and then head back to Idaho Falls via Jackson Hole and stop here for late lunch/dinner (and grab a couple bottles for later!). My SO wants to come up and go to Yellowstone again anyway...

I wonder if I could ride my bike to JH from my campsite...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tetons! Have an awesome trip, R.A!

Lots of red lights on the bike trail today, Nacho? Hope you didn`t you get rearended for stopping at them  

Edit: RadioActive, bring a camera!


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Thanks! And I will definitely have my camera with me. I should post up a couple pics from last weekend's trip to Yellowstone...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Short sleeves and drafts...*

Beauuuuutiful morning here. Just for the hell of it, I rode into town and had coffee with my dad, then cruised back home again. No jacket or balaclava- it wasn`t the first this year time I`ve managed to ride in just my shirt, but there have been so few of those days so far that they still feel great. Talk about unemcumbered!

A good part of the road home from my folks` house is up a long, relatively mellow grade. About a quarter mile into that grade, a "real" roadie passed me by. I latched onto him (not super close) and he towed me for another mile or so until we got to the steep part and he left me like a potato without catsup. That was my first ever draft- pretty cool. I can definitely see how it could be useful, especially over a long ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Beauuuuutiful morning here.


Sounds like a fun day - the only thing I rode today was my lawnmower! But it was supposed to rain, so even that was a plus.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Greetings from Venezuela!*

yeap... I say hello from a little town called Turmero in Aragua State, Venezuela.

This trip to Venezuela somehow passed from being expected to be totally unexpected....until friday I wasn't sure we were going to come...but here we are, having dinner in family!...even the Grandmother is here!

the main event: My young brother is receiving his degree next week. Electrical Engineer.

The wife was able to rest last night....after her long trip from Tenerife she was out after our 14 hours trip to Vzla...we left Monterrey to Mexico City, then to Panama, then to Caracas and then a 1hr Car trip to Turmero

I'm out....not commuting for 2 weeks...

I'm not sure if will be able to, due to lot of family stuff to do, but my first mtb is in our backyard....she is in need for a huge tuned up, it will be nice for a short ride. If I do it, i'll post some pics.

Have a great commute guys and girls.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> yeap... I say hello from a little town called Turmero in Aragua State, Venezuela.


Cool! Google doesn`t provide much, but I found this:








It looks very nice- maybe you can shoot us some more. Anyway, not sure how much you`ll be able to check in (or how much you`ll even want to check in here), but have a great trip and I`m glad you and your honey are together again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Left early & rode the full 22.5 mi this a.m., I am hoping to get a ride from my dinner guest tonight so that I get home earlier. Cooler, about 45 when I left but beautiful sunny & everything freshly washed from the rain. Headwind picked up the last 1/4, so I was glad I left when I did. Replacement for the 1 lane temporary bridge (with traffic light) looks almost done, but the approaches are now all dug up and you have to ride on 2-4" sized rock. 42 mph down my hill today; either more confident with my new brake pads or more aero after a cleaning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Bike lanes magically appeared over the weekend. Too bad I only ride that stretch of road for about 50 yds. The weather was just about perfect this morning. Sunny and 66. The high today is only going to be around 80. It'll be perfect weather for my trail ride this afternoon.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

that picture on wikipedia belongs to this guy on flickr

That set of pics was taken from a little mountain called "El Picacho", a litle "Cerro" that is the border between Turmero and San Mateo. I spent a lot of weekends hiking and exploring that cerro as a kid...I lived in Central El Palmar (on San Mateo side) 9 or 10 years of my life...El Palmar is a sugar processing plant...Dad was chief of the mills section for a long time and eventually manager of the whole plant until his retirement.

I did lot bmx on the whole plant (sometimes where I wasn't supposed to :lol, and a little mtb on those green areas.

that guy shot two pics to El Palmar ground... the water treatment plant:









and a little section of the Cane Plantations:









wow this guy has a lot pics from Aragua State
Check these:
Bahia de Cata getting to Cata is a little tough...you have to go trough a pretty stretchy road trough the mountains...I remember mom puking on our way to the beach :lol:

Choroni another beach

I'm not sure but there is a Gran Fondo held every year to one of those beaches

Cagua another town near San Mateo...lot of school friends lived there

and I leave you again with his set from El Picacho

those weren't mine but I'm sure those are representing the beauty of Aragua State, enjoy!

Grandmother brought me some sweet bread from Maracaibo, the one I used to eat there when visiting....oohh I had a great breakfast today 

well...see you guys.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

Efing hot .... I did 14 miles this afternoon in the 107degree heat


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## TunicaTrails (Jun 29, 2009)

I surprised a group of at least 5 wild hogs after taking a wrong turn on a country road this evening. It was Metz road, one of several roads named after families living here since antebellum days. To my left was a mile of vines and briars called Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, and then the Mississippi River, with no levee.

I never saw the hogs, but the sounds and movements in the bushes they bolted into were unmistakable. They disappeared down into a gully and I rode on for a minute, then turned around. When I passed by that way again, again I heard loud shuffling and grunting and the bodies descended into a brushy gully, their leader letting out a steady grunt as they waited.

I had second thoughts, wondering what I'd do off my bike if I got charged, but curiosity took me to the edge of the roadside and I looked down through thick cane brush.

As I stood there and then squatted, taking different angles to try and see something, I could hear them descend further to a safe distance to wait me out. Whatever was growing by that spot on the roadside must have been tasty, because the hogs were not interested in moving on. I left them to their supper and pedaled off for mine.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

The Kids are Getting Big


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

Commuting this week is pretty awesome! I usually just have a 7 mile round trip commute to work, but this week is a little different. My 11 year old son is doing a mountain bike camp this week, so I'm riding with him there and picking him up. Yesterday my miles jumped from 7 miles to 22 miles . 

The downside is that I'm super jealous every morning when I drop him off with a whole group of kids on MTBs ready to rock the trails! And there I am, riding off to work . Very cool for him though, can't wait for him to show me a few tricks.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

My girlfriend and I left the house this afternoon with the intention of stopping by our polling place before I headed to work. She took the car because she was going for a load of groceries afterwards, I took my bike because I was heading to work. The polling place is not far, maybe a 1/4 mile? Anyway, I beat her there on my bike! So you see, a car isn't always the fastest transportation option. Then again, we already knew that!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TwoHeadsBrewing said:


> Commuting this week is pretty awesome! ... My 11 year old son is doing a mountain bike camp this week, ...The downside is that I'm super jealous every morning when I drop him off with a whole group of kids on MTBs ready to rock the trails! And there I am, riding off to work ...


Enjoy. The time goes too fast, they are soon grown, and it is often the simplest memories that stick out in the mind. Mine is a college Senior this fall. Depends on where he goes, but I'm thinking a new bike is in order...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got buzzed by an SUV today. The driver was easily moving at 50mph on a 25-35mph street. The road was fairly empty, and I had moved into the left half of the lane getting ready to turn. If there's one thing I hate, it's when people try to pass while I'm signaling a left turn. There was nothing but space when I looked over my shoulder, but as I prepared to move into the left turn lane, I heard a vehicle accelerating hard around the corner. The next thing I know the driver is on my left. Apparently two seconds is too long to wait when you're in a hurry to reach the next red light. I usually don't give folks the finger, but that reaction was automatic. Way to go Speed Racer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Apparently two seconds is too long to wait when you're in a hurry to reach the next red light.


Lovely. Kind of makes you wonder what the attraction is in waiting at lights, doesn`t it? Good thing you saw him before you ended up looking at his exhaust system.

I had a bonehead incedent Mon morning that pissed me off and really freaked me out. I was on a longish road ride, climbing a steep grade with two lanes in my direction when a hay truck dang near plastered me into the guardrail. I heard him comming and saw him in the mirror, then went back to watching my line. Even though nobody was in the left lane, he kept right in the middle of his (MINE!), leaving me with about three feet between the bed of his truck and the rail. I know that three feet is considerabley wider than a bicycle, but I wasn`t expecting it and, Dag Nabbit- there`s just no reason to cut it that close! The road was straight and he could have seen me from a mile away if he had good enough eyeballs.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good, but I was tired, having done an hour trailride + 13 mi commute ride yesterday over a good hill + not quite enough sleep. Took a shortcut this a.m. on a walking/ski trail from my friend's house to work, it cut off a mile & was fun on the cross bike but not any faster than the pavement. It spit out onto a dirt road, then more downhill fun to the paved road at about the 2 mi mark of 16.5. Then the paved ride back over the hill to work is 3 mi of sustained uphills instead of 5 in the opposite direction. There was a frost warning last night, but it did not materialize in that area, it seemed at least upper 40's at 7:30.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...I know that three feet is considerabley wider than a bicycle, but I wasn`t expecting it and, Dag Nabbit- there`s just no reason to cut it that close! The road was straight and he could have seen me from a mile away if he had good enough eyeballs.


There was a cyclist killed here last summer (his daughter and my daughter take ballet classes together) because a dump truck didn't bother moving over to the left lane (2 lane highway), and the cyclist blew a tire right as the truck started to pass. Absolutely needless tragedy, and it infuriates me when people don't move over. Had the dump truck driver done so, that cyclist would still be here today with his family.


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## thechad66 (Jul 5, 2008)

I had a 100+ pound white dog try to chase me down for the third or fourth time this morning. I called the police and they refered me to the sherif's department who said that they would go have a talk to the owner. I thought it would be nice of me to give them a chance to control their dog before I get a can of bear repelant or come back with one of my guns. On that topic, what are some of the brands of pepper spray that people have had good results with on dogs?
~Chad


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

thechad66 said:


> I had a 100+ pound white dog try to chase me down for the third or fourth time this morning. I called the police and they refered me to the sherif's department who said that they would go have a talk to the owner. I thought it would be nice of me to give them a chance to control their dog before I get a can of bear repelant or come back with one of my guns. On that topic, what are some of the brands of pepper spray that people have had good results with on dogs?
> ~Chad


Kimber JPX Jet Protector:










Works great on humans, too! :thumbsup:


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Today Picture of the Day. Taken by Me as I Riding into Barrington this Morning


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Nice sunny morning, not too hot: just good for T shirt and shorts.

Getting closer to town, going under the main highway and railroad south.










Streets seem less busy in the morning since schools ended for summer. I don't think many working people are on summer holidays yet. Maybe they are not all out at the same time, not needing to be there to push the kids out the door for school?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

in bed for two days now... H1N1 Type of Bed that is  ....feeling better today, fever is gone (hopefully for good), a little cough and sneeze still there, and eyes still want to pop out (felling kind of weird btw)

Graduation is this afternoon, I will probably go to the ceremony and skip dinner and party 

is good to read your posts...

pert...I can only see the upper 10% of your pic...is it just me?

Edit: 3 hours later, fever is back, probably will stay in bed...mom is a doc and is taking care of me, I forgot to say that!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hope you feel better soon, Martin...and yes, I can see Pert's pic just fine.

Showers here, hoping to ride home between them. Complicated commute tomorrow, have to get the car to the shop for them to wrestle with the frozen in (the wrong) place factory rack (so I can mount my new bike & kayak Yakima carriers), and then get to work & later go get the car when done so I can see a friend playing music at a local restaurant/pub tomorrow night without having to bike home 22 mi. Some undetermined combo of bike, bus & catching rides with coworkers.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was really humid here this morning. The temp was 72 and the dewpoint was 70. I'd start sweating like a pig every time I'd stop.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, I saw your 1/2 corvair, 1/2 motorcycle buddy in Chester yesterday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, Martin! I hadn`t heard of anybody getting hit with that one for several months- hope you feel better. What a way to pass a vacation!



mtbxplorer said:


> Showers here, hoping to ride home between them.


Great! Since you`ve been having so much trouble with the showers being closed when you get to work, take advantage of what you get!

Corvair trike is pretty cool, eh? Happy vacationing while I`m at it.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

perttime said:


> Nice sunny morning, not too hot: just good for T shirt and shorts.
> 
> Getting closer to town, going under the main highway and railroad south.
> 
> ...


Wow, must be nice to live in a city where bike/pedestrian trails like those exist.  :thumbsup: And all along I thought that California was pretending to be bicycle-friendly. :madman: :nono: :skep:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> Wow, must be nice to live in a city where bike/pedestrian trails like those exist.  :thumbsup:


It is not bad 

One thing with paths like that is: if a driver who is turning is not really paying attention, like could happen in the pic, it is so easy to turn across the path without noticing a cyclist there 
(the car and cyclist in the pic have the green light at the same time and the turning vehicle is _supposed_ to give way).

There are places (along less busy streets) where I bend the rules and take the street instead of the sort-of-compulsory bike path / sidewalk: some of the crossroads allow absolutely no visibility before a car is *on* the path.

Having the separate path is good when the street is busy, but if the path is not designed in a really smart way, it can create some pretty bad traps for you.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

perttime said:


> It is not bad
> 
> One thing with paths like that is: if a driver who is turning is not really paying attention, like could happen in the pic, it is so easy to turn across the path without noticing a cyclist there
> (the car and cyclist in the pic have the green light at the same time and the turning vehicle is _supposed_ to give way).
> ...


Trail or no trail, I always look left, right, ahead, behind (Third Eye mirror on helmet) before doing any sort of maneuver. 96% or so of my riding is on public roads, and 1/2 of those roads do not have bike lanes. The rearview mirror is really nice to have.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

So, my commute today:

Started out putting the boys in the Burley connected to the 29er and riding them to school. Substantial (15MPH+ wind with a couple gusts exceeding 20MPH) headwind all the way there, of course, the tailwind back home was nice. Although the Burley D'Lite trailer profile is aerodynamic-looking, there are no rigidity/support spars to keep it that way, so when the wind picks up, it goes from an airfoil into a concave parachute shape. Add in the weight of a 4 year old and 5.5 year old, and you have quite a morning workout.

Once home, I transferred to my trusty 2009 11th Anniversary Edition Surly 1x1 36t x 17t single speed, and proceeded to show that sonofab¡tch headwind I can take a lot of sh¡t and keep on kicking.

Once I got to Santa Clara, the headwind had increased to around 19MPH with gusts up to probably 25-ish MPH. I kept on hammering on, being sure to avoid letting my speed drop below 17MPH. I had built up a sweat, however, the headwind was so persistent that when I arrived at work my riding clothes were almost fully dry. Once again, this commute is largely regulated by traffic signals on timers, but today it took me 58 minutes (average is 54) even though the winds were selfish B-tards.

The ride home, of course, was really nice. The headwinds earlier amazingly hadn't changed direction. "Normally", in the morning I get a very very gentle tailbreeze, and on the way home I get a noticeable tailwind. Today the wind really did not ever stop blowing Southward.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Perttime, it`s mandatory to use the bike paths? If it is, that does kind of take the fun out of things. The ones I`ve seen are very nice for playing on, but not really designed for serious use- maybe different over there, but it looks to me like they`re pretty much the same as what I`m used to. What about riding out of town, are there paths from one city to the next, or do you just ride the highways?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Perttime, it`s mandatory to use the bike paths?...
> ...
> ... What about riding out of town, are there paths from one city to the next, or do you just ride the highways?


"Bike paths" here are almost always combined paths for cyclists and pedestrians. If there is a marked bike path, using it is mandatory ... unless there's a clear (safety) reason not to use it. Roadies generally take the road instead, as high speeds among the children, dog walkers, etc. just aren't safe. That is usually tolerated.

Between towns, it depends. I live in a cluster with a bigger town and several smaller municipalities and I could cover most of the cluster on paths. We have a lot of space for a relatively small population, so riding a bike on minor roads between towns is not a problem: there's not that much traffic there. On the major highways, slow vehicles are not allowed. Drivers usually take the fast highways, if it suits where they are going, so the older roads can be quite nice to ride on a bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rode in 15mi in mist and showers after dropping off my car in Berlin (VT), despite the partly sunny/foggy forecast. By the end of the day I should have a usable roof rack & a second key for my car. Darned if all my shoes and workboots haven't migrated home somehow, leaving me with only bike shoes and a pr of dressier shoes that don't really go with these Carhart carpenter pants - so far I'm still in socks at my desk.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Normbilt said:


> Today Picture of the Day. Taken by Me as I Riding into Barrington this Morning


Ah, so they CAN pick up bicycles! They put one of these up down the street from me and I was tempted to go blast by it, but I wasn't sure if it would sense me (and it was in the opposite direction of my house). I'll have to see if it's still there tonight...

I had a great time camping (though it poured all day on Sunday) and I am now moved in and settled with my other friends. I need to get the access code to use the internet at home; I've been lazy or preferring to read a book at night instead of playing on the laptop.

I attended a bicycle safety meeting today held by the Lab. It was pretty informative and helped me to get a better grasp of the (strange) bicycle laws here in Idaho (and there was food). I'm getting used to riding on the sidewalks in some areas (though I still prefer the road). I find it funny when residents complain that Idaho Falls isn't very bike-friendly... they need to come and stay a while in Vegas 

Oh, and the officer who gave the talk rides a sweet FS Stumpjumper on her job (she had it with her - it's even equipped with blue and red lights!).


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...Darned if all my shoes and workboots haven't migrated home somehow, leaving me with only bike shoes and a pr of dressier shoes that don't really go with these Carhart carpenter pants - so far I'm still in socks at my desk.


Hahaha! I hate that when that happens... As I leave a pair of jeans at work, I'm worried one of these days those will find their way home and I'll forget, leaving me to work in muddy/sweaty bike shorts all day...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I never forget pants, sometimes I forget undies... :ciappa:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RadioActive said:


> Ah, so they CAN pick up bicycles!
> 
> Oh, and the officer who gave the talk rides a sweet FS Stumpjumper on her job (she had it with her - it's even equipped with blue and red lights!).


Rumor has it that they pick up deer, too!

You mean "whoopie lights", like the flashers on cop cars? I wonder how they mount up and what they do for batteries- sounds like a good way to get attention and be seen! Did you snap some pics, any chance?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Rumor has it that they pick up deer, too!


True 'dat.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

High of only like 90 here today .. even some rain sprinkles .. did 22 miles on the Rockhopper today


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I rode my "new" singlespeed commuter in this morning. I received my brake cables, tubes, and chain on Friday and put the rest of the bike together on Saturday. The gearing (42/18) is pretty much perfect for my commute. 

The bike feels like a toy compared to my Fisher. It's light and twitchy and lower to the ground. I might want to install a wider handlebar with a slight rise to get the feel exactly right. The bars on their now are on the narrow side. It's a fun ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sped down my road this a.m. in an attempt to catch the bus...approaching the steep part of the hill there was no traffic, except a mountain bike that came out of a side road...I kept gaining on them and flew by on the cross bike near the center line on the steepest part. It was fun but I do hope I didn't give them a scare. Later got payback as another MTB passed me on the flat. And just before downtown, it is still a good downhill and you can usually fly by a line of cars waiting in the "straight only" lane in the "right turn only" lane...same today, except the last car in line decided to switch lanes unnannounced at the last second, which meant next to no gap between it and a parked car on the right. I did not have time to stop, but I was able to slow enough that he got through the gap before I got there, so it was just a close call. Caught the bus.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Rumor has it that they pick up deer, too!
> 
> You mean "whoopie lights", like the flashers on cop cars? I wonder how they mount up and what they do for batteries- sounds like a good way to get attention and be seen! Did you snap some pics, any chance?


No pics; my phone doesn't have a camera, unfortunately. They were identical to the headlight she had on the bike and set on either side of it - they flash just like the strobe setting on a headlight (no spinning lights like on some cop cars). I don't know if they are special-made or if they just put colored plastic over the front (I should have taken a closer look - didn't even think about that when I was there). She had a massive battery pack connected to her top tube to power all three lights. No siren, though :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

50's when I left work yesterday, and was wishing I had remembered to throw in a windvest or something, but I warmed up quickly once I was going up my hill. It seemed a little easier and quicker to make it up with the double on the cross bike than previously.  Women's trail ride planned for after work today, beautiful blue sky & high of 70. 

I finally got around to putting in a work order to the Buildings people to see if they could avoid cleaning/closing the shower from 7-9 a.m. so that bike commuters might actually be able to use them. 

The reply from Buildings was: "Additionally, however, it’s unfortunate that our department’s cleaning schedule for the shower rooms don’t conform with your work schedule and your need to shower upon arrival here at the complex. Our custodian begins her day at the shower room at 7:15am and adjusts her work time based on which showers are in use as she begins work. This sometimes pushes her schedule back as she has to wait for people to finish. BGS has a limited number of custodians, there are approximately 1,600 people that work here, 177 restrooms and 40 bathroom/showers that need to be cleaned daily. We can’t always adjust staff cleaning schedules to conform to the needs of every employee who works at the complex. The showers are here for your convenience and are not a requirement of policy. " I replied that with 177 restrooms and 40 bathroom/showers it seemed to me that 1 custodian could be assigned to do something else besides the locker room for 1 hr 45 minutes. Stay tuned.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good luck with your request, Xplorer. Do most departmants change shifts at the same time?

I`ve had a B&M Cyo on my "shopping list" for a long time. I finally got one and just finished swapping out my old light, now I find myself very iritated with the sun. Come on and set, already! Let`s have a little dark here! I came up with a good way to run the tail light wire along my top tube that I think is going to work out well. I found a length of ~1/4 in black plastic tubing and cut it to fit between the housing stops on the bike, then ran the wire through the tubing. The plastic tube is about the same color as my frame and I`ve got it nestled between two bare cables that run along the TT, tied loosely to the rear shift cable. Looks very clean and doesn`t seem to cause any problems with the cable it`s tied to.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good luck with your request, Xplorer. Do most departmants change shifts at the same time?
> 
> I`ve had a B&M Cyo on my "shopping list" for a long time. I finally got one and just finished swapping out my old light, now I find myself very iritated with the sun. Come on and set, already! Let`s have a little dark here! I came up with a good way to run the tail light wire along my top tube that I think is going to work out well. I found a length of ~1/4 in black plastic tubing and cut it to fit between the housing stops on the bike, then ran the wire through the tubing. The plastic tube is about the same color as my frame and I`ve got it nestled between two bare cables that run along the TT, tied loosely to the rear shift cable. Looks very clean and doesn`t seem to cause any problems with the cable it`s tied to.


"Official" office hours for the public are 7:45-4:30, but many alternate schedules OK'd but usually starting 7-9 a.m. Pretty dead after 5, and now that the women's prison was moved, only a few state (mental) hospital employees work nights. I emailed some other bikers & some have already sent in supporting requests to the buildings dept.

Must be the approaching solstice...I have been thinking lights as well. Ordered a PrincetonTec Switchback 3 (heavy but bright & long lasting LED) for $180 (from $349) at http://www.mountaingear.com/pages/p...+3+Bike+Light/Store/MG/item/115071/N/1140 652 Your cyo looks nice!

10 women showed up for tonight's ride - nice! But didn't wear my ankle brace & now it's sore & on ice!


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*nice taper commute*

I commuted on my mtb today since I left my car at work last night as we took a bus to nyc and did a run/race in central park

todays commute
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/37192302

last nights race in central park










full race (8:03 pace)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/37173101

after 1st mile (7:40 pace)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/37173578

i have another race saturday (a triathlon) then sunday i take my mtb to the course of an upcoming mtb race (h2hrace)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Last day of the week for me. Plant closure for lack of work tomorrow. It was windy most of the week, cold for a few days, but very nice today and looks like more nice for the upcomming weekend. I have three dark commutes now on my new Cyo headlight and I dig it! Now I want a bottle generator so I can use the old light on my road bike from time to time.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Took the bus this morning, because I had to go and see my dentist in town center and I don't like operating or parking any kind of vehicles there. The next appointment will kick off my summer holidays in a couple of weeks...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely...warm but foggy, then heated up to 80F for a lunchtime trail ride (I'd left the MTB at work, so now I need that quick-release thingy to get both home without a car!)...that was fun, though I did take an unexpected trip when a sapling reached out and grabbed the end of my bar. Debating whether to ride to the swimming hole after work or just get picked up by my dinner guest.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday I nearly witnessed wreck right in front of me. Fortunately, I wasn't involved in the near miss. People really need to not talk on the phone while driving.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yesterday I nearly witnessed wreck right in front of me. Fortunately, I wasn't involved in the near miss. People really need to not talk on the phone while driving.


Yes, I saw a woman this morning juggling the phone, coffee, and the steering wheel while exiting Dunkin Donuts onto the road.


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## Gary the No-Trash Cougar (Oct 14, 2008)

Finally passed the 500 mile mark in commuting this week and it's almost July. Between all the Doctors visit (have to use the car) and time off it's been a slower than usual year for commuting. Maybe I can spend the next half of the year playing catch up?


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> ...People really need to not talk on the phone while driving.


They finally made that law here in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan (not sure about other provinces) this winter. At least, no hand held phones. You can still talk using ear pieces or speakers or whatever, which for some is just as bad... But at least most of the drivers now have both hands on the wheel, which is somewhat an improvement... 

My rides have been going pretty well. The weather has at least been somewhat dry for the past week and a half, but it's going to get hot soon. Granted, I'll just think about you guys in Phoenix and maybe the heat won't bother me too much?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes, I saw a woman this morning juggling the phone, coffee, and the steering wheel while exiting Dunkin Donuts onto the road.


Well that`s silly. All that juggling and she still didn`t get any doghnuts while she was at it?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Not much riding lately. Trying to deal with allergies. Singulair helped Added nasonex this evening. Hope the pair work. Claritin, Allegra and Zyrtec all are useless now. Nice clear breathing while they lasted. Arizona may be in my future.

The bike parts arrived today. Not a lot of weight loss between the old 27" wheels and the new 700C's. But given the 10 speed cassette (very light) instead of 7 speed freewheel, the Deep Vees instead of classic double walled low rise pothole susceptible rims, I am impressed. They will be round, too! A nice plus. Tired of double flat spots at speeds above 17-18 mph. I am trying a 28 up front and a 32 in back for now. With the deep vees it looks like I've done a 650B conversion. And the 28's from the side look real skinny like 23's.

I think rodar y rodar recommended the Nitto Randonneurs. They look like they were meant for this bike and the flare out gives over an inch each way more knee clearance out of the saddle. Not the bar I'd want when I was 18 or 36, but it looks perfect and feels right stationary. The Cinelli-like engraving either side of the stem is a great classic look as does the Technomic stem.

My dremel died and the crank arm puller is AWOL so I am done until tomorrow. My first Aero brake cable installation. I read Sheldon. Looks like a cut, finish, fit, repeat sort of process as too long is fixable and too short is not. Sort of job you perfect as you finish it. Tips appreciated.

Photos when done.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Almost done. The stem needs adjustment. Some lightweights. Remount pump. Fill tires...

Not sure I like the Velocity logo.



Looks like the plain aluminum rims reflect well enough. Rolls Silver Ghost.



Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed 13-29 covered by long-cage Centaur Triple RD, Sugino 48-36-24 covered by Centaur Triple FD, all controlled with Classic Suntour Cyclone DT friction shifters. I bought the last silver finish 10 Speed Campagnolo Chorus hubs not yet sold October, 2008 and they have 36 DB stainless spokes connecting them to Velocity Deep Vees. Maybe I can bunny hop these. First ride tomorrow.

Some thoughts:

1. If you have older brake cables 20-30+ years old, they are crap compared to the heavy stainless modern cables and the plastic lined housings are worth the swap by themselves.

2. Cool stop aluminum body pads work like they were made for these classic Universal side pulls. YMMV.

3. The weight difference between the SRAM 9 speed and the Campagnolo 10 speed cassettes is much larger than I expected. Should be at almost 3 X as much. Should shift better too, but that remains to be tested.

4. Way beefier and more aero wheels and they are a bit lighter to boot. Offsets the heavier Sugino crank (stainless 48, steel 36 and 24, though they should last a lot longer and are only $25 to replace and not $90. Not to mention the 53 wasn't getting much use.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Voyageur?









Yeah, Sugino dropped that crown, but I think they went back to it, or at least did a reissue. It seems like I`ve seen them again recently with a few vendors.


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## natrab (May 28, 2007)

Today was my first day commuting. Made a typical "mountain biker on a roadie" error and went over a steel grate, putting a huge dent in my front rim. Going to drop it off at the LBS tomorrow to see if they can fix it or will have to replace the rim. So I'll be riding home tonight with the rear brake only. Oh well, lesson learned.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah! I bet you`re good and ready after that long wait for the rims to come in!


I wonder how many sales Velocity lost? Apparently they thought their reflective, color changing and printed pattern rims would make for few 'plain jane' aluminum sales. Entirely different clientele. They want another $60 each for pollished. That and another $5 bought stem, bars, and levers.



rodar y rodar said:


> Voyageur?


A Canadian bus company like Greyhound in the US. A French fur trader aka Courer du Bois. Sorry. I'm not getting it.



rodar y rodar said:


> Remount the pump? I don`t see it anywhere- where is it now?


I didn't want to load the accessories for the pic as they detract from the effect. The Blackburn midi pump is now tucked behind the seat tube nestled againt the fender at the bottom and topping out just below the seat rails. The Trek Seat bag's zipper was failing and everything will fit into the handlebar bag, so that space was availabe and it won't be in the way as it often was, on the top tube.



rodar y rodar said:


> Have you tried friction shifting 10 speed yet? I`ve never tried friction with more than 7 and hear mixed opinions about it with 9 and 10. Hope it works out for you.


There may be a reason that the Suntour Cyclone levers have a reputation. They ran that cassette like they were made for each other. The shifting was at the very least, up to par with the cost, of the casette. Snick, snick snick. The SRAM 9 speed (wheelset off the errand bike) shifted like crap in comparison. Very pleased, to put it mildly.



rodar y rodar said:


> I love Sugino! Did you get the old crown logo?


I have that logo on the 144 BCD crankset on the errand bike. But they seem to have dropped it on this crankset. There is even a triagular area they could have placed a small one. Yeah, that would have been cool. The thing shifts like a champ! The ratios are much better for me as I am now. Only the top two ratios were unique with the 53-42-30, so unless I had a good downhill and/or tailwind the 53 was useless. The 110 BCD pattern opens up more chainring options if I want.



rodar y rodar said:


> The Velocity stickers will match up very well with that sawed off yellow lawn chair when you get it mounted.


And take the eye away from the stitching job! 

They are definitely YELLOW, aren't they? The rims ate the RR crossing and rough pavement in post mode on today's ride and I did not wince. Nice to know that *****footing around irregularities isn't as high on the agenda. Maybe bunny hopping IS feasible with these. Still, for making me wait almost 2 months, do they deserve advertising?

Love the 'Neato' bars. The flare make the drops fell good and my shoulders aren't crouding my chest.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, man! I meant to just quote my own post and it looks like I edited it instead! Okay, I meant to ask if Brian`s bike was a Schwinn Voyageur.

Doh, bummer Natrab! 
I found myself on a front 23 today too, but I managed to get away with it. It looks like I had a case of temporary dyslexia and ordered a pair of 23s rather than 32s. Didn`t notice until I had the first one moutned.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Aw, man! I meant to just quote my own post and it looks like I edited it instead! Okay, I meant to ask if Brian`s bike was a Schwinn Voyageur.


Not that much a tourer. The sport/light tourer designation means it is 72 degrees head and seat tube (sport), chain stays are 16.5" (light touring). There are no rack bosses. saddle bags and handlebar bags or backpacks for commuting. Meant to commute during the week with fenders etc then stripped/tire swapped for racing on weekends. So the stays are small diameter and the frame is quite a bit lighter than a full touring frame, but stronger and a bit heavier than a race frame from the same company that year. I could just squeeze 27 x 1 1/4"s under the fenders, but in winter small gravel/large sand used on roads would scour the insides of both fenders when it stuck to the tires. Pretty tight. The 700C 35 mm Michelin City tire/wheels from the errand bike had more clearance. That's too wide a tire for these rims. The 700C 32's have the expected space. Makes sense as the frame was built with both standards in mind as that is when 27" was going out.



rodar y rodar said:


> Doh, bummer Natrab!
> I found myself on a front 23 today too, but I managed to get away with it. It looks like I had a case of temporary dyslexia and ordered a pair of 23s rather than 32s. Didn`t notice until I had the first one mounted.


Lysdexia? What's lysdexia? Maybe it wasn't you but the shipper. You'd be stuck with one that you used, but the other could go back. The lightweight 32 mm Panaracer rides better than the heavy duty Michelin City 35 mm. So air voulme isn't the only factor in ride comfort. You'll need good padded gloves with a 23 up front.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The confirmation email says it was me. I`m stuck with the one I`m using and the other will go back. Going out for a longer ride in a few minutes, no gloves- wish my hands luck. They`re going to need about four hours worth of luck.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Going out for a longer ride in a few minutes, no gloves- wish my hands luck. They`re going to need about four hours worth of luck.


The last time I did something like that I couldn't do any fine motor skill things with either hand for over 10 days (ambidextrous). Wishing you a lot of luck.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Longest Day 2010 The Rain Held Off until 2 1/2 miles left on the way home tonight
Awesome Day 45 miles with Awesome Sunset Tonight


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The attempt to make my steel bike hold a BB failed. I am giving up on that frame. So, I've been doing the 30 minute commute on my Scirocco in singlespeed trail riding configuration, for the last couple of days...

I'll try to get in a trail ride or two, before I put on the fat slicks and taller gearing. Meanwhile, I hope I'll soon get the missing parts for a rigid SS trail bike.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Truth is I took the headset spacers from la Trurly/Kermit to finish the pugs while the ones in the mail arrive....this morning we were car-less so I commute today on the Pugsdozer!...legs need to be trained for the massive tires, but this bike sure is so much fun!

spacer should be here today, so I'll probably be back on la Trurly tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cool sunset, Norm. It took me a few hours to relise what you meant by "longest day", though. Duh.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

left house- wasn't raining.
halfway to the sitter to drop off the sprog- starts POURING.
change into rain gear at the sitter's.
about 6 blocks away from the sitter's- stops raining.
now I'm soaked and the rain gear's keeping the wet clothes from drying in the wind.
get to work, all the bike racks have been removed for G20.
*sigh*

recipe for recovery: dry wool socks and dry t-shirt left at work, and coffee... blessed coffee...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Too bad about the BB, Perttime!

Nice trailride after work yesterday at the Millstone quarries. The trails I took went by a lot of the smaller granite quarries, as well as their grout (junk rock) piles (many are more hillsides than piles). Some were a bit spooky in the waning light. Nice cool air from the cold deep water & rock. Favorite sign: CAUTION! with "cliff" added in by hand underneath, just in case you didn't take it seriously. An info sign said there were 50 active quarries within 1 mile in the heydey, 1880-1910. Now there is only 1, though there are still a number of "granite sheds" where they cut and carve it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I already gave the frame away to a guy who thinks he _might_ still make a bike out of it. I'm really over it already and there's a Chromag frame in the store room, waiting for a couple of parts I want to try...

Went out on trails on the trusty "SScirocco". For a few spots, it is a bit low and steep, the way I have it set up. Great when I am not hitting the pedals on stuff, though


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> recipe for recovery: dry wool socks and dry t-shirt left at work, and coffee... blessed coffee...


What, no booze? I hope it works okay like you planned it!

Xplorer, the quarries sound really cool and they get my imagination rolling extra hard. We have a lot of granite close to here in the Sierra, but AFAIK no quarries. I wonder if maybe California granite is too crumbly for buildings and monuments or something?

Better luck with your next bild, Perttime. I thought your BB fix was going to last you for a while, but I guess it wasn`t your lucky day.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

This seemed like an OK day to take some "shortcuts" on the way home...





































(yes, there's a trail in the middle of the last pic too)

OK .... maybe it took 15 minutes longer than usual ...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*!*

Nice commute route, Perttime.

Pedaled 15mi to pub last night to watch my friends play music and got just a few raindrops on the way. Switchbacks on draft and a cheeseburger - yum! Rained hard overnight though & by the time it let up from a downpour I would have been really late for work...my friend took pity on me & drove me in.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

I Got wet on the way to work this morning its warm so it felt good Though 
Tonight I was rewarded on the ride home with nice sunset


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I got _worked_ on the ride home tonight.

I get on the bike trail and a woman in a local team kit passes me in the other direction. She was friendly and waved back when I waved (most people lately haven't been waving back  ). About 2 miles later, she passes me again but now going the same direction. I kept her in sight, but she was going faster than I wanted to, and I usually try not to get in to a two-person paceline on the way home. I'm still a bit of a noob with drafting/pace lining on road bikes so I like bigger groups.

Anyway, I eventually caught up to her, and she was going about 20 mph now, and wasn't terrible to look at (she was way tall though, I'm 6'3 and her bike looked bigger than mine). I grabbed her wheel and we cruised for a bit when these two guys got on the trail. They were going very slow so we moved around and kept going. About a mile later, they pass us. She hammers and jumps on their wheel so I'm right in with them.

The lead guy looks like Frozone (https://www.munhua.com/incredibles/images/frozone.jpg) from The Incredibles and he's cooking. He pulls us for a bit at about 23 mph then pulls off and we rotate. I get up to the front and pull for a couple of miles, then rotate to the back, but this guy hits the afterburners and RIPS up the trail. I glanced down and saw us sustaining 28mph. I was falling off the back until finally he pulled off and they backed it down to about 23 mph.

I described the guy to my wife when I got home. She said she met the guy at the Amgen tour because he raced in the pre-amgen races and kicked ass. I don't doubt it. The rest of the ride after those guys turned off the trail was me trying to keep pedaling without dying. It was the hottest ride of the year today for me, and a little muggy for our area. I made it but I was suffering when I rolled up my driveway.

Tomorrow should be fun!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy cow, that does sound like a wild ride! It`s a wonder you didn`t get pulled over for breaking the sound barrier on an MUT.

Progress on my bent is at a standstill for a while while I wait for a material order to arrive, but I hung a set of cranks last night just for fun and found out that I have major tire overlap. I knew there would be some, but it`s a lot more than I expected. Options I`m considering are use a 26 inch fork with the 20 inch wheel, use a 16 inch wheel on the current fork, or rebuild the telescope with a raised BB. I can get a little more by going to a smaller tire, but I already spent $20 on a pair of 20 x 1.75s, which is actually as big an investment as the other options. Also, I planned to shorten the cranks to ~150, so I might just go ahead and order the taps for that and see how much it gets me. Then again, until my new tubing comes in, I don`t have any seat back struts, so can`t actually park myself firmly on the bike, and everything is still approximate.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> What, no booze? I hope it works okay like you planned it!


nunce me dejaran tomar mi Internacional al trabajo!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Where there`s a will there`s a way!
Just kidding  actually, I don`t even drink anymore.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Beautiful commutes this week. The weather has finally turned nice (though probably not for long - chance of thunderstorms tomorrow). Yesterday it actually hit 80 (must be a heat wave!). 

I think tomorrow I will take a little detour on my way home and ride down along the river. I don't know why I don't do that more often - I have worked myself into a routine now and have forgotten that I am in a place that still needs exploring.  It is tempting to go home, eat some dinner, and hop back on the bike into town and watch the sun set by the river... 

I am staying in town this weekend since I flew back to Vegas last weekend and I'm planning on driving to Portland next weekend to see my sister. This summer is going by so fast; before I know it, I'll be back in the 120 degree heat. I will miss Idaho Falls greatly (though a trip up here in the winter might change that!.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Holy cow, that does sound like a wild ride! It`s a wonder you didn`t get pulled over for breaking the sound barrier on an MUT.


It was a good run. I've sprinted some of the straights to 27 or 28 mph but haven't sustained those speeds when the MUT wasn't closed for a race. The paceline avg'd 20.6 for 12.8 miles  I got home pretty fast


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A "cold" front came through. Now it's 87 instead of 95. Get out the parka.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice little run (30 miles with extras). Running twin Radbot1000 (think Planet Bike Superflash but 2 x the light output and without the 1/4 Watt lower pair of LEDs). The nedd recharged batts each day for max output. Of course, they are rarely in sync, so hard to ignore. I was also running twin, 1.5 watt red spots until my battery ran out (headlights on too, and battery didn't fully charge for some reason). The red spot lights are about the same as combined car brake and tail lights in intensity, 3.5 X the Radbot1000's in output. Visible at a 1/4 mile or more in bright sun. 

So, inadvertently, I had a chance to compare both pairs of lights and the Radbots only, Judging in terms of room allowed by traffic in both the two and four lane sections of highway (55 but driven at 60-65). These are obviously different drivers at different times of the day so not necsssarily comparable subsamples. My impression was that the Radbot1000's plus my ANSI vest got significantly more courtesy than the PBSF's and ANSI vest (different days, but I am pleased). The twin floods seemed to help attentive drivers get in the left lane a bit easier by alerting them sooner. For those who don't drive "far enough" down the road, they did not help. Of course, some drivers routinely don't see School buses, or snow plows with all their blinking lights.

Dolts are dolts. You can't fix stupid. One driver of a Ford Ranger with a long skinny load angled forward out of the bed (rising past the passnger window. extending past the right mirror), put his right tires on, or a bit over and just shy of the rumble strip placing the head of whatever it was in a position to joust my shoulder from behind as he passed. Thank goodness for mirrors and 6-8' shoulders. Hope it was plain stupidity and not intentional and murderous.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Well, so much for the nice weather. The winds are already blowing the storm in. 

Ugh, winds...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ranger Danger! B Mc, if I think the world is out to get YOU, does that make me psychotic? Psychotic codependant?

I`m interrested in the Radbots. Wonder why they haven`t made as much splash as I initially expected? Maybe they`re still not known enough yet? Anyway, I hadn`t heard before that they eat batteries. Do they really go through them faster than other small tail lights, or are you just obsesive about fully charged batts? From the videos I`ve seen, it looks like they miss out on PBSF`s spastic mode. I bet running them in a dual setup helps out a lot in that respect and they`re cheap enough that dual is very feasible.

I take it your red spots are homebrewed. 2 x 1.5 W? Wow! If your headlight ever goes out on you, you can turn around and ride backwards by the tail lights.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RadioActive said:


> Well, so much for the nice weather. The winds are already blowing the storm in.
> 
> Ugh, winds...


+1 I especially hate beating into a SSW to SW wind that moves to W, then on the return freshens with another 5-8 mph and continues to rotate round so it is now NW to NNW for the return home. Add in terrain, and woods redirecting it straight down the road, and the weather dashes the hope for a wind supported sprint home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ranger Danger! B Mc, if I think the world is out to get YOU, does that make me psychotic? Psychotic codependant?.


Even paranoids have some real enemies. There is an issue of attracting drunk drivers like moths to a flame. Not demonstrated for bike lights, but for emergency vehicles, yes.



rodar y rodar said:


> I`m interrested in the Radbots. Wonder why they haven`t made as much splash as I initially expected? Maybe they`re still not known enough yet? Anyway, I hadn`t heard before that they eat batteries. Do they really go through them faster than other small tail lights, or are you just obsesive about fully charged batts? From the videos I`ve seen, it looks like they miss out on PBSF`s spastic mode. I bet running them in a dual setup helps out a lot in that respect and they`re cheap enough that dual is very feasible.


You may wish to browse these threads:

Radbot 1000 thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=274251

Tail light: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=272339&page=4

In the "Another thread about lights" in this sub forum somewhere, one of the early posters mentioned the Radbot but I don't know if it was the 1000 or the 500.

I seem to surprise people by my speed (they should have seen me when I was a younger man!). In part it is not seeing me and dismissing me a 'just a bike'. Standing out helps them process my 15-22 mph. So I wanted daytime-visible rear lights to augment bright clothes which don't work well when on the drops or on cloudy days. The TL1100 from Cateye is supposed to be but it isn't very good IMHO from YouTube videos.

As to eating batteries, they all do if you want maximum output. I couldn't believe how fast the light output dropped off when in the full-on mode for either the PBSF's or the Radbot 1000's with fresh batteries. It dropped 10% in ten minutes! For either light with two sets of batteries. I even swapped batteries in the Radbots, and it was the batteries, not the lights. If that rate of decline holds, then in one hour, these lights would be half as bright (.9 x .9 x.9 x.9 x.9 x .9). Since the reason for the Radbot1000 is that it is 2 X as bright as a PBSF and visible in the day out to about 500 feet, dropping to 1/2 power sucks. I mean what's the point? Swap batteries every 30 minutes?

On the to do list: 
I am going to charge up the AAA's and run one PBSF on full and the other flashing and the same with the two Radbot1000's. They should hold their brightness better in flash modes.

Videotape riding at night even though my camera doesn't do flashing lights justice. Should be good enough to judge by.

I am actually fairly pleased with the Radbot 1000's in use for over 2 hours today (no swapped batteries). They have several patterns but one is On to fade and off then two fast flashes, and On to fade....With two of these side by side doing that, and rarely in sync, well, it is pretty obnoxious just the way I like them. The PBSF's side by side like that are 4 X as spastic as they are alone.



rodar y rodar said:


> I take it your red spots are homebrewed. 2 x 1.5 W? Wow! If your headlight ever goes out on you, you can turn around and ride backwards by the tail lights.


Yes, home brewed, but simple to make. See second thread above. Remember the LEDs are orange-red so only about half as much light per watt as *********** LED's. Still they put out about 10% of the light of my headlamps do at 0.5 A, for a total of about 900 lumens and 10 watts. Some of these were 1 watt apparently, but these two aren't. They may be too bright for night use as they are. I will see. Aiming them down is an easy solution to make a pool of red light and light the rear of the bike. Unfortunately the tailights use the same battery: no battery no lights other than the Radbots. This may force some redundancy on me in that department as the backup POS ($3, you expect more?) small flashlight isn't 100 lumens. More a be-seen, than see-by light.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, Brian. I`ll check out those links. In the mean time, how hard would it be to hook up a whole bank of AAs in parallel (or is that series for equal voltage?) and solder into a small off the rack electrical goodie? Maybe it`s something that a lot of people are already doing for better run time- I really haven`t checked.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

This morning before work we stopped at the Canteen for breakfast


after breakfast on the way to work I saw this


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Now that's not something you see everyday! She's prettier than the sunsets. 
complete with badge and all, Love it


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> In the mean time, how hard would it be to hook up a whole bank of AAs in parallel (or is that series for equal voltage?) and solder into a small off the rack electrical goodie? Maybe it`s something that a lot of people are already doing for better run time- I really haven`t checked.


Somebody could have modded a blinky with an outboard battery pack. One of the attractive things about thess is they are self-contained and had very long runtimes IF you ignore their output. I enjoyed only swapping batteries once a week. I did not know that based on my preliminary data, the output drops quite a bit. I think the outboard battery pack migt be a good idea, but wait until I get some light output figures for them after at least 1 hour use. I may need a 3 hr test, too.

That said, if the power is dropping off fast with double AAA's, I would be tempted to add a power socket to the lights even if that means a short umbilical cord to an inline socket. You could pug in different packs (one on charger, one on the bike) or not as you prefer that way. You need at least 2 series AA which would almost triple power available. A 2S2P (2 series pairs in parralel for 4 AA's) would be 6 X and nice for twin lights.



crankyandy said:


> Now that's not something you see everyday! She's prettier than the sunsets.
> complete with badge and all, Love it


It warms the heart to see that someone has cared for it. I wonder it the rider's jacket is fringed, too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, I bet the rider is on the fringe.

Normbilt, it looks like you and your ride buddies do a good job of enjoying your ride to work. What do you have wrapped around your TT?

I used to have a D-Toplite that ran about a month on 2 x AA before the low bat indicator came on (never checked or thought about lower levels before the idiot light lit up). I wanted to put outboard batteries in that, not because the run time was short, but because my mounting made it a much longer job than normal to get to the battery box. Also, the thing was held together by sheet metal screws that would have had limited ins and outs before eventually stripping the threads in the plastic shell.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, I bet the rider is on the fringe.
> Normbilt, it looks like you and your ride buddies do a good job of enjoying your ride to work. What do you have wrapped around your TT?


I have a White Foam Packing material with white electrical tape to keep the brake levers from striking the Top Tube (TT)


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> +1 I especially hate beating into a SSW to SW wind that moves to W, then on the return freshens with another 5-8 mph and continues to rotate round so it is now NW to NNW for the return home. Add in terrain, and woods redirecting it straight down the road, and the weather dashes the hope for a wind supported sprint home.


Yikes! At least the winds here don't change direction.

The dairy I ride by has some nice piles of, er, cow refuse that sit right by the road (rather large rows of manure piled about 12 ft high). Earlier this week, they were out with a loader moving the mounds around. That is the worst stench I have ever smelled - the piles have been sitting out there for who knows how long in the sun, the rain, everything. They're pretty ripe. The weathered crust had been keeping the majority of the odor inside the piles until they moved them around. I try to go past that area quickly now. :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Trail ride today instead of commuting...all here are saddened by the death of local Vermonter Dave Blumenthal in the 2745 mi Tour Divide race after colliding with a pickup truck... even those of us who did not know him personally.
_
In Memory of Dave Blumenthal 
Submitted by Kevin Montgomery on June 24, 2010 - 4:10pm

It is with great sorrow that I convey to you that Dave Blumenthal passed away this morning in Denver after colliding with a vehicle on the GDMBR. Dave had a remarkable passion for the outdoors and was a seasoned outdoorsman, having thru-hiked Vermont's Long Trail in 2000 and the Pacific Crest Trail with his wife in 2004. His past adventures are documented on his blog. Dave is survived by his wife, Lexi, and his 4-year-old daughter, Linnaea.

Dave's family would like to thank the Tour Divide community for their thoughts and support through this tragedy. They ask that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to the Green Mountain Club. Lexi asks that people share their pictures of Dave and memories here.

Letters of condolences can be sent to lexi.shear [@t] post.harvard.edu

Our thoughts are with his family.
from http://tourdivide.org/blog2010?page=1_


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...all here are saddened by the death of local Vermonter Dave Blumenthal ...


Yeah, that sucks. As they used to say, "Major Bummer, man!"

On a lighter note, getting back into it now I am breathing much better. Have to build up callus (and speed) again though, Chamois Butter is a great thing. :thumbsup:

My last (short but steep) hill occurs before my 3 mile cool down, 0.7 miles from home. Today, I had 26 hard fought miles completed against dry winds at 85 * F and had few reserves left.. I had a line of vehicles behind me and my HR was a bit high for the beginning of a climb, so I pulled off to stand at the side of the road to let the line of vehicles by. Just after I resumed, (now with no momentum), another car crested the rise about 1/8 of a mile behind (30 mph zone, too often driven at 40-55 mph) as I took the hill as hard as I could go. I was over my Max HR (177 two years ago so about 175, I think) at 179, and about four car lengths from the stop sign at the top when I checked on the overtaking car. I was prepared this time when the driver began to pass on the blind hill. I thrust out my left arm at a down 45 degree down angle fingers splayed - a signal which I hoped would be interpreted as stop that (you idiot implied). I mean, they weren't to my fender yet. By the time the driver would actually be by me the car would be in the intersecion or past it. AND they couldn't see no one was coming. There wasn't, but they could not see that. Just what I need! An adrenalin dump while at over 100% HR. Sheesh! So hitting me isn't the only way they can kill - they have to try for the Cardiac Arrest!! I blew the stop and signalled my left turn in 400 feet to let the driver know I'd be out of the way shortly. They were a little more patient and held back.

I don't understand. This is the fourth driver who has tried this. (Less than 1%, though.) the first completely blew the stop and finished the pass in the intersection and completely surprised me and the oncoming pickup. The second I almost rammed when the driver cut me off and did stop, but he started sooner and was flying. If I had pulled right he'd have had a fender slap instead of bad words. Probably have lots of time to scream at me, had I done so, yet none to yield right of way safely and courteously. The third started to pass so late I thought she would was going to wait, so I was surprised again. She was left in the wrong lane when she found herself alongside me as I got to the stop sign which I blew. Then this one who also pulled out late (but I was ready THIS time), and who I convinced to back off. I hope this works. They have NO idea how much they endanger me with their lack of patience and breaking several traffic laws.

This hill/intersection is 0.7 miles from home and other than riding clear around to come east instead of west and exposing myself to a lot of city traffic, there is no alternative. I find it interesting all four occurences are since March this year. None before. Maybe I was climbing it just that bit slower now. :madman:

On a related topic, this is the second time in a week I have looked down to see my HR monitor report over 100% of my assumed max HR on an aggressive climb. Maybe coming off the medications has given me a bit more headroom in that department. No pain, twinges, tightening, or other symptoms, so this looks to be good. I looked down to check because I knew I was cranking it out and wanted to see how hard. I may need one that records.

I am beginning to think along the lines of pilots and landings: any ride you get home from with no more than some scrapes, bruises and contusions, is a good ride.

Ride safely. Ride on.

Brian


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

On a lunch ride an oncoming pickup decides to do donuts in the middle of Rte 2 (50 mph, not a country lane), but doesn't make it all the way around and hits a mailbox & phone pole in the opposite lane...driver leaves truck with the tail end still in the travel lane and marches right out toward the house with some papers in hand, my impression being they are mad. Meanwhile 5 people from trailer next door start running over. I continue my ride as it didn't look like anyone was in need of assistance, and maybe they were a bit nuts... on the way back through 30 min later, a bucket truck was already working on the pole, and no sign of the pickup. I called the local cops when I got back in case they wanted a witness, but apparently they had not responded. Gave them the plate # and my phone #. Quite strange, but luckily I was still a safe distance away when the pickup was flying around the road.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

That's some excitement! 

My rides have been quite uneventful lately. Only thing changing is the high of the day, so now I have been riding home from work in about 106-108 degree weather.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...driver leaves truck with the tail end still in the travel lane and marches right out toward the house with some papers in hand, my impression being they are mad.


Probably upset that somebody would put up a mailbox right there next to the shoulder of the road like that. The nerve!

It`s been screaming hot here! Close to 100 yesterday and rising this week. I don`t know how you handle it, Tom93. We bailed yesterday. Drove up and parked at Squaw Valley, then rode to Tahoe and up the West side of the lake for a few hours. This morning, I went for a low mileage/big climb solo ride in the SIerra.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

that was some experience xplorer 

nice pics rodar...love pics with lots of green

I'm back in the saddle tomorrow, I've been too distracted by the pugs (and soccer games ) these days... we planned to do a Park ride today but I'm still here at the office 
I even put the white halo's on the wife´s bike!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> On a lunch ride an oncoming pickup decides to do donuts in the middle of Rte 2 but doesn't make it all the way around and hits a mailbox & phone pole in the opposite lane...driver leaves truck with the tail end still in the travel lane and marches right out toward the house with some papers in hand, my impression being he is mad.


Driver muttering to himself, "Timing! TIMING!, Mailbox, pole, then cyclist! How many times are you going to screw it up!?"

Black humor, I know. But you have to revel in the moments when the bear doesn't get you. You're just nicely healed up, now right? Nice to dodge one. Weird, but very good.
:thumbsup:

Haven't had good speed lately. Worried. Should be faster, not slower with aero rims, lighter wheel/tires and more effective ratios. I needed to fit a ride in for weight/fitness but dusk was coming, so I used my 1 mile suburban cardio route. No wind tonight (unusual). Traffic very light as usual. Very safe. Neighbors know my bike lights. Especially with 900 lumens up front and about 280 lumens in tail lights! Twenty laps in 1 hour at 70-75% of max HR with ten minute warm up and cool down at either end to 65% or lower. So I guess I WAS fighting a LOT of wind the last week and not experiencing a huge loss of fitness. Nice to not have wind, stop signs, lights, or traffic (much) to deal with. :thumbsup:

Oh, and we are somewhere above 15 inches of rain so far in June, no wonder the mosquitoes are thick and riding between thunderstorms has been problematic!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

suddenly la Trurly is the fastest bike ever! :lol: I was a little afraid today though  my 1.95" tires felt like I was on 23mm or something, it was a little weird to try leaning on turns.

anyways, great wet commute today...last night it was raining cats and dogs.

I started to shot some video today, hopefully in one or two weeks I'll be able to post my video commute  (i don't want to post just a video shooting from the bike. I don't have how to hold the camera anyways :lol


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice 18 mi ride in from Sugarbush area where I had joined my friend's pool & pajama party las night with her nieces. Took it pretty easy as I have to get back up her hill for my car tonight. Holsteins & herefords grazing, cute calves running around, delicious looking red and green leaf lettuce growing at a veggie farm temptingly close to the road (they need one of those "honor system" farmstands), and the corn appears to have surpassed the "knee high by the 4th of July" requirement (is that everywhere or just here?).

Great pix, Rodar, makes you want to jump in.
No callback yet from the cops on yesterday's crashing donut driver.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I used to have a D-Toplite that ran about a month on 2 x AA before the low bat indicator came on (never checked or thought about lower levels before the idiot light lit up).


Check posts 39 on for latest runtime data on Radbot1000 with brand new 1000 mAhr AAA's.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=274251&page=2

The PBSF's do this drop off thing too, but it is at many more hours than I want to run a test.

In flash modes they will run longer. Again, for me it is easier to use the full-on runtime and swap batteries out early. It's easier on the batteries. Also a spare pair of AAA's don't take much room and don't weigh a lot.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> suddenly la Trurly is the fastest bike ever! :lol:


...,which is why you like pictures with a lot of green?

Thanks, MtbX. Knee high by the 4th of July? I never heard that one, but I`ve never spent a lot of time with the "aggies".

Brian, I don`t know whether that`s good (the 1000mHa bats) or not. You guys lose me in a FLASH on those threads.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...and the corn appears to have surpassed the "knee high by the 4th of July" requirement (is that everywhere or just here?) .


I am an Aggie, Ph.D. no less. So knee high by the Fourth of July indicates the corn will likely mature before frost. The next rule of thumb is In tassle (flowering) by August 1.

And no, not all corn is like that everywhere. In Southeastern Indiana, we had a lot of corn planted in April and with the heat we have it may well tassle in a week, two at most. If they missed that planting window or couldn't plant all their land, May was too wet until the last week, so there is a lot of corn that is in a race for knee high. Nitrogen fertilizer helps that a lot, and for June we had an average of 0.5 inches of rain a day, so the land was too wet until this week to apply it. So one fiels the corn is ten foot tall the next, not quite two.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, I don`t know whether that`s good (the 1000mHa bats) or not. You guys lose me in a FLASH on those threads.


OK. Amp measures current flow, milliamps measures 1/1000 amps. Flow over time is capacity, like 5 gallons per minute for ten minutes is 50 gallons. So mAhr is Milliamp-hours or how many thousandths of an amp an hour, a measure of storage capacity. 1000 mAhr is the same a 1 Ahr. I have some el cheapo Radio Shack 700 mAhr cells, some Eveready at 850 mAhr, and some Duracell 1000 mAhr cells. Now four new ones (On sale at Target AND a $2 coupon = half price! YES!)

In the first test the Radbot1000 ran 3 hours and petered out with the 700 mAhr NiMH cells. Since mfr's are well known for being aggressive with the storage number by measuring it with very low-draw devices, a 700 mAhr cell might be only 600 in normal use, add in years of use and discharging till all but dead, and it might only be 500 mAhr.

So, I repeated with brand new 1000 mAhr cells fresh off the charger. I get 4 hours to petering out. That is about 33% longer at slightly higher output for about 40% more storage capacity. So it wasn't the batteries. The Radbot1000 needs to be fed a steady diet of recharged NiMH cells to get its best and it dies (20% output) quickly (30 minutes after it starts to fade). I wouldn't push them more than 6 hours on either of the two flash modes.

You can PM me with any questions. I will help as much as I can.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Commutes have been pretty uneventful, except I've still been riding the off-road singlespeed: slow even on the dirt paths.

We now have what passes for real summer weather here: blue skies, daytime high should reach around 27 Celsius / 80 Fahrenheit today, with about 50% humidity.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Saw a nice red fox last night, with a lovely fluffy white tail tip... it crossed the road then just hung out in a yard looking around. Considered a pic, but I was going up the last steep hill, cameraphone was in my seatpack, and they can be rabid when they act a little too tame. Nice ride, it had dropped to the 60's, & I missed a downpour a couple hours before I left. Still 61F now, almost noontime.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...,which is why you like pictures with a lot of green?


:lol: 
I didn't get the notice mail of your post

yesterday we went on our postponed park ride, Wife was crazy fast on her halos...I was on the Pugs because I went to the river that is on the same park...but when we were on the MUT together I asked her to slow down a couple of times  
we took our car home.

rain last night wasn't exactly on time...this morning when I was going for la Trurly it was raining badly...Wife brought me to the office.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

I decided to take a different route today - I'm not sure why I never did it sooner! I found out that the path that follows the river continues north of the overpass I cross over to get to work. It is much more scenic than the road; I'll probably ride the path from now on. I did have to complete an obstacle course of sprinklers that were generously watering the path. 

The path dead-ends at the railroad tracks that pass right next to my building. The way under the bridge was too rocky to ride, so I got off and hoisted my bike on my shoulder, preparing to walk under the bridge and on up the hill to the building. I don't think I even took one step and I tripped; my knee landed on a rock. My bike ended up doing a headstand with the front wheel turned sideways and the handlebars wedged between two rocks. I also had my SLR around my neck and hanging by my right side - good thing I fell in the other direction. I'm glad no one was around to see me! :lol: I decided against carrying my bike and just pushed it (ungracefully) over the rocks and up the hill. I iced my knee on and off all morning and it feels fine right now. I am sure it'll be a different story tomorrow morning... I hope it's not too stiff; I'd like to ride since I probably won't get to this weekend.

I did manage to take some photos of my commute (finally). I'll try to get some posted soon.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hope you get a nicer (meaning without any incident) commute tomorrow RA.

Now I get these rains...I'm not into listening news, but my coworkers always are here to let me know important things 

Turns out we expect Alex to arrive tomorrow afternoon. (if you turn on Forecast Models, there are 3 green lines that put Alex just on top of MTY)

People is a little paranoid remembering Gilbert, saying that Alex could become stronger...but as far as I know that is unlikely to happen, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Edit: Schools already call it off for tomorrow, some jobs too...I haven't heard anything from our boss


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MtbX, too bad you didn`t get a pic of that fox. We have them around here, but I`ve only seen one in 18 years in my little valley and over 30 years in the general area. Are they common there? Very shy?

Ouch! Good luck with the knee, RA. You`re in a somewhat unique situation with all the bouncing you have on the screen for this summer- lots of new places, lots of exploring. How much longer in IF? And then where in the Sierra?

I wouldn`t hink Monterrey to be very threatened by hurricanes. Isn`t it a few hundred KMs from the gulf? Gilbert was still packing a big punch when it got inland so far?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Radioactive, hope yout knee is OK - ouch! It would be interesting to try the googlemaps bicycling option for your route & see if the path comes up or not. 

Rodar, we don't see foxes everyday, but they're pretty common, but often you just get a quick glimpse of them crossing the road or a field. Coyotes are shyer, I hear them quite a bit but rarely see them here. I worked for a guy in Maine that had hayfields & the resident fox would follow the tractor when he cut the hay because the rodents would be visible &/or injured for easy pickings for the fox. 

Martin, hope you make out OK in the storm - be careful!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeap, Gilbert struck hard here, not directly, the raining was what made the damage...a lot of water from the mountains and the city itself entered Santa Catarina River and the city wasn't prepared...there was streets crossing the riverbed and worst, there were people living there.

Here is a pic of Santa Catarina River on its usual state:









but the river is not that wide, as you can see from this view the actual river width is from Constitucion avenue to Morones Prieto (Soccer fields on the pic above are IN the riverbed)

and here you can see how it was in 1988 during Gilbert visit:






according to the vid, in two or three days it rain the whole year amount of water that it was usual in MTY.....at the end of the vid they show the houses that were build to locate the people that lived on the river sides...you can see there were a lot!

people say the official numbers just were 20 to 25% of the actual deaths.

After Gilbert, they build a Dam in La Huasteca, Presa Rompepicos, that is always dry, but people expect that will hold the water coming from the mountains.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Radioactive, hope yout knee is OK - ouch!


+1 done that with fishing gear in hand, not a bike. Good the kneecap took it.



mtbxplorer said:


> Rodar, we don't see foxes everyday, but they're pretty common, but often you just get a quick glimpse of them crossing the road or a field.


Had a den on a culvert last spring just up the road. At dawn the Vixen was trotting past our house trying to feed them. If they look skittish they are likely OK.

QUOTE=mtbxplorer]Martin, hope you make out OK in the storm - be careful! [/QUOTE]

+1 Floods after will be the worst of it. Thinking of you.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks guys...

If I were in the river today I would had a meter or two above me










when I was coming home , crossing the bridge I could tell the water was almost at the soccer fields already.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Foxes...
they are pretty common here but there's usually no time to get a camera or the light is too bad. Sometimes they aren't even shy. I remember one that got off the snow covered path when I approached but came back for a closer look.

My most spectacular fox encounter was when the fox was crossing a road and saw an approaching vehicle. It looked like it leaped about head high to get off the road and into the bushes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah! I just pedaled my recumbent for the first time! It isn`t done by any means, and the condition that it was in when I rode it is laughable- mega crank strike against the front tire, chain too short for anything but a small-small cross chain and dragging across the side of the fork, no cables whatsoever, and the seat filps up every time I sit down. Awesome! I expected a lot of issues to iron out, just wasn`t sure exactly what they`d be. The only one that really concerns me is the seat height. I can just barely toutch my toes to the ground when I`m starting and the only fix I can think of that would give it more than about one cm would be smaller wheels. Anyway, I`m super jazzed. I wish the plant were empty so I could take a big excursion through the paper storage warehouse. With all the supervisors and other people here tonight, I`m worried about taking it outside the shop. Not to mention forklifts and pedestrians, especially when I still have no brakes  

By the way, Martin- that`s a great picture of your Pugs!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah! I just pedaled my recumbent for the first time! .


Excited for you.:thumbsup:



rodar y rodar said:


> By the way, Martin- that`s a great picture of your Pugs!


+1 Where'd you stash the blade you used to cut that ditch?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Recumbent... If I ever get one, it is probably something like this:
http://www.raptobike.nl/low_gallery.php


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

not commuting today, by bike or car.
water pretty much reach the avenues level. 
rain is expected to end on Saturday! :crazy:
there are some leaks on my roof! now I'm getting paranoid!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I finally have a car again so I've been putting some miles on her (fresh engine for nacho). I was going to ride this morning, so last night I put my bike in the stand, wiped down the chain, pumped up the tires and was inspecting them when I found a section about four inches long where the rubber was completely worn through to the casing 

On Sunday I did a long ride, and near home a motorist cut me off, resulting in a short burst of skid by the rear wheel. I guess they were low enough on life for that to do it in.

Darn now I have to buy new bike goodies. I was running Specialized Mondo Pro's - not a single flat in like 2000 miles and loved 'em. I'll probably go with the same thing again unless you guys have another line on the hotness in 700x23c tires these days. Looking for good performance and superior flat protection. There are few things in life that I despise more than flats.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Thanks for all the well wished on the knee, guys! It seems okay; I am not noticing any ache, just soreness from the abrasion and the beautiful deep purple bruise. I think icing it all morning after the incident really helped. I ended up driving in today... only partly because of my knee. I was also rather tired this morning and I need to run some errands this evening before I head out to Portland tomorrow morning.

Yikes, martin! Take care in that storm!

Rodar, I have one more month up here in IF. I extended my stay by a week, but that is all I can do if I want to go to the Sierra. My SO and I have hiked the John Muir Trail the past couple years and we're making it a yearly trip while we still have the time (no full-time jobs, etc.). I think this year we'll be starting at Glacier Point in Yosemite and will take about 18 days to get to Mt. Whitney. I love it in those mountains; I don't know if you can get more scenic than that.  

Oh, and good luck with the recumbent! I enjoyed riding recumbents when we had a few around campus (all of our Human Powered Vehicle entries were recumbents. I think they've since been trashed, all except the carbon fiber tandem). I've thought a little about building one myself...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

this is how the river is today:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> not commuting today, by bike or car.
> water pretty much reach the avenues level.
> rain is expected to end on Saturday!


With those big fat tires on your newest, I don`t see that you have any excuse for not riding. I`m sure it will float, probably with both you AND your wife on board. All you need to do is rig up an outrigger and hit it!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

martinsillo said:


> this is how the river is today:


That does not look like fun...

It will be a while before my next commute. Not a bad looking day to start my summer holidays:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Finally stopped raining here, hoping the trails dry out for the long weekend, which is forecast to be hot & sunny. Martin, hope the river levels are starting to recede there, looks like there will be a lot of damage -hope all are safe! 

Rodar, that is very cool that you can pedal it now - good luck with the fixes!

Good news on a MTB'r airlifted off my trails here near work last weekend; despite a severe head injury, the reports are that they expect her to be fine.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Martinsillo: I was afraid of that.

Perttine: Enjoy!

mtbxplorer: understand we were drowned here last month. Nice to know about the injured posting a recovery in progress.

Guess I found out why you replace old 5 speed RD's even if they will run 11-32 9 speed. Lost a spring and sent it into the spokes. Oh well better dead at 26 years old than cluttering up my spare parts as too good to throw away and too crappy to use. Had to call the cavalry (spouse) so lost 3 miles off the comute. So new shift cable housing, and RD. Upgrade by increments.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ouch, Brian! On your new wheels? I expect the wheel didn`t care?

How now, Martin? The weather report looks like your rain has subsided, but I guess the river is still way up?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeap rodar, river is still up, right now is raining too...but we had a nice gap of no rain today...government declared MTY as a Disaster Zone yesterday, lot of damage will be left, lots of bridges are down, parts of the river "border avenues" felt into the river yesterday, in one section of Morones Prieto, there was only one lane of the original four.










Lots Houses are down or flooded. it is pretty sad.

last I heard, mm of water were above of what MTY got on Gilbert already...near 600mm.

Government said Presa Rompepicos, the dam at the mountains, did its job...but no TV station have showed it yet :skep:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ouch, Brian! On your new wheels? I expect the wheel didn`t care?


No thank goodness, the Mercian has a Centaur Triple 10 speed long cage that cost more than my crankset. They haven't made a long cage RD since 2006, (I bought it NOS in 2008), though you could rebuild it, since they have parts unlike some mfrs.

No, It was on the Schwinn. Those are inexpensive 700C wheels, new last fall to convert it from 27 inches and from 2 x 6 to 1 x 9. No harm to the wheel as the spokes are cheaper straight gauge SS, I was shifting down at a stop sign, inching to the car ahead. and not powering a load up a grade. The changer went about 15-20 degrees around the wheel by the time I stopped or it stopped me.

Damage: 
1 chain. (I can't trust this one as slightly bent links mess up shifting terribly. I have a new spare.) The steel RD hanger to straighten.
An RD to select and buy, 
New cable and housing to set it up.

That will be the whole drivetrain except the friction shifter replaced and upgraded since March. It is a 1 x 9 now. More upset I couldn't complete the run. But the RD cage looks like modern art, no way to kludge a repair to finish. Need to ride it more to pay for the repairs!

martinsillo: Man! Praying that the dam continues doing its job well. 600+ mm in a day or two. Wow! Last summer we had 350 mm in a span of 8 hours. That flooded a lot of people but we don't have mountains to help swell rivers. Hard to imagine.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yowza! Here in Reno, we average 7.5 inches per YEAR. And most of that comes from snow, which generally (hopefully) melts gradually even if it falls in a short period of time. That`s about one third of what you heard fell over the course of a few days.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeah Brian, the Dam did the job, I was too skeptical:

















My first Pugs test ride was on the no flooded side of that dam









well it is sort of flooded now...but it would be worst if the dam wasn't there


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had high hopes for last night, but things went downhill in a hurry. I left for work four hours early to get some work done on the Super Freak and take a new batch of pictures. Since it was still light out, I was able to ride my road bike (a special treat). Leaving my yard, the neighbor`s dog chased me all the way to the street, taking the first bite out of my bright outlook, which I suppose is better than taking a bite out of my leg. I got to work and just started making an idler for the return chain when I heard a call over the radio that the bearings on a main press drive sheave were on fire- usually not a good sign. Well, crap. I started putting away my bike parts and punched in as soon as I heard the call because it meant I was going to be crawling around on the press frame very soon. We had the whole sheave down and into the shop by a little after midnight, but the bearing had welded itself to the shaft and we couldn`t even get it off after cutting the inner race into sections with a cutoff disc. Had to spend another three hours stealing another one from a press that`s been mothballed for a few months. My boss let me go home when my regular shift ended, but he`s going to be there all day doing the install and laser alignment, then we`ll have to do it all over again when we get the parts to put the other press back together. It was a lot more upper body workout than I`m used to and I ache all over.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

this is how the river is today:









we still have shower rains from time to time
I'm at the office again...will call to my shower place to check if they have water so I can commute again tomorrow

damage is amazing:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy cow! You guys got it worse than the coast! What`s with the fire?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

an electric transformer explode near a broken pipe gas line...what are the odds? :crazy:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> an electric transformer explode near a broken pipe gas line...what are the odds? :crazy:


Since the rights of way for both utilities tend to be the same or close, the odds are better than you'd guess.

Good to have a job to go to, showers or no, under the circumstances. Doesn't look like you'll be riding that river road for a while.

I use my lights day or night, but I like them most for riding summer nights, when it's cooler. The tailights make a big red patch behind the rear fender on unlit roads. I had reigned the low beam in, but motorists entering the road don't see that narrow beam well. So I am riding with a fairly wide medium bean and likely it's a bit glaring. Sure intimidates the drivers from hooking me! Safety trumps courtesy, though I may get two of the three LEDs a little more narrowed. Not much traffic to deal with either, also helps.

Mosquitoes help keep the speed up. Low miles in June because of rain and allergies, set me back in fitness. I am getting back my form, 16.5 mph mean for my short loop which includes city, minus time at lights. Rest pulse is not dropping as fast as it should after rides, so some fitness remains to be regained and maybe I'll knock another 5-6 minutes off and get back to my former 17.5-18 mph pace for that route in a few more weeks.

Lost weight in lower frequency rides, which is a pleasant surprise. Approaching 200 pounds (from the higher side, of course). Soon, I will no longer be Clyde! The last 20 has been the hardest. Maybe 10 to go. Won't know till I'm there. That should help my speed, too!

Ride safe. Ride on.

Brian


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well, I'll try to go there tomorrow  (or may be after-tomorrow)


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Saturday I rode in 4th of July Parade in Palatine. The Red One in the Middle with the white tires is Mine which I rode to work and back home


This Morning I rode to Arlington Heights IL before work 
(Yes I was one of the few who worked today),

The Governor of Illinois was at Campbell Street Bicycle Shop this morning 
signing the following into laws:

1) LIB's bill creating permanent Share the Road license plates for Illinois. Plate income would sustainably fund our statewide education campaigns for both motorists and bicyclists. The plate design itself delivers the message, with a Share the Road sign and the phrase "Same Rights, Same Rules".

2) Sen. Silverstein's bill establishing penalties for motorists driving recklessly and unnecessarily close to, toward, or near a bicyclist. Depending on whether serious injuries result, this will be either a Class A misdemeanor or Class 4 felony.

Here I ran in to Cindy One of my Favorite Customers


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice pics. 

We almost got the laws changed here in Indiana for the first time in maybe 70 years. It is still illegal to remove a hand from the bars for anything other than signaling. So DT shifters have never been legal unless you stop to change ratios.  Water break: stop. Turn on lights? Stop. Scratch? Stop. Flip someone off? Wait! That's a signal. Probably protected speech, too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great bikes, Norm! Wish I had been there, but it would have been quite a long trip.



Normbilt said:


> 2) Sen. Silverstein's bill establishing penalties for motorists driving recklessly and unnecessarily close to, toward, or near a bicyclist.


In other words, "Driving closer than practicable"? It`s the thought that counts, I guess.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Norm - perfect ride for he 4th, and I'm always amazed how clean all your white tires are!

Martin, that looks like a pretty rugged commute by any method. Do you have water & power at your place or was it knocked out? I know that gets old quick!

Hotter than normal here, 90's today, but 72 now for an early commute start.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

fortunately power was never gone...water on the other hand was on the lowest pressure possible for almost two days, we were able to constantly gather some and use it on the basic stuff and of course to take our baths  it was bearable...I have to admit we were in heaven compared to others.

last night it rained all night...this is turning really annoying...weather is all messy.

I'm thinking my first commute after Alex is not going to be anytime soon


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

VT statehouse about halfway to work this a.m. The granite traveled the 11+/- mi from Barre quarries using 4 horses and 2 oxen; it was a long "commute", about 18 hours/load. Not sure how they managed the downhills, I imagine that was pretty dangerous. Speedy commute today for me, avg'd 15.8 mph over the 22 mi & got up to 44mph on my hill.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

looks like a beautiful day xplorer!...are you commuting on the cross bike daily now?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> looks like a beautiful day xplorer!...are you commuting on the cross bike daily now?


Yes, I've been commuting on the cross bike and put new tires on the MTB for trailrides. I'll switch back when I need the studded tires & disc brakes for the winter.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

this ones from one of the Residential Areas that was built on a river bed....where do this guys thought the water was going to go on such event?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ouch! We only have it hot, thank goodness.

Watch that first step, its a Deusey!

Looks beyond BMX skills, to me.

Water on the move: a powerful force.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s amazing, Martin. Are they news service photos, or did you take them? Is it a large area that got it so bad, or only in a few washes?

In very local news, a cyclist was rear ended by a deputy sheriff yesterday afternoon about four miles from me and is not expected to live. Early reports didn`t give the victim`s name, pending notification of his family, so about the time the evening news ran my phone started ringing off the hook, friends and family making sure that I wasn`t the as yet unnamed cyclist. So far, no detailed account of exactly what happened at the scene. All they`ve said is that the deputy was responding to a nonemergency call, cruiser and bicycle were both heading "East" (on a N-S road?) in the same lane, and that speed did not appear to be a factor. I want to know if there was other traffic preventing the deputy from moving over (two lanes each way at tha point) , if the cyclist suddenly changed his line (very rough surface since last years repaving), or if the deputy just plain didn`t see him and ran him right over. That particular stretch of road is far from an idyllic route, but isn`t the worst either.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> In very local news, a cyclist was rear ended by a deputy sheriff yesterday afternoon about four miles from me and is not expected to live. ... That particular stretch of road is far from an idyllic route, but isn`t the worst either.


Sorry it happened. Glad it wasn't you. Welcome to our nightmare. Rear enders are the rarest of car-bike accidents. One here summer of 2008. Drunk driver.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

wow rodar, that is just wow! as BMc said glad it wasn't you.

well the last ones were taken by the locals I guess, I received it trough an email....the others I've been posting are from these guys.

from what I've heard it wasn't just one street


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Commuted around town and it didn't go well.

I was at a four way when I was about half way through putting too much torque I guess (46x16) and my wheel slid forward and kicked my chain off no falling though. Well right after my non drive side crank was loose, luckily I was about 2 minutes from a LBS.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, that is a littler too close to home, scarey and very sad. 

Record highs here yesterday, 95 in Burlington & 77 on Mount Mansfield (at 4393', the highest, but not the one on the VT quarter, that is Camels Hump at 4083'). Took the long way to Waitsfield, 19mi (added 5 mi but avoided the 5 mi hill). Stayed at my friend's & awoke to a flat rear tire. While changing the tire and swatting insects, it occured to me that a good addition to the seatpack would be one of those insect repellent towlettes that come in little foil packs. I have taken them MTB'g before but seems they could be handy on the commute as well if you have to stop. The rest of the ride was uneventful but already warm.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*Tropical Depression Two* is arriving Nuevo Leon tonight...the forecast for this part of Mexico is pretty discouraging...we heard on the news that there is a chance that about 18 storms/TDs (with chances to become hurricanes) take the same path that Alex did....this pretty much kill our chances for a sunny summer  ...I certainly prefer the 45°C days we had last summer!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> *Tropical Depression Two* is arriving Nuevo Leon tonight[/URL!




Just saw it on the Weather Channel. We're hoping to get some leftovers on the last one tonight and tomorrow and REALLY need it after being nearly drowned in June. This current one may do the same Monday-Tuesday for the Ohio Valley. So here's hoping it keeps some moisture to come our way and not dump so much in your area.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The guy who was run over by the deputy died this morning. He was only 21. They had apparently been keeping him on life support since the accident in order to "harvest" his organs. The state police, who are investigating the incedent, are still very tight lipped concerning the details.

http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=22229&n=122


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

That sucks the dude died.

I didn't commute today or yesterday due to enormous blisters on the balls of my feet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Somewhat annoying yesterday! Started out with one of those overnight flats, so I was late getting going & a little late to work. About a 1/2" slice through the tire, but only a nick in the tube; no sign of the culprit. It was so hot that on the way home I got off the bus early & went to the swimming hole first, to cool off and let the sun sink behind the hills a bit before riding. I was sweaty by the time I changed back into bike stuff, but it was defintely shadier. About 10 miles home from here, maybe 8 of it on dirt. Those 8 were annoying because it was much rougher and dustier than the last time I took it, and I probably had less patience in the heat. Plus in the back of my mind, worrying about a flat because I forgot to patch the tube at work after using my spare in the a.m. Finally got within 1/2 mi of home, and 3 dogs chased me on the biggest uphill, one snarling and baring his teeth. Got home and it had dropped to 77 outside but was 85 inside since I'd shut all the windows.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> The guy who was run over by the deputy died this morning. He was only 21. They had apparently been keeping him on life support since the accident in order to "harvest" his organs. The state police, who are investigating the incedent, are still very tight lipped concerning the details.
> 
> http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=22229&n=122


Poor kid, that is terrible. I hope they can figure out what happened.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> The guy who was run over by the deputy died this morning. He was only 21.


I didn't know him, yet words fail me.

My son turned 21 this past May, that may be part of it. There but for the grace of God....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, how do you manage to get sweaty while swimming? Bummer about the dogs- I just triumphed (I hope) over my neighbor`s dogs a few days ago with a little help from teh county animal control officer. So far, so good.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Been VERY warm, but the flowers, butterflies, hummingbirds, beees, hawkmoths have all been busy. Some rain today and we needed it.

Some of the last blooms on the prickly pear. It was covered 4 weeks ago but I didn't hav a macro feature on a new camera to play with then!


Some daylilies:






Have to improve my focusing a bit yet, consider them impressionistic.

The Duchess before the ride with pump and lights in place. Battery's in the bag (why it droops).


Near the end of a perfect day:


(Fire supply and scenic pond 600 feet from my house. taken from east side about 1400 feet from my house.)

Pond on golf course with flash showing reflectors and lighting.


With the headlight hidden by right brake lever to keep from messing the exposure/flash up.


With enough skylight to keep the flash at bay, we see the active lighting only (no reflectors) in twilight.


Add the reflector an ANSI vest a helmet with lightweights, high bean and taillight, plus less traffic and I may be safer at night as long as the drivers aren't drunk. The red spot lights need to be tipped down a little. They light street signs both sides of my street 100 feet and more back. Like the Dinotte lights do. Not that bad on the eyes/night vision because they are red.

Ride safe. Ride on.

Brian.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

"impressionistic" ? :lol:
The Duchess is a beauty.

guess what?...yes..it was raining tonight 

I am sort of sad about my blog...isn't there a sort of internet etiquette about it?...I started the blog a few months back now, and have kept it sort of active with some bike related stuff right?...well, these guys from Colombia bought the ".com" site of my blog name...they started some sort of classifieds site for bikes...started a facebook group...etc., etc.

a month ago when they came up with the idea..shouldn't they asked me about it?

I mean, I did it when I started unautomenos and some guys in Chile were using it as campaign on their site.

of course I dreamed about buying the site, of course I thought about it...I just didn't do it.... 

but what really piss me off is that:
of course I would have bought it as soon someone asked me about using it!

don't know 

*notice I didn't named the blog or page on the post..in order to keep out of google search for now...I'm thinking about writing to them something or not.

or should I think of this as propaganda for my blog?...anyways it piss me off


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sorry, Martin. I don`t know enough about websites to even understand the situation you describe. I hope it works out for you, though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> "impressionistic" ? :lol:


I had a lot of trouble getting the software set up, the phone recognized, and the pictures transferred so I was a bit disappointed that they were not as in focus as they appeared to be on the cell phone screen. Live and learn. Though you'd like them anyway.



martinsillo said:


> The Duchess is a beauty.


Thanks. The conversion was worth it. Truly round rims are amazing!



martinsillo said:


> guess what?...yes..it was raining tonight


How far along are you with the Ark, then? Stationary bike powered?



martinsillo said:


> I am sort of sad about my blog...isn't there a sort of internet etiquette about it?...I started the blog a few months back now, and have kept it sort of active with some bike related stuff right?...well, these guys from Colombia bought the ".com" site of my blog name...they started some sort of classifieds site for bikes...started a facebook group...etc., etc....anyways it piss me off


Sorry. No idea here either.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

They do have kind of a pleasant Monet-ish look to them.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Uhh, there's some reddish areas in my skin... not from commuting, not riding a bike ...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

today the day was great..sunny and no rain...
I'm having a full weekend at the office... 

we are thinking about moving out... rent somewhere else...the wife saw a beautiful place about 15 km farther from the office...that will put me in a near 25km bike commute...I don't think we are going to go for it... but I already said that if we do it I'm going to need a faster/lighter commuter bike! 

no stationary bike at home yet Brian.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, sorry to hear of your blog being web-jacked! A friend had a .net site for her business practically since the internet began, and someone registered the same name as a .com and has been trying to sell it to her for years, I think they started at $5000, which she did not have anyway. If you are lucky, they will be unsuccessful and die out or offer it to you super cheap. I would not look too anxious to buy it if I were you, but an email along the lines of "Perhaps you were not aware of my blog..." couldn't do any harm.

Still warmer here than I'd like, but worse are the deerflies this year, they will just about carry you away if you slow down enough, try to take a hike, etc. Somehow when you swat them away, they return to the same spot. It may be due to the big bat die off from the mysterious white nose syndrome...80-90% of the bats dead in some caves. 

Rode the 22 mi to work & bused halfway back to speed my return. One obnoxious CRV driver blaring her horn made me jump...and not even a poor excuse for it, as dump trucks, garbage trucks, etc could pass just fine.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Wet and dark on the way home, didn't bring any rain gear, but I was still sweating, god I love the summer! Came real close this time though, I almost got hit head on,....................by a toad.................:eekster:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeah I guess I should have done that xplorer... :lol:
instead, I post in my blog something on the lines of what I expose here...I know they are visiting my blog...some unexpected peak of visits are going on...let's see what happens...their site is down right now 

yeah, those unexpected horns... :crazy:

no rains in 3 days! awesome warm here!

I was able to ride yesterday at the river:









and had a nice encounter:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^ Mother and child reunion?
I`m glad you`re finally drying out- hope it stays like that for a while.

It`s roasting here, like February in Phoenix. This is my first day of a three month swing shift stint and I did NOT enjoy the afternoon sun on my way in. Let my tire pressure get too low and pinch flatted when I jumped the curb to get in the back gate at the plant.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^^ Mother and child reunion?


Or it likes jumping more than curbs, pinch flat or no. 

Nice pic of theme and theme bike. Looks like some decent scavenging potential. Do you need a trailer, martinsillo?

Hate the random car horns. Teenagers? - Well they're teenagers. Adults? Or supposedly responsible adults, well... That's a horse of a different color or a posterior part of one. :madman: +

My worst was a young woman (mid twenties) who thought I should be riding to the right of the fog line on the 8" of pavement there. She also attempted to push me over and almost sideswipped me with no traffic in sight and an entire unused left lane at her disposal! She almost got a door kick but I was too busy trying not to be hit. The follow up to a kick would have been interesting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, the Pug looks right at home...we have a running joke here about men and yellow equipment...once they get on it something takes over their mind and they just can't stop until they have "conquered the earth".

Rodar, I saw your area on the weathermap today...now I feel bad for complaining about 95 degrees.

Pert, how are the red spots doing?

No horns this morning! Riding to an evening meeting at the town office about those quarry trails..fastest route is up 12% max grade...1% more than my usual hill home...yikes!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: thanks guys..the bike is so much fun.

trailer? like to move the bike? :lol:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The red spots weren't all that bad but I think my nose is a bit discolored still 

There must be more than just temperature to how the weather feels. My high´temperature today was around 33 Celsius (low 90s Fahrenheit) with 33% humidity.... and me and the dog have been just about dying.

I still recall that I got used to these temps, and warmer, during my temp jobs in South Eastern Europe and the Middle East. I had a colleague from Lebanon, in Croatia, and he said he was hot in the flatlands of Croatia.

I think I'll try to do a little urban/trail ride once the sun creeps a little bit lower...


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Hahahahahaha :lol: I just got it,..........the joke I mean.:yikes:


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

My commute yesterday and today went really well. I have a long, steep singletrack, windy uphill that takes me about 5-7 minutes to climb, with a couple walking sections and I usually stop a few times to catch my breath. Well, recently I managed to get my stops down to only 3 stops, and yesterday I managed the climb in only 2! I was pretty pumped... We'll see if I can continue that every day or not...

We had some hot-for-me weather last week (37°C/98°F), but now some rains yesterday and today and suddenly we're back down to about 15°C/59°F... The weather can't make up it's mind I guess... And why is it that the wind always manages to turn around 180° by the time I have to ride again, meaning I always have to buck a headwind both ways???  Dang Murphy and his stupid laws...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

csmac2004 said:


> Well, recently I managed to get my stops down to only 3 stops, and yesterday I managed the climb in only 2! I was pretty pumped... We'll see if I can continue that every day or not...


Whoohoo! Go git em!

About that reversing wind thing- I used to be pretty sure that it like to reverse for me too, but lately I`ve come up with a different theory. Since reversing winds would mean tailwinds for somebody going the other way (and we know that that don`t happen), I`m thinking now that the wind just follows the left side of the road. That`s how it happens to be against you both ways and still not give the other guy a hand either. Of course, I could be wrong, but....


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...I`m thinking now that the wind just follows the left side of the road. That`s how it happens to be against you both ways....


LOL!!! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the explanation, that clears up a lot!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride last night. Had to move to beat the mosquitoes though. Some really big ones. Averaged over 23 mph on 17+ miles at about 70% max rate after a slow warm up at 13 mph, so the asthma/allergy reduced riding is being overcome.



Normally there'd be at least two Indiana Brown Bats winging over this pond at this time in the evening. Now that *mtbxplorer* , mentions it, I haven't seen them in their usual numbers in their usual haunts like over the driveway light at home. Their flights are 3D ballet and they may keep those monster mosquito numbers down.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

Good ride home last night... I finally got the "explorer" bug, and found a new trail home which turned out to be a lot of fun. A lot more technical in spots than my normal trail, but I will be doing it again for sure...:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Looks like fun exploring, csmac.

I had a good ride in, but foggy, glasses needed windshield wipers & I put the blinkie on. I was early and stopped about 4 mi from work at the bakery for an iced coffee & maple glazed bun - yummy. 

Had a scare at 11:30 when I saw my Irena (orange cyclocross bike) being pedalled away from the porch where I'd parked it. I usually lock it but it was at home...I hoped that someone mistook it for one of the community bikes, though it seemed hard to believe they would think we had upgraded the fleet so much. Even if they had taken it as a community bike, I was concerned it might disappear when they went into the p.o., sandwich shop or wherever on their errands. So I went to look for it in a car, hitting the likely errand spots, sidestreets etc. No sign of her! But when I returned to work, it was back on the porch, apparently no worse for the wear. Yikes! Won't be leaving it there unlocked again. 

A cyclist from St J, VT disappeared on a 1 hour ride Sunday morning and it took until Tuesday to find him...apparently he hit a guardrail, and went over it, falling 25' to a stream. Dead...at least by the time they found him 2 days later. The autopsy showed no sign of a vehicle being involved or "foul play".


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

community bikes at work...nice!...your situation, really scary though, glad you find it.

it is always a shame to lose a fellow rider.

*OT: I did what you recommend...erase my post on the blog and write them an email, I also apologize in case they already read the post...no answer yet.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Hot! With a low of 94 last night here in Tempe it must have been already close to 100 for my ride in to work. They are calling for 114 for the high, will make sure to refill my water bottles for the ride home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Andy Muzi owner of The Yellow Jersey, Madison, WI., saw a bike he had not sold ride by and caught the cyclist, dismounted heim and took the bike back to the shop. Unfortunately two gendarmes wer having coffe and donuts and thought they had observed a bicycle theft. He had a lot of explaining because they couldn't believe you could tell one bike from another, thus explaining a large part of why a limited edition bike had not been found while riding the streets openly. Also shoes that what you thought you saw may NOT be what you actually saw. Context is everything.

At their inception in 1971, they had communal bikes but they eventually ended up in peoples garages, dumped in the lake, thrown out rather than returned. It only takes a few inconsiderates...

While death taxes, and maybe Murphy's Law are inevitable, losing any of us in so pointless a fashion diminishes us all, it hurts more that he was a cyclist. 

So did someone pick the bike up and drive off without looking for the rider and not clue in when a rider went missing, or did it go over, too? "Gee, nice bike just left here by this guardrail. Interesting black marks on the road and rail!. Hmmm, the front wheel's busted but that can be fixed..."


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Beautiful ride home last night around 9:30. I went to something called "Alive After 5" in downtown Idaho Falls after work with some of the other interns - it's live music and beer and happens every Wednesday; very fun. We stopped at the beer (and wine) bar - the only decent one in town I've found (there are a couple microbreweries here, too) and had a beer. They have some outstanding beers in there. We then hit up one of the microbreweries for dinner and then I rode home - through downtown, past the river... the temperature was perfect, probably mid 60s. The sun had set, but it wasn't quite dark yet... I should do more evening rides. I wished I had brought my camera; the river was beautiful. 

I think my boyfriend is coming into town for the weekend, but he won't tell me one way or the other (makes it rather difficult to make plans). I think he wants to surprise me. If he does show up, we'll spend the weekend in Yellowstone. If not, I am thinking about hitting up one of the local mtb trails that I just found out about (only 15 miles from town!).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Not much to report. I just want to say that all of you who commute to work on singletrack really suck.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

R-active, that reminds me, i did snap a pic with the phone one the way home last night:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, community bikes sounds great. But if we had them here, it wouldn`t be two weeks before they had all disappeared. I`m glad you got yours back.

Two days to find a cyclist who went AWOL on a road ride- I can believe it. When you think about how long it takes to searrch all the nooks and cranies of an area, I could believe even longer. I hope he wasn`t laying there sreaming and unable to move for a long time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ratcrap- double post! Well, I may as well make use of this post too 
I don`t know what the thermometer says, but I`m ready for October. We`re starting to have trouble with equipment overheating in the plant, so it isn`t just the people who are hot and cranky. After a week of swing shift, I sure feel good. It`s been a long time since I slept as long without interruptions as I`ve been managing this week. It`s amazing how clear my head is just by getting regul;ar sleep. An electrician who works with me is an occasional MTBer and recently started riding his hardtail to work. I left as fast as I could yesterday hoping to buzz him and scare the tar out of him on his way home, but I guessed his route wrong. I shouldn`t have told him about it- I could have had a second chance tonight.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Not much to report. I just want to say that all of you who commute to work on singletrack really suck.


I get 30 feet in one section and 100 in another rft: take that city slicker!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Had to go and return a book to the library. Missed the 4 week deadline by a couple of days, so had to pay a 60 cent penalty.



















(on the left, the thing that looks like a flying saucer is part of the library)


















(this piece of trail is getting a bit skinny. I think that is a bus behind the trees, about 1/4 from the top, in the center)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MMmmm... tasty, Perttime. It looks nice and cool there as well as pretty. Are you thinking about a replacement bike yet?


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

NIce pics, perttime! I had another great ride home yesterday on the new trails, and now this morning I ventured out and even discovered more coming to work. What a blast!:thumbsup:

When I started this whole commute, I didn't dare venture into the areas I'm riding in now, as that involved too much climbing just to get there... Amazing what doors open up when a guy is in better shape (speaking of which, I'm down 24lbs already this summer because of commuting, yay biking)!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> It looks nice and cool there as well as pretty. Are you thinking about a replacement bike yet?


It is still warm enough to make me sweat when I ride. So it is warm enough :thumbsup:

Replacement for the steel trail bike? I found a very good price on a Chromag Stylus frame and decided to see if I like riding a rigid bike on trails. I still need a different bar and stem, but you get the idea:


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

I'm not a fan of SS yet (can't really say that I guess, I haven't actually tried it yet), but that is a nice looking ride to be sure!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

My area is pretty good for SS: on trails I am going up or down all the time but neither lasts very long. So even I can get to the hill tops, SS, and gravity makes me fast enough on the way down 

I have also ordered a Blackspire Stinger chain guide to use as a tensioner: that magic gear is not quite magical enough.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

commutes started to be very sweaty...I dig it due to the calories burned in the process...what I hate the most is that I have always felt that I sweat the most after taking my bath :crazy:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi folks. Just checking in. About 4 more weeks of glorious summer break before I'll be commuting again...but I have two cool updates for you:

1. I am still suffering in the chamois area from the Tahoe charity ride I do every year... put in 85 miles on ol' Special Ed and took home the 'most miles' trophy this year. :thumbsup: All that commuting pays off in terms of foundational fitness. Roughly 9k vertical feet of climbing, 70% singletrack... waaaaay harder than the only century (road) I've ever done. Loving the hardtail 29er, but some sections of Tahoe singletrack are sketchy for a hardtail at all, let alone a big-wheel. It climbs like a goat though. 

2. I'm outside the other day, and a dude stops in my driveway on a mountian bike (2009 Trek fuel, very nice components) I offered him some water and the use of my air compressor...turns out he's a 78 (!) year old guy who's been riding his whole life, and he does a 17 mile loop past my house every week or so... I could tell he was sort of sizing me up, quizzing me about bikes... and finally he says "have you ever seen the singletrack between the road up above you and the paved road?" True story...this guy started building a secret trail in the early 90's with a couple other guys (he must have been 60 something when he started). So I jumped on the bike and he gave me the grand tour of what will be the new 3 mile portion of singletrack on my commute. Unbelievable. I've lived here 5 years and never stumbled on it. They hid the beginning to hide it from dirt bikes. It will extend the commute by 15 minutes or so and add some climbing, but it is sweet. Yet another option for the ride. I'm almost looking forward to school. 

Haven't finished the drop-bar 29er project, but I will. Even more stoked on that project now that I know it will see some trail use. I'll catch up with you all in mid August. Keep the rubber side down!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Howdy, CB! Sounds like good news- see you in Septemeber.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Just back from a family get together in the Waterloo-Kitchener-Cambridge, Ontario, Canada area. The number of cyclists, bike lanes, paths etc were wonderful to see and see being used. I couldn't have freed any time to ride, so I didn't bring The Duchess. Wish I could have.

Nice CB.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

I was like an inch away from a bat hitting me tonight.
It was coming right at me


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You mean the mamal variety or the wooden/aluminum kind?


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Mammal Kind


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Enjoy bats eating bugs in the wild while you can:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_d91106eb-886b-5889-8acf-6ed21943ffb1.html

This will have a major ecological impact as they help keep insect populations in check.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bats are pretty cool to watch. We have a bridge on the other end of town with kazillions that all come out of the expansion joints at sundown. It`s fun to go watch them- in the summer they swarm out so thick that it looks like smoke for a few minutes.

Commutewise, things are doing better this week. It`s stiill hot, but reduced to the bearable side of the line. Since my play bike has been rideable, that`s been sucking up all my time, either riding (slowly, so not many miles even if they were tracked) or tinkering. Not that I`m complaining, but my mileage isn`t growing much. Most of this month the only mileage I`ve logged on the computers has been to work and back. A little bit extra this week because my truck is in the shop, but I`m still looking at the shortest mileage month of the year. Good thing I have vacation time left over to (hopefully) knock out some real distances in the Fall


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> You mean the mamal variety or the wooden/aluminum kind?


LOL! Oh, and the bats coming up the expansion joints must be quite a sight. Would be kind of freaky if they decided to make their appearance while riding over the cracks...  Don't think we have that many up here in BC (haven't seen them), but while living in some swamp-type lands in Alberta, I had researched about building bat houses to help fight our mosquito infestations for sure!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've been having daily thunderstorms. I have managed to miss them all. I had a slight incident yesterday when traffic stopped suddenly on a steep hill. My rear tire broke lose a bit, but fortunately I was braking mainly with my front brake and was able to pull it off smoothly. I didn't feel like slamming into someone's trunk.

The humidity has been pretty bad. The dew point has been hanging out in the mid 70s with it peaking at 80 yesterday. The temps have been in the 90s. The bonus to all of this is that we've been having some magnificent lightning storms.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

csmac2004 said:


> LOL! Oh, and the bats coming up the expansion joints must be quite a sight. Would be kind of freaky if they decided to make their appearance while riding over the cracks...


It is quite a sight! But you don`t need to worry about them flying up at you while you`re riding over the cracks- the cracks are on the underside . If you stand on top, you can see the plume flying off towards downtown, but to see them drop out of the cracks, you have to climb down the river bank.

My carless (not careless) days are over for a while, which is good. I had my truck in the shop from Mon morning until today and every time I turned around it seemed like I had to go somewhere. I`m beat! Yesterday, I got about a mile towards work and was not allowed to pass a little piece of road which is the only direct route from home to work. Power line down, apparently, although that seems odd being as it wasn`t very windy. There was no way I would have had time to go the long way around and still punch in on time, so I had to go brush hopping for about a quarter mile to connect up with another road. It would have been fun in the cool of the evening, but not at 2:30 in the afternoon!. I did make it to work with a few minutes to spare.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ooh, those bats in the bridge cracks sound neat, and so does CB's encounter with the older cyclist and his new trail find!

Back from a few days on Cape Cod, where a bike is definitely the best way to get around, as there are tons of bike paths (Cape Cod rail trail, etc) & and tons of traffic on the roads.

Uneventful but nice ride in this a.m., went the whole 22 mi in the cool and will bus partway home when it's hotter and threatening thunderstorms.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

In June I didn`t manage any weekend tours or any kind of camping, didn`t want the same thing to happen to July, so I drove about 40 miles, parked, and started pedalling with only a vague idea where I wanted to go. Found some great new roads and saw a fox, which is quite an event for this area (he`s in mid leap in the big picture below, kind of hard to see), a few does, and some bear poop, but no bears this time. It got a lot hotter than I expected (lower elevation than I thought), but I found a few good skinny dippin holes and managed to keep from roasting. Since the local forecast said very clearly "No Chance of Precip", I didn`t drag bother to lug a tent with me, and once again I was ALMOST sorry for going tentless. I could hear slow rolling thunder to the south from my campsite last night, but didn`t even get sprinkled on. This morning I stopped to BS with the owner of a little lodge about 10 "crow" miles from where I had camped and he told me it had poured buckets overnight. Gotta start packing a tarp, at least. My sunglasses fell from my shirt pocket yesterday afternoon and I promptly ran them over. Broke the hinge


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice rodar!
you were fast with your camera!

what are those under the bridge? birds mud nests?

I definitely want another tour!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> nice rodar!
> you were fast with your camera!


+1 I get the camera and the wildlife is in the next county.



martinsillo said:


> what are those under the bridge? birds mud nests?


Bats, man! 

Oh, and guano. Guano? You don't guano. 

QUOTE=martinsillo]I definitely want another tour! [/QUOTE]

Yeah, Rodar has better scenery, but I hear the road calling to me, too. The Census is on another phase, 7 days a week, when it's done, I think I'll try one. Only one day out and back and week long supported, so its time to try light touring.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Bats, man!


Golondrinas, man! :thumbsup: 
http://www.google.com/images?client...&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1024&bih=632

Luandry done, stuff stashed, grocery shopping done, and sunglasses replaced. Now it`s research tme. I see that the Henry Shires Tarptents look like a great bargain for when you aren`t sure if you need a tent or not. He has a few models under two pounds in the $200 range  . I`d say "too good to be true", but Google sure doesn`t agree- lots of happy campers with his gear. Anybody here use a Shires Tarptent?


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

Cool pictures, rodar, I'm envious of the adventure! As I was cleaning and oiling the bike tonight for this week, I found a broken spoke...  Not sure when that happened... I don't have the tools to take the cog set off (of course, it's one of THOSE spokes), plus I'm not sure I really want to be bothered with the trueing without proper tools, so the wheel is going to the LBS in the morning.

As I'm not one of those with more than one bike (rideable at least), that means I'm driving this week...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Golondrinas, man! :thumbsup:


I guess I have to 'swallow' my pride, see the error of my ways, and admit bat bias. Wondered why they'd put up with that much light.

Still guano, though.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Greetings all, long time commuter/single-speeder just getting back on the forum.

Suppose an uneventful morning commute is better than none at all. Overnight thunderstorms cooled the morning air by a few degrees and the humidity wasn’t exactly 100%, this made for a nice commute. I doubt I would have even broken a sweat if not for getting hung-up with a pedestrian along a walkway. 

3.73 miles @ 15:37
14.4 Avg, 18.4 Max


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Howdy, Dixie. Where are you? Sounds like one of those hot and humid zones.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Howdy, Dixie. Where are you? Sounds like one of those hot and humid zones.


Howdy back rodar, I am far and deep within the sub-tropical climate known as the south central U.S. - surrounded by swamps and marshlands. Every city that matters is far north east & west of me. Sometimes I like that, sometimes I don't.

With all that said, I would be inclined to say I am one of the few (if any) of commuters here. That's sort of refreshing also. You grow accustomed to humidity; it keeps the nasal passages moist and loose. When I travel to places like Denver, CO I feel like I'm wearing a plastic bag over my head while kids point and laugh at me with all my crusted boogers.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in from a friend's this a.m.after a bday party last night. Started out cooler than usual, 60F, wore 2 ss jerseys until I got to the 3 mi uphill. Some headwinds and crosswinds, enough to have an effect on speed but not a bother. My weekend exercise consisted of yardwork (until rained out) and 4 hrs of trailwork to help build a new trail, (loppers are a good workout after a couple miles), so nice to be back on the bike today. 

New tires on the cross bike were noticeably grippy, though the newfangled velomax hub stumped me during the tire changeover after I noticed the nut holding the cassette on was loose...couldn't get the darn thing back on due to the spring action pawls. Easton's website had a lovely blowup diagram but no nifty animated instructions for this model as they did for some others. Finally gave up $10 to LBS instead & learned you have to take the casette off the freehub to access & press in the springy things while you put it back together - why didn't I think of that! What was confusing is that it went on fine & engaged fine as long as the axle wasn't in...still not sure why that made a difference...it wouldn't drop that final 1/8" to engage.

Cool fox, Rodar, I wonder if he was pouncing on something or just taking off. Looks different from our red foxes. I guess we have gray ones with semi-retractable claws that can climb trees but if I've seen one I didn't recognize it. webimages of them;


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Beautiful animals, Xplorer! No wonder people are tempted to wear their fur! The one I saw may not have been the same speices as either of the two you posted, but it definitely wasn`t like the red one. Too fuzzy. When we first saw each other, I was rounding a curve in the road and the fox was in the process of wandering across. We both stopped and stared for a few seconds until I pulled the camera from by bar bag and the fox went into escape mode. I was going to say that I didn`t think any foxes climed trees, but now that I think about it, don`t dogs "tree" them when they hunt in England?

Glad the LBS knew what to do with your hub. Sometimes it`s better to just shell out a little dough and see how somebody else does a job. When we first got my wife`s car, I looked all over and couldn`t find the oil filter. In the end, I took it to a lube shop so I could see where they pulled it from.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Rode in today on my mtb tires. I attended a mtb festival in Teton Valley on Saturday and so I swapped my street tires for the off-road ones. Amazing trails up there; their "intermediate" trail kicked my butt (I am not a strong climber yet - especially at 8,000 ft. A 57 yr old lady - local - schooled us all). Made some friends, won a FS bike frame in the raffle (http://www.maverickbike.com/main/do/products/productID/57 - I can't wait to build it up! It's a bit overkill for me, sure, but hey, I'll take what I can get. There's no way I could afford a decent FS bike right now). Great times.

But yeah, I was too lazy to swap out my tires again. Great ride in this morning though, scenic as ever and nice and cool.

Only four more days left in Idaho after today, then it's back to Vegas heat (for 4 days, then I'm finally off to the Sierra! And then back to Vegas heat...).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

RadioActive said:


> Made some friends, won a FS bike frame in the raffle (http://www.maverickbike.com/main/do/products/productID/57 - I can't wait to build it up! It's a bit overkill for me, sure, but hey, I'll take what I can get. There's no way I could afford a decent FS bike right now). Great times.


Wow! That's quite a nice prize. I wish I could win a free frame.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sierra where? It kind of seems like you said somewhere sorta Southish (Bishop?), but I don`t remember. Congrats on winning the new frame- hope you can dig up a build for it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

What??!!??!!! You won a $1500 MTB frame?? I see more trail rides in your future. Fun!!!!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Interesting frame that. Begs for nice components. Give a Mouse a cookie syndrome. No such thing as a free high end bike frame!  Congrats, and have fun planning the build.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe she can contract CommuterBoy to hunt her down lots of goodies to hang on it


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Daytime temps have stayed close to 30 Celsius, which is not all that much but humidity is high. I've been doing small trail rides and rode to visit my parents on Monday. On the way back I averaged about 25 km/h over a distance of 16 km, mainly on flat and gently rolling roads.

Somebody had a nice kitty visiting his garden in the next town:










I'd love to see one outside of a zoo, too....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

perttime said:
 

> Somebody had a nice kitty visiting his garden in the next town:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ooh that is a pretty kitty! Is it a mountain lion? Vermonters call them catamounts, but they've been gone a while, though Fish & Wildlife still investigate sightings.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Is it a mountain lion?


We don't have those. It is our third largest predator, after bear and wolf, a Lynx: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Lynx .

The guy who took the pic had a house cat out on the other side of the house, and felt it best to get the cat inside in a bit of a hurry.

a couple of more pics at a newspaper site:
http://www.aamulehti.fi/mediagalleria/aamulehti/yleinen/2214/


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Someone told me yesterday before my commute home: “Better watch the radar, nasty scattered thunderstorms out there.” Summer convection is the culprit in most places in the south this time of year. I have to say it doesn’t bother me much. If my choice is riding in temperatures of 94 (with heat indexes at 110+) or threatening showers/storms in the area that temps are 82ish with a cool summer breeze – I will gladly take that! 

This morning, 79 degrees, 100% humidity, no wind = sticky & nasty but still better than driving to work.

3.73 miles @ 15:12
Avg. 14.7 mph
Max 22 mph


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Beautiful lynx, perttime!

Thanks guys for the compliments on the frame! And BrianMc, that is too true. I am going to try to keep the cost down, but that'll probably be hard to do. Problem is that the frame is a large... I need to see if that will work for me. I got to know a couple of the guys from Maverick while I was there and they are willing to help me out with the build.

Rodar, I'll pretty much be all over the Sierra. We are starting in Yosemite and ending at Mt Whitney, hiking along the John Muir Trail. Should take about 17 days or so. My SO and I have done this trip the past two years and it is incredible. We look like a couple of hobos by the time we reach Whitney. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BIG kitty! According to the Wiki article, they`re a lot bigger than I thought they were. Around here, a smaller relative (bobcats) are fairly common, but only get to about the size of a large housecat. I never realized that "real" lynx were so huge.

Ah, John Muir Trail. Now I`m almost positive you answered that same question before. Well, have a nice trip, then!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Neat, Pertime! Unfortunately our smaller Canada Lynx are endangered so you're unlikely to see them.

_Canada lynx are medium-sized cats, measuring 30-35 inches long and weighing 18-23 pounds. They have large feet that help them walk on snow, long legs, tufts of hair on the tips of their ears, and black-tipped tails. Lynx are especially adapted for hunting snowshoe hare, their primary prey, in the boreal forest. Lynx are native to Vermont but at the southern limit of their range in North America. However, Vermont has less suitable habitat than Maine, where there is a breeding lynx population. Lynx and hare depend on low-growing conifers such as spruce, balsam fir and cedar as core habitat.

The lynx is federally listed as a threatened species and listed by Vermont as endangered. Federal law provides a six-month jail sentence and $25,000 fine for killing one. Recent evidence of a lynx was found in northern Vermont. _


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I took an alternate route home last night as it was such a lovely breezy evening. From downtown Barre I headed east on rte 302 instead of straight up my hill. After about 5 miles, a left takes me past a nice reservoir (for drinking water, no swimming or even canoes allowed :sad: ). At the end of the reservoir its <2 miles to my house, which is just over the hills in the right of the last picture.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It may be a reservoir, but I hear Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada calling me.

Any loons? (The feasthered kind.)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Any loons? (The feasthered kind.)


Not the other night, but lots of ducks and 2 herons (who took off when I stopped at the bridge). I have heard loons all the way from my house, though, when the air is right. I have seen moose on that road too, but was not lucky enough to see one that evening.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

being to lazy lately 
today I had another car commute  
The unstoppable rain and my laziness is killing the commuter miles record...the Trurly needs some major tuned up after two days in the rain...will do it this weekend and attempt a full commuter week next Monday (if the rain allows!  )
I started asking the wife to left me here with the bike in the morning so I can do afternoon commute, but somehow that wasn't that fun anymore...probably just me being to lazy....need to stop that attitude.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

I shaved almost 2 minutes off my commute this morning, I did notice I was going a tad faster but it didn't feel like much effort was being applied.

martinsillo - I would take rain anyday over heat. Yesterday it was 94 on my ride home where the previous day was 82 (just after a rain). Suck it up and ride!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Last night I noticed a band of rain moving in on the radar. I thought I would be able to beat it so I hurried out the door. I had heard a bit of thunder before I left the office, but thought nothing of it. 

Once on the road it became apparent that this lightning was not very safe. Magnificent bolts cracked down to earth every couple seconds. Not knowing what else to do, I hunkered down and spun my legs off. Every once in a while I could here a click, see a flash, and feel the thunder rattle my chest-bones.

As the rain crept in I became more and more uncomfortable. So when I reached the park half-way through my commute, I didn't hesitate in taking refuge in one of the picnic shelters. The rain and lightning consumed everything.

I waited about 15 minutes before I deemed the conditions safe enough to ride home. I pulled out of the picnic shelter and trudged my way through fresh streams of rainwater. At one point, I pedaled up a hill into a headwind with a half inch of water rushing down the entire roadway. It was a challenge on my single speed (and I didn't appreciate the wall of water sent up by an oncoming car), but I made it home with another adventure under my belt.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Well, yesterday was my last commute by bike here in Idaho. I forgot that I needed to take all of my crap home today, and I have too many books to fit them in my panniers. I have absolutely loved my commutes here - 90F max, usually dry (like Vegas, but cooler!), beautiful scenery on my ride... I am not looking forward to the 100+ degree rides again.

Yesterday was a great commute, too. Typical ride in up the hill to the river and then along the river to work. After work, a few of us interns decided to meet at the local brewery, so I rode my bike on over there. Part of the route was a road under construction and the dirt had been wetted down. I still had my knobbies on my bike from the weekend (too lazy to swap them right now) and they flung mud and water all over me. So I showed up to the brewery sweaty and muddy :lol:. Fun times. The ride home was nice, too. The moon was bright (so bright it wakes me up at night) and it was probably in the high 60s after a nice rain. I love riding around here after the sun sets.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hot and windy today. This is my last shift for the week- I`m tacking one vacation day onto the weekend and heading for the high country for a car camping trip with my wife.

Anybody heard from Gary No-trash? I hadn`t seen anything from him for a while, so checked his profile. No activity since June 18th.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Free sample tonight with the MTB club of the new trails at Trapps Lodge in Stowe (run by the Sound of Music Von Trapps), normally $10 if you're not staying there. 

hmmm, hoping Gary is on vacation.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

I got past buy a young whipper snapper tonight with a third left to going up the hill on Cuba Rd just east of Ela Rd. I jumped on the back of him and let him pull me the rest of the hill then broke off at Deerpath Rd. Of coarse I had this strapped on the Rack


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, Normbilt, if miles are conditioning, you should be able to take him.

Butterflies are free and were road kill. I have some I stopped and put in my handle bar bag, pinned and drying as they were goners anyway. It has been a great year for butterflies, and since they don't fly much at night I don't think there is a bat connection unless bats can 'hear' them and pick them right off their roosts. The sulphur burtterflies were feeding on roadside clover and wild carrot in largish numbers cavorting in pairs of blacktop induced thermals and being dispatched in quantity by fast vehicles. We have Yellow Spice Bush Swallowtails and Mourning Cloak Swallowtails, Monarchs, and the reddish brown ones (whose name always escapes me) working our flowers. 

I will apend pics once they dry and are mounted for display.


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## CommuterGene (Jul 28, 2010)

Great commute today, balmy weather at 80s both ways. Incountered a slight bit of traffic but nothing bad.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Back to commuting now... Pretty uneventful. Tomorrow it may rain.


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## Tank99 (Apr 27, 2009)

Hot this morning. Came through the security gate and the guard asked if I had a tough ride. haha


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was the hottest morning yet. The temps were already above 80 when I woke up around 7am. The other day I got chased by a dog named Trigger. Fortunately it stuck to the sidewalk. I've had a couple minor incidents with grumpy drivers. I think the heat is getting to them. Not having the luxury of air conditioning, you'd think I'd be the grumpy one. It should right around 100 this afternoon with a healthy dose of humidity thrown in. Luckily we're not as hot as some of the places just to our west.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Good timing: it rained at night and in the middle of the day but not when I was commuting. Had a pretty brisk side wind on the way home, so picked the dirt path route (more sheltered) instead of the quiet streets.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

perttime said:


> Good timing: it rained at night and in the middle of the day but not when I was commuting. Had a pretty brisk side wind on the way home, so picked the dirt path route (more sheltered) instead of the quiet streets.


with the rain wasn't the dirt path muddy?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I think the rain stopped early enough. Also, the ground was very dry before these rains and the path surface has some small gravel in it that seems to dry quickly.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lot of rain the last few days here too, 3-4", flash flood warnings, some roads & trails closed. Had to go 2hr north for work, and signed out the wagon so I could bring the MTB. Got iin a lunch ride in a sandy area that fared well despite the rains. I had done some trailwork there but never rode it. Only met 1 rider, and it would have been in the middle of this bridge if I'd been 20 seconds later - glad I was already across.


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## CommuterGene (Jul 28, 2010)

Had a great commute to work, great weather, good drivers, the works. As I was getting ready to head home (putting on the shoes/helmet) I took a look outside and found it pouring rain. Rode home and about halfway there, the rain stopped and the road was bone dry. Quite unusual but I guess anything is possible.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No rain for me. My wife and I celebrated our anniversary over the weekend with a three day car camping trip up where it was nice and cool. Wifey thought she was going to freeze to death at night, but I loved it! Car camping again in the middle of next week with inlaws and nieces- hope the dry weather holds out.

Dang, Xplorer- you sure have some nice trails up there! I take it you mean a two hour drive after you got to work and not a two hour detour to get in due to the closed roads and trails?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterGene said:


> Had a great commute to work, great weather, good drivers, the works. As I was getting ready to head home (putting on the shoes/helmet) I took a look outside and found it pouring rain. Rode home and about halfway there, the rain stopped and the road was bone dry. Quite unusual but I guess anything is possible.


There`s a happy rider! Even has praise the good drivers in his area, which just might be a first on this forum  .
You`re in Virginia, Gene? City? Country? Burbs?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Actually, yesterday was a storm day here, by our standards. My immediate area missed the worst of it, except for some streets and shopping centers being flooded. Elsewhere... lightning burned some houses and transformers; when emergency services were called to clear fallen trees, they first had to clear the roads to get there; a camping area demolished (miraculously only 3 injured) ...

Nice weather expected for the next few days 

edit:
Newspaper photos:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

pert, looks just like the a.m. news here - 3 were rescued from the middle of a campground/river & 1 guy who drove into a river at 4 a.m. where there used to be a bridge & had to swim for it. 

Rodar, yes, luckily I did not have any detours due to the wet, I just had to do some fieldwork in northern VT.

And yes, tons of good trails here, especially if you don't mind roots, rocks & uphills! 

Commute this a.m. was still muggy & now 84F, Thunderstorms may be coming for the ride home. But 50's tonight & hi in the lower 70's tomorrow.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

dying today since I did 3 hours of involuntary hillclimbs yesterday.
had a spinny mcspindlylegs on a disc braked racing folding bike :skep: (what an odd combination)
for about 12 blocks, every time I accelerate from lights, hear him click click clicking up the gears.
keeps pulling up BESIDE me at every light and staring at my bike.
weird.
56 tooth chainring's not THAT rare is it?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Curious byknuts...I was passed by 3 Rudey McrRoadielegs this a.m. - within inches and not so much as a liftedfingerwave or grunt from any of them. Cooler today but gusty headwinds slowed me down...then rained on me the last 3 mi. Also had to stop 2x in the middle of the downhill for a garbage truck stopped in the middle of the road to grab trashcans. But preferable to last night's ride up my hill in the heat/humidity/stillness. I did have 1 cute elderly fellow on his lawn offer encouragement with a pedaling motion of his arms when I said hello, though I was already up the worst of it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

¤"%#!

The weather is good. Traffic isn't bad. Trails should be dry again. And I don't think I am going to ride for a couple of days, at least. I got my seat into my tail bone area a couple of days ago and it hasn't been getting better. I _can_ ride on pavement, if I go very gently, but I think I'd better not.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

After my MTB BB froze up during my planned lunch ride and it had to be hospitalized at the LBS, I was able to get in some riding anyway with a commute home, since my cross bike was still at work. Thunder & some light rain, but I got off very easy. On the only downhill on the 7 miles of dirt road "back way" home, I saw quite aways ahead 2 oncoming cars side by side. I figured the car attempting to pass would either gun it and get back in his lane in plenty of time, or drop back behind the other car. But no, to my amazement, both keep coming and coming, neck and neck, as if racing, head-on toward me. But I was reluctant to give up my momentum on the downhill, and jeez, it was my lane and all, so I kept on. The passer finally dropped back- but not behind- the other car, and a horn blared as they went by. I assume it was the passer, pissed that I was on his road, taking up his passing lane and all, but I suppose it could have been the pass-ee objecting to the passer's actions.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My vote is for the pass-er. It sounds like he thought you were Brian Mc.

Our summer afternoon daily wind storms are in full force here lately, trying to mess with my 2PM inbound commute. Worse than the wind is roadwork- a big chunk of my commute route closed yesterday and will remain closed for almost a month while they seal the repave they gave it last year. The repave job came out very nicely, so I hope they don`t screw it up. I have no idea how they plan to milk sealing a half mile or so worth of blacktop into a month long affair. In the mean time, I`m taking the adventure route on an old dirt (sand) road, which adds up to a good bit more work, but the change of scenery almost makes up for it.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The weather with afternoon and night showers or thunderstorms has been going on. A couple of days ago about 50 cars were dented by hailstones at a golf range. The worst one got holes through the rear window. Many houses in rural areas are still without electricity because there's trees on the power lines.

Good thing I like the bar on my bikes below seat level. My poor backside seems to benefit from some light exercise and my riding position does not put pressure on the bruised tailbone area.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> My vote is for the pass-er. It sounds like he thought you were Brian Mc.


Do they let blind people get driver's licenses in Vt? As two cyclists go, mtbxplorer and I are approaching as easy to distinguish from each other as they get. I'm the 6' 200 pound guy with the large red and reflective white 'safety' bullseye front and back of his jersey!. I get no respect, just call me Rodney Dangerfield.

We kid around here in Kentuckiana that a lot of idiotic behavior can be attributed to past isolation and inbreeding and lik'at, up'ere in de'ills (local dialect).

So mtbxplorer, if the passing car just slowed but did not move back over, you took to the shoulder?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> We kid around here in Kentuckiana that a lot of idiotic behavior can be attributed to past isolation and inbreeding and lik'at, up'ere in de'ills (local dialect).


I think that's just the Indiana side of the river. 

I almost ended up in the back of a pickup the other day. It cut me off to get in the right turning lane, which I was already in getting ready to turn. My tires skidded a few feet, but I didn't have to resort to any drastic measures to get off. I swear that intersection is going to kill me one day.

I've also had two drivers on two consecutive days kill my momentum on a steep stretch of road I have to ride for about 40 yards. Traffic gets backed up at the stop light. I have to turn right on to the road, then take the first left. It's tricky enough to get on the road, but it's even harder when I have to stop or when a car decides not to move when the line of cars has already started moving. I still haven't figured out the best way to deal with this situation since I've been on my singlespeed.


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## CommuterGene (Jul 28, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> There`s a happy rider! Even has praise the good drivers in his area, which just might be a first on this forum  .
> You`re in Virginia, Gene? City? Country? Burbs?


I in the burbs of DC in Va. About 45 minutes out from DC, quick trip up the WOD and I am to DC. Pretty nice but I don't go there if I can get out of it. 

Gene


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I think that's just the Indiana side of the river.  .


Hope so. A possible descendant of multigenrational first cousin mariages seemed to think that once his front bumper was by me he could move over as if I was a traffic barrel and stationary. He looked like he'd be OK as he approached. No time to respond if he had come on over. Slouched down so low it's a wonder he could see to drive at all. Caught him at the stop sign he blasted away. Maybe my "MOVE OVER YOU DUMB B***STARD!" into his open passenger window clued him in I was not happy. Some are pretty dense.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Needed windshield wipers... Lovely sunny a.m. at my house on top of the hill, but as soon as I went down the hill, the fog moved in and the temp dropped at least 10 degrees, and my glasses kept getting wet from the fog, but the dirt downhill is too rough to let go of the bars. I warmed up again on the flat and the rest was uneventful except for the extra traffic (the trucks, esp.) due to a detour for vehicles because of bridgework on the interstate. Rode the whole 22 mi to work. 

Took the crossbike on a trailride at lunch, which was fun except for the 1st steep section I had to walk (just barely rideable for me on the MTB). I usually don't commute and trailride, but needed some dirt time after my mechanical yesterday. Tooled around through the soft piney forest trails, and was able to do these easier singletrack trails without even lowering the 75+/- lb tire pressure.

Called LBS & was happy to find they already had gotten the new BB & installed it, so I was able to pick it up. My trip to the Norttheast Kingdom and the Kingdom Trails network next Mon-Tue is salvaged. I got a B&B right on the trails for 2 nites at < 1/2 price on biddingforgood.com.

Bussed as close as I could to home, leaving the 3.5 mile hill up 1000' to my house. Temp had dropped from 80 to maybe 70 by the time I started, so it was comfy.

Bri, the shoulder on these dirt roads is pretty much equivalent to the ditch or unrideable loose or rocky junk. But it is rare to have 2 cars and a bike meeting at the same spot, so usually you just hog the best spot on your side of the road and people can go around with no worries. The passer did a nascar move, dropped back & in maybe 1-2', hovering on the other car's bumper as if to atempt the pass again ASAP. I stayed on the good rideable portion of my lane and had enough room.


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## brentos (May 19, 2006)

*Scary Commute*

4 way intersection, I had the green crossing a 6 lane 45 mph road. Pickup ran a red light. I was riding about 25 mph and noticed we were on a collision course, half way across the near lanes, I hit the brakes.

-At first I thought I had plenty of room, or he would slow down.
-Then I accepted the fact I was going to plow into the side of the truck.
-Then, realizing I wasn't slowing enough I accepted that he was going to come across my front tire. At this point I was wondering if he was going to do anything to help out the situation...still hadn't seen me.

-15 feet from me, at about 45 mph, me he swerved, about 5 feet over, I missed the side of the truck by inches and was hard enough on the brakes at this point to go over the bars (getting a view inside the truck bed) and land in the lane where the truck had gone through a fraction of a second before.

I hit the deck and double checked the lights, yep I still had the green.

The driver was a good guy who made a mistake, he admitted to running the red light and even agreed we should file a report in case anything came up later (damage, injuries). He did this knowing he would get a ticket for running a red light. I was lucky and came out 100% unscathed with a new appreciation for all things good, and bad in life. Funny thing is, the as it unfolded, it just felt like it would be another bike crash with maybe some bruises or cuts to show for it. As the day went on, I realized how close I had come.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Even the best drivers screw up once in a very long while, given enough opportunity. Great to hear a driver who took responsibility for his or her actions. Hope you didn't lose much skin. With larger wheels, you are supposed to be able to scoot your butt back and below the saddle (if you can still reach the bars!) and get your center of gravity below the front axle removing the pivoting effect of front brake lock-up. I have tried this as a practice and it seems to work on my bike (YMMV), but remembering to do it in the heat of the moment is something else again, and I hope not to test it for real.

To paraphrase pilots about landings: Any ride you come back from still amulatory and the bike working is a good one!  :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

brentos, that is a scary close call, glad you emerged OK between your actions and the driver's late swerve. I liked your desription of the mental wrangling you went through in the few seconds that passed between the driver running the light and your going over the bars.

It may not be applicable in this case, but as food for thought, I know with car collisions, they say that you are often more likely to successfully avoid a collision by swerving around another vehicle than by braking, given the braking distances required. of course if there is an oak tree, cliff, another car or a ped in the way, it could be worse.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Called LBS & was happy to find they already had gotten the new BB & installed it, so I was able to pick it up. My trip to the Norttheast Kingdom and the Kingdom Trails network next Mon-Tue is salvaged. I got a B&B right on the trails for 2 nites at < 1/2 price on biddingforgood.com.


Saw your BB bearing cup pic on the other thread. Just one of those things or was it sand and salt getting in and finally giving it up months later?

Nice B&B deal.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Back in the saddle today boys and girls. School starts monday. Good ride this morning, but the new bike is just not enough to make me excited about the school year. I could do the full time summer thing and be just fine.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very scary incedents for Xplorer and Brentos due to drivers. I tried to do myself in on Tuesday night without any driver interference at all. I snuck around the roadblock at one end of a section of closed road (closed it several days earlier and still haven`t actually done anything to the road surface yet- WTF?). When I got to the roadblock at my end of the "construction" zone, I saw the back side of the warning sign and a buch of those orange barrels- didn`t slow down much because there was PLENTY of room to shoot between the barrels. But at the last moment it dawned on me that the barrels were tied together by a rope strung through each one, just a couple inches higher than my handlebars. I had enough brake time to slow down considerably, but still nowhere near stopped when I hit the rope and we (me, the barrels, the bike, and the sheetmetal sign) made a good bit of noise as we tangled up and dragged each other around. It was just about midnight and I didn`t see any porch lights come on. Next morning I noticed a nice rope burn on the inside of one forearm. Don`t know if I`m more ticked off at myself or at the wise guy who tied all the barrels together.


I just got home last night from a splash in the lake/hiking/barbecue/(for some) car camp trip with four carloads of B/S/F/M-in-laws and nieces/nephew. Good time had by all. My F-I-L reverted back to taco vendor days and grilled up so much food we had to either feed half the campground or start throwing stuff out, spent hours in the pond laughing over bad attempts to stand on a semi floating log that kept rolling over, finally took off with the teenaged constituancy and made the long, steep hike up to a lookout tower that`s been calling me for years now. It was the first ever overnight camping trip for my twin 5-YO nieces and they did alright as long as their mom didn`t get out of sight for too long. I think I did an admirable job of not going balistic among such a huge group, but I`ve had my share of that stuff for this summer. Next camping trip will be solo for sure!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome back, CB.

"I know it don`t thrill you, hope it don`t kill you, but welcome to the working week".


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, I was sure you were going to end up in a manhole like some cartoon character as I read your story. Highly entertaining, for us anyways.

Poor CB has to go back to work...did you remember the way? It must be a shocker to go from a long break to crazy kids.

bri, yes I think the sand/salt shortened the BB's life until it crumbled and siezed up totally as I was just riding along - and of course my massive pedaling power must have contributed also.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great ride this a.m. - I did not have to put a foot down at any lights...the red ones either changed as I slowed or were a right on red that I could stop & go without dabbing. The result was a record-breaking avg speed of 16.1 mph. 

Trying to up the saddle time to be better prepared for my Can Rockies MTB trip in Sept...2hrs commuting yesterday + 1 1/2 hr trail ride with fun berms, rocks & whoops. Thought there was a leaf on one of the narrow bridges, but as I rode onto it, saw it was a chipmunk - he dove down between the boards right when I got to him.


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Wow Haven't posted to this thread in ages! My commutes include a bit of awesome singletrack that i ride waaay out of my way to ride on......


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Rode to watch an airshow about 20 km from home today. Took me about an hour each way on the fat slick singlespeed.

I didn't really fancy the idea of standing on pavement with thousands of people, so found a place just outside our little airport where I could watch it standing on a rock. Some of the helicopter action was a bit low to see but the main attractions were quite close - and loud - enough from a little more distance. No postable pics from me.
- Fouga Magister (not that powerful but graceful)
- Hawk MK.51 (more power)
- P-51 (love that engine sound)
- F/A 18 (the highlight for me was a vertical climb, firing flares, until out of sight, followed by coming back in a spin before roaring down the runway again)
- F-16 (Dutch Demo Team, the prettiest plane)
- Midnight Hawks (4 x Hawk MK.51 in formation)

http://tias.imaginer.fi/en/performers/


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> - and of course my massive pedaling power must have contributed also.


You have to watch that spinach...


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## CommuterGene (Jul 28, 2010)

I had a pretty good commute but I was dieing. I have been out of the saddle for four days and I was feeling it coming home from work. Little wet but nothing to complain about.

Gene


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning I had a car wanting to swipe me with the right hook. The driver wasn't very good at it though.

Once I got to work, I discovered I had forgotten my clothes. The clothes that were in there were for casual Friday. Now I'm rocking jeans and a t-shirt until my clothes arrive.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

after almost 2 months....I'm back!

I forgot how sweaty I get these summer days...I think I was wrong...winter commute is more fun! :lol:

glad the driver wasn't good right hooking S...

today I forgot my belt.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Once I got to work, I discovered I had forgotten my clothes.


Riding naked sounds like fun.

Two months, Martin? Was that because of the flood damage?

No work for me until I don`t know when. I went to ER Friday and they determined that I have a kidney stone. Due to its size and location, they said it should probably pass all by itself, but might take up to five days.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Riding naked sounds like fun.


Yeah, I was wondering why it felt so breezy. :ciappa:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

pure laziness on my part rodar  ... excuses and more excuses... I have been constant on my weekend rides though...I even went to a hike/walk with the wife this Saturday.

Yesterday I was doing my first stunt :lol: ... it is fun how new cleats can trick you 






*actually when editing this video I realize I was gaining weight again...so...bike commute and diet from now on... hope to find the strength to be constant.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

This morning I noticed a notable difference from low 80s temps 100% humidity last week to mid/high 70s 100% humidity this morning. May not sound like much, but I notice the slightest differences when they present themselves. 

We're on the downward summer slope, C'mon Autumn Equinox! :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Gotta get the headlight mounted on the new bike. It's going to be dark during my commute soon. Being back in the saddle feels good though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Took the singletrack home... The new bike was great, but it kicked my butt! I've only ridden this stretch of trail in that direction a couple times, and it's a pretty big climb. I was seriously wishing for a granny ring. I was grinning the whole time though, 'cause the 'cross bike wouldn't have worked and the fat tire flier was in its element.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I passed a new guy today. Actually, he passed me once as I was stopped at a light, and I passed him back again a minute after the light turned green. I don't know how long he'll last. He was not wearing a helmet, and he made a left turn taking the crosswalk through a red light. Maybe I'll pass him again when I go home. Hopefully he won't be sprawled out on the side of the road.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

*Great ride while it lasted*

Had great weather for a long commute home, decided to turn my usual 5 mile ride into 30 and take in some trails. I registered the first hour in an all-time high of 16mph avg. I yearn for 20mph, but I have to deal with the reality of hybrid + some trails + commuting weight. Then dusk hit and while my light is great, it didn't help me to avoid the rock trench alongside the roadway and I pinch-flatted and had a clipless spill. I am a clipless rookie so I knew this day was coming. Glad for the helmet as my hip, shoulder, and elbow didn't fare as well. As I proceeded to install my spare tube, I poked a hole while seating the tire. Recovery (read wife with car) was only 5 miles away so I gave up at mile 26.

Next week I am traveling for work in San Francisco and while I won't be commuting, I do hope to get some ride time at what they describe as the birthplace of mountain biking in the Marin Headlands.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ we have all called in the team car. :lol: no shame in that. 

I woke up early for once, and extended the ride in this morning... almost wishing for that dark winter already. The sun was blasting me directly in the face for about half of the ride. I love a good long ride in the morning though. It is almost already cold enough for long sleeves...but I'm going to put that off for as long as possible of course. Cold weather conditioning begins now... I think I would die if we hit January's single digits right now...I need a few months to ease into it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

back to work today after a couple nights at that B&B on the Kingdom Trails (100 mi network in the Northeast Kingdom of VT)). Had lots of fun, great trails, great map, great food, etc. I went with a non-MTB'r who likes to sleep in, so I would ride 6:30-9am, catch our great breakfast, then we would hike or kayak or swim the rest of the day. Pic below from a hike up Mt Hor, looking at Mt. Pisgah cliffs above Lake Willoughby.

Martin, nice pipe-ride, I saw 2 Pugs in a truck @ our B&B that had rechargeable electric motors, but never met the owners.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm realizing that I only have a couple weeks of daylight left to hit the singletrack on the way to work in the morning... unless I buy a much better headlight. So I'm motivated to get up a little earlier and do it while I can....except I slept in today and had to take the quick route. I'll hit it on the way home... uphill. Not quite as fun. Still singletrack though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RevRacer, sounds like "one of those days" to be sure- have a great time in SF/Marin. While you`re there, see if you run into a cartoonish looking cougar with a pizza sauce smeared mouth and packing an autoloader psitol. If you see him, please ask him to report in!

That sounds absolutely killer, Xplorer! Do you have more pics? Are we gonna have to talk your lucky nephew into giving his auntie a digicam for Christmas?

CB, buy a new light AND take your early ride!

I think my kidney stone episode is just about over. I still haven`t found any stone in my little strainer (sounds like another expensive CT scan in my future if I don`t produce some evidence), but I`ve been off the pain pills and feeling fine since yesterday morning. Going to wait it out today for good measure and the plant is closed tomorrow for lack of work, so back to the commute Monday. July was my lowest mileage month of the year, but it looks like August will be even lower. How the heck am I geting less mileage than I was durring snow season? Sheesh! I`ll make up some riding in Oct (my favorite month), but I need to use up a week of the vacation time I was saving to cover my time off this week, so not very likely I`ll get in a full scale bike tour this year.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Thanks xplorer,

car ride today  not my fault though...I was going ok until Tuesdays afternoon commute...on my way home...just when I hop in a curb my right knee started to hurt real bad, like if a needle had been nailed on it....I stopped and shake it a little bit...then rode home...the feeling was not ok during the ride and once in a while I could feel the needle again.

I shouldn't commute yesterday but I did it...I need to go and check my knee asap

*I blame this on the Saturday hike!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Uneventful commutes this week: mainly dry weather, some sunshine, light tailwind to work, some headwind back. Mornings are getting a bit chilly: about 8 Celsius / 46 Fahrenheit today, and I decided to add a long sleeve shirt....


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

I'm jealous of you guys flirting with the colder temps already. It's pretty much 80 here every morning with 100% humidity. I'd kill for low 70s and less humidity!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

While I was stopped behind a school bus, some little twirp stuck his head out the window and said, "Hey ugly." Ha!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s fine to be envious, Dixie, but don`t feel too downtrodden. Some of us get our yuck weather in January and some get it in August, but it all comes out in the wash 
I`m sure you`ll be glad NOT to have to push your tires through several inches (or feet) of drifted "frozen sunshine" in a few more months.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

"Hey ugly." :lol: That was one of the nice kids, just so you know. 

I did my singletrack commute this morning. There is nothing like taking a trail to work. I can't believe I just found this route this year.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> It`s fine to be envious, Dixie, but don`t feel too downtrodden. Some of us get our yuck weather in January and some get it in August, but it all comes out in the wash
> I`m sure you`ll be glad NOT to have to push your tires through several inches (or feet) of drifted "frozen sunshine" in a few more months.


Most definitely, I look forward to rubbing in the mild winter then. No such thing as "frozen sunshine" here. At this point, I am sick of summer and any relief would be welcomed.

If we hit the local trail tomorrow will be at daybreak to beat the murder heat or as I told my wife yesterday after my commute "It's hotter than skunk piss out here" (not that I know how hot that is, but one can assume!)


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

dixie whiskey said:


> At this point, I am sick of summer and any relief would be welcomed.


Here's something to cool you down 










Excellent weather last February :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Last winter was the first winter in 10 I have been here with snow staying for months. NOT Ottawa, Ontario, where a Pug could be fun. February low beam shot:



Yes, that light IS lighting up the neighbor's garage door! Something like 1000 lumens @ 1 A, at that temp.

Mounted the 32 mm (actual 31 mm) on the front, too for today's ride after a short successful run on loose gravel where the 28 front was too skinny for comfort (risk). Tried 60 pounds pressure up front and 75-85 (80 seems about ideal) in back to avoid pinches and flats, yet ride easy. I felt faster and easier and timed a bit better. Have to try the rough road route yet, but my butt isn't reading every dimple in the road surface and the front isn't chattering and posting tracks and the like doesn't make me wince.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

ducked under a cargo truck's side mirror.
thermos in my backpack decided to torpedo the mirror.
couple hours wait for police, found out if under 1000$ damage and no physical injury so no need to report.
i owe 120$ for new side mirror.
*sigh*


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Some Pictures on My Ride home last week.
New Job, New Route I'm Lovin It


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Truck mirrors.*

Can any good ever possibly come from them?


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## JReade (Sep 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Can any good ever possibly come from them?


Not getting backed over?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I would like to humbly submit my entry into the "best commute route ever" contest. Pics are in order... starting at the dirt road just off of my property (skipped the power pole trail transition onto the neighboring dirt road). 
Driveway to power pole trail, to dirt road, to logging road, to singletrack. Out of the woods, to neighborhood street, to main road (check all the traffic )

It's about 8 miles total. I live just on the other side of the first row of foothills in the (crooked, over-the-shoulder-while-riding) last pic in this post... singletrack part is from there down into the valley.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

_________________


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar, what happened on your last truck mirror encounter?

ohh Cboy... after that, I won't even enter in the contest!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JReade, you might have a point there.

Martincillo, in the only truck mirror incedent I remember ever being personally involved in, I was driving the truck. No damage to any people- just to the truck and to one building, and since both were government property, I don`t feel too bad about it 

Special Ed, No matter what may happen to you between now and the end of time, I will NEVER feel sorry for you!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CBoy: I have sort of the antithesis of that route and yet not be in the canyons of NYC. 

Lots of corn and soybeans though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*The Butterflies were free*

Promised this earlier. Gathered on the shoulder of 'Butterfly Alley' and placed in my handlebar bag.



In DIY shadow box, sitting on Dining Room table.



Close up. Best focus I could get.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

*First commute in a few weeks*

due to the fact that I during a flat change, I realized the tires on my new to me commuter were dry rotted. I didn't want to pay 120 for new tires, so i did the order online and wait bit. I got Kenda Konstirctors with Iron Curtain protection, whatever Soviet invention that is. Hopefully it is a good as the 60 buck armidillos i passed up.

The commute was really fast today. There was hardly any traffic. I may have seen 15 cars, and I live in a major american city. I do bike mostly through neighborhoods, but the metropolitian intersections I go through usually have at least 15 cars in each direction. The weather was pretty nice as well. I am with Dixie on the, can't wait for winter bus. I feel like we have finally got over the hottest days of summer hump, and it can only get better from here on out.

Also, I misjudged my changing timing at work. I usually take some time to cool off. I get here earlier than anyone else, so I usually lose the shirt while cooling down. The next person in our office is our receptionists. I know when I hear the door open, it is time to go change before anyone who has to walk past my office gets here. Well I heard the first door open and close. "Ok, just the secretary, she never walks in my area." I hear the second door close. "Oh ****, someone else is here I better run across the hall quick to change." As I am halfway across the hall, "shoot I fogot my deoderant." I make it back to my office and grab my deoderant.. I am rushing back tothe changing area and the gay guy in office is coming around the corner. I don't really want any of my coworkers to me topless and sweaty, but at the same time I realize it isn't the end of the world. What made this wierd was the gay coworker's reaction. He shielded his eyes, yelped 'oh god, sorry', and scurried by extra quickly. He is socially awkward anyway, but it definately was a wierd start to my day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cod, that is an entertaining story, but his comment "Oh God, sorry" was a little unflattering, no?

Bri, I'm amazed how good your butterflies came out, you found some really good specimens & lots of them. 

CB, we all bow humbly at your awesome commute. That is beauty!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I went back to work last night-first commute in almost two weeks because of a couple days` vacation, a plant closure day, a stubborn kidney stone, and two weekends. Worked four hours late (Yay, hunting season- exra money to cover the hunters` vacations) and my hands got downright cold on the way home this morning! Time to start packing gloves. It was the first time I remember taking my sand trap, abandoned dirt road detour in the dark. That was kinda cool.

For the last three work days before I went out, a big chunk of my road had been closed for sealing (now it looks like recunstruction) and I was getting miffed because it added a considerable detour to my commute and they still hadn`t done anything to make the road surface unuseable. I`m happy to report that the road is indeed torn up now, so at least there`s a reason for the detour. What I don`t understand is why they`re doing it in the first place. It was just resurfaced last year or the year before and was in beautiful shape. Now it looks like they`re completely rebuilding. WTF? My tax Dollars at work? On a bigger scale, our "Spaghetti Bowl" intersection between our N-S freeway and our E-W freeway is back into what looks like a HUGE makeover. It`s gonna be all messed up for months, at least, and cost cost mega millions to be sure. But they just finished a massive rebuild on the freeway system through town that had everybody cusing and traffic backed up for three years straight! When they finally finished, it was just fine. WHY, WHY, WHY are they going back to mess with it again?!?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> On a bigger scale, our "Spaghetti Bowl" intersection between our N-S freeway and our E-W freeway is back into what looks like a HUGE makeover. It`s gonna be all messed up for months, at least, and cost cost mega millions to be sure. But they just finished a massive rebuild on the freeway system through town that had everybody cusing and traffic backed up for three years straight! When they finally finished, it was just fine. WHY, WHY, WHY are they going back to mess with it again?!?


I haven't been over there in a while...can't believe this. What else can they possibly need to do?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I haven't been over there in a while...can't believe this. What else can they possibly need to do?


http://www.mynews4.com/story.php?id=25970&n=140,135

Something else going on further South turns out to be the start of a new exit for Meadowwood and extra lane for the Plumb Ln exit. Goodie. While I was searching this up, I found that the work in my neighborhood will result in a widening, with bike lanes. Bike lanes? I ride that stretch every day (when it isn`t under construction) and I have NEVER wished for a bike lane there- I might get passed by a half dozen vehicles per one way trip, or might just as easilly not get passed by a single one. Sigh... Sure is a good thing we aren`t wasting money on the school system, eh?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sure is a good thing we aren`t wasting money on the school system, eh?


Why start now? You are seeing the results of our past education expeditures at work! Well trained transportation bureaucrats? Well, trained ones, anyway. How well trained is debatable.

Tried a very little off road and the pump bounced down and pushed the rear fender into the tire. So I removed the little axle positioners/adjusters from the Campy drop outs. You know the ones that are frozen immobile on most frames with them? Due to good maintenance (ahem!) only a little WD40 was needed to help persuade mine out after 30 years. Not bad. The result is 17.5" not 16.5" from the center of the center BB to the center rear axle. Some of the twitchiness of the 50 mm reach stem change from 100 mm is now gone, a nice side effect, and there is a bit more spring in the rear triangle posting over tracks and the like. This change is also supposed to allow the Campy RD to access 32 teeth big cog of the wide IRD cassette (30 is max spec, I have 29 now.) Surprised at how long such a small change took to make, as it affects everything back there, but pleased with the way it rides. Getting the sweet tire pressure spot worked wonders: lots of small gravel, some I could not avoid and the tires rolled over them, though the Kevlar helped stop a puncture in at least one case.

Did 21.4 mph outbound (slightly downhill with a slight tailwind) and 14.0 return into the slight wind and slightly uphill for about 17.3 average, my best time in a long time for that route and I wasn't really pushing it, as shown by my pulse dropping below 60% max during cool down. Now if I had some mountain views... it would have been perfect.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

I saw 75 degrees on one bank sign this morning and the slight breeze out of the north made it feel even better. Finished a strong run of 5 miles and did the bike commute to work too (beat my record by 2 seconds at 13:59, and I wasn’t even pushing hard).

Still 100% humidity but that's the first time I saw 75 degrees all summer here. Hopefully it will continue...!!!


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Weather was too sweet today. It was in the same weather as Dixie. I bareley broke a sweat. The only thing to report is a broken down dumpster truck thatt was blocking one side of neighborhood 4 lane neighborhood road. Since I was on a bike and it was too early for traffic, I just cut over th median and rode on the wrong side of the road until the next cross over the median, while watching cars do a detour. 

The gay guy didn't see me topless today. I made sure to change early, and since i didn't really sweat my cool down period was a lot shorter. And MTX,, imagine the "oh god, sorry," the gay guy uttered the other day to me in a very efiminate, excited, yet embarrassed tone. What can I say, gay dudes dig me. :madman: :skep: 

Anyway, my normal commute is 11 miles round trip, but I just started school, so this week, I am biking to work, getting a ride to school, and biking home. I am doing this because I am not sure if logistically, I will have to bike to school from work and get a shower in time for class. I have about 55 minutes and the mileage is a 8.5 mile flat urban (lights and traffic) commute. Google maps says I can make it in 38-48 minutes. 38 minutes being their suggested route, but due to traffic, I don't think that is the fastest way. 48 minutes being my own straight shot down no so busy roads. I think if I push myself on the road bike, I might be able to make it in 45 minutes, which gives me 10 minutes to shower and get to class. I don't have class Friday, so I am giving it a test run. Does anyone know how your time compares to that estimated by google maps? I am about three minutes faster than google maps says I should be on my way 5 mile ride home. I would think that at 8.5 miles, I might could come in 5 minutes faster, which would put me at 43 minutes, giving me 12 minutes to shower and get to class. No matter what I will get a ride on test days, just in case I get a flat or something.

Commuterboy, thanks for pics of your commute. Color me green with envy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

codwater said:


> Does anyone know how your time compares to that estimated by google maps?


Just checked mine- it says 19 minutes for 3.5 miles. Taking out the "once in a blue moon" extremes, I get anywhere from 12:30 to about 17:00, depending on wind, how I`m feeling, and if I`m hauling anything extra and my actual mileage runs 3.1 since G.E. doesn`t know I cut through the fence and park by the back door. Also worth noting that I very seldom have any traffic issues whatsoever and just a few stop signs, no signals unless I take a detour for some reason.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

codwater said:


> Does anyone know how your time compares to that estimated by google maps?


Google says mine is 5.7 miles, 27 minutes. When I go that route, it's under 20 minutes...probably 17 or 18. 21 or so on the way home (uphill).

I dragged the google line to my longer route, which it says is 9.1 miles (that seems high), and it says it should take me 46 minutes. That's rediculous. 27 minutes is about right for that route... maybe 30.

The google bike estimator guy must be averaging like 8 miles an hour. I wonder how long it would think my singletrack route would take me? :lol:


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

I can't track my exact route on Google Map (I use Bikely.com - much more accurate & customizable). But for the hell of it I tracked my route using main roads (I use all sorts of shortcuts downtown) which equated to 4.4 miles (it’s actually 3.7 door to door) and by bicycle it says 23 minutes, I made it just under 14 this morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

So, Google Maps figures time estimates for serious slow pokes or... we`re all stud muffins! 

Actually, the short routes I`ve plugged into G.M. do seem like slow times, but they apparently don`t take rests or terrain into account. On the longer routes I`ve tried with them, they might say something like 32 hours for a 200 mile trek across the desert on dirt roads over high mountains, through sand bottomed valleys and often not passing a single town or pit stop. Crazy routing for long distances. A lot of the roads they advise don`t even have names, and certainly don`t have Street View, so how the hell would they expect somebody to follow the routes? It`s a fun toy, but very limited use in the real world.

Yeah, Bikely is really cool when it works. That isn`t often in my case.


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## Mighty Matt (Apr 22, 2009)

My first commute to college was today. Other than the bit of heat, it was something in the very high 90's, it was fantastic. No problems with the angry commuting motorists.

I would take photo's but my camera is way to big to bring to school, and way to expensive.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

*Yeah, I tried bikely when Dixie first reccomended it to me,*

but I have never been able to get it on a day that their server is running smoothly (really probably only tried to access it once.)

I am pretty sure I can make this commute in the time limitations. My main issue will be getting out of the office in my commuting kit by 5:00. I guess I will have to go to the bathroom about 10 minutes early to get out on time.

I did my second night commute today. The first one, was just home from a friends bbq on a fairly well lit road. I have flashers on bike, and the worked fine for that trip. Well tonight was somewhat different. The road is much like most roads I take by bicycle. 4 lane roads that no longer need to be 4 lanes due to low traffic, or neighborhoods changing. The road is through the heart of an area that has still has not come back since Katrina. The roads are crackled, and the street lights that are working are few and far between. I was really nervous on these roads. I kept thinking of a time I got my front wheel lodged in a crack in the street while leisurely biking at 10 miles and hour. I endod and rolled almost into a cop car. Only, tonight there is no telling what I would have rolled into. Luckily I only hit a couple of unexpected cracks, but nothing that would cause a wreck. The next portion of my trip is down one of our first designated, bike and walker only paths that is completely separated from the road by a grassy median. Smooth asphalt, no cars, and........no lighting. I was extremely sketched out for this entire potion of my ride, which makes up the bulk of it. I almost hit another cyclist head on. She was riding in my lane on the path. She had to have seen my blinky light, but she didn't want to move from the side of her boyfriend who was biking along with her. I saw several cars pulled over to the bike path, where I suspect various love acts were taking place.

I think it is time that I invest in a proper light for night riding, especially if I plan on doing this route the three evenings I have class. This is the light I am looking at: http://www.geomangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_41&products_id=180 . Anyone know anything about this light? It was very apparent that the scare factor for riding without a light, even on a smooth piece of asphalt designated for bikes, is too high for my ticker. Plus if I get a light, I might even catch a glimpse of the various love acts going on in said cars.

Well, I made it home safe and sound, and learned some lessons today. I will update everyone Friday to let you know if the route from work to school will be manageable, or if I will have to keep getting dropped off at school.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

codwater said:


> . This is the light I am looking at: http://www.geomangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_41&products_id=180 . Anyone know anything about this light? .


Huge threads here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=566451 (many others)

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=232163 (and others)

Google for more.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

codwater said:


> I think it is time that I invest in a proper light for night riding, especially if I plan on doing this route the three evenings I have class.


Without a doubt! I can`t comment on that light from personal; experience, so I won`t even go there, but you really need more than blinkies if you`re going to be riding in the dark. Yeah, there are different challenges at night, but all in all I think it`s pretty fun. And actually, I think it`s probably safer to ride at night with good lights than in bright daylight, even considering the drunk ratio. Just don`t go shining your lights into those rocking cars!


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

I would agree with rodar that I feel safer at night with lights than I do during the day. No matter what colors you wear in the day, they can blend in with the surroundings.

Had my first ride in San Francisco today and I am jealous of this bike friendly community. Is it still commuting if I leave my hotel and return to the hotel to begin meetings ? Rented a Marin with Juicy brakes and crossed the Golden Gate on what could have been the best weather in this area in weeks. Definitely worth hitting the streets at 5:30AM.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Nothing new to really report. After a week and half of steady commuting, my times are back to where they were when I was commuting regularly. It was hotter today, and I sweated a bit more. Tons of cars on the road today. I guess no one takes Wednesdays off. I almost got hit, andt it was entirely my fault. I thought I had the green, and in a "zone out" moment, I didn't realize it had gone rea, luckily I had good reaction time. I gotta be more careful.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

saw another commuter today! helmet, safety vest and all the proper stuff! nice!

shot some commuting vid today...the hilly part!...I had to go up 3 times to have the proper shot! :arf:


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

I am finally back! Didn't get eaten by any bears (though one of my stuff sacks did). Great three weeks in the Sierra Nevada; great weather other than some hail on the 4th or 5th day. We did about 230 miles this year - took a couple detours. Caught a lot of trout, too (great fishing this year). Funny though, we didn't technically finish the trail - we were stopped about a mile short of the summit of Mt. Whitney because it was 4 a.m., pitch black out (moon had set), temps below freezing (with the windchill) and the winds were blowing at 60-70 mph over a gully that we did not feel safe crossing. So we bivvied at the Trail Crest junction for 2 hours to wait for the sun to rise and warm things up before getting the hell off the mountain (and back to Vegas for a buffet dinner!). Oh well, it would have been nice to see the sun rise from atop Whitney, but our experience was very interesting! 

I was hoping to begin my bike build as soon as I got back, but I had to put the darn car in the shop (crazy electrical problems - got a short somewhere). Hopefully it won't cost too much...

Back to the boring, short Vegas commute. I am really missing Idaho Falls. The high is supposed to be 107F here today. The heat doesn't bother me (at least while I'm moving!). A cold front is coming through, so our temps are supposed to drop to the low 90s by Monday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Very cool! I did the mountaineer's route on whitney a couple years ago...where you approach from the east and stay at about 12,500... it was about this time of year and the lake we were at froze over during the night. We did get to do sunset on top...we wound decending by headlamp. thankfully no crazy wind. Cool place!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

*someone must've spiked the water at the old folk's home!*

about a 4 block stretch, about 7 people (all >70), south side of the strete, all stepping into traffic between parked cars. 
not a single one was at an intersection, or even getting out of a car, it was weird, sliding silently and slowly between the cars.
"whitehairs of the corn" style. was like geriatric frogger.

I'm not saying it's unusual to have people step out between cars, just that many of that specific demographic in that short a distance! :skep: 
Made me wonder if something was up at the local retirement home??!!
Fleee my elderlies fleeeee fleeee!

other than that? rear aerospoke's got a vertical wobble, think the tire's not seated properly, my bad in my rush to be swanky.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

CB - Awesome! We want to do the mountaineer's route someday. We come up from the backside (Crabtree/Guitar Lake), so it's just a stroll. Very easy. I think we flew up 2,000 ft in about 1 hour and 45 minutes (after 18 days at an average elevation of 10,000 ft, we're well acclimated). I've been up there twice, so missing it this time wasn't completely heartbreaking. I just wonder how the hordes fared in those winds... granted, it is much warmer and doable when the sun is out. 

Funny story - my SO wanted to see the sun rise from Trail Crest, so he took off (at a run) up the trail while I huddled in my sleeping bag, gripping a cup of coffee. The first two hikers from the other side were just coming over the crest and they saw this dark form running towards them. Their first reaction? Bear! Why there'd be a bear at almost 14,000 feet, I don't know :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sounds awesome, RA and CB! I`ve never even hit 14K. RA, don`t forget your parka and mittens for that cold snap.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

RadioActive said:


> CB - Awesome! We want to do the mountaineer's route someday. We come up from the backside (Crabtree/Guitar Lake), so it's just a stroll. Very easy. I think we flew up 2,000 ft in about 1 hour and 45 minutes (after 18 days at an average elevation of 10,000 ft, we're well acclimated). I've been up there twice, so missing it this time wasn't completely heartbreaking. I just wonder how the hordes fared in those winds... granted, it is much warmer and doable when the sun is out.


Mountaineer's is great because you avoid the mob on the main trail, and it's easy to secure a permit. I think we saw two other pairs of climbers while we were up there. People are scared of finding their own route...there's no marked trail, but it's not too difficult. It's enough of a class 3/4 scramble that your upper body is as sore as your legs, but it's very do-able with no equipment (crampons/axe maybe depending on the snow year). Awesome trip.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Wow to both of you. I get the aclimation thing. And a 'trail' that requires upper body and legs but no mountaineering equipment. Simply awesome. Maybe I can talk Kathryn into it (a bit slower though).

Thanks for jogging a memory. Two of my brothers and I started from a parking lot at about 5,000 feet on Whistler (the one near Jasper, Alta., across from Mt Edith Cavel the Canadian Rockies tallest at 12,500). Only 10,500 at the summit, and it didn't seem to bad up or down, at least not until the next day.  Two of us had not been over about 1200 feet elevation until the flight out about 2 days before. Not much aclimation there, but being 17 helped.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Wow to both of you. I get the aclimation thing. And a 'trail' that requires upper body and legs but no mountaineering equipment. Simply awesome. Maybe I can talk Kathryn into it (a bit slower though).
> 
> Thanks for jogging a memory. Two of my brothers and I started from a parking lot at about 5,000 feet on Whistler (the one near Jasper, Alta., across from Mt Edith Cavel the Canadian Rockies tallest at 12,500). Only 10,500 at the summit, and it didn't seem to bad up or down, at least not until the next day.  Two of us had not been over about 1200 feet elevation until the flight out about 2 days before. Not much aclimation there, but being 17 helped.


oops Mt Robson at 12973 ft is the Canadian Rockie's Highest

Mt Eidith Cavell 11034 ft

The Whistlers 8084 ft

http://www.peakfinder.com/peaklist.asp

The Canadian Rockies are quite low because of the severe glaciation.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks for the corrections, Jeff. I was just going by what I remember the locals told us then, but we edit our memories, so I should have checked. Maybe Cavell was the highest peak in easy sight, from Whistlers. It was still a wonderful time and I envy them the Whitney experiences.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Thanks for the corrections, Jeff. I was just going by what I remember the locals told us then, but we edit our memories, so I should have checked. Maybe Cavell was the highest peak in easy sight, from Whistlers. It was still a wonderful time and I envy them the Whitney experiences.


Edith Cavell certainly dominates the view...

You may have also seen Mt Robson to the north...it is usually in the clouds.

Mt Whitney is a beautiful mountain.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The cool thing about the big sierra peaks is how crazy steep they are on the east side compared to how mellow they are on the west... I use my sierra backpacking pics to teach my science classes about 'fault block' mountain formation. You can totally see how the earth's crust just uplifted, leaving a cliff on one side and a slope on the other. Are the Canadian Rockies like that, or are they just a big heap?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> The cool thing about the big sierra peaks is how crazy steep they are on the east side compared to how mellow they are on the west... I use my sierra backpacking pics to teach my science classes about 'fault block' mountain formation. You can totally see how the earth's crust just uplifted, leaving a cliff on one side and a slope on the other. Are the Canadian Rockies like that, or are they just a big heap?


Very much the same...

There are a few notable exception though...

Robson, Columbia, Alberta, Assiniboine....flatter strata more stand alone peaks

http://www.peakfinder.com/showpeakbyid.asp?MtnId=763


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Thanks for the corrections, Jeff. I was just going by what I remember the locals told us then, but we edit our memories, so I should have checked. Maybe Cavell was the highest peak in easy sight, from Whistlers. It was still a wonderful time and I envy them the Whitney experiences.


This page has a picture of Robson from The Whislters.

http://www.peakfinder.com/MorePhotos.asp?MtnId=1128

This page has a picture of Edith Cavell from The Whislters. your view

http://www.peakfinder.com/MorePhotos.asp?MtnId=344


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> This page has a picture of Robson from The Whislters.
> 
> http://www.peakfinder.com/MorePhotos.asp?MtnId=1128
> 
> ...


Shazam! Those are some gnarly lookin rocks!

"The cool thing about the big sierra peaks is how crazy steep they are on the east side compared to how mellow they are on the west... I use my sierra backpacking pics to teach my science classes about 'fault block' mountain formation. You can totally see how the earth's crust just uplifted, leaving a cliff on one side and a slope on the other."
CB, any chance you`ve ever been up Steen`s Mountain, South of Burns, and West of Lakeview? There`s a graded road up the W side from Catlow Valley, easilly passable in a 2WD pickup up to about 9500 ft, then cliffs straight down to the Alvord Desert playa on the E side. Unlike the Sierrra or Cascades, it`s a single mountain all by its lonesome self- really cool.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Edith Cavell certainly dominates the view...You may have also seen Mt Robson to the north...it is usually in the clouds.


Well that explains the memory screw up on height and mountain, doesn't it? It was as clear as a bell that day (and I have the Kodak snapshots to prove it, so no memory fog). Just the odd cumulus cloud. So we did see the tallest peak and I blended the memories. You know the song: "I remember it well!".  Apparently I rememebr it like it was 40 years ago. :thumbsup:

Flat out gorgeous. Great to visit especially in nice weather, but I wouldn't want to have to live on them.

They do call to you don't they?

Farmer's market today. Pumpkin pie for my son's stop in from Senior year at college, tomorrow after the YMCA's 37 mile ride. Looking forward to it. Got new shorts as mine old ones were wearing in places you don't want to show in public forcing me to wear cycling undershorts too.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

I tried the work to school route, and I definitely did not make it in 38 minutes. I need to rethink my route. Actually the best thing might be to load my bike in the car and ride the route, making checkpoints, and riding the bike at certain sections that are bike only.

To sum up the ride:
1. I had to cross a very busy 6 lane road right of the bat. It was 10 minutes before I could safely cross. I already have a solution. I will take the neighborhood road I normally take on the way home, hit a busier street with light that intersect this road, and just take the lane, a cross with the rest of traffic. This is probably the street that sees the most traffic of any in the city I work in.

2. Crossing an equally, if not more busy, 4 lane road. There is another road a few blocks away that I believe others take to miss the main road and the interstate traffic, thus causing this street to jam as well. Crossing was impossible. I actually gave up after 10 minutes, and road side streets down. The solution would be that I notice traffic slacked up after a certain road. That road is the same road that I will crossing the first problem at, thus ducking into neighborhoods after I cross the first road should solve the problem by the time I make it there.

3. I saw a bike lane that connected to one of streets I was on. It cam from the direction of my office. Hmmmmmmm, where does this thing start? I guess I will need to get to the portion of the lane I saw and ride it in reverse. I runs along side a very long canal that stretches from the lake to past where I work. This means, I might be able to take this uninhabited lane for about half my trip.

4. The rest of the ride went as expected, but I have ridden the it before, so that was no surprise. I guess this is just going to take practice. I have two, maybe three, years of school before I can take my cpa. So, I guess that is plenty of time to figure out how to get from work to class, showered, in under 55 minutes.

Sorry about any mispellings, grammer misusage, or ramblings. I have been drinking more than casually tonight.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

More than casually? Traffic has a way of making one thirsty 

Codwater, I can`t follow your descriptions very well, but it sounds like you`re going about it the right way- investigating your options and trying things out. Are there signals where you`re trying to cross those busy streets? From the solution you came up with for 1, that sounds like a no. Yeah, if a detour will get you to a crossing hith a signal, that`s much better IMO. I don`t even like crossing/pulling into stuff like that with a car, and will go way off my route to do it with a signal. Was the bike lane you saw painted in the street or was it a separate path?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

YMCA ride this morning, 37 miles and I brought it up to 50.2. Very pleased. Though I crested the big hills 95-100% max HR with no tightening and was over 80% most of it, I did 20.0 mph for 41.3 miles of it. Fellow riders have a way of compelling you to ride fast. Like horses in a herd, I guess. Some quad complaints but easying off for a bit to 75 max HR and more water fixed that. Goodish sized glacial hills for here, (small for Minnesota)but the only time Granny Gear was used was a hurried misshift past the 36. The new shorts and 700C-32's helped the rougher flintcoat roads compared to the 27 x 1 1/8 I rode last year, but If I rode that flint cote all the time, I'd want 42 mm tiires on 650b rims.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB, any chance you`ve ever been up Steen`s Mountain, South of Burns, and West of Lakeview? There`s a graded road up the W side from Catlow Valley, easilly passable in a 2WD pickup up to about 9500 ft, then cliffs straight down to the Alvord Desert playa on the E side. Unlike the Sierrra or Cascades, it`s a single mountain all by its lonesome self- really cool.


No but it is on the list! Seen it from a distance and google-earthed it. Looks very cool. I have done Shasta a couple times...it has that same "all by itself" thing going. Valley floors are almost 10,000 feet below you in all directions.

Singletrack Monday! I'm fighting a cold, but I couldn't resist riding the singletrack while I still have some daylight. It's getting darker and darker. Saw a HUGE buck escorting a couple of his ladies across the trail.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

On the way home I included a couple of pieces of singletrack. Riding the street geared singlespeed, I followed the cemetery wall and skipped the option that includes two switchbacks climbing back up to the wall, a little before the place where I took thís old pic...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got chased by a dog this morning. It came up on my left side all growly and nasty until I turned my head and said "No" in an authoritative tone. It's nice when a dog listens to commands.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

I've been away from commuting for about 2-1/2 weeks due to some vacationing and a funeral... However, I did manage to get some rides in last week. We stayed a night in Farragut State park (Idaho) and I rode a bit around the campsite in the morning. We then went on to Yellowstone and stayed in Island Park, where my brothers and I got a few good rides. Now back to the grindstone and the regular commute again!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I got chased by a dog this morning. It came up on my left side all growly and nasty until I turned my head and said "No" in an authoritative tone. It's nice when a dog listens to commands.


+1. It can even be funny when they stop and do the 'Squirrel!' look from _UP_. :thumbsup:

By the time they regain attention, you are in the "to heck with it" distance. Hasn't worked with packs, though.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Speaking of squirrel, I almost had one run into my spokes the other day, as did a bird on the path in San Francisco. I can only image the mess.

Today's commute home was awesome. Logged 39 miles, started at 90 degrees and finished in the 60s with a few miles of singletrack followed by an awesome sunset over the lake on the finishing road portion. I don't have near the photography skills of other posters, but if you work the imagery a bit...









Just to give some perspective, last week's "commute" in San Francisco netted a great clear weather day when crossing the Golden Gate and a not so clear day when I was able to make it to the singletrack leading down to Rodeo Beach. Great place for cycling/commuting with the option to jump off the paved path.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RevRacer said:


> Speaking of squirrel, ... I can only image the mess.


Nice pics. Thanks. Now I can have random thoughts of mountaines or the Golden Gate while riding by corn and soybeans! :thumbsup:

One lbs a year ago had an Eddy Mercyx awaiting parts with a shattered carbon fork about 3" below the crown. Cuisinarted squirrel. The carnage was terrible to clean up. Especially the rider: broken arm, collar bone, and some internal injuries meant the end of the riding season for him.

I think they first try for the gap ahead of the BB until they see the pedal coming round right at them, and they deke for what appears to be an opening through the front wheel. Whirling spokes have no natural counterpart and carbon forks were not designed for a point impact or load stress from that direction. Still a very sudden and unexpected endo if the fork held. An endo in panic braking mode is one thing, out of the blue, another.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

+1 on the SanFran pics! CSMac, I dig your dock shot, too.

Do I get to join the suirrel club? We ran over one on the tandem last Spring (just thumped instead of going for the spoke shot) and last night I had to let off the gas and let myself bog down on a sandy section for a stupid rabbit that wouldn`t get out of my headlight or pick up the pace. The little booger could have easilly sped up, but he wanted to play zig-zag right in front of my tire.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

You are supposed to have a Darwinian effect on the rabbit species by eliminating the stupid/slow ones.  

Acutally bones unfortunately flatten tires nicely, so best not to run over them.

Nice night ride. Cooler. Less stupid traffic. Down to 200 pounds now. Lowest in over 25 years. Getting away with 70 pounds pressure in back and 55 in front with 32 mm tires without noticeable thumps with stones and it sure helps out on rough pavement.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

If it wasn`t for stupid rabbits, we wouldn`t have no rabbits at all. To do my part at darwiniating the slow ones, maybe I`ll have hasenpfefer for dinner tonight.

Lowest weight in 25 years? Dang, good job! I think that`s the first time I`ve heard anybody quantify weight loss in tire pressure, too. And you must be one of those light riders- I weigh in the 130s and need about 70 to 80 front and rear to avoid pinch flats. I seem to pinch in front more than in back, so have keep about the same pressure in both.

Nice ride in today for me, too. Cool and NO WIND for a change. This afternoon I noticed one little ash and one maple just starting to turn, which seems a bit odd, but I`ll take it as a good sign anyway. Also noticed that there`s at least one lift of blacktop down on my closed road now, so I think I`ll try it out on my way home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...hasenpfefer for dinner tonight.


Rabbit pot pie is also quite nice. Actually, the idea of smart bunnies is a bit scary. One might need The Holy Hand Grenade (any other Monty Pyhton fans?). Just remember to count to three.



rodar y rodar said:


> ......And you must be one of those light riders- I weigh in the 130s and need about 70 to 80 front and rear to avoid pinch flats. .


You look bigger in pictures.

I guess years of riding light French rims and sub 28 mm tires while carrying 20 pounds of books taught me to post and dodge gravel well especially when I rode tubs. I have noticed that as I have lost weight I am more senstive to saddle impacts over 20 mile+ rides. Losing some cushioning, I guess.



rodar y rodar said:


> ......Nice ride in today for me, too. Cool and NO WIND for a change. This afternoon I noticed one little ash and one maple just starting to turn, which seems a bit odd, but I`ll take it as a good sign anyway. Also noticed that there`s at least one lift of blacktop down on my closed road now, so I think I`ll try it out on my way home.


Droughty here so the Black Walnuts are losing their leaves a few weeks early. If we get a frost early (hope not) leaves will change fast. Good luck with the new pavement.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

Ugh, I need to get off my butt and post some pics from my Idaho commute. I miss that ride... I could post pics of my Vegas commute, but it's incredibly boring and devoid of scenery. 

The weather isn't too bad this week - the highs are hovering around 100 degrees. I think we have maybe another week of 100+ temps, then it'll cool down. 

I am trying to figure out how I want to build up my new bike. So many options! I am going to have some help from the Maverick guys though, at least. I am trying to keep my spending to a minimum, but it's hard not to want to go with higher-end components... And SRAM makes orange anodized parts that would match my frame! :lol: I am making a price list and I'll compare my options. I never realized how complicated this would be! I think I need to go for a ride...


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Streets were slightly wet this morning but the sun was shining. The legs felt a bit heavy after Saturdays group ride event: there were over 200 of us riding in 11 groups. 
I guided a slightly bumpy 3 hour ride on my rigid singlespeed. The pavement climb to the "3 hour meeting point", where most groups continued on to some smoother trails, almost killed me.


















Riding home from the group ride, I went through this junction that I usually avoid like the plague ... somebody has put up a vid on how to make a left turn there. 
Fortunately, I was going straight through, so only had to stop 4 times...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks for the post, pertine. Enjoyed it.

At the end of a perfect ride:



No wonder its hard to lose weight: your legs get much bigger cycling!



29er? How about 58er? Does this pic make my bike look big? Head's in the gutter again. Took a lot out of me, I feel like a shadow of my former self. My flatlander doppleganger makes an appearance.

PS. NO trafffic on quiet suburban street, so no great risks run to bring you my darker side.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The still shots look very nice, Perttime. I`m curious about the intersection in the video, but that`s going to have to wait until I get home because they don`t show up at work.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice post pert...you should send that vid to your authorites (probably with non-sarcastic notes :lol: )...I guess something can happen...wondering when we are going to have bike lanes on this side of the world 

you sure look big on those shots Brian :lol:

almost got my pannier hooked to a car parked while passing between it and another car stopped during a light...the rest was quite normal.

I'm alone again commuting to work...my coworker got his knee ligaments broken during a soccer game...he is due to operation next week I think.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I did send a link to the video via the Town internet feedback form. No comments or notes 

The pics:
- a roller, 2 meters high or so. It was in the "wrong" direction, so we looped back just for it. A couple of guys decided not to do it.
- I got the second pic too late to show where we were coming from but it turned out sort of OK anyway
- the 3 hour point on top of a ridge. People in line to get coffee and something sweet to eat.


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## VTRC (Nov 19, 2008)

Today's commute was awesome. First business trip on a new Dew Drop and my first ride with fenders. I felt a little silly getting fenders until today also happened to be the first ride with rain, and they were SO nice.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ouch, bummer about your commute buddy, Martin. Hope his surgery goes well.

Perttime, you said before that cyclists are required to ride in the bike paths/sidewalks. I suppose that applies to the intersection in the video too? Is that what all the riders really do there? It looks like it would be a lot easier to just ride with the motor vehicles.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> you said before that cyclists are required to ride in the bike paths/sidewalks.


Almost: cyclists are required to use the paths/sidewalks when they are marked with a bike sign: 









No marking and you are not allowed to ride on them.

If your "designated part of the road" is unusable, you can use some other part of the road. Also, the rules can be interpreted so that you can use the road or street if it is *safer*, for some reason, than the path or sidewalk.

The situation in the video is not quite realistic, if you know the junction. There are less painful ways to get around it. But just going through is quite enough for me. I usually manage to think of an alternative route.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

*Radars lie.*

Rain out of nowhere but wasn't so bad (rather refreshing). I even got a siren blast from a prison caravan (not sure why) - sometimes I think pigs just like being d0uchebags. WTF happened to all that nice weather? Back to the high 70s with 100% humidly this morning it rather sucked but I suppose anything is better than driving.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Crossing the fingers... 60% chance of rain today and I haven't got my front fender mounted up yet... did buy some hardware though. I got distracted with other obligations and now I only have a rear fender...but it is a very, very fat PB Cascadia 29er fender. 1st order of business if I make it home dry is to get that front one figured out...


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*tyres*



CommuterBoy said:


> Crossing the fingers... 60% chance of rain today and I haven't got my front fender mounted up yet... did buy some hardware though. I got distracted with other obligations and now I only have a rear fender...but it is a very, very fat PB Cascadia 29er fender. 1st order of business if I make it home dry is to get that front one figured out...











i thought you said you had these tyres

do you like them? i ripped one to pieces on the trail. do you still commute on them? the one got trashe on the rear so i tossed it.

i think i have two 2" ones on my 2nd wheel set. i have one 1.8' and i have two nice mavics wheels w/o tires, also still have two 2.4" conti mtn king.

nashbar has another sale on some mtb tires, but i was at the windham uci world cup and the kenda guy tossed me a tyre. as much as i trashed the kenda nevagal maybe i should give them another shot as the serious mtb season is upcoming and the 2.4" contis are a couple of years old and i don't want them on front and rear. i may take a 2" tire off the #2 wheel set, and put on rear of wheelset one and the 2.4" on front of wheel set #1 and the 1.8" mich on the rear of wheel set #2. seems lime a lot of work. maybe i need some new tires. what's your rubber hitting the road:thumbsup:


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

Well, let's start with the good. Caught the traffic report before I left and it said there were bags of concrete blocking two lanes on the freeway. Yay, me. Nice cool overcast, but not cold. Favorable ~10mph winds.

Now for the rest. Most of the ride, the sound of my tires on the road sounded like I was shaking a big jar full of broken glass and bolts. I'm pretty sure I ran over a crack pipe, and I may have seen a fetus. 

And now the best part. Traffic sometimes backs up on a stop sign about 200 yards down on a single lane semi-residential street - it has a bike lane that shares space with a "parking" lane. I see a jackass pull into the bike/parking lane to try to skirt past other traffic to make a right... 200 yards down. Another jackass thinks this is a wonderful idea and tries to do the same... right into me. I get a hand on the side of the truck and give it a good rap on the window and he stops. I hear him pull in behind me still thinking driving in the bike lane is a good idea so I ride as slow as I can without falling over... for 200 yards. I contemplated stopping all together, but figured that would be too obvious. He ended up not turning but going straight and cutting someone else off.  

I love my ride. rft:


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## VTRC (Nov 19, 2008)

The ride home last night was as wet a time outdoors as I have ever had in Oregon. It wasn't the usual west coast drizzle, this was rogue typhoon extravaganza. The Fenders were nice on the ride to work, and amazing on the ride home. There were still a couple of times when I had to check to be sure my feet were above water. 

Ride back in was awesome.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jkmacman said:


> i thought you said you had these tyres
> 
> do you like them? i ripped one to pieces on the trail. do you still commute on them? the one got trashe on the rear so i tossed it.


Yes, I still have those on the 29er (mtb, not the full time commuter). They were awesome in the spring slop/mud, and I intended to swap them out for my WTB Prowler 2.1's when things dried out, but they sealed up so well tubeless I didn't mess with them all summer. Now that it's almost fall I might as well leave them on there for the mud again. the only place I didn't like them was in loose-over-hardpack conditions...they don't get great traction when it's loose and dry, especially when climbing. I used them for the big 85 mile Tahoe ride I do every year, and they were awesome all day...no issues even on the relatively sharp rock sections of Tahoe Rim Trail. Keep in mind this was on a hardtail too...I was very impressed with them after that ride. I have commuted on them some, and I am noticing that the rear is wearing with pavement use. But they have a lot of life left even after a pretty big summer of riding. I need to rotate them and get another several hundred miles out of them...the front looks almost new. Lots of people use the Michelins on the rear for the slop (great mud traction), but I've heard lots of complaints about them being loose on the front end...not a lot of bite when leaned over into a turn. I haven't really had this issue with mine on the front, but it's what I hear. All in all, great rear tire for sloppy conditions, questionable for use in dry loose stuff, and questionable as a front tire. I like 'em on both ends personally. 
They make a nice satisfying hum on the pavement also... I would not call them 'fast rolling' :lol:
But they are a 2.0 and my big apples are 2.35, so I can swap these in under my fenders with no clearance issues for the snow. :thumbsup:


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*my WTB Prowler 2.1's*

thanks for the respones. this tire got mixed reviews on this site. they seem to be avalaible for 20 buxs online. since your used to them. no worries:thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I got my prowlers on a set of wheels I bought on craigslist. I've only used them a tiny bit. They seemed to be really fast rolling, really sticky soft rubber. I'm thinking they will go like mad in hardpack conditions, but wear fairly fast. they are currently hanging in the garage. I've put maybe 20 miles on them.


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## jkmacman (Mar 5, 2009)

*wtb*

i had wtb all terrainasaurus was a good commuter tire. here's a pic of the mich in question. i wrecked the rear tire on this ride as the conditions were extreme. also 3rd day in a row of epic mtb for the rear, 2nd day in a row for front tire as i got a thorne on the front conti on friday, got a slow leak, so i took this front tire w/mich as was suitable for the smooth singletrack i hit on saturday at newburg ny stewart state park









_windham hi peak_

this is from wheel set 2, i think i'll put the 1.8" on rear wheel set 2, should be ideal for commuting:thumbsup:


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

CB - you can bike the Tahoe Rim Trail? My SO has been wanting to hike it; biking it sounds like fun!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

There are sections that are closed to bikes, but lots of it is open, especially in North Lake.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode a longer version of the usal 25 mile route to prepare for the Century a week Saturday. Healthy cross/head wind out cross/tail back about 200 m downhill outbound net and 17.6 mph (not counting time to fix a flat, wait for the left turn signal, and other non-riding (like taking pictures). Sprinted out of the saddle over several of the grades in 48/ 13 or 14 or 15 depending. A far cry from barely cresting the same ones in my lowest gear (then) of 30-28 three years ago when I did not reach an average 15 mph.. Probably 40 pounds less as I am carrying maybe 10 pounds more stuff on the bike. That and being more fit.

A view of the rock cut on the way back:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

There is a second water bottle peaking out of the handlebar bag (strange loop under right bars).

See 'random thoughts commutting' and 'what your route looks like' threads for more scintilating information. (Caution the referenced information may be hazardous to your health.)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RadioActive said:


> CB - you can bike the Tahoe Rim Trail? My SO has been wanting to hike it; biking it sounds like fun!


You didn`t know that? There`s some world class MTBing up there. In general, the parts of the trail that aren`t in designated wilderness and don`t overlap the PCT are open for biking. Two exceptions: one popular section near Reno is open every other day for bikes (great compromise to keep most everyone happy) and one small section over Marlette Lake is closed to bikes, but has a very nice dirt road alternate. The guide book they sell from the official website includes quite a bit of bike specific information, more great info and lots of vids and pics on Ogrehut. The author of that site posts almost daily on the NorCal section here at mtbr.

http://www.tahoerimtrail.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140&Itemid=146
http://ogrehut.com/trails.php/LakeTahoe/TRT

EDIT: If you or anybody else from other places ever gets a hankering to ride Tahoe, free floor or yard camping is available in Lemon Valley with kitchen, bath, and laundry access. We`re a full day`s bike from the lake, but less than 90 minutes drive. Just PM for a contact number.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

saw 3 car crashes on my way home yesterday.

quite normal this morning


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

I don't want to jinx myself for the ride home, but that was a lovely ride in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday on the ride home I stopped at a stop sign and saw a car to my left crossing the train tracks slowly. This happens just about every day, and every day I know that I have plenty of time to make a left turn. 

As I pulled out, I heard a hellacious revving noise coming from the car. I look down the road and the car is blazing towards me at an ungodly speed. I don't know if the guy was running nitrous or what, but I have never seen a car accelerate that fast. Luckily, I made it safely into the other lane by the time the car past me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> As I pulled out, I heard a hellacious revving noise coming from the car. I look down the road and the car is blazing towards me at an ungodly speed.


Whoa- like he was going out of his way to either hit you or scare the crap out of you? Sounds bad- glad you had some sprint in you.

It`s been really windy all week and getting pretty chilly at night. I`ve been gald to have my gloves with me. I wonder when I`ll have to start wearing long pants and/or jacket. This morning is turning out nice- fairly warm and still no wind with only two hours until I leave for work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I was wishing for my windproof gloves this morning at 6:30. I'd bet we were in the 30's. I'm still in shorts and long sleeves, but I was cold this morning. It's about that time...


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Two flats in three weeks. Kenda's Iron Cloak is weak. I had proper pressure, but I do hit a lot of rough miles during my commute. First one was from a piece of pea gravel. Second I assume was pinch, although I don't really know how to tell.

Other than that everything has been good. The humidity is back and killer. my 15 day commute streak ended today due to me feeling down about my flat yesterday. Been listening to a lot of live Grateful Dead stuff on my commute. The music really isn't my thing, but it is growing on me. Puts me in good spirits while I ride.

"We can share the women we can share the wine. We can what we got of yours, cause we done shared all of mine."


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Dead Orange Tiger Tomcat (big!) dead on shoulder. No gun, so I don't think it was Gary the No Trash Cougar. Anyone heard from him lately? Anyone know where he hailed from? Hope he's well. (Could have posted in random, well not so random thoughts thread.)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Dead Orange Tiger Tomcat (big!) dead on shoulder. No gun, so I don't think it was Gary the No Trash Cougar. Anyone heard from him lately? Anyone know where he hailed from? Hope he's well. (Could have posted in random, well not so random thoughts thread.)


Bay area- San Carlos or San Mateo, I think. Last activity here was in June and a couple days earlier on BFnet. I sent PMs on both, but haven`t heard back.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bay area- San Carlos or San Mateo, I think. Last activity here was in June and a couple days earlier on BFnet. I sent PMs on both, but haven`t heard back.


Thanks. Busy until later today. I will try some research then.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Didn't find any Garys other than Fischer in the news in Greater San Francisco, but it looks like the local papers don't put much on line. No evidence that he or his wife have left the planet. But alien abductions are like that, apparently. Maybe someone here was in horticultural circles in San Fransico and knows him personally and can call him or search using his full name (Do NOT post it here!).


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> You didn`t know that? There`s some world class MTBing up there. In general, the parts of the trail that aren`t in designated wilderness and don`t overlap the PCT are open for biking. Two exceptions: one popular section near Reno is open every other day for bikes (great compromise to keep most everyone happy) and one small section over Marlette Lake is closed to bikes, but has a very nice dirt road alternate. The guide book they sell from the official website includes quite a bit of bike specific information, more great info and lots of vids and pics on Ogrehut. The author of that site posts almost daily on the NorCal section here at mtbr.


Nope; I haven't really looked into it much. I'm surprised my SO never came across anything, unless he did and just didn't want to inform me :lol:. I will have to check it out. Thanks for the links!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Two from this morning. Last weekend was the first time I've been well enough to ride for a while, so I got out with a friend and did a couple small spins. This week I decided to do some commuting. I made a thread discussing options a couple weeks back, and decided to do the half-commute, where I drive in one day and ride home, then ride in the next and drive home. I've done this before and so far it's working well with my new home/family life.

Here's one of a small channel fed by the Sacramento river at the start of the bike trail I use to get to work:










And here's one of my new bike. I needed something to tow a baby trailer with and after a couple months of hunting around, I finally found just what I wanted: A steel framed road bike, geared, rack mounts, not very expensive. Done.










This bike is very nice and comfortable to ride so far. The drive train is a little loud but it's bottom of the barrel Shimano gear (2300 8spd derailleur and DT shifters, HG850 cassette). I'm going to upgrade this bike by snagging some parts off of my Tarmac (I need to research if I can steel the 105 crank from it and get a shiny new Ultegra model) and then purchase either a 105 or Utlegra 10 spd derailleur and Dura-Ace 10 spd DT shifters.

Adding the rack to this bike made a huge difference in the commute; getting the weight of my laptop and gear off my back while commuting is awesome! I never knew how much MORE fun commuting could be. It's so comfortable with panniers. My ride home yesterday was pretty good. It was my first ride > 10 miles on this bike and my first time ever riding with panniers. I was surprised by how un-noticeable the weight is while riding, and over the course of the ride my avg speed was only off by about .5 mph, which equated to a total time of about three minutes longer than usual. This morning I noticed some fatigue in my legs, which I expected to some degree since I basically didn't ride at all for six weeks and I'm just getting back in to it, plus this bike is heavier than what I'm used to. The ride was still great though, and I feel great to be back doing it again!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*nachomc *: nice river shot. Like the steel bike, too. (See below).

Rode my commute/non-commute (no job) in afternoon rush hour to get aclimated. Drivers are better than the average, especiallly weekend ones.



New front bag support from V-O allowed pulsimeter, bag, and light to move off bars. I hate stuff on handlebars. Stopped the bag rubbing on the brake cable housing, too, Great way to get light glare out of my eyes. Try a night ride in a bit.

Night 'ride' showed the glare problem is solved. nice pool of light in front of bike without lighting up my bake levers and bar. The 'hood' effect of the bag is minimal for oncoming, but an ugly hood mounted to the light will be out of sight there.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> *nachomc *: nice river shot. Like the steel bike, too. (See below).


It's weird to be part of the "Steel is real!!!" crowd, but, I can't help it. Once I bought my steel mountain bike and took a ride, I was hooked.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Road construction is all wrapped up on my commute, so I`m back to my regular route. Last week (ending today, actually) was Air Race time, so I get several blocks of boneheads wandering in the street and in general disupting the normally peaceful ride. Yesterday I took a spin on my new play toy and tried to get some representative shots of the general clusterf*k. Doesn`t look so bad in my pics, so you`ll just have to take my word for it. Really, it DOES get nasty! Here are a few (tame) pixels anyway.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Had get dog food on the way home


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Tried to ride the local Century for third time. Was very doing well for speed then tried a blind (around a corner) hill I did not know out of the saddle in middle chainring instead of droping to the Granny and my quads got me up it, but quit after. The two walking up 2/3 up the hill should have been my clue. Averaged 10 mile an hour with all the stops after that to massage the quads back to duty. Got 57 miles in. Oh well, live and learn.



This Sag is on the East side of the Ride is across form the Sunoco Station that is my usual 25 mile circuit West side turnaround. Bluegrass music supplied. The Duchess is on the other side of the tree. Got many complements on the lights. Some interested in the bike, too.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

(sing it to the tune of "hot blooded")

snot rockets! check it and seeee
better on the road than wiped on my sleeeve
sorry baby i'll buy dinner to-niiight
snot rockets... shot my wife!
 


fall is officially here now, balaclava needs replacing, gloves are not watertight anymore, and brooks saddles (while lovely in nice weather) retain water so it'll be back to the vinyl/kevlar coated dh saddle for the next 4 months or so.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> snot rockets! check it and seeee
> better on the road than wiped on my sleeeve
> sorry baby i'll buy dinner to-niiight
> snot rockets... shot my wife!


So began the "Random Commuting Songs" thread...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got passed on the left by another pickup. I was on the leftmost side of the lane signaling my transition into the turning lane. The driver decided to pass me. The weird part was that she looked right at me through the passenger window, and I yelled to her, "What are you doing?" I don't know if she heard me or not.

I can't figure out how to keep people from passing me on the left while making a left turn. The drivers in my area just don't get it. Arm out = turn signal. Don't pass me.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

> I can't figure out how to keep people from passing me on the left while making a left turn. The drivers in my area just don't get it.


Common sense just ain't that common!

My commutes are getting chillier and darker. Ordered a light from eBay and a taillight from MEC.ca. Along with some warmer gloves and some toe covers! Hopefully the snow stays at bay this fall for a while.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

csmac2004 said:


> Common sense just ain't that common!


+1 Million! I bet she doesn't know what the hand signal meant. Wondered why you were over left. (DUH!) I did not see it on the last written driver's test I saw.



csmac2004 said:


> a taillight from MEC.ca. .


Did you mention it before? Got a direct link or make and model name. I am planmning a shootout and I could buy one more blinky (maybe) if it is in the game.


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Did you mention it before? Got a direct link or make and model name. I am planmning a shootout and I could buy one more blinky (maybe) if it is in the game.


The light I bought was from Portland Design Works. From MEC, here is the link: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...4442633647&FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374302692895

As for why I chose this light, I would have to say I really didn't think it through that much, just pressed the "Add to cart" button and moved on!


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Well, to show I am good sport and I acknowledge that I have been beat fair & square…

I was on the commute home today when I was making my turn in the ghetto part of town, I saw this younger fellow riding on a shiny cruiser bike pedaling rather fast in my direction. Once I made the turn and weaved between oncoming traffic, I heard a lot of noise coming up on my left on the sidewalk and low behold there was young fellow knees bobbing up & down faster than you could see them and says to me “Yo bike be slow boy…” I smiled and glanced down at my computer “25 mph” then he stopped pedaling and headed towards the Shop-N-Rob. 

So there you have it, I got beat by a cruiser bike fair and square.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

csmac2004 said:


> The light I bought was from Portland Design Works. (edit: 'Radbot1000') As for why I chose this light, I would have to say I really didn't think it through that much, just pressed the "Add to cart" button and moved on!


An excellent choice. I assume you'll be using it in one of the two flash modes (output stays high longer). Here are two of them with side firing Planet Bike Superflashes and a helmet PBSF, too, and return (recycled video):

http://img375.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Pradbot11

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

It's a quarter mile to the turnaround. Twin Radbot1000s. That enuffurya? If not, I also run two 1.4 watt lights (non-flash).

Output with different chemistires:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3529418&postcount=56

Output over time with NiMH AAAs:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3529482&postcount=57

Use NiMH recharge them on schedule and the light will be bright!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Now for something completely different...

http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2010/09/rush-hour-interactions-with-other.html

A friend on CPF sent me this link.. Check out the links in the last paragraph. I have it easy. Although, the first one reminds me of a run-in I had in 1982 with a crazy person.

Rested a day since ripping up my quads. Rode 30.8 miles today and the 25 mile times route averaged 18.0 mph (20.3 outbound (downhill with wind) and 15.7 uphill with headwind) one of my best times. Quads are obviously better even if still griping!


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## csmac2004 (Mar 29, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> An excellent choice. I assume you'll be using it in one of the two flash modes (output stays high longer)... Use NiMH recharge them on schedule and the light will be bright!


Thanks! Yes, I figured one of the two flash modes would be what I'd choose. Especially since my wife made the comment about how annoying those modes were (in my opinion, annoying = getting noticed).

And I know I don't have experience with any other light to compare my observations with, but man this thing is BRIGHT! Thanks for the tip about the batteries to get. I actually bought some AAA's NiMH rechargeables a few months ago and never used them, so that will be perfect!


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Good commute today. The temp was lower, but the humidity was still high. I took it really easy on my ride today. I kept hearing a clunk noise that synced with wheel rotation. At first I thought it was my pedal, so I stopped pedaling. The sound kept going....KaKunk, KaKlunk. So I stopped, lifted the real wheel and pedaled. There was no noise. 

I got back on and the noise started immediately. So, I put all my weight over the headset, and the noise quieted and stopped. I put my ass back on the seat, and the noise started gain. I made it to work, but I am little nervous. Guess I will investigate later.

Today was also my first day commuting with rack. It was nice to have the weight off my back. It reduced my sweat immensly. I had to Jerry rig the rack though. My bike has the bosses on the seat stary for a rack, but nowhere to mount the top part. I ended up zip tying it to the top of the seat stays, and it seems to hold very well.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

*it was ugly!!!*

the other night my surly and my superfly got into a scrap. it was ugly...
the beefy surly thug made short work of the superfly and now the thug is sporting carbon cranks, seatpost, avid hydros and wtb speeddiscs.

I don't even know when he got the ibert... :skep:

long story short (too late!)
my kid loves daddy's new big bike (confirmed with a couple judicious "vroooms").
rode it in, kind of heavy (compared to a ss'd 853 lemond), and kind of buzzy (tire noise), I'll be waiting to see how the tires behave on snowy roads, but other than that I'm hoping my whole "winter commuter" issue has just been solved!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I can't start to think of winter. The high temp today is supposed to be 97.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m patiently waiting to find out what Codwater`s mystery noise was.

We got cold for a while and I started packing gloves with me for my ride home, but it warmed up again and I haven`t needed the gloves for the past couple weeks.

Just rode back from my folks` house and had a nice incedent. There was some kind of little motorcycle (like a moped without pedals) sputtering along the shoulder, barely able to keep running. I first saw it way up the hill, several minutes before I caught up. When I swung around to pass the guy I told him "You really made my day- it isn`t often I get to do this". I think the other guy was as amused as I was since I got a smile and a wave.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m patiently waiting to find out what Codwater`s mystery noise was..


Me too. Mine turned out to be loose rear wheel bearings and the wheel moving sideways under weight.



rodar y rodar said:


> We got cold for a while and I started packing gloves with me for my ride home, but it warmed up again and I haven`t needed the gloves for the past couple weeks...


Mornings still baove 40 *F though not for long, Record highs in the 90's but lower than forcast. A half inch of rain in August and so far this month.



rodar y rodar said:


> ...When I swung around to pass the guy I told him "You really made my day- it isn`t often I get to do this". I think the other guy was as amused as I was since I got a smile and a wave.


A silver lining in that cloud, and a little humor.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Well, I checked the bike over, and I found the culprit. The clunk noise was coming from an area of the wheel that has several spokes with no tension. Let me tell a little background about the bike. I scoured craigslist for a steel road bike because I thought my commute was about to double. I found a 99 low end trek steel road bike for dirt cheap. I have been riding it for a few months now, and there have been several small issues along the way, but nothing out of the oridinary for a 10 year old used bike.

I'm guessing it probably isn't save to ride the bike with the wheels in the current condition. I also feel like the wheels are not worth salvaging seeing as they are 10 year old low end road wheels. As luch would have it someone on my local mountain bike forum just got his front wheel ran over by a cop while commuting, and was looking for some wheel advice. Another guy on the forum offered to sell him a wheel with a 105 hub and mavic open pro rim. The guy declined his offer, so I PMd the guy, and he said he will let go of the set. So looks like the problem is solved. I will be commuting on my old faithful mountain bike while I await the new wheels.

Rodar, great story. I have yet to make a pass on another rider. I think it is mostly due to the fact that my route's are not popular. I did take a rather popular route to the bank the other night. I saw another rider ahead and I got all gitty. I kept my pace and awaited my frist pass. Then out of no where a group of drunken people leaving a bar after the Saints game stepped out on the path right between me and the other rider. Unfortunately I had to slow down and call for the lane. By the time I got by them they guy had turned somewhere, and the pass never happened.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

codwater said:


> Another guy on the forum offered to sell him a wheel with a 105 hub and mavic open pro rim. The guy declined his offer, so I PMd the guy, and he said he will let go of the set.


I love it when a plan comes together! Codwater, that sounds like the perfect solution to me. As long as you have room for it, a roadie is great to have in the stable. And if you aren`t a full scale road rider, your old Trek is probably a nice one to fill that slot- glad you found a cheap fix that also gets you a little upgrade in the process.

No word for m Xplorer in quite a while. Did she say anything about an extended vacation?

EDIT: Ten years old? Hell, it probably still has paint! Cod, if it were me, I`d probably retension or even respoke that rear wheel and keep it around for a spare. If you aren`t interrested in doing that, keep in mind that Rodar could use a rear hub . Is it Shimano and for 8 speeds or more?


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

*Sometimes its good to be late...*

...even if its only 30 seconds.

Last night my commute home started great, decided to take the long way home. I managed come upon a flock of turkeys, flying nonetheless and landing on an electric wire. I found this quite bizarre and stopped to snap a few photos.

A few miles later, I head into a nasty climb for this route and I see the sky start to get dark. I figured a combination of a change of season and some clouds, but then I realized they were serious storm clouds. The wind started to kick up, and acorns started pelting me from the oak trees (another good reason for a helmet). I managed to get into a stretch of open road with a mile to go and the dark clouds were right over home. I pedaled faster, into the wind, went into another grove of trees and the crosswind whipped up to the point of deafening sound almost blowing over the bike. I heard a crash and as I made the next bend I had seen the remains of the tree that had fallen, hollow trunk, across road. Had I been 30 seconds earlier, I would be pushing up branches. I carried the bike through the field to get around, rode the last quater mile and reported the hazzard to the local authorities.

Whether it was the extra wind holding me back on the turkeys on the telephone line,it was a good thing to be a little late.

I hadn't considered this kind of adventure when starting to commute, but all was good today when I got back on the saddle with blue skies.

Next time, I gotta make a last minute check on the weather before leaving work.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Tonights Ride was Warm and Windy with a pulled groin
I figured out though that it Hurts less with my knees in more


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Just missed the thunderstorm on the way home yesterday, roads were still wet but no rain. Hot and humid compared to the cool evenings we've been having(temps in the 50's). I was about a mile from home when I felt the back tire squishin around, dag! a flat. Decided to just push it the rest of the way since it was dark and I didn't feel like changing the tube at the moment. Made it another block or so when it went completely flat and I thought I might ruin the tire from the weight of my books and junk on the rear rack. So I shouldered the behemoth for the last half mile. Oh, and here's the best part, I just purchased a Surly Steamroller! should be here in about a week or so.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After a week of being in the mid to upper 90s, the temps this weekend might not even leave the 70s. I'm banking on a little rain tonight to get the trails in shape for a ride tomorrow. I'm tired of dusty trails. We haven't had any rain in weeks.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

This morning, I ran across 3 crackheads on bikes to my normal 1 along the narrow pathway inside the tunnel. One of them was having a nice conversation with himself and then me in a language I have never heard. He gets props for pushing his bike up the incline while smoking a cig and pulling swigs off his bottle of Night Train though. 

100% humidity, mid-70s doesn't feel any better late September than it did in August. I hear we have some relief coming next week. I'll take any cool weather you fellows up north can send down to the south!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Close call RevRacer. It sure sounds like you were right about not being a tiny bit faster yesterday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I almost got a mouthful of asphalt yesterday. There are some old rail lines going across the road along my commute. Most of them run diagonally but one runs perpendicular to the road. This crossing is a bit rutted out, so I often bunny hop the tracks for fun. This time I became distracted for a split second before taking off. My front tire hit the tracks fairly hard, and I could feel the back end coming up. Fortunately I was getting ready to bunny hop anyway, so when I hit the tracks I was already beginning to pull up the bars. It was an ugly, kind of backwards, hop but at least I stayed on the bike.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I can't start to think of winter. The high temp today is supposed to be 97.


I think we're supposed to hit 96 today, and reach over 100 degrees again this weekend. So much for fall...

I haven't been reporting much lately because my commutes are so boring and uneventful (the latter is probably a good thing!). I am concerned, though: I've been having weird knee pain lately (I have had it before - it will last a month or so, then go away). It only occurs when I am sitting or lying down - my right knee will start burning with some of the most intense pain I've experienced. It'll happen when I am asleep in the middle of the night. It almost feels like the back of my kneecap is on fire or someone is trying to rip my knee off, but it only lasts for a few seconds (30 sec max) and then it's gone, with only a slight residual soreness left in my knee. I've seen the doctor about it before (a few years ago - x-rays done, nothing found), but maybe I should see my new doctor and request an MRI. I was wondering if it had anything to do with my seat height or the angle my feet are at (I ride clipless), but it only happens on occasion (for a month or so out of the year), and I've been commuting for a solid year now. And it started before I started riding. I also wonder if it could be due to some old impact injuries (I trip a lot when I hike/backpack - clumsy - and my right knee seems to target the only rock in the path). Time to do some internet research.  Other than that, and sitting at work and missing out while Interbike is going on, there's nothing going on here.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Sunny and dry this morning. For a change.

The nights get a bit chilly, though, when the sky is clear: when I took the dog out, I could hear someone scraping car windows.

I've had a small squeak in the drivetrain for a few days and already ordered some new Hollowtech 2 BB cups. Yesterday, I cleaned the bike a bit, lubed the chain, tightened the chain (singlespeed) and tightened the rear hub bolts (drive side was a little loose). The squeak is gone. 
... I'll need those new BBs sooner or later. Actually, better replace now and take a closer look at the ones I have on now. One felt a little rough when I had the cranks off a week or two ago.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I almost got a mouthful of asphalt yesterday. There are some old rail lines going across the road along my commute. Most of them run diagonally but one runs perpendicular to the road. This crossing is a bit rutted out, so I often bunny hop the tracks for fun. This time I became distracted for a split second before taking off. My front tire hit the tracks fairly hard, and I could feel the back end coming up. Fortunately I was getting ready to bunny hop anyway, so when I hit the tracks I was already beginning to pull up the bars. It was an ugly, kind of backwards, hop but at least I stayed on the bike.


Glad you kept it "tire side down." I had a similar encounter with trolley tracks. I had taken a ride downtown to shop for a gift for my old lady. An aunt of mine had gifted me a road bike, which I ended up selling to start my mountain bike addiction, but this was the bike I was on that day. As I was zipping around downtown, my narrow front road tire slipped into the groove in the pavement where the rails were. The tire got completely wedged under my weight and an endo ensued. To this day, I have no idea how I got so lucky, but I ended up somehow leap frogging off of the bike, and doing an accelerated version of the drunken fool stumble as I tried to catch my balance. I must have taken 15 steps while falling forward before I somehow ended up both feet firmly on the ground. A cop and a lady ran to my aid, and they both seemed astonished that I had pulled that off. I now fear tracks. I make sure I am completely perpendicular when i see them now.

Ride to day was the best of year. I felt a little chilly actually. It is nice commuting on the mountain bike again. I am not as worried about flats, cracks in the road, drop offs, curbs, etc.

*Edit: V Thanks for pointing out the inacuracy of my statment. As I have shown, I am not a born and raised New Orlenian. I have done by best to assimilate over the past 6 years, but Louisiana/New Orleans folks are a special breed! VVVYes, you are indeed correct VVV I got wedged in the street car tracks! I also make groceries, hang out on the nuetral ground, ask "where y'at" and "how ya momma and dem?", live in da parish, made 28 years, and get go-cups when leaving a bar.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

codwater said:


> I had a similar encounter with *trolley* tracks...


codwater - You've been in Nola long enough to know there is no such thing as a "trolley" only street cars. Get with it brah! 

Those street car tracks are slick as ice. I was racing an alleycat a few years ago in the rain and hit one and did a perfect 90 degree side-plant cracking my old Razor cell phone completely in half (I landed on it and the track). Hip & ass would have been bruised even more I suppose. I hate those tracks, especially around Lee Circle where they are impossible to avoid.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got a 'commute' errand run in today and rode with the bike lightened about 20 pounds and WAY more aero without the 'panniers' aka trash cans. It would make a great stripped SS. With no groceries to haul, I ran the tires softer...700C-35 @ 60 front and 80 back, next time I'll try 55 & 75. Soaked up our urban pavement issues! Need to save for a cargo bike so this one can be stripped maybe even SS'd for fun. Without fenders it would fit 700C-38 or 650b-42 with fenders. Kept up with traffic for several blocks, something I haven't done in a while. Beautiful day. Had a blast. My flashing helmet light even stopped a left hook!


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## digital_exhaust (Sep 22, 2010)

The ride in was spectacular... the ride home was not so spectacular. The weather here is unseasonably warm, beautiful actually and that has been making my morning ride wonderful. 

But there's not much that can change the fact that riding through SW Denver during rush hour is not exactly nice. Exhaust fumes, bugs, impatient drivers and the sun in my eyes the whole way home. 

But a rough ride home is better than sitting in a car, on a bus or walking.... by a lot. Already looking forward to tomorrow mornings ride in!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Lightened by 20 pounds? That`s got to feel like a rocket ship! I don`t know how people manage to keep up with traffic, lightened bike or not, unless they`ve got a lot slower traffic than we have. I don`t generally see any traffic under 35 to 40 MPH.

Still nothing from MtbXplorer and now I`m starting to wonder where Martinsillo has been. Also, no reports from Solomon76 since he was getting ready to come back to the states. Hey, guys- where are you?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Lightened by 20 pounds? ... I don`t know how people manage to keep up with traffic,... I don`t generally see any traffic under 35 to 40 MPH.
> 
> Still nothing from MtbXplorer and ...where Martinsillo has been. Also, ....Solomon76 ..Hey, guys- where are you?


It was a 30 mph zone. Heavy enough traffic so there were cars slowing for lefts and rights. So it was maybe more a matter of slow traffic than my speed. But the run with the herd juices kick in! Also stop signed intersections slow them up. Not sure of the wind direction which means I likely had a bit of a tailwind. In my early 30's I rode 48-14 at higher rpm in the middle of the lane with traffic, but rush hour kept the speeds in the mid 20's to maybe 30 mph and my ride was short so I did not need to keep tha pace for that long. Same this time only a few blocks and only 4 miles to go total. So I didn't spare the horse.

The cooler to take frozen foods in summer and cold sensitve foods in colder weather is over 5 pound by itself and a barn door for aero. The el cheapo panniers and hardware to hook them on total another 14 plus a bit. They are also sails. The heavy Michelins surprised me. A set of fat light tires on these streets on this bike without the 5 pounds of racks, would be a lot of fun.

If they are just lurking and not posting: Miss you guys!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I thought I was getting pelted by seeds or something falling from the trees last night. The "seeds" turned out to be little gnats. I suppose there must have been a hatch because I kept getting pelted for around a half mile.

This morning I through my chain while manualing across the train tracks. I banged my knee on the top tube coming down, but saved the bike. In times like these, I'm so glad to be a mountain biker and not just another chump on a bicycle.


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## mtbher (Jul 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Still nothing from MtbXplorer and now I`m starting to wonder where Martinsillo has been. Also, no reports from Solomon76 since he was getting ready to come back to the states. Hey, guys- where are you?


I hope nothing's wrong! It is definitely unusual for them not to have posted in a while!

I was passed by another commuter this morning. First time since the fall semester started up! I just don't see too many cyclists heading in the same direction (and very few in the opposite direction, too). I am sure more will appear when it finally starts cooling down. We're still hitting 100+ degrees. This should be it though - supposed to drop into the 70s by next week.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*I owe it to you guys...*

well...this is the reason I had not been posting:



martinsillo said:


> *POST #1000 DISCLOSURE *
> 
> Ok guys....I've always thought that Post #1000 should be an important post here in the mtbr forums and that we should do something nice on that post..something nice?...well...
> 
> ...


that was from my last post in the Fat Bike Forum....

I've been kind of busy too...I just moved two weeks ago...and you should know, the moving week was tough...everything turns out for the good though, :thumbsup: ...even my commute got better! I just move to the other side of the hill!  :lol: it is more enjoyable for sure.

last week and weekend was awful...lots of rain again...like more homeless people kind of rain... 

weather is starting to cool down...and that's is nice.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the ride on February-March next year...

if everything turns out the way I want, I'm going to start welding classes next Saturday! :devil: what for? :lol: that's Top Secret! 

well, see you guys...keep riding and posting! I'm going to be lurking for a while.

hoping the others "non-posters" are fine.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I was excited to ride today.

Then I slept in this morning.

Now I'm working from home.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

full slicks sideways in the mud through the park 
(real mud, like "tree roots to the left of me, slick grass to the right" type mud, not just dirty gutters) 
mud-drifting's generally more fun with a higher bb, but with the skinny slicks I wa son, just jamming the outside pedal was enough to put me sideways even though mostly upright.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have a new handlebar waiting for me at the house. I'll see how it performs on my way in to work tomorrow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The school I work at decided to block all internet forums from the network... so my down time at work has re-focused a bit :lol:

I'm still riding every day, and I'll try not to be a stranger. I now have a singletrack option that's 7.5 miles, a river path/highway option that's 9 miles, an extend-o river path/highway/old railroad bridge of death option that's 11 miles, and a regular Thursday after work road ride that's 17 miles. The boring old 'normal way' is 5.6 miles. I remember saying on here that I had no options because there was only one road to town.... bah! Where we're going, we don't need roads. 

Still loving the fendered/fat tired rigid drop barred 29er. 

I'll try to check in fairly regularly and resurrect the 'long cold winter commuter support thread' soon. 

keep the rubber side down!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I mounted my new handlebar last night. It's about an inch and a half longer on each side than my old one. Much better. My position is much better when sitting and much more stable when climbing out of the saddle. Hopefully my wrist pain will go away. I still need some new grips.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Rode in this morning. It has been hot in CA recently so I enjoyed 70 degree temps this morning. Going to have to stay hydrated all day as it's going to be near 100 this afternoon for the trip home.

At least I am not carrying a backpack anymore; that would be brutal.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi all, got back from MTB'g in the Canadian Rockies and caught up in all kinds of @#$%&! at work & home since then. Didn't ride today as 4" of rain is expected, but got in 36 mi round trip yesterday. Needed my lights for the last 7 miles or so. Then I had a scooter pass me & I thought his headlight looked wimpy compared to mine! Not lightweight but bright, still $150 on Mountaingear for the Princeton Tec Switchback 3. A Dinotte rear light just arrived yesterday, but awaiting the recommended Oneloop rechargeable AAs I ordered separately to check it out.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hi all, got back from MTB'g in the Canadian Rockies and caught up ... at work & home since....got in 36 mi round trip yesterday. Needed my lights for the last 7 miles ...I had a scooter pass me ...his headlight looked wimpy ... Not lightweight but bright, still $150 on Mountaingear for the Princeton Tec Switchback 3. A Dinotte rear light just arrived yesterday, but awaiting the recommended Oneloop rechargeable AAs I ordered separately to check it out.


Good to have you back. :thumbsup: Smiled when I saw the tag. Rockies Pics? 

Pretty decent setup for $150 if the Li-ions haven't dropped too low in voltage on the shelf to charge safely. Yours obviously were OK. Good catch. Likely live longer than two Magic Shines, too, and some portion is US input.

You should like the Dinnote, a lot. Bike trips and excess work's fine. That being laid up stuff especialy if traffic related, is well, you know..... These lights should help you there.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ll let it slide this time, Xplorer . Yeah, good to have you back and glad you were just out for a nice wander. Dinotte tail light. MMmmmmm....

ANOTHER route, CB? You`re killing us! Sorry about the interference your employer put up to hanging out here while you`re at the school. I wonder how long before we get that obstacle where I work. The net used to be completely open to us, but then they stared banning certain sites one at a time. As of now, most forums are still available. On a humorous note, when Craigslist cancelled their hooker department, the company apparently took it off the banned list.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some pix from the Canadian rockies


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> The school I work at decided to block all internet forums from the network... so my down time at work has re-focused a bit :lol:....
> I'll try to check in fairly regularly and resurrect the 'long cold winter commuter support thread' soon. QUOTE]
> 
> Our new spy/blocker software has only blocked work-related websites so far - no problem with MTBR, facebook, paypal, etc.
> ...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks for the pic Mtbxplorer! Though you won't catch me looking over those sort of drops quite that close! 

Sept 30 and a high of 85! Less than 1" of rain for 2 months! Leaves are falling before a frost can change their color! The Monarchs are starting to head south.

Caught a grade where the road bent so the crosswind was partially a tailwind. So I decided to climb it hard out of the saddle in 3rd from top gear to help blood flow in the one leg that wants to complain and to get an interval training session in and because I felt like riding it fast. Topped the major part of the hill and returned to the saddle and heard a horn behind. My mirror showed three vehicles abreast in the middle of the grade behind me. Some dolt in a Sonoma was passing a semi on the grade double line and no passing zone signs not withstanding and the oncoming car had to take one shoulder and the semi the other (the one I was riding), then the semi had to brake to get back over and not run me down. I only had time to think about heading for the ditch. 

If I had not decided to climb that hill fast, I may not have been able to post this. Hmmm. maybe my lottery ticket is good, too! 

I'll take luck like that any day!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Some pix from the Canadian rockies


Looks like it was worth going 

I haven't seen any geese or swans migrating this year, but I've spotted a couple of crane formations heading south. First you hear them, then you see lots of big birds in V or echelon formation.


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## Ska (Jan 12, 2004)

This is from a while back, when I was trying to figure out the new camera and all the editing that went with it (hence the errors left behind in the vid) but the commute home this morning was on the same route, albeit, in the dark. Fun, fun, fun!

It's all good. It's always good too when you can put another notch on the calendar marking another day of being alive and not having been hit by drivers who are still sleeping ;-) Close one today. Not sure how much brighter I can make myself.

Maybe if I hire a chopper pilot to fly overhead and keep a spotlight on me............hmmm that might do it actually!






GoPro HD test...... from Steve Arseneault on Vimeo.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, that`s some incredible scenery, Xplorer! The chasm through the marble is awesome!

Ska vid doesn`t play on my computer


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, that`s some incredible scenery, Xplorer! The chasm through the marble is awesome!
> 
> Ska vid doesn`t play on my computer


Rodar - yes that gorge was a favorite - the guide was like, just be careful, there are no rescues here, only body recoveries!

Ska - Nice video & the music goes well too. They musta fell asleep at the webmarshall office because it didn't allow me to view it at lunchtime but it works fine now.


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## Ska (Jan 12, 2004)

mtbxplorer said:


> ............They musta fell asleep at the webmarshall office because it didn't allow me to view it at lunchtime but it works fine now.


For real?? That's disappointing, especially since I _pay_ for the Plus package. I wonder how often that happens. Hm....I might contact them and let them know.

Anyway, thanks for trying again and the kind words!

Cheers!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ska! said:


> For real?? That's disappointing, especially since I _pay_ for the Plus package. I wonder how often that happens. Hm....I might contact them and let them know.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for trying again and the kind words!
> 
> Cheers!


I should have explained that webmarshal is the web-restricting/monitoring software that was recently installed at work. Not Vimeo's fault, but I still am puzzled by why it would sneak by webmarshal on the 2nd try after being blocked on the 1st.


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## Ska (Jan 12, 2004)

mtbxplorer said:


> I should have explained that webmarshal is the web-restricting/monitoring software that was recently installed at work. Not Vimeo's fault, but I still am puzzled by why it would sneak by webmarshal on the 2nd try after being blocked on the 1st.


LOL

Stupid me. I should have realised that but since you were the second person in a row with a problem I wasn't thinking and just assumed it was vimeo causing problems.

Oh well


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That I can`t see it on my computer doesn`t say much either- there`s a lot of stuff that doesn`t play nice with it.

It`s been bordering on hot in my wandering grounds lately. Hopefully it`ll cool down to a perfect October, which is normally my favorite month weather wise.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Ska - I can see it at home but not at work for some reason. Great video. :thumbsup: I like your choice of angle shots and still frames to movement. What cam did you use?

I've been known to do some general editing also (very time consuming), but yours beats all of my attemtps.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Noncommute related post #803*

I spent most of today as the token boy for Girls Day At The Lake. For managing six hours with wife, two sisters in law, and FIVE nieces, do I get one of those "I Survived" T-shirts?

Anyway, we went to check out the spawning run of our local landlocked salmon. Great scenery (hard to miss that at Tahoe), pretty day with stormy skies (sprinkled on and off but we never got soaked), got some killer wildlife sightings (eagle pics didn`t come out), made sandwiches and chowed down in the parking lot, and called it a day.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Rode about a kilometer this morning and realised the rear tyre is not holding air. Walked the bike back home and took the bus. That bus ride takes forever. Good thing I don't have to be at work on the hour...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was a rough ride in. I did way too much climbing yesterday on my mountain bike. I locked my keys in the car at the trailhead (almost an hour away from home) and "had" to ride until my spare keys showed up. I ended up throwing together a few loops, but every loop started with a significant technical climb. 

So anyway...my legs are still exhausted. The temps are in the 40s, and I had a headwind the whole way here. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but it got to me today. I might actually enjoy being a blob in a desk chair today, for once.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice bear pix, Rodar! 

S0ck, hope you can rest up today & have a tailwind home.

Pert - our buses are crazy slow too, especially if I have to transfer & wait for the 2nd one. But nice to have when you flat, especially when it gets colder.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I haven't been using buses for a while now, so waiting for the next one felt like a long time. I was pretty sure it was coming, as more and more students kept coming to the stop. I didn't recognize all the languages they were speaking. At the other end I didn't bother looking for a connection but walked the last 10 minutes, or so.

On the bus, there was this little brown haired girl, speaking British English to a woman who looked like her ancestors were from Africa. On the way back I recognized her voice but now she was speaking a mix of English and Finnish to a blonde woman and a dark haired man, and maybe others who were sitting nearby. The woman left the bus, saying "See you tomorrow". I'm confused. Who is everybody? Mysteries, mysteries 

Found the culprit for the flat: first I thought it looked like a nail but once I got it out of the tire ... a thin splinter of glass, about the color of a beer bottle...


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Those are amazing pics mtbxplorer & rodar and and a very cool video Ska!

Any mulitmedia opportunities from my ride today would have been altered by the droplet lens. The rains have come to the northeast, albeit gentle and needed. Have to find better rain gear for the feet and arms. I found my timing was poor as the traffic for the local high school was making constant right turns into my road, through a puddle, dousing my left leg. Time to alter my route on rainy days.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just rode my first pants and jacket commute in to work about an hour ago. Added athin balaclave for good measure (don`t know how the morning will be. It`s windy and rainy, so I arrived somewhere between "heavilly damp" and "just plain wet", but at least I stayed warm.

Perttime, have you been hit with a large influx of immigrants that didn`t use to be around when you bussed more regularly? Or you just ean that the individuals on your bus route have changed?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The explanation to all the languages at the bus stop is simple really: there's a university in town, with a good amount of foreign students. And lots of them live in the student housing nearby.

Now that I think of it... I used to live there too, in a ground level apartment with living room/kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.

Nice morning today. No flats, cool weather but the sun was shining, roads a little damp in places. Days are getting shorter. I'll soon need to put lights on the bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I try to time rides to avoid school start/ends. Frantic mothers and fathers late for work or brand new and mostly incompetent young drivers are a very bad situation to ride in. Throw in puddles: Yeechh!

First morning below 40 today First frost possible in low area tomorrow. First week of October is about right for that here. We might hit high 60's so a nice day to ride later. Rode last night at 50-45 as the sun set. Did almost 20 miles in blue jeans and no cycling shorts, not too much worse for the wear.  

Tested a couple of video cameras on the helmet. Looks like the movement of the helmet is too much for them and they aren't too good at low light levels. So no multimedia worth the storage space, but I gained experience (consolation prize when you don't get what you want). Will share when I get it figured out.


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## Ska (Jan 12, 2004)

dixie whiskey said:


> Ska - I can see it at home but not at work for some reason. Great video. :thumbsup: I like your choice of angle shots and still frames to movement. What cam did you use?


Awesome, thanks for the kind words! :thumbsup: As far as the camera goes I thought the title of the video _GoPro HD Test _was a dead giveaway 

I used a Go Pro HD camera for this one. Since editing its footage can be a real pain, I used my commute to test the camera and then played with what I got. The video actually has many errors still in it (like the stalled second clip for example) but I've got those kinds of things figured out now. We'll see when I make the next one. It takes a bit of time.

Thanks again, glad you liked it!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow internet on the phone is brutal :lol:

Killer pics guys! Rodar I've always wanted to go check out the spawn. Eagle lake trout are cool but salmon are better..

EPIC ride home in the rain yesterday. Total downpour. Once I was out there I figured I might as well take the singletrack... awesome wet woods ride. PB cascadia fenders on the 29er are amazing if you can deal with some rattling on the trail. Couldn't hear it over my howling wet bb7s though.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

This morning was cold and dark.




















It was almost dark enough for me not to notice how crappy my commute is.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ska!: Forgot to respond when I first viewed your video. If that is your first attempt ever with any video, I am glad I don't need to try to make a living in competition with you. Never heard of Go Pro Camera so, yeah, the title didn't mean a thing.  My tests are pretty obviously tests. Yours isn't. Others don't see what you consider errors as such, if it can be thought of as a purposeful 'effect'. I appreciate the editing time involved, believe me. Nifty camera, too. I wish I could afford one. I can't always get what I want, so I am trying to get what I need.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Skipped the bike commute in favor of going in early, getting out early & exploring another trail before dark & before trail season ends. Rode Pipeline in Stowe, well built, nice switchbacks on the uphill & fun on the way down. Walked 1 bridge, not skinnier than the others, but felt it because it was higher to fall from.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

I just wanted to give everyone an update on my clanking noise. I got the cheap wheelset from the guy, and caught a few miles of singletrack with him. It is always cool to benefit from the network of bikers. I got a new wheelset, and a few miles in with a cool guy I had never met before.

I threw the wheels on and hit the pavement on Sunday. The clanking noise was gone! However, there is a new noise. When i pedal the bike, a clink comes from somewhere on the crank, bottom bracket, or pedal (I suspect from where the pedal meets the crank). I havent had time to sit and check it out yet, but I don' think this clink noise is as big of worry. 

mtbxplorer - I love the color of the water in those photos.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Felt righteous getting in a trail ride at the Millstone quarries between sunrise & work this a.m., but then had to drive in. The fallen leaves are really making the singletrack hard to pick out now, and also disguising some of the obstacles. I stopped to toss a small limb off the trail and then realized it wasn't even on the trail - I had wandered off. One inch of rain forecast & coming down now, so it looks like it was a good call to ride early.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A very brisk wind out of the West made a wind tunnel of the overpass. I was down to 36/23 and wailing away on the cranks tucked as low as I could get and then I hit the real blast. The 26 cog got me over, (still had the 29 and Granny in reserve)...just but I could only get back to 36/21 on the downhill with the wind sweeeping up venturi fashion. Turned round and immediately shifted to 48-17 and blasted back up shifting up in the climb to 48/16. The other downhill is the first time I have max revved 48-13 actually got a bit of a lower leg cramp. 

I was carrying forward and rearward video keyfob cameras as a test. The dotted line passes really slowly looking like I could walk almost as fast, then they fly by a few minutes later coming back down. The slower you climb, the faster you descend. I still had wind going past me at that speed. So I don't know what that locale's wind speed was. It is a 45 mph zone, though.  

What amazed me about the video is how rough my route is in so many places. Now I understand why I like the 32 mm tires at 60/80 pounds over the 28mm at 95-105! Both cameras were fender mounted. The front one was pretty steady hanging out on the cantilevered part of the front fender ahead of the crown mount so the fork and tire/wheel smoothed things already. The rear camera, at the crown of the fender, gets feedback through the fender stays from the dropout. All those years perfecting the road bike steel frame and double butted 531 stays, show why good steel rides nice! 

I will be processing the 1.2 mile suburban neighborhood loop to compare to a night ride with my lights. If you want a taste of today's ride I could edit a couple of short pieces out of the 2 hour plus (front and back) video. It was a gorgeous October day in this part of the Midwest.


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## _daemon_ (Sep 16, 2007)

Had a great ride this morning, weather was absolutely perfect!


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

I got right hooked this morning by a woman too busy eating that she couldn't bother to pay attention to driving. The only thing that kept her from actually running into me was the fact that she had to slam on her brakes to avoid hitting a couple of pedestrians crossing in the cross walk. They jumped out of the way. :madmax: :madman:


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

You know the winter is closing in when the cyclocross bike dresses up as a commuter again.


























Pix here https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157624990717565/with/5059929199/

GPS log..https://connect.garmin.com/activity/52042862


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We know winter is closing in when we start getting treated to FuxPix :thumbsup:


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Haha, thanx.

I use the roady to commute on in the sommer, and think you guys will find the pictures boring.

I did however make a film on the track that I ride once a week from work when I take my mtb for som race training. Ironicly, this was filmed on a friday I phoned in sick. (I hated my old job anyway)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, just to put the high quality video here into sharp contrast, here is something truly amateurish.

I used two Keyfob Cameras, one mounted on each fender. I cut out the non traffic containing footage across town. The front cam got pretty standard so I cut it shorter than the rear.

Both cameras make things look closer than they actually are. I did not croud the motorcycle, for example, the cars behind got closer than they should in case I had a major spill, but not as close as they appear.

They run a bit over an hour on a charge/4 GB Micro SD chip. They can't address a larger chip so you'd need a chip swap and recharge past an hour. The Micro SD 4 GB flash drive chips cost 3 X what the cameras do.

So if you have a real a$$h01e on your regular route you can splash his/her fase on YouTube. or hand the footage to Police I left the sound in to show what is picked up. Neither picked up my "On your Left" as I approached the lady with stroller. The bell doens't register either. You can mod a microphone jack and remote mike, if you want.

Front:

http://img233.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Ptrafficfront

Rear:

http://img297.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Ptrafficrear

Knoiing you are on camera should make you a more polite rider. Actually with all the video cameras around, we should all be on our best behavior! BTW running stop signs is normal OP. Note too that the squad car is about 20 mph over thre speed limit with no flashing lights. Most of the traffic there is 10-15 over.

Oh, no time travel occured. I haven't chanegd the date time stmps yet. 2017? Yikes!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

You got to love Fall. My ride home was not the enjoyable,
Until I was a mile and a half from home!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Lookin good, Normbilt!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I hope wind directions remains the same in the afternoon... there was a bit of a head wind coming to work.

I spent some hours on the Suburban Assault Vehicle during the weekend, including a detour to reacquaint myself with the area where our team is moving in December: one or two good route options to work and some more possibilities down the hill, going back. Only remembered to take one photo.









(next to the Bishop's residence, heading for the lakeside park)

Saturday's route:
https://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/perttime/c4v1cdu5cmc9ufov


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

Had a cold start to the morning commute. It was around high 30s, low 40s on the way in and by the time I got to work my toes and fingers were cold. Time of the year to break out the shoe covers and winter gloves.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

BrainMc - your commute looks almost as boring as mine. Is that the entire trek? Seems pretty short. Where you at btw?

Nice comparison of front & rear - I watched them together and it's interesting to see cars pass you from one to the other.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

I need an airzound.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brian, your videos were interesting, and your videos look good for the $ you invested, although watching that rearward camera almost made me carsick!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*mtbxplorer*. Yeah. Me too. I get motion sickness.

Videos: I got them as the best cameras I could afford to video my bike lights. You'd just erase them, recharge them and remount them for the next commute unless you run into difficulties you want to document.

An interesting cross-threads interaction with your thread and this one: my random thought today was : "You know, you could fit an Airzounds reservoir bottle on the back side of the handle bar bag support." (I may talk to myself, but I don't answer back.) A really cute (Don't want to sound 'that way' but dang, it is!) but very determined to get run over Jack Russell Terrier is in need of more deterring. Then I read *ryball* saying he has to get one, too. Commuting minds think alike, I guess.

First time to come across another cyclist on my main route going my way at the same time, occured in the last 4 miles today. Was catching him at 75% Max HR (nice ego thing, there) but he turned down a side road that makes a tortuous and torturing route in the back way so I decided not to try and catch him up.

Glad I didn't. With the wind helping (for a change) I rolled 36-13 (top of middle chain ring) up the last and 2nd nastiest hill after 28.5 miles out of the saddle at a respectable cadence for fresh, let alone after over 25 miles, at 18-20 mph, and checked pulse about 1/10th mile after cresting the grade and pulse was backing off but it was 176. The monitor is slow to respond and does a running average, so that was likely pushing 180, certainly 178, with no pain, discomfort, nada. Usually 100+% of Max clues me in with a twinge, THEN I look. That is very good news cardio-stress-test-wise. :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice detour the other day after work. Loving the fall weather. Mornings are getting brisk though... haven't busted out the long pants yet, but tomorrow is supposed to be 34* F for a low... might have to cave in finally.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s getting still nippier here. I`m back to leaving work at 7AM after a few months of swing shift and a few weeks of craziness due to two guys at work both drawing tags for the same hunt. I can see my breath now most mornings, frost on the lawns once or twice, and I`ve been wearing my gloves, balaclava, and light jacket, sometimes pants, and I noticed that my commute gets stretched about one minute when I wear a jacket and pants. Could that be placebo or imagination? Or is that extra layer of clothes really so nonaero that it adds an extra minute all by itself? My times vary a bit anyway depending on the wind and how I feel and how much I drag with me, so it`s kind of hard to tell for sure. On the home front, I broke down and lit the pilot on the furnace last week.

Also, a few (four?) times last week and this, I`ve gotten stuck behind a school bus picking up with flashers and flags going. The first stop is almost immediately after leaving work, then two more in the next few blocks. The first few days, I stopped behind the bus like a good boy. Yesterday, there was no other car traffic, so I went around in the "oncomming" lane and didn`t see the bus again until it passed me on a straight stretch a mile or so later. It worked good, so I did that again today. Now my concience hurts for deliberately breaking one of the few traffic laws that people keep sacred. From now on, I think I`ll just wait behind and savor the aroma of fresh deisel.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful detour, CB, nice pic! 
Rodar, that is probably a good idea - I don't think they would hesitate to ticket a cyclist for passing a school bus. The diesel is icky though, I noticed it as soon as school started, even when not stopped behind one.
I have to drive to NH for work today, but hope to get back early enough for a trail ride before several inches of rain return tomorrow.
We had our not-so-annual Department day yesterday, speeches/recognition a.m., and usually activities p.m. But my MTB trailwork activity was the only one proposed. It was good, but only 3 showed; hard to believe another 100 people would rather go back to the office!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Nice detour the other day after work.


Mmmmm- Bizz Jonhson trail, 2.5 miles above Devil`s Corral.
Do I win?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CB- you really know how to make it hard to obey 'Thou shalt not covet....

Rodar: In many jurisdictions passing a Schoolbus under flags and lights is an automatic license suspension. There might be a kid or kids crossing that were not on the bus the previous time hitting or even scaring one, would likely get you in deep do-do. Also law enforcement will lie in wait for a regular scofflaw. Maybe some bike maintenance, a longer shower, a little coffee, or a short read, to let the bus get far enough along. You don't need to deep inhale diesel particulates, or someway to get in front. I had one right hook me THEN put on the flashers and stop. Had to breathe that stuff. I was NOT a happy camper. That was before the daytime running lights and ANSI vest though and I have learned to avoid 3:00-4:00 PM in town, if I can. Too many inexperienced, harried, and inattentive drivers. It isn't safe in a car, actually.

Sorry the mtb trial work event was not as big a success as you hoped, Mtbxplorer.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

I have been a bad commuter lately. Mainly because of a hectic work, school, and vacation schedule. I have needed that extra hour that is spent commuting, cooling down, and changing to catch up with life.

Anyway, while on the way home from school in my cage, I almost took out two riders. It was around 11:00 pm on a 4 lane road with sparse street lamps and low traffic. I was coming up on an intersection with a light. I had the green so I maintained my 40 mph which is the speed limit. As I was about to enter the intersection I saw two shadowy figures zip in front of me. I came within 5-10 meters of them. At 40 mph, that is pretty damn close.

I took a closer look at the figures as I drove through the intersection. They were two guys on bikes. They had gear on their back, no helmets, and no lights. I understand if they were just running up the road somewhere, because this intersection probably only sees a car every couple of minutes at that time of night. What irks me more is the fact that they ran a red light just in front of me and my two ton friend.

Thos are the kind of cyclists that make me have to promise my wife every time I bike that I won't act like an idiot. We have a strange dynamic. She *****es about the cyclists she sees running lights, going the wrong way, passing cars that will soon pass them back, running stop signs in busy intersections, biking in the road when there is a bike lane, and being just flat out reckless. Unfortunately she lumps most cyclist in with these knuckleheads. Every morning I have to ease her fears by saying, "look at me. Do I look like that kind of guy," as I stand in my nerdy helmet, tech t shirt, and flashing lights. I don't think she would worry so much if the few idiots would just tone it down and follow the traffic laws. 

That's it. While this isn't a ride report in the truest sense, it is a rant that was stimulated by a car ride encounter with those who strike fear into my wife.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Codwater, maybe your wife saw me sneaking around the flashing school bus.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Mmmmm- Bizz Jonhson trail, 2.5 miles above Devil`s Corral.
> Do I win?


Ooh, close but no cigar. Highway 36 looking down on the bizz near hobo camp.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Tsk, tsk Sully (Codwater), you sound like a damn reformed smoker – complaining about the cyclists as you drive around in your coffin.  For every batch of good cycling commuters, there will be twice as much (if not more) bad ones to drown out the safe consciousness herd. 

Of course, I have to plead the 5th here, since I am far from the law abiding commuter. I am practical in every sense of the word, which you may classify unsafe by definition since I run stop lights/signs and ride against traffic on one-way streets but it’s the safest approach/route and I usually know what you are going to do in your car before you do. Of course I am far removed from the joy ride knuckleheads who are doing it just for the thrill. But even so, you know everyone has to bend the rules from time to time to keep safe on the bike.

As for your wife identifying you as a nerd over hoodlum – those of us that know you (everyone: picture Milo from the Descendents) know there is no mistaking you for otherwise. :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

What really irks me while driving is having to pass a cyclist twice. It's the folks who think they're clever by passing everyone on the right to the front of the line, making EVERYONE pass them all over again (no shoulders, no bike lanes). It especially maddening when I'm on my bike, and I have to pass the same guy over and over again. 

Now that I have that off my chest...the commute this morning was business as usual.


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## kobe_24 (Sep 26, 2010)

I'm so hooked on riding my bike to School and to work, that I can't imagine how it would be to drive or to carpool again.

The weather guy said it was going to start raining soon, so I raced to a LBS to get some fenders. Please almighty, don't let in get so bad that I can't ride.  I do about 40 miles round trip on weekdays, and will up that to 60 miles round trip on Sunday mornings.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Rodar, you are correct. She would have had a cow  if she would have seen you do that. The funniest is when I am riding somewhere with her on a busy touristy street, and a hippie on a cruiser rolls by while we are stopped at a light. Then we get stuck behind the hippie for half of a mile. When we finally get to a safe spot and make a pass, we usually get stopped at another light only to be passed by again. I find humor in the fact that it drives her so crazy. This used to happen on a regular basis on Magazine St. on trips to Whole Foods. I actually got her on a bike a couple of times to ride up the grocery instead of driving, but take a side street rather than the busy Magazine.

Dixie, I think we all bend the rules on our familiar bike commutes. I routinely turn traffic lights and stop signs into yields. I do not blindly zoom through though. I really think the guys last night either zoned out and didn't think about a car coming or were racing me across the intersection and mistimed my arrival. It was defininately too close for comfort. As for the Milo comment....

This has been pointed out on our local forum. I find it humorous. For many years I was told I looked like Harry Potter or Chandler from Friends. I will take Milo anyday over those two sods.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

First, had our second rain this month just now. Total 0.5" or 1.5" since Aug 1. We had 15" in June. 

Know what it's like to almost hit a ninja cyclist running a stop sign and entering a one-way the wrong way (not something you expect to occur ninja or no). I hate repassing, so I take my lane and wait my turn. I used to stop at all intersections here but running them is an institution for motorists and stoping on the bike just confuses them. See the videos above. I hate bikes the wrong way here as the city allows parking both sides and doesn't paint lane markings so you don't know what to do with the wrong way cyclist, and there are much safer legal routes a block either side. 

Some years ago, a female college student riding her bike the west bound in the east bound side of a major street. I saw her torso floating by above and between cars in the two lanes to my right as I signalled and moved into the left turn lane of a north bouind 1-way street with trun lanes and two straigh through. She was briefly hidden by the van in the next lane. I was halfway into the lane, when she came into it cutting the corner. I had not been planning on sharing the lane with a cyclist and had to haul the 'stang over smartly. She panicked and high pedaled the curb but by that time I had her room for her. She dismounted and shook her fist and called me a bunch of very unladylike words. I was OK with the idiotic riding until then. 

THAT pissed me off. The light was going to be red a while so I got out and yelled that I too was a cyclist, a pedestrian, and a motorist, and if she didn't know how to ride her bike safely by not turning blindly into a left turn lane of a 1-way street not riding the wrong way on a major artery and not signalling her turns, and THEN get upset when cars didn't get out of her way fast enough, she should take her bike home put it in the garage and LEAVE it there! No cussing involved. I felt WAY better. A cyclist blogger whatzisname in NYC calls them 'Beautiful Godzillas' parting the traffic like Moses did the Red Sea. 

That still rankles.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez, leave the office for 1 day & who comes to town for a ride with the masses but Lance Armstrong! A ride was supposed to start at 4, but if I'm reading the twitter right he didn't even land in Burlington till close to sunset, but he thanked VTrs for joining him, so I guess something happened. I got back from NH by 4:30 & went for a trailride at Millstone quarries til sunset. Here's a one from the Hilltop trail, view of Camel's Hump.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Should have put on the weatherproof pants this morning.

The rain should turn to snow during the night, and the temps will drop just below freezing.

I bet lots of drivers will be "taken by surprise" tomorrow morning...


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## _daemon_ (Sep 16, 2007)

Had a great ride this morning. If you look carefull on the right side of the road, you might spot the wildebeest standing there.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

perttime said:


> Should have put on the weatherproof pants this morning.


Where did the clouds go 

Outside the office at 11:15 AM:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was running late this morning. I had to iron my pants. On the way in to work, I was called a "b!tch" and a "h0mo" by a couple brats on the school bus. Then I was chased by an angry dog named Trigger. Further down the line, my chain came off the back end. I took a couple shortcuts and made it into work 10 minutes late. Oh well.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cool, Daemon! We`ve had a lot of critters posted on this forum, but I think you have the first wildebeest!

Wow, bummers from around the globe yesterday. Since my last few trips don`t come to mind immediately, I guess they were unremarkable. That`s good.
I think.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday my water bottle cage fell off. I was checking the mail in front of my house and the whole thing plopped down on the pavement. I can't say that's ever happened to me before.


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## kobe_24 (Sep 26, 2010)

sckeyeus0 said:


> Yesterday my water bottle cage fell off. I was checking the mail in front of my house and the whole thing plopped down on the pavement. I can't say that's ever happened to me before.





sckeyeus0 said:


> I was running late this morning. I had to iron my pants. On the way in to work, I was called a "b!tch" and a "h0mo" by a couple brats on the school bus. Then I was chased by an angry dog named Trigger. Further down the line, my chain came off the back end. I took a couple shortcuts and made it into work 10 minutes late. Oh well.


Wow! 

I hope the best for you on your future rides!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Bike issues within spitting distance of home don't count.  

Stuff just falling off IS pretty funny when the bike is stationary.  

Chains falling off under power really are not funny. Not at all. Nor are angry dogs. Good thing that cycling makes me so happy.:thumbsup:


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## Marcster (Apr 28, 2010)

I commuted for the first time to the dealership today (just got the bike on Sunday).

It was extremely windy and this was the first ride of any real distance... 3.5 miles each way on tar & chip shoulder on a busy two lane 55 mph highway.. Boy, I was reminded how out of shape I am! No hills of any real consequence, just gradual climbs and decents.

Wind-proof overpants were definitely the right way to go! (along with the lined jacket, helmet and leather gloves from my motorcycling days). 

I do need to wear earplugs -- between the tractor-trailers and the wind noise. And a rack with trunk would be good vs. the backpack I wore today.

Bike = Fuji Absolute 2.0 hybrid with fenders, computer, and lights.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

"It's so nice when it happens good" Jerry Seinfeld 

I love when everything works, my bike, the weather, the scenery, the day!


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

. . . . . . .


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

Sizzler said:


> . . . . . . .


There should be rules about not taking photos on the Springfield side.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ah! Fall: the colors, the smell of distant burning leaves (legal here), and the sound of leaves being ground up between fender and tire!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

_daemon_ said:


> Had a great ride this morning. If you look carefull on the right side of the road, you might spot the wildebeest standing there.


A bit late responding, but it is an unusual post! 

Yeah, if they have any, I'd have to ride at the Cincinnati Zoo to come across one here. How do they handle you riding by? Just spook and high tail it? Or are they used to the trail and just lift their heads and chew?

I assume the tree your bike is leaning against was alive, so the bark removal did not hurt it overmuch. Any idea why was the bark removed from just above the root crown to around waist height?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good commute both to and fro, but the part in between just plain sucked. The guy I relieved passed on a nasty job that I spent 8 hours plus on and still had to pass on to the guy relieving me this morning. Came home with a combination of grease and paper dust plastered in my hair, my neck and shoulders stiff from the odd positions I found myself in for hours on end, and hands cramped from trying to manipulate greasy wrenches one handed for too long. Boy was I glad to get out of there! And I won`t be back next week- taking my last vacation of the year starting tomorrow as soon as my wife gets home from mass.

Now I`m headed out to try finding a pump piston cup for our little Coleman stove. I looked all over town for one a few months ago and couldn`t find one anywhere. They used to be in every sporting goods store and half the drug stores in town- no idea where they all went. I should have just ordered one after the last search, but I got distracted and forgot all about it. Well, maybe they`ll be back in stock now that the seasonal rush is over with.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

umarth said:


> There should be rules about not taking photos on the Springfield side.


I have a dream that one day little Springfield boys and girls will be holding hands with little Eugene boy and girls.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Whoohoo!*

I still couldn`t find any Coleman pump pistons (WTF?), but after I had checked the camping section at a sporting goods store, I took a wander through the cheesey bike department. An attendant saw me milling around and asked if I needed any help. Well, have you got any studded 26 in tires? He went into the back room to check and I practiced the indignant sneer I would give him when he came back to tell me they didn`t exist. A few minutes later, he returned with a pair of Marathon Winters. They were marked down to $29.99- YES! That`s less than half Peter White`s price! I had been hoping for a pair of budget Innovas, maybe, but the Schwalbes will definitely do the trick :thumbsup:

Sizzler, in this day and age, you have to be very careful when you mention anything about dreaming of little boys and girls. Ya never know how things will get interpreted any more.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

_From Passion "Lamest thing said to you while biking "thread:_
_from_*grnamin *

"I thought I hit a deer."
-woman who hit me as I was commuting to work last Wednesday. Busted my right leg and elbow. Thank goodness no broken bones.
__________________
-Greg
Lynskey Ridgeline 29-SL, Truvativ Hammerschmidt, Cannondale Lefty 29er SL w/ DLR. 27 lbs


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Since I'm allowed to post again.

I'm taking Mondays as my official rest day...usually my good long rides are done on Sundays so it suit me in an awesome way...last week I started doing some abs after my work to home commute and doing some weightlifting in the mornings at my shower place...I'm liking it and just takes me a few minutes...it is also an great way to complete my new shortened commute.

Yesterday, I repeated a 10hrs ride I did a month ago...this time I wasn't fooling around with my pugs nor shooting video so the ride was only 6hrs long!
The turning point:


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## shimano4 (May 11, 2008)

First time doing my new commute route. It was long, 14miles one trip and I took an hour.

Chase by dog, met a moron woman driver, climb 3 major hills. Exhausted and a bit scary becos of the peak time rush of vehicles.

But it was fun and thrilling. I hope I can sustain doing it every working day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good ride - brisk (32F), windy & dry. They put some reground asphalt material on my dirt road...it should pack down nicely but it is black colored and it makes it really dark. When I got to the real pavement, which is more gray colored, it was like someone turned on the lights. The dinotte taillight, which is held on with an O-ring has hung on tight, and I think I have the switch figured out. It is not idiot-proof, you have to press it 2x to turn it on, press and hold to turn it off (but not too long or you will change it from blinky mode to solid mode), and once on, press to 1x click through low, med, high.

Nice pic Martin, hope the whole trail wasn't like that.
Good going,shimano4, be safe!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

at some points it was like this:








I think I already post the vid here...but just in case...here it is from the first ride to the dam...fooling around with the pugs not taking the "proper road" drained a lot of my energy that day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice video Martin! I like how you captured the flavor of such a long ride in just a few minutes of video. And your mountains are impressive - so is the 'dozer!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

David Attenborough: "Here we see the dozer pugsley aka 'Pugdozer' in its natural habitat, resting while the two legged beastie that has an almost synergistic coexistence with it, cools its jets in the stream."

Nice video. It isn't as easy as someone made it look.:thumbsup:


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## onsight512 (Oct 15, 2010)

Yes, that's a very nice video. The mountains are beautiful.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks guys!...
Thanks Brian!...loving the comment so much...How David tells you what is going on, just rocks!...I used to watch father's old VHS videos of him...which now reminds me, he has my BBC Planet Earth DVDs!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar what store had the studs? I'd like to be happy for you for getting such a killer deal... but I'm struggling with it. :lol: What are the chances they have them in a 29er for that price? yeah right...

I pulled this spawn of satan out of the big apple this morning. Didn't even penetrate far enough to make me celebrate my tubeless glory. 0 flats so far this school year...


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

These reports are interesting. My commutes as of late have been rather boring. I thought about shooting some video or stopping to take some photos but I don’t think mine would be remotely interesting as compared to others here. Still, all in all I rather bike than drive any day, even if boring.

Since its late Oct. it is dark for the entire morning trip. I rather it dark in the evening and light in the morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

dixie whiskey said:


> .... I thought about shooting some video or stopping to take some photos but I don't think mine would be remotely interesting as compared to others here. .....


If it is boring compared to mine, like WOW! You might have an insomnia cure there. Of course video is a light pig, so a dark commute would be like the black cat at midnight in the Carlsbad Cavrerns with the lights off. Yeah that would be boring, I made some video just like that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, what the heck is that thing, a vertebrae? 
Dixie, post some pix or video, it is interesting to us - and helps us picture your reports.

I rode in this a.m. from friend's house near Sugarbush ski area, 18 mi of better scenery than my usual commute. When I got onto the main road, rt 17, (curvy, posted 40mph), I heard the distinct jangle of a dog collar. It sounded far away, maybe in a yard to my left. But it got louder and I glanced behind to see a hound running right down the middle of the road in hot pursuit. I simultaneously sped up and yelled go home. The last I saw he stopped in the middle of the road. A car and truck then passed me but I didn't hear any sound effects, so hopefully he made it safely back off the road.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

dixie whiskey said:


> Since its late Oct. it is dark for the entire morning trip. I rather it dark in the evening and light in the morning.


Dark mornings for me too. Daylight Saving Time ends here around the end of the month...

... a grey day today

A former main road:









Past the school and kindergarten:









Through shopping center parking lot (not too busy yet)









Better flush that grit off:


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Noted. I'll wait for the time change for some morning daylight and take some photos along the way. I guess BrianMC's point is valid, perhaps a road transcending through a vacant wooded area is even more boring than all my twists and turns through the city streets.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> CB, what the heck is that thing, a vertebrae?


A common reaction from east coast people. :lol:

The "goathead" is the thorn that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, global warming, the hole in the ozone layer, and (scientists think) the Grand Canyon. They are basically evolution's perfect little tire puncturing trail weapon. No crack in a bike lane is safe from the spreading menace.


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Hey there Dixiewhiskey, I sent a check for one of your single speed or death t-shirts a couple of weeks ago, you don't happen to remember sending one out to New Jersey do you?:???:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> A common reaction from east coast people. :lol:
> 
> The "goathead" is the thorn that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, global warming, the hole in the ozone layer, and (scientists think) the Grand Canyon. They are basically evolution's perfect little tire puncturing trail weapon. No crack in a bike lane is safe from the spreading menace.


Thanks, CB. May be the one thing I can be glad to be ignorant of. I had heard of those evil goatheads but had no idea what they looked like, or all the other havoc they have wreaked on the earth. I will spread the word here in the Northeast.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Cold........ -3 but a clean, low wind and virtually no traffic run!! It was Dark so lights where!! Love it!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

had a weird encounter today...entering a little bridge I heard someone screaming really loud on the other side...once I got there I realized it was a crazy homeless guy...I though: "well, he must have had a close call with one driver"...then, maybe my flash lights, as soon as he saw me...he began charging at me! 

I must admit I laughed a little at first...but this guy had some legs!!...had to sprint the whole block.....fortunately his lungs weren't that good!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Found 2 potholes on last night's & this a.m.'s rides by the teeth-jarring-drop-the-front-wheel-in-the-hole method :yikes: This is on the dirt road section. Not sure if I just need to slow down or if I can scan better with the helmet light somehow. I could also move the light to the bars and put my old one back on the helmet, but both batteries are pretty big. This morning it was that time when it's already too light for a light to work well, it kinda gets washed out, but too dark to see well without it. My bus transfer is not working well...last year I could often hop from 1 to the other or wait 15 mins max; now it seems to be 30 mins. Besides being a real waste of time, it will soon be pretty cold to wait that long wearing bike stuff.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Commutes have been uneventful
Work is OK: enough challenges to keep it interesting

The Company... stress for several weeks to come.
on Thursday morning, everybody got a "personal invitation to an important info meeting" in the afternoon at a site on the other side of the town, "prioritise this". Not a great sign. The Company has been doing better than expected but not as well as it should. So, we need to refocus and reorganize, to deliverer better products, faster, and with a lower head count.

It does not happen quickly here: probably 6 weeks' negotiations between employee and employer representatives before we know who stays and who leaves.

I am sure the product we are working on will go on. But will it go on here? Am I still needed after the reshuffle? Worst case scenarios abound at breaks....

... Sorry about this. Saying (or writing) this stuff seems to lessen the stress today ...


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

My first ride in sub 40 temps..... Not too bad, but I am ill equiped so far to handle the cold. I don't have anything longer than shorts that is even remotely breathable, so I think I may run out this weekend and grab some under armor tights or something to lessen the frozen shins. Wool gloves worked though.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today was my first commute of the year in the 30's. We even had frost on the ground. I underdressed intentionally since it will be in the 70's when I ride home. I should have worn warmer gloves though. I'm entering winter #3 (I think).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

perttime, hang in there man. When I get stressed at work, I create multi-medium works of art out of post-it notes and things I pull out of my tires. Maybe you should try this...seriously reduces the tension.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> perttime, hang in there man. When I get stressed at work, I create multi-medium works of art out of post-it notes and things I pull out of my tires. Maybe you should try this...seriously reduces the tension.


*Sheep, thought I*, but a real leader knows always when like to give and show generous to his unders. - Alex DeLarge


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

perttime said:


> ... Sorry about this. Saying (or writing) this stuff seems to lessen the stress today ...


I feel for you man. Good luck. I have started a half-assed job search because I think my co. might lose it's biggest contract. I am a very valued employee, and i don't think I would be let go. But I don't think my co. would last more than a couple of years if we lost that contract. I just want to get out before the tower of cards start to fall.

Nice artwork CB :thumbsup: . Thankfully we don't have those here, our road conditions are bad enough without "goat heads"

I took a couple of weeks off of bike commuting. I keep coming up with these excuses not to ride in. As I thought about all my excuses not to ride this week, I realized they could all be turned around and used as excuses to ride to work. 
It feels cold - at least it isnt hot
I haven't been feeling 100% healthy - riding should improve my health
I had a ton of test and two extended weekend vacations - less riding time means I should build some in as my commute

So ater all my thinking, and turning my negatives in to positives, I decided to set my alarm a little early and hit the pavement. Weather was perfect, traffic was light, road was crappy, new wheels were great, tires suck, and work is laid back today. I am going to try and stay strong next week, as the extra mileage should help prepare me for the race of the dead next weekend.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> When I get stressed at work, I create multi-medium works of art out of post-it notes and things I pull out of my tires.


I don't think I've ever pulled anything that interesting looking out of a tire  At least I expect the next month to be busy enough at work: no time to worry too much. Also, If I leave the computer alone for too long, I get a screensaver that reminds me about the height of the stack that could be made out of all the printouts we do... :eekster:  


codwater said:


> I am a very valued employee, and i don't think I would be let go. But I don't think my co. would last more than a couple of years if we lost that contract. I just want to get out before the tower of cards start to fall.


One of the things I hear others worry about is that the guys who are good at something that is in demand will abandon ship. Then the ones who are not that good lose their motivation, as they think the ship will sink anyway.

... the company I work for is more like a fleet. It is not going to disappear just like that. But we don't yet know exactly which ships in the fleet will be hit and how bad.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CB: Nice art.

Pertine: Taj Mahal inscription: This too, shall pass. (And no he wasn't a GI physician.)

An Airzound is my birthday present! Needed it for the idiot whjo crouded me passing me with oncoming traffic. She had room to get over AFTER she was by, but cleared me by a foot.

I need to do some art! :thumbsup:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Yeah, leaves are falling, temps, dropping, Winter thread is back, pumpkins frosted this morning, Christmas is coming!

Feel much better now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB - now I see the goathead - nice multimedia piece.. Here's my addition....

Hope the meeting goes OK, pertime

Happy Birthday, BrianMc! Have fun with your present - I think I would scare myself with one of those!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Riding back fron an errand:

"Hey that get-up is the exact opposite of camoulflage!"

Right on, ride on! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A handful of motorists making rude manuevers, such as unnecessarily pulling out in front of me or passing me just to turn in a driveway in front of me instead of waiting 2 seconds. Annoying, but thankfully not dangerously close. Forgot my fender, but got the 50% dry part of the forecast instead of the 50% showers...hopefully will be as lucky this evening.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, how was that wind over there? Hardest wind and rain we've had in a long time I think. At least it let up a bit this morning for my ride in. Surprised no one's roof was laying in the bike lane today.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Clouds moved in overnight. It was dark this morning. I made a left turn and was a little too close to getting hit by a grey minivan without its headlights on. I couldn't see it at all. I hate when that happens, but sometimes incidents like that are hard to avoid.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Good ride this morning, I felt great and the inclines felt easy. I am enjoying this small heatwave we're having in SE Michigan. Supposed to get up to the high 60's. 

Only problems were a woman in a minivan who came flying out of an ELEMENTARY SCHOOL parking lot and would have hit me if I was not aware and already braking because I just knew she was going to do it. I was amazed because I have a flashing light on the front of the bike and it wasn't full dark. Couple that with the fact that she cruised right over a sidewalk without even looking for KIDS..... we're talking k-3 at this school and she just dropped her kid off and then could have hit someone else's kid because of her stupidity. Amazing!

Other problem was just some jackass who felt the need to lay on the horn right as he got to me and hold it down the entire way around. Funny thing is that there was a traffic light about 100 yards ahead. What is the point? Its one of those times when I want a telescoping baton so I could cruise up when hes at the red light and break his window. Guess I was a little edgy from the first idiot.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good luck Perttime. The company I work for has had several waves of layoffs over the past two years or so- the same thing every time. First they tell us there will be X people let go, then we all sweat it out while we wait to find out who gets the axe. They contact all the "affected employees" individually before they announce any more news, so we all end up counting how many down and how many still to go. I know how it feels to wonder if you`re going to be looking for a new job in another month. How long have you worked there? And what kind of product do you produce? A lot of the paper that comes to my plant is from northern Europe, so I have to wonder if you work for one of those mills.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy but a mild 48F. Before I left work the chance of rain went from 50% to 30%, but I lost that bet in a steady rain the whole way home once I left the building. I wondered if it would change to snow on the 1000' elevation gain home. Nope, still rain, but I was plenty warm and got home early due to catching the bus transfer with no wait. Stayed clean despite forgettng my fender, mostly due to the slow uphill ride, I think.


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## equinox (Oct 31, 2007)

Good: Lovely! sun was out, water was calm
Bad: forgot to tighten the seat-post clamp and the clamp holding the seat to the post, spent half of the ride not liking the seating position.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

starting to get dark on my ride home ...... gonna be completely dark when i leave from work in a few weeks  I need to get a better light Ive been using a Planet Bike 1watt Blaze its just not enough.


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## fatboypup (Apr 1, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> A common reaction from east coast people. :lol:
> 
> The "goathead" is the thorn that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, global warming, the hole in the ozone layer, and (scientists think) the Grand Canyon. They are basically evolution's perfect little tire puncturing trail weapon. No crack in a bike lane is safe from the spreading menace.


I freaking hate goatheads :madman:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sometimes the bear (wind) gets you...

Headed out with 10-20 gusting to 25 mph from the SSW which means I ride into the teeth and in spite of using the drops for most of 12.5 miles, only 13.8 mph. Last time I was this slow outbound, I rolled back at over 21 mph. Nope only 16.7. Wind shifted and dropped. :madman: Tomorow gusts of 35-40 mean valleys and wind tunnel areas wiil be unrideable 45+ unless I want to be blown off the shoulder and into the path of a semi. Dosen't sound like much fun.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snowday!





Been looking forward to this again since April.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> And what kind of product do you produce?


I work for Nokia, and I've been in basically the same job for about 8 years: a while as an "external" first. In the structure, "they" have identified a group of 460 in Finland, out of which about 140 will be cut down. I am in a team that produces SW to manage the phone via a PC, and soon Mac, and my part is to make sure it is usable in a little over 30 languages.

At the moment, uncertainty is the certain thing.

I didn't ride to work today, but took the bus. I had a dentist's appointment in town center and didn't feel like going there by bike. Roads were frozen too, after humid weather yesterday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Tomorow gusts of 35-40 mean valleys and wind tunnel areas wiil be unrideable 45+ unless I want to be blown off the shoulder and into the path of a semi. Dosen't sound like much fun.


This is what we're dealing with now. My wife convinced me to drive in today. I'm sitting here in the office and my ceiling is creaking because of the wind. Severe storms are on the way.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It was 70 * F here at dawn 10 degrees above the normal high!

Primary front blew through at 60 mph about 15 minutes ago. The oaks were swaying like hula dancers on meth at the brief height of the wind. I have fewer dead branches up in the trees to figure out how to cut out, now.  Most of teh leaves should be in the next county by now. Some of the oak leaves are still green and they are hanging as we haven't had a hard frost yet. May be able to get a night ride in. We have had some straight line winds taking trees down earlier, so we may have dodged that as the power didn't flicker or brown out. So should only have sticks not downed trees on the road.

That is the first appreciable rain in three months, (to be verified by a rain gauge, yet) Thought we were in desertification mode. Will have lawn patches to reseed in spring. :madman:

PS Rain gauge 0.9" meaning we had it coming down at over 2" per hour. Got the same amount of rain in about 20 minutes as we got in August and September combined.


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

Wow, it's getting cold! Or at least pretty cold for this time of year in Northern California. It was 42F this morning in Chico, and I could have used my head wrap thingy that covers my ears. Invigorating, but chilly. And as is pretty typical, I get to work right as I'm warming up. I seriously almost kept riding for another 30 minutes just to enjoy the crisp air.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice, Newfangled!
I can see that we`re starting to get a little snowpack in the mountains around town, but I still haven`t had the first flake land on me or in my yard yet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A heat wave yesterday...left work at 5:30 and it was 70F! Shorts and t-shirt for a late Oct evening ride in VT is pretty rare. I was joined for a couple miles by a local guy on his bike - friendly enough, but at the same time a corner of your brain says - "is this guy a wierdo?", especially when you get comments like "your legs look strong". Worse (more paranoid) in the dark I think. This a.m. I left in a mist but it turned to rain...luckily it was still mild, so OK in the shorts, t shirt & a jacket. Rudely cut off again by a right-turner (traveling same way); I was already in the middle of crossing the school driveway when the driver couldn't wait 2 seconds and had to turn in front of me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> A heat wave yesterday......Shorts and t-shirt for a late Oct evening ride in VT is pretty rare. I was joined for a couple miles by a local guy on his bike - ... "is this guy a wierdo?".... Rudely cut off again by a right-turner (traveling same way); I was already in the middle of crossing the school driveway when the driver couldn't wait 2 seconds and had to turn in front of me.


Yep. Nice Indian Summer weather.

Weirdo? By many folks we cyclists are ALL weirdos. So I take it you mean even more of a Weirdo? Well, maybe he's an example of Augsburger Syndrome. Most of us have enough social skills to not to make such a comment on first meeting! On the other hand he may warrant avoidance....

The right hook when you are in the intersection gets my blood pressure up. Some can't estimate your speed, some assume that you are only 5 mph in spite of contrary evidence, some feel you have no right of way whatsoever and this is an 'FU', and some would have pulled out in front of a big yellow Mack Truck, they are just so oblivious/distracted. I have found my aimable helmet light a great help in getting most to yield properly. The bright HID on the bike with no helmet light never stopped the immenent right hooks. I'll soon have a horn to make sure nothing is lost in translation.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sounds like a wierdo to me, too. 
Enjoy that Spring time weather while you can!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Airzound arrived, mounted, and used on maiden ride!

Different car from the one that made me order the horn (she was the 6th or so), pulled the same stupid pass in the same place with too close and oncoming vehicle. Both were outside my usual ride time. So likely haven't seen me on the road before. Her front tire was back on my side of the double line as it came by (about 2.5 feet to her fender and would have been tight by the time her rear bumper went by). Blast had her straighten the Buick out a bit more. 

I think the drivers don't compensate for the oncoming trafffic coming off the stop sign and accellerating so underestimate their speed, my speed, and the space they need. Maybe an optical illusion there, though I've not noticed one. No way around. Plan B was the shoulder/lawns.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

TwoHeadsBrewing said:


> Wow, it's getting cold! Or at least pretty cold for this time of year in Northern California. It was 42F this morning in Chico, and I could have used my head wrap thingy that covers my ears. Invigorating, but chilly. And as is pretty typical, I get to work right as I'm warming up. I seriously almost kept riding for another 30 minutes just to enjoy the crisp air.


24 this morning in lassen county. Wrong gloves. This one snuck up on me. Numb fingers for a while. Windproof gloves tomorrow


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

About 5 Celsius (40ish F) this morning. It rained during the night but it stopped before I left home. Had to slow down a bit to keep myself from sweating.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just made the first run on my new studded tires. Felt like I was dragging a Winnebago behind me and sounded like somebody was frying bacon. I`ll try more pressure for the ride home, but doubtit`ll make much difference. I do have an extra front wheel with a dyno in it and an extra rear. I think I`ll check next weekend and see if the rim widths are close enough that I can swap back and forth without adjusting brakes every time. The rear has wheel is 7-speed, but fortunately I can switch to friction. Sure would be nice to have the studs handy, but I don`t want to push them every day when the roads are dry.

It was cold and windy for the ride home this morning, pretty nice by the time I came in just now. I need to pick up a thermometer one of these days.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Dressed up ready for a fresh cycle this morning, stepped outside to find out it was baking!! Quickly adjusted my layering and set off. All im saying in bloody padestrians! Why do they insist on wearing head phones whilst walking?? Resulted to shouting a lot at people this morning! Grrrr.......


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well...so far a week of mechanical issues...
on Tuesday, on my way home, just after I pushed real hard to pass a green light on time, my left crank arm got loose...stopped, tight it with my multi-tool and roll..it wasn't enough, it got loose again...so stopped, tight it again, lower my pace and once I got home took a proper allen wrench and tight it right.

yesterday I woke up late so I took the old car ride.

This morning, leaving home, just around the corner, realize I had my front tire almost flat...as it had half the normal pressure I knew the slime did its job...so I inflate it...and I was rolling!

once I got to the office I realize the crank arm was getting loose again 
guess I'm going to the workshop at noon


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Uh-oh, Martin! Maybe you`d better hold off on that GPS unit so you don`t end up in the DOUBLE DOGHOUSE if you need to buy new cranks and BB 



rodar y rodar said:


> Felt like I was dragging a Winnebago behind me and sounded like somebody was frying bacon. I`ll try more pressure for the ride home, but doubt it`ll make much difference.


Okay, I have hope. I pumped them up to about a gazillion PSI before I came home and the ride was terrible, but they did roll acceptably. I think I stand a good shot of finding a happy medium.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Uh-oh, Martin! Maybe you`d better hold off on that GPS unit so you don`t end up in the DOUBLE DOGHOUSE if you need to buy new cranks and BB


My exact thought...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Uneventful, except for 1 truck that looked like it was going to blow through the rotary...I was not willing to take a chance even though I had the right of way, so I almost had to come to a stop. I'm sure he still doesn't realize that if he had approached at a reasonable speed and actually looked at oncoming traffic, that I would have been out of his way sooner. 

Wow, studded tires & temps in the 20's already in commuterland! Rodar, glad your Winnebago got lighter - in a few weeks you will probably not notice the added noise or drag so much. But then, I will be switching back to the MTB for studs so I will have a lot lower gears available than on the cross bike, and that will help compensate for the extra weight & drag. And the necessary hat reduces the noise.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

the little rent a bike shop near the office close it doors...apparently for good.
I'm going to try another new little shop on my way home....
I don't remember telling, but the shop I used to go didn't survive the rains...the whole section of the little mall just vanished...I think is time to investigate its new location!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rodar: does the inflation pressure affect the spark production of the studs hitting pavement?  Glad to hear of this, Santa will hopefully bring a pair.


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## equinox (Oct 31, 2007)

No cycling today, have sore knees


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I was not willing to take a chance even though I had the right of way, so I almost had to come to a stop.


Good call, Xplorer. A poster on RBR had a sig line that sums up that situation very well: "Be carefull out there- nobody wants a tombstone that reads `Technically Correct` "

Yeah, it`s early for the studs- still haven`t seen the first snow or ice on the roads here in town yet. I put them on partly because the manufacturer recomends 100KM or so on dry pavement before using on the real deal, but mostly I mounted them just to check them out and see how they felt. Boy are they stiff! They were pretty tough to get on the rims (not the worst I`ve mounted, though) and my "gazillion PSI" only turned out to be about 60 when I got home and put a gauge to them. Let`s see how they do at 55.

Sparks? Oooh- I wish! Maybe I can find a flint road around here someplace!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ow- hope your knees right themselves, Equinox. That`s always my worry too now that the factory warranty is gone on them. Did you injure them or they`re just being a PITA for the pure fun of it?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

in the market for a BB and crankset for La Trurly :madman:
.
.
.
.
.
.
rodar you boca de sapo!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, sorry the BB/cranks died! Hope she's back underway shortly.

Up to 2" snow was forecast last night above 1500', but it did not materialize... just showere & 38F at home. My last bike commute of the week this a.m...my car has been hogging a prime parking spot at work since Tues a.m.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> in the market for a BB and crankset for La Trurly :madman:


Love those unexpected expenses! It's one thing to anticipate an upgrade, another when like a car, the bike eats part of the budget. Comparing, there is a zero or two missing off the end of the bike bills, though. I dodged a new crankset (I think) on it by jumping right on a squawking sound. Time will tell. Anyway there but for a few (hopefully thousand) more miles go I.....

Lost a cap of the left Campy Pedal. Nice way to get sand in to do a number on cup cone and bearings. Can still get them for pedals 1964-1987. 'Only' $35! The pedals cost $50 in 1981, of course thats over $116 with inflation, so a cap is more then 25% of the original cost. Have to pay those stocking fees! Looks at least $20 better than duct tape!  It will take another 50 miles of errands to cover that cost. The errand bike's about 2/3 paid for based my usage, not considering the exercise factor or the saved wear and tear on The Duchess.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Love those unexpected expenses! It's one thing to anticipate an upgrade, another when like a car, the bike eats part of the budget....


I would love an unexpected expense on La Pugsdozer (please God, don't do it right now!)...the truth is, lately, la Trurly is being losing its charm towards me...me wanting a roadie is a big cause...then the GPS Unit plan...a OMM rack for La Pugsdozer...the ram mounts for my camera....the bag to bring my DSLR to the rides...I can keep counting.....the last I wanted right now, was "an upgrade" for la Trurly 

I'll see at noon what the LBS has to offer...if I choose buying from US it will put la Trurly down for at least a week and a half.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Uneventful rides the last two mornings. Yesterday wasn't bad at around 48* F. Stuck with the shorts, long sleeve shirt and rain jacket (no insulation, but I didn't need it).

This morning was a little colder and I put on some tights and they worked like a charm, wasn't cold at all. The only thing I am finding is I really need some full finger, wind-proof gloves. Fingers were way too cold compared to everything else.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Hahaha, sparking tires would be rad!

I feel you on the crank issue. My right side pedal developed a click recently, but I suspect it has nothing to do with the cranks or BB.

I got back on the bike last week after taking several weeks off due to a busy schedule. The first few rides were great. No issues, nice weather, light traffic, etc. Two days ago, however, I commuted at a different time to a location I have only biked to twice. I took half a day off of work to go to campus and study for an exam. The last time I did this, I had to fight heavy traffic and I caught a flat due to a tiny piece of pea gravel from a filthy parking lot I have to cut through to get to bike path on the levee wall.

This time traffic was lighter due to the time I was leaving work, and the fact that I figured out the best place to cross a busy intersection. I still almost got hit by an impatient piece of trash. I took the right lane on a four lane road while waiting on a red light. There was a car parallel parked on to my right with a couple of dirtball chicks in it. I was probably even with their front door. The light turned green, and traffic slowly moved ahead. This intersection is busy enough that I flow with the traffic, and I don't hold anybody up. The dirtball car either decided that she did not want to look at my sexy ass for the few blocks, or she straight up didn't see me. As the traffic started to move, she merged into me. I saw it coming in plenty of time, but I still delivered a well deserved warning fist to her car. I was able to safely fall in behind her and laugh at the middle finger she gave me. 

The mileage from there to the levee was smooth and uneventful. I decided to hop off of my bike and shoulder it through the gravel in the parking lot. I got up on the levee wall, and rode it down streets that have "share the roads" signs. I hammered the rest of the trip, and for the first time in a while, I felt my lungs begging for more air while commuting. What a great feeling.

I got to school. I studied in the library for 4 hours, and then I went to get on my bike and roll to class. I caught an effing flat! The tire had deflated while I was studying. I haven't had time to inspect it. I guess three flats on fairly new tires warrants a change. As I have said here before, Kenda's "Iron Cloak" protection sucks. I will probably talk to Dixie again and see what tires he has been running. I still have not figured this whole road bike tire thing out.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: my interest is that big that I totally forgot to go to the LBS!  will go to check prices after work...
probably I may have to go to the other side next weekend so I may end up buying through the internetz!
any recommendation?
something with the 3 B's please! Bueno (Good), Bonito (nice) and Barato (cheap)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

codwater said:


> Hahaha, sparking tires would be rad!


Wouldn't they? Maybe with a coaster brake slide....



codwater said:


> My right side pedal developed a click recently, but I suspect it has nothing to do with the cranks or BB.


Mine was my cleat a bit of Tri lube on catch & tightening cleat screws, :thumbsup:



codwater said:


> As the traffic started to move, she merged into me. I saw it coming in plenty of time, but I still delivered a well deserved warning fist to her car. I was able to safely fall in behind her and laugh at the middle finger she gave me.


Rhetorical question, unless someone has a Psychology degree and would like to answer: Why is is when you admonish someone for going something stupid and dangeroous in the car they flick the bird? :madman: Is the Star Trek "Well, double dumba$$ on you!", an appropriate response? 



codwater said:


> As I have said here before, Kenda's "Iron Cloak" protection sucks. I will probably talk to Dixie again and see what tires he has been running. I still have not figured this whole road bike tire thing out.


So far I like my Panaracer Tourguards 700C-32 with the Kevlar belt (recent ones are foldable). Side wall slash from a beer bottle bottom did one in (steel bead, 27 x 1 1/8) a year last June as I tried to dance my way through a frenzy of broken beer bottles I did not recognize in time, I booted it put it on the back until I changed out to new 700C wheels, but I now see it bulging when pumped up: done. One 1 inch roofing nail that I think would not have flatted me IF I had recognized what the sound was as it rattled around the fender for another hit and many stones and glass shards shrugged off.

But the errand bike has 700C-35 Michelin City tires, much heavier and I use them with the debris on the shoulders in tlate winter early spring. Not a perforamnce tire, but they rolled over everything.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> something with the 3 B's please! Bueno (Good), Bonito (nice) and Barato (cheap)


Oh, that`s easy- a Trek 810!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Wouldn't they? Maybe with a coaster brake slide....


WHOOOOOHOOOO!!!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> :lol: something with the 3 B's please! Bueno (Good), Bonito (nice) and Barato (cheap)


Sounds like a song to me. Rolls off the tongue like poetry, and I'm no Spanish speaker, but I can hear that in my head! :thumbsup:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

awesome news! :yesnod: 

According to the more experienced LBS, the damage is just on the Arm!
now, where to look for just a left arm?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> awesome news! :yesnod:
> 
> According to the more experienced LBS, the damage is just on the Arm!
> now, where to look for just a left arm?


Um...Your left shoulder? OH! CRANK arm! 

Um...I wonder if the bike shop owner knows someone who'd love to upgrade their identical crankset and be glad to sell the old one? Or already has and it's sitting unused? Or a wrecked bike with the same or compatible left crank arm? No midnight switcheroos on some other schmo's bike, now! :nono:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Um...Your left shoulder? OH! CRANK arm!
> 
> Um...I wonder if the bike shop owner knows someone who'd love to upgrade their identical crankset and be glad to sell the old one? Or already has and it's sitting unused? Or a wrecked bike with the same or compatible left crank arm? No midnight switcheroos on some other schmo's bike, now! :nono:


well, they didn't have anything at the shop available new or used...looking for someone selling their old one?..jumm...

...just asked someone on our local classifieds...he is selling the whole thing including the BB...for about 58$...and it is 170mm so I can gain some clearance, but I think 58 is a lot for a used cheapo set.....I asked just for the cranks, but he probably won't want to split the set.

I think I'm going to end getting a new Alivio Set on 170mm (kinda of an "upgrade"  )


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Well cycled to work this morning, dam clock change in the UK has brought out the fair weather cyclists again who have no concept of how to use british cycle lanes!! 80% even right with headphones so you can't even warn them your coming through. GRRR

And now I have a creeking sound coming from the bike on every revolution GRRRRRR


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

crazychimpjimbo said:


> And now I have a creeking sound coming from the bike on every revolution GRRRRRR


Bad month for BBs and cranks. That`s 3 from the board now, I think. Hey! Maybe you can fix that creaking by bumming one of those fair weather guys`s headphone sets


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## Self Motivated (Jan 2, 2003)

*Gettin' a wee bit chillier*

27º on the way in this morning. Was overdressed though: Not quite time for the mittens. My hands were too warm!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Clock change.... Now it is dark enough to need lights both coming and going. Last week I only needed lights in the morning.

Got a flat a little before arriving at home. Felt a "thump thump" from the rear of the bike when starting down a little hill. Stopped and found something lodged in the tire. Pulled it off: "Ppsssssss". A rock splinter straight into the tube, like a small triangular arrowhead. Better go and patch the tube now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bike Commuter Math:
left late + gusty headwinds + red lights = missed bus + 11 more miles to ride to get to work.

It must be Monday!

Cranksters: I had a creaking crank once and it turned out to be a hairline crack in 1 Campy Veloce crankarm - just something to check. They warrantied it but it took awhile.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bad month for BBs and cranks. That`s 3 from the board now, I think. Hey! Maybe you can fix that creaking by bumming one of those fair weather guys`s headphone sets


hahahahhaa you've given me an idea!! I carry a pair of tin snips with me, maybe I should remove a finger every time one of them annoys me!

OK well today was a good cycle in, Fairly warm in the UK, left when it was darkish but since the clock change is almost light within 10 minutes. Wind was up but that was good training! Passed the regular cyclists, passed a guy sitting in a puddle??? haha


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Seriously: a creak can be a sign of something going bad: BB, Cranks.... Better track it down before anything gets damaged.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

perttime said:


> Seriously: a creak can be a sign of something going bad: BB, Cranks.... Better track it down before anything gets damaged.


+1 One turned out to be shoe cleat/spring latch, but other was a loose right crank arm but not loose front back but side to side. So I almost missed it as the usual methods failed to detect it. Thought it might be the freehub. So it can be tricky to confirm. Removal cleaning, lubing, reassembling and torquing fixed it. Tapered steel against cast/forged aluminum is no contest if you keep on grinding the arm. The Hollowtechs apparently don't fare any better if the left bolt loosens and you keep riding: it sounds like the threads get damaged.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

I best tear it apart later!! Lucky for me I have a spare LX crank and bb I will place on tonight!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

sub-zero (C), not a lot subzero, but under the bar for the first time.
cars seemed faster than usual, and I got to work later than I expected... :skep:  

time to re-adjust the go-time to compensate for slow muscles, wind chill, and soon... slushy roads!

pogies... must look into pogies this year...


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

it's moments like this I'm glad the 100+ temps are gone:arf: 

was just chilly enough to require arm warmers for about half the time this morning, still not cool enough to warrant knee warmers.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

crazychimpjimbo said:


> I best tear it apart later!! Lucky for me I have a spare LX crank and bb I will place on tonight!


There's lots of things that can cause a creak. Did you already confirm it is not your seat or seat post (creaks also when pedaling out of the saddle)?


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## equinox (Oct 31, 2007)

About to head out, Approx 11c sun is out, skys are blue and it looks like no wind!


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## equinox (Oct 31, 2007)

and here we go: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://sh.../4cc2/8aa7/Cyclemeter-Cycle-20101103-0805.kml


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That looks like a killer route, Equinox. I zoomed in close and followed it on Satelite view. Looks pretty hilly and I love the giant rocks.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

It was a beautiful 79 degrees here in Phoenix, but my ride in to work this morning was weak sauce. There was a little crosswind, but I honestly think it was because I really didn't want to go to work.  The ride home was much better. :thumbsup: 

Part of my route includes hopping on the lightrail, and surprisingly Phoenix has been kind enough to include one bike car on each train (total of 2)...but lately I've noticed that the two cars per run are not enough and increasingly there are always people sitting in the bike car who do not even have bikes and the people with bikes have to stand in the open area by the doors and block them! And then the non-bikers get gruffy with you when you want to get by them to hang your bike up! I finally snapped at someone today on my way home, I'm so sick of it. Anyone else experience this in your city?


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## equinox (Oct 31, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> That looks like a killer route, Equinox. I zoomed in close and followed it on Satelite view. Looks pretty hilly and I love the giant rocks.


Dunedin is very hilly! only second week of commuting, I'm still working on the fitness !:madman:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It definitely looks groovy. I seriously doubt I`ll ever make it to NZ, but the pics....

We`ve been enjoying beautiful weather here for several days now. By the time I got home from work, showered, and ready to go out the door again, it was around 9 AM and I was feeling great, so I took my roadie to the polling station (in shorts and no jacket). Shazam! It was so light and nimble after a few months riding at least somewhat bundled up and only riding my commuter or my `bent, I felt like Eddy Merckx!

Related, now that the elections are over with, I`m looking forward to no more wakeups by automated campaign calls. I think that for 2012 I`ll keep a record who wakes me up how many times and whichever bum has the lowest number gets my stinkin vote!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today was the first day I had to use both lights. Clouds moved in. While it was dark, at least it was warmer than it has been, and the wind was not a factor.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

broke the stupid bolt that holds the two sides of the bb of my campy mirage "ultra torque" crankset.
road rashed knee, broken middle toe (I don't know how either) and 1/2 hour late for work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Hope I don't need this*

Had a short heated discussion with a Greensburg City School bus driver at about 3:15 on CR 50 S at the Decatur County Park. He passed me on a short blind incline (doesn't rate the term 'hill' by MTB standards, about 30 feet rise in about 100 with another 10 after that over maybe 250 feet) then just after he's by, he puts on the yellow flashing lights, then red and stops to drop off a child! The passing on a blind hill is a reckless driving offense. I have nowhere on the right to go as he is passing if someone was oncoming and he came over, of course I can't see if the way is clear or not. He had time to talk with me but none to drive a bit slower (suspect he was speeding to catch me from when I first saw him)and simply pass me later in a much safer section of road. Instead he passes then forces me to a dead stop with grade yet to climb and heart at Max rate thanks to the adrenalin. :madman:

No apologies from the driver, though I made it clear I was upset, so if the idiot pulls something as dumb again, I want this record that he did ssomething stupid before in case he has a 'thing' against cylcists, or now, for one particular cyclist.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well Brian at least he left knowing what he did...hopefully he will do better next time...

So...I was on a break at the office and decided to read our State Transit Law....
Cyclists need a sort of Licence to ride in the city! (they call it a Permit)

I'll go tomorrow at noon to the Transit Office to get mine!... The law doesn't say anything about an exam! 

The law also says you need your orange safety vest on.

The only two required things and I was totally failing!
(there is no requirement for lights)

Acts that lead to fine:
- Carrying a load on your head.
- Transporting a passenger in an unsafe manner.
and
- "Zigzaging" or making stunts

weird Holding to a moving vehicle is prohibited to motorcycles and not to cyclists.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

a poco!? se necesita permiso para viajar en la ciudad por bici?! no mames!!!


"lo see-aynto say-nore po-lee-see-ah, no ha-blo es-pa-nole"


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, Byknuts- sounds pretty nasty! That makes four recent crank/BB issues now, but you get the honor of being the first casualty of the bunch! I hope your limping time is minimum. A guy on RBR posted a couple years ago that his pedal spindle broke on him in a sprint- did an even bigger number on him than on you, IIRC.

Sorry to hear about your untimely schoolbus pass, BMc. I`d have been smoking hot.

Bike licenses? What`ll they think of next?!? Actually, I kind of wish they`d institute them here, but only under my conditions: free of charge and include mandatory half-day training session that explains how not to ride like a bonehead and WHY not to commit the key bonehead bike sins. Not a complete cure, but I bet it would get at least a few clueless to ride more sensibly. It sounds to me like N.L. is just in it for a few extra application fees.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> It sounds to me like N.L. is just in it for a few extra application fees.


jummm

I can say I haven't see any transit officer stoping a cyclist (including me) on the almost 2 years riding around MTY....in the same time I have only saw two cyclists wearing a safety vest (I think I said it here as an unusual thing )

lets see how much my permit cost tomorrow


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You`ve probably seen more cyclist wearing vests than cyclists carrying bicycle licenses. Just my guess


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, Byknuts- sounds pretty nasty! That makes four recent crank/BB issues now, but you get the honor of being the first casualty of the bunch! I hope your limping time is minimum.


campagnolo ultra torque cranks.
4 shops on the way home, every single one of them; "hrmm, never seen that happen with campy cranks!" so of course NOONE has the required spare bolt.
turns out it's the same as one of the ISIS bolts I have but I have to cut off the captured washer that the bolt comes with, it won't just slide off. (that would be easy)

sorry, been going batty trying to get this sorted, probably sound crazier than I am? maybe?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Campagnolo Crank issues have to be about as rare as they come. I'd say Byknuts, you sound pretty in control, considering.

Hope the injuries heal well. They are upsetting when you do something to deserve them, but when it is an equipment failure...

I am the only weirdo here with a reflective vest. Seems to work (except for School Bus Drivers).  

One aspect of paying for a bike license is you have proof in hand that you have the right to be on the road to shove in the face of any moron who doesn't think so. 

'Zigzagging', I assume, means slaloming across all or most of the width of one or more lanes for fun on downhills and to reduce the effective grade uphill. Problem is a non-cyclist might define pothole and stone avoidance as 'zigzagging'.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeap...I didn't find the correct translation for "Zigzaguear"...but yes, you nailed it. (I thought on "swerving" first , but that wasn't exact either)

now...I haven't gone to the transit office yet but the more I think about it the more I get mad about it....I mean, how could a State Government dare to charge even a single peso to a cyclist when there isn't one useful bicycle path/shared road/trail (you name it) on the entire city!

yes, one can bet no one out there has that license...(and transit officers are not stopping cyclist like cars either....yet) but the idea of charging a cyclist for a nonexistent service is just outrageous!

and about the fines...there is paragraph at the end of the table where the acts I post befoer come from that says:
"Infringements by cyclist or drivers of animal traction vehicles shall be punished with the 25% for the first and 50% for the seconds, of the established on the table"

So ? with the exception of the specifics I mentioned before...I will be punished exactly like a car? :crazy:

let's see what they say at the T office later.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

at the little office where I got my Driver's License...they didn't know of such a permit for cyclists!
Then they ask me to go to the main Transit Office downtown...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hahah, I am not surprised, Martin. Perhaps I could send you one of these cyclist permits for a small fee.

Rainy and cold (35F) again today...the kind of weather that makes you want it to start snowing instead...only you don't have to shovel rain.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

perttime said:


> There's lots of things that can cause a creak. Did you already confirm it is not your seat or seat post (creaks also when pedaling out of the saddle)?


Yep, basically the creak has got loud and only happens when the pedals go around. If I keep the pedals straight and bunny hop, no nose, if you move back and forward on the seat no noise, start to pedal with a little force......Noise! hhaha

Haven't had time yet to take it apart but its on the list for this weekend!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Not quite as nice here as it was earlier in the week, but still not bad. The forecast says we might get our first snow this weekend. Actually, I hope we do- snow is always cool until you get sick of it.

Perttime, have you found out anything about your job yet?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Nothing new about the job. Depending on the "consultations" (required by the law here) it could be about another month before we hear anything definite. I understood that they can publish it if a whole chunk of the organisation is safe (as in "everybody in the team can stay"). Otherwise we wait for "final" results. In the mean time, everybody whose job is at risk is a priority candidate for any job openings within the company.

We had a couple of wet days during the last few days. No torrential rain but enough to keep the roads wet. Some frost is expected for the coming days: at least it will be dry. A little snow is also possible and would make the world less dark.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Twenty six F or -3 C this morning. So we've had our killing frost. Some snow flakes last evening.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

First snow of the year just started. It`s so pretty! Please remind me again how pretty it is by the end of February when I`m long past my patience for shoveling the stuff.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

We got a couple of cm of snow during the night. Sunday was a good day to switch from slicks to a bit rougher tires.

Today's snow is just humid enough that it will pack hard. Might have to be careful on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

First studded tire commute this year...woke up to a mix of ice pellets, freezing rain, and snow, about 27F. Deck and car had a nice ice coating so threw on the studs on the MTB. About 2 miles from my house, came upon a car that had gone off the road. Stopped to check on the driver, a young woman - she was OK but definitely needed a towtruck. It was kinda cool to offer assistance from a bike. The rest of the 11 mi got wetter...caught the bus and by the time I got to work my bike had a new coating of ice on it. Nice to be out in the weather!


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

......................wet!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> First studded tire commute this year...


Xplorer, do you have two sets of wheels, or keep remounting tires depending on the daily conditions? Or just put the studs on and leave them until spring?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, do you have two sets of wheels, or keep remounting tires depending on the daily conditions? Or just put the studs on and leave them until spring?


They're on 'til spring, though I could switch back to to cross bike with regular tires if the weather clears up. Pretty soon, though, my dirt road will have a semi-permanent ice surface, so I need the studs even if the paved road part of the commute is clear.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Well commuting home last night I had a soaking! However this morning it was a dry but hard cycle to work! Wind has now picked up in the southwest of the UK and it was like someone hanging off the back of my bike  good training I say !!! :thumbsup:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Today, we have nice frosty weather with a little packed snow on the ground, here and there.

... a snow storm is expected for the night, first dry snow but turning wet before morning. Probably 10 cm of snow. Getting to work tomorrow could be harder than usual.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

great news on my crank arm issue!

Last night I went to The Workshop...they gave me an used one for 50 pesos! (less than 5 USD) yeey!

Just is time for our 7°C mornings these days 

I couldn't change it by myself last night  going at noon to let them do it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good deal on teh crankarm 

I bungled the time change a little bit. It`s been dark leaving work for a few weeks, so I stopped taking my sunglasses along. I forgot to start packing them again and had the sun right in my eyes today on the way home. They`re going back on the daily packing list, as are mittens.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

need... gears *cough*... slicks *wheeze*...

so FYI for campy ultra torque cranks- the stupid bolt in the middle is basically the same as a 13mm isis bolt, threading is identical, problem is most isis bolts come with a washer that has to be cut off (because while the bolt head diameter fits inside the crankarm fine, the washer is about 1.5mm too large). oh, and the isis bolts look to have much more meat around the head (which is what I sheared off) 

should have that done sooner than later.

backup- surly 1x1, 39x15, mullet brakes, knobbies.
wow!
the gearing's not too bad, pretty spinny, but the drag from the knobby tires is incredible (compared to my roadie)
expected of course, but still... the time lost to buzzing tires vulcanized my opinion regarding how to outfit the commuter!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

perttime said:


> ... a snow storm is expected for the night, first dry snow but turning wet before morning.


Yep, the wind blew the snow into drifts: bare ground in some places, thick layers in others. The snow was already heavy and sticky, by morning.

Good thing I have some route options. Tried the minor road - dirt path option first but it was not ploughed yet. Just some car and bike tracks and footprints that kept deflecting me, heavy going in the untouched snow. So I transferred to an other route and made it to work without struggling too much.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> need... gears *cough*... slicks *wheeze*...
> 
> backup- surly 1x1, 39x15, mullet brakes, knobbies.
> wow!
> ...


Down with knobbie buzz!
If I ever get so broke that I can`t afford a derailler, I`ll be the guy SSing with a 24t ring. And there WON`T be a small sprocket in back.
What the heck are mullet brakes?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Mullet brake = disc front, rim rear


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Loving the hint of daylight again. Grabbed the mtb this morning in spite of it not having fenders, and took the singletrack. Beautiful sticky silent pine-needle-over-wet-dirt conditions. Had to slow down on the pavement to keep the face clean...rain last night and the front tire was wanting to throw up some spray. Knobby tire buzz all the way to town. Oh, and I get a 4 day weekend


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Sorry my commuter brothers I haven’t been around much lately, school is dwindling down and work is picking up add family time to the mix and it’s less time for MTBR. (I did happen to organize a successful single-speed night TT race in my absence).

In any case, still honoring my commute schedule on days I don’t have class. Although today oblivious to my plans, my deep-sleep self decided I would not get up early for my morning run then prep for commute. So I drove in and stopped for donuts to bring to the office (such a great boss I am). 

I second the likeness to time change. It’s been rather nice having the sunlight in the morning and darkness in the evening. Over the course of last week I have had to refine my leave times some. Climbing out the tunnel at 6:20ish instead of 6:30ish AM prevents me from getting blinded by the bright sun rays. Also, I noticed leaving 10 mins earlier in the evening gives me a little more daylight for the commute home. Monday it was pretty much dark and I wore my orange lens Tifosi glasses and I had trouble seeing features along the way (normal potholes, etc.) Wed. I rode without the glasses and left a few mins early and was fine. 

I was debating a front headlight (I have a good rear flasher that works well day and night) that would give me a little more vision in darkness but not so much to blind oncoming traffic (one part of my commute is opposite to a one way double-lane). If anyone has any suggestions, I’d consider them. For now I am going to stick to timing allowances.

I hope to have my commute route photo essay done in the next few weeks (maybe after finals).


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

I will show my generous unders to my self proclaimed leaders


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

dixie whiskey said:


> I was debating a front headlight (I have a good rear flasher that works well day and night) that would give me a little more vision in darkness but not so much to blind oncoming traffic (one part of my commute is opposite to a one way double-lane).


It takes a serious light to have as much light as a car would have in a two way street. If you want enough light to actually see, get the most powerful one you can buy and adjust it to point down a little, not straight ahead.

I have enough street lighting to see, so only need to be seen. Right now managing with two small lights with integrated chargers, and a rear blinker.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

dixie whiskey said:


> If anyone has any suggestions, I'd consider them.


More doughnuts!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoo- I got an extra midshift commute last night, and it was a long one! I got in two hours of ride time while on the clock, how cool is that?

I had a sample part waiting on my bench when I arrived with a note just saying "Make two- MUST be done by shift change (7AM) for ....(piece of equipment at our other plant)". Well, dang- the sample part they left me was so worn out I couldn`t tell just WTF dimentions I was supposed to fabricate to. Tried calling the other plant on the phone with no answer (as expected), tried to sign out the company`s minivan that used to be available for this kind of thing and found out that the personell department now keeps the keys locked up, so no access in the night time. That`s fine, then- I`ll just take my own vehicle if they want to play games. So I rode down to measure a better part and noted the bearing numbers. It was a little further than I thought at 12.4 mi each way, and I very much enjoyed it  

My direct boss, who relieves me in the morning, wasn`t very happy, but at least he wasn`t fuming- told me to borrow somebody`s car next time, which I think is unacceptable solution. I`ll find out tonight what the "real" bosses say.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> More doughnuts!


I bring them to the office but never touch them. I'm a granola junkie most of the time.

Noted on the headlight, I am going to keep with my timing plans for now and see how it goes for now. I haven't paid attention to street lighting (maybe the city hasn't set the timers yet because it seems I would have noticed).


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

dixie whiskey said:


> I haven't paid attention to street lighting (maybe the city hasn't set the timers yet because it seems I would have noticed).


If Houma is anything like New Orleans (which in some respects it is and others not so much) the street light may just be completely out. I have a stretch that I ride at night sometimes from the University to my house, where one in ever 10 light is working. :madman:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whoo- I got an extra midshift commute last night, and it was a long one! .... It was a little further than I thought at 12.4 mi each way, and I very much enjoyed it My direct boss, who relieves me in the morning, wasn`t very happy.


Glad you got a paid mid-shift commute in. Your immediate supervisor is an idiot IMHO. He was responsible (directly or indirectly) for the SNAFU of the impossible to replicate part, and the lack of vehicle access on your shift, even if it has to be controlled. If you got the parts made, you saved his butt. Hope his boss set it right.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, no butt chewing directly or passed on, and no nastygrams in my email, so I guess nobody upstream was particularly concerned about spending so much time in transit. Or they just didn`t know about it.

To be fair, my immediate boss is usually pretty cool, and gives me leeway in my judgements, though he does have his grouch moments. I can`t blame the company car situation on him, but he`s the one who left the part and the note for me. Since he`s a machinist too, he would have known it wasn`t enough to go by if he had stopped to consider things.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I dealt with increased traffic all week long. A fairly major road is closed as a new section of parkway is built. This funneled a great deal of traffic down a smaller road. While most of my ride was unaffected (I bypass most of the traffic through a park), I have to ride the busy section for about 50ft before turning into my neighborhood. The slinky effect was in play on this street all week long. Of course most people were pretty set on not letting me in, even though it didn't save them any time at all.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

25 degrees, warm over the weekend turned everything into ice last night. Couple of mm of snow cover this AM helped w/ traction.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Uneventful...already 37F this a.m., so I took the cross bike with regular tires with confidence. Forecast showers have not materialized yet today, hopefully the way home will be dry too. 

Rodar, that is a pretty neat work-related workout. 2 people here got spoken to once for riding bikes to a facility just 3 mi away...not professional or some such rationale..but what could be more professional for an environmental agency?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

One of those 45-48 *F days with high humidity that feels like 33-36 *F. No booties and my feet did not enjoy that much. About 25 *F cooler than last week, which was flat out gorgeous. Another couple of showers, too. Going to have to reseed large patches of lawn come spring.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

first commute since the crank arm change...no problems with that...what I did have was a rear flat!
5 blocks walk to my shower place...I let the slime do it jobs...pump some air and ride to work after taking my shower...I think the tire was losing some air so I'll see later if the slime actually worked.

13°C and I was freezing :lol:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

the Wife was close to work at the end of the day...  
trying to redeem myself with la Trurly on our way home I got new batteries for my blinkies
at home I gave her a new inner tube...checked tires for nasty things ( removing mostly tiny glasses and little wires, the staple kind...and one particular big glass)...I was glad to do it at home...slime was all over the tire and I wouldn't be able to remove the little wire bare handed at work...and to finish I also swapped tires F<-->R 

from now on one of this is in my tool bag








the Wife was the kindest giving one of hers


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Super soggy, .64" of rain so far today, felt like most of it was during the ride in. Found an old rear fender that fit the cross bike, so that was nice to have. Front ones did not fit in narrower fork crown, and may not have cleared the brakes anyway. Opted for my rainjacket and rainpants I usually use for hiking and was comfortable. They both soaked through eventually but I was glad I had the good hood and wasn't getting cold water down the back of my neck. I had woken up before the alarm & decided to leave early even though it looked like I'd miss the early bus...sure enough, I saw it pulling away from about a block back (express bus and no traffic lights for the next 11 mi, so no chance of catching it). I decided I would be warmer and earlier for work if I kept riding rather than wait an hour for the next bus, so I rode the whole 22mi. It had lost some of it's charm by the time I got here, and my feet were cold, but it was still nice to be self propelled out in bad weather. Hoping my shorts chamois, at least, dries put by the ride home - I should leave a spare at work. One jerk driver had to blare the horn 3x as he passed me, even though it was on a wide straight section with plenty of room for everybody.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, did it rain on you the whole way in? That`s dedication ot pedal 20+ in the rain :thumbsup: Wishing you dry by quitting time!

Good idea carrying the tweezers- I always used my pocket knife, but I stopped carrying one a few months ago and hadn`t considered what I`ll do to dig out thorns from a flat tire.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> 13°C and I was freezing :lol:


6 C and I was sweating.
ponte un sueter wey!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, did it rain on you the whole way in? That`s dedication ot pedal 20+ in the rain :thumbsup: Wishing you dry by quitting time!


Oh yes, rained the whole way, though it was lighter for about mile 12-17...then it became a downpour again! I was glad of the availability of a hot shower at work.


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## equinox (Oct 31, 2007)

Nice ride the whole way back, no headwind, nice temp... small glimmer of fitness returning
***********/aTFx9B is the trace


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Better than expected this a.m., as the wind howled all night. It was still gusty, slowing me down a bit, but do-able. Last night started out frustrating as when I got off the bus I noticed the plastic stabilizer thingy on the back of my helmet was apart, and although it was not broken, it was quite difficult to reattach, requiring streetlight, multitool, fumbling and cursing. I did not want to ride without it as the helmet would bounce around too much, especially with the light on it and on the dirt road. Plus I was getting cold in the wind, as I had dressed for the 3.5 mi uphill ride. This made me more annoyed, since I could have tried to fix it in the comfort of the bus. Finally got it together, put on helmet, was about to go and the snow/rain started coming down harder again, so off came the pack and helmet (attached because of battery pack) again, out came the jacket, and then reassemble again. Once I got pedaling it was fine. It snowed lightly the whole way but it melted as it hit the ground.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

seems like a rough winter commute starting for you xplorer...hopefully it'll get better.

I was a little late so push it a little this morning...made on time and tested the crank arm :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Tweezers are a good idea for things smaller than my pliers multi tool.

Spare shorts in case at work also an excellent idea.

I have seen two front fenders cut and used as separte fender sections ahead and behind the fork crown to deal with crown/brake clearance issues. You get a stay to hold the front up that way and modify it to fit by the brake. Also just the back part of one, accepting some face spray off the top of the tire as better than spray off the whole tire. 

In the last three days we have had more rain that we had from late July until these rains. Enjoying my fenders.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Air bag helmets? I`m not sure if I like the idea or not, but you`ve gotta admit it`s interresting.








I wonder what they`ll come up with for a right hook bag.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Air bag Helmet thoughts (someone cares or thinks they can make money?):

1. OTB Here a crash test dummy IS dumb. Tuck and roll. I have tucked and rolled and carried my bike up and over and come out with nothing but some road rashed clothes, bike unscathed. Of course I was much younger then, much wiser now, so no more OTB's for me (I hope). I have also wrenched a shoulder just shy of breaking and dislocation from an OTB of an object in the front wheel, but the helmet air bag would not have helped that. But if you OTB'd head long into a boulder on a trail or from a run off the road into a culvert or abutment, well...this might do the trick or at least it could be an open casket if you 'only' broke your neck.:skep: 

2 Rear ended. 
a. Firstly, the stats say this is the least likely car-bike accident scenario. 

b. Secondly, when it does happen it is often a drunk driver at speed who doesn't even slow (blind drunk), so the impact is at 50-65+ mph! 

c. This is a slower impact than that (or the bike's rear wheel would be crushed). Note that the cyclist rotates back like a falling Sequioia. The head becomes the first contact point of the cyclist in this crash. So a very effective tool to reduce injury at the collision speed shown. 

We have a cyclist here who rode track for IU in the early 60's hit like this about a decade ago on the roads here, and it demolished his left leg (it was back on the crank at the collision, it's now 2 inches shorter and full of metal pins, the wheel was crushed to the seat tube). He cleared the car, but had it been a taller SUV, his head would have hit the roof/windshied point and it would have been game over, set, match. This device would have helped some with a shorter car, likely inadequate for a larger one.

d. Thirdly, though rare, a sudden last minute swerve in behind the cyclist is not predictable nor very avoidable. One of the things I know I can't do much about. Almost had someone swing right onto the shoulder at speed behind me to pass a left turning vehicle in front (legal here except for minor fact he had to yield to me). So though a rare accident, (and such a device might be inadequate for faster collisions), if reasonably priced, and it was compatible with a helmet, I would consider one. 

e. The much more common into your side left or right hooks still need that hard helmet, I think. Though maybe the accellerometer-tip angle trigger device would work there too.

While thinking of this sort of thing, maybe an Aizound proximity sensor on the rear rack that detects speed of closure warns the cyclsit and maybe punches through the driver's haze. You might only need move a foot to the right to avoid impact.


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## VTRC (Nov 19, 2008)

2 minutes into today's ride rode through a 10" deep puddle. There were another 2 lakes on the way in... 

Shoes are in the server room getting dehumidified now.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Finally got our first real taste of winter yesterday. So. Much. Fun. 

It's too dark for photos on my commute, but I took a quick spin at lunch.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Haven't commuted since monday.

Called sick on tuesday and canceled wednesday's dentist's appointment. On thursday I went to see the company "Occupational Health" doctor and his assessment was: a common cold from a virus... but some bacteria was taking the opportunity and getting a bacterial bronchitis going. Stay home the rest of the week too. Take an antibiotic to kill the bacteria.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a pretty fun commute this morning. I was wasting time before work (playing guitar) and ended up running late. I took a few shortcuts created a few new fun things to do on the way. I found a new place to jump. 

For some reason, there is salt on the road, or at least it looked like salt. The lows were only in the 40s last night, and temps don't appear to be looking to take a dive any time soon. Weird.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, come on Brian. I didn`t say it looked USEFULL, just interresting  Doesn`t it?


rodar y rodar said:


> Air bag helmets? I`m not sure if I like the idea or not, but you`ve gotta admit it`s interresting.


By gum, that looks downright cold, Newfangled! Will that river freeze solid in mid winter?

Hang in there, Perttime. Company doctor? Wow.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Company doctor? Wow.


... another legal requirement for larger companies here ...

Generally, it is a private clinic that has a contract with the company. I suppose the company gets something out of it too. The employee gets to see a nurse or doctor way faster than would happen in public health care (unless you have life threatening injuries...). So, the emplyee is not at work spreading germs to everybody else there, and quite possibly is back online faster.

----
edit:
Now that I think of it... This area started becoming industrialized about 200 years ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finlayson

The industrialists of that time also made a point of looking after the employees. Schools, health care, kindergartens, church for the employees...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Here it comes...*

...our first storm, supposedly. It was relatively calm and sunny ealier this week, then the winds really blew Wed and Thurs. A big lazy front is just now arriving- first flakes around nine tonight but it`s been going back and forth between snow and slush. The forecast calls for conitnued "the same", snowing a little at a time through Monday morning. I hope we at least get enough by morning to leave a nice snake track all the way home- just put the stud muffins back on my bike


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Freezing rain to start, 28 F...a coating of ice on my deck convinced me to take the MTB with studded tires. Turned to regular light rain en route. Yesterday I was off, but coldest morning so far, 15F when I got up. Rodar, did you get that snow?


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## CommuterGene (Jul 28, 2010)

Have only been working Saturdays these days. Commute was super hot for this time of year, rode in jeans and a t-shirt and was sweating by the time I got to work. On the way home at 9 pm it was another story. I was wearing the same thing but kinda cold, didn't want to stop and put a jacket on, not a great part of town. But over Thanksgiving break I have ridden mountain twice (only been of three days), going riding today, and tomorrow. Gona be great.

Gene


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nope, plenty cold (dipped into the "teens"), icy roads, and lots of wind, but only an inch or two of snow. It`s above freezing now (still very windy), supposed to get into single digits with good chances for at least a little more snow over the next few days. Doubtful we`ll have enough to be fun.

I bought a thermometer today- Yay, new toy!


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## Sixty Fiver (Apr 10, 2006)

Warm and toasty... had to use the truck to pick stuff up.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Today was the first snowy day here. I had to dust off my "cookie-dough snow" skills. We had more snow late in the day, so the commute home was sketchy too. It's fun to zoom away from a stoplight while the motorists spin their tires 

There's a blizzard warning for tomorrow, with a combination of another 3-7 inches (7-17cm) of snow, winds, and a high of only 10°F/-12C. Should be worth some bragging rights


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## Sixty Fiver (Apr 10, 2006)

Forecast for tomorrow morning is for -30 C and there is a wind chill warning in effect although, as cyclists we always create our own wind chill.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Back to work this week.
Temps are around -10C now (low teens F?) with a little packed snow on the ground. Haven't got my clothing quite sorted yet: yesterday I was way too hot, today just a little bit hot.

Many trails should be good too but I am not quite up to that yet. Cruising to work and walking with the dog is exercise enough right now.

More snow may fall in the coming days but probably just enough to keep the scenery pretty.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, getting wintry all over. My bike is ready but I better spend some quality time with the snowblower and other winter projects this weekend. Warmed up here, 50's F & isolated thunderstorms forecast today. For the commute home last night the freezing rain had changed to mist and fog.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

70° with dense fog. Fast and on pace this morning to break my PR and then… 
My coffee mug took one for the team this morning when I hit a pothole in a construction area; luckily it rolled off to the side and narrowly escaped the oncoming car. 

If you coffee carrying commuters haven’t found out about this mug “Oxo Good Grips LiquiSeal Travel Mug” they sell for about $20ish and you can find them at Bed Bath & Beyond or other similar outlets. That mug may have sustained a few dings and scrapes but it did not suffer any spillage whatsoever. I use a modified Trek Bat Cage (where I snipped off the top tab so my mug fits flush against the back). It does slide up some when I hit big bumps (obviously as today). I’ll probably lock it down with a mini-bungie coord from here on out.

Last day of my work week, might have to stop off at the local pub on my commute home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've had some crazy weather. The starting temp on yesterday's ride in was 61F. The ride home was above 70F. It was 71F last night at midnight and low 50s this morning. I'm not complaining, but it has been a warm November.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-30 C this morning, light wind.

With 30 kph down the hill that is -46 C with the windchill.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-28C/-18F this morning. No problems on my half hour ride...although the bike sure does feel more sluggish when it's this cold, even compared to the balmy -25C yesterday.

Got to work, pulled off my hat and gloves. Was getting my u-lock off my bike and it slipped out of my hands. It fell about a foot and hammered my thumb into my rack. @#$%!!! Wow did that hurt. :madman:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, 90 F difference between Southern US and Southern Canada for yesterday`s commutes. Pretty amazing. Jeff and Newfangled, is that about as cold is it gets for you guys, or does it keep dropping a lot more? I don`t think we`ve ever hit that low around here- gotta check the records and find out.

I finally got to roll my studs over a little snow! Nothing to write home about, but I`m excited. It was fun and much quieter than carbide VS asphalt. Then again, the wind is really howling, so I wouldn`t have heard much from the tires anyway.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang, 90 F difference between Southern US and Southern Canada for yesterday`s commutes. Pretty amazing. Jeff and Newfangled, is that about as cold is it gets for you guys, or does it keep dropping a lot more? I don`t think we`ve ever hit that low around here- gotta check the records and find out.
> 
> I finally got to roll my studs over a little snow! Nothing to write home about, but I`m excited. It was fun and much quieter than carbide VS asphalt. Then again, the wind is really howling, so I wouldn`t have heard much from the tires anyway.


Coldest ride so far was -35C....it can get down to -40C, but certainly not every year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

dixie whiskey said:


> Fast and on pace this morning to break my PR...
> 
> ...I use a modified Trek Bat Cage (where I snipped off the top tab so my mug fits flush against the back). It does slide up some when I hit big bumps (obviously as today). I'll probably lock it down with a mini-bungie coord from here on out.


So did you break it after all, or missed attempt?...

....Not the mug, tell us about hauling doughnuts! Granola doughnuts, if you insist.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

All time record low for here, according to Wikipedia, was -18F/ -28C in 1890.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

34 degrees, Wind, Rain, Snow, and Ice with standing water on top. Typical Alaska Winter Commute. ;p


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang, 90 F difference between Southern US and Southern Canada for yesterday`s commutes. Pretty amazing. ... I don`t think we`ve ever hit that low around here- gotta check the records and find out..


I lived in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from April 1975 until May 1978. Commuted by bike to two jobs in the summer, but the snow fall is ridiculous so the sidewalks and whole lanes are devoted to snow mounds 6 to 10 feet high depending on fall and how long since they last removed it. In the winter of 1976, we had a cold spell that lasted for over a week, (I think two, but you know how memory is) where the low was at or below -40 C/F and the high -20 C or less. Warm light winter clothing has come a long way since then. I saw NO winter bike commuters outside of the downtown core where they have to keep sidewalks and lanes open. Be great if a reader from there could join and report.



rodar y rodar said:


> I finally got to roll my studs over a little snow! Nothing to write home about, but I`m excited. It was fun and much quieter than carbide VS asphalt. Then again, the wind is really howling, so I wouldn`t have heard much from the tires anyway.


Looks good!


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> So did you break it after all, or missed attempt?...
> 
> ....Not the mug, tell us about hauling doughnuts! Granola doughnuts, if you insist.


Nah, just a few dings. I think you can run over that thing with a mac truck and it would stay intact. 

Granola donuts sound mighty fine, does such thing exist? As I was commuting home last night (ahem, after I left the pub  ) I couldn't help but feel in awe of riding in the city at night (I love the time change) and the cooler temps and faster carefree pace (granted 3 pints help some). I told my wife 'if only' my city supported a need for bicycle messengers and it paid decent.:thumbsup: I am dreamer, I know. Just can't get enough of city night riding lately.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

all my day to day memories of Ottawa were up until about '87.
I don't remember seeing anyone on a bike in the winter!
some kids would bmx it around house-to-mall, not much else (that I saw)

but yeah ottawa gets loads of snow.
same holds true in Toronto though, not the same volume of snow, but rather that the bike lane becomes the designated "snow dump" so you have to be mid-lane all the way into work.

also- quick warning to all: the chances that some yahoo isn't running snow tires on his fwd sedan, locks his brakes up on ice and slams into cars stopped at a red light is much higher this time of year, stay away from the edge of the curb!
you don't want to be the "bystander" who gets clipped at the end of a 3 car game of plinko.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> Coldest ride so far was -35C....it can get down to -40C, but certainly not every year.


Ha the Herald says the temp was -36.7 C yesterday morning at the Bow River where I ride.

Airport was -31.3 C...

So coldest ever -36.7 C.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> the chances that some yahoo isn't running snow tires on his fwd sedan, locks his brakes up on ice and slams into cars stopped at a red light is much higher this time of year, stay away from the edge of the curb!
> you don't want to be the "bystander" who gets clipped at the end of a 3 car game of plinko.


Good plan :thumbsup:

Whiskey, I meant did you break your PB! I`ve never seen granola doughnuts, but I`d have to go for a dozen if I ever ran into them- I chow down any kind of oats like Mr Ed, and dog nuts are pretty high on my favorites list too.

It was downright cold here this morning by my standards- my schnazzy new home thermometer read 12* when I got home, after the sun had already been up for an hour. Zero wind and REALLY bright, not a cloud in the sky.

Glamour shot of the critters out in the backyard. They aren`t ours per se, but I feed them in the winter. We don`t garden or I`d probably get tasked to eliminate them like the neighbors do. We get tons of quail out there too, but I guess they weren`t in the mood for alfalfa pellets today.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...eliminate them like the neighbors do...


do they eliminate and eat them? or is not an elimination involving death?

this year has been particularly fair to us here in MTY (well, not counting Alex's damage)...due to the rain in summer it wasn't that hot and now it is almost Dec and we haven't even hit 5°C yet...we haven't had strong north winds neither.

took an off off Monday (so I rode it ) but I stayed late that day watching a fight on TV and couldn't wake up yesterday...uneventful ride today...I'm wearing my tights in the mornings and just shorts in the afternoon.

I found a nice singletrack close to home this weekend...is a shame I didn't find it when it was on my commute route


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, nice trail, that looks pretty lush, especially compared to our "stick season" here - brown trees, brown ground, etc. Got a little of that weird styrofoam-looking snow this morning, perfectly round little pellets. About 25F. Happy Thanksgiving to all.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have a 5-day weekend. Thank goodness. The weather is miserable. It is 35F and raining hard, my least favorite conditions.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm curious if jeffscott or anyone else experiences this, but I can be toasty warm on my ride to work in the mornings, when it's -28C or whatever. Then on the way home it's warmed up to a tropical -20C, and I freeze even though it's the same route and I'm dressed the same. It's pretty consistent that I'll be colder on my ride home, and it was really noticeable yesterday.

That being said, today it's warmed up to -13C so I'll be taking a long detour home.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Can't say has I have noticed that effect...often if it warms up I will open up all the layers etc and that will make it fell cold, but then that is not dressed the same.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, by "freeze" I really just mean that if I had to guess the temperature I would swear it was a few degrees colder, rather than warmer.

And as an example, I just found some cheap snowboarding gloves for $15. Last year I'd used a mix-and-match system of a bunch of different gloves I had lying around, but was never completely happy with that. This year I figured I'd try something less ghetto since the price was right.

Monday morning, -28C: no problem
Monday night, -20C: hands were noticeably cold (not worrisome, just not warm)
Tuesday morning, -26C: no problem

It's not a new thing though, so I guess it's just the way I work.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

15 mile Ride in
35 Degrees Fahrenheit 
16 mph winds out of the Southeast
Raining all the way home.

Dress Just Right...Priceless


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Yesterday:
around -10C and tailwind to work: quite comfortable
around -10C and gusting headwind going home: both hot and cold at the same time...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ahhh Chinook blew in -1C


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yup. Back to freezing for Grey Cup weekend.:thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, Martin- that is a nice looking trail! It`s so... summer looking?



martinsillo said:


> do they eliminate and eat them? or is not an elimination involving death?


The people who eat them probably eliminate them the next morning  .
But seriously, I imagine some people who kill them in the winter probably eat them (as far as I know, nobody eats summer rabbits) and some probably just leave them for the coyotes. Of course, a lot of people just scare them away too.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)




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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

me: "hey, umm, I can't meet you at the book store"
wife: why not?
me: "ummm... I'm walking right now"
wife: oh no! are you ok, did you crash?
me: "nope, crankarm fell off"
wife: what?! wtf?? you broke it again?!
me: "nope, different bike, different crank, not broken, bolt's missing"
wife: what? 
me: "dunno, came out of work, rode to the corner, arm goes crooked, stop, check, yup, the crank bolt's completely missing"


campagnolo cranks= sheared bolt.
carbon fsa isis cranks= disappearing bolt. :skep: 

what the bolty bolt is bolting on here dam-bolt-it?!
just figured i'd share cause y'know... what're the chances?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It must be a crankset consipiracy.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I'd bet that's rarer than a 'bolt out of the blue'!  

Crazy thought: Was the one that broke a left-hand thread? As in someone trying to remove it as a right hand thread and overtightened then sheared it? Now a missing one? But they did not take the crank arms Hmmm. Maybe they didn't have a puller if a tapered spindle. Maybe a comspiracy to get byknuts to change his forum name to bykbolts.  

Very weird. Cue Twilight Theme Music here.:thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wonderful ride home this morning. It was warm with lots of snow flakes fluttering down, just barely sticking. I had to swing by the super market, so it was an extra long trip, about three times my usual route. The first leg gave me a fairly stout headwind, but I kept it slow and easy and entertained myself watching The Snow Show. Leaving the store, it started snowing harder- still just a dusting on the ground, but lots of it in the air. And I had a nice tailwind for that part, so I sat bolt upright and cruised with a slow cadence, immitation electric assist. That`s the kind of commute I live for :thumbsup:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Wrong gloves... good thing my commute only takes about half an hour.

-22 Celsius, with an inch of fluffy snow on the ground. The snow was light enough that it did not slow me down noticeably.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The pleasure of making snake tracks through fluffy snow is sometimes worth 30 minutes of cold hands . 
Hope you had nice pretty unmolested snow to mark up.

This morning`s ride was over a sheet of ice all the way home. It snowed, then rained, then froze, leaving all the streets like a skating rink.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I wasn't the first one out but there was still untouched snow left for me too.

Papers have mentioned that there's a big high-pressure cell over Siberia pushing cold air here, and it is stronger than usual for this time of the year. After Tuesday we should be back to more comfortable -5 to -10 C: still dry but not all _that_ cold.

edit:
could still find my tracks outside the office, around noon:


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

No Snow for me in the South West of the UK but very cold temp's!!! Since the end of last week its been in the minus and I'm now thinking 3/4's are not quite up to the job!! On the plus side my new gloves and head band have warmed up my trips. My Cycle route has gone very quiet now! passed 2 cyclist's this morning compared to back in the summer when at times could be up to 20-30!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Fun! A good feeling to be flying down the iced over dirt road at 30mph with good grip. Any speed feels faster on ice. Not quite as fun when I got to the dry pavement, but it was dry & crisp, 20F, a good day for a ride. Sadly, back to rain for the next 2 days, then chance of snow. Squalls over Thanksgiving weekend produced whiteouts and accidents but did not cover the grass, except in 1 spot where it drifted 1'.

Jimbo, if you mean 3/4 leg coverage, and its below freezing, I guess you are a bit crazy!
Perttime, any forecast with Siberia in it can't be good - yikes!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> I'd bet that's rarer than a 'bolt out of the blue'!
> 
> Crazy thought: Was the one that broke a left-hand thread? As in someone trying to remove it as a right hand thread and overtightened then sheared it? Now a missing one? But they did not take the crank arms Hmmm. Maybe they didn't have a puller if a tapered spindle. Maybe a comspiracy to get byknuts to change his forum name to bykbolts.
> 
> Very weird. Cue Twilight Theme Music here.:thumbsup:


nope, the one that broke was regular thread, head just sheared off.
it's not a tapered spindle, it's a hirth joint!! 

http://mywheelsandmore.com/bicycleParts/campagnolo/Ultra-TorqueCampagnolo Crankset.htm

meh, on the steelwool for the day, it's faster anyways.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

byknuts said:


> meh, on the steelwool for the day, it's faster anyways.


I've noticed they're awfully slow when left at home, lonely, riderless... 

Figured that you deserve a smile for that kind of trouble!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday started out at 54F and rainy. I was able to take advantage of a small break in the rain for most of the way, until I got stuck at a traffic light and got wet. The commute home was 38F, misting, and dark. This morning was 29F and snowing. It was a great commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Too Windy. And more rain. I drove. Saw a motorcycle blown over in someone's yard. 100mph winds on Mt Mansfield and trees and power lines down all over. School buses wouldn't drop off some kids with long driveways due to tree danger, and 1 town evacuated some due to so many trees coming down. Still power at work, but don't know about home. Last night's bike home it was raining and my icy road had turned into a muddy slogfest delivering a slower than usual uphill trip, but I stayed warm and comfortable.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

First Day of Winter!
22 degrees and snowing on the way to work.
22 degrees and a headwind on the way home.

Goodbye Fall of 2010 Hello Winter!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ve been having some really nice weather lately. Sunny days, hardly any wind, not too cold at night. Right now it`s 31 at nine PM. Hung up the Christmas lights after work this morning and started taping plastic over the windows in an effort to reduce our heating costs. I wonder if it`ll work? Since we don`t have a gas meter, and we don`t get delivery at set intervals, it`ll be very tough to tell for sure.

Dang- if the school bus doesn`t drop you off, do you have to spend the night on the bus? Towns evacuated for wind danger? Must be pretty strong!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back to normal, power came on at 6 a.m. Luckily it was not much below freezing last night. A dusting of snow & pretty snow/frost on trees.


Edit: oops, power stayed on <1 hour, hope it's back on tonite!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We had a white blanket of snow for Dec 1 almost hiding grass and leaves, melted on roads and they dried. ABout 2-3 weeks early for that here on average, but not unheard of. About 75% sublimated overnight. Supposed to hit almost 40 F by middle of the afternoon so what's left should be gone by late afternoon, downhill temps the rest of the week.


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## VTRC (Nov 19, 2008)

My wife offered to give me a ride home yesterday. I grabbed my bike to toss it in the wagon and found a flat. This morning I found that it was a segment of spring that had punctured in such a way it got the tube twice, a little half circle of metal. I must have picked it up right in front of the office... Was a serious pain to remove.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Normbilt said:


> First Day of Winter!
> 22 degrees and snowing on the way to work.
> 22 degrees and a headwind on the way home.
> 
> Goodbye Fall of 2010 Hello Winter!


If you're in the northern hemisphere it's technically not until Dec. 21st. I get your point though. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spotted a spooky figure moving in the shadows of a house I pedaled by. ..it turned out to be a motorized xmas decoration with 2 elves on a see-saw.


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## Marcster (Apr 28, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Spotted a spooky figure moving in the shadows of a house I pedaled by. ..it turned out to be a motorized xmas decoration with 2 elves on a see-saw.


Something wicked this way comes!

:eekster:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

5F Degrees this AM, bike trials are groomed, hard, and fast. Good Times!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Last Ride of the year probably for the Seattle Langster.
The Seattle got a bulk of the Spring/Summer/Fall Commuter Miles. 
Now it's the San Jose 1's turn as the Studded tires are on and ready for Battle!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm starting to think I'll need to switch things up a bit on my commuter. Today the temps were around 18F with a stiff headwind and single digit wind chills. The problem wasn't as much the cold as it was my gear ratio in those conditions. I am pushing 42x18 currently, which works well in warmer temps, but as it gets colder, pedaling is getting harder and harder, especially uphill with the wind. My legs don't work quite as well in the cold.


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## De La Pena (Oct 7, 2008)

*Predawn In the Sandia's*

Predawn Ride. Weather was nice 34F and moderate headwind. 2 hours in the Mountains is a great way to start the day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That's a beauty!


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

I`m jelous.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We had Indian Summer Heaven here for alomst a week. I brought home a new addition to my ride pool and started building a new storage shed tacked on to the carport to help with housing overcrowding in the wheels deparment. Dug holes for the first two posts, mixed and oured three bags of sac-crete for each hole, and two hours later the rain came down onto my new cement .

The new ride is going to be a blast, though- the rain had stopped by the time I got home from my insurance agent and the DMV, so I took an hour long get acquainted ride around town. I`m in love- under seat grocery trunk, killer fairing, and heated grips :thumbsup:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey rodar!
a motorcycle (for those who like them) is always welcomed and do a great add! Congrats!
I've had two (last one sold when I start commuting last year)

Yamaha?...here my little ones:









Fazer....was my commuter in Vzla....with that one my sometimes 2hour car commute was 20 min in whatever condition...it was a blast...traffic in Caracas is crazy!
This one was sold when moving to Mex.









The little Vstar was my commuter here in Mexico until the bicycles entered to the game 
both 250cc.

On a cycling note...must confess I've been way too lazy these days...almost 2 weeks letting the Wife giving me rides...I'm constant with the weekend rides though...here a little vid I made last Sunday:





Edit: Forgot to add...My journey towards a road bike just began! some parts are already on its way!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Santa's first delivery arrived today. A Brooks Pro saddle: Honey with copper rivets and rails. Nice for the gold bike. A bit narrower than the B17 which has been binding my left leg if I spend much time in the drops. It's a bit wider than the B17 Narrow or my old Brooks. I took the bar height down some because the wider bars allow me to actually breathe in the drops into the wind. The B17 moves from The Duchess to the more upright errand/commute bike to replace the 38 years old B15 Narrow Tie that originaly came on my late 1972 Raleigh. A lack of proofhiding over a period of non-use allowed the leather to dry out too much to restore. It has literally become a pain it the keister on any ride over about 3 miles. So keep applying the Proofhide, even if you are not riding the saddle. A new saddle to the break-in.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

15 degrees on the 14 mile ride home tonight with a mild 5mph wind in the face


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The snow was hard, smooth and grippy on the paths. Cars have polished the street sections slippery but I can adjust my route to avoid a couple of spots.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Windy and dry. I need one more day to get all the cement set for my shed- forecast says I`m good.

Yeah, Martin- 2006 Yamaha Majesty. I`ve had several motorcycles in the past, but the last one went to Honda Heaven in 95 or 96. This is my first scooter. Since I`m now pedalling a recumbent, I might as well motor one too .


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This week has been really cold for us, especially for this time of year. It's been 13F most mornings and 20s on the ride home. It will be getting a little warmer this afternoon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride home, 2F on arrival, but nearly no wind and beautiful stars and the sparkly style snow showers. Met a bike mechanic from Miami FL on the bus


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Today was my first commute since the weather has been cold here (the past two weeks). I had gotten up several mornings with the intention of commuting, but after being exposed the 38 degree temp while taking the dog out, I decided to drive. This morning I didn’t let myself get discouraged by the temperature. I laid all my clothes out the night before and checked the tire pressure. No excuses this morning. 

I put on a long sleeve T, a long sleeve thin cotton pullover, and a vented wind breaker. For my hands I have Remington hunting mittens where the finger part of the mittens folds back and stays folded back with magnets. These gloves were awesome. Where mittens folded back, there was a small gap in the fabric which acted like vent, and they have leather palms. My hands were only slightly warmer than I would have liked them. I wore jeans which was a mistake. My legs typically don’t get cold, so I should have just gone with shorts. This would have saved me from the slight chaffing I endured. I didn’t wear any head gear. My ears and nose were a little cold, but I don’t think I really needed any head gear. 
I took an old route I have not used in a while. My bike would not shift, but I was in a comfortable gear, so until I check it out I am ok with that. One bozo coming from the perpendicular street of an intersection came close to taking me out as cut a left turn VERY short and came into the wrong lane. I guess he didn’t see me because if I was a car, he would have smoked me for sure. Other than that the ride was pretty uneventful. It was a perfect morning to get my winter commute jumpstarted. I plan on doing it more often now that school is out for the semester.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

codwater said:


> This morning I didn't let myself get discouraged by the temperature. I laid all my clothes out the night before and checked the tire pressure. No excuses this morning.


Yeah! Go get em, Codwater!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:thumbsup: GPS fell out of my pack last night & someone turned it in to the bus lost & found! Like getting back $300 cash money.

:madman: My car was at work a couple days...after work I went to load up bike, laundry, etc., and managed to lock myself out while it was running. Got it unlocked for a reasonable $35 but left work 1 1/2 hrs late on a Friday - ugh... I guess I should stick to the bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

They paved the RR crossing on my main route, early last week. About time, too, I was thinking they were waiting for all the old wood filler timbers to completely disintegrate. In the end they settled for about 95%. Guess they wanted their monies' worth.

A wonderful 25-31 *F, -2--3 C* windless ride Wed last week. Only issue was the toque slowly eating up my peripheral vision. Just got a nice sweat going and didn't want to have the sudden cold shock of fixing it. At the end it was like a tank driver looking out his slit. Tunnel vision. No mirror, no harm done. Drivers seem to think I'm nuts, so give wide berth. :skep:  

Going to have my left foot's big toe nail removed. Declawed like a cat. Keep re-injuring it in clips or in cycling shoes and it is an infection waiting to happen. Better a toenail now, than a toe later.  Mostly riding boots and flats now, so figure it should be good and healed when it is warm enough to wear the Sidis again. A little local anesthetic makes it minor instead of torture to pull the nail out, though I don't think it would be a good idea to ride the bike to and from the clinic on this errand. :nono:


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Last Nights Ride Home 35 Degrees and Raining pretty good
Todays Ride 22 degrees on the way to work 18 Degrees Going home North Winds 25-35 mph


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That looks downright nasty, Normbilt!


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Keep it up Norbit! That is a nice shot. Makes me feel cold and wet just looking at it. Is most of your commute that rural? If so, color me envious.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

No Snow today,
10 degrees on the way to work
7 degrees on the way home

Riding in cold temps is like riding a century
you feel good at the start but nervous
then you feel real good in the middle 
3/4 you start to feel things hurt 
4/5's you start to feel better {second wind}
And at the end you glad it almost over!


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## crankyandy (Nov 9, 2009)

Go get em Normbilt!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I 'love' the after snowfall changes in driver behavior. Most here don't actually 'Stop' at four-ways in good weather, and they take the least amount of snow as a licence to not even slow overmuch. The problem with that is they can't see pedestrians in the crosswalk or cyclists already in and crossing the intersection. I think the rear bumper may have been legally stopped, but I am not sure. Thank goodness no Christmas shjoppers were crossing just then. The country has the advantage of fewer such idiots oer mile.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It has been a bit chilly: between -15 and -20 Celsius (around 0 F). This time of the year, I don't usually have daylight for my commutes but today my manager said I can take the rest of the day off if I feel like it. After a couple of km, I got a flat and decided to walk and take some pics.























































The manager had a face to face meeting with all of his about 40 employees, and I was one of about 20 who got a "pre-notice" that we will get Legal Notice of Termination on 26 January. Then I still have a 2 month period of notice before leaving. The other option is to take a "Voluntary Severance Package": resign earlier, with a few months' pay and release the company of all obligations to take me back if there's suitable jobs open, etc.

So, the uncertainty is over and I am looking for a job...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sorry to hear that. 
Pretty pics as always, though.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sorry to hear that.
> Pretty pics as always, though.


+1
hoping you find a better one for 2011

half of the employees was a big cut!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I chickened out yesterday and took the car, but I rode in this morning. The temperature was hanging right at 7F. I was running late, so I didn't take the snowy route. I'll try that on the way home. When I got to work, I realized I had locked my keys in the house. While getting dressed in my winter layers, I forgot to put my keys in my pocket. Arg.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Oh geez, that's too bad, Perttime...not a very good holiday present. Good luck with the job hunting & I hope when you find one it has a good bike commute. -20C is a bit chilly for fixing a flat, did you have to do that, or were you able to walk or bus the rest of the way? It looks beautiful there, though the pic with the car looks like a challenging route since the shoulder looks unplowed.

S0ck, hope you can get back into your house!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I am sort of relieved because the uncertainty is over. And I have some time to hunt for another job. 20 out of 40 was just in one small corner of a big company...

I walked because it is only something like 5 miles total, even taking the slightly more scenic route, and I was not in a hurry. In the pic with the car, the "shoulder" is actually a sidewalk, raised above the road. The blue traffic sign says cyclists should use it too. Right now it is about perfect for walking or riding: plowed, packed, not even slippery.

The route looks nicer in reality. The phone camera is not coping well with uneven lighting.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Too bad Pert. Maybe this is your way to find something even better. I love the picture you took under the bridge with the graffiti. The graffiti I pass daily just got painted over. I did get a picture before it happened though.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

brought the bike at noon for my first December commute later after work 

Temp outside right now....29°C!!
Expected later....20°C

I really have no excuse for my late laziness


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Not sure how much snow we got today, but they were calling for up to 10cm. And it almost did me in.

Roads were completely chopped up and impassable. I headed home late enough that the sidewalks and multi-use trails had also been torn up by pedestrians and x-country skiers. And I tried some of the unbroken snow in the parks, but it was up to my hubs and I wasn't going anywhere. 

Luckily it's only about 5 miles, but I spent a lot of it walking.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> Temp outside right now....29°C!!
> Expected later....20°C
> 
> I really have no excuse for my late laziness


29C? That`s almost 90 F, isn`t it? Try "It`s too hot to ride!" 

EDIT: Google tells me it`s about 85 F- not too bad a guess, eh?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yuck, Newfangled. Any chance your roads will get plowed soon, or is it too late once they freeze? Around here, they plow what they can after a snow, but if it gets choppy and nasty, then freezes solid (especially if there`s a warm up or a rain between snow and refreeze), we`re stuck with the crap for ages.

Rain yesterday turned to snow, then it cleared up again. I was out working again with just a sweatshirt today- can`t believe how nice the weather has been this month! I bought that motorscooter a week and a half ago, then got it home and needed a place to store it, so started working on a shed. By gum, I got posts dug and cemented in, then got it roofed (did that today), and tomorrow I`ll side it... in DECEMBER! There`s just no way I should have had a snowball`s chance (hehe!) to finish a project like that this time of year. Where should I file my complaint?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> if it gets choppy and nasty, then freezes solid (especially if there`s a warm up or a rain between snow and refreeze), we`re stuck with the crap for ages.


If that happens, it takes REAL machine to clear it


















I don't see those often. It is mainly converted trucks and tractors now.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> 29C? That`s almost 90 F, isn`t it? Try "It`s too hot to ride!"
> 
> EDIT: Google tells me it`s about 85 F- not too bad a guess, eh?


it was really nice actually 

although, I forgot my taillights and had to commute with my eyes in my back :nono: 
then when I got home I realized I had no keys and had to wait for the Wife half an hour on our front 

Same procedure today  my bike is outside but I didn't ride it here.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Any chance your roads will get plowed soon, or is it too late once they freeze? Around here, they plow what they can after a snow, but if it gets choppy and nasty, then freezes solid (especially if there`s a warm up or a rain between snow and refreeze), we`re stuck with the crap for ages.


It's been -15~20C, so there's no melting happening.

That's good/bad. It means the stuff is easy to clear, but it's also what made yesterday so tough. It's cold enough that the snow doesn't compact at all, and even the cars are just kindof shifting it around. So it's like riding in loose sand.

We don't normally get very much snow though (at least compared to central canada and the NE US), and there's no more snow in the forecast so I've decided to ride again. Today I'll be doing a lot of illegal sidewalk riding, but hopefully by Friday or Monday the roads should be rideable again.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove in today for safety reasons. We had a small ice storm last night, and there's no way I want to be riding a bike in that stuff. It's slick.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Wow, the cardio. I'm in decent shape, but I don't remember the last time I worked this hard. If I actually do manage to get some momentum pushing through the hub-deep snow, it's not too long before various body parts start screaming at me to stop.

Saw a half-dozen other cyclists though, so I didn't feel too crazy. And most of them were doing some hike-a-biking too, so I didn't feel too lazy.

Had one driver stop, roll down her window, and yell "You're crazy!" at me in a thick German accent. I couldn't tell whether it was a "You're crazy! :thumbsup:" or a "You're Crazy! :nono:." I was in the middle of a hike-a-bike section of the sidewalk, and she was trying to have a whole conversation with me. People finally started honking at her.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> We had a small ice storm last night, and there's no way I want to be riding a bike in that stuff. It's slick.


Hmmm.... I was thinking that you must have gotten to your keys before Martin got to his, so maybe you wouldn`t mind riding down to let him in. I guess not, though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I was in the middle of a hike-a-bike section of the sidewalk, and she was trying to have a whole conversation with me. People finally started honking at her.


She`s crazy! :nono:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hmmm.... I was thinking that you must have gotten to your keys before Martin got to his, so maybe you wouldn't mind riding down to let him in. I guess not, though.


 

about people yelling to commuters: 
yesterday as I waited my Wife to bring the keys...a normal commuter in our city (no lights no helmet no vest) pass in front of me ....my street is quite dark...a car passing him by...the driver rolled down her windows and yelled (in a nice way) "you need a tail light"

It made me think, and actually this amaze me a little....the fact that the car-biker accidents are quite low during a year in MTY...only in my commute I can see at least 3 "no lights no helmet no vest" commuters.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

1-3" of snow overnight turned into 4-5" which shuts this place down at least until noon. I was too beat last night to go back out and refill the 5 gallon tank for the lawn tractor and had just enough fuel to plow my drive. I am going to venture out to recycle, get fuel, and pick up a few things with the P'k'up. Will try a ride after that should be almost 30 F by then. Was -4 F yesterday morn 1 degree shy of tying the record low. This is more like late January first two weeks of February. Maybe those wooly worms were right with their black ends and long red middle!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

fist December morning commute today 
uneventful


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And things are getting back to normal. Still had to use the sidewalks more than I would like, but I also managed to string together a few consecutive blocks riding on the streets. That was impossible even last night, so hopefully by Monday things will be mostly rideable again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Rain, rain, rain...*

mud, mud, mud...
We got eight inches of snow Friday- lots of work geting to work. Then a warm wind, then rain (which hasn`t really stopped yet), so the snow is almost gone now. Actually, it was almost gone by the time I left work Sat morning. Just went to move my truck onto the gravel (should have done that long ago) and was just BARELY able to coax it out of the mud. Since the forecast dosen`t show any good solid freezes on the horizon, it might have been there a while if I hadn`t moved it today. At least I got the scooterhaus (Die Rollerhaus?) up enough to keep my new toy out of the weather. Christmas party today at my sister in law`s house- that`s our second "posada" for the year, two more to go. Meeting my mom tomorrow to go fetch a present for my dad (good thing I saved the truck). Back t owork tomorrow night.

Hey, Martin- did your wife make more Christmas bread this year?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good news. It stopped raining


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Worst commute ever! This was not a commute to work. In fact this trip was a 5 block ride to a bike shop in my neighborhood. 

The day started well enough. I receive a very nice home bike mechanic’s stand as an early Christmas present. I decide that this was the perfect time to complete my disc brake project. I bought the disc brakes used, and they came with 185 mm disc. The hardware that I pulled from my parts box allowed me to install the front, but not the rear. So, I have been riding around on a bike with a mullet braking system! 

I grab my road bike and hop on to trek down to the bike shop in my neighborhood to pick up the right hardware. I don’t particularly care for this shop, but when I need something quick, it is very convenient. I make my way down my street, and get to the section where a lane is blocked with construction barriers. As I get to the construction I take the lane. No sane person would try and pass a cyclist on this one block strip. Well, turns out an insane person is coming up from behind. A white car pulls up next to me skimming the construction barricades. I concede my position and get as close to the parked cars on the right side and slow to let the car pass. The car pulls beside me and slows down matching my braking. I look over in disgust and awe, and I see 4 unsavory thuggish individuals in the car. Before I can stop and just let them pass, the front passenger’s door cracks slightly open. I think, “is he was going to door me?” I slam my left fist into the car door and the door bangs shut as I yell expletives at the degenerate. The expression on his face changes from playfully deviant to fear. Luckily I am at the next intersection, and I push off the car and make my right turn. I drop the hammer and blast the final block to my destination. In retrospect, I should have at least tried to get the plate.

I lock my bike up out front and rush into the shop. I am approached by one of the sales staff, and I hand him the 160mm version of the part I need in 185 mm. I ask if they have it in stock, and he hands it to the shop boss. The shop boss looks at it and says in disgust, “I’m a little busy right now, but if you give me a minute I will look and see if we have it.” The sales person apologizes and says it will be a minute. I browse around looking at the Globe, Electra, and Specialized bikes. For once my “need” for a new bike doesn’t take over entire being, but my “need” to get my wife a new bike does. I end up browsing the women’s bikes, and I find a great 700cc roadish bike with a more upright position and flat bars. 

Before I realized it 15 minutes have gone by. My original sales person has completely handled one customers needs, and the mechanic he had asked to help me is talking to another customer about getting a longer stem and a new saddle for his road bike. I am slightly annoyed, but the mechanic does seem like a little bit of a burnout so I cut him some slack. I ask the sales person about the part again. He is embarrassed that I hadn’t been helped yet, and asks the bike mechanic about the part. The mechanic said the task had completely slipped his mind. He stops and ponders the task for a second and says, “I don’t think I have time to check on that.” The sales person comes back to me, still extremely embarrassed and says, “I’m sorry man, the mechanics are busy checking bikes for Christmas, and someone called in sick today. They said they probably won’t get to helping you. If I knew their parts system, I would go look for it for you. Sorry man, but you probably don’t need to waste your time waiting.” 

Now, highly annoyed, I am back on my bike taking a different route to my house. A black BMW is coming towards me down the street. The street is a narrow back road with parallel parked cars lining both sides. There is enough room for a car and cyclist to pass each other but not enough room for two cars to pass each other. I see the driver of the car looking down, possibly digging in her purse. She is haphazardly drifting to my side of the street. I start screaming, “HEY! HEY! HEY!” The woman looks up and swerves to her side of the road. 

I arrive home safe and sound. This isn’t typical of my commute. Usually I don’t run into hooligans, and my biggest issue is with drivers who don’t have courtesy to switch lanes and instead buzz me. Really this is the first time where I constantly haven’t felt safe. I drove my wife to the movies today, and I must say that I had the same experience in the car. Sans the guy who pretended to door me, I think it must just be the holiday craze, out of towners, and people frantically doing last minute shopping.

These are just some picks of the route that I took tonight while going to get some well deserved ice cream!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

ouch C...quite an awful ride



rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, Martin- did your wife make more Christmas bread this year?


you remember it!...
it wasn't my wife though...it was the wife of a coworker...that's why I was carrying it on my commute...(otherwise the bread wouldn't be taken anywhere :devil: )...she got a job this year so she won't be doing it this year, you could imagine how I felt when I knew it 
There is still a chance I'll be able to get some this year... I'm crossing fingers.

what "we" did cook three weeks ago was Hallacas...the Venezuelan Tamales 
this shot, taking them out around 2 am in the morning...it all started the day before around 8 am (at least for the wife )


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

I got caught by Three Freight Trains today.
One long on the way to work and two On the way home.
another day of riding in the lower teens today
suppose to warm up to the upper twenties tomorrow.....and snow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez Cod, glad you survived the 5 block nighmare. Good luck with finding the part elsewhere.

Martin, those tamales look yummy.

Rodar, that sounds like a messy weather situation.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

+1

Except for the door opening, I have come to expect that sort of stuff, here. One passed me on that sugar-sand shifting snow that make the bike all squiggly studs or no, within 100 feet of a 4 way stop with a car launching from the stop oncoming. That is reckless driving here by statute.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

ha! I just receive a nice big slice of Pan de Jamon as a gift!...looks promising...my coworker's wife did an amazing job last year so the bar is pretty high....I'll save it for later to share it with the wife.

@xplorer
ohhh...Hallacas, are gooood!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I just received a message from my coworker...I'm in the short list of blessed persons to receive one of his Wife's Pan de Jamon! :thumbsup:

See...Christmas miracles do happen!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> ha! I just receive a nice big slice of Pan de Jamon as a gift!...looks promising...my coworker's wife did an amazing job last year so the bar is pretty high....I'll save it for later to share it with the wife.


haven't tasted yet...but guess what...it is a piece of the coworker's wife's bread!!! ....someone got to it first! :madman: I knew the look was good for some reason!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just enjoyed a really pretty ride in. Upper 20s or low 30s, mostly clear sky, and big bright (noneclipsed) moon to light up the swamp in the middle of my valley. When I started out, I was hoping to get a nice coyote serenade, but I guess the "brush puppies" weren`t as impressed by the night as I was. Not a word from them. I bet they start singing up a storm when that moon trick goes into action.

Dang, Codwater. Sounds like a real bummer of a day- hope the ice cream was good at least.

And your hallacas are making me hungry, M! Banana leaves? Are they sweet? Nobody in my family has made any tamales yet for Christmas, but I have Thursday and Friday off- maybe I`ll give it a shot again. Mine invariably turn out ugly, but usually tasty enough.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride, 16F & light snow, only a dusting overnight, not the 1-3" forecast, so easy going. Hoping for more soon though, as there was just enough for xc skiing on the trails behind my house last weekend, and I chewed it up a bit. Noticed when my helmet light is on blink mode (I switch it as it gets lighter out) it reflects off signs >1/10 mi away...I need a straight stretch to see the max.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I was a bit late today...tried new tights I bought this weekend..a "cheap" Canari one...they su"#.

The non cycling tight (an UA) under my baggies work better.

yes rodar...they are wraped in banana leaves...but the relleno (and specially the dough  ) is way too different from a tamal...
some pics from the internetz
in the making..









done and unwrapped...









and a Typical Venezuelan Plato Navideño:









Clockwise..
Hallacas
Pan de Jamon
Ensalada de Gallina (this is sweet with apples and stuff)
and Pernil Navideño (ohh this the best...haven't tried one in about 4 years  ...it is a Pork Leg made in the oven with some juices)

The Pernil Navideño deserves its own pic:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A snowy/icy adventure coming down my hill, and then a sloppy slushy ride where the roads were salted. Temps up about 25F, I like it better in the low teens where the roads stay drier. Half a block from where I board the bus a pedestrian was laying at the curb and looked to have just been hit by a car - in the crosswalk between the H,S. and the bank. People were helping him already, but no ambulance yet. He looked banged up and out of it but his head was up, so I hope he is OK.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

No commuting today: Christmas Eve is a day off for me.

Took a pic walking to the "corner store", just after 10 AM, facing the sun:










-25 Celsius now, should be much milder in a couple of days.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful pic pert! Off today too since xmas falls on Sat. Helping a friend with her shed roof and bringing a ladder, so no ride for me today. Currently the best traction/least resistance on my dirt/ice/snow road are where the cars have worn a groove down to ice, but it is starting to resemble the gutter at a bowling alley.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Pert that is a great photo and I am so looking forward to snow in our area. 

Yesterday's commute was in 29 degrees with a 20mph gusting wind. It gave me a chance to try our the new Bar Mitts which worked great. I even rode home without any inner gloves and the fingers were nice and toasty over 30 minutes. They do create a slight sail effect in high winds. However, it is probably more of a jib to balance out the main sail that the panniers in the rear create.

Day off today but if it warms I might head out for a recreational ride or mount the knobbies just in case we get some white stuff in the coming weeks.

I also want to say thanks to all in this thread and this forum as this was my first year commuting and just reading of the experiences you all wrote about gave me inspiration to hop on the bike the next day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RevRacer said:


> Yesterday's commute was in 29 degrees with a 20mph gusting wind. It gave me a chance to try our the new Bar Mitts which worked great. I even rode home without any inner gloves and the fingers were nice and toasty over 30 minutes. They do create a slight sail effect in high winds. However, it is probably more of a jib to balance out the main sail that the panniers in the rear create.


You could add Tartosuc`s windshield for a spinnaker and have a full set!
Did you really notice wind effect from the pogies? I hadn`t thought of that- since they aren`t all THAT big, I wouldn`t expect it, but I can see how being on your bars could magnify any pulling around. Jibe ho!


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

If only roads were friendlier to tacking, I could use the wind to my advantage.

Actually the Bar Mitts are only slightly noticable in the wind, but not enough of an issue to consider compared to warm hands. However, I had to chuckle as there is a warning on the package about keeping your hands on the handlebars because of the change in aero with the Mitts.

Looks l may get my snow wish as northeastern US is about to get its dose. Time to get the slicks off the commuter.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Today was the most fun I have had in a long time.

21 degrees with 20-30mph gusts, snow drifts and a slushy base to make it feel like riding on grease. I resorted to insulated steel-toe work boots recently coated in wet proofing, which kept me warm and dry. Took me 31 minutes instead of my usual 22, but to be expected.

The capper was when I heard the flower delivery driver exclaim, "you gotta be kiddin' me" as I rode by.


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## GDubT (Apr 13, 2010)

Did my first commute to work today. Temps were in the 40's (which is crazy cold for South FL) so I though it would be fun. Still got to work sweating a good bit, but...I DIDN"T HAVE TO DEAL WITH BEING STUCK IN TRAFFIC!!!! So it made it all worth it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

GDubT said:


> Did my first commute to work today. Temps were in the 40's (which is crazy cold for South FL) so I though it would be fun. Still got to work sweating a good bit, but...I DIDN"T HAVE TO DEAL WITH BEING STUCK IN TRAFFIC!!!! So it made it all worth it.


We look forward to the January thaw with temps at a balmy 40 F or so. It's amazing how warm that feels when you are used to low 20's. But it sure feels dang cold the first August or September morning after highs in the 90's, so many of us can relate.

Hope traffic continues to treat you well.

Season's Greetings.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

`Twas ugly tonight. Very windy, cold (mostly due to wind chill), and snowing. Not enough snow to stick, but enough to start affecting visibility with the way it was blowing. I left home early because I knew it was going to take me a while, but it took over twice as long as a summer commute, at least 1.5 times what they`ve been running me lately. It`s a good thing I don`t have any traffic to speak of on my route because I was all over the place- don`t think I ever crossed the yellow line, but I did get blown all the way off the pavement a few times and was definitely using the WHOLE lane between those unplanned offroad exits.
@Revracer: I can`t say I "used it to my advantage", but I WAS tacking my way up the road tonight 

2.5 more RTs remaining for 2010.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

week and a half off, moved the 700x40 studs to the 1x1 with discs. 
completely unremarkable ride in!!
apparently working the days between christmas and new years (when everyone else takes that time off) is HIGHLY beneficial to clear roads.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was good to get on the bike again after skipping Monday (snow/windstorm) & Tuesday (had to snowblow the driveway). About 20F with mixed precip, freezing rain, sleety stuff & snow. The freezing drizzle iced over my glasses in the first 2 miles, had to stop, breathe on them & wipe the lens. The roads were a mixed bag of packed snow, ice, mush, slush, and wet pavement. An unmannered driver did not want to wait her turn at the rotary entrance and rushed to pass me...luckily she did not take the first exit (as I continued across) or she would have cut me off.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

On the way home 31F Misting and 10mph wind


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

We moved office and the commute is shorter now. Uphill to work, and fast to get back home. The weather is quite bearable after the Christmas snowfall: -14 Celsius now (7F). Yesterday, I got a bit chilled on the way home and am trying a different jacket today: thinner but more windproof.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was good to get on the bike again after skipping Monday (snow/windstorm) & Tuesday (had to snowblow the driveway). About 20F with mixed precip, freezing rain, sleety stuff & snow. The freezing drizzle iced over my glasses in the first 2 miles, had to stop, breathe on them & wipe the lens. The roads were a mixed bag of packed snow, ice, mush, slush, and wet pavement. An unmannered driver did not want to wait her turn at the rotary entrance and rushed to pass me...luckily she did not take the first exit (as I continued across) or she would have cut me off.


It was good...
...freezing rain, sleety stuff, snow, iced over glasses
...packed snow, ice, slush, wet pavement
...unmannered driver

Xplorer, you`re a glutton for punishment !
Or at least a seriously dedicated bicyclist


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

perttime said:


> We moved office and the commute is shorter now. Uphill to work, and fast to get back home. The weather is quite bearable after the Christmas snowfall: -14 Celsius now (7F). Yesterday, I got a bit chilled on the way home and am trying a different jacket today: thinner but more windproof.


Uphill in, downhill home is my preference. Same idea for noncommute rides, if possible- I don`t like starting off downhill and knowing that I`ll have to pay back all the easy fun at the end of my ride.

Moved office? More changes involved with the same batch that ate so many jobs there? How does your general employment situation look for the comming year? Hopefully, your skillset is in demand.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tonight was colder than last night, but not windy. All the streets were hockey rinks going home this morning and comming in tonight, perfect stuff for my studs to earn their keep.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

We knew about the move before we knew about the reductions. Now we are at the same, bigger, site as "everybody else". Employment is uncertain but I have no panic about income, yet. I've been reminding people elsewhere in the company that I am there, in case they need someone like me and sent resumes to some places where people with my background might be useful.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Uphill in, downhill home is my preference.


Mine is the opposite, and I have found two advantagse of it, at least for my schedule. It tends to be lighter or getting lighter on the downhill run in the morning, when I am going faster, so there is less issue with outrunning the headlight or not seeing potholes, etc. The uphill trip home is always dark (well, not in summer), but I'm going slower, so obstacles don't come up so quickly and are more visible. Plus, usually my car is at home, so I don't have a choice about the uphill grind at the end of the day, so any lack of motivation for the hill becomes irrelevant, unless I want to walk 3.5 mi uphill instead.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in, colder and crisp blue-ing sky. Had to book it to catch the bus though as I left late.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> I was a bit late today...tried new tights I bought this weekend..a "cheap" Canari one...they su"#.


Canari just doesn't seem to be a decent brand. I have 2 pairs of their baggies and both have suffered from sewing issues. The chamois came out of one pair completely. In the other pair, the stitching at the bottom of the inner liner has come out. I still wear both pairs, but I don't anticipate buying Canari again (I wasn't going to after the first incident, but someone bought a second pair for me as a birthday present a few years back).

I have only commuted twice in the past two weeks. I have taken off work for the holidays. I'm getting ready to get some fenders to put on my commuter with a gift cert I received for Christmas. I almost bought the fenders yesterday, but it turned out that I had brought in an old gift card with only a couple bucks on it. Oops.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Saw a shooting star on the way home :thumbsup: Had a little extra weight going up the hill because I left my xc ski boots at work earlier this week & thought I'd want them tomorrow. Felt it on the steep parts. All dog lovers please send positive vibes or prayers to my friend's dog, who has been at the vet's all week.:sad:


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

mtbxplorer said:


> Saw a shooting star on the way home :thumbsup: Had a little extra weight going up the hill because I left my xc ski boots at work earlier this week & thought I'd want them tomorrow. Felt it on the steep parts. All dog lovers please send positive vibes or prayers to my friend's dog, who has been at the vet's all week.:sad:


 Daisy & Thunder Wish Him or her Well!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Normbilt said:


> Daisy & Thunder Wish Him or her Well!


Thank you Daisy, Thunder & Normbilt - that was nice to see this a.m. Luna, a german shorthaired pointer, thanks you too.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Healing vibes from my Tuikku, too.

(summer pic. Tuikku means ... Little Light, Flash, Vigorous?)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Best wishes, Luna.*

Just don`t chase up, please!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Last commute, 2010*

That`s all, folks!

I`m "feelin groovy" this morning, and a little long winded (my name is Brian, too ), so scroll on down and skip it if you aren`t up to the mini novel. The mornings have been gorgeous lately, since I`ve been leaving work just at sunrise. And since cold clear mornings (an even 10F when I got home) are so danged photographic, AND I knew this would be the last commute for the year, I took a camera along with me last night.

Good day for me, bad day for batteries. I clocked out, changed out of my uniform, trotted back to my private parking lot and put on all my overclothes, went to reset the timer on my computer, and... it was dead. Did I mention this was my last commute of the year? I lost my mlileage for December (all of it, since the commuter was the only bike I`ve ridden this month)- grrr! Oh, well. I can guestimate it close enough, I s`pose. Still feeling good, so on with the show.

Once again I rolled out of the parking lot just as the sun was starting to light up the tops of the mountains. Beautiful morning! Dinked around, snapping here and there, posing my bike in different places, not minding (much) the numb fingers from unmittening my shooting hand. I did get a lot of shots off, some that I really liked, but I wasn`t ready to stop snapping them when the camera decided that was enough. "Battery exhausted". Well, I guess that was gonna do it then. Battery failures or no, I`m still in a goofy good mood today. Better calm myself down so I can get to sleep soon- going to my SIL`s for pozole this afternoon. Yum! She makes the best!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful pics, Rodar, glad the battery held out for a few. You have more snow than I expected, on the mountains and left on the road. Cold too!

Warmed up here to about 40 yesterday, snow sliding off the metal roof onto the deck faster than I could shovel it. Washed my bike outside. Didn't ride, but my road was a mucky mess, hope it freezes up soon. Both my 4th Dinotte taillight (repairs unsuccesful, this 1 a brand new replacement) and my Topeak fender replacement part (my fault, snapped it in 2) arrived.

Thank you for all the well wishes for Luna, I hope she is feeling the energy sent from around the world.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Happy New Year guys!

Back to MTY tomorrow  ... looking forward for a perfect year of commuting! 

xplorer...wise Daisy sends her best wishes to Luna too:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thinking of Luna and owner. 'Kenzie, Sparkle, Tigger, Jack, Sneakers, and Puck are deeply missed, here. Waiting the returns after Christmas at the shelter for another heart breaker (If Kathryn sees him/her she won't be able to say no.)

Finished the year off with a 40.5 mile run. Not recommended to go more than 10% over your longest recent ride especially on a new Brooks! A balmy 62 * F after 0.35" of rain snow mostly gone. Winds miserable. Not tender. No shooting leg pains at the 20-25 mile mark on this ride with the Pro that the B17 gave me with the bars lowered to seat height. Planning a shorter run in a mo to start 2011 right.:thumbsup:


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## Stevirey (Jul 16, 2005)

*commuting last few days*

I work for Intel on a "compressed work week".Nights.3 on 4 off.4on 3 off,12 hour nights.7PM to 7AM.I got up for work after my long weekend and found my rear tire was very low.Oh,a slow leak.Got to find small puncture and fix it.Found 2 holes.Funny it didn't go flat fast.
Anyway I head out for work Wed night,I ride Max Lite Rail for 20 miles or so.I get off the train to find my rear tire is totally flat.So rather than ride the last 2 1/2(how could I ride wit a flat,I must be high posting this) miles to work I waited for a bus that drops me at the front door,ok maybe 150 yards away.
So I fix my flay on my 1st of 3 1 hour breaks.Yes I get 3 1 hour breaks.
I finished fixing my flat and routinely checked my front tire.It was near flat.So next break I fixed my front tier.No quick release here.20 mm through axle. 
Friday night at work I was coming down with a cold.Saturday morning to catch the train I left early to catch the train,waiting for the bus can't make the train.So I'm going to haul ass to get to Max.
But my back tire is flat.
So I take the bus.
Wait in the freezing cold for 25 minutes for the train and put in a new tube.Plenty off time on the train ride.
Bottom line.
Think I'm going with new tires and some kind of liner.
Peace and love and may your flats be few.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

first commute of the year!!
redbot killing it as a tail light
new old computer on the bike tells 5.28 mi (8.5 km) from home to my parking spot at the office


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo: glad the Radbot 1000 is good for you!

A neighbor saw me about 18 miles from home on NewYear's Eve and said I looked like a Christmas tree! So it works IF they are paying attention. Otherwise, still invisible.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

Second post On the forum for me. 

I've been trying to ride since November after a Long Hiatus of not riding to work. I'm a School bus Driver so I have to be to work by 6:45AM. Luckily that part of my commute is only 2 miles. I work at two different Places during the day and my "other job" is about 4-5 miles away from the bus garage. So, I do about 14-15 Mi every day I ride (Which is every other day at the moment). Anywho, Enough about my work. Let's get onto my first commute of 2011. 

Last night I packed up everything for the day. Was excited, Decided that I woudl try doing some Devotions before I go to work for 2011 along with riding at least 3 days a week. Got done reading my bible, Did alittle praying. Ate breakfast. Started to get my gear on. About half way through putting my gear on I put my bike Out side on our patio. I live in an Apartment so I don't have a Garage. 

So, I get my bike off it's holder. Go to open the sliding door and am scared to death by the Neighbors dog. Didn't even see the stupid thing. Slammed the door shut and stood there, feeling my heart in my throat. He's a big Dog. I didn't even think to look for it this early in the morning. I calmed down made sure that stupid mutt was in side and took off for work. 

Wasn't as bad as I was expecting but still more work then I would have liked. Pryor to Christmas break I was riding with much difficulty. Over break I decided to clean my Commuter (Trek 820) and when I went to take the rear wheel off, the Freewheel side of the Axle fell off on the floor. That's right, I snapped the axle. The part the Bearings Race on. Luckily my wife is pregnant and won't be needing her identical bike so I just took her Wheel for now. It was much easier then before Christmas break though. Looks like I may be buying a rear hub soon. 

The rest of the day went great for the first day back. Just started out with a near heart attack.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Hi, Scott, it certainly sounds like you have the determination necessary to bike commute again...after all, most cyclists don't run into issues with dogs until after they are on the bike! :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

ScottNova said:
 

> ..... Over break I decided to clean my Commuter (Trek 820) and when I went to take the rear wheel off, the Freewheel side of the Axle fell off on the floor. That's right, I snapped the axle. ..... Looks like I may be buying a rear hub soon.


What doesn't kill us makes us stronger....we hope.

Apparently that is the normal failure mode for a 7 or 8 speed axle (especially the 8) with a freewheel hub. You find it removing the wheel for a flat or regreasing. That's the reason they went to the freehub design for 8,9,10,11 speeds. A little too much cantilever from the dropout causing flex and metal fatigue. I was able to replace my axle when I widened the rear triangle and got one without the keyway of the original. I debated giving up the QR for a solid stronger bolt on axle. The new axle was less than $3(and American!) the cones and cups were fine, so new bearings, new axle, some grease, all set. Hope you fare as well.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeap Brian, the Radbot is awesome!

computer shows 5.17 mi from the parking lot to home, weird I thought my way back was longer 

nice first commute day for 2011!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I actually got some off-road riding in on the commute! Not exactly trails, though. First one was a response to a garbage truck facing me and loading from his right, and with maybe 1' left of my lane. Nice. Ditch shallow (mowed as lawn) so tore up a litttle frozen bluegrass. Driver didn't see me at all, unless in his mirror, when I was back on the road. Second was a line up for the metal recyler that would require passing for about 1/2 block in the middle of the street with some blind entrances coming in and a right through the line to continue my route. Sidewalk to lot to gravel and mud puddles. I love fatter tires with kevlar even if only 32 mm.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Stev, BrianMc, and Scott, sounds like 2011 has created challenging commutes for a few in the MTBR house.

I wish I started my year on Martin's side of the ride. I yearned for a recreational ride on New Years Day and headed out on a snowy single track. On a transitional stretch of blacktop covered with a thin sheet of ice, I went down faster than the pull of gravity I have known in the past. A little road rash for 2011 does a body good I guess. A mile later, the rear was flat. Repaired, and finished the ride a bit shorter than plan.

Got home, patched the tube and washed the bike to get ready for first commute of 2011. On the ride in, I descended a hill, hit the brakes and the rear brake stuck closed but thankfully didn't lock. Too much drag to keep going, so I pulled over and opened the mechanical disc and rode in with just the front brake. I hoped I would have gotten smarter in 2011, because I did the same thing last year with washing and froze up my rear derailleur cable. I installed Gore cables and thought I had it solved...guess not. Note to self: stop washing bike in winter!

On the ride home a passing motorist almost had a head-on with another car on a blind hill.

There are some days where you feel one with the bike and the commuting environment and today was not it. 

Looking forward to better days in the year ahead.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> What doesn't kill us makes us stronger....we hope.
> 
> Apparently that is the normal failure mode for a 7 or 8 speed axle (especially the 8) with a freewheel hub. You find it removing the wheel for a flat or regreasing. That's the reason they went to the freehub design for 8,9,10,11 speeds. A little too much cantilever from the dropout causing flex and metal fatigue. I was able to replace my axle when I widened the rear triangle and got one without the keyway of the original. I debated giving up the QR for a solid stronger bolt on axle. The new axle was less than $3(and American!) the cones and cups were fine, so new bearings, new axle, some grease, all set. Hope you fare as well.


 I'll probably be going with a Solid, bolt on, axle actually. I'm not the smallest of guys (around 265lbs) and any more strength that I can get, I'll take. I was wondering if it was a common thing. I thought that a wider rear end (on the bike ) might be the reason for it. I am kind of excited though. At least I'm using it. It's like a Battle Scar for my bike. Now I just have to wait for the next pay check to come. It's not much $$ to replace it, I just don't have that much money at the time. :madman:

I think I'm goign to enjoy reading this part of the MTBR community. Thanks for the Encouragement Guys.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

After back to back blizzards to end 2010, my normal MUP route to work was still filled in with snow so I had to take the surface streets today. This leaves me with a 8-12" strip of snow to ride on, since the rest of the streets are pure ice. I had never taken this route before, but I kind of like it. I'll stick to it until they finish cleaning up from the recent storms.

Also my dog Luna sends her healing vibes to the other Luna!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks again for all the OT well wishes for Luna! I'm happy to report that she is out of the vet hospital and back home and eating and feeling pretty good. She even came by the office for pets from everyone, sorry I did not take her picture! Sadly the diagnosis is cancer, but one day at a time.

Snow forecast today, hope I can squeek out the commute before too much accumulates.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks like a lot of rough starts for 2011. Are axles and flats going to take over for last year`s rash of crank and BB issues?

Woohoo, Radbot! Hope you had a nice trip, Martin. You didn`t happen to bump into BrianMc on your vacation, did you?

Welcome, Scott! Yes, bent and broken axles are pretty common for freewheel threaded hubs. You can replace the axle, wheel or hub with another of the same style if you want, just don`t do it because you think that fat threaded shaft is stronger than the dinky little ones with a hole drilled through. It looks like it would be that way, but it ain`t so. The reason is that freehubs have the bearings spaced out farther so there isn`t as much leverage trying to do bad things the axle shaft. If you do swap in a new or used rear wheel with a freehub, you can stay with 7 speed for now and upgrade later to 8 or 9 speed just by changing the cassette and shifters. (Or if you have friction shifters, just by changing the cassette)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar is right there, the main stress on the axle is in the outer part and the break occurs at a stress riser where the tread ends usually. So a solid center helps little. Getting rid of an axle with a keyway the length of it in the outer most important part was a good idea fo mine but failure awaited down the road. I bought a new wheel with comparable rim, a better cassette hub for less than a new hub and spokes and saved a lot of work. I had the added incentive of a 27" rim with flat spots and a switch to 700C for bigger tires. YMMV.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks rodar, everything went great, although I had to sleep the 24th at O'Hare  D#4m AA!
:lol: I was tryng to recognize the Duchess but had no luck 

almost ran over a light bulb, saw a dead cat on the road and crossed hellos with jogger in the same spot as yesterday, let's see how long can we keep the synchronization


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in, dry and the teens (F) again, and yesterday's headwind was gone, saving me a lot of work and maybe 10 minutes. My dirt road is full of frozen ruts now, making the uphill route like riding skinnies and the downhill route like almost out of control trailriding if I let it roll too fast. We need some snow to get packed down and "graded" with the plow to restore a nice riding surface. I am eating blueberry pancakes now, I get leftovers from my friend that cooks at a ski club for 30-40 people. Yum.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe you can talk your groomer buddy into doing a special run up your road 
Snow for Xplorer!



martinsillo said:


> almost ran over a light bulb, saw a dead cat on the road and crossed hellos with jogger in the same spot as yesterday, let's see how long can we keep the synchronization


Well, the lightbulb and the jogger might flake out on you, but it`s a pretty safe bet the dead cat will be faithful to your schedule.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Hey rodar - you are being paged to kick off the 2011 Mileage thread...!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

-9F this morning with a "real feel" of -28F. Left early so I could cruise and not try to go too fast on the slick roads. Only my fingers were cold, time to get some real gloves. This liner + ski glove thing isn't working for me anymore.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> -9F this morning with a "real feel" of -28F. Left early so I could cruise and not try to go too fast on the slick roads. Only my fingers were cold, time to get some real gloves. This liner + ski glove thing isn't working for me anymore.


I believe you are entering "pogie-land". I finally bought some and never have to even think about cold hands anymore. Last year I managed OK with hand warmer packets, but buy a couple boxes of those or inadequate gloves and you could've bought the pogies.

I got ones like these at https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.catalog&CategoryID=5&ProductID=14

..but I see they are currently sold out of the regular version and only have the superwarm version for $150.

Similar items include "moose mitts", "bar mitts", and "bike toasties".


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Here’s a bit of randomness from my morning commute: It was still relatively dark out this morning and caught a glimpse of myself in a shadow downtown (from street lights or whatever) and I saw what resembled a “praying mantis” hunched over. I run bullhorn bars so that may be part of the culprit along with a vivid imagination…


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yeah. Often find myself praying while riding in traffic....


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Dixie, I like the imagery. I will have to look to my right on the AM ride to check for shadows. I've got an On-One Mary bar so the effect might be more like a wounded bird than a praying mantis. 

Today I was in awe of the sunrise and the firery red and blue. This is the stuff I just don't notice when I take the car. The sights together with the smells (the good ones) are enuff to keep my motivation. Today I had a nice blend of wood fire chimney smoke and early AM breakfast aroma to entertain my pedaling. The ride home smells were more about manure or compost, but we don't have to go there. Holding your breath really limits your VO2  .

The bike worked, I didn't get hit by a motorist, and I felt like pushing the hills, life was good and I look forward to tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Last night a couple miles from home I was passing a ranch house and saw a young boy (less than counter-high) in the kitchen of the house. When I looked again, he had moved to the sliding glass door that faces the road and was peering intently out at my lights or bike, I'm not sure how much he could make out in the dark. It was like watching a kid watching a fire engine go by.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Well, the lightbulb and the jogger might flake out on you, but it`s a pretty safe bet the dead cat will be faithful to your schedule.


they all made it today! light bulb still waiting for someone to crash it, cat still dead, and the jogger a little bit late today, or me leaving too early perhaps?

If I see the light tomorrow I'll move it, scout promise. I won't touch the cat though. 

yesterday I almost crash front to front with another cyclist, my fault...I must confess I do a couple of against traffic blocks on my commutes, one on my way home and two long and one short on my way to the office...well I was taking the corner to enter the one on my way home and bam! this guy shows up from nowhere, no lights, no nothing (as usual here)...I was able to keep a straight line and avoid the crash, but that was scary....I'll study my routes and see if I can do a legal route on my commutes without adding big detours.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Its amazing how warm 12F feels, since yesterday was -9. I picked up some new gloves (wool/thinsulate flip mitts suggested in an older post by sixtyfiver) and my hands were toasty! These should work awesome even in colder temps. I didn't use a liner or make use of the chem heat pocket either, so I'm pretty excited to be this warm. Today its lightly snowing which feels nice to ride in but hides the ice pretty well. Only one sketchy moment on the ice. I did get the chance to see an idiot in a honda ridgeline speeding on an icy road, on his cell phone, cut off a school bus full of kids. Good things my flip mitts hide my middle finger


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> they all made it today! ....won't touch the cat though. ....yesterday I almost crash front to front with another cyclist, ... that was scary....I'll study my routes and see if I can do a legal route on my commutes without adding big detours.


Scavengers or road cleanup get carcasses here eventually. Especially larger ones. Like cyclists! 

Please find a safer more legal route. We don't wnat you communing permanently with the cat and light bulb! Also, maybe is just my take, but I think wrong way or wrong side cyclists irritate people WAY more than rolling stops by cyclists. Since people pull out without looking in the wrong direction or are concentrating on the other lane, it's very easy to be unseen even by fairly careful drivers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Milestone*

I have taken $1.00 per mile as the value of not driving my pickup in short errand runs or commutes (exercise value and savings). Based on that, my 'free' errand bike's original repairs and upgrades, are now paid for.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice Brian!, I need to check those numbers for 2011!

I checked my route on Google maps during lunch...I think I'll be able to actually shorten my route on my way home... I''ll try it today..on my way here it's quite difficult to tell what is going to happen, I'll do it tomorrow and see the numbers


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have a pair of slicks waiting for me at home. They are cheapos, but I hope they do the trick. I am so cheap with my commuter it's sick. I finally got fenders a week or so ago with a gift card. Salt water to the face gets old fast.

In the winter, there is not much mountain biking to be done around here. I'm left to obsess about the crap I don't have yet and make excuses for things I don't need. I am showing restraint though by buying stuff that is less glamorous and more practical.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

Another good 14 or so miles in today. It was lightly snowing all day long which was nice. Alittle bit of a wind, nothing outrageous though. Tried to take a short cut through a Subdivision over a berm (I think, Big hill with grass to block the Bus garage lights) and to the bus garage. Biffed it climbing the side of the berm when I hit a Slippery Log. I was clipped in and just went down. It was fun. Did it on the way home too. 

Took a Picture while I was stretching just before job # 2. I'm on the loading dock at our High school. It was snowing. I don't think you can tell the by the picture though.










My Normal Spot for my bike was taken up by the Recycling stuff. I usually keep it near the entry to the kitchen that goes out to the receiving area. Decided I'd use the Personal Bicycle garage across the hall instead. Better known as the Kitchen Laundry room, that they never use.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

4.96 of legal miles on my way home! :thumbsup:

that's nice Scott!
I would like to have an indoor parking space for my bike...even though I don't have snow to worry about


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

16F this morning and went without gloves and the Bar Mitts since my hands were getting overwarm and sweating with gloves. Hands warm, but feet were still a bit chilly.

Encountered a nice fellow at a 4-way stop waved me on and gave me the thumbs up. He had three of his four windows rolled all the way down. My guess is he yearns to have the fresh air in his face of commuting on bike but was locked into his Durango.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

It was 48°F here in the swamp but “wet feeling cold” with 93% humidity (I know you Yankees will laugh at near 50 as anything remotely cold). 

I passed narrowly between a garbage truck and their pick-up keeping a close eye on the two workers. One of them felt inclined to give a loud yell when I passed (more to spook me I guess?) But since I never can think of a good comeback on the spot I rode on and ignored. 

There has been about a 30-40° change in temperature these past few mornings. I guess it could be worse (couldn’t it always be?)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

dixie whiskey said:


> It was 48°F here in the swamp but "wet feeling cold" with 93% humidity (I know you Yankees will laugh at near 50 as anything remotely cold).


In the fall, before we adjust, that damp cold cuts through us, too. I wonder if I can do below freezing. So with your norms, that's cold. By spring, the same conditions here feel balmy. Weird, the way we adjust.



dixie whiskey said:


> I passed narrowly between a garbage truck and their pick-up keeping a close eye on the two workers. One of them felt inclined to give a loud yell when I passed (more to spook me I guess?) But since I never can think of a good comeback on the spot I rode on and ignored.


They get pretty intent on their dumping and rhythm. You may have startled him. They don't know you are watching closely. They are also endangered by technozombie motorists and a bit safety oriented and you were riding through their temporary 'work area'. A bell ring (almost always gets a smile for me) if you have one, or an "On Your Right!" to alert them that you are coming through and aware, might help. I assume overtaking on the left would have been unsafe. OTOH he may just be 'that way'.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

dixie whiskey said:


> It was 48°F here in the swamp but "wet feeling cold" with 93% humidity (I know you Yankees will laugh at near 50 as anything remotely cold).


This is no Calgary, or even St Paul, but we spend a lot of time in the "teens" every year. It`s desert- very dry air almost always. A couple times a year I find myself down near the San Francisco Bay, where it`s generally damp and the thermometer says it`s 25 degrees or so warmer than whatever it`s been at home. That thermometer is a lying sack o $h1t.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

dixie whiskey said:


> There has been about a 30-40° change in temperature these past few mornings. I guess it could be worse (couldn't it always be?)


Temperature swings are my main battle with winter weather. A couple weeks ago it was 16F on the way in and 45F on the way out. It's difficult to dress for that weather without being too hot or too cold.

Anyway, the new incarnation of my commuter is almost complete. My 1.5" tires are installed and rocking. This morning I noticed a bit more cardio going on. I'm assuming its from pedaling faster. The new tires offer a different kind of ride than the 2.1" NanoRaptors I'd been riding. Surprisingly, the ride is not as harsh.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

6.00 barely legal miles on my way to the office today...well, all of the "on road" miles were legal, thing is I have to cross an artificial river made on my route and as far as I remember bicycles weren't allowed in the premises...

the fastest way to do it would be to do blue instead of red ... but going up in the bridge doesn't seem nice...or safe!









All the nearest street are wrong way to me! :madman:

I think I'll have to add a big loop instead 









* All made it today too...light bulb already crashed, I moved the pieces to a more cyclist friendly zone. 
I really hope to no be accompanied by "decompose cat" the next days... If I see it tomorrow I'll call someone.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> They get pretty intent on their dumping and rhythm. You may have startled him. They don't know you are watching closely. They are also endangered by technozombie motorists and a bit safety oriented and you were riding through their temporary 'work area'. A bell ring (almost always gets a smile for me) if you have one, or an "On Your Right!" to alert them that you are coming through and aware, might help. I assume overtaking on the left would have been unsafe. OTOH he may just be 'that way'.


Well I am pretty sure I didn't startle him, as I was well around the truck by then and he was walking back towards it from the other side and caught me riding by (thinking I didn't see him there) and his yell was more with emphasis to startle. Doesn't matter much, I get yells and swerves by cars quite often and I usually pretend like I don't hear them.



martinsillo said:


> 6.00 barely legal miles on my way to the office today...well, all of the "on road" miles were legal, thing is I have to cross an artificial river made on my route and as far as I remember bicycles weren't allowed in the premises....


Everyday I ride through an underground waterway tunnel (about ½ mile in length) which has a joined concrete walkway (with metal handrails). It's for pedestrians only, and there is signage posted on both sides "bicycles prohibited on walkway". I figure if a cop ever stops me he must not have anything else better to do (and I know some have seen me). When I run into pedestrians while inside they usually have no problem stepping to the side (it's quite narrow). I have reached up to speeds of +30mph so it's the adrenaline rush of my commute and also the slap in the face on the climb out if I am in not so good shape.

In any case, my point with your comment was regardless where bicycles are technically allowed and not, I tend to think if we are not seriously dangering ourselves or others, leave us be.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

dixie whiskey said:


> Everyday I ride through an underground waterway tunnel (about ½ mile in length) which has a joined concrete walkway (with metal handrails). It's for pedestrians only, and there is signage posted on both sides "bicycles prohibited on walkway". I figure if a cop ever stops me he must not have anything else better to do (and I know some have seen me). When I run into pedestrians while inside they usually have no problem stepping to the side (it's quite narrow). I have reached up to speeds of +30mph so it's the adrenaline rush of my commute and also the slap in the face on the climb out if I am in not so good shape.
> 
> In any case, my point with your comment was regardless where bicycles are technically allowed and not, I tend to think if we are not seriously dangering ourselves or others, leave us be.


in my case the little bridge for pedestrians is not that narrow, and there isn't a sign prohibiting the bikes right there actually ...but I do remember one in the entrance of the river-walk, which is not close to my crossing point...I pass one pedestrian on his left and encounter two more going in the opposite direction today, no one seemed disturbed by me... I think.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Yesterdays's ride home and today's ride in both encountered cars stuck in snowbanks. Yesterday I stopped to help push and dig to free it. Today I just rode around it since the car's owner was nowhere in sight. It was nice of them to leave it facing backwards in the shoulder (my bikelane) though. The good news is that it was a toasty 7F today with no wind and a fresh 1/2" of snow to leave tracks in.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yeah, sounds like a "funny guy". Laugh a minute. Yep, yells, swerves at me, and honking both in recognition, and to attempt to scare, are all part of the deal.

Don't know that it takes all kinds, but we have 'em anyway!  

As long as we ride with the safety of ourselves and others in mind, sticking to the letter of traffic law or signage, especialy when it runs counter to safety, seems to be appropriate civil disobedience. BTW being hit by a cyclist as a pedestrian (have been) isn't a picnic, since he looked a lot worse for the wear too, it seems not to be good the other way 'round, either.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

ScottNova said:


> ..... It was lightly snowing all day long which was nice. Alittle bit of a wind, nothing outrageous though. ....Took a Picture while I was stretching just before job # 2. .... It was snowing. I don't think you can tell the by the picture though.


Just got back with groceries. Bike + Load ~= 100 pounds. Noticeable when I hoisted it up still loaded the three steps to the deck! Snowing on way out and back. Personal first winter run for groceries in a snow fall. Personal first grocery run for the snow tires, too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We still haven`t gotten any good heavy snows yet this year. That`s for the valleys- the snowpack up in the higher elevations, which translates to our water suply for next summer, is doing great! I just read an article that placed most of the drainage systems at roughly 200% of expected YTD levels, which is always welcome news.

The past two or three days have been moderately cold, completely windless, and foggy. I`ve been tripping on watching the pogonip in my headlight beam on the way to work. Looks really cool with the little particles flowing slowly to one side when I start out and gradually changing apparent direction as I pick up speed until it looks like it`s comming straight at me. The pogonip is kind of unexpected since we usually only get it when temps get down around zero or below, but they`ve been well above that this week. Hopefully there`ll be nice pogo-induced frost formations again tomorrow morning and I`ll try to get some pictures.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Pogonip (aka ice fog) is a new one on me, had to google it. Sounds neat, and the exampe they showed on wiki was an old NV postcard:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_fog


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Pogonip (aka ice fog) is a new one on me, had to google it. Sounds neat, and the exampe they showed on wiki was an old NV postcard:


Hey, cool- Virginia City! I rode through there on a weekend tour last Spring.

Re: Wikipedia, pogonip
I didn`t know it was any kind of "rare" occurance or regional thing. You don`t get it in the East? BTW, I like the Google Images results much better than Wikipedia in this case.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Well, no “pogonip” here, but sort of a misty foggy at 43°F and 97% humidity. Pretty uneventful this morning and last night on the return home. I am still experimenting with best clothing options to perfect essence of not cold nor hot (they call me a perfectionist). First order of business next payday is a new pair of gloves.

Does anyone do any strange commuting legs like drive partial and bike the rest? School starts back up week after next and I’ll be going 4 out of 5 days this semester. Tues/Thur classes till noon and I have a hybrid class on Mon/Wed during lunch. It’s about 20 miles one-way and my time is crucial to get back to work after class so I am forced to drive. But I am thinking about leaving my bike in my truck and then can park at work on certain afternoons - can bike home in the evening and/or back to work in the morning. Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I hate to not commute at all.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...Re: Wikipedia, pogonip.... You don`t get it in the East? ...


It is not unknown in Ontario, Canada and I have seen it twice here. Unusual enough to get weatehr comments, but not super rare. Usually forms a delicate hoarfrost on branches. Never heard the name before, though.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

No "pogonip" here either but it sounds like a sight to see rodar. We did start with a snowfall around midnight, put 2" on the ground and it was falling fast for the ride in at 25F. Visibility was a mess as I wore sunglasses to keep the snowflakes out, but they kept fogging up. Sounds like it might be time for ski goggles.

A few people at work mentioned they think the risk of riding with cars sliding all over the snowy road is crazy. Of course I always try to turn risk into a number and with the decreased car count on a snow ride, is the collision risk of riding a bike on a snowy road greater than any other day? I doubt anyone has done a study, but I'd be curious to hear of other experiences.

Dixie, regarding the partial rides, I have been urging co-workers who have long commutes (40-50 miles) and want the exercise to find a parking lot that is 5-10 miles out from the office to ride from there, but no takers yet. If getting the bike on/off the vehicle isn't a hindrance and it helps you ride more...all the better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

dixie whiskey said:


> ....Does anyone do any strange commuting legs like drive partial and bike the rest? ... Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but I hate to not commute at all.


There is a recent (Sept?) thread of a cyclist in Az talking about a long commute and some (2?) posters claimed to be doing split rides, or had done them. Title is something like: "Is 50 miles too far to commute?"


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

ha, no pogonip here either 

I was in a position last night/this morning were in 2010 would have lead me into a car ride for sure...after my commute to home yesterday we went to a Rosca de Reyes cutting, everything was going great, but suddenly, Tequila and Vodka were being served!...even though I kept my glass alcohol free we end up arriving home close to midnight.

I set up my alarm but my worries about failing my 2011 resolution made me woke up 20 min earlier! ...leaving early, I decided to test a new route (before the river), I end up doing half a mile more than yesterday...a new cat on the road...gutted cat that is  ...

I don't think I'm going to do the big loop to avoid using the pedestrian bridge; today, it was crowded, 4 guys taking the whole width were the kindest letting me pass...3 on the opposite direction didn't seem to bother letting me pass either. I think my 6 mile route from yesterday will be the official one for the year.

Since I left too early today, I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the jogger .

hey dixie, yeap, what Rev and Brian said. Also, I'm pretty sure A girl form Seattle did it like Rev said for a while.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

9F, "real feel" of -14F, winds from the north at 26mph, and light blowing snow. Instead of riding in tire grooves I opted for the untouched 2" deep snow on the far shoulder, as it seemed to help against the wind blowing me around. The entire ride I was thinking of how nice it'll be to have that as a tailwind on the ride home!

So its Friday, which means 5 bike commutes in a row! I've never done that before! Woohoo a long time goal has finally been reached!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

people who cut through crossing pedestrians on a red light shouldn't feel entitled to yell at other people for passing them on the right on a clear stretch of road. 
especially not if they refuse to move back to the right, even looking back at you several times as if to say "nope, sticking out here where it's safe, you'll have to sprint on my right through the icy sludge to pass me!"
jerk.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

*Beavis: *Heh, heh, pogonip. Cool! Heh, heh. Booooiiiing!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Whiskey, Go for it! If you want to ride, but your schedule doesn`t allow you to ride the whole thing, how the heck could it be "ridiculous" to ride what you can get?

@Martin, New route, new dead cat. Maybe you could tie one of them to your bike to help clear the road of pedestrians when you cross the bridge.

@Byknuts, I`m guessing you had a rough commute?

@Jag, Great roll! Congratulations! Did you get your tailwind?

Pogonip: more pleasant than "vog". Not as spectacular this week as when it`s nasty cold, but still pretty.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Pogonip? Doesn't really sound familiar. I think the crystals are usually so big here that they are either falling or blowing in the wind...

Last week, I ran into freezing drizzle, a couple of times: Temps were well below freezing but the stuff coming down was still liquid. Then it froze on my helmet and jacket. I hear it was pretty effective on bare paved roads. Some drivers were not amused.

I left the bike at home today and walked (it is a half an hour walk now). There was enough snow on the ground and more coming. Getting up the hill would have been a struggle and coming back pretty insecure, with the unevenly packed snow and new snow hiding whatever was underneath.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> @Whiskey, Go for it! If you want to ride, but your schedule doesn`t allow you to ride the whole thing, how the heck could it be "ridiculous" to ride what you can get?


Thanks for the comments fellas. One leg is still considered a day of commuting and can still keep me on target of doubling my days to 120 for this year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good ride in this a.m, dropped from 10F to 4F on the way to work. Left a bit late and had to book it to catch the bus at 11.5 mi mark. The resulting 35 mph max on the hill was chilly on the face, made my eyes water (glasses not goggles today), but that was short lived. Had to find alternate headgear at last minute as I'd left my fleece neckwarmer & velcro facemask at work warming up the carpeting. Found a lightweight lycra balaclava - a lot better than nothing, but a little prone to sogginess from breathing and a little uncomfy if pulled below my mouth. Saw another biker but inexplicably despite the parka he had no gloves! Plus he was on the wrong side of the road. Maybe a last minute trip to work when his car didn't start, but still, no gloves @ 4F??? 

I have not seen last winter's regular bike commuter I nicknamed "Silent Cal" for his stubborn refusal to nod, wave, speak, etc. My route today took me past where he used to chain his bike, but it was not there. It appears Silent Cal is now Absent Cal. 

Rodar, we've gotten ice crystals like that on occasion but not often, but I guess I missed the fog part. Last year I remember hearing frozen fog forecast once, but no mention of "pogonip".


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## dcc1234 (Nov 5, 2008)

*almost 3 hours in the saddle today*

Commute is at least 16/ miles day (today- I did a bit more- during lunch etc). Commuted (is that a word?) all 5 days this week. looking forward to replacing my straight bars with the Origin-8 space bars I picked up this week. Hopefully that 'll help some hand fatigue issues. Here in MD, its mild compared to most y'all--- Seems like its been between 29-35 degrees Fahrenheit lately.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> @Jag, Great roll! Congratulations! Did you get your tailwind?


I think so. I ended up getting stuck at work much longer than expected, therefore ruining my plans for the night. I was pretty bitter by the time I got on my bike. It was dark and windy, with lots of blowing snow. Once I got out of the busy road and onto the residential street I could relax and enjoy my ride. By the time I got home I was able to look at the 6-8" drifts in my driveway and laugh while plowing through them. Most of the stress and frustration of the work day as gone, and the rest was dissolved in a pint of Surly Abrasive Ale.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Almost hit by police car on my way home last night. Saw an SUV flying up to the intersection from afar, thought he was going to blow through the stop sign and figured I'd just let him. But he stopped at the last second and I saw it was a local cop, probably bored and driving that way for fun. I decided it was safe to continue (I had no stop sign) across the intersection in front of him, but when I was right in front of him he started to pull out. I sped up and yelled simultaneously and he missed me. Just went on his merry way in the opposite direction of me. Apparently I was invisible despite the big headlamp & taillight.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Apparently I was invisible despite the big headlamp & taillight.


Or he was distracted texting & eating a donut like the cop car I pulled in front of the other day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Almost hit by police car on my way home last night....
> ... Apparently I was invisible despite the big headlamp & taillight.


:madmax: :madmax: :madmax:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Almost hit by police car on my way home last night. ...(I had no stop sign) across the intersection in front of him, but when I was right in front of him he started to pull out. I sped up and yelled simultaneously and he missed me. Just went on his merry way in the opposite direction of me. Apparently I was invisible despite the big headlamp & taillight.


Like HE- 'double (upper case) hockey sticks', you were invisible! Unseen, yes, invisible, no. The motion of the reflected light across the field of vision is arresting. (Had to. ) He was distracted or more likely, not looking at the road. They have all that electronic gear on board, so maybe he was being dispatched. Happily, he didn't dispatch you.

BTW, a shout has saved me three times, as it may have done for you. I can't hit the horn as fast as I can shout. So the horn has to be used preemptively.

Another pet peeve: The local officers here are just plain sloppy and unprofessional drivers. The State Officers seem to realize they have an image to uphold and drive like it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> ...BTW, a shout has saved me three times, as it may have done for you.


Yes, but perhaps *"A$$!" * was not the best selection!


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

Have not posted to this thread in a while.... haven't got to commute for a while since my wife gave birth but I do hit the trail every day for about 30 mins in the AM and PM.... so still getting exercise


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes, but perhaps *"A$$!" * was not the best selection!


No jury would convict you under the circumsatnces. But from a 'Be heard or be hit" vocal power standpoint, I find 'HEY!!!!' penetrates. Social commentary/adrenalin release can wait until they've avoided me. 



ae111black said:


> Have not posted to this thread in a while.... haven't got to commute for a while since my wife gave birth but I do hit the trail every day for about 30 mins in the AM and PM.... so still getting exercise


Well with those two new cuties in your family, who can blame you? Heading to 4 weeks aren't they? You need to add a trailer with bricks to get train to haul small butts.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Brake Happy Monday – is what I am dubbing it. The traffic downtown (or should say ‘drivers’) seemed schitzy this morning. I locked up the brakes at least 4 times, after the second I was spooked and didn’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt. 

Here in the swamp it was 39°F with 97% humidity this morning, there’s a fine mist too that felt cold on the face. It was supposed to be brute force windy but I guess most of that passed through yesterday (you probably felt it or heard it on the news yesterday – what joy, snow in the far south…)

Edit/Add: To make matters more interesting this morning I could not get the Fraggle Rock song out of my head. For some strange reason I stumbled upon the video intro on YouTube and it’s been stuck ever since. So, now a few of you may share my misery: “Dance your cares away, worries for another day, let the music play, down at Fraggle Rock…”


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

it would be great to have some snow here  , although we expect a 36 - 55 Wednesday this week 

I couldn't hit the dirt this weekend...going with la pugs totally unprepared/untrained to the first race of the season next weekend 

today, the cat wasn't there!, made a short stop in a gas station to put some air on my rear tire and the rest was as usual...going for another perfect week!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Woke up to 1" of fresh snow, and the weatherman said another 1-4" for today. I rode anyways, but told my wife she might have to come get me tonight if its not rideable. Some of the stuff this morning was a little thick, so I had to gear down and spin through it. That warmed me up quick so I could unzip my coat a little and enjoy the cool breeze. 8F, light snow, and light wind. Fun to ride in when dressed right. Sucks to have to share the road with cars. The city has still not plowed the MUP from the new years eve blizzard. I much prefer that safer route.

Edit: Only 2" of snow, and it was very rideable, and it was 15F, it actually felt nice. Lowered the pressure to 7.5psi and had no problems getting home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> today, the cat wasn't there!


¿Ya se corrió? Inútil.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hehe, yep, it ran away...:lol:

forecast is also showing some drizzles for our next cold days  ....last time I rode one of those, I caught a cold...I'll work on preparing the right gear tonight.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

We got something like 35-40cm of snow on Friday and Saturday, so I wasn't sure what to expect this morning. Temperatures around -16C and dropping through the week, so the snow isn't going anywhere.

But it wasn't too bad. Roads are pretty much unrideable, but with a combination of multi-use trails and sidewalks it worked okay.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

Started the day off with 25 PSI in my rear tire. That sucked for 2 miles. Remidied that after my morning runs. First time out on the Studded tires. I really didn't do much homework on them and, now regretably, got Innova's. We'll see how they hold up with me on top of them. They rode well, I didn't. 

There was no shoulder on any part of my route so I was pedaling in what felt like thick Mashed potatoes. Excellent. I'm beat, and I like it. This was only day 3 of this year so I'm not too down on my self for being tired. (Pun intended?)

I ran across a pretty funny site today as well. Some one spray painted "I <3 Trees" on a tree. So, from what I gather, there are either alot of self absorbed trees around or someone who loves trees so much they feel like painting it with harsh spray paint?  

14.03 down. ?????? - to go.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> hehe, yep, it ran away...:lol:.


If it did, it's name was likely Lazarus.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jag, did you really drop your pressure to 7.5 PSI, or was that a typo? If that`s right, what tires? And were you able to ride home after all?

EDIT: Oh, I see that you did ride home and that was with the lower pressure. 
7.5, really?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good. Snow on the shoulders had been cleaned up some, crisp and clear. Driver education needed though. Heard a big truck approaching from behind, slow. I pulled over toward the shoulder a bit more as a courtesy. He passed me, I saw right blinker on, and he immediately stopped right in front of me to turn into a business on the right. To give him credit, he did not turn and cut me off, he probably would have waited for me to pass. But, not trusting a garbage truck not to turn right into me, I came to a complete stop behind him and waved him through. Would it have been so difficult to let me pass the driveway he needed to turn into rather than passing me? It would have saved us both time; as it was I had to stop and wait for him to make the turn, and he had to stop and check to see where I was before turning.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

d#mn drizzle! it seems like pouring to me!
I need to work on my gear...got pretty much soaked today...specially legs, arms and part of my chest....my tights without a rain pant will get soaked no matter what...my supposedly rain jacket will let water in after a few minutes.

took a long warm shower just to get wet again in my almost 1.3 mile commute to the office

my pants:







my shirt (the one protected by my jacket)








I'm pretty sure I have one of these somewhere at home (back from my motorcycles days):








I think I'll give it a try.

B!! I swear I saw a quite similar gray cat at the same spot today! ...alive!...that was spooky!

Going for a hot coffee now!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I wanted to ride in today, but I think I made a good decision by driving. It's snowing, and it's supposed to snow most of the day. I think I would have been fine if I didn't have to worry about the folks in my area who don't know how to drive in snow.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

That sucks Martin. At least you were able to grab a hot shower. I would kill to have that option here at my work. I am still trying to convince the apartments close to my office to let me use their gym and common area showers for a small fee.

The commute was great today. This was my first ride on my new Vittoria Randneour Hypers 700x 32. Even though I almost got side-swiped and I had to lock up the brakes when someone backed out of their driveway without looking, this was my most stressfree commute ever. The difference the tire volume makes is unvelievable. Without a worry, I hit cracks and gravel that would have made me cringe on my last tire. I am positive I was grinning the whole way to work. And even though I went up 9mm on my tire width and the wind was really gusting, I still earned my personal best time on this route. (I purposefully picked the route that has given me the most flats) I think the fact that I was not constantly worrying about tiniest crack made me a lot faster.

Dixie, as far as nailing the 40ish degregree clothing down in our area, I feel I have it perfect. I can't help you with the legs because I can comfortably wear shorts year round, but I think I have honed in on the upper part of my body. I wear a wicking shirt as my base. My next layer is a very thin cotton pullover. Similiar to the picture below. The last layer is a vented peral izumi wind breaker I jacked from my father-in-law. I also where convertable hunting mittens.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

codwater said:


> That sucks Martin. At least you were able to grab a hot shower. I would kill to have that option here at my work. I am still trying to convince the apartments close to my office to let me use their gym and common area showers for a small fee.


yeap CW, that's what I do...4.7 miles to my shower place and then 1.3 to mi office...it wasn't so difficult with this guys...I pay them half of a normal gym fee for a locker and the showers.

today we had a 38F feeling in the morning, so yep, it was nice to have a hot shower!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Jag, did you really drop your pressure to 7.5 PSI, or was that a typo? If that`s right, what tires? And were you able to ride home after all?
> 
> EDIT: Oh, I see that you did ride home and that was with the lower pressure.
> 7.5, really?


Rode home with no problems at all. Yes 7.5psi in Surly Larry 26x3.8 tires on my Pugsley. I usually run them at 9psi. Left them at 7.5 today since its still snowing. They plowed overnight (turns out we got 3" yesterday), so there will probably only be an inch to deal with on the way home today.

They are saying brutal cold coming next week, like -45F wind chill. I'm scared.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I think that androgynous dummy above has a skin problem.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Fess up, Cod- you were hitting all those cracks and potholes on purpose, weren`t you!



s0ckeyeus said:


> I think that androgynous dummy above has a skin problem.


Dummy? I was going to suggest that Codwater start wearing a jock strap.

-45F would scare me, too. And 26 X 3.8 tires sound almost as scary :eekster:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Test rode the errand bike with the front drum brake/dyno. We were supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow. We have 6 and it is still snowing. So I kept to the neighborhood with no traffic.

1. Peter White is correct. The Nokian A10 is for mostly plowed streets with some ice and white pack. Although in virgin snow (in the drive, on the lawn) they were fine.

2. Frozen ruts and glare ice patches under the snow need more tread and more studs, as Peter advises. 

3. Rode down a steepish grade and back up and it was like the slewing of a motorcross bike, except I can't put a foot down and keep power on. Defintely NOT safe riding conditions, throw in idiots who think they are Super drivers with AWD, and well just stay home and shoot yourself, it's easier.

4. The brake works very well. Not broken in yet and that process takes hundreds of miles, apparently. So the modulation is over a very small range of lever (long pull type). These would be realy tricky with a road lever! A matter of getting used to it, but it doesn't take much hand power to lock them! So adrenaline aided stops are going to need a little recalibration or slower approaches to intersections. Moved the cool stops that were on the front to the back and that improved rear braking a lot, too.

No grocery run in this. Gotta go plow some snow.

Brian


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

another stone on my way...

leaving my morning gear outside "drying" actually made it more wet! mist made the job.

going for an automated laundry shop to dry them in a while...adding miles 

Edit after the worthless errand ride ever!
how come an automated laundry shop doesn't allow you to use just the dryer machines? 
don't call your automatic laundry shop "automatic" if you are going to be there saying how to use each machine and in what order! receiving laundry as an assignment is what a NON automatic laundry shop do!
so don't call your laundry shop automatic if it is NOT!!








off course if I would leave my gear there it was going to be ready for tomorrow! :madman:
my gear is under my desk now...hoping to at least it get warm for later.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> another stone on my way...how come an automated laundry shop doesn't allow you to use just the dryer machines? ...my gear is under my desk now...hoping to at least it get warm for later.


How hard could it have been to run a quick load in a dryer? Even if they had a surcharge for the special service? In solidarity martinsillo, I can assure you they're not getting any of MY business!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: thanks Brian!
I even offered to pay for the washing machine too...but no, they just wouldn't let me to use the dryer without actually washing it first... argh...they just were brain washed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, hope you did not get a bad chill on the way home. Cold rain is much worse than really cold dry weather, in my book. 

My ride home... 9F when I arrived, just like when I left! My road is getting much better, some real nice smooth glare ice spots that the studs just eat up. Garbage is haunting me today, 3 trash cans left blocking my path en route. 

Brian, good luck with the plowing. Sunday when I snowblowed with the JD316 I found an xmas thank you card from my niece in CA- it had been in the driveway since Fri when I walked up with my bike and mail - it shot out of the chute slightly soggy but in 1 piece!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks xplorer...with my gear wet, 42F was chilly enough for me though 

I found the motorcycle rainsuit!...I didn't found the rain gloves though...I'll use some plastic bags if necessary


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Was a good ride to pickup some bike jerseys today (Twin Six) blew threw over 10 stop lights, at least 5 stop signs, passed a bunch of people waiting on these silly lights. Pretty close calls with some cars passing too close, couldn't take the shoulder since it was covered in snow and a lot of dirty snow. Tires felt sluggish (Michelin XC AT) @ 40psi I think I will bump to 50psi and see how that goes.

@Codwater if that is you in the photo, are you wearing pants?


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

Mr Pink57 said:


> Was a good ride to pickup some bike jerseys today (Twin Six) blew threw over 10 stop lights, at least 5 stop signs, passed a bunch of people waiting on these silly lights. Pretty close calls with some cars passing too close, couldn't take the shoulder since it was covered in snow and a lot of dirty snow. Tires felt sluggish (Michelin XC AT) @ 40psi I think I will bump to 50psi and see how that goes.
> 
> @Codwater if that is you in the photo, are you wearing pants?


 Um......Is that condoned here? Because...um....In Michigan, at least, that's Illegal and actually one of my biggest pet peeves. In my opinion, if you're riding on the road and expect people to give you enough room and respect you as a "Vehicle" you need to follow traffic laws. Maybe That's just me. :skep:

Anywho, Didn't ride today. Looking forward to tomorrow with a fresh layer of slush from today's commuters.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Woohoo, they plowed 75% of the MUP route home.










As you can see, we've got a bit of a "where do we put the snow now" problem. Too bad the 25% part unplowed is too dangerous to ride on the shoulder, I was nervous even walking it. I'll have to stick to my normal back road route for a while.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

JAG that definitely looks like a fun commute. After floating around on today's snow, the Pug looks like the right tool for the job over my 700x38s.

I debated since last night whether I would give it a go with the fresh 6" of snow on the ground. I could have easily hopped in the truck, but it would have broken my string of 2011 commutes. While I took the bike and made it in unscathed, there were a few times I did think the better choice was to drive. Oddly the disc brakes were screaming loud today and not very effective. I am not sure if they got wet, or if the road salt is affecting them. When I was trying to focus on balance, the sound of fingernails running across a chalkboard placed on a 50 gallon drum unnerved me just a bit.

But, no harm, no foul, and looking forward to the roads clearing by the ride home.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woke up with an itchy throat 

today I was prepared for a storm but just got some drizzle on my last mile...it was 37°F all the way.

I'll get some medicine at noon hoping this itchiness doesn't turn into a strong cold.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

That's some serious snow, JAG.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> That's some serious snow, JAG.


This isn't even the biggest pile, its just the biggest pile in a place safe enough to stop for a pic! Not to mention that its too damn cold to stop anyways, as I have to take my gloves off to use the camera on my phone.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

ScottNova said:


> Um......Is that condoned here? Because...um....In Michigan, at least, that's Illegal and actually one of my biggest pet peeves.


There's a thread discussing that, what, this summer? We are a fairly non-judgemental group here, but 'condoned' is a bit too favorable, from my take on that thread. Rolling stops are the noerm here for cars, except staright through or left on red lights.

The concensus of that thread seemed to be that we agree to "Live and Let Die" wrt stop lights and signs, though we are not happy with adding fuel to drivers' 'peeves'.

That said, blasting through red lights at speed is not a recommended practice for long life or to make friends in the motoring public I hope 'blew threw" means a rolling stop.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> There's a thread discussing that, what, this summer? We are a fairly non-judgemental group here, but 'condoned' is a bit too favorable, from my take on that thread. Rolling stops are the noerm here for cars, except staright through or left on red lights.
> 
> The concensus of that thread seemed to be that we agree to "Live and Let Die" wrt stop lights and signs, though we are not happy with adding fuel to drivers' 'peeves'.
> 
> That said, blasting through red lights at speed is not a recommended practice for long life or to make friends in the motoring public I hope 'blew threw" means a rolling stop.


 Alrighty then. I wasn't aware of the thread. I would ask to see a link to it but that would probably just frustrate me. I figured there would be some kind of understanding for the general forum. It's mostly a personal choice though, If you feel comfortable doing that, I guess that's your choice. That's all I'm going to say about it. 

Road my bike this morning. ~ 4 miles. Might ride later tonight. The School has early release days every once in a while and they make it impossible to ride my bike all day long. I only have 15 min to gear up, ride 3 miles in lunch hour traffic, Gear down, and get in my bus. It could work, but not in the slush and snow. I'll give it a try when I can take out my road bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Boring, I drove. 
7" snow accumulating by 7pm, with 30mph winds, but I'm also having dinner at a friend's, and while the location is a lovely warm weather bikecommute from work it is too rugged (18mi) for a day like this.

I will, however, keep an eye out for Rodar's pogonip, because current conditions are:
_ 16 °F 
Heavy Snow Freezing Fog _ 
I don't see any crystals outside my window, though.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

The commute was fast. The weather was warmer and the sun was out. Somone stole my new planet bike blinky that was clipped on while I was work. They did not fool with my front light. It is harder to get off though because it is strapped on with an O-Ring. I really do not want to have to take all my lights off of my bike everytime I lock it up. I am going to ask my boss if I can keep my bike in our storage room. I am also going to ziptie the next bliny I get on to my bike. That will at least deter lazy crooks.

Also, a thugged out car in front of me with a pink brass knuckles magnet on the back, slowed down so that they could yell at me to "turn that **** off". They were referring to my headlight on strobe mode. I am just happy they saw me!

And guys, that is in fact a maniquine in the pic above. Thankfully I was born fully equiped, unlike Ken dollas and maniquines. It was just an image from the web I grabbed. Happy Trails!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

codwater said:


> ...Somone stole my new planet bike blinky that was clipped on while I was work...


Some people just plain s"cks...

on the other hand...if you know you are in a place where this could happen to you..you should take all your gear with you every single time...when in Chicago last Dec, I was amazed on how many Brooks someone could get in a 10 blocks walk.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

codwater said:


> I am also going to ziptie the next blinky I get on to my bike. That will at least deter lazy crooks.


You might want to ziptie (or rubberband) the blinkie together as well...got home last night and only had 1/2 my P Tec Swerve blinkie still ziptied to my pack. Lost the other 1/2 with the batteries, lamp, switch & cover somewhere enroute (but perhaps while slinging the pack around on the bus etc. rather than riding). I have one old blinkie that screws together so that won't happen, but of course I can't get that one open to change the batteries because the screws are corroded. Dang!

Good luck with the storeroom request. Mine is inside at work, and in winter I keep it on a broken down cardboard box so it doesn't drip slush and salt all over.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Codwater: Even here I don't leave the QR lights on the bike if unattended. They are just too easy to lift, if you know them. Still, it was a low thing for someone to do.

Mtbxplorer: I lost half a Swerve that way, too. The older Planet Bike Superflashes also would spontaneously decouple. My remaining Swere has been faithful, as have all three PBSFs. I have been tempted to rubber band them just in case, as the snapping and unsnapping has to wear the 'catches' over time. The Radbots screw together, so they can't fail in this way.

Martin: Few here can recognize a Brooks saddle as anything of value. Do they cut the seat posts to steal them? My clamps require a frustratingly long effort to open them enough to adjust the posts.

A lot of the granular icing sugar unpacked snow over pack and ice today. Definitely had my attention. A whole body workout but I never felt like I was about to lose it every few feet which is normal for summer tires on such snow. The 32mm Nokian A10s are 30 mm high and wide on a Dyad rim, the largest snows I could fit with the old fork and brake. Have enough height now for the smallest tires with deeper tread and more studs and some snow clearance. Birthday present idea (in the fall). 

Getting the hang of the front drum. It modulates very well but over maybe 1/4 inch lever pull range and it takes little hand strength to lock it. You feel the power needed to lock sidepulls with cool stops. Maybe 10-20% as much force needed. The smaller (70 mm) one might have been fine, but this 90 mm should last decades. Or come in handy if we move to a hillier location.

Carted a lazerjet to Church on the rear rack. library stop, and then garbage can panniers full of veggies and fruit, back home. I seem to be running about 2 gears lower on this surface. Normal? But I think I got glutened, and wasn't feeling my best.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

today I was trying to fight mist in vain.

@BrianMc
I think it depends on the seat post...but I can tell you, the 4 I saw that day didn't have any type of device or chain to keep it safe.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

BrianMc - Wow, a laserjet on the rack and I presume in snowy/icy conditions? Perhaps I am remembering the 30lb behemoths of years past, but even the current models are not featherweights, didn't the weight sway the ride...and how did you secure it? Your skilz are to be commended to carry that weight on marginal roads.

You are also making me consider air freighting a pair of A10s


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Permission to keep your bike in a storage room would be great! I keep mine outside the back door most of the time, but when it rains or snows I move it into the plant`s boiler room (no permission asked). Dry seats are much nicer to sit on.



mtbxplorer said:


> ...got home last night and only had 1/2 my P Tec Swerve blinkie still ziptied to my pack. Lost the other 1/2 with the batteries, lamp, switch & cover somewhere enroute


Bad luck for lights lately in VT. At least you`ve got that famous alternate lighting to see ski trails, sycamore leaves, and telegraph cables  . Don`t know about frost heaves and pot holes, though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RevRacer said:


> BrianMc - Wow, a laserjet on the rack and I presume in snowy/icy conditions? ....You are also making me consider air freighting a pair of A10s


Printer is 2007 vintage. Didn't weigh it, but about 25 pounds. 4 bungee cords tight on the Wald steel rear rack. I've lost more weight than that! Would have been insane on the front rack in those conditions, though. I think it actually helped me get traction.:thumbsup:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

3rd day of drizzle, mist, light drizzle! These days are the ones I don't like about our winter.

since it was light drizzle this morning, I went back to my first gear...well, I changed my second layer for a thicker one.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

Ended up riding around 10 miles yesterday on a recreational Bike ride. In the winter. First time I've done that.  I just couldn't pass up the Sunny day and the warm temps. Technically I was taking the scenic way to "church" so it was commute.

It was a great ride intill the sun started to disappear, then it got cold. Quick. Did some picture taking as well. I found that just going for a bike ride was much more easier then doing it on the way to work. Huh. 

Here are some Artsy Pictures. Every single one was with in 15 ft of a Main road. Don't want to give the impression I live in some magical place where there are no roads. Not to shabby quality for a Cell phone either. Enjoy!

















This is why I couldn't resist going on a bike ride. The Sky was Amazingly beautiful and I just couldn't resist.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

ScottNova said:


> Here are some Artsy Pictures. Every single one was with in 15 ft of a Main road. Don't want to give the impression I live in some magical place where there are no roads.


Doesn't look like big city either 

Still walking to work. We've had enough snow in the last few days that the snow ploughs have some catching up to do. Sidewalks, paths and minor streets are not at the top of their list.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Nice photos Scott! Scenery is definitely worth pulling over and clicking a few memory keepers.

Had a good crisp ride in this morning at about 20F, roads are mostly clear. Had one of those timing moments going down a steep hill with windy turns and blind spots. If I see a car in my rearview at the start, I take the lane and make them wait until the next straight. I am usually traveling at 27-30mph in a 35 during that stretch which is maybe 1/3 mile, so it's not like they're waiting much. Today however when we got to the straight, we had oncoming traffic. We had to get over the next uphill before it cleared. Paranoia perhaps, but I thought I could hear the subliminal grumbling from inside the cars.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great sunrise!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride, 5F, some flakes but clearing skies. The 7" snow forecast Wed-Th turned out to be more like 15", so there were still some tricky spots on the road.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My front tire washed out a bit on an ice covered pedestrian bridge. I guess I was going a bit fast. Fortunately, my ninja training took hold and I made it across without any drama. I'll slow down next time.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

My commute yesterday was better than This Guys


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

This morning I was greeted with a total mess of cars at my first major intersection. Instead of fighting through the heard to cross and head down my faster, wider, quieter back route, I opted for my MUP route. Now mostly plowed, I can enjoy the path to myself, only crossing side street intersections for most of the way. These areas aren't plowed, so there are ruts and peaks of frozen mashed potato snow. These aren't much of a challenge for the Pugsley, but they do challenge my trusty coffee mug in the bottle cage to retain its contents (I noticed some coffee colored frozen stripes on my bike when I parked it at the office).

The MUP ends at a signalized interestion, which takes forever since I have to cross both ways at a crosswalk. Once I get through though, a new MUP is waiting, and the same stretch that was left unplowed earlier this week, is still unplowed. I had to cross the street and take the sidewalk, which has 4" of footstep riddled snow on it. This type of snow is bumpy and not fun, although easily passible. Any stretch of virgin snow was mine for the taking and I was able to find a swath of it to follow all the way to the office. Good ride! 2 straight weeks in a row. Next week the "artic blast" that the media is hyping up arrives, we'll see if I'm brave enough to go for it.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> ...Good ride! 2 straight weeks in a row. Next week the "artic blast" that the media is hyping up arrives, we'll see if I'm brave enough to go for it.


I'm pretty sure is my first 2 straight weeks too! (in two years of commuting  ) anyways, good for us! I wish I could commute comfortable on my pugs though  road riding with it is not that fun. Apparently Wednesday next week we are going to be receiving another cold front from the north...I hope for a dry one this time...I didn't catch a cold this time, but is not pleasant in anyway.

today was dry  (at least the air) a chance to take a pic with my [email protected] camera:
crossing the river on the pedestrian bridge 








saw your pics yesterday at home Scott...pugsley paradise  :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Normbilt said:


> My commute yesterday was better than This Guys


:thumbsup: :devil:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Bike in a snow bank here. Snow makes it easy to stand the bike up! Main routes were pretty bad yesterday and they called a 2 hour delay. I was judging science projects at the Jr. High. The Jr. High is near the High School which means young drivers and snow. I decided that was not a bike commutable combination. Main roads mostly clear today, some side streets were fun and would have beeen crazy on a bike. Liking this front brake a lot. No drama. Just stopping power.:thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> The Jr. High is near the High School which means young drivers and snow. I decided that was not a bike commutable combination.
> 
> Liking this front brake a lot. No drama. Just stopping power.:thumbsup:


High school drivers + snow :eekster: . Sounds like you made a good call not riding there!

I`m glad that new front wheel is working out for you. I`ve been kind of curious about drum brakes too, but not quite curious enough to buy one and experiment. My memory might be missing something, but I don`t think I`ve ever had a drum braked (drum broken?) bicycle unless you count coaster brakes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thought the last bus left without me last night, but just a new driver running late. Patience for late buses decreases with temperature. It was about 15F. No time at transfer point to pick up a Fri night movie. On the ride home I was surprised by a snowball falling next to me...thought I was ambushed, but I think it just fell off a streetlight.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Congrats to all with two weeks commuting with no other option used. I have only gone out alone once, not on the bike. (I called it as unsafe.) So I'll also call that 100% of bikeable trips.

Amazing how mild low 20's feel with little wind and a good rate of speed! What was freeze the butt off in November, is downright balmy in January. The new boots don't feel much warmer, but clearly they are affecting total body heat. :thumbsup: 

Took the plunge into this dyno/brake hub without much info on it specifically. Call me a Guinea Pig (Or just a pig? Maybe glutton for punishment?)  Kept a rim-brake type rim, in case, but since this is a touring/tandem/off-raod rim, it's a good choice regardless.

Coaster brakes use the hub shell, not a dedicated drum. So I don't think they count. Now that Sturmey Archer is a subsidiary of Sunrace, (Taiwan), the quality has improved markedly (or I'd not have gambled). I priced converting to a front disc at another $300. I could buy a cheap disc bike for that plus what I spent. But I have a bike that fits well and I like, so... 

Having the brake all but water tight and requiring little maintenance is an advantage for riding in unfavorable conditions, if weight isn't a of prime importance. SA also makes a Shimano-compatible cassette hub with 70 mm brake (about $100, compared to about $70 for a BB7 brake, plus Shimano disc hub of your choice and a new frame or modding old one for discs.). I gain room for 5 mm bigger tires with a hub brake, so that is a nice side effect. 

So for now it's steady as she goes...keep you posted. Another 400 miles and all the changes will be paid for...:madman:  :thumbsup: 

Brian..


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh yeah, congratulations to Martin and Jag! (I really was going to put tjat in last night`s post, but it slipped my mind)

B Mc, you bought it new? For some reason, I had it in my head that you happened into it.

Patience for EVERYTHING decreases with discomfort, in my mind.

One hour into my weekend, don`t feel tired, forecast for today says a high near 50! Sorry, all you snowbound huddled masses. I think I`ll get showered and take a joy ride.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

my commute home yesterday netted me a nexus 7 hub.
need a shifter (or idea for alternate shifter) and a wheel build, but I think it'll work itself out.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Netted a Nexus 7 hub? They spawning or just lying there in the road?


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

Road Yesterday for a insignifigan 6 miles.  Usually I do 15 but I just didn't have the Energy. I hope I'm not getting sick. 

The Ride was good. Very taxing on my legs though. I just tried to focus on beig relaxed and took it as easy as I could. Decided that East Lansing does a crappy job cleaning off the main side walks. I took the "Side walk route" which is along 2 of the busiest roads I ride. One being the main stretch into East Lansing and Lansing. I found refuge on the side streets as soon as I could.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

While cross-training today (aka shovelling), I was able to ready my bike for the local jousting competition, and install a new sissy bar.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> On the ride home I was surprised by a snowball falling next to me...thought I was ambushed, but I think it just fell off a streetlight.


Good it wasn't one of those ice lances of your next post! Ouch! :eekster:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice lance! And by gum I`m glad it isn`t me shovelling all that snow.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The amount of snow looks familiar... but I don't think I've seen lances like that since last spring


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@xplorer
that lance just reminds me I saw on the news a place where big pieces of ice were falling from an antenna or something similar in a parking lot.

thanks Brians! let's see if we can have a perfect month!

today was a nice 52 °F ride... I crossed the bridge with two other cyclists today...one was all gear up to my surprise..fenders, vest, lights..no helmet though. The other was on the bridge with this!: :eekster:









*oh and saw a dead rat...let's not make it a rat week please!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

was -18 C with snow when I woke up and started getting ready, they said -25 with windchill.
ride home should be around -5?
climbing to +2 with rain tomorrow afternoon.
then back down below 0, so we should have sheet ice for the rest of the week.
:skep:

oh, rear derailleur's getting stickier, no biggie.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

News here have mentioned at least one person dying when a lump of snow fell on him in a city street.

Interesting weather: temps have risen above freezing. The new thin layer of snow had developed a crust during the night. Now there's a drizzle and I saw a couple of places where puddles were developing on top of the untouched crust. Soon it will be freezing again...


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Today was one of those " I really don't want to ride" days. Yesterdays winds made a ton of drifts and soft fluffy ruts on the road that I battled for traction all the way here. I hit a big snowdrift and my foot slipped off the pedal, bashing my knee right into the stem. Ouch! The weatherman said 25mph winds expected this afternoon, and bitter -20F temps for the rest of the week. It's going to be hard to keep the perfect streak going this week.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

79°F outside right now. :arf:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

you suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!  

tuve una amiga que me vino a ver el ano pasado, me dijo que lo peor era mirando afuera a las 5:30 y ver que estaba oscuro como si fuera medianoche en el sur. 

it's not just the cold that plays tricks with your mind...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

pero no te creas que estoy muy muy contento...hoy no me traje unos shorts apropiados para regresarme en la tarde a casa :lol: asi que me toca con las tights de la mañana.

ahh.... ñ = alt + 164


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> me vino a ver el ano


:skep: Odd friends you have, Byknuts.

We aren`t far behind Monterrey. Forcasted 59F for a high today 
Break out the Coppertone!


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Got you beat rodar 63F here in the swamp, will make a nice commute home this evening.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

-13f degree commute to work, stayed pretty warm. Body was slow though.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> :skep: Odd friends you have, Byknuts!


LMAO!  
my keyboard doesn't do the accent... or to be more accurate I never bothered to figure it out.
one of my brothers grew up in Chile. 
his grammar's worse than all the missing accents I could ever manage!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Snowed On the way to work and On the way Home.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

I am bummed, as today I thought the better of the weather and took the car. It broke the streak since the first of the year, so now I go back to overall number and start a new streak. Managed through a few snow storms in the prior weeks, but today's ice coating on everything gave me thoughts of cars tapping the brakes and turning the road into a bowling alley with me being a pin. Hopefully it turns to rain as forecasted and washes this off for tomorrow, just in time for tomorrow night's wintery mix.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

I am actually envious of all those snow commutes (there I said it).

55 °F with dense fog in the swamp. Less than 1/4 mile visibility, so I took the truck instead this morning. Call me a wimp, I'll take any temp, but rain or fog in the am and I just can't get going.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RevRacer said:


> I am bummed, as today I thought the better of the weather and took the car. ....today's ice coating on everything gave me thoughts of cars tapping the brakes and turning the road into a bowling alley with me being a pin.


Recognizing the validity of "unbikeable" conditions like F5 Hurricanes, I suggest there are non-cycling days that don't count in a streak of commuting by bike. There is a marked difference between not cycling when it is reasonable to do so (aka 'wimping out' or 'sleeping in') and not cycling for safety's sake. Snow + high school drivers, snow + southern drivers, or first snows and northern ones, (it is an experience thing not a Mason-Dixon line thing) or icy conditions where car-bike pinball is likely (a lack of friction thing), Buffalo Stampedes, Wildebeest Migrations, R8.5 earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, and the like should not be seen as a break in the streak. Sort of like a sick day for road conditions rather than for you, if you will.

Remember, stupidity is its own punishment, and the penalty for a cyclist can be too dere.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning was 40F and raining. It really wasn't that bad of a commute, other than the top of my pack leaking at the zipper and soaking the crotch of my boxers.


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## markaitch (Feb 17, 2010)

i really miss all that snow, ice & sleet when i ride to work :thumbsup:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice commute today...a bit late because I didn't prepare my pannier last night...ohh and my tail helmet light play dead too.

we shouldn't talk about school drivers for a while... remember we now have one among us!!  :lol:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

markaitch said:


> i really miss all that snow, ice & sleet when i ride to work :thumbsup:


:lol:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

My streak is broken. -35F wind chill, unplowed sidewalks and roads of pure ice. I opted out for safety's sake today. I drove my route today to check conditions and I'm glad I didn't ride.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Weeks of -25C + lots of new snow and bumpy roads + department store bike = 2 more broken spokes last night.

Between this winter and last that makes about half of the rear driveside spokes I've replaced, which is my least favourite bike maintenance task.

But in about two months I can retire the department store bike (which has well over 10,000+ km on it, so I can't complain) and replace it with a 29er. Can't wait.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I don` miss the crap weather I`m supposed to be having now. Well yeah, actually I do kind of miss some adventure on my commute. Wouldn`t miss it if I had a long commute though, and apart from the commute, I REALLY dig these nice spring days we`ve had for most of the winter! With a winter this nice, I ought to have a few hundred miles in, but when ever I see the sun shining I end up on the scooter. My mileage is going to suffer big time this year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> ...But in about two months I can retire the department store bike (which has well over 10,000+ km on it, so I can't complain) and replace it with a 29er. Can't wait.


Nice going! You will really deserve that new bike.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, it's actually a decent bike and it was a pretty excellent "first" bike. Since it was so cheap I was able to break a lot of stuff - more due to my poor maintenance as a newbie than because of poor components - and learn how to fix it. It was supposed to be retired last spring, but got demoted to winterbike instead. It desperately needs a new wheelset though, and I figured rather than putting more money into it those $'s should be put to better use elsewhere. And I'm sick of getting tossed around by the snow on 26" tires.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Half the spokes?! The only spokes I've had to replace were from a foot an a derailer taking out the spokes almost 5o years apart. Definitely easier said than done.  

Neew Biiike...! (Say like Homer saying Do...nuuuts..)  

Inspired by the intrepid weather-no-issue guys and gals here I headed out into a drizzle promising possible goose-drowners. I have ridden out knowing off mists, off and on showers, but never headed out as it was raining steadily or promising same in quantity. Have the rain gear. Just did not trust my brakes. 

The old brake pads (even new) were never great in rain and aged? well, they were about as useful as if they were made of butter. The cool stops are appreciably better, unless ice was forming on the rims (like butter), and there is actually some braking there if you allow for the rim to be wiped clean. You can't count on having that time with drivers in the rain that hardly see you in broad daylight! Part of that was the old rims, too. The Deep Vees were better. But I am pleased to report that my weird Mullet braking system shows absolutely no difference in the rain, (as promised by being all sealed up the way it is). So bikeable days taht I had to go somewhere are still 100%!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Half the spokes?! The only spokes I've had to replace were from a foot an a derailer taking out the spokes almost 5o years apart. Definitely easier said than done.


Half the spokes _driveside_, so it's only half as bad as it sounds. 

It's obviously not a good wheel, but it really doesn't like cold weather. It didn't get used too much during the summer, but we had a fair number of rainy days that I used it without any problems. As soon as the temperature dropped below -20C though, the spokes start breaking like clockwork - basically every three weeks or so.

The only problem now, is that I had 4 spare spokes which were supposed to last me until spring. Losing two in one night has blown my schedule.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

BrianMc - Congrats on solving the wet braking issue. That solution sounds like a winning mod for commuters. Also, thanks for the encouraging viewpoint on managing commuting streaks. While ice got me today, the buffalo stampedes are a consideration I'll have to make in these parts.

Markaitch, surely riding in that sand and sun must get unwieldy at times. Having to suit up with sunglasses, sunscreen, and the option of a tank or t-shirt must be a rough choice in the morning.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

mtbxplorer said:


> While cross-training today (aka shovelling), I was able to ready my bike for the local jousting competition, and install a new sissy bar.


Jousting Anyone?


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Yeah, it's actually a decent bike and it was a pretty excellent "first" bike. Since it was so cheap I was able to break a lot of stuff - more due to my poor maintenance as a newbie than because of poor components - and learn how to fix it. It was supposed to be retired last spring, but got demoted to winterbike instead. It desperately needs a new wheelset though, and I figured rather than putting more money into it those $'s should be put to better use elsewhere. And I'm sick of getting tossed around by the snow on 26" tires.


 Really? 29er's help with that? Man, I need to get some 29er's then. 

The Commute today was less then nice. It started out with rain in an area where we've had about 6 in of snow recently. Slush city for sure. Got Sprayed by a few cars. Had to take off my windshield to be able to see. It was warm though. around 30 Degrees. I think I over heated a bit near the end though. However, I don't think any of the wet/cold will get to me about being sick.

10.89Mi


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RevRacer said:


> BrianMc - Congrats on solving the wet braking issue. That solution sounds like a winning mod for commuters. .... While ice got me today, the buffalo stampedes are a consideration I'll have to make in these parts.


Definitely taking the road less travelled.  Seems to be a decent route so far, though. But these old classic road bikes make great commuters and with a drum brake or two, look pretty decent all-weather comparable to a new disc bike. Plus the counter-bling anti-theft factor is pretty good. :thumbsup:

I was thinking of the song, "Oh, you can't roller skate in a Buffalo Herd..." Warning: it is a viral tune and will stick in your head!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Snowy! 6" in my drive by the time I got home, but the plow had been through at some point, so most of the ride was 2-3" snow. Slow going and hard work, had to walk a few of the steepest spots, but only maybe .1-.2 mi of the 3.5 mi trip.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man! I can`t believe how hard you guys back east are getting hammered this year!
I really do sympathize


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

We have enough snow already :madman: :madmax:

Depending on exact location, my area got 2 to 10 inches of new snow during the night... Sidewalks are getting narrow as there's nowhere to put the snow. And when the roads and streets are ploughed, all the salty mash ends up on the sidewalk too, waiting for the next round of ploughs. Shoulders? Forget it.

... the next major snow fall is expected on Saturday evening ...

edit:
a pic at one of the smaller parking areas at work:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

perttime said:


> We have enough snow already... Shoulders? Forget it.


Stop it! You're making me homesick. Or at least making Kathryn so, as Ottawa, Canada is her hometown:

A street blown in and not cleared, Urban singletrack for fatbike?










After plowing, they have to dig out the stop signs:










You ride to work, then it snows...










If a snow plow comes, she's buried until April!

No wonder the thought of winter commuting by bike never entered my mind though I put a lot of summer miles on there!


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Ouch guys! That looks miserable (to me at least). When I lived further north, I was used to dealing with the cold, but after 11 years in the deep south, there is not way I could handle it.

Now on to my ride! I replaced my tubes, and now I am down to no spares. It is sad that I have busted so many. I plan on sitting down with a patch kit and repairing a couple of them. 

The ride was perfect! No close call, no fatigue, no heavy wheazing, and it was 45 degrees! I had single serving conversations with a couple of people I came across, and gave a friendly waver to others. I beat my personal best for this route by 2 minutes 30 seconds. The last time I commuted, I beat my last personal best by about 1 minute 40 seconds. That is a total gain of 4 minutes 10 seconds. CRAZY! I attribute the gain to the new tires, and my dedication to running in the mornings when I can't bike. 

Since someone jacked my blinky last time I commuted, I made the executive decision to lock the bike up inside the buildings loading dock. Unfortunately our lazy maintenance guy was running late and the loading dock was not open yet. So, I locked my bike up at the bottom of a stairwell.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

codwater said:


> Ouch guys! That looks miserable (to me at least). When I lived further north, I was used to dealing with the cold, but after 11 years in the deep south, there is not way I could handle it.


What cold 

... temps are hovering around the freezing point. That is not cold.

I like snow too but now there's enough that it is getting in the way. Probably some are panicking their roofs will collapse. Then they go on the roof to clear the snow and fall off...

As kids, we used to have great fun on mountains of snow.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

As predicted, overnight freeze on rain makes for curling quality ice in some areas!
Had to walk one of the uphills with the trailer.
Once unhooked from the baby beck I shot towards the city's core, playing "human hockey" with delivery trucks and errant beemers in the defenceman's role.
"I wanna cut off that streetcar and get in the pocket!" says Mr. U-turning across 4 lanes of traffic 540i. 
I skate my rear wheel to the left, rear tire skitching it's disapproval, grit my teeth (eww! road salt!) and dive the front wheel into the slushcicles that invaded the bike lane.
"Heading down the open ice, gonna take your right winger!!" says the dingy blank-walled panel truck. 
I lean left and brake hard on the rear to swing the back around to the right, tap the front to line my front wheel with his left taillight, and jam the skates... err... pedals... to shoot off around the tipping truck's left mirror.
Ooh look! Jay-walking pedestrians weaving through the cars!
Stop (what? it's cold and icy! I'm not zipping some poor schlub onto their ass just to save 15 seconds on my commute!)
Turn around to see if the wife made it through that panel truck mess.
Hrmm... guess I'll have to wait for her at the next light.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

glad you made safe byknuts.

I had a close call yesterday...crossing a two way street a guy decided he wasn't going to wait his turn for a green light and went to cut the line using the wrong way lane. I started to cross and didn't saw his move until I hear his braking tires.

:lol: I don't even have to draw the cars!! Google maps already have them doing it!!!
Wrong way dude 1 was closer to me than in the pic though








uneventful commute this morning...nice!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, that looks like a pretty challenging maneuver to cross that street, even if they weren't going the wrong way. Glad he saw you in time.

I had a good ride in, though slow due to the additional snow overnight and slush once I got to the busier streets, Varying conditions, some shoulders well scraped by the wing plow or with untramped "good" snow, and others were a mess, forcing me more into traffic than desirable. But I had a few good drivers, notably one schoolbus driver, who waited for a safer opening to pass when there was no oncoming traffic. :thumbsup: Someone driving to work even noticed the bus wait for me. His wife won't let him ride in winter. It warmed up here too, about 20F, but a cold weekend forecast, -15F lows and 10F highs Fri-Monday.

Jordy, can you share your outfit, head-to-toe on that -13F day?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Brrrrr. Missing yesterday ticked me off, so I went for it today. -14F with calm winds wasn't so bad, in fact I overheated a little. Tires at 6psi today, experimenting with traction vs. Rolling resistance, and had lots of both! I'll go back to 8psi tomorrow. 

Next week the daytime temps don't have the "-" sign in front of the numbers so I'm excited. Hopefully the forecast stays true.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Things have warmed up to around -10C, so I went for a quick ride at lunch while there's daylight:





We normally don't get much snow. Most of that is from the last week and a half, and apparently this is more than we've seen in over a decade.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Left work tonight and It Felt Like I forgot to put something on, but I had everything. It was that We have been hovering in the Twenty's Fahrenheit last couple weeks but it was around 15 F 
tonight. Tomorrow high is suppose to be 18. 

I wiped my nose tonight riding home and forgot to wipe my thumb on the back of my leg.
Then minutes later I went to wipe my nose again and there was ice all over the thumb of my glove. Remember to wipe after you wipe.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My week has been a little warmer. I actually had a day or two in the low 40s. We had rain on Wednesday, and today we will have snow. Drivers around here get freaked out by the prospect of 3-5" of snow. I think they're feeling it coming.

Even yesterday it seemed drivers were anxious. I had 3 cars run red lights in front of me. Two cars ran a red while I was just beginning to pedal into the intersection after getting the green light. I always double check for traffic, so there were no close calls. 

Then an SUV was attempting to pass me while an emergency vehicle came the other way. I was worried the SUV would try to move to the shoulder and take me out in the process. Fortunately, the driver just kept going. 

At the next light, a car made a left turn on red just about the same time I was trying to make a right turn on red. I'm not exactly sure what was going through the driver's mind. A while later, when I had made it to the top of my hill, a car tried to pass me while approaching the a sign. Drivers never seem to understand how fast I'm going and how fast they will need to go to pass safely. I hit the brakes and averted any conflict.

My commute is usually drama free. To have this many events occur in just the last mile of my commute is rather unusual. Perhaps drivers are getting anxious because of the forecast.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

6 more miles...I almost succumb to my sheets today though...guess I'll need a good sleep tonight...I think a guy on a chevy honked and wave me...I just wave back 

yeap xplorer that section is pretty much always crowded


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Snow again this a.m., mostly affecting visibility. Enough still left on the road to deserve some extra care and speed control on the downhills. Otherwise uneventful. Yesterday's courteous schoolbus driver replaced by a rude honking one (no need, plenty of room for all). Last nite a car on a cross street to my right almost rolled through the stopsign, but an eyeful of light from my helmet thru the driver's window caught his attention. He actually backed up, as if in apology.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Drivers around here get freaked out by the prospect of 3-5" of snow. I think they're feeling it coming. ... Drivers never seem to understand how fast I'm going and how fast they will need to go to pass safely. ....My commute is usually drama free. To have this many events occur in just the last mile of my commute is rather unusual. Perhaps drivers are getting anxious because of the forecast.


Yeah, there is a freak-out response for an amount of snow that would be a yawn wher I grew up. I am faster on the good bike and more lights and reflective wear seemed to help by getting them to pay attention soon enough to gauge my speed better. "You sure do move on that thing." Is a common comment I get and I am slow by my late twenties standard (Implicastion is "too fast"?, maybe averaging 16-18 mph). I am more erect and more sedate (12-16 mph) on the errand bike and don't get as much of that, but the ANSI vest is VERY vivid if I am close to vertical not hunched over, so it is hard to tease out why.



mtbxplorer said:


> Snow again this a.m., ... Last nite a car on a cross street to my right almost rolled through the stopsign, but an eyeful of light from my helmet thru the driver's window caught his attention. He actually backed up, as if in apology.


The bus driver honk: I assume this is your regular route and most see you almost daily at the same time, and the shoulder's full of snow giving no where to go, so unless the honk is a 'Hello', I don't get it. Though some drivers don't agree with our right to ride the roads and 'hold them up'. Maybe the regular guy is isck, and it is a new driver. Buses are numbered here, so i don't see how a driver expects to get away with it. Unless their boss hates cyclists and has passed it on as the one instructor in a post above.

The caring drivers with a bit of imagination can 'see' what might have been and it is upsetting. I think the back up is a kind of pennance. A car-body language 'Sorry!".


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Perhaps drivers are getting anxious because of the forecast.


Nah, too many incedents for simple anxiety. They were probably out to get you. Maybe thought you were Brian Mc.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Glad you made through the rough patch Sockeyes. I didn't commute today because of school, but I have put togather a plan to keep myself active.

I have classes Mon, Tue, and Thurs. This is my plan:

Monday: Load my bike in the car and drive to work. Drive to school after work. Bike home.

Tuesday: Bike to school. Work out at the gym and shower for work. Drive to work. Drive back to school. Load the bike back in the car and drive home.

Wed: No school. Bike to work. Bike Home.

Thrusday. Dive to work. Drive to School. Drive hom.e

Friday: No class. Bike to work. Bike hom from work.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Finally warmed up to +15F and snowed a couple inches. It was very loud snow, as the fat tire rolled over it. Very fine and grain like.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

codwater said:


> Thrusday. Dive to work...


please post some pics!


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> please post some pics!


It is a strenuous dive!


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

So so so cold the low tonight will be -40F I estimate it is about -20F now, the goggles kept fogging up from my breath so I had to stop at a few gas stations to warm them up. My insulated water bottle also froze up pretty good, had to put hot water in at each gas station. I would have put it in my frame bag but there was just no room there or on my person somewhere.

I was definitely seen, this new trimbrite trailblazer tape got attention. When I pulled up to home one of my neighbors said "That's one heck of a halogen you got on there." (Magicshine 900)


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Mr Pink57 said:


> So so so cold the low tonight will be -40F I estimate it is about -20F now


-15F here now, -40 is just ridiculous! Wind chills are expected to hit -36F later tonight (they were -30 this morning on the ride in). My fingertips and toes were definitely not happy today. However traction was abundant and the roads were smooth so I could get up to a decent cadence and enjoy the ride somewhat. 8psi seems to be the magic number for tire pressure in the Pugsley on these surfaces, I can't believe the difference 1 psi makes.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

I've been home for probably an hour and I still feel cold.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy cow! Crazy cold!

Ha, look at the sweat just flying off Codwater!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pink, have you warmed up yet? Sometimes only a hot shower or sitting right in front of my gas "woodstove" gets the chill out, even when the ride is comfortable.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

From low -20s at the beginning of the week, to 0C yesterday. It feels so nice to ditch all the extra layers.


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## PrincipalRider (Jun 24, 2005)

Don't you hate when you forget your underwear and have to wear you bike shorts all day? That was my commute this morning.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

NMPhi767 said:


> Don't you hate when you forget your underwear and have to wear you bike shorts all day? That was my commute this morning.


:lol: been there done that +
-. No belt
-. No work socks
and
-. No work shoes


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NMPhi767 said:


> Don't you hate when you forget your underwear and have to wear you bike shorts all day? That was my commute this morning.


On such days, I go commando. :ciappa:

Today I showed up with all my clothes on. I drove in. We had snow yesterday, which made for a great ride home. The cars were just about as slow as I was. The overnight temps plummeted from the low thirties to the low teens and the slushy snow iced up a bit. I decided to drive out concern for my safety from other cars. The roads turned out to be better than expected, and traffic was light. Oh well.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

Man, I thought I had it cold at +15F today. You guys are nuts. 

Road my bike in this morning and it was crystal clear with a Full moon. I ride down a Pretty low traffic road. I might see 3 or 4 cars on a busy day. I decided to ride alittle with out my head lights on and just use the moon light to see. It was Serene, to say the least. It felt just amazing to be out in nature with no light but the moon. Very cool. At least intill that car pulled out down the road and I turned the Head light back on. 

Had a Half day schedule so I only ended up doing about 3 miles total. Nothing special but it was Defiantly a beautiful ride. It's the first time I've gotten my Sunglasses out all week.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Scott, I agree with you about the awesome moon this morning. When combined with the snow covering, lights would be optional. I only got to experience it while walking the dog as my commute starts at day break. A fresh 4" of snow fell last night, but far better than ice. Most main roads were plowed and the brakes managed the downhill just fine. I have to do some maintenance and tighten up the pads though, there is too much pull required to get any action.

Ran an errand to get a haircut on the way home and the busy roads had lots of icy patches at the turnouts to roads and driveways. Also had some drifting. Made for a few hold your breath moments as the cars passed. Barber was amused, had to come outside in the 20F air to actually see the bike. 

Took the scenic ride home where not a car passes me for miles with some good climbs to get the body heat up. Ended the day's commute with 19.99 miles.

My fingers were cold today at +15F, I cannot imagine -40F.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

20mph winds, -20F temps, -38F wind chill, 2" of snow. 1/4 mile visibility.

I drove today. Absolutely the coldest conditions I have ever experienced in my life. It's sickening to think that I'm excited that it should get over +20F next week, and this time last year when I lived in Phoenix I complained when it was below 50F!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> On such days, I go commando. :ciappa:


Hahaha...I was going to suggest earlier that none would be more comfy than bike shorts, but I figured that advice would be better if it came from a guy  :blush: - thanks for stepping up :thumbsup:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I had to wait an hour and a half at the office to be able to ride home today...there was a shooting in my route!

3 weeks in a row! :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I love riding with a bright moon! The only (minor) inconvenience is that when it`s behind me sometimes I see light from that way and thinking it`s a car comming up. Once in a while it does such a good impression of a following car that I have to keep turning around multiple times just to make sure! Running light-less by moonlight sounds like fun, but since I don`t have a switch on my headlight, I`d have to unplug it at the hub, which wouldn`t be quick enough to switch on in the event of unexpected traffic.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

let's go for another week!
it may sound kind of lazy, but I managed to stay in bed pretty much the whole weekend 
my legs felt much better today, last friday I could barely do the office stairs...I also got in on another race for next Sunday, kind of an endurance one, 67 km (41.6 mi), if I make it, it would be my longest mtb ride so far


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My excuse this morning...one look at my indoor/outdoor thermometer...


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

28mph headwinds this morning should make for a fun ride home. Temp is in the teens above zero for the first time in weeks, nice!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

With snow and single digit temps, I was able to get a mtb ride in this weekend. Unfortunately, I had to cut it short due to a flat tire. At least I got a small loop in and didn't have to walk far to get back to my car.

This week looks to be warm and rainy. Temps will be climbing into the 40s. I would rather them stay around the freezing mark, but the weather didn't ask for my opinion. Warmer weather here usually means clouds and rain. The ride in was pleasant today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good luck with the race, Martin- that`s a long one!

Xplorer, I`d call that a reasonable excuse. Hope it warms up for you later in the week.

Good going, Jag and s0ckeyus!

Still haven`t had any weather since 01/01 that would tempt me to drive in, so I`m hanging in with all bike commutes so far. But not a single extracurricular ride  Yesterday I was out playing with the motor scooter. Again.


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## huevos (Jun 17, 2008)

Today was around 7F. I never should have let my wife talk me out of buying that balaclava


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I'm starting to feel a bit frightened about things in MTY, yesterday there was 5 encounters between the bad guys and the good guys, one of them close to home, again. Wife was at costco with a friend and when they were arriving the police were everywhere,

yesterday and today had an uneventful commute though.

Thanks rodar!


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Things have warmed up to around -10C, so I went for a quick ride at lunch while there's daylight:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey newfangled!!! You must be the guy who makes the only other set of tracks I see down Keillor Road!!! And to top it off, we've both stopped in the same location to take pictures, too funny!!
I rode the 2 days before they plowed, had to push my bike most of the way up to Riverbend, and I got bitten by a dog to boot.




I attached a GoPro HD camera to a fork leg the other day, made a 3 minute summary of my ride to work.






Cheers all!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> I attached a GoPro HD camera to a fork leg the other day, made a 3 minute summary of my ride to work.


Nice! I like the "Whoops" near the end and the weird noises that the camera pics up!

Waaay OT, but how long does Calderon have left? It`s going to get interresting, I guess- either another hard case, probably with continued violence, or somebody who isn`t interrested in more risk, so six years worth of war was for nothing and The Bad Guys end up twice as strong as they were before.
EDIT: Looks like only another 6 months. We`ll find out soon enough.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cuatro, that is just not right to get bitten by a dog in winter - they should be inside with most of the cyclists. Hope it is OK. I saw a dog this morning - the same retriever that was dutifully delivering a can of Coke last year - he looked to be carrying a big block of ice, but maybe there was a bone in there somewhere. Luckily he does not try to retrieve bikes. Also, your bikepath looks fun.

martin, that is pretty upsetting to have so much scary stuff going on in MTY. It sounds like cycling is not the biggest danger you face. :bluefrown:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yep guys, peaceful days are going to be missed down here for a while.


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> I attached a GoPro HD camera to a fork leg the other day, made a 3 minute summary of my ride to work.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 That was a fun video. Was it sped up at all? Or am I just THAT slow? :madman:

First commute of the week today because I am still getting over a throat/Respiratory thing. It was actually pretty warm. in the 20's. The day was normal intill my wife (who is pregnant) wanted me to bring her a coke and some Skittles to the house she was at. She babysits and, for some odd reason, really felt the need to have Coke and Skittles. It took me the complete opposite way from my normal destination. Fortunately, it was on the Lansing River trail though. Peaceful and actually pretty well kept. Still feeling like a Dog as far as speed and energy though. I did keep it in the top ring in the front for the mid commute of my day though. Trying to get those legs of mine built back up.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

It was 20 degrees, calm wind, and sunny when I left work today. Amazing combo that I don't think I've seen so far this winter. I texted my wife to let her know I'd be home late because I was gonna stretch out my ride home. I was able to squeeze in an extra 5.5 miles before the sun went down.

Even had to stop to remove my balacava and glove liners, which meant I might as well take a picture.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro - loved the camera position with the spinning spokes. Glad you left the ooops in. I had one last week with an ice rut. Winter clothing keeps the blood loss down! Yes, you and Mtbxplorer make me feel bog-slow. :thumbsup: 

And who let the dog out? 

How well does that camera do at night showing bike lights? Is the video of them close to what they look like to you?

martinsillo: one guy with a pistol was quite enough for me. A bunch of high power guns - sheesh! 

jag410: love the fatbike in its natural habitat!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

ScottNova said:


> That was a fun video. Was it sped up at all? Or am I just THAT slow? :madman:


That`s how I feel when I see peoples` bike videos too. I`m going on the theory that a low mounted camera makes things look a lot faster- if I`m wrong about that, please don`t correct me!


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s how I feel when I see peoples` bike videos too. I`m going on the theory that a low mounted camera makes things look a lot faster- if I`m wrong about that, please don`t correct me!


Video isn't sped up, you can tell by the consistency in the fender movement. There's a pretty good hill in that vid, you just can't tell very well, I can hit 40mph on it in th summer and in the vid I'm doing about 30 mph.
As for darkness, not sure, this time of the year like the rest of us we ride in the dark so I've mounted my camera again, this time a little higher because I had some fork travel clearance issues before.
I'm out of town for work for the week but have booked a hotel about 10 miles south of my destination and brought my bike (as I usually do). 

The dog was on a leash if you can believe it, the owner totally freaked out (so did I) and was very apologetic, I was mainly worried about holes in my clothing, was wearing long undies, cycling pants, and gators so no penetration. Had a mark and a good bruise, dog freaked out over my outfit, flashing lights, etc, I was pushing my bike through the snow and having a friendly conversation with these 2 ladies out walking their dogs.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Uneventful, but the stutterbumps on my dirt road are getting very tiresome...even with the suspension fork, I have to slow down quite a bit and the ride is jaw chattering rough. I may have lost a nice liner glove with reflective stuff on it, but I'm hoping it's on my mudroom floor or something. It warmed up even more today, temps when leaving home this week have gone from -25F to 0F to +20F.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> ...I'm out of town for work for the week but have booked a hotel about 10 miles south of my destination and brought my bike (as I usually do).  ...


that's some commitment cuatro! good job!

it was you Brian! I was trying to remember who was it on the "crazy dude shooting" episode!...This guys have AK-47's as if you could get them in the supermarket! yesterday another episode close to home  3 civilians got shot


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> it was you Brian... on the "crazy dude shooting" episode!...This guys have AK-47's ....  3 civilians got shot


Yep, lucky me and luckier you. I edited out 'AK47' before I posted. I was afraid it was 'those guys' but didn't jump to conclusions. A shootout day qualifies as unrideable in my book, unless there is a decent long way around that's bikeable.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> A shootout day qualifies as unrideable in my book, unless there is a decent long way around that's bikeable.


seems like one of these days I'll have an unrideable day...so far, I'm checking twitter before going out, people post as soon as they hear a shot, telling where it was, so I at least know if my route is clear when leaving...last friday when the shooting was exactly on my route I just wait a little (1 1/2 hours) to leave the office. As rodar suggest, I don't see this people getting weaker in anyway.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Man, I´ll take a bite from a dog anyday than a ride past a shootout, that´s some crazy stuff Martín!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Several dogs whose bark was worse....par for the route. No guns in evidence.  

A 4-way stop with person to the right blowing through as I entered. Don't think he even looked, let alone saw me. On the return, I was to the right at the 4-way from a Deputy a few car lengths from his stop. I signaled and rolled on my right turn as usual. He could easily have charged me with failure to stop, but then, neither did he. I'd have just confused him if I had stopped! :skep: I wonder how many locals get nailed out of state for their sloppy stop sign habits? :nono: 

Pushed a bit hard I guess on the second last mile before I ease back to drop the pulse before I'm home. Got some chest pain/tightness for the first time in years. Didn't last. So no nitro needed. Still, a bummer. Hopefully just dehydrated. Bullets aren't the only danger.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woke up 20 mins late today, thanks God a bug bite the wife yesterday and my breakfast was already done in the fridge   took a mix between the legal and illegal route and was able to cut half a mile + pushing it a little I cut 6 mins in total of my normal commute.

at the showers place I realized I have forgotten my locker key....I had to buy a soap and shampoo for today's shower...here I had to use my women emergency deodorant, ohh and I also forgot my lunch silverware. 

Edit:
a Bike Messenger in MTY?
I have seen this guy before, every other day for about 6 months I have seen him passing by the office at noon, riding an old roadie set up with a large metal basket in front and a cruiser-ish handlebar. spd shoes, a big bag in the basket, helmet....very well prepared. Yesterday I saw it at noon at the office and on my way home I saw it again...like looking for an address on a street...a bike messenger in mty?...I'll stop him next time and ask.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

This freakin' heatwave we've got is inspiring me to take the long route to and from work. Its 26F degrees out there today with no wind. My new long route (adds 2 miles RT) is safer and more fun than my usual short route, and as long as the weather cooperates it'll be the new "usual". But the forecast isn't looking so great, looks like it'll be back to the negatives on Sunday, just in time for the local winter bike race!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Be careful, Jag. Remember to drink plenty of fluids and take a break in the shade if you start feeling dizzy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I beat the bus! ut: :yesnod: Got a lift this a.m. from my friend's house, so I decided to ride the 11 mi I usually do in the morning, instead of just the usual 3.5 up my hill. This meant I did not have to wait for the 2nd bus, so I had a 15-20 minute head start on my regular bus. But since it's 7.5 mi to where I usualy get off, I was sure he would pass me, with just a handful of lights and speed limits of 25-40...but to my surprise he never passed me and I got to the bottom of my hill about 2 minutes before the bus usually does, and arrived home normal time, or maybe 5 mins early, though that was partly due to little snow on the road. I may have to do this more often, at least if I'm not tired and the weather isn't bad. It was 20F and dropped to 15 by my house. Was happy with my niteize spokelites, I think people can see them before reflectors are caught in their beam. Extra care still needed though, because the snowbanks are limiting some drivers' views when exiting driveways.
Quick cellphone video, the big flash is the Dinotte taillight, the spokelotes are on the wheels. They are more noticeable when the wheels are spinning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, MtbX!
I like those lights. The good side of the snow bank issue is that it seems to give a nice back reflection for your lights. Of course, that doesn`t help against the people pulling out of their driveways that you`re concerned about


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

They, well at least the dinotte is enough to shine off the opposite snow bank some and be moving. THAT is eye catching in a What the? sort of way, if they are awake. 

I light up the road signs, poles, mailboxes, snow banks behind me in red, but I may add the spokelights. :thumbsup:


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Great ride this morning. I believe it was around 45 degrees, which is about perfect. I sweat just the tiniest bit around the collar if I push it hard and wear the right clothes.
I decided to take an old route I have not taken for a while due to construction. It is about a mile and half longer than my new route, but it feels 100 times safer. I took the route because I drove past part of it yesterday and noticed there was back hoe and what appears to be new road construction by the levee I have to cross. A new crossover there would be ideal for my commute and could easily cut a mile off of it. When I got there I walked up the levee and peered across the canal in disappointment. I honestly have no idea what they are doing there, but it doesn’t appear to be road construction.
The rest of my commute was beautiful. I will quickly cover the points of interest.
•	I overtook a lady on my commute which is random because I never see any other bike commuters.
•	I crossed paths with an elderly couple zipping along on a tandem bike.
•	My bike stopped shifting. It seems like once I get on the smallest cog on the rear, I can’t downshift anymore. I think it is due to the bike being a used 10+ year old bike. I probably just need to change the cables. This has been happening for a while. I had to ride in the big ring and the small cog for about half of my commute. Luckily the elevation change on my ride is only about 30 feet (and not all at once).
•	I am going to have to start carrying my bike when I go off of the street at all. Grass and debris is getting stuck between my 32mm tires and my recently grinded fork.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in, clear and 9F. Pumped the Nokians back up to 60psi and the fork back up to 2 bar, so it felt fast. A bunch of frost heaves have been born prematurely this year...a few opportunities to go airborne on the speedy downhill section.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Uuy. My commute is usually not very exciting (which is good for me because I kind of like boring), but I got a rare bit of excitement comming home today. I was almost the indirect cause of an accident. It was sort of funny, really. I was almost out of smokes by the end of the shift, so I took the long way home to swing by the convenience store on the other side of the valley. It`s on a main road with the lanes in either direction separated by a dry canal with a short bridge over it. I leave the store, go straight across the first lane to the bridge, and stop to wait for a few cars comming from the right before I can make my left. I`ve got a stop sign and the cars have a free pass through at 45 MPH. But the lady in the closest car decided to hit the brakes right before she got to the intersection  . I`m pretty sure she had "bicycle" and "pedestrian" mixed up in her brain and was expecting me to stroll right across the road or something. Unfortunately, the guy behind her must have been going a bit fast or following a little too close, cause he locked up his brakes, realized that he was going to slide right into the first car, then let off the brakes and swerved around her (opposite side from me, thank God!). The lady was still sitting there, staring at me and waiting for me to roll out in front of her- didn`t even seem to notice that she`s just missed being rear-ended. And she thinks I`m going in front of her? Fat chance! It took a long time to stare her down, but I finally won!


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## athalliah (Dec 9, 2005)

Since moving to Utah in May I've driven to work every single day from my semi-urban digs out to my suburban office location. Today marked my first commute in SLC; it felt really, really good to do that again considering I have either walked, biked or bused to work 90% of the time since 2005. *Driving to work was killing my soul.* Bought a road bike this week, built it up last night and vowed to myself: I will be the change I want to see in Salt Lake.

Only a yellow air quality day (woo hoo!); and I found that a foggy 28 degrees is much colder than riding in single-digit dry Colorado conditions. Thankfully the grid system makes it pretty easy to navigate my eight mile commute out to the suburbs and I had some sort of shoulder/bike lane for all but a quarter mile of my route (thanks google maps!). One of the managers was making fresh waffles with fruit and vanilla butter for the entire office when I arrived. Couldn't have asked for a better morning.

Looking forward to this becoming a way of life again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Being the change you want to see can be tough - glad you're back in the fold! 

Wanted to ride in the worst way, but didn't. Lucky I didn't or it WOULD have been the worst way. Fluffy snow over ice and wet snow. My pickup with studded tires and sandbags was a handful even at turtle-like accelleration. I almost collected two idiots at different intersections who braked too late. Probably could have just dealt with the road. But the drivers? Nuh-uh. Tommorow looks good for some miles (non-commuting).


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> It took a long time to stare her down, but I finally won!


I always love doing that. MSU kind of Stupefies people to pedestrians. They think you have to stop for anybody and everybody. Even if they are acting as a vehicle on the road. 
Sounds like you had a very interesting commute. I'm glad nobody got too hurt.

I rode to day for around 14 miles total. It was slushy and cold. You know, that humid kind of cold. I actually rode pretty fast today too! Unfortunately I only road 2 days this week. I hate being sick. Besides getting hit with slush from cars and a very dirty bike  My commute was good.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Athalliah, I bet not too many bikes get their first ride at below freezing...good for you for grabbing your soul back from the brink. :thumbsup: 

Rodar, that sounds a little too exciting, I guess smoking can be hazardous to your health.

Nothing exciting on my ride home last night.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good for you, Athalliah! Hope you like it in SLC- my one brief trip there left me with a very good impression. Yeah, grid plan street layout makes things simple. It would be nice if all cities hired Mormons for their planning staffs!



mtbxplorer said:


> I guess smoking can be hazardous to your health.


In this case, not so much to my own health as the second-hand hazards to the drivers involved.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yeah. Dangers from second-hand driving!


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Freezing cold forecast for tomorrow, -40C with windchill which is the same as -40F. I might chicken out and take the bus, I wouldn't want to try and change a tube a that temperature and I don't want to freeze another blood vessel on an eyeball again.

Back from a week in Calgary, took some video with the GoPro before sunrise but it doesn't do well in the dark.
One day we hit +12 C (53F) and the next was below freezing. Bike paths had lots of smooth ice. Made a short video summary, man I can't believe what you can do with studded tires, I'm able to climb standing and still maintain traction.





MTBX I like those lights!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I rode in... although my body is in pain it is weird how good it felt once I was pedaling.

hey cuatro...I think that cold is coming down here...we are expecting a 29F Thursday this week.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

29f can be cold if your house isn't designed for it. I think we should all move to SLC because I really like waffles!


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## schmed (Feb 22, 2004)

Commute today was absolute crap. 

I just started the plan to commute a few times per week. Got the bike all ready, clothes laid out for the 25 degrees, lights setup, no problem.

5 miles into it, take a turn and both wheels slide out with no warning. Sheet of ice. 100 yards later, same thing.

Nice big dent in my laptop, too. At least it still works. For now.

:-(


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> 29f can be cold if your house isn't designed for it...


constructors just do what they want here...I just can't believe how wrong this houses are made... :eekster:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I didn't do any commuting last week because I was out of town.

And on my first day back it's -30C.  (But it's supposed to be back above freezing by wednesday...)

I had my freehub freeze up for the first time this morning. Normally people complain about them freezing open, so that they can't get any power and the hub just spins? I guess I was lucky, because mine froze closed so I could still pedal but I couldn't freewheel. I carry a lighter on cold days just in case (to hopefully thaw things out), but since I could still pedal I didn't bother with it...just had to be careful not to coast.

Have to check on it at lunch to see if everything is back to normal or not.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

OK now I feel like a sissy thanks to newfangled. I had everything laid out for my ride and everything but changed my mind. My freehub has frozen in the past and left me hung half way to work, but frozen freewheeling. Best thing is to take it apart and remove the grease, that's what keeps mine from working.
Newfangled what do you do for eye protection? I haven't been able to find a pair of goggles that don't freeze up withing 10 minutes at -25 and this is what happened the last time I was out at -29 with no goggles.



P.D Newfangled have a look at the previous page of posts, we have both taken pictures at the same place on Keillor road.
Looks like you have some interesting wheels with a different spoke pattern.


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## athalliah (Dec 9, 2005)

Heh. 

The waffles thing certainly isn't the norm, moreover, each employee takes a turn at supplying the office with "breakfast treats" each Friday. Normally it's a spread of Costco's finest pastries and a gallon of orange juice, however, this guy brings a waffle iron and a chafing dish thus raising the bar for the following Friday. Guess who is responsible for this week's breakfast? Me. 

CuatroXcuatro makes me feel like a wimp for not commuting in the snow today. I can take snow, but when snow turns into rain then to snow again, I hide in my car. 

Roder; for the most part I enjoy the benefits of the Plat of Zion. There are some things I really dislike, however, that's for another thread.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I checked on my freehub, and it's still seized. So it wasn't a temperature issue, which I'd started to suspect after thinking about it a bit more.

I've got a chainbreaker, so for the ride home I could bypass the derailleur and go defacto fixie. But is there any way to field-service a freehub to get it to freewheel again?

Oh, and cuatroXcuatro, I don't use goggles in the winter. Between my balaclava and neckwarmer I must throw enough hot air into my eyes that it's never been a problem. I keep thinking my contacts are going to freeze on there, but my hands and feet always end up a bigger concern. My commute is also pretty short at only about 7km though.

And the bike is a cheapie Canadian Tire special that's getting replaced in about a month. I've never understood why the wheels have the funky spoke pattern, but they are real pain to true.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Newf, sadly, it may be toast rather than frozen, but if you have any spray lube you could try getting enough through to the interior mechanism to loosen it up. But my guess is you wore it out, especially since it's on an inexpensive bike. If so, wear it as a badge of pride that you pedaled enough to kill it.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

newfangled I'm trying to think I've run into you before, do you ride a Devinci in the summer? I commute Terwillegar Towne - Downtown.
I have a wheel sitting here in my cube at work with a broken freewheel, happened about 2 weeks ago, the freewheel hub thingy is replaceable but you need a large allen key to get at it, large like 10mm or something like that, has been a while since I've had one apart. I ended up sourcing another wheel to get home that day so I don't think you'll be making any field repairs.
Still feeling blue for not having ridden today, I'll take the medium long route home a couple of times this week to make up for it.

What 29er are you going to get? I'm after one also, could use one being a clydesdayle and all.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No Devinci for me. I ride a Giant in the summer (and possibly for the rest of this week...). And the new 29er will be a Kona Unit.

The broken freehub is a Formula or something generic, so it needs an 11 or 12 allen key. I tried to find one awhile ago, but even Canadian Tire doesn't stock them. NAPA stores apparently do, but I never got around to making the trek.

Might have to hit up the local bike coop on my way home to try to get a replacement wheel.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

You have a bunch of nice pictures posted on flickr. I think we're pretty lucky to have such a nice city for commuting. Good luck with your wheel!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, I said my commute is 7km but that's really only in the mornings. In the evenings it's more like 15~25km because of scenic detours through the rivervalley. This year has been kindof crazy with all the snow, but last year some of my favourite riding was in Jan/Feb.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*I froze my a** off*

...everything else was warm...my hands, with gloves + pogies were sweating, and so was my head with a thin wool beanie. My feet were OK with FiveTen shoes & toewarmers... But by the time I got home the -1F felt like little knives on my hiney and upper thighs. I think I found the limit of the pants with the windproof front and breathable rear. Probably not the day to chose to do 11 mi home instead of the 3.5 minimum. Still thawing out!


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...everything else was warm...my hands, with gloves + pogies were sweating, and so was my head with a thin wool beanie. My feet were OK with FiveTen shoes & toewarmers... But by the time I got home the -1F felt like little knives on my hiney and upper thighs. I think I found the limit of the pants with the windproof front and breathable rear. Probably not the day to chose to do 11 mi home instead of the 3.5 minimum. Still thawing out!


The bike seat can be a pretty good heat sink too, it sucks the heat right out of you.

Tomorrow is going to be even colder but I'm riding, If you don't see any posts by 9:00 AM check next day's obituary.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Cold and windy. Ridiculously cold and windy. I'm driving tomorrow. Wind chills approaching -35F and blowing strong. Some crazy weather coming this week, going from -23 to +23 in a day. Yuck!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I left the office at 77F....yep...sorry guys 

Local news are saying a probable snow on thursday!...I think I'm going to ride on la pugsdozer waiting for a miracle!


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## ScottNova (Aug 30, 2008)

It was Below 0 when I left for work today. Didn't think it would be that cold but woke up to a freezing bed because we had the window partially open. Usually our apartment is a sauna, but not this morning. It took me about 15 min in the living room to warm up. 

The ride wasn't too bad. Very cold. Thinking about riding tomorrow and hoping to get the beginning of the "big storm" we are supposed to get. We'll see though.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I swung by the bike coop tonight to get a cheap wheel. I was swapping the cassette from my seized wheel over to the replacement, and suddenly the freehub wasn't seized anymore. It wasn't a temperature thing, because the bike was inside all day, and after work I'd spent awhile reefing on the wheel with no luck. But loosening up the cassette lockring apparently fixed it? Anyway, the coop didn't have any of the mythical 11mm or 12mm allen wrenches, so I've still never been able to take the thing off or get a good look at it. I dribbled some lube in, and am hopping it will last another month or two.

I wish I knew why my evening commutes feel colder than my mornings. -30C this morning and no problems (other than the mysteriously seized freehub). -22C on the way home, and I absolutely froze my fingers and toes. I think this was the most concerned I've ever been about them, and an hour later I can feel that I definitely did some minor damage to the skin.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

I took the short route home today, after working on my bike after-hours (I work at a bike shop). It's below freezing, the roads aren't completely dry, and I had the road-commuting bike instead of the studded-tire bike, so I was cautious not to make any sudden moves in case of black ice.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

strong winds (the ones bringing the cold for the next days) 25 to up to 35 mph, pretty much headwinds of course. Temps on the high 60s with flashes of 40s I guess.

and I almost made the TV today. Yesterday a grenade was launched to one of the police checkpoints on my early commute route. (I have to pass two)...TV was reporting live there today but I passed when they were getting ready I think...4 civilians and 1 police got injured...nothing fatal thanks God....it was the kind of little metal pieces grenade and not an explosive "fire" one.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, did you post pix or story anywhere from your long race last weekend?

My ride in was good...warmed up :skep: to 5F
Coffee with cocoa in it once I got to the bus. 
8-12"snow forecast tonite & tomorrow so I may take my car home tonight.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Martin, did you post pix or story anywhere from your long race last weekend?


I'm working on it...probably tonight or tomorrow on the blogs


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Newfangled I find moisture from the morning ride can still be in my boots and that cools things off pretty quickly. I have to wiggle my fingers and toes the whole time to keep them comfortable.
Martín that is some crazy stuff you have going on down there! You and your 77 degrees F, you probably have a beer in you water carrier to boot! No beer for me this morning, could use a kleenex though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Major ice storm part 2 scheduled later today. EVERYTHING is closed AFAIK. 

When I think of blow out, I think tire not grenade. Some serious failure to share the road!


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

-8*F this morning in Denver. My toes are the only body part that got cold. No amount of wiggling would warm them up.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Martinsillo may be one of the few people on here who will get PTSD from the daily commute.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Martinsillo may be one of the few people on here who will get PTSD from the daily commute.


LOL!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

the other police checkpoint got it's grenade like an hour ago....no kidding
the Wife, who hasn't been going out for a while got out today and she got intercepted by an Army random checkpoint in the middle of an avenue. I waiting the call from home.

Edit: She just called...I'm getting ready to leave.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez, martin, that sounds awful...this world does not make sense sometimes. Glad your wife got home OK, be safe!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I got home safe, thanks xplorer. I'm trying to convince myself my cycling route is safer than my car route.

ride report on martinsillo's blog.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yikes. Compared to grenades and checkpoints -30C sounds like a cakewalk.

On the plus side, today it was up to about -12C, there was still daylight on my way home, and the trails were beautiful crunchy hardpack from the thawing last week. Just a terrific ride home. Tried to get a few pics, but the cold killed my phone's battery.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Time for a new helmet, Martin?








Still pretty nice weather here. We got a tiny bit of snow Sunday morning, it was gone a few hours later. This "winter" started off with a 200% snowpack up above, although we hardly got anything down here in the valley. Now the mountains are starting to lose their snow, too. Feb is usually our best snow month- hope it comes through for us.

Coldish wind for the ride home this morning, and again on the way in tonight. January is done now and I have a grand total of 145 miles . One machinist is out this week with (apparently very large) kidney stones. That makes three out of four of us over the past two years- we`ve been teasing te last one about joining the club. Anyway, it`s 12 hour shifts for the rest of us until whenever our invalid makes it back in.

Perttime, how`s the job situation looking?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, I enjoyed the race report on your blog & thepudozer looks great - congratulations, sounds like a tough ride!

I'm taking a snow day today, not riding or driving. Skiing out the back door instead.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks xplorer...
if I get the pics from the photographer in the race I'll post them on flickr and let you guys know.

0°C commute today!  and we are expecting lower temps for tomorrow!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

2 car days in a row, I feel so dirty! But its -23F outside, and the plows haven't cleaned up all the snow drifts from the past couple days. Not exactly the weather I want to be in as I walk alongside or carry my 36lb bike. Tomorrow will be +23 and I can't wait to get back on the bike!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove yesterday. It was a good call since it rained all day. We didn't get all the snow the people to our north got, but we sure got a lot of rain. The temp last night was 51F when I went to bed. It was 28 and windy (40+ mph gusts) when I woke up. This morning I dressed for the wind instead of the temp. I ended up getting a bit warm since the wind, though strong, didn't affect me at all until my last 1/2 mile. I must have had a tailwind for once.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

My ride yesterday was full of adventure.

I haven't been going in to the office for three months. I stayed home during that time and took care of my daughter (she's not sick, we were just bonding and such). As a result of full-time daddy daycare I haven't been riding hardly at all. 

I started out the day by over sleeping by about 45 minutes, which meant I had less time to get in to work before meetings, so I had to push it. I rode out, and it was pretty foggy, with limited visibility. My first ride in such conditions. I picked up the bike trail in the local park (which is part of my area's flood control, and was under multiple feet of water until just a couple weeks ago) and headed east. As I got further east, the thick fog began to clear out until it was just a haze, filtering the sunlight. It looked like some kind of enchanted forest; It was awesome.

I got in to work, no problems, just a bit tired from the effort but feeling good.

I left the office around 4:30, which was a touch later than I wanted. Oh and the winds had picked up and I had a 15-20 mph wind to deal with, which at times was a cross wind, and at many times a headwind. Nice. The sun set on me so I rode the last couple miles in the dark. I didn't have any blinkies on the bike so I was a little on edge, trying to be extra diligent since I knew people couldn't see me well, and the last thing I wanted to do was get whacked by a car within a mile of home (and right outside my daughters daycare).

I made it home safe, just as my wife was bringing out little girl home. It was awesome. Yesterday I saw the sun rise, and set from my bike, then came home to my smiling baby and she started babbling for the first time, saying "da da"


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

i had a frikking blast!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

byknuts, looks like tough sleddin'. 

nach, sounds like a great day considering how it started, but plz throw a blinkie on there, just in case!


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## dillboy (Apr 27, 2009)

*mine too*

can't complain about my ride either, getting my moneys worth from my studs.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A temperature of *+*4C? It's like paradise.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I'm going to have -2 ºC morning tomorrow...my gloves just s%ck at these temps..I tried 2 gloves tonight and my hand were still freezing...3 gloves for tomorrow? 

that second pic rocks new!


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## molastotown (Feb 10, 2008)

-22 ºF this morning, my new pr... Thursday last week it was 59 ºF on the ride home and probably saw another 30+ commuters, today I saw 3.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good DIY handwarmer (or bedwarmer) is to put some uncooked rice in an old sock, tie the end with string, and microwave it until hot. Put it in a jacket pocket and use it to warm up your hands at a light.

Molas, your avatar pic is funny, hahahhaha, I guess you beat the odds, but I think they are right!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

They ALL rock! Killer pics!

Hang in there, Martin- it`ll warm up again. Still at 100% commutes?

I didn`t look at the thermometer or check the forecast. Maybe 30F this morning and 45F comming in tonight. No rotten fruit bombs, please.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

100% it is rodar  ...although it seems we are going to have drizzles tonight (how you call frozen rain?...frozen rain?....we are having those at some places in the state)...a call for an unrideable commute home?

this morning was -3 C actually...the feeling between that an 0°C wasn't that bad...my extra (fourth) layer on top made me sweat a lot  and I opened half way on the second part of my ride.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Back on the bike! Sunrise ride, no wind, warm (15F!) temps, and freshly plowed MUP, great ride in.


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## Flats (Feb 3, 2011)

> -22 ºF this morning, my new pr... Thursday last week it was 59 ºF on the ride home and probably saw another 30+ commuters, today I saw 3.


I hear you, molastotown. Tuesday morning it was -45C here (with windchill) and I saw one other rider. This morning it is a beautiful -8C and there were a few people out. Should be busy this afternoon- +3C!

Although the really cold days aren't fun, in some ways they're better as I have the trail to myself.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

this fountain is on my route home...pic taken this morning:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I guess it's not 77 today! :smallviolin: :devil:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

no, it isn't :cryin:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm always looking for an excuse to incorporate mountain biking skills into my commute. Today I bunny hopped a 3 foot section of road that was torn up for construction in front of a small group at the bus stop. When I got to work, I hammed it up for a co-worker as I opened the back door to our warehouse and rode my bike in without ever putting a foot down. I'm so hardcore...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

-5 °C this morning....just one more ride to have a long weekend in my warm bed (we are not working next monday)
I did a bad movement sleeping on Wednesday and my right knee is hurting a little...I definitely will try to have a "rest weekend".


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Hey Newfangled did you ride today? Crazy stuff, it rained last night on all the snow and then it froze, I fell in my back laneway while walking my bike down to help push a stuck car, I live on the side of a hill, didn't fall all the way to work though but had a couple close calls, aired the tires down.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yup, I rode. The only hills on my route are the little ones on the ends of the High Level though. I do take a lot of the side streets through Grandin/Garneau/Mckernan, and there was looooooots of glare ice. Saw lots of pedestrians having to tip-toe across the road. And quite a few intersections and 4way stops had little white scratches in the ice from other studded bike tires digging in. 

Last night I detoured through the rivervalley on the way home again, and it was actually a little too warm because the hardpack was getting a pretty soft in places. Oh well. Next week should be nice, and we're definitely over the hump.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

NewFangled do you track any of your commutes? I track most of mine with sportypal on my phone if you want to have a look at any of them.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I use mytracks on my phone. I tracked my commutes for awhile, but they got pretty repetitive so the last one that I have is from last spring. I'll use it if I go exploring, but that hasn't happened in awhile either.

What's your total distance? Close to 20km one way?


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

18km one way is the shortest route, longest is 29k. I have couple more routes in the mid 20s thanks to that new footbridge near Fort Edmonton. I do either 18 or 20 in the morning and try to take a 24 home in the winter, unless I'm in a hurry I do just 2 x 18. In the summer I try to get in as many 29s as I can. They are on www.sportypal.com under this same username, but I don't always get all my trips tracked all the time. Speaking of 29 I'm picking up a new 29er tomorrow  We should hook up for a commute some time.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

There's a few kms of overlap there, but we're going opposite directions. 

What's the 29er? Mine's at the LBS whenever I want to pick it up, but I'm trying to hold out until mid-March. Don't want to expose it to too much sand right off the bat, and without studs it wouldn't be much use right now anyway...or at least that's what I keep telling myself.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

A Fisher X-Caliber (now Trek) http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain_hardtail/fisher_29er/xcaliber/
Your's is at the LBS? I don't think I'd be able to wait, sand and salt are not good I agree but what about drool? 
What did you get?
BTW more nice pictures of yours.

Byknuts I love the trailer, did it have a passenger?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ since I'm getting a singlespeed (kona unit) it's a little easier to wait. I'm fairly confident that I'll be able to power my way up almost all of the trails around here...in the summer. Right now though, there are a couple of hills that need a granny gear.

And last night I took a scenic detour on my way home, and got stuck on an iced up hill that I couldn't even walk up. With the studded tires and a really low gear it was easier to ride (really, really slowly) than to walk.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

at the end of my ride yesterday I stopped at an Oxxo to get a chocolate bar for the Wife, getting out I hit hard a little ditch with my front wheel...today la Trurly woke up flat


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ a noble sacrifice!  

Winter bike race #2 tomorrow has been cancelled...to much powder to pack down after the 15" on groundhog day and the 9" overnight tonight. Went xc skiing in a big state forest today, 11mi & I am tired, even though I followed a snowmobile rather than breaking tracks. You can see carniverous plants at this bog in the summer.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Well My commute started off with my fastest time over the first 2k followed by another break down  Annoyingly when rebuilding the bike at the weekend I left the all important chain tensioner off hahha so completely my thought and an annoying walk of shame home pushing my bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My road was snowier than expected, considering it had not snowed much since the crazy thundersnow Saturday night, I guess everybody stayed home yesterday to watch the Superbowl. Barely made the bus. Warm today, high in the 30'sF, and some more snow starting late afternoon, I am hoping it does not start with 3" an hour like Sat., so I can make it up the hill OK.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I drove today. It's my wife's birthday, so i figured extra time at home in the morning and the ability to take her out to birthday lunch would be worth it. I chose the brownie points over bike commuter points!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ ...proof bike commuting makes you smarter


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was raining this morning, but it wasn't unpleasant. A big Chevy truck started pulling out in front of me less than 50 yards from my house. The driver was sitting at a stop sign to my left and pulled out as I was starting to pass in front of him. He stopped about half-way through his turn. I shot him a quick glare and went on my way. 

It might be snowing when I go home. We'll see. The weathermen have been wrong all weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Careful. He didn't have a trailer with a Kubota tractor and Vermont plates, did he? (see commmuter news thread)


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

No bike commute today after finding two broken spokes on the rear after a routine inspection on Sunday. Dropped off at the LBS for a repair, hopefully it will be ready by tomorrow to resume Wednesday. Not sure the cause other than routine fatigue possibly from heavier than normal panniers. It wasn't like I was hauling a laser printer  .

Hit 40F on Sunday which made for a great afternoon trip on the road bike.

I had a brief work visit to London UK last week and had another moment of jealousy of their bike commute culture. Of course the congestion tax that you must pay to enter the downtown is a good car deterrent.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

More snow this morning, and I am still walking. I saw some people with bikes but they were pushing all the uphills, and my route is mainly up hill to work.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Successful run today although my disc brakes need a little more work! The cycle itself was a little boring this morning, dark, thick misty rain reducing visibility down to around 8m's! Few cyclist and ped's in dark clothes and no lights so few near misses too!!

I will say today no cars angered me! haha!! always time for the home time trip hey!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

someone said on the 50 mile commuting trip thread that doing it will kill your need for a ride on weekends...I just spent a 3 day weekend mostly in bed  the only time I touch my bikes was to fix la Trurly´s flat front tire. 
would the commuting streak kill it every weekend? I really don't want that.

today commute was normal...a bit of weird traffic at some point but nothing serious.
it was on the high 30s °F.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi guys! 

Cool (literally) pics. I'm still having a banner year... 3 driving days this school year so far. Best ever is 5 1/2 days, so if the weather keeps cooperating, I might beat that. No frozen fog this year :thumbsup: so no good crashes even. The weather is getting nicer, the mornings are getting brighter...26* F this morning. Crispy. I took the michelins off and put the Big Apples back on this weekend. 

OOH, and I'm doing the Oregon coast this summer! 7 days, Washington to CA. Can't wait! 

This is from a few weeks ago...the dirt road has gone from this, to a slop fest, to wet, to decent since this pic was taken.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I took the michelins off and put the Big Apples back on this weekend.


That's tempting fate. Switching out the winter tires is practically begging for a weather smackdown. 

-23C this morning. Not as bad as the -30C last week, but mentally I'm kindof done with this. I'm tired of having to break out the extra-extra-extra layer of clothing (even though it's only february and we could easily have a few more weeks of hardcore winter). Oh well, it should be back above freezing by tomorrow or the day after.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> That's tempting fate. Switching out the winter tires is practically begging for a weather smackdown.


So true... I have easily swappable wheelsets with the Michelins ready to be yanked off of the mountain bike at a moment's notice... we'll see what kind of storm I create by putting the slicks back on :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in, 25F, not as snowy as forecast, just enough on my road to make it fun and make the trees pretty. Turned to slush and puddles when I got downtown though, so the rest of the ride was messy. Glad I left a pr of shorts here, not sure if mine will dry in time. My shoes will be dry, thanks to the little $13 electric shoedryers I left at work. There was a car accident within 100' of the rotary, which blocked the whole lane & backed up traffic in all directions. I was able to scoot by at least 25 cars (in most of VT is unusual to have that many stacked up) and sail through the rotary, though I did then have to wait for the cop on the other side who was directing traffic on the remaining 1 lane of the road. 
Made it to the bus but it was 15 minutes late. Found out the hard way that bus passes are not machine washable, but was glad it was a $7 punchcard and not my IPOD that I left in my jacket pocket when I washed it. When I arrived another staffer could not stop saying how impressed she was that I was riding in winter, and she had to go out to the tunnel to see my studded tires and pogies.  

Hi CB, sounds like a great trip you are planning.
Martin, I find I don't want to do much weekend road riding but trailriding is so different & fun I still enjoy it on the weekends (well, starting in May or June here). But I usually don't ride every workday, & I don't have a streak like you.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I think there is something about my trails too, after riding the same ones for a year, I'm starting to get a bit bored and that's one of the main reasons I'm getting into the races this year...to ride in different places near MTY.

took the blockbuster loop today adding 3 miles to the commute...ohh and I almost ate asphalt on my way back home....they put a new big bump (tope) at the end of the first third of a downhill and of course this one wasn't painted yet....thank god I decided to grab my handlebar better since I had some time without doing that one.

aaand talking about painting....there is a wide road section that some times have some heavy traffic that was repaved almost two months ago and they haven't painted the lines back! so what was a two lanes with a big safety lane for me is now a three lane road that I have sometimes to share with big trucks! time for something like this?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^:thumbsup: Cool! I want a DIY bike lane!

The weather deteriorated tonight, went from 25F this a.m. down to 0F, more snow, and winds @20mph with 30mph+ gusts. I got my first 2 offers of rides from cars this winter. I considered the 1st one, but was comfortable and it looked like he would have had to fold down seats etc. in his wagon, so I said thanks, but I'm OK tonight. I asked where he is & he said my road, I said me too, he said I know, I see you go by in the morning & at night. The second offer was a pickup truck, which is easy, but I told him my driveway was in 10', which was true! as I pushed the bike through the "snow dunes" on the driveway, juggling my mail, I thought "I shoulda got a ride up my driveway" 

The worst part of tonight's commute was our 1st bus driver was being a jerk, took an "alternate route", which looked like it would make us miss the transfer & have to wait an hour till 7:30 pm for the next & last bus. Suddenly he stops before the transfer point and says last stop in Montpelier...2 of us get off & I ask if we missed the transfer bus...he says "Yes, you just missed it", almost gleefully, without radioing or anything. We start walking dejectedly toward the transfer stop 2-3 blocks away but see a bus ahead; I hop on the bike and tell my ped bus-mate that if I catch it I will hold it for her. I was our bus, and the driver said the other guy didn't call to tell him how many transfers he had, so he thought he'd wait a few minutes extra. Thanks Joe:thumbsup: It would have been a cold windy wait in worsening weather.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Cold weather be damned, I rode through it today, after 3 days without riding a bike I was going nuts. The freeze/thaw cycle we just went through made a lot of ice, sure wish there was more snow on the ground instead!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I reached 300 mi of commuting yesterday 

my RD is killing me, I clean it, lube it adjust it and two days later is making noises again..I don't know if its the chain rubbing with the next cog or it is one of the little stars... but is annoying!
I'll try a full disassemble this weekend and see what happen next week.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Congrats Martin, that's a great milestone to hit this early in the year! 

Today after work I just might have to ride my Pugsley over the weatherman's stupid face. I got all prepped for riding last night, thinking it would be around 0 degrees with light wind. But by the time I was halfway to work, it was -17 and breezy, making the "feels like" temp -33. The foam surround on my goggles turned white from frozen breath, my knees were aching, and any body parts that made contact with the saddle..well they are still frozen. Tomorrow will be +30, and that weatherman better be right


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

I clock up 20Km a day so not a huge number for some commuters on here but my SingleSpeed won't leave me alone when it comes to noises!! I've spent a day deassembling, cleaning, torque'in, lubing and still it creeks dam it!! haha Although now my brakes are super perfect so was worth while!!

Just thought I'd jump in on the moan!! hahaha


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

*+*1C this morning. The first "warm" morning I've had in forever, which meant it was time to ditch the snowboarding gloves for something lighter, and to break out the 5.10s. Should be a good ride home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 10F riding in this morning, but a heat wave is on its way. We'll get up into the fifties this weekend.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yep jimbo...is annoying.
I do 17.7 km a day, but I haven't missed one yet 

thanks Jag!


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## moonraker (Jan 22, 2004)

It was 15 F for me this morning. Did my 17 miles into a headwind. My bike felt much heavier to push because of that headwind...it had nothing to do with taking 3 days off the bike and eating lots of Martins potato chips and the ice cream and don't forget the super bowl party and recovery. At least the ride home will be a balmy 26 F but with a tailwind.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

we had a cool visit at the office today...








they look like this:









like 20 of them between that tree and one close to it


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: they just came by for sec again 








A friend took good quality pics too...I'll post a couple when he pass it to me.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

hey Martin, in Spain a tope, or speedbump, is called a guardia tumbado, literally a lying policeman for those who don't speak Spanish, I think its a great name.
Great temp this morning like you say newfangled, but for some reason my right knee is burning hot and hurts, had a long ride home planned for this aft but aborted at the last minute, was even suited up and everything, took the metro and am having beer at Brewster's instead. Hope tomorrow it is better and will make up for the lost kms. 

Another freewhell froze up during the -25 temp earlier this week, ended up buying another wheel just to avoid downtime. Will have to take it apart in the garage and see what is going on.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Broken wheel on the carrier.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> hey Martin, in Spain a tope, or speedbump, is called a guardia tumbado, literally a lying policeman for those who don't speak Spanish, I think its a great name.


hehe yep, in Venezuela (where I come from) we call it "policia acostado" which is exactly what you just explained 

uneventful commute to home


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

These days I think I hear more about Policias Acusados. Seems the acostados are mostly politicians with women who aren`t their wife.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nothing tropical here like green parrots, but next week I will leave commuting behind for a week and be in the Carribean with 6 family members from CA to NYC. Today there was a 6foot tall snowblower with 3 augers going crossing the street at the light at the bottom of my hill, cleaning up the snowbanks & sidewalks and blowing the snow into dumptrucks. It would not be pretty if a cyclist did not stop in time and slid into it. But I was not that unlucky, I was only worried about it kicking out rocks or bottles out in my direction.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Great video Martín, I love the paint gun!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Another freewheel froze up during the -25 temp earlier this week, ended up buying another wheel just to avoid downtime.


That sucks. And they don't unfreeze once they warm up? All I've ever done is dribble Phil's oil in. These are all shimano?

Where do you find a replacement wheel downtown, anyway?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Passing through the University of Technology campus just a moment ago:










The students have an Important Event during the weekend:
https://www.kyykka.fi/international.shtml

Arranging excentric extracurricular activities is a long tradition among students of technology, usually focusing on the time close to May 1st.

Contests for best public stunt:









Baptism for first year students:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cute rabbit! Clear and cold here this morning, 0F & felt it. Stopped to snap a couple pix...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cool study brought by VeloCruzer to the Surly Forum

http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6801.full.pdf+html


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I stopped to snap this picture on the way to work, to remind myself that I'm probably only about two weeks away from having actual sunlight on my commute... it was pretty cold, low 20's, and there were cows right up next to the fence where I stopped to take the pic.

While I was waiting for my phone to 'boot up', one of the cows took a monster leak (as only a cow can), and the whole animal was quickly consumed by a cloud of steam that the hot liquid put off as it was exposed to the cold air. It was sort of like in the first 'Batman' movie, when he throws the little vial down and there's a giant smokescreen, and then when the smoke clears, he's gone... except that it was pee, and the cow didn't dissapear.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful pic, CB, and that does look hopeful for more daylight coming soon!


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Got the wheel at Redbike, south end of 109tsh street bridge.
Bad day, yesterday took the metro home, took the metro to work this morning, rode 5 km home and had to call the wife to come pick me up. I'm depressed, right knee is killing me.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

sorry to hear that cuatro...hopefully with a good resting weekend you could have that knee working again on monday


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Warmed up a bit Tonight 20 degrees then inthe middle of my commute home it started to snow heavy with 10-15 mph west winds the way I go home.


Then a mile from here I heard a coyote very close tothe road so I started hollowing and then a rabbit darted out from where the coyote was and ran on the other side of the road.

when I got to Old McHenry Road the snow was blowing on to the road


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Bad day, yesterday took the metro home, took the metro to work this morning, rode 5 km home and had to call the wife to come pick me up. I'm depressed, right knee is killing me.


I feel your frustration. Last summer I had some bad wrist pain, but with ergon grips and some bike adjustments I hadn't had any problems since maybe september? Then on my ride home tonight my wrist starts bugging me, and now it's just killing me. I'm going to have to start riding with a brace again (although I guess I probably never should have stopped).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I love the Finnish baptism! Great shot of the VT Capital, too!

I tore my pants on the DF going home this morning. Just a little hole, but I forgot to stitch it up, so it kept getting caught tonight on the way in, and growing a little more each time. Until the derailler cable snapped and I found myself in the granny ring- instant clearance


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

On Thursday I went to a bike-team meeting at a pizza-y place and accidentally an entire calzone, a huge one. So today I burned it off with a 23-mile commute to work and a 42-mile commute home. About 4.5 hours for the day, 4400ft ascent, it left my legs pretty haggard. The winter bike is about 43-45 pounds out the door, not counting the gallon of chocolate milk I was hauling home (which came in useful around 9:45PM when I started to run out of energy).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Even without the accidental calzone, 4400ft would leave me puking with as little pedalling as I`ve been doing lately. Very cool overview of the route.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

I`ve not been here, because I havn`t been commuting on my bike.

We bought a puppy and I have him with me at work, so I take the car. 

I`ll proberbly do it for another three weeks before getting back on the bike. Its nice to have the company though and the weather is awfull here at the mo with a lot of slush, so its not all bad. But just training on the fortius suks. Can`t wait `till spring.

























Built my 2011 XC race bike this week, so I had to give it a try in the wearhouse.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

MechBgone that is one cool 3d view of your route!

Newfangled somehow I've aggravated my knee, have been battling with chondromalacia patella for years but have been able to keep it under control. Not sure what happened except that I had gotten lazy with stretching and haven't spent as much time doing pre and post stretches as I used to, everything was going so well. One day just fine, the next with no warning it got a bit sore and then Friday it was terrible, and the popping can be a result of a torn and folded miniscus, has always popped a bit but with no problem. Now I can't even get out of a chair without using my arms. I have a brand-new 29er hanging in the garage waiting for me to install some pedals. :cryin: 
Let that be a note to everybody (especially those who aren't so young, I'm 45), make sure you keep everything loose with lots of stretching.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

47F this morning! It felt great to wear shorts again. I didn't even mind the headwind.

Machines have started breaking ground today on a continuation of the MUP I ride on. Once this is completed, I will be able to avoid the busiest section of my commute. That said, I don't know how much longer I will be working at my current job. I am starting up grad school in May and don't know if my employer will work with my schedule or if I'll have to quit.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

was late today so I took the short nonlegal route 
the co-worker who got surgery on his knee is back to commuting! he told me his knee hurts a little, but the doctor gave him the green light. it was nice to see his bike this morning.

I end up not biking again this weekend, not my fault though...I even had my helmet on when the wife told me she wanted to walk...we walked. Next weekend we are going to try hiking the little mountain close to home...the one shown at the beginning of this vid:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=7564989&postcount=394


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Warm here (high 30s) too, prepped for a slushy commute home and took the xtracycle since it has fenders. A bit icy this morning but I took it slow and didn't have any issues. I love my pugsley and all, but I missed riding my xtracycle and it feels good to back on it again.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Boring ride on the metro today, comfy 18 degrees though, watched a commuter pedal away out the window. Newfangled I hope you get your wrist sorted out.

Martinsillo I liked your video, looks like you put quite a bit of time into making it, It's nice to see other people's rides, and to put a face to a name. Looks like you have it pretty rough down there during the winter!
Interesting handlebars, I've never seen anything like them before. BTW what kind of parrots are those in the picture?

Fux, nice collection of niners you have there!

Have a good day all.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks cuatro!
those are Titec's H-bar (actually designed by Jeff Jones, well know among the 29rs Ti guys)
well, these parrots didn't seem to be too special around here...they seemed cool to me though...mostly due to the red spots...in Vzla we have pretty similar parrots but the spots are yellow 

















and here a weird pic I just found hehe:


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

*How was my ride?*

Fenders 1
Puddles 0


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

4X4, I sure hope you get some relief soon for your knee. A few years back, I was off the bike for about four months sraight for a mystery knee injury. It`s come back to haunt me a few times since, but not so bad. Anyway, I know how it goes.

New MUT section sounds great, S0ckeyus! Good luck with the prospects of your employer accomodating the new schedule so you can make good use of it.

We have storms moving in now, but the weekend was pretty nice weather again. I did my first extracurricular riding for the year. Rode the `bent into town for a derailler cable after work on Saturday and saddled up the tandem for a trip across the valley and Sunday brunch at our local cafe. All told, about 45 miles and I feel it- Damn, I`m getting lazy!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mamma, don`t take my Kodachrome away!









Walking is cool too, Martin :thumbsup:


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## schmed (Feb 22, 2004)

Day 2 of my attempt to be a bike commuter....

- puddles stink without fenders.
- flat tires stink when you have a micro-mini pump, no spare tube, and forgot a tire lever
- good samaritans are AWESOME!

I passed a guy on a sweet commuter bike with Panniers and I mentioned something about "fender envy" when I passed him. 10 minutes later, I'm on the side of the trail with a flat and he comes up and asks if I need help.

I begrudgingly admit "yes".

He gives me tire levers, his cool pump with a built-in pressure gauge, and I'm able to put on a patch, pump up some air, and get on my way. He was super nice enough to hang around for 15 minutes, while I stumbled around fixing my flat.

So... moral of the story? PAY IT FORWARD. I owe you, Ben, and a HUGE thanks for helping me get home for a Valentine's Day dinner with my wife. :thumbsup:   :thumbsup:   

(I must have looked like a dork riding with a bouquet of flowers sticking out of my camelback!) :eekster:


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Schmed, your experience is a great testament to the cycling community. Hats off to the Ben's of this world. 

As for looking silly with flowers in your Camelback, you are not alone. I had a 5 mile trek from the flower shop to home through town and the like with roses for my wife in the pannier. A few funny looks, but well worth the combination of cycling to get your sweetheart something for Valentine's Day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Kathryn saved me the trouble and ordered flowers in yesterday. I baked a cake along with a special dinner so we're even on the role swap. 

But I get some every week at the farmers market once it starts when they're available.










The bike set up to bring frozen and fresh food home looks dorky times 10, so a few flowers sticking out make little difference. Whether because it is so obviously a 'working' and not a 'leisure' bike, because of the width, the obvious payload, or they think I'm nuts and it might be contagious, drivers seem to give me more respect and share the road better Flowers sticking up seem to increase that (Can't be sure) , but I see smiles. Too bad the wind resistance is high or silk flowers in a pannier might help in traffic!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

late again..short route again 
yesterday I left the office at the same time a friend left on his car...my ride home took the usual 28 mins...his, 1hr 15min ...and he only lives like 10 km farther. I wave hi on a light when passing by. Traffic was crazy yesterday.

fenders are great guys...I don't know how I forgot to mention this but the other day I was on my way home with my mind in other planet...I just came back to see my front wheel passing trough a puke...yep, God bless fenders.


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## schmed (Feb 22, 2004)

martinsillo said:


> ...I just came back to see my front wheel passing trough a puke...yep, God bless fenders.


And I thought my commute past refineries, rendering plants, and wastewater treatment plants was gross!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

A bit chilly.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Fenders are great for riding through hawked chewing tobacco and stuff dripping or dropping from livestock trucks, too! The there's the parades with horse exhaust. But hey! It's all organic, right!? We have one street sweeper and it seems never to be where it is really needed. :madman:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

long route today 
I did it on shorts  
we are having a warm week... low 60s this morning


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Its still fender weather here, so still on the xtracycle. Looks like today might be the last day in the string of great weather days, with light winds and mid 40s! More rain/snow coming this weekend.










Might even go get some groceries on the way home!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

JAG410 said:


> Its still fender weather here, so still on the xtracycle. Looks like today might be the last day in the string of great weather days, with light winds and mid 40s! More rain/snow coming this weekend.
> 
> Might even go get some groceries on the way home!


It is gonna get cold......


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I was in shorts (plus long johns  ) this weekend. Then it got really windy- blew hard pretty much nonstop from around noon on Mon until last night. The wind died way down about midnight and we went back into winter. I rode home through 4 inches or so of surprise snow. It didn`t freeze up, but was pretty slippery. Anyway, since we haven`t had enough of it this year to get sick of it, I had fun, but I`m putting the studded tires back on before I go to bed. No sense having TOO much fun!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No commute today. I have the flu. Sucks.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Cold, flu, draggy SAD side symptoms over (just dealing with Kathryn's). So no mileage for a couple of weeks. Coughing fits make it hard to pay attention to traffic. 

Today's high record was 67 in 2005, it came very close if not over that today judging by my thermometer. It was officially 64 when I got back after 20 miles to celebrate feeling decent again. Windy though. Oh the thrill of rolling out the lane with light clothing, fingerless gloves, and clipped in Sidis instead of boots! Those Campy hubs are smoooth. Had to throttle back until I was fully warmed up. Chomping at the bit. Only the sand all over the place to remind me that this time last week we still had ice and snow.

Just the midwinter thaw a little late and a bit warmer than usual. Winter isn't over yet. Still, though this would not be nice in August, it sure feels great in February!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Blown!*

I blew my chance for a 100% calander year yet again :madman: . I got all dressed and out the door today, but when I took off I had no headlight. After frantically dinking with it for a while and looking anxiously between the dead light, my watch, and the frozen windows on my truck I finally had to give in and crank up the ICE. With icy slick roads, this is just about the time that I least want to be out driving a 2WD pickup with marginal tires and nothing in the bed, especially when there was snow and ice all over said truck, which hadn`t been started in a few weeks. Having not been out since I got home from work in the morning, I didn`t know exactly how bad the roads would be, and was worried that I`d have to chain up, which would have meant getting to work late. Got lucky there, at least- no chains. As bummed as I am about not being able to ride in tonight, it might be even worse that either my Shimano dynohub or my beloved Cyo has let me down after talking up their "never failness". Sure hope I can get it going tomorrow. If not, at least I`ll have time to get some kind of light going.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

38F on the ride in and forecast says a 50F plus ride home. Took the road bike and it felt like a really fast commute (even if it wasn't)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> I blew my chance for a 100% calander year yet again :madman: ...
> 
> ...Sure hope I can get it going tomorrow. If not, at least I`ll have time to get some kind of light going.


Aw, fer cryin out loud- problem solved in about 45 seconds now that I`m not in a hurry. It was the first thing I checked last night, but I guess that in my panic I didn`t check well enough. The wires in the plug that goes to the hub were boogered up and it looks like all the strands from one pole were pushing out of the way when I plugged in rather than mating with the contact strips like they`re supposed to. Crap. Well, at least a dusting of cold dry snow saved me from scraping my windshield this morning- I was really dreading that.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I've always got a cheap front & rear light as backup for just that reason (or in case of dead battery).

-20Cish yesterday and today and for the rest of the week. We also got a bit of snow last night, which has lightly dusted all the glare ice. I am so tired of all the layers of clothing, but other than that it's not too bad.


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

Rainy, 40F, leaky rain pants...it's been better. But I will say that it's still the best part of my morning!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

geez rodar...if you can't do it... is only a matter of time for a newbie like me


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> geez rodar...if you can't do it... is only a matter of time for a newbie like me


Nope, you gotta keep going. Lots of pressure on you now!

My DIY studded tires I made late last night don't quite clear the fenders of the xtracycle. Of course I didn't wake up early enough to see if some adjustments could be made. Its wet and icy today. I rode the Pugsley instead, trusting my coat and pants would keep my work clothes underneath clean and dry, which they did thankfully. But its a sloppy mess out there, the ride home should be a blast!


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## dexetr30 (May 8, 2008)

Awesome commute today. Today is the day I decided to use the bike for local commutes as apposed to the Jeep. So, today was my first official commute. 10.3 miles to the bank and the pharmacy and back home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Congrats dexetr30!

Tonight I think I had my worst commute ever, and I have no idea why. It was cold, but that wasn't really a problem. I just had no gas in the tank. I was half-a-cassette down from where I normally run, and every pedalstroke was still an effort. I felt kindof dehydrated, so maybe that was it? Anyway, thankfully tomorrow's a new day.


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## kustomz (Jan 6, 2004)

Last week I was making snow angels and today was the first ever day of commuting to work on my new single speed, literally a breath of fresh air


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> Nope, you gotta keep going. Lots of pressure on you now!...


 :arf:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ I've always got a cheap front & rear light as backup for just that reason (or in case of dead battery).


That`s starting to sound like an excellent idea. Better luck tomorrow- maybe just a little water in the fuel today.

The SQUEEZE is on, Martin! You`re up on me for drive : bike ratio this year, now ya just gotta beat out Norm and EBR for mileage totals. Better start humping it!

Good job, Dexetr! With commute #1 out of the way, you`ve got the toughest part licked.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

dexetr30 said:


> Awesome commute today. Today is the day I decided to use the bike for local commutes as apposed to the Jeep. So, today was my first official commute. 10.3 miles to the bank and the pharmacy and back home.


Congrats! Do you feel all enlightened and empowered? Do you want to do it more?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Coldish and icy. Muuuuch better being back to one wheel drive


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Go to saddle up this morning and the rear feels a little squishy. Pressure's down, do I trust it to pump and go...? For some reason, pump and go turns into a tire change in a gully miles from home for me. Thoughts of hopping in the car were there, but I thought the better of it to keep it to 5 days on the bike this week. Changed it fairly quickly and humped it into work. 
The weather was 44F and overcast which made for a pleasant ride in. Of course I forgot my reflective vest for the ride home...may have to take the roads less traveled on the way back.


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## kustomz (Jan 6, 2004)

JAG410 said:


> Congrats! Do you feel all enlightened and empowered? Do you want to do it more?


Thanks... Not really... Have to in order to pay for the investment of $282.06 on my Eighthinch Scrambler V3


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Jag: It sounds like you have an army of commuting bikes. A pugsly and an extracycle!?!?! Also Dixie Whisky and I have the same OXOX coffee mug as you do. I leave mine in the office, Dixie commutes with his as it appears you do. 

Brian Mac: Being sick sucks! I am one of the lucky ones who only gets sick about once every 3 years. It is going around down here. My wife was sick, and two people called in to work sick yesterday.

Rodar: Doh! Unlike you, I don't sit and fiddle with the problems I find before my commute. I am easily pursuaded by mechanical or techinical issues to take some extra time, sip coffee, watch sports center, and take my car to work.

Now on to my ride. 60 Degrees, you can beat that. I knew when I felt the weather out last night that I was going to add a half a mile to my morning commuting and about 5 miles to my evening commute. The humdity of New Orleans is already upon us. I was covered in moisture when I arrived at work due to riding through clouds/fog the entire way to work. It made everything damp. Which also made my tires pick up anything off of the road and either wedge it between my tires and the frame or throw it on my body somewhere. I love the feel of gritty sand in my teeth  . 

Anyway, the commute was great. Traffic was light. The high today is 76 degrees. I can't wait for work to end so I can commute home in the 70's. I plan to work up a good sweat!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A brisk -25C this morning, but a much better ride than last night. It's supposed to be colder on the weekend, which means no fun riding for me.


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## dexetr30 (May 8, 2008)

I don't know about "enlightened and empowered" but it did feel good to ride with a purpose other than just riding for ridings sake. I'll definitely be doing it again. Actually, I'll be strapping the rear wheel from my 1986 Schwinn World Sport to the rack on my commuter in about an hour. It needs truing. Should be about 11 miles round trip. If I had to pick one word to describe my new found love for commuting I'd have to say it's liberating. 
:thumbsup:

Happy commuting everyone.



JAG410 said:


> Congrats! Do you feel all enlightened and empowered? Do you want to do it more?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

codwater said:


> Jag: It sounds like you have an army of commuting bikes. A pugsly and an extracycle!?!?! Also Dixie Whisky and I have the same OXOX coffee mug as you do. I leave mine in the office, Dixie commutes with his as it appears you do.


I have a Cross Check too, but it's bolted to the trainer downstairs. That's the one that's actually meant to be my commuter! The OXO coffee mugs are my favorite! I think I got that tip a couple years ago from these forums and bought one. I have a second one as a back up in case they stop making them!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

+20F, 6 inches of fresh snow, 8 miles took 90 minutes. 5.8MPH Avg. When in doubt, let air out! Fatbike worked perfectly!


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> I have a Cross Check too, but it's bolted to the trainer downstairs. That's the one that's actually meant to be my commuter! The OXO coffee mugs are my favorite! I think I got that tip a couple years ago from these forums and bought one. I have a second one as a back up in case they stop making them!


Oooooooh, I desperately want a steel cross bike. Right now I ride an old steel trek road bike. A buddy of mine shaved the underside of the fork crown and the part of the rear brake off to make my bike fit 32 mm tires. I have to ride through a couple of grassy and sandy areas, and my gaps gets clogged with debris. But I am being patient and waiting until i am out of grad school to get a new bike because i dont have time to ride regularly and my schedule only allows me to commute twice a week.

My commute home was awesome tonight. Temp. was in the 70's and I was riding at dusk. I recently added toe clips (no straps) to my commuter, and was having to slow down for cars in front of me. What a difference the ability to pull the pedal and mash the pedal makes. I added abou 4 miles to my commute on the way home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JordyB said:


> +20F, 6 inches of fresh snow, 8 miles took 90 minutes. 5.8MPH Avg.


At 90 minutes for 8 miles, you KNOW that was hard work. Gonna do it again tomorrow?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Even harder in snow shoes. Yay Fatbikes!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

a bit painful this morning...why? check short post on martinsillo's blog


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove in today after being sick for the past 4-5 days. I'm hoping to bike in on Wednesday. I hate getting sick.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> a bit painful this morning...why? check short post on martinsillo's blog


Hey, man- last entry was Feb 1st. What gives?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, man- last entry was Feb 1st. What gives?


yep I know... 

check the one in English
.
.
.
.
\/


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

OK, Martin, how did you take that pic of yourself crashing on a solo ride ?? 

I hiked yesterday too, nearby Spruce Mtn, 3050', with my friend's belgian shepherd. The trail was nice and packed down for an easy 1hr summit.

I'll be back to commuting this week, thanks to the LBS :thumbsup: Seeing my studded tires and pogies, they offered to install a loaner fork while they ship my fork to marzocchi for service (it will be a few weeks). I was hoping to wait until the spring, but it was no longer holding air.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

with this little thing: 









I definitely pushed the button at the right time 

beautiful dog!

hope you had a great time in your vacations!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rocks and trees- Ouch! Just guessing, Martin, but I would think your derailler hanger is more likely damaged than the derailler itself. Good luck with it. Hey, I like that little critter you pictured! I`ve never heard of it before in Spanish or English. How big was it?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, that`s a beautiful view! No snowshoes or skiis needed? And a big thumbs up to your LBS- definitely something to be said for local help.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Martin does the fatbike version of 'George of the jungle': whatch out for that....tree! Did that on a very fast tobaggan run (away) as a lad, and talk about stars!

What range does the shutter release have?

Nice Mtbx! 

Rain and a high BP day. (Ate something I should not have at a restaurant and should not ride).

Rodar: Been debugging a new DIY headlight and driver dyno system. The simple looking generator connection is much fussier that it looks, so I understand your not getting yours fixed on first try. Very relieved when the Dyno proved good. Too many places for Murhpy to strike from the dyno to the light, it seems. Just keep the multitester in play and move on down the line, rest to recharge patience levels.  Easier to do no doubt with a second working system to check components on.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Martin does the fatbike version of 'George of the jungle': whatch out for that....tree!




Yeah, that little clip is the Achilles heel for the whole system. For Shimano, anyway. Isn`t yours SA? I hear the SON clip is buliker and sturdier. Good luck with your homebrew.

Breakfast buffet line in my back yard this morning. We had a good turnout because bunny breakfast was suspended for a few days due to weather.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rodar: Yes SA. Similar looking slide clip as the Shimano and that makes sense because Sanyo supposedly makes the armature parts for both companies. It looks like it would make better/easier contact than it does. The loops have to be long enough a bit more precisely placed than you'd think looking at it.

Rewired the clip, rewired the light, and fixed a mismounted part, and ITS ALIVE! Triple Cree XP-Gs so maybe 500 lumens out the front (twin lenses) from 12 mph (5+ Watts) on up.

Just in time for a temp drop to the mid to high 30's for a high tomorrow. If the BP is down she's agonna roll tomorrow. 

I tried to talk Kathryn into raising bunnies on the range, so to speak, but she prefers to buy them less lively and ready for cooking.

But we have a strange squirrel that is bob tailed (genetic, or frostbite, or coyote bite?) and it hops rabbit like, maybe the loss of a balancing tail changed its gait. Climbs trees and has a nest in one of the neighbor's. I told Kathyrn maybe its a squabbit or a raberrel? If I can get it on a movie later on, I'll post it t isn't overly shy.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Edited out...just in case 

I haven't check the rd yet rodar...probably tomorrow...here is a pic of the little guy among people...








here some info of the pic Brian..
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length	28 mm
ISO Speed	200

commute home uneventful...kind of warm though...we had 30ºC today


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## athalliah (Dec 9, 2005)

I've been kinda lazy since my first day commuting in SLC. Today has been my sixth day of riding. Honestly, drivers here terrify me when it snows, especially down here in the crappy suburbs where roads are marginal and the few existing shoulders are littered with half an inch of road debris. I wish our office were downtown rather than in the middle of suburban sprawl hell. 

Anyway, today, my ride was awesome (and the air was clean - double yay) despite the persistent headwind. However, discovering my breakfast - a protein shake w/blueberries - had exploded in my bag and on my clothes was rather un-awesome. 



I still love riding my bike to work more than anything, headwind and all.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

My wife and kids went back to Phoenix for a few days so that leaves no one home to let the dog outside. I drove yesterday, but today I drove home at lunch, let my dog out, then rode back to work. Seemed like the best solution to take care of my dog and my bike miles.

We got a little over 7" of soft fluffy snow yesterday, the kind my bike doesn't even notice. Should make for some interesting tire tread pictures on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, that`s a beautiful view! No snowshoes or skiis needed? And a big thumbs up to your LBS- definitely something to be said for local help.


I wondered if I'd regret not bringing the snowshoes, but previous snowshoe and foot travellers had it well packed - but if you had to step off the path to let someone by, you sunk in a few feet. The view is even better from the fire tower, from which you can see my house, but I was concerned the dog would follow me and get stuck, as it's 4-5 stories of steep exposed stairs & a ladder at the end.

The shop was I-Ride in Stowe, if any locals are lsitening:thumbsup:


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## schmed (Feb 22, 2004)

My commute today? Cold. Dang cold.

About 1/4 mile into my 25 mile commute, I realized that knee warmers and toe covers aren't warm enough for 18 degrees. Had to stop to warm up in a rec center. Last 15 miles were tough, but I kept saying HTFU to myself as I dreamt of hot coffee at my office.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Work and grocery run. Dyno light works well. It should. I used it for over a year on battery power, before conversion. It was the driver board I was concerned about. No smoke yet. :thumbsup: 

Snowing/sleeting/raining at about 29 * F and 100% humidity feels a lot colder than that. Love the ignore-the-weather front brake. It just works. No fuss.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We had snow (wet and heavy) last week, nice weekend, now cold, supposed to get more snow (lgiht and fluffy this time) the end of this week and over the weekend. With the first part of our winter almost imperceptible, it was starting to look like there wouldn`t be any real winter for us. Now it`s turning into a more normal February, which is usually our snowiest month, though rarely this cold. It is nice to finally see a little snow, but I sure hope winter doesn`t drag on and on like it did last year. I have a week of vacation planned for next month. Going to Ensenada for some dental work (yay ) and it sure would be better if I could ride my scooter rather than a thirsty cage.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was my first ride in a week after a substantial bout with the flu. I wish I could say it felt great, but that'd be a lie. It didn't feel very good at all. Maybe the ride home will be better.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

took the short route today...just for some variety.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A harsh return to reality with -5F this a.m. after my vacation in 80F last week in Anguilla. But beautiful clear blue skies and my loaner fork worked well. Should be +10F for my evening commute. It's hard to look out the window at midday when it's sunny and supposed to get to 29F.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Took my first spill today in a long. long time. 

I was making a right from a fairly busy street (where I go flat-out to try to keep up with traffic) onto a quieter side street. So I signaled with my right arm, did a hard deceleration, started to turn, and whoop! Darn studs make me so cocky.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

In Calgary we still have remenents of the first rain freeze event about 3 inchs of solid rutted ice on most side street corners.....


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, the sidestreets are still rutted with with the thick bumpy stuff. But here it was bare down to the pavement, so it wasn't even black or glare ice. Just the thinest layer of ice, with some miscellaneous gravel kicking around (and I think it was probably that gravel that did me in).

No big deal. But even though I was wearing three layers of gloves, I've got a dime-sized flap of torn skin on my palm.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> So I signaled with my right arm, did a hard deceleration, started to turn, and whoop! Darn studs make me so cocky.


Uh-oh. I hope nobody saw the incedent


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A couple from last Friday. Sums up the ride lately. There is some nice grippy pavement in that one section :lol: the other one is on the dirt road. And yes, I happened to be running the Big Apples when that storm came in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Uh-oh. I hope nobody saw the incedent


Oh, I wouldn't worry about that...I once went OTB on a trail...I was a little stunned from the impact but when I opened my eyes they were inches from a nice pile of moose poop. Highly entertaining to everyone else, but luckily no cameras were whipped out in time.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

was late today...last night our neighbor's 3 or 4 dogs were crazy!...usually they bark/howl for about 30 min around 10-11pm...last night the song was on until 2 am at least!!...I love Dogs but I think I'm starting to hate 3 or 4!

short route today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-26C this morning. Stupid weather.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, hang in there- it`s gotta start warming up soon, even in Cannuckistan.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

6F this morning, I felt a bit tired but made pretty good time. Maxxed out at 38mph on the downhill, I think that's about as fast as I've gotten with the studded tires. Up to 10" of snow tomorrow, if I bike I won''t be going that fast again. I am hoping for a warmup so I can get rid of some of the concreted snow in front of my storm door...it fell off the roof while I was gone and re-froze, making it difficult to get out the door with a bike.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I just realized the next race is this Sunday!...I checked the RD last night and the hanger seemed to be ok  ...I'll do what I can this Saturday to get la Pugsdozer as rideable as possible for Sunday race...36 km in Hualahuises, N.L ...about 2 hours from home.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

-11F this morning but I didn't seem to notice, first "real" commute all week, felt so good to start my day with a bike ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Fun ride home today. We got about 4 inches of that spongy snow over night and nothing frozen. Smoooooth rollin.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ that's a cool feeling. I was rolling through almost a foot of it...In the Jeep. Driving day #5 for the school year. Did the 18 mile run to grandma's house after work yesterday... it was dumping snow when I left, but I got out ahead of the storm and raced it across the valley... stayed dry (and motivated!) the whole way. I was singing "riders on the storm" in my head the whole time. It started dumping snow about 5 minutes after I changed and sat down to a warm cup of coffee. (wife and car were there to haul me home).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice! Midnight Rider is a good one too, :rockon: "But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no,
Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider...":rockon: Started snowing when I got to work, coming down hard now, but I drove.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

For about a week now, I've been officially unemployed. Not really worried, as I took the VSP (they call it VRP in the song):





http://sites.google.com/site/vrpinpocket/

... just, no new toys until I know I have a steady income again...

---------

I have a riddle 

A picture tells more than.... What do you think is going on in the attached surveillance camera photo that a newspaper had on their front page on Sunday?

The answer is in white, below. Highlight with your mouse to read. The youtube link is part of the answer too.

A dog owner contacted the paper and had a story: "I was running with my dogs, in that area at that time, and they ran off into the yard of somebodys cabin."


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I didn't felt so tired this morning after my Sunday race....it was a high cadence one since it was mostly flat...I did the 36 kms in about 2:50 though 

The Wife had to go with a friend on the Saturday hike...she loved her new boots :thumbsup:

best wishes in your quest pert!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Felt the urge to try skinny tires yesterday, so took the Cross Check out. Crashed on the rutted ice, continued on an 18mile ride. A bit sore today and back on the Pugsley for todays commute. Should have a good temp swing today, as it was -8F on the way in and it'll be +23F on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No bike commute for a few days as I am dogsitting for a friend whose Dad is in the hospital down in Boston. Tomorrow is a day off for Town Meeting Day, so I will hit the snowmobile trails with the dog on bike or skis, depending on the condtions. Up to 4" mix of sleet, snow, ice pellets, freezing rain & rain today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Perttime: I like the first video, but the riddle and the second vid... Um, I think I don`t get it?
Good luck with your midjob status- I hope it`s short and hope you find a way to take advantage of the opportunities for extended time off in the meanwhile. Long, low budget travels? Major cycling year? Back to school?

Right on, Monterrey Racerboy!

Another drive commute for me Friday night. The plant was closed, but there was a job waiting for me that the presscrew had been living with for a few days, trying to make it until that "down" day- it HAD to be done. My sinuses started acting up Thursday night and by Friday night I felt like total crap, hadn`t been able to sleep, couldn`t breathe through my nose at all... Would have probably called in sick under other circumstances, but there was nobody available to do what needed to be done. I couldn`t get my truck out of the yard without chaining up and I wasn`t about to do that, so bummed my wife`s car, went in for a half shift and knocked out what I needed to do, came home and went back to bed. Felt a good bit better yesterday, nearly human today.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> riddle and the second vid... Um, I think I don`t get it?


Everybody, including wildlife experts, was sure that the photo showed a one year old bear cub chasing the golden retriever....

This time it is pretty clear that the picture lied more than a thousand words.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-24 C and falling 4 to 6 cm of snow coming down for the ride home 20 to 30 km/h north headwind...Windchill should be about -37 C....

This is heading east in about a week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Packed snow/ice for 1/3 of the ride in, after that it was nice dry pavment as a reward for surviving the first part. I'm hating the icy ruts. I thought I was going down a few times this morning...front tire sliding sideways a couple inches into an invisible ice rut. Warming up today at least...should be much better for the ride home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, is mtbr no longer blocked at work for you?


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Heard some animals fighting in the woods while riding home tonight down Milton Road 
west of Fairfield. Sounded kind of creepy.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Rode to work today for some O.T. 

I swapped in a longer stem and a higher rise handle bar on my bike and wanted to test it out. Work called to see if I was available, so I killed two birds with one stone  .


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

should be around 50 F and sunny when I head home today. been out of the saddle for a couple weeks and i'm pretty excited about the nice weather.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-29C in town this morning, but -40C out at the airport. Lousy Smarch weather.

Since the weather gods can't possibly give us more of a smackdown, I'm going to tempt fate and pick up my new bike this weekend. It'll probably be a few more weeks before I actually ride it, but that'll give me time to do framesaver, tubless, and stuff.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Off today, but took the dog I am taking care of on a 6 mile ride. She was very good and stayed toward the side of the road even when some cars went by. She walks in the woods or skis daily with her owner so she's in good shape and was always in the lead. I used a 16' flexi-leash attached to the belt of my pack, so it was easy to stay in control even if she pulled. She got scared by some target shooting, but a dozen shots later she didn't care. We got some nice waves from passing cars & from snowshovellers. It was a blue sky morning 15-20F and we both had fun. A shakey/blurry phone video...


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## athalliah (Dec 9, 2005)

My commute was awesome; 30F and the prevalent headwinds seem to have disappeared. It should be 50F on my way home, woo hoo! 

Riding to work makes me very very happy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB, is mtbr no longer blocked at work for you?


Sssshhhhh. Maybe it was a mistake....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Haha... we lost Craigslist again, but somehow we got back Youtube. Go figure.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

1st real jerk on my way home since commuting...

I was crossing an intersection.... the + type...stop sign for the guy on the crossing road...he was coming fast....I slow down a bit...then I saw him slowing down so I kept going....last thing I knew the guy yelled something and was full throttle...I hit the brakes just to see the f$%king car passing like an inch in front of me....I couldn't even yell something back.

the guy who yelled at me when passing by a year ago suddenly is a saint.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^That does sound like someone just being a jerk and scaring a cyclist because they can. Glad it ended up only a close call. At least you don't have to live with him, he's probably a jerk to everybody.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a guy last week swerve into my lane for no reason. I don't know if he was being a jerk or if he was legitimately distracted. Either way, it wasn't his finest hour.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Must have been the day for it. 4 Way, the car trying to avoid stopping and me broadside (much too late for stopping). Need to get the helmet light repaired. The Dyno doesn't help alert drivers who don't spend enough time checking on rights of way.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No close calls here. Pretty unremarkable commute other than a rather quick time of it for a strong tailwind pushing me home.

I had an amusing time later on observing a not-so-dangerous idiot while driving home from a grocery shopping trip though. Busy Blvd, three lanes each direction with a whole set of freeway onramps/offramps that add up to four traffic signals within the space of about a block and a half. I hit the first one on a red (which pretty much guarantees I`m going to have to stop and wait for each one of them) and stop next to a medium sized red SUV. We were both first in our lanes. When the light turns green, we can plainly see that the next one has just turned yellow. Cager floors it for fifty feet and slams on the brakes. I roll up next to him and ALMOST keep momentum going before the next green and the same thing hapens. Then again. On the last light, he finally won. Snuck through just as it went red and left me behind, wondering to myself whether he goes through more in tires and brakes or more in wasted gas.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

Sometimes I'm still amazed by the stupidity of people. I have a 12 mile commute each way and I try to avoid the main and mean streets of Phoenix as much as possible even if there is a bike lane. There is this nice neighborhood I go through that is a one-way with speed humps, traffic circles and a beautiful 6 foot wide bike lane. 

Today just after entering this area I'm almost hit from the right by this stupid biotch in a PT Cruiser coming out of a driveway. There is no other traffic on the street so I keep pedaling waiting patiently for her to pass me so I can flip her off....I wait and wait and she never passes. Knowing this is a one way I turn around thinking that dumbass has turned the wrong direction....but no! She is driving in the bike lane right behind me! She thinks its a friggin traffic lane!! Seriously??

I keep turning around and looking at her as she is getting closer and closer to me expecting me to get out of the way and refusing to pull into the actual traffic lane to pass. Finally I see the little painted guy on a bike coming up to indicate that yes, indeed this is the bike lane, so as I pass over it I swerve to the side and violently point at the painted bike man so she gets a clue....finally she does and pulls into the traffic lane and passes me. WTF!? :madman:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That would be sad if it wasn't so funny. :smilewinkgrin: Or is it the other way around? Perhaps she was mesmerized by your muscular bikecommuter rear view.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ That would be sad if it wasn't so funny. :smilewinkgrin: Or is it the other way around? Perhaps she was mesmerized by your muscular bikecommuter rear view.


Ha well considering I'm a skinny chick I think that is highly doubtful!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Solrider said:


> Ha well considering I'm a skinny chick I think that is highly doubtful!!


hehe not so much these days 

...going home now.

mini short report of my last race here:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=7812349&postcount=35
(not too much info to write in the blog)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^  Solrider, well, you know what they say - when you assume...
I'm a little old for chick and a little weighty for "skinny" but nice to meet another woman here. 

Hey, speaking of women commuters, where are you, R-Active???


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> mini short report of my last race here:
> http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=7812349&postcount=35
> (not too much info to write in the blog)


Woohoo, Martin, you are doing some seriously long MTB races on the 'dozer, and how did it get so hot already???

March is in like a lion here...teens F here today, snow squalls and crazy gusting winds blowing all the snow around across the road & in drifts. Sad to say I was kinda glad I was still dogsitting and driving. I usually get home about now and its 8F & still crazy wind.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, march sucks so far. After this morning we've hopefully seen the end of -30C (-22F), but they're still calling for lows around -25C through next week. Canuckistan is cold, but normally at this time of year our daytime lows of -12C with highs around freezing.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks xplorer, I'm enjoying riding in new places around the state... that Sunday I saw a street thermometer marking 38ºC!!...weather channel says our high was 36ªC though....I foresee a really hot summer  !!... on monday we received a cold north, so far a fresh week 

uneventful commute home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That's crazy martinsillo. I can't even imagine riding those distances at those temperatures on a fatbike. I guess I'll keep my winter.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got helmet light working again tonight (cross traffic warning device par excellence). Feel a lot safer having a warning device that drivers respond to. 54 * F and sunny tomorrow. Feeling better. Going to take a long errand/volunteer ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Got helmet light working again tonight (cross traffic warning device par excellence).


:thumbsup:

Martinsillo = ¡Huevón!

Delete. Please pardon my mistake, Martin


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar! what did I do to you?  

in Venezuela, that is very close to pendejo (to say the least) and in Mexico is referred to someone flojo (lazy)

uneventful commute to work.

yea newf...we are started early in the morning...9 am...so it started to get really warm close to the end... anyways, I want to see how we are going to handle the races when our mornings (6am) begins at 26 °C...on my first summer here I saw days of 48°C...something tells me this one would be similar


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Tired, sore, and lazy today. Volunteered yesterday to stack sandbags for the upcoming flood season, so my back, arms, and hands aren't happy. Rode the Cross Check in since its faster and requires less work than the Pugsley. Its weird having to think about what I'm riding over, since the Pugsley just monster trucks over everything. The skinny tired Cross Check (700x38 knobbies are skinny in my mind now) doesn't quite have the same effect, and I have to concentrate on a "line" through the ice and snow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A little freezing rain to mix things up this morning. My dirt road was thawing out yesterday, which means today it was a frozen jumbled mass of frozen ruts and ex-slushy broken up glaciers. I only went down once, which I condsider a major achievement. Anything over about 3mph felt like certain death. Then when I got to the pavement, I applied the rear brake hesitantly, like I had been doing on the "dirt"... and what looked like perfect pavement turned out to be a sheet of polished ice with a nice gentle rain falling on it. I skidded straight across the road on two wheels and one foot, and got enough traction on the opposite shoulder to stop before the barbed wire fence. At that point, it was easier to keep sliding downhill than try to get back up the road to the car, so I operated on the hope that as I dropped in elevation, maybe, just maybe, I'd get out of the frozen stuff and find some actual traction... luckily, this proved to be true, and by the time I got to the more well-traveled roads there was some traction to be had. It was still slick, but not stupid-slick. I was longing for some studs this morning. Brutal first mile or two. 

Rodar, any freezing rain your way? This stuff seriously sucks.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commuting has been fantastic this whole week. The lows have been in the 30s and the highs in the 50s. Perfect weather. Even the 30s feel warm because it has been so sunny. I need to work on my tan. My legs are freaky white.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> in Venezuela, that is very close to pendejo (to say the least) and in Mexico is referred to someone flojo (lazy)


:blush: Martin, I`m very sorry! That isn`t at all what I intended, as you`ve been kicking butt lately. Thank you for setting me straight and I`ll remember to be extra careful when playing with slang. Please forgive me if I hurt your feelings.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yep. Freezing rain is big time sucky. Nothing like ice lubricated with a thin film of water. That is called skating. Studs help. Ice radials don't (cars). Congrats on not kissing the barbed wire fence, though you missed out on a 'dueling scar'.:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> A little freezing rain to mix things up this morning. My dirt road was thawing out yesterday, which means today it was a frozen jumbled mass of frozen ruts and ex-slushy broken up glaciers. I only went down once, which I condsider a major achievement. Anything over about 3mph felt like certain death. Then when I got to the pavement, I applied the rear brake hesitantly, like I had been doing on the "dirt"... and what looked like perfect pavement turned out to be a sheet of polished ice with a nice gentle rain falling on it. I skidded straight across the road on two wheels and one foot, and got enough traction on the opposite shoulder to stop before the barbed wire fence...


Ahhh Spring!! 
Glad you arrived alive.

-5F this a.m....I hope it warms up soon as the dog I've been taking care of is getting picked up today or tomorrow, so I'll be back on the bike. Sounds like a rain/snow mix is headed here this weekend. UPS truck got stuck halfway up my driveway due to the blowing/drifting snow & ice underneath.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> :blush: Martin, I`m very sorry! That isn`t at all what I intended, as you`ve been kicking butt lately. Thank you for setting me straight and I`ll remember to be extra careful when playing with slang. Please forgive me if I hurt your feelings.


 I knew that wasn't your intention, it was just to let you know :thumbsup:

apparently someone needs studs


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

+2F, Icy, FAST! A few snowdrifts from all this wind. Fatbike did awesome! 700 miles on it so far this winter!


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^  Solrider, well, you know what they say - when you assume...
> I'm a little old for chick and a little weighty for "skinny" but nice to meet another woman here.
> 
> Hey, speaking of women commuters, where are you, R-Active???


Ha ha for sure....and I was in Central Phoenix...but I got more of the ' I'm an idiot' vibe than the 'you are hot and I'm checking you out in a ***** sort of way' vibe. 

Great ride today, no incidents and it was beautiful out. Overall my trip was 8 mins faster and it was a beautiful 76 degrees! :thumbsup:

Sorry to those of you still suffering with unsavory weather.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No, no frozen rain here. On the conrarty, we had a little bit of THAWING rain. The combo (with strong warm winds) has successfully converted all of last week`s snow into mud. The yard is looking ugly- deep wheel ruts from my wife`s car, and my truck (still chained up "just in case") would be impossible to reach without covering my shoes in mud.

Hard to imagine people are still in negative F temps or up in the mid 70s. Also hard to imagine Lassen County (CB territory), which is less than 100 mi away and, mostly less than 1000 feet higher than here, has been so much colder and snowier than Reno and my valley. Weather is weird.

Yeah, I was wondering what new adventures RA has been up to.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dang! Bikes rule...I had to use my multi-tool to pry open the gas hatch of my car this a.m. It likes to freeze shut when it is on empty.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Since it has warmed up all the way to -20C, I took a detour home tonight for the first time in weeks. Trails were in pretty rough shape, and other than a few x-country ski tracks it looks like everyone else spent the deepfreeze hibernating too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Commute ride plus fun. Started at 50 * F. Used The Duchess. What a rush. 
Heard the Redwing Blackbirds' Keerhee! song. Robins have been claiming territory off and on since the snow melted. Daffodil, tulips, and croci tips are peaking out. Need to get the Lawn Tractor and deck in for service: the first mowing is only weeks away.:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well we've got a ways to go before flowers, or mowing, but it was a beautiful morning ride, 5F & sunny. A coworker at the bus stop shook his head and asked if the ride was pennance or something....I said sshhhhhh, don't tell anyone, but it is actually fun and a great way to start the day. My dirt road was still ice covered, fast, and pretty smooth. When mud season hits, it will not be such a joy.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I totally wasn't expecting wind today, but seems there's a lot of it. 25mph headwinds greeted me on the way in. Light snow added in for good measure, making the "real feel" about -18F. Yuck. Got cut off by a school bus too, had to ride up close to the snowbank on the side of the road. Glad I brought the big bike today, as it plowed through the muck, ice, and roadside garbage with ease.

Solrider, you're really making me miss commuting in Phoenix! I just moved from there in October.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm enjoying that in-between time when the sun is finally up on the commute, before the time changes again and it's dark for another few weeks. Got cocky today and wore the 'cold' weather gloves, and not the 'freaking cold' weather gloves. Bad call :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ so you're saying that just because it's warmed up to -15C I shouldn't ditch my 3rd layer of gloves for the ride home?  (I can't actually remember what the cut-off temperature is for my "just cold" gloves to be comfortable, anymore)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We moved offices today so I got to squeeze a short ride in to get my bike over to the new facility. My commute will be about the same length, but it will be a little different. I will have a bike lane almost all the way on the busy streets and will hook up with my old commute about a mile into the ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Maybe this should have be in a revived "what do you think of when riding thread' but seeing gas prices made me smile and think as I rode on by. 

It may already be too late with spring so much earlier in the south, but >$4 gas is likely going to increase new and fair weather cyclists, and so impact bike /commuting gear demand. So if you were holding off on the purchase of an item that might become scarce, you may want to buy it now, especially if it is on pre-season sale. And no, I have no ownership or investments in any bike store, chain, or on line supplier.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Blustery ride home but warmer than this morning. Pleasant until the gratuitous blare of the horn from a passing car within a mile of home. He was already tailgating another car, so likely just a rude individual all-around. Here is the condensed, but word for word forecast between now and Monday a.m.: rain-snow-sleet-rain-snow & sleet-rain-rain-snow-snow-heavy snow-snow. It should be interesting & icky!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ve already been fooled into wearing the wrong clothes. It`s usually a lot warmer when I go in at about 10PM than when I come home at 7 in the morning. Now I usually pack "the good stuff" in my lunch bag if I go light on the way in.



JAG410 said:


> Solrider, you're really making me miss commuting in Phoenix! I just moved from there in October.


 Talk about snowbirding gone bad! At least you won`t be missing it for long- another month and you`ll probably still be in mittens, but Phoenix will be into triple digits already!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sheesh, Xplorer- if I were you, I wouldn`t even know what to wish for. Ice or mud? I know how it goes with mud- no shortage of it around my house, but 100 yards from the door I hit pavement and that`s the end of it unless I make a bad call and take the avoidable shortcut for the last 100 yards. Sure wouldn`t want miles of the stuff.


mtbxplorer said:


> rain-snow-sleet-rain-snow & sleet-rain-rain-snow-snow-heavy snow-snow.


There ya go- no wonder the bonehead was tailgating! It`s no fun at all on dry pavement.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Talk about snowbirding gone bad! At least you won`t be missing it for long- another month and you`ll probably still be in mittens, but Phoenix will be into triple digits already!


Ain't that the truth. I'll take commuting at -15F over 115F any day. It's the mid 70 degree days that make me bitter


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^ I hear ya! My sentiments all the way around.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

35 degrees F and rained all the way home.
Spring is on the way :~)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No work today, but since I didn't ride much this week I decided to pretend it was spring and take a rec road ride on the cross bike. Tried to squeeze it in once the temp got above freezing and before the rain came. The wind I had to ignore, no cheating that other than going into it first on the out and back, but this also meant I dropped 1000' on the way out and had to climb on the way back. I drove to a paved road in a big state forest, it is busy with beachgoers and RV s in the summer but in 19 mi I only saw about a dozen cars, almost like my own bike path. It felt good to lose the studs for at least a day. The first sign I saw said "frost heaves next 8 mi" but it was in pretty good shape. The only slick spots were 3 or 4 snowmobile trail x'gs where the machines drag and pack snow across the road, and with so little traffic it stays there. I'm glad I went as I only encountered light drizzle on the way back to the car.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> Solrider, you're really making me miss commuting in Phoenix! I just moved from there in October.


Ha ha ya...well, ask me how much I'm commuting in oh say a couple of months!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

low 40s today...I'm really thinking on a bus day or something for a change 

one hole down on my belt today and I'm breathing normally :thumbsup:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> one hole down on my belt today and I'm breathing normally :thumbsup:


Congrats!

Only the half mile stretch of MUP in front of the school was plowed after yesterdays snowfall. 4" deep most of the way with a few 8-10" deep drifts thrown in. Only my tiretracks today, no footprints. Go Pugsley


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Spitting just a little snow on the ride this morning. In October, that's exciting... in March, it's like saying goodbye to that annoying relative that came to visit and overstayed their welcome. I was fearing some more freezing rain conditions this morning, but got the opposite...we had warm ground and cold air instead of warm air and cold ground... this way is much better, snow doesn't stick to you, and wet pavement is much preferable to frozen pavement when there's water falling out of the sky.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

1st commute since Feb 11 when I had to stop due to knee problems. Took it really easy, so far so good. Put in a few km on the weekend to test things out. Think I'll play it safe and take the metro home, to work in the morning and ride home tomorrow afternoon. I'm optimistic.
My favourite kind of snow out there, that packed clean white stuff that sounds like styrofoam when your on it and provides excellent traction.
Cheers all!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ Good to hear you're back.

(although I probably would have waited until later in the week once it's warmed up a bit )


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Worthless! Got there and found that instead of the 9:45 delayed opening that was the plan when I called, work was cancelled and offices were closed due to the snowstorm. I guess I should have called again after shovelling out my car. Yesterday it rained hard until 2pm, then changed over to snow. On my way to a friend's for dinner, a road was already covered with water and closed, due to an ice jam in the river backing up the water. I stayed over & it snowed heavily all night and all day, totalling 30" max for the 5th biggest snowstorm in VT history. Even on the interstate, tractor trailers couldn't make it up the grades and it was closed for a while. I snowblowed my driveway when I got home, it was very windy, so drifts were 4' (too tall for my drift bar); took 2 1/2 hrs, my knees felt like the tin man when I got done. I had brought my bike thinking I might be able to ride home from work, but 1 wheel drive was not enough today.
i didn't take any snow pics, but heres a river where a bridge and road used to be yesterday.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Just got back after a week of travel and no riding. It felt good to squeeze a 50 mile road ride on Saturday and the commute today. However, both the road bike and my commuter greeted me with skipping rear derailleurs. Interesting, they both seemed perfect before I left, I guess that's their way of saying they missed me or their ticked from lack of attention. I suspect the lack of use allowed some corrosion to build up.

30F on the way in and 40F on the way home. I can feel spring approaching, ever so slowly. Winds were typical of March though pushing 25mph gusts. I was almost going to remove the BarMitts, but 20s predicted for tomorrow. How we managed to miss that eastern snow storm I don't know because it seemed like all the others hit us this winter. 

I realized we are only days away from the time change. I promised myself I was going to push other riders at the office to go on a group ride once a week with the extra daylight.

Martinsillo, your races are very inspiring, especially on the dozer! Well done.


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Since it has warmed up all the way to -20C, I took a detour home tonight for the first time in weeks. Trails were in pretty rough shape, and other than a few x-country ski tracks it looks like everyone else spent the deepfreeze hibernating too.


sounds like my commute!

awesome commute today, first on the new bike. ate **** going around a corner though, no studs on this one!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

c X c: Good luck with that knee- easy does it!
MtbX: Doh!
Rev, hope you get your deraillers straightened out. TWO of `em ?!? Must be a conspiracy.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

After the 'fast for me' ride on The Duchess, I wondered why I was so slow on the Schwinn. I know that studded snows, dyno hub, more weight, and a much more upright wind resistant position, all take their toll. but coasting was less than expected even so, but the source of the resistance was not obvious. Wheels spin well with bike stationary. Crankset is free. Hmmm.

So yesterday I found out. Rode a bit of rough pavement & posted through it then it was clear after rattling through, that I was dragging something somewhere (like a rear wheel pulled into a left chain stay because the QR wasn't tight enough). Nope, not rear; front. The front drum brake had partially engaged! (Lucky it wan't full = OTB in traffic!). The return spring isn't overly strong, and if in bouncing the rear shoe catches drum a bit, it will self activate the front shoe increasing rear contact. A spin with the hand rotated the wheel about 15 degrees. Yep, that'll do it! So I need a bit more clearance on the adjustment before activation to allow for shoe bounce. Changing technology & learning a different set of quirks can be a drag!. Oh, and yes, I was 'lots faster' (for me) after the sdjustment (guessing 2-3 mph).


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks Jag, Rev.

that's some crazy snow xplorer!

take it easy on that knee 4!

uneventful commutes so far this week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lovely post-snowstorm sunny morning ride. Roads were passable and my dirt road was actually the best section as the grader had been back by and a nice hardpack was created (as was a new blockade at the end of my driveway). The busier roads were a mixed bag, in some spots had to take the lane, but never for so long as to make drivers overly impatient. Pedal strike on an iceblock knocked the bike around a bit, but was OK. Bus was 15-20 mins late though, no fun waiting around in 5F after getting sweaty.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I looked out the window this morning and the giant steam plumes rising from all the buildings meant that it was below -25C again (-26C apparently). That wasn't in the forecast. It's supposed to be -7C for the ride home though, so I should be pretty over-dressed.

Had my front disc brake ice up for the first time on the ride home yesterday. I've had v-brakes stop working before, but that's usually pretty temporary and if it's really bad then you can stop and wipe the snow off. But last night my disc was completely useless for the last few kms of my ride. Don't know what got in there, but whatever it was it melted off pretty quickly once I got the bike inside.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I looked out the window this morning and the giant steam plumes rising from all the buildings meant that it was below -25C again (-26C apparently). That wasn't in the forecast. It's supposed to be -7C for the ride home though, so I should be pretty over-dressed.
> 
> Had my front disc brake ice up for the first time on the ride home yesterday. I've had v-brakes stop working before, but that's usually pretty temporary and if it's really bad then you can stop and wipe the snow off. But last night my disc was completely useless for the last few kms of my ride. Don't know what got in there, but whatever it was it melted off pretty quickly once I got the bike inside.


Been there done that...

Usually quite cold weather....I have generally had some new snow around as well.

You hit the brake and the rotor pad interface warms.... the snow melts in the caliper and puts a fine coat of water that immediately turns to ice all the way around the rotor....

And viola no brake whatsoever....

Happened to me on a long steep downhill...

I banged the lever on and off has hard as I could several times...and bingo the brake started working again...

On gentler hills if you drag the brake nothing happens at all...

Moral if your brakes ice up bang them on and off as hard as you can.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

No ice up issues with the drum brake unless you ford a stream. Realized today I was riding at least 3 gears higher so it's more like 5-6 mph faster with it adjusted with a bit more clearance.

New road project is getting nice circa 3-4' wide shoulders plus good sidewalks. This is a main drag I avoid like the plague (fast food, Interstate excahneg within half mile), but I need to get from one set of side streets to another. Had an idiot not signal his right turn and hook me in my first few hundred feet using them. I had even looked back at him to check his intent before the mini mall entrance and his overtaking me. His subsequent manoevers indicated he was a complete idiot possibly under the influence of illegal substances. I elected NOT to let him know of my displeasure. Discretion/valor and all that...I found some extra power on tap for some reason. Flight works!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

was late today..almost took our car, wife helped me packing my breakfast and took the bike instead, cut my time by 8 mins today....avg speed 12.38 mph to the showers..bold move between the sidewalk and a moving bus..should have taped that...nice rush  glad today wasn't my first car day of the year.

just passed the 600 mi line today.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Dang Martin you're on fire! 600 miles! I haven't even hit 250 yet  I think I need a job that's father away 

Fresh snow today, couldn't really tell where the edges of the bike path were. But the temp was in the high 20s and the snow felt good on my face. Fun ride in today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

From my ride home last night:


(and if you only want to carry a cheap point-and-shoot with you, autostitch is a terrific (and free) piece of software)

Nice morning today. Finally above -20C again, so I could leave the extra layer at home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

So all my hard-won 35 mm SLR film experience in shooting panoramas is at the fingertips of anyone who can use a shutter and keyboard? Great. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The good:
A little warmer, teens F, mountaintops sticking out of low clouds.
Kid at school bus stop that always says hi.

The bad:
Jeep who pulled out in front of me on the downhill from a sidestreet. I slowed so as not to hit him and then let it roll again until I was even with his passenger window, just to make clear he'd cut me off.

I have to take a work car home tonight to drive about 5hrs RT for work tomorrow, in snow and rain, what a waste of time and bikecommute opportunities.

The ???:
A guy yelled something unintelligible at me, I wasn't sure if it was friendly or not, but I smiled and nodded and felt good about it either way.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> So all my hard-won 35 mm SLR film experience in shooting panoramas is at the fingertips of anyone who can use a shutter and keyboard? Great. :thumbsup:


End of an era.  It's defintely not perfect though. There's a fair bit of ghosting around the trees, where it couldn't quite figure out how to deal with all the branches. And the exposures are off.

But point-and-shoots are pretty bad for capturing expansive stuff, and this makes them a bit more useful.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Geez from -20c to plus 6 with rain forecast then another plunge or not depending on who you believe.

Guess summer is here.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Flat tire on the way home. Don't know how, since there's still just snow on top of snow on top of ice. After thorough inspection I couldn't find the cause, which sucks because now I'll spend the next week being paranoid about getting another flat. Also had a broken spoke non-driveside, which is weird. While replacing it I stripped the nipple of one of the other spokes, but luckily I had spares. All in all, not a good night.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

studs still in use and useful. broke chain twice on friday, shifting's shot- turns out the upper D pulley bolt has pulled itself almost completely out and the upper pulley would just lean over and not push the chain to the next cog. 
remove entire drivetrain (cogset needs replacing anyways) and ss-it for the next few.
hope everyone's been well.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

I took the studded-tire mountain bike and forced myself to go on a training-ride commute on the way home, because I want to do a race in about a month, and I really need to get some mileage under my belt. I can suffer now, or be humiliated later, right? All righty then.

Getting started was hard, since I didn't have a lot of mental energy left after my workday plus a race-team meeting, but I managed to get a few hard efforts in, despite it being only a 13-mile ride. There's one really hard climb on the route, and I was definitely maxed-out on that bit 

On the bright side, it does look safe to take off the studded tires now (famous last words).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

How did that happen, Byknuts? The screw just worked lose, or it stripped/ripped the threads out?

Newfangled, maybe you pinched it on the ruts. Or maybe the nipple from that broken spoke somehow poked through the rim strip and into the tube?

Yup, famous last words- you`ve done it now! Good luck with the race.

I swapped out the studs tonight, which is simple enough since I have an extra wheelset . Again, my light didn`t want to come on, but this time I checked right after I switched wheels, so it was no problem to fix.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The commute this morning kinda sucked. It started raining as I left the house. The temp was hanging right around 39F, and it was fairly breezy. My body was plenty warm, but I experienced a sharp pain behind my eyebrows for most of the trip. I also forgot an extra pair of socks, so now my feet are damp.

The sun is forecast to come out tomorrow. We have seen a lot of rain in the past couple weeks. Yesterday we received 3" in addition to the 3-4" we received over the weekend.


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

todays commute sucked! 
Freewheel froze on the way to work.
Freewheel froze on the way home!
It was far far to cold out! 
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cant0032


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

FROZENSS said:


> todays commute sucked!
> Freewheel froze on the way to work.
> Freewheel froze on the way home!
> It was far far to cold out!
> http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cant0032


You, Sir, are out of your damn mind


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

JAG410 said:


> You, Sir, are out of your damn mind


+1, But in a Good way! I experienced those temps in Ottawa two winters. You ride in snowmobile gear FROZENSS? BTW did you leave an "A" out of your handle?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Windy and continued dark.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Frozenss, that is too cold to ride around the block, let alone to work:eekster: Did you have to push when it froze up? It sounds beyond sucky, did you feel in danger?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

week mini-summary.
non legal short commutes all mornings
left home late 3 days
passed the 600 mi line

yesterday, putting my afternoon commute on greenlight I realized that today I was going to pass the 1000 Km line...today I woke up crazy late!...the Wife said: you need to take our car...I said no... left home at 6:53am...did 15 mph avg speed to the showers...took my shower...got to work at 7:38 am....just 8 min late...total trip time: 00:21:46...total avg speed 14.51mph....before this week my morning trip times were all over 30 mins.

this morning I passed the 1000km line (622 mi - 1001.01 Km)


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

FROZENSS, I also agree that you are crazy. 

-24C here this morning, so all the layers go back on. But we were supposed to get a few inches of snow yesterday, and we didn't get anything, so winter can suck it! :thumbsup: Forecast (reliable as it is) is for above freezing all next week.

Also picked up my new rigid SS Kona Unit last night! But now it's in pieces on my living room floor!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

FROZENSS said:


> todays commute sucked!
> Freewheel froze on the way to work.
> Freewheel froze on the way home!
> It was far far to cold out!
> http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cant0032


-35 C should not be a problem for the bike...

The freewheel should not be freezing up.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Dr's appt this morning and a blizzard warning for this evening kept me off the bike today. The doctor asked me if i'd been exercising, and I said "yeah I ride my bike almost daily". He asked "stationary right? Upright or recumbant?" I said "no, I ride outside, to work, on a snow bike". He said "oh, you're crazy". I guess winter cycling is this region is more rare than I thought! It is somewhat nice today though and I did see people on bikes for the first time in months. The blizzard tonight should ensure the streets are bike free for the weekend though.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We had rain, ice, and snow yesterday. Today is beautiful. I still had brief periods of intense headache this morning. I think it's somehow related to my sinuses.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Returned the work car today and will be pedalling home through a "chance of rain" - but the probability of precipitation is listed at 100%  There is also a flood warning (ice jam flooding mostly), but if the bus can make it to my stop the hill should be fine. Glad to ditch the car, the driver's side wiper started flailing around wildly off the windshield at about mile 20 of a 300 mi round trip in snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain. For a while it worked to drive with the window open and block it from flying beyond the windshield with my gloved hand but eventually I had to tuck it like a broken wing between the mirror and the door.

s0ck, sorry about the headache...if you press on your forehead or face and the pain is worse, then yes, likely sinus infection, may clear up but if it hangs on a few weeks you may want some antibiotics, or check for something else.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> We had rain, ice, and snow yesterday. Today is beautiful. I still had brief periods of intense headache this morning. I think it's somehow related to my sinuses.


Neti pot is worth a shot, it works for me whenever my sinuses bug me. Its cheap and easy, albeit a little gross.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> Neti pot is worth a shot, it works for me whenever my sinuses bug me. Its cheap and easy, albeit a little gross.


x2 on the netti pot. Only thing that helps with my allergies and chronic sinus infections!

Hot, hot, hot is how I describe the commute today. 84 on the way in. Time to start packing more than one water bottle as I ran out about a mile from work.

Also now having pain in my posterior knee thanks to repositioning my cleats in my right shoe to what I thought would be a better position. Ouch. :madman:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A question for the other northern~ish folks - what are your opinions on DIY studded tires for winter commuting?

I unexpectedly find myself in possession of two spare 29er tires, and since I'm retiring my 26er I'd been debating what tires to use next year. So is DIY worth a shot? Or will it disappoint me, and I should plan on buying some nokians or schwalbes?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I would wait, supposedly schwalbe is coming out with a nice wide studded 29er tire soon, it should be ready by next winter.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, if nothing else I was thinking these could get me through next year to see if people actually like schwalbe's new tire and if it's worth the ~$300 a set would probably cost.

The DIY will only cost $15 and some time, and since I've got the tires anyway I'll probably give it a shot (and I can always unstud them after). Just wondering how disappointed/impressed I'm likely to be.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I went from DIY to Nokians this year. The DIYs, made with studs for car tires, were just as good traction-wise, but were quite a bit heavier, and I got a couple flats last winter from the back of the stud wearing thru the tube, even with a tire liner or 2 in place. I was lucky and got the flats near the bus line, but I really didn't want to change a tire in the cold if I could avoid it. I did love having made them myself, though, and reusing old tires I had kicking around.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> week mini-summary.
> non legal short commutes all mornings
> left home late 3 days
> passed the 600 mi line


:thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Neti pot?

Good story, Jag- I bet you really made his jaw drop!

Explorer, how did you manage to drive the remainder of those stormy 300 miles? I`ve had washer/wiper problems around town in really bad weather and on the road with not TOO bad weather, and managed alright by stopping to clear the windshield occasionally by whatever means I had. Don`t think I`d want to deal with that combo of total crap weather and road trip.

Good luck with the knee, Solrider. At least you know what happened and can reverse your steps.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I officially pronounce it Springtime in my neighborhood. The mud is drying out, so I can get to pretty much anywhere around the yard without tracking mud into the house (as long as I watch my step) and this morning I noticed the first of my wife`s bulbs sprouting- daffodils, I think. Yesterday morning was gorgeous, although strong winds appeared out of nowhere right after dinner (9AM-ish). Today started just as nice, and then kept going. High probably in the 60s, no lows below freezing show up on the 10 day forecast.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Spring is trying here. Got my fingers crossed. The Croci have opened today. :thumbsup: 

Nice Sat. morning ride to get some tests done for Monday. I guess most everyone was out to breafast, where they needed to be, or having a lazy Sat. morn at home. I am wondering if my purchase and mounting of cahins on the lawn tractor will offset a dismounting of my studfded snow tires. We had three ice/slet/snow episodes last March and into early April.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice road ride yesterday on the cross bike, spitting snow, but no accumulation, but plenty of snowbanks left. Started in my town, but on pavement, pedalled 28 miles through Graniteville, Orange, Washington, & Chelsea. Some potholes with bible-sized chunks of asphalt around them. Lots of sugarin' underway here (collecting & boiling maple sap for syrup). Some pics...I wondered what the "college ices" advertised on the old drugstore sign were. The answer was harder to find than expected, but I found it here: http://books.google.com/books?id=Wr...wAQ#v=onepage&q=drugstore college ice&f=false


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> -35 C should not be a problem for the bike...
> 
> The freewheel should not be freezing up.


out off my 3 bike i ride in the winter only one has a free wheel that freezes. around -25 or colder. all the bearings on my bike has -60 grease on em. so the hubs arent a problem. 
but working in the bike shop i see tons of bikes coming in with frozen free wheels. the pawls freeze down, so when you pedal nothing engages.

as for how i dress, i defiantly dont wear sledding gear, besides goggles on the really cold days.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No commute today, but it was new bike day!



After a couple of days spent rust-proofing and component-swapping I finally got to take it out for a ride. The Ignitor and Ardent worked really well on the -10C snow, and I kindof like the lack of suspension (although I took a few small jumps, and the landings were a bit of a surprise). It'll be my winter commuter next year, but I'm going to finish this winter on my beater bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great pictures, MtbX. I love old buildings 
4 towns within 28 miles? Wow. Any given 28 miles worth of road around here is just as likely to not pass through ANY town.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Great pictures, MtbX. I love old buildings
> 4 towns within 28 miles? Wow. Any given 28 miles worth of road around here is just as likely to not pass through ANY town.


Actually, since it was an out and back, that was 4 towns in 14 miles, but only 3 villages - Orange's village (town center) is on a different road, so all I saw there was a crazed german shepherd. Each village has at least 1 small store/gas station, Chelsea has several, plus a restaurant, library, & county courthouse. If I remember right from the "welcome to" signs, most of the towns were founded in the 1780's or thereabouts. One had a plaque on a mill site where logs were cut from the 1700's 'til 1995, kinda sad to close after that long.

oh, and that courthouse I had to go to last week for work (in the snow/sleet rain with only the passenger wiper, craning my neck over to the middle/passenger side), has an old pic of the whipping post that was outside. It said it was last used in 1807, on a woman caught counterfeiting.

@ Newf - looks nice, and a nice backdrop.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Newfang: (since Neuf can be short for Newfie, Newfoundlander). Kona (say like Homer Simpson says 'Donut': tasty.

MtbX: The town density really drops off through the Midwest then more again out west. Rode to nearest village 25 miles RT plus another 10 in warm up and cool down. Temps were high 40's F, dropped over 10 degrees and I wished I had taken my booties in the bag. Tip of one toe white when I got home (mild Renaud's, I think). Pushing the miles back up. Want to do a 500 mile ride this spring.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Sad day here in MTY...the streak is over 

had the weirdest morning...first, on Friday I hit a curb with my front tire...it is weird, but I just can't properly lift my front wheel if I'm not using my left leg to move the pedals....anyways.... yesterday, sewing la Pugdozer rear tire, I realized the front tire on la Trurly was flat...changed the inner tube which was terrible cut. 

This morning I woke up a little late...got ready, and when I took la Trurly...front tire was flat...darn cheap tubes. La Pugsdozer wasn't ready to ride (I didn't fix the rear brake)...I was late...had no spare tube for la Trurly... even if la Pugs was ready to ride I don't have a proper backpack to take the stuff on my pannier...that was it..my streak was over...went back inside...talk about it with the wife and took my shower...when I was dressing up...I took my bike computer to check the Time...WTF! It was 1hr early!...checked my phone and it was 1 hr later...turned on the tv...F! I was 1hr early...my phone/alarm was bad...I thought again on la Pugsdozer...but I was already showered and still didn't have a proper backpack...took my breakfast in bed and then took our car... 

Great pics guys!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Bummer Martin! Its still a great streak that you should be proud of! Stupid daylight savings time! 

Newfangled: great pic and congrats on the new ride!

Today I wasn't in the mood for thinking or wind...but I got both. Warm afternoon temps in the high 30s will make for a slushy ride home so I took the xtracycle with its tiny 1.75" wide tires and fenders. I had to concentrate on following a proper line through the snow, all while avoiding the 18-22mph wind gusts. Sleep deprived from the stupid DST, I'm surprised I made it in at all!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Back in the dark this morning. I hate that about the time change. It was dumping rain and windy as heck when I went to bed...at least that let up a bit for the ride. Everything was soaked, but it wasn't raining, and the wind was mellow. not a bad ride, but I hated pulling the headlight back out. 

On the plus side...my best school year ever (I'm a teacher) was 5.5 driving days, and I'm sitting at 5.5 driving days right now...we're leaving the risk of crazy ice storms (hopefully), so there's a good chance I can at least tie the record. With the winter we've had, I would be stoked to pull that off. 52 more school days or soemthing like that...not that I'm counting.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, Martin! Major bummer, but it WAS an excellent run. Maybe next year- for both of us!

DST: One of the stupidest ideas ever implemented. At least it gets that sun out of my eyes on the wy home from work (at CommuterBoy`s expense). Sorry you had to think, JAG. That might be even worse than wind, epecially when sleep deprived.

Fingers crossed for tying your record, CB.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm not a big fan of DST, but at least we got a nice temperature change to go along with it. Barely below freezing this morning with a high of 8C? And it should be nice all week. It took two extra weeks, but I think February is finally over.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> If I remember right from the "welcome to" signs, most of the towns were founded in the 1780's or thereabouts. One had a plaque on a mill site where logs were cut from the 1700's 'til 1995, kinda sad to close after that long.


That`s about a hundred years better than anything we have around here, other than petroglyphs. The first European exploration party passed through my area in Jan 1844, first settlements a bit later, and they were mostly tents or quicky buildings that didn`t last. The worst part is that old buildings seem to be targeted for implosion as soon as they`re old enough to vote :madman: I have to get my architecture fix when I make visits to Mexico (which will be very soon


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry your streak is over, Martin, but it was quite impressive. And if it had to end, it's nice to end it with breakfast in bed!

I'm back on dogsitting duty, so no bikecommute for me for a few days, but I will try to get out for a lunch ride. With the delivery of girl scout cookies here, I feel the need to burn some calories.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Yes, those damn girl scout cookies are getting the better of my after my morning commute and cup of coffee. Can't wait till they are all gone. -5 F this AM, blood felt like a 50wt oil...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks guys...I just came from a car ride to get proper slime inner tubes...picked up bike & wife at home...had a quick lunch with the wife and I'm ready for a 4.5/5 week


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Martin: After that start, not half bad, at all! Yeah and Flats blow. 

Must be the day for it. I had my first trip of the year I could have taken the bike and didn't. Seem to be getting hyothermic at night. Average 96.5 F one reading 94.1 and the thermometer is wihtin 0.2 F of accurate. Add in sleep apnea when the mask shifts and my heart just wasn't in a ride to the Doctor's appointment/volunteer work.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

gezz...now I think the flats were a sort of sign!....sky is weird and little drops are falling from it


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

todays commute was pretty decent, decided to take a detour home after work!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Sunset While Riding Home
In the Background on the left a Horse Stable on the right you can see them in picture but there was Four Deer Grassing behind the 3 trees 

Milton Rd. Riding Home


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful sunset - I could just make out the deer. That reminds me that last week I saw a mink, but unfortunately it had been run over between the bowling alley and the river. There are a few similar animals here, but it looks like the others turn white in winter like the ermine or are bigger like the fisher. It was fresh, I probably should have grabbed it for some nice earwarmers. I have a friend who likes to do the deer butchering, I bet she would have done the icky part.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Today I awoke to what looked like rain covered streets, only to find it was all ice. I rode anyways, with about every other pedal stroke spinning the rear wheel. No scary spots except the bike/ped underpass which was a skating rink up and down. I had to walk along the snowbank while pulling the bike on the ice, but I made it here safely. These skinny tires have redeemed themselves for the time being


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

towards the end of last week, yesterday and this morning too, I've been having a bunch of mosquito swarms encounters....swallowed one or two


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s okay, Martin. It`ll take a lot of skeeters to put back those kilos you lost- I wouldn`t worry much about just one or two.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Turnaround is fair play on those blood suckers! :thumbsup: The fed/fat ones don't swarm.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I got soooooooaked today. Residential streets with hardpacked snow that is turning into 4" deep wheel ruts filled with water. It took maybe half a block before my jacket was soaked through and sticking to my back, and my shoes were gushing water. My badass little mountain bike fender apparently doesn't cut it. Oh well, this is better than the alternative. :thumbsup:


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

got some new parts for the big unit and took the extra long way home today!!

Checkin out the ice castle on great slave lake









testing out the new 29X2.4! they pass...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice! Looks in move-in condition.

Newf, that sounds pretty miserable, I hope that was on your way home to a hot shower.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hehe no mosquito eaten today 

took the long route for the first time in days

yeah newf...was it going home?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We've had rain for the past 3 days...somehow I've been catching a window in the morning where it's not coming down, just wet roads. Sloppy wet rides home though... this morning the trend did not continue... my bike is doubling as a drying rack for the raingear at the moment... But it's not frozen anymore, so I'll take it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, most my gear dried out overnight, but my shoes were still soaking this morning. Had to break out the 5.10s, and tomorrow morning they'll probably be soaked and I'll have to switch back. But last week it was -26C, so I can't complain.

Temperatures are still a little below freezing in the mornings, so there's ice everywhere. It's mostly the lumpy stuff which is okay for riding, but there were a couple of mini skating rinks, and I had one close-ish call. So the studs are staying on for awhile yet.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Killer ice sculptures! All I got were red Xs at work, glad the pictures show up at home.

What are 5.10s? Good call keeping the studs mounted.

Been rainy here too, but not solid- more off than on. Wind has been more on than off, though. Also, we haven`t dipped below freezing for probably a week or better, so that`s good.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning I almost caught up with another bike commuter, but he turned off before I could overtake him. Just as well. Passing people is often awkward anyway.

We've had rain the past two days. The rest of the week is looking great. We might get up into the mid-70's later this week.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Almost 60 * F today. Took long way round.  Met 2 others on bikes and one Delta trike.

Time to stop and smeel the roses but there aren't any yet.

Croci are in full bloom:










[


















A poosible cyclists theme song (composers are English, so adjust for your climate).

The Weather Song (Flanders and Swan. from 3 CD set The Complete Flanders and Swan, there, free plug should cover copyright issues)

January brings the snow
Makes your feet and fingers glow.

February's ice and sleet 
Freeze the toes right off your feet.

Welcome March with wintry wind (rhyme with rind)
Would thou work not so unkind.

April brings the sweet spring showers
On and on, for hours and hours.

Farmers fear unkindly May
Frost by night and hail by day.

June just rains and never stops
Thirty days and spoils the crops.

In July the sun is hot
Is shiniing still? Night: it's not.

August cold, and dank, and wet
Brings more rain than any yet.

Bleak September's mist and mud
Is enough to chill the blood.

Then October adds a gale
Wind and slush and rain and hail.

Dark November brings the fog
Should not do it to a dog.

Freezing Wet December then...
Bloody January again!
:madman:


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

*The ride out:*
Very rainy and windy with temp. at approx. 45*F. Tailwind coming from my 7 O'clock position at approx. 7-10MPH.

*The ride back:*
Heavy snow and wind with temp. at approx. 32*F. Headwind coming from my 2 O'clock position at approx. 7-10MPH.

This was an 18 mile turn-around ride done in an 1.5 hours :lol: !

My helmet kept sliding down over the eyebrow/glasses on the ride home. When I took my helmet off I discovered an accumulation of snow on the forward part of the helmet!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Icy, Sunny, and Fast!


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

today was my day off so no work commute, but i did do some errands on the other side of town so i got to ride some in town 'trails' that i dont ride all to often, about 10 miles of riding! 
everything is covered in a fresh coat of 4 or 5 inches of snow, so it was nice and grippy on the straights and extra sketchy on the corners.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Frozenss, so you're riding singlespeed through all of that? I figure one gear could get me through about 95% of the winter, but right after a fresh snowfall is when I'm really glad to have a few lower gears. Do I just need to HTFU?


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

Haha I think that would work best. I was riding my 29er which is 32 - 18


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Cool. I just got my first 29er running 32/18 on the weekend, so I haven't gotten a chance to try it in fresh snow yet.

With a 26er though, with fresh snow I often find I have to keep shifting down until I find a gear that will left me keep momentum (very, very slow momentum) without digging down or spinning out. 

I'm hoping the 29er will make it a bit easier, but right now my plan is to run ss in the summer and stick some gears on for next winter.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


>


Whoohoo! You didn`t run up to Edmonton for these shots, did you? 

After those cheerful images, I wasn`t expecting the dreary lyrics that followed- fit for Ambrose Bierce or Charles Dickens. I`m gonna have to look up Flanders and Swan to see what other mysery they rant about.

Lately, my mind has been serenading me with Aguas De Março/Waters of March. Equally dreary, even in the Northern hemisphere (English) version.

Plan of a house,
A body in bed,
Car stuck in the mud,
It`s the mud, it`s the mud...

É um pau, é pedra
É o fim do caminho
É resto do toco
É um pouco sozinho


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

Im loving my 29er for snow riding. 29x2.4s are giving me a ton of float!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a run-in with an SUV this morning. He turned left into my lane from a stop sign right in front of me. It was one of those "I can't believe he just did that" moments. I'm thankful for decent brakes. Without them, I'd probably end up denting one of his doors. What a shame that would be...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Snowy ride home yesterday, and a dusting this morning.... last time? Doubt it... I haven't seen a flower in what seems like forever. nice to know they still exist.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I`m thankful for decent brakes. Without them, I'd probably end up denting one of his doors. What a shame that would be...


Unfortunately, it`s probably not easy to dent a door without denting yourself quite a bit. Better off having good brakes.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Flowers: N o, not Edmonton. Took crocus pics on the same date (03-16) last year! Robins, Redwing Blackbirds, and now Crocuses...spring is coming. 

s0keyeus: A miss is almost as good as a mile. Adrenalin can be a b&%$h, though! 

Under the heading 'Misery Likes Company: 
Very few people here turn left into the left lane, especially if traffic is not blatantly obvious in the right lane. Just another reason I have had to up the visibility ante. 

Passed by a driver within 100 feet of a stop sign (last before library on quiet side street where the road minus parked cars is a lane and a half and I was out beyond dooring reach). I pulled up to the stop sign and glared at him. Looked it up, and yes, that is illegal, even in Indiana.  BTW he also went to the library and I was in before him, so he wasn't in a big hurry.

In looking that up to make sure I was not mistaken, I discovered that the minimum signaling distance for a turn is 200' in zones below 55 mph, and 300' for those above. The signal must be continuous, even on a bike!

How many of you use hand turn signals, and if you do, do you keep the arm out there for 200' or more continuosly? I wish motorists would signal here for half that distance routinely, and all they need is a finger tap to do it. 

At least now they allow temporary loads in one hand like a water bottle or shift lever! :thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yesterday I had an RSX do the left turn infront of me. It wasn't super close, but it was close enough that I had to hit the brakes. So then I felt justified riding the next block giving him the finger through his rear window. (since he was in so much of a hurry that he couldn't wait for me to go by, but then I had no trouble keeping up with him one-handed on icy roads...)

As for legal signals, the one I can't figure out is making a left turn on a narrow road with heavy oncoming traffic. There's one of these on my route to work, and I get as far over to the left as I can to let cars pass me on the right. But then when I stick my left arm out to signal it is well into the oncoming lane. And I can be standing there for a minute or two, because there won't be a break in oncoming traffic until the light (that's a few blocks away) changes. So I kindof have to wave my arm between a left signal and a stop signal depending on how tall the oncoming traffic is.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Can you cross the street earlier when there's a gap in traffic and ride the sidewalk or the wrong side of the road for a short distance before the turn? That doesn't sound like a safe situation.


I slapped a honda the other day. This lady passed me, hit the brakes, and turned right into a parking lot directly in front of me... no concept of speed or how I still existed even after she couldn't see me out of the side window. I swerved into the lane to get around her rear end as she turned, and smacked her trunk hard with my right hand... I saw brake lights, and when I glanced back after a bit, she was still sitting there halfway into the road looking around for what she'd hit.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

My brother had one lady cut him off so badly in a pass and immediate right turn then stop dead halfway through the turn. He had a choice between slamming into her bumper or laying it down. He beat on the trunk pretty hard while crawling out from under. Ambulance called. Some bike repair. Only scrapes. No charges. She's lucky he was a teen and the cops wanted to be nice to the 'little old lady'.

Moral: if you are almost going traffic speed get them by and swing into their rear view mirror and get your 2 seconds clearance ASAP. Moral 2: If the driver can hardly see over the steering wheel there's a real good chance she doesn't see you at all. 

Record high here today of at least 73, reading at 6 15 PM. may have been warmer earlier. 1995 record was 72. Got wind burned! Winds 24-31 mph which means in valleys, spots where there are woods to funnel each side the gusts are more like 40. I rode the lowest gear (39-29), I ever have had to call on outbound up a hill at one point a gust had me thinking it was going to be posting very soon! Next down is Granny! Only 10.9 mph outbound. The slowest I have ever done it (though I was trying to stay below 75% max Heart Rate) and it nets about 160 feet of downgrade. 95% of time in drops. The wind did not die down or not much (unusual) so on the return, 18.75 mph, limited more by my not wanting to exceed my high pulse limit at this stage of fitness. Nice to dust off top gear once in a while. 

The toad chorus has started. Tadpoles in the offing! Peepers next!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was on the road all day for work, but it was a beautiful day, about 50F and sunny, so I squished the cross bike in the back seat and took an hour ride at lunch. I was in the southwest corner of VT near NY & MA, and in some spots you could see (last year's) grass. Went up to Bennington Battle monument, which I had not seen up close before. It memorializes a Revolutionary war battle that actually took place in nearby NY. At 300' high, it is the highest structure in VT, and I guess you can take an elevator up in summer. We actually get off work on Bennington Battle Day, August 16th. "It is in honor of the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington. Here Brigadier General John Stark and his American forces successfully defeated two detachments of British General John Burgoyne’s invading army in 1777." Stock images, I didn't bring a camera or phone:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Newfangled: "So I kind of have to wave my arm between a left signal and a stop signal depending on how tall the oncoming traffic is."

CommuterBoy: "I saw brake lights, and when I glanced back after a bit, she was still sitting there halfway into the road looking around for what she'd hit."

Ha! Both sound like entertaining shows that I`m sorry I didn`t get to see!
Newfangled, it sounds pretty dangerous to me, too. If CB`s suggestion won`t work for you, could you continue to that signal a few blocks up either turn or U-turn there? If it`s only one lane each way, I can see why you don`t want to hold up everybody behind you, but it sounds like a seriously dangerous situation.

I came in early tonight to cover the second half of the swing shift guy`s day. It was the first time I`ve ridden to work with daylight in ages (I get it going home, though). Tomorrow is a day off with no pay, then a week`s vacation. Almost out of here! Saturday morning I`m taking off for Baja California- can`t wait to chow down on some good old non-pasteurized quesadillas and put away my share of tamales and atole in the mornings from vendors in the plaza. Yum!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CB and rodar, thanks for the concern. There are about 5 different ways I can handle that intersection, and crossing earlier and riding on the sidewalk for a block is what I do most of the time. Occasionally I stick to the road though, and then stand there like a goof with my arm sticking out hoping that no one behind me is asleep at the wheel.

Since it was just barely below freezing this morning I took the new 29er to work as a friday treat. 32/18 is definitely a bit too low a gear for commuting, but that's not a huge surprise. The bike wasn't really meant as a commuter, and it worked okay, but just needed a lot of spinning on the flats. The big wheels rolled over all the rough ice like it wasn't even there though, which is pretty cool.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning was great. Our temp was sitting pretty at 64F, and the sunrise was fantastic. This afternoon's high is predicted to be 78F. That might feel pretty hot.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Worst mud season in years! To deep for bikes and many cars. Soupy ruts all over the road, the grinding sound of car undercarriages dragging thru mud - aaaah springtime in Vermont!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It still looks like winter, but it was super nice today:



The roads were pretty sloppy though. Not as bad as tuesday, but I still got plenty soaked.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Commute to work this morning was great, ride home was a warm wet slushy one. Lots of puddles too. Fenders work pretty good, from the knees up is clean, rear needs to be extended a few more inches to keep the back clean.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, crap- vacation cancelled at the last minute.. Talk about letting the air out of a balloon. The weather report has been looking worse every time I check and I kept making changes- different route, colder camping gear, finally had to do a reality check when I saw snow falling sideways yesterday. Asked my boss to let me reschedule the vacation time from work and cancelled the dentist appt. I know it was the right move, but I`m still really bummed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Man that sucks Rodar. This storm is finally officially making me sick of winter. I haven't been sick of winter in several years, so I guess that's a good thing in terms of moisture/snowpack/water in the lakes though. 

I had some, uh, drivetrain issues on the ride home yesterday. How can one substance be so slippery and so sticky at the same time? Total slushfest. We are now at 6 inches or so, and it's still coming down. Hopefully by Monday the roads will be clear...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, that looks awful, probably added 10 lbs too. 
Dang, Rodar, that is really too bad, you must have been psyched for the bike trip. I guess we have to wait for pix.

I took a 25 mi loop ride today in nearby NH, saw some interesting stuff on the way...sorry i only brought the cellphone...
The sign at the covered bridge said it was one of only 20 remaining paddleford truss bridges in the world. It was built in 1849 after 3 previous bridges got swept away by floods. There used to be log drives on the river and once they had to dynamite a log jam under the bridge, and some logs had to be retrieved off the roof of the bridge.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You didn`t ride your bike across that bridge, did you? The sign clearly says "Passenger cars only" :nono: 
Well, maybe we can let it slide just once 

Yuck, CB!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> You didn`t ride your bike across that bridge, did you? The sign clearly says "Passenger cars only" :nono:
> Well, maybe we can let it slide just once


haha, yes I did! The car on the other side took the 1-lane bridge sign seriously and waited for me to get through before proceeding. I really wanted to try the wire footbridge too but it was all locked up.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Cars Only? Hmmm. Well, at least you were well under the weight limit. I admire you for wanting to try the cable bridge. I'm good just seeing it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took another tour yesterday, there is still a few feet of snow left, so no yard work to do yet.  33 mi, I liked this cliff scene, the Willing Workers Hall, and a nice round barn. I looked up the Hall and found a youtube video interviewing a few of the 100 people in town; the hall had music, dances, suppers, and charitable activities in the community, starting about 1910. The barn said 1906, the round ones were only popular for a short time, so there are few left. They were promoted as more eficient because you could feed all the hay from the 2nd floor centrally down to the cows...but I think it turned out to be less efficient for dealing with the other end of the cow. Had 1 crazy downhill, really rough frost heaves, etc., it felt more like a MTB ride trying to balance the speed and control; the sign said 9% grade next 2 mi, and I was already going 25 mph.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We have a restored round barn near town that was a backdrop of a March ride pic last year in this thread. There was one on my commute in Ohio, and a couple on the U of Illinois South Farm. Some had a circular 'horsepower' on the threshing floor above the stables allowing use in inclement weather without making a mire. One or many horses would be harnessd to the spokes of a hub they turned by walking in a circle, providing belt power for various uses. Economic steam, was soon followed by even more economical oil, kerosene, diesel, and gasoline tractors. Rubber tractor tires improved field and road use of tractors, and when used ones became affordable, the era when the horse was the primary farm power source was ended. No need for round barns. In fact hay lifts and later bales are more efficiently stored in rectagular spaces. Form follows function. They are beautiful and uncommon though.:thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The slushfest subsided enough for the roads to be clear this morning. It was also frozen again, so even the dirt road wasn't too bad... you just had to aim for the dark spots. No brakes anywhere but the dark spots, and you're fine. 
My hands were cold...it was probably 27 or so. It's the first day of spring, so I refuse to go back to the "level 3" gloves... something just won't let me put those lobster mitts on after the time change.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

We're warming up in MI now and in the Metro Detroit area the roads are good enough to ride on again and not worry about someone sliding into you. I had to take to the sidewalks when there was a lot of ice. This morning was a brisk 40 degrees, so I just threw on some ripped cargo pants, jersey, REI Activestretch Half-Zip, and my Patagonia Torrentshell. Went with my half gloves and my Pearl Izumi headband for the ears. Hands were a little cold at first, but after a few miles they were good.

Only bad thing is the ride home is supposed to be 60 and I didn't want to carry some shorts, so I am riding home in the pants. Booo.... Oh well, I can ditch the Torrentshell in the panniers and roll without it and probably be comfy in the long sleeve.

I like that its getting warmer, but the greatly varying temps morning vs. evening make it hard to plan and not carry too much extra clothing. I know.... woe is me, right?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

More snow this week


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

27F here as well, CB, so my mud was nicely frozen, I just tried to stay out of the deepest of the ruts. Snow started upon arrival at work, 3-5" forecast today, so the way home will be trickier. I took the pogies off the bar but the studded tires are still on. I heard that our new head honcho rode in today too, not having looked at the weather report, and might be in touch with me for the bus info...I suppose it would not be nice nor a good career move to claim there is no bus.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dalton said:


> Only bad thing is the ride home is supposed to be 60 and I didn't want to carry some shorts, so I am riding home in the pants. Booo.... Oh well, I can ditch the Torrentshell in the panniers and roll without it and probably be comfy in the long sleeve.
> 
> I like that its getting warmer, but the greatly varying temps morning vs. evening make it hard to plan and not carry too much extra clothing. I know.... woe is me, right?


I have landed on a pretty killer transition-season kit:

I wear shorts (mtb baggies with built in liner...seals tight with leg warmers) and leg warmers (pearl izumi, pretty warm ones)...they're good down to 40 or so, below 37ish I also wear waterproof pants (very thin, the windproof factor makes them very warm in combo with the leg warmers...I've worn that combo down to -3 F). So for the ride home when it jumps from 30 to 60, I've got the shorts I rode to work in, and all I'm carrying in the backpack is super light rain pants and the leg warmers. I do the same up top, with a long sleeve T-shirt and rain jacket...long sleeve T for the ride home, light packable rain jacket in the backpack.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I have managed 1 knickers lunchtime ride, but I can't wait for real shorts weather! I push it a little by picking an extra long and heavy pair of baggies over longish lycra shorts. I have some thick kneewarmers I have mostly used as a extra layer on colder winter days, but I think I will try combining them with the shorts too.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

64F this morning. 70s as I type this. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Snow started coming down like crazy tonight...the kind that just piles up on your bike, clothes, etc. as you ride. Slow going but good traction. A little disorienting, as the snow disguised all the landmarks - I was a little concerned I might pedal past my driveway, but I made it home!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry for those with or getting more snow. Been there, done that, shoveled that snow. This is the Banana Belt compared to my first three decades.

31 non-commute miles on The Duchess, threat of spotty thunderstorms, but mostly cloudy with sun peeking out a lot, AND 72 at 4:30! Was still 70 * F at 9:00. Yay Spring! First shorts and jersey plus ANSI vest ride. Need to put on sun screen on next time. But the wind, wow! Not as gusty and variable in direction as last ride. Just a ride into the teeth of it , turn around and sail on home. 12.0 mph outbound, 19.2 mph (WooHoo!) home bound. Maxed out top gear once. Could have broken 20 but trying to return to form without tearing anything up. Heal slower.

More flowers, want to see 'em?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ve been known to wear long johns under shorts. But I can get away with it cause I`m Super Dork anyways 

We`re looking at lows right around freezing with mixed precip, mostly of the liquid variety. I put my studded tires back on today, just in case. Went in early, leaving a little after 6PM rather than a little after 10PM (OT is a big stretch from vacation time) and it was completely light out. Also light enough on the home trip that I could get away with just blinkies. I`m tempted to ride either my road bike or my recumbent tomorrow just because I can. Probably not a really good idea, but not totally stupid, either. I need to stew on that one for a while.

Hey, doesn`t somebody on Commuting hail from Moorhead, MN? Seems that way to me, but can`t remember who. I heard an interview on the radio today with the mayor of Moorhead. Something about getting slammed with a "hundred year flood" every year. Unfortunately, my wife was talking to one ear while I was trying to listen to the interview with the other ear, so I didn`t catch all of it. Or was it my sister in law who was flooded and Moorhead had the flu? I need that Tivo thing on my radio.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> More flowers, want to see 'em?


No. Show us the naked knees.
And the sunbun.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I was a little concerned I might pedal past my driveway, but I made it home!


Scene in my mind's eye:
Am I there yet? Bienvenu a Quebec? THAT'S a bad sign. Hate it when that happens! 



rodar y rodar said:


> No. Show us the naked knees. And the sunbun.


If you've seen one older guy's naked knees you've seen 'em all. Not purty! 

No burn, just that slight reddening and slightly warm sensation on my 'left over from fall farmer's tan' on the arms that said I was lucky it was so cloudy. Part of my Celtic inheritance, I guess. Guess I was so low in the drops that I shaded my thighs!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

car ride today ... once the streak is over there is no shame :lol:
on Sunday night the wife wanted to do a light home workout we found on the web...I ended up sweating and doing some leg exercises I shouldn't do the day after the race...it was great though... I'll join her with those workouts from now on.

Race was great, lots of up and downhills, some rocky technical sections and a nice "pugsley made" rocky section alongside a river. I had to walk a few hills but the Pugs is fast going down  

sorry to hear you guys are having more cold days


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

"car ride today ... once the streak is over there is no shame "

I heard a rumor to that effect. I guess it`s true.
Another race? Wow, how many does that make?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I've been at home sick for a few days last week, then driving to work this week. Today I feel awesome and want to ride my bike...but 18" of snow are coming after the freezing rain stops. When the weather settles down I can trade my subaru for my pugsley and get pedaling again!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

this is the 4th of the year rodar, 3 officials and 1 special...official calendar shows 6 more for 2011.

yep, no shame...I'll need to change my approach to keep the bike commuting high though...for the first 2 months we just need to fill our car tank twice per month, instead of one per week!...that was definitively nice.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

back today...those mosquitoes are such a pita!

yesterday was a full day off...well, I did another cardio workout last night...today probably some abs :thumbsup:

will reach the 700 mi on my way home!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

More. Flipping. Snow. When will it stop? Several inches of early spring are piling up as we speak. Slow, slippery commute this morning. I will ride home out of sheer defiance.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Almost got hit today by a x-country skier who came tearing down a hill. I'm going to say that he was being a jackass, because he was totally unprepared for anybody to be where I was. 

Other than that the temperature is hovering just below freezing, and we're getting a bit of snow (maybe an inch at most). I'm okay with that. My bike is just disgusting though - bright orange chain this morning, front derailleur completely encrusted in sand, and just grit everywhere. I give it a quick cleaning everyday, but you'd never know.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

shouldn't have taken the studs off the commuters.
surprise!
phooey, rode this instead just for kicks.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

700 mi


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good going, Martin!



newfangled said:


> Almost got hit today by a x-country skier who came tearing down a hill. I'm going to say that he was being a jackass, because he was totally unprepared for anybody to be where I was.


Sounds like a Pettime commute! I`ve skied the streets from time to time, but no skier/bike incedents yet.

I like your HT, Byknutz. The day-glo must pedals make it easy to see where your feet are in light powder  What`s the frame?

I had a pretty good ride home this morning. Big fat snowflakes falling medium-hard had started around two hours earlier, just starting to stick except on the streets. It was warm (yes, lots of fog on my glasses) and there was a little bit of headwind, which is rare for going home. Fair is fair though, because I got an equally rare tailwind on my way in tonight. The wind throughout the day also did a decent job of drying the streets.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I'll know within an hour but I woke up to 8F and that was a shocker. March's "out like a lamb" is late!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Finally back on the bike! Its been 9 days off! We got over 8" of snow yesterday and the temps are in the single digits, but riding was necessary for my mental well being.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks R...

we had a bit of a rain last night so my commute this morning was fresh and pleasant...well, until I had a flat beginning the last 1/3 of it  ... I was going to bring the metal piece for a pic but I left it there....like I also left my air pump, good thing was that and old man was watching the whole thing and when I was leaving he yelled at me...yeah right!...the thing happened just under the pedestrian bridge...when I was riding it I took a look down and saw the pump...immediately look at the guy and he just couldn't keep the eye contact...I turned back and picked up.

welcome back jag!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Almost got hit today by a x-country skier who came tearing down a hill. I'm going to say that he was being a jackass, because he was totally unprepared for anybody to be where I was.
> 
> Other than that the temperature is hovering just below freezing, and we're getting a bit of snow (maybe an inch at most). I'm okay with that. My bike is just disgusting though - bright orange chain this morning, front derailleur completely encrusted in sand, and just grit everywhere. I give it a quick cleaning everyday, but you'd never know.


Shimano Cn-7701 is does not turn red and lasts very well...

Check out Jensons about $25.....

Wax the bike and the grit doesn't seem too stick has bad.

-5 C and freezing drizzle today.


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

28mph gusting to 38mph and rainy. Sideways riding is FUN...but riding into 30mph wind, no so much. Still, it was only 45F of so and a reasonably pleasant commute.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Shimano Cn-7701 is does not turn red and lasts very well...
> 
> Check out Jensons about $25.....


I view my winter drivertrain as sacrificial, so it's all just the cheapest 8spd stuff that MEC carries. 

And speaking of that, I've been using an old Altus rear derailleur in the winter. It's surprisingly bulletproof because it's got the gigantic-style pulleys which don't pack up with crud. Except that the pulleys are almost worn out, and I can't find any replacements - they're not in the catalog the local shops have, and the internet is no help. I could just buy a new altus/acera/alivo but that seems silly. I've also got a retired deore that I could use next year, but it was never great in the muck so I'm not expecting much from it in the snow.

What does everyone else have success with for winter rear derailleurs?

(I am aware of the wonders of singlespeed, but I'm not convinced it will get me through a winter's worth of varying snow conditions. And an IGH is just way too much commitment.)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I view my winter drivertrain as sacrificial, so it's all just the cheapest 8spd stuff that MEC carries.
> 
> And speaking of that, I've been using an old Altus rear derailleur in the winter. It's surprisingly bulletproof because it's got the gigantic-style pulleys which don't pack up with crud. Except that the pulleys are almost worn out, and I can't find any replacements - they're not in the catalog the local shops have, and the internet is no help. I could just buy a new altus/acera/alivo but that seems silly. I've also got a retired deore that I could use next year, but it was never great in the muck so I'm not expecting much from it in the snow.
> 
> ...


I have run an XTR RD for the past 5 winters....I go through about 1.5 chains per year. I have a XT BB and go through a set of bearings about 1 per year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I must admit that I too have an XTR RD on my winter commuter/summer trail bike. It's been on there for oh, ten years or so (only winter commuting last 2 years, though). I too toasted my BB last year, it was pretty destroyed from the salt... I will be interested to see if that repeats this year.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

XTRs? I'm clearly taking the wrong approach with my winterbike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had an ancient Shimano LX that was virtually indestructible and handled winter very well. I rode it from 1999 until 2010, never changed a pully.

Currently using a Shimano Deore... does good. Proof from the previous page:










It was the slop packed in the cassette that affected shifting, not the derailleur freezing up.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Crazy, crazy ride home today. I was counting on another slush fest because it was almost 40 degrees...but the temp dropped and it started really sticking just as I hit the road. It was dumping 'sierra cement' and there was a headwind...glasses lasted about 100 yards. couldn't take them off because of the eyeball-piercing nature of the onslaught....had to ride the glasses down on the nose, tilt the head down to get as much coverage out of the visor as possible, and close the eye that was the most upwind... 

Then the goal was to attempt to locate the uneven edge of the road/drop-off and stay far from it, while not getting into that ridge built up by the slush-throwing tires...the best place to ride was in the tire track, but that didn't feel safe because of the total lack of visibility and traction that cars were dealing with... it was a nasty one. A couple of quick unclip/foot down moments when the front tire would catch a slushy ridge. Hills were terrifying. Should have crashed many times. Getting off of the 'main' road was a major relief, and the dirt road was horrible, but not dangerous. 

We've got over a foot now and it's still coming down. Aaahhh, spring. Looks like I'm driving tomorrow, which will blow my chance at tying my record of 5.5 driving days in a school year. Tomorrow both ways will make it 6.5. It just feels stupid to push my luck with the traffic, even though I see less traffic than probably anyone on here. 

Snapped a pic of my apple tree right after I got home, and a bike shot with helmet for reference...the vents were totally packed and sealed up...warm actually. My rear fender packed up enough at one point that I started skidding...never had that happen before either. This was after the major 'bike bounce' snow clearing dance that I did outside (which apparently threw my chain off). You can tell from the floor that it's the end of winter :lol: . Very thankful for a basement with tile floors...and a tolerant wife.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hey, Perttime!
Long time no see. Are you still reviewing silently, or put us on hold? It`s about time for an update if you happen into this post.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy, you must still be a few degrees colder than here. It`s been snowing all day here, but melting almost as fast is it`s comming down. I had about two inches at home, maybe four here at work- soupy, slushy mess on all the roads in between. As long as the temps don`t drop into the 20s (possible, but not likely), it`ll probably be melted by 10AM tomorrow. If it DOES freeze up, my ride home is going to suck! Howling wind this afternoon, but they let up before my commute. Just talked to a coworker who drives in Portola- she left an hour early and arrived 45 minutes late. Says they had about 18 inches of dry snow, instantly turning to slush on the way down Beckwourth Pass. Better luck next year with the numbers. For both of us, hopefully.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Commuterboy: An attaboy for not calling for a pickup! Thank goodness you didn't have much traffic to deal with. Even at this stage with a winter of driving just completed, riding a snow fall like that here would be suicidal to share the road in. 

We are down below freezing at night and highs in the forties. Knew nights in the forties and days in the 60s and 70s weren't going to last this early.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Froze up good overnight... another couple inches on top of frozen slush. Jeep day. There's always next year... Someone fire that groundhog!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Commando day in MTY 

La Pugsdozer made a magazine cover:









a bit weird though: https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=695785


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Froze up here too  
But at least I got the other part of my prediction right- the ride home sucked.

EDIT: Hey, guys- don`t miss the thread that Martinsillo crosslinked to


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Very cool Martin!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

It has been raining for almost three weeks straight! As a result, most of my route is under water right now. I won't be able to ride for a while


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, Martin, that is really neat - what a shocker to turn up unbeknownst to you in a London bikemag - and we knew la pugdozer before she was famous! 

CB, that sounds like a wild ride, glad you made it home without crashing - not sure how you managed that :crazy: 

I was letting my bike melt on the kitchen tile floor with some newspapers etc. but for about $8 in Walmart's car aisle I found a replacement trunk mat that fits my bike perfectly & doesn't look so messy. It also catches chain oil, etc.

Nach, where are you? - that sounds awful! You will have to raise the river level in your avatar.

Nice ride in, pink sky, nice light on everything, 17F. Last night I ended up skipping the 2nd bus so I got in almost 22 mi RT.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> I was letting my bike melt on the kitchen tile floor with some newspapers etc. but for about $8 in Walmart's car aisle I found a replacement trunk mat that fits my bike perfectly & doesn't look so messy. It also catches chain oil, etc.


Brilliant.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Day off today, so no commute for me. I did go for a three hour fun ride, and I was seriously underdressed and was completely frozen by the end of it.

Saw this along the way:


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nach, where are you? - that sounds awful! You will have to raise the river level in your avatar.


Sacramento. I cross town using the amazing MUT that we have. It's the safest, most direct route, and without it I'd never be able to ride to work. Unfortunately, it's along the American River and _inside_ the levee, which means when we get rain like we have lately, it floods (by design).

It's OK though. I had planned to ride starting in February so I would be ready for the local mountain bike racing that starts up on Sunday. Between my baby being sick, me being sick,and local flooding, I have three rides in two months :thumbsup: Sunday should go well


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I was 40 * F but felt like 28. Damp and cloudy. Saw some snowflakes. :nono: 
Monday's ride was 75 * F and I wore shorts. Oh well, in is a continental climate zone. Trees were flowering and now their buds are nipped by frost. Dropped Sugar Maple flowers in red swaths under the trees. Pretty, but there will be few Maple keys this year. Pollen count dropped like a rock.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Why were you thawing your bike in the kitchen, MtbX? I thought you had a "mud room" for that (and I was envious).

Sugar maples flower? Somethng new every day!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:


rodar y rodar said:


> Why were you thawing your bike in the kitchen, MtbX? I thought you had a "mud room" for that (and I was envious).


A previous owner put carpet in the mudroom :bluefrown: I threw down a runner over it, but it's still not very practical for the bike.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, Perttime!
> Long time no see. Are you still reviewing silently, or put us on hold? It`s about time for an update if you happen into this post.


I'm still alive  but not viewing this thread daily. No commuting now, because I haven't found a new job yet. I have an interview next Friday, for a job that looks promising, but have no idea how hard the competition is for a "Documentation and Localization Specialist" position.

Yesterday I took the bus to town center and walked back. Bought a "Spitfire 75 Years" magazine special, borrowed a Terry Pratchett book from the library, and did a little recce to find the location where the job interview will be.

I just ran outside to get a pic of how the weather is now. It was warmer a couple of days ago and the side streets turned into mashed potatoes, mixed with ice rails. Now we are back to slightly frosty weather.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

In hurry last time & missed La Pugdozer's promotion to cover girl status. Congrats Martin!

Yes, sugar maples are flowering plants! But then they aren't exactly native to your part of the world, are they? So how would you be expected to know or care? LOL Still the red patches on the pavement were both pretty and sad. They usually drop in the first rain about a week after opening which washes them away. You just get red ribbons in cracks and against debris blocking them from being washed into the verge and on your windshield wipers. This is the first time I recall seeing them spread like a red carpet before me. Pretty neat. DIDn't think of how unusual at the time so dod not take a pic. Oh well.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks for the check-in, Perttime. Sorry you haven`t found anything yet, but it`s good to hear you`re still hanging in and haven`t frozen to death. Good luck with the interview.

Yeah, see if you can shoot some maple flower pictures next year. No Maplethorpes needed, though. It sounds odd to me because we do have several varieties of maple around here (Silver maple is by far the majority) and none of them bloom. But you`re right that sugar maples are not to be found.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good luck with the interview, Perttime, sounds like a mysterious position. 

I saw a funny duck commuting last week and finally looked it up. I was on a bridge over a medium sized stream which was running pretty good, and a black and white bird was bobbing crazily in the rapids looking slightly surprised, like a kayaker in heavier whitewater than expected. I believe it was the common goldeneye:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> sounds like a mysterious position.


It isn't all that mysterious to me: when somebody writes a piece of software that a lot of people will use, you usually need to create some instructions. That is Documentation. If you want to get that piece of software in use all over the world, somebody has to mind that all the texts are available in the languages you need. That's Localization. ... and a Specialist is someone who is supposed to have a clue about how to get it done


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Good software documentation is rare and a treasured art form. Good luck, I think you are a fast learner, Pertine, or at least a reasonably fast cyclist who is a learner.  

If the tree has seeds and not spores, then it has flowers. The may be small and green, and not look much like flowers, but they will be illustrated in a tree guide, if you are curious.

I may get some late Sugar Maple flowers on the stem for you today, if not, it will be next year or a stock photo. 

Goldeneye: knew of them, have seen photos, not seen one in the feather either.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

9 mi loop with the dog I'm sitting on the snowmachine trails right from the house :thumbsup: Superfast in spots, too soft in spots, but lots of fun overall. Bike and dog stayed pristine until the last 200 yds, where they are logging and turned it into a mudfest. Those maples in the last pic are not flowering yet, but those lines are the tubing now often used to collect the sap for syrup.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Love the dog's ears and part of scalp in the 3rd photo. 

We used the sap pails and old milk cans to gather it in and boiled it in the open in a 4' x 8' x 1' steel pan my dad made. Knowing a nice hot fire awaited your return with the sap added incentive. 

Looks like I'll have to research for pics or wait 'till next year, or drive north.

Rode another gale 32.5 miles. 19 mph outbound, 12 back. Just didn't feel the need to push it hard all the way back. Wind pants from Lands End did their job and didn't raise welts. 2 dead possums, two dead *****, and three vultures on ones that made it off the shoulder and grass verge an indeterminate amount of time ago. Inferred carcass species unknown. Definite sign of spring.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Today was a blast. Took the pugsley since I didn't know what conditions to expect, but aired up the tires a bit to make for a faster ride. Smooth pavement most of the way, but 1-2' snow/ice banks at the intersections. If I was on a different bike I would have to dismount and climb over, but Pugsley plowed right over, inspiring monster truck noises and laughing from me. I will miss the winter, which is certainly on its way out.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

starting another non-perfect week 

+1 on the dog's ears pic.

thanks for the words on the cover guys.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had to drive today. I made the mistake of playing pick-up soccer after going for a mtb ride on Saturday. It was too much too early. I screwed up my right quad. I'm hoping to be back in business tomorrow or by Wednesday at the very latest.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I must admit that I too have an XTR RD on my winter commuter/summer trail bike. It's been on there for oh, ten years or so (only winter commuting last 2 years, though). I too toasted my BB last year, it was pretty destroyed from the salt... I will be interested to see if that repeats this year.


If memory serves you replaced the stock external shimano BB with another stock external shimano BB...

Shimano BB bearings have a limited life compared with some hybrid and ceramic BB in my exoerience..

I would suggest you will not get through another winter with your current BB.

My brother ran an old but little used stock Shimano square taper BB...it lasted about 1/2 the winter....So the old stuff doesn't do any better either.

BTW more snow...back to 3 to 4 inches of fresh car snot.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> XTRs? I'm clearly taking the wrong approach with my winterbike.


No just an alternate approach...lots of ways to skin a cat...

I run high end stuff, and it will outlast the low end stuff, often by a margin that actually makes it a lower cost option in the long run....

But you will never know unless you try it.

The CN-7701 chain, combined with hybrid ceramic bearings in the wheels and BBs are what really help.

A buddy is running full ceramic BBs....I will try that next time I change...

I stripped my last set of hybrids down...the ceramic balls were unworn the steel races just a mess.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This is supposed to be the week... mid 60's by Thursday, they're saying... I'll believe it when I see it. This morning was 29ish... wet roads, little hints of ice, but long patches of dry pavement. If spring is coming, we've certainly earned it this year around here...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Painfully slow - mostly due to terrible headwinds. I had read yesterday that it would be high NW winds, but by this morning forgot I should not leave at the last minute. Also, I forgot to re-up the tire presssure after the trailride yesterday, so that slowed me down too. The front was really low, because when I went to let some air out trailside, the presta core came off with the plastic cap & a woosh of air. I don't think I've had this happen before with a presta valve. I got a finger over it before it was fully flat, and re-threaded the core & cap on (still together). Shoulda fixed it when I got home. So I missed the bus by 4 minutes, got to work 30 mins late (would have been more, but I skipped the shower - not a great start to the week. I did see a record # of bikers for 12F; one enjoying the tailwind, 1 picking up deposit bottles, and 1 on his first commute of "spring", but only going 1 mile. I'm hoping to stay on the bike this week because I loaned my car to a friend who needed to travel to help her Dad, and I got a minivan that lost its muffler to mud season for temporary trade.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Mtbxplorer: Damp winds at high thirties aren't nice on my last two 30+ milers, but 12 * F and windy? That's just plain miserable. And no shower to warm up.

Commuterboy: hope you see 60 by the end of the week. It was nice while it lasted here.

Rodar: Neighbor's maple isn't a sugar maple (wrong bark) but the flowers are very similar though bigger, most importantly, on low limbs I could get at, and a little later to come out so not frosted off. So this should do:



There were some wilted ones from my Sugar Maple in the cracks in my driveway but these are prettier. Imagine a carpet of smaller versions of them not blown by wind or washed away by rain. I may never see that again.

They make a red haze on the limbs at a distance. Next will be millions of shades of green, the mauve of red bud (yes the buds are red), the catkins of oaks, the 'tulips' of Tulip Poplar and of Shagbark Hickory, and the white of Dogwood and a lot of sniffles.

One full stop then pullout from my left that got halfway across the left lane after she responded to my shout at start up and braked. Misjudged my speed (downhill), I think. Had that "How could I miss him" look on her face. Too many think all cyclists poke-along at pedestrian pace. One car passed at a mutual left turn which was really interesting. The driver realized they messed up when they got to the turn and were just alongside me, with no room left to return to the proper lane, so had to turn into the oncoming lane of the street. Should have used my horn but I was a bit busy with signaling, turning, and deciding how best to avoid the car. Lovely example of sharing the road.:madman:

I just want to celebrate another day of living. And cycling! Too sunny to get too bent out of shape about dumb cagers. Misses are good. Thank goodness I'm so visible!

Brian.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

For those of you with a lot of bearing eating salt, how do loose ball BBs stack up against cartridges? If you keep at them, do they hold up as long for you?

Thanks, Brian. They`re sure pretty! I have to confess I did an internet search for them over the weekend and some of the blossoms that turned up were from maples that we DO have around here. Somehow, I just never noticed the flowers before. I have two out in my front yard, so I`ll keep a closer than usual eye on them this year. So far, they only have little pre-leaf buttons.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Better today, no wind & I got the tires pumped up before I left. About 15 mins faster than yesterday! 15F with spitting snow. Met a MTBR on the bus, moved up from MA wiith just her singlespeed & wondering how that will work here...I have seen it done but I couldn't do it, on road or off, too hilly for me. She also asked about the studded tires, perhaps we will have another commuter convert.

I haven't used the loose balls in the winter, they have size/ruggedness in their favor, I was surpirsed how wimpy the little balls in the XTR BB were. OTOH I have had freshly greased loose ball hubs on a road bike start rattling around after 50mi in pouring rain - I opened them up and nothing was left but water.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-1C this morning, with expected highs above freezing - whoo. We've been hovering just below freezing with heavily overcast skies for what seems like forever. It's been pretty good riding because the snow is nice and solid, but it also feels like spring has been put on hold. We've still got a tonne of snow to melt before the trails can start drying out, but hopefully things will start to move along again this week.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

So that Campy oil port clip on old Record hubs allows emergency Oil IV to the free bearings in those conditions, I guess. Never used it. Always regreased them after a longish wet ride. Creamy grease sometimes said that was good to do, but usually the grease itself kept the water at bay so a quick chck some more grease and done. Not a small task time wise to completely clean, regrease and reasseble hubs and BB. 

Sealed bearings either keep the water out or once in, in. Will replace the free bearing BB on the errand bike with a sealed unit, maybe this coming servicing. But they are classic, internal, and more sheltered, not the new style external bearings. I suppose once you get a feel for life expectancy, you could replace them on principle at regular intervals and not wait for failure.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm giddy... scored a new bike today. I haven't actually seen it yet, because my friend made the exchange for me, but the frame is a Giant OCR-2... road bike from 2003 or 2004. Easton carbon forks, mavic wheelset, Shimano 105 components. It needs cables, a chain, and some tires. The cost: my snowshoes. Dude was hard up for some skiing with all the snow we've been having. At the very least I can sell it and buy a new pair of snowshoes and have a couple hundred left over. Craigslist is the best. 

The only downsides that I can think of is that I will now have no excuse for avoiding the road rides with the local guys, and I will be riding something without disc brakes :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, C`mon CB. Now you`ve got 700mm aluminum discs!
Sounds good, especially at such a bargain. As nice as your mtb situation is out there, there`s tons of awesome road riding too, and I`m sure you`ll fid a good use for the OCR. Is it 2 x 9 drivetrain?

Side question: Are the roads to Antelope Lake plowed in the winter from either direction?


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

todays commute was awesome, build up my new frame last night and finally got to take the long way home with it. it was snowing and just above freezing. awesome awesome ride.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

First bike commute in a couple weeks due to rain. I don't have changing facility or showers so all I can really do is change from an athletic shirt to my collared shirts or polos. Otherwise it's Carhartts and work boots for my commute. Oddly we somehow manage to have bike lockers at work.

The trip home I took a detour and went about 10 miles out of my way just because I miss riding. Ran into a pack of about 30 spandex roadie warriors with Trek Madones, Kestrels, and some other brands I did not recognize. They pretty much stood for the many many reason motorists dislike bicyclists. They prolly ran about 3 stop signs and red lights assuming all motorists would stop for them. Heck, they nearly collided with me at a blind merge where they have a stop sign and I did not. 

Funny thing is that I was keeping up with them on a 0.5 mi climb in my 48T chainring... Guy in Carhartts, boots, and backpack with a big baugette sticking out of it on a hybrid keeping up with spandex warriors on Trek Madone...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Priceless stories, Jseko & FROZENSS, they both made me smile.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> Funny thing is that I was keeping up with them on a 0.5 mi climb in my 48T chainring... Guy in Carhartts, boots, and backpack with a big baugette sticking out of it on a hybrid keeping up with spandex warriors on Trek Madone...


I`m gonna have to take your word for it, cause I`ve never been there, and don`t forsee it happening to me unless those Spandex Warriors are leaving their Jazzercise session at the seniors center. I might stand a chance then


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Aw, C`mon CB. Now you`ve got 700mm aluminum discs!
> Sounds good, especially at such a bargain. As nice as your mtb situation is out there, there`s tons of awesome road riding too, and I`m sure you`ll fid a good use for the OCR. Is it 2 x 9 drivetrain?
> 
> Side question: Are the roads to Antelope Lake plowed in the winter from either direction?


It's 2x8 at the moment... I don't want to buy shifters, so that's probably what it will stay... as a mountain biker I'm sort of terrified of how tiny the big sprocket is in the rear. :lol: It's like, why have so many? they all have 13 teeth 

It's also got a 1" threaded steerer... I had no idea they made a carbon fork with a 1" threaded steerer (Easton EA50). Between that and the dainty little brakes it feels... antiquated. :lol:

I just got my REI dividend... I think I can get it going without spending any actual money...

They plow the road up the grade from the 395 side, but only as far as the turn to the fire lookout on Thompson peak (maybe 6 miles from the bottom?). That's a major snowmobile destination... from there it is unmaintained all the way to the lake. You're not getting up there without a snowmobile for at least a few more weeks.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m gonna have to take your word for it, cause I`ve never been there, and don`t forsee it happening to me unless those Spandex Warriors are leaving their Jazzercise session at the seniors center. I might stand a chance then


To be honest, I was surprise they didn't leave me in the dust. The climb was probably 50ft over that 0.5 mi. I stayed at number 3 and later number 4 in that pack and the number 1 guy kept looking back at least once or twice a minute. I have no idea how far back the rest of them were. Maybe they were resting...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

When it's wet out does anyone else get a grinding feeling through their pedals? I've tried searching about it, but it's tough to explain so the internet has no idea what I'm talking about. 

Basically when my drivetrain is completely soaked from rain or slush every pedal stroke feels rough/grinding/slipping. If you've ever put a really, really worn chain onto brand new gears it feels exactly like that.

It happens on my hardtail with typical 9spd components
It happens on my singlespeed with all ss-specific stuff.
But it doesn't happen on my beater bike with low-end 8spd stuff, which is what confuses me.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^I know what you're talking about. I think it's the result of MORE lubrication than you're used to. That's my theory, anwyay. It's as if chain lube were falling from the sky, and you can suddenly feel the chain contacting every single tooth of both sprockets..it's a level of lubrication you can not attain as a mere mortal. This is what bikes would feel like if the air were made of chain lube. 

This morning:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I'm pretty sure I just set a land speed record on an xtracycle. Someone at work mentioned mexican food earlier this morning and I had that craving. I was just going to walk up to the deli for a sandwich but I figured i'd bike over to this mexican fast food joint instead. Geared up, rode a mile there, got food, rode a mile back and got to my desk in 12 minutes. Not too shabby!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> When it's wet out does anyone else get a grinding feeling through their pedals? I've tried searching about it, but it's tough to explain so the internet has no idea what I'm talking about.
> 
> Basically when my drivetrain is completely soaked from rain or slush every pedal stroke feels rough/grinding/slipping. If you've ever put a really, really worn chain onto brand new gears it feels exactly like that.
> 
> ...


Yup

It is the tiny grit particles kicked up in the roost, attacking all of the moving bicycle parts...

Especially the chain, and BB.

Wash with hot soapy water frequently, I do it once a week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's probably more accurate than "chain lube falling from the sky." I use a wax based lube, which seems to minimize it. I don't understand why wet lubes are labeled as the best for wet conditions. I've had great luck with wax lubes. I'm pushing 4000 miles on this chain, over the course of two sierra nevada winters.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Good to know I'm not crazy. 

When you feel the chain grinding/slipping, do you just ignore it and enjoy the rest of the ride? The weather was great last night, and I was flinging slush everywhere, but being able to feel my drivetrain getting eaten with every pedalstroke always dampens my enthusiasm a bit.

(took the beater bike today, instead)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I haven't noticed any increased wear from that feeling in the slop... regular cleaning, regular maintenance, and ignore it. A good chunk of my commute is on a dirt road... if anyone is flinging slop into their drivetrain when it's wet, it's me. I have successfully ignored this fact for years. Keep it lubed, keep it maintained, and with a little luck, hard work, steroids and dedication, you can be just like me


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I haven't noticed any increased wear from that feeling in the slop... regular cleaning, regular maintenance, and ignore it. A good chunk of my commute is on a dirt road... if anyone is flinging slop into their drivetrain when it's wet, it's me. I have successfully ignored this fact for years. Keep it lubed, keep it maintained, and with a little luck, hard work, steroids and dedication, you can be just like me


My best sucess is Pedro's Ice wax in the winter....

I first bought it cause I thought it was actually made for ice.

I can only get my chains to last a winter and most of a summer....about 2500 to 3000 miles 5000kms.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Do you end up applying the wax lubes every ride? I'd initially stuck with wet ones because they'd theoretically last longer, but now I'm giving the chain a quick cleaning basically everyday anyway. Could be time for a switch.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Do you end up applying the wax lubes every ride? I'd initially stuck with wet ones because they'd theoretically last longer, but now I'm giving the chain a quick cleaning basically everyday anyway. Could be time for a switch.


No....

Pedro's Ice wax is supposed to clean off the residue when you put the new stuff on and wipe off the excess...

Basically I wash with Hot soapy water once a week when it gets sloppy...I never let it go much over two weeks anyway...

So that is when I lube the chain up.....if it gets that gritty feeling I will lube it up whenever but without the wash....

Sometimes the Ice wax just builds up too much and I use some WD-40 to get it off wash and start again.

I curl 4 nights out of 5 and really don't feel like washing the bike everyday.

I was a few years ago lubing once a day with some teflon lubes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Pretty much ditto, I re-apply the waxy stuff (I use white lightning) about weekly, every 2 or 3 weeks I do a full cleaning. This usually means using Simple Green in my Park Tool chain scrubber thingy, which works really well. But for a while there I ran out of Simple Green and was using carburator cleaner...basically just a strong solvent. It did twice the work in half the time. Started melting the plastic of the chain scrubber thingy, so I got some more simple green :lol: 

Carb cleaner is awesome for cleaning a rear cassette too, becuase it comes in an aresol can. Remove the cassette and blast away. Don't do it anywhere near plastic or carbon fiber though :lol:

I have also just popped the master link, dropped the whole chain in a little jar of Simple Green (the concentrate, not mixed with water), plugged the top, and shaken it up for a while. This is a great way to clean the chain. 

But between serious chain cleaning jobs, a dose of the waxy stuff weekly or so works great for me, all the way through winter.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm already on the 2-3 week schedule for tossing the chain in the degreaser can, but it's good to know the wax lubes can last. I'd written them off based on something I'd read somewhere.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Not a fan of the wax lubes myself - I tried White Lightning, but that was years ago. I am liking ProGold, a really lightweight lube that doesn't attract dirt. It has some kind of solvent carrier that made me wonder if it exceeds any air pollution volatility limits. Not the choice if you want to leave it a week or 2 though. 

Today was uneventful, but last night I learned that my hill is much harder after 2 beers at the taproom. The first relatively flat 8 mi were fine, but the last 3.5 uphill were no fun. Ran into friends between buses and hung for a couple hours until after the buses were done for the night. Although it was fun to go in and have strangers say I see you ride evey day, in blizzard,cold, etc. etc.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ progold is what I'm using. And yeah, it's super light but it keeps things nice and clean.

7C today and light rain. I think this puts an end to my snowy singletrack detours for a few weeks. Way too mushy today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> as a mountain biker I'm sort of terrified of how tiny the big sprocket is in the rear. :lol: It's like, why have so many? they all have 13 teeth


Damned roadies! They do use the same number of teeth, but they like to move all the "extra" ones up to the chainrings.

1" threaded on a 21st Century bike? I like it even more now  
And thanks for the Antelope Lake info.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

I don't ride in weather anywhere near as bad as you guys, but I was using Dumonde Tech for a long time until I starting using Squirt wax based dry lube. LOVE. Won't use anything else, now.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, this thing has been stored outside more than once... rusty headset bits. It might be 1" threadless... I haven't looked close, but it's got a big locknut looking thing, so I assume it's gotta be threaded. It's got a wacky adjustable stem on it too... The headset bearings definitely need some love. I just looked up the fork and they made a threaded and a threadless version, both 1". The headset also appears to be a zero stack (integrated) headest. Any ideas on where to find a 1" zero stack headset? According to Google, I'm dumb for asking.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A few weeks ago, I was cut off by a white SUV. This morning, it happened again in the same spot by a very similar, if not identical, white SUV (725 AVM). Fortunately, the driver didn't swing as wide as before. The driver mostly ended up in left lane, and while I still had to slam on my brakes, I didn't get that same adrenaline rush.

I think the owners of the white SUV drop their child off at school right down the street. So this might be a regular occurrence for me. I hope not.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeah, thanks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We got the big neon green 'Share the Road' signs a year or two ago... I still smile every time I go by one. I like how they blocked the entire bike lane with it :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> We got the big neon green 'Share the Road' signs a year or two ago... I still smile every time I go by one.


Painted a whole bunch three years ago...all but worn off now.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> I like how they blocked the entire bike lane with it :lol:


My wife said I should have moved it out into a driving lane. :lol:


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

It was 92 on the ride in this morning....

HELP ME JEEBUS! :madmax:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ Where are you? That's hot!



jeffscott said:


> Painted a whole bunch three years ago...all but worn off now.


You have to paint them? Is there no transportation department on your planet? 

We just hit 70 degrees for the first time since....I dunno, September? I am taking the long route home in glorious celebration... day 2 in shorts after 6 months in the leg warmers/tights/windproof shell. Oh man, have I ever earned this ride home this year. 70 degrees. That's almost 40 degrees warmer than my ride to work this morning. Spring has finally sprung. If I'm not around tomorrow, it's because I'm still riding.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Almost 50 hear today the warmest day off in 2011

I drank a whole bottle of water on my errands.
31 miles today puts my over 1500 for the year


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

geez Norm! your job involves riding? 

92° in the morning! :cryin: I expect ours a bit later this year...(please!)

bought a new frame today :devil: ...she will be La Baronesa (The Barone*ss*)...going for a classic look...pretty much everything from velo-orange, meaning not so expensive  ...probably three months tops to have it done.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hoping this is a typo in the forecast .."with 4-90 inches across the remainder of the north. " Supposed to be about a foot of snow, starting around sunrise. 

Today's rides were good, though the mud was tough going in the last mile. Something felt crunchy but I kept pedaling and haven't looked yet.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Our first pretty nice day of the year, and everybody's out on their bikes. Saw my first bike commuter bottleneck in...6 months?

And it's funny to me that so many people are just not willing to ride during "winter." It might have been nice today, but with all the water and slush on the roads (and particularly the MUPs) riding was actually trickier than it would have been a week or two ago. They don't know what they're missing.


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

its so sloppy out, we got 2 inches of snow this morning, then it warmed up to well above freezing by after work... had to toss both fenders on!


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## Chronicrage (Mar 30, 2011)

Ride was amazing today  A whole 9 minutes and 1.9 miles worth..about 67 degrees. Love New Mexico weather.


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## ryball (May 14, 2007)

Almost got killed on the way home. Guy rolled his front wheels out of the driveway and stops. Good, he sees me. Waits until I am right in front and then rolls out looking right in my eyes. I slam on the brakes locking both wheels. Skid to a stop inches from his driver's door. He just keeps rolling like I'm not even there.

He saw me, but he didn't pause at the driveway for me. He was waiting for the car next to me to pass so he could cut across two lanes to the turn lane. I gave the requisite "wtf? pay attention!" but he avoided looking at me. Then he had the balls to yell at me on his way past when his light turned green. Good job tough guy.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^ Where are you? That's hot!


Phoenix baby....110 is just around the corner.....:nono:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good luck with the interview, Perttime


The interview is done, and I think it went OK. They have received lots of applications and are interviewing lots of people. In about a week they'll let me know if I am on the second round of interviews. They are being thorough...

In many ways, I match what they are looking for. But it is quite possible that someone else matches even better what exactly they are looking for. Or they like someone else better


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

92 in Phoenix, 90 inches of (snow?) in Mt Pelier, 64 and sunny in Reno.
Liberation- No wool pants! I rode in twice with shorts (and long johns), lowest level gloves and no knit cap. I feel like Eddy Merckx without the pant legs flappin around.

"Think it went OK" sounds hopeful, at least. Fingers crossed here.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I did something I've never done before. I forgot my shirt. So now I'm wearing a shirt I found in our shirt stash at work. It's one of the largest Mediums I've ever worn. It might fit better if I had a gut.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Normbilt: Are those Velocity Deep Vee rims in ELVS finish (graphite/reflective)? If so, a night shot might interest some here who want a rim fitting 20 something up to 32 mm tires and more visible in side views. My Deep Vees (Al finish & half the price) shine well in high beams, not so much in low beam headlights.. They don't list the ELVS finish for the Deep Vees on the rim list color options so non listing doesn't mean they don't make the wider (24 mm rather than 19 mm OW) and deeper Chukker in this finish. That would be a strong pothole rim and fit wider so-called 28er and 29er tires. The Michelin City sidewalls light up in low angle sunlight so I imagine the ELVS will do that even more so, helping side view in the hours before sunset or after sunrise.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Sunshine in the morning is good stuff. Its Friday too! Hope you all have a good safe weekend and enjoyable Friday rides.


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

*not so fun grocery run...*

Forewarning this is a little bit of a rant:rant: .

Not on my commute--but on my way to get a few odds and ends from the local grocer--I got to endure more verbal abuse than I ever have at any other point in my life.

I was stopped at a light, that I know reads my bike just fine, and some thugs pulled up behind me honking and screaming profanity at me. "Awesome," I thought, "hopefully the light will change quickly." Alas, it doesn't.

This mini SUV full of jerks lays on their horn and yells sh*t at me entire time we sit and wait for the light to turn as if I'm the one holding them up.:madmax: Finally, the light turns and they follow right on my a$$ (about a mile) honking and yelling almost the entire way to the store.

I know many fellow commuters endure this kind of garbage far more frequently--but it was SO infuriating that it was happening in my own neighborhood! I was just glad they weren't bored/stupid enough to try anything dangerous...

I just completely ignored them..

Anyway, does anyone have suggestions for dealing with this kind of stuff without seeming intimidated but also making sure I don't end up in the ditch or worse? We, as cyclists, are obviously at a clear disadvantage when it comes to this sort of thing...


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

That sucks! Best to ignore them, then when the light changes, wait. Let them go ahead and wait for the next light for your turn to go. Or take a detour, pull into a driveway, etc. Don't let them bother you, because riding while pissed off defeats the purpose. 

Or you can get our your phone, take pictures/record video of them to report to police.

I had someone throw something at me once, and I got so aggravated I couldn't think straight. Thoughts of rage and retalliation filled my head, but I realized that I'm not the stupid one throwing ***** at an innocent cyclist. I was the bigger man and he's the ignorant ******bag who sucks at life. Be thankful you're a better person and those encounters with the idoits in public won't bother you so much.


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## BaeckerX1 (Oct 19, 2007)

runthesingletrack said:


> Forewarning this is a little bit of a rant:rant: .
> 
> Not on my commute--but on my way to get a few odds and ends from the local grocer--I got to endure more verbal abuse than I ever have at any other point in my life.
> 
> ...


Just stop. If they're really looking to go somewhere in a hurry, they'll pass you and keep going. If they look like they're going to stop and get out, worst case turn around and start biking the other way. Make it look like you were just doing a fitness out and back and it's your time to turn around. They'd really have to be total D-bags to bust a U-turn and follow you. Most people are too lazy, so I doubt that would happen, and if you ride on the same side back, they can't drive on the left side of the road to harass you. Once they move on you can go back on your merry way and try to pretend it all didn't happen.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

There is almost no retaliation for that level of stupid. They were probably 17 years old. When someone follows me like that I have pulled over and stopped. If you give them the "what?" shrug, it's likely they'll just take off and giggle. Of course they could also stop...that's never good. Pulling out out a phone and reading the license plate is another good option.


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## BaeckerX1 (Oct 19, 2007)

I commute, but don't really post in this forum often. Bike ride today was awesome though. First commute in of the season. Weather was great. 15 miles in the morning really gets you ready for the day. :thumbsup: 

I'm fortunate enough where I have a great bike path for most of the way into Denver from where I live. I only have to deal with traffic for a very small portion of my ride.


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Thanks for the tips. I'll have to remember pulling out my phone next time...it even has a flash so it would be really obvious that I'm taking a picture...

I forgot to mention they were following me with a completely clear passing lane they could have opted to use...oh well, hopefully I won't come across them again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man, that REALLY bites. How did it finally come to an end? You pulled into the store`s parking lot and the car kept going? I count myself very fortunate that I`ve never had anybody deliberately harrass me while riding. Well, nobody has done a good enough job of it that I was able to notice, anyway. The cell phone plan sounds good to me. I`d keep the suggestion to backtrack in mind as a next step. As mentioned, a bicyclist riding the wrong way down a sidewalk doesn`t draw nearly the attention that a MV rolling on the wrong side of the street does. Anyway, I hope you have better luck in the future.


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## BaeckerX1 (Oct 19, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I count myself very fortunate that I`ve never had anybody deliberately harrass me while riding.


Some teenager in a car hit me with a baseball bat once, but that was back in Ohio. I was 15 and biking to the McDonald's where I worked


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

@rodar: They turned off before I arrived at the store...guess they got bored.

@baecker: Wow! I hope it never comes to that...were you hurt badly?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, a lot of troubles reported today, sorry _runthesingletrack_ & _ryball_

Nervy buggers all! But don't you hate how cyclists are so rude and don't obey laws???

Glad you are both OK.

_Run_, if that happens again I would definitely call the police, if you are anywhere in the realm of reality that they would respond. If they can be caught in the act, that is better, but this has to be balanced with your personal safety, so call later if you can get a plate.

I had a serial harraser last winter for a while & it was a real downer. Nothing super dangerous, but stuff like blaring the horn, following slow forever then gunning it etc. A friend looked the plate up for me and it was someone only a half mile down the road. I reported it to the local cops and although they were not excited about this type of crimefighting, they agreed to talk to him. After a few more times passing me - with a polite to the point of sarcastic driving technique - he stopped and hasn't bothered me again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The 9 or 90" of snow did not materialize, maybe 1/2 " on my dirt road, then melting upon impact the rest of the way on pavement. But filthy dirty, wet, puddles with oily smarmy ick from cars, etc. I cleaned off the drivetrain some last night after the mud - the crunching I heard may have been from a small rock (kidney bean size) that got lodged in the front derialleur...I didn't notice the crunching today. But spun the cranks without the chain on and they only went around a few times, so jeffscott may be right about another BB biting the dust this year.


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## BaeckerX1 (Oct 19, 2007)

runthesingletrack said:


> @rodar: They turned off before I arrived at the store...guess they got bored.
> 
> @baecker: Wow! I hope it never comes to that...were you hurt badly?


Not really, they got me in the shoulder and it kind of deflected so it wasn't a full on hit. Bruised bad, but nothing broken. The kid apparently didn't play baseball.  I did fall on the shoulder and scrape myself up in some gravel. When I got up the car was too far down the road to read a license plate. That was 14 years ago so I don't remember all the details, but I do remember how much it sucked at the time, and hearing the little sh*t yelling and laughing.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Where is a patrol car when you REALLY need one? I carry the cell phone in a top breast pocket for fast access. Have used it once. Early use before they egg each other on much, is likely better. Non-reaction took the fun out of it. U-turn, going into another business or driveway are all options. 

Sorry to hear about the bat incident, too even if it was awhile ago.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

0" snow 3 miles from home at 600', 6" + @ 1600'.at home.:smallviolin: I decided to embrace its beauty...it can't last long now. :yesnod:


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

36 Degrees and Rain on the way home.. Really is Spring Here?
last week dry but temps were hovering around 30

yesterdays ride was nice temps got up in the upper 40's


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cooler, dry and breezy.

I got some free entertainment on my way to work tonight. Bout a quarter after 10PM, midway through a half mile stretch of "nothing" on the road connecting my residential neighborhood to a half dead airbase. Here comes a fire truck, moving along pretty fast (maybe 65MPH) with whoopie lights going, but no audible siren. Not usual comute fare, but nothing really weird. Except that, following in hot pursuit (drafting?), was a little car with one headlight burnt out and a Dominos Pizza delivery light on the roof. The only possible explanation that I can figure for the pizza guy to be tailgating a speeding emergency vehicle was that PizzaBoy, on his first delivery run after an intensive ganja break, was either fixated on the flashing lights or was hoping to make some time by following in the wake so he wouldn`t have to wait on any traffic signals or cross traffic. Not that there were any traffic signals OR cross traffic within several miles. And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Warm weather here in San Francisco, if you consider mid-high 60s warm. My evening commute went from 4 mi yesterday to 16 mi because I went on a joy ride after work.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good timing today, started snowing hard when I got to work. First commute on the cross bike in a while, the dirt road was in pretty good shape due to below freezing temps overnight, but hit 1 pothole harder than I'd like. New addition of a front fender is nice, but toe overlap a bit worse. The cantis seem pretty lame compared to the disc frt/V back on the MTB. MTB is in the shop, my rebuilt fork should be back from Marzocchi today...it got in a while ago, but the shop sent it right back again because one of the adjusting knobs was rattling - more kudos to the LBS. Hope it doesn't rain/snow much today for my first trip up the hill without studded tires & a granny gear. Held my breath on a few ice patches this a.m., but they were on the straightaway & no problem.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Windy and cold ride today, high 20s with lots of sunshine. Felt nice though! First commute with the new tires on the xtracycle. Totally changed the feel of the bike for the better and its even more fun to ride now. Weatherman is saying the 50s are coming this week! Time to start upping my mileage!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar... LOL. That's the first time I've ever typed that, but it's appropriate. 

This morning was awesome. Got up a little early and thought I'd see if the singletrack was clear... with the exception of one little snowy patch (which had a nice crunchy top that made it easily rideable) it was great... pine needles and oak leaves everywhere in the woodsy parts made it hard to spot the corners sometimes, combined with the early-season daylight situation it was just sketchy enough to be exciting. Runoff everywhere, little creek crossings in just about every fold in the mountainside. I beat the sunrise to the pond, stayed to watch a few Canadian Geese touch down like sea planes, and got to work 10 minutes later than usual with a big grin on my face. My toes are just starting to reach room temp. It was upper 20's-ish.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, may your LBS`s doors stay open a loooong time!

CommuterBoy: Sunrise pic :thumbsup:



jseko said:


> Warm weather here in San Francisco, if you consider mid-high 60s warm.


I`m sure you`ve heard before what Mark Twain said about SF `s weather. "The coldest winter I`ve ever endured was the summer I spent in SanFrancisco." From Roughing It, I`m pretty sure. What I can say about it personally is that every time I get down there the lying sack of $h1t thermometer says it`s 10 to 20 degrees warmer than home. So why do I always feel like I`m going to freeze to death? It`s NOT a dry cold.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Nacho`s commute route*

We drove over the pass to check out the American River Bike Trail yesterday with a 30 mile-ish loop. Very nice- the forecast called for a high of 70, probably about right. It was a little breezy, but not bad at all. Lots of spring time activity going on, wild turkeys galore, a few deer, nice lunch in downtown Folsom, no Johnny Cash sightings. Going over Donner Summit on I-80, I was pleased to see plenty of lawn watering potential in the snowpack. Very dirty next to the highway, but that`s life.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ oooh, nice turkey pic, I don't usually see the fan. I assume Nacho is the the little dog? He looks quite stoked - good thing you don't have a mastiff. What's in the cargo bike? Enquiring minds want to know.



rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, may your LBS`s doors stay open a loooong time!


Yes, only too bad the "local" in LBS is >30 mi away :bluefrown:

CBoy, that looks tasty, I may need to try a little trailriding on the way to work, even if it's a detour, not a short cut.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Great pics Rodar! They make me miss Sacramento! I lived there from 1990 to 1996.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

"I assume Nacho is the the little dog?"
Nachomc. The lucky dog who`s commute route we were tresspassing on 

Thanks, Jag. We heard the bottom end (Discovery Park) was either flooded or still unrideable due to flood damage, so we took the top part. Half of that trail is plenty for us anyway.

EDIT: Neither the mini dog nor the cargo bike are mine, Mtbx. We have the gray tandem seen in one of the shots- the other folks were just other trail users whom we don`t know.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I may need to try a little trailriding on the way to work, even if it's a detour, not a short cut.


Detouring to the trails is definitely worth it. The only problem is that it's addictive - I think I've taken the direct route home maybe a dozen times in the last year. 

Picked up some new panniers on clearance on the weekend. Did a quick test ride yesterday, to discover that they kept bouncing into the rear wheel. Sigh. "Borrowed" the rack off of my wife's bike, and since it's a different design the panniers stay out of the wheel. Yay. Lost my rear light in all the shuffling somehow. Sigh. (I'm pretty sure it's somewhere at home, but I felt pretty naked on the ride to work without it)

I'm also going to say that winter is officially over in my part of the world (although an April snowstorm wouldn't be a surprise). We've had lots of snow, and lots of really cold temperatures, but luckily we never got lots of snow and really cold temperatures at the same time. Last winter I had to take the train a few times, but this winter I was 100% bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sunday was a gorgeous 78 * F but winds were 21-35 mph, and actually gusting over 45. So I did not ride. Today's commute postponed until tomorrow. High winds and severe thunderstorms today just calming now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Today's commute postponed until tomorrow. High winds and severe thunderstorms today just calming now.


Ditto.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lucked out again on the way home...the cold steady rain that plagued my fieldwork this afternoon, slowed, then stopped by the the time I had to ride. Panting like a freight train to get up the hill on the cross bike though...will take same getting used to (again), Also got too hot because I was chilled from the damp & reluctant to shed layers. Dirt road was not soft yet, even though water was running down it. Spun out in one icy section but stayed vertical. Fender was pesky though, on the uphill rough road I was hitting it with my toes or pedals annoyingly often. Maybe I can move it forward a bit somehow.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

CC has made her spring debut! She got a handful of new parts a couple months ago and has been sitting in the garage waiting for a good day to come out. Felt like a rocketship, got to work 10 minutes early! I'll find a longer route to spend the extra time on. With temps in the high 40s this week, the rest of the snow should be gone by the weekend.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

fresh commute this morning due to some north winds from last night  back to low 30s°C tomorrow 

nice pics rodar!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Still soggy here, not hard rain, but enough to make it messy. Rear fender on the cross bike could use more coverage...I think I will try switching over the seatpost model I have on the MTB. New biking bus buddy reported that her s.o. drove the car into the garage yesterday with the deRosa on it - it didn't fit! Roof rack all twisted, bike bars akimbo, brifters don't feel right, going to be checked out today for further damage. Crossing my fingers for them.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

we just got an email from the director...we are having two days off on holy week!...mini-tour planning activated!
.
.
.
the load on my project is not too high, I expect no surprises!...finger crossed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

UPS guy brought the parts for my little road bike project yesterday... while I search for the world's funkiest headset I think I'll get it all together at least temporarily in the next few days...

Today's ride was uneventful, except for the giant orange explosion of a sunrise... I almost rode off of the road several times while being distracted by it. Starting to rain lightly now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was still a bit windy today. The wind came from the west, so it was in my face most of the way. I was in an awkward standoff with a vehicle making a right turn. I was in a line of traffic coming up to a light. I had been in the shoulder but tried to make a move into the lane.

It didn't work so well. The vehicle behind me accelerated and kept riding my back wheel. For some reason the car in front of me stopped completely as if the driver was anticipating that I'd make a quick pass on the right. I was stopped waiting for the guy in front, and the driver behind me kept trying to wedge me out.

My description is probably confusing. I was confused when it was happening. I doubt it will ever happen again. It was just one of those strange hiccups when everything lines up in an odd way.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

Very beautiful on the way in this morning. About 84 degrees with a light cool wind. Fairly uneventful, only almost got run over once! I'll see how it goes this afternoon when its supposed to be 95.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Lots of nice spring pictures!

Back on my bike, took 3 weeks off in Feb due to knee problems, rode for 2 weeks 3/days week not so good, have just got back from 2 weeks vacation and am back on my bike again, have my fingers crossed. Last Sat I broke a rib (not on my bike) so I'm taking it slow only 19km/h average speed but am so happy to be riding again. OK enough whining.

Still running studded tires, lots of ice out there in the mornings. Pretty dusty from all the winter gravel.

Brand new 29er still hanging in the garage untouched. 
Newfangled you riding your single speed yet?

cheers all!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nice to have you back cuatro, heal up quick!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Brand new 29er still hanging in the garage untouched.
> Newfangled you riding your single speed yet?
> 
> cheers all!


Glad to hear you're back.

And yup, I've had the singlespeed for a few weeks. Done a few weekend rides with it, and have started commuting with it too (because my beater bike depresses me with it's broken spokes, and I'm too lazy to clean my hardtail when it's this mucky out.)

The big 29er tires roll amazingly well over snow. I'm just blown away by how easily it handles the frozen icy/slush stuff that's out, and I'm totally looking forward to using it next winter.

Also totally looking forward to the trails opening up and hitting the dirt with it.

As a commuter though, 32x18 is sloooooooow. I'll probably need to keep it that low for the dirt, and it's useful on at least one hill. But on any long flat stretch I'm spinning away like a crazyperson.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ah, bikes comming out of hibernation all over the place 
I have the bike I made last year stripped for painting- should have started that little project earlier because it`s ready for some sunshine now, too.

Did I hear mini tour? Will there be ice cream bars?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

the north temps still around...nice commute this morning...

I hope for it rodar! in two weeks weather will make it a must!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Saw 7 deer in the field last night, we watched each other for a while but my good camera was in my desk at work. At home there was a dusting of snow, but I almost wiped out on the front porch due to ice/freezing rain. 20's F forecast overnight, and with all the recent showers I figured it would be a dicey commute on the cross bike this a.m. I didn't realize it had snowed 2-3" until I walked out the front door. I cautiously rode down my hill, cars had packed it into ice, but the WTB wolf mini knobbies were great. Below 1000' it was more icy & frozen slushy than snowy, supposed to go up 20 degrees to 40F today. On the bus I woke up a kid that works at the cafeteria at work, he was dead out at our stop.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Creepy today. Foggy mist and the sound of big trucks filled my morning. The impending flood of the Red River here in Fargo is forecast to crest this weekend. Trucks hauling sandbags and clay are all over my neighborhood, and buses carrying volunteers are making shuttle runs. Police cars and official vehicles were across the street from my house making sure the flood fight goes as planned. I waved as I rode by, and even saw another bike commuter! First one I've ever seen on my route! First of many I hope.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Fargo! Jag, I sorta remembered that somebody was from there abouts, but couldn`t remember who it was. I heard an interview with the mayor of Moorhead a couple weeks ago concerning the "hundred year floods" you guys seem to get every year or so. Must be due again- hope it goes easy on everybody.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I'm in Moorhead actually. Having lived here for 6 months now I am amazed how the city handles things. I think they are waiting for a big flood to wipe out the city as what happened in Grand Forks (100 miles north) in 1997. That way big federal dollars can pay for permanent solutions.


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## eat_dirt (May 26, 2008)

cold and windy. hard to ride against the wind at more than 20 mph, with the wind at my back it was like having a motor strapped to my bike.

someone turned right in front of me and i almost t-boned their car.

strangely the most discourteous drivers are in subcompacts and priuses.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was a beautiful morning, but I drove in. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to ride the trails after work. I have my bike on the back of my car and will be heading out as soon as 5 rolls around. I won't be missing my commute a bit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was really nice this morning. I had to go by the hardware store on my way home, and it wasn`t open yet when I got there, so I hit up McDonalds for breakfast while I waited. Headed home with my fresh can of PVC glue after that and got buzzed pretty close by a school bus. I wonder if they realize what kind of air blast a big vehicle makes when it goes by at close range with a 35 MPH speed differential.

Not so nice tonight. It`s super windy and blowing a little bit of snow around. I think I used my middle ring three times for a max of about one minute each, the rest of the ride was all in the 24t ring with a lot of that in granny low.



eat_dirt said:


> with the wind at my back it was like having a motor strapped to my bike.


The other side of wind. I get some really killer tailwinds on my way home from work sometimes. One day last year I recorded a max speed of 49.5 MPH on a little hill that normally gets me between 25 and 30. Damn, that was fun! Much more fun than replacing my fence later that week.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

car ride today again 
ohh but a I had a great sleep!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> . One day last year I recorded a max speed of 49.5 MPH on a little hill that normally gets me between 25 and 30. Damn, that was fun! Much more fun than replacing my fence later that week.


I remember that... we lost a biiiiig tree in that storm.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I remember that... we lost a biiiiig tree in that storm.


And a garbage can IIRC. I think we came to the conclusion that your garbage can and my fence had eloped to Kansas.

Hey, our daffodils bloomed!
When should I plant the tomatos?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We had a day where snow was forming in the air last week but the graound is too warm for anything short of 5 inches of snow to stay now.

Our Daffodils are having a nice day (Our early Peony on the top left is budded, too):










The Grape Hyacinths are happy:










The weeping cherry at the house (warmer microclimate) has just started to bloom.

And the storms have finally ripped the last leaves off the oaks (witing for me in the flower beds) which means they will leaf out soon.

The library let me not freeze my bike saddle outside this winter while I did a fast drop/pick up which was appreciated. I was asked to use the incredibly poorly designed bike rack when I rode The Duchess there last week. The rack is built in as a hand rail, the architect was thinking a bike stand but not a secure one. I was curious about the process. Results: it took me 5 minutes to return my books and take out new ones, 10 to lock up, 15 to put everything back (the front bag is removable but NOT QR. Hmmmm. So no more library errands for The Duchess, at least until winter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brian, your flowers look much happier than Rodar's. 

My feet froze this morning before I left the driveway because that pesky 4' of snow is still there. Headed downtown to a Dr.'s appt where I put "get a bike rack" in the comment box. Doc said I am probably the healthiest person she'll see all day. I go once every 10 years or so whether I need it or not. :nono: She sent me off with a sore arm from a tetanus shot and saddlesore from unmentionable invasive preventative procedures. Probably should have driven since I was late for work but it was the first sunny day all week, so I caught the bus to the halfway point & then rode another 11 miles.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm hoping today was the last icy morning for a while. We got a decent dusting of snow last night, and the stuff on the road melted, started to run off, and then froze... so there was icy patches all over the place like zebra stripes. Probably if you started to slide, you'd catch traction in one of the dry spots before you went all the way down, but it was nerve racking nonetheles.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

mini-tour plan is taking form...I'll need to commute a day or two on La Pugsdozer (still need to find something to bring my things) while the LBS take good care of La Trurly...she really needed...she will get her small chain-ring and front shifter back...is going to be a hilly tour!..probably a new chain.

the spot I think I'm going to be camping:
http://www.mesadeloso.com/galerias.html


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nice flower pics! Thriving vegetation still hasn't shown up in my area yet.

Rained on my way in this morning, but now the sun is out and the wind is blowing hard. So excited to have a headwind on the way home! Glad I brought the 45lb bike today! Sarcasm over. River flooding is now predicted to crest at 39.5ft on Sunday. I sure hope they are right, as my house is only safe until 41ft. Cutting it close!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> mini-tour plan is taking form...I'll need to commute a day or two on La Pugsdozer (still need to find something to bring my things) while the LBS take good care of La Trurly...she really needed...she will get her small chain-ring and front shifter back...is going to be a hilly tour!..probably a new chain.
> 
> the spot I think I'm going to be camping:
> http://www.mesadeloso.com/galerias.html


Looks beautiful, but it definitely looks like granny gear territory.

I think most dozer operators carry everything they need in a minicooler.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

martinsillo, what sort of temperatures would you be expecting on your mini-tour? Do things cool off a bit in those hills?

Meanwhile, things here are melting but not fast enough. We were supposed to hit 15C this week which would have helped, but that's been pushed back. I've had to stick to the pavement all week because the trails are a soft mess.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@xplorer
:lol: I really need to get my dozer operator custom one of these days.

@newflanged
I should be prepared for low to mid 30sC during the day and low 20s during the night (less if some north wind came like earlier this week, which would be nice for sunlight temps!)

Edit 1: I'll also put a knobie rear tire for the trip...according to the woman I spoke today at the camping site there is a 15km off road hilly section to get there...some rear traction would be nice....she actually said no sedans or small trucks can pass!

Edit 2: rodar, I need to learn again how to attach the things to the bike! :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JAG410 said:


> River flooding is now predicted to crest at 39.5ft on Sunday. I sure hope they are right, as my house is only safe until 41ft. Cutting it close!


Wow, close is right! If they`re off a little on that estimate, I sure hope they were off to the high side. Keep us posted.

No sedans is good :thumbsup: . You`ll figure out the packing thing. Just don`t forget the paletas on your way out of town!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yes, good luck with the river, Jag...also hoping the crest is not at 3 a.m. so you have to wait up watching it. Going by the post office in the capital today, I saw they still had their sandbags piled in front...the threat of ice dam flooding passed weeks ago, so it would take a lot of rain to cause a problem now, but I bet those sandbags feel a lot heavier to remove after a threat passes than when the threat is imminent.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydr...&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1&toggles=10,7,8,2,9,15,6

Not sure if that works as a direct link or not, but it's pretty amazing to look at. River has risen over 7 feet in 48 hours. I've got a two story (flood insured rental) house, so if the water comes creeping up I can move things upstairs. Not worried a bit really, except the fact it's raining now...


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Wow...the wind has been kicking my ass these past couple days. Normally I can hit 30-35MPH coasting down hill from work, but I've been struggling to hit even 12 down the same hill. Stop pedaling and the bike slows down considerably and will stop even facing down hill. The initial blast on Wednesday surprised the hell outta me because it nearly made me stop and knocked me from the right 1/3 of the lane to the left 1/3. The grit in my teeth wasn't all that fun either.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I saw the flower pics last night B..nice!

I found 5 pesos with my little ring and shifter in the parts bin last night :thumbsup:

I'll leave la Trurly at the LBS on my way home this afternoon.

this morning...a nice encounter with a beautiful cat... grey with black shades ending in a solid black pointed tail...I pass inches from him and he didn't move.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It snowed again. Kinda slick... no drama...a fluffy inch at home, a dusting in the valley. No front brakes, no mistakes.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Gorgeous today. Clipless shoes and pedals back on! Finally! High 30s on the way in, should be high 50s on the way home. Light winds, light clouds, i'm very excited for a nice long ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

20F felt chilly this a.m., but a good ride. Last night I took a detour home 8.6 mi via the reservoir. I hoped I might see some migrating waterfowl, but it was all still frozen and snowy except for a tiny channel at the inlet. I did see a big dead wild turkey in the ditch, not as pretty as Rodar's. I had not even driven that direction in a month, and at that time the 2mi of dirt was barely passable, so a bit of a gamble. Walked a couple spots that were steep and muddy, but not bad. Spooked a dog with my headlamp after it came charging out barking; it didn't know what the heck I was and hightailed it home. The first pic is the reservoir, the others are last week, I think, as my MTB is still in the hospital awaiting its fork transplant...my road & starting out the door.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool pics!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

River crested lower than expected, so flood dangers are mostly over. Lots of rain yesterday left lots of puddles for me this morning, which were extremely bright and visible thanks to the rising sun. Nice day, starting to see more and more people on bikes, I'm excited to see what summer means in this town.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was a dark and stormy morning. Thunderstorms, 40F. Dirt road a mess, my friend is wondering if she will get through in her minivan, asked me to report back.  My upper half stayed pretty dry, lower drenched. Thankful for my wool beanie, taillight & flashing headlamp, and my thermos of coffee when I got to the bus. Stuff is hanging up in my office & shoe dryers should get my shoes & gloves dry before I go home. 80% chance of showers/thunderstorms continues through midnight. A lone turkey walked through my yard last night, postholing in the snow, the poor thing.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good to hear your flood worries are over for the time being, Jag.

Nice pics, Xplorer! How do you dry gloves with a shoe drier? Just stuff it in as far as you can and it does okay?

This is my forst morning of day shift in several years- I did a three month rotation of swing last summer, but I can`t remember exactly when I last had to spend my whole shift with all the managers, contractors, and customer tours. Better keep the surfing to a minimum. Mondays start an hour earlier for me than the rest of the week, so left a quarter after five in the morning. A little windy and pitch dark. When I go home this afternoon, I bet I have to carry my jacket in the bag. Oh, damn- forgot my sun glasses!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Mountain Bike Monday for me... the singletrack is open. A few wet spots still, and little runnoff creeks here and there. Came out of the woods on the singletrack into a pretty large flock of snow geese... man those things are loud. Pretty cool sight when they all take off at once.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Sounds like a nice commute, and the snow geese must be cool too.



rodar y rodar said:


> How do you dry gloves with a shoe drier? Just stuff it in as far as you can and it does okay?


Yes, my shoes are almost dry already now (noon), so I will put the dryers in a vertical position and put a glove over each one so that the heat goes up to the fingers for the afternoon.

and uggh! earlier start time on Mondays...that is a a rough combination.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar... welcome to the day shift. This is that time of year when you wind up wearing a couple of layers on the way to work, and are forced to ride home with a backpack full of clothes because it's so warm in the afternoon. It's an annual ritual for some of us non-nocturnal creatures.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Took my new 29er out for the first time last week, commuted 2 days with it, I really like it. It´s been hanging in my garage unused for a couple of months. Interesting having all that wheel out front like that, and its great for clydesdales like me.
Tuned up the cyclocross and rode it today, it´s by far my favourite bike for my commute.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It was 14C at lunch (which I think is our high point for the year so far), so I went for my first lunchhour ride in ages. A really great day, although things are supposed to get colder again for the rest of the week.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Not sure what happened today, but I'm glad I'm not driving to work. There is a section in my commute that takes me into GG Park where there are 4 stop signs in 0.3 mi. The line of cars along this route were more or less stopped waiting for their turn at each of the stop signs. Made my commute slower than usual because the road is quite narrow; barely enough space for me to get by. Wonder why these people don't use the wider routes with less stops; I use this route because there are typically very few cars.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Took my new 29er out for the first time last week, commuted 2 days with it, I really like it. It´s been hanging in my garage unused for a couple of months. Interesting having all that wheel out front like that, and its great for clydesdales like me.
> Tuned up the cyclocross and rode it today, it´s by far my favourite bike for my commute.


What kind of bike is that?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

just before my mini-tour the Wife is leaving to Spain-US for a couple of days (almost two months)...just like last year... yesterday we went in our car to see what I did last year...a Teran Comeback...it was great to remember what I did and to show her the places I stop and everything...can't wait for next mini-tour!

Our road shopping: (just 5 USD)








and...ohh Tamarindo..


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yum, that is a good haul for $5! Your upcomig tour and anticipating it sound so fun. Safe travels to you and your wife as well.


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

*COLD
*


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A much drier ride home, still got rained on, but not til mile 7 of 9 on my reservoir detour. Remembered to stop for milk at the last store :thumbsup: All the rivers were going crazy from the snowmelt and thunderstorms. Here's one I passed...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

-4F! I sure hope you don`t get heat waves in the summer- there must be some payback for putting up with cold like that into mid April!

I survived my day shift just fine, packed my jacket, gloves, balaclava, and hat rather than wear them. Tomorrow I`ll see how light it is when I leave home. Maybe I can take advantage of having daylight in both directions and ride a different bike to work just for a change. I only have head/tail lights on one and I almost always have dark in one direction.

Used my REI spring 20% cupon for a Park home mech stand last week and just assembled it and tried it out today with an overdue maintenance session on my commuter and test fit some other bikes. I can`t complain about the build quality (top notch), and it does make some work a lot easier, but the long ones are still tough. Not the fault of the rack, I know, but somehow I imagined it making it all simpler. I just didn`t think that one through very well- no rack in the world is going to make my arms long enough to turn the cranks and shift while keeping my eye lined up over the cassette and RD that`s four feet away  The recumbent is worse than the tandem in that respect because the shifter is about a half mile above the cranks, and a full mile from the derailler. Well, at least I won`t have to worry any more about inadvertantly pulling the bike off my makeshift stand while I`m messing with it. I used to hang the tandem on our barbecue by the stoker saddle and it came down and tackled me once.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

-20 in Yellowknife, YIKES!

Hey Martinsillo where in Spain is your wife going?

rodar y rodar, there's nothing like having a bike stand, I bought one last year from MEC, can't believe I went without one for so many years. I used to hang my bike from the ceiling using the seat until last year when I walked into a chainring with my head and drew blood.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Hey Martinsillo where in Spain is your wife going?


And is it just to visit this time? All her business is taken care of?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

That's way too cold, Frozenss. Hope you thaw out soon.

Rodar, glad you finally got the stand, next you need to order some longer arms - a 3rd one would be handy too.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

that's right xplorer a nice haul just for 5!
She is going to Tenerife cuatro
yeah rodar... is all good :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

-4F is my low temp commute record... but that was in a freak arctic blast in the depths of winter, not the middle of April! Holy crap.


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## Marcster (Apr 28, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> -4F is my low temp commute record... but that was in a freak arctic blast in the depths of winter, not the middle of April! Holy crap.


Where do you live, northern Canada?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nice sunny morning today, took the Xtracycle because I need to stop for dog food and groceries on the way home. Since my wife started riding again, she's taken quite a liking to my Xtracycle and has said she'd be willing to claim ownership. Since I have a 3 bike limit, this would open up a spot for a new bike. The n+1 gears are turning in my head like crazy, and with lots of overtime available, I might be able to make something happen soon. No idea what bike I'd want though, but I should get something before she changes her mind


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Marcster said:


> Where do you live, northern Canada?


Close...Northern California.  Almost Oregon, which is basically Canada. 
I'm in the Northern Sierras, so we get some weather.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Crisp and clear... 1st day on the new bike. It works.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

On my route there is a 6 block stretch that's one-lane, one-way, with stopsigns at every block. It's a little inconvenient, but it's generally safer than the alternatives, and all the sprinting is decent exercise.

If there are cars behind me I make a big show of coming to a stop at each stopsign so I'm not perceived as one of those irresponsible cyclists. And if they come to a stop too, then they won't catch me until the next intersection, so I'm not actually slowing anyone down, and everyone is basically happy.

But every so often a ******bag in a black BMW SUV comes along who doesn't need to stop at stopsigns because it's only a bike in front of them, which means they catch me before the next intersections, and then they try to pass me, but they're really not a very good driver, and the whole thing is stupid. After two failed attempts to nose past me right at the stopline, I gave them the finger and resorted to aggressively taking the whole lane at the intersections. Sigh.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> But every so often a ******bag in a black BMW SUV comes along who doesn't need to stop at stopsigns because it's only a bike in front of them, which means they catch me before the next intersections, and then they try to pass me, but they're really not a very good driver, and the whole thing is stupid. After two failed attempts to nose past me right at the stopline, I gave them the finger and resorted to aggressively taking the whole lane at the intersections. Sigh.


I live up a fairly narrow dirt road and run into a similar situation sometimes... the road is big enough for two cars to pass just about everywhere, but people just don't comprehend how wide their car is... I'll be driving down the road and have people pull literally into the ditch and stop because they don't get the fact that there's totally room for both of us. They sit there and wait for you to pass, and they pull off really, really early... weird. 
Those same people sometimes come up behind me when I'm climbing up the dirt road in the last mile or so of my commute...so I'm tired, I'm climbing a dirt hill, and I'm doing everything I can do to stay on the far right side of the road...hitting potholes I don't want to hit, not weaving around lumpy rocks sticking up through the dirt, because I want to give them the road... but they don't think they'll be able to pass me because I am apparently as wide as an SUV when I'm on my bike :madman:. So they sit there behind me and wait for something to happen, and I assume they're getting frustrated with me for some reason... I wave them around, I stay on the right, but they don't get any less stupid when I'm trying to help. I usually just wind up stopping and staring at them as they drive by, thanking them for ruining my momentum and generally making my hill-climbing experince lame. 
Sometimes when I realize that it's one of the geniuses behind me I just take the whole flipping road and just let them sit back there. It's brutal.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I've got a stretch like that too, where most people are fine, but every so often you get someone who just will not pass you no matter what you do.

But with the stopsigns, if they actually stop legally then there's no problem. If they cheat instead then they've got 100m between intersections to actually get infront of me properly. But instead, they try to pass me all in the last 10m, just so they can get to the stopline "first," which leaves us both squeezing into the intersection at the same time. Luckily I think this is only the second time it's happened in two years of using this route.

Sometimes I want to buy one of those Zound horns, but I know I don't really need it, and that I'd probably abuse it...(and if I want to startle people, I can always use my front disc brake)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I live up a fairly narrow dirt road and run into a similar situation sometimes... the road is big enough for two cars to pass just about everywhere, but people just don't comprehend how wide their car is... I'll be driving down the road and have people pull literally into the ditch and stop because they don't get the fact that there's totally room for both of us. They sit there and wait for you to pass, and they pull off really, really early... weird.
> Those same people sometimes come up behind me when I'm climbing up the dirt road in the last mile or so of my commute...so I'm tired, I'm climbing a dirt hill, and I'm doing everything I can do to stay on the far right side of the road...hitting potholes I don't want to hit, not weaving around lumpy rocks sticking up through the dirt, because I want to give them the road... but they don't think they'll be able to pass me because I am apparently as wide as an SUV when I'm on my bike :madman:. So they sit there behind me and wait for something to happen, and I assume they're getting frustrated with me for some reason... I wave them around, I stay on the right, but they don't get any less stupid when I'm trying to help. I usually just wind up stopping and staring at them as they drive by, thanking them for ruining my momentum and generally making my hill-climbing experince lame.
> Sometimes when I realize that it's one of the geniuses behind me I just take the whole flipping road and just let them sit back there. It's brutal.


 Yes, those hoverers are the worst, especially on a cr*ppy road or in snow or mud - I'd rather they just blow by.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Another Great Tuesday Morning Bagel Stop!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If you leave that bike outside of a bagel shop near me, I am going to steal it. I'm not normally like that, but you leave me no choice. Just FYI.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, your bike looks a lot better with the stem hidden in the shadows like that 

It`s hard to be angry at somebody for trying to be nice. But it happens to me, too. Sure is frustrating.

Wish I had bagels around. Well, I guess I could find some if I were up to riding far enough.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks :lol: 
I've got a stem on my eBay watch list...Glad to be riding it with this one, because even with the adjustment options, I don't like the reach.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

FROZENSS: Talk about your frozen assets. I'll remember to book travel there for a little later in the year. Always wanted to see Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie- a 'Call of the Wild' I guess.

Newfangled, CB, MtbX; Many failed to judge my speed properly "just a bike" right? So I have left two on the wrong side of the road at the stop line. I turned left before the one caught me again, the other decided to out drag me off the line. 

"but people just don't comprehend how wide their car is... " Pet peeve. Some drive like "Wide Load" is on a sign on the bumpers of their Honda Fit, others like their Ram Dually pickup is a Vespa scooter. The 'miss me with their driver's side mirror by one foot while leaving four feet to the parked car' made me wonder if they saw me at all. The fact I now have almost 1500 lumens of flashing headlights, one on the helmet aimed right at them makes me wonder if they see anything, and no, I am not blinding them! :skep: 

Normbilt: Smile. Gluten and Dairy and other intolerances are the pits. No bagels. No cream cheese. Enjoy for me. I am happy you can make a quick stop like that without a locking up. :thumbsup:


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

What no picture of the bagels?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Had to rush home tonight (canuckistan political debate on the tv), but did stop to get a quick shot of the big breakup:





It's tough to tell from the photos, but the whole icesheet on the right is moving fairly rapidly to the left.


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## BIGfatED (Apr 26, 2005)

It was painfully cold this morning, the afternoon commute was much better. I am finishing up at my afternoon job and heading to family dinner in 10 minutes. My commute is not over for the day, but it sure has been nice riding and not driving. 

Cheers,
BFE


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

EVEN COLDER! 
grrrrrr!! it usually isnt this cold in april, even up here. it was above freezing just last week 

-17f


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> FROZENSS: Talk about your frozen assets. I'll remember to book travel there for a little later in the year. Always wanted to see Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie- a 'Call of the Wild' I guess.


if youre coming up here come in late june or or early july, when we're getting 20+ hours of sun light a day. it stays +25c (+77f) all day and all night! summers up here are almost worth the winters. _almost_.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, FROZEN! I don`t know how you cope 



newfangled said:


> It's tough to tell from the photos, but the whole icesheet on the right is moving fairly rapidly to the left.


I bet that`s really cool to watch. Does it happen all at once, or gradually?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ the river has been slowly opening up over the past few days, but then boom! It pretty much lets go all at once. It will probably be gone tomorrow.

Frozenss, that is nasty.

Also, my bike started mysteriously clicking when I'm standing and pedaling. Grrr. It sounded like the bottom bracket (it _always_ sounds like the bb, doesn't it?) so I took that apart and regreased it, if for no other reason than that I've never had an external bb before. But the clicking is still there. Greased the seatpost, checked the bottlecage screws (which were the culprit on my last bike). Still clicking. I foresee days of frustration ahead.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> ^ ...Still clicking. I foresee days of frustration ahead.


Sounds familiar. To add to your list of possible suspects: A squeak click was a shoe clip once, my clip in on the right pedal was the culprit once, and loose rear wheel bearing adjustment allowing the axle to be pulled forward (cheap hub) once. The last even feels like a crank arm loosening.

Thanks Frozen. No hordes of black flies or no-see-ums?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

that's cold frozen! ... hope it get better soon.

fresh commute on my refreshed Trurly today...she is ready to visit new places in Nuevo Leon!

800 mi today!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Running late, 25mph headwinds, ugh. Made it in on time but I sure broke a sweat fighting that damn wind.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy again, 39F, but the dusting - 2" forecast overnight did not happen, at least not at my elevation. Chose the softshell jacket, comfy enough, but let more water through to underlayers than the hiking type rainjacket I wore last time. Lycra knickers with lightweight non-water holding lightweight baggy shorts was comfy too, though wet. It's an old pair with the real leather chamois, so hope that dries out in time. Grime line at top of socks was very stubborn to get off.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got ready a little early this morning, and spent a few minutes soaking my entire bike in triflow. Success - no more clicks! I am pleasantly surprised, and cautiously optimistic.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Not a bad idea. You could put Triflow in one of those pump sprayer thingies and just hose the sucker down every day or two.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Do it over a collection pan maybe with a windshield/ side splatter shield, pour the runoff into a clear bottle to settle the crud out, and recycle the liquid phase poring it through a Melita style coffee filter/funnel. When it begins to look too far off color, take it to an oil change place for recycling. Heck, you could make bike sized spray booth with power sprayer sump pump, Triflow filtering system and reservoir!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I went out at lunch, and of course the clicking was back. And now my bashguard has a big crack running through it? 

The bike is a month old. I took the whole thing apart to framesaver it, but the one thing I didn't check was the chainring bolts. Sigh. And I didn't really like the bashguard, so now I have to decide if I pester the LBS about replacing it.

I just really hope that the bashguard is the source of the clicking. :madman:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Can you just pull it off and do a lap without it to see? 



I just finalized plans to hit the local trails with some of the fellas after work... Rode the MTB to work just in case...and it worked out. Just bummed I didn't bring my camelbak... going to have to ride with the commute backpack, and empty out all the non essentials before I head out. Haven't hit the trails with other people in quite a while...can't wait. Riding home after...I'm going to be toasted.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^oooh, have fun! And have a mellow ride home, that's tough to do after a trailride.

Must be that bashguard.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

No wind (to speak of)! And 67 F degrees! Very nice errand run. Motorists responded to my head nod to take their right of way instead of sitting there looking dumb three separate times in a row! A motorist even waited until he/she could see over the grade before passing. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket? Maybe $4 gas and street clothes has made motorists more cooperative and considerate. Too bad I can't play hookey and ride right now. Work hard maybe I can tomorrow (even nicer). :thumbsup:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Drove into work today...hit a bicyclist riding down the sidewalk while driving home  Not sure the extent of the injuries, but he was scooped up by the ambulance.

I was heading west and made a left on green arrow. Bicyclist was heading west on the left sidewalk (south side of the street) and tried to ride through the crosswalk against green arrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Oh jeez, that's awful. Hope you both are OK.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^Sorry to hear that. I have come close twice, and that rattled me.:eekster:

So the cyclist is riding in the crosswalk against the red light on the wrong side of the road essentially riding into your blind spot with you ahead and turning. Hmmm. Was he dressed to be as hard to see as possible, too? I know we are trying to improve the image of cycling, by encouraging adherance to the rules of the road and use of high viz equipment and clothing, but....

Sorry, you must feel terrible, but it doesn't sound like it is your fault, and a little gallows humor helps bring perspective. I would not be looking over my left shoulder for a fast bike in a crosswalk riding against a red light.

Arm chairing this, well actually bike saddling, I guess, I am trying to visualize your turn from the cyclist's point of view. The only ways I can see the myself not being able to prevent this (if I'd been dumb enough to ride the wrong side crosswalk against the red light, in the first place, that is) is a panic freeze up, being oblivious to all traffic (in la-la land? I mean I can hear cars [except Priuses] approaching the intersection and my hearing isn't what it was, then there is the sense of vision to use, too), If I was just flat-out FLYIN' (downhill with wind 40+ mph which seems suicidal into a red light), or I want to be hit. A stuck accellerator pedal won't cut it. :skep: Assuming you weren't texting (hard to do while turning), don't fret about the would'ves, could'ves.

Hopefully, the injuries are minor. I was taken away in an ambulance from a car-bike accident once and only had one big bruise to show for it. They err on the side of caution.:thumbsup:

It will be better in the morning. Trust me.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

My car is a stick shift so texting, or using a phone for that matter, is fairly difficult unless I'm going for an extended distance without much variance in speed. Starting from a stop would be even more difficult since 1st is fairly short. I suppose could still wind it up to 6500 RPMs, approx 30 MPH, and still be ok but I generally don't exceed 2500 RPMs.

I was the first car so perhaps the guy saw the green, no cars, and went for it despite the don't walk signal. 

The biker was wearing a teal jacket and blue jeans and bike was reddish-brown.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your accident jseko. I come across people riding the wrong direction in the bike lane daily and it makes me nuts, let alone someone just blasting through an intersection. 

Well, I don't know what it is, it hasn't really been above 85 here in the desert lately but my ride yesterday and today have just worn me out. Yesterday I came home so exhausted and with a slight headache, it was odd. Today the wind just about killed me, first from the side pushing me out into the traffic lane, then it switched up and was a headwind for the last 6 miles home. I'm on a singlespeed with panniers, mind you, and my entire ride home is slightly uphill. Slowest time in a month, again feeling exhausted and later with the headache. Trying to make sure I'm keeping hydrated.

For the first time in a very long time I actually had the 'why am I doing this' thought on the way home. Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week so I'm hoping to convince myself in the morning that pedaling in is a good idea......


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Sounds like you might be a bit dehydrated. I get dehydration headaches a few times a year. Be careful out there. Dehydration has once landed me in the hospital near death. Sweating in the desert isn't as noticeable in the desert because it dries so quickly. In my case, it was the result of food poisoning and high rate of physical activity before I knew I was sick.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, man- sorry to hear it , JSeko. All I can say is that I hope he comes through okay.

Three day weekend starts tomorrow and Mrs Rodar will be at a convention for most of the weekend. I really want to kick off the touring season and have a drive-park-ride route plotted out, but it`s been very windy and supposed to be windy through tomorrow. I already had weather kill one vacation this year, so it`s tough to cancel out. I might start Saturday instead- 103 mile loop according to Mapquest and I don`t remember any major climbs (driven it but never pedalled any of it), so I SHOULD be okay even with that late start. I`m still considering the situation.


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## Marcster (Apr 28, 2010)

Sorry to hear about the accident, jseko. That has to be everyone's worst nightmare.

--------

*On the positive side, I just had my first bicycle commute of 2011!* I bought my bike late in the season last year and only rode in to work once. Since I have to wear khakis, nice shoes & button down shirt for work, I'm probably going to be a fair-weather commuter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I might start Saturday instead- 103 mile loop according to Mapquest and I don`t remember any major climbs (driven it but never pedalled any of it), so I SHOULD be okay even with that late start. I`m still considering the situation.


If you map it on mapmyride.com it will give you a nifty elevation chart after you click the route from start to finish - there is an elevation button to hit & the chart shows up. I've used it quite a bit on new rides to know what to expect & to choose which direction to do a loop in. You can register but don't have to.


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## dankilling (Feb 24, 2004)

Warmer than it has been lately, but still cool. Somewhere in the mid 40's and sunny. Roads were still wet from the several days worth of rain we have had this week, but the birds were happily scooping up all of the drowning worms. Saw a big red-headed woodpecker too- he was in a stand fo trees next to the road and some kids waiting for their school bus were pointing at it while their mothers strained to see it too. My fender was rubbing on the tire with heavy pedal strokes, so I adjusted it when I got to work- hopefully it is all good for the ride home. Nice way to start the morning.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Jseko: bummer about the accident, hope all ends well.

Solrider: don't mess with AZ sun. I always kept bus fare in my saddlebag just in case. I used it a couple times, and altered my route during the summer to give me more "outs", like water and bus stops.

After a couple weeks of warmth, the cold has returned. Below freezing and windy this morning, with a spring storm in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Looks like there will be another Pugsley snow commute after all. Can't say I'm not excited! If flakes start falling tonight I'll have to throw the lights and rack back on it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sorry to hear about the accident Jseko... no good. But you can't control what other people are going to do. You were obviously not at fault. 

Rodar, where ya goin? 

I'm pretty beat from a great time on the trails yesterday. Put in a good 2.5 hours... a couple of monster climbs. Should have eaten something between lunch and ride time. Got a little loopy for a while. 
Today is commute #2 on the road bike. 18 mile ride after work to the inlaws house...looking forward to doing it on snowshoes...(traded a pair of snowshoes for the bike, so that's what I'm caling it :lol


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So the broken bashguard was the source of the clicks, which is a relief since I hate mystery noises. I want to run the bike as 1x9 at some point, so I need to bug the LBS for a replacement. But I also might use this as an excuse to run it as a dinglespeed to make it a slightly more competent commuter for the summer.

And I'm going to blame Frozenss and the Yellowknife for this: we're getting 5-10cm of snow today. They'd been predicting that for thursday all week, but I kept expecting the forecast to change. But sure enough, as I headed out this morning the snow just started pouring down. Temperatures should stay around freezing thankfully, so the riding should be pretty good. I can enjoy late spring snow, because I know it will go away soon.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sorry to hear about the accident Jseko... no good. But you can't control what other people are going to do. You were obviously not at fault.
> 
> Rodar, where ya goin?
> 
> ...


Again what could he have done better to prevent or reduce the accident seeverity....there is always something.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Not biting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Same poem as the other day but I need to add a line about gray skies and rain. It is getting a little tiresome, though just drizzle this a.m.. Supposed to be sunny tomorrow, then back to chance of snow & rain thru Weds.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Again what could he have done better to prevent or reduce the accident severity....there is always something.


CB Thank you for no flame war.

Jeff, I suspect jseko is asking himself that very question. We all like to learn to avoid repeating this kind of pain. It takes a little time to settle after a collision, especially with a fellow cyclist. I know. I had one ride into me and break her collar bone. Would have been worse if I had been driving, not cycling. So there are a lot of issues there, right?

If jseko wants to share that, he will. If you wish to know what he thinks about altered driving habits once he gets some emotional distance, then ask. If 20/20 hindsight gives him no answer, please accept that sometimes there isn't anything he/we could have done. If he doesn't wish to share (lawyer?) please accept that, too.

IMHO WRT humans, the terms 'never' and 'always' are a bit too absolute and unkind. Experience (time and again, I'm afraid . sometimes a slow learner) has shown me that the world is not that black and white but a bit more gray than that.

As I play out what jseko wrote in my head at various intersections near me, at some I might see the cyclist coming into that crosswalk and at others, not. A gridlock with trucks or large SUV's just through the intersection would hide the cyclist until he entered the crosswalk, likely just after I would have checked for pedestrians and needed to be looking where I was turning. It takes about 2 seconds to switch from accellerating to braking (hence the 2 second folllow rule) at 15 mph, the cyclist would cover 22 feet. The elements of unavoidable (unless we all stay home) are all there.

jseko: thanks for telling us so we remember how even when we are trying our best, things STILL happen.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> CB Thank you for no flame war.
> 
> Jeff, I suspect jseko is asking himself that very question. We all like to learn to avoid repeating this kind of pain. It takes a little time to settle after a collision, especially with a fellow cyclist. I know. I had one ride into me and break her collar bone. Would have been worse if I had been driving, not cycling. So there are a lot of issues there, right?
> 
> ...


Accidents happen and they have multiple causes....

People maybe 99% "in the right" but they still have a small contribution.

While people may take a while to think it through and come up with "their answer" anyone who makes a comment like "it's okay it wasn't your fault" slows that process down and in a great number of cases stops that process.

The more vigilent we are with about our behaviour the safer this world will become....

And this world needs to become a safer place.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Anyone who has ever been in any sort of accident, ever, however responsible they are, has thought through countless different courses of action or things they could have done to have avoided the accident. There is always something we could have done differently. Waited another second, looked again, backed up, sped up, slowed down, stopped for coffee, whatever... This is a 'no duh' thing. Pointing out the fact that we do this doesn't make you smart or them dumb. It's like pointing out that there is oxygen in the air we breathe, and pretending that this makes you somehow superior to someone who didn't point it out. It doesn't change the oxygen content, it just satisfies your need to feel smug about it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Anyone who has ever been in any sort of accident, ever, however responsible they are, has thought through countless different courses of action or things they could have done to have avoided the accident. There is always something. This is a 'no duh' thing. Pointing out the fact that we do this doesn't make you smart or them dumb. It's like pointing out that there is oxygen in the air we breathe, and pretending that this makes you somehow superior to someone who didn't point it out.


So in this case what is the DOH moment what could he have done differently....put it on the table so we can all learn from it...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Stop for coffee. Duh.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Stop for coffee. Duh.


As usual you got nothin


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Stopping for coffee would have prevented this accident. You failing to see this forces me to use red letters on you to point out your ignorance.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> Solrider: don't mess with AZ sun. I always kept bus fare in my saddlebag just in case. I used it a couple times, and altered my route during the summer to give me more "outs", like water and bus stops.


Yup I hear ya. The thought did cross my mind to grab the bus yesterday but physically I was feeling ok, it was just the wind. Like I said though, time to start carrying some vitalyte in one of my bottles as the temps go up up up from here.

I wussed out and drove in today. I woke up the wind was just as bad as it was yesterday so I said no way!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m going to park at Holbrook JCT (395 between Gardnerville and Topaz), ride the highway down to Bridgeport, then a little used paved back road back up towards Yerington, cut off and return to my parking spot. Bikely says about 4800ft total. Xplorer, on your suggestion, I tried MMR and I like their elevation profile better than Bikely`s, but had trouble saving the route. I guess both those sites are nice when they work, but apparently yours is as finicky as mine . Anyway, I`ll try it again with MMR because I love the gradient color coding in their profiles. Here`s Bikely version- you have to hover over "Show", then click "profile".
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Topaz-Bridgeport-loop

Newfangled, do you think it was the bash guard itself that was making noise, or impropperly tightened chainring bolts letting the chainring click, which resulted in the bash guard cracking in the bargain?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I think you need to register to save rides on mapmyride, but you can still do this without paying. But perhaps it was just acting up.

I see what you mean on the bikely, not as easy to compare to the usual rides' grades without the color coding. If you save the ride on MMR it rates the climbs too (instead?), but I like the colors & % grades better.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That will be an awesome ride. Snow near Bridgeport still? That place is beautiful. I guess you're heading away from the mountains going that way... Bridgeport always has the most expensive gas in CA... check the price while you're there, but get gas at home!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Newfangled, do you think it was the bash guard itself that was making noise, or impropperly tightened chainring bolts letting the chainring click, which resulted in the bash guard cracking in the bargain?


Probably just one of the bolts. When I took the bottom bracket apart I also wiped down the cranks, and the bashguard was still in one piece. So it didn't snap until the next day. Steel should be a bit tougher than acrylic, but I've seen some of the photos posted around here of snapped chainrnigs, so my ride home yesterday was pretty dainty.

And regarding careless-to-the-point-of-suicidal cyclists (or pedestrians for that matter), I'm generally just glad they're not driving a car. Last year I remember watching one woman ride down a mainstreet at rushhour talking on her cellphone, and since riding one-handed was clearly too much for her she was nearly toppling over into traffic with each pedalstroke. But she sure wasn't going to put that phone down, no sir. Discouraging as that was, it was more depressing to realize that she probably behaves exactly the same way when she's got 150+hp and a few tons of steel around her.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I'm generally just glad they're not driving a car.


Good point!

MtbX, I tried without registering first, then registered and replotted the route. It came up more easilly than it does for me on Bikely, but refused to save.... or so I thought. I just logged in from home and the route IS on there. Thanks for the tip- I like it better than Bikely.

CB, there`s undoubtedly snow on the eastern flanks overlooking B-port and around Twin Lakes, but I don`t expect any runoff on the roads and hopefully (cross fingers) not too much road sand. The other road goes away from the Sierra, but most of it is still mountainy- it runs between two minor ranges (one is called the Sweetwaters, I forget the others). I`ll try not to run my Schwinn out of gas in Bridgeport 

Martin, have you decided where you`re going yet? The map won`t make much sense to me, but I like looking at them.


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## BIGfatED (Apr 26, 2005)

The ride to work was cold, but not painfully cold. My afternoon ride home was windy and I cursed that damned wind. I took a power nap and commuted by auto for the second half of my day. None the less I will be back on the iron horse for my Friday commute. Friday is a half day, yeah. But I have to work on Saturday, Booo.

Ride on.


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## Marcster (Apr 28, 2010)

Front headlight needs new batteries already, only the second time I've used it for any real stretch.

Kind of a dark way home. Oh, wait, all the cars passing me had their headlights on...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Does it use "regular" disposable batteries, like AA? If so, it's worthwhile buying some NiMH rechargeables & a charger...hopefully they are easy to get out & you can just charge them every day or 2 if needed for a few cents. Dinotte recommended the Sanyo or Energizer ones. If it uses those coin type batteries, you can get them online a lot cheaper than at the drugstore, but that's a lot of precious metals to dig out of the ground and throw away after a ride or 2, so I would consider something that uses rechargeables. If the headlight came with those batteries, maybe they are just cheapos and you'll have better luck next time.


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## MTBerJim (May 26, 2005)

I've just started to ride again after a couple of years, today was my first commute. The first thought was, what the hell was I thinking! after the first mile I settled into a rhythm and remembered what it was that I enjoyed about riding. 
I'm using a hybrid I rescued from the trash, it's way to small for me, my foot hits the front tire if I turn to sharp. I've ordered a new 2010 Marin hybrid and am waiting for them to ship it, I'm really looking forward to having a bike thats the right size. All and all my commute was great, the weather is warming, sun was out and the burning in my legs was something I've missed.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Anyone who has ever been in any sort of accident, ever, however responsible they are, has thought through countless different courses of action or things they could have done to have avoided the accident. There is always something we could have done differently. Waited another second, looked again, backed up, sped up, slowed down, stopped for coffee, whatever... This is a 'no duh' thing. Pointing out the fact that we do this doesn't make you smart or them dumb. It's like pointing out that there is oxygen in the air we breathe, and pretending that this makes you somehow superior to someone who didn't point it out. It doesn't change the oxygen content, it just satisfies your need to feel smug about it.


While I do feel bad, there isn't anything I could have done differently to prevent this. If I weren't there, the guy would have still been hit, just that I wouldn't have done it because the guy plowed through a traffic control that sent traffic into him.

The bicyclist could have not plowed into the street while riding on the sidewalk...maybe he was zoned out and only saw the green light above the green arrow.

I guess the lesson here would be not to ride on the sidewalk or against traffic...


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Does it use "regular" disposable batteries, like AA? If so, it's worthwhile buying some NiMH rechargeables & a charger...hopefully they are easy to get out & you can just charge them every day or 2 if needed for a few cents. Dinotte recommended the Sanyo or Energizer ones. If it uses those coin type batteries, you can get them online a lot cheaper than at the drugstore, but that's a lot of precious metals to dig out of the ground and throw away after a ride or 2, so I would consider something that uses rechargeables. If the headlight came with those batteries, maybe they are just cheapos and you'll have better luck next time.


Agreed. After doing some math, I found that the electricity for my Portland Dangerzone light in flash mode costs about 1 cent to run for 10 hours using my NiMH rechargeables. My Planet Bike Blaze is about twice that at 2 cents. This is based on the amount mAH put into the battery by my charger. I assumed 75% efficiency of the charger and adapter combination and 67% efficiency of charging a NiMH battery and using an electrical rate of something like 20cents per kWh.

I'm almost certain my electrical rate is around 10 to 13 cents per kWh but even with an exaggerated number like that, the ongoing cost of 3 cents per 10 hours is about the same as a 12oz cup of coffee after 1 year. I run the lights around 10 hours per week.

My NiMH batteries were around $10 for four packs of both AA and AAA. My charger was around $40 but there are decent chargers for around $20. For NiMH, the best chargers are the "negative delta V" variety and should be able to charge at a rate of between between 1000 and 2000 mA.


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## Marcster (Apr 28, 2010)

MTBerJim said:


> I've just started to ride again after a couple of years, today was my first commute. The first thought was, what the hell was I thinking! after the first mile I settled into a rhythm and remembered what it was that I enjoyed about riding.
> I'm using a hybrid I rescued from the trash, it's way to small for me, my foot hits the front tire if I turn to sharp. I've ordered a new 2010 Marin hybrid and am waiting for them to ship it, I'm really looking forward to having a bike thats the right size. All and all my commute was great, the weather is warming, sun was out and the burning in my legs was something I've missed.


Good for you -- you'll feel that burning a bit more in your legs the day after.... I know I commuted for the first time since last Fall and I'm a little sore myself.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Freezing rain. I've never experienced it, let alone ridden in it. Stings a bit! Took the pugsley since snow is possible later today. Fun ride though, haven't commuted on this bike in a couple weeks. Ignoring cracks, potholes, and curbs is a fine way to spend a Friday


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

lot of stuff going on eh...
hope everything turns out well for both of you jseko.

glad you are making your own mini-tour rodar!
Here is what I'm going to do:








Last year I took the 85-10-66 to land in Teran (Green Circle) this year I'm taking 85 and then up on 20 to find the place I posted last week to sleep in (somewhere near the red circle)...the second day I'll go as far as possible to the west (red arrow) and go back to sleep in the same spot...then on the third day go back home.

distance on second day will depend mostly on how much elevation I feel doable.

profile of the first kms of 85-20 are here: (the peak is on the route)










Edit: A bit more info.
The worked land close to the camping place is called Laguna de Sachez which many years ago was an actual Laguna with water on it...once dried the land has been used for apples, peaches and stuff being a rich land...I don't expect to see many though  ....due to last year Hurricane Rains.
Here a before and after Alex pics:

















I don't expect to see that much water either though.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That elevation profile is kindof hilarious.  

Thankfully, we didn't get 5-10cm of snow yesterday. It was probably only about 3-4, but there was lots of melting so it's tough to tell.

Ride home last night through the snow and slush on the 29er was beautiful. It's not quite a pugsley, but it just glides over everything.

Ice everywhere this morning, so I took the beater bike with the studded tires. Roads were okay but a little slick. Bikelanes and MUPs were all frozen footprints and tiretracks and were pretty terrible. The 26er's handling is so much squirrlier than the 29er, but this is the first time that I was really wowed by how much quicker the 26er's wheels get up to speed.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: what did I post?
I can't see flickr at the office and just x-posted a link I found that I thought it was the profile!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ it just looks like a skijump, since almost all of your elevation gain is crammed into 10km of riding. The graph makes it look much worse than it (hopefully) is.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

newfangled said:


> ^ it just looks like a skijump, since almost all of your elevation gain is crammed into 10km of riding. The graph makes it look much worse than it (hopefully) is.


here is a vid of that ride...on the first mins is the road part...is kind of step 






I plan to take it easy...rest and walk as neccesary...I've been there in our car (part of the mini-tour) and do know what to expect.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ amazing scenery. Our mountains don't look like that (a lot more snow, a lot less plants). And that middle section does look pretty rough, so I guess the elevation graph wasn't exaggerating.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^ yep...I'm setting up my pugs for a bikepacking trip in those mountains, It'll be ready for mid to late May I think... stay tuned


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Martin, I wanna go. 
BTW, I have just firmed up plans to do the Oregon coast in July...Washington to California, 7 days unsupported. So excited... 


Anyway, I've got this annoying little situation that has happened twice now....

Disclaimer: I know I'm breaking the law. My Highway Patrol neighbor has seen me do it several times. He shakes his head and laughs. I live in a very rural area...seeing a 4 wheeler cruising down the street is not uncommon. If you're a city-folk, remove yourself from that mentally for a minute and feel my pain. :lol:

After I get off my dirt road, I am on a paved road that heads downhill all the way to where it makes a "T" with the main road... I turn left on the main road. Coming down the hill to the T, you can see for a long way in both directions on the main road, and the intersection itself is very wide. There is a stop sign obviously. I see a car somewhere near this intersection maybe twice a week...if that. It's usually far enough away that it doesn't affect me one way or another. So what I usually do is check behind me up the hill, look both ways down the main road from my elevated vantage point, drift left, hack across the opposite lane, clip the apex of the corner at full speed, and slowly drift back towards the right hand bike lane of the main road. I can do the whole corner with no brakes. I feel so entitled to being able to do this, that it's quite irritating when a car is close enough to make me have to actually stop (or slow drastically) at the stop sign. 

Well twice now, this same SUV has cramped my style in the most annoying way... It's a woman driving (not that there's anything wrong with that), and she comes down the hill from behind me. The speed limit on this road is 25... I'm probably doing 30 or better coming down the hill. She comes up behind me with maybe 100 yards to go before the stop sign...the point where a normal person driving would begin to slow for the upcoming stop sign...well I don't slow, because I'm obviously going to blow through the stop sign... any normal driver would be slowing anyway, and I'd be a quarter mile up the road before they made the stop, made the corner, sped up, and caught me. But THIS lady feels this need to be ahead of me at the stop sign for some reason...
So I look back, see a vehicle, and begin to drift left to claim the lane (since she's slowing down anyway, right?)...and she gasses it and passes me in the left lane, then awkwardly gets on the brakes and tries to get back into her lane in front of me before the stop sign. It's a horrible display of a complete lack of understanding of physics, human interaction, and several other things I'm sure. Even if I wasn't going to run the stop sign, she's passing on a double yellow within 50 yards of a stop sign. Totally dangerous. 
So I let her pass (in the meantime I'm checking up and down the main road), tap my brakes just enough to let her drift back into the lane in front of me, and leapfrog her on the left, do my usual brakeless turn as she comes up to the stop sign, and I'm gone...she catches me a couple hundred yards up the main road after making the stop/turn. 

You'd think that after the first time she'd realize how pointless it is to pass me right at the stop sign, only to have to slam on her brakes at the intersection...but no, she did the exact same thing this morning. It's so weird. She probably misjudges my speed, thinks that I'll get on the brakes and let her go because she's more important (in a car and all), and then is surprised by my recklessness and stupidity. I have no right to be upset because I break the law immediately after her gigantic display of stupid, but it still bugs me for the entire rest of the ride. :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Overnight the grader turned parts of my road into a minefield of babyheads (rocks you could build a stone wall out of).  The road equipment was nowhere to be seen...I hope they are coming back.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB - Interesting technique (both of you!)...I've had people pass on my hill when I'm going 35-40 (also a 25 zone) and I sometimes wonder if they are afraid I'll fall & they'll have to see it or may run me over, so they pass in the oncoming lane even though they would never pass a car there. Kind of like how I feel when motorcycles are doing wheelies in front of me on the highway - I really don't want to hit one. But doing it that close to a stop sign is beyond the pale. Maybe your trooper neighbor would be willing to give you both a warning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Overnight the grader turned parts of my road into a minefield of babyheads (rocks you could build a stone wall out of).  The road equipment was nowhere to be seen...I hope they are coming back.


:lol: I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Happens in the spring around here too... it will be nice in a week or two, but it's a minefield for a while.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

First day with no ice puddles, very fast commute into work. Loving spring!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yard work delayed came due this morning and not done before front hit with wicked winds. Cycling doesn't use a lot of the muscles I needed today. Thought I'd share a couple of pictures of spring:










Weeping Cherry blossoms.



Peach blossoms. All but 2 were frosted off last year. Got 3 quarts off of it 2 years ago. Might beat that bumper crop.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

CB, I see the same thing over and over here even when I'm not biking. There is a road here speed limit 35 MPH that is timed for green wave. People still start pretty hard only to slam on the brakes at the next light and they continue doing this for a distance of about 3 miles with stop lights every 1/4 mi. Some people just don't get it... 

While it may seem like these people are just wearing out their brakes and fuel faster, the end effect is that the average speed ends up being around 30 MPH if I don't want to use my brakes. If I drive about 30 MPH I will catch up with them usually across the street from the stop-limit line or within 100 ft of it. That is about when they will start increasing the distance only for the same thing to happen at the next light.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

On the way home tonight 42 degrees and raining, thank you very much!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well I have an interesting story from the ride after work... I decided to do a hill climb (because I have a road bike now, and that's what roadies do, right?) after work, so I headed up the main highway out of town, which climbs pretty steep for a few miles...there is a passing lane all the way up, and a new, huge bike lane to the right of the slow lane...I've never had an issue on it before. Traffic was light, and I was cruising (yes Jeffscott, the iPod was on). Cars in the right hand lane were a good 10 feet away in the normal traffic 'ruts' of the lane. 
Traffic was light, and at a total break in traffic (so there were two open lanes at his disposal) a COUNTY SHERIFF car buzzed me with two wheels well into the bike lane...his passenger mirror missed my left elbow by about 8 inches. It was not on a right hand corner, where this might be a little more expected...it was a straight stretch, and the upcoming corner was a left. I could see that he had both hands on the wheel, and he was looking at me in the rear view as he drifted back into his lane. It felt very intentional and it scared the crapignolo out of me. I gave him the 'WTH?' one-armed shrug, but he just kept going. Thinking about calling the sheriff's office, but I don't want to get hazed later. Sucks.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CB - I feel your frustration. It is one thing for you to ride in a way that endangers you and very likely no one else. It's your time and your neck. It is quite another matter when someone elects to drive in a way that endangers you but not them overmuch and rewards them for the shoddy treatment, to boot! Not doing anything enables them to continue. Seems to me she's picked a real good way to get on your bad side, likely unintentionally, though..

The first time could be a miscalculation, the second, a slow learner, but a third? Hopefully she will feel unsafe about such a late pass and self-correct. A third time suggests stupidity or an unacceptable attitude to cyclists or maybe just you?  Blues Brother? "What'd I do to p*$$ you off THIS time, Baybeee?" 

Where are the snot rockets when you need them? Chew tobacco or fake that you do? A little expertly placed unexpected expectorant expressing your views ought excite her. "Ooops! Didn't expect you there!" Save that for a movie script. 

Can you get to the side of the road and take her picture and get her plate's picture after your corner? That is reported to make many drivers reconsider. They review their actions as others might see them. I have only tried this once, and it worked. Too few cases to judge. 

Maybe a third time will let you figure out the time this likely occurs. Then you can forgo your corner cutting a few mornings to have the neighbor officer time it to witness it. 

Be thankful she isn't coming back right and into you. Watch for that if she's reallly late when she starts to pass you.

Good luck.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I'm really digging my Commute. all the way to work is hilly enough to be hard. but not so hilly as to be impossible. I'm on day 4 of getting back on the bike with this commute. and I am so stoked to work towards the goal of not dismounting the entire ride.

My way home, after a long days work is 97% downhill. so its one long blast back to the house.

I did it today, and was feeling so good about it that I added 4 more miles to the loop. and it felt GREAT.

the negatives are the UTA Bus that ran a light and nearly killed me. the teenagers who scream ****** and throw cans of soda from their cars.

and my bike.... my 2007 Scott Voltage. Its soooo heavy.

I need to get that car sold, and upgrade to something more street/commute friendly!


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## Badlands (Nov 13, 2010)

wanted to share my fun commute today... The last 2 weeks I have been riding into school in 40-50 degree weather. Today we had 30 degrees and 4" of snow that contained close to an inch of precipitation so it was super slushy and nasty. Here in North Dakota you want to avoid the road as much as possible as 9 months out of the year we have snow and drivers dont give bikers ANY respect. Well today I was cruising the sidewalks till I was on the campus bike lane and there was about 6" of slushy snow from the plows and the sidewalks were unidentifiable. It was terribly thick riding especially with my old worn out tires. When I finally made it to the bike lane I thought I was good to go until some j-holes thought it would be fun to spray the only biker on the road with water. Needless to say it was the worst 5 miles each way I have ever ridden. Ended up completely soaked and almost ended up in roadside fisticuffs. I would love to ride sometime in a bike-friendly city. Also, about a mile into my commute, my gears started to skip because there was so much slush built up in and on my cassette. Cant wait to upgrade from the Shimano Alivio components....


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

@badlands: Ogden Utah is covered in bike lanes.

Many of which I ignore and ride on the sidewalk.

Why?

Because those bike lanes are treated like passing/turn lanes.

and I don't feel like dying.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Badlands said:


> . Also, about a mile into my commute, my gears started to skip because there was so much slush built up in and on my cassette. Cant wait to upgrade from the Shimano Alivio components....


Reason why I commute on a Single Speed


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

geez..another front flat on la trurly..,haven't check yet but the first two were valve's stem cuts...I probably need to change the rim tape.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Busy day on the commuter board!
Martin, 1000m over 15KM sounds BRUTAL! If it were me, I`d be thinking more about a shuttle than about lugging cargo . Damned nice scenery (cliffs!) though. Does that climb show up on your map? Your T-shaped route is interresting.

@CB: She`s a maniac! I dunno if Xplorer was serious about arranging to have your CHP neighbor issue a warning to each of you, but it does sound like a good idea. About the deputy, for as crappy as it was to do that, you`re probably right to grudgingly let it slide. "Crapignolo"? You`re really taking that roadie thing to heart!

More flowers? How many do you have, Brian? We got the first fruit off our plumb tree the year before last- about a half dozen tiny plumbs. I thought that last year would be some real production, but early nice weather coaxed the blossoms out too early and every one of them froze. We ended up with two less than your peaches.

Agwan, good luck with your No Dismount policy. Sure am glad I don`t have to deal with people throwing crap at me when I ride, but thumbs up to you for hanging in there.

Driveby slushings suck . Keep at it and it will eventually be summer. Maybe?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My trip is over. The climbs kicked my butt. Weather was very good. Gas is expensive in Bridgeport.

Yesterday was alpine style high country, mostly major two lane hwy (good shoulder).

EDIT: First pic is Topaz Lake, on the NV/CA line. Pics 3 and 5 are entering and leaving Bridgeport- Yosemite NP backs up against the other side of the rocky ridge seen in those two pics.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

This morning was a shorter ride. Dropped down (and down and down...) from the Bridgeport area into Nevada style valleys surrounded by Nevada style mountains.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Rodar, I find your Commute sexy.

not you.

Just the roads.

I YEARN.

I also went off diet and had a HUGE Dr Pepper... so I may or may not be on a Caffeine high right now.


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## MTBerJim (May 26, 2005)

Badlands said:


> drivers dont give bikers ANY respect.


If it makes you feel any better it's the same around here. Despite having bike lanes, Long Island isn't a bike friendly place. I've abandoned the main roads and am staying on the sidewalks whenever possible. I can't remember the last time I saw a bike rack outside of a store, the idea of people taking a bike to the store to pick up a few things is unheard of.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Agwan said:


> Rodar, I find your Commute sexy.
> 
> not you.
> 
> ...


But you haven`t seen my skinny legs yet!
Not my commute, Agwan- I just went OT again  
Caffeine = good


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

i cant believe i am about to commute on a sunday  its cold and early. -14 c with a wind chill of -23 or something booooo

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cant0032?ref=homemap

but on the bright side, spring must be close because im already getting about an hour or more of sun light then most places


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ooh, nice pics rodar, that looks like a challenging ride. I've never been touring and putting a bunch of extra weight on my bike never sounded that fun, but from your (& martin's) pics I am almost tempted. CB's upcoming trip sounds great too. 

Agwan, congrats on making it the whole way non-stop. :thumbsup: 

Badlands, that doesn't sound fun at all, hope things are better on Monday.


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## dankilling (Feb 24, 2004)

Skipped work today so I 'commuted' to the LBS/coffee shop for a double macchiato. Sunshine combined with cool air made it really refreshing, and on the way back it was starting to warm up. I love the smell of the woods when the spring warm starts to take hold- it smells like life. Chain was skipping a bit on the cogs, so I bought a new chain as well. The cogs and chainrings are new, but I thought I might be able to get away with using the old chain. Guess not.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Snow showers this morning, about 2" fell last night but anything paved is snow free. Made for a chilly and wet commute but it sure felt nice to start the day on the bike. 

Tomorrow I have a 6hr car ride and all day conference to deal with. Gonna be a long bike-free miserable day and I'm not looking forward to it one bit. Stupid work ruining my streak! Was on track for a perfect month


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Surprisingly fast, since the 30mph headwind gusts did not materialize that early, plus I made a few lights and sped through the roundaout at full speed, which usually isn't possible. 

Friday night's commute took until 2pm Saturday because I biked to a friend's & then home 22 mi the next day. The winds were awful, I passed 1 guy pushing his MTB (nifty DIY PVC fishing pole holder on the rear triangle). The only thing that kept me going was knowing the winds were supposed to get worse and worse all afternoon. Was planning to cheat 7-8 mi off with the bus, but the Sat schedule meant I would have had to wait 45 mins. so it wasn't worth it.


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

First commute of the year. Cold (4*C), damp and very light traffic this morning. Given though, it was 0530 when I left. Feared all day that I was gonna get caught in the rain coming home. 11*C and sunshine the whole way home. A 35km/h gusts and retarded drivers made the commute home interesting '


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We have just plain yuck going on. Overcast, windy, drizzling. Better than sub zero, flooding, or ice, I suppose.



JAG410 said:


> Tomorrow I have a 6hr car ride and all day conference to deal with. Gonna be a long bike-free miserable day and I'm not looking forward to it one bit. Stupid work ruining my streak! Was on track for a perfect month


Work getting in the way of your commute strikes me kind of funny, but I feel for you! Six hours each way? Even if that`s the RT time, it sounds like a very long day.

Welcome in, Dolli. Don`t let the retarded drivers get you down too much- aside from trying to kill us, they`re our best entertainment


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

quick report from the hotel in south Texas...the wife is leaving tomorrow from here...quick run to the lbs..new tubes and new velox rime tape for the front wheel of la Trurly...I'll be back to Mex tomorrow...plan was to start on thursday to take Sunday as a full rest day after the mini-tour...but probably won't have the bike and stuff ready in two afternoons...I don't even know where the tent and sleeping bag are yet...I probably take the whole thursday to get ready for a Fri to Sun trip.

Great pics rodar!
4.99!! geez and I thought the 3.79 I paid here was pretty high!
do you see the white track in the mountains that connects Santa Catarina with 20 road? that is exactly what is on the elevation profile from the peak to km 100 or 110..so the elevation change is pretty much done on 20 once you leave 85.
is a shame I've been delaying the gps purchase over and over, would have been nice to have it for this trip


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Quick ride home too, I think the day off yesterday helped, plus some new tunes on the Ipod...though Traffic's Rainmaker may have been a mistake; this morning I thought it was keeping the rain away, but it arrived tonight while I was still on the bus.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Love the pics. So relatively flat here. We have grades they just don't go on for tens or hundreds of miles. Canadian Tar Sands oil keeping unleaded in 3.86-3.99 range in this part of Indiana at the moment and holding prices lower in the center of the country. Still nice to ride by. 

Tried new video cam but messed up so I may let them go as a learning experience. I too, seem to ride faster on video even with the helmet on top of the helmet. I bet I'd look almost Lance-ish with it on my front fork blade.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Moved left in an opening in traffic to prepare to make a left into a MUP (it's actually a road but has metal post barriers about 1/4 mi up the path so it's a dead end for autos but continues for another 1-1.5 mile otherwise). No traffic control here except a stop sign for traffic coming out from the MUP. While waiting for opposing traffic to clear, two guys wanted to make the same turn but for whatever reason stopped on the right side of the lane about 5 ft ahead. Normally the lane is wide enough for bike and autos...but not with these two guys stopped like that since cars started backing up. 

No idea why they want to make a left from the right side of the road like that either. Not that I feel so bad about it, but more annoyed that, even inside Golden Gate Park I cannot get away from commuter auto traffic. Well, that one "MUP" is mostly closed to automobiles which is my motivation to use it, but I gotta say that the non-pothole ridden road is much nicer to ride on even though I have 42mm tires.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Started out with a flat tire and cold hands, 30F. Ride itself was fine, but by then I'd missed the bus...a toss up of whether to wait for the last one or ride another 11 mi and arrive about the same time. Being only Tuesday I decided to wait for the bus, which of course meant a tailwind picked up and the bus ended up running a little late. Oh well.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

longest commute ever 
Mcallen Airport - Mty Office ~155mi?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's almost 80 degrees here. My commutes have all been warm, sometimes wet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Im on spring break this week...good mountain biking the last couple days, and a 6 hour epic on the YZ450...good stuff. Rodar...awesome pics. Can't wait to do the touring thing...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The bikes were out yesterday. I encountered 3 cyclists on my way home. I had to pass two of them. The other guy was going the opposite way. I always feel like a prick when I pass people.

This morning was pretty windy after some strong storms last night. The roads were wet, and it was a bit misty out. On days like today, I sometimes wish I had a rear derailleur, but it was still a fairly pleasant commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

30F when I left, buckets of rain, thunder and lightning the whole way, and then BB size hail in the last 1/2 mile - but I had a good attitude and enjoyed it. My feet got a little cold waiting for the bus, but nothing that my thermos of coffee (with a little hot cocoa mix today) and a hot shower at work couldn't fix. Rain to continue through tonight's commute, but low 40's maybe. The 1.3 mi of dirt road should be a mess by then.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

After yesterdays miserable trip to Devil's Lake, ND (6hr round trip drive) to sit at a 7hr conference (of which 15 minutes applied to me), I am back on the bike, rain and all. 34F and drizzles but I didn't care, I don't want to be in a car for a while!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I took the hardtail today for the first time since...November? So nice to have gears again. 

We've been having plenty of lovely sunshine, but temperatures haven't really broken 10C. So a lot of the snow is gone, but anywhere with treecover is still impassable. No trails for me for the forseeable future.


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

1*C on the way to work this morning. Luckily no wind or much traffic. Nice hot shower after a stint in the weight room warmed me up.

5*C with rain for muck back home. a few close calls from the ass-hats drivers, one with a city bus


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

dolli310 said:


> 1*C on the way to work this morning. Luckily no wind or much traffic. Nice hot shower after a stint in the weight room warmed me up.
> 
> 5*C with rain for muck back home. a few close calls from the ass-hats drivers, one with a city bus


What is it with buses? I know it takes a great deal of work to get a gig with my Cities Busline. yet everyone that drives for them acts as though they don't have a CDL.

they turn across occupied crosswalks without looking. pull into traffic without looking or signaling. they speed, and they pull over on you when you're in the lane next to them.

something needs to be done!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

On the way home I sighted one of the worst storefront ads ever: "ASSORTED RODENT STATUES $4.99" - yes, I think I'll run right in before they are all out! 

After some more rain at about 5pm, by the time I got off the bus it had stopped. I was dreading the dirt road after al the rain, but only one section was real bad, I just walked it a minute or two. Saw 7 deer in the field but too dark & far for good pictures.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Regarding my collision last week, apparently I broke the guy's femur at the neck.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

ouch jseko...so, what does that mean to you legally?

tube stem was cutted as predicted...cleaned the rims changed the rim tape and put new tube..trurly is ready to go...found the bag and tent...camping site confirmed for friday and saturday...I have to go to work some hours tomorrow to pay the ones I lost yesterday...I'll use tomorrow's afternoon to pack....I need to think what to though.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Spring time here.Snowed Monday, Rained all day yesterday, Today Cold but No Precipitation


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I slapped some Titec H-bars on my xtracycle last night, so I was excited to ride it today. Barely below freezing with lots of sunshine, was a nice ride in. I love seeing and hearing all the birds and geese, nice soundtrack to the ride that I haven't heard all winter.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ any early reviews of the H-bars?

I've got a Ragley Carnegie bar on my 29er. After riding that for a month, switching back to my hardtail yesterday (with a typical riser bar) feels so weird. This morning was ride #3, and I still can't remember where my thumbs are supposed to go.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Early review is anger. Angry at myself for not getting them long ago. Very comfortable and all 3 hand positions are useable. Very impressed! The ends could be a tad longer, but I made it work ok. I'll take pics later.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ when I got my Carnegie I loved it, and was ready to run out and buy a bunch more of them. The initial amazement did wear off a bit though, so I still only have the one. But if I still can't get comfortable on my hardtail after a few more rides, then I might need to go shopping again.

I can't remember from the pics, but are you just running a normal bar on the Pugs?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Pugs has some riser bars on it for now. I have a feeling it will get either H-bars or Woodchippers by next winter though. Depends on if the "love" for those bars die over the summer. So far I really like them both on my other bikes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Snow showers, but only stuck on the driveway and dirt road.
Pix taken leaving the house and at the bus stop.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> Regarding my collision last week, apparently I broke the guy's femur at the neck.


Just to be clear, his neck isn`t broken, is it?

I hope he recovers well. I hope he stops the salmon thing, too- bad idea.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice, Norm. My first thougths were that green grass with winter trees and those dried out yellow reeds wer kinf of odd. But thinking about it, that`s pretty much what we have in my neighborhood too.

Martin, have a fun trip. Don`t forget the paletas, but it might be a good idea to wait until AFTER that big climb to eat them!
Will bad rim tape let a tire slip and cut the stem? It doesn`t sound right to me, but I don`t know of anything else to try for chronic stem chopping.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Our bus almost hit a pedestrian today... the bus driver was stopped & looking the other way for oncoming traffic and when there was an opening pulled forward without looking right in front of him. :eekster: Two of us yelled *whoa**! *and the guy was not squished. That is why you use the inboard bike rack slot if it is available  My Irena might have been damaged if there was a collision.

Our Agency has a new twitter feed and tweeted my bikecommuting today as part of Earth week. I was disappointed they only included the pounds of CO2 reductions and not the total miles, though.

The neck of the femur is the top part of your thigh bone where it gets skinny just before the ball that goes into your hip socket.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Rain rain go away! Only my new H-bars and shelter made the ride home fun. I'm not looking forward to a rainy Earth Day, but I'll ride regardless.









Yes I need to redo the grips, this was a quick parts bin massacre


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Martin, have a fun trip. Don`t forget the paletas, but it might be a good idea to wait until AFTER that big climb to eat them!
> Will bad rim tape let a tire slip and cut the stem? It doesn`t sound right to me, but I don`t know of anything else to try for chronic stem chopping.


so.. that was it? the tires?
I saw the old rim tape a bit stretched and letting the edges of the rim stem hole expose and suppose that was the reason! ...should I change the front tire for the mini-tour!? I only have the white halo ones!

geez xplorer!...more snow!?

H-bar rocks..is what I have on my pugs.

well...other than the tire thing!....the bike is pretty much ready...









and here is a nice teaser of my trip...this guys made part of my route (including the climb) just last week!






I won't get steaks though 
I'm going low on food...planning to eat on the road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^ That`s okay- ice cream is way better than steak 
Hey, that swimming hole rocks!
No idea about the tires. That`s why I was asking you.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Martin, that looks way fun & nice and warm too. Have a great time, you look good to go! Bring some anti-bonk snacks at least.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

welll I think this was it:

from schwalbe:
"Torn off valves are often seen on mountain bikes. Continual improvement in brake performance and* low inflation pressures often cause the tire to slip on the rim*. The tire movement then drags the tube and this can lead to the valve shearing off."

I'm tending to do it...probably "pugs thinking"

I'll deflate it..check the alignment of the stem and inflate it properly... :thumbsup:
leaving tomorrow at 5m


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## FROZENSS (Mar 6, 2011)

road this home today! all of the snow is gone so its nice to get back on some skinnies.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

It is getting toasty....95 today, and I've really had just about enough of these south-eastern afternoon winds blowing right at me. Actually had to pull over today in the shade and regroup a bit about 3 miles from home because the wind was killing my momentum and heat was just adding to it. Looks like its time to start going in to work earlier so I'm not riding home at the hottest part of the day and the wind is lighter.

Oh and I HATE THE CITY BUS!!!!!!!!! :madmax:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Just to be clear, his neck isn`t broken, is it?
> 
> I hope he recovers well. I hope he stops the salmon thing, too- bad idea.


The neck of the femur is broken, not the neck connecting ones head and torso. It is the section of the femur between the thigh portion and the head which mates to the pelvis.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

It seems that the Tai Chi-ers that congregate on the MUP have started to use their automobiles to block off the entrance to the MUP I use on my commute this week. The entrance has metal posts and a curb cut where they did not block in the past. I encounter the same few vehicles on a daily basis at the entrance of the MUP. They use to park on either side of the entrance rather than directly in front of it.

Though on Google Maps aerial view, it looks like people will block the entrance when the road is filled with parked vehicles.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Martinsillo: good trip. What software was used to produce the video? Got a pro videographer in the group? Nice trip, nice job.:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Chilly to start, 25F, but the first sunny day in ages! It was so bright I kept thinking I was an hour late or something. With the sun and earth day, there were a few more bikes than usual, and one group of at least 6 outside the bakery/coffee shop. I was tempted to find out if they were a work group or what, but I knew I would also be tempted by their gooey maple swirl buns, so I kept pedaling. No wind either, so speedier than usual, arrived in Montpelier 15 mins early for the bus, so decided to keep going instead. Arrived at the usual time, due more to the bus' torturous path than my blinding speed. Total was 22.5mi,, 1 hr 33 mins total door to door, 14.4mph including lights etc. 41.6 mph max on my hill :thumbsup: I figure on 45 mins to drive, door to door. Will decide later how to get home. I may at least get off the bus early at the supermarket because I have a coupon for $1 Ben & Jerry's pint, $1 cabot cheese block, and $1.99 fresh pineapple (not sure if that will fit).

Solrider, that is awfully hot - take it easy out there! Hot wind sounds like the worst. Do you bring extra water to pour on your head? That and partly freezing the water bottle are my favorites when it finally gets hot here.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> It seems that the Tai Chi-ers that congregate on the MUP have started to use their automobiles to block off the entrance to the MUP I use on my commute this week....
> 
> ....Though on Google Maps aerial view, it looks like people will block the entrance when the road is filled with parked vehicles.


Lovely. You`d think a patch of lawn would work better for them and leave the MUP open at the same time.
Maybe you can borrow a Pugsley and plow right over the whole group


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

*mountains 1 - martinsillo 0*

I'm back guys 
I'm ok...well, sort of.
I'll post a report tomorrow in the blogs.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Quick run to Salem, VA on Good Friday and back today with a Manx cat rescue. So no commute miles. Buster is sulking. Will post pic later. 

Saw 1 black bear just east of Salem on left side of I81 near fence. A turkey hen later on indicated she crossed the road to get to the woods on the other side. Four whitetailed deer all worse for their traffic encounters. Two Monarch butterflies back from Mexico got blown over the windshield and hopefully they made it further north, and four Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies recently out of their pupae caught the updraft and missed our windshield. The Dogwoods, Redbuds, and Buckeyes were all flowering in the woods along the route, and the cast of light seeming impossible shades of green were on budding trees everywhere. I64, I77, and I81 were a treat through Kentucky, West Virginia, and into the Piedmont of Virginina. Only had sun for a portion of today's drive but it was nice.

I think our town (25 miles east) missed the flooding Columbus IN got. %.65" on Wed. 1.5" on the gauge for the time we were gone.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Lovely. You`d think a patch of lawn would work better for them and leave the MUP open at the same time.
> Maybe you can borrow a Pugsley and plow right over the whole group


At 8 am in the morning, any grass in the area would probably be wet from the fog that rolls in overnight. I'm not entirely sure why they assemble on a MUP but I suppose they were there first (before I started bike commuting). I'm not sure whether there is any other "open space" nearby. There is a group of about 30-40 people out there every morning probably 50 and older. I think most of them live nearby or they carpool because there are only about a dozen cars parked at the entrance. This road is generally void of parked cars except for the weekends so I'm not entirely sure why they've started blocking off the MUP entrance. Maybe they don't like bicyclists riding past them so close. They leave barely enough space for me to pass without clipping the brush.

I pass the same bicyclist coming the opposite way almost every morning and a couple times one of us has had to stop to let the other through.

About 10 ft away, there is another path running around a lake which follows about 3/4 of the section of MUP I use. It's just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, but bikes, skateboards, and roller blades/skates are explicitly prohibited on it. The MUP is about 15ft wide.

Today running out to the store, there were a few martial arts guys practicing on the same MUP. At least there were only 3 of them parallel ot the path and an instructor in front. The Tai Chi'ers usually do it 4 across.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@ Jseko: Well, whoever was "first", it sounds pretty lame to block a transportation corridor for what amounts to stationary activity. It wouldn`t be the first thing to piss me off in this life, though.

That doesn`t sound very good, Martin. But you`re back and on the computer, so obviously nothing catastrophic happened- better luck next time. Oh, just because I`m in a good mood toady, I won`t chew you out about STILL having no update on either of your blogs 

It`s been a warm and windy week, with a little bit of rain thrown in for good measure. The forecast says more of that through tomorrow, but supposed to get nice in a few days and stay that way for next weekend. Yeah!
I went to a buddy`s house yesterday to start work on a Frankenbike project that we`ve been talking about for several months. We took a Sawzall to a couple of old frames for reassembly with a "limo stretch" in the middle. We now have the front triangle of a rigid mtb and the rear triangle of a kiddie mtb (20 inch wheel) set up in a long jig, ready to put in the stretch next week. He wants a long tail cargo bike with a long, low rear rack. It`s gonna be a fun project, but I`m glad I won`t be the guy pedalling it up the hill he lives on.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The small wheel in front cargo bike . Upscale and modern. The commercial ones with thick steel rims are still made by Workman. So turn about is fair play, right?


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> @ Jseko: Well, whoever was "first", it sounds pretty lame to block a transportation corridor for what amounts to stationary activity. It wouldn`t be the first thing to piss me off in this life, though.


It is a weak excuse, but I don't have any other explanation other than perhaps sheer laziness to walk an additional 10 ft. Parking at that time of day is a non-issue in that area aside from the weekends. Although during the weekends, the number of cars in the area do make the approach to the MUP quite hairy. Morning and evening commute however is quite peaceful.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> The small wheel in front cargo bike . Upscale and modern. The commercial ones with thick steel rims are still made by Workman. So turn about is fair play, right?


Nice bike. Reminds me of the Japanese Mama-Chari

Another cargo bike with similar design


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

jseko said:


> Nice bike. Reminds me of the Japanese Mama-Chari
> 
> Another cargo bike with similar design


That's quite the load he's got there xD


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wind was light, dirt road was in pretty good shape, tied record time I believe. Saturday's 2" of snow melted & I actually got a sunburn on the back of my neck raking yesterday (it wasn't very sunny but since it took 10 hours I guess it added up). Easter was celebrated ******* style in my neighborhood, with the smell of burn piles, the sound of target shooting, and the passage of a souped up lawnmower at +/- 40mph! Trailwork Saturday was not as nice due to the snow and sleet, but we got 6 big blowdowns chainsawed and out of the way. 

My MTB is not ready yet, rebuilt fork arrived but waiting on the cassette. Mechanic said he was happy to see a worn out drivetrain, and said it was the most worn out he'd seen that still actually worked. The chain pins were so worn they rattled, the middle & small chainrings were so spiky I thought they wiuld break off. I knew it had gone by but figured keep pedaling since it is gone anyways. As jeffscott prediicted, the BB was toast again from the winter commute, 1 side was bad & the other going. She should be grand for the first trailride, whenever that finally happens here.

Read your blog this a.m., Martin, I don't want to ruin it for other readers, but I was impressed with your ride.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

65 and sunny! My oh my its awesome out. I'll only get one commuting day this week as I'm headed to Bismarck for training. Bringing bike with me for cruising and explorong though!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

65 and sunny, only one commute day. That figures.
Maybe it`ll last until next week so you can enjoy it.



dolli310 said:


> That's quite the load he's got there xD


:lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

dolli310 said:


> That's quite the load he's got there xD


I see he's from the "bank" - must be rushing to make a "deposit"


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

dolli310 said:


> That's quite the load he's got there xD


That bike is used to transport samples for a fertility clinic.

https://www.treehugger.com/files/20...s-fertility-clinics-bullitt-cargo-bicycle.php

That bike certainly is carrying a load.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

:lol: THE load!

ey! nice pic rodar! 

I was pleased to rest today...it was 40 ºC when I left the office!... I'll take another break day tomorrow


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've been getting a lot of rain. It's rained just about every day for the past week. The creeks and rivers are flooded in many areas. Driver's are showing frustration with the weather on the road. Traffic has been slow. Drivers have been aggressive. This morning I was passed by two cars while I was signaling and preparing to make a left turn. The first person was predictable. The second person was just reckless.

Traffic was bad because some idiot drove his car into a gun shop and is holed up inside. A SWAT team had to be sent in and a few major roads had to be shut down. I guess that funneled everyone my way.


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## 08HardRock (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm finally back to commuting!!! Started a new job last November, so I had taken a hiatus. 

I was putting it off b/c my new work requires shirt and tie, which is more difficult to accommodate. This is compounded by the fact that we use a hoteling model, so my desk is only mine for the day and I cant leave anything here. 

My wife got pregnant around the time my new job started and I started to get fat. I figured enough is enough and got back on the commuter. Its only about 1 mile further than my previous job, so it remains doable. 

I've found this is the only form of exercise that works for me b/c if I quit I dont get to work/home, so thats the motivation I need. 

I'm a little tired, sore and out of shape; but its good to be back.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Beeeautiful morning! 
The weatherman predicts "abundant sunshine" and so far that looks like a good possibility. The sun was just up on my way in, warm orange light painted all over the east side of everything, and I was tripping on the long shadows that I could see stretching away from each little pebble on the road. It sure put me in a good mood.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Gotta hope that the spermcycle is never in an accident.:shocked:

Beautiful weather here. Still some snow hiding in the trees, though. We're supposed to get some rain this week, which will hopefully finish that off.

The river here has been ice-free for a few weeks now, but on the weekend something upstream let go so the ice was back for a few days (not sure how interesting this is):


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Back in action this morning. Spring break is always too short and too long at the same time. Hard to get back into the swing of things. I love how high the sun is in the sky after a week off from the commute though! I could have been mistaken for a normal guy out for a bike ride this morning, instead of an obsessed wacko. It was still 27 degrees, but a gloriously sunny 27. Should be pushing 60 by the ride home. It was nice to be back on the commuter. I got a ton of mountain biking in over break. The trails are awesome with the moisture we've been getting...hero dirt!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^Never change (well clothes of course). Obsessive wackos who can be mistaken for normal, have the best of both worlds!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So from the realm of "It never gets easier, you just go faster", I thought I was going to be a total badass after the winter. But instead, my ss and hardtail are both kicking my butt.

When there was snow and crud on the road I could only go so fast without bad things happening, so I got used to taking it easy. But now that things have cleared up I've got no excuses, so I'm exhausted.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

haven't found the strength to get back on la trurly this week  tomorrow? let's see


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> haven't found the strength to get back on la trurly this week  tomorrow? let's see


La Pugsdozer wants to go to work with you. It'll be good for morale


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^^ :lol: she is at the LBS right now getting a good service.
I guess I'll be back next week..I promise


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thunderstorms forecast, but was pretty lucky, only rained for the last mile or so, and the big downpour cam when I was on the bus. 60 and muggy, I was too warm, a nice problem to have for a change. Spring must be here, ice out last night on Joe's Pond at 10:17; it's a popular contest to guess what time the concrete block will fall thru and stop the clock. It would be nice if my luck holds for the way home, there are a few open spots on the hill I would not want to be in lightning.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Still in Bismarck for training so no bike commuting for me. I was able to go on a 20 mile ride last night, and I'll do the same today. Its supposed to be gorgeous out, and there are some great trails and paths around town. I had to gas up the car on the way to class this morning, $4.15/ga. Ouch! Can't wait to go home and leave the car parked for a while!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ve got serious winds this morning- another granny gear commute. The outlook for the weekend keeps changing, so I guess we`ll just have to wait and see.

Nobody here is in the area of last night`s tornados?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've had about 9" of rain in the past week. My commutes haven't been bad, but I drove in yesterday. On the way home, I saw a kamikaze on a bicycle ride against traffic, then make a diagonal cut across the lane and through the turning lane, then cut through a line of traffic, and finally disappear across a park lawn. 

I've seen this guy before. He must do it almost every day. I'm surprised he's still alive.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> We`ve got serious winds this morning- another granny gear commute. The outlook for the weekend keeps changing, so I guess we`ll just have to wait and see.


The rare tailwind to work this morning for me. I'm hoping it holds out.. I'm on the road bike and I've got an 18 mile ride (currently downwind) to meet the wife after work. I could set a record...


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## Marcster (Apr 28, 2010)

*Commute #2 for 2011...* 3.67 miles to work, 20 minutes door to door, slight uphill climb almost the whole way.

My first commute with my lunch & pocket stuff (wallet, keys, breath mints, etc.) in my new Avenir Excursion Handlebar bag... It may not be "cool" to have a big handlebar bag, but it was much nicer than having lunch & stuff in the laptop backpack I used to carry it in.

http://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Excursion-Handlebar-Cubic-Inches/dp/B00165Q4QW


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I started out with another overnight flat, but this time I found the cause, a tiny strand of wire in the tire, like a <1/4" piece of an errant strand from a fraying bike cable. 1st tube I tried (and had been carrying around in my pack) did not have a long enough stem for the rear wheel, but since I was at home I found a road tube that worked fine in my 32's.

Since I left late I ended up behind the schoolbus going down my hill, lost all momentum having to stop twice behind it. Then at the corner store a lady pulled out from a stop sign and cut me off just as I was getting up some speed. 

Missed the bus by 5 mins, but kept pedaling for a 22mi commute rather than wait an hour for the next one. It was nice, 40's and sunny and windless most of the way. Faked the shower in the sink and got to my desk on time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ that's the kind of adventure that seperates your day from everyone elses...what a boring morning most of them must have had. 

I don't know what I was thinking this morning when I threw on the super thin gloves that I've been wearing for the ride home (they were sitting in my helmet after the ride home yesterday, and the thicker 'morning' gloves were in the bottom of my backpack from yesterday morning). I was about 100 feet down the road when I realized that I should stop and dig for the warmer ones...but I just couldn't make myself stop. It's a nice, long, mostly downhill dirt road descent for a while, so I kept going...noticed that the puddles were frozen over... a couple miles in I was approaching numbness in the fingers, but I still couldn't make myself take the time to stop, remove the backpack, dig for the gloves, etc, etc. I got to work with plesantly warm fingers, because the feeling was totally gone... 2 minutes after getting inside, the misery came back, and the thawing process took a few more minutes after that. Why didn't I stop? 

I also had a brake check when I got on campus... there's a steep hill coming down through the parking lot at the school I work at, and I generally fly down it and hit the narrow sidewalk that shoots between two buildings at a pretty good clip... well it's that time of year, and the "senior prank" apparently happened last night. They attempted to make campus inacessible by stringing up massive amounts of twine 'spider webs' all over campus between buildings, from doors to doors, across sidewalks, etc, etc. It was pretty elaborate, and the sun was in my eyes coming down the hill towards that sidewalk. I got a glimpse of what I thought was an actual spider web across the sidewalk just as I got to it, and then I realized that there was more going on...I got on the BB7's hard and screeched to a stop just before getting ripped from the bike in a massive clothesline incident. Took me 5 minutes to get to my bulding, lifting the bike over strings, going under others... pretty cool prank, but it almost took me out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, a close call with the string! 
Now, why you didn't stop is one of the mysteries of the universe. While some might describe it as stubborn or even pigheaded, I would prefer to think of it as stick-to-it-ive-ness.

I did the opposite today, stopped to dig out my ringing cellphone (of course it is normally on the handy waistbelt pocket and never rings, but today it was in the main compartment), only to find it was a wrong number.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, it`s a good thing you had that overnight flat! Much better than having it dawn on your half way to work that your spare tube wouldn`t work. If there`s such a thing as a good flat, I think you found one!

CB, have you still been freezing up regularly? We froze last night for the first time in a few weeks.

No wind this morning! Clear skies too, but the clouds didn`t bother me as much as the wind. I was really scooting on the way home yesterday (strong tailwind), looking at another possible personal best work to home time, but got caught behind a car that must have had its EFI system in "limp home" mode. Seriously, the guy was driving at roughly a fast walk pace. There was one car between me and the limper, waiting to round a curve so we could pass, then a wait for oncomming traffic, finally we were able to pass, but that was almost at the bottom of the fast downhill and had to start the uphill part without my momentum. That`s okay, I guess- I`ve lost track of my PBs anyway, so I`d never have known if I had set a new one.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We've been between 27 and 33 in the mornings for a week or so... Last night was the coldest in at least a week... mid to high 50's for highs. Not bad... rain last night made the frozen puddles stand out this morning. It's supposed to take a turn for the warmer for next week.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Had a grand commute in today and I will be hitting up REI on the way home. The last commute I rode through a cloud of fresh Krispy Kreame doughnut aroma. That was worse than the van driver who did not see me. Good thing I stopped.


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## psc210 (Jan 14, 2011)

This morning I was on the path next a road when the car ahead me was turning right so I slowed to let her make the turn. Meanwhile some ahole behind me accellerates to turn in front of me. I yelled f*****g a88hole at him. He then he did a u-turn in the middle of the street and came back at me and tried to spray me with bear spray from his window. I filed a police report and about 2 hous later the cop called back. They had found the guy, he claimed that I had assaulted him and he was defending himself. They arrested him for misdemeanor assault, the cop says he will likely plea out with the prosecutor and get 1-2days in jail. I am proud of the police for following up and finding the guy and doing something about it. We recently had a guy killed and they are saying it was the bicyclist's fault which many of us commuters don't believe based on the reports.


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## dankilling (Feb 24, 2004)

Sunny and windy this morning, but temps in the 50's so it was fine. Took the route along the base of the mountain since it isn't as exposed to the wind in there which made it a nice ride. It was supposed to be like that all day, but a sudden shower on the way home had me trying to outrun the clouds. The clouds won.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

psc210 said:


> They had found the guy, he claimed that I had assaulted him and he was defending himself. They arrested him for misdemeanor assault, the cop says he will likely plea out with the prosecutor and get 1-2days in jail. I am proud of the police for following up and finding the guy and doing something about it.


Yeah! I love it when the story has a happy ending 
Espeically when it`s a surprise! I hear from time to time about people filing a report, but that`s usually the end of it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

@psc210 - wow! bear spray for cursing/yelling at him - that is pretty severe. Glad he missed (it sounds like), that would really make for a sucky commute.


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## psc210 (Jan 14, 2011)

Yes he missed. There was a breeze that blew it sideways. I can only hope he got a little back spray. I have gotten a little taste of that stuff testing/practicing with expired cans and it doesn't taste or smell very good at all.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Anyone else get the feeling that motorists way way underestimate your speed? I notice that I'm having to more often abruptly grab fist fulls of brake recently compared when I first started riding.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> Anyone else get the feeling that motorists way way underestimate your speed? I notice that I'm having to more often abruptly grab fist fulls of brake recently compared when I first started riding.


You`re not alone in that. It`s a well known and widespread problem.

Yesterday was a good day- spent several hours with a friend working on his frankenbike project. I`m going back over there Wed and we should get a diagonal brazed into the "limo stretch", completing the frame. After that, it`s on to the oversized rack.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, that looks like a fun project - is the s -- t -- r -- e -- t -- c -- h limo for fun, cargo, or taking kids to the prom? 

Jseko, that happened to me this week too - a car raced past just to turn right and cut me off to go into a business drive. But it may be giving them too much credit to say they underestimate our speed - sometimes they are just unconcious or rude.


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## BIGfatED (Apr 26, 2005)

Sunday Funday.....Recreation ride with the better half, stopped for nachos and local craft beer, then road home only to take a nap. What a beautiful day.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I keep delaying my commuting...I'll leave the car today at the workshop, guess I'll have no choice tomorrow 

had a 105F 23.6 mi ride in the desert yesterday...toasted.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Windy today and cool, but sunny. It should warm up to mid 50s by the ride home. This weekend was miserably cold and snowy, old man winter just doesn't wanna leave without a fight. Tired of wearing cold weather riding gear! Last week's short and tshirt weather spoiled me, I want more of it!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Xplorer: It`ll be a cargo bike
@Fat Ed: Can`t think of a better way to spend the day 
105F! Jimminey Crickets!
I hear you, Jag. I bet it`s colder in MN/ND than here, but I really hate going back to more clothes after getting a litle break too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, If that's not a burning man project I don't kwow what is. Are you going?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Beautiful blue bird morning with 27F temps. Temps were much warmer in the sun. Fixed a new creak (didn't lube the seatpost enough) Was a great commute to start out the week!


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

-sigh- A beautiful four day weekend has come and gone. My brain needed the break, effin' exams. It's going be good to get back in the saddle in the rain... I hate the Maritime's in spring ><


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I think it might be spring finally.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The commute this morning kind of sucked. It was cool (47F), windy, and it was raining. Sometimes I half-expect drivers to be a little more compassionate as I brave the weather, but most times it feels like I'm a bleeding fish in a tank full of piranhas.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I had a 4 day weekend in Banff. Didn't take a bike, but had kindof hoped to maybe rent a tandem and toodle a round a bit. But then we got 10cm of snow. And from talking to a few of the bikeshops it sounds like no one really rents tandems? That's disappointing, since I don't think my wife would ever go for a trail-a-bike.

Returned to beautiful 20C/70F weather yesterday, and trails that are at maybe 95%.

Today we have rain. Wore my fancy new high-vis vest for the first time, after deciding that my summer gear just doesn't cut it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No Burning Man for me, and I doubt te guy whose bike we`re doing will go either.
Pretty nice morning. We`ve been plagued by winds for the past few weeks, so I hope it stays calm. The temps have been perfect, so if the stupid wind just stays away we`ll be grooving.

Newfangled, bummer about the snow on your mini vacation. Was it at least wasrm enough to enjoy the trip?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I really like snow, so 10cm of fresh snow with plenty of sun and temps around freezing was fine with me. Ended up going for a 3 hour walk (wearing skate shoes, which I do not recommend for hiking in the snow) and came back absolutely soaked. I'll have to post a pic later.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> No Burning Man for me, and I doubt te guy whose bike we`re doing will go either.


Me either, but it looked the part. I am looking forward to the annual freak parade as people make their way to the playa though.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Yesterday turned out gorgeous, and today is even better. Low 60s, lots of sun, and light wind. Even got to fire up the grill last night! I've been seeing a lot of bike commuters coming home in my neighborhood in the evening, but not on my route or during my ride time. Someday I hope!

Gratitous spring weather pic from last week in Bismarck:


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

This morning was a cool and very damp 5*C. On the way home it was cloudy, ten degrees with a heavy case of ass-hats. Anyone got tips on how to deal with mad motorists before I result to violence?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

dolli310 said:


> This morning was a cool and very damp 5*C. On the way home it was cloudy, ten degrees with a heavy case of ass-hats. Anyone got tips on how to deal with mad motorists before I result to violence?


Make sure you are visible...sometimes you need to make that happen with some aggression.
Learn how to make a piercing whistle...use it... lous enough to go through a window and a stereo.

Embrass *******s....peer pressure works better than anyother motivator.


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

Summer is coming...but it's not quite here yet. Nice warm commute this morning in t-shirt and shorts, and just a perfect day to be on the bike. Just getting over riding my first century on Sunday, but the ride in was worth the soreness. I just want to savor these last few weeks of spring before it gets to be > 100F.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

JAG410 said:


> Yesterday turned out gorgeous, and today is even better. Low 60s, lots of sun, and light wind. Even got to fire up the grill last night! I've been seeing a lot of bike commuters coming home in my neighborhood in the evening, but not on my route or during my ride time. Someday I hope!
> 
> Gratitous spring weather pic from last week in Bismarck:


Now there is a skinny worth riding....how far have you got so far...

Why on the praries is everything set up with right angles...kinda like Saskatchewan.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> Now there is a skinny worth riding....how far have you got so far...
> 
> Why on the praries is everything set up with right angles...kinda like Saskatchewan.


That picture was taken on an old historical site. It was a Mandan indian village in the mid 1500s. This fort sits atop a hill overlooking the Missouri river (to the left of the picture) and the city of Mandan, ND. Lots of cool history in Bismarck, not nearly as boring as I thought it would be!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Boy, you sure can see a long way! Does that stone path go far, or just on the historical site?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

This stone path is just a short loop, but it connects to miles of paved MUP and other gravel nature trails. I have a few cool pics from the trails that I'll put on my blog tonight.

The sign in the picture is roughly at Lat:46*49'49"N Long:100*49'47"W if anyone is really bored and has access to google earth  I can't be the only one that bridges the boredom between bike rides by taking "trips" on google earth!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Is that where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Is that where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804?


Sure is. There's a ton of Lewis and Clark stuff in this area. They got stuck here because it was too damn cold to move on! Also, General Custer's house is about 5 miles to the southwest. I didn't get a chance to go check it out though.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Came back to my bike after work to find an exploded bucket of wood screws in the bike parking area. My guess is it fell off the roof of the adjacent building, where contractors are doing some work, and then on to the ground or awning.

Couldn't even get within 2-3 ft of my bike without first clearing a path.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol: Wow. If that happened at my work I would immediately be thinking that someone did it on purpose.



JAG410 said:


> Sure is. There's a ton of Lewis and Clark stuff in this area. They got stuck here because it was too damn cold to move on!


Cool. That's where they met Sacajawea and took her on as a guide to get over the Rockies. I'd love to check that place out.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Dang jseko that's crazy. I would have flipped out!

Windy today, good chance of rain too. Rode the Xtracycle today since I needed to bring in a couple weeks worth of food/drinks to work. Its also "clean up week" here, so there are all kinds of junk/treasures on curbs all over the city. I'll be prepared to carry any goodies I may find on the way home!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I finally cleared a curb I've been trying to ride in the park. It's a tricky looping curb that requires the tires to be just so or the rear will fall off. The rest of my evening commute was typical. This morning was cool, windy, but uneventful.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

crazy cold weather days after our 105F Sunday...I even had to wear my jacket this morning.

I think I'm convincing another co-worker to commute....I told him I would lend him La Trurly for some test commutes when the Baroness is ready.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'm afraid to ask, but what is "cold weather" after 105F? Low 90's? High 80's? 

We're sitting in the 5C to 18C (40's to 60's) range, which works for me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ I'm afraid to ask, but what is "cold weather" after 105F? Low 90's? High 80's?


Cold enough to keep aluminum from melting! Wow, an offer to loan out La Trurly would be pretty hard to pass up. If you offered up the Pugs, you`d probably make a bike commuter from anybody. At least for as long as the offer was in effect 

Jseko, good thing that Box O Shrapnel happened to fall on an empty spot- sure wouldn`t have felt very good on somebody`s noggin.

I got a nail through my rear tire leaving work yesterday. Since that was my first flat in several months, I guess I was due for it.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hehe
lower on Monday 59F yesterday 61F max monday 72 max yesterday 77

right now is 72 outside...I bet it was around 61F this morning too.

it is all because a cold front from the north...it would have been nice if it came a bit later...race in the desert next Sunday will be hot again


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

B- o - r - i - n - g, I drove. Still raining here & first day back after chest cold. Crazy lake flooding on Lake Champlain, supposed to hit 3' above flood stage today. Pics of my friend's camp...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow... did you take those from a boat?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Crazy. It's been wet everywhere. We've had over 33" of rain so far this year. Average annual rainfall is only 44.5". Last month we had 14" of rain.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I wasn't there, she emailed them, but I'd guess they waded out, or 1 might be from a submerged dock.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A bit of a surprise on my lunchhour ride:



It was right at the end of some singletrack - basically ride out of the trees and . It spends the winter docked further downstream frozen solid in the river, so this must be the annual inspection for ice damage and whatnot.


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## BIGfatED (Apr 26, 2005)

The weather here in the high desert has warmed up for the minute. Blue skies, sunshine, and 67F. The commute has been delightful today. Now it's time to watch some high school baseball and take in the day. 

I have plans to get some trail riding in tomorrow after work. This will be my first singletrack riding since December, as my mountain bike frame has been out for repair. I'm itchin' to get my knobs on some dirt. Feeling good about it.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ :lol: Wow. If that happened at my work I would immediately be thinking that someone did it on purpose.


Initially I did think that it might have been malicious, but part of the bucket shard had a sticker with the contractor's name on it and I know they were working on the roof. It was mostly cleaned up when I got to work today. There were maybe a dozen or two left on the ground.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

BIGfatED said:


> The weather here in the high desert has warmed up for the minute. Blue skies, sunshine, and 67F. The commute has been delightful today. Now it's time to watch some high school baseball and take in the day.
> 
> I have plans to get some trail riding in tomorrow after work. This will be my first singletrack riding since December, as my mountain bike frame has been out for repair. I'm itchin' to get my knobs on some dirt. Feeling good about it.


Where abouts in the High Desert? I used to live out in Joshua Tree.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> ^ I'm afraid to ask, but what is "cold weather" after 105F? Low 90's? High 80's?
> 
> We're sitting in the 5C to 18C (40's to 60's) range, which works for me.


You'd be suprised...I used to live in the Mojave Desert and it would get up to 120 in the summers. Even at 10pm it would be 100 outside. The temperature would drop to low 70s around dawn. Going outside without a jacket or sweatshirt could lead to shivering. It was funny that we had the coat rack inside the office and it was the opposite of winter - often people would don their coats inside and take them off to go outside.


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## BIGfatED (Apr 26, 2005)

jseko said:


> Where abouts in the High Desert? I used to live out in Joshua Tree.


Well, some say it is technically not a desert because we get to much moisture or something to that effect. Bend Oregon is where I call home. A great place to vacation, an even better place to live. That is, if you can find a job.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

BIGfatED said:


> Well, some say it is technically not a desert because we get to much moisture or something to that effect. Bend Oregon is where I call home. A great place to vacation, an even better place to live. That is, if you can find a job.


Ok, that was not what I was expecting at all. I wasn't aware there were multiple regions in the western US called High Desert.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BIGfatED said:


> A great place to vacation, an even better place to live. That is, if you can find a job.


I`ve visited and sure wouldn`t mind living there. Pretty nice place.

Worked on the Frankenbike again last night, scheduling conflicts won`t alow us to get together again for about two weeks, but I finished all the brazing on the frame, so he can clean it up and start putting it together. He`s going to have to take it to a bike shop to get the BB threads chased.


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

The ride to work was wet and very dirty. My glasses were covered in fine sand from the shoulders. Love those wet damp mornings. Riding home, noticed a severe lacking of asshats, even got cheers from a lady at a stop light


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It's in the mid 70's out there (finally)... I have the 18 mile meet-the-wife commute ahead of me. 2nd ride with the new stem on the road bike (bike fit is close to dialed), There's a nice playlist lined up on the iPod, and a gentle tailwind blowing at the moment. This could be a good 50 minutes... Or a great 47 minutes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was HOT this afternoon. Relatively speaking, of course, but probably the first time I`ve found myself wishing for shade this year.


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## BIGfatED (Apr 26, 2005)

I started my morning commute under overcast skies, but the tempreture was pleasant. I road the CX bike to test out new parts and fresh cable and housing. That bike made me recognize that I have some adjusting to do in order to get my commuter dialed and more comfortable. 

My trail ride will be put on hold until Sunday, bummer, but for a good cause. My mom is in town for the weekend and we plan to enjoy some time together. I thoughtt she was coming into town on Friday, but to my pleasant surprise she was at my house when I went home for lunch. She is making pot roast and cole slaw for dinner. I picked up some Hop Head from Bend Brewing Company this afternoon. I am looking forward to mom's home cooking. Mmmmmmm.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The 5? year old NiMH battery pack is done, no useable runtime. Same day a cell went bad in my LiPo pack. Caught the outflow from the high school. Seems they know no rules of the road at all. Another time to avoid being downtown. :madman:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

BBbbBbbBbZZZzzzZzzZzzZ*thud* BzzBzzbZ *ping* bBbbBbZzZ bwahaha

Those were actual sounds from todays ride in. Rode the Pugsley, which still has its giant tires caked in dried clay mud from last weekend. Chunks were flying! I had all kind of clumps in my shoes too, but I didn't mind. Its Friday! Hope everyone got the chance to smile on their rides today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Im waiting to "hear" the sound effects when you make up a set 26 x 4.0 studs 

I shed another partial layer for this morning`s commute. No sweatshirt. If it lasts, I`m now down to windbreaker, thin balaclava, gardening gloves, shorts with poly long johns, and tennis shoes. Kind of weird, but weird is good.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> Caught the outflow from the high school. Seems they know no rules of the road at all. Another time to avoid being downtown. :madman:


Welcome to my world.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I drove today...

Just wanted to share this:
This morning there was people running and passing in front of the office, it seemed weird but then I remember there is going to be a Triathlon tomorrow in a park close to my office...

I went for lunch to Carl's Jr and in the entrance there was this Trek 520, I checked it out..no racks or heavy stuff but definitely well ridden.

I couldn't contain myself and approached the guy with the helmet... I asked: "hey, have you used your bike on a..." and he complete saying: "...Tour?" hehehe adding " I just took it to New Zealand and rode 1500 km" ....we had a short but juicy chat...we exchange some info...and then he left for a training ride for his race... he is doing it on the 520 btw!...he is fit though...a Capoeira Teacher.

I haven't checked his blog yet (this was just minutes ago) but here it is:
http://nz-biketour.blogspot.com/


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Interesting ride home today. I went to work later than usual today and stayed until 8pm. The ride home was interesting since it's my first ride in the dark. 

I'm surprised by the number of bicyclists riding without lights here. There are street lamps and such, but I couldn't see them until they were within about 150 ft and even then it's more movement in the distance than anything else. Wasn't even sure I was even looking at a bicyclist until they were about 30-50 ft away unless they happened to be under a street lamp. I did not count, but I'd say only 1/3 of the 20 or so had any kind of illumination riding at 8pm. Light colored clothes and yellow vests did not help at all.

Some only run rear lights. Some run really dim lights, visible only to about 50 ft even in blinking mode. 

Stopped at a 4-way stop to let a couple and their 5 or 6 y/o cross. They took 3 steps and got buzzed by some guy in a yellow vest lit up like Las Vegas strip.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

"They took 3 steps and got buzzed by some guy in a yellow vest lit up like Las Vegas strip."
Brian Mc is clear- he was on the other side of the country 

I`m leaving in a half hour to meet some forum members for a little single track action on the other end of town. I had to get up early to do a scrub and lube on my hardtail - the poor thing has been sitting unused for a year and a half :skep: . Wish I had gotten to it yesterday because it could use a new RD cable/housing and I know there are some around someplace, but can`t find any cables.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> "They took 3 steps and got buzzed by some guy in a yellow vest lit up like Las Vegas strip." Brian Mc is clear- he was on the other side of the country .


mechBgon also looks like that too, but those aren't his haunts, either! We both make it a habit not to mow down or threaten pedestrians! Actually, if I got the timing guessed right, I wasn't in country but in my steel cocoon on the 403 in Southern Ontario headed to a nephew's wedding.

I saw two comfort bikes likely equipped with Planet bike front/rear light sets by the look a mile from home one night last week. Just before complete dark but after I made a turn so I did not see them from over 150 feet away. Impressive compared to the usual ninja mode favored by owners of those bikes. But easily lost if there were competing lights. By body shapes, I think they were my neighbors. He almost hit me with his pickup pulling out in front of me when I was at speed twice, and incited my first front daytime running light. So I may be a bad influence around here.


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## wvmtb (Jan 16, 2004)

So there's a garbage truck a car then me. Garbage truck stops to drop his guy of to pick up some garbage. The car startes to goes around the truck and as they are almost around the driver begins to take off again almose hitting the car. Didn't hit the car but he was leaving the other guy on the curb yelling and calling him a few names while holding a bag of trash. About a half a block away he must have looked in him mirror and saw his coworker standing in the middle of the road with a bag of trash. He finally stops and wait for him as I go around wondering if he's going to back up and nail me. If he couldn't see a car I'm sure he couldn't see me!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

First flat in the 1 year I have been in the game. Looks like I actually sliced my tire somehow and I could hear the air coming out. Not sure if I made the right choice, but since I was a half mile out, I walked it instead of changing the tube. Now I get to change a tube at lunch to ready me for the ride home. I am thinking about cutting the old tube and leaving a double thickness between the new tube and the tire where the slice is. Will that cause problems? I think I will order a new tire today, but need to ride on something until then. Any thoughts on that>


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^A dollar bill or two will work well as a tire boot if you're out of options. A tube will not do as well...it will blow out of the tear like your tire is chewing bubble gum. I've used duct tape and dollars both, and they worked fine. Now I carry a couple of tire boots (I think I have a Park Tools one and a Lezyne one or two. 


It's Mountian Bike Monday!

The woods were drippy wet from last night's rain. Very nice.


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## wvmtb (Jan 16, 2004)

Dalton said:


> I am thinking about cutting the old tube and leaving a double thickness between the new tube and the tire where the slice is. Will that cause problems?


If you sliced the tire that might work but I think you would be better off with something a little stiffer. I've heard of people using many different things. Old box from a tube, dollar bill, leaves. You get the idea. About anything thin and durable should work. I've never used any of those options because [knock on wood] I havent had that happen to me. But I would think a thin piece of cardboard like the tube box would be the best if the tire has a slice in it.
Problem with the old tube is that if the slit is big enough it might let the tube buldge out of the tire and in turn it would blow out just like what happened to you earlier.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Thanks guys, I appreciate the responses. Thankfully I don't have to ride home tonight, but I plan to ride tomorrow and can't get a tire tonight, so I think I will throw a folded dollar and some duct tape in there and ride tomorrow and hopefully have a tire tomorrow night.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That will hold for a looooong time.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

The ride in this morning was awesome. I noticed yesterday while mountain biking that I'm finally getting some fitness back after my break from riding following the birth of my daughter. I truly enjoyed the ride as opposed to suffering through the ride trying to go as fast as I could last summer.

The same was true this morning. I was comfortable (the small change to seat height on the commute bike made a huge difference), I had power, I had some fitness, I had a lot of fun. It felt good to ride, and was a huge confidence builder for getting me back out on the commute.

The ride home could be interesting, however. I was at a stop light near the office when the light turned green and suddenly I couldn't clip my foot in. I didn't have far to go so I just rode without being clipped in, but when I checked my shoe at the office the front of the cleat was pushed up, which was preventing the clip in. I bent it out and hopefully the plastic will hold until I get home. My plan is to walk to my bike in socks, put my shoes on only when I'm ready to leave, clip that shoe in and not unclip it for the duration of the ride. Hopefully it makes it; I have a set of fresh replacement cleats in the toolbox at home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Plastic cleats, Nacho?

I had "issues" Saturday, partly related to cleats. But more of the gettting out part than the getting in part. After a long time without any mtb riding, I gave my bike half a tune up and went outside to check it out before meeting up with several other riders. I`ve lost ouch with that bike- it felt very squirly compared to the bikes I`ve been riding lately, so while I was out testing in the front yard I tipped over, didn`t unclip in time, and skinned a knee. A few minutes later I tipped over and skinned the other knee. Had one more tip over on the trail with a half dozen witnesses. It`s not quite like learning to ride all over again, but I probably should have put some flat pedals on for a while.

We got a dusting of snow early this morning- probably the last time it`ll stick at all until after summer clears out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes, flat pedals can be a lot of fun on the trails...I went back to them after oh 20 years or so on clipless..they are great for trying new challnges. My local trails opened for the season Saturday, so I went for a nice birthday ride. The call of the trails makes bike-commuting arrangements more challenging though. Here's a few cell pics, the shiny stuff is a brandy new trail on a bedrock spine.

The extra observant may note that my loaner fork is off and my rebuilt Marzocchi is back!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> The extra observant may note that my loaner fork is off and my rebuilt Marzocchi is back!


Whoohoo! Did you ride up that tree in Pic1 or go a little overboard on a jump and land in it?

While I went back to flats (or clips N straps, depending on the bike) for roads, the clickeys do have some extra advantages off road that I`m not sure I want to give up. Just need to get back into the swing of things, maybe.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Plastic cleats, Nacho?


Yeah they are Shimano cleats that came with my 105 pedals. There is no legal dirt I could commute on so I'm full road bike status for my commuter . I have a duplicate set of cleats that I picked up with another set of 105 pedals I bought a few weeks ago.

I'm having lots of pedal/pedal related problems lately. A week ago I sheared the non-drive side crank brothers pedal off my single speed about 6 miles in to my ride. That made for a fun trip home  Years of abuse and minimal maintenance I guess


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I was just having a hard time unclipping the other day and I was realizing that I have been riding the same set of SPD cleats in the same shoes since 1998. I have two spare sets of cleats in the garage, because you get them when you get new pedals...I've given a pair or two away too... I've been through pedals, but never replaced the cleats. That's gotta be tens of thousands of miles on the same pair of cleats. I think the shoes were $35. I wonder how awesome I'll think my pedal/shoe interface is when I finally swap them...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ I must be harder on them. I was getting click-in issues after only about 7000 to 8000 miles. New cleats worked a treat.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I was just having a hard time unclipping the other day and I was realizing that I have been riding the same set of SPD cleats in the same shoes since 1998. I have two spare sets of cleats in the garage, because you get them when you get new pedals...I've given a pair or two away too... I've been through pedals, but never replaced the cleats. That's gotta be tens of thousands of miles on the same pair of cleats. I think the shoes were $35. I wonder how awesome I'll think my pedal/shoe interface is when I finally swap them...


Wow! Your foot will probably fly into the next county if you get new cleats & pedals. The Shimanos I had seemed to get harder and harder to release over time, whereas my Time ATACs get easier & easier until it feels too sloppy and I get new cleats.

Rodar, that tree was old & gnarly so my bike was instantly attracted to it. I had to climb up and get it down.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I was just having a hard time unclipping the other day and I was realizing that I have been riding the same set of SPD cleats in the same shoes since 1998. I have two spare sets of cleats in the garage, because you get them when you get new pedals...I've given a pair or two away too... I've been through pedals, but never replaced the cleats. That's gotta be tens of thousands of miles on the same pair of cleats. I think the shoes were $35. I wonder how awesome I'll think my pedal/shoe interface is when I finally swap them...


That rocks. I walk a lot in my bike shoes; maybe that contributes? Maybe I'm just a clod.

I did make it home well though. In fact, the ride was a lot of fun; I had a little rain at the start, then a nice tailwind for most of the trip. Felt good again, got home with more than enough time to shower and pick up my daughter before 6. Loving that I finally have a good setup for commuting and that it's all working well!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

My Friday commute:






Week 1 Bike Month from TheGPSGeek on Vimeo.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! I see you get prime parking. They weren't very generous with the width of some of those bridges on the path near the end, though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sweet route! 
Pretty sweet weather, too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I tried to catch a little pug dog that was wandering down the busy Barre-Montpelier road on my ride in this morning. I put down the bike, took off the scary helmet & glasses, but she still stayed just out of range, occasionally darting into the traffic lane. I gave up and pedaled on before I witnessed an acccident. Then I wondered, if I had caught her, then what? She had no tags. Maybe walk back to the police station with a pug under one arm and the bike on the other? I think I need to add a piece of lightweight rope to my pack, just in case. 

On River Road a fender bender near Dunkin Donuts backed up about 30 cars that I was able to sail by. A few hundred feet later a cop had a truck pulled over and I yelled over and pointed back at the accident, but he refused to turn and look, just said "what???" but by then I was gone.

It was such a nice sunny morning that I pedaled to the further bus stop to sip my coffee outside in the sun rather than on the bus. A little brisk to start (36F), but it should be 60's by lunchtime.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

I had to chuckle last night on the way home. My route is part of a multi-use loop and the section I was on is about 6 feet or so wide. I knew there were other bikers behind me so I was trying to keep pace. I hit a red light, stop then get going again once the light turned green. All of a sudden a roadie passes me on a down hill section on the left, without any verbal warning, etc. So I get a bit peeved about the rudeness and crank up the cadence and not only catch, but pass him on an up hill section. I was nice and said "on your left" when I passed him. All I heard was a "humpf".

Oh and my commuter is a 29er mountain bike with slicks and I carry my change of clothes, etc in a pack and I think I out weighed him by a good 75#s.

Anyway I felt good about showing him up on the uphill portion of the route, on my 29er.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

the wife came in early! I picked her up Sunday noon at the airport! :thumbsup:

I woke up late this morning...left my spare tube and tools at home  let's hope for a non-flat'd commute home.

how much in the woods can you ride on your commute CB? that is so nice!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

nachomc said:


> That rocks. I walk a lot in my bike shoes; maybe that contributes? Maybe I'm just a clod.


Well yes, I should point out that in tens of thousands of miles, I have never once had to put my foot down or walk any section of trail :lol:

OK, maybe not... I have hiked a mile or so home with a flat tire, scrambled up to the tops of rocks/peaks/lookouts, taught a full day in the classroom when I forgot I had taken home my 'real' shoes, etc, etc.

MTBX, you are right on...SPD's get harder and harder to unclip... these things are pretty tight. I've got pretty new pedals on the commuter and mtb, BRAND new pedals on the road bike...It's hard to unclip when you want to, but I have pulled up out of a pedal a few times on steep climbs on the mountain bike, right at the worst possible moment. maybe I should take the 10 minutes and swap to a new pair of cleats. There's kind of a sentimental attachment now though....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I ran over a rabbit this morning. Descending a hill on the MUP, going almost 30MPH when I saw him on the right edge of the trail. He made a feint to cross the trail, changed his mind and then at the last second...went for it. This all happened in just a couple of seconds - when he went for it, there was nothing I could do...he went under my front wheel, flipped up and hit me in the right knee. I knew he was dead right away, but I stopped anyway so that if he was badly injured I could put him out of his misery. He was quite dead. I took a photo of him. My wife thinks that's morbid, but I think it's like counting coup. As I was pedaling to work, I realized that as fast as I was going, if he would have been sucked into my spokes it could have ended badly for both of us...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Amazing what adrenalin can do. I tore the cleats right off the right shoe in emergency dismounts twice. Leaving the clip on the pedal. Good the things are slotted so I could get good threads in the shoe. I also found the the sweet click in spot got more finickey though occassional cleaning like after fording a stream and clicking in muddy cleats, and some chain lube in the latch helped quite a bit. Definitely a YMMV, sort of thing.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Well yes, I should point out that in tens of thousands of miles, I have never once had to put my foot down or walk any section of trail :lol:
> 
> OK, maybe not... I have hiked a mile or so home with a flat tire, scrambled up to the tops of rocks/peaks/lookouts, taught a full day in the classroom when I forgot I had taken home my 'real' shoes, etc, etc.
> 
> MTBX, you are right on...SPD's get harder and harder to unclip... these things are pretty tight. I've got pretty new pedals on the commuter and mtb, BRAND new pedals on the road bike...It's hard to unclip when you want to, but I have pulled up out of a pedal a few times on steep climbs on the mountain bike, right at the worst possible moment. maybe I should take the 10 minutes and swap to a new pair of cleats. There's kind of a sentimental attachment now though....


My experience is just the opposite the older the Shimano SPD cleats the easier they are to unclip from...yes float until release increases but force to unclip once the release point is released is reduced.

My right foot is starting to get a little sloppy so I will change cleats on the winter boots soon.

I think I have 4 winters plus some colder summer rides on those cleats...Maybe 9000 kms.

Havn't thought about unclipping for many years...just happens....even in a bail out situation now.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Nice! I see you get prime parking. They weren't very generous with the width of some of those bridges on the path near the end, though.


The bike comes all the way into the office with me, which is pretty good.

It's not the width of the bridges themselves that bothers me, but rather the location of the handrails. A couple of those bridges have go-arounds for the maintenance vehicles (they work great for bikes, too), but a couple cross very steep gullies and there's no go-around. Another problem with those bridges is that the decking is just steel grate - not good for dogs. Most dogs won't walk on that stuff at all and the ones that do run the risk of breaking a toe.



> Sweet route!
> Pretty sweet weather, too.


The weather is not so sweet this week. Upper 90's with high humidity. Thunderstorms and tornadoes in the forecast for Wed. It's the driest it's been in 100yrs here this year, so I'm actually excited for the storms.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> I ran over a rabbit this morning. Descending a hill on the MUP, going almost 30MPH when I saw him on the right edge of the trail....
> 
> ...As I was pedaling to work, I realized that as fast as I was going, if he would have been sucked into my spokes it could have ended badly for both of us...


Doh! Ihaven`t ever hit one on a bike, but the crazy little b4stids sure don`t get out of the way well. I get them often in my driveway (slow riding, so no danger to me), zigzagging back and forth within the width of my headlight and flat WON`T get out of the lit up path. Sounds like you fared much better than if Peter had taken a Ferris wheel ride. Related pics and post from a similar incedent on my regional forum a while back:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=353881&highlight=carnage


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Doh! Ihaven`t ever hit one on a bike, but the crazy little b4stids sure don`t get out of the way well. I get them often in my driveway (slow riding, so no danger to me), zigzagging back and forth within the width of my headlight and flat WON`T get out of the lit up path. Sounds like you fared much better than if Peter had taken a Ferris wheel ride. Related pics and post from a similar incedent on my regional forum a while back:
> http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=353881&highlight=carnage


One of my ongoing hazards are the little yappy mutts on the long extending leads....

I am gonna hit one of those one day....and it is not gonna be pretty...

Just gottta pay attention and slow day when you see one.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> One of my ongoing hazards are the little yappy mutts on the long extending leads....
> 
> I am gonna hit one of those one day....and it is not gonna be pretty...
> 
> Just gottta pay attention and slow day when you see one.


Those lil furballs are a definite hazard! I encounter them am least twice a week now.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

If they go in the spokes and they jamb in the backside of the fork blades there is a near instantaneous loss of rotation in the front wheel and a catapulting, maybe rodentapulting? of the rider if the fork takes it. Carbon road forks were never designed for a sudden impact stress there, so it rips the bottom 80% of your nice fiber front fork off. I wished I had a picture of the one in the bike shop two summers ago Compound broken arm and clavicle put paid to the rest of his summer's riding. I have 36 spokes hoping that will make the route through the front wheel less appealing and harder to nail. So far they are darting behind the front wheel. LiteWeights spoke reflectors may also help.

They seem to wait as if trying for a level of difficulty. I just hope I don't see little score cards going up from the wildlife judges on the verge!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

This was actually my second rabbit. I had one go under my back wheel a couple years ago, same MUP but a few miles away from the site of todays "incident". There are a lot of rabbits along this MUP and it seems like I have at least one close call/week, especially in the winter when riding with a light. As *rodar y rodar* points out, that light seems to freak them out (I swear I can hear the voice in their head..."run to the light little rabbit...run to the light").

I was very lucky he did not get sucked into the wheel. My commuter is a CX bike with a steel fork but I am sure he would have done some damage if not caused me to separate from the bicycle. At the speed I was going it would not have been pretty in any case. As it was I got a nice high speed jolt, but I credit all the hardcore singletrack riding I have done over the years allowing me to keep it under control. :thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Did a gps track of my rides today for the first time in forever. Top speed on the ride home - 89kmh (55mph) :thumbsup: 

That would be quite an accomplishment for a mountain bike on the canadian prairies, but sadly it looks like that corresponds to the jump that launched my pannier (and phone) off of my bike and sent them flying through the air.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

haha that will be tough to beat, newf!

Tonight was the 1st Tuesday night womens' trail ride of the year & as usual, it kicked my ass. We started out in Stowe with 7 women & 2 dropped off real quick & it was decided they would break off with a 3rd who knew the trails. That left me panting behind the ride leader on a singlespeed (always a bad sign), and 2 whippersnappers training for a 100km trail race in Quebec next month. I can usually count on catching up with some young'uns on the downhills, but these 3 were fast, up or down. I came closer to closing the gap on the down than the up, but dang they were still ahead, I just wasn't panting as hard on the downs, and they were a lot more fun. Drove home afterwards and took a bath.

Tomorrow I can't ride in due to work conflicts, but perhaps I can bike home after.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was a bit of a punk last night. Some guy was racing me to the stop sign again. This dude really had no space to go, but he did it anyway. I gave him a loud "Woohoo, yeah!" and shot him a super sarcastic thumbs up. He slowed long enough to find his middle finger and stick it out the window.

Maybe I was a bit immature, but it was funny none-the-less. Conditions are hot and muggy. I won't be commuting at all next week. I won't be going to work. Instead I'll be attending graduate seminars from sun up to sun down and staying in a hotel downtown.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yes the pass in the last 100 feet to the stop is just plain stupid. Then to act like it's the cycleists fault because you are on the road and 'made' them do it is all anout not sharing the road safely, or even caring to. "L'enfer, c'est les autres" Sartre. Hell is other people.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Smooth and fast ride in today, overcast and warm (52F!). Box of goodies came in last night, hope I can get some upgrades done on the bikes this week! Overtime at work might interfere with playtime though


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mmmm... box of goodies 
Ought to be a law that overtime comes in nasty weather so that you get extra money to buy goodies, but it doesn`t interfere with playing with said goodies.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

This morning was nice. 11.8 miles of the wind helping me the entire way. A rarity for sure.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Since I got a new dedicated off road bike I took off the XC nobbies and put the narrower, less lugged harder compound tires back on the hard tail and was very pleased with how much better I rolled. Am now contemplating slicks for the HT and completing its conversion to a commuter.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

@rodar: I like your thinking about weather and OT. I'll pitch the idea to my boss 

@bilirubin: Schwalbe Big Apples. Order 'em up. You'll love them.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

JAG410 said:


> @bilirubin: Schwalbe Big Apples. Order 'em up. You'll love them.


Was contemplating Tiogas in 1.9". Will look into the Schwalbes, thanks!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I'm riding again tomorrow. I took yesterday off because tonight are the local mtb races, and today I drove since I have my mtb with me


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## Ronin Six (Oct 1, 2009)

Flatted through the stock Kenda Kosmik Lites I had. Slime Lite tubes refused to seal up.
Tires already had 3,800 miles on them, so I decided to go ahead and swap them out last night for the Conti Travel Contacts I had waiting.
Somewhat faster, and hopefully much more resistant to those pesky goatheads.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Work is interfering with my bikecommute*

Had to iron the dress clothes and leave early today @ 6 a.m. to _drive _ 22mi to work to carpool in a work car to court another 45 mins further...hoped to bike home after & got back to work in time for the last bus @ 5:45 but then got a reminder message about by mammogram (sorry guys) tomorrow a.m. - too late to catch the a.m. commuter buses and too late to ride the remaining 16mi without incurring vacation time instead of sick (dr. appts included) time. :sad: Of course it will be sunny and 70 tomorrow. A trailride may be required.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Dang mtbX bummer about missing perfect riding weather by sitting in a cage! 

Chilly and windy here, my sunny days went away again. 42F with 25mph winds. I'm pretty happy with the new brakes on the CC (Tektro CR720s) that I installed last night. Quiet and strong, even with the stock pads that most people hate. I'm impressed! Too bad the stupid headwinds wouldn't let me get going fast enough to enjoy my newfound braking power.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Thursday mornings are fun. Wednesday night we race (www.racemtb.com) and last night was a 3.7 mile course, 3 laps, at max effort. So Thursday mornings start with eyes welded shut, legs tired and a little sore and the prospect of 23 miles of pedaling. I was _tired_ this morning (more on this in a moment). Yesterday I left a pair of pants and shoes at work to lighten the load in the pannier a little bit, so I only had a shirt to iron, and then pack some underwear/socks and my shirt in the bag. And I headed off to work.

I get to work without event, shower like usual, and I'm standing in front of the mirror after putting down the blow dryer when...










OH S! Do I have my laptop? I have scheduled work today with lots of eyes on me; it would not be good of me to have left my laptop across town. It would also not be good for my relationship, when I asked my wife, suffering from a migraine, to drive across town (after getting the baby to day care) to drop off my laptop, ESPECIALLY since she has a meeting way out passed where we live, meaning she'd drive way out here, then even further back to her meeting, then back home. Yeah.

So, after checking my shorts for residue, I sobbed as I walked in to the locker room, reached in to my pannier and :thumbsup: :thumbsup: It was there.

I still don't remember putting it in pannier this morning. Funny, I think I reached max heart rate AFTER my ride today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

" Funny, I think I reached max heart rate AFTER my ride today."

Close call! Glad you found it at work after all!


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Beautiful bluebird sky, sitting at 16C at the moment, reasonable breeze from the south. Had to ride an extra 2.5 miles on an errand on the way in--perfect day for it!

Got another 10 PSI into the tires this am, and is rolling so much nicer than riding pavement on Panaracer Fire XC Pros.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

My wife called. She laughed when I told her my laptop story, and said I was a goof for being worried about asking her to bring it to me. I wasn't too worried she'd be angry, just guilty about adding the burden. It worked out too - she had a great morning with the baby and now she's off to swing sledgehammers on her latest project. Demo FTW


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Did a gps track of my rides today for the first time in forever. Top speed on the ride home - 89kmh (55mph) :thumbsup:
> 
> That would be quite an accomplishment for a mountain bike on the canadian prairies, but sadly it looks like that corresponds to the jump that launched my pannier (and phone) off of my bike and sent them flying through the air.


Do you have a cyclecomputer? The best I have done so far on my 29er is just over 69kmh (43mph), and on my cyclocross with the right gearing 76 (47mph), I also gps track my rides and pretty different readings compared to the computer. 20 years ago I hit 79kmh on a crazy long hill and didn't have to pedal.

Marked a personal best on Tuesday, home to work in 35:17 minutes average speed just over 29km/h (18mph), 11 miles distance. There are a few traffic lights that slow me down.

Knees are giving me lots of problems, can't commute everyday so I haven't been reading the forum as much because I only get more depressed.

Mounted the GoPro to a fork leg facing up on the 29er yesterday set to take a picture every 2 seconds. I like how the trees turned out.

Cheers all!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Rodney Dangerfield: No respect.*

Riding my friendly roads within a mile of home. 85 degrees F in the shade 94 in the sun. So I left the without the ANSI vest, only a nearly as obvious fluoresecnt orange and green jersey shown by my broad shoulders in a very upright position. I did have a Planet Bike Turbo on the helmet and rear rack falshing away as they do and a PDW Dangerzone aimed out 45 degrees on each seat stay. Plus the helmet and dyno lights up front to help him place me in his mirror. :thumbsup: So if he was looking he saw me. Likely unhappy he had to hold behind me as a car went by. I only am required to pull over if three or more vehicles are backed up and was not feeliing well enough to be booking it.



















A little added contrast on the best frame with the plate and we have it.

His mirror went by inside the 3 ' mark but they did not pass that statute so, if he did not hit me, he was legal. The intimidation statute did not pass either. Video would only get a warning and you can't see who is driving.

Just another day in paradise.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Greetings fellow commuters…!

It’s been a few months and school has now reached the end. My intention of leaving the truck at the office and biking partial legs seemed to be lacking due to the fact many evenings I spent hours at the library. In any case, all the study time paid dividends and I finished with 3-As, 2-Bs. Of course, there was no time for running or cycling but now with the summer free and clear I am looking to change that. 

Cleaning up bikes this weekend and will kick things back up next week.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My old shoes were sprouting holes, and they stunk like a mofo. This week I've been rocking new shoes I bought cheap over the weekend:










Don't let your eyes deceive you. These are not Five Ten shoes. They are Day Five shoes. Can you say, "Saweeeet?" :rockon:


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Dalton said:


> Thanks guys, I appreciate the responses. Thankfully I don't have to ride home tonight, but I plan to ride tomorrow and can't get a tire tonight, so I think I will throw a folded dollar and some duct tape in there and ride tomorrow and hopefully have a tire tomorrow night.


A few years back while touring northern Spain I sliced a rear sidewall and tube. Used a piece of the damaged tube stitched in as a boot with dental floss and it held to the end of my trip which was another 250 miles. It was still holding fine. 
Dental floss is tough stuff, just thought I´d throw it out there.

Newfangled I first saw the timber they had hauled out for the ferry on Keillor Road and was wondering what it was going to be used for, then they slid the ferry up on it to gain access to the hull. Pretty interesting.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ are you using clipless pedals? There are a million threads around here about pedals, but I use flats and cycling has never bugged my knees even though my knees are pretty beaten-up from running. Even mashing away on a singlespeed I'm doing fine. I'm not sure if it's really the pedals, or just that cycling and running do damage in different ways, but I'm happily sticking with flats since they've worked for me so far.


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## ChrisB Funky Flow (Feb 8, 2009)

My name is Chris and I commute by bike. I have a nice set-up where I drive in on Monday and drop off clothes for the next 4 days and food for the next 4 days. Then, I get to ride in the rest of the week without having to worry about carrying a back pack or anything lame like that.

My commute in today was fine, just like any other. I actually had less idiots than normal on my route. Also, I saw another rider this morning, but he was up the road and strayed straight on the road where I veer left. Seeing other riders is a rarity. 

I only like about 8.5 miles from work, so my commutes can be short at times. However, because I don't have to ride with a backpack, I typically take the long, scenic route home to get in my training and normally end up with 30-50 miles of riding for the day.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

ChrisB Funky Flow said:


> Seeing other riders is a rarity.


Wow. Here in Calgary the pathway system can be a bit of a gong show during rush hour. Fortunately I have a reverse commute so, unless that couple with the two twin strollers who insist on running side-by-side are out, its clear sailing for me for the most part.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

I ran flats for 7 years, went to spds last year and tried flats just recently to see if things improved, no change unfortunately so I'm back on spds. History of juvenile arthritis in the family, getting an MRI next week, elder sister had total knee replacement on both knees 2 years ago at age 45 (I´m 45 now), I think my days are numbered.

Went riding with a buddy last weekend in Terwillegar, has the same 29er as I but its a SS, pretty cool bike.

Bilirubin I've noticed they have speed limits on a lot of the pathways in Calgary, was surprised when I saw the signs. 

I really like seeing other people during the commute, it makes you pedal harder, either you catch up and pass them or be passed and try to keep up.


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

It finally stopped raining smilodons and direwolves in the Maritimes, still plenty wet on the ride to work, muggy too. Make it to work, only to discover that there was a power outage on base and the gym was locked up like Fort Knox. Luckily power was restored at quarter past seven. The grunt home was started and finished with a hellish headwind. Had to jump onto the sidewalk a few time to avoid getting sideswiped by texting teens.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Bilirubin I've noticed they have speed limits on a lot of the pathways in Calgary, was surprised when I saw the signs.


Yeah. I have to get a simple computer for the HT to ensure I don't go too far over those--they will ticket from time to time. Fortunately, MTBs aren't usually geared for speed like road bikes.

ETA: sorry to hear about the knees


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Is the Calgary speed limit 20km/h for all the paths, or is it higher for some? And do they give an extra 10~12km/h leeway like they do for drivers, or will they ticket you at only a few kms over?


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Is the Calgary speed limit 20km/h for all the paths, or is it higher for some? And do they give an extra 10~12km/h leeway like they do for drivers, or will they ticket you at only a few kms over?


Unless posted otherwise its 20. I've seen signs for 10, and could swear there is the odd zone at 30, but don't quote me on that. I have no idea about grace ranges for tickets.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I have to remember to never take my bike to Calgary. I assume the 10km/h (6mph for non-metric folk) is only used on blind corners and tricky bits? Even 20 is ridiculous as a blanket limit, though.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

6 mph - I think I'd tip over


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I have to remember to never take my bike to Calgary. I assume the 10km/h (6mph for non-metric folk) is only used on blind corners and tricky bits? Even 20 is ridiculous as a blanket limit, though.


Correct and correct, but keep in mind these aren't dedicated bike lanes. People are out strolling, jogging, blading, walking their dogs, etc. The last thing you want are road race teams doing speed work outs.

And I'll take it because it keeps me away from the traffic on most of the commute :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

dolli310 said:


> It finally stopped raining smilodons and direwolves in the Maritimes, still plenty wet on the ride to work, muggy too.


I noticed time ran slower in the Maritimes but didn't realize there was such a differential.  Almost 50 cm here since April 1. About 31 C at noon but sunny! Rain tonight again. Mid Ohio Valley.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Bilirubin said:


> ,,,but keep in mind these aren't dedicated bike lanes.


I know lots of places have speedlimits for at least some sections of multi-use path, but I'm really glad that the council here never got that idea into it's head. For 6 months of the year the paths in any canadian city will be basically empty. And even in the summer there will be some sections that are busy, and other sections that are dead. 20km/h is just way too low as a default speed for all paths in all conditions.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I have to remember to never take my bike to Calgary. I assume the 10km/h (6mph for non-metric folk) is only used on blind corners and tricky bits? Even 20 is ridiculous as a blanket limit, though.


That could be a bummer if you ride a lot faster than that. For me, it wouldn`t make much difference- on a normal wind day, I turn about 13 MPH going to work, about 15 going home. I live downwind and slightly uphill from work, so it kind of balances.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Today was bike to work day in San Francisco. Saw _maybe_ 10% more than usual on my route, but I don't work in the busy business district. At work the bike valet had about 50 bikes in her charge. Not sure what the normal count is, but we have some 100 lockers at something like 50% capacity.

On the way to work was watching one guy riding pretty slow and waiting for an opportunity to pass but then he won the door prize. No injuries (probably going too slow?) since he was able to put his foot down before completely falling.

In another section, one guy was pretty weirded-out because I stopped in the middle of the go straight lane instead of the line between the right and go-straight lane. There were no cars there, and the lane ahead narrows a lot and cars cannot pass without buzzing me but that doesn't stop them from doing. I seize the lane since I cars cannot pass safely -- I have to go 100 yards and make a right around a school. Stopped for a crossing guard leading some K-5 kids across the street on my right side; other guy passes on my left and cuts off the crossing guard. Hard-tail with XT cranks...hazard guess this guy was't a novice bicyclist.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

jseko said:


> Today was bike to work day in San Francisco. Saw _maybe_ 10% more than usual on my route, but I don't work in the busy business district. .


Even though today is not BTWD in Sacramento there were tons of commuters. A lot more than I'm used to seeing. The energizer stations along the way were neat, though I got held up at work and left late, leaving me in a pinch to haul arse home and retrieve the baby from day care by 6 PM.

The commute was cool though. Today was actually the first day of commuting for a friend of mine. He has a similar commute to mine, but in the opposite direction unfortunately. It would be fun to have a friend to commute with (and to trade pulls on windy days). I saw him on the way home and stopped to chat for a couple of minutes but I had to split to get home in time.

One thing I noticed: commuters are interesting folk. Just a couple of miles from my house I came upon a woman commuting home. She was overweight, was wearing this big pleather back pack that was sitting all crooked, she was on a squeaky bike with a kickstand and she was going 18-20 mph for a decent stretch. I stayed back just to marvel for a bit; I couldn't believe she was maintaining that pace. A little ahead of her was a guy in slacks and a button down shirt, carrying a big plastic bag off his handle bars. He was jammin.

Looks can be deceiving


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

No kidding, I was on a slight incline once and this guy about 60 in shorts, loafers, and knee-high athletic socks, riding a full suspension Wal-Goose passed me and kept going for quite a ways. Couldn't catch him and all I could do was watch him keep increasing that distance.

No energizer stations on my way to work without going about a mile or so out of my way. I was surprised to find my employer had one on the side of the parking lot though. They had the bike valet at the same place.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I turn about 13 MPH going to work, about 15 going home. I live downwind and slightly uphill from work, so it kind of balances.


Is that top speed, or average? I think I average about 22km/h, but that's with some time at 0, some at 40+, and lots in between (although most of that is roads. But I do fly on some paths too)

This is from bikecalgary.org about a failed proposal to increase the speed limit:



> Calgary's network of pathways is multi-use where "speed differential" is a safety concern...Increasing the speed differential...by raising the speed limit above 20 kph will only exacerbate this conflict situation. The only way to avoid this concern (speed differential) is to build a system of dedicated bike routes that do not mix cyclists with pedestrians or motor vehicles - a concept that appears to be financially out of reach at this time.


That's from cycling advocates, and I get that they're basically angling for bike-specific infrastructure (while admitting that it won't happen)...but the thinking seems weirdly car-centric to me.

Raise the speed limit on a road by 10km/h, and you are guaranteed that every car will suddenly be going 10km/h faster at all times, because on the road a speed limit is basically a minimum speed. But a pathway isn't like that. Cyclists won't suddenly start watching their computers to make sure that they're maintaining a constant 30km/h at all times. Responsible cyclists will slow when passing and when appropriate, and jerks will continue to be jerks. And 30km/h would still keep the pelotons away.

Anyway, I'm just glad this doesn't affect me.  But Calgary has 500km of paths, and to me this seems like setting the speed limit of every road in a city to 50kmh/30mph (except for the really tricky ones, where you have to go slower).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today is my last day on a bike for a little over a week. I'm going to miss it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Newf, the speeds I posted are averages. I posted that without thinking through, but you`re right- lower top end would result in even lower average speed.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Cold, windy, rainy, dark, cloudy...yuck. But its Friday!

Hard to top yesterday's ride home though, my liquor store was having a beer tasting (IPA and DIPA only!) So I stopped by for some samples, then rode a tailwind all the way home!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Bilirubin said:


> Unless posted otherwise its 20. I've seen signs for 10, and could swear there is the odd zone at 30, but don't quote me on that. I have no idea about grace ranges for tickets.


Last year when the Bylaw guys went out...they were stopping people going over 30 km/h

They only set up where people phone in and *****...or Eau Claire.

The penalty was you had to take a free warning bell..admit you were dangerous. Basically if you were looking ahead they were out in the open, so you really wern't paying attention anyway.

Cops used to patrol the bikepaths...you see them every now and then, but they don't seem to care about your speed....I have passed them going high 20's and said hello...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Is that top speed, or average? I think I average about 22km/h, but that's with some time at 0, some at 40+, and lots in between (although most of that is roads. But I do fly on some paths too)
> 
> This is from bikecalgary.org about a failed proposal to increase the speed limit:
> 
> ...


Some 750 km paths and 250 km on on road marked paths.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally crashed on my long commute home.....up on Spy hill racing myself.

Down some single track over a rock garden with a jump onto a gravel path...

Forgot I had the slicks on and lost the front wheel....doing about 30 km/h totally all my fault

No I get to live with about 1 ft^2 of road rash down my left side for 3 to4 weeks.

Tee shirt and bike shorts really don't provide much protection.

I think the last time I went down was two winters ago.....


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

^ but everytime you look down and see the road rash you'll quietly feel proud inside!

Newfangled what will your route be this aft? I'll be leaving downtown heading south anytime between 3:00 and 4:30. Not sure which route I'll take home yet, final destination is Terwillegar Towne, or Brewster's at Century Park for some raspberry ale, gotta get you fruit you know!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ not sure how I'm getting home. Yesterday I sessioned some of the stuff around the university (which is weird, because I never session anything). Today I've got the SS, and will probably do some variation of this route. I think saturday will be a long ride down to Rundle or at least Goldbar.

Lots and lots of downed trees from all the wind we've had, though.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

JAG410 said:


> Cold, windy, rainy, dark, cloudy...yuck. But its Friday!
> 
> Hard to top yesterday's ride home though, my liquor store was having a beer tasting (IPA and DIPA only!) So I stopped by for some samples, then rode a tailwind all the way home!


Best. Commute. Ever.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> Finally crashed on my long commute home.....up on Spy hill racing myself.
> 
> Down some single track over a rock garden with a jump onto a gravel path...
> 
> ...


I used to say things like "what an idiot" when a motorcyclist cruised by in jeans and a t-shirt (with a helmet).

Then one day, after dropping down a nice long descent on the road, topping out around 45 mph, I realized that I was doing so in about a centimeter of clothing and wearing a Styrofoam hat. Kind of a funny perspective to get.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

My commute this AM was pretty good. I was a little tired on the start, thanks to the baby making sure her lungs/voice box were still functional at 5 AM. A LOT of people out on the trail this morning, which was cool. Lots of joggers (some that I wished I didn't have to pass), and cyclists, including two big groups of 20 or so riders. I'm always whining for a pace line but these two were just going too slow. I'm not Johnny Racer or anything, I just can't sit there and noodle along at 15mph if I actually intend to get to work. I'm also starting to really enjoy the post-ride shower at work. Hot water after a ride on a cool morning is amazing.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Jeff- hope you didn`t lose too much skin over the incedent. At least it sounds like you were haveing a lovely time up to that point, probably still had a good ride all things considered.



nachomc said:


> I used to say things like "what an idiot" when a motorcyclist cruised by in jeans and a t-shirt (with a helmet).
> 
> Then one day, after dropping down a nice long descent on the road, topping out around 45 mph, I realized that I was doing so in about a centimeter of clothing and wearing a Styrofoam hat. Kind of a funny perspective to get.


I hear that. I`m recently back into the motorcycling world and still sorting out how much protective gear is worth wearing and how much is irrational autoprotectionism. No matter what, I put on more crap for running errands around town than I ever wear on a bicycle. On some of the nice Sierra grades I`ve managed to touch 50 MPH a few times- gloveless and with my "styrofoam hat". My motor scooter is physically big (not the engine so much, but fairing, windshild, cargo box, etc) and has more bright lights than Brian MC and MechBgone combined, AND is generally travelling the same speed as all the other traffic. The only way I can figure to make sense of that is because weight and restricted movement on a motorcycle aren`t such a big deal as on a bicycle.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^+1 Dang Jeff! Why are you instantly down on a bike and it is slow motion in a car? I am guessing you don't see it coming soon enough for adrenalin to shift time perspectives to help you deal.

Rode to appointment and back. Letting the tires drop in pressure to find the pinch point in my use. Soft over the RR crossing. Nice. More respect in blue jeans and ANSI vest. I don't think I look dressed to kill in spandex, so maybe it's something generic in road rage there. I could put MTB shorts over the biking ones.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

The ride home was good. A little windy today but no big. Puts me at almost 150 miles for the week. No riding this weekend but back on the commute Monday


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Finally crashed on my long commute home.....up on Spy hill racing myself.
> 
> Down some single track over a rock garden with a jump onto a gravel path...
> 
> ...


Owwww! I take it you lost the race, then. At least you were on your way home...did you have far to go? Hope it heals quick

I got nicked today on a great 2 hour trail ride near work...hesitated at a transition from bedrock to bridge over big roots due to a tree crowding me. ..went to put a foot down and managed to catch my shorts on the saddle long enough to fall left 3' off the rock and catch a pedal on the knee. Conditions were great, so glad I got out before the next 5 days of rain. It was hot on the way up, hot on the way up, high of 76 and the leaves aren't out enough to shade the trail. Dunked my head in a stream to cool off.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Someone sent out an email promoting next week's Way to Go Week (alternative commuting) prizes, including:

Burton Snowboards ~ One Snowboard
Neuton Power, Country Home Products ~ Two Battery Powered 19" Mowers 
Small Dog Electronics ~ The iPod nano (2 chances to win)
Earl's Cyclery & Fitness ~ Full Service Bike Tune-up
Onion River Sports ~ Full Service Bike Tune Up
Coop Food Stores ~ Five $50 Gift Certificates
Woodstock Farmers Market ~ Two $25 Gift Certificates
The Food Coop ~ Three $10 Gift Certificates
The Courtyard Marriott Burlington ~ Overnight Stay for Two
Sugarbush Resort ~ Two Day-Passes for Ski and Ride Next Season
American Lung Association of Vermont ~ Golf Privilege Cards (eight chances to win) 
Cynthea's Spa ~ Day spa treatment Swedish Massage 
Leunigs on the Markeplace in Burlington ~ Two $50 gift certificates
Patricks Place ~ Breakfast and Lunch Gift Certificates
LaVilla Bistro ~ One $50 gift certificate
Mexicali Grill & Cantina ~ Two $25 giift certificates
Evolution Physical Therapy & Yoga ~ 10 Class Card (two chances to win)
Upper Valley Yoga Yoga Classes ~ (two chances to win)
The Edge ~Three Month Membership
VT Sports & Fitness ~ Two one-month memberships
CCTA ~ Two one-month passes - Link and Adult Passes 
Brattleboro Beeline ~ Rolls of tokens
Connecticut River Transit ~ Rolls of Tokens
__________________________________________________________________________
In reply, the boss replied all with the following:

_Nobody can compete with this. It should be decreed that Barb is given the prizes and everybody else can look on in amazement.

I signed up anyway

PS - In case you think I'm being facetious or you don't know how Barb commutes to work - I'm serious. Barb walks-the-walk all year. Actually she rides her bike and the bus all year_.
__________________________________________________________________________

:thumbsup:

_________________________________________________________________________


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice mid seventies here today too. Forgot to mention I visited a friend and neighbor just around the block from home. Their dog Sadie nailed me in the mid thigh just as I launched out of their drive. Lucky I have lost those pounds so she got no flab slab to bite into but pinched up a nice contusion/welt. She first went for my shoe playfully then retreated as the pedal came down, then in a blur: wham. She's the stupidest Black Lab I have ever met but not the most stupid dog. The late and unlamented Mac has that honor. The owners feel very bad about it but with no broken skin, and she has had her shots, I should be fine. She might not be. I appear to be Hg and Pb toxic. (If she drops dead, that will confirn it.)


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Finally crashed on my long commute home.....up on Spy hill racing myself.


Ouch! Glad its just road rash!

Got to be careful up there...one of our students got knocked off her road bike by a truck on Country Hills Blvd. Fortunately she's alright but she got quite a scare.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I'm pretty stoked - my wife was going to put this away in a cupboard and I realized it would be perfect for organizing my locker. It has been a huge PITA lately to keep my locker clean, and to prevent all my stuff from falling out in a big pile while getting stuff out of there. Now I got my organization on, and it's sublime.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

nachomc said:


> I'm pretty stoked - my wife was going to put this away in a cupboard and I realized it would be perfect for organizing my locker. It has been a huge PITA lately to keep my locker clean, and to prevent all my stuff from falling out in a big pile while getting stuff out of there. Now I got my organization on, and it's sublime.


Lucky guy you...is that at work?


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Yeah I have it nice. Dedicated locker, full showers, etc. I carry fresh clothes each day but leave shoes and shower stuff there. It rocks.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Wow....the only shower I have is the emergency one that's hooked up the cold water line and some kind of alarm or electronic monitoring. It dumps out 20 gal/ min and gets certified at least once a year; most home shower nowadays are 2-3 gal/min for comparison. Working in IT, however, I have no idea under what circumstances I'd need to use it.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

jseko said:


> Wow....the only shower I have is the emergency one that's hooked up the cold water line and some kind of alarm or electronic monitoring. It dumps out 20 gal/ min and gets certified at least once a year; most home shower nowadays are 2-3 gal/min for comparison. Working in IT, however, I have no idea under what circumstances I'd need to use it.


As far as commuting goes, I have it pretty easy. The only 'tough' part to my commute is the > 20 mile distance. Passed that though, my bike is locked up a few hundred feet from the road, behind huge hedges, and about 50 feet away from the front desk (and all the walls of our lobby are glass). Even though our facility was built in the 80s, we have a full gym, locker room, two showers, towel service, the whole shebang.

When I roll up, I lock the bike (more of a formality than anything), head in, shower, change, put my second bottle full of cytomax juice in the fridge, then head to my desk. The only iffy part is that I'm not allowed to hang my clothes in the locker room, so I actually put them on a hanger and hang them from the bin above my desk, then aim my fan at them to dry. I'm usually there for an hour before anyone else shows up to the corner where we work and no one complains (I smell like petunia's). It works out pretty well.

What do you do in IT? I'm also a geek; UNIX/Linux/VMware these days.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

nachomc said:


> When I roll up, I lock the bike (more of a formality than anything), head in, shower, change, put my second bottle full of cytomax juice in the fridge, then head to my desk. The only iffy part is that I'm not allowed to hang my clothes in the locker room, so I actually put them on a hanger and hang them from the bin above my desk, then aim my fan at them to dry. I'm usually there for an hour before anyone else shows up to the corner where we work and no one complains (I smell like petunia's). It works out pretty well.
> 
> What do you do in IT? I'm also a geek; UNIX/Linux/VMware these days.


Geez... you have it nice, although my commute is only about 3 miles one way (average 12% grade for the last 0.5mi). I roll up to my bike locker and put my bike inside. Walk to the restroom to change my shirt and then to my desk. shirt and jacket go on my chair to dry.

Employer provides subsidy for public transit and van pool users, but the administrative costs would be too high to provide the bicyclist tax benefit apparently. One of my colleagues commutes 100 mi one way gets a monthly $230 tax free subsidy for van pooling part of his commute. :madmax:

I have my chair and a table, that for some reason is 32" tall. I barely even sit in my chair due to the table height. I have no idea how anyone else puts up with it.

I used to be a Windows/VMware journey-level system admin/ apprentice-level system engineer. Hard times hit, and now I'm doing desktop support for a shop that somehow stopped progressing in 2000.

I blame the union and mismanagement...can you believe that with 6000 users we don't have a print server or network based OS deployment. Someone reported me to the union when I built some VMs on a spare workstation to test the feasibility of network OSD. The union got on management to make me stop because apparently it could take work away. My Dell Optiplex ESX box got confiscated as a result. In another ticket, I completed a task in 4 hours over the enterprise network using a script that I estimate would have taken 30-35 hours if done manually (including travel time). Wanna guess who did not like this once word spread about what I did? :madman:

To be fair though, I think most of the people there are interested in what I bring to the shop. I think maybe 1 or 2 are set in their ways and are whom I suspect keep reporting me because I'm rocking their boats.

This is not to say I'm not versed in *nix. I'm mostly a Red Hat ES, Fedora, CentOS guy, but I can figure my way around in other *nix systems. I've done some BASH scripting, Samba file servers, LAMP stuff, but I'm most familiar with Windows environments.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Another IT guy, mainly Solaris and AIX.
In the winter I fire up a Sun v240 in a storage room next to my cube and put all my wet gloves and head gear behind it to dry out. I stuff some yellow fibre optic cable flex housing inside the gloves to route the air to the fingers. Everything is dry in about an hour.
I´m lucky to have this room, I change in it and hang all my stuff to dry. I´ll take a picture later, you IT guys might get a kick out of the hangers I use.


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## JCP Innovations (May 15, 2011)

*Streets in San Jose are terrible!*

I live in San Jose and the roads here are terrible!! There is glass, and debris on the road everywhere. I think when they cut the budget to try to climb out of the monster debt that we are in, street cleaning was one of the first things to go. After all who cares about the minorities right? Two thumbs down! (Sorry about the rant, it is just frustrating) That being said, there are a few things that you can do minimize your chances of having an accident.

1.) check the weather - There is an application available that will show you what days of the week are safer to ride by looking at weather conditions and providing a rating for the next five days. It is called Cycle Weather and it is available for iphone and Android phones.

2.) Wear the bright clothing that everyone here has mentioned - Amazon and REI should be your economical options.

3.) Blinking red and solid white - Even if you are riding in the daytime, having a blinking red on the back and a solid/blinking white light on the front is a must have.

4.) Dork it up- If you live in an area where there is debris on the shoulder/bike lane buy a mirror, it might save your life!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Another IT guy, mainly Solaris and AIX.
> In the winter I fire up a Sun v240 in a storage room next to my cube and put all my wet gloves and head gear behind it to dry out. I stuff some yellow fibre optic cable flex housing inside the gloves to route the air to the fingers. Everything is dry in about an hour.
> I´m lucky to have this room, I change in it and hang all my stuff to dry. I´ll take a picture later, you IT guys might get a kick out of the hangers I use.


:lol: The guy in the cube next to me has a bunch of old Sun gear that he uses. Maybe I'll start tossing my stuff in there on cold days


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

jseko said:


> This is not to say I'm not versed in *nix. I'm mostly a Red Hat ES, Fedora, CentOS guy, but I can figure my way around in other *nix systems. I've done some BASH scripting, Samba file servers, LAMP stuff, but I'm most familiar with Windows environments.


I'm pretty much all Red Hat now. I never really took to AIX; I dislike the hardware. I _hate_ HPUX and haven't had much opportunity on Solaris. My boss auth'd an RHCA boot camp course for me this summer, which I'm pretty stoked about, and I was considering asking for a Power CLI course as well, but I think other people want training too so I can't suck up all the dollars 

I haven't been too impressed with Fedora for personal use; I like Ubuntu quite a bit, however (in fact that's what this little laptop is running).


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

JCP Innovations said:


> 3.) Blinking red and solid white - Even if you are riding in the daytime, having a blinking red on the back and a solid/blinking white light on the front is a must have.


:thumbsup: Although I run both my lights in blink mode during the daytime. I did some rough calculations once and the cost of electricity from the wall to run my blinkies for 10 hours is something like 2 cents. I have a PDW Dangerzone red for the rear and Planet Bike 2W white up front. I am using Sanyo Eneloops in my lights.

The only thing is that I wish there were blinkies that AA batteries even if it means a larger package. AAA are nice and small, but they cost the same as AA and hold less than 1/2 the energy. 2000 vs 800 mAh


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

nachomc said:


> I haven't been too impressed with Fedora for personal use; I like Ubuntu quite a bit, however (in fact that's what this little laptop is running).


I run Win7 for personal use  including my desktop at work. Everyone else is primarily running XP with a "test" machine for Win7 at their desks. I'm guess I'm too avant-guarde for this place.

I haven't played with Fedora or Ubuntu enough to notice the differences aside from the size of the downloads (3GB vs 700MB). I guess there are some things like yum vs apt-get that I've noticed. The lack of a root or super user was also quite weird to me when I was using Ubuntu. The most recent use of Ubuntu for me was setting up a Clonezilla server at work, which suffice to say saves me a lot of time even though we don't do GbE.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Yesterday 45 Degrees Fahrenheit and Rain
Today the ride to work 43 degrees Fahrenheit Raining and 21mph winds with 30 mph gusts

Lovely


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

HUGE orange moon peeking out from behind the clouds this morning. To bad I had to turn after two miles and lost my view of it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Normbilt said:


> Yesterday 45 Degrees Fahrenheit and Rain Today the ride to work 43 degrees Fahrenheit Raining and 21mph winds with 30 mph gusts. Lovely


Thanks for the report. I was beginning to think the thread was titled: "How was your computer?"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good ride despite the light rain. Felt funny at first back on the cross bike after mostly MTB'g last week. Left late, so I had to book it and ended up making it in record time & 17.4mph avg! It probably helped that yesterday it rained all day so I did no exercise, and Saturday I only did trailwork and let the young bucks do the heaviest work. Rainy forecast for all of "way-to-go" week, although I did see that 1 bikecommuter I usually see going the opposite direction was joined by 2 cohorts this morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man, where are all you geeks when I can`t figure out how to operate my stupid computer? It doesn`t help that I fell for Apple`s "plug it in and let it run" advertising- if I had just stuck with a regular brand for half the price, at least I could find people to come over and fix the simple operator eror type stuff for the price of an enchilada dinner


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You were moving along pretty good, Xplorer. If I`m feeling good and don`t have headwinds, I can beat that 17 for a short ride, but I don`t think I could do it more than half hour to 45 min.

We had an unexpected three day weekend. I wrenched on a few bikes Fri morning, then test rode for an hour or two. Nice weather that started getting ugly about the time I hung it up. Saturday, I took the `bent out (with new seat and a handful of shiny new accessories that I just made) for nice long ride into town, a little wandering around, then back up to my valley. I think I`m ready to try a "real" ride on it next nice day off.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Happy warm days are here again! Went on a long ride yesterday and got my crosscheck stuck in the mud (my punishment for cleaning it!). Todays ride had a ton of random debris flying at me and pinging off of the frame tubing and spokes. Another week of long days and overtime ahead, but the weather will allow for long alternate routes home to destress.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got stuck behind a roadie today in a contra-flow bikelane. Go faster, Mr. Spandex.

For the last week or so we've had just relentless winds - constantly 60km/h with gusting to 80 or 100. It's made riding painful, there are lots of downed tress on the trails, and a good chunk of the downtown was without power for a few hours on thursday. It's also super dry, which has led to wildfires and the evacuation/destruction(?) of Slave Lake (pop ~10,000) a few hours north of here.

It looks like the winds have finally settled down today, but it's still super dry.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Off to a bad start today, spend 45 mins looking for bike lock keys, can't find them, get spare lock. 3 miles into my ride I realize I don't have my card pass for the office, turn around and get it. 4 miles from the house with my pass averaging 20mph with a tail wind something happens to my right knee, can't put any load on it or it kills me, stop, call my wife and she comes and picks me up. :-(


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Off to a bad start today, spend 45 mins looking for bike lock keys, can't find them, get spare lock. 3 miles into my ride I realize I don't have my card pass for the office, turn around and get it. 4 miles from the house with my pass averaging 20mph with a tail wind something happens to my right knee, can't put any load on it or it kills me, stop, call my wife and she comes and picks me up. :-(


Yuck. Sorry, buddy.

No riding today for me - wife is out of town so I'm oncall should any baby emergencies occur. The weather sucks anyway.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to hear all the bad news. :sad: 

Cuatro, I hope they can figure out what's going on with your knee and get it fixed up.

Newf, those fires look awful. Sounds like both flames and the cyclists have been wind-whipped up there. A co-worker got flown up to Canada (can't remember the area, it wasn't that far west, but somewhere remote) a couple years ago to help fight the fires. He's part of some mutual aid group from VT, even though he doesn't usually do firefighting for work. 

Rodar, show us your new creations for the recumbent.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

^ Thx mtb but I suppose thingks could be worse, my house could be on fire. Pretty nasty up there and the crazy wind we've been having lately isn't helping the firefighters.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Twist my arm *

The `bent actually got quite a makeover. New seat (smaller, lower, sturdier mesh, a few little details that occured to me), PAINT (Krylon stuff for patio furniture), and the new shiny stuff (blocks to mount a bottle basket and new seat strut hardware from stainless and aluminum to replace the rusted quickie parts that I threw together last year). I have hubs and rims on order and will also come up with some kind of rack. That`ll probably do it for this year. Nothing fancy for the wheels, just Tiagra and CR-18, but it will let me run an 11-32 cassette rather than the 7-speed freewhweel, and it`ll get rid of the klunky kiddie-bike wheel up front.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

I think my hands would fall asleep having them up there. I like the forward chainring, you can chew through traffic if you need to 
Yellow is a good color.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lookin' good. With the new wheels she'll be stylin'.

But she(?) needs your own make/model on there somewhere...

hmmm...ideas from your focus group...Rodar's Revenge...Homebent...dicho y hecho...HowiRoll


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Great Ride Home Tonight 

MAY 16th 012 by normbilt, on Flickr
I witnessed a Nice Sunset Tonight

MAY 16th 002 by normbilt, on Flickr

MAY 16th 005 by normbilt, on Flickr

I witnessed a Nice Full Moon Rise Tonight

MAY 16th 014 by normbilt, on Flickr

MAY 16th 016 by normbilt, on Flickr


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another speedy ride in, 17.6 mph avg., thanks to a smoother dirt road, no wind, a few green lights - and despite a heavier than usual pack, and a school bus where normally there is none. Foggy and misty, 45F, but no real rain. The ride home uphill is stubbornly holding at 5 point something mph.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Normbilt said:


> Great Ride Home Tonight
> I witnessed a Nice Sunset Tonight
> I witnessed a Nice Full Moon Rise Tonight


Nice. You do get in a lot of witnessing on your commute


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rained and snowed last night. Drizzly and warmish this morning. I wish I had thought to take a camera today- very pretty with mist and puddles, dusted hills.

@ 4x4: Funny thing- I can see why you say that about numb hands, but my hands never get numb on that bike. However, my feet DO go numb a lot faster than on my other bikes even though they never have any weight on them. From being raised, I think.

Xplorer: Cool name ideas! I think I`m going to stick with "We Wrecks". The design was coppied from a Rans "V-Rex".


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Back in the saddle this morning. It was near 50°F which is unseasonably cool for down here this time of year. Besides out of breath most of the ride (and really huffing climbing out the tunnel) it was great to be back on the roads. Perhaps, I could slow down some and enjoy the surroundings a bit more, I guess I wanted to see if I could still do my normal 12-13 min track (and did) but it came with a digress feeling once I arrived.

Quite peculiar that less than 20 miles away will be getting close to 10-feet of flooding water. We are under a serious drought down here, yet people are sandbagging their homes in preparation. Historic times.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I'm looking forward to riding again tomorrow. Working from home today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer: Cool name ideas! I think I`m going to stick with "We Wrecks". The design was coppied from a Rans "V-Rex".


:thumbsup: Perfect.

I forgot a fun part of my ride in. On Main Street there were 2 plus-size women riding tricycles in the opposite direction. They were clearly having a great time, and were grinning like kids. I waved and they grinned even more


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

lots of stuff going on!... hope the injured ones get better soon.... I'm having a little pain on the inside muscles/tendons of my right knee for a couples of days now...been trying to deal with it.

Nice color scheme for the bent rodar! I like it!

Fresh commute again today....we got another wet/cold front in MTY during the weekend.

The wife is picking me up though, I want to take La Pugsdozer to the workshop for a good maintenance job... I took it to the beach during the weekend and she is a bit salty 
http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=8055410&postcount=398


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Was going to ride in today and tomorrow, but went on a 2 hour trail ride last night so bagged off today. Will ride in tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> I took it to the beach during the weekend and she is a bit salty
> http://forums.mtbr.com/showpost.php?p=8055410&postcount=398


I was wondering why you hadn`t posted for a while. Nice stuff in that thread! A bit more crowded than your last adventure, though.


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

A fine Maritime mist and fog greeted me for the morning jaunt to work, with humidity, clouds and sunny breaks for the ride home. Either way, I came, I rode, I got my arse handed to me in the end. On the bright side, no ass-hats ^_^


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Whereabout are you, Dolli? When I lived in Maine I got up to St John ( a friend worked for Mr. Irving) & PEI. That was before the bridge and I recall beng surprised on the ferry to find that the white in the distance was all kinds of little icebergs the ferry was soon plowing through. 

Martin, those pix are cool, loved the one by the stairs and the man-o-war was kinda scary -didn't know you had those there. Nice to see the pugdozer in one of her native habitats.


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

Stoked about my first bike commute day tomorrow! Just finished tuning up my ride this evening and look forward to hitting the pavement tomorrow morning.

I have a pretty short commute, though. Only 2 miles. I may need to go for a lunchtime ride to get my complete 2-wheel fix.


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## BIGfatED (Apr 26, 2005)

Started my early morning commute with the realization that I left my helmet, riding glasses, and riding gloves at a Trek Bikes demo day on Sunday at Phil's Trail Head.....Damn (it's 6:45am and I need to get to work). No time to worry, so I grab my spare Special Ed helmet and get on my way......

On my way home for lunch I broke my chain. I had the tools needed to fix the chain, but I wasn't happy about the delay. 

Once I got home I set out to see if I could locate my gear......long story short I got my helmet back but someone took my Rudy Projects (8 years old) and my full finger gloves (one full season of use). I am just glad to have gotten my hemet back, and I hope my other equipment is being used by someone who really needed it. 

Here is hoping tomorrow will be a better day. Ride on!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Good luck on your ride Aaron!

Today was sweet, any day when the jacket isn't needed for the ride home is a fine day in my book. Nice to have a rear rack again to stash my jacket on! It was windy, but I didn't care. More of this on tap for tomorrow, I'm excited!


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Whereabout are you, Dolli? -snip-


Nova Scotia, Halifax to exact.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Bad start to the day. I walked outside this morning to see the space shuttle and space station pass by and the sky was totally covered with clouds. Got honked at by someone in a suburban, almost gave them the finger but I controlled myself. I feel a bit worn out today, need lots of mocha coffee.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I took la Pugsdozer to the workshop yesterday...chain, cassette and disc already had sign of rust 

another fresh commute this morning...not for long according to the weatehr guy this morning 

^thanks xplorer, it was nice to finally ride the bike in really soft terrain... we actually don't have shores  that was in South Padre Island, Tx.

how was your ride in?, Aaron


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Another nice day this morning, around mid-50s (if it only stayed like this all summer). I rode a bit slower this morning and that made all the difference. I should have know better, since usually when I start running again I always go slow to prevent having to stop and thus can run further (same goes on the bike).

In any case, I ran into a pedestrian at the bottom on the tunnel. She was an overweight jogger (who was walking) and I tried to give a few call outs with no luck (wearing ear buds). I usually play it safe and keep my distance behind people in there since its pretty dark and loud. Plus most of the characters you run into down there are pretty shady. Anyhow, *I need a new bike bell - any suggestions?* I used to have a "Saturn Bell" on my old bike but the clamp isn't large enough to wrap around my bar tape. I prefer the trigger 'electro-bell' types, if I can find one that will fit my bars and not take up a bunch of room.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

double post.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^haha, guess I need to get out my atlas.

It's official, the rainiest meteorological spring (Mar-May) on record, and it's still raining and still a couple weeks left in May. 15.49" so far in Burlington VT.

Dreary again and very humid but i stayed pretty dry this morning. Standing room only on the bus, and I saw a record 7 bike commuters. I stopped to take some pics at a site for work & my feet got all wet from the grass. For the record, climbing chain link with cleats on is not the best idea.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Refusing not to get any exercise I took the train to the bus terminal and ran home instead of taking the bus, about 3 miles, no problems with the knees, was really curious to see what was going to happen, go figure. Was wearing my work clothes, must have looked pretty funny. It's interesting how different muscles get used, but the biggest difference was I couldn't get away from the mosquitoes like I can on a bike :-DD

Take care of your knee martinsillo, make sure your seat height is adequate. Nice portuguese man-o-war and I envy the blue water!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Dixie, go with a velo orangle brass bell, they are quite loud and can be mounted below the stem, leaving you plenty of room.

Fairly uneventful this morning, but already looking forward to a long relaxed ride home. Its gonna be a long 10hr day


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

Nothing like a first bike commute in over five years to show you how out of shape you really are. I was out of breath after a half mile. My legs now feel like jello. The ride home is going to be... interesting.

But it felt good to be back in two wheels again. Although I still need to dial in all my bike adjustments.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go d-aaron! May you have many more enjoyable commutes!



cuatroXcuatro said:


> Refusing not to get any exercise I took the train to the bus terminal and ran home instead of taking the bus, about 3 miles, no problems with the knees, was really curious to see what was going to happen, go figure. Was wearing my work clothes, must have looked pretty funny. It's interesting how different muscles get used, but the biggest difference was I couldn't get away from the mosquitoes like I can on a bike :-DD


I hear that bicycling is very good exercise for injured or worn out knees, but it gives my knees more grief than anything else I ever do to them. So, did your knees fare better running than pedaling today? And good luck with yours too, Martin- I forgot to wish them well yesterday.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

I like this bell.

http://www.ridepdw.com/goods/whathaveyou/king-ding™


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Toff said:


> I like this bell.
> 
> http://www.ridepdw.com/goods/whathaveyou/king-ding™


Holy crap that is a serious bell! Not sure about the fit though, 25.4 is right but not accounting for bar tape and brake housing.

JAG410 - is that the single "flick" bell style or trigger (ring-ring) sound. Looks good and price is fair.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> ...the biggest difference was I couldn't get away from the mosquitoes like I can on a bike :-DD


The mosquitoes are crazy this year (everything being relative, since some posters on here live in actual jungles and whatnot  ). Both my bikes are in need of tweaking, but making a quick stop means being swarmed within seconds. On monday I rode away with a half-adjusted headset to escape the little suckers, and yesterday I needed 3 separate stops to finish adjusting my front brake. As nice as the weather is, I wouldn't mind a few really cold nights to kill them off.

After a few tests of the singlespeed on my commute it looks like my top speed is a bit lower (upper 30's km/h compared to low 40's on my hardtail) but my overall time is pretty much the same (15min +/- 1min). Wouldn't want to commute long distances on it, but for short distances it's okay.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeap rodar & cuatro ( hehe that sounds like "rodar en cuatro" :nono: )
I think it has to do with the new saddles on La Trurly and La Pugsdozer...will check fitting again


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

King of Ding, I like that name! That's a serious bell.
I like the single ding bells, the ones with the long travel lever that go brrrrring sometimes startle pedestrians, those that aren't wearing earbuds listening to music anyway.

Working from home today, off to doctor (MRI) around noon, might look for some proper running shoes if I get a chance. Rode my bike to school with the kids but that doesn't count, almost 0 effort.

Last Saturday went out with my buddy who has the same bike as mine but SS, I matched his cadence and rode "SS" with him for most of the ride, was a challenge, I really had to plan my pedal strokes in the slow stuff to avoid pedal strikes. I really like the look of a SS and there is no noise of the chain slapping against the chainstay on the rough stuff.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Shnikies, what a ride this morning. We have been having crazy-for-Sacramento May weather this week, with two feet of snow in the mountains over the weekend, thunder, lightning, rain and heavy winds in the valley. The weather indicated it would rain last night till 2 or so, then be good for the day, maybe some showers around noon. Almost no winds (at least they nailed that one).

So I wake up this morning at 6, the patio in the back yard is soaked. No rain though. No wind. Alright we're riding. Load up the pannier, put the rain cover on it, check temps outside, they're warm and it's humid so I do shorts/short-sleeve jersey. Start riding, the tire is kicking up water but not in to my face, just on to my legs, which I can handle. About 18 miles in, it starts raining. Hard. We're committed at this point so I keep on keepin' on and it stopped within a mile or two. I get to work, I'm soaked; shoes, socks, legs are all covered in grit, sand, etc. I thought the rack over my tire would act like a fender; it didn't, so my jersey is all nasty. 

I made a HUGE mess in the locker room :lol: I feel bad actually; I probably owe the janitor a soda. I got in to the shower and washed my socks and shirt before actually showering, so that worked well. Now my gear is hanging on my desk, the 12" turbo fan pushing all the air it can at them so I can enjoy a dry ride home  I had a bunch of fun though. The only thing I would have liked for today would be some fenders and shoe covers to keep my feet dry. Not a fan of wet feet on the road bike.


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## BigE610 (Oct 24, 2007)

I have been biking from parents house to work which is about half way for me. this week though I have been making the trip. it has been awesome. today it was raining a little bit kind of like a cold mist the whole way. I had a blast though took about an hour to go 12 miles. It was funny though I passed the same car 3 times on 2 different streets so that felt good. I also got attacked by a goose and that was not fun. Debating if I should ride home from work or not. I need to get some rain gear and a rack on my bike to make this a little easier.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BigE610 said:


> I have been biking from parents house to work which is about half way for me. this week though I have been making the trip. it has been awesome. today it was raining a little bit kind of like a cold mist the whole way. I had a blast though took about an hour to go 12 miles. It was funny though I passed the same car 3 times on 2 different streets so that felt good. I also got attacked by a goose and that was not fun. Debating if I should ride home from work or not. I need to get some rain gear and a rack on my bike to make this a little easier.


Aim at the Geese while hissing loudly....try to keep the Gosilings on the same side of you as the goose.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Getting creative:


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

Not content with my wind-sucking performance this morning, I decided to go out on my lunch hour for a ride. Had errands to run and racked up another 4 miles. I'm at 6 on the day with another 2 to go on the way home this afternoon.

I need to get a new saddle, though. The one I picked up yesterday was almost as bad as the one it replaced. Debating if I need one of those super wide "comfort" seats. I like the idea of squishy gel for my sensitive backside, but it really kills the look of the bike.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

digital.aaron said:


> Not content with my wind-sucking performance this morning, I decided to go out on my lunch hour for a ride. Had errands to run and racked up another 4 miles. I'm at 6 on the day with another 2 to go on the way home this afternoon.
> 
> I need to get a new saddle, though. The one I picked up yesterday was almost as bad as the one it replaced. Debating if I need one of those super wide "comfort" seats. I like the idea of squishy gel for my sensitive backside, but it really kills the look of the bike.


If you are gonna ride alot..

You need a saddle that fits your sit bones, and does not press on your perinium.

The saddle also needs to be hard, no gel etc.


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> If you are gonna ride alot..
> 
> You need a saddle that fits your sit bones, and does not press on your perinium.
> 
> The saddle also needs to be hard, no gel etc.


Thanks jeffscott. My current seat doesn't press on my perinium, so that's a plus right there. And without getting into too much personal detail, we'll just say that my rear is not in the best of shape these days. Sitting directly on hard surfaces is uncomfortable on a good day, and nearly impossible on a bad day. Thankfully the bad days are few and far between these days.

Compared to a lot of riders here, the amount I'll be riding would not be considered "a lot". Generally less than 6 miles round-trip on ride days. With that said, might a chamois be helpful for some cushioning and rubbing-prevention? I'm never used one before, but I'm open to the prospect. Anything to make my rides more comfortable.

Heck, if anything I'll switch to a rigid fork and just ride out of the saddle all the time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This topic is a popular one on the women's forum. Some good advice here that works for men or women: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=8062251#post8062251

Also, if you just started out recently, some pain is not unexpected as your body adjusts to the activity. Given the right equipment & adjustments, the discomfort should diminish as you build miles.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

digital.aaron said:


> Thanks jeffscott. My current seat doesn't press on my perinium, so that's a plus right there. And without getting into too much personal detail, we'll just say that my rear is not in the best of shape these days. Sitting directly on hard surfaces is uncomfortable on a good day, and nearly impossible on a bad day. Thankfully the bad days are few and far between these days. The precise cause of the pain will lead to the solution
> 
> Compared to a lot of riders here, the amount I'll be riding would not be considered "a lot". Generally less than 6 miles round-trip on ride days.That is enough to harden up any ass if it is 3 plus times a week With that said, might a chamois be helpful for some cushioning and rubbing-prevention? I'm never used one before, but I'm open to the prospect. Anything to make my rides more comfortable.
> 
> Heck, if anything I'll switch to a rigid fork and just ride out of the saddle all the time.


Yes a chamois works really well...basically it stays with your sit bones, as you move around on the saddle...so the padding is always in the right place.

I have ridden plus 450 km out of the saddle at any one time commuting....not hard but you need a really high gear and some technique.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I'm a recent convert to bibs. I have much less numbness/discomfort related issues (if any) when riding with bibs as opposed to regular cycling shorts. Never again shall I buy lycra shorts that are not bibs!


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

In a non-ass related note, I found a great route I'm going to take on my way home today. Instead of riding along a busy arterial road during rush hour, I'm going to ride a couple blocks over, through one of the multi-block nature parks in the area. I think that alone will make up for the soreness I'll be experiencing later.

EDIT:

This is what I rode home through:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Still rainy (continued yuck until Monday, of course). I haven`t gotten rained on or attacked by geese on my way in or back this week though, so the rides have been good, but a batch of non ride related annoyances tried to ruin my day yesterday- dead watch battery, burned my hand (minor), broke the hinge on my sunglasses. Going after work today to check on a CL bike, so that should perk me up 

E610, you need rain gear or goose gear?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

digital.aaron said:


> EDIT:
> 
> This is what I rode home through:


Damn! Nice!

Saddles issues can be a bear to solve- try all the "other than replace" suggestions mentioned above and on that other thread (cream, chammois, adjustments) and give it some time. If you find that you really do need a different saddle, a trick I used that might help is to dig through the take-off boxes (stuff that comes with new bikes and gets swapped out upon purchase by the customers) at your LBS. Mine used to charge like $15 per saddle. I`d try one for a week or so, then if I didn`t like it they`d usually let me trade it straight across for another to try until I found one that worked for me. if you have a CoOp or some other kind of bike junkyard around, that could be a very handy place to look for saddles too- at full retail prices, experimenting can get expensive in a hurry.

EDIT: Oh, Portland! You should have no problem finding any kind of bike shop you want around there! And how about some pics of your Stumpy on the picture sticky?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

1000 mi this morning!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Congrats martinsillo!



rodar y rodar said:


> ...if you have a CoOp or some other kind of bike junkyard around, that could be a very handy place to look for saddles too- at full retail prices, experimenting can get expensive in a hurry.


WTB and...Terry (I think) have saddle trial programs, that let you test a bunch of different ones without buying. Or finding a store with a no-questions-asked return policy works too. MEC is good for that in Canada. Not sure if REI does the same thing in the States?


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Finally got to ride in today. My normal days are Monday and Friday, but Monday I was recovering from brewing a beer on Sunday and well the after effects of drinking beer while brewing it. Anyone else get irritable if they can't ride in on their "normal" days?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Oh yes, I can get quite crabby if I can't ride, even when it's because of something else I want to do that requires a car. 

Rainiest ride so far this week. I left home with my sense of humour and a pair of socks with fishies on them. Some oif the puddles extended across the entire lane. 

I hit the same milestone last night, Martin - congrats!


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Damn! Nice!
> <snip>
> EDIT: Oh, Portland! You should have no problem finding any kind of bike shop you want around there! And how about some pics of your Stumpy on the picture sticky?


Yeah, there are two bike shops within 2 miles of the office. One is a Performance Bike shop, and the other is Bike Gallery (pretty popular Portland LBS chain). I bought a WTB Speed V from Perfomance the other day, and they guy said if I didn't like it I could bring it back and get a different one, as long as I didn't mess up the one I bought. However, I think I'll give the Speed V a bit more time before I switch it out.

I have a pic from yesterday morning I could put up, but I'm planning some mod work to the bike, so I may end up with multiple shots.

Also, my Stumpy isn't really configured for commuting yet, heh. I definitely need at least a rack (or some panniers). Going to work in the morning was ok, if a bit cold. The ride home was uncomfortable because I had to shed moth jacket layers and only had my should bag to stuff them into. Overstuffed non-bike shoulder bag on a bik = uncomfortable.

But damn that nature park trail was a nice ride. 

I didn't ride in this morning. I wasn't that sore, but I got a bad leg cramp last night/ this morning, and my calf was still in a bit of pain when I got out of bed this morning. And now that I'm at work and sitting down, I can feel the soreness around my sit bones. I may try to ride in tomorrow, though. Need to keep my motivation up or I'll end up totally slacking off.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

digital.aaron said:


> Need to keep my motivation up or I'll end up totally slacking off.


Until you get that momentum built it's tough, but once you do  :thumbsup:


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

This mornings commute rocked my socks.

It's Bike To Work Day here in Sacramento and the bike Gods are smiling. Rain? Nope. Wind? Nope. Since it was so nice out, I decided to try out a modification to my normal route that I suspected would shorten the length, and also remove a couple of slow turns. I was right - seven-tenths of a mile and six minutes lopped off the ride! Awesome! Unfortunately it's not feasible for the ride home, but it's a nice move for the morning route.

Once on the MUT it was smooth sailing. I commute opposite the direction of most people so I rarely see people traveling my direction, but due to BTWD there were A LOT more people out and about. Looking forward to the ride home.


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

This morning was damp and a lil chilly. In other words, a typical Nova Scotian morning. The ride home was a real treat. Our Mother Star blessed us with her radiance, and a major boost of Vitamin D xD










Please excuse the lovely plastic fenders, I was expecting rain/wet conditions >.>


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rode some extra home, 11 mi total. In Montpelier the annual Corporate Cup running/walking race was going on, so I stopped there when I got off the bus to cheer on some people I knew. From there I rode home, also stopping for a tour of the cemetery. This is not the famous cemetery in town with wild monuments like a racecar, a couple in bed (not that kind of in bed), etc., but still interesting. I love the old names, like 1 woman named "Relief", gotta be a story there. My Dinotte taillight didn't work, wondering if the rain got to it this morning, but we'll see when it is all dry and has fresh batteries in it. Some pix @ the cemetery & about 1.5 mi from home on my hill, just before it turns to dirt.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

The commute home was interesting. I left on time-ish, at 4:10. That's good, but I like to leave by 4 so I can shower before retrieving the baby from day care. Along the way I ran in to a friend, who was riding home from work also (his girlfriend rode out to meet him and ride back). She's training for a cross-country ride starting in a few weeks so her pace was fairly low (13-ish mph) so I said I had to take off to make sure I was home in time. They said bye and I took off.

For about a quarter mile.

Then I noticed my bike was "squishy" - ah, a flat rear. A quick change out, and I was back on my way. My buddy let his girlfriend ride on since she said she knew he didn't like riding at her pace and he'd catch her anyway. Once I got my tire sorted, he and I traded pulls for a bit to get me back on pace, which we did well. I was in the door by about 5:40, a quick clothes change, hair dry and a hat, and bam I had the baby at 5:55. Five minutes early


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

nachomc said:


> .... Once I got my tire sorted, he and I traded pulls for a bit to get me back on pace, which we did well. I was in the door by about 5:40, a quick clothes change, hair dry and a hat, and bam I had the baby at 5:55. Five minutes early


A quick scan suggested the vision of a 9 month pregnant person's ride ending in childbirth! A reread & fixed that, but that was some mind-blowing visualization! 

Gave a new meaning to cycling to lose weight, though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Only for the Governator, and possibly Dany DeVitto, I think. But you never know.


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

Chilly commute this morning. Anticipating a beautiful commute home this afternoon, I didn't bundle up as much as I did on Wednesday. I probably need a better clothing option for the chilly mornings.

Not too sore today. Just a bit around my sit bones. I made a few more modifications to my seat, moving back a bit and giving it just a touch more angle down. It seems a bit more comfortable, but still not perfect.

In still contemplating all the mods I'd like to do. Chainlove almost had me dropping cash on parts I don't really need, either. Heh.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Could have lived without the head wind today. Not sure why it has to be the strongest on the last day of the week when I'm tired and sore. Otherwise it was a good ride, sort of uneventful except for my iPhone freaking out and playing music all goofed up, which I hear may be an updated related thing. Instead of working I think I'll sort that out.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bus ride today... my shower place is down ... need to read/learn about commuting 5 to 6 mi and not taking a shower afterwards... I know we already have some threads here.

congrats on your 1K too xplorer!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Slow, but I wasn't sure how much to blame on the engine, the traffic lights, the new tires I put on last night, or the dump truck hauling an excavator that cut me off and crept down my hill at 20 mph. TGIF! Hoping I can sneak home without the forcast thunderstorms. 

Today was free bus day for Way to Go Week, so the total cost of my commutes this week was $6.40, or 2.9 cents/mile. :thumbsup:


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Another head winded rider here, forcing me down a gear for most of it. Had rained all night so I considered not doing the finishing single track climb, but the trail was in excellent shape.

But better than the 600km drive to and from Edmonton yesterday!


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## palndrm12 (May 2, 2005)

*Finally!!!*

Finally the rain broke and the sun came out. It was a little foggy this morning along with some muck from the rain but the temperature was perfect and there was no rain. The afternoon commute was perfect but since I haven't been riding much at all my posterior was a little sore. Much better though than being stuck in traffic!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Windy here too, but at least it hasn`t been very strong. If it warms up just a little bit more I can go to complete summer clothes and ride one of my unlighted and non-cargo carrying bikes to work.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Took a beating on the ride home tonight. It was warm (80s) and I had a head wind to contend with. And I was tired. And I'm tired of the white bar tape on my bike (that is now and off-black) so I'm getting that fixed next weekend while I'm camping and mountain biking for memorial day.

I'm buying a GoPro next week too, so I'm hoping to get some good pictures of the ride. Lately I have wanted badly to stop, but I just haven't had enough time to do it. This should solve that


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rainy today. 

I've been on the redwood coast for a week with 100 students....rainy over there too. :lol: Beats the classroom though. I missed bike-to-work week entirely. T minus 10 days till my 72 day weekend...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dry this a.m., but thunderstorms possible later. Left late due to some last minute futzing around, thought I might miss the bus because of the wind, but made good time, it was not really a tailwind, but it helped more than it hurt. Made it with 5 minutes to spare. Yesterday was the first dry day in a long time, and I think 99% of VT'rs were out mowing their lawns, including me.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

No ride for me today. I just didn't want to. Gonna do something in the 30-40 mile range this afternoon though. It'll be fun to kick around the plastic bike a bit.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> ...need to read/learn about commuting 5 to 6 mi and not taking a shower afterwards...


No need...It occur to me today to ask if there was a bathroom with a shower at one of our three buildings...guess what?  :lol: :thumbsup:

It is just above my current cubicle 

it needs some maintenance and a nob for the water...they'll have it ready for me this week


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Only ridden once in the last 7 work days. Was t-boned in my car by a red light runner. Back/neck is slowly healing. Old man said he was daydreaming...)O: Sure miss commuting by bicycle!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

JordyB said:


> ... Was t-boned in my car by a red light runner. Back/neck is slowly healing. ...


About the accident - I am sorry. 
Healing well, so that IS good.
First time, I misread your story,
Thought you and bike adorned a hood!

I know it hurts only when you laugh!  
Laughter is good medicine. :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, Jordy- when did that happen? I hope your neck and back do alright.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My commute this morning was pretty. Pretty morning, pretty fun, and pretty slow.

First time for the rolling lawn chair, so does that officially make it a commuting bike now? Before I go back to night shift in July, I also want to commute on my tandem and the LWB bent that we just bought for my wife. I`ve been in a few times on my mtb and my roadie, but I`ll be sure they get a shot during this day shift rotation also.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I converted my tires/wheels over to tubeless back in March. Three went perfect, and the fourth was basically fine except that the tire (a FireXC) keeps weeping sealant through the sidewalls. No big deal - just have to add air every so often.

So this morning it needs a bit of air. And then after work the tire is completely flat, which is weird. But I air it up, and head home. After my usual detour through some singletrack the tire starts feeling a little spongy again, so I stop to check it out. And look - a big, old nail. So I pull the nail out...and it will not seal up again. I guess with all the sealant seeping through the sidewalls there wasn't enough left to fix the puncture. :madman:

Was close~ish to home, and refused to put a tube in on principle, so just walked the rest of the way. Got home, added a couple quick shots of sealant, and it's all good. Must remember not to remove nails until _after_ I'm safely at home. Must also remember to add one of the little 2oz bottles of sealant to the pannier.


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

Bad weather and errands are conspiring against me. This week is not looking too good for my bike. However I have upgrade parts on the way, so at least I can wrench on it a bit this week.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Lady with two 6 to 8 year old kids in hand darted into the middle of the street right in front of me. Couldn't avoid buzzing them. She started yelling profanities as I rode away. 

C'mon..the block is only 250-300 ft long with 4-way stops at both ends. Are people really that lazy?

I actually hate biking through that area because of traffic. Double parked cars behind front-in parked cars everywhere...cars can't pass those without crossing the hashed yellow line. Add in some 40 ft and articulated 60 ft buses and you've got a mess. Lots of bicycles ride down this street though because it is the flattest street in the area. Every intersection for about 8 blocks is 4-way stop but it doesn't really seem to help. Saturdays and Sundays are worse because so many people in the area and everyone thinks they can get street parking...10 min to go 1000 ft in a car kind of bad once you add in all the double parked vehicles, pedestrians, and buses.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice. Pedaled 13 mi out to “the valley” after work yesterday to hear my friend play at the pub, have a good meal and a beer. Threw the bike in her van after, stayed at her condo & rode in the 18 mi to work this a.m. A nice breezy but mostly sunny day, and a nice 4 mi uphill on the way. Tested out the new Panaracer T-servs on a huge patch of glass at 30mph a few S curves from her place. So far so good, but we’ll see after work I guess. A couple dodo drivers, one a school bus that I felt, heard, and then saw slow right next to me & I knew it would cut me off at the school driveway & sure enough it did.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woke up very late... couldn't take a driving day (only 6.5 this school year!) so I scrambled to get out the door on the bike, 20 minutes later than normal...no problem, I get to work early anyway. But I didn't check the weather. It's supposed to rain all day apparently... might be a soaker on the way home. I'm totally unprepared for the rain.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The weatherman says 25 to 35 MPH winds with gusts to 50. Lovely. Well, as long as the weekend works out, the rest doesn`t much matter.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> About the accident - I am sorry.
> Healing well, so that IS good.
> First time, I misread your story,
> Thought you and bike adorned a hood!
> ...


I thought the same, and figured heck only 7 days downtime, not bad!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> So I converted my tires/wheels over to tubeless back in March. Three went perfect, and the fourth was basically fine except that the tire (a FireXC) keeps weeping sealant through the sidewalls. No big deal - just have to add air every so often.
> 
> So this morning it needs a bit of air. And then after work the tire is completely flat, which is weird. But I air it up, and head home. After my usual detour through some singletrack the tire starts feeling a little spongy again, so I stop to check it out. And look - a big, old nail. So I pull the nail out...and it will not seal up again. I guess with all the sealant seeping through the sidewalls there wasn't enough left to fix the puncture. :madman:
> 
> Was close~ish to home, and refused to put a tube in on principle, so just walked the rest of the way. Got home, added a couple quick shots of sealant, and it's all good. Must remember not to remove nails until _after_ I'm safely at home. Must also remember to add one of the little 2oz bottles of sealant to the pannier.


Just a hint or two....

When you get a flat that is not quite sealing up with Stan's you can hold the tire such that Stans in the tire drains to the leak, then put your finger over the hole and hold for a minute....often that will seal it up...

Also they sell little tubes of superglue....just enough for one shot....if you can locate the leak, open the little tube and stick the nozzle into the hole....then inject as much as you can...again cover with your finger...or a piece of something for thirty secondes or so....and voila leak fixed...

The second solution can often be permanent.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Bike commuted to work today, as well as Friday on bike2work day. The big jarring bumps hurt the most on my rigid hybrid.

T-Bone Story: On Saturday 5/14, Red Light Runner (Old Man who admitted he was day dreaming) t-boned my car while we were turning left onto a 4 lane rode He was doing around 35 MPH before hitting his brakes. My drivers side seat was pushed into the car a good 2 inches to the center. Wife has a couple pinched nerves and a large seat-belt bruise. My back and neck are slowly feeling better. The more active I say, the better it feels. The whole ordeal just sucks, dealing with insurance companies is such a PITA, I never wish it on anyone! Sad thing is, the old man found out he had stomach cancer and said he would be in the hospital for a solid week at least. Was not clear if he found out from getting checked out after the accident or what, but that just sucks to hear...)O:


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> The weatherman says 25 to 35 MPH winds with gusts to 50. Lovely. Well, as long as the weekend works out, the rest doesn`t much matter.


That sounds fun. It's raining here today, which means double-points in the mtb race series, so I'm gonna go play in the mud after work


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> When you get a flat that is not quite sealing up with Stan's you can hold the tire such that Stans in the tire drains to the leak, then put your finger over the hole and hold for a minute....often that will seal it up...


I tried, along with shaking and spinning but there just wasn't enough liquid left to seal. When I added a little more at home it sealed up instantly.

I also didn't have superglue on me, but I did wonder if the vulcanizing glue in my patch kit would work on the outside of a tire casing. Anyone know?


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Well, poop, they just cancelled the race.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Snowing at my place Rodar...kind of nostalgic. Not sticking.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Interesting weather today. It rained about 20 minutes after I got to work and then stopped about 4 hours before I left. The sun came out and mostly dried up the roads.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jordy, I had it in my head that you got hit while riding. If it was THAT hard, thank God you were in a cage. Man, your wife too . I take it you got checked out for the neck/back, and your wife`s pinched nerve? Good luck to all three involved.



jseko said:


> Interesting weather today. It rained about 20 minutes after I got to work and then stopped about 4 hours before I left. The sun came out and mostly dried up the roads.


And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again 

No snow here, but it has rained a bit. Usually I manage to sneak between rain sessions for my commutes, but my timing wasn`t so good today- a downpour started about half way home. Of course, it stopped just about the time I got myself indoors. Pretty windy too, but not as bad as predicted.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took the scenic route home past the reservoir. Still hoping to see a moose over there. Talked to a guy who was fishing - he had 7 bass already but said he'd paid for them dearly with black fly bites by his eyes. The peepers (frogs) were going crazy with their singing. A couple pics, looking back within 1/2 mi of home, and finally some apple tree blossoms in my yard.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Jordy, I had it in my head that you got hit while riding. If it was THAT hard, thank God you were in a cage. Man, your wife too . I take it you got checked out for the neck/back, and your wife`s pinched nerve? Good luck to all three involved.
> 
> And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again
> 
> No snow here, but it has rained a bit. Usually I manage to sneak between rain sessions for my commutes, but my timing wasn`t so good today- a downpour started about half way home. Of course, it stopped just about the time I got myself indoors. Pretty windy too, but not as bad as predicted.


No kidding, there was a bit of rain after dinner time.

Monday was pretty windy here. Slowed me down by 3 minutes on a 3 mile, typically 18 minute commute.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Not a bad ride in at all but I'm beat. Gonna drive in tomorrow and give my body a rest before the 3 day weekend..


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Toff said:


> Not a bad ride in at all but I'm beat. Gonna drive in tomorrow and give my body a rest before the 3 day weekend..


Also not riding tomorrow. I have a bunch of pedaling planned over the weekend though


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another almost 70 deg day in Anchorage, when will it rain? I don't know! Bike commuted again today, back is feeling better as each day goes by. Chiropractor is fixing me up good!

Sorry to hear about all the bad weather down there in America. Be Safe!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Did a trailride today at lunch instead of bikecommuting as the skies are supposed to open up again this afternoon, and I didn't want to show up at an evening meeting soaking wet. Only the lower/drier trails were open, but they were fun and in good shape. Only 35 mins to do the loop, but my back felt it, need some sunshine & more trailtime, but heavy rain, hail and damaging winds are forecast though Saturday. Currently under a tornado watch, very unusual here. Lake Champlain is still getting flooded and pounded by waves, affecting many homeowners and destroying the Island Line bike path - pic & vid...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Cool Video mtbx! Those waves and wind are powerful stuff!!! We are dealing with erosion here in a bad way. Our coastal villages are eroding away every day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Not my video. but I thought it was cool too - I was like, don't get stuck out there when a wave takes out the last section! 

There was a tornado confirmed about 5 mi away tonight, but a low-power one. Still enough to sail the roof of a barn across the road in Williamstown. Warning here ends in 30 mins, but satelite TV signal just cut out. The drive home from the meeting about the local trails was a little hairy, I was mostly concerned with trees coming down & lightning between the car & door.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Lake Champlain is still getting flooded and pounded by waves, affecting many homeowners and destroying the Island Line bike path - pic & vid...


Is the picture a later shot from the same place as the video? It sure does look rough! At the same time, when Iwatching the video, I kept thinking what a cool ride it must be under normal conditions. Good luck with your tornado situation.

Hey, does anybody know what the heck that "Rep Power" under everybody`s names is about? How long has it been there?


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, does anybody know what the heck that "Rep Power" under everybody`s names is about? How long has it been there?


A forum upgrade from last night started it. There's a thread in General, and a good one in NorCal.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Commute was good today. I suffered on the ride this morning; didn't eat well last night, stayed up too late, etc. Riding home today was great though. There wasn't much wind, I felt good and enjoyed the ride. I am working from home tomorrow and prepping for the weekend; I have an awesome mtb ride planned for Saturday and a friend is showing me an awesome road route on Sunday. I might squeak out in the AM for a little riding Monday but may not have time. No commuting Tuesday as it is the day prior to the races, but I'll be back at it on Thursday


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Flooding created a detour for me today...rode down my hill 1000' then back up by the airport another 700' up or so, then down again to Montpelier. Took the bus from there, which had to take the interstate as the regular rte was closed. Got to work and found the 1hr delayed opening was now noon. Then 5 mins ago they cancelled all shifts. Hmmmm...how to get home? Might have to wait for the 3:30 bus unless I want to swim.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Went to another job interview: just a screening interview for a temp job but that position would be good for my resume, at least. I took the bus to make sure I don't arrive all sweaty.

Trails have been good on the sunny days. Here's my best snapshot from recent days:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice to hear from you, Perttime. I guess the interviews from last month didn`t pan out- hope today`s yields better results. Temp work is better than no work.

Xplorer, it sounds VERY wet around there. The delays and the closure were all due to flooding/transportation?

Very wishy-washy forcast for this weekend. I have plans to drive about an hour Sunday to ride with a friend who lives in another town. With the way the weather has been bouncing around lately, there`s no telling if we`ll be able to ride or not.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, it sounds VERY wet around there. The delays and the closure were all due to flooding/transportation?


Yes, a bunch of roads are closed, and the river is encroaching on the parking lots and lower lying areas of the complex as well. Crazy hard rain from 7pm - 2 am last night, about 5", and a wild lightning show. Here's my favorite newsvideo, someone's logyard floated through the road, the RR tracks, and into the river.

edit: their embed code isn't working, but here's the link http://www.wcax.com/global/video/fl...=flv&clipId1=5894837&at1=Station&rnd=22532524


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It hasn't been cycling weather here lately. Storm on Wednesday downed trees and power lines. For reference my house is a mile due east of the airport. We were without power until noon today and no Internet until 3 PM.

Our roof held. We had leaves 50 cent piece sized hail and water sailing by horizontally at something over 60 mph viewed from a window in the lee of the wind. Lost a big limbs out of the tallest trees with indications of twist. Suggests that the ground straight line winds held the cyclone aloft. So we dodged a Joplin.

Some cell phone pics (I rode the neighbohood after poles down, trees across road, a mess):










Out front door as the last of it goes by. 7" thick limb is leaning on the oak on the other side showing only a couple of branches on the ground.










Top of White Ash with broken limbs.










Some of its limbs on the air conditioner condenser.










Another Ash Limb and the scene of many drive by bike light shootings. 

And now for something completely different:



The Duchess has new braze ons. Tired of all the clamp-ons, and the BB guides causing ghost shifting. Awaiting paint.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Holy crap Brian, that storm looks crazy, and the Duchess looks gorgeous! Looks like you have a lot of clean up and finishing to do.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Seeing a white stream of water like a fire hose only from ground to out of sight (1" of rain in under 10 minute not counting windrows of hailstones on west side of things) going East horizontally VERY fast was jaw dropping. I was listening for the tell tale sound of a tornado and was two steps from the safest spot in the house. If we had not had that boundary layer of high wind, the upper limbs' fates say 'Joplin'.

The Duchess is no wall flower so I am hoping that a patched in and faded in spot paint job will do. The silver band is done. The badge decal may need to be replaced. The rest look good. It is $600 to repaint it, redecal it, and do the lug lining. IF it was to be a museum piece, fine. But I will scratch it all up in pretty short order, so a decent finish with some of the original paint and $600 in my pocket seems good. At least the Scot in me likes the idea. .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy cow! Flooding, tornados, different flooding, more tornados...
things fall apart, the centre cannot hold 

Hope everyone makes it through the spring.

Brian, have fun with the new work to your Duchess. A "make over" is almost like geting a new bike, ain`t it?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, ...A "make over" is almost like ..a new bike, ain`t it?


In some ways, a new bike is an easier process. I like the bike a lot and disliked piddly things a lot. Should be nicer to ride. Looking forward to another 30 years. :thumbsup:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

It was bound to happen...

Slipped going across a recessed trolley track and went down. Facial and knee abrasions are on opposite sides so I'm not sure what happened. Impact knocked the visor off my helmet and left a quarter size scuff on the helmet itself. Though damage on helmet appears insignificant, I'm replacing it with another Fox Flux anyway just in case. Sucks they don't have crash replacement.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Well in the south west of the UK it was a cool morning, light winds, sun and hardly any traffic! Nice run to work stretching out my legs after a half marathon yesterday so really enjoyed the cycle today


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Today was the first day this year I arrived at work totally sweat drenched.14.6 mile commute towing the trailer in with a weeks worth of clothes and food. At work I found the shower room lock broken and couldn't get in .... Off to fix that now.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OOH, sorry to hear about the crash jseko. We had snow over the weekend (???). Happy Memorial Day. Today was much better...chance of rain for later, but the morning ride was just windy. This is officially my last week of school... 5 more days of work and Schooooooooooooool's out, for summahh! (dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun...)


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Big storm last night made a mess of the streets and my ability to get good sleep. At least we got a good test run on what to do when the tornado sirens go off! Was riding a bit slow today to check out the storm damage (none at my house thankfully). Looks like wind gusts near 50mph expected for my ride home. Lovely!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

All these weather horror stories (and sorry to hear about the crash, jseko)

My biggest challenge is the front disc brake on my singlespeed that will not shut up. :madman: I've cleaned it with alcohol, and sanded it, and after two months it just keeps getting louder. It's at the point that I'm hesitant to use my front brake "I'm not going that fast, right? My rear brake should be plenty strong enough?" But right now somewhere between me and england is a parcel with organic pads (among other goodies) that will hopefully quiet down the weird resonances.

Anyway, we've been having terrific weather, and the crazy mosquitoes and wicked winds have subsided.

And June is Bike Month around here, with the Bikeology Festival putting on bike movies, bike breakfasts, and bike mocktails all month. Should be fun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pretty good, though flood cleanup continues & getting rocks, sand, and mud off the shoulders isn't the biggest priority, so some parts are pretty rough or require more sharing the road than usual. my calves got sandblasted by the sand on the road, especially in the sandy spots right after puddles...I could feel it being thrown off the rear tire onto my legs. Friday afternoon a couple closed roads re-opened and I was able to take my normal route home. I was lucky they still ran the bus because some were cancelled & rte 2 was still closed and the only alternative is the interstate, which is of course, bike un-friendly. A couple pics from the re-opened Barre-Montpelier Rd on the ride home Fri, and two from a hike up Sugarbush ski area yesterday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jseko, I dunno what`s with your luck. Salmon collision, falling nails (at least it missed), now a crash and burn over the tracks. I take back what I said about buying a lottery ticket when the box of nails missed you.

ComuterBoy- again !?! Wasn`t it just summer vacation a couple weeks ago?

Newf, no sense avoiding your brakes. Just think of the "problem" as an audible brake light so that everybody behind you will know you`re stopping. Helps to keep you from getting rear ended.

According to people who stayed in town all weekend, Sunday was ugly here. Snow, rain, hail, constant winds. I was about 100 miles away and 1500 feet lower, taking a guided pedal tour of a buddy`s town- got a little breeze and stayed bone dry. Very nice riding out that way, too. Yesterday morning, loaded up the sleigh for a couple hours worth of playing on our own little river path with wife and a few friends. We were just finishing up when the wind started, so I got over again. I was very impressed by the youngest member of our group on that day. My guess is that she`s about 6 or 7 years old and she managed a tad over 17 miles RT on her little 20 inch coaster-brake single speed. At the end of our ride, she looked like she was still good for more, too.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

My ride this morning was pretty good. A little breezy, which is what I have to contend with on the trip home. Poss. thunder storms tomorrow. I may ride anyway - it's pretty unlikely I'll get zapped, right? 

Maybe I'll ride the carbon bike..


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Newf, no sense avoiding your brakes. Just think of the "problem" as an audible brake light so that everybody behind you will know you`re stopping. Helps to keep you from getting rear ended.


I've definitely tried to look on the bright side, and for commuting there are some benefits. The problem is that it's totally ruining my fun rides. It's tough to go for a relaxing ride in the wilderness when my front hub is honking so loudly that it sounds like there's an irate cabbie trapped in there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> ComuterBoy- again !?! Wasn`t it just summer vacation a couple weeks ago?


That was Spring Vacation...not to be confused with Thanksgiving Vacation, Christmas Vacation, or the occasional 4 day weekend. This is Summer Vacation, and I've earned it


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> That was Spring Vacation...not to be confused with Thanksgiving Vacation, Christmas Vacation, or the occasional 4 day weekend. This is Summer Vacation, and I've earned it


I told my wife about your 72-day weekend comment. She nearly fell over :lol:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Jseko, I dunno what`s with your luck. Salmon collision, falling nails (at least it missed), now a crash and burn over the tracks. I take back what I said about buying a lottery ticket when the box of nails missed you.


I live in a dense urban area...what can I say. People everywhere. 800k people in 49 sq miles is a lot. Not sure why I crashed to be honest. I've gone over the tracks in a similar fashion dozens of times before, and the rail was not wet. Maybe something slick was on the track this time.

Not sure what you mean by salmon collision...I did inadvertently sneak up on a skunk a while back. We each tried to get away from each other as quick as possible. I consider myself lucky I didn't get stinkified.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Jseko, hope you are feeling OK, I imagine other bumps/bruises were noticed today besides the abrasions. Tracks are tricky, perhaps oil from cars or trains had accummulated. The only suggestions I have are staying upright (I mean not leaning into a corner as opposed to not falling down ), crossing at as much a right angle as possible, not pedaling, and either equal-weighting your feet, or extra weighting the foot on the side you would tend to slide out too (like how you would put down and weight the outside pedal on a downhill turn). If these ideas are familiar already & it was just a fluke, in that case maybe someone else will prevent a fall from trying them.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Salmon biker: the guy riding "upstream" on the sidewalk last month.
It`s got to get better, though. If not, the Tai Chi gang had better watch out


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Got rained on tonight; no biggie. Probably will tomorrow. I'm enjoying riding in the rain so far. It keeps a lot of people indoors though, especially all of the very attractive jogger ladies


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## ibeamcarver (Oct 25, 2008)

Very windy along the beach. Fortunately it decided to rain mid-day, dry for the morning and afternoon.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This week has been a hot one. The highs will be in the 90s all week. It was 97 yesterday. The mornings are also warm. I have moved my commute one hour earlier in the afternoons. I cut my hours so I can focus on my studies for grad school. So far, I'm digging the new schedule.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Rode my new-to-me $45 Miyata to work today. Rides great! I put on some semi-slicks and a new saddle from my parts bin, gave it a quick tune up and wipe down, and I'm thoroughly impressed. Its also a gorgeous day with a slight breeze and lots of sunshine, so the weather offset my hatred for biopace cranks and made the ride in today great


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Raining again this morning. Looks like I'm going to finish the school year in fairly nasty weather... that seems appropriate for this year. 


Just got done compiling the annual stats for the school year... with the addition of 18 mile Thursdays and the semi-regular trail route home, I came within striking distance of 2000 commuting miles this year. This is for the school year, from Mid-August through this Friday: 

Miles: 1945.5
Driving Days: 6.5
Gallons of Jeep gas saved (at 15 mpg): 129.7
Gas money saved (at $3.90/gal...rough average): $505.83


Weight loss/apple fritters consumed canceled each other out, so I'll ignore those two....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks like a bargain for $45. I see the Biopace sticker, but they don`t look as ovalized as some. Maybe they get more Biopacey on rainy days 

CB, when do you start the coast trip?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Late July... ideal weather up there is more like August/Sept...but my 72 day weekend is over by then. Putting it as late as we can.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I've kindof wanted to find some biopace rings to try out, just because they sound like they _should_ be a good idea...or at least I understand why shinamo thought they had the next big thing. Why the hate, JAG?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I've kindof wanted to find some biopace rings to try out, just because they sound like they _should_ be a good idea...or at least I understand why shinamo thought they had the next big thing. Why the hate, JAG?


I have biopace on my old bike 1990......

Rode it for about 3 years, never noticed they were any different, from any other bike...

I pulled the bike out in 2006 and wow the rings were lop sided...


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

This is the first time I've ridden a biopace bike. My father in law raves about them and wanted a biopace crank for his bike, so I bought this Miyata with the intention of trading him cranksets. I've put about 12 miles on this bike, and I can feel the biopace in the pedals. Its not annoying or uncomfortable, it just feels like a bent pedal axle...a bit off. Supposedly its good for your knees, and I can report zero discomfort there! If this were my only bike I probably would just leave it on until the chainrings died. But its bike #4, and probably won't stick around for long since I really don't "need" it, nor have room for it. I thought my 12 yo son would like it, but its not cool enough looking for him!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Brisk ride this morning. One of my fastest yet. May was good for me; all of the riding I did has me in pretty decent shape and I can handle back to back to back 50 mile days without too much discomfort!

The only bad part of this mornings ride was when I turned from the bike trail in to the adjacent neighborhoods and noticed my back end was squishy. Rear tire was at 60 psi <sigh>. On the plus side, I did just buy myself a fancy new Topeak Road Morph and used it today. It's much easier to pump road tires with that than with the Mountain Morph I was using previously. Since I was so close to the office, I just aired her up and rode in. Lunch time flat change it is!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ You reminded me... I'm at zero flat tires for the year. made the switch to tubeless the summer before this school year and stopped worrying about goatheads. I've had as few as 5 flats, and as many as 15 in a school year... never come close to zero. Now that I said that, I'll get a flat between now and Friday, but I'm totally sold on tubeless.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ You reminded me... I'm at zero flat tires for the year. made the switch to tubeless the summer before this school year and stopped worrying about goatheads. I've had as few as 5 flats, and as many as 15 in a school year... never come close to zero. Now that I said that, I'll get a flat between now and Friday, but I'm totally sold on tubeless.


I love tubeless as well. In this case it's the tires. They seem to be prone to perforation. I get almost no flats on my fancy road bike with the Mondo Pro tires. Love those things.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had to get in an hour early today for some fieldwork, but did not want to leave home by 6 to catch the early bus. Instead left at 6:30, rode the whole 22 miles instead of bussing partway, and was in by 8 & showered & ready to roll in time. Thundering when I left my house, got soaked for a short stretch, but it stopped. Between the rain and the remaining flood messiness, both bike and I were filthy! Not sure about the ride this p.m., I may try to get a ride if the forecast severe t-storms, large hail, and 25-35mph headwinds with 40mph gusts materialize. I have to go 13 mi to Waitsfield.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No flats for me in the last 4,226 miles. They key is to run good quality tires and I check my tires a couple times/week for embedded glass, etc. that will eventually work it's way through the tire and cause a flat. Amazing how much junk I can dig out of a tire.

I startled a young coyote on the MUP this morning. Then a little further down came across a family of geese - mom, dad about about ten little ones. Standing right in middle of the trail. I had to ride onto the grass to get around them, and Dad was hissing at me the whole time. I want no part of that package


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Dang. I got hosed tonight. Almost literally..

We had some crazy thunderstorms in the area, some tornadoes, and tornado warnings. About the time I was set to leave I checked the doppler and things looked good; the tornado warnings were lifted. I'm in the locker room changing and I start getting phone calls from friends: "Dude, you're not _really_ riding home in this are you? Come on, let me drive you home."

So finally, after enough people called me an idiot I reasoned that there might be something to what they were saying, and I had a friend roll me home. The whole drive: blue skies, sunshine, etc. Still hasn't rained since :madman:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tornados in Sacramento? Kind of weird you mention that. I heard the warning signal on the radio last night, then tornado watch for Placer and Nevada Counties. What will they think of next? At least Sac is in the valley. How can you get a tornado in the mountains?


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Perfect temp for this mornings commute. Very nice ride in today. Also, its amazing how much less my drivetrain squeaks with it being freshly cleaned and lubed.

Supposed to be 100 degrees for the ride home, at least the humidity is low today.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well it's the last day of school... so naturally, it was snowing this morning. 

the worst part was that I have a mountain bike ride planned after work, and I voluntarily rode the fenderless MTB to work. It was horrible, filthy, grimy, cold, wet, sloppy, muddy, etc, etc. Happy Juneuary.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ick, that's sick.

Crazy winds have been kicking my a** the last 2 rides. Last night it was 17 mi of steady headwinds followed by 3 miles of gusts that almost stopped you cold or threatened to blow you off the road. I woke this morning to hear continued gusty winds, had to dodge some branches on the way down the hill. In the village I swear that the flags on the phone poles for memorial day were all blowing in different directions. 22 mi later I got to work but I am tired. 

Flood cleanup continues, someone caught 3 fish in their basement. Some new evacuees in my town due to landslides threatening their homes on steep saturated & eroded slopes. Flood sale at the LBS this weekend.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Windy and warm today. Left early to take my sweet time and not need to rush. I find my jacket is too warm, but I like the windbreaker capability. Time to go shopping for something lighter I guess.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just had a terrible thought. What if summer finally comes this year, but it doesn`t happen to fall on a weekend? We`ll have to decide between calling in sick to barbecue or going to work to earn money for the steaks. Maybe call in and grill up a pack of Ball Park Franks.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Given the weather here in the Seattle area this spring, I am more concerned that summer may not be coming at all


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well kids, it's been real yet again... I'll check in periodically, but commuterboy is off to hit the (new!) local trails, and not commuting to work again until August. Stay safe, have fun, and I'll catch you on the flip side.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Have a good one, VacationBoy.
Remember, no excuse for driving to work over the summer.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Congrats on surviving another year CB! Enjoy your summer!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, have fun on the trails & on your bike trip. I guess you are TrailBoy for few months.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Don't be a stranger Mr don't-have-to-commute-rboy. Sorry about the snow in June and the wrong bike. Snow blows especially in June in the Northern Hemisphere. Seen it in once, that was plenty. 

TB doesn't sound like a healthy short label, neither does VB, (too close to VD). I suppose you'll always be good ol' CB to your friends here. Boy, do I wish I could join your ride. Report in once and a while, just to rub it in. Thanks in advance (in case I don't feel so inclined after.) 

Well, I guess the rest of us need to pick up the slack. Not up to much of it myself, but feeling enough energy and am anxious to ride in the morning. Amazing what the right supplements can do. Excercise immune boost, sweating out toxins, and other effects should boost things nicely. Have the usual commute in the morning but with construction and diverted traffic, that one block was always an issue but they WILL see me.


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## honglee (Jun 3, 2011)

it was no memorable


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## Dann C (Nov 7, 2010)

i'm sure other areas have this too but the headwind in Omaha is absolutely awful. I would say everyday for the past two weeks I battle it home everyday and it sure takes it out of me by the time I get home. Other than that riding my bike really sets the stage for me every single day. Yesterday I stopped by the LBS to get a new seat bag due to the fact that my older smaller one was ripping at the seems because of how much I stuffed it haha. I am very exited for payday next Friday because I am ordering a lot of accessory stuff for my commutes which will get me even more exited to ride everyday!


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Another nice morning to ride in. Good temp and while the humidity was more than yesterday, at least it wasn't in the 90s. Been taking a longer way home so I can get some trail dirt in, it makes me smile.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Awesome ride in. Weather in the 60's and sunny with a side of slight breeze. I made great time and clicked over 500 miles commuting for the year, so that is a bonus! My goal is to make it over 1000 miles for the year. Should be doable.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Todays commute: cancelled by the 7:30 meeting demons.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Todays commute saw me smash my best time by 1:01!!!  The really annoying thing about this was I slowed down thinking it was one of my worst runs this week and in the last mile settled for stretch out mode! Grr! :madman: haha! I'll admit there was zero wind and the temp was a nice cool temp!

Dont think ill be repeating this performance on the way home! Wind and Temp has gone up!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s kind of cold this morning (all the windshields in the parking lot were iced over- good thing I don`t have to scrape one), but clear and sunny with no wind :thumbsup:. Looks like more wishy-washy "chance of ..." from this afternoon through the weekend, then sunny icons for the rest of the long tem forcast. Sure hope that pans out as predicted.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Awesome commute here this morning. Low 50's, sunny, no wind and the mountain (Mt. Ranier) was out as I rode down the valley this morning. Supposed to be sunny and mid to upper 60's for the ride home tonite. Whoot!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Rode the xtracycle today since I plan on hitting the farmers market on the way home. About a mile in this morning I hit a clump of clay mud and it wedged up between the rear fender and tire, stopping the bike completely. I looked down under the xtracycle deck to see a crinkled fender and smelled the burnt rubber. Doh! I pulled the fender straight to I could keep going, but it ripped the stays right out of the fender. Looks like I'll be buying a rivet gun today. At least I was planning on taking most of the bike apart this weekend anyways to change gear cables. Happy Friday!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So the streak of great weather is finally at an end - rainy today and 5C? I was actually pretty chilly on the ride home.

Also had my chain break at the quicklink. One half of it stayed with the chain, but I couldn't find the other one so I don't know what happened to it. Did it actually break, or did it just come unlocked somehow? Weird.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I came home a little early so's I could ride before getting my daughter from day care. Remembered my buddy wanted to mtb tomorrow and I needed a new chain, so I hit the LBS for a chain and some tubes for my commuter. Get home, replace the chain, take a spin .... chainring is all worn and makes a horrible clacking noise when under load. 

No mtb tomorrow. Going to rain all day so my originally planned road ride was also cancelled. Baby sitter called off. Gonna sit around the house with the baby and watch the sky open up I guess. Mid-day beers and video games during nap time


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Good commute. Still seaching for the right tire pressure in the 38 mm tires. This run 45 front 50 rear. Had to bump through a 2" pavement cut awaiting repaving. Not snakebit, and I can see a bit of sidewall bow out at the foot print, so I think this is good with partial load.

No crash and burn after the ride so the adrenal/thyroid issue is under control, maybe not optimal, but good. In fact I didn't realize how bad it was until it wasn't. Now to push the mileage back up. Beautiful day, high 70's, it was good to be riding again. It is good to be doing anything again.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Well Today was A Pretty Good Day.

This Morning I stop for Donuts Since it was National Donut Day

Donut Day 2011 by normbilt, on Flickr

Then Veteran Mountain Bike Pro Stop in the Shop This Morning
on the Left Ruthie Matthes and on the right Me

Ruthie Matthes and I by normbilt, on Flickr

Then Saw a Great Sunset on the way Home

Ride Home on Donut Day 2011 by normbilt, on Flickr


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool! Ruthie looks great. I've have been MTB'g about as long as her, only a lot slower. 

Dang those donuts look good too.

Bri, good to see you back in the saddle, hope things continue to roll.

Bacho, I can relate, nice here and was hoping to do a quick mow & ride before rain tomorrow, but my old John Deere wouldn't start last night so I'll be working on that today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Doughnut day? I missed it! They sure look tasty, though.

Cool and overcast today. I was hoping to spend this morning on a road loop to the north that runs roughly 60 miles, but don`t want to get caught in the rain (I hate getting wet). Think I`ll wait and see how it looks at 7:00- hopefully those clouds` intentions will be a little more obvious.


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## KonaClassic (May 27, 2011)

My Commute today was quite intence was cruzin my normal path up this hill near a golf course and my chain fell off and i broke a spoke. But i was all good after this got the chain back on hit some pretty decent trail along the way not muddy but much sticker than when it is dry was able to fly threw them trails got to go over a few water crossing passed by the river all with excellent views was pretty darn good.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Got up in time to commute buuuut someone was lazy and a bit tired so I drove to work.

Thunderstorm predicted this afternoon for when I would be biking home anyway .....


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Rode to the city library in the nice and warm weather. Probably a bit over 10 mile round trip. Got a flat in the rear Bontrager Hank a bit before reaching home. The puncture looked like it was probably from the remains of winter's rock shrapnell... Lower pressures might help.

Planning to do an evening ride on some of the nearby trails.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

For some reason a couple cars honked today. Both were going in the opposite direction over a bridge. I couldn't figure out why. 

It's going to be another hot week. Our Spring was fairly cool and rainy. Now we're dry and experiencing late summer weather. Today won't be too bad (92F), but we'll be climbing into the upper 90's for Tuesday and Wednesday.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Another nice day, a lot less traffic now that school is out. Looking forward to making the most of the weather and going on the LBS family group ride tonight. I'll meet my wife and kids at the shop, bolt on the IBert and strap in my 20mo old. We'll do a 4-5 mile loop, then go back to the shop for free gelato! Then I'll ride home solo whle my wife and kids take the car. Should be a good 20 mile day for me and my xtracycle.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

We're doing the commuter challenge at work this week: http://www.commuterchallenge.ca. Not particularly interesting, but if you track your miles of alternative transport then you're entered to win some prizes (top prize is a bus pass. What would I do with that? )

Great weather this morning, and probably all week. And this week I get to look forward to bike-powered smoothies on the way home on wednesday, and a bike breakfast on friday morning.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Holy Monday, batman. 

Heading out from the house I start getting some chain skip on only one cog. I just put on a new chain; is it possible that ONLY one cog on the cassette would wear? Not the chain rings or any other cog. Or could I have a bent hanger or something? I had to use the next cog down. Bonus: got here faster. 

Entering the bike trail I hear a loud "ping!" and feel something weird from the back wheel. I stop, check for a broken spoke. Nothing. Start riding again and I notice I'm going 0.0 mph. Ah, the noise I heard was the magnet for my speed sensor pulling the eject handle. 

Then I get to work, take my panniers off and notice that they sure do feel light today. I later determined they were approximately 5 lbs, or the weight of one Dell laptop, lighter. 

That's three things so I think my fun is over for the day. I hope.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was a real torrent this weekend, by desert standards. If any of you from places that get real rain happen to see exactly how much fell here (I didn`t hear how many inches or what fraction of an inch), please don`t laugh . I did manage a five hour ride Sat morning without any drops landing on me. Pissed off a hopped up hick driving a hopped up pickup at one point- he laid on his horn and yelled something, I smiled and waved (with all fingers), then he jammed on the brakes and stopped in the right lane of the highway while looking back at me over his shoulder. Thought he was going to come back and kick my butt for me, but he put it back in gear and drove off instead.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nacho, not the laptop again!
Don`t see how a bent hanger would affect one sprocket and not all of them, but I suppose it could be possible. Have you taken a good look at te cassette to make sure there isn`t a pebble or something stuck between two gears? Sure your derailler is swinging freely and actually holding the chain where it`s supposed to be?


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nacho, not the laptop again!


I know :madman: At least last time I hadn't actually forgotten it, I just forgot I brought it. Brain fart I swear; I'm not actually insane. My wife brought me the laptop and even delivered it with a Starbuck's coffee. What did I learn? Leave the laptop home and you get coffee and a smiling wife  SCORE.



rodar y rodar said:


> Don`t see how a bent hanger would affect one sprocket and not all of them, but I suppose it could be possible. Have you taken a good look at te cassette to make sure there isn`t a pebble or something stuck between two gears? Sure your derailler is swinging freely and actually holding the chain where it`s supposed to be?


I went down and checked out the cassette. I remembered this frame doesn't have a replaceable hanger; it's a Reynold's 520 frame and it's all one piece. It's pretty stout so I guess if I ever actually do bend the hanger I probably have bigger issues to worry about. Nothing is in the cassette, the chain isn't binding or anything. I called my friend who is an ultra bad ass bike mechanic (he's the head honcho at the LBS) and he said it sounds like wear.

Luckily I have two fresh 8 speed cassettes at home. I need to check the gearing but I think I'm going to plunder my wife's mountain bike for the fancy, light weight SRAM cassette I installed a couple years ago that has been ridden once


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

That one gear that is skipping probably means the cassette was worn to mesh perfectly with your old chain. New chain so the cassette doesn't like it. I always change my chain and cassette together now cause I used to get this problem by doing only the chain.


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## Anduril (Sep 7, 2009)

Today was great, but Friday's was terrible. I snapped my front brake cable while approaching a busy intersection. Did the Fred Flinstone two-footed stop and ended up in the first lane of traffic. Fortunately no cars were close, but that could've been my number. Lesson learned - maintain brakes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

nachomc said:


> Holy Monday, batman. ...
> 
> Heading out from the house I start getting some chain skip on only one cog. I just put on a new chain; is it possible that ONLY one cog on the cassette would wear? Not the chain rings or any other cog... .


I guess if it's your "favorite" that could happen.I was recently chagrined to find out I had only worn out the granny and center chainrings. While this saved me some $, it hurt my pride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Had to return the work car today from fieldwork Friday, plus I'm dogsitting, so no bike commute. Snuck in a late lunch trailride though on "Rastaman", it's a really ancient feeling trail, something about the trees, the ledge, the line make it really special. Stopped at the store on the way back to work and the cashier said "I would love to ride to work but I'm scared of the uphill on the way home". I told her that is my commute exactly and that she should try it and see how far she can get before walking, then in a couple days see if she can get a littler farther, and before she knows it she'll be riding the whole way. I hope she tries it.


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## connolm (Sep 12, 2009)

*Crazy chain of events*

Commute home today: decided to hop up a curb... of course, pinch flat two minutes later. Ok. Pull over in the shade. Pull the wheel off the SS and replace the inner tube. Go to pump it up... my pump is broken! What to do?

I start to walk and luckily I happen across someone with a pump. Pump, pump pump... Excited... Back in business... But wait! The pieces of my chain tensioners fell off somewhere on the walk. Slow walk back to finally find the pieces.

Try to fit the pieces back together - but missing an essential cotter pin. Decide to ride on with a slack chain... Get to garage (I park my bike in a garage and take a train part of the way.)

...left my lock in the grass when I changed the tube.

Ride all the way back and recover the lock.

Sheesh. What a day!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I _finally_ had a dog-walker go off on me today.

We have a lot of off-leash parks in town. And because of the way people are, a lot of that off-leashedness bleeds well into the on-leash areas. I don't think there's a single trail where I haven't seen free-range dogs at one point or another. But whatever, I'm careful, I like pooches, and if you leave me alone I won't complain that _you're_ breaking the rules.

So today riding through the ON-leash area that's directly next to an off-leash park is a woman walking her two leashless dogs. One of her dogs is pretty much blocking the left side of the trail, so I ride up slowly behind them, and give her a friendly "I'm just going to squeeze by on your left" or something like that. So she says "You know bikes aren't allowed here. :nono:" So I say "Uhm, actually they are. You know the off-leash area ended back at the bridge? So you're actually the one who's breaking the rules." "You cyclists are the stupidest @#$# people." "Yeah, so are dog owners."

And then the insults start. Just constant swearing and getting in my face. After getting called #$%^tard 20+ times in a row I finally joined in.

While we're arguing a half-a-dozen other cyclists go by on this same trail. Two of them stop to hear our rantings, and agree that of course bikes are allowed on _this_ trail. But yes there are two other trails 100' away where bikes aren't allowed, and we all know not to ride there because those trails are in the off-leash area and are clearly signed as no-bikes.

But oh no, the map of the area (this map) says "Bikes must stick to improved granulated trails". I tell her that this trail _is_ an "improved granulated trail" and that she should read the city bylaws. But oh no, the sign also says "Please Follow the LOCAL RULES!" and that means that bylaws don't apply. I again point out that we're not even in the off-leash area - it is over there and we are over here. But oh no, because "Follow the LOCAL RULES!" means you can make whatever you want up. I finally finished off with "I'm glad you get so pissed off at people when you have no idea what you're talking about" and rode off.

It was like arguing with someone on the internet - you're both 100% convinced that you're right and nothing will ever change that, so you just have to enjoy it. (although I do actually know that I'm correct )


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@ Xplorer: I think we need photographic evidence of just how ancient Rastaman is.

After having a pump fail on me once while trying to fix a flat on my way to work, I vowed to do periodic checks on all my "carry" pumps. That was at least a year ago and I still haven`t done any of those checks!

Newf, sometimes I enjoy encounters like that. I guess it depends on my mood whether it`s fun or whether it just irks the crap out of me.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I guess if it's your "favorite" that could happen.I was recently chagrined to find out I had only worn out the granny and center chainrings. While this saved me some $, it hurt my pride.


It's going to work out - I checked and the nice SRAM cassette I bought for my wife a couple of years ago isn't on her bike. I wish I could remember why I took it off. It was hardly ever used and I don't remember there being a problem with it . Well, having it already in the tool box is either going to save me work and the cassette will work out great, or I'll test ride around the neighborhood and find out why I yanked it. If it does work out though, I get a considerably lighter 11-28 cassette to replace my 13-28. I'm kind of excited


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

The ride home was good. We had a head wind so that made pushing the bigger gear a little hard, but I think I'll be better for it on Wednesday. No ride tomorrow as I have appt's in both the morning and evening on opposite sides of town.

One interesting thing from the ride home - I was just pushing along, 18-ish mph, when I caught up to a guy on a steel framed road bike. I passed him on the left, and after the next corner he goes blasting by me and takes off. "OK" I think. So then, a couple miles later, I notice I'm catching him again; my speed is still the same. Again, I pass him on the left, and then within about 5-10 seconds he jumps up and takes off again.

I'm not sure what his deal was. Maybe he's doing intervals or something but the timing of his decision to be Captain Nitro immediately after I passed was suspect. I don't know if he thought I'd race him or something, with my two panniers loaded down with stuff  ODd.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

nachomc said:


> It's going to work out - I checked and the nice SRAM cassette I bought for my wife a couple of years ago isn't on her bike. I wish I could remember why I took it off. It was hardly ever used and I don't remember there being a problem with it . Well, having it already in the tool box is either going to save me work and the cassette will work out great, or I'll test ride around the neighborhood and find out why I yanked it. If it does work out though, I get a considerably lighter 11-28 cassette to replace my 13-28. I'm kind of excited


I remember now why I pulled that cassette - the one she has currently is an 11-34 and I was trying to give her a bigger granny to get started.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Newf, sometimes I enjoy encounters like that. I guess it depends on my mood whether it`s fun or whether it just irks the crap out of me.


The bike co-op in town specifically warns riders about this area, and that we are allowed in there regardless of what dogwalkers might think. So I knew all about it, and arguing with a loud-mouth was definitely fun.

But I've been through there hundreds of times, and have never had a problem with anyone before. This person was so aggressive (at least once I got my retaliatory dig in ), that I kindof wonder how many of the problems that the co-op has heard about are from this one misinformed vigilante? And I certainly didn't help matters...but I'm pretty sure she's already made up her mind about cyclists.


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## crazychimpjimbo (Dec 22, 2007)

Not sure what is going on in the south west of the UK.... Wind Gods favouring my morning route to work!!  Friday knocked a minute of my best time, Yesterday beat that time by another minute and, today snapped another 20 seconds of that!! :thumbsup:: It's taken me 18 months to beat my old time and smashed my 2:20 in 3 days  

So all in all an amazing cycle in  and no cycle rage


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> So I _finally_ had a dog-walker go off on me today.
> 
> We have a lot of off-leash parks in town. And because of the way people are, a lot of that off-leashedness bleeds well into the on-leash areas. I don't think there's a single trail where I haven't seen free-range dogs at one point or another. But whatever, I'm careful, I like pooches, and if you leave me alone I won't complain that _you're_ breaking the rules.
> 
> ...


Better off to just blow by...safely of course...

There is a rule that dogs must be under control....whether off leash or on leash...and a barking dog chasing a bike is not under control...

If it really pisses you off...encourage the dog to follow you and take it a kilc or so away from the owner...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I was recently chagrined to find out I had only worn out the granny and center chainrings..., it hurt my pride.


Shouldn't. I was once told that unless you are a full-out racer, the large chainwheel is for nice downhills especially when the wind is behind. Not many of those downhills here and rarely met with the wind at my back. I realized that the 53-42-30 rarely strayed into the top one (only 2 unique ratios) and the 30 ran into hills where Scotty said "I kinna doit! No more power Cap'n!" Now a 48-36-26. Stilll no warp speed, though. Rarely use the Granny on the road here except for the Hilly Hundred. It is nice to know I have 5 lower ratios when Scotty starts complaining in the 36.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> So she says "You know bikes aren't allowed here?"


When you know for absolutely certain she is wrong:

"Really? When was THAT changed?"

Somehow when people mess up like this they go on the offensive if you point out that the are in error. Then they mess up even more.

If you play the "You don't say? Can I see your map? Oh look here it says bikes ARE allowed, Easy mistake to meke whne the trails over there are not." She may not eeven know that she wasn't on the trail that she thought she was on. Easy to do if she was on the cell phone at a Y and took the wrong one.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Damn near 90 again today, hottest I've been since I moved from AZ last september. Of course with those temps are chances for thunderstorms for my ride home. looking forward to geeting some wrenching time in this evening, as the Pugsley needs a tune up. Radio, garage, beer, good times.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Another pretty morning, warm and and hardly any wind. After a few very wet days, we had a one of those beautiful mixed (mixte?) skies with some blue, some gray clouds, and some little whispy white ones, puddles still hanging around, sideways sunlight, smell of damp sage brush....
Love it!



BrianMc said:


> She may not even know that she wasn't on the trail that she thought she was on. Easy to do if she was on the cell phone at a Y and took the wrong one.


Or maybe she was busy studying her GPS at that Y


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> When you know for absolutely certain she is wrong...


I started out civil, "The off-leash area is actually over there, ha ha." And after that I was more than happy to ride off, like Jeff said. But she insisted that we had to go look at the map, and that if I didn't, then that meant I was lying @#$%tard cyclist blah blah blah. Since I know exactly what the map shows, I thought I'd humour her. But she also knows exactly what she _thinks_ the map shows so it didn't make a difference. She also knows exactly where the map is, so I do wonder if maybe this was a practiced rant?

Thinking about it a bit more (l'esprit d'escalier and all that), if I see her or anyone who is similarly hostile again, the approach will simply be:

"Tell you what. I'm going to send a complaint to the Parks Branch about someone who is harassing cyclists on the multi-use trails on the north side of the bridge. And you should send in a complaint about all the evil cyclists who are breaking the "rules" in the "dog-park" on the north side of the bridge. And then we'll know who's wrong."

Because there was no way she was going to listen to some @#$% on a bike. The only way to "win" would be to trick her into going to the authorities, and having them tell her that she's wrong.

I do feel kindof bad, because I probably riled her up, and now she might take it out on others? I had to tell her to stop touching me and to back off several times, so I can imagine that a non-stubborn cyclist would have been pretty upset by the encounter. (and of course might think the loud, crazy person was correct)

Other than that, rainy morning today and probably on the way home. It's sure is nice to have a singlespeed in the stable for the mucky rides.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

[email protected] today so no commute but I _did_ get my iPhone warrantied so that was good stuffs.


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## KonaClassic (May 27, 2011)

I love that post newfangled felt like a few trails i have been on in the HB area with my cuzin.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> Some suggestions. There will be others (anybody?) for dealing with difficult people:


1. "I agree with you 100% that you are wrong." (screws them up for a bit till they sort out the logic)

2. "Jesus loves you and so do I" (if said sincerely will put all but the ruddest off)

3. "Have you ever thought about selling Amway products?" (the change in topic throws them off)

4. "I'm not feeling well and I think I might throw up" (said while bending over and holding your stomach, especially effective if you look like you might barf on them or their dog)

The best way to deal with difficult people, IMHO, is just to get on your bike and ride away.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Found a strange dust covered object in my bike room last night. Cleaned it up and rode the road bike to work today. Forgot how much easier it is to pedal but pre-dawn cracked roads with alot of debris reminded me why I ride the mountain bike instead.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Brrr. 51 degrees and a 25mph headwind. Considering yesterday was 93, it was quite a difference. Another nod to Fargo's title of being the toughest weather city in America! The weather forecast looks good for this weekend though, hoping to get out on some long rides.


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## ducster (May 15, 2009)

It was about 70 degrees this morning. Tonight is going to be tough when it is 90+ out and even worse tomorrow when it is going to get up to 100


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Flat tire on the singlespeed this morning.  Just further proof that having several bikes is good.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Our recent storm spree looks to be finished up. I think we`re going to hyperwarp straight into summer over the course of the next couple weeks. Rode in today with shorts and no long johns for the first time this year, might very well be able to ditch the gloves and jacket next week. Trying to get all my pending yard work knocked out a little at a time throughout the week to save weekends for playing- looks like a bike camping trip Friday and Saturday


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I started out civil, But she also knows exactly what she _thinks_ the map shows so it didn't make a difference. I do feel kindof bad, ... I had to tell her to stop touching me and to back off several times. .


Sounds like a "You had to be there." situation.

Keeping your head while others around you lose theirs. 
Treating others as you wish to be treated.

These are very difficult when we feel the verbal assault is unwarranted and our anger is just beneath the surface. So it is easier to have a few tricks up our sleeves 'just in case'. It is very hard to think on your feet when accosted and doing nothing wrong. And yes, I don't remember them all the time. I'm a work in progress, too. Trying to act as if you had your 5 year old child watching you helps.

Some suggestions. There will be others (anybody?) for dealing with difficult people:

1. "Your opinion is noted and logged." Captatin Kirk impersonation optional.

2. "You have my permission to file a formal complaint, child. May God bless you." A priest in casual clothes?

2a. "God bless you." is a great antidote to the acronym for 'Freedom University'.

3. "Let's agree to disagree." Requires rationality so is a test of rationality. The "God Bless You" response to non-acceptance leaves silence as the only decent retort. Anything else is unworthy of your heed.

4. "Wait. Let me get this all on video." When walking away is not an option and calling 911 is starting to look like one. Maybe the hand gesture rectangle for a screen view to help them think and get out of the primitive anger mode?

5. "Ride like the other way. Fast" Bike is to car as scissors are to rock. Fight is not an option.

The best part is that trying to think which is best keeps you in the frontal lobe and out or the primitive part of the brain that seeks fight or flight. The cell phone is the hardest for me to remember. I don't run my life with one. I try to make sure it is charged before every ride, and in an accessible spot though, just in case.

May God Bless :thumbsup:

Brian


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ the phone/camera thing is a tricky one. There have been lots of occasions where I wished that mine was more accessible. It's in the top pocket of my pannier where it gets a nice GPS signal, but it still takes me probably takes 10 seconds to get to it. And that's fine for "look at the pretty sunset" but less so for anything traffic related, or "back off or I'm calling the cops." Carrying it in a pocket would make it more accessible, but also more crunchable. I figure a gopro is in my future at some point, but not just yet.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

My Cell is in the top front pocket of the ANSI Vest. Two seconds for me. 

Suggestion: how about a dummy camera/phone close to hand? Could be an old camera body. Goal is to get them to cool it. Use it to buy time to get the real one ("Dang out of power! OK backup!) or switch to #5. 

I have a Drift Stealth HD with date time stamp. Overtaxes my PC video processing, Macbook is in repair. Have video after tornado, but can't process. Very Short clips OK. Working on that. It can get plates, so I expect it will be a permanent resident on my bars. Just have to remember to activate it when needed.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You guys are WAY up on me when it comes to phone access. Mine (the newer one) doesn`t leave the kitchen unless I unplug it. To remove the phone from my living room (the old phone) requires either a screwdriver or wire snips. Well, I guess it COULD be done with a good yank, but since neither of them take snapshots or videos, or do anything other than make phone calls, that wouldn`t help much anyway.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I was a happy cellphone hold-out until 2010, but I eventually got one because of riding. I don't even ride anywhere wild or dangerous, but with sketchy winter commutes and the occasional near-breakdown an hour+ from home it started to seem like a good idea. (they're honestly barely even phones, anymore. I get maybe one call a month on mine, and the rest of the time it's a calendar, music, gps, camera, web, whatever.)


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

You guys are gonna laugh but....

Since I ride the MUT to work, I don't have cars and such to worry about clobbering me, so I listen to podcasts for the ride. I do so on my iPhone, and the headset I use is the one that comes with the phone, and has a mic, a remote control for volume, play, stop, etc. So, since I'm plugged in, if I get a call, it pauses my podcast, rings in my ear and I can answer. I have a specific ringer set for my wife, one for calls from work, etc, so I know whether or not I want to/should answer


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Today's commute was good, uneventful, that's good, right? Yesterday not so much, it was only commute #3 by bike in my life, I still always feel like I forgot something. Yesterday I did, I forgot a belt and my glasses...I couldn't tuck in my shirt at work, no big deal, they're pretty lax about dress code, and I had a headache by the end of the day from squinting and being close to my computer. Also, when I went to leave, I had a flat tire, I had ridden 16 miles the night before and it wasn't flat when I finished the ride. Not a good day.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> Today's commute was good, uneventful, that's good, right? Yesterday not so much, it was only commute #3 by bike in my life, I still always feel like I forgot something. Yesterday I did, I forgot a belt and my glasses...I couldn't tuck in my shirt at work, no big deal, they're pretty lax about dress code, and I had a headache by the end of the day from squinting and being close to my computer. Also, when I went to leave, I had a flat tire, I had ridden 16 miles the night before and it wasn't flat when I finished the ride. Not a good day.


I'm slowly working my way through forgetting everything.

So far I'm at:

underwear
belt
wallet (realized this quickly though and rode back home to grab it)
laptop

I never forget the same thing twice..


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Took a bit longer route (just 18 miles) on the way home yesterday. A very small lunch combined with a hot day got me a bit dizzy for a bit. Slowed down and felt better. Ate like a pig when I got home tho. Todays commute felt fine surprisingly.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

The ride home last night was good. The warm weather is bringing more people out, which clogs up the MUT a little bit. I also left later than normal, which could have contributed.

This morning kind of sucked. My legs didn't want to work from the get-go. I was slower by a few minutes across town, and it wasn't for lack of trying. I hope the ride home is better.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s hotter than hell. Somebody flipped a switch and summer began about 11 AM yesterday.
Maybe I`ll go clog up Nacho`s MUT with wife and tandem Sunday. Not that it`ll be any cooler down there


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I don't know what it is about people wanting to turn into me. This morning as I was nearing my work, a red car was turning left from a parking lot. She stopped, then started turning just as I was coming through. I skidded my tires to avoid slamming into the side of her car. I know she saw me, but she pretended not to. I don't get it. To make it even more awkward, she works on the same street as I do, so I had to follow her all the way to my office.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ it's definitely not just you. It happens to me all the time, even with my snazzy new hi-vis vest, and particularly at one specific intersection. People are dumb. I try to avoid them.

6 new bikes in the parkade today (normally it's just me and another guy, and maybe one more). This week is Commuter Challenge, but today was the first day that the forecast didn't call for rain, so it brought out all the fair-weather cyclists.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Oh one thing I forgot from yesterday, which I'm a little excited about ..

While waiting at a stop light another commuter caught up, but of course he hit right as it went green and I ended up behind him after we made our left hand turn. He was an older guy on an older mountain bike and he was going pretty slow, so when it was safe I passed him and went on my way. 

So after I get on the MUT I'm jamming along and I approach a park on my left and who do I see coming up to the MUT? The same guy from earlier. Obviously he has some short cut that I am not employing, so I mapped it out and according to ridewithgps.com this new route will shave almost a mile off of the ride. I'm going to pedal it tonight on the way home and see if it's viable; it's along a busy-ish road but has a nice bike lane. We'll see if it ends up being worth while.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I don't know what it is about people wanting to turn into me. This morning as I was nearing my work, a red car was turning left from a parking lot. She stopped, then started turning just as I was coming through. I skidded my tires to avoid slamming into the side of her car. I know she saw me, but she pretended not to. I don't get it. To make it even more awkward, she works on the same street as I do, so I had to follow her all the way to my office.


Drivers who are oblivious to bikes are extremely dangerous.

If someone doesn't see me and even starts to get in my way....

I whistle loudly...

If that doesn't get them, I will try to catch up to them (usually quite doable in traffic) and let them know for sure what they did when I catch them.

If they get aggressive then so do I...if not then I don't....


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## torQ! (Oct 18, 2010)

Riding my mountain bike with slicks to work today, road bike is in the shop for some work. The first half of this week was in the 90s and raining so I didn't ride at all. Today I get cold and wind. Legs aren't feeling as wonderful today and I'm definitely not looking forward to the headwind the whole way home.


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

This morning was quite a delight, scattered clouds and a beautiful sunrise. This afternoon riding home I ended up redecorating a minivan's passenger door when I was cut off. No damage done to the steed or myself, wish I could say the same for the van.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, did you bounce, or what?? Glad you are OK, hope you're not feeling too banged up tomorrow.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

dolli310 said:


> This morning was quite a delight, scattered clouds and a beautiful sunrise. This afternoon riding home I ended up redecorating a minivan's passenger door when I was cut off. No damage done to the steed or myself, wish I could say the same for the van.


:\ Sorry, dude


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Tonights ride was interesting. It was like "go as slow as you can just as nacho approaches and there is oncoming traffic rendering passing impossible until after he slows down to our 9 mph" night. Between that and the head wind, it was a long ride.

I did try out that new route though, and it was pretty good. Chopped about a mile off the ride home, which rocks. I need to massage it a little to figure out the fastest way through the park on to the MUT but I think I'll keep using it!

After I got home and cleaned up I headed over to get my baby from day care. I had forgotten it was 'meet your teacher' night, and my daughter is getting ready to graduate up to the toddler class so I hung out in there for a bit, asking questions and watching her play. I was treated also: when I walked in, still sweating a bit since I hadn't cooled off all the way from the ride yet, they had a table loaded with bowls of ice cream. After the ride and being hot, it was just what I needed


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## dolli310 (Apr 12, 2011)

@ mtbxplorer: I guess I did bounce. I was up off the pavement before the woman got out of her van. Not too banged up this morning, slept like a baby last night.

@ nachomc: Thanks. I'm just glad it wasn't much worse than what it was.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

My legs are done for the week. No power at all on the way in. I hope they feel better on the way home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> Drivers who are oblivious to bikes are extremely dangerous.


I think it's partly the drivers around here. They suck. I know this lady saw me. I was watching her and she looked right at me as she was stopping. Then she just went. It happens too much.

The sun was shining this morning, but one the one cloud above me started to rain. I didn't mind though. It's been hot this whole week, so it felt refreshing.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

@dolli: glad you're ok!

@nacho: ice cream after a ride? Jealous!

@toff: hope your friday afternoon legs are happy

I was planning on riding in crappy weather so I rode the beater miyata today. Its not nearly as enjoyable as my crosscheck has been all week. The seatpost was slipping all the way to work, had to adjust it 3 times. Jogger on the MUP had her headphones in and was oblivious to my bell ringing, so I had to ride off course and blow past her, which pissed her off. Its payday Friday, my ride was supposed to be better than this! Hopefully the weatherman is wrong and the ride home is better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Drivers who are oblivious to bikes are extremely dangerous.....


Welcome to my world.



jeffscott said:


> If someone doesn't see me ...I whistle loudly...


I use a parade ground level HEY! (Adenalin boost!) Works pretty well too. Faster than hitting the Airzound button which I am reaching for as I plan my out in case HEY! isn't enough.



jeffscott said:


> If that doesn't get them, I will try to catch up to them ...


This is dangerous here some are packin' heat, but yes I have and they knew I was not happy with their concept of 'sharing the road'.

Drivers can look right at you but not see you in terms ot trajectory, speed, collision course etc.



dolli310 said:


> ...This afternoon riding home I ended up redecorating a minivan's passenger door when I was cut off. No damage done to the steed or myself, wish I could say the same for the van.


Sounds like you got some braking in or weren't flyin'. Sometimes just when you are sure they are yielding.....then there is often neither time nor space to do much other than minimize bodily injury. Any accident you walk from with mere bruises and more experience is a good one.

Got a one way ride in this morning. One truck passed with mirror about 18" off my shoulder. I tend to get that in spandex, not the ANSI vest. So I'd guess he was clueless not trying to intimidate.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Toff said:


> My legs are done for the week. No power at all on the way in. I hope they feel better on the way home.


Same here. I started up towards the summit of my biggest climb: the 50ft overpass and my legs immediately went all noodley. Geared down, coasted over the top, a few stars were seen. I felt better as I got further in to the ride, and was holding 19 mph or so, but any challenge other than pushing on flat ground left me searching for a lower gear. After today I'll have 179 miles for the week though 

I can't ride next week so I'm looking forward to a little recovery time. I will probably get in a ride on Sunday the 19th and then I get to go to Tahoe and I'm riding around the lake. I can't wait


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Free muffin and coffee for me this morning. So free treats for cyclists, bike co-op in the parking lot with tune-up stands, patio full of cyclists, and bikes parked everywhere - a nice little biketopia. (I still couldn't bring myself to leave my bike unlocked when I ran inside for the goodies, though.)


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

I'll be at 112 miles at the end of today, a good bit for me right now. I'll be showing a friend tomorrow the Anthills tho (you remember that trail Nacho?) as he has never really been offroad on his mountain bike. It should be interesting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks again for all the OT well wishes for Luna! I'm happy to report that she is out of the vet hospital and back home and eating and feeling pretty good. She even came by the office for pets from everyone, sorry I did not take her picture! Sadly the diagnosis is cancer, but one day at a time.
> 
> Snow forecast today, hope I can squeek out the commute before too much accumulates.


An OT update, my friend's dog Luna is doing amazingly well. She has been on a raw diet & looks great! Thanks for all the well-wishes from around the world. I love how her coat is camoflauge on the carpet at work:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Ahh mtb, the Luna update makes my heart happy. Glad she's doing better!

My dog is named Luna too, and we're getting a foster doggie on Sunday named Lula. Its going to be confusing around my house!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Trying to get some whels laced for my recumbent last night and had to search all over the place for tools. Finally got them finished and was going to stretch the dropouts and install today, couldn`t find my roll of string, the cassette I was going to use, or any new brake pads (and I KNEW they were all somewhere around)- ended up cleaning out my shed first. Holy cow, where did all that crap come from !?! Filled my garbage can, hauled a load into town with cardboard for recycle and a bunch of tires and misc parts to donate to Reno Bike Project, gave away an old pressure washer via Craigslist and have somebody comming out this evening to haul off a bed frame. My shed looks nice now- time to start filling it up with new crap. Oh, finally did get my wheels mounted. Test ride after I eat lunch 



mtbxplorer said:


> An OT update, my friend's dog Luna is doing amazingly well.


Yay!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The Prickly Pear is in full bloom. The Yucca has started.




























Buster was adopted Easter Saturday. He is a 6 year old Manx, white with green eyes.



















He is a most dog-like cat. Showed him Luna. I think the response was "Hi" but it might have been "Its dinner time."


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Fun ride tonight. Glad it's the weekend so I can take a break ... 

Did the new route again today. Considering dropping it. The entry is through a park with a bunch of speed bumps and a slow (for safety reasons) path to enter the MUT. Not sure it's worth lopping off a mile of the ride (which only saves maybe 3 and a half minutes at normal pace but is eroded due to slow speed, the bumps, etc. 

The rest of the ride was ... interesting. Got a call from my boss right as I picked up the MUT, so I stopped a few minutes later to review some email and forward some documentation to a PM. Then, I think I buzzed a 'pedestrian' as close as I have ever done so. Stay with me though, it's not what it sounds like...I'm cruising the MUT, close to the end of my ride on it. I see ahead there are three people - one dude on a cruiser bike, two guys on foot. The guys on foot are dead in the middle of the trail, cruiser guy is blocking the whole right lane. So OK, I just move in to the left lane, but as I do, the guy on the cruiser moves out of the right lane (trying to get out of my way) but in to the left lane and new path I've chosen. I adjust and start to move right when one of the guys on foot starts walking back wards and I cut it a little harder. We probably came within a few feet of each other but didn't collide. I didn't set out to make a point, but I think I drove one home in the end.

At this point I'm off the bike for about a week. I can't ride next week till Friday or so (and even then it's questionable). Looking forward to a little recovery time. I commuted four days this week, and pedaled out 180 miles over 10 hours in the process. I saved about $91 this week if you use the IRS per mile charge for business miles traveled. Not too shabby 

edit: And as of today I'm #4 on strava for commuter miles. Yeah buddy!!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Brian, you`re kidding me! Nopales way up there in Indiana? You seem to grow everything! Pineapples next year?



nachomc said:


> Not sure it's worth lopping off a mile of the ride (which only saves maybe 3 and a half minutes at normal pace but is eroded due to slow speed, the bumps, etc.
> 
> I commuted four days this week, and pedaled out 180 miles over 10 hours in the process.


Seems to work for the "older guy on an older mountain bike".

Way more miles than I ever manage out of ten hours of riding.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, you`re kidding me! Nopales way up there in Indiana? You seem to grow everything! Pineapples next year? .


Indiana is a longish state. We're in the banana belt not far from Kentucky. We've had -25 F and we get up to about 105 plus humidex. Remember the dyno pic bike propped in the snow? Global warming. Maybe I should bone up on banana growing.


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## CommuterGene (Jul 28, 2010)

The weather finally cooled down to a nice and cold 88 degrees for my ride into work today. Even though it was hot, still an enjoyable ride. It's raining now, I hope it holds off for my ride, but will enjoy the cooling off it causes.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Drivers who are oblivious to bikes are extremely dangerous.
> 
> If someone doesn't see me and even starts to get in my way....
> 
> ...


As are oblivious bicyclists and pedestrians...

I was once riding through GG Park on the way home and some guy walking in the same direction as I was going stopped to take a picture of his family in front of the new Deyoung Museum. I guess in framing his shot, he decided he needed to back up and stepped off the curb and right into the bike lane. He didn't think to take a look at traffic until he was standing in the bike lane right in front of me. He turned around and got a nice surprise from my presence and then fell on his bum tripping on the curb when he tried to back up. He was all fine except his ego. Scared the hell out of me also since I was afraid I was going to crash and this was a pretty heavy set guy, maybe 5-10 or 6ft and 300lbs or so. His fat rolls kinda showed through his sweatshirt.

Yesterday, a group of fixie or SS riders decided to run a 4-way stop and I almost plowed over the lead. I need to make a left and I did not anticipate that they were not going to stop. (I didn't realize that they were on fixie until I saw how the first guy had to stop.) The lead rider was about 30-50 ft from the line when I was letting the clutch out. No injuries or damage, but he was pretty upset.

In a previous collision, I hit a salmon bicyclist riding on the sidewalk who rode into an intersection when street traffic had a green arrow that sent cars right into him.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I got new panniers today. I was using Novara Transfer panniers, which worked OK. They were pretty secure on the bike but cumbersome off the bike. Hard to carry, etc. Then part of the clip that attaches them to the bike started popping off when the panniers were not attached to the rack, and last night I noticed the nylon handle was tearing :\.

Thanks to REI, I exchanged them for a Timbuk2 Tandem Pannier setup. Now I have just one bag to carry all my gear to work, whether I drive or ride. The attachment clip has me a little uncomfortable, and I won't get to test that out for a couple weeks until I go back to work. We'll see how they do!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Got my Niterider Minewt 250 cordless from Chainlove this past week and just got back from testing it out. I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be bright enough and considered getting the 350 instead, but without street lighting I could go pretty fast. Not as fast as daylight during the downhill sections though. Still trying to figure out how to aim it properly. Not sure if I want a big bright spot in front of me or dimmer with more throw. 

There's no comparison even with my Planet Bike 2W. That thing was absolutely inadequate for unlit paths. I still managed to startle myself on an unlit path though because a bike ninja was riding on the side of the path and I couldn't see him until I was about 50 ft from him. Pretty sure he didn't have reflectors since I could see reflective material on gates and posts from a thousand feet. I mean I saw something moving but wasn't sure if I was looking at foliage or something else. 

What still surprises me is the number of people who don't use any lights. Even with numerous street lamps, I found they were quite hard to see even from 50 to 100 ft. Amongst a sea of headlamps, they may as well not be there or not much more than a shadow. 

Other things I noticed, the City really needs to install more reflective material on their barriers. Some of the roads are closed to cars on weekends and they use swing gates or the mobile barriers that link together such those used for parades and such. Only one of three swing gates I passed had reflective material on them and I saw them from thousands of feet away. The others I didn't see until maybe 100 or so.


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## mdrauh (Nov 25, 2010)

Didn't commute over the weekend, just wanted to hop in here and say my new 20.1 mi round trip to work went really well on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday last week. I'm going to try for all of this week assuming we don't get any storms around here. It's not much compared to some of you guys, but I'm still pretty stoked since it's more than three times my old commute. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had to return the work car today, but riding home tonight. Got in a trail ride yesterday before the rain came again. Wore shorts and wool longsleeve since it was only 50 and damp. The trails were wet & slickery from Saturday's rain, but not muddy if you picked the right ones. The bike went down hard on some of this wet rock, but somehow I ended up standing. Tried "Off Botanical" for the skeeters...it works well, at least for a couple hours, and is more like hand cream than a stinky icky insect repellent. A pic of my current dogsittee "Spirit" & her friend "Bruin" that joined us last weekend. Did I mention he somehow managed to pick up 1 porcupine quill?


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## hellraiser_trailblazer (Jun 13, 2011)

Hot and sweaty .


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Duckies crossed my path today. It was so damn windy I was going slow enough to watch them.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Temps about 15 F lower very nice day so commuted to volunteer work and back. 

Longish post. Please forgive.

Apparently lead poisoned people feel better with exercise (As long as it isn't high-velocity lead poisoning). I guess the endorphins help a lot. While mercury toxic ones have a post exercise collapse because it messes up stress hormones. Yep, on both counts. Plus Cadmium and Copper are also messing me up too. I was hoping the new supplements would let me crank up the miles again. Nope.

I will ride when I can, as much as I can, and will post here if and when I remember.  

Mercury does a number on short-term memory and Lead on long term, and both are synergistic and reduce something else important, but I forgot what it was since it was the first to go.  

I am looking at three years or more to get it sorted and the worst comes weeks after the amalgam fillings come out helped by chelation therapy a month or more ahead. It will be easier than the likely promise of 50 pills a day or AZ or mercury induced Parkinson's if I don't.

Since lead lowers IQ, through chelation, I'm looking forward to uncovering my true genius.  

Since mercury makes you well, mercurial, I am looking forward to a much more easy going 'me', once chelated. Riding along, waving at friends, flipping the bird at @$$h0le drivers, all with a smile like Bob, and have the same reason to! 

If I was a weight weine I'd be happy losing heavy fillings and sequested heavy metals, too. Lead often causes a very hard to get rid of spare tire so I may get ripling abs, too bad the 'old guy' hair will hide them! 

So if you have to replace older amalgam fillings, have resin ones instead. I wish I had in the mid eighties when they were all redone and I was poisoned some more with the removal and poisoned every minute since. You may be very glad you did, especially if you have a good chunk or Northern European in you. There is a hint that if you sunburn easily, you'll be even happier.:thumbsup:

My return to more active cycling was, my route back to normal weight and health. Instead it and a very healthy diet, appear to have safeguarded me from a complete and earlier collapse. So I'm taking a different kind of hiatus than Commuterboy. A reduction. For a time.

This sucks to tell you, but I feel we're all friends, here. Mercury makes it hard to face meeting new people. It's easier here. I'm not quite dead yet (my mantra ) and I will deal with this and recover. For those of you who thought me a little, well a lot odd: "You may be right. I may be crazy, but it seems I unlike some I know, have an excuse!" (Apologies to Billy Joel).

Also choose your Avatar carefully. Mine turns out to either be prophetic about burning (oxidation) and heavy metals, or a subconscious recognition? Weird. (Cue Twilight Zone Theme here.) I look forward to replacing it when I get the lead out. Copper first.

Brian.


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## find_bruce (May 8, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Longish post. Please forgive.
> 
> ... For those of you who thought me a little, well a lot odd: "You may be right. I may be crazy, but it seems I unlike some I know, have an excuse!" (Apologies to Billy Joel).


Hey Brian, the advantage of a long post is that tomorrow you will be able to read what you were thinking.

I am sorry to hear how you are affected, what really concerns me though is that I never thought you the least bit odd - might have to get myself checked.

Seriously, I am glad that you have a plan to get better - the world is a better place with you around.

Cheers

Bruce


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hey Brian, yes, friends here, sorry to hear about the troubles. Thanks for letting us know, so we don't worry uneccessarily - only necessary worrying now. It sounds like a long haul, but I'm glad you figured out what was going on, and hopefully you'll feel better after treatment. I hope you can still get out for some rides. After I hurt my ankle I was thrilled to get back out, even soft-pedaling at first-grader pace on the bike path.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Thanks. I knew that though we can't raise a pint together, or few of us can, that we have a community here. Nice to know I still make sense. I will keep you posted on riding. I shall never surrender! "They (heavy Metals) will never take me alive!"


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Heavy metal poisoning from fillings? Great- a new one to worry about. I thought it would be enough to just quit chewing paint off the walls.
I`m not quite sure I understood the whole thing. So, they`re going to replace your old fillings with new plastics and give you a heavy-duty pill routine to help clear the stuff out of your system? I didn`t know about the poisoning and didn`t know that anything could be done after the fact. Hope it works out as well as possible.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

Had some mist in the middle of the park this morning which we rarely get here in Houston texas. Was neat seeing the floating mist from 100 yards away then entering it and watching my new light saber light beam.

Spotted two armadillos also right next to the bike trail, one was pretty large.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sightings last night: 

A guy kneeling is his garden, supervised by a black cat sitting nearby; 

A deer, staring at me go by; 

A guy in his 60's pushing his bike up my hill...Me: need anything? ...Him: No, I'm just getting too old for this...Me: Nah, we're getting too old not to do this. I looked back in a minute & saw him riding again.

Happy Flag Day!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Brian: get back to 100% soon, ok? In the meantime fill this board with long posts as much as you like, I enjoy your old man ramblings  I look forward to someday buying you a beer when I'm in your neck of the woods.

Todays ride was odd. The skies look omnious, as if a storm is coming. That's not unusual actually, but seeing other commuters with dark clouds above certainly is! I saw the roadie/messenger bag guy again, whom I've seen a few times before. The other guy was new. An older guy on a mountain bike with panniers. No waves, bell rings, or nods though. Maybe next time.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Good luck Brian. Did the problems just unexpectedly show up on some routine tests, or did you have some suspicions beforehand?

Rain for me. The whole week is supposed to be rainy (although the forecasts have been saying that for a few weeks now, and have been mostly wrong).


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Temps about 15 F lower very nice day so commuted to volunteer work and back.
> 
> Longish post. Please forgive.
> 
> ...


I was okay in all metals when tested but when they added up all the totals that exceeded the recommended value....So I had Chelation....

Basically take some pills for a while and your done...

That and some other naturapathic remedies have worked wonders to get my immune system back to where it should be.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Good rides today and yesterday for the most part, but the three weeks off the bike can kiss my ass. Good reason to be off the bike (had my second baby), but man its hard to get back into it after taking that time off.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Dalton said:


> Good rides today and yesterday for the most part, but the three weeks off the bike can kiss my ass. Good reason to be off the bike (had my second baby), but man its hard to get back into it after taking that time off.


Takes 6 weeks to make a habit, and 6 weeks to break a habit....well except addictions etc.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I'm with you Dalton...three weeks and now going for 4!!! ... I can't see when I'm going to be back though...the shower at the office isn't happening and I just can't think I'll be comfortable not taking one after my ride to the office.... a couple of weekend ride though...but nothing special...well, I end up in a cemetery one day (just passing by obviously  )

Hope you get well soon Brian! All the best for you on your recovery period...we want you on the Duchess soon!

I love your adventures with dogs xplorer, hope they behave well!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Bit of luck for me today.

I was looking for something that I could use to stiffen my panniers. They have a backplate that's plastic, but it's got a little too much flex in it, so occasionally the back corner will bounce into my spokes. It really only happens at one spot when I'm building speed to tackle a particular hill, but it's kindof annoying.

There's a little bit of space between the backplate and the fabric, so I think I should be able to slide something in. A small ruler would be the right size, but is too flexy. A tiny box section or I-beam would be great, but where am I going to find that? So I'm thinking threaded rod, maybe?

I work with a guy who is into RC planes and helicopters, and I figure he might have some interesting suggestions. I go to talk to him about it, and he just happens to a broken rotor blade sitting on his desk for some reason.



It's the perfect size, it won't cut or tear anything, and it's plastic reinforced with carbon fibre so it's light and strong. And he's got plenty more if I need them. Success!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Trying to make the best of a possibly bad situation. Colleague was considering taking up bicycle commuting and wanted to spend no more than $300 on a bike first just to try it out. Looked around on Craigslist and for some bikes, older mountain bikes or hybrids. I was looking out for anything STX-RC/Deore or SRAM 5 or better because I figured higher end bikes might last longer.

I found a nice size 21" Marin Eldridge Grade 1998 on Craiglist for $200 but it was sold by the time he got to the seller's place. Very sweet bike, $759 SRP in 1998 or about $1000 after adjusting for inflation to 2010. Bike looked clean, nice high res images looked like the bike was well taken care of or not ridden much. We're talking cromoly frame, STX-RC/LX drivetrain, though brakes are Avid 1, Mavic rims, and recently tuned. Very nice bike for $200, probably why it went so fast.

Without consulting me first, he looked on CL some more and found a 1997 Fisher Wahoo for $150 and bought it. This one was $330 SRP in 1997, $446 in 2010 dollars. Seller didn't let him test ride it and the bike is 17", a bit small for him...The bad, hi-ten steel frame, cables are rusted, some rust spots near the bottom bracket, rear derailleur out of adjust and throws the chain off the small cog, brakes look ok, but I won't be surprised if the pads are original from 1997. The bars wobble too (Something wrong with the headset? Seems like it might be dangerous too.). Bike is also Shimano Altus equipped, basically a step up from Shimano or Tourney branded components so I don't know how well they'll work. Suffice to say it needs work to get it going.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

From last month's cyclone, a fractured video or my bike ride. Cyclone worst just past power pole that leans. Between 2/3 and 75 % of trees in golf course and city park are history. A neighbor lost 12 mature trees off their 1.2 A lot. The very first house with the golf cart has a tree leaning on its roof. Few fornt yard trees were hit but that's moetly what's on here. About 25% of back yard trees lost maojor limbs or were downed. :cryin:

Computer issues processing the video held it up. It was a bumpy ride1 

http://img810.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Mly8

It's there but too big? Check tomorrow and cut in half if need be.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Looks like a pretty nice location where you live, but what a mess a cyclone can make!

Newfangled, corners catching on spokes has been a problem for me for a long time. At one point I tie wrapped a couple of aluminum rods to my carrier to keep the corners from rubbing spokes, which only happened at high speeds. I have a nice fancy set of new waterproof panniers now, had 1 mounted to a seatpost-mounted rack and the strap hooked onto the disc brake mount on my 29er due to a lack of braze-ons for a proper rack . Was great for a couple of weeks until it caught a spoke and wrecked the clip mount on the pannier itself. Tore the pannier right off Doh! I've been riding with a small MEC camelback pack and the seatpost carrier with a small pack on it since. I spend a bit of time packing clothes and lunch, its a tight fit.

I've been basically one-legging it to work and back, resting the my worst knee but heck I'm back to commuting every day. Had an MRI the other week, have a messed up meniscus and am deciding what to do about it. It occurred to me that since my last name is Legate (pronounced leg it) I'm 1-Legating it! haha bad joke.

Best of luck Brian! Crazy stuff, got me wondering what I have in my mouth.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Definitely summer.*

I hooked up the swamp cooler this week and haven`t heard the furnace kick on at all. Riding to work without any cold weather clothes whatsoever since Monday feels so liberating, it`s like riding naked. Strong winds every afternoon are a drag, but they`re a fact of life whenever the temps are up, so we`ll see them until October or November. Overnight lows are up to the point where I can plant my fragile anuals outside with very little fear of them freezing- wanted to do it earlier this week, but I got tied up with other stuff that couldn`t wait and didn`t get to the plants.

The cargo bike I`m helping a buddy with is on the road now. He`s been riding it SS for a few days. He gave up on trying to find a used 8-speed shifter and finally ordered one, along with an extra long brake cable and shifter cable, so he can get his cockpit set up and have gears when his order arrives. All that`s left for me on the project is one set of middle position rack struts, fabricate a chain idler pulley (the derailler pulley we used to begin with is very noisy), and possibly fab a custom center stand. Leo did some of the rack brazing last week, and it looks pretty good, so actually, he might do the struts himself- we`ll see how that works out.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Greetings from 33,952 ft. Traveling above Arkansas at 484 mph. Glad I'm heading home; hoping to fit in a ride tomorrow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Newfangled, corners catching on spokes has been a problem for me for a long time. At one point I tie wrapped a couple of aluminum rods to my carrier to keep the corners from rubbing spokes, which only happened at high speeds. I have a nice fancy set of new waterproof panniers now, had 1 mounted to a seatpost-mounted rack and the strap hooked onto the disc brake mount on my 29er due to a lack of braze-ons for a proper rack . Was great for a couple of weeks until it caught a spoke and wrecked the clip mount on the pannier itself. Tore the pannier right off Doh! I've been riding with a small MEC camelback pack and the seatpost carrier with a small pack on it since. I spend a bit of time packing clothes and lunch, its a tight fit.


My 29er doesn't have braze-ons either, so I've been using this rack from MEC:


Mounted to a clamp on the seat-tube and heavy-duty p-clips from Princess Auto:


At $30 the rack is pretty cheap, and it has the rear brace so panniers won't bounce into the wheel. It's not disc specific, but using p-clips moves it up and out of the way of the disc brake so there aren't any problems. I'm not 100% happy with the p-clips and feel the need to adjust them every few weeks, but for the most part it's a good setup.

My 26er hardtail has a different rack that doesn't have the rear brace, and that's where I get the bouncing into the spokes. Adding the rotor blade stiffener seems to be a huge improvement, though.

Good luck with the knee.


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## BaeckerX1 (Oct 19, 2007)

Got hit by a truck today on my morning commute into work by a clueless driver who turned right on red without stopping while I was in the crosswalk. Luckily it was slow speed and I didn't get knocked over or hurt. He finally stopped before I got pulled under his truck. I think I have a Toyota emblem embossed in my shoulder though. Scary stuff.

This was about a block from my apartment. I live in the burbs north of Denver. I swear the people in the suburbs are worse than the ones downtown. At least downtown they're looking for bikes and aren't completely oblivious. Thankfully most of my ride is on the bike path along the Platte River and I don't have to deal with many drivers. Whenever they're turning right, they only look left for oncoming traffic and never even glance to the right. :madman:

Despite that, I still had a great 15 mile ride in and nothing could damper my mood this morning. It was the first real ride on my new flat bar road bike (Giant Rapid 1). It's the perfect commuter and much better than the 29er hardtail MTB I was using. 

Of course now I have 4 bikes in my 1 bedroom apartment and need to sell one.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

*Thought I found a dead body...*

This morning inside the tunnel, I thought I was coming up on some debris they pulled out the traffic lanes (they always throw it in the walkway) then I saw shoes of someone laying across the walkway. This was a first, never have I run across someone in a noisy, dirty tunnel laying there - immediately I thought the guy might be dead. So, I called out "You ok man...?" thinking he wouldn't even respond but he sprung up quickly and started to say "No,..." and a lot of incoherent babbling as I scooted pass him.

Never a dull moment in that tunnel. It remains the most interesting part of my commute.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Zombie lying in wait?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

No commuting for me til Tuesday. I'm in Phoenix on vacation. Getting some trail riding in and drinking beer. its insanely hot, my body lost all of its acclimation since I moved away from here in september. Next time I'll come back in february!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Four out of five this week and I am pumped. Should have rode yesterday, but weather was unpredictable, so I decided to be a sissy and drive it. It was nice to have a day break anyway.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

5 in a row again....57 km added for fun


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

the shower is ready! I went to check out the bathroom again and the lock in the door nob isn't working...I won't delay this any longer, I'll buy one this weekend to change it on monday morning myself...first commute directly to the office :thumbsup: .... would be nice after a whole month with just two weekend rides!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Trail ride today, including Maple Twist, Enchanted Forest, Plum Creek, Pusherman, & Witch's Brew trails. Rode right from Spirit's mother's condo. Thunder the last 45 mins, a little shower, but started pouring as soon as we got back inside! Saw only 1 MTB'r & 2 hikers on 3hr ride. Pics are from the Enchanted Forest


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Glad you`ve found a way to get back to bike commuting, Martin! Good luck with the door knob.

Taaaall pines! Is the snow all melted around there, even on the shady slopes?

I got a nice long bent ride yesterday morning- a 60 mile road loop that I ride fairly often. Finally got the total time under 5 hours, making it the first time I`ve done it in a time comparable to what it takes me on my road bike. Of course, yesterday offered nearly perfect weather conditions, so it isn`t quite a fair comparrison, but it does give me hope that I might eventually get as "fast" on the bent as I am on my road bike. That isn`t saying much, though. Different kind of ride on the slate for today- as soon as my wife gets up and caffeinated, we`re taking the tandem up for a leasurely cruise on the bike path along Lake Tahoe`s west shore.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That's an impressive 'bent ride, Rodar, you've come a long way from your first tests in the warehouse. 

Snow's long gone here, I hiked up one of the 4000 footers (our biggest) & it was all green on top.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi all, 

Been getting ready for Oregon...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Excellent! But won't it take a lot of trips to build a concrete block shelter?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Still have a 16 inch wheel on that BOB, CB? I figured you`d up it to 29 the first day! Anyway, looking good, and you`d best not skimp on the report.

Tahoe didn`t go quite as planned, but still just as awesome as always. Due to a somewhat inconveniently located boil, my wife decided she`d prefer a seat to a saddle this time. I really was planning on the tandem so she could take it easy, I swear!


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

San Jose @ Lakewood by normbilt, on Flickr


The Day of Turtles by normbilt, on Flickr


Deer Ahead by normbilt, on Flickr


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey rodar, when did you built a bent for the wife?

great first commute in a month, took a new route directly to the office, 4.44 miles, fixed the door nob, took my shower, [email protected] I forgot my towel, had to use my shorts and some paper from the bathroom....was sited at my desk fresh and having breakfast 10 min before my check in time. :thumbsup: I can get use to this


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaain. It's been raining pretty consistently for the last few weeks, but this morning was my first real downpour of the year. Still a few other cyclists out, which was good to see.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Martin: Some guy in Taiwan built that `bent, not me . I bought it through Craigslist about a month ago, just to play with for a little while, then was going to resell it if my wife didn`t like it. Might get to keep it now 

Norm, that rolly dirt road looks very tasty. Is it closed to motor vehicles?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Bit of a surprise for me on the way home:



10 years of daily running or riding through the rivervalley, and I've never seen that before.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

hmmmm....paddlebike?...hope you got home OK.

Nice ride home, only took 1 bus & did 11.11 mi. and still got home earlier than usual since I didn't have to wait for that bus. 

This morning I felt foolish...I guess I was focusing on traffic beause I jumped in surprise when I saw a groundhog 1' away, his hind legs on the pavement, standing up and sampling some of the grass roadside.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Bit of a surprise for me on the way home:


Whoa! I don`t suppose you were able to ride through it? Did you have to make a huge detour?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I was honestly looking for trouble. I knew the water would be high through there, but I didn't think it would be that high. The crest was supposed to be today, though.


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Newfangled, you are holding us in suspense, did you swim with bike, or turn back?

In all seriousness, either choice is perfect because the outcome is commuting on bike which is what this thread is all about. Kudos!

Today's commute was on the trusty Kaitai which I had loaned to a co-worker who was relocating from WA to PA for the last few months. Using the road bike to commute was a good exercise, but I welcomed the return of panniers and ability to stuff the laptop. All is good as my 11 year-old son wanted to go for a ride on singletrack when I got home which the Kaitai was up to the task of some farily technical roots and stones.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Didn't realize there was suspense, but I just took a few shots and headed back the other way. The trail was probably under at least a foot of water, and from that spot it's a little over 500m to where it starts to gain elevation again. You also can't tell from the pic, but the river is basically flowing right down the trail. It's the highest I've ever seen the river, and the fastest too. 

We have very little development along the river, because a much more severe flood 100 years ago wiped out a lot of the early development, and after that everyone moved to the high ground. So this isn't going to cause much damage beyond some flooded basements, but I am curious to see what it will do to some of our low-lying trails.


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## Blueliner (Apr 5, 2010)

I took the more scenic route to avoid car traffic, which skirts the top rim of a gravel pit, and goes behind some newer houses, there is a new trail there, but still was breaking bush a lot. Someone discarded a big potted plant over their fence and it landed on the trail, you could not see it due to the weeds, of course it was really hard and I glanced it, bounced off and landed on a big pile of smelly mouldering grass clippings, gotta go...so off I went, a few short seconds later I broke through the trees and dropped into the gravel pit traversing the fall line where upon I found a really deep erosion gully...obscured in the weeds, needless to say it was the biggest OTB I have done yet, and landed on my already sore right shoulder (from yardwork). I sat for a few seconds and pondered why I bother to bike...and then off I went. Showed up for work 10 mintues late, covered in grass clippings, dust, my bike looked like the underside of my lawnmower, I am sure I was smiling, and I am sure people think I am nuts.

Blueliner


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Very entertaining report, blue. Hope your commute home goes more smoothly.

My ride in was unevenful, but a nice bluesky day and a brisk 48 F. The new rear brake pads I put on worked well & didn't even squeek. Was going to change the pedals too, but had trouble getting the old ones off, even with a pipe...perhaps a lunchtime trip to LBS for some extra muscle power. Less traffic than usual because I caught the earlier bus (there are only 3, each 1 hr apart). Should be upper 70's later, hope to skip thru any showers on my way to a friend''s for dinner & a swim in the pool at her condo.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

One more shot of the same trail, but from the other end this time:



And then to celebrate the summer solstice the bikeology festival put on a winter-cycling dialogue tonight. So I got to chat for a few hours with a dozen other folks about beating the snow and cold which will be upon us too soon.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Had a medical appointment in the morning that finished up early so I took the scenic back route to work along the water. 

Evening commute found me riding on on a MUP mottled with leaves wet by the sprinklers.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride to work from my friend's...nicer scenery, longer (18 mi) & a 3 mi uphill, then 5 mi down. Stopped for a pic of a S Duxbury church on this blue sky morning.


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## Dango Dog (Apr 26, 2005)

Several years ago I commuted to work almost daily on an old road bike which due to an injury I can no longer ride. I have since changed jobs and over 5 years later am working afternoons. Several months ago I really got back into mountain biking and decided that I wanted to commute again. I built a hardtail mountain bike, put a pair of Big Apple's on it and yesterday, for the first time in over 5 years, I commuted to work again. The ride is 8.5 miles each way of mostly city riding with work being about 300' lower than home. The ride in was busy but for the ride home, I was one of the only ones on the road. I can't think of a better way to unwind from a busy shift that to ride my bike home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We have either had horrible storms, winds gusting in the high 30's and above, of I have not felt up for it. Frustrating. It feels like winter riding. Aarrgh!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dango Dog said:


> I built a hardtail mountain bike, put a pair of Big Apple's on it and yesterday, for the first time in over 5 years, I commuted to work again.
> 
> I can't think of a better way to unwind from a busy shift that to ride my bike home.


Way to go! :thumbsup:


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## digital.aaron (May 16, 2011)

Finally got to ride my bike again today. I've been wrenching the bike the past few weeks and today was the first day it hasn't completely fallen apart on my as I rode away from home. 

However, the commute was not without its flaws. My drivetrain still has some kinks to be worked out. I dropped my chain in the middle of the woods (I take the "scenic" route to work). Luckily I had enough for thought to bring my tools and spare chain links with me this time.

All in all I was pretty satisfied today. I was really happy with my new brakes. I can't believe I got by with only the completely worn rear brakes. But they have new pads and cable, and have been joined by a new BB7 up front.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Last night, a minute before turning into the shopping ctr where I was meeting my friend to buy dinner stuff, a speedy roadie blew by. I saw him go into the same shopping center, & when I entered I thought I recognized him as a young guy from work, so I thought I'd say hi. As I pedaled closer, his girlfriend met him with a kiss, I'm like no biggie, I'll still say hi, but as I am closing in they are still in a liplock, too late to turn around now, and besides they'll be done soon... 50', 40', 30', 20' 10', still kissing, geez I'm gonna be embarrased, but if this is the wrong guy I'm gonna be really embarrased....yes I finally had to interrupt with a "hi". He recovered & gallantly introduced me .:blush:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Back on the horse! With vacation and very rainy days I haven't commuted in over a week. This morning I drove, but after meeting my wife and son for lunch I decided it was far too nice to drive back in. So I hopped on the Pugsley and pedaled back to work. Feels good to be riding around my town again, and not 108 degree Phoenix like on my vacation days!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

*Mini-pump recommendations?*

So my Planet Bike mini-pump has failed me when I needed it for the third straight time, and it never worked well in the first place, and it's just terrible with presta's...so it's time to replace it.

I'm thinking the lezyne alloy drive, which is pricey, but it also gets basically unanimous glowing reviews. It's also tiny and should fit in panniers with no problem.

Anyone have any other recommendations of what I should/shouldn't look for when I head to the shop? It needs to fit in panniers (I switch bikes too often to have it on the frame), so it needs to be under about 12".


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Ran into a freaky intersection that I don't really like...
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=94122...,-95.677068&sspn=43.983628,63.896484&t=h&z=20

The south side of 7th Ave has sharrows and the north side is Golden Gate Park. South bound traffic on 7th must turn right on to Lincoln but I need to go straight here and do so cautiously on a pedestrian walk signal. At the same time, west bound traffic on Lincoln gets a green left arrow so once I get to the other side I have to wait for car traffic to stop before I can merge back into the road.

I think this was done intentionally to prevent cars from using the road inside GG park as a shortcut or bypass to get on to 7th Ave. It's common to see cars lined up to 4th or 5th Avenue waiting to turn on to 7th.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy! Started pouring as soon as I left - but hey it's only water, and you can only get so wet. Only mistake was wearing white socks that will probably never be the same.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

@newf: the nicer the pump, the less you'll need to use it. Murphy's law. Planet bike will probably send you free replacement parts though, so send 'em an email.

Sunny, light breeze, and 70 degrees. Payday Friday. Ahhh good day. Started building a new wheelset for my cross check last night so I figured i'd ride that bike today on its stock wheels for one last time. Hopefully I can finish the build this weekend!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I have a Lezyne mini floor pump (like a Morph) that I like pretty well. It`s a very different beast from the one you`re looking at, but very stout and dependable- can`t imagine it ever failing. It`s also bulky compared to other "Morph" style pumps and not very comfortable on the hands- can`t say how the Alloy Drive compares to its competition, but I`d be surprised it it doesn`t pump every time you need it to.



mtbxplorer said:


> Soggy! Started pouring as soon as I left - but hey it's only water, and you can only get so wet.


...and you never have to shovel water 

Hot, dry, and windy in northern NV and adjoining areas of CA. I hate heat, and would much rather bundle up than be forced to endure hot afternoons, but summer mornings are a gift from the gods. Working in the yard, riding my bike, sitting on the back step, waking up in a desert campsite, or doing just about anything outside at 5AM and watching the sun come up this time of the year gives me enough pleasure to last up until its time to shovel stinkin snow again. Or at least enough to last until noon, when I start whining about the heat again.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Today makes 13 days in a row riding....I will ride a mountain ride tomorrow should be 353 km in 14 days pretty low, but most of them were pretty hard rides...

Time for a rest on Sunday...We plan to scramble up Yamnuska a near by mountain. Then back at it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Two tornadoes touched down within a mile of my house on Wednesday night. We didn't have any damage on my street, but a couple cars were overturned a couple blocks down. Our weather continues to be crazy.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I haven't been commuting lately because I haven't been going to work 

I was in Atlanta, GA last week, and this week I'm in Tahoe, CA. I did get out and play yesterday though. Took a 40 mile spin to some of the big climbs nearby. I did Brockway Summit (which was part of the abandoned first stage of the Tour of California this year) and is rated a cat 2 climb. I also did Donner Pass Rd., which was part of stage two of the TOC (would have been) and also a cat 2. Quite a lot of uphill but it was darn fun.

Donner Lake:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes s0ckeye! Glad the twister missed you. I'd hate to think what it would do to a bike if cars were turned over. Hope the weather improves.

Looks pretty scenic, Nacho, the commute won't be the same after that. I saw a lot of the TOC on TV & the hills were impressive!

Rain again on my way home. It was coming down the paved part of the hill in little waves, fascinating to watch. Left work early for a coworker's 40th, but kept it to 1 brew & the ride home (after 2 buses) was fine. Glad to be cozy & dry now. Trailwork tomorrow a.m., probably get rained on for that too but at least that leaves Sunday for yardwork.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

nachomc said:


> I was in Atlanta, GA last week, and this week I'm in Tahoe, CA. I did get out and play yesterday though. Took a 40 mile spin to some of the big climbs nearby. I did Brockway Summit (which was part of the abandoned first stage of the Tour of California this year) and is rated a cat 2 climb. I also did Donner Pass Rd., which was part of stage two of the TOC (would have been) and also a cat 2. Quite a lot of uphill but it was darn fun.


MMMmmm.... Donner. I love the rocky cliffs around there- can`t imagine how it must have made the immigrants feel to see what was ahead of them, though. Nacho, I don`t know what the climb cats are, but it seems strange to have Brockway and Donner Pass at the same rating. I`ve ridden Brockway, and it wasn`t hard at all. Donner Pass I`ve only driven, but it sure looks a lot tougher. Since you just finished riding both, are my impressions wanky?


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> MMMmmm.... Donner. I love the rocky cliffs around there- can`t imagine how it must have made the immigrants feel to see what was ahead of them, though. Nacho, I don`t know what the climb cats are, but it seems strange to have Brockway and Donner Pass at the same rating. I`ve ridden Brockway, and it wasn`t hard at all. Donner Pass I`ve only driven, but it sure looks a lot tougher. Since you just finished riding both, are my impressions wanky?


I think you're right. Brockway was fairly easy; the hardest part was the fast moving traffic and small shoulders.

Donner was tougher and much more mentally challenging. Rounding a corner and catching a view of another section of the road a few hundred feet up messes with you. The views of the area were amazing though, and it felt great being in that kind of beauty. Since I was a kid coming up here, the Donner area has always been my favorite.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Starting to look like my M-F commutes are much easier than when I have to go in on Saturday ro Sunday. M-F a 2 mi part of my primary route has 10 cars parked or moving on a busy day. Today that route was full of cars parked on both sides for the entire stretch. There were even cars entering a part of the road blocked off to cars except for a small opening for public transit. 

Some of the paths are gated but have candlestick posts to allow bicycles and pedestrians were blocked off by cars parked in front of them. Only way to get around them was to dismount and lift my bike over the gate; unless I can manage a waist high bunny hop or ride over the vehicles.

In another section there were cars lined up for probably 500-700ft queuing for a 4-way stop.

I incorporate Golden Gate Park into my route to get away from cars.

And I thought the Tai Chi'ers on MUP M-F were annoying...All the cars on weekend are 100 times worse.


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## jake01 (Sep 29, 2005)

Be careful out there.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

jseko said:


> Starting to look like my M-F commutes are much easier than when I have to go in on Saturday ro Sunday. M-F a 2 mi part of my primary route has 10 cars parked or moving on a busy day. Today that route was full of cars parked on both sides for the entire stretch. There were even cars entering a part of the road blocked off to cars except for a small opening for public transit.
> 
> Some of the paths are gated but have candlestick posts to allow bicycles and pedestrians were blocked off by cars parked in front of them. Only way to get around them was to dismount and lift my bike over the gate; unless I can manage a waist high bunny hop or ride over the vehicles.
> 
> ...


SF in the summer time. Anywhere on Embarcadero, near GG park, etc, on the weekends = packed.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Well, I have to go back to the real world tomorrow. The past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun, from team building and nights out with far away friends to mountain bliss. I usually log in to work the last day of vacation but I refuse to do that today. I shall let the hundreds of email lie in wait until the morning.

The good news is that I get to start riding more again. I have a new pannier/messenger bag (Timbuk2 Tandem Pannier) that I test rode around the block. It seems nice and solid; we'll see how she does tomorrow morning .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Quite a road ride for me yesterday morning. I`m not sure what my record time was before, but I must surely have beaten it this time. I did my 62 mle loop in 4:05 total, which gave me 16.0 MPH avg rolling speed with 16 minutes break time. I dunno what`s gotten into me- I never cared much before how long it took me, now I`m suddenly fixated on doing it faster. 16 MPH is NOT an average that I normally see for a ride farther than my local convenience store.



nachomc said:


> I think you're right. Brockway was fairly easy; the hardest part was the fast moving traffic and small shoulders.


If you get another chance up there, 89 has way more shoulder (slightly less traffic too, I think) than Brockway. Might help unless you have some extra reason to go towards Kings Beach rather than Tahoe City. Old 40 is on my list- hopefully I`ll hit it this fall, after the summer tourists leave and before the shoulders get covered by plow berms and sand. Did you ride over the top and down to Cisco Grove?


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Did you ride over the top and down to Cisco Grove?


No, I didn't have the time. I told my wife 3-4 hours. This was our first vacation as a family (with the baby and all!) and while she wouldn't have minded much if I were later, I wanted to keep to my commitment.

However, I'm glad I didn't have the time. Riding through the Martis Valley on 267 back to Northstar was windy and I was suffering. Had I added 20 miles or so to that ride, along with the additional climbing, I probably would have been phoning for pick up. Next time I would like to do Donner Pass Rd all the way out, and won't do Brockway to kick things off . Then again, if there isn't so much snow at higher elevation and on the most fun trails, I might bring my mountain bike .


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

nachomc said:


> SF in the summer time. Anywhere on Embarcadero, near GG park, etc, on the weekends = packed.


Yer... to be fair though it's not just cars being obnoxious. Families of bicyclist riding 5 abreast are pretty annoying too. Give them two meters of space and they still get mad because mom can't figure out how not to suddenly swerve into me or watch where she's going.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Last night my wife asked me to check tthe weather to see if it was safe to put the cloth diapers outside to dry, instead of running them through the dryer. The radar looked fine, so we put them outside. Of course it rained all night long. Whoops! Glad I put my fenders back on, otherwise I would have been a mess! There were giant puddles all over the MUP on the ride in this morning. So much for keeping my newly built wheels clean! But at least I got to try out the new brake pads (KS Salmon) in the wet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Aaarggh! It must be Monday. I left a bit late but rode hard and 11 mi later was pleased to see 4 people waiting at the bus stop. But no, the driver had left early, stranding us. This is a "commuter' bus, so people really rely on it, so there is no excuse to leave before the scheduled departure time, partuclularly since the next bus doesn't come for an hour. Calls to dispatch resulted in arguing with someone unfamiliar with the schedule, and finally a supervisor coming to pick us up. But no, the bike would not fit in the small SUV hatch, even with the front wheel off. By this time I had wasted another 15 minutes at least, and finally just rode the rest of the way (another 11mi). After work I am riding to a friend's, no bus option that way, so will be another 13 or 18 mi.

At least it is a nice day, though the fog was thick enough to have to wipe off my glasses a few times to see. Only 48F when I left, but low 80's by after work.

Of course a couple dodos also cut me off after not stopping at stop signs. One realized his mistake when he then went to turn right almost immediately after cutting in front of me. He clearly remembered seeing me, since he stopped and waited for me to (cautiously) pass on his right before he turned, so he gets partial credit, maybe next time he will not cut someone off.


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## wvmtb (Jan 16, 2004)

Wasn't all that enjoyable this morning. I had an encounter with an IDIOT coal truck driver. Instead of passing me while I’m hugging the while line on a straight stretch (with no cars coming) he decides to blow his horn nonstop until we get to a blind turn only to decide to pass then. Running me and the truck coming the other direction off the road. I show him a selected finger and get back on the road go around the turn then another driver from the same trucking company starts to do the same thing. This time I decide to take the lane and make him wait until I thought it was safe to pass. At least he was smart enough to wait until no cars are coming on a straight stretch to pass me.
BTW this happened just while I was cruising along about 20mph in a 25mph zone. Really? He couldn’t wait for a few hundred feet to pass or pass when he had a “safe” chance.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

^^ I hate that. A few times I have had someone coming the opposite direction and overtake another vehicle coming straight at me. You're JRA and suddenly !!!!! ugh.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I hate the passers on the highway with me on the shoulder as they tend to give me less clearance than overtaking traffic, often almost to my fog line about 2' away with closing speed pushing towards 90 mph. Fenders fix, dead doesn't.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

OK. First days back from vacation _SUCK_.

The ride in this morning was nice though. It was the first time using my new Timbuk2 panniers and they were great. Better than what I had previously. There was a bit of a headwind but I guess I should just be used to that by now.

Funny stuff when I got to work:

I ride up the walkway to our building towards the bike rack and there are a bunch of people working on this side of the building and a caution tape blocking the entry towards the bike rack. OK, I'll go around to the other side. I get to the other side and that entry is roped off too. Bike parking is indoors today  The funny part was when I headed in to the break room to put my afternoon bottle in the fridge and someone has posted a bike commuter brochure on the wall. That's new, I'm one of maybe three people in the building who ride and of course it was funny since they had the bike racks inaccessible. It would be cool if more people started to ride; I have been trying to get bike lockers for some time but they just don't have a budget for bike lockers for the one weird guy who rides his bike instead of driving .

And now all I can think of is riding home tonight. The middle part of the day is going to suck .


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Quite a road ride for me yesterday morning. I`m not sure what my record time was before, but I must surely have beaten it this time. I did my 62 mle loop in 4:05 total, which gave me 16.0 MPH avg rolling speed with 16 minutes break time. I dunno what`s gotten into me- I never cared much before how long it took me, now I`m suddenly fixated on doing it faster. 16 MPH is NOT an average that I normally see for a ride farther than my local convenience store.


That's a long ways to keep that speed up. :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JAG410 said:


> Glad I put my fenders back on, otherwise I would have been a mess!


Hope you had more diapers, otherwise JUNIOR`s going to be a mess 

That sucks, WV. Putting a rider in danger is bad enough, but what do they think the horn is going to accomplish?

Thanks, Xplorer. I don`t know if it`s a passing phase with me or something that I`ll be able to cure myself of before I write a big fat check for a sportier bike. Time will tell.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

¡that's rodar rapido!

hey guys...busy days... last week I just had that one day of bike commuting... had to travel to DF a couple of days...was nice to see a bunch of commuters near the office I was visiting...even a foldie, I think it was a Dahon....while there, the guy who commutes here with me, skype me to tell me his bike was stolen from the parking zone of one of our buildings...It sucks, mostly because I told him the day before I went to DF that that spot wasn't too safe and that he should keep the bike where we used to park... he is thinking on getting a new one... the chances to recover his bike around here are close to none...I'm having a lot of work these days...today I use our car....everything is ready to bike commute tomorrow..hopefully I'll do it the rest of the week.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Last night we did the family ride that the LBS hosts. I put the ibert seat on my pugsley and rode with my son as my wife followed on her bike. 12.5 miles on the road, on a fatbike, with an extra 28lbs up front is more tiring that I thought! Coupled with a late bedtime, I didn't want to get out of bed at all today. It was one of those "drinking coffee in the shower" mornings. Running late, still half awake, I looked at my Subaru and thought..."nah". Hopped on the Xtracycle and cruised in, hoping the sunshine and nice weather would make my morning go a bit better. So far so good, but I'd gladly take a nap at my desk if I could get away with it


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

20 years of biking and it finally happened a few days ago. I got nicked by a car. Thankfully nothing bad really but I have a few nice looking bruises plus what seems to be some bruised ribs also. The bike came out well, it looks like all I need is my rear wheel retrued and retensioned. The car has a nice little dent in it now. It was a girl turning right flat out not looking at the intersection, she was looking left. Lesson learned for me, never ever trust drivers. Thankfully a relatively painfree and cheap lesson for what could have been really bad. Be safe everyone.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Bummer Toff. Glad you're ok and the bike can be saved. The important of making eye contact with drivers can't be stressed enough sometimes. I'd get hit everyday if I didn't make sure that the cagers see me!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

More unstable weather today. Originally predicted rain starting around 10 AM with thunderstorms this afternoon. The last time I dared it to thunder/rain on me, mother nature responded with "Challenge Accepted" and then gave it her all. So today I decided to drive.

And then the rain got pushed out to this afternoon, probably until after I would have been home <sigh>. Has anyone seen summer?


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

nachomc said:


> Has anyone seen summer?


I have, we have been breaking record highs left and right where I am.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Toff said:


> I have, we have been breaking record highs left and right where I am.


It has been very goofy here. We had 100 degree temps last week, then this week 70s and rain, opening up to high 90s by Thursday. It's July dangit, I shouldn't have to remember to bring my rain jacket to work. I live in California!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

JAG410 said:


> The important of making eye contact with drivers can't be stressed enough sometimes. I'd get hit everyday if I didn't make sure that the cagers see me!


For some reason I often have problems making eye contact when I'm on the bike. I can't really describe it, but sometimes I just can't see into the car well enough to really see the driver. I can only compare it to driving, and if I'm at a 4-way stop in a car then I never have a problem getting a quick eye-lock with the other drivers. But on a bike it's sometimes more like a best-guest.

I'm going to have to pay more attention to figure out exactly what's going on. I'm higher up so I get more glare off their windshield? The sunglasses that I ride with aren't polarizing? I'm further forward relative to the stopline so they are hidden behind their front pillar? I look around a lot more when I'm riding, instead of focusing on the other drivers? And now I'm sure I sound crazy.

In other news, I saw my first mountain unicycle on the weekend. I was climbing some gravel doubletrack and there was a rider coming downhill towards me who looked sort of...off. He was all arms and knees flailing everywhere, and it took me a few seconds to figure out what I was seeing. Once I clued it, it was pretty impressive to watch.

Glad you're okay, Toff.


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## poundCake! (Jun 28, 2011)

Today (also the day I joined this wonderful forum) was the 2nd time I've taken a spill in the city. I just had to have my porchetta sandwich and hit the road during my lunch break AND shortly after an intense rain fall. My tires are slicks and I hit the brakes on a street with construction, spun out and took out three pylons and rolled into a ditch. Thankfully, I spun out towards the road and not in front of traffic.

A few cuts on my ankle and hands a few more scratches to my bike. But I still got to my pork sandwich and it was damn well worth it the end. I'll just be a little bit more mindful after it rains.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ve never seen offroad unicycling except on YouTube. It does look awfully impressive.



Toff said:


> The bike came out well, it looks like all I need is my rear wheel retrued and retensioned. The car has a nice little dent in it now.


Bike okay, car dented. Pretty good deal except for the bruises 

Welcome, Poundcake. Sounds like a rough lunch break- hope it goes better tomorrow.


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## coupon (Jun 20, 2007)

my commute was awesome today


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning right off I had a black cat cross my path - and it didn't race out of the road like most cats, it careened downhill away from me at a diagonal in the opposing lane, freaking out at this bike in hot pursuit, until it finally got out of the road. Ironically, about 10 miles later, another animal crossed my path - this time a fieldmouse!

On the way home, s l o w l y up my hill, a pickup truck stopped way back at a sidestreet stop sign, the "I see you & shall let you pass" signal. And sure enough he did, adding a not-unfriendly "that looks like hard work" to which I could only nod twice & hear his fading laughter in reply. Broke into the 6.0 mph avg mark on the 3.5 mi trip uphill. "Harley" the giant rottweiller who amazingly put on the brakes at the last second and barely avoided crashing into my front wheel last year as I sped by downhill, obeyed his mistress and stayed in the yard tonight. 

Martin, too bad its been so busy for you, hope it lets up soon. Too bad about your co-commuter's bike too!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

last night... a pouring rain just after my commute home..phew..
this morning... a guy crossing the street looking down...I keep rolling expecting he would look up eventually...didn't happen...I skid break very close  ( it was extra noisy couse the pad/rims did that metal noise they do when the contact is a bit wet)

yeah xplorer, bad...weird thing, last night on my way home I saw a parked bike...the exact bike model my friend had...I went back after passing by and checked it...it was too scratchy and used to be his.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Going 8mph is awesome! Thirty-Seven mile per hour headwinds suck! Luckily it was for only half the distance home, but still it was the first half, and that really sets the tone for the evening. Especially when it's hot and muggy, and the promise of yardwork is awaiting upon arrival at home. Joy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I hear you, Jag. We get those nasty winds around here sometimes and they make for the worst riding conditions ever. Are you in the flood area again?



martinsillo said:


> I keep rolling expecting he would look up eventually...didn't happen...I skid break very close  ( it was extra noisy couse the pad/rims did that metal noise they do when the contact is a bit wet)


So, did he jump when he finally heard you? I scared a jogger a few weeks ago. I shifted up, then down in the seconds before I caught up to her, just to make some noise so she wouldn`t be startled. No earphone thingies, but she must have been lost in her own world cause she jumped and let out a little scream when I went by, even though I gave her several feet of space 

It was raining a little bit last night and when I went in this morning- just enough to get my shirt damp. The rail stopped completely soon after, but it sure made for a nice cool day. The best part was no afternoon wind.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I hear you, Jag. We get those nasty winds around here sometimes and they make for the worst riding conditions ever. Are you in the flood area again?


I can handle cold and heat, but a mean headwind just takes all the fun out of riding. I'm safe from the floods. They are still clearing up the mess from our floods back in April, but Bismarck and Minot will take years to recover from their current flooding situations. My company has offices in both of those cities and at least 3 employees in each office has lost their home to the floods. Sad stuff indeed.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

JAG410 said:


> Going 8mph is awesome! Thirty-Seven mile per hour headwinds suck! Luckily it was for only half the distance home, but still it was the first half, and that really sets the tone for the evening. Especially when it's hot and muggy, and the promise of yardwork is awaiting upon arrival at home. Joy.


That sounds awful.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

This morning was fun: I got a flat tire 3 miles in. That ate up my buffer time to shower and such before a 9 AM meeting so I sat outside when I got to the office and took my meeting from my cell phone. Facilities is doing work in the bike rack area, and it has been inaccessible this week so I have had desk parking. Of course, as I exited the locker room with my bag on the rack, clothes in one hand (from a hanger) and pushing the bike, the whole thing tipped and I dropped everything, right in front of the vendor reps I had visiting today. Nice.

The ride home was uneventful, which is good. I had a slight headwind but traffic was light, even though I left late. One of my favorite things happened just after passing the day care my daughter attends and I saw my wife pushing the stroller home. I love riding up and seeing the smile on my little girls face when she sees me.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Beautiful day today with the temperature around 25C. But about half an hour before hometime the black clouds rolled in. And I got drenched. But today was the second last day of bike month, so I also got to stop in for a smoothie on the way home. "Come into the tent to get out of the rain" they said. "It won't make a difference" I replied. But it was warm, and I was on my (basically maintenance-free) singlespeed, so it was all good.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^ Can`t say it invites me to ride, but it sure is beautiful!
Dark, light, dark, green, RAINBOW


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Had to wait a bit yesterday to go home....rain caught me at the office this time.
Arlene is arriving to Mexico...we should expect some rain in the next days
nice commute this morning.



rodar y rodar said:


> So, did he jump when he finally heard you? I scared a jogger a few weeks ago. I shifted up, then down in the seconds before I caught up to her, just to make some noise so she wouldn`t be startled. No earphone thingies, but she must have been lost in her own world cause she jumped and let out a little scream when I went by, even though I gave her several feet of space


yeah this guy was thinking who knows what too....the jump wasn't so biggie though, or not as much as I would like to :devil: ...he react and apologize... I smiled and kept going.

that's one of the street used to get out my residential area and its full of parked cars on each side...at the right moment if you are distracted and get in walking from one side you are going to be in front of a car for sure...I'll bring a pic tomorrow.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

world hasn't been good. keep riding though.
for some reason I can't explain, I strapped the helmet to my satchel on the way home.
headphones on, music blasting, hair in the wind. 
don't think I've ever had the 56 spinning under me and I didn't have my skidlid on. 
felt good.
felt free.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I'm back on dogsitting duty so I'm not bikecommuting, but we had an exciting walk yesterday morning - too exciting. Walking on the snowmobile trails, Spirit (the black dog pictured here before) started zigging and zagging with her nose to the ground. Suddenly a fawn with all the spots burst onto the trail with Spirit in hot pursuit. She's seen deer before and is good about coming back after giving chase for 30secs or so. But this little fawn she was catching up with, I was afraid it would get hurt as it let out a bleat for its mother. They were in the trees/brush so I couln't see very well. Then the doe ran out, in hot pursuit of Spirit & her fawn, Now I was worried about Spirit getting stomped or something. Everyone ignored my yelling, there was some barking too. The doe took off as a decoy and got Spirit to chase her, which was good. The fawn was not visible but I hoped OK. Spirit came back and we turned back for home, But the doe had circled around somehow and gave a bleat to call the fawn and that started the chase again. FInally we mdae it home and hopefully doe and fawn were reunited.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My commutes have been pretty decent. The weather has been pretty nice in the mornings. Construction crews have almost completed a pedestrian/bike trail that will help me avoid the only busy section of my commute (a spot I labeled the most likely place for a fatal accident). They dropped a bridge in across the creek and have paved the whole thing.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

after two perfect commutes to home...last night, I got home soaked...car ride today.
apparently we are going to have our little Alex with Arlene this year 
it hasn't stop raining 

interesting experience xplorer!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fatbike Fatback Friday!!! Nothing like a couple miles of singletrack to start a morning commute to work!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That does sound pretty exciting, Xplorer! Sure hope the deer were okay. You have white tails there?

@Sockeyeus: Whoohoo! Besides giving you an alternative to getting run over, you get a cool new feature for your route- I love riding over ped bridges.

Martin, I hope you don`t get as much damage as the last time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yep, just whitetails here in VT. Today the Fish & Wildlife Dept said it was getting a lot of reports of "orphaned" fawns, but that the mothers typically just leave them hidden for a while. It said they have no scent for the first 2 weeks so predators can't find them easily. I don''t know how any animal could have no scent, but maybe this one was over 2 weeks because the dog definitely smelled it first.

Jordy, that looks fun - almost fun enough to foget about work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Jordy's post reminded me: Fatbike Fantasy: I mounted a Plescher stand, so I reworked the fenders with salvaged stays to follow the 38 mm Michelin in the back better. So I was feeling well enough to test ride it and after a few laps around the neihborhood I took it onto the golf course cart paths. I figured it would stand in for some roots and stuff as a crude test of light trail duty. Well I'll need to explore snake bite pressure limits because the frost induced dips were something. Started hallucinating about how 20 pounds in a fat bike would be really sweet to tear up those paths.  :thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No commute for me, since it's Canada Day here in the frozen north. Did ride down to the festivities, though, which included roadies doing laps around the provincial legislature building.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

nachomc said:


> Donner Lake:


Sierra Buttes:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Delete.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

3 hour trailride for the 4th, and didn't see a soul on the trails. The dog was braver than I on these bridges. The swoopy trail pic is a ribbon of bare granite.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Today marks my 100th bike commute of the year! Its muggy and windy today after last night's storms. The tornado sirens went off about 6 times and I didn't get to bed until late. Today is going to be long! The coffee is working miracles this morning. 

@mtb: that trail looks awesome!


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## Grubel (May 31, 2011)

Been riding to work for the last 5 weeks. I feel better than I have in years, partly from the exercise and partly from saying eff you to the gas station. 
Yelled at an armadillo this morning, great to be back after an extended weekend.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

please xplorer don't forget the good camera on your bike-car-packing trip! 

back today after the rainy days, this morning almost got hit by an old guy...he was coming wrong way in a intersection...I assumed he saw me and since he was doing wrong he was going to be cautious when entering the (my) street...not...he just keep going....I change to the other lane just to see him passing very close to my pannier...when I was on his window I saw him and didn't even try to yell or something...he was really old...I just hope to get to that age and recognize I shouldn't be moving a 2 Ton metal thing around.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I crossed 3000 commute miles today, 84 commuting days. Whoo-hoo. Beautiful morning to commute here in the Seattle area. Sun was rising, temp was right around 60 degrees and Mt. Ranier was out as I pedaled down the MUP.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> please xplorer don't forget the good camera on your bike-car-packing trip!
> 
> back today after the rainy days, this morning almost got hit by an old guy...he was coming wrong way in a intersection...I assumed he saw me and since he was doing wrong he was going to be cautious when entering the (my) street...not...he just keep going....I change to the other lane just to see him passing very close to my pannier...when I was on his window I saw him and didn't even try to yell or something...he was really old...I just hope to get to that age and recognize I shouldn't be moving a 2 Ton metal thing around.


Wow Martin, glad he didn't take you out! :thumbsup:At first I thought you meant a wrong-way biker, not a wrong-way driver - yikes!  I had a close call with a wrong-way driver, but I was driving North on the highway at the time @ 65 mph (Superbowl Sunday) & he was driving South in what was supposed to be the passing lane. Just as straight as can be but going the wrong way! 911 kept us on the phone & let us know they were able to pull him over before an accident.

I sent a friend that blurry dog pic & he said it looked like something found after a MTB'r disapppeared on the trails...the last known recorded image taken by the missing biker! On my trip I will definitely remember the good camera because there is no cell service in the park so I will leave that behind.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I was following another commuter during overcast evening commute. His PBSF is quite visible even at about 1000 ft and caught my attention way before his yellow jacket. The main LED is quite noticeable, the two smaller ones were not noticeable until about 50 to 100 ft.

Guess I'm not the only one out there running my blinkies during the day.

Morning commute was very foggy. Some sections only allowed about 100 to 150 yards visibility. About only 15% of other commuters had their front and rear blinkies on. I could see the blinkies even before I saw them through the fog.

My commute is in reverse commute direction compared to most others in the area so I see a lot more people going the opposite direction; automobiles included.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

3000 commute miles in half a year- awesome, Woodway!

"....when I was on his window I saw him and didn't even try to yell or something...he was really old...I just hope to get to that age and recognize I shouldn't be moving a 2 Ton metal thing around."
Remember what his car looks like, Martin. If you don`t stay out of his way, you probably won`t make it to his age 

Last week of day shift, last week I can commute without lights. I`ve been using the lawnchair for my main commuter for a few months now and it`s really done wonders for getting my legs "bent into shape". Maybe going all out for a short distance (13 to 15 minutes) once per day is something like interval training? Any rate, I`ll be back to The Mighty Schwinn next week. Wonder if I`ll have "lost it" on that bike affter riding mostly recumbent? I guess I`ll know soon enough. Hopefully the occasional tandem outing has been enough to keep me up to snuff.


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## torQ! (Oct 18, 2010)

I knocked off 10 min from my previous best on the morning commute lol. I'm not sure how I pulled that off. 48 min to 38 min, averaged 13+ mph.

I hate how tight my legs feel at the start of the ride though, the first 1-2 miles can be real painful trying to climb hills and just maintain speed. Other than that, pretty hot but at least I had a good breeze to keep me cool. Nothing but sunshine today. I crossed 400 miles on the year, trying to break 1000 miles in 2011.

I also picked up some road tar somewhere at the end of my ride home, I'm wondering if it flicked off the tire from the fresh asphault I rode through about half way through the ride. Getting tar on the back of your knee isn't fun, it sticks and tears on each pedal stroke and it took some gojo to clean it off.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

torQ! said:


> I knocked off 10 min from my previous best on the morning commute lol. I'm not sure how I pulled that off. 48 min to 38 min, averaged 13+ mph.


no lights this time?....if get all mines in red (5 each way) I'm sure adding 6 or more minutes to my commute 

Congrats Woodway!

:lol: rodar...I was paying special attention at the intersection today ;p

I don't know why but this morning my rd wasn't working properly:


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Congrats on 3k! Yowser, that would take me years to achieve with my short commute here.

Rode my mountain bike to work day before yesterday for the hell of it. Funny how comfortable it feels and I wanted to play more (jumping off curbs and such). The extra spin (38T vs 48T) being a single-speed was a bit much but ironically it took me near the same time to get work. I used to think I was more comfortable on the MTB frame, but pedaling street on rigid single-speed with 2.2 off-road tires gets on your nerves after a while.

I am thinking of riding it at Critical Mass on Sunday. They go so slow anyway it shouldn’t be a big deal.

Sorry, I have not been on here much lately, I am still commuting and riding lots.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Congrats on 3k woodway! Impressive! 

Nice cassette Martin!

My commutes have been uneventful. Riding the crosscheck, unloaded, in "road mode". Super quick and comfortable. Training for the MS150 by getting in long rides on the weekends, so I'm usually too tired/lazy to put the racks/fenders/big tires back on for commuting.


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## torQ! (Oct 18, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> no lights this time?....if get all mines in red (5 each way) I'm sure adding 6 or more minutes to my commute


I suppose that could have something to do with it. 43 minutes this morning, I have been rolling through stop signs if there is no one around.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

New commute today. The construction on a new path was completed. I will now avoid all but one traffic light. It will be nice to not worry about getting over into the left turn lane. Plus, my commute this morning was a couple minutes faster.


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## BigE610 (Oct 24, 2007)

just wanted to brag about finding a new route to work this afternoon. I was getting pretty bummed out by all the road construction on my way to work. I pulled up google maps and saw that there was a mowed grass path from a county preserve conecting it to a subdivision. this wasnt on the county map so i decided to check it out. it was great not to have to worry about getting killed in a work zone. only added a mile to my commute and i can ride MUP's for about 70% of my ride now!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Haven't ridden any bikes since Monday morning. Summer colds suck.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Bummer nacho! Hope you get better soon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

martinsillo;
I don't know why but this morning my rd wasn't working properly:
[ATTACH said:


> 624397[/ATTACH]
> View attachment 624398


Are you having trouble getting into _hay _gear?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Are you having trouble getting into _hay _gear?


Boooooo! To the lions with ya!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I just don't get the joke 
please someone explain it to me!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> I just don't get the joke
> please someone explain it to me!


Sorry, I wondered if that would translate! It was a pun because of all the grass on your gears, which looks like the hay you feed to cows, and "hay" kind of sounds like"high" gear. OK, now it seems totally unfunny....sorry again, puns always produce groans, as Rodar noted.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Drove today. Savings my legs for a 45 mile charity ride tomorrow. Happy Friday!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...and "hay" kind of sounds like"high" gear...


now I get it...my bad english play tricks on me often.

for general culture and if you guys ever get down to Venezuela...hay translate to "paja" and paja has a couple of uses there....the "light" one is when someone is talking nonsenses or telling lies... then you say that person "is talking hay" or "that guy is a hay talker"
"esta hablando paja" or "ese tipo es un habla paja"

so the most common use is "no seas un habla paja" when addresing someone

it is the best way to translate BS in Vzla I think

ok class dismissed 

oh and that doesn't apply here in Mexico.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I almost "cooked a goose" today. Really. There was a family of Canadian Geese on both sides of the MUP. I approached them doing about 19MPH when one goose decided to cross the trail right in front of me! Locked up my back brake and just managed to avoid hitting him. He was a big sucker, and it would have ended badly for both of us...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It looks like my bikecommute can re-start a week from tomorrow, as my dogsitting duties should end by then. IN the meanwhile we've been having fun on the trails. Saturday was trailwork, Spirit listened attentively to the instructions,(next to me with the safety triangle) but she took some convincing that the guys were wielding sledgehammers for good, not for evil. Then today on a trailride, she saw a deer and sped off at turbo speed, and sped back at the same speed within a minute, almost colliding with me as we both sailed over a blind roller from opposite directions, A quarry swimming hole was just ahead, and there a teenager told me he just saw a deer run across the granite blocks on the opposite side of the quarry, only to realize it was a dead end unless it jumped 50'+ down to the water. He said it turned around when it got to the edge. The deer must have dropped Spirit before then, he didn't see her.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

so..last Thursday I went to play some Futsal after work, I was coming back after 6 year and with at least 15 Kgs more from my better days...the adrenaline let me play 20-25 min of intense futsal at a tournament that was on going, which wasn't my plan, I just wanted to play some light game but one team needed people and I went for it...on friday morning my knee was like it wasn't there...I had a weird feeling like my right leg ended on my knee...last time I had something similar, but not as bad as this time...I'm not going to be riding for a week at least and I'm officially on a strict diet...10 Kg have to go (at least)... I really like Futsal and would like to play again without pain one of these days.

It took me 3 years to find where to play and now this happen 
weird in a soccer friendly country


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just got back from my first 200K . 
I finished the bulk of my ride and was back into my home turf still lacking mileage, so I took a few extra long detours to pad it out a bit for a total distance of 125.4 miles (201.8 KM). Timewise, I was doing pretty well at the 100 mile mark, with a rolling time of 6:15 and only 43 minutes off bike. But I kept having to stop and rest my aching feet for the last part, so ended up with over an hour off bike and not quite 8 hours rolling time. Even with the extra breaks in the last few hours, I`m still very happy with the ride overall. Time for a shower, a feast, and a nap- my first night back on graveyard is tonight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats, Rodar, that is a long ride...and then work  Hope you didn't fall asleep on the job. 

Martin, that doesn't sound good at all, hope you can feel your knee now and that it's not hurting too bad.

Was catching up on the Tour de France this a.m., and there was an unbelievably inexcusable accident where a car tried to pass 5 riders in a breakaway, and veered into one when the driver tried to squeeze by a tree. The 1st rider went down hard on the pavement, and another rider sailed cartwheeling into a barbed wire fence. Both got back on their bikes but looked to be in a lot of pain. It was totally like a commuter accident by a dodo driver...except maybe for the speed they were travelling beforehand.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Another gorgeous day here, felt great to just cruise on in and enjoy it. I crossed 200 miles for July already, on pace to shatter my mileage goal for the year by then end of the month! 

I did see another commuter today, the same one I've seen a couple times. Today I went the longer route and came up behind him. Still no close enough to say hi or anything, but we saw each other. One of these days we'll cross paths.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I scared the crap out of another rider this morning. Not on purpose of course. He was pedaling down the center of the MUP, just noodling along - must have been in his own little world. I came up behind him and when I got within earshot called out "on your left". No reaction. I called again, louder "On Your Left" and still no reaction. Now I am almost on top of him, getting ready to hit the brakes and this joker is just kind of weaving back and forth across the path. Right behind him, I call for the third time "ON YOUR LEFT" and moved to pass him. I saw him startle and as I moved past him heard him let our a startled "ohwoo".

I felt bad that I startled him, but holy smokes you got to pay attention and ride to the right - not down the center.

Otherwise just another ordinary commute. About 60 degrees this morning, warmer than usual.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's really hot here. This morning the temp started off around 83F with a dew point above 80, which means it was miserable. It's not a good sign when there's fog and temps are in the 80's. This afternoon we're supposed to have a heat index of 110+. The humidity is not a whole lot of fun.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yeah. I remember that feeling. One hundred plus degrees in the shade and you can't see the horizon though it is the Great Plains or 'Big Sky Country' because there is so much moisture close to the ground that everything is foggy maybe 500-1000 feet away. You could see up just fine. Weird. If clouds came over that dropped distance fast to 100-250 feet. Rode cotton then. Obviously not too far.  Commute was about 2.5 miles and I'd look like someone had thrown me in the pool when I got home. Rode in just after dawn so it was sticky, but air conditioning soon chilled it off me. I like to remember that when freezing my butt off cycling in winter.:thumbsup:


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## sortie39 (Jul 14, 2011)

not bad and ready for getting back to my highschool time.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday was a strange day. I was a couple inches away from getting doored by my boss's mom as I pulled into work. That would have been awkward. It would have been my fault though for being too close.

On the way home, a woman tried to run me over from behind. I actually got a bit shaky after that one. I could not figure out what she was trying to do, but obviously it didn't involve moving over into the next lane to try to pass safely. We both had to slam on our brakes and had a brief exchange through her passenger's side window. I have no idea what she said, but hopefully she'll be more careful next time. The irony of it all is that she ended up in a line of traffic, while I breezed by her in the left turning lane.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Went downstairs to get my bike for the ride to work this morning and the back tire was flat. Uggh, what a crappy way to start the day. Pulled the tube out and inflated it but the leak was not obvious. Checked the tire inside and outside and could not find anything obvious that would have caused a flat. Out of time, I just threw another tube in and rode to work...I'll figure out what happened and patch the tube tonite. First flat in about 4500 miles. On the bright side - at least I got to change the tire at home and not on the side of the road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> On the way home, a woman tried to run me over from behind. I actually got a bit shaky after that one. I could not figure out what she was trying to do, but obviously it didn't involve moving over into the next lane to try to pass safely.


What happened? Were you at a stop or just not rolling along as fast as she was?

Last night I had a rerun of an incedent that happened to me (more like around me, really) several months back. Two lanes each way with a canal between them, a little bridge over the canal with a stop sign for the two vehicles or so that can fit in the space between the Eastbound and the Westbound lanes, no stops for the through traffic, 35 MPH limit. I`m in the "in between" space, waiting at my stop sign to make a left, and some guy comming from my right stops in the middle of the road- undoubtedly thinking "pedestrian" when he saw me. I look the other way so he`ll get moving and get traffic going again, but he`s a patient guy. The driver behind him obviously wasn`t expecting a stopped car out there, and apparently wasn`t paying attetion, locks up his brakes and swerves around to his right, narrowly missing Mr Patience. If one of those guys decides to swerve to the left instead of to the right, I`d better not be out at the stop line.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Misty and wet this morning. 60% chance of afternoon storms had me thinking of driving, but I figured the xtracycle could use a bath if it rains. Looking forward to a weekend in Minneapolis!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> What happened? Were you at a stop or just not rolling along as fast as she was?


I was rolling, but apparently not fast enough. I was climbing out of the saddle for a while going up a small hill. At the top of the hill, I have to switch into the turning lane at a stop light. I always try to get over into the lane as soon as possible so that any traffic behind me can go through and to avoid battling a car for the turning lane. I stuck out my hand a bit in advance to signal the turn before starting to move over. Just as I was starting to switch over into the left side of the lane, the lady came up and tried to pass, apparently trying to avoid crossing over the center line.

I am always having this problem. As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with my technique. I think some of the drivers around here are just unsympathetic to cyclists.


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## dixie whiskey (Jul 25, 2010)

Hot, humid, and raining here in the swamp this morning. Couldn't be better.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I was rolling, but apparently not fast enough. I was climbing out of the saddle for a while going up a small hill. At the top of the hill, I have to switch into the turning lane at a stop light. I always try to get over into the lane as soon as possible so that any traffic behind me can go through and to avoid battling a car for the turning lane. I stuck out my hand a bit in advance to signal the turn before starting to move over. Just as I was starting to switch over into the left side of the lane, the lady came up and tried to pass, apparently trying to avoid crossing over the center line.
> 
> I am always having this problem. As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with my technique. I think some of the drivers around here are just unsympathetic to cyclists.


Sorry you have to judge your technique based on the results ie actions of the drivers, not on the premise of whether or not you followed some "rules".

So get out your thinking cap and figure out a way to mitigate the dangers.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I am always having this problem. As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with my technique. I think some of the drivers around here are just unsympathetic to cyclists.


Your technique sounds fine to me. Even around here (Seattle area) where cyclists on the roads are very common and motorists are used to sharing the road with cyclists I ocassionally run into someone who refuses to yield to a hand signal or be patient when I need to take the lane. Maybe they are recent immigrants from your part of the US!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So after a solid week of rain, gloom, daytime fog (?), and mosquitoes the sun finally made a reappearance again today. I took advantage of that with a short ride at lunch and stumbled across this lady:


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

Twas a chilly morning commute yesterday...

I wore arm warmers and a light vest. Odd to say because it's mid July. The morning weather was mid 50s and a little on the humid side. The ride home in the afternoon was perfect riding weather. 

Fired up the truck after a month this morning and drove into work. Rest day before heading up to Ansbach for a mountain bike race.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

She`s a pretty one, Newf.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ and as she (I'm assuming it was a she) took off into the trees I thought "I wonder if she knows any good trails."


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> Sorry you have to judge your technique based on the results ie actions of the drivers, not on the premise of whether or not you followed some "rules".
> 
> So get out your thinking cap and figure out a way to mitigate the dangers.


OK, wise guy. Give me some suggestions. My Jedi mind tricks don't seem to work on these people. :thumbsup:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> OK, wise guy. Give me some suggestions. My Jedi mind tricks don't seem to work on these people. :thumbsup:


Nope that is all up to you....open your mind.....change your route...alter your behavoir....

There is always something...

That process is what makes a safe rider.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> Nope, all up to you that is....your mind you shall open.....change your route...alter your behavior....
> 
> Something there is...always...
> 
> Safe rider is what process makes.


My mind is open. My route unalterable. My behavior is good. Teach me your ways, Jedi Master.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Jeff: Please take him at his word that his mind is open. He is motivated by self-protection, I do not stect the 'folowing the rules so I'm good' attitude at all. Neither of us has had to ride his section of road. Local driving customs vary considerably which is a big factor in management of drivers around you.

Sockeyeus: Sounds like you have given this considerable thought. You can't fix stupid (drivers). You can punch through stupidity, most times. If they are texting or something and not looking at the road? Well I hope you have a 'Plan B'.

Some drivers do not know hand turn signals. 

Some don't think about Us needing to go left for a turn lane. 

Some lump us with pedestrians and WAY undestimate speed. 

Some hardly think at all. 

Some think we have no right to be on the road and treat us accordingly.

I have a similar situation with a short steepish climb at the end of my 30 mile circuit that has me out of the saddle and pretty low on reserves, with a 3 way stop at the crest of said hill. I am going straight through. I take the lane the whole way because it is barely 10 feet wide. No room for a bike and a car. The want to pass? They take the left lane.

The hill is blind to see, or be seen by, oncoming traffic. It is a 30 mph zone that too many drive at 40- 5. It is the only practicable way home. I have to take special care with the rear view as you can suddenly have a speeder upon you who should not get to you until the stop sign or later. I found that a 45 degree down left arm with fingers splayed (shown in some cycling safety videos) gets drivers who are clearly thinking about passing on this grade to wait. They think you see something oncoming. You are simpy indicating it is unsafe to pass which is backed by statute. They are looking at me and missing the fact they have a stop sign, too. Of course, speeding 20 mph over the limit in a 30, passing that close to an intersection, or on a blind hill are all reckless driving charges here. All indicative of a person driving unsafely/brainlessly or a self centered person who might just as soon run you over. My ANSI vest and bright rear lights help as I am clearly visble for at least a half mile on approach. Yeah, they can SEE me. Being clearly seeen at a distance allows most drivers to clue in and avoid last minute stupid choices. It also says 'I have done my part to be safe out here, I xpect you to do yours. Being out of the saddle helps as most drivers know that you are working it and will let you get on with it. The swaying motion catches their eye and they are not sure of your stability. The rear aimed red helmet light moves a lot too. Works a bit like swerving before you get to the stones strewn across the pavement as a warning. A kinesthetic warning. I have a lawn to bail out onto, if need be. The only safer things I can think of is not ride at all or have a van follow me like the cross country riders that can pull to midline and block the overtaking driver. Not real options. Cycling, like living has some risks, we can only reduce them, not eliminate them.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good to be back after a few weeks of dogsitting made the longer bike-commute days inadvisable. Felt good, and avoided the forecast t-storms, heavy downpours & 30-40 mph winds, thank goodness. We'll see if my luck holds this afternoon. Having a little trouble getting my new clipless pedals right. They are the exact same ones (Time ATACs), so I didn't expect any trouble, but the old ones were so loosey goosey from wear that the springs were falling out, and now the snug new ones are bothering my left knee/ankle and I keep fussing with the cleat position to try to get it right. I probably looked like Get Smart on his shoe phone while I messed with it roadside.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> My mind is open. My route unalterable. My behavior is good. Teach me your ways, Jedi Master.


Talk about a self contradictory statement....geez


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Jeff: Please take him at his word that his mind is open.No it is clearly limited and closed by is responses He is motivated by self-protection, I do not stect the 'folowing the rules so I'm good' attitude at all. Neither of us has had to ride his section of road. Local driving customs vary considerably which is a big factor in management of drivers around you.He mentioned a safety issue...therefore he needs to review the situation and mitigate the hazards
> 
> Sockeyeus: Sounds like you have given this considerable thought. You can't fix stupid (drivers). Not true this can be done by a number of methods, may take some time though You can punch through stupidity, most times. If they are texting or something and not looking at the road? Well I hope you have a 'Plan B'.
> 
> ...


The point is he states a problem and defines it as insoluble...that is the issue here. Safety progresses through mitigating seemingly "impossible" problems...

Case in point roofers did not want to wear safety boots at work rather than sneakers...for obvious reasons....so they developed roofer specific safety shoes..simple really...but takes time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good luck with the joints, Xplorer. I did a serious climbing ride yesterday and my left knee is rebelling today . Hope it forgives me soon. When are you leaving for Baxter?

One more week of work (probably only four days), then flying down to Mexico for two weeks. My wife wants to take me to Chiapas for a while- trying to convince her otherwise because I imagine it`ll be VERY hot this time of year. When we get back home, I`ll only have a few weeks to resettle myself and then it`s off to accompany a guy from Michigan for the first week of his long bike tour. I`ve been doing a lot of riding this year, but mostly on my recumbent, so my legs are in great shape, but my rear end hasn`t been "in training"- hope it holds out.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Humid! After a nice weekend without biking at all I'm back on. Enjoy my short commute while call. I resigned today and gave my 2 week notice. Going to a firm across the river. commute grows (one way) to 6.6 miles with gravel, or 7.6 all pavement. Nearly triple my current distance! I'm excited for a new challenge!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good luck with the joints, Xplorer. I did a serious climbing ride yesterday and my left knee is rebelling today . Hope it forgives me soon. When are you leaving for Baxter?
> 
> One more week of work (probably only four days), then flying down to Mexico for two weeks. My wife wants to take me to Chiapas for a while- trying to convince her otherwise because I imagine it`ll be VERY hot this time of year. When we get back home, I`ll only have a few weeks to resettle myself and then it`s off to accompany a guy from Michigan for the first week of his long bike tour. I`ve been doing a lot of riding this year, but mostly on my recumbent, so my legs are in great shape, but my rear end hasn`t been "in training"- hope it holds out.


Still a month til Baxter, August 19-27...I added another night at the kayak-in wilderness cabin at the beginning so that it wouldn't be such a rushed 1st day with driving over there & all. The website update on trail conditions says "insects are plentiful", as if it would be a concern if they were in short supply, like say blackberries or something.

I ended up ordering a rear rack compatible with my softtail & some small panniers, as the guys making the seatbags favored by bikepackers are behind and not making any promises (the larger one is available but it won't fit my bike). Hope your  soft tail survives the ride. It probably would have been a tight fit anyways as I don't have the ultracompact gear. When they come in I'll post some pics. Hope to try it out beforehand on a weekend jaunt.

Jag, the new commute sounds great, hope you like the job too.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Congrats on your new job/commute Jag!

I'm back! half commute today, la trurly was at the office so...  

hey rodar! Chiapas! Tapachula? I'm working on a possible project for my job there..from what I've heard from locals you'll find some great scenery down there... don't forget to try some local cheese! try them all!

ohh and the internet police at the office block me from the mtb forums  ... it sure was for my visits to the site...rbr forums are still on


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice cool morning for my ride to work...55 degrees. Should be in the lower 70's for the ride home - perfect!

Saw a motorcyclist get into it with a guy in a pickup. Pickup guy cut him off and when I rolled up to the stoplight behind them, motorcyclist guy was next to pickup guy and they were exchanging words in a most dramatic fashion  See, it's not just cyclist that have trouble with cars...

One more week and then I take a day off work to ride RAMROD - Ride Around Mount Ranier in One Day. 150 miles, about 10,000 feet of climbing. It's going to be EPIC and I can't wait.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Epic isn't a big enough word to describe RAMROD, it seems insane! Good luck woodway!

Severe thunderstorm rolled through at 4am. Waking up to tornado sirens isn't my favorite thing. We lost a few big branches on a couple trees, but otherwise the neighborhood looks normal. 3" of rain though sure put puddles everywhere, sure glad I have fenders on at least 1 bike. Its gonna be so damn humid on the way home. Heat index will be over 107.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A little hypocritical, I suppose, to be zooming downhill @46mph max in a 25 zone and then yell "I think you missed a stop sign" (once we got to the light at the bottom of the hill) through the passenger window of the truck that cut me off ...but that was me this morning. I was still rolling to turn right while he was going straight, so the only reaction I got was a look of surprise.

I think Newf's deer made it over to my road last night, but I didn't get a pic until it was too far away.

A rare VT heat wave forecast for the next 3 days (>90F).

Rest up & eat well for the next week, Woodway - and have fun!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That sounds killer, Woodway! I hope I`m able to pull off something like that one of these days. Good luck, ride safe, and enjoy!

Martin, probably not through Tapachula unless we decide to cross the border. Most likely Palenque and San Cristobal- she has some business to take care of in GDL, so its doubtful we`ll have time for much more when we get down south. Maybe your access to mtbr will be restored like CB`s was?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Man I feel for you guys who are riding in the heat. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have been *****ing because it's been such a crappy spring and the summer has started out so cool. But when I read the news about what's going on east of here, I'll take the 55 degree mornings and 70 degree afternoons. Take it easy and hydrate guys!

I'll post some pics from RAMROD. Hoping for clear weather because the scenery around Mt. Ranier is really stunning and I am looking forward to drinking it all in.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

No commuting for me lately. Last week I was under a lot of pressure at work and putting in long hours so I drove each day to ensure I could maximize my time. I love riding but it's a 3 hour a day deal for the commute vs. 40 minutes by car. This week I'm doing a 'virtual' training class from home until Thursday. I'll ride Thursday 



woodway said:


> Man I feel for you guys who are riding in the heat. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have been *****ing because it's been such a crappy spring and the summer has started out so cool. But when I read the news about what's going on east of here, I'll take the 55 degree mornings and 70 degree afternoons. Take it easy and hydrate guys!


I'm in CA and we have had a lot of wind and cool temps lately. Loving it at night though; I was out on my patio enjoying some podcasts with a nightcap last night. The riding part of the equation in all this wind kind of sucks though.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I don't think so rodar...once they put one site down the chances to get it back are pretty low 

full commute today...the knee feels a bit weird today

wow woodway! yeah! don't forget the pics!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Getting waved through intersections when other vehicle has ROW is starting to get a bit annoying. Many times I vaguely see their waving motions. Trying to see through car windows isn't exactly the easiest thing since many newer cars have glass tinted to 70-80% VLT from the factory. 

I usually only put my right leg down and the leave the left on the pedal for a quick take off when my turn rolls around. Wonder if people on my left are thinking I'm balancing the bike while stopped.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

nachomc said:


> I'm in CA and we have had a lot of wind and cool temps lately. Loving it at night though; I was out on my patio enjoying some podcasts with a nightcap last night. The riding part of the equation in all this wind kind of sucks though.


Headwinds are rough. The wind coming off the ocean has more than once caught me by surprised sending me across an entire traffic lane and other times feels like a punch in the chest that nearly brings me to a stop. Having to pedal to keep going down a 10% hill is not fun.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> Having to pedal to keep going down a 10% hill is not fun.


Absolutely. IMO, having to fight your way DOWN a hill is worse than getting a headwind on a climb.

Very calm for my ride in tonight. My morning ride home is usually windless, but it`s a treat to get no wind in the night. Afternoon winds are inescapable here in the summer. I swapped my 1.75s for 1.25s last week. It feels like I`m flying now- maybe I`ll leave the skinnies on until next time I hit the fire roads.

Long time since we`ve heard from Perttime.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Passed 2 motorcycles on the way down my hill. Normally I consider passing anyone on that hill too dangerous, because you can go so fast & if they turned into you or blocked your view of something, you'd be toast. But the first guy had noticed me on his tail through the flat section and waved me by when we got to the steeps - nice! Immediately afterward another one pulled out in front of me & was going so slow I sped by on his right. Later I made a garbage truck pass me 3 times as I kept catching up with him at the lights. I'm sure he was sick of me by Montpelier.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Oh man, my commute was hot and humid this morning hovering around 80F. Nice ride though with no honking. I am really finding the minor grades that I have to climb to be much easier than when I started commuting. I love that I don't even notice some stretches anymore when I used to feel a bit of burn.

Tonight is supposed to be around 95F with a heat index above 100F, so I brought the big water bottle and will probably drink the whole thing. Probably won't do any Cat6 tonight. Methinks I'm taking it easy.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Whew, stay safe in that heat guys. 55F coming into work this morning. Supposed to be right around 70 going home tonite. Perfect biking temps!


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## cobym2 (Apr 11, 2005)

My first commute with panniers today = Happy! 
Feels very cool compared to lugging a backpack.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

The "Your speed is" sign lit up 37 MPH as I passed it descending a hill. Speed limit is 25 on that road.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Commuted with my DSLR backpack on today, and I have no idea how people can do that. It's not even warm here, but I still got drenched in sweat. Very happy to be back to just panniers for tomorrow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm not going to lie. It's pretty hot here. This morning started off at 81 degrees with a 79 degree heat index. My work now has showers, so I was able to get a rinse in before work. Forecasters say it will get up to 97 today. It will be a toasty ride home, especially with all the humidity.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

I'm with you s0ckeyeus, it was right in the low 80s and HUMID. Not sure the heat index, but I am guessing a hair above the temp. Not too bad though as I am getting out in that heat more, so its not killing me. Just makes me SWEATY. Oh well, I have asked my coworkers to tell me if they smell me. 

This afternoon is supposed to be about 100 with a 110 heat index. Can't wait to see how that goes.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

55 cool degrees here this morning. I do feel for you guys.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

99 degrees + Dew Point at 75+ 105 Heat Index
Hot, Sweet & Sticky

Hot Sweet & Sticky  by normbilt, on Flickr


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Norm that creamroller is a sessy bith 

The evil heat is done tormenting our area, as this morning was beautiful. I feel like I might be coming down with a cold or something though


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Brian: You can't fix stupid (drivers). 

Jeff: Not true. This can be done by a number of methods, may take some time though. 

I should have said all stupid drivers every time, in a timely fashion. 

I have been training drivers on this road for years and they are getting more considerate. So your point about fixing them over time is something I have been using for years now. A lot of it is underestimating my speed. 

However, when a new idiot comes along driving as if none of the rules of the road apply to him, and oblivious of the cyclist he is closing on I have a much shorter time frame in which to operate. I have made sure he can see me easily as soon as he crests the grade on the other side of the valley behind me most of a minute away, almost a minute and a half at legal speed. If he is still doing 50 mph in a 30 when he is closing with me on the blind grade with a stop sign at the top, then there is no more time for me to fix this particular stupid driver this time. If he were thinking he'd back it off and coast up the grade to the stop behind me and pass after where the sight line is great. They respond to out of the saddle, usually. if not, to the weird hand signal when it is thrust out (almost in panic). I am ready for the lawn, if I meet the super-idiot. I feel that I will live to ride another day with these measures in place. That is most assuredly NOT true on the alternative routes. Mix Montreal drivers with demolition derby, spice it with some Meth, and you have the idea.

Brian: It is the only practicable way home.

Jeff: Sorry not on a 30 mile circuit.

Brian: First this is not a huge urban area. There is not a plethora of routes that are safe for a bicycle. One circuit had to be abandonned for dogs that peolpe let run wild. This is NOT Calgary, (though sometime I feel like I am in a Stampede minus the chuckwagons). Practicable is the operative word. Safe could have been substituted. Only one have I ventured on again after learning how unsafe they are. That one is still more dangerous than the route I take. This one I feel I can ride and live to ride another day. 

Brian: The swaying motion of riding out of the saddle, the helmet light sway catches their eye . A kinesthetic warning. 

Jeff: Usually helps a lot. 

Brian: It is a bit counter intuitive, but they are often not consciously driving but thinking of other things, this brings them back to the task at hand, and instead of "SQUIRREL!" in the movie 'Up' they think: "BIKE!". Yes, on one hand, it may leave the sense in their minds you are not stable enough for the road, but the other hand is your life and limb. No contest, really.

Jeff: The point is he states a problem and defines it as insoluble...that is the issue here. Safety progresses through mitigating seemingly "impossible" problems...

Brian: Be that as it may, I found that pointing out someone's closed mindedness, comes across as judgemental and condescending. There is no body language here to tone it down, emoticons or no. If you felt the judgement and condescension in that first sentence, then you understand. Forgive me, I saw no better way (maybe if I slept on it?) Anyway, usually, not only does pontification (nice word, huh?) not work, it results in the person digging in. Not exactly "How to make friends and influence people." sort of thing is it? Asking them what the have tried or considered gets them thinking again and lets you understand what they have done, lets you make constructive input. That is why he asked you to lead him like a Jedi master, he was chaffing at the implied attitude, so was sarcastic in return. You can't push one end of rope and hope to shift a load at the other end rope but you can pull it especially if the load cooperates. In the same vain: you tell a Midwesterner what to do and he or she will likely do the opposite or nothing. They prize their independence. Ask them about the issue and listen with a receptive ear and you have a friend. Unfortuataely locally, the line blurs between rugged individualism and just being a big jerk.

Jeff: Case in point roofers did not want to wear safety boots at work rather than sneakers...for obvious reasons....so they developed roofer specific safety shoes..simple really...but takes time.

Brian: That time needs to be taken BEFORE a vehicle is closing on you at 40 mph ebven if it is just to have options in hand. Like the 'Dark Arts' in Harry Potter, road issues are ever changing, so we must be able to respond appropriately. Darwinian selection awaits those who do not. 

If any or the above was too 'preachy' I apologize. 

May the Force be with you

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Absolutely. IMO, having to fight your way DOWN a hill is worse than getting a headwind on a climb..


Boy, have you got that right! When you don't bother getting out of granny because you're not going to go above the overlap ratios, and you are on the downhill. Big enough hill coming up and you are faster in the wind shadow starting up it than going down the other side! No rollercoasting them. But you know, after it is done, I am proud and feel good. Maybe it's a lot like 'because it was there' and 'no longer bashing your head on a brick wall'?  .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

A "sessy bith" :eekster:!
He does have some sweet rides. Just needs more deraillers 

It`s felt pretty mild for a while here. I haven`t really looked at the forecasts in a few weeks, so I`m not sure whether it actually cooled down since June, or I just got used to summer temps. Highs in the 80s, lows in upper 50s to low 60s. Dry, as usual. 

I rode into town this morning to visit some of my wife`s family who are up for a visit (staying with her brother). Nothing out of the ordinary on the way down, but on the way home I really got lucky with TWO tough lights. One of them is at the bottom of a fairly decent grade, just before a short and steep uphill- one of Jseko`s ShortGreens and it really pisses me off because it blows mymomentum just when I need it most. This might have been the first time I ever got a green there. The second one I go through more frequently, and sometimes I do hit that one on a green, but I hit it today just minutes after the impossible one, so it brightened my already good mood


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dalton said:


> I have asked my coworkers to tell me if they smell me.


That`s an awfully brave question to ask!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hot! Record high in Burlington VT today, 97F, yikes! I had to retun the work car early this a.m. for someone else to use, so I could have left work at 3:30, but decided to wait for my usual 5:45 bus so it would be a little cooler and shadier for my ride. Glad I did, I was still sweating like crazy & just taking it as easy as possible on the 1000' elev gain over 3.5 mi., which is not really taking it easy. Personally I'd rather ride at -10F, don't know how some of you deal with this heat and worse all summer.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm just back to say I suck, I haven't been commuting at all this summer. When its still 100 degrees at midnight, its hard to motivate. 

See you all in a couple more months.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s an awfully brave question to ask!


Yeah, I sit in this small room with 5 other people and we're all pretty good friends. I think that 3 of them would actually tell me.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Sorry everyone, i had to do the snow dance today.










Im done with summer, bring on the snow! The heat/humidity all week kept me from doing yardwork, so now i get to spend a good chunk of the weekend mowing instead of riding. Boooo! Barely over a week until the MS150, i need to get some good training miles in!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m all done for the next two weeks! It kept going back and forth as to whether or not I was supposed to go in tonight, and when I left a couple hours ago it was with intentions to return. Just got a phone call telling me to skip it, so I`m on vacation right now. Whoohoo!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No heat dome here. We are under a neverending rain dome, and I wouldn't be surprised if our high today is 55F. There's a big mountain bike race here tomorrow and indycar on sunday, and everything is going to be soaked.


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## Dann C (Nov 7, 2010)

The heat here has been pretty terrible lately but I feel great everyday because I don't know what kind of weather could make me hate being on my bike. The past week I have rode my bike in a very chilly morning, a 117 degree day with 30 lbs on my back, through a downpour, and I have been completely satisfied on each day. Needless to say, Sunday I am going to take the ole bike apart and give it a good cleaning because it definitely is in need. Today is gonna be a scorcher on the way home from work that I am not too particularly exited for, but i'll be on my bike so the heat will mean nothing to me.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Ugh...dropped the bike today.

Was making an aggressive turn and the front tire slipped on some sand. I was going fairly slow, maybe 5 to 8 MPH. Somehow I caught myself, jumped or ran, and found myself on my feet about 3 feet in front of the bike. No injuries or bike damage other than than the end of the pedals.


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## Ihateme27 (Jul 17, 2011)

Did my first official commute to work today it is a six mile round trip for me. The weather here in Oregon has been very cool (sorry to all suffering in the heat). It was 58 on my way in and 76 on my way home.

I bought my bike for exercise and I figured what better way to force my self to do that then commuting to work, then if I ride in, I have to ride home! 

I did learn a couple things as well, as I already mentioned I was in it for exercise so the poor shape I am in helped me learn these things. 

#1 When climbing a small hill next to a creek I will try not to breath out of my mouth. I found that the swarm of gnats or mosquitoes I rode through didn't taste that good  

#2 Until I have been riding for awhile I should not try to pass 8 year old boys on bikes. They see this as a game then want to race you and leave you in the dust. This is something they can do to embarrass you with their youth and speed. . Oh well it made his day to beat an old guy on a bike.:thumbsup:

All and all it was a great commute!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ihateme27 said:


> Did my first official commute to work today it is a six mile round trip for me. ...
> I bought my bike for exercise and I figured what better way to force my self to do that then commuting to work, then if I ride in, I have to ride home! ...
> 
> ...All and all it was a great commute!


Excellent! Glad you had a good commute, it will only get easier or at least faster! I have a similar philosophy on the motivation. People say, don't you hate having to go up that hill on the way home, after working all day? But at that point, I have no choice, it is the only way home, what greater motivation could you have? And it's easier to self-motivate to go down the hill in the morning. I also find I am in better shape than when I did mostly weekend rides, even though they were as much as 100 mi. Especially as you get older, consistency really helps.

A little cooler today, especially as I approached home, about 80, but the house was hotter than yesterday, 84. The bus AC was cranking nicely. Everyone who got on said the same thing, "that feels better". One of the managers lives right near the bus line and sometimes bikes home, but hadn't been doing it because of the heat. He got smart today and rode in when it was cooler, like 6 a.m., and took the bus home in the afternoon when it was hot. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice weather, about 60F & sunny. Left later than I like due to hunting for things at the last minute, but made the bus with 3 minutes to spare. "One lane road" and "flaggers" signs on my best downhill, but they were not working yet - I hope it is a short term project. 

Escaped to the Maine coast Saturday, the cold water & ocean breeze was better than any AC. On the way home Sunday, rode some trails in the White Mtns of NH. On Owl's Cliff Trail there was a sign "Experienced Riders Only. No rentals. $100+ retrieval fee" I was like wow, who would need to have their bike (or body?) retrieved from the woods, that is pretty lame. About 10 minutes later I realized the sign was for snowmobilers, which are a lot easier to get stuck.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice easy cool commute this morning. Taking it easy this week getting ready to ride RAMROD on thursday. The wife and I did get out for a little Mountain Biking on saturday. We drove to the east slope of the Cascade's in central Washington (state) and rode some great trail with great views. Here is an example.


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## TMLGN (Jul 25, 2011)

Cold as hell, its supposed to be summer time, yet its 15 degrees C here, with heavy clouds that just wait to pour out some more rain...

This whole weather situation is a conspiracy.


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## BigE610 (Oct 24, 2007)

I had a decent ride this morning until i got a flat. I was taking a turn and the bike slid out from underneath me. it was a slow leak caused by a twig or something from the numerous downed trees around here. It was my first time changing the tire on my new bike and i had a great time trying to get the back tire off with the rack and fender. Got the new tube and tire back on in no time but lost the dam bolts for the mounts. by the time i found them i was late to work damit. Guess im working through lunch today. But at least I dont have to drive my car home on this beautiful day.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

TMLGN said:


> Cold as hell, its supposed to be summer time, yet its 15 degrees C here, with heavy clouds that just wait to pour out some more rain...
> 
> This whole weather situation is a conspiracy.


It was mid 50s (F) this morning here. At the start I was wishing I had put on my long sleeve jersey for the trip in. It warmed up enough by the time I got close to the office, thankfully. And I definitely won't need it for the return trip.

Today is my first day of riding to work since ... umm, I think mid June. I think I might have ridden one time after I was out of town for two weeks but I forget, frankly. It felt good to ride again though, and after this weekend I needed a break from working around the house, the baby, etc. My ride Saturday morning was cut short because I had a crushing amount of yard and cleanup type work to do and my thoughts were occupied dreading that, so it wasn't very relaxing.

This morning, I did, however, see something that scared me to my core. I was on the short public road section of my commute just before reaching the office. There was a car on the shoulder ahead with two people in it. On the truck was a magnet, which read: "Student Driver"    

I gave that young man a lot of room. And he did not try to pull out until after I had passed. Whew.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nice morning, although im still feeling a bit under the weather. I MUST get better before the weekend, because i've got 150+ miles of riding to do for the MS150 in Fargo. The wet weather and sunshine has made a mess of the MUP, with big weeds popping through the cracks in the asphalt. Some are thick and 6" tall, which make a noticeable difference when trying to maintain speed. Hoping the nice weather continues for this weekend though. Tonight i look forward to a big bowl of Pho Ga for dinner after the LBS familt bike ride and an early bedtime.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Man. Tough ride home. I was 15 miles in when I rounded a corner and could have sworn the back end of the bike was wobbling around. It felt OK when I straightened out though, but a couple hundred feet up, again I felt it.

<sigh> _ANOTHER_ flat :madman: So I stop to change it. Of course this is one of the most exposed sections of the trail - all brown brush on the sides, no tree's, no shade. It's 93-ish degree's. I stand there and bake and sweat and get the tire changed. I was reminded I had forgotten to replace my backup-backup tube the last time I had a flat, and now had no tubes left with 8 miles to go. I have a patch kit but I'd rather call a cab first. As soon as I get back on the bike I pound what's left of my water bottle, and then move the full bottle remaining to the front cage.

About 3 miles from home I'm at a stop light and notice my legs are shaking and I'm not feeling so hot. Great. I know I'm bonking but I'm so close I keep pushing. Coming down the overpass before my house I look left at the freeway and see a tractor trailer on its side, surrounded by emergency vehicles and a HUGE traffic backup. This connector is just passed where I exit the freeway, and traffic is backed up well passed there. It would have taken forever to get home today. Sure glad I pedaled.

http://www.kcra.com/news/28662631/detail.html


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Glad you made it home OK, Nacho, that sounds like a rough ride. 

I had a good ride in, left early as I couldn't sleep and caught the bus that comes 1 hr earlier than usual. This will give me more options for possibly avoiding the worst of the t-storms and hail predicted for this afternoon. The "1 lane road" signs were gone, so I was back to flying down my hill, I think a new max of 46.7mph. It felt alot faster than 46, maybe just because I was on the drops. Still no speeding ticket to frame, never a cop around when you need one.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Dang thats quick mtb! I've barely made 38mph and was freakin' out!

I didnt plan on riding today because of the 80% severe storm warnings predicted for this afternoon, but it was so nice out this morning i couldnt help it. I'll ride home at lunch and bring the car back to work.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Hey guys it has been a while. Took 3 weeks off cycling to let knees rest so I could participate in an MTB race this past weekend.

Yesterday I forgot to put the clip on my waterbag in my cameback thingy, bent over to unlock my bike and got a neck full of cold gatorade! Too funny, but kinda sticky when it dries.

There's a half decent hill on my commute, usually try to hit 70km/h (43mph), be it on my 29er or the cyclocross but I'm almost always a bit short. Not yesterday 


cheers!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Welcome back cuatro! Were you in the Canada Cup race? How'd it go?

Speaking of knee pain, I saw people raving about foam rollers in another mtbr thread, and decided to try one out. My knees don't really hurt, but they do click a lot, and my IT band has had issues for years. After a couple of uses of the roller the knee clicking is gone, and everything just feels better. I'm totally impressed. I know cuatro has mentioned cartilage issues, which is a bigger problem. But just for typical tightness and fatigue from a week of riding the roller seems like a great addition/alternative to stretching.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

The race was the 24 Hours of Adrenaline in Canmore, our team came in 13th out of 79.
I'll have to get myself one of those rollers, I hear they can be really effective.

Here I am suiting up for a lap ;-)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Moving along pretty good, guys! Xplorer, are you hitting that speed on dirt?

@Nacho: The student driver is probably paying more attention than most of the other drivers out there, and probably the LEAST likely to be texting or dialing while heºs comming up behind you.

Three days of zero pedalling so far and still surviving. Enjoying my vacation, eating all my favorite stuff, but having trouble wit the weird keyboard.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Moving along pretty good, guys! Xplorer, are you hitting that speed on dirt?
> .


No, that would be pretty sketchy. The dirt section is 1.3 mi & not as steep, maybe 30mph without brakes. Then there is 2.2 mi of pavement to the light, with decent downhills and a couple flats before the last steepest but straight section where you hope nobody's in front of you or pulls out from a side street. It's a little roller-coaster like, because you can't see the final downhill until you crest onto it from a less-steep downhill. Then there is a nice flat run-out before the light.

You are making me hungry - enjoy!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Surprisingly speedy. Only 15 secs longer than yesterday over 11.5 miles, despite using the MTB with 2.25 nobby nics & flat pedals/5.10's instead of the cross bike with pretty smooth T-serv tires & clipless pedals. That 46+mph downhill was only slightly slower, 43+mph. Since today should be the coolest of the week, and 1 put in an extra hour yesterday, I will take a longer lunch trailride today.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

It's funny how that works, they say expect 3km/h speed gain with road tires over knobby mtb tires and yet some of my best times are on an MTB. It seems more to do with how you feel that day. mtbxplorer I find that clothing makes a huge difference on top speed.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> It's funny how that works, they say expect 3km/h speed gain with road tires over knobby mtb tires and yet some of my best times are on an MTB. It seems more to do with how you feel that day. mtbxplorer I find that clothing makes a huge difference on top speed.


Depends what you are talking about....

lets take some slicks 26 x 1.25 and ride a flat 10 km in 20 minutes.....that is 30 kph

and that is only 80 some rpm in 46 x 14....

You will definately beat a 26 X 2.1 knobby....

Now try a max speed sprint....46 X 11 at 120 cad on 26 x 1.25 = 58.7 kph

Or try a max sprint 46 x 11 at 120 on 26 x 2.1 = 60.7 kph....

Point is on small slicks you can easily spin out and that limits your max speed.

But on a 10 km haul the slicks are much faster cause you are not spun out.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

The ride in was nice this morning. I installed some Conti Gator Skins last night. So far I'm very pleased with those tires. The bike feels much sportier with them installed - handling is sharper, they seem to roll a bit faster than the previous tires (I was half-mph faster on average this morning) and I prefer the way they look. I hope they live up to expectations on flat protection or I _will_ be butt hurt.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A little brisk for July, but nice, about 52F. Came in early again to make time for a trailride at lunch. Yesterday's lunchride was a lot of fun, a tough climb followed by technical treats and then a fast trip down.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nice morning, last commute for a couple days, so I'll stretch out the ride home again. Yesterday i saw 2 deer and 4 wild turkeys! Nice to see wildlife every now and then. 

@nacho, I've been rolling on 25c Gatorskins too lately, instead of my usual 38c Marathon Cross tires. I dont have any experience with road slicks besides the Gatorskins, but i freakin' love them. They handle great and never give me problems.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JAG410 said:


> Nice morning, last commute for a couple days, so I'll stretch out the ride home again. Yesterday i saw 2 deer and 4 wild turkeys! Nice to see wildlife every now and then. ...


That reminds me, I saw 2 foxes on the RR tracks adjacent to the road this morning. I stopped, and they looked at me before they spooked and ran off.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

JAG410 said:


> @nacho, I've been rolling on 25c Gatorskins too lately, instead of my usual 38c Marathon Cross tires. I dont have any experience with road slicks besides the Gatorskins, but i freakin' love them. They handle great and never give me problems.


Awesome. They were great on the ride home last night. Pretty happy with them thus far. I couldn't ride today but will ride in again tomorrow


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to derail again, but I had to share Luna's new ride:


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Monday is a holiday, I didn't see a soul on the commute this morning until I got close to downtown. I pass over what is normally a small creek this time a year but since we've had nothing but rain all summer it is laden with silt and there are even some rapids developing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey Guys - a quick hijack of the commute thread and then I'll get back on topic at the end.

Yesterday I took the day off work and rode RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day). Tremendous day! Here are a few photos and some commentary:

We started at 5:20am and the first 30 miles were along a highway with a lot of trucks going by. Luckily there was a good shoulder:










Presently we turned off the highway, rode a bit and then entered Mt. Rainier National Park where they had a special entry lane for RAMROD riders. All we had to do was show our BIB number:










Now the ride started to get good. We rode along rivers laden with glacial silt:









Through old-growth forests:









Along the way we were treated to many views of Mt. Rainier like this:









We had three climbs, two big and one small. 









But three climbs means three descents which were screaming fast and fun! :thumbsup:

Actually that last climb to Cayuse Pass was a bit of a ball-buster...it started at about mile 99, and was on a south-facing slope so there was little shade. Here is the top of the climb, looking back down the road:










We headed down from Cayuse Pass and had about 30 miles to ride back towards the starting point. Downhill, yes, but into a 10-15 MPH headwind...

Here is a photo about four miles from the finish. This is the opposite side of Mt. Rainier from where the photo above was taken:










Ride stats:
Distance: 150 miles
Cumulative Elevation: 9,589 feet
Ride time: 10:33

I have a friend who was a National Forest Backcountry Ranger in his younger days. He used to load up a horse and pack mule and head into the backcountry for weeks at a time. He talked about days when it all came together, the load on the animals was perfect, the day was perfect, the trail was perfect - he called them "glory rides". Well yesterday was a glory ride for me - the weather was fantastic, the ride was awesome, I felt great and my bike worked to perfection.

And now back on thread topic, I rode my bike to work today and except for my legs not having their usual pop, the ride was uneventful


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

mtbxplorer the goggles are great!


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

That rocks, woodway! Nice pics.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Ever have those mornings where you just left the house, you're maybe a half mile away and just _not_ feeling it? I very nearly turned around, hit the shower and drove in. But I persisted. I'm glad I did, sort of. It's going to be hot and windy on the way home, which I'm sure will be a pleasure.

I did, however, get treated to this when I arrived at the office:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Hmmm, arrested for sloppy bar tape job. Seems reasonable


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nacho - cop or dominatrix??

Woodway - Great pix, so blue it doesn't look real! That is quite an accomplishment, mega climbing - glad it all came together! :thumbsup:

I witnessed an amazing feat this morning... ok, maybe not amazing, but the pickup in front of me had a water bottle balanced on its rear bumper for several miles, I almost thought it was glued down as a practical joke...but at the light I grabbed it and gave it to the surprised driver, who had left it there last night and forgotten about it.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nacho - cop or dominatrix??


:lol: Sorta the former. He is security in our building. HUGE respect to that guy: he doesn't have a car so he is forced to ride. He rides some of the busiest streets in town. Those areas are also kind of sketchy. And he frequently rides them in the middle of the night (as he works mid shift occasionally). This guy isn't riding his bike to work because it's exercise, and fun (like me, and probably a lot of you all), he's riding because he refuses to be out of work and this is his only option. On top of all that, he's witty, smart, easy to talk to and extremely friendly. He rocks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi guys. 
Just back from Oregon. EPIC trip. 450 miles. 7 days. Too much to list. Unbelievable week. No rain  (some fog), 2 flats (one on the trailer and one nail that the tubeless goo couldn't seal), two whales, No crashes, 40.2 mph top speed on one of the descents (trailer says not to exceed 20...it's solid as a rock at speed, don't believe the sticker ) We did about between 50 and 60 miles a day, with one day of 85 miles...luckily we got a major tailwind that day. 

I only took 700 pictures...still need to edit :lol:
Here's one from the phone.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, CB, sounds and looks great! We want more pix!

I spent the weekend hiking and paddling, so pysched to get back on the bike tomorrow. Wish I had the camera, 2 loons swam & dove right around me, catching fish and feeding their 2 fuzzy loon-lings, which were already the size of small ducks. Great swimming too, and no motors more than 5mph electric allowed.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Dang, CB, that looks awesome. I would like to do some touring .. some day.

My weekend was:

Saturday - CLEAN the house. Like, everything. We also bought a new table for the dining room. Plan the Sunday party, pick up non-food supplies.

Sunday - Brunch and then a run to Costco for mucho-meato. Burgers and tri-tip for 35 people, with all the fixin's.

Then at 3 the party started. My little girl turned one yesterday; I have officially not failed at parenting thus far. The party was fun but man I need a day off to recover.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey CB - what route did you ride? I've done a bit of touring in Oregon, would be interested to hear what part of the state you were in.

My wife and I did a nice little MTB ride this weekend in the central part of the state, on the east slope of the Cascades. No big Mountain Views on this ride, just a trail that meanders along a pretty river. Here is a typical view from the trail:










Commute into work today was nominal. A little chilly at 50 degrees, but I got to watch the sun come up over the mountains.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Got lucky tonight. On the last rise before my house, I thought, I'm feeling pretty good, I wonder how fast I'm avg'g - EEEK! my GPS is AWOL off the bars. Speed the last .2 mi home, jump in the car with my helmet still on, and the bike's rear-flasher blinking forlornly in the grass. I re-trace my ride, scanning the road for the +/- $200 item. Thinking, how many GPS-squishing cars passed me???...maybe half a dozen max, perhaps it did not get run over, perhaps it is not hopelessly lost in the weeds. Of course it was 7:20, so I was driving directly into the setting sun on my east-west road, blinding me at times. I suspected the 2 bumpy slight downhills on dirt: one where pavement transitions to dirt, 1.3 mi away, and one in "the dip" about .5 mi away. Drove thru the dip, no sign of it, sped up a bit, as it seemed unlikely it would fall off on the uphill, and if it was in the ditch I could do that on foot at my leisure....found it at almost 1.3 mi, just before the pavement, on the travelway, upside down but apparently unharmed. Whew! I had actually noticed the mount weakening, and put it in my pack instead this a.m., but went on autopilot when I got off the bus and put it on the bars. The mount on my MTB is still strong, but commuting over teeth jarring dirt and some bus rides killed this one on the cross bike. It broke in half, with half still attached to the GPS when I found it.

10:12 p.m., still no hail or t-torms as forecast , not sure why I bother with the weather report...if I didn't ride every time there was a chance of t-storms, my car would have a lot more miles on it by now. Beautifulall day, maube hotter than I like, 86 or so max. Now I just use the weather to decide what to bring along for the bustop, as a jacket is too hot for the uphill ride home in summer rain - not to decide whether or not to ride.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Saturday: 45 miles
Sunday: 103 miles
Monday: 12 miles
Today: 5 miles

My poor legs need a break! Its getting humid again, yesterday dropped nearly 3 inches of rain too. I was running late this morning, and I knew I needed to put the fenders on before I left. Took me less than 3 minutes to mount them and I made it to work with a couple minutes to spare. I have to drive to our satellite office tomorrow so the air conditioning will be welcomed!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Man, for some reason the small headwind that I had coming in today just kicked my ass. Not sure what the deal is there, but it was kind of rough this morning. Oh well, I am sure this evening's commute will be better. Its nice having the majority of my evening commute downhill. I don't have much elevation (~400 feet) on the way in, but it makes a difference in my commute time and overall workout.

Sucks feeling like I am out of shape even though I have been riding 1.5 hrs and 20 miles at least 3 times a week all summer....


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw a deer on my way home tonight. It was weird, because it was on a trail that's maybe 300' from my apartment. There are plenty of trees around, but this is still _right_ downtown. It was a nice surprise.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got some energy and strength back, the air temps were down so I rode today (without collapsing after). Nice short run to town and back.. Elderly driver passed me near home. As soon as he got his front bumper by he starts coming right. I could have kicked either pasenger side door or back fender. I yelled and he straightened but did not move back left until he was by. Good he was driving a compact. He and his wife delivered a meal on wheels around the corner, where I pulled into the drive right after he did. He had no idea what he did wrong and why I was upset. I told him 1 foot does not qualify as "minimum safe distance" in IN traffic law. Have to wonder about his peripheral vision and/or short term memory. So I'm still cycling when I can (don't know how long it wil last) and I'm as cranky as ever.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> Saw a deer on my way home tonight. It was weird, because it was on a trail that's maybe 300' from my apartment. There are plenty of trees around, but this is still _right_ downtown. It was a nice surprise.


I saw one last night too, but sadly, it was a fawn that had been hit by a car. :sad:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ that's the problem. This trail is right off of a major road, and not too far from a freeway (or the canadian version of a freeway, anyway...). Wherever the deer was heading, it was going to have to deal with some traffic before it got there.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Woohoo Brian! Glad to hear you're back on a bike!

Nice day today, left early and went slow, nice relaxed pace for a change.

Its Friday! Hope you all have a good one.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

A message to the lady in the Blue Honda Accord that passed me in the center turn lane this morning:

"Yes, I took the lthru lane ane and might have actually held you up for all of five seconds. But perhaps you did not recognize the universal "I'm turning left" signal? You know, left arm extended horizontally away from the body with the index finger pointing to the left? It's a good thing I took a peek over my left shoulder before I moved into the center turn lane, because I never expected to see you there. How about five seconds of patience next time?"

Sheesh, I like to get my heartrate up when I ride, but not like that. Some people just cannot get the concept of sharing. Other than that, it was a fine commute.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Doctor's appointment first thing yesterday. Dentist appointment today. It's so nice riding in to work at 9:30 instead of 7:30. 

Like Woodway though, on my way to the dentist I'm pulling up to a 4way stop, and I can hear a car behind me, so I hold out my left arm to signal. As I stop at the stopline (still holding my arm out), the car rolls up on my left and just keeps rolling, with their bumper way out in front of me by the time they finally stop. What are we supposed to do now, moron? Are you proud of yourself for being "first"? Grmbl.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I have been super busy recently between work, and my daughters birthday, so this is the first riding of any kind I have done in about 10 days. The ride was nice; low traffic from vehicles and bicycles, the water along the MUT was crystal clear and reflected the sky. It was gorgeous. Got to work without incident, feelin good though my legs cramped a little. I'll rock the lasagna special for lunch at the deli down the street today. MMMMMMM MMMMMMMM


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

nachomc said:


> The ride was nice; low traffic from vehicles and bicycles, the water along the MUT was crystal clear and reflected the sky. It was gorgeous.


Sounds awesome! Give the ol 916 some love for me, I miss her sometimes. I need to plan a trip out there again, perhaps before my 20yr reunion in 2016!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good job, Woodway :thumbsup:! Thanks for the report and the pics, hoping for more of those Glory Rides myself!

Seconding the motion for more Oregon coast pictures. CB, if you don`t want to post a bunch up here, maybe you have an account with one of those image hosting sites?

Glad you`re feeling stronger and crankier again, Brian. Keep pedalling and don`t get run over 

Back to work tomorrow night after two weeks of vacation. I was planning to ride for two or three hours this morning with a combined purpose of working the kinks out and finding out whether or not the return to cardio activites would kill me, but by the time I got my butt out of bed it was already starting to get hot and I was feeling waaaay too lazy to ride in the heat of the day. Maybe a little spin tomorrow morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took the day off from the bikecommute today to rest up for hiking Mt Washington tomorrow. Yesterday I saw a coyote only 20' away during a trailride...the same dog that found the fawn a while back alerted me to the coyote with big "there's a predator" barks, while charging and puffing her fur up to look bigger than her 50 lbs. While Spirit chased one off to the right, another came over the ridge from the left, looked right at me, and disappeared.


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## anatolb (May 23, 2011)

*Dayly lessons*

Yesterday my front wheel slipped on wet tarmac and me and my bike slid 1,5 m down the road. Luckily the result was only minor abrasion on bike and elbow.

Lesson learned: Schwalbe Performance Compound (ORC) sucks on wet tarmac 

This morning I started from home a bit late having the Shimano platform adapters still attached to my Exustar SPD-compatible clipless pedals from yesterdays ride to the cinema. On the first red traffic light I found out that despite being able to click into the other side of the pedals no problem, you cannot get out any more :madman:
I had to take of my shoes (lying on the street) and turn the shoes with both hands (and in socks) to get them off 

Lesson learned: My Exustar SPD-compatible clipless pedals are not compatible with SH-PD22 platform adapters

Wondering what's gonna happen tomorrow


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

anatolb said:


> This morning I started from home a bit late having the Shimano platform adapters still attached to my Exustar SPD-compatible clipless pedals from yesterdays ride to the cinema. On the first red traffic light I found out that despite being able to click into the other side of the pedals no problem, you cannot get out any more
> I had to take of my shoes (lying on the street) and turn the shoes with both hands (and in socks) to get them off


 Whoa! That sounds like a problem worth avoiding if at all possible!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Welcome anatolb, sounds like a rough day! 

25mph headwinds greeted me this morning. They better be nicer on my way home. The morning felt crisp, as you can almost feel summer is on its way out already. Not quite cold enough for a coat yet, thankfully,so its almost perfect riding weather, aside from the wind.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today was my first commute in a week. I was out of town at my grandma's funeral. Fun times. Today a semi was stopped in the lane of traffic with its hazards on. Everyone was confused as to what it was doing. The cars passed it in the turning lane, and I decided to risk the bike lane. All of the sudden, the truck decided to back up just as I was getting ready to pass. Its trailer started veering into the bike lane. I swerved around it safely, but it was still a bit of a surprise. I'm not sure what the truck was doing. I guess it might have missed its turn, and the driver was thinking about turning around in the intersection. Awkward.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

anatolb said:


> Yesterday my front wheel slipped on wet tarmac and me and my bike slid 1,5 m down the road. Luckily the result was only minor abrasion on bike and elbow.
> 
> Lesson learned: Schwalbe Performance Compound (ORC) sucks on wet tarmac
> 
> ...


Maybe you should stay home for a day or two


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Stopped at one of the many 4-way stops on my route today. Started up again, and freaked out a hipster who'd planned on blowing through the intersection from my left while riding with no hands. He waaaaaay over-corrected and got close to an OTB.

I was pretty much on autopilot and wasn't being malicious - it was just my turn to go, and so I went. Most cyclists treat those stopsigns pretty cavalierly, but douchy mc-nohands apparently expected people to yield to him? Nah.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

How did he go OTB without brakes?

I bought some nylon webbing straps from Altrec about a week ago and finding that they are really handy for commuting with a backpack. I've securely lashed things like my 6" work boots (soft toe) and computer keyboards ready to ship to the outside and rode the 3 miles to work easily.

Outdoor Research Accessory Straps - FREE SHIPPING at Altrec.com

At $8.50 they are kind of expensive, for just some straps, but they sure are useful. Way lighter than my 20ft 2000lb ratchet straps!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I'm a big fan of the Surly Junkstraps. Every so often you can find a 6pk of them on ebay for ~$25 shipped.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I hit a little rock on my way home this morning and pinch flatted my front tire. Not a very big rock, but I don`t think I could have hit it harder if I`d tried to. Okay, squirm to a halt still in the big ring, remove wheel, grab the goodie bag from under my saddle and... whoops! I had switched from fatties to skinnies last month and never switched the spare tube from fat to skinny. Whatever size the tube I was carrying, it was probably on the big side for the 1.75s that I had on there before and definitely too big for the 1.25s I have mounted now. Crap. I managed to get it stuffed in and it got me home- don`t know if I just got off lucky, or if maybe I worry too much about using seriously missized tubes, but I changed it out and made sure to put a skinny tube back in the goodie bag.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Decided to pedal yesterday despite the Mt Washington hike the previous day. The stretch felt good on the way in, and the hill home was surprisingly do-able, but my legs definitely felt it more when I got home.

Hike pix...the tracks are for the cog railway, which was built in 1869 & still runs up to the summit....


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## OmaHaq (Jun 1, 2010)

Lousy morning... sunny, not a cloud in the sky, 68deg... really bad... ahahahaha


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

JAGI410 said:


> I'm a big fan of the Surly Junkstraps.


Are the buckles extra-extra good? I liked the idea of the junkstraps, but didn't feel like having the LBS order them (or going the ebay route). So I picked up some cheap plastic ones at an autoparts store, and they seem okay, but I honestly haven't really challenged them.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Are the buckles extra-extra good? I liked the idea of the junkstraps, but didn't feel like having the LBS order them (or going the ebay route). So I picked up some cheap plastic ones at an autoparts store, and they seem okay, but I honestly haven't really challenged them.


Strong metal and strong straps. They are really just super long toe straps. I've used them a bunch and they've never failed me. I keep a couple in my xtracycle bags, so when i need to strap something down (like the garage sale rocking chair I bought), they are always on hand.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, I always carry the plastic ones in my pannier for just-in-case hauling (since bungees are useless, or I'm dumb). The surly ones are still on my wishlist though.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I have no motivation to ride for some reason. I was planning to ride today when I get home but ... I don't think I'm going to. Not sure what's going on.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

About the only thing I use bungees for are very light weight things like a garment or a tarp. I've seen people do dumb crap like carry a fiberglass extension ladder on top of their minivan with bungees only to have them fly off on the freeway. I was 2 cars behind the van when it happened.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics mtbxplorer! Looks like a great hike!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, looks great. I`m surprised that it`s so rocky, though- I always imagine nonstop forrest around there.


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## Tsetse (Aug 11, 2011)

wicked! almost got run over by a lorry


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Left the commuter at home and rode my Nickel. Detour through the skatepark, the 2 skaters stopped (6:30 AM) and started taking pictures. You would think they have never seen a mountain bike jump.......:shocked:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Went to Cape Cod for the weekend, found some nice singletrack for morning rides, but witnessed (well, heard mostly) a horrific bike crash on the bike path through the Nat'l Seashore. A guy going the other way on a road bike had just passed us and went off the pavement into the sand and then crashed, apparently facefirst into the pavement (he did have a helmet). It was pretty scarey, he was knocked unconcious, bleeding badly, and making awful gurgling noises when he breathed. Cell had no signal so I took off for the visitor center about a half mile away while my friend stayed with him. I followed the ambulance back down the bike path & by that time he was sitting up but had no idea where he was or that he had been on a bike. My friend spoke with his son the next day (who arrived about 5 mins behind him on a bike) and his brain exams looked OK but his cheekbone, sinuses, and bones by one eye were shattered and he's needing plastic surgery. They ended up taking him from Cape Cod hospital to a Boston hospital that night, so that tells me it was pretty serious. But thankfully he is going to be OK & is home now. Something a bikecommuter would prefer not to see, though.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, not the kind of thing you ever want to see! Sounds like he has a long road ahead, but good he will eventually be OK.

I was on vacation last week with my wife and middle son. We did some FlyFishing and Mountain Biking. It was heaven on Earth!

Back to work reality today. I had not been on my commuter for a week but it felt like coming home again  I had a non-eventful commute into work today.

Here are a couple of photos of the places we biked in last week. We had some sweet rides!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi guys. 1st commute today after an awesome summer. Back into the routine now. Oregon pics coming, I swear. What did I miss around here?


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

one tooth down.
56x16 today, FMF,FMF,F'nF.

skipped the damn chain off at speed, coasted a block or so looking back wondering where the wife was. popped chain back on... hrmmm, maybe she skipped up a couple blocks? can't be that far. continue to rendezvous and wait. ponder the universe's sense of comedic timing, make faces at the neighbour kids and marvel at how much road construction on parallel traffic arteries seems to be allowed simultaneously.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was pretty scarey, he was knocked unconcious, bleeding badly, and making awful gurgling noises when he breathed.
> ...his brain exams looked OK but his cheekbone, sinuses, and bones by one eye were shattered and he's needing plastic surgery.


Holy cow! Was he really flying along, or just happened to hit in the worst possible way? To think that injuries of that extent could come about just from taking a bad line on a paved bikepath is a scary thought. Hope he comes around okay.

Woodway, that`s some gorgeous scenery! Are those pics from NW Washington?

CB: What did you miss? We ain`t talking until we see those pics. Oh, and welcome back to the grind.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Two days, two lessons...*

Had a barbecue and day on the river yesterday with my wife`s family. Since I need to get some butt miles on my saddle, I decided to ride into town for the get together. My usualy route home from downtown is up a long grade with nice wide shoulders, but two lanes each way with a 50 MPH limit. If traffic is heavy, it can be a real booger to get across two lanes and into the left turn lane at the top. Yesterday I was hot and tired, and laziness or whatever led to me making a seriously stupid move. It was time to make a break for the turn lane, so I checked my mirror and saw one car that looked like it was in the second lane over (didn`t bother to turn my head and confirm), and I moved out to the first lane, planning to move into the next lane after that car passed. It turns out that car was NOT in the second lane- simultaneously I saw daytime running lights and grill in my mirror and heard the brakes bark. Fortunately, he was able to cut around me with a long blast of his horn and a single finger salute as my prize. Considering that my prize could well have been a granite marker and a big bouquet, I consider myself very lucky to win a bird and a honk. Considering what`s at stake, and how easy it can be to screw up the manuver, I believe I`m done with that left turn lane. From now on, I`m doing the pedesrian cross at that intersection. Ride straight across the cross street and push the walk button on the far side- should have been doing it that way all along.

Today`s lesson didn`t involve danger, but it was equally stupid. I have an acquaintance comming from out of town in a few weeks who wants to ride some back roads that I know very well on the first few days of his tour, so I offered to put on my Indian Guide helmet and lead him through. The guy comming out here has a road bike that won`t fit fatter than 32mm tires, which is pretty "iffy" for the roads in question, so today I tried a skinny tire recon of part of that route. Here`s the stupid part: I already told the guy that 32mm is borderline for those roads, so I go to check them out with 1.25 tires (same width, even the same model tire as the 32s he`ll be riding) and I never thought to take patches- just added one more spare tube to my bag. This on top of the fact that I just pinch flatted on my way home from work last week and had tube issues then! I got my first pinch flat less than ten miles from where I parked and it dawned on me right then what a bonehead plan I had implemented. Pumped up the tires rock hard and got another flat (same tire) a half hour later. Okay, couldn`t afford another flat, so I checked the tubes to confirm that they were in fact pinched, not thorn punctured, and aired up rock hard again, then set myself on the shortest course to town (wrong town, but close enough) with a self imposed 10 MPH speed limit on the smooth parts and even slower on the rocky parts. Eventually, I made it to pavement and figured I was home free- about 45 minutes ride from an LBS. Not good enough. I got a third pinch flat half way between that little town and Reno, started walking and looking for a phone booth. After maybe a mile, a couple roadies passed by in the opposite direction and one of them saved the day when he gave me a patch kit. Now why in the name of God don`t I ALWAYS carry stick on patches with all my bikes !?! Lesson learned again- the commuter now has patches in the seat bag and more will be going into the other bikes also.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yikes!!! Glad you only got the finger! I bet your adrenaline was flowing after that. Sounds like a good plan for future keeping-in-one-piece-ness. I have one alternate route home with a bad left on blind hill & 55mph...I feel dumb doing it, but sometimes I pull over to shoulder at crest & wait for it to be clear both ways, rather than risk a head-on or rear-ender. Thanks for making me feel better about doing that.

I have gotten lazy on the patch kit too, but will be picking some up before my bikepacking trip for sure, and then they will stay in my pack.

The guy that crashed was going quicker than many bike path tourists, but not more than 15mph, he had just come up a mild hill and started a slight downhill. But as with most eyewitness accounts, there was disagreement; I thought he was going pretty quick (but totally in control) & my friend thought he wasn't going fast at all. I'm guessing he may have looked over his shoulder for his son and that caused him to go off the road. He ended up about 15' from where the marks in the sand were, but not sure how much was airborne & how much sliding. Not breaking his fall with his arms, etc. , which were injury free, didn't help his face.

Oh no, is summer over already??? CB is back to work.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Woodway, that`s some gorgeous scenery! Are those pics from NW Washington?


The top pic is overlooking the Methow Valley in North Central Washington. Looking to the West towards North Cascades National Park. About a 3.5 hour drive from my house. Great Mountain Biking. Great Fly Fishing. Heaven on Earth.

The bottom pic is taken about 100 miles south of the top pic, from a ridge overlooking the Teanaway Valley. On the other side of the ridge is Cle Elum, WA where we parked and started riding. About a 90 minute drive from my house. Big climbs, fun downhills. Great place to take some vacation!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm feeling spoiled... still have the triple chainring and front derailleur off of the mountain bike on my commuter bike (Oregon mode)... my big ring is now 44 instead of 50, and I'm not stuck in it all the way home... I could get used to this. 

By the way, if you want to feel like a superhero, drag a trailer full of stuff 450 miles, and then take it off. I feel like the fastest guy who has ever ridden a bike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here's the part where you feel like you accomplished something. Still only have cell phone pics at my disposal on this computer. I'll get it together soon... it's the first week of school...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I came upon one of those "your speed is" radar things on the MUP this morning. What the hell are they thinking? What would you do if you were riding a long, flat section of the MUP and you saw that thing reading your speed back to you? :devil:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Where did all these cars come from? Why is there pink (demolition) spray paint on the bike path? Why is it 53 degrees in August? What is that clicking noise? WTF.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I let one rip at just the right moment while climbing a hill and I swear it took 2 seconds off my regular commute time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^ 
Through propulsion, or just from the extra motivation to escape? Either way, I`ll have to give that one a try.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Guy in a gravel hauler tried to kill me this morning. I was in the straight lane and there was a turn lane..... so he decided that he had to pass me on the left and then run me into the turn lane when he decided to move over when he was right next to me so he could turn. Yeah, that was a little interesting.

So he gets stopped at the red light and I come up next to him and put up my hands in the universal gesture for "What the hell?!?". He rolls his window down and the conversation went something like this:

Me: DO YOU REALIZE YOU JUST RAN ME OFF THE ROAD BACK THERE?!

Him: Well I didn't have much room to drive since I was trying to avoid you and not hit the car that was in the next lane.

Me: YEAH, BUT YOU MOVED OVER INTO THE TURN LANE WHEN YOU WERE NEXT TO ME!

Him: You should be riding on the bike path.

Me: WHAT BIKE PATH!?! THE SIDEWALK!?!

Him: Isn't there a bike lane or something?

Me: NO! AND THE SIDEWALK IS WAY TOO DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE PULLING OUT OF DRIVEWAYS AND IF I RIDE THE SIDEWALK YOU'LL JUST TURN A RIGHT HOOK INTO ME BECAUSE YOU WON'T SEE ME!

Him: Well what am I supposed to do!?!

Me: PRETEND I'M A CAR OUT HERE! I KNOW I'M SLOW, BUT PRETEND I'M A SLOW CAR AND IF SOMEONE IS NEXT TO YOU AND YOU CAN'T MOVE OVER, SLOW DOWN!!

Him: You know, you're right, I'm sorry about that man.

Me: Thank you, and I apologize for coming at you so strong, but that was just really dangerous and a bit too much to just pretend it didn't happen.

Him: Yeah, I really am sorry.

Me: Me too man, I'm sorry for yelling at you. Have a good one!

Him: You too, thanks

Kind of a weird little turn of events, but it came out pretty well, I think. He seemed genuine in his understanding and I think I got through to him. I also think that my apology to him helped the situation as I was kind of fired up. I left thinking that it was resolved and that he wasn't pissed at bikes and plans to run the next one he sees off the road. 

I guess I'll see since I ride that route close to every day and he probably drives it quite a bit since I drive past a paving company.......


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good on him for recognizing he screwed up and apologizing. Good on you for ending it positively!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That sucks, Dalton. Glad it worked out okay, though.

On another internet forum I once got into an argument with a local busdriver who actually thought that if a cyclist was in front of a large vehicle then it was the cyclist's responsibility to "just hop up onto the sidewalk" to get out of the way. It may not have been the law (and it may not have been possible by the laws of physics...), but it was common courtesy, and the fact that cyclists didn't just hop up onto the sidewalk for him meant that they were all @#$%s who deserved everything that was coming to them. I always knew to expect drivers to be lazy/aggressive/impatient, but it was a real eyeopener to learn what complete nonsense some drivers - in this case a wellpaid, professional driver - were carrying around with them behind the wheel.

In other news, I had a terrific ride in this morning for no apparent reason. It was one of those days where it felt like my tires were pumped to 100psi instead of 30, and I was just flying (with no added jet propulsion...). Temperatures dipping down into the high 40s again, which is becoming a trend. I'll have to break out the long sleeve shirts soon.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Nothing like noshing on a macchiato and cinammon toast on a cafe sidewalk patio and watching two dogs destroy each other and covering my bike with blood. What a mess...

BTW, what's the point of a leash if it's 20 ft long and the owner doesn't watch or hold the damn thing.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

jseko said:


> Nothing like noshing on a macchiato and cinammon toast on a cafe sidewalk patio and watching two dogs destroy each other and covering my bike with blood. What a mess...
> 
> BTW, what's the point of a leash if it's 20 ft long and the owner doesn't watch or hold the damn thing.


WTF!?! I really can't stand people with aggressive dogs that refuse to admit they are aggressive. "Oh, that's just how he plays." Yeah? Well why is the tail not wagging? Why is my dog bleeding?

OK, so that's never happened, but I have run into several people who show up to dog parks and their dogs just go on a rampage and they think its playing and its really not.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

The dog that did the damage, dog A, was noticeably riled up or excited when dog B showed up. There was another smaller dog that dog A did seem to get along with that belonged to owner A's friend. The owner tried to calm down dog A and owner B was sitting around the corner cleaning the beach sand out of her shoes. Dog B was just wandering around but it kept its distance from dog A. Dog A got riled up if it even saw dog B. Owner A gave the dog some water and it calmed down for a few minutes. Then owner B decides to take dog B and walk over to owner A and ask her what type of dog dog A was.

The two dogs looked at each other, and before owner A could answer, dog A bit into the face of dog B. Dog A was tied to a tree, dog B was on a 20 ft leash so the owner had to pull in about half of it before it ever got taught. Owner A stood there and watched with a look of terror on her face.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Dog A's owner should pay for Dog B's vet bills. Dog B's owner should give the money back.

Been fitting commutes in when possible, with other demands being what they are. What is it with car drivers at a 2 way stop that let the cars go by, but will make eye contact with me, then pull out in front of me anyway? They can see damn well how fast I am moving with the right of way. Then they get offended when my vocal chord horn lets them have it. Gah, I hate people.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

The Ride To Work

The Guy in the Gold Car Has Some Explaining to Do by normbilt, on Flickr

The Ride Home

August 19th 006 by normbilt, on Flickr


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## H0WL (Jan 17, 2007)

Thursday was the most recent bike commute day, and it was great; out of the house around 7 am and at my office a bit before 8 am. 
I dread the start of school in a week or two. I pass three elementary schools and within a block of two high schools on my 9 mile ride in and every parent of an elementary school kid in Austin, TX drives their kid to school and drops them at the front door. Every high school kid drives to school. The increase in the volume of traffic is unreal. Certainly still doable since I have a dedicated bike lane for much of my route, but not as pleasant as the peaceful streets in the summer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Normbilt said:


> The Guy in the Gold Car Has Some Explaining to Do


:lol: Love it!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Crossed 4000 commute miles today. 4,800 miles total for the year. Warm morning, about 65 degrees. Headwind to boot. Still, I'll take this over what's to come in 4-5 months...


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

June Bug said:


> Thursday was the most recent bike commute day, and it was great; out of the house around 7 am and at my office a bit before 8 am.
> I dread the start of school in a week or two. I pass three elementary schools and within a block of two high schools on my 9 mile ride in and every parent of an elementary school kid in Austin, TX drives their kid to school and drops them at the front door. Every high school kid drives to school. The increase in the volume of traffic is unreal. Certainly still doable since I have a dedicated bike lane for much of my route, but not as pleasant as the peaceful streets in the summer.


This. I work and commute to USF (University of South Florida, GO BULLS!) and almost forgot that today was the start of county schools and the start of classes at USF. Luckily my internal alarm clock went off half an hour before I normally wake up and I left the house a lot earlier than usual. Through summer I had been getting later and later leaving for my morning commute, but now I am going to have to get back on my routine of getting out of the house before the sun is up so the streets are a little quieter.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Great ride in until my front tire got caught between the grass and the bike path while passing a pedestrian (who really could not decide weather to stay on the path or walk onto the grass when I rang my bell). Ended up crashing into the guard rail and my arm had an intimate encounter with one of the rails. My fault for not paying more attention to the grass/path border. The guy apologized, and waited around to make sure I was OK. 

Oh well...


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## Ascentionist (Jul 26, 2010)

Good ride, about 70 degrees and met a guy on a homemade, electric assisted recumbent. Monday meeting at work was all about the US Pro Cycling Challenge which will be in town next Sunday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather has been great the past week or so. The mornings have been relatively cool and the evenings haven't been bad either. I was a bit creaky on the way in this morning. I played a couple hours of soccer on Saturday and rode the trails on Sunday. I am a bit sore.

P.S. Boooo...Bulls. Go Cards!


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Ascentionist said:


> ... met a guy on a homemade, electric assisted recumbent. ..


That's really cool.

I had rain this morning, but I like it, it makes me angry and I ride harder. Almost too cool for a short sleeve jersey this afternoon on the way home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^ Rain makes you angry?


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^^ Rain makes you angry?


I use it to my advantage,

Going over the bridges here, with the wind blowing, rain trying to puncture my skin, helmet sweat burning my eyes.....yeah, I get angry and take it out on my pedals. I do my best training in the rain from sheer disgust for the weather.


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

Summer is finally here in southern Germany. It was a nice 69 degrees this morning. Forcasted to be upper 80s this afternoon. Gotta hydrate for the ride home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I used to get angry in the rain before I got fenders. I hated the spray from the front tire hitting me in the face. Erg...

The weather continues to be amazing. It was 64F and sunny. I had an awkward moment with a car as I was coming down the bike lane. The car turned its blinker on late and stopped shy of entering the right turning lane. I was in the bike lane and slammed on my brakes as soon as I spotted his blinker. I think he must have seen me and had one of those weird "Oh no, a bike! What do I do?" moments, even though the obvious solution was to pull into the right turn lane before I had a chance to catch him. An earlier turn signal would have been nice too, otherwise it looks like he's just sitting at the red light waiting to go straight.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Got my first commute in on my new build! (First time building a bike from the frame up, I did the headset and BB all by myself! **pat on back**)

Still needs the bars wrapped, but I am still dialing them in.

Midge Bars
Outcast 29er - 21" Frame
Kona Project 2 steel fork
36x16 gear
Avid BB7
Thomson stem and seat post (will be swapping stems for something with less reach and more rise)
Kenda Nevegals until I order some Geax AKAs

All in all its awesome finally riding the bike that is replacing my old Outcast that was stolen.

Nice and safe at my desk:


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Mine was uneventful this morning which is what I like. 

The only thing was that I had to put my rear wheel back on since I broke a spoke on Friday and got the rim back last night and was too lazy to do it then. Man do I wish I had different dropouts. Its a single speed, so I have horizontal and they are a pain sometimes to get back on the right way without the wheel all cocked. If I had a stand it might be easier, but I don't.... grrr.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dalton, get a coulple of Surly Tuggnuts. They make it easy to get the wheel back into the same position on horizontal dropouts.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

woodway said:


> Dalton, get a coulple of Surly Tuggnuts. They make it easy to get the wheel back into the same position on horizontal dropouts.


Or any track end chain tensioner should work, if I recall Tuggnuts are pretty expensive...

It makes dialing in the chain tension/wheel alignment way easier.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

woodway said:


> Dalton, get a coulple of Surly Tuggnuts. They make it easy to get the wheel back into the same position on horizontal dropouts.


Its funny cause I was just looking at those about 2 minutes ago. I am thinking of getting a Troll to build up and glanced at the parts bin on their site and there they were.... I think I'll grab some. Hell, if I get the troll, I'll still be in horizontal drops.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I hate getting wet, but it doesn`t raise my blood pressure. When I get angry is I`m ripped off by a vending machine :madmax:



ender. said:


> Got my first commute in on my new build! (First time building a bike from the frame up, I did the headset and BB all by myself! **pat on back**)


Whoohoo- way to go! Bikes are always 3.14 MPH faster if you put them together yourself rather than buying them preassembled :thumbsup:


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whoohoo- way to go! Bikes are always 3.14 MPH faster if you put them together yourself rather than buying them preassembled :thumbsup:


Man.... if I had known that before I would have just built one up from the start. I had no idea that's why I was going so slow.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whoohoo- way to go! Bikes are always 3.14 MPH faster if you put them together yourself rather than buying them preassembled :thumbsup:


Totally.

My ride this morning was awesome, I forgot how much I missed my clipless pedals until i rode them today... Every minute I am spending on the new bike I am falling for her more and more, some may call it love. lol


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Otmr, if that`s your words for today, you`re really messing with my mind. Is it somehow a reprint of one of Mtbxplorer`s post from a while ago? If not, it`s uncannilly close to it


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I don't want to jinx this, but I think that both of my bikes may finally be free of annoying clicks. I don't know how long it will last, but for now it's glorious.


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## Doughnut Spaghetti (Jul 21, 2011)

Really muggy today. Got passed by a guy on a pretty sweet looking specialized road bike, rocking the s works color scheme. Rather nice bike for commuting imo, also nice to finally see some other commuters out there. 

I imagine a road bike would shave some time of the morning commute, but I really like the work out I get from my single speed converted mtb though, as I can't jog much as I have planter fasciitis in my right foot. Luckily biking has no effect on it, as in no pain. Thank the two wheeled gods!

I also just recently added a computer to my setup. The little single speed tops out at about 22mph (according to my computer). Kinda cool to see what I'm doing, it gives me a whole new perspective. Currently my commute is just over 16 minutes one way with a 14.7 mph average.


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## Blangkang (May 27, 2009)

Had a great commute, sad that I get to work in the same amount of time as driving lol I did loose my fender bolt I had a nice loud rattle to and from work


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Today was not my day: Should have stayed in bed.

1. Came downstairs at home to get on the bike for the ride to work and discovered that the rear tire was flat. I hate changing tires in the morning. Especially at 5:10 in the morning.
2. I pass 16 traffic signals on my commute. Normally I sail through the signals early in my commute where it is fairly rural and there is little traffic. I am used to waiting at the signals closer to my office in the city. The odds went against me today and I got stopped at EVERY STINKIN TRAFFIC SIGNAL. What? Until this morning I never even knew that a couple of the signals near my house turned red. 
3. I finally made it to work and was carrying my bike up the concrete stairs, when I slipped, dropped my bike and bashed my knee on the stairs. My knee still hurts. The bike seems to be OK.
4. I parked my bike in my office grabbed my shower kit and went upstairs to the locker room to shower and change when I realized that I forgot to pack socks. Shozbots! I am sitting here at my desk wearing dress shoes with no socks. If I lived in Miami this look might suffice, but I live in Seattle and socks are expected. When the mall down the street opens I am going to go and buy a pair of socks.
5. After I took my shower and changed I came back downstairs (not wearing socks) and realized that I left my card key laying on my desk. I could not get back into my office. I am one of the early arrivers in my company, in fact most people don't arrive until between 8 and 9. So I had to walk around the building (not wearing socks) looking for the janitor to ask him to please let me my office.

I am afraid for what the ride home tonite might bring 

Heading to Alaska tomorrow for a few days of fishing. I am back mid next week. A few days off the bike are going to be welcome.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Woodway. Are you sure going out on a boat is a good idea this week? I sure hope your luck turns around before you board!


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## blazin05 (Aug 24, 2011)

Just started riding last week 8 mile ride each way.
It's been going well enjoying it I'm a big rider 280 at 5'9


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

tornado warning tonight.
wind on ride home was very "resistance training"


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## Berkeley Mike (Jan 13, 2004)

*Just started commuting.*

I have to get the weight off of the top of my body. The weight of the bag ends up wearing my arms and the bag moves around alot. Bought a rack and will just strap my big Timbucktu back there until I decide on a trunk bag. Arkel looks good.

The 8 City blocks that start my ride home have lights and I seem to hit most of them and so do the cars. I want to rethink that part of the ride.

Parking, removng wheel, kryptonite and cable to the desk, changing clothes/cleaning up; I have to get used to that. Found a shower on the premises. Food for thought.


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

I fixed the annoying creaking sound eminating from the bottom bracket area that started yesterday morning. The right side crank arm had loosened itselt ever so slightly from the ISIS bottom bracket. Re-greased and torqued the bolt to spec and not it's whisper quiet. I think riding continuously on cobblestones had loosened the fixing bolt. Gotta watch out for that.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I'm ashamed. After 2 days without commuting, I muttered a horrible word this morning...

"Brrrrr"

Damnit, it was 50 degrees this morning. I warmed up after the first mile, but its far too early in the year to say the" B" word. Besides the brisk air, the ride in was great. No load on the bike besides my coffee mug and plenty of time to get to work made for a relaxing, easy cruise.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

ranier said:


> I fixed the annoying creaking sound eminating from the bottom bracket area that started yesterday morning. The right side crank arm had loosened itselt ever so slightly from the ISIS bottom bracket. Re-greased and torqued the bolt to spec and not it's whisper quiet. I think riding continuously on cobblestones had loosened the fixing bolt. Gotta watch out for that.


Just last week I had the same issue with my hardtail. I'd regrease the pedals/cranks/bb/everything and the creaking would go away, but then within a week it would be back. And this kept happening over and over. Once I finally confirmed that it was the crankbolts (and not the waterbottle screws, seat-tube, derailleurs...) I gave up on grease and packed it full of blue threadlocker.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Almost turned on the cell phone before I got on the bike this morning, because I'm entering that time when the sunrise can get really cool, and I want to have the camera handy. I didn't turn it on or put it in my pocket...it was buried in the backpack, and then about half way through the commute I had one of those moments.... this big fat buck was standing just off the road, with two other not-so-big bucks off behind him..they were all three lit up in bright orange sunlight, with that halo effect caused by the sun being behind them lighting them up. Would have been an outstanding picture.


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## kylemason (Sep 2, 2007)

Took the bus Monday and Tuesday cause I wanted to compare to my commute. Took me 10 minutes longer to get into the office. Only got to stay in bed 5 minutes later. I rinse off and change when I ride so that time was a surprise. Was all sorts of crowded and annoying on the bus. Couldn't leave the office when I wanted cause the bus schedule.....
I LOVE my bike! 
I LOVE my commute! 
:rockon:


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## kylemason (Sep 2, 2007)

otmr said:


> The other bike is a full suspension Kona Dawg trail bike. I ride it now and then when I don't need fenders, but it's a bit heavy and overkill for the commute. You can fly on the dirt and in the loose snow conditions with the fatter tires though. The Dawg would have been an advantage on the dirt road this morning, but no advantage on the ice.
> 
> I'm building bike #3, a 29er hardtail, which I think I'm going to get some quick-mount fenders for...that will be the ticket for the sloppy dirt road in the winter.


It's supposed to be 99F this weekend in Florida. I can't believe you have ice already! :yikes: I am so spoiled......


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh man... another reminder that I don't have any firewood yet. Thanks for that.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Another beautiful day here. Even work is going well (software working as advertised!). Only if it were payday friday and I could have a tailwind home. I did notice my left brifter is askew on my handlebars. Didnt notice it yesterday, and it's not loose. Gremlins perhaps?

Yesterdays surly blog sure has my head spinning though. This winter's snowy commutes might be even more fun and efficient with new tires.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

kylemason said:


> I LOVE my bike!
> I LOVE my commute!
> :rockon:


This is starting to sound like an Ally Bank commercial.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Well, crap!*

I had plans for a week long tour starting Monday and they just got shuffled. A guy from Michigan contacted me a few months ago for local route advice for part of his 6 week tour out here. Eventually, we decided to team up and I would ride the first few days with him, playing "Indian Guide" through some of the dirt and gravel lumber roads around here, then turn around and ride home. He was supposed to board the Amtrak in Chicago tomorrow, arrive here in Reno Mon morning, then we`d get his bike reassembled, stash the box at my house for use on the return trip, and take off the same day. News Flash: Derailled train in Nebraska has F*d up scheduling, his train was cancelled, and still no word on when service will be resumed. GRRR....

New plan is take off solo Monday morning for a close in loop around the Tahoe area, and check in every night. When I find out when he`s going to show up, I`ll head home and be ready to run him out to wherever he needs to be in order to catch up with the plans and reservations he has lined up for the rest of the trip. Let`s see how it all pans out.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday, a guy cut me off and made a right turn while running the stop sign. It's a good thing I actually stopped or things could have been interesting. This morning Molly Maid cut off the bike lane and a pickup truck passed me while I was in the middle of the road preparing for a left turn. This one little patch of road (maybe 1/10th of a mile) is proving to be more dangerous than I thought. There isn't a safer way around it, so I guess I'm stuck with it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Got out of the house early enough to take the 9 mile route this morning. I gave in and wore long sleeves, which made it plesant but depressing at the same time. Not ready for cold. Great ride though. Deer were out in abundance. Whipped around a tight corner on the bike path and found myself in a herd of maybe 15 deer...bucks, babies, does.... there is really tall dry grass stuff (maybe 5 feet tall) along both sides of the bike path at this point, so I completely took them by surprise. Deer were flying everywhere, and a half a second later, you'd never know anything was there. They just vanish when they get into that tall grass.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey guys, back from a week of flyfishing for big Silver Salmon and fat Rainbow Trout on the Kanektok river in Alaska. I caught plenty of both, saw a grizzly bear picked a bunch of wild blueberries on the tundra and generally had a blast!

I was only off the bike for six days, but it felt more like six weeks from how sluggish I was this morning. Amazing how fast that peak fitness goes. Cloudy and cool here in the Seattle area today. Supposed to warm up by weeks end. But it feels like fall is a coming.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> Hey guys, back from a week of flyfishing for big Silver Salmon and fat Rainbow Trout on the Kanektok river in Alaska. I caught plenty of both, saw a grizzly bear picked a bunch of wild blueberries on the tundra and generally had a blast!


Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...:rant:

(jealous)


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

39F/4C this morning? Lousy september.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Getting chilly, but still long sleeves/shorts. Got out of the house early and took the trail today. Beautiful morning.:thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 100F going home yesterday, and it will likely be the same going home. It's not too bad though. The humidity is relatively low.

People seem a bit agitated. I don't know why. I'm the one riding the bike. They're in the air conditioning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*s0ckeyeus*, where do you live?

I had low 50's and cloudy into work today, but the clouds have now burned off and it's a beautiful clear day...should be in the low 70's for the ride home tonite. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

High 50s here this morning, low 70s now. My pugsley is all packed up and ready for a bikepacking trip after work. Got a few funny looks riding in this morning, and a coworker asked me if I got kicked out of the house! Looking forward to 60+ miles of country roads and gravel to myself.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Have 3/4 of my amalgam fillings (Mercury) revised and have regained some energy in the two weeks since. Rode downtown twice this week. Today was 99 F on the way home, but so far no energy crash. I agree the cagers seemed a bit steamed. I have the transfers to put on the repainted Duchess, so reassembly is close. Pics then. My reward to get back to 25-35 mile rides.

BrianMc


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## Ascentionist (Jul 26, 2010)

Ramming Speed Friday! Loving the cooler weather!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

First time riding since my crash two weeks ago...

I hated being off the bike for those two weeks. Driving 3 mi to work is stupid, and public transit in my part of SF isn't great.

I feel weird riding. I'm riding slower that I used to and I'm afraid to go fast. Road imperfections I've gone over a hundred times without thinking twice I'm now avoiding or slowing down before hitting them. Every little thing on the road seems to make me nervous. For example, there are large portions of road the utility co cut up to redo buried pipes and put a big patch of tar over. Approaching this as well as the transition back to asphalt makes me nervous.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Big welcome back to JSeko and B Mc. Brian, really glad you`re feeling stronger and looking forward to seeing Ms Duchess with her new look.

Just back yesterday afternoon from my latest mini tour. At 6 days/356 miles, it`s getting close to not needing the "mini" tag. I figure at 7 days it crosses that line. Pics to follow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*One for you, one for me*

No había de limon 
Espero que te guste asi.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> *s0ckeyeus*, where do you live?


Louisville, KY.

We're in the process of having a weather overhaul. Yesterday was over 100F again, but tomorrow won't get out of the 70s. I did some trail work yesterday morning and was sweating like a pig. Maybe the cool temps will hold out for next week's commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My trip. Reno to Lassen accompanied, home solo. About half was on highways, the rest on a combination of dirt, gravel, paved back roads, and a little bit of bike path. Tons of climbing, lots of lakes (way more water than we should have seen at this time of year), deer out the wazoo, hiking trails, small towns, tranquil mountain meadows, helpful people, nasty lumber trucks (whose drivers generally behaved pretty well), nasty little 4 x 4 things (whose drivers were generally butt heads).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Now, where to go next year?


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## Trail_rat (Oct 25, 2006)

was good today - new house , new commute - my old one was 35 miles i did it once or twice a month ....

got back from offshore on sat - van is in for service so i HAD to ride .... thats fine by me 

23 miles at 12.6 mph ave taking it gentle for the first day back (been offshore for last 2 weeks). - could do with faster tires for 90% of the ride but i have to cut through the forest to avoid the busiest main road so im on specialized houfalaize CX tires pumped up hard 

Plesently surprised by the roads - on google maps i plotted a route to start with and feared that 2 of the roads would be lethal - but i hit them so early (6.15am) that the traffic hasnt started yet ! 

saw a giraffe paint job land rover defender 110 also  

thats option 1 of 3 tested out - think "climby" would be a good name for that route .... shame its a 2 day week this week before going back to my 10km pancake flat commute in holland !


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

"Active Recovery"

I had a nasty week and weekend fitness wise, I could really feel that this morning. My average speed was 21Kph this morning. It's hard for me to intentionally ride that slow.

Tomorrow might be the same, have to see how my legs feel.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

R-Y-R, looks like a great ride through some pretty country and super weather. Thanks for sharing the pics!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

So the guy waiting at the light next to me decided he wants to try and beat the green and got hit by a pickup go through just as the light turned yellow. I don't know who's in worse shape, bike guy or pickup truck lady -- she was crying and no one could coax her out for at least 10 or 15 minutes. Bike guy got taken away in an ambulance.

Not sure what bike guy was thinking. I was the first one that rolled up to the light and already taken the lane. Bike guy came up next to me about 10-15s later. The street on the other side really isn't wide enough to share with autos for the next 300m or so and traffic doesn't move fast enough that I care to move over since there is a 4-way stop about 150m past the intersection that already had cars lined up. He wouldn't have got any advantage darting ahead.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jseko said:


> Not sure what bike guy was thinking. I was the first one that rolled up to the light and already taken the lane. Bike guy came up next to me about 10-15s later. The street on the other side really isn't wide enough to share with autos for the next 300m or so and traffic doesn't move fast enough that I care to move over since there is a 4-way stop about 150m past the intersection that already had cars lined up. He wouldn't have got any advantage darting ahead.


Sounds like he was engaging you in some cat6 racing. Hope he is OK even if he is not very smart.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Very nice pics Rodar y Rodar! :thumbsup:

I have some parts coming to complete the reassembly so maybe in a week or so for pics. I had no bad effects from the second ride to speak of. I averaged about two cogs higher into the wind, too. I am hoping the final amalgam removal won't knock me back to much. I am glad to know I'll be faster on the reassembled Duchess, because I did it myself.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

*Strangest commute home ever yesterday*

1st event. Guy steps out in front of me and proceeds to walk down the bike path.......next to the sidewalk. I pass him, he yells at me and keeps yelling louder as I get farther away. I stop, wait for him, and reply in Swedish "nice bike ********" and point to the bike painted on the tarmac below where I am standing. He says nothing, steps onto the sidewalk, and walks on.

2nd event. Drunk on bike, girl in front me, another cyclist behind me, bike lane is easily 3 bikes wide. Girl passes drunk, drunk yells. I pass drunk, drunk yells, guy behind me passes drunk, drunk yells. We all get stopped at the next light and the drunk is still yelling, getting angry. The girl pulls out a pepper spray and tell him (in Swedish) to "shut the **** up". He quickly took her advice.

3rd event. I'm #2 in a 4 bike draft line, we had a nasty headwind yesterday when headed east. On a bike only path, there is a guy walking his pit bull. Lead cyclist rings bell several times to alert the dog and owner that we are coming. As soon as we go to pass on the left, the dog juts out in front of us (dog was on the right side of the owner), we all swerve to the grass on the left, Lead cyclist clips the dog with his foot, I was sideways, locked up rear wheel, and clipped the dog with my rear wheel.

4h event. I'm fuming at this point. I want to kill someone. If I was wearing my Polar, it would have said "kill mode engaged". I come up behind dad, with his daughter in the bike seat. The daughter reaches out her fist toe me, offers me a fist bump. :thumbsup:

I can only hope today isn't as eventful.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Sounds like you had a fun ride home mrbigisbudgood


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That sounds more like Detroit than Sweden to me. (Not that I`ve ever been to either of them) Better luck tomorrow.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Sent my 7th grader back to school this morning. Feelin' old! Since my bike route passes an elementary school, this year's new crop of crossing guards were out. Adds a couple minutes to my commute, but I dont want to be an jerk and set a bad example. One of the adults/teachers said I could "do what I need to do" when I approach the intersection. I'll just take the extra time. Almost every kid riding to school this morning was not wearing a helmet...

But besides that my legs are still a bit sore from my 70 mile bikepacking adventure saturday. See my blog for pics/details.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, I know these places :thumbsup: Good stuff.


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## saint urho (Aug 24, 2011)

It was a beautiful morning to commute to work today... however, I wasn't commuting, I was just walking my dog on our usual route which includes about 15 minutes of strolling on a narrow shared use pathway. We keep to the right.. and Sasha is actually off-the trail (though on the leash) sniffing the bushes and fence posts. We we're out a little later than usual (7 AM instead of 6 AM) and ran into a new cohort of commuters. First guy was probably 6'-6" and blazed past on his road bike at likely double the limit (20KM is the limit)... he was well past me when I suggested he use a bell. I'm not going to get on a guy for speeding.. I train on the pathways too.. I'd appreciate a little warning rather then getting startled is all. The second commuter to pass me rang his bell.. I said "Thanks", he waved...nice and neighbourly.

Commuters 3 thru 7 all slogged by and none of them used the bell. It was a little frustrating, but they all got my standard line after they passed "Use your bell please".

Commuter 8 was a special case though... her response to my request that she use her bell was "I don't have one". I called out to her quickly receding back "Get One". She responded by flipping me the bird. I kind of lost it and yelled a bunch of profanity and stated that "I'm on the path every day and I'll see you again." This may have sounded rather threatening.. it isn't my intent to cause bodily harm.. it is however my intent to claim my lane and consistently reeducate those in the cycling community who continually fail at presenting a good example.

Looking forward to seeing you commuters again tomorrow. Have a great day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^ You know I know you know those places.



JAGI410 said:


> Sent my 7th grader back to school this morning. Feelin' old! Since my bike route passes an elementary school, this year's new crop of crossing guards were out. Adds a couple minutes to my commute, but I dont want to be an jerk and set a bad example. One of the adults/teachers said I could "do what I need to do" when I approach the intersection. I'll just take the extra time. Almost every kid riding to school this morning was not wearing a helmet...
> 
> But besides that my legs are still a bit sore from my 70 mile bikepacking adventure saturday. See my blog for pics/details.


Setting an example is a worth cause, IMO.
Typo, or are most of the kids really without helmets? Sounds odd to me.
Off to check blog!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather is nasty today: 56F, cloudy, windy, and spitting rain. Fortunately, my commute was dry, but it still wasn't terribly fun. The ride home might be wet. Temps aren't expected to rise out of the 60s.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't have a bell.


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## saint urho (Aug 24, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I don't have a bell.


Anarchist!

Seriously.. if you're overtaking a pedestrian on a shared pathway you need to announce your presence... in Calgary there is a bylaw requiring cyclists on shared pathways to have and use a bell. Golfers will yell Fore when they hit into a group ahead of them as a warning. X-country skiers will say "on your left".. or "track" when overtaking. But commuter cyclists apparently don't need to be courteous for some reason.

That girl really fouled my mood today.:madmax:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Setting an example is a worth cause, IMO.
> Typo, or are most of the kids really without helmets? Sounds odd to me.


Seeing helmets on kids or adults here is an oddity really, its sad. The MUP has "Save a Brain, Wear a helmet" signs, but those just arent enough. I'm glad my kids know better.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

saint urho said:


> Anarchist!
> 
> Seriously.. if you're overtaking a pedestrian on a shared pathway you need to announce your presence... in Calgary there is a bylaw requiring cyclists on shared pathways to have and use a bell. Golfers will yell Fore when they hit into a group ahead of them as a warning. X-country skiers will say "on your left".. or "track" when overtaking. But commuter cyclists apparently don't need to be courteous for some reason.
> 
> That girl really fouled my mood today.:madmax:


I would probably conform and use a bell or something if I lived somewhere that forced me to deal with other humans on my commute. My biggest concerns are deer and the occasional marmot.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I don't have a bell either 

But I always call out "on your left" when passing peds or cyclists.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

woodway said:


> I don't have a bell either
> 
> But I always call out "on your left" when passing peds or cyclists.


This ^


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## saint urho (Aug 24, 2011)

:thumbsup:I wish y'all lived in my neighbourhood.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Marmots are people too.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

saint urho said:


> Anarchist!
> 
> Seriously.. if you're overtaking a pedestrian on a shared pathway you need to announce your presence... in Calgary there is a bylaw requiring cyclists on shared pathways to have and use a bell. Golfers will yell Fore when they hit into a group ahead of them as a warning. X-country skiers will say "on your left".. or "track" when overtaking. But commuter cyclists apparently don't need to be courteous for some reason.
> 
> That girl really fouled my mood today.:madmax:


Really and that dog of yours never gets in any ones way....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

saint urho said:


> :thumbsup:I wish y'all lived in my neighbourhood.


And I wish my neighborhood had "u" in it, too :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I got another ride in a bit slow against headwinds in and WooHoo! top gear a bit back home. One jerk blew by at 50 in a thirty up a blind grade (after completely blowing the stop sign at speed). Lucky he did not meet his counterpart at the crest. A first: a traffic light that never in over three years has ever tripped for me, tripped for me with no cars on my street near the intersection. I was very tempted to buy a lottery ticket. 

BTW I have a bell because I meet peds close to home (neighbors), use 'on the left' for cyclists. 

CB: Pellee Island in Lake Erie is about your latitude maybe a bit south of it? and an interesting neighbourhood. So you might not even need to go North or not much to get a 'u'. A definite lack of mountains, though.

BrianMc


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice stuff going on guys!
good to see you back riding BrianMc!

thanks for sharing your ride pics rodar! I'm pretty sure I'm having a short bike trip in october!

I'm on and off commuting  ...probably back on thursday, I went for a soccer game tonight... exhausted!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great trip, Jag! Just needs more pictures  Have you tried out your "cat" stove? How do you like it? I`ve been using one for about two years now and like it quite a bit. I haven`t had much luck trying to actually cook on mine, but I`m finding more hot foods that I can make up with just boiling water, and it`s been great for that.

After a week with an extra 40 pounds or so on the bike, the naked 32 lb speed demon feels sleek and mean. Give her a little gas and she takes off like a GTO. Floor it from a stop sign and the acceleration is like a Porsche 911.

Stopped by the convenience store on my way to work tonight. I was waiting at a red light when a big black lab with toungue hanging out came trotting by on the sidewalk to my right, got up to the crosswalk, did a perfect left-right-left check, and turned left, turned and trotted across the street in front of me. Crossed with the green, of course. Very legal and saftey concious dog . Wonder what he was doing out wandering all alone at 10:30 in the night.



BrianMc said:


> One jerk blew by at 50 in a thirty up a blind grade (after completely blowing the stop sign at speed). Lucky he did not meet his counterpart at the crest.


"Counterpart" probably heard Jerk`s bell.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a Prius blow by me yesterday. The driver didn't do anything dangerous, but it was still kind of funny the way the driver put the pedal down. I get better gas mileage off a can of beans than the Prius does a gallon of gas...

Today's weather is like yesterday's, but it's a little warmer and the wind isn't as strong.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Ride in was a wet one due to Lee's wrath in the DC area. But I would much rather get to work covered in wet road grime than spend the time stuck in traffic...


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## mtnbean (Jan 5, 2010)

Chilly. Had to start using the blinky lights and clear safety glasses for the first time this season a few days ago, gonna need to take the gloves out before too long.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> After a week with an extra 40 pounds or so on the bike, the naked 32 lb speed demon feels sleek and mean. Give her a little gas and she takes off like a GTO. Floor it from a stop sign and the acceleration is like a Porsche 911.


I hear that. If you don't do a tour for any other reason, do it for the first week without the extra weight. You'd swear you could compete with the pros.


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## saint urho (Aug 24, 2011)

My dog walk was better today.. I decided to walk closer to the middle of the shared path and both the commuting cyclists that overtook me used their bells.. I moved over, said Thanks, they no problem, your welcome and it was all nice and neighbourly. The weather is awesome.

Question for you on road commuters... if / when you squeeze past a line of cars at a stoplight how much room do you expect in your lane when those same cars overtake you 100 feet up the road?


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## saint urho (Aug 24, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> And I wish my neighborhood had "u" in it, too :lol:


You'll have to move to Canada. We get extra vowels here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I get a taste of that speedy feeling switching between the upright 55 pound errand bike with kit, (especially after hauling 50 pounds or more of groceries and all that wind resistance of the panniers) then riding the good bike in a lower position (circa 25 pounds with kit), can't imagine what an ultralight SS would feel like.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It's definitely a good thing... rocket ship acceleration. 

...and I had a Land Rover for a while... I felt very proper with my colour options and my new tyres while driving around the neighbourhood.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

saint urho said:


> Question for you on road commuters... if / when you squeeze past a line of cars at a stoplight how much room do you expect in your lane when those same cars overtake you 100 feet up the road?


Erg...one of my pet peeves. I don't usually do that, unless I have a bike lane. It makes little sense to pass a car on the right, only to make everyone pass you all over again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

saint urho said:


> Question for you on road commuters... if / when you squeeze past a line of cars at a stoplight how much room do you expect in your lane when those same cars overtake you 100 feet up the road?


I agree with *s0ckeyeus* on this and I never filter to the front of a line of cars. My thinking is two-fold:

1. Cars sitting in line are not looking out for you, so should any movement (changing of lanes, decide to dart into a driveway, etc.) take place while you are filtering it increases your chances of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

2. I don't care to make drivers pass me twice. Pisses them off and they are more likely to try to squeeze past you after a traffic light (when both lanes are full of cars) increasing your chances of getting clipped or hooked.

There are many here who hold that filtering to the front is OK and that it's actually safer and I am sure some of them will weigh in at some point.



saint urho said:


> You'll have to move to Canada. We get extra vowels here.


You also get extra suffixes, Eh?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I do filter to the front of the line of cars at lights... Both in the rare occurance of that situation in my small town, and I did it in Los Angeles County when I lived there too... and I never expect any room in my lane, before the light, 100 feet after the light, whenever...nothing to do with sneaking to the front at a stoplight. Why would I expect to have room? That's dangerous.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I agree with CB, and also go up to the light in almost all cases. If I must be honest, there is as much of a "need for speed" element as a "I feel much safer here" element. Why sit through several light cycles like the cars? This is the beauty of the bike, cars are really not suited to congested areas. In places where traffic is slow, like downtown, I get a better jump at the light than cars, and keep pace in lane wih the cars. At faster routes, I can still get across quickly and then I keep right & cars can pass without delay. I don't feel bad if I "make" anyone pass me twice, but often they were ahead of me before the light but get "stuck" in front of me at the light, and pass me only once.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It's the first day that the university is back in session, so I get to have two close calls on my way home. And one of them was a really, really, really close call. I thought my route was pretty foolproof - I occasionally have to deal with *******s, but I honestly can't remember the last time I had an "oh @#$%!!!" moment - but then two dozy drivers try to ruin my day. Ah, higher education.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

:madman:


newfangled said:


> It's the first day that the university is back in session, so I get to have two close calls on my way home. And one of them was a really, really, really close call. I thought my route was pretty foolproof - I occasionally have to deal with *******s, but I honestly can't remember the last time I had an "oh @#$%!!!" moment - but then two dozy drivers try to ruin my day. Ah, higher education.


I went through this a few weeks ago, when school started here. I had a few chatting away while driving not paying attention, drifting in and out of the bike lane in front of me. Nothing gets my blood boiling commuting than cars drifting into the bike lane, I can't help but picture myself getting hit when I see that.

This morning though.... was GLORIOUS!!!!!

After two straight days of commuting in the lovely FL rain, I woke up a little later, but somehow managed to get out of the house earlier and it was beautiful! I got some goosebumps from the cool air and the smile never left my face for my entire commute. In fact, it's still there as I type this!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Back to work today after 2 days on the couch sick. Allergies and a cold mixed tog ether had me down the count. Feeling a bit better, although still need a box of kleenex closeby. Rode the Pugsley with its new fatter tires in the hopes of going slow and not pushing myself too hard. Good plan. Now to decide if I want my leftovers for lunch or the Pizza buffet from the local pub.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Going into work yesterday, I noticed someone sitting on a guard rail in the distance. On the way home, there was a guy there standing near the same spot holding a long pole in the middle of the one lane. His outfit kind of looked like something Tom Bombadil from the_ Lord of the Rings_ books would wear. He was just standing there in the rain. Weird.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ So lame that Tom Bombadil didn't make the movie. This has nothing to do with why he was standing in the highway though.


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## marchone (Aug 16, 2011)

NYC DOT requires a bell. I bought one. It meets the regs. I think it's inadequate. Nobody turns to look. Time to look for a better warning sounder. Any suggestions?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

marchone said:


> NYC DOT requires a bell. I bought one. It meets the regs. I think it's inadequate. Nobody turns to look. Time to look for a better warning sounder. Any suggestions?


Master a short sharp loud whistle....

And always read hydrated enough to use it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

marchone said:


> NYC DOT requires a bell. I bought one. It meets the regs. I think it's inadequate. Nobody turns to look. Time to look for a better warning sounder. Any suggestions?


Master a short sharp loud whistle....

And always ride hydrated enough to use it.


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## marchone (Aug 16, 2011)

I've seen city bike messengers use whistles. Pedestrians tend to react annoyed. Maybe it's out of context for most people.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

marchone said:


> I've seen city bike messengers use whistles. Pedestrians tend to react annoyed. Maybe it's out of context for most people.


Let me see they ignore the bell.....so whistle at em

Or a loud which way ladies.


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## marchone (Aug 16, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Or a loud which way ladies.


Ha! Then they scatter like rabbits!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I have been missing my bikecommute since the flood closed our offices, and a bit down, not having been on the bike since my bikepacking vacation, and then this....
My temporary office space (they now say it could be 6-12mos to fix the old one) will be located only 8 mi from my house, *and adjacent to the local MTB trails at Millstone (through the old quarries & woods)!* I could even do the trails for the last few miles to the office, or on the way home. I am trying to contain my excitement, because some co-workers are forced into a longer commute, or don't MTB, as hard as that is to believe. Mgmt says we could be in there in a matter of weeks - which should be while the trails are still open.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

marchone said:


> I've seen city bike messengers use whistles. Pedestrians tend to react annoyed. Maybe it's out of context for most people.


If they`re annoyed, I guess that means they heard you, which is good. `Cept I can`t whistle. I think bells are now "out of context" for most people. Heck, most teenagers have probably never heard an actual bell from a telephone, maybe not even for change of period at school.

Before I left work this morning, I got a SURPRISE. No work for me tonight. Than means I sleep when it`s dark with the rest of the world, and can start a weekend out early Sat morning. I was going to be a good boy and do some chores around the house, but can`t pass up the opportunity to hop back on the bike for a quick trip. I`ve never ridden from home to Tahoe, or done a lake circumnavigation, so I think that`s going to be my mision for this weekend. A really strong rider could do it in a single day, but that`s way too far for me. I`ll go via Carson City, start a clockwise loop, and probably stop for the night at the south end and come home Sunday afternoon via our Mout Rose Highway. That road is an awesome decent comming into town- somewhere around 3500 ft of nonstop drop, I think.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^oooh! Have fun & be safe, it sounds great!


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## marchone (Aug 16, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I think bells are now "out of context" for most people. Heck, most teenagers have probably never heard an actual bell from a telephone, maybe not even for change of period at school.


Bingo.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I use the bike bell app on my smart phone. :thumbsup:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I don't think I'm meant to ride. Just got my front wheel clipped by a red light running fixie coming from my right from between two box trucks. Hit my front wheel to the left hard enough that my bars spun around and I went down to the right. Or at least my bars were spun around when I was able to get up. Cracked molar and second set of stitches in a month.

Third crash in less than 4 months, 3 broken teeth requiring emergency dental, and 2 visits to emergency room for stitches. This is not going well for me at all.

Witnesses said fixed guy fell down also but immediately took off.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez, that is not good at all, sorry to hear. Remind us where you live, so we know not to move there. I see CA from your profile... Especially screwy to be taken out by another biker :madman: Hope you feel better soon, you have really had a bad run of it.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Got of the bus, Mashed my pedal down. snapped my chain clean off. had to coast it all the way too work. sucky!

took it to the shop to get a new one, asked the guy 
"How long do you think a bike chain should last?"
"Couple thousand miles if you treat it right."
"Oh.... that one had about 9,000"


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

jseko said:


> I don't think I'm meant to ride. Just got my front wheel clipped by a red light running fixie coming from my right from between two box trucks. Hit my front wheel to the left hard enough that my bars spun around and I went down to the right. Or at least my bars were spun around when I was able to get up. Cracked molar and second set of stitches in a month.
> 
> Third crash in less than 4 months, 3 broken teeth requiring emergency dental, and 2 visits to emergency room for stitches. This is not going well for me at all.
> 
> Witnesses said fixed guy fell down also but immediately took off.


Dude...that's messed up. Good luck on the recovery.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I'm in San Francisco proper. I think I'm going to stay off the bike for a while. The physical and mental cost is too much for me right now. I still wasn't over the anxiety resulting from my last crash less than one month ago.

One of my trips from a couple months ago. The white dome is the Palace of Fine Arts, and then Alcatraz is behind that.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Jseko! Is it too late to delete that before Jeff Scott sees it? Either you REALLY need to be more careful or your luck is REALLY bad. Maybe both. Anyway, speedy recovery to you.



Agwan said:


> "Oh.... that one had about 9,000"


 Well, at least you didn`t get a smash job on the TT and go under your own wheel because of it. Now ya know.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Weekend ride*

I took another minitour (S36O?) this weekend. I rode to and most of the way around Lake Tahoe, then back home. Workout city! I got about 90 miles each day with umpteen feet of vertical. On the easy side, I`m pretty sure it was the lightest I`ve ever packed for an overnighter, at 15.75 pounds including "packaging" (panniers and front bag), minus water (only one to two bottles at a time).

The forecast has been for chances of isolated thuderstorms for the past several days, and I actually ended up with almost perfect weather. Had cool overcast skies for most of the trip, a heavy cloudburst Sat evening AFTER I got my tent set up, a few sprinkles comming back through Reno yesterday. The big surprise was that there was an organized century following my route around the lake, which really turned out to my advantage. From when I hit the lake loop Sat to my overpriced, overcrowded campgournd about 20 miles later, I got more impatient honks than I generally get in two years. I rolled out of the campground just as the first of the century riders were going by and just blended in with the horde for the next 40 miles or so through the worst part of the lake loop (shoulder and road width wise) and NOBODY honked at all . By the time I had reached the rear of the pack, it was about time to cut away from the lake and back towards Reno on a nasty climb with great shoulder.

That climb turns into one of my favorite descents at the summit. It drops from 8900 ft to 4600 ft in 15 miles, with only one short flat spot and one slight uphill. There are no screaming 50 MPH+ stretches, but you go forever at 30 to 35 and the switchbacks are awesome! I just wish that my side of it had a shoulder like the lake side has.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Is that dude on a scooter? Sweet shot of Emerald Bay. That's some flat water for Tahoe! I have done the Mt. Rose Hwy descent. Very cool ride. A couple guys I know were doing that century... did you meet them?



My current story is KNEE PAIN. In Jan of 08 I broke my leg/tore my MCL, etc. at Homewood (Rodar just rode by it) snowboarding. Made a pretty good recovery and rode my first century that summer... no issues with it until maybe 3 months ago. It would pop when I would squat way down and then stand back up again... I was working on the house this weekend, squatting, standing, squatting, standing...and one time I stood up and something was just not normal. Not sure what I did. I can't straighten it all the way, I'm limping, and it's a little swollen. Accute pain on the inside, just below the kneecap. It's not horrible on the bike (rode to work), but I'm afraid I may have to go get it checked out. I'm hobbling around pretty bad.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Wow, jseko and CB injured, this isnt good  Get well soon fellas.

We sold my wifes car yesterday. Since she stays home and I commute by bike, we dont need 2 cars. So the ride in this morning was a bit odd. If I ever wanted to drive to work, it would take planning and scheduling. Not a simple hop in and go scenario anymore. Thankfully the garage space and budget have opened up so I should be able to get whatever I need to make my bike commuting easier and more enjoyable. 

Since there are 30s forecast for overnight lows this week, its time to buy some decent riding clothes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No, CB- no knee injury! I`ve been there and know how it goes . I sure hope it clears up or that the docs can keep it at bay somehow. Does yours seem temperature and/or humidity dependent?

The scooter things surprised me with their speed. Not as fast as pedaled bikes, but still... I took a look at some and they seem to have a rear cluster, so some method of changing gears. Your buddies on the century route? I think I did meet them. Was one on a Rans Stratus and the other on a Tour Easy with windsock? I knew you had recumbents in your blood!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

September has been really unseasonably nice so far, but this morning was back to reality. Cool and really foggy, and I was back in longsleeves and able to see my breath. And so it begins...

And is that scooter one of those elliptigo things?

My knee has been bugging me a bit too. I've got old running issues which normally aren't a problem, but a lot of hike-a-biking over the last few weeks had really aggravated it. I dug an old knee stabilizer out of the closet (just a really basic one like this) and I've been using it on long rides or when I know I'll probably do something dumb. It's been pretty good at holding things in place and preventing it from getting worse.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

*Should have let it go...*

... but only my pride was hurt.

Riding home this afternoon, get honked at as I am making a right hand turn from a car behind me, so they get the finger. I complete the right and am watching over my shoulder to make sure I don't get swerved at and notice the driver on the phone. As the drive passes I am making a hang up gesture with my hand when I glance back at the road and realize I am about to rub the curb. Well rub the curb I do, end up OTB and on my head. First crash where I've felt the impact on the helmet (its not cracked, I fortunately landed in dirt), my head hurts, just some scrapes, and a bruised ego. Two riders were behind me and both stopped to make sure I was ok.

I usually practice what I preach of letting things go as it's not worth the time and effort (clearly) to get upset, but today was a long day and I am not sure why I let it frustrate me.

Luckily I limped home, tail (and bike) between my legs.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ At least you can rest assured that the driver of the car didn't see anything. :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Too true. hahahaha Hope your head feels better, Ender.

Sorry to hear of the knee trouble, CB. Obviously, you should stick to biking and avoid home repairs to avoid further injury.

It took me a minute to find the scooter thing in Rodar's pics, interesting! The descent sounds great, the sights look beautiful, the climbing and mileage sounds challenging, and the chow looks tasty. But what is that big desk doing in the campground?

Jseko, perhaps when you return to the bike, you might try some more relaxing low traffic scenic tours rather than the commute during rush hour at first. Nice pic.


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm back! Didn't go very far today, but I did commute to the library and I have a grip of bike events planned over the next week now that the weather is finally dipping back under 100 here in the desert! YEAH! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Solrider said:


> I'm back! Didn't go very far today, but I did commute to the library and I have a grip of bike events planned over the next week now that the weather is finally dipping back under 100 here in the desert! YEAH! :thumbsup:


Hi Solrider, good to see you! Stay cool on your upcoming events.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*The Duchess Rides Again!*

Last Friday, I got the bike reassembed and did a 5 mile shakedown ride in the following guise (From this distance, the black/green metalflake/clear powdercoat facelift looks Dark British Racing Green (like my first car, and fellow Brit, an MGB), up close green/gold metaflake where sun strikes it, gold lug lining (by yours truly), and near-black on frame parts in the shade):



Adjusted a couple of things and rode about 8 miles on Sunday. Dang, I was slow @75% max pulse outbound into the wind and 85% home bound with the wind for most of it with less weight ans no huge bar bag to push through the wind. Going to take time ramping miles up and building strength before I see that extra speed you get from building it yourself, I guess.  Chelating heavy metals out may mess me up, but nothing ventured...

Two commute rides coming up this week where it can be inside and safe. The Century Rides are off-limits for a while. I am riding with my daytime 'to-be-seen' lights on the helmet up where they are above some of the traffic. It is getting dark earlier so the night lighting will need to be mounted. The third water bottle cage is for the new battery pack (old one here, is 'done').

After straight forward SKS fenders, I wasn't prepared for the time needed to properly mount the Brass Tanadas. I should have had bosses brazed in fork crown, and on both the rear bridges. After a lot of finicky custom detail work, I got that Custom Handbuilt Bicycle Look, which is good, because she is:



A slow 6.5 mile shakedown ride was a couple of hours ago (60-70% max HR). The Suntour Cylone DT shifters had to go, so I replaced them with 'Silver' levers from Rivendell. They call them 'better than Suntours'. The local shop powdercoated the DT bosses and I found out it is a hard finish to sand through while avoiding the frame. Very happy with the Silvers, the rachet action one way is perfect. So smooth I am still overshifting the triple dropping down or on tests shifting up. The 24 rarely gets used here, it is on there for the Hilly Hundred and maybe a return to Minnesota for a future Habitat 500. That will come. They seem to be a nice upgrade, as promised (such a rare thing these days for the hype to be fact).

I was tired of the medium short blackburn pump destroying presta valves, it's lame paint destroying mounting, and generally being good on weight, cheap, but not much else. So there is a new Zefal Frame pump using a new pump mount nipple. It will likely last as long as the bike and not wear me out as bad filling the tire only 80% as the Blackburn did).

The only parts left from 1981 build, now are the brake calipers, the frame, the headset, and the seat post, everything else has been replaced over time since spring of 2008. The DT shifters and old school calipers say she started as a 2 X 5, but the under BB derailer cable routing, aero brake levers, and the 3 x 10 gearing says she's a reavamped classic.

Now to get my bottom toughened back up. Good I have a new tube of Chamois Butter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The duchess looks beautiful, Brian, nice job!


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## Paddlincwolfe (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute was screamingly awesome. Headed down Medin and the Seven bridges Road (gorgeous 1 1/2 lane windy road down the Lester River Valley on the North Shore of Lake Superior. New pavement on the middle third. It is just a beautiful down hill cruise to the the Lake. Then headed east along the shore with dark just coming on. Arrived at work for the night shift fully jazzed sans caffeine.

I love my city, a commuter's dream. The AM climbs back home is a great focus aerobic thrill to prepare me for daytime dreamland.
cwolfe


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Brian, that`s one sexy beast! Did I misunderstand about the fenders, or are they actually brass? Can`t really tell in these pictures, but if they are, how `bout some fender specific shots? I don`t think I`ve seen brass fenders before. Tubulars, or the tire under your saddle is just for the vintage look? Hey, take your time getting back into the groove again- don`t pull anything that ain`t supposed to get pulled. One last comment, re pushing air with a big front bag. While I can`t say for sure, I kind of suspect that a big front bag helps by cleaning up the "dirty" flow around bars, levers, stem and (if you had them) exposed cables. Kind of like an air dam under the front end of a car. Unfortunately, I`m not curious enough to try setting up coast down tests.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bike maintenance today. I redid all the cables and housings, replaced my hideous brake hoods (wrong make for the levers, dryrotted almost into extinction, and probably at least 20 years old), scrubbed my chainrings, removed RD for a bath in the kitchen sink, and topped it off with new bar tape. Since I noticed that the FD cable I just replaced 6 months ago (after it snapped on my way to work) was already starting to fray at the clamp, I routed around to the other side of the bolt. I think it was routed "correctly" the first time, but the design of the clamp might be better suited like it is now. it works fine like this, but the leverage is changed, like having more cable pull from the shifter lever. I don`t like how that works out because I was used to the feel and the position it had before. I could always tell where the derailler was, even in the dark, by feeling the shifter. Also, the big ring used to have the lever all the way up and in line with the end of my bar, so I could downshift by pushing with my palm. Now it`s only half way up, requiring me to hook a finger over the top to pull it. I think I`ll change it back and just be prepared to replace that cable more often.

@ newfangled: If the scooter things weren`t those Elliptigos, they were along the same idea. Believe it or not, there were several of them, and I also saw a few roller skiiers.

@ ender: Are you SURE the driver didn`t see you? Sorry about being seen by the two riders behind.

@ mtbx: The big desk is a bear box.

@ Paddlin: Sounds like a great route! Are you going to post up some pictures?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Mtbxplorer: Thanks. 30 years of nicks scratches and touchups had taken their toll. Found rust under the rear brake cable housing clips on the top tube. I have stops either end now. The classic BB brazed on cable guides were hiding rust, too, so it was time.

rodar y rodar: Yes brass. All the way through (I have the drill shavings to prove it). Here is a shot lifted from a vendor site:



Here is a lower exposure shot taken standing showing the fenders and the sparkly aspect of the finish better:



I fashioned my own 'daruma' by hanging a shaved 1/2" PVC pipe cap from holes in it that the brake bolt goes through and bolted the fender to the flat face of it, which is flush under the fork crown, making the fender height more fixed than the L bracket and gettng a clean look. I reversed the stainless 'crimp-on' brake bridge adaptor form the old SKS up under the brake bridge and tucked just shy of the caliper to get a clean sweep of brass. I modded an SKS stainless clamp clip for the chainstay bridge to get the wheel in and out.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> But what is that big desk doing in the campground?


The Moose around here are small and agressive, with large claws. You have to put your food in the desk to keep them from getting it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> The Moose around here are small and agressive, with large claws. You have to put your food in the desk to keep them from getting it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Speaking of Monty Python... One of those absurdist ideas suitable for one of their skits came over me when I read the response: Bear Box? Just how do you entice the bear in, and once in, what do you do with the box then?  Bear it away? It would be unbearable to have to open in manually. Full body armor would be as bare skin to a bear that could bear in no longer. How are you bearing up under this pun-nishment? 

In a more serious vein, why protect the dang food and leave the edible humans on the hoof, so to speak? Polar bears love igloos: crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside.

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Speaking of Monty Python... One of those absurdist ideas suitable for one of their skits came over me when I read the response: Bear Box? Just how do you entice the bear in, and once in, what do you do with the box then?  Bear it away? It would be unbearable to have to open in manually. Full body armor would be as bare skin to a bear that could bear in no longer. How are you bearing up under this pun-nishment?
> 
> In a more serious vein, why protect the dang food and leave the edible humans on the hoof, so to speak? Polar bears love igloos: crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside.
> 
> BrianMc


Teenager caught in bear trap - Canmore Leader - Alberta, CA


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

http://www.srd.alberta.ca/FishWildl...ermits/documents/Bears_Class_Protocol_005.pdf


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Tubulars, or the tire under your saddle is just for the vintage look? .


Vintage look (I had tubulars on the bike this one replaced) and saved me working out something for the rack. It and the tires on the bike are foldables, The Pasela Tourguards are good on direct hits, but the sidewalls are easily slashed (lost one on its second outing! Dollar bill 'patch' got me home). We have had little rain so driveways have spilled quarried (sharp) gravel onto the roads with little rain to wash the debris back. I haven't ridden them in a while so did not know how bad it might be. So I figured a spare tire and tube would be good and I had a velcro strip, and I's lost about 10 pounds so could afford the ballast.



rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, take your time getting back into the groove again- don`t pull anything that ain`t supposed to get pulled. One last comment, re pushing air with a big front bag. While I can`t say for sure, I kind of suspect that a big front bag helps by cleaning up the "dirty" flow around bars, levers, stem and (if you had them) exposed cables. Kind of like an air dam under the front end of a car. Unfortunately, I`m not curious enough to try setting up coast down tests.


I hear you about taking time, The road racer's spring regain fitness regime is to increase the longest ride by no more than about 10% and the weekly total the same. If you start at 0 miles, how does that work? Obviously, they are talking some significant mileage before that kicks in. I'll just listen to the body. If I end up stranded, like ET, I'll phone home.

I noticed the increased drag going from a small bar bag to a bag with over 2 X the frontal area. Compared to classic bikes, the brake cables are appreciably shorter and with no brifters, there are no shifter cables out in the wind on my hybrid-classic-modern. I don't think a front bag gives much compensating sail effect with a tail wind, either because it is on the lea of my big butt. The handling suffered with much size and weight that high on the front. A small bag for accessbiles on longer rides would be OK. The rake and castor are for a sport/light tourer, (race weekends, commute weekdays (they must assume a safe place to put it at work)), not for a fully loaded tourer or a cargo bike.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscot, that 1 line in the "Teenager Caught in Bear Trap" article should have read

"The boy and his friend, both who cannot be named because they are _*morons*_, were allegedly vandalizing the trap and signs warning to stay away from the trap", instead of

"The boy and his friend, both who cannot be named because they are minors...."
:lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Here is a lower exposure shot taken standing showing the fenders and the sparkly aspect of the finish better:


Thanks. Actually, I can see pretty well in the original pictures from this monitor- funny how much difference that makes. And, yes- they look exceptionally classy!

I had/have several flavors of Pasela: 700c 32, 26 x 1.25 and 1.5, TG, nonTG, wire, and folding. I think I want to try something else, though- Gatorskins, maybe? At least give some a shot even if I don`t end up jumping ship. I like Paselas price, love the look, and they`re the fastest rolling tires I know (as the only non bombproof "street" tires I`ve ever used, that doesn`t say much). It`s that sidewall weakness that you mentioned that`s starting to get me down. And who knows? Although I do like my Paselas for teh most part, maybe something else will work out even better as far as comfort, rolling resistance, and toughness goes. For price and asthetics, I don`t see any competition.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> Teenager caught in bear trap - Canmore Leader - Alberta, CA


The bright side of this story: the time they spent entertained by the stupid bear trap probably was several hours that would otherwise have been spent buzzing dorky cyclists or throwing beer bottles out the car window.
Need more bear traps. Maybe they should install a few downtown, just in case.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The Duchess did a downtown and back commute this afternoon between rains. Took my turn at the four-way downtown and a driver who was there after everyone else but to my right started to roll after I entered the intersection. I shouted 'Hey' to get his attention but he was already stopping and his passenger shouted something back as I rode past. I hope it was 'Nice Bike', but somehow I don't think so. Maybe the driver wasn't willing to wait for a bike and was surprised by how fast I got more than halfway through. So I have dolts who won't take their right of way even when I wave them on, and ones who don't follow the rules (or know them) or look. My lights seem a good investment on days like this. Stay thirsty, my friends.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Here's a preview of my new post-flood commute to temporary (6mos-1yr?) office space. For the coolest look, click on 3D (a flyover along the route) in the upper right corner of the map - but it may ask you to download a plug-in. A couple sights along the way are the Dix reservoir at mile 2 and the water-filled granite quarry right at the end.

mtbxplorer's new post-flood commute Barre VT in Barre, VT | Bike Map | MapMyRIDE

I believe I may be able to get there by snowmachine too - if I got one for the snowiest days I might never need the car.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I could have used a larger cog in back this morning. The wind kept me mashing pretty hard. The temps also took a nosedive last night. This morning was 54F. Tomorrow might be in the 40s, but the rains will be moving out. I hope to get a great trail ride in this weekend.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

27degrees! Lawdy! Passing cars with freshly scraped windshields was awesome. Should warm back up though, hopefully at least, because I'm not quite ready for the cold.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back in the saddle again. I've been in the UK on business since early last week. A combination of jet lag and no exercise to speak of for over a week left me sucking wind this morning...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Brian, she's a beaut. 

Jag...say it ain't so. I STILL don't have all my firewood in. 

The knee is improving... I've been wrapping it during the day and it seems to be getting better every day in terms of range of motion and tightness.... I've been riding, but not at my usual blistering pace :lol:

Rodar, that century around Tahoe was a diabetes research fund raiser thing... my people say they raised a little over $250,000 and there were 80 or so riders. Not bad. 

I just found out that they're going to be re-paving my nasty cracked-up goathead infested main commute route at the end of the month. That will be awesome.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks, CB. I know how you'll feel with new pavement. Five years ago they repaved for the first time in over 40 years, the local streets which ruined my old 27" rims. The Deep Vees are to take it on other streets but some of the best road surface I ride is the mile and a bit near home. 

Another day, another commute with The Duchess. I am really liking the Silver shifters. Nothing like gaining over 30 years of improvements at once. 

One of those NE-NNE winds that was NNE-N on the way home gusting over 20 mph and coming at weird angles because of buildings & topography so the main route in East and then homebound West were both into the wind a bit. I hate when the wind does that. Though I struggled in, returning on the south bound section with the wind in back was top gear at decent rpm's until the slight rise! Fast enough a truck driver decided to hang back and not pass. WooHoo! When it's good, dang but its good! Long sleeved shirt and pants, and hinting it will be cooler all too soon. Maybe should order a winter visor helmet. Almost 100 F less than two weeks ago, barely sneaking over 60 today. 

BrianMc


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

The cycling gods decided that a ride to work was not in the cards for me today. I walked out to the garage, packed up my panniers, wheeled my bike halfway out of the garage before I woke up and realized that I had a flat front tire. Checked the watch and found it to be way too late to patch the tube and still get to work on time, so I skipped the 50 degree weather and took the car. A damn shame I tell you because tonight is going to be a nice 65 and sunny, perfect for a 10 mile ride. Dammit!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ This is why you need at least 3 fully functional bikes. I was about to ride the road bike the other day when I discovered a flat front tire.... bummer for the extendo-road-route home, but I grabbed the commuter bike (all of my bikes are equipped with a superflash blinky bracket on the seatpost) and was on my way.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rather than patch, carry an extra tube (or two). Five minutes to swap tubes and off you go. Patch the punctured tube at your leisure.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Was 43 this morning. My toes and fingers HATE cold. For folks who live up north what suggestions do you have for shoes that are warm for an hour commute one way? Lake, Spec, Shimano, North Wave, Pearls? Something max around $200.

Cheers.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

yabodie said:


> Was 43 this morning. My toes and fingers HATE cold. For folks who live up north what suggestions do you have for shoes that are warm for an hour commute one way? Lake, Spec, Shimano, North Wave, Pearls? Something max around $200.
> 
> Cheers.


I ride my Shimano winter boots from about 10 C down to -35 C....They have lasted 6 years now...

Well worth the money for 6 years of warm feet.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The air races are in full swing now- been keeping me awake with fly overs for most of the week, and every morning a few more dazed and confuzed urban campers milling about in the street on my way home from work (quiet, as normal at 10:30 PM on my way in). Tomorrow morning will be the stupidest as far as campers/street vendors/event attendees wandering aimlessly down the middle of the street. Well, Sunday morning is the absolute biggest day (finals), but I won`t be trying to ride through it then.

Road makeover on the main road I live off of has just about wrapped up for the third tme in the last five years. I wonder if they`re going to leave it alone now. I sure hope so, because it`s fairly good this time from a cycling perspective. Last time they did it, the shoulder and all the way out to the middle of the right lane in one direction was so bumpy it was like riding on flash frozen goat sh1t.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> The air races are in full swing now- been keeping me awake with fly overs for most of the week, and every morning a few more dazed and confuzed urban campers milling about in the street on my way home from work (quiet, as normal at 10:30 PM on my way in). Tomorrow morning will be the stupidest as far as campers/street vendors/event attendees wandering aimlessly down the middle of the street. Well, Sunday morning is the absolute biggest day (finals), but I won`t be trying to ride through it then.


Whoa, this just in! The races are a big pain in my butt, but I sure didn`t wish up another tragedy! Over the years, there have been a lot of incedents, but I believe this is going to trun out as the worst to date.

Official: Plane problems may have caused NV crash - Yahoo! News


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Let me see they ignore the bell.....so whistle at em
> 
> Or a loud which way ladies.


I usually escalate up to "get out of the way f*cktards!!" when the bell doesn't cut through the iPod.

Been off the bike for two weeks on vacation. Did manage to run 20 miles and do a lot of swimming, so I hope the commutes next week are up to current standards.

Oh, and jeffscott, you were right last year when you said taking the hill at 29th street north of Memorial NW would be easier with a few repetitions (and rides up Nose Hill for training). Can now take that hill up the steep single track at the end of 27th St. In the middle ring.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The senseless passing continued yesterday. I was turning left. I signaled my turn. I was in slightly left of the center of my lane and just moved over into the left turn lane when I hear a driver putting the pedal down. Some young chick came flying around me in the left lane. Then she had to hit the brakes and move over across the turning lane and into the right lane to sit at the red light. A couple seconds later, I passed her in the turning lane. She would have been better off waiting one second and passing me in the right lane. All this happened in less than 100 yards. Stupid. I resisted the urge to taunt her as I went by.

Overall, the commutes were good this week. I only have that one 1/10th of a mile that has been any trouble. I can't avoid that section of road, so I guess I'll just deal with it. Most of my commute is bike lane/MUP/neighborhood roads. I can't complain too much.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Did I understand correctly? Is this is a 2 lane road with a left turn lane at the intersection and she used the oncoming (left) lane to pass you after you entered the turning lane? Did you signal your intent? Maybe she was to busy texting and you made her mistype. You had some nerve! 

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> ^ Did I understand correctly? Is this is a 2 lane road with a left turn lane at the intersection and she used the oncoming (left) lane to pass you after you entered the turning lane? Did you signal your intent? Maybe she was to busy texting and you made her mistype. You had some nerve!
> 
> BrianMc


Yes. She pulled behind me less than a block after I left work. I turned right, climbed up the hill, and had just about reached the turning lane. I was holding my arm out for the turn and positioned in the middle of my lane. I heard her hit the gas just as I started making my move into the turning lane, so I delayed moving all the way over until she passed. Luckily she moved completely into the opposite lane, unlike the last lady who seemed intent on running me off the road. Texting would have been a nice excuse, but she wasn't on the phone at all.

Here's a map to approximate what happened. I never felt in danger, but it's frustrating to have similar experiences on the same stretch of road (going either direction). I think the hill plays a role. Usually the people who are going to pass me gun it when they get to the top of the hill, when many times there is simply not enough room.

Intersection
! . ; . ! . !
! . ; . ! x ! <- she ended up here
! . ; x ! . !
! x ; . ! . !
! x ; o. ./ <-- she passed here
! x ; . . ! 
. ! . ; x !
. ^ Uphill ^
. ! . : x !
. ! . : x !
. ! . : x !________
. ! . : x _x__x_x_ <- we both came from this road
. ! . : . !


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^ Wow, THAT`s a good explanation of the scene!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whoa, this just in! The races are a big pain in my butt, but I sure didn`t wish up another tragedy! Over the years, there have been a lot of incedents, but I believe this is going to trun out as the worst to date.
> 
> Official: Plane problems may have caused NV crash - Yahoo! News


Wow, a terrible, grisly accident. Glad you were out of hearm's way.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have family that was headed to the air races Saturday morning. Glad they didn't go Friday  horrible.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had an amusing encounter with another cyclist this morning. The biggest hill I climb in the morning is about 1.5 miles long and gains around 450 feet. There is a traffic signal at the bottom where cyclists tend to queue up. I'm waiting at the signal by myself when another rider rolls up. Rather than stopping behind or even next to me, this guy rolls around me and stops right in front of me. I am thinking to myself that this was pretty odd, but not a big deal, I guess that some people just have a need to be in front.

When light changes this guy takes off like he was shot out of a gun. The hill is not one long steady grade, but rather it's a series of 8-10% pitches with longer 3-4% grades in between. The initial grade is about 3% and this guy is pulling away from me and I figure that I'll never see him again, but as soon as he hits the first 10% pitch he immediately downshifts and starts spinning like crazy. I usually ride the entire hill in my 50/30 gear combination by keeping a steady pace on the in between grades and standing on the steep pitches. So, on the first pitch I catch up to this guy and I get ready to pass, calling out "on your left".

Well, this only encourages the guy to spin even faster in an effort to stay in front of me. I mean he is really spinning. By the time we reach the top of the first pitch, I can see that he is already struggling and we are not even 1/3 of the way up the hill. 

Not feeling a bit sorry for him , I decide that I'll ride behind him for a while and provide additional motivation to get him up the hill. 

He did his best to stay in front of me, but by the time we arrived at the bottom of the second pitch, it was clear that he was about cooked. This time when I called out "on your left" he had nothing left and let me pass. As I went by him, I called out a cheerful "good morning" which must have been about the last thing the poor guy wanted to hear...

I don't normally partake in cat6 racing, but this one was too entertaining to pass up.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Nice kill, Woodway  

Gorgeous morning for riding here, but cars everywhere! They really mess up the "rhythm" of my ride, especially when I need to cross the road. Tomorrow should be rainy with 30-40mph winds...they better have some sympathy for me! Fenders are getting bolted back on tonight and I'm not going to let the forecast scare me. Since we now have a one car household, its harder to back down from the weather.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

That's funny. I commute SS and hate encountering cyclists because I know I'll spin out on descents, but I'll cruise past them on the climbs. Then I get in that awkward situation of should I pass or should I not. Usually, I can't afford to slow down enough on the climbs, so I have to pass.

I wimped out today and drove. We were getting steady rain, which is predicted to continue throughout the day. My wife is starting a new job with a more consistent schedule and new hours. Since we only have one car, this may be one of my last chances to have the car as a back-up plan.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself, Woodway. But the idea of cyclists "queing up" at a light is so foreign to me that I have a hard time imagining it.

I took my road bike out yesterday morning for a four hour ride on a new-to-me sierra route that`s been on my list for ages. Very nice ride and beautiful weather, but I just couldn`t get into it. I had some ideas of stretching it into a century, but when I got back to my parking spot I just loaded up rather than make the other loop that I had been thinking about. I think that was the last dance for me and my pretty Bridgestone. I love the bike, but can`t bring myself to like actually riding it. I think I`ll dump her at the bike swap next spring and try dating a different roadie. What a schmuck I am!

This is my favorite time of year, weather wise. The mornings are starting to get a little chilly, and I`ll probably start riding with "level 1" cold gear soon, but still not uncomfortably cold and no sweltering afternoons in the 90s. Stop laughing any time now, Phoenix riders.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I don't usually see many cyclists in the morning...evenings are a different matter. On a busy evening, I can come across ten or more cyclists queued up at that same light (after going down the hill). Takes a while after the light turns to get everyone sorted by speed.

Our lows here are still in the upper 40's, low 50's so I am still riding in my shorts and a long-sleeved poly shirt. Once the lows are below 45, I'll start covering my legs and put my jacket on. I think that the highest temp we have seen here in the Seattle area this year is mid to high 80's.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have seen 2 other riders in 6 years on my morning commute. One was a homeless guy. He was off of the bike and doing something (?) in the ditch, so I don't know if he counts. The other guy had the look of someone who might have been in trouble with the law (lost license?) and was heading to town on the new walmart full suspension bike... probably averaging 3mph. I saw him exactly once. I hope my blistering pace didn't discourage him. :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CB, you really get some solitude on your commute!

There is a homeless guy that I used to see almost every day. He lived back in the trees along the MUP. I called him "skateboard man" because he was always carrying a skateboard while walking the MUP. Never riding the skateboad. Sometimes he would be pushing what looked like a brand new walmart type mountain bike painted pink. I always wondered if it was his or if he stole it. Never once saw him ride the thing, he just liked to push it along. He was usually talking to himself when I passed him. One time he was standing in middle of the MUP talking to his skateboard which was held out in front of him at arms length. He had his back to me as I approached and when I called out that I was passing, he whirled around - startled and with a wild look on his face - and I thought he was going to bash me with the skateboard. 

I have not seen him for a few months..suspect the cops cleaned him out because he was making a hell of a mess back in those woods. He was a scary looking dude and I always did my best to steer clear of him.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

So I drove to work today... my first time since I started commuting months ago. (And only because I have an eye appointment) I don't have a parking permit for campus, but apparently since I have a registered bike with the university I get five free daily passes a year. Pretty much made my morning and am sure glad I stopped by the parking office to get a permit instead of one of the machines. They really should advertise the benefits of biking to campus, like I didn't even know a bike registry existed until my bike was stolen and now 5 free parking permits which they never told me either...


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## BlueCannon (Sep 3, 2011)

This morning was a perfect day for riding to work. Upper 60's, no wind, and light traffic. I love starting my work day with a ride. Then I just look forward to riding home all day at work. Going to be 91 for the ride home, but that's actually pretty cool after the last few months we have had here in Texas.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Anyone else have trouble with STUPID rabbits? The darn things are always darting out in front of me - especially now that I have my light on in the mornings. One rabbit in particular really pissed me off - he ran down the MUP in front of me and crossed in front of my wheel THREE TIMES forcing me to brake hard EACH TIME. I should have just run him over except it probably would have cause ME to crash. Sheesh how did this species ever survive? They are so STUPID.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have had the occasional run-in with jackrabbits. They generally wait in the bushes until you are only a few feet away and make one hard dash across your path. I've never had one try to shake me by darting back and forth multiple times though :lol: I can picture that.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I just spent a bikeless week on the coast, and today was my first day back. I had to take a brand new route because I'm in training out in a light industrial area. Not sure how secure my bike is out there, so I'm glad that I've kept my stealable ghetto singlespeed for these occasions. The morning was still warm enough to ride without a jacket, but the trees are all turning and leaves are falling. But we're supposed to see 28C/82F later this week, which is a nice surprise for late september.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

21 miles on The Duchess this afternoon. Still looking for the extra speed your own build gives you. Under 15 mph average at 75-80% max HR. (Used to be high 15's on a really windy ride with wind changing direction, to almost 19 with favorable winds. Lungs and legs coming along. Butt needs more miles/callus. Beautiful ride. New bats on the way. The old NiMH just made the ride on flash. Capacity is about 30% now so its toast. The Li-ion pack had a cold solder but appears to be back. A dyno hub is in the future for The Duchess, I think. Cha-ching!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> Anyone else have trouble with STUPID rabbits?


Rabbits aren't too much of a problem for me. I've had to brake a few times for giant woodchucks. Squirrels also.

The good news for you is rabbits are good eating. :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

My iPod was in just the right place in it's little pocket in my backpack this morning so that when I hit a bump or shook my pack, my tupperware of leftovers for lunch would hit the 'back' button on the iPod. It took me about a mile to figure out what was going on, but I had great fun today scrolling through songs backwards with just a shake of my shoulders. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Lots of rabbits around here. Mostly cottontails. I rarely have any trouble with them, but I have to agree they`re amazingly stupid. Like ninja riders .



CommuterBoy said:


> I had great fun today scrolling through songs backwards with just a shake of my shoulders. :lol:


Happen to have Stairway to Heaven in there, Satan?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)




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## emmiesix (Sep 21, 2011)

My commute was ok. Only my second day here in the Palo Alto area, and I already nearly stopped traffic and got yelled at by another biker (justified, but it was an accident, as I was pretty lost and didn't see him). Still trying to work out the best route from Mountain View up to Stanford.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Almost bad yesterday going home, some yahoo coming up to a stop sign was looking somewhere other than where he was going and didn't fully stop until he was about 1/2 into the intersection. I was in right half of my lane and he was coming from side street on my right. I was full on brakes and just decided this was it, my first collision with a car but seriously lucked out that he stopped when it did. Another foot and I would have been flying over his hood. 

It seems some people don't realize that driving in their neighborhood still requires paying attention and obeying traffic control devices.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

"It seems some people don't realize that driving in their neighborhood still requires paying attention and obeying traffic control devices."

Guilty, here- I`m terrible about that. I get miffed sometimes when I need to drop my truck all the way into second gear for some of the stop signs around home. It seems to me I once had to come to a complete and total stop for the stop sign at the bottom of my street, but I don`t remember the details. I bet I was grouchy for the whole day after that traumatic experience.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Sure you don't have a lot of relatives here?

I got to the four-way stop1.9 miles form home just before the Dodge pickup to the left who was stopping (rare) and seconds after that a Ranger was approaching the stop line across from me, so I rolled my right turn. About 70% of the vehicles coming to the intersection to my left turn left and maybe 10-20% use a signal. About 80 % of the vehicles across the intersection go right, ditto on turn signals. Not this time. The Dodge caught me in the 30 about a 1.4 mile on as I was pushing it hard, and held there as he was going left into a drive. A left turn signal on his part would have been nice, and have held the guy behind. The Ranger passed both of us with an oncoming vehicle in this 30 mph zone with double lines at something about 45 and still accellerating. Glad there was enough room. The oncoming was doing more than 30 too, and had to brake hard to get him back in. Any ride you get home undamaged is a good one. Further on, all I could hear was my tires singing on the pavement and a whisper from the derailer idlers. Life was good again.

BrianMc


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

I hate people for reasons like that.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have one intersection where people in the left turning lane sometimes go straight. Around here, turn signals are treated as optional, so I never know if the people across from me are turning and not signalling or going straight from the turning lane. It gets even more interesting when the car in the turning lane cuts off a car in the lane meant to go straight. I've been out in the intersection preparing to turn left from the opposite direction when two cars are vying for the straight away. Not fun. 

Today was a nice commute. It was cool and sunny. Nothing to report except a truck blocking most of my MUP (wall on one side, fence on the other). I guess he was painting the fence again or something. All his doors were open, but I managed to squeak by. Not a big deal.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Getting dark. Getting chilly. Time to change the lenses in the glasses and put new batteries in the headlight. I don't want to do it...


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Sunrise happening later and later this time of year, almost blinded me on the way in. The thermometer said 35 degrees this morning so I tested out my new winter helmet. This Bern Watts EPS helmet with knit liner fits perfectly and its toasty! It was almost too warm for the ride in, but it should be perfect when the temps go negative.

I was also riding slow, as I had my xtracycle loaded up with work food for the next week. I havent commuted on it in the last 9 trips, it was nice to just cruise in today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had a dentist appointment so I drove to work today. It's the first time I have taken my car to the office since January. As I sat in traffic, my hands squeezing the wheel tighter and tighter, all the reasons I love riding my bike to work were running through my head. Back on the bike tomorrow, once I get through the commute home tonite.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> I had a dentist appointment so I drove to work today. It's the first time I have taken my car to the office since January. As I sat in traffic, my hands squeezing the wheel tighter and tighter, all the reasons I love riding my bike to work were running through my head. Back on the bike tomorrow, once I get through the commute home tonite.


My dentist and doctor offices are both nice rides from home or work....


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## kylemason (Sep 2, 2007)

woodway said:


> I had a dentist appointment so I drove to work today. It's the first time I have taken my car to the office since January. As I sat in traffic, my hands squeezing the wheel tighter and tighter, all the reasons I love riding my bike to work were running through my head. Back on the bike tomorrow, once I get through the commute home tonite.


I'm with you. I hate driving or riding the bus...... Every time I do it reminds me that I love my bike ride to work.......


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeffscott said:


> My dentist and doctor offices are both nice rides from home or work....


I wish. Mine is 16 miles and two big hills away. I ride hot, and even taking it slow I would show up sweaty. I actually like my dentist and his staff and would not put them through that


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I don't know what it is about my new temporary route, but in 3 days of riding I've screamed/shouted at 3 completely oblivious drivers causing them to jump out of their skins. A "sorry" doesn't cut it when you almost t-bone me, you morons. And on top of that yesterday I caused an Escape to come screeching to a halt, but that one didn't get any shouting. 4 really close calls in 3 days. :madman:

On paper it looks like a great route, and the only real complaint would be that there are a few too many stopsigns. But the drivers are completely daydreaming or stoned or something. The route is 7km, I interact with _maybe_ 5 cars a day (like passing, being passed, reaching an intersection at roughly the same time...), but a ridiculous proportion of them are trying to kill me. I've got my hi-vis vest, and my blinkies, and I'm riding in the middle of the lane, and still the only reason I'm not a statistic is because if I see a car I assume it's being driven by a blind, illiterate, drunk with anger issues who's having a seisure. Thankfully tomorrow is the last day of this and on monday I'm back to my regular route.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ What? You've almost got them broken in! Yeah, I felt that way on the best route out of my neighborhood over three years ago. Every other vehicle interaction was way too dangerous from my point of view. Occasional idiots like the Ranger driver, still. This IS the safest route. I can't believe that I started with just a rear reflector! Learn fast or die. I have upped the ante to 'you have to be blind to not see me, you moron!" I have route envy for CBs situation at times. I learned times to avoid, if at all possible. There are routes I avoid, too. Discretion is the better part of valor and also, riding safely.

BrianMc.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And I even forgot about the two cyclists who blew through a stopsign and had me slamming on the brakes yesterday. Dammit, everyone is stupid.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been commuting by bike for about 5 years now, and it never ceases to amaze me how some people drive. Visibility means little if drivers have no respect for your well-being. It's kind of depressing, really.

Having said that, my commute went without a hitch this morning. It was 55F and raining. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. The weatherman says the rain will stop, and the afternoon will be decent.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Newfangled, that's horrible. It's supposed to be relaxing! 

Well my knee is still funny, but it doesn't hurt on the bike, so I'm ignoring it. Did the extendo 18 mile commute home yesterday, and was very thankful for my tubeless-ness. I haven't ridden that route in a while, and I was picking up goatheads like crazy. I reached down and rubbed them out of the front tire when I saw them, but I still wound up pulling 3 out when I arrived. It's really satisfying seeing those holes seal up with virtually no air loss. I would have had to swap tubes on the ride for sure, and then patched the heck out of the tube I would have pulled out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My motto is: "I ride like everyone is out to kill me". I never assume that drivers will see me/stop for me/yield to me. But I generally have good luck with drivers around here, sans the odd moron that shows up every now and then. *newfangled* sorry to hear about your troubles - this riding thing is supposed to be fun!

Man I am sure glad we don't have to deal with goatheads around here. Just the odd bit of glass or other junk in the road.

65 degrees this morning! I was way overdressed and sweating when I got to work.

Added on edit - alomost forgot, headed out this morning and got about two miles down the road when I realized that the wind felt really good in my hair!...darn, forgot to put my lid on. Rode back home to get it. I am such a dope sometimes...


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Happy friday! First day of fall, and dammit it felt like it. 37 degrees and sunny.the past couple days I've seen a fellow commuter ride by, but I'm always late out of the driveway so I can't wave. Next week I'll catch her.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I've screamed/shouted at 3 completely oblivious drivers causing them to jump out of their skins.... you morons.... 4 really close calls in 3 days. :madman:
> 
> ....blind, illiterate, drunk with anger issues who's having a seisure.


So you live in Edmonton right????

Sounds like time for a route change.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

It was good until about 1/4 mile from destination where this staple worked its magic... I walked the rest of the way and just now finished patching it in my cube.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Added on edit - alomost forgot, headed out this morning and got about two miles down the road when I realized that the wind felt really good in my hair!...darn, forgot to put my lid on. Rode back home to get it. I am such a dope sometimes...


:lol: Thanks for the laugh, love the "wind in your hair" part of the realization.

My first commute today since before the flood 8/28. Still no office, working from home & in the field, but had a meeting in Montpelier at 2, so I rode there & back for a nice 22 mi. Made it back up my hill, but not with a lot of energy to spare. They are moving stuff to our temporary office next week, but it needs a major upgrade in the lines to handle our computers, and no phones yet either, so not sure when it will open.

Since realizing that I could take snowmobile trails from my door all the way there (8.5mi by road, I'll have to figure out how far the trail is), I am really tempted to get a fatbike for the new commute. I can ride the trails on my regular MTB, but only when the conditions are just right. Hmmmmmm.....

I also saw my old nemesis today, a pickup with the plate CRPE DM (contrary to popular belief, latin for have a crappy day, not live for the day) which used to harass me on the way home when I srated commuting almost 2 yrs ago. I got a good look since it was daylight, a real big bald guy, maybe 50's, and he gave me a good look too. Made me mad just to see him, even though he wasn't doing anything wrong.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Definitely feels like fall now... this might have been the last day in shorts. It was brisk this morning. I was wearing long sleeves, but the summer gloves were not enough either. I'm not ready to give in to the cold yet!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We were hit with some crazy lightning storms last night (didn't sleep well). It was rainy when I woke up, but the sky was blue by the time I hit the road. The commute was great.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Definitely feels like fall now... this might have been the last day in shorts. It was brisk this morning. I was wearing long sleeves, but the summer gloves were not enough either. I'm not ready to give in to the cold yet!


Fall arrived here with a bang this morning. It's breezy and raining this morning. Supposed to rain all day and the forecast is calling for 20MPH winds this afternoon/evening. At least the forecasted wind direction means a tailwind going home tonite.

My wife and I did some Mountain Biking up in the Cascades over the weekend. Was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL fall day. I'm hoping for one or two more weekends like this before winter sets in!


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Tom93R1 said:


> It was good until about 1/4 mile from destination where this staple worked its magic... I walked the rest of the way and just now finished patching it in my cube.


I had the same thing happen to me today, except thanks to the remains from a car crash. Glass peppered the sidewalk and, because I'm riding mountain tires at the moment (commuting wheels are out of commission due to a build issue), I got a flat.

So what suggestions do folks have for a highly puncture resistant MTB 29er (2.4 is the max width) tire that I can use for commuting during winter slop months?

Cheers!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Our weather has been flirting with fall temps, then warming up, then chilly again. Been carrying gloves and balaclava with me at night, but so far haven`t needed them in the mornings. I`ll be putting them on very soon, though.

CB, is your knee more prone to trouble when the temperatures drop?



mtbxplorer said:


> :lol: Thanks for the laugh, love the "wind in your hair" part of the realization.
> 
> I also saw my old nemesis today, a pickup with the plate CRPE DM (contrary to popular belief, latin for have a crappy day, not live for the day) which used to harass me on the way home when I srated commuting almost 2 yrs ago.


I`ve had those wind in my hair realizations too, but I just keep going.

So, what happened before? Did the guy just stop appearing on your route? New route for you? Hope it doesn`t turn into an ongoing thing again. 
Yay! VT Pugsdozer on the way!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> My wife and I did some Mountain Biking up in the Cascades over the weekend. Was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL fall day. I'm hoping for one or two more weekends like this before winter sets in!


Nice! Some years can be exceptions, but for the most part, late Sep through Oct hold the best weather of the year IMO. It`s also really nice that fewer people are out after Labor Day.

One last car camping trip for my wife and me this weekend. We loaded up the tandem on the trunk rack and went back to one of the places I "discovered" on a recent solo adventure.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

yabodie said:


> So what suggestions do folks have for a highly puncture resistant MTB 29er (2.4 is the max width) tire that I can use for commuting during winter slop months?


Have you tried tubeless? This year I went gorilla-tape tubeless on my two bikes without much problems (there was a little bit of swearing initally, though). I'm still working through some kinks, but I don't think I'll ever go back to tubes again. In the next few weeks I'm even going to try a tubeless set up of my DIY studded tire (a standard 29er tire with 120 screws through the casing) to see if it'll be feasible for a canadian winter. I'm not sure it will work, but I figure it's worth trying out before things get super cold.

In other news, we had an amazing weekend weatherwise (32°C???) but fall is definitely here:


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Beautiful pic Newf!

I feel weird today. Nice day, perfect ride, blah blah. But I passed a young boy on his bike this morning. He was stopped near the intersection on his way to elementary school. He looked like he was crying. As I passed him I wondered if I should have stopped to see if he was ok. I've never seen this boy before. Was it his first day and he was scared? Is there someone bullying him? Everything ok at home? I feel bad for not talking to him, but I knew he'd soon be passing the crossing guards (and one teacher). Hopefully they found out the answers to my questions and made sure that kid had a better day.

On a side note, I saw 5 kids on bikes, and 1 on a razor scooter. Helmet count = zero.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

27 C yesterday 10 C this morning, still full on summer...

We normally get a killing frost by Sept long weekend, basil is still going fine.

Absolutely blinding sun riding east at 7:45 am.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB, is your knee more prone to trouble when the temperatures drop?


I've really never had trouble with it before... initially injured it in 2008 (broken tibial plateau, torn MCL), but I had a great recovery and no real issues since the initial recovery.... up until a couple months ago when it started popping every now and then when I would squat down. So this is the first time it's really hurt since 2008. No issues with the tempurature swings from then to now. It's still swollen a bit and giving me a bit of pain. I've strained it a couple times doing random things like cutting firewood, and each time it sets me back a few days on the road to recovery. No real new bike-induced pain though, so I'm still riding.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> So, what happened before? Did the guy just stop appearing on your route? New route for you? Hope it doesn`t turn into an ongoing thing again.
> Yay! VT Pugsdozer on the way!


Yeah, I haven't seen him in a long time on the bikecommute, I wondered if it was a kid who moved or something, as I still saw the truck at the house on occasion (only 1/2 mi away, nice neiighbor!)...but the way he looked at me the other day made me wonder. I still saw the truck for a bit after the incidents & the cop talk, and he was purposefully, sarcastically polite, like real real slow going by, etc., instead of peeling out or buzzing me. I think it's done, plus when I saw him the other day it was earlier than I would normally commute home, and he was also going the other way. But the initial encounters were kinda scarey as my road is pretty dark and most of the houses are far apart and/or set back from the road, so if someone really wanted to mess with you (beyond the harassment stuff he was doing) it would be pretty easy, so your imagination can get the better of you.

I tried out the new snowmo trailride to the temp office on Sunday and it is shorter than the road, about 7mi. I am definitely tempted to get a fatbike, still mulling it over and drooling over the options.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> I am definitely tempted to get a fatbike, still mulling it over and drooling over the options.


You will be assimilated! Join us in fatbike lunacy! No one ever regrets getting a fatbike.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hey JAGI410, how much distance/time are you getting out of your fat tires?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Hey JAGI410, how much distance/time are you getting out of your fat tires?


Hard to say. I started with the 27tpi (cheaper version) Surly Larry 3.8 tires and put about 600 miles on them before switching to the new 120tpi Surly Big Fat Larry 4.7 tires. The original tires still looked pretty new actually, I'm surprised how well they wear. Never a flat, and I've run them as low as 7psi. I wouldn't be surprised if they lasted 2500-3000 miles or so, depending on road conditions.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ thanks. Are you running the 4.7s on large marges?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

newfangled said:


> ^ thanks. Are you running the 4.7s on large marges?


Yup. They fit just fine! Pics/info here: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/if-you-see-todds-pants-736592.html


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Another day in shorts... warmed up this morning to maybe high 40's... The fingers weren't tingly. I had a car pass me in town, then pull over to drop someone off at a house, and then pull out half way in front of me before remembering that I existed and jumping on the brakes. I had to head for the center line to get around. Probably a common case of not realizing the speed of a 'real' biker versus the wal-mart bikers they see on the sidewalk. I'm telling you, walmart bikes are probably the reason that a lot of people on real bikes get hit by cars. They are spreading the myth that all bikes go 3 miles per hour and stay on the sidewalk.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CB, I have cars start to pull out and then change their mind once they realize how fast I am going on a regular basis. In fact, I expect it, which is probably what has kept me safe these last three years. Defensive riding is so important.

I had another "cat6 racer" encounter on the way home last night. I climb a decent size hill near my house, about 1.2 miles long that gains just under 500 feet. I was waiting at the stoplight at the bottom of the hill when another cyclist stops behind me. The light turns green and I started off, in the lane. This guy immediately swings into the left lane to pass me, cutting off a car in that lane who was coming up from behind and who had to jam on the brakes to keep from hitting the guy. He earned himself a honk and a not so friendly gesture from the driver. The ironic part is that for all his hurry, I caught and re-passed the guy halfway up the hill when he ran out of gas.

So two points to this story:

1. This guy was not a model of "defensive riding"
2. I am wondering if I just look slow? That's twice in a week that other riders have barged in front of me at the bottom of hills. How do I make myself look faster?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> How do I make myself look faster?


It is time to don the yellow jersey. :rockon:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It is time to don the yellow jersey. :rockon:


Maybe that and a carbon bike would do it? Honey I HAVE to get the new carbon fiber bicycle. It's a safety issue!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Good luck selling that idea!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> ...I had another "cat6 racer" encounter on the way home last night. I climb a decent size hill near my house, about 1.2 miles long that gains just under 500 feet. I was waiting at the stoplight at the bottom of the hill when another cyclist stops behind me. The light turns green and I started off, in the lane. This guy immediately swings into the left lane to pass me, cutting off a car in that lane who was coming up from behind and who had to jam on the brakes to keep from hitting the guy. He earned himself a honk and a not so friendly gesture from the driver. The ironic part is that for all his hurry, I caught and re-passed the guy halfway up the hill when he ran out of gas.
> 
> So two points to this story:
> 
> ...


I don't know as looking faster will help, these people are out of touch with reality. I would be totally mortified if I barged past someone like that and then got passed halfway up. Try keeping them guessing with an orange t-shirt with "CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE DO NOT PASS" on the back.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I don't know as looking faster will help, these people are out of touch with reality. I would be totally mortified if I barged past someone like that and then got passed halfway up. Try keeping them guessing with an orange t-shirt with "CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE DO NOT PASS" on the back.


I thought of using 'Wide Load' but it would be an obvious redundancy. 

Selling a carbon bike to the better half as a safety bicycle? Priceless! :thumbsup:

BrianMc


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Sadly, the major part of my commute that is on city streets, having a bike lane, has had its surface stripped in anticipation of new asphalt. Hopefully this work gets done quickly.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I think we need to buy carbon bikes for all the kiddies and the people currently toodling around on Wallymobiles. That would speed them up to 6 or 7 MPH and eventually up drivers` speed estimates.
Saftey issue, ya know.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

SKUNK!!!

Luckily just a small one this morning who had no interest in me.

Some eyes watching me from the woods from a medium height. Pig maybe?

Just raccoons on Mon and Tuesday.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I don't know as looking faster will help, these people are out of touch with reality. I would be totally mortified if I barged past someone like that and then got passed halfway up. Try keeping them guessing with an orange t-shirt with "CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE DO NOT PASS" on the back.


Sorry but the solution is put up....and shut up...

The cat 6 racer might be racing you (so what)...

He (or she) might be racing their own best time...

He might be trying to improve his anaerobic bursts....

He might just be trying to wear of some adrenalin from a rough day at work, or a road raging driver...

In anycase unless he puts you at some real risk....

Cheer him on....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> In anycase unless he puts you at some real risk....
> 
> Cheer him on....


I agree. A nice "maybe next time, fatty" or "you were looking good there, for a second" as you pass will probably do wonders for his efforts next time you bump into each other :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Both cat6 racers I re-passed this past week got cheerful greetings from me "Good Morning!" to the first one and "hey on you left, how you doing this evening?" to the second. Neither one replied because they both appeared to be on the verge of apoplexy.

I'm fine with cat6 racers - race on! But it's the rude behaviour that bugs me a bit (not that they all do rude things, but these last two guys did).


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> Both cat6 racers I re-passed this past week got cheerful greetings from me "Good Morning!" to the first one and "hey on you left, how you doing this evening?" to the second. Neither one replied because they both appeared to be on the verge of apoplexy.
> 
> I'm fine with cat6 racers - race on! But it's the rude behaviour that bugs me a bit (not that they all do rude things, but these last two guys did).


Tell me again what they did that is so rude????

You know compared to a stinking diesel Dodge 350 driving by blowing smoke in your face.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> He (or she) might be racing their own best time...
> 
> He might be trying to improve his anaerobic bursts....
> 
> He might just be trying to wear of some adrenalin from a rough day at work, or a road raging driver...


This is all true, but getting passed on the climb after attacking at the base is a unsightly state of affairs... no matter the context.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

ghettocruiser said:


> This is all true, but getting passed on the climb after attacking at the base is a unsightly state of affairs... no matter the context.


Sorry that is a trumped up arrogant attitude....

I have passed and been passed and see no problem with either.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> Sorry that is a trumped up arrogant attitude....


**Must use more smilies next time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wasn't the issue that he headed out into traffic to get around in the first place? That's a dangerous situation... knowing your own fitness, if there's a good chance you're going to get reeled back in (and force the other guy to head out into traffic to get around you when you bonk), it would be better just to sit back and not pass in the first place. 

This is all speculation, because I don't see other cyclists or stoplights on my commute. But I'd think if I rolled up to a stop sign at the bottom of a big hill next to a dude that looked like he was faster than me, I'd hold off on attacking as soon as the light turned green. 

And I KNOW my smugness quotient would increase if that happened to me and I wound up zipping by the guy half way up the hill. :lol: Not that I'd do anything about it...but I'd definitely put the hammer down on the 2nd part of the climb so he could watch me ride away and think about the error of his ways.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

True, If a car ripped passed me on the freeway and then slowed down, I would find that irritating.

I know this because sometimes cars do this on the freeway.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wasn't the issue that he headed out into traffic to get around in the first place? That's a dangerous situation... knowing your own fitness, if there's a good chance you're going to get reeled back in (and force the other guy to head out into traffic to get around you when you bonk), it would be better just to sit back and not pass in the first place.
> 
> This is all speculation, because I don't see other cyclists or stoplights on my commute. But I'd think if I rolled up to a stop sign at the bottom of a big hill next to a dude that looked like he was faster than me, I'd hold off on attacking as soon as the light turned green.
> 
> And I KNOW my smugness quotient would increase if that happened to me and I wound up zipping by the guy half way up the hill. :lol: Not that I'd do anything about it...but I'd definitely put the hammer down on the 2nd part of the climb so he could watch me ride away and think about the error of his ways.


If a guy puts you in a situtation that decreases your safety for any reason than that is an issue.

Sounded to me like the guy put himself in danger not woodway (so that is the passers problem not woodway's)...

Lastly you have no real idea what is driving the other guy to go fast and then slow down on the hill...and whether he gives a rat's ass what you think.

He can certainly pass you and then be passed with no loss of face....same as you can pass and be repassed without loss of face......

Has if face ever really matters.

Geez live and let live

PS Why would you definately put the hammer down on the second part of the climb....maybe you are in need of a relaxing ride home, so you just plod along thinking about sailing or something.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

ghettocruiser said:


> True, If a car ripped passed me on the freeway and then slowed down, I would find that irritating.
> 
> I know this because sometimes cars do this on the freeway.


Totally different situation the car's diver is not also the cars engine.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Geez live and let live


Is it me or does jeffscott seem perplexingly peaceable and reasonable of late? I think I like him.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> PS Why would you definately put the hammer down on the second part of the climb.....


Becuase it would be the first time that I ever passed anyone and I'd want to make sure it 'stuck' :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeffscott said:


> Tell me again what they did that is so rude????


First guy simply cut in front of me at the stoplight. No big deal except I had to re-pass him. A little rude, but I got more entertainment out of watching him trying to stay ahead of me going up the hill. So I forgive the slight rudeness for the show he put on for me 

Second guy almost got himself plastered by a car and really pissed the driver off. All in an apparent attempt to hurry past me when all he had to do was be patient for 20 seconds and let traffic clear and then make his pass. In my mind this was the bigger deal. The more I see stupid bike behaviour that pisses off drivers, the more I am likely to be a target of retaliation. We all gotta play nice and get along.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeffscott said:


> PS Why would you definately put the hammer down on the second part of the climb....maybe you are in need of a relaxing ride home, so you just plod along thinking about sailing or something.


Troll alert!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> First guy simply cut in front of me at the stoplight. No big deal except I had to re-pass him. A little rude, but I got more entertainment out of watching him trying to stay ahead of me going up the hill. So I forgive the slight rudeness for the show he put on for me
> 
> Second guy almost got himself plastered by a car and really pissed the driver off. All in an apparent attempt to hurry past me when all he had to do was be patient for 20 seconds and let traffic clear and then make his pass. In my mind this was the bigger deal. The more I see stupid bike behaviour that pisses off drivers, the more I am likely to be a target of retaliation. We all gotta play nice and get along.


Thank you for you forgiveness....can't say the rudeness is worth talking about.

Well again you were in no direct danger in from the situation....and on the other hand the driver is probably more aware of bikes....remember even bad pubilicity is good publicity.


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## Toff (Sep 11, 2004)

I wish I had long hills that I could pass people on ...

But I do have skunks and pigs!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

jeffscott...... are you in a bad mood today?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

He's fine....it's just that everyone but him is so stupid!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Dalton said:


> jeffscott...... are you in a bad mood today?


Nope we won our curling game last night, so everything is good.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Serious wind out there today eh jeffscott?


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

My commute today (on the Surly Pugsley):


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My bad everyone for taking us down a rathole. Completely my fault and I apologize. Now back to talking about commuting...


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

got hit by a car today. Was bad enough to bruise and scrape me, and bust up my bike.
It was compounded stupidity, though.came to an intersection with a cross walk. I stopped. She stopped. I went, She went at the same time. pinned me and dragged me a couple feet. She never saw me. it was the metal scraping metal that made her stop. that and the human hand on her hood.

So the cop shows up and tried to blame me. see, I was riding in the SIDEWALK, Opposing traffic. and I have all the responsibilities of a car, imagine if a car was driving the wrong way on the sidewalk. clearly I'm in the wrong.

Um, I followed all the pedestrian rules. and most of the Driver rules. the right hand side of the road had no bike or emergency lane. and had a large open ditch to fall into. it was ride in busy traffic at night, or ride the sidewalk and expect people to look for pedestrians.

no matter how it was spun, he blamed me. so I just stated "If I have all the responsibilites of a Driver, why don't I need to insure my vehicle? Or have a Cyclists licence? Where is the infrastructure required to make sure I am able to ride safely on the street? because none of these things are in place. so how do you expect me to fullfill all those requirements when you yourself can clearly see that there is no legal framework in place to support that? I'd love to ride straight up by the book, but you know what? (Makes hand signal) NO ONE knows that means I want to turn right. so you want me to follow the rules, I do to. but I also want to not die. so sometimes I gotta bend those rules, because its going to keep me safer. "

"Well, you need more lights on your vehicle. I mean you're wearing a black t shirt, (With stone washed blue jeans and a reflective backpack, butthead)" I see no wheel reflectors and no tail light. (I had an LED headlight already.) So you're basically invisible. so see how again its all on you.

...the heck?

this guy was high on dork pills. maybe its the fact I have a giant mohawk in a conservative state. I dunno.

but now I have a bike with a tweaked fork. bent wheels. grinding brakes. scraped to ****. and that bike is my car. I need it. and now I've gotta convince her insurance to repair or replace it.

bloody heck.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, she ran over you and didn`t notice until she heard scraping steel? That`s a good argument for not riding "salmon" and for not riding on the sidewalk. Those are both possibly safer (much debated topic) in some situations, but your story ilustrates how the downsides remain even when the alternatives look even less safe. So, what happened, exactly? You were both going straight through a four-way stop and the car initially stopped ahead of you and to your left? It sounds like your bike fared much worse than you did, hope that`s true. Not that I`m happy your bike was trashed, but that your body apparently didn`t get any serious damage.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I split it 50/50ish with riding against and with. but I have to factor in the fact its dark and the fact that I have to be in traffic, at night. on a street with very few cyclists. in a place where no one knows how to act around cyclists.

Also my bike weighs a ton. so sidewalks keep me out of the way of speedy thin people on road bikes.

I mean, I don't like sidewalk riding for a million reasons. they're bumpy and filled with pedestrians. but Ogden streets don't really afford me enough space and sane drivers to be by the book. even when we have bike lanes people treat them like an extra emergency/turn lane.

And yep. I came to a stop at the intersection. with my headlight on, and being as visible as possible. then she stopped. I waited a second. assumed she saw me, and she just rolled foreward.... kept on rolling till it screeched... all the while I'm like... patting the hood, and wondering just how many bones I'm going to get broken.

turned out none. bruises and scratches is all.

but now I have a noodled rim. a fork thats bent back slightly, but enough to worry. and both my brakes grind. and my handlebar is bent.

the funny thing is I think the Scott Voltage Frame may be more or less unharmed...

now comes the rebuild. Or if the insurance is kind... just a new build.

but when is insurance ever kind?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Glad you`re realtively okay.



Agwan said:


> I don't like sidewalk riding for a million reasons. they're bumpy and filled with pedestrians.


...and drivers seldom look at them to see what`s there.

As for swimming upstream, one of the main reasons it`s not usually considered a good idea is that drivers seldom look there either (to see what`s comming from their right). Also, at cross streets, you don`t get that other lane`s worth of distance to react to what other vehicles are doing. Those three things all played aginst you today. You might still decide that riding the "wrong way" sidewalk is your best bet, but it`s worth considering why most experienced riders rarely do it.

Good luck with the insurance payout. The one time I got one, it was for way more than my totaled car had been worth, so really turned out to my advantage. Hopefully you`ll get lucky too.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I am an experienced, even educated rider. I know my streets and drivers enough to know where its suicide to ride. sadly several segments of Harrison Blvd have literally no shoulder and many obstacles/parked cars. I weighed my risks, bet on the lesser of two evils and the lesser one Bit me.

the west side of this streets just clearer and more stable AND has more emergency lane to ride in. on the way TOO school its all with traffic and easy.(though uphill)

the other side of this street is just all over the place. gutters and parked cars. open ditches and potholes.

I'm not telling anyone to ride upstream. just stating that on this particular street. the other option is to get hit by the heavy traffic you must ride in the middle of.

and drivers do seldom look for pedestrians. or anything. even though they're required by law to look for pedestrians at a 4 way stop. many wont.

Its hard to predict every single way a Driver will ignore their Cyclist safety training.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Well the good news... they replaced the light in the handicap stall so I can get ready for work now and actually see! 

Sorry to hear about your accident Agwan, may you recover quick! As well as your bike!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Bummer to hear Agwan and hope it works out for you.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had an insurance payout situation like Rodar's... worked out great for me. Hopefully you can get your heavy, broken bike replaced :lol: 
Every crash is an education...glad you're getting the chance to examine it ouside of a hospital bed. There's always a 'safer' way...balancing that with reality is the constant job of the cyclist.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Insurance worked for me. I got a new wheelset for my mtb. I skipped the opportunity for a new bike since I had just bought upgrades to install and nothing was wrong with my bike but the front wheel.

Commute today was fine. I came upon a guy I've seen from time to time. He rides a decent looking FS bike with squeaky discs. He always seems to be running too fast of a cadence, and his saddle is too low. Anyway, I came up the road and stopped at a light, and he scurried across the street from the sidewalk and zigzagged across to the other sidewalk. Kind of a strange dude, but at least he's out there.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> He rides a decent looking FS bike with squeaky discs. He always seems to be running too fast of a cadence, and his saddle is too low.


I sound like such a prick. :cornut:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I sound like such a prick. :cornut:


Maybe. But I bet you have a nice moderate cadence and your saddle is just right :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe. But I bet you have a nice moderate cadence and your saddle is just right :thumbsup:


Totally.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Agwan, that sounnds scarey, glad you are OK. Thank goodness the driver didn't have the stereo blasting, she might not have heard that scraping sound!

Sockeye, you must discretely get a pic and start a new "interesting bikecommuters I have seen" thread. It would be pretty funny if someone here saw a pic of themselves posted.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

sat in wet clothes the entire day, I swear, I felt dry riiiight around quarter to five... then I realized I was minutes away from having to ruk up and head back out.
but I'm happy to report the 3" kendas still have tons of traction in standing water that would've had me hydroplaning on anything else.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sockeye, you must discretely get a pic and start a new "interesting bikecommuters I have seen" thread. It would be pretty funny if someone here saw a pic of themselves posted.


I think I'd need to borrow someone's GoPro cam to get the full effect. This guy has been the only commuter I've seen out lately.

We have been getting some killer sunsets. The weather has been perfect. I can still run short sleeves, but I don't sweat at all. I could get used to this.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Awesome commute today. Clicked over 1,000 miles for the year. I met my goal with three months left!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I like the idea of an interresting commuter thread.



yabodie said:


> Clicked over 1,000 miles for the year. I met my goal with three months left!


Yeah, go get `em! Does that make you first thousand mile year?


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I like the idea of an interesting commuter thread.
> 
> Yeah, go get `em! Does that make you first thousand mile year?


Yup, I started bike commuting this time last year.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Came really close to hitting a deer this morning.... It's getting pretty dark on the first part of my commute, when I'm still on dirt roads in the woods, so I've been using my headlight, and then switching it off when I get out in the valley and it starts getting lighter. Soon it will dark the whole way. 
Anyway, on a fairly long downhill portion of my dirt road, I spotted a deer cross in front of me just at the farthest reaches of my headlight beam...not unusual, I normally see several in the morning. I was standing, coasting, heading downhill...probably a little over 20mph chattering down the dirt road. When I got to about the spot that the deer was, it's little spotted baby decided to dart out of the ditch, and across the road after mom. It was close enough that I could clearly see the distinct not-quite oval outline of my headlight beam on the deer's quarterpanel. There might have been some trailing hoof/front tire contact...hard to say. That woke me up for the rest of the ride, which was uneventful.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s great, Yabodie! Congrats :thumbsup:

CB, be sure to get yourself one of those video cameras if you`re planning any more multi deer demolition derby events this year. Might as well use it if you go 700c bobsledding into the highway, too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'd love to have some of my deer encounters on film. It's great the way they stand in the bike lane and stare at you coming, and then explode into motion at the last possible second. it's like they know you're coming, but maybe if they just stand reeeeeal still, you'll vaporize or something just before you get to them. And then "oh crap! He's real!" and they do that hoof-peel-out thing on the pavement.


It's weird, everyone is calculating their end-of-the-year mileage when I'm just getting started... as a teacher the commute year goes from Aug/Sept to May/June. Congrats on the 1k Yabodie....that's a great first year!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'd love to have some of my deer encounters on film. It's great the way they stand in the bike lane and stare at you coming, and then explode into motion at the last possible second. it's like they know you're coming, but maybe if they just stand reeeeeal still, you'll vaporize or something just before you get to them. And then "oh crap! He's real!" and they do that hoof-peel-out thing on the pavement.
> 
> It's weird, everyone is calculating their end-of-the-year mileage when I'm just getting started... as a teacher the commute year goes from Aug/Sept to May/June. Congrats on the 1k Yabodie....that's a great first year!


That type of deer behaviour is very typical of prey.....they rely on camoflauge then dart away, then again rely on their camoflauge....

Deer cannot sustain a long run, a man can easily run down a deer...it is called persistance hunting.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've never encountered a deer on my commute. I guess my route is a bit urban for their liking, but I've seen a deer in my neighbors yard once.

Last year, I went for a group mtb ride in this one place that was absolutely packed with deer. We must have seen at least 20 (low estimate). At one point, we came ripping around a corner and had to brake hard for a big buck in the middle of the trail. We didn't seem to bug him much.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> That type of deer behaviour is very typical of prey.....they rely on camoflauge then dart away, then again rely on their camoflauge....
> 
> Deer cannot sustain a long run, a man can easily run down a deer...it is called persistance hunting.


Depends on your definition of 'long run'. I've read stuff about Native Americans running down deer on foot...but I'll tell you right now, there is no way on earth that I could ever do it. :lol:

If you're walking in the woods, and you see a deer, if you keep walking they will just stand there and stare at you walking by, thinking you can't see them. But if you stop, they spring into action, knowing that they've been spotted. They do the same thing when you're zipping by on the bike most of the time. They only move once they realize that you're on a collision course.

But that's more 'wild' deer behavior... the ones I encounter virtually daily are a little more oblivious to human activity. I have this theory that they are good at predicting your behavior, and if you stay your course and don't freak out, hammer the brakes, or swerve, they will get out of your way. It's been pretty accurate. It's once you do something unpredictable that things get ugly...they can't figure out where to run, and then smack into the side of your car or whatever. If you hold your course, they're pretty good at avoiding you.

here is a typical deer interaction around my house...this is in my driveway. When I got home on my bike, they were digging through the trash like large rodents, and this one got a bag stuck on her face. She let me walk up to her and pull the bag off, becuase I was pretending my cell phone was food that I was offering to her. She might have been a little loopy from oxygen deprivation though...I don't know how long it had been on there. It was pretty steamy :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yabodie. Two thumbs way up!

CB: don't get too fixating on video clip, get clipped, and pay deerly.. er dearly.

Got a ride in the sun to volunteer work and back yesterday. Showed The Duchess's new finery to a neighbor who cycles: "Sweeeeet!" I was hoping to be fit enough to try the Hilly Hundred. Two 50 mile days. 'Spose I could try a half day to get a taste, if I don't get fit enough, that way taking the support ride back is not such a cop out. The granny would get some use. 

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Depends on your definition of 'long run'. I've read stuff about Native Americans running down deer on foot...but I'll tell you right now, there is no way on earth that I could ever do it. :lol:Actually you probably can
> 
> If you're walking in the woods, and you see a deer, if you keep walking they will just stand there and stare at you walking by, thinking you can't see them. But if you stop, they spring into action, knowing that they've been spotted. They do the same thing when you're zipping by on the bike most of the time. They only move once they realize that you're on a collision course.
> 
> ...


I ride by deer on my long commute....they are basically wild but live in I think it is 12 sq kms park..they hide in the ravines and the tall grass.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well at least I'll never have to. If I want to go primitive, I could just go out to my trash cans with a club and smack one over the head. It's not so much 'persistance' hunting...more 'domesticated exploitation' hunting.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Something I Have Not seen in over a week... the sunset!


9-30 Sunset in Lakewood by normbilt, on Flickr


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ you leave too late. 

Here's the sunrise from just before I headed out:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

OOOohhh- nice northern sunsets, guys 

We had a short lived, but pretty spectacular storm around dinner time today. It started off with winds picking up, then rain, big (for us) hailstones, and lightning (which I seldom see in conjunction with wind), then it all died down. A half hour later, my wife and I enjoyed the view of a very nice sunset through the sliding glass door while we ate. This sunset didn`t have such red skies, but a beautiful warm light flooding the hills behind the swamp. Funny how "warm" light can result from damp, cool weather.

I wore my gloves, balaclava, and jacket to work tonight- first use of cold weather gear for commuting since spring. It was actually a little warmer than it`s been lately, but I thought the damp would make it feel colder. Nope. I almost stopped half way in to take off the jacket, but ended up just being hot.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Supposedly by Wednesday we'll be fully justified in the cold weather gear Rodar. Looks like Wed/Thurs might bring the first wet commute of the season. Find your fenders! It's coming!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^ Yeah, but then it gets nice again for next weekend. BTW, I decided to save my dime- going to do my own private fall century right out of my front door for free.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The commute seemed like more work today. Over the weekend, I helped lay stonework on some trails, playing over 2 hours of soccer, and going for a mtb ride. I'm a bit sore. It actually feels good to sit here in the office.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had an unpleasant run-in with a motorist this morning.

One of the MUP's that I ride parallels a freeway. Where the MUP crosses several relatively busy roads the MUP parallels the freeway off-ramp and the two come together at the cross road. At the intersection there is a crosswalk for the MUP and two prominent signs warning motorists coming off the freeway to yield to pedestrians and cyclists. Despite the signs, you have to be careful because right-turning traffic from the off-ramp is often oblivious and I have had several close calls over the years. 

This morning I was at one of the cross roads waiting for the light to turn. A car came up the freeway off-ramp, stopped, and then started to creep out to make a right turn. The light turned green, I looked at the driver, he looked at me and I started across in the crosswalk. At the exact same moment, the driver started to accelerate to make the right turn, slammed on his brakes and laid on his horn. I looked over at him and gave him a "what the?" arm wave and he opened his window and the expletives started to roll. I simply pointed to the "cars must yield" sign - mounted right next to the traffic light where it's impossible to miss - and kept riding. I wasn't really interested in getting into it with him.

I always tell myself to let this kind of stuff go, but pointless run-ins with motorists can just ruin what was otherwise a good commute.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Eventful Monday Morning Bicycle Commute: 33 degrees, first flat in 1500 miles, icy bridges, wet leaves and bull moose. Made for a long dark commute.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^ Yeah, but then it gets nice again for next weekend. BTW, I decided to save my dime- going to do my own private fall century right out of my front door for free.


Give me a holler if you head this way :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Onramps and offramps can get nasty. I`m especially wary of the kind that turn into an extra lane on the surface streets, so you find yourself suddenly stuck between the existing traffic and the new lane with most cars going even faster than the traffic to the left. Sure glad I don`t have any of those on my day to day routes.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Not too bad this morning, but the first sub 50 degree ride. I love and hate this time of year. Its like 48 this morning, but its going to be 70 when I go home. Love the fall colors, but hate the fall temp swings.


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## jwood70 (Mar 22, 2011)

Well, it took me over a month, but I finally rode my bike to class. 3.2 miles and damn it was chilly. But it is refreshing. Lets see if the headwind I had on the way in turns into a tail wind on the way home


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

jwood70 said:


> Well, it took me over a month, but I finally rode my bike to class. 3.2 miles and damn it was chilly. But it is refreshing. Lets see if the headwind I had on the way in turns into a tail wind on the way home


If you're lucky like me, then it will turn and you will have a nice headwind on the way home too. :thumbsup:


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## jwood70 (Mar 22, 2011)

Dalton said:


> If you're lucky like me, then it will turn and you will have a nice headwind on the way home too. :thumbsup:


I probably will. It will just make me stronger.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Meh, they might make us stronger, but they definitely make me tired. You guys can have all my headwinds if you want them.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Insurance adjustor came by to look at my bike today.

Only gave me 300, but let me keep it. I felt sliiightly insulted. but its about what I would have got had I tried to sell it.

but then he was like "Now, where this can get good is pain and suffering!"

basically, a scraped up shin and a couple bruises will net me 850 dollars.

So for about 20 minutes of my time I have 1,150 dollars to put towards my next bike.

which is a good thing as I have already spent 760 dollars on it in the last week.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> Meh, they might make us stronger, but they definitely make me tired. You guys can have all my headwinds if you want them.


Pass

I hate the headwind on a SS commuter.... makes me want gears.


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## jwood70 (Mar 22, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Meh, they might make us stronger, but they definitely make me tired. You guys can have all my headwinds if you want them.


I dont like them at all, but living in the mountains, they are a part of life. I can count on 1 hand the number of rides I've had where I didn't have a headwind for most of the ride.



Dalton said:


> Pass
> 
> I hate the headwind on a SS commuter.... makes me want gears.


I have gears on my hardtail, but today was just the day for the SS. I ride better on the SS and have more fun. It felt like the wind was shifting some while I rode back to campus after lunch. Here's to hoping that it wants to follow me home


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

Getting dark, cold, now its raining (but I missed that). Need to up my Jens factor.

Just rolled over 400 miles ridden so far this year, in commutes and trail rides. For my second year on my bike, I'm only now feeling like I am getting fit enough to ride harder.


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## torQ! (Oct 18, 2010)

I was a little disappointed to see that it was only 47 this morning. I really wanted to go light on the clothes today since it should be in the low 70s this afternoon. I was feeling pretty weak today so I rode in slow, 9-12 mph cruising speed, just spinning along. Trying to get 3 rides in this week, I'm getting close to my 1000 mile goal for the year.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Agwan said:


> basically, a scraped up shin and a couple bruises will net me 850 dollars.
> 
> So for about 20 minutes of my time I have 1,150 dollars to put towards my next bike.
> 
> which is a good thing as I have already spent 760 dollars on it in the last week.


:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Sign me up! :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Beautiful fall day. Mid Seventies until the sun got low. Rode over 30 miles. NIce but still slow. Legs need some time yet, it seems. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well... it was raining when I left work yesterday, and it let up maybe 2 miles into the ride and the sun started shining (while there was still a little rain falling). I was thinking 'this is rainbow weather', and I turned to look across the valley and BAM! massive bright rainbow. I was applying the brakes to take a killer picture when I noticed something up ahead...could it be? Yes! Another commuter. I was bummed to abandon the rainbow picture opportunity, but by the time I caught up to him the rainbow was gone. Turns out he was a kid who goes to the school I teach at. Family just moved 5 miles out of town, and he's riding his bike to school. Right on. I doubt he'll last very long into the long, dark winter...but he's out there now. Good stuff. 
It rained all night. It was raining on the way in just now... 1st real storm of the season. Snow way farther down the mountain than I thought there'd be...almost valley floor. Probably 39 degrees. 

I'm not a huge fan of the rain, but I like this part...rain gear dripping dry, coffee brewing, settling in at work feeling like I've already accomplished something today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Beautiful fall day. Mid Seventies until the sun got low. Rode over 30 miles. NIce but still slow. Legs need some time yet, it seems.
> 
> BrianMc


Great! Maybe you should just toss the computer and enjoy the ride. Slow can be good, I once found an 1865 penny riding r - e - a - l - l - y s - l -o - w. It changed my attitude about slow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Second morning with thick, thick fog. Today also had rain, and if it was a little bit cooler I'd have to put my studs on...which I do not want to do yet.

Last night I was doing my semi-annual hub repack on my soon-to-be-winter-bike, and I just could not get the rear bearings adjusted properly. Tried and tried and tried, and finally gave up and took the whole thing apart to start over. Except it was really hard to get one of the locknuts off...because it had stripped the threads off a 1/4" section of the axle? Oops. So that bike is out of commission until I go hunting through the LBSs for a new axle assembly. :madman:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm not a huge fan of the rain, but I like this part...rain gear dripping dry, coffee brewing, settling in at work feeling like I've already accomplished something today.


Completely agree CB. My favorite part of the day is early morning after I have arrived at work, taken my shower and the office is still quiet...just me with my bike leaning against the wall across from me in my office. I'm on that post ride high and feeling good about the day.

We have had rain here the past two days. From October to June there is always the potential for rain, so when it actually rains one does not really notice it much. Snow is another matter altogether though. It's a big deal in these parts.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hang in there, Brian!

Drizzly and windy for the past few days. The forecast said we were going to dip below freezing this morning, but I don`t think it quite made it that far. I did get to see the first dusting of snow on the foothills, so it wasn`t far off.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Except it was really hard to get one of the locknuts off...because it had stripped the threads off a 1/4" section of the axle? Oops. So that bike is out of commission until I go hunting through the LBSs for a new axle assembly. :madman:


I hope you find one. Thest days I`m surprised when an LBS actually stocks something I need.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, what's the best shop in Reno?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I hope you find one. Thest days I`m surprised when an LBS actually stocks something I need.


When I was doing a repack on a different bike last year one of the cones had a little bit of pitting. It wasn't catastrophic, but I'm OCD enough that I knew it would bug me if I put it back together like that, so I figured that I might as well replace it. I took the parts to the shop that's closest to me, got a blank look, and the response "Yeah, we usually just recommend a new wheel."  So then I went to the second-closest shop and got what I needed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow. And 90% of people probably just buy a new wheel, too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ luckily it's something that 90%+ of bike owners would never even recognize as a problem. I'd think that anyone who takes their bearings aparts, sees little pits in the races, and goes to a shop looking for a new cone would have the same reaction I did - which was to roll my eyes, shake my head, and vow to never use that shop for anything except basic consumables.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

that's 50 pounds of crankshaft n container there. basket's tougher than I thought!
posted here cause that's Crom, my commuter.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Not to mention the weight of 2 U-locks and those tires. :lol:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

28f degree this AM, clear and cool! The city swept all of the leaves off the bike trails, just as I pull the slicks off. Anyways, worked last night getting the studs ready for icy commute duty.

This AM's Skyline:









Kona Unit 2-9 = 32x18 on Nokian 294s:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Great! Maybe you should just toss the computer and enjoy the ride. Slow can be good, I once found an 1865 penny riding r - e - a - l - l - y s - l -o - w. It changed my attitude about slow.


Ever have a go slow race....

Last guy clean to the finish line wins....

I like to play it with beginners on steep climbs...

The can't ride slow enough to maintain their wind...so they have to get off the bike.

Then I just very slowly ride past, with an easy breath.

Technique Technique Technique.

Also fun on pavement with track sides etc.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Great! Maybe you should just toss the computer and enjoy the ride. Slow can be good, I once found an 1865 penny riding r - e - a - l - l - y s - l -o - w. It changed my attitude about slow.


No computer on the bike. Just a pulsimeter with elapsed timer. I did the last 7/10 of a mile all over my supposed Max HR burning up the little rise and was not winded in the least. THAT as a huge improvement. So lungs and heart are ready when the legs get strong. Not quite dead yet.

One funny frustrating moment. I went through and intersection on the State Route with a minor street and the town law enforcement was to my left, held by oncoming traffic on the highway until I was just by. He pulled out and went slow and I needed my left turn and to signal the car back a bit, so as his front bumper came to my rear wheel, I signaled left and he slowed more I waved frantically for him to pass and he stops, asking what I want. He though I was waving him over. Maybe he missed the hand signal, but I bet he didn't know that was a left turn signal. He isn't much younger than me, so I think that bodes ill for the regular public to understand any hand signals without a fingers or thumbs involved. ;(

BrainMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, what's the best shop in Reno?


You`re asking about LBS? Reno Velo (formerly Bicycle Warehouse) seems to have the best stock for roadies, Bananas for "other" bikes. Note that "best" doesn`t mean much in this case. If you mean to do some kind of service, Reno Velo and Reno Bike Project are the only places I haven`t totally lost faith in. You wouldn`t believe what troubles I ran into trying to get my BB and antique 1" headtube prepped in order to assemble my recumbent.

> "I took the parts to the shop that's closest to me, got a blank look, and the response "Yeah, we usually just recommend a new wheel." 
I believe it. Probably the same look I got when I asked my LBS for a BB lockring.

NICE skyline, JordyB!


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## jwood70 (Mar 22, 2011)

Rode again today (almost 11 miles commuting this week) and had a good ride except my front BB5 is sticking when I try to use it. I hope the LBS can fix it over lunch.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BB5's are a pain with only one adjustable side... The best luck I had with them was loosening the caliper bolts, squeezing the lever really lightly to center them (too hard and they didn't seem to center right), tightening the bolts while squeezing lightly, and then back off of the adjustment knob a few clicks. This worked maybe 3 out of 5 times, which was major success for those brakes. The best way to fix them is to unscrew all of the bolts, take the whole brake off, and put a BB7 back in the same location. :lol:

Yes Rodar, LBS...thanks. haven't been to Reno Velo. Checked out most of the others. We have a Bananas 'satellite location' over here now... if they don't have it, they can get it...so that's good. Good people too. 

30 degrees this morning! What happened? I was in shorts on Monday morning.


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## Bokchoicowboy (Aug 7, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> BB5's are a pain with only one adjustable side... The best luck I had with them was loosening the caliper bolts, squeezing the lever really lightly to center them (too hard and they didn't seem to center right), tightening the bolts while squeezing lightly, and then back off of the adjustment knob a few clicks. This worked maybe 3 out of 5 times, which was major success for those brakes. The best way to fix them is to unscrew all of the bolts, take the whole brake off, and put a BB7 back in the same location.


I have BB-5's on my commuter, but only because I have drop-bars with disc brake capable road levers and needed the little cable-adjuster that BB-5's have on the caliper (that BB-7's don't have....GRRRRR). I too had trouble with adjustment, centering, etc.

But I found the true fool-proof method. Saw it on Eco-Velo.

Here it is with photos:

Eco Velo 

Here is the original site they kyped the method from:

Blue Collar MTB

(I like Eco-Velo's photos a lot better than BCMTB.)

The method works, and gives miles of sweet braking, providing you do not have a warped disc. I use a business card instead of stacked pieces of paper. Gets the clearance just right.


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## system-f (May 15, 2009)

This is my third week of drive + train + bike to work and I Love it. The mornings are very cool and the trips home in the after noon not so hot. I have been experimenting with times I come in and leave to see the different sites. I would like to get a decent camera so I can shoot some pictures of the aircraft that land as my commute goes right by the runways of a major civilian airport. It really is amazing the things you see when you have time to look around.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't buy that whole 'road' and 'mountain' lever/brake thing. I have road levers on my commuter with 'mountian' BB7's currently, and before that I had the BB5's with the same levers. I had an old Avid BBDB disc brake with both mountain and road levers before that... there's no difference between any of it that's too big to get out with just some basic adjustment.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

The main difference between road and mountain BB7's is the length of the pull arm on the brake caliper. The MTB version has a longer arm because MTB levers pull more cable than road levers. You can use MTB BB7's with road levers but you'll have to keep the pads adjusted pretty close to the discs in order to get good stopping power (or use a travel adjuster). My commuter has road BB7's with road levers, and I am very happy with the combination. Especially on a day like today, descending steep hills in the pouring rain!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

This is good stuff, folks.

One day I'm going to get bored and put dirtdrop bars onto one of my bikes. There are special long-pull road levers for that (Tektro RL520 and maybe others), but being able to use any old road lever sure would be handy. So do road levers with mountain brakes work well, or would that be too sketchy for technical riding?


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## Fooksache (Oct 6, 2011)

I managed to get in a race with a random stranger this morning. Always fun when that happens!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I use 'mountain' BB7's with Tektro 10 dollar (not 'long pull') road levers on my commuter. I just used them for my Oregon Coast tour while pulling a 40 pound trailer in the fog and (a little bit of) rain, down some seriously steep descents, and I never had any doubts about my stopping power. I ride the same bike on a switchbacked singletrack descent in the dirt on a fairly regular basis when I take the 'trail option' on the commute. No worries about stopping power/modulation, ever.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey CB, not questioning your experience at all - I am happy to hear that your combination works great. I only want to point out that if you use the MTB caliper with a road lever, you may have to be more dilligent in keeping the pads adjusted close the the disc so that you don't run out of lever travel before you run out of stopping room  Some road levers will have more cable pull than others, therefore some combinations will work better than others.

Newfangled, they will probably work fine. If you find that the brakes feel spongy, you can add a travel adjuster (something like the Problem Sovers Travel Agent) to get more cable pull.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

No offense taken woodway... might be easier to adjust with the 'road' brakes. I got the 'mountain' brakes based on my experience with the older versions that I had used, and haven't had problems. I thought I might want to swap to a mountain bar/levers later. I haven't had any major difficulty getting them adjusted, or accessive lever travel. They lock up long before the levers threaten to hit my knuckles.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanks for the brake info. I remembered that the reason I was wondering about short-pull levers was because you can't get a long-pull sti/brifter. But then again my hypothetical future dirtdrop conversion would probably be singlespeed anyway, so it's moot but still good to know.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I added my "level one" jacket to the clothes mix a few days ago, was on my way out fo the house last night and went back inside to put on my long johns (with shorts) because my legs felt cold just walking to where the bike was parked. I got the season`s first snowflakes on my way in . Warmer this morning, and supposed to be nice this weekend.



system-f said:


> This is my third week of drive + train + bike to work and I Love it....
> ...I have been experimenting with times I come in and leave to see the different sites.


That sounds interresting. Do you have a very flexible work schedule in order to try out differnent times, or just leave really early sometimes?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

OK, this morning was a soaker. A constant downpour that never let up for the entire 18 mile ride into work. I was like a wet dog when I got to the office. Speaking of dogs, I chased two coyotes down the MUP. Came around a corner and there they were standing in the middle of the trail. As soon as my headllight beam hit them, they took off running down the trail in front of me, staying just on the edge of the beam. I was going 20MPH and they probably ran in front of me for 50-100 yards before they darted into the tall grass on the side of the trail!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was running late this morning. Then I got stuck behind a school bus for a few minutes outside a child care center. The kids were off in the parking lot somewhere and were convinced (or pretending to be) the bus wasn't theirs. So I just hung out on the road for a while. Finally, the kids boarded the bus, and I was off. I started work 7 minutes late after taking a small shortcut through a park.

The weather has been absolutely perfect this week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woodway, I would have been singing Metallica's "Of Wolf and Man"...with the rain pouring down, running with a pack of wild dogs. "Off thorugh the new day's mist I run...." 

My ride was exceptionally uneventful this morning. This quick cold snap has the deer sleeping in I think. There was nothing out there but me. It was slightly warmer than yesterday...probably 32*F? Supposed to warm up again over the weekend. Had to break out 'level 2' stuff the last two days.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Commute was nice this morning. A little fog, but it burned off pretty quickly and the mid 50 degree weather was pleasant. This afternoon should be nice with the mid 70s and full sun. Not many more days like this coming. 

Side note - Looks like I just have to commute to work two more times this year to break the 1000 mile barrier. Never rode 1000 miles in a year before and I should have well over that before the year is over. :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice work Dalton. Keep it up!

CB - that's a good one! I could also sing along to "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Allright, Dalton! Another PR for the commute crew this year!
I`m headed towards one too, hopefully. Probably near the end of November, so it won`t totally shatter last year`s distance, but if I get there I`ll take it 

Where are you guys digging up all this weird music from? Doesn`t anybody else ever listen to Mel Torme since Judge Harry went off the air?


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

probably the last "fast bike" day of the year, so me and George (my Gardin) stretched out the 56x16. 
Passing on the left at "redonkulous speed" was worth every curseword I incited.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Where are you guys digging up all this weird music from? Doesn`t anybody else ever listen to Mel Torme since Judge Harry went off the air?


Rare Mel Torme hits:

"Coy-yotes running down the MUP, 
Rain is running down my neck, 
White tails run nowhere that I see, 
A day commuting on my Trek"

(Tune: Chestnuts Roasting in an Open Fire.)

Coy-yote
You saw me riding alone
Without a dread in my heart
Without a fear of my own
Coy-yote
You knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
The ride and drier air for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
More than the MUP will hold 
I heard somebody whisper please ignore me
And when I looked Coy-yote you two turned and rolled

(Tune 'Blue Moon')


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ah, yes- now I remember. I think he did the coyote one as a duet with Fred Astaire. Cyd Charisse came in with the chorus, didn`t she?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We got us some real talent in this group. Nice one Brian! :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A Bee-U-Tee-full fall day. To bad the tree colors aren't up to snuff. 

Rode another 31 miles and the timed 25 with no appreciable wind was 1 mph slower in spite of higher HR/effort Apparently chelating heavy metals and producing watts hits the old mitochondria antioxidant systems pretty hard. A short bit of exercise angina right after the last climb at something over 110% of Max HR (I saw it read than coming down, I don't get a set of ride data.. No need for Nitro but a telltale that that was enough of that! So it was as strenuous as it felt. Will back it off on round from now on.

I can take it easy now that I know where 'too hard' is. 


BrianMc 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Took the trail home Friday. A few uphill switchbacks, slick tires, drop bars, and wet pine needles really do a lot to help you shake off the work week. :lol: 

3 day weekend for me! In fact I'm in a whole other place right now... You all look the same from here.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

First Ride home on Nature Boy | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Why didn't anyone ever tell me how bad ass Poggies are??? Rocked the summer gloves on a 25f degree commute=in love!!!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have a half-dollar sized blister on each of my heels from playing pick-up soccer this weekend with new cleats. The skin came off completely, and the blisters are oozing liquid. It's kind of gross. I also tweaked my lower back while playing. I was a bit worried about this morning's commute, but it went smoothly. My back was a bit sore at the top of my pedal stroke when sitting, but it wasn't too bad. I made it into work just about as fast as usual.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I after watching this I might be changing my attitude riding around all these deer... 

Mountain Biker gets taken out by BUCK - CRAZY Footage - Only in Africa - YouTube


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## simpterfex (Nov 14, 2010)

My GF and I were going to the beach last night to meet up with some friends. We were going on the bike path when we see a Toyota 4 Runner about 1/4 mile away speeding toward us in the opposite lane. As the car gets closer it starts to veer off the road and onto the gravel beside without loosing any speed. It rips down into the ditch and blasts off the transition where the culvert protrudes from the next drive way. The car is now directly across the street from me now as I watch it fly 8' high and 82' over the driveway, electrical box, and into the next lawn. The machine touched down on the passenger rear tire turned 90 and rolled 1.5 times counter clockwise onto the driver door. 
I checked for oncoming traffic and biked over to help. I guess her hand was sticking out the driver window when she rolled because her arm was pinned under the windshield. The car was on the driver door and all i could see was a hand sticking out from under the window frame. A bunch of other people came from their cars and helped get the car onto its wheels again. The driver was mangled and I really couldn't look at her because I was feeling kinda sick after seeing her arm. The emergency responders showed up after about 10 min and I went back home after chatting to one of the guys who helped out. 
We never made it to the beach. I'm thankful that no one else got hurt.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Good lord! I don't even know what to say! that's so horrid! It does make me think how, when people tell me how dangerous commuting on my bike is. you can get hurt in a car just the same.


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## simpterfex (Nov 14, 2010)

It made us feel quite vulnerable, after that I won't hesitate to get off the road for an out of control driver.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

A buddy and I did our own private fall century yesterday. It was his first 100 as well as the first time he`s ridden any extended grades, so he feels rightfully proud of himself- it was a tough one for a first attempt. For me, it was the climbingest of a handful of 100 plus rides I`ve done, and a new PR for the slowest century . End stats 101.3 miles, 5024' vertical, somewhere around 13 hours start to finish.

JordyB: Dude, as Mr Fairbanks, you should be telling US about pogies!

Taken out by buck: Whoa! Perfect tackle!

Simpterfex: That sure sounds bad. Did you hear the full story? Did the driver fall asleep?


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

nice century time Rodar! nice and slow 

I pre-ordered my Moose Mitts pogies, I sure hope they get here before snow. It's getting close. Rainy today and high 60s, but I know the white stuff is coming.

First ride on the new whip. Built me up a fixie with fenders for crappy weather/bar trips. Lots of fun!


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## simpterfex (Nov 14, 2010)

I think they were on pills or drunk or something.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

Pretty good today, not the fastest, but not the slowest&#8230; yet pretty damn fast for a 42 pound Surly Pugsley:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woo hoo! First real bikecommute since the August flood, and it was brilliant! 7.5 mi,, a mix of snowmobile trails, dirt road, road, and trail. Maybe 1.5 mi by road total.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Looks like a great route, mtbxplorer.

newfangled's tech tip of the day:

If you accidentally strip the threads on an axle, *do not put it back together*. Even if you're not tightening things up, and are really just trying to keep everything in one place because you don't have a convenient way to store your bike without a wheel - don't do it. It will make things so much worse.

I did finally get my replacement axle yesterday though, so my 29er is back in action. After a week on the hardtail I really missed it.

Commute-wise, this morning was light rain with temperatures a little above freezing. I'd love to avoid putting the studs on until the end of the month, but if it was a little bit cooler I'd be riding on a skating rink, so depending on the forecast they might go on this weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've seen 2 other bike commuters in the past 24 hours. I saw the guy with the fast pedal cadence again. A rather noisy sportscar was taunting him. The driver hit the gas hard just as he was passing the cyclist in the bike lane. Jerk.

On my way home, a female driver passed by and yelled something at me. I thought she she was cussing me out. It turned out the driver was my wife, and she was just saying hi.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@ s0ckeyeus: nice of her not to honk : )

Newfangled, what happened when you stuffed the hub back together like that?



mtbxplorer said:


> Woo hoo! First real bikecommute since the August flood, and it was brilliant! 7.5 mi,, a mix of snowmobile trails, dirt road, road, and trail. Maybe 1.5 mi by road total.


Damn, Xplorer! You might even make CommuterBoy envious with that route!
Looking forward to seeing the fatty on those snowmonbile trails, but it must be tough leaving the Unicoi behind.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> @ s0ckeyeus: nice of her not to honk : )
> 
> Looking forward to seeing the fatty on those snowmonbile trails, but it must be tough leaving the Unicoi behind.


S0ckeye, that was a great story, still laughing this morning.:cornut:

Rodar, yes that is a bit sad, but she'll still get dressed up in studs and get out in certain conditions I'm sure.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> @ s0ckeyeus: nice of her not to honk : )


Yeah, she's been around me enough to know not to do that. :thumbsup:

It is raining this morning, and I got stuck behind the school bus again. It was just sitting in front of the day care center. The kids were nowhere in sight. The bus was honking and waiting, and I was getting wetter and wetter. Eventually, we all passed the bus, which had it's blinking lights on but hadn't extended the "Stop" sign yet. I got to work a little late, but not to bad. Water soaked through my backpack and now my shirt has a big wet spot around my lower back. Oh well. At least the book I'm planning to read at lunch stayed dry.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ My last backpack lost it's waterproof-ness, and I used the ol' ******* trash bag liner technique... worked good. Just permanently install a trash bag in the backpack, and put your stuff in there. Works well for a sleeping bag stuff sack too. 

I'm just about in full-on darkness now, and I am dealing with the annual frustration of people who won't dim their high-beams when they're coming at me on my rural commute. My headlight is blazing, but it's just not enough to convince people that maybe I can't see when they are blinding me with their high beams. It's all I can do to follow the white line sometimes until the car passes. I'll put a hand up to shield my eyes and that will sometimes make them realize what they're doing, so they'll dim them at the last second, giving me a tiny moment of relief before they're gone. 50% of them probably just think I'm waving. But I'm still counting my blessings....we're talking about 10 cars at the most on a typical morning :lol: 

MTBX, that's a sweet route! I don't have to tell you how stoked I am to have a trail option for the commute. You're lucky it will still be an option in the winter. Mine will be buried in powder.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Well, haven't ridden to work in a couple weeks. I used to commute on my road bike, but I sold it and replaced it with a bike worth 3x as much that I can't bear to leave outside work. Well, if I bought another bike the wife would probably leave me, so I sold one of my mountain bikes and used that money to buy a steel road bike off bonktown for 50% off. 

Of course, the new bike will be here Monday but on Tuesday I have a meeting at another one of my company's buildings that's too far to ride to, so I have to drive, then Wednesdays I telecommute. So Thursday is the big day I guess.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Heckled a Cat 6 racer*

so yesterday me and this other guy passed this slower guy on a ,nice looking disc trek commuter, so that we could beat a trail to a crossing. Yeah we beat it. So this morning i catch up the the guy that me and this other guy passed yesterday. Then through am intersection i passed him and then he gets on my back wheel, drafts me and goes all racer boy on me. So as he passes me im like"yeah cat 6" and just let him go.

So its time to lose the 500g CX tires and on go the other wheels fitted with 260g 28c @ 120psi in um. Racer boys going down.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Found out that my employer won't sponsor my commute because I wanted transit benefits for only Dec to March (rainy season). Unless I go all year, I'm ineligible for it. This would have came out to about $300 in transit vouchers.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

First Day on my Soma. Digging the hell out of this bike. so much faster and responsive than I'm use to. the rigid is harder on my hands than I thought but nothing too harsh. My headset seems to have a lot of play. its driving me nuts. Also not thrilled on how the Soma fork handles. but other than the headset/fork issues. I am loving this bike.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

jrm said:


> so yesterday me and this other guy passed this slower guy on a ,nice looking disc trek commuter, so that we could beat a trail to a crossing. Yeah we beat it. So this morning i catch up the the guy that me and this other guy passed yesterday. Then through am intersection i passed him and then he gets on my back wheel, drafts me and goes all racer boy on me. So as he passes me im like"yeah cat 6" and just let him go.
> 
> So its time to lose the 500g CX tires and on go the other wheels fitted with 260g 28c @ 120psi in um. Racer boys going down.


Ran into someone similar yesterday on the way home. Before I make a left turn from a MUP on to the main road (heavily used by bicycles), I let one bicycle pass because he was going a pretty good pace. Another guy about 200m behind him, I decide to jump in front of since he's going pretty slow. The guy in front of me I couldn't gain, but I wasn't loosing much distance either. By the time I get behind him, he's a good 100m in front of me. I watch as he slows for a 4-way stop, but doesn't stop, to wait his turn. I slow down approaching the intersection so I could wait for the cars to cycle, but I ended up having do to a full stop due to some pedestrians. During this time, the guy behind me decided he didn't need to stop and plowed through the intersection just as cross traffic vehicles had entered the intersection. One my turn comes up, I proceed and pass him maybe 50m up the road only to have the same thing happen again and again and again at the next three 4-way stops and upsetting traffic flow everywhere he went.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The sun is killing me lately, right in my eyes on my way home after work. Can`t wait for DST to end. After kind of chilly weather last week, it warmed up again and I stopped covering my legs with long johns, but still wearing my wind breaker and gloves. Yeah, Indian Summer! But now our busy season is starting to crank up at work, so not so much time to enjoy it.



jseko said:


> Found out that my employer won't sponsor my commute because I wanted transit benefits for only Dec to March (rainy season). Unless I go all year, I'm ineligible for it. This would have came out to about $300 in transit vouchers.


Bummer. I take it the transit vouchers are to pay for bus or BART commutes and bike commuting gets no reimbursement?

Glad your Groove is grooving for you, Agwan. It`ll probably take a while to get used to no suspension. When I go from fat to skinny tires, I always have a few days of constantly cursing the ride and loving the efficiency at the same time. From skinny to fat, the opposite- probably much the same as going from suspension to rigid. What size tires do you have on it?


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bummer. I take it the transit vouchers are to pay for bus or BART commutes and bike commuting gets no reimbursement?


Yes, the vouchers would be fore Muni. I was going to get the vouchers for the rainy months and I was planning to ride the bus in rather than bike. My commute is around 3 miles. I don't have changing facility or a place to put my wet clothes. Right now I ride in long sleeve base layer shirts and I change into a collared shirt in the restroom.

Employer has chosen not to provide the $20 bike commuter benefit if that's what you are referring to. They told me it's too much work to support too few users.

The person who handles the transit benefits said I'm the first one, out of the several hundred who use them, to ask about using the vouchers seasonally.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Glad your Groove is grooving for you, Agwan. It`ll probably take a while to get used to no suspension. When I go from fat to skinny tires, I always have a few days of constantly cursing the ride and loving the efficiency at the same time. From skinny to fat, the opposite- probably much the same as going from suspension to rigid. What size tires do you have on it?


it rides REALLY SMOOTH. for a rigid. 1.5 Bontrager hardpack something or others. its all built up in my thread now.

Its fast as heck. and rolls so smooth I can hardly tell when I'm going uphill. I am in love with this bike. I already rode 7 days a week. now even that doesn't feel like enough.

I feel like I've nailed the characteristics I wanted. it straddles well between mountain and road bike. while I'm sure its heavy and slow to real roadies. to me its a freaking rocket ship!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I remember when I was testing bikes and the first one I tried, I thought holy crap this thing flies! It was a hybrid with 32mm tires that were basically smooth. Alas I couldn't stand the ride on it because it was so rough. Aluminum frame and fork (beefed up for disc brakes) on that bike. The bike I ended up buying has aluminum frame and carbon fork along with 42mm tires. 

The ride is definitely smoother but also I notice also this bike is slightly slower and I guess pudgier. It did not bother me enough not to buy it. 

In the end, the perfect bike is the one that I'll ride and enjoy riding be it fast or slow or agile or pudgy.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

Or covered in Anodized Red parts. and spoke beads.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy but good. Took the road route due to the rain. One dodo would have run me over backing out of his driveway, but I saw it coming and came to a dead stop to allow him to cut me off instead. Work is up by the quarry at the top of the hills in the last pic.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Awesome fall colors.

I did the 18 mile meet-the-wife commute after work yesterday, and got a very rare headwind for that ride. I was pushing pretty hard. 27 miles yesterday and I'm plesantly sore this morning. 

I 'split' a herd of about 10 deer on the way to work this morning, and I was having visions of getting taken out by a giant african antelope. No drama with the deer though, as usual. 

My neighbor spotted a mountian lion just off of my property a couple days ago...that will make you alert out there in the morning. There is apparently a mom and cubs that have been getting people's cats, chickens, etc over the last month or so on the other side of town also. They had to put one down because it decided to bury it's kill (like they do) about 50 feet from a day-care center playground. 

All this, and I've still never seen one in the wild. I'd be stoked to get a glimpse of one. A friend had one run across the trail in front of him up above my house maybe a month ago when he was headed downhill on the mountian bike. He said he was very glad he wasn't going uphill.

Someone in town snagged this picture of one of the cubs in their driveway. Local paper had a big article that ended with "don't ride your bike or run during the pre-dawn hours when mountain lions are the most active." Beautiful :lol:


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Great commute, although wet from the rain, until I get to the parking garage. The rear wheel my LBS rebuilt, because the stock nipples were sheering off, started to come apart. About 10 of the nipples are so loose they are no longer threaded into the rim, and therefore the spokes are VERY wiggly.

Called up the LBS and they are going to do what they can to make things right.

So in the mean time off to REI (they are really close) to get a nipple wrench (my multi tool with one is at home and the multi tool I have with me lacks a nipple wrench) to tighten things up so I can get home.

Tonight I will be taking my time to get home...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ..
> All this, and I've still never seen one in the wild. I'd be stoked to get a glimpse of one. A friend had one run across the trail in front of him up above my house maybe a month ago when he was headed downhill on the mountian bike. He said he was very glad he wasn't going uphill.
> 
> Someone in town snagged this picture of one of the cubs in their driveway. Local paper had a big article that ended with "don't ride your bike or run during the pre-dawn hours when mountain lions are the most active." Beautiful :lol:


Holy cr*p! Of course, just because you haven't seen one, doesn't mean they haven't seen you!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Soggy but good. Took the road route due to the rain. One dodo would have run me over backing out of his driveway, but I saw it coming and came to a dead stop to allow him to cut me off instead. Work is up by the quarry at the top of the hills in the last pic.


Man, I'm jealous of your commute. Where in VT do you live if you don't mind me asking? I'm at Kingdom Trails a few times a year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

yabodie said:


> So in the mean time off to REI (they are really close) to get a nipple wrench (my multi tool with one is at home and the multi tool I have with me lacks a nipple wrench)...
> 
> ...to tighten things up so I can get home.


That`s better, anyway. If the wheel is in as bad of shape as it sounds like, you`ll have a much easier time with just a simple spoke wrench than one mounted on a big bulky contraption....

...If you haven`t trued wheels before, you`re starting with a pretty big challenge. Take your time, try not to get frustrated, and please let us know how it went!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> Man, I'm jealous of your commute. Where in VT do you live if you don't mind me asking? I'm at Kingdom Trails a few times a year.


I'm in central VT- in Barre near the Orange line, about 5 miles from Millstone Trails.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Holy cr*p! Of course, just because you haven't seen one, doesn't mean they haven't seen you!


Cool story about that... I was up on the mountain not far from home on the dirt bike (yamaha 450), ripping along a logging road, when I came around a corner and had to dodge a mangled deer carcass in the middle of the road. I went up the road another corner or two, and then decided that I really needed to check it out... so I whipped around and went back..........and it was gone.

I shut the bike off and looked and listened...nothing. But I know I was being watched. That's the closest I've come, I'm sure. I've seen tracks on a few occasions too, but still never made eye contact.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, probably a good thing the cat got back there before you, or you might have been the appetizer. I have never seen one either, but my Dad did when hiking in CO. He took out a pocketknife "just in case", but luckily it slunk off the large trailside rock & disappeared instead of pouncing off of it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Wow, probably a good thing the cat got back there before you, or you might have been the appetizer. I have never seen one either, but my Dad did when hiking in CO. He took out a pocketknife "just in case", but luckily it slunk off the large trailside rock & disappeared instead of pouncing off of it.


They reccomend a big stick...more like a log about 2 to 3 inches diameter and 6 feet long...then beat the **** out of the thing...

Out at Shushwap lake we had a cougar stalk my kids in our cabin...it is on stilts the cat was hidding under the stairs waiting to get what ever came out...my 4 year old son was going out with the dog...

The dog took after the cat up the mountain...he came back after an hour or so...

Anyway they finally had to shoot the cat cause he was stalking people after dark in the townsite....they could tell cause in the morning you could see human footprints in the snow with cat tracks....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It wouldn't be a bad idea for me to start carrying a knife or something... I have one that would clip onto a backpack strap easily enough. I'm thinking my bike would be a nice substitute for a 6 foot stick in a pinch...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I went up the road another corner or two, and then decided that I really needed to check it out... so I whipped around and went back..........and it was gone.


Starman resurected it with a shiny silver ball?
Seriously, that`s a good story. Seeing a montain lion is one of my big hopes too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Local paper had a big article that ended with "don't ride your bike or run during the pre-dawn hours when mountain lions are the most active." Beautiful :lol:


That is when a slower riding partner is really nice to have!

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw my first live porcupine today (the fuzzy grey blob).



Maybe 100m later I bumped into a woman with two dogs that were super excited to meet me and would probably be super, super excited to meet the porcupine. So I gave her a heads up.

I don't think we've had a frost yet, so while there are a lot of leaves are on the ground there are also still quite a few on the trees.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

This area had dried by afternoon when I took the photo. In the morning, it was damp from the overnight fog/drizzle from the Pacific Ocean. Photo is in Golden Gate park less than 1/2 mi from the coast.

They're hard to see in the photo, but mixed among those eucalyptus leaves are thousands of eucalyptus nuts. If you look carefully, they nuts are little black dots. They are about the size of grapes but more conical shape and they are hard so the bike tire doesn't crush them. Depending on how I roll over them, sometimes they shoot off after getting pinched and other times my my tire slides sideways. Very precarious especially when wet.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey All - I have not commuted all week. I was on business travel early in the week, and then on thursday drove down to Bend Oregon with some friends to ride in the Bend Big Fat Tour. Today we rode the "Epic Pre-ride" which was 30 miles and 4500 feet of climbing. It was hard, but also incredible. Tomorrow is the "Epic" day, 90 miles almost all single track. I probably will not do the entire 90 miles route, but hope to get in 60 miles or so.

Here is a photo of me from today. Bend Oregon is one of the coolest places in the world to mountain bike...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had another barking car experience today- second time within a few weeks that the same thing has scared the crap out of me. I was rolling down the main drag of the next valley over with a steady stream of cars going past, and lost in Lala Land, when a "passenger" in one of those cars suddenly let loose with a loud barking tirade just as he was next to me. I about jumped out of my skin! It sounded like it came from six inches from my ear, even though it was really several feet away.

Wow, Woodway- what a beautiful shot! Have fun epicking off in Bend tomorrow.

I`ve never seen a porcupine. Good thing you got to see one before the dog lady got to it.



BrianMc said:


> That is when a slower riding partner is really nice to have!


Or the only time you really WANT to have a dog chasing you!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Man, that is a nice view f Oregon. Missed that when I was there. Dang, but the bucket list is getting long!

Formula for a best time in your commute, CB: attacking dog with puma chaser! 

My favorite: Barking Dog Surprise! 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from Bend. I did not ride the whole epic - I skipped the ten mile optional loop. Ended up with 75 miles and 6700 feet of climbing. 95% was on sweet singletrack. Probably the most difficult but satisfying day I have had on a Mountain Bike. Need to get my gear together and the commuter bike ready for the ride to work tomorrow.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

face full of dust on my ride home tonight. gotta love high winds.


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## Ste_Mc133 (Oct 12, 2011)

Mine is also good because it is not traffic i was here now at the philippines and everyday is always a bad day because of commuting and it feels really terrible when you try it..:madman:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I spotted 10 turkeys and 4 deer this morning. The turkeys ran off in an orderly fashion & the deer bolted in 4 directions in an explosion of whitetail. I saw 3 moose this weekend but they were all dead on trailers, the season started Saturday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My front fender broke this morning. It hit my foot when I was getting back on the bike after standing at a stop for a while. My fenders are aluminum and some sort of plastic. Both the aluminum support and the plastic broke . I was able to ghetto fix it to get the rest of the way to work, but it kind of sucks. These fenders were not even a year old.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woodway, NICE! 

No kitty sightings yet.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Had a blast riding in to a meeting and back. Pulse stayed down, power up. Got home and was missing part of my load as the cargo net slipped. Found it about a mile and a half from home, sitting on the road: Footloose and Fancy Free. Good the meeting ran late so people were filling their faces at home not driving over it. A lost sole was found. I am not so well-heeled so I'm glad I didn't have to foot the bill for a new pair of shoes and be 'left' shoe less.  

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good grief, pun writus maximus!
Sounds like you`re de-amalgamating fine, glad you found a sole mate for your remaining shoe.

And I need to get myself one of those nets for carrying bread.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

woodway said:


> ...
> 
> Here is a photo of me from today. *Bend Oregon is one of the coolest places in the world to mountain bike...*


nice layer
not as bad as ours most times 
-still


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## valentin_84 (Feb 7, 2010)

Crappy!

I've started riding to work (about 10 miles one way) and I keep getting flats from thorns, at least 2 or 3 a week! I stopped by my local bike shop and I got some Specialized thorn resistant tubes pre-filled with Specialized's Airlock Sealant. Well, after riding on them for 2 days, I got freakin flats again!

The ride to work includes about 2 miles on dirt and I don't know what to do anymore... Do any of you guys use the airless tubes? Any suggestions?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Goatheads... ahh yes. I went tubeless and that has made all the difference with thorn-related flats. I don't know about the specialized 'airlock' sealant in those tubes, but it sounds like it doesn't work. A true tubeless sealant works wonders. You can inject tubeless sealant into your tubes too, if your valve stems cooperate. That's the easy way. But once you go tubeless, you won't go back.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

valentin_84 said:


> The ride to work includes about 2 miles on dirt and I don't know what to do anymore... Do any of you guys use the airless tubes? Any suggestions?


What kind of tires are you running?


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Ah, yes, I finally got to 1000 miles this morning. This being my second year (first full year) of commuting, I am very pleased. 

This morning was a brisk 40 degrees, so I had to go with pants and added a vest to the med weight shirt. I was happy with the combo, but I am thinking I may find a seamstress and cut the back off of my vest and have someone sew in a mesh back panel as I like the wind stoppage and help in the front, but I really don't need nearly the insulation on my back as I was sweating pretty bad back there. It might look ghetto, but I think I'll be more comfortable. I think I'll use an orange safety vest as the back panel donor. Anyone done this?


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## valentin_84 (Feb 7, 2010)

woodway said:


> What kind of tires are you running?


Stock Geax tires...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Newfangled, what happened when you reassembled your hub with the stripped nuts?



Dalton said:


> Anyone done this?


I`ve never heard of it, but it sounds interresting and makes sense. Or maybe pin a wind block inside the front of a mesh vest?
Congratulations on hitting the 1000 mark :thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Newfangled, what happened when you reassembled your hub with the stripped nuts?


Nothing too exciting. Got a replacement axle assembly from a local shop (local shop #3) and it's all fine now.

The main thing was that I put cones and locknuts back onto an axle that I knew was stripped, because it was late and I just wanted to keep everything in one place. And that was a mistake because the next day when I tried to take it all apart again it was impossible. I started with one trashed axle and possibly one trashed locknut, but to get the axle out of the hub a second time I ended up trashing everything. It wasn't a big deal since I'd bought a whole replacement axle assembly anyway, but it gets filed under "things not to do."


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

valentin_84 said:


> Stock Geax tires...


If you want suggestions, you might provide a little more information. Geax makes lot's of different kinds of tires.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dalton said:


> Ah, yes, I finally got to 1000 miles this morning. This being my second year (first full year) of commuting, I am very pleased.


Nice accomplishment Dalton!


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## Solrider (Aug 6, 2009)

Its HOT! :madmax:

I'm ready for it to not be HOT!! :madmax:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Mild today, 50's, back to long shorts, T & vest. Still amazed at the trailride home, and it's actually 1 mile or 1.5 mi shorter than the road routes (6.5 instead of 7.5 or 8). A lot of leaves down now covering the holes, ditches & rocks, so some caution needed, especially when it gets dark on the way home. One tenth mile of the route home is too steep/soft, so I've been walking that. The snowmobile trail passes a few houses & they must be wondering "what the heck is out there??". I keep the taillight on too, hoping not to appear to be jacking deer.

Oh yeah, the quarry next to the new office has a great whistle for start of day, lunchtime, and quitting time, just like the Flintstones  You can almost hear the "yabba dabba do" and see them sliding down the dinosaur's neck to go home.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

Commute today was same as usual&#8230; with the exception of getting my 42 pound snowbike up to 29MPH on flat level ground:


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> Commute today was same as usual&#8230; with the exception of getting my 42 pound snowbike up to 29MPH on flat level ground:


Were you pushed? 









I want my TWO DOLLARS!!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

@Porky: 29mph on a pug? Nice! I havent tried to go for a speed record on mine. Yet! I'll have to wait for a big tailwind! 

27 degrees and chilly today, but finally a break from the 25+mph winds we've been having. I did some gear testing and wore my new OR Ninjaclava and Foxwear Neoshell pants. Very impressed by both, almost overheated this morning! Snow fell about 2hrs east of here last night so I'm sure our white winter is due anyday. My Pugsley is itching and ready to commute all winter long! With the new gear I think I'll be able to handle anything Mother Nature can throw at me...provided my Pogies arrive soon!


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

5C this morning. My ear has been getting painful from the cold so I got a Sugoi thin balaclava to wear under my helmet and it made all of the difference. Was completely comfortable on the ride in.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Shwandah the Hood Ornament*

nice head wind this morning. man the cagers were out in force. I think there still trying to get used to the bikes in the dark with lights thing cuz damn they were driving like ******s.

So im traveling through west oakland about 7am and this car crosses in front of me with this woman posing on the hood. Then further down the street Shawandahs friend Wenlanda yelling Shawandahs name at the top of her voice. This marks one of the funniest things ive seen eva.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

SHAWANDAH!!!! 

Yeah I've never seen that on my commute.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I've been meaning to bite the bullet and finally did my first commute home last night. Took me about 1h10m of riding covering 19km (11.8 miles) - 2km of which is a long steady climb up an 8% gradient.

Only downer was that I left my drink bottle on my desk at work so I was pretty dry.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, RPK! Did you enjoy the ride? Did you see Shawanda?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great going RPK! Now that you've started, you will likely be addicted in no time whatsoever.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's cold today: 42F, windy, and raining. The mix between the rain and the wind chills made this morning's commute a bit miserable. I felt a little under-dressed. I'm still a bit chilly. It doesn't help that my bosses aren't turning on the heat.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Crossed 5000 commute miles for the year on the way into work this morning. It's been a good year


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow, that's a lot of miles! A huge year for me is 2000. But I'm a teacher, and we only work, like, a couple of months. :lol:


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Not sure who I can whine to about this that will be sympathetic, so I'm going to whine to you guys  

I just started commuting in June, and because of a shoulder injury and a bike issue (sold my old road bike, new one was too nice to leave outside work, needed to get a new commuter). So this week I was finally back to it, and for the first time I'm commuting in the dark. I have a nice headlight, taillight and reflective clothing, so I'm not worried. That brings us to this morning, my wife started giving me a hard time about commuting in the dark because it's "too dangerous". We argued for a bit about it, and I decided to just drive today and told her we'll talk about it more later when tempers aren't flaring. 

Anybody else feel like a lot of people don't take commuting by bike seriously? Like it's a game or something? I told her it's important to me that I do this, but that didn't get me far. :madman:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Sorry, Straz, that sounds frustrating. I have run into that attitude, but not so close to home, since I live alone. On the plus side, keep in mind that the driving factor is her concern for your safety. I'd suggest you need to acknowledge this to her, but also explain that a sedentary lifestyle sitting in a car is also dangerous. Plus you will be so much nicer to live with if you have this outlet. Good luck!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Sorry, Straz, that sounds frustrating. I have run into that attitude, but not so close to home, since I live alone. On the plus side, keep in mind that the driving factor is her concern for your safety. I'd suggest you need to acknowledge this to her, but also explain that a sedentary lifestyle sitting in a car is also dangerous. Plus you will be so much nicer to live with if you have this outlet. Good luck!


I was thinking of going with something like "that's the cost of keeping this hot body".

Seriously though, that's the tough part, she's concerned with my safety. Hard to argue with that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

My wife was pretty concerned until she actually saw me commuting in the dark one time. Once she actually saw 1st hand what the visibility situation was, and how far out you could see that blinky taillight, she was way less worried about it. The conversation went from "it's dangerous" to what kind of safety stuff to invest in (lights, reflectors, etc).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some pix from this week's commute, featuring leaves, quarries, a new sap tank for maple sugaring, and a "what is it?" unknown heavy metal object trailside.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer, is that a freeload rack? (assuming that it is, is it worth the big bucks?)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Is that giant tub going to be filled with syrup? Can you install a spigot into the side of it and fill your water bottles? mmmmm syrup.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

woodway said:


> Crossed 5000 commute miles for the year on the way into work this morning. It's been a good year


Damn woodway, that is amazing. Maybe in about 10 years when I don't have to fery kids to daycare and back a couple times a week. Congrats man!

And Straz, I had that conversation, then I had a birthday and told the wife that I want nothing but safety items and after that, she was much better about it. She was always supportive so its not quite the same, but she was less weary when she was able to help me get safer.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> Is that giant tub going to be filled with syrup? Can you install a spigot into the side of it and fill your water bottles? mmmmm syrup.


"I'm sorry, Bruce. These boys get that syrup in 'em, they get all antsy in their pantsy."


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> mtbxplorer, is that a freeload rack? (assuming that it is, is it worth the big bucks?)


Yep. Yep. It wa super solid on my bikepacking trip, once I tightened it enough. Probably only worth it if you can't do a regular rack. Not quick-n-easy to get on and off, though. Went to take it off for commuting and realized it wasn't a 5 minute job, and haven't tried again since. If it is stuck, I'll let you know.

Commuterboy:
Is that giant tub going to be filled with syrup? Can you install a spigot into the side of it and fill your water bottles? mmmmm syrup.

It will be filled with the sap, but then has to be boiled down to be syrup, 40 gals sap = 1 gal syrup if I remember right. All that tubing in the trees will drain to the tank. Less labor intensive than all those quaint sap buckets on each tree. Last year he got sap to the sugarhouse for boiling in drums on a tractor. I'm guessing he wants to tube this tank to the evaporator downhill by his house.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Even easier... a T in the line on the way to the house, and you've got a syrup source :lol: so 40 water bottles full of sap equals 1 water bottle of syrup? 

...and I want a place called a 'sugarhouse' too. There can't be anything bad about that!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well, the downside is you'd need a lot more firewood for your sugarhouse to do all that boiling! How's that woodpile coming along? Yes, sadly it would take a lot of trips to end up with 1 bottle of syrup. If you need a Vermont-y expression, it must be "We'll see how it all sugars off", meaning, how it all comes out in the end.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

5000 miles is pretty danged good, Woodway! That`s only commuting and not your total mileage? There`s no way I can really get more commute miles, but I`m going to make 4000 total my goal for next year. Beyond that, I`ll either need to put in more time than I`m willing to devote or get a lot faster, neither of which is likely. I LITTLE faster I`m hopefull about, but not a lot . Anyway, congratulations.

Whine away, Straz! Driving today and leaving it open to further, calmer discusion sounds like a good call to me. CommuterBoy`s post might hold the key to a happy solution. Could you arrange to go out after dark with her so she could follow behind, drive at you head on, and stop at an intersection to observe you ride past from the side? If you really are lit up well and visible, she`ll likely feel a lot better about the whole idea. As a bonus, if your visibility is lacking somewhere, maybe she can help you get "visibler". Going even further (if your wife is remotely close to your size), you might even have HER ride your bike in as much of your gear as she can wear, while you watch from the car to see for yourself what you look like to night drivers.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well, the downside is you'd need a lot more firewood for your sugarhouse to do all that boiling! How's that woodpile coming along?


:lol: That ought to take the fire out of his sugar house!

MtbX, that`s a great batch of pics! I love the roadsign out there in the middle of the woods- looks very Twilight Zone-ish. I`ll pass on all the maple though. Call me up when they start drawing chocolate sap.

EDIT: You mentioned earlier how all the leaves made it hard to see obstacles on the trail. Now I understand how that could be!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Is that giant tub going to be filled with syrup? Can you install a spigot into the side of it and fill your water bottles? mmmmm syrup.


Sap from covered sap buckets is very refreshing, Just sweet enough. Now they use lines. We used to get a gallon from about 30 gallons of sap, but we didn't vacuum it out of the trees and we liked our syrup a bit runnier than the top USDA grade. As to firewood, we took out the old white pine stump fences in the 1950's to early 1960's. The trees were cut, the stump with its shallow roots like spokes radiating out were pried out of the ground, dragged to the fencerow and stood up on one side like a wheel leaning on the stump like a hub. Most would have been 10-12 feet across or tall when placed. Some monsters were even bigger. These were in place for over 100 years before we took them down, the pitch preserved them and only the bottom of the wheel of roots had rotted. They burned too hot and fast for a fireplace or stove but were dandy boiling sap. Took about 10 years to work through the big pile of them. By then the dead elms were plentiful ;( The pan was open so though we sieved it with milk (strains out ash and dirt) we got a hint of smoke in our syrup.

Speaking of wood, Woodway: Congrats on 5000 miles commuting.

Kathryn sees me come in from a night ride and says if they can't see you it isn't for lack of trying on your part. Check out the ' light reflection on side visibility' thread for the most recent incarnation. A friend called it the polar opposite of camouflage! Of course if they are looking down to text , I'm still dead meat, but I'll be such a pretty shooting star for a bit! 

Love the trail Mtbxplorer! The sign begs for companions. The metal thing has verdegris. If not copper plated, and solid copper it is worth a few....coppers. 

BrianMc


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## TheBigV (Aug 18, 2011)

First commute in quite some time. Felt great. For some reason, it is easier to get my butt up early on a Friday morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> 5000 miles is pretty danged good, Woodway! That`s only commuting and not your total mileage?


5000 is just the commute miles. I've got another 1000 or so recreation miles (mostly dirt, yay!).

*mtbxplorer* or *BrianMc*, how much sap can you get out of one tree? That was a pretty big tub in the photo, how many trees and how long does it take to fill it?

BTW, great pics! Thanks for sharing them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The firewood is done, thank you very much. :lol: In fact, I am so ready for winter I even went on the MTB group ride this week. So fun hammering the trails with a mob of other people. 

I wish you could make something out of pine sap. I'd be a wealthy man.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Had a Football thrown @ me*

by some East Bay Conservation Corp kids. Damn near hit me too. For the most part i see these juvenile delinquent kids walking down Market St. smoking dope as they walk to there jobs at the Port of Oakland. So instead of challenging the kids ill just call the East Bay Conservation Corp and ask if they drug test the ****ing delinquents b/c almost every day i see um walking to the port there smoking pot and i wouldnt want anyone high working in a dangerous area **** the port if theyre high on dope.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

How cool would it be to catch their football and just keep riding.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Pic from MSNBC's 'Photoblog' section. London, England. Looks like a frustrating commute for this guy:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> 5000 is just the commute miles. I've got another 1000 or so recreation miles (mostly dirt, yay!).
> 
> *mtbxplorer* or *BrianMc*, how much sap can you get out of one tree? That was a pretty big tub in the photo, how many trees and how long does it take to fill it?
> 
> BTW, great pics! Thanks for sharing them.


Woodway, 5000 is a lot of miles - I don't think you have enough spare time to get into maple sugaring!  They figure a gallon/tap which might not be enough on a day with a big run, but a big run might not last long. No sap action until spring though, you need freezing nights and warm days for it to run. That tank has to be +/- 1000 gal, so he probably has about 1000 taps connected to it. That is a lot of tubing to maintain - you can imagine the mess if a moose gets tangled in the lines, or even just the trees falling on them. Squirrels will chew through for a free meal too.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Some pix from this week's commute, featuring leaves, quarries, a new sap tank for maple sugaring, and a "what is it?" unknown heavy metal object trailside.


Old cast iron sugar tub


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had a fender bender this morning. It was a single bike crash (mine) on the snowmobile trail. Got a little too confident going down a hill, and a hidden rock or two and some sticks grabbed my front wheel, dumping me onto the ground. Hit the left side of my helmet hard enough to hurt plenty for a minute, though there is no evidence of it on the lid, and it doesn’t hurt now. Otherwise, just a little banged up, I think the saddle got me in the back. Water bottle came off, rear part of front fender broke off, and what seemed like a new creak (or was that me??). At that point the GPS said 27mph max speed, which I think was right before the 0mph! The rest of the ride was nice and mostly uphill.

The scene of the crime. Raking by body:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ouch! not good. Man, I'll take pine needles over a thick bed of leaves like that. Who knows what's under there! Pine needles are predictably slippery, and usually don't pack thickly enough to hide the stuff that can take you out. Way to have the presence of mind to take a picture :lol: 

'Sugaring' sounds a lot like me growing strawberries. It takes 24 hour surveillance and multiple pets to keep the birds, squirrels, and deer away... you spend every spare hour with various types of fencing, poisons and traps, then when you think you've kept all the pests away, the insects show up. After a summer of hanging out the window of the house with a pellet gun, having no social life, you reap a harvest of something like 3 really good strawberries. Then you go to the store and realize that you can buy a whole tub-o-strawberries for something like 99 cents (you wasted more than that on ammunition alone). 

I think I'll just keep buying Maple Syrup at the grocery store :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had a fender bender this morning. It was a single bike crash (mine) on the snowmobile trail. Got a little too confident going down a hill, and a hidden rock or two and some sticks grabbed my front wheel, dumping me onto the ground. Hit the left side of my helmet hard enough to hurt plenty for a minute, though there is no evidence of it on the lid, and it doesn't hurt now. Otherwise, just a little banged up, I think the saddle got me in the back. Water bottle came off, rear part of front fender broke off, and what seemed like a new creak (or was that me??). At that point the GPS said 27mph max speed, which I think was right before the 0mph! The rest of the ride was nice and mostly uphill.
> 
> The scene of the crime. Raking by body:


So no road rash? skid doesn't look long enough for 27 mph...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ouch *mtbx*!

Yeah, I am with *CB*, that's a lot of sap needed. I'll just stick to buying my syrup in the store!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> So no road rash? skid doesn't look long enough for 27 mph...


Nope, but there was no road.  I was glad to have chosen the baggy knickers over bikeshorts today, and longsleeves on top. Maybe you're right about the mph, but it felt like the force went down into the ground rather than letting me slide too far.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That sucks mtbxplorer. 

Don't forget to check your derailleur hanger. I had a minor crash on my hardtail a few weeks ago which was bad enough to break my seat. But I also only just discovered that there are a bunch of gears I can't shift into anymore.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

I`ve seen quite a bit of wildlife over the last years but never been fast enough to capture it in pictures.

Yesterday however was slightly different. I saw a couple of deer. The most common round these parts is the small roe deer (like bambi), the larger deer are hardly seen.

Anyways, I saw a par, stopped as fast as I could. Took off my gloves and took a blury picture with my mobile which was full of condensation on the lens but you can still make them out.

Last time I saw them my wife laughed and said I must have been mistaken. Even though its a poor picture, its prety easy to see that they arn`t the red and white spotted bambi type.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice, Fux. You must be quick on the draw with the camera. I take it you don't get cell phone pics like this one regularly? :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Here's my non-award-winning deer picture from today...I can't find any deer and it's so blurry it looks more like a poor oil painting. I saw 2 in the daylight by the quarry, one strangely came right toward me at first, but only because it knew the trail network and wanted to go back to the other fork I was not on. Then they ran around the back side of the quarry where I took this pic. The other 2 I saw in the dark closer to home...I was a little worried when they split up on either side of the trail.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My God, CB- there are more points in that picture than in an embroidery shop! Somebody will be going home from this year`s hunt very happy.

>"Here's my non-award-winning deer picture from today...I can't find any deer and it's so blurry it looks more like a poor oil painting."
Haha! Better luck next time!
Sorry about the wipeout this morning. I guess there`s always a price to pay for getting to commute pricelss route.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> how much sap can you get out of one tree? That was a pretty big tub in the photo, how many trees and how long does it take to fill it? .


Size matters, location matters, whether in a sugar bush, along a road, in the middle of a field. We had one lightning-struck tree in the field which had rotted hollow with a door wide access on the west side. It was likely a decent sized tree when Columbus landed. It was about 13 feet across and took 20-23 gallon pails which could on a good sap run day (sub freezing night, about 40 F day) give enough sap for a gallon of syrup. Small trees with 3 pails and neighboring trees produce a lot less.

Mtbxplorer: I have a lot easier to rake leaves than those! Ouch! I suppose this is why the season is called 'fall'. ;(

BrianMc


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey guys!

nice crash scene xplorer!...good to know you are ok!

I've been the laziest of the lazy these days...I'll try to go back on monday...but can't promise anything  ... not the last three weekends but after doing 30 or 60 km on the weekend ride I just can't woke up early to do 6 km  not that I am tired or something but I just can find the fun on it these days 

The BaroneSS is ready for a good ride...tomorrow is the day  ... pics after the ride!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A 32F chill in the air and frost on the ground, but a nice blue sky. 

Cleaning up the bike yesterday I found I had broken the pannier support on the rear Freeload rack in Friday's crash. :smallviolin: Since it doesn't support the rack, just stabilizes the pannier, I may try a fix. If I don't get around to that before the next trip, the side frame part is available, $30/pr in the U.S. - annoying when you only need one. 

Some pix from this a.m. Some of the MTB trails had been leafblown, which made it easier.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, it looks like you guys are a month ahead of us in terms of the seasons... all of our oaks and aspens and other non-evergreens are just getting colored, no leaves falling yet.

It's Mountain Bike Monday! There's a new trail we've been working on off of my singletrack commute option. Going to try the extendo-singletrack commute option home. It's a rediculous, loose, diffiuclt climb, but it leads to the trails on the other side of the ridge, which drop down towards my house. I've ridden it downhill, never uphill.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Taste of the new trail:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ oooh, that looks fun, have a good ride!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

I am so jealous of you people who have some trails on your commute. I gots nothing but city streets. Booooooooo


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## Vanselus (Aug 28, 2011)

Post #1 

My 7mi commute was cold at the start, sweaty at the end (too many clothes again, dang it) and saw a spectacular sunrise. I'd post the picture if I could... looking forward to snow in the forecast this week!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice Vanselus! Where are you that you might get snow already? We got some in VT this time last year but that was freaky.


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## Vanselus (Aug 28, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice Vanselus! Where are you that you might get snow already? We got some in VT this time last year but that was freaky.


Colorado front range - they're saying we'll get 6-8" on Wed. No worries though, it will surely be 60+ and sunny the next day


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^From "six to eight and fluffy" to "sixty-eight and sunny". Nice 
Watch your fingers, CB- that looks like a tight trail to say the least!
One last tandem ride on the west shore of Tahoe yesterday. I wish we had remembered a camera- nice yellow leaves blowing around the trail, fluffy clouds above, lake surface clear and still. It was a little chilly from time to time, but never enough to break out my jacket. My wife thought she was going to freeze to death every time the sun went behind the clouds!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Great Mountain Bike Monday yesterday.... nice and sore this morning. Back on the commuter bike and taking it easy today. Temperature is dropping... low 30's this morning, supposed to be 25 for the next couple of mornings. Might have to break out some of the winter stuff... 

Here's a pic from the ride home yesterday:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Coldest so far this winter -9C....(BTW never use the windchill value unless you identify it has windchill)...

Still wearing my ratty summer gloves...

For some reason I will dress a lot warmer for a -9 C day later in the winter than a -9C day earlier in the winter....guess it is just denial.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We're likely to experience a 35 degree temperature shift today. This morning was 41F. This evening is forecast to be around 76F. This time of year is always tricky as far as determining what to wear. This morning I wore shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, and a light cycling jacket. My legs and hands were cold while my arms were a little too warm. It's hard to please all my extremities.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It's hard to please all my extremities.


Don't take this out of context. :eekster:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> For some reason I will dress a lot warmer for a -9 C day later in the winter than a -9C day earlier in the winter....guess it is just denial.


Ditto. :lol: I will hold out as long as possible before I add another layer or thicker pair of gloves, etc.

Dang, that's 15.8 degrees F. It's early for that kind of cold! I probably won't see that until Dec/Jan.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Occupy Oakland Evictions*

bus & BART service delays, swarms of protestors walking down streets people yelling **** and the largest oakland police presence ive ever seen. Felt like i was riding through a war zone. pretty gnarly.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, JeffScott, that is cold! JRM, that sounds pretty crazy. CB, nice trail shot.
Met this doe last night on the trail before it got totally dark. This morning it rained on me halfway through, chilly 40F rain. Other pix: the Thunder Chickens snowmobile club has been putting up their signs; an old trestle for the quarry; and the black lagoon, which really is black.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

To me 40 F rain is very cold......it is a dry cold out here.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

The morning temperature is still hanging around freezing, but I really have to surrender to the inevitable and just start using my warmer gloves because my hands are freezing. And that's not helped by the fact that my normal 7km route became 15km today, and tomorrow and thursday it will be will be about 20km. Lousy offsite meetings.


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## Berkeley Mike (Jan 13, 2004)

Road in regular clothing today.Thought I'd try it out. Not good; hot, sticky, sweaty.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

Hey, "Gusty Headwinds" - both ways... I fukkin HATE you!!! :madmax:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

More nice VT pics . Good thing that doe didn`t tackle you Africa style. We`ve had some nice sunrises lately, so I hijacked the camera last night hoping to catch some pics on my way home this morning. It really was pretty to look at, but I never saw anything worth stopping and pulling out the camera for. Heard later on the radio about the northern lights being visible down as far as Georgia! Did anybody get to see them?

I upped my wardrobe a half notch tonight, added a long sleeved thermal T-shirt. My core was just right, but extremities weren`t very pleased (in any context ). I think I really need some kind of "in between" gloves to give me an option when my Upper Thirties gloves don`t cut it any more, but the Goretex mittens aren`t really necesarry yet.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I think I really need some kind of "in between" gloves to give me an option when my Upper Thirties gloves don`t cut it any more.


Me too. I could use gloves that fill the gap between 35 and 45 degrees.

Today was the second day of the week it started raining as soon as I started for the door. On Tuesday, we got hit with a brief burst of heavy rain. I went back to get a change of socks, and the rain stopped. Today, the rain started again as I was leaving, but it persisted longer. Fortunately it wasn't raining very hard until I reached the office. The temps were in the low 60s, so it was a fairly comfortable rain. The temps are taking a dive tomorrow. Any rain on the commute will be miserable.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ I have 'level 2' gloves. Pearl Izumi, with windstopper front panels. Very nice for the mid temps. 

COLD this morning! That or I'm just weak from a drawn out warm late summer. Sub 20's... 18*F at the weather station in town when I looked it up after getting to work and getting changed.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Old man winter is taking his sweet time getting here. Low 30s to Low 50s for a while it seems. My bike path/MUP was all ripped up this morning for some underground electrical work. Easy spot to just take the lane and ride a couple blocks before hopping back on the path. I sure hope they fix the MUP before snow comes though!


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Snowy. that is all.


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## Vanselus (Aug 28, 2011)

What a coincidence - mine too. Pics to prove it:

http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fantastic-morning-snowy-pug-commute-747321.html


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Vanselus said:


> What a coincidence - mine too. Pics to prove it:
> 
> http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fantastic-morning-snowy-pug-commute-747321.html


Nice, I didn't get any pics, but that looked similar to my commute. We didn't get as much snow down here in Denver, but defiantly some downed trees on the way. This morning was dryer, but colder at about 18*F when I left the house this morning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

'Perfect Storm' this morning. I decided to ride the road bike since I have the 18 mile meet-the-wife commute after work... and I realized at the last second this morning that I don't have a bracket for my new headlight on that bike. Sucks, but I figured I could just hold it between the bars and my hand for one morning. BUT it also happened to be the first day that I felt the need to bust out the winter gloves (pearl izumi lobsters)... so it was a bit awkward. THEN about half way to town, my old 8 speed RSX road shifter decides to break, so that It won't hold itself in gear when you downshift...so the derailleur wants to slam down into the highest gear, and all you can do is hold the brake lever over to keep the chain in a slightly lower gear. Otherwise the bike is the highest-geared singlespeed on the planet. So I've got the light in the left hand, pinched between my hand and the bars, with the tendon between my thumb and forefinger starting to complain, and then with my right hand I'm holding the shifter over to get in a slightly lower gear while I'm climbing...I must have been maintaining a cadence of 10 or 12 RPM... it was an ugly 6 miles. 

So today after work I have an 18 mile ride on what is essentially a 2 speed. I can shift the front, but it's the 11 cog out back, unless I want to hold it up into one of the other 2 or 3 cogs I can get it into. I guess I could mess with the limit screw...it's a pretty flat ride though :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

>"I sure hope they fix the MUP before snow comes though!"
Jag, does your MUP get plowed?

Looks like fun, Vanselus! I`m still looking forward to the first solid snow storm for the year. Probably because we didn`t get much in town last winter so I never got to the point of being fed up and disgusted with the stuff.

Mess with the limit screw!
And then go home and order a set of barcons or DTs


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I am tempted to go with bar-ends... have them on the commuter and love it. And road levers are so expensive! But I'm also tempted to bite the bullet and upgrade the bike to 9 speed. It needs a new cassette anyway...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, glad you made it in 1 piece with that method & mechanical problems. Holy handsfull Batman - our superhero *CommuterBoy* survives another commute. :thumbsup:

Van,after reviewing your fun trip, I was looking forward to my possible snowcommute tonight, but it didn't go as planned.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> But I'm also tempted to bite the bullet and upgrade the bike to 9 speed. It needs a new cassette anyway...


That makes an even better case for bar ends (they do come in 9-speed). You could run them in friction with your current (8-S?) drivetrain, then throw the new cassestte on at any time. Or even 3 x 9 if the desire came up.

Waiting to see how it went on the way home. After this morning`s adventure, was there enough gas left for the exteded ride in two-speed mode?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I encountered a gag-inducing stench this morning on the MUP. I have no idea what it was, but it was foul.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Had a nice wet ride in this AM. Good thing it was only about 70 degrees, I still rode in my cut off sleeves and shorts, gotta love FL! (sometimes)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The ride after work was interesting... no major drama though. It was nice with no light to worry about. I tightened the barrel adjuster on the derailleur to the point where it was holding the chain in the second-highest gear (guessing I would want the higher gearing based on the usual tailwind on that route)...then I rode with my palm on the top of the brake hood. That way I could grab the brake lever/shifter with 3 fingers and pull it into lower gears, but I had to just hold it there. So I had like a 3-gear range that I could play with out back, plus two chainrings up front. It wasn't horrible. I only had to go into gear-holding mode for the short climbs that I deal with on that ride. Arrived unscathed, and with nothing but a sore palm to show for my troubles. Shopping for shifter options... but I'm going to try to pull that thing apart and see if it's something I can fix. I doubt it...something in there broke.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I was commuting out to the boonies all week, and a 20km ride first thing in the morning is definitely a little tougher to recover from than my typical 7km. But I found a route that was decent and pretty safe, so I could do it again if I had to.

But headwinds in both directions on all three days? And not just a breeze - especially yesterday it kept blowing my reflective vest open and lifting up the visor on my helmet. Ugh. (and me on a singlespeed). I don't normally ride along on a straight, open road for 5km or more at a stretch, but if that's what road/touring riding is like I really don't understand the appeal. ut:

Cool temps (it's 10am and still just below freezing), but there's no snow forecast for here until next week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I think most road/touring riders would be saying "if that's what riding a singlespeed is like I really don't understand the appeal." :lol:


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## Vanselus (Aug 28, 2011)

Another fun commute this morning, but with really crust snow and lots of ice. Sunny skies, 20 degrees, and even some singletrack:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My ride in this a.m. was a lot better, the 22F temp neutralized the superglue from the 31F snow last night - no sticking. Switched from the windbreaker type jacket to the softshell, and went up a level in gloves, but took those off when I got to the uphill. Beautiful light this a.m., hated to go in to work. They are making progress enclosing the saptank, but it needs a roof.


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## bonuut (Oct 30, 2011)

My commute was a two hr long ride. It was going well until my Schwinn Pacific motorized 49cc dropped it's kickstand and muffler. Ugh. What a day it was! I very loud day lol. 

Those photos are great guys!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

2 hours on with a 49cc must be a long ride. Is it four stroke? How would you describe the noise level while riding?


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## bonuut (Oct 30, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> 2 hours on with a 49cc must be a long ride. Is it four stroke? How would you describe the noise level while riding?


It's a 2 stroke. I returned it today. :/ The guy I bought it from did a crap job putting it together. It wasn't a smooth ride at all!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Locked my bike next to a Trek 7.something FX that was secured with only a combination lock cable. The Trek was on an inverted U-shape rack and I used the meter next to it with a U-lock. I walked into several shops on the street and bought a burrito. Came out and the Trek was gone but the cable was on the ground cut a few inches from the number dials. I was gone maybe 20 minutes. As far as I can tell, my bike was not touched.


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## Berkeley Mike (Jan 13, 2004)

jrm said:


> bus & BART service delays, swarms of protestors walking down streets people yelling **** and the largest oakland police presence ive ever seen. Felt like i was riding through a war zone. pretty gnarly.


You just _had_ to go right through it!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Finally got a proper headlight in the Light & Motion Urban 300 and I am a happy man. I was getting by with a PDW Spaceship, but its really a "to be seen" light and not something to see by. This Urban 300 light is pretty awesome for the riding I do. Lets me see far enough to feel much safer and with three light levels, I can conserve battery power if need be. Also, since its USB rechargeable, I can recharge while I work if I need to. Man its a huge difference to have a real headlight.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Business trip to Asia last week, has kept me off the bike for nine days. So todays commute was just a little painful. But it sure hurt so good!

Bummer for everyone having to put up with the snow. We just deal with rain around here and I will take that over snow anytime!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

So I ride my bike a lot, right? I like to think I'm in decent shape...but then I go ride dirt bikes for a day and I experience a soreness in the quads that words can't quite capture. :lol:

Awesome day in the desert on Saturday, but I have been paying for it for 2 days. Using the hand rail to go downstairs, etc. Today's commute was brutal. Probably good for recovery though.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I ride my bike a lot, right? I like to think I'm in decent shape...but then I go ride dirt bikes for a day and I experience a soreness in the quads that words can't quite capture. :lol:
> 
> Awesome day in the desert on Saturday, but I have been paying for it for 2 days. Using the hand rail to go downstairs, etc. Today's commute was brutal. Probably good for recovery though.


Biking only develops the quads when they are contracting while shortening........isotonic contraction. (I think)...

Most other things require the quads also to exert force while extending (eccentric contraction)...

As you get older the bikeing keeps the quads good isotonically, but very poorly eccentrically.

For example I can climb up a scree covered mountain for 6000 vert feet quite easily... but coming down (say 2000 ft) really burns and hurts the quads...

So I always walk down any stairs I can find.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You are correct, doctor. Picture yourself jumping down off of something 6 or 7 feet high and landing on both feet... hitting whoops all day on the dirt bike is like doing that landing 1000 times. It's a good reminder to do some cross training. I know when I play some basketball or flag football or something, I'm always amazed at how sore my hip flexors and other random muscles are... road biking is the worst for being so 'linear' and isolating certain muscle groups. Mountain biking is a little better, but still leaves plenty of room for getting weak in certain areas. 

...plus I always crash at least once on the dirt bike, so that never helps :lol:




ps I want to go on a business trip to Asia.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

*how was my commute?*

it was ok, getting dark earlier each day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

With the snow Saturday (we got 3-4", no crazy 2' like a few hours south) I decided to take the road today. At the reservoir - where I stopped to watch some Canada geese who probably wished they'd left last week - I saw what looked to be the loch ness monster, several humps travelling across the water. As I watched, they transformed into several otters travelling in a line, their sleek, humped bodies breaking the surface as they went. Shaky loch ness video follows.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

byknuts said:


> it was ok, getting dark earlier each day.


Awesome byknuts! I saw a few kids trick or treating on the way home and wished I'd brought candy.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> ps I want to go on a business trip to Asia.


I have to go back in January CB, You can go in my place. It's not all that glamorous and I would much rather be riding my bike to work. :thumbsup:

(Although, with that said, I have been able to squeeze in a couple of mountain bike rides in Taiwan which was pretty cool)


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Two pedestrians looking right at me darted into the the street in front of me mid-block while I was screaming down the hill doing probably 30 MPH. I yelled out "HEY!" and they froze with the look of terror on their face while still in the middle of the street. I ended up buzzing them real close but man was that scary.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Otters! Wow, nice catch. Good you were already into videoing he Canada Geese.

Nice pics, Woodway!

A miss is as good as a mile, jseko. It isn't just motorists who misjudge our speed. 

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Nice weather this morning (about 43F) but the drivers were being more of a pain than usual in my area. I had some ******** woofing out the window of their bubba truck towards the beginning of my commute, and had a few passes that were a little too close for comfort. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that I was out just before 8am and folks were rushing? I dunno...annoying, though.

I wished I had some fruit to toss at the ********, though. A soft, messy orange through the window would have been satisfying. I was on pace to catch the truck at the next stop sign, but they ended up turning and going the opposite direction from what I needed to go.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Cold..... Not a huge fan of the low 30s. Oh well, that is life for the next 4 or so months, I better get used to it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whew- glad to be home! Nothing interresting with my past few commutes, but I had errands to do after work yesterday that had me flop down in bed and out like a light almost the minute I walked back through the door, slept as late as I could manage yesterday afternoon (which still left me a little bit short of sleep), rushed to work, and had nonstop calls all night. Had to turn over the last job to day shift, even.

Hm. I never knew all that about bicycling only partially working the quads. Good to keep in mind.

Cool exoclava, Byknuts!

Xplorer, I was going to guess otters too. Is that likely? Also I`m somewhat surprised to see your post- thought for sure you`d be one of the no power gang.

And I`m envious of Woodway`s trip too! There`s a guy on rbr (Dajishan?) who often posts ride reports from Taiwan. You guys ever see those?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Coldest commute yet this morning, mid 30's. Went okay, but my rear fender keeps breaking loose and rubbing my tire. Annoying, to say the least. I'm going to spend some time tomorrow trying to permanently fixing it. Still some roads closed from this weekend's storm. Lots of people without power, too. Fortunately I never lost mine.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, I was going to guess otters too. Is that likely? Also I`m somewhat surprised to see your post- thought for sure you`d be one of the no power gang.


Yes, they live here, but they would be river otters not sea otters like CA has. Otter trapping season now through the end of February.

Never lost power, but my sister in PA will be out till Thursday. Now that it is Nov., I might actually turn my furnace on.

Good ride in, was able to take the trails, Down to 0-1" of snow now.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Otter trapping season now through the end of February.


Mink and Muskrat IMHO look fine as coats or not, but river otters are far more enjoyable to see wearing theirs. They seem to enjoy life so much.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yes, I read up on otters a bit, and they are one of the most playful animals. Plus I love that their den is called a "couch".

A pic from this morning & from this evening. Beautiful still clear day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Turnabout is fair play. Did 21 miles in all today.

We finally got enough frost to turn the trees that still have leaves. In May, we had a tornado and you can see the defoliation in these trees from that. Then we had a drought and record heat so a number of species gave up their leaves over a month before they'd have turned. The sun was lowering and it was a beautiful Indian Summer day so I shot these, when you have no mountains, you have to make do.

BrianMc
'Red Tree and Green Bike':










'Color Contrasts':










And '12th Fairway':










Not the usual show, but with days like this we celebrate what we have. The trees (and homes) could have been a Joplin.

Brian


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Beauty Brian! Amazed at how full of leaves your trees still are. Sounds like a nice ride too.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics *mtbx* and *BrianMc*. Looks awesome!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

First day charging my USB chargeable light at work. Looks like it's working perfectly.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice. My LBS offered to let me try some various headlight models for my commute. I'm looking forward to some real-world comparisons. Afraid I might be dropping some cash on a new light afterwards though. :lol: 

We still have tress like Brian... some are full green still, but most of the oaks are just starting to go all yellow. No major leaf drop yet though. It's starting on some of the random trees like poplars and aspens. 23*F This morning, so it won't be long... 


I was surprised to find a flat Big Apple when I went to grab the bike this morning. I forgot that I threw a tube in the rear on my Oregon trip. I was thinking I was still tubeless. Those tires have 2300 (?)ish miles on them, and the goatheads are apparently able to get through now :lol: So I grabbed Special Ed and listened to the song of knobbies on pavement all the way to work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I grabbed Special Ed and listened to the song of knobbies on pavement all the way to work.


Sounds appropriate. Another kind of 'Special Ed' called life. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Every ride is an education :lol: 
For the new kids... I work with 'at risk' kids, and this is my mountian bike:


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Holy ****, Wrong Way Driver*

driving north in the southbound lane passed me head on about 5"s away from me in the marked bike lane. I was lit up so maybe they thought i was a car? All i know is in the 10 years ive used this commute route ive bear sprayed a racoon, seen cars on fire driving down the fwy, pulled a lady from a crash and seen ho's riding on the hoods of cars but nothing like this.

Anyway the bikes working perfect and quite speedy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's scary! I've had people passing people on my rural 2 lane road come pretty close to me in the wrong lane, and it always makes me pretty nervous. I can't imagine it happening with a flaming car shooting bear spray with a ho on the hood. Wait, what happened?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

There's a guy in my neighborhood that likes to park on the wrong side of the street while waiting for his kid's bus. The problem is, he'll drive down the whole block on the wrong side of the street. Sometimes I come cruising around the corner and end up face to face with his SUV (there are bushes in the way so I can't always see him). I've had to move over into the other lane just to avoid him. Weird.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

My commute goes by a neighborhood mailbox mounted on the sidewalk just a couple feet from the curb. About half the neighborhood picks up mail driving to it and parking next to it in the bike lane facing the right way, the other half drive to it and park in the bike lane facing the wrong way. I wish more people would start walking to get their mail.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I don't see many (any?) wrong-way drivers on my commute, but I do get wrong-way walkers/joggers on the MUP. Why is it that passing a walker/jogger from behind is fine, but I always get a little irritated by the wrong-way people? Maybe it's because they are forcing me to make a pass I should not have too? Not sure, I just know I get a little irritated. I guess we all have our issues to work on 

I like the bike, CB, where did the nice decaling come from?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I found Specialized frame stickers on eBay and applied them minus the 'IZ'. the middle part is a Hyperlite wakeboard sticker that came with my new bindings.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Warm tonight, sweated all the way home in undershirt, & unzipped lightweight longsleeve & jacket. Put the gloves on the bars when not needed for protection. Took the trails home, heard thundering hooves on the singletrack, but could not take my eyes off the trail right then. At one old quarry, the beavers have been busy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ha! Salmon Soccer Moms! Do they usually run without lights, too?

I managed to get out the door a quicker than usual this morning (not in a hurry, it just happened that way) and had to stop for a loading school bus for the first time in months. Makes me think that the route was rearranged or something and now the bus goes by that street 10 minutes or so earlier than it used to. When the school bus thread was going, Brian Mc suggested "pedestrian conversion" as a possible way to get around them, so I was anxious to try that, but I kept landing behind the bus just as it was getting ready to pull out again. Just about the time I had dismounted, gotten on the sidewalk, and walked past the rear bumber, it would have left me in the dust. Maybe I should arrange to leave early every day until I get an opportunity try out Brian`s patented method 

CB, did you have a bike shop in town before Bananas opened up there? Is that where the free trial lights are going to come from? Actually, I like the owner, but I hardly ever see him any more in the Reno store. Maybe that`s because he`s been up in your neighborhood handing out headlights.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

woodway said:


> I don't see many (any?) wrong-way drivers on my commute, but I do get wrong-way walkers/joggers on the MUP. Why is it that passing a walker/jogger from behind is fine, but I always get a little irritated by the wrong-way people? Maybe it's because they are forcing me to make a pass I should not have too? Not sure, I just know I get a little irritated. I guess we all have our issues to work on
> 
> I like the bike, CB, where did the nice decaling come from?


What's more irritating is when they are running around in the dark and the only way to see them really is by the shadow they create when they block background lights.

That said, I got my Cree XML light today and at 500 lumens, it's pretty decent for city riding. It has pretty good flood but not so good for throw. With the bottom of the hot spot pointed about 20 ft ahead of me I feel fairly confident on the street going about 12-15 MPH which is my normal speed as long as I'm going straight. Finding my normal dirt path that requires a left turn from a two-way street still requires a bit of guesswork though. I think a helmet mounted light will help immensely. Anyway, I got it just in time since DST ends Sunday.

And I really saw night and day between two red blinkies today while approaching two bicyclists riding side by side from behind. One had a Superflash that I saw from probably 1000 ft, though the two smaller LEDs are not seen until within about 100 ft or so. The other bicyclist I didn't even noticed until I was within about 500 ft and I only saw him because of the white reflective things on his feet reflecting the light from my new light. It wasn't until about 25-50ft that I saw he had a Superflash pointed towards the sky on messenger bag. The person next to him had the light mounted on the seatpost.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> First day charging my USB chargeable light at work. Looks like it's working perfectly.


What light is that? I know it's a Niterider Minewt of some sort.

I had the 250, but sold it after a few months. Two of them would have been awesome and the flash mode was kick ass - much more so than the Planet Bike Blaze no matter what other people say.

I'm now using a 500 lumen flashlight but it's only low, med, high; no blinking. Should run for just over 2 hours.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had another successful commute home today although some roadworks slowed progress half way along the 20km journey. I made the mistake of crossing to the other side of the road to scoot along the footpath but got held up at lights. I was making really good time too even with a headwind. My goal is to get home in one hour which is how long it takes me door-to-door when I get the train.

Oh well, another day.

I must look into some skinny tyres though. My Captain 2.0's are not the best for commuting.


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## motomuppet (Sep 27, 2011)

Had a great commute yesterday, was on my hardtail 26er with 2.0 knobbies for a change, taking it slow as was going for a trail ride after work. On the way in I got passed by a guy on a custom Baum roadie...serious looking bit of kit...of course, that put an end to the nice easy ride and we raced each other for a couple km's (with him in the lead and me busting a gut to keep up!) but he got caught up in some traffic, so I hopped the curb and grabbed the lead...managed to keep him behind me for the next km, before we both got pulled up at a light. I looked over and the guy just shook his head and laughed...was awesome! Was really pumped after that...sad I know...the little victories, but gotta take 'em when I can I guess!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

R+P+K, that sounds like a great goal. How close are you now? Since you`ve only been at it for a few weeks, you might be able to shave some time just by getting your route dialed in a little more. Those skinny tires will save you some, too. Anyway, good luck with your quest!



jseko said:


> What's more irritating is when they are running around in the dark and the only way to see them really is by the shadow they create when they block background lights.


Do Tai Chi groups sillhouette nicely?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jseko said:


> ...That said, I got my Cree XML light today and at 500 lumens, it's pretty decent for city riding. It has pretty good flood but not so good for throw. With the bottom of the hot spot pointed about 20 ft ahead of me I feel fairly confident on the street going about 12-15 MPH which is my normal speed as long as I'm going straight. Finding my normal dirt path that requires a left turn from a two-way street still requires a bit of guesswork though. I think a helmet mounted light will help immensely. ...


Getting the hot spot further in front of you without blinding oncoming drivers is tricky but can be improved if the beam isn't too floody:










The amber shades give side visibility while stoping the beam from going in the side windows of passing vehicles. The black cuts the top off the beam, allowing the hot spot to be placed further down the road. Ghetto engineered with electrical tape, 35 mm film canisters, and a medicine bottle. Ideally, the brights part of the beam would be a the top to go the farthest and that is what those German standard lights do.

A helmet light with a throwing beam complements my head lights nicely.



jseko said:


> And I really saw night and day between two red blinkies today while approaching two bicyclists riding side by side from behind. One had a Superflash that I saw from probably 1000 ft, though the two smaller LEDs are not seen until within about 100 ft or so. The other bicyclist I didn't even noticed until I was within about 500 ft and I only saw him because of the white reflective things on his feet reflecting the light from my new light. It wasn't until about 25-50ft that I saw he had a Superflash pointed towards the sky on messenger bag. The person next to him had the light mounted on the seatpost.


They are very beamy. The same thing happens to either side of them. This why the PB Turbo on my helmet has a pivot to keep it vertical unless I go to the drops. Also their output drops to 25% or less, if you push runtime too far so low batteries can have a big effect.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I like your mounting scheme, *BrianMc*. Mounting the light down low also helps with oncoming cyclists/traffic.

I ride with a Dinotte 800L light, but I rarely run it at full output - it's just too dang bright. I usually run it at the low setting, sometimes medium, and even then it's plenty bright. Enough so that I am always careful to cover it for oncoming joggers and cyclists on the MUP.

I flatted this morning on the way to work, about three miles into my eighteen mile ride. Changing a flat in the dark at 5am - whoohoo. It's been so long since I flatted last that I have not checked my pump in a while. Well, the seals were dried out and it was almost frozen...very difficult to pump. It took me about five minutes to change out the tube, and then I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get air into the tube. I finally got enough air in to make it the rest of the way to work, but I was nursing it, worried about pinch-flatting. There is a bike shop near my office, so I will have to walk over and buy a new pump.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB, did you have a bike shop in town before Bananas opened up there? Is that where the free trial lights are going to come from? Actually, I like the owner, but I hardly ever see him any more in the Reno store. Maybe that`s because he`s been up in your neighborhood handing out headlights.


Yes, the owner of the last shop moved to Oregon and sold to BB. A guy named Dan is in charge... good guy!

I had a little fender fun this morning. I'm using a zip tie in the rear fender all the way forward at the bottom bracket mounting location. I used to use a bolt there but I switched to a zip tie this year because the bolt was kind of a pain. Well I never realized how much work that little guy was doing. the zip tie broke on the dirt road and the whole fender rotated forward until it started rubbing...and the more it rubbed, the more it rotated forward and the worse it rubbed. I may switch back to a bolt. I stopped and bent things and tried to figure out how it got so out of adjustment just sitting in the house overnight...it was dark and I didn't see the issue until I got to work. The bike sounded like a motorcycle all the way to work and my mudflap took a beating. No major damage though. I carry a few spare zip ties for just such an occasion :thumbsup:


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Hours after the riots in Oakland last night*

really eery ride in this morning. People were looking at other people as if they didnt know who to trust. Semi trucks trying to get to the port of oakland are backed up onto the fwy off ramps and blocking intersections. People, including me are really getting fed up with the violence and damage being caused by this group of anarchists who arent any part of the occupy folks.

Rode in on the CX wheelset in hope that i can hit some singletrack on the ride home. Rain in the forecast but then again how often are they right?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Brian, if I ever saw pictures of your housings, I didn`t notice. Good job there, too! And what are we going to do when the world runs out of film cannisters? Bubble packs from SD cards just don`t cut it for some things.

That`s probably the owner running Bananas North- Dan Brown.

Yeah, Jrm, from the news reports it souds like the Oakland situation is getting uglier by the hour. Hope you`ve got some way to bypass the worst of it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Drove to Burlington for 3rd Thursday in a row for an 8a.m. appt, and for 3rd week in a row, saw 4 kids on bikes arriving together at the elementary school. There were about a dozen bikes in the rack, not bad these days, esp[ecially in November. Saw other interesting random commuters, college town, lots of bikes. Stylin' dude with leather coat, and pretty cream/brown english 3 speed. 

Did a lunch MTB ride with 3 guys from work at lunch - Fun!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> I like your mounting scheme, *BrianMc*. Mounting the light down low also helps with oncoming cyclists/traffic.


Higher, and you aim it more steeply down, and helps you use a hood to cut the top off the beam, but the side light goes above the belt line of most vehicles. A case where it is more sportsmanlike to hit below the belt... line. Lower gets better stick and pothole shadows. The amber part stops the glare as they pass. Nearly the same spot is doable by a suspended mount(s) off the bars. Peter White Cycles has several to choose from that don't steal much room on the bar. It's a 62 cm frame with a long head tube and a high quill so that sort of mounting would be 6" higher on this bike.



woodway said:


> I ride with a Dinotte 800L light, but I rarely run it at full output - it's just too dang bright. I usually run it at the low setting, sometimes medium, and even then it's plenty bright. Enough so that I am always careful to cover it for oncoming joggers and cyclists on the MUP.


As far as I can tell I am getting all the output on the pavement, absorbed or transformed. The low I have set at 2 A, or about 500 lumens each with the lens and hoods, the high at 2.8, or about 750 each and looking like my car's low beam. I can ride at lower, but haven't found the need and can see sticks nicely. (Here they call MUPs streets).



CommuterBoy said:


> ...I had a little fender fun this morning..... The bike sounded like a motorcycle all the way to work and my mudflap took a beating. No major damage though. I carry a few spare zip ties for just such an occasion :thumbsup:


I feel your pain. I mounted my old pump behind the seat tube last year. It did fine until I took it as all settled in, and stopped checking. It shifted down an pushed the SKS into the rear tire after a bit of rough pavement RR tracks and a gravel lot. I couldn't locate the noise at first, and by the time I clued in (dumb slap time) the aluminum lining was gone and the fender was quite thin at the contact point.



rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, if I ever saw pictures of your housings, I didn`t notice. Good job there, too! And what are we going to do when the world runs out of film cannisters? Bubble packs from SD cards just don`t cut it for some things.


I had them bolted on the same mount without the QR and rotating ability. In an early post in this thread. WRT film canisters, I could get as many as I wanted free at Walgreens last year. I guess I need to stock up! The helmet light uses an amber pill bottle, with electrical tape to black out the top (for night videos on helmet) and bottom (night vision interfering output). So a continuing alternative exists.

Yesterday's ride was a test reported here. Enjoy!

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So tomorrow should be the first day that the daytime high and low are both below freezing, which means I have to finally accept the inevitable and break out the winter gear. And even though we're still on daylight savings it was plenty dark out when I got home tonight. Next week is going to be rough. Still no snow in the near future, though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yay, snow! 
We had plenty of wind today, with clear skies and a forecast for snow tonight. After dinner I rolled my bike around from the carport to the front door and took a nap. When I got up again at 9 o`clock, it was still blowing pretty good and there was about an inch of crusty now on my bike. Whee! I know that doesn`t sound like something to be happy about from the point of view of the Edmonton or Fairbanks crews, but it made me smile. Swapped in the studded wheels and came in happy to work. The wind has died down a lot, which makes it even better. Now I just hope it freezes up into a nice slick ice layer by morning. Actually, I can`t imagine that NOT happening


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> They are very beamy. The same thing happens to either side of them. This why the PB Turbo on my helmet has a pivot to keep it vertical unless I go to the drops. Also their output drops to 25% or less, if you push runtime too far so low batteries can have a big effect.
> 
> BrianMc


I think that's the nature of LEDs though. For Cree XM-L, the intensity at 60 degrees off axis is about 50% compared to on-axis which is basically never.

For this reason and because LED output will diminish if the battery drains too low, I recharge my batteries on a weekly basis to ensure I have good lights. Especially more so because these lights only run AAA so there isn't a lot of capacity. They take about 300-400mAH, according to my charger, after running my light about 7-9 hours.

Portland Design claims 50 hours run time for the Danger Zone -- I find it hard to believe based on my use.

If we assume 10% duty cycle, two 0.5W LED for 50 hours is 5 WH. With 2.4V from two NiMH batteries, that's greater than 2AH -- more than double the 0.8AH capacity of my AAA Eneloops.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Good ride this morning. I am slowly figuring out what I need to wear as my layers for the varying temps, but I still have a bit more to learn. Around 40 F this morning and I had my tights and cargo pants on bottom which seem to have me covered for most temps. Then up top I had my ultrathin long sleeve under my med weight long sleeve under an old vest. Vest was good for wind coverage, but a little too hot on my back, but I unzipped 3/4 of the way and that helped a lot. I think I want to pick up some better base layers and I'll be set to ride and not freeze/roast.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

This isn't as simple as strapping on a light if you are serious about being seen. Apologies if this is a bit too peripheral to the thread.



jseko said:


> I think that's the nature of LEDs though. For Cree XM-L, the intensity at 60 degrees off axis is about 50% compared to on-axis which is basically never.


I am pleasantly surprised at the lens-less Red Zone 4's output outside of the 120 degrees and gives this:










At an estimated 60,000 lux in the center on full power (steady only goes to 1/4 power and is shown here), total output 200 lumen spread out to 180 degrees.

The twin lenses on the DZ (25 lumen) gives a weird hot spot and a peak of about 60,000 lux and 35 degrees wide:










The PBSF is about half the output into about half the area, with 80% of the peak of a DZ.



jseko said:


> ... I recharge my batteries on a weekly basis to ensure I have good lights. ... Portland Design claims 50 hours run time for the Danger Zone -- I find it hard to believe based on my use. If we assume 10% duty cycle, two 0.5W LED for 50 hours is 5 WH. With 2.4V from two NiMH batteries, that's greater than 2AH -- more than double the 0.8AH capacity of my AAA Eneloops.


The current and output stay pretty constant until voltage drops to 2.2 volts or so, then current and output drop and continue to do so until the batteries are dead. This is the PB Turbo on full, not flashing, but is typical:



I did not take the DZ's for a runtime check. I use about an 8 hour run time, but I'd guess over 16 hours before output spirals down with the 1 mAhr cells, that I use.

It is a good time to add new lights to Santa's list. Significant others usually find that a good expenditure. If instead, they buy you more life insurance, there is trouble in paradise. :skep:

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yay, snow!
> We had plenty of wind today, with clear skies and a forecast for snow tonight. After dinner I rolled my bike around from the carport to the front door and took a nap. When I got up again at 9 o`clock, it was still blowing pretty good and there was about an inch of crusty now on my bike. Whee! I know that doesn`t sound like something to be happy about from the point of view of the Edmonton or Fairbanks crews, but it made me smile. Swapped in the studded wheels and came in happy to work. The wind has died down a lot, which makes it even better. Now I just hope it freezes up into a nice slick ice layer by morning. Actually, I can`t imagine that NOT happening


We got a nice crusty inch or two overnight. Yesterday's ride home was probably the worst wind I've ever ridden a bike in. It was nuts. It wasn't the wind speed as much as the unpredictability. It was like someone was shoving you one way and then someone completely different would shove you the other way... it was a swirling mess which somehow also managed to be a headwind 100% of the time. :lol: I got home exhausted about 1/2 hour before it started snowing.

This morning was a 'take it easy and remember how to ride on this stuff' morning. I'm currently watching a set of studs on eBay... hopefully I'll have a second wheelset built up before winter gets too crazy. I want to look forward to ice for once :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Brian, any recommendations for a wide-angle AA or AAA rearlight?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

For Dalton:


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> For Dalton:


Oh man, that really just sums it up for those of us not fortunate enough to commute in Hawaii or SoCal. :lol:

Just picked this up tho.... may help with my back sweat. Got it in "Voltage" so when I am not layered up over it, I will be pretty visible.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Brian, any recommendations for a wide-angle AA or AAA rearlight?


Short answer: no. ;(

I haven't tested the Cateye LD1100 for width. From what I understand it isn't as bright as the Danger Zone. The DZ seems easier to see at an angle than the PB Turbo. At one point I had three PBSF's aimed in fan. None are wide angle. They have too little power. AAA's won't give enough run time for more power. So bright = narrow beam.

I wish there was a A light with wide angle output. I don't know of one. Anyone? I have a Xenon strobe (amber) that takes two AA's but it is a 2 hour run time light and doesn't like NiMH's much spewing too much EMF for my pulsimeter to work. First PMer can have it as is condition, batteries *not* inctuded. It also is a brief flash of blinding light and nothing. Not exactly the best to be seen light for night use. It would be good to tun on to dissuade someone following to close.

2 AA's (good ones) have 2.5 Ahr x 2.4 volt or 6 Whr. A flashing pair of CREE XP-E Red LED's on 1/4 duty at 770 mA (max on pulse) would draw less than a watt (3.7 watts when powered) for a 6 hour run time and be 200 lumens. Very useable. But the two LEDs are over $7 alone, so this would not be a $40-60 light. That is what the Red Zone 4 has but in a Li-ion/USB and impact resistant package for $100. If this hypothetical AA blinky was backed off by 33% to 500 mA, you'd get 10.5 hours and about 150 lumens. What this says is that single 1 watt or half watt lights don't have enough output to do an effective wide beam. As stated earlier.

How about three or four 1 watt AAA blinkies in a fan array? Cheaper to buy a Red Zone 4, but if you have a few laying around...they are incredibly cheap.

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ thanks for the info. I'm just unfairly prejudiced against proprietary rechargables (realistically when the battery dies in 3 years it would probably be time for a new super-high-tech light anyway).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> For Dalton:


Love it :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> For Dalton:


Good one

Ottawa, Ontario Canada: 10 months of winter, most of two months of crummy weather with a week or two of insufferably high humidity in the low 40's C. Has great bike paths when the snow finally melts.



newfangled said:


> ^ thanks for the info. I'm just unfairly prejudiced against proprietary rechargables (realistically when the battery dies in 3 years it would probably be time for a new super-high-tech light anyway).


Yeah, I get that. Slapping in charged cells you have ready to go, or carrying extra runtime is nice, over and above the ultimate failure issue. I would like to see NiteFLUX do a AA version of their light. If they don't, someone will. The price will come down, too. By the time the battery fails on a cell phone it is obsolete. I am not thinking so with 200 lumens in the RZ4. As bright or brighter than car brake lights and 180 degrees It can't do 200 on solid (that will likely come) but it is a bit brighter than my car's brake lights on high flash, so how much more do we need? Unfortunately that nice impervious coating is well....impervious.

I can see battery density and or lifespan increasing, LEDs getting more efficacious, reducing heat, adding to run time, and increasing the max output. Maybe in two years we will get inertia sensors for a brighter brake light activation when we slow, a berserk flash mode for too close/fast approach, or a special display when you break a personal record.

BrianMc


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> ^ thanks for the info. I'm just unfairly prejudiced against proprietary rechargables (realistically when the battery dies in 3 years it would probably be time for a new super-high-tech light anyway).


Unless you end up with a light with some kind of prismatic cell replacing the battery should be possible even if the design doesn't really support it. Those Niterider Minewt probably use a 18650 or similar battery but may require some work to change.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm getting a bonus "commute" tomorrow morning. My wife has a work meeting downtown, and I have a trail day I want to work. We'll drive to a coffee shop with my bike on the back, have coffee, and each go our separate ways from there.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Oh, and my commuter is officially even more ghetto than before. I fixed my broken fender with duct tape. I try to keep things classy.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jseko said:


> Unless you end up with a light with some kind of prismatic cell replacing the battery should be possible even if the design doesn't really support it. Those Niterider Minewt probably use a 18650 or similar battery but may require some work to change.


I've done ghetto soldering to keep a roomba and drill working, and meh. So I'm happy enough with my current light setup (in a nice fan pattern) that I can wait for someone to come out with the nextgen of fancy taillights.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Big dust storm and 20mph wind in Phoenix today but luckily it wasn't a head wind for most of the commute. Much more fun as a tailwind!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> I've done ghetto soldering to keep a roomba and drill working, and meh. So I'm happy enough with my current light setup (in a nice fan pattern) that I can wait for someone to come out with the nextgen of fancy taillights.


I've changed the battery for the shaver amongst other things. I'm not going to spend a bunch a money to buy a new shaver or light if I'm able to change the batteries out even if it requires some soldering. For example, batteries for my shaver were about $6 total versus $100 for a new shaver and I'll get another 6 or so years of service. The instruction manual says to take the shaver apart and rip the batteries out when they're old and dispose the shaver and batteries properly...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Both the helmet PB Turbo, and the Red Zone 4s in a low afternoon sun, are not visible to the video camera (set to show the scene as I saw it), from about 600 feet. Though the ANSI vest shows well. Riding into the same sun about half that. The ANSI vest doesn't help in shadow. 

Maybe a light that senses conditions and ups the output would be a worthy advance. Hoping the Hot Shot covers those situations, though I try to avoid them. 

Dalton...I would love to see how the vest shows an night in car headlights. 

BrianMc


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Did I buy the wrong chain? Just noticed the 9 speed chain I bought says for Shimano 105. My drive components are are mix of Sram something and Shimano Deore which are mountain bike components.


...Nevermind, the bike shop sticker covered up the LX marking.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Snow isn't far off, but some more color first:

Baby Red Tree:










The White Oaks are mostly Bronze, but these are Bronze, Red-Brown, and Yellow Brown. The difference was clearer and not quite as subtle as the camera:

Colored White Oaks:










Green Bike and 2 Red trees:










Shot them on Friday's Ride.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And the opposite of Brian's world:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jseko said:


> Did I buy the wrong chain? Just noticed the 9 speed chain I bought says for Shimano 105. My drive components are are mix of Sram something and Shimano Deore which are mountain bike components.
> 
> ...Nevermind, the bike shop sticker covered up the LX marking.


Sounds like you figured it out, but generally a 9-speed chain is a 9-speed chain. There are various brands, quality levels, etc., but a SRAM chain will work on Shimano gear and visa-versa. I run Shimano front rings, SRAM cassette and Shimano rear derailuer on my commuter with a SRAM chain and it works fine.


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## GlassTrain (Oct 22, 2008)

*Strongly against bike lanes now!*

Recently, a town that I commute into on a regular basis put bike lanes in on one of the roads I traverse. "That's awesome!" you say? Our very own 'slice of the pie'. But...

Turns out, separation isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now, we're regulated to riding in the gutter where broken glass/other debris collect. Vehicles now think it's OK to get within 3 feet of riders as long as they don't cross the white line with their tires. I could ride waaaay over to the right side, but constantly traversing sewer grates is taboo in my book, not to mention the grit and glass is at it's peak in this area. Dead of winter will be interesting, to say the least.

I would use an alternate route, but I'm afraid their city council will note my presence and vote to install bike lanes on that route, too! :lol:

So want the clean road and elbow room back.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Played on the other bike today.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

woodway said:


> Sounds like you figured it out, but generally a 9-speed chain is a 9-speed chain. There are various brands, quality levels, etc., but a SRAM chain will work on Shimano gear and visa-versa. I run Shimano front rings, SRAM cassette and Shimano rear derailuer on my commuter with a SRAM chain and it works fine.


Thanks for that. I had a bike that was all STX-RC drivetrain and I ran a SRAM 8 speed chain of some sort on there so I did realize Shimano and SRAM chains were interchangeable. It's just that I thought there was a difference in road and mountain chains. I didn't really look at the box until I got home and noticed it said for Shimano 105.

I bought the chain based on the bike store employee's suggestion and that he said the HG73 chain has better corrosion resistance compared to HG53 chain. For a difference for $4, I figured what the heck.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

On some days, my commutes seem to have a theme. Today's theme included trucks backing out into the road in front of me. First it was a FedEx truck that couldn't quite figure out how to back up into someone's driveway. Next came a semi that was backing in from one parking lot to another. Then finally it was a pickup truck that had some weird exchange with another truck. In each instance, I had no choice but to sit their awkwardly waiting for something to happen.

I took my commuter on the trail a bit this past weekend. I was surprised how much I could ride on my singlespeed 26er geared 42x18 with 1.5" slicks. I had to walk on some climbs, but it's amazing how far a little momentum can take you. The wet roots were a little sketchy, but I managed to stay on the trail.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

My commute this morning was a balmy 52 degrees F, so I got the shorts out to enjoy the "high" temp. Looks like tomorrow will be nice too and then, if you are to believe the weather predictions, nothing in the 50's for a while.

For those of you who hate weather predictions as I do (which I will assume is most of you), listen to some Lewis Black stand up comedy. I think the one I always think of is The White Album. Good fun about weather predictions. Might be some shots at weather men on other albums too, I can't remember off hand.



BrianMc said:


> Dalton...I would love to see how the vest shows an night in car headlights.


Brian - What kind of distance would you like to see? I can try to get some pics for you in my driveway or on my street or something to give you an idea of performance.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> On some days, my commutes seem to have a theme. Today's theme included trucks backing out into the road in front of me.


I had a young lady back out from the left with me above 25 mph (wind at my back). No one oncoming so I passed blew by before she'd even stopped rolling back. The lawn to my right was the other option had their been traffic. The look of surprise on her face? Priceless. Hard to be pissed when you are laughing inside!



Dalton said:


> Brian - What kind of distance would you like to see? I can try to get some pics for you in my driveway or on my street or something to give you an idea of performance.


A base line of 'square in front of the headlights' as if the car is at a stop street and you are riding my both near and far lane or the car is sitting behind you at an intersection. If it doesn't show then, well...

Optional: just in the beam either side of the same situation above.

Distance? Hmmm. OKay, say a 30 mph zone, with driver 10 over, you cycling at 10 (bad grade with headwind whatever, for 30 mph closing speed. The driver needs 5 seconds to 'clue in' and adjust so about 200 feet. 300 would be 40 mph differential and 400 would be 55 mph. Anything you can do is more info than I have. The ANSI is great in daylight, and better than dark clothing at night, but I am not seeing it in my video. I seem to be above the low beams. High beams helped, but not much. I may need to get someone else to wear it and let me see, in case it is a camera blindness thing.

My back is potentially a larger reflecting surface than the entire bike, so getting it optimized makes sense. Barring this vest, am thinking the Scotch Reflective cloth tape that Mechbgon has used to make a night vest.

Thanks BrianMc

PS Documenting this stuf is harder than it seems at first glance.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Those ice "lilly pads" on the river look cool!



GlassTrain said:


> Turns out, separation isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now, we're regulated to riding in the gutter where broken glass/other debris collect.


Are you sure you`re required to use that bike lane? I`ve heard that in some places it`s obligatory where they have one painted, but we have the option around here. Worth checking into, anyway.

Nice, CB. Looks like you got more than we did out of the last few days worth of snows.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

BrianMc said:


> A base line of 'square in front of the headlights' as if the car is at a stop street and you are riding my both near and far lane or the car is sitting behind you at an intersection. If it doesn't show then, well...
> 
> Optional: just in the beam either side of the same situation above.
> 
> ...


OK Brian, I will see what I can come up with. If I can enlist the wife, then I can get an actual rider, but otherwise, I'll have to improvise.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice, CB. Looks like you got more than we did out of the last few days worth of snows.


Nothing on the ground at home... that's at maybe 5500 ft up on the hill. Weird ride...left in the fall, went through winter, came back to fall.

Chilly this morning (24ish?) but the sun came up... loving the time change for the time being.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

5 o'clock, and wow is it dark out there. Bah.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yes, dark here too. First commute home leaving in the dark instead of getting dark halfway home. Different psychologically. Almost locked my pack - & headlamp battery! - in the office (only a handful of people got keys for the temp office), but luckily 1 more person was still there to let me back in. Felt a little hesitant to take the trails starting in the dark, but since I want to do it in winter, figured I better not wimp out already. Took the easier trails, but I did jump when a beaver slapped its tail as I passed one old quarry - luckily I had noticed their tree felling attempts last week just across the trail, so I knew what it was right away. On Partridge Rd, 3 deer ran parallel to me in a big field for maybe 100yds & 50' to my right, then angled as to cross my path. Not wanting to collide, and also hearing a car coming I stopped...one ran across and 2 waited for the car & I to pass.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I think I lost my glasses yesterday on the way home. My glasses case popped out of my backpack. I got the case, but I didn't notice the glasses were missing until I arrived at work. I have another pair I wear at home, but it still sucks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cold snap! 15.6 degrees F for the commute this morning. That's January weather. But I guess in January our high wouldn't get above freezing, and I'll be shedding at least a layer on the legs and the winter gloves for the ride home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We were sitting pretty at 53F this morning. This afternoon will likely be in the 70F. I'm enjoying the atypical weather this Fall.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

s0ckeyeus, if you need replacement glasses I'd totally recommend one of the cheap internet sites. My eyes are terrible, but I just got a pair of fancy highindex yaddayadda shipped to Canada for $55 (with my prescription I'd typically be looking at $500ish). It's not as good as not losing your glasses at all, but it could dull that pain a bit.

Weather here is still hovering around freezing. I switched to my cold weather gear last week, and I don't know why I always delay it for so long - being warm really is so much nicer than being hardcore.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

18* and BRIGHT. At leat the sun was up high enough that it wasn`t right in my eyes like it was a month agao. I was a little worried about that. Seems like it`s a bit further south now too, so not quite in line with my road.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

A little wet this morning, but not cold so I put on my rain pants, but didn't add anything under so I wouldn't overheat. Note to self - always wear something under rain pants because all you will do is sweat because the fabric will just stick to your skin. Lesson learned.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Yeah that's a gross feeling. I did that. Once.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

newfangled said:


> s0ckeyeus, if you need replacement glasses I'd totally recommend one of the cheap internet sites. My eyes are terrible, but I just got a pair of fancy highindex yaddayadda shipped to Canada for $55 (with my prescription I'd typically be looking at $500ish). It's not as good as not losing your glasses at all, but it could dull that pain a bit.


I'm hoping to find my other ones on the way home. That'd be ideal.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another nice dry, mild day here, 42F when I left, 60F now! I did some trailwork on the way in, there were a couple blowdowns slowing me down on the small unmaintained feeder trail between my house and the main snowmobile trail. I am really happy with the little Stihl handsaw/sheath, it buzzed through the 4-6" logs in no time. Before and after pics. Then tooks some extra detours on the singletrack because it was so nice & I was early.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Warm here too, it was in the mid 40's on my way in and now it's just shy of 70. I didn't think ahead, I wore my baggy shorts liner under my tights instead of shorts, I'm hoping it cools off to at least 60, otherwise it'll be a sweaty ride home!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> .... I did some trailwork on the way in, there were a couple blowdowns slowing me down on the small unmaintained feeder trail between my house and the main snowmobile trail. I am really happy with the little Stihl handsaw/sheath, it buzzed through the 4-6" logs in no time. Before and after pics. Then tooks some extra detours on the singletrack because it was so nice & I was early.


I may be barking up the wrong tree, and going out on a limb with some bad puns:

New Koan:

If a tree falls in the forest will Mtbxplorer Stihl it away?

Or will she leaf it alone?

And let sleeping logs lie?

Bole you over? Wood you have preferred I did knot?

Blame it on a really nice ride.

I was afraid of just how the tree and bike came to be lying there in the first pic after the hidden stones leaf slide. Word has it the squirrels gave you a perfect 10. Some days you get the route, others the route gets you.

So you got some upper body work in, too! Would the scabbard mean you are carrying concealed?

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ As an old saw, I was pining for some puns. 

I definitely warmed up from the sawing, I was down to an undershirt, T, & windvest after that!


Dalton, that is icky, and why sometimes I'd rather just be wet but comfortable temp-wise in shorts rather than attempt to be dry in rainpants, as long as it is not a real cold rain.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

"Aim your light down!"

Yelled at me tonite by a jogger coming towards me on the MUP, dressed as - you guessed it - a ninja.

I always cover my light when I *see* an oncoming cyclist or jogger. But even with my light pointing high and down the trail, I did not see this jogger until I was almost on top of her.

So, no, I won't be aiming my light down anytime soon, at least not until they convince me that all the ninja's are off the trail


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

>"I definitely warmed up from the sawing, I was down to an undershirt, T, & windvest after that!"<
Must have been for that heated grip on your Stihl!



woodway said:


> So, no, I won't be aiming my light down anytime soon, at least not until they convince me that all the ninja's are off the trail


That makes sense to me. I don`t suppose you had an opportunity to explain it to Ms Ninja?


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

woodway said:


> ...at least not until they convince me that all the ninja's are off the trail


that gave me an actual out-loud chuckle :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> That makes sense to me. I don`t suppose you had an opportunity to explain it to Ms Ninja?


I gave up trying to explain to ninja's why they should have a light or wear something reflective. I mena if it's not already obvious to them, how am I going to change their minds? The stress-to-results ratio was not worth it. These days I just ride on (with my light aimed high). :thumbsup:


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## s0180840 (Sep 6, 2011)

Almost got run over by one of them 'ecologic' Volvo's today, on a bike-only road.
Didn't hear him coming, and as i don't ride on the far right on those tracks, it was quite close.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Saw a truck on the snowmo trail intersection in the woods this a.m., asked if he lived up there, but he was the meter reader! Somehow the meter ended up maybe 100yds uphill of the house, and rather than walk up from their driveway, he gets closer on the snowmo trail.

Took a tour of the active granite quarry, really cool, check out the porta-potty "commute" via crane.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Interesting commute today. I know there are other bicyclists at work, but I only know the guy that works in the desk next to me. About three blocks away, another one joined up with me -- the route he took is the same as my normal route and the only reason to go that way is to my office building. He had a nice Specialized Sirrus with Alfine 8 and generator. Second person, she had an older road bike with a child seat on the back rack. 

It's nice to know that my employer values my well being...no running water at work. So what to do...lock all the restrooms and put signs on the sinks and water fountains. No porta-potties or drinking water provided. Oh, our building has about 400 workers.

Similar thing happened at my last job, but they trucked in a 400 gal water trailer and 6 porta-potties and 4 wash stations for a staff of 200.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy cow, that`s a big hole in the rock!
I`ve seen many pits that big, or even much bigger, but nobody in the west saws into rock that way. I wonder why we don`t have stone quarries. Sierra granite is too fractured or something?

I just found out last night that the only other regular bike commuter where I work was fired last week. That guy was something of an inspiration to me, as the only by-choice car free adult I know of in my town. He had been working there since 87 and had a much longer commute than I do- used to do it almost year round, but has taken to bussing in the winter for the last few years. Anyway, he apparently had a minor accident at work recently which resulted mandatory urinalysis, and the urinalysis was the end of him. I`m sorry to see him go.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> It's nice to know that my employer values my well being...no running water at work. So what to do...lock all the restrooms and put signs on the sinks and water fountains. No porta-potties or drinking water provided. Oh, our building has about 400 workers.


No kidding? I`m amazed that a company with more than a handful of employees could pull that one off! Well, I hope you get your water service repaired soon. In the mean time, maybe everybody can just pee on the plant manager`s office door. Better than having people wandering around and peeing just anywhere they choose, right?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jseko said:


> It's nice to know that my employer values my well being...no running water at work. So what to do...lock all the restrooms and put signs on the sinks and water fountains. No porta-potties or drinking water provided. Oh, our building has about 400 workers.


That has to break some labor laws. Nobody called or checked on-line about it?

Alternatively to using the office, maybe the manager's car? The wiper-vent area would work. Or maybe you drive/ride to a potty break. That has to hurt productivity.

Sounds like something the local radio station would like to air.

BrianMc.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

At least they're not hanging a porta-potty from a crane 100 feet above the parking lot, taunting you with it.

I did the non-singletrack, 'boring' commute today, since I don't have to show off my commute in a photo thread


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Since the MTB trails are still open, I still have a variety of options for the 2nd half of my commute in. Today I took "Boulder Dash". Also a pic of the rotary I go through to cross state rte 302...if I take the snowmo trail, I come down the hill seen on the far side. If I take the Reservoir Road, I come in from the right. Yesterday at the quarry tour I asked if it was true that the curbstone and cobbles for the rotary came from China instead of the local quarry. He said no - they came from India!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*I have a spider living on my bike...*

For the past month, when I would come down in the morning to get on my bike and ride to work, I have been noticing thin strands of spider webs on my handlebars. I'd clean them off, only to have them reappear for the evening ride home, or overnight for the ride the next day. Can you see them in the photo below?

I've never seen the spider, he must be small and hidden away somewhere, maybe in my shifter, on around the light I have mounted to my stem...who knows? But I have decided he's my commuter-buddy, my "wingman" :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Spotted at the LBS:



Note worn tires with dirty sidewalls. Looks well loved and used. First one I've seen locally. Nice to know that if my sense of balance goes, (and it has been dicey, though improving with chelation), that I have a 'Plan B'. 

BrianMc


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## m85476585 (Jun 7, 2007)

Some guy in the passenger seat of a car yelled out the window to me, "Upshift!" I had just crested a steep hill and probably reached max speed for the gear I was in, so I stopped pedaling to rest for a second before the downhill I was approaching. I'll shift when I want to, so I'm not sure why this guy thought he needed to tell me what to do. At least he seemed friendly about it.

On second thought, it would have been funny if I spun out in the gear I was in and passed him, and I would have looked silly pedaling at 150 or whatever I can hit.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I had somebody shout something at me while I was doing my climb home. Stupid thing is, he's trying to shout while moving and over the noise of six lanes of traffic. I'm guessing it was something "funny" about my weight. But then, they looked like skeevy ******** in a Ford Falcon.

Tonight should be a good ride though. Sunny, 19C and light wind.

UPDATE: 'twas an awesome commute home. Made it up the gorge non-stop (except for dismounting to cross the side roads - technically I was still moving  )

Still managed to keep moving non-stop and smashed my previous best by 10 minutes. Down to 1h04m today so edging closer to that elusive 1 hour mark.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> That has to break some labor laws. Nobody called or checked on-line about it?
> 
> Alternatively to using the office, maybe the manager's car? The wiper-vent area would work. Or maybe you drive/ride to a potty break. That has to hurt productivity.
> 
> ...


The building engineers know about it. I'm not sure what they are doing about it though given today was day 2. Still no water supply for drinking or restroom.

Supervisor kinda looked at me funny when I asked him about it. His only comment was that he just went to Starbucks down the street.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

OSHA would be VERY interested in this issue


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Re: Brian`s Plan B
When Sheldon`s balance went out the window, his Plan B was the same make, slightly different model.
Sheldon Brown's Greenspeed GT3 Recumbent Tricycle

Good going, R+P+K. Have you gotten around to the new tires yet? Hey, and we need some pics from your commute! I`m always up for Kiwi scenery, but your mention of a gorge ups the ante even more!

I dunno if OSHA would be the right party to file a complaint with concerning the water/restroom situation at JSeko Inc, but I bet a few minutes with a phone book and a couple calls could turn up the appropriate agancy. Peeing at Starbucks? Man, with all the more better options we gave you, is that the best place you guys can come up with? You ain`t no fun!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Rodar, look up "ngauranga gorge" on Google Maps and use Street View to drive up it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Far out, RPK- you get a special mention in the Ngauranga entry on Wikipedia!

>"The two kilometre cycle up the gorge is a daily mini-endurance test for many cycle commuters at the end of their working day. However the steep downhill for undertaken by cycle commuters in the mornings represents a relatively dangerous and thrilling start to their day. Cyclists regularly exceed 90 kilometers per hour while vehicular traffic tends to remain around 80 kilometers per hour due to the presence of a speed camera situated part way down the gorge which is set at 80 km/h."<
Ngauranga Gorge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2KM at 8% sounds like a gnarly commute. Maybe even tougher than my 400m or so at 5% 
I can`t get Streetview, but when I go home I`ll hit it up on Google Earth.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We have remnants from the Bering Sea Superstorm heading towards us today. An approaching low pressure system from the north = strong winds from the south = a tough commute for me. I was digging hard this morning coming down the MUP and my legs are a little wobbly this morning!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

First snow seen in the air mid-afternoon yesterday, a dusting in roofs this morning, and our coldest morning since March. The Hybrid New Guinea Impatiens are history, covered or not. 

Supposed to get up to 40F. Not that long ago that was the low. Need to get the snow tires on the errand bike, I guess, certainly the Bar Mitts.

BrianMc


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

4 out of 5 days this week, so I am pretty excited. I don't have that chance very often with two kids in daycare and a wife who works varying shifts. This morning was around freezing, but I stuck with the thin long sleeve, new vest, and windproof jacket and found it still almost a little too warm. May ditch the vest until it gets below freezing.

I think I need some bar mitts myself because I can't seem to find the right glove. I have several pairs, but none seem to be just right. This morning I was wearing some DeFeet duragloves and if they had windproof material on the tops of the fingers and up about 1/2 way on the hand, they might be perfect. I don't need something warmer, but I need something that has the right wind protection on a thin glove that doesn't cost $70. Hmmmm

How are the bar mitts for those of you who have them? Are they warm or do they really just shield the wind?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Dalton said:


> How are the bar mitts for those of you who have them? Are they warm or do they really just shield the wind?


I think the warm versus shield issues is a distinction without a difference. The pocket gets heated from your hand instead of it being blown away, and with more layers at the cuff, I get little room for it to sneak out, though it is not air tight, so in a few minutes you feel your own heat radiating back into your hands. My favorite gloves down to about 25 F are Isotoners with my summer fingerless gloves inside with the Bar Mitts. They are only good to high 30's without the Bar Mitts. I have a heavier pair of leather gloves for below that, then I put mitts over those at about 10 F.

Hope this helps.

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Dalton said:


> 4 out of 5 days this week, so I am pretty excited. I don't have that chance very often with two kids in daycare and a wife who works varying shifts. This morning was around freezing, but I stuck with the thin long sleeve, new vest, and windproof jacket and found it still almost a little too warm. May ditch the vest until it gets below freezing.
> 
> I think I need some bar mitts myself because I can't seem to find the right glove. I have several pairs, but none seem to be just right. This morning I was wearing some DeFeet duragloves and if they had windproof material on the tops of the fingers and up about 1/2 way on the hand, they might be perfect. I don't need something warmer, but I need something that has the right wind protection on a thin glove that doesn't cost $70. Hmmmm
> 
> How are the bar mitts for those of you who have them? Are they warm or do they really just shield the wind?


MEC Overlord Gloves (Unisex) - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available

It is all about layers....

These will take me down to about -20 C....and up to about 10 C....

You got the liners....the outers...the liners and outers...

$32

Poogies do not provide warmth if you are off the bike for any reason.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dalton said:


> How are the bar mitts for those of you who have them? Are they warm or do they really just shield the wind?


Down to the mid-30's I wear a set of lobster gloves. Below the mid-30's I switch to a set of Dakine snoboard mittens. When the temps are 30 or above, I pull the fleece liner out and wear a regular set of full-fingered riding gloves underneath and my hands stay nice and warm. When the temps are in the 20's I leave the fleece liners in for added warmth. Luckily, we don't see the 20's much around here!

These mitts are only water-resistant not waterproof. But I ride in the rain a lot, and on my hour-long commute they have never soaked through.

DAKINE Scout 3-in-1 Mittens - Men's at REI.com


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Rodar, some people pass me uphill on single speeds!


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## brannonsmith (Oct 28, 2011)

My 2 mile commute consists of dodging people and cars.

Fun stuff in the dark on the way in.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

R+P+K said:


> Rodar, look up "ngauranga gorge" on Google Maps and use Street View to drive up it.


Is that "Centennial Highway" or is there another route to look at? Ngauranga Gorge looks like a motorway on Google street view.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Yes that's the one. The road is technically called Centennial Highway but it's generally referred to as Ngauranga Gorge. It's six lanes total and you ride up the footpath on the left.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just wandered into a Youtube series called Silly Cyclists. Each episode is a compillation of dumb moves pulled by city riders in (I think) London. A lot of the offenses are pretty minor, some are real doozies, and sometimes the guy filming by helmet camera makes me cringe. If you ever get bored and feel like wasting a few minutes oggling bikes and bike riders, search it out. Nice music, too.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I watched about 5 episodes of that. Same stuff happens here in San Francisco all the time.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Kids will be kids and remove toe straps securing the crank on fixed gear bicycles on display and proceed to get their fingers stuck in the chain. And parents will be parents and blame the employees for putting death traps on display.


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

Started my commute in this morning it was about 34 degrees F.
Ending my commute it was 55 degrees F. 
Round trip of 36 miles.
Average speed 15 mph. (The hills were killing me this morning, I couldn't get a good rhythm if my life depended on it. Last time I took this route I killed it, but that was a while ago, I think I need to keep off the fast food.)
Route 123 in Fairfax, VA has a lot of roadkill.
I have also decided that I need a new headlight. My current Cygolite is about to give up the ghost.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Do you need to watch out for ice in those conditions? 

Does fast food really do harm? My diet isn't exactly the healthiest but I've dropped roughly 20 pounds since January. I usually don't buy from big fast food like Mcdonalds, BK, etc, but we have many local fast food joints which I'm not shy about visiting. It's been at least 3 or 4 years since I've eaten anything from Mcd, BK, KFC, etc.


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

jseko said:


> Do you need to watch out for ice in those conditions?
> 
> Does fast food really do harm? My diet isn't exactly the healthiest but I've dropped roughly 20 pounds since January. I usually don't buy from big fast food like Mcdonalds, BK, etc, but we have many local fast food joints which I'm not shy about visiting. It's been at least 3 or 4 years since I've eaten anything from Mcd, BK, KFC, etc.


I don't have to look out for ice just yet. In VA I normally don't really worry about it until the first snowfall or so.

It's not really that fast food harms you, it's that I have zero discipline in my dietary habits and I just feel like crap after the fact. The thing is you need to have a balanced diet, and fast food does not have a balance of vitamins and stuff. It's got a lot of carbs and saturated fats. There are "fast food" places that actually have decent quality food.

Good fuel in and a good regiment, good performance out.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

My idea of fast food is a San Francisco burrito which is what inspired Chipotle, which I for some reason I do not like. Most of the time, it's rice, black or pinto beans, sometimes cheese and/or avocado, on a whole wheat tortilla if they have them. If I get meat, it's typically pork or chicken.









Image from Staff favorites: San Francisco burritos & Oakland tacos - travel tips and articles - Lonely Planet


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Mmmm looks like a lot like a doner kebab - meat, hummus, tabbouleh, lettuce, tomato and sauces wrapped up in a pita bread.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I don`t like chipotle eiother, JSeko. For the most part, I love chiles, but chipotle always tates like laundry basket to me.



rufio said:


> Started my commute in this morning it was about 34 degrees F.
> Ending my commute it was 55 degrees F....
> 
> ....Last time I took this route I killed it, but that was a while ago, I think I need to keep off the fast food.


You had a 21* change just in the time you rode one direction, or that was between a morning and an evening commute?

Maybe it`s the food, but I have a fairly steady diet year round and I also see a considerable difference between summer and winter riding speeds. I`m not sure exactly what to attribute that to, but I mostly blame extra (and relatively baggy) clothes and being less "in the groove" from not riding as much, and a decreased motivation. I guess we could go at it harder this time of year to try and keep up, but I just resign myself to being slower and worry about rebuilding again in the spring.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Oh so close! Door to door this evening in 1 hour 21 secs. Would have been under an hour if I'd had better light changes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

>"Would have been under an hour if I'd had better light changes."<
Better luck tomorrow. How long does it take you in the other direction?


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Good ride this morning. Some days (this past Friday) I just feel like crap and can't get it going. Other days, like today, I felt great for the entire ride. I know we all have our off days, I swam in college and went through my ups and downs, but man I'd love to have more "Up" days than I have these days. I know I just need to get into better shape, but that is really easier said than done with a 3 yr old and 6 month old. Oh well, one of these days......

I love this Michigan weather too. Commute on Friday was high 30's I think and commute today is 50's. Keeps things interesting, I'll tell you that.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

First ride in on the diy studs this morning. Didn't really need them, but there's a chance of more flurries today, and they had to go on at some point. Also switched over to my winter cranks/bb/pedals/shoes, and I really miss my grippy pedals and 5.10s. Almost lost it at one point as I was mashing up a hill, and my foot slipped a bit. Might have to rethink this...


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> >"Would have been under an hour if I'd had better light changes."<
> Better luck tomorrow. How long does it take you in the other direction?


Depends on the set of lights. The big set at the bottom of the gorge takes about 4 minutes due to the volume of traffic that has to get through at peak times.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Lots of fresh snow for my ride home. I'm sure it sucked for everyone else (my wife had a few horror stories) but I had a blast.


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## JodyH (Sep 22, 2011)

New record today, 12 minutes 22 seconds for my 4.3 mile commute through the center of town.

:thumbsup:


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

Conditions were perfect here in NOVA. Started the day off around 54 F, ended 70 F, in the middle of November. It is supposed to rain tomorrow and Wednesday, luckily I do not work.

I need a new saddle. This one is not cutting the mustard any longer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congrats, Jody- that`s moving along pretty good. Do you have traffic stops in there?


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## wheeliam (Feb 16, 2011)

a bit windy with about 55*F this morning here in Kobe, Japan


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I dodged a bullet today. I have a new Niterider MiNewt 600 cordless, only used it 4 days so far, has been working pretty well. This morning it wasn't very dark, I put it in flashing mode, shut it off when I got to work, put it in my desk drawer. A coworker came by and asked how I ride home in the dark, I took out the light to show him, and it wouldn't turn on. It was showing that the battery is dead. It was fully charged, on for about 45 mins in flashing mode, then turned off. I say I dodged a bullet because I found this out before I tried to leave work. I was able to call my wife and tell her to be ready for me to call her for a ride home.

If it's not charged in a couple hours, I'll email NiteRider. This thing has had far worse battery life than they claim since I got it, which is a very different experience from all of the reviews I've read. 40 mins on high and I get the red 20% warning light, it's supposed to last 1.5 hours on high.

EDIT: I figured it out..I accidentally put it in lock mode. Oops. I'm still going to time it to see how long I get on a full charge when I get home tonight.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Its snowing now! Coming down wet and slushy. Glad i wore proper gear and rode the pugsley today. I passes the 2000 mile mark for the year this morning too! 

@straz: glad your light is ok! I just got the 350 version of that light and its been great. Havent even recharged it yet!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

wheeliam said:


> a bit windy with about 55*F this morning here in Kobe, Japan


We watch the same video about the big earthquake in Kobe every year in my Earth Science classes. That was a pretty crazy event.

Still loving the time change. No headlight for the week. I get a week off for thanksgiving next week, and then it'll probably be back to headlight mode. I'm already getting to work before the sunrise. That was a nice couple of days of sunlight though. Bye bye sun, see you in March.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hey CommuterBoy, I'd been meaning to ask for your opinion on Big Apples. Are they okay if the roads are a little wet or if it's raining? I've been thinking I should change up my beater bike for next year, and balloon tires sound like fun.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I love 'em. I have ridden them on everything... dry pavement, wet pavement, snow, ice, slush, dirt roads, wet dirt roads, rail trail, singletrack, pine-needle-covered-wet-singletrack, and a 450 mile Oregon Coast tour. Mine are at 2300 miles or so. I've had 2 flats. I set them up tubeless originally, and I got one big nail on the Oregon trip that forced me to put a tube in, and one flat from a goathead (at about the 2000 mile mark) after I had been using the tube for a while. they set up tubeless very easily, and have been way better in terms of seepage than any mountian tire I've used. 

For wet and rain, they are awesome and confidence-inspiring. Better than anything knobby or anything narrower that's a slick. Obviously when you introduce slush/snow/wet pine needles, you start to see the limitations...but in those conditions they will take you much further than anything narrower would. 

They soak up bumps like crazy, too. I'm always irritated at the harshness when I do my commute on the road bike... they spoil you!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ excellent. :thumbsup:


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Second day using the power grip straps*

On the CX bike.
adjusted um once already and need to do it again b/c ones too tight and the other kinda loose. So far i like um as a substitute to using clipless.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I played hookey from work today...took a vacation day to get a few errands done. It was such a nice day here in the Seattle area, that I just had to get out on my mountain bike, so I took a nice 14 mile spin on some neighborhood singletrack.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> I ...
> EDIT: I figured it out..I accidentally put it in lock mode. Oops. I'm still going to time it to see how long I get on a full charge when I get home tonight.


Interesting...your experience is exactly what the MTBR lights shootout review saw as a concern with the complicated switch - they worried that someone would think the light was dead if they put it into lock mode by mistake....

_"The other issue is it has a lock mode that will deem the light inoperable until unlocked. The purpose of this is to prevent accidental turn on while the light tossed in a bag. This is only helpful if you remember to put it lock mode before the possibility of turning it on accidentally. The bigger issue is lock mode is entered by pressing the switch for about 5 seconds while on. The problem is it you have to press the switch about 2 seconds to turn the light off and about 3 seconds to put it in flash mode. This is just a recipe for accidental locking of this light. To unlock it, the user has to press the switch again for about 5 seconds. This is not difficult but it will lead to a lot of customer confusion who think their light is broken or discharged"_ 
from Niterider Minewt 600 Cordless - 2012 Mtbr Lights Shootout | Mountain Bike Review


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## wheeliam (Feb 16, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> We watch the same video about the big earthquake in Kobe every year in my Earth Science classes. That was a pretty crazy event.


Thanks for the heads-up, CB!

Lucky me coz I wasn't here yet when the great Kobe earthquake occured (1995). But I've already experienced lots of earthquakes and aftershocks since I came here. The strongest one so far was the earthquake in Fukushima (3/9/11) coupled with Tsunami and nuclear radiation crisis.



newfangled said:


> Hey CommuterBoy, I'd been meaning to ask for your opinion on Big Apples. Are they okay if the roads are a little wet or if it's raining? I've been thinking I should change up my beater bike for next year, and balloon tires sound like fun.


hi newfangled,

I've been running my BA for few months now. So far so good just like Commuterboy said. It has good traction over slippery roads. No flat yet. It's just heavy because of tubes. I'm thinking to go TL this winter coz this bike is kinda heavy. BA is a good buy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m kinda tempted by those tires myself. Heavy I don`t mind TOO much, but are they reluctant to roll?

Nice looking trail, Woodway! 

It`s warmed up in my neck of the woods from lows in the teens to lows around 30, so I dropped back about one warmth level in my clothes. Looks like temps are going to plunge again in another couple days, so back to bundling up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I felt naked. Last night when I went to change I only found my lycra shorts, which I normally wear under baggies. It turned out I did have a pair of baggies in the car, which was staying in the work lot. Put those on and instantly felt warmer and clothed.
Saw a deer on the trail on the way home, and about 15 turkeys walking in the road near a stop sign this morning. They scattered slowly at my approach, but none took flight.
Still mild here, about 35F this morning. Going through the small village it reeked of marijuana at about 7:15 a.m. Isn’t that a little early for potheads to be up?

A bridge and old quarry at Millstone trails this a.m.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m kinda tempted by those tires myself. Heavy I don`t mind TOO much, but are they reluctant to roll?


I don't think so. They are heavy, but I think you make up in momentum what you lose in acceleration.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s an awfully purdy trail, Xplorer. They put bridges on snowmobile routes? 
Oh, and maybe your potheads are tweakers who decided to crosstrain and they`re still up from the weekend .


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## pkmffl (Jun 26, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Going through the small village it reeked of marijuana at about 7:15 a.m. Isn't that a little early for potheads to be up?


Wake and bake, bro 

It's been nice in Austin! 60's for the ride in - only thing I can complain about is the humidity. I thought I was done sweating on the ride in to work in the mornings. I guess not!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s an awfully purdy trail, Xplorer. They put bridges on snowmobile routes?
> .


That one is on a MTB trail...I will have to switch to the snowmo trails when the snow flies, but right now there are lots of different trails still open. The snowmo trails only bother with bridges for rivers, like this long one (not on my route) that had to be repaired after the flood...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Going through the small village it reeked of marijuana at about 7:15 a.m. Isn't that a little early for potheads to be up?


If there was a whiff of bacon too, they had the munchies. 

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got out at lunch again:





It's getting harder to find stuff to prop the bike against.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

stupid old(er) age.
may have overtorqued my knee again this summer, cause SS'ing it on the steelwool shouldn't be aggravating me this much.
bit of swapsies netted me the alfine'd 1x1 with lighter (skinnier) slicks than the 3"s that were on it before, will have the studded tires over the winter.

still warier than normal near the house due to the recent death. not sure if my confidence is going to come back anytime soon. for now- trust my skills and keep my head on a swivel.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Last night I check the forecast, and there's a severe winter storm warning. All week they've been saying that there would be snow today, but as late as yesterday afternoon they were only predicting 2cm/1". But suddenly there's a warning of 10-15cm of the white stuff. My beloved singlespeed could deal with 2cm with no problem, but 10cm(~5")+ is just too much. Putting gears on was supposed to be a weekend project, but I had to scramble to get it done last night instead.

Snow started a little bit before I headed in this morning. The ride in was nice, and the ride home should be interesting.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet pics *newfangled*!

We have a series of storms moving through the area. The ride home last night was wet, wet, wet and windy. There are so many leaves down that in places that the MUP is completely obscured and only because I have ridden it a zillion times do I know which way to go. This mornings ride was dry, but featured a steady 15MPH headwind. WOOF! That was hard work. I hope the wind holds till tonite, a tailwind home would be appreciated.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I got pulled over!! 

Well not exactly pulled over, but I got a siren chirp that almost made me jump out of my skin and a stern lecture from the loudspeaker, but I never broke cadence :lol: 

I think I've posted before about the stop sign that I run every single morning.... it's at a "T" intersection at the bottom of a long hill, and as you are coming down the hill towards the stop you can see a long way in both directions...so I usually look up and down the road, and if there's enough room (there's rarely a car in sight), I cut across my lane and the left lane, clip the apex of the corner, and drift slowly across both lanes of the other road towards the right shoulder. I'm probably doing 25+ the whole time. 

Well today there were some headlights in sight on the right as I came down to the T, so I'd have to drift across to the right shoulder a little less lazily than normal...but nowhere near close enough that I'd consider slowing down or potentially even stopping (I think I've stopped at that stop sign once this year, on a freak day when two cars were in the vicinity). 

Well it happened to be a Highway Patrol Car :lol: He came up behind me and I could hear him pacing me, but I figured it was just someone slowing for the next turn... and then WEEEUUUUUUP!!! that dreaded sound. He got on the PA and reminded me that running a stop sign on a bike was the same as running one in a car and that he could write me a ticket...I have him the thumbs up and the nod, and a nice wave as he drove away...he didn't seem to have a problem with my iPod, and I certainly didn't have a problem hearing him over the music :lol: 

I wanted to say "Just like how you "could" enforce the helmet law for the other 99% of people on bikes?" But I held my tongue. 


Also got a sweet sunrise this morning:


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## m85476585 (Jun 7, 2007)

I slipped on the leaves in the bike lane today coming to a 4 way stop. I fell off the bike as it was going down, but I didn't hit the ground too hard. I was fine, but no one even took the time to roll down their window and ask if I was alright.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> WEEEUUUUUUP!!!


:lol: Bwaaaahaaahaa!
(says rodar, while praying he isn`t next in line)

BTW, sweet sunrise!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Don`t hog up all the snow from that storm system, Woodway. We`re supposed to get your leftovers and I`m looking forward to it 



m85476585 said:


> I was fine, but no one even took the time to roll down their window and ask if I was alright.


That`s good- it means maybe nobody saw you eat it


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, super sunrise shot CB. 
We'd better start the "free CB' fund now that you have been warned.

Nice ride in, took a detour on "Ledges" and "Fruit Loops"


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Don`t hog up all the snow from that storm system, Woodway. We`re supposed to get your leftovers and I`m looking forward to it


Hey! Can the "S" word *rodar*.  That's a very bad word around these parts  You can have all of it that you want!

Love your pics *mtbx*!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, I want to ride that one!! Cool looking trail!


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Last night I check the forecast, and there's a severe winter storm warning. All week they've been saying that there would be snow today, but as late as yesterday afternoon they were only predicting 2cm/1". But suddenly there's a warning of 10-15cm of the white stuff. My beloved singlespeed could deal with 2cm with no problem, but 10cm(~5")+ is just too much. Putting gears on was supposed to be a weekend project, but I had to scramble to get it done last night instead.
> 
> Snow started a little bit before I headed in this morning. The ride in was nice, and the ride home should be interesting.


So I rode this morning, but took the metro home. Last time I tried to ride home in stuff like this it took almost 3 hours and a lot of pushing/carrying my bike instead of the 1 hour 5 mins it took this morning. I hope you didn't ride otherwise I'm going to feel like I wimped out!

Nice pic of the bike on the ice, I grew up in one of the houses in the background on the top of the riverbank.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I did ride home, but I think my commute is like 1/3 of yours? It's basically kids' stuff.

But I did have a surprisingly excellent ride home. We got a respectable amount of snow - I was out on the undisturbed multi-use trails at lunch and it was up over my rims, so getting close to 3". After another 4 hours of snow I thought the ride home would suck, but the roads were about as good as I've ever seen them. Somehow it seemed like everywhere I went was windswept, and where there was snow the cars had packed it all down instead of just churning it up. We should be getting another inch or two tonight, which might be the tipping point that turns it all to crap, but for now I'm pleasantly surprised.

Definitely glad I took the time last night to stick some gears on, though. I love the singlespeed, but I wouldn't have gotten very far on it today.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Great pics, all.

Back above freezing for the morning, warmer than it is now. Hate all this wind other than the oaks which hold their leaves are now denuded and I they are in the next county!

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Back below freezing for the moring, hopefully not as windy as it is now.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had an interesting ride home last night. I was about 14 miles into my 18 mile commute when one of my bottom bracket bearings disintegrated without any warning. I suddenly started getting this popping and grinding noise coming from my cranks. I could pedal but things just were not right. It was raining, and my wife was not home so calling for a ride was not an option. I gritted me teeth and pushed on the remaining four miles to home.

Pulled the cranks and non-drive bearing was a mess. When I got it off the bike, this is all that was left. The plastic piece in the center is completely missing the flange that holds the ball bearings in, and there is supposed to be a lot more than five ball bearings in there:










This is my fault, really. Those assemblies have over 12,000 miles on them. I have been thinking about changing them out, but just procrastinated too long.

I was able to pull a set of bearings off one of my mountain bikes and install them on the commuter, so I was good to go this morning.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Freezing eyelashes already? Gah. Had to move up to full-on winter gear this morning, and actually ended up overheating a bit. Road conditions were amazingly good though, and I was only 1 or 2 minutes later than normal.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OOH, good reminder... I haven't had an external BB fail on me yet, but the ones on the commuter are getting up there in miles. Glad you could just push through and get home. No damage to the spindle? 


So that Highway Patrol officer was in EXACTLY the same spot this morning. I had to give him props for the perfect timing. I stopped at the limit line and waved as he went by. Couldn't help but chuckle.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Chillier! 22F this morning, and a dusting of snow. Black ice reports on the news, so I took some extra care on the road sections. The trail traction was good, except for one spot on a hill in the beginning where my tires packed up with snow and slipped on a root. I suppose I should be thinking about installing the studded tires now. 

Dang, that seatpost is slipping again, despite QR being maxed out and the magic potion the shop gave me. Need to try some climber's chalk, some kind of shim, or another seatpost, I'm not sure if the post or frame are worn down.

Pix are from the knoll behind my house and the snownmo trail maybe a mile later.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Chillier! 22F this morning, and a dusting of snow. Black ice reports on the news, so I took some extra care on the road sections. The trail traction was good, except for one spot on a hill in the beginning where my tires packed up with snow and slipped on a root. I suppose I should be thinking about installing the studded tires now.
> 
> Dang, that seatpost is slipping again, despite QR being maxed out and the magic potion the shop gave me. Need to try some climber's chalk, some kind of shim, or another seatpost, I'm not sure if the post or frame are worn down.
> 
> Pix are from the knoll behind my house and the snownmo trail maybe a mile later.


Clean the seat post, then grease it...make sure it slips smoothly and nicely up and down in the seat tube....

Then clean and grease the quick release...

Seems to work to keep my setpost locked in nice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That used to work on mine too, but after the last time I did that the slipping got worse - I think removing some accumulated grit and adding some grease removed the little bit of friction that was left. So I cleaned off the grease as best I could and that helped some, but not enough. The shop added carbon prep, which I'm guessing is designed to add some grip so you don't have to squish your carbon too much, but that didn't work either. The QR still feels firm when you close it, but when you look at it close from the front the 2 sides now meet where there should probably be some space (sorry for lack of pic).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pretty windy, but no mechanicals for me. It only took less than 10 minutes to get home today compared to 20 going in last night. Worse than riding, the wind is wreaking havock with firefighters today. A big fire started about midnight and spread like carzy. They say sustained winds of over 30 MPH with gusts over 60, possibly increasing though the day. So far, 20 houses gone and 400 acres. I can`t see any signs of it from here (wind is probably blowing the smoke down the river canyon), but here`s a stock pic from the local paper.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Wow rodar, that is pretty crazy.

It was pretty brisk this morning at around 28 F. Got about a mile down the road before really wishing I had a face mask, but then a few miles later it was fine. I gotta put that back in my bag so its there if I want it. I am still getting by with some cargo pants over some cheap moisture wicking (kinda) tights. For the top I used a little CommuterBoy advice (well, maybe not exactly, but you got me to where I am. Thanks!) and used my thin long sleeve with my windproof vest under my windproof soft shell. I think that will be comfortable down to the high teens, but much below that and I think I will have to go to a med weight long sleeve. We'll see.

Conditions were nice with not much wind, so it was a smooth commute. Got honked at by some idiot, so I gave my usual big smile and the most patronizingly happy wave I could muster. I don't get honked at much anymore, but still once every few weeks. I think most people are pretty used to me now, but every once in a while there is someone who thinks I should be on the sidewalk.  Oh well, goes with the territory as there are virtually no bike commuters around here. Really only one guy who I see on the regular and I think he may be a fair weather guy who phones it in when it gets cold. Oh well, I'm still going and will continue as long as I can.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> The QR still feels firm when you close it, but when you look at it close from the front the 2 sides now meet where there should probably be some space (sorry for lack of pic).


If you are squishing the two sides together, I would guess that your seatpost is too small. If that is the case, not amount of squeezing or friction paste is going to help. Was the seatpost sleeved at some point? What size seatpost are you using?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, you guys getting moisture over there yet? That fire is right in town! Crazy. Snowing here, I guess it's on the way....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> If you are squishing the two sides together, I would guess that your seatpost is too small. If that is the case, not amount of squeezing or friction paste is going to help. Was the seatpost sleeved at some point? What size seatpost are you using?


It is the same seatpost that has been in there since 1999. I think that is the problem. I don't remember the size, no sleeve or anything. From googling the problem, apparently the wear and tear over time can make the right size post not fit anymore. I'll check if any of the ones on my other bikes fit, and see if they work better. If not, an additional "stopper" like the black plastic one in the pic (an old taillight mount?) would probably work, though height adjustments would be a pain.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

You could also just get a new seatpost


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> It is the same seatpost that has been in there since 1999. I think that is the problem. I don't remember the size, no sleeve or anything. From googling the problem, apparently the wear and tear over time can make the right size post not fit anymore. I'll check if any of the ones on my other bikes fit, and see if they work better. If not, an additional "stopper" like the black plastic one in the pic (an old taillight mount?) would probably work, though height adjustments would be a pain.


Two thoughts:

1. The seat post clamp should not close all the way, and it is highly unlikely that the seat post was worn at that spot that much, so it is a good bet the clamp is bent. Check my swapping seat post clamps if you have two of the same size.

2. An old school method to tighten up seat post clearances either under the clamp or in the seat tube, is to us a bit of emory cloth as a shim as it has mini teeth.

These might save you the cost of a seat post and clamp and get you years more service.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks all for the suggestions. I took a closer look & the Salsa clamp looks fine other than that small detail of no space between the 2 sides. Since this obscures the underlying slot in the seat tube, I can't tell if that is "joining" at the top as well - the slot definitely narrows as it goes up under the clamp. I will gather my spare and not-so-spare parts and see if some combo of post and clamp is the right size and stays put. If not I'll try the emery cloth. I'm not opposed to buying a replacement post if I know it will work, but don't want to spend the $ if it won't fix the problem. My climber friend is reluctant to send *white powder* in the mail, so I won't have the chalk to try right away.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It's a sad day when you have to admit to yourself that it's gotten to the point where those bottle cages are pretty much just there for show. And that you might as well just take them off because they're certainly not going to be carrying any water for the next few months. 

-19C/-2F on the way home. I was dressed for it so it wasn't a problem, but it still feels kindof mean. It's supposed to be back above freezing next week though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ve had little flurries today, but nothing sticking . Maybe by morning. It`s supposed to get cold too, but we haven`t seen that yet, which is good because my long johns shirt was unavailable tonight. I was just suiting up to leave for work and couldn`t find it. Asked my wife if she`d seen it and she said "Oh, I washed it for you- it`s probably still in the washer" GRRR!



woodway said:


> The plastic piece in the center is completely missing the flange that holds the ball bearings in, and there is supposed to be a lot more than five ball bearings in there:


Jeez, they look like headset balls! Why are they so tiny?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks all for the suggestions. I took a closer look & the Salsa clamp looks fine other than that small detail of no space between the 2 sides. Since this obscures the underlying slot in the seat tube, I can't tell if that is "joining" at the top as well - the slot definitely narrows as it goes up under the clamp. I will gather my spare and not-so-spare parts and see if some combo of post and clamp is the right size and stays put. If not I'll try the emery cloth. I'm not opposed to buying a replacement post if I know it will work, but don't want to spend the $ if it won't fix the problem. My climber friend is reluctant to send *white powder* in the mail, so I won't have the chalk to try right away.


Hmm.... I was going to vote for a stretched calmp, but if the slot on the seat tube itself looks like it`s narrower than it used to be, maybe the post did wear somehow. Like Brian mentioned, it seems kind of implausible to me that it could wear at the point where it`s tightly clamped and unable to move around, but I guess ya never know. I know what you mean, being willing to pay for a sure fix, but not so eager to pay for a "maybe". Hope the swapping or shimming works for you. Oh, remeber that emery cloth only has teeth on one side- lots of times I wish we had some kind of double sided stuff just for that reason!

Man, you must really have some cold Newf! As if the pictures you`ve been posting look like Miami Beach . A water bottle would take a long time to freeze up in my winter, but I don`t carry one on my short commute anyway, so not an issue for me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I may have the fix for the sliding seatpost. Ventured into the basement and found a snappy looking 27.2 Easton EA50 seatpost in a box of bike parts. Tried to put it in the frame to test the size and found it was snug and needed grease - a good sign. The old seatpost is very scratched up, not just visually, but physically very rough feeling, mostly on the front. Still only a hair's breadth gap on the QR clamp. The only other clamp I have is not QR, so I'm going to try this first. I need to do a test ride, but I'm crossing my fingers.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Your bikes wearing out or breaking has me wondering what are typical service lives of various part? I never really thought about it, but at my rate of riding, I'm probably riding 3000-4000 miles per year.

Had to work 4 hours OT today starting at 11am. Not sure why they even requested my presence since I probably only did 1/2 hr or so of work. Would have taken longer, but I HATE doing things repetitively. Wrote a quick and dirty script that automated a large part of the task. 

Discussion came up on how my colleague bought a Mongoose bike at Wally World for $150...He did kind of rag on my bike which cost some 7x more because his impression is that Mongoose is high quality bikes even if it came from Walmart. Then again, in 3 or 6 mo I probably will ride more than he will in the lifetime of that bike. I let him live in his ignorance...for now.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jseko said:


> Your bikes wearing out or breaking has me wondering what are typical service lives of various part? I never really thought about it, but at my rate of riding, I'm probably riding 3000-4000 miles per year.


Being a data geek, I track this kind of stuff. Here are some rough averages for me over the past three years:

Tires: Conti Gatorskins, typically get 4000-5000 miles on the rear, more than double that on the front. This is all pavement riding. The last two rear tires I have replaced have picked up nasty cuts that necessitated replacement before they actually wore down to the threads.

Chain: Usually needs replacing (length test) around 2000 miles. If you don't lube often you will get less mileage from your chain. We also get a lot of road grit in the winter which can accelerate chain wear.

Shifter cables: Typically get 2000-3000 miles out of the rear cable. My commute is very hilly so there is a lot of shifting involved. My front shifter cable has 12,000+ miles on it and I am going to replace it just because. I have read that you should replace the housing when you replace the cable, but my housings have 12,000+ miles on them and they seem fine.

Cassette/Front rings: Just replaced the cassette with 12,000+ miles on it. The common gears were starting to shark tooth a bit and shifting was getting just a little ragged. Front rings are not showing any wear.

Bottom Bracket Bearings: Mine are Ultegra 5600 bearings. Just replaced them at 12,000+ miles. I went to the LBS today to buy new ones and was talking to one of the bike mechanics and he said that 10,000 to 12,000 miles is about normal in his experience.

Pedals: Mine are Crank Brothers Candy's. Bought a rebuild kit and rebuilt them at around 8,000 miles.

Freehub on the rear gets pulled about twice a year for a clean and lube. I watch the freehub body for wear (Mavic wheel/hub) but so far it's holding up fine for 12,000+ miles.

I've not had to replace the seatpost like *Mtbx*. Have never had to mess with the headset bearing either. And my bar tape is in great shape too


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

See I just ride it to about 9,000 miles and get a new bike.

5 tires. 11 tubes and once chain.

that's all I've ever done.

Oh wait... I repacked the rear hub twice and the front hub once. Forever making me sure I was never buying loose bearing hubs again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Cassette/Front rings: Just replaced the cassette with 12,000+ miles on it. The common gears were starting to shark tooth a bit and shifting was getting just a little ragged. Front rings are not showing any wear.


Made me feel good to read this. I`ve never succeeded in wearing out a chainring and beginning to think it was COMPLETELY due to being a whimp. Now I know that at least I have half an excuse


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

I go through at least 4 chains a year due to stretching, I use a Filzer gauge. In the past I used to just change it when I thought it was a good idea, great until you find out an over stretched chain ruins your gears.


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## trodaq (Jun 11, 2011)

Todays commute to work was 300 yards, mostly downhill. A pretty even mix of dirt and pavement. Average speed was around 14 mph or so. Faster if I decide to pedal. Weather was a little on the cool side in the low 40's. I dressed for it so it wasn't an issue.
The commute home is usually the same, with the exception of having to pedal due to the upward grade. 
So beween work and lunch my ride is doubled. 1200 yds today!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice commute! But I think you need a unicycle to make it more challenging :thumbsup:

Nice rides today. In the Department of Redundancy Department, I experimented with my lights tonight. I moved the Princeton tec switchback 3 to the bars, and it's massive battery to the frame, and put my old Cateye on my helmet. Even though the Cateye was noticeably yellower light (being pre-LED lamp and pre-Li Ion battery) the combo definitely added to my night vision. The Cateye unit is also lighter on the helmet, which is nice, but both have pretty heavy batteries. I think I'll try this for a while, and decide if I want to spring for a new self-contained helmet light so I don't have to mess with the wires to the pack or the heavier battery. 

Supposed to drop down to 13F tonight. :eekster:

oh yeah, the replacement seatpost worked! I also got brave Saturday and finally tore down the Chris King rear hub totally - I'm always scared of instructions involving a hammer- and actually got it back together too!


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Dry and wind-free. About 26f when I left the house at 6:45AM, and it felt a lot colder (74% humidity was probably to blame).


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

bluewar said:


> I got more wet from the passing cars than myself


uggg, that's gotta suck - I've go it from cold rain, but not slush - :bluefrown:


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

MileHighMark said:


> Dry and wind-free. About 26f when I left the house at 6:45AM, and it felt a lot colder (74% humidity was probably to blame).


No Ice fog tho? probably not quite cold enough - stuff looks cool tho


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

highdelll said:


> No Ice fog tho? probably not quite cold enough - stuff looks cool tho


No ice fog, but I was cold all damn day (even after a hot shower at work).


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

Foggy this morning. Wet and clammy on the way home. I think that the 29er with slicks is not really my cup of tea right now for commuting. It was fun for a little while but the overall length of my commute 36 miles round trip could be quicker if I picked up this Salsa Vaya I saw at the bike shop across the street from the GFs workplace. SRAM Apex, commutered up with woodchipper bars would be super sick.

Having a hot shower at work this morning really made my day go smoother.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

rufio said:


> Foggy this morning. Wet and clammy on the way home. I think that the 29er with slicks is not really my cup of tea right now for commuting. It was fun for a little while but the overall length of my commute 36 miles round trip could be quicker if I picked up this Salsa Vaya I saw at the bike shop across the street from the GFs workplace. SRAM Apex, commutered up with woodchipper bars would be super sick.
> 
> Having a hot shower at work this morning really made my day go smoother.


I love my Vaya. If I had to limit myself to one bike, the Vaya would be the one.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

MileHighMark said:


> No ice fog, but I was cold all damn day (even after a hot shower at work).


Yeah - hate that :madmax:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Man, 26F is rough. And here I am thinking 46 is cold. I rode to work with my Goretex snowboard gloves!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> Man, 26F is rough. And here I am thinking 46 is cold.


46 in SF is pretty cold. Mark Twain wouldn`t stretch the truth, would he? But that 26* at74% humididty would be just like the bay at 26. Brrr!


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

MileHighMark said:


> I love my Vaya. If I had to limit myself to one bike, the Vaya would be the one.


That is a mighty fine bike. It's right up my alley, I love the wide and flared drop bars and the fact that it is predominantly and upright bike. It looks as though it could be built out to be a fast roadie as well. The Fargo looks awesome as well, but I already have a fat tire bike and I don't want my bikes to get to redundant. I did that when I first started riding and I just recently recovered from my bike buying and building addiction. Salsa has been on point with the adventure touring line.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

17C and a norwester headwind. Still clocked in a respectable 1:13 though so I must be getting fitter. 

Need to get some padded shorts and proper shoes.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*It was one of those mornings...*

Woke up this morning to the sound of the wind roaring through the trees and rain hammering on the roof.

Started out for work, only to find that the wind had taken a tree down across our driveway. I knew that my wife would not be able to get the car out later this morning, so I got the chainsaw out and bucked enough of it up to allow her to get through. I am sure my neighbors appreciated the chainsaw at 5:00am, but then again the wind was loud enough that maybe they did not even hear it.

Finally got on my way into a 20MPH headwind with 30MPH gusts. Woof, that was hard work. The rain was heavy and coming sideways straight at me.

The wind almost took me down once while I was making a left turn. I was leaning hard into the wind when it backed off, swirled and hit me from the other direction. Sucker punch. Barely held it together and completed the turn safely - that would have been an ugly fall.

I hope the wind keeps out of the south all day, will make the ride home tonite fun.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yesterday morning: -20C/-4F
This morning: 0C/32F

All I can say is hooray. It was pretty windy today, but I'll take it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Yesterday morning: -20C/-4F
> This morning: 0C/32F
> 
> All I can say is hooray. It was pretty windy today, but I'll take it.


9C excellent let it blow.

Never could figure out why a Chinook was a weather warning

From Environment Canada

Warnings
City of Calgary
10:30 AM MST Tuesday 22 November 2011
Wind warning for 
City of Calgary issued

Strong winds gusting up to 100 km/h expected today.

Strong westerly winds with gusts up to 100 km/h are developing along the foothills south of Calgary. The winds will spread eastwards into the Brooks, Drumheller and Lethbridge regions this afternoon. Winds will gradually diminish this evening but will redevelop on Wednesday.

Wind gusts reported as of 10 AM include: Stavely..........107 km/h Waterton Park....94 km/h Claresholm.......91 km/h Pincher Creek....85 km/h.


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## s0180840 (Sep 6, 2011)

The 1000th km today!
Which made for a great ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice going s018...:rockon:

It looks like its been super windy for a bunch of you, and the -4F is pretty brutal for November. Suddenly my 14F this morning sounds toasty. Added the pogies for the first time this year. A nice ride even though I did not have time for my more interesting trail detours. Saw 3 deer, and then 4 more on the snowmobile trail. I guess they are a little harder to get this year because there is such a good crop of beechnuts that they are hanging in the woods instead of in the fields where they are an easier shot. Dropped my chain at the roundabout entrance, had to pull over, but at least I wasn't in the middle of it with a car bearing down on me. 

A few pix: pogies & ice forming on an old quarry; so far nobody has commented when I roll into work with a couple of littered beer cans in my bottlecages; birches I liked.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics *Mtbx*, love the idea of rolling into work with beer cans stuffed into my bottle cages, I will have to try that sometime. :thumbsup:

I've got to get geared up for the ride home. Here is a radar image for Western Washington right now. See that yellow/orange blob in the middle? I have to ride right through that. Should have brought my snorkel!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Good luck Woodway - maybe you can find some inflatable swimmies for your arms, just in case.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good going, 0180!
Woodway, I hope you got your tailwind.
Our forecast has looked like Hawaii`s lately. Biggest excitment today was a roadkilled mallard. Unlike rabbits and squirrels, ducks usually aren`t stupid enough to get run over.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, I heard on the radio over the weekend that someone died in that fire you posted about. Glad you're OK! Crazy pic too, looks like you have purple fire out there.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No tailwind unfortunately. But plenty of rain. There was standing water in places that water has no business standing. I was waiting at a red light at the little town near my house and it was raining so hard that the water was coming *out* of the storm drains! I am hopeful for better in the morning...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

As far as I know, our fire only resulted in one death, and that was indirect- a guy apparently had a fatal heart attack while loading up his horses for evacuation. It is a neat picture.

Sorry your tailwind was cancelled, Woodway. And you can keep the rain- just remember to save some snow for us next time.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Glad you are OK too rodar! I loved that photo you posted, it was impressive.

This morning was more of the same. I left the house in the pouring rain (it never stopped raining overnight) and got about 1/4 mile from the house only to discover that my front tire was going flat. Not completely flat, just flat enough to make me wonder "why does my bike feel so wierd this morning?". Amazing how in-tune you get with your bike when you ride it everyday.

Anyway, rode back home, and changed the tire in the relative comfort of my garage. I got back on the road just in time for the biggest, most intense downpour I have ever ridden through. It only lasted a few minutes though but what an exciting few minutes that was! The rain actually began to slack off after that. It's supposed to change over to showers later today and I am hopeful for a reasonaby dry ride home tonite.

I want to give a big shout out to Showers Pass - I bought one of their Elite 2.0 jackets to replace the Double Century jacket that I basically wore out. This jacket has performed so well in the downpours that we have had this week. It's expensive as hell, but man what a quality product.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Took the long way home last night and got in a little over 20 miles. I really need to get a rack and panniers if I plan to do it more often. (usually I come home and change before I go ride, but with the lack of light I was trying to get some miles in before dark) Carrying the messenger bag the whole time feeling like a total hipster as I passed the roadies on the paved wilderness loop, tons of fun lol.

I do wish though that I would stop seeing cyclists running red lights and going against traffic in the bike lane, just silly.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Easy commute this morning, but since my home computer is down, checking the weather isn't as easy and I forgot to do it this morning. So that leaves me with my rain pants and tights for the ride home in 50 degree weather. I am going to sweat my ass off. Great.

Whatever, I'll take it. Hope all of you in the US have a good Thanksgiving and for those of you who don't have the holiday, stay safe out there.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> ...I want to give a big shout out to Showers Pass - I bought one of their Elite 2.0 jackets to replace the Double Century jacket that I basically wore out. This jacket has performed so well in the downpours that we have had this week. It's expensive as hell, but man what a quality product.


I treated myself to one of their Event caps when it was $10 off. It has kept me dry and cozy in the rain and in the wet snow today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tonight: Windy. I rode hunched over my bars the whole way, good quality "together time" for my nose and my stem. A few times, I managed to pull into the middle ring, then almost immediately had to drop back into the 24, so finally just left it there.

Tomorow: Looks like the whole plant will be shut down. When they first posted the schedule like that, we were all sure it would change, but now it looks like it`s true. Offhand, that`s good, but in the big picture it`s really scary. This is our busiest time of year and the mere idea of being able to shut the doors for three shifts in a row would have been inconceiveable even a few years ago. This will be the first Thanksgiving the plant has shut down since it opened in `86 and it`ll be the first one I`ve had off after working 16 of them in a row. I wonder how many furlough days we`ll have next year? I wonder how many more years they`ll still have me on payroll?


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

3 minutes on craigslist netted me a 100$ masi soulville, rough paint, slightly bent fork but a 100$ sexy cruiser is what it is.

brought it home with one hand on my commute home!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A Masi- se- weet! That's what I call a find.


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## whileyrider (Sep 23, 2004)

Typical Vancouver early winter day: borderline decision between wind layer and rain gear, chose the former and got damp. gumboots. gloves. riding to work in the dark, riding home in the dark. sporting my headlamp for the extra line-of-sight flasher. our bike-friendly mayor was just re-elected, thumbs up there. riding my paddy wagon, the favourite town bomber.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Weird, I had no idea that today was a workday. I've never worked anywhere where the Friday after Thanksgiving was a workday. I only realized it was a workday when section lead called and woke me up an hour after my shift started.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ If it makes you feel better, in Canada, they had to work yesterday, too! 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> I only realized it was a workday when section lead called and woke me up an hour after my shift started.


 Hope you didn`t get in trouble. That is pretty funny, though!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

jseko said:


> Weird, I had no idea that today was a workday. I've never worked anywhere where the Friday after Thanksgiving was a workday. I only realized it was a workday when section lead called and woke me up an hour after my shift started.


it's not thanksgiving everywhere 

about the masi: original plan was a neat little cruiser for my daughter, but I realized that it's probably too big for her. so I'm sifting through my weirdo retro parts, found some nos square taper xtr cranks, an old wtb steel stem, some titec ti bars. all stuff that for one reason or another gets removed and put aside for a "nicer bike", then ends up going nowhere for years.

weird, my 100$ bike might turn into something muuuuuch swankier.
needs new paint though.
definitely new paint.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

If I had a GoPro or something like that, you guys would have a vid of me losing it (after dealing with 'Black-Friday' shoppers - this are area is pretty bad because it's the 'big-box' area of town - but today was a chore.)

So after a bit of brake checks and WTF gestures ( no flip-offs), I go atound a bend and there are all kinds of leaves in the lane - I squirrel it for a bit and slow down. Up ahead is a landscaper with a blower, blowing all the leaves from 'his' contract property into the street - mostly the bike-lane.

So as a big spray of leaves go flying at me (no he did not pause for me), I said "Fcuk You @sshole" and flipped him off...

- Sucks you have to blow leaves on the Friday between Thanksgiving & the weekend, but I got a job too and you made it that much crappier.


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## whileyrider (Sep 23, 2004)

Normbilt said:


> Today was Bagel Wednesday where a couple coworkers meet at a gathering place. We drink coffee and chow down on Bagels. Today we were riding all USA Made Frames with Two Gunnars and one brand new 2010 Cannondale Caad9 1.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Crazy warm t-shirt & shorts trailride with Spirit the Belgian shepherd on Cape Cod on Saturday - the studded tires were a little loud on the rocks though. When I got back to VT this afternoon, only an inch or two of snow left from Wed's storm.


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

Commute into work today was great. When I started it was about 45 F and when I was on my way home it was about 60 F, I did it on my new commuter ride so the ride was a breeze, I was working way too hard getting my 29er up to speed. Still eyeballing that Salsa Vaya. 

I felt so good by the time I got home I started harassing my riding buddies to go for a night ride this evening. People actually came out so it was awesome. Did a 2 hour ride on the local trails. I'm spent though, luckily I don't work tomorrow. Probably going to get some Endurox when Performance has the buy one get one free deal.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Commute home tonight was the best yet. Yesterday the weather was awful with a norwester gusting up to 60km/h. Today was the exact opposite with a light southerly and blue skies. I sweated like a monster up the gorge (wearing a warm weather jersey) but I made it home non-stop in 59m32s 

Cycling Workout | Endomondo


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

I cant believe its almost December and there's no snow on the ground. Plenty of cold though, so its been good to test new gear for this winter. We're about to enter the time of year when I have the MUP all to myself!


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Last week's weather was gorgeous (Boulder County), but this morning it was 26f when I left just after 6:30AM. I was determined not to freeze, so I had a sleeveless base layer, short sleeve jersey, long sleeve jersey, ANOTHER long sleeve jersey, and a wind vest to keep my torso warm.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Below 20 this morning for me... 18.5 when I got to work and checked the local weather station. It was warmer yesterday, so I didn't wear the 'clava this morning. Mistake! crusty facial hair and some rosy cheeks... 'clava tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Man did I feel like a fat pig this morning. Ate like crazy over the t-giving break and did not exercise at all. Then I had to make a quick trip to Chicago yesterday for a meeting. So I have been pretty sedentary for five days. Decent morning for a ride though, 34 degrees, partly cloudy, no wind and NO RAIN! I slept in and rode in much later than I usually do...odd to actually be riding when it's light out.

CB, 34 degrees is cold enough for me. Below 20 deserves hazard pay!


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## Anonymous (Mar 3, 2005)

As of today, I no longer have to commute. I closed on my new office/home. I have 890 sq ft of office on the first floor, along with 800 sq ft of storage and garage, and 1600 sq ft of living space on the second floor. 

Now all I have to do is move and sell my house.  I hate moving.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been crazy rainy here. I can't check in the forums as much because my work is cracking down on internet usage. Bummer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sounds great, Anonymous! I sure wish I had a garage.

We had mornings down in the `teens about a month agao, been pretty nice since then. Sunday`s high was 64F! The only thing is that we`ve had 30 to 35 degree temperature differentials, so still pretty nippy before the sun starts warming things up. It`s supposed to start getting colder again this week. Sure hope we get some snow soon.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I can't check in the forums as much because my work is cracking down on internet usage. Bummer.


Try for graveyard. Nobody sees what you do (for better or for worse). Also no salesmen calling on the phone, no contractors trying to bum equipment, no tours for potential customers, fewer unexpected changes of plans after scheduling people have called it a day. The vampire life does start to get old eventually, though.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Whileyrider, do they make real bagels in a wood-fired oven at that shop? No real bagel places that I know of here in Edmonton. Best ones I've ever had were from Ottawa, the real thing is so different from what you get in a plastic bag at the grocer's. Nice picture btw.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

brisk morning ride with frost on the ground. sun's got a low angle when I get out in the am (just before 8am) and I had some issues with visibility (cars pulling out in front of me and crap) despite running my front and rear Magicshines plus my Blackburn rear blinkie. Maybe should have angled my headlight up a big more this morning. I think it was still aiming a bit downward from riding in the dark last.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

^ What setting did you have your Magicshine set at, your max is 1600 lumens right? My magicshine has 2 settings, 1000 and I think 500 lumens, and if I use 1000 drivers adjust their mirrors and I even had somebody pull over and yell at me. I keep it on 500 and aim it slightly downwards to avoid blinding when riding in traffic. Great light though, I can't even imagine 1600 lumens.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> ^ What setting did you have your Magicshine set at, your max is 1600 lumens right? My magicshine has 2 settings, 1000 and I think 500 lumens, and if I use 1000 drivers adjust their mirrors and I even had somebody pull over and yell at me. I keep it on 500 and aim it slightly downwards to avoid blinding when riding in traffic. Great light though, I can't even imagine 1600 lumens.


Oh Lord no, I don't have that model. I have an earlier "900" model (which is really more like 500-600 lumens max) and when I'm on the road, I keep it on the flicker setting.


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## Klawbster (Nov 23, 2011)

Nice and freezing, although it could have been worse.
I only have to commute about 2 miles each way to school and back so i can't really complain:thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

cXc, that picture of the bagel shop was one that Normbilt posted a few months ago (from Illinois, I presume). I think Whileyrider just liked the bikes, very doubtful he ate any bagels there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I got my turn at the brutal morning headwind yesterday. Rare for it to be windy in the morning here, and especially rare for it to be a headwind on my way in. Much more plesant today, but cold again. I didn't check the temp, but I was comfy in the 'clava and lobster gloves. That combo makes me sweat if it's mid-20's...


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

Uh, well, uh, yesterday's commute was just fine and dandy. I missed the lightrail train in the morning on the way to work (saw it coming when I was crossing over the highway 87 overpass, I knew I had no chance of catching it), so I ended up riding into downtown and catching up with one of the other trains for the next 6 or so miles. It was wet and cold.

However, the super-windy afternoon weather produced the ideal riding conditions: CONSTANT *TAILWIND!!!*. I was able to haul ass on my 40+ pound lardo bike:


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Commute was cold today. Fortunately, I had my snowmobile helmet on and my nice winter coat :thumbsup:

Only missing the snow now.

David


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

No commute today due to having our work Xmas lunch in the gorgeous sunshine.

Pic of the Wellington waterfront on my way to the restaurant.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was good to ride home after a couple days of fieldwork requiring use of the work car. One oncoming car on the dirt road slowed down so much I think he was concerned I was a UFO.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Leopold, there is almost nothing I love more than a good tailwind...

For the past two evenings, when I went to get my bike for the ride home from work, I have had flat tires. Two nights ago the front was flat, last night the back was flat. Odd, since I normally go 4000+ miles between flats. While I could not find definite a cause to the front flat, the back one was the result of my just plain wearing out the inner tube. After all the times taking the pump chuck on/off, the area around the valve stem finally gave way.

The rides the last few days have been great. We are under a bubble of high pressure right now...no wind, no rain, cold temps. Supposed to last till mid-next week.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

16F for the ride home today- finally got to that cold weather we`ve been watching on the forecast. Still no snow on the horizon . Funny winds lately, too. For about three days now it`s been comming from the NE. Our normal wind is from the SW pretty consistantly, very unusual to get it "backwards" for more than a day or so. Well, thermal generated stuff in the summer blows all over the place, but these aren`t summer afternoon winds.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Crunchy! Took the trails this a.m. and after the 20F temps overnight there were 1" + frost crystals on the trail surface in some spots, making for a noisy commute. Saw an abandoned (?) Huffy at a stop sign in the village. Got a wave and an "OK" sign from the large animal vet that lives next to the snowmobile trail, which was nice, because I am basically pedaling on his driveway.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Dominated the commute home tonight - 57mins. Climb up the gorge felt really good.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^Nice. Love those days. 

20*F this morning for me. I finally switched to the snowboard helmet.

Weird...I opened a web browser with a local weather station, and the temp has dropped to 16*F in the last couple minutes. The sun is just rising, and it's apparently getting colder? Maybe a weird moving air mass thing because of the sunrise and air getting warmed up and moving.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

First taste of car snot this morning...lots and lots of salt on the roads...

Still pretty warm though. 

16 days till the sun comes back.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

16F and car snot? We have sunny, calm and ~30F . I`m about 20 miles short of topping my pedalled mileage for last year and need to run to the DMV for tags. I was hoping for a nice day today so I could ride that trip and put myself into new personal record status- here we go!

And then a nap. Tonight is going to be rough- Mon night/Tues morning is always a killer for me on graveyard, but tonight I get an extra bonus- instead of comming home groggy at 7AM and pour myself into bed, I get to work an extra four hours. Blech! 11 PM to 11 AM is the only shift possibly worse than 3AM to 3PM. And on a Mon/Tue to boot!



R+P+K said:


> Dominated the commute home tonight - 57mins.


Nailed your hour goal, nice! But what are you going to do for an encore?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Weird...I opened a web browser with a local weather station, and the temp has dropped to 16*F in the last couple minutes. The sun is just rising, and it's apparently getting colder? Maybe a weird moving air mass thing because of the sunrise and air getting warmed up and moving.


Nothing unusual about it at all, CB. The coldest time of day is typically right after sunrise. The atmosphere is still cooling, and the sun is still too low in the sky to provide any warmth. So the atmosphere will "coast down" until the sun can get high enough to provide some warmth.

Plug your location into the NOAA forecast graph website, and look at the temp. predictions from the computer models. You should see the effect clearly (this will take you to the graph for my area, you'll need to replace the location with yours):

NOAA Forecast graphs

Twas 27 degrees here this morning when I left for work. The trail was frosty enough that I could see footprints and bike tracks in it. Had to be careful riding over the frozen leaves!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We're getting slammed with rain again. These stupid systems keep running right over us for days on end. Luckily the temps have been a little warmer or else it'd feel really cold. This morning was around 50F, but the temps are starting to drop. I hope it's not raining tomorrow.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> 16F and car snot? We have sunny, calm and ~30F . I`m about 20 miles short of topping my pedalled mileage for last year and need to run to the DMV for tags. I was hoping for a nice day today so I could ride that trip and put myself into new personal record status- here we go!
> 
> And then a nap. Tonight is going to be rough- Mon night/Tues morning is always a killer for me on graveyard, but tonight I get an extra bonus- instead of comming home groggy at 7AM and pour myself into bed, I get to work an extra four hours. Blech! 11 PM to 11 AM is the only shift possibly worse than 3AM to 3PM. And on a Mon/Tue to boot!
> 
> Nailed your hour goal, nice! But what are you going to do for an encore?


Tonight, I'm going to try and do it in the rain :sad:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

30lbs of barbells in the backpack for weight training, trailer just to daycare (another 70) made for a tough ride in.
made tougher by the flat tire I got 2/3 of the way in. 
homie don't change tubes in the rain, so I just hoofed it from there.

hating specialized "nimbus" tires, hating staples, hating skipping alfines (sounds like a retro hipster band "the skipping alfines!")

kid goes to bed soon, beer then. better later.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cold again today, 26 degrees. We are under a bubble of high pressure here in the Northwest. It has not rained in over a week and there are air stagnation advisories. I can really tell that the air quality is bad, especially after I stop riding...scratchy throat, runny nose, etc. Hard to believe that I am hoping for rain, but we could use a little fresh air mixing in...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

10 degrees this morning! almost single digits... I was getting a little crusty goatee action inside the 'clava. And I got tingly toes... I need to bite the bullet and get some killer winter shoes. 

It wasn't supposed to drop that low last night...curious what you got over there, Rodar.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Bloody cold....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Mild, soggy & foggy here in VT. 43, light rain. Loose wire on the bar light, thought I fixed it last night (ok, maybe "fix" is an exaggeration for adding some electrical tape) but it only lasted 1/2 mi this a.m. Luckily I had the headlamp also, but kind of dim on it's own, although I did see a snowshow hare cross the trail last night. An unusual sighting this morning, another commuter on my road, haven't seen him since last year, he has a kind of frantic pedaling style, knees flying every which way, and an expression to match.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Simonns, I think 4*F is close to my record... I don't think I've had the chance to go sub-zero. I want to, just so I can have it under my belt, but I was glad it wasn't colder than 10 for me this morning. :lol: Enjoy. 

And i see AT&T is sort of lame in Colorado too... only 3 bars :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It says right in the book that adding electrical tape counts as a fix PROVIDED the gizmo functions immediately afterwards. If it don`t work again the next day, it`s a new problem.



CommuterBoy said:


> It wasn't supposed to drop that low last night...curious what you got over there, Rodar.


12 this morning, dry and no wind at all.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> Simonns, I think 4*F is close to my record... I don't think I've had the chance to go sub-zero. I want to, just so I can have it under my belt, but I was glad it wasn't colder than 10 for me this morning. :lol: Enjoy.
> 
> And i see AT&T is sort of lame in Colorado too... only 3 bars :lol:


I think our house is in a dead spot because I usually have decent signal everywhere else. I also think 4*f is close to my record too. Nothing below 0 yet though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You, Rodar, and I are in similar climates... on the east side of a big mountain range, on that line between pine forest and open space, around 4500 ft elevation... you are bit higher than that though, yes? But I bet we get the same sort of weather patterns.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I was riding home yesterday thinking "What other trail does this trail remind me of?" when it hit me that all the leaves were reminding me of Vermont...weird since I've never been to vermont :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^But you like the maple syrup.
Hoyt Axton has never been to Spain. But he kind of likes the music.
We won`t speculate on the sanity of the ladies in VT.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

hahahaha...nice trail CB! Rodar, that song will be in my head now might have to add it to the Ipod. 

Still soggy and foggy here, I'm sticking to the roads. Not as mild, 32F, but still rain.

I refixed the light (added duct tape over the electrical tape), and lo and behold it worked last night and still this morning. But I had to remove some to recharge it, dang. 

Some interesting tracks on my last trail commute...maybe a housecat, but what happened with the sliding marks?


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*1st day using the Fruitvale BART Bike Station*

rode from the house to the bike station left my bike and rode BART to work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I think that cat did a little spontaneous moonwalk action to impress the lady cats of Vermont.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

"Dog on linoleum" + acceleration" comes to mind for me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...Some interesting tracks on my last trail commute...maybe a housecat, but what happened with the sliding marks?


I think otter. They love to slide in snow,

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I think that cat did a little spontaneous moonwalk action to impress the lady cats of Vermont.


Good idea, but our VT "Lady Cats" are not easily impressed:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Cutest goalie I can remember seeing. (That may not be saying a lot, given my memory!) Looks like she has it under control, too.

Monsoon stopped (overflowed the rain gauge twice in 2 weeks). Rode again instead of driving. 38 F. Chelating knocks me, Not as bad as chemo, more like a cross on mild Jet lag and a light hangover. Hard to keep the rubber side down if you are dizzy. Hard to pay the kind of attention needed to ride safely here. One vehicle at a Four-way stop downtown. Driver at the stop line when I was 15 seconds from the intersection, facing me. Still sitting there so I roll. She starts to roll as I enter the intersection *then* turns on her signal and begins a turn. I dismount. I figured her for straight through. I suspect she was just plain lost. Since most drivers here stop for nanoseconds, if they bother, this was one amazing feat of slo-mo driving. I guess the guy behind figured there was a pedestrian involved, so no impatient horn. Even her turn was slow. Maybe I mesmerized her with my bike lights. I meant the distract people from their cell phones, not their driving! Good ride still if short: a day to rejoice and be glad in!

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc, heavy metal poisoning? Be careful out there!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> BrianMc, heavy metal poisoning? Be careful out there!


Yes. A lifetime full of exposures. I don't mean Metalica and Led Zeppelin, either! As, Cd, Hg, & Pb and they don't play nice together. I have between 2.5 and 3 years of chelation ahead of me at least. I breathe a lot better when riding with the 12 amalgam fillings (50% mercury) out. I run out of leg long before heart & lungs now. Good news is I start the chelator that clears the stuff buried in tissues on Friday for the first time. I may be crazy, but at least I have an excuse!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Chain popped off going from the middle to the small chainring today -- WTH. Has not happened to me before with this bike. The cranks got stuck in place. I was not standing at the time. I had to walk my bike about 100 ft before I could get off the road and put the chain back on. 

Bike is also ruining my lunch. My work place is fairly remote so within walking distance (0.3 mi or so since every direction starting from the office descends a big hill) there aren't many places to eat nearby so I brought my lunch in the past. However, as I've discovered, traveling even 1.5mi away for lunch no big deal which puts a many dozens if not a hundred restaurants within 10 minutes. These are awesome neighborhood places too, not downtown restaurants that only do lunch. The prices are much more reasonable and food is better than business district restaurants. No more $8 burritos, or $10 burgers, but I'm loosing motivation to bring my lunch which still costs less. 

Well, there are places in the area where burger, fries, drink will run $10, but were talking 1/3 lb buffalo burger w/ avocado, garlic fries or in house chips, etc. An $8 burrito would be about the size of my forearm. Heck, $8 will get a plate of chicken and vegetable curry and brown rice big enough that I have to pack 1/2 of it to go.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful! And one of the best days for the studded tires. Good to see the snow and the sun, as both been scarce!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc, good luck with the treatments!

mtbx - nice pics!

No commuting for me today - I am at the airport, have to go to the UK for a few days. Back on the bike next monday.

Just looking at the local news...a cyclist was hit and killed this morning a couple miles off my commute route. A quote from the article: "The bicylist was doing everything right and was well marked with lights and everything," said Lt. Mike Murray. "This seems to be an unfortunate accident.". The driver who hit him was arrested for DUI - at 5:00am! These kind of stories scare the crap out of me. I hope my wife does not see the story - she will freak out...

Bicyclist struck, killed by car in Kirkland; driver arrested - Local News - Seattle, WA - msnbc.com


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Wow, that's scary. 


My wife borrowed my iPod for a run and claimed that I had heavy metal poisoning. I had to explain the difference between the non poisonous musical talent of a band like Metallica and the obvious toxicity of something like Slipknot or whatever the kiddos are listening to these days. She didn't buy a word of it. 

Hang in there Brian :thumbsup: Doesn't sound fun. 

MTBX, great pics. I'm ready for some winter weather, other than low teen temperatures. Another cold, but dry one this morning. Probably 20ish...definitely warmer than yesterday, which was warmer than the day before.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> ...Just looking at the local news...a cyclist was hit and killed this morning a couple miles off my commute route. A quote from the article: "The bicylist was doing everything right and was well marked with lights and everything," said Lt. Mike Murray.


I'm not showing it to my wife either. A vehicular manslaughter charge or equivalent seems justified. Am I just overly sensitive to the usual 'blame it on the cyclist **** or is there a meta message here of: "It's too dangerous to cycle even if the cyclist does 'everything right' "? I accept it is dangerous. Living is like that.  Only dead are immune. But the implied 'unacceptably dangerous' if it is indeed there, is ****. He may have been asked point blank if the cyclist was at fault, but if volunteered, I wonder if he says the same about another driver doing 'everything right'. 'Take out' meal has a new meaning in this case.:madmax:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, no- another. While I know it doesn`t give any consolation to the rider, I`m glad the suspected driver was caught.

Xplorer, I don`t see any sun in your pics, but I agree about the snow. Beautiful!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice! Cold and clear again tonight, but I got a bonus coyote serenade on my way. Stopped for a few minutes just to enjoy the show.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, no- another. While I know it doesn`t give any consolation to the rider, I`m glad the suspected driver was caught.


Just looking at the news, the driver was tested and was impaired. It looks like a vehicular homicide charge is on the way for him. The scary part (for us) is this shows that you can be doing everything right, and still end up dead. But I guess life is full of risks, and this is not going to stop me from commuting to work on my bicycle. I'm just going to be that much more careful.

Loosely related, here is a really interesting website I just came across. Zoom into your area and look at the fatalities. The only comfort I get from this is that the VAST majority of the fatalities are vehicle-related...

ITO - Road Fatalities USA


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Got an email at work this afternoon that ended "...I apologize for any incontinence this may have caused." I laughed so hard I almost did pee my pants.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

My sister-in-law rear-ended another car last week because she was texting while driving. She was told in no uncertain terms to never do it again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I rode and it snowed. 
And i was pleased with my speed.
Nice, no gale force winds.

Seems like another thread topic has invaded my post.  Aargh! Viral Haiku! Run Rodar, run!

Back chelating within the hour, so it may be my last ride for a few days.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hope that goes OK, Brian, and that you're cycling again soon.


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## Spykr (Feb 17, 2011)

Morning commute was a cool and crisp 44 Fahrenheit. Afternoon commute home was a lovely 67 so I took the long route! Very enjoyable overall besides some numbskulls honking and yelling at me at a stoplight.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Not a commute, but a nice 15 mile ride, though I about froze my toes off. 

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

on thurs, I went from my bed. to the bathroom throne in breaking time


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice Brian! Consider carrying a pack of those toe warmers and hand warmers, they can make a big difference. I always carry some in case of suffering!

I am ecstatic over my new fatbike! See her here: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/2012-fatback-725956.html#post8812691


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ very snazzy. Love the white bars/grips/seatpost/seat/pedals.


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Ride to Work This Morning 11 Degrees

Peanuts Teeter Totter by normbilt, on Flickr

Changing of the Season by normbilt, on Flickr
Ride Home Tonight 21 Degrees

Last Full Moon of 2011 by normbilt, on Flickr


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s a good looking fatso, Xplorer! I bet you`re going to have a tough time staying off those snow mobile trails this winter.

Norm, personally I have no use for any bike without at least a rear derailler, but your SanJose sure goes easy on the eyes. Another nice portrait!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Thanks, it is so fun! I was laughing all the way, especially crawling right over roadside snowbanks with ease, going over ice that should have cracked but didn't (just puddles, I'm not _totally _nuts), and glissade-ing down the hills.

Rodar, if you're like me and don't keep up on "ss's Unite" thread (I need derailleurs too), you must go there to view Norm's full ss stable. Beautiful!


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Got on the road bike this morning, cued up the Ashes of the Wake album (Lamb of God) and did LT intervals for about an hour.........in the comfort of my living room while is it 2C and raining outside.

Going Christmas shopping with the wife today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

30 degrees and icy this morning. Scary when you can feel the wheel start to slide out from under you.

Nice pictures Norm, that's one sweet looking ride you've got there!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> ITO - Road Fatalities USA


 Another reason to live in the west.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Flat tire on the way home tonight.  Back end started getting really bouncy about 1/2 way home (taking a long way home since it's still nice out ), but after airing it back up I was able to make it the rest of the way. I don't think it was related to my DIY studs, because I could see where air was bubbling through a hole in the casing. This confirmed that I don't like tubes though, so when I got home I pulled out the tube and liner and set it up tubeless.

We've had lots of freeze-thaw cycles, so the roads are starting to get nicely treacherous with ice.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Apr 21, 2010)

No problems, worries on today's commute&#8230; but also no Strava records-I just felt like taking it easy today:






Was a really smooth ride on the Pugsley.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was really cold comming in tonight- said 16 when I left, which is probably the coldest "to work" commute for me this winter. It`s probably going to be single digits for the ride home at seven.

When I got in, the swing shift guy passed on some scarry-bad news to me. I work for a printing company and most of our work at this plant is advertising. Along with a couple of little magazines, we do those ads that get inserted into Sunday papers for most of the western US. Tonight we found out that our biggest customer (for this plant) is pulling the plug on all gravure ads and moving to 100% offset, which we don`t do here. It isn`t looking good.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@rodar - that's a bummer - if the writings on the wall, time to go proactive and start looking for something new. Good luck to you.

@CB - that site is really an eye-opener isn't it? No way would I want to be on foot (or on bike) in some of those east coast cities!

26F and frosty this morning. Traction was good though, so no issues on the commute. We have had only .18 inches of rain so far in the month of December. Average December rainfall for Seattle is about 5.5" so we are a little behind. Could use some more snow in the mountains - the wife and I want to go snowshoeing!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm not going anywhere east of the Mississippi, ever! You might die! 

Rodar, that's a bummer! Hope it works out for you. 

My commute today was short! Stayed at the in-laws house and basically coasted downhill about a mile to work. I wouldn't like a super-short commute like that... no time to enjoy it. It was dang cold this morning though (10*F or so), so it was kind of fun to go out in that kind of temperature with no 'clava, wearing the thinner gloves, and not worrry about being cold. About the time you'd realize you made a clothing mistake on a normal ride, you were at work already. And I got to sleep in an extra 25 minutes :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry the Grinch has visited your place of work, Rodar! 

My area had the one cyclist killed by a drunk driver in 2009. Says more about how few cyclists there are than how safe or otherwise it is here, I think. My goal is not to be on that map. It would be interesting to have it corrected for population density. One expects a lot in NY, NY for example. The one cycling death in an area of under 30,000 may be a much higher risk.

One aspect of short commutes is that you cam go 'hell bent for leather' and not have a concern about maintaining it for tens of miles. Downhill? WooHoo! Easier in nicer weather without all the clothing wind resistance.

BrianMc


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

Sorry Rodar, hope things work out!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez Rodar, that is scarey news, but you seem like a guy with a lot of useful skills, so if it comes to be, I hope there is someone else nearby that can use them!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I forgot to check the thermometer this morning. Was expecting it to be downright arctic, but it really didn`t cool off much from last night.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. As of now, mostly we have speculation and rumors to go by, still waiting for official word about WTF is going on. The loss of that customer, while ugly, won`t close the doors by itself, but it`s another step (big step) on Dinosaur Road. We got over the evaporation of Wards, Good Guys, Longs Drugs, and Mervyns, dealing with smaller page counts and fewer issues from all the rest, and lower impression counts (the newspapers we ship to are not exactly doing well either), but the bottom line is that printed ads are expensive, decidedly ungreen, and really don`t make much sense in today`s world. Darwin has been helping beacuse most of our competition is in leakier boats than we are, and we`ve been picking up a good bit of what they leave on the table as they disappear.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A couple pics from tonight's snowmo trail commute. The reflections in 1st pic are the snowmobile trail intersection signs in the second pic. Trailside garbage can courtesy of the Sno-bees club. Takes longer than a dry trail commute on the regular MTB, but only 15 mins longer tonight.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@rodar - best of luck on this and I hope it works out. As an aside, I had some friends in the newspaper biz here and they tried to hang on with their paper (Seattle PI) until the end. One worked selling advertising and one worked in production. All the signs were on the wall but they rationalized them away - and it really made it hard for them when their newspaper went online only and suddenly dumped most the staff (including both of them). You know your situation best, but in my experience it's always better (and easier) to find a new job when you are already employed...

@mtbx - nice pics! What kind of tires do you have on that beast you are riding?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Woodway: 
Yeah, probably better results at job hunting when a prospective employer knows you aren`t just looking for a quick way out of a pickle and then heading out when something better comes along. Few if any of us here have the impresion that things will straighten out and go back to "the good ol days", and I`m pretty sure most are at least keeping an eye out for good opportunities to jump ship. From time to time, somebody gets lucky and lands a good one. On the other hand, until the checks actually stop comming in, they`re considerably bigger than the checks for similar jobs in this area, and the severance package that people get on their way out the door is considerable. You only get that when you wait for the pink slip. Bottom line, no delusions, but personally I plan to milk it out as long as I can unless some unforseen hot prospect jumps into my path.

Xplorer:
Damn, that look like fun!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> ...
> 
> @mtbx - nice pics! What kind of tires do you have on that beast you are riding?


Those are Surly Larry's and Endomorphs, 3.8" of floatation.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

3.8" !!!! Wow. They must be a hoot in the snow.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Oops dbl post


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

@rodar: good luck with the job situation!

@mtb: welcome to the fat bike world! Beautiful ride you got there.

Today was icy as I've ever seen with freezing mist/fog. My son texted me from the bus stop and warned me not to ride, but I trusted my bike over the car and rode anyways. I dropped the pressure down to 8 or 9 (fatbike) and took it slow. About 2 blocks from home I decided that pavement wasn't worth it, so I hopped on the grass and rode 6-12" off of the paved path. I dismounted and walked the intersections. Managed to stay upright and even had a little fun. Only downside is that my coffee mug was covered in muck and grass!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^Freezing fog is horrible! I have done the majority of my commute out on the dirt shoulder for the exact same reasons. Glad you could turn it in to a good time.

10*F again for me. I wish it was single digits, because that sounds more hard core. But it would still have to warm up 22 degrees to get up to freezing, so I guess that's something. Something about the jacket collar/clava/helmet interface made cold air drill a hole in the back of my head today, and I had a bit of an ice cream headache when I got to work. I switched to the snowboard helmet a week or so ago, and apparently I forgot how to use it right :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Car snot almost gone.....more snow in the forecast...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

What a strange ride home. 
According to VDO, my max speed was slightly less than my average, with 0.00 as the max and 3.6 for an average. Not very fast, but when you consider that I climbed a little over 71,000 feet in under 20 minutes, I`d say I did okay. A lot of that climbing was at 99%grade, too. And I noticed a few 99% downgrades, so I probably detoured and rode off the face of El Capitan without noticing. Probably a good idea to go check my rims after that landing. If they`re trashed, I might be in for a real job finding replacements, though- ended the morning at 14,000 ft, so thinking I might possibly be in LaPaz, Bolivia. Not sure what kind of wheel suplies I might find here. While I`m looking, I think I`ll get a new battery for the poor computer.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That is awesome. I was riding the Tahoe Rim Trail once, and according to my GPS at one point I did a 13 mile detour at somewhere around 326 miles per hour directly into the center of Lake Tahoe and back. The whole trip only took a fraction of a second and I don't remember any of it. I'm pretty sure I was abducted.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JAGI410 said:


> @mtb: welcome to the fat bike world! Beautiful ride you got there.
> 
> Today was icy as I've ever seen with freezing mist/fog. My son texted me from the bus stop and warned me not to ride, but I trusted my bike over the car and rode anyways. I dropped the pressure down to 8 or 9 (fatbike) and took it slow. About 2 blocks from home I decided that pavement wasn't worth it, so I hopped on the grass and rode 6-12" off of the paved path. I dismounted and walked the intersections. Managed to stay upright and even had a little fun. Only downside is that my coffee mug was covered in muck and grass!


Thanks Jag. I was scared of the ice today too, as we got a dusting over it to hide it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

You know how some people think it is funny to honk at you just to see you jump? Well, I can’t be sure of the intent, but as I went past the fire station there were 2 fire trucks sitting there (no lights on). Right when I got in front of them one of them started the siren – yikes! They did pull out of the station then, but the sirens were turned off as soon as I went by.

The singletrack was great this morning!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Yup fire truck drivers are not the most senstive people.....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> That is awesome. I was riding the Tahoe Rim Trail once, and according to my GPS at one point I did a 13 mile detour at somewhere around 326 miles per hour directly into the center of Lake Tahoe and back. The whole trip only took a fraction of a second and I don't remember any of it. I'm pretty sure I was abducted.


That sounds like a route plotted by Bikely!

Question for the fatbikers:
In general, are 3 inch plus monster tires less stable on hard slick surfaces (like icy roads) than sub two inch city tires? Just wondering.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

was riding past the hospital on my steamy commute this morning (69 deg and 99% humidity according to my weather station at home), exiting the 20mph zone (you get about 100yd of 30mph before a light, which was red at the time) and I signaled with my arm to turn left into a driveway.

Doctor on a cellphone in his Bimmer blows by me on the left right as I'm about to turn. He gets caught by the first light, makes his turn when the light changes, and immediately gets caught by the light on the "more" main road (35mph speed limit). I went straight into campus there and gave him a passing "get off your damn cell phone" which sent him into a little tirade that I didn't pay attention to. TX has a recent law banning cell phone use in school zones...I wonder if that applies to hospital zones, too?

It felt really strange to be sweating in shorts in the middle of December. I got some SKS fenders installed on my commuter and today was the first commute with them (good timing, as there's a weather system moving through today - though it was not actively raining on my commute). I had to do a couple mods to get them installed right on this bike. They fit pretty snug for plastic fenders. I put some nice, big pieces of red reflective tape on them. Thinking about mud flaps. Do cut up tubes work well for mud flaps? I have a few old mtb tubes I could cut up to use.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I think tubes would be too floppy. I've used an old helmet visor, cut to fit...drilled and bolted.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whooo! I hope you enjoyed the cell phone thing- should have stuck around to enjoy his rant, too


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whooo! I hope you enjoyed the cell phone thing- should have stuck around to enjoy his rant, too


That could have been a little uncomfortable (not sure if it would have been worse for me or for him) since I've spent a LOT of time in that hospital getting blood transfusions when I was going through chemotherapy. Chances are good he saw me at least once on his rounds while I was there.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rain today! It has not rained here in at least two weeks which is very odd for Seattle in December. It's just kind of wrong. Felt good to be riding in the rain this morning. The air was fresher. Seattleites are wierd...we get grumpy when it does not rain for long periods. We need to maintain our rust coating...


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## in2theforest (Sep 11, 2011)

*mudflaps*



NateHawk said:


> Thinking about mud flaps. Do cut up tubes work well for mud flaps? I have a few old mtb tubes I could cut up to use.


Nate,

Check out the homemade mudflaps 2 minutes into the youtube video called "Winter Cycling Basics (excerpt)" by BikeologyTV..


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

in2theforest said:


> Nate,
> 
> Check out the homemade mudflaps 2 minutes into the youtube video called "Winter Cycling Basics (excerpt)" by BikeologyTV..


Ok, that's an option. I could do both wheels with the next milk jug I empty.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...
> Question for the fatbikers:
> In general, are 3 inch plus monster tires less stable on hard slick surfaces (like icy roads) than sub two inch city tires? Just wondering.


Well, I'm new to it, but if neither has studs, I would rather be on the fatbike, it would not go down as fast. Even when I wiped it out on the ice, I was amazed at how far I was able to travel sideways before going down, giving you some possibility of recovery. Kind of like when a car is all over the road and will either recover or go into a 360 and end up it the ditch on ice.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

NateHawk said:


>


Edmonton represent! I've never seen that one before.  At this point our winter doesn't look anything like that, which is a nice change.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! Glad I don't have to wear make-up and pumps though.  Winter hasn't really arrived here in VT either. Rained all day, more tonight, and 40 tomorrow - ick. The little snow here will be pretty much gone tomorrow. We need snow & skiers for Xmas. No ride today, had a meeting & holiday party too far away (phew!).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hey, cool video! I get the impresion that Edmunton has more than its share of hard core winter cyclists. Maybe it`s by necessity- long winters and short summers mean if you want to ride, you ride when it`s nasty?

The snow situation in the mid-sierra isn`t looking well so far. We aren`t into our typical snow season yet (that usually comes in Feb, after the Dec and Jan cold spells clear out), but there should be SOME snowpack up there. I think only one resort is open, and that`s probably almost entirely manufactured snow. Well, there`s still plenty of time to turn around- hopefully it`ll change.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another cheap mudflap:









Previous build of The Duchess with SKS's and homemade leather mudflap from two worn boots' tongues sewn back to back. I have a narrow piece of milk jug on the front of the errand bike's rear SKS fender taking it down through the chain stays and still allowing the fender out of the way (just) for the 700-38s, to slip into the old classic dropouts.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*The Long Arm of Justice.*

I never wish ill-will on anyone. Even those who buzz/honk/yell at me on the road. But sometimes the long arm of justice reaches out and takes care of business for you.

Case in point: My commute home last night.

I was in the final two miles, riding down a semi-rural road, two lanes wide, with no shoulders and a 1-2 foot deep drainage ditch down each side. It's a neighborhood collector/distributor which means it can get a little busy in the evening. Due to the lack of shoulders, I ride a foot or two to the left of the white line, which forces cars to shift into the oncoming lane to get around me. Sometimes a driver will get stuck behind me waiting for oncoming traffic to clear, but the wait is typically short - around 10 - 20 seconds.

Last night a couple of cars queued up behind me, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear. The first car pulls out and goes around me normally, and then I can hear the second car spooling up to pass me. The car goes by, not giving me as much room as I would like, gas pedal to the metal and the driver laying on the horn. When the car is about even to me, I hear a scream and what sounded like "get off the road you...". It's a beater econ-box with a hole in the muffler and I am guessing it's full of high school kids. Their antics are pretty standard knucklehead stuff, which I am used to.

The first car to pass me had proceeded a little way up the road and stopped with his signal on, waiting for traffic to clear so that he could turn left. The knuckleheads where still accelerating towards him, maybe looking back at me, maybe high-fiving each other, but clearly not watching the road in front of them. Finally, the driver notices the stopped car and stands on his brakes. I can see that it's going to be a close one and I am cringing. At the last minute, the driver must have decided he was not going to stop in time, so rather than hit the stopped car he steered right and put his wheel into the ditch along the side of the road. Whew!

The road has a 5% uphill grade at this point, so I am cranking along slowly watching this unfold in front of me. I see the driver and two passengers pile out of the econo-box to survey the damage. The front right wheel is hanging in ditch the and the car is resting on the frame. The left-rear wheel is almost off the pavement. It's going to be a tow-job to get the car back on the road. As I get up to the scene I can see that the driver and passengers are all boys, probably around 17 years old. I feel a little bad for them, even if they are knuckleheads and did it to themselves. The driver has his cell out, probably calling his parents to ask what to do.

The passengers look at me sheepishly as I ride up to the car and don't say a word. I ask "everyone OK?" They both nod yes. I take one more look at the car and say "bummer guys" and keep riding.

Relatively inexpensive lesson for these kids. I hope it goes to heart and head.

@BrianMc: Cool looking mudflap, but even better looking bike!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That is beautiful. :lol: You handled that like a champ.


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## will-lee wonka (Oct 26, 2008)

woodway said:


> I never wish ill-will on anyone. Even those who buzz/honk/yell at me on the road. But sometimes the long arm of justice reaches out and takes care of business for you.
> 
> Case in point: My commute home last night.
> 
> ...


Fantastic attitude woodway. I commend you for keeping your cool and not getting all bent. Some people might not have reacted the same way.

I'm pretty lucky in Tucson that several miles of my commute are off the road and onto an actual multiuse path so that removes any possible confrontations between car and bike.

You guys really inspire me because I have to admit, I'm a fair weather rider/commuter...and in Tucson that's very easy since our weather is for the most part, incredibly cooperative for outdoor activities year round.

MTBxplorer: I got to ride a fatback in moab back in October and it was a wild experience. And have to say, yours looks beautiful.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You just used "fat" and "beautiful" in the same breath when talking to a woman. And she'll probably thank you!! 

Strange winter so far... it was 19 this morning, and it felt warm. That never happens in December. It's usually february before 19 feels warm.


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## will-lee wonka (Oct 26, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> You just used "fat" and "beautiful" in the same breath when talking to a woman. And she'll probably thank you!!
> 
> Strange winter so far... it was 19 this morning, and it felt warm. That never happens in December. It's usually february before 19 feels warm.


HAHA!!

In my defense, I didn't know mtbexplorer was a woman


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yes, why thank you will-lee, I think my FAT is beautiful too!

Great story woodway, and glad you were out of harm's way.

I had a little scare this morning. Took the road and the studded tire MTB instead of the fatbike, due to all the rain yesterday, almost no snow left, and dropping temps later today. Gusty winds, and as I went up a steep hill I heard a huge gust in the trees and thought "better check for widowmakers (dead trees)". Just then I heard a big crack to my right and slightly behind me, and I pedalled as fast as I could to get out of the way of whatever was going to fall. I heard the landing and looked back to see the blowdown had landed in the woods rather than in the road, but it sure got my adrenalin going.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If a tree falls in the woods and MTBX is around to hear it...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> If a tree falls in the woods and MTBX is around to hear it...


:lol: I wonder if it was a fat tree.

Thanks for relating that story, Woodway!

Warm here too, but no commute for me today- I`m impersonating CommuterBoy for the remainder of the month. No work for me last night or tonight, then vacation, a few holidays, then BINGO! A new year and another chance to strive for 100% bike commute year.

And with all this time on my hands, let`s see if I keep out of trouble. After getting a job security scare, the last thing I should be doing is jonsing over a new (to me) bike, but I`m really close to writing a check.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:thumbsup: 3 weeks off for me starting after today, and no snow on the trails. That never happens at Christmas break!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I do have to go present myself from the 27th through the 29th


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I might have made a comment to those kids about the irony of their situation.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

If a dead tree falls on a widow, is it a widow un-maker?

What if you just have a 'significant other'? Are you now insignificant, if you weren't before?

If a fat bike flees a tree falling in the woods, and the cyclist is deaf, does it make a sound?

Adrenalin: the basis of many a fast sprint. That flight thing really works! 

Happy Holidays, gentlemen and ladies, and all who feel they are neither. 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NateHawk said:


> I might have made a comment to those kids about the irony of their situation.


I thought about saying something, but they are just kids. Knuckleheads, yes. But I still remember being that age (even though it was oh so long ago) and I was a knucklehead too. Honestly I am suprised that Darwin let me grow old for all the stupid stuff I did. :madman:

@Rodar - you only go around once in life. Treat yourself to that bike  Just be sure to post pics.

@mtbx - that will teach you to take the road!

I may take the last week of December off...just depends on how things are going at work. Planning to ride everyday again next week.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Woodway: nice cool. A smart quip would have been so tempting. But you taught them far more by ignoring their actions as not worthy of notice, but their well-being as being well worthy of it. Well done.

Next sunny day I will get a new pick of The Duchess & post on commuter bikes.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I am a little concerned about buzz at the office today that the powers that be are considering moving our "temporary" office (which had been sounding like a 2 yr proposition) to another, more "convenient" (for many co-workers) temporary location in the capital. The distance for me would be totally do-able (near where I used to get the bus), but I would lose my awesome singletrack and snowmachine trail-ride to work, and the new fatbike might be relegated to recreational rides.:cryin::cryin: Hopefully, it will not come to pass. I should get this winter out of it at least, because they signed a 6 mos lease.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I just swapped my 90 psi Bontrager Hardpacks for 60ish psi Maxxis Ardents.

from 1.5 at 90 to 2.3 at 60

its like riding a trampoline.

xD


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Forgot to turn on the rear light today on the way to the grocery store. Didn't realize it until I was locking up...could have been a very bad oops. I took a wooded route through the park with a couple blind curves. I guess I still have my reflectors (red rear facing on the seatpost and amber ones on pedal) and a couple white reflective stripes on my bag.

To be honest, I think that stripe is more effective than the reflectors. I'm not sure what it's made of or how it's made, but it seems to be much more effective than any reflectors on my bike. I've never walked around my bike and thought, wow those reflectors are bright. I have, however, left my backpack around the house, and looked at it several times and thought wow, the light from the other room or the sun is reflecting off that stripe even though it's fairly bright around the object.

When riding or driving around at night the amber pedal reflectors on other's bicycles seems to be much more noticeable than the red one because they move around. They still don't seem all that effective though. The white reflective stuff on shoes, bags, etc seem to be even more effective.

I'm also starting to get a bit annoyed at my front light. It has a 1.4A draw on high according to my measurements at the tailcap, and in theory, I should get 2 hours of run time. However, I am having a hard time keeping track of use. When the light runs low, it will it will turn to low automatically. I can change to high, but only for a flash and then back to low. It took me a while to figure out why the light was behaving that way -- turns out open voltage was 3.4V at that point. Guess I need to get used to carrying a spare 18650 with me all the time.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> What a strange ride home.
> According to VDO, my max speed was slightly less than my average, with 0.00 as the max and 3.6 for an average. Not very fast, but when you consider that I climbed a little over 71,000 feet in under 20 minutes, I`d say I did okay. A lot of that climbing was at 99%grade, too. And I noticed a few 99% downgrades, so I probably detoured and rode off the face of El Capitan without noticing. Probably a good idea to go check my rims after that landing. If they`re trashed, I might be in for a real job finding replacements, though- ended the morning at 14,000 ft, so thinking I might possibly be in LaPaz, Bolivia. Not sure what kind of wheel suplies I might find here. While I`m looking, I think I`ll get a new battery for the poor computer.


Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Did you find any U-2 or SR-71 up there? At 71000 ft, it sounds like you climbed Mount McKinley three times over or Mount Everest two times and then some.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I hope you get your snow trail commute for a while longer, Xplorer- fingers crossed for you.



woodway said:


> Honestly I am suprised that Darwin let me grow old for all the stupid stuff I did. :madman:


Amen! 
But you`re still more patient with the current batch of new experiments than I am.

Oh, and thanks for the new bike comments- now I can use the "only following orders" defense. Think it`ll fly better in Reno than it did in Nuremberg?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Passed 6000 commute miles for the year on the way to work this morning. 7000+ total miles for the year. It's been a good year!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

woodway said:


> Passed 6000 commute miles for the year on the way to work this morning. 7000+ total miles for the year. It's been a good year!


Congrats! I do not keep track of all my mileage, especially commute miles. I ride with a GPS, and not always even when mtb'ing. Have thought about putting a cheap cyclocomputer on just for the odometer I wouldn't have to think about using.

I think I'd be up around 1,000mi on the year, though. My commute is only about 7mi round trip, and my average mtb ride is probably around 15 for the year.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

I find a cyclocomputer keeps you from getting lazy, I like to know what my max and average speeds are from one day to the next, but LCD screens don't work very well in the cold so I don't usually bother with one in the winter. 

Gotta love studded tires. Crossing the High Level bridge this morning, bumpy smooth ice from wet snow and footprints that froze overnight. A couple cyclists were walking their bikes, I covered the 2500 feet no problem, it would have taken a lot longer to walk it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, the bridge was funny this morning. I got stuck in a bit of a pedestrian bottleneck, because they were all having to baby-step for 800m. (I'm still loving the mild weather, though)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I am just a data geek, in addition to my daily mileage, I track cumulative elevation (I've ridden over 67 miles straight up this year), riding time (21.4 days in the saddle so far this year), speed, temperature, conditions, etc., etc. All with graphs. Why? Heck if I know - I guess it's just in my DNA. Probably why I got an engineering degree in college. Drives my wife crazy too but for some reason she puts up with me.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Good commute home last night. Trying out a new saddle position (lower and back on the rails) to alleviate hand pain. Seemed to help.

Also clocked 56m so that's an improvement too. Got up to 54km/h on the downhill portion.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congrats on the new kilomile marker, Woodway. I`d like to look at my data too, though so far the gadgets to track it aren`t sufficently idiot proofed for me to comprehend.

RPK, have you set a higher bar to aim for now that you broke your hour goal, or just grooving and taking it as it goes?


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> RPK, have you set a higher bar to aim for now that you broke your hour goal, or just grooving and taking it as it goes?


My goal now is to consistently get it around 55mins every time. I should be able to build a good fitness base with that target.

Then it will be 50mins....


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Not too bad this morning at around 32 F. Light headwind, which I hate since I am single speeding, but oh well, I just keep pushing. 

I am really looking forward to the new bike next year with 8 speeds. That will be so nice to change things up and be able to up/down shift.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Felt more wintery this a.m. I have a thermometer I clip on my pack records the minimum (before it turns off automatically) & it was 17.7F today. The sugarer en route finally got the roof on his sap tank shed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hard time getting out of bed.
Hard time getting going
Hard time starting out on the bike
Then I got to pass a mile long line of traffic.....
It's all good.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

upper 50's this morning and wet from some rain that came through last night. rather pleasant, really, rode in my lightest jacket unzipped with the sleeves rolled up. probably could have pulled out one of my lightweight vests. it was pleasant until the UPS guy coughed up some diesel soot in front of me. blech. unintentional, but still blech. gonna bike over to the local coffee shop (they do their own roasting, even - and they are the hub of our local bike culture) for lunch.

picked up a smaller chainring from my lbs yesterday. dropping from 46t to 42t. The 46t is good on the level stuff and I coast on the downhills...but it's too big for the hills on my route. I probably won't put that on until the weekend, though.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Broke my chain this morning...

I was trying to baby it out till the end of the year...it was just off the chain measuring device last week...

Didn't nut myself either...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Jeff, did you "scooter" the rest of the way or stop and shorten the chain?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Jeff, did you "scooter" the rest of the way or stop and shorten the chain?


It broke at the quick link....and bent the next link as well...

I cut out a full link and installed a new quick link....

So I only have middle ring and little ring for the ride home...no big deal.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commutes have been fine. My wife bought some new mid-weight gloves (Louis Garneau Gel-EX). So far, so good.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeffscott said:


> Didn't nut myself either...


Avoiding the nut job is key. Nice work...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

LAAAAZY week. I` ve been puttering around the house (mostly right here in front of this monitor), taken several badly planned drives into town, which burn up a lot more gas than necessary, haven`t ridden at all even though it`s been pretty nice weather. In the morning we`re leaving to visit my sister in CA for three days, so at least I`ll accomplish SOMETHING while I`m not at work.



jeffscott said:


> So I only have middle ring and little ring for the ride home...no big deal.


Much better than a short chain on a SS.
Long live deraillers!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

New personal best up the gorge - 16m12s. Lovely weather all week too. Xmas day should be bathed in sunshine 

Probably the last commute of the year tomorrow then I'm off work for four weeks Xmas leave. Yuss!


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## rashidkpc (Oct 18, 2010)

Made it a year of bike commuting without getting hit.

Woman stopped at a light at the end of a long line of cars and her passenger threw the door open right into me. Helmet has a nice big crack in it, Camelback has a couple holes in it. Went down hard enough that I ended up on the side walk on my back with my bike in the road. She barely spoke english, or was pretending not to. Uhg, hurting.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

rashidkpc said:


> Made it a year of bike commuting without getting hit.
> 
> Woman stopped at a light at the end of a long line of cars and her passenger through the door open right into me. Helmet has a nice big crack in it, Camelback has a couple holes in it. Went down hard enough that I ended up on the side walk on my back with my bike in the road. She barely spoke english, or was pretending not to. Uhg, hurting.


That sux, wishing you a quick recovery!


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

Beautiful morning in Austin today. It rained last night but cleared this AM. Blue clear sky, cool air and warm sun. Shorts and light Jacket. Awesome commute!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Asmodeus2112 said:


> Beautiful morning in Austin today. It rained last night but cleared this AM. Blue clear sky, cool air and warm sun. Shorts and light Jacket. Awesome commute!


Still wet this morning in East TX. Lightning sketches me out and considering the thunder woke me up early this morning, I decided to drive my commute even though it appeared the rain was tapering off.

Almost 2" according to my rain gauge and I was happy to see the creek on my way in to the office is higher than I've seen it in 2yrs.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

NateHawk said:


> Still wet this morning in East TX. Lightning sketches me out and considering the thunder woke me up early this morning, I decided to drive my commute even though it appeared the rain was tapering off.
> 
> Almost 2" according to my rain gauge and I was happy to see the creek on my way in to the office is higher than I've seen it in 2yrs.


Yep rain is great. We're still in D4 extreme drought, but this is a start.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Asmodeus2112 said:


> Yep rain is great. We're still in D4 extreme drought, but this is a start.


we recently got downgraded to D3.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

NateHawk said:


> we recently got downgraded to D3.


Just looked at the drought map from LCRA and it seems that Austin is split down the middle. D3 tot he west, D4 to the East.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Came back to my bike to find a flat rear tire and ended up walking the bike home since I didn't have a flat kit.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

jseko said:


> Came back to my bike to find a flat rear tire and ended up walking the bike home since I didn't have a flat kit.


what a NOOB! :thumbsup: :lol:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I left my flat kit at home...Patch kit, mini-pump, spare tube, and tire levers. On the bright side, it only took me 40 minutes to walk home which is somehow just as fast as taking the bus.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

jseko said:


> I left my flat kit at home...


SUPA NOOB! :rockon:


jseko said:


> it only took me 40 minutes to walk home which is somehow just as fast as taking the bus.


I know the feeling - our transit system is ... lacking.
It's a catch-22 for most smaller cities - I get that.
Less ridership=less revenue
Less revenue=less routes/frequency
Less routes/frequency=less convenience
Less convenience=less ridership.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

jseko said:


> I left my flat kit at home...Patch kit, mini-pump, spare tube, and tire levers. On the bright side, it only took me 40 minutes to walk home which is somehow just as fast as taking the bus.


Yep, commuting is all about the details, and almost every one will bite you in the butt. I'm not sure whats worse, walking the bike home or spending the day in my dress clothes and Sidis.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

COLD! Well, not real cold, but coldest so far this year for me at 21 F. The bad thins were the headwind for about 7.5 of the 10 miles and of course I was too HOT. I upgraded my long sleeve to my warmer one and although I am sure I would have been a bit too cool in the other, I was way too hot in that one. I really need something in between.

I also wore my facemask and I have to say that I really don't like wearing it because it just fogs up my glasses constantly. I have some Smith Interlock Trace and I am thinking that maybe its partially the glasses along with the mask. Just a bad combo. I don't know tho, but its really annoying.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Today's commute was great if you like to get covered in slush tsunamis from passing tractor trailers. Otherwise some beautiful white snow.

Dalton: This style face mask works great for steamed glasses:
Amazon.com: Gator Fleece-lined Neoprene Clavagator Face Mask (Lg): Sports & Outdoors
It has big mouth vents that let you huff and puff. I put my helmet on and then put the mask on last which makes it really easy to pull down if you do get steamed up.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

bedwards1000 said:


> Dalton: This style face mask works great for steamed glasses:
> Amazon.com: Gator Fleece-lined Neoprene Clavagator Face Mask (Lg): Sports & Outdoors
> It has big mouth vents that let you huff and puff. I put my helmet on and then put the mask on last which makes it really easy to pull down if you do get steamed up.


I will have to take a serious look at that. Right now I have the Gore Bike Wear balaclava and while its warm, the fog is killing me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've tried a few of the balaclava styles and I get overheated in them and they seem to limit my range of motion a LOT more than the velcro fastened one outside of everything else. I ride with it down to the single digits and so far, so good. I'm not sure if I use the exact one I sent the link for but it is a Gator and it is similar. The top half is neoprene and the bottom is fleece.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Dalton said:


> I will have to take a serious look at that. Right now I have the Gore Bike Wear balaclava and while its warm, the fog is killing me.


I wear a light (Turtlefur) balaclava down to about -20 C....It has a face hole, but you can pull it up around the goggles if you need to...

Below that I have a balaclava with fleece neck and a turtle fur top....again just a face hole that can be pulled up around the goggles..

The goggles have a nose and check protector..

Only time I get fogged is perhaps going up a steep hill with the wind at my back.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No balaclava needed, 29F and 4" of snow. Merry Christmas!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It looks like winter was cancelled for us. Lows in the 30s and highs in the upper 50s, no snow. In fact, if some surprise doesn`t occur in the next few days, we`re looking at the first Dec since 1880 something with zero precip. We drove over the Sierra and back twice in the past week and it looks UGLY. Going through South Lake Tahoe, we saw one guy walking with a snowboard over his shoulder, but I couldn`t see any snow. Maybe it was a water ski? Donner Summit on I-80 looked slightly better, but I`m pretty sure most of the snow visible from the freeway was manufactured.

I`m still on a bike search- been in contact with the builder about a used bike that went back as a trade in.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Got a new commuter at work even though it's the middle of winter. Balmy by comparison to some of you guys at 40F, but that's cold to us California folks.

Anyways, he picked up a 2010 Marin Muirwoods 29er last week for $360 in good condition off Craigslist. Every thing seems to work well. Frame has some scuffs and the cables have worn the paint down to the frame next to the badge so that definitely needs fixing. No visible rust though. Going to put some paint on it even though it doesn't really match, but the frame is chromoly so that's kind of important. Will need to find something to cover that up to prevent the paint from wearing down like that again.

I've arranged to meet up with him in the morning for his first ride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We have finally reverted back to a somewhat normal wintertime pattern here with regular wet fronts coming in off the pacific. Still, my rain gauge at home only has measured 1.2" of rain this month, vs. the 5.5" we normally get. 

Big headwinds this morning, 15-20MPH sustained with 30+ MPH gusts. You just gotta put your head down and take what the wind gives you. Did not see any other cyclists and very few cars...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Unseasonably warm here in Maine. 48 degrees when is should be closer to 15 early in the morning.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bedwards1000 said:


> Unseasonably warm here in Maine. 48 degrees when is should be closer to 15 early in the morning.


'twas colder than that in Texas this morning. 47 when I left the house at about 10:30, so I'm sure it was less than 45 for a low.

It was a good commute for me today. First ride with the new, smaller 42t chainring. I think it's better. The 46t was a bear to get started from a stop and the 42t is much better. It's just a tiny bit easier on the climbs. I still get a workout but I don't have to dig quite as deep to heave the bike up the hill. I stopped at my LBS (first day it was open since last week) and my Portland Design Works rear rack was in. Man, is that thing gorgeous. Pics to follow when I get home tonight.

I did some work in my shop the other day. Got a fluorescent shop light and a vise. The shop light will make it easier to take pictures of my bike this time of year when it's dark in the evening.


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## in2theforest (Sep 11, 2011)

It was 26F this morning in NE Ohio with a wind chill of 16F as winds were gusting 25 - 30 MPH. There was a light dusting of snow from last night. With clear skies this morning it made for a nice ride along the creek.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

in2theforest said:


> It was 26F this morning in NE Ohio with a wind chill of 16F as winds were gusting 25 - 30 MPH. There was a light dusting of snow from last night. With clear skies this morning it made for a nice ride along the creek.


I assume some shelter from the gusts, in the creek valley. You aren't in the Solon area lake-effect snow belt, are you?


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## muayteg (Apr 3, 2011)

We just got a cold front in south florida. 64 degrees.Im freezing.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I came home from Christmas in PA to find my commuter had a flat. I could have taken my mountain bike, but the rear brake is detached and the wheel was off. Just as I started to fix the tire, it began to rain and didn't quit until I got to work. Oh well.

Someone broke a side mirror on their car right outside my house. I think my flat was caused by riding over a piece of glass. I think that's only my second flat ever while commuting. Not a bad record after about 5 years.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*1/2 good*

After the holiday weekend and 2 days out sick, I was anxious to ride in this morning. I was greeted by a brisk 0F and a windblown 1/2" of snow from overnight, but dressed spot-on and was comfortable. I felt great but unfortunately at work I got coughing more than I liked and decided to take a work car home.

The other sadness was my fatbike was grounded last night after I found a nickel sized ding in the carbon fork :smallviolin: The outer lacquer layer is gone and some hairy carbon fibers are visible. I have laid it down (sounds much better than crashed) on the ice a couple times. I called the company for advice and they said not to ride it. :sad: That was sight unseen so I'm going to have someone local take a look before I trash it, but I did order an inexpensive steel fork to get rolling ASAP. The carbon fork was a $300 upgrade and saved about a pound, and perhaps this was a fluke, but I certainly can't be spending that every 2 weeks!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

The courier delivered my commuting gear this morning - tyres, lights, high-vis bag cover.

Lights and tyres are installed. Can't wait for the rain to stop to take it for a test ride.

Tyres are Michelin Tracker 700Cx35 with reflective sidewalks. Lights are tiny but bright Q-Lite Submarines.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Bummer mtbx - hope you and your bike are both feeling better soon!

R+P+K - that's a fine looking ride!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Last few commutes of the year this week. Rained like hell all the way home last night. Light rain coming home tonite. Supposed to be raining harder tomorrow for the last commute of 2011. Winter in Seattle - I'll take the rain over the ice and snow many of you have to deal with...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Bummer mtbx - hope you and your bike are both feeling better soon!
> 
> R+P+K - that's a fine looking ride!


+1 on both counts. RPK`s ride is looking MEAN! And damn, what a major bummer about Xplorer`s fork 

Woodway, you keep forgetting to sent that wet weather down to us. I can`t believe I`m envious of somebody getting rained on, but we`re really dry here. It`s gonna be a rough summer if something wet doesn`t start falling from the sky soon.

After emailing back and forth about a new bike, I broke out the credit card this morning and the project officially under way. I had been looking at a used one, which didn`t pan out, but once the bug bit me a bike was pretty much inevitable- you all know how that goes, I bet. Should be here in mid to late Feb. Nice frame, decent wheels, budget components. After my bank account recovers from the big purchase, I`ll start thinking racks and accessories.


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## waynej437 (Sep 13, 2009)

A little cold and winded, but love the ride!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

woodway said:


> Bummer mtbx - hope you and your bike are both feeling better soon!
> 
> R+P+K - that's a fine looking ride!


Thanks 

Doesn't really look like a 29er from that angle.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Today's commute was awesome! I met a friend at a small pond for a pre-dawn skate on some pristine ice. I had to use the headlight to get the skates on but by the time we were skating there was just (barely) enough light to avoid any obstacles. Finished up around 7:00 and got to work by 8:00. I also got to try out the studded Mount & Ground tires on the pond for the first time. Impressive.


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## Pav3l (Dec 28, 2011)

Windy !!!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Today's commute was awesome! I met a friend at a small pond for a pre-dawn skate on some pristine ice. I had to use the headlight to get the skates on but by the time we were skating there was just (barely) enough light to avoid any obstacles. Finished up around 7:00 and got to work by 8:00. I also got to try out the studded Mount & Ground tires on the pond for the first time. Impressive.


My father commuted to high school by skating 5 miles on the river. Not so nice into a westerly wind coming home upstream. I rode a bus 13 miles in the opposite direction or drove. Cycling in the dark on a narrow 2 lane road with the bike lights of the day with no one used to watching for cyclists, would have been suicidal.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> My father commuted to high school by skating 5 miles on the river...


That must have been tough in the summer. I'd actually love to have the option to do a skating commute. You can move right along on a pair of skates. 5 miles would be just about right. I do have the option of a lake crossing later in the winter which I'm looking forward to with the new studs. I had to walk it most days without them and it is about a mile.


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## mtnbean (Jan 5, 2010)

It was a beautiful morning. Great temps, awesome sunrise, and (almost) all the ice has melted away. I love the xmas and new year weeks for riding in, it's always quiet and calm.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

mtnbean said:


> It was a beautiful morning. Great temps, awesome sunrise, and (almost) all the ice has melted away. I love the xmas and new year weeks for riding in, it's always quiet and calm.


Yeah, me too. And lots of Xmas lights. Then comes January and it's dark and cold...


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> My father commuted to high school by skating 5 miles on the river.
> 
> BrianMc


That sounds fun. It took me a while to figure out you meant ice skating. I initially thought you meant skateboard.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jseko said:


> That sounds fun. It took me a while to figure out you meant ice skating. I initially thought you meant skateboard.


This would be in the late 1930's. No skatable ice meant the horse and democrat (a springless buggy) which was liveried in town, followed by a mile walk to school. Which had been his walk to grade school. If you rode a bike then fenders would be essential with the mix of horse traffic you see now only in Amish areas. When a crappy ride really was a crappy ride. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

>"This would be in the late 1930's. No skatable ice meant the horse and democrat (a springless buggy) which was liveried in town, followed by a mile walk to school."<

Funny. Now, 70-some years later, people pay good money to be driven around in a buggy. I`ve paid for that priveledge and would glady have paid even more to drive the buggy myself.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Still not enough snow for the snowmobiles, so took a drive to the nearby state forest for a ride with woman's best friend.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics and love your dog MTBX!

Question: What does "Reasonable and Prudent Operation in Law Effect" refer to?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^That's my friend's Belgian shepherd, she's a great trail dog. The "reasonable and prudent" sign is for snowmobilers, but basically the same as a car, meaning you can't go the speed limit if it is not reasonable & prudent, you are expected to slow down and ride reasonably and prudently for the conditions.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man, MORE snow pictures making me wonder what happened to our winter. Although we did get a sprinkle of rain at work (a good 25 miles from the airport, where official weather stats are generated), I saw an article confirming that it was in fact the first dry Dec for Reno since 1883. Much warmer than normal, too. On the bright side, the weather has been nice enough that I could have been riding quite a bit....
If I weren`t in a lazy slump.

My wife and I took the tandem out yesterday for a whopping 15 mile loop. I did wear a balaclava, but got away with shorts and no gloves.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It seems like we have been playing with the same 2-4", some will melt, another inch will fall, much less accumulation than usual. It rained hard last night so I have a lot of grass showing, but a high of 10F tomorrow, so whatever is left in the woods will hang on for some more light snow showers this week.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been mild around here, but the temps dropped 30 degrees in the past 24 hours. Today was probably the coldest commute of the season. It was 31F in the morning and 27F in the afternoon, but it was incredibly windy. I felt like I was pedaling uphill both ways.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

My commute was fairly tough today - I rode .25mi. to the corner store to get some beer in +285K temps - brutal.
Gotta love paid holidays tho!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I think my commute today was even harder, highdelll. I walked about 20ft to the kitchen to put some beans in the slow cooker, and then I walked about 30ft to the home office. lots of tedious computer crap since then, however, that I cannot do on campus. hoping to get it all done today. looks like it'll be kinda late before that happens, though.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

NateHawk said:


> ...lots of tedious computer crap that I cannot do on campus.


I know how that goes - I was evicted from the campus library for browsing Spankwire in an open bathrobe


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My employer made us work today. It's kind of screwy, but we had to choose another day to take off for New Year's. I took mine the Thursday before Christmas. I guess it worked out OK. The phone never rang and no packages showed up. Who would have guessed?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hey guys!...I'm moving towards my commuting this year!

no more stressful days trying to do months in arrow...I'm just going to commute as much as I can when I can 

I bought and electric heater for the shower at the office...I'll ask the maintenance guy to install it for me tomorrow...the shower is in the building's roof... when the really cold days get here I'm really going to need that warm water!

Happy new year guys!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Happy New Year Martin!, Good luck with the shower & hope you enjoy some commuting. We lost our shower at work when we moved to our temporary offices after the flood. Actually there are nice showers in the basement, but they are not included in the lease, so I'm making do with a wipedown in the private washroom. Of course, it's been cool weather since we moved in, so that makes it easier.


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

So commuting with a cold and no meds is hell.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

^^^I'll take a cold over headwind!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

First commute of 2012 is in the books. 18 miles to work, 42 degrees, wet pavement, no wind, no rain. All in all not a bad way to start the year.

Here's to safe and fun commutes in 2012 for you all!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Silent, except for the sound of the studded tires crunching in the snow, and my a** hitting the ice when the trail transitioned from snow/frozen ground to snow over glare ice. The first time my studded Nokians have failed me on ice. :bluefrown: After that I had to creep down one hill on foot on the side of the trail/driveway. This ice is much slipperier than my "ice pavement" dirt road, because it has zero sand mixed in.
4F and breezy today with an inch of fresh snow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ouch! I guess it makes sense that the studs couldn't reach the ice through the snow. 4 degrees huh, the cold front is supposed to come through here tonight and tomorrow AM is forecast to be -2. I can't imagine how cold it might get in VT.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

highdelll said:


> ^^^I'll take a cold over headwind!


Yesterday I had both. :madman:

(the wind makes it harder to hock a lugie, as the marks on my jacket would suggest)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Temps around zero today. I didn't realize that I got a bloody nose from the cold dry air sometime during my commute. I got to work and had a bloodcicle coming out of my mask and drops of blood on my bike & coffee mug...Cool


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ ick! 

Freezing rain last night, but it's mostly melted this morning. University isn't back in session yet, so my route was wonderfully traffic-free. The high today is supposed to be 8C. Best winter ever.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoa, bloodcycle! If it happened to me, I wouldn`t know whether to be thrilled or appalled!


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

About 65F, shorts, open finger gloves, just a vest and could have ditched that after the climb....


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

*Greetings from New Mexico*

Been wanting to commute for awhile now and found this Raleigh on CL. Been at it for about a month Only 6mi each way, mostly MUT, but with some healthy climbs - especially on the way in. Riding 4x per week and loving it!

Today, 24 degrees and zero wind.

Peaceful even.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet looking ride cdaddy. Welcome to the club!


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

Hi, I'm new in here, cool forum! My goal for 2012 is zero missed days, I missed only one day in 7 months of 2011..

Today was a balmy 28F, after teens (minus with wind chill) the last two days. All days when I ride in are good ones!

Stay safe!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good goal, Fixie- it`s mine, too! I`ve been very close for several years now, but haven`t quite made it to 100% yet. New year, new chance, let`s nail it!

Cdaddy, Santa Fe? Is that where the pic on your profile page is? It looks nice.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That reminds me that I should celebrate 2011 as my first 100% bike commuting year. We had close to a 1-in-50 year amount of snow, but I made it through. Had to make a few 40km roundtrips out to training in the boonies. Had no sprains or major injuries (which knocked off a couple days in 2010). Having 3ish bikes in the stable meant that no mechanical problems got in my way. So, yay!

Another suspiciously nice January day here, with light rain on the way in. I'm used to winter being a 6 month marathon, but it's already half over.


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cdaddy, Santa Fe? Is that where the pic on your profile page is? It looks nice.


Yes, I live in Santa Fe but my profile pic with the waterfall was taken in Colorado. Santa Fe's not too shabby either - just more brown.


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## ridemtn (Aug 25, 2009)

*Tough*



newfangled said:


> That reminds me that I should celebrate 2011 as my first 100% bike commuting year.


Congrats! Amazing accomplishment, very impressed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> That reminds me that I should celebrate 2011 as my first 100% bike commuting year. We had close to a 1-in-50 year amount of snow, but I made it through. Had to make a few 40km roundtrips out to training in the boonies. Had no sprains or major injuries (which knocked off a couple days in 2010). Having 3ish bikes in the stable meant that no mechanical problems got in my way. So, yay!


Yay Indeed! :drumroll: I hereby award you the Golden Fender award for 2011, coveted by bikecommuters worldwide.:rockon:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Leave it to fatty in a Mercedes SUV with a carbon bike on the back rack to lecture me about how I should be riding on the sidewalk. Wonder if he drove his bike out to the lake I had passed to ride a lap or two. Lake is about 4mi around, completely flat.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> That reminds me that I should celebrate 2011 as my first 100% bike commuting year. We had close to a 1-in-50 year amount of snow, but I made it through. Had to make a few 40km roundtrips out to training in the boonies. Had no sprains or major injuries (which knocked off a couple days in 2010). Having 3ish bikes in the stable meant that no mechanical problems got in my way. So, yay!
> 
> Another suspiciously nice January day here, with light rain on the way in. I'm used to winter being a 6 month marathon, but it's already half over.


Congrats...I am somewhat envious. I don't ride in the rain and take the bus instead. Curiously, that one time I walked home due to a flat tire took as long as it would have for me to take the bus. It might have been a few minutes faster even.

December here was unusually dry. I think I bused it one day due to rain and then walked home another day due to a flat tire. Today was 50 degrees when I left -- unusually warm! It was in the low 40s pretty much all through December. I wore the same clothes I'd been wearing in Dec and was burning up by the time I got to work.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Newf, you pulled off a hundred percent in 2011? That`s killer! 2012 is gonna be my year!

That was me who told you to get back on the sidewalk, Jseko. Naw, I don`t ride around the lake- just taking the bike back from my spin group.

Tomorrow will be our first plant down day (furlough) of the year. Since it`s been so unwinterlike, I might as well dig my camping gear back out and take a little ride somewhere. I think I`ll come home after work for a solid nap, then throw the bike in the truck, head south to park, then try to get myself a bit of a "head start" away from my parking spot and make camp. I have a nice loop planned out that could be a long one day trip in genuine summer weather, but I`ll split it up this time around to make one full day and two halves.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yay Indeed! :drumroll: I hereby award you the Golden Fender award for 2011, coveted by bikecommuters worldwide.:rockon:


I want an unobtanium fender :aureola:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Newf, you pulled off a hundred percent in 2011? That`s killer! 2012 is gonna be my year!


You can do it, rodar! (it helped that we got rid of our second car at the end of 2010, so my choices are now either bike or transit, and I'll choose bike every time)


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> You can do it, rodar! (it helped that we got rid of our second car at the end of 2010, so my choices are now either bike or transit, and I'll choose bike every time)


Hey, I wish I could get a 100% too... Working from home still has it's own inconvenient... But I went for my first ride of 2012 today with my newly studded front tire 

After cleaning the rear brakes, chain, fork and fenders, my SnowRider feels so great into urban riding. Full sqwish FTW !


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jseko said:


> Leave it to fatty in a Mercedes SUV with a carbon bike on the back rack to lecture me about how I should be riding on the sidewalk. Wonder if he drove his bike out to the lake I had passed to ride a lap or two. Lake is about 4mi around, completely flat.


Did this happen when he pulled alongside at an intersection, or did he go out of his way to show his ignorance of bike and motor vehicle law?

I have had the honk and point, but no lecture. Such an amazing combination of arrogance and ignorance. Maybe I am just big enough and gray haired enough or the lights and bright clothing suggest I'm a lost cause? Maybe it's the rarity of Mercedes SUVs with carbon bikes on them. 

Nice accomplishment, Newfang. 2012 is a leap year, so maybe there is an extra commute day to improve on your 2011 record. 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congrats *newfangled*! 100% in 2012 is my goal as well!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Did this happen when he pulled alongside at an intersection, or did he go out of his way to show his ignorance of bike and motor vehicle law?
> 
> I have had the honk and point, but no lecture. Such an amazing combination of arrogance and ignorance. Maybe I am just big enough and gray haired enough or the lights and bright clothing suggest I'm a lost cause? Maybe it's the rarity of Mercedes SUVs with carbon bikes on them.
> 
> BrianMc


I was stopped on a red in a bit right of the center of the lane. He did have to go out of his way somewhat because it meant maybe a third or half his car was hanging over the double yellows. The line forks into a Y the last 50 ft of each intersection so technically he wasn't in oncoming traffic, but he was on the median.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

December was unusually dry...great for biking but not so great for snow sports. Squaw Valley snow tracker says cumulative snowfall this season is 12" at 6200' and 26" at 8200'. This is less than 1/10th the snow compared to the same time last year.

Sunday they have a $39 special but what's the point...most of lifts are closed and the base is 12" at 6200' everything at 8200' is closed.


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## mtnbean (Jan 5, 2010)

My hands felt like it was colder than what the thermometer said, but I went full on slicks and fenderless today. Fortunately some ice and snow should be coming in tonight.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hit almost 50, but I rode after the peak temp. I was slow but I surprised a driver by pulling away on my last big downhill top gear and cranking! Whoo-hoo! Otherwise I was slow, but I was riding and grinning!  

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> December was unusually dry...great for biking but not so great for snow sports. Squaw Valley snow tracker says cumulative snowfall this season is 12" at 6200' and 26" at 8200'. This is less than 1/10th the snow compared to the same time last year.


I have photographic eveidence from my Fri-Sat minitour to support this claim as soon as I get the pics edited. It`s very sad indeed. Before I get to that though, I need to get myself a cup of coffee (and maybe a sandwich) and sit down to BMc`s reflective vest dissertation.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Monitor in January*

Well, I still haven`t gotten to the (now even more updated) reflector vests thread, but first things first...
Pixels!

As implied above, this pass should have been long closed and under several feet of snow by now. In January, Polaris and Rosignal are flavor of the month there, not Schwinn and Panaracer. The same is true for Tioga Pass, Sonora Pass, Carson Pass, and Ebets Pass- I saw signs proclaiming every one of them open.
I parked in Gardnerville NV Friday afternoon so as to get a little bit of a start and be ready to roll at first light. The clerk (owner?) of the little store in Woodfords CA let me set up camp right behind the store- very nice place! Only logged about 20 miles that afternoon and and pitched my tent in the dark.

Woke up yesterday morning before sunrise to 24F, amazingly warm considering the time and place! Shortly after my second breakfast (in Markleeville), I got to see a pair of bald eagles fly out of the river canyon and managed to get a decent picture of the second one. They`re pretty uncommon around here, so that made my day. The ride over the pass was supposed to be a steady and even 6%, but I say No Way! My altimeter might be a bit off, but for long stretches it read between 8 and 10 percent, occasionally topping 12 . That climb kicked my butt. There was hardly any snow to be seen, even up over 8000 ft. Reached the summit in the early afternoon and took the long swoopy descent down for a cheeseburger at Topaz Lodge (forgot to get a pic of the lodge, but it overlooks the lake in the last picture. From there, a few more short climbs that quickilly finished off what little had been left in my legs after the big one and I ended up back in Gardnerville, where I had started just after sunset. The total ride for that day was just a bit over 55 miles, but it`s been a long time since a ride so short ate me up and spit me out like that one did. Oh, My truck stayed with a nice couple who I got in touch with through warmshowers,org. That`s a site like couchsurfing, but dedicated to bicycle tourists. Great program!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, impressive winter tour, Rodar! Very cool bald eagle, and I know how tough it is to get a decent shot when you are lucky enough to see one. The lack of snow most everywhere is pretty disturbing though.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Lack of snow??? Ha, about 12 inches of fresh powder today, about 18 inches since Friday!!! Great pics rodar!!!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice rodar! 
touring so early in 2012! great way to start this new year!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I have not encountered anything on my bike in San Francisco that is nearly as dangerous as trying to walk through a parking lot at a suburban outdoor mall...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rub it in, Mr Anchorage!
Martin, come on up sometime and we`ll have a grand time. Just be sure to bring a derailler with you!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Pretty sweet photos, Rodar. Still thinking snow thoughts for you - to no avail.

Around here, Bald Eagles are very common and I see them often when riding the MUP along the Sammamish River. What's really cool is when they swoop doown to the river and emerge with a fish in their talons. I've seen that exactly three times over the last three years. Man would I love to get a photo of that!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Check out this clip from the BBC's "nature's great events" video series: American Eagle catches Salmon fish - YouTube
Unbelievable footage!

I drove most of the length of CA on 395 today... the Sierras are bone dry. All of them. It's crazy. Rodar, I want to do highway 89 from tip to tail one day... Shasta City to 395. How were the bike lanes? They seem to suck everywhere I've been north of Tahoe.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I drove most of the length of CA on 395 today... the Sierras are bone dry. All of them. It's crazy. Rodar, I want to do highway 89 from tip to tail one day... Shasta City to 395. How were the bike lanes? They suck everywhere north of Tahoe.


Bike lanes on 89? You`re kidding me, right? Let`s see, they have them for about ten miles or so between Chester and Canyon Dam (you already knew that) and from Truckee to Squaw, some stupid bike PATHS on the west shore of Tahoe that I won`t even use unless I`m dragging my wife along, and uh... that`s it. I`ve now ridden all of it (or local parallels) from Burney to 395 except the and Meyers to Woodfords stretche. The bit I rode this weekend was by far the least trafficed part, the worst traffic, IMO, is the grade from Indian Falls up to Keddie (not for traffic count, but because there`s a guardrail right smack on the white line). Maybe I`ve just been lucky, but most of it is so-so as far as traffic goes- it`s the scenery that makes it worth while. Worth noting that commercial traffic is prohibitted through LVNP, which is nice, and that I heard a rumor that SPI is not going to reopen its mills this year. Nice for bicyclists, not so nice for economics.

EDIT: Whoops- I tried to call part of the wrong highway as 89.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Left the house at 6:30AM with the temp right around 24-25f. A little chilly for the first and last bits, but not too bad. Traffic was light, and the roads were largely snow/ice free (we had a very light snow storm on Saturday).

Friday's ride home sucked big-time. I was unprepared, clothing-wise, and was freezing the entire 12 miles. I ended up stopping at a park and using some of the dog poop bags as gloves and booties. Thankfully it was dark at that point, so no-one could see my plastic bag ensemble.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice pics, rodar!

Second week of January and the high is to be 48 F w 5-10 mph. Reminds me of Star Wars: "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

A blizzard would average things out...nicely er.. badly. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

MileHighMark said:


> ...
> Friday's ride home sucked big-time. I was unprepared, clothing-wise, and was freezing the entire 12 miles. I ended up stopping at a park and using some of the dog poop bags as gloves and booties. Thankfully it was dark at that point, so no-one could see my plastic bag ensemble.


Brrr, that sounds miserable. Very ingenious use of the poop bags, though. No pics?


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Brrr, that sounds miserable. Very ingenious use of the poop bags, though. No pics?


I also put some paper real estate flyers between my jersey and base layer. Worked reasonably well, I might add.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Check out this clip from the BBC's "nature's great events" video series: American Eagle catches Salmon fish - YouTube
> Unbelievable footage! ...


Great video, I had to watch it twice.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Check out this clip from the BBC's "nature's great events" video series: American Eagle catches Salmon fish - YouTube


I love youtube morons - Uhh try BALD Eagle  - American eagle is a clothing chain..

anyways, check this one out


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Poop bags and real estate flyers- that`s the way to make it work!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

On the way home I was surprised to see MTB tire tracks following the fat tracks I made this morning. I was excited to have a possible compadre and to help pack down a track for them a bit. But as I got closer to home and the tracks followed my every turn, I started to worry that the tracks were from my own MTB and that someone had ridden it out of my house and followed the trail rather than risk being seen riding it down the driveway and road. Not to worry, after following my tracks on the last turn, 1/4 mile left or less, and only a local trail to 2 or 3 houses, they must have turned back to the main snowmobile trail. My house and MTB were fine.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

my shower isn't ready yet...the maintenance guy said tomorrow though... I'll probably be commuting next week :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Poop bags and real estate flyers- that`s the way to make it work!


Necessity IS the mother of invention!

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A fun commute today, I was early and the trails were crazy good so I took the scenic route, 2hrs to get to work, including all the best summer singletrack. Very strange to be able to ride singletrack in VT in January - fatbike or not.

On the way home I met one of the mystery trackmakers from yesterday. It was the guy who stopped in his truck a few weeks ago and said I was inspiring him to get off the couch - well he went out and bought some studded tires last weekend! :thumbsup: He also said a couple other people sometimes pedal past his trailside house, one at midnight. 

My legs were tired on the way home though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was the guy who stopped in his truck a few weeks ago and said I was inspiring him to get off the couch - well he went out and bought some studded tires last weekend! :thumbsup:


Cool! That`s MUCH better than having your bike stolen!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode to volunteer work, then the library. Just dropping a book that was due today in the internal bin to ensure it got recorded today. So just walked the bike in. PITA to spend 20 minutes locking and unlocking for a such a short visit. Shut my helmet light off but no others as it was to be a quick turn around. I now have a bike light groupie. 

"Those are powerful lights, man!"

"My design, so they don't blind oncoming traffic."

"They don't see you, they aren't lookin'" 

"Texters are like that."

"Tell me about it! I work road construction. People doing makeup, reading newspapers....you can't be too safe!"

No texters got me on the way home. My first 8 miles commuting 2012, though I got the 15 mile ride in with the traffic survey.

Not burning up the roads, yet, but getting more saddle time.

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> ...then the library. Just dropping a book that was due today in the internal bin to ensure it got recorded today. So just walked the bike in. PITA to spend 20 minutes locking and unlocking for a such a short visit....


why not just walk in your bike?

Nice about the 'groupie' - those guys live live on the edge - when they do work


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Great story, mtbxplorer.

And so all good things must come to an end, as our temperatures are finally back down around seasonal. I had to hunt around for all of my Level-2 winter gear that I haven't used in two months, and ended up a few minutes late for work. Next week looks like it will be the return of full-on Level-3 winter, but things were certainly nice while they lasted.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

highdelll said:


> why not just walk in your bike?
> 
> Nice about the 'groupie' - those guys live live on the edge - when they do work


I guess I was not clear. I did just walk my bike in. Weirdo cyclist with gray mustache and 6' and 14 stone seems to let me get away with it.  Their bike rack is a ludicrous affair. Though they get brownie points for trying the YMCA is the only other place besides the schools to have a bike rack.

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> I guess I was not clear. I did just walk my bike in. Weirdo cyclist with gray mustache and 6' and 14 stone seems to let me get away with it.  Their bike rack is a ludicrous affair. Though they get brownie points for trying the YMCA is the only other place besides the schools to have a bike rack.
> 
> BrianMc


shoot -I just reread your post I missed that you _did_ walk it in  oops


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## mtnbean (Jan 5, 2010)

A few inches of snow made today the most fun I've had in the snow or on my bike all season.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

One inspiration and one groupie bearer for the day is pretty good, I`d say.

12F for the ride home this morning, so at least our temps are back where they`re supposed to be. Now, if we could just get some snow, I could stop checking the calendar each time I walk by in order to be sure I haven`t unknowingly been asleep for several months.

Made a supermarket run on the way home and took another picture for "Post `em up Wednesday", then couldn`t decide which I wanted to do, so here`s the other 

OT: I`m planning a week camping, of mixed surface riding, and a bit of canyon hiking in Death Valley for Mar 4th through 10th. If anybody else wants to meet up and pedal or stomp around for a while, give me a holler.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Back from Tahiti last night.....-14 C commute this morning....uggh


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I get to start commuting again soon. I changed jobs back in September, which was too far to ride (especially with a baby and the time change) at 37 miles each way. Job change again, and now I'm closer to home again and can start riding. Looking forward to it - I'm starting to get fat.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This is the warmest winter I've ridden in so far. I guess that's OK, but I could do without the rain. Commuting is about all the riding I'm doing. The trails have been wet, and my mountain bike has been hung up in my garage for repairs. I'm finally getting around to fixing the bike, but the weather still isn't cooperating. I got a new light for Christmas that I want to try out on the trails, but it's been too warm most nights I could get out to use it. The trails might freeze up this weekend. If I'm lucky, I'll manage to get a ride in.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Saw this bike in the lockup cage at work, I would call it a genuine Winter Warrior!


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> *This is the warmest winter I've ridden in so far.* I guess that's OK, but I could do without the rain. Commuting is about all the riding I'm doing. The trails have been wet, and my mountain bike has been hung up in my garage for repairs. I'm finally getting around to fixing the bike, but the weather still isn't cooperating. I got a new light for Christmas that I want to try out on the trails, but it's been too warm most nights I could get out to use it. The trails might freeze up this weekend. If I'm lucky, I'll manage to get a ride in.


It doesn't get too cold in Austin, but I have yet to need to break out the lobster claws (I have circulatory issues) and last year they were a regular item. Rode home in shorts yesterday, and will again today as it's sunny and 75F :eekster:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Saw this bike in the lockup cage at work, I would call it a genuine Winter Warrior!


Wow, they have to lock that up?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^ He isn`t really locking up the BIKE so much as the fenders and saddle bag. Since the goodies are currently attatched to that rusty tubing, which is locked, somebody would have to have an allen wrench handy and know how to operate velcro in order to walk off with them... soft security :lol:
But I hate to knock the driver of that bike- actually I find the picture inspiring for some reason 

It must be my turn for flats. For a month or two I`ve had a slow leak (needing to be dealt with about once to twice per week) in my front tire that I haven`t bothered to look for, but haven`t actually gotten a FLAT flat in months. Yesterday I took the long way home from work and felt a mushy tire towards the end, was going to air it up better at home, but forgot and went to bed. When I got ready to take off for work last night, I jumped on the bike and found BOTH tires flatter than pancakes. Aired them up and rode in, then went back during the night to fix them (glad I started carrying self adhesive patches in my bag), pulled out at least a dozen goat heads and had to patch a total of 5 holes! Thinking back, I`m pretty sure I know where it happened. I had made a supermarket detour on my way home for the first time in several weeks and found myself almost blinded by the rising sun on one particular stretch as I approached the shopping center. While there`s a pretty good riding space for me on the wide shoulder at that point, it`s also very high traffic, and I didn`t want to get rear ended by a sun blinded driver, so I jumped up on the sidewalk. Yeah, I know, no lectures, please. Anyway, I bet I picked up all the goatheads in that two blocks or so that I rode the sidewalk. That`ll learn me!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^ He isn`t really locking up the BIKE so much as the fenders and saddle bag. ...
> But I hate to knock the driver of that bike- actually I find the picture inspiring for some reason


I felt the same way - if it works more power to them!

2 flats at once...and 5 holes!! I know I haven't suffered that before. Good going having enough patches and the patience to apply them.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

For me that's when the extra tube I carry would come out of the pack.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The extra tube used to be my standard (only) method of onsite repair until last summer when I had multiple flats trying to ride a 1.25 tire where it had no business being. After walking it back to pavement and bumming some patches from a passing roadie, it occured to me that carrying my own patches might not be such a bad idea.

Does everybody else have new print style, or is it just me? And now I have the subforum at the top of the page again- huh. Did everybody else lose that yesterday?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I carry both. If it is a nice day the patches come out first and the tube is a fallback. If it is a lousy day or I have multiple holes I'll pop in the new tube and patch later. If I get a second flat I have the patches as a backup plan. I always stock up on tubes at Nashbar when they offer buy 3 get 1 free and free shipping.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was glad to be wearing a helmet today. Like a lot of the Midwest, our temps took a nose-dive yesterday. It was 45F in the morning and around freezing by noon. It was 18F and snowy when I started my commute today. The MUP I ride had a layer of snow, but it wasn't slippery until a curve at the bottom of a hill, which had a patch of snow-covered ice at the bottom. I made my way down the hill while trying to scrub as much speed as possible. I had made it through most of the turn when my bike spun out, and I hit my helmet on the pavement. 

Of course, I could have avoided this situation by slowing down, but I had decent traction up until that point and thought I could handle it. Oh well, it looks like a new helmet is in the forecast for me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ouch! No damages, Sock?



bedwards1000 said:


> I carry both.


Dang, Bedwards- why didn`t you suggest that to me last year BEFORE I found myself in a bind? :lol:
Actually, I still carry a tube also, and still just do a swap if I`m on the road when I get a flat. In this case, I pumped up my leaky tires, rode to work, and fixed them here when I had time. I think I like those self adhesive patches. I didn`t trust them before, which is why I didn`t carry them, but they seem to do just as well as glue on ones. As a side benefit, I don`t have to worry about the glue tube bursting or drying out and I don`t have to carry powder or worry about the glue sticking to the tire. That`s going to be a nice space saver when touring.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ouch! No damages, Sock?


Nah. I'll have a nice bruise on my hip, and my back is a little stiff. Nothing too bad. My front fender came apart. I think a piece broke, but I think I can rig up a ghetto fix. Part of my Surly Singulator got a bit scraped up, but it doesn't look to be a big deal.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have tried all of the glueless patches... the slime skab ones are no good at stretching with the tube... so they will work once, but when you get another goathead on the same tube, or pull it out to rotate it in to 'spare' duties, you're gambling when you air it back up. The 'skab' doesn't stretch at the same rate as the tube, and after a couple of deflation/inflations, they start leaking. That's my experience at least. 

The Lezyne glueless patches are awesome though. I trust them just as much as the glue ones. I have ridden tubes with 2 or 3 lezyne glueless patches in them, without a second thought. One of the spares I carry now has a couple of them on it and I'm not the least bit worried about using it if I need to. 

I carry a fat 29er spare in case I have a problem with the tubeless big apples on the commuter bike, and a road bike spare in case I ride that bike to work... and now I've added the singlespeed to the herd, and it has the weird in-between size, so I threw another spare for it in the backpack. So I'm currently carrying 3 spare tubes and a patch kit :lol: 
I should just leave a stash of tubes by the back door, and throw whichever one goes with the bike I'm riding into the bag, but I've tried it and I always forget to grab the right tube at 6:30 in the morning when I'm leaving the house.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A light dusting of snow this morning, with temperatures back around freezing. I saw over a dozen other cyclists this morning, which was a lot more than usual.

Commuterboy, apparently a 26er tube will work fine in a 29er tire, although I haven't actually verified that. That doesn't help with your road bike, but I just carry one 26" presta with me in the hopes that it should work on any of my mountain bikes to at least get me home. I also carry a travel-sized mouthwash bottle that's filled with sealant. Even with my one tubed bike, if I ever get a leak I should just be able to inject that into the tube and be on my way.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I actually carry all 3: tube, glueless patches (the pack is so small, why not) and glue patches. The glueless seem to have the best first try success rate with the least fuss. I've had 2 of them fail when the bike is parked for a long time in the sun and the tires get hot. My guess is that the glue softens so much that the air leaks by. I've used the nashbar and park brands but I couldn't tell you which ones failed. I'll have to look for the Lezyne ones. If I could find some I trust long term I'd ditch the glue style.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Does everybody else have new print style, or is it just me? And now I have the subforum at the top of the page again- huh. Did everybody else lose that yesterday?


Everything looks normal except everything you write is in all caps and bold 

:lol:

yes, and happy to see the subforum back up there. I was lost for a while.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

As to tube sizes. I had to fit a 700 x 23-25/27 x 7/8 - 1 in my 700 32 and figured I would be swapping it out soon and resupplied the correct tube size. That was in September. Not a lot of miles since, and one good direct gravel on pavement hit will likely kill it, but it sure shows it will work as a 'temporary' fix. So maybe three tube sizes can be whittled down to just two. 

I feel your pain s0ckeyus. It was raining for the bridge ride on Wednesday and I slow u-turned in the dark with wet loose stone on pavement (unseen) slid first one way then the other faster than I could unclip I was falling sideways. No Helmet contact. Saddle got stone dents on back edge and I got the biggest scabs on and below the left knee and a severely bruised ego.  Given its size, that is saying a lot.  At least the green lit Amish buggy came along after and so there were no witnesses. A laugh-like neigh would have been humiliating.  

The things we do for love (of riding).

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I carry two tubes and patches. I double-flatted a year or so ago and after that started carrying a 2nd tube. I like to quickly change the tube out and be on my way. I patch at home where it's warm and I can see what I am doing.

Anyone else getting the double scroll bars on the right? I hate them because you cannot use the keyboard to scroll through to posts. You have to put the mouse on the scrollbar and it can be a pain.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I don't have double scrollbars and can still use the keyboard arrows to scroll. This is using Firefox. Yesterday I had a bunch of script errors but that's stopped.

Brian & Sockeye, glad you guys are OK. I think the transitions between types of snowpack are the places where you are most likely to lose control. 

It was snowing and dropped to 20F and windy for the way home, so the slush was gone. Not much accumulation though, so pretty easy going. The winds were semi-tailwind at times and blocked by hills at other times, so I lucked out.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Everything looks normal except everything you write is in all caps and bold


I don`t buy that, but I do know that everything I type on any forum from this computer (at home) has backwards apostrophes. Go figur.

Scroll bar- yes, something weird at work last night. It`s an old version of IE and had a mini scroll bar within the regular one. The regular one worked, the mini one didn`t. At home, I`m on Safari and the scroll bars work, but I have a different problem. The screens on most threads are super wide, so I have to scroll back and forth to read. It`s a real PITA because the left click on my mouse it starting to wear out, so I keep accidentally sliding the whole window around or calling up the little program icons that hide below the screen on my stupid Apple.

I found Lezyne patches on the internet, but haven`t seen them locally. I bought another pack of Park, same as I have been using of late. I saw the Scabs also ($0.50 less than Park), but followed CB`s advise and left them alone.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I bought my Lezyne patches in Reno... Sierra Cyclery I think? The one that was on Virginia near Plumb, but moved a couple years ago way further south on Virginia.


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## Theslowguy (Jan 14, 2012)

SoCal is unbelievable right now!!! 52 degrees in the morning, and 78 on the way home! Couple that with an ocean view, and I'll have to say it was a beautiful day to ride.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

first ride and commute of the year today 
who was out playing?...the BaroneSS

one passing by the Rayados de Monterrey (Soccer) stadium (also the Tec de Monterrey Stadium)








and one with Borregos Salvajes team training in the background (Tec Football team)








sorry for the few and crappy pics, after the second one my camera died on me


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

The SS looks great Martin. Glad you are getting back in the saddle!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a flat this morning (again). My wife is off work, so I took the car in. Bummer.

Yesterday I went to the Masters CX Worlds and watched Ned Overend kick some serious butt. We only had time to watch one race, but I'm glad we saw the one we did. It's not every day legendary mountain bikers come to Louisville.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-27 C this morning that is about -40 C with windchill looks like a long week ahead.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yup. And the high tomorrow is supposed to be -29C/-22F? Fun. I saw a few other riders out this morning, though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Snow! Not much, less than an inch, but I`ll take it!

Ned Overend? STILL? He`s going to be like the George Burns of mtb racing.

Martin, is that you walking across the street in the top picture? What`s up with the purple afro?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ned Overend? STILL? He`s going to be like the George Burns of mtb racing.


He's had a good run, for sure. I was surprised to see him there, but it sounds like he's been doing some CX and competing in the 55-59 bracket. He wasn't in the lead until later in the race, but he finished almost 2 minutes ahead of the 2nd-4th place finishers.

If you look at this picture, I'm the blurred out guy in the green hat. My wife is to my right.








Article: https://www.cxmagazine.com/2012-uci-masters-cyclocross-world-championships-men-55-5


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

My commuter is down as I'm removing the hydro disks to put them on my new MTB and putting cable discs back on. So, today I rode the road bike. Got a flat. As I'm on the sidewalk hunched over my wheel working I hear the sounds of a bike coming, so I look up. A roadie is climbing up the hill and looking right at me, so I wave. He doesn't wave, nod or ask if I need anything. Bums me out. Maybe I spend to much time mountain biking...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Those damned roadies! They NEVER wave or offer help, it`s a proven fact!

I thought Overend was older than that- upper 60s, like.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I ride 4 different types of bike (Road, MTB, Cross & Commuter) and I wave to all bikers. (Unless I'm focused on not getting hit by a car or panting uncontrollably) I do pass this one walker most mornings, rural road, nobody else around. I wave, she doesn't. I get a straight stone face every time. It's really kind of odd. I've even started going for the big Miss America wave... Nothing. She's probably contemplating sticking a stick in my spokes by now.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I ride 4 different types of bike (Road, MTB, Cross & Commuter) and I wave to all bikers. (Unless I'm focused on not getting hit by a car or panting uncontrollably) I do pass this one walker most mornings, rural road, nobody else around. I wave, she doesn't. I get a straight stone face every time. It's really kind of odd. I've even started going for the big Miss America wave... Nothing. She's probably contemplating sticking a stick in my spokes by now.


I ride all sorts as well and wave to all, which I'll keep doing. I occasionally pass joggers that I even know that don't wave back, pretty sure they don't recognize me. Women walkers/runners seem to be paranoid (maybe justly) and don't wave. :skep:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I know, Bedwards. Most of us here ride a variety of bikes, and the waving thing seems to keep popping its head up every now and then. It`s the same thing on the recumbent forums (about wedgie riders) and the motorscooter forums (about Harley, Goldwing, or sportbike riders).


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Those damned roadies! They NEVER wave or offer help, it`s a proven fact!
> 
> I thought Overend was older than that- upper 60s, like.


56 I think. I'm hoping that if I can win the war of attrition I can start having a chance to win in the 50-99 class. Would suck to have guys like that still around.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I know, Bedwards. Most of us here ride a variety of bikes, and the waving thing seems to keep popping its head up every now and then. It`s the same thing on the recumbent forums (about wedgie riders) and the motorscooter forums (about Harley, Goldwing, or sportbike riders).


Yeah, I get the sport bike riders don't wave to Harley riders and vice versa, but in this case I thought I looked roadie enough. Maybe the messenger bag gave me away, or my ATAC's on a road bike... maybe if I had Castelli bibs on.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

3 months not commuting my humble 7 miles and I'm already having breath problems when visiting my colleges on the upper floor  .... and the maintenance guy still says: "tomorrow"



rodar y rodar said:


> Martin, is that you walking across the street in the top picture? What`s up with the purple afro?


hahaha people here exaggerate with the coldish days...we had like 8 to 10 ºC that morning and she was dressed up like anyone in the south pole! 

thanks woodway


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> 3 months not commuting my humble 7 miles and I'm already having breath problems when visiting my colleges on the upper floor  .... and the maintenance guy still says: "tomorrow"


Sounds like he needs a bribe on completion to move it up his list.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I rode my Mountain Bike again today. The MUP was compact snow and ice for it's entire length, pretty rough riding even on a FS Mountain Bike. Rode into 20MPH headwinds and blowing snow. Not a pretty morning. A couple inches of snow is supposed to come down during the day. That will make for a fun ride home tonite.

They are talking "snowmageddon" tomorrow - up to 12" of snow here in the Puget Sound lowlands. 24"+ up in the Cascades. Snow in the lowlands is not that common - especially in the amounts they are talking about. Things will pretty much shut down. If I wake up to that much snow tomorrow, I will just bag trying to get to the office and try to work from home.

Hoping to get this snow over with quick and back to our usual rain. I can live with rain.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-30C this morning which ties my previous record...but some records really don't need to be broken, so that's okay. I think I've finally gotten my gear dialed in for really f'n cold weather because I was pretty comfy. Not a worry about my fingers or toes, and the ski goggles sure make things more comfortable (although I haven't quite solved the problem of them icing up).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ crazy weather for that area!! 

I set a low temp record this morning... -4*F as measured by the weather station right near work. I realize that it's weird to be stoked about that :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

2F. I was going to rub it in that I had CB beat, but then I saw the minus in his . Newf, you`re definitely safe from me!

Cb, did you have any snow yesterday morning?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We got a dusting on Sunday, but not much. Forecast looks promising for this week though!!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

-7f here this morning, and -16 is in the forecast. Quick jump from the +40s last week! My gear is working well but there's a gap between my face mask and goggles that the wind gets into. Might try Chapstick for protection. A local guy suggested it, and he rides without a mask. Just goggles and a beard!

If its gonna be this cold, there needs to be snow. There's barely a trace on the ground.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Hoping to get this snow over with quick and back to our usual rain. I can live with rain.


I`d rather have Snowmageddon. 
At least until I got tired of dealing with it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> -30C this morning which ties my previous record...but some records really don't need to be broken, so that's okay. I think I've finally gotten my gear dialed in for really f'n cold weather because I was pretty comfy. Not a worry about my fingers or toes, and the ski goggles sure make things more comfortable (although I haven't quite solved the problem of them icing up).


Told you double wall lenses with a built in nose shield...

Smith Products | SmithOptics.com

$70 bucks came in about 4 days just before Christmas....I had a pair of Scott goggles before with the double lenses....but I had to rig up a face shield...they sell them in ski shops.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ the ones I have are doublewalled, and they work great for about 15minutes. The problem is that eventually the seal gets soaked from perspiration, and then ice starts to form at the top of the inner lens and works its way down. Yesterday I had to take them off half-way to work, but that was only ride #2 with them. Last night I cut some extra vents into the top, and this morning I made it all the way to work so that seems to have helped. Ice had still started to form though, so I'll probably add a few more vents.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

(this was supposed to go after Jeff's post but somehow ended up infront of it)

yeah, the seal on these is just a foam that gets soaked pretty quick. That, and how my balaclava sits, and possibly my helmet visor blocking airflow were all doing something funny, but I think it's mostly sorted.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ the ones I have are doublewalled, and they work great for about 15minutes. The problem is that eventually the seal gets soaked from perspiration, and then ice starts to form at the top of the inner lens and works its way down. Yesterday I had to take them off half-way to work, but that was only ride #2 with them. Last night I cut some extra vents into the top, and this morning I made it all the way to work so that seems to have helped. Ice had still started to form though, so I'll probably add a few more vents.


Wow what....I got to work dripping in sweat this morning no ice at all.....it can also be trapping the exhalled breath in the goggle as well...due to the face covers.

A combination of low air in the tires, a light head wind, and three layers and -30c slows you right down.

Probably took twice as long as an easy sumer ride.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

s0ckeyeus said:


> If you look at this picture, I'm the blurred out guy in the green hat. My wife is to my right.


That is awesome, by the way.


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## Vanselus (Aug 28, 2011)

Snowy and cold in the Front Range today, but not compared to you northern folks...only about 5 deg when I left home. Last night riding home was brutally slick with a light dusting over ice - I think I cracked a rib in a fall on the icy trail along with the normal bruises and scrapes. Of course it would be right at the beginning of the commute too... 

The rest of the way home was a delight - first tracks in fresh snow on the LoBo trail. Snowed enough to erase my tracks by morning, and getting to work was f'ing fantastic - first tracks once again and no slippage! I'm gonna be a little bored in the summer when the trail is clear, warm, and dry 

Tomorrow is "winter bike to work day" in Boulder, but it's supposed to be freakishly windy. We're supposed to have 30-45 mph winds with 70 mph gusts...should I do anything to prepare for that kind of wind?


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Cold enough out there Newfangled!? 

I've almost given up on goggles, tried 4 different ones, spending up to $200, they just can't handle over an hour of constant moisture at sub -20F temperatures I find, and have tried different surfactants also. I get about 20 minutes max use and then off they come, and by that time my face is warm enough to continue.

Really frustrated with freewheel hubs and cold, my XT hub freewheel pawl thingys aren't engaging properly, they only half engage sometimes after a period of no pedalling and they go chonk chonk and then eventually quit working. This happens every year. Barely got home yesterday and didn't ride today for fear of breaking down halfway, need to find a solution, go internal gears or even a fixie. Dunno but frustrated I couldn't ride today.

From yesterday evening:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I don't think anything was meant to spend a whole hour outside at -30C. 

It's strange about the hubs. I'm running an xt right now and haven't had any issues, although it's only a year old so it probably isn't very worn. The last two winters I ran a walmart hub with only one problem. I've never taken the freehubs apart to put in fancy arctic grease, but do occasionally dribble in phil's oil.

Related to that, my winter shifter has never liked temperatures below about -20C, and when downshifting the ratchet will often fail to catch. Last night I dribbled in some phil's and this morning it worked perfectly.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Bought this hub last year in February and it only sees winter use. Looks like there are easy-to-service-hubs out there, like this one http://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-shifters-derailleurs-cranks/hope-pro-ii-rebuild-pics-283367.html . Will have to see if I can find one.

I really love the styrofoam sound of packed white snow under my tires at these temps.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Cold enough out there Newfangled!?
> 
> I've almost given up on goggles, tried 4 different ones, spending up to $200, they just can't handle over an hour of constant moisture at sub -20F temperatures I find, and have tried different surfactants also. I get about 20 minutes max use and then off they come, and by that time my face is warm enough to continue.
> 
> ...


I run Mavic SLR no problems with the cold....you do have to make sure there is no moisture in the mechanism or it will freeze up...that means a good re-lube job, before it gets cold.

BTW your goggle problem is pretty obvious...the tight face mask directs too much mositure upwards into the goggles....and bingo frost...

What you need is a flap that goes over your nose and covers your cheeks...then an open face balaclava that allows you to blow your exhale out beyond the seal...

works great...

I will try to get a picture tomorrow morning with my set-up.....seems like there are a few people with this problem.

Should be a good test day -32 C forecast and we have been running 2 or 3 C below the forecasst.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

I've been using the flap style mask for a couple years now and just yesterday I bought the baclava style one in the picture trying to get more coverage around my temples and reduce bulk around the neck. What I've discovered is it vents upwards and keeps my cheeks and eyes from icing over which was an unexpected plus for going without goggles, but terrible for using with goggles, didn't last even 5 minutes with them on. The vented style I have has large holes closer together around the mouth and I do find it easier to breathe through. Maybe yours doesn't go up as high on the nose? I'll check the brand of mine, yours might be a better solution.
From last year, vented style.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Told you double wall lenses with a built in nose shield...
> 
> Smith Products | SmithOptics.com
> 
> $70 bucks came in about 4 days just before Christmas....I had a pair of Scott goggles before with the double lenses....but I had to rig up a face shield...they sell them in ski shops.


Hmmm interesting, you'd think one of their products should work.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Hmmm interesting, you'd think one of their products should work.


The Scott worked fine...just had to put on the nose and cheek protector....it finally got so scratched it needed replacing..

A winter Motocross rider showed me the Smith Goggles...worked without mod right away.

Seriously the nose cheek protector opens up the path for the breath to escape...

Only way to go.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

it was a balmy 75F for me today - winds are picking up. they were gusting at 20mph on my way in, so the weather be a-changin'. supposed to be well below freezing by tomorrow am.

that wind was right in my face for more than half of my commute. should be at my back for that stretch on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dang, cold up there in Canada! Hang in there! I feel warmer already. And I saw the PNW snow on the news tonight. It warmed up here today to a messy rain\/freezing rain/sleet/snow mix, very slickery & windy. Hoping the drop down tonight to the teens will make for good snowmachine trail conditions tomorrow. I got that flat fixed on the garden tractor and the driveway cleaned up yesterday before this mess :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Temps were in the uppers 50s this morning. We had a tornado touch down less than 5 miles from where I work. Now the temps are in the 30s. By morning, we should be in the 20s. Crazy weather for January.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

7C and raining today. all the snow melted, blech!! 
-7C and 40mph winds expected tomorrow?? :skep:

there's not enough middle fingers in the world to describe this messed up weather.
got balls? see you on the road!


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## motomuppet (Sep 27, 2011)

30+ degrees C again today...same as every other day out here in the far east...man you guys that live in -20-30C and stay out in it for an hour + are hard core...if it drops below +25C here its getting chilly!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

34F and windy comming in. I had more ice last night and this morning left over from the weekend`s mini snowstorm than I had expected, so I went studded tonight- hope that doesn`t prevent us from getting any of Woodway`s leftovers. While I was at it, I cleaned my rims and brake pads (little aluminum flakes in the pads). Aaahh, quiet braking!



motomuppet said:


> ...man you guys that live in -20-30C and stay out in it for an hour + are hard core.


+1 My beanie (touque?) is off to you!


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## kris. (Jan 14, 2012)

-4°C and a little wind. nothing cruel so far...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was a full 44F warmer here today than 2 days ago. Studded tires were a must because the rain last night and freezing temps near morning left a thick glaze over anything that wasn't treated - like all the road shoulders. Danny Macaskill would have had trouble without studs today. A strong wind was in my favor for most of the ride. All and all it was very nice.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Set a personal record at -4 yesterday, and today it was 37 :lol: yes, I was overdressed. One day of -4F in a row is plenty for me....much respect to you guys up there in Canadia. 

Rodar, it's coming... get ready for some actual weather!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-31.5C/-25F this morning, which is "officially" -32C, which means that I beat my personal record by 2 degrees!  This is also the third straight day of windchill warnings, which sounds like it should be impressive, except that the wind is less than 15kph/10mph. But I guess at this point any wind is bad wind? It's supposed to be back above freezing next week, which will be awfully nice.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's dang cold. I've been in -24F off of the bike, and I didn't like it. :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm stuck at home this morning, snowing like crazy outside. Rodar, you can have as much of this as you want. I'm looking forward to the change back to rain tomorrow.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> -31.5C/-25F this morning, which is "officially" -32C, which means that I beat my personal record by 2 degrees!  This is also the third straight day of windchill warnings, which sounds like it should be impressive, except that the wind is less than 15kph/10mph. But I guess at this point any wind is bad wind? It's supposed to be back above freezing next week, which will be awfully nice.


Yup -31C officially -34C off the CBC display....

It is starting to feel warm ???

BTW without windchill and 40 kph going down my hill and it starts to look like -45 C.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Dang, cold up there in Canada! Hang in there! I feel warmer already. And I saw the PNW snow on the news tonight. It warmed up here today to a messy rain\/freezing rain/sleet/snow mix, very slickery & windy. Hoping the drop down tonight to the teens will make for good snowmachine trail conditions tomorrow. I got that flat fixed on the garden tractor and the driveway cleaned up yesterday before this mess :thumbsup:


Rain/sleet/snow mix is terrible, and wind to boot, downright nasty, I'll take anything over that, fortunately we don't see much of it up here.



newfangled said:


> -31.5C/-25F this morning, which is "officially" -32C, which means that I beat my personal record by 2 degrees!  This is also the third straight day of windchill warnings, which sounds like it should be impressive, except that the wind is less than 15kph/10mph. But I guess at this point any wind is bad wind? It's supposed to be back above freezing next week, which will be awfully nice.


I haven't been keeping track but it must be a record for me too, was just over -32 at my house this morning, CHEERS!

For these temps I put on a base layer, mid layer, outer layer and a shell. I forgot the upper body outer layer and realized it about a block from home (cold was penetrating) and I said to myself "to h#ll with it" and rode harder to generate more heat. It worked, took me 1 hour 6 minutes as opposed to 1 hour 15 minutes at a slightly warmer temp on Monday. This means that I've been getting lazy.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Man it looks like you've got it all dialed in, gotta find that stuff on Smith's website, unfortunately your link didn't work for me. Makes me look like frosty the snowman!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

This is me after a 30 minute ride at -30 C.

Note lack of frost...the underside of the nose guard is coated in a layer of frost and so are the sides of the helmet.

The balaclava has a whole face hole...that way I can blow the air out of my mouth with out the moisture getting up into the googles.

There is no exposed skin to the wind...and only my lower lip feels a little cold.

I believe the system would work as well with a full face bike helmet as well.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Man it looks like you've got it all dialed in, gotta find that stuff on Smith's website, unfortunately your link didn't work for me. Makes me look like frosty the snowman!


Smith Products | SmithOptics.com

Go to the Smith site...Products Googles

Then look under snowmobiles then Fuel v.2....

Before these googles..I just had a velcro on nose guard...

They are a shaped piece of material and three little stick-on Velcro patches....you stick the velcro patches on the bottom of the googles then push the guard onto the patches works fine...

The trick is the cold dry air is diverted up over the googles...the warm wet air is diverted out the sides and into the windstream....rather than up into the googles.

The balaclavas that cover your nose don't really allow the warm wet air to escape easily enough.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Since I am stuck at home, I thought I might take the Mountain Bike for a little spin around the neighborhood to stretch my legs. That did not last long:










Supposed to start warming back up tomorrow afternoon, rain on Friday. CB and Rodar, you can come get all this white stuff you want.

Impressive cold weather setup jeffscott. I am happy that we rarely go below freezing around here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> The balaclavas that cover your nose don't really allow the warm wet air to escape easily enough.


Somebody needs to invent a balaclava or mask with a built in snorkel. Hmmm maybe that somebody will be me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Somebody needs to invent a balaclava or mask with a built in snorkel. Hmmm maybe that somebody will be me.


If you incorporate a cold-air intake you could potentially gain 3-5 horsepower.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Somebody needs to invent a balaclava or mask with a built in snorkel. Hmmm maybe that somebody will be me.


They had those a while back say mid 1980s.....they used them for skiing deep powder...often the skier is completely submerged when he was in the middle of the turn...

More recently the short fat skiis bouy the skier up higher so that is not neccessary...

Anyway works just fine...go for it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I was going to say... "then they invented snowboarding and no one saw the point in skiing anymore"


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Already exist...

ColdAvenger®


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Very nice setups with the goggles all. I had seen the pre-heaters before but not Jeff's darth vader thingy. I haven't gone to the goggles yet this year. They make me a bit claustrophobic, but definitely necessary at the temps you're seeing. 

First ride to work since the snomo's have gotten out on the trails. I thought it would be perfectly frozen from the rain & freezeup, but was kind of dry snowcone-y and crusty in spots, so a little more work on the uphills than expected, especially with the headwinds in the field. Dropped from 15F this a.m. to 4 F on the way home, but I had brought an extra layer top & bottom, so I was OK. Decided to take the road home as I didn't plug in 1 light tight for recharge so I thought it might go out. 

Beautiful starry night with Jupiter & Venus out I believe.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> It worked, took me 1 hour 6 minutes as opposed to 1 hour 15 minutes at a slightly warmer temp on Monday. This means that I've been getting lazy.


My helmet goes off to you. My ride is less than half an hour, and it's got plenty of coffeeshops that I could warm up in if I ever have bike problems. Are you still taking Keillor and down around Ft. Edmonton, because that's a long ways without a safety net.


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## jdreitman (Jan 19, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> This is me after a 30 minute ride at -30 C.
> 
> Note lack of frost...the underside of the nose guard is coated in a layer of frost and so are the sides of the helmet.
> 
> ...


Holy crap! That is hardcore. And to think I don't even like swimming in the ocean unless it's > 80 degrees


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, Woodway! That`s very kind of you!



CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I was going to say... "then they invented snowboarding and no one saw the point in skiing anymore"


Show me a cross country snowboard and you might have a point. Otherwise, you`re out to lunch! I stopped buying ligft tickets when the price for a day`s snowplay exceeded a week`s take from my paper route.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

well i'll go out on a limb and say that there's definitely a rolling resistance increase when the mercury drops. that's my (slow) story and I'm sticking to it! 

don't think we saw winds over 50KPH today.
once i got downtown core though the winds drop (except for a couple good wind tunnels that I know of and avoid)
would prefer the marathons but worried about swapping the studs out at night and waking up to different conditions. s'posed to snow tomorrow, 2-4cm maybe?
*sigh* 
internal gears, hydros, rust proof frame... dream the dream.

oh, and my fender mount broke (sometime, dunno when) so i lashed it together with insulated rubber electrical sheathing i found in the gutter!! craptacular street-side fix!
thank YOU construction crews for having no clue how to clean up after yourselves!!


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

Man - I have been reading the comments (for the past weeks), but finally had the balls to admit that I must be a wuss 

There are all these posts with you guys riding in -whatever temp.

The other night here (Redding CA) it reached 16F and it was 18F by the time of my commute - I said 'nuh-uh' and got a ride to work.
Truthfully, we are not really known for our cold, and I simply don't have the gear for such _rarer_ occasions. 
But hats-off to all you sub-zero commuters! :thumbsup: :band:
Wait... No!, keep your hats on - it's cold out there!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

highdelll said:


> Man - I have been reading the comments (for the past weeks), but finally had the balls to admit that I must be a wuss
> 
> There are all these posts with you guys riding in -whatever temp.
> 
> ...


Yeah it's cold here... But at least I get to work inside 

Cold itself isn't too bad. Wind is the real problem.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

David C said:


> Yeah it's cold here... But at least I get to work inside


Yeah, good point. Now that you mention it, my mind goes back to a Christmas time trip we made to Salt Lake City a few years ago. The temps were down around zero F, and my wife`s cousin and his sons were out framing houses- nutso! And they aren`t the only ones who work outside in whatever weather. I`m grateful that I rarely have to go out when it`s ugly!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

David C said:


> Yeah it's cold here... But at least I get to work inside
> 
> Cold itself isn't too bad. Wind is the real problem.


Yeah, too true. They are still working on fixing some roads here from the flood and yesterday, with gusty winds and single digits, I saw the same flagger out at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m, Ugh! Standing in 1 place in the cold all day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Highdell, that's incredibly cold for Redding. I was pretty sure it was 146 degrees in Redidng all year long.  

It was a bit slippery today! First time I've had to deal with adverse conditions (other than cold) in a looong time. The closer I got to work, the less of a dusting there was, so by the end I was on normal pavement...but in my headlight it was hard to tell if it was a light dusting of snow or the normal color :lol: so I was being rediculously cautious on dry pavement for a while before I realized it. I think we had just a touch of freezing rain last night, and it was 'drizzling' frozen sparkly particles in my headlight ...too light to even call precipitation...it was like the air was freezing and falling down. 

The 'snowmaggedon' leftovers are working their way south from Washington and Oregon...Today and tomorrow are supposed to be a bit sloppy. Finally. We seriously need the moisture.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold (-7F) but sunny. The downhills were a blast on the snowmobile trail. The uphills were enough work for me to get hot even with the jacket unzipped. At least temps are climbing instead of dropping today, +8F now.
Some pix: the 4 hills are man-made grout piles (granite that didn't make the grade);2 from the snowmobile trails/creative sideways signage; ice on a little used quarry road.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> The 'snowmaggedon' leftovers are working their way south from Washington and Oregon...Today and tomorrow are supposed to be a bit sloppy. Finally. We seriously need the moisture.


Today we have freezing rain coming down over the top of all the snow. What a mess it's causing. I'm working from home again today. Hoping to be able to bike into the office tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great, Xplorer! That`s the best buldozing yet for your new bike!



woodway said:


> Today we have freezing rain coming down over the top of all the snow. What a mess it's causing.


Doh! And probably not enough plows to handle such an unexpected dump! You know what happens to unplowed snow when it gets rained on and refreezes? I hope you`re right about going in tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> If you incorporate a cold-air intake you could potentially gain 3-5 horsepower.


They always claim that but what you really get is 1-2 with a 3-5 perceived because you can't admit that you just spent that much money for a .5% gain.

OK, I'll throw in a post sub zero ride pic in the mix:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Thanks, Woodway! That`s very kind of you!
> 
> Show me a cross country snowboard and you might have a point. Otherwise, you`re out to lunch! I stopped buying ligft tickets when the price for a day`s snowplay exceeded a week`s take from my paper route.


Ever heard of Split boards

Splitboard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That was my first thought too. Come on, Rodar. XC skis are so 'retro' and split boards are the obvious 'hydraulic disc' of backcountry snowsports :lol: 

But I'm with you on the price of lift tickets. I went back to traditional bindings on my snowboard from 'clicker' style bindings so that I could snowshoe comfortably in my snowboard boots. Paying for lift tickets hurts. I only go once or twice a season anymore, and not to any of the 'big boy' resorts. 

When it's time for a new board I may go 'split'. But it's all speculation because it apparently doesn't snow here anymore :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You know it's been cold when you are excited that it has warmed up to 18F for the trip home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ You know it's been really cold when you are excited that it's warmed up to -2F for the trip home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ ...When it's time for a new board I may go 'split'. But it's all speculation because it apparently doesn't snow here anymore :lol:


I don't board, but I saw my local outdoor store sells a kit for turning an old snowboard into a splitboard, sounds slick. Here, with how-to video 2012 Voile Split Decision Snowboard Kit - Voile Cut Your Own Snowboard Kit


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Doh! And probably not enough plows to handle such an unexpected dump! You know what happens to unplowed snow when it gets rained on and refreezes? I hope you`re right about going in tomorrow.


A real mess all over Western Washington today. Airport closed for a while, hundreds of thousands out of power (not me thankfully), trees down everywhere from the weight of the snow and ice, state of emergency declaredby the governor. I just came in from chainsawing two trees that were down across my driveway. Looks like I will be home tomorrow as well.

Can we just have our rain back please? I'd like to ride my bike to work.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Splitboards !?! Aw, man- I concede!

Scorcher, Newf! Be careful when you go out in that kind of weather. Plenty of fluids, lots of rest in the shade... we don`t want to see you a victim of heatstroke.

Yeah, Woodway, I`ve been checking it out on the news. It sure does look ugly.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A little spooky on the way home in the woods due to the wind gusts. Not good to think about "if a tree squashes me, how long will it be before someone finds me on this trail??" So far I have only seen snowmobiles on it over the weekend. Made it home fine though, and didn't even see any blowdowns.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

you know it's cold when your beer is room temp at the beginning, but chilled at the end of your ride!!

i have to admit, dropping the trailer off and ripping the steelwool through the snow after the crowds have made their way home (and are off my damn roads!) is frikking awesome.
want an extra 40min to an hour of fun riding? try this one:

sorry hun but they're take-out only, they don't deliver. so if you REALLY want the best indian food in the neighbourhood... :ihih:


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Nice picture woodway, and nice bike!

Newfangled I do take Keillor road, and yes at those temps nobody is around, fall and smack your head and you'd be a popsicle in no time, it does worry me, if I end up working late I find alternate transportation. There's like 1/20th the snow down there from this time last year :-DD

I leave my GPS running while I walk from the bike lockup to my building so theres 3-4 mins that don't count.

mtbxplorer I want a pugsley for the winter, and I'm sold on Jeff's goggle setup, and thx for the winter pictures (hot or cold!).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar... you're northeast, right? That fire looks ugly.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I crashed and broke my fender mount.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, man! ANOTHER bad fire. I just heard about it (looks like CB heard before I did) and poked around to see what the reports were. Not good. Already "several" homes gone, thousands evacuated, very strong winds are making it tough to fight. It`s almost the exact same scenario from a big fire that took out a few dozen houses in November. How ironic to make it through the high fire danger season, and then get hit by two devastating blazes in the winter.
Firefighters stop progress of big blaze near Reno - CBS News

CB, I`m several miles north and a slightly west of Reno. I`m a little confused about where exactly this current fire is, but it`s definitely south of town- I`ve seen it called Washoe Valley, Galena, and Damonte Ranch. I sure hope some of those locations are wrong,because it`d REALLY have to be big to include all of them. Thanks for checking in.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

David C said:


> I crashed and broke my fender mount.


Hope you're okay. Last winter I had the exact same fender, and I broke the front half off too, and then I spent the next few months riding around with just the bracket on there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

CommuterWife was over there today and said it was ugly. ^^ Sorry to hear about the crash too... bummer. Looks like you need that fender too!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Hope you're okay. Last winter I had the exact same fender, and I broke the front half off too, and then I spent the next few months riding around with just the bracket on there.


Concerning my physical integrity, I'm perfectly fine. Had my helmet, gloves, coat, boots, etc. Plus I know how to land correctly.

For the fender, it's the plastic part of the fork mount that broke, not the fender itself. I've called Topeak USA and they'll send me a new bracket in as a warranty claim. Really nice from them. Only bummer it's I'll have to process the claim again with the Canada distributor, because the US one cannot ship (hey, he's the one paying anyway) to Canada. So it might take over a week or so, but at least like Commuterboy said, I can always still use the other half. I'll try to patch it meanwhile. I've read online you can also punch a start nut into the steerer upside down to directly fix the bracket instead of relying on the expended plug, which btw is very easy to over torque and break.

See the full story in the passion forum under "gravity" post.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

yo - not good - fire season in January? 
We finally hit a long pattern in norcal - week+
Hopefully you rain-shadow boys get some


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez Rodar, I just saw another article - fire + 82mph winds = scarey! Hope things stayed OK for you there.

Cuatro, yes you need a fatbike, especially if you have snowmobile trails or similar where the extra float really helps.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Geez Rodar, I just saw another article - fire + 82mph winds = scarey! Hope things stayed OK for you there.
> 
> Cuatro, yes you need a fatbike, especially if you have snowmobile trails or similar where the extra float really helps.


Fine for me, personally- I`m a long ways away. Our swing shift electrician called in from the evac center. Said it looks like some of houses on his street were burning, but won`t be able to tell if his made it until they open the area back up.

Fatbike for 4 x 4? Doesn`t everything float at minus a zillion degrees? it isn`t like the trails are going to get slushy, at least.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

We had 80-100mph winds earlier this week, but today was supposed to be OK. At one point I looked down at my GPS, and it said 8.0mph. That was going downhill, while pedaling, and in the small chainring. Nature abhors a vacuum.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Whoo-hoo, above freezing today and the snow is melting! I should be able to ride to work on Monday!


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Hi Fella`s,

Iv`e been nominated as a finalist on the Rapha festive 500 challenge.

If you go to Rapha`s face book page you can see the finalists and vote for your fave. hint, hint, nudge, nudge.....



















More pictures and video over on my blogg. A long way up

As for todays commute, it was so slippery here that i used my One Nine singlespeed with ice spiker pro`s. Man do those things grip!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Fux, I found it & voted but it was a bit hard to find. 
To vote for Fux, try https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...82648434.63240.165374816832822&type=1&theater
and "like" it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

About 3" of snow overnight. Opted for the road route & studded MTB, was afraid I'd be late via the trail. Slickery powder over ice, OK where 3", but where mostly plowed it was dicey. On one downhill I opted for the "bowling alley bumper" method, riding right in the angle between the snowbank and the road, angled just slightly so if you slide the snowbank stops you. Surprisingly effective. It was supposed to warm up to about 16F on the way home but it was colder, -1F when I checked after I got home.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

another day of 'shining it' for me - constant icy rain - yuk :shrug:

besides... I have an issue with my tail-light strap (about to break) - I'll start a thread about it when I get pics up - look for it in your handy-dandy 'commuter' forum


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Seriously wet day around here. :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I can`t vote on Facebook, but great pictures, Fux.

We now have warm, windy, and rain. I didn`t check tonight, but it was 44F this morning. Little ring all the way in because of the wind, but at least I was able to get off the big sprocket for a lot of it, not stuck in super granny. It snowed for a while this afternoon and evening, but has been drizzling steadilly for several hours now, so I parked inside the boiler room.

Sigh... I need to get back to the site issues forum and see if there`s any answer yet to Woodway`s frame question. I can read about half of the posts just fine, but the other half drift off the edge of the screen and I can`t get over to read the right side of them.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back in the saddle on the commute bike today. Temperature gauge at home said 34 degrees when I set out...but the streets were frosty. Where snow had been melting, the streets had refrozen to sheet ice. What a stringe feeling to be cranking up a hill with your back wheel slipping. 

The MUP was mostly clear except shaded parts where covered with compact ice and black ice. I had to get off the bike several times and walk. I went down once...got onto some black ice without realizing it and the next thing I knew I was on my side. Luckily I was going slow and the only damage was my pride. If we can just get more rain through here, it seems to speed the melting process...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I took driving day #2 (school year...starting mid-august) today. Sloppy mess out there. We had about 4-5 inches of fresh snow at home, and I gambled that it would be consistent throughout the valley...once the plows start running I lose what little shoulder I have.... but it wasn't that bad everywehre. Probably could have pulled off the ride fine. Roads were a slushy mess, but there was traction to be had. Hard to tell, living up a dirt road with no views of pavement. It's supposed to snow all day, so maybe I'll feel better justifying it later :lol: That's what I get for building a singlespeed instead of buying a set of studs. I DID have to use 4WD for a good portion of the drive, so that helps me feel a little better about it...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 54F on the way in this morning. It's cloudy now, but on the way in the sun was shining. No complaints from me. This year continues to be unusually warm.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Winter has finaly come so I pulled out the big guns today...

















Singlespeed is pretty tough on the legs but I used the same amount of time as I normaly would on my cross bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This morning's commute was nice and not nearly as cold as it's been. Tonight's is shaping up to be soggy and I didn't really dress for it.

My Rep Power seems to have taken a hit since I posted that dorky picture of myself after the cold weather ride. I'd worked my way up to a whole 1 and now I'm back to zero.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Nice pic Fux, voted!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> This morning's commute was nice and not nearly as cold as it's been. Tonight's is shaping up to be soggy and I didn't really dress for it.
> 
> My Rep Power seems to have taken a hit since I posted that dorky picture of myself after the cold weather ride. I'd worked my way up to a whole 1 and now I'm back to zero.


Soggy here too, and as cold as you can get without it being snow or ice (yet). Ick. I had the good timing to drive in this a.m. after watching football at a friend's last night. Usually I am disappointed to drive, but I didn't miss this cold wet ride home. Hope yours was OK.

Too bad to get the neg rep, doesn't make sense to me, but luckily here on commuter forum we can't afford to be any more concerned about rep than we can about looking dorky while staying warm.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> This morning's commute was nice and not nearly as cold as it's been. Tonight's is shaping up to be soggy and I didn't really dress for it.
> 
> My Rep Power seems to have taken a hit since I posted that dorky picture of myself after the cold weather ride. I'd worked my way up to a whole 1 and now I'm back to zero.


If you click on the thumb up symbol and the bottom of your name box (or check your account you can get a summary of good and bad reps...

Anyway I fixed it.


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## jollynut (Apr 5, 2011)

*Snowy and loving it!*

From my 30 minute commute here in Sapporo, Japan...


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## westcom (Jan 23, 2012)

Nice commute today. Temp was 40F but there was ice on the windshields when I got to work. Sure notice the difference in temps on the trip from the hill to the slough to the bay. No ear muffs this morning but the thumbs were getting a bit cold. At least it wasn't raining or windy. Hate it when you are cross wind and break out from in front of a building (last week). Took last Wednesday off. Decided not to brave the hurricane winds. One report of 114MPH. Only about 60 max saw. I can do rain but not that much wind.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

Wind is the enemy to a cyclist - unless it happens to be tail-wind in both directions - then it's oh so sweet!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

highdelll said:


> Wind is the enemy to a cyclist - unless it happens to be tail-wind in both directions - then it's oh so sweet!


Did you heard about that magnetic hook line you use to get some speed when stuck behind a slow car in a long up-hill ?


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

stuck behind slow car? - never
but interested in a spidey-like device I can attach to faster cars uphill


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Your snow ride does look like fun, Jollynut. Is that a neck warmer to keep your steerer from getting cold?



westcom said:


> Took last Wednesday off. Decided not to brave the hurricane winds. One report of 114MPH. Only about 60 max saw. I can do rain but not that much wind.


Wow, that sounds pretty serious!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I really needed the windshield wipers last night with a thick drizzly mist that coated the glasses in seconds. The roads were wet and the temp was a few degrees from cars sliding off the road.

This morning was wet with a continuous spray of road grime from the cars..... 

Overall, not too bad.:thumbsup: Tonight should be nice with unseasonably warm temps into the 40s and no rain in the forecast.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

New helmet today. I bought a Giro Rift online. It's not too bad. One advantage of having a big head is that Universal Fit helmets from Giro are sized perfectly for me.

The ride in was pretty nice: 34F and sunny.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ What size is your big head? Like, hat size...do you know? I've got a fairly large dome and I've always stuck with Bell helmets, because they seem to be a little 'rounder' to me... no pinch points like I've felt from other helmets. Might check out Giro on this recommendation...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ What size is your big head? Like, hat size...do you know? I've got a fairly large dome and I've always stuck with Bell helmets, because they seem to be a little 'rounder' to me... no pinch points like I've felt from other helmets. Might check out Giro on this recommendation...


I don't know my hat size. Measuring around my head, I found it to be around 24". I've always worn Giro. The Bell helmets I've tried on haven't been as comfortable for me.


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## liv2_mountain_bike (Nov 7, 2011)

Gorgeous foggy morning with temps in the low 40s. Everything around my work was socked in with fog and visibility was 100 feet at best. Calm, quiet, and very wet most the way. It was a bit surreal... except when I had to cross the busy streets!!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

It's over 4°C here... wet and dirty.

Plus with my front fender half gone, my white winter coat is now grey.... 

Sucks hard.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

A little above freezing when I left the house this morning. Traffic was light, and I managed to get to work before the snow started to fall. If the weather-guessers are correct, it'll be melted by the time I leave this evening.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Plus it was so windy today I was going down a very steep bike path at 40km/h and got a head wind so strong toward the end it slowed me down to 15km/h... I didn't even had to touch the brakes... The guy going uphill was lucky that day


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

la trurly is going out tomorrow!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Hey, any recommendations on a good and easy to work with set of inner tube patch ? I realized I don't even have any in case I need to fix a flat and cheap stuff don't cut it.

Thanks


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## in2theforest (Sep 11, 2011)

David C said:


> Hey, any recommendations on a good and easy to work with set of inner tube patch ?


Park Tool self-adhesive Super Patch Kit. It is small, lightweight, easy to pack and it works.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

in2theforest said:


> Park Tool self-adhesive Super Patch Kit. It is small, lightweight, easy to pack and it works.


Looks good, thanks 

I'll stop by my lbs to see if they have it :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Go, Trurly!

The past week has been overcast, warm, and muddy here with on and off snow/rain and sometimes wind. I`m getting tried of tracking mud into the house all the time, but it sure beats worrying about the snowpack- hoping for a heavy Feb! Thanks for this week`s wet stuff, Seattle guys


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## kimberleyturtle (Dec 30, 2009)

not too bad a commute. 60F and nada wind in the AM, up and over the bay bridge in the morning, awesome clouds at sunset


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I haven't had the best of luck with self-adhesive patches. I'm using a patch kit from Performance that I bought for $1 or $2. I have one patched tube that's held up for maybe 500 miles so far.


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## jollynut (Apr 5, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Your snow ride does look like fun, Jollynut. Is that a neck warmer to keep your steerer from getting cold?


Yeah, to stop the grease from getting cold and making the handlebar hard to turn


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

La Trurly was flawless! My condition not so much though 
The shower wasn't so nice, I didn't fell too much difference between it and ambient water...everyone keeps telling me that's how they work but I really was expecting some real hot water (pic of the great installation tonight)

Joggers say hello..."I own the road, get out of my way" roadie commuter, didn't even nod...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back to normal conditions today, 40 degrees, light rain, strong headwind. Ahh, Northwest winters...this I can deal with. Snow and Ice not so much.

@Martin - good job getting back in the saddle!

@David - My experience with self-adhesive patches is the same as jseko...not good. Best to carry a spare tube (I carry two) and if you flat, just swap out the tube. Patch the flatted tube at home where it's warm and you can see what you are doing. The key to a good patch job is to let the cement setup. 10 minutes = OK, 30 minutes = better. Do you really want to be sitting on the side of the road that long? I patch tubes 3-4 times before I declare them "used up".


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

These are the best glueless patches in the whole entire world. You could make an entire tube out of these and ride it for 400 years. They could patch the American economy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

martinsillo said:


> Joggers say hello..."I own the road, get out of my way" roadie commuter, didn't even nod...


Damned roadies!

Does your new shower have one of those electric heaters right in the shower head? My wife had one like that in her house before she moved to the US. It didn`t work worth $h1t either, but it`s the only one like that I`ve tried. It was kind of scary, too. I don`t know much about electrical wiring, but seeing those wires running from the shower to the lamp socket didn`t make me feel very good about the whole idea, especially when the whole wiring system in her house was flaky.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

woodway said:


> @David - My experience with self-adhesive patches is the same as jseko...not good. Best to carry a spare tube (I carry two) and if you flat, just swap out the tube. Patch the flatted tube at home where it's warm and you can see what you are doing. The key to a good patch job is to let the cement setup. 10 minutes = OK, 30 minutes = better. Do you really want to be sitting on the side of the road that long? I patch tubes 3-4 times before I declare them "used up".


No worry, I'm not gonna patch the tube roadside. I'll ride it back home and then proceed to the patching.

Like I did yesterday. Glad I'm running wide rims 

And anyway, I don't have a pump with me, yet. For a 2.5km commute, it's not the worst case scenario.


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## saltpot (Jan 17, 2012)

My commute isn't that long. Only about 5 miles, sometimes through a park. Even this time of year it's really nice 
_Today I was nearly brained by a kamikaze pigeon_. Apart from that it was cold, but nice and sunny  No rain this week... so far XD


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My commute today was pretty much freakin awesome.:thumbsup: The trails were firm enough to ride. I only get a few days a year when I can do a full trail commute across the lake and through the woods; and this was one of them. I've got some more aggressive studded tires showing up today so I can do it on my MTB the next time. My commuter bike (ex-mountain bike) was fine but I'm looking forward to the full suspension vs the ridged bike.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Rain here. I lucked out this morning and stayed dry. I'm hoping my luck continues this afternoon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards, where are you located?

WARM this morning... it rained last night and everything was wet. The dirt road was incredibly nasty from snowmelt/rain on top. Some light fog in the air, and mid 40's (!) I think that solar flare/sunstorm thing got closer than they thought it would :lol: 

I turned around at one point to get a glimpse of the sunrise that was developing (which reminded me that it's getting lighter every day now...won't be long till I'm out of the dark, at least until the time change) and I noticed for the first time how incredibly bright my PB Superflash taillight is... the road signs a quarter mile behind me were pulsing with a red light like there was an emergency vehicle parked somewhere back there. I honestly looked around for the source before I realized that it was me. :lol: That must drive people in cars crazy!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards - nice pics, looks like a fun commute!

Wet, soaking, DOWNPOUR here today. Did not let up a bit for the hour it took me to get to the office. BUT - I'll take it over the snow we had last week!

The roads are full of nastiness from last weeks snow...sand/gravel, Botts Dots that the snowplows tore off the roads, various pieces of cable chains and bungie chain tighteners that came off of cars, branches and tree debris from the windstorm that came through earlier this week. Many, many pinecones. Those buggers will give you a scare when you hit them at speed. I'll be shocked if I don't flat at least once in the next few weeks before all this is cleaned up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> bedwards, where are you located?
> 
> ...and I noticed for the first time how incredibly bright my PB Superflash taillight is... the road signs a quarter mile behind me were pulsing with a red light like there was an emergency vehicle parked somewhere back there. I honestly looked around for the source before I realized that it was me. :lol: That must drive people in cars crazy!


Raymond, ME. I hope the snow in the forecast doesn't ruin the trails.

I've got the same tail light and notice the same thing in my rear-view. Especially with fresh batteries.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Ramblings and more Ramblings*

Was watched a news report this morning about cell phone armed robbery here in oakland. I once had someone threaten to bike jack me, had cars swerve @ me and been yelled @ but even so i really do think im safer on a bike then i am walking or riding the ****ing bus. At least in oakland.

Used a free shuttle into the city. it was about 7 minutes late but then again what do you expect for nothing..right? Im changing to a work 9/80 work schedule soon and using the shuttle as a bridge in the morning will really pay off...and its fffreeeeeeeeeeeee. Also rode the defy instead with clipless instead of the CX with straps. Man the defy may not the fasest thing around but man is it smooth and the thing rolls for ever. Anyway ive got this damn meeting to go too. Happy thursday....


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## sshults (Jan 26, 2012)

Mine was good! However, I'm hesitating on this big downhill because I'm subconsciously afraid of ice on the road. I wiped out two weeks back and I'm still somewhat nervous about it happening again. Thankfully, I expected it and slowed way down. It's steep so if I hadn't... ugh. 

I'll get over it when it stops raining and the temperature comes back up.

About a 4 mile commute. My work is moving locations and then it'll be over 8 miles one way. Fun


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

First commute of 2012 coming up this afternoon. It was raining on the way in but I think riding in the rain is one of those things where you just have to accept that you're going to get wet. As luck would have it though, the rain has dried up and the sun is making an appearance. And it's a southerly so I get a tailwind home


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hang in there, Sschults. I haven`t eaten it hard since I stopped MTBing, but that always did slow me down for quite a while in the aftermath.



jrm said:


> Was watched a news report this morning about cell phone armed robbery here in oakland.


 First they were just for making and receiving phone calls, then they started putting cameras in them, next they added GPS, then they made them so you could check your email. 
Now they come with built in Derringers?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Now they come with built in Derringers?


Nope, Tasers:

"Hang on Joe, there is a guy here trying to steal my wallet"

[POW] [ZAP][ZAP][ZAP][ZAP][ZAP]

"Yeah Joe, can I call you back? I need to get the cops here before this guy gets back up"


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

R+P+K said:


> First commute of 2012 coming up this afternoon. It was raining on the way in but I think riding in the rain is one of those things where you just have to accept that you're going to get wet. As luck would have it though, the rain has dried up and the sun is making an appearance. And it's a southerly so I get a tailwind home


Well, considering I pretty much had a month off riding, I still came in under an hour. I think the new Michelin Tracker tyres helped.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

*When in doubt, change your brake pads.*

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday.

I bought new pads for my BB7's back in June and never got around to replacing them.....being the cheap bastard that I am, thinking that they still have some life in them.

Heading downhill on the bike path, coming up on a street to cross, I hit the rear brake and BOOM...what the hell was that? Got across the street and under a light on the bike path I can see what went wrong.......the return spring got caught in the rotor and got sucked in....yeah, I waited too long. Luckily, there was no damage to the rotor. I was able to remove the pads and mangled return spring and continue on to work.

I can tell you this....riding in the snow and ice with only a front brake sucks.

:madman:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have V-brakes on my commuter, and I always seem to wait too long to swap out the pads. Inevitably I get caught on a wet day wondering if I'm going to use my Flintstone back-up braking system.

I was surprised to see another commuter on my way home yesterday. Most cyclists around here seem to be fair weather riders (except for some mountain bikers that like to ruin our trails). I was zoned out and was surprised to see someone else out in the rain.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I tend to procrastinate on replacing mine too mrbig. Listen closely when you brake...if you hear a "ticking" sound, that's probably one of the arms of the spring rubbing on the roter. Time to replace! Glad there was no real damage...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Good reminder on the brakes. I'm probably about due.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

A friendly reminder to check your clip screws/bolts. I lost one and my clip was stuck in the pedal. Not a good feeling falling over at a busy intersection because my foot was stuck. I had to ride home with only one clip. Felt really odd...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Icky but not as slick as forecast. It was supposed to be 3-5”, mixed with sleet, freezing rain, and then rain, but I only got 1” before it changed to freezing rain, and it was just rain by the time I got to work. Water running down the street, huge puddles, slush. I started out on the snowmobile trails, but it became too much work and I switched to the road at a crossing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Are those bar mitts off the shelf or custom? They look like they have more room than most I've seen

I bagged it this morning. I got dressed ready to ride went out to the driveway and couldn't stay vertical on my feet or on my bike. I actually crashed within 5'. We had 3" of powered snow over glare ice. The lake would have been impassible. The roads were a slushy mess so I took the truck. Lots of rain since so things should firm up nice for the weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^They are made by a small company in Alaska called Dogwood Designs. I have the "regular" version and they are plenty warm. Actually too warm today but I didn't want soaked through gloves. Another nice thing about them is that they have stiffeners to keep them pretty open to make it easier to put your hand back in while riding. I got them at revelatedesigns.com, but it looks like they only have the plus (warmer) version in stock. These guys have them in stock: Keep your hands warm with Dogwood Designs pogies made for winter bike riders


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cool (or warm), thanks. I think I've spent more than my quota on winter gear this year but some mitts are on the radar for next year. I'm assuming the worst of the cold winter weather is over.:skep: I've got to do some research to see if any work with bar-ends. I like my different hand positions for my hour long rides.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Glad to be home, as the rain changed to pouring rain, changed to wind driven snow on the way home. 30F upon arrival. I stayed surprisingly warm, though, only my face got cold. 

Bedwards, I looked at the pogie situation and those would definitely fit 99% of bar-ends.


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

Haven't been on this thread in a bit.

55 degrees today on the way in 45 degrees or so on the way home; with a killer crosswind. I mean like the kind that gets you horizontal and you're still pedaling straight. Unfortunately, I was not feeling too hot after work today so I was pretty miserable on the way home. 

Today's weather was pretty good, but I can't wait for those 72 degree commutes home in the summer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, I looked at the pogie situation and those would definitely fit 99% of bar-ends.


Thanks, they looked like they would, which is why I asked.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Light norwester and sunny today heading up to 21C at home time and I forgot my drink bottle. Better start hydrating.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Still 26 hours left of my weekend, so no commute today. I did take advantage of nice weather to ride to my folks` house and back. That was not quite 15 miles each way, with a good bit of climbing and I went at it pretty hard. Gots to get my legs in some kind of shape for an early March tour


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

R+P+K said:


> Light norwester and sunny today heading up to 21C at home time and I forgot my drink bottle. Better start hydrating.


Felt like rubbish and had a mean headwind but still made it home in 1 hour.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

44 degrees, a little rain, a little headwind. Really nothing to complain about - after all I get to ride my bike to work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I decided that I needed to start running since my fitness has really plateaued for the past several....years :lol: So yesterday I did 2.5 miles, lots of hills in the snow and mud...then today was clear so I jumped on the singlespeed. Ouch.

I'm newly motivated because my friends talked me in to signing up for Tough Mudder... Tough Mudder - Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet
Hopefully I can keep the motivation going through the summer...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Every time I try running I get shin splints for a week and decide not to. I can hop on the bike and do 100 mi but running 1mi seems to be my limit. I've got a friend that does the tough mudder and loves it.

Today's commute for me was exhausting. I took the trails which were just barely passable. An all out effort to maintain 6mph. I was looking forward to the icy spots to get up some speed. I can't wait to go it again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I'll have to watch the vid at home, but that sounds tough! Reminds me of the "Death Race" here; the waiver you sign is 3 words: "I might die."

Yesterday I tried x-c skiing for the 2nd time this year. It was nice conditions, with an inch or so of snow over crust, so you could go explore off trail easily. Until I tried to avoid a big tree on a downhill and ended up running over a 6' sapling right between my skiis. If your inseam is less than 6', this can hurt, especially when you end up coming to a stop sitting down on the base of the sapling.

Great ride in today, the snowmo's were out all weekend and the trail was mostly well packed, with an inch of fluff from overnight on top. I dislike the section that goes through a field though, it always gets blown in with snow, making it a lot more work. You could barely see where the trail was today. Here's the field and a good section of trail:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good luck with that one CB!

Last year, my wife convinced me to sign up for the Warrior Dash. It was not as long as the Tough Mudder...maybe five miles I think? Overall I was pretty dissapointed with the event...the obstacles were not that hard and there was a line in front of each one, so it kind of killed any momentum built up from the last one. It just turned into a long jog through the mud with a wait to get over an obstacle thrown in here and there. Watching the video, it looks like the obstacles on Tough Mudder are WAY more difficult! Probably the most entertaining part of Warrior Dash was looking at the costumes that people were wearing - very creative!

That and the girl wearing the bridal dress who caught her train on fire jumping over the coal pits! Now that got exciting for a few seconds ;-)


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

*How was my commute today ?*

Fun :thumbsup:


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## scaredrides (Jan 28, 2012)

My commute was horrible because A) I have to drive to the city and B) It was snowing like heck tonight. My commute time was about an hour and half


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Culling the heard. I gave away my mtb over the summer, just sold my roadbike today. One more to sell when I get it bathed nicely for a set of purdy pictures. The roadie was older, with crappy (but rolling) wheels and I thought I might have been asking a bit much for it, but it didn`t turn out to be too hard to find a happy new home for. I have one new bike on order, which should be here in about two weeks.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Took 10 minutes longer tonight, but the headwind was strong and I broke a spoke so I took it a bit slower.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

R+P+K said:


> Took 10 minutes longer tonight, but the headwind was strong and I broke a spoke so I took it a bit slower.


That`ll do it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cool rodar! Christmas in February! What did you end up ordering?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Call me Rodney Dangerfield. Plenty of danger, and no respect.

A man driving a pickup was doing a rolling stop at a side street to my left. As I approached about a car length away, he actually stopped very briefly, making me think he was yielding to me on the through street. Instead he was looking at the Deputy's car that had swung on to the street a block behind me. Deciding he had better make a token stop, I guess. The right side of the intersection is not a through street but is the entrance to the low security county jail. Straight throughs are rare. So thinking he was actually stopping (a rare thing here), I did not give him the helmet laser beam treatment. He pulled after about a half second and I yelled and he got it stopped just into my lane and I rolled by. Not sure he saw me simultaneous with, or because of, my yelling. He rolled into the Sheriff's lot crossing behind me. So I stopped and turned into the drive following the Deputy in. I figured I'd be safe with a witness like that should he be carrying concealed.

As the dolt got out of the truck, I asked "What gives?"

"I didn't see you."

I pointed to the yellow jacket helmet light, head lights and gave a how could you not with all of this going on, hand gesture.

"I did not see you."

"I can't do much more to be seen." 

The Deputy said "What's this about?"

I said, as if it should be obvious, "You saw him almost hit me."

"He was distracted by me following you."

Great! It's apparently OK to almost hit cyclists even when they admit to not driving in a safe and observant manner. Where do they find these bozos?

This still left it my fault for his not looking properly, so I said, "If you only look for trucks and cars you won't see motorcycles and bicycles. Its time to look for them too. God saved us both today. Have a nice day and drive safe."

Stress is when you resist beating the crap out of someone who richly deserves it! I didn't even get a chance to use the Airzound! I guess I use it preemptively from now on. Funny the jacket is even brighter than what the deputies wear at accidents and he did not draw the conclusion that this bozo would likely run him down.. I can believe he did apologize for not seeing me (that it was my fault) , There are a lot of people who are irresponsible. That the Deputy felt being distracted was a reasonable excuse for not looking properly before proceeding, and there being no citable offense is upsetting. 

Ride defensively, because it seems law enforcement doesn't give a hoot.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow. That's brutal. I think the the helmet light lazer beam treatment in the mirror should become standard practice, regardless of the situation. If you see a mirror...death ray. :lol: 

I took the long way home on the SS yesterday...legs are still feeling it from my re-introduction to running :lol: Went with gears and took it easy this morning.


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## lightjunction (May 17, 2011)

Sunny at almost 70 degrees here in January. Crazy. And tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. I love my bicycle.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wow. That's brutal. I think the the helmet light lazer beam treatment in the mirror should become standard practice, regardless of the situation. If you see a mirror...death ray. :lol: .


Yeah, I usually do to convince them to stop. When he launched and I was yelling, he got my narrow high beam as I was looking right at him. I stare at him with it when talking to him, too.

I have the parts for a new triple aspheric helmet light which should be twice the output at 1000 lumens in the eye.

If I get pulled over for using it, I can cite this "I did not see you." incident.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brian, "That's Inconceivable!"


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Johnny Dangerfield! The catch was the deputy behind you- it`s permissible to not look for cyclists or pedestrians if and when there`s a distracting patrol car in the vicintiy. I`m pretty sure that`s in the Indiana regulatory statutes! So, he was going to the Sheriff`s lot? Was he another deputy going on shift?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Johnny Dangerfield! The catch was the deputy behind you- it`s permissible to not look for cyclists or pedestrians if and when there`s a distracting patrol car in the vicintiy. I`m pretty sure that`s in the Indiana regulatory statutes! So, he was going to the Sheriff`s lot? Was he another deputy going on shift?


I think not. Too much facial hair for regs. Could have been staff or a day leave prisoner, though. Maybe he was working undercover. I suspect a visitor just off shift.

Pretty lame regardless. Maybe I should have taken the Deputy's name and discussed this with the Sheriff. OTOH this Deputy could easily harass me anywhere, anytime.

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

(^^^ you're out of humor fluid!) wait what? I thought it was a joke.

Permissible to be distracted by a police car? - you can not be serious.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had a decently McGuyverish roadside repair this morning. Total zip-tie disaster on the rear fender while chattering down my dirt road, and I realized when I hit the (icy!) pavement that my bike sounded suspiciously like it had a rear engine. It was a double zip-tie blowout, and I knew that I didn't have any in my pack (I usually carry a couple, but I had used them to bundle computer wires at work). So I thought for a minute, because I really didn't have any idea what I was going to do. But just before I pulled out the multitool to remove the fender, the light bulb came on and I removed the string from the waistband of my shorts (over my legwarmers, under my windproof pants) and used it to lash the fender back into a sort of decent position at the seatstay and onto the seat tube. It held for the full 6 miles and it's now back in my shorts... now to find some zip-ties at work...

Glad it wasn't colder. The fingers functioned quite nicely outside of the safety of the gloves.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^Good save, CB. I`m going by the 3/4 of you post that I can read before it sails off the end of the earth, but I think I got the main idea 

It was unexpectedly slick and icy here this morning, too. It slushed and snowed a little bit around 3AM, then was JUST cold enough to put a thin layer of ice on all wet surfaces. I rode home slowly and carefully with no issues, but it`s back to the studs for tonight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I had a decently McGuyverish roadside repair this morning... But just before I pulled out the multitool to remove the fender, the light bulb came on and I removed the string from the waistband of my shorts (over my legwarmers, under my windproof pants) and used it to lash the fender back into a sort of decent position at the seatstay and onto the seat tube....


Haha, I like the vision of comicbook superhero *Commuterboy* whipping off the string to save the day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Bicycle Repairman strikes again!

I am thinking this global warming is something I could get used to. A 60 F ride on Feb 1 in Indiana? "Inconceivable"  Rode to a meeting tonight and it was pretty close to 50 F on the way home above that on the way in. No opportunities to use my horn or helmet light deterrent was nice. 

BrianMc


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## waynej437 (Sep 13, 2009)

Had a good ride home,70 degs. Was passed my my daughter and friend that was nice a gave me more spirit to speed up,was also passed my a hearse that was very good thing to happen did not need a ride in today!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

waynej437 said:


> Had a good ride home,70 degs. Was passed my my daughter and friend that was nice a gave me more spirit to speed up,was also passed my a hearse that was very good thing to happen did not need a ride in today!


 Still on the green side of the sod! :thumbsup:


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

81 yesterday. Rode home yesterday in shorts and jersey and was sweaty. Started out this AM with a vest, but tucked that back in the trunk about 5 minutes into the commute. Doesn't winter first have to come for there to be more winter?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Had a meeting cancelled yesterday after work and got to take a blast up the local rail-trail...It was pretty soft, and eventually I turned around because it was only getting sloppier....seriously hard work. It felt like riding in the sand. So I was pushing pretty hard, and then I had a couple of very steep, short climbs to get to the inlaws house where I was meeting the pick-up vehicle... I hammered the first one and was really feeling it when I got part way up the 2nd, but just then a car rolled up behind me and I heard "Grab on daddy!!" Excellent timing Mrs. Commuterboy... I happily took a tow up the big climb while hearing stories about the day from the back seat.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice, CB!

I velcroed the point-n-shoot camera to the bars this a.m. to try a quick video. The method failed after 27 seconds but created an interesting effect. I also like how it sounds like an old wooden roller coaster.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CB: A day you will all remember, I think. Those are priceless.

Mtbx: Around the bars in 6 seconds. It is an interesting effect. Is the headset tight? I got some of that sort of noise with the camera on the bars and the locknut (threaded headset) had backed off. 

I am getting faster! Passed a car going up a grade! Yes it was moving, though with 4-way flashers and maybe 15 mph it wasn't a major accomplishment, but I don't remember if I have ever done it before, Tempted to yell "And I don't have to buy gas!"  She looked like the being passed by a cyclis would be insult enough.

I also averaged 16 mph on an 11 mile ride which would have made me sad 18 months ago, but is my best since last March. Its going to be a long haul for this trekker, Still on the green side of the sod. No dirt nap yet. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, I sure hope that isn`t a picture of the trail that your wife drove the car up for your tow job 

@MtbX: I wouldn`t call it a failed experiment- actually I liked the flip-flop style!

Sounds good, Brian. The only time I`ve seen avg speeds like that were last summer when I was hammering it out on my recumbent on a daily basis. I`m not hanging the bent up, but I`ve quit that hammering thing, so probably won`t be seing your 16 averages again.

And Damn! I`m really getting sick of having the last quarter of every line disappear off the side of the screen . I guess I`ll have to try a different browser, but I`m used to this one.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

That video was actually pretty cool MTBX. Made me smile when the camera did the 360...

rodar, I've been uploading screenshots of the problem over in the "Site Issues..." forum, and one
of the web guys is working on the problem. I also hope it gets fixed soon. At least they got rid
of the double scrollbars...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good to hear somebody is looking into it. I saw a few threads about it, but as of last week, I still had the impresion that Fracois and crew had put it on the back burner. I know I don`t have much room to complain about a free product, but now that they`ve got me, I hate to lose my fix. MTBR is like Philip Morris.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

It only seems to impact threads where peeps link photos that are supersized. I
always try to limit my linked photos to 640 or maybe 800 pixels wide just so that they 
don't blow the screen out for everyone else...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I velcroed the point-n-shoot camera to the bars this a.m. to try a quick video. The method failed after 27 seconds but created an interesting effect. I also like how it sounds like an old wooden roller coaster.


I was considering doing the same thing, in fact 2 days ago I went looking for an old digital camera that could take a snow nap without me caring. The only one I found was so old that it didn't take video. I think we tossed the one after that because it thought the batteries were dead after 1 picture. MTBX - We'll expect a 29 second video tomorrow.

Today's commute was on the road, meh. (Sorry for all the whining guys, I tasted the trails and I want more)

Interesting encounter story BrianMC, err, Rodney.

My average speeds have been in the 12-14mph range this winter on the roads and more like 7mph on the trails. In the summer on the flatter route I can break 20mph on a good windless day.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

The Princess Bride, one of my favourite movies.
Funny video mtbxplorer! I drool when I see big fat tires like those.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> The Princess Bride, one of my favourite movies.


As you wish! Inconceivable! Never bet against a Sicilian when death is on the line. Brute Squad. Weird Max. Mostly Dead. True love, I am the Dread Pirate Roberts! To the pain. Prepare to die! As you wish! Yep, a memorable movie! 

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

What the crap, man? It's February and I've ridden in shorts and short sleeves just about all week. I have to keep my mouth closed in a couple sections to avoid a mouthful of bugs. I'm hoping to hit the trails tomorrow before the rain returns.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had two noteworthy incedents on my ride in tonight. First, I passed a skateboarder going the other way. I didn`t actually see him (her?), but heard the unmistakeable sound of a skateboard being kicked up a slight grade on the other side of the road. By that time, the rider was directly across from me, and way out of my light spread. I said "Hi" and kept riding. Five minutes later, passing the Job Corp campus, I saw "the gang" hanging out, smoking, and BSing outside the front gate of their dorm area. As always, I gave them a little salute, but for the first time I heard one call out "Hey, crazy bike guy". They see me go by most every night, and are probably used to me, and they sometimes wave back, but I`ve never heard any understandable greetings from them (that doppler thing). Pretty exciting night, eh?


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

^^ that was very exciting indeed.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Second commute of the year with being sick and the odd weather patterns. I am hesitant to put on the spikes because it will snow one day and they melt the next....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This morning I passed a fence post... hundreds of them, actually :lol: but on one of them, blending in with the wood and the dry grass behind, was a great horned owl. Massive critters! He took off right as I got up to him, which really got my attention. He flew parallel to me along the bike lane, getting out ahead of me and then dissapearing behind a row of evergreens that separate the road from the field in that spot. I thought he would vanish, but he hung a sharp left between two of the trees and flew directly in front of me at about eye level, crossing the road and dissapearing into the woods on the other side. Very cool encounter.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> This morning I passed a fence post...


:smallviolin:

(cool story about the owl though)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

On a good steep upgrade, I think I`ve had a few of em pass me, too. Never hundreds though.

Oh, I see- YOU did the passing. Never mind.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You guys are missing the whole point!! There was an OWL!! :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Being passed by a fencepost would be a man bites dog sort of thing, It sounds like the owl looked like a fence post at first, or was it merely making one look like a taller fence post? Awesome creature and a great side benefit to your ride. Good no deer crossed in front while you were distracted. No headline "Cyclist ogling owl deer damaged."

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Awright, it does sound very cool. Much cooler than fenceposts or ninja skateboarders.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> You guys are missing the whole point!! There was an OWL!! :lol:


Who? Who?


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Today's commute was freakin' awesome. Yesterday I finally finished the new cross bike I've been slowly putting together since the beginning of the year, so I bring it home planning on riding it today. Yesterday here in Santa Fe, New Mexico was cold, but sunny and blue sky, with little to no moisture. Wake up to at least a foot of real soft, powdery stuff in the apartment complex parking lot and think, "You suck, universe. You know I want to ride my new bike, and this is the challenge you've laid out before me? Well **** you." So I suited up and head out, and it was one of the single best bike rides I have ever had. 

I built this cross bike up from a Redline Conquest Pro SS frame, running 46x18 fixed and 20 on the freewheeling side (which won't see much use outside of actual racing, damn UCI regulations) and I ended up shaving ten minutes off my normal trail commute, then added another fifteen miles of pavement, including a long, steady climb to end the ride. Then immediately got a delicious breakfast burritio smothered in green and red chile, and as soon as I get another few cups of coffee in me I'll feel like doing it all again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice owl sighting! I had one swoop across the trail near dusk once, it was neat! 
7F this a.m., trails still fast & frozen & fun. A shot in East Barre village, my pavement connector at about the halfway point


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> You guys are missing the whole point!! There was an OWL!! :lol:


Was it a real owl or just a carved one?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: I see those from time to time too. 

A barn owl would not even warrant a comment...but this dude was LARGE. If you've never seen a great horned owl, they have a wingspan like a Bald Eagle...6 foot range. And the body is a couple feet tall.

MTBX... Summer St...wishful thinking?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> :lol:


Who, who ya laughin' at? 



CommuterBoy said:


> .. this dude was LARGE. If you've never seen a great horned owl, they have a wingspan like a Bald Eagle...6 foot range. And the body is a couple feet tall.


Yep. Big. Come to think of it, I saw my first one about 50 years ago...on a passing fencepost. 

I wonder if CB will pass (on) any more owl posts?

A little cooler than yesterday: only 53 F. Its Feb 3! Average the last two winters and we'd be close to the long term average. Don't expect the tails of the curve back-to-back like this, but I'll take it.

Decent speed after some sprints and pushing it in traffic. Maybe the legs aren't up to power yet but the heart and lungs sure are better without the continuous dose of Mercury and the cleaning they have have so far! I have another year or two to go so time to get the legs back in form. Getting into top gear on the level is great.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spinnyspin, with a foot of snow, you cut ten minutes from your normal time? How the heck did you manage that !?! Hey, I think we need a photospread of your Conquest on the bike pics sticky.

Mmmm... small town pics. Looks delightful, Xplorer.

My owl on fencepost story is smaller. We see occasional full sized owls around here (don`t ask me exactly what kind other than "full sized"), but we also have a species of miniature burrowing owls. One summer, about four or five years ago, for a span of at least two weeks, one of those mini owls took to perching on top of a T-post every morning right next to the road I take home from work. As long as I kept pedalling, he`d just sit there and watch me go by, but if I stopped to visit, he took off into the sage brush. I`m sure the Great Horned Owl is more impressive, but these guys are pretty cool too- probably about eight inches high.


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

The ride today was pretty good. I had my GF drop me off at work today as she was working in the area this morning and I rode home on the Bianchi that I built up. It was a good ride. I made pretty good time because the route home has waaaay more downhills than uphills. I have one climb on the way back that is like 1/8th of a mile and a second one that is also about 1/8th of a mile, but it's a grinder. The 2X1 for what I do is a sweet ride.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Apparently my ability to measure the amount of snow is severely distorted. It was more like 4 or 5 inches, so I have been told several times today. Today was the first time my commute didn't involve any dirt, so I managed the faster time primarily because the cross bike is much faster than my previous commuter, a Monocog 9er.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> My owl on fencepost story is smaller. ... One summer, about four or five years ago, for a span of at least two weeks, one of those mini owls took to perching on top of a T-post every morning right next to the road I take home from work. As long as I kept pedalling, he`d just sit there and watch me go by, but if I stopped to visit, he took off into the sage brush.


Until 1966 we had a Sugar Maple tree with a hollow close to the farmhouse. The Screech Owl family sitting on a limb when the little ones were fledged with the moon rising behind them. Big and little silhouettes was a sight and you might say a hoot! :thumbsup:

Eastern Screech-Owl, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spinnyspinspin said:


> Apparently my ability to measure the amount of snow is severely distorted. It was more like 4 or 5 inches, so I have been told several times today.


That`s okay. I`m sure it wasn`t the first time that 4 or 5 inches has been billed as twelve.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

No, nor will it be the last. The new bike rides so nicely I just couldn't stop. According to mapmyride I logged 36 miles round trip yesterday, including 7 miles of singletrack that I hit after getting to work an hour before I really needed to be there.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The trails are passable again! Not fast but passable. It's supposed to get above freezing today so they should firm up after it freezes again. (I just have to stay off them tonight) 

I only had a little flip over the handlebars when my front wheel disappeared into a not quite frozen swamp. I tried to push the pedal through my calf - luckily that didn't work. My ribs made that not good crunching sound as I hit the ground and I have a pretty stiff/sore neck. But I was able to ride away...It's all good!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning I passed a bunch of trees, some power lines, and a fair number of fence posts.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Did any of the fence posts look like this? Because these are the ones that will scare the crap out of you.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I'll have to remove my studded tires and go back to regular rubber... Too bad it's like early february and it's over 4°C here... Slush all the way


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Did any of the fence posts look like this? Because these are the ones that will scare the crap out of you.


Nah. These ones were square and didn't have cracks in them.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely evening, clear, starry and nearly a full moon, but somehow still warm, around freezing. I drove in to work due to Superbowl snoozing, but dropped my car off in town after work for a state inspection and walked my old route home up the hill, it took 1.5 hrs. Between that and Monday yoga-at-lunch, it was a pretty mellow day. 

I read tonight that the mayor's 18 y.o. daughter was arrested for drunk driving etc. on that route after blowing through a stop sign, T-boning a car, and leaving the scene (a witness followed her). Pretty scarey - if she'd hit a cyclist they wouldn't only be talking about damage to the car.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I only had a little flip over the handlebars when my front wheel disappeared into a not quite frozen swamp. I tried to push the pedal through my calf - luckily that didn't work. My ribs made that not good crunching sound as I hit the ground and I have a pretty stiff/sore neck. But I was able to ride away...It's all good!


All good? That`s much better than my crappy attitude. At least you`re still riding- better luck when the tropical weather lets you go back to good ol solid ice.

Drove the tandem down to Sacramento yesterday for our first full length ride this year. No owls or turkeys this time, but we did see a couple of fawns. It was beautiful weather- high 60s, I`d think. My wife even took off one of her sweaters for a little while! We were also pleasantly surprised to find that a new longer ramp had been built for one of the climbs up to road level in one spot (top end of the Hazel Ave bridge), giving the option of the old super short and super steep route or the new not quite so short and not quite so steep route. Much appreciated for those who make the trip "pedalling for two". I also see that we`re about due for new tires on the beast. Since I don`t really like the current tires on my commuter, maybe I`ll replace those and move the tires I have on there now to the tandem.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I wish I had commuted today. Someone jumped in front of a train near my home so my line was closed for a few hours.

RIP that person.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

I followed someone for about 5K who was clearly trying to beat me in the Tour de Commute. He kept Schlecking me and hammering out of the saddle while I just stayed in the saddle and rode. The guy turned off when I started singing The Lumberjack Song from Monty Python. I had a good laugh.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, sounds like a bad commute for somebody, RPK.

MrBud, did you tanslate or sing in English? And was the other rider in drag?


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, sounds like a bad commute for somebody, RPK.
> 
> MrBud, did you tanslate or sing in English? And was the other rider in drag?


Never, ever, translate Monty Python.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> All good? That`s much better than my crappy attitude. At least you`re still riding- better luck when the tropical weather lets you go back to good ol solid ice.


Any crash you can ride away from is better than it could have been.:thumbsup: It didn't seem like it was late enough in the season to not trust the ground.

Last nights commute may have been one of my coolest yet. At the edge of the snow covered lake I turned off my lights and road across under moonlight. This mornings was fun too. The trails are getting faster.

mrbigisbudgood: Glad you got to keep the (High-Vis) Yellow Jersey.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> The guy turned off when I started singing The Lumberjack Song from Monty Python. I had a good laugh.


You know there was a thread on one of the local biking boards where guys were talking about how they will turn off their route of travel rather than let someone pass them. They called it "abandonneuring" or "commuterinterruptus". I can't imagine doing that, too competitive for an activity that's supposed to be enjoyable.

What a beautiful ride this morning. Clear skies, full moon. The moon was so bright that I flipped off my light on the MUP and rode a little while by moonlight.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I hate having to pass cyclists. I don't think I'd care about being passed myself, but it hasn't happened yet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Snowing this morning! just enough on the ground so that everything is white and quiet out there, and still plenty of traction. Nice mellow ride this morning. It's getting lighter and lighter on my ride in the morning... won't be too long before the sun comes back and I'm out of the dark. I peeked over my yellow sunglasses this morning to get a feel for how light it was, and the dark, drab, grey nastiness was a downer. The yellow lenses made it way more enjoyable with with the new dusting of snow.


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## zmiko (May 11, 2010)

A tad bit of fresh snow, the paths were peaceful and empty this morning. Very enjoyable


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The warmup to about 40F yesterday and 20’s overnight resulted in a lot more icier, dicier sections on my trailcommute. Went down once, and the rear wheel attempted to pass the front wheel a couple times. Some sections were still perfect, though. Tonight I'll probably have to ride to town to pick up my car at the shop rather than riding home.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

I had about 3 inches of poweder on the path this morning. Freshies!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> The warmup to about 40F yesterday and 20's overnight resulted in a lot more icier, dicier sections on my trailcommute..


And that's the difference between fat tire bikes and studded tire bikes: I call those the fast spots. Last year I would have avoided them like the plague.


mtbxplorer said:


> Went down once, and the rear wheel attempted to pass the front wheel a couple times.


 For exactly that reason, never a good feeling. I did bounce my head off the ice this weekend on a slippery spot with snow over it. The warm spell has fixed those problems.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I took a tumble on a snowy trail on the weekend. It's so nice going into a fall thinking "This isn't going to hurt" instead of "Where will I be picking gravel out of?" 



CommuterBoy said:


> I peeked over my yellow sunglasses this morning to get a feel for how light it was, and the dark, drab, grey nastiness was a downer. The yellow lenses made it way more enjoyable with with the new dusting of snow.


Yellow lenses are great in the late fall - everything is brown and dead and gross, but they make it look like it's still early fall when things are just turning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> And that's the difference between fat tire bikes and studded tire bikes: I call those the fast spots. Last year I would have avoided them like the plague. For exactly that reason, never a good feeling. I did bounce my head off the ice this weekend on a slippery spot with snow over it. The warm spell has fixed those problems.


Yes, I definitely miss the studs at times. I am tempted to try that bike tomorrow, but I may be underestimating the snowier parts where the fatbike is better, and the unavoidable icy parts were pretty short.

Hope your head is OK, it is not so nice to land on ice.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It looks like everybody got some kind of snow- cool. We only had a dusting, but together with a little bit of drizzle this afternoon, it saved me from watering the trees in my yard Jack and Jill style. They were getting pretty dry again.

I hate to jinx things, but today I`m able to scroll back and forth and read everybodys posts completely. No horizontal images, so still crossing my fingers, but it looks promising. I did try another browser, but that didn`t help before. Sometimes I wish I understood computer stuff better.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I hate to jinx things, but today I`m able to scroll back and forth and read everybodys posts completely. No horizontal images, so still crossing my fingers, but it looks promising. I did try another browser, but that didn`t help before. Sometimes I wish I understood computer stuff better.


It's good and it's bad rodar. You can scroll back and forth again, but the double scrollbars are back in some threads and the scrollbar at the bottom is not working right...and the keyboard keys for navigation are not working right. I posted some more examples in the "site issues" forum and the web guy is still looking at things...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Woodway, is your scrollbar not working on this thread? I was on Safari a few minutes ago, now on Firefox, the bottom scroll bar and the keyboard nav arrows work for me on both browsers. I haven`t seen double scroll bars on the side for a week or more.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Today's ride was downright friggin' delightful. Got to work with time to spare (about 7:50, don't really have to be there until 8:30 and we're not actually open until 10) so I headed down the road to hit some quick singletrack, then back up the interstate to work. All in all I turned what is normally a 13 mile one way trip to work into a 24 mile ride with about 5 miles of dirt, and lots of climbing on the road. I might actually start to prefer riding on the road if it weren't for all the damn cars. I'm thinking of making a shirt that says "If you give me just 5 feet on the left, it keeps me from being 6 feet under". I'd rather it say "you'll be 6 feet under" but that's not gonna win me any friends out there.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

My commute today was kinda cheesy...

I had to go renew my driver's license (just pay the fees, no big deal), so the SAAQ service point was on my way, so I decided to stop there with my bike and then continue to go to class... It was in one of those big indoor mall, with wide hallways, always empty and a few people walking around... The service center was about a few 100's feet from the entrance, so I went in, walk my bike to the place and lay it on a wall, went inside the store to get a number and waited in front with the bike. I had number 261. They were already serving number 245. My class was in only 30 minutes, so it looked good. About 15 minutes later, they called number 258, so i had about only a few more minutes to wait. But then two guys of the security service showed up and told me I'm not allowed to have my bike inside the mall and that I needed to go lock it outside. Off course, I didn't had a lock with me (it was at my parking spot at college) and they didn't want to leave me like 5 more minutes to get my things done... Bummer. So I had to pack my stuff and go ride to my class. And not mentioning they close at 4:30 during the week. My class was till 6. So I'll have to go back by walking Thursday. After my class.

Worst was there was not even a single place I could have locked my bike close to the mall... And even though, downtown is one of the best place to leave a bike unattended if you know what I mean. They'll take care of it ASAP.

Other then that the commute back home was great. I stayed there to work on my website till 8. Optimization of Javascript and images preloads for my new section. Lot of juggling around with codes.

Hells, take a look at it if you want : Editing section | Chaveca Design


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spinnyspinspin said:


> Today's ride was downright friggin' delightful. Got to work with time to spare (about 7:50, don't really have to be there until 8:30 and we're not actually open until 10) so I headed down the road to hit some quick singletrack, then back up the interstate to work. All in all I turned what is normally a 13 mile one way trip to work into a 24 mile ride with about 5 miles of dirt, and lots of climbing on the road.


I dunno- without any pictures, I`m not sure we should believe you 
As that all dry, or did you have snowpack going on?

> I might actually start to prefer riding on the road if it weren't for all the damn cars.<
Careful there- I had feelings like that a couple years ago. Now I don`t even have a "real" mtb.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Woodway, is your scrollbar not working on this thread? I was on Safari a few minutes ago, now on Firefox, the bottom scroll bar and the keyboard nav arrows work for me on both browsers. I haven`t seen double scroll bars on the side for a week or more.


I've got the double scrollbar on the right, keyboard keys are working, bottom scrollbar is messed up. But the thread is readable.


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

This morning's commute was rough. I couldn't get my legs, lungs and brain to sync up. You know just one of those days where you would normally cruise up all the hills with smoothness and ease, but you just can't get anything right. My main hill climb, over the Occoquan river crossing over into Fairfax, just threw me for a loop this morning. I ended up having to grind it out almost in the granny. I was glad I took the 29er this morning because if I was on the 2x1 road bike, I would not have made it. Considering calling up the GF and having her pick me up and bail me out after work. Hopefully, after a good lunch and a full day of work I'll reset and make it home.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ getting sick? or just an 'off' day?

We had a weird, wet, foggy night. Everything was saturated this morning. It was freezing-rain-slippery for the first mile or so, but as I dropped down into the valley it just turned into wet. I sort of saw the freezing rain thing coming, so I put the wheelset from the MTB on the commuter last night. The knobbies help a lot with a crust of frozen slush. But by 1/2 way to work, it was just me in a quiet grey wet fog with the hum of knobbies to keep me company. The bike looks pretty sweet with the knobbies on there though.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I dunno- without any pictures, I`m not sure we should believe you
> As that all dry, or did you have snowpack going on?
> 
> > I might actually start to prefer riding on the road if it weren't for all the damn cars.<
> Careful there- I had feelings like that a couple years ago. Now I don`t even have a "real" mtb.


24.28 mile Bike Ride in Santa Fe on Feb 7, 2012 at 06:57 am in Santa Fe, NM | Bike Map | MapMyRIDE

Wasn't worried that you were actually in doubt, but I've got access to the data, so why not flaunt it? And there will always be a place in my heart for punishing myself on the full suspension on the many many awesome trails here.


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ getting sick? or just an 'off' day?


I'm going to opt for an 'off' day. It is supposed to snow tonight here. I'm going to nut-up, shut-up and ride it out tonight.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ getting sick? or just an 'off' day?
> 
> We had a weird, wet, foggy night. Everything was saturated this morning. It was freezing-rain-slippery for the first mile or so, but as I dropped down into the valley it just turned into wet. I sort of saw the freezing rain thing coming, so I put the wheelset from the MTB on the commuter last night. The knobbies help a lot with a crust of frozen slush. But by 1/2 way to work, it was just me in a quiet grey wet fog with the hum of knobbies to keep me company. The bike looks pretty sweet with the knobbies on there though.


There's something so rewarding about the sound the rubber makes as it crushes ice and snow, isn't there? And rufio, hope you feel better before your ride home. We all have days like that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes, I definitely miss the studs at times. I am tempted to try that bike tomorrow, but I may be underestimating the snowier parts where the fatbike is better, and the unavoidable icy parts were pretty short.
> 
> Hope your head is OK, it is not so nice to land on ice.


I think the scales have tipped here so even if I had a fatty I'd pick the studded bike. The trails are 85% packed snow, 10% ice and 5% bare. The head is fine. The trip over the handlebars is causing more lasting pain. Are you going to attempt another video? I brought a better camera to take some good stills and maybe even a vid - and the batteries did NOT like the cold.



rufio said:


> This morning's commute was rough. I couldn't get my legs, lungs and brain to sync up.


I've been having the same problem. For me I think it's just that I'm riding the trails both ways and my legs are tired. I'm pretty much putting in 2 1/2 hours of hard riding a day. I'm exhausted but it is too fun to pass by.

With that said - This mornings commute was awesome, Cold (6F), but awesome! I went the long way so I ended up riding 14 miles of trails. Last night's full moonlight lake crossing was so good I think I'll try it again tonight.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

*Seen in Austin*


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

Pretty chilly on the ride in,18 degrees, but most of my commute into town is uphill so I warm up pretty quickly. I've got a place to shower when the weather gets warmer but so far that really hasn't been an issue (I've only been commuting about 2 mos.) I left work while it was still light today and took a few pictures on the way home. Here's one of the commuter train (the Railrunner) that runs from just south of Albuquerque up here to Santa Fe.

The locals call it "Thunder Chicken."


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

cdaddy said:


> Pretty chilly on the ride in,18 degrees, but most of my commute into town is uphill so I warm up pretty quickly. I've got a place to shower when the weather gets warmer but so far that really hasn't been an issue (I've only been commuting about 2 mos.) I left work while it was still light today and took a few pictures on the way home. Here's one of the commuter train (the Railrunner) that runs from just south of Albuquerque up here to Santa Fe.
> 
> The locals call it "Thunder Chicken."


Nice pic, dude. That's the best that ridiculous train has ever looked. Except for maybe a few times watching it go past Second Street Brewery. But I blame that on the beer.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

rufio said:


> This morning's commute was rough. I couldn't get my legs, lungs and brain to sync up. You know just one of those days where you would normally cruise up all the hills with smoothness and ease, but you just can't get anything right. My main hill climb, over the Occoquan river crossing over into Fairfax, just threw me for a loop this morning. I ended up having to grind it out almost in the granny. I was glad I took the 29er this morning because if I was on the 2x1 road bike, I would not have made it. Considering calling up the GF and having her pick me up and bail me out after work. Hopefully, after a good lunch and a full day of work I'll reset and make it home.


Rufio, just realized that in your thread you say "2x1 road bike". You got some sort of dingle variant going on or was it just a typo? Here's to a better ride tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spinnyspinspin said:


> Nice pic, dude. That's the best that ridiculous train has ever looked.


Yeah, nice pic and it really is a nice looking train.
I just got schooled here, too. Was wondering how the heck those little burgs got such a nice rail system and we get squat, so I hit the search engines and found out that the Albuquerque metro area is like three times the size of my "metro" area. Oh. I guess that `splains it


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, nice pic and it really is a nice looking train


I think Spinny called it ridiculous because it's never more than a quarter full on any run. It's a fiscal money pit, especially now that the Federal subsidy has run out. Our former governor, Bill Richardson, built it thinking it would look good on his resume when he ran for President. He was wrong.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Everybody needs a good money pit. You want an airport expansion, any chance? How about a six mile long trench to run that train in?


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## Kroz (Feb 9, 2012)

*Good Commuting weather*

Weather in Southern Ontario has been unreal for bicycle commuting this year. Daily temperatures are above seasonal and the roads have been mostly clear of snow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yesterday's diversion...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nice looking trail. It makes me want to get my Cross Check dialed in for me and ride it. I've had it for about a month now and just added some cross brakes on it. I started a ride last Saturday but it just didn't feel like my bike yet and i wanted to RIDE not futz around with a bike. That, and I noticed that the trails were ridable again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yep, we have snow on the MTB trails, so I've been forced onto the flat stuff. The knobbies give this bike a whole different feel... it's a drop-bar mtb all of a sudden, instead of an obese road bike. the 50 tooth big ring makes the rail-trail a hammer fest...until you get into the soft stuff, which eventually turns to mud, which eventually turns to snow...then you turn around and head back...and stop to take pictures, becuase man, that hurt.

If there was ever a custom bike built just for bombing a relatively flat rail-trail, this is it. A drop bar rigid 29er with a 50 tooth road ring up front and mountain 9 speed out back. Can't wait till summer so I can ditch the fenders.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

cdaddy said:


> I think Spinny called it ridiculous because it's never more than a quarter full on any run. It's a fiscal money pit, especially now that the Federal subsidy has run out. Our former governor, Bill Richardson, built it thinking it would look good on his resume when he ran for President. He was wrong.


You hit that nail directly on the head, cdaddy. CommuterBoy, I don't know if I've ever seen that particular rig of yours before, but that shot left me wanting more! It looks like a Fuji road frame from the head badge, but then to see the fork with that monstrous tire.... can we has more pics of that bike, please?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, Asking somebody if they can post more pictures of their bike is like asking a new mom if you can see pictures of her baby. Their not going to say no.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ True!

It's a Performance Access 29er. There's some pics in here from when I pieced it together: http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/ordered-another-frame-drop-bar-29er-build-623254.html


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride yesterday a.m., but chillier, 0F. I usually bypass this nice overlook on the snowmobile trail because there is an alternate route on a short section of abandoned town road which is shorter and flatter. It sure was fun to zoom down the other side of the hill.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice picture mtbx. And I have to say that looking at those fat tires makes me a little giddy everytime!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I finally got my driver's license renewed. What worst then walking a few blocks to get the renewal, then walk back to my bike then ride home while taking the same tracks that I walked ? Not having lunch yet. So I'll remedy to it right now.

I was in t-shirt outside today. My outside temp meter says 10°C ! Might be because the sun is going right on the sensor, so in fact it should be around 0°C... Bah, -+10°C doesn't matter anyway


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Great shot! I want a fatbike! I want snow!


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

That is an awesome pic, mtbx! Sweet lookin' ride.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Did a shake down run today with the Lezyne pannier lightly loaded. Everything was great granted it's 34F right now in the first week of Feb which is almost unheard of in MN.


Tested out my homemade booties also, have electrical tape underneath with a old wool sock over.

My new commute is 16 miles round trip.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks all for the fatbike love! It's weird, my MTB looks so anorexic now. Finally bought a spare tube today, I swear it weighs a pound! Minimal snow here, but we are relatively lucky...I have been out in the field this week, and a 1 hour drive north or 1.5 south there is no snow right now!

Mr Pink, I just wore out the heel of some favorite socks and am going to try out one of the cuffs on my wrist for a nose wipe. I am thinking it may be soft and easily washable, unlike my gloves. How were the booties? Are they now black like the ones you can buy?


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

I've only put one ride on them and I did leave my shoes on when I went into the bagel shop today. So far they're not dirty but it's been so dry here we have no moisture to be found. And I would try to avoid walking in muddy areas if I can anyways with these.

I could see that as a nice option, maybe try to cut it and sew it so it won't slip off? I would like to try that but maybe have it around my gloves that way it's a little extra warmth and a snot rag.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

From drop bars on CA rail trails to sunrise over VT snowmobile trail- what a great mix today!
Xplorer, are you almost always able to float on those trails, or do you sink a lot in the afternoons?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was a little fatigued today. I'm trying to get geared up for more trail riding. The weather here has been too warm and too wet to ride the trails much. So yesterday I went to the park near my house and rode my mountain bike up and down a steep hill a number of times. I did some interval type stuff in addition to some fun things (like riding a curb I couldn't clear last year). Tomorrow we're supposed to have snow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> From drop bars on CA rail trails to sunrise over VT snowmobile trail- what a great mix today!
> Xplorer, are you almost always able to float on those trails, or do you sink a lot in the afternoons?


No sinking, but this is a tough winter to judge because there is so little snow. Might have to wait for next winter for the full report. Today it warmed up above freezing but was 30F and dropping when I left work. There was more concern with icy patches than sinking. In fact, in some places, like my yard, there is a thick enough crust that I did a few laps around (off trail) but stayed perfectly on top of the snow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I must admit, I did a craigslist and ebay search for fatbikes "just to see what's out there". It's a sickness, I mean, I haven't even taken my latest bike on a full ride yet but a fatbike would be so cool...Not this year. Speaking of this year, I am on the trails over a month earlier than last year.:thumbsup: Right now almost all the trails are perfect. Hard, fast, grippy highways through the woods. We've got a few inches of snow in the forecast.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ever notice what creatures of habit we are?

I was thinking about this on my ride in this morning. I pass the same three commuters towards the end of my commute almost every day. Invariably, we pass in almost the same spot, plus/minus a couple hundred yards. In fact on days when I don't see them I start looking at the time wondering if I am running early or late.

I am envious of the cool photos you all are posting of your trail commutes. My ride is all streets/MUP. It's a fine ride, but it would be pretty sweet if I could mix some trail in there somewhere!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The trails really break up the monotony of the winter commute. I try not to be a creature of habit. In the summer I take different routes adding 2-20 miles to my commutes. The road commuting in the winter I don't have the energy to pedal that heavy monster longer than necessary. Once I get on the trails I'm back to different routes. Today I rode around the island instead of taking the direct route. There are some other trial options if I drag my a** out of bed by 5:00.

I only get to ride the trails in the winter. The way the trails and roads connect any trail riding in the summer would be purely a detour off the main route which makes for a long mountain bike ride on the roads.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've been watching this little lady go through the whole process over the past few months. Facinating stuff, actually :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Furlogh day, time to go camping!

Well, today I`ll pack and nap, then go fetch some groceries, but I`ll be ready to roll bright and early tomorrow morning. Hoping the new tires I ordered will come in today so I can field test them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Lots. Of. Pics. !! 

I'm very curious about the Seneca to 70 portion... Have fun out there.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Have fun, rodar, and yes, lots of pics. And CB, I'm very surprised that I don't run into more of that kind of natural science experiment considering all the critters out here in the southwest. We are lacking in the deer department (that was a deer at some point, yes?) and I guess having all the coyotes around might explain the lack of remains.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It's 15F right now and a 16mph wind is blowing. My commute lacked awesome.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Mr Pink57 said:


> It's 15F right now and a 16mph wind is blowing. My commute lacked awesome.


Dude. But you are awesome for braving it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It is getting dern windy around here too... might be a long push home. But hey, 3 day weekend!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Have a good trip, Rodar. What temps do you expect during the day & overnight?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My commute was weird. First a delivery truck honked its ridiculously loud horn at me as I was waiting for a car oncoming car to pass so I could make a left turn. I was doing a track stand at the time, and I guess he thought he'd try to tip me over. It didn't affect me at all other than thinking the guy was a bit of a jerk. 

Next I came upon a kid riding a BMX bike on the MUP in the park. He was in his own world weaving down the center of path. I called out to him, but he didn't seem to hear me. Eventually he realized I was there and talking to him, and I passed him.

Finally, I was climbing the last hill before my neighborhood and got a flat. I was wondering why it was getting so hard to pedal up the hill. I had a piece of metal the size of my thumbnail sticking out of my tire. Luckily I wasn't far from home.

The commute was still OK. The weather was not too bad, and I was fortunate enough to be only a half mile away from home when I got a flat.


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## rexs (Feb 11, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've been watching this little lady go through the whole process over the past few months. Facinating stuff, actually :lol:


Ha, I have a decomposing deer and unfortunately a skunk as well, on my commute.

The skunk was only bad on day 1 and 2...much better now =)

...now you've made me want to start taking pictures on my ride...gonna have to leave earlier.


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

*Detour.*

Interesting commute today with the cops and hazmat guys taking out Cap'n Cook and his meth lab. Quick route adjustment and I was on my way.


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## HardyWeinberg (Aug 3, 2007)

Pretty great ride home, it was after rush hour distribution entirely, instead of my usual front third of the rush hour.

My am commute is usually peak rush hour, my wife stays and takes the kids to school so catches the retiree rush hour for her commute. Then I leave work at the beginning of pm rush hour and she comes home at the end of it. PM rush hour is harder going toward my house (against traffic) than AM is leaving it.

I try to leave work early enough but every couple minute delay early in my ride home is that much bigger a hassle crossing traffic at the end of my route.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It was 1F this morning and 13F on the way home. I was glad for no clouds but my eyelashes where freezing to my eyebrows both ways. And I actually liked the morning commute better there were less cars and no wind unlike on the way home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Yowza!*

What a ride this weekend! I got to my jumping off point about 8AM Sat morning, stopped for coffee at a local roadhouse and asked a little about the roads (maps were not in agreement and Google images left me stumped), then threw my leg over and rode. Man, so many neat places, awesome roads, and cool scenes! I ended up with like 140 pics, so I`ll have to edit and pair them down then try to pick a dozen or so for posting here, but that won`t be an easy task.

Started with 7 miles of single lane paved road on a gentle climb, saw the odd little town of Caribou CA, made a stop to check out an old WPA powerhouse (CB, you MUST go see Caribou!), then left pavement for a crazy steep climb up into the mouintains. A little mushy with intermittant mud. After a torturous ascent, got into more mud with views back into the canyon I had climbed out of, then a surprisingly picturesque frozen reservoir, more mud and occasional snow getting past the reservoir, and another crazy steep climb (this time paved). Ten miles of highway rollers, back on dirt for a short climb and a killer downhill to the last remnants of an almost ghost town in the boondocks, backtracked a half mile and made camp, pretty much below the snow line.

This morning it was probably mid 20s, so easy getting over the mud. My only option to go "forward" from that ghost town would have me back to yesterdday`s reservoir in four miles, so I decided to climb back up that killer descent (which made it a killer of an ascent), then cut off on another dirt road that looked like it went back to my starting point by the next drainage over. It was mostly snow covered, with frozen mud between the snow banks, but I was able to follow truck tracks, and it was still plenty frozen, so I made slow but sure progress... until the tracks I was following stopped and turned around.

Tried hiking in unbroken snow, but that just wasn`t going to work- ended up having to backtrack 10 miles to the ghost town, and by the time I got there everything was thawed out and getting sloppy. For the next four hours, it was mud, slush, mud, snow. And I had forgotten my chain lube! Anyway, I got back to the roadhouse where I parked in time for a patty melt before they closed. Tomorrow is definitely bike maintenance day because the whole drivetrain rattles and screaches, the chain jumps, and it`s doing that auto-shift thing. I`ll get pics posted tomorrow, probably.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, you got _out _there, Rodar! Sounds like a great adventure, glad you made it back. :thumbsup: Good luck with the clean-up and looking forward to the pix.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yup, looking forward to the pics Rodar.

Today's commute was great. The trails are getting faster and faster. Saw a bunch of deer, more than usual. COLD - 6F

You'd think that commuting the trails every day I'd have enough but what did i do this weekend? That's right I went out and rode the trails with a friend. 26 miles in about 3 hours. Sunday was bike maintenance day. Replaced the pulleys on the commuter bike that had worn the teeth to nubs and the bearings flat. Filed off the snagletooth on the MTB chainring that apparently lost a fight with a rock. And dialed in the cross bike a little more and took it for a ride across a lake.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Today was good, I took my rack off and pannier and just took a backpack(biking to the gym) which really lightened everything up. Thank GOD for studded tires today, it snowed on my way home and covered most of the road, I hit a ice patch front slipped a bit then the studs dug in.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

A few pixels from this weekend. I ended up with so many that I put up a whole bunch on Photobucket.
Caribou-Seneca ride pictures by brianylupita - Photobucket


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

More weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Oooh, that looks like pretty rugged country, especially those dirt roads on that relatively skinny tire bike. I see you sure did get dirty. Great exploring! What's with all the papers on the porch - business cards at the local store? Lots of people needing work? I haven't looked on your photobucket yet, but it looks like you packed a lot in to a short trip. I pulled out some maps yesterday....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Epic trip! I've done some of that in the Jeep... Thought of you when the snow started to fly last night.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thought of you when the snow started to fly last night.


It rained a little while I was driving down there, but no rain or snow while I was out and about. Cold in the mornings, but by noon each day, it was up in the high 40s- for better or for worse.

>What's with all the papers on the porch - business cards at the local store? Lots of people needing work?<
I`m guessing it`s just a tradition, like people tacking Dollar bills to the ceiling in certain bars. That place is still open, but apparently summers only. A few little shacks around that may or may not have anybody living in them.

>I haven't looked on your photobucket yet, but it looks like you packed a lot in to a short trip. I pulled out some maps yesterday....<
Hmmm.... planning for next summer? Where are you thinking this time?


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Rodar, those pics make me totally green with envy. I miss the ocean more every day I spend in this godforsaken desert. Awesome trip from the looks of it. I didn't worn today but did some pavement riding on the cx bike north, which is a dorection I had not yet explored here in Santa Fe.

Did about 48 miles roundtrip, which may have been a bad idea since I'm fighting off a cold and the weather was extremely bi-polar today. In a 3 and a half hour ride I could not get my layers dialed in. As soon as I would remove something cause I was sweating the wind would pick up and I would get chilly. Ugh. Beautiful scenic ride through Tesuque, though, and almost made it to the church at Chimayo, but had to turn around and head home because of plans with the lady. Even managed to get some dirt in when the frontage road suddenly ended and I road parallel to 285 on the other side of the cement divider until that ended. Got some awesome looks when I hoisted the bike and myself over the divider and started riding on the shoulder.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spinnyspin, I always thgouth the Sandias were a lot like the Sierra. No? I also heard that they have some seriously huge elk and mule deer out that way, so I was surprised when you mentioned not having many deer.
We need some NM trip reports!


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Spinnyspin, I always thgouth the Sandias were a lot like the Sierra. No? I also heard that they have some seriously huge elk and mule deer out that way, so I was surprised when you mentioned not having many deer.
> We need some NM trip reports!


Well my commute doesn't take me near the sandias at all, so that explains the lack of deer, and the majority of trails I mtb are near developed residential areas where all the movie stars have houses to escape Hollywood (google the dale ball trail system and you'll have an idea of where I'm talking about). There is lots of lush forest near downtown Santa Fe, but nothing like Felton, the redwood town near Santa Cruz I moved from. I need to figure out a way to take pics while on the move, but that will probably have to wait until the weather permits less bundling up. I am training for a century in May that I would like to attempt fixed, so I'll be keeping you guys posted as I explore the area on longer rides. Still, I didn't ride by anything nearly as picturesque as some of your shots. Managed to avoid the heroin spoon on the shoulder, though.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Mr Pink57 said:


> Today was good, I took my rack off and pannier and just took a backpack(biking to the gym) which really lightened everything up. Thank GOD for studded tires today, it snowed on my way home and covered most of the road, I hit a ice patch front slipped a bit then the studs dug in.


I don't envy you needing studded tires, but good on ya for riding. It's been a light, perpetually thawing winter here, so not enough ice and too much mud.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> >I haven't looked on your photobucket yet, but it looks like you packed a lot in to a short trip. I pulled out some maps yesterday....<
> Hmmm.... planning for next summer? Where are you thinking this time?


Loved the rest of the pix, esp the snowy ones and the Feather River. 
I won't go camping til it's warmer, still wide open, but considering the Adirondacks across the lake in NY, the White Mtn Natl Forest in NH, or Flagstaff Lake/Bigelow Mtn area in ME.

Spinny, glad your shoulder is OK.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We had our "big" snow event of the year. Basically, we received an inch of snow. Temps never dipped below freezing, but the roads were still pretty cold. There was quite a bit of slush on the MUP and sideroads. I put a different wheel on the front with knobbier tires and was fine. I'm getting sick of all the hype surrounding our snow "storms." We haven't had a major winter storm in a few years.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, we go down to Seneca in the summer to pick blackberries...they're all along the river down there. that place is trapped in time. Too cool. 

I sold some stuff on craigslist this weekend... saving my pennies for a big frame swap on the commuter/tourer. Surly Ogre is in the works....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Icy*

Really nice pics Rodar. Looks like a great way to spend some time. (except for maybe that unridable snowy section.)

The trails are making me love my studded tires even more. Some are still pretty snowy, most are pretty hard packed, some are mostly icy and some are like the pics below. My 588 studs let me bomb through them in the dark with confidence when most would be impassable without the studs.

I can ride down these sections but not up. I think it is actually safer to ride down them than to try to walk. I just know that I'm not going to stop even if I want to.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Wow, you guys make our winter look like a little sissy girl. I haven't seen that much ice in a couple years.


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## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

My commute this morning was a little rough, but it could have gotten a LOT worse.

When I made the choice to ride it was lightly spitting snow, but nothing too bad. The road by my house wasn’t covered, but I grabbed the hardtail Kona with fenders and studded tires. Checked the tire pressure, looked at the chain, made sure the fenders were tight and the tail light was working, and took off.

Within ¼ mile it was snowing…hard! By ¾ of a mile, the roads were completely covered and it was snowing hard enough that it was nearly impossible to see.

By the time I got to work (only 4 miles or so), I was completely covered in snow, pants soaked through etc. 

When I wheeled the bike into the building, I thought something seemed odd with the front end. I pulled up a bit and felt some weird knocking, as if the front QR was loose. So I take a look and…there was no QR! A week or so ago I had moved some parts around and had pulled the front QR and put it on another wheel, and left the Kona in the rack with no QR like an idiot.

I always check the front QRs on my bikes before I take off, but was running late this morning, and forgot. Yeeeesh…I have no idea how I made it to work without killing myself. The fact that there's no way to squeeze the tire through between the brake pads without undoing the V-brake noodle probably saved my bacon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Wow.


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## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Wow.


You can say that again. Been playing around on mountain bikes for 20+yrs, but that was a first...and last. How i didn't notice the wheel knocking around is beyond me. I guesss the crappy conditions and the fact that I was going pretty slow...who knows...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Lawyer-tabs saved my bacon once, but riding without a skewer at all - that's amazing!


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## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

I know. If you tried to tell me yesterday that it was even possible, I would have called BS.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Trailer safety chains saved my bacon once. Put the trailer on the ball, hooked up the lights, chains...got distracted and never locked the hitch down. It'll stay on until you hit a good bumpy section of road.

You'll probably not do it again soon.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

JChasse said:


> You can say that again. Been playing around on mountain bikes for 20+yrs, but that was a first...and last. How i didn't notice the wheel knocking around is beyond me. I guesss the crappy conditions and the fact that I was going pretty slow...who knows...


Probably a good thing that the conditions didn't allow you to get going quick. Glad you didn't experience catastrophic failure.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Things you don't see everyday:


And now I'm kicking myself for not taking the bike down for a spin on the ice. I'm always too chicken - especially when the temperature is getting above freezing on most days, and there's actually a big patch of open water maybe 100m to the right of the photo.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rodar, those are great pics - thanks for sharing.

I am sure enjoying reading about all of your commutes - rotting deer, sheets of ice, missing skewers. All I get is darkness, rain and road grit. Pretty boring for the next few months till I can start riding in the daylight again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Double dang!!
Bedwards, that road looks like you could sell tickets and bill it as a carnival ride!
And JC, holy cow! I`d have never thought somebody could pull that one off either.

Newf, is that the same river that poses for your nice River Bend pics? I can imagine a lake freezing over solid enough to drive equipment onto, but a flowing river is really amazing.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice pics Rodar!

Since he said we can say it again,Wow JC!  I have gotten 2/10 of a mile when a noise made me check and I discovered I forgot to flip the front QR to lock. Losing a front wheel on chip coat at speed gives a very nasty road rash! My brother did this at 50 mph from a motorcycle. Ouch! A friend of mine says it is better to be lucky than good, but it sounds like you were good and lucky!

Bedwards: I have skated on rinks with less ice than that! New sport: downhill ice skating and uphill mtb-ing! The pedal design would be interesting, though: skate guards bolted to platforms?

Snow come and gone again, but feeling too crappy to ride. (Sounds like a song to the tune of Ticket to Ride?) 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, snow! 
We were supposed to get a few flurries, maybe a nice dusting, but we have around 3 inches now. This is the middle of February and it`s the biggest "dump" we`ve had all winter. It`s still falling slowly but melting as fast as it`s comming down.

Is everybody else getting notifications for subscribed threads? I stopped getting them yesterday for some reason. Was thinking I might have unsubscribed to all of them, but even after I posted again on some I`m still not getting the notifications. Better check my site preference settings, but I don`t think they`ve changed.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I discovered yesterday that one of my Time Aliums is broken. On my trail ride Sunday, my foot popped out of the pedal, but I didn't think too much of it. I later noticed that side wouldn't clip very easily. I figured the spring was frozen. I swapped the pedals over to my commuter yesterday and discovered that one of the springs is coming loose. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to fix it since the end that is meant to take a tool of some sort is the loose end. I guess I'll figure something out.

Weather was pleasant this morning. It's supposed to rain tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had a rabbit try to commit suicide under my front wheel this morning. He mis-timed his leap and bounced off my spokes instead. Get's you heart racing. Stupid rabbit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ I've squashed a squirrel and a chipmunk but nothing as big as a rabbit. Those were both with a road bike. 1" of tire in the entire world of space and these critters time it just right.

Sockeye - I've got the time Aliums too. I noticed that one of mine is all bashed up but still "ticking" [email protected] Amazon (Nashbar)

Today's commute was great! I took the long trail for a change. I'm not sure how long because my cyclocomputer wire didn't make the whole trip with me. Looks like it got too cold and inflexible. I'll solder it back together for the return trip.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wishing for studs this morning. The entire ride sounded like amplified pop rocks. The knobbies off of the mountain bike did pretty good. No drama, but it was slick.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ I've squashed a squirrel and a chipmunk but nothing as big as a rabbit. Those were both with a road bike. 1" of tire in the entire world of space and these critters time it just right.


I got a rabbit last year. Descending a hill at 27MPH, he went under my front wheel, flipped up and bounced off my right knee. I knew he was dead right away and just kept pedaling. When I rode home that night, there he was on the side of the MUP. I had to look at him for the next three days. But, unlike MTBX's decompsing deer, he was gone after the third day.

You all be careful out there with the snow and ice...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Our snow melted/self compacted into a half inch sheet of slick ice. Very slippery. If I were driving, I`d have needed to chain up- I love my little truck, but it sucks eggs when it comes to slippery roads.

On the NV forum a few years ago, a couple guys posted a pic of a rabbit who went INTO the spokes and rode all the way around to the fork leg. The biggest I`ve ever run over was a squirrel, with the front wheel of a tandem.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I got a rabbit last year. Descending a hill at 27MPH, he went under my front wheel, flipped up and bounced off my right knee. I knew he was dead right away and just kept pedaling. .../QUOTE]
> 
> Good eatin' size?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I guess I've been lucky, I haven't run over any critters yet. A few close calls, the scariest being a rottweiler, who amazing put on the brakes just in time.

A good ride in on the trails, some icy spots but nothing like Bedward's pic, mostly could go around or between the wheel tracks. Supposed to warm up and rain for the way home though - ick.

I tried out my new nosewiper this a.m., it was very comfy. It's an old sock that I wore out, cut off the cuff, turned it cozy side out, and secured it around the wrist with a narrow velcro ankle strap.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

My craziest critter encounter was the time I ran over a baby bird who fell out of the sky and landed about 6 inches in front of my wheel. Think about the odds of that happening... baby bird attempting its first flight, leaps from the nest, flutters to the ground, and there I am on the mountian bike at precisely that moment. Timing is everything. I felt pretty bad about that one.

Edit: forgot I snapped a pic this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...A good ride in on the trails, some icy spots but nothing like Bedward's pic, mostly could go around or between the wheel tracks. Supposed to warm up and rain for the way home though - ick....


I was going to ask how the trails were up your way. Most of the trails aren't like the pictures I posted but there are 3-4 of those spots. I'd say about 20% of them are icy enough where I really need the studs right now and 50% are icy enough where I am glad i have them, especially after dark.

Nice snot cuff. You definitely need some kind of SMS (snot management system) in this kind of weather.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> My craziest critter encounter was the time I ran over a baby bird who fell out of the sky and landed about 6 inches in front of my wheel. Think about the odds of that happening... baby bird attempting its first flight, leaps from the nest, flutters to the ground, and there I am on the mountian bike at precisely that moment. Timing is everything. I felt pretty bad about that one.
> 
> Edit: forgot I snapped a pic this morning.


Poor little guy. Awesome pic, CB, I really need to take more pictures when I'm riding. Great shot of the horizon.

mtb, your snot cuff is very clever. I tend to just use my glove and let the facial hair do the rest.


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## Anonymous (Mar 3, 2005)

I walked down stairs and unlocked my office door. 

I finally closed on the property's that I've been in the process of buying and moving into. 

Epic win by me!!!:thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Tonight's bike commute was mostly on foot. I greatly underestimated how soft the trails would be. My wheels were slithering around like crazy - ruining future rides and dumping me off in the bushes a few times. I think it is the roads for me tomorrow.

Nice pic CB. I'd ride that.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Anonymous said:


> I walked down stairs and unlocked my office door.
> 
> I finally closed on the property's that I've been in the process of buying and moving into.
> 
> Epic win by me!!!:thumbsup:


You need a Gunny emoticon. And hopefully you remembered to put clothes on before you left the office.


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## Burnt-Orange (Dec 10, 2008)

8 mile ride in on the fat bike was great 39 degrees ...just trying to get back in the grove
8 mile ride home 11 at night .... no on said anything about fog ... alive,home,bourbon,spin,wash repeat 

Sj


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Purdy morning, CB. It looks like you missed out on our ice layer.
Bedwards, how did your trails get soft? Did you get the warm up that Xplorer was worried about?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, it was 45 here yesterday. The trails had been so hardpacked I couldn't imagine them softening up like they did in 1 day. It looks like winter is over here in Maine. The forecast is for above freezing days for the foreseeable future. My lake crossing days might be coming to a close which is very disappointing. BUT, I'll get to bring the road bike out.

On a funner note, I took my commuter out on an alternate lake route that didn't involve trails. I road 2.5 mile on the lake.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Purdy morning, CB. It looks like you missed out on our ice layer.


It was pretty slick, but it wasn't horrible...you can kind of see tire tracks in the ice in the middle of the road in that pic... I didn't catch the 'glare' in the photo, but car headlights were reflecting brightly...it reminded you to pay attention. You know how freezing rain makes a perfectly smooth layer of death? This was like 'frozen slush'. Is that possible? it was frozen, but it was sort of lumpy, and it was literally crackling under my tires the entire way. Enough lump to give just a bit of traction with the MTB tires, but front brake would be a really bad idea. It was all gone by the ride home, of course. .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^That does sound bad. You don`t have any studded bike tires? They were probably the best money I`ve thrown at my bike.



bedwards1000 said:


> On a funner note, I took my commuter out on an alternate lake route that didn't involve trails. I road 2.5 mile on the lake.


I hope I get a chance to do that one of these days.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I know, I know...I almost bought some. But then I threw that money into the singlespeed project....


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Hey!

Iv`e had a week in bed with the flu/fever, so fist day out on the bike for a while.

The good news is that I only need my lights on the way to work, but not home.

We had -15c last week, this week we are +2c, which means slush and ice. Took a pic too.









On Saturday I am traveling over the pond for the first time. I am over for some product testing with my job, which entails 2 days of riding a hired bike in San Fransisco and a borrowed bike in Santa Cruz.

Can`t wait! The weather forcast looks promising too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sweet! Enjoy the trip. You'll be just down the hill a few hours from me.

This bridge is an optional detour on my commute...pic is from a couple days ago.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Well a bad news came in today, but in the same time another one happen, and luckily, they both helped each others...

Vote for unlimited strike a been make today at my college against the rise of scholar fees. So now I'm at home for at least the next week. It's the same all over the province and you may have heard about it in the news. So I was leaving, then found I had a slow leak in my front tire, and then a full flat. I did manage to find about the last employee in the college and I had access to an air compressor 

So now I have plenty time to fix the flat at home and also plenty time to not do things... Otherwise it was okay.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good this a.m., 27F and 1/4" of snow overnight for a speedy trailride with a nice fluff layer smoothing out any snowmachine treads. It always feels fast on snow even when it isn't really that fast. Unless of course it's deep and you're struggling or pushing. Tonight may be a road ride as it's now 37F, but maybe I'll try the trail first.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Lovely day today. Couldn't ask for better, really. I took the scenic route along the waterfront this morning. Really looking forward to heading home.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

mtbx, what's with the holes in those fat bike rims? I see the spokes are attached elsewhere, but it almost looks like tube is visible through them. It creates an awesome visual, but I imagine it's got to be sealed, right? 

RPK, you are a lucky man. What an awesome commute. California?


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Spinnyspinspin said:


> RPK, you are a lucky man. What an awesome commute. California?


Heh, no, Wellington, New Zealand actually


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

R+P+K said:


> Heh, no, Wellington, New Zealand actually


Now I envy you even further, because you get beautiful riding weather in Feb and you're not a resident of the circus we call the USA. Okay, that's enough for me. I'll ride tomorrow so I can join in with some pics.


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## middcrossrx (Jul 26, 2007)

Unusually warm and dry winter left me with 26 miles on the Cross Check. light clothing, pannier with my school gear, bird calls following me the whole way. Everything was calm, but confused for February in Vermont. The Big Dummy and Pugsley (studded) sit ready for ice and snow duty.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spinnyspinspin said:


> mtbx, what's with the holes in those fat bike rims? I see the spokes are attached elsewhere, but it almost looks like tube is visible through them. It creates an awesome visual, but I imagine it's got to be sealed, right?


The holes just lighten up the fatbike rim a bit. On mine, the rim tape is some 3M reflective tape, so that's what you see through the holes. The tube can bulge out just a bit behind the tape.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Fux: Beautiful seaside shot! I hope you have an awesome time in California, but please remember that we aren`t ALL weird like that. Well, I`m weird because I was born there, but I`ve since naturalized in Nevada 

RE, RPK`s commute: I like it too, wish he put up more pictures. Can`t say as I`m very envious of it, though. I don`t hink I`d care to ride out of his canyon every day, and isn`t NZ just about the only country in this world with more animosity towards cyclists than the US?

I`m glad you had a nice ride today, MtbX. Thanks for the pics, too! BTW, I knew why the big holes in the rims, but I always wondered if you needed a big strip of semi rigid plastic or something to keep the tube from pushing out. I guess not. They look cool.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had a bummer moment just a half hour ago. I noticed that my rear wheel was out of true, so unmounted the tire and threw it in my truing stand. It`s out of true because the rim split in the brake track- DOH!. Last weekend`s mudfest must have done it in. Funny that the rear went before the front because I use the front brakes a lot more than the rear. At least I`ve got another wheelset, but I`ll have to either ride in studs every day or keep switching tires (boo-hoo, eh?). AND.. since the rear one went, I took a good look at the front rim and I think it`s time to replace that one too. Looking around, I see I can get the same rims (Velocity Aeroheats) for about $50 each, or half that for CR-18s. Hmmm... I really like the Aeroheats, especially because the deep profile gives me somewhere to put reflective tape, but I`ve used CR-18s on other bikes, and they`re pretty good too. Then again, if I go to a differetn model, I`ll have to work out spoke lengths and probably spend as much in spokes as I would have saved by buying less expensive rims. I`d better sleep on it.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

^^^ good thing it never truly gave-way!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> RE, RPK`s commute: I like it too, wish he put up more pictures. Can`t say as I`m very envious of it, though. I don`t hink I`d care to ride out of his canyon every day, and isn`t NZ just about the only country in this world with more animosity towards cyclists than the US?


Yep, a lot of NZ drivers aren't particularly considerate around cyclists.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I had a bummer moment just a half hour ago. I noticed that my rear wheel was out of true, so unmounted the tire and threw it in my truing stand. It`s out of true because the rim split in the brake track- DOH!. Last weekend`s mudfest must have done it in. Funny that the rear went before the front because I use the front brakes a lot more than the rear. At least I`ve got another wheelset, but I`ll have to either ride in studs every day or keep switching tires (boo-hoo, eh?). ....


Ugh! Wheel failures are a bit scary. I had the rim fold over once when swapping tires, it would not have been pretty if I was riding and that happened. Yes boohoo, I don't like swapping tires around, though some seem to do it as often as changing their socks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I know I'd be riding the studs every day until I could get a new rim. I guess if you knew you were in for a stretch of good riding you could swap them over. My MTB tire/rim combo is so tight I broke 4 cheap plastic tire irons trying to get them off - not a good day. Normally I can do a whole swap in a few min. I've since upgraded my tire irons to Pedro's


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My studdies are kind of tough to mount, but not the absolute worst. Fortunately, the other tires are easy- can usually do it with just my fingers. Are Pedros levers steel? I have a set of steel levers that a buddy gave me. They sure can be a lifesaver with tight fits.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday evening I was buzzed by some idiot in an El Camino. That was not cool (and definitely on purpose).

I was chased by a dog this morning. He had escaped his leash and was happy to be free. He was a friendly dog, but he wouldn't let me grab him. I waited around while the owner tried to catch him. Every time I tried to ride off, the dog would follow me. Eventually I was able to slip out. Somehow I still made it to work relatively on time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

They are plastic and got good reviews. Pedro's Levers. Luckily I haven't had a chance to use them yet. Picked them up at the LBS for cheap.

What do you ride for studs? My Mount & Ground tires have the studs toward the side and if I put the pressure to them they ride more like a normal tire but the studs aren't that useful.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> On a funner note, I took my commuter out on an alternate lake route that didn't involve trails. I road 2.5 mile on the lake.


I know it's frozen and all, but riding on ice over a lake that big would just wierd me out a bit. I'd be worried about falling through the whole time I was out there. Pretty cool all the same bedwards!

I've been using Pedro levers for years. They are virtually indestructable and they are easy on your rim. Get some...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ve got Winter Marathons. Very stiff, and if I put too much pressure in them they ride like stone wheels.

Except for the hook in the middle rather than on one side, those Pedros look to me just like any other plastic lever. Do they have some kind of magic that isn`t readily apparent? I have to say that the thought of steeel levers against my aluminum rim doesn`t exactly give me the warm fuzzies.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to hear on the Pedro levers. I would have bought a few sets for each of my bikes but I wanted to try them first.

The lake riding is awesome. I hope it isn't over but based on the forecast it could be. My commute home over the lake was OK but the top was getting slushy. There is about 6-8" of black ice underneath so I felt pretty comfortable on it. We have got a long stretch of days getting into the 40s so I'll have to re-evaluate it. 

Last year my FIRST trail commute over the lake was March 8 and I did them until 3/31, This year my LAST trail commute over the lake may have been yesterday, Feb 16. Whacky Winter Weather.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I broke 2 pedro's levers putting a tire on the road bike. They are still beefier than most, but not indestructable. It was really dang cold at the time (teens?) so that might have had something to do with it. I was let down because I had read the reviews, so I reefed on them... turns out they're not magic.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> The lake riding is awesome. I hope it isn't over but based on the forecast it could be. My commute home over the lake was OK but the top was getting slushy. There is about 6-8" of black ice underneath so I felt pretty comfortable on it. We have got a long stretch of days getting into the 40s so I'll have to re-evaluate it.


Nothing like the looks from the ice fishermen when they see a bike roll by  
I did see a story last week about a cyclist falling through & drowning in British Columbia, which surprised me, but I guess the ice was only 2" thick due to wierd springs. People ran over but only found his gloves. Kelowna cyclist dies after plunge through ice - British Columbia - CBC News

There must be a story behind this old sweatshirt in a tree between the snowmobile trail and an old quarry, but it's not talking.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I had a bummer moment just a half hour ago. I noticed that my rear wheel was out of true, so unmounted the tire and threw it in my truing stand. It`s out of true because the rim split in the brake track- DOH!. Last weekend`s mudfest must have done it in. Funny that the rear went before the front because I use the front brakes a lot more than the rear. At least I`ve got another wheelset, but I`ll have to either ride in studs every day or keep switching tires (boo-hoo, eh?). AND.. since the rear one went, I took a good look at the front rim and I think it`s time to replace that one too. Looking around, I see I can get the same rims (Velocity Aeroheats) for about $50 each, or half that for CR-18s. Hmmm... I really like the Aeroheats, especially because the deep profile gives me somewhere to put reflective tape, but I`ve used CR-18s on other bikes, and they`re pretty good too. Then again, if I go to a differetn model, I`ll have to work out spoke lengths and probably spend as much in spokes as I would have saved by buying less expensive rims. I`d better sleep on it.


Quick question... When you get to true your wheels, mostly the rear one, do you start by getting all the drive side spokes to an even tension, then use the non-drive side spokes to get the wheel back in true ?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

You've all seen this one, right?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I did see a story last week about a cyclist falling through & drowning in British Columbia, which surprised me, but I guess the ice was only 2" thick due to wierd springs. People ran over but only found his gloves. Kelowna cyclist dies after plunge through ice - British Columbia - CBC News


Do me a favor and don't let my wife see that article The comments ranged from sad to ridiculous. I really liked the comment from maybe a physicist that talked about how riding on the ice was so dangerous because of the small contact area.:skep: Apparently then have never heard of ice skates which if I'm not mistaken put a lot of pressure on one place on the ice. If I ever go through the comments will be even more harsh because I often cross it at night

OK, I've used up my emoticon quota for the week.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

My commute started out okay. Nice, clear blue skies, air temperature was probably 25 but the wind was surprisingly still today. Did my normal Friday morning ride, which turns what is normally a one way trip of 13 miles into a 25 mile ride with some trail thrown in. 

Thought I had two CO2 cartridges with me, but found out I only had one when I got my second flat of the ride. Ended up having to walk the last few miles of highway to work, but it was kind of nice because some regular customers pulled over and gave me a ride for the last little stretch, which got me to work early and in time for a breakfast burrito. So not all bad. Lesson of the day: Buy a frame pump. The mangled car is just something I saw on this pull-out off Old Las Vegas Highway that's normally used by wood and stone vendors, so I thought I'd check it out. Sort of looks like my bike had a run in with it in that pic. Last pic is some of the stretch of highway I had to push the bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

David C said:


> Quick question... When you get to true your wheels, mostly the rear one, do you start by getting all the drive side spokes to an even tension, then use the non-drive side spokes to get the wheel back in true ?


Generally, the first thing I like to do is check and even out spoke tension because this often tells me why the rim is out of true. If spokes have loosened, then the method you suggest can work to tweak the rim back to true. When using the spokes to pull a rim back into true you have to be very careful to not create flat spots. OTOH, if the rim is flat out bent, then you have to try and straighten it before you use the spokes to tweak it in. It can be difficult to get a bent rim into a perfectly true state.

You might read Sheldon Brown's article on trueing wheels. Park Tool also has a nice article on the subject.


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## marlonbostik (Oct 15, 2011)

This week got enjoyable commute rides with this El Fatso aka Electric Mukluk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> You've all seen this one, right?


Pretty shocking. Here is a link to an article with a little more information.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

rodar, glad you found the structural defect off the bike. Pedro's levers work really well, but they do break from time to time (like when mounting a brand new pair of Marathon Plus 23-32s), and I agree with the idea of metal tire levers being kind of sketchy. People use and love them, I would just much rather break a plastic lever than damage a rim.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Pretty shocking. Here is a link to an article with a little more information.


Speachless!!

From todays commute...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Do me a favor and don't let my wife see that article The comments ranged from sad to ridiculous. I really liked the comment from maybe a physicist that talked about how riding on the ice was so dangerous because of the small contact area.:skep: Apparently then have never heard of ice skates which if I'm not mistaken put a lot of pressure on one place on the ice. If I ever go through the comments will be even more harsh because I often cross it at night
> 
> OK, I've used up my emoticon quota for the week.


A guy I used to car pool with fell through Crescent Lake over there while skating at night. Luckily he was playing around with the puck and was able to use the hockey stick to spread his weight out on the ice and get out. It was a cold trip back to the car though and he had some explaining to do when he got back home.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Fux, put some gloves on man! It's cold!


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Fux, put some gloves on man! It's cold!


I was thinking the same thing. Nice bike, Fux, got you confused with RPK for a moment, thus the weird comment about your weather.


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## medi.hash (Jul 4, 2008)

*Commuting with my 2012 Specialized StumpJumper FSR Expert EVO 29er*

Easier than I expected! 18.7 miles to work this morning. Took me 2 hours. Irvine, CA to Anaheim Hills, CA. First time commuting with my SJ 29er EVO and it was a lot of fun. It was all on road. Now I'm looking for an extra set of wheels to put slicks on. By the time I put cassette, rotors, etc., I might as well buy a hard tail (rockhopper)? I dunno, we'll see. Here it is at my desk:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

medi.hash said:


> Easier than I expected! 18.7 miles to work this morning. Took me 2 hours. Irvine, CA to Anaheim Hills, CA. First time commuting with my SJ 29er EVO and it was a lot of fun. It was all on road. Now I'm looking for an extra set of wheels to put slicks on. By the time I put cassette, rotors, etc., I might as well buy a hard tail (rockhopper)? I dunno, we'll see. Here it is at my desk:


Slicks are great fun....you really need a good rear suspension or even an RP23 as well.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

medi.hash said:


> Easier than I expected! 18.7 miles to work this morning. Took me 2 hours. Irvine, CA to Anaheim Hills, CA. First time commuting with my SJ 29er EVO and it was a lot of fun. It was all on road. Now I'm looking for an extra set of wheels to put slicks on. By the time I put cassette, rotors, etc., I might as well buy a hard tail (rockhopper)? I dunno, we'll see. Here it is at my desk:


You know, I would say that would be way too much bike for commuting if I didn't know what kind of craziness you're facing on your commute. I used to live in Irvine, and I would definitely want the gnarliest bike I could find for escaping the **** drivers that populate that part of California.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Even thought my commute is short, I've always preferred a MTB to a commuter type bike. For the above reasons, like way more fun and you can also spend the commute time doing urban assaults


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> My studdies are kind of tough to mount, but not the absolute worst. Fortunately, the other tires are easy- can usually do it with just my fingers. Are Pedros levers steel? I have a set of steel levers that a buddy gave me. They sure can be a lifesaver with tight fits.


I use a teaspoon handle - stainless steel and it has a nice curve on the handle to prevent rim damage. And I can eat a yoghurt on the side of the road.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

My ride home was interesting. Swapped my 46t ring with a 44t about half an hour before leaving work at 6 and for some weird reason put 80 psi in both tires for the first time. I honestly don't know why I did that because running about 55-65 has been working just fine. I like to make things more difficult for myself on occasion. 

Having not spent much time on pavement, 80 psi really made for a much rougher ride. Doesn't help that the interstate shoulder I ride home is littered with gravel and broken glass and other fun obstacles.

Car had to slam on its brakes at a four way stop in town cause I had the right of way but they were just gonna run the sign. They gave the engine rev as they passed and I gave the up and down "jerk off" gesture. The best part was minutes later passing them and then triumphantly watching the light turn to yellow as I passed underneath it. So they caught the red and I did a tour stage finish victory jazz hands thing. Then home. Sorry no pics of the ride, but here is a post-ride shot.



Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Spinnyspinspin said:


> The best part was minutes later passing them and then triumphantly watching the light turn to yellow as I passed underneath it. So they caught the red and I did a tour stage finish victory jazz hands thing.


:lol: :thumbsup::lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I also had a very interesting commute home tonite.

First, Mr. President is in town. He was hob-nobbing with his "millionare and billionare" friends at a fundraiser being held at a hotel just a few blocks from my office. Police cars and helicopters everywhere. I gear up and head out into the pouring rain, only to find the streets around my office gridlocked with traffic. The road I normally ride through town is closed, and they are detouring traffic around the downtown core. Grrrr. I roll up to the officer manning the road blockade and ask him exactly where they are detouring traffic to, thinking that I can find a way to skirt around. He says "we are letting pedestrians through the blockade area for the next 45 minutes, go ahead and hop up on the sidewalk, just take it easy, and you can ride through". Sweet music to my ears! Up on the sidewalk I go for a couple of blocks, then then I enjoyed several blocks of empty downtown streets. Mr. Officer, I salute you!

By the time I got down to the MUP, it was pouring and there was a TREMENDOUS wind straight out of the south. As it happens my ride home is due north. Tailwind time! Because of the wind and rain, the MUP was virtually empty so I got seven miles of pure joy without having to worry about anyone else getting in the way. The MUP is dead flat and I was holding 22MPH with no effort at all and touching 27 MPH without over exerting myself. It was like the hand of God was pushing me home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bedwards, I didn`t read the article, but that guy in BC fell through in the daytime, right? You should be clear riding the ice at night, when the sunlight isn`t softening it up. Should your wife happen to catch that story, explain the difference to her and you`ll probably get the go-ahead 



mtbxplorer said:


> Nothing like the looks from the ice fishermen when they see a bike roll by


 Imagine the looks you`d get if you rolled by their bass boat in the middle of a thawed lake.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Sounds awesome, woodway. 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Marlonbostik, where are you? At first glance, your picture looked like overexposed sand on a Florida beach. THEN I noticed the snow around your tires!



David C said:


> Quick question... When you get to true your wheels, mostly the rear one, do you start by getting all the drive side spokes to an even tension, then use the non-drive side spokes to get the wheel back in true ?


Not me. I true for hop on the original lacing, but really don`t worry about it after that. I think the guys who build wheels all day every day do the initial "hop" truing by tensioning all the spokes on one side first, then do all the spokes on the other side and true for side-to-side as they dish, but I`d screw something up if i did it that way. Also, I like Woodwards idea about checking tensions before turning any nipples. I`ve always just stared by wrenching, but I bet he`s right- will try it that way next time.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Fux, put some gloves on man! It's cold!


Have you tried taking pictures with a small mobile phone whilst wearing lobster gloves?


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

fux said:


> Have you tried taking pictures with a small mobile phone whilst wearing lobster gloves?


Once, shortly before dropping the phone.:drumroll: This is why you don't see a whole lot of pictures of me while riding. When the weather warms up and I can go out without four pounds of clothing on, maybe I'll do some action shots.

Also, the ride in this morning was short, sweet, 20 degrees F and uneventful save for a local sherrif SUV definitely violating the "five feet" law as he passed me, and then seconds later I watched in disbelief as he drifted over the white line right onto the shoulder (he was ahead of me at this point, so I wasn't in any imminent danger, but it's unsettling nonetheless, right?), so I'll be doing some research to see who should get my irritated phone call.

How are commuters here supposed to expect the normal citizens to obey the law (and display some common vehicle courtesy) if the police don't do it? K, rant over.

The overall ride was very calm, and today I had a strong headwind that made me very happy I dropped two teeth in the front yesterday. My knees are happier, too. And I even saw TWO other cyclists!! That's like a pelaton here!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I had a pickup with a walker in back (!?, driver's side, close to cab, seen after he passed) that did not pass me in the good stretch of the road into town with no oncoming for over half a mile. I thought he was being courteous and was turning left or right into driveways and elected not to pass, to avoid cutting me off. however, three times he would run up on me to within a half car length then back off. The Mazda driver behind got fed up and passed both of us. Finally the pickup's driver passed me and just after he crossed into the left lane more than he should had he proper control. I suspect my flashing lights made him think 'Police'. I suspect he is someone who should have had their license to drive revoked. I debated pulling into a driveway to let him by. After guessing at his incompetence behind the wheel I wish I had. 5000 pound pickups are pretty intimidating when driven competently. Sheesh. 

BrianMc


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> I had a pickup with a walker in back (!?, driver's side, close to cab, seen after he passed) that did not pass me in the good stretch of the road into town with no oncoming for over half a mile. I thought he was being courteous and was turning left or right into driveways and elected not to pass, to avoid cutting me off. however, three times he would run up on me to within a half car length then back off. The Mazda driver behind got fed up and passed both of us. Finally the pickup's driver passed me and just after he crossed into the left lane more than he should had he proper control. I suspect my flashing lights made him think 'Police'. I suspect he is someone who should have had their license to drive revoked. I debated pulling into a driveway to let him by. After guessing at his incompetence behind the wheel I wish I had. 5000 pound pickups are pretty intimidating when driven competently. Sheesh.
> 
> BrianMc


You're probably right about the lights. I often think that on night rides. Sounds like maybe he was drunk. Glad everything turned out okay.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I had a fairly average commute home on Friday. I caught a cold off the kids so was already feeling a bit peaky. Despite the lovely weather I posted above, it comes with a nasty northerly headwind all the way home.

I made slow progress and had to stop and help a dad with two boys, one of whom had fallen off his bike. I let him call his wife on my phone and then I texted my wife to say I was going to be a bit late.

As I rounded the bend and up the drive to home, what should I see by my lovely wife standing in the driveway with an ice cold beer.

Maybe my commute wasn't so average after all


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Had to go to work today...boss decided to moved up a deadline by 10 days on Thursday to make herself look good so I had to go in for a couple hours. National HQ dictated a deadline of COB March 2. I suspect she has no idea what's actually involved with the project I'm working on. She kept asking me if I needed help as if the project was a lot of work. Rather it's more of a 3 hours of work and wait 12 hours per step for a 3 step project. Giving me underlings would save me maybe 15-30 minutes which probably would be negated by the time required for me to bring them up to speed on the project. Initiated step 2 this afternoon otherwise I'd have to wait until Tuesday and my deadline is COB Tuesday. Step 3 will take about 4 hours Tuesday morning.

Sucks even more that she's been sitting on this since November and waited until this past week to assign it to me. National came out with guidelines that were to be met by Mar 2 and what we had in place was compliant and basically equivalent to the national standard. Boss decided that we were going to go with the national standard. There goes $10k down the drain...

Wind as blowing hard on the way in and back. It kept knocking me all over in the intersections.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

R+P+K said:


> I had a fairly average commute home on Friday. I caught a cold off the kids so was already feeling a bit peaky. Despite the lovely weather I posted above, it comes with a nasty northerly headwind all the way home.
> 
> I made slow progress and had to stop and help a dad with two boys, one of whom had fallen off his bike. I let him call his wife on my phone and then I texted my wife to say I was going to be a bit late.
> 
> ...


She's a keeper. And good on you for being a good samaritan.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## Burnt-Orange (Dec 10, 2008)

I have one heck of a cold so I locked the car and got my bike
to tell ya the truth I hated the first 3 miles 
the next 5 were great and the 8 cold ones on the way home were perfect 
think my soul just needed some vitamin D 

Sj


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JSeko, bummer about that craziness going on. But is it easier working on weekends? I know it`s a lot better for us on weekends or in the middle of the night because we don`t have management hanging over our shoulders and no silly little things that the brass suddenly decide MUST be done right now. Also, no contractors poking around who need to borrow this and that or just want this stack of parts chopped down a little bit, and no tour groups... just a kinder and simpler life.



BrianMc said:


> I suspect my flashing lights made him think 'Police'. I suspect he is someone who should have had their license to drive revoked.


:lol: I guess you just can`t win.
It`s the walker that really makes the story, though!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@RPK: I agree with Spinny on that one- you sure picked a good one.
@SlowerJoe: Something to be siad for vitamins. Maybe the pedaling, too.

Lost my lock last week. After a few days of searching at home, at my bench, and around the area where I park, combined with careful scans of the road along my route, I finally decied I won`t be seeing it back, went to K-Mart yesterday for a new one. It really sucks, not so much because of the $8 lock, but because the extra key on it was a "special" key for work that I wasn`t supposed to have in the first place, so can`t ask for a new one. It gave me access to a few little shortcuts, opened my supervisor`s office (can probably get hime to leave me a key for that), and let me in the back door to get to my toy shop on days when the plant is closed.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> :lol: I guess you just can`t win.
> It`s the walker that really makes the story, though!


From Rodney Dangerfield to Smokey! I call this the Goldilocks assessment. If my daytime lights (broad daylight just before noon bright sunny day) are too much for a small minority who are too sensitive or incapable of thinking but not enough for the insensitive ad unseeing, they must be 'just right'.  :thumbsup: Mama Bear would be so proud! 

In fact, while I get strange looks, those who have met and passed me like the lights a lot.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, bummer, we want more pix from your creations in the toy shop!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> .
> It`s the walker that really makes the story, though!


Yes, once I went through this in my brain: treeing walker coonhound, johnnie walker black, walker walker


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*New bike*

Okay, I`m ready with my baby pictures now. I ordered myself a late Christmas present in the end of December and have been (semi) patiently waiting for its arrival. When I got home from a weekend trip last Sunday, it was sitting forlornly on my front step. It was a busy week, but I finally have it together and pretty much dialed in, just got back from the first real ride and I`m diggin it! I "went big" on the frame, followed by decent wheels, and econo-style everything else. I`m working on the front rack now, rear rack to follow, and a few other little improvements are on the back burner. Both the racks will be toy shop creations documented in pixels.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

^^^I didn't know the CR18 was still around (haven't seen one for a while at least) - yours is so sparkly compared to mine


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Okay, I`m ready with my baby pictures.


OK. that's a tease, where are the full pix!?!?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes, once I went through this in my brain: treeing walker coonhound, johnnie walker black, walker walker


Missed some:


Imperial Walker (Skywalker not shown), Horse Walker, Speed Walker, and Straw Walker.

Glad your mind lit on Walker walker. 

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

I hate-abhor Chuck Norris 'jokes'...but


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Haha, well yes, if Chuck Norris or Imperial Walker were in the truckbed, I suppose the erratic driving would be understandable.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Nah, I think Johnny makes the eratic driving most understandale.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

If Walker Texas Ranger counts, then this counts too:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

UUhhh. Food hangover today. We had my mom`s b-day dinner here last night and the expected five people turned into a whole unexpected potluck.

More new bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

How friggin sweet is that Rodar? Nice ride!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hehe, I thought about you and your globetrotting ways when I put up the pics, Woodway.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow that sure packs down, congratulations Rodar! How long does it take to "put together", and what is the ride like? Also, you are making me hungry!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Had a nice 4mi into the office today. 57F and super sunny after quite a bit of rain and thunderstorms recently.

the pond down the street from me that nearly dried out last summer is filling up nicely.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

Awesome Bike Friday, rodar!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, guys and explorers. The "put together" part depends on how far apart you go and apparently on how many times you`ve done it. By the time it gets decked out with racks, fenders, or whatever, I`m expecting about 20 to 30 minutes to get it from airline sized box to roadworthy. To get from just folded in half and stuffed into the trunk of a car is a piece of cake- less than a minute.

The ride and handling on pavement is surprisingly good. I was skeptical until B.F. found somebody near me willing to let me take an extended test ride, but it was just like the reviews say. A little wobbly for a few minutes, then just "different". Yesterday I had mine on a fast curvy county road for some high speed curve fun. Carving out a few hard curves at 30+ was really fun, though I don`t know yet how it`ll feel at 50 MPH. We`ll find out. Getting out of the saddle gives me a lot more swaying than bigger wheels, but I don`t feel any flexing- granted, low HP motor and not much ballast in my case. Off pavement there will be more compromise. It did pretty good on a bit of level hard packed gravel, but I expect it`ll give me more trouble than my 26s on rocky or soft surfaces. Again, we`ll find out. One advantage this particular model has is the ability to run fatties, including BMX knobbies. I bought myself a set of used BMX tires from the co-op and I`m itching to try some light mtb action with the bike.

The other compromises come in the weight and gearing departments. The weight isn`t bad by my standards (guessing 28-ish for mine without racks or lights), but the fold does add some. The gearing CAN be upped, but always with a consequence. There are non-standard fixes that will give a 20 inch wheeled bike serious range, but I wanted to keep it standard for economy and practicality. My setup gives roughly 20 to 90 GI, so granny very close to that of my Schwinn and I`m missing two or three gears worth on the high end. The other catch (which didn`t occur to me before) is that foldablility needs a lot of extra slack in the cables, and they run full length housings. The combination of long, awkward cable runs and cheapo shifters and calipers makes for squooshy imprecision there. I think some Shimano bar ends and nice Avid V-brakes will go a long way towards curing that, but will have to wait.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

'splains the weird stem and stays at the rear dropouts in the previous pics. What the...?

CB's praying that Bike Friday isn't the last bike on earth.  I like it.

Didn't get 'Rammed' or tail gated by 'walker walker' carrying pickups today. Roads as empty as an early Sunday afternoon. 

BrianMc

BrianMc


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I got passed by two people on e-bikes - one of whom whizzed past really close while I slogged my way up the gorge. Man, they're as bad as motorists.....

He may get home sooner, but I'll get home happier.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Ughh. I got another flat today. I've had 3 or 4 already this year. I keep picking up these little staple sized pieces of metal. I don't know where they are coming from or how to avoid them, but they sure are annoying. I have had more flats already this year than I have in all of my 5-6 years of commuting by bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Broken pedal, unplanned dog sitting session, flat tire spree...
better luck in March.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Broken pedal, unplanned dog sitting session, flat tire spree...
> better luck in March.


Ha! I guess it has been an eventful year. In addition to the list above, I had to replace my helmet after colliding with the pavement. Last week, my seat pack on my mtb opened and spilled some tools onto the trail. I also tore some shorts. Fun times. :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@rodar, I just think it's a cool-looking bike. I saw a guy with one on a train when I was in the UK last year. He had it folded up in a carrying bag on the train. We both got off at the same station and I watched him unfold the bike, pop the carrying bag into his backpack and ride off. It took him maybe five minutes. I was impressed. Will be interested to hear how you like it after you get some miles on it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well if you HAVE to have a folder, that's the one Rodar. I guess it's ok  

I actually took my own victory march into the bike shop this weekend and placed an ogre I mean order on a new frame/fork. I've been selling Jeep parts and collecting for my big commuter frame upgrade. Should arrive mid-march.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I guess it's ok
> 
> I actually took my own victory march into the bike shop this weekend and placed an ogre I mean order on a new frame/fork.


Whoa, double surprise!
No Nashbike this time around?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm making the leap from the giant internet chain store made-in-Taiwan aluminum frames (which I have three of and love dearly for their cost-to-fun ratio, by the way) to some good ol American steel-is-real plushness. 

For sale: Nashbike X frame singlespeed, Access 29er frame/soul cycles rigid fork. The Nashbike has been on Reno craigslist for a while Rodar, I'm surprised you haven't snagged it :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Clip of my morning commute. The quality isn't what I was hoping for from this camera and the aim is a little skyward. I'd post a better one tomorrow but I think this was really the last one of the year unless the forecast changes substantially.

Nashbar bikes rock. Surly bikes rock too. OK, most bikes rock. Except to those crappy things they sell at WalMart and such. With the close of the trails I'll actually get to ride my Surly.

I was thinking I had just about every type of bike until I saw Rodar's garage pic. 
Vintage Steel, check
Carbon Road, check
Cyclocross, check
Ex-MTB commuter, check.
Full Sus MTB, check.

Recumbent, Tandem, Folding, (Fatty) no checks.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice Bedwards, looks like a fun trail. 

I opted for the studded 26'r this a.m. and it was a good choice. It was 10F and packed snow or ice, so it worked great. It was nice to hear the reassuring hum of the studs and the “scree scree” when they grabbed the ice. The centerline ones are noticeably worn from last year’s pavement/dirt road combo commute, but there is still enough to grab. Highs around 41-43F through Friday though, and lows only 30-32, so I may be back on the road the rest of the week. A pic of grippy pedals and tires and icy section of trail/driveway.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ after weeks of riding my studs on snowless streets I had 100% planned to ride my non-studded dinglespeed to work this morning. So then of course it snowed, and we're supposed to get flurries for the rest of the week.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice Bedwards, looks like a fun trail.
> 
> I opted for the studded 26'r this a.m. and it was a good choice. It was 10F and packed snow or ice, so it worked great. It was nice to hear the reassuring hum of the studs and the "scree scree" when they grabbed the ice. The centerline ones are noticeably worn from last year's pavement/dirt road combo commute, but there is still enough to grab. Highs around 41-43F through Friday though, and lows only 30-32, so I may be back on the road the rest of the week. A pic of grippy pedals and tires and icy section of trail/driveway.


What type of studs do you have that wore out in a year.....

Not Carbide...cause mine are still going strong at closing in on 12000 km and 6 years.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yes they are carbide, Nokian WXC 300 Studded Tire - 26 x 2.1 "Light skinwall OLC casing and 300 sharp steel studs with carbide pins". I ordered them October 2010. Another pic from this a.m., not a great one, but you can see the ones toward the centerline are significantly worn (but not yet worn out) compared to the outer ones. It must be the blazing speed at which I pedal, or more likely braking going down the steep paved hills around here.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes they are carbide, Nokian WXC 300 Studded Tire - 26 x 2.1 "Light skinwall OLC casing and 300 sharp steel studs with carbide pins". I ordered them October 2010. Another pic from this a.m., not a great one, but you can see the ones toward the centerline are significantly worn (but not yet worn out) compared to the outer ones. It must be the blazing speed at which I pedal, or more likely braking going down the steep paved hills around here.


Difficult to tell..but yes they appear somewhat lower than the side studs...

Mine are definitely "taller" than that...

I do not have a reason why yours would wear out 10 times faster than mine...even my aluminium/ carbide studs have not worn out that quickly

It might be because of skidding, but that would be alot of skidding on a hard surface...like concrete or asphalt.

I almost never skid.....I do have several steep hills around here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MTBX - that trail/road is begging for studded tires. I didn't think they would wear that quick. you could replace other one in the center if it ever became a problem. 

OK, off to my last trail commute.:cryin: It warmed up to 40 today but it's back to 32 now. I'm going to try it even if they are a little mushy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ JeffScott, Maybe yours are a better grade of carbide steel, I imagine there are different hardnesses - what kind do you have? No skidding here, they pretty much brake like normal tires on pavement. On ice you hear them grab, but I don't think that would do it. The typical commute they saw was 1.3mi dirt ("ice pavement") downhill, followed by 2.2 mi downhill (1000' combined), then 7.5 paved but pretty flat. On the way home I usually only did the 2.2 mi paved + 1.3 mi dirt (ice) uphills and bussed the flat section.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today my uncle called me up to tell me he's getting a new bike and that I can have is old one. This is welcome news. His bike is a mid-90s Cannondale with an LX groupset. The bike is dated, but it is in great condition. Back in the day uncle was OCD about keeping it in good shape, and it was never ridden hard to begin with. I'm starting to think how I can make good use of it. I might just put some fat slicks on it and use it as an alternate to my singlespeed commuter. Whatever the case, I can't spend much money on it or my wife will kill me.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had a good ride home today despite the tipping rain. At least it wasn't windy. Almost got hit by some bint driving a big ute (pickup) while texting. I made it clear I was displeased.

Might have a day off tomorrow. Already clocked up 57km this week.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

R+P+K said:


> Had a good ride home today despite the tipping rain. At least it wasn't windy. Almost got hit by some bint driving a big ute (pickup) while texting. I made it clear I was displeased.
> 
> Might have a day off tomorrow. Already clocked up 57km this week.


What is "tipping rain"?
Bint?


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

highdelll said:


> What is "tipping rain"?
> Bint?


Heh.... shorthand for "the rain was tipping down" i.e. really heavy.

bint - "The term was used in British armed forces and the London area synonymously with bird in its slang usage (and sometimes brass) from at least the 1950s. The term has also famously been used in the classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in which the Lady of the Lake is referred to as a "moistened bint", and in the phrase "grotty Scots bint" in the "English English" scene of the film Austin Powers in Goldmember."

Sometimes, you'll have to excuse my kiwi slang terms.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

don't mind Kiwi slang ( or other), just wanna know how to use it 
BTW - NZ is the place in my mind that competes (possibly beats) w/ California - Snowboard, Ride and Surf in the same day. -


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

highdelll said:


> don't mind Kiwi slang ( or other), just wanna know how to use it
> BTW - NZ is the place in my mind that competes (possibly beats) w/ California - Snowboard, Ride and Surf in the same day. -


Yeah that's one advantage of being a small land mass


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Finally a good pic of a deer! She's jumping off the snowmobile trail into the woods after standing in the middle of the trail for a while. I only saw the other 3 (not pictured) when she jumped & they all ran.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards, I enjoyed watching your video.

You guys are killing me with your trail commute photos/videos. All I get is an asphalt MUP.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Finally a good pic of a deer! She's jumping off the snowmobile trail into the woods after standing in the middle of the trail for a while. I only saw he other 3 (not pictured) when she jumped & they all ran.


Great, more cool trail pics but this time with wildlife. Way to rub it in MTBX. 

(keep them coming!)


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

WTF do all you guys commute through national parks?  Back to (my) reality:






Did that look a bit close to you guys, or was it just the angle I was holding my head at?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OK, camera aim is better on these.
Really Slippery
Trail 1000' from work

Very nice shot of the deer MTBX. I might just have to claim that is the deer I saw today. I've tried to get good pics but the camera's never ready. They all pretty much look the same.

S0ckeyus, I ride 2 old, well cared for bikes. Other than FS bikes, bike technology really hasn't changed despite what bicycling mag tells you.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Great shot, mtbxplorer. :thumbsup:

One night last week as I was leaving work I saw a coyote just walkin' along the sidewalk, which was pretty unusual. 

The forecast is for an inch of snow, but forecast be damned - I took the new dinglespeed on it's first commute.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ghetto,...that looked a bit close! 

I'm getting new tires on the Jeep today, so of course I drove it.... last night and dropped it at the tire shop so I could ride today  

Great deer pic MTBX... I saw the usual clump or two of them this morning. One did the bike land stand-off with me, only to dart away at the last minute. I always win those games of deer chicken. If it wasn't cloudy I think I would have seen the sun this morning... waiting for that 'sun day' experience.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Y`all better just leave "moistened bint" in its original form. Mr Bigbud has already let us know that translating Monty Python is a sin 
Bint and tipping rain. Gotta remember those.

Xplorer, if it`s any consolation, the studs on my Schwalbes look just about like yours. I`ve going to say I`ve got about 600 miles on them, but most of that was pavement. We must really be putting out some HP, eh?
Nice action shot of the deer.

Cool deal on the C-dale, s0ck! When do you get it?

Haven`t had time to watch any of the videos yet and I`m getting further behind every minute.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ JeffScott, Maybe yours are a better grade of carbide steel, I imagine there are different hardnesses - what kind do you have? No skidding here, they pretty much brake like normal tires on pavement. On ice you hear them grab, but I don't think that would do it. The typical commute they saw was 1.3mi dirt ("ice pavement") downhill, followed by 2.2 mi downhill (1000' combined), then 7.5 paved but pretty flat. On the way home I usually only did the 2.2 mi paved + 1.3 mi dirt (ice) uphills and bussed the flat section.


Nokian Mount and Ground 2006 Vintage...also a pair of Freddie Revenz 2008 Vintage.

On second thought it maybe an air pressure issue....lower air pressure allows the studs to work their way further into the tire...higher air pressure maintains a harder platform and pushs the studs further out of the rubber.

Take a close look at the studs best if you pull two out (they are easy to push back in with a pair of pliers) determine whether the carbide is worn (unlikely) or whether the steel holding the carbide has worn (more likely)....you might find the outer studs steel is worn making the carbide appear higher.

I generally run my studs at max tire pressure, cause most of my riding is icy roads,


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool deal on the C-dale, s0ck! When do you get it?


I'm not sure. I'm hoping this weekend.

I have some older knobby tires in my garage. I might slap those tires on and kick it old school on the trails a few times before changing over to slicks. Or I could put some Nanoraptors on it and have a double duty bike. Hmm...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ghetto: maybe the camera 'fish eyes' the lane width some, so that the lane looks narrower than it is. Using Wisconsin guidelines (which Indiana almost passed, so the rules remain as "safe distance") of maximum of 3' to the curb, a nearly 2' width and a minimum 3' to the passing traffic puts me almost in the center of lanes that are at least as narrow as the videoed lane looks. Here, a dually would brain me with a right mirror, if I did not force them to pass me properly. Besides, it is hard to not see me if I am straight ahead and not to the side. At least i should work unless maybe a Deputy or City cruiser is oncoming? 

Love the pics Mtbxplorer. 

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Nokian Mount and Ground 2006 Vintage...also a pair of Freddie Revenz 2008 Vintage.


Jeff, I think the mount&ground are just indestructible. Mine only have about 5000km, but they look brand new except for a bit of rust. Whatever rubber compound nokian uses on those is fantastic.

In comparison the rubber on my 2 month old schwalbe ice spiker pros is already showing some wear, and the studs are buried pretty deep into the casing.

If you put my m&g next to my schwalbes and had people guess which has seen more miles, no one would pick the m&g.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

for the heck of it I rode the RM experience in, woefully undergeared at 38x17 but holysamolians does it ever dart around on you!

schwalbe supermotos in the 2.3" size are WONDERFULLY cushy things.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ghettocruiser said:


> WTF do all you guys commute through national parks?  Back to (my) reality:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, that was close...when I kept watching after the van passes, there is really no room to his/her right for a bike. Stay safe!

Sorry about the "park" pics, if it's any consolation, this office is temporary and I expect to be back on the roads next winter. And amazingly, most of the snowmobile, bike, ski, & dogwalking trails around here are courtesy of private landowners willing to share. :thumbsup:


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

Current Wind in Boulder Colorado from NCAR:

Most Recent 
(Feb 22 2012, 19:20) 
Temperature 55.9°F 
Dewpoint 21.9°F 
Humidity 26% 
Pressure 24.15 in Hg 
Aeronautical 29.41 in Hg 
*Wind Speed 29.8 mph 
Peak Gust 49.2 mph * 
Wind Chill 35.2°F 
Wind Dir 262° (from the W) 
Rain 0.02 in

Today's commute in this wind
Just for some stats from today. My commute home from South Boulder to North Boulder near the fire area.

I ride a 32-13 geared SS.

When I had to ride West, the wind was so fierce, I could barely turn the cranks, when a gust appeared, it stopped me cold. I had to walk a bit before I could get going again. It was surreal actually.

When I rode with the wind on flat, I was maintaining 20 mph without pedaling a stroke.

The traffic was a standstill when I got to Jay road (due to a fire close other routes). I passed a mile of traffic at 30 mph and I got to say, that was great feeling.

Side wind, however, was very tricky. I had several close calls of trying to balance not hitting curb versus falling into traffic when i was on a section with a bike lane by a road.

Otherwise, it made a normal commute, a fresh new one.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Wow. I hate riding into the wind, grinding for all your worth to squeak out 10mph. I was riding across a lake last weekend with studded tires and about a 20mph crosswind. Very tricky.

Last night was my last trail commute. Slushy, Muddy & Slow. Steering was more like giving the bike a suggested path. Peddling was about the same. A few times I was cranking hard, weight as far back as I could get it and the bike was like...So. I walked a lot. The lake crossing was pretty fun with lots or water on the surface. There's still about 10" of ice but that won't last long at these temps.

This morning I was back on the roads for the full trip in the 30 degree rain but at least I wasn't caged in a car.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

lidarman said:


> Current Wind in Boulder Colorado from NCAR:
> 
> Most Recent
> (Feb 22 2012, 19:20)
> ...


That's like a SS commuters nightmare. The wind is pretty bad here in Santa Fe, in that it always seems to be a headwind, regardless of the varying directions your ride might take you, but I don't know that I've ever had to put up with a wind like THAT. You deserve a beer after that. Or four.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ve had to ride in strong, gusty sidewinds like that. I`m glad I don`t have other vehicles on the road with me though- that`s when it`s nice to use the yellow line as a targeted path. Glad you made it without any detours under bumpers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar and I both have that 'eastern side of a big mountain range' thing going on, and have to deal with nasty winds occasionally... I have this one hill I call "headwind hill"...but it's really more of a 3/4 side/head wind most of the time. When it's bad I do a 'spit test' at the top of the hill. I spit straight ahead, and measure the brutality of the wind by how far the spit makes it across the road. I've hit dirt on the opposite side of the road a few times. 

I've only had to deal with big wind one time on the SS bike so far... That will make a man outta ya. yeesh.


I got new tires on the Jeep and I really wanted to drive it today. First time I've felt that impulse in a long time. It's just so cool looking with new shoes. I rode the bike though, don't worry.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Between the 80 mph head winds last night and the 5 inches of snow this morning, its been good.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's nearing 70F here. No complaints from me, but I don't remember wearing shorts so often in February. Some trees are budding and flowers are starting to bloom.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Last night's ride had a mostly cross, slightly tail wind in for most of it (changed when I altered direction). It was a full-on headwind (20-25 mph) for the last mile and a half on the way home which is mostly up hill. I did not need Granny but was using the 26 and 29 cogs with the 36. A relief when I turned into my subdivision and it was just a strong crosswind. So it sounds like March in February for most of us. 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It's nearing 70F here. No complaints from me, but I don't remember wearing shorts so often in February. Some trees are budding and flowers are starting to bloom.


Careful, it could be mother nature softening you up...


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

The ride in this morning was a little brisk. I didn't check the temperature. However the ride home was freaking awesome. It was at least 60 degrees out. I felt so great on the ride home (my muscle tear/scar tissue is healing up pretty well) I tore down a few gravel roads and some single track on the dinglespeed. It was a blast. I wish that the frame I have been commuting on was able to accommodate a 700x38c tire or maybe a cyclocross tire. It's fun as crap banging down a dirt road on that thing. I have been on the list of criag's looking for an old road bike for a used CX frame so I could make an off road dinglespeed using an old mtb crank.


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## acudoc (May 3, 2010)

I am loving my commute on my new ti fargo. I ride from Shasta into Redding on a paved bike path with views of Mt Lassen. The way home is mostly up hill so I totally forget about work. There are several single track trails I can take part of the way and I found a new one today, a super twisty trail in a manzanita forest. My friend told me I might get addicted to commuting by bike and I think he was right!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That sounds like a nice ride, Rufio. What size tires have you got on it?

Yours sounds sweet too, Acudoc- post up some pics of that manzanita trail and the mountain views! Hey, you know that forum member Highdell is from Redding also? He doesn`t seem to follow this thread regularly, but posts often on other commuter topics.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took my commuter across the lake today and on a few of the trails that had hardened up overnight. The Mount & Ground tires are great on icy roads and the lake but inspire little confidence on icy trails. The un-suspended bike was pretty harsh on the trails I ride. It's barbaric, I'm not sure how I did it all those years. I was also worried about the cheap wheels I use for my winter tires, my fenders bouncing around on the trail and my handle bar coffee cup mount getting thrashed around.

Snow in the forecast, somewhere between 1"-6"

Does anybody know how do you embed a youtube video into the post? When I tried using the code tags the preview only showed a little sliver.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Use the integration code from the integration option on YouTube.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> IDoes anybody know how do you embed a youtube video into the post? When I tried using the code tags the preview only showed a little sliver.


Undeneath the YouTube video player, you'll see a "share" button. Click it and then click the button that says "embed". A little window will appear with the embed code, copy that code and paste it into your post.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

woodway said:


> Undeneath the YouTube video player, you'll see a "share" button. Click it and then click the button that says "embed". A little window will appear with the embed code, copy that code and paste it into your post.


This is what you need :



> < iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vq1AdnTaEHo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)




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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I hate when I fall down.



acudoc said:


> I am loving my commute on my new ti fargo. I ride from Shasta into Redding on a paved bike path with views of Mt Lassen. The way home is mostly up hill so I totally forget about work. There are several single track trails I can take part of the way and I found a new one today, a super twisty trail in a manzanita forest. My friend told me I might get addicted to commuting by bike and I think he was right!


Sweet! Welcome. I'm on the other side of Mt. Lassen near Susanville.

Today was SUN DAY!!! 1st rays of sunshine on the morning commute since October. It was 19 degrees but it felt like 40 once everything turned orange. Love this day every year.


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## Dirt_Guy (Nov 9, 2011)

My ride today was full of snow and ice. Almost bellyflopped on the pavement twice. Hard to believe it was 50 degrees out yesterday.

Sent from my bulletproof Commando.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


>


So I'm not the only one who laugh at himself when I fall down :thumbsup:


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

You guys are all awesome. I'm trying to kick this cold for the second time in three weeks, so no riding for me for a few more days. It's been below 20 here in the mornings, so every time I ride in after I recover this cold moves right back into my lungs. Guess this is my reward for quitting smoking three months ago.


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## acudoc (May 3, 2010)

I'll try to get some pics. I don't know Highdell, I just got back into biking. I'll send him a message. Have a great weekend!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I volunteered at the coop after work last night, and when it was time to head home an inch of snow had magically appeared on the ground. And I had ridden my non-studded, big-appled, dinglespeed, but the ride home was still surprisingly pleasant.

And now the forecast is calling for up to 6" of snow by tomorrow, and I'm actually kindof looking forward to it. It's about time that I actually get to put my real winterbike through it's paces.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Went to the bakery and bought a slice of pizza of the day. Got a free scone because they were closing.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I got a shock when I hit the Yahoo weather forecast this morning. I`m watching ahead both here and in the area where I`m going for vacation in a week, and everything has been peachy. But today I opened the weather link and saw all these snow icons out of nowhere- WTF !?! For some reason, the locastion had switched from my default to Downers Grove, IL :lol:

I also found a cool pic floating around Internet Land, thought I`d share. I`ve kicked around the idea of ICE asisted bikes before, but this one looks like it would be superbe for making a clear route on crowded bike paths.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Is the chainsaw powering teh bike or is the bike powering the chainsaw?

I dunno about using that on MUPs or bike paths since that's just conveying all the wrong messages. Against dumb motorists though is a different story.

Had a BMW guy signal at the very last second before turning right earlier this evening. In fact, I was just next to the back door when he turned the signal on and started turning nearily clipping me and the bicyclist in front of me. I had my 500 lumen light on high and Planet Bike blaze blinky on strobe too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I'll be sick of it in two weeks, but for now it sure was nice to get an actual snowstorm this year:


My "short" loop that usually takes me about an hour took a little over 2 today. But luckily it was the weekend so I had nowhere better to be.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I got a shock when I hit the Yahoo weather forecast this morning. I`m watching ahead both here and in the area where I`m going for vacation in a week, and everything has been peachy. But today I opened the weather link and saw all these snow icons out of nowhere- WTF !?! For some reason, the locastion had switched from my default to Downers Grove, IL :lol:
> 
> I also found a cool pic floating around Internet Land, thought I`d share. I`ve kicked around the idea of ICE asisted bikes before, but this one looks like it would be superbe for making a clear route on crowded bike paths.


Have you posted this over in the "what bike do you grab during the zombie apocalypse" thread? Looks like it would be superb for clearing pretty much any path!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*On Bicycle Chain,,, Saws...*

^^ I suppose if you OTB with that long bar chainsaw out front, you kind of 'go all to pieces' and I guess you'd be a real cut up, after that. Hole new meaning to making ends meat and 'not the usual daily grind'.

It looks sort of 'Mad Maxx' in a Burning Man sort of way. It looks like Sam Peckinpaw decided to do a bike commuting blood and gore horror film like 'Texas Chainsaw Critical Massacre', or something, doesn't it? Maybe "A Cut Above" or "Real Cyclists Like Chains" or "The Devil Drives Husqvarna" or "Stihl Crazy (After All These Years)" or "Saw IX".

Tasteless, I know, but I was inspired....

BrianMc


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ I suppose if you OTB with that long bar chainsaw out front, you kind of 'go all to pieces' and I guess you'd be a real cut up, after that. Hole new meaning to making ends meat and 'not the usual daily grind'.
> 
> It looks sort of 'Mad Maxx' in a Burning Man sort of way. It looks like Sam Peckinpaw decided to do a bike commuting blood and gore horror film like 'Texas Chainsaw Critical Massacre', or something, doesn't it? Maybe "A Cut Above" or "Real Cyclists Like Chains" or "The Devil Drives Husqvarna" or "Stihl Crazy (After All These Years)" or "Saw IX".
> 
> ...


That was awesome. Thanks.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had a great ride tonight after a few less-than-stellar commutes. Everything felt in place and I even managed to climb the gorge in a higher gear so my fitness must be improving. Clocked in at 58 minutes so pretty chuffed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*8 Degrees of Awesome.*


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## mtnbean (Jan 5, 2010)

After yet another storm last week, I was over the snow for this winter. Thankfully a warm windy weekend melted everything out and it's like riding in summer now, just colder.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Epic Photo Bedwards. Today's sunrise had some potential for me but the cloud cover got the best of it. 

Very, very nice!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-20 C this morning....sun was up and a bluebird sky....

That is below -30 C if you include 25 km of wind chill on the bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> *8 Degrees of Awesome.*


Great sunrise! We had 9 degrees (F) of awesome here.

We got +/-6" of snow Fri-Sat , so the snowmobile trails looked almost like a "normal" winter today. I prepped my feeder trail yesterday evening by snowshoeing back and forth a couple times, since it was untouched and would have been un-rideable in the uphill direction. This proved to work well, as long as one of your wheels didn't stray off the "groomed" portion, causing immediate washout. A pic of my snowshoe groomed area and the snowmobile trail.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Beautiful Bedwards!

Wifey and I took the tandem down to where I started my weekend ride a few weekends back. It was overcast and a little breezy, so my wife was cold most of the ride and we didn`t hang around long. Today we woke up to a dusting of snow and it`s still falling gently- supposed to be a few more days of light snow, but nothing serious and very little wind. I guess I might as well remoung my studs. Less than a week before I leave on vacation. So far the forecast looks good for that- sure hope it doesn`t go to pot.

EDIT: MMmmm... Montpellier is looking good, too!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey MTBX, I was thinking of you and your snowbike this morning as I was sinking through the crust. We only got about 3-4" but it is pretty stiff. Machines had only been out on part of my commute but a fat tire bike could have done all of it easily. I struggled through the rest of it. Self-grooming I like it. I'd have to do 3 miles of it one-way so I guess not. The trails are still pretty decent again.

Thanks for all the picture praise - I'm lucky to be able to take them.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Hep Bedwards, is the GT your year-round commuter ? Because it looks sweet for this purpose :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got my "new" bike yesterday ('96 Cannondale M900). The components are mostly original, but it's in sweet shape. I'm in the midst of swapping out the dry-rotted tires.

Commute in was 45F. Ride home should be nice and warm.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

No snowshoes like mtb (great idea btw), I had to face the 7.5" of snow we got yesterday head on. For the most part I was successful, but the areas of drift were over 18" deep which had me walking. I did make it through much deeper stuff than I ever had before so the new tire/wheel combo is definitely an improvement over last winter. Another storm for tomorrow with a blizzard watch, I just might be driving instead.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

David C said:


> Hep Bedwards, is the GT your year-round commuter ? Because it looks sweet for this purpose :thumbsup:


I only get to use the GT to commute when the lake if frozen and the trails aren't mucky. I can't take the trails unless I cross the lake and I can't show up all mucky in mud season.

OK, I'm ready for my afternoon ride, enough of this work stuff.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

All right, Sock! 96 should be pretty modern, actually. Probably even has a freehub. Are you planning to make a lot of changes, or mostly roll it as is?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

About 45 F and winds west at 10-20 going in, mostly with the wind. About 50 and winds WSW at 15-30 on the way back mostly into it. ;( Sunny and it's more like late April than late February. March madness might not be just on the BB court, this year. The snows are still not mounted and might not be this year, depending on March. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey Rodar, be careful out there...

"...SLICK ICY ROADS WITH FREEZING FOG POSSIBLE TONIGHT...

AFTER SUNSET THIS EVENING, ROADS WILL BEGIN TO FREEZE OVER WITH
THE RESIDUAL MOISTURE FROM TODAY`S SNOWFALL. THIS WILL FORM BLACK
ICE ON AREA ROADS AND POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS,
ESPECIALLY FOR RURAL AND OUTLYING AREAS AROUND RENO-SPARKS.

ALSO, AS SKIES BEGIN TO BREAK UP AFTER MIDNIGHT, THIS WILL FURTHER
ALLOW ROAD TEMPERATURES TO FALL. AREAS OF FREEZING FOG WILL
DEVELOP IN THE SIERRA VALLEYS AND ALONG THE HIGHWAY 395 CORRIDOR
FROM SUSANVILLE TO RENO-SPARKS, CARSON CITY AND MINDEN.
VISIBILITIES MAY DROP TO ONE-HALF MILE AT TIMES.

THIS COMBINATION OF SLICK ICY ROADS AND LOW VISIBILITIES WILL
CREATE A POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS MORNING COMMUTE ON TUESDAY.
MOTORISTS SHOULD USE EXTRA CAUTION AND ALLOW FOR EXTRA TIME TO GET
TO THEIR DESTINATIONS TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING."


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^Thanks for the warning, it`s under control.
You might be the stud muffin, but I`m the studded muffin tonight :thumbsup:

Yup, the snow all melted, but we never got any sun, so the roads stayed wet until they froze. It was a pretty night, though- mostly clear sky with a little sliver of moon and wisps of clouds, low 20s and hardly any wind. Have a safe inbound commute in the morning.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had a good commute today apart from a suspicious ticking sound when I pedaled. A few KMs from home I looked down and my rear wheel was wobbling again. Another broken spoke.

I think I better start saving up for a wheel rebuild.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'd be lying if I said the trails are good right now. Hard ride in this AM. The front wheel did the usual 10 miles and the back wheel did about 20. Stopped dropped and rolled once when the front wheel caught an icy ski track when the rest of the bike was going a different direction. I guess the trails are good for honing those technical skills. Lots of balancing and weight transferring going on.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ pretty much the same for me last night. ~6" of super fluffy powder that's been just barely packed down meant that I could maybe maintain a straight line, but that was about it. I'll probably be sticking to my road routes, unless someone wants to lend me a fatbike for the next couple of days until things firm up a bit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^Yeah, but the trails are so much more fun. I'll be taking mostly roads back home tonight. I'd love to try a fat bike for a week or even for an hour.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pretty night for my ride in, pretty morning comming home. When I got up to a view point overlooking my valley, I could see a thin layer of dense fog hanging just above the mud-lake. Roads were slicker than snot- glad I didn`t have to scrape that crap off my windshield. 

The critters were out in full force for the free breakfast buffet this morning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bunnies!! 

I decided it was a studs-only morning today. Since I'm not, I threw the bike on the rack and drove in. I'll ride home assuming it melts off. I'll pick up the car tonight...need to come back to town anyway. 

It was really slick out there. Probably a good decision. I've ridden in similar, but an injury isn't worth it. Should have ordered studs instead of that new frame... OK maybe not. 

Assuming I ride home, I'm at 2.5 Driving days for the school year. Still on record pace. It's supposed to snow pretty big tonight though...


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

*All Smiles*

A healthy tailwind made for an easy commute into town. 








Headwind heading home I suppose but it's mostly downhill.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> All right, Sock! 96 should be pretty modern, actually. Probably even has a freehub. Are you planning to make a lot of changes, or mostly roll it as is?


I'm thinking about switching to V-Brakes and maybe taking off the bar ends, but other than that I'm probably just going to roll with it. I'll try to snap a pic sometime.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

I Had a great time in Norcal ! We got 20 celcius on thursday and I had a great ride with Mark Weir.

Came home, and we are snow free ! Wow, I will even exchage my marathon winters for durano plus and ride a long route home on thursday.

Today`s commute was great. 9 degrees celcius, the sun was out and i can use less bulky gloves.

Unfortunatly, the weather man says snow again next week, so spring isnt here quite yet....


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

smoked a maserati for 1/2 block from the lights on my ss'd early 90's RM.
that'll do pig, that'll do.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cdaddy, what the heck is that picture on the warehouse wall? Looks like a homicidal clown!

@Fux: Whoo, 20C AND riding with Mark Weir! That`s a tough combo to beat, no wonder you had a great time!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

fux said:


> I had a great ride with Mark Weir.


Nice!

Driving day #3 since August for me. We finally got some good snow. Would have been another fun one with studs. I keep reminding myself that the ogre is coming. Studs...maybe next year.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^ Not to be an enabler or anything. But the studded tires were one of my best bike purchases ever. The Mount and Ground tires did so well on the commuter that I had to have the Nokian Extremes for my mountain bike. Those tires have brought me hours and hours or trail riding joy!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I know, I know.. :lol: I have had the 'stud fund' built up so many times, but I always find something else to spend it on.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

I installed new bottom bracket cups on my Vaya. The old ones were completely shot to the point that the crank rocked back and forth at least 5mm in the bottom bracket. Also turned 7800 miles in a year and a half this morning. Good commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another fatbike-friendly day, started with 15F and a thank you to the snowmobiles who came through and re-packed the additional snow (not much new snow, but bad windblown drifts). Was too lazy to re-pack my snowshoe feeder trail last night, so I bypassed pushing up that and I caught the main trail at the road (only 100' of road, but it adds .2 mi overall). 
Here's a pic of one extra fun totally unpacked powder section where snowmo's go a different route. The only track is my fatbike footprint from Monday. It’s downhill so it's fun instead of a slog, but you really have to pay attention lest you end up in the snowbank.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I took a picture like that from my Jeep this morning :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I took a picture like that from my Jeep this morning :lol:


Haha You must have really long arms!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I do have chimp arms, but my Jeep is also Right Hand Drive. It's quite the Euro experience. Would you expect me to have a vehicle just like everyone else's? :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...It's downhill so it's fun instead of a slog, but you really have to pay attention lest you end up in the snowbank.


I've resembled that remark a few times this winter. For most of the ride you really don't want to let go of your bars.

Are you due to get a big storm this weekend too? In my head, we're going to get a lot of snow. It's going to be warm over the weekend so all the people with snowmobile payments are going to want to get out and actually use their machines and really pack it down good. Then on Monday morning we have a forecast of 5 degrees which will make it like roads through the woods again.

Wow Simonns 7800 in a year and a half is a good effort!

Today's commute was pretty good. The trails had firmed up a lot from yesterday. The biggest problem was that some A-hole had gone out when it was too soft and rutted it all up, oh yeah, that was me. Tomorrow's snow will erase my sins.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I couldn't ignore the siren call of the trails either yesterday, and my route was much better too. _And_ all the crazy ruts I'd created on Monday had already disappeared.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was racing a thunderstorm this morning. I left home a little early and arrived just before the storm hit. It was raining a little on my ride, but it was the light, not unpleasant kind of rain. Thankfully, I didn't get very wet.


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## Spinnyspinspin (Aug 11, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I was racing a thunderstorm this morning. I left home a little early and arrived just before the storm hit. It was raining a little on my ride, but it was the light, not unpleasant kind of rain. Thankfully, I didn't get very wet.


I love the feeling of trying to out-ride the storm you can feel, hear, and see coming to get you. Sounds like you had your coffee this morning, yes?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...
> Are you due to get a big storm this weekend too? In my head, we're going to get a lot of snow. It's going to be warm over the weekend so all the people with snowmobile payments are going to want to get out and actually use their machines and really pack it down good. Then on Monday morning we have a forecast of 5 degrees which will make it like roads through the woods again.


Supposed to start snowing tonight and continue through tomorrow night (6-8 total), then some additional smaller accumulations. This morning I thought they said 40 & raining for Saturday, but now it shows snow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I do have chimp arms, but my Jeep is also Right Hand Drive. It's quite the Euro experience. Would you expect me to have a vehicle just like everyone else's? :lol:


I should have guessed!:cornut:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Last night`s ride was weird- a strong and steady wind blowing from the left and slightly behind had me listing way over to the side and pushing me at the same time. I`ve had similar before, but usually gusty rather than steady. For some reason, the sensation was so much like sailing that the term "beam reach" stuck in my head and hanted me all the way in. The funny part is that I hadn`t said, heard, or thought of that phrase since my dad got rid of his sailboat when I was a teenager (maybe even younger than that). Deja vu, I tell ya.

Aw, you guys are going to have to stop putting up fat bike pics! I`m already imagining a Pugsish beast loaded up with sleeping bag and two big water bags, making molehills of ugly washboard across Saline Valley!

CB, what`s the story on your RHD Jeep? Was it a mail delivery truck? Was it born that way, or did you convert it somehow? On the side, I remember that I was able to reach out and touch the left rear tire of my CJ5 while driving. Probably could have bled both brakes on that side by myself, it was so short. 83 inch WB, I think.

Also, note that I am not preaching studs. Thank you for not harping disks to me when I ate the brake tracks off my rims in the mud . BTW, nobody had Aeroheats in stock locally, so I ordered. Cambria`s website said they should ship in 2 - 5 days, but it`s been a week and a half and they still haven`t shipped. They ain`t gonna make it in time for my tour.


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## Saike (Feb 28, 2012)

I thought I was hard when I rode one day in really light snowfall, you guy riding in the American winter are pretty tough.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Today started out as distinctly unfriendly to cyclists. Winds at 35 gusting above 50 to a guesstimated 60 mph where it funneled by the house. Tall oaks whipping around like a fishing rod with a 5 pound trout on the line. Later torrential rains came through, Then as we say here wait 20 minutes and the weather will change. Temps climbed over 70 at home though the Weather Channel said 68 F for the airport about a mile to the west. 

Rode in to a meeting tonight at about 65 and home at about 60F. Lovely ride both ways.

We have the yellow, purple and variegated croci in bloom, the mini daffodils in bud, and the sugar maple in bloom. I haven't looked to see what date I reported last year but I don't think it was in February! Snow and 36F forecast for Sunday. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Newfangled, JeffScott, David C, and Byknutz are riding in the Canadian winter, I dunno whether you consider that American or not. Fux gets the Norwegian winter award, so probably not considered American winter 

Your profile says NZ. Wht kind of winter do you get around there? We`ve got one pretty active Kiwi on board, but it`s been mostly southern summer since he started posting and he hasn`t yet said much about winter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brian, 70F, wow! I'm often surprised by your weather there. Glad you got in a good ride!


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## in2theforest (Sep 11, 2011)

I'm not too far from BrianMc and it reached 65F here in NE Ohio


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Your profile says NZ. Wht kind of winter do you get around there? We`ve got one pretty active Kiwi on board, but it`s been mostly southern summer since he started posting and he hasn`t yet said much about winter.


I'm assuming I'm the active kiwi 

If you live in the central plateau area (Waiouru, Taupo etc) then it snows pretty much every winter. Same for the deep south around Queenstown and Wanaka. For the rest of us, winter is generally just cold, dark and wet.

Last year we did actually get about three days of snow across much of the country which is extremely rare.

I've added some pics of Mt Ruapehu in May 2011 and the snow from a few months later. Also one from a few days ago looking across Wellington harbour from my office.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, R+P+K = A.K. 
Really, not much snow? Does it not usually get that cold, or it gets cold but just doesn`t snow? Looking at the map, Wellington is just about even with Bariloche, so I made a bad assumption.



BrianMc said:


> We have the yellow, purple and variegated croci in bloom, the mini daffodils in bud, and the sugar maple in bloom.


Whoa, your flowers don`t mess around! I forgot to mention last year when you told me that malpes bloom that I caught ours in the act. If you hadn`t brought it up, I`d have never noticed.

Hey, how do you guys get quotes from more than one post? I`ve tried playing with the box that has little quote signs, but can`t seem to figure it out.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, R+P+K = A.K.
> Really, not much snow? Does it not usually get that cold, or it gets cold but just doesn`t snow? Looking at the map, Wellington is just about even with Bariloche, so I made a bad assumption.


No, the snow in places like Wellington was a totally freak occurrence. I think the last time I can remember snow even close was a light dusting on the hills surrounding the city back when I was a kid.

It can get really cold especially if we got a southerly snap. Speaking of which, the weather service here has issued a severe weather warning for this weekend and I think they even used the word "tempest". Not good news for the peeps racing the Karapoti (Karapoti 2012 - March 3 & 4 - Enter Now) this weekend!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The highs and lows are almost the same! Weird.

Te Aro 15-Day Weather - AccuWeather Forecast for Wellington New Zealand


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not quite 70 degrees here. We are getting one of the biggest snows of the year on March 1, the others were in October and November but almost nothing in Dec, Jan & Feb. I can't wait to see what April brings. We'll probably get one of those freak 3' spring storms.

Today's commute wasn't as magical as I'd hoped. Lots of hard work actually. I basically had to feel my way along the old 4 wheeler tracks under 4" of powder. I bailed and took the road the last 2 miles. Not my favorite choice in a storm this size. I took one hand off the bars for a second to blow a snot rocket and the wheel dropped off the edge of the tar and down I went. I caught myself but my elbow isn't' right. I'm catching a ride home with my wife. Sorry for the whining.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

in2theforest said:


> I'm not too far from BrianMc and it reached 65F here in NE Ohio


I lived in Wooster, Medina, and Seville south of Cleveland for 16 years. Sorry to hear of the Chardon situation.



rodar y rodar said:


> Whoa, your flowers don`t mess around! I forgot to mention last year when you told me that malpes bloom that I caught ours in the act. If you hadn`t brought it up, I`d have never noticed..


Yeah. The Amaryllis indoors are just winding down as the spring flowers are ramping up. great for cabin fever. Now I have to hope we don't drop into the teens and kill them.



rodar y rodar said:


> , how do you guys get quotes from more than one post? I`ve tried playing with the box that has little quote signs, but can`t seem to figure it out.


All you really need to know you learned in kindergarten. Which explains why I am so messed up. We did not have kindergarten! It is just a bit of Cut & Paste. 

Just chose quote for the last one you wish to respond to and edit it shorter if desired, copy it to the clipboard, return to previous page abandoning the new post, click quote for the first or middle one, space some lines to respond and paste in the one on the clipboard. Repeat by selecting the quotes and saving those to the clipboard as a block for 3 or even more quotes, if you wish. Split quotes up by copying and pasting the leader and footers.

At least that is how I do it. :thumbsup:

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A pretty ride in through the snow, but more pushing than I would've liked, though the field & some of the uphills. As the snow got deeper and I got more tired, it seemed that the slightest grade stopped progress. Bedwards, we got about 4" here too, I'll probably have to take the road home unless some sleds get out there. 

On my way home last night, it seemed that the deer had a crazy amount of activity, based on the tracks all over, and not just in a line, all over the place. I would have loved to see what they were doing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Jeep made some of the XJ cherokees in RHD for export, and people could order them from the factory that way in the states for rural postal routes, etc. I found this one on craigslist after my other XJ was 'totaled' by insurance. I bought the wrecked one back for parts and proceeded to start building on this one. It's the 'other' hobby... there are some pics on the last page of http://forums.mtbr.com/car-biker/jeep-thread-659758-13.html

Now, tell me this commute doesn't justify springing for some studs :lol: These were all this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*A riding first for me*

I did have one really cool part of my commute. I was pushing across the lake and the going was tough lots of wind driven snow so I was only going about 5MPH. Since I couldn't see anyway and there is 10 minutes of riding like that and there is NOTHING to hit&#8230; I closed my eyes and rode that way for a full minute. (then I opened them like this) I was surprised at how much I was able to stay on course.

Has anybody else tried anything like this? A frozen lake is about the only place it would work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have done that on the dirt bike going flat out across the Black Rock Desert in Nevada (where they have Burning Man). They set the land speed record out there. There's nothing to hit. I think I was doing 80 or so. Very bizzare feeling.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Warmer this morning (-10C instead of the -20C it's been for the past few days), but the wind sure made it feel chilly.

Snow is great:


And yes CB, you're a prime candidate for some studded tires..


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Brian, thanks for that. This would be a good time to try it out, but I`m going to have to digest it when I`m not so groggy.

Whine away, Bedwards- it sounds like you`ve earned it! I`ve never tried rolling with my eyes closed. Honestly I don`t think I could force my eyes to stay closed even if I knew without a doubt that there was nothing to hit.

Those deer were probably trying to pack down the powder for you, MtbX. Tomorrow you owe them carrots 

CB, you got to make a nice anconda track down the road? We don`t have any this morning, just plenty of wind . You need a Land Rover badge for your Jeep.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Why dont posts appear at bottom of thread?*

the thread has truncated somewhere on its own? Gregg can you fix this? Communte? 3rd day riding the &^%$ing bus.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ride was 20 F cooler, but at 40 F March 1 I'm not complaining. Global warming has some good points. Stayed with a pickup for a half block and surprised him in his mirrors.  Not that I was blazingly fast, more that he was saving gas, but the surprised look was good when he saw I was staying with him.  

Saw a butterfly bucking for the 'early bug gets its butt frozen off' award. Maybe this IS the banana belt after seeing Mtbx's and CB's pics.

Seems like few know hand turn signals, or maybe they are so unused to signaling by anyone by any means (including or especially the police), or maybe they're so awed by my form and speed that they are rendered immobile.  Regardless, over-yielding is preferred over colliding. 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, how do you guys get quotes from more than one post? I`ve tried playing with the box that has little quote signs, but can`t seem to figure it out.


Well, to start, I selected the "multi-quote" button (the button with the quotation marks) at the bottom of this post. Seems like nothing happens? Look closer...the multi-quote button changes color!



BrianMc said:


> Just chose quote for the last one you wish to respond to and edit it shorter if desired, copy it to the clipboard, return to previous page abandoning the new post, click quote for the first or middle one, space some lines to respond and paste in the one on the clipboard. Repeat by selecting the quotes and saving those to the clipboard as a block for 3 or even more quotes, if you wish. Split quotes up by copying and pasting the leader and footers.


I scrolled down and selected the multi-quote button for this post too...



rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, thanks for that. This would be a good time to try it out, but I`m going to have to digest it when I`m not so groggy.


And I selected it for this post, and then I hit the "Quote" button. Voila! The editor comes up and all three posts are already pasted into the message, each inside their own quote markup tags. I just edit away the text I don't want, add my witty commentary and hit "Submit Reply". Done!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hola! No riding for me this week, I am in Barcelona for a conference. While I have been gone, my wife tells me that it's rained or snowed just about everyday this week in Seattle. So, if I were home I am sure I would be adding to the frozen photo collection that everyone has posted up. I sure have enjoyed looking at them!

And CB, 80MPH with your eyes closed? I don't care how far out in the middle of nowhere I am, I don't think I could manage that... 

Just outside my hotel here, they have a station for one of those bike sharing programs:










When I saw it, I thought "how cool!" because I have some downtime tomorrow and I figured I would grab one of these bikes to explore Barcelona a bit. Then I went online and read about the program...it takes ten day to get a card that unlocks the bikes. When they put the program in place a few years ago, the bike rental places lobbied the city council to make the program such that tourists could not use it. Grrr. But I saw a bike rental place nearby, so I might rent a bike and go for a spin.

There seems to be a good network of bike trails, and I have seen many bikes out on the streets:










If I have enough time for a bike rental tomorrow, I'll try to post up some pics. Rodar, this is where having a folder like Bike Friday would be fantastic. I wonder if it would fit in the overhead bin? 

Home over the weekend, back to riding in the rain on monday...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> Just outside my hotel here, they have a station for one of those bike sharing programs:
> 
> There seems to be a good network of bike trails, and I have seen many bikes out on the streets:
> 
> ...


Now that is a proper bike lane.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, thanks for asking about the multiple quotes, I didn't know how people did that either. And thanks for the answers. 

A shame about the bikeshare, they have such cool apehangers too. My grandfather worked in Barcelona "when great waiters travelled the world" (he later worked at the Waldorf in NYC), so leave a good tip if you eat out!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> And CB, 80MPH with your eyes closed? I don't care how far out in the middle of nowhere I am, I don't think I could manage that...


I'd imagine that it's very much like riding a bike at 5mph on a frozen lake... you really lose all sensation of speed in a situation like that. There is nothing in your pereipheral vision to remind you that you're even moving...once the ground is blurred out by the motion, you could be going 8 or 80 and you'd never know the difference, other than the wind resistance. But on a calm day that is incredibly consistant too, so that sort of goes away from your mind... The only indication of the speed is in how many times you have to downshift when you're slowing down. It's truly weird. Closing your eyes just adds to the weird sensation that you might not be moving at all.

On a related note, I had a little tailwind on the frozen road in my picture this morning, and the top layer of corn snow was blowing right along with me for a while...essentially it looked like the entire ground was moving at the same speed that I was going,...my brain and eyes questioned whether I was moving at all for a minute, until the wind shifted. Strange stuff.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'd imagine that it's very much like riding a bike at 5mph on a frozen lake... you really lose all sensation of speed in a situation like that.


Yeah, some nights at dusk when I ride across the lake I have no sense of how fast I am going. It is a strange feeling.

Have a great day biking in Spain. Be careful of thieves. My system biked through Europe and got robbed in Bilbao when she was changing a flat. 2 Kids came up to "help". One distracted her while the other lifted her wallet and passport. She said they were so smooth about it she didn't realize it until they were gone.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Well, to start, I selected the "multi-quote" button (the button with the quotation marks) at the bottom of this post. Seems like nothing happens? Look closer...the multi-quote button changes color!
> XXX
> I scrolled down and selected the multi-quote button for this post too...
> XXX
> And I selected it for this post, and then I hit the "Quote" button. Voila! The editor comes up and all three posts are already pasted into the message, each inside their own quote markup tags. I just edit away the text I don't want, add my witty commentary and hit "Submit Reply". Done!


Got it!


BrianMc said:


> All you really need to know you learned in kindergarten. Which explains why I am so messed up. We did not have kindergarten! It is just a bit of Cut & Paste.


Kintergarten is too early for cutting class, but a good place to eat that paste. Sorry you missedit


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man, that sure does look like a nice place for riding, Woodway! 
And no, if you take a bike along, I think you`re doomed to checked bags (with one devoted entirely to the bike). There was a recent thread on the BFnet folders section about carry on bikes and the concensus was that even the little ones with 16 inch wheels were too big for that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I took the road home, the hardest part was pushing up my unplowed driveway at the end, 8" maybe, plus drifts. More activity than usual along the way, especially since it was snowing hard.
The first was a toddler out with a woman and dog, he had a "that bike nice" in a cute little voice.

Saw the plow 3x, moved to the opposite lane when I heard him coming behind me.

Then I saw headlights ahead in the wrong lane, and it turned out to be a neighbor who had lost it on the curve, got sucked into the snowbank, knocking the tire off the rim, on his brother's truck. He was having trouble lowering the spare, but luckily as we talked a guy he knew came up and offered to help - thank goodness, I was off the hook. 

Next, a black shepherd barked and charged, but stopped at the end of its driveway. 

Then, a older guy dropped his shovel to come chat, wanted to know how far I go, etc. He was tired of sitting around, and was out "playing" (shoveling) in the snow. 

At the last turn a woman was out shoveling with her dog and had a "hello" and a complaint about the number of times she'd been out to clear the driveway today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Wow, a very eventful ride!



mtbxplorer said:


> The first was a toddler out with a woman and dog, he had a "that bike nice" in a cute little voice.


I hear that dogs really dig fat bikes!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ha! I knew that would come back to bite me!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today was the second day this week I made it to work just before a downpour. Today is not a day to play around out in the rain. We have a line of super-cells moving in, and tornadoes are a definite possibility. We've already had a number of strong thunderstorms, but the severe stuff is on its way. My wife will probably have to swing by my office on the way home from her work, unless I can find a suitable break in the mayhem.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Kindergarten is too early for cutting class, but a good place to eat that paste. Sorry you missedit


I knew how to print, read, and add and subtract before first grade because Mom home pre-schooled us. Mother's baking was far better than flour-glue.

Apparently my solve it myself method developed in my DOS days works. When I saw it done, I knew a way to do it and did not go looking. Definitely 'old school'. 

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Today is not a day to play around out in the rain. We have a line of super-cells moving in, and tornadoes are a definite possibility.


Same here. I have a chance for a ride this morning before it comes howling through.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No super cells here, just cold and sunny with a little bit of breeze to chase out the week`s yucky weather. One more shift to work and it`s vacation time! Next week`s forecast for Furnace Creek looks just peachy.



BrianMc said:


> When I saw it done, I knew a way to do it and did not go looking. Definitely 'old school'.


A few more steps than W`s method, but still a nice bit of inginuity :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I used my commuting time this morning for snowblowing :sad: and had to drive in. Brought my skis though to try the trails at lunch. At 8 a.m. that truck from last night was still in the road with the tire off the rim, just plowed in a bit. With 41F forecast for tomorrow with snow, ice pellets and rain, and then a low of 18, the trails should set up nicely for riding.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hola again! I got a chance to go for a little ride in Barcelona today, and it was very enjoyable!

I went to the desk at the hotel to ask for the nearest bike rental place, and the gal behind the desk says "senor, we have a bicycle that you can use":










It wasn't a pretty bike, and there was no helmet (not that anyone around here wears helmets anyway) but it did the job. That hurkin lock you see came with the bike, and I was warned to lock the front wheel and frame anytime I stopped. Notice the seat lock? I guess "seat stealin" is a fine art around here.

Anyway, I set off in the sunshine and 60 degrees (sorry guys), just kind of toodlin around Barcelona. I found many dedicated bike lanes:










Wide boulevard medians for peds and bikes:









And when all else failed, nice wide sidewalks that nobody seemed to care that I was riding on.

Saw some nice museums and churches, and stopped to drink a cup of coffee in a sidewalk cafe.










I was out for 2-3 hours just enjoying the day.

The main part of Barcelona is as flat as can be and the riding could not have been any easier (especially coming from Seattle where you cannot get away from the hills). The few times I ventured out onto the road, cars seemed to be polite and give me plenty of space. There were many bikes out, especially from that local bike sharing program. From a commuting standpoint the only thing that would be a pain is that there are a LOT of traffic lights and even for me just plinking around it was tough to get any kind of flow going.

Anyway, I had a great time. I am looking forward to gettng back home and into my regular commute, but I am going to miss this weather


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## GTscoob (Apr 27, 2009)

Man, jealous about cycling around Barcelona. I wished I had a bike so I could get all around town. I highly recommend checking out Parc Guelle if you've got a day to ride around, the park is massive and a bike would help you see it all.

My commute today was awesome, set a personal best time at 26 minutes from door to door. GA weather has been cooperating with nice 68 degree rides into work and 75 degree rides home from work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice! Thanks for sharing. I like how the bikes painted in the bike lanes have massive chainguards.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ha Ha Ha, you were riding a girly bike. JK That was great that they had something available. Looks like a great way to explore a city. See, I told you that theft was a problem.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Ha Ha Ha, you were riding a girly bike. JK That was great that they had something available. Looks like a great way to explore a city. See, I told you that theft was a problem.


Haha, wondered if anyone would notice that about the bike  Hey it was free, and from what I can see around here, just about anything goes when it comes to bikes. These folks don't seem to obsess much about frame material, spoke count, groupset, etc. It's refreshing. Was a little wierd to not swing my leg over the top tube however...

On petty crime, I have been to Spain before and was aware of the petty crime problem. The hotel warns eveyone on checkin to take care of valuables, drop the room key at the desk when leaving the hotel, etc. It's a shame because everyone I have encountered is generally warm and friendly. But they have 20%+ youth unemployment here, so it's not completely suprising that this problem exists.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Great stuff Woodway! I see Plaça de Espanya and La Sagrada Familia!
Spent a couple of years in Barcelona, loved it.

Pedalling during the ride in to work yesterday got kind of tough all of a sudden, :-DD

I've been using the carrier almost daily for 3 years, can't complain.
Brazed it last night.






Threw some paint on it. Bad pic.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

[No message]


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Hey, man- where did my post go???
Try again...


woodway said:


> Anyway, I set off in the sunshine and 60 degrees (sorry guys), just kind of toodlin around Barcelona. I found many dedicated bike lanes...
> 
> ...Anyway, I had a great time. I am looking forward to gettng back home and into my regular commute, but I am going to miss this weather


Oooohhh... Delightful! Thanks for that- some unique views to say the least 

@4 X 4: Wow, that looks like quite a drag brake you had going on there! You brazed the tube or welded it? I`ve seen reference to brazing aluminum duct work, but never seen it or known anybody who`s done it. Whatever method you used, it sure looks a lot cleaner than my nasty aluminum work- good job :thumbsup:
Plaça de Espanya? I take it that`s a Catalan name? Is Catalan frequently heard there?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

60 F in Barcelona? Now I feel rich. Above that twice this week and maybe next too, and no airline ticket required. 

Of course, we had two separate tornado watches and two separate high wind warnings, and two severe thunderstorm warnings today, but it got to 69 F! Today, a cyclist would need his pilot and scuba licenses. Rained like a bathtub faucet. Tornados landed about 50 miles south of here. Nine dead in Indiana and another nine in Kentucky, and still counting. We were south of there on Wednesday. At least one small town (Marysville pop 1300), Joplinized. I'll try not to complain of a headwind for a while. Prayers for these families are appropriate.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Hey, man- where did my post go???


:lol: That's awesome. Cracked me up.

Brian, scary stuff over there. Can't imagine that...I'll take forest fires any day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brian, that's too close for comfort. Glad you dodged it. Just saw Henryville on TV. Awful.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Hi Bedwards!*

This is a snowmachine trail over the Portland Pipeline in NE VT, crude oil on it's way from S Portland ME through NH & VT to Montreal. Sadly, the oil travels faster than I do, according to Wikipedia.

Hey, I think I see DavidC in the other direction!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Exploring Victory VT on my day off:
A well traveled shed.
2 story outhouse? (USGS gauging station on Moose River)
Victory Bog
Victory Rd. & Moose River
Wildlife sightings.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I don't even want to know what that last picture was about.

And that guy had a lot of car over the years. Or was a freak.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> This is a snowmachine trail over the Portland Pipeline in NE VT, crude oil on it's way from S Portland ME through NH & VT to Montreal. Sadly, the oil travels faster than I do, according to Wikipedia.


Hey, you head in my direction and I'll head in yours and I'll meet you in about, maybe, 20 hours? That trail looks perfect.

My trails ranged from magical to passable - to not passable. Unscheduled front tire wash crossing a stream. I managed to somehow leave the bike gracefully even though I run clipless. This is the first time I've seen hydraulic disk brakes become ineffective.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Snow! I was in a hole in the ground studying all weekend and didn't get word that we were supposed to have snow. We had about 4-5" this by morning. It's rapidly diminishing now. I rode my "new" bike in so I'd have better traction.

It was over 70F on Friday. I decided to risk the ride home. I had checked the radar and figured I had just enough time. The tornado sirens went off just as I hopped in the shower. We were lucky to avoid the worst of the storm. We got some wind and rain, but that was it. Tomorrow the temps will go back into the 60s.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Yikes bedwards! Glad you are OK. It really would have sucked if something would have come off your bike and you had to fish around in there for it!

What a difference a week makes for me:

Barcelona: 65, sunny, flat, calm, dry
Seattle: 40, cloudy, hilly, windy, raining

Welcome home indeed...

I saw half dozen new cyclists out this morning, and then realized that the calendar has turned over to March and that elusive species "commuterus-hibernateus" is awakening from it's slumber.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, that's crazy! 
MTBX, I was thinking squirrel or bunny until I saw that gigantic hunk of meat (?). Any tell-tale tracks giving away the predator? 

Uneventful morning for me. A little warmer (beautiful weekend). Back to the Big Apples, frozen mud conditions on the dirt road providing epic traction. Probably a slippery mess going home, but worth it for the decreased rolling resistance everywhere else.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> This is the first time I've seen hydraulic disk brakes become ineffective.


I don't think any brakes will under water with no traction for the tires! 

Great reason for waterproof lights.

So you didn't lock up and slide in: Your brake pads just slid on icy discs or no lever action?

BrianMc


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Hey, man- where did my post go???
> Try again...
> 
> Oooohhh... Delightful! Thanks for that- some unique views to say the least
> ...


There's more Catalan spoken in Barcelona than Spanish, can make it tough if you're trying to learn Spanish. Met people in small Catalan towns who only had a limited command of Spanish.

Out in the countryside, particularly on the weekends you see lots of nice bikes, it's a pretty popular sport there, everybody gets dressed to the gills with fancy gear, even the old guys whose mid section is the biggest part of their body.

I brazed the carrier, had never brazed aluminum before, it's a lot different than brazing steel. Spent about 4 hours mucking around making a mess to begin with, but by the end of the evening I to brazed an aluminum can, took a short video:

Brazing an aluminum pop can / soldando una lata de aluminio - YouTube

I decided to test the strength of the carrier, it's rated to 35 lbs, I put my body weight on it (dumb idea) and the tubing broke further up, the weld held though. Off to buy another today, only $35.

Bedwards that picture is a keeper!!

Mtbxplorer, I'm going to guess a hawk or another bird got a rabbit? Lots of spatter from an initial struggle but no animal tracks.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, that's crazy!
> MTBX, I was thinking squirrel or bunny until I saw that gigantic hunk of meat (?). Any tell-tale tracks giving away the predator?


No, I was curious but not curious enough to wade through the snow and blood to get a better look. The piece of fur I picked up was soft like bunny but I thought that hunk un-bunny like too. I did see coyote tracks elsewhere on the road, they had the perfect "x" between the pads and the hind tracks were on top of the front tracks..

Be careful Bedwards! That looks cold.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> I don't think any brakes will under water with no traction for the tires!
> 
> Great reason for waterproof lights.
> 
> ...


The brakes worked before the front wheel disappeared. The hole wasn't there when I started to ride over it. That is my route around the part of the stream that is unridable. It was a little discolored but seemed solid. I'm always aware that the trail might not be that solid in that area. Today I was right, not so solid. The brakes didn't work when the disks and pads were coated with a layer of ice. Such an innocent looking stream


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The commute was seriously varied this morning...my house was probably a couple hundred feet above the snowline last night...so I set out in a few inches of snow, which deteriorated to frozen slush (crazy loud racket below the knobby tires... like riding on bubble wrap), which deteriorated to freezing rain (slick!), which deteriorated to basically just wet roads. 

I mean, I didn't fall in an icy river of death, but it was interesting...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^ If you got some studded tires you wouldn't be able to report on the freeing rain because it would be a non-issue.

Don't any of you guys crash? I seem to post about going wrong side up once a week usually right after the front tire disappears somewhere below the surface of the earth (or at least the plane of it I am riding on). I guess if most of you only get to ride the roads I would hope you don't' but all you winter trail riders must go azz over teakettle once and a while.

My commute was fun. Most of the trails are firm and in good shape. I saw about 50 deer, the most this year. I almost caught them on the video but nothing worth posting.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ About two weeks ago was the last time I took my non-studded bike out, and I nearly ate it - the rear end swung way out on me, but I did this amazing one-foot dab and bounced myself upright again. I really impressed myself, but I wish there'd been someone else there to witness it.

And then after that we got a bunch of snow, and I was cruising downhill on my studded bike, and I knew that I was going to lose it, and I thought "Meh, it's just snow", and down I went. Nicest crash I've ever had.

Another inch or two of snow for us but it's supposed to be 9C/48F by the end of the week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My commute is all roads/MUP, but I have still managed to go down twice this year, both times because of ice. It hurts. So far no more damage than a small tear in one of my riding jackets. and a bent read derailleur cage. I'm riding 700x25c gatorskins - they don't do well on ice.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> ^ About two weeks ago was the last time I took my non-studded bike out, and I nearly ate it - the rear end swung way out on me, but I did this amazing one-foot dab and bounced myself upright again. I really impressed myself, but I wish there'd been someone else there to witness it.


:lol: I have so been there recently.

Bedwards, I have dirt roads, singletrack, and pavement on my commute, and I can't think of a time I have crashed that wasn't on pavement... usually a layer of ice or snow involved, but for some reason it's never on the dirt. I came really close the other day...working the rear brake at the bottom of the hill in the ice...Locked it up and slid way out one way, somehow caught traction when I let off and bounced back straight, then locked it up and slid out the other way, let off and bounced back up straight....like I was scrubbing off some speed on skis or something. Haven't gone down this winter though 

just jinxed myself.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Been riding studs for 6 years....

Went down once when an ice patch let loose on a spiral ramp...Studs held fine the ice came of the pavement....sore elbow.

Lost it a couple of times going down snow covered braided trails you can't see where the trails are so if your front wheel climbs up and over down you go.

6 inchs of wet snow with 40 to 50 kph wind...started raining yesterday, then froze up.

I tried my 2.35 inch stud on the front, and the 1.9 inch on the rear....

Didn't like the combo cause the front would float and the rear would dig....Normally I would either be digging or floating...

Think I will try the fat tire on the rear and the skinny on the front next time...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Phew, I thought it was just me. I do the wheel gets caught in a frozen rut and won't turn out thing a lot especially under a layer of light new snow. I need a riding in ruts course. Every time it happens I think "I've got to get better at this".


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Phew, I thought it was just me. I do the wheel gets caught in a frozen rut and won't turn out thing a lot especially under a layer of light new snow. I need a riding in ruts course. Every time it happens I think "I've got to get better at this".


Yup it is a real art to do it well.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Phew, I thought it was just me. I do the wheel gets caught in a frozen rut and won't turn out thing a lot especially under a layer of light new snow. I need a riding in ruts course. Every time it happens I think "I've got to get better at this".


Yup, it is a real art to do well....

Somethings I have learned steer with your hips like you are riding without hands...

Let the front go where it wants...it is easier to recover from the turn than trying to prevent the turn.

Turn into the where the front is going sometimes helps...

There is a key speed for most conditions.....faster gets real sketchy, slower gets really difficult to stay up....just hope you can put out enough energy to get to that speed.

Usually the right speed is just before the tires really begin to float.

Most of it is kinda of counter-intuative.

Know how the ruts are made, and stay away from them....For example I ride an overpass that gets plowed about a day later than it should so it gets quite rutty...

Anyway if I ride with my hand brushing the railing I am closer to the side than anyone else..hence no ruts, and much easier pedaling.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Let the front go where it wants...it is easier to recover from the turn than trying to prevent the turn.


I usually do that unless there's a reason to be in another location on the trail.



jeffscott said:


> Turn into the where the front is going sometimes helps....


It's a problem when that isn't the direction the trail goes.


jeffscott said:


> There is a key speed for most conditions.....faster gets real sketchy, slower gets really difficult to stay up....just hope you can put out enough energy to get to that speed.
> 
> Usually the right speed is just before the tires really begin to float.
> 
> Most of it is kinda of counter-intuative.


Yup, to fast gets bad quick, too slow and you don't have the momentum to get out.

Steer by leaning not turning works sometimes too.

If I'm deep in a rut sometimes I get out by hopping sideways a-la Danny Macaskill on a railroad track without the grace.

Turning out quickly can help too.

I think a 29er would roll out better but I just bought my 26" MTB

I intellectually know all this, it's the execution that doesn't work.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Went down on Sunday in an ungainly split. A car was approaching on the snow covered road and I went too far to the right on a well crowned section, washing out to the right. My bike and right foot went right as I tried to put down the left, but too late, everything else kept sliding right until the left handlebar hit the ground, just as the car passed. Only my pride was wounded.

I also went down on the ice a few times, skinning and banging knees and elbows, and trashing my carbon fiber fatbike fork when it was only 3 weeks old. I was fine in that crash. 

I hope you feel better now.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Wow 67 F and sunny! Though with winds 20-35 forecast (usually an underestimate in my experience) they were actually wrong on the high side. It was a weird cross wind, I kept shifting up on the uphill 1/4 mile of the main section and was in top gear inbound on the level and downhill and only four gears lower in the same section uphill homebound then top gear on the level and the 1/4 mile drop to the stop sign. Guess I was tacking on the wind both ways. Left a front loader tractor in my dust. Maybe he couldn't find high gear. Small victory, as the big ones are past me. Passed by a neighbor driving up the blind hill riding into the wind. I was out of the saddle to keep my speed, I don't like the idea of what such a driver might do if a car appears as there is no room for 2 cars and a bike, a drop off one side and a road cut on the other. Hope he has good brakes and quick reactions.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Drag racing a tractor, Nice! I've had those passing situations before, not good.

So going home last night I was going down the steepest section of trail with more ice canyons than ruts. Lots of frozen ice knobs on the bottom of them where the slush froze. I was thinking of this thread at the time going just on the border of "sketchy" speed. And then I crossed it. It was probably one of my more spectacular looking crashes but no real ill effects to me of the bike. I just did a full roll, got up and was on my way.

My legs felt like stumps this morning. No energy to climb the hills, get out of ruts, power out of deep snow. . . Nothing. The trails have been draining this week. It's supposed to warm up a lot today so I'll be taking mostly roads home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm rocking shorts and short-sleeved shirt again today. It's "hot" out there. Yesterday was a little icy, but the ride home was 70F. Poor me...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

14*F and sunny this morning. Such an odd contrast. 
Supposed to hit 60 for a high by the end of the week. Weird couple of days here where the low and high are supposed to be almost 40 degrees apart. How do you dress for that?

I have drafted a tractor before. :lol: There was a headwind, he passed me, I latched on to his wheel...it was glorious. It was a big giant road grader thing... the driver turned around and saw me and started laughing... he had a NASCAR hat on, I knew he 'got it'.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've drafted a house before. They really block the wind. I'm not sure if the chase car was impressed but the house _was_ taking up the whole shoulder.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The tractor was oncoming at a left turn that I got to first, but the next 1/2 mile was south into the wind and he was gaining. I got to the 4 way stop turned west changing head to cross wind. He turned the same way. I held distance up the grade and then left him behind once I hit the level and high gear the downhill to my left I was cranking on and he was behind the crest. 

BrianMc


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## RevRacer (Nov 22, 2009)

Perfect night to take off late from the office, co-worker wanted to get some miles in and managed a 15 mile journey in addition to the commute. Weather was somewhat cloudy, masking the full moon, but still and probably in the 40F-50F range. Some days you pack just the right clothing...and today was one of those days.

Tomorrow, who knows....


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I intellectually know all this, it's the execution that doesn't work.


I think you are missing a key "intellectual point"

Try this test, pick a relatively easy ride with some ruts....no concern with staying within the trail...

Ride it normally... then go back and ride it applying the techniques I highlighted....

In the end if the techniques are working your line will be much straigher using the techniques....

Therfore if you have trail constraints you will be better off applying those techniques then not applying them....even though you think they may put you off the trail.

Secondly, there are many lines to ride on any one trail...until you get right down to a narrow skinny bridge.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I shift my focus to way further down the trail when I'm dealing with ruts... It helps me to let the bike wander a bit and find it's happy place, while I'm picking my line further down. It helps the upper body stay on target...steering with your upper body sort of, while the bike and legs kind of deal with the ruts on thier own. Except sometimes I don't do this becuase it doesn't work. Other times I surprise myself with how I stayed up through that section. There are too many variables to have a one-size-fits-all formula. 


Anywhoo...yesterday after work I decided it would be a smart thing to do to attack the biggest hill in town on the singlespeed, just to see if I could do it. I reached a level of suffering that I have not experienced in a really long time. It was probably good for me, but I haven't had that level of lung-burning inside-out-gut feeling pain in a long time. I did it though. Today I am worthless. I usually climb that hill in 36/32 on the commuter bike... The singlespeed is 46/20.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> I think you are missing a key "intellectual point"
> 
> Try this test, pick a relatively easy ride with some ruts....no concern with staying within the trail...
> 
> ...


Thanks Jeff. I'll give it a try the next time the trails are ridable. I do attempt to do most of those already. My knees are banged up from hitting the top tube with the weight shifting I do. The other intellectual problem I have is thinking about it too much. It probably comes down to practice, practice, practice.

I have to work on narrow skinny bridges too.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

This is from this morning. I though I would break 8,000 on the way in, but as I pulled into the office it read 7999.1, and thats how it sits now, untill my ride home.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Man, someday I want a bike computer that doesn't freak out and reset itself every couple of days or minutes or months. I have never had one that was reliable. I swear I get those little stupid magnets as close as humanly possible without touching, and the things always start blinking zero just about the time I'm getting excited about some number that's about to pop up. :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> I swear I get those little stupid magnets as close as humanly possible without touching, and the things always start blinking zero just about the time I'm getting excited about some number that's about to pop up. :lol:


I've never had a computer. I just keep a running tally in my head of how many miles I think I've ridden. It's amazing how many more miles you can get this way. I logged 20 miles this morning alone.


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## Adroit Rider (Oct 26, 2004)

Yesterday I commuted to campus for the first time since late November and had a great time. 69 degrees, ten miles one way, 30mph cross winds, and riding the Washtenaw County Border to Border trail for 80% of the journey.

On the way home I found myself lost in a day dream, smiling, chuckling, and pedaling without a care in the world.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Adroit Rider said:


> On the way home I found myself lost in a day dream, smiling, chuckling, and pedaling without a care in the world.


On the streets here, day dreaming can be fatal. On the trail, OK. You can't avoid what you don't see coming.

BrianMc


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## Adroit Rider (Oct 26, 2004)

BrianMc said:


> On the streets here, day dreaming can be fatal. On the trail, OK. You can't avoid what you don't see coming.
> 
> BrianMc


I hear ya. Luckily my commute takes me through Easter Michigan University and Washtenaw Community College so my biggest worry (for most of my ride) at 10:15pm is skunks and pedestrians with ear phones.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

That's a pretty sweet looking bike Adroit.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Man, someday I want a bike computer that doesn't freak out and reset itself every couple of days or minutes or months. I have never had one that was reliable. I swear I get those little stupid magnets as close as humanly possible without touching, and the things always start blinking zero just about the time I'm getting excited about some number that's about to pop up. :lol:


Get a GPS computer like the Garmin Edge 200. No wheel calibration or stupid magnets


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'd rather buy a whole bike :lol:


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## Adroit Rider (Oct 26, 2004)

s0ckeyeus said:


> That's a pretty sweet looking bike Adroit.


Thanks.

The build in the picture isn't very practical but that is how I dreamed it up. Since the picture I have added:
Origin 8 white brake levers
Front brake
Serfas USB lights
Bell

There are no fender/rack mounts on the fork...


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Had a wonderful ride in today. First time commuting in a few months (gosh, I think since December!). Weather was perfect, 70 degrees and sunny! I have forgotten how quiet Friday mornings can be around campus.

Nice to have a cube mate at work!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took the pooch I am dogsitting out for a trailride this morning and saw this. You can make out the wings (4' across), tailfeather & talon tracks, plus the tracks of the hapless victim (foreground).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Great shot mtbxplorer!.

Broke out the non-studded dinglespeed again this morning. Yesterday and today have been super mucky, and my riding clothes are just caked solid. I've shied away from fullcoverage fenders on my bikes because they get used offroad a bunch, but since the dinglespeed will be primarily a pavement cruiser it might get a set.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, MTBX you still have a lot of snow. We lost a lot yesterday. Cool impression. 

I've only got one bike with fenders so that's the one I've been riding this week. I've taken it offroad with the fenders but they clatter around a lot. Probably not the best thing for them. I'm itching to get the new bike out soon. I've got a seatpack, spare tubes and a mirror to put on it (or my helmet) this weekend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That is awesome MTBX. I can picture it happening.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice picture MTBX. Sometime reading this thread I forget that I am not looking at National Geographic...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, MTBX you still have a lot of snow. We lost a lot yesterday. Cool impression.


We lost a bunch of snow the last 2 days, but last night was in the 20's and we got a nice inch of fresh powder, making for good fatbiking and tracking.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Had a weird feeling about passing a car today. Avoided a surprise last second no signal right hook into a front in parking spot.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here's a rant for you. I live in a small town, where people supposedly "get it." I was reminded again yesterday that nobody gets it. In this case, it's people thinking that they're being nice that's going to get someone killed. 

I pulled up to a stop sign, intending to shoot straight across a 4 lane street when traffic cleared (I'm the blue circle on my awesome drawing). So I'm behaving like a car, stopping at the stop sign, looking for a gap in traffic. That's when Moron (the red rectangle) pulled up to the intersection (there is no stop sign for the 4 lane street, no stop light, it's a main drag). Moron was going to turn left onto the road that I was coming out of. So they signaled, saw me, and then came to a complete stop before entering the intersection, as if I was a pedestrian in the crosswalk (I was stopped on my bike at the limit line, watching traffic). When they got there, there was plenty of room (and they clearly had the right-of-way) to execute their left hand turn. But they just sat there, thinking that they were being kind by providing me an opportunity to dart out into the intersection to get killed by the car about to pass through the intersection in the lane to their right. After a few seconds, the cars approaching to my left on the main street got to the intersection...they were confused by the truck stopped for no reason, and apparently by my presence on a bicycle, so they sort of half-way stopped, trying to figure out if the invisible pedestrian had gotten across the crosswalk yet, before they proceeded to do what they were supposed to do, which is obviously keep going. They gave me dirty looks because, obviously, I'm the problem. 

Moron, however, refused to consider any existing traffic law as they continued to try to get me to go. I was tempted to get off of my bike and point to the stop sign that I was obeying, and then motion for them to look for the stop sign that they were obeying, which only existed in their imagination. It was about then that a second car came up to the intersection on the right of the moron, and stopped for the invisible pedestrian alongside the moron-mobile. So now there are two cars essentially ignoring every traffic law known to man, simply becuse someone on a bike is obeying a traffic law. I stared at them, and they stared at me, and then cars started to stack up, so I shook my head and continued across the intersection, intentionally not giving the 'thank you' wave that I'm sure Moron expected to get. 

The problem is that for as stupid as the Moron was, they probably did that because they have never seen a cyclist actually following the traffic laws, and they didn't know what to do with someone who wasn't riding their walmart bike through the crosswalk, like the other pedestrians. Ugh. I can't stand people.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I hate nice drivers too. They ruin it for everyone. 

(the worst part is that I'll unconciously roll my eyes and swear at them under my breath, so they've done something "nice" but it doesn't take a genius to lipread the "stupid ******* moron ******* just ******* go" that I'm mumbling at them)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's a rant for you. I live in a small town, where people supposedly "get it." I was reminded again yesterday that nobody gets it. In this case, it's people thinking that they're being nice that's going to get someone killed.
> 
> I pulled up to a stop sign, intending to shoot straight across a 4 lane street when traffic cleared (I'm the blue circle on my awesome drawing). So I'm behaving like a car, stopping at the stop sign, looking for a gap in traffic. That's when Moron (the red rectangle) pulled up to the intersection (there is no stop sign for the 4 lane street, no stop light, it's a main drag). Moron was going to turn left onto the road that I was coming out of. So they signaled, saw me, and then came to a complete stop before entering the intersection, as if I was a pedestrian in the crosswalk (I was stopped on my bike at the limit line, watching traffic). When they got there, there was plenty of room (and they clearly had the right-of-way) to execute their left hand turn. But they just sat there, thinking that they were being kind by providing me an opportunity to dart out into the intersection to get killed by the car about to pass through the intersection in the lane to their right. After a few seconds, the cars approaching to my left on the main street got to the intersection...they were confused by the truck stopped for no reason, and apparently by my presence on a bicycle, so they sort of half-way stopped, trying to figure out if the invisible pedestrian had gotten across the crosswalk yet, before they proceeded to do what they were supposed to do, which is obviously keep going. They gave me dirty looks because, obviously, I'm the problem.
> 
> ...


Should'a got off and walked across.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hey CB, the Big Apples are your standard winter tires, right?

I've ridden them a few times on snow, and they were fun, but I took them out at lunch today and it was a nightmare. This is the start of the big melt, so there was a lot of slush on top of snowy ruts, and I think I laid my bike down more times than I have all year. 

Advanced riding techniques like "Turning" and "Stopping" were completely impossible. And I'd get into a vehicle rut, and know that I had absolutely no way to get out without washing out. Still a fun way to spend a lunchhour, but I was surprised by how spectacularly out of control I felt (especially compared to the other times I've had them out on snow)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Should'a got off and walked across.


I would have had to walk over to the crosswalk first, and I'm sure they would have gone while I was making my way over to the corner. :lol:

And yes, the BA's are pretty interesting in a good wet slushy layer. They do OK in the right packed snow conditions, but they are slippery everywhere else. They are my main commuting tires, but when It's going to be snowy and I realize it, I swap out the whole wheelset for my 29er mountain bike wheelset (currently sporting WTB Prowlers).

But the BA's have certainly sharpened my slippery riding skills... I've been stuck in a few storms with them, and I ride them on wet pine needles quite a bit too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I got caught in a snowstorm with them a few weeks ago, and I guess that made me cocky. For freshsnow they're pretty good, but mix in a little bit of water and watch out.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

could've been worse. heavy winds one-handed.
no previous crack and it's all white metal so I don't know. 
was a neat basket-bar while it lasted!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ tsk tsk! And for anyone who knows the rhyme, I took a few liberties...

A-tisket a-tasket
A handlebar-less basket
I rode a letter to my love
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it,
I dropped it,
And on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up and put it in his sprocket

Glad you were not hurt, byknuts!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's a rant for you. I live in a small town, where people supposedly "get it." I was reminded again yesterday that nobody gets it. In this case, it's people thinking that they're being nice that's going to get someone killed.
> 
> The problem is that for as stupid as the Moron was, they probably did that because they have never seen a cyclist actually following the traffic laws, and they didn't know what to do with someone who wasn't riding their walmart bike through the crosswalk, like the other pedestrians. Ugh. I can't stand people.


That's no rant, that's my life! 

Add to that situation drivers who don't stop and even blow through stop signs, so might not see a semi let alone a cyclist! Sometimes I have them stopped and not going when I am 20 feet from the stop line riding slowly to let them go, maybe because wow! they saw me. Maybe the flashing helmet light gave them epileptic seizures? Others, I am in the middle of the four way stop intersection and they have just screamed up and are trying to save some time not looking or stopping but decide not to run me over when they see me almost in front of them just before I slam on the brakes. Whew! It feels like that sentence. They don't know what a stop sign requires, it seems. Or they get 'distracted' and try to 'Ram' me. Staying Alive is my theme song and "Don't (put no) tread on me!" is my motto (also fits the tune Don't Stand so Close to Me). 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> That's no rant, that's my life!
> .... Staying Alive is my theme song and "Don't (put no) tread on me!" is my motto (also fits the tune Don't Stand so Close to Me). BrianMc


_
Stayin' Alive_ is an excellent song for the commuter's IPOD if it is safe for you to do so.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow. I just noticed that the OP of this wildly successful thread, ph4tcharlie, did not make any more posts after starting this thread in 2009. Based on his 9 posts on MTBR, it appears he enjoys commuting, guns, chinese stars/numchucks, and riding the wrong way on the sidewalk. I wonder what became of him? ph4tcharlie are you out there?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So we got to just about 60F today, and all of the slush and snow and ruts that plagued me at lunch was gone by the time I headed home. Crazy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

"A-tisket a-tasket
A handlebar-less basket
I rode a letter to my love
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it,
I dropped it,
And on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up and put it in his sprocket"

Love it! I can hear Ella belting it out now!

Been gone for a week and had a whole mess of comments stacked up to make from reviewing the recnet goings on, but I think I`ll just keep it with this one and try to keep up with the current show. I`ll have a few pictures from my week`s adventure tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow. I just noticed that the OP of this wildly successful thread, ph4tcharlie, did not make any more posts after starting this thread in 2009. Based on his 9 posts on MTBR, it appears he enjoys commuting, guns, chinese stars/numchucks, and riding the wrong way on the sidewalk. I wonder what became of him? ph4tcharlie are you out there?


I was going to ask the same question about a week ago but I figured that it must have been asked somewhere in the 200+ pages and didn't want to read them all. It does seem strange. My best guess is that he changed his user name. Either that or he got hit by a bus.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

I heard his front tire washed out and he fell into an icy creek crossing - spooky


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m betting it was the nunchucks that did in Charlie.
Anyway, this is what I did last week while you were falling into ice holes:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

...and this is what I was doing while you were slipping and sliding on icy, rutted roads.
The view below Aguereberry Pt is Badwater Basin, lowest point in the Americas at 282 Ft below sea level.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

highdelll said:


> I heard his front tire washed out and he fell into an icy creek crossing - spooky




I heard a distracted pickup driver Ram'd him! 



rodar y rodar said:


> I`m betting it was the nunchucks that did in Charlie.
> Anyway, this is what I did last week while you were falling into ice holes:





rodar y rodar said:


> ...and this is what I was doing while you were slipping and sliding on icy, rutted roads. The view below Aguereberry Pt is Badwater Basin, lowest point in the Americas at 282 Ft below sea level.


Nice. Rode 15.5 miles at just over 17 mph average mostly at 75-80% max HR and only a mild adrenal crash after. Progress! Trying to get fit to raise money for Habitat in the Indiana 500 in May. Minnesota in July, is the backup plan.

BrianMc


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice pics rodar!
hey! are those dunes rideable!? I think I'll visit you sooner than later with La Pugsdozer!
mm paletas! seems like the weather was great! 

we were close to 30 ªC the whole week until friday when we got some hail and temps have been around 15 ªC since

I'm not going to talk about my commuting but I did 40 km with The BaroneSS today...getting "stronger"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m betting it was the nunchucks that did in Charlie.
> Anyway, this is what I did last week while you were falling into ice holes:


That looks like quite an adventure. What temps did you get, and how much water did you have to carry?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^The temps were great! Lowest morning lows I ran into at higher elevations were right around freezing, but quickly warmed up with the sun or dropping in elevation. Highest that I saw in the valleys were in the 80s, but they did break into the 90s at Furnace Creek last month. I planned my route specifically to make the most of water stops, so generally got away with two of those little frame-mounted bottles and two quart bottles as back up, occasionally less. The most I had to carry was 5 "backup" quarts, but that was only for one stretch.


BrianMc said:


> Rode 15.5 miles at just over 17 mph average mostly at 75-80% max HR and only a mild adrenal crash after. Progress! Trying to get fit to raise money for Habitat in the Indiana 500 in May.


Progress, hell- I`d love to pull off average speeds like that! 
Is the Habitat IN 500 a bike event?


martinsillo said:


> hey! are those dunes rideable!? I think I'll visit you sooner than later with La Pugsdozer!
> mm paletas!


:lol: You smelled them and came running to look? Fresa o limon?
Sorry, Martin. The park is very clear that bikes stay on the roads. Fortunately, a LOT of unpaved roads are fair game, and the pugs would be superbe for negotiating the washboard roads that I wouldn`t attempt with my bike.

I took almost 500 pictures over the week, will post a link to more pics and the whole story on Crazyguy when I`m done with it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Progress, hell- I`d love to pull off average speeds like that!
> Is the Habitat IN 500 a bike event?


I was doing that over 25 miles at 16-18 depending on winds a year and a half ago, but at higher heart rates, so yes, this is a good sign.

1 week full support, camp out in school gyms sort of thing. Get pledges, ride. In 2009, I raised over $3000 riding in Minnesota to help build our first Habitat house in the county.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Awesome pics as usual Rodar. You are inspiring me to do a bike adventure like that someday. In the short term I think I'll have do do a day trip to Acadia sometime this summer.

My lake crossing days are quickly coming to an end. There is still about 8 good inches of ice but the forecast is in the 50s-60s every day this week, nudging 70. I took the commuter on the lake this morning. The time change got me out there before sunrise.


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## lmaj16 (Mar 10, 2012)

nice pic bedwards1000. I wish my commute was longer than walking from my kitchen to my office upstairs. Working from home has it's benefits, but a nice ride to the office in am would be a great way to start the day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow, Rodar...looks like a blast. Great pics. Bedwards, awesome sunrise pic. 

This is what my commute looks like now, with daylight savings time. Always such a drag after seeing the sunrise for a few weeks...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning I went for a ride with the dog I’m taking care of and found a stream crossing that looked suspiciously like Bedwards’, but it held when I crossed. Also found this old dozer doing some logging, luckily the muddy logging areas were still frozen. 

Beautiful sunrise, but I'm not a fan of the end of season ice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That stream is 100% flowing water now, about 4' wide with no sign that there was ever a trail over it in that area. Amazing what a week will do. I might have 1 more day of lake crossing before the edges open up too much.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm sore! Over the weekend I played soccer for 2 hours and rode the trails (best ride of the year). The ride in to work was fine, but it wasn't as enjoyable as usual. The fact that it was raining didn't help much either. At least it was relatively warm.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sweet...WIND ADVISORY this afternoon/evening throughout tomorrow evening... 20 to 25mph with gusts to 55. It will be a headwind going home...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

"The wind is my friend, it makes me stronger" At least that's what my wife tells me. I tell her she needs new friends.


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

*Back at it!*

First time back in quiet some time! New commuter and a really nice sunrise!

Kind of poor image quality...but you get the idea. Now I just need to get some fenders on the thing...any suggestions for good coverage fenders on a road bike with nothing to bolt a fender to?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

pulled out my commuter today. it's getting warm out there. I think it's about time to start wearing shorts on my commute and packing the knee warmers in the event of a cool morning/evening.

I've been thinking about pulling the fenders off and putting on my summer tires...but after the 7 inches of rain we've had just in March, I think the fenders are staying on for a little while longer.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Unbelivable.

I am currently commuting on my wifes road bike (my 2012 hasn`t turned up yet), with my powertap wheels. 10 celcius and dry.









Especialy if you consider how my ride home was on Friday. :thumbsup:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

15 degrees and Sunny, March commuting doesn't get much better!!!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

JordyB said:


> 15 degrees and Sunny, March commuting doesn't get much better!!!


Plus you'll be able to boat the bike when it all melts with your fat tires


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

David C said:


> Plus you'll be able to boat the bike when it all melts with your fat tires


With almost 12 FEET of snowfall on Anchorage this winter, over twice the average, I am SO NOT looking forword breakup...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Last night was my last lake crossing this winter.  I knew there was ice underneath but the top was all slush. It's really hard to believe that I skated the whole lake (11+ miles) the day before because it was almost impossible to ride on it. With the temps we have forecast it wouldn't surprise me to see it all gone in a week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

_Against the wind
We were runnin' against the wind
We were you and strong, we were runnin'
Against the wind_

Take out the young and strong part, and that's my commute to work for the past two days...

The extra daylight in the evening has brought out a gaggle of new commuters. Cat6 racing season is in full swing!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

THAT was the most insane wind I have ever ridden a bike in. This morning's commute will go down in the books... dark, raining sideways, and HOWLING wind. At one point I had to turn into it, and I almost couldn't execute the turn. It was almost comical, except that I couldn't breathe, so I couldn't really laugh. 

For the most part it was a cross wind, and every hundredth raindrop coming in sideways was actually a trash can, or some shingles off of a house, or maybe a small pet...I couldn't really be sure, becuase again, the only way to get oxygen into my lungs was to turn my head directly downwind. I was barely following the white line out of the corner of my left eye, with my whole head facing to the right. My headlight was basically worthless...either because of the rain, or because the wind actually bent the light waves and sent them flying in the other direction.

Just heard that 2 semis have blown over so far on the highway, and I saw at least one tree down. When I got to work, my left side was soaked, and my right side was completely dry. Not one raindrop had the opportunity to come straight down from above. 

It was crazy.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...the only way to get oxygen into my lungs was to turn my head directly downwind.


HTFU, CB. 

But seriously, the big bridge that I ride across everyday gets wicked crosswinds in the spring, and that feeling of having the air sucked right out of your lungs sure is a crazy.


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Wow. CB that sounds INTENSE! Glad you made it in OK.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I, on the other hand, had beautiful, albeit a bit humid, weather.

unfortunately, some jerk downtown tried to ruin my enjoyment of it. I crossed the main busy intersection I have to deal with without a hitch. Once on the brick streets downtown (20mph speed limit, most folks go more like 15, so I was moving WITH traffic and with narrow lanes, I was well into mine and occupying it well to avoid being doored). Some jerk starts creeping up on my left side, partially in the lane for oncoming traffic, and tries to muscle me into a parked car on the side. I cursed, hit the gas, and pulled in front of him and SERIOUSLY took the lane, because I had a left turn coming up in a left turn lane and I didn't want that jerk trying to muscle me out of it. I made it into my lane, signaling with my arm appropriately and all, and right as I began my turn, he accelerated past me on my right screaming obscenities at me.

He distracted me a little bit and when my attention returned to the road ahead, there was a car also trying to turn into the lane I wanted. When I began my turn, I was first in the intersection. the car driver probably figured that since I was smaller and slower, he could get through fine and he would have had I been paying attention because a slight change in speed would have seen no conflict in this situation. I felt bad for yelling "whoa whoa whoa" and having to swerve to miss the car.

everything afterward was uneventful. most of my commute route has very low traffic but no matter which route I take, I have to pass through a section with lots of people. I choose downtown more often than not because of the 20mph speed limit. I go by the hospital for the same reason.

Also, my Bike Glow rope light has finally kicked the bucket. It still "works" but there's a little plastic piece broken inside the battery/switch housing and EVERY LITTLE BUMP causes it to cycle through its mode settings. I'm pretty sure it was the jarring from the rough roads and wheelie dropping curbs and the occasional sections of trail that cause the problem to begin with. I got it from REI - might return it because a bike light should be able to handle that minimal level of bumpiness. I'm riding a road bike with skinny tires for cryin out loud. It's not like I'm doing freeride stuff.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, clearly you failed to properly outfit your bike with the Nubrella to ward off the rain and airborne pets, but glad you arrived alive  Sounds exciting.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: I would have been picked up the by head and thrown to Nevada if I was wearing that thing. Rodar, did you get any of that wind this morning?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Dare I say it was stuffy on the way in? OK, I'll say it: it was stuffy this morning. The road was damp and the temps were hanging around 63F. Temps are going to climb to 80 this week. We're going to be setting records left and right this week, especially for highest low temps.

After putting up with some discomfort on my recent rides, I got on eBay and scored a new saddle like the one on my mtb. I don't know what the deal is, but the old saddle is not as comfortable as it once was (it wasn't great to begin with).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> CB, clearly you failed to properly outfit your bike with the Nubrella to ward off the rain and airborne pets, but glad you arrived alive  Sounds exciting.


That guy looks like such a goober. I should try commuting in a hazmat suit. I'm sure that would score a few looks.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Commuting with the big bike sure got me a few comments at the dentist office today 

City commuting can be such a dork. I had cleaned the whole freaking bike on Sunday after a big wet mountain trail riding and it wasn't even as dirty as it got today simply riding on wet pavement ! I did clean it all over again though. I don't like to show up like a poser riding a 3 days mud job on my bike


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

You'd be surprised how fast commuting kills your drivetrain...such a said sight, yet, cleaning every day after a commute is painful unless there's lots of beer involved!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Last night was my last lake crossing this winter.


Major bummer, Bedwards. I take it once it starts thawing on top there`s not much chance of the surface firming up again? Seems like it would, but what do I know.



NateHawk said:


> unfortunately, some jerk downtown tried to ruin my enjoyment of it....


Aargh! I bet your adrenaline was really pumping!



CommuterBoy said:


> For the most part it was a cross wind, and every hundredth raindrop coming in sideways was actually a trash can, or some shingles off of a house, or maybe a small pet...


Ya see? If you`d had studded tires, you could have run right over all those trash cans, shingles, and pets without ever batting an eye! :lol:
Really, it does sound bad, and I know that kind of ride, but we didn`t get anything like it yesterday or today. It was windy, but not terrible. In fact, this morning I took my Med-Long route home to get cigs from 7-Eleven, which means about a mile on a busy, but well shouldered 45 MPH two lane. I need to turn onto one of several almost identical looking lefts that don`t where there are no corresponding rights. I had my head down, keeping my nose warm in the lee of my helmet and rode right past the only street that works for me without ever seeing it . Had to cross over and backtrack to get into the little subdivision that I ride through to cut over to the store.

Oh, the new rims I ordered a while back came in, so as soon as I get them swapped over, I won`t have to keep switching between studs and no studs . When it stops dipping below freezing, I`ll relace one of my dyno hubs into a 406 BMX rim and have commute capabilities on the `bent and the Friday. Hopefully I`ll have some kind of luggage capacity on the Friday by then. Will probably leave studs on The Mighty Schwinn all winter and commute by one or the other dork bikes when the roads are dry.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

JordyB said:


> You'd be surprised how fast commuting kills your drivetrain...such a said sight, yet, cleaning every day after a commute is painful unless there's lots of beer involved!


Yup, commuting is sometimes harsher on the bike than simply riding trails. That's why I make sure to clean that bike real good and don't forget the drivetrain. I say I enjoy cleaning this bike after ride, but again I wouldn't mind skipping that part too. My real commuter bikes don't get as much attention at every rides, but they do see more preparation and usually just keep on working after 2 weeks straight sitting in the garage. Not working as good as that big bike do, but enough to ride and try to enjoy it. Glad the winter is almost over now, I'll be able to slack on the maintenance a bit.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

JordyB said:


> You'd be surprised how fast commuting kills your drivetrain...such a said sight, yet, cleaning every day after a commute is painful unless there's lots of beer involved!


That's why I ride a beater SS to work. I got tired of maintaining and replacing parts. My commuter looks extra ghetto with a duct taped fender.

Temps are going to be in the 80s all week. It's kind of nice having unseasonably warm temps, but I kind of like being out on the roads when no one else is. The parks are also packed with people. Eventually the novelty of warm weather will wear off, and people will return to their caves.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good, a dirt and paved road ride, 35F, and the promised showers have not arrived yet. With the recent loss of the (small) snowbanks, I scanned the roadsides for treasure, but the closest I came was what looked to be an unopened bottle of Bud. 

I only shifted in the wrong direction about 20 times , because the MTB has old Rapid Rise (backwards) shifters whereas the fatbike has regular Shimano shifting.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

The weather this time of year can be so variable. It can be 30 degrees in the morning and 70 degrees for the ride home. Last night as I was heading up to get changed for the ride home, I looked out the office window and saw this:










Hard to see, but the wind was blowing snow sideways at 30MPH.

I was thinking what a joyus ride home I was in for as I went up to change. When I got back downstairs 15 minutes later and looked out the window, I saw this:










I rode home in the sunshine with a slight tailwind...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Major bummer, Bedwards. I take it once it starts thawing on top there`s not much chance of the surface firming up again? Seems like it would, but what do I know.


With the weather we have forecast I expect it to be gone in a week. They aren't even forecasting below freezing. Otherwise, you'd be right. If you get a freeze overnight it will firm up the top and make it good again.

Rainy and 38 here today. Got to try out the new Showers Pass jacket.:thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This morning's wet commute was a joy compared to yesterday's puppy-hurling hurricaine. I wasn't attacked by a single trash can crossing the street.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Woodway: I saw the snow after you pointed it out, but I was too busy tripping on how green your grass was to notice the streaks at first glance.



mtbxplorer said:


> Good, a dirt and paved road ride, 35F, and the promised showers have not arrived yet. With the recent loss of the (small) snowbanks, I scanned the roadsides for treasure, but the closest I came was what looked to be an unopened bottle of Bud.


I don`t suppose it would have been a good idea to shake up that bottle and bathe in beer spray. Hope they get your office situation straightened out soon.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Back below freezing again here, so I had to dig out my hat again. The trails have been too sloppy for the last few days, but I'm hoping that the cooler temperatures might mean that they're rideable for the trip home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I don`t suppose it would have been a good idea to shake up that bottle and bathe in beer spray. Hope they get your office situation straightened out soon.


Yeah, the beer bath would probably be a bad idea. But by "promised showers" I meant the weather, not the office.  I am coping without the office showers OK, though it will be more challenging as it gets warmer. I love the trail commute option, and not having to take the bus too, so I'm fine with this temporary location.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> @Woodway: I saw the snow after you pointed it out, but I was too busy tripping on how green your grass was to notice the streaks at first glance.


It's not called the "Evergreen State" for nothing... :thumbsup:

Mtbx - you should add another beer bottle, and then another. Your own secret stash for the rides home.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Have had a few good days commuting lately. managed to do four days last week and should be doing the same this week. Had a nasty headwind yesterday, but still managed to make it home in good order so my fitness is definitely improving. Had a nice long bath last night to rest the legs.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hit 75 F. Rode into a 20 plus slightly angular some stretches straight on head wind. Didn't do bad considering the magnitude of digestive issues from something I react to. Eating out can be a problem.

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Took a different route home that I probably haven't been on since November, and the trails were I C Y. Climbing with studs is pretty easy and predictable, but there was a lot of white-knuckle decents. No wipeouts though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^ Apply enough brake so you don't get going too fast but know that you can't stop. Steering is your friend.

Last night's commute home was cold. Only about 30 degrees but I was dressed for 45. It's gonna act like spring - let's get on with it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I received a full put-down from a roadie last night. I came up behind him on the MUP...he was going slightly slower than my usual MUP-speed., obviously lollygagging along. I could have just sped up and passed him, but since our speeds were pretty similiar, I thought I would slide up next door and chat a bit. I've met a lot of interesting people this way. I rode up next to him and said "hey there, how is your ride going?". He looked over at me, slowly looked me up and down, and then back and forth over my bike, and then turned back forward without a word! Not a nod, a grunt, a pinky wave, nothing!

So I just passed him and kept riding. Never really experienced that before.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I hope you passed him in an ego crushing display of power.

I have 2 walkers I pass some days, the same ones. I wave every time and they just keep walking, stone faced as if I wasn't there. I've probably seen these people 25 times each. I've ramped up my wave to almost Miss America levels. This isn't a city where there are hundreds of people. This is rural Maine and these are the only people I see on the street on my whole commute.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

The weather has been absolutely wonderful in the mornings and getting pretty warm for the ride home.

I do have a question though... so getting onto and off of campus there is an "offset" intersection, across 4 lanes of traffic plus the turn lanes, where I have to make a left and then an immediate right. Bike lane is there with traffic on both sides of it. This morning making the left turn there was a campus bus first at the light. I pull up all the way in front of him to make myself visible and that I will be making a left hand turn. Light turns green and I proceed through the intersection pretty wide right because I know the bus has to make the same turn, but then proceed into the turn lane that is there so I can make my right hand turn onto campus. This morning the bus driver honked at me, as if I did something wrong?

I am just wondering if there is a different or better way to approach this intersection short of crossing at the crosswalk? I would think with bike lanes there drivers would be a little more courteous to bikes in the intersection, but I have been honked at numerous times.

If I am doing everything correctly, I may right a short letter to the campus bus service and ask that their drivers be a little more "sharing" of the roads around campus with bicycles.

I have attached a poorly drawn graphical representation of the intersection:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I hope you passed him in an ego crushing display of power.


I don't think I am capable of an ego-crushing display of power :eekster: Unless I am passing a three-year old on a tricycle :thumbsup:

@ender - if it were me, I would get into the left turn lane behind that bus (or in front if you make it to the intersetion first). Queue up just like you are a car. Then as you are turning left, signal right and move into the right turn lane. Drivers get confused when objects on the road don't "act like cars". By getting fully into the left turn lane, you are claiming space for yourself, just like a car would - and your actions will look more predictable to the cars around you.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I agree. Get into the lane before the stop. Some drivers might not like it, but at least you will be visible and predictable.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^My suggestion would probably be exactly like Woodway said, EXCEPT I know it can be a real bear to get over into the left turn lane if the other lanes going that way are super busy. I don`t know how they are on that road.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm normally a fan of lane-splitting and heading to the front, but in this case if people are repeatedly showing that they just don't get it, then I too would recommend queuing up like a car and completely taking that lane.

But, are there any other intersections that you could use? Detouring an extra block or two might also solve the problem?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

IT`s yucky again. I have an unpaid three day weekend comming up in the same yuck, then another next week that will hoepfully be better- it`s supposed to go from warm and windy and damp to cold and sunny and windless next week. That`ll be an improvement, IMO.

And I finished the long winded, full pics version of my recent riding vacation. It`s posted over on CGOAB:
crazyguyonabike.com: Bicycle Touring: Multi-mini tours in Death Valley, by Brian Des Jardin


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

This is really only the second or third time I was honked at, I guess I just took more offense because it was a campus bus, it is not something that occurs regularly, as I may have made it seem. The intersection is usually highly trafficked by bikers and walkers, the road that I travel down is full of off campus apartments/college kids. 

Is it really lane splitting if it is a marked bike lane? The only reason I don't get in the lane is because of the bike lane and sometimes cars get backed up and it could take 2-3 light cycles just to make it through.

I could take another route but it would add 3-4 miles, have more traffic and intersections that I would have to cross at crosswalks.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Post a googlemaps link so we know where you're talking about. 



ender. said:


> The only reason I don't get in the lane is because of the bike lane and sometimes cars get backed up and it could take 2-3 light cycles just to make it through.


In that case I would ride to the front, but put myself second in line. When the light changes stay behind the first vehicle, but hang really close to it (not too close, obviously, or anywhere that would let them hit you). The car behind you won't crowd you, because then they'd also be crowding a bus.

I have something similar on my route, and the car that's first in line is the only one that you really need to worry about. Let them do their thing, and make it seem like _they're_ slowing you down, and everyone behind you will fall in line.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

ender. said:


> This is really only the second or third time I was honked at, I guess I just took more offense because it was a campus bus, it is not something that occurs regularly, as I may have made it seem. The intersection is usually highly trafficked by bikers and walkers, the road that I travel down is full of off campus apartments/college kids.
> 
> Is it really lane splitting if it is a marked bike lane? The only reason I don't get in the lane is because of the bike lane and sometimes cars get backed up and it could take 2-3 light cycles just to make it through.
> 
> I could take another route but it would add 3-4 miles, have more traffic and intersections that I would have to cross at crosswalks.


I personally think you made the best decision. If there was no bike lane I would say take the lane but since there is a bike lane marked if you *do *take the lane I think the chances you will get honked at are much higher.

I wouldn't alter your route unless you think your safety is at risk. Bikes getting off and using crosswalks sends the wrong message. I'm not a huge advocate of the act like a car movement because we aren't cars, we are much slower and have the ability to pizz them off. On the other hand, given the choice to act like a car or act like a pedestrian, I'll choose car.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> I have 2 walkers I pass some days, the same ones. I wave every time and they just keep walking, stone faced as if I wasn't there. I've probably seen these people 25 times each. I've ramped up my wave to almost Miss America levels. This isn't a city where there are hundreds of people. This is rural Maine and these are the only people I see on the street on my whole commute.


:lol: I have the same situation with a couple of drivers on my dirt road. I have always comapred my waves to a "mentally challenged cousin", not Miss America, but same idea. Same stone-faced non-reaction.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Heres a map:
42nd street and fletcher - Google Maps

Thanks for helping me feel better <3 lol

...as for waving, I would really like to know what others are thinking when they don't wave back or acknowledge someone. Or maybe on second thought, I would rather not...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I have run across those stone faced unfriendlies as well, but sometimes unexpected wavers balance them out. Last night it was a greasy guy working on a truck in his yard. When he happened to glance over as I pedaled past, I gave a wave and was surprised at the return. 

Ender, you didn't do anything that deserved a honk, but a big vehicle like that may have trouble making the turn without encroaching on either your lane or oncoming traffic. He probably wants the whole width of the road to make the turn without worrying about running someone over or clipping a vehicle. Of course, he could solve this by just letting you go first, but probably not too likely. You could stay in the bike lane but just let any buses/big trucks go first (but you may have to hold your breath as they go by).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Buses can be finicky. I encounter school buses on my route. I've had them honk at me for reasons I don't understand. I have one bus that doesn't like to pass me. It just huffs up the hill behind me as if the driver wants me to move to the sidewalk.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I have 2 walkers I pass some days, the same ones. I wave every time and they just keep walking, stone faced as if I wasn't there. This is rural Maine and these are the only people I see on the street on my whole commute.





CommuterBoy said:


> :lol: I have the same situation with a couple of drivers on my dirt road. I have always comapred my waves to a "mentally challenged cousin", not Miss America, but same idea. Same stone-faced non-reaction.


A football player at my second alma mater would wave and say high at two profs he knew, who crossed paths the same time each day. One, my future advisor and source, who did respond. After no response from the other for several tries, he stopped square in front of them (impressive when you are a linebacker) and asked what he had done to upset them? He'd said Hi! and waved and had been taught that was the neighborly thing to do with people you know. From then on they waved and smiled. Profs are notorious for being unaware of their surroundings, but when schedules changed the other prof commented on missing his greeting. You can't readily introduce your self to motorists in situ, but pedestrians are fair game.



s0ckeyeus said:


> Buses can be finicky. I encounter school buses on my route. I've had them honk at me for reasons I don't understand. I have one bus that doesn't like to pass me. It just huffs up the hill behind me as if the driver wants me to move to the sidewalk.


They are difficult to see from and unwieldy. Better than being passed then fed flashing red lights like the driver I met this afternoon on my street in the middle of the road as I crested the hill. He got it over but it was good I was in cool down mode and not hell bent for leather. Good he did not fore me onto a lawn.

Had a guy pass me going in today (him 20+ mph, me 15+ with some tail wind slight grade to RR crossing) with no oncoming about 15" off my handlebar so I yelled and hit the air horn (he was by by the horn). (Should have kicked his rear fender as he passed.) He stopped so I came up alongside. (Warning: those sensitive to rants can skip to the weather).

He asked. "What'sa problem?"

I said, "You passed too close! You need to give me a least 3 feet!"

"I gave you three feet!" He went on to say I would not know three feet...that I was full of...

Well you can imagine where that conversation went. Hard to love your neighbor as yourself when you think that if you did that to a cyclist, you'd deserve a hit upside the head. Should have taken his picture and one of the plate. That action sets people on better behavior, usually.

Of the high tens of thousands of people who have ever passed me, he is in the group that I can count on two hands that I have ever yelled at for coming too close. Moron. By the way all but one in this elite group were from here, in spite of riding maybe a third of my lifetime miles here. I gotta get out of this place, I just hope it isn't the last thing I ever do (courtesy of such a moron). Another theme song, I think.

Lovely 81F on the ride and a new record high, the official high may be higher. Storms coming through now. The magnolia that I gave pictures of last year, is in full bloom. Our daffodils are all out in full bloom, and the weeping cherry trees are not far behind.

Take care.

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Thunderstorm today on my way home. I took shelter on a porch of one of the businesses and later in the picnic shelter at the park. There was some spectacular lightning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, but the mud is bad on the dirt roads. On the uphills it feels like glue! This spot was improved today by dumping some stone in the worst spot. Ice out on the reservoir is not far off either. I give it a week as the highs are forecast to be 55-79 F ut: through next Thursday, and some rain as well. 

@ Brian, sorry for the moron encounter, glad it was only a close call.

I haven't seen my real camera since Saturday and am afraid to look too hard in the car for fear I've lost it! :sad:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good rides today, but the mud is bad on the dirt roads. On the uphills it feels like glue! This spot was improved today by dumping some stone in the worst spot.


How's the fatbike on the muddy roads? It seems like that would be the bike to take over stuff like that.

Cold and wet the last few days. The spring like weather always seems to be a day away. Today's 32 degrees seems colder than the 5 degree days this winter because I expect it to be warmer.

I took a few min to put the studs back on this morning because the driveway was a glaze of ice. That was the last Ice I saw, oh well.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well today made it official...I've been rained on every day this week. Next week is not looking any better...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Me too!! But after my crazy wind experience earlier in the week, my perspective has changed. It was what I would have called "dumping rain" this morning, but without the hurricaine force winds, I didn't mind so much. My trusted neoprene socks are officially past thier prime. I've stayed pretty dry except for the feet. My backpack is past its prime too, but I can't bring myself to replace it. I use a trash bag liner in the large compartment, and a freezer size ziplock in the small compartment for the phone/iPod/flash drive/papers/etc... the tools and spare tube will be fine if it gets a little damp in there. Stoked on how effective the plastic bag liner works. 

It's supposed to keep it up today and turn to snow tonight... we'll see. This week has certainly been good in terms of getting back some of the moisture we've missed out on this winter.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey CB, try these...best shoe covers I have ever found, and I have tried many different kinds. I wear them on cold dry days too, they act like a windbreaker for my feet.

Waterproof Cycling Shoe Covers - Cycling Booties - Cycling Accessories | Showers Pass


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Really nice ride this morning. Not much wind, temps in the low 40's. Snapped this pic of the commuter with the new saddlebag:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Awesome Woodway, thanks. Questions: Did you size up? Do they fit big? How far up the ankle do they go? Easy on/off?

Totally with you on the windbreaker effect. I wear my rain pants all winter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> How's the fatbike on the muddy roads? It seems like that would be the bike to take over stuff like that.


Yeah, the fatbike would probably roll over the mud better, but I switched to the softtail with summer tires because I have another 6 miles on pavement after the dirt, and the fatty is slower and heavier there.

32F here this a.m. as well, and a good rainstorm went through while I had my coffee, but I only got a few sprinkles on the ride in.

Found some channel lock pliers last night.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Awesome Woodway, thanks. Questions: Did you size up? Do they fit big? How far up the ankle do they go? Easy on/off?
> 
> Totally with you on the windbreaker effect. I wear my rain pants all winter.


I wear a 10.5 Lake MTB shoe, and I bought size "M" (if you look at their sizing chart). Based on that one data point, I would say that their size chart is about right 

They are rear zip, super easy on/off. They go about 3-4" above my ankle bone. My rain pants go down over the top of them, providing a nice overlap to shed water.

I've been riding with mine daily since last October, and they are holding up OK. One of the zippers is getting a little sticky, but the soles and the rest are in good shape. They are not super heavy-duty, and if you expect to walk in them a LOT, I probably would not recommend them. For my short walking on either side of my commute, they work great.

A great thing about Showers Pass is that if you get them and the size is wrong, just send them back and they will send you the next size up/down with no quibbles. They are nice people to deal with. I own two SP jackets, SP rain pants and SP shoe covers, so I am kind of sold on their products.

I notice that REI has them on sale for $30 right now (but limited sizes). They have my size on sale, I might just buy another pair!

Showers Pass Club Shoe Covers at REI.com


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

I seriously do not know how you guys do it, riding through that kind of weather... remind me never to complain about the weather here in Tampa. (Only drivers and busses! lol)

This morning was in the 60s and beautiful.

Got a flat yesterday on the ride home, hopped a curb and the back tire landed squarely on the edge and I just heard "POP, vooosh", instant flat. Guess that is what I get for running a road tube with a CX tire. Oh well, through the cheap Nashbar road slicks on again and I must say, I tend to forget how little resistance there is with them and how much faster I seem! (At least in my head)

My new headset should be in for my SS 29er so I may commit the steel CX to full time commuter duties and leave the slicks on for a while.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was really foggy on my ride into work today. It made for a really cool view in the dark with my light going down the trail.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MileHighMark said:


> Really nice ride this morning. Not much wind, temps in the low 40's. Snapped this pic of the commuter with the new saddlebag:


Looking good, MileHigh. What`s your gravel like this time of year? Have you been able to get any bumpy miles in yet?


ender. said:


> I must say, I tend to forget how little resistance there is with them and how much faster I seem! (At least in my head)


Feeling fast is at least as good as being fast 
Maybe even better!


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Looking good, MileHigh. What`s your gravel like this time of year? Have you been able to get any bumpy miles in yet?
> 
> Feeling fast is at least as good as being fast
> Maybe even better!


My commute includes 2-3 miles of dirt/gravel each way. As long as it's not too soupy I'm good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow is it warm for March! No rain in site so I got my first commute in on the cross check. It handles the rough roads better than the 26" and I'd be a scared to ride the road bike with the sand that's on them right how. Happy Day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow is it warm for March!


That`s probably cause it`s spring today 

I had two nice day rides over the weekend- felt good. We got lucky with the weather. Although I haven`t seen any sun for several days, I haven`t had any wind either, and it`s been warm. We did get a few little snow flurries (that conveniently fell while I wasn`t out riding), but nothing stuck. My mom and dad live 14 mles away and 500 ft lower. Mom says they got three inches yesterday :lol:
Just got back from a supermarket ride. When I was a mile into my ride home, I noticed that I had my balaclava on, but no helmet. Turned around and went back to get it, but didn`t find it at the bike rack because was here at home the whole time. How could I get on the bike twice and pedal a total of like eight miles without noticing a helmetless head, then have it suddenly dawn on me? Weird.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode twice downtown today. The tree on the tower is leafing out and it was 76 F at 7 when I got home. The low of 60F is higher than our average high. Spring with a vengeance! 

With lights, the weight of my helmet is unmistakeable, I have gotten out of the house but not on the bike but with a balaclava and no great weight, I likely would have forgotten it by now.

BrianMc


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## dru (Sep 4, 2006)

My commute put me in a great mood today. I hammered home however and wish I hadn't. I want to do 5 days this week which will be 180 km. I'm expecting to be tired. Last week I did 3 days for 108 km. Crazy weather for march in southern ontario.

Drew


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

uneventful


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Afternoons have been in the 80s all week and everything is turning green. My bottom bracket is super noisy. I once mistook the squeak for wildlife. It's time to change it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*I was hit by an owl this morning...*

It was windy this morning - *CommuterBoy* windy - stop you in your tracks windy - sideways rain windy. The MUP passes under several roads and on one of the bridges there was an owl sitting up in the girders probably sheltering from the wind. I did not immediately notice him as I rode towards the bridge. My light must have startled him because I was pretty close when he took off. Right when he launched, a BIG wind gust hit - it almost stopped me in my tracks - and it blew the owl right at me. I Instinctively ducked and I felt his wing smack the top of my helmet. I should check the top of my helmet for owl poop, cause I had to check my drawers when I got to work. Crazy!

In other news, it rained again this morning. That makes eight straight commutes where I have been rained on either on the way to work or the way home (or both). I am ready for March to be over...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> My bottom bracket is super noisy. I once mistook the squeak for wildlife. It's time to change it.


That would be a good indication, in my book!



woodway said:


> I Instinctively ducked and I felt his wing smack the top of my helmet.


 I betcha that`s a first for this forum.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Better to be hit by an owl than a fence post...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-9C this morning....yeah spring is here


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ my inlaws near lloydminster got more than 6" of snow yesterday, so it could be worse.


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## Coloradoxj13 (Sep 9, 2009)

First bicycle commute of the spring for me, and first commute on my new cross bike. Its amazing how bad one can build it up to be over the winter. Easy ride, took about 5 minutes longer by bike than it does to drive (~7 miles, 20 vs. 25 mins), and it was cool enough this morning that I didn't even sweat to much and didn't bother showering again when I got to work. Going to try to ride ~3x/week for now. And I don't have to bother going to the gym when I get home!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: hit by an owl :lol: That would be awesome if anyone here actually believed that owls existed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

That's a hoot, Woodway.  Too bad you didn't get it on a helmet cam!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I can honestly say I was not hit by an owl this morning or any morning. That's a unique experience. 

Has any body had any problems running Big Apple 26x2.35 (or x2.15) under fenders? The "Balloon" thing has me worried. My front fender is tight to the fork and required material removal from the fender and fork to get as far as it did. It's still pretty tight to the tire.

We are breaking 100 year temp records here. Normal highs 45 - Thursday's forecast, 77. I'm OK with it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ 26x2.35 Big Apples with Planet Bike fenders:



The fender is tight in the fork so I can't raise it as high as I'd like. There's still a few mm clearance between the fender and the v-brake, and eventually I'll dremel a bit of material off so I can move it up a bit more.

As it is I don't have any problems with clearance, but I can't get the fender to sit absolutely straight, and that drives me bonkers. The bike is a dinglespeed so it gets tossed around a lot, but I haven't had any problems with the fenders bouncing into the tires.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yup, planet bike fenders. I already notched the fenders around the fork and I need to use the front reflector bracket at a support because of all the material I had to take off. I also ground off some of the fork. I can't get mine straight either and I stopped trying.


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## TBMD9er (May 22, 2009)

*Ahh, spring is here*

My commute went from 15 miles (round trip) of salt crusted pavement pounding all winter to 21 miles of sublime single track. Now that the trails are drying out I can commute on the Shoreline trail (SLC, UT) from my front door to work with only about 2 miles of pavement. We have showers at work and I keep a stash of cloths in my desk draw, so I can keep the commute real light. 
Life is good.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TBMD9er, thanks for reminding me my route sucks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TBMD9er said:


> ... Now that the trails are drying out I can commute on the Shoreline trail (SLC, UT) from my front door to work with only about 2 miles of pavement.
> Life is good.


That looks freakin awesome!

Ice is out and it's not coming back (82 degrees - unheard of in March) so I'm on the roads for the summer. I did start extending my road commute. I got to take a different route because my cross bike lets me do some dirt roads. Life is good 

So, I just bought the Big Apples. I'll figure it out when they get here. My willpower against buying bike parts is somewhat poor. OK, it sucks. Actually, it doesn't exist any more. I've bought about $400 in tires in the last 6 months and that was just for 2 bikes...But I saved a lot of money on my car insurance.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ The BA's aren't bad at all in the dirt. I've been plesantly surprised at how versitile their sheer volume makes them. 

And nice pic TBMD!! I'll see your "springtime trails are drying out" shot and raise you a small body of water. :lol: 

If you draw a line between my front wheel and that little snow patch low down on the foothill, that's about where the trail home cuts up into the trees at the bottom of that hill. Home is over the little ridge, somewhere behind the hill on the left side of this pic.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice shot TBMD, I like!

And have fun with your Apples, Bedwards. Congratulate me for NOT having any, since it`s taking a huge of will power on my part . In fact, I`d love to get some different skinnies (Really thining Sport Contacts) for the same bike that I want to see in the Apples, but I`m holding out. Somehow.

Looking good there too, CB. How`s it going with your Ironman mud wrestling training?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

1st 'run the commute' scheduled for the way home Friday. Not looking forward to it :lol: I keep asking myself at what point I'm going to start liking running. I wish for the bike at least 18 times per mile. Hopefully that number will decrease over time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...
> And nice pic TBMD!! I'll see your "springtime trails are drying out" shot and raise you a small body of water. :lol: ...


ooh! Liquid water! We are getting close here, but not yet despite temps in the 70's since Saturday. Looks like a great ride home!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

You are all killing me with your awesome commute photos. One of these days I am going to post some photos from my commute just to show you how good you all have it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Yeah, we were all thrilled that we didn`t have to spend a day riding around Barcelona. You just don`t get no fun at all.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

It was so hot today I had to take my shirt off to clean my bike. I was literally sweating simply being under the sun. Wish I could have some leaves in the trees to make some of shadow and cool it down a bit...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was riding a curb I ride every day and goofed on a wheelie drop. My one foot slipped from the pedals and the other one got me good right underneath the knee. Fun times. Other than that, the commute was pretty boring.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Yeah, we were all thrilled that we didn`t have to spend a day riding around Barcelona. You just don`t get no fun at all.


LOL. Nice one Rodar!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You were supposed to get goofs out of the way last month, sOck. You already forgot?

I rode in to work tonight feeling frree and easy- long johns and shorts instead of pants, jacket and gloves in the bag for the morning instead of wearing them. It felt so liberating that I just might ride in naked tomorrow and see how that compares.

When I got up this afternoon, it was still plenty light out, so I took Weirdo Bike Number 2 out for a sub sandwich. On the way home, I detoured through about 1.5 miles of sand and dirt to see how it did in soft stuff. I can see that dirt rides on the 20s are going to need wider tires than what I get away with on my big old 26er. Today was with 1.5 inch slicks, but I have a brand new pair of "Little Apples" and a used pair of knobby BMX tires at my disposal, will probably mount up one or the other of those over the weekend and try out some local single track. Maybe I`ll do that ride naked, too. But only in the event of mud, of course.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...Congratulate me for NOT having any, since it`s taking a huge of will power on my part . ...


Congratulations?:skep:



> It felt so liberating that I just might ride in naked tomorrow and see how that compares.


Post pictures in the commuter photos section.:eekster:

I took a detour and rode by the lake last night. The ice is GONE. It literally went from 8" of ice that I skated on a week and a half ago to none. Fastest ice out I've ever seen.in my life. Put the time pedals on. I'll just use the m with the clown size (good for 2 pair of socks) MTB shoes for now.

I don't post as many pics on the road but I'll have to stop and take one to make Woodway jealous.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I don't post as many pics on the road but I'll have to stop and take one to make Woodway jealous.


Thanks for looking out for me bedwards...:madman:

Rodar you want to give us a heads-up before you post those naked pictures? 

Broke my string of one day in a row without getting rained on. Sigh.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Shorts and 2 wool T’s this morning, making for a nice ride. Tried out the snowmo trails on the fatbike, the first couple miles were great. Then I pop out on a dirt road and the mud was terrible in spots. Then back on a trail, but I turned around when I got to the field, it was too wet/soft even for the fatbike. On the alternate paved route I saw an interesting yard with a raised bed planter in an old canoe in the front yard, and an old metal powerline tower in the backyard, apparently for decoration or perhaps some hobby. When I got to work I learned another good reason to avoid the field, the winter manure spreading ban, normally in place until April 1, was lifted early. 

Mud season is hitting hard despite the lack of snow, I think because of the crazy hot weather bringing all the frost out of the ground at once. I saw this pic on the news of this poor sap and his dog who got stuck trying to retrieve sap tanks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

With the Jeep being my 'other' hobby, I am completely impressed by that photo. That is an absolutely epic 'stuck.' Wow! Are those tanks full? :lol: Wow!



I ran across this picture yesterday. Just in case I'm ever tempted to get smug about riding the singlespeed every now and then :lol; Look at that gear ratio!:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I think the weather people are screwing with me. We're supposed to get 5-10cm of snow today, and this is the third time in a week-and-a-half that they've threatened something like that. The first 2 times we got nuthin', so this time I really want to call their bluff. But I didn't, so I took the studded snowbike to work even though it feels ridiculous.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I ran across this picture yesterday. Just in case I'm ever tempted to get smug about riding the singlespeed every now and then :lol; Look at that gear ratio!:


It's an old-timey picture, so just assume that the guy was probably like 4'-6", and that those _must_ be 24" wheels.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I ran across this picture yesterday. Just in case I'm ever tempted to get smug about riding the singlespeed every now and then :lol; Look at that gear ratio!:


Gear ratio, hell! Look what he`s riding in- boots, I don`t even wnt to know what kind of canvas or burlap those pants are built from, neck-tie-aclava and collared shirt, and the early version of SP Elite jacket? And how bout the load on what are undoubtedly cottered cranks? Oh, smokin to boot. Just plain Yikes!

And +1 on the "Epic Stuck". I don`t know which pic gives me a bigger case of the heebie jeebies :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Riding attire has defintely gone downhill since that pic. Cool frame bag! Is that a circus train in the background?

I'm guessing the sap tanks are full, as the sap has stopped running many places already, and at these temps (70's) they need to get it to the evaporator quickly to avoid "off" flavors. That's probably why he chanced the road.


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## mtnbean (Jan 5, 2010)

Awesome commute this morning. I've been working on a new route and have it dialed, it's 25% longer than the old way but only has about a mile on the road instead of the entire thing. Only takes ~1 minute longer too thanks to not having to stop at lights, stop signs, etc. The rest is next to a gently flowing creek with birds and nice mountain views.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

I have a regular Tuesday/Thursday thing going now where my wife and I reverse dropoff/pickup for the little one and I can pedal in. I also decided I really need to kick my ass back in to shape - the mountain bike weekday races kick off next week, I signed up to ride around Lake Tahoe in June, and my wife wants me to do the Tough Mudder with her in September. And of course there is much other mountain biking to be had that I need to be in shape for in order to crush the spirit of my riding buddies.

So this week I am getting back to my old diet and going to bed at a reasonable hour. I feel AWESOME for the first time in a while and within only a few days I'm already surpassing my fastest commute times from last year, and feeling better in the process! I'm finally truly enjoying riding again. Looking forward to a lot more (s)miles this year.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^^ Epic stuck. I've seen worse. But not of a truck on a road. My brother sank an IH 656 tractor with a 13 foot wide disc cultivator attached to its platform when he hit a bit of quicksand where a spring came out of a hill. Too bad we didn't have cell phone cameras then.

^^^ Bike gear ratio appears to be about 3.1: 42/14 or 53/17 equivalent. Add steel rims, no chromo either, solid steel cranks and the bike itself is likely 40 pounds. Interesting triangular spider on that crank. Note the super seat suspension needed for the rutted fast downhills. No suspension posts in that day. Frame bags aren't exactly new, are they? Interesting front loaded bedroll/steering damper.

He could schlep full grown ewes and de-fleece them for 14-16 hours a day, too. No wonder they died in their forties or so.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pictures or it didn`t happen, Mtnbean. It sure sounds like a nice improvement.

Nacho! Where you been? I thought maybe you and Ryeball ran away together to join the Peace Corps or something. Glad you`re feelin groovy. Maybe you and Mrs Mc will see CommuterBoy while you`re out mud wrestling.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snow snow snow snow snow.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Ouch. But still had a heck of a ride. Then the commute was nice in the sun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ouch, Bear attack?



mtbxplorer said:


> I'm guessing the sap tanks are full, as the sap has stopped running many places already, and at these temps (70's) they need to get it to the evaporator quickly to avoid "off" flavors. That's probably why he chanced the road.


Norman Rockwell is rolling over in his grave.

This one's for you Woodway. The weather turned nice so I took the long way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another nice morning, mid 40's F, but will "only" reach the 50's today, not the 70's like we've had all week. Still a little snow in the cold zones by the grout piles, and the quarries still have a little ice.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mmmm... Springtime in maine?
And I`m voting for pedal attack in Quebec.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^ You must have found your camera.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Mmmmm, nice photos everyone.

Was riding home last night feeling seriously like a slug. Then I looked down and realized my back tire was half-flat :madman: Quick tube swap and I was feeling much better.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^ You must have found your camera.


:thumbsup: Yes, it was in the car, i shouldn't have been afraid to look for it.

The lake looks lovely there!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rode in in the running shoes... 1st attempt at running the commute home today. Haven't run 6 miles in a dang long time.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Weird fog/mist this morning. I must have wiped my glasses off 3 times in a mile.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ That would be kind of cool. I kept the glasses on my helmet for a large part of my Oregon coast tour :lol: 

Any other REI members celebrating? Just got my dividend  Just in time for the arrival of the new frame/fork.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had a good commute yesterday after a week of rain. Had to be extra careful because I was lugging a bottle French Pinot Noir in my pack (thank you gift from one of the partners at work).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rode in in the running shoes... 1st attempt at running the commute home today. Haven't run 6 miles in a dang long time.


How does that work? You have to run in on Monday to ride home, like the guys who do a drive/ride hybrid commute? And if you run somewhere on a one-way trip, can you use a shoe rack on the front of the bus to carry your shoes back to where you started?

I think Reagan was in office the last time I ran 6 miles. In fact, he was probably in office EVERY time I ever ran 6 miles.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I survived it... It wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. I've been running 3.5 miles or so once or twice a week for a few weeks...wasn't sure I had worked up to that point yet but at some point you just have to go for it. Took me an hour, so 10 minute miles. 
I don't have a bus option, so I'm not sure on the shoes. But I assume that most people would want me to store them on the outside of the bus. 
I picked up the bike on Saturday when I was near work with the car. I don't think I'd want to run in to work in the morning, even if I was in better shape... I don't want to get up earlier or deal with having to carry stuff. Running home on Fridays might become a regular thing though. Definitely working some different muscles. I'm feeling it.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Doing my first double-header commute today (ride in and out). The ride in this morning was really nice - bit cold, but the sun came out and there was little to no wind. Riding down the gorge is a different proposition to going up. I might need some beefier brakes. The best part was seeing all the other cyclists around doing their commutes. I got to one set of lights in the CBD and there was probably ten of us lined up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Definitely working some different muscles. I'm feeling it.


*Oh Yeah!* I ride 100-200 miles every week. I ran one stinking mile on the treadmill on Friday and my shins are still sore.

I had to take the car on Friday and realized it wasn't running right. It'll probably cost more to get it fixed than a new bike. (Note that I am rationalizing my bike spending here)

This morning's commute was back to normal, 35 degree weather.It was windy but it seemed to be with me most of the way.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Haha! I just saw this on another forum. Love it!
Bike Butterfly - YouTube
The biggest problem is that once people see it, they`ll probably be MORE likely to jump into his way just to watch the result


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## adinar (Jan 20, 2012)

Better late than never, eh? Did my first bike commute of the year today. Beautiful morning, decent temps. It's 14 1/2 miles and I've only made it in under an hour once. Felt like a leisurely ride and did it in 1:05. That's also factoring in sitting through 2 LONG cycles at a traffic light that didn't change when it should have. And then the power was out at work when I got here...I was thinking, damn, I could have ridden more!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Love the bike butterfly :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

adinar said:


> Better late than never, eh?


Yes! Welcome in, Adinar.

I had my first crash in about two years today. No damage to the bike and only minor road rash to one elbow, so can`t complain. I was trying out the dirt capabilities of 20 x 2.0 Big (Little?) Apples on my folder. Went though a small gully on hard packed dirt surface with a washout at the bottom, where the road transitions sharply from down to up, made an attempt to bunny hop/wheel lift as I hit the washout, but I didn`t get high enough and endoed. I`m pretty sure I would have managed with no excitement on my beastie with 26 x 1.75s. On the bright side, the Apples do float better than the 1.5s (Duh!) On another road that I previously tried on the same bike, I stopped a few times to compare today`s tracks with the tracks I made a few days ago, and can see that the fat tracks were much shallower than the skinny tracks. Fat and skinny, relative to each other, of course.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy crap cold! 36 this morning but down to 29 tonight with a big windchill.
Holy crap windy! 20-30 Gusting to 40, 50? Hard to make headway speed.


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## lone ranger nh (Oct 19, 2011)

rode in with the wind this morning, not bad. rode against it all the way home. sucked. i liked last week a lot better. 70 to 80 i'll take it! back to normal temps i guess


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Holy crap cold! 36 this morning but down to 29 tonight with a big windchill.
> Holy crap windy! 20-30 Gusting to 40, 50? Hard to make headway speed.


Crazy windy here too, but not so "balmy"; 23F this a .m. and 14 forecast for tonight. Also a half inch of snow overnight, it made for a pretty ride.

On Friday much of the reservoir was still frozen, but the winds broke it up by today, despite the chill.

Pix from Friday and today...


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

holy crap, rear-mount child seats will totally grab your ankle when you try to swing your leg over. fun when rolling, but on and off is a bit of a rolling challenge.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Love the bike butterfly :lol:


Cute. But the rabid anti-gay crowd here would beat the living daylights out of a cyclist and ask questions later. OTH pedestrians don't seem to have the right of way here so I could claim I was distracted and just leave tread marks to remind them to look next time. 

Hope to ride tomorrow. Some beautiful weather lately and I felt too sick to ride or had garden duty and no energy left.

BrianMc


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Love the bike butterfly :lol:


Haha :lol: is that thing real?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Pix from Friday and today...


Brrr! That looks friggin cold!
At least Tommy seems to have warmed things up a bit with his show


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> holy crap, rear-mount child seats will totally grab your ankle when you try to swing your leg over.


I believe it. Probably very similar to forgetting the stoker`s bar when I try to swing my leg over our tandem.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great pics as always MBTX.

You wouldn't want to do cyclocross on a bike with a child seat or a tandem then. Those obstacles would be a pain.

Another windy ride in but not as bad as last night. Colder, about 15 but I was dressed for it. Not like last night when it was supposed to be 45.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Nice looking group of turkeys, mtbx. I saw a wild turkey in my neighbor's yard last week. It was a rare sight in my suburban neighborhood. It was being chased by someone's cat. :lol:

The commute in this morning felt chilly. It was only 42F, but our lows have been in the upper 50s or higher for a few weeks now. I actually had to wear long sleeves and knee warmers. The ride home should still be in the 70s.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I don't know which was worse this morning - the indoor or the outdoor temperature:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dang! Build a fire!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

"THUMP, THUMP, THUMP" was what I was feeling as I rode home last night. I hopped off my bike to see what was up when I noticed that the sidewall of my back tire was buldging! Deflated it and made sure that the bead was OK. Reset the tire and inflated it again...same buldge. Tire was in the process of failing and I was still 12 miles from home. Rode gingerly and made it home OK. Installed a new tire, smooth ride this morning.

I ride Conti Gatorskins, and I usually get close to 5000 miles out of a rear tire. I only got 3000 out of the tire I replaced. Hope it's not a trend.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

Finally took the studded tires off. Forgot I wasn´t on them and crashed twice, skin heals but my clothing doesn´t :-(

That Bike Butterfly thing is pretty funny!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> Finally took the studded tires off. Forgot I wasn´t on them and crashed twice, skin heals but my clothing doesn´t :-(
> 
> That Bike Butterfly thing is pretty funny!


Yup we got about an inch of ice covered by about 1/2inch of snow this morning....I got an extra pair of wheels so no need to make the big conversion anymore.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I am pleased to announce the arrival of the new frame/fork.  Just in time for spring break next week.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ is the Ogre replacing your dropbar Access, or your other one?

I still haven't converted my winter bike back into summer mode. The rear studded tire has a slow leak and it needs some new sealant, but I refuse to add any because I'll hopefully be swapping the tires this weekend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes, the dropbar access... really just a frame/fork swap. Most everything will just move over.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

So today I officially put back to sleep my snow bike. Harvested the suspension parts, front wheel and stem to rebuild my trail bike, coming out of hibernation today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Careful David. Disassembling your winter bike is likely to cause a huge storm over the whole region, and people from Toronto to Boston will show up at your door to throw rotten tomatoes at you.

More wind 
It`s been windy for a month, with an occasional calm of a few hours. At least the calms have been polite enough to come around at convenient times.



CommuterBoy said:


> I am pleased to announce the arrival of the new frame/fork.  Just in time for spring break next week.


Oh, good- you need more breaks!


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## Haligan78 (Jun 13, 2011)

Finally started riding to work again for the year. I am not a die hard so when we have multiple feet of snow or if it is raining I park the bike. That pretty much keeps me off the bike from November- March. 
Was a good ride the past two mornings. Mid 20's for temp.
Yesterday it started to sprinkle a little on the way home but not bad. Today was absolutely beautiful. Temps in the 40's this afternoon, put on the shorts and tshirt and soaked up the sun all the way home. 
Started using Strava on my iphone snd like it so far.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Oh Rodar, I'm fairly used to the consequences. That's why I didn't store the boots and coats already.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Hey Rodar, look what we've got this morning


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Not working that well*



rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Careful David. Disassembling your winter bike is likely to cause a huge storm over the whole region, and people from Toronto to Boston
> 
> 
> > to Maine
> ...


Yeah, David, watch your back, LOL

I swapped the studded tires back on this morning and it's a good thing I did. The roads were a frozen layer of hard packed, polished wet snow on places. The less traveled roads were 2" of nice powder. The rear derailleur was pretty much non-functional by the end of the ride and I was skipping gears like 6th period. If I had longer to go I was going so sacrifice my hot coffee for the cause. Luckily I didn't have to resort to that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Just a dusting overnight here and then ice pellets for the ride. I was going to complain about them stinging my face but I will be quiet now. A pizza box cartwheeling in the wind tried to attack on the last stretch, but I evaded it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Winter has been absent for weeks here. We already have leaves, and I had to mow the lawn yesterday. The temp was around 65F this morning. My allergies are kicking.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Only a few weeks? Winter has been absent since June in my neighborhood.



bedwards1000 said:


> If I had longer to go I was going so sacrifice my hot coffee for the cause. Luckily I didn't have to resort to that.


 Thank God you didn`t have to get drastic!!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Today's commute was a sloppy wet disaster. What was falling out of the sky wasn't really rain...it was basically what comes out of the slushy machine at 7-11, minus the color. It was falling in globs about the size of a quarter, peppered with normal raindrops for a little added zing. My neoprene socks are on thier last legs, so I expect some seepage...but I had puddles in there before I got to the end of my dirt road. I thought somehow the cuff must have gotten exposed out from under my leg warmers and rain pants. But no. It was just the magical properties of this crap falling from the sky. 

As soon as I hit the pavement I realized that my planet bike cascadia front fender, which has always been awesome, was totally worthless. It was at least 6 inches too short in the front, where it extends out over the top of the tire. somehow this 'saliva of satan' was able to cling to the tire for a split second longer than 'normal' precipitation, causing it to launch out in front of me, spread itself out in the wind, and then hang there until I rode through it. I had an icy coating from the knees down, which somhow still didn't stop more moisture from soaking through "waterproof" garment after "waterproof" garment. 

I swear I've never gotten wetter riding my bike. The neoprene socks somehow reversed their polarity or something, because they were able to keep the frozen death slushy INSIDE just fine. When I got to work, I literally poured water out of them, and then wrung them and my cotton socks out like they were sham-wows. 

I need a week off. :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, I had a day like that last year :lol: :


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Today's commute was a sloppy wet disaster. What was falling out of the sky wasn't really rain...it was basically what comes out of the slushy machine at 7-11, minus the color.


You forgot to blame David C. I think Rodar might be onto something, the whole of North America seems to be having winter weather the day after David put his snow bike up.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I had a slush day like that on the weekend...had to keep stopping every 10 minutes to clear off my derailleur pulleys because they'd grown to twice their normal size.

But this morning - temperature above freezing, no hat, no rain, and it should get pretty warm. David C's curse didn't get me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mmmm... Saliva of Satan 
CB, I enjoyed reading your post so much that I won`t bother to rub it in that you can`t remember what a Slupree is called. I only had a little snow flurry and the same stupid wind last night and this morning- you must be JUST enough closer to David C to hit the curse zone. Need to borrow any over ripe produce?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, CB, that sounds like a real misery. Well told, though. Hope you have some spare dry stuff, no way will those socks dry!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I would loan you my $14 shoe dryers but they would probably arrive too late.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I carry a pair of spare socks in the backpack all winter...so good to go for the day, but they will be soaked as soon as I put my bike shoes back on.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I carry a pair of spare socks in the backpack all winter...so good to go for the day, but they will be soaked as soon as I put my bike shoes back on.


Winter Boots?


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Everything was planned... Including the fact that I'm off every Wednesday


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Winter Boots?


$35 Shimano mtb shoes that I bought in 1998. If you break the cost down into a per-mile amount, I'm pretty sure they actually owe me money.

It's time for boots, definitely. I'll probably buy bike parts instead though :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> $35 Shimano mtb shoes that I bought in 1998. If you break the cost down into a per-mile amount, I'm pretty sure they actually owe me money.
> 
> It's time for boots, definitely. I'll probably buy bike parts instead though :lol:


The handlebar is a bike part...

The grip is a bike part...

So lets see the pedal is a bike part...

The cleat is a bike part....

Why isn't the boot a bike part????


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Same reason my gloves and helmet aren't bike parts, I guess. You gotta draw the line somewhere. :lol: 

If my shoes are bike parts, then my socks are bike parts. By that logic all my clothes are bike parts, my backpack is a bike part...the hooks in my garage then become bike parts, which makes my house a bike part.... I just choose to draw that line at stuff that's actually a part of the bike. 

Plus, I have this relationship with these shoes. I'd feel guilty replacing them. I owe it to them to have really cold feet every now and then...they've gotten me through so much. :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ CB you should get a set of those Showers Pass show covers I posted a link to. Would keep your shoes dry in that situation...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, the Redbuds came out last week with the oaks and my allergy is back, though with less mercury,it is less severe. Lawn mowed Sunday, but the septic field needed it a week earlier. Rode in top gear on the way in and the lights worked to keep oncoming jumping into my lane to get around a truck delivering brick. I waved friendly fashion for the courtesy, glad I didn't have to stop from 22-25 mph. Later, the return home and I remembered I felt little breeze on the way in so the speed was benefit of a healthy tailwind, now an even brisker headwind. Fun while it lasted. Sorry about he snow guys. High sixties this morning and 10 more this afternoon, It was 35 F yesterday morning. 

BrianMc


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Dang you guys with slush and snow are hanging onto winter for dear life! It's moved on from here, and we're known for cold (Fargo)! I'm hoping that we don't fall back below freezing, it would really do a number on the landscaping!

I drove Monday and Tuesday. I feel sick for admitting that. First time I've driven 2 days in a row in quite some time. 50mph winds and rain have that effect. No desire to go out and ride in that. Today I knew there would be good weather and mild wind so I rode my Romic. Lots of sunshine but it's low 50's and still a bit chilly when you get going. I did stop for a pic for the hell of it.










Tomorrow I'll be back on the fendered bike because the rain and wind is going to return, and I'd rather show up to work wet and miserable than in a car.


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## morganxc (Mar 27, 2012)

Windy today, freeze warning tonight.... winter hasn't given up yet, but any day I can still pedal is a good one.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sharp bike, Jag. I bet that makes those nice days even nicer


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I climbed Ngauranga Gorge like a boss today. Middle ring all the way and I even passed someone.

Unfortunately, I also broke another spoke.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoo! Good job, RPK.
I hope the spoke is a worthwhile tradeoff.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I sighted another turkey this morning, It stayed still for a good pic. Then just as I got going again a bald eagle soared over the reservoir and landed in a tree on the other side. Very exciting, I hope it sticks around, but too far away for a good pic.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, I read the text in the email and clicked through to see the turkey pic. Maybe if you unwrap the butterball the bald eagle will come closer. Or more likely a turkey vulture.

Today's commute was seasonably drab.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dark, rain, headwind. I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> ^^ CB you should get a set of those Showers Pass show covers I posted a link to. Would keep your shoes dry in that situation...


Those are definitely on the list. Trying to decide between those and a new pair of shoes, or just some winter boots. If I get the boots, summers will still be spent in my old shoes, which I guess isn't a horrible thing...but after 14 years of active duty, I'm thinking it might be time to retire the shoes.

OH, and...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I guess that our mornings must have been cloudy recently, because this morning I realized that I was riding into the blinding sunrise, and probably have been for a week or more. Nice ride, though.

My winter bike is now out of commission - brakes came off for servicing last night, tires and drivetrain will be swapped over tonight and tomorrow. I apologize in advance for any retaliatory winter weather that this may bring.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Groundhog day for me, too. But in my case that doesn`t include rain- just cloundy skies and plenty of wind.

If Newf is dewinterizing, I guess that`s a sign. Any comments from 4 x 4?



mtbxplorer said:


> I sighted another turkey this morning, It stayed still for a good pic.


I think that`s an owl. It didn`t try to fly through your helmet, did it?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> If my shoes are bike parts, then my socks are bike parts. By that logic all my clothes are bike parts, my backpack is a bike part...the hooks in my garage then become bike parts, which makes my house a bike part. Basically if you call something bike ****, then it is a bike part.
> 
> Plus, I have this relationship with these shoes. I'd feel guilty replacing them. I owe it to them to have really cold feet every now and then...they've gotten me through so much. Old dead shoes suck


Seems to me a bike-centeric life is what you are looking for....

I have a dead pair of Lakes, a just about dead pair of Shimano summer boots (this spring for sure), and a dead pair of Shimano Winter boots....

I have two pairs of dead curliong shoes, and a pair of dead golf shoes....

Shoes die.

Send me a Stamped Self Addressed Box and you can have the dead winter boots.....(they are truly dead).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey, you keep talking bad about my boys and we're gonna have words. :lol: 

I actually bought a new pair of shoes on geartrade last month...but they didn't fit so they went back. Sizing is so wacky from company to company. I need to go try a bunch on the next time I'm in an actual city that has such things. 

I think I'll get a decent pair of mtb shoes, and some decent rain/winter covers for commuting like the showers pass ones. 

I don't think getting years and years out of bike shoes is unreasonable though. Think of how little they ever actually have to touch the ground. The worst these things go through is the occasional hike-a-bike, and a good soaking every now and then. The soles are still stiff and you can replace stuff like laces and insoles. (that's right, laces...none of this fancy new ratchet stuff. I'm on my 3rd or 4th pair of laces).

Check these bad boys out. You know you want 'em. (I have cleaned the saliva of satan off since this picture was taken)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

These Boots Were Made for Biking&#8230;Shimano MW81 Review | ridingagainstthegrain

I liked the MW 80 better....but these are nice.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Those would do nicely.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey CB, Shimano - 20 bucks with laces:
Not too many sizes left but worth checking out.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ooh, those would be sweet with some good covers... not my size though. Thanks for the heads up!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice commute into volunteer work yesterday. Rode again to pick car up from body shop. I see almost no traffic straight through on the back route to the shop, but not when I rode it yesterday. The road is too narrow for cyclist and car abreast and double lines up a slight (5%?) grade with gentle right bend. So ahead were a semi, two pickups, and a car, and I was leading a pickup and a large 4WD tractor with folded disc cultivator about 12 feet wide so pulling over wasn't going to help get him by. I spun up the grade at the fastest I have cranked in a while and was surprised how easy it was and how fast I climbed (for me, not Lance). I did not have my heart monitor on, but I must have had the pulse way up there. All traffic in front and behind were going left held up by oncoming traffic and the driver behind maybe in response to my flailing legs (or blinding taillights?) did not tailgate, and in the end he had to queue up for his turn as I rolled on by that lineup. One overtaking and two oncoming was all the traffic the rest of the way, so I could back off and re-oxgenate. All in all, it was very civilized. Another small win in the recovery. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> All traffic in front and behind were going left held up by oncoming traffic and the driver behind maybe in response to my flailing legs (or blinding taillights?) did not tailgate, and in the end he had to queue up for his turn as I rolled on by that lineup.


He probably would have been right on your butt, but couldn`t catch you. Just too fast.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally took off the studs....

Put on my slicks...

Wow rode in this morning along my flat sprint rode 46/11....no wind...course I didn't spin out.

That is what a winter of riding will do for you.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> He probably would have been right on your butt, but couldn`t catch you. Just too fast.


In my dreams. 

Forty-five mph zone, and a crude estimate of cadence and gear would put me between 1/3 and 1/2 that, likely 20 mph dropping to 18 near the crest. Maybe he was clocking me. Usually I would not have had that courtesy, and it sure was nice to be so blessed.

It only takes one considerate driver to set the not-so into proper perspective as a minority (if a frustrating one).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This morning was the ceremonial final commute on the drop bar access. I'm planning on my new traditional weekly "run for the weekend" jog home this afternoon, and she's getting dismantled this week. Miles of memories.










I have future singlespeed MTB plans for the frame, but for now, this is how she shall be remembered.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Disappointing. I took a work car home last night to do some early a.m. fieldwork today up near the Canadian border, but the gusty winds made that impractical, so drove it back to work instead. One-way commute tonight home. I left my bike here yesterday, but snuck it inside rather than locked outside overnight.

^^Great shot, CB - goodbye!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I mostly only collect bikes, that way I don't need to do the goodbyes. I did have a Nashbar AL-1 that I sold for what I paid for it after a year I bought it. I didn't have time to get fully attached.

Today was the first trip on the Big Apples. Nice ride, I hit 37.7 on a downhill. Not road bike speeds but I also run out of gearing on that hill on my commuter. I pumped them up to 50psi so they're not that balloon like but I favor speed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dude. You gotta try 20psi tubeless. It's like butta.


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## n2y2 (Mar 30, 2012)

Unusually warm but windy. 62F with 12mph headwind. First day this year wearing shorts in the morning; most A.M. temps have been sub 30F this month.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was a 3 dog night, but none got a piece of me, :arf::arf::arf: And just yesterday I thought I was the dog whisperer because one not only stopped mid-run when I told it to but jumped back within its yard.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> And just yesterday I thought I was the dog whisperer because one not only stopped mid-run when I told it to but jumped back within its yard.


I think that dog was in an invisible fence,


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Broke another spoke this week so I won't be hitting my first 100km week. 

I'm going to take the wheel back to the shop and see if there's a warranty claim in it. Four spokes in 7 months is a bit off.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JordyB said:


> I think that dog was in an invisible fence,


Good guess, but more like an invisible owner! :nonod: It was also one of the 3 today, out pal-ing around with the dog across the road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

If we do have a dog whisperer here, That`s who it`ll be.



R+P+K said:


> I'm going to take the wheel back to the shop and see if there's a warranty claim in it. Four spokes in 7 months is a bit off.


Good call, RPK. That sounds like a lot of spokes to me, too. Maybe they can retension them and won`t need to replace. Have you checked the tensions? How many spokes on your wheel?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice commute tonight. In keeping with this week`s theme of retiring winter bikes/gear, I changed out my bombproof tires this morning for the bikini looking 1.25 Paselas, so I had that super legs thing going on. I haven`t had the studs on for quite a while, so the super legs feeling from ditching those had already worn off. To make tonight`s ride even better, I solved a mystery noise that had been plaguing me for a few weeks- found a 9/16 wrench that I had forgotten in the front pocket of my bag. I had checked and rechecked my fenders, rack, and rack mount trying to find where that muted clank was comming from, but never thought to look inside the bag.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> If we do have a dog whisperer here, That`s who it`ll be.
> 
> Good call, RPK. That sounds like a lot of spokes to me, too. Maybe they can retension them and won`t need to replace. Have you checked the tensions? How many spokes on your wheel?


It's a 36H rim. They've all broken on the drive side. I haven't checked the tensions myself because I don't have one of those tension meters - and Steve Gravenites doesn't believe in the ping test


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Spent the day in the Windy City (yes, Reno). 

Came home to 4 or 5 inches of snow. Still coming down out there. Thanks for ditching the winter tires Rodar.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I planned to do a road ride Saturday, but when I got to the state forest, a rustic rail trail called my name. There were a few tough spots due to sand or mud, but most of it was great, and all of it was rideable. Great scenery, no cars, and somehow the morning snow cleared out to a bluebird day, 45-50F. In 21 miles I saw zero bikes. ut:
I tried to google what the granite marker with the names Snetsinger, Smith & Ortiz on it was for, but no luck.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice, Xlporer! Your Fort came out of hybernation before my summer bike did. It looks happy on that road  Maybe BrianMc will send you some leaves for the trees to complete the next "bluebird day".



CommuterBoy said:


> Spent the day in the Windy City (yes, Reno).
> 
> Came home to 4 or 5 inches of snow. Still coming down out there. Thanks for ditching the winter tires Rodar.


Hehe. Yeah, it was pretty nasty yesterday. I took a nap after work, planning to ride later. When my alarm went off at noon, I could hear the wind howling before I even dragged my butt out of bed- no ride for me. On the other hand, no snow. Snow is afraid of skinny Paselas. Maybe you should try some to keep YOUR snow at bay.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We had dime sized hail last night that reduced the leafing out some. The peonies are about to burst. So leaves on trees in Vermont can't be too far off. Thanks for the pics, Mtbxplorer.

Flat tire greeted me this morning. Been expecting it as it was taking more air sooner. Better at home than on the road. Cooler, closer to seasonal, 60 F. Nice 15-20 mile ENE headwind in when riding east and north, and it moved to SE for the ride home riding south and west. Figures, but I got a tailwind for the straight stretch home. I got into top gear and was increasing cadence for about a mlle and a driver was surprised at how long it took to pass as they were doing not quite 30, (the speed limit), and I was 22-23 mph. Woo-hoo!

BrianMc

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Sounds like a great ride, Brian - nice!

A moose jogged across the road about 50' in front of me this morning. Too quick for a pic though, it disappeared instantly once it was in the woods again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Looks like a great ride MTXB. That picture of the double topped hill looks a lot like Rattlesnake Mt right down the road. The rail trail looks nice. I think I'm going to try one between here and Portland this weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I tried to swap out the bottom bracket on my commuter and ended up ruining one side. I got the non-drive side out fine, but the drive side exploded on me. I'm not sure of the technical term, but the little lip separated from the body and the threads ended up being stripped. I took the wheels off that bike and put them on the free bike I just got and put a cassette on it. Now I'll have to see how to fix the other bike... :madman:

When the price of gas is up, I always start seeing more people commuting. My company who started yesterday might move closer to the office and asked if it was OK to ride a bike in. Maybe I won't be the only one riding in a couple months.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I tried to swap out the bottom bracket on my commuter and ended up ruining one side. I got the non-drive side out fine, but the drive side exploded on me. I'm not sure of the technical term, but the little lip separated from the body and the threads ended up being stripped.


That sucks. When I got an old frame from the bike co-op there was still a piece of old bb threaded into the driveside cup, and I couldn't figure out how it got there, but exploding was about the only thing that made sense.

This morning was warm enough that I had my first ride without a jacket. And it was about time too, because I've been severely overdressed for the afternoons.

On the weekend I converted the winterbike back into summer singlespeed mode, and it is so spinny. From last year I know that it doesn't affect my commute time in any measurable way, and I know that I will get used to it again, and I'm still getting stuck behind slower bike commuters, but it sure is spinny.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

At work I snagged a SRAM 980 11-32 cassette on Chainlove for $41 shipped on impulse. Will this work in place of my Shimano Deore cassette? 

It won't ship for few days. Should I keep it or have them cancel? I'm still on my first chain -- how long does a cassette last? 

I have a Shimano LX/105 chain that I plan to install in the near future. Since I've put SRAM chains on Shimano drive trains before, I am guessing the cassette should be ok.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bummer, Sock. I hope you`re able to get it out, but at least you have another bike to roll while you mess with the boogered BB.

Newf, no jacket? I`ve managed a few days without, but still usually need one. Sure feels good, don`t it? 



jseko said:


> At work I snagged a SRAM 980 11-32 cassette on Chainlove for $41 shipped on impulse. Will this work in place of my Shimano Deore cassette?


I don`t see why it wouldn`t work. If you`re concerned about Shimano/SRAM compatibility, you`re good as far as cassettes go. I use the cheapest SRAM cassettes I can find with Shimano drivetrains. I only remember changing one out because of wear (PG830, probably) and I think it had in the neighborhood of 3000 miles. Honestly, I don`t know how to tell if a modern funky-toothed cassette is worn, but I was having shifting and skipping issues that I couldn`t solve, so I replaced the cassette. Pretty sure that was why I had trouble


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Winter will not let go.........


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^Check to see if Fux has dismantled his winter bike and make him put it back together if he has. Probably still got San Diego on the brian.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I got my first ride out my trail bike this Monday, and since we had good weather. I might take some parts off my winter bike this week


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Great ride this morning. About 60 degrees and starting to be light around 3/4 of the way to the office!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Another nice, jacketless ride this morning.

But...there's a severe winter storm warning in effect. Initially they were calling for a foot of snow, but that's been revised down to 5~10". It's not supposed to start until tonight, and I hope they're right about that, because otherwise I'm going to be severely underdressed for the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So, at what temperature do you stop wearing your jacket? I was wearing mine this morning along with toe covers and was still chilled by the end of my 18 mile ride @ 30 F

I found an excellent trail to nowhere on my commute home last night. It started off as a 10 and then crossed a bog and petered out to nothing. So, back across the bog (with remnents of bridges only partially submurged) I went and out the way I came. It was am amazing trail system to nowhere. I'll try hitting it from the other side to see if I can find where they connect.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> So, at what temperature do you stop wearing your jacket? I was wearing mine this morning along with toe covers and was still chilled by the end of my 18 mile ride @ 30 F


Usually right around freezing. In the fall when I'm denying the onset of winter I might wait until it's a bit colder, and in the spring when I'm a wimp it might be a bit warmer. But my morning commute is barely 5mi, so there's no time to get chilled. On the way home I'll wander a lot more, but for that I'm usually overdressed since I just wear whatever I took in the morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Got it, so when you say you rode without a jacket that doesn't actually mean it's warm. You're just nuts.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ but last week it was below freezing in the mornings, but into the 50s later on, so I was dying on the ride home. My jacket has been way too filthy to just stuff into my pannier, so not having to wear it is a big deal.  (and I may pay for that today if the storm comes early)


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

R+P+K said:


> Broke another spoke this week so I won't be hitting my first 100km week.
> 
> I'm going to take the wheel back to the shop and see if there's a warranty claim in it. Four spokes in 7 months is a bit off.


I find once you break your first spoke its time to swap them all out, they are getting stretched to their limits. I true my rear wheel once a week to try and stay on top, nothing better than a tight wheel. There is more tension on the drive side so they usually break first.

Newfangled tomorrow should be a fun day ;-)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Sick of the wind*

Sick of the wind

Sick-Of-The-Wind

My 12 mile commute has felt like 24 almost every day for weeks.


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## dru (Sep 4, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sick of the wind
> 
> Sick-Of-The-Wind
> 
> My 12 mile commute has felt like 24 almost every day for weeks.


Yeah, I hear you. The wind was at my back on the way to work which was nice, however it picked up to a breezy 30 km/h right at my face on the way home. It's funny being in the second easiest gear spinning my a$$ off while riding in the drops, only to do 22 km/h.

Drew


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I go in early today, while it`s still light out, so I get to choose a Daytime Only bike to ride . It`s going to be Dork Bike II, the folder, because I need to work a bit on fitting struts to the front rack- might have small cargo capacity by this weekend. In the mean time, I have to hold the front of the rack up with a length of clothesline. 

Bedwards, your pictures sure make me feel like going out for a ride! And not a ride to work.
Is that a Crosscheck? Oh, and if its any consolation, it`s been windy here for weeks also, and windy again right now. At least the mornings have often been wind free.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> I find once you break your first spoke its time to swap them all out, they are getting stretched to their limits. I true my rear wheel once a week to try and stay on top, nothing better than a tight wheel. There is more tension on the drive side so they usually break first.


Yup, the Specialized reps are getting the LBS to rebuild it under warranty


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> At work I snagged a SRAM 980 11-32 cassette on Chainlove for $41 shipped on impulse. Will this work in place of my Shimano Deore cassette?
> 
> It won't ship for few days. Should I keep it or have them cancel? I'm still on my first chain -- how long does a cassette last?
> 
> I have a Shimano LX/105 chain that I plan to install in the near future. Since I've put SRAM chains on Shimano drive trains before, I am guessing the cassette should be ok.


I`m curious too, and was waiting to see what the consensus was. How long do the rest of you get from a cassette? Is there a way to know visually or by measuring something that it`s time to change it, or do you just wait until it acts up?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m curious too, and was waiting to see what the consensus was. How long do the rest of you get from a cassette? Is there a way to know visually or by measuring something that it`s time to change it, or do you just wait until it acts up?


I haven't kept track mileage-wise, I just try to check the chain and if a new one doesn't work well despite adjustments etc. then you have to spend more money. I had to get everything but the big ring last year on the MTB, and you could also see the wear, hooked shark-toothiness and nubbins-ness . It was more pronounced on the chainrings, like you were concerned a tooth would break off, but some on the cassette too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Old Method:
Step 1: Ride chain until it is near failure
Step 2: Replace chain
Step 3: Ride the bike and find out that it is skipping all over the place
Step 4: Order New cassette

New method. I bought a chain wear checker
Step 1: Check chain and find it it time to replace
Step 2: Procrastinate until step 1 above.

Roadar, yes, it's the new CC.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

After the 70's and 80's afternoon rides, this morning's 45 after dropping a vehicle off for service was refreshing. It was calm! I got so used to pushing headwinds, I did not realize how much the omnipresent wind circa 20+ mph was affecting my speed. I may also be getting healthier as I get the heavy metals out. 

BrianMc


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Kind of funny...on my way home yesterday, I hit my commuting human powered land-speed record and shortly after (about 0.5mi from the house) got a flat in the rear tire.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back on the bike after a few days of yellow lab-sitting duty. We took some nice walks on the trails that are not open to bikes yet. I had one scare when he jumped (?) into the black lagoon, an old quarry with dark spooky water and steep sides. He hit the ice at the bottom and broke through it with a surprised look on his face, but was able to dogpaddle back to shore. I looked around the perimeter of the small quarry and said how the heck is he going to get out of there? But before I called the Fire Dept, he scrambled out on the first try up the same slope he went down. He was a bit stinky from the stagnant water but otherwisse OK. 

!/4” snow overnight and temp about 25F. Took the MTB on the road route this morning.


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

Well after over a year of living ridiculously close to where I work, I finally decided to begin commuting today. I used up every excuse in the book from "it's too cold" to "I don't want to get up earlier" and I found that none of them were valid excuses. It was about 43 degrees for my 1.2 mile ride (yes 1.2, not 12...) and took me 5 minutes. The air was so brisk and refreshing. I ended up getting to work a half hour early but I wanted to see how quickly I could make it in case I was running late someday. Next I plan on taking a detour and making the ride closer to 10 miles. Feel free to criticize me for not commuting sooner, I deserve it!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

So, did you like it, MotoX? It gets to be addicting.

Close call, Xplorer! Glad SuperPup pulled it off.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

MotoX33 said:


> Well after over a year of living ridiculously close to where I work, I finally decided to begin commuting today. I used up every excuse in the book from "it's too cold" to "I don't want to get up earlier" and I found that none of them were valid excuses. It was about 43 degrees for my 1.2 mile ride (yes 1.2, not 12...) and took me 5 minutes. The air was so brisk and refreshing. I ended up getting to work a half hour early but I wanted to see how quickly I could make it in case I was running late someday. Next I plan on taking a detour and making the ride closer to 10 miles. Feel free to criticize me for not commuting sooner, I deserve it!


:thumbsup:

When I first started commuting I had a three mile ride, then I moved and it was about four to five miles, now I am up to... wait for it... nine miles! (After another move) and I still basically follow the exact same route. But congrats on getting started and ride safe!

I broke a spoke on my ride home last night (The wheel was already pretty out of true) so I got to ride the SS 29er to work today. Pushing 36x16 gear with the big ass boat anchor Nevegels was lovely.


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> So, did you like it, MotoX? It gets to be addicting.
> 
> Close call, Xplorer! Glad SuperPup pulled it off.


I loved it. My ride isn't scenic by any means since I just have to cut through a residential area to avoid the "busy" street. I live in a pretty small town but my clinic is on the main drag that goes to the high school so there are a lot of kids driving by in the morning. On days that it's nice and I get up early enough I'm going to do the bike path loop that is about 9 miles and goes around a little lake.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No power for me this morning. No alarm, heat, plumbing, or elevator, so I might as well head in to work early.

A few blocks from home I bumped into a guy on a Mukluk who was trying to find a place that had power - so that he could get a coffee.  He also warned me to watch out for the trees.

A few blocks later I hear a crack, and bang, and a scream. I turn around and a tree has fallen maybe 4' in front of a pedestrian, but she's okay. Saw a few more fallen/falling trees, and heard plenty of cracking.

The ride was pretty good, even though I was on my non-studded SS (which is why I normally am smart enough to not take the studs off until may :madman But I'm looking out my window and it's not slowing down out there.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, newf, glad you (and the ped) made it. Those falling trees (and power lines) are scarey. :eekster: Hope the excitement is over and the power comes back on before you have to ride home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


>


Doh! Not slowing down, or not snowing down? Looks to me like it`s definitely snowing to the left :skep:
Good luck on the homebound trip.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Looks to me like it`s definitely snowing to the left :skep:


Midway across the bridge I did have to pull my mask up over my face, because the right side was getting sandblasted.


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## cuatroXcuatro (Dec 1, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Midway across the bridge I did have to pull my mask up over my face, because the right side was getting sandblasted.


I hear ya, was worried about getting frostbite!
By far my toughest ride of the year, had to push up the end of Keillor road, snow too deep and heavy, rear wheel was dragging while I pushed. The head wind was so bad when I left my house I contemplated turning around but then I thought newfangled is going to ride for sure 
Bike stands up on its own in this thick stuff. What a scenic day though, glad I didn't miss it.


image upload


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> I hear ya, was worried about getting frostbite!
> By far my toughest ride of the year, had to push up the end of Keillor road, snow too deep and heavy, rear wheel was dragging while I pushed. The head wind was so bad when I left my house I contemplated turning around but then I thought newfangled is going to ride for sure
> Bike stands up on its own in this thick stuff. What a scenic day though, glad I didn't miss it.


Edmonton gets it again...

It hit Calgary last night, and although it was supposed to be bad we only got 6 inches, and about 1 inch of pure ice on the roads....

Popped the studs back on and had an easy sunshiny ride in this morning...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cuatroXcuatro said:


> The head wind was so bad when I left my house I contemplated turning around but then I thought newfangled is going to ride for sure
> Bike stands up on its own in this thick stuff. What a scenic day though, glad I didn't miss it.


It was gorgeous out. And my ride is like 1/4 of yours  (although I also have to ride to bikeworks tonight to volunteer)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Newfang, cuatro,& Jeff. I swear it's not my fault! I did not take the snows off the cars until today. 

This global warming thing is complicated with record March tornados in the US, and now these spring storms in the Great White North. I have Irises budded and likely in flower for Easter! I prefer ice storms to tornados and neither if I have a choice. :thumbsup:

Possible frost tonight and tomorrow night may be our take on the blizzard. 

Pretty pics, though. 

Glad the pup wasn't much worse for the wash and wear, Mtbx. What springs to mind, is all's 'well' that ends 'well'. I suppose he just shook it off. Not part water spaniel? Anyway his exploration wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Sounds like a dog who let the quarry get the better of him. 

Brian Mc


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Seeing all that snow makes me thankful I am in FL, even though by the time I made it to the office this morning I was drenched with sweat...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> He was a bit stinky from the stagnant water but otherwisse OK.


A stinky dog's usually a happy dog. (and an unhappy owner)

Wow snow! You guys can have it.

s0ckeyeus, our bottom brackets should talk. I just noticed last night that mine was backing out all on it's own. I've got to pull the cranks and hope I have the right BB tool for that bike.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> This global warming thing is complicated with record March tornados in the US, and now these spring storms in the Great White North. I have Irises budded and likely in flower for Easter! I prefer ice storms to tornados and neither if I have a choice. :thumbsup:


Actually something interesting is happening....

The glaciers have been retreating around here since the last ice age...

But I have noticed two new sections of Neve (snow that has lasted through at least one summer) and we have a record quantity of snow this year that hasn't started melting out yet (also late).

I am betting that both new Neves will be larger than last year....Also I am betting that at least the top of the ice fields and glaciers are also increasing rather than decreasing for the last few years anyway...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I am proud of myself. Not only did I get my bottom bracket out, I managed not to ruin my frame in the process. I used a little metal saw to cut two grooves in the bottom bracket, stopping just before I hit the threads. Then I used a hammer and a screwdriver to extract that middle section. Then I pried part of the bottom bracket up and was able to pull it out with a pair of pliers. I probably should have taken the bike to the LBS to get the threads chased, but this bike is kind of a beater and not worth the money. The threads were gunked up, but not in terrible condition. I cleaned them up and was able to get the bottom bracket back in. Everything should be good to go. I won't swap the components back over until I get the new chainring I ordered.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great photos cuatro & newf - awfully wintry for April, though! Hang in there :rockon:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

haul kid haul kid haul kid
wife today says "I'll take him!"
hrmmm... maybe take the 56x16 geared gardin? 
gawd i love speed.
oh, plus it's kind of purple with purple pedals and today's the wear purple for Rwanda day so there ya go, socially conscious at high velocity.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Actually something interesting is happening........Also I am betting that at least the top of the ice fields and glaciers are also increasing rather than decreasing for the last few years anyway...


If the melting Greenland ice sheet shuts down the Gulf Stream conveyor, then an ice age may occur for lack of tropical heat transfusion into the northern hemisphere. Apparently the last ice age had similar CO2 levels. Someone suggested that ice ages start with more snow, later snow, and earlier snow. Not to worry. The Mayan calendar ends us anyway,,,

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Snowed this afternoon. Maybe a little less than in Edmonton, but still enough to leave a wet skim on all the roads. AND I rode my folder to work (another in early day), no fenders yet. I would never imagine 20 inch slicks were capable of slinging so much water so far! The roads are now undoubtedly dry along my whole commute route because every drop of water that was formerly on them has since found its way to my ass. On the bright side, I`m almost finished with a small front rack for said Friday. In another month or so, I`ll do a hub/rim swap between my spare 26 inch dyno wheel and one of my 20 inch non-dyno front wheels, add a cheap round Lumotec that`s been in a box in my shed for ages, and I`ll have night vision for either of my two 20s. Whoo!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> If the melting Greenland ice sheet shuts down the Gulf Stream conveyor, then an ice age may occur for lack of tropical heat transfusion into the northern hemisphere. Apparently the last ice age had similar CO2 levels. Someone suggested that ice ages start with more snow, later snow, and earlier snow. Not to worry. The Mayan calendar ends us anyway,,,
> 
> BrianMc


The Mayan calendar didn't account for leap years so technically it's already sometime in 2013 according to them.


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## carlflow (Apr 6, 2012)

used clipless for the first time today, I fell over 3 times


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Who had perfect bike commute records last year? One of you perfection attainers was cheering me on (though mine was already blown) towards the end of the year, and I thought it was Bedwards, but he says otherwise. Seems to me that it was one of the extra northern folks with a long RT.



carlflow said:


> used clipless for the first time today, I fell over 3 times


Three times? That`s about par for the course as far as first rides with clickies go .
By the time I got it down pat I ended up going back to flats. Anyway, welcome. You`ll get the hang of it soon enough.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Almost hit a bicyclist riding the wrong way this afternoon with my work truck. Came out from between two parked vehicles -- barely missed him since I couldn't move to the side.

The wind was throwing me all over during the afternoon commute.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Who had perfect bike commute records last year?


I came close. The only times I didn't was when I was traveling for work and had to bring luggage, so I would take the train. I think I also missed a couple days with a calf muscle strain from playing innebandy (floor hockey).


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m curious too, and was waiting to see what the consensus was. How long do the rest of you get from a cassette? Is there a way to know visually or by measuring something that it`s time to change it, or do you just wait until it acts up?


I got around 13K miles from my last cassette. Actually, the whole cassette was not worn out, just the cogs that I ride most. You can tell by looking at the teeth on the cogs, they will start to get a shark tooth shape. Signs of a worn cassette include chain skipping in high torque situations and generally crappy shifting, even with a new chain.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No commuting for me this past week - my wife and I went to Asheville, NC for a little vacation time. After visiting the Biltmore Estate (which I will say was well worth the time), we rented bicycles and visited Dupont Forest for some fun riding:



















We also went rented a couple of road bikes for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The morning started off really beautiful as we climbed out of Asheville towards Mt. Mitchell. The riding was really nice...we agreed that we need to come back and do some loaded touring of the parkway.

We made it about 25 miles out of Asheville, climbing a little over 3000 feet in the process. We stopped at about 5500 feet in elevation and were enjoying a bite to eat, when we noticed nasty looking clouds coming in and started to hear the rumble of thunder.










At this point, we abandoned the idea of climbing higher and decided it was time to start back down the mountain. In hindsight, we should have sheltered in this tunnel for a while.










But not knowing what was coming, we decided to push on thinking that we could skirt the storm. Wrong! About five minutes after I took this photo, a thunder cell came right over the top of us and Mother Nature absolutely unleashed a full package of wind, hail, rain, lightening and thunder all over us. We pulled off the side of the road and huddled, wet and shivering, under a rock outcropping for about 30 minutes, waiting for the worst of the storm to move off. It was quite a show, and we felt very small.

We were still about 20 miles from our car at this point, at about 4500 feet and once the skies brightened a bit, we decided to make a dash for it. The rain was coming down at a steady pace but we blasted down the parkway because it was better than huddling under that rock with water dripping down our backs.

About five miles from the car, we had another cell come over, but there was no cover at this point, so we just pedaled like crazy. I was trailing my wife, normally somewhat of a timid descender, and I have never seen her push so hard on a downhill. We hit 45 MPH at one point - nothing like the clap of thunder to spur you on.

We made it back to our car safely, but wet, cold and strangely elated.

Back to my boring commute on monday...can't wait


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You`re killing us, Woodway! That`s some awfully tasty looking riding. Again.
Carolina slickrock? Who`da thunk? How did you find the parkway as far as traffic goes? Drier luck next time 

Thanks for the cassette info. To tell the truth, HG-type sprockets look shark toothed to me even when they`re new.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was thinking of taking the weekend off but those photo's are making me think it's time to pull the mountain bike back out. 

13,000 on a cassette?! How often do you change your chain? Every 200 miles?

The wind wasn't as bad yesterday. A manageable 10mph


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I encountered a psycho driver on my way home yesterday. A car a ways in front of me was at a light in the right lane with a right blinker on. Then the driver started backing up with the wheel cranked to one side. The car overshot the left turn lane and was hanging out into the left lane. After some questionable driving skills covering every possible lane, the car finally settled in the left turn lane (right blinker still on). Then the light turned green, and the driver just started going, even though we didn't have a green arrow and there was oncoming traffic. Luckily, the oncoming car braked and the clueless driver went on without a care in the world.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@bedwards - I change my chain around 2000 miles, give or take.

@rodar - We rode on thursday and the traffic was no problem at all. Long stretches with no cars coming by - it was very quiet. When the cars did come by, they gave us plenty of room. I cannot speak for other parts of the Parkway, but around Asheville the pavement was really good quality. It was a pretty pleasent ride (until the storm came).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I now have cargo capacity on my folder 
It`s a small front platform, modeled after one I`ve been using on my commuter for a couple years now, except that this one can be quickly removed and folded up. The extra clamp around my steering riser stays on the bike when the rack comes off. Packing size is 8 x 10.5 x ~5/8.

In other news, tomorrow is my birthday, and it`s supposed to be a nice day, so my wife consented to a tandem day wherever I want. Now, to figure out where that`s going to be.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

Nice rack, and happy birtheaster!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Wrong tool for the job!*

We did have a nice day yesterday, but a lot of it was rough. Sand and tandems don`t get along very well, neither do tandems with trail obstacles designed to keep motorcycles out. We`ve had to wind through those narrow stock gate things where they force you into a tight U-turn, and those were bad enough, but yesterday`s trail had two places where we had to portage up and over a fence via ladder .

Today I got in about three hours worth of local single track for the first time in a few years. Good thing I like comedy! I forgot how much work true mtbing is, and I hurt all over, but had a lot of fun and will probably go back for more sometime soon. No pics from the tandem ride, but I couldn`t resist snapping a few of the new baby in action.

Thanks, Sizzler!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> We did have a nice day yesterday, but a lot of it was rough. Sand and tandems don`t get along very well, neither do tandems with trail obstacles designed to keep motorcycles out. We`ve had to wind through those narrow stock gate things where they force you into a tight U-turn, and those were bad enough, but yesterday`s trail had two places where we had to portage up and over a fence via ladder .
> 
> Today I got in about three hours worth of local single track for the first time in a few years. Good thing I like comedy! I forgot how much work true mtbing is, and I hurt all over, but had a lot of fun and will probably go back for more sometime soon. No pics from the tandem ride, but I couldn`t resist snapping a few of the new baby in action.
> 
> Thanks, Sizzler!


Wow, good thing it was your birthday! Sounds "fun"

Next time you MTB on the folder, snap a pic of other riders' jaws dropping!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That is awesome, rodar. :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet pics rodar, and happy b-day!

I got in one last ride on sunday before I was back to work today. My wife and I went with friends to the central part of Washington State, just over the Columbia River to ride an area called Ancient Lake. If you have never been to Washington State, the difference between West of the Cascade Range and East of the Cascade Range is quite interesting - to the west it's "the Evergreen State" and to the east is shrub-steppe grassland.

Ancient Lake is a series of Coulees and Potholes that were formed when flood waters scoured the land during the Missoula Floods thousands of years ago. Being a bit of a geology geek, I love coming over to this part of the state to gawk.

We rode about 19 miles and had a great time. The trails were starting to get get loose and sandy from lack of moisture. That, plus the heat and the rattlensnakes keeps up from riding this area much past the end of April. Quite a change from the cool, moist, rooty forest riding we do here in the Seattle area.

Imagine the amount of water required to scour out a coulee this size:


















Water-filled potholes:


















Fast, fun trails below:


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had my first non-daylight saving commute today. The ride in was good because it's a bit lighter for now. The ride home got dusky so I'll be breaking out the night lights I think.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> If you have never been to Washington State, the difference between West of the Cascade Range and East of the Cascade Range is quite interesting - to the west it's "the Evergreen State" and to the east is shrub-steppe grassland.


No, it doesn`t look very PNWish. Actually, it reminds me a lot of southern ID. Is the waterfall that stars in the second pothole pic also hiding in the pic just above it?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for the pix and Missoula Floods link, Woodway, that was interesting. The ride looks great!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, no activity here all day yesterday than BAM!

Rodar, is that a 9er you're riding on those trails? It looks like it would really roll over stuff.

Woodway, you don't get to complain any more about your commute if you get to ride areas like that. I want to ride it.

I had a blissfully windless commute this morning. Ahhh. I took the cross bike out on my mountain biking trails this weekend. It's a lot harder than a MTB, that's for sure.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Mine was very cold, but I made it in record time!


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

Brr it was a chilly ride to work this morning (all 5 minutes of it) at about 35*, but at least the sun was out. Probably should have worn better gloves and something to cover my head, but I'm still figuring out how to match my gear with the conditions. Today is my third day commuting and the only downside that I have found is that my days feel longer because I just want to leave and go ride!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, no activity here all day yesterday than BAM!
> 
> Rodar, is that a 9er you're riding on those trails? It looks like it would really roll over stuff.
> 
> ...


Niner in training.
Woodway already doesn`t get to complain.
I need to try a cross bike. No, on second thought, I`d better not.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice p08757 ! Whereabouts are you?

32F and drizzle on and off. After the recent Butterball turkey sighting, I could not resist checking a 1 gallon maple syrup jug on the side of the road, as that would be worth over $50. It was capped, but empty. :bluefrown:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

p08757 said:


> Mine was very cold, but I made it in record time!


Cool! What was your record?


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I need to try a cross bike. No, on second thought, I`d better not.


I love my Nashbar CX 

Most of my ride consists of riding down a road that they are widening from 8 lanes to 16, so needless to say they are constantly re routing and changing the "bike path". But this week they have finally laid down pavement so even though the road is "closed" I no longer have to go back and forth across the main road to ride safely. Just get to deal with a little dirt and so far I have not had to dodge any construction equipment.

It's not even "Summer" yet though and I am already arriving to work with a back full of sweat. I am really thinking it is time to consider a rack and panniers....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...I need to try a cross bike. No, on second thought, I`d better not.


The trails you posted your Friday bike on look like they would be prime cross bike riding. Better than these:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> No, it doesn`t look very PNWish. Actually, it reminds me a lot of southern ID. Is the waterfall that stars in the second pothole pic also hiding in the pic just above it?


Yup, same waterfall! There are several waterfalls in the area. Most of the water is a result of irrigation runoff...this whole area is part of the Columbia Basin Project and despite the fact that the area gets only about 9" of rain a year, they grow all kinds of amazing stuff using water taken from the Columbia River.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

First ride on the Ogre this morning. It was glorious 

If you have to go back to work after a week off, going on a new Ogre is the way to do it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ohh, what a sweet-looking ride, CB! (Drool, Drool). What kind of tires do you have mounted up on it?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

2.35 Big Apples. They're a swap from the previous commuter... about due for replacement actually.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks for the pics, guys.

Blew into town cranking top gear (about 100 gear inches) at 80-90 rpm. Nice tail wind.

Returning later, I either had a road intimidation or a distracted pickup driver who had me a split second from ditching before he got on the brakes. There was no oncoming or following traffic so I don't get it. I wasn't holding him up one iota. He braked hard then paused before passing as if it was the first time he had a chance to look for oncoming traffic when he had a clear left lane for his entire approach. Clocking my speed or more too close intimidation? It is a straight slight uphill run with at least a 1/4 mile line of sight to my bright jacket and lights. So even if texting, his not seeing me doesn't make much sense unless he was using only he center line to correct his knee steering. So I guess it was outright intimidation to see if I would ditch. Nice. I have enough trouble with drivers who don't see me. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

ender. said:


> I love my Nashbar CX


Yeah, that`s what I`m afraid of :skep:



CommuterBoy said:


> First ride on the Ogre this morning. It was glorious
> 
> If you have to go back to work after a week off, going on a new Ogre is the way to do it.


Woohoo, new bike on board! 
And another great sunrise grabshot.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Ohh, what a sweet-looking ride, CB! (Drool, Drool).


+1, ogling the ogre. :yesnod:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

+2, nice ogre


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks guys. I'm especially proud of the camo bar tape...really sets it off IMO :lol: 

Bummed to put the fenders on, but I'm going to have to...rain is in the forecast. It also needs a front derailleur (it's coming), and I'm working out stem height... cutting the steerer tube in the next couple days after I ride it a bit more and adjust.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ the camo tape is definitely a nice touch. Weren't you happily running the Access without a front derailleur, though?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ For the commute, yes. I rode it with no front D for a couple years. It had a road double on it. But I put a mountain triple and a front D on it for touring...and I hope to do some more of that with this bike, so I wanted it to be ready to tour and be a little more trail friendly. I got a mountain triple with my REI dividend, and I'm going to put the front D on so that it's ready for trail or tour without robbing parts from the mountain bike.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

I have a round trip commute @ 24 mi of pavement or fire road (runs parallel with road 80% of trip) depending on which I decide to ride. Rolling on a Motobecane 29 X-9, and it is faster than my hybrid 700c even on the pavement with dirt tires. Just put a Magicshine headlight on instead of those stupid little AAA battery lights, so my commute is MUCH better (7pm-6am). Thinking about trying out those drop bar ends in addition to my regular bar ends.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey rodar - I meant to ask you how the folder handled the trails? Around here, those small tires would never work on all the roots we ride, but the gears are turning in my head...with my biz travel having a folder along could make for some fun evening trail rides in less rooty places...hmmm...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> I have a round trip commute @ 24 mi of pavement or fire road (runs parallel with road 80% of trip) depending on which I decide to ride. Rolling on a Motobecane 29 X-9, and it is faster than my hybrid 700c even on the pavement with dirt tires.


That sounds like a (long) great route! What do you mean by "29 x 9"?

I guess I`m on the outside when it comes to the camo bartape, I hate camo anything. That Ogre sure looks mean, though! It has 622 wheels, doesn`t it? With those tires, it must be a full fledged car crusher!

Woodway, off roading is where the 20 inch wheels go to $h1t. It was fun in a comical sort of way, but IMO they are not viable for serious MTBing. I found a front tire very much like a miniature Conti Travel Contact, which helps a lot on smooth dirt, but you really have to hump it over my rocks or your roots, and you`re in constant danger of an endo. On pavement, I continue to be amazed at how well the bike rides and handles. It really does live up to the propoganda in that respect. If you`re interrested, call Bike Friday and they`ll find somebody near you with a bike similar to what you`re considering and willing to let you try it out. That`s what I did before I ordered mine.

EDIT: Sorry, Woodway- I got off track. Since you already said "no roots", I assume you also mean no rocks and no ruts? If that`s the case, then what comes to my mind is pretty much Sunday Stroll paths, yes? In that case, sure it`ll work, but isn`t any bike happy on those trails? Hope that helps, though somehow it looks like I just spit out a stream of not very helpful gibberish


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Beautiful but chilly morning. Headwind no matter which way I turned:thumbsup:

CB, the ogre looks great! Definitely a little (lot) jealous!


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## rusheleven (Jan 19, 2012)

I punched a minivan this morning. He tried to merge into me. Left a big dent in his rear fender. Felt kinda bad, but it did keep me from getting hit. Inconsiderate driver has hopefully learned a lesson. And i hope the dent pops out.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks guys. I'm especially proud of the camo bar tape...really sets it off IMO :lol: Bummed to put the fenders on, but I'm going to have to...rain is in the forecast.


+1 on nice bike. Torn between a monster cross Singular, the Ogre, or a fatbike as my next addition to the stable. No money but one can dream, right?

Painting the fenders, in the tan or sand color of the camo, or even camo would complete the aesthetic.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hope that helps, though somehow it looks like I just spit out a stream of not very helpful gibberish


Helpful, thanks! When I saw your pics, I had visions of a folder bike that I could take with me on trips to ride mellow singletrack, but it sounds like it's most at home on gravel or paved trails/roads. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I just need to recalibrate my thinking a bit...

What does your Bike Friday weigh?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> That sounds like a (long) great route! What do you mean by 29 X-29?:


Sorry that should have been "Motobecane Fantom 29 X-9". Yeah it's a good ride and helps me knock off the pounds (from 310#'s down to @ 230#'s in 11 months). Only bad thing is we get some stiff breezes down here in S.W. Az and it's ALWAYS A HEADWIND!!:madmax: no matter what direction I'm riding. Now that spring has sprung, it's nice to ride, even at 0600 am it's about 60-65F.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

got the fenders on the Ogre... Brian, good idea on the camo fenders... maybe camo duct tape? That would be easier than paint... I'll see if I can find the same pattern.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^The deer won`t see you comming until it`s too late!

EDIT: And then they`ll nibble those Big old Apples from the midst of their road kill


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had been eyeing a potential shortcut between two paved roads on my route, across the top of a flood control dam in E. Barre. I suspected it was not actually shorter but it does avoid the rotary and some down and then uphill through E Barre village. At first I thought it was fenced, but the chainlink is only to protect dodos from falling over the walls of the concrete spillway. It is a flood control dam only, it does not impound any water like most dams around here do. It is dry except for the normally unimpressive Jail Branch River running through it.

It worked fine, you could pedal around the pipe gate and it’s not posted at all. On the far end you get to the spillway and chain link, and you get to do a short MTB down the rocky embankment, steep enough that I did not make it back up this a.m.

When I got home I googled it and it was quite fascinating, because it was originally built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) from 1933-1935, 84,000 cubic yards of rock, mostly done by hand! This was close on the heels of the flood of '27 that killed 85 people. In the winter, they worked at the quarry to get rock for the dam, basically following the same route I take to work. They rode the 3 miles in open trucks, and that was in the winter of 1933 when it hit 40 & 50 below (F). The camp for up to 2000 workers was located at a farm on the end of Reservoir Rd., also on my route (last pic).


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> got the fenders on the Ogre... Brian, good idea on the camo fenders... maybe camo duct tape? That would be easier than paint... I'll see if I can find the same pattern.


Nice bike....

I just don't get why they had to add the seat tube to top tube brace...

It should not be at all neccessary


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dam nice photos MTBX! Thanks for sharing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had been eyeing a potential shortcut between two paved roads on my route, across the top of a flood control dam in E. Barre. I suspected it was not actually shorter but it does avoid the rotary and some down and then uphill through E Barre village.


Long short cuts are cool:thumbsup:

I thought I had found one yesterday. It would have added a few miles of woods riding and avoided a few miles of narrow, hilly, winding, no shoulder, poorly tarred country road. It started off as a maintained but gated dirt path but dwindled to trails. Unfortunately I couldn't find the outlet. So, back I went to the beginning and did the aforementioned roads. I'm going to have to do some exploring to see if there's a way through. This was posted near the entrance.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Nice bike....
> 
> I just don't get why they had to add the seat tube to top tube brace...
> 
> It should not be at all neccessary


I have had the same thought. From a physics standpoint it doesn't make sense. I think they just liked the look. Probably in the design phase they were playing with gussets like it has on the downtube, and then thought "hey, we could put a whole tube right there. That looks kind of cool. It's already on the heavy side, why not?"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have had the same thought. From a physics standpoint it doesn't make sense. I think they just liked the look. Probably in the design phase they were playing with gussets like it has on the downtube, and then thought "hey, we could put a whole tube right there. That looks kind of cool. It's already on the heavy side, why not?"


On my MTB they added the same brace so they could move the top tube down on the seat tube and increase the standover, but they only had to do this on the smaller frames where the standover would otherwise be unacceptably high.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> got the fenders on the Ogre... Brian, good idea on the camo fenders... maybe camo duct tape? That would be easier than paint... I'll see if I can find the same pattern.


I thought the same, but I wasn't sure about your sensibilities on using duct tape as a finishon your pride and joy.  I thought I saw some somewhere. Looks like you can get a match here:

Camo Duct Tape

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rusheleven said:


> I punched a minivan this morning. He tried to merge into me. Left a big dent in his rear fender. Felt kinda bad, but it did keep me from getting hit. Inconsiderate driver has hopefully learned a lesson. And i hope the dent pops out.


Dent versus mangled leg or dead is no contest. Andy of Yellow Jersey (bike shop) in Madison, WI, says slamming the roof of sedans is also effective and better than being squashed like a bug. My brother found slamming his fist down on the trunk of the car that jus cut him off and slammed on its brakes. Of course, that was after he crawled out form under the bumper. A rear fender kick might have avoided that. 

BrianMc


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## Tystevens (Nov 2, 2011)

Commute this morning was perfect. Just warm enough not to have to wear the jacket, nice and crisp air, beautiful clear sky. Legs felt great, average speed was, well, above average, just a great morning to be on a bike.

This afternoon will be the opposite, based on the occasional smattering of rain drops hitting my office window and the gusting winds (up to 41 mph according to weather.com) that will be right in my face 70% of the way. Looks like that cold front got here a few hours earlier than expected. Did I mention I didn't wear my jacket this morning? 

Just wanted to complain a bit ...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Frozen in the AM, a sloppy wet mess in the PM. Poor drivetrain...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

woodway said:


> What does your Bike Friday weigh?


Rodar - I found the weights on the BF website. I am all over that website - seriously considering N+1. The wife was not totally convinced until I told her I would get one for her too. I think she is almost there...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> The wife was not totally convinced until I told her I would get one for her too.


Good thinking :thumbsup:.

If you order two at the same time, I believe you get some kind of self referal credit. Fire off an email to them- they`ll respond quickly. You probably saw they have used and returned bikes for sale on the site. Also, ask if anything special comes to mind because their customization prices don`t seem a whole lot more than the stock bikes. In my case, custom actually came out several hundred less because I went for V-brakes, plain seat post and 8 speed while the stock offering was BB7, Thudbster, and 9s. Oh, 27 pounds naked for my Llama with 1.5 tires.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> IWhen I got home I googled it and it was quite fascinating, because it was originally built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) from 1933-1935, 84,000 cubic yards of rock, mostly done by hand!


Those guys sure did some nice work- pretty much any old stone work can be attributed either to CCC or WPA, at least around my area. Probably a lot more stone work out your way.


bedwards1000 said:


> I'm going to have to do some exploring to see if there's a way through.


With camera! Was your dead end over the same rocky creek bed type roads that you posted yesterday? I believe you when you said it was hard going on the cross bike, but it did make for a nice picture.


rusheleven said:


> And i hope the dent pops out.


You`re a lot more forgiving than I am


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Long short cuts are cool:thumbsup:
> 
> I thought I had found one yesterday. It would have added a few miles of woods riding and avoided a few miles of narrow, hilly, winding, no shoulder, poorly tarred country road. It started off as a maintained but gated dirt path but dwindled to trails. Unfortunately I couldn't find the outlet. So, back I went to the beginning and did the aforementioned roads. I'm going to have to do some exploring to see if there's a way through. This was posted near the entrance.


That does look like good exploring! Having lived in the area, I was curious where it was and saw the topo map F&W posted. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - Morgan Meadow WMA No through trails showed up on there, but of course that doesn't mean much. The "meadow" looks like tough going though, it's a big wetland in the middle of the parcel. Have fun & good luck!


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Chilly commute today! Temperature on the bank sign said 27F and I believe it! Tired legs but the sunrise was gorgeous. Wish I had taken*** pictures to share.

Pretty cool that so many of you guys have some off road options on your commutes!

***Edit for spelling


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> That does look like good exploring! Having lived in the area, I was curious where it was and saw the topo map F&W posted. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - Morgan Meadow WMA No through trails showed up on there, but of course that doesn't mean much. The "meadow" looks like tough going though, it's a big wetland in the middle of the parcel. Have fun & good luck!


Yeah, I've been scouring the satellite and topo maps for trails. This morning I took the route around the back of it looking for a way in. I was within a few thousand feet on a trail in from the other side but didn't find a connecting trail. I'll have to go explore it on my mountain bike when I have more time. I did find another entrance on a different road but I don't think it goes through.

I turned my phone GPS on on my first trip in at the point I turned around. This is my track from the highest point.

No Rodar, the trails weren't quite that slippery. Most of the other ones weren't either. I'll have to bring the camera in and find that bog.

Today's commute was awesome! Took the long way as I mentioned and even a small trail spur.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

I feel like I cheated...

After riding my bike over and staying with the lady friend, I had less than a 1/2 mile to ride to campus this morning. One of the most pleasant commutes ever.

I also took another route home last night that added 5 miles to my ride, but I got to ride some nice gravel road that dumps out onto a paved MUP which is right near wear my neighborhood is. However, I trade construction for cars doing 50+ MPH, but hey, at least there is a bike lane!

*Comfy in it's cube today.*


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Second morning in a row that I've seen a guy commuting on a unicycle. I assume that he doesn't go too far, but it looks fun (and somehow it is so much less dorky/douchy than the segway commuter I occasionally see)

Last commute for me until late next week. Tomorrow is moving day, and Sunday is new puppy day!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The Ogre is making snow in April a little more tolerable :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

New bikes make everything more fun. Even new tires on old bikes.

I haven't picked up my new puppy yet. Is "New Puppy Day" always the Sunday after Easter or does it change from year to year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

snOgre.
All we got was more wind.


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

Pollen counts are through the roof, but I just couldn't drive today. Now I'm regretting it - asthma, itchy eyes, sneezing. But the wheels beneath my feet...It was fun while I was doing it...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good. I found a new roll of hockey tape that was re-homed with a coworker, and a brain. OK, it was one of those squishy hand exerciser/stress reliever thingys in the shape of a brain.


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

^^^Ewww brains....

Legs were TIRED on the way home yesterday. I think I may have over done it a bit this week. Took today off.

I'm pretty excited though, my Cateye tells me that my commuting / utility miles are up to just a hair over 190 miles! Glad to be back on the horse:thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I found a way through Morgan Meadow but I'll hesitate to call it a trail. It was mostly riding a cross bike through the woods. Crazy place to be riding that bike. When I got back to the road it was like angles were lifting me it was so smooth! The trails started good until I crossed the wet land area and then they faded to a stream bed and logging paths. This was the end of the good trail. I didn't ride across because it was about a foot deep with logs under the water. Too cold for a swim.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold. And hot. The thermometer has been stuck at 32F in the a.m., but probably went up 10 while I rode. Plus the first part of the ride has more downhill and the second part is all uphill, so it's hard to be comfy the whole way. I took off my light beanie and switched to regular mtb gloves at the dam and took a couple pix.. Barre City was buried in low clouds. Work is not far from the white windmill barely visible on the left side of the ridge (2nd pic). I haven't been able to make it up that steep grass/dirt rock strip up to the top of the dam - dang!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Very cool pix bedwards and mtbx!

I can just see the sky getting light when I get to the office now. I'll be riding to work in the daylight soon!

Hey, when you all share your pics, can you resize them a little smaller? I try to make mine no more than 800 wide. Otherwise they blow off the side of the screen and to read your text I have to scroll back and forth, not only on your post but on all the posts below yours. Not a huge deal and don't stop sharing!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm shooting for life size . Actually, my native images are 2560 wide so MTBR is already scaling them back. Maybe this is the excuse you need to do that computer upgrade. The images fit fine on my screen. 

Try holding the control key and using the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Yeah it's not a huge deal. My screen resolution is 1024 x 1280 and they are blowing off the right side. When I zoom out it's hard for me to read the text. I am OLD after all 

[On Edit: Actually, bedwards, you called it, I had zoomed my browser in to 125%, when I zoom out to 100% I can see the whole photo. But the text is pretty small. Time for some reading glasses I guess!. Sorry for the whining everyone!]


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thanks Woodway. I thought I fixed that using the camera settings because I hate to mess with them afterwards, but it was kind of a guess. I changed the setting again, a trial pic out the window...

Edit: Well that didn't work I guess I'll have to read the instructions.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool Pics MTBX. Well not so much the tractor one... 

Another fine spring day around here. Even my yellow glasses couldn't cheer it up this morning. Drizzly snow/rain for the whole ride today.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

It was raining about an inch an hour for the ride home, so I got soaked....(no rain gear).

Then it snowed at +2C....

Just an inch build-up.

Rode in on the slicks this morning....I stood up on a spiral ramp over the LRT tracks...rear-end went out and I went down on my shoulder...

Should stayed sitting....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Hey, when you all share your pics, can you resize them a little smaller? I try to make mine no more than 800 wide. Otherwise they blow off the side of the screen and to read your text I have to scroll back and forth, not only on your post but on all the posts below yours. Not a huge deal and don't stop sharing!


Thanks, Woodway. They float off the side of my screen too (at least I can scroll it back now), but I wasn`t going to say anything. I try to save my whine time for work where it feels better 



bedwards1000 said:


> I didn't ride across because it was about a foot deep with logs under the water. Too cold for a swim.


Hey man, whining is for Woodway and me- you`re cutting in on our territory!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

MTBX - your pic is fine now that I have my browser zoom set to 100%. I dug out a pair of reading glasses from my desk so I can read the text too :yesnod:

jeffscott - ouch! Hope you are OK...

CB - it's sunny and beautiful here in Seattle today, so that's gonna be coming your way soon...

On including pics - what I do is upload mine to picasaweb (Google's free online photo sharing thingie). You can upload them in any resolution you want...when you grab a link to the photo picasa gives you a little drop down for what resolution you want the photo to display. Just past the link in between







tags in your post and google does all the resizing work for you. Easy as pie!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here's my picture again, just for you woodway


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's my picture again, just for you woodway


LOL! I clicked the thumbnail a few times and couldn't get it to open.

I wasn't whining. I just didn't want to mis-represent. I did lots of cool things in that ride but ridding across the stream wasn't one of them.

jeffscott, sorry about the shoulder. That's where I always seen to land on those loss of traction crashes. I'm not sure my right one will ever be the same. (crunch, crunch crunch)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's my picture again, just for you woodway


Nice! I was able to zoom my browser to 400% and the text was HUGE! :thumbsup:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

26 and partly cloudy, still lots of snow...)O:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

65 and windy. Airzound worked. Driver outdragged. Back before high school let out and the real danger begins. All, in all a nice ride.

Nice pics. Gottagitmesum. 

BrianMc


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

1km shy of 100km this week. I'll have to do a bit extra this weekend.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Took the "long" way home from work today. Somehow managed to get a flat riding the gravel road (skinny tires @ 100 psi I guess don't like sharp rocks) but got it fixed and then swung by the bike shop to pick up some more tubes and CO2.

Since my car is in the shop, the lady friend and I will be riding our bikes to the local watering hole tonight and I have to say, I am a little excited.

Oh yeah, also saw this little snake laying in the road (luckily I think he was dead). Also, saw two gators and a turkey but did not stop to snap a pic.








Red and black, friend of Jack. Red and yellow....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ender. said:


> Oh yeah, also saw this little snake laying in the road (luckily I think he was dead). Also, saw two gators and a turkey but did not stop to snap a pic.


Oh yeah, we pedal past gators all the time, no need to stop and take a pic! :eekster:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

I thought that snake was a beaded necklace. Glad I live in Alaska where there are no wild snakes! ;p

50 degree sunny commute home tonight! Snow is melting away. About 25 degree temp swing from AM to PM.

My short walk along my spring commute, snow is riding in the AM, and deep slush in the PM.









Ogre looking like an Ogre!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice JordyB! We've got oodles of ogres!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s STILL windy, and cloudy/damp even though the forecast said we should be basking in windy sunshine by now. I was going to take a weekend camping trip down towards Carson Valley, but not so sure now. Have to see how it looks tomorrow.

Hope you`re okay by monday, Jeff.



woodway said:


> On including pics - what I do is upload mine to picasaweb (Google's free online photo sharing thingie)....
> ...Just past the link in between
> 
> 
> ...


For some reason, I haven`t been able to insert images for about a year now. It used to work for me, and I see it still works for other people. Anybody else no longer able to manage it?


JordyB said:


> 26 and partly cloudy, still lots of snow...)O:


There`s more snow in your picture than we had all "winter"!


mtbxplorer said:


> Oh yeah, we pedal past gators all the time, no need to stop and take a pic! :eekster:


Do the gators and the moose get along well together, or are they constantly fighting it out?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> It was raining about an inch an hour for the ride home, so I got soaked....(no rain gear).
> 
> Then it snowed at +2C....
> 
> ...


That sounds like a bad night all around, hope your shoulder is not hurt too bad.



rodar y rodar said:


> For some reason, I haven`t been able to insert images for about a year now. It used to work for me, and I see it still works for other people. Anybody else no longer able to manage it?
> 
> There`s more snow in your picture than we had all "winter"!
> Do the gators and the moose get along well together, or are they constantly fighting it out?


 I only tried that image method a couple weeks ago, but no dice.

*All* our gators get along with the moose fine, but on Weds. nite the Gov tried to chase 4 bears away from his birdfeeders while dressed in less than the bears, and got charged, barely making it back in the house safely. I think I'll send him pajamas.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> For some reason, I haven`t been able to insert images for about a year now. It used to work for me, and I see it still works for other people. Anybody else no longer able to manage it?


When the image does not show up using the







tags, it's usually a permissions problem with the image. The image has to be at the end of a publically-accessible URL...you may be able to see it, but you have to make sure that everyone has permission to see it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

In case anybody is interrested, I just noticed that Harris has Schmidt E6 secondaries on closeout for $80. Tempting, but I`d better pass.

Schmidt Schmidt E6 Secondary Headlight - harriscyclery.net


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## m85476585 (Jun 7, 2007)

I was almost hit by a minivan yesterday. Some kind of delivery service. I was riding along in a bike lane about to pass the van on the right going up a hill (not a good idea, I guess), and when I'm right next to him, he starts moving into my bike lane! At first I think he's just an idiot, but before I can react he keeps moving right. I was able to squeeze by just as he turns into a driveway that I didn't know existed. When I looked back and his car was inches from my rear wheel. I never paid attention to the driveway before because while there is a ramp in the curb, 10' later there is a tall fence that extends the length of the block, so it never even registered with me that someone might turn there.

I stopped and yelled at him, and he seemed genuinely embarassed/apologetic and said he didn't see me. I sort of felt bad for yelling at him but I also don't. I escaped shaken up but otherwise unscathed, though I think I have an even more cynical view of drivers vs. bikes now.

I think I need to work on making some obnoxiously bright daytime running lights now. I have a set of Reelights, but they are mounted at hub level, so not very visible. They are also not very bright. I could run one of my rear flashers like the Superflash Turbo during the day, but I don't like to drain the batteries, and it's a small extra thing to remember to turn it on and off all the time. I'd like to build some lights that run off a sizeable (but not heavy) rechargeable battery that automatically turn on when I'm moving. I also want them to have a large lit area (about the size of car headlights/tail lights) for best visibility as I've found small blinking LEDs are not very noticeable from a car.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I got tapped by a bus on Friday. I was waiting at the lights and the bus pulled alongside to turn left. The driver mumbled something out the window at me. I said I couldn't hear him so she shook hi head as if to say "don't worry" so I left it at that. Next thing I felt a bump from my back wheel. The bus had a long back end and as it turned around the corner the tail hit my wheel. Thankfully it was just a light touch!


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

m85476585 said:


> ...
> I stopped and yelled at him, and he seemed genuinely embarassed/apologetic and said he didn't see me. I sort of *felt bad for yelling at him* but I also don't....


I wouldn't - he passed you at one point I'm guessin - at least you were in his mirror at one point.

I have no love for people claiming they did not see 'X' (mostly)
The responsibility of maneuvering a 2k lb vehicle in public is non-existent in most drivers.
It should be treated as one of the most important things you do all day (unless you are a brain surgeon, or a rocket scientist)
uggh! :madman:


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## m85476585 (Jun 7, 2007)

I don't think he ever passed me. He was stopped at a light, and I was coming from behind. 1000 feet later I was starting to pass him. By the time he decided to turn (he seemed confused about where he was going), I was right in his blind spot. But yes, he should have seen me coming from behind before I tried to pass him.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

m85476585 said:


> I think I need to work on making some obnoxiously bright daytime running lights now. I have a set of Reelights, but they are mounted at hub level, so not very visible. They are also not very bright. I could run one of my rear flashers like the Superflash Turbo during the day, but I don't like to drain the batteries, and it's a small extra thing to remember to turn it on and off all the time. I'd like to build some lights that run off a sizeable (but not heavy) rechargeable battery that automatically turn on when I'm moving. I also want them to have a large lit area (about the size of car headlights/tail lights) for best visibility as I've found small blinking LEDs are not very noticeable from a car.


You might read this thread: http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/light-reflection-side-visibility-694750.html

I aim the 1000 lumen apiece headlights out at 45 degrees for day visibility. My tail lights are over 350 lumens combined.

All the lights and hi-vis clothing will not be seen by drivers not paying enough attention to wielding 2 tons or more of deadly vehicle. I have found a parade-ground level shout has worked to avoid disaster, the AIrzound is great if you have time to use it. Brakes are a great answer in some cases. Beating on the side of a crowding vehicle is fine if it saves life and limb.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oy, two close ones. Glad you both walked away unscathed.

RPK, were you between the bus and the curb, or over a lane with the bus on the "inside"?

...6585, if he never passed you, no rear light would have helped yesterday, but it might in the future. Can you just use rechargeables in the SF? My tail light is dyno powered now, but before I had that I also thought about hooking up an external battery to my old tail light by a jumper lead and dummy batteries. I`m not much on electronics, but I`m pretty sure there`s a way to wire up several batteries in order to get the same voltage as the one to three in a blinkie, but with much higher capacity.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

It was two lanes, I was between them at the head of the queue. The lane on the right was going straight with me and left lane was turning left.

I've put it down to one of those things I'm learning as a cycle commuter to be wary of.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, glad you both are OK.

RPK, I wonder what the bus driver said - obviously he saw you if he said something - probably "Watch this!" or "You better pedal like crazy".

...6585, scarey but true that most drivers don't check for bikes alongside them before turning, even when there is a bike lane. I guess you just educated one.


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## Bikin' Bric (Sep 7, 2003)

I just did my first commute to work last week, it was great, can't wait to do more. I have alot of respect for you guys / gals that ride everyday. Hopefully I can work myself up to it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RatchAttack said:


> I just did my first commute to work last week, it was great, can't wait to do more.


:thumbsup: Glad you enjoyed it- that`s the number one reason to do it for most of us!

Woodway, I don`t think it`s a permision thing that now prevents me from inserting images. Most of the ones I`ve tried lately have been from my own images hosted on other public sites and from work, where I don`t have access to my photo library. My Photobucket albums are all designated public, the ones on Crazyguy are viewable by anybody, and ones I`ve tried reposting from old mtbr posts don`t show up even for me, when I`m logged in. I kind of wonder if its because of an outdated browser. Experiment with my home computer:








EDIT: okay, it does still work from my home computer (where I really don`t need it), at least with small Ogres.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Joyous summer like commute on the road bike. No Heavy clothes, no cold temps, no serious wind, 50 degrees warming to 80 later today. I remember that I can make it to work in about 35 minutes instead of the hour it takes in the worst case winter commutes.

I'm taking the afternoon off to do the first wave of garden planting.

(Repeat for tomorrow)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ We're not quite there, but I did get to shed a layer... 40 this morning, will be 60 for the way home. I dragged myself out of bed 20 minutes early and took the Ogre on its first singlegrack adventure this morning. I got off of it in a cool section of pine forest trail to take a picture, and I almost couldn't find it again because of the camo


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Wow. Glad you guys are OK! It's always scary having run-ins like that...especially when drivers are purposefully aggressive.

Didn't ride today...legs are still really dead feeling. Not sure what's going on at this point. Last week wasn't anything I haven't done before...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Wow, just read back to find out what you were talking about. 
On Friday morning I actually counted cars... I had 4 pass me going the same direction as me, and 2 going the other way. 6 cars total for my 6 mile commute. I do not envy you guys who are dealing with busses and "real" traffic. I lived and rode in LA lol for a few years, and I get the constant potential for carnage. Glad you guys are OK.


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

No doubt. Fortunately, Episodes like that are very rare. 

Most of my ride is a four lane road with a speed limit of 45mph, though most people go 55 or so on it. Many have it worse than me. I usually just take the lane and hope for the best

I wish I had some more off road options! Especially, because then I could easily justify an Ogre...


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Saturday I rode 40 miles with light wind in 70 degree weather. Today it was 15 degree windchill and 35mph headwind. Not as enjoyable as my weekend ride!


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## m85476585 (Jun 7, 2007)

Good advice on the lights. I've been planning on making some lights for a while, but I never got around to it. I started a thread with some good discussion a while back. I know more rear lights wouldn't have helped in this situation, which is why I want a good front light too. It needs to be bright but securely attached to the bike so no one swipes it (I wouldn't want to use any of my expensive night riding lights).

I considered getting an Airzounds horn, but I don't know that it would have really helped. By the time I was able to react, I was already passed the guy, and by the time he would have reacted to my horn, it would be too late to change the outcome. I can't really think of any situation where it would help to to have a horn, but if someone can give me a good hypothetical situation, I would consider buying one.

Also on a related note, I was driving around last night and over the span of my 5 minute trip I saw at 4 bikes with no lights, barely visible, with chains squeaking so loudly that I could hear them from my car as I passed. I think it's unfortunate that they either don't know why they should have lights or that they choose not to use them. These people are making us look bad, making it harder for drivers to navigate around bikes at night in the city.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I went out yesterday for a ~4 hour road ride on my heavenly backyard loop. Mmmm... sunshine and light winds 
About 15 minutes out, I was repentant for leaving without gloves, but after an hour my fingers were toasty enough. Aside from nice weather, I lucked out and found myself in the middle of a colegiate race, which was pretty cool. Yesterday`s route started with a dirt shortcut directly from my neighborhood to a 25 mile long rolly, curvy road heading out of town. As I was geting close to the pavement, I saw a guy on a road bike toodling along in front of me, so I laid on the gas and caught up with him to chat. He explained that he was out to cheer on his son, and there were several groups of racers already on the road, only the second women`s group still behind us. A few minutes later, we saw the women racers comming up behind us and pulled off to watch them go by and cheer. Eventually, we met up with the other groups heading back after their turn around and did the same. It was kind of fun to watch from so close.



CommuterBoy said:


> I do not envy you guys who are dealing with busses and "real" traffic. I lived and rode in LA lol for a few years, and I get the constant potential for carnage.


I feel for the poor riders with traffic AND ice!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool. Do you ride the McCarran loop? I've wondered about doing that...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I almost couldn't find it again because of the camo


Hey CB, that's a great pic, but I could not help but to think how much better it would be if only your ogre was in it...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Cloudy 36F commute this AM, lots of Right Hook near misses, glad I commute defensively! No ice, but still lots of snow on the bike trails. Having to stick to the roads still...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

m85476585 said:


> ...I want a good front light too. It needs to be bright but securely attached to the bike so no one swipes it ...I considered getting an Airzounds horn... but if someone can give me a good hypothetical situation, I would consider buying one.


Only my dyno light on the errand bike and the bolt on double tail light on The Duchess are not QR and go with me. I also found that you need more power in the day than at night. I can go with half power at night, just fine. But half power in the day had a guy pull out on me.

The Airzound is a good preventative if you need to get a driver's attention (backing out of a drive, for example as they are apt to use the entire road here requiring a lawn excursion). It also prevented a lawn care pickup with trailer wiping me out on my last ride. They tend not to stop and take far too little time to look where they are going, and likely he was not used to the trailer. He started to pull out as I got to him, and I was ready for that, while he did not stop, instead he cut the corner more (I think he completely misjudged my speed and his slow acceleration with lawn chemicals on board. I sprinted for the stop sign of the 4-way ahead as he could not get that long a setup by and back in such a short distance and oncoming traffic would have been a problem. You have to anticipate the need for it, and have your finger ready to fire it, though.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

m85476585 said:


> I was driving around last night and over the span of my 5 minute trip I saw at 4 bikes with no lights, barely visible, with chains squeaking so loudly that I could hear them from my car as I passed.


They were clearly practitioners of that no muffler Harley "at least they can hear me" thing. If they lubed their chains, you wouldn`t know to break out the night vision scope.



CommuterBoy said:


> Cool. Do you ride the McCarran loop? I've wondered about doing that...


Naw, Redrock/395 couterclockwise. Ever taken Redrock Rd? It gets busy during high commute times, but otherwise not much traffic, and very nice pedalling. Upward trending rollers from the south end to the little summit, then curvy downhill through a scenic desert canyon, more rollers through a few miles of widely spaced housing development and ranches, then one last little bit of red rock bounded canyon before it ties back in with the highway. Then a stop at the junction for chocolate milk and a banana, of course  
The loop without any deviations would be just shy of 50 miles, I think. Loud traffic on 395 is a bummer, but the shoulder is about a mile wide, with rumble strip under the white line.

EDIT: A CW loop starting from the north end might be even better. The climbing would be a little bit more condensed, but it would spread out the breaks more evenly.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've driven Red Rock from 395 back a ways to one of the housing developments... but never the whole way into wherever it ties back into whatever it ties back into. Does it pop out in Lemmon Valley (ish)?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The bottom end of Redrock is north of Stead, two exits past the state line. It tees into 395. Lemmon Valley Rd does tie into it, but it covers three or four miles of bumpy dirt. If you ever ride it, do yourself a favor and ride the freeway shoulder for a mile and a half between the southern Cold Springs exit and the Redrock exit. It`s legal and safe but once in a while I see misguided souls pushing bikes up a nasty dirt road along the railroad tracks- yuck! Good frontage road across Cold Springs Valley will be obvious. Satelite images stilll show a portion as unpaved, but the main road has all been paved now for several years. All in all, a lovely way to spend a half day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I hate encountering people going the wrong way in the bike lane. They always hug the inside forcing the person going the right way out into traffic. Luckily, the guy I was headed for this morning briefly moved over into a driveway to let me go by.

I have begun to sort out all of my little repair misfortunes. Last week I fixed my bottom bracket issues. Yesterday, I replaced the spring axle in my Time Aliums. Since the tapered end was loose inside the pedal, I had to slide the one axle out a ways, cut it with a hack saw, and push it back out the other way. One of the cleat screws on my shoes was stripped, so I sawed a groove in the top and was able to get the screw out with a screwdriver and a hammer. I hope my luck starts to improve.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A great commute, 55F and dry, and the quarry trails opened Saturday so I am back on the singletrack for the 2nd half of the commute. The trails are crazy dry for April, dry roots, rocks, super grippy and muck holes are very rare. My route today took me on Lower Mainline, Littlejohn, Rambler, Scrambler, Ridgerunner, Locomotion & Serenity. Littlejohn added this optional feature…it doesn’t look too hard but those exposed bolts are intimidating, so I took the alternate route.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Cool trails. Nice to have that on your commute. Better get your tetanus booster before attempting the bolt route. Is that a bike park? The trails are amazingly dry around here for this time of year and the lakes are low too. Not good for wells. I'm planting my garden as a hedge against riding in the rain.

Incredible weather today. Leaving at noon again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks for the directions Rodar.

The unthinkable happened this morning. I saw, caught, and rode most of the way to work with another bike commuter. Considering the solitude of my commute for the past 6 or 7 years, this is like haley's comet falling out of the sky and landing in my front yard. 

He was slower than me though. And I felt obligated to keep a converstation going. I was stoked someone else was out there, and and at the same time I was trying to figure out how to protect my solitude :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is pretty incredible for somebody that sometimes only sees 6 cars in a trip. I see quite a few cars but have never seen a bike commuter going in the same direction as me. Once an a while I'll see one going the the other direction.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Cool trails. Nice to have that on your commute. Better get your tetanus booster before attempting the bolt route. Is that a bike park? ...Incredible weather today. Leaving at noon again.


It's a trail system, Millstone Trails Association . While they charge $10/day, it is only $40 for a season pass (April-Oct), quite a bargain! On the map below, I can choose any of the trails (in red) from E Barre at the NE to Graniteville Rd., right near the biggest quarry (looks like a big lake on the map).

Enjoy the afternoon and good luck with the garden.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar have you seen the forecast?!?! There are 7's ! And not like 37 or 47, but the 7 is the first number! Seriously! You have to see this!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sock, maybe you could move in with J Seko and you`d both feel luckier by comparison somehow :lol:

Wow, that looks like a lot of trails, Xplorer! I have no idea of the scale, though. Looks like it connects four towns together !?! How far is the spread?

Welcome, CB. I have been watching the forecast, but I`m finding it easy not to get too excited given the recent habit of promising beautiful weekends that go to hell in a handbasket. Is your new commuter recently moved to the area, or just recently started riding to work? Look like he`ll stick with it?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, that looks like a lot of trails, Xplorer! I have no idea of the scale, though. Looks like it connects four towns together !?! How far is the spread?


They say it has 70 miles of trails, but it's pretty compact with squirrely trails, it's only 2.5 miles by road from E Barre village to work in Upper Graniteville. All 4 villages are legally part of "Barre Town", the actual legal municipality. And "Barre Town" surrounds but is governed separately from "Barre City", the downtown I used to go through on my old commute. Yep, that means our plows will go through but not plow in Barre City.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride today. Did a right turn with only a little slowing at the T intersection 0.7 mi form home just as a light-bar-less SUV with Indiana State Police badge on door approached the stop from my right. No, he didn't even bother with the bull horn, CB, unlike in your case. Guess you are special, but you knew that, right?  Might have been different if he was headed my way, or a proper cruiser. 

First town trip mostly in the 48 big ring. WInd at 5 mph or less may be the bigger factor, but I am hoping this is the beginning of real recovery. I signed up for a Habitat 500 ride in less than a month, so I got to get the miles up or I'll be using the SAG a lot!  Got to get the calluses fully in place at least! 

BrianMc


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Had a 15 to 25 MPH headwind the entire ride home. This was my first commute on my single speed. It gave me a bit more of a workout than expected, but that's okay.


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## dru (Sep 4, 2006)

*tiring......*

Going to work was nice with a 30 km/h tailwind. 43 minutes.

The ride home was into the same wind but it had slowed to 20 km/h so it wasn't too too bad. I took the car yesterday; the winds were 50 sustained with gusts to 70....

On the way home today I stopped for milk and cheese and had lots of room in my new MEC pannier. The potato soup is almost ready!

This commuting thing is crazy; I've ridden my bike 26 times in one month.

Drew


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

dru said:


> ...
> This commuting thing is crazy; I've ridden my bike 26 times in one month.
> 
> Drew


:thumbsup: :band:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bedwards`s "geek sheet" results left me pounding my head, and really mixed up, so I finally started keeping my own time/speed records for this week. Hope I can manage to stick with it long enough to get some kind of useful data. I plan to use the same bike, changing between fat, stiff and heavy tires and light, nimble, skinny tires on a weeekly basis. I think three rounds of one week per tire type should start showing a trend. Two commutes on paper is a start, eh?



BrianMc said:


> I signed up for a Habitat 500 ride in less than a month, so I got to get the miles up or I'll be using the SAG a lot!  Got to get the calluses fully in place at least!


Make sure to work up plenty of those calluses in the right places :thumbsup:
How long does the ride take? At least a week, I hope!



p08757 said:


> Had a 15 to 25 MPH headwind the entire ride home. This was my first commute on my single speed. It gave me a bit more of a workout than expected, but that's okay.


Cool. First period, or just the first time on SS?



dru said:


> This commuting thing is crazy; I've ridden my bike 26 times in one month.


...with two weeks still to go. You`ll probably be over 40 rides by the end


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool. First period, or just the first time on SS?


It was my first commute on a SS. The wind did not cooperate, and my backpack was extra full. It actually felt good to huff and puff after the ride.

I try to commute 1 or 2 days a week from March/April through October/November.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rodar: 1 week, and it is only 359 miles, not 500 and not as glacially hilly as Minnesota.

Route: Cover Indiana Bicycle Tour

Not returning to the start point means being dropped off and picked up. I need a rack for the car. I can fit my bike in with two people, but a third person and/or two bikes is an issue and I have no trailer hitch to use one of that ilk. I had a trunk mount one with straps bought in 1980, but it was not the best (understatement) so was recycled for its metal content a decade ago. Anyone have a recommendation for a trunk mount? (2005 Mercury Montego AWD CVT aka Ford Five Hundred evolved into the new Taurus).

I did the Minnesota HFH500 in 2009 before the heavy metal stuff really got to me but I was already having food intolerances and gluten free makes carbo loading a problem, to say the least. On that ride the fourth day was a century, The average was about 70, 509 total if you did the Century (I did).

Saddle time is needed to avoid becoming saddle sore. I did 200 and 250 miles in the weeks before that 500. That degree of training is not required.

BrianMc


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## Huskywolf (Feb 8, 2012)

Got chased by a tailless german shepard & a huge black lab on a native reservation here in CA. The shep came from behind almost biting me and the lab cut me off on a hill lol.... 

I was ready for a fight but they were nice dogs "thankfully" after stopping. 

Was shaking like a leaf after that so i got some extra cardio!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Both dogs at the same time, one at each end? That does sound scary.

Should be a piece of cake, Brian. And a lot nicer with that small group than the big circus rides like RAGBRAI, I bet.

Trunk racks sure come in handy. We bought one several years ago in order to tote our bikes along on a two week vacation. Don`t use it on a weekly basis, but it doesn`t take up a lot of space or screw up FE when not being used. Ours is a Yakima King Joe 2 and sturdy enough that I feel safe even with one tandem or our two porker singles hanging off the back of the car. The locks for the rotating arms are little bit of a hassle to get unlocked simultaneously without an extra set of hands, but I`ve been happy with the purchase. The only other rack I`ve messed with was a piece of crap we bought from X-Mart and I took it back as soon as I saw it out of the box- no way I was going to trust it. My guess is that any of the $100 to $200 Thule or Saris models would be plenty durable and reliable also, maybe a little bit easier to fold and unfold.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*5 days, 5 bikes*



rodar y rodar said:


> Should be a piece of cake, Brian....


A really big piece of cake, the kind of piece where you get to the end and say: "Why did I eat so much cake" Should be fun though. I don't think I've ever done that many miles in one week.



rodar y rodar said:


> Bedwards`s "geek sheet" results left me pounding my head, and really mixed up, so I finally started keeping my own time/speed records for this week. Hope I can manage to stick with it long enough to get some kind of useful data. I plan to use the same bike, changing between fat, stiff and heavy tires and light, nimble, skinny tires on a weeekly basis. I think three rounds of one week per tire type should start showing a trend. Two commutes on paper is a start, eh?


I don't know that the data is useful. I mostly do it to keep a log of my auto miles saved so i know how much I can spend on bike parts. I just added the other columns over the years and let excel do the work. The one thing you really can't account for is the wind. Last night's trip home on my "fastest" bike at a good clip was 17mph but Ive done it at 22 on my "slower" road bike.

I've used a different bike for each of my last 5 commutes. Today's included the mountain bike. I found a trail that lets me ride about 1/3 trails and no major roads and doesn't add any miles to my trip. It does add some time, especially when I have to stop and take pictures.


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## cjohnson (Jul 14, 2004)

*Take the inside.*

If the salmon is hugging the curb or inside line, you can too. Don't move, even if you have to stop. The salmon can at least see the oncoming traffic. Plus, in the States, the far right is where traffic is expected to travel.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I hate encountering people going the wrong way in the bike lane. They always hug the inside forcing the person going the right way out into traffic.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cjohnson said:


> If the salmon is hugging the curb or inside line, you can too. Don't move, even if you have to stop. The salmon can at least see the oncoming traffic. Plus, in the States, the far right is where traffic is expected to travel.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

No commuting buddy today. I think he'll be somewhat consistent, but probably not regular at my time. I'm very consistent with my departure times, and I got the impression that he doesn't need to be. Hope he sticks with it.... 

Had a noteworthy wildlife encounter today. There was a herd of deer in a field just off of the road (very very common), but there was one young, small deer doing that head down/headbutt deer fight thing....with a canadian goose! No joke. There were two geese standing there, and the one engaged with the deer had his wings spread out a little big and was not backing down. There must have been some good food right there or something. I have never seen those two species interact.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I wish I could have commuted today. There was a nice thick blanket of fog in the vally by the lake where I ride to work. Its almost an unreal view in the fog as I ride through the trees and the fog with a strong beam of llight leading the way.

I can only hope for fog on Friday when I can ride again!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> No commuting buddy today. I think he'll be somewhat consistent, but probably not regular at my time. I'm very consistent with my departure times, and I got the impression that he doesn't need to be. Hope he sticks with it....
> 
> Had a noteworthy wildlife encounter today. There was a herd of deer in a field just off of the road (very very common), but there was one young, small deer doing that head down/headbutt deer fight thing....with a canadian goose! No joke. There were two geese standing there, and the one engaged with the deer had his wings spread out a little big and was not backing down. There must have been some good food right there or something. I have never seen those two species interact.


Thats funny, and I would have loved to see that.

The wild turkeys have been thick on my commute lately. When I run into them there are usually about a dozen or more. I hate when they are on the trail and don't move. I almost ran one over on Tuesday. I don't think my 29er wheels would have made it over Mr. Tom Turkey, and I would have wrecked.

Has anyone actually hit any wild life on their commutes?

Two years ago, a rabbit was startled my me zooming past and must have jumped into my back tire. Luckly it didn't get the spokes.

I stopped because there was a huge "Thump" on my back end that I couldn't account for and I wanted to see what I hit. When I went back there it was on the trail in the throws of death. Sad thing. It died before I could find something to end its missery.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I don't think I've ever done that many miles in one week.


Don`t make us subpoena the rest of the Geek Papers, Mr Liddy.



cjohnson said:


> If the salmon is hugging the curb or inside line, you can too.


Yeah, you`d be a sOckeuy salmon!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> .... Had a noteworthy wildlife encounter today. There was a herd of deer in a field just off of the road (very very common), but there was one young, small deer doing that head down/headbutt deer fight thing....with a canadian goose! No joke. There were two geese standing there, and the one engaged with the deer had his wings spread out a little big and was not backing down. There must have been some good food right there or something. I have never seen those two species interact.


I've never seen anything like that either - pretty cool. I did see a couple Canada geese chasing off 2 mallards last week from their turf/nesting site(?) so they do seem pretty territorial.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I stopped a lot today because I took a little-used trail and it had a lot of branches still across it, so I moved them out of the way. I also tried to fix some drainage on the snowmo trail; there’s a dip between two hills creating a muddy spot despite the dry weather. Next thing you know I’m digging a branch out of the mud that was blocking the flow and my newly washed winter gloves are filthy; I had thought I was done with them for the year and cleaned them to put them away, but it was 25F this morning so I needed to wear them. 

I took pics today at each mile on the mile, just for something different and because I’m usually reluctant to stop some places, like halfway down a hill. Here’s miles 1-6, I'm just arriving at the office in the final one.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I stopped a lot today because I took a little-used trail and it had a lot of branches still across it, so I moved them out of the way. I also tried to fix some drainage on the snowmo trail; there's a dip between two hills creating a muddy spot despite the dry weather. Next thing you know I'm digging a branch out of the mud that was blocking the flow and my newly washed winter gloves are filthy


Oh oH trail sanitizing gone bad.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Oh oH trail sanitizing gone bad.


haha, I should have stopped to remove the horse poop to truly sanitize it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It's like a really high quality video with a REALLY low frame rate.

I'm wondering if taking the mountain bike was a good idea... Because now I'm preoccupied with getting back out for the ride home.:thumbsup: That could be the result of 2 beautiful afternoons off in a row too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I can see why, those rocks look like fun.


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## in2theforest (Sep 11, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Had a noteworthy wildlife encounter today. There was a herd of deer in a field just off of the road (very very common), but there was one young, small deer doing that head down/headbutt deer fight thing....with a canadian goose! No joke. There were two geese standing there, and the one engaged with the deer had his wings spread out a little big and was not backing down. There must have been some good food right there or something. I have never seen those two species interact.


The geese do this because they are protecting a nest with eggs. They will become aggressive with any species that is near their nest, including people. Many species will do this during this time of year. A woman walking her dog (on a leash) was attacked by a coyote recently at a local park because she was too close to a den that contained pups.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cool idea for the time lapse. I like Mile Two best . It looks like the roads I try to find when I go for a joy ride. Bedwards`s ME rocks look a lot like Xplorer`s VT quarry areas to me. How far apart do you live? Is all of New England full of that beautiful granite?

Sorry I missed the deer and goose show- it did sound very entertaining.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

ME, VT & NH are all pretty similar with a little of their own personality. Every time MTBX posts pic it looks like the trails I ride. I think we're about 150 miles apart give or take but live within a few miles of the same road RT 302.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yep, granite is all over New England but some places it is more underground than others. Mile 2 from this morning's pics is on the snowmo trail but is also someone's 1 mile long driveway 
If you have a few minutes for granitification, this vid is from the NH company that owns the quarry & factory by my work. Rodar, you might like the diamond blade rock saw. The explosives are fun too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Very interresting video, thanks!
We have a lot of granite in the Great Basin and the Sierra also, but I think it`s different somehow. Your pictures even look different from western granite, but I can`t put my finger on what the difference is. Also, I don`t think ours is used for fancy stuff. 
OT, I keep thinking back to John Irving`s book Prayer For Owen Meeny, where NE quarrying played a small part. Anybody read that?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^
> 
> OT, I keep thinking back to John Irving`s book Prayer For Owen Meeny, where NE quarrying played a small part. Anybody read that?


No, but I'll have to look for it. I loved Irving's Last Night in Twisted River, which had a lot about logging camps, log driving, etc. in northern New England. I usually do audiobooks (free downloads with my library card) though because I can listen during yardwork, bikework, long car trips etc.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Yep, granite is all over New England but some places it is more underground than others.


I've been know to split some granite. It's kind of a zen thing. Mine don't come out as straight as Swenson but I think it's the grain of the rock I'm splitting. Then again, my mailbox posts don't look like every other yuppity yups that went out and bought one either.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Holy smokes, that's impressive.

A good commute in, 39 & sunny when I left. I love Fruit Loops (trail) in the morning!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rock on! Stoned on the MTBR Commuting forum! 

This part of Indiana is known for its limestone, and one quarry was the source for the original and repair for the Pentagon's exterior. This county is known for its limestone bridges. Here is a typical one:



Stone is cool and granite is the coolest.

Nice commute ride last night. Almost no wind! After winds gusting over 45 kept me from riding it was nice to experience street "canyons" without the wind tunnel effect.

I am always amazed at what a few drops of tri-flow do for easing clipping in. Somehow It has to get obnoxious enough that I remember to lube the latches I before head out.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hammerdrill, feathers and wedges.

Beautiful morning here too. Just about freezing when I left make for a good misty lake. I'm glad I found a summer trail commute. I can only do it when it is really dry out or find some outside parking for my bike because I can't bring it in the lobby with muddy feet. I could probably get them to put in a bike rack but I kind of like my elite parking space and if they added a rack they might expect me to leave my bike outside. (Which I did last night, right in front of my house because I was going to wash it and then it got dark )


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That fencepost is 100% cool! Actually, I think it looks even cooler than sqare sided. Did you drag home a scrap on your own for the project, or do they sell it for DIY projects?



BrianMc said:


> This part of Indiana is known for its limestone, and one quarry was the source for the original and repair for the Pentagon's exterior.
> 
> Nice commute ride last night. Almost no wind! After winds gusting over 45 kept me from riding it was nice to experience street "canyons" without the wind tunnel effect.


Supying material for the Pentagon is pretty danged cool, too.

Yeah, windless! I bet you were glad for that break


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> I am always amazed at what a few drops of tri-flow do for easing clipping in. Somehow It has to get obnoxious enough that I remember to lube the latches I before head out.
> BrianMc


And clipping out. That's why I switched over to Times on my MTBs. An un-lubed Shimano can be a death trap. IMHO of course.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> That fencepost is 100% cool! Actually, I think it looks even cooler than sqare sided. Did you drag home a scrap on your own for the project, or do they sell it for DIY projects?


I got it out of the back yard. I wanted a unique one for a house I own and then sold a few on craigslist. Here are some pictures of the process.
Granite Splitting Album (Not sure if I can share an album like this)


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First day back for me. Nothing notable, except that my new commute is exactly the same as my old commute except that it's about 500m shorter.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's like a really high quality video with a REALLY low frame rate.
> 
> I'm wondering if taking the mountain bike was a good idea... Because now I'm preoccupied with getting back out for the ride home.:thumbsup: That could be the result of 2 beautiful afternoons off in a row too.


You got me thinking now, and I may have to mount my smartphone on the front of my handlebars and do a time-laps video of my next commute. :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Rock on! Stoned on the MTBR Commuting forum!
> 
> This part of Indiana is known for its limestone, and one quarry was the source for the original and repair for the Pentagon's exterior. This county is known for its limestone bridges. Here is a typical one:


I have a similar bridge just down the street from my house. It's pretty cool. We have been using stone a lot in our trails. This is a switchback we just completed:










The commute last night was pretty normal. I was scared to death by a woodchuck that looked like it was going to cross in front of me. Luckily, it stopped and darted the other way.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nice work!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Nice work!


I can't take too much credit for it. I just helped out on a few trail days. Two people have already fallen off the side. There is a nice drop and a steep slope down to a creek. Fortunately, both people were fine.

We also have three big berms made of some of the same stone. Those were a lot bigger and a lot of work to get in place. They look nice though and match the bridges and walls found throughout the park.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s a classy switchback, sOck. You guys had to split it into usable shapes?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s a classy switchback, sOck. You guys had to split it into usable shapes?


No, the stones came from an old wall that was torn down and transported to the park. We've been raiding the stone pile (we have permission, of course). We've used some huge ones as bridges and have done quite a bit of armoring. The guys heading up the project have done a great job coordinating all this work with park managers.


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## Design Logic Bikes (Feb 13, 2012)

Design Logic Bikes race series on May 26 2012 at Sandy Hook Speedway in Street Md. 
3050 Sandy hook Road. Street MD 21154 
Gate opens 8 am reg at 830 a full face DOT helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, gloves long sleeve shirts and long pants required.

Who's in ??


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Is it a "Cat 6" commuter race? Or are you lost?


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

:lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Is it a "Cat 6" commuter race? Or are you lost?


if your cat6 racing doesn't need a dot certified fullface helmet then you're doing it wrong.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I saw another commuter on my route the other day, so I've been wearing full gear all week in the hopes that we will throw down.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

:lol: That was funny right there.

I'd race you. I've got a passive competitive edge to me. I race people that don't know they are racing. The competition isn't that steep that way.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> And clipping out. That's why I switched over to Times on my MTBs. An un-lubed Shimano can be a death trap. IMHO of course.


Never had troble getting out. Ripped the bolts out of the shoe once.... but I was most definitely and definitively unclipped! 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I saw another commuter on my route the other day, so I've been wearing full gear all week in the hopes that we will throw down.


:arf:  I guess with 2 of you, you are assured of a spot on the podium.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> :arf:  I guess with 2 of you, you are assured of a spot on the podium.


Well depends if he can finish the race otherwise it is both a DFL and a DFN


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

THE CAT 6 (2011) - Men's Technical - TWIN SIX - Alternative Cycling Apparel


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

junior1210 said:


> THE CAT 6 (2011) - Men's Technical - TWIN SIX - Alternative Cycling Apparel


Now I like that a lot. They have some stuff I'd like to wear. Their casual stuff should be moisture wicking. Want to wear it on the commute, but don't want to wear a jersey when I ride slow. lol


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forecast: Calm no wind. HA! I guess that 10-20 mph gusting to 25 thing of air molecules moving is called 'still air' now.  My first 20 miles getting ready for the ride. Not bad but lots of room for improvement.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I wonder if knee warmers count towards knee pads? Does a `clava make my helmet full face?


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

big gear yesterday, small gear today, heavy steak night tonight, pasta tomorrow.
saturday is going to be at least a 140km day on the big geared singlespeed.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^ 140 KM on a SS is too hard core for me. Have at it and have a good time!

Great commute tonight. No jacket! I wasn`t quite stupid enough (this time) to leave it behind completely though- stuffed it into my bag in case I want it in the morning. At about one mile out, my wife drove by in the other direction, slowed down and yelled a greeting through her car window. And the toads were out. I saw three big ones in the road for some reason, which is odd because they usually just magically appear after a rain, and it`s finally been dry here.

Can saddles squeak? I started hearing a squeaking about a month ago that I thought was my saddle rails, but I still hear it after checking to make sure that the rail clamp bolt was tight, and I don`t hear it if I lift my butt. Just now it occurs to me that I should check the seat post bolt too. If it matters, my saddle is a Terry Fly- plain old plastic shell, vinyl covered foam jobber. It`s several years old and the vinyl is pretty dried and cracked.

EDIT: I just checked the seat post clamp, and it was tight. Just for fun, I took the post out and regreased it, so maybe that`ll help. Should have probably wiped off the old grease first, but didn`t think about it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*This smells real bad*

On my way home I went to investigate why the turkey vultures were circling so low and maybe grab a picture. I got my answer and this wasn't the only one. I'm not sure they are following "best practices" in composting. One of the smaller ones had been dragged almost into the woods.

On a lighter note, I found a few new trail options for my commute home. I won't be able to take the mountain bike for a few ways because we're supposed to get a ton of rain on Monday and I can't show up at work as a mud ball.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Here is a time-laps video of my ride in today.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

There was a duck roaming around my neighborhood this morning. She was just waddling down the sidewalk when I was walking the dog, and on the road when I was cycling to work. She must have been lost (for the record, she didn't ask for directions).

There was a dead possum in the bike lane a few weeks ago. After a few days, the vultures pulled the carcass off the road to eat it. This morning, the full skeleton was back in my lane. It had been picked dry. I'm not sure what it was doing back on the road. Maybe the lawn crew moved it or something.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> There was a duck roaming around my neighborhood this morning. ...There was a dead possum in the bike lane a few weeks ago. This morning, the full skeleton was back in my lane.


Fowl and foul: full ride! :thumbsup:

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

p08757 said:


> Here is a time-laps video of my ride in today.


That was pretty cool, but I was out of breath by the end of it. Sorta frentic feeling. How did you make it?

I've been travelling on biz this week. I visted the "flyover states" and did some work in Peoria, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. Happy to be back on my bike this morning, even if it was raining.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

p08757 said:


> Here is a time-laps video of my ride in today.
> [/URL]


Very cool idea, it really gave a good flavor of your ride, which looks nice!

More singletrack detours for me this morning, lots of fun but my legs are tiring out. The detours only add a mile or mile and a half each way, but singletrack is tougher.

Pix from the ride home last night. ..
The sign refers to the quarry in pix 1 & 2. Sorry, you have to read around the bullet holes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Absolutetly unbelievable perfect spring morning. I wore half the clothes I've been wearing, I rode the road bike, and there is no way on earth I'm going straight home after work. It's the kind of day you can only truly appreciate after doing winter the way us wackos do it.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

woodway said:


> That was pretty cool, but I was out of breath by the end of it. Sorta frentic feeling. How did you make it?
> 
> I've been travelling on biz this week. I visted the "flyover states"
> 
> and did some work in Peoria, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. Happy to be back on my bike this morning, even if it was raining.


I mounted my android phone to the front of my bike, and started a time-laps video. When I arrived to work , I uploaded it to YouTube.

I'll take a photo of my cell phone mount later.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dead calf, gross.
Quarry trails, cool.
Time lapse commute, far out!
What intereval did you shoot the picturres at, 08757?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Absolutetly unbelievable perfect spring morning. I wore half the clothes I've been wearing, I rode the road bike, and there is no way on earth I'm going straight home after work. It's the kind of day you can only truly appreciate after doing winter the way us wackos do it.


I just got my phone call. Will be working 7PM to 7AM tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday 
If you go out and play under that big blue sky this weekend, say hello to it for me, CB


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dead calf, gross.
> Quarry trails, cool.
> Time lapse commute, far out!
> What intereval did you shoot the picturres at, 08757?


1 second interval. I wish there was a .5 sec interval. This was my 1st attempt. If I do a night commute I will have to shoot that one.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

p08757 said:


> 1 second interval. I wish there was a .5 sec interval. This was my 1st attempt. If I do a night commute I will have to shoot that one.


Which camera app?


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Which camera app?


Stock camera on my Nexus running Android 4.0.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This morning's "welcome to perfect weather" obligatory misty meadow shot:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ oooh! aaah! Beauty! Great shot.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

I am so jealous of the good views on so many of your commutes. I just have neighborhoods and no single track. Oh well, I make the best of it, but man, I would love to have something more interesting to look at from time to time.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Put the slicks on last night, awesome ride into work this afternoon. Snow is almost melted!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ha! We`re way ahead with the job that we all thought would take ages- day shift will be able to finish it up today and I don`t need to go back. Beautiful weather and I get a weekend after all. Time to go camping!


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## dru (Sep 4, 2006)

> ...with two weeks still to go. You`ll probably be over 40 rides by the end


Thanks, mtbxplorer & rodar y rodar, for the encouragement!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

did my 140K on the 56x16 gardin.
against my usual credo of "don't change anything the night before!" I swapped the cork grips for ergons, velcro'd a tube and pump to the frame, and slapped on a giant bottle holder (one of the ones meant for 1.5L bottles)
small camelbak of water, 1.5L of gatorade home-mix, 4 granola bars, 2 snickers.

Managed it in 7 hours flat. so 20k avg speed which is pretty awesome.
Weather helped by being colder than planned which kept me from overheating, but meant any break time was limited.
the soles of my feet hurt, my left forearm hurts (feels like tennis elbow?!?!), other than that i am just SO FRIKKING EXHAUSTED.

there, that was my commute today, all just so I can pick up a 35$ hub without paying 20$ for shipping...

oh, wait an hour or two to rest and rehydrate and I am going to freaking MURDER six or seven Kilkennys!! 
"consume" will not be an adequate word for the manner in which i will quaff these pints.


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## dru (Sep 4, 2006)

bykinuts, you are nuts! On a single speed too. Nice accomplishment!!

Drew


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

dru said:


> bykinuts, you are nuts! On a single speed too. Nice accomplishment!!
> 
> Drew


+1, that is a tough ride. 20k/pint is pretty good mileage too. That is over 99 mpg.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Byknuts, you're an animal!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

there's a mpg calculator for bicycles? neat!!

anyways I don't think I did anythng special or anything, but here were my parameters: 
along lakefront so very little elevation change.
big big gear so you kind of get yourself into your spin rate and just keep the coals burning.
don't overthink it, don't overprepare yourself, ask for directions when you're feeling good and truly lost. 
and just be there.
so it's eminently doable on a singlespeed!

mistakes? yup!!
I could've used higher psi in my rear tire, around hour 4 I was really thinking something was wrong there. but didn't know whether the pump I was carrying would get me full psi so I just left it alone. 
The gardin is downright fragile compared to the steelwool, and the 'wool's 40mm tires would have been bliss during some sections. But the gardin weighs a LOT less, and I was on a clock to get back home in time to tuck my boy into bed (which was about 8 1/2 hours after departure time and googlemaps says it's an 8 hour trip...) so I'd chosen guaranteed speed over comfort, but that means you have to pay attention... you can't afford to slog over sticks and branches and roadside debris on something with geometry that'll snap back and forth on the bars like a meth'd weasel.
it's just tiring and around hour 5 or 6 it just stomps on your panic button.
bar-ends, or just a real aternative hand position that'd help me with stretching out my back would have been a great idea. 
oh, and I really could've used some music.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good job, ya animal! Saved yourself some postage, even- super cool!

I managed to sneak out for the miniest of mini tours. This time I brought along a friend who`s a dedicated bike comuter and utility cyclist, and who had been interested in bike touring, but needed a little push to get him to make the jump. We left from my place about 3:00 yesterday afternoon, on the edge of civilization, and rode about three slow hours to a high desert juniper forest, started a little camp fire and roasted some brots, then hit the sack. This morning we got up, had coffee and oatmeal and retraced our tracks. Good time had by all, but my wife had dibs on the camera this weekend, so no pics. So far this year, I`ve gotten one bike camp trip each in Jan, Feb, Mar, and April. looks like I have a new goal to coincide my 100% 2012 bike commute goal. Oh, I checked back in last year`s calander- last time I drove to work was Mar 2011, so I`ve got a running year, but still no calander year.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Post 5K Commute of a non-runner*

We're having a good old fashion spring nor'easter today. It's been so long since we've had any stead rain it was actually a nice change. I had all the right gear so I was pretty comfortable the whole way. They are saying 3-4" of rain in 24 hours.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to ride today at all. I ran, not only my first 5K this weekend but my first run. I've never run for fitness before and was going to walk this with my mother and daughter. They seemed fine on their own so I decided, what the heck and started jogging. I finished in a respectable 27:05 considering I've never run anywhere. My cycling fitness let me push my legs hard enough to find all the muscles that AREN'T used in biking. Probably all the really strong leg muscles from biking were able to overwhelm the ones that don't' get used. Long story short: I could barely walk on Sunday from a 3.2 mile jog. Luckily, all the biking muscles didn't get effected and I can ride a bike much easier than I can walk down the stairs.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I finally got my singlespeed back up and running. After sorting out my BB issues, I swapped out the chainring and chain and reversed the spring on my Surly Singleator. It looks pretty snazzy now.

I had adjusted to riding a geared bike in, so the commute this morning was a little harder than I remember it. The wind also made it a little more difficult. The good news is that my bike no longer creaks or pops when I pedal uphill. The only annoying noise was my rear fender, which is no longer connected to my frame at the top. I'll need to find a ghetto fix for that.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I forgot to mention I encountered the same dude going the wrong way in the bike lane. This time, the guy saw me coming and crossed the street. Maybe he'll actually be on the right side of the road next time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Zip ties! And can we have a pic of the tensioner with the spring reversed? Going to do a SS with the 29er frame that was replaced by the Ogre.

bedwards, I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. :lol:

byknuts, that's a heckuva ride on a single speed.

We have unmistakenly arrived at "brief delusional joy" around here... remember this?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> We have unmistakenly arrived at "brief delusional joy" around here... remember this?


Umm, This is delusional joy, great.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> They are saying 3-4" of rain in 24 hours.
> 
> Long story short: I could barely walk on Sunday from a 3.2 mile jog. Luckily, all the biking muscles didn't get effected and I can ride a bike much easier than I can walk down the stairs.


I heard parts of PA were looking at a foot of snow. Yours is all supposed to be? Stay dry!

That running business hasn`t tempted me at all, probably for the reasons you just stated :lol:


CommuterBoy said:


> bedwards, I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. :lol:
> 
> We have unmistakenly arrived at "brief delusional joy" around here... remember this?


I thought you`d be able to relate to that running pain thing.

Yes, delusions of climate euphoria!
I`m going to celebrate in this morning`s absolutely PERFECT temps and brief windlessness with a 25 mile RT to the big supermarket! Better make it soon though, cause by eleven it`ll start getting hot, then the winds will come on the heels of the heat.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold rain here, about 38F this a.m. and we've gotten 1" of rain from this storm so far. Everything stayed cozy except my legs, as my knickers soaked through. Even that was not bad though since the wetter I got the more uphill it got.

I took the dam route because I was curious how it looked with the rain.

I saw on the weather 3-4" of snow west of here in NY & a 79mph gust on VT's Mt Mansfield.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hmmm, between the last post and this one my wife challenged me to a trail 5K in June and I accepted. She couched it in the form of a friendly competition and I took the bait. She's run a marathon and is planning a 2nd but I think I can take her in a 5K if I run a few miles between now and then. Just as soon as I can walk right I'll try that.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Rode to work last night @ 77-80 degrees no breeze, Boston on my MP3 loving life. Stopped at a red light there was a car with a couple of full squish on the back, fairly sure they were returning from riding a trail that starts @ 3 miles from my house. Passenger leans out the window and sneers " You're riding a Motobecane? What's the matter you couldn't afford a real bike? Ha Ha", I replied " Nope but at least I can ride my bike without Honda training wheels.". He looked confused till he thought of the bike rack on the back of the car, started to say something but I didn't catch it as he was leaving the light.

Rode home @ 75 degrees at 0630, light traffic, no breeze, Molly Hatchet and Lynard Skynrd on the MP3 loving life. :thumbsup:


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

Dalton said:


> I am so jealous of the good views on so many of your commutes. I just have neighborhoods and no single track. Oh well, I make the best of it, but man, I would love to have something more interesting to look at from time to time.


I'm right there with you. Maybe we need to start a thread about boring commutes so we can have a group pity party. It would definitely be a lot easier for me to get up in the morning if I knew I had a kick ass single track commute to work


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hmmm, between the last post and this one my wife challenged me to a trail 5K in June and I accepted. She couched it in the form of a friendly competition and I took the bait. She's run a marathon and is planning a 2nd but I think I can take her in a 5K if I run a few miles between now and then. Just as soon as I can walk right I'll try that.


bedwards, you are not thinking this through. My wife challenges me to a 5K, I don't care if I am the world friggin 5K champion, I am finding a way to lose that race. 

We had a spectacular weekend, weather-wise, mid-70's and sunny. And it's continuing today. On my way home tonite I may even snap a couple of commute photos to post here. Nothing like the national geographic shots that you all post of course.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Double-commute for me today and probably for the next two weeks or so, because I'm sprinting home at lunch to let the new puppy out. One hour ten minutes including the two clothing changes. 

Rain in the morning, it's supposed to get close to 80F for the high (which is like July temperatures around here) and then possibly snow on Friday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Good luck dressing for those temp extremes.



woodway said:


> bedwards, you are not thinking this through. My wife challenges me to a 5K, I don't care if I am the world friggin 5K champion, I am finding a way to lose that race.


I've been considering that. This one is a trail run so it is more up my alley. She's already a little annoyed that I finished pretty close to her with no prior running. Then again, she isn't hobbling around.

It rained a chit ton here today. If it was snow we'd have 4 feet. It was supposed to stop around 1 but it's still going.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> " Nope but at least I can ride my bike without Honda training wheels."


:thumbsup:

It was so nice when I got into town this morning that I decided to run into the next town to buy myself a new reflective vest, then swing by my wife`s office to say hello, then treated myself to lunch before loading up woth groceries. The sky started clouding up and the winds were just beginning while I hauled myself back up the hill. Got in maybe fifteen minutes ago and we have a thunder storm going on- how`s that for good timing !?!

Good luck with your own crazy weather, Newf. If it snows enough, maybe you can skijor your middle commute


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm doing a trail 5k on May 3rd. It's a ridiculous hill climb that I don't know why anyone would want to run.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> Double-commute for me today and probably for the next two weeks or so, because I'm sprinting home at lunch to let the new puppy out. One hour ten minutes including the two clothing changes.


Pup pix please 

Rodar, sounds like a great day & congrats on getting that work project done ahead of schedule so you could take the mini camping trip instead of working.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

commuterboy said:


> ^^ zip ties! And can we have a pic of the tensioner with the spring reversed?


Here you go.








Here is the full bike along with part of a skinny I built and a few pallets I sometimes ride up on/drop off of.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Pup pix please




She's an aussie shepherd named Buffalo, and is just over 3 months old. She's from a farm outside of town, and we're still trying to get her used to the sights/sounds/smells of the city. She's doing really well, and I'm hoping that she'll be riding along in the dog trailer in no time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ She looks great! If you have room for it somewhere, she'd probably love frisbee too. I had a frisbee crazy border collie and it was a great way to drain energy and challenge her. Since she's a herder, you may want to start just walking her next to the bike (not riding). Mine tried to herd the bike (even when I walked next to it) and that made it hard to ride with her. Since I had sheep at the time I really didn't want to break her of the herding instinct, I didn't have the heart for that either. ..but if I'd done it when she was younger I bet she would have been a good trail dog, instead of 1 that ran backwards in front of the bike trying to herd it up.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Pup pix please


Haha! I thought that request would be on the way!



s0ckeyeus said:


> Here you go.
> View attachment 691274


Clean!
I don`t think I`ve seen a SS/CS/dropout junction like that before.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I don`t think I`ve seen a SS/CS/dropout junction like that before.


Cannondales can be quirky like that. This bike also has a 1.5" threaded headset, which sucks if you need to change it.

Last night's commute was fast. I had a killer tailwind. While on my way home, I wondered why my shirt was flapping around more than usual. Then it dawned on me that I forgot my backpack at work. This morning, I started pouring cereal into a tea cup. I think I'm losing it.


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## dcc1234 (Nov 5, 2008)

I think I may have posted in this thread when it first got started and haven't had anything interesting to report til now.

It rained during my commute home last night so I hopped on a bus and put the bike on the front. I wiped the chain when I got home and that was it. Really interesting right--- NOT. 

But this morning, my shifting was soooo much better. The bike in the rain on the bus really cleaned out my drivetrain nicely!


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ She looks great! If you have room for it somewhere, she'd probably love frisbee too. I had a frisbee crazy border collie and it was a great way to drain energy and challenge her. Since she's a herder, you may want to start just walking her next to the bike (not riding). Mine tried to herd the bike (even when I walked next to it) and that made it hard to ride with her. Since I had sheep at the time I really didn't want to break her of the herding instinct, I didn't have the heart for that either. ..but if I'd done it when she was younger I bet she would have been a good trail dog, instead of 1 that ran backwards in front of the bike trying to herd it up.


My mini Aussie has done great with biking since our first time out. She never tried to herd the bike or bark, but for the life of me I can't get her interested in playing frisbee! When I got her I either wanted a mini aussie or border collie because I wanted to play frisbee with it. DOH! I guess if I had to choose between "good with bikes" and "plays frisbee" I'd go with the bikes :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

dcc1234 said:


> I think I may have posted in this thread when it first got started and haven't had anything interesting to report til now.


Don`t let that stop you- just put up pictures and jabber about whatever ISN`T interresting!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Windy here too, 15-20mph out of the south this morning, and supposed to swing around to the north for a headwind on the way home too.:smallviolin: It stopped raining before I left though, and 40% chance for the rest of the day. 

Hope you keep it together the rest of the day, s0ck!


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## in2theforest (Sep 11, 2011)

newfangled said:


> She's an aussie shepherd named Buffalo, and is just over 3 months old. She's from a farm outside of town, and we're still trying to get her used to the sights/sounds/smells of the city. She's doing really well, and I'm hoping that she'll be riding along in the dog trailer in no time.


That is an awesome coat color on your Australian Shepherd!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

HWMCT??? AWESOME!

5 AM Bicycle Commute to Work, 26 Degrees, Spring route is 99% clear of snow, 90% swept from gravel, wishing traffic was always this lite! Might have to make this happen more often!!! So happy to be on slicks on off those sloooooow studs!


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Beautiful weather so far this week and managed to avoid most of the rain over the weekend!

Finally hit the trails yesterday after my ride home. Had the slicks on for over a month just doing some road "training" and finally put the CX tires back on.








Ride safe,
Matt


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice pic. I rode this one, since only mega-stretched beach cruisers were prohibited


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

I just broke up with my So of three years( I should seriously stop prefacing everything with this; maybe I'll make a sob-story thread like everyone else...) and am on my brothers couch. I can't find my Sidi's so I have been riding to work in street shoes(Converse skate shoes) on my Candy pedals. 4.5mi to the bus stop, bus ride to another city, 1.5mi from the bus stop there to work. Reverse for the ride home. On my SS mountain bike with 26x31x16 gearing. I'd put the pedals on my touring bike but I can't find my multi-tool.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

monzie said:


> I just broke up with my So of three years( I should seriously stop prefacing everything with this; maybe I'll make a sob-story thread like everyone else...) and am on my brothers couch. I can't find my Sidi's so I have been riding to work in street shoes(Converse skate shoes) on my Candy pedals. 4.5mi to the bus stop, bus ride to another city, 1.5mi from the bus stop there to work. Reverse for the ride home. On my SS mountain bike with 26x31x16 gearing. I'd put the pedals on my touring bike but I can't find my multi-tool.


If you come by tonight I could land you one and fix this pedal issue for ya.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Windy here too, 15-20mph out of the south this morning, and supposed to swing around to the north for a headwind on the way home too.:smallviolin: It stopped raining before I left though, and 40% chance for the rest of the day.


Awww, don't you hate that. Usually it is dead in the morning and then a headwind for the ride home. At this point it is blowing 22 from the south which will give me a tailwind home, crosses fingers.

My commute in was worthy of a blog: Adventure Commuting OK, maybe it wasn't worthy but I did it anyway.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Monzie, sorry to hear about..... losing your shoes and your multi-tool :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OOh I went back in time and responded to the post below me again. Getting good at that... 


Ender: OK I didn't ride it either. But it sounds cooler that way.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Nice pic. I rode this one, since only mega-stretched beach cruisers were prohibited


Thanks and for the record, I did not ride it lol

@ monzie, keep yer head up! All will be better (probably sooner once you locate all of your things!)

@bedwards Blogs are cool, but I can't seem to view yours...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Sorry, bad link - I fixed it.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

Ha, yeah, I'm more concerned with the shoes and tool than the lady. She was...not exactly compatible with me, if you will.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

monzie said:


> Ha, yeah, I'm more concerned with the shoes and tool than the lady. She was...not exactly compatible with me, if you will.


And it took 3 years to find out ?


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

It's a long, drawn-out, boring story of ridiculous proportions and stupidity. Perhaps a thread would be in order. I'll think on it.


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## ubernerd (Mar 22, 2010)

Good commute today. Hit 6000 miles on my commuter bike since I built it up 3 years ago. Go me! Since it was such a momentous occasion, I brought along a cheering section:










I built that trailer a month or so ago to teach myself how to weld. My dogs love it, and join me at work from time to time.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

gorgeous morning in East TX today. sunny, low humidity, not quite warm enough to build a sweat. I found myself wishing my commute was longer. there was a bit of a breeze, though, which shook those hopes when I hit a headwind.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

Ugh, I forgot about headwinds( some how). My new morning route is hilly and headwindy to the point of obnoxious. Not too windy, just enough to sap any type of momentum you can build for a nice coast. I'm guessing around 7-10mph.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

ubernerd said:


> I built that trailer a month or so ago to teach myself how to weld. My dogs love it, and join me at work from time to time.


That is a nice utility trailer. I also would like to learn to weld so I could do little projects like that.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

40 to 50 km/h head winds for 10 k....

I had a train of 5 guys behind me ipicked them up as I slowly past each one....finally one guy took the lead for the last 1 km....thanks for the pull.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Nice pic. I rode this one, since only mega-stretched beach cruisers were prohibited


priceless!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

NateHawk said:


> That is a nice utility trailer. I also would like to learn to weld so I could do little projects like that.


We bought a MIG welding machine a few weeks ago. We didn't had the chance to try it out yet (basement renovations not finished), but I'd love to learn how to weld and get good at it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jeff, swing your train by my way tonight, please. It`s looking like a windy ride in and I could use a pull 

Monzie, my feet hurt just thinking about riding Candys in tennis shoes. Hope you at least find a place that sells allen wrenches.



JordyB said:


> HWMCT??? AWESOME!
> 
> 5 AM Bicycle Commute to Work, 26 Degrees, Spring route is 99% clear of snow, 90% swept from gravel, wishing traffic was always this lite! Might have to make this happen more often!!! So happy to be on slicks on off those sloooooow studs!


Live it up, Jordy! Happy summer to ya, and don`t spend it all in the same place!


ubernerd said:


> Good commute today. Hit 6000 miles on my commuter bike since I built it up 3 years ago. Go me! Since it was such a momentous occasion, I brought along a cheering section


Whoo, congrats on the miles- it sounds like you`re getting your money`s worth! Nice looking cheerleader hauler, too.


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## PiranhaFisher (Jul 27, 2009)

This might be more appropriate in the rider down section, but it's on my commute, so...

This happened not today, but yesterday. I've been riding for a while, but I paid a price for ego and stubbornness. I've been riding in urban and suburban areas since I was a kid on a single speed and am very cautious and attentive to traffic. My commute isn't long, but involves a trek through a construction zone for about a half mile. They've cleared ground for a sidewalk, but the transition from the intersection to the beginning of the unpaved sidewalk is taped off. I've passed through this before with no problems, but I went too fast, transitioned from the paved portion to a lower dirt portion.

The dirt was super soft and my front tire landed first. I proceeded to endo to end all endos. I flipped forward and hit first with my head into the dirt which gave quite a bit thank god. My head was mere inches away from the base of a new electrical box and I hit my right forearm+elbow on something and bruised it pretty deep. I wasn't wearing a helmet, which is now going to change, and I initially thought I was fine. But today my neck hurts and I have a headache which indicate I sustained a concussion. 

I've heard this time and time again, but I learn the hard way and fortunately didn't result in a more serious injury; wear a helmet. Just because you're on pavement, in a familiar area, and are super cautious with years of riding experience, doesn't mean something can't happen.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

Endo to end all endos. That's awesome.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Mtbxplorer: Cello to your violin. Yep headwind both ways as the wind was shifing from NE to SW.



CommuterBoy said:


> Nice pic. I rode this one, since only mega-stretched beach cruisers were prohibited


Seems to say don't leave your bike unattended, to me!  So cyclist riding one should be just fine! Or just fined as a smart alek? 



PiranhaFisher said:


> I proceeded to endo to end all endos. .


Yep. Done one of those. Mine was a from a front brake on a 1 day old bike (replacement for one totaled falling into the side of a Chrysler Newport) front wheel at about 15 mph. Just missed a cement-topped utility tunnel vent with my head. Got a helmet when I took the bike back to the shop for the missing nut. It took 20 years for the left shoulder to finally rotate properly again. Tore practically every ligament in it trying to tuck and roll.

This afternoon. Four-way stop. One ton pickup pulling twin axle lawn equipment trailer, arrives opposite from me about a half second before me. I am going left and signaled that intent, and put foot down for full stop and signal him to proceed. A car is approaching the stop from my left at about the time I still was signaling left before the signal that I was ceding the truck right of way. That vehicle stops at the stop line as the truck proceeds, I waited to launch to coordinate my left with the trailers clearing half the intersection to get my left in behind it. The truck driver was a bit more of a lead foot than I thought he'd be, so I lost his interference with the driver to my left sooner than I had planned. So I am broadside in front of the third vehicle as the last of the trailer goes by the front bumper of said vehicle, and she is launching already. A little more acceleration on my part and deceleration on hers, and all is well. Scared her.

Serious short-term memory issues I guess. Another distracted driver?!  As I learned form a Deputy, that's OK, then.  In this state (and most) drivers are required to yield to vehicles in, or immanent to entering an intersection (someone clearly running the stop/stoplight). That seems very difficult to do if you launch the split second that a big vehicle blocking any view of the intersection clears your bumper. Could be semi is blowing through. I guess drivers here so rarely actually stop at intersections and are so loath to do so, that they are very rusty on the rules governing how to proceed. Some may not have stopped since JFK was President. It does make riding defensively a challenge. "Stayin alive, stayin' alive..."  Just another day ridin' in paradise. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> ... Some may not have stopped since JFK was President.


:lol:

Piranha, hope you feel better soon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Piranha, not that I'm advocating going without one, but it sounds like that still would have hurt with a helmet.

You can see from this picture:
- It was cold this morning because the lake was giving up it's heat to the chilly air.
- There was no wind for a change.
- My bottle cage is sporting a unopened bottle of twisted tea that the roadside offered me, already chilled.

(some day I'll have to post a picture of the Walmart, Burger King, McDonnalds, Rite-aid, VIP Auto, NAPA, Friendly's... that I go by on my other route)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> You can see from this picture:
> - It was cold this morning because the lake was giving up it's heat to the chilly air.


Nice composition splitting the trees and their reflection above and below the top tube.

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The other day, I had a commercial van try to pass me while I was signaling my turn. He ended up coming to a complete stop in the left lane (wrong way) and waiting for me to complete my turn. It was one of those WTF moments. It's hard to guess what people are going to do sometimes.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

Candy's+street shoes+rain=more time spent convincing my shoes not to slide off the pedals and kill me than there should be.

Dear Sidi's, 
Please surface for my safety and sanity's sake.
Love,
monzie


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I sent a small family of deer scattering this morning, but the mom was determined and convinced that standing absolutely still would make this approaching bicycle dissapear somehow. Would have been a great day for a helmet cam. Dad and the kids were bouncing over the roadside fences on either side of the street by the time she decided that she had lost this game of chicken. I hate to admit it, but I tapped my brakes. I was a pansy, and I'm sorry. I might have done a deer endo to end all deer endos if I hadn't though. 

I don't know if any of you have ever seen a deer 'dive', but she absolutely dove out of the way at the last possible second. It was a comical combination of hoof-peeling-out-on-pavement and wide-eyed, lunging panic. The front legs clawed at the pavement while the back ones slipped to the extent that there was hip contact with the ground at least once. 

That will teach you a healthy fear of humans. Next time, I expect you to get out of the way young lady.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

Today was my first ever bike commute. I took a bus part way to the office and rode the remaining 5 miles. On my way back, I intend to ride all the way home for a length of about 16 miles.

So far so good. I'll report back later to let everyone know how the trip back went. Luckily, there are some fire roads and singletrack to enjoy on the way back.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another bomber commute, 25 degrees, sun rising. Snow melting with highs of 50+!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

32F this morning, still kind of windy, but sunnier. Last night I just beat the rain home. A few pix from the reservoir, taken about 1.5 miles from home. My house is on the hill in pix 2 & 3, but just over the ridge from the ones you can see with the nice reservoir view.


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## mgbowman (Jun 19, 2011)

Mine was great until I scared the crap out of an old lady on the pathway. I don't think she heard me yell good morning from a distance. I feel so terrible.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice morning all over New England? Wow, Xplorer- it looks like your reservoir is about ready to crawl up onto the road.



scorchedearth said:


> Today was my first ever bike commute. I took a bus part way to the office and rode the remaining 5 miles. On my way back, I intend to ride all the way home for a length of about 16 miles.


Whooo, Go get `em! :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mgbowman said:


> Mine was great until I scared the crap out of an old lady on the pathway. I don't think she heard me yell good morning from a distance. I feel so terrible.


Did you make her dive? If she doesn`t dive, she chickened out too soon. Have her read the instructions in post 5976 and try it again until she gets it right.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Jordy, I got the front D on the Ogre... pics of fender clearance in the Ogre thread.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Loved the deer story, CB. They don't have that "deer in the headlights" saying for nothing. Apparently the headlights are optional.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Jordy, I got the front D on the Ogre... pics of fender clearance in the Ogre thread.


Yup, saw them, looks good, exactly what I did.


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## Stumpjumpy (Sep 7, 2011)

First day cycling in to work. Went quite well! :thumbsup:

BEAUTIFUL 60 degree day in the DC area. Rode my old '95 Stumpy w/ kenda k838 slicks on it. Total one-way distance is 25 miles, downhill on the way in and uphill on the way home. Took me 1.5 hrs to get in this AM. I'm a member of a gym that is 2 blocks from my office, so I showered there. This could not be much more convenient . . . 

As I type this, I'm not sure if I'm up for the 25 mile uphill ride home. Luckily, the DC metro system is biker-friendly and is half a block from my office and will drop me 3 miles from my home. May have to avail myself of it. Nice option to have . . .

Gonna try to do this at least 2x/wk, weather permitting.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^That`s quite a ride, Stumpy! Congrats, and it sounds like you picked a good day to try it out.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

The ride home today was solid. It was a lovely afternoon and perfect for a bicycle adventure. I had one Tour de FU moment but otherwise, no issues. The total route distance was 27km (17mi).

This was also my test run for Bike to Work Day, which I most certainly will be doing. :thumbsup:


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## Stumpjumpy (Sep 7, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^That`s quite a ride, Stumpy! Congrats, and it sounds like you picked a good day to try it out.


Thanks!
Sure was a helluva ride. Did the return 25M also. It really is a beautiful combo of paved paths, bike-friendly roads like Rock Creek Pkwy and very little downtown DC bump and grind.

I can do this!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

55 Degrees and SUNNY on the commute home. Took a look at my slowly melting bike paths along Chester Creek tonight. Some parts rideable but still a long ways to melt!

A small lake/creek/pound along Chester Creek.









Hungry Moose Causes Detour!









Chester Creek High and Flowing Fast!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Happy Spring! Nice moosey on the loosey.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*Rant Ahead*

I hate MUP wheelsuckers.

Don't tell me not to worry that if wheels touch, your going to go down not me. That like saying it's OK to tailgate another car because it will be the tailgaters fault if an accident happens. I don't want to have to worry if you are paying attention and are going to run up my backside if I have to stop suddenly. If I don't know you, I don't want you on my wheel, especially when you don't even have the courtesy to tell me you are hopping on. If you cannot ride my pace without my help, then you just need to ride more - but not on my wheel.

Happens every year this time of year. Lot's a new riders out sucking wheels.

I feel better now. Sorry for the rant.


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## ubernerd (Mar 22, 2010)

End of the semester means I can take the leisurely route to work:









Look at the heavy traffic,










Glass in the bike lane,










potholes,










stop signs,










and traffic lights:










Some days it really sucks to be a bike commuter.... :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks great, Jordy! How long do you usually have before that S-stuff comes back?

Ubernerd, sorry about all those hazzards and crappy conditions. I can see why it upsets you 

Hey BrianMC, is your Habitat For Humanity ride comming up next week?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ubernerd, that's a nice looking trail. Too bad we all can't swap commutes for a day. There are so many of these rides I'd like to try.

It's a beautiful crisp (sounds better than chilly) sunny day here but they're calling for rain by the commute home.

I have one more day of work and then I'm off to Cozumel for a week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

28F, a chilly start but it quickly warmed up and I rmoved my jacket, beanie and warm gloves. The trails were tacky but not muddy, but more rain forecast this afternoon. :bluefrown:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s rainy here too, which is good I guess. We had such a dry winter I`ll take all I can get. I don`t think my asphalt will be muddy though.

Cozumel- chow down, Bedwards! Hope you have a great trip.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Too bad we all can't swap commutes for a day. There are so many of these rides I'd like to try.


Oh, that would be cool!


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## ubernerd (Mar 22, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Too bad we all can't swap commutes for a day. There are so many of these rides I'd like to try.
> 
> I have one more day of work and then I'm off to Cozumel for a week.


I'd be happy to swap, if you'd like. You can ride that trail, and I'll take your trip to Cozumel for you. Just swing by, and I'll point out the trailhead when you drop off your tickets.


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

53* and sunny this morning. I think that is close to the perfect conditions for a ride. Unfortunately I know the Iowa summertime heat and humidity will be here soon...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics ubernerd and jordyb!

Rain here today, but at least the rain is getting warmer. No wheelsuckers either this morning.  Of course I hardly see anyone at 5:00am...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Moose: the deer you don't play chicken with. 

Raining pretty solidly this morning, but spring rain is so much more plesant than winter rain. 

Took an extended trail route home yesterday . Adds a half hour to the ride. One monster switchback-filled pain fest of a climb. first time tackling it on the Ogre. It climbs techy stuff pretty good. It was raining though, and the Big Apples don't like pine needles and oak leaves on dirt in the rain. 

Managed to control my breathing long enough to get a a pic of the Ogre in its natural environment after I topped out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey CB, where's the bike? I don't see it. haha

Nice pic, that's one fine-looking ride.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's why I parked it in the middle of a clearing. If you lean it against a tree and then walk away, when you turn around to take a picture it's gone. You might never see it again. :lol:


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## ghost_rider_x (Nov 14, 2010)

today was my 35th day commuting to work since st. patricks day. raw, wet, and cold on the way in, but quickly warmed by the time i reached the first tee (I work at a golf course so i routinely play a round before work starts). Riding before golf has really payed off. I arrive feeling warm, loose and energized and my scores have reflected that. Shot a year best 35 (-1) on the front today before heading home for a quick nap before riding back again for work.

i'm currently building up a commuter for my girlfriend. we live within 6 miles of work, so together we'll be putting very few miles on the car. in the near future we should be able to cut down to one car. build thread to follow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Let me get this straight. You commute to "work" which consists of playing a round of golf. Then you commute home for a nap. Then you ride back to "work"? Well doesn't my life just suck.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Let me get this straight. You commute to "work" which consists of playing a round of golf. Then you commute home for a nap. Then you ride back to "work"? Well doesn't my life just suck.


My Thoughts Exactly!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I got in an extra trail ride at lunch today with 4 of the guys from work. Only 4.5 miles, but pushing the pace more than I normally do on my own, so I'm sure I'll be tired on the ride home. Supposed to do some housecleaning for company tomorrow...hmmmmm....


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

This has been a rough week to double-commute - permanently overcast, constant threat of rain, temperatures just barely above freezing (2C at lunch today), and so windy. Heading home at lunch is only an extra 9mi each day, but it sure feels like work.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> This has been a rough week to double-commute - permanently overcast, constant threat of rain, temperatures just barely above freezing (2C at lunch today), and so windy. Heading home at lunch is only an extra 9mi each day, but it sure feels like work.


Hah two plus 20C days in Calgary....got in 3 long way home rides.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ it's this stupid April taunting - Monday was gorgeous, but since then it's been miserable. And of course the forecast for tomorrow is still calling for snow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A wild turkey flew up from where it was hidden right next to the trail and scared the c r * p out of me. :yikes:

Only a few sprinkles on the way home after a downpour at 4:00 lead to a stampede to roll up car windows. I joined in "The windows on my bike are down too!"


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

newfangled said:


> ^ it's this stupid April taunting - Monday was gorgeous, but since then it's been miserable. And of course the forecast for tomorrow is still calling for snow.


Snow? Is that the stuff on postcards?:skep:
Sorry I'm about 20 miles north of the Mexican border down here in Az so we don't see much snow, or for that matter rain either since it is the desert.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Only a few sprinkles on the way home after a downpour at 4:00 lead to a stampede to roll up car windows. I joined in "The windows on my bike are down too!"


I get to run for that when it rains! Not to roll up the windows of course, but to repark inside the boiler room. Since my bike could possibly be in the way (not usually, just when somebody needs to get into the little corner where I stash it), I park outside the door unless it`s raining or snowing, then move it if conditions change.



woodway said:


> Hey CB, where's the bike? I don't see it. haha


If you look closely, you can still make out the fenders. When he gets those cammo`d up, I dunno how he`ll ever find it.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Oh good morning. (From yesterday)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I got a short noontime trail ride in on the Surly yesterday too. Just enough to get out in the sun. The wind was blowing strangely in my direction on the way home. I got up and came in early this morning so I could leave early on the vacation. It was the first time I've needed the lights in a while.

My bottom bracket is working it's way out the drive side again. I'm not sure what's up with that. I just had it all apart and tightened it into the frame and tightened the locknut what I thought was real good. Does anybody know if there are 2 different types of 20 tooth BB tools? The one I have for ISIS and it doesn't engage as well as it should into the old 20T shimano BB even though the # of teeth and diameter is the same.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I think they're *supposed* to be all the same, but some fit better than others. 


Back down in the 30's this morning... got a little bedwards-style "Smoke on the Water" :rockon:

...no free tea though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ It looks like it should be duck hunting.

The tool I have seems to fit the newer one OK but not the older one. I might just take it to the LBS and have them tighten it. I hate to but I might have to.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I was going to say... those ducks in Ender's driveway would be much happier here. :lol:


...and I've never used loc-tite on a BB...but why couldn't you?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe it IS duck hunting.

Bedwards, from what you wrote the first time, it sounded like you were able to get torque to the cap. Is the wrench thing not holding to torque it down good, or does it tighten, but still back out? If you`re able to tighten it, I don`t see how the problem could be a mis fitting socket.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*My Hero Shots*

My commute is not as scenic as some of you get to enjoy, but we do have some pretty nice places to ride on the weekends. Thought I would share a few from todays ride:

Decisions, decisions...









At the top of Mt. Constitution:









One more from the top:









That's me on top:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy cow- GREEN!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Friday's Commute Stop on the way home. Clouds finally swept in after a week of sun!










The Mighty Ogre in it's natural environment!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I installed Shimano hydraulic front brake on my bike to replace the original Hayes MX4. The difference is huge and I realized how crappy the MX4s are. The outer pad was almost completely worn, but the static inner pad not so much. The part of the pad furthest from the center of the rotor had maybe 0.5mm section where it looks like it never scrubbed the rotor at all so when actuated, it looks like letter "n". The part of the moving pad closest to the center of the rotor had the most wear and it tapered moving away from the center. This brake had no way to adjust the centering. The only adjustment was by cable or barrel adjuster for the outer pad and a screw on the inner static pad.

Since I installed this brake, I almost never use the back brake anymore. I guess it is a bit of an odd arrangement to have a hydraulic up front and mech out back but it seems to work well. It makes me rethink changing the back brake. 

It was way easier to change than I thought too because the brake was a pre-bled system I just needed to bolt it on.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow Woodway! Nice!

Jordy, looking like spring! 

I took the trail this morning... the geese are hatching. Saw at least one family of day-old chicks. This pair is still sitting on eggs. Any day...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jseko said:


> I guess it is a bit of an odd arrangement to have a hydraulic up front and mech out back but it seems to work well.


It sounds reasonable to me- no stranger than disc in front and cantis in back, which is fairly common. Glad it`s working out for you.

Killer, CB! In the spring time, do you ever find yourself jumping in for a quick dip on the way home?

The weather held out for another nice weekend here. Yesterday we took a ride on our semi-local rail trail. Since it was only about 70F, my wife is still wearing long sleeved (black!) shirt and long pants :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I bet you saw at least one or two friends of mine on the bizz yesterday. And quite a few fishermen! Opening weekend and they stocked the Susan River last week.

..and no on the swimming. C O L D.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ah, just stocked. Yeah, that would explain the hordes of fishermen at Hobo Camp. But we saw absolutely nobody between the corral and Goumaz 
Maybe saw some of your friends- I kept looking for a bike I recognized from here, but still haven`t seen one up there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Some friends are talking about doing the full length to Westwood and back sometime this summer, for a 'mellow' 60 mile day. No date set but I can let you know if you want to get in on that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Most excellent, the trails are in great shape and the weather is fine. A little chilly to start (30F), but I was glad I wore shorts/kneewarmers, because at the halfway point I rolled down the kneewarmers and took off the jacket. I am not much of a winedrinker, but a cork left behind by one worked better to replace a lost bar plug than one of my beer tops would have:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice pics, guys.

A Champagne cork might work better, Mtbxplorer. 

Windy 20 mph with valley and channeled gusts higher and about 80 F. Got some sun/wind burn. Looks like my max heart rate is 168 - up from 162. I'll take it. Thirty and a half miles. On my way back to 50 at a whack which is enough prep for the ride. 

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

horrible cold this last week. took thurs and fri off.
tried a return today, meant violent coughing fits while on the bike.
sometimes there was so much phlegm coming out it prevented me from breathing.
like drowning in air @ 20kph.
so frikking weird.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Oops, I laid out my clothes on my bed this morning but forgot to pack them. Lucky I found a t-shirt with a company logo at my desk at work so I did not look like a total scumbag. I ride in the pants I will wear for the day, but I wear a wicking t-shirt and a thin soft shell over it for the morning ride.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> It sounds reasonable to me- no stranger than disc in front and cantis in back, which is fairly common. Glad it`s working out for you.
> 
> Killer, CB! In the spring time, do you ever find yourself jumping in for a quick dip on the way home?
> 
> The weather held out for another nice weekend here. Yesterday we took a ride on our semi-local rail trail. Since it was only about 70F, my wife is still wearing long sleeved (black!) shirt and long pants :lol:


70F and long pants sounds like what I did this weekend in black jeans but I had a short sleeve synthetic button up and wicking shirt on. I have the tan lines to prove it because I forgot the sunscreen  I was out running errands though, which on a bike is still an exploring-adventure in an urban sort of way. For example, I inadvertently stumbled into a very expensive part of town.


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## Haligan78 (Jun 13, 2011)

Was a perfect day for a commute. I love my morning trip to work. I leave the house at 3:30am.....my favorite time of the day is a nice quiet peaceful trip to work. No kids yelling....no TV blaring.....no loud machinery running (I work in a sawmill)....no traffic. 
I take my sweet ass time on the way to work.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very pleasant ride in tonight. This morning was calm, warm, and sunny. Winds picked up and it got cloudy in the afternoon, this evening it was still windy and rained pretty hard (hard by my standards). But in the hour before I left, the wind died down to a breeze and the rain stopped, quarter moon peeking out between the clouds, and I rode in on damp roads with that nice rain smell but nothing falling from the sky.



CommuterBoy said:


> No date set but I can let you know if you want to get in on that.


Yes, please. I`ve ridden it all in bits and pieces, but never strung it all together in one shot.


BrianMc said:


> On my way back to 50 at a whack which is enough prep for the ride.


Great! But I thought your ride was this week. Next week?


byknuts said:


> horrible cold this last week. took thurs and fri off.
> tried a return today, meant violent coughing fits while on the bike.
> sometimes there was so much phlegm coming out it prevented me from breathing.
> like drowning in air @ 20kph.
> so frikking weird.


Was it cold? Cold + exercise makes me cough. If it warms up, hopefully it`ll go better for you.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The ride is this coming Sunday to the following Saturday. Got a Saris trunk mount rack which has cradles for the top/seat and top/head tube to hold 3 bikes in 3 axes. American made, and fully backed. Thinking of doing a time lapse video. I will experiment on the next ride. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Super soggy this morning, .4” since it started at 5 a.m., and still in the 30's F. Hoping my spare gloves are warm enough for the way home because these are unlikely to dry out. Part of my route has a “road closed May 2-4” sign on it for about a half mile section, wondering if I will be able to go through or need to take an alternate route tomorrow.


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

I barely beat the rain to work this morning but it doesn't look like I will be so lucky on my ride home for lunch. Getting blasted by the road grime off my tire might just be the motivation I need to finish my vintage singlespeed rebuild w/ fenders...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's hot and humid here. Last week was on the cooler side, but this week our lows are in the 60s and our highs will be in the 80s/90s with thunderstorms in the afternoons. If this pattern continues, it will be a while before I can hit the trails.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Bike to work month started today. I saw four bicycles out this morning that I have never seen before. Good for them, I hope that they keep it up.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Went to leave this morning and had a flat tire. At least I was still at home and I was only about 10 minutes late for work...

I got a rack which I have not gotten around to putting on and I am still looking for a good deal on a set of panniers. This heat/humidity here in FL is getting worse and worse and I am arriving to work drenched with sweat, welcome back summer! Need to get this messenger bag off of my back. I am thinking about bungeeing (is that a word?) the bag to the rack for now...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

41.6 miles with a stop for a tornado warning, then a push the last 16 miles, leaving with the threat of one line ahead (which dropped some hail and had high speed line winds suitable for putting a cyclist in the ditch or in the path of a semi) with another coming up from behind. Was home 10 minutes when the skies opened again. I really appreciated just-in-time delivery. Took a 30 sec interval 'movie' but forgot to shut it down while holed up out of the weather, so the POV camera ran out of batteries before I ran out of ride. Charging it now, film at 11. Maybe.  Should have nice clouds.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

ender. said:


> Went to leave this morning and had a flat tire. At least I was still at home and I was only about 10 minutes late for work...


Bummer ender, I hate when that happens. Just seems to ruin my mojo when a day starts off like that...


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

woodway said:


> Bummer ender, I hate when that happens. Just seems to ruin my mojo when a day starts off like that...


Had to change another one again this morning....

I was riding home in the dark last night so I might have run something over, I took the tire completely off this morning and nothing that I could notice was out of the ordinary. With all of the construction that 99% of my ride I am traveling through, there is a fairly good chance I could have hit some glass or a nail...

Anyone ever use the slime tubes? Are they worth the extra 5 bucks? I am thinking I am going to try them out the next time I make a trip to the LBS.

@ BrianMC - that sounds like a heck of a commute! Glad to hear you arrived home safe and not blown away to another county!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Tubeless man, tubeless. 


It looks like the new pavement that I was supposed to be getting on my commute route a year or so ago might actually be happening...saw a real life construction company truck out there today. I'll believe it when I ride it...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

ender, what kind of tires are you running?

Repeated flats:

1. Obviously run your hand around the inside of the tire for anything sticking through before you change tubes (sounds like you have done that).

2. Look carefully at the outside of the tire for holes in the tread. Now flex the tire to open up the hole...anything in there? I have a small dental pick that I use to dig small pieces of glass out of my tires. They will work their way through and cause repeated flats, but you cannot feel them when you do #1.

3. Check your rim tape.

4. Mount your tire the same way everytime (I line the label up with the valve on the drive side). Now take note of where on the tube the puncture is happening. Same place everytime?

I've never tried slime tubes. For high pressure tires, I imagine that they are probably ineffctive (do they even make them for high-pressure tires?), but for low-pressure, fatter tires I know people who swear by them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You can also just do standard tubes and inject them with Stans or another sealant... cheaper in the long run than the Slime ones I think.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I took an alternate route due to the road closing. 1 mile shorter than the scenic reservoir route but hillier.Saw a lot of dogs, but all were leashed or chained; the only calm one was a white pit bull, "what a good boy" and the owner smiled. A pic from a yard with rock walls along the stream, it looked like it was built partly with scraps from a granite counter company. And can you find the critter from the trail home on Monday before the rain?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Damn, tornados already. Sure hope you don`t have to worry about them next week, Brian.



ender. said:


> Had to change another one again this morning....


I hate when THAT happens . 
Hope you find something. Or if nothing else, that you get lucky and it stops flatting even without ever finding out why.

Cool landscaping, Xplorer. It looks like sombody put a lot of work into it.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

I wish I had a more scenic ride... nice pics mtbxplorer!

And yet another flat again this morning, 3 in 3 days, I am on a roll! At least I have become a pro at getting a tire on and off! lol

I think I might have something in the tire since the rim tape looks fine, so I went ahead and mounted a slick in the back this morning, guess I will find out tonight. I was looking the tire over this morning and found a small hole in the tread but it was dark and early so I didn't try to see if there was anything in it...

As for injecting standard tubes with Stans... what a novel idea! Why would someone not want to do that!? Besides the obvious expense of the Stans? Question though, what would you use to inject it? Have a link? TIA!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

They installed porta-potties on my commute route! 
Temporarily I guess, but I think it means that the new pavement is going to happen after all. I'll have to deal with construction for a bit (but not too long... commuterboy jr. is due any day now and I'm taking some time off)

On the Stans tube injection.... the easiest is to use schrader valves wtih removable cores (pretty much all schrader valves have removable cores) then you put it in there just like putting slime in the tires of your rideable lawn mower or car a little piece of tubing helps so you can squirt it in. 
If you can only fit presta valves on your rims and don't want to drill out for schrader valves, there are a couple different companies that make presta valves with removable cores (google it and you'll find some...kenda makes them for sure, but there are others). it's hard to get the goo in a non-removable presta valve, but you can do it if you hold the valve upside down while you squirt it in using a piece of tubing and have lots of patience. I made a tool for this once using one of those little medical snot-sucking bulbs for babies and a little piece of tubing... works like a turkey baster. I used non-removable core prestas for my ghetto tubeless set-up, and I didn't want to break the bead of the tire to re-inject sealant. It worked, but it probably takes less time just to break the bead and start over :lol:

Also, go to the 29er components forum and find the "best tubeless brew" thread. You can make a gallon of tubeless sealant in your garage for under $20 that will last you years. I've been using homebrew sealant for 3 years now. There are a few recipies in that thread, but mine went 10 months without drying out, no topping off, no flats.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bummer, Ender. I guess by changing tires at least you`ll be able to know for sure whether the problem is in the tire or in the rim strip. I think you`d have seen it if it were the strip, though.

Another Junior, CB? By the time you get them all pedalling you`ll have a whole peloton following you along the MUT! 

You sound happier about the roadwork than I usually am. It has to be really bad before I prefer the hassle of construction to potholes and cracks. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that the front way in to my neighborhood was done three times and the back way (my commute route) was done twice within about a five year span.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Is it really worth the hassle of injecting a stadard tube? I was at REI yesterday and bought a couple of tubes. They were selling slime tubes for only $1 more. If I were riding tubeless I coud see buying Stans or mixing up my own, but for a buck more I think I would just buy the slime tube and be done with it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't think the slime seals as well as either stans or the homebrew stuff. To me it's worth it when you mix up your own sealant... with that and the 5 pack of tubes from pricepoint for super cheap, you are saving quite a bit. I've been tubeless for a while though, maybe the slime ones have improved... 

and yes Rodar, I'm stoked on the construction... It's sort of a loop road, and when I hit it I can go left when they're working on the right, and right when they're working on the left... should be able to avoid the bulk of the hassle... going right adds 3 miles to my usual 6. Not a big deal.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ender. said:


> And yet another flat again this morning, 3 in 3 days, I am on a roll! At least I have become a pro at getting a tire on and off! lol


I think you are now officially an "expert". :thumbsup: When you re-check the tire, be aware that the offending debris can be really small and hard to find. The last culprit I found was a little piece of wire about the size of 1 strand of a bike cable. Glass can also work its way into the tire and kind of disappear with the tread. Gremlins are to blame for about 1% of flats, and they are never found.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I don't think the slime seals as well as either stans or the homebrew stuff. To me it's worth it when you mix up your own sealant... with that and the 5 pack of tubes from pricepoint for super cheap, you are saving quite a bit. I've been tubeless for a while though, maybe the slime ones have improved...
> 
> and yes Rodar, I'm stoked on the construction... It's sort of a loop road, and when I hit it I can go left when they're working on the right, and right when they're working on the left... should be able to avoid the bulk of the hassle... going right adds 3 miles to my usual 6. Not a big deal.


Oh look summer is here and winter boots went on sale

Shimano MW81 Gore-Tex Winter SPD Boots | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Good lookin out. Thanks.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Commuted every day in May so far, gotta keep it up! Tomorrow if Fatbike Friday's, should be a nice fun changeup to the normal 9 miles i've been putting on each way...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Another rough week for double-commuting. Cloudy, windy, rainy, and heading back to work at lunch I got hailed on. Bah.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a funny/awkward moment yesterday. The cleaning people were in the office and all the floors in the bathrooms I usually change in were wet. So I decided to improvise and change in a small room we have in the warehouse. The room has a big window on one wall and a small window in the door. I figured I would have enough time to change and get out before anyone came back there. Well...just as I was leaving, I heard a door close. I looked out the window in the door and saw my boss walking around. I decided to wait it out. It turns out, he wasn't just going out into the warehouse. He was looking for me, and eventually he spotted me. It was a bit awkward, but he was cool about the whole thing. At least I was fully dressed.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

s0ck, sounds almost like mine situation, hate using the bathrooms which are quite a distance away, so I often use co-workers "offices" which had doors that close, most of the time I can get in and out in a few seconds to strip off my shorts without anyone noticing, but every once in a while...;p I know they don't care or I wouldn't do it but its still funny.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Oh the awkward changing in the morning moments... I get the cleaning lady coming in every once in a while to the restroom I change in.

...and I think I found what was causing the flats... a small piece of shell/gravel was lodged in the worn smooth center part of my tire. I am glad I at the very least, found something in the tire. Just hope it was it. For now though, I will leave the slick on the rear and the Kenda Kwick up front, I like the goofy look. lol

CB, thanks for explaining the stans/homebrew in the tubes. I have thought about tubeless but I really want another set of wheels that I can do road rides with and hopefully a few CX races next season. I will keep dreaming for now though...

And a few pics, since I think I mentioned gators before, these guys(girls?) are usually in the same spot on my way home.





































And the trusted steed. I really need to get my rack put on, still looking for a set of panniers.


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## phirebug (Apr 20, 2012)

i don't normally commute to work (i live roughly 500 yards away) but today we met up about 7.5 miles away. I got about 6 miles before i got a flat.
there is an explanation for why i was unable to do anything about it, but it's embarassing.
suffice to say, i pushed it the last mile and a half.
STILL more fun than driving.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Technically not today, as the forum topic, but I had the camera on sequential 30 sec stills on Tuesday (Storm) and Wednesday (no storm) and just got through them. I picked some that match up to show what a difference a day can make:

Heading out Tuesday:










Heading out Wednesday:



Following Front out of sanctuary Tuesday



About same place a day later:



Further the front is pulling ahead:



About the same spot the next day:



Thunderhead building Tuesday:



Wednesday:



It builds more:



Wednesday:



Almost Home Wednesday:



The camera mount shifted so unlike me, the frames lean left. Tilt your head or monitor whichever is easier.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No excitement on my commute, but the Caddy Shack adventure I`m having with a particular squirrel is getting kind of intense at home. For some reason, it`s bound and determined that I need a tunnel under my back steps. I started with just filling in the hole (dug it back out), then escalated into arranging bricks and rocks over the entrance (dug a longer tunnel to get under the obstacles), then nailed wire mesh to the ground (even longer tunnel), now dumping cayenne pepper around (jury is still out). Pretty soon it`s going to be a job for Mr Mossberg.

Searching my memory banks, I don`t think I`ve ever seen a gator except in a zoo. Are they generally agressive?

Pretty neat comparison, Brian. I`m sure looking at them is more fun than riding in it, al least on the storm day.



phirebug said:


> there is an explanation for why i was unable to do anything about it, but it's embarassing.


There you`ve done it. If you had just told us that you ended up pushing your bike, it would have passed unnoticed. But NOW you have us wondering about the embarrasing mystery explanation


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## phirebug (Apr 20, 2012)

> There you`ve done it. If you had just told us that you ended up pushing your bike, it would have passed unnoticed. But NOW you have us wondering about the embarrasing mystery explanation


haha fair enough...i've been having a lot of trouble with flats lately, so i was all out of spare tubes. i had a bunch coming in the mail, so i didn't buy a spare when i went to the store. then i got home and discovered that i had mistakenly bought a shraeder tube. it *sort of* fit through the hole in my rim so i just put it on there and tried it out. when it first started losing pressure, i stopped to pump it back up (only had to get a little ways down the road at that point) and that's when i remembered that when i set up my pump for presta valves, i threw away the little plastic piece that goes inside the pump head to depress the valve core on shraeder tubes. with no spare tubes and an ineffective pump, there was nothing left to do but walk.

all of these mistakes would be embarassing enough for a newbie, but i've been riding bikes since the mid 90s...


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Second commute on the new Ogre and I am lovin it. It is so nice to have some gears on a bike. I was thinking about converting my old Kona Unit SS 26er to a winter beater, but I don't know if I could go back to SS now. lol

Today is also the first day I've given the weather man the finger and rode anyway. I tend to be a fair weather commuter and when there are storms I stay off the bike. I want to change that and today is a good day for change so I rode anyway even tho there are scattered storms all day. Personally I think there won't be any rain, but..... famous last words, right?

KCCO


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

woodway said:


> I'm having a bit of a rough week and I am happy it's friday. Sometime during the week, I did something to my left knee. It's swollen and has fluid in it. I don't remember bashing it, but maybe I did it when Mountain Biking last weekend and it took a couple days to show up. "So what's the big deal?", you might ask, "Just take a few days off.". Well, I am trying to go 100% bike commuting this year. I've got a perfect record so far and hate to give it up. That's why I am happy it's friday...a little rest this weekend and I hope my knee is good to go next week.


Good luck Woodway.... just ride slow. Keep it up!

PS - I love when someone replies and their post shows up before the OP. I am psychic and typed out Woodway's post before he even posted it... put it in the quotes tho as to not scare anyone.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*Riding with knee pain*

I'm having a bit of a rough week and I am happy it's friday. Sometime during the week, I did something to my left knee. It's swollen and has fluid in it. I don't remember bashing it, but maybe I did it when Mountain Biking last weekend and it took a couple days to show up. "So what's the big deal?", you might ask, "Just take a few days off.". Well, I am trying to go 100% bike commuting this year. I've got a perfect record so far and hate to give it up. That's why I am happy it's friday...a little rest this weekend and I hope my knee is good to go next week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I thought I was the only one with that power Dalton... hope you heal up quick woodway!

Someone talked me into running an uphill 5k last night... it was not just uphill, but it finished by shooting 1.5 miles up to the top of the steepest trail we've got...difficult to clear on the mountian bike without screwing up and putting a foot down. I am hurtin' for certain this morning. Not sure why runners do that kind of thing. I was able to run the whole thing, but I'm pretty sure I almost died. 

Beautiful morning around here... spotted this guy. The weak storm system we've had for a couple days is basically stuck on those mountains...supposed to roll out of here today for another beautiful weekend.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I thought I was the only one with that power Dalton...


Yeah, I thought you were too, so I found myself scanning backwards for Woodway`s post! I gave up at the top of the page before I scrolled back down to realize Dalton`s new talent.

I`m wishing you a successful rest weekend, Woodway. I`m also trying ONCE AGAIN for that magic 100, and so far this is the furthest I`ve made it. Good luck to us!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I should also mention that if I ever saw an alligator on my commute I would scream like a little girl and pee myself.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> I should also mention that if I ever saw an alligator on my commute I would scream like a little girl and pee myself.


Me too, but mainly because I live in the city and in Michigan.....


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Lol

I guess living in FL for the majority of my life, seeing them is just like seeing a bird to me. They are not known to be aggressive creatures, most of the time if they attack people, it is because someone has been feeding them. They are known for eating small animals and a man was just attacked around here recently trying to get his golf ball of of a pond... but it is thought that someone was feeding that gator too. (Which is why it is also illegal to feed them)

I kayak every once in a while and actually being in the water with them is a very humbling experience. Check out these guys, they can be seen regularly around a local boat ramp. I think they are almost 12 footers.










... and now back to your regularly scheduled commuting thread. :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dalton said:


> Good luck Woodway.... just ride slow. Keep it up!
> 
> PS - I love when someone replies and their post shows up before the OP. I am psychic and typed out Woodway's post before he even posted it... put it in the quotes tho as to not scare anyone.


Thanks Dalton. And if I hit "Submit Reply" and then see that you have already replied to this post before I typed it, I am going to be asking you for stock recommendations. 



rodar y rodar said:


> I`m wishing you a successful rest weekend, Woodway. I`m also trying ONCE AGAIN for that magic 100, and so far this is the furthest I`ve made it. Good luck to us!


Thanks rodar! Fulltime for me is 180 miles and 11,000 feet of ascent per week. I hope I don't crack before the year is up...



CommuterBoy said:


> I should also mention that if I ever saw an alligator on my commute I would scream like a little girl and pee myself.


I would be looking around for Rod Serling...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> Fulltime for me is 180 miles and 11,000 feet of ascent per week.


That's awesome.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

It's officially Fatbike Friday! No better way to breakup the weekly commute than rolling a Fatback to work!

Goose Lake









Chester Creek


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I reached the approach to the last hill home after a 37 mile ride at the same time a following vehicle was a third of a mile behind me. I should have beat them to the stop easily even with a head wind and only about 18 mph to start if they had not been speeding excessively. I was out of the saddle climbing taking the lane as the road is narrow. My pulse over 170 (it was dropping and had dropped to that when I looked when it was over). Stop sign at the crest and it is a blind hill. I was within 100 feet of the stop sign. 

Indiana has automatic reckless driving charges for passing on a blind hill, and within one hundred feet of a stop sign. You guessed it, this lead-footed dolt behind started to pass, just as I crested, when they could see nothing, and I could see an oncoming vehicle not quite to the stop. A sudden left arm with fingers fully splayed got the driver to reconsider. Apparently THAT signal was understood! Just what I needed over max heart rate: some adrenalin! Good the heart is responding well to treatment!

There was no way the driver could get by and back in safely. I have left one driver out to dry on my left at that stop sign in the wrong lane before. I was fed bumper once there and barely got stopped and wasn't fast enough to throw my water bottle (stainless), but that isn't happening again. 

I got the signal from a safe cycling web page the I do not remember. I was ready to take the lawn on the right (I know the owners) and beat on the side of the pickup if needed. I rolled the stop and signaled my left at the next T about 800 feet ahead. This time the driver stopped at the intersection and then held back until I got my left (I was on the centerline discouraging anything else). If the driver had only been as considerate in the first place. Some of the Bike Month celebrations around here, I guess. 

Being seen helps. But we still have to trust they don't do something really bone-headed and cell phones stack the deck for ossification. Nice to know the signal works and the 32mm tires do very well on grass. 

My POV popped its mount and suffered a shattered lens earlier on the ride. It's replaceable, I'm not, so I am not too fussed losing a $300 camera that way. Stayin' alive.... 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

180 and 11,000. I think I could squeeze that in around work for ONE week. For me to do do it full time would have to mean unemployment. You`re a maniac, W!

Yowza, Brian! Did you consider chucking your water bottle even though car decided to stay behind?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Damn fine looking fatbike Jordy! :jealous: :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Report from Crawfordsville, after 50 mile ride from West Lafayette, Indiana. 

Wind 10-20 in the face from about the 15 mile point. Averaged 14.5 keeping the pulse below 140 most of the time. Felt like two dragging brakes and panniers full of groceries. 

Kept hearing this small voice saying "Are we there yet?" for the last 5 miles. There is no back seat. Hmmm. Sunburned in spite of sun tan and lotion. Maybe wind burned? Got the butt toughened up enough, but was glad to be out of the saddle. Terre Haute after about 70 miles tomorrow. Once called the armpit of the midwest for the smell of fertilizer and abattoir companies and the farm pesticide adds on ag production shows on TV, Though I don't think I want to live there, it isn't as bad as when Johnny Carson labeled it so. I am accessing the forum through someone's unsecured home network so have to cut it short. 

Still crankin'

BrianMc 

Indiana's got me. For now. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Doh, headwinds! Well, better than funnels. Was it hot? Keep up the good work!
Enjoy and ride safe. And no tornadoes!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice going Brian, way to keep your head down and keep pedaling. Hope the wind is easier on you all today. :band:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Back In The Saddle Again*

¡Buenos Días! - My first Maine commute was 32 degrees after a week in Cozumel's mid 80s - Welcome home. It's alright though, it was windless and it is starting to look like spring. I don't think I've been off a bike that long in over a year.

OK, now it's time to try and figure out what I was doing at work when I left.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My commute was pretty ordinary, but when I got to work I found someone's bike parked in MY spot in the warehouse. I'm trying to shrug it off and not be all passive aggressive about it. I like the guy's enthusiasm and willingness to ride to work, but that was my spot. 

I might just move my crap and find a new spot. It's kind of a trivial issue, really.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ you should have peed on it. (The spot-to mark it, not the other guy's bike, although that would have sent a message too.)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ you should have peed on it. (The spot-to mark it, not the other guy's bike, although that would have sent a message too.)


I did, but I should have eaten more asparagus beforehand. :madman:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Ha! Now you guys tell me the trick! I should have learned that one when I was parking with the other hordes of bike commuters at work (well, realtively). Now that I park illegally around by the back door, there`s nobody else to steal MY spot.

Buenos dias, Sr Bedwards! Did you eat enough tacos and churros to get good and fat?

No snow yet for Roy219. Are you in the southern hemisphere, Roy? Or just meaning no snow lately?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This whole situation with the new guy is funny. At lunch, I put my stuff down at the table in the break room and went to heat my food. When I went to sit down, I found that the dude had put his food in front of the spot I was about to sit in. :lol: He's a nice guy, and I know for a fact he has no idea what's going on, which makes the whole situation funny rather than annoying.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I ate MOUNDS of food (all-inclusive) but avoided all breads, sweets (except for many, many many drinks) and heavy carbs and I lost 2 lbs. I was fairly active but no biking, running or anything like that. I'm a believer the low carb thing now and it's pretty easy when there are piles of meat available. Kind of a PITA at home but I'm going to try to continue it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

As with every day's commute: Awesome! Finally back to about my "normal" route - a 6.93 miler from my house, around the universities (APU/UAA) along the Campbell Creek trail and to my office. 

This morning was gloriously sunny and about the perfect temp. Wish I had brought my camera with to capture just how beautiful Anchorage can be. God, I love this place!


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

I didn't ride this morning because it looked like we were due for some thunderstorms, but as per usual for weatherman in Iowa they were way off on the forecast and the sun has been out since 10 AM. I did ride back to work after lunch though and it is a beautiful day. Tomorrow I'm going to take the scenic route and try to extend my morning ride to about 10 miles (it's usually 1.2).


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus, you should make a "This space is reserved for the cycling employee of the year S0ckeyeus" signs and put it up where you park your bike. 

Today is one of those 40 degree temp. swing days here in Seattle. High 30's and clear when I left the house this morning. We are in the mid-70's now. I love these days!

I stayed off my bike this weekend and rested my knee. The swelling is almost gone and it did not hurt at all this morning. Looks like my 100% commute run is going to stay in intact...at least for a while longer!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoo, c`mon 100!
I went for a pretty long ride yesterday to a local lake. On the way home, I had about 25 miles worth of glorious tailwinds, cruising up-trending "steps" at 18 - 20 MPH, which is generally out of the question for me. The really coool part is that I made it out there before the wind started, so I got the reward without ever having to pay. Sometimes that wind isn`t so bad


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## ivavi (May 7, 2012)

mine was awesome. I always had to go easy so as to bnot show up at work drenched in sweat, but i just joined the otherwise shitty gym in the basement of the office building, just so I'd have use of their showers. makes so much difference.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bedwards, I went through your neck of the woods Saturday/Sunday on my way to & from a Cinco de Mayo get together in N. Yarmouth. I saw a bald eagle on 302 right near the Sebago boat launch; it was flying and being chased by a few crows. On the way I stopped for a nice trail ride in the White Mountains. Yesterday was the big 5-0 and beautiful weather so I took the day off and hiked up Mt Ellen, one of VT’s 4000 footers. Only pic though is the dog jumping for the last snowball of the year. Then a BBQ and overnighted at my friend’s, so I drove in today. Just as well, it’s raining and blowing and my legs are sore from the hike.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had a great commute both last night and this morning. Sunday morning on the way home had my crank-arm come loose, had to call a taxi for the last 8 mi home, forgot my new helmet where I was broke down at :madman:. Monday I found my helmet (in tact), and learned that I won't have to completely replace crank, just the left retaining cap. Went and got my emergency back up bike ( A WallyWorld Schwinn Avenue that has most all parts upgraded except fork and brifters) and rode like always. Weird thing is on the old bike which is @ 8-10 pounds heavier, and doesn't fit as well, I still shaved 10 min off my time going to work last night :skep:.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, I went through your neck of the woods Saturday/Sunday on my way to & from a Cinco de Mayo get together in N. Yarmouth. I saw a bald eagle on 302 right near the Sebago boat launch; it was flying and being chased by a few crows.


You were about 0.5 miles from my house then. I'll keep my eye out for the eagle. Ironically, flying out of Mexico on Cinco de Mayo means you don't celebrate it at all because you are sitting in airports all day.

Today's AM commute was nice, I missed the rain by 1 min. I'm hoping it breaks for my ride home too. I added some layout bars to my Bridgstone and it now looks like a bull moose with the bar ends and tri-bars. I'll post a pic in the commuter photos or wind thread when I take one.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Only pic though is the dog jumping for the last snowball of the year.


Still snow? Wow, we don`t have any until waaay up in the high elevations. The good part of having a light snow year is that all the mountain passes are open super early. It`s going to get ugly this summer, though 



junior1210 said:


> Had a great commute both last night and this morning. Sunday morning on the way home had my crank-arm come loose, had to call a taxi for the last 8 mi home, forgot my new helmet where I was broke down at :madman:. Monday I found my helmet (in tact), and learned that I won't have to completely replace crank, just the left retaining cap. Went and got my emergency back up bike ( A WallyWorld Schwinn Avenue that has most all parts upgraded except fork and brifters) and rode like always. Weird thing is on the old bike which is @ 8-10 pounds heavier, and doesn't fit as well, I still shaved 10 min off my time going to work last night :skep:.


Bummer getting a double whammy- did having both problems turn out okay make up for the distress? You work nights too?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Day 2 (Monday no internet so late & forgot my camera phone USB so no pics till I.m home: Well, today was a bit more interesting than planned. Sixty- nine point four miles. I retired after 35 miles with equipment malfunction. Near the end of a half mile of mostly downhill and doing about 20 mph in spite of some headwind, I came to a driveway washout across the road which looked flat but he gravel and sand undulated in bands and I was being passed so couldn’t go left. The ridges of deposits set up a bucking horse resonance that ousted one of my stainless water bottles from its cage and it bounced under my tire that then flipped it into the spokes. You can’t make this sort of thing up. Two spokes gone and a deep vee rim toasted, and fender bent, mounting bolt ripped out. No Velocity Deep Vee rim in Terre Haute. I was doing pretty well, too for an old rider on a bike that with what I was carrying, was at least twice the weight of the stripped racing bikes. Then theer is my spare tire. This volunteer work is getting expensive. I called Kathryn and sent The Duchess home, rather than have it banged up in the luggage van. I ride a ‘loaner’ with my pedals and blinky on it.

BrianMc


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Damn BMC, you just can't make that ish up...sorry bro! Another fine day of commuting in Alaska. Still no real rain in what feels like months...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Day 3 (Tuesday) Are we there yet?. 

Got re-a-quaint-ed with a 5 speed freewheel, not even Shimano Powerglide over 52 mils to Linton. Straight teeth. I forgot how it used to be without pins and ramps to aid shifting. Very retro. Stubby stem mount shifters which I thought would give me blisters they were that stiff. It has a triple 52-48-42 the rationale of which escapes me. It had been in an accident the week before and had a substitute front wheel in a not quite straight fork, bent crank and a wonky freewheel. The seat had an integral seat post clamp and the post was 27 not 27.2 mm, so no way to use my saddle. So of course, new regions of my backside were assaulted and sitting is only just becoming unnoticeable four and a half hours after the fact. My arms neck and hands were upset about the fit, too. Still, the other option was to go home with the bike. A better loaner is being arranged as the longest grades come tomorrow around Bedford, IN (you can look that up. I've driven them and for Indiana, they are Deusies. 42-14 was non-ideal for a low range today. Would have been hopeless tomorrow. Judging by the luggage I got in in near the half. Not bad given the 'race down a hill then spin myself to the top or lug it out, rest, and repeat style I found to work best. Putting the heavy bike and rider's main attribute to work.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Day 2... I came to a driveway washout across the road which looked flat but he gravel and sand undulated in bands and I was being passed so couldn't go left. The ridges of deposits set up a bucking horse resonance that ousted one of my stainless water bottles from its cage and it bounced under my tire that then flipped it into the spokes. You can't make this sort of thing up. Two spokes gone and a deep vee rim toasted, and fender bent, mounting bolt ripped out. ...
> BrianMc


Wow, that's pretty crazy, but glad it did not result in bodily injury, it sounds like it easily could have. You and the duchess are troopers. :thumbsup: Good luck getting a better loaner.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

My plan to stop commuting for the winter hasn't really happened yet. I've already clocked up 60km this week.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, crap! My condolences to the Duchess, as well as to your back side. Lucky (I guess) you were able to dig up a loaner- sure hope tomorrow`s loaner suits you better! 52-48-42? Yeah, that`s a weird one, alright. Anyway, it sounds like you did an admirable job of hanging in there on such a torture device :thumbsup:

Keep on truckin, RPK!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another sunny night commuting home by bicycle. Never gets old!!! My bike trail is finally snow free!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^That`s one happy looking Ogre. 
Easy to pick out from the background too, with no camoflage.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

On the ride home yesterday, I came across a guy waving his arms at me in front of his chest as if he wanted me to stop or turn around. I thought maybe something was going on ahead and he wanted to warn me about it. It turns out, he was just interested in my bike, specifically whether or not my bike came with fenders pre-attached. He said he used to ride his bike around for transportation back in the day (many pounds ago). After a little chat, I went on my way. Maybe one day, I'll see him out there on a bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey JordyB, what kind of rear derailluer you have on that bike? Agree with rodar, that Ogre is looking very happy in that shot.

BrianMc, did you know that "Hoosier" is reputed to drive from the Anglo-Saxon "hoo", meaning high or hill and immigrants to the state were reputed to have brought the term with them when they settled in the hills of southern Indiana? Keep pedaling


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We got about an inch of rain yesterday, so I took the roads this a.m. I thought the .5 mi section of my road was going to be closed 5/2-5/4, but a closer look at the sign and it reads 5/2-5/14, so I had to detour. In the 50's F with sprinkles this a.m., I was too hot on the hills with shorts, T, and rain jacket, but I guess I might want it this afternoon if the forecast thunderstorms happen.

BMc, does your habitat ride have an online contribution link you can post?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bummer getting a double whammy- did having both problems turn out okay make up for the distress? You work nights too?


Looks like it'll turn out o.k., it's my own fault for not checking that that cap was tight. If you neglect maintenance it'll haunt you.

I work nights 2100 to 0600. Commuting at night is kinda fun, not to mention you see some real winners out there. Last week saw a guy riding wrong way on a state highway, dressed in black, no reflectors or lights, no helmet, and didn't understand why I called him a suicidal idiot.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

rode in on my FS today for the change of pace. I haven't been on the trails in quite some time, and as such have neglected that bike in favor of my commuter, which I can ride in the normal course of the day.

man, it felt weird.

the more upright position had me checking to make sure the bike was functioning properly. I did need to add some pressure to my rear shock, which I haven't done since I replaced the seals on it a couple years ago. but even after setting the sag, it felt weird, so I tossed my shock pump in my backpack in case I need to top it off on the way home.

there's a little bit of dirt trail between work and home that I can ride as an option. unfortunately, it's in a low area and we've had nearly 5" of rain in the past 3 days, so the those trails aren't really an option. some of them are probably underwater still.

I think I've also decided that my mtb bars don't have nearly enough sweep. I noticed they were a little too straight right after installing them, but it wasn't a huge difference from earlier. But with my commuter having mustache bars, I am much more used to the better wrist position I have, and so the straighter bars on my mtb feel even more too straight. At 680mm, the width feels good...just need more sweep.

I get a little annoyed when drivers won't pass even when they have plenty of space to do so. I was approaching a left turn I needed to make, and I checked my rear to see if there was anyone back there. There was, and since I had plenty of distance before my turn, I wanted to let them go before I made my move. No dice. They camped out back there, forcing me to continue to check to see if they were going to do anything. I eventually just signalled and went into the left turn lane. They wanted to make the same turn, so they followed me through onto the cross street and finally made their pass. I appreciate the courtesy they extended by not driving aggressively and being obvious that they saw me and all that. But it's okay to pass, and I prefer being passed to racking up a long line of traffic behind me because someone is too nervous to pass me.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

woodway said:


> Hey JordyB, what kind of rear derailluer you have on that bike? Agree with rodar, that Ogre is looking very happy in that shot.


Woodway: That's an XT Shadow 9-Speed Long Cage.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

+3 for the sexy Ogre.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Thx guys! Ogre is a BEAST! Between the burly wide 29er hoops, thomson cockpit, and xt drivetrain, it should last awhile! This is a training bike, love how heavy it is, and once at speed, just keeps rolling!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Excellent commute this morning. A bit damp on the way in to the office. I'm still dealing with two areas of packed snow - one at the underpass by the ANTHC and the other just under MLK drive. 

Other than that, the riding has been almost good enough to make me forget that it looks like it'll still be a while until the dirt is ready for a pounding up here.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NateHawk said:


> I think I've also decided that my mtb bars don't have nearly enough sweep. I noticed they were a little too straight right after installing them, but it wasn't a huge difference from earlier. But with my commuter having mustache bars, I am much more used to the better wrist position I have, and so the straighter bars on my mtb feel even more too straight.
> 
> I get a little annoyed when drivers won't pass even when they have plenty of space to do so...
> ... I appreciate the courtesy they extended by not driving aggressively and being obvious that they saw me and all that. But it's okay to pass, and I prefer being passed to racking up a long line of traffic behind me because someone is too nervous to pass me.


I know where you`re comming from. I`ve gotten accustomed to having my hands face each other with drop bars, and now when I ride our tandem (with flat bars), my wrists hate me and my hands go numb post haste if I forget to ungrip and wiggle my fingers every few minutes.

That kind of overboard courtesy bugs me too. We`re a tough to please bunch!


JordyB said:


> Thx guys! Ogre is a BEAST! Between the burly wide 29er hoops, thomson cockpit, and xt drivetrain, it should last awhile! This is a training bike, love how heavy it is, and once at speed, just keeps rolling!


I know I wouldn`t want to get in the way of those tractor tires when they`re rolling.


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## cormy (Sep 11, 2010)

I had a sickkkk commute. I rode to school this morning with my cold weather cycling kit on, then i ditched my bag, delayered a bit, grabbed my SS mtb and headed up to the local trails. I got 16 mi of rocky single track in before A period  . going to start doing this every tuesday and wednesday when i have a late start.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice fully rigid SS cormy, and beautiful shot. Where is that?

But I m scoping out those handlebars - wow they look lke they came off a longhorn  You could never get bars that wide between the trees up here...


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## cormy (Sep 11, 2010)

woodway said:


> Nice fully rigid SS cormy, and beautiful shot. Where is that?
> 
> But I m scoping out those handlebars - wow they look lke they came off a longhorn  You could never get bars that wide between the trees up here...


I took that shot up top of Red Hill (pictured below) in Carbondale, CO, the mountain in the backround (above) is Mt. Sopris. its kinda our town icon.

I loovee the bars too. if you're interested in them they are Titec j bars


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cormy said:


> I had a sickkkk commute. I rode to school this morning with my cold weather cycling kit on, then i ditched my bag, delayered a bit, grabbed my SS mtb and headed up to the local trails. I got 16 mi of rocky single track in before A period  . going to start doing this every tuesday and wednesday when i have a late start.


Woohoo, sounds like a great way to start the day, and the pic brings it to life.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> BMc, does your habitat ride have an online contribution link you can post?


It's a bit in need of an update, but you should be able to get through:

Habitat for Humanity Decatur County - Home

If not, they will no doubt accept donations after the fact.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Day 4. Church Camp, destination, and no Internet. Can’t type well because fingers and hands are numb. Combination of foam padded gloves that are three years old and losing effectiveness, rough road, and aluminum frame and fork. Understand about the need for more hand positions, too, The bar ends aren't enough wit about 5 or so hours on the bike. 68 (was supposed to be 64 but a traffic had my attention and I missed the mark. I was chased down when one of the organizers witnessed my goof. Threatening traffic tends to grab your attention compared to finding the marks. Interesting shifting the old derailleur technology in a 3 x 5, then index shifting in a 3 x 8 on back-to-back days. With indexing, the front up back down or front down back up is a double snick. Shifting under power is easier, though I did find the limits. The heavier wheels store a lot of energy to assault a hill. The bike seems to be several gears short for me right now, though the day on the older bike may have taxed my legs a lot. (a 30 I think compared to my 24, I think). Knees and legs won’t hear of slogging it at low rpm after trying to spin up. Walked about half of three of the four toughest assents. Goinbg to need new cleats, and heels hopefully not new Sidis.

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Day 5. Forgot the sunscreen and got burned. Not painfully so. Walked parts of many hills. Also added 8 miles to the 51 we were supposed to ride, making hte last 6.2 miles about 14.5. I also added some tough hills in the process to walk up partway. More numb hands, but at two and a half hours after the bike only the last three fingers on the right hand have not recovered. Another cyclist lost his backup rear wheel when a bladed spoke pulled through the rim (how the mechanic described it). He lost the first rear wheel to a collision minutes into the first day of the ride, and this was his backup one. I am considereing a double set for The Duchess. I also have to check whether Campy does DT index shifters or bar ends that can be converted. I missed truck mirrors twice today by scant inches, one on my detour was without a doubt plain intimidation. The roads on average being county roads seem a lot rougher than the 2009 Minnesota 500 route (a lot of bike trails). The turn marks are easily hidden by traffic or are only 20 feet from the turn. I was running with traffic when I saw the second last one of the day come out from under the pickup ahead (downhill at 25 mph or so?). Braking hard put me 20 feet past the turn and cost me all momentum for the climb to the next turn. I said some nasty words, I’m afraid. That was on my evaluation form.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> It's a bit in need of an update, but you should be able to get through:
> Habitat for Humanity Decatur County - Home


Done!:rockon:



BrianMc said:


> Day 5. ....
> BrianMc


Wow, this is a long ride! Anybody remember how many days it is? Nice going Brian! Hang tough. :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Done!:rockon:


Thanks on behalf of the future owners of the next home.



mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, this is a long ride! Anybody remember how many days it is? Nice going Brian! Hang tough. :thumbsup:


Checking back before lights out. A week. Sunday at 9:00 to Saturday at 11:00. Shorter ride the last day. Haven't looked at tomorrow,. Good weather forecast on through Sat. at the moment. Caught a strawberry festival, at the Courthouse in Bloomington, today. Just had strawberries. No shortcake or ice cream for the GFDFCFSF (gluten free, dairy free, corn free, soy free).

Night.

BrianMc


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Awesome, just awesome.


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

MileHighMark said:


> Awesome, just awesome.


Coalton at Marshall Mesa?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Very tasty, MileHigh . Post away, I always love your rides.

Holy cow, Brian! That really is turning into an epic. After all those issues, you deserve SHORTCAKE with your berries, damnit! It sounds like you`re making the best of things though, and dang near have it knocked out. Hang in there :thumbsup:


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

lidarman said:


> Coalton at Marshall Mesa?


Mayhoffer-Singletree. Just past the bridge, headed towards McCaslin/Superior.


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

MileHighMark said:


> Mayhoffer-Singletree. Just past the bridge, headed towards McCaslin/Superior.


I recently dropped my wife's car off in Broomfield for service. Got to commute on bike from there. I took Coalton-High plains in to my office in S Boulder. What a fantastic commute. I could have done the hill up over to meadowlark too. Either way would have been great.

The cool air in the morning with those views is so amazing right now.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I almost tried to unlock the wrong bike...It was locked one parking meter over. Exact same bike and lock except it was original and I have a few lights installed along with a different front brake caliper.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

lidarman said:


> I recently dropped my wife's car off in Broomfield for service. Got to commute on bike from there. I took Coalton-High plains in to my office in S Boulder. What a fantastic commute. I could have done the hill up over to meadowlark too. Either way would have been great.
> 
> The cool air in the morning with those views is so amazing right now.


I took my car in for service on a weird brake issue once. Should have seen the eyes of the guy out front as my friend and I pulled two bikes out of the trunk of a little Corolla. Both were 26" and had both wheels removed, but it all fit inside the trunk with the seats folded down.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice crisp (cold) sunny morning commute today. A nice change from the rain we've been having. It was nice to get the road bike out for a change.

Good Job Brian MC! Although, it doesn't sound as pleasurable as a week long bike tour should be.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Beautiful clear morning here in the Seattle area. I can see the sky getting light when I head out of my neighborhood! Whoohoo!

I discovered last night that my rear brake has been dragging all week. Fixed now and riding was so much easier this morning. No wonder my knees hurt...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was still raining here but much less than yesterday morning. A chilly 38F and tonight there is a frost advisory.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Its a beautiful morning in SE Michigan. A bit chilly at the beginning of my 45 min ride, but warmed up nicely by the time I got here. Still loving the new commuter.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

Today and yesterday were beautiful in the morning on the East Coast. A bit crisp bu perfect once you get going. I'm still on Candies with street shoes but Loudviking sent me some shoes and I am picking them up tomorrow. So I'm pumped that next week I get to ride in proper shoes. First time in three weeks!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The Penultimate Day's Report:

Day 6. Numb hands, again. Should have packed salt tablets. No power below about 50 rpm, so once I spun out of the lowest ratio, I was done. Whoo-hoo the downhills: fitting if Hoos are Hills! I tried to get to the 45 mph speed limit on one, the fat commuter tires made it a snap on rougher pavement, though one grade with bands of wash-out sand on the corners was a bit too thrilling. Gatorade would have worked for electrolyte and avoided the no power issue but I hate the stuff for some reason, and my solution did not provide enough, apparently. BLT for lunch with no toast, and all that salty bacon did the trick. Prior to that, in double shifting the second part of a roller coaster, I bent the 8 speed chain. What an animal! Actually Tim had swapped out a smaller commuter crankset for a road crankset and had not adjusted the chain. It needs a longer cage RD. But a phenomenal loaner…until I got too used to it and forgot it was not set up like mine, with Sheldon’s right lever for front brake and OTB’d a sudden stop. First in a long while. Guess I was due. Scrapped up the brake lever, toasted my jersey, minor road rash, rang my head, crushed my ego. Once the salt settled in I could haul, though. Cranked up grades I walked in the morning. Got in last but I had a lot of time out waiting for the chain repair watching others ride by. We had 8 miles to go at 3:55 and a deadline of 5:00 before we’d need to call in. “I think we can make it”. No problem even waiting out the train, school bus, and garbage. Learned a lot, discovered I have come a long way but have a way to go with the chelation to get back where I should be. 

Tomorrow 20 something miles into the West side of Indy. Wearing Habitat Jerseys.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ BMc, OTB, yikes, I hope I never do that on a road bike. Hope you are still feeling OK, don't fool around with that head-banger. Glad you have a shorter day tomorrow. K & the duchess will probably not let you out of their sight once you are home safe! With what you've been through, that'd better be a darned fine house Habitat builds.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

BrianMc OTB sucks no mater the reason, hope you don't feel to sore tomorrow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Day 7: We had a nice 53 at dawn with clouds and a wonderful mid 60-s to low 70’s partly sunny/partly cloudy for most of the 22 miles to the finish. I elected to ride as a faster member of the slow group rather than a slower (–est?) member of the fast group. There were some other ‘ringers’ but they, too had to hold to the low average speed with no attack on the minor hills. (After doing a portion of the Hilly 100, yesterday, my former hills are dwarfed in comparison. Still these are small potatoes for those with mountain vistas.) I hope they post the route maps and elevation profiles so I can link to them for you. We had some neophytes and this is a challenging route. My lungs and heart were fine, but I could not generate the leg output I had, but I am still detoxing, so maybe next year. I have a bike rack, so I can now go to hills south of here to train and get back for supper. We had a Police Escort into town that saved a lot of mayhem, but riding in a close pack means you are too busy to enjoy the sights. Just smile, wave, peddle/coast, dodge potholes, and not collide. A few friends and family were at the park to greet us. In summary, a nice helpful group of people trying to improve the world one house at a time, riding some crazy hills in Indiana. They announced a ‘Blitz Build’ of exteriors for the tornado areas of Southern Indiana over the next 6 months. Pics to come.

So that concludes an episode of commuting as volunteer work. Seven days, three bikes, one bent chain, one OTB, an achy bod, and a big smile. Would I do it again, sure, but not starting tomorrow. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> So that concludes an episode of commuting as volunteer work. Seven days, three bikes, one bent chain, one OTB, an achy bod, and a big smile.


See? Just like I told ya- piece of cake 

Oh, you didn`t damage your fork with the water bottle incedent, did you? Sure hope not after all the work you put into that bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> See? Just like I told ya- piece of cake. Oh, you didn`t damage your fork with the water bottle incedent, did you? Sure hope not after all the work you put into that bike.


I did not expect it to be easy or everyone would be doing it. I was worried my metabolism would not be back enough. I was not up to 2009 standards but I did each day under my own power as long as I had 2 functional wheels. I was afraid I'd have to be sagged off a few days.

The Bikes:

Day 1 & Half Day 2:

The Duchess in full road trim (48-36-26 x 13-29 10 Spd friction:



The route seems to involve more bike aware drivers and there are enough fast enough out front to act as a vanguard. While the lights got some positive comments, The weight of the batteries (another in the rack bag) led me to decide to strip them off for Day three, but I did not get the chance. Day 2 started with rain, and following non fender bikes was a bummer. Only the morning saw a light rain, the weather was a bit hot day one, but otherwise the best riding weather imaginable. Best in the 10 years of the ride,

I'll run her stripped next time keeping the rack to carry rain gear and ease the jersey pocket load and most of the wet butt from wet roads.

Day 3:

The Firenze (52-48-42 x 14-28 5 spd, friction)



Without this loan my ride was over. It lost the original front to an accident the week before. Fork was a bit off. Pulled right a bit. Steel rim rear wheel. Weird saddle for a non-erect seating position. My pedals were installed. I tore my legs up riding it.

Day 4 to Day 7:

Giant Rapid with Road Crankset (52-42-30 x 11-32 8 spd):



Cheif mechanic and owner drove 2 hours on Tuesday night to retrieve it. It is his commuter. :thumbsup: My introduction to index shifting, What I missed about this when the levers come readily to hand is the ability to shift one up and then down and back up maintaining cadence through a slight change in grade. That is too minor to bother with as far as I am concerned with DT shifters. The up in front and down in back shifts or vice versa are very nice. The DT bosses make good cable stop mounts. Campy brifters aren't exacly free, though.

Bent Chain:



You can see the slight twist in the chain before and after the arrow. Made the idler cage and RD jump and the rear to shift up and down each time through. I was getting some erratic shifting before it went nuts. I think a partial dropped chain onto the BB, with it on a tooth or two of the 30 got it started and a too-soon on power on a double shift finished it.

Fixing bent Chain:

Owner and mechanic is a *really* nice guy (hard example to follow):



There were Madones, and other all carbon ultra-light road biles, a gaggle of classic 2 x 5's ridden by the naive and unprepared, one hybrid, and this heavy (about the same as The Duchess with everything aboard, and ridden very quickly by someone about a decade (maybe more?) older than me:



I thought that bike would be of interest here.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

First thing I thought when I saw the pic of the Firenze was "man what a let-down that saddle must have been". Thanks for sharing your ride all week. I really enjoyed reading about your adventure.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Some sites/sights:

Covered Bridge 1, mid morning Day 2:



I rode both ways across it.

Covered Bridge 2, Day 2 about lunch time after bent wheel:



No time for me to walk it both ways.

Motivation:

Riding the Firenze into the biggest headwind of he ride up a gradually increasing grade to a dead stop and a left turn up more grade bu at least with a mostly cross wind, had left me dead tired. These guys are worse off. It was a very fast slight downhill from here to the stop on Tuesday.



Day 3 just before a nasty climb to the Church Camp on Day 3 our furthest out stop before coming backNorth and East to Indy. Some pretty weeds glowing where the sun hit:



The trees and bends in roads did not provide the vistas that others have posted here. I was also sort of wrecked at the top and photography did not come to mind.

Day 5 and Indiana University in Boomington early afternoon.



Day 6:

Nice day, nice road:



Nice place:



SAG stop midmorning. Tank up on bananas and oranges left over from breakfast, refill bottles after a tough bit of climbing.



For Mtbxplorer:

Friendly cute and smelly farm dog who got distracted before a good picture could be shot.



One of the County Habitats raised money by providing this wonderful SAG stop:



Where the dog made her rounds.

I have not done it justice, as I kept forgetting I had a camera, but hopefully that gives a feel of the thing.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Those bridges are cool! I wonder why they say to cross at a walk. Do you think they all say that? Some nice scenery, Brian. Nice you thought to take pictures of your loaners, too. That Firenze`s shifters were on the top tube?

EDIT: The first time I told you it would be a piece of cake, I thought it really would be. The second time, after hearing of your hardships, I was kidding- I know it wasn`t. Pretty good pulling it off on unknown bikes, even tougher considering the conditions of those bikes. I sure am glad that people were able to dig some up for you, though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Those bridges are cool! I wonder why they say to cross at a walk. Do you think they all say that?


*** It is dark in them. I suppose it keeps cyclists from creaming pedestrians, The road surface is boards so 23 mm tires can find spaces between boards on some. Some have beautiful wooden arches, others have neat trusses and timber you will not appreciate if you race through. The bridges I have used in Moscow, Westport, and Busching Covered Bridge are open to vehicles up to a weight limit, and you can't see well until your eyes adjust. Going slow lets one back out and not collide with an oncoming. Speed of weight transfer?



rodar y rodar said:


> Some nice scenery, Brian. Nice you thought to take pictures of your loaners, too. That Firenze`s shifters were on the top tube?


*** Stubby levers on a stem mount. Almost got blisters from them.



rodar y rodar said:


> EDIT: The first time I told you it would be a piece of cake, I thought it really would be. The second time, after hearing of your hardships, I was kidding- I know it wasn`t. Pretty good pulling it off on unknown bikes, even tougher considering the conditions of those bikes. I sure am glad that people were able to dig some up for you, though.


*** What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but the almost killing you is very much experienced.  Walking up those hills was almost as hard as grinding it out but was doable. My heart and lungs were better than in 2009, and my max pulse rate is up to 172, a 10 point increase, but the power output of the legs is not back yet. Part of that is the adrenals, thyroid, and testosterone are not normal yet in spite of treatment.

*** There were many who had to SAG it out, and I did not other than the broken wheel incident.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*+1 Self Sealing Tube*

I had to swap a wheel over on my commuter this weekend and was blissfully unaware that my Nashbar self sealing tube had done it's work. Even the puncture resistance of the Big Apples didn't stop the 3/4" long brad that was sticking through the tire.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow Brian! sounds like one you won't forget. 
I'm back after a week off ... which coincided nicely with the major part of the road construction, and I hisssssssed to work on a cloud of smooth black asphalt with no imperfections. So nice.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wow Brian! sounds like one you won't forget.
> I'm back after a week off ... which coincided nicely with the major part of the road construction, and I hisssssssed to work on a cloud of smooth black asphalt with no imperfections. So nice.


Gonna stick with the BA's after all this new black cloud to ride on?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah I've still got a dirt road and singletrack option to get to the black beauty. I am going to replace the BA's this summer though... looking at other options, but I keep coming back to the BA's.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m ramping myself up to try for a new personal distance record soon. Last week and this week both had an 80+ ride, next weekend I`ll be camping some where (not decided where) and hope to get my 80 again one or both days. I want to hit 160 miles this fall, which will be PB, then 200 miles next year.



bedwards1000 said:


> I had to swap a wheel over on my commuter this weekend and was blissfully unaware that my Nashbar self sealing tube had done it's work. Even the puncture resistance of the Big Apples didn't stop the 3/4" long brad that was sticking through the tire.


Well that was an interresting surprise! Self healing tubes = slimed?



CommuterBoy said:


> I'm back after a week off ... which coincided nicely with the major part of the road construction, and I hisssssssed to work on a cloud of smooth black asphalt with no imperfections. So nice.


Mmm... fresh, smooth asphalt.
Another week off- just in case you couldn`t make it between Easter and Alice Cooper Day :lol:. Was that for the latest stork delivery? Hope all is going well in that department.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hey, CB- can you take a picture of arc`d spokes? See if you can do it RIGHT NOW!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Aahhhhhhh


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, good job :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: 

I am going to get in trouble for leaving work. And now I'm all sweaty.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Happy 2012 Bike 2 Work Week! although every week should be B2WW!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m ramping myself up to try for a new personal distance record soon. Last week and this week both had an 80+ ride, next weekend I`ll be camping some where (not decided where) and hope to get my 80 again one or both days. I want to hit 160 miles this fall, which will be PB, then 200 miles next year.
> 
> Well that was an interresting surprise! Self healing tubes = slimed?


No, pre-installed.
Nashbar Self-Sealing MTB Tube - Normal Shipping Ground
They are heavy as hell but apparently they work. They are filled with goo and thread-like fibers that work their way into the hole.

I'm not sure I'm even interested in riding that far in one day. 100 seems like enough.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Another week off- just in case you couldn`t make it between Easter and Alice Cooper Day :lol:. Was that for the latest stork delivery? Hope all is going well in that department.


Yes, and all good... Back to reality for a few short weeks and then I get the 72 day weekend to hang with the little man.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Deep Vee Forever*

Got the spoke tension off and that rim is round and flat!! It hit a steel water bottle at speed, half flattened it, and there is no flat spot or spayed brake surface. At about 20 mph with a payload of about 215 pounds. That's rugged.

So much for the opinion of the professional at the Terre Haute bike shop. He must have little experience with Deep Vees. I wondered how much of the bow was simply unbalanced spoke tension and how much 'memory. that rim cross section had.

CB: I have a few pieces of relatively fresh pavement here that are a joy. Glad to share the ride.. A couple on the week ride, too. Most of the downhills were rough. One early on Day 2 had a blind hill to a blind corner then a steep descent in a 35 mph zone, An SUV was pushing for a chance to pass when I hit the crest, the corner, and the descent. The driver honked after me as I left her behind. WooHoo! The Duchess was in fine form and the 32 mm tires let me let it run rough as the descent was.

BrianMc
.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another beautiful evening commuting home in Anchorage!!!

Ogre in its natural setting!









Ogre eating some grass!


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## oromis (Jul 13, 2011)

I want to enjoy those pics but the only thing my eyes notice is the horrific cross-chaining. It was just for the photo op right?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Did it just to bug ya! At least it isn't big-big!!! Had to downshift for the grass, didn't realize I was in my big ring until I left.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Frantic commute in tonight- it was my turn for running practice. I walked out the door the first time at the normal hour, only to realize that it was a lot windier than I had expected. I usually give myself an extra five minutes or so when it`s like that. Went around to the bike and my standard calibrated thumb inspection detected that the front tire was completely flat, so I pumped it up, planning to ride in and fix the tire tonight or before going home in the morning. Four blocks from home, I felt it getting mushy and turned around to go home and do a quick wheel swap. Almost immediately after turning around, it was too flat to ride, so I tried to pump it up one more time to get me home. Nope- wouldn`t hold any air at all now. I must have either pinched or damaged the stem from trying to ride without enough pressure, so I had to hoof it. Luckilly, I did have my spare wheels set up, and they had good pressure, so the front one went on the bike and I was on my way again.

I got in by the skin of my teeth and learned something interresting in the process. The last minute of my dry weather commute route involves riding down a road cut on a little piece of "single track" , then a few squiggles left and right, and cross a neat little pedestrian bridge across a ditch. With the skinny tires, I always have to go super slow down that part. With a fatso in front and a skinny on the rear, I can do it at pretty much the same speed as with fatties all around. I don`t know it that information will ever come in handy, but it was good to find out.



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm not sure I'm even interested in riding that far in one day. 100 seems like enough.


If you were as slow as I am, you`d understand why I have to look for something other than MPH for a goal 


CommuterBoy said:


> Yes, and all good... Back to reality for a few short weeks and then I get the 72 day weekend to hang with the little man.


Well, congratulations, then! That makes three boys now? Enjoy that long weekend with them.


BrianMc said:


> Got the spoke tension off and that rim is round and flat!! It hit a steel water bottle at speed, half flattened it, and there is no flat spot or spayed brake surface. At about 20 mph with a payload of about 215 pounds. That's rugged.


Awesome. And amazing, too.


JordyB said:


> Another beautiful evening commuting home in Anchorage!!!


Jordy, those sure are some rugged looking mountains.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yes, and all good... Back to reality for a few short weeks and then I get the 72 day weekend to hang with the little man.


Nice Mother's Day (or close enough) gift. Parenthood is a chronic condition, as you know. Back to reality? High School is reality? Oh wait! I'm confusing normalcy and reality! 

BrianMc


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## Blueliner (Apr 5, 2010)

I was late today. 

Just getting ready to leave for work and my son confronted me with an algebra problem he could not solve. I worked it and to my satisfaction got the right answer. Was 10 minutes late and had to spend some time on the horn talking to customers while still wearing my cycling garb (not flattering btw so I't told).

Blueliner


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Woke up to 40 and SUN! No excuse to not ride now! Barely a cloud in the sky today in Anchorage!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yes, and all good... Back to reality for a few short weeks and then I get the 72 day weekend to hang with the little man.


72 day weekend?????? What did I miss here, where do I sign up???


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm a teacher.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm a teacher.


LOL, have a nice summer break!!! I got the summer off until my 2nd is born, then I will be hibernating for the winter! :thumbsup:


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

yesterday I rode home with a still bubble-wrapped salsa casseroll frame and fork strapped to my camelbak.
my wife is awesome in extremis.

it's funny, even owning as many bikes as I do, a brand new untouched frame is still such a rarity that I don't even know when (or if) I've ever had to commute with a brand new frame.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Brand new frame! Parts on hand already? Puglsey to follow, or was it a One-Or-The-Other question?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

I commuted home 6 miles with a 29er Big Apple around my neck/torso! Sure wish they folded, damn steel beads. Flippy Floppy all the way home, LOL.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Passed someone yesterday*

...


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## oromis (Jul 13, 2011)

I raced a storm all the way home today. I was just far enough away from it that I was getting a little drizzle to cool me down and the thunder in the background sounded awesome. There is one giant hill on my commute where I was able to stop and look back over the surrounding area. The town to my left was getting pounded by a solid wall of rain. The town I had just come from was getting the worst part of the thunder and wind but where I was going had not been hit yet. That hill is also on a closed road so it made for a peaceful moment before I had to jump back into the race against the sky.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

LOL, nice going MTBX! He looks a little peeved about it too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`d have drafted the turtle- saves energy.

Oromis, that sounds like fun. I love rain as long as it isn`t falling on me- getting to see it in the distance and the smell of an approaching storm is cool. Getting rained ON is another story.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The one I saw on Wednesday last week had turned turtle and was racing hares in heaven. Possums don't bother me but that Box Turtle did, Other riders commented on it too. So glad to see one still in the race. Mind you, one ate my garden forcing a replant and fence one year ad I still have a soft spot for them.

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday evening was one of those it-starts-raining-as-soon-as-I-step-out-the-door kind of commutes. It seemed like the rainclouds were centered over the office. I waited it out a bit before heading out in the rain. Before long, I was out and the road was dry.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I had an intentionally really slow commute in this morning looking for the critical piece of the cap to my insulated bean canteen that rattled off on Monday. No luck. I think the thing that bugs me the most about not finding it is that I'm going to be scanning the shoulder for weeks looking for it.

Nice turtle.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

They're not done with road construction yet... there is a nice layer put down, but they're doing a second layer, and the aprons, side-road-transitions, etc. I am sneaking in to work before they start controlling traffic, but I've been getting stopped on the way home. Trying to pace with the 'pilot car' is good training. Yesterday I spotted a guy I ride with in the line-up and jumped in behind him to get a draft. He drives a rather large truck. It was sweet.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Had to go to training out in the boonies yesterday, so my 6km route grew to 20km. It was super annoyingly windy in the morning, but the ride home was nice enough that I hit the trails even though I was on my "city" bike. It's geared a little high, the fenders rattle, and the BAs are a little unpredictable on rooty, technical stuff, but it performed pretty well. And in the middle of that I saw a guy with a broken chain, and hooked him up with one of my many spare quicklinks to get home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

So far, so good. The rain stopped before I got up, so I had a dry ride in, but thunderstorms are forecast for the trip home. I went to grab the MTB but realized I'd stolen the pedals for fatbiking over the weekend (I had loaned those pedals to somebody who wanted to try flats). Rather than get them I decided on the cross bike, which I had not used on this commute yet. It cut off about 10 minutes from the trip compared to the knobbies, but I was pushing too tall a gear on the 2 mile hill, rideable but lower cadence than desirable.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ The singlespeed has taught me that I can push a much higher gear than I usually do. Eliminating an easier option makes you dig deep! I've surprised myself.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ The singlespeed has taught me that I can push a much higher gear than I usually do. Eliminating an easier option makes you dig deep! I've surprised myself.


I agree with this. I started uploading my rides to Strava a couple months ago. Strava has a segment feature where you can track your speeds/times over interesting segments on your rides. I was looking at a particular hill segment that I ride every morning on the way to work, and noticed that all my top times up that hill were back in 2010. Seemed odd to me because I am a stronger rider today than I was back in 2010. But then it hit me...early last year I installed a wider-range cassette on my bike and I was riding a lower gear up that hill...getting lazy cause I could...resulting in slower times. So this week I started pushing a higher gear, and recording times similiar to those back in 2010. And, it's not really any harder getting up that hill...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Well my SS mountain bike is at about 53 gearinches, which is a pretty good gear for the trails (even if it's pretty spinny for commuting). My city SS is probably about 71 gearinches, but it worked surprisingly well. It's also my dinglespeed, so I could gear it down to around 50 gearinches if I ever really want to tackle the trails.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

my SS roadie has made me stronger, for sure. I have a shortish, but painful hill on my way home. when I first built my SS roadie, I couldn't make it up that hill. Now, I do it regularly. I only walk when pedestrians are coming down it.

There's a less steep hill also on my way home, a bit after the tougher one (far enough for a recovery). When I first started with the SS, I had to stand and climb it. Now, I can climb it seated.

My goal is to be able to noticeably dial back my effort on the bigger hill. I am not sure if I will be able to climb it seated on the SS, but currently I have to dig deep to get past the steepest segment. That hill is a big reason I run the gear ratio that I do. That gear tends to get a little spinny in the flats and especially so anytime there's a downhill.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> I agree with this.But then it hit me...early last year I installed a wider-range cassette on my bike and I was riding a lower gear up that hill...getting lazy cause I could...resulting in slower times. So this week I started pushing a higher gear, and recording times similiar to those back in 2010. And, it's not really any harder getting up that hill...


There it is single speed is not required to achieve the training effect....

Also over the long term percieved effort is also not sufficient...

What does work is applying a direct measurment and then listening to the answer...

Things that work.....

power meter...

timed...intervals over the same terrain....

Percieved effort on a single speed may well result in the same loss of speed or effor over time.

Lastly while I stood and hammered a higher gear for several years on some climbs....I have now decided for the hell of it to try sitting and spinning on the same climbs...

Guess what if I go just as hard I get the same times up the hills...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode the commuter today. Forgot how nice it is to ride in the evening with most motorists off the streets. 

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Brand new frame! Parts on hand already? Puglsey to follow, or was it a One-Or-The-Other question?


thought I'd answered this, sorry!
she asked for several options, I gave her about 4 or 5 I think.
apparently the shop that ordered the pugs couldn't get it in because the distributor didn't deliver it?!?! I don't know.
anyways, on thursday she shot a call to Phat Moose Cycles (not my lbs, not even in my city!) and they had it in her hands by monday.
She asked me to meet her at her office for lunch and there it was.

the casseroll was in response to my recent mini-tour and what I learned does and doesn't work after 100km. 
but it could have gone either way! 
It'll be ss-done sooner than later (alfine wheel build will be later on).
But woooooow. just so retro-touring chic it's awesome.

anyways, I'll stop thread-jacking this and post it where it belongs when it's done!
Cheers Rodar!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Is there a such thing as a natural pace when riding? I intentionally rode slow on the way in today because I had to go to a field office about 8 mi one way from home and it felt weird going so slow and coasting so much. I still managed to cover the 8 mi in about 45 min though..


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## oromis (Jul 13, 2011)

My commute is a pretty hilly 8 miles and it takes me 40mins to do. I have to get off the bike twice to cyclocross-it over some concrete barricades. If I am going all out on the road bike I can knock my time down to 30 mins but I can not do that and then be expected to do physical labor for 8 hours. My job is stressful enough as it is so I take a more relaxing approach to my commute. I want my legs to burn a little but I also don't want to over do it. I am sure that the more I commute the faster my times will be. The commute home is much more leisurely too because I am trying to figure out where all the singletrack off the side of the road goes.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Due to all kinds of non-awesomeness, I hadn't ridden since Thursday. The ride in today was decent, but coming home it was Perma-Headwind(tm). Utterly sucktastic.

Sold my truck over the weekend, so I guess I'll become more tolerant of the wind here in the People's Republic.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, sorry about that wind. As a famous biker once said "The wind is a hill with no soul"

It is a truly beautiful morning here after quite a bit of cloudy, rainy weather. A school bus driver actually pulled over to let me pass. I stayed in front of the bus for a few miles on a rural road before it passed me again.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

jseko said:


> Is there a such thing as a natural pace when riding? I intentionally rode slow on the way in today because I had to go to a field office about 8 mi one way from home and it felt weird going so slow and coasting so much. I still managed to cover the 8 mi in about 45 min though..


Of course.....there are many natural paces.

Normally defined by your breathing pattern.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Got all set up to ride in this morning....

Kinda blew it though...shorts and rain slicker.....

Then it started snowing.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Blue Bird morning commute taking the long way, along Taku lake. So nice this AM, B2WD should be even nicer!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Beautiful morning you're got there Jordy. If I had taken a picture this morning it would have looked a lot the same but our leaves are a little further along.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Ya, they just started to bloom. We are still getting down to the upper 20's, lower 30's at night if its clear. It was 31 at 0600 this AM. I was in shorts when I left home and it was 33, was pretty cold in the shade.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The road construction situation was interesting on the way home yesterday. They were stopping traffic as usual, but the stretch of road that the pilot car was escorting traffic through was almost a mile and a half long... it's been much shorter over the past few days, and situated on a generally-tailwindy stretch, so I've been able to hang pretty easily...I've been easing up to the front of the line and starting out right with the pilot car, which cruises at probably 25mph or a little better...so I stay to the right and drift back a few cars before we get to the end of the construction zone... 
Yesterday was waaaay longer and on a headwind stretch. My goal was to get to the end before the last car in the line of cars... I was pushing so hard and falling back fast, but then a construction truck got in the way and the pilot car had to slow way down, so I started catching back up...right about the time I got up to the front, the truck got out of the way and the pilot car took off again. I wound up somewhere in the middle of the pack of cars, and utterly spent. It was probably good for me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Spent. Yep.That's how last week's hills felt.  Those hills had souls. Black, black ones! On the way out of town the third morning we caught a construction zone as a group. We were keeping it down to 10-12 mph to keep the slowest in the group. The oncoming traffic had to wait a bit to get 60 of us through. I was thinking of what to do if faced with being a single bike in a group of cars. With how narrow many of our roads are here, I would take the lane and the drivers behind will have to deal until I get past the flagman, when the law requiring me to pull over if leading 6 or more vehicles would kick in. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That crossed my mind in one part when it narrowed down to one lane...I did have to drift out from the shoulder and 'take the lane', but I was basically moving at the speed of traffic at that point, and it was a short stretch...I don't think I irritated anybody too much. also, timid drivers who don't know how narrow their car is are frustrating...THEY'RE the ones who wind up holding up traffic because they won't pass me, even though there's plenty of room for them to do so.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> timid drivers who don't know how narrow their car is are frustrating...THEY'RE the ones who wind up holding up traffic because they won't pass me, even though there's plenty of room for them to do so.


This pisses me off the most about drivers when i'm on the right, sometimes even in the bike lane. They have 5+ feet and they just wont go around...wtf people, learn the tool your using or gtfo! :madman:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

JordyB said:


> This pisses me off the most about drivers when i'm on the right, sometimes even in the bike lane. They have 5+ feet and they just wont go around...wtf people, learn the tool your using or gtfo! :madman:


That is their problem not mine....

However the ones that drive to far right, and don't know where the right side of the car is....they are the real problem.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ... timid drivers who don't know how narrow their car is are frustrating...THEY'RE the ones who wind up holding up traffic because they won't pass me, even though there's plenty of room for them to do so.





jeffscott said:


> That is their problem not mine....However the ones that drive to far right, and don't know where the right side of the car is....they are the real problem.


*** In both cases they haven't a clue where the right side of their vehicle is or treat a cyclist like an orange barre to be given minimal distance. Beware the ones with a missing right mirror! They drive by feel! :nono: The hesitant ones frustrate those behind who may take it all out on me. So that is my concern. The dolts who go by less than a foot off my shoulder are bucking for a kick in their rear fender. :madmax: The ones who cut back when theiy as driver are just ahead without looking are another pet peeve. I have had rear bumpers within 6 inches. When they gave me four feet or more starting out. They treated me as if I was at a walk or stationary, not doing 20 mph plus or minus. :madman:

Nice to be able to rant. :thumbsup: 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Canada geese and goslings at the reservoir last night when the rain started.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> My goal was to get to the end before the last car in the line of cars... I was pushing so hard and falling back fast, but then a construction truck got in the way and the pilot car had to slow way down, so I started catching back up...right about the time I got up to the front, the truck got out of the way and the pilot car took off again. I wound up somewhere in the middle of the pack of cars, and utterly spent. It was probably good for me.


Way to go!



BrianMc said:


> Those hills had souls. Black, black ones!


Evil, but you won


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I celebrated "Bike to Work" day by shifting my chain into my spokes this morning. I was climbing a hill, and as soon as I shifted, I could tell what had happened and immediately stopped pedaling. Since I was on a steep grade I came to a stop right away...with my feet at an odd angle...panic trying to unclip...managed to get a foot down. Innumerable bad words came out of my mouth as I worked to free the chain up. Thankfully nobody is around that early in the morning. Eventually got the chain out of the spokes and back onto the cassette and rode the rest of the way to work with no problem.

Very strange...never happened before. The low limit screw is set just fine and I have not been able to make it overshift like that again. I am always good about unloading when I shift, especially when climbing a hill. Maybe I just got lazy. I turned the limit screw in a bit just for good measure.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

This is the first day this week that I'll be able to hit the trails with one of my mountain bikes on the way home, so of course it's raining. Bah.

And when I got to work and was changing I somehow tied a nice, tight knot into the drawstring of my pants. I eventually had to get my multitool to pry away at the knot to get it undone, and I don't know what someone would have thought if they'd come into the changeroom to see me doing that.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute yesterday was just fine. I covered the 28km in a good amount of time, saw people walking their dogs on the trail and said hi. Naturally, I felt great afterward. I'll tell you this, it is a lot easier climbing paved paths on my road bike than it is on my mtb.

Today's morning commute was my usual bus/bike combo but I'll be riding all the way home after work. I am trying a different route home that will avoid some of the worst sections of road that I encounter.


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

Mtb is temporarily out of commission so I took the road bike to work today. Holy crap that thing moves fast! Its like a Formula 1 car compared to a dune buggy. Both are good fun. But generally, I like the mtb best. Still, it was nice to really fly this morning!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Awesome Bike 2 Work Day ride, stopped at 5 bike stations filling up on coffee, cookies, fruit, bacon, swag, etc. Riding the Fatbike was a hit as well!

Woodway, damn that sucks! Hurt any spokes?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It's bike-to-work day? I celebrated a day early yesterday when the construction traffic control lady let me go just as the train of cars was dissapearing around the corner in the distance. I had two lanes of brand new pavement all to myself for almost 2 miles, and I used every square inch of it. It was beautiful. I was the first vehicle on some of it (other than the steamrollers)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Woodway: I have had the low limit screw back out just that tiny bit too. I was launching on a grade. Slight chewing of spokes but no bent links or more severs damage. And yes fun to unclip at half crank.

CB: Did you do the hands outstretched Vee-ed finger victory thing? DId you have your iPod "Like a Virgin", "Country Roads" or "Magic Carpet Ride"? 

BrianMc


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## 69tr6r (Mar 27, 2007)

First commute today, and it was great! Mostly downhill, about 10 miles, should be a good workout on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ *Woohoo* 69tr6r! :band: Have a safe - if slower - ride home.


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## 69tr6r (Mar 27, 2007)

Thanks!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> CB: Did you do the hands outstretched Vee-ed finger victory thing? DId you have your iPod "Like a Virgin", "Country Roads" or "Magic Carpet Ride"?
> 
> BrianMc


I did have a funny conversation with the traffic control lady the other day. I was sitting there at the front of the line and I asked her if there was a set speed that the pilot car was supposed to go. She says "Nope. And this guy hauls a**". I whipped my backpack off and started digging for the iPod and she sort of looked at me funny, and I said "hold on, I gotta find some Metallica or something." :lol: 
She got a good chuckle out of that.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

Bike to Work day was fine on the way home although the route that I took was not the best and I probably won't be doing it again. 

On the brighter side, my Runkeeper registered me doing 56km/h down a particular hill!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> CB: Did you do the hands outstretched Vee-ed finger victory thing? DId you have your iPod "Like a Virgin", "Country Roads" or *"Magic Carpet Ride"? *
> 
> BrianMc


Guilty! I also recommend _Hot Rod Lincoln_


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I did have a funny conversation with the traffic control lady the other day. I was sitting there at the front of the line and I asked her if there was a set speed that the pilot car was supposed to go. She says "Nope. And this guy hauls a**". I whipped my backpack off and started digging for the iPod and she sort of looked at me funny, and I said "hold on, I gotta find some Metallica or something." :lol:
> She got a good chuckle out of that.


*** Good thing you are 2/3 of a continent away, as I suspect we'd make a dangerous team, ComedianBoy  If you liked classic, then 'Flight of the Bumblebee' ?

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Almost home*

...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Friday's B2WD Commute home started off good until I got a flat around mile 4. Had to boot the tire and pump up a fat tube to 20psi to get the tire to seat. Fat Larry died in 2 years of winter use.

Some random shots on the tour home.


















Had to upgrade tires, went with Big Fat Larry's!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Oh, no! What hapened to Larry I, Jordy? Did it tear, or you wore it all the way through?

Not much excitement for me this weekend. I wanted to go for a minitour, but my back was bothering me, now the pain has moved from my back to my hip. I didn`t work Friday night, bummed a ride into town with my wife yesterday for lunch with my folks, then rode 15 miles home, and that was all the riding I could manage . I did drive over to a friend`s house and helped him take care of a few issues with his Frankenstein cargo bike, so not a total loss. Tomorrow I`ll see if I can get in to see a chiropractor.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, hope the chiro straightens you out! 

Jordy, the BFL's look hot! With the swoopy toptube I'm thinking you have the Ti Fatback, is that right?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I got in a commute ride this week, but it took until today for the back pain to subside, The adrenal glands took a hit, I think. Ride tomorrow.

Nice Fatbike, Jordy. 

BrianMc


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Bummer about your back BMC! Hope it feels better.

Correct, a 2012 Ti Fatback with aluminum fork for summer. Just under 30 pounds!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I've been clicking up a few more round trip commutes this month in spite of winter descending upon us. But I'd still rather a brisk ride at each end of the day than being stuck in a commuter train.

And the hot shower at work is heavenly!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I want a fatbike. 

Also, this weekend my neighbor from up the dirt road a ways stopped by to let me know that his family had a mountain lion run across the dirt road in front of thier car last week...just down a ways from my house. I started asking about day and time, and realized that I missed it by about 20 minutes on the way to work on my bike. This morning I actually grew eyeballs on the back of my head I think.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, have you ever seen a mountain lion? I keep hoping to, but so far it hasn`t happened.



BrianMc said:


> I got in a commute ride this week, but it took until today for the back pain to subside, The adrenal glands took a hit, I think. Ride tomorrow.


I`m limping with you, Brian. I got a recomendation on a chiropractor not far away who accepts walk-ins, so I think I`ll stop on my way to the supermarket. With the truck 
Either way, i`ll be able to ride my commute but can`t take a longer ride. Thanks for the well wishes, Xplorer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry to hear about all the back problems. I've got the middle age, sit in the chair way too many hours a day chronic back pain thing too. Eventually after enough trips to chiropractors, PT, etc it always comes back to "Work on your core". Not that I have a perfect 6-pack or anything, my core is probably better than most. My point is...back pain sucks. Good luck guys.

It was a gorgeous late spring morning for a commute. A+


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Just found this and thought I`d keep up the long tradition of posting everything commute, not commute, or whatever in this thread. I thought it was very interresting, maybe you will too:

Practical Origins of the Tall Bike: gas lamp lighting & flood travel - TUBULOCITY


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Never seen one... I've seen tracks a few times, and I've come across half-buried half-eaten deer in the woods, but I've never had that magic encounter. I did have a bobcat stroll through the back yard once...that was cool.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^The best bobcat encounter I`ve had was while XC skiing near Independence Lake. I popped out of a little ****** in heavy woods and the cat was standing at the base of a tree less than 20 feet away. We both stared each other down for maybe 15 seconds, though it felt like hours. He finally turned and trotted away.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I want a fatbike.
> 
> Also, this weekend my neighbor from up the dirt road a ways stopped by to let me know that his family had a mountain lion run across the dirt road in front of thier car last week...just down a ways from my house. I started asking about day and time, and realized that I missed it by about 20 minutes on the way to work on my bike. This morning I actually grew eyeballs on the back of my head I think.


Someone on the fatbikes forum posted that REI has Surly Pugsleys 15% off now!

You will feel much better to know this advice I got in BC: "Just because you didn't see them doesn't mean they didn't see you" :eekster:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Leafed Out*

a lovely morning...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Looks like a sweet morning MTBX. Those are the kinds of days where one ends up daydreaming all day long about the commute home...

Have never seen a Mountain Lion on my commute, but I have seen:

Black Bear
Coyote
Deer
Lynx
Bobcat
Kitty cat
Doggie
Possum (dead)
Racoon (also dead)
Rabbit (killed two)
Horses
Lots of Geese/Ducks/Birds including a Bald Eagle that grabbed a fish out of the river as I was riding home on the MUP. That was cool!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The chiropractor fixed me up pretty nice. It was my first time to one- makes me wish I had gone earlier.



mtbxplorer said:


> a lovely morning...


Vivaldi`s Spring on your headphones today?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Glad that helped, Rodar, hope you are able to do the longer rides/tours soon. 

I usually just have mother nature in my ears on the trail commute.

Woodway, that is an impressive list of wildlife sightings - nice! Last night 3 deer crossed the snowmo trail/mile-long driveway just ahead of me. The neat part was they sailed over the house's 4' post & rail fence.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Speaking of music, I changed up my normal playlist of Crystal Method, Tool, Skrillex, LMFAO etc to my mellow playlist last night and had a really nice ride home.

Name Artist 
Live at P.J.'s - The Beastie Boys 
Lochloosa - Mofro
Freebird - Lynard Skynard
(Making the Run to) Gladewater - Michelle Shocked
Miles from Nowhere - Cat Stevens 
500 Miles - The Proclaimers 
Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix 
Dead Man Walking - Bruce Springsteen 
Time of Your Life (Acoustic Live) - Greenday 
Memories of East Texas - Michelle Shocked 
Great White Buffalo - Ted Nugent 
Bartender Song (Sittin' At A Bar) - Rehab


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I chased a wayward peacock a significant distance this morning. That was a first. I sort of trapped him along a fenceline on accident and he started hustling along the fence, trying to stay ahead of me. They can move when they want to. He even flew (sort of like how a giant chicken would fly) for a little bit.

Glorious spring morning around here too. First day in short sleeves for me. I've been in shorts for a week or so...

I had to deviate from that nice new pavement and take the trail route. the last couple miles are on the new pavement still, but I've been missing this route.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice pic, CB, looks nice enough to jump in.

An excess of trail and trailhead trash this a.m....picked up a soda can, 2 coffee cups with junk in one, a gu wrapper, a straw, and half of an arrow. I was unable to retrieve a few bottles and jars that someone had chucked into the water at one of the quarries - ick. Small consolation was I also found a MT Zefal pump partly buried in old leaves (rusty inside but seems to work so I already re-homed it).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ve had really nice weather lately, got in several commutes over the past week in 100% summer riding uniform and hooked up the swamp cooler. Today is WINDY, need to check the forecast, but I think it`s blowing something new in for Memorial Day weekend.

Bedwards, we must be on totally different wavelengths- from that whole playlist you posted, I only know of four of the artists. I use MtbX`s playlist when I ride, but if I were to post my "home" playlist, I imagine it would be just about as familiar to you as yours is to me!

Jeez, CB- that water really does look inviting. Peacock now? You don`t have turkeys there, do you? I never see oaks in your commute shots, and it seems like turkeys top out about the same elevation as the oak zone. Hmmm... I never thought about that concept before- turkeys must attract oaks.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Rode 20 miles from home to Kincaid Park this evening! Hit up some coastal beach and singletrack along the way! There was so much ocean glass on the beach I was glad I didn't get a flat the short time I was riding sand. Big Fat Larry's are BIG!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...I use MtbX`s playlist when I ride, but if I were to post my "home" playlist, I imagine it would be just about as familiar to you as yours is to me!


 Try me. I like a wide range of stuff.

It was a beautiful morning so I took one of the long ways in. This is the steepest hill around. The picture doesn't do it justice. It's so steep that when you are coming up to it the treetops are below your view. It kind of looks like the edge of the world. The next picture is from a ridge with mist rising above the lakes below. (again, the picture just didn't really capture it, I'm going to have to ride with a DSLR)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oooh, a challenge! How about a little Veracruz witchcraft:
Tlen Huicani - La Bruja - YouTube
or a hombrewed harp solo by Martinsillo`s homeboy (whose name I don`t know either):
ARPA LLANERA - YouTube

Nice pics again, Bedwards- I like the mist


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Jeez, CB- that water really does look inviting. Peacock now? You don`t have turkeys there, do you? I never see oaks in your commute shots, and it seems like turkeys top out about the same elevation as the oak zone. Hmmm... I never thought about that concept before- turkeys must attract oaks.


Peacock chasing. The ASPCA won't be pleased! What sort of giant chicken? Banties do pretty well, I have seen one on a wind mill tower. Pullets (pre egg laying) would roost in trees and had a limited flight range. However modern hybrid leghorns once into fulll egg laying and not free range, fly like the Shuttles did on reentry: a 45 degree controlled crash. They're fine with the jump up sort of thing but level flight? Not so much. More a hop skip and glide sort of thing.

I am surrounded by oaks here. If turkeys attract oaks the attraction must travel through time because the oaks here are 50-100 years old and we've only been here 11 years. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Turkeys and Oaks.

We have lots of oaks mixed in with the pines... I'd say the oaks taper off at about 6000 ft, and the aspens take over above that. We have a few aspen, but between the oak leaves and pine needles I'm plenty busy raking around my place. Ive seen Turkeys at close to 7000 ft. 

The peacocks are domesticated... at least they live far enough away that you can't really hear them from my house.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Not entirely horrible:


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

Moved 10mi further from campus recently, so I used today to do a test run for timing on the Xtradale.


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## twizted (Apr 26, 2012)

My first commute today, and not my last. I'm trying to get at least 3 commute a week. Manage to drop the kid at daycare and commute to work from it. Time wise, i'm about 10 min faster while on bike than on car.:thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

twizted said:


> My first commute today, and not my last. I'm trying to get at least 3 commute a week. Manage to drop the kid at daycare and commute to work from it. Time wise, i'm about 10 min faster while on bike than on car.:thumbsup:


Another recruit! I loved riding to work where I was faster by bike than by pickup. A few years ago....

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

picked up tk7.1's for the cass and got SMOKED on the way home by some old git in a white cotton t-shirt, beat-up black sweat pants, and brown engineer's boots! dude was just freight-training along.

picture perfect "beware the 40 year old man with a 20 year old bike, he likely knows how to use it" moment. 

only he was older than 40.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^haha, that's a classic! Keep riding, and eventually you'll be able to say, "I got smoked, but he was only 40"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good trailcommutes today, overdid a bit. I was running on empty on the way home on the TNT trail. Scared again by a flyaway turkey this a.m, and saw a BIG deer on the way home. Maybe a porcupine too, but decided it was a stump, I'll have to check tomorrow .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

1:40 AM, May 25th. It`s snowing 
Well, we didn`t get a white Christmas, New Years, Boxing Day, Dia de Tres Reyes, Vallentine Day, or May Day, so we might as well make up for it with a white Memorial Day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good trailcommutes today, overdid a bit. I was running on empty on the way home on the TNT trail. Scared again by a flyaway turkey this a.m, and saw a BIG deer on the way home. Maybe a porcupine too, but decided it was a stump, I'll have to check tomorrow .


It could have been a porcupine - they're active right now. Just ask our little girl. She wanted more. This was last Sunday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

OOOow!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> It could have been a porcupine - they're active right now. Just ask our little girl. She wanted more. This was last Sunday.


Curiosity (almost) killed the dog.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Snow flurries for me this morning... traditional lame weather for Memorial Day weekend. is it sticking over there Rodar?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Not sticking yet and I really doubt it will.
But I froze riding home in shorts and no gloves or jacket.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ brrr. I busted the leg warmers back out and depressingly pulled the 'level 2' gloves back out of the drawer I thought they would be in until October. I've been in shorts for a couple weeks, and thin long sleeves... rain shell, leg warmers, and level 2 gloves was depressing, but better than frozen fingers.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

A very Nor Cal-esque morning here in the Front Range:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Yeah it is... so Memorial Day weekend isn't just consistently cold and stormy here, huh?


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

I had a pleasant commute today. It was hot and humid but felt great. A bonus, I found a solid route home far less dangerous than the other two I've used and it is only a touch longer. Even better, the new route goes right by my LBS so I can drop in and say hello.

It was a great way to start the Memorial Day weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Scorchedearth, that sounds like a great find - have a good weekend!

Sorry about the snow out there, CB & Rodar, no pool parties this weekend I guess. Hope you get a BBQ at least. 

I drove in today after a headache and stomachsick at 2 a.m. By the time I felt better and tested out a piece of toast I had to drive. But I brought the bike and rode with the lunch boys, 7 riders all together of about 50 people in the office. :thumbsup:

I considered a minitour this weekend but they were forecasting 90 and on top of the blackflies, mosquitos and steep mountain trails, I decided to do house projects instead. Of course they've updated the forecast with cooler temps.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

scorchedearth said:


> I A bonus, I found a solid route home far less dangerous than the other two I've used and it is only a touch longer. Even better, the new route goes right by my LBS so I can drop in and say hello.


Nice! Less dangerous is always good, an excuse to pass by the candy store is pretty slick, too!



mtbxplorer said:


> But I brought the bike and rode with the lunch boys, 7 riders all together of about 50 people in the office. :thumbsup:
> 
> I considered a minitour this weekend but they were forecasting 90 and on top of the blackflies, mosquitos and steep mountain trails, I decided to do house projects instead.


7 out of 50 is a pretty good ratio.

:skep: For 90F and flies? Hmm... maybe we can let it slide, but you owe a lot of pics when you do go out.


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## twizted (Apr 26, 2012)

first ride of the week should be able to get at least 3 this week... Was a beautiful day


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I got all ready to go, stepped outside and it started raining. As I don't have a rain jacket yet, I skipped the commute today. We had hail and even a bit of snow on the mountains (yeah right it *never* snows in Wellington). The weather has passed now and it's streaming sunshine now though. I should have brought the bike on the train. The forecast is good for the rest of the week so hopefully I can get in a few days. I'm keen to try out my new ghetto helmet light setup (twin Cateye halogens  ).


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## Sixty Fiver (Apr 10, 2006)

Today was great... took a mix of road, trail, and single track although I would have preferred and picked no track as a bunch of guys on skinny tyres just leave little tiny ruts in the road and the Purple People Eater prefers to make it's own tracks.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

I was gonna commute today - but then I remembered I had nowhere to commute to - day off.
Thanks to all who are serving, have served, and those especially who gave their life


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## astral (Apr 30, 2012)

First commute ever today! At least, one way to work (did a test-ride to and back from work yesterday) at this hour.

So, of course, for the first commute in, it was sprinkling rain. But, I was ready with the 'dusk' lenses on my sunglasses.

My plan is to have no excuses. If it rains, eff it, I got fenders. Don't ride in my work clothes either. Got a 600 lumen NightRider light for coming back at night, if I'm working late hours or at a bar.

Also, learned why people wear padded shorts on a bike... my ass needs some break-in. It was sore after first 1.5 hrs of riding.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ninety four here yesterday and still 85 at 11 PM. More like July. So some get a taste of Decmeber, others of eh Dog Days. So I only test rode a few miles in the neighborhood making sure the shifting was working well. No fenders on and it is raining for the first time in several weeks. May get a commute in yet today.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Way to go astral! The MiNewt cordless is a great little light. I've used one for a year with no complaints. I usually run it on the middle setting.

I managed to dodge the spectacular morning thunderstorms. I'd been riding the road bikes last week and this morning kind of felt like peddling a dump truck up the hills.

I was in an area of backed up traffic and a car was veering into the bike lane which made me think texting/cell phone. Nope, when I passed the driver was eating a bowl of cereal. As long as you don't spill the milk it's OK to momentarily loose control of your vehicle.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

^^Were they Froot Loops ?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ... Nope, when I passed the driver was eating a bowl of cereal. As long as you don't spill the milk it's OK to momentarily loose control of your vehicle.


What a flake!

Thunderstorms this a.m., but only got wet the last 3/4 mile, and that felt better than the overheated mugginess beforehand. Last night's thunderstorms were much worse - scared me even though I was in the house. One crack of thunder was so loud I looked out to make sure nonething was on fire or anything.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> What a flake!


Frosted Flake? 

Back from a long weekend. Went over to Spokane and rode in a 24 hour mountain bike race. A good time was had.

A little light rain on the ride in this morning. Back to the rat race...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good going, Astral!
Sore after the first 1.5 hours !?! Dang, how long is your commute?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I thought eating pizza while driving was pretty tough, but the cereal muncher definitely beats pizza.



Darlene272 said:


> I hate putting a foot down on my ride, 9 out of 10 times I don't have to.


I only put a foot down if I have to stop, and I hate having to stop


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## astral (Apr 30, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good going, Astral!
> Sore after the first 1.5 hours !?! Dang, how long is your commute?


Nah, 1.5 hrs is test riding over the first two days. Mind you, I haven't ridden a bike in over ten years. This is the whole "butt getting used to it" thing I heard about.

My commute is only 7.3 miles one way, so far been averaging about 13.3 to 13.7mph


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hmmm, hope this gets lifted by 5:30...

Tornado Watch 313 remains in effect until 900 PM EDT for the 
following locations

VT 
. Vermont counties included are

Addison Bennington Caledonia 
Chittenden Essex Franklin 
Grand Isle LaMoille Orange 
Orleans Rutland Washington 
Windham Windsor 


Also.... Flash Flood Watch in effect through this evening...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Astral, the "saddle savvy" will come with time. 

Wow MTBX...the only "watch" around here is the clock watch, while I count down the days (3) until schooooooooooool's out...for...summah
:band:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

So Astral has discovered why they invented chamois and chamois cream,
Bedwards gets frosted over some flake eating a breakfast of champions while steering with his or her knees,
Mtbxplorer is contemplating 'Gone with the Wind' or wishing she'd strapped the kayak on this morning, and CB has a viral tune from Alice Cooper playing in his head. I'm over 18 and I like it! 

Just another day in paradise! 

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Phone tag made me too late to commute by bike for 2 errands. Got my glasses fixed (casualty of the OTB and a royal pain when working on the bike as they kept falling off). 

So I made up for it with a 75 minute ride. Its going to take a while not to reach for the DT shifters. Forty year's worth of habit to deal with. The negative reinforcement is pretty strong, so it should not take too long for this old dog. Beautiful ride, low 80's 10-15 mph outbound partially headwind, partial tailwind home. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I got home safe, just wet, there was lightning but not real close, and the tornado watch was cancelled right around when I arrived home. I did try to speed through the more exposed areas, and a photo I saw once of cows dead in a line along a fence made me wary of the sections with guard rails. I also learned that while I pedaled in this morning, a few miles away there were lightning strikes in Barre City that caused three separate house fires - yikes! No people were injured but some pets are missing :sad:


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## astral (Apr 30, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I got home safe, just wet, there was lightning but not real close, and the tornado watch was cancelled right around when I arrived home. I did try to speed through the more exposed areas, and a photo I saw once of cows dead in a line along a fence made me wary of the sections with guard rails. I also learned that while I pedaled in this morning, a few miles away there were lightning strikes in Barre City that caused three separate house fires - yikes! No people were injured but some pets are missing :sad:


damn, close call! too bad about the house fires and the pets

I managed to make it back before the thunderstorms, so stayed dry. Went a little faster today, probably getting better at navigating the MUP and harnessing the topmost gear on the steepest downhills. Scratched up my shin some with the pedals--live and learn! Used the bell. haha, all this **** is so new still! Four days ago I thought a chamois was something you dried your car with.


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## allanknabe (Oct 7, 2008)

It was cold out this morning, I thought it's supposed to be summer? Still at least I wasn't that sweaty at work this morning )


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I got home safe, just wet, there was lightning but not real close, and the tornado watch was cancelled right around when I arrived home. I did try to speed through the more exposed areas, and a photo I saw once of cows dead in a line along a fence made me wary of the sections with guard rails. I also learned that while I pedaled in this morning, a few miles away there were lightning strikes in Barre City that caused three separate house fires - yikes! No people were injured but some pets are missing :sad:


I checked the central VT forecast yesterday afternoon and the radar map showed 100% chance of severe hail, *max hail size 3.25"*, seriously? That would be like hailing candle-pin bowling balls.

I dodged all the T-storms yesterday too. Nothing too bad around here.

I must have a slow leak in my rear tire because it was about 15psi this morning. Even the big apples feel pretty slow at that pressure. I pumped it up to 45 - there's enough volume in those tires that I should get a couple days out of that.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Fairly head windy on the way home....hooked up with two other guys to draft the worst of it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I checked the central VT forecast yesterday afternoon and the radar map showed 100% chance of severe hail, *max hail size 3.25"*, seriously? That would be like hailing candle-pin bowling balls.


I saw a few pix on the news and some of the weather spotter reports, and they were more like ping pong to golf ball size, but that would've hurt plenty. Luckily that was scattered and I missed it.

Nice morning 60F, dead calm, and less humid, making for a nice road ride in.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

It was raining this morning. I got soaked. General question: my morning commute to the bus stop is 4.1mi with 872ft of climbing. I do it in jus over 17min averaging 14 and change miles/hour. Is that decent? Or am I just really slow? I'm going with slow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well, that depends. Is it only 872 of climbing or is there descending too? Are you riding a 35lb loaded commuter or a 19lb carbon fiber bike? Do you do the return trip faster?

If you are riding a heavy bike with all climbs that sounds about right. If you are riding a light bike with descents as well as climbs that's pretty slow. If you are somewhere in-between then it's somewhere in-between.


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

If I were to hazard a guess my bike weighs aprox. 30-35lbs. There is 717ft of descending as well. I take a different route home. I live at the top of a hill in the bottom of a valley, essentially.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My moderately hilly choice has about 800 climbing / 900 descending in 12.5 miles and I do it at about 16-17mph on a 35lb bike, 17-19.5mph on a road bike. Your route has the same hills in less distance so I'd expect it to be a little slower. Sounds like you are right in the ballpark for a route with that kind of climbing, especially if you are running knobbies.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice bike with ghetto pannier:










Book, seat bag, laptop, shoes, I need some double sided tape for the bar tape. It has been on and off 3 times, so my recent tidy job did not last more than 12 miles.

I was worried about the 8:15-8:30 traffic, but it was fine. One start back over a bit soon, but otherwise just fine. Closer to 9:00 with county offices opening, would be more interesting, I'm sure.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ haha, nice! You could probably leave the laptop in there all day without it disappearing, thanks to your clever disguise.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Trashbook Pro! I have it in the foam envelope that goes into a 'PC Bag', fits diagonally with a little persuasion, so the former waste can is parallelogram-ed a bit. Shoes sticking out and no spandex showing (sock over pant leg) seems to get a different response in traffic, here though the sample size is way to small to be certain. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

monzie said:


> General question: my morning commute to the bus stop is 4.1mi with 872ft of climbing. I do it in jus over 17min averaging 14 and change miles/hour. Is that decent? Or am I just really slow? I'm going with slow.


With slicks, it sounds reasonable to me. If that`s with knobbies, or you have a lot of traffic stops, it`s a lot faster than I`d make it (which doesn`t say much). Stop signs and red lights play hell on AV speed.


BrianMc said:


> Nice bike with ghetto pannier:


Brian, that bike even looks good wearing trash bins :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Today was suny and in the low 80s, but it felt REALLY hot- still not used to that kind of temps. I finished brazing up a folding rear rack last night for my folding bike, and it`ll be ready to mount as soon as the paint dries. The week after next I`m going to Boise for a wedding, and will take the Bike Friday with me to see how it handles loaded riding. I plan to take the long way home from Boise and hang out for an extra three or four days in SE Oregon, putting it through the paces.

I also ordered another dyno hub so I can lace up a dyno wheel for use in either of two bikes that I have with 20 inch front wheels. I was just going to take the hub from my spare 26 inch dyno wheel and relace it into one of the 406 rims I already have, but I found a great deal on new hubs, and decided I`d really prefer to keep my extra 26 wheelset. If anybody else is thinking about dynos, this place in SLO has 3N-72 hubs or $90 with free shippng- not bad at all.
Shimano Dynamo Front Hub DH-3N72 32H


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice morning here so I took a longer route that includes free-fall hill. 49.4MPH just .6mph shy of my record.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Am I the only one here thinking of BikeSnobNYC's "Fred woo-hoo-hoo speed"? :lol:

Last day of school for me. Did pretty good this year (175 day school year, starting in August): 
3.5 Driving Days (personal record)
4 Flat Tires (all on the non-tubeless road bike and singlespeed)
New Low Temp Record = -4*F
1998 Commuting Miles
$532.80 in gas money saved (figuring gas @ $4.00/Gal for an average, 15mpg in my Jeep)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

monzie said:


> It was raining this morning. I got soaked. General question: my morning commute to the bus stop is 4.1mi with 872ft of climbing. I do it in jus over 17min averaging 14 and change miles/hour. Is that decent? Or am I just really slow? I'm going with slow.


So 872 ft in 17 min that is 3000 vert ft/hr....

If you can maintain that for 1 hour that is excellent.

So The Alp de Huez is 3641 vert ft the tour does it in about 40 mins...so

5400 vert ft /hr world's best riders.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sonic boom, Bedwards!

Killer, CB. So, records for least drive days and for lowest ride temp for sure, and is that a record low for flats? 
Next year, if you get yourself a set of studmuffins, you might rebest the drive days


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I know...it's going to take studs to beat this year, for sure. 
I had zero flats last year...rode tubeless almost exclusively, and got lucky with the goatheads when I took the road bike. This year...not so lucky with the skinny tires.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Am I the only one here thinking of BikeSnobNYC's "Fred woo-hoo-hoo speed"? :lol:
> 
> Last day of school for me. Did pretty good this year (175 day school year, starting in August):
> 3.5 Driving Days (personal record)
> ...


I wasn't but I am now. I love BikeSnob! I was thinking: "I hope these tires hold" and "If I had a taller gear I know I could beat 50mph"

So what does a CommuterBoy do when he doesn't have to commute? We'll still see you around, right?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> So what does a CommuterBoy do when he doesn't have to commute?


_____________________________________


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Lucky!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CB: I'm sure you could rig up an bike exercise stand to a prop and save on gas on that lake too!

Tough job but someone has to do it. 

BrianMc

Another nice ride in to town and back. Sans laptop.


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## Sixty Fiver (Apr 10, 2006)

Excellent ride today but last night's ride home was much better... took a dip in the valley to test the new 7 speed block on my customized folder.

It is a tourer that thinks it is a road bike...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It's a necessary counter-influence to the amount of lame I have to put up with all year. A few weeks of that, and I'll be ready to go another round. It's like medicine.

Oh, and I found it..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You're sure you aren't looking for this: You can skip to 53 seconds to get to the Woo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo part.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Woo hoo is right, what road is that?

I had training all day in Montpelier today, so it was like old times, my old pre-flood commute (minus the bus ride), and like future times since my office will be moving there next year. 

My own woohoo hill was spoiled by cars going the 25mph speed limit. A lot more traffic on this route, and much less scenic, and no trails. The ride in (11.3mi) was fun, and it was nice to have front door parking, unlike my co-workers. On the way home, I wisely bypassed the bar stop, but ran over a carpet tack type nail and flatted. This became pesky for a couple reasons...my spare tube had a leak at the base of the valve stem when inflated, and when I patched the nailed tube instead, I failed to notice a second pinhole where the nail apparently went through the other side of the tube as well, so had to redo the patch job again. Thankfully it was 75 and sunny so I can't complain. The 4 mile hill home was still as steep and long as it used to be.

Another commuter who lives beyond my house (& who I also met at a recent trailwork day) happened by and checked if I needed anything. :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No idea. That's not me, that's the video of BikeSnobNYC fame. I'll try to do a re-creation some time. My free-fall hill or puke hill, depending on the direction is Valley Road in Raymond.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ah, never did the Valley Rd., but my occasional 1-way commute to Portland included Edes Falls to 11 to 85 to Egypt Rd,


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sixty Fiver said:


> Excellent ride today but last night's ride home was much better... took a dip in the valley to test the new 7 speed block on my customized folder.


Boy, that looks nice, 65er! Both the bike and the river. But didn`t you just have it painted? The bike, that is, rivers only get painted around Saint Pat`s Day 

My Friday is tour ready now. I finished a small front platform several weeks ago, and bought the BF flat packing front pannier racks, but didn`t catch them in the pics I took of the rear rack. I`m taking the booger out in about a week and a half for its trial run, and might get a custom cardboard shipping box made for it by then. If not, the bike will just ride assembled in the back of my truck until I get to the jump-off point, but it sure would be nice to get a packaging system test worked in while I`m at it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was thinking: "I hope these tires hold" and "If I had a taller gear I know I could beat 50mph"


I love those screaming tuck and grin descents too, and also find myself wishing for taller gears a lot of times. I really don`t think gearing matters for that stuff, though- unless you get it SUPER high, so that it isn`t any good for anything else, you`d still spin out well before 50, and it would come down to how much air you`re pushing, just like it does with the gears we already have.



mtbxplorer said:


> My own woohoo hill was spoiled by cars going the 25mph speed limit.
> 
> On the way home, I wisely bypassed the bar stop, but ran over a carpet tack type nail and flatted. This became pesky for a couple reasons...my spare tube had a leak at the base of the valve stem when inflated, and when I patched the nailed tube instead, I failed to notice a second pinhole where the nail apparently went through the other side of the tube as well, so had to redo the patch job again.


I hate it when that happens!!!

Doh! Better luck next week . Good thing that didn`t happen to your fat tubes


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> My Friday is tour ready now. I finished a small front platform several weeks ago, and bought the BF flat packing front pannier racks, but didn`t catch them in the pics I took of the rear rack.


Wow, that's the rack you made? Very impressive, nice work. Looking forward to reports from the trial run. :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Sheldon says...*

120 RPM gets you 50.4 MPH with 140 GI, which would be 58 X 11 to a 700c28.
It would be fun to gear up like that and try a serious grade, though.

Thanks, Xplorer- photojournalist impersonation definitely to follow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Trikes can have a triple, a three speed axle with 9 speed cassette, or a Schlumpf crank with a Rohloff so have very wide range like 10 to 175 gear inches. One triker recorded 55 mph on a downhill (better aero plus extra weight to convert from potential to kinetic energy). A driver paced him and also signaled double 5 fingers. Of course you have to crank away hauling the extra weight up there, but gear ratios below 20 gear inches don't make you fall over riding a trike. 

BrianMc


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## qdawgg (Jun 21, 2007)

Did my 16 mile commute today. Had a personal record on Tuesday, took me ~53 mins with my mtn bike on road tires with an average speed at about 18.3mph. Strava logged the ride at 55 mins b/c my seat fell off during the ride and I had to stop, lol. I'm surprised it only took me about 2 mins to get my tool out and get the seat on.

Anyway, today my legs felt like crap about 25% into the ride. My normal routine is to get up and literally do nothing but change and get on my bike to leave. This takes about 10 minutes. No breakfast, or shower, or anything until I get to work. Tuesday I ate a small energy bar during the ride. Today (friday) I changed it up. I had to walk my dog b/c of my wifes schedule. So I walked the dog and ate the same type of energy bar during the walk. Then instead of filling up with just water for the ride I put 2 scoops of Hammer Heed in my bottle. I figured I would at least feel good during the ride.

Soooo..... needless to say I struggled on the hills, never felt like I had any power at all. I've been learning to push a bigger gear and stand on the bike for long periods of time to maintain the gear. Today I barely felt like I could stand up for very long. Then went I got to work I could just feel the tiredness in my legs, still feel it now. My time/speed wasn't terrible: 57-58 minute range and 16.5mph but just feel exhausted compared to the ride tuesday at a better time.

Hopefully this is just a "one of those days" kind of thing. I'm assuming others have had similar experiences for no obvious reason?


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Just another boring ride in paradise.


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## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

Today in Phoenix a high pollution advisory was issued for ozone, and usually I make it a point to bike commute on these days. I didn't today though since it is supposed to hit 112 and I am not quite ready for those temps this early. Yesterday was 109 with winds against me for the ride home and that was enough abuse for now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> 120 RPM gets you 50.4 MPH with 140 GI, which would be 58 X 11 to a 700c28.
> It would be fun to gear up like that and try a serious grade, though.
> 
> Thanks, Xplorer- photojournalist impersonation definitely to follow.


My fastest was 95 kph (57 mph)....

Only had 48 11 on a 26in slick....on my MTB

Steep hill with a 60 kph tail wind...so 35 kph head wind.

The felt pretty safe.

The dangerous ride was the hill before made 60 kph into the 60 kph wind....120 kph with gusts....bike was twitching all over the place.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well folks... I'll check in periodically between wakeboard sessions...if my forearms aren't too sore to type. I'm doing a MTB race tomorrow, so that's a good intro to summer. And Rodar, I think I'm in for the Mile High Century in Plumas County on father's day weekend if you want to check that out. 

Thanks again for another year of inspiration and motivation.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tom93R1 said:


> Today in Phoenix a high pollution advisory was issued for ozone, and usually I make it a point to bike commute on these days. I didn't today though since it is supposed to hit 112 and I am not quite ready for those temps this early. Yesterday was 109 with winds against me for the ride home and that was enough abuse for now.


That sounds brutal, Tom, I guess I should stop complaining when it hits 80F here. Ride safe 

Chilly overnight, 41F this morning here, trails dried out agaiin, saw 1 deer bound off and 1 turtle laying in the snowmo trail. My tube patches from yesterday held air and I found a new spare in my toolchest.

Rain all weekend though, I guess I won't be getting the rest of my fence stained. It's like 38 panels (6' x 8') long - only beer and audiobooks makes the job bearable.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We had rain again this morning, but it was almost 60 degrees so very muggy.

qdawgg - I have those days every once in a while too! (like today, see below)

Tom - I lived in Phoenix in the early 80's attending ASU. I did not own a car, lived in Mesa and rode my bike to school and work all year round. Never thought twice about heading out when it was 115 degrees at 3 in the afternoon and riding the seven miles from school to home. Ahh to be young and stupid again  Good luck and stay safe!

I rode in a 24-hour MTB race last weekend. - noon saturday to noon sunday I was part of a team and did five laps during the race - about 75 miles. Took monday off the bike and then rode to work tuesday through today (another 114 miles). Felt really good earlier this week, but my commute just owned my this morning. My legs were mush and my motivation was just not there. Should be able to recover over the weekend. Rodar, I am still hanging in there at 100% for the year. Hope you are too!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tom93R1 said:


> T I didn't today though since it is supposed to hit 112 and I am not quite ready for those temps this early. Yesterday was 109 with winds against me for the ride home and that was enough abuse for now.


Good God- ain`t no way I`d ride at 112F!



jeffscott said:


> My fastest was 95 kph (57 mph)....
> 
> Only had 48 11 on a 26in slick....on my MTB
> 
> ...


Fast, Jeff! You probably know that we had a nation wide 55 MPH limit for about 15 years down here, so that "double nickle" has been my aiming point for a long time, and can`t quite seem to get it. I`ve broken the 50 MPH point on a handfull of occasions, but still can`t get out of the fifty-twos. The faster you go, the tougher it is to find just a little bit more.

So, how fast do you get up to before spinning out with that setup? While my fastest speeds are on my Schwinn, the highest gearing is on my recumbent- 50/11 and 26 x 1.5 drive wheel. I can spin it a little bit over 40 MPH with 150mm cranks, but I`m pretty bouncy at that RPM. I can pedal (unsmoothly) into the mid 30s MPH with 48-11 on 26 inch slicks and standard cranks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hot and windy (not 114) in Reno, today, no work tonight (furlough), and I probably won`t get in any riding at all this weekend.



CommuterBoy said:


> And Rodar, I think I'm in for the Mile High Century in Plumas County on father's day weekend if you want to check that out.


I doubt I`ll make it since I`ll be in "clean up and put away" mode that weekend, but it would be nice to meet the famous VacationBoy. What bike should I look for if I do go?


woodway said:


> I rode in a 24-hour MTB race last weekend. - noon saturday to noon sunday I was part of a team and did five laps during the race - about 75 miles. Took monday off the bike and then rode to work tuesday through today (another 114 miles). Felt really good earlier this week, but my commute just owned my this morning. My legs were mush and my motivation was just not there. Should be able to recover over the weekend. Rodar, I am still hanging in there at 100% for the year. Hope you are too!


Oh yeah, I remember you mentioned the 24 earlier in the week and I forgot to congratulate you, so- Congrats! And I hope your plan to recover over this weekend holds out.
Yes! Still at 100 percent, and headed for a new personal high mileage year. But I`m still not in any "danger" of joining the 10K mile club like you are


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## twizted (Apr 26, 2012)

I have done my 3 commute this week gtg, two of them were under the rain and i still really enjoy it.


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## Sixty Fiver (Apr 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Boy, that looks nice, 65er! Both the bike and the river. But didn`t you just have it painted? The bike, that is, rivers only get painted around Saint Pat`s Day
> 
> My Friday is tour ready now. I finished a small front platform several weeks ago, and bought the BF flat packing front pannier racks, but didn`t catch them in the pics I took of the rear rack. I`m taking the booger out in about a week and a half for its trial run, and might get a custom cardboard shipping box made for it by then. If not, the bike will just ride assembled in the back of my truck until I get to the jump-off point, but it sure would be nice to get a packaging system test worked in while I`m at it.


The bike is going for powder next week... if all works out.

Our shop has been quite busy so personal projects get bumped back.

I need to build custom racks next...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I doubt I`ll make it since I`ll be in "clean up and put away" mode that weekend, but it would be nice to meet the famous VacationBoy. What bike should I look for if I do go?


The Ogre or a red Giant OCR 2... the beater I posted about when I was trying to figure out the weird headset...remember that? May loan the Giant out and ride the Ogre.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Tour de l'Île of Montreal today !

50km in across the city, a few thousands of cyclist and volunteers went ahead to make it happen once again 

I was on the mechanic team, so I rode all 50km on my big MTB with all the tools, water and food, and helped out many riders with their bikes.

It wasn't easy on the legs at some point (bike is 40lb), but I made it trough with a big smile all day long :thumbsup:

Hardcore mechanic !









Ps, my legs are sore and my butt hurts like the ****, but it was worth it


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

Chilly commute this morning, overcast. Had to wear a wind vest and warmers. 

Two bugs somehow flew into my mouth, an unleashed dog ran outta the woods into my path and almost ran into a temp trail barrier while looking off the trail. 

Hope commute home is less eventful.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

qdawgg said:


> ...Hopefully this is just a "one of those days" kind of thing. I'm assuming others have had similar experiences for no obvious reason?


I always blame it on a subtle headwind and previous workouts.:thumbsup:



rodar y rodar said:


> 120 RPM gets you 50.4 MPH with 140 GI, which would be 58 X 11 to a 700c28.
> It would be fun to gear up like that and try a serious grade, though.


I was on my Univega which only has a 6-speed rear. I was at 52 x 14 so My cadence would have to be around 165 RPM.

Friday's "commute" for me was to the top of my house, painting - tall house:









Today's was wet.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Rain all weekend though, I guess I won't be getting the rest of my fence stained. It's like 38 panels (6' x 8') long - only beer and audiobooks makes the job bearable.


Or an airless paint sprayer - you could pull the whole thing off in about an hour, 2 tops.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*Commter Joyriding*

Took my commuter for a little joyride yesterday.










Rained again this morning. At least the rain is warming up.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

This morning was upper 50's and beautiful. 

So beautiful in fact I thought about doing some interval work and trying to get in better shape... Monday is a good day to start. Well, being a former collegiate athlete, I am completely stupid when starting training and always overdo it, so what do I do.... yeah, try and do half mile hard, half mile easy. Didn't work. Yeah, probably need to plan that a bit better and go block by block or something.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy today and mid 40’s F. The MTB went to the hospital Saturday for a rim transplant (it wore through from rear V-brake), so I took the cross bike today. When I used it 2 days in a row a couple weeks ago I ended up with a (temporary) knee twinge, so I tried to do more standing pedaling today on the hills. Not sure if the twinge was caused by the higher gears or the clipless pedals, I guess this will be a little experiment.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

myyyy casseroll rooocks and i am sprinting paaast yoooou and oopsie chainfelloffpulloverlikeamorondon'tmindme.

*sigh* some days...

new geared wheels.
soon.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride tonight. Had to wait for a train. It wasn't too long, thank goodness. More Honda Civics.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Friday's "commute" for me was to the top of my house, painting - tall house:


Hey, is that you way down there? How come you never post pictures of your recumbent?


woodway said:


> Took my commuter for a little joyride yesterday.


Mmmm... Great view!


byknuts said:


> myyyy casseroll rooocks and i am sprinting paaast yoooou and oopsie chainfelloffpulloverlikeamorondon'tmindme.


:lol:


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Stupid me and my need to obey the traffic lights. I would have had the Hägerstenvägen KOM if I had blown the light like a good Swede........

Bike Ride Profile | 15kilometers near Hägersten | Times and Records | Strava


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, is that you way down there? How come you never post pictures of your recumbent?


No, I'm the one up in the air. I don't post pics of my recumbent because I don't own one.

Soggy, soggy soggy. Our area has got 6-8" of rain in the last 3 days.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Had a nice conversation with a motorist in a Jeep this morning that went something like this:

Him: HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK
Me: Wave with a **** eating grin
Him: Points to the sidewalk
Me. Wave even more cheerily (is that a word)
Him: Point with even more emphasis
Me: Big thumbs up
Him: Still pointing

In my mind the conversation went like this:

Him: Hey you!
Me: Hi there
Him: Did you know there is a sidewalk on the other side of the street?
Me: Why yes, I did know that.
Him: Why aren't you using it?
Me: Because I don't want to die
Him: Bikes don't belong on the road.
Me: Oh, OK, can you tell me which specific law makes it illegal?
Him: .....
Me: Have a nice day!
Him: ....

I don't know, maybe it wouldn't have gone down like that, but when I replay it over and over for the rest of the ride it always ends with an ignorant motorist trying to tell me something he knows nothing about and not liking it when I enlighten him.

Weather was nice though, I like riding in the upper 50's with a light long sleeve shirt on. Its gonna be a good day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, Bedwards, that's a lot more rain than we got here, I know about 1/2" Saturday, and probably less since. 

Dalton, I like your attuitude :thumbsup: Must've drove him crazy.

It dried out overnight and some glimpses of sun on the way in. Stopped at the reservoir for a pic. And a deer from the trails last week...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nicely done Dalton. He's probably still steaming over your reaction


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good attitude Dalton. I usually just find myself getting pissed. Most of the drivers around here are pretty good.

Oh yeah, we've got bridges out and all that good stuff tons of rain brings. It's been pretty much continuous since Saturday morning. We may get a peak of the sun today - then it's lawn mowing time.

Nice deer pic.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I get to be a volunteer mechanic at work today, so I had to haul a bikes-at-work trailer full of equipment and stands around. This is the first time I've ever done anything like that, and wow does it ever weigh a lot, and wow do I ever have to ride slowly, and wow am I ever glad I still have one geared bike and haven't turned them all into singlespeeds.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

mtbxplorer said:


> Dalton, I like your attuitude :thumbsup: Must've drove him crazy.





woodway said:


> Nicely done Dalton. He's probably still steaming over your reaction


I've found that is the only way to stay sane in a car crazy world. I used to let it get to me and flip people off and whatnot, but its so true that just smiling and waving makes them even more mad. Makes me laugh too at how irate the pointing can get. I think the guy who did it this morning has done it to me in the past too like a year ago. Honk and point to the sidewalk all the while I am waving.

I want to print some business cards out just in case I catch up to honking drivers. On them I want to introduce myself and give them an email address. I want to put that they have received this card most likely because they honked or yelled at me or maybe asked me about riding in general. Let them know that if they would like to discuss my riding, they can email me. All threats will be forwarded to the police. On the back I will put all vehicle codes or driving laws that relate to me riding on the road. I think it would be pretty interesting.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Dalton said:


> I've found that is the only way to stay sane in a car crazy world. -snip-
> 
> I want to print some business cards out just in case I catch up to honking drivers. ... give them an email address.-snip- I think it would be pretty interesting.


I'd open a dedicated e-amil account you can abandon if you so choose. The name can set the stage for the exchange:

Suggestions.

10. [email protected]
9. [email protected]
8. [email protected]
7. [email protected]
6. [email protected]
5. [email protected]
4 [email protected]
3. [email protected]
2. [email protected]
1. [email protected]

One advantage of no sidewalks. 

BrianMc


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Been awhile since i commuted last, ya, I know, no excuses! Rolled in on the Fatbike, was fun!


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Some ******bag coworker thinks his new Jeep is too nice to leave parked outside of work for a week, so he crammed it into the storage garage, effectively removing my bike storage spot that I've been using for well over a year. Since there's no other safe spot for it, my bike now comes into the office and hangs out in an empty cubicle. Fine by me!

Gratuitous movie prop/bike picture to follow:


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

BrianMc said:


> I'd open a dedicated e-amil account you can abandon if you so choose. The name can set the stage for the exchange:
> 
> Suggestions.
> 
> ...


This..... if I were to do it, I would absolutely have a throw away from gmail or hotmail or some other free provider. Check it once a week or so. Maybe I need to get shirts printed with a QR code drivers can use and take them to a website with the same info from the card.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Dalton said:


> This..... if I were to do it, I would absolutely have a throw away from gmail or hotmail or some other free provider. Check it once a week or so. Maybe I need to get shirts printed with a QR code drivers can use and take them to a website with the same info from the card.


IMO, when they're gesticulating telling you to ride on the footpath, they're really saying, "I'm not a very good driver and you are safer over there away from me".

I suppose you could take it as a positive that at least one driver made the effort to warn you they're a bad driver.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

R+P+K said:


> IMO, when they're gesticulating telling you to ride on the footpath, they're really saying, "I'm not a very good driver and you are safer over there away from me".
> 
> I suppose you could take it as a positive that at least one driver made the effort to warn you they're a bad driver.


The positive take away here is....

The guy who is gesticulating and yelling at you....

Has already seen you....

The oblivous buffoon who does not see you is the one who will kill you.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Today? Not bad considering I was shot.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute was solid. My trip home was my fastest yet and lots of fun. I even caught up with one roadie and we rode together a little.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Buster Bluth said:


> Today? Not bad considering I was shot.


Yeah, you're going to have to expound on that a little.

I added a 23 mile group ride on my way home. I was on my 35+lb commuter bike with fenders, lock. Big Apples etc., they were on CF road bikes. I held my own but I was hoping to keep up a little easier with my daily riding schedule. I wasn't the slowest in the pack. I am tired tonight.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

R+P+K said:


> IMO, when they're gesticulating telling you to ride on the footpath, they're really saying, "I'm not a very good driver and you are safer over there away from me".


Haha! Now THAT`s looking at the bright side! Actually, I kind of like Dalton`s original guestimation of the transcript. Sounds likely to me.


bedwards1000 said:


> Soggy, soggy soggy. Our area has got 6-8" of rain in the last 3 days.


Definitely soggy. I doubt we`ve seen 6-8" worth of wet in the past year.


newfangled said:


> I get to be a volunteer mechanic at work today, so I had to haul a bikes-at-work trailer full of equipment and stands around. This is the first time I've ever done anything like that, and wow does it ever weigh a lot, and wow do I ever have to ride slowly, and wow am I ever glad I still have one geared bike and haven't turned them all into singlespeeds.


Cool. Were you doing bike mechanic work for some reason, or just decided to drag the BAW trailer full of repair stuff for fixing company equipment of some kind?

My next week is in flux. I was supposed to drive to Boise, ID on Friday for my niece`s wedding on Sat, then had a four day-ish bike tour planned in the Oregon desert on my way back home. First, I found out that a 50 mile section of my planned loop is still closed for snow, then I got a big question mark from the county DA. I have a witness subpoena to appear in court tomorrow afternoon, and had to call and listen to a recording this evening to make sure that "my" case is still on the docket. It isn`t. So, now what? It`s been rescheduled? Dropped? Just won`t fit in tomorrow, so I go on Thursday? If it ends up being Friday, I won`t be able to make the wedding. If it goes into next week, there goes what`s left of my vacation. They have a number to call and talk to a person, but I need to wait until 8AM for that. I guess I`ll find out tomorrow what`s going on. I hope I find out, anyway- waiting sucks.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Buster Bluth said:


> Today? Not bad considering I was shot.


Expound away. Shot as in bullet or shot as in 'worn out'. W5 & How. Been near a gun being discharged, that was scary enough.

I have got to visit the airport and see where in the blazes the anemometer for the weather station is. It must be sheltered. Thirteen mph my patoot! I rode close to 24 mph outbound slight downhill overall with wind and 14 back (maybe 20% in the drops) for 16.6 mean all but a few climbs below my 75% HR. About 30 pounds of bike and stuff on it.

BrianMc


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## oromis (Jul 13, 2011)

I looked at the schedule wrong and ended up showing up for work three hours early. Funny thing is I thought I was going to be late so I was hauling butt to get there. With todays addition of SPD's my commute went from 40mins down to 32 mins. Now thats improvement!

Showing up early worked out though because the weather forcast I looked at last night was way off. When I looked at it again at work it was showing a massive blob of severe weather heading my direction. I ended up riding back home and will drive back later today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Were you doing bike mechanic work for some reason, or just decided to drag the BAW trailer full of repair stuff for fixing company equipment of some kind?


It's "bike month" here, so my work just happened to contact the local bike co-op (that I just happen to volunteer at) about setting up a tune-up clinic at the office.

10min/bike really doesn't give you much time, considering that at the co-op we can easily spend a whole 3 hour shift working with someone, but the bikes that I saw yesterday were all in pretty good shape to start with, so I got through 6 people in about 1.5 hours. It rained a bit yesterday, and is raining a bit more today, but I'm supposed to have another 5 people signed up for tuneups at lunch.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Been a schizophrenic week. Sat and Sun no bikers or joggers to or from work, Mon lots of bikers and joggers, every single one either waved or said good morning, it was almost like a Norman Rockwell painting. Yesterday and today only a few people around, and none would wave or say hello. The only consistent thing was the temperature; 75-77 degrees for the evening ride in and about 80 degrees for the morning ride home and clear skies almost no clouds and wind barely 5 mph.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Not sure what happened but something hit me on the left flank hard enough to draw blood. Sling shot perhaps. Or maybe it was a rock flung up by a car tire? Weird.


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## mike1125biking (Jan 23, 2012)

beautiful sunrise and the only picture I can get of myself. Best ride home after 12 hr mid this year. Why do we drive at all


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

Days like today make me want to keep going right on past work and ride the day away. 55 degrees, sunny, and not a bit of wind. Knowing that my bike is waiting for me makes the day sooo much longer...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice morning, I decided the trails would be dried out enough, so I took out the fatbike. Fun to get out on it again. 

Last night I did a few extra miles on the cross bike to go see the bike racing at the local racetrack. I loved the hum of the tires as they went around. It looked pretty easy while they were warming up & instructing newbies, but once they got racing it looked pretty scarey at times, it got really tight on the sprints. Watched for a couple hours and had a pleasant pedal home with the headlight/taillight for a change.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That does look like fun to watch, MtbX. Judging by the tire marks, it looks like it`s also a car track?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^No, they also have people with really big legs racing fatbikes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe it`s Woodway.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Haha, yes, that's Thunder Rd, "the nation's site of excitement", a 1/4 mile track, home of the Milk Bowl and other car racing classics. You can bring a six-pack to races and sit in the cheap seats (grass) on Bud Hill. I brought a beer and a sandwich to honor the tradition. They didn't have the regular spectator gates open, so I got to bike in through the pits. I think the bike races are only once or twice a year.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe it`s Woodway.


At the 24 hour race a few weeks ago I passed a guy racing on a fatbike. He wasn't going fast but he looked like he was having fun! :thumbsup:

Add: There is a velodrome near my commute route and last summer I stopped by and watched some team pursuit races on track bikes. OK, that was impressive. I have trouble going that fast downhill!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Nice commute this morning with clear blue skies and a very visible moon. Love these upper 50's commutes. This afternoon is supposed to be 83, so I dunno how much I'll like it then, but whatever. All a part of the experience.

No ******* this morning.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)




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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

It's Fatback Friday again! Not even a gloomy Alaskan day can bring this commuter down!

Some singletrack to start of your day?









Perhaps a trip to the beach along the way?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey Jordy if you saw someone drowning, you could just throw them your fatbike! No way it's sinking with those tires! :yesnod:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've got my eye on the lightening streaked green sky and the radar to time my commute home between some nice T-storms. I think they'll break for me right around 5:00 and I won't be forced to stay late on a Friday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Good luck! Our radar and sky look pretty good, despite the thunderstorms still forecast here. I didn't fender up the fatbike, so if it rains it will be messy. But it's Friday :band: - as long as we arrive safely, it's all good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It's all good Really wet butt from the 1/2 inch or so of rain that fell in a half hour but I got home before any more precipitation. I needed an Ass Saver since I also road a fenderless bike.

Perfect week of commuting, all 5 days plus some extra miles.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Not bad, but I was luckier...just thunder until the trail ends at my lawn, and then the first drops fell. 10 minutes later it was a downpour and the lightning got scarier. Love the a* *saver. I got a bada** MTB injury wrestling the fatbike fast down bumpy trails - my pinky finger got sore and it hurt to straighten it out. :smallviolin:


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

I'll admit it, I'm a fair weather commuter for the most part. But my ride only takes about 6 minutes and I figure it would take me longer to get geared up for the rain and changed/cleaned up at the office. Anyways the past 3 weeks have been absolutely beautiful in SE Iowa and I have been able to ride every day. I would be willing to take a few days off so the farmers can get some rain though!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was up, down and moving ladders all weekend. I was so stiff this morning that I, for a moment, considered the car. Nah, I just took it easy on the ride it. It actually helped to loosen me up. We've got a beautiful looking week of weather coming up, unlike last week where it rained every day. I can see not gearing up for a 6 minute ride.

Quiet around here.

(Hope the finger's better MTBX)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wonderful morning for a commute. Fifty degrees, not a hint of wind. It's light enough in the morning now that I stopped and took a pic as the sun was coming up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, Woodway, Weren't you jealous of some others commutes, 'cause that looks darn nice to me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey, Woodway, Weren't you jealous of some others commutes, 'cause that looks darn nice to me.


OK I admit it, my commute is not all that bad. Except that it's all pavement. I'm jealous of the sweet singletrack that I see some riding!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The green lagoon (a smaller old granite quarry) was earning its name this morning. One big blowdown across another trail, but otherwise the trails were in great shape. My pinky finger felt fine today, thanks. Pretty colors, Woodway.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Friday's commute home meant not going home at all, went south 4 miles and hit up some of our local singletrack! Then found some sand dunes to play on before going to a BBQ!




























As for this morning, I am so blessed to live next to a park and bike trail!!! If I take the long way, the commute is over 10 miles and the kicker, it only crosses 4 signaled intersections, the rest is bike trail! Bonus, it's just as fast or faster than going the short way of 8 miles with many more signals...

The Ogre loves to climb!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

It's officially hot in Texas (has been for awhile, really). It's pretty steamy today, as we've got some storms forecast to move in late tonight and linger for a few days. I'm gonna have to switch to wearing actual riding clothes and do a wipe down/change when I get to the office. 

As I was enjoying a little downhill on my commute where I manage to exceed the speed limit by 1-2mph, the railroad crossing lights began to blink at the bottom of the hill. Thankfully I arrived well before the gates started dropping. I hate dealing with a 4-track crossing on my commute (no matter which way I travel).


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## Big_Games (Mar 28, 2012)

Afternoon 13 mile commute in with the temp at 95 degrees sucked balls! Looking forward to the commute home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I had to chuckle when I was following the car with a license plate that said "FOCUSED" while he was talking on the cell and straddling the white line for the bike lane.

I had a glorious tail wind home which almost made me think the wind could have a soul.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bedwards1000 said:


> I had to chuckle when I was following the car with a license plate that said "FOCUSED" while he was talking on the cell and straddling the white line for the bike lane.


oh, the irony. in fact, it'd have been pretty funny if you had a sticker with that phrase you could put on his car next to his tag.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

On the way home, by a wooded area near the reservoir, I heard what sounded like a gunshot, a little too close to the road. No homes in this stretch, so it wasn't target shooting. Hmmm, hope they are shooting the other way. But when I rounded the corner (and passed an oncoming car), I smelled gunpowder, and thought maybe the car threw a firecracker out the window. Oh great, what is more fun than throwing firecrackers out the window? Throwing them at a cyclist??? This did not come to pass, but I admit I was nervous when the next car passed.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

0430 Swedish Time. The sun is already shining. There is no traffic. I own this city.

Bike Ride Profile | 15kilometers near Hägersten | Times and Records | Strava


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## thatguypete (Jun 12, 2012)

Got passed waay too close by a lifted Ford pickup truck this morning and then got the finger from BOTH driver and passenger. I was within probably one foot of the curb. This kind of think has happened to me several times and it always seem to be drivers of bigger pickup trucks.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

thatguypete said:


> Got passed waay too close by a lifted Ford pickup truck this morning and then got the finger from BOTH driver and passenger. I was within probably one foot of the curb. This kind of think has happened to me several times and it always seem to be drivers of bigger pickup trucks.


Yup, yesterday just leaving work....I was turning left on to the avenue...just a head of Mr. Big Truck....He was turning right just a little later than me onto the same avenue....

He doesn't like it...guns it kicks in the smoke chip....so I stop and let him go.....sure enough caught him at the next light.....

He was fuming as I rode by gave me the finger so I gave it back....

Safe since he was turning left...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sorry about your A-hole encounter. That further supports my pickup truck theory. (edit: Both of them. Jeff, how dare you be on HIS road)

It was a beauty of a commute this morning. I took out the fast bike and took the hilly route. I went down Woo Hoo hill. 50.5mph. It's only my second ride on my good bike this year. It makes it feel more special.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Between the office and a trail entrance a front end loader lost its brakes and went out of control on the hill, finally careening into the church, which they say may have saved his life. Glad I only heard about that one rather than witnessed it from up close and personal on the bike. 

A good trail ride in this morning, but rain is supposed to be moving in, so it will likely be a road ride home. Investigated a squeak and found the front wheel would only spin a couple times before stopping. I must’ve been sloppy and not seated the wheel right before closing the quick release because re-doing it made it spin free again. I guess I’ve been getting a little extra exercise.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Coming home from work, got passed by my favorite ***wipe, j*rkoff roadie. He truly gives cyclists a bad name. Cuts in front of cars, runs red lights every chance he gets, expects everybody to get out of his way, and God forbid he has to slow down if he can't pass you on the shoulder and has to wait for a break in traffic. 97% of people in my area that ride regularly are decent and use common sense, but he's the only one I have a burning urge to shove a stick into his spokes. The worst part is he lives a couple of miles past me so after he does his thing, I go riding by and everybody is giving me the hairy eyeball because they think I'm gonna do the same stupid, arrogant, dangerous **** that he does, since I'm on a bicycle too.
- End of rant.
Otherwise a nice day to ride a bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy and 60F this morning but still a pleasant ride in on the cross bike. Glad I put the white socks back in the drawer though - the gray ones I wore are all gritty, dirty and wet. I have spares for the ride home and the shoe dryers are doing their thing under my desk.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I concur except I rode my full fender commuter and black socks which are hanging in my locker and will not be dry by the ride home. I'll trade this 1 rainy day for the 10 nice ones on either side of it. I'm happy for my garden.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

About a mile from the office....by cassette locking ring backed off...and prevented the cassette from rotating....

Push biked it the rest of the way.

LBS will tighten it up at noon hour.


Been about 3 years since I put it on....I was woondering what was rattling around back there.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> I concur except I rode my full fender commuter and black socks which are hanging in my locker and will not be dry by the ride home. I'll trade this 1 rainy day for the 10 nice ones on either side of it. I'm happy for my garden.


If I could I'd trade you some of the beautiful weather we have here in S.E. Az for a couple of days of steady rain. We got wild fires down by Nogales, and across the state line in New Mexico too.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

junior1210 said:


> Coming home from work, got passed by my favorite ***wipe, j*rkoff roadie. He truly gives cyclists a bad name. Cuts in front of cars, runs red lights every chance he gets, expects everybody to get out of his way, and God forbid he has to slow down if he can't pass you on the shoulder and has to wait for a break in traffic. 97% of people in my area that ride regularly are decent and use common sense, but he's the only one I have a burning urge to shove a stick into his spokes. The worst part is he lives a couple of miles past me so after he does his thing, I go riding by and everybody is giving me the hairy eyeball because they think I'm gonna do the same stupid, arrogant, dangerous **** that he does, since I'm on a bicycle too.
> - End of rant.
> Otherwise a nice day to ride a bike.


I saw someone like that the other day while I was driving. Almost said something, but decided it wasn't worth it. Surprisingly he was riding a steel frame road bike with front and rear panniers and a bright yellow cycling jacket. I expect someone doing that to be a fred or riding a fixie. He blew a couple lights, cut across 2 lanes with no hand signal when cars were pretty close, rode down the sidewalk for a while.


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## Homemade 911 (Apr 23, 2012)

*My commute...today, and everyday.*

My commute is a daily one. I'm fortunate in that:
a. I live five miles away from the office
b. Also, I live in the High Mojave Desert - so the riding "season" is damn near year 'round

I own a Ford 1-ton Diesel pickup...when the price of Diesel broke through $4.25/gallon is when I said "enough"... I hit the LBS and got fitted up with a nice, Giant Talon 29er, to get things started on my new life as a bike commuter. I just love it. The mornings are always pretty calm and benign. The afternoons almost always bring stiff breezes, and sometimes some real wind...I look at that as great resistance training. I've dropped about 15lbs (so far) since the riding started...I'm not stopping anytime soon. 

Ride on...

btw...can anyone tell me what a "fred" is? I'm still learning the dialect, so bear with me...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome Homemade 911. I leave the big diesel parked when it's not hauling too.

There are a few different definitions of a fred but I'll give it a try. A "fred" is usually an arrogant road cyclist that thinks their abilities are better than they really are. Generally they have more money invested in their bike and cycling image than they have time invested in cycling.

You can always consult Wikipedia


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, so far so good today. A bit damp, but not bad in Anchor-town.

I have to complain, briefly, about yesterday's commute, though. 

Backstory. I bought a new Pugsley about three weeks ago and in doing so, had put my 2003 Giant NRS 2 out to pasture a bit. So, yesterday I decided I should get the NRS out and ride her again for a while. 

The ride to work was excellent fun. I had forgotten just how fast and nimble she is compared to the Pugs. It was raining, but I didn't care. I was just enjoying the ride. 

On the way home, things started going wrong from the outset. The rain was coming down harder and as I was preparing to drop down from Tudor into a residential neighborhood and the bike trails I about laid her over in the middle of an intersection when my brake locked while trying to avoid a car that was not planning to stop. 

I pulled it out without going down, thanked my stars that I was on the NRS, the bike that I am most familiar with and on which I have much more confidence. I then proceeded to continue homeward. About a mile and a half later, as I was going through an intersection I heard a loud bang after hitting a small bump. I figured it was just my seat bag hitting the tire, as I had forgotten to cinch it down. I got off the bike, tightened it up and got back on my way. 

Another 3/4 of a mile passes and I realize that my shifting is way off. Suddenly. I start adjusting barrels and get things working properly again and ride on. 

Another mile or so and I notice that it seems my seat is getting lower and lower. I stop to adjust it and this is when I realize just what it wrong. The seat tube, just above the shock mount, is broken completely in half. My baby, my first real bike, is dead. 

How can a person be so devistated by the loss of a bike. It's like I lost a friend. Argh! 

Fortunately I wasn't on the trails when it happened, but I'm just totally bummed that it happened at all. For six years I've been riding her and was looking forward to many more years. That was part of the reason I bought the Pugs, to use as my year round commuter so that I could keep the NRS for trail and XC riding. 

RIP.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

1...
2....
3.....
4......
5. 
that jacka$$ has now zipped through 5 sets of lights, gets easily reeled in on every straight. helmet-less.
won't be long.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

I think the next time I see that guy I might just call the police on him. I usually let Karma handle those sorts of things, but sooner or latter some driver will hit him, and I'd hate for that [email protected] to be on some innocent drivers conscience.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Well, so far so good today. A bit damp, but not bad in Anchor-town.
> 
> I have to complain, briefly, about yesterday's commute, though...
> 
> ...RIP.


If you bought it new it has a lifetime frame warranty. Frames shouldn't just break while riding on the road.


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## astral (Apr 30, 2012)

Got up yesterday, it was pouring out. Grabbed myself by the balls and said "no excuses." Fenders are on the bike for a reason. Rode in and it was fine. Had a medium-close call with a car banging a left in front of me--I should've been paying more attention to that car turning w/o blinkers.

So far 4 days out of 5 bike-commuted this week.

Outfitted the bike with a Sigma BC 1909, still getting used to it recording the mileage properly. But nice to have a real-time speedo now!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> If you bought it new it has a lifetime frame warranty. Frames shouldn't just break while riding on the road.


I think I feel worse now... I bought it used from an LBS that is no longer in business. Bummer.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Really nice weather this morning (59f). Air quality degraded the closer I got to Boulder, and I was coughing when I got to work. I can only imagine how bad the air is closer to the big fire near Fort Collins.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> I think the next time I see that guy I might just call the police on him. I usually let Karma handle those sorts of things, but sooner or latter some driver will hit him, and I'd hate for that [email protected] to be on some innocent drivers conscience.


Let it go....Have the wisdom to control things you can and ignore things you can't.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Frames shouldn't just break while riding on the road.


Probably didn't break while just riding the road.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> I think I feel worse now... I bought it used from an LBS that is no longer in business. Bummer.


Err, sorry about that. It might be worth a try contacting them. Or even better have a lawyer contact them about your "Sudden Frame Failure in Traffic"


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## Homemade 911 (Apr 23, 2012)

*Today was interesting...*

and a bit humbling in a way...

To recap; I started riding everyday to the office little over a month ago...the bike was a recent addition to an overall exercise regimen I started in March.

Anyway, the one big thing I wanted to focus on with my riding is cadence. I'm essentially riding for fitness (and peace of mind) vs impressing anyone, or thinking that I'm hot sheet(which I ain't...but I AM getting a little faster  ) So, here I am this morning spinning along, feeling good about things - got a good pace on...then, all of a sudden; zoom! a guy goes by me on another MTB like I was parked... Turns out I know the guy - this lad is from the Canadian Air Force and has been very fit for a very long time - he's also been on a bike a very long time. Since I'm so tuned-in to cadence, I noted the gears he was in. It looked to be a 44 crank with either a 11 or 12 cog...his stride was pretty good - no mashing. I generally find myself in a much lower combination - pedaling harder.

The point I'm trying to make is that it was nice to see somebody else who is further along make it look real easy...gives me hope that I can work towards that level of fitness...slowly but surely. It was a great morning commute, pleasant weather - and I actually pushed myself a little harder as I watched Jean pedal off down the road. 

Ride On.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Homemade 911 said:


> and a bit humbling in a way...
> 
> To recap; I started riding everyday to the office little over a month ago...the bike was a recent addition to an overall exercise regimen I started in March.
> 
> ...


Yeah....cadence is important...

I spin lots of times....I watch what gear I can push without starting to overwhelm the feel of spinning...

5 years ago I was up to about 44/17

Now I am about 46/15.......

That is flat no wind.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute yesterday was great. The ride home was fairly quick even though I had to deal with a headwind part of the way. Seeing all of the drivers stuck in traffic on various roads was especially satisfying...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Stopped raining the second I hit the saddle this AM! Trails were wet but I was dry! Good Times!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Great weather today. Low 60's this morning, a little wet. Beautiful, mid 70's and mostly sunny on my ride home. I got honked at on the way to work. Two lanes on each side, I was about 2' from the curb in the right lane. Not a car around except the lady behind me who lays on her horn then flips me off. No idea what her issue was. Funny part was she passed me on the way home too, no beep though.

Another story. One of my bikes is for sale. I have it on our classifieds at work. I got an email from a girl today asking about it. She said she lived in Denmark and got into cycling and she wants to get a bike now that she's back in the US. I told her I had the bike with me and she said she could meet me in the lobby at 4:00. I go down there, then this very attractive girl comes up to me and says "Brett?". It was one of those "damn wedding ring" moments  On the way out back she tells me how great it is in Denmark that people ride everywhere and how rude drivers are in the US. We get out back, she asks if she can test ride the bike...with her short dress on. Needless to say, it was a sight to see. Long story short, she offered me what I'm asking and said she'll bring in the money next week. I think I fell in love.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^She`ll bring the money next wek and the bike is half way to Denmark today :lol:

RIP to Blockphi`s NRS.

I just got home this morning from the first loaded test of my new Bike Friday. Strange enough, the bike I was concerned about (really should have started it off with something easier) held up just fine, but I had several non-bike gear issues. The biggest was that both of my water bladders developed leaks in the serious boonies- a full day`s ride either direction to pavement or civilization and very few watering holes. The bags (Nalgene Wide Mouth Cantene) looked a bit flimsy to me, but had good reviews at REI, were light and inexpensive, AND I figured they would be nice and comfy in my panniers. WRONG! Trying to scrimp on water storage is a really stupid move- next time I need more water than what I want to haul in bottles, I`ll use either Ortlieb or Dromedary bags. Next in order of "Oh, Crap"-ness was that my tire pump bounced off somewhere and there was no way I was going to backtrack trying to find it. That was also smack in the middle of the Nevada outback. I lucked out (thank you Schwalbe) in that department, the only issue being riding with off road pressures for the last (paved) leg of the trip. Of less concern were that my air matress went flat and that I wore a small hole in my new dry bag, apparently because my heels were hitting it, though I didn`t notice. Oh, and a sore butt, of course! On the bright side, I found an unexpected spring at an opportune time, so was able to refill my leaky bags and made it in to town with a little bit to spare, and I got plenty of desert scenery to post tomorrow.

Edited to correct the name of the product I was bad mouthing- right company, wrong model


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## Homemade 911 (Apr 23, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> Great weather today. Low 60's this morning, a little wet. Beautiful, mid 70's and mostly sunny on my ride home. I got honked at on the way to work. Two lanes on each side, I was about 2' from the curb in the right lane. Not a car around except the lady behind me who lays on her horn then flips me off. No idea what her issue was. Funny part was she passed me on the way home too, no beep though.
> 
> Another story. One of my bikes is for sale. I have it on our classifieds at work. I got an email from a girl today asking about it. She said she lived in Denmark and got into cycling and she wants to get a bike now that she's back in the US. I told her I had the bike with me and she said she could meet me in the lobby at 4:00. I go down there, then this very attractive girl comes up to me and says "Brett?". It was one of those "damn wedding ring" moments  On the way out back she tells me how great it is in Denmark that people ride everywhere and how rude drivers are in the US. We get out back, she asks if she can test ride the bike...with her short dress on. Needless to say, it was a sight to see. Long story short, she offered me what I'm asking and said she'll bring in the money next week. I think I fell in love.


Now, THAT'S priceless...at least ask her out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ..., but I had several non-bike gear issues.


Wow, that is a lot of misadventure, no water is no joke! And no pump must have been nervewracking. Those Jannd pump straps that they have made forever (with the foamy thing and velcro) are good insurance. Glad you made it out!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I got caught in my first thunderstorm yesterday on my way back from work. My helmet and backpack protected me from the hail somewhat, but my hands, arms and legs took a bit of a beating. Luckly the hail was only about dime-sized. 

I'm still not sure if going faster helped me or hurt me. Going 20+ MPH into hail stones hurts!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Can't wait to see the pics Rodar!

Homemade 911 keep spinning and remember what Greg LeMond said: "It never gets easier, you just go faster."


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ... I had several non-bike gear issues. The biggest was that both of my water bladders developed leaks in the serious boonies- ... Next in order of "Oh, Crap"-ness was that my tire pump bounced off somewhere ... smack in the middle of the Nevada outback.


You need to start taking more care of yourself. We would not want to suddenly lose you like Gary TNT Cougar. ;(

Sometimes we seek adventure and sometimes it finds us! 

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back Rodar, it's been quiet around here without you. It sounds like an abrasive trip. You wore through just about everything. At least the tires kept holding air.

This week was a first for me. I finally pulled off riding a different bike every day of the week.
Blog: 5 Bikes in 5 Days


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely weather the last few days. A few pix...the folks with the mile long driveway/snowmo trail added a boat to their small pond (scenic, but it would only take 30 seconds to row across)...the hayfield on Little John Rd looks endless... and they're getting ready to add a new historical marker on the Ledges trail. All the other quarries seem to be named for the owners, but for some reason this one is called the #6 quarry - perhaps I will learn why when they add the sign. Strangely, when I stopped to look at the quarry, I saw a bird's reflection in the water, but when I looked up, there was no bird to be seen. ut:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another Fabulous Fatback Friday!!! Got some sprinkles for a couple of miles but still fun none the less!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> This week was a first for me. I finally pulled off riding a different bike every day of the week.


Some people ride Bike To Work Week, you could start a Bike A Day movement!


Verna317 said:


> I hate putting a foot down on my ride, 9 out of 10 times I don't have to.


9 out of 10 pretty close to my ratio too, but I can`t track stand very well- just don`t often have to stop 


mtbxplorer said:


> Strangely, when I stopped to look at the quarry, I saw a bird's reflection in the water, but when I looked up, there was no bird to be seen.


Flying fish? Yeah, even if the boat doesn`t have any concrete use, it sure completes the scene. Nice pics, as usual


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Delicious pics, MTBX!

Congrats on going 5 for 5 bedwards. I might have to try that sometime, but would need to buy more bikes first...

Speaking of buying more bikes, I have decided to give my current commuter to my youngest son for him to use at college. New commuting frame on order! Have to get the rest of the parts on order because I am off to Asia for a little more than a week and I am hoping that everything can be waiting for me at home when I return. Build pics to come...

(I decided to hold off on a folder until next year rodar...)


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Didn't go to work today but had to go across the street from work an some errands. Don't know why but today I made wicked fast time getting there (almost 10 min faster than normal, no tailwind just faster). Went to Lowe's and got lucky, they had a sale on reflective T-shirts (just like the reflective vests only as a shirt) for $16.00. Stopped by the LBS just because I was 1 block away, and one of the employees came out to see my Moto just because he's heard me talk about it but always saw me on my Wal-Schwinn. Ride home was fine until a @ 10-15mph headwind kicked up just in time for the last 5 miles. Got lucky though, someone decided to get rid of some change, so I picked up @ $3.20 in loose change then fought the wind home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Lload tsting the Llama*

First segment starts on US95, about 30 miles above the OR/NV state line. Whitehorse Ranch Rd is 50 miles of nicely groomed gravel, starting with Idaho-ish river plains steps going up, then down through more SE Oregon-ish canyon, past several little family ranches and a few abandoned homesteads. Whitehorse Ranch (pic 3) is a huge commercial ranch about in the middle. WHR Rd reaches pavement again (I forgot the highway number) about midway in the 15 mile stretch between Denio, NV and Field, OR. I started in early afternoon, so didn`t finish that segment in one day- made camp just before the highway and had breakfast at the cafe in Denio Junction (5 miles south of the town, but where all the services are actually located). The snowy mountain in the background of the second pic is Steens Mtn, where my Plan A trip was going to be until I found out that the road wasn`t open yet.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Denio Jct to Summit Lake*

From Denio Junction, there`s green high desert with rocky backgrounds for a half hour along Hwy 140. Knott Creek Rd heads south from 140 for about 50 miles to Summit Lake Paiute Reservation. The first hour`s worth is easy going and actually has quite a bit of traffic. After the hot spring, most of the traffic turns off and heads up to a couple of trout lakes way up in the mountains. The road gets progressively rougher (still passable in any car) and the only traffic I saw after that were a pair of loaded down adventure-type motorcycles. Love that hotspring! I`ve seen bands of roaming burros there before, but only poop this time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

...then it climbs to "The Rez". There are only about a dozen little houses out there, most probably only occupied occasionally. Hard to read the sign in the picture, but it warns of playing children. Ya never know! The tiny community on that reservation is next to Summit Lake, one of northern Nevada`s most beautiful scenes IMHO. The lake is fed by a stream that I detoured to for sweet mountain water since travel off the main road is prohibited within the reservation. Made one wrong (illegal) turn that made for a half mile out-and-back detrour on a cow track (ending at pic 3), returned to where I was 'sposed to be, and passed a few mustangs leaving the lake. Just after the lake, the road geats really rocky for a half mile heading down the exit canyon. That was the toughest riding on my trip, and would probably be considered mildly technical for an MTB trail- got a bit gnarlier than what shows in this pic. I camped at the bottom of that canyon, just after clearing the reservation lands.

Dinner time, will post the rest later.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool! Eye spy that pesky pump that jumped ship, though! You weren't tempted to stay in either of those fixer-uppers? I see one has a doorway and the other has a roof, but it looks like it might go in a stiff breeze. Here's where I get to admit that I didn't know there was an OR-NV border - that's terrible. :nono: :blush: Next time someone asks what state VT is in, I'll be more sympathetic! So how was the ride compared to your usual tourer? Some of the gravel looks like it could be challenging at speed for the little wheels.

haha just saw your post below, nice sign. I love the mustangs too, and the scenery and sky in pic 3. I don't know if I'd like seeing how far you have to go though...around here you generally don't get such far views ahead. Your un-tree'd campsite looks totally foreign to me too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^
Fixer uppers and shallow caves around here almost always have pack rats and are full of rat turds, so I have zero desire to stay in either. They look tempting from the outside, but I think you`d agree with me if you ever took a whiff of one or peeked inside!

Haha! Not so terrible, and I think it`s pretty cool how much we learn about other places and totally non bike related stuff here. Like New England granite cutting, for example :thumbsup:

The ride ON PAVEMENT is just dandy. In fact, I think I prefer it to my big 26er on hard pack due to the extra luggage possibilities. Off road, I think bigger really is better for both width and diameter. I had 20 x 2.0 BAs, which did just fine on smooth dirt and packed gravel, tend to sink more than fat 26s on soft surfaces, and really bite when it comes to washboard or big rocks. But the bike did get me through, and this was as rough a trip as I need to manage with it, so I`d say it passed the test.

I feel at home with trees or without them. I feel totally lost with flat horizons, though. And I do sort of like seeing the road ahead of me as long as there are landmarks along the way that you actually pass from time to time and the view keeps changing. In Death Valley, you can see hours ahead of you climbing the alluvial fans. The next turn or next false summit just keeps taunting you for ages, and it feels like you`re pedalling an eternal treadmill. I can live without that kind of road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Summit Lake to Gerlach*

The top half of this trip was the lush desert. Going south, it gets really dry. My campsite below the reservation was next to a small stream that I hadn`t known about, which was very fortunate because it was making dinner that night that I realized I had a water leak from the bottom of one bag. In the morning, I filled up both bags, loaded the bad one upside down in my pannier, and started rolling towards Highrock Canyon, part of the Applegate Trail.

At the first stop to refill my on-bike bottle from the bags, I found the other one was leaking and turned around to make the most direct and most travelled route back to pavement. The cattle guard-looking bridge was over a hot creek. Too sufurous to drink, but interresting to look at.

Back tracked only a few miles to Soldier Meadows Ranch, sign there saying 61 miles to Gerlach (about 15 miles less than that to paved road). From there on down, the road was mostly decent, with a few frustrating sections of sand or washboard. I found another spring next o the road that I`d never seen before when driving, so filled up one more time. Just after filling up, I saw the only other vehicle for that leg, and he did stop and make sure I had water- timing, eh? The short route passes along the smaller (west) arm of the Blackrock Desert for quite a while. I didn`t ride the playa this time- my bike just wanted to pose next to the playa onramp, so I shot the pic. Arrived in Gerlach in late afternoon (still with a little water left) and took a few pics, but none worth posting. Rented a room at the hotel that night and rested up.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Highway*

Gerlach and Empire are twin cities with a total population of probably about 500 now that the gypsum plant in Empire is shut down. One paved road runs out there, 56 miles from Nixon at Pyramid Lake, then 84 miles to Cedarville, CA. I left early to beat the heat because there isn`t much shade out there. Had a pretty good tailwind and made it to Pyramid much faster than expected.

Pic 1, looking back at Gerlach from the road to Empire. Pic 2, the recently closed USG plant that pretty much made up Empire. Pic 3, our own Twin Cities (Ha!). Then some antelope out for cross training near Snoopy Rock, some purdy tufa formations, highway shots, and Pyramid Lake.

Nixon is the first town, stopped for a cold one and a break in the shade. After a nice rest, did a slow and leisurely 16 miles to the other Pyramid Lake town, Sutcliffe. Thought about making a run for home, but didn`t have the gumption, so I hung out at the bar in Sutcliffe and camped on the beach that night for a quick return in the morning. My pics are kind of misleading- the lake was quiet that day, but not as deserted as it looks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Last little bit...*

BEAUTIFUL sunrise from the beach! I was on the road by 5:30 for one last little jaunt. Would have been all paved, except that I started getting a lot of traffic from the morning commuters in the outlying valleys, so I took one last dirt short cut from the middle of the Pyramid Highway straight into my neighborhood. Pulled into my driveway before 9 AM.

The end.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Awesome pictures Rodar. You still make me want to try something like that. 

I didn't have to be as careful not to get muddy on my trip home on mountain bike Friday.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Spectacular, rodar! Nice writeup/pics, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing your adventure!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice Rodar! And you did not get antelope-d like the schmuck in Africa!

I imagine that only the CDC and the most avid microbiologists would be interested in rat by products roasted in the sun in those candidates for nuclear demolition, aka fixer-uppers, as in blown sky high. 

Do you have an anti giardia and things filter for taking water from these springs? 


The rig looks good. Not a typical Bike Friday use.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, looking at some of your pix, I wondered how you navigated...some of those roads don't look too likely to be marked, and look like you could go a long wrong way if you had to guess if it was the right one. Nice beach and antelope too!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> And you did not get antelope-d like the schmuck in Africa!
> 
> Do you have an anti giardia and things filter for taking water from these springs?
> 
> Not a typical Bike Friday use.


I probably got away with it because ours aren`t real antelope . We just call them that for lack of a better word.

Iodine tablets- that`s the only kind of purification I`ve used, so I just keep with them.

Not typical, but not unheard of either. Crazyguy has two accounts of Fridays on the Carretera Austral.


mtbxplorer said:


> I wondered how you navigated...some of those roads don't look too likely to be marked, and look like you could go a long wrong way if you had to guess if it was the right one.


It`s usually pretty easy to tell the main roads from the offshoots, made even easier because about ten years ago most of the area was designated as some sort of quasi wilderness/historical and environmental protection zone, so most of the side roads were blocked off anyway. It also helps that I`ve trompped all over the area in the past, so would have caught on soon enough if I weren`t going the general direction I expected.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Rode 80 miles yesterday chasing the Moose of Flanders...No commute for me today )O: I am one whooped boy!

Ogre setup to Rando. Other than it being heavy on those long climbs, the extra cush was super comfy!









The Fire-Breathing Moose of Flanders!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I like the fork mount bottle cages.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Warm. Very, very warm.


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/214719994381086720


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## cubeman (Dec 26, 2004)

My morning commute was very very wet, ideal to try out my new The North Face Pursuit jacket and Gore Bike Wear Ultra III pants, my afternoon commute was nice and quite sunny but breezy, ideal to try out my new Odlo Active windbreaker jacket 

Commuting by bike is fun!
Been doing it since February this year, moved a bit closer to work so now my commute is about 7.5 miles and almost 85% bike path mostly through a park.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice ride in on the trails on the MTB, the rim transplant was succesful! Left home late [dang, forgot the pedals weren't on this bike, dang, unpack entire pack to take out the fatbike tube and replace with MTB tube, I should start the dishwasher, etc.] but couldn't resist the better trails (1 mi extra), and just squeaked in on time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The weather was perfect in Anchor-town for this AM's commute. Sunny, in the mid fifties at my house and not a lick of wind. Hard to not enjoy the ride with the sun on your shoulder. 

My only complaint? On days like today it seems everyone is out on the trails, even at 6:30 in the AM. A good problem to have, huh?


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## Homemade 911 (Apr 23, 2012)

*today was interesting...*

This morning's commute was interesting for two reasons...

a. 1st chance I had to check out the Schwalbe "Big Apple" tires I just put on the 29er - Hoot! what a difference...perfect tire for what I'm doing...(riding pavement that ranges from shot, non-existent, to shiny and back... )

b. Musta picked up some speed someplace as a result of the tire swap ...this morning marked the 1st time I actually got up on my 42 and stayed there! to recap; I'd been purposely staying down low to re-develop/re-discover a cadence, since I hadn't done any real cycling in the past 40 years! Besides the tires, it could very well be I was simply ready for the step up...regardless, it's all good 

Hotter n hell n windy out now, too. Good for the endurance and resistance training...

Ride On.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I telecommuted today. I also found out my new bike isn't ready even though he said it should be a few days ago  I have no patience. Hoping for tomorrow, otherwise I can't get it until Thursday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

First half commute (haven`t gone home yet) after a week of vacation. Legs felt good, but for some reason I put on my jacket before I left. I was roasting and almost had to stop and declothe myself by a layer.


mtbxplorer said:


> A nice ride in on the trails on the MTB, the rim transplant was succesful!


Rim transplant for you, too? I had to do one a few months ago for a worn out brake track. What was yours? Seems I remember something about it, but forgot the details. 


Homemade 911 said:


> Musta picked up some speed someplace as a result of the tire swap ...this morning marked the 1st time I actually got up on my 42 and stayed there! to recap; I'd been purposely staying down low to re-develop/re-discover a cadence, since I hadn't done any real cycling in the past 40 years! Besides the tires, it could very well be I was simply ready for the step up...regardless, it's all good


Whoo, groovin! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Rim transplant for you, too? I had to do one a few months ago for a worn out brake track. What was yours? Seems I remember something about it, but forgot the details.
> :


Yep, same thing here, she was run too far and an old ding developed into a hole.


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

I tried to get in a nice long ride during lunch yesterday but was interrupted when my crank/pedal developed an awful creaking noise. I didn't have time to mess with it so I rode my fiance's Felt this morning and dang that is a nice bike. Luckily we're about the same size so it only took a few minor adjustments to get it ready. It's getting to be that "walk out the door and instantly start sweating" time of year in Iowa so I stocked up on the baby wipes to bathe myself when I get to work :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the long way home yesterday, 41 miles around Sebago lake. I had to turn the lights on by the time I got home.


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## cubeman (Dec 26, 2004)

Commute went really great today.
The weather cleared up a bit, now like 20 deg Celsius in the afternoon.
Only this morning I picked a little different and nicer route, a 2 mile long stretch of single track along some water, only the grass was like waist high and very wet with dew.
So my jeans got wet from the knees down....
Luckily they mowed the grass today so on my way back I discovered that I from now on can take that route again every morning.
Normally I would avoid it due to the getting wet part


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another beautiful day in Anchor-town. The commute was a bit rocky getting out the door. One of those woke up late mornings. Once I hit the trails, though, all worry flushed from my mind and the ride was beautiful. The trails weren't even busy as I had expected. 

I do have a short jaunt where I have to ride next to a super busy roadway and ... just wow. How is it that anyone can survive the morning commute? People drive like gasholes and all the worse the closer it gets to 8. Dang.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Yup, commuting in rush hour with traffic is just as bad if not worse on a bike...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Jordy

I'll be nothing but happy when the Seward highway construction is finished and the Campbell Creek trail is connected underneath. Shoot, even the unofficial connection there was better than riding the jaunt along Tudor to Old Seward to International Airport Road. Though the detour has upped my daily milage...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Jordy
> 
> I'll be nothing but happy when the Seward highway construction is finished and the Campbell Creek trail is connected underneath. Shoot, even the unofficial connection there was better than riding the jaunt along Tudor to Old Seward to International Airport Road. Though the detour has upped my daily milage...


2nd!!! It will become my main route to work once its complete!!! Will mean all of 2 stop lights and at work in 9 miles...Sure miss the hike-a-bike!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

29C, 58% humidity, felt like 37 or so.
the moment you stopped the sweat was POURING.
breathing was like sucking through a wet sponge.

GGAAAAH!!
overnight is going to be 23C, but with 61% humidity it'll feel like 29. :eekster:
Tomorrow morning will be 27C + 58% humidity = feels like 33???
afternoon climbing to feeling over 40C?? 
'kin'ell.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning I went in over an hour early because I had an early appt in the field but wanted to bikecommute to the office for a car rather than take a work car home last night. Dang if he wasn't a no-show anyways. :madmax: 

But the bike travels were good, in the morning 2 deer leaped over that post & rail fence again as I approached, and this evening I detoured through a field with handlebar-high grass to pick up my mail and nearly ran over a partridge (New England for roughed grouse) and her young. The little ones flew up/hopped/scattered from the nest while the hen made pitiful noises and tried to distract me with a broken-wing act. 

I also caught up with 3 horsewomen on the snowmo trail and yelled out "Hello" and then, louder, "Good afternoon" at a distance I thought within earshot but safe so as not to startle horses or riders. Nope, only the horses turned their heads, I guess harder to hear with helmets, hooves, saddle squeaks etc. than I thought. Since we were almost to the worst uphill, where they would surely be faster than me, I puttered along behind. Eventually they did notice me and at the T at the top of the hill they asked which way I was going and went the other way. "Have a good ride" all around.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I took the long way home yesterday, 41 miles around Sebago lake. I had to turn the lights on by the time I got home.


Nice! A long haul and not without hills, I know.


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

Maiden voyage on the new commuter/sscx, an All City Nature Boy. Initial impression :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Saturday it gets dirty!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I went over to my SIL`s house after dinner and gave my nieces (11 and 15 Y.O.) a bike tire removal/tube patching lesson. We fixed one together going by a set of instructions that I wrote up before I went over there. Seems to have gone well, but not sure if they`ll need another walk through or if they`ll be able to do it themselves next time- we`ll soon find out!



bedwards1000 said:


> I took the long way home yesterday, 41 miles around Sebago lake. I had to turn the lights on by the time I got home.


That really is taking the long way. Nice weather tempted you to do that?


cdaddy said:


> Maiden voyage on the new commuter/sscx, an All City Nature Boy. Initial impression :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Saturday it gets dirty!


Yay, new bike on board! Don`t forget the dirty pictures.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I went over to my SIL`s house after dinner and gave my nieces (11 and 15 Y.O.) a bike tire removal/tube patching lesson. We fixed one together going by a set of instructions that I wrote up before I went over there. Seems to have gone well, but not sure if they`ll need another walk through or if they`ll be able to do it themselves next time- we`ll soon find out!
> 
> That really is taking the long way. Nice weather tempted you to do that?


Passing on the craft:thumbsup:. I did it to visit my grandmother, 97, who is recovering from surgery. I may try to do it every other week or so.

I saw a deer myself...but it was right on the road.

Last night's commute home included a very spirited 27 mile group ride. 107 total miles for me Monday and Tuesday. I had to take the car today to visit a customer. It's supposed to hit 95 here and I have a 5K to run after work. That should be interesting.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Uneventful commute this day in Anchorage. What can I say? Another beautiful day. The only hazards in my way were the broken bottles that seemed to litter the entire length of Old Seward and the underpass at Lake Otis. I'll be happy when the snow comes again and the bottles just wait in patient wholness rather than creating potential tire poppers.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Commute pix of a feather I found, some bright fungus I favored, and a deer that delighted. Meanwhile, yesterday a buttonhorn buck broke into a convenience store down the hill from work, shattering the glass and trashing the DVD and slimjim displays. Eventually it left by the same door.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

So far this morning was nice... Light breeze on the way there kept the temps cool even though it was only 50*. Got the second half home in about 30 minutes and just did my cursory check of the wind (via the flags out front) and was delighted to see the wind actually going IN MY DIRECTION!!! Looks like I might have a tailwind for the first time in.... well....... ever! Going to be a different change though as I will be starting 4-10s in a couple weeks, looks like the next investments will be blinker for the rear and headlight, but guess that can wait a bit until it starts getting dark earlier.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

sweltering, but new wheels (nos Real hubs on Tk7.1's) and a new PAC satchel make it all ok.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Gregnash`s mention of checking the flags reminds me of something I keep meaning to ask here. I`ve gotten so used to looking for flags and other flappy things that I know where most of them can be found in my usual pedalling territories. Do you others folks have them all staked out too? Anybody put up streamers or mini windsocks on purpose along your routes? I keep thinking I should go out with a roll of ribbon and tie little streamers in convenient places where the flags are scarce. I know it wouldn`t have any concrete benefits, but it would kind of nice to confirm or shoot down my guesses sometimes.



mtbxplorer said:


> Meanwhile, yesterday a buttonhorn buck broke into a convenience store down the hill from work, shattering the glass and trashing the DVD and slimjim displays. Eventually it left by the same door.


Wow! Around here, bears have been known to break into buildings, but I`ve have never expected a deer to try it!


gregnash said:


> Got the second half home in about 30 minutes and just did my cursory check of the wind (via the flags out front) and was delighted to see the wind actually going IN MY DIRECTION!!! Looks like I might have a tailwind for the first time in.... well....... ever! Going to be a different change though as I will be starting 4-10s in a couple weeks, looks like the next investments will be blinker for the rear and headlight, but guess that can wait a bit until it starts getting dark earlier.


Allright! Everybody deserves a tailwind from time to time 
Good luck with the new job/commute.


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## Flynnster (Aug 19, 2009)

Ride to work was great, went to pedal away and realized either a crank arm is bent, my bottom bracket is fubared, or something else. Second bike break down in as many weeks riding to work. Making the commute by bike thing really suck. 

Time to step up and put the nice mountain bike into commute mode.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I know where most of the flags on my normal route. It's always disappointing when you think you're fighting a headwind but the flag wants to disagree. The one I check most is the one at work that I can see from the building. That one is a pretty good indicator of overall wind direction.

Sticky hot here already on the way in but so far pretty pleasant. The ride home might be a little less-so.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My neighbor has a flag, and at work I can see a big wind turbine out my window. :thumbsup: I know a few flags along the way too, but most of our roads squirrel around so much that they are of limited use. The best windicators were at the car dealers on my old route, a whole line of banners/flags etc. 

No ride today, I have to go to court for work. Not too sad though, it could hit 95, ick!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Riding the surface of a near-sphere*

Finally got the blood pressure down and felt like riding. Have to regain fitness.

Debut for new camera. The old one still works sans the glass lens cover, but being a year old, the company gave me a deal on the new model with replaceable lens. They don't have the bike handle bar clamp anymore, so maybe I'm not the only one to have the mount let the camera go. I used an old Viewpoint handlebar light mount and the clip part of the old mount. There are rubber shims isolating the camera and the snap clip from road vibrations.

Well, I forgot to rotate the lens for a horizontal view so you get a 'riding the surface of the earth' sort of view. Rotate the monitor or laptop. 

I was rolling well with the wind behind me, but got blown off by someone I did not recognize. and who scared the crap out of me s I heard the chain before I saw him, so much for "On your right". Well, given I am still toxic, almost 60, and as loaded, the bike is twice the weight with heavier rims and tires, so I was doing OK.

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

BrianMc


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Gregnash`s mention of checking the flags reminds me of something I keep meaning to ask here. I`ve gotten so used to looking for flags and other flappy things that I know where most of them can be found in my usual pedalling territories. Do you others folks have them all staked out too? Anybody put up streamers or mini windsocks on purpose along your routes? I keep thinking I should go out with a roll of ribbon and tie little streamers in convenient places where the flags are scarce. I know it wouldn`t have any concrete benefits, but it would kind of nice to confirm or shoot down my guesses sometimes.


I know where most of the flags are but I have gotten attuned to looking at the long grass and trees as well. Those will usually give me a good indicator when there are no flags.



rodar y rodar said:


> Allright! Everybody deserves a tailwind from time to time
> Good luck with the new job/commute.


Thanks, it was very EERIE to go the same way the wind was blowing as there was NO SOUND, even when cars were coming. I actually had to slow down at one point to turn my head and make sure something strange hadnt happened to me (like I had died or something)or I wasnt imagining things. Was so nice to actually have that, that I ended up taking the long way home (9.7miles total) and that was awesome!

But alas, the wind gods were PISSED at me for saying something as I now have 27mph headwinds :madman::madman::madman: to combat today. The ride this morning was uneventful as normal. Thinking I might try a different way home today, through some neighborhoods, to see if I can possibly get out of the wind tunnel.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Well, I forgot to rotate the lens for a horizontal view so you get a 'riding the surface of the earth' sort of view. Rotate the monitor or laptop.


When you made a right turn near the end, it straightened out pretty well.
But all those upside down turns you made before that... yikes!



gregnash said:


> Thanks, it was very EERIE to go the same way the wind was blowing as there was NO SOUND, even when cars were coming. I actually had to slow down at one point to turn my head and make sure something strange hadnt happened to me (like I had died or something)or I wasnt imagining things.


Huh. I never noticed that before. What sometimes freaks me out is riding with a bright moon behind me. I can`t hear tires or engine, but it can look so much like headlights comming up from behind that I keep turning around to see how far back they are!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

my big geared gardin, now with soma el toros, absosmurfely RIPS through the city.
day in and day out you can play rough and tough, boxing your way through the city, 
but once in awhile, you should dissect it with a scalpel.
it's worth every heart-straining moment!


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Another non-sucky morning:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Non-sucky indeed! I meandered my way into work today as it was a nice morning for a ride here as well. I took a lazy 20 mile loop and showed up at work a little late.:nono: Oh well, did I mention that it was a nice morning for a ride?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fabulous Fatback Friday!!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! I'm trying the huskerdu's on my fatbike too; they arrived Thursday and I had to leave them outside overnight due to the strong rubber odor. 

Good commutes today, still warmer than I'd like, but not bad. I bailed on an 8pm group nightride near work, I just didn't have the oomph after work and commuting, and the gap between the end of work and ride start killed it for me. Plus I would have had to pedal another 4 mi home after. Let this be a reminder to you to go recharge your lights if they've been sitting since the end of winter. 

I saw 2 deer and 3 flying turkeys today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very non-sucky, Jordy and Mark!
MHM, what`s on the trail up ahead? Looks like an elephant, but that doesn`t sound very likely.

Damn, windy again this morning 
I woke up the recumbent from hibernation yesterday and had plans to ride a ~30mi loop road around town with a buddy this morning, but it`s still blowing hard. I think we`ll probably still go for it, but it isn`t going to be as much fun in the wind. Better call before I take off to be sure he still wants to ride.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Awesome commute home, found the Elusive Anchorage Trash Bear while detouring over to Goose Lake. I watched it knock the top off of the trash can and dive in head first. Was fun to watch it dangle by its hind legs while digging for trash!










Then hit up some singletrack testing out the new Du's, they are fast!!!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

This place is dead!!! Where'd everyone go?

Gloomy wet commute in Anchorage this morning. Suppose to rain buckets more this afternoon...brought the rain pants out for the first time of the season!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Agreed, it is too quiet around here. My road rides in the summer make for less interesting pictures.

Gloomy wet commute in *Maine *this morning. Suppose to rain buckets more this afternoon...I wore the rain coat this morning but it was too hot. I left the pants at home. Thunder & Lightning now!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> This place is dead!!! Where'd everyone go?
> 
> Gloomy wet commute in Anchorage this morning. Suppose to rain buckets more this afternoon...brought the rain pants out for the first time of the season!


Agreed, cool and gloomy this AM. Didn't break out the rain gear until the hop from my home office to the client's site. In a way I hope for a nice downpour this afternoon as my wife and kids got me a nice Novara rain jacket for Father's day and I've yet to really test it.

Then again, I would be absolutely fine with sunny and 70. Just saying.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi folks. Checking in from the eternal weekend... 

I got the old commuter frame built up as a singlespeed, and I've been punishing myself on it regularly. Dismantled the Nashbar X frame/fork for parts. A mountain SS is much more up my alley than a road-ish SS. This thing is good fun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The rain buckets, thunder and lightning came through here for an hour or so midday, but the a.m. commute was only smaller pails of rain and no lightning. I took the cross bike as it rained quite a bit overnight too. I got wet, but was comfy at almost 60F in shorts, nylon baggies, a wool T & a windvest. I hate overheating in a rainjacket.

Here's a couple newspaper pix from Rockfire, an event Saturday to raise money to preserve the land and trails around the old quarries. I was too busy parking cars and lighting candles to take any myself. The firewalk was very cool, candles (in glasses) lined the trails, and there were campfires, art, and music along the way, and 3 GIANT bonfires on top of the grout (waste granite) piles that you could see for miles around. 

The pix are a vulture sculpture set on fire and some neat new carvings in the granite trestle along the trail.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JordyB said:


> This place is dead!!! Where'd everyone go?





CommuterBoy said:


> Hi folks. Checking in from the eternal weekend...


Unfortunately, that doesn`t explain where most of us went.

Glad you`re enjoying the summer, CB.
Dry thoughts to the Anchorage crew. At least trying out a new rain jacket is a good consolation if it doesn`t dry out.

No commutes yet for me this week, but I had one of those "Upwind both ways" grocery runs this morning. That`s pretty commute related, isn`t it? If I had known the wind was going to turn on me, I`d have driven it. On the bright side, I had good luck with my first multi supermarket bikeshopping trip. Since it takes mr from 75 to 90 minutes to ride home from the store wehre we do our serious shopping, I don`t buy ice cream there when I shop by bike. There`s an overpriced supermarket only 20-25 minutes out, but I never wanted to leave a couple panniers full of grocieries outside the store, so that`s usually just an option for when I swing by after work. Today I said to hell with it because I didn`t want to make an extra trip AND I`ve been out of ice cream for several dreadful days, so I ran in for my ice cream anyway. It`s good, too!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Here's a couple newspaper pix from Rockfire, an event Saturday to raise money to preserve the land and trails around the old quarries. I was too busy parking cars and lighting candles to take any myself. The firewalk was very cool, candles (in glasses) lined the trails, and there were campfires, art, and music along the way, and 3 GIANT bonfires on top of the grout (waste granite) piles that you could see for miles around.
> 
> The pix are a vulture sculpture set on fire and some neat new carvings in the granite trestle along the trail.


Cool!
That looks like a lot of fun :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice bas relief, Mtbxplorer! Looks like the owl has a dolly, I suppose it is foliage.

Rode today. Share brisk parts with new brifters in use, and oriented correctly!

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Guy was speeding in the 30 passed me on a blind hill, at least he had room, even if he also qualifies for another reckless driving charge for passing within 100 feet of an intersection. I did not signal him to stop the pass as there was no one at the stop sign oncoming right then. But this sort of thing gets hairy when the oncoming blows the stop as they so often do. Lawn, here I come!

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

removed 110x-6 degree stem with kona swept flat bar (maybe 10 degree sweep?), popped on 135mm old school control tech stem with titec flat trackers.
felt more natural? weird, never thought of myself needing that much reach!
never assume you "know" your fit... every now and then something you "knew wouldn't possibly work" is nothing but good.

oh, and the real/7.1 wheelset is broken in and rolling SMOOTH!


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## wxflyer (Apr 30, 2006)

No commute, but I managed to take a break from work and go for a quick 10 mile ride. Temp in the 80s and muggy but at least I had the 15kt crosswind from TS Debby! Nice to breathe real air for awhile...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> removed 110x-6 degree stem with kona swept flat bar (maybe 10 degree sweep?), popped on 135mm old school control tech stem with titec flat trackers.
> felt more natural? weird, never thought of myself needing that much reach!
> never assume you "know" your fit... every now and then something you "knew wouldn't possibly work" is nothing but good.


So, what made you try the longer setup? Were you feeling cramped before or just got bored and looking for something to occupy yourself for a few?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This week is turning into a real soaker. Areal flood watches, rain forecast every day until Friday. Oh well, Honey Badger Don't Care.

Since I wore the rain gear and got too hot yesterday morning, I wore the wind breaker and got soaked and cold this morning. That thing offers zero protection from water. It should be warm enough to go without this afternoon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ha, I did the opposite, and got too hot with the rain jacket this morning on the hills, even though it's only 50F. The rain let up for most of the trip too. The other commuter I occasionally see was just in a T - brrr.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

New one for me last night. Saw a big crow rooting around in the tall grass next to the MUP. As I approached, the crow took off carrying a snake, maybe 12-18 inches long. I get within a few feet of the crow who is now about 8 feet off the ground, and he decides to drop the snake, right in front of me! Had to swerve to avoid running the sucker over. I could imagine it getting sucked up into my spokes...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aerial snakings? That`s a new one, alright!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had visions of the crow dropping it on me and it going down my shirt. Uggh, I hate snakes.


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

*Crummy*

Crashed with a fellow rider today. I honestly had no idea he was behind me. I was on the MUT and at a standstill at a 6 lane road waiting for cross-traffic to clear and he rolled up behind me just as I started across. I was on my SS (42x16) and swerved a bit as I was getting started. Consequently our tires rubbed and down he went. He quickly picked himself up and I stopped to check if he was hurt but he was pissed and wouldn't answer. Finally, after asking 3 or 4 times if he was OK, he finally gave an angry "I'm fine." I went my way but the rest of my commute was ruined. Glad he was OK.

On a happier note, I finally got the new all rounder dirty on Saturday. 30 miles of rail trail and singletrack with a couple of miles of asphalt on each end. The midway point was the train station in Lamy, NM. I'm really enjoying this bike as both a commuter and gravel grinder.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Try the first video from yesterday again.

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Nice tailwind.

BrianMc


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Today's AM commute was likewise damp and I was in a bit of a mood, maybe over tired or something, thus the commute was not the uplifting thing it normally is. Nothing challenging or major to report other than that I like the rain for the simple fact that it clears off the trails for me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cdaddy said:


> Crashed with a fellow rider today. I honestly had no idea he was behind me. I was on the MUT and at a standstill at a 6 lane road waiting for cross-traffic to clear and he rolled up behind me just as I started across. I was on my SS (42x16) and swerved a bit as I was getting started. Consequently our tires rubbed and down he went. He quickly picked himself up and I stopped to check if he was hurt but he was pissed and wouldn't answer. Finally, after asking 3 or 4 times if he was OK, he finally gave an angry "I'm fine." I went my way but the rest of my commute was ruined. Glad he was OK.


And that's why you don't want any overlap in group rides. It sounds like he was totally at fault. I'm glad YOU'RE OK too.
Group-Ride Etiquette - Bicycle Trip - Santa Cruz, CA - Bike Shop


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Was pretty toasty today on my ride in. No way I'm carrying a backpack in 100deg heat, so I'm bungeeing it to my rack for now...until I get a decent set of panniers.

I think I'm going to pull off my fenders for the summer and throw on some summer tread so I can hit the trails on my commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> I had visions of the crow dropping it on me and it going down my shirt.


Could have been even worse than into your shirt. Imagine it going all the way through and settling happily in your plumbers cleavage!



cdaddy said:


>


Sexy! Who made the frame? Were you on that bike when you tangled with the weirdo? Hope it didn`t get the innaugural pain scratch.

I tried to order BAs a few months ago for The Mighty Schwinn, but had a brain fart and clicked on 20 inchers instead. Oh well, I was planning to order a pair of those anyway, so I just kept them for other uses. I liked those Little Apples right from the start, but since they did so well on my recent minitour, I`m nearly in love and it relit teh need for a big pair. Finally tried again over the weekend and it isn`t looking good. Prices are crazy for them and it looks like some are now "New And Improved" (which is never a good sign). I found them from an electric bikes and mobility equipment dealer for $37 each plus a somewhat large shipping fee and ordered two- just got a message that they can`t get them. Aw, man- bummer. Does anybody know what`s up with the new tread design? Is the rest of the tire the same except with a new look? Also, there seem to be more 2.1s available than 2.0s. Maybe I`ll try that- hardly seems like enough difference in width to be worth manufacturing two different sizes, so it makes me wonder if there`s something else different in those.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

The ride home tonight was a little un-nerving due to the Flagstaff fire. I stopped several times to take photos, which you can see here.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> So, what made you try the longer setup? Were you feeling cramped before or just got bored and looking for something to occupy yourself for a few?


31.8 kona stem and bars were stiff, but a bit rough over the worst potholes.
With the new wheels I'm bombing a tad faster than before, so I figured the titec ti bars might help keep the chatter down. 
But I couldn't find an old 25.4 stem for it in the "right" length! 
So some parts box digging found the old dog and I figured even though it was "too long" I'd toss it on to get a feel for the bars. 

Also, I stripped one of the bar clamps on my old WTB steel stem which was my first choice.

And yes, it definitely was a case of "wrenching my troubles away".


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Got a new summer job at a bike rental shop. So instead of doing a few round-trips on the boardwalk (I'm at the beach) each morning to keep in shape, I bike down there (it's close to the end of the boardwalk), work from 8 to 11 and bike back home.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Nice job, except when you hit a tropical storm on your way back


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sexy! Who made the frame? Were you on that bike when you tangled with the weirdo? Hope it didn`t get the innaugural pain scratch.


It's from a company in Minneapolis called All-City but the frame (Nature Boy) is built in Taiwan. That being said, I think it looks great, has super nice welds and has some cool little features you wouldn't expect from a mass produced frame like "custom" dropouts, lugged crown fork and internal cable routing. Also plenty of room for fenders come wintertime. Most importantly, I really like the way it rides. So different than the Bianchi Rush Hour I've been commuting on for the past 6 months.

Regarding the mishap, just a bit of tire rub so I stayed upright with no damage to bike or rider. Too bad other rider/bike weren't as fortunate. But at heart, it is a cx bike so I fully expect a few dings and scratches but I prefer they happen on my terms. Even so, the first one is always painful.

Modeled after the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis.


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## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

Smokey.

I work near a fire in Boulder, CO.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That fire looks nasty! Hang in there, MileHigh and Lidarman. I`ve been watching and cringing. Never been threatened by wildfires, but I know how terrible it is watching so many houses go up in smoke, not to mention all the "playgrounds". Anybody here live near that Ft Collins monster?

So far this summer, we`ve been holding much better than I would have guessed, especially after two unusual winter fires. It`s been so dry here this year that the hills skipped their normal couple weeks of green and I don`t have any weeds growing in my yard. I`m starting to wonder if maybe going beyond a normal dry year and edging into record dry is actually helping because of the lack of grasses to start a blaze off.



David C said:


> Nice job, except when you hit a tropical storm on your way back


Well I guess that`s what you get for living up there in the tropics!


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Looks like I "inconvenienced" another driver out there today who was kind enough to refer me to the sidewalk once he let out a nice long honk of the horn. Do drivers really think that by pointing to the sidewalk, a light bulb is just going to go off in my head and I am going to hop right over and ride there? Like I have never considered such a thing and he has finally shown me the light? I guess I'll never understand.

I really want to sew some Velcro onto my riding shirts and then create some clever "add-ons" to my shirts. Things like "Honk if you're horny!" or maybe "I wave to a-holes!" You know, things like that so when people see me waving to someone after they honk, they know the guy is an a-hole or (s)he's horny. :thumbsup:


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## TobyGadd (Sep 9, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Anybody here live near that Ft Collins monster?


Yep, I do. Been pretty smoky the last couple of weeks. I missed an entire week of riding because of the fire. And then I left town for the following week, which was fortunate timing. This week as been much better so far, maybe due to the wind direction--or hopefully because the fire is slowing down.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> That fire looks nasty! Hang in there, MileHigh and Lidarman. I`ve been watching and cringing. Never been threatened by wildfires, but I know how terrible it is watching so many houses go up in smoke, not to mention all the "playgrounds". Anybody here live near that Ft Collins monster?
> 
> So far this summer, we`ve been holding much better than I would have guessed, especially after two unusual winter fires. It`s been so dry here this year that the hills skipped their normal couple weeks of green and I don`t have any weeds growing in my yard. I`m starting to wonder if maybe going beyond a normal dry year and edging into record dry is actually helping because of the lack of grasses to start a blaze off.
> 
> Well I guess that`s what you get for living up there in the tropics!


Agreed things have been weird. But we are replacing the fires with a record windy season. Clocked 30mph winds on my way home last wednesday (or was it thursday). Had training in Reno on Friday/Monday so no commute for me. But so far this week has been breezy at best. Looking outside right now and not really seeing anything windy-wise which is nice. However that means it is going to be hot on the way home. Unfortunately, the ride here was a bit solem as I got the call this morning that my grandfather had passed away. The wife kept telling me to take the car today but the ride did some good in giving me sometime to deal with my emotions/thoughts before I headed to work. He was 92, a WWII vet, and was the last grandparent (gramma went almost exactly 4yrs ago) and things kinda went downhill quickly about two weeks ago when he had a stroke. I, somewhat, chose not to see him in his state (he was OK) after the stroke as I would have rather remembered him as the guy that was at my wedding, smoking a cigar with me and my brother and sharing appetizers with my wife.

Conversely, I finally got some dirt drops to try on the Jake. Picked up a set of On-One Midge bars for cheap through the titus store. Put them on with new tap, brake lines and got ride of the cheaters (just never used them). So far they have been super comfortable and feel great. Oh and I have to say, I have been commuting on my Vittoria XG Pro's for the last month now and really I do not feel much, if any, difference in rolling resistance between them and the Gatorskins (32s vs 28s). They seem to be wearing pretty well so I may stick with cross tires as my commuters that way I can have a little fun later. But then I like the look of the "skinwall" tires so I might pick up a pair of Panaracer Pasela Tourguards.:madman: (my wife says I am starting to become a tire horder)

After my last two mtb races it is quickly becoming apparent at the potential "need" for a full suspension bike. So depending on funding (and whether I have my FJ60 by then) I may sell the Kona, turn the HT into the commuter and strictly go with the Full Suspension. All is up in the air right now though.


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## cdaddy (Nov 8, 2005)

Sorry to hear about your grandfather. At 92 years old I bet you have alot of great memories with him. 
My grandfather was 91 when he died over 10 years ago. I still think of him virtually every day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

On the way home I saw the 2 common loons on the reservoir that I had spotted only twice before - but this time they had 1 lonely chick swimming along with them and it was occasionally taking short dives. I hope it survives. Took some pix but pretty sure they're uselessly far way.

Otherwise, I stayed pretty dry today despite the 100% chance of rain and occasional showers. Still on the cross bike, we got over an inch yesterday, so the trails are soggy.

gregnash, hope the ride helped, I would have done the same thing.

toby, stay safe out there, those fires look scary.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Tire spree...*



gregnash said:


> Oh and I have to say, I have been commuting on my Vittoria XG Pro's for the last month now and really I do not feel much, if any, difference in rolling resistance between them and the Gatorskins (32s vs 28s). They seem to be wearing pretty well so I may stick with cross tires as my commuters that way I can have a little fun later. But then I like the look of the "skinwall" tires so I might pick up a pair of Panaracer Pasela Tourguards.:madman: (my wife says I am starting to become a tire horder)


I`ve used a number of Paselas over the past three or four years, in 700 x 32 and 26 x 1.25. Pretty good deal. I love the look too, they`re dirt cheap, very comfy for their respective widths, and the fastest rolling tires I`ve ever used. But I just made a $100+ order for new skinnies and new fatties and I`m going a different direction for the skinny side this time. I have one pair each of 26 x 2.1 BAs and 1.3 Conti Sport Contacts on the way. It`s the flats on my "speed demon" Paselas that have me fishing for something better, but if the Sport Contacts don`t win my heart I`ll probably go back to Paselas for the next round. Maybe bump them up to 1.5 next time, though.

Sorry to hear about your grampa, GN.

Rain in New England. Wouldn`t it be grreat if we could share our unwanted weather with people who want it? I remember offering to take other forum members` snow off their hands for them over the winter, now I could go for some rain (week days prefered, please!), and I bet Xplorer and Bedwards would be plenty happy to let me have it if they could. Whoever gets stuck with the wind, I guess you`re out of luck- nobody wants to take that off your hands!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We had a sad reminder of the danger of lightning today. A 16 year old boy struck while working at a farm Saturday died today. :sad: According to reports, the farm radioed in the workers when thunder was heard, the storm had not even arrived, but Connor did not make it in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry about your grandfather too. 

Tire hoarder? My last count was 33. Most of those were for my bikes but some were on other family bikes.

Beautiful sunny morning here in ME, only a chance of rain this afternoon. To took the cross bike anyway throwing caution to the wind and not riding something with fenders.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Condolences GN.

All the parts are supposed to be here by tomorrow. Hope to be building over the weekend and sporting a new daily commuter monday.

The mountain was out and keeping me company on my ride this morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ What, no *Snakes on the Lane *today??  Lovely and dramatic mountain view!

Still cloudy here, but the rain seems to have stopped for now. Yes, a shame we could not have sent it to those in need, we are now at 5.23" for June and normal June to date is 2.95".

59F this a.m., but I got surprisingly hot on the ride, the 82% humidity I guess.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I just checked - we had 11.7" of rain this June. The 4" of rain we got in one day would have doused those forest fires. Otherwise the gardens are really happy. The first meal is going to be broccoli any day now. 

Love the mountain pic. I'm not sure if our resident famous mountain, Mt Washington still has a snowy peak or not. It's probably melted but it's been a weird year so maybe not.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s one hell of an impressive hunk of rock, Woodway. The one and only time I was up there, I flew in just after sunset on a 4th of July weekend. That was over 20 years ago and I can still remember how the whole side of the mountain lit up red from the sky.



bedwards1000 said:


> Tire hoarder? My last count was 33.


Yeah, but since you`ve got like 16 bikes, it ain`t a tire obsession. You`re covered :thumbsup:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another wet commute in Anchorage...where did the sun go??? Seems to be missing again this summer. )O:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

GN: Sorry. Losing the WW II vets at a fast rate these days.

WW: So THAT'S a mountain. Flatlander challenged here. 

Bedwards: We are down 6.5" from average for April to June and less than 0.1" in June with none expected in next two days. So you cn send some our way and stop hogging it all! 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The sun came out on the way home and it probably hit about 75F. Nice, but a bike (?!?) powered by what had to be a 2 cycle engine passed me on a slight hill and choked me out for 1/2 mile or so. Wow - the fumes were worse than any other motor vehicle and did not dissipate with 50 yards like a truck's might, probably because he was barely faster than me. And loud?! He said hi as he passed and I said hi, going fishing? (as he had a pole in the milk crate) but he couldn't hear a thing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> WW: So THAT'S a mountain. Flatlander challenged here.


Not just A mountain, around here it's called The Mountain 



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ What, no Snakes on the Lane today??


LOL. Good one MTBX! :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I took off this afternoon and did a little route sanitizing that Ive been dreaming of for a couple years now. Theres one place on my long commute (pass by the convenience store) where I have about 200 yards of old dirt road connecting two neighborhoods, and there are three rows of boulders blocking the road. With fat tires, I can follow the path between and around the boulders okay, but I often end up walking with the skinnies because either I get bogged down in sand or I wash out for going too fast around the tight corners in hopes of keeping up my speed and NOT bogging down. Today I went out there with a giant prybar and pushed a few of them around to make it a straighter shot. Cant wait to try it out on the bike!

Crap, my keyboard lost its apostrophe


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Fun commute today. I'm signed up to do a small local tri tomorrow so I stopped at the swim section and did a mid commute swim. I think that might become a regular thing. Crystal Lake is right on my normal route.

Thanks for the Mt Ranier link. I'd never read about it before.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice elbow grease Rodar!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Fun commute today. I'm signed up to do a small local tri tomorrow so I stopped at the swim section and did a mid commute swim. I think that might become a regular thing. Crystal Lake is right on my normal route.


I have been tempted to swim mid-ride before, but have been put off by the possibility of post-swim soggy chamois/chafing. How was it? And were you in regular bike shorts or some tri-suit thingy?


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

My commute is 3.5 miles of reletively flat side streets, I ride my Niner EMD rigid 1x9 with maxxis aspen tires.

At the beginning of the year I would make it in just under 15 minutes with an avgerage moving speed of 12mph and a top of 22mph.

Today I did it in 11 minutes with an average moving speed of 14mph and top of 29mph


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Good going, Champan! Did you just start biking to work this year?

I made a cigarette run after work this morning and much enjoyed yesterdays improvements. Somebody else probably did, too- I did my sabbotage about 6 or 7 in the evening and by the time I got there again, at 7:30 this morning, there were already a pair of tracks through the newly straightened section 

Schedule for next week is dumb. I have a furlough Monday, work Tue, off Wed, then back for two more nights. Jumping around like that sucks for a graveyard shifter. I think I might just go out and ride all night Wed during the time I would normally be working and keep myself on a vampire schedule instead of a whole week of groggy half dead days and nights. Besides, a moonlight century kind of sounds like fun.



bedwards1000 said:


> Fun commute today. I'm signed up to do a small local tri tomorrow so I stopped at the swim section and did a mid commute swim. I think that might become a regular thing. Crystal Lake is right on my normal route.


Movin up! Couch to 5K last month, now a dip in the lake and your first tri, next month youll be itching for a new channel crossing record :thumbsup:



mtbxplorer said:


> I have been tempted to swim mid-ride before, but have been put off by the possibility of post-swim soggy chamois/chafing.


That idea bugs me, too. Do you think it would be "chaffy" or otherwise uncomfortable with a single layer of synthetic bike shorts? Since I just wear regular shorts, and with underware, I only take mid-ride dips when I can pull it off without getting my clothes wet. Actually, thats not too hard once you get a couple hours away from civilization.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

With the 90F forecast and some use-it-or-lose it leave time, I drove to work and left at lunch for a paddle and a swim instead of biking. It was nice! No motorboats and 19 miles of undeveloped shoreline. I saw a few loons and a mink swam across in front of me and then ran up a log. The whole NE arm of the reservoir is closed, even to canoes, from ice-out until August 1, to protect nesting birds. The paddle-in camping looks fun, but I was a bit worried about one family at the launch that planned to cross the chop in a canoe full-to-the-brim with stuff, and towing the 2 kids through the wind on boogie boards to their campsite.

Rodar, your ride-n-swim technique is probably optimal. I'll have to try the bike shorts, or use the baggies layer to swim and continue the ride in the chamois.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Good going, Champan! Did you just start biking to work this year?


I commuted a couple times last year but decided to do it again this year. I started taking my bike a few months ago and have not taken the jeep since! I am planning a route for my part time job which is just under a 30mile ride. It would be great to have a dedicated commuter bike too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I have been tempted to swim mid-ride before, but have been put off by the possibility of post-swim soggy chamois/chafing. How was it? And were you in regular bike shorts or some tri-suit thingy?


I did it again this morning. I'm going to try to do it at least once a week in the summer. The water is actually warmer than the air in the morning. I may look for other routes that have different swims but this one is pretty ideal.

I wear Aero Tech Designs Pro Shorts They have a pretty thin pad with no chafing problems. I've got 2 each of 2 styles of shorts from them and they are good quality and priced right. I'd imagine the thin pad is like a tri-short that they also have. So, no chafing problems. I'd highly recommend a mid commute swim. I'd risk being arrested if I didn't get some clothes wet in this spot.

Roder, Your schedule would kill me. You'll need a lot of batteries for a moonlight century but it does sound fun.

This morning's commute was awesome and I fantasized about just passing by work and going for a day long ride. Oh well, I took a new long way and got 15 miles in this morning.


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

Low in the 60s and a light steady rain. Was soaked when I got to work. Threw on a wind layer jacket instead of my clear lightweight waterproof jacket.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Finished the new commuter over the weekend and rode it in this morning. Baby, where have you been all these years?  It weighs a full nine pounds less then my last commuter and man could I ever feel the difference on the hills.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> Finished the new commuter over the weekend and rode it in this morning.


Nice. Nice pic. Can't read name. What is it? I can see/read titanium.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Habenaro. 3Al / 2.5V Brushed Titanium Frames from $995

Titanium cross disc-ready frame with mounts for racks/fenders, etc. Chinese made frame, but the quality to my untrained eye looks very good and the guys at Habenero were great to work with. It sure rides sweet and is stiffer than the steel frame it replaced. Very happy.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Nice!

I cant wait to get a dedicated commuter setup


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NINE POUNDS? Svelte!
As if the W+9 you were riding before were holding you back much. Now I guess youre going to up your weekly elevation goal to 25K? What kinda-sorta rack have you got on back?

@Bedwards: DH-3N72. You dont need to charge up for a long, long time.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Thanks for all the condolences guys... he was a much loved man and died where he grew up. Have to say the two hardest parts of the day were...1) Marines playing taps as they folded his flag and 2) his best friend Eddie of 87yrs was there, as he was walking out after the service and get together afterward he walked up to his photo and said "see ya old friend."

Had a pretty decent commute this morning.. 58* and a slight breeze made for a decent, low sweat commute. Plus with it being a holiday week it did not seem like there were many cars on the road. Saw this "little" guy sitting on the road not more than 50yrds from my house. Nothing wrong with him, think he was just getting a drink out of the puddle.


Untitled by renofizz, on Flickr


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Damn! From Treefort:

"Hi Brian,
We are sorry to inform you that the following items from your order had to be moved to backordered:
(2x) Schwalbe Big Apple Wire Bead Tire 26" [Black 2.15]"

That makes three times Ive tried to get a pair of apples under my Schwinn. Back in Jan or Feb,m I mistakenly ordered the wrong size, a couple weeks ago, an E-bike dealer respopnded after my order that they didnt offer them any more, now Treefort tells me theyre on back order. Not meant to be?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> NINE POUNDS? Svelte!
> As if the W+9 you were riding before were holding you back much. Now I guess youre going to up your weekly elevation goal to 25K? What kinda-sorta rack have you got on back?


I tied my record time to work this morning and I did not feel like I was "pushing it" at all and my legs feel great. W-9 must have something to do with that :thumbsup: Sure is fun getting to know a new bike.

Rack: Tubus Airy. A Ti rack to go with my Ti bike (the bike weighs 20 pounds with the rack and pedals installed).

I picked up an Ortlieb Clip-on pannier that drops right onto the rack, easy as pie. The clip mechanism on the pannier is adjustable, so I was able to slide the pannier back to eliminate any heel strike (which was an issue with the Topeak rack/trunkbag-pannier I was using on my old commuter). When I got to work this morning I was able to just grab the whole pannier and carry it upstairs to the locker room for my shower. With my old system I had to unload everything from the trunkbag/pannier to carry upstairs. So I am liking the Ortlieb pannier better.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tubus Airy = 1st class!
Drivetrain?

Nice find, Greg! Was it an owl? Marsh hawk?


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice find, Greg! Was it an owl? Marsh hawk?


Looked like either a red tail hawk or a golden eagle. Have both in our area along with other random hawks and birds of prey. Funny thing is that I was wondering if the owners of that house had let their dog out and he had been hunting him. Dog is a small shitzu mix, and pretty old so the bird could have definitely made off with him pretty easily.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Tubus Airy = 1st class!
> Drivetrain?


I decided to go SRAM this time around. I bought a mix of Force and Rival components. The double-tap shifting took a little getting used to this morning, but towards the end of the ride I was doing it without having to think about it. Man a new drivetrain shifts crisply!

The only problem I ran into during the build was the SRAM crank I bought (Force Compact GXP) would not fit the bike - the very end of the teeth on the 50T ring were just touching the chainstay. Unfortunately you cannot install a spacer on GXP cranks to move them out. So I pulled the Ultegra cranks off my old commuter, installed a spacer and they are working fine. I talked to the guy at Habenero this morning and he explained to me how to extend the "dimple" on the chainstay further to the rear in order to get the clearance I need for the SRAM cranks. It involves placing a round/hard object against the chainstay and hitting said object with a hammer. He says that with titanium it's no problem at all to do this. I have to decide if I am up for it...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'd be looking for a longer bottom bracket before I started bashing my $900 frame with a hammer. Or stick with the Ultegra cranks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^No kidding! A new BB sounds a lot better to me.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

After a few weeks... ok, all of June... I did my first commute this morning. Weather was nice and not too cold. I managed it in 55mins which was a surprise.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'd be looking for a longer bottom bracket before I started bashing my $900 frame with a hammer. Or stick with the Ultegra cranks.





rodar y rodar said:


> ^^No kidding! A new BB sounds a lot better to me.


I hear you guys. Unfortunately the way the SRAM crank is setup, you cannot go any wider. The guy at Habenero insists that it's not a big deal. I have a friend who works at a local machine shop where they do a lot or Boeing work, including a lot of titanium work. I am going to get his opinion before I make a call on way or another.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*New Swimmin Hole?*

It was a beautiful summer morning here. I took a 20 mile route that includes some dirt roads on the cross bike today. I think this might be another good spot for a morning swim.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Saw this doe again last night, I don't know how she'll ever make it through hunting season this fall, as she is not flighty like most whitetails around here. I guess she was too close so the flash gave her spooky eyes.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Saw this doe again last night, I don't know how she'll ever make it through hunting season this fall, as she is not flighty like most whitetails around here. I guess she was too close so the flash gave her spooky eyes.


Survival of the fittest applies.....she may just know you now....she could have been hidding in the bush several times when you went by.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Maybe she has a fawn nearby and she's checking you out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Survival of the fittest applies.....she may just know you now....she could have been hidding in the bush several times when you went by.





bedwards1000 said:


> Maybe she has a fawn nearby and she's checking you out.


True, and true. maybe she's stalking me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> True, and true. maybe she's stalking me.


Naw, that only happens with California deer and Washington owls.

Bedwards, that`s a very tempting looking puddle!

Woodway, will the Sram BB fit the bike you borrowed the Ultegra from?


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## Zeitlupe (Nov 21, 2010)

My commute today was pretty swell . . .


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Zeitlupe said:


> My commute today was pretty swell . . .


THAT is awesome. You are the coolest person I know today.


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## dreadpiratestephen (Feb 12, 2012)

Terrible. Started a new job and haven't figured out the shower/locker situation, so i've been (gasp) driving the 4 miles to work . I miss grad school and the luxury of being sweaty/smelly/dirty all day.


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## Zeitlupe (Nov 21, 2010)

L4NE4 said:


> THAT is awesome. You are the coolest person I know today.


Ah, gee. I'll wear that proudly.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

One swell and one terrible... I guess it works out well on average.
Mine was stinking hot- I`m used to leaving for work a little after 10 PM, but came in four hours early today, with the sun still beating down. At least it let me ride one of my unlit bikes for a little change of pace.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Bikepacking Adventure 2012*

I've decided on the concept for my trip this year. I'm going to start from home and explore some of the VT MTB trails I haven't been on yet, and pedal the roads between them. So the pattern would be, ride to new area & camp, ride trails in new area & camp, repeat. Only problem is, sketching out my travels and trails, I'm up to a 17 day trip already :eekster: I may have to scale that back. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Only problem is, sketching out my travels and trails, I'm up to a 17 day trip already :eekster: I may have to scale that back. :lol:


You and me both... More weekends, more vacation!
It sounds like a good plan though. I`m sure you`ll have a blast after you get done torturing yourself with the cuts :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Armchair adventuring is quite dangerous!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Woodway, will the Sram BB fit the bike you borrowed the Ultegra from?


Yup, but I have been reading up on dimpling frames, and it's commonly done. I'm thinking I am going to go for it. I'll let you know how it works out!


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Figured today was a good old american cruiser day


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

humidity is killing us, like sucking air through wet cheesecloth.
gets you 10X closer to heat stroke than your realize, and it's only really noticeable when it's nearly too late.
stay safe people.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*I Love Summer*

65 degrees in the morning, 85 degrees in the afternoon, shorts & shirt, no layers and layers of winter clothes, swimming holes, the long way in and the long way home. Life is good. (sorry about all you guys in the 110 degree heat, we get ours in the winter)



mtbxplorer said:


> I've decided on the concept for my trip this year. I'm going to start from home and explore some of the VT MTB trails I haven't been on yet, and pedal the roads between them. So the pattern would be, ride to new area & camp, ride trails in new area & camp, repeat. Only problem is, sketching out my travels and trails, I'm up to a 17 day trip already :eekster: I may have to scale that back. :lol:


That sounds like a Rodar trip, and a fun one. How many miles do you have for the 17 days?

+2 on the need more vacation time.

Nice cruiser L4NE4.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice cruiser L4NE4.


Thanks. It will be getting a rack and 2 speed kickback soon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Midnight Ride of Pablo Rivera*

Whoo! No work last night for the holiday, so I left at sunset and rode all night- just got home, about a half hour ealier than my normal arrival time. It was kind of like an extra long commute, but without that silly part in the middle where I stop by my place of employment for 8 hours . All in all, I made 140 miles in 11:25. I generally like riding at night, but wasn`t sure how it would be for a long ride. Turns out it was very nice- never got hot or chilled, less traffic, and very peaceful for the most part. The down side is that there are fewer servies available in the middle of the night, but I figured on that and brought my own goodies along in a trunk bag.

Bedwards, you usually get 110* in the winter??? Your summer rides do sound exceptionally "non-sucky"!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, but it is at zero percent humidity so it's pretty tolerable. Actually, it is 120 degrees colder than that... which sounds like a lot.

140 miles, phew, did you pack a "lunch" or find a Denney's at 2:00AM? Did you get any pics? Here, I'll post one for you.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> That sounds like a Rodar trip, and a fun one. How many miles do you have for the 17 days?


The longest days would be 50-60 miles on the roads, and then however many trail miles (plus any distance from camping area) I want to do on the alternating days. To enjoy the trails I want to do those pretty much on their own, rather than tacking them onto the end of a day of loaded road riding.



rodar y rodar said:


> Whoo! No work last night for the holiday, so I left at sunset and rode all night- just got home, about a half hour ealier than my normal arrival time. It was kind of like an extra long commute, but without that silly part in the middle where I stop by my place of employment for 8 hours . All in all, I made 140 miles in 11:25. I generally like riding at night, but wasn`t sure how it would be for a long ride.


Wow, that is really far, is that a personal record? Did you use your bike with the generator hub?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice ride in, 60F and breezy. VT got some damaging winds and T-storms last night, but this area was not hit as bad as some. I was able to drag a few branches and smaller blowdowns off the trails.


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## abelfonseca (Dec 26, 2011)

Started communting about 2 weeks ago. My house is just 2 kms away from my workplace so its a pretty short commute. Today (everyday) it was hot and humid, temps around 98F and humdity around 90%. I set a really slow pace so I dont sweat since I dont get to change clothes once I get to work. The dresscode is jeans and a polo style shirt. It takes me about 10 minutes to get from my house to work (downhill) and about 15 to get back. It takes me 15 minutes to get there by car.

Saludos!


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

It was actually a pretty nice commute this morning! Nice at about 60* and since it is the day after the holiday there was really not many people on the road. Made it here in just under 21 minutes so I am progressively getting faster and faster at getting here. Now let's hope for a "breezy" (not windy) ride home. Next week will be interesting as I will be switching to 4-10s so I will be getting up earlier and home later. 

So far the new bars are working pretty well, still need to adjust the front brake but only weird thing is changing gears takes a little getting used to.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

abelfonseca said:


> Started communting about 2 weeks ago. My house is just 2 kms away from my workplace so its a pretty short commute. Today (everyday) it was hot and humid, temps around 98F and humdity around 90%. I set a really slow pace so I dont sweat since I dont get to change clothes once I get to work. The dresscode is jeans and a polo style shirt. It takes me about 10 minutes to get from my house to work (downhill) and about 15 to get back. It takes me 15 minutes to get there by car.
> 
> Saludos!


Hi abelfonseca! That sounds like a big success if you arrive quicker than by car. Glad you are taking it easy in the hot and humid weather. Riding in jeans at 98 must be hard, I think I would wilt.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Saludos, Abel. Welcome in!
You`re a mean machine to ride in that weather with jeans! And yeah, it`s pretty cool that you can actually cut your commute time by riding. Your user profile says you`re in Honduras. I hope you hang in here with us- I`m pretty sure your the only poster from CA. Ride safe and don`t melt


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cool, Greg. I love summer morning rides! Good luck on the new position and new shift. Long ago, I worked four 10s for a while- it`s a pretty sweet arrangement.



bedwards1000 said:


> Did you get any pics? Here, I'll post one for you.


That`s exactly what it looked like :thumbsup:
No Dennys, but there were several 24 hour convenience stores. For one stretch when I knew I wasn`t going to pass an open store for a few hours, I stocked up at my last stop to get me through.



mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, that is really far, is that a personal record? Did you use your bike with the generator hub?


Yes and yes. Plus a superflash with brand new batteries on my helmet- on Mom`s orders


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have been living in a hole in the ground writing a paper and haven't checked in in a while. It's been super hot here. We've had a few days with highs in the upper 90s, but other than that, the past couple weeks have mostly been in the 100s and humid. The mornings are usually high 70s or low 80s and muggy. The air quality also sucks (ozone and particulates). Fortunately, my work has showers and drivers haven't been all that aggressive. This temperature trend isn't normal for this time of year.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*I love my Cross Check*

I took a route by a The Gray Fish Hatchery last night on the cross bike. There is a nice mile or so dirt road through the woods with no traffic and then about a mile along the rivers. 2 blue herons were flying around looking for the fish that got out of the netted areas. Just me and 1000s of brown trout.


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## abelfonseca (Dec 26, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hi abelfonseca! That sounds like a big success if you arrive quicker than by car. Glad you are taking it easy in the hot and humid weather. Riding in jeans at 98 must be hard, I think I would wilt.


I picked up mtbing about 1.5 years ago and I was always thinking about biking to work since then. I never did it for the reasons you mention. I thought I was going to take to long and would arrive drenched in sweat because of the heat on the fact that I was riding in jeans and work boots. It turned out to be very different from what I thought. The breeze kept me "cool" and dry and the slightly negative slope made the ride effortless on the way to work, I was also not a victim to the sluggish traffic at that time of the day. It was a successful move on many counts.



rodar y rodar said:


> Saludos, Abel. Welcome in!
> You`re a mean machine to ride in that weather with jeans! And yeah, it`s pretty cool that you can actually cut your commute time by riding. Your user profile says you`re in Honduras. I hope you hang in here with us- I`m pretty sure your the only poster from CA. Ride safe and don`t melt


Thanks for the welcome rodar. I am from San Pedro Sula, Honduras. I have told several fellow mtbers about this forum but so far none of them have joined, well, its their loss, with the tons of info you can find here plus all the nice going people. I sure hope to stick around, I do tons more reading than I do posting but I know the post rate will increase with time.

Saludos


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Quite nice, it was still only 60F when I left, so even with 100% humidity it was comfortable. Mid 80’s expected for the ride home though. I really feel for those of you in high heat and humidity, I would much rather ride in the cold.

They're running a Thursday night race series on what are normally my "personal" commuting trails. They were just about to start when I went through after work yesterday, so we didn't cross paths, I just had to duck some of the tape they put up to keep the racers from taking a wrong turn. It looked like a good turnout, and it's a fundraiser for the trails :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I took a route by a The Gray Fish Hatchery last night on the cross bike. There is a nice mile or so dirt road through the woods with no traffic and then about a mile along the rivers. 2 blue herons were flying around looking for the fish that got out of the netted areas. Just me and 1000s of brown trout.


Nice, sounds like a pleasant detour!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Let us know how you do. It sounds like fun, I'd do it if they had something like that around here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^If I do, I'll let you know the damage, but I'm not one much for racing, prefering to go my own pace.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You`re a lot more forgiving of special events invading your personal life than I am. I sulk the whole week for the anual event that impedes my commuting peace.



abelfonseca said:


> I have told several fellow mtbers about this forum but so far none of them have joined, well, its their loss,


If its because they`re unomfortable with English, maybe they`d enjoy the Mexico subforum:
http://forums.mtbr.com/mexico/?securitytoken=1341587031-cc3d47230c556b85c8c47d573faa8e21d7a0a458
Some of the discusion there is Mexico-specific of course, but not all of it. Good folks there, very knowledgeable, and will happily answer any questions that somebody might be hesitant to post in the English sections.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

woodway said:


> Yup, but I have been reading up on dimpling frames, and it's commonly done. I'm thinking I am going to go for it. I'll let you know how it works out.


OK, I dimpled my frame yesterday and now the SRAM cranks fit fine.

If you remember, my problem was that the big ring on the SRAM cranks I purchased for my new commuter was rubbing on the chainstay. The guy at Habenero Cycles, where I bought the frame, explained that I needed to dimple the chainstay a bit and he walked me through the process.

I removed the back wheel and then cut a block of wood to fit between the two stays to provide the chainstay some support. I took a framing hammer and wrapped PVC tape around the outside of the head so that it would not mark the frame. I laid the bike on it's side, chainstay up, inserted the block of wood between the stays, put another block of wood under the bottom stay and then laid the framing hammer sideways on the chainstay so that the round side of the head was against the part of the chainstay that I needed to dimple. I took a small sledge hammer and whacked the other side of the framing hammer (I am hitting the round side of the head of the framing hammer). I had to hit the framing hammer pretty darn hard. After about five whacks, I had flattened the chainstay by a couple of mm. I Installed the SRAM cranks and they now clear just fine. No marks on the frame, and unless I told you I had dimpled the frame, you would never notice the change.

The new bike is riding great. I really like it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ If there's no structural difference to the bike it makes me wonder why they don't just change their design by a few mm to accommodate SRAM cranks.

Humidity is down and the sun is up around here. We've got a weeks worth of perfect days forecast. This morning was no exception. 

I did almost get squished by a tow-truck on my ride in. I was cruising along at about 20mph and the truck gets to a stop sign and stops. I'm keeping my eye on him but he's a full stop so no worries. Just as I get about 3 feet from his front bumper he starts going and I had to swerve to avoid getting clipped by the far side of the truck.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Slayed the commute in this morning. The weather is forecast to be clear all week so hoping to get in another commute later in the week.

The TdF is on in the mornings here so I get to watch it over breakfast before doing my own "tour".


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Humidity is down and the sun is up around here. We've got a weeks worth of perfect days forecast. This morning was no exception.


Same here, lovely day, and not too hot. Of course I had to drive 1 1/2 hours north early, so I couldn't ride in, but I did manage to wedge the MTB into the back seat of a Civic hybrid so I could ride home. Sedans are so useless for bikes! It was a bit of a wrestling match and even then the door only closed because the rear tire is pretty soft.



bedwards1000 said:


> I did almost get squished by a tow-truck on my ride in. I was cruising along at about 20mph and the truck gets to a stop sign and stops. I'm keeping my eye on him but he's a full stop so no worries. Just as I get about 3 feet from his front bumper he starts going and I had to swerve to avoid getting clipped by the far side of the truck.


Glad you avoided "the final tow" - that must have got the adrenaline going.

Good trailride home, I had a bit more energy since I didn't ride in and it was cool. Rode Saturday with my friend's dog, that was fun too, hadn't been on those trails in a while, what's not to like about trails called Maple Twist, Ridgie, and *itches Brew??


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Knew it was gonna be a nice day, so I commuted on the Fatback! My co-worker finally brought out her Ti road bike since shes got a big race coming up. Hope I can keep up with her on our way home. ;p

Ti vs Ti


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ An adorable mismatched couple


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JordyB said:


> Ti vs Ti


Wow, talk about contrast!

Kill it, RPK :thumbsup:

Glad the hunidity is leaving you northeasters alone. We`ve been hot (upper 90s) but no perceptible humidity. Took the ol lady up to Tahoe yesterday for an afternoon tandem cruise- very crowded, but still relaxing between brief rounds of "Frogger". We did take a few pictures, but I can`t get them to upload for some reason. When I hook up the camera, my computer keeps telling me to check my internet connection  Hope I get it figured out by World Wide Post `em Up Day.

Yeah, it seems like Habanero would dimple or whatever before shipping, but maybe it`s a new issue that they haven`t had to worry about before. In that case, it could be that Woodway`s frame was "old stock", which might only mean a few weeks. Nice to hear that it worked out, though. Brave man, Woodway!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was thinking about adding an early morning swim to my commute this morning...The 48 degree temp changed my mind. The water probably would have been fine and it's only a few miles from the pond to my work but I was too a-scared. I did get a mid-mountain bike swim in on Sunday.

So Jordy, who won? I think you'd have a good chance if 20% of the ride was over a beach.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My adrenaline is kicking this morning. Some guy in a black pickup truck flew in from behind me as I was in the act of turning left. He was on his cell phone. I can't stand that crap. 

We are experiencing some relief from the heat. Saturday we hit 106F, which is the second hottest temperature recorded in this area. It was the 9th day above 100F out of 10 days. Yesterday temps barely broke into the 80s, and the humidity is on its way down. It feels good, especially since the AC in our house is not working well. We need rain desperately.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> My adrenaline is kicking this morning. Some guy in a black pickup truck flew in from behind me as I was in the act of turning left. He was on his cell phone. I can't stand that crap.


*** Yes we are very hard to see when their mind's eye is not helping.



s0ckeyeus said:


> We are experiencing some relief from the heat. Saturday we hit 106F, which is the second hottest temperature recorded in this area. It was the 9th day above 100F out of 10 days. Yesterday temps barely broke into the 80s, and the humidity is on its way down. It feels good, especially since the AC in our house is not working well. We need rain desperately.


*** Haven't added all the over 100's here. We are to get to 92 today. We have 0.0" of rain for June and July so far. We must be pushing 10" below normal since April.

See later post for video.

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> *** Yes we are very hard to see when their mind's eye is not helping.


Yeah, at least he saw me enough to swerve into the other lane.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> We did take a few pictures, but I can`t get them to upload for some reason. When I hook up the camera, my computer keeps telling me to check my internet connection  Hope I get it figured out by World Wide Post `em Up Day.


Whoo, I got it working! That`s unusual for me when it comes to electronic stuff, so I`m both surprised and excited. It seems to have something to do with the Kodak EasyShare website going away. We were still using the EasyShare loading program from our old camera with the "new " camera and even though I don`t use the EasyShare website, it looks like our computer was still communicating with them for some reason. So I found the Nikon CD that came with this camera and loaded it up, then got rid of the Kodak one and it works now! We still lost our pics from Sunday for some reason, but there was nothing really new there anyway.


BrianMc said:


> We must be pushing 10" below normal since April.


Ha! It would take us a year and a half to get 10 inches behind even if nothing at all fell from the sky. We only average like 7 inches per year. YTD as of now is two point something, which is really bad because we should have gotten most of our years suply by the end of March


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> So Jordy, who won? I think you'd have a good chance if 20% of the ride was over a beach.


It was a tie until I turned, roadie didn't push it to hard and I had to pickup the pace a little bit more than average, but not much.

Fattening up a thinning forester!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

So please remind me to LOOK UP!!!

Came within 4 feet of body checking a yearling moose on my commute to work this morning. I was heading down a stepper corner with a wet bumpy wood bridge crossing trying to focus. Look up to cross the bridge and here's a decent sized, hair shedding, moose hanging out on the bike trail. I couldn't lock up my brakes quick enough!!! Of course, I scared the crap out of the moose and it ran as fast as It could into the woods. Love happy endings. Sorry Moose!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ha! It would take us a year and a half to get 10 inches behind even if nothing at all fell from the sky. We only average like 7 inches per year. YTD as of now is two point something, which is really bad because we should have gotten most of our years suply by the end of March


Average YTD for Mid July, would be about 25". April to Mid July about 16.6". 45.7" annually. Corn and soybeans are not prickly pear. They need a lot of water. Can affect food prices if widespread and severe enough.

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Average YTD for Mid July, would be about 25". April to Mid July about 16.6". 45.7" annually. Corn and soybeans are not prickly pear. They need a lot of water. Can affect food prices if widespread and severe enough.
> 
> BrianMc


First week with two days in a row where the lowest temp was greater than 20 C.....been a cold wet spring.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Sorry 'Merica, Anchorage had a low of 38 with rain last night and it was 44 when I left for work this AM. Not sure why our summer sucks again this year and you have triple digits...please send some sunshine up to Alaska!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Willing to trade. Gladly. While we`re at it, how about a few hundrd jackrabbits for one of those moose 

Sorry, Brian. I really wasn`t laughing- shouldn`t have put the "Ha!" in there. Aside from the product I use that comes from out you way, I don`t wish droughts on anybody.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I saw one of these Stanley Steamers today, the Steam Automobile Club of America is in the area for the eastern invitational, and some came to tour the quarry. They run on steam heated by kerosene, and have to refill with water every 35 miles or so, keeping an eye out for houses with hoses out. They look hard to drive, with tons of gauges and valves. They had surprisingly big wheels and beautiful fittings and brass lanterns. The latest date on the patent plate of one I saw said 1905.






I would have gotten my own pix, but I was too busy talking with some old timers about the local mystery millionaire (now dead about 20 years) who had a collection of these and gold bouillon in the barn. They said he was so cheap he tried to use already cancelled stamps and got into arguments with the postmistress.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

JordyB said:


> Sorry 'Merica, Anchorage had a low of 38 with rain last night and it was 44 when I left for work this AM. Not sure why our summer sucks again this year and you have triple digits...please send some sunshine up to Alaska!!!





rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Willing to trade. Gladly. While we`re at it, how about a few hundrd jackrabbits for one of those moose
> 
> Sorry, Brian. I really wasn`t laughing- shouldn`t have put the "Ha!" in there. Aside from the product I use that comes from out you way, I don`t wish droughts on anybody.


Would now be a good time to comment about the AMAZING weather we are having. 85 degree days with low humidity and cool nights.

I did my first after dark commute this summer. The temperature swings were about 20 degrees from high to low spots.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I'm getting better at taking the lane now. I think being able to sustain a faster pace helps - I don't feel like I'm holding up traffic so much. I made a bus follow me yesterday due to a lot of parked cars on one stretch of my commute.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

R+P+K said:


> ...I made a bus follow me yesterday due to a lot of parked cars on one stretch of my commute.


Better to have them follow you than to just overtake you and squeeze you out at the next stop IMO!! :thumbsup:

(Seen it happen as I ride the bus when commuting sometimes :madman: - I have never had it happen to me though :shrug: )


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

highdelll said:


> Better to have them follow you than to just overtake you and squeeze you out at the next stop IMO!! :thumbsup:
> 
> (Seen it happen as I ride the bus when commuting sometimes :madman: - I have never had it happen to me though :shrug: )


Yep. My rationale is that all it takes for the driver to speed up is a slight foot twitch so it's no great stretch if they have to slow down for a bit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I agree- it`s better to hold somebody up a little bit than to inspect his car`s exhaust system at close range. Still, it`s hard to retrain yourself to get out there. I`ve been working on it with some success over the past few years, but have a long way to go before I completely abandon that urge to ride in the gutter. Progress is better than regress, at least.

Weird how quiet those steamers are. Except when they blow that cool whistle!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I apparently only feel like talking about my commute when the weather is terrible, or when something interesting is happening.

But we've been just touching 90F for the last few days, which doesn't sound impressive, but is record-breaking around here. There's been basically 0 humidity which is nice, but we got a good thunderstorm last night so today might be muggy. I stopped in at a convenience store yesterday after work, and the clerk complained that it was too hot. I asked him where he was from originally, and he said Somalia, but he'd been here for a year and through the winter and this was too warm. Crazy. I'm no fan of heat, but for the record I greatly prefer 32C to -32C.

On the way to work this morning the big bridge that I cross everyday was closed because "police are negotiating with a distraught man." That is the only river crossing that is at high level, so it's nicknamed the bicycle bottleneck since it's the primary route of lazy cyclists (like me in the mornings) who don't want to have to climb out of the rivervalley. With detour and climb I was only about 5 minutes late, but lots of pedestrians use the bridge too and for them it was probably an extra 1/2 hour.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Dipshit lady....yaking on the cell phone.....cut close to me then dam near rear ended a car turning right onto the same street....ahead of me

Street has two full lanes but the right lane has bike signs on it.

She was kinda meandering down the middle of the two lanes....

I caught up and gave her the hang up the phone sign...then I got the finger....

Oh well she had hung up the phone by then...

What could I have done better....been more aware of the cars coming up behind me, and what they are doing, so I can take evasive action sooner.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Saturday visit to the Auburn-Cord-Duesenburg Museum in Auburn, Indiana:










This car was originally owned by Frank Lloyd Wright. The chrome wire wheels are sweet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Snazzy!

Yum...trailside snacks


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Short Commute Video (battery failure) reposted on youtube from Tuesday:

FILE0010 - YouTube

Not much traffic at the time.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Playing Chicken (No offense ditchmedic) with Skiddas*

I took my mountain bike this morning and got into my best trail commute option to find that it is now a full width logging road. Further in I found the loggers. They had some pretty impressive skidders in there with tires taller than me and they can zip through the woods faster than I can. I guess I won't take that route again until they are done. I was happy to find the trial exit since the landscape had changes so much.
*Trail-side snacks #2​*


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

Rode the NRS to work and it made the cobblestones smooth as glass but I forgot my lock so it kept me company in the office.


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## Robbo85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Got a new job a month ago 3.5kms from home. This week was the first week I rode every day, though yesterday may of counted as a swim. Have knocked 5 minutes off my to work time and 3 from my home time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

5 minutes off a 3.5 KM ride is a damn nice improvement- you`re eatin it up, Robbo!

Blueberries, Bedwards? No covered bridges for a loooong ways from me. Hundreds of miles, possibly.

Hot and windy. I heard something about chances of rain on the radio, but the station I listen to is from 100 miles away and on te other side of a big mtn range. Haven`t checked our local forecast, but maybe we`ll get some wet. I`ve been up to my arse in alligators for the past day and a half. My section is short people this week and after hustling all Wed night, when I left in the morning I had to go downtown for a hearing test. Got home and had a message to call work- shouldn`t have called. They asked me to come in 4 hours early because things were going to hell in a basket. Comming in early tomorrow (Fri) also, but I`ll probably leave after 8 hours. Hope so- I had planned on a weekend ride.


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## Robbo85 (Sep 11, 2011)

To be fair the first run was on my dualy, the hardtail climbs a little easier. I've worked off the last few months of beer consumption and I'm looking forward to hitting the trails come spring with decent bike fitness.

Now to start knocking off some roadies on Strava segments.....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Blueberries, Bedwards?


Yup, Wild Style. Looks to be a good year for them.

Brian, your sideways videos make me want to turn my head like a dog.

I went the fish hatchery route. It's a nice peaceful area for a morning commute. Down in the valley by the streams it was about 65 and when I climbed the hill at the end and got into the sun it was closer to 80 all in about 1/8 mile. It's supposed to get hot and muggy here for the next 5 days.


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

I took a 6.5 mile detour around the lake this morning. I forgot how great the sights, smells, and sounds of nature are early in the morning. This will have to become a daily occurrence.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

ranier said:


> Rode the NRS to work and it made the cobblestones smooth as glass but I forgot my lock so it kept me company in the office.


Nice looking NRS! Just new enough not to be outdated and old enough to be cool! I remember tuning those up when they came out, granted I was just learning then :thumbsup:



MotoX33 said:


> I took a 6.5 mile detour around the lake this morning. I forgot how great the sights, smells, and sounds of nature are early in the morning. This will have to become a daily occurrence.


Taking detours like that before/after work definitely help my mind take detours as well.

I put the SS kit on my niner last night and decided to try it for my commute this morning. 32x16 is not bad for the road, did a lot of spinning but really not bad. I am eager to see what its like on the trails, I have a feeling there are a couple hills that will be walked.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MotoX, that looks niiiice! I love early mornings 

Instead of turning your head like a DOG, try turning your monitor like a GOD.

Crap. Not sure yet, but it looks like I`m going to end up working 12 again tonight. Well, better to miss out on a ride when it`s stinkin hot than an October ride.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Nice weather for this morning's ride in. Shorts, short-sleeve jersey, and no base layer or arm warmers. Should be quite toasty this afternoon unless we get some showers. Yesterday's ride home had a little rain, but it lowered the temp by a good 10 degrees.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Brian, your sideways videos make me want to turn my head like a dog. .


The short ride video previous page is fine.

I was very disappointed in the 07/11 footage. I remembered I needed to rotate the lens but had my hands full with the helmet mount. So I promptly forgot. ;( It was a good chunk of an afternoon to do it the first time.

All three bridges play on my original file. Not sure how YouTube messed it up.

To all: Nice pics everyone!

BrianMc


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## JeremyC (Apr 26, 2012)

I am really quite jealous of several of you. No scenic beauty or wild berries for me on my daily... It's all pretty gritty/industrial in my locale here in Los Angeles. 

Nonetheless, I am really enjoying bike commuting daily, and look forward to each and every ride. One of the really cool aspects of it for me is finding the various urban 'shortcuts' not available to regular vehicular traffic, and the general sense of exploration and achievement that goes along with it... Finding the many different ways to segment some heretofore "impassable" road/block sections is weirdly thrilling. 

Today in particular, I was pleasantly surprised on the way in and the way home by the actions of actual, bonafide, conscientious drivers, despite the fact that drops of rain were falling (made the more remarkable by the well-known fact that LA drivers completely forget how to drive at the very first hint of moisture). Made for a quite surprising Friday the 13th commute, as I had actually fully expected to be dead by sundown


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

seriously strained achilles tendon yesterday.
suffered today.
grumpily agreed I needed to put gears on the bike tonight.

THIS is why we build geared hubs with conversion kits on SS bikes.... because when you get really hurt it's easier to swap the kit for a cogset than to find a new wheel.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

95f in the shade for the ride home:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That even looks hot!

Only 70F here this morning, but muggy as can be. It rained overnight, so I also got a free “shower” on the section of trail that has 3’+ grass now. A silly turkey kept running ahead of me faster and faster, instead of running off into the underbrush; it finally took off and continued flying right along the trail’s airspace. This blurry red squirrel had himself a nut but was alarmed at my presence and was running up and down the top of this standing dead tree.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This morning's commute was nice. I was taking it real slow to make sure it was a recovery day from yesterday's Cross Bike Epic Journey.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It didn't rain while I was riding but the roads and paths were wet both ways. The MTB "fenders" are not the greatest for keeping the rider or bike clean, so I rode easy to avoid spraying myself with dirty water.

I have a sort of a trainee job for a small game company that does edutainment for children, doing various things to help Lola Panda find friends...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good to see you Perttime! Lola Panda should ride a bike to find some friends


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## JeremyC (Apr 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> ... This blurry red squirrel had himself a nut but was alarmed at my presence and was running up and down the top of this standing dead tree.


Squirrels are hilarious, they cuss me out pretty good on a daily basis. I'm not sure whom startles whom more...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Perttime- Glad to see you back! Hope the new job works out well and best wishes to Lola 



bedwards1000 said:


> I was taking it real slow to make sure it was a recovery day from yesterday's Cross Bike Epic Journey.


So I`m not the only one who wonders what the Googlemaps folks were smoking when they route people around like that? Out of curiosity, werre you following the general purpose routes or bike routes? Impossible roads aside, it looks like a great ride, though undoubtedly a lot of work! What new pump did you try out?


JeremyC said:


> Squirrels are hilarious, they cuss me out pretty good on a daily basis. I'm not sure whom startles whom more...


Had a large hawk drop a squirrel directly in front of our car yesterday on a road trip. Don`t know if the squirrel was already dead or not, but I swerved to miss it and the Volvo wagon in my rearview mirror didn`t swerve. Not a good day for that poor squirrel. And I`m impressed by the cargo capacity of a large Redtail.

Very windy today which is actually kind of nice because it cooled us down about 10 degrees and blew out the smoke from a fire going on south of Tahoe. On the downside, the wind made for a very slow home stretch on the road ride I took this morning (and into the afternoon). Part of why it took so long was that I bumped into a lone cycle tourist and stopped to BS with her for over an hour at a convenience store. She`s between rotations at the US study base at McMurdo Station, Antarctica- would have loved to keep grilling her with questions for another hour.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> So I`m not the only one who wonders what the Googlemaps folks were smoking when they route people around like that? Out of curiosity, werre you following the general purpose routes or bike routes? Impossible roads aside, it looks like a great ride, though undoubtedly a lot of work! What new pump did you try out?


They were driving directions. It wouldn't take you there unless you modified the route, but still...This was not even a trail.

Nashbar All-Rounder Not bad for $12. It's a little bigger and heavier than other mini pumps but you can' get a tire pumped up without needing a nap after and the pressure gauge is a plus.

I bet that hawk was pissed that he lost his squirrel.

Super humid commute. Stopped for a swim.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

My old phone died - and good riddance- reception was terrible. Anyone have an iPhone2 with a mileage/speed ap they are happy with? I figure I may as well use the GPS to my advantage as I am hauling it around anyway. 

BrianMc


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> My old phone died - and good riddance- reception was terrible. Anyone have an iPhone2 with a mileage/speed ap they are happy with? I figure I may as well use the GPS to my advantage as I am hauling it around anyway.
> 
> BrianMc


If your iPhone is compatible, you can't go past Cyclemeter.

Cyclemeter 7.0 - the most advanced iPhone application for cycling | Abvio


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

R+P+K said:


> If your iPhone is compatible, you can't go past Cyclemeter.


App Store - Cyclemeter GPS Cycling Computer

$5! Plus the handle bar phone mount so I can see my speed! Got good marks on lists of best cycle aps, too. Thanks.

Only downside is it will give accurate (slower) speeds and (shorter) rides. 

BrianMc


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Wow, first morning in a bit where I have had wind, let alone a head wind on the way in? Seriously getting tired of this climate/atmospheric/whatever change we are having here. Normally we get MAYBE a month of bad wind and then get a few days here and there but this has been almost everyday of 10-15mph BASE winds. Actually considering buying a motorcycle to commute on a few days a week aside from biking (though the moto is more for errand running than anything, thus I would not have to steal the car from the wife).

But in better news it looks like I might have a tail wind for the ride home!! YEAH!!!!
Oh and found out (the hard way) I can make it here in under 20 minutes of moving time! Woke up this morning at 6:20 and rolled into the front door at 7:01, that is with shower, deoderant, hair, dressing, grabbing pack, and making coffee. Ride on STRAVA said it was almost 21 minutes flat but that was with two major stoplights that are almost 3 minutes a piece.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was hot and humid 96F on the way home. I saw a bit of lightning. It was kind of strange because there were storm clouds, but some some of the lightning bolts were coming from smaller clouds surrounded by blue sky. There was quite a bit of lightning before the rain arrived, but by then, I was already home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy crap it's quiet around these parts. 6 days on the same page. (edit: new page)

The hot humid spell is supposed to break around here tomorrow. I went for a short sprinty group ride on my way home today. MTB tomorrow.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Dry enough to ride fat today, finally some sun, low of 55, high of 75!!! Welcome back Summer in Alaska!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

T-storms last night made for an exciting first 4 miles, pedaled like crazy, didn't get "barb"-b-q 'd by lightning, but nearly drowned on the downhill. Later at 9 p.m. a terrified wet dog showed up on my deck and wanted in. Spent today trying to track down his people, but no luck yet. I'm in VT & he only has a 2007 Tennessee rabies tag. Signs up, reports to police, animal control & humane society, but zero calls.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Congrats Jordy on some nice weather.

"Terrified dogs aren't much fun" You're a good dog lover.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

not much to say, breaking in the new gears.
put on a 48 tooth Rotor ring, 11-27 cogset (might be ultegra? I dunno), and an ultegra flat-bar shifter (it's a silver-painted rapidfire) and this sweet ancient dura-ace der.
so far so good, if wholly incongruous. 

looking at a 1400Km tour in september, we'll see.
I think for that I'll toss on a 11-32 cogset, and then an xtr rear d to handle the chain pick-up.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> looking at a 1400Km tour in september, we'll see.


:drumroll:
Reynosa to Puebla?


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## Robbo85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Got sent to another dealership half way through the day in a car that wasn't coming back. 3.5km downhill ride home turned into a 12.5km uphill ride. Not complaining.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

First bike commute in four years...today.

3.5 miles, 15 minutes door to door.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

All right, CO!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

byknuts said:


> not much to say, breaking in the new gears.
> put on a 48 tooth Rotor ring, 11-27 cogset (might be ultegra? I dunno), and an ultegra flat-bar shifter (it's a silver-painted rapidfire) and this sweet ancient dura-ace der.
> so far so good, if wholly incongruous.
> 
> ...


Just about there I am 46-32-22 11-34


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Ride home is going to be brutal, thankfully it's short.

Real Feel temp is going to be about 400 degrees here.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Ride home was awesome as always, never a bad day to ride fat!!!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

You know how some days you're on fire, every climb just dissolves beneath you and you could go double the distance?

Today was one of those days


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## JeremyC (Apr 26, 2012)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> First bike commute in four years...today.
> 
> 3.5 miles, 15 minutes door to door.


Grats! I've recently started commuting about 5 miles each way, after about a 12-year layoff. It was a little tough the first couple of days, but it quickly became easier (the summer heat doesn't help that much though). After a few months of it, I really actively look forward to each ride, and especially the ride home - no time pressure on that one


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

After mistakenly ordering the wrong size once and two orders for the correct size that didn`t end up going through, I finally have a pair of 26 inch Big Apples on my bike. At two inches, they`re the widest tires I`ve used on this bike, and when I first put the wheels back on, the brake rear pads were into the sidewalls . I had a new set of pads that I`ve been procrastinating on installing, but since I was going to have to readjust anyway, I gritted my teeth and put them on. If I had known that was going to happen, I wouldn`t have started that swap at 45 minutes before leaving for work!

Anyway, they are indeed nice and cushy, and they`re very nice on the short "technical descent" that I make down a road cut to get to the back door at work. I don`t like how they feel on hard curves, though. There are two corners on my commute that I like to take full bore (just for fun) and lean as hard as possible to make a very sharp right turn. The Apples really feel wierd on those- like they would prefer to wash out rather than hold tight. Since I`ve never had slicks this fat before, I wonder if a lot of the "worminess" I previously attributed to knobbies actually had more to do with the tire and rim width combo than with the tread style. I wish I had wider rims to try the Apples on, but am glad I held my guns and didn`t order even wider ones when the 2.0s were out of stock almost everywhere. Plans for a pavement based minitour got the axe last weekend, but hopefully I`ll make up for that with a dirt based mini this week and get a good solid test for the new fatties in their own element.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Finally! What pressure are you running? I always attribute that worminess to running low pressure. I run my 2.35" ones right up at the top of their range. You get less plushness but they roll better and grip great.

So, R+K+P, what does that feel like? I'm waiting for the day when all the hills seem inconsequential but it hasn't happened yet.

I did a group MTB ride on the way home last night on some technical single track. Riding with other skilled riders is a great way to see how much I suck. I mean, how much room I have for improvement in the technical stuff.

It was downright cool this morning. About 54 degrees - windbreaker weather. It was strange diving into the lake and having it warm me up. The water is probably near 80+ degrees. I was fine for the last 5 miles of the bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Finally! What pressure are you running? I always attribute that worminess to running low pressure. I run my 2.35" ones right up at the top of their range. You get less plushness but they roll better and grip great.
> 
> So, R+K+P, what does that feel like? I'm waiting for the day when all the hills seem inconsequential but it hasn't happened yet.
> 
> Riding with other skilled riders is a great way to see how much I suck. I mean, how much room I have for improvement in the technical stuff.


You`re probably right. No free lunch, eh? I put 40# in, which I`m sure is way under the max. Definitely need to play around and see what works.

Sometimes I ride a route in reverse direction. It makes all the climbs insequential :lol:

I rode mtb with a good rider once and didn`t like what I learned about my abilities. That`s why I only ride with my nieces now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Stupid little chinese lady ran a red light I was riding across the cross walk just entering her lane as she blew by....

Normally at this intersection it is the guys trying to turn right who hit the cyclist crossing in the cross walk....90% ride the crosswalk because the MUP goes through the cross walk.....strange but true....I have seen three get hit and a pedestrian as well this spring.

Anyway...i catch up to the lady and give her hell for blowing through a dark red light.

I pay very close attention to this intersection and ride very cautiously....still safest way.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Getting over a cold, so I tried to take it easy this morning. A little distracted by the news of the Aurora shootings. Guy in a mini-van completely blew a stop sign right in front of me. Hoping to hit 600 miles for the month, but not sure if I'll make it.

Bikes heal.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Off bikecommuting since Tuesday's thunderstorms when this dog found my house. Strangely, although he is very well behaved, me notifying authorities, shelter, posting signs, etc., I have zero leads on his owners so far. The Tennessee county where he got a rabies tag in 2007 gave me a "holla back" today and said they destroyed those records already  

If he's still here Monday I'll see how he does home alone. I did take him for a leashed MTB ride yesterday and we got a few miles with me only bumping him once, and him only giving me 1 rope burn - zero crashes.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Today im on a mission to chat up*

this cute Amtrak Conductor i see almost everyday as i ride thru the jack london amtrak station.

Today's the day. Yup.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Have been having thunder and lightning almost every day for last two or three weeks so riding has been a no no. Went out for a quick run to Chinese joint about five miles away, cloudy but still nice when I went in.....20 min later I come out and 3 miles from home got caught in serious cloud burst. Rained so hard I honestly couldn't see more than 10 yards ahead, wind driving the rain harder than my bathroom shower. A very nice couple pulled over and gave me a ride home in their pick-up truck. Almost said no till I realized with that kind of rain, there's a better than average chance some fool texting or speeding could easily hydroplane into me. Only thing worse getting hit by a car a couple miles from home is having it happen in the rain because of foolish pride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

A little on the windy side, but pretty nice tonight. I pressured up my tires more, think I need to go back down a little bit. It`s a slow night here at work, but I have a fun project- almost wish there were more hours left of the shift so I`d have time to finish it up 

There`s still a lot of month left, MHM. Two weekends included- good luck with your 600 goal.

Xplorer, that sure is a pretty dog. Good luck finding his people, but if not I bet he ends up being well cared for anyway!

Nice of that couple to pull over for you. I once decided to flag down a passing motorist to save me from a wind storm. It didn`t feel good, but I made it safely to a motel and am still able to ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Gone campin.*

Took a weekend trip to beat the heat. It didn`t work- still hot! The good part about camping in hot weather is that it makes packing light much easier. I was just fine with no shelter and in my light piece of junk sleeping bag, with no clothes except what I was wearing, and sacrificed a little bit leaving my Big Agness air matress behind for a smaller and lighter mini-Thermarest. That`s as light as it gets for me.

This route primarily followed the middle section an old wagon road (Henness Pass Road) that used to run from Reno to Marysville, CA. A half hour into the ride I pased my favorite swimming hole, which must rank within the top five most awesomest in California, but it was full of people, so I got my dipping in later at not-so-neat places. Then a relentless series of incredibly steep low elevation hills busted my butt. Must be what its like out east. I detoured quite a bit from the wagon route and found a few old semi ghost towns that I hadn`t known about. The bar was still open in one of them, but no cheeseburgers to be found 

This trip was also a good proving ground for my new Big Aples. They really aren`t so hot on the road (IMO), but boy are they nice for mixed surface riding! Reasonable on the highway sections and do an awesome job of soaking up the bumps without ever worrying about tearing a sidewall or pinching. They don`t have the dirt cornering grip of full scale MTB knobbies of course, but no worse than what I`m used to.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^OOOooooh AAAAaaaah! Looks like a fun ride as usual with ample options for water this time too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, that sure is a pretty dog. Good luck finding his people, but if not I bet he ends up being well cared for anyway!


His people claimed him late Saturday afternoon. It was a bittersweet reunion, though. He found my house on Tuesday and they didn't miss him until Thursday 
Also, although he was happy to see them and knew his name, when they went to put him in the car car he did a 180 to go back in my house and laid down in front of the door. :bluefrown:

Apparently he was her father's chicken dog in Tennessee until he died four years ago and they brought him to VT. More t-storms and hail forecast tonight, perhaps he'll be back. He lives about 2.5 miles away, but "way up in the woods" so I guess that's why no neighbors recognized him.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great trip pics, Rodar, that does look like a great swimming hole, and the ghost town is convincing as well. :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had an awesome trail ride yesterday, but my legs are pretty tired today. I kind of wish I had taken the geared bike in. Oh well.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics Rodar! As usual.

Pretty nominal commute here, 50 degrees and sun coming up over the Cascades.

I'm trying to take it easy on my legs this week, as I am riding RAMROD on thursday and will need some gas in the tank.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Already 80 here for this morning's commute. Ridiculous.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Not too hot yet for the ride in this morning. Actually came across a new commuter on a recumbent this morning. I love to see more people out and I wish I had more of a chance to talk to him, but we were on a pretty busy road..... Oh well, maybe next time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I'm trying to take it easy on my legs this week, as I am riding RAMROD on thursday and will need some gas in the tank.


Whoa! That looks brutal! Are you riding a single speed At least the last 42 miles are downhill.

Nice easy commute this morning. I had some moments while lying in bed after 3 snoozes where I considered the car. I'm glad I came to my senses. We had some rain overnight and this morning was bright and sunny with temps around 65.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Crazy thunderstorms and 1” of rain overnight but cleared off by morning, creating a steamer as the sun broke through on the roads. Pics from a ride Sunday...


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## Danimal (Nov 18, 2004)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Already 80 here for this morning's commute. Ridiculous.


Same here. Very rare for this area, it sucked.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We got rain! There were isolated clopubursts all over the area yesterday, pretty sure everybody got at least one. There are even puddles in the street in some places!

Woodway, didn`t you ride RAMROD (or was it a one-day STP?) last year? Since that was on your old "clunker", it`ll be a cake walk on SuperBike 
Seriously, good luck and have a blast!


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

Well I just celebrated over a year without missing a single day of commuting, by getting a new mule:

From Charge Mixer


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congrats mrfixie! That's a huge accomplishment! Your new ride looks sweet.

Rodar: Yes did RAMROD last year, it's such a sweet ride I got back in the lottery this year and got a ticket. I did a one-day STP back in 2010. Some people do STP every year. Once was enough for me.

So this week is going to be interesting...I refuse to miss any riding to work days so that I can make my goal of 100% bike commuting this year. I can only take Thursday off this week to ride RAMROD, which means I am riding to work all the other days of the week, including 152 miles of RAMROD on Thursday...and my normal 36 mile commute on Friday...doing a little math...296 miles this week! Awesome (but I may be looking for my legs on the way home from work on friday).


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## Danimal (Nov 18, 2004)

mrfixie said:


> Well I just celebrated over a year without missing a single day of commuting, by getting a new mule


Congrats, mate. :thumbsup:

Dan


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks guys! This winter was kind to me (for Cincinnati) so we'll see if my streak makes it through next winter.

Must say I'm envious of you guys who have singletrack near your commute routes.. Love the photos!

So far I am really liking this Alfine hub. The Spinal Tap of hubs - it goes up to eleven!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A most excellent accomplishment, mrfixie. +rep+


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MtbX, the dog in this morning`s pic looks familiar. Is it your own, or are you strictly a foster mom for visiting pups? Maybe you can get custody of Mr Tennessee Chickenhound 



mrfixie said:


> Well I just celebrated over a year without missing a single day of commuting, by getting a new mule:


Way to go, Fixie! That`s a nice congratulatory present. I already got a new mule (Llama, actually) this year- better make sure I don`t miss any commutes.



woodway said:


> Rodar: Yes did RAMROD last year, it's such a sweet ride I got back in the lottery this year and got a ticket. I did a one-day STP back in 2010. Some people do STP every year. Once was enough for me.


Once was enough for STP, but you`re ready for another RAMROD? The STP is nowhere near as challenging, is it? You just didn`t find it all that interresting? I guess its already occurred to you, but go easy on the commutes and I bet you find a way to manage.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Once was enough for STP, but you`re ready for another RAMROD? The STP is nowhere near as challenging, is it? You just didn`t find it all that interresting? I guess its already occurred to you, but go easy on the commutes and I bet you find a way to manage.


Well, STP (Seattle to Portland) is a double century, but the route is really not all that scenic, it's relatively flat at around 3,600 feet of climbing over 203 miles, and 10,000 people (literally!) do the ride. Only about 2,000 do it in one day, but for the first 100 miles your in a mass of bikes with riders of widely varying skill levels. STP in one day was a good accomplishment, but not one that I crave to do again.

RAMROD on the other hand, is 152 miles and about 10,000 feet of climbing through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Registration is limited to 800 riders (the route goes through Mt. Rainer National Park, and the park service does not want any more riders than that on the road). Because of the difficulty of the ride, you tend to get much more experienced riders and they get spread out along the course such that you'll often find yourself riding alone.

Yeah, took it easy on the commute today and will take it easier tomorrow. Friday I won't have a choice but to take it easy


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

I did STP this year in under 11.5 hours. Wanted to catch the 6:15pm Amtrak back to Seattle. I've only ever done it in one day, 4 times in the past 4 years. It's mostly because work will match the hours I ride at $17 per hour for a 501c charity.

Mixed bag commute home today. Work had a beer function, which sounded a lot like, "leave early and have fun on the ride home" to me. I accidentally got lost on the way to the work function in full kit and took off. Traffic was chaotic with the president in town and the Mariners vs. Yankees game; got hit by two cars on the way home... technically ricocheted from one in to the other. Bike is fine, I'm a little sore, but otherwise ok.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

200 in 11.5? Rub it in! I`d be thrilled to get a hundred in under 6. If you rode at my pace, your employer would be writing a much bigger check to that 501c . Of course, then they might not be able to afford the "beer function" 
You don`t sound too shook up about your ricochet- hope that soreness clears up in a hurry for you.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm not seeing the mixed part. Getting lost, chaotic traffic, getting hit by cars...Was there a good side?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's hot today (surprise, surprise). This morning's temp (upper 70s) and dew point were almost identical, making for a muggy ride in. The AC at home hasn't been working well and now the AC at work is out. Hopefully it will get fixed before the this afternoon when temps climb above 100F.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> 200 in 11.5? Rub it in! I`d be thrilled to get a hundred in under 6. If you rode at my pace, your employer would be writing a much bigger check to that 501c . Of course, then they might not be able to afford the "beer function"
> You don`t sound too shook up about your ricochet- hope that soreness clears up in a hurry for you.


Well, that was on my road bike, not my MTB. When you go from a 38 lb bike to a 18 lb bike, the world does indeed move faster... funny thing is, my moving time was 10h26m, and in 2009, the first year I did it, a buddy and I finished in 12h total time, but... 10h26m moving time. In case you're wondering what kind of century time that is, we usually roll in to Centralia at 9:30-10am, so about a 4h15-4h45m century. That first hundred is very flat though and there are pacelines.

Last year I did STPTS 2 day, 275 / 138 mi split (overnight at Castle Rock). It's a headwind the entire way back, and a race against the setting sun to get to the bridge (do not want to cross the bridge in the dark, no matter how many lights I have). Total time was 23 hours (for charity ). The year before, I did STP one day on a fixie. The fixie is also being donated to charity, today's the last day I'll own it.

Next year, I've proposed pulling a trailer of beer and ice behind the bike, doing the 2 day STP. It seems to have very positive responses from people who I tell this idea to, and I think it's totally doable, although I'm a little worried about the downhills (jackknifing). I thought I'd also clip a bottle opener on a retractable key chain leash to the handlebars, so I can open said beer, and throw in a couple of Popsicles in the back so that there's something for the kids too. I've already got the backing of a microbrewer, so now I just need a trailer. Of course, this is also for charity.



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm not seeing the mixed part. Getting lost, chaotic traffic, getting hit by cars...Was there a good side?


There's always a good side! I discovered a new trail, didn't get stuck in the terrible traffic, made it home in one piece, put a couple of roadies in the hurt locker on a MTB (hilariously, one of them turns to me and says, "Wait, you work at MS don't you? Live in Queen Anne?" Ends up he remembered a similar hurt locker ride from 3 years ago with me), it was beautiful and sunny, but most importantly, I got out of work before 5pm, which almost never happens because we work crazy hours.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely, cool and crisp, 57F, and I was able to take the trails in. Due to Monday night's thunderstorm, there were quite a few large branches that I stopped to drag off the trail, and several big trees down that will require a chainsaw. One was a chain reaction where 1 big tree toppled and took out two smaller but still good sized trees, along with some big boulders from around the root system. That one is more than a trail obstacle, it’s totally blocking the entrance to a trail, making it not only impassable but invisible.

These are the 2 smaller trees in the chain reaction; the trail forks off to the right through the downed trees.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> MtbX, the dog in this morning`s pic looks familiar. Is it your own, or are you strictly a foster mom for visiting pups? Maybe you can get custody of Mr Tennessee Chickenhound


That's "Spirit", my friend's Belgian shepherd. I take her riding quite a bit and also dogsit her sometimes. She lives right on some nice trails too. If the "Tennessee Walker" comes back, he may stay, even Spirit liked him.

Crazy rabid cat story from the Northeast Kingdom here, it attacked 4 people and a pit bull.
Rabid cat attacks in Northeast Kingdom - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

Flat tyre at the 24km mark on the way in this morning. Taking a Marathon Plus off a UST rim in the dark is about as much fun as it sounds. They aren't as puncture resistant as I'd hoped. I rode a nice time though and Garmin Connect says I hit a max speed of 5498.9km/hr! Pretty sure it should be 54.9. 

The ride back was good until I rode through a thunderstorm from 44-50km with the last 2km just being cold and wet! Managed a nice time on the way home too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tear it up, Woodway!


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

got a new bike; surly 1x1. This one replaced two other bikes so I am down to this 1x1, my old cruiser. Its a great commuter so far! Just need different tires and some sort of rack.



Does anyone use the topeak racks and bags? I am really liking the MTX line that slides and clips into the racks with the integrated rails. I am thinking about using the rack that clips onto the seatpost but I am worried about the strength and it staying put.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> Flat tyre at the 24km mark on the way in this morning. Taking a Marathon Plus off a UST rim in the dark is about as much fun as it sounds. They aren't as puncture resistant as I'd hoped. I rode a nice time though and Garmin Connect says I hit a max speed of 5498.9km/hr! Pretty sure it should be 54.9.
> 
> The ride back was good until I rode through a thunderstorm from 44-50km with the last 2km just being cold and wet! Managed a nice time on the way home too.


Carry a lightweight headlamp in your bag, both as backup for a dead headlight and for repairs in the dark.

Can't find mine listed anywhere, similar to this though:
 Energizer 1 Watt LED Headlight - Pivoting Head & 3 Lighting Modes

Cheap, light and incredibly helpful.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute yesterday was fun. On the ride home, I was doing approximately the speed limit and as a result, cars were hesitant to pass me. It felt pretty good. The MUTs and roads were fairly calm yesterday so it made for a pleasant trip.

Silly me though, I agreed to go for a ride with my wife after I arrived at the apartment and was finished afterward.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Only been commuting again for a week now. Set a new fast time to home yesterday. 15 minutes 10 seconds. I need a longer route!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

5500 KPM, keepin up with the traffic, and a new PR- must be a fast day today. I did pretty good too because the mild headwind that I`ve had in the mornings this week turned around today and played nice. Didn`t get passed by a single car! Then again, I didn`t happen to meet up with any today :lol:

Your new 1 X 1 looks nice, L4NE4. How much do you have to carry in the trunk rack? If it`s too heavy, I think Topeak also makes regular "strut" type racks for that click on system, so you should be good to go for just about anything.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Your new 1 X 1 looks nice, L4NE4. How much do you have to carry in the trunk rack? If it`s too heavy, I think Topeak also makes regular "strut" type racks for that click on system, so you should be good to go for just about anything.


I dont think I will be carrying very much to be honest. I much prefer their regular rack but I want to be able to take it off easily when I hit the trails.

I really want to do a 200mi ride sometime with this bike so maybe their regular rack will be a good idea, they arent that _hard _to install.

More on the bike...
I have 2.7" tires coming for some semi-fat riding, should be fun!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

L4NE4 said:


> I really want to do a 200mi ride sometime with this bike so maybe their regular rack will be a good idea, they arent that _hard _to install.


A 200 mile ride on a single speed mountain bike? Are you nuckin futs? Is that 200mi in a row?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I felt sluggish on the way home last night and then was up with a headache part of the night and ended up sleeping in a bit, but felt good enough to ride. The late start kept me drier, as the light rain stopped just as I left, and did not start again until I was almost at work. Along the way they were already setting up for the race Saturday The 2nd Annual 12 Hours of Millstone | Saturday, July 28th


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> A 200 mile ride on a single speed mountain bike? Are you nuckin futs? Is that 200mi in a row?


Yes on a mtb. It wont be with those tires though! A lot of the ride will actually be on limestone trails and country roads. I will probably cut the ride in half between two days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

...in 2 days, Oh. I thought you were doing a double century. That will still be quite a ride.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

My commute home was wet. Very wet. With 20 knot winds. On the plus side, the bike is squeaky clean now.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Commute in: Sunny, clear skies, a shade over 60F. Took the slightly more hilly route and had a lot of fun riding in. Not much to say other than less traffic than normal.

Commute home: Sunny, warmer, a shade under 80F. 2 water bottles in 2 hours, chilled pace for the most part. I just switched managers at work, so now I will be able to make some of the social rides. Also, there are a lot of insanely hot ladies out right now. Tanned, blonde haired fit ladies rolling around...


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Got a 13gal size trash bag stuck in the two pulleys on the rear derailleur. Took me 10-20 minutes get everything out on the side of the road.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Fantastic RAMROD yesterday. Ride to work today was a little tough with some heavy legs. I did not take many photos, but here are a few from the ride:


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## GTscoob (Apr 27, 2009)

Did intervals on the way to work in 99 degree heat, this is going to be a long day . . .


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, did they arrange for the mountain to have a halo for the ride? It looks like a lot of riders did it on mountain bikes!? Or are those thick carbon rims? 

I did about 250 miles last week starting with a 75 mile ride with about 6000 feet of climbing and my legs are still recovering. I'm guessing you'll have heavy legs for a few days. Or maybe that's just me.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Good ride this morning with a higher than average speed than usual.

Headed home today around 3:30 and when is is supposed to start raining? Around 3. Should be fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Seriously?*

The radar is going to be down for 2 weeks? How am I going to avoid the thunderstorms that are forecast every day for the foreseeable future? What is this 1989 when instant radar gratification isn't further away than my cell phone?

OK, I'm better.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, did they arrange for the mountain to have a halo for the ride? It looks like a lot of riders did it on mountain bikes!? Or are those thick carbon rims?


No Mountain Bikes, just fancy carbon bike with fancy carbon deep rim wheels. They are supposed to be more aero is what I am told. I rode my commuter and it performed admirably. :thumbsup:

Those clouds over Rainer are called Lenticular Couds and you see them over the mountain often in the summer. This cloud cap was bigger than I have ever seen and the camera does not capture just how impressive it looked close up.



bedwards1000 said:


> I did about 250 miles last week starting with a 75 mile ride with about 6000 feet of climbing and my legs are still recovering. I'm guessing you'll have heavy legs for a few days. Or maybe that's just me.


When I get home tonite I'll have 296 miles and about 17,000 feet for the week. I am not planning to ride this weekend. :nonod:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I believe you about the camera not capturing it. They never do. Maybe if your Ansel Adams. I've seen those clouds over islands around Mount Desert Island.

Wow, 17,000 feet! My weeks worth of climbing is probably closer to 12000. I do like to climb. Rest days are just as important as riding days...so they tell me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^
| That is a very cool photo!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

got lost bit too much ambling in the hills made my tendon warm up a bit.
getting worried about my left achilles surviving the t2t trip. ah well!


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

So I have not had a chance to commute on the bike to work due to traveling, but alas, today was a Friday full of meetings at the office so I got to break in the new rack and panniers.










Just another hot and humid day in Florida.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> ^
> | That is a very cool photo!


And of course.....The photo doesn't do it justice.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

The OP of this thread think it's ok and reasonable to lay on the horn and spin gravel at cyclists. He also thinks it's funny to blast diesel exhaust at cyclists.
What's the excuse for his asshattery? 'I'm going to work"

http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/why-do-cyclists-use-so-much-road-803917-post9541152.html

Let him know others go to work too - you don't have to engage him, maybe just leave some rep.


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## Robbo85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Nice to look at, pity I got wet. On the bright side I got home on the 32/13t combo, there might be a single speed in my future.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

When I got to the bike I planned on riding it had a flat so I pulled another out of the quiver. It's nice to have options.

Nice easy ride in this morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MTBR Commuters are into NatGeo territory this weekend- awesome!
I rode only my commute durring the week and went on a car trip this weekend with zero bike time. That makes for, umm... slightly less than Woodway and Bedwards, I think.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

highdelll said:


> Let him know others go to work too - you don't have to engage him, maybe just leave some rep.


Are you kidding, Highdell? You`ve been around long enough to recognize a muck-raking troll. Why bother fueling his freakish trip?


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Missed my goal of 600 miles this month (logged 496). Got sidelined by a lingering cold, and ended up in the ER late last week due to kidney stones. Oh well... there's always next month.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

MileHighMark said:


> Missed my goal of 600 miles this month (logged 496). Got sidelined by a lingering cold, and ended up in the ER late last week due to kidney stones. Oh well... there's always next month.


congrats on the 496 though! that is still impressive.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kidney stones must be going around lately. Did they pass yet? Sorry to hear it and better luck in August.


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

Cruisy ride in starting at 2°C and finishing at 5°C. Head wind, but no rain, all the way home but still felt pretty good. Spinaci bars on the mtb commuter are awesome! Looking forward to riding the roadie a different way in tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MileHighMark said:


> Missed my goal of 600 miles this month (logged 496). Got sidelined by a lingering cold, and ended up in the ER late last week due to kidney stones. Oh well... there's always next month.


Don't worry, I picked up the extra miles for you. I logged 702 in July, quite possibly the most miles I've ever ridden in a month. Sorry about the stones.

I took the rain bike this morning because the roads were wet and I haven't ridden it in over a month. (Part of the reason for my high mileage, I don't tend to put in too many extra miles on that heavy beast). My legs are still pretty dead from a fast paced 42 mile trip home on Monday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spinach bars? Like a salad bar?

Way to go, Bedwards!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

While walking the dog this morning, I noticed a new bike commuter. He had a spiffy new bike and a new backpack (at least everything looked new). He was having a hard time getting up my street. I felt like calling out, "Shift, shift," but held my tongue. People tend to ride to work for a while then eventually stop. IHopefully this guy keeps at it. The guy from my workplace who started biking to work didn't last long. It's a lot harder to stop when you leave riding as your only option.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Sometimes I deliberately don't buy enough train tickets so I have no choice but to ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> He had a spiffy new bike and a new backpack (at least everything looked new). He was having a hard time getting up my street. I felt like calling out, "Shift, shift," but held my tongue.


Hey, I`ve been there too! :lol:
I`ve also had that urge to scream "Shift!" to my wife when riding shotgun in my own truck. It`s even tougher to hold my tongue on those occasions. Hope your newb hangs in there.


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Spinach bars? Like a salad bar?


Like these.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I forgot my boxers. Oops.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

I've gone commando at work on a number of occasions...and I've only been doing this for two weeks.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Straz85 said:


> I forgot my boxers. Oops.


Been there... :ciappa:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Well I dislocated my knee framing in a roof (pops up may once a year).....but in a new way.....so it hurt a lot more.

I can't straighten in all the way.

But cycling makes it feel better.....so still riding, but I had to lower the seat so it doesn't straighten has much.

Looks like I may finally need to get a rebuild.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> I've gone commando at work on a number of occasions...and I've only been doing this for two weeks.


I haven't worn shorts in years......I just wear bike shorts with a chamois.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> Like these.


Neat-o. They look very adjustable. Do you rest your forearms on the flats?



jeffscott said:


> Well I dislocated my knee framing in a roof (pops up may once a year).....but in a new way.....so it hurt a lot more.
> 
> But cycling makes it feel better.....so still riding, but I had to lower the seat so it doesn't straighten has much.


Doo-doo. Its weird that riding makes it feel good, but thank God for that! Hope you heal up soon.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> I haven't worn shorts in years......I just wear bike shorts with a chamois.


DO you have a problem with the chamois when walking around all day, or does it become a non-problem after they "wear in"? I ask since I've been using Starter compression shorts but have been seeing some various short liners on sale and been thinking of trying some.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> DO you have a problem with the chamois when walking around all day, or does it become a non-problem after they "wear in"? I ask since I've been using Starter compression shorts but have been seeing some various short liners on sale and been thinking of trying some.


Hah....no I change when I get to the office....

I will wear them for up to 2 or 3 hours if I have to go back out for say a doctors appt.

The really good synthetic ones do not soften up much over time.

Some of the cheaper ones soften up quite a bit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I made a cardboard shipping box for my folder last night and did a trial packing job today. This first box is 10 x 20 x 30, so two inches under standard airlines checked baggage requirement by their stupid L+H+W method. Looks like I hit the magic size on the first try because it fits pretty easily with little extra room to move around. Wish I had a scale handy to check the weight, but I`m sure its under 40#, leaving me plenty of available weight allowance to stuff the voids full of clothes or a sleeping bag. I left the pedals, chain, bottle cage, and front rack out for the picture, but they`ll fit in there just fine. The rear rack could probably be coaxed into the same box, too. All I need now is a ticket! I was window shopping flights to semi-near airports and it looks like I could get a RT to either Portland or Salt lake for under $200. Now that the critter has had its trial tour, I think its time for a "flial" run :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Pretty nifty, looks like an adventure is at hand! 

I have the week off and spent a few days on Cape Cod, the ocean was still only 59F, refreshing but cold enough to numb your feet! One rainy day I fatbiked beaches that would have ordinarily been packed with beachgoers, that was fun, and the road home in the pouring rain rinsed off the salt and sand. Off to Maine tomorrow for a couple days where a friend is housesitting a place right on the ocean, bike and kayak packed!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm packing up the bikes and kayaks too for a camping trip next week on the Saco which I expect to be more like 79F after these next few days. I'll be offline for a week!!! I may figure out how to get back to watch the mountain biking on the Olympics. 

Oh, and today's commute was good. I wasn't expecting much because I punished my legs with some technical singletrack last night, not my best event. I got just want I expected, not much.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You guys better not forget those cameras! For some reason, I don`t remember seeing any Cape Cod pics :???:

Mountain biking at the Olympics? What`ll they think of next?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I made a cardboard shipping box for my folder last night and did a trial packing job today.


Nice. "Pocket Llama"? No pants pocket I've ever seen would fit that. Suitcase Lllma more like. 



rodar y rodar said:


> Mountain biking at the Olympics? What`ll they think of next?


How 'bout competitive commuting? Racks, weighted panniers including clothes and laptop, fenders, lights, pothole resistant wheels, flat resistant tires, scores based on how fast you get to a desk in business casual attire, odor and chain stain free with a functioning laptop Bus avoidance and salmoning cyclist sections. Expect advances in belt drives and fast showering techniques. 

They could also add it to the winter games. Studded tires, and all.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Maybe in this guy`s pocket?


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute was bloody hot and my energy level wasn't at its peak but I still enjoyed the ride. A stop at the bike shop also helped. The MUT was really busy though.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Lovely ride in this morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode yesterday for first longer ride in a week, I have been dealing with medication side effects that make getting out of bed an accomplishment. Still need a bit more HC, it seems.

Thought I'd show you some bike parts in use 24/7 here:



This is year three for the three wheel trellis and we seem to have the system working as it survived he recent wind storms.Good use for bent rims in wheels with stainless spokes. SS brake cables guy it crosswise against a third leg in back. The foreground is grass over he septic tank: dead. The grass behind the pot got 1.5" of rain last week. The brown patch is the neighbors lawn in the sun and the light green is the 12th fairway which gets watered, like this pot does.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

A front rim would make a good platform for a bike weather-vane.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Double commute today. I had to run home to meet the AC repairman earlier today. I'm getting ready to cruise on home now. It's weird facing different traffic.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

my 1400K ride is less than a month away, so commutes this month are all last minute adjustments, last chance at trying new somethings and shakedowns.
this week:
28mm vittoria randonneurs instead of 40mm schwalbe marathon xrs. (much lighter, but less steady and confidence)
magura hs11's instead of xtr v's (OVERKIIILLL I know)
new seat (felt comfier on the other bike?!)
duct-taped small fliashlight to top tube.

all pretty solid choices so far.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Double commute today. I had to run home to meet the AC repairman earlier today. I'm getting ready to cruise on home now. It's weird facing different traffic.


Yeah, it can be surprisingly different. I usually start at 11PM, but go in four hours early once in a while. The difference is like night and day 



byknuts said:


> my 1400K ride is less than a month away, so commutes this month are all last minute adjustments, last chance at trying new somethings and shakedowns.


Hey, you still haven`t said where you`re going! Are you going to camp, motel, stay with friends/relatives, a combo? Dirt content? Have a great trip!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Glad you`re back in the saddle, MileHigh.



bedwards1000 said:


> A front rim would make a good platform for a bike weather-vane.


Hmmm.... good idea.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

2.5" commuter tires? I think so.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, you still haven`t said where you`re going! Are you going to camp, motel, stay with friends/relatives, a combo? Dirt content? Have a great trip!


Fly up to Thunder Bay, ride back down to Toronto from there.
I will only be camping, some might skip into hotels periodically, but there's a chase car so I'm not bikepacking unfortunately.
I don't know anyone at all up there, but I was hoping to bring hand-written letters to family of co-workers and friends along the route, kind of a pony express type of thing.
Group's gotten bigger than anticipated.
I'd planned for gravel roads etc, they're talking about a road-only route.
I don't know... kind fo feel that since this is terrain, this is a whole new part of geography for me, I should enjoy and explore a bit more than they seem to intend to.
We'll see.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

L4NE4 said:


> 2.5" commuter tires? I think so.


Very tasty! Hookworms? Time to go find yourself some potholes 

Byknuts, that sounds like an awesome trip! Even if it doesn`t fit your definition of bikepacking it definitely fits under bike touring. Bummer that your original idea got distorted, but I guess that`s life when you start getting a group together. Don`t worry, you`ll still have blast!


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Very tasty! Hookworms? Time to go find yourself some potholes


 Yup! This thing rolls right over pot holes


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No commuting for me last week. My wife and I were over in North-Central Washington, the Methow Valley, aka Heaven on Earth. Only took one photo, here we are after a 30 mile, 3,400 foot climb to Washington Pass. It was an out-and-back and the trip back down was a ripper!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Almost bought a Jamis Nova Race today, unfortunately on closer inspection, it was too small. I didn't even bother to test it. 

It was from a used bike shop and they didn't have anything similar. They had a road bike my size, but it wasn't something I was interested in. Not sure if I could even put 32mm on it and still clear the brakes.

Saw some unusual stuff there like a rigid Trek 9xx with suspension stem. There was Bridgestone mountain bike with XTR. Both looked usable but not the greatest lookers.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I sprained my ankle playing soccer over the weekend. I was a bit slow on my commute, but I made it. I opted for the geared bike with flat pedals. I have a mountain bike trip planned in two weeks, so I better heal up before then.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*Watch out for dangerous socks...*

I was on my way to work this morning, about 5am, when I ran over an old sock on the road. It was a black sock and I did not see it until I was right on top of it. Said sock somehow stuck to my front wheel and was then flung into the rear derailler. I sh*t you not. Socks don't belong in rear derailluers, and when they go in there, bad things happen:










I was about six miles from home. Had to call my wife to come and get me. Got my old commuter out and rode it to work. Was careful to avoid old socks. Will check out any other collateral damage to the bike when I get home tonite.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, literally. I sh*t you not. You have to learn to back off the power when the sock goes through.

See you cats later. Loaded and ready to go.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hmmm, s0ck(eyeus) sprains ankle and sock sprains SRAM. Not a good day for sox. 

Looks like fun, Bedwards, I passed through from Gray to Harrison yesterday and thought of you when I saw a runner on rte 85. Rode some old stomping grounds along the Crooked River and took a dip in the bike shorts with no ill effects. :thumbsup: 

Pics from that, kayaking Casco Bay, and fatbiking Cape Cod last week. Oops, the last 1 should be first, it's the Cooked River.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

L4NE4 said:


> I dont think I will be carrying very much to be honest. I much prefer their regular rack but I want to be able to take it off easily when I hit the trails.
> 
> I really want to do a 200mi ride sometime with this bike so maybe their regular rack will be a good idea, they arent that _hard _to install.
> 
> ...


Maybe look into frame bags over racks, less weight and can carry quite a bit. I would see what Surly might be offering for the Troll (or similar) for the 1X1 or look a another custom option.

EDIT: L4NE4, I see you got that rear bag, a guy I ride with on occasion uses that bag and likes he, he usually stores beer in his, hahaha.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Mr Pink57 said:


> Maybe look into frame bags over racks, less weight and can carry quite a bit. I would see what Surly might be offering for the Troll (or similar) for the 1X1 or look a another custom option.
> 
> EDIT: L4NE4, I see you got that rear bag, a guy I ride with on occasion uses that bag and likes he, he usually stores beer in his, hahaha.


I was really starting to think about those frame bags. I think I really like the MTX like for Topeak stuff. I like the idea of being able to snap the bag on and off without straps. PLUS I found a bag that comes with the seatpost QR rack for $10 locally! Still going to get a bolt on rack though but for $10 I couldnt say yes fast enough!

The little bag I have now is ok for the short commutes, it actually fits a lot of stuff.
Spare tube
2 Multi Tools
Pump
Lunch
Cell Phone
Keys

Tomorrow AM I will be commuting 17 miles, thats where I want the bigger bag so I can pack a change of clothes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Two weekends in a row that I haven`t done any riding what so ever, but it looks like the new England crew is making up for my lacking. Have an awesome time!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have seen a lot of of weird driving, but today I experienced something new. Someone did a U-turn around me. I was at a stop sign looking to turn left when a car coming from the right turned onto my street, looped around me, and made a right turn to my right. It wasn't really dangerous or anything, it was just strange. I guess it made it more awkward that a semi was coming up behind me, but it slowed and let the car complete its U-turn.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

woodway said:


> I was on my way to work this morning, about 5am, when I ran over an old sock on the road. It was a black sock and I did not see it until I was right on top of it. Said sock somehow stuck to my front wheel and was then flung into the rear derailler. I sh*t you not. Socks don't belong in rear derailluers, and when they go in there, bad things happen:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Rocks and socks seem to be in cahoots...


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

It was 17.5 miles and perfect


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Congrats! The bike looks great!

Strange bicyclist: Recently while driving, I stopped to make a left turn across the oncoming lane. Seeing an oncoming bike approaching down the hill, I patiently waited for him to pass rather than turn in front of him and possibly cause him to brake and lose momentum. But instead of continuing on in his lane as any bike (or car) normally would, he frantically signaled for me to make the turn in front of him, while simultaneously veering into my lane and around my car so that he was travelling in the wrong direction for a stretch. I can only chalk it up to an unnatural and unsafe desire to control traffic. Maybe he thought he was doing me a favor, but I was happier just waiting for him to go by.

This morning a driver decided that the roundabout entrance would be a good place to dial his phone while simultaneously pulling into the rotary and cutting me off as I sped around at a good clip (my feeder road is a downhill and if you don’t have to wait for a vehicle already in the rotary you can go pretty fast). He saw me at the last second and sped up so that I could pass behind him rather than plow into his door. He continued through the rotary with the phone at his ear. Otherwise my travels were good and the weather was nice.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Thanks mtbxplorer! I like it a lot. The commute home was also 17.5 miles, took me just over an hour.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> I can only chalk it up to an unnatural and unsafe desire to control traffic. Maybe he thought he was doing me a favor, but I was happier just waiting for him to go by.


OMG this makes my blood boil - people who make up their own road rules "to be helpful" and thereby causing everyone else to not know what the F is going on.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I started the day at work gagging. One of the women in the office took a massive dump in the unisex bathroom that contains the shower. I don't know what she was eating, but I almost lost my breakfast. For real.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Just another boring day in Boulder County:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

L4NE4 - what kind of gearing you have on that rig? It's a sweet-looking ride!

No dangerous socks seen on the ride today. My bike is repaired and I rode it to work this morning. Nice to be back on my "A" machine.

Oh, and I busted through 4000 commute miles for the year this morning, almost 4,800 miles overall.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute yesterday was generally uneventful. A roadie on his commute tailed me for about 10km and gave me a compliment on the pace I maintained the whole time.

It was quite enjoyable and made much easier without the oppressive heat that has been the hallmark of the summer so far.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

woodway said:


> L4NE4 - what kind of gearing you have on that rig? It's a sweet-looking ride!


Thanks! for commuting I run 36x16. There are a lot of short steep climbs and a good number of gradual climbs on my commutes so this gearing seems to work pretty good. When I take off road I switch to a 32 in the front.



scorchedearth said:


> My commute yesterday was generally uneventful. A roadie on his commute tailed me for about 10km and gave me a compliment on the pace I maintained the whole time.
> 
> It was quite enjoyable and made much easier without the oppressive heat that has been the hallmark of the summer so far.


Thanks encouraging!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MileHighMark said:


> Rocks and socks seem to be in cahoots...


Doh, another one bites the dust! t`s been an expensive week 



woodway said:


> Oh, and I busted through 4000 commute miles for the year this morning, almost 4,800 miles overall.


Yowza! But they were all flat miles, weren`t they? 



scorchedearth said:


> A roadie on his commute tailed me for about 10km and gave me a compliment on the pace I maintained the whole time.


I hope he said "thank you".

Hot here too. We got off easy for June and half of July, but that`s over now. I had a crappy morning after work yesterday, bad news over the phone from my mom when I got up, then everything went to hell in a basket at work all night. New day today, I hope things turn around a little. MtbX, I thought you were out pedalling and paddling this week? Is that still comming up, or did you just come home early?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> MtbX, I thought you were out pedalling and paddling this week? Is that still comming up, or did you just come home early?


:bluefrown: Nope, that was last week, got home Sunday and could barely find the workplace on Monday, so I guess I had a good time! I still want to do the bikepacking trip, hopefully can squeeze it into September, although it won't be the 17 day tour I dreamed up.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I had a crappy morning after work yesterday, bad news over the phone from my mom when I got up, then everything went to hell in a basket at work all night. New day today, I hope things turn around a little.


Sorry to hear about your crappy day Rodar. Hope you get a reprieve today! :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> Sorry to hear about your crappy day Rodar. Hope you get a reprieve today! :thumbsup:


+ 1 One thing about those really bad days, usually the next is better.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks for the well wishes, gang. They must be working because today is going a lot better than yesterday. It was still over 100F today, but the wind must have shifted because we got a break from the smoke from the CommuterBoy Fire. In bike news, I finally located a source for short 15 gauge spokes and ordered myself a batch of 174s. That`s the last necesarry ingredient for a 20 inch dyno setup, so all my bikes will soon be commuteable. THEN I can take my time tearing down The Mighty Schwinn for a long overdue major maintenance. It might even get a new set of racks.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Commuted in the rain for the first time since June 1st. Was actually kind of refreshing after the summer we've had. This was also my first ride with my new Walz cap under my helmet which did a great job of keeping the water from running down my forehead and into my eyes. I'll be wearing it all the time when things cool off a bit. :thumbsup:


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

It was good


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

MileHighMark said:


> Just another boring day in Boulder County:


Hey boring is good. Boring means nothing went wrong, no emergency s, nobody got sick, hurt, or trashed. Boring is good! :thumbsup:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

L4NE4 said:


> 2.5" commuter tires? I think so.


Oh, c'mon now, everyone knows that all the cool kids commute on 3.7+ tires these days!

I've gone back to full-fat for my commutes on the Pugs this week. It's nice going a bit slower and feeling like a Tonka truck running over anything that gets in my path.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I had a mint ride into town this morning. It's been raining hard all week but today it completely cleared. 

'Twas a bit frosty but otherwise really pleasant. I made good time too getting my fastest time so far.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Oh, c'mon now, everyone knows that all the cool kids commute on 3.7+ tires these days!
> 
> I've gone back to full-fat for my commutes on the Pugs this week. It's nice going a bit slower and feeling like a Tonka truck running over anything that gets in my path.


I been fat-commuting this week too, but looking forward to the MTB tomorrow (it was in the shop, where they were able to fix a totally torqued B screw (forward-back limit screw) - I was pretty sure I'd need a new derailleur but they saved me a bundle.

Sounds speedy RPK, nice going.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Good commute this morning/evening. Legs are feeling much better going up the big hill.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

blockphi said:


> It's nice going a bit slower and feeling like a Tonka truck running over anything that gets in my path.


I have to admit the Tonka syndrome sounds like fun.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

I aint commuting 17.5 miles each way on a fatty!


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## purdyboy (Nov 15, 2005)

Brisk and a little breezy but ok this morning as I rode along Manly beach in Sydney, Australia.

Ride home will be a bit different.
Weather closed in Rain and gale force winds (trees down and roofs of buildings...)
Hoping it passes/calms in the next 2.5 hours.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

purdyboy said:


> Brisk and a little breezy but ok this morning as I rode along Manly beach in Sydney, Australia.
> 
> Ride home will be a bit different.
> Weather closed in Rain and gale force winds (trees down and roofs of buildings...)
> Hoping it passes/calms in the next 2.5 hours.


Sounds like trouble. Both the weather and purdyboy riding along Manly beach.  Keeping fingers crossed for you.

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw a rider prang themselves off of some bridge structural steel this morning.

It was on our "bicycle bottleneck" and about 100m infront of me I heard a crash and saw a bike go sideways. When I got there the cyclist and bike were kindof wedged in between the supports, and he'd managed to find his glasses on the ground and was putting them back on. He said he was okay, and I did a surreptitious bike check - no obvious damage to wheels, levers, derailleurs - so I headed off.

For reference, the steel on the left of the photo is what he would have slammed into


In the back of my mind I'm always afraid of this, particularly in the winter when the pathway is covered with bumpy, rutted ice. But thankfully the city is usually pretty ocd about clearly the pathway, presumably for that reason.

Not sure what caused it...there were no pretty girls around as far as I could tell.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Saw a rider prang themselves off of some bridge structural steel this morning.
> 
> It was on our "bicycle bottleneck" and about 100m infront of me I heard a crash and saw a bike go sideways. When I got there the cyclist and bike were kindof wedged in between the supports, and he'd managed to find his glasses on the ground and was putting them back on. He said he was okay, and I did a surreptitious bike check - no obvious damage to wheels, levers, derailleurs - so I headed off.
> 
> ...


That is the High Level bridge so if he hits the right hand railing and goes over????


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ that's what I'm worried about for November~April.  But he was oncoming in the left lane, and just hit the supports on the left (his right)

I had my sunglasses blow off of my face along there during a rainstorm, and I didn't even bother looking for them. If they go west it's 150' down to the river, and if they go east it's less than 1' into traffic. So the fact that the guy found his glasses was pretty lucky.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another 1.75" of rain last night so 3.25 in two rains in the last three weeks. Biggest rains since May 5. Too late for most of the corn crop. Lost a maple and an ash out of the front lawn (lightning and borer + 2 summers' drought). No clouds with a silvicultural lining, I'm afraid. Wood falls when rain fails. They were both older than me, but I have not taken a lightning hit, not do I have ash borer. If I had, look so good, I would not, when their age I reach. 

The errand bike made it to the farmer's market and back (so did I with 82 pounds of bike, locks, panniers, and payload). I was happy with easily cranking 42-21 on the slight grade headed home and 42-15 on the flat, just cruisin'. I had only 45 and 50 pounds in the 700-38's so they were cushy, but not rolling too easy.










As you can tell, bike parking is where you make it. Beat the rain (too brief, but would not have been good) which started just as I brought the bike into the house. Something caveman-like in hauling home my kill, er purchases.  Ribeye tonight!

BrianMc

PS. Thanks Mtbxplorer, the steak was local and the wonderful, if the chef does say so himself! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ An impressive haul! Enjoy your steak  , and sorry about your trees . 

We got over an inch of rain last night too, so I ended up on the roads and the cross bike today. Light rain on the way home but uneventful.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Sounds like trouble. Both the weather and purdyboy riding along Manly beach.


Doh! I can`t believe you wrote that! Still, now I`m going to have Peggy Lee singing "Boy From Ipanema" inside my noggin all night. Hope you made it home safely, Purdy!
Brian, did you wrap your water bottle with something to keep it from jumping out again?



newfangled said:


> Saw a rider prang themselves off of some bridge structural steel this morning.


Ouch. Boy, that does look like a good one to avoid. If somebody does go over, how long would the fall be? Is there water underneath it, at least in the thawed months?

Tall and tan and young and lovely...

We haven`t lost any trees yet, but one maple is looking very sad. Funny because its twin is doing just fine. I did a good job keeping all the trees watered over the winter, but didn`t know I had to water the lawn also- I`m a newbie when it comes to lawn care. The poor lawn squeeked by for its first winter without any additional water (it snowed that winter) but its totally dead after last one. I might replant it, but to tell the truth I was getting tired of mowing it by the end of its second year, so every time I see that dead yellow/brown sod now it reminds me how glad I am I don`t have to drag the mower out.

When he passes, each one he passes says "Ahhhh..."


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Doh! I can`t believe you wrote that!


Neither can I. Apologies to purdy. All I can say is that the juxtaposition made me do it. 



rodar y rodar said:


> Still, now I`m going to have Peggy Lee singing "Boy From Ipanema" inside my noggin all night. ...Tall and tan and young and lovely......When he passes, each one he passes says "Oooo ..Ahhhh..."


Rodar has purdy's revenge! That tune is soooo viral. Almost as bad as Sheri Lewis's "This is the Song That Never Ends". (Don't ask. Don't google. Walk away clean, man, walk away clean.  )

BrianMc


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Rodar has purdy's revenge! That tune is soooo viral. Almost as bad as Sheri Lewis's "This is the Song That Never Ends". (Don't ask. Don't google. Walk away clean, man, walk away clean.  )
> BrianMc


Hey at least it's not "It's A Small World" or the Barney song. Both of which were penned by Satan Himself. :devil:


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

How was my commute? I took the long way home


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

hunter006 said:


> How was my commute? I took the long way home


very jealous. I really want to build a cyclo-touring rig for this type of stuff!


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

hunter006 said:


> How was my commute? I took the long way home


Bravo man! - I liked your descriptions - maybe xpost into Passion.
That sub-Forum can use more tales like this!:thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good stuff, Hunter. Looks nice and cool, green.



junior1210 said:


> Hey at least it's not "It's A Small World" or the Barney song. Both of which were penned by Satan Himself. :devil:


I can handle Small World, but my mom is still traumatized from being stuck in one of those little boats for an extra 45 minutes or so for a mechanical- that would have been in the mid 70s, but she`s slow to let go of things like that. As far as Ipanema goes, here`s an interresting and more upbeat version that I bumped into not long ago. Looks like the singer is one of the flavors du jour Rio these days. More rock and roll-ish than my normal fare, but I think she`s sexier than Astrud . Them eyes!


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## prerunner06 (Jan 27, 2008)

Well today I went and made a test run of my route that I am going to start commuting. Learned a few things 1) I would go though about 2 gallons of water when it's 108 f* outside. 2) bring spare parts. Chain snapped at mile 15 walked a 1/4 mile to Finnish commute. But other then that I had fun on the ride and can't wait to continue 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk expect the worse!


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

I drove today =(. I really need to get some fenders for my 1x1 so I can ride in the rain, I get VERY wet.

On a side note, I am looking for a road bike. I would love to have a steel frame, 700c wheels and a retro look. I have a brooks saddle for it already and I would put fenders and bags on it. If anyone comes across one for a decent price send me a PM. I ride a 54cm. Thanks!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MTXB - I love the Crooked river!

Pretty slow commute today on sore legs. We did campground Olympics which included a 1 mile dirt road race (running) 2 mile dirt road bike race, sh1t house sprint, 100m sprint, jump rope competition, and a 2.5 mile round trip mountain climbing event with 1200' of elevation gain. In addition I biked the same mountain, did a long cross bike trek and several other shorter rides. Oh, and 2 days of kayaking.

First is a picture from the top of the mountain. It was foggy... and the rocks were really slippery. I walked more of the trail than I usually do.
Second is a pic from my cross bike trek - this section sucked.
Third is in the middle of Brownfield Bog.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Rodar that ain't bad but truth to be told I liked the original version... call me weird. Rode home into a headwind today, which is a little unusual for my area. Had to get into my drop ends for extended amount of time and realized that my bar is just too wide for the ends to have longer term comfort. Started looking around at alt type bars or maybe even an actual drop bar to try out, but not gonna be easy with hydro discs. I was surprised that some of the bar designs are as inexpensive as they are (Origin8 has a mustache bar for @ $20).


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## kdirk (Jun 20, 2012)

Well today was the first day class, and I was suppose to commute on bike all semester. However I woke up 30 min. before class (15mi. commute), because when the power went out a few days ago I didnt properly reset my clock (12 hours off, AM-PM). Stupid me, oh well. Tomorrow, and the rest of the week will be different, I promise. /diary


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I rode. Felt great. No safety issues. Boring where boring is good, and pleasant where it isn't. :thumbsup:

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had good rides too. Last night I slept out on the deck under the stars to catch the tail end of the meteor showers that had been totally clouded out until then. Saw a few shooting stars, and one particularly spectacular one that went clear across the sky in a super-bright streak. 

I left early enough this a.m. to take the "TNT" trail that I helped work on a couple weekends ago, and was pleased to make it across the skinny bridge that was carved skinnier with a chainsaw after we built it. On the way home I stopped at a great blackberry patch and got a whole large bike bottle full within minutes, with only minor scarring from the thorns.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My wife was busy over the weekend, so I went out on our standard Tahoe tandem route with my `bent buddy. That was about 30 flat miles and the only "extracurricular" riding I`ve done in two or three weeks. It was a lot different without Mrs Rodar- amazing how many overpriced pastries I managed to wolf down without getting the evil eye!



prerunner06 said:


> Well today I went and made a test run of my route that I am going to start commuting. Learned a few things 1) I would go though about 2 gallons of water when it's 108 f* outside. 2) bring spare parts. Chain snapped at mile 15 walked a 1/4 mile to Finnish commute. But other then that I had fun on the ride and can't wait to continue


Riding at 108 has to be bad enough- no way anybody deserves a mechanical and then a walk on top of it! Good luck with that furnace commute, and i`m glad it ain`t me!



bedwards1000 said:


> We did campground Olympics which included a 1 mile dirt road race (running) 2 mile dirt road bike race, sh1t house sprint, 100m sprint, jump rope competition, and a 2.5 mile round trip mountain climbing event with 1200' of elevation gain. In addition I biked the same mountain, did a long cross bike trek and several other shorter rides. Oh, and 2 days of kayaking.


That ought to be enough excitement for one weekend. Sh1thouse sprints? Details, please 



kdirk said:


> However I woke up 30 min. before class (15mi. commute), because when the power went out a few days ago I didnt properly reset my clock (12 hours off, AM-PM).


Uh-oh! I`ve done that more times than I care to think about


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> It was a lot different without Mrs Rodar- amazing how many overpriced pastries I managed to wolf down without getting the evil eye!


That made me laugh, Rodar. Probably made most of the married guys laugh!

Scary experience on the way home last night...riding in the city, 15MPH, narrow street, I was not all the way but pretty far into the lane when a woman tries to pass me. She was so close to me that I just reached over and slammed my hand on the hood of her car to get her attention. Yes, she was blabbing on her cellphone. She jams on the brakes and I yell at her to give me some room. Grrr.

Lost my mirror on the way to work this morning. I got near the office and it was gone. I backtracked a couple miles and did not see it. I decided not to backtrack the entire 18 miles to try and find it. I'll just go to the bike shop today and get a new one...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

kdirk said:


> Well today was the first day class, and I was suppose to commute on bike all semester. However I woke up 30 min. before class (15mi. commute), because when the power went out a few days ago I didnt properly reset my clock (12 hours off, AM-PM). Stupid me, oh well. Tomorrow, and the rest of the week will be different, I promise. /diary


That's why I use 24hr time on all digital clocks in my house. Too easy for me to make mistakes.


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## radiocraig (May 28, 2010)

about 72F on the way in at 5am...should be 95F on the way home at least its not in the triples


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

radiocraig said:


> about 72F on the way in at 5am...should be 95F on the way home at least its not in the triples


Yes! Yesterday was mid 80's and felt like room temperature after hovering either side of 100.

Fur real: Your avatar bearly supports the policy of 'don't feed the bears' or 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner!" Goldilocks in reverse.

BrianMc


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## Spykr (Feb 17, 2011)

Today's commute was short, quite hot, and I got pulled over by the cops for riding through a crosswalk and turning onto the bikelane! Fun stuff!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Scary experience on the way home last night...riding in the city, 15MPH, narrow street, I was not all the way but pretty far into the lane when a woman tries to pass me. She was so close to me that I just reached over and slammed my hand on the hood of her car to get her attention. Yes, she was blabbing on her cellphone. She jams on the brakes and I yell at her to give me some room. Grrr.


Yikes! Glad you're OK. The cellphone/texting situation has really gotten out of hand. I don't know if they're running it nationwide, but there is a new ad on here with a guy with a traumatic brain injury - he can barely talk or do simple tasks -and he shows the text that changed his life forever: "where r". Pretty convincing.



rodar y rodar said:


> My wife was busy over the weekend, so I went out on our standard Tahoe tandem route with my `bent buddy. That was about 30 flat miles and the only "extracurricular" riding I`ve done in two or three weeks. It was a lot different without Mrs Rodar- amazing how many overpriced pastries I managed to wolf down without getting the evil eye!


That sounds fun! I'm making a blackberry pie tonight from my pickings on the last 2 commutes home! Yummy

A 'bent connection here recently.H.S. buddy of a friend died suddenly, and apparently made one 'bent and bought one (I know he had at least one still). He made other cool stuff like telescopes (can you really grind the glass yourself?), boats, and helped replace the mast on the Constitution (Old Ironsides, now a museum-ship in Boston harbor).


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, you still haven`t said where you`re going! Are you going to camp, motel, stay with friends/relatives, a combo? Dirt content? Have a great trip!


andale pues! 
this is going to be us.
drop by, check us out, make fun of our unpreparedness, donate, whatever tickles your fancy!

Thunder Bay to Toronto ride for the United Way

is it strictly commuting? ermm.. no, not unless you consider road riding extremely long arduous distances through bad weather to get home as commuting.


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## kdirk (Jun 20, 2012)

Having a properly set clock, I was able to get up with enough time to commute via bike today. Perfect weather on the way to class, about 80*F, clouds blocking the sun, though 40-50% humidity. On the way back it got hot, it got up to 106F today, clouds moved, but at least humidity went down to 20%


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Low 50's riding in, and low 90's riding home. Snapped this pic with 3-4 miles left to go:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Woodway: pounding on windows or roof is also effective. I am also amazed at how few drivers know where the right side of their vehicle is when they are paying attention! While not all jurisdictions mandate 3', that is clearly a reasoned definition of 'safe distance' so if I can kick or slap the vehicle is is *not* maintaining a safe distance.



Spykr said:


> ... I got pulled over by the cops for riding through a crosswalk and turning onto the bikelane! Fun stuff!


You were supposed to dismount to get to the bike lane? Cars drive through crosswalks on both sides of many intersections. I don't get it. More info please.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dale duro, Byknuts!



woodway said:


> Lost my mirror on the way to work this morning. I got near the office and it was gone. I backtracked a couple miles and did not see it.


It must be laying on the cellphone lady`s hood. Did you check there?



mtbxplorer said:


> That sounds fun! I'm making a blackberry pie tonight from my pickings on the last 2 commutes home! Yummy
> 
> A 'bent connection here recently.H.S. buddy of a friend died suddenly, and apparently made one 'bent and bought one (I know he had at least one still). He made other cool stuff like telescopes (can you really grind the glass yourself?), boats, and helped replace the mast on the Constitution (Old Ironsides, now a museum-ship in Boston harbor).


He sounds like quite a handy guy. Sorry about the sudden loss 

Fresh blackberry pie? Bring it over and I`ll suply the vanilla ice cream!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Had a woman try to right hook me this afternoon, first time this year, no blood was spilled or paint exchanged so I guess it wasn't that close.:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Boring - I took the car to bring in some of that blackberry pie for coworkers and to have extra oomph for trailriding tomorrow, which is a state holiday, Bennington Battle Day! I love how (some) VT'rs get the day off for a battle that took place in NY!

_from Wikipedia
Bennington Battle Day is a state holiday unique to Vermont which commemorates the American victory at the Battle of Bennington (which actually took place in New York) during the American Revolutionary War in 1777. The holiday's date is fixed, and occurs on August 16 every year.

In Bennington, there is a battle re-enactment put on by the local history foundation. Also, the town fires the oldest cannon in America, which is called the Molly Stark cannon, named after the commander John Stark's wife.

The Battle of Bennington is named as such, because the battle was over weapons and munitions stored where the Bennington Battle monument now stands. This site is located in, what is now referred to as, Old Bennington, Vermont._


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute was fine other than the driver pulling onto the road not looking in my direction in spite of being in the process of entering a very busy intersection.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Smoky, hot, cloudy, and windy. You`d think that half of those conditions would rule out the other half. Last shift for this week, but I`m not sure what to do with my weekend. The smoke is comming from the west, so maybe I can get out of it by heading south, and some extra altitude would be helpful for the temperatures.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi kids. Back at it today. Smoky, hot, cloudy, and windy. 

What did I miss?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to have you back, it's been quiet around here.

My commute today was in my RX-8 which is being sold tonight because I'm commuting by bike 90% of the time and I have a pickup for the days I can't. I needed to give it one last romp! I'm going to miss that car!


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## endlesss (Aug 14, 2012)

A cooler ride than usual for this time. Had to rock the long sleeves. I really need to figure out a new system, this duffle bag on the back is getting old...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Had a city vehicle honk at me this morning at a 4-way stop, and then be an ******* about it.

I actually stop at stopsigns, so I don't know what their issue was. At the very worst it was one of those "you first...no _you_ first" misunderstandings that 4-way stops always generate. Except that I got there first, _and_ I was on the right, so it's only a misunderstanding if you're a fat, blind, moron who apparently has a hate-on for cyclists.

Don't be an ******* when there's an id # on your government vehicle that can be reported Ms. J1012. :madman:

Chilly here too: 45F yesterday morning, but we're supposed to have highs over 85F for most of next week.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Smoky, hot, cloudy, and windy.
> 
> What did I miss?


Heat and smoke.
Back already? Why don`t you wait until Novmber so you can enjoy some nice cool weather after the smoke clears out


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I missed out on my commutes the past two days because of work related training. Last night I was feeling antsy so I took off for a "short" ride on some country roads, which turned into a 19 mile singlespeed hill workout. Oops...

Today I was back to business on my commute. Things were a little odd because traffic was detoured through my neighborhood. I hope traffic returns to normal soon because these people drive too fast and are so intent on following the car in front of them, they don't pay attention to anything else.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

the cell phone didn't quite capture the "giant red ball in the smoke" sunrise, but you get the idea.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Was great...I rolled past the 300 mile mark today!

And found a kid who had just faceplanted (see here):
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/found-kid-bmx-bike-road-morning-807801.html


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Bar-eye view:


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## endlesss (Aug 14, 2012)

Drizzly on the way to work this morning. Looks beautiful outside now. Can't wait for the ride home! And it's Friday!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

+1 for Friday!

I missed the pics of your camo Ogre CB.

I sold my fast car so I took my fast bike today. I'm planning to take it easy on the way home because I'm racing in The Great Adventure Tri tomorrow. It's the first time I've tried anything like this and it looks like fun. The weather is shaping up to be perfect.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good day off yesterday riding at Kingdom Trails in the Northeast Kingdom of VT. These are the buffest trails in VT, fewer rocks and roots for the most part, making for a more flowy swoopy experience. Some pics below. One of the best trails was Tap n Die, I thought Rodar would like that one! Other highlights are the boardwalks of Jaw, and the on-trail chapel where they offer the blessing of the bikes.

I was lucky to notice the front disc brake cable was shredded to about 1/2 of the strands before I started and got a quick and bargain fix at the local shop, $10 labor, $5 housing, $3 cable.:thumbsup:

On the way home I got a hunk of metal in the car tire at 60mph and had a nice blowout, the tire was totally shredded. But it was the easiest flat fix I've ever done, no stuck nuts or frozen wheels, and a nice empty exit ramp to change it on. 

Good luck at your Great Adventure, Bedwards.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Seattle is currently going through a "heatwave" and there's an extreme heat warning issued, although in my hometown it would qualify for a regular summer. I clocked over 275 miles this week in some of the sunniest, warmest, best weather you could ask for this week. It was perfect.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Megamini*

I have a map of CA and a map of NV on my wall where I highlite the routes I`ve ridden- green for paved, blue for unpaved. There were a few sections of CA route 89 that I hadn`t hit yet, so I set off this weekend on a mision to fill in the blanks. I still haven`t made it to the very top part, but I`ve now ridden the whole of 89 from Burney Falls to the southern end :thumbsup:

Reno is still socked in by smoke from the CommuterBoy Fire, but it got a lot better as I headed south, then got bad again yesterday when I ended up even closer to it than Reno is. Spent Friday night at an official forest service campground near the junction of 88 and 89, then up to Tahoe, and was going to camp again on 89 between Truckee and the Sierra Valley. But when I got to a likely spot, it was still kinda early to be stopping, and I didn`t like my grocery stash. There was one orange, a half pack of Fig Newtons, some oatmeal, and a baggie of previously overheated peanuts that were all greasy and gooey. I had about 60 miles to home then, and had already ridden a long way with plenty of climbing, but in the end I said "F- it" and made a run for it. Limpped through my door around 10:30 last night, ate a couple Nathans, chased it down with chocolate ice cream, and slept in my own bed 

Oh, CB- the road from Truckee to Sieraville was JUST repaved, still has those little yellow tags that they use before they get around to painting stripes. Ribbon of silk, dude! Also, I talked to a motorcycle rider in Sieraville who had just come over 49 from Grass Valley. He says they`re done with that now, and its in the same awesome smoothness that 89 is. Time for a Gold Lake loop!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Tap and DIE!!! Does that suggest you`re going OTB if you hit the brakes? I assume the black diamond is a difficulty rating.

Good going, Bike CO!

And wishing luck to Bedwards. Mrs bedwards, too?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Truckee to Sierraville is a downhill blast too Rodar! I bet that was a hoot. Great pics again. I will try to get over there soon. My commute is still 'ribbon-of-sliky', but there's nothing like the first few weeks.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice tour and pics Rodar! You saw quite a variety of sights in 1.5 night tour. I can see its a little dangerous having those hub dynamo lights tempting you to keep pedaling until 10:30 pm - or maybe with your night work schedule that doesn't feel unusual?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ What she said.

BrianMc


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> A good day off yesterday riding at Kingdom Trails in the Northeast Kingdom of VT. These are the buffest trails in VT, fewer rocks and roots for the most part, making for a more flowy swoopy experience. Some pics below. One of the best trails was Tap n Die, I thought Rodar would like that one! Other highlights are the boardwalks of Jaw, and the on-trail chapel where they offer the blessing of the bikes.
> 
> I was lucky to notice the front disc brake cable was shredded to about 1/2 of the strands before I started and got a quick and bargain fix at the local shop, $10 labor, $5 housing, $3 cable.:thumbsup:
> 
> ...


I love Kingdom. I've only gotten up once this year, but may be there again in a few weeks. Have you been on Troll Stroll? Runs parallel to Tap N Die but is even better IMO.

First commute with lights this morning (to be seen, not to see). Also wore a light jacket. You know what that means...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I spent the weekend camping and riding at Brown County. The commute was pretty slow this morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> I love Kingdom. I've only gotten up once this year, but may be there again in a few weeks. Have you been on Troll Stroll? Runs parallel to Tap N Die but is even better IMO.


On my last time up that hillside I went up Troll Stroll to see what it was like, but I'll have to try it downhill next time. I went 3x last winter but that was my first time this summer.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

You never cease to entertain and amaze rodar!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, 89 from top to bottom is definitely on my list. So many cool sites. If you haven't done north of Burney Falls, then you haven't done "dead horse summit". I've always wondered what the story is with that name...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

+1 rodar! Looks like another great trip. So how many miles did you end up doing on your long day? Chocolate ice cream is what I had after my race too. I needed some fast acting carbs and protein after over 2 hours of all out effort.

The Great Adventure Challenge was Awesome! To my surprise I came in 3rd. My commute was surprisingly good despite my wicked sore legs. I'll put together some pics on my blog and post them when I have time. Maybe the professional pics will be available by then.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I can see its a little dangerous having those hub dynamo lights tempting you to keep pedaling until 10:30 pm - or maybe with your night work schedule that doesn't feel unusual?


I found that I like cruising at night. The only downside (and its a biggie) is that you don`t see anything, even with a full moon. For the plus side, less traffic, less wind, no waiting in lines at convenience stores, and cooler. On summer nights, the temps are usually great, so no wallowing in sweat and you don`t have a jacket billowing out in the wind. As far as my shift schedule goes, partly it helps that I`m used to being awake at 3 AM or whatever, but mostly its just that my internal clock is so screwed up that it`s just as bad at 3 PM, so I might as well be screwed up at my choice of hour :lol:



bedwards1000 said:


> So how many miles did you end up doing on your long day?
> 
> The Great Adventure Challenge was Awesome! To my surprise I came in 3rd.


148 miles, 6990 feet. First day was 92 miles, 4900 ft.

Holy crap- you walked in right off the street and straight to the podium! 
I see I have a notice of a new post in the "Mtb to Tri" thread, so that must be you. Off to check out the details!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I am dogsitting again, this moose-a-doodle came to work with me and we did a lunch ride. Yesterday afternoon we took a walk and I picked some berries, nearly stepping on a porcupine! I quickly grabbed the dog and inspected the critter more closely; although I thought it might be dead, it was breathing - I guess they are just safe sleeping any old where.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

it's going to be dangerous for the next month or so....the fall term is set to start next week and folks are moving in.

already had several encounters with idiots in less than a mile earlier today.

such a shame because the temps are starting to get more agreeable for commuting.

oh, and my favorite evening commute route looks like it's going to get ugly. a new apartment complex has been under construction for some time and it looks like the first move-ins happened this week. probably a few hundred new cars daily on a slow speed limit road with no lane markings and no traffic lights. something tells me that's going to change soon with the increase in traffic. and at least 3 new buildings have begun construction across the street.

all that land used to be hay field with thickets. clean, fresh air, wildflowers, and wildlife. made for a nice area to take deep breaths. now, it's going to be hot air off of parking lots and other impervious surfaces. and since it's all in a floodplain, I see flood risk increasing. they've done a lot of work on drainage, so the increase in flood risk will be downstream, of course.


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## SpecializedJim (Mar 8, 2012)

This morning was cool and the roads were wet after it rained. First time I commuted on a wet road and that one time was enough to make me want fenders. A face full of nasty water a few times sure did wake me up. Somewhere along the ride I hit a pile of dog crap and didn't realize it until about an hour or so after I got to work and smelled something :madmax:

The ride home was a lot better. Warm and clear and not a bunch of cars. Just the way I like it. Wash rinse and repeat for tomorrow I'm sure because it calling for rain again tonight


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had a good ride despite the rain. While the facilities at work are good, it would be nice if we had a dryer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No news on the bike traffic front, but I had two cage VS cage incedents that ticked me off and blew my mind. Well, bikes involved in the first one, but I was driving at the time. Yesterday I was back up at Tahoe with my wife and we were driving through the area where one of the stupidest bike paths known to man crosses repeatedly back and forth over the highway. At each crossing there`s a warning sign for drivers and a notice for riders to dismount. So, presumeably they become pedestrians and drivers are supposed to stop for them. At least they usually stop for me, and I normally don`t even dismount. But yesterday, when I stopped to let a couple dismounted bike pushers by, the lead pusher was just stepping out into the lane when a string of four or five cars snuck by me on the right and boogied right through. WTF? The second oddball incedent was back in Reno on the way home the same evening. I was the first car in line for a left turn at a major intersection and could hear a siren from somewhere. I looked around and saw that it was a fire truck comming down from my left towards the intersection I was waiting at, so when we got the green arrow I just sat there. The lady behind me was not amused and laid on the horn. 



NateHawk said:


> oh, and my favorite evening commute route looks like it's going to get ugly. a new apartment complex has been under construction for some time and it looks like the first move-ins happened this week. probably a few hundred new cars daily on a slow speed limit road with no lane markings and no traffic lights. something tells me that's going to change soon with the increase in traffic. and at least 3 new buildings have begun construction across the street.


Sorry to hear that, Nate. Change really sucks sometimes. I usually hate it even when its for the beter.



SpecializedJim said:


> Somewhere along the ride I hit a pile of dog crap and didn't realize it until about an hour or so after I got to work and smelled something :madmax:
> 
> Wash rinse and repeat for tomorrow I'm sure because it calling for rain again tonight


Double up the wash and rinse repeats if you get another call for dog crap in the forecast!


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Who ordered up the fresh batch of roadie smug in Stockholm?

Yesterday on the way home...... USPS Edition Trek, full USPS kit, Yellow TRYHARDWANKER wrist bracelet, male muffin top......... This just happened to be in a hilly section of my ride home and I would pass this guy on the climbs (who puts a triple on a carbon roadie?), then he would blow through the red lights because when you are Lance, you are above the law. After the 4th cycle of me passing him uphill he says, in American, "you are an *******". Me? The guy who is stopping for the red lights, stays to the right of the bike path, calls out "left" when I'm passing? I respond......."Jan Ulrich, is that you?". He stands on the pedals to catch me so he can...I don't know...beat my ass or something and he cracks in about 3 pedal strokes................

On a more somber note.....when I came over the Västerbron this morning, there was a crowd looking over the southbound side of the bridge. Apparently we had a jumper this morning. Took some time to sit in the sauna this morning and reflect.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That was a funny read. Sorry to hear about the 2nd part though. 

Seriously smoky around here this morning. The giant-red-balll-hiding-in-the-smoke sunrise is getting old. I've had the burn in the throat for days now. Yuck.

Also saw a pretty healthy pair of off-road commuters across the road.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

I got a flat Front tire on Friday morning...so I switched to my knobbie front wheel and rode in and back....

Anyway due to reno's my garage is full of 2x6 and insulation rather than bike parts...so I work on the reno's and go for a ride on the weekend...

So Sunday night I know I still have a flat front...

So I find the leak and then look for my patch kit.....I can only find the glue...

So I dug up an old tube to make a patch, sand and put on the glue, then do the same on the tube...

I stick it on it holds but not great...anyway I stuff the tube in the wheel and pump it up to 80 psi....

In the morning still full of air and today still hard....

So all I need is to find a source of tire glue (some sort of contact cement) and I am golden. Cause those little glue tubes don't last long enough to get multiple uses (for me anyway).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Jeffscott, I may be an idiot when it comes to studded tires and shoes, but I do know two things: 

1. Lezyne brand glueless patches are the cat's pajamas.
2. Tubeless is the way to go, and eliminates the need for Lezyne brand glueless patches.


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## endlesss (Aug 14, 2012)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> Who ordered up the fresh batch of roadie smug in Stockholm?
> 
> Yesterday on the way home...... USPS Edition Trek, full USPS kit, Yellow TRYHARDWANKER wrist bracelet, male muffin top......... This just happened to be in a hilly section of my ride home and I would pass this guy on the climbs (who puts a triple on a carbon roadie?), then he would blow through the red lights because when you are Lance, you are above the law. After the 4th cycle of me passing him uphill he says, in American, "you are an *******". Me? The guy who is stopping for the red lights, stays to the right of the bike path, calls out "left" when I'm passing? I respond......."Jan Ulrich, is that you?". He stands on the pedals to catch me so he can...I don't know...beat my ass or something and he cracks in about 3 pedal strokes................


Haha, great read.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Jeffscott, I may be an idiot when it comes to studded tires and shoes, but I do know two things:
> 
> 1. Lezyne brand glueless patches are the cat's pajamas.
> 2. Tubeless is the way to go, and eliminates the need for Lezyne brand glueless patches.


never had a gluless patch work for me.....if I could find the damn thing.

Ran these tires tubeles for the first two years, third year the sidewall leaks were just too much, I have had one other flat (nail).....

The fron t Conti Sport Contact PRo is push 8000 km.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I usually keep a glue type patch kit AND a glue-less kit with me in each bike. That way when I haven't had a flat in a while and I find that the glue is all dried up I have a second option. At about $2.50 patch kits aren't a big investment and I can usually get a few patches out of one kit. I don't think I've ever used even half of the patches before I run out of glue.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I don't think I've ever used even half of the patches before I run out of glue.


Im just the opposite. I don't need to apply all that many patches a year, but I seem to be accumulating a stock of unopened glue tubes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Something that helps either type of patch is a little alcohol wipe (single use) packet, like you might find in a 1st aid kit. They clean things up nicely for a better look at the hole(s) and for better sticking.

CB, glad you finally met some more commuters, handsome too! 

Sorry for everyone suffering from the smoke, that is awful.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

perttime said:


> Im just the opposite. I don't need to apply all that many patches a year, but I seem to be accumulating a stock of unopened glue tubes.


I'd say that I'd trade you but I think the shipping would be a killer.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I posted yesterday's ride, but the post got lost, other than that it was fine. 

I wasn't passed within 100 feet of the intersection by someone who considered it. The yield to the right at a four-way stop included me. And someone who was going to cut the corner on their left turn actually gave me most of the lane in the end. Who are these drivers and what did they do with the regulars? 

The dog poo reminds me I need to remount my fenders as people have been riding horses...

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> Who ordered up the fresh batch of roadie smug in Stockholm?


I don't get the roadie thing either. I sometimes pass roadies on the MUP and many times they will speed up to suck my wheel. I don't like people that I don't know on my wheel, so I always wave them off. Several times over the past few years, I have been chastised for being rude. Huh? I'm trying to enjoy my commute and don't want to worry about you running up my backside and I am being rude? If someone wants to ride faster it seems to me that staying off wheels is the best way to get stronger/faster rather than sucking every wheel that comes past, right? So why the eagerness to suck wheels? I don't get it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yesterday's ride home was a smoke-fest. They issued some health alert about how you're not supposed to go outside. They obviously don't understand that I'm counting my 'driving days' At least no one else is out there sucking my wheel  This morning is a little better, but by afternoon it's supposed to be settling back into the valleys. Gross. Still loving the new pavement though! They painted the white line finally!


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yesterday's ride home was a smoke-fest. They issued some health alert about how you're not supposed to go outside. They obviously don't understand that I'm counting my 'driving days' At least no one else is out there sucking my wheel  This morning is a little better, but by afternoon it's supposed to be settling back into the valleys. Gross. Still loving the new pavement though! They painted the white line finally!


CB just be glad it's only smoke. Last year we had wild fires down here and I wound up having to evac for 9 days til the all clear was sounded. Fire was within 1/2 mile of the house, and several people I know actually lost homes. Keeping fingers crossed it just stays smoke.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> I don't get the roadie thing either. I sometimes pass roadies on the MUP and many times they will speed up to suck my wheel. I don't like people that I don't know on my wheel, so I always wave them off. Several times over the past few years, I have been chastised for being rude. Huh? I'm trying to enjoy my commute and don't want to worry about you running up my backside and I am being rude? If someone wants to ride faster it seems to me that staying off wheels is the best way to get stronger/faster rather than sucking every wheel that comes past, right? So why the eagerness to suck wheels? I don't get it.


Lighten up have a chat it is a great way to meet people....

Most likey they are just trying to be nice....remember the guy in front is the hero.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

junior1210 said:


> CB just be glad it's only smoke. Last year we had wild fires down here and I wound up having to evac for 9 days til the all clear was sounded. Fire was within 1/2 mile of the house, and several people I know actually lost homes. Keeping fingers crossed it just stays smoke.


^^ We're in no immeidate danger of that currently. A couple years ago we had a massive national-news-making fire that got within 4 miles of my house. That was scary stuff. We were under 'precautionary' evacuation... 1/2 mile and neighbors losing houses? No thanks. I had a couple friends get evacuated in Colorado this year, houses on their street were lost, they are taking the kids to the park now walking past the charred remains of friends houses... just horrible.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Good luck CB.

We've had a mini-heatwave here, with the last 3 days touching 30C/85F, which is pretty rare. And I've had 3 fantastic rides - probably the best I've had all year. Either I need to move to the tropics, or the merino tshirt I splurged for on the weekend really is magic.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Got my fancy new lights mounted and the way I mounted my tail light (MJ-818) keeps poking me in the back of the leg every time I pedal. Unpleasant 45 minute ride. I'll have to do better tomorrow and in the meantime secure it with zip ties rather than that bolt. Front fender position is definitely better than it was last time I rode, although my bike squeaked every time I hit a bump. I suspect the rubber straps on the battery for the lights.

Got out too late (10!) to try my new headlight. Guess I'll be using it on the ride home, though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

junior1210 said:


> CB just be glad it's only smoke. Last year we had wild fires down here and I wound up having to evac for 9 days til the all clear was sounded. Fire was within 1/2 mile of the house, and several people I know actually lost homes. Keeping fingers crossed it just stays smoke.


That's some scary stuff there.

This morning's commute had me thinking about full finger gloves. The sun was still low in the sky and it was about 50 degrees F. In a few months I'm going to be wishing for that but dammit it's still summer. I can't complain because we have no smoke and great weather all week.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoohoo! A big envelope in my mailbox this morning has my spokes- the last thing I need for a dyno wheel to go on my folder or my recumbent. They should both be in the commute pool by the end of the week


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Did a dry run of a new commute route last night, adds about three miles to the more direct route but avoids two busy intersections, a precarious right turn on a downhill section (prime for right-hooks), and a road where there's no shoulder at all with two lanes at 45MPH. The main reason for the longer route is that last bit with the 2 lane road. I am routinely run off the road (in my vehicle) by people crossing the center line and the two times I attempted to ride my bike I was run off the road into some gravel because drivers wouldn't give me any space.

< / end rant >

After the dry run of the route last night I bit the bullet and rode today. Not too bad. Getting used to taking the lane when needed. Learned that I HAVE to take the lane through roundabouts otherwise the psychotic drivers won't let me in and I have to take the crosswalk (which apparently makes you invisible).

All in all not too bad, commute is only 6.3 miles and takes about 24 minutes with traffic.


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Good commute. Little warm, but it was good. I didn't get to ride yesterday and I was in need of a ride.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

DuManchu said:


> Did a dry run of a new commute route last night, adds about three miles to the more direct route but avoids two busy intersections, a precarious right turn on a downhill section (prime for right-hooks), and a road where there's no shoulder at all with two lanes at 45MPH. The main reason for the longer route is that last bit with the 2 lane road. I am routinely run off the road (in my vehicle) by people crossing the center line and the two times I attempted to ride my bike I was run off the road into some gravel because drivers wouldn't give me any space.
> 
> < / end rant >
> 
> ...


Congratulations for finding a safer route....as always pay attention, becarful and smarten up.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeffscott said:


> Lighten up have a chat it is a great way to meet people....
> 
> Most likey they are just trying to be nice....remember the guy in front is the hero.


Nah, I don't want a chat, don't want to be a hero and most certainty don't want someone who is not paying attention to come ramming up my backend. I just:

"want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like"

and be left alone...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

The mailman brought me my new slightly longer stem, and my new tires. It appears that these tires (Origin8 Captiv8er 29x2.3) are made by Vee Rubber which I didn't know. They're not slicks, but the tread pattern is so small that only sand grains ae gonna get into the tread grove.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

DuManchu, that does sound like a good road to avoid. Glad you found a better route.



woodway said:


> most certainty don't want someone who is not paying attention to come ramming up my backend.


:skep: Can`t say as I blame you there.


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

My town is doing what they call chip sealing. They lay down a bunch of tar then put down two or three inches of pea gravel. They let the automobiles have it for a week, then brush off all the excess rocks that don't stick. It's a cheap way to make a street last a bit longer but it sucks to ride on. My route to work has changed three times. Each time I'm riding in more traffic. Not that it's a lot but it's still more.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Last night I banged my knee into the end of my handlebar on a trail ride. I didn't think much of it at the time (other than the fact it hurt), but it started swelling up last night. I have a pretty good goose egg on my knee. The commute this morning didn't feel so great at the beginning (knee didn't want to bend at the top of my pedal stroke), but as time when on, my knee loosened up a bit. I already had a huge bruise from a wreck last weekend, so now I have a massive bruised area on my right leg. Fun times.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> Nah, I don't want a chat, don't want to be a hero and most certainty don't want someone who is not paying attention to come ramming up my backend. I just:
> 
> "want to ride my bicycle
> I want to ride my bike
> ...


30 secs oout of your day to say hi.....hmmmm


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Last night I banged my knee into the end of my handlebar on a trail ride. I didn't think much of it at the time (other than the fact it hurt), but it started swelling up last night. I have a pretty good goose egg on my knee. The commute this morning didn't feel so great at the beginning (knee didn't want to bend at the top of my pedal stroke), but as time when on, my knee loosened up a bit. I already had a huge bruise from a wreck last weekend, so now I have a massive bruised area on my right leg. Fun times.


rest ice elevation and compression


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Got my fancy new lights mounted and the way I mounted my tail light (MJ-818) keeps poking me in the back of the leg every time I pedal. Unpleasant 45 minute ride. I'll have to do better tomorrow and in the meantime secure it with zip ties rather than that bolt. Front fender position is definitely better than it was last time I rode, although my bike squeaked every time I hit a bump. I suspect the rubber straps on the battery for the lights.
> 
> Got out too late (10!) to try my new headlight. Guess I'll be using it on the ride home, though.


Rode home last night with the lights for the first time. Rabbits are suicidal little bastards. I had one run under my bike, between the wheels, while I was at speed (~16 MPH), with 2 or 3 more darting in front of me at the last minute because the bushes they were hiding in just weren't good enough.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath said:


> Rabbits are suicidal little bastards.


:lol: So true. I saw a couple this morning, and you're just bracing for impact, because they are going to do something stupid at the last possible second.

I saw what looked like a bunch of marshmallows in the bike lane way up ahead this morning... figured a kid had dropped a pack of those big 'mallows out of the window or something. I was thinking it was kind of funny, and sort of half-heartedly picking a decent line thorugh the scattered white blobs, when I realized that they were upside-down sauce packets from burger king or somewhere...you know, the little tubs with the top that peels off. Every single one of them was upside down..it was weird. Picking a good line suddenly became very important, because I didn't want to get sauce all over myself. Happy to say I came through unscathed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Hermit Toad*

I left my shoes out to dry. Now I have to dry them again because they smelled like toad pee and I had to wash them.


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## Danimal (Nov 18, 2004)

Yeah, but I bet the toad pee smell was a pre-existing condition... 

EDIT: No, I'm not proud that my useless post happened to be number 6900 in this thread...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: Hermit toad. Awesome. 

Zeroack, I hear you on the chip-sealing. I have dealt with that in the past. It's horrible!


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## Ky Chucky (Jul 16, 2012)

I just started riding to work as we have moved our studio. One thing that happens everyday is that I pass is an older woman on her bike. She is riding up as I am riding down a short hill. She appears to be well into he 70s. She is quite prim and proper, alway with a dress on, riding her single speed with fenders and basket. Today, as we exchanged hello glances, I noticed that she does not wear a helmet. I felt like saying something to urge her to protect herself. But after some thought, I came to .. .. what matters. I mean she is really putting it all on the line. If she falls.....!!! Hope I'm still keeping the faith at that point in my life.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's awesome. At her speed/age, she's in more danger of breaking a hip than her noggin.


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## OnThaCouch (Oct 2, 2010)

*Good week...*

This is a great thread. Today's commute was great...any day on the bike is a good one. :thumbsup:

Some background. Have been a regular bike commuter for the last 5 years. About 6 months ago I got a promotion at work which changed up the flexibility of my schedule and added a lot of stress. I basically took all that time off from commuting by bike. :madman: Occasionally I would ride in and get picked up on the way home but not regularly.

Just got the bike tuned up last week and switched to a rigid fork and am having a blast. It feels good to turn the cranks and let the day fade away along the road on the way home.

Looking forward to shedding a few pounds and hitting the trails regularly again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OnThaCouch said:


> It feels good to turn the cranks and let the day fade away along the road on the way home.


Man, you just nailed it.

Welcome back :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ And there's this smile as I roll out the drive, inside if not on my face, strangely even on the coldest rides. 

Seeing more cyclists here, clearly running errands or commuting. That may be improving driver's awareness. This is a known phenomenon. More cyclists = safer cycling. 

BrianMc


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I was on the fence last night about whether to ride today, but I got up and saw the blue sky sunrise and I knew I'd be miserable on the train.

The ride in was lovely. The days are getting longer now so I've been able to shed all the heavy lighting off the bike and just use some blinkers.

Plus, it's Friday so we have chocolate biscuits in the kitchen and I needed to justify eating some.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Zeroack said:


> My town is doing what they call chip sealing.


Blech! Sorry to hear it, but you really don`t need to explain what chip seal is on a bicycling board. We`re all grimly aware 



bedwards1000 said:


> I left my shoes out to dry. Now I have to dry them again because they smelled like toad pee and I had to wash them.


The unwanted side effect of your mid-ride swims!



OnThaCouch said:


> Just got the bike tuned up last week and switched to a rigid fork and am having a blast. It feels good to turn the cranks and let the day fade away along the road on the way home.


Yay! Hope you keep enjoying it.

Knee smacks, toad pee, suicidal rabbits, chip seal, prim and helmetless septugenarians... hard to top that. Boring is good! Just smoke and heat here, not even much wind today. I was asked to go in early today. so no time to play with headlight mounting on my soon-to-be commuters, but I did get the wheel done yesterday. Starting next week I`ll get to do a dork-bike commute whenever I feel like it  Hope your knee pulls itself together soon, s0ck.

EDIT: Chocolate biscuits? Hmm... 
Hungry now.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

Finished the 3rd day of commuting this week. I am only doing 3 days (tuesday night is a MTB ride so I drive to work with bike on car and friday nights are dinner with the wife.)

I realized that I went from my old job of 22 miles round trip to a new one at 9 miles. If I ride 3 days a week, that is only 18 miles a week in the car vs. 110. With gas at $3.70 a gallon and 20 miles/gallon, that is a savings of $18.69 per week or ~$970 per year.

And the fact that I get free lunches now means another $1500-1600 in my pocket as well.

Best of all, today I made it home in 19 minutes, beating my time in traffic in the car.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Fewer oil changes, fewer tire replacements, the mileage figure of $.55 mile or whatever it is now is close for a new car, and you'll be saved buying a new one for several years as long as no one runs into you (a real hazard to getting over 250,000 miles). Yes some of the costs are fixed, but they apply to the car miles not the bike miles. New bike parts get funded faster at the standard mileage rate versus gas savings. 

BrianMc


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Don't have to go to work today, but installed new stem and new tires. Stem went on easy (like stems do), but tires went on so easy I'm a little suspicious. Haven't taken her out for a ride on the new rubber yet but should be interesting to ride on wide rubber again (2.3") after several months on 40mm treads.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Felt like home...*

Woke up to the sound of rain and thunder, looked out and saw the gray skies and wet roads and the grin started. Dug out the gear I hadn't used since I left Portland back in May to bask in the sunshine of rural Arizona and hit the road. Silently I cursed the decision to pull my fenders off as the road spray sand blasted my face as I rolled down the road with a fine mix of grit and water. The light turned as I came up to my office and I kept on going, cranking out a couple more miles before I had to stuff myself into a windowless office for the next 8 hours. Wet, covered in grit like the return of the Spring Classics but with a big grin I walked into work to incredulous questions of "Did you ride today?"

Yep and it felt great.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nothing worse than not having your fenders on there when it's sloppy... I have silently cursed the decision to remove the fenders all the way to work at least a couple times. 

The wildfire smoke has been horrible in the afternoon/evenings still... This morning was (relatively) clear, but we still had the wierd orange ball sunrise, with the smoke hanging out on the other side of the valley, waiting to sock us in later. We've got fires on 3 sides basically...so no matter what the wind does, we're going to get smoke. If it's blowing east, we get ash along with the smoke, and if it's blowing west, we get really thick smoke but no ash. I have no preference at this point, I just want my eyes to stop burning. 

Just after I put the camera/phone back in my pocket, I spooked several deer than went launching over the fence on the side of the road...could have had a sweet pic.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Really nice ride until I was almost t-boned. Three-way stop, and I was turning left. It was my turn, and a guy in a silver pickup apparently didn't think I was going to turn, and headed right for me. I yelled "Hey!" at the top of my lungs, and he hit his brakes.


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Foggy, sticky ride to work this morning. A very different commute. I'm use to smoke, not fog here in the panhandle of Nebraska.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

The ride home was a lot better.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The smoke cover and my camo bar tape allowed me to sneak up on the wild beasts undetected...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> The smoke cover and my camo bar tape allowed me to sneak up on the wild beasts undetected...


Yeah lookie there isn't she a beauty? OH SHE BIT ME!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^
Wow, looks like quite a collection of racks there. What do they have (two months?) until it`s time to disappear?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Just rode to the library and back to return some books: about 10 km each way. Dry, not hot or cold, not much wind. There was little traffic but bike parking was almost full at the library. Forgot my wallet, with the library card, in the other backpack, so couldn't borrow any new books. I'll live...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> The smoke cover and my camo bar tape allowed me to sneak up on the wild beasts undetected...


Undetected? So they just happened to all look your way? Unconcerned maybe, undetected with a good sweat going? I suspect not.  Great shot. Did you ask them to say 'cheese'?

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

1st commute on the new tires this fine Monday. Relatively smoke-free, and it's getting chilly. I scored some arm warmers on chainlove.com, hopefully those will be here this week. It's almost time to start adding layers...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Roadie blew by me on the Mutt, then went up and over the bike overpass....on the way down he was going fast....

He popped the curb then bobbled a bit....

I caught him about 100 feet later..

He had his right side drop bar in his hand about shoulder height, it had broken off clean at the stem....The left side was still attached and he was holding on to it...

He said geez I coulda gone down, that would have hurt.....yup sure would have.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Someone on here did that, and we were commenting on how much of an animal they were, since they essentially tore their bike in half with their bare hands...anyone remember that? Props to that guy for not going down! That would be a sketchy moment.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yikes!
I think our own animal was Andrew Switch.

Not much smoke here lately- thanks for keeping it to yourself, CB. Went out for some "climb training" Sat morning. I was planning to ride up and over a high pass near Reno, then turn around and ride home, but weenied out and made my U-turn at the top. I`ve done that whole ride as planned in the past, but the grade was a lot steeper this time since I was hitting it hard instead of lolly-gagging. You fitness geeks can keep that training stuff :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Yes about the bar. It convinced me to get rid of my old bar which had a run-in with a garage door opener and was straightened in the past. Turns out it was very thick walled nd may have been no issue, but.... So the Nitto is a lot lighter and safer. Even a little nick from installing in an old style stem can induce a stress riser and cause a catastrophic failure in bars. 

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yikes!
> ...You fitness geeks can keep that training stuff :lol:


Yeah, like somebody that jumps on a loaded bike and rides over a hundred miles a few days in a row... Oh nevermind.

Meadowland.


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

my commute was good, the crisp air lets me know autumn is on the way


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

quite a sticky morning. Isaac is definitely on his way.

also the first day of classes. I had to shake my head at all the undergrads dressing up for the first day of school. wtf, it's college. as soon as I hit campus, I couldn't smell anything but perfume/cologne. gag me already. it'll be better in 2 weeks when all the undergrads are in sweats and smell like BO.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

cmg71 said:


> my commute was good, the crisp air lets me know autumn is on the way


oooooohhhhhhh :thumbsup:


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## OnThaCouch (Oct 2, 2010)

*Awesome...*

ride was smooth and quick...almost too quick. No wind today so I got to zoom along. Looking forward to the homeward bound trip already :thumbsup:.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm escaping after work today for a 1.5 hour spin... and so far, the smoke isn't filling the valley. This could be very, very good.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Got soaked to the bone but it's still preferable to being stuck in a steaming train car.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

Singlespeeded it and made it home quicker than on my 2x9.


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## Ky Chucky (Jul 16, 2012)

My new commute possibilities are getting better all the time. Our studio moved so its safe for me to ride. Both of my kids have new school schedule that do not include me picking either of them up !!!! This means I can ride to and from work. Best part is that one of the best places in the area to MTB or road bike is between work and home !! - I just started this born again cycling thing, have dropped 13 pounds without even trying - I do love my car, there is no traffic for me. I drove this morning, just had to spin up the turbos - but will ride tomorrow - you may be able to tell Im stoked again at 48 like a 20 year old.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ky Chucky said:


> ... I just started this born again cycling thing, have dropped 13 pounds without even trying - I do love my car, there is no traffic for me. I drove this morning, just had to spin up the turbos - but will ride tomorrow - you may be able to tell Im stoked again at 48 like a 20 year old.


I got back into cycling about 4 years ago and have increased it substantially every year.
Commuting Miles
2009	900
2010	2257
2011 3735
2012	3488 and counting.

The next thing you know is you'll be Selling Your Car that you love.

Welcome to the addiction.

I took the rain bike for the second time in 2 months today. The rest of the week looks great. We've had an awesome summer.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good to be back on the bike after a week of dogsitting and driving to work. About a half inch of rain overnight but it’s been so dry the trails were still in good shape. Just 1 good sized puddle where the snowmobile trail passes a wetland. Today is the 1 year anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene that flooded much of VT and destroyed roads, bridges, homes, and a few people.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

I took my 6 year old daughter on her first commute to school this morning. It went well. She's a bit weary of using her coaster brake, and her front U-brake is hard to pull. Time to upgrade her bike. She seems pretty excited about riding her bike to school like the big kids though!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ My 6 year old daughter has just started riding with me when I go running. She can crank out my 3.5 mile route pretty well...only needs a push up one hill, which comes right at the end, and is torture for me at the end of the run :lol: 

My commute today was f-f-f-fine.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

austin_bike said:


> Singlespeeded it and made it home quicker than on my 2x9.


Geez so you wern't spun out???


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was in one of those awkward catch-22s yesterday. The road I was on came to a T at a stop sign. A school bus was coming from my left and was signalling a right turn. The driver paused and seemed to be waiting for me to turn so he could make an easier turn. So I went. Just as I was passing, the bus lurched forward and swung into my lane. A little girl screamed as the driver hit the brakes sharply. I just kept going. I don't really know what I should have done. 

School buses seem to make everything awkward, especially when they come up on your tail and keep revving the engine. It's hard to know if the drivers are being jerks or if that's just how drivers handle slow speed chases.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

So yesterday was the first time ever that I put the car in the garage and rode the bike because it was gonna rain. Typically its the other way around, but I had the top and doors off my Wrangler and didn't want to go through the hassle of putting it all back on only to take it off the next day. Its been beautiful here for a week.... one day of rain.... and back to beautiful. 

I am still trying to figure out if I was lazy because I didn't want to put the top and doors on or if I was awesome for riding in the rain......


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

I have 3 days riding on the new tires and it's weird that even though the 2.3" Origin8's are heavier than the Kenda 40mms, they are definitely faster. They also feel better on all the little road imperfections in the pavement. Time to work is about the same but time going home has shaved almost 15 minutes (off of 1hr normal time).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dalton, I knew I liked you. Fellow Jeeper. It makes sense now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> My commute today was f-f-f-fine.


That chain looks a little on the dry side, just sayin.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It is. It was due for lube before the 17 miles of dirt that lead up to that picture. The thing about bar-end shifters (especially friction) is that you can quiet down a noisy chain and put off lubing it way too long. 

Don't worry, I hit it up this morning before the commute. The pic was from last night.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I took the pump from my commuter Saturday morning when I went for a ride on another bike, and forgot to put it back on. So, the staple I ran over on my way home was inevitable . At least it was only a few blocks from work, so I was able to get back and fill up with the compressed air lines. The pump is back on the commuter now and I ordered another pump to replace the one I lost back in June.



J3SSEB said:


> I took my 6 year old daughter on her first commute to school this morning. It went well. She's a bit weary of using her coaster brake, and her front U-brake is hard to pull. Time to upgrade her bike. She seems pretty excited about riding her bike to school like the big kids though!


:band:
Best post this month!



s0ckeyeus said:


> School buses seem to make everything awkward, especially when they come up on your tail and keep revving the engine. It's hard to know if the drivers are being jerks or if that's just how drivers handle slow speed chases.


Probably coincidence, but I have a terrible time with school busses also. They don`t like to give me any space when they go shooting by and it seems to be a different numbered bus each time, so not like its a single A-hole driver. Maybe J3SSEB will shell out for new bikes for all the kiddies on each of our commute routes and get thos pesky busses off the road


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I passed a school bus when he pulled over to let the line of cars behind him pass. The bus drivers around here are pretty respectful of us bikers, which is mostly me.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

Dalton said:


> So yesterday was the first time ever that I put the car in the garage and rode the bike because it was gonna rain. Typically its the other way around, but I had the top and doors off my Wrangler and didn't want to go through the hassle of putting it all back on only to take it off the next day. Its been beautiful here for a week.... one day of rain.... and back to beautiful.
> 
> I am still trying to figure out if I was lazy because I didn't want to put the top and doors on or if I was awesome for riding in the rain......


I love riding in the rain, and am amazed at how often I don't get rained on even though it seemed like a sure thing when I looked at the forecast.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

austin_bike said:


> Singlespeeded it and made it home quicker than on my 2x9.


Riding BCGB or on the road??? Single speeds on the hilly roads in Austin do not sound like a good mix to me, unless it's your downtown beer bike. (I'm usually wrong though...)


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## motomuppet (Sep 27, 2011)

Stopped commuting to work for a while cause the roads/drivers are crazy here: had way to many close calls and a girl in the office lost her husband under a truck while cycling a few weeks ago. Apparently we have about 1.5 cycling fatalities a month here in Singapore.

I was missing the commute, so I built up an old Giant XTC frame I had lying around and started riding in on the newly de-trained rail trail near my house that leads right into town. Had to get a little creative on my route (thank you google earth!) and my commute time has doubled (which is awesome!) but I now have an off-road/urban assault trail ride into work and back and I love it.

I saw a peacock in an industrial estate today on the edge of the city. Go figure?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice, sounds like a great alternate route! Stay safe!

I pedaled to the polls after work and I guess it was worthwhile, the only real contested race was for VT attorney general, and right now less than 400 votes separate the 2 candidates. Got a killer "parking" spot too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

38*F This morning at the weather station I ride by. It hurt! I refuse to go to long sleeves in August, so this was a shorts/short sleeves record. Those moisture-wicking T shirts don't do much to cut the wind. There is always the first day when I start thinking about how much colder it's going to get...and this was it. Still 'feeling the burn' as my arms warm up...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Yeah, 45 here and I was freezing. I wore a windbreaker but I should have been wearing a "coldbreaker". 3 hours later and my feet still feel chilly.

I'm on track for a 5 bikes in 5 days week.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

The commute yesterday was solid. Somehow, I wasn't pushing hard but made it home just as fast on other days. Weird, eh?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I do that sometimes. I'll think "OK, I'm just going to relax and enjoy the ride, no pushing"... then I get home a minute or 2 faster than the last time I really pushed it. I don't know if I should be pissed or happy.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

No commute for the kid today, but since I have morning classes I'll be riding to school. I'm going to try flat pedals.


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

my commute today was relaxed, snapped a few shots just for this thread :thumbsup:

picture tells a thousand words


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brisk here this morning too, 44F, I was glad of the windbreaker at the start but was down to shortsleeves by the 2nd (uphill) half. Took these pics after work yesterday, when I detoured to vote. The first building is entirely sided in different colors of slate. The 2nd, massive one was originally at the 1939 World’s Fair in NYC and was dismantled afterwards and brought to VT for use as a granite shed. Both were falling into disrepair but someone has been rehabbing them, but I don’t know what his plans are.

^^Nice pics CMG, sure is green in that last one.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I dunno what the temp was on my way home, but a half hour after arriving I made out checks for a few bills and had a tough time writing because my fingers were still numb. What a bunch of weenies we`ve become!

Xplorer, does the slate come from New England too? I don`t think I`ve ever seen it used as siding before. It must be quite a job to hang.

Got paced by a scraggly coyote for a few seconds this morning. It was weird- he just loped along in the ditch off my side of the road, but through all the bushes and weeds, not like when they don`t want to get OFF of a smooth and well lit road.

Nice pics again, CMG. BTW, I meant to commend you on the one you posted the other day with the neat halo effect, but it slipped my mind.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cmg71 said:


>


Is that the poison ivy trail?


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Helped my brother move from Salt Lake, Utah to Ann Arbor, Michigan the last four days so I'd been off the bike. It was good to pedaling a bike again and not driving a Uhaul.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...Xplorer, does the slate come from New England too? I don`t think I`ve ever seen it used as siding before. It must be quite a job to hang.


Yeah, slate was much more commonly used for roofing around here than siding, not sure how they do the siding. There are some smaller slate quarries locally, but the bigger ones are in an area they call "slate valley" along the VT/NY border. I once went down for a truckload of scraps to use for landscaping, stuff that didn't make the grade for flooring etc.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

It was almost 38 on my commute too. Celcius. Looking forward to winter when it drops down into those bone chilling 50F commutes.


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Is that the poison ivy trail?


trust me, it makes you stay on the trail


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We have not had measureable precipitation here in the Seattle area for 37 straight days. It's been great. But I have this little alarm going off inside my head that says winter and the rains are sure to be here soon. Despite the lack of rain in the forecast for the remainder of this week, I found myself installing the fenders back on my commuter last night just so I would stop worrying about getting caught out with them off...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cmg71 said:


> trust me, it makes you stay on the trail


Just don't have a flat shortly after rolling over some. The oil on the tire will get you. Bad spot for a wreck, for sure. I get itchy getting that close to it and my fingers swell just from the little oil in the air.

BrianMc


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Grateful for the afternoon cloud cover:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Stupid motorcycle parked next to the bike racks and blocked all three at my field office.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> But I have this little alarm going off inside my head that says winter and the rains are sure to be here soon.


Not wishing up more snow like last winter?



jseko said:


> Stupid motorcycle parked next to the bike racks and blocked all three at my field office.


:madmax: I`d have been tempted to throw a lock and cable around something.

How`s the storm situation, Nate? 
And what happened to our New Orleans crew? There were a t least two of them, but I haven`t heard anything for a long time.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

jseko said:


> Stupid motorcycle parked next to the bike racks and blocked all three at my field office.


Valve core removers are nice for this situation :thumbsup:

(You can even reinstall it if you feel so inclined)


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## chrisaz82 (May 21, 2012)

My commute was a 105 degree, mosquito infested humid trip through hell. Phoenix is no fun in monsoon season


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm pretty sure I was flipped the bird this morning for no reason by a commercial van driver in the other lane. Uh...OK. I also saw a kids bike on the side of the road. From where I was, I couldn't tell if the bike had been hit or not. The front tire was separated from the rim. I hope some kid had a flat and just decided to leave the bike there.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Back in the saddle again after battling a pesky sinus infection.

School started back up last week and I'm going to have to take an even longer route to avoid the "youths" and crazy drivers around the High School in my neighborhood. It's not real fun dealing with buses, minivans, and distracted teen drivers.

The modified route should make my commute more pleasant however.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This picture looked way cooler through my sunglasses. Still pretty cool I guess.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

DuManchu said:


> Back in the saddle again after battling a pesky sinus infection.
> 
> School started back up last week and I'm going to have to take an even longer route to avoid the "youths" and crazy drivers around the High School in my neighborhood. It's not real fun dealing with buses, minivans, and distracted teen drivers.
> 
> The modified route should make my commute more pleasant however.


Usual rule of thumb keep riding if the infection is above the neck.....course allergies are different..

Good pick on the new route.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, pretty cool. It's not often you get a closeup picture of a buck playing an upright piano. "Any Requests?" "Ted Nugent, Nope, don't know any" Sorry, off on a tangent. Cool pic.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^ I had to think about that piano. You sure Bambi and Ted aren`t best buddies?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice buck! I got some trailside wildlife today too, and some flowers....


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

Holy cow dude, that web is amazing! What kind of spider is it?
I rode my 29er FS bike today and I managed to ride about the same time and pace as I do on my skinny tire cross bike. What does that say about my bikes? What does that say about me?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Looks to me like a black and yellow argiope.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

J3SSEB said:


> Holy cow dude, that web is amazing! What kind of spider is it?



That's Dude-ette!
^^ CommuterBoy is right!
Goes to show when you stop to see the flowers, you might happen on something else worthwhile.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

COOL web!

Hot with everpresent summer afternoon winds- I`ve been going in four hours early this week before the winds have a chance to calm down. Haven`t had any smoke for several days, hope its done. Finished my mini dyno wheel last weekend, but can`t find the electrical clip for the end of the wire. Grrr... they`re cheap, but no way I`ll find one locally, so will have to order and wait before I can ride my dorky bikes in the dark.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

commuted TO work, took transit home.
my casseroll's on it's way in a trailer to thunder bay.
See all you muckers again in a couple weeks.

google t2t4uw if you feel like checking us out.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Flats!*

Yesterday got a flat across the street from work, patched it on my lunch break. And today? Flat tire when I came out to ride home. Odd thing though was I couldn't find a leak or other issue. Held air for the ride home though.

Tried to ride some trail on the way home but since it rained this afternoon it was a mud slog. Felt like was gearing up for a cross ride. But mornings are getting slightly cooler though, 50s instead of 70s


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spatialized said:


> Yesterday got a flat across the street from work, patched it on my lunch break. And today? Flat tire when I came out to ride home. Odd thing though was I couldn't find a leak or other issue. Held air for the ride home though.


Miracle cure! :lol:



byknuts said:


> my casseroll's on it's way in a trailer to thunder bay.
> See all you muckers again in a couple weeks.


Ride safe and have a blast.
Buen viaje.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Spatialized said:


> Yesterday got a flat across the street from work, patched it on my lunch break. And today? Flat tire when I came out to ride home. Odd thing though was I couldn't find a leak or other issue. Held air for the ride home though.


What did you patch it with and where did you park it? I've had some of the glueless patches loosen up when the bike's parked in the hot sun. When they cool off the glue sets up again and the tire pressure re-seals it when it is pumped back up.

Mountain Bike Friday! (What ever happened to Fatback Friday? Where's JordyB?) Meeting a friend for some singletrack on the way home. I found the connector trail on the way in that was previously lost to logging. :thumbsup: I needed that connector to make the trail fully ridable again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Fall is starting, a bunch of leaves were down this morning....


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Rode today despite the remnants of Isaac knocking at our door. Gonna be a wet commute home 

Also found my first roadside "treasure"... a smashed coax cable splitter. I left it on the road, but I'm sure it'll still be there on my way home. Maybe I'll make a fashionable piece of jewelry out of it...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I saw a 3' carpenter's level in the ditch on the way in... not sure I want to lug it home, but I might... 

MTBX...nooooooooooooooooooooo!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I bet a 3ft carpenter uses a very small level. Probably easy to stuff in your backpack.

About a year and a half ago, when the subject of passing school busses with their flashers on came up, BrianMc suggested converting into a pedestrian and walking past, then remounting and riding merrily off into the sunrise. I did that today and it worked great- was just pulling up behind the bus at the first stop when it took off again, and I was right behind it at the next stop, with a whole crowd of rugrats waiting to get on. I did a cyclocross style dismount, ran up onto the sidewalk, then onto somebody`s lawn to get around the kiddies, back onto the sidewalk, hopped back on (though I was smart enough not to try a cross-style running remount in font of an audience), off the curb, and pedalled on up the road. Passing the next stop, I could hear the bus right behind me, and by the time it loaded up that herd I was so far ahead I never saw it again. Thanks for the idea, Brian :thumbsup:



bedwards1000 said:


> Mountain Bike Friday!


Okay. But its going to have to be a rerun pic, hope you don`t mind.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

3' carpenter. clever.  


I do Mountian Bike Monday. Sorry to dissapoint :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, I accidently ran another cyclist off the trail last night. I was moving left to avoid two poorly installed manhole covers on the right side of the trail. There is about a foot of smooth pavement on the left side that I like to ride when nobody is coming in the opposite direction. Riding over the manhole covers means risking losing a filling.

Anyway, the guy started to pass me, without calling out that he was coming, right at the same time I was moving left to avoid the manhole covers - and I forced him into the grass.

He yelled at me to hold my line and I yelled at him that I would have had he called out that he was coming. No harm, no foul and we both rode away unscathed.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> About a year and a half ago, when the subject of passing school busses with their flashers on came up, BrianMc suggested converting into a pedestrian and walking past, then remounting and riding merrily off into the sunrise. I did that today and it worked great... and pedalled on up the road. Passing the next stop, I could hear the bus right behind me, and by the time it loaded up that herd I was so far ahead I never saw it again. Thanks for the idea, Brian :thumbsup:


Glad to be of service! Taking the lawn to avoid the students was wise. I could walk by on the non-loading side. For easier citing, the manoever needs a name. Some suggestions:

The Bus Stop Boogie? (BS Boogie for short.)
'Cyclocrosswise' Bus Pass?
Cyclist's Bus Pass?
The WOB (Walk On By)?
School Bus Portage?
Grab the Power Walk?
Basic Bus Bypass (BBB or B cubed)?
Passively Objecting Pedestrian (POP)?
Don't mind me maneuver or DMMM, pronounced: dumb. 
The Schoolbus Sneak (The SS sounds a bit sinister, though, swastikas come to mind)
Walk And Leave Klean (aka The WALK).

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I was incredibly guilty of the "I just became a pedestrian" move when dealing with stoplights in LA County. Red light? Bam, sidewalk/crosswalk...and I'm gone. Don't judge, I've matured.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had a nice ride today @30 miles all said, running errands. The best part was when I stopped at LBS to congratulate one of the co-owners who has a new baby on the way. Low point was when I didn't lift front wheel high enough and caught a curb and fell off and skinned my knee :cryin: and now for some weird reason my shoulder is sore even though I landed on the opposite side. I made up for the bruise to my pride with chinese food (nothing heals wounded pride like beef fried rice :thumbsup. The new tires are definitely an improvement on speed and comfort, think I stay high volume from now on, on this bike.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

was a hot one today. To be fair, I didn't get out of the house until after lunch. I had a morning meeting with a new real estate agent to get my house listed under a different company that I hope will get it sold.

I was cooking, though. stopped by the local coffee shop to pick up lunch (black bean patty panini, yum!) and a pound of coffee (Rwanda Inzovu, a new one to me - I like African coffees).

traffic was relatively heavy today considering it was supposedly post-lunch (the coffee shop was empty).


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> What did you patch it with and where did you park it? I've had some of the glueless patches loosen up when the bike's parked in the hot sun. When they cool off the glue sets up again and the tire pressure re-seals it when it is pumped back up.


I'm guessing that's what happened as I came out from work today to the same thing. Where the bike is parked gets direct sun for a good part of the day. Luckily the wife was out and picked me up. Might re-patch the tube and see if it holds. Perils of bike commuting 

In a way it was a good thing, massive traffic due to living in a tourist town on Labor Day weekend all over the roads...not pretty.


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## AndrewJL (Mar 6, 2009)

I had a crankarm come loose on the way to work this morning I didn't have an 8mm allen wrench on my multitool I I dropped the seat down and made it to work skateboard style.

luckily a coworker had an 8mm allen to tighten it back up with.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

AndrewJL said:


> I had a crankarm come loose on the way to work this morning I didn't have an 8mm allen wrench on my multitool I I dropped the seat down and made it to work skateboard style.
> 
> luckily a coworker had an 8mm allen to tighten it back up with.


Was It an FSA crankset?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Went out yesterday to fix the tire that had gone flat at work and sure enough, the rear is flat too! Both were wrinkled and leaked when I added air, kind of disheartening. Repatched them both and they held air beautifully through the night. Note to self: don't buy Slime sticker patches again.


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## apheod (Sep 3, 2012)

not so great. put on a pair of on one fleegle sweep bars, so i was just getting used to the different controls, coming from a flat par. came through a puddle at about 20 mph while in a gradual turn and there was apparently some thick mud at the bottom. tires broke loose and i ate it hard. scraped up the entire left side of my body and bounced my head off the concrete, cracked my specialized s3 helmet and did something to my front derailer where it won't click to stay onto the large chainring now. scraped the heck out of my bike too. it ain't pretty no more, and neither am i.

i did get to ride away though, bloodied and with a headache, but it could have been worse.


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## Grinderz (Aug 31, 2012)

Nabbed a new PR on Strava on the way into work. That app is seriously addictive at trying to beat ones self, and others


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spatialized said:


> Went out yesterday to fix the tire that had gone flat at work and sure enough, the rear is flat too! Both were wrinkled and leaked when I added air, kind of disheartening. Repatched them both and they held air beautifully through the night. Note to self: don't buy Slime sticker patches again.


Repatch? I`ve never managed to get a leaky patch off in order to do that. Maybe its an advantage of the Slime self stickers? When you went out to check on the bike, was it in the sun, like Bedwards mentioned? I never heard of that problem before, but it sounds plausible.



apheod said:


> not so great. put on a pair of on one fleegle sweep bars, so i was just getting used to the different controls, coming from a flat par. came through a puddle at about 20 mph while in a gradual turn and there was apparently some thick mud at the bottom. tires broke loose and i ate it hard. scraped up the entire left side of my body and bounced my head off the concrete, cracked my specialized s3 helmet and did something to my front derailer where it won't click to stay onto the large chainring now. scraped the heck out of my bike too. it ain't pretty no more, and neither am i.
> 
> i did get to ride away though, bloodied and with a headache, but it could have been worse.


OOOW! Dang, that does sound like a big $hit sandwich! So, did you make it out of the puddle before you went down, or did you go submarining while you were at it? Hope you get a speedy recovery, at least.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

apheod said:


> not so great. put on a pair of on one fleegle sweep bars, so i was just getting used to the different controls, coming from a flat par. came through a puddle at about 20 mph while in a gradual turn and there was apparently some thick mud at the bottom. tires broke loose and i ate it hard. scraped up the entire left side of my body and bounced my head off the concrete, cracked my specialized s3 helmet and did something to my front derailer where it won't click to stay onto the large chainring now. scraped the heck out of my bike too. it ain't pretty no more, and neither am i.
> 
> i did get to ride away though, bloodied and with a headache, but it could have been worse.


Been there, done that, got the T-shirt and the scars to prove it. Welcome to the club. Heal up soon, but riding away after that, bloodied and bone-sore but head unbowed? AWESOME :thumbsup:


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I ride the same 7 mile round trip 6 days a week...
generally it goes as such, starting sunday... volunteer,work, work and volunteer, work, work and volunteer, work, be a vegetable saturday.

and all in the same few blocks of Ogden. I'm getting tired of my commute routine. So instead of the fast route on main streets I've started wandering the neighborhoods.

the level of adventure that can bring varies.

Does anyone else know how to add a bit of spice to their commutes?


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It wasn't raining. Actually, the sky was blue on the way home. But the streets and paths were all wet. I rode pretty easy, so that my alleged fenders would help a bit. It is just humid and cool enough that the ground takes forever to dry after a little rain.



Agwan said:


> I'm getting tired of my commute routine. So instead of the fast route on main streets I've started wandering the neighborhoods.
> 
> the level of adventure that can bring varies.
> 
> Does anyone else know how to add a bit of spice to their commutes?


Depends on what is out there. I like to take a relatively straight route going out, but coming back I sometimes take a much longer route through some park paths, a road that has few intersections, or even short pieces of singletrack.


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## apheod (Sep 3, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Repatch? I`ve never managed to get a leaky patch off in order to do that. Maybe its an advantage of the Slime self stickers? When you went out to check on the bike, was it in the sun, like Bedwards mentioned? I never heard of that problem before, but it sounds plausible.
> 
> OOOW! Dang, that does sound like a big $hit sandwich! So, did you make it out of the puddle before you went down, or did you go submarining while you were at it? Hope you get a speedy recovery, at least.


yeah, i didn't get wet at least. puddle was only covering maybe 5 feet of the paved bike path, it was at a low point. sure didn't look like the type of puddle that would have mud at the bottom.

i'm definitely pretty sore today. may have a bit of whiplash, my neck on the opposite side of the impact is pretty inflamed. elbow, knee, and ankle are still trickling blood. worst part is i have a nice half sleeve tattoo that got badly scraped, i'm hoping it didn't screw up the ink.

i'm just glad it was on that side, i was carrying on the other side. flesh heals, $1000 dollar pistols and $200 dollar elephant hide holsters dont!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Repatch? I`ve never managed to get a leaky patch off in order to do that. Maybe its an advantage of the Slime self stickers? When you went out to check on the bike, was it in the sun, like Bedwards mentioned? I never heard of that problem before...


I was able to just peel them off. Not cool. And yes, the bike is in the sun all day, so I'm guessing too that is the crux of the issue. Maybe will start bring it up to the office.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

My commute from Amsterdam to Utrecht on Sports Tracker
38 km, 25 km/h average. Bike used.

Nice and sunny, about 14 degrees celcius at the depart, 18 on arrival.
I'll try to bring my camera next time to shoot some pictures.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Agwan said:


> So instead of the fast route on main streets I've started wandering the neighborhoods.
> the level of adventure that can bring varies.
> Does anyone else know how to add a bit of spice to their commutes?


For some reason, I haven`t ever gotten bored with mine, but if I did I`d probably do just what you`re doing- try different routes. Or do it Maine style and ride a different bike each day.



Spatialized said:


> I was able to just peel them off. Not cool. And yes, the bike is in the sun all day, so I'm guessing too that is the crux of the issue. Maybe will start bring it up to the office.


I hope that helps. Otherwise, try regular glue-on patches. A few people claim that the Lezeyne self adhesive patches work well, but they`re expensive and tough to find. I think everybody who`se ever tried the Slime ones has been disappointed, I guess Park and Topeak fall in the middle.

My wife is in Mexico for the whole month, so I`m livin it up. Doing 90% my grocery shopping at the take and bake pizza place, stopped putting away helmet, bags, and other stuff that I know I`ll be using again the next day, and the best treat of all, removed a bucket full of beauty products from the shower so there`s only one bottle of shampoo and one bar of soap in the there! It`s awesome taking a shower without knocking a dozen plastic bottles onto the floor every time I turn around 

One more vacation comming up for me this year, too. Mostly I`ll be bumming around the desert and car camping with a local bike buddy, but for a couple days we`re going to check out the human powered vehicle speed trials in Battle Mountain- hope we get to see a new worlds record. The current record is 82 point something for men and almost 76 MPH for women. That`s some impressive pedalling!

The Recumbent Bicycle and Human Powered Vehicle Information Center


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## Grinderz (Aug 31, 2012)

8th place on a KOM on the way home today. Super impressed, especially when competing against all the roadies and their carbon fiber rides


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Agwan said:


> I ride the same 7 mile round trip 6 days a week...
> generally it goes as such, starting sunday... volunteer,work, work and volunteer, work, work and volunteer, work, be a vegetable saturday.
> 
> and all in the same few blocks of Ogden. I'm getting tired of my commute routine. So instead of the fast route on main streets I've started wandering the neighborhoods.
> ...


With a 3 1/2 mile one way trip you've got a lot of flexibility to change it up I would think. Turn the opposite direction when you leave your house and take the long way some days.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy this morning, the remnants of Isaac have arrived but it has wound down and only about 2” of rain is expected. A good drenching but nothing disastrous. It was cool enough (55F) for the good rain jacket, I only got a little sweaty on the 2 mile hill, but not uncomfortably so.

Sounds like two fun vacations, Rodar.


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## AndrewJL (Mar 6, 2009)

junior1210 said:


> Was It an FSA crankset?


Shimano octalink


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have complaned about how horrible Slime 'skab' sticker patches are in this very thread, I think. They are awful. They can't take the deflate/re-inflate thing, because they don't stretch enough to 'move' with the tube as it shrinks and expands. You want LEZYNE brand glueless patches. Hear me now believe me later....


I had a nice 3 day... back in the saddle this morning, and it's definitely getting colder. I've been enjoying the constant stream of dust-caked cars/trucks/ancient motorhomes/hippy-mobiles coming back out of the desert from Burning Man... Rodar is probably getting the influx too. I swear every vehicle has bikes attached to it... everything from high end mountian bikes to tall bikes to beach cruisers completely covered in feathers and fur... hard to tell much detail because they're all so covered in playa dust that they look like ghost bikes... Also, this entire corner of the United States smells slightly of B.O. for the day or two following 'The Burn'. I'm all for tolerance, but it would be fine if they didn't stick around... just keep moving through town, nothing to see here...


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

... and my ride back home


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

Today was quite exciting, in a bad way. First, I was dropping my daughter off at her school and we saw a kid get clotheslined by a car door. We were told to walk our bikes when we get to the sidewalk in front of the school, now we know why. The kid in the car didn't look before opening the door and totally took the other kid out. The worst part was that the kid on the bike, and his brother weren't even wearing helmets. Then the way to my class I saw a car run a stop sign, and later on a car pulled out in front of me and again a motorcycle. Keep your eyes peeled people. Complacency is our worst enemy. STAY ALERT, STAY ALIVE!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

My morning commute is mostly in the dark now. I was climbing the hill leaving my home town riding in the 8 foot wide shoulder and was almost hit by a salmon-ing bike rider. He looked pretty dazed and confused as I passed screaming "YOU'RE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD" Of course he had no lights or reflectors, in the dark, in heavy traffic.:madman:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Keep watching the "what did someone yell at you" thread, maybe he'll show up to complain about you, and you can set him straight :lol:


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Great ride this morning. Keep hearing the "click, click" of my tires picking up thorns but my prevention system must be working.(lots of Slime) I also snapped this at the bike rack this morning. Had to photoshop some letters but I think I want a large one for my wall.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Great picture Zeroack, really diggin' it.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Zeroack, great picture! Bought my oldest daughter one of those cable locks for her old Huffy at college. I set it up for her and the only 4 letter word I could think of on short notice with the letters available was PIMP!


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## Robbo85 (Sep 11, 2011)

Took a detour on the way home for the hell of it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice roo-te!


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

Do you live near a zoo?


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Little warmer then expected, random music setting on the ipod was kicking out some good tunes so I got a bit sweaty coming up the hill. Gonna need lights soon.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Week 2 of getting back into commuting now that school is back in session. Had a guy on the sidewalk in front of me with ear buds in when I rang my bell and yelled out "on your left" because that section of my route is on a busy street.

The guy does not budge. I continue to ring and yell out to him. Nothing. I'm thinking on great the music is so loud he can't hear me.

I get right up on him and ask if he could please move over. He turns to me and says "Get on the road where you belong!"

My response was that I had every legal right to be on the sidewalk in Montgomery county MD. He continued to walk down the middle of the sidewalk, exchanged a few more colorful words as I rode past him.

While I was waiting at the crosswalk, like a pedestrian because I was not a vehicle, I noticed this guy further down the cross road jaywalking.

What a hypocritical dolt.

Anyway I hope he has a better day. 

Anyone else have this occur to you?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

yabodie said:


> Week 2 of getting back into commuting now that school is back in session. Had a guy on the sidewalk in front of me with ear buds in when I rang my bell and yelled out "on your left" because that section of my route is on a busy street.
> 
> The guy does not budge. I continue to ring and yell out to him. Nothing. I'm thinking on great the music is so loud he can't hear me.
> 
> ...


I was under the impression bikes aren't allowed/supposed to be on sidewalks in most places. In cities they ticket you for it. Obviously your local regulations may vary.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was hit by a storm yesterday. I rushed out of the office hoping I could beat the rain, but I barely made it down the street when I was hit by a wall of wind. There wasn't a whole lot of lightning and few trees, so I decided to go for it. It was a little work to fight against the wind, but I made it home, drenched but in one piece. It was kind of an exciting ride home.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Good commute this morning, went even farther around the local high school to avoid the maelstrom.

Was almost hit by a lady in a white Caravan who apparently couldn't see my day-glo yellow bike and white helmet right in front of her.

I've also had a number of people try to give me the right of way or slow down for me to enter traffic but all it does is back up traffic. I would much prefer it if they'd just go past me at the speed they normally travel so I can jump into the lane when the traffic is clear.

Also attempted to snap some photos but the camera on my phone is a piece of crap. This was the only salvageable photo and it's not good by any stretch.








Think I might attempt to lug my DSLR with me some morning and get some better photos.


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## Robbo85 (Sep 11, 2011)

J3SSEB said:


> Do you live near a zoo?


Nope, just out in the sticks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

KANGAROOS! That would be cool! Although folks I've met from "daaan unda" compare them to large rats. We've got a deer overpopulation problem that we're pretty sick of, so I sort of get that...everyone ELSE thinks the deer are great. But KANGAROOS! I would love to see those guys cruising around on my commute route. Too cool. 

I got chased by a dog this morning. I yelled at it and the lady who was walking it yelled at it and it stopped.


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

Sanath said:


> I was under the impression bikes aren't allowed/supposed to be on sidewalks in most places. In cities they ticket you for it. Obviously your local regulations may vary.


Nope the local regs in MoCo MD are that in most jurisdictions (including the ones I ride through) a bike can ride on the sidewalk (loads of bike trails are multi use paths with sidewalks connecting them), with pedestrians having the right of way.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

DuManchu said:


> Also attempted to snap some photos but the camera on my phone is a piece of crap. This was the only salvageable photo and it's not good by any stretch.


Good or not good, I think it looks kind of neat. I used to enjoy taking low light pics hand held or just propped against a wall or phone pole- they came out obviously shaky, but I liked `em anyway.



CommuterBoy said:


> We've got a deer overpopulation problem that we're pretty sick of, so I sort of get that...everyone ELSE thinks the deer are great.


Ha! Even though I knew what they were as soon as I saw the pic, it made me think of a bunch of deer out cleaning up dropped apples!

I got wind (a lot) and rain (a little) last night too- probably much less than sOck did, but even a little is welcome. Comming home was surprisingly muggy for these parts. And hot too, because I`ve been working 4 hours over each day this week, so not as nice at 11 AM as it is at 7.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I got wind (a lot) and rain (a little) last night too- probably much less than sOck did, but even a little is welcome. Comming home was surprisingly muggy for these parts. And hot too, because I`ve been working 4 hours over each day this week, so not as nice at 11 AM as it is at 7.


We are at 46 straight days without measureable precipitation here in the Seattle Area. The all-time record is 51 days, which will be tied next Tuesday of it stays dry. Forecast calls for a nice weekend and then a small chance of rain coming through starting on Monday. Unlike Rodar, I don't welcome any rain - I get my fill of it in the winter time and am enjoying basking in these sunny 75 degree, low humidity afternoons...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> I don't welcome any rain - I get my fill of it in the winter time and am enjoying basking in these sunny 75 degree, low humidity afternoons...


IIRC, you got more than just rain last winter. You also got all our snow!


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## JayCo (Sep 7, 2012)

After being off the bike for a few months with a shoulder injury I returned to a nice sunny cycle to work with a 40K round trip. Even though I was surprised by how well I did, cardio wise, nothing can prepare your posterior for nearly 2hrs in the saddle after such a long lay off. ouch!!!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> IIRC, you got more than just rain last winter. You also got all our snow!


Hoping not to repeat that this winter Rodar! Please, take your snow back. I like my precipitation unfrozen...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back JayCo. The human-bike interface is one of the hardest ones for me too. Even after thousands of miles - bike seats get uncomfortable. 

I had an extra helping of pea soup for my commute. First ride on the new headset this morning since my last one developed a significant case of "index steering". No wonder, what a rusty mess inside the head tube. Those seals were doing a great job of keeping the water in. The bike hadn't been ridden in wet weather in a while but water came out when I disassembled the fork.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JayCo said:


> After being off the bike for a few months with a shoulder injury I returned to a nice sunny cycle to work with a 40K round trip. Even though I was surprised by how well I did, cardio wise, nothing can prepare your posterior for nearly 2hrs in the saddle after such a long lay off. ouch!!!


Getting back on the bike after an unwanted "medical leave" sure feels great, don`t it? It`s worth a little butt pain, IMO. Glad you`re pedalling again and good luck to you, your shoulder, and your behind!


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Went to bed last night expecting not to be able to commute this morning due to rain and thunderstorms in the forecast. Woke up at my normal time and looked outside, my dreary eyes determined it was wet outside and had been raining so I went back to bed.

Got up 30 minutes later and turned on the news and checked the forecast. No rain till later on this afternoon. I thought, "Damn... I shoulda rode, guess I'm driving today."

Kept an eye on the forecast all morning, decided to hop on the bike and ride back from my lunch break. Hopefully the storms hold off till after 4:00 this afternoon (looks like they will).

And as a bonus, it looks like we won't get enough rain to close down the trails I was planning on riding tomorrow. Though we do _need _the rain, I really want to hit the trails.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

DuManchu said:


> Went to bed last night expecting not to be able to commute this morning due to rain and thunderstorms in the forecast.


You lost me there. I don't understand? :lol:


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> You lost me there. I don't understand? :lol:


I don't have fenders or any wet-riding gear so it's kinda miserable riding in the rain.

I rode last Friday when the remnants of Isaac were dumping 5" on us. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that fun either. I had to put all my valuables and whatnot into sandwich baggies since nothing I have is anything remotely waterproof.

Too broke at the moment to plunk down the cash for a waterproof backpack/pannier set, fenders, jacket etc.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I hear the $$$ thing. Over the years I've accumulated the gear to deal with the seasons...some is better than others. I've done a few of those miserable rides where the back tire is coating you with high pressure road grime, and the front tire is throwing it up in the air for you to ride through. No fun at all. My backpack used to be pretty waterproof, but it's getting old... I keep a couple freezer size ziplocks in there for the phone/ipod/papers, and a big kitchen size trash bag in the large compartment, that I basically use as a backpack liner to stuff everything in when it's really coming down. Works like a charm. But I'm with you on how much it sucks being fenderless in the rain. Nasty.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I hear the $$$ thing. Over the years I've accumulated the gear to deal with the seasons...some is better than others. I've done a few of those miserable rides where the back tire is coating you with high pressure road grime, and the front tire is throwing it up in the air for you to ride through. No fun at all. My backpack used to be pretty waterproof, but it's getting old... I keep a couple freezer size ziplocks in there for the phone/ipod/papers, and a big kitchen size trash bag in the large compartment, that I basically use as a backpack liner to stuff everything in when it's really coming down. Works like a charm. But I'm with you on how much it sucks being fenderless in the rain. Nasty.


In todays age you need to carry things back and forth to work.....even clothes can be sent to cleaners......

Maybe a load every couple of weeks max is really neccessary...

Course some people need a pack almost like a security blanket.....brother is like that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Assuming you mean DON'T need to carry things back and forth?
I carry lunch (to save $$), a spare tube, a multitool, underwear and a T-shirt, phone and an iPod. Clothes stay at work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> In todays age you need to carry things back and forth to work.....even clothes can be sent to cleaners......
> 
> Maybe a load every couple of weeks max is really neccessary...
> 
> Course some people need a pack almost like a security blanket.....brother is like that.


Huh??? Even if there was a cleaner that offered pickup and delivery service at my place or work (and I don't think there is, I must be outside today's age) it would eclipse the economy of riding to work. Cellphone, wallet, keys & minor tools make the trip every day in a fanny pack all in zip-lock bags because if the rain doesn't get them the sweat will.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Looks like I'll be getting wet anyway (I work near the pink/yellow dot). Glad I brought a pile of freezer bags with me 








If I'm lucky it'll pass before I leave here at 3:30 or so, but that's looking doubtful. Hopefully it doesn't rain enough to close the trails.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I am ready for the heat to be done. Supposed to hit 100 again today. Fortunately, a system is supposed to roll through tonight/tomorrow and drop the temps 10 degrees. That will be a welcome change, and it looks to last for at least the next week.

My ride this morning was otherwise uneventful.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Huh??? Even if there was a cleaner that offered pickup and delivery service at my place or work (and I don't think there is, I must be outside today's age) it would eclipse the economy of riding to work. Cellphone, wallet, keys & minor tools make the trip every day in a fanny pack all in zip-lock bags because if the rain doesn't get them the sweat will.


I think when he says "today's age" he's talking about that new "cloud" storage thing... where if you have the right app you can just save your cellphone, wallet, keys, etc to the cloud, and then retrieve them on another device when you get to work. I'm seriously considering looking in to this.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Huh??? Even if there was a cleaner that offered pickup and delivery service at my place or work (and I don't think there is,betcha there is, and the costs are surprisingly low I must be outside today's age) it would eclipse the economy of riding to work. Cellphone, wallet, keys & minor tools make the trip every day in a fanny pack all in zip-lock bags because if the rain doesn't get them the sweat will.


All I regularly carry back and forth is wallet and car keys....don't ususally bother with the cellphone...but it fits in a pcket just fine thanks.

Tools and tube go in the saddle pack, bottle and pump mount on the frame...jacket gets wrap around the bars if I don't wear it.

Course I could get a pack or panniers...but then I would have to put something in them....I guess I could get some bricks....yeah there is a plan....bricks.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Assuming you mean DON'T need to carry things back and forth?
> I carry lunch (to save $$), a spare tube, a multitool, underwear and a T-shirt, phone and an iPod. Clothes stay at work.


So you don't have a lunch fridge at work???? that is unusual....and a downtown grocery store....you know go shopping for lunch at lunch or after work once a week sort of thing.....

Spare tube and tools in the saddle bag for me thanks....

Wallet, keys, and phone in a jacket pocket.....underwear in the pockets as well...clothes at work (easy enough)...jacket around the bars if I don't wear it.

Get an Iphone and lose the pack...

You are just stuck in a rut.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes, I need to get with the times and tie my clothes to my bike like everyone else :lol:

Do iPhones transport themselves to work?

Grocery shopping for lunch is just as expensive as buying lunch... I bring leftovers from yesterday's dinner. And yes, I keep them in the fridge at work until lunch.



jeffscott said:


> All I regularly carry back and forth is wallet and car keys....don't ususally bother with the cellphone...but it fits in a pcket just fine thanks.
> 
> Tools and tube go in the saddle pack, bottle and pump mount on the frame...jacket gets wrap around the bars if I don't wear it.
> 
> Course I could get a pack or panniers...but then I would have to put something in them....I guess I could get some bricks....yeah there is a plan....bricks.


^^ Well there you go. You're just mounting stuff to the bike instead of carrying it, and then implying that people are foolish for carrying it. Personally I hate having stuff mounted to my bike. I'd much rather put the tools, tube, pump, and jacket in a backpack. I like the bike to be as nimble as possible, and I want to be able to throw it around without having the weight distribution being different or worring about mounted stuff moving or falling off. When I mountain bike, I wear a camelbak instead of using water bottles and cages. This doesn't make people who use water bottles dumb or behind the times.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Pretty sure this is all down to a matter of preference for the most part. 

I don't want to leave my clothes at work, mostly because it's not all the hard to throw them into my pack and there's a high likelihood I'd flat out forget to bring them home on a Friday.

I don't generally like having extra stuff hanging off the bike, I don't even like my saddle pack, but it remains until I get a nice hydro pack with enough storage for my keys, phone, and GPS. Having those items in my pockets wearing baggies drives me batty as they bang against my leg.

Also, I don't think anyone was really complaining about their situation, just explaining how they roll. I have to use sandwich baggies because I'm too poor to get a waterproof backpack.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, I hear that undies make an excellent hi-vis flag for the bike. Socks could go on your bars to keep them warmer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> You are just stuck in a rut.


But I like my rut.

I have a wife that works in the same building so I just use her as a Sherpa for my lunch and a weeks worth of clothes.

I've got the tire changer app for my android so I don't need to carry tubes anymore but I DO need the phone or I'll be stuck on the side of the road with a flat.:skep:

OMG, it it time to ride yet? I'm obviously winding down here at work (AKA xxxxing off) at the end of the week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott, I'm curious what the car keys are for?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> jeffscott, I'm curious what the car keys are for?


I have the key to my house, three keys for the office....and two car keys....and one key for the bike carrier on the car...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yes, I need to get with the times and tie my clothes to my bike like everyone else :lol: Jacket not clothes they stay at work right?
> 
> Do iPhones transport themselves to work? No they fit in a pocket but then you don't need an I pod as well as a phone....doh
> 
> ...


Like I said the brother is attached to his pack like a securtiy blanket as well.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> But I like my rut. What ever turns your cranks
> 
> I have a wife that works in the same building so I just use her as a Sherpa for my lunch and a weeks worth of clothes. Yeah same here
> 
> ...


Yeah I got a slow ride home on the knobbies....went to the mountains last night and didn't have time to switch back to the slicks....

Hey maybe that is why I leave all the tools tubes pump and water bottle on the bike....cause bingo its ready to go.....I only use the camel back on 4 hour plus rides.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'll never understand how some folks get those little green blobs under their username. :lol: Cheap entertainment though...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Tube in the saddle bag for about the tenth time


Alright, you got me. I keep my tube in the saddlebag. Since I have bikes that take 3 different tube sizes I keep them with the bike. I would NEVER remember to swap it out every time in the pack and end up with a funny look on my face trying to use a 700x23 tube in a 26" tire.

Also, I don't want to rely on the tire-fixer app because what if my battery dies.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

GET WITH THE TIMES!!! TIE YOUR CRAP ON YOUR BARS!!










OK I'll stop now.:nono:

PS I just finished my crock of BS lunch. I'm fairly certain it was cheaper than it would have been if I had purchased it. Looking forward to the extendo-Friday 18 miler.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

50mph headwind gusts and rain stings a bit, especially with a sleeveless shirt. I could only manage 8-11 mph on flat ground heading directly into the wind. Also rode over an overpass (took the short route home) with a wicked crosswind at the top, that too was interesting.

Learned a few things on this trip

- I'd like wet weather shoes
- My crappy pedals are even worse when wet and trying to mash up a hill
- The drivers on my short route (on much busier 4-lane 45mph roads) lose their minds when it's raining and drive like they've never been behind the wheel before
- The aforementioned drivers like to try and splash you, even though you're already soaked and covered in road grime from having no fenders

On the flipside, with the wind at my back I managed to hit 22mph and hold it on an uphill section. :thumbsup:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

DuManchu said:


> - The drivers on my short route (on much busier 4-lane 45mph roads) lose their minds when it's raining and drive like they've never been behind the wheel before
> - The aforementioned drivers like to try and splash you, even though you're already soaked and covered in road grime from having no fenders


I always like to imagine that Karma will catch up with those people and then they'll be sorry. Since in my mind Karma is a 12 foot tall gorilla covered in blue hair, breathes fire, and has no sense of humor towards those who mistreat us, especially on those nasty days when we're just trying to go home. :idea:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> PS I just finished my crock of BS lunch. I'm fairly certain it was cheaper than it would have been if I had purchased it.


If you`re too lazy to dig up another wife who works in your building, just arrange for your laundry service to drop off your lunch while they`re swapping your clothes. They can just tie it to your bike so there`s no reason to track you down every day. Pull your head out, eh?



DuManchu said:


> On the flipside, with the wind at my back I managed to hit 22mph and hold it on an uphill section. :thumbsup:


When you get a tailwind like that, it`s ALMOST enough to forget how much headwinds suck.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Finally back on the wagon after having BabyB_2...felt so great to bike commute to work, plus it was nice enough to roll Fat Friday. We recently had a "wind storm" as classified by NOAA with top gusts of 131 mph unofficially. We don't get hurricanes in Alaska...only "wind storms" HAHAH right, a million trees down, cars and houses crushed, power lost for days for some folks, the list goes on....fat was worth its weight today!

Broken bicycle trail after the storm, many more places along the tire with trees down like this.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats on the baby and getting back to the bikecommute, Jordy! Those are some fierce winds, the results definitely look fathworthy.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> PS I just finished my crock of BS lunch. I'm fairly certain it was cheaper than it would have been if I had purchased it. Looking forward to the extendo-Friday 18 miler.


Still a crock...where did you buy the dinner leftovers from a grocery store.....there it is...

You can eat the home left overs and home and luch left overs at work...if you have a fridge....

Your still stuck in a rut.

Same cost maybe even lower depends on coupons and sales etc.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> You can eat the home left overs and home and lunch left overs at work...if you have a fridge....


If his work place is anything like mine, even if the food doesn't get eaten by "lounge scroungers" who are too cheap to buy their own food, then it'll get thrown out, at least in my workplace we have a strict policy of " All food MUST be labeled with name and date. Any food unnamed or more than 1 day old WILL be thrown away, NO EXCEPTIONS!". I brown bag it everyday as well but have made it known eating my lunch will result in loss of a limb of the perpetrator. :nono:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> If his work place is anything like mine, even if the food doesn't get eaten by "lounge scroungers" who are too cheap to buy their own food, then it'll get thrown out, at least in my workplace we have a strict policy of " All food MUST be labeled with name and date. Any food unnamed or more than 1 day old WILL be thrown away, NO EXCEPTIONS!". I brown bag it everyday as well but have made it known eating my lunch will result in loss of a limb of the perpetrator. :nono:


Seems like a pretty low end place????


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I like eating good food, so I pack my lunch every day and eat whatever we cook for dinner the night before. Today I have stir fry with pork and green beans. Good stuff. If I forget my lunch, I can walk over to Subway. No one touches my stuff. They know not to get between me and my food. I'm the skinniest guy here but I eat the more than anyone else in the office.

The temps are awesome. It was in the 50s this morning. I actually wore gloves to keep my hands worn. I need to wash those things. My hands stink.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had my worst crash of the season this morning, and I was pushing the bike at the time! 

It rained overnight and occasional sprinkles when I was trailriding, returning the New England roots and rocks to their now unfamiliar normal slippery state. At one uphill ledgy hill I didn’t make it up and got off to push up that section. My feet went right out from under me and I landed on a rock, luckily just above rather than on my elbow. The other landing point was the side of my leg mid-thigh. Owww…..


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Still a crock...where did you buy the dinner leftovers from a grocery store.....there it is...
> 
> You can eat the home left overs and home and luch left overs at work...if you have a fridge....
> 
> ...


You got me there. Clearly two trips to the grocery store to buy things for completely different meals would be cheaper than one trip to the grocery store to buy stuff for one meal that would provide leftovers.

But the good news is that I can change my spending habits and fork over more money to get out of my rut. You, however, will always have bad grammar.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had my worst crash of the season this morning, and I was pushing the bike at the time!
> 
> It rained overnight and occasional sprinkles when I was trailriding, returning the New England roots and rocks to their now unfamiliar normal slippery state. At one uphill ledgy hill I didn't make it up and got off to push up that section. My feet went right out from under me and I landed on a rock, luckily just above rather than on my elbow. The other landing point was the side of my leg mid-thigh. Owww&#8230;..


Sorry. Not as bad as in my imagination as it had you sliding and banging your way to the bottom before I got the the last two sentences read. So it could have been worse!

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> You got me there. Clearly two trips to the grocery store to buy things for completely different meals would be cheaper than one trip to the grocery store to buy stuff for one meal that would provide leftovers. Geez get a grip you go to the grocery store on a regular basis
> 
> But the good news is that I can change my spending habits and fork over more money to get out of my rut.Nope I don't think you can You, however, will always have bad grammar.


To deep a rut to see out of it.....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott, you ride bikes, and therefore I have a certain amount of respect for you. Clearly I am a retard for not doing it exactly like you do it, but the bottom line is we both do it. Arguing for argument's sake is questionably entertaining for a while, but certainly gets old. Don't take me changing the subject as accepting any sort of defeat, since obviously I'm almost as stubborn as you are, and I'm convinced I'm doing it right. How was your commute today? I saw a cow peeing. It was impressive. 

MTBX, sorry to hear about the bumps and bruises. I haven't gone down in a while...probably due.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...I saw a cow peeing. It was impressive...


SWEET!!!

Sorry about your crash MTXB. Sudden loss of traction is at the root of most of my crashes.

It was a crisp, dry, fall morning here. Alas, I saw no peeing cows.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

MTBX, hope you are OK.

JordyB, impressive photo that could be a fatbike ad.

We broke our consecutive days without rain streak here in Seattle...49 days. I actually had to put my rain gear on to ride to work this morning. But, it's supposed to clear right back up and be sunny and 70's by tomorrow - yay!

Rode down at Mt. St. Helens with the wife this past weekend. A very memorable ride!

(This is taken from the backside of St. Helens - the eruption blew out the other side of the mountain - that notch used to be a glacier that melted in the eruption - cool!)




























(This one is looking up into the crater at Mt. St. Helens, that bulge you see is the lava dome rebuilding inside the crater.)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Very cool. I was keeping an eye on the St. Helens webcam for a while there when it started rebuilding that dome in a big hurry a year or two ago.


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## Funrover (Oct 4, 2006)

New location, new commute. I LOVE IT!! I am now on a MUP and not a narrow 2 lane highway full of trucks. So much better!


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## Funrover (Oct 4, 2006)

I love my new commute! New location, but no more narrow 2 lane full of trucks.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks all for the well wishes! Luckily I haven't been crashing much so the "worst crash of the season" only resulted in some bruises/scrapes.

Cool pic Woodway! I didn't know about the glacier.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> jeffscott, you ride bikes, and therefore I have a certain amount of respect for youThat should not be cause you to respect me. Clearly I am a retard for not doing it exactly like you doNever said that it, but the bottom line is we both do it. Arguing for argument's sake is questionably entertaining for a while, but certainly gets old. Don't take me changing the subject as accepting any sort of defeat, since obviously I'm almost as stubborn as you are, and I'm convinced I'm doing it rightdon't care if you do it right or not. How was your commute today? I saw a cow peeing. It was impressive.


You use spurious arguments which trivialize others input. Pay attention, smarten up and becareful...

Some of those other ways may actually be very helpful. I know I have changed many things since I started commuting and continue to do so...

I got pushed right by a lady who clearly, had no idea where the right side of her car was.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Alright then, I don't respect you. Glad we could clear that up. :lol: 

Sorry about the close call.

Ride on.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Very cool. I was keeping an eye on the St. Helens webcam for a while there when it started rebuilding that dome in a big hurry a year or two ago.


She wasn't smoking this last weekend, but here is a photo from another ride I did down there a few years ago. This one is looking full-on into the crater and rebuilding was in progress! Riding down there is very humbling...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice! I've climbed Shasta a couple times, and when you get to the top and get near that steam vent, and smell the sulfur, you just have to ask yourself... "why am I up here again? And how fast could I get down?" :lol:


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

Good commute today. We took a detour through the park


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

yesterday was the last full day, at 150km.
rode that and today's 80k on hurt tendons.
i'm hurt, but i'm home.

will post vids or pics or whatever the heck when i settle in, but right now it looks like my total mileage was abut 1200km (had to sit out 1/2 of day 7 and all day 8 because of my achilles being strained)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^^ duuuuuuude. Nice work.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I just saw this, and thought it was cool:






Soma bikes reps them here (I found it on their blog), but there are a bunch on ebay/dealextreme, and now I kindof want one.


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## Grinderz (Aug 31, 2012)

Did my bit today as a good Samaritan.
Passed a drunk homless man walking down the street smashing plants with a steel pipe on the way into work. 
My mate and I decided to stop and turn around when we saw a young woman walking down the same path towards the drunken fool. Gave the lady a heads up and then rode slowly behind her as she walked past, making sure the idiot didnt try to do anything funny.

Luckily he didn’t try anything when we passed, but he did yell out a heap of abuse once we were safely past him. Hopefully nobody else runs into him today, especially given the angry state he was in and how popular the path is for early morning joggers/riders.

Fingers crossed he gets picked up by police before he injures anybody.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

First day this year with long tights. I was chilly for the first 15 minutes with a light jacket, tights, headband and softshell gloves. I love fall in New England 



newfangled said:


> I just saw this, and thought it was cool:
> 
> Soma bikes reps them here (I found it on their blog), but there are a bunch on ebay/dealextreme, and now I kindof want one.


Neat idea. I'm curious how visible they are on a dark road for drivers.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ I seriously considered the tights this morning. It was in the mid 40s. Breezy last night.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We were mid-40's this morning too. But I'm not ready to give up riding in shorts yet!


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Nice and cool this morning. Had another commuter in front of me on a bright green 29er of some sort. I somewhat attempted to catch up to him, but he didn't seem all that interested in exchanging pleasantries so just maintained pace after a while. We soon parted ways at a roundabout.

I'm fairly certain he's an employee of Garmin as quite a few of their employees bike to work and he was headed that direction.

Really getting comfortable riding in traffic as well and most cars don't seem to mind when I take the lane (when needed).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Straz85 said:


> Neat idea. I'm curious how visible they are on a dark road for drivers.


Me too. I bet they don't help much with visibility, since a driver a 1/2 block behind you wouldn't see them because of the angle, and neither would someone coming at you from the side. But they should be visible to someone passing you, unless their headlights flood out the lines? And if they do see them, will they give you more space or less? Who knows? I might still get one just to experiment.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I just saw this, and thought it was cool:
> 
> ... and now I kindof want one.


Cool, but as far as lighting up patch of road to be seen, I've got that covered:

ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I felt cold in shorts, short sleeves, and arm warmers this morning... just checked it, nad supposedly it's 39 out there. Either I'm toughening up after a week or so of colder mornings, or that's a bit off... probably a combo of both. I was guessing 41 or 42. Definitely could have been wearing more, but I always consider it training for January...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I felt cold in shorts, short sleeves, and arm warmers this morning... just checked it, nad supposedly it's 39 out there. Either I'm toughening up after a week or so of colder mornings, or that's a bit off... probably a combo of both. I was guessing 41 or 42. Definitely could have been wearing more, but I always consider it training for January...


Freudian typo? A true commentary on the effect of the temperature and your clothing choice?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: maybe?

I've been trying to push the cold envelope, because I'm two weeks away from some self-inflicted ice water plunges and freezing mud dunks... Tough Mudder - Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Great ride. I'm working two jobs for a few days with only a hour between the two. So I had to pack a laptop and entertainment for my Motel Guy job. My messenger bag was a good 30lbs heavier. I also added a light since I won't be coming home till 11pm tonight.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

No commuting for me for two weeks as I seem to have developed the following:

Greater trochanteric pain syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ride on for me, my friends.


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## GTscoob (Apr 27, 2009)

Getting down to some pleasant 65-70 degree commutes here in Atlanta, if it werent for the last hill or two before my office I probably wouldnt have broken a sweat on the way in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Snapped an on-the-fly sunrise pic this morning:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Mountain Bike Wednesday


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ ^^^ Nice pics.

Loving this cooler weather, about 45 this morning. Getting dark early though. I left work a bit late yesterday, and then stopped to saw through a blowdown, and the sun was just about setting when I got home.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

More images from our "Wind Storm" cough HURRICANE!

These are some of the areas I was clearing with a chainsaw.

Every left leaning tree was a "widow maker"









Hundreds of pockets like this around the park.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ darn it, JordyB. I'm working really hard to suppress my urge for a fatbike, and you keep posting photos of your beautiful fatback sporting those killer husker dus.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Resistance is futile.

That wind damage must be a bit disheartening, Jordy. Be careful out there.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

First incident with a car in quite some time today. Made a left turn and after I had established myself in the lane, a car ahead began to turn right in front of me, which wouldn't have been a problem if they used that control called a 'gas pedal' but drivers around here have a tendency to make excessively slow turns.

This one took the cake. That car was moving slower than a walking pace. I yelled (no words, just a yell, as though I was honking a horn) to express my displeasure at being cut off. Said driver stopped in the middle of the lane. I passed the car, on the left to make a point, and went more than half a mile before that car sped up sufficiently to pass me (speed limit is 30mph on this road).

The driver called out the window, "I said sorry" which doesn't really help that she never looked for traffic when she pulled out. My response was a simple, "Pay attention." I wasn't very far behind that car for the next 2 miles until it turned off the road.

IMO, you're a pretty bad driver if you're going so slow that you make a cyclist mad for going too slow.

The rest of my ride wasn't bad. I had to take a longer trip because I needed to drop some paperwork off at my real estate agent's office. I had to make a detour because a road on the most direct bike-friendly route was closed for construction. It looked like there was a big pit across the road because they were doing utility work.

On my way to the office from there, I hit a Strava segment (a flat sprint) I've been meaning to try for awhile. The top two speeds are 24mph on that segment. I didn't beat those, but my GPS read in excess of 23mph most of the way. I think I did well enough to earn a top 5 finish (sub 19mph), putting in a good SS showing. I haven't uploaded my ride yet so we'll see. I couldn't sustain top speed the whole length of the sprint, though. I'm geared just low enough that I was pushing a pretty high cadence the whole way and I started to burn out at the end. - Edit - Yep, all this commuting on that SS is making me quite a bit stronger. I hit 4th on that sprint - avg 19.8mph. The gnarly climb on my ride home I made up 1.7mph faster than my best time (set back in the spring). I am still 3rd on that one.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ "Pay Attention" tends to be my default yell, since it seems harmless enough. Occasionally I'll use "Wake Up!" if I want to scare the crap out of someone who just sleep-drove through a stopsign or whatever. Luckily I don't have to do either very often.

Cooler around here, and the shorter days are so very noticeable. Almost everything is still green...but there are a few little spots that think fall is already here:



The river has been high all summer, so yesterday was the first time I've been able to go for a ride along the shoreline since probably May.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow Natehawk, Maybe you're just really fast and the lady was going normal speeds? :lol: 
nice work on the Strava segment... It would be fun if anyone else ever rode my routes so I could compete with someone. :lol: 

I am in those last few precious days when I see the sun come up during my commute...a few weeks ago it was way up over the mountains for my whole commute, now it's just cresting the mountain during about mile 4 of my commute... I get hit with those first few orange rays that slap my shadow onto the barns across the street as I ride by. By the end of next week, I probably will get to work before it comes up, and then it's 'bye bye sun' until.... March? End of Feb? Better dig up those other layers and find the headlight.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I don't know what it is about commercial vans, but they seem to have it in for me. Yesterday, two vans were turning left, while I was slowing to a stop in the left turn lane to their left. I know people tend to cut the corner, so I slowed almost to a stop before reaching the stop line. The first van was OK, but the second one tried to smooth out the corner a bit much. He ended up heading straight for me and had to swerve. I had seen him coming and braked to a track stand to try to keep things from getting ugly.

This morning, a guy commuting on a road bike was spooked by my dog. I had seen the guy at the stop light down the street at the far right side of the right turning lane. I knew he was going to go straight and thought he would have been much better off staying in the line of cars. As it turned out, he did go straight, but he swerved onto the sidewalk right about the time my dog was taking a wiz on the bushes. When he passed us, my dog was wrapping up his business. I had gone around the corner of the bushes and didn't realize the guy was on the sidewalk until he swerved and yelled, "Whoa!" I yelled after him he should be on the road, but I don't think he heard me.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ "Pay Attention" tends to be my default yell, since it seems harmless enough. Occasionally I'll use "Wake Up!" if I want to scare the crap out of someone who just sleep-drove through a stopsign or whatever. Luckily I don't have to do either very often.


I have a loud high pitch whistle (with my lips).....I can blow it almost immdieatly...unless I am just about bagged with no spit left...

Probably the best warning attention device you can get.

Then follow up with a comment...often not required since everyone knows what they were doing wrong....even if the won't admit it.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Had a definite Boulder Moment when I was passed by a rider who was:

Helmetless
Wearing enormous DJ-style headphones
Riding no-handed
Flapping his arms like a large bird


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

NateHawk said:


> The driver called out the window, "I said sorry" which doesn't really help that she never looked for traffic when she pulled out.


Reminds me of an exchange I had with a guy a couple weeks ago, only I was walking. I was in the post office parking lot. This guy was stopped, so I walked across the lane in front of him and as soon as I started to walk, he started driving and almost ran me over, missed by less than an arms length. I reached out and knocked on the side of his car so he realized he almost hit me, he slammed on his brakes, rolled down his window and screamed "I SAID I'M SORRY YOU F***ING A**HOLE". Really buddy? You said you're sorry with your windows up and I was supposed to hear? Saying sorry also doesn't fix broken bones.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Straz85 said:


> Saying sorry also doesn't fix broken bones.


exactly.

Today has been uneventful aside from the fact that I got wet on my last 1.5mi. I've been bringing an extra shirt with me, so having a dry shirt was nice when I got to the office. But my commute is so short, I don't really find it worthwhile to keep an entire change of clothes. Well, I get to sit around in half-wet shorts for the day now.

Maybe I just oughta keep a pair of dry shorts in my office for days like this. Maybe not for daily use, but at least for wet day use.

The evening commute should be interesting. Turns out I'm only on the leading edge of a storm system associated with a frontal system. The rain is going to get heavier as the day goes on, and will probably be accompanied with lightning as it gets heavier, too. The rain doesn't bother me, but lightning does. Maybe I can find a ride home for the evening.

That rain did feel awful nice, though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here we go again... took this 5 minutes ago from work...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Geez, that looks close. have a safe ride home!

Lovely here today, low 50's - 75 or so. You can't believe everything you read, but now they are saying we're moving offices Nov. 3, which means no dream fat-trail-commute for me this winter. Previously they said April, so a disappointment.

Some entertainment at work this a.m. when a quarry blast went off and a contractor maybe 1/2 a block away yelled "What the F*** was that?" loud enough to hear in my office. Clearly, he was not a denizen of Graniteville.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

I've been sick since Tuesday. Only been on the bike once this week. :/


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Welp, another wind storm developing this weekend, i'm sure more trees will fall and power will be last, only time will tell.

My longer commute due to construction puts me on an awesome route. First crosswalk/car interaction was 7 miles from my front door with an overall mileage of 11.3 miles. A few stats below:
Moving time: 50:56
Average speed: 12.4 mi/h
Average moving speed: 13.3 mi/h
Max speed: 22.9 mi/h
Elevation gain: 1867 ft
Not bad for a fairweather fatbike commute.

I also took a detour on the way with some time to kill so I hit up some singletrack and got a little muddy.
Fatbacking Some Speedway Singletrack!









Trees down after Anchorage's last wind storm!









Watch out for those bears!









Post-Ride Recovery Fuel!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice pics JordyB, especially the last one. Not so nice pics CB.

I got to pass over a mile of cars that were stopped for construction on last night's commute, ahh. I carpooled today because we're leaving early for a long weekend in the middle of nowhere. The Cross Check is already strapped down in the back of the truck.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet pics JordyB.

I ran over another rabbit this morning. Stupid g*d-da&n rabbits...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

They got a handle on that fire fairly quickly... something like 30 acres. They were using helicopters, dipping buckets in the river and flying over my commute route on the way back to the fire...maybe 100 feet of altitude...maybe. I just missed getting pretty soaked by some bucket overflow. That would have been a first.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

JordyB said:


> Welp, another wind storm developing this weekend, i'm sure more trees will fall and power will be last, only time will tell.
> 
> My longer commute due to construction puts me on an awesome route. First crosswalk/car interaction was 7 miles from my front door with an overall mileage of 11.3 miles. A few stats below:
> Moving time: 50:56
> ...


I love your bike, great pics.


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Watch out for those bears!


phew thank god for the warning.................... one question..........

when's salmon season?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Correction it was 100 acres. No homes burnt so that's good. 

Stop it with the fat bike talk. Stop it right now. I can't get a fat bike. Because of my finger.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Stop it with the fat bike talk. Stop it right now. I can't get a fat bike. Because of my finger.


No kidding. This is just getting cruel.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks folks! Salmon season is really a bad term, the bears hit this creek as soon as they wake up until they hibernate. This trail parallels Chester Creek for about 2 miles? Bear "Dinner" Bells and Pepper Spray are a must when riding in Alaska.

You know you want to buy a fatbike CB and crew, you will love it! In Alaska, i'm just getting started riding the fatback full time here once the snow flies! More pictures to come...;p


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

It's always cougar season though
_borrowed from DH/FR forum - credit to ShiverMeTimbers_


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

I had 3 roadies pass me at 3 different places, passed 2 other commuters going the other direction and exchanged good mornings with 2 senior citizens on their morning exercise ride. That's more people this morning than last week total.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

wtb dirt drops, xtr v's, dura-ace on paul's thumbie have replaced my maguras and flatbars.
28x2.0 schwalbe fat franks fit in the casseroll.
a very very different feel than in "expedition" trim but was a wonderful little tootle around the neighbourhood.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*New fan!*

I got home last night from a week of wndering around the desert which included three days at the Battle Mountain HPV (Human Powere Vehicle) speed runs. What a blast! My buddy and I are both recumbent dorks and fans of bike weirdness in general, and we decided to stop by this year as spectators. Since we were going to be there for a few days, we let it be known that we were willing to lend a hand if need be, and were promptly drafted into the unofficial volunteer corps as "catchers" (unimmaginably exciting), traffic control (somebody`s got to do it), launch assistants (very interresting), morning setup (everybodys job), and in one instance chase car spotter (crazy!). What an awesome trip!

While bikes rolling at amazing speed were really cool to see, the best parts of the event were checking out the bikes, talking to people, and scrambling to keep things going. Catching streamliners is a thrill! The riders are all sealed up and taped in, so they need starters and catchers to keep upright while they`re stopped. The tricky part is that they have no depth perception through their little fogged up windows or their video monitors, so sometimes they misjudge for the final braking. All the riders are plenty happy to show off and talk about their bikes and try to explain anything we asked about (though sometimes language issues made that difficult). They all helped each other out, too- critiquing, suggesting solutions, and lending a hand wherever it was requested.

The main purpose of the speed trials are to set new world records for various classes of streamlined bikes on a flat road. While we wehre there, nobody broke the "big records, but the old records for multitrack (trikes) and tandem were broken and reset a number of times, ending at 72.26 MPH for a California-built tandem and 70.10 for an Australian trike! The overall fastest legal run this year was 80.12 MPH (from a Dutch university team) with 73.09 for womens top speed (independent French rider). A girl from the same Dutch team also had a noteable run of 70.10 apparently giving her the honor of being the second woman to break the 70 MPH mark.

My camera is on vacation with my wife, so I didn`t take any pics myself, but the ones already floating around on the internet are better than I would have managed anyway. Some interresting examples:
Size XXL chainring on the Russian bike:
https://www.recumbents.com/wisil/wh...etiva from Russia qualified 55 mph 88 kph.JPG

Dual drivetrain back-to-back tandem:
https://www.recumbents.com/wisil/wh...estatic after world record as the Captain.JPG

Rollerblade method of launching a streamliner:
https://plus.google.com/photos/1023...57195484708913/5788061354102080082?banner=pwa

Tandem launch (one of the pushers shown is the designer and builder for the competition):
Google Image Result for https://lh3.ggpht.com/-Y6uQAm1oJAY/UFNQuJpnWUI/AAAAAAAAmn4/PvSpkH-PhZw/DSCN5685.jpg

The world`s fastest pedaled trike:
World Human Powered Speed Challenge 2012 | Bas Fotografie

And one of many exciting catches (I got to star in this vid  ):
https://plus.google.com/photos/1023...50729814175057/5787373500765082738?banner=pwa

Lots more pics and links to even MORE pics on the event`s website:
The Recumbent Bicycle and Human Powered Vehicle Information Center


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Supercool that you got to help out and actually be involved with the competition. :thumbsup: I can't imagine what it must be like to be the person pedaling the tandem from the backwards position, that must be weird, especially at those speeds. I was also surprised that they get permission to close the state road.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Uneventful ride today, chilly though. It was in the high 40's when I left home. I love riding in cool weather though, so I was happy.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I conspired with a line of geese this morning. I was coming down the road and six geese in single file started across the street just on the far side of my turn. I made my left turn in style as the traffic in the other lane was forced to stop.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Awesome write-up Rodar! You get to have all the fun


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good timing, sOck!

Yeah, its surprising that the state lets the event close the road, but their goodwill goes beyond that. The whole five mile section got a repave a few years ago, eliminating the center-line rumble strip that the rest of that highway has and they skipped the chipseal when it was done. Besides that, a state trooper showed up one day to support a traffic control lady who was having trouble handling a pissed off rancher.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Last week, I encountered a guy riding like an a$$hat. I've supplied the attached diagram of what happened. Let's start with a legend:

Blue squares: Cars
Red rectangle: Me
Green line: Other cyclist

I was in the left turn lane, the light was red. There was one car in front of me and numerous behind me. Every other car you see in the diagram is stopped and has a red light. This guy I had passed earlier while he was riding on the sidewalk took the route through traffic you see in the diagram. He cut through cars, through a parking lot to avoid the red light, through more cars then blew a red light at the next intersection. It took me just a couple hundred yards to catch up to him on the next climb. He then tried taking a shortcut to beat me and I took the long route yet I still beat him (by about 10'). I then looked behind me and he was pedaling as hard as he could to try to catch me, but I lost him pretty quickly.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

So slllooooowww this morning. I don't know maybe I started out riding too hard every commute. I so want to lose weight and be ready for a 70 mile Tour ride next month. I completely blew up on a 50 mile training ride yesterday, only made 37.5 miles. My ride two work was a snails pace of 11mph.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A brisk 41F, the first day that my face has noticed a chill. I got to ride over some trailwork we did yesterday, which is always fun. I found the awesome big flat rock for this little bridge - it was worth it even though we had to roll it end over end to get to the trail from the rock pile.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Found a broken spoke on rear wheel before going to work last night, removed the spoke and trued the wheel and good to go. I don't know why but I decided to hammer it coming home, and previous best time was 52 minutes +/- and today it was from bike rack to driveway 43.7 minutes. Only other incident of note was two attractive (but too young) ladies yelling "[email protected] Dude!!" at me at a light. I'm proud to say I only waved and rode away and not make a fool of myself.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> A brisk 41F, the first day that my face has noticed a chill...


Ditto, I actually found myself thinking about face-mask days. It was 41 when I left here but the valleys were noticeably cooler. It was the first day I went for covered legs. My feet are still cold.

So Rodar, which one are you? The one in the reflective vest?

BikeC - Easy going rest days are just as important as training days. At least that's what I tell myself.


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## MotoX33 (Nov 8, 2011)

I've had this "feeling" the past few longer rides that I had a flat tire coming my way soon so I have been packing a tube and CO2 at all times (which I know I should do anyways...). I don't usually carry the tube and CO2 on my commute since it is just a quick 1.2 miles. I rode to work Saturday with no issues, but when I went to leave my rear tire was completely flat. I just walked home since it was a beautiful day. The moral of the story is: carry spares at all times, regardless of distance


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I just found my tire change 'kit' (levers, schrader adapter, patches) in the garage this weekend. I thought it was in the backpack. So I had a spare tube (bike is tubeless), but no way to get it in there with the tire levers at home. Oops. 

I ran (jogged) home friday... so left everything bike related at work to pick up over the weekend, and when I picked it all up, I forgot to grab my shoes. So I had to ride in this morning in tennis shoes.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

MotoX33 said:


> I've had this "feeling" the past few longer rides that I had a flat tire coming my way soon so I have been packing a tube and CO2 at all times (which I know I should do anyways...). I don't usually carry the tube and CO2 on my commute since it is just a quick 1.2 miles. I rode to work Saturday with no issues, but when I went to leave my rear tire was completely flat. I just walked home since it was a beautiful day. The moral of the story is: carry spares at all times, regardless of distance


I had a feeling like this too on Saturday. I shrugged it off and went for a ride anyway. About 12 miles in or so I noticed my tire was looking low. Fortunately I had enough air to ride the 4 miles home, but it would have been nice to at least have a pump.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

noticeable fall weather pattern today (well, for Texas, anyway). 60's to low 70's with a light rain the whole way. I think it rained all night.

brought a dry change of shorts today, thank goodness. I'll be leaving my spares in the office for awhile, I think.

my ride was nice. the temps felt great and none of the cars were in too much of a hurry.

my LBS is planning to have a bicycle video contest and I think I'm going to make my video a commuting video. one guy I know who's going to participate does the freeride thing and if I did a mtb vid, I wouldn't be able to compete, so I am going to try for something different.

Any suggestions for shots/angles I can try for?


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

my commute was ok, nothing special, just the usual


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NateHawk said:


> Any suggestions for shots/angles I can try for?


I've gotten some cool shots with a handheld video (phone) camera of the sunrise through the spokes/frame of the bike while moving, and some cool ones of my own shadow plastered on the embankment on the opposite side of the road when riding right as the sun is coming up...


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I was thinking about playing with the low light of the morning, but my area doesn't really get any good views of the actual sunrise. Thick trees and only slightly rolling terrain doesn't provide for very good views of the sunrise. If I go out of my way I can find one or two places to find the sunset, but that's the best I can manage. I usually ride home at night in the dark, anyway. So I'm thinking morning footage will be the bulk of my vid.

I will be doing my shooting with my GoPro. My wife has the better of our two P&S cameras 800 miles away and the one I've got does a pretty terrible job with video. I also have some older commute footage I took with that camera that I could use.

I think I have plenty of time to plan things out. My shop has been doing a big social media push this summer with different specials and contests on their Facebook page. They aren't going to start this contest until they get 50 more "likes". Being a small town, I could see that taking a couple weeks or more.

One angle I've been thinking about is putting my camera on the end of a hiking pole or similar so you can see my face as I'm riding. Not sure if I'd hold the hiking pole in my hand or try to mount it somewhere. I've seen Tscheezy's vids and some others where they've mounted poles to their helmets to aim the camera at the rider's face.


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## Lars_D (May 24, 2011)

Today was my first commute on fat tires. I was raining cats and dogs, but still a fun ride. Although, somehow the fenders didn't cut it. Here is a picture of the bike with the fat tires and the wheels I just built as well as a picture of how I have been riding it for the last 8 months.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

ziax01 said:


> Although, somehow the fenders didn't cut it. Here is a picture of the bike with the fat tires and the wheels I just built as well as a picture of how I have been riding it for the last 8 months.


with those monster tires and those wimpy fenders, I'm not surprised.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Back at it tonight after a week off. It`s been chilly here in the mornings too, so I (somehow) remembered to pack along a jacket and gloves for my ride home. It`s been nice riding without any "parachute" clothes for the past few months, but I think that`s about over with.



Straz85 said:


> Last week, I encountered a guy riding like an a$$hat. I've supplied the attached diagram of what happened. Let's start with a legend:


Wow, what a numbskull! Always nice knowing that guys like that are doing thier best to improve bike-car relations 



ziax01 said:


> Today was my first commute on fat tires. I was raining cats and dogs, but still a fun ride. Although, somehow the fenders didn't cut it.


Whoa, a fat "city" bike! I think Nate is right about those fenders, though you probably already guessed that. Is your headlight the new mini Cyo?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Rodar, cool write up on the rocket suppositories! That looks like it was pretty cool. I always pictured them out on the playa somewhere, not using actual roads.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My commuter developed a "clunk" last week that has been driving me batty. When pedaling, but only under when pedaling under heavy load, I was hearing and feeling a very slight clunk on each crank rotation. I went over every part of the drivetrain and could not find the source...all the bolts were tight and I could detect no play in the cranks or pedals. I took the pedals apart, regreased and retightened them...still clunking...cleaned, greased and re-installed the seatpost...still clunking...tightened the chainring bolts...still clunking...looked for anything that might be loose when the frame flexes...still clunking. Last night I pulled the cranks even though they felt tight, had no detectable play and spun smoothly with the chain removed. I removed the external bearing cups, cleaned, lubed and re-installed everything...this morning: clunk gone!

I don't know about the rest of you, but any kind of squeak, tick or clunk - no matter how small - makes me crazy. It really takes away from the ride. So I very much enjoyed a clunk-free commute to work today!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It wasn`t too cold this morning after all- probably waiting for the morning when I don`t have my jacket and gloves to start the big freeze.



CommuterBoy said:


> How was your commute today? I saw a cow peeing. It was impressive.





mtbxplorer said:


> I found the awesome big flat rock for this little bridge -


Too bad we couldn`t get those two situations together to see what people have been comparing hard rains to for so long.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm with you on the clunks Woodway. 

I think this winter I'm going to try some pieces of innertube on the front of the front fender....kind of hanging down and dragging on the tire, to keep water from shooting out of the front of the fender and spraying back on me. I have wished for a couple of years that my Cascadia fenders were like 6 inches longer in the front.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Uneventful today, but when I got home I spent a chunk of change to order a new pair of Sam Hill's (5/10s), and Carradice Camper Long Flap bag with the support rack. I still can't believe it's cheaper to order from GB and import in than buy from a retailer in the US. The bag's on back order but they're worth the wait.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I think this winter I'm going to try some pieces of innertube on the front of the front fender....kind of hanging down and dragging on the tire, to keep water from shooting out of the front of the fender and spraying back on me. I have wished for a couple of years that my Cascadia fenders were like 6 inches longer in the front.


That is a great idea, CB. I have also wondered why the fender was not longer in the front. Maybe drill a couple of holes and bolt them on so they can be changed out?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes that's exactlly what I was thinking... maybe several little flaps hanging down, overlapping each other and just touching the top of the tire, flapping like a little mudflap action, knocking down the water that wants to come shooting out of the front.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> My commuter developed a "clunk" last week that has been driving me batty. When pedaling, but only under when pedaling under heavy load, I was hearing and feeling a very slight clunk on each crank rotation. I went over every part of the drivetrain and could not find the source...all the bolts were tight and I could detect no play in the cranks or pedals. I took the pedals apart, regreased and retightened them...still clunking...cleaned, greased and re-installed the seatpost...still clunking...tightened the chainring bolts...still clunking...looked for anything that might be loose when the frame flexes...still clunking. Last night I pulled the cranks even though they felt tight, had no detectable play and spun smoothly with the chain removed. I removed the external bearing cups, cleaned, lubed and re-installed everything...this morning: clunk gone!
> 
> I don't know about the rest of you, but any kind of squeak, tick or clunk - no matter how small - makes me crazy. It really takes away from the ride. So I very much enjoyed a clunk-free commute to work today!


Square taper, ISIS or other? My crank was creaking and I pulled it off and replaced it yesterday morning before my commute. My mountain bike has developed all kinds of creaks. It is a GT i-drive so it has 3 bottom bracket type bearings to choose from. I tighten one and the problem goes away for 1 ride and then it is back to creaking again. I'd replace them all if I knew what to buy but haven't' done the research yet.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yes that's exactlly what I was thinking... maybe several little flaps hanging down, overlapping each other and just touching the top of the tire, flapping like a little mudflap action, knocking down the water that wants to come shooting out of the front.


Yes, cool idea. I'm going to give this a try too.

But first we need some rain. We had 48 straight days without rain, and then three days short of the all-time record we got 0.01" of rain. Since then it has not rained again, and there is no rain in the extended forecast. This is just weird. But no complaints from me.



bedwards1000 said:


> Square taper, ISIS or other? My crank was creaking and I pulled it off and replaced it yesterday morning before my commute. My mountain bike has developed all kinds of creaks. It is a GT i-drive so it has 3 bottom bracket type bearings to choose from. I tighten one and the problem goes away for 1 ride and then it is back to creaking again. I'd replace them all if I knew what to buy but haven't' done the research yet.


X-Type bottom bracket (external bearings). The non-drive side crank arm fits into a spline that goes through the bearings from the drive side. The spline has a slightly increasing radius so that it creates in interference fit with the crank arm when it's tightened down. You have to get both the male and female end of the spline REALLY clean and then pack a boatload of grease in there, and also grease the thread bolts really well so that you can tighten the whole package together so there is no play (or creaks and clunks).

I bet if you take your crank/bottom bracket apart, clean it up, lube it and put it back together the creaks will go away.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I didn't make it too clear that I was talking about 2 different bikes there. The one I did take apart was ISIS. I think that creak may be gone.

The mountain bike uses a Truvativ Stylo hollow/external BB. I haven't taken that apart, yet. I did buy the giant 16mm hex key to do it.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> It wasn`t too cold this morning after all- probably waiting for the morning when I don`t have my jacket and gloves to start the big freeze.


yeah I am with you. Has been decent in the morning when I am leaving for work (about 6:30ish) and only once did I get enough of a chill to actually wear my arm warmers the next morning. Other than that I have been fine for the rides.

Commute is changing again as I accepted another position with my old group, so back down to 3 miles one way. Will miss the longer commute as it got things flowing and moving for the morning but with as dry a winter as we had last year, I am figuring we are in for a big one this year! For the time being looks like I am going to have to take the "long way" home.

If you guys are on STRAVA, look me up.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

So, last week my rear tyre had a "bump" feel to it. On closer inspection, part of the sidewall had worn away so a blow-out was on the cards.

Over the weekend I switched my knobbies back on. Wow, you can totally feel the resistance! They rode and sounded like the knobs were suction cups.

Needless to say, last night I borrowed my wife's road tyres and smashed the commute this morning.

Now I just need to get some decent brake pads.

Looks like I'll be starting a new job next month which will add a few hundred metres to my commute. Not sure what their cycling facilities are like.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

It was great! Perfect weather and I'm finally over being sick. I think I logged around 25 miles today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> X-Type bottom bracket (external bearings).


I knew that one, but you didn`t give me a chance to answer! It was part of the great chainstay dimpling drama!

I have a returning noise issue too- something squeeking in my saddle or seatpost. It came around about 6 months ago and I first tightened everything, then had to clean and grease, and it went away... for a while. Maybe I need an external oversized saddle rail clamp.



R+P+K said:


> Over the weekend I switched my knobbies back on. Wow, you can totally feel the resistance! They rode and sounded like the knobs were suction cups.


ZZZZZZZZ! I don`t like it either :lol:
Good luck with the new job.

GregNash, are you off on weekends and are you interrested in meeting up for a few? I`m riding a Tahoe loop (395 - 50 - 431) Sunday, probably be rolling through Carson around 10 AM. Let me know if you`d care to accompany me up to Spooner or beyond. Just be prepared for my slow motion climbing style!


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## chrisaz82 (May 21, 2012)

I hate all you people in cool weather. It's still 101 during the day here in Phoenix


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Wet ride in this morning. The east coast got slammed by strong storms from yesterday afternoon until early this morning. Lots of small branches down I had to avoid. I also had to be at work early today so it was dark for my whole commute, so I was moving a little slower than usual so I didn't end up with a stick in my derailleur or wheel. It happens enough mountain biking, I don't need to bust a derailleur or spoke on the commuter!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Ouch! BEWARE OF SEAL COAT*

I crashed on the road today. The roads were wet but fine and I turned into the sweeping turn into work at about 20mph. The new seal-coat is like Teflon and ice when wet. I watched as the bike slid out from under me and across the road. I followed. unfortunately it was warm out so the only layers I had on were skin. Some of those are gone now. No head strike, just a slide cafe racer style. I was riding on Big Apples and they went from grip to slip in zero flat.

The bike came out pretty good but can use a new pedal since the one on the slide side got smashed.

Other than that it was like Straz85 described. Branches and leaves on the road.

The elbow is sore but the whole forearm is skuffed. The side of my upper right leg looks the most impressive but this is a family forum so I'll refrain from posting pics of my azz on it.

Considering I went down on tar at a pretty good clip I didn't come out of it too bad.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had to wear long sleeves this morning as temps dipped into the 40s for the first time. The chillier but sunny weather is a lot nicer than the rainy blah we've had the past couple days.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Ouch!! Hope you're ok Bedwards.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dang, that looks like it smarts, Bedwards, hope you heal up OK. 

We had a windy/rainy night too, although the local wind gusts topped out at 36mph, not the 50 they were talking about. Frost advisory tonight. I took the trails this morning and brought a hand saw saw, but I did not need it, as everything that came down I was able to drag off the trail. There were these two new “leaners”, and the snomobile bridge is a little worse for the wear.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

So... anybody ever encounter or worry about encountering the less friendly bits of nature, such as bears, mountain lions, etc? They're sighted around here maybe 3-4 times a year so they could definitely be passing through. Just something that occurred to me the other night on a ride home, in the dark, on a deserted trail. What the hell do I do if I come across a bear on the trail?

Does anybody actually travel with some sort of preparation (bear mace) for such a case?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> So... anybody ever encounter or worry about encountering the less friendly bits of nature, such as bears, mountain lions, etc? They're sighted around here maybe 3-4 times a year so they could definitely be passing through. Just something that occurred to me the other night on a ride home, in the dark, on a deserted trail. What the hell do I do if I come across a bear on the trail?
> 
> Does anybody actually travel with some sort of preparation (bear mace) for such a case?


we get the odd bear and mountain lion in the city...they follow the rivers in and then follow the park system......but it is not worth carrying the bear spray...

On the other hand plenty of rides outside the city it would risky not to carry the bear spray...

We don't have a lot of human wildlife around to worry about either.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

If you are in NY they would be black bears like we have in VT and generally not aggressive. Just don't get in between a mother & her cubs, or between a grumpy hungry bear that just woke up and it's food. Look up too, because they will leave the cubs in "babysitter trees", so if you have to detour around a bear, you don't want to take the route between bear and babysitter tree. I don't see them often, and never yet on my bike, but I have not been bothered when on foot and detoured around or proceeded after they ran off.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Damn, Bedwards- you win the Munch Of The Month award for that one. Glad you didn`t smack your head- heal fast!


mtbxplorer said:


> We had a windy/rainy night too, although the local wind gusts topped out at 36mph, not the 50 they were talking about. Frost advisory tonight. I took the trails this morning and brought a hand saw saw, but I did not need it, as everything that came down I was able to drag off the trail. There were these two new "leaners", and the snomobile bridge is a little worse for the wear.


36 is bad enough. Your carnage shots looks pretty nasty.

I`ve heard rare reports now and then of cats attacking cyclists, but don`t think heard of bears going after them, so hopefully that`seven more rare. Jordy B is probably the resident expert on that. Hmm... Are there black bears in AK, or only the big nasties?

I spaced on the time last night and had to realy hustle on my way in. Just made it by the skin of my teeth, panting like a dog and sweating hard. After work, I did a climby 26 mile RT hard and fast (by my standards) to drop off and pick up from a friend`s house in the next valley. That`s my workout for the week! I`m staying in my 24t ring until the weekend


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Are there black bears in AK? ;p I lol'd!!!

Yes, lots of black and brown bears, even polar bears in the arctic regions up north.I often see bears along the bike trails, weither it be in the city or remote. They are all around. We live in their natural environment!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I thought maybe the grizzlies and kodiaks had eaten them all by now.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

gotta watch out for armadillos where I live. though 'dillo season on the roads seems to be more focused in the springtime. I don't see quite as many the rest of the year. they have a tendency to jump right before they're hit. and they're incredibly dumb.

plenty of other wildlife, too. bears and cougars, but they're extremely rare here. a handful or fewer sightings a year. no attacks. probably because they're afraid that every ******* has a gun.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sanath said:


> So... anybody ever encounter or worry about encountering the less friendly bits of nature, such as bears, mountain lions, etc?


Taken from my bike (because I did not want to stop pedaling) on a ride with my wife last summer:










The good news is that I can ride faster than my wife 

Actually, this bear just ignored us, it was eating grass and stuff along the road we were riding.

When I mountain bike, I have a bear bell on my bike. I figure that early warning is better than fumbling with mace. We had a mountain biker attacked while riding a few years back because he came around a corner and surprised the bear. I've ridden several times where this guy was attacked, and it's not a place you would immediately think to worry about being attacked by a bear.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Props to you guys riding in bear country. I get squiffy about random dogs!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I missed a mountain lion by 10 minutes a few months ago apparently... we have too many of them around, because we have WAY too many deer... I still haven't seen one (tracks, poop, etc., but no kitty. I'm sure they've seen me). My neighbor saw one maybe 100 yards from my house crossing my dirt road about 10 minutes after I'd left for work. I immediately started carrying the camera in an accessible pocket...maybe pepper spray would be smarter? :lol: 


This morning I came the closest I've ever come to getting hit by a car... sounds dramatic, but it was surprisingly slow and stupid. I was just coming into town, so first couple of residential side streets, and a car stops at one of the side streets (opposite side of the road) to pull out onto the road I was on...so this lady is turning left onto my street, and there's no other cars around. She pulls slowly out and makes her left turn, into the lane I'm "in"...I'm way over on the white line like I usually am. She obiviously didn't see me at all somehow...just made a slow lazy turn into the lane, drifting way over to the right side of the lane right at me. This is all happening at maybe 15 mph. As she accelerates, she's like 6 inches from my chainstay, still apparently oblivious to my presence. I had room to swerve to the right, but for some reason I just unclipped my left foot, placed it gently on the hood of her Honda, and started waving at her with my left hand :lol: She looked up from whatever she was doing (phone?) to see me basically standing on her hood waving at her, and she hit the brakes and swerved left. I kept riding along, sort of shaking my head in the universal sign for "I just encountered a stupid person"...and she didn't pass me for at least a quarter mile. Wollowing in shame I suspect.
No apology or wave or any kind of interaction when she went by. The whole thing didn't even affect my heart rate, but I was thinking after that maybe it should have?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I had room to swerve to the right, but for some reason I just unclipped my left foot, placed it gently on the hood of her Honda, and started waving at her with my left hand :lol: She looked up from whatever she was doing (phone?) to see me basically standing on her hood waving at her, and she hit the brakes and swerved left.


Doh, for a GoPro!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ... The whole thing didn't even affect my heart rate, but I was thinking after that maybe it should have?


Yes! :eekster:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I feel you pain CB. Way to handle it in a memorable way!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't know what I was thinking really... I should have been a little more defensive for sure. If she had been planning on turning right on the next street, I'd be smashed. Looking back on the situation it was comical, but not my smartest move. Hopefully she was more shaken up by it than I was, and she'll pay attention next time.

...I should have at least kicked the hood with enough force that it sounded like she'd hit something.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had some choad in a BMW shave past me this morning. Closest call I've had yet. Still, it was a lovely commute in. Got stuck behind someone on a BSO pootling down the gorge.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

R+P+K said:


> Had some choad in a BMW shave past me this morning. Closest call I've had yet. Still, it was a lovely commute in. Got stuck behind someone on a BSO pootling down the gorge.


Me too! Some old guy came within inches of me and I don't even think he ever saw me.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

J3SSEB said:


> Me too! Some old guy came within inches of me and I don't even think he ever saw me.


Thing is, if I get up late, after 15 mins on the bike I'm fully awake and alert. If they roll out of bed and into their Beemer, they're probably still partly asleep.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Found my clear sunglasses this afternoon on the the trail right where I left them yesterday morning after stopping to toss some branches, take off my windbreaker, etc. :thumbsup:

I was supposed to leave my house this a.m. with the work car at 6 a.m. for fieldwork. I woke up and my clock said 3:20 a.m., but it was light out, so I knew something was wrong. It's an atomic clock and was switched to CA time by mistake. :madman: I had to throw on my clothes and race out the door, a terrible way to start the day.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute was fairly uneventful but pleasant. The weather today was about perfect: 22C, not much wind, and bright sunshine. Of course, this meant for a very busy MUT trip but I didn't feel like pushing too hard so it was fine. I did stop by my LBS on the way home and buy a replacement tube but I also made a nice impulse purchase, a Bianchi celeste water bottle and cage. They got me dammit.


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Was chilly this morning. I've been working two jobs sequentially from 6am to 11pm, for the last 10 days. Helping some friends out who own a hotel in the afternoon / evening. So they can go on vacation. I just went out to have a look at our parking lot and freaked out for a minute when I realized my car was missing. Then it hit me....I rode my bike. Boy am I tired.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

While the mornings are getting chilly, the evenings are still nice. I was ready to go tonight way before I usually leave, so I just hopped on the bike and did a lap around my valley before cutting off and heading to work. Still got in about 20 minutes ahead of schedule- should have stretched it out a little bit more.



mtbxplorer said:


> It's an atomic clock and was switched to CA time by mistake. :madman:


Whoops!



Zeroack said:


> I just went out to have a look at our parking lot and freaked out for a minute when I realized my car was missing. Then it hit me....I rode my bike.


Haha! I don`t think I`ve done that, but I have gone wandering around a parking lot looking for my truck only to remember on the second lap that I drove my wife`s car.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

R+P+K said:


> Thing is, if I get up late, after 15 mins on the bike I'm fully awake and alert. If they roll out of bed and into their Beemer, they're probably still partly asleep.


Truer words have never been spoken. Pos rep for you sir.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

scorchedearth said:


> My commute was fairly uneventful but pleasant. The weather today was about perfect: 22C, not much wind, and bright sunshine. Of course, this meant for a very busy MUT trip but I didn't feel like pushing too hard so it was fine. I did stop by my LBS on the way home and buy a replacement tube but I also made a nice impulse purchase, a Bianchi celeste water bottle and cage. They got me dammit.


Haha! Support your LBS. I can't go into a shop and leave empty handed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> It's an atomic clock and was switched to CA time by mistake.


That's actually kind of funny in that technology makes life better but doesn't kind of way. Who did the FMEA on this clock anyway.(geek joke)

Anyway, the commute was good. The temp was warmer than yesterday but I felt colder.

Happy first day of fall, Y'all

Should I buy a Fatbike? 2012 Mukluk 3 for $900. I should right?


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Should I buy a Fatbike? 2012 Mukluk 3 for $900. I should right?


Yes, you should.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I managed to make it in without getting jousted by a van with PVC hanging out the passenger window.  It wasn't really a close call (if you could even call it a "call"), but I thought getting hit like that would result in a fun story (not saying I'd volunteer for the part).


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

The answer is always fatbike! Last Friday of Summer and the first commute in a jacket. Getting a little chilly out there.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The mukluk sounds like a deal, Bedwards, and I know you've got snomo trails for it over there.

It was one of those mornings where you really just want to keep pedaling instead of going to work. I took a tough trail, TNT, and had to walk some parts but I made it over this skinny bridge. And something's gotta live in that hole in the rock pile on Locomotion.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool pics MTBX. 

Whelp, tomorrow is Tough Mudder. Remind me not to push too hard on the way home today


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Should I buy a Fatbike?


Is that a trick question?



CommuterBoy said:


> Whelp, tomorrow is Tough Mudder. Remind me not to push too hard on the way home today


Go get`em, CB!


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## Joe68rs (Jan 14, 2012)

Good commute this morning. Cool mornings this week have me alternating between jacket and gloves in morning and shorts and a T-shirt for ride home. 

Did just find out some sad news from yesterdays commute home, though; motorcylist in accident I passed on my commute home, died an hour or so after I passed the scene. EMS was just arriving on the scene as I was passing. He was laid out in road complaining of trouble breathing to police officer attending to him and they were telling him to hang on and that EMS would have oxygen for him shortly. Appearently died at hospital an hour or so later. Article I read this morning, said him and the buddy who he was riding with were getting ready to sell their motorcylces, this was supposed to have been their last ride. Accident was caused by SUV pulling out from a side street in front of the two motorcyclists who according to witnesses were traveling at or below the 35mph speed limit and both wearing helmets.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Is that a trick question?


I was just seeing how much positive reinforcement I could muster to send me into yet another bike buying frenzy. SFSG. Now I'm just worried that somebody else will snatch if before I show up waving a fist full of cash. Of that it will be too small. Hopefully going to look tomorrow after a 60 mile charity ride. Not the 100 mile charity ride I've been soliciting for in my sig, that's in 3 weeks. Feel free to donate below.:thumbsup:

Keep it coming.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

How much do you charge to ride 100 miles on a Mukluk?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've never even ridden a fatbike but if I made it to 10gs I'd do it..I think.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was just seeing how much positive reinforcement I could muster to send me into yet another bike buying frenzy .:thumbsup::


I think they call it enabling 



CommuterBoy said:


> Whelp, tomorrow is Tough Mudder. Remind me not to push too hard on the way home today


oooh - good luck, remember you *are* a Tough Mudder! :arf:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, whatever. It's working.

MTBX, I really think it's time for that FS bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, whatever. It's working.
> 
> MTBX, I really think it's time for that FS bike.


Hahahaha I keep telling myself I'll get one when I'm "old", but I am a little tempted.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ahhh, son-of-a-biscuit! He sold it! It's been on craigslist for well over a month and the day before I go to look at it he sells it.:cryin:

It wasn't one of you, was it?:skep:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Wasn't me. 



Heck of a weekend here. 

Tough Mudder was great. 11 miles, 20 obstacles... for the first 5 miles or so we were working our way up to the summit of Northstar... some seriously steep sections of jog-hiking, with the occasional belly-crawl under barbed wire, muddy ice water plunge, etc... the last mile or so to the top (8600 ft) was especially tough... it seemed like they placed some of the more physically challenging obstacles in places where you really didn't want them  There were a couple sets of high walls to scale, monkey bars that went uphill to the peak of a roof-like structure, then downhill...with a muddy cold pond underneath. ...etc, etc. 

The standout brutal obstacle for me was the 'electric eel'. You're belly-crawling through maybe 8-10 inches of water, with live electric wires hanging down impossibly low over your head/back... if anyone around you got zapped, everyone got zapped... I truly didn't think it would be THAT bad. I mean, how much can they really hit you with electricity when you're in the water, right? Wrong. It was hard enough that your muscles involuntarily locked up and you couldn't produce sound... every POP was followed by a group yell/moan from whoever was in the water. It was like getting punched in the head and groin simultaneously. The dude in front of me sort of frose up and was moving really slow, so I got hit 4 or 5 times. This one made the one at the end where you run through the live wires seem like a walk in the park. 

Another tough one was 'Arctic Enema'... picture a rollaway dumpster (the kind that go on the back of a truck... a big open steel tank), filled with slushy-consistancy ice water. There's a board in the middle that goes down maybe a foot under water, so you have to jump in one side, work your way across, go under the board, then out the other side. Coming up from under the board, there's waaaaay more ice on the other side, so your head pushes up through maybe a foot of ice cubes on top of the water. By the time you're crawling out the other side, you're moving really slow... then the next 10 minutes of running feel really strange. This was up near the summit so it was chilly anyway... 

All that for an orange headband and a free beer. 

Yeah, I'd do it again 

The ride in today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I am definitely sore though. Upper body more than lower body.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hmm, I like to push myself but that doesn't really even sound fun. Not to be an old curmudgeon but shocking people in the water sounds like a good way to kill somebody with a latent heart issue. Glad you enjoyed it.

My event this weekend was a 60 mile road ride that ended up being mostly in the rain. It was my fastest average pace for anything that long at 20mph average. I've got to give a lot of the credit to a very strong female rider that I drafted for the last 10 miles as she went along like a freight train. She was first over the line and I was second.

The commute in was good. I'm surprised my legs didn't' complain more after that.

I ordered a pair of winter riding boots:thumbsup:. No more messing around with toe covers that slip off and piss me off.  $89 bucks!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OOH, I might have to finally order me some of those. That's a deal. Any idea how the sizes run (big, small)? 

20mph over 60 miles is big! Nice work. 

They advise anyone with heart issues or a seizure history to skip the electricity elements. If it was all that bad, it would not have been fun. The overall experience was supremely fun. The 45 seconds of getting through that particular element was miserable, but it all conspired to make you feel like more of a badass when you dragged yourself across the finish line. The whole thing was actually more fun than I thought it would be.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The sense of accomplishment is definitely fun. I think their advice is sound. Oh, and I got free beer too, 2 of them, and ice cream, and burgers...

They offer free 2 day shipping on orders over $50 so I'll have them on Wed and can comment on the size. I went slightly larger than my US shoe size because from what I have seen every bike shoe in the world runs small. You might want to check the stock on the size you think you need and decide if you want to gamble waiting. I didn't notice how long the 50% off offer lasts which brings them to that price. The same boots are at REI for $180.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

What are you buying me for Christmas? 


JAGI410 said:


> The answer is always fatbike!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, CB- I`m glad you enjoyed yourself, but for some reason it doesn`t sound like my kind of good time. Congratulations for finishing the thing!

20 MPH average for 60 miles in the rain 
Boogyin!

So, CB got one beer for a frozen enema and electro-shock therapy (those California boys!) and Bedwards got TWO beers for drafting some dripping biker chick for a half hour? Hard to decide who got the better deal there


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)




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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

Had a good commute today, though it was a bit of an adjustment to go from 68F on Friday morning's commute to this morning's 52F. Mounted up new wheels on the commuter, took off the Spinergy Spox that are pretty much worn out (they served me well for years on my Super-V), replaced them with a set of Vuelta Zerolites from Nashbar (smooooth after greasing and adjusting the bearings). All in all, another great start to the day, looking forward to the ride home and spending the rest of the evening with our 8-week old daughter!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CB: All that school teachering must have helped. You get hardened to sheer torture. 

Bedwards: Nice! 

Somehow, I don't think the answer is fatbike in either case. Unless as the prize? 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A brisk but pleasant 37F this morning, and I was pleased that my homemade bran buttermilk muffins I brought for a staff meeting survived the trip perfectly and got compliments all around. 

It sounds like my weekend was pretty boring compared to CB & Bedwards’ - thank goodness! Puttered around in the yard, stained the front porch, and did some trip planning for biking/camping next week. I may regret having pushed it off from this week, weatherwise. I hadn’t used mapmyride.com in a while and was pleased they now have a googlemap type interface where you can “get directions” and get a starting route without entering in the points on a map. It still shows you the elevations or grades, which is a big plus around here compared to “regular” googlemaps.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice Fall ride home. Some colors coming out. I heard this porcupine before I saw him. Only a couple minutes after the other pics but the angle of the sun, the hill and trees made it too dark for a good pic.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

Had to go downtown to pickup my passport (getting a russian visa). Decided to take the bike even though it is in the opposite direction. Man that felt good. Did 16 miles of commuting today, that was almost as much time as I spent on the trails per day this weekend. Think I have been on the bike every day for the past 2 weeks. And I am losing weight.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Puttered around in the yard, stained the front porch, and did some trip planning for biking/camping next week.


Hmmm...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well I crushed my fastest time ever to the office today. Old record was 57 minutes and change, new record is 55 minutes and change. I just felt really strong this morning.


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## Thirsty Turtle (May 20, 2012)

Saw a deer and a half grown fawn. Stopped to take a picture but they snorted at me and bounded off into the woods. I ride a greenway to work. It's a 50 minute uphill ride in and a 40 minute downhill ride home. I can't believe more people don't do this but then again, I have to leave about 30 minutes early... I do get to work in a better mind set than I do if I drive the Minivan...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice job woodway! Welcome Thirsty Turtle.

MTBX, how many days, how far are you going? Is the big bike adventure shrunk down to a (long) weekend?

There was definitely frost on the ground for this morning's commute. I'm up to almost the same number of layers I use in the winter, they're just thinner.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thirsty Turtle said:


> I do get to work in a better mind set than I do if I drive the Minivan...


Pedalling is a cheaper way to get that mindset than a new sports car- sorta like blue-light special dope 

I put on my gloves and `clava this morning for the first time since... April? The jacket stayed in my trunk bag, but if it was just a few degerees lower, I think I`d have grudgingly put it on too.

Woodway, were you extra fast for trying to outrun this week`s squeeks? Keep the grease away!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Stop with the cold talk... I don't have my firewood in yet. 

Arm warmers, thin shirt, and shorts for me this morning. It was 38 or 39*F... I think after the 'Arctic Enema' this weekend my body just doesn't care any more. :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Arm warmers, thin shirt, and shorts for me this morning. It was 38 or 39*F... I think after the 'Arctic Enema' this weekend my body just doesn't care any more. :lol:


Thin shirt, long sleeve wool jersey, wind breaker & Insulated tights for me this morning. It was 38 or 39*F. I don't like to be cold on a ride.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ What's your 'realy cold part of winter' look like bedwards? I forget where you are. I always try to push it till I can't stand it during this part of the year, because I know the low single digits are coming in Jan/Feb. My core was cold today, but you can definitely build up a bit of a tolerance.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Normal lows are 10-20F, occasional lows are 0-10F, my coldest commute was at 12 below 0F. I'm OK for a while but about halfway through the 12 miles my feet and hands turn to ice. Looking forward to those boots.


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## Thirsty Turtle (May 20, 2012)

I live in Charlotte, NC. I was cold this morning. I must be wuss... Need to start wearing some warmer socks...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah 12 miles would make a difference. My shortest route is 6, so your 'halway through' point when you're turning to ice is when I'm hitting a heated building. 

I'm waiting on a sizing report on those boots, and I'm gonna jump on it if they still have my size...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTBX, how many days, how far are you going? Is the big bike adventure shrunk down to a (long) weekend?


I'm calling it the car-free singletrack spree. I'm starting Fri or Sat & if things go as planned not returning until Oct 8! I'll be alternating between "touring days" on the road between trail systems and trailriding days at the trail systems. So road-trail-road-trail etc., with 2 nights camping as close as possible to each locale. The road days will be +/- 40 miles.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yeah 12 miles would make a difference.


I've found the route makes a big difference too. On my old route I had 3.5 mi of nearly continuous downhill, and that was brutally cold on the face/hands/feet by the time you got to the bottom. Now my longest downhill is about 2 miles, and half of that is in the woods, so it "seemed" much warmer last winter.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ True. I can probably dress in less because I am so pathetically slow :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Woodway, were you extra fast for trying to outrun this week`s squeeks? Keep the grease away!


No squeaks! Maybe it's because it was 42 degrees this morning, and I am still wearing shorts and the same kind of long-sleeve shirt I was wearing when it was 55 degrees in the morning. I need to ride harder to stay warm


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I know the low single digits are coming in Jan/Feb.


Realy? Normally, we get our coldest temps in Dec and Jan, then get the snow in Feb and Mar. But the last two years the bottom has dropped out early with an almost instant plunge in Nov followed by amazingly warm (for the season) weather after that. I think we got to zero or close both Novembers, then only occasionally dipped down into the teens when it was SUPPOSED to be cold.



mtbxplorer said:


> I'm calling it the car-free singletrack spree. I'm starting Fri or Sat & if things go as planned not returning until Oct 8! I'll be alternating between "touring days" on the road between trail systems and trailriding days at the trail systems. So road-trail-road-trail etc., with 2 nights camping as close as possible to each locale. The road days will be +/- 40 miles.


So, you`re going to ride to and between two or three different base camps with a few days of hitting a bunch of local trails in each area? That sounds like a brutal workout, but I bet it`ll be a ton of fun! Good luck with the weather. Ride safe and enjoy!!!

At 15 minutes for my average "bundled up" commute, I guess I can get away with a lot more misjudgement than you folks with longer runs. 
On cold weather speeds: my door-to-door times go up by roughly 20 to 25% with winter clothes and tires compared to summer. How much does it affect everyone else`s?


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

The ride home today was great. The temperature was perfect, it was sunny, and there was a light breeze. Strangely enough, the MUT wasn't as busy as I thought it would be considering the weather but it made for a pleasant, relaxing commute home.

In a park closer to my apartment, I found a gentleman walking a pair of boxers and being a fan of those dogs,I just had to say hi. Lovely pups they were.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> So, you`re going to ride to and between two or three different base camps with a few days of hitting a bunch of local trails in each area? That sounds like a brutal workout, but I bet it`ll be a ton of fun! Good luck with the weather. Ride safe and enjoy!!!


That's the plan! But - I haven't done any long rides or hauled more than my daypack though, so it could be subject to change. VT has a ton of MTB riding areas, and sure, I could drive around to them all, but this appeals more. I plan to ride without most of the gear for the trailriding. Taking my warmer sleeping bag, for sure.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had some excitement on the way home...I was trucking downhill on some doubletrack bike trail, and suddenly see a huge black horse, rider, and German shepherd coming up the hill in front of me. As we saw each other, I screeched to a sliding stop on the loose rock dust, and the horse reared up and spun away from me. Luckily the rider stayed put, the dog wasn't concerned, and everyone recovered without incident. Apologies and compliments all around, he was cutting through to a more horse-friendly trail.


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## Funrover (Oct 4, 2006)

Was a fun commute today. I took the new to me Raleigh Mountain Tour on it's first commute!! Rides great, have a few changes to make. ON the way back home I realized I forgot my rain jacket... and it rained for the the entire route. Made a makeshift jacket from a trash bag, worked great. I actually had a great time!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> On cold weather speeds: my door-to-door times go up by roughly 20 to 25% with winter clothes and tires compared to summer. How much does it affect everyone else`s?


Mine goes up a lot. Surprisingly (to me) a lot of it (5% increase from 80 to -10F) has to do with the air density. The colder air is literally harder to move through than warm air.

Wishing you good weather MTBX. Sounds like a fun vacation. I've seen "evidence" of horses on the trail here but have yet to encounter one.

What a difference 13 degrees makes. I bundled up the same as yesterday, walked to the garage to get my bike and went back into the house to loose a layer top and bottom. I was still hot by the time I got to work. Today was 51 and yesterday was 38.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

Humidity makes a huge difference here in terms of what I decide to wear. For example, Monday morning at 6am it was 52F. I wore a thin long sleeve jersey and a windbreaker vest, and ended up wishing I had put on the sleeves on the vest (they detach), . Tuesday morning at 6am it was 50F. Same thin long sleeve jersey, and this time the windbreaker with sleeves attached. I made it about 10 of the 17 miles to work before I was uncomfortably warm and took the sleeves off, probably could have taken the windbreaker off altogether. The difference? Monday morning the humidity was high, Tuesday it was a bit lower.

This morning was very nice, 58F, perfect temperature. Nice ride in, though the group of joggers on the MUT without a single light or piece of reflective material on them were annoying. That was an odd bunch though, usually others have a headlamp or blinkie or something reflective.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Damp roads, grey skies, temps in the low 50s. Largely uneventful until a squirrel decided to play 'chicken' with my front wheel. I gotta wonder if anyone was close enough to hear me yell, "Waaaaahhh! Duuuuuuude! Shiiiii!"


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> On cold weather speeds: my door-to-door times go up by roughly 20 to 25% with winter clothes and tires compared to summer. How much does it affect everyone else`s?


Optimum temp for me is 15 to 20 C not too hot not too cold.....

By the time I am wearing two layers on the bottom and three on top...I am down easily to 75% of optimal speeds...-20C.

The combination of heavier air....stiff tires....stiff grease....clothing dragging....just slows you right down...

At -36 C I am probably down to 60% of optimal speeds.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

[email protected] the talk of winter commuting. daily highs are still in excess of 90F for me. I'm still dealing with excess sweat.

it has been a little breezier lately, so I get to deal with the occasional headwind. but that's the biggest indication that the seasons are changing for me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> I ordered a pair of winter riding boots:thumbsup:. No more messing around with toe covers that slip off and piss me off.  $89 bucks!


Hey CB - The "boots" are in. Without actually riding in them these are my first impressions.
-The size seems good. I bought a half size up and that's about how they fit, which is good because I wanted room for extra socks.
-They are a PITA to get on. You have to open the Velcro, unzip them under the Velcro and then get your foot into an inner shoe. I'm sure I'll get use to it but it could be better.
-The 2 bolt cleats are not below flush like most mountain biking shoes. Maybe not a big deal but it seems like the only pedal interface is the cleat? I'll have to ride with them to see how this is. You'll be clicking down the halls for sure. Not a fan.
- My biggest gripe - The tread is a road shoe tread with NOTHING to grip in trails. No lugs. These are not boots, they are insulated road shoes and are going to suck for snowy trails. This might be the reason they go back. 
The site has an unconditional 100% guarantee so you can send them back for $6.99 shipping, any time so I'll probably try using them but my hopes aren't high.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I looked at them... and the other ones they had at the same price...also Garneau, called 0-something... I compared the two and read a few reviews, and ordered them...they have some orange on the sole and are more of a neoprene booty top with a waterproof zipper. They appear to be a mountain shoe version of the same concept... Definite tread lugs, but people complained about how hard the plastic is...not grippy rubber so they are slick when wet on a hard floor. Decent reviews, and specific mentions about how easy they are to get on and off...stoked to hear the size comment, I went for the 1/2 size up too. Sounds like maybe I made a good choice..at least compared to the ones you got.... We'll see... At 89 bucks I'm not going to be too picky, but I want them to work like the 179 dollar shoe they're supposed to be... 

This is big for me... I spent 35 bucks on my mtb shoes in 1998. 179 dollar shoes from 2012 had better be awesome.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Wet roads from the 2 days of rain we have had. 10C today. I rode recovery pace today, because of a nasty training session I had over lunch yesterday. Turkish get ups, deadlifts, pull ups in several hand positions, and tricep dips......what do you know about functional training, son?

Equipment related side note.....I took the Topeak Rack and trunk bag off my Jamis Coda last week and the bike came back to life. Granted it will never be as fast as my Roubaix, but it feels like a fast bike again. Anyway......the bag itself flexes and I could really feel the load wobbling, almost made the bike scary at high speeds. Granted, I'll probably put it back on for the winter to keep the sweat off my back.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I looked at them... and the other ones they had at the same price...also Garneau, called 0-something...


 Damn, I didn't even notice those. I would have bought them instead. They look like the same shoe with a plastic tread stuck on the bottom around the molded plastic shell. I guess I'll use these as a road shoe to see how I like them while I keep my eye open for the perfect boot. I really wanted the Northwave Celsius but couldn't find them in my size at a reasonable pride.

Perfect fall commute this morning. Crisp sunny air and the leaves are about 20% turned.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

My new Five Tens finally came yesterday. My old Sam Hills were getting pretty beat up so I got some new ones, and this year they were $15 cheaper than last year. Been scoping out leather saddles, I didn't know there were any decent ones besides Brooks but there were a couple that got my attention.


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## mck.brad (Jun 28, 2008)

Tuesday evening on my ride home, I stop at a major intersection on a red. On both sides of the road, going in my direction, are two teen guys on bikes (total of 4). On the left going against traffic, both were riding on the sidewalk. On my side, going with traffic on the road. The opposing traffic gets an advance green. All four of them go. There are vehicles in the opposing left turn lane and have to wait for these guys going against the red. I stay, shaking my head. 

When I get to the next light, I merge to the left turn lane on a red. The woman in the first car gets my attention and says "It's nice to see a responsible cyclist". I say "Thanks!". 

That was so far the only thing anyone's said to me on a communte and made me feel really good 

(btw, I did catch up to three of them and pass before stopping to make my turn.... )


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I almost ran into the side of a pickup that backed into the street in front of me this morning, managed to swerve into the other lane. Since that street is so narrow and parked cars pretty well line both sides, I really ought to start riding up the center of the road for that stretch.



mck.brad said:


> When I get to the next light, I merge to the left turn lane on a red. The woman in the first car gets my attention and says "It's nice to see a responsible cyclist". I say "Thanks!".


Wow, cool! That one sure doesn`t get heard every day


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well the winter shoes were the gateway gear purchase.... Finally ordered me some Nokians last night. This could be a fun winter


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey CB - The "boots" are in. Without actually riding in them these are my first impressions.


Try looking at Lake Winter riding boots, bedwards. Expensive as hell, but worth the price.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, I looked at the Lake MX302. That was my first choice. They are either $269 or not my size. They do look nice but...

These look pretty awesome too: 45NRTH


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, I looked at the Lake MX302. That was my first choice. They are either $269 or not my size. They do look nice but...
> 
> These look pretty awesome too: 45NRTH


Got it. If you ever decide to go Lake, get a size bigger than you normally wear...they run a little small. Mine have been worth the price.

The 45mrth's look great! (spendy too...but you tend to get what you pay for)


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Didn't have a chance until now...from Monday's ride home.










Today's was kind of fun with a growler of O'Dell Pale in one pannier.


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## Julianne482 (Sep 28, 2012)

I'm still basking in the glory of the time change. Actual sunlight in the morning is awesome...takes the chill off. Upper 20's this morning. Crispy fall weather. I've been fighting the flu, so i blew snot rockets for 6 miles. Saw the usual dozen or so deer on the way... didn't do the iPod today, just took in the stillness. Good ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks like we have a new part time bike commuter at work 
Another machinist has ridden his BSO in a few times when lack of motor vehicle dictated, but today he rode just because he felt like it. Right now he`s riding home unlit in the dark, hope he makes it okay. If I had thought quicker, I would have at least passed him my spare blinky. Anyway, I was surprized to catch him oggling the Bikesdirect pics when I came in to relieve him one night last week, then yesterday he asked me about finding a replacement front trigger shifter, today he asked about options to get away from the crappy knobbies that came with his "bike" and told me just as he was leaving that he was pedalling for fun. Lets see how this pans out!



Spatialized said:


> Didn't have a chance until now...from Monday's ride home.


That`s a sort of mysterious sign behind you, Spatialized. Tower? Climb at your own risk? Is it a fire lookout?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I looked at them... and the other ones they had at the same price...also Garneau, called 0-something...


I ordered a pair of those too. I'll pay the $6.99 return shipping (stupid tax) for not buying the MTB specific version in the first place.:madman: I didn't even notice these before. Thanks CB!

Have a good trip MTXB - give us some smartphone updates if you're able.

Today was my first pre-dawn ride of the season and one of the best sunrises I've seen since, well, my last pre-dawn rides. It looked about 100 time better than this picture with a bright pink/orange sky behind beautiful fall foliage.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I think I bruised a rib at Tough Mudder. Can't exhale with the kind of force I'd like... The snot rocket I launched this morning couldn't break out of my atmosphere. It wasn't pretty. 

Here are the kicks bedwards... They're not going to be Lakes, but they are going to be a heck of a lot better than what I'm using in the winter now. My half-size up feels like my normal size... not a lot of extra room for sock layers, but they'll work. Definite recess for the cleat inside those monster lugs. They also came with thread-in lugs too. The piping is reflective, which is nice. Waterproof zipper on the front is beefy.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Escape velocity for a snot rocket is important.

My boots shipped. I think this version pretty much solves all 4 of my gripes about the road version. I've got to return the others today.

Hey Woodway, do you read Bike Snob? He's going off on a $5600 bike that was sent to him as a demo that creaks and clicks. Funny stuff.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Escape velocity for a snot rocket is important.


Breaking my personal atmosphere ranks up pretty high on the list of snot rocket requirements for me.

Nice sunrise, BTW. It didn`t look so good on the dark-ish monitor at work, but I like it fine here. Funny how much difference the monitor makes as to how pictures show up. Makes me wonder if its really worth the trouble to edit before posting. If I edit so I like what I see at the time, then people look at it over a dozen different monitors, who knows what its going to look like for "my viewing public"? It very well might look better on a lot of monitors before I mess with it than after. Ah, well... Casio done took my Fujichrome away, so I might as well not worry too much about it either way.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I think I bruised a rib at Tough Mudder. Can't exhale with the kind of force I'd like... The snot rocket I launched this morning couldn't break out of my atmosphere. It wasn't pretty.


Had that happen on Monday with a big loogie. Hit the side of my face, but not as bad as I thought it would based on the very poor trajectory, so I was happy but confused. Well, until I got to work and took my helmet off and saw the side of my helmet. Ewwwww. Needless to say, I took the helmet into the shower that morning. Can't remember why I didn't just snot rocket it out, I think it was too far back.

Commute today was nice, I took it easy on the way in, enjoyed the dark Atlanta skyline, listened to the clacking and noises of the big trainyard I go past, just enjoyed the ride. Was only a few minutes slower than usual at 55 minutes for a 17.8mph average. Need to stop and take a picture or two next time.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Total hero dirt this morning:



Makes up for getting drenched on yesterday's ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Have a good trip MTXB - give us some smartphone updates if you're able.


Thanks! I'm taking off a couple hours and pedaling out about 3pm. I still have a dumbphone, though, so I won't be able to post. If you want to post a couple for me, p.m. me your cell and I'll drop you a few pics along the way.

One thing I have already learned is that you need a lot more stuff for a trip in October than August. :eekster:


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

mck.brad said:


> When I get to the next light, I merge to the left turn lane on a red. The woman in the first car gets my attention and says "It's nice to see a responsible cyclist". I say "Thanks!".


That's pretty awesome. I was wanting to merge into the left turn lane today (on green, using hand signals) and a big SUV that was behind me trundled by so slowly that I had to stop in my lane and wait for them to pass so I could make it into the turn lane. they gave me room, but were still passing too close to the intersection.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks! I'm taking off a couple hours and pedaling out about 3pm. I still have a dumbphone, though, so I won't be able to post. If you want to post a couple for me, p.m. me your cell and I'll drop you a few pics along the way.
> 
> One thing I have already learned is that you need a lot more stuff for a trip in October than August. :eekster:


I'll just wait for your account of your adventures when you get back. And yeah, your going to need a sleeping bag that is good to freezing. Looks like if you can get through the weekend you've got some prime fall weather.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey Woodway, do you read Bike Snob? He's going off on a $5600 bike that was sent to him as a demo that creaks and clicks. Funny stuff.


That made me howl. He's been making fun of the Budnitz for a while so they send him a test bike that is in terrible condition. How stupid could they be?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Dropped my bike off at #1 LBS yesterday morning for a tune up and fix a broken spoke. I get to pick it up this afternoon. One more reason to have a good relationship with the bike shop is prompt service. It still feels a little weird though, they swapped from Trek to Cannondale recently and walking in to see a Scalpel with a Lefty instead sill throws me off. They also had a Long Haul Trucker on display and I was a little tempted but I still would rather have the Ogre of KM.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

junior1210 said:


> Dropped my bike off at #1 LBS yesterday morning for a tune up and fix a broken spoke.


I'm going to have to do that soon. A stick or something got into my rear wheel last weekend. It cracked the index adjuster on the derailleur, bent some spokes, and broke the nipples. I don't know that my shop will be so fast with the repairs.

I didn't commute for two days this week because I took off work. I guess that's a valid excuse. It was a bit rainy this morning, but not terrible.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s a sort of mysterious sign behind you, Spatialized. Tower? Climb at your own risk? Is it a fire lookout?


Yeah, fire lookout. It's a little out of my way, but I like to ride to clear my head.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Realy? Normally, we get our coldest temps in Dec and Jan, then get the snow in Feb and Mar. But the last two years the bottom has dropped out early with an almost instant plunge in Nov followed by amazingly warm (for the season) weather after that. I think we got to zero or close both Novembers, then only occasionally dipped down into the teens when it was SUPPOSED to be cold.


Reading that, you're dead on... I'd almost forgotten about those last couple of weird warm Decembers. Wonder if we're in for it this year after last year's weak winter... Either way, I bet it smacks us here pretty quick.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Mountain Bike Monday!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

5 bikes in 5 days? 

I took the rain bike today. The first half of the commute was a beautiful fall morning with a bright orange sky. It sprinkled on me for the second half. The forecast for the afternoon looks dry!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I need to order some parts real quick if I'm going for 5 in 5... I've only got four and a half at the moment. :lol: 

I've been meaning to get some singlespeed and road bike action lately, but it's so hard to NOT ride the Ogre. We're bonding....


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Cold & Clear! Great Monday morning commute on the Ogre!!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That looks frosty. Temp?

(Also, I commute in the woods and I'm still insanely jealous)


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

the weekend rain brought much cooler and drier conditions...and a lot of wind. but I am proud of myself for managing a trackstand at a stop sign in a stiff crosswind. no brakes.



just lean into the wind. lol.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

JordyB said:


> Cold & Clear! Great Monday morning commute on the Ogre!!!
> pic


What a landscape! Where is that?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks guys! It was around 23 degrees this AM. Anchorage, Alaska. Of course, one of the better views, but still, about 8 miles in the woods is worth it! Bring on the snow! The fat bike is itching to play!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Twenty minutes until quitting time, and it's looking pretty rainy. Maybe I'll catch a break in the action...crossing fingers. I was feeling especially good this morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

It's funny, all you guys are talking about rain, and we just finished the driest August and September on record for the Seattle area. Something like 0.03" of rain for both months combined. Well, it will turn and I'll be riding in the rain soon enough, but until then I sure have been enjoying riding home in 65-75 degree sunshine (like tonite)!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Anchorage had the 3rd wettest rainy Sept on record, it was just terrible...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jordy, another fan of that sunrise picture- awesome!

Yesterday: For the first time ever, did a single day ride from home to Tahoe and back. There are two individual climbs of close to 3k each, along with enough rollers and small hills in between to push the total over 8k. It was fun, but I`m whooped- still in no way ready for a RAMROD or DeathRide!

Today: Emptied out my wife`s former office with three loads to our house and one load to her friend/associate`s appartment. As bad as it looks here, I think the little appartment is in worse shape. The most bulky stuff we moved was cheap second hand furnature- sure hope I can convince them to just donate or dump all that since its so easy to replace again on the cheap if they ever want to try again.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rainy, windy, cold, I don't think the sun poked out even once today, and the trees outside my office window have lost all their leaves. Welcome to October.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Sunday night. Replace Ritchey ball/race headset that became "notchy" feeling with a Crank Brothers Cobalt, strangely enough, it won't adjust. As soon as the play goes away, the steering is super tight. WTF, probably just needs to break in, right.

Monday morning. Ride bike to work, it's just not right. I have to manually compensate for gyroscopic forces, I ride better after 6 beers.

Monday evening. No better on the ride home. I did a 10K run, ate blackened salmon and attacked the bike. I notice a gap on the front side between the spacer and the headset. Disassemble. Yep, bent steer tube.

Anyone got a 700c disc fork laying around and is willing to ship to Sweden? :sad:

Maybe I can finally convince the wife that I need a new Carbon Crux disc. :devil:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got soaked last night. I could feel the water gathering in my gloves and in my shoes. It seems like the rain knows when I'm getting off work. Despite the dry conditions this summer, I feel like I've been rained on more than usual. A number of times the rain has started right when I've walked out the door. Such is life, I guess.

The good news is that the trails are wet and unrideable. Normally that's bad news, but my rear mtb wheel is in the shop right now. In addition to the damage caused by a stick in the spokes, a couple of the eyelets had pulled loose. The shop is trying for a warranty replacement. I'm hoping for the best since I don't feel like putting much money into my mtb right now. I am getting the itch for a new bike but need to wait until after I finish grad school in May.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> Sunday night. Replace Ritchey ball/race headset that became "notchy" feeling with a Crank Brothers Cobalt, strangely enough, it won't adjust. As soon as the play goes away, the steering is super tight. WTF, probably just needs to break in, right.
> 
> Monday morning. Ride bike to work, it's just not right. I have to manually compensate for gyroscopic forces, I ride better after 6 beers.
> 
> ...


I recently replaced a *Crank Brothers Cobalt * headset that was only 1 year old with a Cane Creek 10 headset because the cobalt was notchy When I took it apart it was pretty rusty in there. The bottom seal seems to be good at keeping the water in.

Sorry about your fork. Did it get bent when the headset was being installed? What method did you use? The violent bash it in with a hammer or press it? I did the former but I think I'm looking for a press for the next one.

Today's commute was a perfect fall day!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yesterday: For the first time ever, did a single day ride from home to Tahoe and back. There are two individual climbs of close to 3k each, along with enough rollers and small hills in between to push the total over 8k. It was fun, but I`m whooped- still in no way ready for a RAMROD or DeathRide!


Wow. Nice work. What route did you go? That's a huge day in the saddle.

Singlespeed Tuesday here... I always manage to take the singlespeed when I'm leaving the house 10 minutes later than normal... Hard. To. Go. Much. Faster. Than. A. Single. Speed. when you're riding a singlespeed. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> Yep, bent steer tube.
> 
> ...Maybe I can finally convince the wife that I need a new Carbon Crux disc. :devil:


Bummer...
But you`re doing an excellent job of looking at that silver lining 



s0ckeyeus said:


> I could feel the water gathering in my gloves and in my shoes.


That can`t be good either- maybe even worse than a trashed fork. Hope you dry out by the time you get your wheel back.



CommuterBoy said:


> Wow. Nice work. What route did you go?
> 
> Singlespeed Tuesday here... I always manage to take the singlespeed when I'm leaving the house 10 minutes later than normal...


Thanks, CB. I went Carson-Spooner-Mt Rose in exactly an hour more than it took me to ride my first century, in Oct `08. I added 22 miles and almost doubled the elevation gain with that extra hour, so I`m movin up :thumbsup:

You`re one tough mudder, SS Boy! Hey, when your studdies come in, are you going to change back to your old signature?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My Ergo Grip boots came in yesterday. Other than being some of the ugliest boots on the planet (like somebody ripped the wheels off some pleather roller skates) I think they will work. All of my gripes about the road version are fixed. They have tread, the cleats will be recessed and they are easier to get into. But they are *U-G-L-Y*


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> My Ergo Grip boots came in yesterday. Other than being some of the ugliest boots on the planet (like somebody ripped the wheels off some pleather roller skates) I think they will work. All of my gripes about the road version are fixed. They have tread, the cleats will be recessed and they are easier to get into. But they are *U-G-L-Y*


Just think off them covered in spin drift...with a layer of ice underneath from road salt.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Weird. I got the exact same ones and mine are as sexy as can be :lol:


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> I recently replaced a *Crank Brothers Cobalt * headset that was only 1 year old with a Cane Creek 10 headset because the cobalt was notchy When I took it apart it was pretty rusty in there. The bottom seal seems to be good at keeping the water in.
> 
> Sorry about your fork. Did it get bent when the headset was being installed? What method did you use? The violent bash it in with a hammer or press it? I did the former but I think I'm looking for a press for the next one.


I'm pretty sure the bent steerer was what caused the old Ritchey headset to turn notchy. I could feel where the bearings rested in the race with my finger and those indentations were only at the front side of both races. This bike has about 10,000Km on it, I'm glad it has lasted this long without a major failure.

I'm still not sure what caused the steer tube to bend. I haven't been gentle to it at all so it's pretty hard to tell.

Actually looking at a Merida CX 4 Disc that a local shop has in stock. Temptation is strong.


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## GTscoob (Apr 27, 2009)

Fun commute today, first day on a bike in two weeks due to a cold.

Anybody in here an Atlanta local and participating in the Atlanta Bike to Work Challenge?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Just think off them covered in spin drift...with a layer of ice underneath from road salt.


So my toasty warm feet should offset the fact that it looks like I just beat down a hooker and stole her boots?


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Send good vibes out for a female cyclist who went down at Hägerstenvägen and Södertaljevägen this morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

GV to the Swedish cycilst.

Not much excitement tonight except a bright moon right behind me that made me keep looking over my shoulder to reasure myself it wasn`t headlights that refused to pass.

Long time, no report from Indiana. 
BrianMc, hangin in there?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Not much riding lately. 

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Mountain Bike Wednesday*

Some days you just show up to work all covered in mud with a big smile on your face.

I left pre-dawn and took the trails in, it's amazing how the woods look different at night. I was hoping for a sunrise pic from the top of a big hill but there was no sunrise. It just got light out. Fast too, It went from nearly pitch black to pretty light in about 20 minutes. From there I took the long way to work. Maybe 12 miles of trails overall.

Good Vibes



BrianMc said:


> ^ Not much riding lately.


 :sad:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hang in there Brian. 

Road Bike Wednesday for me. Very different experience from Singlespeed Tuesday. :lol:


Edit: Fun UPS delivery yesterday...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hope its just because you just plain don`t want to, Brian.


bedwards1000 said:


> Some days you just show up to work all covered in mud with a big smile on your face.


Never happen. Mud doesn`t put a smile on my face, ever. Glad you`re enjoyng it, though.



CommuterBoy said:


> Edit: Fun UPS delivery yesterday...


No excuse unless...

...well, no excuse.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Tough Mudder is not for you :lol: 


No excuse unless multiple meetings on various ends of the county immediately after work and the wife's out of town so she can't pick you up and the kids have ballet soccer t-ball lessons practice :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Edit: Fun UPS delivery yesterday...


It looked like they say Nashbar but now I realize it is really Nokian. You won't regret it.

I usually try to keep my rides to work mud free but sometimes mud happens. The smile was from the long trail ride. It's pouring right now and I couldn't take my muddy bike in so it's being washed. I was shooting for 5 bikes in 5 days but I've got a meeting off-site after work and it is supposed to rain so I might have to drive!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Hard to spend the $$$ on the Nokians, but the more you read, the more you realize it's really a two-horse race... Nokian and Schwalbe. You get what you pay for. I'll take the ones from Finland...they get snow, right? :lol: 

Can anyone advise me on the "break in" period? They say to ride 30 miles on pavement so that the "tyres" are "optomised"


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I've got the schwalbe ice spiker pros in 29, and some nokians in 26. For both sets I did a ~30km break-in on pavement. Last year there were a lot of people complaining about stud loss from the schwalbes, but I had no problems and I'll attribute that to breaking them in.

Beyond that, I think you'll really like them. The only downside to studs is if you only have one bike - and then you're stuck running them an extra week (or month...) just in case it snows. But you've got multiple wheelsets and multiple bikes so it should be a blast.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yup, you want the ones with the carbide studs for sure and that leaves those 2 horses. I've got a set of the mount and ground (for the commuter) and the extremes (for the mountain bike). The mount and grounds got broken in because there wasn't any snow after I mounted them. The Extremes I ended up intentionally breaking in just to be on the safe side. I haven't lost a stud in either set. With that said, as long as all the studs look fully seated I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Look at the Q&A, bottom of the page, Q5
Studded Bicycle Tires


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Hard to spend the $$$ on the Nokians, but the more you read, the more you realize it's really a two-horse race... Nokian and Schwalbe. You get what you pay for. I'll take the ones from Finland...they get snow, right? :lol:
> 
> Can anyone advise me on the "break in" period? They say to ride 30 miles on pavement so that the "tyres" are "optomised"


The studs look like upside down mushrooms... the edge of the cap is sharp...

When you ride the edge of the cap cuts into the stud hole and firmly locks the stud in place.....it takes about 30 km for this to happen.....assumming you wiggle all the studs (have to get up on the cornering studs as well)...

You can do this on any surface....ice, snow, pavement..( ice and snow will take a bit longer than pavement)...but if you go for a ride on something rough with rocks or roots...when the tire bends over the obstacle a stud might pop out...

So basically ride flat surfaces than won't bend the tire much, and run a higher pressure so the tire does not get out of shape as much...

Don't worry the Nokians break in fine.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That makes sense, thanks. And I'll check that site, Bedwards. Peter White is awesome. I've got some dirt road to contend with before I can get to pavement, but I can take it easy and try to avoid the rough stuff.



newfangled said:


> The only downside to studs is if you only have one bike - and then you're stuck running them an extra week (or month...) just in case it snows. But you've got multiple wheelsets and multiple bikes so it should be a blast.


I'm torn now on whether to just mount them up on the singlespeed and designate it as the 'winter bike', or rob the wheels off of the singlespeed for the winter and set them up as a spare set for the Ogre. Decisions, decisions...

As much as I hate fenders, lots of days when it's really icy in the morning, it's a sloppy mess on the way home...and I've only got the one set of fenders which are going on the Ogre. So I'll probably go the extra wheelset route rather than the snow bike route.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Got this on the mail last night, along with a Carradice Bagman 2 rack. Had originally planned on a Carradice bag as well but when the wait time went from 3 weeks to 7 weeks with no end in sight, I figured what the heck. I was more than pleasantly surprised that the Zimbale bag is very well made and was sent to me super fast even though I only paid for slow service (couldn't see paying an extra $15 to get it 2 days earlier). Also I have to admit that the 18L bag is better for me than the 23L Carradice. The only thing that kinda puts me off is the "originals" tag on the cover flap.:skep: I can live with that though, and I'm looking forward to using it. Now next week I'll order a new saddle, still debating over either Velo Orange or Gyes (nothing against Brooks, but figure I'll try a lower cost leather saddle before coughing up for the real deal).


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## jmmUT (Sep 15, 2008)

junior1210 said:


> Now next week I'll order a new saddle, still debating over either Velo Orange or Gyes (nothing against Brooks, but figure I'll try a lower cost leather saddle before coughing up for the real deal).


I have a Brooks on my commuter but I put a Velo Orange on my mountain bike because I wanted a cheaper saddle to worry less about. I really like it and definitely recommend them. it seemed to break in faster too.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

jmmorath said:


> I have a Brooks on my commuter but I put a Velo Orange on my mountain bike because I wanted a cheaper saddle to worry less about. I really like it and definitely recommend them. it seemed to break in faster too.


In my research I found that Gyes actually makes the saddles for Velo but there has been some debate about QC and weather the standards for the Velo saddles are higher than for Gyes's name brand saddles. I'm leaning towards Gyes since they have a wider selection of styles. Then again the two designs that might be best for me are also the two Velo has, hence the wavering.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm torn now on whether to just mount them up on the singlespeed and designate it as the 'winter bike', or rob the wheels off of the singlespeed for the winter and set them up as a spare set for the Ogre. Decisions, decisions...


Last nov I started to get cocky and was thinking about keeping my 29er as a SS through the winter - the snow that was already on the ground had given me zero problems, so how much worse could it get, right? Then we got a weather warning about a dump of 10cm/5" of snow, and I chickened out and threw a 1x9 setup on there. I was soooooo glad that I did - I can tear up the trails on that ss during the summer, but for the fresh snow I really needed the lower gears.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Last nov I started to get cocky and was thinking about keeping my 29er as a SS through the winter - the snow that was already on the ground had given me zero problems, so how much worse could it get, right? Then we got a weather warning about a dump of 10cm/5" of snow, and I chickened out and threw a 1x9 setup on there. I was soooooo glad that I did - I can tear up the trails on that ss during the summer, but for the fresh snow I really needed the lower gears.


I kind of like SS in the snow, as long as it's only a few inches deep. Anything beyond that, and it can get interesting keeping traction. SS in the snow with slicks is not a great idea, as I found out last year.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Snow? What is this evil you speak of?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I kind of like SS in the snow, as long as it's only a few inches deep. Anything beyond that, and it can get interesting keeping traction. SS in the snow with slicks is not a great idea, as I found out last year.


This year I'll be running two studded bikes - 1x9 29er as my roll-over-anything-go-anywhere-ride-anyweather bike, and a ss 26er as my the-roads-are-pretty-clear-but-the-trails-are-unrideable bike.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

A Studded Fat Bike is all I need in Anchorage!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Any wagers on whether this gear whore makes it through the winter with just 2 studded bikes? Adding studs to the cross check will probably start tempting me before you can say black ice.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I came. I rode. I sucked.
Nice day for it. 

BrianMc.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I've ridden when I've been sick before, but I guess not when I've had a chest cold, because today:

5C air 
+ 2 days of constant hacking
= my insides feeling like they were on fire _while_ being sanded :madmax:

Normally I don't cover my face with a balaclava until it's about -15C, but I sure could have used one today.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute was mellow and mostly pleasant. I got honked at by a driver not far from my office however the rest of it was OK. A stop at the bike shop for a brake adjustment was a little break in the commute and I learned a little tip from the bike shop mechanic for some maintenance.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

newfangled said:


> ....snip.... Last year there were a lot of people complaining about stud loss from the schwalbes....snip....


I only lost studs in the Schwalbe Winter Marathons on warmer days, above freezing actually. I run the Nokain A10 early and late season and switch to the Schwalbe tires around 1DEC.

My Nokian 294s (mounted on my Nickel) have never lost a stud, even with trail riding and commuting on snow days.

I don't want to talk about this, the studs will be mounted soon enough. 

So, I rode my Nickel today with some street tires. I got caught in the rain on my Roubaix yesterday, the braking feeling was TERRIBLE compared to discs, zero confidence. It sounded like I was doing damage to the rims with all the filth. Must continue shopping for a CX Disc bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Unusual sight driving home from my mom and dad`s place this evening. A salmon rider after dark...
...with a headlight. A very bright headlight. Aimed too high. I hope the sherrif has a word with the dumbass before he runs somebody off the road.

Bad ride AND a smiley face from B Mc- Not sure what to make of that 



junior1210 said:


>


Your seatpost looks a lot taller than Prerunner`s! Room enough there for a military dufflebag if you want :lol:
I really like that bag though- I wouldn`t mind it at all on my front platform.



scorchedearth said:


> A stop at the bike shop for a brake adjustment was a little break in the commute and I learned a little tip from the bike shop mechanic for some maintenance.


Cool! A hot tip from the wrench more than compensates for the honking, IMO


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> I only lost studs in the Schwalbe Winter Marathons on warmer days, above freezing actually. I run the Nokain A10 early and late season and switch to the Schwalbe tires around 1DEC.


Are the studs replaceable? I'll be ordering snow tires soon. The roads around here are pretty well plowed and I can work from home on days with any significant snowfall, so I just need something for ice and very shallow snow. I had decided on Schwalbe Marathon Winters. Now I'm thinking maybe I should go with Nokians instead?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Which bike are you studding? The Nokian Mount and Ground is a great 26" commuter tire and relatively cheap.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Around here, studding only applies to horses. 

I thought traffic was down a bit yesterday. I turns out there was a water main break along my route. Fortunately, it's about 100 yards beyond where I turn. The road was closed last night, but I was able to ignore the barriers and follow my normal route. If I were to have been blocked, I would have had to get creative. There's no way I'd want to be stuck in stop and go traffic on a two-lane road with no shoulder, which would be my most likely alternative.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Straz85 said:


> I had decided on Schwalbe Marathon Winters. Now I'm thinking maybe I should go with Nokians instead?


Last year the problem was specifically with the brand new 29er ice spiker pro - some people were complaining about losing 30%+ studs after just a few rides. (I didn't have that problem though, possibly because I did the break-in period)


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Your seatpost looks a lot taller than Prerunner`s! Room enough there for a military dufflebag if you want :lol:
> I really like that bag though- I wouldn`t mind it at all on my front platform.


That pic is from Wiggle's website, I haven't thrown it on the bike yet. My seat post is just as high though, I just don't have the brazons so I had to get the post collar. Actual pics once I get off my lazy butt and do the install.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Commuter bike (Ogre) Thursday rounds out the 4 bikes in 4 days adventure for me. Now I've decided that I need to run the commute home tomorrow to complete the week. Ugh. I need a 5th bike :lol:


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Which bike are you studding? The Nokian Mount and Ground is a great 26" commuter tire and relatively cheap.


Cross Check


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## prerunner06 (Jan 27, 2008)

Great ride today! Weather was low/mid 80s small breeze. Tired I little different route some how I was slower and it took a mile off but I'm sticking to my old route 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk expect the worse!


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Here's the pic's I promised of bag and rack. Also included one of the tires I'm running now both front and back. I like them and they do very well.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bad ride AND a smiley face from B Mc- Not sure what to make of that


Ride was fine, ( though a bit windy outbound 10-15 mph straight ahead).

I wasn't. So the less verbose me, doesn't work, I guess.

It felt like I was in the wrong gear from the get go. I had a 'too-close' scare that kicked in the adrenalin and heart pains. I was slow. My heart rate was high. I couldn't power up the last grade well and blew through 175 HR trying. This morning (long after posting) I discovered I had not taken my heart med. Hmmm. That could do it. :madman:

Even windier today. Got arm tremors part way through. Likely a by-product of the treatment for heavy metals. Like the not wanting to ride. I am now at 16 X the dose I was in December. Still slow but no heart pain and was overtaken outbound by a cyclist returning to Columbus, IN. We had a nice chat to my turn around. He remarked that he really cooked the 25 miles from Columbus, only to discover why after lunch and the return. Twenty mph gusts cans be impressive in either direction. He said I could be seen 'for miles'. So I guess there are a lot of people not looking at the road when they drive such as the lane changer the day before. :eekster:

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

warming back up a bit into the 80's so I built up a bit of a sweat on the way in. I came in late today because my house needed cleaning and I'm just no good at being productive cleaning the house after work. the best I can manage is doing the dishes.

gonna have to mow the lawn this weekend. after the foot of rain last weekend, my yard has exploded. someone needs to buy my damn house already.

the ride wasn't bad. Wind from the south, which was either a crosswind or a slight tail wind on the way in. Will be a headwind on the way home, but I have to stop at a few places on the way home so I won't be doing it all at once.

I did have a guy get uncomfortably close on my ride in. I have a downhill where I regularly hit 30-34mph, followed by train tracks where many cars slow to 10mph or slower (I like to try to jump my commuter bike on the tracks and regularly pass people here, even going uphill on my way home.

There's an intersection just on the other side of the tracks where the cross traffic has stop signs but main traffic has nothing. I was across the tracks and the guy started pulling out into traffic already. He apparently saw me because he was creeping across until I passed by, but you can't really be sure in situations like that, you know?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> Here's the pic's I promised of bag and rack.


Too wide for my front rack- would be wedged between the hooks of my bars. Damn.

The picture with that cool looking mountain in the background prompted me to check google maps fro the home location listed in your profile. Jeez, those mountains do look nice on sat imaging! Are they safe and sane enough to ride/hike in? I see a lot of roads, so I guess so. Are you at enough elevation to keep you out of the Phoenix temps?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> So the less verbose me, doesn't work, I guess.


^^For as many times as I`ve wished you had a few less words, its funny to find myself having prompted that response 

Well, I hope it`s just a down cycle of your waxing and waning tooth detox process that has you on the outs lately. And hopefully the comment on your lights was enough to help make up for feeling crappy.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Too wide for my front rack- would be wedged between the hooks of my bars. Damn.
> 
> The picture with that cool looking mountain in the background prompted me to check google maps fro the home location listed in your profile. Jeez, those mountains do look nice on sat imaging! Are they safe and sane enough to ride/hike in? I see a lot of roads, so I guess so. Are you at enough elevation to keep you out of the Phoenix temps?


1) The bag is listed as 35cm wide, the pic shows the bag a bit squished, plus my tools in the side pockets. The straps could be changed for length so it's still possible to use it that way with almost no effort.

2) Yes they are safe within reason. There are mountain lions and javilina in there, and also the occasional drug mule. The recent news about the Border Patrol officer shot was @ 15-20 miles away. One of the most popular trails in the area is only 3.5 miles away, which is very nice for when I get the itch. Also if you remember last year the big wild fires, that was here (had to evacuate for 8 days :sad: not fun at all), about 50 homes were lost, but now it's starting to really grow back and almost all the folks who lost their homes have rebuilt.

3) The temps are very mild here, most of the time it rarely gets above 100* and hardly ever gets below 40*. Last few weeks it's been around 85* during the day and about 60-65* at night. Every couple of years it might snow an inch or so, but it doesn't stay more than a day. This area is a high valley so once you go north or south the weather gets more extreme, but right here is really rather nice (also produces some decent wine). I'll take a couple of pics of the view from the other side of my garage, that you'll definitely appreciate.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> Are the studs replaceable? I'll be ordering snow tires soon. The roads around here are pretty well plowed and I can work from home on days with any significant snowfall, so I just need something for ice and very shallow snow. I had decided on Schwalbe Marathon Winters. Now I'm thinking maybe I should go with Nokians instead?


They are, but don't expect it to be easy.

For ice, the Marathons are a better tire than the A10.

The A10 only has studs out the outside and work great for those panic situations, the studs bring the bike back to right. But, they roll WAY better than the Marathon, which is why I use them early and late season when I just have to deal with frosting conditions. An insurance policy if you will.

The Marathons have studs near the center as well as the outside. Fpr everything but deep blizzard snow, they are the ultimate all around winter tire. Just don't expect to break any Strava records with them. Year before last, I rode on a couple lakes as a test and they were bloody amazing on the ice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> ...Year before last, I rode on a couple lakes as a test and they were bloody amazing on the ice.


As a test? Riding on frozen lakes is something that should be done for fun! There's nothing cooler than riding miles on a totally flat lake with the sound of the studs digging into the ice.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute home last night was fun. I hung onto the wheel of one roadie for about a kilometre and then had another tail me for a few. The MUT was pretty empty so I was flying along with my wheel sucking compadre. Near my apartment, I ran into our neighbourhood bulldog, Oscar and said hello. 

It was a good training ride for the MocoEpic.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

These are from my house;


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

^ UFO in 6th pic.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

That's a surveillance drone that keeps an eye on the border operating out of Fort Huachuca. It does freak out a few people when they first see it though.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

junior, nice pics. I'd love to have that as the skyline behind my house.

The rack on your bike is pretty slick, too, but I am not a fan of the bag.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I like the concept of that rack. I'm not a fan of racks or anything else attached to the bike though personally. That one would be on my short list if I had a spine condition or something that prevented me from wearing a backpack :lol: 

Brought the shoes for the run home... but I'm still fishing for excuses.....


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

junior1210 said:


> That's a surveillance drone that keeps an eye on the border operating out of Fort Huachuca. It does freak out a few people when they first see it though.


I can see why it'd freak people out. Drones are weird. I have a friend who supposedly controls some of those along the border. He's weird too.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> They are, but don't expect it to be easy.
> 
> For ice, the Marathons are a better tire than the A10.
> 
> ...


I was at the LBS today and mentioned I would soon be ordering studded tires. They said they thought they had a set of Kenda's leftover from last year. I was skeptical about Kenda snow tires, but figured I'd look anyway. He came out with a set of 700x35 Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106's for $35 each! I couldn't say no to that deal.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> That's a surveillance drone that keeps an eye on the border operating out of Fort Huachuca.


Looking for people trying to sneak down for that awesome, but forbidden nonpasteurized cheese 

Your valley looks a whole bunch like Cedaville, CA.



mrbigisbudgood said:


> The A10 only has studs out the outside and work great for those panic situations, the studs bring the bike back to right. But, they roll WAY better than the Marathon, which is why I use them early and late season when I just have to deal with frosting conditions. An insurance policy if you will.
> 
> The Marathons have studs near the center as well as the outside. Fpr everything but deep blizzard snow, they are the ultimate all around winter tire. Just don't expect to break any Strava records with them.


The Marathons are the only studded tires I`ve ever tried, so not much basis for comparison, but I remember my first time riding with them (dry pavement). I think I described the feeling as something like "towing a Winnebago". And with the sound of frying bacon! They sure do stick to ice though, and better in snow than anything else I`ve used since I stopped MTBing, but a serious overkill for me- wish those A10s were available in 26 x 1.5 or so.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> The Marathons are the only studded tires I`ve ever tried, so not much basis for comparison, but I remember my first time riding with them (dry pavement). I think I described the feeling as something like "towing a Winnebago". And with the sound of frying bacon! They sure do stick to ice though, and better in snow than anything else I`ve used since I stopped MTBing, but a serious overkill for me- wish those A10s were available in 26 x 1.5 or so.


These will make you feel like you're pulling a freight train. Nokin 294 mounted on my Nickel.










Sadly enough, our weather forecast says we will be below freezing this week. Still have to solve my fork dilema.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Today is my first day back at the office after a month on vacation. I'm looking forward to it, mostly because it's an excuse to ride my bike through wine country. I'm so terribly unfit though, I'm giving myself an hour buffer on arrival to take a nap when I get to work.

Just in case.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Back on the bike after a few days in the truck!

Morning Commute Pics

Wow, those are big!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Got to work today @ 5:40am only to find the fire alarm in the building going off. The fire department rolled up right when I did, and I had to cool my heels out front while the firemen checked things out (was a false alarm). Cool my heels was a good description, cause it was about 45 degrees outside and I was dressed in shorts and long-sleeved performance top. I'm nice and warm when riding, but when you have to sit outside for 20 minutes, and you are all sweaty from the ride, coldness quickly sets in.

Our stretch of beautiful weather continues here. Supposed to be sunny and 70 today. The last time I rode in any kind of rain was July 3rd.

Oh yeah, passed 5000 commute miles for the year this morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, those are big!


Maine: home of the OTHER big sky :lol:
Very cool mist, though!


woodway said:


> Oh yeah, passed 5000 commute miles for the year this morning.


I passed my overall mileage from last year, pushing into new territory now. Um... but it`s still a lot less than even your commute miles. Too bad the fire dept wasn`t there to put out an illegal burn barrel- you could have warmed your toes while you waited.

Wanted to go hiking with my wife yesterday, but she twisted an ankle the day before, so we made a car trip instead to check out the fall colors. Ummmm 
I have one more weekend off before we jump into our busy season full swing, so hope to get back out to the same area for one last weekend tour. Oh, leaving in a half hour to talk to Henry Shires (owner and designer of Tarptents). I`m going to buy one of two models that I`ve been itching to get ahold of- that makes me twice as anxious for a camping trip next weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Oh yeah, passed 5000 commute miles for the year this morning.


Nice! I'm at 4100 which is more than I did last year and I still have 2 months to go. I should hit 5000 this year as long as we don't have too many snow days.

It was a chilly one here this morning too around 36. My new boots were much better than my well ventilated cycling shoes. I think they'll work out just fine. I should have worn a hat.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

Finally getting some cooler weather here in North Texas. This morning's commute was a bit chilly, but at least I didn't get all sweaty.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was a long sleeves and knee warmers kind of morning. The afternoon ride is looking to be sunny and 56F. It seems a little chillier than normal, but I'm not complaining.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

J3SSEB said:


> Finally getting some cooler weather here in North Texas. This morning's commute was a bit chilly, but at least I didn't get all sweaty.


low 50's with a decent wind for my morning commute today. I go from nearly 90 and sweating balls in shorts and a t-shirt last week to wearing long pants and a light jacket (unzipped) and barely sweating at all today. quite a radical change.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Technically this wasn't on my commute, but I think it fits this thread. I don't feel like typing it out again, so here is the text from my Facebook post:

I just got in an argument with a hot-headed off-duty police officer who was in a Mustang convertible. I had made some adjustments on my mountain bike at home and took the bike down the street to see if everything was working properly. I was on my side of the road. There was a car parked and blocking the lane opposite me. While I approached the car, the Mustang came around a corner and started speeding up to swerve around the car before I got there. The next thing I know, the guy was yelling something out the window at me as he zipped by. I spun around around and the guy was stopped in the middle of the road.

Not wanting any trouble, I spun back around and was going to go on my way when the guy put his car in reverse and started after me, obviously trying to be intimidating. I stopped in a bank parking lot and the guy pulled up about a foot away from me and began giving me an earful. He flashed his badge and ran his mouth about a bunch of crap while I tried to explain my side of the story. That didn't work, so I tried to end the conversation. That didn't work either. I tried to appeal to the law and the rules of the road concerning bicycles on the road. He just got more angry and threatened to lock me up.

As far as I know, you cannot lock someone up for riding a bicycle down the street. I wasn't breaking any rules. I wasn't looking to cause trouble. All I did was try to defend my side of the story, which was irrelevant because the dude had a badge in his pocket. What a d-bag.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I'm back home from my 10 day bike-camping and singletrack-sampling tour through VT. And just in time as there were a couple inches of snow on the peaks this morning. Most used item: rain jacket. Never used item: sunscreen. Flats: zero! Lots of fun despite rain almost every day. The feel of light-weighting the bike by removing all the camping gear (except the rack) to sample the local singletrack was great! A few pix:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Mtbxplorer: So did you take a pass on crossing the bridge? If so, what were the repercussions? Worse than falling through the deck?

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ No, I took the bridge "at my own risk", taking care to walk on top of the I-beams - and hold my breath!. There were 2 other possible approaches to this lollipop shaped loop, but this one had a more gradual climb. I went out through one of the alternates. I missed the road to the bridge the first time, because the USFS is always so good about numbering their roads - but apparently when the bridge got destroyed they just took down the sign with the road's number.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I like how it could mean pass across or pass by. Maybe it's a New England thing.

Obviously you did not pass on. But you did cross over. Silly language.

I have this video from late last week and the nice ride I was so slow on. We had 31 F this morning so the colors should pop soon. I wanted this base line:

FILE0009 - YouTube

BrianMc


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

NateHawk said:


> low 50's with a decent wind for my morning commute today. I go from nearly 90 and sweating balls in shorts and a t-shirt last week to wearing long pants and a light jacket (unzipped) and barely sweating at all today. quite a radical change.


You must be from Texas too. There's no acclimatization here. BAM! Its cold, now its hot....ugh!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Cool this morning in the shade which is about 50% of the ride, but nice in the sun. Definite nip in the wind even this afternoon. Not looking forward to the cold but have vowed a silent promise to myself to ride until the odds are impassable, seeing how low of a temperature I can stand. Plus there will be the uncomprehending stares from coworkers when I get here. At least the sun is out, skies are blue and tourists off the roads.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Two weeks ago I was in the tropics, where every morning was a 84ºF/29ºC morning, warm and definitely T-shirt weather.
One week ago I was in Sydney, Australia where every morning was cool, but still a quite bearable 68-70ºF (~20ºC)

Then this morning, I was greeted with this:









Of course, I was still in shirt and shorts mode... so I was pretty damn cold on the way to work. Gorgeous morning though, can't complain about the ride either. Definitely glad to have the nice warm showers at work!!


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## djork (Nov 8, 2004)

After not riding to work for almost two months (or maybe it has been over two months!) because of the heat up until this weekend, I took my new Bad Boy 5 for its maiden commute ride. It was glorious! The weather was perfect riding weather too. Half way I heard some squeaking and at first thought it was birds chirping because the squeak sounded more like a chirping noise. But it wasn't and I tried to listen more carefully and thought it was maybe the BB, crankset, or pedals. Nope. Then thought it was my rear disc brake. Later in evening on my way home the noise seemed to getting louder and was irritaing me. It wasn't until I got home and pinpointed the squeak/chirp to the front disc. I tried adjusting the front caliper (Shimano Alvio hydros) but to no avail. It doesn't squeak when the brake is applied but squeaks when the front wheel rotates. Slow spinning doesn't produce the noise, only when the wheel is spinning fast does the squeak come up. I'm hoping this is just associated with new brakes and taht it will go away soon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@s0ckeuyus: Just to picture the scene, did the Mustang cime up from behind you on your side or towards you on the same side as the parked car? The car was parked in the travel lane of a commercial street? What a jerk- hope they aren`t all like that around there.



Spatialized said:


> Not looking forward to the cold but have vowed a silent promise to myself to ride until the odds are impassable, seeing how low of a temperature I can stand.


Good luck! Have you bribed yourself with new cold weather gear for inspiration?



djork said:


> After not riding to work for almost two months (or maybe it has been over two months!) because of the heat up until this weekend, I took my new Bad Boy 5 for its maiden commute ride. It was glorious!


New bike! No better way I can think of to jump back in


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, that looks sweet! Are you going to put up a separate thread with more pics? Probably could throw one up on the bikepacking page if you don`t want to put one here this time. You sure pack light- I think I do pretty good, but you`ve got me beat already. And what`s the tag on your handlebar in the last pic? Looks like the proof of payment they give you at designated campgrounds that they expect you to hang from your rear view mirror!

EDIT: No paddling this time, I take it?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes, I have some more pics to post, I'll probably spread them between here, bikepacking and VT forums. I didn't really think I packed light, although I did purposefully buy the smallest Lone Peak panniers to limit my overpacking. The basic organization was:

orange drybag on bars - tent
black drybag on bars - sleeping pad 
the above held on by Revelate's handlebar harness, a great item.
frame bag - fuel canister, pint pot with mug & stove inside, a few small things
handlebar packs - snacks, camera, mini cable lock, friction zone cream, etc.
rear rack - red drybag - sleeping bag and mini fleece pillow (best luxury addition)
blue panniers - basically food/bowl one side, clothes the other, both in drybags.
Osprey backpack (my daily commuter) - water bladder, maps, phone, layers to add or subtract for the day
Seatpack - spare tube, multitool, levers

I had to bring some warm clothes, cozy puff-type jacket and lined nylon pants for camp, so I skimped on base layers.... Contrary to popular opinion, wearing 1 pair of chamois for 5 days or sox for 3 will not kill you. Knee warmers also saved space while adding a lot of warmth.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> @s0ckeuyus: Just to picture the scene, did the Mustang cime up from behind you on your side or towards you on the same side as the parked car? The car was parked in the travel lane of a commercial street? What a jerk- hope they aren`t all like that around there.


The Mustang was coming towards me, and this was on a neighborhood street. The bank sits on the corner with a main road going perpendicular to the one I was on.

I am going to file a complaint. I can't be completely sure the guy was a real officer. I've gone over the scene a million times in my head and can't see how I was breaking any laws. Even if I had been being a jerk, I don't see how the guy's response was justified.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I am going to file a complaint. I can't be completely sure the guy was a real officer. I've gone over the scene a million times in my head and can't see how I was breaking any laws. Even if I had been being a jerk, I don't see how the guy's response was justified.


Sounds like the right thing to do.

MTXB, I like the cow pic. It must be trained not to step into the road? If you post to some other thread can you post a link here? Too bad about the weather. I totally got the "pass at your own risk" sign. Must be a New England thing.

I'm not really digging this cold weather stuff. Extra layers, clammy, cold, sweaty end to the commute. No, I prefer the summer.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I am going to file a complaint. I can't be completely sure the guy was a real officer. I've gone over the scene a million times in my head and can't see how I was breaking any laws. Even if I had been being a jerk, I don't see how the guy's response was justified.


Good for you. Small towns often get the power-mad types who need to be weeded out. If he is a fake, that needs to be reported, too.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sounds like officer boy had a bad day at the office... needed to flash a badge at someone and you were the lucky target. 

Cool pics, cool trip MTBX! I'd love to do something like that. 

I wore what I thought was a thicker long sleeve layer this morning...but thicker does not mean more wind resistant... brisk! Still holding out in the shorts, but I can see the writing on the wall... I need to install some cleats in my sexy new boots, install the fenders, and mount the studs on the spare wheels... kick the tires and light the fires!! Winters' comin'!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> If he is a fake, that needs to be reported, too.


Good point. That one hadn`t even occurred to me.



CommuterBoy said:


> I need to install some cleats in my sexy new boots, install the fenders, and mount the studs on the spare wheels... kick the tires and light the fires!!


Remember to moisturize those sexy boots and keep your modjo.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Good for you. Small towns often get the power-mad types who need to be weeded out. If he is a fake, that needs to be reported, too.
> 
> BrianMc


Yeah, this is a small town of 600,000 or so.  My uncle, a retired deputy sheriff, is saying the same thing as you.

In other news, the commute in this morning was chilly but pleasant.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Not wanting any trouble, I spun back around and was going to go on my way when the guy put his car in reverse and started after me, obviously trying to be intimidating. I stopped in a bank parking lot and the guy pulled up about a foot away from me and began giving me an earful. He flashed his badge and ran his mouth about a bunch of crap while I tried to explain my side of the story. That didn't work, so I tried to end the conversation. That didn't work either. I tried to appeal to the law and the rules of the road concerning bicycles on the road. He just got more angry and threatened to lock me up.


That really sucks s0ck. A month or two ago I was at a 4-way stop and had someone in a city vehicle honk at me, and then gesture and wave and tailgate and all sorts of other bs. 
Thankfully I never actually felt threatened, but I was pretty pissed off that someone would pull that crap in a government vehicle. I'd be extra pissed if they'd tried to flash a badge to justify their idiocy.

I've called in complaints a couple of times and heard zilch, but it might be time for me to log one more call.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Remember to moisturize those sexy boots and keep your modjo.


:lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Didn't think I'd make it on the bike this morning after getting up way late, but I did anyways. Beautiful ride. Bike's annoying the hell out of me with a bit of chain noise and a clunk from the bottom bracket but I'll get the LBS to straighten it out, it's new enough.

I had been listening to audiobooks on my rides but for the last few rides I've been skipping them and I think I prefer the quiet (except for the stupid bottom bracket). The books were interesting but it's just so damned peaceful to be cranking down a trail with the fall colors everywhere.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I had a record-setting late departure about a week ago... thought I was going to have to drive I woke up so late, but I went for it anyway, and it all worked out. It's pretty much always worth it to ride :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> A month or two ago I was at a 4-way stop and had someone in a city vehicle honk at me, and then gesture and wave and tailgate and all sorts of other bs.


I've heard (but not tried) a cell phone pic. The idea that their actions might be recorded, sometimes smartens them up.

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Good ride today. I need to figure out a flexible kit for this time of year. It was 60 when I left the house, but it felt cooler than that. Maybe because it was overcast and a little humid. I rolled in long pants, but just a t-shirt because my thin jacket is a little too warm for this.

Maybe I would do well to get a pair of arm warmers. My knee warmers work pretty well (they've been good down to just about freezing).

I had to run some errands before I went to the office. Had to stop at the post office, and then at the grocery store for lunch items to keep in the office.

I cursed myself for not having any bungees in my backpack so I could attach the sodas to my rack. I ended up having to put it all in my pack. It fit, but the weight was not confidence-inspiring.

My Brooks saddle started squeaking BAD today. I'm pretty sure it's the bracket interface at the nose of the saddle by the adjuster bolt. I think I last lubed it a year ago and have been squeak-free since. I had to go a little out of my way to have the LBS squirt some lube in there, it was driving me so crazy this morning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I got arm warmers for the first time this year. I have found that if I keep my upper body warmer, I can get away with shorts much longer. I always layer up on top before I go to long pants. Everyone is different, but it works for me... the arm warmers make a huge difference. After a cold ride with only a thin shirt on, what feels the coldest/tingliest to me is the back of the arm/tricep area... this makes very little sense, but it's true. The arm warmers let me prevent this situation while still letting my core get airflow in those in-between temps... I've done the arm warmers and jersey shirt down to the mid 40's comfortably.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I got arm warmers for the first time this year. I have found that if I keep my upper body warmer, I can get away with shorts much longer. I always layer up on top before I go to long pants. Everyone is different, but it works for me... the arm warmers make a huge difference. After a cold ride with only a thin shirt on, what feels the coldest/tingliest to me is the back of the arm/tricep area... this makes very little sense, but it's true. The arm warmers let me prevent this situation while still letting my core get airflow in those in-between temps... I've done the arm warmers and jersey shirt down to the mid 40's comfortably.


It's that time of year where temp swings require significant changes to clothing. While on a long ride, I'd probably still be using shorts and a jersey at 60F because I'd warm up, my short commute doesn't really enable me to warm up fully. Yesterday I had to wear long pants as well as a jacket (which felt fairly comfortable) in the low 50's.

Of course, with this being Texas and being nearly 90F just last week, I'm not quite acclimated to these cooler fall temps yet. long pants and a jacket will not likely be comfortable on my commute in the low 50's in a couple of weeks.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> And what`s the tag on your handlebar in the last pic? Looks like the proof of payment they give you at designated campgrounds that they expect you to hang from your rear view mirror!
> 
> EDIT: No paddling this time, I take it?


Ha, yes, good eye, that is the hang tag they usually give you to hang from your rear view mirror to show you're a paid camper. I thought it looked darn cute on the bars. It also gets you into other state parks that day for free.

I didn't take the kayak this time since the car stayed at home, although the lakeside campground did still have some rentals available, but I ran out of time/energy/decent weather for that.



bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, I like the cow pic. It must be trained not to step into the road? If you post to some other thread can you post a link here? Too bad about the weather. I totally got the "pass at your own risk" sign. Must be a New England thing.


I couldn't tell if the cows were fenced or had escaped, but that one seemed qute interested. There were others browsing in the woods nearby, which is unusual, you usually just seem them in open fields. If I could figure out how to caption pictures, that one would've been "Moo pavement".
I'll get some more pix up and post a link, although I must admit a few rainy days went by with nary a pic.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I thought this story was interresting:

Instead Of Surgery, Man Pedals Off The Pounds : NPR

Though it really doesn`t belong here, this thread has been pretty good for collecting whatever don`t fit nowhere else.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, that was interesting, and impressive, both for the guy pedaling off the pounds, and the other cyclists who befriended him. 

For those interested in more on my bikecamping trip: http://forums.mtbr.com/vermont-new-...rack-sampling-vt-tour-818013.html#post9764825


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

It was cold, wet, windy, and miserable today. Winter and snow can't come soon enough.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I spoke with the police last night. Basically, I got the impression I was left with the impression I was wasting their time unless I knew the guy's name or badge number. The guy probably works at the police station right down the street from me. I hope I don't run into him again because he's a jerk.

This morning's weather was warmer than the past few days: 50F and overcast. I didn't even need a long-sleeved shirt this morning, which is nice. Yesterday morning we had some patchy frost.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ that sucks, but it's pretty much the impression I got when trying to complain to our city - even though I have the ID number of the vehicle in question. Such bs.

Rain over night, which turned to snow as I headed out this morning. We're supposed to get about an inch, but I don't think it will stick around. It's definitely time to start thinking about the studs, though.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Been using the new saddle bag for a week now and after making a couple of changes/adjustments, it's working rather well for me. Instead of using the leather attachment straps provided with the bag, I've been using an old nylon quick release strap that's long enough to wrap around the hardwood dowel several times which allows me to get the best position every time. Also had to rig up a mounting bracket for my tail light. Easy enough with old spare parts lying around. The bag is just large enough for my work clothes, lunch, bike tools, cable and lock, plus a little extra room for anything I buy on the way home. I REALLY like the extra long cover flap on the bag, which allows the bag to expand carry capacity by almost 1/3, and the closure straps can be swapped to the new positions in a couple of seconds. The bag also has D rings for a shoulder strap and can be tucked in out of the way without having to detach. It didn't say so on the site but in the tag that comes on the bag, the canvas outer shell guarantied waterproof. It's not a Carradice but it's durn good anyway.

Here's the link to full review: Zimbale Traditional 18 Liter Saddle Bags Reviews


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ran over another rabbit this morning, second one in 2012 and fourth overall. Got him with both wheels, THUMP THUMP. Man they just can't seem to stop themselves from running underneath my wheels. Crazy.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

So I almost got run over last night on the way home. Huge GM pickup doing highway speeds around a sharp corner at the crest of a hill. The truck moved like the driver was fighting to keep it from sliding or rolling and had it done either I was in the worst possible place and would have eaten the truck.

I'm not sure I want to keep riding through the winter. I'd love to brave the elements and the snow and all, but people are complete idiots.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I have one of those corners. I can picture that. That will put fear into you.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sanath said:


> I'm not sure I want to keep riding through the winter. I'd love to brave the elements and the snow and all, but people are complete idiots.


Yes, but as you've found, they are just as idiotic in the spring, summer and fall!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sanath said:


> So I almost got run over last night on the way home. Huge GM pickup doing highway speeds around a sharp corner at the crest of a hill. The truck moved like the driver was fighting to keep it from sliding or rolling and had it done either I was in the worst possible place and would have eaten the truck.


There are a lot of nice paved county roads with blind hills that too often have dualie pickups flying over in the middle of the road (a reckless driving charge and 3 points, if caught). I won't ride them anymore.



Sanath said:


> I'm not sure I want to keep riding through the winter. I'd love to brave the elements and the snow and all, but people are complete idiots.


Leave off riding after the first two snowfalls. The real idiots wreck then. Everyone adjusts and most drivers are stunned to see a cyclist and I get super-courteous drivers for the most part. A lot like I do at night. It eases off toward spring, but I'll take all the good road manners I can get. Anyone else see this effect?

BrianMc


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

But traction is better when there's no snow/ice. That would have gone much worse had the road been slippery in any way. I routinely pass people a good 30+ feet off the edge of straight, flat roads around here. I don't even know how you can go so far wrong but I see it _all the time_ up here.


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## _daemon_ (Sep 16, 2007)

Got a puncture this morning :-\ still better than sitting in a car in traffic 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


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## Scott In MD (Sep 28, 2008)

Best time of the year for commuting here in AZ. Plenty of daylight left, q-tip snowbirds not yet arrived en masse, and perfectamundo dry, sunny and cool-ish seventy degree mornings and ninety degree afternoons. And lots of upcoming IMAZ triathletes out training at 34mph on the downhill Beeline to draft off of! 

So yeah, my 22-miler was awesome.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, it does sound nice. Except for that part about the 90 degree afternons :lol:
This is my favorite time of the year for any outdoor activites also. Mornings now require some clothes, but as soon as the sun gets a chance, it warms up nicely. Also enjoy the lack of tourists between summer stuff and ski season.



BrianMc said:


> Anyone else see this effect?


Can`t say as I`ve noticed that, but it sounds plausible.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez, more rain here, 40's and cold rain and wheel-sucking muddy dirt roads - ick! A coworker cancelled the welldriller after all this rain as the old well has been recharged. And I really needed the lights tonight, so it suddenly feels like winter is coming.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, Forecast: clouds breaking this afternoon with sun. Actual: rain from 2:00 to well after I got home.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

The weather was mint this morning so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*A Little More Bikecamping Scenery*

The round church just turned 200.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Wow. Mtbx, some suitable for framing, there!

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thx BrianMc - luckily I have the waterproof camera!

Mark, hope you feel better soon! Where are you that it is so warm?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Scott In MD said:


> Best time of the year for commuting here in AZ. Plenty of daylight left, q-tip snowbirds not yet arrived en masse, and perfectamundo dry, sunny and cool-ish seventy degree mornings and ninety degree afternoons. And lots of upcoming IMAZ triathletes out training at 34mph on the downhill Beeline to draft off of!
> 
> So yeah, my 22-miler was awesome.


Funny, just 3 hours away, we're hitting 40s in the AM, 70s in the PM. Still amazing weather, road conditions are nice, especially since the summer folks have left.

Almost got left-hooked this evening though. Running to the store and idiot turns directly in front of me (left across my lane of travel), I locked up the brakes, skidded, missed him by a fair enough margin but still pissed me off...there wasn't another soul on the road and I was very lit up. Reminds me that there are still plenty of idiots here. Otherwise, commuting has been quite nice.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a couple extra minutes this morning and decided to pluck a few chords on the guitar. Not a good idea, especially since it was the coldest morning of the season and I hadn't located all the appropriate gear yet. To make it worse, traffic was a little heavy and I had to wait a couple minutes to get out of my neighborhood. More delays. I clocked in about 10 minutes late. :madman:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Great pics mtbx! I need to get to that corner of the country.

No close calls or guitar distractions here... although I TOTALLY understand s0ck...

I recently uploaded all the pictures from my phone to my computer... I was realizing that a pretty big percentage of them are from the bike commute, I thought I should do something with them. You've seen most of thse if you've been on here for a while so I debated sharing it, but here it is anyway :thumbsup:

Bike Commute pictures - YouTube


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Great pix mtbxplorer.

I had to break out the Level 1 winter gloves this morning. I volunteered last night, and riding home at 10 my fingers were absolutely frozen. Bah.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Haven't been commuting for about a week thanks to some stitches from a small procedure on my shoulder. At this point I'm fairly confident I'm not going to split it open so I'm gonna give it a shot and commute back from my lunch break. 

Feels like it's been ages since I've ridden.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I recently uploaded all the pictures from my phone to my computer... I was realizing that a pretty big percentage of them are from the bike commute, I thought I should do something with them. You've seen most of thse if you've been on here for a while so I debated sharing it, but here it is anyway :thumbsup:
> 
> Bike Commute pictures - YouTube


That came out great as a photo/video montage - nice! :yesnod:

My ride this morning was a brisk 35F, I broke out some insulated gloves instead of just the wind-resistant ones. I took a detour to bypass the worst muddy road from last night, it was a worthwhile extra 1.5 miles. Thankfully it stopped raining between the time I woke up and the time I left - that would have been a really cold rain.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Two inches of frozen rain and sleet....

had to pump up and install the studs this morning.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Much warmer than yesterday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Two inches of frozen rain and sleet....
> 
> had to pump up and install the studs this morning.


 It begins. What's your latitude again?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> It begins. What's your latitude again?


51 degrees about bang on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Two inches of frozen rain and sleet....
> 
> had to pump up and install the studs this morning.


Yikes! Have a safe ride.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yikes! Have a safe ride.


Yup slow and easy until I gt used to riding ice again.


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## foxfire235 (Aug 11, 2011)

It's getting cold up here in Alaska! gotta watch out for moose in rut!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I recently uploaded all the pictures from my phone to my computer... I was realizing that a pretty big percentage of them are from the bike commute, I thought I should do something with them. You've seen most of thse if you've been on here for a while so I debated sharing it, but here it is anyway :thumbsup:


Holy cow, Sunrise City! You sure have some pretty stuff on your route, CB- great compilation.



jeffscott said:


> Two inches of frozen rain and sleet....
> 
> had to pump up and install the studs this morning.


Here it comes. Bout time for Fux to start posting up, then.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

-1C this morning. And so it begins.

Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder.


Amen brother! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Windy, had to pedal downhill. 37F and damp, I was a bit chilly on the downhill, and a bit warm on the uphill, despite removing the hat and unzipping the jacket.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took 10 min this morning to slap a fender on the back of the Cross Check. I've had a set that came with the bike but hadn't committed to putting them on. My Century ride is Sunday and it's looking like rain so I think I'll outfit that bike with the fenders (unless somebody kicks in the extra $1355). The rain this morning made me jump on it. I may end up taking them off if I try my hand at cyclocross next weekend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A bit windy for me today too...not too bad. This weekend... fenders go on.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Best of luck, Bedwards!

I had micro-raindrops shooting through my headlight beam last night, then continued drizzle since then, so I`m glad my fenders finally had a purpose other than pushing a little extra air. Its supposed to clear up pretty much by tonight. That`s good cause I`m ready for another weekender. Think I`ll make this one a dirt trip.



woodway said:


> Amen brother! :thumbsup:


Oh, was that a Swedish prayer?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I re-fendered today too. Actually looks a bit belts-n-suspenders now because the rear rack is still on from camping, but it doesn't block so good when it's not loaded up, so now the fender is on top of it. And I had taken off the front half of the front fender so that my camping gear on the bars wouldn't push on it and force the holder out of the fork crown. Having the rear half on the trip ended up being brilliant, since I had so much rain.

Have a good trip Rodar, and a nice century Bedwards!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Mine was a quick hack job too since I decided to do it between waking up and leaving for work. Tie-wraps were involved. Nothing rubbed:thumbsup: good to go.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

Another good commute, the second half had wet roads, but almost no rainfall, so I stayed dry aside from sweat. Spent five minutes this morning looking at the Brooks B-17N on wallbike's website this morning, the subtle pressure points from my Adamo Race are getting annoying towards the end of the week. Need to put Eneloops in the rack light, the alkaline ones that came with it sure didn't last long (and I have both rears set to flash, not constant).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I thought about CommuterBoy yesterday while on a night ride. I came around a corner and came face to face with a great horned owl. He was chilling out on the trail. I stopped about 10 feet away, and the owl turned and flew straight up into the air. It was pretty cool.

I also got my new rear wheel. My trail bike is slowly turning into a Frankenbike. The warranty replacement wheel is black and my front wheel is silver. The new rim is wider and lighter, but it's also drilled for Presta tubes. Oh well. I don't feel like spending a couple hundred bucks just for my wheels to match.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Commute was good but a bit cooler and windier than I anticipated. My tires are just about completely shot. The Weirwolfs I have are on their last legs and it's really starting to show lately. Hopefully I can limp them along for the next two-and-a-half months.

Can't wait for this winter when I have a bit more spending cash to plop down on commuter tires, brakes, fork, stem, bar, cables, and saddle.

EDIT: Forgot to add I finally had someone honk at me the other day for taking a lane through a roundabout. I didn't have a choice as I needed straight through and the right lane is for right turns only. They honked and I proceeded to leave them in the dust. Bikes are MUCH faster through roundabouts than cars.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, was that a Swedish prayer?


Well, maybe: "There is no bad weather, just bad clothes"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hmmm, I may have "bad clothing" this afternoon, it's been blowing and snowing on and off today, but no accumulation. I leave at 5:30 and the nowcast says scattered snow showers mixed with rain or *graupel* will continue across the north country through about 6 PM this evening. Little or no snow accumulation is expected.

Graupel??? I had to google it, it's that styrofoamy looking snow, aka snow pellets or soft hail.


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## GTscoob (Apr 27, 2009)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> -1C this morning. And so it begins.
> 
> Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder.


Sucks, it got into the high 40s Fahrenheit this week in Atlanta and folks are complaining.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

For shame MTBX using four letter words like sn*w in a public forum! :nono:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ :lol: I apologize, that was inappropriate!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well the wind was 10-15 out of the northeast. About 62 F. I took the errand bike with two ghetto panniers to the last farmers market of the season (until the indoor one on Saturday's in November). Empty The Schwinn weighs about the same as a fully racked Big Dummy. The very erect position and the barn door panniers made for a slow ride in empty into the wind. Really put the BP up pushing to keep drivers from doing something stupid close to stop signs. The wind was brisker if anything, homebound. Nice when loaded with corn, turnips, broccoli, white and orange cauliflower, beefsteak and medium tomatoes. Full up. The meat lady wasn't there so I couldn't bring home the bacon. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I thought about CommuterBoy yesterday while on a night ride. I came around a corner and came face to face with a great horned owl. He was chilling out on the trail. I stopped about 10 feet away, and the owl turned and flew straight up into the air. It was pretty cool.


Nice :lol:

I actually see what I assume is the same owl maybe once a week, usually at a pretty good distance but occasionally swooping fairly low off of a telephone pole by the road. Big stinking birds.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Today's ride home was a real mixed bag (literally and figuratively). Couldn't get my mind off the Jessica Ridgeway announcement, but stopped to take this photo:



Rest in Peace, Jessica.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Odd day...*

Was a slightly crazy day today. Woke up to thunderstorms around midnight followed by a frantic call from the mother-in-law about a tornado warning. The morning commute was gritty, damp and chilly but not too bad. Since the weather folks predicted storms all day I hauled the bike up to the office and watched in horror as the tire went flat in front of me. I spent lunch fixing the tire and attempting to free the now seized lock off of the rack which was a success. Did I mention that I started to get a migraine after lunch?

I needed a ride to vanquish the bad mojo of the day. Luckily the rain had left the trails tacky and soft, a far cry from the gluey mud they tend to devolve into when it rains. Was out riding as the sun was dropping and got these:





Migraine well gone, tire still inflated, tired and happy from a good ride I met my wife at a local pub for dinner and a flight of microbrews.



Perfect ending to a strange day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cooool pics today X 3!

I always thought that styrofoamy snow was called "that styrofoamy snow". Is another term really needed?

Orange cauliflower? I`m really expanding my knowledge base today


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ... My Century ride is Sunday and it's looking like rain so I think I'll outfit that bike with the fenders (unless somebody kicks in the extra $1355).


I believe I had a sighting of bedward's century this a.m. on my way back (by car) from my friend's woodsplitting get together in Maine. I saw only a handful of cyclists but a bunch of state trooper escorts/traffic control and a rest stop. At that time it had stopped raining but I'm guessing it was raining when they started.

Not a bluebird day like Saturday, but then Saturday was 20F in VT when I got up - Killington opened 1 trail for skiing/riding!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A section of video of Friday's ride on the errand bike after two frost nights. More color but colored trees from the week before are mostly leafless. Gusts of over 45 mph today and rain may mean this is as good as we get color wise this year.

FILE0001 - YouTube

BrianMc


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## runthesingletrack (Jan 14, 2011)

Don't post much, but thought I would because today's commute marked my second rainy commute! This time with fenders


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I believe I had a sighting of bedward's century this a.m. on my way back (by car) from my friend's woodsplitting get together in Maine. I saw only a handful of cyclists but a bunch of state trooper escorts/traffic control and a rest stop. At that time it had stopped raining but I'm guessing it was raining when they started.


I tried to wave to you but I didn't know you were going to be there, I didn't know what vehicle you were in and I don't know what you look like. Otherwise I would have. I was the one in the day-glow yellow rain coat.

As it turns out, doing a century on a cross check decked out for commuting and expecting to stay near the front of the pack is exhausting. I was feeling pretty smart about my fenders when we started in the rain at 38 degrees. This was my hardest century yet. I finished in about 7 hours - 6 1/2 riding time.

Today's commute was...slow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Congrats, that sounds speedy to me.

This morning I found out I am not faster than a German shepherd. I had a little jump on him, the owner was yelling, and I had a slight decline on the trail, but no, after I thought I might be safely away I heard yelling again and thought I'd better look. Sure enough he was right alongside the rear wheel already. I thought my left calf looked too much like a juicy steak, so I tried to stop and get the bike between us, but through some combination of panic, looking at the dog and the fall leaves I went down. I popped back up with him barking agressively, but it became clear he was not serious as he kept a little distance, and he soon returned home. I tweaked a knee enough to hurt for a bit, but not seriously. [ugh - now my knee is stiffening up :cryin: ] That was a little too much excitement for Monday morning.

I continued on my way without further incident except for a pickup at the rotary that gave a good impression of someone about to plow into me, so I braked, he braked enough to squeel a bit, and we were both slowed down.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Phew, more than enough excitement for a Monday morning. You might need one of these: Pepper Spray Gun


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## yabodie (Nov 4, 2010)

I did not commute today because I did the MoCo 65 mile yesterday.

I'm sore today.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Rather cool this a.m. wore my work trousers home, glad I did, since the self generated breeze was definitely on the chilly side. When I got here though I went and ordered a new Gyes leather saddle from Crow Cycles. I think it should match the saddle bag nicely.

Good job Yabodie, enjoy your well earned soreness.:lol::thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ He said trousers. 

I didn't get the fenders on this weekend...might be pushing it. Maybe tonight? Definitely DARK this morning. Low 40's...still haven't worn long pants...slightly overdressed in the almost windproof fleece this morning. We're having a great mellow fall so far...I'm putting off all the winterization projects. It will be a scramble when it drops to freezing any second now...


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I taunt dogs that tear off after me. they never start close enough to be able to reach me by the time they get too far from home and give up. plus, they're usually chihuahuas. if I had a german shepherd, I doubt I'd press my luck by taunting it. A nose wheelie and a tail whip might do the trick, though. 

today was nice. cool, but not cold. clear and sunny. played chicken with a salmon rider. I won. he turned off into a driveway long before I reached him. if it had been closer, I'd have cursed at him for riding the wrong way.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I didn't get the fenders on this weekend...might be pushing it. Maybe tonight? Definitely DARK this morning. Low 40's...still haven't worn long trousers...slightly overdressed in the almost windproof fleece this morning. We're having a great mellow fall so far...I'm putting off all the winterization projects. It will be a scramble when it drops to freezing any second now...


I was way overheated this morning too. I was expecting the recent low 40s and it was mid 50s.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

*I did the 50 and rode in today*



yabodie said:


> I did not commute today because I did the MoCo 65 mile yesterday.
> 
> I'm sore today.


Slow and sore to be sure, plus I couldn't have ridden 65 yesterday. Hats off to you for finishing the metric.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Good job Bedwards, yabodie, & nbwallace!

Rode a check out ride and caught early afternoon sun on trees:

More Color - YouTube

Sorry, I adjusted the lens the wrong way to correct for level with the side helmet mount. Can't seem to get good help these days. 

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Congrats, that sounds speedy to me.
> 
> This morning I found out I am not faster than a German shepherd. I had a little jump on him, the owner was yelling, and I had a slight decline on the trail, but no, after I thought I might be safely away I heard yelling again and thought I'd better look. Sure enough he was right alongside the rear wheel already. I thought my left calf looked too much like a juicy steak, so I tried to stop and get the bike between us, but through some combination of panic, looking at the dog and the fall leaves I went down. I popped back up with him barking agressively, but it became clear he was not serious as he kept a little distance, and he soon returned home. I tweaked a knee enough to hurt for a bit, but not seriously. [ugh - now my knee is stiffening up :cryin: ] That was a little too much excitement for Monday morning.
> 
> I continued on my way without further incident except for a pickup at the rotary that gave a good impression of someone about to plow into me, so I braked, he braked enough to squeel a bit, and we were both slowed down.


While I have been lucky enough to outrun the dogs....up til now....

I have started calling them to come with me.....seems to work they start to think they are gonna get a nice run.....

Sure pisses off the owners......but around here if the dog is not "under control" then the owner is at fault....

Under control means that verbal commands are as strong as ynking on the leash....so basically if the dog behaves as if it is off leash it is not "under control".


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

jeffscott said:


> While I have been lucky enough to outrun the dogs....up til now....
> 
> I have started calling them to come with me.....seems to work they start to think they are gonna get a nice run.....
> 
> ...


that's sorta what I do. except it's not a friendly, "here boy!" it's a "come and get me you little f'er!"


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning, I caught some big shadows on the grass. I turned my head and saw about six vultures up in a tree behind me. It was a bit spooky but also pretty cool.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Couldn't catch my fair weather Rider friend today, more pretty trees and an impatient Caddy:

Riding Buddy - YouTube

BrianMc


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Got stuck behind a pair of slow roadies down the gorge. I passed them at the top but where I took the safer cycle path route, they went down the road and then pulled off into the cycle path in front of me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, some great pics posted!

And dog chases too!

Rained like crazy here today. First time I have ridden in a real rain in about four months. So tonite I decided it's time to put my summer bike away:










And replace it with my winter bike:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yabodie and MBWallace, I take it taht was an MTB event? That`s an awful lot of riding if it is- big congrats to you guys :thumbsup:

You too, Bedwards! I guess trying to keep up with the fast group worked for you. You called it your toughest century to date. What gives it that distinction?

Finished a nice Autumn minitour this afternoon. Since it was mostly in the pines, I didn`t get a lot of color- some out there, but it`s more subtle than whole hillsides covered with aspen or maples. I ate big dirt this morning. Following an unfamiliar road down, down, down, being careful. But the road was a tricky little booger. It lulled me into a false sense of security while patiently waiting for me to pick up speed, then set up a surprise party for me when I came around a bend way too fast . I lost a little skin on my left hand, elbow, and knee, hit my helmet hard (glad it was on my noggin), and tore my bar tape (damn- only a month old!). I was pretty shaken up, and a little concerned about the large amount of blood flowing from my knee, but it all washed up okay when I got to a reservoir. Pics tomorrow.



jeffscott said:


> Under control means that verbal commands are as strong as ynking on the leash....so basically if the dog behaves as if it is off leash it is not "under control".


I`m cool with verbal control as long as it works. Often it`s all that`s needed. But when the bonehead owner just keeps yelling and the dog gives him the big F.U., I call that a no-go. I can rarely outrun dogs unless the conditions are seriously in my favor. I`ve been lucky that none who have chased me have really had their hearts set on taking a bite out of me and none have yet gone under my wheel. Pepper spray gun, Bedwards? Really! Do you think Xplorer would put one to use against a dog? I`m betting against it!


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Today was an interesting ride home. I had just ridden past Counterbalance Bicycles when I heard a metal-on-metal sound coming from the rear brake. It was sounding pretty bad and I was worried that if I didn't fix it, it would score the brake disk and I'd have to buy a new brake disk. I thought it might be some dirt that was in there, so I squirted the brake pads, but the noise was still there. Eventually I looked around and found a pole that was high enough to rest the seat on so I could pull the rear wheel off and have a good look at it without turning the bike upside down (hydraulic brakes, didn't want to let air in to the brake lines). The next bit is hard to explain without a reference, so here's a reference to the brake kit that I had in my frame bag because I was planning to replace the brake pads tonight:

Amazon.com: Shimano BR-M416 BS01 Resin Disc Brake Pad: Sports & Outdoors

As soon as I pulled the wheel off and saw what happened, I understood why I hadn't seen the wear on the pads, and why it had been metal on metal sound - and why it was the right move to pull over and fix the issue. The spring (2nd from the left in the Amazon link) has little clips that hold the brake pads in place. When the pads wear away completely the metal snags on the disk and starts rubbing directly against the disk. In addition to this, on my bike the disk brake mounts can be moved forwards and backwards, and in this case they'd slipped forwards so only half the pads were contacting the disk. Because the only part that's visible is the top of the pad, it appeared that the pads were only 50% worn from the top, but the pad was heavily worn when viewed from the bottom.

The excitement hadn't finished yet though. I was riding down Broad St. when a driver in a blue Mazda 3 yelled abuse at me and passed a little too close for comfort. He drove ahead of me for a block, then hit the brakes and turned in to the alleyway behind my apartment... then in to the same garage I park in... then had to wait for the elevator with me... then rode up to the same floor that I live on and hopped out in awkward silence...

Abusing someone else must seem funny until you realize that they're a neighbor who lives next door to you, and "that f*cking cyclist" is the same guy that you've seen almost every week for the past year holding the elevator and garage entrance door open for you, greeting you with a smile every time he sees you.

Still, exceedingly glad to be out on the bike, even if it rained the entire way home. It's been too long.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Couldn't catch my fair weather Rider friend today, more pretty trees and an impatient Caddy


Nice having a buddy to draft. Talk about no shoulder!



woodway said:


> Rained like crazy here today. First time I have ridden in a real rain in about four months. So tonite I decided it's time to put my summer bike away:
> 
> And replace it with my winter bike:


:???:
Well, my shed is full, but if you need a place to store the summer version, I`ll be happy to lend a hand. Summer Bike can sleep in my wife`s side of the bed!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Priceless, hunter. I would not have allowed that awkward elevator moment to pass without an even more uncomfortable friendly conversation on the way up. Something excessively cheery about the ride/drive


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

I solved my fork issue. Took the easy route.

Over the weekend I trolled some shops and found some leftover 2012 CX Disc bikes. Narrowed down by the models that had fender/rack mounts.

Fast Forward......

Yesterday, riding my embarrased slick tired Santa Cruz Nickel in the rain, I made the decision. Parked the Nickel in the garage and left my rain gear on, got on the TBana to Rådmansgatan, walked to Jarla Cykel with a set of pedals and a helmet in my backpack. Dropped my debit card on the table, rode home in the cold rain on this......










I hope to put the CX tires back on this weekend and flog it proper on the dirt.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats mr big, it looks nice! I like how you walked in with the helmet and pedals, and rode out. 

Hunter, that is a classic story! Thanks for the brake tips too.

Rodar, yikes, that must have been scarey, especially at the moment where you knew you were going down. Hope you heal up quick and your head bonk was not too bad. 

And you're probably right, don't think I'll be getting any pepper spray. Those guys must have slow dogs in their area! I should have known better because the dogs I trailride with can keep up on all but the longest hills, and they aren't fueled by adrenaline like this shepherd was. At the end of the day I tested my knee in the parking lot and it hurt to ride on the flat, so I decided not to risk further damage and got a lift home. This morning it is working better for walking, but still doesn't like bending. Hoping I can ride home this p.m.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice crash story rodar. Those roads can be sneaky! Glad you are OK. You too MTBX. Crashes all around yesterday and this time it wasn't me. It took about 3 weeks for my missing skin to return to almost normal.



rodar y rodar said:


> You too, Bedwards! I guess trying to keep up with the fast group worked for you. You called it your toughest century to date. What gives it that distinction?


I wish I knew. I've done the same one 3 years in a row. I'm blaming it on a 30lb bike with 700x40c tires on it. I've previously done it on road bikes.

Nice bike mrbig - that was the easy route. Did you end up with a fork and a bike?


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice bike mrbig - that was the easy route. Did you end up with a fork and a bike?


I couldn't find a 700c disc fork in Stockholm. Plenty of 26" MTB wtih correction for a 100mm forks, but they blew the axle crown number out way too much.

I have to send my fork back to Jamis via a dealer in the US. Who knows how long that process will take. It's dropping below freezing some mornings now so i need a dubbdäck (studded tires) compatible bike pronto.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Pretty black and white, mrbig!

Funny how torn bar tape or scraped levers are more upsetting than the loss of blood and skin, Rodar. It made me laugh at myself as I had the exact same reaction, Dang! That left a mark on the bike! 

I was thinking that I can't outride any but the short legged breeds, Mtbx, Our German Shepard when i grew up would run along with the tractor at 20 mph for miles without a problem. I hope the ride home will be OK. Knees are tricky. 

Hunter, I think I would have responded like Nate. It seemed like time to introduce yourself, and mention that you have seen him around and thought it was time to do more than just smile when you met as if nothing happened. I have one or two neighbors who aren't the best at being considerate motorists, but none have verbally abused me. I think they are afraid of the wacko on the bike.  And I m bigger. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeaah new bike. You must love it as a bike shop owner when a guy walks in with riding gear, a helmet, pedals, and a debit card. :lol: 

I am still pushing my luck with the fenders...they're on the wall of the garage still. 20% Chance of rain this morning, but I got lucky. 

For some reason there were 3 different groups of deer hanging out/eating bushes in the ditch right next to the road (between the road and the barbed wire fence) this morning in different places. 3 different explosions of 5 or 6 deer in all directions as I startled them and they startled me in the dawn's early light. A couple blast over the fence, a couple dart out in front of you, one will start bolting down the fence line pacing with you until they either stop awkwardly or get far enough ahead to make a move over the fence or across the road...and a couple stand there and stare... gets your heart going if you don't see them first. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> Parked the Nickel in the garage and left my rain gear on, got on the TBana to Rådmansgatan, walked to Jarla Cykel with a set of pedals and a helmet in my backpack. Dropped my debit card on the table, rode home in the cold rain on this......


God, I`d love to do that! Beautiful bike.



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm blaming it on a 30lb bike with 700x40c tires on it.


 So a light bike makes it tougher? I should stop worrying about the weight of mine then 



BrianMc said:


> Funny how torn bar tape or scraped levers are more upsetting than the loss of blood and skin, Rodar. It made me laugh at myself as I had the exact same reaction, Dang! That left a mark on the bike!


Ha! Marks on the bike itself I wouldn`t even notice among all the chips and scrapes it already has. But man, my new tape! Only a month and I`m already going to have to splice it!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yeaah new bike. You must love it as a bike shop owner when a guy walks in with riding gear, a helmet, pedals, and a debit card. :lol:


I was in the shop on Sunday and a newbie walked in wanting a road bike. The salesman showed him two models, and after one quick phone call, the guy decided to pull the trigger without setting foot on the bike. He never rode the thing. The salesman picked out a size he thought would fit, adjusted the saddle height, and the guy plopped down his card and rode off into the sunset. Crazy.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've always wondered why there are so many craigslist postings for bikes that say "only ridden 2 times".


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

nbwallace said:


> Slow and sore to be sure, plus I couldn't have ridden 65 yesterday. Hats off to you for finishing the metric.


Slacker. I did the Tour de Bass 70 on Saturday, I'm commuting all week. All big fat 60lbs overweight of me.

;-)


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Sweet ride Mr Big, now ride it like you stole it! :thumbsup:
Rodar, MTBX heal up and then show those dogs who's boss.
Just got my tracking/confirm email and will be expecting my saddle tomorrow afternoon.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ha! Marks on the bike itself I wouldn`t even notice among all the chips and scrapes it already has. But man, my new tape! Only a month and I`m already going to have to splice it!


Yeah. New Campy brifters. Not older, relatively inexpensive Tektro brake levers. The weird priority of bike over bod is something that only other cyclists understand. 

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I almost had an open-ground crash on my morning commute today.

I had just finished negotiating a lane restriction caused by a crew trimming trees around some power lines, and I was still focused on the traffic around me when out of the corner of my eye I saw a squirrel leaping at me. Almost literally scared the crap out of me, nearly ruining my Brooks saddle, and then I saw that the squirrel was leaping at a telephone pole instead. It latched onto the pole at about my shoulder height.

ohhhhh, the sense of relief. I can't believe I still managed to hold my line in traffic without ending up under the tires of some *******'s monster truck.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

** Glad you are OK, that would be an embarrassing accident report to have to complete.

I was able to ride home without significant pain following yesterday's shepherd incident. I took it easy. Hopefully tomorrow it will improve a bit more again.

About a mile from the office I saw a cyclist with an apparent mechanical on the other side of the road. The bike was on the ground halfway in the travelway, and the rider was kneeling 100% in the travelway. Not a busy road but 35mph there and I would have gotten on the grass, or if it was a ditch, gone to the next drive or yard. I stopped just downhill of him and checked if he needed anything but he said he was OK, and said something that included "just" and "tire". I offered a tube, but he only asked how far I was going, my name, where I lived etc. Meanwhile a passing car stopped - because it looked like an accident - until I waved it by. Since I was still on the other side of the road I could not see what the mechanical was, but I could see clearly that it involved a tall can of Bud.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

NateHawk said:


> Priceless, hunter. I would not have allowed that awkward elevator moment to pass without an even more uncomfortable friendly conversation on the way up. Something excessively cheery about the ride/drive


We had a conversation before the elevator arrived, but no words were spoken once we actually got in, which is incredibly unusual.

When he walked in to the waiting area for the elevator (I was already there and had called for the elevator), he said my light was really hard to see when he was turning in to the alley. I just shrugged and said, "You saw me just fine earlier on Broad St when you yelled abuse at me. A cop would say that you need to look harder and would cite you for inattentive driving if you used that as an excuse. Premeditated assault would also be on the table given you'd previously yelled abuse at me." These are the short list of common charges that Seattle PD will issue against people who hit motorcyclists and cyclists at work, so it's not like this was misinformation either.

I helped him move a couch out of the elevator in to his apartment when he first moved in, and helped him clean pine needles from the floor when he dragged his (real) Christmas tree through the apartment complex last year to the trash receptacle. I let him in to the apartment complex late one night when he left his keys in the apartment and couldn't get back in. He's a nice guy who made some bad decisions that caught up to him. Probably happens to all of us at one point or another.

I thought about it later... he's probably going to remember that moment every time he sees me walking through the hallways now, at least for the next 20-30 times he sees me. We bump in to each other A LOT (at least weekly, at most daily). Perhaps this is also a reminder that we should all be nicer to each other too.


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## Solomon76 (Jul 22, 2008)

Today was a great day...

The wind was about the calmest as it has been since I've been commuting in Tampa. That played a significant part in me setting a pesonal best commute time. My total commute is just over 27 miles, but I only record about 26.4 with my garmin. I stop my garmin at the gate of the military base because the stop and go traffic getting onto the base ruins my overall average speed. Today I completed the 26.4 miles to the base in 1h 27m 24s with an average speed of 18.1 mph.

The second major factor in today's commute, i think, is that I'm riding my B'twin flat bar road bike (B'twin Fitness 5) this week instead of my Nashbar 'X' frame build because I need to replace my bottom bracket cups. My best time on my Nashbar is 1h 28m 57s with an average speed of 17.9mph.

The major difference between the two bikes is that the B'twin has 700cx28 tires and the Nashbar has 700cx35 tires. I ride both sets of tires at about 90 psi. The Nashbar is a little heavier as well, maybe by a couple of pounds.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I posted pictures from a weekend trip in another thread that I hope will take off. Check `em out if you have a minute, and by all means add a trip of your own if you`re into that kind of thing:
http://forums.mtbr.com/bikepacking-bike-expedition/another-lovely-weekend-thread-818627.html

Flying squirrel attack: Weird.
Roadside interview by Bud Man: Weirder still.
Was that a can or a baggie of bud?



hunter006 said:


> We had a conversation before the elevator arrived, but no words were spoken once we actually got in, which is incredibly unusual.


No words. Olfactory communication?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Chilly commute today. A few degrees lower and it is balaclava time. I stopped and chatted with the only other commuter I ever see. He goes in the opposite direction as me so it's never been convenient. Both of us were on black Cross Checks.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I think I need to get some cycling glasses to keep the wind off my eyes. I've done a couple of rides without glasses or goggles (at night, all I have is sunglasses) at low temperatures (32-40F) and my eyes kind of... don't work as well? If I close them for a second or two they feel like they warm up and my vision gets better.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

A co-worker really cracked me up yesterday. He recently started riding to work and he came over to my office and asked "have you ever had a tire just blow up when your bike was just sitting there?". Apparently his bike was parked in his office and his back tire suddenly let go with a BANG! He said it was the 2nd time it happened (the other time was at home) and he could not figure out what was wrong.

I said "let's go have a look at your bike" thinking that maybe he had bad rim tape, defective bead, etc. and as I started looking at the tire in question, I noticed that it was hard...I mean rock hard. I asked him "what pressure are you pumping this up to?" and he said "well, I got tired of having to put air into the tire every week, so I thought I would just pump it up to 120 PSI and that way I would not have to worry about it". Looking at the side of the tire, I confirmed that the max recommended pressure was 60 PSI. I quickly deflated the tire and explained that adding air to tires is just one of those things you have to do every once in a while.

I'm just amazed it did not blow while he was riding.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

COLD! The forecast low was 39... I've been in shorts, summer gloves, and a relatively windproof fleece...it's been ideal at 40-45 degrees. Well the temp just plummeted last night/this morning... local weather station says 28.2 for this morning's commute. 1st time I've been able to see my breath this year. The shorts and summer gloves were NOT working for me :lol: About time to break out those fancy new boots and some leg warmers and some level 2 gloves and some ear protection and, and, and...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yikes! It was 27F here this a.m. and I was a bit chilly (mostly my hands on the downhills) with bike tights, baggy shorts, wool T, lightweight wool LS, light softshell jacket, light wool hat, and silk bandana bandit style (for face protection on the downhills), and lightly insulated gloves. I know, I know, it’s amazing I didn’t get pulled over by the fashion police!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath said:


> I think I need to get some cycling glasses to keep the wind off my eyes. I've done a couple of rides without glasses or goggles (at night, all I have is sunglasses) at low temperatures (32-40F) and my eyes kind of... don't work as well? If I close them for a second or two they feel like they warm up and my vision gets better.


I have glasses with interchangeable lenses, and as it starts getting darker I have yellow or clear to choose from... I go yellow for the long dark winter, because it adds the psychological benefit of breaking up the monotone misery of freezing temps and grey everywhere. Glasses are a major help in the winter. I forget them maybe once a year, and it's horrible.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We were at about 30 and I had my fancy new boots, 2 pair of socks, double gloves & insulated tights. The mile+ long downhill where I can hit 40mph was still a chiller.

For clear glasses a pair of $2 safety glasses from Big Lots does in a pinch but you do have to look out for the fashion police. I found a pair of bolle (at least they say they are, could be knockoffs) glasses with yellow lenses that I've been using after dark this year.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

*Quite eventful*

This morning was cool here in the DC area. The usual stuff on the W&OD, on the first little climb where the trail runs between a four lane road and a residential side street, two women two kids and a doberman right beside the trail. I move pretty far left and the doberman makes a move for me. The woman is holding the leash in both hands and struggling.

These are the things I don't understand, if your dog isn't socialized toward cyclists why stand next to a highly travelled bike trail. Really. I wish I had some mace to use on the dog just to start the conversation. A surprising number of folks use the trail for dog walking. Roughly half the time the dogs are towards the center of the trail rather than to the right. Hard to fathom really.

Later I flatted on some construction debris in a cross walk. Nice.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Another beautiful day in paradise although a little cool (for me). Nothing happened out of the ordinary, nothing weird or strange, just boring and quiet. Just the way I like it. Exciting usually means something went wrong or somebody (usually me) screwed up, and needs to be fixed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I was braking on the downhills for sure. I wanted to hurry so it would be over, but higher speeds was bringing the numbness... tough call :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Cold front blew in

0.5 inch per hour rain temp 4 C and headwind at 56 kph gusting to 80 kph...

A nice -1C fry with no wind this morning.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

The ride in was really windy this morning, but I wouldn't say that it was crazy windy, but then all of a sudden WHAM a gust hits me and my front wheel is not going where it's supposed to and I _almost_ ate it. I've had whole rides where I'm leaning way over to counteract a crazy crosswind, but I've never come that close to actually being thrown off of my bike before.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

It was chilly this morning, I had to put my arm warmers on in addition to my sleeveless jersey. 

It was 52F, and I like the cold. Shorts + sleeveless jersey + arm warmers gets me down to 45F for my hour commute. Below that I put on a long sleeve jersey and some knee warmers.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> The ride in was really windy this morning, but I wouldn't say that it was crazy windy, but then all of a sudden WHAM a gust hits me and my front wheel is not going where it's supposed to and I _almost_ ate it. I've had whole rides where I'm leaning way over to counteract a crazy crosswind, but I've never come that close to actually being thrown off of my bike before.


You've got to stop commuting with those carbon disk wheels.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> The ride in was really windy this morning, but I wouldn't say that it was crazy windy, but then all of a sudden WHAM a gust hits me and my front wheel is not going where it's supposed to and I _almost_ ate it. I've had whole rides where I'm leaning way over to counteract a crazy crosswind, but I've never come that close to actually being thrown off of my bike before.


Hah I got a spot like that....the west and north west winds funnel down the river valley...

I go by one of the first big buildings the wind whips around the corner and often gust to 3 times the normally velocity.....it will blow you right off the road and onto the sidewalk if you arn't ready for it....

Practise makes perfect.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Yikes! It was 27F here this a.m. and I was a bit chilly (mostly my hands on the downhills) with bike tights, baggy shorts, wool T, lightweight wool LS, light softshell jacket, light wool hat, and silk bandana bandit style (for face protection on the downhills), and lightly insulated gloves. I know, I know, it's amazing I didn't get pulled over by the fashion police!


You are *so* counter-culture. Just one more reason we like you! 

BrianMc


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> No words. Olfactory communication?


Lol... no, I was thinking of some Italian sign language on my part...

The last two commutes were really nice. Stopped to help a guy with his chain caught between the frame and the cassette on the way home last night. Dude had been yanking on the chain for 20 minutes when I arrived. I found this interesting because there's a bike shop not 900 ft from where he was... wouldn't you take it to the shop if given the opportunity? Anyway, in the entire 20 minutes he'd just been trying to yank it out using force... I undid the quick release lever and it came out in the first 20s. The things you learn over the years...

This morning's commute was nice. I ran in to a guy I don't usually see who has these mini TT bars. Someone else posted a picture of their handlebar setup on MTBR which consisted of two bar ends arranged to give alternate hand positions. It reminded me of this guy because he has something similar, only as a commercial product. After I caught up to him, I checked it out and made a mental note - Vision TT-Mini Clip on Bar 670-2830. He's the only guy I've ever seen use these. Other than that, it was just another day in paradise, riding through wine country.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

19F this AM around the East Side of Anchorage. Love this temp! Got to watch Swans take off from Taku Lake this morning on the bicycle commute to work. What a sight to see! Also think I was hallucinating as I thought I heard a pig squealing back behind Campbell Creek...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

hunter006 said:


> Other than that, it was just another day in paradise, riding through wine country.


But I don't wanna ride through whine country! (Spoken with nasal whine.) 

I need to relocate. :madman:

BrianMc


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> But I don't wanna ride through whine country! (Spoken with nasal whine.)


You should move to Wisconsin then.

Wait for it... wait for it...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

hunter006 said:


> Other than that, it was just another day in paradise, riding through wine country.


hunter - what's your commute route? I'm Maltby->Woodinville->SRT->520 Trail->then into downtown Bellevue. I pass by several wineries so I ride through wine country too! :thumbsup:


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

woodway said:


> hunter - what's your commute route? I'm Maltby->Woodinville->SRT->520 Trail->then into downtown Bellevue. I pass by several wineries so I ride through wine country too! :thumbsup:


A picture is worth a thousand words.

Morning commute almost always follows one of two patterns:
Bike Ride Profile | C167 near Seattle | Times and Records | Strava
Bike Ride Profile | C161 near Seattle | Times and Records | Strava

Evening commute is the reverse of the morning commute. Occasionally I do a third option which I vary a lot, goes something like this one:
Bike Ride Profile | C147b Wrong Way Wicks near Redmond | Times and Records | Strava


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> "well, I got tired of having to put air into the tire every week, so I thought I would just pump it up to 120 PSI and that way I would not have to worry about it". Looking at the side of the tire, I confirmed that the max recommended pressure was 60 PSI.


Hahaha! At twice the rated tire pressure, its a wonder the rims didn`t go too. 60 max is probably at least a 26 x 1.75? That adds up to a lot of force trying to unfold the walls!



CommuterBoy said:


> Well the temp just plummeted last night/this morning... local weather station says 28.2 for this morning's commute. 1st time I've been able to see my breath this year. The shorts and summer gloves were NOT working for me :lol: About time to break out those fancy new boots and some leg warmers and some level 2 gloves and some ear protection and, and, and...


I noticed that little drop! Hate to tell you this, but I`m responsible for it- had a little extra cargo in my front bag last night and didn`t want to find my trunk bag, so I rode to work without my jacket . Yeah, time to bump it up another notch. Today was the first time I found myself wishing for some kind of leg coverings.

Yeah, Sanath- glasses are nice, even when it`s warm. Clear and cheap are easy to find, but for some reason it`s a little tougher to find clear and COMFORTABL than comfy sunglasses. If you wanna get really crazy, a pair of yellow glasses can be nice sometimes too. 
Oh, hey! Anybody else been missing Suncloud glasses since they disappeared? 
I see they`re back on the market again  
But more expensive than they used to be


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I didn't get out of the house until mid afternoon today. it was warm and humid and I got nasty sweaty. my real estate agent wanted to show the house this afternoon and I got that phone call in the morning. my house was in no shape to show, so I had to bust my tail to get it spotless and smelling fresh by 3pm. I think I made it by about 10-15min.

the ride itself was pretty uneventful otherwise.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

It was going great until I ran over and killed a German Shepherd.


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## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

Buster Bluth said:


> It was going great until I ran over and killed a German Shepherd.


:eekster::eekster::eekster:

Went nicely. Passing cars all gave enough room and were patient when needed. First time on my bike in 2 weeks due to a cross race crash resulting a separated thumb and lower back spasms. Thumb/hand still hurts and is in a brace and my back is still tight but it felt great to do 24 miles anyway.


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## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

NateHawk said:


> my real estate agent wanted to show the house this afternoon and I got that phone call in the morning.


How's that going? Any interest/lowball offers?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

hunter006 said:


> A picture is worth a thousand words.


Sweet, we are churning the some of the same pavement!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Today`s low is going to be a little better than yesterday`s because I remembered my extra layer 

Dwayne, you never reported back after your marathon. Did you end up running it after all? Did you hit your time goal?



Malibu412 said:


> Went nicely. Passing cars all gave enough room and were patient when needed. First time on my bike in 2 weeks due to a cross race crash resulting a separated thumb and lower back spasms. Thumb/hand still hurts and is in a brace and my back is still tight but it felt great to do 24 miles anyway.


Cool, welcome back. Must be tough to ride with the brace?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Got out of the house _way_ early today. For the first time, I made it to work before the sun was even peeking over the horizon. Eyes full of bugs again (I don't know what it is lately). I'll probably just order a cheap set of interchangeable-lens glasses since I've been wanting some sport sunglasses for running too.


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## FMCurto (Oct 18, 2011)

For the first time in a few months it wasnt...
need to find some decent light rain trousers (not over-trousers) that are breathable and wont cost a small fortune, preferably something I could get away wearing at work (casual).Any suggestions?
(sry if this is off-topic but cant start new ones yet).


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dwayne, you never reported back after your marathon. Did you end up running it after all? Did you hit your time goal?


Thanks for remembering!  I ran the half, but wasn't even close to my time goal, I blame it on poor run training. In the six weeks prior to the race I think I ran three or four times, my exercising was being covered by the commute to work. I also only took off two days from cycling before the race, which I think is why my quads cramped during the last three miles. I ended up running 1:37 (7:24 pace), quite a bit slower than my goal of 1:32 or better. I'm just treating the whole thing as an interesting experiment with correlating cycling to a running a race.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Got out of the house _way_ early today. For the first time, I made it to work before the sun was even peeking over the horizon. Eyes full of bugs again (I don't know what it is lately). I'll probably just order a cheap set of interchangeable-lens glasses since I've been wanting some sport sunglasses for running too.


I noticed that on the way home yesterday too. I keep losing my sunglasses so I ordered some cheap ones off Amazon that had good ratings for protection and ventilation. Look freakin' weird, but I look like a weirdo anyway so that's nothing new.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute yesterday was generally uneventful. I wasn't feeling too strong so I didn't push particularly hard except to catch one green light on my route. At the end, I got to say hello to my local boxers and hang out with them a little. It made for a pleasant end to the day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ ^^ ^^1:37 is a pretty darn good half marathon time.



Buster Bluth said:


> It was going great until I ran over and killed a German Shepherd.


Since nobody else seemed to comment on it - Holy spit! That's a traumatic commute. How did it happen? We know what happened to the dog but how about you?

I took my alternate way in this morning and spied a lot of roadside treasure that I might need to investigate. A bit warmer this morning.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Curious about that German Shepherd incident as well. Any bike/body damage?

I was right hooked this morning. Thankful for disc brakes. Moronic asshat driver.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Today`s low is going to be a little better than yesterday`s because I remembered my extra layer


I finally broke out the hooker boots and full length trousers for the first time this morning. :lol:

Same temp as yesterday (28*F) and supremely comfortable. 
Det finns inget dåligt väder, bara dåliga kläder.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

hunter006 said:


> I noticed that on the way home yesterday too. I keep losing my sunglasses so I ordered some cheap ones off Amazon that had good ratings for protection and ventilation. Look freakin' weird, but I look like a weirdo anyway so that's nothing new.


Which did you get? I've never had sunglasses with "ventilation" before, does it work without just freezing your eyes?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Installed the new saddle and it looks decent, short test ride to get real close to right tilt and such felt nice (but a little slick). Thank God I bought a seat post with micro adjust (Gusset), would have never got it right with the older adjuster. They sent it in a nice cloth bag with tension tools.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Which did you get? I've never had sunglasses with "ventilation" before, does it work without just freezing your eyes?


Your nose and cheeks would be frozen solid before your eyes would even start to freeze.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> Your nose and cheeks would be frozen solid before your eyes would even start to freeze.


Is that a specific statement about ventilated sunglasses or a general claim? If you read back a page or two, one of my problems is that the cold wind over my eyes is causing them to not work as well somehow.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Is that a specific statement about ventilated sunglasses or a general claim? If you read back a page or two, one of my problems is that the cold wind over my eyes is causing them to not work as well somehow.


Applies to cold weather and wind...with or without glasses ventilated or not.

Typically as it gets cold eyes will begin to tear up more...

To prevent this you need to shelter the eyes from the wind....

On the other hand as it gets cold the glasses or googles will begin to fog up a lot more.

So basically you end up using normally vented glasses....when this does not provide adequate protection....you need to move on to googles...

First single pane googles, the double pane googles with foam vents.

Then finally a nose cheek guard.

Below about -5 to -10C I just use double pane googles (cause that is what I have) with or without the nose guard depending on the temp.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A bit different today. First I drove my car to the shop for some brakework and a sticky throttle. I brought the bike along and rode about 3 miles to the Foodbank, where a group from work was helping out for the morning. On the way up Quarry Hill Road I noticed that the "Hilltop Restaurant" is really a misnomer, because it is only about halfway up the hill. We sorted and boxed frozen meat donated by supermarkets to be sent on to foodshelves across the state. I was lucky to have bike gloves as most peoples' hands were freezing. Surprisingly, because of an increase in demand since last year's flood, and less food being bought by the feds, the foodbank is now having to buy food to meet the need. Afterwards it was on to the office another couple miles. Then mostly downhill after work back to the shop for the car.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

38 F and sunny, awesome 18 miles, bright sun on fall trees.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Near-hurricane-force winds yesterday, and 30f this morning. Whee!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

new weather system has moved in. winds out of the north give or take, which means h e a d w i n d s for a significant part of my morning commute. it was at least cooler and drier today, which felt good.

I was reminded of an odd sound my bike has been making sporadically for the past couple months. I can't identify it because it happens once and then I might not hear it again for days or weeks so it's not like I can toss it into the workstand to figure out.

it seems to be drivetrain related because it only happens when I'm putting pressure on the pedals. it's sort of a clunk or a low "crink" or something. taking it to the shop for diagnosis at this point will be pointless. I can't find any frame cracks, so I have no idea. could be a BB thing, or pedal, or hub. just gotta keep an eye out for it. maybe I'll get lucky and see something one day that will allow me to replicate it.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Checking out Flea-Bay for frames and found this one;

Airborne B 29 Titanium 29er Frame L Large 20" Niner 29" 29 TI 4LBS2OZ Very Nice | eBay

Serious case of instant lust.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was able to help a couple people on the way home....The first was a co-worker with a dead battery - obviously I could not give him a jump, but after we pushed it to the high end of the lot he was able to do a push start before it rolled into the road. :thumbsup: 

Next I passed a small apartment house, and a little kid on the smallest wal-bike sold was on the ground with that I'm gonna cry look. Thinking I might detour him from that I yelled "hi", but he responded "I'M STUCK". So I went across the dirt lot to where he was on the grass and found he was indeed stuck. His shoelace had wound around the crank right next to the pedal, tossed him off the bike, and rendered him immobile and twisted. 

When I could not untie the knot I said I wonder if your Mom would be mad if I cut your lace with a knife? - "YES!!!" So as I eventually worked it free, and a neighbor came out and then led him back to his apt. and asked if he said thank you - no sign of the mom he was yelling for. I showed him how my laces were double tied to prevent such diggers.

But the funniest part was when he raised 1 hand from the grass, covered with dog poop, wailed, and said "Can you..." without finishing. I said, "wipe it on the grass, it's all you can do for now, and wash it after". He did.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Malibu412 said:


> How's that going? Any interest/lowball offers?


Squat. A few lookers and that's it. The possible looker yesterday was not for my house. Office mgr mistakenly called me. Gonna drop the price some and see what happens


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Neither bird, nor plane or even a frog, just little 'ol you .....Mtbxplorer. Good job. :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had my jacket, long johns, gloves, and `clava this morning and the temps were still low... So I`m off the hook! I didn`t cause yesterday`s arctic front by being unprepared! Any rate, drained the drip and sprinkler systems today, unhooked and drained the swamp cooler, and might light the pilot in the furnace. That should bring us back to 90F in no time :lol:

Nice looking saddle, Junior. I wish I had one of those microadjust seatposts too, but all mine are/have been various types that involve loosening the same bolt to tilt or to slide front-rear.



NateHawk said:


> maybe I'll get lucky and see something one day that will allow me to replicate it.


Since it seems to be something just starting to go, I bet you`ll figure it out as it gets worse. Hopefully it`ll become obvious and easily found before it stops you cold or does any damage.



mtbxplorer said:


> But the funniest part was when he raised 1 hand from the grass, covered with dog poop, wailed, and said "Can you..." without finishing. I said, "wipe it on the grass, it's all you can do for now, and wash it after". He did.


Haha! I think I`d have balked at the dog poo fingers too :lol: Great story! Brake work AND sticky throttle? That doesn`t sound like a very good combination.

5 minutes difference doesn`t sound like all that much to me, Wayne. I dunno though- if you`ve worked hard to get down into a certain range, I can see how a few minutes might be a big deal. Hope it goes better next time.

Still no details on Buster Bluth`s Shepard incedent?

I saw a bunch of these weird signs last weekend. Anybody have a guess WTF is up with them? Poor cars now have to share with EVERYBODY!


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Seeing signs like that Rodar, gets me thinking. Cars have right of way on roads and people often have right of way on shared use paths. Either way cycles are the bottom of the food chain.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Had to bust out the winter gloves this week, the light weight full fingers just weren't cutting it anymore. Still have the half fingers in the bag for the ride home though. These 30-40 degree temp swings take a little getting used to. Inventoried the winter gear too and realized I need to pick up a couple more pieces in addition to some studded tires. 

The rides though are great. People are starting to ask what m going to do when it gets cold, I smile and reply that I'm not changing a thing.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I saw a bunch of these weird signs last weekend. Anybody have a guess WTF is up with them? Poor cars now have to share with EVERYBODY!


Clearly, those signs are there to tell motorists to feel free to run ATVs and dirtbikes off the road during the other 10 months of the year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spatialized said:


> The rides though are great. People are starting to ask what m going to do when it gets cold, I smile and reply that I'm not changing a thing.


:thumbsup:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice looking saddle, Junior. I wish I had one of those microadjust seatposts too, but all mine are/have been various types that involve loosening the same bolt to tilt or to slide front-rear.
> 
> I saw a bunch of these weird signs last weekend. Anybody have a guess WTF is up with them? Poor cars now have to share with EVERYBODY!


Mine is a Gusset brand I bought months ago 'cause I wanted an extra long post to make sure I didn't over stress the frame, and it just happened to have that mounting system. I'm surprised they aren't more popular since they are rather inexpensive, reasonably lightweight, and well made.

I've seen those signs before, usually in farm country for tractors and combines, and a few places for bicycles and horses. It depends on what the governors favorite nephew does for fun or how much somebody contributed to the campaign.:skep:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NateHawk said:


> ...it seems to be drivetrain related because it only happens when I'm putting pressure on the pedals. it's sort of a clunk or a low "crink" or something. taking it to the shop for diagnosis at this point will be pointless. I can't find any frame cracks, so I have no idea. could be a BB thing, or pedal, or hub. just gotta keep an eye out for it. maybe I'll get lucky and see something one day that will allow me to replicate it.


Have you pulled the cranks off, cleaned them, greased them and put them back on tight? That's always my first attempt at fixing an under power "crink". If this is on your FS bike then all the pivots are suspect.

Today's ride in was 20 degrees warmer than earlier this week. It was my first full morning commute before it got light.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, nice. That brought to mind several similar crashes I had when I was a kid. With coaster brakes, there's nothing you can do once that shoelace starts winding... with a freewheel I got really good at backpedaling like mad as soon as I felt my foot being sucked into the spindle of the pedal :lol: 

Rodar, I know around here they're really hashing out the forest service OHV road system, and deciding what roads are legal for me to ride the dirt bike on, and which ones arent... every solution they come up with is insanely stupid, and requires you to use the non-legal roads to get to the legal ones, so without several vehicles, trailers, and pick-up/drop-off personell, it's impossible to go on a dirt bike ride. Everyone I know ignores all of the new rules, because what are they going to do, pull you over? Catch me if you can, green forest service truck. On a really busy day I see 1 other human in the national forest anyway. Call me a rebel, but I'm happy to follow any rules that serve an actual purpose... 

Speaking of hooker boots... Bedwards, I got my first good trail ride in with the boots yesterday, and they got a nice layer of dirt/dust on them... I think it really diminished the shiny black street corner vibe. 
Also, I have a confession: I have never replaced the SPD cleats on my mtb shoes, that I purchased sometime in 1998. I have never had issues with them, that tightening up the adjustment on the pedal couldn't solve. I've purchased several pairs of pedals since then, and some of them have come with cleats, so I tapped into my cleat stash for the new boots, and I am blown away at how tight and precise the interface is :lol: It's very hard to unclip because I have the pedals so tight, but It's a very noticeable power-to-the-pedal difference. I'm afraid I'm going to have to stick a new pair of cleats on the old shoes just so I can set the pedal tension in one place that will accomodate both pairs of shoes. I knew they were old, but I didn't realize just how worn they were.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So how many people know that mtbr.org is Middle Tennessee Boxer Rescue 

Were we talking about hooker boots! I have found that the tight around the ankle look that makes them look like they belong in an 80s hair band video is actually helpful because I can zip my tights over them on rainy days so the water wicks to the outside instead of to the inside, a problem with normal boots. ...but I still feel like I should be wearing bright red lipstick when I walk through work with them on.:eekster:


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Have you pulled the cranks off, cleaned them, greased them and put them back on tight?


I hope it isn't that, because every time I've seen that at the LBS the "fix" has been to either keep cranking it down tight (as it will usually keep coming loose), or replace the cranks entirely. If tightening the crank down works, you pull the crank off and inspect it for wear. There might be some tiny wear marks on the very inside of the crank (right near where the frame would contact the crank if it were bolted down tight).


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Started at 13 degrees, clear, and calm. Was a very nice 11 mile commute to work.

Fog over Taku Lake:


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bedwards1000 said:


> Have you pulled the cranks off, cleaned them, greased them and put them back on tight? That's always my first attempt at fixing an under power "crink". If this is on your FS bike then all the pivots are suspect.
> 
> Today's ride in was 20 degrees warmer than earlier this week. It was my first full morning commute before it got light.


I have not. But they were installed that way. And they are Shimano R-553's with the external BB. I may have stumbled across the cause. Time will tell if I did or not. In fiddling with my brakes adjusting for wear, I noticed my rear wheel ever so slightly askew in the dropouts. It's possible that this may have been occasionally causing the chain to occasionally catch on the top of one of the cog teeth, and the sudden slippage of it into place could be the cause of my noise. The cog teeth are very wide, and I actually had to dremel a taper at the ends so the chain wouldn't hang up on them. The cog is "supposedly" a 9spd cog, but I have my doubts. It's a Crupi aluminum cog that I got from, I believe, Universal Cycles. Has a wider base for SS use on a regular cassette hub with reduced mangling of the splines on the freehub body. I don't have any chain tugs installed right now. I bought two from On-One when I got the bike so I could keep the axle solidly in place. But unfortunately they don't allow the kind of adjustment I need. I've been meaning to buy new ones, but I want to switch my axles to bolt-ons so I've been waiting on that until I decide to take the time to do the entire axle switchover.

Today, as a result of my fiddling with the brakes and wheel alignment, I've come to the point where there was excessive uneven wear in my disc brake pads (mostly due to me using Shimano rotors with a narrower braking track with Avid BB7 calipers) that I was unable to adjust out brake drag while still allowing the right amount of lever pull. So I stopped into the LBS on my way to the office and got a new set of pads installed. I found out that they're doing a big sale and a swap meet tomorrow, which I find hilarious. They've chosen to do it on a day with a home game at the university, which also happens to be homecoming AND parents' weekend. Campus is going to be a zoo. I'm sure they plan to catch some business, but again, campus is going to be a zoo. The swap meet is going to be in the parking lot, which only has 3 or 4 spaces on a good day. I at least have some parts to unload and will see if I can pick up some arm warmers on sale. I will probably walk out with a couple other things, too.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

'Rush hour' in Boulder (at least for me):


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Finally figured how to put drops on my bike with hydraulic discs. Come this payday I can order the parts and see if it works for me.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

junior1210 said:


> Finally figured how to put drops on my bike with hydraulic discs. Come this payday I can order the parts and see if it works for me.


what is the issue you had before? lever shape?
or brifters?

(sorry if I missed a post about it  )


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

Oh FWIW guys - this last week was great...a tail wind for the ride home - ride during/just-past sunset/dusk (got my lights on flood) at a balmy ~75*f

conditions don't get much better than that around here :thumbsup:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Took the long way home, was well worth it!!!

Fatbacking Speedway's Fire Break









Anyone up for a fatbike log ride?


















Creek was overflowing









Overflow Crossing, try not to get wet!









Anyone up for a swim? I found a floaty!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ooh, nice Jordy, I feel fatbike fever coming on. I hope to get in another beach trip with it, then some maintenance to get ready for the snow! My office move was pushed back to the end of January, so I get to keep my trail-commute long enough to make use of the Fatback. 

I think you have enough floatation already, but do watch out for those sharks!


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

highdelll said:


> what is the issue you had before? lever shape?
> or brifters?
> 
> (sorry if I missed a post about it  )


Mainly the fact most road shifters front or rear don't work with SRAM X9 mtb derailleurs as far as I could tell, and nobody makes road brake levers for hydro discs yet and the adapters I've seen are way to expensive. So I saw a Redline in the "dropbar 29er" thread who pulled it off, and while drooling over the bike porn :idea: I remembered that Avid makes a bracket to combine Juicy/Elixir brake levers and SRAM shifters into 1 mounting clamp. I believe with a little modification these should do nicely. So in a couple days I'm gonna order those brackets, an On-One Midge Bar, and some bar tape (cheapest black I can find) and see if my idea works as well as I like to think it will. Should run me around $60 all said.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great pictures, Jordy!
Do you usually start freezing up by this time?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ +1 Jordy!. That log crossing was impressive. Not for me, though.

Weather prevented me getting the height of color, but this shows the last of it.

Color 3 - YouTube

Rodar: If you want to see shoulders check out the found objects thread. Same ride. State Route.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I saw your shoulder find, Brian. Umm... I guess we`ll have to take your word for it (though no reason to doubt) since it`s a bit hard to identify an object that size at high speed via wide angle helmet cam!

Getting ready to leave for work in a few minutes with possibly my most interresting ever commute cargo: one frozen cow pie. I collected it Friday and left it a flat box in my truck until this morning. After my wife left, I bagged it and threw it in the freezer so it won`t fall apart in my pannier- it`s still pretty fresh. Wife won`t be home until after midnight, so I should be clear 

EDIT: Just added a baggie ful of rabbit turds. Ah, good times...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That is unusual cargo. Dare we ask?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hehe... I`d have been very disappointed if nobody had asked 

I have a coworker comming back today after a few months on medical leave, so we decided to make him a homecomming present. One guy brought in one of those pink pastry boxes from a doughnut shop, then we trimmed the cow pie to fit the box (this pi ARE square), decorated it with two flavors of Permatex gasket sealer, and sprinkled with spray painted rabbit turds. A guy from one of the press crews brought in a handul of special candles to top it off right.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Rodar, your cooking tastes like crap!

This weekend I stripped my Surly of it's lights, mirror, cages & fenders and raced in a cyclocross race!  Wicked Fun.

Then most of Sunday afternoon I pulled grass out of everything that rotates on a bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had a nice ride in, took the trails for the first time since that shepherd crash. Saw 2 deer. I was alert as any prey animal as I passed the shepherd’s house, but there was no sign of him. No sign of new fencing either. Yesterday I overdid it a bit on trailwork, the walking on steep uneven ground with 5 gallon pails of gravel bothered my knee a bit., but it was OK this morning. Removing moss in 14” strips from granite as if it were sod was interesting work. Pic credit to Jeb


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bedwards, you`re getting to be quite an all rounder! And finishing strong with your first attempt is looking like a habbit for you . Did you ride a 30 minute course?



mtbxplorer said:


> No sign of new fencing either.
> 
> Removing moss in 14" strips from granite as if it were sod was interesting work. Pic credit to Jeb


Isn`t fencing kind of "citified" for out in the doggy woods? Well, I`m glad you didn`t have another incedent today, hope that luck continues.

Wow, the moss sure does a good impersonation of wall to wall carpeting! What did you do with the moss you carried away?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Raining over there Rodar? 1st taste of actual weather this morning... coming down pretty steadily. I got the fenders installed this weekend, just in time... and I'm dissapointed in the spray coming off of the front wheel. the combination of going down in tire size from the Big Apples and never getting around to making a bracket to drop the fender down a bit from the fork crown made for lots of water blasting out of the front and hanging there in the air for me to ride through. Must do something about that. 

also, I realized that my rain pants are too short to cover the tops of my new hooker boots... or at least they are when I'm pedaling. They ride up a bit, and expose the top of the boots. Even with this situation, the hooker boots performed very well. since they seal up fairly tight at the top. Pleased to say that I'm wearing the same socks I rode in.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Just for you folks, yesterdays Fat Adventure along my bike transportation commute!

Fatbacking Anchorage's Frozen Coastline! Made it about 5 miles with only a couple spots having to go around.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Beautiful pics JordyB!

Good ride going to work, was nice on the way home til about 3 miles from home I saw a dead fawn on the shoulder (fresh) :sad: looked as if someone hit it and just kept going. I'm no tree hugger, but I hate seeing things like that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ You should not live here :lol: I can think of at least 5 carcasses currently bloating out, decomposing, or otherwise fowling my commute route right now. 2 are little spotted bambis. The deer population is out of control around here. I see between 12 and 25 deer just about every day on my commute...usually pondering darting out into the road.

edit: What do you want people to do when they hit one? Give it a proper burial? I have left more than one where they landed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bedwards, you`re getting to be quite an all rounder! And finishing strong with your first attempt is looking like a habbit for you . Did you ride a 30 minute course?


It was a 40 minute course. 40 minutes of all out effort was enough for my first. I wore a POV camera for the race and it has a lot of heavy breathing on it.

The hooker boots worked great in the race. Kept the mud out of my feet and had lots of traction for muddy uphill runs. And it was muddy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Boy, they should have another race afterwards to see who can get their bike cleanest in 40 minutes. Nice going.

I was a bit puzzled over the fawn hit and run issue as well, but around here you can call in the bigger deer and if they are fresh the game wardens will get them to a needy family. Or if it is suffering they will shoot it. My friend also feeds them to her dog if she finds a fresh one; if someone hasn’t claimed it yet they give her a tag number over the phone, and it has to go on all the packages in the freezer. You need to increase your DIY roadkill butcher population to keep up with the deer population.

Rodar, the moss we peeled up was used to camouflage a trail that was re-routed. I don’t know if it will take hold or just provide temporary visual camo. You're right about the fences, pretty rare around here, but I thought they might supplement the old barbed wire/stone wall where there's an opening in the wall.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ You should not live here :lol: I can think of at least 5 carcasses currently bloating out, decomposing, or otherwise fowling my commute route right now. 2 are little spotted bambis. The deer population is out of control around here. I see between 12 and 25 deer just about every day on my commute...usually pondering darting out into the road.
> 
> edit: What do you want people to do when they hit one? Give it a proper burial? I have left more than one where they landed.


Deer population is pretty sparse around here. Nah I don't expect folks to stop and bury the carcass or anything. That's not realistic or reasonable, it's just the older I get the more I dislike the idea of meaningless death. Hunting isn't included in that (there is meaning in hunting), just the death of a creature thru no fault of it's own or without intent of the the person who killed it, I find rather depressing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^ I hear ya. I just get a little more jaded every time they knock over my trash cans and drag garbage all over the driveway like a pack of raccoons. Large rats, I tell ya.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Two words.....coyotes & javelina. Different band but the same song.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Bullwinkle was taking a nice walk down the trail on the way back home yesterday. He prolly walked a 1/4 mile before easing into the woods.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I saw your shoulder find, Brian. Umm... I guess we`ll have to take your word for it (though no reason to doubt) since it`s a bit hard to identify an object that size at high speed via wide angle helmet cam!


*** I thought after I passed, I should have stopped for a few seconds of direct video, but the pause will show you frames of the fuzzy red bird.

Getting ready to leave for work in a few minutes with possibly my most interresting ever commute cargo: one frozen cow pie. I collected it Friday and left it a flat box in my truck until this morning. After my wife left, I bagged it and threw it in the freezer so it won`t fall apart in my pannier- it`s still pretty fresh. Wife won`t be home until after midnight, so I should be clear 

EDIT: Just added a baggie ful of rabbit turds. Ah, good times...[/QUOTE]

*** I have had to take a lot of crap from co-workers, but you are taking it to a new level!

*** Nice pics, Jordy!

*** Junior, I once had 200 pounds of deer in the freezer (dressed = 200, so BIG buck) after it caused $3500 of damage to a new Civic. Ohio lets the owner of the vehicle that hit the deer claim it. I helped a good samaritan gut it, the police provided the tag. I was in a 3-piece suit without suitable knives as I was returning from the airport and a business meeting. We weren't covered for car rental, so the deductible plus rental meant it was $4.50 venison. A civic and a big buck stops you, a semi driver could hit a bambi and not notice a thing.

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

not a bad ride this morning. had to have the satellite guy come out and align my dish this morning, so I didn't get out until the sun was already above the trees and warming things up.

an oddly large amount of traffic heading OUT of town this morning. no idea what that was about.

the people a couple doors down from me have a doberman who LOVES to run along the fenceline and bark/chase me as I ride by. I can't tell if the dog just wants to play or whether it wants to get me. but the idiot people stacked up a BUNCH of logs awfully close to the fence over the weekend and I think it's only a matter of time before that doberman figures out how to climb them and hop the fence. if it was one of my dogs, they'd have figured that out in a few minutes...not that either of my dogs need something to climb to get over a measly 4ft fence. both of them know they can jump it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I draw the line at eating roadkill.


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## atreyu (Oct 19, 2012)

Thanks for asking... you know, 3 years ago. (grin) Had to pull on my new rain gear 5 minutes in, never optimal, but I'm thankful to live somewhere (SF Bay Area) where I can bike every workday of the year. Pleased with my new MagicShine 808U... just installed the wide angle lens today, so we'll see how that changes the light's effect. 

Looking forward to a little project I'll be starting tomorrow... rigging up a $40 2nd light (MagicShine 808 clone with wide-angle lens) taping a a red photo filter to it, and mounting to my seat rails... hoping for a brighter alternative to the DiNotte 400R at about a quarter of the price.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I draw the line at eating roadkill.


Woodway needs to step up with some rabbit stew.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

CommuterBoy said:


> I draw the line at eating roadkill.


you haven't eaten until you've eaten roadkill. you've just gotta discard the road rash part and it needs to be fresh.

opportunistic dining at its finest.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I draw the line at eating roadkill.


What? After he was tenderized by crushing the hood up and over the windshield, leaving four antler furrows in the roof and then landing conveniently off the road in the grassy median and leaving me stranded? Revenge! Sweet revenge. I don't eat the hide. So what's a bit of grass stain? Then you hang them salted for 7-10 days before butchering, it is the fast evisceration that is essential. I am on a neolithic diet, so isn't hitting them at 70 mph in a Honda much like chasing them over a cliff? That was standard hunting practice at one time. Used to butcher our own chickens, other than weight, this was easier. I don't go out there scraping up road pizzas like Granny Clampett: "Git yur own!" 

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride today. Still way slow. I did climb the last hill at over 17 mph at my max heart rate. So getting better. 

BrianMc


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had a mint ride in today. Sky was clear and no wind to speak of. I came in about 50secs off my best time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JordyB said:


> Bullwinkle was taking a nice walk down the trail on the way back home yesterday. He prolly walked a 1/4 mile before easing into the woods.


That's a lotta bull, Jordy!



BrianMc said:


> Nice ride today. Still way slow. I did climb the last hill at over 17 mph at my max heart rate. So getting better.
> 
> BrianMc


Sigh...I'm quite sure I've never gone 17mph uphill - nice!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*A first?*

Thought you guys might want to know you got props over on the women's forum :thumbsup:



mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks everyone! I never used to think I'd like riding a loaded up bike, but I got hooked after reading the adventures of rodar and commuterboy over on the commuter forum. This was my second trip.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> What? After he was tenderized by crushing the hood up and over the windshield, leaving four antler furrows in the roof and then landing conveniently off the road in the grassy median and leaving me stranded? Revenge! Sweet revenge. I don't eat the hide. So what's a bit of grass stain? Then you hang them salted for 7-10 days before butchering, it is the fast evisceration that is essential. I am on a neolithic diet, so isn't hitting them at 70 mph in a Honda much like chasing them over a cliff? That was standard hunting practice at one time. Used to butcher our own chickens, other than weight, this was easier. I don't go out there scraping up road pizzas like Granny Clampett: "Git yur own!"
> 
> BrianMc


Exactly! I've tried the squirrels that I "manage" to keep them out of our house. Not really worth the effort. Maybe if you are desperate. But it anybody has any good recipes I'd be interested.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My ride home today was a great way to shake off the Monday blahs. I was reasonably fast, chatted with a couple of kindred souls, and hit some nice speeds on sections of my ride. To top it off, the weather was absolutely perfect.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Raining over there Rodar? 1st taste of actual weather this morning... coming down pretty steadily.


It rained off and on and heavy winds constantly from yesterday evening until early morning, then calmed down for a couple hours just before dawn (for the benefit of my ride home). Howling winds woke me up about noon and still gusting, blowing hard. No more rain, but I see this year`s first dusting on the mountain between me and Reno. No telling what tonight wil bring.



bedwards1000 said:


> It was a 40 minute course. 40 minutes of all out effort was enough for my first. I wore a POV camera for the race and it has a lot of heavy breathing on it.


No cross expert here, but I know that newb races are 30 minutes. Longer ones are for the wild bunch- you maniac! Entered in a higher cat than "beginer old folks" and still kicked butt didn`tcha !?!



mtbxplorer said:


> Sigh...I'm quite sure I've never gone 17mph uphill - nice!


Do rollers and whoopsie-doos count? The lower part of the uphill? If they do, I`m in the 17 MPH Uphill Club :thumbsup:


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

It was around 1ºC this morning on the way in, and 5ºC and pouring with rain this evening. Not the most pleasant riding and I was caught unprepared. I'm now sitting happily in my apartment with a cup of hot coco and the warmest clothing I own .


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sigh...I'm quite sure I've never gone 17mph uphill - nice!


This is probably a 'slight rise' in Vermont. I conserved my energy before the sprint up. Still, it is the best I have done it in a long time. The pickup behind me did not try to pass me on the blind hill.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

WHOOO! The wind stopped and it started snowing :band:


Break out your Nokians, CB! I don`t expect much here, but hopfully you`ll have enough for a fair trial in the morning


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

Started a little bit foggy but it wasn't cold at all, like 13 degrees celcius.









Bike lanes all 37 km.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Rode in the rain for the first time. Not an awful experience except that I didn't think to bring a dry pair of socks or shoes for bumbling around work. Strongly considering some hard-sole slippers I saw yesterday to keep under my desk for the winter. I did that with my docksiders in the summer but the office is too cold to get away with that now. On the upside my lights did well in the rain, and my panniers appear to be somewhat waterproof.

For now, I'm just not wearing shoes until I have to leave my office.


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## SurlyBuckeye (Sep 19, 2012)

Suprisingly Dry.... went for a 4AM run on the mountain bike and it started to rain for most of the ride, got home, got my work stuff ready, put on my rain gear. Took the commuter out and the rain was gone. Roads were still wet but that's why they make fenders, right?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My commute was filled with: Beautiful Fall Colors


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The Commuter Forum... some of us are into ballet...some of us eat roadkill. Just sayin :lol:


Thanks for the props MTBX... I always knew I was in inspiration, just never met any one of the masses that I'm obviously constantly inspiring :lol: 

I did indeed break out the Nokians... not really necessary, but I was thinking I needed to do the 'break in' thing anyway. we got a dusting of snow at home, but it faded into a bit of crusty slop and just wet roads for most of the commute. I was worried about stud loss on the nokians on my dirt road because I don't really have the option of hitting pavement right away for the break in period... I tried to take it easy on the dirt (which was soft and a bit snowy, so that probably helped?) Never had studs before and they were expensive so I want to do it right! No stud loss on the way in, so I guess we're OK...

Also fabbed up a FENDER EXTENDER last night. I found an old SKS Beavertail fender that I had from waaaaay back and hacked it off, then drilled matching holes in the PB Cascadias and the Beavertail, and attached with a couple of water bottle cage bolts and little nuts... extended the front of the front fender significantly, which should help with the spray issues I'm having. I need to lower the entire front fender still...haven't gotten to that, and I wasn't sure on clearance with the studs....but this is a good start. It was pretty frozen up this morning so I didn't get a really good feel for how much it's going to help...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Completely uneventful last night/this morning just the way I like it.

I remember there used to be a 'Roadkill Cookbook' on sale at one time. Dunno if it's still around.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

4 inchs of wet snow.....Car Snot all the way to work. Even on the paths cause the bikes churned it into bike snot.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That's nasty stuff. What tires and pressure were you running and how did they do?

A pic I took last week and forgot about. The reservoir on the way home, with mostly Canada geese hanging out near the shore.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

^ Lovely :thumbsup:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ That's nasty stuff. What tires and pressure were you running and how did they do?
> 
> A pic I took last week and forgot about. The reservoir on the way home, with mostly Canada geese hanging out near the shore.


1.95 inch M&G Nokians bout 40 psi...they did okay cut through most of it...

Stepped off once taking a shortcut between paths turning up the hill to gain another path through a drift...

Stepped off gaining a sidewalk, going through a drift....

Note to self go faster through the drifts.

still snowing


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I love my Mount and Grounds but I'm in no hurry to use them.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

I wish it would go ahead and cool off way down here in East TN. This fall heat makes me miss New England. 

Double snake bite flats today. Leaves covered whatever it was that I clobbered. Only carrying one replacement tube. Fortunately happened only a mile or so from one of the LBSs. Otherwise lovely ride in the changing colors.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

for you studded tire guys, I see that there are pretty few studded tires that come in a size at 700x35 or narrower. On my Pompetamine, 700x35 is the biggest I can go with fenders. 

I saw a Nokian (the A10, I think) at 700x30, but it didn't have very many studs at all and I can only wonder how effective it would be.

what studded tire would you guys recommend in the 700x30 - 700x35 range?

I think I'm going to wind up needing studs for my commuter this winter at some point. maybe not till Dec or Jan, but eventually.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NateHawk said:


> for you studded tire guys, I see that there are pretty few studded tires that come in a size at 700x35 or narrower. On my Pompetamine, 700x35 is the biggest I can go with fenders.
> 
> I saw a Nokian (the A10, I think) at 700x30, but it didn't have very many studs at all and I can only wonder how effective it would be.
> 
> ...


I think that is about it....

I hve not ridden that tire...but it looks okay the studs stick out so when you lean into a corner they contact the ground....it really only takes one stud to improve the traction on a corner so you don't go down...

I would trust Nokian...

Most the courires downtown run their skinny road tires through the winter....the cut through snow well....around here downtown is flat is hills arn't a problem they probably just memorize the ice patchs.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nokian IceSpeed is probably your best bet but I haven't tried them.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> I see that there are pretty few studded tires that come in a size at 700x35 or narrower. On my Pompetamine, 700x35 is the biggest I can go with fenders.
> 
> I saw a Nokian (the A10, I think) at 700x30, but it didn't have very many studs at all and I can only wonder how effective it would be.
> 
> ...


I have the A10 in 32-700 and it is 29-700 on a Dyad rim. I haven't mounted and measured on a Deep Vee, I rode them last year for the first time. I think they are a very good answer for the road conditions here. We have a lot of clear roads and some intervals or locations of ice or snow pack. I got them because after not needing studs for three winters the winter before last was suicidal to ride without studs.

The side walls are strong and I could run less pressure than I do in Panaracer 32-700s.

The studs bedded well and Peter White Cycles inspects their tires closely so all the studs are still there ready for another winter.

It is available in a 35-700 as well.

Another option is 35-700 in 700c version: Schwalbe Marathon Winter, ETRTO 35-622, 240 studs, 40 psi to 70 psi, part number SWL11126448 In Stock at PeterWhiteCycles.com

They have a lot more studs but I think they are overkill for my roads.

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I saw those icespeeds. They look pretty good. I like that the studs are a little closer to the centerline of the tire. the A10's had the studs pretty wide such that they didn't look like they'd do anything when going straight. from what I recall of central Indiana winters, black ice is the bigger concern and it can throw you to ground even when you're going straight.

this site says the ice speed does well for black ice.
Budget Bicycle Center - Nokian IceSpeed 700 x 35c Studded Tire

the same folks say the A10 will do okay for patchy black ice, too.
Budget Bicycle Center - Nokian Hakkapelita A10 700 x 32 tire

hmmmm...gonna have to think on that one. the A10's seem to get solid reviews, too. with fewer studs, they look like they'll be lighter than the ice speeds.

I also see some Kendas and some Innovas in the 700x35 range.
Studded Tires : • Milwaukee Bicycle Co. • Ben's Cycle

Anyone have any experience with either of those brands' studded tires as compared to Nokian? I used some old IRC Blizzard (IIRC) studded tires on a mtb commuter several years ago that worked well enough but they don't look to be made anymore..


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Snow blankets Calgary, 20 cm expected to fall - Calgary - CBC News

Picture of my commute this morning just across from CBC headquarters...

The path is in the foreground.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nice. This winter thing isn't wasting any time getting started. I'm actually already looking forward to the days I will ride this year that I wouldn't have ridden in the past, since I bit the bullet and got the studs. 

This morning being my first ride ever on studded tires, I was plesantly surprised at the fun sounds they made once I got out of the snow and onto slushy wet pavement. I sort of knew what to expect having heard them on cars, but the knobby mtb tire sound mixed with the stud sound made a nice little chorus. 

These will go well with my Serfas Drifters, which make a very cool suction cup slimy octopus popping sound when cornering on wet pavement. 

Either way, it's like riding some sort of a children's toy. (in hooker boots)


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BrianMc said:


> I have the A10 in 32-700 and it is 29-700 on a Dyad rim. I haven't mounted and measured on a Deep Vee, I rode them last year for the first time. I think they are a very good answer for the road conditions here. We have a lot of clear roads and some intervals or locations of ice or snow pack. I got them because after not needing studs for three winters the winter before last was suicidal to ride without studs.
> 
> The side walls are strong and I could run less pressure than I do in Panaracer 32-700s.
> 
> ...


ah, yeah, I'll be moving to Indy shortly so that's the kind of advice I was looking for. I was up there 2 winters ago for Christmas (I grew up in Indy). I'd never seen that much snow before Christmas (did the Christmas 5k run in downtown Indy that year). I also have Dyad rims on my commuter, so your info is perfect. I currently have 700x32 CST Crucible tires on my commuter and if the A10 actually comes in a 700x32, also, that's probably what I'd go with.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

Way back home was even nicer!









Bike path with fallen leaves + sun









On my SS road bike. 53/20









Cow









Bike tunnel









Balloon

GPS


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NateHawk said:


> Anyone have any experience with either of those brands' studded tires as compared to Nokian? I used some old IRC Blizzard (IIRC) studded tires on a mtb commuter several years ago that worked well enough but they don't look to be made anymore..


What I read when I was researching studded tires last year was that Schawbe and Nokian use carbide studs and the rest use steel so they wear out. This is a good read for anybody looking to buy studded tires: Peter White Cycles


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Snow blankets Calgary, 20 cm expected to fall - Calgary - CBC News
> 
> Picture of my commute this morning just across from CBC headquarters...
> 
> The path is in the foreground.


I read the story, 34 accidents from midnight to 8:30 a.m. sounds like an awful lot if that was just in Calgary! :crazy: ...and the photo looks so peaceful...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Your first two pics are realy neat, Asphalt. I like the speed blur!

I`ve never seen any studded 26s that were`s pretty fat. Does anybody know of one I`m missing in like 26 x 1.5 or thereabouts? Something like A10 or those Icespeeds, but scaled down to fit my bikes?

Normbilt has been quiet for a long time. His profile says he`s been active fairly recently, but no posts for ages. I guess he got tired of the forums?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Those Schwalbe Marathon Winters are 26x1.75", but I'm not seeing anything narrower.
Schwalbe Marathon Winter Studded 26 Tire at BikeTiresDirect
Sadly, I could not recommend the snow stud for you, it is 1.9.

I was just thinking about Norm and his beautiful stable the other day. Hope he comes back with some pics as I feel excess drool building up.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> ah, yeah, I'll be moving to Indy shortly so that's the kind of advice I was looking for. I was up there 2 winters ago for Christmas (I grew up in Indy). I'd never seen that much snow before Christmas (did the Christmas 5k run in downtown Indy that year). I also have Dyad rims on my commuter, so your info is perfect. I currently have 700x32 CST Crucible tires on my commuter and if the A10 actually comes in a 700x32, also, that's probably what I'd go with.


I was concerned about the few studs and placement, too, but Nokian knew what they were doing. They work straight ahead or cornering. Though I don't hang it over to near-pedal strike which I have done in the summer. You ride along and suddenly you rolled over a patch of black ice which you know because it sounds different from pavement so those studs are in play. An hour south east of Indy should be close as the urban thermal effect should cancel the higher latitude.

Here is a picture of them on the errand bike:



I can fit 38-700 on that bike, and am considering buying the 35 700 A10 and moving these to The Duchess to cover unexpected ice on cold clear days. I may ask Santa.

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

minivan's front tire actualy buzzed my shoe!! 
rained like hell too!!
one of those days.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Put the fenders back on this weekend, just to get it out of the way. Heard some funny rubbing sounds today and the rear was just not sitting right so off the rear came. Going to readdress them this weekend, not a big deal, nothing but clear skies for at least the next week but I'm going to pull out the sail for how windy it's been!

I've been looking at the Nokians in 700x40, anyone used them? Running a 42 right now but it won't hook up on much except clear pavement and gravel.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BrianMc said:


> I can fit 38-700 on that bike, and am considering buying the 35 700 A10 and moving these to The Duchess to cover unexpected ice on cold clear days. I may ask Santa.
> 
> BrianMc


i would like wider tires for cush but to go bigger than 35, I have to drop the fenders. Not gonna do that in the wintertime.


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## Beandip4all (Oct 24, 2012)

Does anyone here commute with a laptop? I just bought a hardtail and am going to start commuting to med school on it via a mix of mellow trails/fireroads and roads, but am nervous to be packing my laptop... with all my lecture audio recordings and notes on it. 

In fact, I ate it the other day and the first thing I asked when people stopped to come pick me out of the gutter on the side of the road was "is my laptop okay?!??!" It was, thankfully! Then in lecture one of my fellow students spilled her latte all over it. Again, survived. Been a rough week for my computer. 

Are the vibrations of commuting with a laptop in your backpack really bad for it?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I don't ride with mine often. I have an office I can leave it in. But when I do ride with it, i put it in a padded laptop sleeve and then in my pack.

Never had a problem but I don't go hucking and crashing with it. I tend to ride about the same as if I had a load of groceries.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome in, Beandip! I`ve never had a laptop, let alone biked with one, but it seems quite a few people do. Hang in and I`m sure you`ll get some recommendations from them.

Thanks, Xplorer. That`s what I have now. It`s got to be the most sluggish tire I`ve ever pedaled, though it does an amazing job of taming snow and ice. I`m sticking with them for now, but the talk of narrow winter tires got me to dreaming, so I thought I`d throw the question out for discusion.

I ordered and recieved my first ever cycling-specific jacket (also my first ever rain-specific jacket) last month and have been wearing it on the cool and cold comutes over the past few weeks. I really do like the fit better than riding in my general purpose clothes, but I can see that people weren`t lying with all that talk about breathability. I thought the enormous pit zips in this jacket would negate the 100% non-breatheable material, but that doesn`t seem to be the case. At least it wasn`t an expensive experiment. I decided to try a few brevets in the comming year, starting with a New Years Eve 200K, and all the rides in my weekendable range are in places where it rains, so thought it would be a good idea to find some kind of basic rain gear to augment my desert dweller`s closet. Looks like I need to keep looking. Good thing I thought while I still have time to sort it out, though.



byknuts said:


> minivan's front tire actualy buzzed my shoe!!


Yikes!!! How did that happen, and did you at least get some Imron out of the deal?


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

I don't often commute with a laptop, I commute with a 16Gb flash drive and leave the laptop at work and use my PC at home. Not sure if that's an option for you, works for me as I can't get emails on my personal Laptop; so I put my feet up open a couple of ice cold ones and get proper work done; I can acheive the same in 2 hours that takes a day in the office as none of the usual BS distractions


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had a good ride in to work, but the return trip was pretty hard. Had to climb Ngauranga in the granny into a headwind which was gusting all over the place.

Sometimes I hate spring weather here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pamela498 said:


> Nice sunny day, 45 low wind, they took the bike rack in at work getting ready for the snow so parking is going to get a bit challenging. I guess they need to give me a bigger office so I can have indoor parking


\

I can't see your pix, but bike parking out of the weather is really nice for winter. For a while I could park mine in a heated tunnel/walkway, but I had to put it on cardboard because the slush and ick of winter really makes a mess. Last winter it was outside but on a covered porch and that worked out fine too. We're moving again in a couple months and I need to scope out a parking spot there, maybe in a safe corner of the parking garage.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday's commute home had it's highs and lows. Actually, both were when I walked out to my bike and was getting ready to leave. There was a big bird poo on my bike, but then I got a good laugh. This lady started talking to me about my bike, she told me she liked it, but then she said something to the effect of "Fatties Fit Fine is kind of offensive". I explained that it meant fat tires and asked what she thought (wasn't sure if she was thinking drugs or obesity) and she said "oh I thought it meant it was strong and fat people could ride it". I got a kick out of it. 

When I turned down my street I realized how beautiful the foliage is. When you live in New England your whole life, it's easy to get desensitized to it, but I try to look around and take it all in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> ... This lady started talking to me about my bike, she told me she liked it, but then she said something to the effect of "Fatties Fit Fine is kind of offensive". I explained that it meant fat tires and asked what she thought (wasn't sure if she was thinking drugs or obesity) and she said "oh I thought it meant it was strong and fat people could ride it". I got a kick out of it.


LOL, how fat was she? It seems especially relevant with all the talk here about finding skinny studded tires.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had some Fruit Loops for breakfast! The leaves are getting thick.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: Fatties


Today was sloppier than yesterday...snow, slush, and wet pavement... I'm declaring total success with the Fender Extender project. This is the cleanest and driest I've been upon arrival in similar conditions. It worked so well I'm mad at myself for not doing it sooner. I had no idea how much of that wetness on my legs was coming from the spray shooting out of the front of the front fender. That and the hooker boots made for a nice dry ride in the slop. 

Speaking of fatties and studs... they do fit fine, and I have no desire to find skinny ones. Took a 13?ish mile mostly paved cruise after work to try to get this 'break in' period thing over with. Couldn't resist the temptation of the snow and slop calling me from the woods though. 

"no christmas tree cutting"... well I didn't have my trailer anyway. And the fatties comment reminded me of this pic of my Surly's edited, family friendly chainstay.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I read the story, 34 accidents from midnight to 8:30 a.m. sounds like an awful lot if that was just in Calgary! :crazy: ...and the photo looks so peaceful...


Bingo that was a major reason I started bike commuting.

Really for Calgary 34 accidents is nothing they have had thousands in just one rush hour...

The cops will put out a bulletin saying if you have a fender bender don't call to report for several days....unless it is an injury accident.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bird poo fits fine.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm declaring total success with the Fender Extender project. This is the cleanest and driest I've been upon arrival in similar conditions. It worked so well I'm mad at myself for not doing it sooner. I had no idea how much of that wetness on my legs was coming from the spray shooting out of the front of the front fender. That and the hooker boots made for a nice dry ride in the slop.


I like the extension! Can you give some details on what you made it from?
I've also noticed that although my PB Cascadia fenders have a pretty decent reach up front, there's still a bit of spray that ends up blowing back onto my legs, my only real complaint. I was thinking of extending mine a little bit, too.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Another quiet ride in/out. Ordered the Midge bars (only had anodized gold or white, went with gold), cheap bar tape, the Matchmakers, and a stem extender just in case. Should prove interesting.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Very pretty, but humid and windy as hell. That'll all change tomorrow with a cold front coming through... well maybe not the windy part.

Rode the Raleigh today since the Trek needs tires too badly (and I'm poor and can't afford tires right now thanks to an unplanned bathroom remodel).










Obligatory motion shot (though it was so windy I had a hard time staying steady).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dwayne said:


> I like the extension! Can you give some details on what you made it from?
> I've also noticed that although my PB Cascadia fenders have a pretty decent reach up front, there's still a bit of spray that ends up blowing back onto my legs, my only real complaint. I was thinking of extending mine a little bit, too.


If you go back two pages in this thread, there are a couple bad pictures of it. I took an old fender (an SKS Beavertail) and cut it down, then laid it into (underneath) the Cascadia, drilled matching holes, and secured the two together with water bottle cage bolts and little nuts. Looks sharp from the top with just two nice allen head bolts on top of the cascadia. Two things that I think really helped:

1. The Beavertail fender is a REALLY rigid plastic. Not nearly as floppy as the Cascadia.

and

2. I left the Beavertail part long enough that the rear mounting bolt is BEHIND the fork crown, in a really super stiff location on the Cascadia (since there's a bolt holding the cascadia to the fork just forward of that location)... this created a really rigid situation... if I had mounted the beavertail to just the forward portion of the cascadia I think it would be flopping all over the place on my dirt road, or in a stiff wind.

I was looking all over for something to use as a fender extension before I realized that another fender would probably be a good idea :lol: 
"What do I have that's a hard plastic in the shape of a fender...  OH, a fender! :madman:"


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

love the falling leaves photos. nothing like that in my area yet.

I notice the more time I spend outside, the better I am at predicting the weather. On my ride in today, I noticed how oppressively humid it was. When the wind stopped, it felt hot and nasty, but there was a coolish breeze when I got going. I was thinking, "man, it feels like the weather is about to change. a lot of the sticky gulf air is being sucked a couple hundred miles inland and this time of year, that usually precedes a temp drop. Sure enough, the forecast calls for a 20 deg difference in daily high temps by Friday. Today's high in the mid-80's and Friday mid-60's. With thunderstorms. I think I might hack up some of that vinyl edging to make myself some fender flaps by then.

A moron pulling out from an elementary school on my route today (from my left, wanting to go the same direction as me) pulled out as I came by coasting down a slight downhill at around 20mph. I was almost close enough to kick his car. and, once I noticed that he did not pass me, I saw he made a right turn just after our interaction. pretty sure he would have right hooked me if I was just a couple seconds slower.

I saw the dumbest bike rider yesterday. I had a bunch of errands to run yesterday, so I took the car instead of the bike so I could get them done quicker. I was headed home after my last errand, well after dark, heading west out of town up a hill that marks a bluff from a creek that runs just west of the downtown area (downtown sits on top of the eastern bluff of that creek). This western bluff is a pretty steep hill for around here. I've set a Strava segment on it, and I think the steepest part is around 11%. The hill itself is a hair over half a mile long and on a good day with no head/cross wind, I can actually break the 30mph speed limit just before the RR tracks. I was in the left lane of two heading up the hill, because I have to make a left turn at the top. there was no other car traffic headed west at the time.

When I was about halfway up the hill, I saw a streak zip by me to my right (the right lane) headed downhill. WTF?, I thought. was a ninja salmon downhilling on that hill on a bmx bike. no reflectors. no lights. dark clothes. dark skin. I didn't see him until he was directly next to me. if I had been in the right lane, his head would have been in my windshield. Absolutely supreme idiot. 

There is a sidewalk on the north side of the street there, and it's the only little bit of sidewalk I will use. because by the time I get to the top of that hill, I'm going barely faster than walking speed. a good number of people walk there, too...and if there are pedestrians, I just step off the bike and walk. simple solution. coincidentally, right after seeing the ninja salmon, I saw someone headed up the hill near the top with a couple blinkies on the back of the bike. I couldn't tell if the person was riding or walking, but I saw those blinkies.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cold, dark and raining this morning. The perfect setting to have not one but two flat tires separated by about ten miles.

The only thing worse than changing one flat in the rainy dark is changing two. Good thing I have a repair kit with me because I used up all my spare tubes.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

NateHawk said:


> I saw the dumbest bike rider yesterday...


I've been seeing this a ton lately. On Saturday I drove to the grocery store for some grub to throw on the grill and nearly hit a girl when I was turning right to enter the parking lot as she was exiting. She was riding on the wrong side of the road (to get around a stopped car), wearing no helmet, and ran a stop sign. If I hadn't been paying complete attention to her she would have become a grille ornament. Then after all that she hopped on the sidewalk on the wrong side of the road.

I've also been seeing quite a few on my commute route running stop signs and generally not waiting for traffic signals to change and nearly being hit by people turning left etc.

On the plus side, I have seen a perceived rise in the number of bike commuters. The downside is most of them ride on the sidewalk against traffic and without helmets on very poorly set up bikes.

Makes you understand some of the cyclist-rage some of our car driving commuters have. Also makes you wonder how many car-bike accidents would never happen if the bicyclist was just following common rules of the road.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

DuManchu said:


> Makes you understand some of the cyclist-rage some of our car driving commuters have. Also makes you wonder how many car-bike accidents would never happen if the bicyclist was just following common rules of the road.


I guarantee most of the car-bike fatalities you see are from the people who just ride wherever whenever without a second thought towards safety (lights, bright clothing, helmets, the way they ride, etc.). I think but I'm not entirely certain that the moron I saw last night was on a BMX bike. I mostly just saw a dark shadow moving probably faster than 20mph.

I would like to see police departments taking notes of all safety gear riders are using when a crash occurs. I would like to see the locals news report these things, too. All they ever address is whether the rider was wearing a helmet or not. that's fine and all, but wearing a helmet isn't going to PREVENT you from getting run over in the first place. I'm more interested in how visible the rider was, were they pulling some odd maneuver like riding salmon or crossing a street in a random location, or were they bouncing from street to sidewalk unexpectedly? if they did that, they'd see a severe need to educate low income folks on safe bike riding.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

^^ I'm not so sure it's low income folks who are the ones riding recklessly, or should I say that I'm not sure income has much to do with it. I realize that a lack of money will cause a lack of safety equipment, but at the same time those with little to lose tend to take less chances with what little they have. I'd be inclined to think it's more about age and experience, kids and young people (18-24) who are invincible and heal really fast are gonna take more chances than 40 something who's been around and seen what happens when you aren't fast enough, tough enough, and know that "yes this CAN happen to you."

I agree with you about reporting on all gear not just helmets, and what maneuver/circumstance was involved when the incident occurred.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

junior1210 said:


> ^^ I'm not so sure it's low income folks who are the ones riding recklessly, or should I say that I'm not sure income has much to do with it.


I don't think income has anything to do with it, either, other than the fact that it seems to be a coincidental association.

I do think there probably is an age component to it because many of the college students are guilty of riding like morons, but around here, I see older riders well off campus doing the ninja salmon thing on a regular basis, too. a lot of them are the DUI riders who can't afford another way of getting around. a lot of them just don't have enough money to buy and/or maintain a car...sometimes they're Mexican, but pretty often they're not. The one constant is the not-working-well POS walmart FS. it's rusty, it makes a lot of noise, it's in the wrong gear because that's the only one that doesn't skip, and oftentimes the tires are nearly flat. occasionally a BMX bike (they are usually ridden by the younger crowd), but they're pretty uncommon as a whole.

on the whole, it's easy to tell the college student moron riders from the rest - the college student moron riders usually have shiny bikes. in the past couple of years, the walmart cruisers and the walmart fixies have become popular. the bike shop has taken to selling a similarly flashy fixie to the walmart fixie, but they cost 4x as much and it's pretty easy to tell them apart. the college student moron riders also mostly stick to campus whereas the other idiot riders rarely set foot on campus.

they all need better education about riding safety, but since the college student riders mostly isolate themselves on campus where speed limits top out at 20mph, lots of stops, and few through streets, they're at much lower risk of car-bike fatalities.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

I only did one.commute this week. Monday. 40 degrees 6am 12 miles to work. Somehow I got sick. I feel awful  swallowing knives and no.voice. I leave for a 4 night bike camping trip tomorrow. I need to get a warmer bag or extra liner or something to sleep in.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> I'm more interested in how visible the rider was, were they pulling some odd maneuver like riding salmon or crossing a street in a random location, or were they bouncing from street to sidewalk unexpectedly?


My province releases stats on all sorts of collisions. In 2010, for 470 collisions involving cyclists this is what they've got:



> *Improper Actions of Bicyclists*
> Disobey Traffic Signal 52
> Failed to Yield Right of Way - Uncontrolled Intersection 26
> Stop Sign Violation 11
> ...


192/470 = 40%, which isn't too bad considering all the drunks and dumb kids out there. Obviously it doesn't capture near-misses, or general poor visibility, and who knows what "Other" means?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

good stuff newfangled. yeah, curious what falls into that "other" category.

but if I'm reading your post right, 60% of incidents involving cyclists are not captured by any of those categories? the "other" category gets some of them, but what about the rest?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ The rest are caused by improper actions of motorists.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yup. The numbers are pretty consistent too - 2009 was 43%, 2008 was 40%, 2007 was 50%, 2006 was 43%...

From the data you can't really draw any conclusions re. visibility, age, socio-economic status, etc. But just from the straight numbers, around here at least as many cyclists are involved in injury/fatality collisions while obeying the law as disobeying. And in 2008 and 2010 50% _more_ were hit while obeying the law.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Rodar: nah, these days I`m more into clean escapes than undesired evidence recovery. 

but it`s a pedestrian high-traffic area for university students, I`m happy if my buzzing his tire made knucklehead learn to look around more often when he drove through there.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I didn't get rolling out of work until about 5:50 pm, and there was a beautiful sunset over one of the quarries. I used this cool micro tripod (in Park tool blue) that I got from Campmor Joby Gorillapod Micro 250 Tripod, 80148 | Cameras | Electronics & Gadgets | GEAR | items from Campmor.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ The rest are caused by improper actions of motorists.


duh. gotcha.

thinking about it, I can completely see how visibility can be a contributor to motorist-caused collisions even though the motorist is officially at fault. AFAIK, nowhere requires lights or reflectors on a bicycle during daylight hours. the issue is figuring out why the bicyclist wasn't seen.

was it because the bicyclist was hugging a brushy curb because they were nervous about cars?

was it because the cyclist was decked out in muted colors?

this is why I think investigators should be taking note of ALL safety equipment that cyclists are using when there is a collision.

it might also be worthwhile to attempt to survey the general population to see what people use who are NOT involved in collisions.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MtbX is on the ball today- I was trying to figure it out, too. "Left of Centre" covers salmon, you think?

RE: releasing the REAL pertinent information surrounding a bike related accident. yeah, that would be much more useful than the obligatory helmet/no helmet line. And if that were all summed up nice and neat for an annual report to be well publicized,...

I think finances do have at least an indirect role in how people ride. People who ride by choice I believe are more likely to at least know what they`re supposed to be doing (whether or not they actually ride that way). People who ride because they have no other options don`t have as much interest in it, so are more likely to not even know, and probably think of themselves as pedestrians. More often than not, those folks are going to be low on funding. Does that sound right?



kikoraa said:


> I leave for a 4 night bike camping trip tomorrow. I need to get a warmer bag or extra liner or something to sleep in.


Ride Report!!!
Hope you manage to kick whatever ails you before you take off.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

rodar y rodar said:


> I think finances do have at least an indirect role in how people ride. People who ride by choice I believe are more likely to at least know what they`re supposed to be doing (whether or not they actually ride that way). People who ride because they have no other options don`t have as much interest in it, so are more likely to not even know, and probably think of themselves as pedestrians. More often than not, those folks are going to be low on funding. Does that sound right?


Yeah, I think that is probably what it comes down to. I would go so far as to say that folks who choose to ride as their commute method despite having enough money to drive are more likely to put forth the effort to find out how they are supposed to ride and when they don't ride that way they have made a conscious choice to do so.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, to prove the axiom that stuff happens in threes, I got another flat on the way home tonight. I'm running out of patches...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> I can completely see how visibility can be a contributor to motorist-caused collisions even though the motorist is officially at fault.


I do everything I can to be visible, but we can't expect most people to dress like construction workers just because they're on a bike. We don't expect it of pedestrians, because that would be pretty ridiculous. We also don't expect all cars to be painted hi-vis yellow, or blame people with black cars who get into collisions.

Occasionally we do mandate things like daytime running lights and the 3rd highlevel brakelight or even streetlamps, and they have a big safety effect for a few years but then that quickly peters out as drivers adjust their behaviour accordingly.

Drivers are various parts lazy, stupid, overconfident, and lazy. For every cyclist dressing in muted colors (which is never going to be a crime), there are probably 100 drivers who are busy finding new ways to distract themselves.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> Well, to prove the axiom that stuff happens in threes, I got another flat on the way home tonight. I'm running out of patches...


Same wheel? Sounds like a burr in the tire or rim that you're not finding....


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

newfangled said:


> Drivers are various parts lazy, stupid, overconfident, and lazy. For every cyclist dressing in muted colors (which is never going to be a crime), there are probably 100 drivers who are busy finding new ways to distract themselves.


did you mention lazy twice on purpose? if not, I think it's an appropriate mistake, anyway. I'm not talking about making every possible safety measure a legal requirement. though many already are (and a lot of those are never enforced by police). I am curious about collecting the data to see if there are some interesting trends that suggest aspects of safety that work MUCH better than others, that some may not think all that much about.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Installed the studs last night.

Rode in this morning.

Stockholm Winter has begun.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Quick picture from my ride home yesterday. It was unusually calm.

On track so far to ride 5/5 days this week. First time ever. Now that I've said this, watch me get up at 9 tomorrow morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I hope you brought a camera.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Quick picture from my ride home yesterday. It was unusually calm.
> 
> On track so far to ride 5/5 days this week. First time ever. Now that I've said this, watch me get up at 9 tomorrow morning.


I should add to this that I'm making a big push to finally ride 5/5 on the same week as trying to switch my schedule from a relatively sedate wake at 7/work by 10 to wake at 3/work by 5:30.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL, how fat was she? It seems especially relevant with all the talk here about finding skinny studded tires.


Ironically she was skinny.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Same wheel? Sounds like a burr in the tire or rim that you're not finding....


Nope, front wheel the last time. It was a thorn, I pulled it out of the tire before I put a spare tube in.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> did you mention lazy twice on purpose? if not, I think it's an appropriate mistake, anyway. I'm not talking about making every possible safety measure a legal requirement. though many already are (and a lot of those are never enforced by police). I am curious about collecting the data to see if there are some interesting trends that suggest aspects of safety that work MUCH better than others, that some may not think all that much about.


When I see a ninja-salmon or an old homeless guy operating a bike in a ridiculous manner, I try to remember that based on my local stats if _all_ pedestrians and cyclists were to disappear the total number of collisions would decrease by about 1%. If all the drunk drivers vanished too they'd decrease by another 7%.

But that means that ~92% of the time collisions are between sober drivers using infrastructure that has been designed specifically for them in cars that are lit up like christmas trees. And we have winter here, which skews things a bit, but even then 61% of collisions happen on dry road conditions.

So yeah, I meant lazy twice.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

First flat in 1,150 miles of commuting. I was only 1/4 mile from the office so I walked it. I have some nasty slashes in my tires from glass bits on the side of the road!


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

Warning: pics posted elsewhere as well,

I enjoyed my commute today, was dark and wet this morning (I need a better light), but this arvo was nice, 8 degrees Celcius, mostly damp with a couple of wet patches, tyres under 20psi  (I knew they were low, just didnt know how low), cant wait to do it all again tommorow :thumbsup: with my tyre pressure fixed

well pics are better than words .........























































and about 10 mins from home, the fog begins to descend......


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

huuuuuumid today. I hope that cold front gets through here soon enough. it was spitting a little rain as I came in, but my sweat soaked me more.

got my first kumquat of the season off of my potted kumquat tree on the patio today. WHEW! that was a tart little firecracker. I am going to have to be careful with that tree for a few years when I get to Indiana as I figure out how to take care of a citrus tree in a cold climate. 

when I got to the edge of campus, there was a guy on a noisy walmart FS and we crossed into campus at the same time. I have my comfortable cruising speed because my commuter is a SS so I was just moving along at my own pace. at one point I started gaining on the guy to the point that I thought about passing him. I started to pull alongside him and he put the hammer down and pulled away from me. never shifted. I had to laugh. he was working SO HARD with those knobbies and mtn gearing to pull away from me and prevent me from passing. wearing long pants (if I was sweating buckets I couldn't imagine how he was doing), and his knees were sticking out to the side. overall, just a funny scene. he was probably so stoked about "dropping that roadie" too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice uneventful warm (78 F) ride yesterday. A few too many drivers passing by too close. I may need to remount the flamethrower tail lights:



BrianMc


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Once again I was impressed by Price point's customer service. The parts I ordered from them just showed up and I only ordered them 2 days ago. I only wish they carried more of what I want, at a price I want, I'd use them a lot more.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No flats for me (also no ST or German countryside), but I did discover than my Big Apples had deflated a lot since the last I checked the pressure. Filled them back up and was still slow! Its been totally dark for both directions of my commute lately, so nothing to check out really except the illuminated patch from my headlight.

Theory: pissed off bunnies are getting revenge by heaving thorns into the path of that titanium bike that shoots by every day?

Not my commute, but I just got an email from a friend who bike commutes here. He lives on top of a serious hill (half mile long, up to 9% in places), says he hit a pedestrian this morning while doing about 25 MPH. Ped was in dark clothes, in the street (no sidewalk), and my buddy swerved right to make extra room for a school bus that was heading uphill. He rides a recumbent with a 63t ring out front- scary thought! Anyway, no ambulance rides, but a good bit of damage to both people and the bike. Well wishes accepted.



NateHawk said:


> overall, just a funny scene. he was probably so stoked about "dropping that roadie" too.


:lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^That sounds truly scarey, I hope everyone mends 100%. I guess he's stuck with the bike fix expenses since peds don't generally carry collision insurance? Extra healing thoughts and sympathy for your friend! 


Dark both ways is tough. I'm lucky enough to be able to arrive at 9 a.m. (well, earlier to clean up, etc.), so it is never dark my whole commute in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pedaled home to find my new Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pros (26x2.35") on the front porch. 361 carbide-tipped aluminum studs of goodness! Supposedly 850 grams apiece. The knobs are packed closer than my Nokian WXC's, so I hope they don't pack up in wetter snow, but plenty of grip and more studs toward the centerline, so I'm hoping the stud wear from paved sections will be slower.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good God! That sounds like the tires from Rollerball!

Thanks for the hope. No, no insurance, but since they were both at fault (one going faster than his lights, one ninja moding in the road before dawn), I doubt ins would cover anyway. Hope they both take it as a lesson. Bike got a smashed RD, road rash and big bruises for both people.


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## Beandip4all (Oct 24, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Welcome in, Beandip! I`ve never had a laptop, let alone biked with one, but it seems quite a few people do. Hang in and I`m sure you`ll get some recommendations from them.





NateHawk said:


> I don't ride with mine often. I have an office I can leave it in. But when I do ride with it, i put it in a padded laptop sleeve and then in my pack.
> 
> Never had a problem but I don't go hucking and crashing with it. I tend to ride about the same as if I had a load of groceries.





SimpleJon said:


> I don't often commute with a laptop, I commute with a 16Gb flash drive and leave the laptop at work and use my PC at home. Not sure if that's an option for you, works for me as I can't get emails on my personal Laptop; so I put my feet up open a couple of ice cold ones and get proper work done; I can acheive the same in 2 hours that takes a day in the office as none of the usual BS distractions


Thanks for the replies, Nate, Rodar & SimpleJon.

You guys move fast in this thread! By the time I checked back today I had to scroll back three pages to find my post 

I picked up a more padded backpack with a waist strap and also a laptop sleeve, will give it a shot next week.

What's everyone's commute distances?

I'm looking at 8 miles 1 way to school, and 20 miles each way if I decide I'm brave enough to ride the 2x a week I'm on site at my hospital clinicals. We wear scrubs anyways so not like I have to worry about being sweaty when I get there. However am nervous about getting a flat/getting lost/being delayed/bonking on route and then not making it. Which is NOT an option, have to be on time (early) every shift. Also am nervous about potentially missing "extras" (if we're invited to go out to eat or beers with the residents/attendings or something) and I can't go because I only have my bike. But I'm sure I could figure that out.

Otherwise, pretty stoked to be starting this commuting by bike routine because don't really have much time for exercise these days.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Beandip4all said:


> What's everyone's commute distances?
> 
> I'm looking at 8 miles 1 way to school, and 20 miles each way if I decide I'm brave enough to ride the 2x a week I'm on site at my hospital clinicals. We wear scrubs anyways so not like I have to worry about being sweaty when I get there. However am nervous about getting a flat/getting lost/being delayed/bonking on route and then not making it. Which is NOT an option, have to be on time (early) every shift. Also am nervous about potentially missing "extras" (if we're invited to go out to eat or beers with the residents/attendings or something) and I can't go because I only have my bike. But I'm sure I could figure that out.
> 
> Otherwise, pretty stoked to be starting this commuting by bike routine because don't really have much time for exercise these days.


Welcome. I'm about 14 miles each way. What I did was on my days off before committing to commuting was to ride the route at a normal speed (my route is almost a straight line) a couple of times, paying attention to how long it took, then added 30 minutes (for flats and cool down at work). Also remember to eat right, and regular, and get enough sleep. Cycling is just like any other physical activity, the body needs rest and fuel to perform well. Don't forget to allot space/budget for tools and tubes, and practice using them in the conditions of your commute (if you cycle in the dark, practice changing/fixing a flat with a flashlight in the dark). Did I do these things when I first started bike commuting ...no, that's why I'm telling you to now, to save you from the same mistakes I made. Only other piece of advice is to don't overestimate your abilities, work from the assumption that the whole of creation is against you (it isn't, no need to be paranoid) for planning purposes, that way you have wiggle room to work with when (not if) something goes wrong.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Woke up this morning to a cold house, had left the windows open all night...phone said the temp. was 24F, iPad said 28F. Needless to say it was a chilly ride to work. Was OK though since it was one shot and I warmed up nicely. Nice to not be split in two where I would wait for the train and re-freeze after warming up riding. Then I managed to stab my knee on the only fender stay without a rubber cap...good thing I work at a hospital, supplies were readily available.

I think I jinxed myself with saying how decent the drivers have been...lots of real close passes this week. It's like they think the fog line is the only line to drive on!


In the morning light.


In the afternoon


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Beandip4all said:


> What's everyone's commute distances?
> 
> However am nervous about getting a flat/getting lost/being delayed/bonking on route and then not making it.
> 
> don't really have much time for exercise these days.


I go 3-4mi each way. It varies depending on the route I take. Pretty wimpy commute distance compared to some folks on this site, but that gets me halfway across this town I live in now and is pretty hardcore to a lot of people I talk to. lol

I know the feeling about lacking time for exercise. I am working on probably the last 10 pages of a 250+ page thesis. It will probably grow a bit during the revision process, but these last several pages will at least get me finished with drafts of all four of my chapters.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> 361 carbide-tipped aluminum studs of goodness


 I only have 296 

My normal route options are 6, 7.5, and 9 miles. The 7.5 is the fun one with single track.


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## sir_crackien (Feb 3, 2008)

I had an Awesome commute today! the weather is getting a bit warmer here in Canberra Aussieland and there was just al light breeze that keep me cool on my way into work. I have also recently switched over to running panniers and that by itself has made my commutes much more enjoyable. its nice not having the back pack on. its making me to want to ride packless on my MTN bike again


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

In some sick sort of way, I am happy to hear carbide studs dig into ice.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

*Fender Suggestions*

Hey guys
I could start another fender thread, but figured the die-hards could probably give the best advice

So, anyways, I had been using 'blade-style' clipons (taken from my MTB/Urban) but want something more appropriate for a steel diamond frame

Pic









In my frame prep, I removed any 'extra' stuff like shift-cable stops, along with the mounting eyelets @ the R. Drop-out. 
(I suppose I can fabricate a washer/mount point if necessary)
I has hoping to use the stay-braces as anchors - and run a shorter fender in the rear (or one that wouldn't wobble)

The fork has the eyelets, as I knew it would be necessary for the long fender run.

I'd like metal, black - aluminum w/ SS parts
I have a 26" wheel and want a narrow-ish fender (no more than 2.0" tire)

Any ideas?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> In some sick sort of way, I am happy to hear carbide studs dig into ice.


:yesnod: Nice pic, you always capture the darkness, the weather, and the slickeriness so well.



sir_crackien said:


> I had an Awesome commute today! the weather is getting a bit warmer here in Canberra Aussieland and there was just al light breeze that keep me cool on my way into work. I have also recently switched over to running panniers and that by itself has made my commutes much more enjoyable. its nice not having the back pack on. its making me to want to ride packless on my MTN bike again


Sounds like a lovely ride. :thumbsup: It would be great to see some pics as it gets colder here.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

4.5/5, and my earliest morning yet. Frighteningly, I think I'm getting used to getting up at 3.

Beandip, I'm at about 10.4 miles each way.

edit: It's apparently going to rain like mad all next week, anybody have some suggestions for pants/shoe covers on the relatively cheap? I'd prefer the pants to be packable and usable for hiking as well.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nothing sick about enjoying the sound of carbide on ice. Enjoying knobby buzz on pavement is sick.

Fenders? Easy- just get another frame, don`t mutilate it, and bolt them on the fender mounts :lol:
Seriously, what are you asking? Brands and models or mounting ideas? Since you plan to chop the rear one short, I don`t see the complication.

3 miles for direct A to B, about 7 with a detour by the convenience store, 10 for a trip to the supermarket on my way home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Theory: pissed off bunnies are getting revenge by heaving thorns into the path of that titanium bike that shoots by every day?


No flats yesterday or today :whew: Rodar, you might be onto something...no rabbits tried to kill themselves under my wheels yesterday or today either...



mtbxplorer said:


> Pedaled home to find my new Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pros (26x2.35") on the front porch. 361 carbide-tipped aluminum studs of goodness! Supposedly 850 grams apiece. The knobs are packed closer than my Nokian WXC's, so I hope they don't pack up in wetter snow, but plenty of grip and more studs toward the centerline, so I'm hoping the stud wear from paved sections will be slower.


So is there more rubber or carbide in that tire? 



Beandip4all said:


> What's everyone's commute distances?


36 miles RT



highdelll said:


> Any ideas?


Highdell I have always used Planet Bike fenders on my bikes. I like the way they look, the way they mount and their durability.

And cmg71, those are some nice photos, thanks for sharing. Where were they taken?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, miss a day, miss a lot. Too much to comment on.

I tallied up all the bike commuters and I've been over 5000 miles this year, 4438 on the commute. This is new territory for me.

I didn't take a picture today but if I did it would look like this. I'm glad I had the bright flasher. I could have used heated glasses because they kept collecting fog.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I love how this thread is taking off at record speed as winter hits... we're a strange breed. 

I'm declaring the new studs officially broken in... 35 or so miles on mostly pavement, no stud loss. I stole the wheelset off of the singlespeed and set them up with brake rotors, cassette, and studs, so I'm ready to rock in the ice at a moments notice. Put the commuter wheels back on this morning and felt fast and smooth 

I definitely like the Ogre with the studs though. Looks tough.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Awesome ogreness!

Good ride in but I was running a bit late so could not take any fun detours. Right now it is a crazy 68F! Everyone is getting worried about Hurricane Sandy. After all the damage from Irene last year people are more on edge than usual. Be safe anyone who is in her path! If I lose power I'll have to catch up with you afterwards. My #1 tip is to have ground or instant coffee on hand, as in the big ice storm I had only beans and a power grinder - it was a real hardship.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Heck with that' I'll fire up the generator to grind some coffee. 68? it hasn't climbed above 50 here yet. I'm mostly not excited about the weeks worth of rain they are forecasting before and after it.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Yeah the weather forecast for up here looks pretty dire next week. Rain all week. Gonna make for a good Halloween if the remnants of Sandy are dumping rain/snow on us. We had a little freezing rain last Halloween but nothing bad.

If the weather's bad it might take us a whole 30 minutes to run out of candy!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's ugly here. After a week of awesome weather, it is now 48F and raining. Since it was 57F this morning, I rode into work in short sleeves, but I forgot something a little warmer for the wet ride back. I can tell it will be a lovely commute home.

Oh, and as for grinding coffee in a power outage, I have a hand grinder. All I need is water, a heat source, and some beans and I'm good to go. :thumbsup:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

more wet heavy snow


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

5/5 days bikecommuting. Finally.

And for some reason I killed it on the ride home too. If I hadn't had to stop twice on the way it would have been a personal best.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

car commute today....woke up to thunderstorms as this cold front blasts through. should make for super comfy commuting temps by tomorrow. glad I picked up some arm warmers last weekend. I'll be using them.


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## Beandip4all (Oct 24, 2012)

junior1210 said:


> Welcome. I'm about 14 miles each way. What I did was on my days off before committing to commuting was to ride the route at a normal speed (my route is almost a straight line) a couple of times, paying attention to how long it took, then added 30 minutes (for flats and cool down at work). Also remember to eat right, and regular, and get enough sleep. Cycling is just like any other physical activity, the body needs rest and fuel to perform well. Don't forget to allot space/budget for tools and tubes, and practice using them in the conditions of your commute (if you cycle in the dark, practice changing/fixing a flat with a flashlight in the dark). Did I do these things when I first started bike commuting ...no, that's why I'm telling you to now, to save you from the same mistakes I made. Only other piece of advice is to don't overestimate your abilities, work from the assumption that the whole of creation is against you (it isn't, no need to be paranoid) for planning purposes, that way you have wiggle room to work with when (not if) something goes wrong.


Junior, that is a great idea. I'm gonna "trial run" my commute to the hospital next week on a lab day (which are mandatory but flex hours, so if I don't make it or whatever no biggie, make them up another day).

I'm not to good on the eating and sleeping... lately finding time to bathe has been a challenge let alone eat healthy or sleep  I love "work on the assumption that the whole of creation is against you" 



NateHawk said:


> I go 3-4mi each way. It varies depending on the route I take. Pretty wimpy commute distance compared to some folks on this site, but that gets me halfway across this town I live in now and is pretty hardcore to a lot of people I talk to. lol
> 
> I know the feeling about lacking time for exercise. I am working on probably the last 10 pages of a 250+ page thesis. It will probably grow a bit during the revision process, but these last several pages will at least get me finished with drafts of all four of my chapters.


Nate do you brainstorm and get good ideas for your thesis while you're riding? I was quizing myself on anatomy questions while riding the other day... making myself list off the innervations of the thoracic cage and whatnot.



CommuterBoy said:


> My normal route options are 6, 7.5, and 9 miles. The 7.5 is the fun one with single track.





Sanath said:


> Beandip, I'm at about 10.4 miles each way..





woodway said:


> 36 miles RT


^^ Thanks all for the mileage replies!



mtbxplorer said:


> ^Right now it is a crazy 68F! Everyone is getting worried about Hurricane Sandy. After all the damage from Irene last year people are more on edge than usual. Be safe anyone who is in her path!


Yes... be safe everyone in the path of the storm! I freaking miss weather. Here in Stanford it's always sunny and gorgeous. Boring! It bugs me. I miss rain, seasons, diversity. I feel like I'm walking around a movie set here: sunshiney blue sky days & a robot army from central casting of good looking, athletic, brilliant, talented and affluent people.

Edit: today I rode to the library/gym. 4 miles.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Got the Midge bars today, was a little disappointed that the hooks are as short as they are but I'm gonna give them a try anyway. Because of the hooks being so short I had to put the brakes and shifters almost to the first bend in the bar, which makes for a longer reach for the brake levers than I'm used to. Taping the bar was a bit easier than I expected though, used Sette cork tape which went on real nice with a narrow adhesive strip on the back.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Beandip4all said:


> Nate do you brainstorm and get good ideas for your thesis while you're riding? I was quizing myself on anatomy questions while riding the other day... making myself list off the innervations of the thoracic cage and whatnot.


You might think I'd do good brainstorming when I ride. But no, my bike time is my brain shutoff time. Because otherwise, the brain is going constantly, anyway. No, I actually get more brainstorming done at totally random times when I should probably be focusing on something else. Like when I'm cooking dinner, or talking to my friends, or other dumb stuff like that. My friends probably hate me for it, but it really helps me to organize my mind if I talk about my research to them.

I know it drives my parents nuts. They have stopped asking about my research. Anytime they ask, I'm going to start talking about ideas I'm debating, conclusions I'm drawing, and difficulties I'm having...when all they wanted was a one sentence answer about what I discovered. Sigh...it's just not that simple.

I like being able to shut that brain overdrive off when I go for a ride. I start thinking about the weather, listening to the birds, noticing how the trees grow on my route, stuff like that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Beandip4all said:


> ...I'm not to good on the eating and sleeping... lately finding time to bathe has been a challenge let alone eat healthy or sleep ...


Just go for the bean dip then. High in protein and good carbs and it is fast.

12 mile one way commute here. Going tubless or using self sealing tubes can really limit the chances that you will need to stop and fix a flat. How hilly or flat is your 20 mile commute? When you do your trial run remember that a headwind can slow you significantly! Getting lost? Can't help you there. After the first time I'd guess that won't be an issue.



> 5/5 days bikecommuting. Finally.


 NICE!

[edit]Wobbled home with a broken spoke.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm declaring the new studs officially broken in... 35 or so miles on mostly pavement, no stud loss. I stole the wheelset off of the singlespeed and set them up with brake rotors, cassette, and studs, so I'm ready to rock in the ice at a moments notice.


With only 296 studs, do you feel a little... inadequate? Well, as long as you aren`t in Vermont, you might be studdly enough :smilewinkgrin: No more ice for your ride? We`re all dried out here, actually been very nice since teh winds stopped around Wednesday.

I did my big tire and wheel swap yesterday too. Had to mount up a tire on an unused "freewheel" rear to fill the empty space in the recumbent when I stole the rear 8-speed from it for studding purposes, then remounted my skinnies on my good wheels (don`t have enough fat tubes to mount four fat tires and still have a spare), set up the studs on the spare hoops. I just need to go back and steal a computer magnet from somewhere now. My new skinnies are 1.3 Conti Sport Contacts, and after about 1000 miles, no flats on them. They aren`t as nice a ride or as fast as the 1.25 Paselas they replaced, but I`d have flatted the Paselas several times over the course of the summer. Didn`t like to use them in cold weather because I can`t bear the thought of flat repair with numb fingers. Anyway, after all that switching, please, let us have some snow this year!

Xplorer, wasn`t the damage from Irene when you lost your office? Are you eventually going to move back to the old one? Nescafe for me, no need to grind anything.

Good job, Sanath- congrats on the 100% week!

@Nate: I thought you couldn`t park if you car commuted. Do you have to park way off campus and walk in? Got your wife to drop you off and pick you up?

Wishing you a good ride home, sOck. Dropping 10 degrees from morning to afternoon is a strange one.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The puddles were frozen this morning, but the roads are mostly dry. Easy to spot and avoid the wet stuff. Cold though!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...
> Xplorer, wasn`t the damage from Irene when you lost your office? Are you eventually going to move back to the old one? Nescafe for me, no need to grind anything.


Yes, in August 20122 Irene destroyed the complex where >1000 people worked, and the town's businesses have been hurting since we moved out. The bike shop recently closed. Some of the complex will be rebuilt, some cannot or should not due to floodplain issues, and they still haven't sorted out how much FEMA will contribute. My office is apparently never going back to Waterbury, we will be leasing space in Montpelier, which is actually closer to my house (about 12 instead of 22 miles), and where I used to catch the bus for the 2nd half of the commute. Not much in the way of trail commute possibilities though, like I've been enjoying at the temp office. The move is supposed to happen 1/29/13.

With Sandy, they're worried about her combining with 2 winter storm systems (Jeffscott's snow?) and causing crazier weather, but it could be more wind than rain it sounds like.

Natehawk, I am the same way on the bike. A more spiritual and introspective friend always asks if I did deep thinking on life goals etc. on my solo bike trips, and the answer is no, those are for living in the moment.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm declaring the new studs officially broken in... 35 or so miles on mostly pavement, no stud loss.


Hey cb, what do you think of the width of the extreme nokians?

I just put my mount&grounds onto my backup winterbike (replacing my bigapples) and once again I'm amazed how tiny they are. They're theoretically 1.9s, but look more like 1.6~1.7. My real winterbike still needs to have it's 2.25 schwalbes put on, but last year I was pleased with how beefy they were.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I have worked out a couple options. I have a friend that lets me park at his house which is 1/2 mi from campus. I also broke down and bought a few daily scratch of passes. $15/week's worth.

When I drive because of weather, I use the scratch offs. When it is for other reasons, I do the half mile walk.

Today I broke down and got an oil change in my car. I have been due for awhile but was hoping to be done with the thesis and prepping to move when I did it. But I needed to get my inspection sticker by the end of the month so just had it done at the same time.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Wasn't bad today, but temp is getting lower just 1-2 degrees every couple of days. Makes it a little awkward trying to get the clothing mix right for the whole ride in and back. The Midges feel a little weird, since they are narrower than anything I've had on the bike, but the hand position feels good.

Anybody have experience with any of the Soma Fabrication drop bars, like the Junebug, or the Major Taylor, or the 456?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Not a lot of riding in my future this week, I fear. I think an actual hurricane is excuse enough to drive. Winds for tomorrow (the leading edge of the storm) are forecast to gust to 50+ mph.


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

I did my first commute tonight!! 

It's been a few years since I used a bike to do anything other than the occasional exercise. Well I've made a serious commitment to getting in shape and started riding my bike a lot more. Then tonight I needed to run to the store for some milk and decided to ride my bike instead of driving. We're not talking anything crazy, it was just .8 miles round trip but I'm glad I did it! 

Anyhow, I plan to start using my bike more for short trips and maybe with luck, gradually start taking longer commutes :fingers crossed:


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## HelmutHerr (Oct 5, 2012)

Meanwhile, in the other hemisphere, I've got my first summer commute sunburn on. Even got the burnt patches on my hairline where the sun gets through the airflow gaps on the helmet!


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

50calray said:


> I did my first commute tonight!!
> 
> It's been a few years since I used a bike to do anything other than the occasional exercise. Well I've made a serious commitment to getting in shape and started riding my bike a lot more. Then tonight I needed to run to the store for some milk and decided to ride my bike instead of driving. We're not talking anything crazy, it was just .8 miles round trip but I'm glad I did it!
> 
> Anyhow, I plan to start using my bike more for short trips and maybe with luck, gradually start taking longer commutes :fingers crossed:


Now that you have posted here, you're committed!!

we got your back though, when times get tough


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

highdelll said:


> Now that you have posted here, you're committed!!
> 
> we got your back though, when times get tough


Thanks!

This thing you call commuting is addictive! The wife asked me to run to Albertson's for some pastry dough and I took the bike again I was too excited and forgot to set my device to measure my milage but I'm guessing it was 2-3 miles round trip.

Well I'm in for the night...I'm going to hit the trails tomorrow morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

HelmutHerr said:


> Meanwhile, in the other hemisphere, I've got my first summer commute sunburn on. Even got the burnt patches on my hairline where the sun gets through the airflow gaps on the helmet!


With no Herr under the Helmut, you gots to remember a hat on those sunny days :lol:
Sorry, couldn`t resist.



Sanath said:


> I think an actual hurricane is excuse enough to drive.


I`d say that`s a reasonable excuse! Hope all you stormbound folks come through okay.



junior1210 said:


> Wasn't bad today, but temp is getting lower just 1-2 degrees every couple of days. Makes it a little awkward trying to get the clothing mix right for the whole ride in and back.


Since I usually work nights, I normally don`t see all that much temp difference between inbound and homebound commutes (10PM and 7AM). When I take a rotation on another shift, that really difference throws me! Especially if I leave for work in midafternoon and don`t stop to consider how much colder it`s going to be at eleven o`clock that night, so forget to stuff extra clothes in my bag for the ride home.

Welcome, Ray! It sounds like you`re enjoying yourself, even heading off for extracurricular utility work . Albertsons? We used to have loads of them around here until about four years ago, then they all changed name. I wonder if it`s the same chain where you are. Your profile says TX, but the Albertsons I remember was based in Boise and I didn`t think they had any stores in the south.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

rodar, albertsons has a few stores in TX.

View Stores by State

none where I live...nearest one seems to be an hour+ away.

tomorrow ought to be interesting...looks to be my coldest morning of the year. it was 35F this morning and will probably be about the same tomorrow. I think I'll be using the arm and knee warmers...and probably a buff for my ears and light full finger gloves.


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

First ride to work in a while and first time on the new Merida Cyclo Cross 4. The bike is very comfortable, but the weight in the wheels was definitely felt on every incline and when changing directions. Nice weather in the morning and not too much wind on the way home. A lot of people beeping at me on the way home though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the hurricane bike today. It's actually pretty calm here so far. Tonight could be interesting or I could leave 1-1/2 hours early and put the bike in the back of my wife's car.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I considered riding, mostly because it’s easier to get a bike over a downed tree, but decided to drive because Sandy is supposed to bring the high winds this afternoon. Hoping for early release! Sailors on HMS Bounty (replica of 1700’s tall ship of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) and the Coast Guard having an exciting day, apparently they had to abandon ship down off NC.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That was my thought too. As long as they don't come down on me I can avoid them easier on the bike. So far the winds here are very light. I saw that news article. That ship was used in the filming on one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> Hey cb, what do you think of the width of the extreme nokians?
> 
> I just put my mount&grounds onto my backup winterbike (replacing my bigapples) and once again I'm amazed how tiny they are. They're theoretically 1.9s, but look more like 1.6~1.7. My real winterbike still needs to have it's 2.25 schwalbes put on, but last year I was pleased with how beefy they were.


I'd say these are a true 2.0. A little over if anything. I haven't measured though. They've got some serious beef in the side knob department.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Since I usually work nights, I normally don`t see all that much temp difference between inbound and homebound commutes (10PM and 7AM). When I take a rotation on another shift, that really difference throws me! Especially if I leave for work in midafternoon and don`t stop to consider how much colder it`s going to be at eleven o`clock that night, so forget to stuff extra clothes in my bag for the ride home.
> 
> Welcome, Ray! It sounds like you`re enjoying yourself, even heading off for extracurricular utility work . Albertsons? We used to have loads of them around here until about four years ago, then they all changed name. I wonder if it`s the same chain where you are. Your profile says TX, but the Albertsons I remember was based in Boise and I didn`t think they had any stores in the south.


I work nights too, but the temp at 19:30 is still warmer than 06:00, but at 19:30 it varies up and down but heading down. If it were just cold I could deal, but it's cool then warm then slightly cooler. Temps are bouncung around between 60*~50*.

Albertsons is nation wide or was the last time I dealt with them, but none down here.

Surprised nobody has used Soma brand drops. They have some nice looking designs, might have to try that Junebug Bar.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'd say these are a true 2.0. A little over if anything. I haven't measured though. They've got some serious beef in the side knob department.


Thanks. I like my wee little nokians, but when I needed studs for the 29er I switched to schwalbes.

We finally got some of Jeffscott's snow over the weekend, so today was my first, official winter ride of the year. Thankfully it was nice and uneventful. In the back of my head is a little voice saying "This is easy! You can singlespeed all winter!" Except I know that the voice is completely wrong.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Thanks. I like my wee little nokians, but when I needed studs for the 29er I switched to schwalbes.
> 
> We finally got some of Jeffscott's snow over the weekend, so today was my first, official winter ride of the year. Thankfully it was nice and uneventful. In the back of my head is a little voice saying "This is easy! You can singlespeed all winter!" Except I know that the voice is completely wrong.


Chinook hit Sunday about 1:00 pm from -5C to +5C.....

Anyway -5C and light snow this morning.


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Welcome, Ray! It sounds like you`re enjoying yourself, even heading off for extracurricular utility work . Albertsons? We used to have loads of them around here until about four years ago, then they all changed name. I wonder if it`s the same chain where you are. Your profile says TX, but the Albertsons I remember was based in Boise and I didn`t think they had any stores in the south.


Thanks!

I originally joined the site living out in West Texas (Midland) and just recently moved to Dallas...both having a residence in Uptown and University Park. The Alberston's I road to last night is located on Lemmon and McKinney. I'm not sure if there I anymore locations in the DFW area. We also had Alberton's back in Midland, three locations.

Well I cut my morning ride a little short. I woke up this morning and the temp showed 45 degrees. Meh, not an issue I thought to my self. I picked up my Morning Starbucks and swung by the other place to pick up my bike pump. Then I set out on my 30 minute commute to my prefered mtb trail. As I pulled up I noticed he lot was completely empty. I was like this is odd, I generally if anything tleast see my friend there walking his dogs but nope, not a soul in sight. As I sat in my truck finishing off my coffee, I glanced at the time and temp...it was 37 degrees! I was like WTH lol Here I am wearing my cargo shorts and my Rebock Hydro short leave shirt. I though to my self, I didn't drive over here fighting the traffic for nothing...that and my Raptor isn't the most fuel efficient vehicle either. So I went for it...but not before some serious stretching lol Anyhow, I road a couple miles and called it quits. If I get some time today, I'm going to pick up some riding gloves and a light jacket or som long sleeves.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

15F, Cold, Dark, and Clear. Moon is almost full! Still no snow in Anchorage. )O:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Not that it matters...

But I on occasion I dial up the weather when some one else posts their weather....

I have noticed that many people include the windchill in their comments (again it doesn't matter)...

I always comment on the actual temperature.

I find it much more instructive as to what problems I will face.....we are riding bikes after all and have to contend with the wind all the time anyway.

For example at -10C at a 30 kph wind the windchill is -20C, and at -10C and 60 kph the windchill is -23 C.


I would dress for -10C and of course ride with the correct wind gear.

But the way I would dress for -20C (no windchill) is a lot heavier.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Wind deff takes a factor when its down to freezing. That windchill can be nasty stuff.


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

I rarely mention wind chill factor and when I do, I note it.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I note actual temp and winds, and make plans based on those variables, but agreed with jeff, a wind chill temp is different than an actual air temp of the same value, without wind.

it was another 35F morning, but I put off my morning commute until it was in the 50's. not so much intentionally, but it worked out well. I wore shorts and a wicking shirt and then added arm warmers. I started out cold, but was comfortable by the time I made it to the office. I put the buff and the knee warmers in my pack for the ride home. it was a sunny 50's on my way in, but it will be dark when I go home. that adds another variable to the temp equation. sunny 55F is different than dark 55F.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It was 37 this morning, but with windchill, I'm sure it was down around death.


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> It was 37 this morning, but with windchill, I'm sure it was down around death.


I'm just going by what was shown by my trucks temp gauge and nothing else. Who knows, maybe it's wrong, maybe it's right but one things for sure, I could careless what you think. I'm not here to prove anything to anyone but my self.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Whoa! "Chill Out". I'm 99.99% sure that Commuter Boy's comment wasn't directed at you!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

50calray said:


> I'm just going by what was shown by my trucks temp gauge and nothing else. Who knows, maybe it's wrong, maybe it's right but one things for sure, I could careless what you think. I'm not here to prove anything to anyone but my self.


Yeah my engine gauge runs 2 or 3 C higher than the outside temp....the colder it gets the bigger the difference.

Close enough


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

50calray said:


> I'm just going by what was shown by my trucks temp gauge and nothing else. Who knows, maybe it's wrong, maybe it's right but one things for sure, I could careless what you think. I'm not here to prove anything to anyone but my self.


relax there, man.

one thing to note is that usually, the coldest temp of the day occurs after sunrise. it takes time for the sun's energy to start warming things up. if you're up before the sun is up, realize it will probably get colder before it warms up.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

50calray said:


> I'm just going by what was shown by my trucks temp gauge and nothing else. Who knows, maybe it's wrong, maybe it's right but one things for sure, I could careless what you think. I'm not here to prove anything to anyone but my self.


Easy tiger. Sometimes I read something that reminds me of something so I say something close to something that I think is funny. The only person I ever blatantly make fun of is myself. ...and Jeffscott occasionally, but only when he deserves it...and I'm working on refraining from that :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, a bike is a hell of a lot easier than a car or truck to carry over/around obstacles in the road. Please don`t anybdoy get squashed by falling trees, though.

I wish I had a better way to check temps. The official readings from the airport are usually much melower than what I get here, the thermometer on my bike computer is smoking crack, and I don`t believe either of the two cheapos that I`ve bought for home- they don`t even agree with each other and can`t even decide which of the two is going to read hot for the day, which is going to read cold.

So, no temp report, but it was a beautiful weekend here! I slept through the sunny parts and worked through the dark parts . Same as last weekend. This comming one, I`ll be off!



jeffscott said:


> I always comment on the actual temperature.


Dude! You`re in Calgary. When you want to convey the idea of "colder than F*k", you don`t NEED to add in windchill!



CommuterBoy said:


> The only person I ever blatantly make fun of is myself. ...and Jeffscott occasionally, but only when he deserves it...and I'm working on refraining from that


Whoa, for half a second I didn`t think you were going to add JS to that statement. We all know that slinging crap his way is one of your favorite hobbies :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not squashed. The ride home was interesting. The hurricane "had my back" for most of the commute. At one point I was going down a straight flat section of road at 29mph with a tailwind and for no apparent reason the wind switched 180 degrees and I slowed from 29 to 10mph in about 10 seconds.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I am a long ways away from Sandy, but I still had a major tailwind for most of the way home. Winds were in the neighborhood of 35mph. I was spinning out going uphill in one section whee I usually have to pedal. I'm glad it worked out because it was a struggle pedaling the SS in a few sections where I had to ride into the wind.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

rodar y rodar said:


> I wish I had a better way to check temps. The official readings from the airport are usually much melower than what I get here, the thermometer on my bike computer is smoking crack, and I don`t believe either of the two cheapos that I`ve bought for home- they don`t even agree with each other and can`t even decide which of the two is going to read hot for the day, which is going to read cold.


I bought a consumer grade weather station (it does everything) about a year and a half ago and I absolutely love the thing. cold temps tend to be pretty spot on, but it gets a little aggressive when it's hot, usually tacking on 5deg F to the actual temps when it's over 100F. I get wind speed/direction, rainfall, barometer, temp.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rain stinging my face, cutting through my warmth.
wind blowing me into the adjoining lane.
pop the rear into a drift around corners.
goretex gloves covering chilled to the bone talons, clasped tightly around my brake levers.
"maybe you should leave the bike at home dude"
I made it to work on time, did you?! no? then bite me, fanboy!

oh, i finished my "winter ss" bike! 853 reynodls norco rampage, rigid fork, disc up front, turbine cranks, eno ss rear, 1.5" conti mud tires.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The wind and rain were picking up on my drive home, but only smaller branches down. Glad you made it home on 2 wheels Bedwards! So far I'm still sitting in the lap of luxury with power, water, etc. VT interstate and parallel secondary road closed for now in Waterbury due to power lines down. Hoping for a day off tomorrow to do some bike maintenance, but so far only a 2 hour delay.


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## febikes (Jan 28, 2011)

byknuts said:


> rain stinging my face, cutting through my warmth.
> wind blowing me into the adjoining lane.
> pop the rear into a drift around corners.
> goretex gloves covering chilled to the bone talons, clasped tightly around my brake levers.
> ...


Sounds like a great ride.

My commute this morning in Raleigh, NC was actually fairly nice.

I had a cold rain for the ride back home but thankfully I packed my goretex jacket, gloves, and neoprene socks. My route is 12 miles with a nice mix of road, trail, and greenway so it works well for my single speed. I like riding my single speed because it handles bad weather fairly well.

For me most of being happy in bad weather is having warm feet, hands, and ears. It also helps if your bike runs durable components that you don't need to worry about in bad weather.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I wish I had a better way to check temps. The official readings from the airport are usually much melower than what I get here, the thermometer on my bike computer is smoking crack, and I don`t believe either of the two cheapos that I`ve bought for home- they don`t even agree with each other and can`t even decide which of the two is going to read hot for the day, which is going to read cold.





NateHawk said:


> I bought a consumer grade weather station (it does everything) about a year and a half ago and I absolutely love the thing. cold temps tend to be pretty spot on, but it gets a little aggressive when it's hot, usually tacking on 5deg F to the actual temps when it's over 100F. I get wind speed/direction, rainfall, barometer, temp.


Hey Rodar, go to the Mesowest website:

MesoWest Data

click on your state and then on the left side of the page, click the "Network" drop down, select "All Networks" and click "Map It". Now you'll see not only the official NWS sites, but also all the home weather stations that upload their data to the "Citizens Weather Observation Program" (CWOP). There may be a weather station or two closer to where you live, and the uploaded data is consistency checked before it's displayed on the map so it should be close.

I've also got a home weather station, and I upload my weather to the CWOP. You can see the direct webpage for my weather station here:

Davis | WeatherLink - My Weather Page

One of the first things I do in the morning is hit the above webpage to decide what I am going to wear on the morning commute. I also check it just before I leave the office so I know what the weather will be like when I get closer to home (it can be sunny at the office and pouring at home).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> At one point I was going down a straight flat section of road at 29mph with a tailwind and for no apparent reason the wind switched 180 degrees and I slowed from 29 to 10mph in about 10 seconds.


Wild!
"Not squashed" is always good, too 



byknuts said:


> "maybe you should leave the bike at home dude"
> I made it to work on time, did you?! no? then bite me, fanboy!


Yeah! You tell `em, Byknuts :lol: I bet that made the terrible conditions worth putting up with!

Way cool, Woodway- thanks. Along with one of those "home" stations in my microclimate valley, there`s also an official reading from a semi-retired miniature airbase that I ride straight past once per commute. I always figured somebody must be recording conditions there, but didn`t think to check the internet for that info. And Nate, until I read Bedwards` post, you had me thinking about oneof those mini weather stations too. I have to admit I`ve had twinges of temptation from time to time, and it would be a good petition from Mrs Clause. I still might request one.

Just got back from the supermarket (driving) and it`s really nice out tonight. With shorts and no jacket, I felt a tiny bit chilled between car and door, door and car, but not enough that I wanted to run for it. It`s gonna be a pleasant commute tonight, with a big moon to light up the swamp. Hope I get a coyote serenade.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Woodway, mine isn't that nice to connect to my computer. I would like one of those one day, though, especially for the ability to track trends from year to year, month to month, and so on. Maybe I will upgrade to one of those one of these days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Hey Rodar, go to the Mesowest website:
> 
> MesoWest Data
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link. What do you have for a weather station. I'm waiting for one that connects to your local wi-fi network. Technology is just getting to a point where a wi-fi weather station could run for years off a single battery. Setup would be so simple.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Another Commuter this morning!! I spotted a (very weak) blinky taillight on solid mode up ahead, and realized as I caught up that it was not going to be a problem to catch this one :lol: 

It was a lady... props to her for being out there in the dark and cold... I said "sneaking up on ya!" fairly loud from fairly far back, and she almost crashed (would have felt bad about that!) I didn't stick around long, because I average over 5mph... but it was clear she was out there on purpose (not on a walmart bike, wearing a helmet, had a taillight, etc...) Very cool. 

Also, CRAZY bright moon this morning. Headlight barely necessary.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I hope the deer give her fair warning before messing with her. Likely, or will she just go down?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I didn't stick around long, because I average over 5mph...


 :thumbsup:

A blah winter morning here - some type of sleety precipitation that coated my glasses and the roads, temperatures a bit below freezing, and dark. But I saw lots of other riders - probably close to 2 dozen, and there were 7 of us on the big bridge all at the same time - and they were almost all well lit and seemed to know what they were doing.

Winter singlespeed problem #1: getting stuck behind someone who's wobbling up a hill in their grannygear.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

*Snoooooowwww!*

Excellent commute today! First significant snow in Anchorage so the Fatty I've been riding since May finally got a chance to work in its proper element! Having been off the commute and off the bike for all of September and most of October, the ride was challenging, but dang was it fun! Nothing like a little snow to up the smile factor.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, my computer says you're viewing this thread... do you have power? Snow? Trees falling down?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Another Commuter this morning!! I spotted a (very weak) blinky taillight on solid mode up ahead, and realized as I caught up that it was not going to be a problem to catch this one :lol:
> 
> It was a lady... props to her for being out there in the dark and cold... I said "sneaking up on ya!" fairly loud from fairly far back, and she almost crashed (would have felt bad about that!) I didn't stick around long, because I average over 5mph... but it was clear she was out there on purpose (not on a walmart bike, wearing a helmet, had a taillight, etc...) Very cool.
> 
> Also, CRAZY bright moon this morning. Headlight barely necessary.


I've found people inevitably jump when I come up behind them (mostly pedestrians) no matter what I do or how early I yell out to let them know I'm coming. Always a quick crouch and leap off the path, looking behind them, as if they've just heard an angry buffalo galloping down the trail.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Thanks for the link. What do you have for a weather station. I'm waiting for one that connects to your local wi-fi network. Technology is just getting to a point where a wi-fi weather station could run for years off a single battery. Setup would be so simple.


Mine is a Davis VantageVue. It tracks temp, precipitation, wind speed and direction and barometric pressure.

The actual working end is an all-in-one weather station that is mounted on top of a pole in my yard. The working end connects wirelessly to the console which is in my kitchen. The working end has a solar panel/rechargeable battery and even in our dark, grey Seattle winters the battery stays charged. The only thing I have to do to the unit outside is clean the pine needles out of the rain gauge every now and then.

The console displays all manner of stats and graphs and also interfaces into my home network. The console is great for at-a-glance information but typically I use the web interface to check what's happening outside.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> MTBX, my computer says you're viewing this thread... do you have power? Snow? Trees falling down?


Hi, I, tried to update earlier but site has not been working for me until now. The storm fizzled at my house, some rain and wind but nothing very impressive. Seems it depends where you were as Lyndon VT in the northeast kingdom had 60mph winds so I'm sure they had more damage. I had luxurious power all night! I fatbiked in this morning to power over small trees and wet trails, but there were only small branches down and some puddles. I really wanted one widowmaker I've had my eye on to go, both for future safety and because at this tiime of year the snowmobile club would clean it right up. But no, it's 80' height is still somehow supported by just 2/3 of the outer trunk (and that is split, allowing you to see through the tree), the rest of the base of the tree is rotted out.

My Dad in NYC, 1/2 block from evac zone has no power and I can't reach him by cell or landline today, but yesterday they were holed up OK, I think the systems are just overloaded. he probably went for a walk in search of the NY Times. I forgot to ask about his car yesterday, it may have drowned in the garage under his apt building.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

that's some wind.
rode for kilometers with my tongue sticking out just tasting the freezing rain.
bones chilled.
some days my son's hands get so cold walking home I carry him with his hands in my open sweater.
weather's changing quickly!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A couple good animal sightings today...
Tonight I saw a spotted salamander, which I later found was one they want reported if sighted, as it is designated a species of greatest conservation need. I saw it slithering across the paved road by the reservoir, and thinking it was a small snake (5"), circled back around for a good look with the headlamp. I had not seen one like it before. Now I regret not taking a pic, but I filed a report of the siting anyway. At least I ddn't squish it. Below is a pic from the web.

This morning on the snowmo trail on a speedy section I was looking ahead for downed trees, etc, and suddenly see a whitetail, *close* and bolting, on my left. An audible exclamation followed (from me, not the deer), thinking it might veer into me or my path. But it straightened out and raced ahead of me down the trail for a bit before veering left into the woods. So, I now conclude I am neither faster than a German shepherd nor a deer. I guess I'm faster than a salamander.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> The storm fizzled at my house, some rain and wind but nothing very impressive.
> 
> I fatbiked in this morning to power over small trees and wet trails, but there were only small branches down and some puddles.
> 
> My Dad in NYC, 1/2 block from evac zone has no power and I can't reach him by cell or landline today, but yesterday they were holed up OK, I think the systems are just overloaded.


Glad to hear it.
SHHH! You`re going to hurt No-Mukluk`s feelings!
Hope you hear from him soon. If his car drowns, you can set him up with a red Bianchi :thumbsup:

Speaking of No-Mukluk..
still hanging in okay?

Sanath and Byknuts, I take it you guys are too far inland for the hurricane part?
Isn`t there another poster here from ME? No NYC-ers? Must be.

Hey, wouldn`t it be cool if there were a way to put everybody on a big zoomable map? Well, maybe not, but I dig maps, so I`d like it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

byknuts said:


> rain stinging my face, cutting through my warmth.
> wind blowing me into the adjoining lane.
> pop the rear into a drift around corners.
> goretex gloves covering chilled to the bone talons, clasped tightly around my brake levers.
> ...


loved your poem :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The bright red highest winds circle was right over here. Yesterday gust above three doing the 40+ mph dance. It is always calmer at the house than in the open where I ride, so no way Jose. The 40 F 100% humidity with drizzle backed by high winds, that cuts through you like a knife. I suspect the amount of water in the air at 40F versus say, 20 F is the heat sink that makes it feel so cold. I did not have to be anywhere. The twin high powered tail lights got a new QR mount, lighter than the hybrid reflector mount-hardware store brackets, so I am ready. Drought's over. 

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Didn't commute today. I've been having problems with the computer in my office the past few days especially and decided to work at home. Of course, I forgot to bring my work with me, so I had to go to the office in the morning to pick up my hard drive. and then I had to go back in the evening to pick up a journal article I didn't have digital access to. Ugh. I at least stopped on my morning trip and got a coffee at the local coffee shop (not s'bucks).

last night was vicious. not from the weather, though it was cold enough to have me put on the light jacket over my arm warmers, and force me to wear long pants instead of the leg warmers. no, last night was vicious because there was a haze of resinous softwood smoke hanging over town from everyone's fireplaces running. and of course, the most plentiful wood around here is pine, so that's what people burn. *cough* *gag* worse than riding behind a diesel pickup truck.

staying home again tomorrow, except to go in in the am for a bit and check on the virus/malware scan I set to run overnight on my office box. I swear, if I don't find any problems (so far, there is NO REASON it should be slow, except that it's old), I'm going to go tell IT to get me a new one or something. it'll probably get me a big fat nothing in response, but I'm seriously close to being finished with my thesis. I will be finishing a draft of the last part of it within the next day or two. I'm thankful I don't have any of my data or important files on the computer itself (it's all either on external hard drives and network storage), but if the stupid thing works, it really is more efficient to be doing my work there.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Still lots of debris out there from Sandy, so it was a slow commute. Sticks and wet leaves mainly, but enough to slow me down.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It looks like the sun will come out today. Yesterday was 42F with wind and light rain all day. The weather was identical going to work and coming home. My commute was changed up a bit because I had to stay late because of a 2.5 day training course that was condensed to two days. There was almost no traffic going home. After two long and draining days at work, it already feels like it should be Friday.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Rained all day yesterday, froze overnight, skating rink in the morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Glad to hear it.
> SHHH! You`re going to hurt No-Mukluk`s feelings!
> Hope you hear from him soon. If his car drowns, you can set him up with a red Bianchi :thumbsup:
> 
> ...


Hey, Hey, Hey! Somebody that almost bought a Mukluk might get upset. The storm was relatively uneventful for me too which is fine. We had power the whole time and the storm didn't keep me off the bike. I don't think there are any other Mainers the post here. Starz85 is in the Boston area and there may be somebody from NH that pops in once and a while.. The map would be cool. I like maps too.:thumbsup:

I can write poems too and mine even rhyme

I rode my bike into work
The showers are really a perk
When you do engineering
The ride can be clearing
Even when the boss is a jerk 
(actually, he's pretty nice. ((just in case he finds this, shhh)) )


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool sky this morning on the way in


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...
> Hey, wouldn`t it be cool if there were a way to put everybody on a big zoomable map? Well, maybe not, but I dig maps, so I`d like it.


Here you go:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/mtbr-commuters-make-your-mark-map-821732.html#post9831027


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

On the bright side;
On the front page of the newspaper this morning, a gent by the name of Keith Knowlin age 79, over the course of 21 years has logged 200,000 miles by bike. Riding an average of 30 miles a day.
One word........IMPRESSIVE! :thumbsup:

Sierra Vista cyclist logs 200,000 miles in 21 years | The Sierra Vista Herald


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I hope I didn't run 50calray off with my ill-timed wind chill sarcasm. 

Hopefully he's not reloading


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Another Commuter this morning!! I spotted a (very weak) blinky taillight on solid mode up ahead, and realized as I caught up that it was not going to be a problem to catch this one :lol:
> 
> It was a lady... props to her for being out there in the dark and cold... I said "sneaking up on ya!" fairly loud from fairly far back, and she almost crashed (would have felt bad about that!) I didn't stick around long, because I average over 5mph... but it was clear she was out there on purpose (not on a walmart bike, wearing a helmet, had a taillight, etc...) Very cool.


Nice, hope she keeps it up! You should have offered her one of your donuts instead of scaring her like that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another mild morning, 47F, but the forecast scattered showers were steadier rain than I expected. The fatbike is nice for carefree rolling down the trail through the thick wet leaves, it’s a lot less likely to be bothered by hidden holes, rocks, etc. A bit slower overall though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ no sighting today. I apparently scared her away too :lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sanath and Byknuts, I take it you guys are too far inland for the hurricane part?


Eh, we caught the sweep of the leading edge just like everybody else in the NE. Heavyish rain, strong wind, though it sounded no stronger than your average winter gust. Lost power from about 6:30 PM to 2:00 AM, just the right amount of time to keep me from eating a hot dinner and getting something done with the night. No real damage around here except a few strips of siding blown off my neighbor's house, but those strips have been loose for literally years now, in hindsight I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Technically the center of the cyclone is supposed to pass more or less over us today but the storm has mostly blown itself out. I don't think anything will prevent my daughter from wanting to trick or treat, in any case.

I haven't been riding because of laziness and high winds, and because I still haven't installed my rear fender so I don't want to ride in too much rain/puddles/mud. It makes my drivetrain and disc brakes sound awful. Starting to go nuts though so I'll probably just do it tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Just got a call from NYC, my Dad’s phone is working again, but they’ll be without power and running water for a while. He said that the seawater will be pumped out of the underground systems and then fresh water will be pumped in to try to limit corrosion and the amount of electrical equipment that has to be replaced. His car did not drown. Restaurants and other businesses a couple blocks closer to the East River had 5-7’ of water in them and are really trashed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to hear! That sea water has to do a number on just about everything. I can't imagine the logistics of trying to clean it up. Do they have "fresh" water in NYC?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I'm guessing they'd use municipal water from the fire hydrants. Both the East & Hudson River on either side of Manahttan are mixed salt/fresh water (tidal) for some distance up from where they join NY Sound by the Statue of Liberty.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I realize that a lot of the continent is dealing with bigger weather issues than I have, but my forecast for tomorrow is "Periods of snow mixed with ice pellets - amount 2 to 4 cm." I don't think that the weatherman has ever threatened me with "ice pellets" before. Should be interesting.

edited to add - I wish they'd warned me to be on the lookout for Graupel, which sounds much more fun.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

hey Rodar: I'm enjoying a lot of lake effect, but Toronto's way on the west side of the storm cell. 
So while the impact is being felt, we're nowhere near "hit hard" by it.
In other words: eminently ridable challenging weather!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, it sounds like none of our regulars got hammered. That`s good.
Something is blowing in here. I haven`t looked at the forecast, but whatever it is, the beautiful fall weather we`ve enjoyed for almost a week loks to be gone now- was fun while it lasted. Snow, please?

Happy graupelling, Newf.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I have failed. It was raining, I was unprepared, and it's bloody cold out there. No bike today.

I need to work out my cold weather and waterproofing options for my legs and feet. I have a million options and layers for my arms and torso but for the lower body I have 2 pairs of running tights, my running shoes, my hiking boots, and some cheap to-the-knee gaiters. Only the boots and possibly the gaiters are waterproof, though the gaiters haven't been through rain, just snow.

For pants I'm thinking Stowaway Rain Pants with Gore-Tex: Pants | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean since I trust gore-tex to keep me dry and LL Bean will replace them when I inevitably get them caught in the chain. And they can do multiple duty for cycling, hiking, and running.

Feet is an uglier issue. As I've complained about before, my shoes are rather slippery and occasionally fly off the pedals. This would ordinarily seem like a good time to transition to a cycling shoe/clipless pedal, but I'm still working off the cost of the bike, and looking at $170 on the pants. Not a great time for another $175 in pedals/shoes/booties. My wife would find out, and there would be blood.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> My wife would find out, and there would be blood.


At least it would be warm blood.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hehe. And dry?

Pretty nice looking pants, Sanath. I`d help you out with suggestions, but I`d be of no help at all when it comes to rain gear. Or rain anything, for that matter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Justice is not served...*

...a bikecommuter.
I met that shepherd again today, his name is "Justice". This time I stopped right away and then met him over the barbed wire. After barking, he came over and licked my hand. I'm sure that won't stop him from chasing me again, though, but maybe we'll both be a little bit calmer. The owner was more honest than most; instead of insisting that he would never hurt anyone, she said she didn't really know what he would do, and added that he is scary. I also met someone as I pedaled by the post office who asked if I go by the reservoir. He had seen me the last few nights and wondered how far I go.

Newf, I misread your post at first and thought the ice pellets were going to be 2-4cm in size, rather than in accumulation. That would have hurt. Sounds super slickery though, hope it went OK.


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## mmacken (Mar 29, 2011)

WET, thats all that it takes to sum it up unfortunately. The weather really was miserable!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Light rain this morning... threatening to be wet for the ride home too... My fender extender is still bringing the joy. 

It was amazingly dark this morning. I thought the power must be out, but it was just rain and cloud cover. Rain kills the effectiveness of the headlight, and the cloud cover made it darker than the normal dark. Cars seemed to sense my weakened state, and refused to dim their bright headlights as they approached, making even following the white line difficult in the wet glare. Excited for the time change this weekend to get a bit more light for a while.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

The last couple of days it's been completely clear, no clouds at all and @80* during the day and 55*~60* nights.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

after a cold spell over the weekend and early week, it's back to 70's and 80's in East Texas.

ran into the office to take care of a few things - check on my office computer (still a slow dog, asked IT to take a look at it), talked to my adviser (scheduled a meeting for tomorrow to talk about some stuff before I go to Indiana for awhile to work on revisions and spend time with my wife).

went to the coffee shop for lunch and some time making a few revisions to my chapter 4 draft before I turn it in to my adviser...I think I'll be ready to turn it in tomorrow.

then went and got my first haircut in months. long hair does not suit me. the homeless look also does not suit me. but I've been withholding the haircut from myself until I got a chapter 4 draft finished.

had some clueless drivers today. I was signaling a left turn and moving into the left part of the lane to prepare for my turn (into a driveway just before the intersection). the car I knew was behind me before I signaled suddenly appeared directly alongside me far too close to the traffic light ahead. of course because of my position, the car had to be ENTIRELY in the oncoming traffic lane to get by. lady was just completely clueless and not paying attention. she was lucky nobody was making a turn off of the cross street at the time. that would have been ugly.

on another occasion, I was proceeding through an intersection and a guy behind me pulled some kind of slalom move to weave between me and a car that was turning left. at one point his front bumper was MUCH closer than the legally required 3ft from my rear wheel. he began to execute his pass (of me) before I was completely through the intersection. dude...just relax and wait a few seconds to make your pass until we've made it through the intersection.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

It's your fault for riding on THEIR roads. Don't you know they are taxpayers? How dare you slow them down by .05 seconds on their way? HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME! :nono:


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

junior1210 said:


> It's your fault for riding on THEIR roads. Don't you know they are taxpayers? How dare you slow them down by .05 seconds on their way? HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME! :nono:


sigh...I'm such an a$$hole out there, aren't I? I really ought to be meek and walk my bike on the sidewalks where I belong, right?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Heck no! And when they confront you about being out there, do what I do; shrug and tell them "Hey I'm just evil that way."


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Yup

Guy in a big black truck driving towards me down my alley doesn't want to veer off the two wheels tracks in the snow...(might get his truck dirty)

He wants me to go off into the snow....

I just stopped on my wheel track and waited...he eventually gunned it into the snow and around me....

He expressed his inconvience colourfully....

Not much snow but might as well start the training process early.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Faster than a spotted salamander.


A small but exclusive club. :yesnod:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Forecast changed from ice pellets to 5-10cm of snow. I'm not sure how much we actually got, but it was a reasonable amount. Ride home was fun enough, but tonight I spent some time sticking gears onto the winterbike - winter's definitely here and there's no point denying it.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

The commute home was interesting last night. It was cold and damp but I felt strong as an ox. Rule #90 was in effect for 32km and the trails were empty meaning I could fly. On some roads in residential areas, I was keeping pace with cars and one of my last sprints entering Alexandria, I had the strength to go full bore when normally, I slow down before the end. It was a fun but chilly commute home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> I have failed. It was raining, I was unprepared, and it's bloody cold out there. No bike today.
> 
> I need to work out my cold weather and waterproofing options for my legs and feet. I have a million options and layers for my arms and torso but for the lower body I have 2 pairs of running tights, my running shoes, my hiking boots, and some cheap to-the-knee gaiters. Only the boots and possibly the gaiters are waterproof, though the gaiters haven't been through rain, just snow.
> 
> ...


Sanath, are those bike specific? I got these for a fraction of the price and hey have velcro straps to cinch the legs so they don't get caught in the chain. Showers Pass Storm Pants You do get wet inside them but breathable and rain proof are mutually exclusive. With the money you save you can buy shoes and pedals. I paid $50 for mine somewhere, might have even been beans.

Last morning commute in the dark for a while
Last evening commute with any form of light at all


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sanath, are those bike specific? I got these for a fraction of the price and hey have velcro straps to cinch the legs so they don't get caught in the chain. Showers Pass Storm Pants You do get wet inside them but breathable and rain proof are mutually exclusive. With the money you save you can buy shoes and pedals. I paid $50 for mine somewhere, might have even been beans.
> 
> Last morning commute in the dark for a while
> Last evening commute with any form of light at all


They're not. I occasionally go hiking and it seems to rain on me every time so I thought I'd look for regular old rain pants. I didn't see the ones you linked, though. You get wet from sweat due to non-breathability? Or do they attempt to breathe and let in water that way?

What do you do to keep your feet dry?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A gray but still and lovely morning, 37F. Last night I saw 9 deer where the trail goes through a field, and then 2 more in the woods. A couple pics from this morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

What is "Rule #90"?

Cold and damp for me, too- Wooday`s magical weather site said 27F, which is higher than I thought, but the humidity had climbed to 90% by my ride home. That must be why my knees feel like ice! I took a longer route to pass by the store, and before turning off the main drag into my neighborhood, I startled a poor pedestrian and made her scream- feel bad, but it WAS funny. There were two girls walking abreast in the bike lane when I came up from behind them. I didn`t say anything because I thought my light shining ahead made my presence pretty obvious (I could see their shadows). A few seconds before I reached them, I moved left and said "morning" in a normal voice and the one closest to me let out such a screach that I`m surprised my ears didn`t ring! Would have served me right, I guess.

MtbX, that`s a hell of a wall!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The vultures continue to congregate in the park, and they are growing in numbers. Today I saw around two dozen roosting in the trees and on the ballpark lights. I saw about a dozen more about a half mile down the way.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Don't crash in the park! 

Rodar, I felt that cold moisture this morning! I had patchy fog in the low spots of my ride this morning. Felt way colder than the forecast said the temp would be. 

...I have been so tempted to yell 'BOO!' at people that I know have no idea I'm sneaking up on them, but I've never actually done it. Imagine if you had yelled at them!

That is a massive wall. Some serious labor there.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> What is "Rule #90"?





> Rule #90 // Never Get Out of the Big Ring.
> If it gets steeper, just push harder on the pedals. When pressed on the matter, the Apostle Johan Museeuw simply replied, "Yes, why would you slow down?" It is, of course, acceptable to momentarily shift into the inner ring when scaling the 20% ramps of the Kapelmuur.


hehe


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

so I guess Rule 90 applies to me all the time because I only have one chainring, right?

today was nice. about 70F and sunny for my lunchtime ride in. Friday lunch traffic sucks. there was a random horn blast at one point from a car going the opposite direction. I have no idea if it was intended for me or not...possibly not because it came from one car out of a small group of 3 that went by.

it's no wonder my wife's car kept getting flat tires down here, though. there is SO MUCH random metal embedded in the pavement here in TX.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> They're not. I occasionally go hiking and it seems to rain on me every time so I thought I'd look for regular old rain pants. I didn't see the ones you linked, though. You get wet from sweat due to non-breathability? Or do they attempt to breathe and let in water that way?
> 
> What do you do to keep your feet dry?


They get wet from the inside out. The pants are long enough toe go on the outside of my shoes which are somewhat waterproof. Most of the time I don't bother with rain pants just because of the sweating problem. Only during cold rain.



s0ckeyeus said:


> The vultures continue to congregate in the park, and they are growing in numbers. Today I saw around two dozen roosting in the trees and on the ballpark lights. I saw about a dozen more about a half mile down the way.


Where there are vultures there is carrion. Last time the vultures were congregating around here I found a dead cow carcass in the field. I think they are pretty impressive birds.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> They get wet from the inside out. The pants are long enough toe go on the outside of my shoes which are somewhat waterproof. Most of the time I don't bother with rain pants just because of the sweating problem. Only during cold rain.


Well it's winter, any rain will be cold until roughly April.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NateHawk said:


> so I guess Rule 90 applies to me all the time because I only have one chainring, right?


Depends on which half of the glass you see. It could also be said that you never get out of the little ring!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Well it's winter, any rain will be cold until roughly April.


Yeah, but snow brushes off thermal tights. Once the temp drops below 32 rain pants aren't required either.

F- Rule 90. I have hills here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, but snow brushes off thermal tights. Once the temp drops below 32 rain pants aren't required either.
> 
> F- Rule 90. I have hills here.


haha +1 on F-Rule 90

tiny snowflakes on the way home, but not sticking except at about 3500'


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Where there are vultures there is carrion. Last time the vultures were congregating around here I found a dead cow carcass in the field. I think they are pretty impressive birds.


It's hard to say if there is a carrion jackpot out there or if they are in the process of migrating. I saw a similar gathering at another park in town. I hope I don't stumble upon a dead body somewhere. That would kind of suck.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I sighted a cyclist this morning riding with one of those campaign signs that you stick into the ground mounted somehow behind his head. Unfortunately I was driving since I hauled some firewood for my friend’s fireplace yesterday, had a great dinner and stayed over. It’s snowing and sticking some this morning, but isn’t supposed to amount to anything.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey Sanath, FWIW I ride in the rain a lot and I gave up on rain pants a couple years ago. I could never find a pair that had that right balance between fit, breathability and waterproof-ness. I tried pants from Bellweather, REI and Showers Pass. Now I ride in the rain with cycling tights (I like Pearl Izumu Elite's). The tights get wet, but keep my legs warm. I hang the wet tights up during the day and they dry fast for the commute home.

As far as shoe covers go, I have been happy with my Showers Pass covers. Not sure how they will perform on flat pedals, but for clipping in you cut a hole in the bottom of the cover for the cleat on your shoe. They do a great job of keeping feet dry and as a bonus on cold days they act like a windbreaker for your feet and help keep your toes warm. My only complaint is that the zippers are kind of cheap and you have to be careful not to bind the zippers up.

Good luck!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, you're missing fall over here. Time to make a run up the rail trail.

and BONUS: they're putting in a very sweet singletrack along the canyon wall on the other side of the river... eventually going to punch it through all the way up to the corral. rode it yesterday... so perfect with the sticky dirt and the fall colors. Here's a quick 10 second idea of how much work is going into it:

before and after - YouTube

And this was yesterday:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ ooh aah, that looks fun and scenic. The before/after makes my back hurt.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Once again the weather had foiled me. Freezing rain, a fair bit of snow, and then freezing rain again had me rushing to get my bikes ready for winter. But one day of warmish temperatures, and now it's all gone. I've got two bike with studded tires, and we've got bone-dry roads. It's sad when I'm actively wishing for snow and colder temperatures.


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## ScottR1 (May 12, 2006)

Lycra tights suck in the rain. Try polypro or wool tights, you won't need rain pants. But what do I know, it's 82 outside and headed for 90 this afternoon.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

holycrapweaselsthat'scold

was -5C on the way in, but felt warmer.
felt WAY colder on the way home.
BUT I got to wear my official T2T winter coat to work so it's all good in the hood!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, you had me convinced, but I couldn`t quite pull it off! Tried to talk Mrs Rodar (working at an elementary school and currently "off track") into a day on your rail trail, but she had an appointment this afternoon, so there wasn`t enough time . Went for a closer in ride instead: Truckee River trail, Idewild park, and a nap in the municipal rose garden. I love naps!

On an even happier note, thank God we`ve made it to Election Eve! I`m beyond fed up with polsters (whose purpose in life is a complete mystery to me), and getting to about the same point with campaign calls (at least they have a purpose). Why can`t they all just wait out unsuspecting people on the street? MUST they wake me up several times per week then interrupt while we`re trying to make dinner every night? Couldn`t they let us eat that dinner once in a while without calling in the middle of it?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We hit near mid-winter cold here. 19F this morning. OK, not mid-winter but not all that warm. Full clava for the whole ride.



rodar y rodar said:


> On an even happier note, thank God we`ve made it to Election Eve! I`m beyond fed up with polsters (whose purpose in life is a complete mystery to me), and getting to about the same point with campaign calls (at least they have a purpose). Why can`t they all just wait out unsuspecting people on the street? MUST they wake me up several times per week then interrupt while we`re trying to make dinner every night? Couldn`t they let us eat that dinner once in a while without calling in the middle of it?


+20. This has been the worst election yet for the robo calls. Robo calls are the worst because you can't waste the time of the caller with an opposing viewpoint.

On a related note:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> On an even happier note, thank God we`ve made it to Election Eve! I`m beyond fed up with polsters (whose purpose in life is a complete mystery to me), and getting to about the same point with campaign calls (at least they have a purpose). Why can`t they all just wait out unsuspecting people on the street? MUST they wake me up several times per week then interrupt while we`re trying to make dinner every night? Couldn`t they let us eat that dinner once in a while without calling in the middle of it?


+5000. Come tomorrow I'll turn the ringer on my phone back on. Only problem now is the next 3-4 days will be endless analysis of the election, and every nuance included.:madman:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Those are some sweet pics rodar! Looks like quite a nice day.

+10000 on the election crap. We vote exclusively by mail in Washington State and I mailed my ballot week before last and have been trying to tune out the crescendo ever since...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No presidential candidate really cares about winning KY. We haven't even had all that many national commercials, and I've never had a robo-caller. The only congressional seat up for grabs in my area is a completely lopsided race. Most of the commercials we get are for Indiana races.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Crazy in the forcast.... 

Today's high is supposed to be 74, Friday's low is supposed to be 20. Looks like I might be glad I broke the studs in... Winter is about to slap this delusional autumn joy in the face.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

16F here this morning, that was quite a jolt after the mild fall we've had. :blush: Not blushing, just cold and chapped cheeks.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

80 today, but lately I have had to break out a vest in the AM...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode to vote. A friend passing out campaign literature watched the bike so I did not have to strip it and lock it up. Good deal. It is either a light turn-out or I picked the best time of the day. Walk in, Vote. Walk out. Sweet. 

My love for PBS has really expanded with the lack of political ads. They should do a fundraiser where they destroy political ads on air for contributions. $25 is the microwave, $50 the fireplace, or you can contribute to whatever sum is needed to get Discovery Channel's Mythbusters to blow the lot up with slow motion replay. Now that would put the bang in attack ads! Even in that horrible case of the rape of our brains by political TV ads, it is God's will that justice be served.  (Oblique reference to Indiana Senatorial Race.) 

Picked up some groceries on the way home. Needed more fruit and nuts after voting. It was in the low 40's F with a light south breeze. Pretty uneventful ride. 

Still some holdout leaves on the oaks, otherwise the winds and rain we got from the last vestiges of Sandy took the last leaves. 

BrianMc


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I do believe I'm coming down with whatever my wife brought home from a party on Sunday. This will be an unpleasant bikecommuting first for me, riding while sick.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I do believe I'm coming down with whatever my wife brought home from a party on Sunday. This will be an unpleasant bikecommuting first for me, riding while sick.


If it is still above the neck keep riding...

If it is below the neck give it a rest....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

But what if it is at your neck?

It felt like a sore throat was coming on yesterday and my commuting was on the slow side. It seems a little better today so I'm hoping I'm going to dodge it.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> If it is still above the neck keep riding...
> 
> If it is below the neck give it a rest....


Sorta both. Slightly spinning head, bunch of extra snot, slightly queasy stomach. The stomach could just be angry with me/the snot. Considering cutting out early so I don't have to do this ride home in the dark, but my stomach's feeling a little better. I might throw some pretzels at it.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I voted early last week in Texas...one of those places where the presidential candidates are not expending any effort, and where the congressional seats up for election also aren't really putting any money into tv ads. Haven't had a single robocall, either. It's sad...there's actually someone running against Gohmert this year. He's a certifiable whackjob in his own right, but few people hear about it because he covers such a rural area, noone seems to care.

I've been exposed to the Indiana races this week. Holy smokes those ads are vicious. It's a shame Mourdock beat Lugar in the primaries. I actually liked him. Pretty sure I voted for him in the first election I was eligible.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Voted while slightly frozen this morning. Guy at the polling place asked if I ride every day and I replied, "Yep, haven't missed a day in 3 months" he was slightly impressed. 

They're saying snow this weekend up here, it's been cold enough in the mornings to do so but it's been really dry and warming into the 60-70's in the afternoon. Guess this means I really need to get ahold of some studs for the bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mmm... warm thoughts there concerning PBS fundraisers  Yup, much better than a coffee cup.
I`ve been voting early for years too. Is that option not available in most places, or do the rest of you who voted today just prefer it that way? Cold (relatively) and sunny today- I like that combo for some reason. But the very best is cold-sunny-fresh snow.



Spatialized said:


> Guess this means I really need to get ahold of some studs for the bike.


YEAH!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We can vote early too, either by mail or at the town office, but I never got around to doing either this time. But there were no lines and no waiting when I voted (<2 mi from work). Polls closed at 7 and Obama already projected the winner here of our measly 3 electoral votes. 20F and lovely stars on the way home. Stargazing while biking is not recommended, however, even on empty roads.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ We are star dust, we are golden to we are road kill, and black and blue.

BrianMc.


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

In a slight miscalculation this morning, I should have been on studs. 

Both thermos at my house said it was above freezing. 2 blocks away and there is frost on the cars and that look on the street.

Doin' the Gatorskin Tiptoe.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

A rough summary of my morning ride with my new cycling glasses, care of my phone's awful front-facing camera. I couldn't be more disappointed with the glasses. Not only did they fog at the slightest provocation, but they refused to unfog once I got going, despite providing almost no wind protection for my eyes. I suppose they'd at least keep the bugs out of my eyes when it gets warmer. Am I expecting too much?

Also in the shipment with the awful-glasses: tubes and tire levers to carry with me. Except I can't find my portable pump anywhere, so now if I get a flat I can change the tube and then stare at it, wishing I could inflate it as well.

Mittens and boots aren't nearly as awkward as I had feared. Also today's the first day I put a hat under my helmet and while I was warmer, I question how much protection the helmet will provide with all that stuff between it and my head. It sits very high, as it is.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Liking the new clock. I get just enough light to give me half a chance at riding up the road cut on skinnies now, and it still isn`t in my eyes- I was worried about that for a while because I`m on a new semi-shift, going in and going home one hour before the times I`m used to.

Since you posted, I take it your tiptoe commute went well enough, BBG. Hope you don`t freeze back up before its time to ride home again.



Sanath said:


> Except I can't find my portable pump anywhere, so now if I get a flat I can change the tube and then stare at it, wishing I could inflate it as well.


Stare at it through fogged up glasses!
Bummer they don`t cut it, but I don`t know what to tell you. Seems like you`re getting cheated by the combination of not blocking the air AND not clearing when you roll. Since it`s usually pretty dry in my neighborhood, mine only when I stop, then they unfog again within minute of restarting. The biggest issue I face is that those times when they fog up are usually when I have to stop for traffic, which is when I most need them to be clear. Glad the mittens are working out, at least.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

14F when I left, but already up to 20F when I got to work. Some nice morning mist out on the #6 quarry. The historical sign talks about the quarry, but the lower left pic also shows the big stone wall from my pic a week or 2 ago. I always thought that wall was a trestle, but the sign says it was just built with non-spec stone to keep the grout piles (junk rock) from falling into the RR bed between the 2 walls.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Mountain Bike Wednsday*

I got to ride the trails that I worked on over the weekend. Among others, we took down a HUGE hemlock and chipped most of the branches. Another crew cleared the singletrack of all of the leaves just to the width of the trail, about a foot wide. Riding it is really fun (sorry, no pics of that)

This morning I tried riding in goggles. My eyes were 100% tear free but I had fogging problems on the slow, hard up-hill sections. Double pane goggles are on order-I really liked the no tearing thing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I spotted this pretty healthy buck about to hop the fence and cross the road up ahead on the left as I crested the hill... I drew my weapon from my chest pocket, activated camera mode, switched hands, and got this shot off left handed on the way by as he crossed behind me. :lol: you can almost tell he's a deer.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snow! Took the big bike this morning since we're supposed to get 5~10cm. It started snowing just before I left, and it's definitely coming down, but it's not crazy or anything.

But when I got to work I discovered that the pockets on the front of my reflective vest were completely packed with snow. I'd been riding along with a pair of snowboobs and hadn't even noticed.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^^^^^ Sanath, have you tried any of these treatments?

Anti-Fog Remedies for Eyeglasses | eHow.com

^^ CB: Looks like the rare Rocky Mountain Tripod deer, to me.

BrianMc


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ CB: Looks like the rare Rocky Mountain Tripod deer, to me.
> 
> BrianMc


Are they similar to the Arkansas Three Legged Chicken?:lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> ^^^^^^ Sanath, have you tried any of these treatments?
> 
> Anti-Fog Remedies for Eyeglasses | eHow.com
> 
> ...


I have not. Got them in a box last night, wore them for the first time this morning. They're just cheapos from PricePoint. Maybe I'll try shaving cream or get some rain-x. Maybe I'll just send them back since the wind coverage isn't good either.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I don't think these have caught on from previous recommendations, but I like the glasses with a layer of foam rubber against your eyesocket. They block out more wind and help with fogging some by blocking your warm breath too. I find them a good compromise between regular glasses and goggles. Mine are from Panoptyx (from Sierra trading Post), but I’ve also seen less expensive versions in the moto section of Walmart etc.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice pix CB & Bedwards.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, tis the season for the steam coming off of water... I've been seeing that in the golf course lake and irrigation ditches lately. Cool pics! 

Bedwards, your second pic looks like how I've been spending my weekends lately. October is 'upper body month'... I always split it all by hand, but the past couple years I've committed to splitting it all with my 15 pound orange axe of death. :lol: Shoulders and abs are feeling it...almost done.

...Steel is real.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CB, bedwards and mtbx - thanks for keeping me entertained with your photos!

I'd love to post pics, but I am riding in the dark both ways now, so all you would see is this:










Sanath, good luck on the eye cover. I wish I had suggestions but I went through the same process as you a few years ago and finally gave up on eye wear because I could never get past the fogging.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, your second pic looks like how I've been spending my weekends lately. October is 'upper body month'... I always split it all by hand, but the past couple years I've committed to splitting it all with my 15 pound orange axe of death. :lol: Shoulders and abs are feeling it...almost done.
> 
> ...Steel is real.


I brought a truck load of the oak that we took down that was nearly as big around as the ones in your pic. I was going to let it dry a while before I attempted splitting it, also by hand.

I saw 2 deer this AM too but I was more daft than deft with the camera so they got away. They were on the game preserve during hunting season. Smart ones.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This was my record... we measured it at 5' inside the bark. Douglass Fir. Old growth, baby. I had a connection on private land. We had to make two passes with a saw that had a 46" bar. I put 5 rounds on my trailer and got two flat tires. :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy Moly! That's quite a Christmas tree.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some of your Douglas fir ended up right here at the quarries for the boom derricks for moving stone out of the hole with horse or steam power. About 3' across & 100' tall and cut into an octogon shape, and with metal rungs for some lucky guy to climb. They've switched to steel, but there are still a bunch of wooden ones around, in or around the older quarries.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool, who knew?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> mmm... warm thoughts there concerning PBS fundraisers  Yup, much better than a coffee cup.
> I`ve been voting early for years too. Is that option not available in most places, or do the rest of you who voted today just prefer it that way? Cold (relatively) and sunny today- I like that combo for some reason. But the very best is cold-sunny-fresh snow.


I've done both, early/mail-in and in-person and I guess it is the sense of community at the polls that I like instead of sitting at home doing it.

Weather models predicting 1-2 inches on Friday night/Saturday, too bad I'll be in Phoenix instead (I live in the mountains, so yes, it does snow here in AZ). I doubt that any shops in PHX carry studs, but I'll do a look-see while I'm down there. Frankly though, if I'm shopping, it will be for quality craft beer not bike stuff.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Spatialized said:


> I've done both, early/mail-in and in-person and I guess it is the sense of community at the polls that I like instead of sitting at home doing it.
> 
> Weather models predicting 1-2 inches on Friday night/Saturday, too bad I'll be in Phoenix instead (I live in the mountains, so yes, it does snow here in AZ). I doubt that any shops in PHX carry studs, but I'll do a look-see while I'm down there. Frankly though, if I'm shopping, it will be for quality craft beer not bike stuff.


Believe it or not it even has sn*wed down here once or twice in the last couple of years, maybe as much as 1/2 inch. Hopefully not ever again, but evil happens everywhere eventually.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

46 inch bar !?! Holy cow, that must weigh a ton by the time you finish making a cut! Do you swap engines back and forth between the saw and your BigOrange?

Another storm on the way. It`s WINDY- not by hurricane standards, but I`d better leave myself an extra 50% time wise for tonight`s battle against it. Currently 55F, and supposed to drop to 16F by Fri morning with chances for snow showers from tomorrow morning through Sat. Fingers crossed!



Spatialized said:


> (I live in the mountains, so yes, it does snow here in AZ).


I believe you Spatialized. About 15 years ago, I got snowed in while trying to get to the south rim in early spring- ended up hunkering down in the Williams Super 8 for two days while waiting for the conditions to improve. Then about 3 or 4 years ago, driving from SLC to Chandler at Christmas time, we got caught in a storm that we didn`t have time to wait out- had to chain up shortly after Kanab and couldn`t unchain until well past Flagstaff.



junior1210 said:


> Believe it or not it even has sn*wed down here once or twice in the last couple of years, maybe as much as 1/2 inch. Hopefully not ever again, but evil happens everywhere eventually.


S* isn`t evil until you get tired of dealing with it :nono:. For me, that usually comes after multiple heavy dumps, but I guess if you`re tired of it as soon as you break out the shovel that first time, maybe it`s born evil!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

After being rained on Monday, Tuesday and this morning, had a pretty nice evening to ride home. Sun was setting as I left the office, no wind, low 40's, all in all a nice night to ride home.

But I had an interesting encounter...pulled up to a stoplight behind a guy, probably early-30's, on a mountain bike, wearing black, no reflectors, no lights, no helmet - classic bike ninja. I was thinking about saying something to the guy about using a light or reflective vest when another guy rolls up and pretty rudely tells the ninja that there is a helmet law and he needs to be wearing a helmet. The ninja uses some four-letter words to tell the guy to mind his own business. And a verbal back-and-forth helmet debate ensued. Right around this point the light turned green and I rolled off not waiting to see how things turned out.

Personally, I could care a less about the helmet thing (unless it's a kid and then I will say something). I always wear a helmet and always made my kids wear them too, but if your an adult it's your call and none of my business. But I hate bike (and walk/jog) ninjas because they are a threat to my well-being...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Being seen by kids is the biggest reason that I wear a helmet on while riding on paved roads. Hate to put the parents in a position of trying to explain why the kid has to, even though "that guy" just rode by without one.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

No snow here yet, but there are som ice patches. I`ll be fitting my Marathon winters this weekend. Its also nice to be back on a cyclocross with disk brakes.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> S* isn`t evil until you get tired of dealing with it :nono:. For me, that usually comes after multiple heavy dumps, but I guess if you`re tired of it as soon as you break out the shovel that first time, maybe it`s born evil!


And that's where I am anymore after having lived in NJ for a few years and KS and IL as a child, then spent many years driving truck, winter after winter, in PacWest and Northern Plains (I-80,I-90,I-94 and even Canada's Saskatchewan as far as Prince Albert). All of them are really nice places, good people except for the sn*w, and even that wouldn't be bad but for having to deal with _everybody else_ while dealing with the sn*w.:madman: Anybody who tells me that they don't get tired and disgusted about hearing the same things year after year about traffic accidents, injuries, building maintenance problems, and clothing issues that stem from weather conditions that happen _every_ year, I think is telling a fib or might be Mary Poppins' nicer big sister.:skep:

CommuterBoy, with logs that size do you get approached by the custom furniture people much? I knew an old gent (who has since passed) who used to made tables and chairs, and would scour the PacWest for old,old, old growth trees. He said they always had the best grain for his projects.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mmmm, FuxPix. Winter must be closing in 
I like those fenders.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

While I may get tired of stories of people failing at life where snow is involved, I _never_ get tired of Youtube videos of people failing at driving in the snow.

Drove today. For some reason the glasses weren't nearly so foggy on the ride home. *shrug*

Having to leave work at 1:30 is killing me though. It cascades back to a 3 AM wakeup. How do you get up to work weird shifts, rodar?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Pitch black single track on the way home. At least the parts that weren't in the path of my lights. Being in the woods at night is different. Everything seems further apart.

And now for the snow story that nobody gets tired of. I had to bring out the studded tires for this morning's commute. Bet you haven't heard that one before.

CB, the hooker boots are horrible on flat pedals. I forgot what bike I was taking and put them on this morning. Instead of going back in and changing I figured what the heck. They worked just well enough to give me confidence to leave the driveway. Then I realized I probably should have just changed them.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

So apparently I was convinced today was Friday because I packed jeans and a non-collared shirt. Luckily, yesterday I knew that it was Wednesday and left a pair of khakis for Thursday. I was able to swipe a new shirt from our company's stash. I probably could have worn the one I had brought, but I discovered the wash hadn't removed a couple oil stains I suffered while cooking last week. But, hey, the commute was a pleasant 34F, so it wasn't all a disaster.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Mmmm, FuxPix. Winter must be closing in
> I like those fenders.


I don`t need motivation for sommer commuting, so normaly hang around here in the winter months looking at pictures of folk who have it tougher than me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm pretty sure the participation that was falling this morning would have looked like this under a microscope. Very stingy on the face.


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

Nice! Back to shorts weather in Denton, TX. High of 80 degrees today! WTF?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar.... yes 46" bar. Not my saw, but I certainly want one :lol: Mine is a 22... like a knife in a gunfight that day. After the 36" range, the saws don't get much heavier...just more expensive! 

So this storm is apparently late. I was expecting wet this morning...instead I got crazy windy. I'm in this new world of having to decide when to throw the studded wheelset on... it's a little stressful. I didn't do it...maybe tonight? 

Fux, nice ride. Nice pic.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A fair bit of snow yesterday. They kept increasing the forecast so I'm not sure what we actually ended up with, but it's more than 15cm so probably somewhere in the 8~10" range. Riding on the fresh stuff my pedals were digging pretty deep holes. One of the suburbs shut down its transit, we closed a bunch of roads (which is pretty unheardof), and I got let out of work at 2:00 to get home safely. But of course I had to volunteer after work, so I hung around and headed out at rush hour.

And it was probably the nicest snowstorm I've ever ridden in. Normally when we get a bunch of snow it hangs around all loose and churned up, making riding a pain. But this time the roads are packed solid - to the point that I'd swear they were plowed even though I know they weren't. And I thought I'd have a quiet night at the bike co-op, but we had half a dozen people in working on various problems. And this morning it took me no extra time to get to work. Good storm, all around.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Having to leave work at 1:30 is killing me though. It cascades back to a 3 AM wakeup. How do you get up to work weird shifts, rodar?


One help is that you eventually figure the best sleep schedules for your shifts just like you eventually figure out the right clothes combos for your commute. Once you get into a groove, it`s easier. I`m going on 18 years at the same place, so have all the shift variations pretty well worked out by now. The people whose schedules bounce around or who work all night and ferry the kids around between naps all day, I have no idea how they do it. Also, my normal shifts don`t have me getting up at 3AM- the odd times I have to do something like that, it hurts me too. What shift(s) do you work?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

junior1210 said:


> CommuterBoy, with logs that size do you get approached by the custom furniture people much? I knew an old gent (who has since passed) who used to made tables and chairs, and would scour the PacWest for old,old, old growth trees. He said they always had the best grain for his projects.


This was a rare find... you can't just go cut old growth like that, even if it's dead. I have a friend who works for a land management company that negotiates timber sales, etc... this particular tree was on private land, and was cut because it was diseased, ...they found 'white speck' when they cut it into massive logs to go to the mill... it's a kind of fungus that weakens it and makes it bad for lumber apparently. A slab of it would have made an awesome table...but I don't know how weakened it was from the white speck. Looks like a bunch of little white dots within the rings, on maybe the outer foot or so...so it was only diseased for a hundred years or so :lol: Your old gent might not have wanted it. Sierra Pacific didn't want it. It burned good though!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Last night the woods were weird for me too. As I pedaled by one of the quarries, a loud beaver-tail slap made me jump. This morning I took a pic of their house, no sign of the critters though. I got 1/3 mile from home this morning before I realized I only had a hat on, not my helmet. Returned home for it since it also has a light on it I need for the way home. Also a pic of a cardinal under the feeder at my apple tree.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> One help is that you eventually figure the best sleep schedules for your shifts just like you eventually figure out the right clothes combos for your commute. Once you get into a groove, it`s easier. I`m going on 18 years at the same place, so have all the shift variations pretty well worked out by now. The people whose schedules bounce around or who work all night and ferry the kids around between naps all day, I have no idea how they do it. Also, my normal shifts don`t have me getting up at 3AM- the odd times I have to do something like that, it hurts me too. What shift(s) do you work?


I don't have a shift per se, but I have to average 8 hours a day. Wasn't a problem until my wife decided a few weeks ago to start picking up shifts (3-4/week) that ran over the end of the school day, so I have to be home for the bus at 3:15 or so. Give myself extra time to get home in case of issues, plan on arriving at 2:30. An hour for the ride home = 1:30. 8 hours + 30 minute mandatory unpaid lunch (thanks, NY!) = 5:00. Another hour for the commute in = 4:00. Minus an hour to get ready = 3:00 AM.

And icing on the cake, I can't usually go to bed before the kid's bedtime, which is 8. So at *best* I can hope to be asleep by 9 and get in 6 hours of sleep. I haven't had much luck further reducing the time from wake up to on the bike (even an hour is pushing it).

I'm going to rig up a light and timer to flip on a few minutes before the alarm, and fix the thermostat schedule so it's actually warm when I get up (may not be worth it to bring the temp down for the night since my wife goes to bed around 10-11 most nights). We'll see if that makes a difference.

edit: also ordered Amazon.com: Topeak Turbo Morph Bike Pump with Gauge: Sports & Outdoors to replace the missing pump, and a small space heater to take the chills off of me in my office. Anybody else feel cold for hours after commuting in? I'm fine while I'm out but it's noon before I'm not shivering.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Dark clouds hanging low over the mountains this morning, it's a nice change to the bright blue skies every morning. 
Been looking at frames to replace my old back up bike for weeks and keep coming back to the same three. Surly Ogre, Salsa Fargo, and Origin-8 CX700. Cant buy anything right now, but it's another good excuse to drool over the bike pr0n.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You want the Ogre!! You want the Ogre!! :lol:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Gotta admit CB your pics are the reason I started looking that direction. Since I don't have a dealer of any of the three closer than 75 miles I'll have to special order whatever I get QBP, depending on price and availability at that time. Not unless C'dale, Raleigh, Specialized, or Giant start building steel cx bikes with 2 inch or larger rear clearance and disc tabs. Will admit the Raleigh Roper has me a little curious, might have to see if the LBS has one next time I stop in, but those three are the short list.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath, maybe your wife could do the babysitting for the last few hours before the kids go to bed so you can get a head start with your own sleep? I guess you`d already be doing that if it were possible. Hats off to you and all the other hard working parents in this world- I can only imagine...

Snow flurries today . I woke up this afternoon to dirt drifts inside the front door (it was windy) and went outside to find mini snowdrifts illuminated by a red sunset. I don`t think I`ll "stud up" for tonight`s commute, but we`re off to a better start than last year. Come on, winter- don`t fail us again!



mtbxplorer said:


> Also a pic of a cardinal under the feeder at my apple tree.


Looks a little bit livelier than Brian`s cardinal :lol:



CommuterBoy said:


> You want the Ogre!! You want the Ogre!!


But Junior would be better served with desert pattern camo!

My big stump pic is a rerun from another post. And I can`t claim the tree either since it was probably cut before I was born, but it`s the best I can do.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You know winter's here when 36F starts to feel like a warm commute.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

30 degrees here this morning. Feels like winter to me...

Cool perspective pic rodar. That's a big stump! I don't have a big stump pic, but I have a big tree pic:










That's me standing on top.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice tree Woodway. Rodar, I didn't realize that was a stump the first time around - impressive!

We got just enough snow (1") to make it a beautiful winter wonderland without any difficulty on the roads or trails. Some pics from last night and this morning. 23F this morning, so the snow wasn't sticking to the tire like last night when it was a bit warmer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Some pics from last night and this morning.


Not two, but THREE thumbs!
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wooooo Hoooo we got some white stuff all up in this place. 

1st "real" commute on the Nokians. I'm grinning from ear to ear.  Untracked powder at home (maybe 6 inches?) to packed ice to slush that the plow threw up... good mix of conditions. Everyone says it, but ... I can't believe I didn't spring for these a few years ago. Worth. Every. Penny.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hey, man! How come I didn`t get any of that???


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

None in Reno?? We got hit pretty good. Tapers off a lot though as you get out into the valley. I'm right up at the base of the mountains. Betting Verdi/Mogul got about what I got.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

4 inches of wettish snow and car snot...

-14C Still snowing....couldn't find my glasses or googles this morning...

I had to blink alot to keep the eyelashes from frosting up.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

I am not looking forward to the snow. 

I need to get some wider studded tires for my Ogre. I have the 700 x 35 Kenda Klondikes that I used on my Trek Soho S, but I would rather be on something more like 2 inches wide. Or maybe some Dillingers or Escalators from 45NRTH. Well, in the front anyway.

CB - You like those Nokians a lot? Those seem like a good option.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wooooo Hoooo we got some white stuff all up in this place.
> 
> 1st "real" commute on the Nokians. I'm grinning from ear to ear.  Untracked powder at home (maybe 6 inches?) to packed ice to slush that the plow threw up... good mix of conditions. Everyone says it, but ... I can't believe I didn't spring for these a few years ago. Worth. Every. Penny.


oh yeah! :band: Nice pix! Glad you're safer now, although that one story of you sliding toward the intersection without studs and stopping just in time was a classic.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dalton, yeah. I'm no expert, but I couldn't imagine anything short of crampons giving you better traction than these Nokian Extremes. 

I was standing up and mashing the pedals in the fresh powder, trying to get the rear to break loose...I could do it, but I was amazed at how much it took. Just mind blowing traction, considering the conditions. I got the front to slip a couple of times hitting big chunks of snow plow snot, but it would catch just as quickly...just enough to remind me not to be stupid. I honestly had no idea they could be this effective. 

MTBX, yes...that was quite a moment :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Good stuff, CB.

This was us on Wednesday, and a few more inches have come down since.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Glad you guys are enjoying that white stuff. My first reaction to seeing nwefangled's picture was to scream "AHHH My Eyes! My Eyes! It Burns, It Burnssss!!!!" :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Found it. 1/26/10 :lol:



CommuterBoy said:


> So I'm a pretty smart guy, right? I live off of a dirt road off of a dirt road, and I usually get more snow than just about anywhere else on my commute, becuase I'm also at maybe 500 feet higher in elevation than 'town'. So last night it was snowing a bit, and I decided to shovel a patch of asphalt in front of my garage, so that in the morning I can see how much new snow there is and decide if it would be ok to ride.
> Fast forward to this morning, there was maybe an inch of new stuff in my test section... and it looked wet out there, almost misty. "This is good" I thought, "roads will be wet, not snowy like yesterday when you couldn't find the white line to save your life."
> 
> So I take off down my dirt road, and it's pretty sloppy. Wet enough so that I cut through most of it, but super slippery and nasty. I got sucked into any pothole I got within 6 inches of...it was work getting down to the pavement, which was covered in that inch of fresh stuff I had seen in my driveway. This road isn't travelled much, so I expected this. It actually offered some decent traction if I stayed out of the tire tracks. This road decends down to valley-floor level, where I expected to get out of the snow, and sure enough, about half way to the 'main road', the snow started to dissapear. I got a little more confident as I picked up speed going down the hill, and then a car came by going uphill. The mirror-glare of his headlights bouncing off of the pavement told me one thing: You are an idiot.
> ...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Most awesome story. :crazy::yikes:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for the re-post. That was before my time here. If you had your Nokians then the story would have been: "I was coming up to an icy stop. I stopped." Not nearly as fun.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

The last few days have transitioned from rain and 45ºF to sub-freezing but crystal clear. It's gorgeous out there at the moment in Seattle, which helps me compete in the Cannondale's Oktoberfest with Tim Johnson challenge. Almost there! Just 1h15m to go. Also means I'm sandbagging like crazy and cutting my speed down so that I get a little bit extra time for the same distance covered .

However, that doesn't stop me from being a complete and utter idiot and forgetting that hey, when it's sunny out there... it doesn't necessarily mean that it's warm.










It may be cold, but it's gorgeous too. I ride through wine country on the way to work - this is part of my route to work every day. Btw, the part that appears out of focus isn't simply a dirty lens; the mist over the river made it look really nice. Of course, this is one of those things where it doesn't look anywhere close to as nice as it did in person.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yummm, the 2nd shot looks like a painting! The first looks like a pain!


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## nativeson (Apr 4, 2005)

Multimodal commute today. I'm a high school teacher in the Monterey Bay Area. Got to meet at the aquarium today and skip the classroom, fun.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It was actually nicer out this morning then on my way home, quite windy and I think it is going to rain (doing Bandit Cross tonight at Minnehaha Park). I picked up the livations for after the race.


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## nativeson (Apr 4, 2005)




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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wooooo Hoooo we got some white stuff all up in this place. 1st "real" commute on the Nokians. ... I can't believe I didn't spring for these a few years ago. Worth. Every. Penny.


Some disciples or students are just a little 'slower' than others. As a teacher you know that! 

I had one ride here and concluded it was suicide given the lousy snow removal unless I went with studs. I slalomed out and back that ride like a kid playing with his coater brake. How I stayed upright I don't know. Fun isn't the work I'd use. I was lucky not to need a change of shorts. Studs can be so good that you fall down when you dismount. Can ride it but can't stand it.



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Yummm, the 2nd shot looks like a painting! The first looks like a pain!


A couple of cows or a hay wain and hunter has a Homer Watson. Really nice shot.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Yummm, the 2nd shot looks like a painting! The first looks like a pain!


I know the exact spot hunter took that shot from...ride it every day, except it's dark @ 4:45 in the morning when I come through 

Yup, we have had a nice couple of days. Cold, but I'll take it.

Nice pics nativeson! Thanks for sharing!

Mr. Pink, you might want some of that before the race...deadens the pain! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> I know the exact spot hunter took that shot from...ride it every day, except it's dark @ 4:45 in the morning when I come through


Yikes - what is your schedule?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And here's where we sit today:



Didn't need to find a tree to lean it up against, because it stood up all on its own. 

Roads have still be really good, considering we've gotten this much snow this quickly, and I took a long way home tonight and the paths were pretty good too. Saw looooooots of cars not moving very fast.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> 1/26/10


A commute that will live in infamy.


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## kaplanjoe (Nov 10, 2012)

All rain and no sun for a week.


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## Surly in OZ (Aug 2, 2011)

It may be cold, but it's gorgeous too. I ride through wine country on the way to work - this is part of my route to work every day. Btw, the part that appears out of focus isn't simply a dirty lens; the mist over the river made it look really nice. Of course, this is one of those things where it doesn't look anywhere close to as nice as it did in person.







[/QUOTE]

Hi mate, nice ride, hope you don't mind the photo is great, a quick edit brings a little more life to it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We got a little bit of snow Friday night. Maybe an inch at sunrise and still falling, but as soon as the sun peeked out it melted faster than it fell. Super cold last night! I got hungry about 6AM (Sun morning) and walked across the street to get a burrito from the gas station. By the time I got back inside the plant, my ears were so cold they stung. Checked the current weather and saw that it was 5* with 85* humidity. What`s with this humididty lately? If it`s going to be humid, then by gum there had better be some useable precip in the deal!

October`s end of month counts and tallies put me very close to a couple of milestones, so I rechecked again yesterday. Looks like I passed the YTD 4000 mile point about two days ago (a first for me), and tomorrow will be my 200th commute for the year (not a first).


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Bike was a symphony of clicks, creaks, and pings this morning on the way in. Sounded fine on the way home Friday, all I've done since is clean/lube the chain and check the tire pressure. The bike's already been back to the shop to have them tighten the bottom bracket cups once, I can't imagine they've come loose again. Might be in part my seat doing a bunch of the noisemaking. I lifted from the seat to get past an obstacle on my way to park it and heard a bit of creaking. I guess check tightness, possibly disassemble & grease?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> October`s end of month counts and tallies put me very close to a couple of milestones, so I rechecked again yesterday. Looks like I passed the YTD 4000 mile point about two days ago (a first for me), and tomorrow will be my 200th commute for the year (not a first).


Whoohoo - congrats rodar! With a little luck we can both make it to 100% this year!

Found a broken spoke on my rear wheel last night. Lucky for me my son had my old bike at home, so a grabbed the rear wheel off it. Did not need to touch the brake caliper at all (I run disc brakes), and just a few clicks of the index adjuster had the shifting as smooth as can be. I'll have to break out the trueing stand and spoke tension meter this week and figure out what's going on with my rear wheel.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sanath said:


> Bike was a symphony of clicks, creaks, and pings this morning on the way in. Sounded fine on the way home Friday, all I've done since is clean/lube the chain and check the tire pressure. The bike's already been back to the shop to have them tighten the bottom bracket cups once, I can't imagine they've come loose again. Might be in part my seat doing a bunch of the noisemaking. I lifted from the seat to get past an obstacle on my way to park it and heard a bit of creaking. I guess check tightness, possibly disassemble & grease?


Sanath, here is the best set of instructions to follow when your bike is making unusual noises:

Creaks, Clicks & Clunks


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Sunny and cold this AM (27f when I left around 7:15). Had the clothes pretty much dialed, but slick tires do not like ice. Ordered a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires when I got to work in hopes of keeping my butt off the pavement.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

*What the hell?!*

Friends,

Today on my way to work I witness not one but two guys riding (well one was waiting at an intersection) penny farthings.

I know some of you are thinking "How cool?" That's exactly what these retro-jackasses would like you to think. However, my response was decidedly less enthusiastic. My thoughts turned to questions like:

"How do those idiots stop at intersections?", "How much less would it have cost to get a bike with brakes?", and

"This whole fixed-gear thing has really gone far enough"

Folks I don't think it's cute, efficient, or does anything for the reputation of cyclists in the community for folks with barely controllable bikes to be mixing it up with traffic. The W&OD is already a mess without turning it into a side show. This is like using a telegram to let your spouse know you'll be home for dinner. Just get a regular bike and ride it.

I just can't take it anymore. If you're really a retro-grouch buy a Rivedell and be done with it.


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## beachside (Jun 19, 2012)

Not really a commute, but, I'm an ocean lifeguard and I get to train on my bike at work. Since I have to be within a quarter mile of the tower, I've been doing daily 20 mile rides in a large parking lot. It's a LOT of large figure 8's and I do it on a Schwinn Crosscut. My average speed is 16.1 mph.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Surly in OZ said:


> It may be cold, but it's gorgeous too. I ride through wine country on the way to work - this is part of my route to work every day. Btw, the part that appears out of focus isn't simply a dirty lens; the mist over the river made it look really nice. Of course, this is one of those things where it doesn't look anywhere close to as nice as it did in person.
> -- snip --
> 
> Hi mate, nice ride, hope you don't mind the photo is great, a quick edit brings a little more life to it.


:thumbsup:


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

woodway said:


> rodar y rodar said:
> 
> 
> > October`s end of month counts and tallies put me very close to a couple of milestones, so I rechecked again yesterday. Looks like I passed the YTD 4000 mile point about two days ago (a first for me), and tomorrow will be my 200th commute for the year (not a first).
> ...


Nicely done guys! I think I'll probably crack 200, maybe 210 by year's end - we have some mandatory days off coming up (office moves, etc.) so I'll be lucky to get more than that.

Also, you guys made me check what I'm at. All I gotta say is... ALMOST THERE! From my profile page on DailyMile...

*Miles: 49,657 total / 8,834 in 2012
Goal: Achieve 49,804 mi / 80152km lifetime miles in 2012 (since 2 Jan 2009)
*

(147 miles? So 2.5 days... aka see you on Thursday... how did I not notice this sooner?)

And considering this is a commute thread... I guess I better put something commute related . My commute in was on the inside of a bike shuttle, which was a welcome change for once. Tonight I will ride home in the glorious rain. With a little luck, I might even have some company.

Btw, I did end up completing the challenge to get a beer stein that I mentioned in one of my previous posts. 60h 22m total time (needed 60h) over 3 weeks, so scraped in completing my trifecta on Saturday - Landed a new job, moved in to a new apartment, and got a beer stein.

Life's good.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

nbwallace said:


> Friends,
> 
> Today on my way to work I witness not one but two guys riding (well one was waiting at an intersection) penny farthings.-snip- "How do those idiots stop at intersections?", "How much less would it have cost to get a bike with brakes?", and "This whole fixed-gear thing has really gone far enough"
> 
> ...


I favor a classic 10 speed upgraded to 3 x10. Though a penny farthing would go with my mustache and retro-grouchiness.  The big wheelers I have seen have a spoon friction brake on the front tire. Low brake power prevents a high boy OTB. They would be a handful in traffic IMO. However, antique cars such as 1908 Ford Model T's can share the road with only rear external band drum brakes, so why not obsolete bikes? It might well be argued that to use either regularly commuting is unwise.

An aside: The so-called foot-down rule stems from a penny farthing rider riding circles at a railroad crossing then proceeding across after the near train passed, but not yielding for the one on the other track. It was ruled by a judge that he had to put a foot down to be stopped. So posting on a bike with two similarly sized wheels has not been ruled on, to my knowledge.

BrianMc


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Commute today? Cold. 18F as I rolled out over the tiny crust of the snow we got over the weekend. Nice morning since it was a holiday and the usual bustle was tamped way down. Kind of peaceful in the cold.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, Woodway- yeah, hoping we make it a liiiitle bit longer 
But I`m still blown away by Newf, like 3 years at 100% in ALBERTA! And Hunter, pushing 9000 mi in a little over 10 months? Daaaang!

I was naughty with the CL watching. There was a purdy yellow Rockhopper listed for $100 last week that I managed to talk myself out of, but it showed up again Friday for $75. I couldn`t contain myself- had to at least look, right? By the time I heard back from the girl who was selling it, I was ready to hit the sack, so I figured I`d let destiny decide- if it was still available by the time I got up on Mon, I`d go see the poor thing. It was available and it followed me home. I dunno what year (can`t find pics of any yellow R.H. Comp), but I`ll nail it down by the Shimano model numbers when I get a chance. It`s got 7 speed thumbies, almost road sized Biopace rings, cassette hub, cantis on both ends, and a Tiawan sticker. I have to say about 1991, give or take a year. Anybody know when rear U-brakes went extinct for mtbs?



nbwallace said:


> Today on my way to work I witness not one but two guys riding (well one was waiting at an intersection) penny farthings.
> 
> "How do those idiots stop at intersections?"


How cool! If you`d been a little bit faster, you could have seen how they stop at intersections :lol:



BrianMc said:


> An aside: The so-called foot-down rule stems from a penny farthing rider riding circles at a railroad crossing then proceeding across after the near train passed, but not yielding for the one on the other track.


That`s cool too, Brian- thanks for the tidbit.



beachside said:


> Not really a commute, but, I'm an ocean lifeguard and I get to train on my bike at work. Since I have to be within a quarter mile of the tower, I've been doing daily 20 mile rides in a large parking lot. It's a LOT of large figure 8's and I do it on a Schwinn Crosscut. My average speed is 16.1 mph.


Whoa, that does sound like a lot of laps! I`m surprised you only have to stay within a quarter mile of the tower. When one lifeguard is off doing whatever, is there another right on the beach?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice find, Rodar

I don't see the yellow Rockhopper Comp either, but here's some old catalogs.
Specialized
They are in German so you may need to look up a few words, yellow is gelb.
Shameful that Specialized website "archives" start in 2003.

From some other chatter, it looks like the old Spec may actually have a serial # that starts with the year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hey neat, Xplorer. Thanks!
I was only able to check `90 before my computer froze up (it doesn`t like PDFs). No "gelb", I`ll check the other years at home. Mombat helped me narrow it down to 89 (first year for Shimano 7) through 92 (last year for thumbies). Did you know that there are a LOT of penguins masquerading as "yellow rockhoppers"?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A cold rain this morning, 41F when I left home. Decided to take the cross bike, mostly because the mtb and fatbike were all spiffy clean from working on them over the weekend, and I couldn’t bear to dirty them up so quick. The hill was not so bad with the double, I really shouldn’t avoid poor Irena because of it. Adidas booties with the clipless kept the feet warm. Gloves are soaked, glad I brought a spare pair. At the halfway point it got a bit sleety feeling on the face, and it had dropped to 35F upon arrival. I hope the weatherman is right, he thinks the rain should stop before this evening’s commute.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow I have some catching up to do! Nativeson, I have spent some time at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. Cool pics! You have an Ogre and a bike mechanic shop at your school, right? Good stuff. 

Rodar, I should have figured that your "new" ride would be "old". :lol: It's only a matter of time before you're out there on a pennyfarthing yourself. 

Good sunrise this morning! there were some deer hanging out in the lower left...couldn't get them to center themselves for my picture. :lol:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

nbwallace said:


> Friends,
> 
> Today on my way to work I witness not one but two guys riding (well one was waiting at an intersection) penny farthings.
> 
> ...


It's an obscure hipster thing, you wouldn't understand.:lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful shot, CB. 

p.s. Just remembered - I saw an un-eaten dead donut on the side of the road this mroning and thought of you.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If it was un-eaten, it wasn't dead. Microwave 10 seconds...good as new.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Homer-CB: Mmmm Roadkill donut! 

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> A cold rain this morning, 41F when I left home. Decided to take the cross bike, mostly because the mtb and fatbike were all spiffy clean from working on them over the weekend, and I couldn't bear to dirty them up so quick. The hill was not so bad with the double, I really shouldn't avoid poor Irena because of it. Adidas booties with the clipless kept the feet warm. Gloves are soaked, glad I brought a spare pair. At the halfway point it got a bit sleety feeling on the face, and it had dropped to 35F upon arrival. I hope the weatherman is right, he thinks the rain should stop before this evening's commute.


Wow, I had the complete opposite. It was about 41 when I went to bed and nearly 60 when I got up. I rode to work in shorts. The temp has dropped to 45 now.

CB, is that ice already?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

My Morning View. First Commute in over a week. Oh how i've missed you!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nice!



bedwards1000 said:


> CB, is that ice already?


Leftover snow from our random dumping last week... we got more than the Tahoe basin, which is 2000 feet higher, and usually gets the bigger impact from all of the storms we share. It was hovering right around freezing for this morning's ride...but nights have been low 20's, so the ice is sticking around, yes. Roads are clear though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes - and he's got those new Dillingers already! They're the new studded fatbike tires that are finally available. Mine should be here Friday. :thumbsup:

Bedwards, we had those 60's yesterday, they must've moved out towards you.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Anybody switch to a winter helmet or skip the helmet entirely when it gets cold?

Also, at roughly what temperature is it appropriate to switch to ski goggles?


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BrianMc, did you get any of that snow that rolled through Indiana yesterday? I had friends as far south as Bloomington talking about it. I was driving back to Texas when that stuff hit. I had ice building up on the front of my car from it, but I didn't see any more accumulation than a dusting.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath said:


> Anybody switch to a winter helmet or skip the helmet entirely when it gets cold?
> 
> Also, at roughly what temperature is it appropriate to switch to ski goggles?


I have a Smith brand snowboard helmet that I switch to somewhere around when it switches to regularly being in the 20's or lower... I still wear a 'clava or a thin beanie under the helmet, but it's definitely warmer... it's got ear flaps, and closeable vents. I looked it up once, and the snowboard helmets supposedly are rated for bigger impacts even than a typical bike helmet. Not really regulated though... so it's hard to say for sure.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Anybody switch to a winter helmet or skip the helmet entirely when it gets cold?
> 
> Also, at roughly what temperature is it appropriate to switch to ski goggles?


Yup I have a Old bell with ear flaps....still has the vents in the top....I switch to that one about mid September then add in the balaclava when it gets below -5C....

The googles go on somewhere between -15C and -20C...

Unless it is snowing really bad, or is very foggy....(the googles don't fog up).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Glad your guys got a weather break, Bedwards and Xplorer. It was looking like you were in it for the long count! Donut? One of these days i`m gonna find something worthwhile on the road  Maybe I can find a recipe featuring bungie cords. Yes, a penny farthing for me as soon as I find one that will take a triple- I`m not sure I could man up to even a double the way MtbX did. This morning warmed up slightly from the last few days, had 26F and no wind for my ride home. 1st pic, looking back at my plant. It isn`t on fire, just lit up and spews a lot of steam. 2nd, first light looking across the valley where I live. 3rd, the hip Hopper, impersonating Woodway`s Habanero. Hope the little boogers don`t gnaw through any spokes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice pics, Rodar. I can see why the triple is your friend from those surrounding mountains. The Rockhopper looks to be in great shape. On the way home I "remembered" why I neglect Irena (the cross with a double) - the last half mile is a steep huffer puffer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> 3rd, the hip Hopper, impersonating Woodway`s Habanero. Hope the little boogers don`t gnaw through any spokes.


Looks like a good chance to work on your bunnyhopping skills. That bike looks like a great deal.

Helmet: I wear my summer one all winter long with various skull caps under it. My head seems to be the only part of my body that doesn't get cold (nose excluded)

We've got a stretch of clear 45 degree day and 28 degree nights coming up.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Love the hip-hopper rodar, what a great find. Those are suicide bunnies practicing throwing themselves under the wheel. I'm convinced that's what bunnies live for.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Anybody here ever try a shower cap over the helmet? I guess its mostly for rain, but probably helps as an anti-draft measure also. I think I saw tape over BrianMc`s helmet vents for that purpose.



woodway said:


> I'm convinced that's what bunnies live for.


And gnawing off spokes. Maybe you should go with disc wheels.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Fine choice of tires on the Hopper, Rodar. Looks like a score.


I took the long way home yesterday... a little hesitant because of unknown snow conditions, but it worked out ok... I cleared the descent in the 2nd pic on the commute tires  It gets a little steep as it works down to the bottom of the canyon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Anybody here ever try a shower cap over the helmet?


Um, no. I'm not afraid of the fashion police, but I have my limits. I used to use a helmet cover quite a bit, but it was not helmet-light friendly. I use a regular helmet with various hats except for a couple of the coldest days.

Crisp and clear, 18F when I left, but zoomed up to 28 by the time I got to work. Back on the MTB and trails. The clean drivetrain, new disc pads, and new grips were a treat. I am convinced the silicone grips from ESI are warmer than rubber ones. Comfy too.

CB, that looks like quite a drop from where the bike is to down below. Nice going! The top one looks like a lovely trail.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

40's and above I just ride with my helmet on my head. 

30's and below I put a thin fleece cap on under my helmet.

Even in the rain, I have never seen the need to put something over the top of my helmet. My heads going to get all sweaty anyway and in the heaviest downpour I have never had an issue with water running down my back or anything like that.

We rarely get below freezing here. If I was riding in the temps that some of you guys are I might think about a helmet cover.

Great pics CB. It's usually tough to tell steepness from photos, but the way that trail just drops off really gives a good feel for the steepness. Nice work staying upright.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I also have a nice Showers Pass waterproof cap I sometimes wear under the helmet. It makes for a much cozier ride in a cold rain, sleet, wet snow. I used to just use a thin wool beanie and that was OK, but the capkeeps me warmer and drier.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If it's raining really hard, I'll wear the hood of my rain shell under the helmet. I don't like the feel of anything over the helmet, and the hood works well underneath.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> If it's raining really hard, I'll wear the hood of my rain shell under the helmet. I don't like the feel of anything over the helmet, and the hood works well underneath.


Hoodie, parka hood underneath, otherwise, beanies, toques, or balaclava depending on temps. All with the clear packing tape vent seal idea of Sheldon Brown's. That gets me into the low 40's by itself. Very light friendly and doesn't up the fashion police's actions over the untreated helmet. It is time for more tape again, I'm afraid.

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice pics, Rodar. I can see why the triple is your friend from those surrounding mountains. The Rockhopper looks to be in great shape. On the way home I "remembered" why I neglect Irena (the cross with a double) - the last half mile is a steep huffer puffer.


+1 I might consider a 26er like that one for that price.



rodar y rodar said:


> Anybody here ever try a shower cap over the helmet? I guess its mostly for rain, but probably helps as an anti-draft measure also. I think I saw tape over BrianMc`s helmet vents for that purpose.


It has a huge impact on the scalp temps! All credits go to the late Sheldon Brown. I don't include the plastic eagle "hood" ornament he favored. 


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

BrianMc

This is my retired helmet. The new helmet is easier to tape.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had to ride in a hard rain once . I had tried before to wear my jacket hood up with the helmet over it, but couldn`t figure out how to get it strapped around my chin that way, so that rainy day I left my helmet at work and rode home wtih just the hood. Is there a trick for strapping around a hood, or do you just let it all bunch up?

Wow, CB- that mudhill looks downright nasty . What "commute tires" do you mean? I hope you`re talking about the Nokians, and not the Schwalbes!



BrianMc said:


> +1 I might consider a 26er like that one for that price.


You`d love it! BTW, this bike was a good buy, but I`m still wetting my pants over the deal I got on my last CL Specialized:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/doh-i-gots-dilema-544959.html
I never posted the outcome of that one, but I confirmed that it was in fact an `88 model and I ended up selling it to my wife`s boss after all. I charged her what I had into it, which I think came to $129 including new chain, brake pads, two tires, and cable/housing for the RD.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I had to ride in a hard rain once . I had tried before to wear my jacket hood up with the helmet over it, but couldn`t figure out how to get it strapped around my chin that way, so that rainy day I left my helmet at work and rode home wtih just the hood. Is there a trick for strapping around a hood, or do you just let it all bunch up?


The hoodie only requires a chin strap adjustment. The parka requires the pads to be removed, but he hood is enough padding. I also have a big head. Literally as you guys keep the figurative one right-sized. 

BrianMc


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## beachside (Jun 19, 2012)

On and off rain here in Florida, but no complaints because it wasn't cold!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, CB- that mudhill looks downright nasty . What "commute tires" do you mean? I hope you`re talking about the Nokians, and not the Schwalbes!
> .


The Drifters. It was a wee bit sketchy


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Is the second pic part of the new Bizz single track? Top one looks like the Hobo Camp cutoff. I`m off the weekend after Thanksgiving, gonna try once more to talk my wife into a day on the river. Probably won`t do much swimming!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

This morning was a reason to celebrate. I just finished my first round trip commute in eight weeks, after having knee surgery. Rode home from work yesterday evening, it was 38 degrees. Had to leave work an hour and 15 minutes later than normal, so I got to watch the sunset and got home just before it was pitch dark. This morning it was 25 degrees and of course dark. I''l have some wardrobe adjustments to make and I'm not acclimated to the cold at all at this point, but overall it was a good shakedown run.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Welcome back!

I took off for this morning's commute and thought, "Boy it's cold for 24 degrees". When I got to work I realized I had skipped a layer.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

nemhed said:


> This morning was a reason to celebrate. I just finished my first round trip commute in eight weeks, after having knee surgery. Rode home from work yesterday evening, it was 38 degrees. Had to leave work an hour and 15 minutes later than normal, so I got to watch the sunset and got home just before it was pitch dark. This morning it was 25 degrees and of course dark. I''l have some wardrobe adjustments to make and I'm not acclimated to the cold at all at this point, but overall it was a good shakedown run.


What's the saying? Dress as if it's 10 degrees warmer (10F I assume) because that's what it'll feel like while riding? Good luck & stay safe


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

hunter006 said:


> What's the saying? Dress as if it's 10 degrees warmer (10F I assume) because that's what it'll feel like while riding? Good luck & stay safe


Or to put it another way: If you are cold at the trailhead, you'll be warm on the trail. If you are warm at the trailhead, you'll be too hot on the trail.

33 this morning when I left the house and I was cold for the first few minutes. Once I cranked up the first hill everything was warmed up and I was comfortable the rest of the way in.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I spend the first mile of every morning commute shouting at the world about how damn cold it is out here, then 2 miles after that convincing myself to not break out at least my rain coat for an extra layer. Oddly the evenings start out much better for me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Is the second pic part of the new Bizz single track? Top one looks like the Hobo Camp cutoff.


The second pic is the a connector that drops from the new singletrack down to the Bizz, maybe 1.5 miles up from Hobo... All of that stuff is on the shady side of the canyon and is really going to hold onto the snow. The top pic is Hobo, yes. :thumbsup:

We've been having WET cold around here, which is weird. Foggy patches this morning, and everything is frosty or at least moist. 32 and wet is colder than 25 and dry.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hey CB, what gearing are you running on the Ogre? On my 29er I'm 1x8 with a 32 up front, and with the studded tires I'm never in my top gear. Just wondering if you've still got big chainrings on there?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I'd also like to say that the space heater I've got running under my desk to warm up my chilly post-commute legs is possibly the best $25 I've spent in a very long time.


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## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

Train. Stopped on crossing. 30 minutes. Had to ride around to another crossing. 3 miles extra. Late. Love small towns.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> Hey CB, what gearing are you running on the Ogre? On my 29er I'm 1x8 with a 32 up front, and with the studded tires I'm never in my top gear. Just wondering if you've still got big chainrings on there?


Funny thing... 
On the front of the Ogre I have a traditional mountain triple... 44/32/22. I had a road double 50/34 on the old commuter, but the Ogre has always had the mountain gearing. 
On the rear, I have an 8 speed cassette. On the normal wheels I have a typical 11/32 rear cassette. I bought a new cassette to put on the wheels that I set up with the studs (set up a full wheelset with cassette/brake rotors for easy swapping)... only I somehow purchased a 12/26 rear cassette on accident. So I don't have the low range that I should probably have when I have the studs on. But with the triple up front, I have been fine. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've used the 22 tooth ring up front... I like the middle ring. I stand a lot when I'm climbing. My chain lives on the big ring for the normal commute, and the middle ring for climbs. The middle ring was plenty during the one storm I've been able to really use the studs, even with the 12/26 cassette.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I haven't hit the train crossing with a stopped train for awhile. and it's a big, busy one...a 5 track crossing with trains on their way to Houston. but just watch, I'll hit it soon enough. probably when I'm on my way to give my thesis defense knowing my luck.

but thankfully if it is blocked I don't have to go 3 miles extra to get around it. it's a very circuitous route, but maybe only a mile or two extra.

this morning was brisk. I think it's time for the full fingered gloves (not insulated, but better than the 3/4's I wear most of the time. the buff was necessary to keep my ears sheltered from the wind. did a good job without overheating.

it was my first bike commute in a couple of weeks. I was in Indiana last week, and the week before that I was working from home. the temps have gone down a good bit.


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## Dominic49 (Jul 7, 2005)

my first rain commute of the season and it was very refreshing. I also saw another commuter which is very rare in these parts.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

On the way home, about an hour after sunset, I experienced this weird feeling I sometimes get when it is dark. In places where the street lights were not too good for the bike path, it felt like I was really high above the ground. Strange...


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## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

perttime said:


> On the way home, about an hour after sunset, I experienced this weird feeling I sometimes get when it is dark. In places where the street lights were not too good for the bike path, it felt like I was really high above the ground. Strange...


Like this?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol:

Actually I know that feeling. I have a rail trail that I ride that has a couple of fairly long tunnels... one of them is really long. Long enough that you get into pitch black in the middle, with only that circle of daylight way up ahead to sort of point at. It's a weird sensation...might as well be pedaling through outer space. It's fun if you can get past the idea that you might hit something that someone left in the trail :lol:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Malibu412 said:


> Like this?


Not quite that high...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice to hear ftrom you, Pettime 
Hope all is till going well.

And welcome back, Nemhed!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Good things are happening for my commute. There's two really bad sections for me:

-3/4 mile stretch right near work that the has a lot of potholes and also has the most traffic of my whole commute, so it's hard to simultaneously dodge potholes and make sure I don't ride into traffic. They just finished repaving that whole area this week though. They also made the shoulders wider on a couple of the streets, so I have a much more comfortable and safe ride.

-A few hundred feet of large potholes on a narrow road with no shoulder and a fair amount of traffic in the afternoon/evening. My options are either ride in the middle of the street and piss off drivers or ride through the large potholes. My wife and I are closing on our new house on Nov 28. My commute will only be 1/10 mile longer but remove that whole crappy section.

The bad news is that we have a walk out basement in the townhouse we're in now, so I have set up a little bike workshop set up and I can bring my bikes in and out of the basement easily. At the new house, I'll either have to leave them all in the garage or bring them through the bulkhead or through the house and down the basement stairs.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Straz congrats on the new house. If possible you might want to look at a small shed for a workshop. I saw a thread on that sorta thing a week or so ago. If I can find it I'll throw a link for ya.

http://forums.mtbr.com/general-disc...hing-exist-819491.html?highlight=storage+shed

Found it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Charging, Charging, Charging, Charging*

On a good day I have 5 things hanging off my work computer getting ready for the next ride.

The commutes have been uneventful.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> At the new house, I'll either have to leave them all in the garage or bring them through the bulkhead or through the house and down the basement stairs.


A garage AND a basement??? Hog heaven, man!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Leaf me be. Doggie advises on leaf removal. A big sky view of one of the southernmost fingers of the Wisconsin glaciation (flatland). No pesky, pretty mountains blocking the view of the horizon, though wood lots do some. Riding buddy does some spinning and flashing headlight flashes stop sign. Almost home. Excerpts from a nice ride.

Doggie help etc - YouTube

BrianMc


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Who should have been on studs this morning? Who is retarded enough to ride Gatorskins on 19NOV in Stockholm?

<----This guy.

My skillz are strong, but, studs go on the bike tonight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ LOL. It's painful to be scared all the way knowing you have a solution right back at home.

Dropped my diesel spewing 2006 truck off at the shop and rode in. I'm averaging about 4-5 trips between repairs on a truck that looks and drives like new and only has about 25K miles on it. I think half of the steel in that truck is the same gauge as tin foil.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I made up for your Gatorskin misplanning, BBG. I rode back and forth on my studs from Thur through Sat- cold and bone dry after Sat night, then wet but well above freezing for the rest. I put a pair of Sport Contacts on for last night. Aaahh...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No studs needed on my commute this morning. But I should have thought about some sort of personal flotation device. It was wet, very, very wet.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

Today was just low visibility.... FOGGY. I kept thinking about how I need to get my fenderbot attached so I have more than one light out back and that I desperately want to get some use out of my dynamo and finally get a light for it (stupid $200 price tag on the E3). Oh well, I lived.... didn't even have any close calls, so it was good all around. Much warmer than friday too, I was frozen.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another crisp and clear commute. Frosty, but no studs needed yet, just a few iced over puddles that are easily avoidable. Rifle (deer) season through Sunday, but I have not heard a lot of gunfire on the commute. Bright colors are a must, though. Apparently they didn't help the guy at the roundabout who cut me off, though. He did not see me at all, even though I was in the middle of the lane.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

have been doing the barefoot/underwear commute lately.

I am in final edits stages of my master's thesis and I am working with rather large files (document will be over 200 pages when done, half of which will be high res maps and other figures). my office computer only has 2GB of RAM and is also crippled in the video department.

it's a damn shame, but my almost 5yr old desktop at home crushes it. quad core CPU, 100+ GPU's, 8GB system RAM, 512MB video RAM, 2TB+ HDD space, 28" widescreen monitor.

I can actually get my work done here instead of waiting half the day for my office computer to respond. I had IT look at it a bit ago to make sure nothing was "broken" and their assessment was that it's working as well as should be expected. Come on...throw a guy a bone. Can't ya give me a RAM upgrade?

I hate computers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Off this week.... Happy Thanksgiving you all


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Dalton said:


> Today was just low visibility.... FOGGY. .. I desperately want to get some use out of my dynamo and finally get a light for it (stupid $200 price tag on the E3).


*** A little cheaper: Philips LED dynamo lights for bicycles. A very good light.



mtbxplorer said:


> ... Bright colors are a must, though. Apparently they didn't help the guy at the roundabout who cut me off, though. He did not see me at all, even though I was in the middle of the lane.


*** You sure it was accidental? Hard to figure him missing you i the center of his line of sight. It's not like is weather for scantily clad pedestrians to turn his head.



CommuterBoy said:


> Off this week.... Happy Thanksgiving you all


+ a bunch. For the Canucks, belated (Columbus Day, here) Happy Thanksgiving.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> *** You sure it was accidental? Hard to figure him missing you i the center of his line of sight. It's not like is weather for scantily clad pedestrians to turn his head.


Well, it appeared that he had looked and saw the car ahead of me turn off the roundabout, assumed that it was the only vehicle to worry about and did not re-look for the bicycle that sped into the roundabout from the feeder hill. In other words, he was at the rotary before me, but I was able to enter it safely before him when that other car passed around, so I should have had the ROW, but he did not see anything after the other car turned off. It was like his brain said "GO" once the car left the rotary.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

BrianMc said:


> *** A little cheaper: Philips LED dynamo lights for bicycles. A very good light.
> 
> BrianMc


Thanks for the recommendation. I always forget about Peter White... I don't know why though. It also looks like they have the E3 that I want on sale right now at the same price as that Philips... :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Before you order check this review site out. A lot of good info to solidify or alter your choice.

Bicycle lighting, in particular LED headlamps (headlights) with cutoff, and (hub) dynamos

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A dynamo that fits non-disc rear hubs and not requiring a wheel build has a decent review:

Sunup eco DS: (spoke mounted) rear wheel generator

Avilable here:
Sunup Eco DS 1R Bicycle Spoke Dynamo Hub Dynamo Dynohub Alternative | eBay

Thought commuters should know of it. It would allow a twin generator system if one wanted to run daylight intensity tail lights with front dyno headlight.

BrianMc


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Much to my frustration, a cheapo pair of safety glasses I borrowed from work have proven much better at shielding my eyes from the cold air.

Also, I suspect this is my last bikecommute day before I have to hang up the helmet for the winter. I'm not overly intimidated by the snow, but I'm rather worried by how bad people are at driving in it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Peter White carries Phillps now? Ha! A friend just jumped through a bunch of hoops and paid out the wazoo for shipping to get one sent from a European distributor. He read about them in that same review and just HAD to have one.



Dalton said:


> Thanks for the recommendation. I always forget about Peter White... I don't know why though. It also looks like they have the E3 that I want on sale right now at the same price as that Philips... :thumbsup:


Oy! Talking dyno lighting in the US, how can you forget about Peter White? So you already bought the dyno? What did you get?



BrianMc said:


> A dynamo that fits non-disc rear hubs and not requiring a wheel build has a decent review:
> Sunup eco DS: (spoke mounted) rear wheel generator


I dunno. Almost 800g with the mounting hardware (over 10 oz more than the 3N80!) and it looks like you need to unbolt the arm in order to remove the wheel. If you don`t want to be confined to a single wheel, B&M bottle generators have been around long enough to get a mountain of decent reviews- sounds like less of a gamble to me.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

My commute into work was very pleasant with the exception of a little thing I like to call "Tuesday Morning Garbage Truck Hopscotch". Which typically is during a hectic, uphill section of my ride. Weather has been very pleasant this week compared to last. 44 degrees when I left this morning, high today will be close to 60 and dry!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Much to my frustration, a cheapo pair of safety glasses I borrowed from work have proven much better at shielding my eyes from the cold air.
> 
> Also, I suspect this is my last bikecommute day before I have to hang up the helmet for the winter. I'm not overly intimidated by the snow, but I'm rather worried by how bad people are at driving in it.


How did the saftey glasses do with the fogging issue you`ve been fighting?
Don`t forget to report back after the ice melts!



nemhed said:


> My commute into work was very pleasant with the exception of a little thing I like to call "Tuesday Morning Garbage Truck Hopscotch". Which typically is during a hectic, uphill section of my ride.


Never "been there", but I can see how it would be a PITA!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Much to my frustration, a cheapo pair of safety glasses I borrowed from work have proven much better at shielding my eyes from the cold air.
> 
> Also, I suspect this is my last bikecommute day before I have to hang up the helmet for the winter. I'm not overly intimidated by the snow, but I'm rather worried by how bad people are at driving in it.


I bought these: Pyramex I-Force Sporty Dual Pane Anti Fog Clear Lens Goggle and they are amazing. They eliminated my watering eyes and so far they haven't' fogged even a little. They convert between glasses, glasses w/strap & goggles.

Whatdayamean last bike commute? There'll be plenty of snow free commuting days left.

I had to take the truck today. I had too much running around to do to take the bike.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> How did the saftey glasses do with the fogging issue you`ve been fighting?
> Don`t forget to report back after the ice melts!


The only way I found to prevent fogging has been to move my neck gaiter down so my nose and upper cheeks are exposed while riding. I can't go without it completely as I have asthma and don't react well to breathing very cold air by mouth, but this lets air from my nose go away from my eyes, and if I hold my mouth properly I can keep the humidity from mouth-breathing away from my eyes as well.



bedwards1000 said:


> I bought these: Pyramex I-Force Sporty Dual Pane Anti Fog Clear Lens Goggle and they are amazing. They eliminated my watering eyes and so far they haven't' fogged even a little. They convert between glasses, glasses w/strap & goggles.
> 
> Whatdayamean last bike commute? There'll be plenty of snow free commuting days left.


I'll keep those in mind. I'm going to order DEWALT DPG82-11C Concealer Clear Anti-Fog Dual Mold Safety Goggle - Amazon.com after the holiday to see how they work (and because I need safety glasses anyways). I'm still going to need to solve this as I want to run through the winter, and running while snow is blowing into your eyes is just no fun.

Maybe I can keep on with the bike, I'll certainly try as long as it stays precipitation-free. It's supposed to snow/slush this coming weekend though. Once the first big snow hits I'm done for the season though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Just keep an eye open for the fashion police.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sanath said:


> Maybe I can keep on with the bike, I'll certainly try as long as it stays precipitation-free. It's supposed to snow/slush this coming weekend though. Once the first big snow hits I'm done for the season though.


I find that after two snow storms the drivers figure it out pretty well. I can agree that in some locations with poor snow removal the first big snow presents issues that are not soon resolved, sometimes not until spring. That can be the situation here. It depends on how much snow and how cold.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, it was dry this morning, a welcome change from the juicy soaking I got both ways yesterday. My rain gauge at home recorded almost four inches of rain from when the storm started on Sunday till late Monday night.

Climbing a hill towards my house last night, there was so much water coming down the hill that it really felt like I was in a boat heading upstream. A couple times I thought "it cannot rain any harder than this", only to have it start raining even harder.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oy! Talking dyno lighting in the US, how can you forget about Peter White? So you already bought the dyno? What did you get?


I know.... I'm dumb. I forget things. :madman:

I just got the Shimano Alfine and had a wheel built up by my local shop. Now I need to shell out the money for the light. I've never been real concerned with weight though, so I didn't look too hard for something lighter and better.



bedwards1000 said:


> I bought these: Pyramex I-Force Sporty Dual Pane Anti Fog Clear Lens Goggle and they are amazing. They eliminated my watering eyes and so far they haven't' fogged even a little. They convert between glasses, glasses w/strap & goggles.(


Thanks for posting those bedwards, I have been thinking about some goggles for the real cold weather and those look awesome. I think I'd pick up the amber ones since I am going to be commuting mostly in the dark pretty soon.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw a guy with two huskies hooked up to the front of his bike mushing along this morning. It was cool, but also kindof annoying since he was taking up the entire street. Not sure what the etiquette is, but I had to squeeze by on his right.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Not covered under any bike safety program I know of. Interesting. I wonder if a human plus two dogs takes him above the power cut off for mopeds and into motorcycle territory. 

BrianMc


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

Headed home. Driver blew stop sign. I had full lights and reflective strap on my torso. After grabbing a fist full of brakes and trying to avoid, I was wheel first into the front right fender, head over heels into a butt-first dukes of hazard slide across the hood with bike in tow. Fortunately, neiter myself nor the driver/passenger was injured. I tacoed my front wheel and busted my tail light. My week-old brooks is scratched a good bit and my shiny new ortlieb back roller is scuffed but ok. 

Overall, I'm really glad that thats all of the damage. I have no idea if I've compromised my fork or frame. The officer helped with the exchange of information and I should be hearing from her insurance company eventually. This is a first for me. I dont want to take advantage by claiming more than I have to, but I'd hate to be riding this frame down the line and find that there was a crack developing that I didnt notice. Father says claim more than less with her insurance. What have those of you who've been in this situation done?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, Vaultbrad, glad you are OK. I'm sure I wouldn't be feeling too good after that Dukes of Hazard maneuver. I don't have any personal experience, but definitely don't sign anything until you are 100% sure you are OK, even if their insurance company sends over a pretty woman with some forms. at a minimum, you should be able to get the bike evaluated at a shop for frame damage, etc., plus replacing your broken stuff.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

sorry, vault brad (and don't disregard MTBX above), but what was your score?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The commute was the best part of work today, I made the mistake of picking up the phone when I was not even supposed to be there yet, and it went haywire from there. On the way in I took a couple pix...some of the quarries are freezing over, and how does a beaver sleep at night with this tree still standing?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Argh! Nasty, Vaultbrad . I don`t know about the insurance thing either, but I have to agree with Xplorer that you should be sure your body is okay first (how do you feel, BTW?) and at least have a bike shop check out the frame. Guessing here, but I would THINK that in order to do any real damage to the frame, your fork would be obviously twisted, bent, or smooshed. What`s your bike and build like? Is it a nearly stock model usually sold as a complete bike, a piece by piece selection, or somewhere between?



Dalton said:


> I just got the Shimano Alfine and had a wheel built up by my local shop. Now I need to shell out the money for the light. I've never been real concerned with weight though, so I didn't look too hard for something lighter and better.


I`m sure you`ll be happy with the Alfine. I`m pretty sure the main workings are the same as in the 3N71 through 3N80, and the weight differences, which you say don`t much matter to you aren`t huge between them anyway. I don`t know how many miles I have on mine, but I`ve been using two Shimano dynos for about four years now (recently laced a third into a 20 inch rim) and love the whole idea! I am starting to wonder about the bearings, but still no signs of trouble. AFAIK, none of the common dynohubs have user serviceable bearings, so no way around that big question mark.



woodway said:


> My rain gauge at home recorded almost four inches of rain from when the storm started on Sunday till late Monday night.
> 
> Climbing a hill towards my house last night, there was so much water coming down the hill that it really felt like I was in a boat heading upstream.


 Speaking of wheel bearings...
Sounds like quite an adventure. Was it fun, or just an ordeal?

ANOTHER quarry? How many are their in your area? I have to think that Mr Beaver only manages to sleep by being sure that his bed is more than the tree`s height removed from that accident waiting to happen!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Glad to hear it was only the bike Vaultbrad! Seriously, get everything checked out, including yourself. Had incidents with the bike and car and in the "excitement" of the moment really didn't get much info. Cost me a bent crank with bruised up body on the bike and a jacked up rear suspension on the car. I was young, dumb, full of adrenaline and to fast to pass judgement and didn't get a dime from either. I know better now. Ain't moving til I get ALL the info. 

Makes my flat tire and walk of shame this morning pale in comparison. Broke my streak though at 48 days though which irked me. Oh we'll, new streak starts tomorrow!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ANOTHER quarry? How many are their in your area? I have to think that Mr Beaver only manages to sleep by being sure that his bed is more than the tree`s height removed from that accident waiting to happen!


Tons, I can't keep them straight. Each "pond" is a quarry, and all the white and gray stuff is either a grout pile or blocks stockpiled for further cutting or crushing. Only 1 is still operating, Rock of Ages. Good story - my friend's Dad, being a frugal Yankee, cut out the middleman and picked up his own tombstone there. Then decided to keep it in his truck all winter for extra traction! :eekster: Finally in the spring he called his sons to help him set in in place at the cemetery themselves.





View Larger MapDriving Directions


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woodway, funny, just recently I felt like I was biking upstream because of the waves coming down the hill, and wondered what that does to rolling resistance... and that was nowhere near 4" of rain. Hope you are drying out and not afloat.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

vaultbrad said:


> Headed home. Driver blew stop sign. ... Fortunately, neiter myself nor the driver/passenger was injured. I tacoed my front wheel and busted my tail light. My week-old brooks is scratched a good bit and my shiny new ortlieb back roller is scuffed but ok. Overall, I'm really glad that thats all of the damage. I have no idea if I've compromised my fork or frame. ... This is a first for me. I dont want to take advantage by claiming more than I have to, but I'd hate to be riding this frame down the line and find that there was a crack developing that I didnt notice. Father says claim more than less with her insurance. What have those of you who've been in this situation done?


In my case there was no question the frame was history. The bike was a standard model with upgraded cranks and Campy/Mavic wheels. A new exact replacement frame was $350 (1981) straight tube 531. A hand-built frame (double butted 531 built for someone of my measurements was $300. The insurance adjuster said I would end up with a better bike than I had. I had to point out I was not suing for the time I spent in the hospital being checked out for a back injury, the anguish of nearly being killed, my wife's distress at seeing the destroyed bike and hearing I was taken away by an ambulance. He signed the check. I left a lot on the table. Maybe I should have pushed for the new Cinelli hanging in the shop window? So make sure your body is fine, if the frame shows any damage, replace it. Use the 'you aren't suing for the stress' as leverage. Compared to having damaged your body in an obvious way, they are getting off cheap.



mtbxplorer said:


> The commute was the best part of work today, I made the mistake of picking up the phone when I was not even supposed to be there yet, and it went haywire from there. On the way in I took a couple pix...some of the quarries are freezing over, and how does a beaver sleep at night with this tree still standing?


I hate that phone-downhill day thing when it happens! :cryin:

The beaver is hoping winds overnight will save chewing the rest of the way. This apparently is common for them to leave the most of the way cut through. Saves the tree falling on them if they aren't there when it falls



mtbxplorer said:


> ... Good story - my friend's Dad, being a frugal Yankee, cut out the middleman and picked up his own tombstone there. Then decided to keep it in his truck all winter for extra traction! :eekster:


A tombstone as dead weight. Good idea.

BrianMc


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Vaultbrad, good luck sorting out the insurance, I'm glad everything else seems fine, besides the bike of course!

My morning commute was super foggy! It was a bit disturbing. I also didn't give my phone time to update this morning when I checked the weather. I thought it was 47 (it has been unseasonably warm, but not that warm), it actually was 37 degrees. So I was slightly under-dressed. Then when everyone else in my office showed up, they all gave me their opinion of riding in those conditions. Same thing my wife gave me.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Super foggy for me as well. First time I've ridden in such conditions. It was definitely a little unnerving but was an overall uneventful commute if a little damper than usual.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Muddy Mountain Bike Wednesday*



vaultbrad said:


> Headed home. Driver blew stop sign. I had full lights and reflective strap on my torso. After grabbing a fist full of brakes and trying to avoid, I was wheel first into the front right fender, head over heels into a butt-first dukes of hazard slide across the hood with bike in tow. Fortunately, neiter myself nor the driver/passenger was injured. I tacoed my front wheel and busted my tail light. My week-old brooks is scratched a good bit and my shiny new ortlieb back roller is scuffed but ok.
> 
> Overall, I'm really glad that thats all of the damage. I have no idea if I've compromised my fork or frame. The officer helped with the exchange of information and I should be hearing from her insurance company eventually. This is a first for me. I dont want to take advantage by claiming more than I have to, but I'd hate to be riding this frame down the line and find that there was a crack developing that I didnt notice. Father says claim more than less with her insurance. What have those of you who've been in this situation done?


Add me to the list of people that are glad you are OK. Don't be afraid to go for anything and everything you can from the insurance company. That's what they are there for. I'm not advocating fraud but it was your bike that got crunched, your azz that slid across the hood, your time that got taken up, your body that's going to be sore... all because their client blew through a stop sign. Make sure to go for a new helmet too, EVERYBODY knows you never use the same helmet after a crash.

That said, I crashed today but I'm not going to replace my helmet. It was more of a low speed front wheel washout on some very slippery mud. Right next to my work. The next thing to hit the mud was my right side...all of it... sticky, clay like mud. I hate showing up at work a muck ball.

MTBX, those quarries look like great riding spots. How many of them have trail systems? I've always lived swimming in quarries, somehow it just feels different than swimming in rivers and lakes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MrMatson said:


> Super foggy for me as well. First time I've ridden in such conditions. It was definitely a little unnerving but was an overall uneventful commute if a little damper than usual.


Every time I ride in conditions like that I think getting a brighter rear light...My second Solas should be arriving today. One flasher for he helmet, One solid for the bike.

Speaking of flashing lights. I realized about a mile into the woods today that I should have been wearing my hunter orange. I convinced myself that most deer Don't have flashing lights and headlights on their head and most don't' ride bikes. The two deer I saw this morning had neither.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

Thanks guys. I'm certainly psyched that my bike took the worst of it and nobody was hurt, perhaps scared as I can be fairly frightening when I get angry, especially to a little college freshman, but otherwise unhurt.

I just spoke with my insurance provider and they instructed me to go ahead and contact her insurance company to file a claim. This is all a new experience for me that I would not like to have to do again. I'll let you all know how it goes.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

And a new helmet is on the list.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Raining again this morning. Sideways rain too, with the headwind 

MTBX, I have often wondered the same thing although the hill I was climbing at the time is 6% to 9% grade so rolling resistance due to water was the smallest part of the overall resistance equation 

vaultbrad, some good advice above. Don't be in a hurry to accept their settlement...time is on your side. And sometimes it takes a little time for injuries to show up. Absolutely take your bike to a good shop and have them completely check it over. Good luck!

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating the holiday!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Not bad this morning -12 C with light freezing rain????

A front pushing warm air from the Pacific through Montana is backing up against the cold air coming down across the mountains.

Anyway 4 to 8 inches of snow then cold....

I am getting tired of this weather pattern....it makes everything feel cold and dark...

I am actually ready for a good old artic high....or a chinook of course, anything with blue sky.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Just updating my spreadsheet and realized that I crossed 6000 commute miles for the year this morning. Will soon pass my 2011 record of 6055 commute miles for a year.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> I am getting tired of this weather pattern....it makes everything feel cold and dark...I am actually ready for a good old artic high....or a chinook of course, anything with blue sky.


Try the Cleveland Ohio area with less than 75 sunny days a year! Been there. Done that.

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> Just updating my spreadsheet and realized that I crossed 6000 commute miles for the year this morning. Will soon pass my 2011 record of 6055 commute miles for a year.


Nice! I have a long way to go to compete with that!

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Totally cool, Woodway 

Swimming in quarries looks like a ton of fun. I guess a lot of them don`t have a way to swim or walk out though- probably a really good idea not to fly in if you aren`t positive there`s a flight-free exit.

No commute for me today, thank God. The wind is HOWLING. I trudged out to my shed (with eyes squinted against the blowing dirt) to get a set of allen wrenches and must have forgotten to squint my mouth because now I have grit in my teeth. I`m taking my last vacation day of the year tonight and a "request off" for tomorrow, so two days for the wind to stop.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

vaultbrad said:


> Thanks guys. I'm certainly psyched that my bike took the worst of it and nobody was hurt, perhaps scared as I can be fairly frightening when I get angry, especially to a little college freshman, but otherwise unhurt.
> 
> I just spoke with my insurance provider and they instructed me to go ahead and contact her insurance company to file a claim. This is all a new experience for me that I would not like to have to do again. I'll let you all know how it goes.


Given I was in the same situation a while back, here's my advice:
1) Read this: What I learned after getting hit by a car while cycling | DC Rainmaker
2) Do not minimize the injuries sustained, no matter how minor they are. I thought I would be ok after a few weeks, but I still only have 70% strength in my right arm over my left. That was from a car v. bike in July 2009. I thought it would get better, but it didn't. 
3) Insist on new for old, regardless of age or damage. If they push back, remind them that they're dealing with a bicycle, not a MV Augusta or limited edition Harley Davidson. Also include that standard "pain and suffering" measures would easily cover the cost of the bicycle for the inconvenience their client had caused you... even if it's a high end Trek Madrone.
4) Record everything and let us know how it goes. I normally recommend getting a lawyer too, but that's personal opinion - insurance companies like to bury you in paperwork and lawyers act as an intermediary.
5) Lots and lots of photos. Insurance companies love photos.

It also helps to have a bike mechanic in your pocket to recommend that the frame be written off, but a good mechanic will do that regardless - I usually ask them to sign a paper stating, "While there is no visible external damage, due to the stresses and fatigue induced in the frame as a result of being hit by a car, this bike cannot be deemed safe to ride." The mechanic isn't saying that it's broken, just that the frame's life has been compromised as a result of the collision and that the lifetime of the bike has been shortened.

The significance of this is highlighted by two stories, one old, one new: A few years back a friend of mine T-boned a car. He did exactly as I mentioned previously right down to the lawyer, got a payout, but continued to ride the bike. A few months later the join on the downtube and headtube began to separate with a visible crack, even though at the time of the accident it appeared fine because paint was covering it. In addition to this, when I was in Recycled Cycles last week getting fenders fitted to the Ogre, they brought in a CF bike that had a bulge in it on the downtube, barely perceptible if not for a miniscule crack in the paint job, as a result of T-Boning a car.


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## djork (Nov 8, 2004)

I work every other Saturday from 9-6, and today was a scheduled day. I like weekend commutes because traffic is so much different in a good way--fewer cars and no morning or evening rush. Well, I woke up late this morning and didn't have enough time to ride. Grrrr. Was such a beautiful day. But I learned that Performance Bikes is having a 20% off this weekend so I stopped by one near work and picked up a Planet Bikes 26" Hardcore fender set for my SS commuter. So the car came in use


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

hunter006 said:


> 3) Insist on new for old, regardless of age or damage. If they push back, remind them that they're dealing with a bicycle, not a MV Augusta or limited edition Harley Davidson. Also include that standard "pain and suffering" measures would easily cover the cost of the bicycle for the inconvenience their client had caused you... even if it's a high end Trek Madrone.


The same thing I learned. I should have specified the new Cinelli. On main reason I didn't was the theft magnet it would be on campus. When pain and suffering is thrown into the mix they take the cheap way out fast.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

nemhed said:


> "Tuesday Morning Garbage Truck Hopscotch".


:lol: :lol: :thumbsup: That's my Wednesday. except I'm so rural that it turns into a race... he stops every quarter mile or so, and I'm trying to beat him to town. If I see a can knocked over I know that will buy me some extra time since he has to get out of the truck.

vaultbrad... (appropriate name by the way) Glad you're OK... the only insurance road I've been down is with a vehicle...the best advice is to remember that they are in the business of making everything EXACTLY like it was before you crashed. I would have no qualms pushing for a new frame/fork/whatever else you're wondering about. It's a tiny pay-out for them compared to a vehicle/vehicle accident.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Mountain Bike Monday*

Back to the grind after 4 glorious days off from work. At 16 degrees the trails were all frozen so mud wasn't an issue.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Pretty. Not that cold here, about 22F, but a li'l bit of snow yesterday and today. 
My pics are not wanting to upload.:smallviolin:


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## peter19ue (Nov 20, 2012)

pretty cool


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pix now working...
In case you need any flannel for holiday gifts...


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Drove today. Caught myself staring longingly at the trailhead as I drove past it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ You're beginning to look a lot like Christmas, mtbxplorer! A neon green triangle on the back? Needs some green. 

48 F humid and light winds. Felt like 32. Time to tape the helmet and booties for the shoes. 

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I dropped the MTB at the shop today to have the shocks rebuilt. Got a call later that my rear shock had a blown rebound damper . Maybe I ride it too hard? Nah. They have to send it out to Fox for a rebuild. I've got to drive a few days this week anyway. I might have another bike available for the other days.

Those quarries look a little hard for swimming.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

0 degrees, fat, dumb and happy = great beardcicle weather!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Those quarries look a little hard for swimming.


That's the one my friend's lab jumped/fell into! Somehow he scrambled out on the first try. That one is also unappealing, because it's name, the Black Lagoon, is exactly what the water looks like. Some others have clear to blue-green water. Only one has semi-sanctioned swimming, it's allowed to continue as it's historically been used for swimming and has easier access. Sadly, shoes are needed because of the broken glass. One of the deepest/largest ones has good access at one spot and I was tempted to swim or even kayak there, but did not rally any troops to make me braver.

Zero already Jordy? Yikes! Nice (b)icilcles.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, man. It`s been really nice here, which is... nice, of course, but looking at everybody else`s oncomming winters makes me think we`re missing ours again. We had a few attempts at snow and a little bit of rain, giving me hopes, but in general, it isn`t looking good. PLEASE some good storms this year!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> 0 degrees, fat, dumb and happy = great beardcicle weather!


Amen Brother. Walked into the office and had to break them off. Ever notice how when you build up a good set of beardcicles your face stays quite warm? Best balaclava there is!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> That's the one my friend's lab jumped/fell into! Somehow he scrambled out on the first try. That one is also unappealing, because it's name, the Black Lagoon, is exactly what the water looks like. Some others have clear to blue-green water. Only one has semi-sanctioned swimming, it's allowed to continue as it's historically been used for swimming and has easier access. Sadly, shoes are needed because of the broken glass. One of the deepest/largest ones has good access at one spot and I was tempted to swim or even kayak there, but did not rally any troops to make me braver.
> 
> Zero already Jordy? Yikes! Nice (b)icilcles.


 I actually meant the surface of the water looked hard but swimming in black water doesn't sound fun. I like the clear blue green ones. It must be something about the hard water that makes them feel different. Unfortunately, it's been a while for me too.

I took the commuter through the mountain bike trails today. I can't believe I use to ride that rigid beast for all of my mountain biking. It's barbaric! 19 degrees and 4 deer on the commute.


----------



## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

32F, downright balmy by most standards from what I can see on this thread. A little ice forming on the roads here and there, and all of a sudden there's a flurry of emails at work asking what people do when there's ice on the road. I wish it were snowing already.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Black ice turned the interstate into a skating rink and then a parking lot yesterday morning, a good day to be on the bike.

_Miller figured he dispatched troopers to at least 20 crashes on Interstate 89 in Chittenden County. "I had five to seven rollovers, and multiple other ones," Miller said. "Hit guard rails, hit the rocks. They just kept going off the roads."
_

Flurries persisting today, but no additional accumulation. The fatbike's been fun, haven't added the new studded tires yet because I'm bringing it to the beach this weekend.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's barbaric!


Impossible. 
I can see a chrome headset


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm seeing some odd deer behavior this week... must be what hunters call 'the rut'. The fellas are chasing the ladies around with their heads down, acting really aggressive, and they don't seem to care about the guy approaching on the bike :lol: Bucks that would normally bound over the fence to get further away are standing their ground. 

...and frosty fenceposts this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You win the photo contest! Be careful not to look like a lady deer.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

I'm in the 20's on the morning and only 30's in the afternoon and almost to the dark on both commutes stage of winter. Not a big fan. I need some better boots and since there is no such thing as the right glove, I think that pogies are the way to go. I just need to find out if my mother (she knows how to sew) can make some or if I need to buy them. Money money money regardless.... stupid winter. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> You win the photo contest! Be careful not to look like a lady deer.


+1, yes the clear winner. And the lady deer thing sounds like good advice too.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Yeah finally got back on the bike this morning after a couple weeks of due to work schedule issues.
Working 4-10s again with Mondays off so headed to work at 6:45am and will be headed home at 6pm so going to be dark on both ends, YEAH!?

Got to really get some better gloves and another balaclava, 21* this morning going in and only my riding gloves on and f#$! did my fingers freeze. Looks like we are going to have a decent winter this year so going to really need some good stuff for the cold weather!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woo Hoo! Is there a prize for the foto contest? Some handlebar antlers maybe, so I don't look like a lady deer?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I don't recommend those add-on antlers unless hunting season is over.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Is that why all those lady deer were running away from me? I looked like a rutting male. I just heard that my mountain bike will be out of commission for A MONTH:madmax: while they send the shock out to Fox! I may have to buy another bike to hold me over.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^My most excellent shop loaned me a fork (& installed it) while mine was at Marzocchi (and then had to be re-sent back before re-installation due to a rattle).


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*hmmph...this is winter?*

Now that I've jinxed myself... It's been beautiful. We had one episode of wintery weather and I was out of town for it. Roads: clear. Skies: clear blue. Wind: not much. Temps: 25-32F in the AM, 55-60 in PM. Ordering a new light though as it's getting dark quicker so that if I ride an extra bit to stretch it's near dark when I get home. Also getting some studded tires this week too...not that I'm needing them at the moment. 

Luckily, the long term NOAA forecast was for wamer and drier than normal for the SW this year, but I'm hoping for a couple of good storms. What's the point of living in the mountains if you never see snow? Considering the weather where I came from (Portland, OR), I'm again, a very lucky bike commuter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Full moon ride home...but it sneaked behind a cloud while I got out the camera.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> You win the photo contest! Be careful not to look like a lady deer.


Oh, but what a photo op THAT could be! Talk about commute porn :lol:



gregnash said:


> Looks like we are going to have a decent winter this year so going to really need some good stuff for the cold weather!


Sounds like you`re more optomistic than I am, Greg. I did catch on the weather report (from a Sacamento radio station) that a big rain storm is expected in northern central valleys over the next few days, so maybe we`ll get some left overs.


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## Patrick1677 (Nov 22, 2012)

Way to hot here in melb today so commute was not as enjoyable


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I am in Asia on business and I ran across this little beauty. How would you like to commute on this?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lovely morning, 25F & getting sunny had me waxing poetic

The doe
disappears
in the trees
but I hear 
her hooves
rustle the
frozen leaves
*** ****

A narrowing ribbon
Of safe snow
Between two icy stripes
Where the trail is shared with a
Mile long downhill driveway
Makes for an exciting ride


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was about 10 degrees warmer this morning than it was when I went to bed, odd. Light snow. All you guys complaining about the lack of winter should realize that it is still only fall. We've got months to get tired of the cold and snow.

I brought my bike in for fix.
It had not one problem but six.
I hope I remember .
For the month of December.
What it's like to ride in the sticks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The day before a storm comes in,
the sunrises always get better.
Enjoy it now, because looking tomorrow
will only make you get wetter.

Deer in a field, a daily event
not worthy of pausing for looks.
But maybe you live in places without 'em
or only have seen them in books.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good job, all you Commuter Laureates!

CB, each of your sunrise pics seem to top the previous, but I think you have a unique one with the California moose in your second pic this morning.

Bedwards, all "us guys" complaining about not having to shovel snow pretty much just amounts to RyR 
Yeah, hopefully later on we`ll get some. Feb is our traditional snow month anyway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Damn CB you are cranking out the glorious pics.

I glide far and wide astride my ride, my pride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rubber on macadam
the arc of my pedals
avoiding the cracks and that
sharp hunk of metal

Rubber on hardpack
the squeal of my chain
pulling the bars back
to unweight again

Rubber in mud
...ah, sh1t


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

No sunrise pics here. 

Glad for the ones shared.

But verse? I converse.

Riding a bike's so kinetic
In morion it is so poetic
I 've no rhyme or reason
To ride any season
Though my pace is far from frenetic

On the road I like to meander
At new things to take me a gander
Though I don't fly on past
I'm having a blast
Speedier than the spotted salamander

The use of the iPhone app seems to have slowed me down!  It doesn't handle non complete stops at lights well. And has no rounding errors.  Regaining lost ground though. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Not half bad, all.  Same as my self-timer shot this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> No sunrise pics here.
> 
> On the road I like to meander
> At new things to take me a gander
> ...


I tried to +rep you on that one but even after handing it out "rep-hoeing" I still get the need to pass it around message when I try to give it to somebody here.

I'm seriously getting the n+1 itch while my bike is in the shop. Things like "I don't own a FS 9er" are going through my head. As well as "If you buy a 29er you're going to need another set of studded tires" IT'S A CURSE I TELL YOU!


----------



## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> I am in Asia on business and I ran across this little beauty. How would you like to commute on this?


That's awesome. Nice trunk space.



BrianMc said:


> On the road I like to meander
> At new things to take me a gander
> Though I don't fly on past
> I'm having a blast
> Speedier than the spotted salamander


:lol: Winner.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Rough week

Stomach flu hit Sunday night, rode in Monday and back...

Tuesday got up felt dizzy, rode in but it took me twice as long that hurt...had to call the wife for the ride home...

Finally feeling better today.


Pedal pedal pedal
The rhthym of the riding
Makes it feel like I'm gliding.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ What about your "above the neck/below the neck" rule? :lol: 

The call of the bike was just too strong, wasn't it? I've been there.. 

I'm fighting a head cold this week. Epic snot rockets and moving slow, but nothing in the chest/torso. No fun.


----------



## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ What about your "above the neck/below the neck" rule? :lol:
> 
> The call of the bike was just too strong, wasn't it? I've been there..
> 
> I'm fighting a head cold this week. Epic snot rockets and moving slow, but nothing in the chest/torso. No fun.


Should'a followed the rule.


----------



## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

Chilly this morning. 18 degrees, and all of my proper gloves were in my office. So i had to wear full-fingered summer MTB gloves. Brrrrr...


----------



## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I had sorta the opposite problem. It was 34F this morning and I couldn't find any of my long-fingered gloves. I didn't have time to dig around looking for them so I drove after I exhausted what available time I had. I wasn't about to ride in near-freezing temps with cutoff gloves.

I wish I knew where my full-fingered bike gloves are that would work well in this temp range. Of course, now it's bright, sunny, and 70ish.


----------



## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Smoky...*

Guess they're doing controlled burns on the reservation this week. Freaked me out as the plume looked like my house was on fire (from a distance). Now everything smells like I've been camping.



I did touch it up a tad though. Makes up for the shortcomings of my cell phone camera.


----------



## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Pretty, but no fun to breathe. 

Hope everyone who's been under the weather feels better soon. That means you too BEdwards, n+1 disease is very serious.


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Not cold, but at least it`s wet. And windy. The Christmas paper that my wife taped up to the front door is in soggy tatters- I guess I`d better go pull it down before it escapes into the wild dark yonder. Keep thinking that one ofthese years she`s going to figure out what wind does, but so far no luck.

So, will we get a ride report from Hong Kong after Woodway gets back from exploring the town on his loaner rod braked beastie? Hope it measures up with the Barcelona edition 

Good on ya for braving it with chopped gloves, JChasse! I bet you remember to bring your good gloves home today!



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm seriously getting the n+1 itch while my bike is in the shop. Things like "I don't own a FS 9er" are going through my head.


9er, schmiener. Go fat!



CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ What about your "above the neck/below the neck" rule?


Whoa, easy there, cowboy! Lack of boogerchest makes you ornery :lol:



Spatialized said:


> Guess they're doing controlled burns on the reservation this week. Freaked me out as the plume looked like my house was on fire (from a distance). Now everything smells like I've been camping.


I love the smell of pee`d out campfire in the morning.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

SNOW !!!

And yup I got my DIY studded tires out again


----------



## Flynnster (Aug 19, 2009)

I'll be commuting tomorrow for the first time in about two months, had a free train pass for school, and didn't have anywhere to store my bike. 

It should be a brisk 30 F so we'll see how it goes, hopefully winds along Lake Michigan aren't too terrible. 

Then I have a new commuter arriving tomorrow night after I get home from work!


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## mrbigisbudgood (Apr 4, 2011)

Had rain and JUST above freezing for a few days in a row. Turned to super wet snow last night and there is 10cm on the ground. It's pretty, but super sloppy under the white stuff. Yeah, my ride in took a bit longer today.


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## Xtyling (Apr 21, 2011)

Manila, Philippines
Perfect weather today.
I usually bike to work everyday but had a small detour today.
Had to bring my SUV to the dealer for 100k maintenance work.
Packed my bike and drove to the dealer, then left my SUV and biked to work.
I'll be riding back to the dealer when I get off work at 5:00pm.
I love commuting!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mrbigisbudgood said:


> Had rain and JUST above freezing for a few days in a row. Turned to super wet snow last night and there is 10cm on the ground. It's pretty, but super sloppy under the white stuff. Yeah, my ride in took a bit longer today.


I have to say, the tourism department must be crying [ :cryin:"It's that mrbigisbudgood again":cryin: ] if they read your posts - the weather there sounds downright miserable. Hang in there and stay safe.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice pic Spatialized


mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Pretty, but no fun to breathe.
> 
> Hope everyone who's been under the weather feels better soon. That means you too BEdwards, n+1 disease is very serious.


Yes, psychiatric help is expensive.


rodar y rodar said:


> ...9er, schmiener. Go fat!...


I do see your point, so what you are saying is n+2 or n+1+1. I'm grumpy because I was just starting to enjoy my woods commutes again now that the ground is frozen. We'll see how the battle between rational and irrational plays out.


mrbigisbudgood said:


> Had rain and JUST above freezing for a few days in a row. Turned to super wet snow last night and there is 10cm on the ground. It's pretty, but super sloppy under the white stuff. Yeah, my ride in took a bit longer today.


By far the worst. Snow bounces off and warm rain is tolerable...

19 degrees for this morning's commute - at least that's what it said on my truck thermometer. :lol: Had to drive for an after work appointment.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Got in more than half of the action today...
Going by yet another quarry.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ The cyclist self portraits are pretty cool. And I am not referring to the snow. 

Looked up the record of recent rides on the phone and discovered that when I push the last downhill and run up to the next hill I have been speeding at 10 over for a section of road. Almost fast enough to keep up with cars. Definitely faster than the proverbial spotted salamander.  That explains seeing the pulse coming down from somewhere north of 175 on the climb out, more than 10 maybe 15 over my max if it hot 180. Recovering nicely. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nice! 

It was dumping rain for my ride home yesterday. Still loving the fender extender. The rain let up for my ride this morning... but here's the national weather service outlook for me and Rodar:

A POWERFUL WINTER STORM WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION TODAY AND
TONIGHT...BRINGING HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND HEAVY WET SNOW TO THE
HIGH SIERRA...AND STRONG WINDS TO WESTERN NEVADA. PLEASE REFER TO
THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS IN THE SIERRA...AND TO THE HIGH WIND WARNING AND
WIND ADVISORIES FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE STRONG WINDS.

VERY HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE FRIDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY. MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING IS POSSIBLE SUNDAY
THROUGH TUESDAY ON AREA RIVERS DUE TO THE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL
EXPECTED OVER THE WEEKEND. ANOTHER...WEAKER...SYSTEM WILL MOVE
INTO THE REGION BY WEDNESDAY BRINGING ANOTHER CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yesterday we had a severe snowfall warning for a foot of snow, but ended up with less than an inch. Hopefully you guys luck out too.

Our roads have turned to skating rinks over the past few weeks though, so even the little bit of snow that we got really screwed up the drivers. I, however, was once again impressed at how much my winterbike kicks ass.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ yesterday we had a severe snowfall warning for a foot of snow, but ended up with less than an inch. Hopefully you guys luck out too.
> 
> Our roads have turned to skating rinks over the past few weeks though, so even the little bit of snow that we got really screwed up the drivers. I, however, was once again impressed at how much my winterbike kicks ass.


We got about an inch of light Alberta powder....great for skiing....-17C at the river bottom...-14C at the airport.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this AM, but cold in Anchorage. -7 by my house thermometer. Another day to be thankful for the beardcycles - best insulation ever.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Yup CommuterBoy I got the same report this morning. I had an offsite meeting and the company does not like the idea of me dragging the company computer around in my backpack so had to drive yesterday. Was all excited to ride this morning only to walk out the front door to see what the weather was like (report said a nice 40*) only to promptly get smacked in the face by our screen door as the wind slammed it shut on my nose. 

So it was back to the ironing board for clothes to drive in and then I get to work and NO WIND.. BASTARDS!! but it has picked up again and supposed to be 20+mph winds tonight on my 10hr shift.. Oh well, maybe next week.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I didn`t check the temps tonight, but it was WAY warmer than Anchorage, Calgary or Edmunton! The wind gave me a rough time, though. Besides gusting, it kept changing direction, so I was riding quite a drunken line. And still cloudy, but I don`t think it rained at all today. Maybe later tonight. Waiting for CB`s morning report- hope you get some white. Greg, it sounds like you were looking forward to riding in the wind?


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Excellent commute this morning, got green lights at both major intersections and made it to work a whole 2 minutes faster than usual; temperature was nearly 40F and the wind was negligible, it'd be nice if it were always those conditions.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No ride in this morning as I’m leaving from work for the weekend by car. I found it feels a lot colder out at 25F when you are trying to tie a ladder to the roof than when you are pedaling. It snowed hard on the way home last night, it was blinding on the downhills (forgot my glasses so I had to blink constantly) and had accumulated a couple inches by the time I got home. This morning I was surprised that there was 4-5”.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Seriously rainy in these parts. I was blown away at how much every creek, ditch, and gully swelled up overnight. I have this one little bridge I ride over where the creek is usually maybe 10 feet down below the road, and it was up to within a foot of the bottom of the bridge this morning... scared the heck out of me because I didn't see it until I was riding across, and then there's raging water RIGHT THERE. :lol: Major rain...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I was hoping yours wouldn`t be so wet. Snow level around 7k though, so not likely.
We`ve had moderate but consistant rain since about 2 AM, winds a bit calmer now.

Have a nice weekend, MtbX.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah, no hope of snow for me with this one...warm storm. It rained like the proverbial 'cow pissing on a flat rock' all night at my place. It's awesome because we need it, but they're predicting the river to be at "flood stage" by Sunday. It's always either too much or not enough :lol:


----------



## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Yeah not so much looking to riding in the wind.. As long as it is one direction I dont mind it but it was all over the place yesterday when I went for my state mandated 15 minute break walk, that I dont like.

Yeah we have plenty of flood warnings over here from all the rain. Was surprised at how much rain we have gotten so far this year and the fact that it is not supposed to let up all weekend, should make for an interesting weekend.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Anchorage is still cold, and with little snow... -5 at home, +5 at work, makes for a fun fat bike commute to work! Fun fact, Chicken, Alaska was the first AK city of winter '12 to hit -50 yesterday! I'd like some snow now please! At least by holiday!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Funner fact: There's a Chicken, Alaska :lol:


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Well looks like round two is on the way!!
Reno/Sparks and surrounding areas have been issued a state of emergency due to the imminent rain and wind storms.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Funner fact: There's a Chicken, Alaska :lol:


Chicken, Alaska - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



> Chicken was settled by gold miners in the late 1800s and in 1902 the local post office was established requiring a community name. *Due to the prevalence of ptarmigan in the area that name was suggested as the official name for the new community.* However, the spelling could not be agreed on and *Chicken was used to avoid embarrassment.*


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Last ride for a bit. Went greet except for the fifth to the last turn. Looks like I hit some loose flint coat some vehicle deposited in the near tire path near the apex of the turn. That slid the back out and me into more flint cote and the bike slid to the left, at the point where I was out of the corner going straight. No warning. Bent my glasses shoved a lens into my eyelid, cut me deeply and bruised my face. Left a pool of blood in the helmet and on the pavement. One way to lose weight, I guess. i ride that corner all the time for years, no issues. Knocked me out. 

With one eye working and morphine. I'll be back when I am back. I may not be able to answer. Spare pair of glasses are the old prescription and the right eye it swollen shut. Lucky. An empty dump truck could have rolled over my head. 

Cost me my jacket, three light under layers, (two silk), two silk and one manmade leggings, and a helmet. Well my Santa now has a list. 

Flint coat sux.

BrianMc - still with a brain, still Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin) and not typing too well.


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## Dictatorsaurus (Sep 11, 2009)

I have an office job where I wear a dress pants and shirt. I want to start commuting to work a few days a week.

Since I will be wearing riding clothing while I'm on the bike, how do you suggest I take my work clothes with me? backpack ? commuter rack? i will be using my road bike. please include links to what I could use.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Bent my glasses shoved a lens into my eyelid, cut me deeply and bruised my face. Left a pool of blood in the helmet and on the pavement. Knocked me out.
> 
> With one eye working and morphine. I'll be back when I am back.


Whoa! That was some crash . Check in when you can and heal well.

A backpack is the simplest and cheapest way to carry stuff. I find them uncomfortable to ride with, but some actually prefer that way. If you decide for panniers or a trunk rack, there`s some cash involved, but more comfortable IMO- it`s up to you. Also, a lot of people who have to wear nice clothes to work drive in with a week`s worth and ride in until they run out of clothes. If that`s an option for you, you won`t have to worry about wrinking stuff.

Minus 50! Good God, that`s obscene!


----------



## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Last ride for a bit. Went greet except for the fifth to the last turn. Looks like I hit some loose flint coat some vehicle deposited in the near tire path near the apex of the turn. That slid the back out and me into more flint cote and the bike slid to the left, at the point where I was out of the corner going straight. No warning. Bent my glasses shoved a lens into my eyelid, cut me deeply and bruised my face. Left a pool of blood in the helmet and on the pavement. One way to lose weight, I guess. i ride that corner all the time for years, no issues. Knocked me out.
> 
> With one eye working and morphine. I'll be back when I am back. I may not be able to answer. Spare pair of glasses are the old prescription and the right eye it swollen shut. Lucky. An empty dump truck could have rolled over my head.
> 
> ...


Bad one! I'm not even sure what flint coat is but I'm going to try to avoid it. Sounds like you are going to be stiff for a while. Get well soon.


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pretty good commute tonight after several days of wind and weirdness (rain is weird for us). I didn`t loose anything to the wind, actually gained a couple rougue recycling pickup baskets . There`s definitely no shortage of mud in my yard, but apparently the flooding that was expected didn`t turn out as bad as it looked like- snow level dropped low enough to keep it in check. Tonight was cooling off, clear skies, and just a little breeze.

Tonight is my last weekend shift for the forseeable future, back to five day weeks for a while, then on to the furlogh days. The company I work for prints all kinds of stuff all over the world, but this plant mostly does the department store ad fliers that come out in Sunday papers, so late Oct until mid Nov we`re slammed with Thanksgiving Day ads, then the miscelaneous Dec sales, then finally post Christmas stuff. Tis the season to make a buck, falala la la.


----------



## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Holy heatwave, Batman. It was almost 60F this morning. It actually felt a bit stuffy. The vultures are tapering off. A couple weeks ago there were about 80 of them flying in a massive cyclone over the park. It was pretty awesome. I had to stop and watch them for a while. I managed to get a decent estimate, but there were way too many to count.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Heal well, BrianMc! I'm not sure what a flint coat is either, but if I see one I'll be sure to avoid it too.

Back from Asia and it felt good to be back on my bike this morning. I'll take the pouring rain and 20MPH gusts to sitting on an airplane for hours on end.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Bad one! I'm not even sure what flint coat is but I'm going to try to avoid it. Sounds like you are going to be stiff for a while. Get well soon.


Chip seal is another name for it. I was still a bit groggy from being unconscious and on morphine when I wrote last. I hit something and it may simply have been a patch of tarry pavement that heeled me over for a hard pedal strike. The small gravel may not have been a cause. I broke part of my upper jaw, apparently, My eye finally opened some yesterday. Major road rash on the right side of my face and three cuts, two with stitches. My left hand is barely useable but it types much better than on Friday. The rest is par for the course and no hindrance to riding. My spare glasses aren't good enough to let me drive. So I wait new glasses. Could be worse. Nobody was following to run me over.  I also did this with someone in the opposing lane with a cell phone who called 911.

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ouch, Brian. Hope you heal up soon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Major bummer Brian, sorry to hear about that. Heal up quick! Sounds like an ugly one. And since no one else asked....how's the bike? 


We got some flooding and crazy river levels this weekend... pretty nuts. "Flood stage" for the river is 12 feet, we went to 13.29. More rain on the way, but supposedly not enough to threaten...River's back down at 9' or so now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

A broken jaw is never a good thing.

Today's commute was a nice warm 36 degrees with light fog and spectacular sunrises through the fog. I should have stopped to take one because I might have won the photo contest today because i don't seen any other entries.


rodar y rodar said:


> 9er, schmiener. Go fat!


I went 9er first. Ordered one up this morning. I am no longer "in the black" with the money I save commuting. I did actually try out a fatbike for the first time over the weekend. Not as slow as i was expecting. I still haven't got over the one that slipped through my fingers. Just because I went 9er doesn't mean I can't go fat too. I have amazing rationalization abilities.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Ouch, BrianMc. Glad you're relatively okay. Heal up quick. No commuting for me recently. Every time I go into the office to use my computer, it takes me 10x longer (or more) to get anything done relative to my home computer because the POS is so slow. Working from home, then.

Which is sorta nice today because it's raining.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Major bummer Brian, sorry to hear about that. Heal up quick! Sounds like an ugly one. And since no one else asked....how's the bike?.


Today headache and nausea. Tomorrow the Doctor appointment about the fracture. I suspect since I am no longer coughing up blood it will be like cracked ribs: heal yourself. He is needed to make sure there is nothing too wrong with my right upper molars aching a bit.

Bike seat right rear and bottom right brake lever some rash, Bar tape is history and right pedal is history, too much of the outside hoop is gone. I was in 48-16 and the IPhone says I was swinging the wide curve at 18-19 mph reading off the graph. So that's almost a ton of force 19-0 mostly by face braking. Helmet is cracked on the front 45 degrees. History. Always the over achiever! :madman:

BrianMc


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

-15 celcius and snow here today and the weatherman says same for tommorow.

I have to say that I`m loving these new lake winter shoes I bought last month.

Instagram

Photo by manx71 • Instagram


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Discovered the front tire will not hold air. Could have taken a sidewall wound in the crash, or the police were un-careful delivering it home, or that was the reason the corner went so badly so suddenly.

BrianMc


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## wxflyer (Apr 30, 2006)

High 50's, winds light and variable, warm sunshine...priceless!


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## wxflyer (Apr 30, 2006)

Sorry to hear Brian. Heal fast and keep the faith!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^^Mmm... rigid, threaded. But I think you have the wrong camo pattern for your location. Can you get "Sun and Sand" camo?

Just finished some patience eating bike maintenance...
...on my wife`s stationary. Hope the grease I just put in the bushings holds out for a long, long time, because I really don`t care to go through that again in the near future.



bedwards1000 said:


> I went 9er first. Ordered one up this morning.


Well, as long as you can stiff find a way to justify the fatty next time. Any particular 9er, or just whatever the Wells Fargo wagon brings?



woodway said:


> I'll take the pouring rain and 20MPH gusts to sitting on an airplane for hours on end.


Eew, tough decision there. 20 years ago, the plane might have won, but until smoking gets reinstated on airlines, I`m not so sure what I`d have to wish for. Maybe just make an appointment ofr a root canal on that day to evade making the decision myself. You don`t smoke, do you?



BrianMc said:


> Bike seat right rear and bottom right brake lever some rash, Bar tape is history and right pedal is history, too much of the outside hoop is gone...
> 
> ...Discovered the front tire will not hold air. Could have taken a sidewall wound in the crash, or the police were un-careful delivering it home, or that was the reason the corner went so badly so suddenly.


Body AND bike. Worser than before . It was your Mercian?

Yeah, that would make sense.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez, BrianMc, that does not sound like a fun ride. :bluefrown: Hoping you feel better soon.  Maybe those rocket-boosters you call lights melted the road in your path. :crazy:


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

-13 celcius this morning.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

I TT'd 8 mi of trail after spotting these guys from over a mile away. They were humming along pretty nicely at ~17 mph, so it took a fair effort to catch up. The stoker had a slightly warped sense of humor. That's a Christmas tree in case you need help identifying it.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Hope you're up an at em soon Brian, that sounds like an awful wreck.



Dictatorsaurus said:


> I have an office job where I wear a dress pants and shirt. I want to start commuting to work a few days a week.
> 
> Since I will be wearing riding clothing while I'm on the bike, how do you suggest I take my work clothes with me? backpack ? commuter rack? i will be using my road bike. please include links to what I could use.


I also work in an office and carry my work clothes in a backpack; shirt, pants, socks, underwear, shoes and belt. They don't generally wrinkle much on my ~35 minute commute. I also carry wetones, a small towel and deodorant so as to not offend anyone at work. My riding clothes I hang up under my desk so they're dry by the time I'm ready to head home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was wrong about the vultures. They are still hanging around but have moved up the creek. Last night, I counted 66 birds in the air and saw at least 40 more in the trees. They were swirling low this morning, and I was able to snap a quick pic.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Well, as long as you can stiff find a way to justify the fatty next time. Any particular 9er, or just whatever the Wells Fargo wagon brings?


The exact twin to my 26er. I figure that way I can evaluate 9ers and 6ers without any other variables. I've decided that the right number of bikes for me is...8 :skep:. The 5 I own, the 9er on order, a fat bike, and a lightweight carbon cross bike.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I was wrong about the vultures. They are still hanging around but have moved up the creek. Last night, I counted 66 birds in the air and saw at least 40 more in the trees. They were swirling low this morning, and I was able to snap a quick pic.


I still say there is a big dead animal somewhere near.

MTXB, don't you have fatbike on the beach pics to post or something.

Maintaining 17mph with the windage of a x-mas tree is pretty impressive.

Commute was good. Took the slow studded bike because the radio had some black ice warnings but I didn't see any. Found a nice insulated coffee cup.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I took the painkiller prescribed instead of high dose aspirin last night and this morning. The cure is worse than the affliction. I feel crappier now than at any time since regaining consciousness.

I may have found the smoking gun of the crash. A 'C' shaped piece of the center line of the front tire was cut clean through the tread, the Kevlar belt and lining, cutting a slit in the tube that I had leak fast and slow depending on how I held it. Looks like a sudden loss of front tire pressure in a fast corner caused by road debris. A freak accident. Or a freak's accident. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, don't you have fatbike on the beach pics to post or something.


Well yes, a couple cellphone pics...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice shots, mtbxplorer.

So we've been at -15C/5F for what feels like forever (not that I'm complaining, because it could certainly be colder) and I realized that it's the perfect temperature because I don't sweat. Any warmer and I'd be a little sweaty when I got to work, especially once I hit the heated underground parking. Much colder and I'd add a layer of fleece and would soaking wet. But -15C is just right.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That's better. I rode a fatty for the first time this weekend. I can see myself owning one in the not too distant future. Maybe I need to push it into 2013. I've got to limit myself to 2 new bikes/year.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Thanks everyone for the well wishes. I took the painkiller prescribed instead of high dose aspirin last night and this morning. The cure is worse than the affliction. I feel crappier now than at any time since regaining consciousness.
> 
> I may have found the smoking gun of the crash. A 'C' shaped piece of the center line of the front tire was cut clean through the tread, the Kevlar belt and lining, cutting a slit in the tube that I had leak fast and slow depending on how I held it. Looks like a sudden loss of front tire pressure in a fast corner caused by road debris. A freak accident. Or a freak's accident.
> 
> BrianMc


So what do you think would help avoid a similar accident in the future?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> So what do you think would help avoid a similar accident in the future?


Maybe a magnetic cowcatcher type device or mini streetsweeper out front.  Not too strong with the electromagnet though, or he'll be pulling up manhole covers.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Maybe a magnetic cowcatcher type device or mini streetsweeper out front.  Not too strong with the electromagnet though, or he'll be pulling up manhole covers.


Perhaps something to do with the glasses may help to reduce the injuries.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

The day after I decide to hang up the helmet for the season and it's 68 and sunny. Sigh.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Nice cold snow all weekend, now a Chinook so back to carsnot for three days, then cold and snowy again.

Starting to get the balance back to ride the stuff better though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Perhaps something to do with the glasses may help to reduce the injuries.


Yes, good point. I have clear glasses from these guys and they are super comfortable. I don't know if they are available in prescritption lenses or not. 
http://www.zerorh.com/sport/en/technicity/sportglasses/lenses/seesafe


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

as to the vultures....it's their migratory season.

I get big groups of them passing over in February as they head north again. They don't seem to congregate as much when they're heading south, but I did see some in October/November.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

my commute today:
71F, overcast, scattered showers.

It was coming down sorta heavy when I left the house, but the rain abated to what I call "spitting" by the time I arrived. I ran the lights because it was the sort of weather I'd run my car's headlights. I think the rain jacket made me sweat more than I'd have gotten wet if I left it off. But with the skies overcast at that temp, a stiff wind like you get riding can cause a chill, so I wore the jacket. It wasn't a heavy sweat, just a clamminess by the end of the ride.

Thesis defense is in two days. My suit's dry cleaned and pressed and ready to go. Putting the final touches on my presentation today and tomorrow, and doing some practice. Going to get a haircut and a shave tomorrow so I look as professional as I can for this thing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NateHawk said:


> Going to get a haircut and a shave tomorrow so I look as professional as I can for this thing.


They see suits and ties all day long. If you want to stand out, go in like your avatar and then they will forever remember you 

Good luck!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

woodway said:


> They see suits and ties all day long. If you want to stand out, go in like your avatar and then they will forever remember you
> 
> Good luck!


Lol, in this college, no. It's more like Carhartts and flannel shirts, with full beards. Even at fancy meetings. I haven't seen my adviser in a suit once in the 4.5yrs I've known him.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The ride home started with an unexpected gusty wind, followed by disturbing miles contemplating the evil in the world (the murderer of the Curriers here was apparently on a country-wide spree over many years before he killed himself in AK recently). This kind of thinking is not recommended on a desolate stretch of road, by yourself, on a bike. Next, my turn after the reservoir was lit up and blocked by a tractor trailer (from a logging job) that slid off the muddy road and its industrial sized towtruck. I peered into their headlights but got no invitation to pass by safely, so I detoured another 1.5 miles on more muddy roads from the warm-up. It hasn't even started raining yet, and .3 " expected overnight, so it won't be pretty.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

New to the thread but I need a place to vent.

On the way home from work tonight a car pulled into the bike lane right in front of me, I swerved to avoid it and flipped the driver off. A cop car came roaring up along side me and the officer proceeded to start yelling at me about being more respectful. Confused I attempted to ask if what the driver had done wasn't clearly illegal (failure to yield the right of way) but all the officer had to say was that "the world doesn't belong to me" and I should be "more respectful", then sped off. A few blocks up I spotted another cop car parked at the bank and decided to stop and ask him to clarify the rules for me. This officer was very elusive and refused to give me a straight answer after multiple questions. Frustrated I then began to ask him if officer weren't supposed to be driving with their laptops closed (the og officer had had his open) after an officer had ran down a pedestrian a while back. He then got really defensive and told me to go away because he was working a traffic accident at the moment. It was then that a guy walked up, bleeding and bandaged. I asked him what happened and he told me that he had just been hit while riding in the bike lane. :-0

Austin is a weird place and we need to start pushing for change. 

Sorry to be a downer but stuff is becoming more and more common.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

big_papa_nuts said:


> New to the thread but I need a place to vent.
> 
> On the way home from work tonight a car pulled into the bike lane right in front of me, I swerved to avoid it and flipped the driver off. A cop car came roaring up along side me and the officer proceeded to start yelling at me about being more respectful. Confused I attempted to ask if what the driver had done wasn't clearly illegal (failure to yield the right of way) but all the officer had to say was that "the world doesn't belong to me" and I should be "more respectful", then sped off. A few blocks up I spotted another cop car parked at the bank and decided to stop and ask him to clarify the rules for me. This officer was very elusive and refused to give me a straight answer after multiple questions. Frustrated I then began to ask him if officer weren't supposed to be driving with their laptops closed (the og officer had had his open) after an officer had ran down a pedestrian a while back. He then got really defensive and told me to go away because he was working a traffic accident at the moment. It was then that a guy walked up, bleeding and bandaged. I asked him what happened and he told me that he had just been hit while riding in the bike lane. :-0
> 
> ...


FTP!:madman::madmax::nono::thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good luck, Nate! Don`t forget to polish your Sidis.

It`s a bit humid here, but kinda nice. Warm, a little overcast, slight breeze, and still smells like rain. I got in some extra milleage today and enjoyed it. Took the mid-long way home this morning to hit the convenience store, rode to my SIL`s house for dinner (basically across the road from work), then home to make my sandwiches, and turned around to retrace the same route for a third time and clock in.



newfangled said:


> Any warmer and I'd be a little sweaty when I got to work, especially once I hit the heated underground parking. Much colder and I'd add a layer of fleece and would soaking wet. But -15C is just right.


That`s got to be somewhere around zero F- if you like it that way, great ut:
I can dig the issue with the heated parking garage. When anything wet is likely to fall from the sky, I bring my bike inside and park in the plant boiler room. For the minute or so that it takes me to put on or take off my gear, I`m roasting and can`t wait to get through the door!



mtbxplorer said:


> Maybe a magnetic cowcatcher type device or mini streetsweeper out front.


:lol: Might work good for tripping traffic lights too!



big_papa_nuts said:


> New to the thread but I need a place to vent.


Not so sure pissing the cops off is a good idea, but vent away if it makes you feel better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> So what do you think would help avoid a similar accident in the future?


I have been thinking it over. Your wording made my mind follow strange paths:

One permanent solution is suicide,.

Maybe one of these:

https://www.clipartguide.com/_named...th_a_Full_Face_Guard_Shield_clipart_image.jpg

Both seem a bit extreme as in 50 years of cycling I have never seen this happen. And the pooled group here isn't saying they have had close calls with front tire sudden deflation by road debris. So the chances of this occurring again seem slim. Now having said that the next time I ride,,,, 

Done with the fun.

Normally when a spill from the rear is imminent I have time for the adrenalin to hit, and time stretches and I tuck and roll. I got no tuck and roll just slide out and face plant and more slide. Like I laid it down on purpose. I remember the flash of the impending impact as too fast to do anything so I did not black out, before the strike.

At 25 frames per second I count about that from the first wobble to face plant. About 0.2 sec from first wobble to definitely going down, likely less than half of that as it is hard to say where the fall began. I did not even unclip.

Accident - YouTube

The titanium frame eyeglasses saved my eyeball. The titanium bent but did not break and stab my eye, The ultra thin lenses remained intact. Sandpapered and gouged, but intact, Somehow the anti scratch coating just wasn't up to sliding down a road. Imagine that! Maybe I should complain!  So no shredding. no splinters, no eye stab.

If I had been wearing contacts and a plastic eye protection device (too dark for sunglasses), I think I'd have been much worse off. Maybe lost an eye.

No glasses at all? Worse off. No gravel in my eye. No sanding off the cornea.

If I could remember to tuck my chin, then the helmet would take it all. It is hard to give up looking where you are going. You ain't never seen the kind of wreck you're fixin' to have! 



mtbxplorer said:


> Maybe a magnetic cowcatcher type device or mini streetsweeper out front.  Not too strong with the electromagnet though, or he'll be pulling up manhole covers.


Or stuck at railway tracks.  Wouldn't have to worry about flat tires ever again when the train comes!



jeffscott said:


> Perhaps something to do with the glasses may help to reduce the injuries.


Ultra light unbreakable lenses saved my eye. Titanium frames saved my eye. Turning my head left or down would have saved a lot of damage. Remembering to do it and in time is worth a shot. One guy in the choir tonight asked was I wearing a helmet. "Yes," I said, "but it doesn't cover my face and it did save my forehead above the abrasion and my scalp and it has the cracks to show for it." I might have showed him my leg injuries and I can see him ask,. "Were you wearing a helmet? Jeez. :madman:



big_papa_nuts said:


> New to the thread but I need a place to vent.
> 
> On the way home from work tonight a car pulled into the bike lane right in front of me, I swerved to avoid it and flipped the driver off. ... It was then that a guy walked up, bleeding and bandaged. I asked him what happened and he told me that he had just been hit while riding in the bike lane. :-0
> 
> ...


I think the 'bird' is free speech under the circumstances. Another Texan called Chip Seal (check his blog for past interactions) carries a copy of Texas laws pertaining to bicycles because the cops in his town wanted them to be whatever they wanted them to be. Might be a good idea to memorize them. too. Just because the cops are ignorant of the law is no excuse for us to be. Hard for them to protect and serve if they don't know who has suffered a violation of the law, isn't it?

The video camera would have been very handy. The TV news that night would be interesting. Saves all the messing around with complaint filing.

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Not so sure pissing the cops off is a good idea, but vent away if it makes you feel better.


where did he indicate ANYTHING that should piss off a cop.?

are we supposed to cower to their 'above the law' attitude? 
are we to forget that they are on OUR payroll?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good morning, Highdelll. I think you`re reading way too much into my offhand post, but in answer to your questions: 


highdelll said:


> where did he indicate ANYTHING that should piss off a cop.?


About two thirds of the way through the paragraph.
"He then got really defensive and told me to go away because he was working a traffic accident at the moment."
I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like he was a bit miffed.


highdelll said:


> are we supposed to cower to their 'above the law' attitude?


Nope.


highdelll said:


> are we to forget that they are on OUR payroll?


I don`t care whose payroll they`re on.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Brian is that actual footage of you, or a similar incident? 



Here's a couple pics that give you an idea of the rain we had earlier this week. It's raining again today, but the river is back down and no flooding in the forecast. This is a creek I ride by every day... I didn't take the top pic (lifted it off local news site), but I did take the bottom one on the way home Monday. Normally I would say that the Monday pic is "very high" for that creek. I now have a new definition of "very high" :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow Brian, double glad to know you are OK after seeing the footage. You went from moving to stopped in zero time. The emergency responders got there in a hurry.

I got to take one of the fast bikes today instead of the studded tank so I felt like a rocket. This morning was a warm rain and the temps are supposed to drop from the high 40s to the low 30s


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I'm scared to watch. 

Glad you didn't float away, CB.


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## lactat (Nov 6, 2004)

Black ice covered by 1cm of now - yikes
studded tires going on tonight


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

big_papa_nuts said:


> On the way home from work tonight a car pulled into the bike lane right in front of me, I swerved to avoid it and flipped the driver off. A cop car came roaring up along side me and the officer proceeded to start yelling at me about being more respectful. Confused I attempted to ask if what the driver had done wasn't clearly illegal (failure to yield the right of way) but all the officer had to say was that "the world doesn't belong to me" and I should be "more respectful", then sped off. A few blocks up I spotted another cop car parked at the bank and decided to stop and ask him to clarify the rules for me. This officer was very elusive and refused to give me a straight answer after multiple questions. Frustrated I then began to ask him if officer weren't supposed to be driving with their laptops closed (the og officer had had his open) after an officer had ran down a pedestrian a while back. He then got really defensive and told me to go away because he was working a traffic accident at the moment. It was then that a guy walked up, bleeding and bandaged. I asked him what happened and he told me that he had just been hit while riding in the bike lane. :-0


That's sort like what happened to me a few months back, only I was riding down my neighborhood street and the on-coming off-duty cop swerved into my lane to get around some parked cars. I argued with him for about 15 minutes (not my choice). He sounds like he had the same kind of attitude as the guy you encountered. :madman:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Brian is that actual footage of you, or a similar incident?


You get to see my nose, part of the left cheek, and a bit more in the mirror, Mostly it's the camera's POV. I'm sort of the host. 



CommuterBoy said:


> Here's a couple pics that give you an idea of the rain we had earlier this week. .... I now have a new definition of "very high" :lol:


OMG is when it gets to the first branch on the tree.



bedwards1000 said:


> Wow Brian, double glad to know you are OK after seeing the footage. You went from moving to stopped in zero time. The emergency responders got there in a hurry.


Lees than one second. I can't tell if I am pedaling or trying to retain balance when i sawy back and forth. If pedaling it was done and over in a half second. I knew the ground hit me but did not know why.Tucking the head might need to be a trained response, as there was only time for "What, Oh crap!".

The police often use that road from both the city and the Sheriff's department. There is a city park and other facilities to patrol. So when the cll came in, it was a near record response time. I did not cut any footage within the segment. They began to ask personal identifiable information so I stopped it there.



bedwards1000 said:


> I got to take one of the fast bikes today instead of the studded tank so I felt like a rocket. This morning was a warm rain and the temps are supposed to drop from the high 40s to the low 30s


I love the change from the 50+ pound full panniered errand bike to The Duchess as well. Aaah!



s0ckeyeus said:


> That's sort like what happened to me a few months back, only I was riding down my neighborhood street and the on-coming off-duty cop swerved into my lane to get around some parked cars. I argued with him for about 15 minutes (not my choice). He sounds like he had the same kind of attitude as the guy you encountered. :madman:


Bicycles make us sort of second class in some people's eyes. Some officers are in the job partly to dominate others. It can be worse for riders that fit some groups. I don't know how much they get used to the deference their cruisers give and whether they tend to take that off duty with them. There will be bad apples in any barrel. If you carry a phone with movie capability remember to haul it out. It will either result in a more civil behavior or allow you to call 911 easily.

BrianMc


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Cold, cold, cold in Anchorage. -12 at my house this AM. Doesn't look to be any warmer for the ride home. It's too early for this kind of cold!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Hey BrianMc

quite the youtube clip....

I guess just after the crash that is you breathing as the camera rises and falls????

Good old biker lungs and heart...

Then the wait starts....all I could think off was lying there on the ground for maybe 30 to 45 mins on one of my long commutes home.....not a happy thought.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> That's sort like what happened to me a few months back, only I was riding down my neighborhood street and the on-coming off-duty cop swerved into my lane to get around some parked cars. I argued with him for about 15 minutes (not my choice). He sounds like he had the same kind of attitude as the guy you encountered. :madman:


Yup

Two beat cops were walking towards me (I was also walking)....on a large sidewalk that goes under some railway tracks...very busy downtown at lunch hour...

This guy on a bike riding slowly and safely passes the cops...one cop tells him to get off and walk, so the guy does...

The guy then points up to a sign that says bikers have to yield to pedestrians....(implies you can ride a bike there (which you can according to the bike path maps)....anyway cop does n't care now....

Just needs to be in control.....hopefully next time he will know better.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

2 minute response time is pretty incredible. I was surprised to not see anyone else come over and check on you though?? Maybe they did and just weren't in front of the camera? Someone called it in, but I would think most folks would also check on the victim and see if there was anything they could do... My first reaction on seeing that would be to go to the victim...THEN I'd think "oh yeah, call 911" or tell someone else to do it while I at least talked to the guy on the ground.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Hey BrianMc quite the youtube clip.... I guess just after the crash that is you breathing as the camera rises and falls????


Reality video the hard way.

No seismic activity or large animals under the road bed so with my right arm under me (almost got it in place) my lungs are saying "Not dead yet!"



jeffscott said:


> Good old biker lungs and heart...


What!? No honorable mention for the biker's hard head? And the brilliant display of a helmet saving substantial scalp and upper forehead.



jeffscott said:


> Then the wait starts....all I could think off was lying there on the ground for maybe 30 to 45 mins on one of my long commutes home.....not a happy thought.


I do not know how to adjust audio of my videos on the Mac.I likely need some software. If you turn the volume up you hear assistance right away,

I started to roll over to get up and was told to be still, not to move my heed or touch it. I wasn't firing on all cylinders. They asked me if I knew where I was when on the ground and I remember not knowing what was meant by that. Here, obviously! In the ambulance, asked again, I knew I was in the ambulance. So things were coming back on line.

Point is I would have gotten back on the bike blood pouring down my face, or if it was too much pulled out my own cell to call 911. A bit after the clip, my alarm for my 5:00 PM meds went off. Not home in time. End of that round of treatment.Was home after 10.



CommuterBoy said:


> 2 minute response time is pretty incredible. I was surprised to not see anyone else come over and check on you though?? Maybe they did and just weren't in front of the camera? Someone called it in, but I would think most folks would also check on the victim and see if there was anything they could do...


The car at the intersection that saw my face first slide for home came to the rescue.



jeffscott said:


> My first reaction on seeing that would be to go to the victim...THEN I'd think "oh yeah, call 911" or tell someone else to do it while I at least talked to the guy on the ground.


Turn up the volume and you will hear the people remark that I am breathing, caution not to touch me and they call it in. You may need to press the ears to the speaker.

No need to repeat. Or copycat.

BrianMc


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

gnarly stuff, Brian. I wonder if I am hearing the tire blow or if it's some other impact right before you went down.

one "nice" thing about riding in TX is that with the summers as hot and long as they are, most road debris gets embedded into the asphalt after enough cars and trucks run over it. I occasionally catch myself looking at the embedded debris when I stop at a stoplight. All manner of bolts and scraps of steel.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> gnarly stuff, Brian. I wonder if I am hearing the tire blow or if it's some other impact right before you went down..


Good catch. On the right surface the front fender can rattle, but this sound is different. The fender clearance is tight with 32's and there is an under crown mounting bolt for a center of tire embedded thing to hit. So it went round maybe twice, rattled in there and came out and there you are: flat tire.

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good morning, Highdelll. I think you`re reading way too much into my offhand post - Maybe so
> 
> I don`t care whose payroll they`re on.


Really though?

That strikes me as odd.
You don't care that you pay them to work for you?


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## saltwater taco (Mar 23, 2012)

Got buzzed by a guy today only to pass him 3 seconds later while he was waiting to turn left. Wanted to take out his mirror, but I refrained. I'm usually not the violent type anyways. Oddly today was one of the few days I had my blinky taillight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Just before I left home this morning I remembered that my front BB7 disc brake was making an annoying squeakety squeak, not when applied, but just rolling. It’s usually a mistake to start mechanical work when you are heading out the door, and this was no exception. After fussing with the adjusters the rotor was still rubbing so next I removed and reinstalled the pads. One arm was bent somehow but otherwise they seemed O.K. This did eventually get rid of the noise, though they will need some more adjustment to get the right feel, hopefully without reintroducing the squeak. So the ride itself was a bit rushed, and the ½” snow required some caution on the dirt road where cars had packed it down, but I made it on time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That puts me fourth in line for a report of bad commute. I slipped on black ice in the supermarket parking lot. Shouldn`t have been a big deal- walking speed, the bike went out from under me and I went down on one knee. I got up, picked the bike up, and started riding again. Then a few seconds later I noticed a pool of light next to my front wheel. WTF? Leaned forward and peeked at my headlight... the mount had snapped off and it was just dangling by thte wires GRRR! Hopefully I`ll be able to fix it by wrapping some kind of sheet metal strap around it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

#5 here... woke up insanely late and had the debate about whether or not I should drive... if course I rode (come on ) ...arrived maybe 20 minutes later than normal. Not a huge deal since I get here early, and rather impressive since I overslept by almost an hour. But no fun. It was weirdly foggy this morning...soaking wet ground from all that rain, and colder temps.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Hate to break the bad commute cycle, but I had a great one this morning. The temps in Anchor-town were a balmy 0 and the ride was fast and felt great after the past few days of below zero temps sapping my energy. Got to work feeling awesome and ready for the day.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

I had a perfectly decent commute this morning, uneventful ride, air temp was about 35F with a slight breeze.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I have nothing bad to report either unless you count that there is no hot water at work.:smallviolin: Since a most of you don't have showers I'm not sure I'll get much sympathy. 

I did roll over the 5000 commuted miles mark today and about 5500 miles total for the year so far.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

big_papa_nuts said:


> New to the thread but I need a place to vent.
> 
> On the way home from work tonight a car pulled into the bike lane right in front of me, I swerved to avoid it and flipped the driver off. A cop car came roaring up along side me and the officer proceeded to start yelling at me about being more respectful. Confused I attempted to ask if what the driver had done wasn't clearly illegal (failure to yield the right of way) but all the officer had to say was that "the world doesn't belong to me" and I should be "more respectful", then sped off. A few blocks up I spotted another cop car parked at the bank and decided to stop and ask him to clarify the rules for me. This officer was very elusive and refused to give me a straight answer after multiple questions. Frustrated I then began to ask him if officer weren't supposed to be driving with their laptops closed (the og officer had had his open) after an officer had ran down a pedestrian a while back. He then got really defensive and told me to go away because he was working a traffic accident at the moment. It was then that a guy walked up, bleeding and bandaged. I asked him what happened and he told me that he had just been hit while riding in the bike lane. :-0
> 
> ...


Pulled up along side a bus at a red light. The bus was in the right lane but going straight. As I was turning right I moved a bit forward of the bus to see if it was clear to my left. As I did so the bus inched forward enough to block my view. Thinking it was a coincidence I moved forward again and the bus did as well! I looked through the door and could see the driver looking at me with a big grin on his face. I made a confused gesture and said what's the problem? He opened the door so I could hear him and he says "Oh, are you trying to turn?" At that point the light changed so I said something unpleasant under my breath and rode off. Have had other incidents with buses in Austin too.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

Anyone see one of these in action yet? Wish they had a front camera too.

Hindsight 35


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Asmodeus2112 said:


> Anyone see one of these in action yet? Wish they had a front camera too.
> 
> Hindsight 35


I use a $7 bar end mirror to see what's behind me. I like the "black box" sort of recorder, but I think they could make it way cheaper if they lose the display and all the baggage that comes with it.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

bloody cold on exposed skin.
pop the rear slick into a short skid over any ice patches to help break them up for the next rider.
need a new balaclava.
might get flat bars and maguras back on the casseroll for the winter. maybe...


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

Sanath said:


> I use a $7 bar end mirror to see what's behind me. I like the "black box" sort of recorder, but I think they could make it way cheaper if they lose the display and all the baggage that comes with it.


Yep, I use a bar end mirror as well. Mainly looking to buy a dvr and a camera for up front and one in back. This is the closest thing I have seen on the market. I've played with hacking together some different parts, but I'd rather buy a complete solution.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Hate to break the bad commute cycle, but I had a great one this morning. The temps in Anchor-town were a balmy 0 and the ride was fast and felt great after the past few days of below zero temps sapping my energy. Got to work feeling awesome and ready for the day.


Good- it was a cycle that needed to be broken! Balmy zero is up 12 from yesterday, isn`t it? That`s a pretty good bump.



bedwards1000 said:


> I did roll over the 5000 commuted miles mark today and about 5500 miles total for the year so far.


Whoooo!



byknuts said:


> bloody cold on exposed skin.
> pop the rear slick into a short skid over any ice patches to help break them up for the next rider.
> need a new balaclava.
> might get flat bars and maguras back on the casseroll for the winter. maybe...


Hey, Byknuts. Nice to hear from you.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I like the "black box" sort of recorder, but I think they could make it way cheaper if they lose the display and all the baggage that comes with it.


Besides cheaper: less clutter, less theft possibility. But then would that be the same thing as a GoPro, or does that Hindsight have additional capabilities?

EDIT: Ah, I see- five minute continuous loop. Looks good for accidents, when it`ll be tripped and save the important part, but if you wanted to use it for evidence or license plate ID in the middle of a ride longer than five minutes, I guess you need to flip your bike or turn it off after the first incedent.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Besides cheaper: less clutter, less theft possibility. But then would that be the same thing as a GoPro, or does that Hindsight have additional capabilities?
> 
> EDIT: Ah, I see- five minute continuous loop. Looks good for accidents, when it`ll be tripped and save the important part, but if you wanted to use it for evidence or license plate ID in the middle of a ride longer than five minutes, I guess you need to flip your bike or turn it off after the first incedent.


It's far from perfect, but the only thing I've seen so far close to a bike black box. I really just want a dvr with battery pack that comes off easily and two wide angle lipstick cams that can be discretly mounted on the bike. GPS data logging and auto start/stop with a good hour or two recording loop. Seen anything like this on the market?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I have two Drift Innovation Stealth Cameras. The old one with missing (broken) lens cover I am debating placing on the rear rack, aimed to the rear. The new lighter one is on the helmet. As shown in the accident video. A rude bus driver would have been recorded nicely. 

The batteries are good for 2 hours at 25 fps & 720 P (can do 60 fps and 1080P). The memory is very large. I have had hours and hours on there before downloading them. The older model allowed a double battery pack. 

No one knew to shut the camera off after the crash. It closed the file and shut itself off. That is a problem with a looping recorder. If you are hurt too bad and no one knows better the evidence will be lost. I am thinking of adapting my light batteries to drive the camera. Buying extra cells may be the better option. There is something to be said for redundant recorders.

BrianMc


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good morning, Highdelll. I think you`re reading way too much into my offhand post, but in answer to your questions:
> About two thirds of the way through the paragraph.
> "He then got really defensive and told me to go away because he was working a traffic accident at the moment."
> I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like he was a bit miffed.
> ...


They were definitely both pissed. The first one because I didn't "respect his authority", because he was in the wrong. The second one because I started asking him about the laptop issue and that is a bit of a touchy subject since that officer ran down that pedestrian.

Honestly they need some fire under their ass. Out of the 5 states and dozen cities I have lived in I have never seen such an ineffective police force. And, as far as I can seen most of them are clearly anti-bike. Out of the 7 times I have been hit, and one time I was assaulted by the diver after being hit, none of the cops have even been remotely helpful. And I have actually learned that they have broken protocol in a few cases. Don't get me wrong, I hate CM too, but if you can't help a guy that is just trying to get home from work then what good are you.

I have actually been thinking about organizing a protest or something but with my temper and mentality can't see it going well.


Asmodeus2112 said:


> Pulled up along side a bus at a red light. The bus was in the right lane but going straight. As I was turning right I moved a bit forward of the bus to see if it was clear to my left. As I did so the bus inched forward enough to block my view. Thinking it was a coincidence I moved forward again and the bus did as well! I looked through the door and could see the driver looking at me with a big grin on his face. I made a confused gesture and said what's the problem? He opened the door so I could hear him and he says "Oh, are you trying to turn?" At that point the light changed so I said something unpleasant under my breath and rode off. Have had other incidents with buses in Austin too.


Oh dude, some of the bus drivers are terrible. I constantly have issues with them buzzing me, or pulling into the bike lane RIGHT in front of me, or riding my ass (and even honking at me).

I actually got in a yelling match with a driver one morning. I was going straight through a light and for some reason the driver thought it was a good idea to pull up along side me, in the left lane, then try to take a right with me in the way. I hit my zound and he stopped but as I passed he threw open his little slider and let loose. Sometimes this city is unbelievable.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

big_papa_nuts said:


> ...
> 
> Oh dude, some of the bus drivers are terrible. I constantly have issues with them buzzing me, or pulling into the bike lane RIGHT in front of me, or riding my ass (and even honking at me).
> 
> I actually got in a yelling match with a driver one morning. I was going straight through a light and for some reason the driver thought it was a good idea to pull up along side me, in the left lane, then try to take a right with me in the way. I hit my zound and he stopped but as I passed he threw open his little slider and let loose. Sometimes this city is unbelievable.


I think we have it pretty good here, as far as bus drivers go.

I commute carless - sometimes bike, sometimes bus, and a mix of both.

I have always been given a very wide berth while cycling.

And when riding the bus, I see drivers slow behind other cyclists (because of narrow shoulder - and double yellow/no-lane to move over) and wait as long as it takes to pass safely. And when they do, I'll often see them give a friendly wave.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I have never had issues with any city buses in places I've lived but school bus drivers are an entirely different ballgame. I have never encountered a more clueless bunch of hacks. And they entrust the lives of dozens of children to these people?

It's not like they have ever been intentional jerks to me on the road. I have never had them open their slider to yell at me but they pass like I'm not there, with those mirrors dangerously close. Passing on narrow roads in places they shouldn't, crowding me out of a narrow lane and pinching me into the grass when oncoming traffic forces them over before they completed the pass. I try to time my rides for when the school buses are off the road


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Asmodeus2112 said:


> Seen anything like this on the market?


No, but I`m not very up on that kind of stuff, so don`t give up hope. With as many people running systems like BMc`s, you`d think somebody would optomize a product specifically for that. Maybe soon?



big_papa_nuts said:


> The second one because I started asking him about the laptop issue and that is a bit of a touchy subject since that officer ran down that pedestrian.


I caught that. We had a cyclist run right over by a deputy in my neighborhood about two years ago. They`re definitely "touchy" about it, never released the official report of exactly who was where and what happened, which I`d really like to know since I ride that road frequently.

Although the cops around here haven`t been of much use for car V bike incedents, I`m glad that most of them aren`t over anxious to give me crap whether on the bike or off. Actually, they`ve cut me breaks on occasion when they could have cited me. Hope things go a different way and they chill out for you.



NateHawk said:


> I have never had issues with any city buses in places I've lived but school bus drivers are an entirely different ballgame....
> 
> ...I have never had them open their slider to yell at me but they pass like I'm not there, with those mirrors dangerously close. Passing on narrow roads in places they shouldn't, crowding me out of a narrow lane and pinching me into the grass when oncoming traffic forces them over before they completed the pass.


That`s my biggest threat too, exactly the same issue! While getting stuck behind them when they load is irritating, I understand and can deal with it. But I dont get why they have such a thing for buzzing me at high speed. Really, they`re worse than lifted pickups, commercial trucks, sports cars and all the other usual suspects, and I can`t fathom why.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Last night I spotted this strange amber icicle while I cycled. Strange in color and also because there are no other icicles around. Sap sourced? The tree is quite dead though.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Last night riding home in the dark, I got buzzed 3 times and honked at twice riding along a straight bit of road with no shoulder I was over as far to the right as possible but I suppose it's just part of the game, still not very pleasant.

Commute this morning was wet. It had stopped actually raining but the spray off the road demonstrated very clearly that I could use some fenders. Anybody got any recommendations?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Asmodeus2112 said:


> Yep, I use a bar end mirror as well. Mainly looking to buy a dvr and a camera for up front and one in back. This is the closest thing I have seen on the market. I've played with hacking together some different parts, but I'd rather buy a complete solution.


You could probably get your hands on a used GoPro or similar device cheaper.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MrMatson said:


> Last night riding home in the dark, I got buzzed 3 times and honked at twice riding along a straight bit of road with no shoulder I was over as far to the right as possible but I suppose it's just part of the game, still not very pleasant.
> 
> Commute this morning was wet. It had stopped actually raining but the spray off the road demonstrated very clearly that I could use some fenders. Anybody got any recommendations?


Planet bike Cascadia are are working fine on both my cross bike and 26" commuter.

I took a road bike this morning. Fast! Probably one of the last times it comes out to play this year. I hate toe covers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ....Although the cops around here haven`t been of much use for car V bike incedents, I`m glad that most of them aren`t over anxious to give me crap whether on the bike or off. Actually, they`ve cut me breaks on occasion when they could have cited me...
> 
> That`s my biggest threat too, exactly the same issue! ,,, But I dont get why they have such a thing for buzzing me at high speed. Really, they`re worse than lifted pickups, commercial trucks, sports cars and all the other usual suspects, and I can`t fathom why.


Yeah the cops have done rolling stops at the same time I did on the bike. No talk, no ticket.

I time it to avoid then if I can. The passing on the blind hill and stopping to do a long off load 3/4 of the way up was a pisser. So I gave the driver a piece of my mind. He suggested I file a complaint. I did not, and we seem to have an understanding. Though I haven't put him in the same situation since. Posted the incident here some time go.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Last night I spotted this strange amber icicle while I cycled. Strange in color and also because there are no other icicles around. Sap sourced? The tree is quite dead though.


Ooh that's cool. How long has the tree been dead? they will hold a lot of moisture and slowly drain it if they're sitting at an angle like that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Ooh that's cool. How long has the tree been dead? they will hold a lot of moisture and slowly drain it if they're sitting at an angle like that.


I don't know, I was just judging by the appearance, but your explanation must be right.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

So have only ridden once this week so far (and hating myself for it since my commute is so much shorter now)... So the ride in the morning was nice, warm enough at 35* to wear my merino wool base layers under my jersey and shorts and then just double up my gloves. However, got almost "merged" into twice. Once was while I was headed to work and coming up on my normal open "yield" turn. I had just gotten through a light within traffic and doing about 25mph when a white van suddenly appears next to me in the bike lane, to the point where I had to put my hand on the window to keep myself from over correcting. Of course the driver was completely oblivious until I yelled at her. The other time the person was coming off the off-ramp right by my office and inadvertently went into the bike lane with the nose of her car. She saw me coming and tried to put it in reverse but someone had pulled up behind me and she mouthed "Sorry!!!" as I rode by. First nice encounter I have had in a while.

So it ended up raining all day off and on, and when I left work it was sprinkling a bit but the roads were pretty wet. I did alright on the way home but going along my normal route I hit a good street that was well light with Christmas Lights. While enjoying the lights down the street I could see red and blue flashing at the very end, and thought "That's cool someone put up one of those Santa cop cars." Well not so much, as I got to the end of the street I found out that it was actually a Santa SWAT truck and the street was blocked off. Apparently a homeowner called the COPS and said that he had buried dynamite in his walls and for them to "come find it."... so it made for an interesting ride home.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

mtbxplorer said:


> Last night I spotted this strange amber icicle while I cycled. Strange in color and also because there are no other icicles around. Sap sourced? The tree is quite dead though.


I'd bet the color is due to tannins from the wood with its apparent age. I doubt there's any sap left. It looks like it's been there awhile, so the wood will be partially rotten, and spongy that it absorbs a lot of water, that will leach tannins. It probably got below freezing slowly, so moisture draining out of it picked up the tannins and didn't freeze until it dripped out.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Last night I spotted this strange amber icicle while I cycled. Strange in color and also because there are no other icicles around. Sap sourced? The tree is quite dead though.


Taste it?

Is it all natural and organic?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NateHawk said:


> I have never had issues with any city buses in places I've lived but school bus drivers are an entirely different ballgame. I have never encountered a more clueless bunch of hacks. And they entrust the lives of dozens of children to these people?
> 
> It's not like they have ever been intentional jerks to me on the road. I have never had them open their slider to yell at me but they pass like I'm not there, with those mirrors dangerously close. Passing on narrow roads in places they shouldn't, crowding me out of a narrow lane and pinching me into the grass when oncoming traffic forces them over before they completed the pass. I try to time my rides for when the school buses are off the road


Geez around here the city transit buses get pretty aggresive, and are know to leave very little room when passing a bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Close one, Greg! Slapping at the door/kicking it works I m told. 

12 stitches out today. 75% of the scabs off. New helmet, tires , pedals here tomorrow, or Monday. Bill on helmet to keep forehead off pavement if there is a next time? And Yellow. Figure it will help me be seen at 7' in the air when on the tops. Shimano 2-way pedals as the Wellgos don't seem to wear well in the clicking in and out department. 

The shoulder and left hand need work. 

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Close one, Greg! Slapping at the door/kicking it works I m told.
> 
> 12 stitches out today. 75% of the scabs off. New helmet, tires , pedals here tomorrow, or Monday. Bill on helmet to keep forehead off pavement if there is a next time? And Yellow. Figure it will help me be seen at 7' in the air when on the tops. Shimano 2-way pedals as the Wellgos don't seem to wear well in the clicking in and out department.
> 
> ...


Take the shouldr very seriously...from ROM, stretching and strength perspectives.

Consider also a helmet with ear flaps, and least for the winter, maybe even full coverage if it gets cold enough, the protection far exceeds a "standard bike helmet.

Snowboard Helmets | evo

Just some examples...check out a full coverage as well, in winter with the right googles you will be just fine.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

A lovely commute, as always. A brisk 15 degrees this morning, warmed up to 35 or so for the ride home...causing a bit of sweat heading up the hill. Got honked at yesterday for the first time in a while, of course I was just riding on the road, while he didn't even have a plate on his car. Doesn't bother me. I like riding in my little town.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

With the exception of having to walk the last mile or so home due to a flattening tire, it hasn't been too bad lately. It really irks me that no one here cleans up after car accidents so there is glass, plastic bits and other assorted debris all along the road. They push it out if the main lanes of travel onto the shoulder where I ride and then into the tire. I've had more flats in the last 6 months than I did in a year in Portland. Then again, the accumulated wear on the tires probably plays a role.

Going to mount the studded tires that showed up this week over the weekend as they're finally forecasting some snow. . We'll see if I'm so enthusiastic after it does snow.


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## iamJ4R0N (Nov 7, 2012)

My commute today was pretty regular. Except for the addition of Shimano 540s and my o'-so-comfortable Chrome Midway Pro's I got Thursday and last Saturday, respectively.

I read many a horror story about SPD pedals/shoes and thought I may be in over my head. Turns out, I've taken to them quite easily. I love it. Seems to be working a whole other set of muscles in my legs. Good stuff.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Helmet (not yellow but with red and white blazes) arrived, new tires, pedals (one sided) and I picked up new shorts, gloves and tubes at the LBS. Helmet light wire broken even though cables wire tied. Strange. Pectoral/shoulder improved most of the way back, right hand, too. New jacket, jerseys, and some under layers are here.

Trying out Soma's Panaracer made, 'New Express with HyperTex casing (stronger and more flexible than Kevlar) for a smooth ride and dependable, long lasting on urban roads.

Soma New Xpress Special Edition 700c - Folding Bead

Replacement for Kevlar belted Panaracer Tourguards.

I still have Tourguards in 28C as spares.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice! Did you get the pink Soma's?  They look like they'd have the best daytime visibility.

Way to go iamJ4Ron!

Stay safe in the snow, Spatialized. Mounting my snows too, might be a week early, will be warmer after 1" snow tonight, but I had the time for some bike maintenance this weekend.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Can't wait for tomorrow, 4 inches of snow and sleet tonight changing to rain tomorrow...should be sloppy. The best part is the looks from the zombies in their cars.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Nice! Did you get the pink Soma's?  They look like they'd have the best daytime visibility.


*** The homophobes around here would head for those like bulls seeing red flags. These would help night visibility:

Soma New Xpress Reflective 700c Tires

Panaracer made tires with reflective stripes are uncommon.

BrianMc


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> *** The homophobes around here would head for those like bulls seeing red flags.
> 
> BrianMc


How would the haters feel about having their ass beat by a guy in tights with pink tires? I say go for it. Straight against hate.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

started packing up to head to Indy for the holidays. planning to do the Polar Bear ride with the mayor on Jan 5 on my commuter.

I'll be car-topping both the mtb and the commuter, with a soft rooftop bag between the bike carriers. I have Thule Sidearm carriers and have been considering how to best handle the commuter. Options are to remove the front fender, or not. I was looking checking things out earlier and it looks like I might be fine using the carrier and just pressing the fender down a few mm onto the tire. There's not much clearance there and it looks like the fender would be fine doing so. But I wouldn't be able to get the hook of the sidearm all the way to the fork. If I pulled the fender off, I'd be able to do that.

Do y'all have any suggestions about it? I haven't car-topped this bike before. 

Also looks like I ought to look into some studded tires soon. Sub-freezing daytime temps after some rain are likely to mean ice. I won't be commuting anywhere immediately so I'll be able to postpone that purchase for a little while, though.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Stingy. 20mph sleet on the cheeks!


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## mcscars (Sep 3, 2011)

15 F. Snow the night before. Ice all over the place. My lights crapped out on me. Definitely my first icey commute since I've been up here at Texas tech.

And for some reason I wanna go back out there!  perhaps it has to do with this final I'm about to take....

Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Nice 2-3" of snow this night, but unfortunately temperature didn't dropped down under 0.3°, so it's starting to melt down from car tracks and other city sloppy seconds... Gonna get slush instead of fine white powder on my commute tomorrow morning


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

David C said:


> Nice 2-3" of snow this night, but unfortunately temperature didn't dropped down under 0.3°, so it's starting to melt down from car tracks and other city sloppy seconds... Gonna get slush instead of fine white powder on my commute tomorrow morning


Ditto - I got a few slush baths on the way in and still no hot showers at work. But I have some new pedals so it's all good. Nice big platforms for the commuter to replace the cheap ones I smashed in my crash.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Commute this morning was good, a little brisk ~25F and a decent cross wind. I'm jealous of you guys getting snow, it's still nothing but rain around here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Schott said:


> How would the haters feel about having their ass beat by a guy in tights with pink tires? I say go for it. Straight against hate.


*** I think that after a V10 Ram with mudders has gone over me I won't have a lot of fight left in me. There is also a fair amount of meth about. So add brainless into the mix.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NateHawk said:


> Do y'all have any suggestions about it? I haven't car-topped this bike before.


I've got a Thule rack (hitch-mount, not car-top) and I just ratchet the arm down over the top of my fender (Planet Bike Cascadia), pinning the fender between the arm and the wheel. It only pushes it down a small amount and does not seem to cause any damage.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

28 degreees... but "feels like" 23. What does that even mean? 

Should have gone to the lobster gloves this morning. I'm still being stubborn and holding out with the 'level 2' gloves. Got a bit tingly.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

woodway said:


> I've got a Thule rack (hitch-mount, not car-top) and I just ratchet the arm down over the top of my fender (Planet Bike Cascadia), pinning the fender between the arm and the wheel. It only pushes it down a small amount and does not seem to cause any damage.


I have the same fenders. Good deal. Will save the irritation of finding space inside for the removed fender. It'll be at a premium.

Forecast on my security system suggested a morning low of 25 today but my backyard weather station says it actually got down to 36. That is a pretty substantial difference. I finally found my full fingered gloves last night thankfully


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Dec 10.....less than 8 hours of daylight until jan31....

Lots of vitamin D.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Freaking awesome commute today! Mid twenties, fresh powder, silence. Amazing! We finally got some good snow here in Anchortown over the weekend and I purposefully did not ride at all this weekend as my legs were telling me they needed a rest. So this morning was a wonderful treat. We got just a bit of fresh snow over what fell on Saturday night, there weren't many tracks out, and I was able to really enjoy the ride today. Great times.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NateHawk said:


> started packing up to head to Indy for the holidays. planning to do the Polar Bear ride with the mayor on Jan 5 on my commuter.


How did your defense go?



BrianMc said:


> Panaracer made tires with reflective stripes are uncommon.


Just going by what`s caught my own eye, I think reflective sidewalls are getting more common in a hurry- more manufacturers getting on that bandwagon.

Side note: Did you know that Panaracer is part of Panasonic? That might be a "Duh!" kind of statement, but I just recently figured it out!



mcscars said:


> Definitely my first icey commute since I've been up here at Texas tech.
> 
> And for some reason I wanna go back out there!  perhaps it has to do with this final I'm about to take....


Ice can be fun some times. Finals I don`t think have ever been described as "fun", so that makes sense :lol:
Good luck with both.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

rodar y rodar said:


> How did your defense go?


I have a thread up in OC with a vid and some pictures I used in my defense. In short, I did well. I have some revisions to the document to make, but I have until January to get them finished. I'm headed to Indy for a few weeks through the holidays, and then I'm going to come back to TX for a week to personally deliver everything. I think it would probably not cost much different to do that than to ship the 1,000+ pages of multiple printed copies overnight with signature and all that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lot of sucking and heavy breathing this morning. Threw on a new chain last night, the old one measured due but not overdue, and of course it worked perfectly in the stand but chainsuck hit before I even left my yard. Thinking maybe I had not effectively removed the factory grease & relubed, I went back in for a touch up, but it did not really help. It worked fine in the middle ring, so I went with that the whole way. 

We only got 1/2" of snow overnight, plus some ice, but it was raining the whole way. I was glad I violated my usual anti-clammy rainpant stance, they are worthwhile at 33F in slush and rain. 

I tried out the Lizard Skins Blizzard (part neoprene but fleecy inside) gloves I got for 14.99 off gearscan and was pleasantly surprised that my hands were warm and dry. It was not a downpour, so I hesitate to call them waterproof, but pretty nice for a cold rain. I had taken off the pogies because they'll be too hot this afternoon in the 40's, even without gloves.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ How quick is it to remove/install the pogies? Worth it for only a handful of uses in a winter?


..and that's a lot of carbide!


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Pretty easy to take the pogies on and off. It is only too warm for me usually on the way home, partly because it is all uphill. I usually just ride with my hands out of the pogies in the middle of the bars and hope I don't need the brakes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yeah, only about 5 secs to get the pogies off, just loosen a spring cordlock thingy that snugs it to the bar & pull off. Maybe 10 secs to get on, just because you have to make sure it slips over the trigger shifters. Ok, if you only used them 10x, saving 10 fingers each time, that would only be like a dollar a finger, or something like that. But seriously, I would be surprised at anyone who tried them and didn't use them more often than that.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Double commute for me today, since I've got a moderately sick puppy at home who could use an extra bathroom break.

So after about 3 weeks of solid -15C temperatures, we're finally back around freezing for a little while. So a nice warm, slushy, mucky day, and my lunchhour ride was my first commute with daylight in...a month or so? Good stuff.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

"sick as a dog" didn't become common nomenclature for nothin'. 

On the pogies... I'm pretty happy with the Lobsters down to low single digits...and we don't go below zero for more than a few days in a typical winter.... what is the temp range that the pogies are 'comfortable' for most folks? (I seem to have good circulation or something, because lots of people complain about the PI Lobsters down around the teens, but I don't get tingly with them until 7 or 8 degrees F)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> started packing up to head to Indy for the holidays. planning to do the Polar Bear ride with the mayor on Jan 5 on my commuter.


I wondered how nutsy it would be to commute in just to do that ride. A 2 hour round trip to clebrate bicycle commuting. :skep:

I put a congrats on the defense thread. You are now a certified expert on the thesis topic. Love the glimpse of beaver tail and later confirmation that is what had wandered by the video trap. Nice for wild pigs to come by and make it 'boaring'. Love how the armadillos take their own path.



mtbxplorer said:


> I had taken off the pogies because they'll be too hot this afternoon in the 40's, even without gloves.


The Bar Mitts aren't that warm. 40 F with fingerless gloves isn't too hot.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> A lot of sucking and heavy breathing this morning. Threw on a new chain last night, the old one measured due but not overdue, and of course it worked perfectly in the stand but chainsuck hit before I even left my yard. Thinking maybe I had not effectively removed the factory grease & relubed, I went back in for a touch up, but it did not really help. It worked fine in the middle ring, so I went with that the whole way.


Sounds like a stiff link. Usually the one you put back together if you used a chain tool. backpedal on the stand slowly and watch for one that doesn't straighten back out all the way. You take the factory lube off? I call that a maintenance free week.


mtbxplorer said:


> I tried out the Lizard Skins Blizzard (part neoprene but fleecy inside) gloves I got for 14.99 off gearscan and was pleasantly surprised that my hands were warm and dry. It was not a downpour, so I hesitate to call them waterproof, but pretty nice for a cold rain. I had taken off the pogies because they'll be too hot this afternoon in the 40's, even without gloves.


I'm going to try to resist the urge to get those. My wife is OK with my buying a few bikes a year (29er due in Wed, obsessively checking Fedex tracking for updates, check) but my never ending quest for the perfect gloves.... I want to try pogies but I mentally have trouble spending the money they want for them for a folded piece of cloth with some Velcro. It's too bad too because my hands are cold a lot.

My gear is just about dry from this morning. Time to go out and get soggy again.


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

big_papa_nuts said:


> They were definitely both pissed. The first one because I didn't "respect his authority", because he was in the wrong. The second one because I started asking him about the laptop issue and that is a bit of a touchy subject since that officer ran down that pedestrian.
> 
> Honestly they need some fire under their ass. Out of the 5 states and dozen cities I have lived in I have never seen such an ineffective police force. And, as far as I can seen most of them are clearly anti-bike. Out of the 7 times I have been hit, and one time I was assaulted by the diver after being hit, none of the cops have even been remotely helpful. And I have actually learned that they have broken protocol in a few cases. Don't get me wrong, I hate CM too, but if you can't help a guy that is just trying to get home from work then what good are you.
> 
> ...


How do you like the Zound?

This looks pretty cool: Loud Bicycle: Car horns for cyclists by Jonathan Lansey - Kickstarter


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm going to try to resist the urge to get those. My wife is OK with my buying a few bikes a year (29er due in Wed, obsessively checking Fedex tracking for updates, check) but my never ending quest for the perfect gloves.... I want to try pogies but I mentally have trouble spending the money they want for them for a folded piece of cloth with some Velcro. It's too bad too because my hands are cold a lot.


If your hands are cold, you should like them. I like them because I don't like the feel that I get with thick gloves, so I can use a much thinner glove, fingerless, or none at all under the pogies. I use bar mitts usually, and also have an older pair of Maddens that are fleece lined.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BrianMc said:


> I wondered how nutsy it would be to commute in just to do that ride. A 2 hour round trip to clebrate bicycle commuting. :skep:
> 
> I put a congrats on the defense thread. You are now a certified expert on the thesis topic. Love the glimpse of beaver tail and later confirmation that is what had wandered by the video trap. Nice for wild pigs to come by and make it 'boaring'. Love how the armadillos take their own path.


LOL, a 2 hour trip to ride 10 miles. sounds like an efficient plan.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

In one word: cold. Was 8f when I rolled this morning. New neoprene gloves were great except they don't breathe so one ends up with damp gloves for the ride home, but the hands were toasty. I haven't ridden knobby tires on pavement for a very long time and it took some getting used to them and the studs, my speed is definitely slower but I'll get used to it soon enough. Looking forward to really needing the tires.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer: Maybe something for next year?

http://forums.mtbr.com/9390864-post8.html

Presents issues in locking up the bike. though.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> mtbxplorer: Maybe something for next year?
> 
> http://forums.mtbr.com/9390864-post8.html
> BrianMc


Boat-towing is pretty cool, but I don't know that I could get mine back uphill to my house. If they opened that nearby reservoir to boats I might be tempted to try.



CommuterBoy said:


> what is the temp range that the pogies are 'comfortable' for most folks?


I use mine from about freezing down to -10F, just changing if I wear a glove, or what glove I wear inside them. I have the dogwood designs regulars, but they make a more insulated version for Alaskan expeditions at -40, etc. From your glove descriptions, I'm guessing you wouldn't want them until the 20's maybe.



BrianMc said:


> I wondered how nutsy it would be to commute in just to do that ride. A 2 hour round trip to clebrate bicycle commuting. :skep:BrianMc


I saw some coverage last year of that ride, which was on a real cold day. Loved this pic of a woman in her 70's, I think I posted it over in the WL.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another great commute today. A balmy 26 F when I left home. The snow we got over the weekend has not really set up yet as the temps are a bit warm yet, so it was still soft and the perfect surface for the fatty. The sky was overcast so I didn't even have to use my headlight other than on the lowest setting to let other cyclists see me coming at them. A great ride.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I honestly have no memory of the actual riding part of my last couple commutes...got a new audiobook :lol: 
Holy cow...I'm here already?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

New bike is here! Technically I could ride it home but I'll take some time to set it up for me. So I guess it will ride home with the wife. I got a hold of the owner of the LBS that just closed and picked up a pair of 9er Gazza Extreme 294s that will be going on soon. I've got a busy night tonight but hopefully I can take it tomorrow since it's suppose to freeze up tonight.

Oh, and the commute was fine Raining to start but cleared by about 1/2 way. 

What format do you get your audio books in? That might be different for the more boring winter road commutes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This was an MP3 download... usually just get them on iTunes, so they're mp3 or m4b or whatever they call their audiobooks... I learned that if you download an mp3 file and just re-name it "m4b", iTunes will put it in the audiobook section. 

I've gotten a few from library websites too... sometimes you can just download audiobooks for free, just like checking out a book from the library.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Melted snow from yesterday's rain is now ice on pavement ! Lucky not much, only small patches here and there, but at least nothing wet ! Save the chain, ride the ice !

I'm more concerned with driver's loosing control and hitting me than me crashing ahah


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I'm an audiobook addict, and I get most of them online from the library. You download a free overdrive media software via the library site, and then you can check out books in either WMA or mp3 format. The WMAs take up less room. So you download the book from the website to your computer and then using the overdrive software, transfer it to your ipod. I don't try to concentrate on a story on the bike, but I love them for yardwork, painting, driving, housecleaning, etc. I can even plug the ipod into some special hearing protectors to listen while mowing. You can get an even better selecction if you have a friend with a library card from another system.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

My library system doesn't do WMA and the stupid, stupid overdrive software doesn't like my Android phone for MP3s. I'd even be willing to install some Overdrive software on my phone to make it happen, but no dice.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Going to work this morning was perfectly pleasant, temp was ~18F and my feet were a little chilly but not to bad overall.

The way home was rather eventful. Watched a bozo in a Jeep Wrangler rear and some poor folks in a mini van waiting to turn left on a side street and then another mile down the road I got my first "gay" shout from some classless individual in an SUV.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

My daily commute is ~4.5 miles there and 5.5 miles home. Longer coming back to avoid climbing the steeper streets. The morning has me descending ~500 feet and climbing less than 100.

Today I had a pedal come apart on the downhill. Glad I did not have to climb that way. was able to fix it for the ride home.

Around 30F AM and 38F PM today. Not bad. New tires arrived to get me through the coming snow and ice.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I've got a newish cartridge bearing pedal that got crunchy last friday, so I took it apart to service it and found that the nut on the end of the spindle is stripped. I can't tighten it, but I also can't get it off, so now I can't get the spindle out. I put some grease in, closed everything up, and the crunchiness was gone and it spins fine. But in the back of my mind I'm wondering if/when whatever is left of the nut is going to pack it in, and the pedal will come flying off the spindle.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was nice out when I got up, but the wind has picked up since sundown. Check of the forecast looks like it`s a wet storm comming in- probably not much snow, but I`m sure it`ll be icy for a few days. Since I just finished repairing the damage from last week`s black ice incedent, I guess I ought to stud up tonight.

My books are still paperback. They go well with my quill stems and canti brakes 



bedwards1000 said:


> New bike is here! Technically I could ride it home but I'll take some time to set it up for me.


Yeah! So, it came in pretty much assembled? My last new bike did- honestly it took some of the fun out of the deal, but it WAS nice to be able to ride within minutes and not go scrounging for all the little miscelaneous stuff that I wouldn`t have thought to have on hand.



shiggy said:


> Today I had a pedal come apart on the downhill. Glad I did not have to climb that way. was able to fix it for the ride home.


 Sounds like it could have been painfull!



newfangled said:


> ^ I've got a newish cartridge bearing pedal that got crunchy last friday, so I took it apart to service it and found that the nut on the end of the spindle is stripped. I can't tighten it, but I also can't get it off, so now I can't get the spindle out. I put some grease in, closed everything up, and the crunchiness was gone and it spins fine. But in the back of my mind I'm wondering if/when whatever is left of the nut is going to pack it in, and the pedal will come flying off the spindle.


I have a pedal in that condition on my folder. In hindsight, I`m pretty sure I stripped the left handed threads by torquing the crap out of it while trying to get it apart- it wasn`t easy! In my defense, I have other pedals of the same brand/different model that use right handed threads on both sides with a Nylock. I`ve taken those apart many times to regrease the "nonserviceable" bearings over the past five years or so, and thought they`d be the same. Maybe not, though.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I have a pedal in that condition on my folder. In hindsight, I`m pretty sure I stripped the left handed threads by torquing the crap out of it while trying to get it apart- it wasn`t easy!


Is that actually a thing? I'd wondered about that the first time I took apart a cartridge pedal, but have only seen the nylock ones. This pedal is drive-side, so normal thread where it connects to the crank, which I guess would mean reverse-thread on the spindle end if I'm getting my rotation torques right?

Anyway, this one apparently came pre-stripped from the store/factory. I think it's over a year old, but it barely has any miles on it, which is annoying.


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## slowprogress (May 30, 2011)

*Good commute*

Was a little nippy for Phoenix area at 34 F. But I passed the 3000 mile mark for the year on the way home which made the day extra special !


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## scottg07 (Jun 21, 2006)

I used to never use lights or anything, I dont know if it was wanting to be incognito or just the "bike lights are lame" thought, but getting a bit older, sort of have more sense to use lights. Will never wear a reflective vest though 
First bicycle commute in a few weeks today, felt pretty good, a bit chilly though


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, Slopro 

Newf, you got me to thinking about that danged pedal again, so I googled around and found this:
Do you ever clean and lube pedals? [Archive] - Bike Forums
I thought it was interresting, but it doesn`t seem universal. In my case, both sets of pedals are Wellgo pinned platforms, both have bushings on the "inboard" and and tiny cartridge ball bearings on the "outboard" end. The older pedals have locknuts and both nuts are definitley RH for both pedals. The newer ones may or may not use locknuts (don`t remember offhand), but I betcha one of them had LH threads (which of them that was also escapes my memory right now). Since I can get aftermarket fancy-schmancy spindles for that model for about the same price as a new pair of pedals, I`ll probably try to drill off the end of the spindle the next time they start clicking on me, then order new spindles if the operation succeeds.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

A bit icy, has me wanting for snow for sure. I took a trail down some old railroad tracks on my way home yesterday that dropped me off a few blocks down of where I usually cross. The crossing guard for the school stopped me to talk, an older lady who has lived here (Berlin NH) all of her life. Just couldn't believe that I ride every day, couldn't believe that I do it in the snow, couldn't believe that I can ride my bike back up the street I live on (steep). "good for you" she says "you must have some good legs". I told her I cant believe that she can stand out in the cold holding a sign, at least I am moving! I'm particularly fond of the older generation anyway, but she is a good one.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

scottg07 said:


> I used to never use lights or anything, I dont know if it was wanting to be incognito or just the "bike lights are lame" thought, but getting a bit older, sort of have more sense to use lights. Will never wear a reflective vest though
> First bicycle commute in a few weeks today, felt pretty good, a bit chilly though


I thought that way too for quite a while but finally decided I already look like a complete dork on the bike and a reflective vest isn't gonna make or break my fashion statement but it might keep me from getting completely destroyed by a semi-truck on a rural highway at 6:00am when it's still pitch black out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah! So, it came in pretty much assembled? My last new bike did- honestly it took some of the fun out of the deal, but it WAS nice to be able to ride within minutes and not go scrounging for all the little miscelaneous stuff that I wouldn`t have thought to have on hand.


I actually sprung to have it built. Supposedly it was either that or having it "Professionally" assembled an a LBS or it would void the warranty. I wasn't' sure how many pieces it would be in if I didn't get it assembled. It was pretty much like any other bike I have bought off the internet. Needed to put on the wheels, handlebars & seat.

I got to ride it in this morning on the dark trails. I can't help but feel like I'm riding a horse so I can't say I fell in love with the 9er on the first ride. And for some reason, despite way up in the air on those wagon wheels I bounced the peddles off more rocks today than in the last year. It might take some time to get to know each other.

But it is purdy and shiny...


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

scottg07 said:


> I used to never use lights or anything, I dont know if it was wanting to be incognito or just the "bike lights are lame" thought, but getting a bit older, sort of have more sense to use lights. Will never wear a reflective vest though
> First bicycle commute in a few weeks today, felt pretty good, a bit chilly though


Got to have lights!! Especially of you are going to follow the proper rules of riding a bike with traffic. I got a Lazer Urbanizer helmet that has built in lights front and back which really increase my visibility. With the blinking lights on my bike as well, people sometimes think I'm a police officer, but I know that I'm seen!!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Looks fun bedwards! 

We were getting some wet snow when I went to bed, but it deteriorated to freezing rain at some point overnight, and then stopped... so a cold dry commute with some very slick roads this morning. This would have been a much more interesting post if I hadn't gotten the studs this year. I almost forgot I was riding in ice until I got the back wheel to slip a bit when I stood up on a climb.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

MrMatson said:


> I thought that way too for quite a while but finally decided I already look like a complete dork on the bike and a reflective vest isn't gonna make or break my fashion statement but it might keep me from getting completely destroyed by a semi-truck on a rural highway at 6:00am when it's still pitch black out.


Pretty much. If you're wearing a helmet then you already look like a dork to 99% of the population. Might as well commit to it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> In my case, both sets of pedals are Wellgo pinned platforms, both have bushings on the "inboard" and and tiny cartridge ball bearings on the "outboard" end. The older pedals have locknuts and both nuts are definitley RH for both pedals.


Thanks for that link. From there it looks like if one side is going to be reverse threaded then it will be the driveside. These are wellgo knockoffs, and the other 2 or 3 I've serviced were wellgos too. Weird.

I swore off the loose-ball pedals after I took one apart, and discovered that it didn't have lockwashers, so it was basically impossible to service all for the sake of saving a fraction of a cent on a washer. I even scavenged through the co-op's parts bins trying find a replacement but wasn't successful. Stupid pedals.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Is it weird that I've never serviced a set of pedals? Granted, I've only been riding bikes seriously since the mid 80's...but I've never had one give me any trouble. I bought the pedals that are on my mountain bike in 1998, and other than moving them from bike to bike and adjusting the cleat tension, I've never touched them.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Got fed up with not riding. Rode. Amazing how long it takes to get everything together again, and how oddly intimidated I was by riding to work when I've done it at least 100 times already. New goggles worked well, although I wimped out and wore sunglasses until I was off the road (and out of the public eye, for the most part). No wind applied to my eyes, but enough ventilation that there was no fog.

Pretty sure the helmet's just for show at this point. It sits so high on my head with my hood up that I doubt it would do much if I crashed unless I pointed my head forward to ram it directly into whatever I hit, which doesn't sound like a great plan from a neck/spine perspective. Even with it "down" on my head I have doubts about how effective a normal bike helmet is in a crash. as the coverage on the front and sides seems minimal. The only time I ever had a big bike crash and needed the helmet (in the summer before 5th grade) I skipped/slid down the road on my face instead.

Behold my dorky goggles:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I always wear my dorky vest, almost always wear the dorky hat with it. Partly for saftey, but mostly just because I relish dorkiness 

Xplorer (no relation to afore mentioned dorkiness), did you get your chain suck fixed?



bedwards1000 said:


> Supposedly it was either that or having it "Professionally" assembled an a LBS or it would void the warranty.
> 
> I can't help but feel like I'm riding a horse so I can't say I fell in love with the 9er on the first ride. And for some reason, despite way up in the air on those wagon wheels I bounced the peddles off more rocks today than in the last year.


Can`t say as I blame the manufacturers for making the warranty dependent on a pro assembly. Do FS bikes usually have more pedal strike than HTs? I`m going to have to rent one one of these summers. And it looks like you went with a double crankset- smaller than a road compact though, isn`t it? Hope so!



CommuterBoy said:


> Is it weird that I've never serviced a set of pedals? Granted, I've only been riding bikes seriously since the mid 80's...but I've never had one give me any trouble.


I guess you`re just lucky that way. I`ve never had any trouble with quill pedals (opened a few up just to see what they look like, and stuffed a little grease in while I was at it). had two pairs of CB Smarties (cheapo version of Candies) go to hell, couldn`t redo them for some forgotten reason. My first pair of Wellgos started clicking a few years after I bought them, grease quiets them up for about 6 months to a year per treatment. Several pairs of other BMX pedals have given me no troubles, but I don`t think I`ve put many miles on any of them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath, I have that complaint about a lot of helmets too.. currently using a Bell Metro, and it seems to have better side/back coverage, and feels more like you're "in" it, rather than it just being "on top". When it gets really cold, I wear my snowboard helmet (that my wife made me buy after I broke my leg snowboarding...as if wearing a helmet is somehow going to keep me from breaking my leg again in the future). The snowboard helmet is warm, has very good coverage, has ear warming flaps that are removeable, and supposedly meets all of the same standards that bike helmets meet. It's a great alternative in the winter. Would work well with your dorky goggles too.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Today was brutal. We got about 5 inches of fresh snow overnight with more on the way. I broke trail for 90% of my ride today. The snow was quite heavy and wet and even with the fatties aired way down, I was still floundering in some places - particularly where the trees had sluffed off. By my ride home tonight, there could be up to a foot of fresh snow. At least the temps are nice - upper 20's


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sanath, I have that complaint about a lot of helmets too.. currently using a Bell Metro, and it seems to have better side/back coverage, and feels more like you're "in" it, rather than it just being "on top". When it gets really cold, I wear my snowboard helmet (that my wife made me buy after I broke my leg snowboarding...as if wearing a helmet is somehow going to keep me from breaking my leg again in the future). The snowboard helmet is warm, has very good coverage, has ear warming flaps that are removeable, and supposedly meets all of the same standards that bike helmets meet. It's a great alternative in the winter. Would work well with your dorky goggles too.


I'm trying to avoid spending $60 on a winter-specific helmet when I'm going to stop riding as soon as the snow/ice gets serious (if it ever does, at this rate). I was hoping to pick up one on clearance in the spring, for next year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> But it is purdy and shiny...


That is purdy! Enjoy! Which LBS closed?

I dropped someone off at the airport this a.m. and did not do it on the bike. Also took her dog home for a week, so I'll be driving more so she's not home alone so long. Our upcoming holiday party also requires driving, so I'll be missing some bikecommutes, but should have some extra energy for some weekend rec rides with the dog.

I have not taken a closer look at the chainsuck, but as luck would have it there is a drivetrain workshop tonight I was considering, so maybe it can be a patient there if there is room for me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Can`t say as I blame the manufacturers for making the warranty dependent on a pro assembly. Do FS bikes usually have more pedal strike than HTs? I`m going to have to rent one one of these summers. And it looks like you went with a double crankset- smaller than a road compact though, isn`t it? Hope so!


It is exactly the same bike as my other FS but in a 9er version. The other bike is still in the shop but when it comes out I'll have to check the clearance. It's a double and a 10 speed rear - my first. I didn't' run out of gears on my normal hilly route. Probably cause the cranks are so long

MTXB, the one in Windham closed after 2 years. He's got piles of bike parts in TOTAL disarray that I'm pretty interested in.

I've re-greased and tightened one set of pedals. Eventually the rivets were so loose I retired them.

OK, I'll join in the dorky photo contest (should almost be it's own thread?) Actually, I look pretty cool:skep:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ What is that face sheild? Link please? I like my 'clava, and I don't like those neoprene ski face shields, but it looks like that might be one I could live with. Does it go way down on the neck like a 'clava, or is that another item covering yer neck?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Is it weird that I've never serviced a set of pedals?


This is the first time I've actually had pedals go crunchy bad...even though these barely had any miles on them. But it looks like some grease fixed them up...even if I'll never be able to fully service them.

Last spring I just wanted to know how the cartridge pedals worked, so I took a few of mine apart to clean and regrease them. It's really easy, although after just looking at rebuild kits online, some driveside spindles are reverse-threaded and some aren't. That's ridiculous.

And I've rebuilt a few ancient loose-bearing pedals at the co-op. It's insanely fiddly work, but weirdly satisfying. But because of that, once when I was trying to track down a mystery clicking noise I took apart a perfectly good set of loose-bearing pedals, only to discover that I'd never be able to readjust them again because they didn't have a lock washer. Stupid pedals.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ What is that face sheild? Link please? I like my 'clava, and I don't like those neoprene ski face shields, but it looks like that might be one I could live with. Does it go way down on the neck like a 'clava, or is that another item covering yer neck?


The brand is Serius, I like it because it has closes with velcro on the back. I put it over my helmet straps and it doesn't feel like I'm wearing a neck brace like other clavas. This *might *be the same one but I can't tell if it pulls over or has velcro. I think they have them in EMS stores. I've got a similar one from Gator.

The double pane glasses/goggles from Amazon are amazing. They just don't' fog.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Pedals: I have relubed a number of them a number of times. The classic early 70's Campys are still going strong on the errand bike. The two-sided Wellgos took a hit in the accident. So I replaced them with Shimano PD A520 one siders. The Welgos can go back on for boots when the temps get there not too far from now.They have a click in them since they were 6 months old which comes and goes. Now hey are off I can hammer the one back into shape and fix the click.
:
Helmets and vests keep us differentiated from 7-11 hold-up people. 

Nice bike Bedwards. Replacing all the torn clothing and gear cost me a +1. Next Christmas. 

BrianMc


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Helmets and vests keep us differentiated from 7-11 hold-up people.


Haha, I'd rather look like a dork than a criminal.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got a short 8 mile ride in today. I need to adjust the new pedals to the lowest clamp setting. The Soma New Xpress tires do ride smoother that Pasela Tourguards. I will up their pressure 5 pounds to increase the crispness of handling and get a bit more snakebite protection. The difference feels like I put on 35s. I found some nails in the area where I got flatted. Possible the sharp head of one did the damage. Possible thst a car bumped some out from the road edge. I will cut if wider, just in case.

Only the gouged areas have scabs still. the left hand tyes better and no pain holding hte bar, but he knuckles are still a bit sore, the swelling is enough to keep the ring from coming off, and the purple color is still there if you compare to the right hand. The chest aches with each breath once I get aerobic. Whether a cracked rib or pectoral ligaments, it is on the decline. So now to build miles and speed back up. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats on getting back out there, Brian. Smell the roses and take it easy for a bit, non need to rush. I will try to posrep you but I think its maxxed out.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Ohoh, are we having a dockets helmet outfit contest ?

If so, check mine out


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Had a close call with a car on my way in today, even though I had all my blinkers flashing. The old geezer barely slowed down before turning left as I came barreling down my street at 30mph, he crossed right in front of me. I was on the brakes hard and managed to sneak behind him, could have smacked his car on the way by, but his wife was already yelling at him, which is way worse than I could have managed. Keep your eyes open out there. Thank god for big disc brakes on the cargo bike.


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## midnightlost (Feb 26, 2012)

Cold, not as cold as Davids, but low 20s 

Is it just me or does the cold really just suck the energy right out of you?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

David C said:


> Ohoh, are we having a dockets helmet outfit contest ?
> 
> If so, check mine out
> 
> View attachment 744591


Link to the helmet? Is the face shield part of it? It looks kinda like a motorcycle helmet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice work Brian! That was quicker than I thought it would be. 

Another morning of thankfulness for the studs today. The conditions in the pic deteriorated to shiny reflective pavement...cars were moving s l o w this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A slow ride (queue Foghat here...) this morning. We ended up with 11+ inches of new snow. The trail I ride was groomed last evening, but hadn't really set up by this AM, so it was like pushing through pudding. Or maybe cottage cheese. 33.5 degrees at my house when I left and I over dressed so was a bit warm and sweaty when I arrived at work. Them's the breaks, I guess.

From the ride home last night.


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## mcscars (Sep 3, 2011)

Yesterday's commute was the best yet!!

I was riding home from my last final exam and a black Jeep Grand Cherokee passes me and the guy in the passenger seat sticks his head out the window and starts yelling “Go, Lance!” etc etc. I take a short cut to avoid a red light while they stayed on the main road and they started yelling something along the lines of “Oh no! Lance is gonna beat us!!”

Needless to say, I got ahead of them , but they caught up with me at the next light and got in the right turning lane and started talking to me. The guy in the passenger seat said they were gonna make a beer run real quick and catch up with me later. (There is a liquor store right on the corner.)

So I go on ahead and I didn’t see them for awhile and I figured I lost them. But then right before I took a right turn into my apartment complex, the black Jeep pulls up next to me and, while we’re moving, hands me Natty Light out the window.

I know it was only a Natty Light but it was still my best commute by far!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's awesome.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Don't they know that Lance drinks Michelob Ultra Light, oh wait he lost that sponsorship.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Awesome 'sharing' o the road. Though illegal here. Oh well. 

Another day. Another ride. SHoulder is better. Tires better with more air. A bit more in the front, I think. Pedals are starting to clip in batter maybe the Triflow helped. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mcscars said:


> Yesterday's commute was the best yet!!
> ...But then right before I took a right turn into my apartment complex, the black Jeep pulls up next to me and, while we're moving, hands me Natty Light out the window.


Dang! Guess I'm bikecommuting in the wrong neighborhood. Great story.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

mcscars said:


> Yesterday's commute was the best yet!!...
> 
> So I go on ahead and I didn't see them for awhile and I figured I lost them. But then right before I took a right turn into my apartment complex, the black Jeep pulls up next to me and, while we're moving, hands me Natty Light out the window.
> 
> I know it was only a Natty Light but it was still my best commute by far!!


Beer hand ups are the best! I too am commuting in the wrong neighborhoods!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, those are some GNARLY looking tires! Nokian Extremes? I rode my studs for a few days, plenty cold but we didn`t get any ice or snow . I brought the bike into the house this evening for a little maintenance and put my slicks back on while I was at it.



midnightlost said:


> Is it just me or does the cold really just suck the energy right out of you?


Not just you. But I think it`s a combination of the cold + the cold weather gear that does it. And then you don`t get any gratification from pushing it, so (in my case anyway), aside from being lowed down by physics, I`m not inclined to even try making up some of that loss.



Schott said:


> I was on the brakes hard and managed to sneak behind him, could have smacked his car on the way by, but his wife was already yelling at him, which is way worse than I could have managed.


You should have handed up a beer to the driver`s wife! Well, glad you didn`t slam into his rear quarter- good reactions :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nokian Gazza Extreme 296's... 29x2.0

I went back to the Drifters last night... a little patchy snow on my dirt road, but the 'real' roads are clear. Dry and cold this morning. Supposed to be a high of 36 today. I have an 18miler after work and didn't want to drag the studs along

I saw a really massive buck this morning. Right next to the road. Reindeer scouts preparing the way for the big man, no doubt. :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Somehow I missed Scott's close call. Always best to avoid a collision. I think some drivers just mistake us for a 5 mph beach cruiser and get surprise when we are 2/3 or more of the speed limit.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The one close encounter with traffic I fairly regularly have is people misjudging my speed and passing me, only to want to turn right just ahead of where they pass me. There's a school at the bottom of a gradual downhill, where I can easily cruise at the 25mph speed limit. Moms picking up kids from whatever afterschool activity do this to me a lot. I generally glance behind and take the lane right behind them as soon as I see the signal, and shoot around them on the left while they come to an awkward half-stop trying to figure out where I went. Seems much safer than hoping they let me dart by in the bike lane before they right-hook me. As I shoot around on the left, the ones that still don't know I was moving faster than they think go ahead and make their turn (would have hit me), and the ones that know I'm there somewhere, but can't find me, hopefully at least realize the error of their ways and feel stupid about not just slowing down and letting me get past the turn before they make their right. I have smacked a couple of trunks in moments when it's especially obvious that they were in the wrong.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Seems much safer than hoping they let me dart by in the bike lane before they right-hook me.


And more entertaining, no doubt.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ On the flat section (just after where apparently I can hit 40 mph in a 30 zone), where I can hold the 20-25 mph range with no head wind. People pull to pass with oncoming traffic and suddenly stomp on it as their 35 mph isn't going to get it done on time. It took them awhile to catch me, so I guess they were on the phone. They can see me as soon as they crest of the hill. I am 500 to 1200 feet ahead. So time to estimate speed and time to pass. All nerdy and lit like a Christmas tree if they look they see me. I think they assume you are at a pedestrian pace. I have the golf course as my out on the right. I have done my level best to tell them I am what I am. 99+ % of drivers get and appreciate that effort. Most of the 1% seem to learn from their error. I am happiest when I get to the stop sign with no close overtaking traffic. 

My brother had to lay his bike down and crawl out from under a bumper of a car. The lady who just got past then slammed on the brakes with no signal and turned partly into a right lane then stopped forming an instant barricade. He crawled out and slammed his fist down on her trunk. She wondered what the noise was when the bike hit the differentia. "But I passed you!" No concept of the bike moving whatsoever. So take care. They may not be 00's but some seem to have a license to kill or at least maim. 

BrianMc


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Finally got the snow I've been waiting for. All I have to say is for those that commute daily in this I salute you! It was chunky and sloppy, but soft with the temps hovering right at freezing. I threw caution and common sense to the wind  and took the lane I needed since it seems the city plows didn't hit the shoulders but the state plows do resulting in shoulder (mostly) covered in slushy plow leavings. Except for the idiots who don't understand that when you drive with the wheels in the strip of snow between the tires it sprays all over the cyclist you're passing, most were courteous and gave me plenty of room as they passed. 

It sucks there is no easy alternative to the 2 miles on highway I have to traverse to get to/from work. The options are a bypass road with even smaller shoulders that adds10+ miles to the commute or the back country fire road that is near-deadly when it's dry. So I'm stuck with the highway. Hoping tonight's ride home will be a little better with the roads in better shape!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Had a fox run directly at me last night on my way home for about 20 feet before veering off into the wetland-ish area to the side of the trail (the other side is a few feet of vegetation and then the Erie Canal). I don't know why creatures can't just run into the damn bushes. Rabbits do the same thing, refusing to actually run into the bushes. They run down the trail away from me and when I get close enough eventually panic and freeze.

I was mentally preparing myself to kick whatever it was running at me (didn't know it was a fox until it turned). Glad it wasn't a bear, I guess?


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Spatialized, Snow makes it a different world. I think the worst part by far is the slushing from cars/trucks. I'm lucky that I don't have to ride down any major roads like that, just across a sleepy town, but it still happens. I'm thankful that my town is so poor that they don't plow until after the storm, so the roads stay so snowy that with the right conditions I can actually ski the roads I usually ride. Make yourself visible, NOBODY expects to see cyclists in the snow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Riding home through the woods approaching a snowmobile bridge with a caution sign and some trail markers I thought "Wow, they really added some reflectors along the edge of the trail here."...Then the 4 deer ran into the woods. The way they were standing along the edge of the trail with the existing markers their eyes looked like a guard rail.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Schott said:


> Make yourself visible, NOBODY expects to see cyclists in the snow.


A cyclist`s chief weapons are fear and surprise.


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## scottg07 (Jun 21, 2006)

Took the moto cycle today but yesterday switched to fixed again, really enjoyable ride and when passing oncoming bikes in the bike path with no lights Im thinking wtf are they thinking? But again that was me two years ago... We get smarter I guess


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Yeah, I remember flying down the bike path, post bar, in the pitch dark, and our only weapon was that if you thought you heard something, you ring your bell like crazy and move to what you thought was the right side of the trail. I don't know how I didn't end up in the Animas river. We do get smarter, don't we.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Chainsuck fixed. As I suspected, granny was worn just enough to snaggle the new chain. I will now try to be replacing chains at .75% as recommended by shop and Park Tool, not at <1 as the Park Tool chainchecker itself says. I was lucky they had the pe$ky XTR compatible granny in stock and were able to do the work while I waited, saving me time and $ since they are not-so-LBS. $20 labor also covered a do-over on my disc brake job (I got them not to sing, but not the right feel), re-seating the new rear studded tire he noticed was slightly off, re-adjusting the rear hub bearing that was oversnug after my overhaul last weekend but had since un-snugged a dite, and a slight V brake adjust because he cannot resist. 

Rode the fatty this morning, a beautiful blue sky and around freezing, and the snowmo trails were positively crowded: 1 landowner fixing drainage, 1 logger, 2 birdhunters, 2 labrador retrievers, 1 cabbed utility vehicle. Snowless excess for dustings in colder spots.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Raining again this morning. Supposed to snow over the next couple days...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Cold one again this AM. -15 F when I left the house. By the time I got to work my left eyelid was frozen together at the lashes. Good times. Nice sheen of ice over all my clothes. Actually had to walk the bike up the final hill to work as I completely bonked. Crazy how the cold can drain a person so quickly. The cold also reminded me that I need to clean and relube the drivetrain. Things just didn't want to move this morning.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Snowy and great. First real snow event from the new house, and on the new bike. There was about 6 inches and snowing when I left this morning. Surprising myself, the sidewalks were my friend...don't judge. I was on and off of them depending on snow piles and walkers. Sort of felt like Paperboy., it was a lot for fun. It handled the biggest plow lines with ease, so far. While I generally just ride straight to work, I poked my way down side streets and through the park and on the in-town snowmobile trail instead. Much safer and cleaner. I made it back up the hill to my house as well, twice. The traction was there, what a fun bike.

All cleaned up and lubed for a job well done.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice Schott! :thumbsup: ...and I see I'm not the only on with the bike & tools in the kitchen.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mean looking ride, Schott!

I drove with my inlaws yesterday to the next town south of here. Could see that big nasty storm front that CB mentions all the way down, but it seems to be stuck on the mountain and can`t quite move over to us in Reno. Studs going back on anyway- still not much hope of snow in town, but will probably be icy for a while.



blockphi said:


> Cold one again this AM. -15 F when I left the house. By the time I got to work my left eyelid was frozen together at the lashes.
> 
> The cold also reminded me that I need to clean and relube the drivetrain. Things just didn't want to move this morning.


Does lubing do any good at temperatures like that? Do you use something special that doesn`t freeze up solid?


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

1,650 bike commuting miles in 5 months...my first day in the car today. Bummed.

Woke up in cold sweats and a splitting headache, was going to sleep in a bit, shake it off and come in a few hours late but the kid that works for me called in sick. Can't leave the company without IT Support!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

New batteries in the Planet Bike Blaze 2 watt headlight today. Wow. I never realize how bad it was getting until I throw new batteries in there. It's not a 'high end' light by any means, but it shines like the sun with new batteries...especially after not realizing that it's been almost dead for several days. :lol: I don't think I hit one pothole on the dirt road.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Does lubing do any good at temperatures like that? Do you use something special that doesn`t freeze up solid?


What I've found is that if I clean and lube each week that things don't get as crunchy. The only time I've had things freeze up was while using Pedro's all weather lube. I usually use T-9 or ProLink and haven't had issues other than when I don't clean it up regularly. I don't think it is so much the lube that freezes, as there is really a small amount left on the chain after it's wiped down, but it's more the collection of grime and attendant water that it traps that causes the chain to stiffen up in really cold temps.

Today's ride was much warmer -7F at my house this AM. Good ride. Trails are nice and firm so I bumped the pressure up on the tires and had a nice quick ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> New batteries in the Planet Bike Blaze 2 watt headlight today. Wow. ...especially after not realizing that it's been almost dead for several days. :lol: I don't think I hit one pothole on the dirt road.


Runtime on high is supposed to be 8 hours. If that is with alkaline cells, NiMH may be shorter as they are 1.2 not 1.5 volt cells.

The 1 Watt Turbo has the following output/battery voltage pattern:



I suspect they use similar driver circuits as the Blaze.

The Turbo used NiMH AAA'a were 1000 mA. Good NiMH AA'a for the Blaze are about 2500 mA, and the 2 watt LED may get 25% longer runtime. Or 6.3 hours, a little more it the 2 watts is really 1.8. But 8 hours max on high in full on mode. The drop off in output is really pronounced when it kicks in. Not quite on/off but getting there, Also the Turbo starts 50% brighter than it is for most of the run and drops to more typical output in an hour or so. I suspect the Blaze does the same. So comparing almost dead to fresh batteries is a four fold change or more.

To keep the Turbos burning bright, I figured out regular charging schedule.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I've just been using alkaline AA's... and I usually just run it on the lower setting, so it really does last a long time. I only need it for the morning ride most of the time (evening maybe 1 time a week if I get held up and wind up riding home after dark...more common this time of year), and each use is 30 min or less generally...so if it's 8 hours+ of run time, that's 16 trips I can take with it at least, and by then I have no idea how many trips it's been :lol: I know I push it more than that before I finally get around to sacrificing the 2 minutes in the morning to find the batteries in the laundry room... I should do the recharge thing but I've never gotten around to it. I would bet I've been using these same batteries since mid October.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Totally overheated today, I don't know what I was thinking getting dressed. Snow doesn't mean cold, it usually means kinda warm and sweaty. That, and I went off piste on the way home, hard work that.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride to and back from barber. Running the new tires at 90-95 as recommended. They are crisper handling at pressure and still ride better than the Tourguards when they were at 65 and 85 pounds. less rolling resistance, too. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> 1,650 bike commuting miles in 5 months...my first day in the car today. Bummed.
> 
> Woke up in cold sweats and a splitting headache, was going to sleep in a bit, shake it off and come in a few hours late but the kid that works for me called in sick. Can't leave the company without IT Support!


Hope you made it through your day, BC. And feel better soon. I`m in a similar place- had a little bit of flu for 1.5 days, manageable though. But by the time I got home this morning I felt like total crap. I just got up a few hours ago, not feeling any better, but I`m going to hop in my truck here soon and get myself some OTC meds- hope they work. After several years of ALMOST 100% bike commutes, I`m still hanging in there on Dec 18th, so there ain`t no way I`ll be driving to work tonight. At least I still have the option to call in sick if I can`t ride it, but it`s already going to be a short paycheck, so I hate to make it any shorter.



Schott said:


> That, and I went off piste on the way home, hard work that.


Nice! Even in a good snow year, I don`t think I`ve ever seen snow like that inDec. Our big snow (if we get it) usualy doesn`t come until February. Then again, by Feb, youll probably have 30 feet of it :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Nice ride to and back from barber. Running the new tires at 90-95 as recommended. They are crisper handling at pressure and still ride better than the Tourguards when they were at 65 and 85 pounds. less rolling resistance, too.
> 
> BrianMc


Nice! Less wind resistance on the way back too, I imagine, thanks to the barber.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice! Less wind resistance on the way back too, I imagine, thanks to the barber.


It fits under the helmet either way. Less mass to accelerate though including a lighter wallet.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Keeping the mind busy on the ride in:
An Ode To Studded Tires


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^Nice. Press on! 

11 degrees for the morning ride today... brisk. I guess we're spending this day or two between storm systems on the Canada side of the jet stream.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Today we finally tipped down to -21C/-6F, which is enough for me to don my "real" cold weather gear - first time this year that I've covered my face, worn a fleece midlayer, or worn the 3 layer gloves. Winter feels like it's taking forever since it started so early around here, but so far I hadn't had a commute below -18C/0F. That's unusual, because by now we'll typically have had a few days of -25C thrown in just to mix things up.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

9F here, and I think I set a new personal record for slowest commute with dry and windless conditions. I feel like total $h1t. No shower, no breakfast- going straight to bed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ But you rode. Nice work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> 9F here, and I think I set a new personal record for slowest commute with dry and windless conditions. I feel like total $h1t. No shower, no breakfast- going straight to bed.


Way to to on the 100%!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> 9F here, and I think I set a new personal record for slowest commute with dry and windless conditions. I feel like total $h1t. No shower, no breakfast- going straight to bed.


Ugh! :bluefrown: Hope you feel better soon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Keeping the mind busy on the ride in:
> An Ode To Studded Tires


Ode to an Ode: That was a great ode. :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Inspired by Rodar the ill to put another 12 miles on today. My pulsimeter bought it in the crash. It needed a new battery as it did not read for most of the ride previous to the crash. A battery swap showed it is DOA. 

BrianMc


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

3rd day of fresh snow, super slush, low pressure, roundabout rides to work. I'm actually sore. My legs will be tree trunks by spring.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

LeBron James says he bikes to most Heat home games to stay in shape | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo! Sports

Commute was a little wet, but I had a wicked tailwind so I didn't feel it until I turned the corner near my workplace. The ride home will likely be wet and colder.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. A nice round 0.0 degrees, clear skies, and fast trails. Then the wind kicked in - 30 mph sustained from the north. Ride home's going to be a bit slower.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Riding to work since '89 is pretty impressive :thumbsup:


Rodar, are things contageous on the internet? I broke Jeffscott's 'above the neck/below the neck' rule this morning... weird stomach pains and a very long slow cold 6 miles. Not looking forward to the ride home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> After several years of ALMOST 100% bike commutes, I`m still hanging in there on Dec 18th, so there ain`t no way I`ll be driving to work tonight.


Hang in there rodar! I'm counting on us crossing the finish line together this year!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Riding to work since '89 is pretty impressive :thumbsup:


True, but shouldn't manbat be there by now? 

Hope you feel better, CB.

I had trouble choosing steeds this morning, studded MTB or unstudded fatbike????? It's been snowing/raining/melting/freezing, etc. all week, leaving a wierd-textured +/-3" of snow behind. I initially regretted my choice (studded MTB) on the uphill trails where it floundered a bit, but there was enough ice that in the end I was happy with my selection. I also wanted to give that chainsuck fix (new granny) a good test, and it passed with flying colors.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ I wanted to take the cross bike today. I woke up to black ice warnings so the choice wasn't hard, the tank. I'm not ready to introduce the new 9er to salty roads yet. I'll keep it to icy trails, once they ice up again...waiting. It looks like next week the daytime highs aren't going to get above freezing so they should firm up.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

28F, sun and clear roads and paths, the fair weather riders have gone away.


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## Biggie (Dec 11, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, are things contageous on the internet? I broke Jeffscott's 'above the neck/below the neck' rule this morning... weird stomach pains and a very long slow cold 6 miles. Not looking forward to the ride home.


Please elaborate, if there are commutersecrets we need to know!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Elaborate on what? The rule? Jeffscott the magnificent is quoted as saying that when you have a cold, if it's above the neck (sore throat, head cold...) go ahead and ride, and if it's below the neck (abdominal pains, stomach flu....) it's not worth it. 

My personal rule is "man up and ride unless you might die" which is why I haven't driven to work since I got studded tires. I'm of the opinion that if I'm healthy enough to go to work, I'm healthy enough to ride. Today I am questioning if I was healthy enough to go to work...but I'm a teacher, it's finals week....and there's 2 weeks off waiting for me after tomorrow


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## Biggie (Dec 11, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Elaborate on what? The rule? Jeffscott the magnificent is quoted as saying that when you have a cold, if it's above the neck (sore throat, head cold...) go ahead and ride, and if it's below the neck (abdominal pains, stomach flu....) it's not worth it.
> 
> My personal rule is "man up and ride unless you might die" which is why I haven't driven to work since I got studded tires. I'm of the opinion that if I'm healthy enough to go to work, I'm healthy enough to ride. Today I am questioning if I was healthy enough to go to work...but I'm a teacher, it's finals week....and there's 2 weeks off waiting for me after tomorrow


I wanted Jeff Scott's rule. Thought it my be JEDIrrific. I'm not so sure I'll adopt yours...

As an aside, I just bought Deuter Rack Pack "Uni" panniers and am almost ready for my innaugural commute. With 2 kids in competitive hockey, I just need to find a day with no hockey commitments.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Is it me...*

or is it just harder to ride in the cold? I do the same route but am considerably slower now since the weather turned (the studded tires probably don't help either). Working harder to go the same distance is no fun.

Today was 7F when I left the house. Cold with a capital "F". My neoprene Walmart special gloves worked great, thinking I need socks in the same material though!. The main roads are just bare and dry now, sidewalks and half of the shoulder littered with icy nodules of pain. Talking to a guy at work who said our LBS told him he only 2 more months of riding left, 2 months ago, I showed him the bike and gear with a grin. He asked when I would stop and I said, "Haven't stopped yet, have I?"

On a related note, the studded tires are great. Feel very stable, even on sheer ice; not so great in snow per se but I'm really liking them. And officially, everyone at work thinks I'm crazy for riding at this time of year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ It's definitely harder in the cold, especially when you get down to those single digits like you experienced today. Try to put your mind in a new frame of reference, forget your personal bests, leave early so you're not rushed, and just try to enjoy the ride. Don't even bother looking at your computer, GPS, etc. 

Crazy is awesome. :crazy::crazy::thumbsup: Pedal on.


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

Pretty much sums up the ride home. I sure am glad I was going South. The morning commute was in about 3 inches of slush.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

thebigfish said:


> Pretty much sums up the ride home. I sure am glad I was going South. The morning commute was in about 3 inches of slush.


Got that wind down here today. Glad I haven't needed to go anywhere lately


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> if it's above the neck (sore throat, head cold...) go ahead and ride, and if it's below the neck (abdominal pains, stomach flu....) it's not worth it.


In the realm of below-the-neck I'd add hacking cough. I had one of those a few weeks ago, and I really shouldn't have ridden. Temperatures were just barely below freezing, but I felt like my lungs were on fire while being sliced up by razor blades. At one point on a longish detour home I stopped to cough and cough and cough and cough for like 5 minutes straight. Yeck.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

It was snowing and icy yesterday. Hit a patch of ice covered with wet snow and went down, despite riding studded tires. Everywhere else the studs are great.

Today was frozen and slick in the morning. The Marathon Winters worked great.

Warmed up for the afternoon trip home. Wet bare pavement, slush. Nice view from the bridge.







Looking south, with more than a 180 degree view. Columbia River. Like the blue sky over the Columbia Plateau to the east and storm clouds over the Cascades.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Wow, cool shot, Shiggy!

I`m feeling quite a bit better, but still not back to normal. I`m registered to ride my first brevet down near Sacramento on the 31st (DBC Last Chance 200K). I was worried about the weather before, now more concerned that I`ll still be dragging my butt in a sling. We`ll see, I guess.



newfangled said:


> In the realm of below-the-neck I'd add hacking cough. I had one of those a few weeks ago, and I really shouldn't have ridden. Temperatures were just barely below freezing, but I felt like my lungs were on fire while being sliced up by razor blades. At one point on a longish detour home I stopped to cough and cough and cough and cough for like 5 minutes straight. Yeck.


Yeah, lung/breating issues and cold temps probably aren`t a very good combination for any kind of exertion. Why does cold air induce coughing, anyway?



Spatialized said:


> Cold with a capital "F".


I like that!



Biggie said:


> I wanted Jeff Scott's rule. Thought it my be JEDIrrific. I'm not so sure I'll adopt yours...


:lol: Good plan!



mtbxplorer said:


> True, but shouldn't manbat be there by now?


It`s a long long way to Tipperary?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, lots of winter commuting stories! Sorry to hear about your crash Shiggy, Snow over ice is the worst.

Slushy, sloppy commute in today. I was running out of gears that worked by the time I got here and was wishing I had filled an insulated water bottle with hot water before I left.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Windy! The gusty winds that not only make it more work but also try to throw you off course. I tried the fatbike but too much heavy wet stuff had fallen overnight for me to even make it across the yard, so I tool the mtb and the roads instead. With the wind, and rainpants instead of woolies, I was chilly and zipped up the pitzips on my jacket for one of the first times - that helped. Traction was good with the studs, only felt a little sketchy on one highly crowned (off camber) section. My glasses got fogged but before I removed them I realized they weren't fogged, it was snowy sleety stuff on the outside, and a glove swipe took care of that. Once I got to the main road it was just wet and it was just a matter of fighting the wind the remaining miles. Changing over to rain and more wind for the way home - ick!

I stopped at the reservoir for a few pix...the little island looked pretty desolate.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We had a few 50-60 mph gusts yesterday. It made riding home interesting. Plus, I got my first flat of the year on the way home. I was only about a half mile or so away from home, so I pushed/carried my bike the rest of the way. It started sleeting for a bit, but luckily the worst of it held off until I got home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm off until the new year, so today is my 100% commute. That's 2 in a row, so whoo!

More ice-rink roads this morning, though. The longrange forecast is for snow snow snow and just general cold, so next week should be a good one to skip. Although I'm hoping to do a few fun rides.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Very impressed with you 100 percenters. :band:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^200 percent for Newf :thumbsup:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I'm off until the new year, so today is my 100% commute. That's 2 in a row, so whoo!
> 
> More ice-rink roads this morning, though. The longrange forecast is for snow snow snow and just general cold, so next week should be a good one to skip. Although I'm hoping to do a few fun rides.


Congrats

How do you define 100%, does not include vacation days? does not include days when not visiting the office? does not include sick days?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ basically any day that I've worked, I've ridden. So that includes a few training days out in the boonies, doing some interviewing at the university, I think there was a site trip or two in there too, and one day I rode to the city centre airport to catch a flight to Calgary.

I have also had to get a rental to go down to Calgary a few times, which admittedly pushes the definition a bit. But that would be a 12+ hour ride, so I figure I'm allowed to cheat a bit on that.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ basically any day that I've worked, I've ridden. So that includes a few training days out in the boonies, doing some interviewing at the university, I think there was a site trip or two in there too, and one day I rode to the city centre airport to catch a flight to Calgary.
> 
> I have also had to get a rental to go down to Calgary a few times, which admittedly pushes the definition a bit. But that would be a 12+ hour ride, so I figure I'm allowed to cheat a bit on that.


So sick days and vacation days don't count as a missed ride?

BTW the Sun is finally comming back, tomorrow will have a longer day than today ihave been waiting for that for a while now.

Ha you can fly out of city center to Calgary but not from Calgary to city center....or was it a charter?

By that definition I am a 100% going back probably 7 years. Ihave had a few surguries that take about a week to recover from I catch a ride to work for that week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

**I should note that I break my "man up and ride" rule whenever I want, due to my "man up and break the rule" rule.

Shiggy, I just got a new phone with that panorama camera feature...Need to play with that. Cool pic. Beautiful area. Love it up there.

Congrats Newf. That's big. I started to bounce back yesterday and the ride home wasn't awful. Must have eaten something funny. In fact I took the long way to check out the frozen beaver ponds. Nasty headwinds from the incoming storm.

Studs went back on the Ogre this morning, and it was a mellow ride in with about an inch of fresh on top of pavement, and a nice tailwind. Snowing hard now...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice work all of you! 100% up in the great white north for 7 years is pretty impressive, no Jeff, you don't have to count days when you are having surgery or even the day after 

I'm at about 92% for the year, not for lack of trying. I'm at 100% for the days I didn't' have other commitments but I don't think that counts.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CB, that's a great pic.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well today is my last commute of the year. Vacation here I come! 100% bike commuter for three years now. I only count days when I work as commute days. It was a good ride today. Chilly. -10 at my house. No wind, perfectly clear sky, and well packed trails. Love it!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> So sick days and vacation days don't count as a missed ride?


Actually the last time that I count myself as having not ridden to work was sometime in 2010 when I sprained my ankle and spent a day hopping. I needed my wife to drive me in so that I could do one thing, and then she drove me right home again so it was basically a sick day. I really should declare that one void, and then my streak goes back even further.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well for those of us on weird schedules where the end of the year is actually the middle of the year... even though this is my last commute day of 2012, I'm celebrating the fact that it's the shortest day of the year and we'll now be moving closer to ditching the headlight and enjoying some daylight in the morning. Not to steal any of your well deserved celebrations...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good job newf!

I define 100% as never driving the car to the office.

This morning I set out for the office and got a few miles down the road when I finally wised up to just how slick it was and how dangerous it was for me to be out there (I don't have studs, does not get under freezing often enough here to justify them). So I turned around and rode home and just decided to work from home for the day.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice work all of you! 100% up in the great white north for 7 years is pretty impressive, no Jeff, you don't have to count days when you are having surgery or even the day after
> 
> I'm at about 92% for the year, not for lack of trying. I'm at 100% for the days I didn't' have other commitments but I don't think that counts.


I don't count if I have to drive out of town.....or if I have to drive to pick up lumber or something....

Thing is it is easier to ride to work then drive and find parking for me....I also ride to most of my appointments....again cause it is easier.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, a lot of 100%'rs out there. :thumbsup:

I consider myself lucky on the ride home. The downpours stopped and the winds died down, the only difficulty was the dirt roads, which were like pedaling through wet concrete. Some parts of VT were really rough today, _"Winds gusted to 125 mph on Mt. Mansfield at 10:35 a.m. Friday - one of the higher readings recorded atop Vermont's tallest peak."_ Many towns on the western slopes of the Green Mountains got gusts in the 60's and 70's, and power poles snapped in two even without trees falling on the wires.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-15C this morning, but -20C on the ride home. We got to go early, so for the first time in forever I actually got some sunlight on the way home:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ oooh, pretty


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ it's worth noting that that was about 3:00, so it's not sunset - that's just as high as the sun gets at 53.5deg N.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Love the pics. 

Another day of high wind and our first snow. Big tree down on our power line. 

New glasses to replace the ones that saved my right eye (the scratch resistant lens was gouged, the titanium badly bent.) I decided that the wind plus first snow and idiot drivers was not a favorable commuting situation. Besides I did not think they'd let a snow covered bike into the waiting room and there is no safe lockup outside. One accident is all I can afford in 2012.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> How do you define 100%, does not include vacation days? does not include days when not visiting the office? does not include sick days?


That kind of question is like figuring out what counts as "commute mileage"- it isn`t going to be the same for everybody. I prefer to just count trips I make to work, then how many of those I ride or don`t ride. If you count every time the sun rises and falls as a day when you could conceiveably have ridden to work, that makes sense in its own way. Pretty simple for people like me whose workplace is always the same. For people who have satelite locations, work from home ops, frequent business travel, etc, it looks like they all come up individually with what seems like a reasonable way of counting and go with that.



CommuterBoy said:


> In fact I took the long way to check out the frozen beaver ponds. Nasty headwinds from the incoming storm.


Trippy. If you hadn`t mentioned ice, I`d have thought you Photoshopped your bike onto a liquid beaver pond. Pretty neat picture.



BrianMc said:


> One accident is all I can afford in 2012.


One is plenty, but didn`t your pothole-water bottle- spokes co-alignment happen in 2012 also? Either way, I think you`ve paid your pedalin dues in full. Hopefully no accidents in 2013!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> One is plenty, but didn`t your pothole-water bottle- spokes co-alignment happen in 2012 also? Either way, I think you`ve paid your pedalin dues in full. Hopefully no accidents in 2013!


Like I said, one is all I can afford! 

BrianMc


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## ThundaCrymz (Oct 22, 2012)

It was great, our neighboring town had a Bike Swap & BMX stunt show, which gave me a reason to take Midas out for a ride (and try out my lil cyclometer) So it took me about a good 30+ minutes to get there and fought some head wind. While at the event I found some nice items to buy, like some handlebars similar to these: http://1mg.me/?f=BTI&filename=NJ1452.JPG A pair of red platform pedals and a red Tektro V-Brake Set plus other odds and ends, and seen some nice bikes and cruisers, especially a Salsa Mariachi 01 29er, which was worth $5500, and yeah if i had the money I probably would've bought it LOL. The frame was a tan-like gold and I loved the wheel set and metallic red platform pedals, t'was a majestic steed it was. I was prolly out there about a good hour and a half and had a good time and got a nice lil' haul of goodies, especially the upgrades for Midas  In mileage I put in 13 miles, and when I got back into town I decided to go ahead and do laundry (yawn).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another inch or two of snow overnight made for a pretty ride in. This tree must have come down in Friday's high winds. The deer went around, I went over.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Depending on how you look at it, I'm either a 100%'er or about a 75%er. I live too far away from the bus that will get me to work, so I either have to ride to the bus and catch the bus in, or ride all the way in. I don't have a car, and mostly drive my girlfriend's if I do decide to take motorized transport either way. I'm sitting on around 9600 mi for this year at the moment, mostly commuting. I did have 4 weeks off in September to renew my visa, and 3 weeks off to burn through sick and vacation time that was going to expire and/or recover from illness, so I went to work 26 fewer days than I did last year (sitting on 200 for the year at the moment with 3 to go, and did 229 commutes last year).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, to all, and to all Good Night!

Congrats to all 100% commuters. 

Brianmc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

hunter006 said:


> I'm sitting on around 9600 mi for this year at the moment, mostly commuting.
> 
> I did have 4 weeks off in September to renew my visa, and 3 weeks off to burn through sick and vacation time that was going to expire and/or recover from illness,


Man, I don`t think I could pedal up that many miles if I were completely retired! That`s amazing :crazy:

I don`t envy you for having to mess with a visa, though. Sure hope the renewal was easier than the initial application. My wife has a greencard now, so it`s been a piece of cake, but I remember the battle it took to get that far- NOT for the faint of heart.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

hunter006 said:


> Depending on how you look at it, I'm either a 100%'er or about a 75%er. I live too far away from the bus that will get me to work, so I either have to ride to the bus and catch the bus in, or ride all the way in. I don't have a car, and mostly drive my girlfriend's if I do decide to take motorized transport either way. I'm sitting on around 9600 mi for this year at the moment, mostly commuting. I did have 4 weeks off in September to renew my visa, and 3 weeks off to burn through sick and vacation time that was going to expire and/or recover from illness, so I went to work 26 fewer days than I did last year (sitting on 200 for the year at the moment with 3 to go, and did 229 commutes last year).


Yazooks! Congrats hunter, that a lot of miles!

I'm thinking back...maybe a year or two ago...I remember meeting an aussie on the 520 trail and we rode together to Woodinville where I get off the SRT. He was telling me about his commute from MSFT over to Seattle and I was thinking "man my commute is long but this guy is nuts!". He might have been riding a single-speed that day. Any chance that was you?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Snow! My first ride in actual snow since about a year and a half ago! After I slipped on black ice and damaged my bike a few weeks ago, I`ve been putting up with my studded tires even over mostly dry roads, so it sure is nice to have some kind of visible reason to lug the nasty things along . We had remnants of about two inches snow from last night, then it started again and snowed for me whole trip (took the long way) in to work. I hope we get more overnight.

Bike maint this afternoon. Replaced a worn out chain, cleaned the contacts in my computer mount, replaced a bunch of flagging electrical tape (for managing lighting wires and pairing brake cable housing together with shift cable housing) with new stuff, then worked out a way to clip a plastic envelope with map/cue sheet onto my front bag.

New memo with news of our "holiday cheer" at work- as of tthe end of 2012, no more company match for 401(k). That will go nicely with last years freezing of our former pension fund. The good news is that the Surgeon General tells me I probably won`t need to make my savings last as long as most of today`s generation will :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Woohoo! Ride Safe! A good dump expected here also, tonight through Friday a.m. here. So I stopped on my way home for emergency storm supplies - 1 roll of toilet paper. I may bail on riding tomorrow, as I have the furnace guy coming for clean/tune first thing, and got the OK to do some work at home while I wait.


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## supersedona (Dec 17, 2012)

Cold and wet. Snow started at lunch while we were out on a job so I got to test the new tires on a dry commute in and a wet/snow on the way home. By the time I got home I was warm except my feet which were soaked. Fenders worked right, tires worked perfect. Need shoe covers. Amazingly enough with the roads less than perfect and light low, shoulders white with snow, the drivers were a margin better. Still a few people who don't know where their edges are but the majority were better than usual. Still took the opportunity to upgrade my gloves to a new set of Salomon snowboard gloves with waterproof outsides. Yay for xmas money and company bonus...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I went down pretty hard today. Most of the snow missed us (we just got a dusting), but we were hit with a ton of cold rain. The roads were dry as was the MUP through the park...except one spot. I didn't see the ice until after I hit it. My front tire slipped sideways, and I went over the bars and landed on my chest. While I was able to break the fall with my arms, my helmet visor hit the pavement as did my chin. Overall, I feel pretty good about the crash. I didn't lose any teeth or break anything. I just have some bruises, some scrapes, and the mess on my chin that looks like a really bad shaving accident.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry S0ck. That's the kind of thing that sold me on studs. Those front wheel slides are the worst.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I went down pretty hard today. ... I didn't see the ice until after I hit it.


,,,and then you saw it way too up close:eekster:

Sorry to hear about the crash. :sad: I think you're right though, it could have ended a lot worse. Hope you're feeling OK, I remember getting a terrible headache from falling on my chin on the ice as a kid.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sorry S0ck. That's the kind of thing that sold me on studs. Those front wheel slides are the worst.


Yeah, studs are probably the way to go if your winters warrant that kind of thing. We just don't get enough snow or ice. I ran slicks just about all winter last year. This morning's commute was 99.9% slick friendly. At least the crash gave me a good excuse for running late. :thumbsup:


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## Dominic49 (Jul 7, 2005)

garmin says it was 35* this morning but I know it was colder. 20-25mph headwind the entire way in added an extra 20 mins to my 12 mile commute. 

Boss was understanding though. (although she lives .75 miles away and drives everyday)


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

was ok. 
late-night slapping on of the cross tires, tossed a rear fender in for good measure.
big ole empty rack all for me!


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

It was awfully cold on the commute today. single digits in the morning and teens for the ride home. The roads still have quite a bit of the ice and the shoulders are not safe to ride, too much ice and slush. The bike path is clear in parts and solid ice in others. I have managed to stay upright, but have had a few "pucker" moments. Still better than any trip in a car.


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## smac (Sep 25, 2009)

*Brrrrr*

It was the coldest day I have commuted in so far this year. -26C, -36C with the windchill. My legs got a bit frosty but all in all it wasn't that bad. The roads were clear of loose snow but because of a wonky November that brought lots of freezing rain there is sheets of ice under the packed snow. My studded tires have a lot of traction and I have yet to have a problem this year. It was also nice because I would guesstimate that at least 65% of people working downtown took this week off so the traffic is very light.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

KCI-> ATL-> LOGAN @ 35,000 feet. Can't wait to get back on my bike in the oodles of snow that awaits me!!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cold (but not THAT^^ cold) and dry, sun comming up nicely.

Sorry about that slide out, sOck. Ya know, even if a set of studs found their way to you for that perfect price, it`s kind of a tossup whether to even use them or not just for occasional ice. They really do hook up when you need them to, but I`m constantly battling myself over whether or not to deal with those sluggish b*strds. Funny thing- I had to ride through a lot more snow BEFORE I had studs than I have since I bought them :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I took the fatbike today as I saw that the snowmo club had been through with the groomer overnight (they are hardcore). But the 1’ of new snow was still too fluffy, it needs some sled traffic to firm up enough to make riding it fun. The fatbike with new studded tires was good on the roads, though, more stable than the mtb in some of the thicker mealy snow. But it did have somewhat of a tendency to pack up on the slushier snow, making for wheels that became both fat and heavy. I also got a nice slush bath occasionally since I thought I wouldn’t need the fenders at 19F. I had another car slow right down next to me, but this time it was to chat about “my exercise program”, my “awesome” snow tires and “nifty” handwarmers. They were nice people. Upon arriving at work I got some extra exercise shoveling out 2 ½ work cars that had gotten plowed in as I had to use one to get to a meeting and fieldwork.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> The fatbike with new studded tires...


I probably missed an earlier post, but did you DIY the studs, or did you get the fancy 45nrth tires?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I got the 45nrth Dillinger$.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ I got the 45nrth Dillinger*$*.


Nice $, quoted for truth! ;p


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ I got the 45nrth Dillinger$.


:thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ I got the 45nrth Dillinger$.[/QUOTE}
> 
> Even the folding version is not quite as expensive as an ice radial I have the big car, but close. Two come close to what I have in the errand bike without the Brooks. They do look awesome though! Hope you get use but not excessive use out of them this winter. I can understand why you got the drive beside conversation. Sure beats the headlight helper!
> 
> BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^You may recall that last winter when the fatbike was only 3 weeks old, NOT having the studded tires cost me a $300 carbon fork when I went down on ice and trashed it. That made the Dillinger$ seem a little more reasonable - especially since I could have just as easily trashed a body part. The snomo's have been out and the local mtb/xc ski trails just opened a winter bike trail - woohoo!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ After some crash expenditures myself and some sorely damaged body parts, I was not sure that mentioning the insurance value of the tires was appropriate. 

I had a ride without studs that should have caused me grievous bodily harm. The recent incident with such harm, not counting the hospital expenses, would have bought me a pair of them, so yes, money very well spent.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This can't be right...3F & rain??!!!
from wunderground forecast...Friday Night
Partly cloudy. Fog overnight. Low of 3F. Winds less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 20%

Also heard a radio forecast for "snizzle" today


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> This can't be right...3F & rain??!!!
> from wunderground forecast...Friday Night
> Partly cloudy. Fog overnight. Low of 3F. Winds less than 5 mph. Chance of rain 20%
> 
> Also heard a radio forecast for "snizzle" today


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)




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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

One more half commute left for 2012, I think I`m gonna make it 

Been snowing lightly almost all night, and soooo pretty outside that I hopped on the sleigh for a midnight run to the gas station for a Pepsi and a bagel dog.

Went back and forth over whether to go or not, finally decided for sure to take 200 KM New Years Eve ride in the tropical California lowlands to wrap up the post commuting year. Due to circumstances, I`m not positive I`ll be able to pull it off, but the forecast looks good, bike is ready (just need to swap out my studs), and I`m anxious to give it a solid shot.



mtbxplorer said:


> I stopped on my way home for emergency storm supplies - 1 roll of toilet paper.


Been there. In fact, I`m pretty sure my fastest ever ride involved going home with one roll of toilette paper in an emergency situation.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Just got back to NH after a week away. Came home to 16-17 inches of fresh snow. Couldn't wait to get out for a ride, so I took a break from shoveling to go to the grocery. Snowmobile trails are still a bit soft as the snow is super dry, but the streets and sidewalks were a blast.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> One more half commute left for 2012, I think I`m gonna make it
> 
> Been snowing lightly almost all night, and soooo pretty outside that I hopped on the sleigh for a midnight run to the gas station for a Pepsi and a bagel dog.


I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb to congratulate you on your 100%'r! :band:

Where are the pics of this soooo pretty-ness???

Snowing again here too! Welcome back, Schott, our snomo trails are still a bit soft too. Need more sleds, I only saw one when I was skiing for 2 hours this a.m.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Now THAT`s pretty, Schott! Is there a whole system of snomo trails all over New England, or do the three of you all just happen to live close to some? A lot of people do it around here, and there are plenty of long trails (mostly lumber roads) in the mountains, but I can`t imagine actually using them for transportation.


mtbxplorer said:


> Where are the pics of this soooo pretty-ness???


Hey man, it was the middle of the night! Gimme a break :lol:
I`ll probably take a camera to CA though- Mrs Rodar had dibs on it for her trip (she`s visiting family down in SoCal), but I see she forgot it.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

There are a lot of snowmobile trails in new england. I'm not intimately familiar with it, but I don't think that there is a huge network, more on a regional basis. The state of New Hampshire grooms many miles of snowmobile trails. The state has also put lots of money into Jericho State Park for Atv use in summer, and sled use in winter, so Berlin approved an ATV/snowmobile route thru the heart of town to link access to the park and the existing logging roads and trail systems on the other side of town. Luckily for me, that means a trail to work, grocery store, pub, pizza...everything really. A lot of it runs through a park/drainage/old railroad part of town, and part of it runs on the sidewalk, or side of the road, but they leave/put snow there, and the sleds pack it down. The best part is the pretty well respected speed limit through town.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ VT is only 200 miles long but has about 5000 miles of snowmobile trails, so you don't have to go far to find one. I lived close to one in Maine too. They are used more for recreation than transportation, although stores, diners, and gas stations accessible from the trails do a brisk business.

Have a fun and safe trip if you get to go, Rodar!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

No commute today except for walking out to the shed and gathering stuff needed for a wash and tune-up. I know it's a mental thing but the bike felt lighter after cleaning it up. Oh yeah, fabricated a mini fender that sits between the rear tire and the seat tube, going to see if that reduces chunk on the derailleur. Last commute of the year tomorrow, forecast is calling for snow with temps in the 20s, heckuva way to end the year. 

Hope everyone has a safe and festive New Year! :thumbsup:


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

It was a nasty snowy morning. 2-4 inches fresh, still snowing when I left this morning. My local neighborhood roads were passable, nice to ride on fresh virgin powder. The main roads though were a sloppy icy snowy mess, further exacerbated by a lack of snow plows (like it's a holiday or something...). I struggled on for awhile and then a nice couple offered me a ride. We were going the same place and the roads were getting worse so I took the offer. Good thing too, it was even worse by my work. So half a commute this morning, we'll see how the roads look in a couple hours to go home...I may get a ride that way too!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*My 100% Year*

I'm at work today getting ready to leave for home in an hour or so thus completing my first 100% commute year. For me, 100% means that I exclusively rode my bike to and from my workplace all year. The workdays I did not ride were either vacation days, days I worked from home or days I travelled for my job.

My 2012 by the numbers:

Commute days: 180
Commute miles: 6,480
Commute Ascent: ~351,000 feet (66.4 miles)
Commute Time: 425 hours, 52 minutes (almost 18 days commuting on the bike!)
Average Low Temp: 45F
Average High Temp: 58F
Coldest Day: 25F (January 17)
Hottest Day: 87F (August 17)
Rides in the rain: 91 (not days, if it's raining both ways that counts as two rain rides)
Rides in the snow: 4
Total Miles for the year including rec. rides: 7,544

Went down three times this year, all because of ice (no injuries). A couple of close car encounters, but no crashes.

I thought I would end with more total miles this year, but I ended up dialing back my recreational riding because I found that after commuting for a full week (180 miles, almost 10,000 feet of climbing) many weekends I just did not feel like climbing back onto my bike.

For 2013 I expect to bike commute maybe 90% of the time. I'll drive to work on occasion to break things up and leave myself more options for recreational rides with my wife and friends.

I've enjoyed all your "How was your commute today?" photos and stories this year. Hope that you all have a safe New Year and tailwinds in 2013.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

goin out the same way I came in.
day after day, solo or no.
unless I'm home, I'll be out there!

Best wishes to all!

(and to those who supported me with the T2T- extra thanks!)


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

Man, I feel like a B-student compared to some of y'all - Great job 100%ers :thumbsup: (That's worth a big fat rep! )

I was like a 85%?
Though, I don't own a car, I did take rides home form a coworker that has to drive past my place on the way home... If it's kinda yucky outside, he'll offer, I especially take him up on it if it's a south-wind, or weather came in that I did not expect. - But hey, that's carpooling right?!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The last commute of 2012 was the slowest on record, just over 2 1/2 hours for 6.4 miles of snow. We've gotten about 2' in a short time and the snowmobile trails were just not packed down enough to make for good travel on the uphills especially. The downhills were a lot of fun, some were a bit churned up reducing my speed and control. 

Then the groomer came through, which leaves a pretty and smooth frosting-like surface, but also some soft spots that stopped me. On the plus side, I got some benefit from experimenting with lowering the tire pressure even more (I'm hesitant to have it too low for the 2 miles of dirt and paved road). 

Next my off-trail short-cuts that I had packed down with fatskis for 8 passes over the weekend were postholed to death by walkers, making even pushing difficult due to the pothole-like postholes. And finally, more open sections of my personal feeder trail were blown back in to full depth, making riding impossible. I was glad to get home. Bring on 2013, happy new year, commuters!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ True Grit. Our family record driving was 60 mile commute in 2 1/2 hours mostly on Interstate with a north wind off Lake Erie when we lived south of Cleveland. Mine was 35 miles in 1 3/4 hours that same night. Yours is more impressive. Hopefully not as scary.

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> ^... 60 mile commute in 2 1/2 hours mostly on Interstate ...


are we talking the same thing?
BIKES


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ No, driving is scarier. I loaned my all wheel drive to a friend working at one of the ski areas and white knuckled it driving her van Saturday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Last night's pics.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Looks soft. What's the trail report? Good for 2.3" tires yet?

My last commute ended up being over a week ago due to a cold and weather. I'm about to tally the #s and I'll post them to my blog.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ No, driving is scarier. I loaned my all wheel drive to a friend working at one of the ski areas and white knuckled it driving her van Saturday.


You understand what I was trying to say. For those who didn't. Be thankful. And pray you never experience it.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Bedwards, Still soft, I think you'll need a warm up & re-freeze...or a fatbike


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I just did a recon mission. The trails here are a no-go, even for a fatbike. Not even snowmobiles have been out. Probably because none of the lakes are solid (not that it usually stops them) so the trails in-between aren't being used. The lake should be good to go after this week's frigid temps.:thumbsup:


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Oh boy, gonna be in the negatives tomorrow and Wednesday...time to bust out the goggles I think.


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## pedalitup (May 30, 2007)

Winter arrived here in Austin last week. Was beginning to wonder if it would ever drop down outa the 60's and 70's. Wore long sleeves all week (honest) and finally broke out the commuter with fenders for the first time in over a year yesterday. This is our best riding season I hear from locals. Determined to ride all summer this year too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The two weeks off? They're great, thanks 

Rodar, been feeling for you. Single digit mornings around here for a few days now. White Christmas and then some... We've got 18-20 inches on the ground at home, and it hasn't been above freezing since before Christmas. 

Congrats to the 100%ers...that's big. My year ends in June, and I'm still sitting at 1.5 driving days.

Santa brought me a GoPro...2013 will be well documented


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...Santa brought me a GoPro...2013 will be well documented


Cool, no POV crash vids with you lying in the street (BrianMC). Funny POV crash videos are OK.

We got our first serious cold snap. It was 3 when I left but my wife said it was -5 when she pulled in here at work. I've still got the tail end of a cold and my bike had frozen cables so my bike was in single speed mode. All of that means I got to enjoy the beautiful crisp morning air for about an hour on my way in.

5853 Miles!!! : Year End Summary


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

5F here and snowing again! The last half mile…


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ahhh Chinook for the foresable future....

Lots of car snot though


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, it sure is nice to have at least a week of nice weather to look forward to.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Holy Smokes you all are riding in some serious cold. Makes the 27F I rode in this morning seem down right balmy.

I did have one serious pucker moment this morning. Know that feeling when you realize your going too fast for conditions and your not sure you can hold it together? Our below freezing temps brought black ice on the roads. Descending a hill at 28MPH I was setting up for a left turn at speed when I realized I was on ice. I GENTLY applied the brakes...back end was fishtailing...no way I could make the left so I ended up going past my turn until I got things under control and then had to U-turn and climb back up the hill to resume my route. Got to be a little more careful tomorrow...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ VT is only 200 miles long but has about 5000 miles of snowmobile trails, so you don't have to go far to find one.
> 
> Have a fun and safe trip if you get to go, Rodar!


200 miles from top to bottom? Ha! Around here, 200 miles is across the street :cornut:
Thank you! I went, a few (very few) pics and link to ride report in a few minutes.



Spatialized said:


> It was a nasty snowy morning. 2-4 inches fresh, still snowing when I left this morning. My local neighborhood roads were passable, nice to ride on fresh virgin powder.


Nuthin finer! Sorry about the "sloppy mess" part- hope it either melts off or freezes smoothly for you.



highdelll said:


> I was like a 85%?
> Though, I don't own a car, I did take rides home form a coworker that has to drive past my place on the way home...


Highdell, you get a lot of non commute "utility" riding, don`t you? That can be a bear! Once in a while I drag a couple panniers full of groceries home, and compared to my touring experiences, groceries can easily get heavier than camping gear!



mtbxplorer said:


> The last commute of 2012 was the slowest on record, just over 2 1/2 hours for 6.4 miles of snow.
> 
> On the plus side, I got some benefit from experimenting with lowering the tire pressure even more (I'm hesitant to have it too low for the 2 miles of dirt and paved road).


Brutal!
I never thought about it before, but I bet airing up fat tires is quite a chore with a mini pump. Maybe you need a battery powered compressor for rides that beg for tire pressure changes!



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ No, driving is scarier.


Absolutely.



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, been feeling for you. Single digit mornings around here for a few days now. White Christmas and then some... We've got 18-20 inches on the ground at home, and it hasn't been above freezing since before Christmas.
> 
> Santa brought me a GoPro...2013 will be well documented


Not so much snow here (about 3 inches and none left on the roads), but yeah- cold. I don`t think we`ve gotten up to 32 since Christmas either. GoPro? Whoohoo!



bedwards1000 said:


> I've still got the tail end of a cold and my bike had frozen cables so my bike was in single speed mode.
> 5853 Miles!!!


Frozen cables is REALLY a friction system 
Awesome mileage, Bedwards! I was surprised a few pages back when you mentioned you`d only been racking it up like that for a few years, so even awesomer.
Good luck kicking the rest of your cold.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> My 2012 by the numbers:
> 
> Commute days: 180
> Commute miles: 6,480
> ...


10K climbing per week just blows my mind! The miles are impressive too, but the elevation... Yowza!
I sure wish my computers tracked total ride time like the mileage. The one on my "main" ride does track elevation gain- should have checked that just for fun before I did my year end battery change and reprograming. Rain rides? My records show 9 point 1 rain rides over my cycling career, so I`m only a decimal away from you there :lol:
I don`t blame you for going less on the commutes to make way for more fun. Even though my commuting isn`t to the degree that it interferes with my fun miles, I`m not going to be so anal about it in the future either- I got one perfect year under my belt, and that was what I wanted.

RyR year end:
234 of 234 commutes (due to more furlough days each year, total commutes is actually way down from 2010`s high of 249 bike commutes)
4389 total miles
roughly 2400 commute miles, depending on exactly what I count as commuting

EDIT:
I started tracking my mileage in 2010 and have increased each year. For a while there, this year`s mileage was so far ahead of 2011`s that I was concerned I would go WAY over it and then be looking at a decline from 2012 to 2013. Eventually, it`s going to have to start back down again, but I prefer that year to be far off in the future! Fortunately, I got plenty lazy for Nov and Dec


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I was talking it up a little bit last week, but can now report that I`m an official randonneur since I finished my first sanctioned event Monday night. For those who have no idea what I`m jabbering aboput, randonneuring is yet another type of silly cycling sport. The main type of events they do (brevets) are sort of like rally rides or poker runs: start at "A", follow a specified route and check in or prove your arrival time at various points along the way, get to the finish line within X time. Traditionally, they run in a series of 200KM, 300KM, 400KM, and 600 KM, a few weeks apart, with a time limit corresponding to 15 KPH total time from each check point to the next. For the truly wild bunch, there are also extra long brevets ranging from 1000K to 1400K. Any rate, the ride I just did was the shortest (200K) and was sort of a one-off ride, rather than part of a series. I plan to do at least one more 200 this year and try the 300, but that`s probbly as far as I`ll go for 2013. Following the grand tradition of cycling sports, there is more than one sanctioning body overseeing all things rando. A brain fart on my part had me super excited, thinking I would be eliglible for my giant trophy (well, okay- its really just a little pin) after my ride was registered, but this ride was sponsored by the US version, not the pin awarding French guys, so no pin for me yet (pout, pout). The ride itself wasn`t particularly interresting, but it WAS my first, so I wrote it up and you can read all the fun details if you want on BFnet:
First brevet- ride report and questions
I didn`t take a whole lot of pictures, but here are a few highlights.
1. Check in (exciting, yes?)
2. Rolling with the gang (before they dropped me like a rock)
3. Johnny Cash`s home for wayward boys, Folsom CA
4. Looking back at the American River


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Back on the wagon!!! First commute of 2013!

‎45NRTH Dillingers pulled their weight on this mornings commute to work. Anchorage is currently an ice rink, have fun with it!!! Ice, Slush, Overflow, Snow, Mud, saw it all today!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...Awesome mileage, Bedwards! I was surprised a few pages back when you mentioned you`d only been racking it up like that for a few years, so even awesomer.


I use to ride a lot, like 1000 miles/year? I'm not sure because I never really kept track. Then I took about a 10 year break and now here's the ramp up. 
Year, Commuted, Gas Money, Mileage Rate, Total Miles, Fatbike Miles
"2009, 900, $119.00, $495.00, 1200, 0
"2010, 2257, $322.94, $1,141.00, 3179, 0
"2011, 3735, $691.52, $2,012.98, 4539, 0
"2012, 5218, $1,039.00	$2,896.00, 5853, 0
2013 ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Total 12135 $2,176.90	$6,558.86	14,789

I don't think I can keep adding 1500 miles/year but I can try to break 6000 next year. That may be the plateau for me. I really can't imagine logging many more miles than I did this year. I'm not woodway or hunter:thumbsup:. (I'd rep you guys for your high miles and 100%ers but I still have to spread it around)


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Right at zero this morning, and somehow I was overdressed, haha! Tomorrow's commute time forecast is calling for -19F. I think I'll wear the same thing I did today. Goggles were awesome, and the snowmobile trails are finally riding really fast and fun.


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Ther weather has been pretty up and down the last few weeks..


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

BarMitts and lake MXZ 303 winter shoes have been a godsend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I finally got to a place where I enjoy the uphills as much or more than the downhills. That place is -7F.

Great pix, Fux! 
Whopper mileage Bedwards! 
Congrats on the rando, Rodar!
Woodway, that's ridiculous!   :thumbsup:

Oh yeah, I passed a speeding car today! 
I saw blue lights behind me, and a car and then a cop car passed me. When they pulled over, I sped by.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ What she said. Plus nice pic mtbxplorer.

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Temperature right around freezing, roads are nicely packed since we haven't gotten fresh snow in awhile, and there was the tiniest hint of light still left on the horizon as I headed home - a beautiful first commute of 2013 on the singlespeed.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> RyR year end:
> 234 of 234 commutes (due to more furlough days each year, total commutes is actually way down from 2010`s high of 249 bike commutes)
> 4389 total miles
> roughly 2400 commute miles, depending on exactly what I count as commuting


Whoo-hooo, congrats Rodar on the perfect year. Virtual high-five!

BTW - I like your ratio of commute-to-recreation miles better than mine...


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

First ride since changing my tire from a 700x32 to 700x35 trail tire. Definitely noticed a difference in the snowy stretches. The bike bit hard, even on my turn. Hoping I can avoid using studs for another winter.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congrats on the 200K Rodar. I know several Rando guys here in the Seattle area...they are my kind of guys!

Fux, you take some of the best pics - thanks for sharing.

bedwards, I never set out to put in this many miles...it just sort of happened. Be careful, it might happen to you too... :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cold. 7F at 10PM, so it`s going to be like the real winter guys` temps for the ride home tomorrow morning.

Too late for 2013, but where do I order my 2014 Fux calendar?



bedwards1000 said:


> I don't think I can keep adding 1500 miles/year but I can try to break 6000 next year. That may be the plateau for me. I really can't imagine logging many more miles than I did this year.


Looks to me like your biggest goal should be eliminating that pesky zero in the last column.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I love riding my bike, I love riding my bike, I love riding my bike...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great pics FUX! Those icy roads actually look inviting.

Schott, how much do you love riding your bike? Did you notice it is -15 but only feels like -4. Now don't be a baby and go ride your bike 

Woodway, there's a good chance you could be right. Next thing you know I'll be buying a titanium bike and bashing it with a hammer.

Me, I have a meeting after work so had to drive as opposed to riding in at -5. Oh well. I don't like that at this point I've only commuted 50% this year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-13F and my upper body was a bit too warm, owing to 1 extra layer compared to yesterday, plus switching to the insulated helmet. I still dislike goggles, but I must admit they worked great today with a gator neoprene mask - zero fogging. I tried them first with the bike helmet but they were interfering with each other, and they worked much better with the insulated helmet with a goggle keeper on the back. My feet got cold, even with boots claiming -35F rating.

A pic of Dix Reservoir and Camel's Hump (it's on the VT Quarter). Thankfully there was no wind, unlike last night.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I did notice that, they obviously weren't on a bike. Went with ski helmet and goggles, could barely see after about a mile, good thing the snowmobile trails are predictable.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> Ahhh Chinook for the foresable future....
> 
> Lots of car snot though


Damn Chinook 8C and the airport.....-8C downtown....

Airport is about 600 feet higher in elevation so the Chinook hasn't blown all the way down to the river valley today.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Right at freezing point melting on pavement warmed by sun. Roads had random bands of compressed snow in low traffic areas. Wind much lower than forecast. Was a bit over dressed. Nice, but a bit sweaty on arrival. Better than really frozen. One sided SPD pedals worked way better with my boots than expected. The iBike test run was decent. No need for studded tires.

BrianMc


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> -13F and my upper body was a bit too warm, owing to 1 extra layer compared to yesterday, plus switching to the insulated helmet. I still dislike goggles, but I must admit they worked great today with a gator neoprene mask - zero fogging. I tried them first with the bike helmet but they were interfering with each other, and they worked much better with the insulated helmet with a goggle keeper on the back. My feet got cold, even with boots claiming -35F rating.
> 
> A pic of Dix Reservoir and Camel's Hump (it's on the VT Quarter). Thankfully there was no wind, unlike last night.


BURR, Upper 20's to mid 30's here in Anchorage still. Where's that fat studded fatback???


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JordyB said:


> BURR, Upper 20's to mid 30's here in Anchorage still. Where's that fat studded fatback???


Honestly, I was afeared of taking the trails to work in this cold snap, especially since the last trip on them on Monday took 2 1/2 hours! Most of the snowmobile trails are probably better packed now, but this morning I saw that my personal feeder trails I re-packed on New Years day were all drifted in. :sad:


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Upper 20's on the way to work, low 20's back today. Eyeballs were burning for the first half of the ride home today.


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## Dominic49 (Jul 7, 2005)

schedule got switched to 9-6

traffic in the morning is a lot lighter on the roads at 8am when I leave

it seams everyone heads for Atlanta around 7:30 or so in order to get in for their 9am shift

The ride home is a lot darker and pausing to watch the stars for a bit really is enjoyable.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Did you notice it is -15 but only feels like -4. Now don't be a baby and go ride your bike


:lol: +2 for my ride home this morning, and it felt like cold, so I was a baby about it! Then couldn`t resist waking up my wife by dropping my frozen mittens on her warm face when I walked into the house.

The snow in my yard is getting old, but still squeaks when I walk or ride over it, so needs a lot more heat before it starts melting. The nice part about cold is that it means NO MUD.



BrianMc said:


> The iBike test run was decent.


iBike? Is that a battery assisted bike of some kind? Sounds like you mentioned it already, but I must have missed it. Report?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woo Hooo! First lake crossing and snomobile trail ride of the season. The trails are packed powder so there are spots where I sink too much and it took me 1:45 to do my commute. A fatbike with studded tires would have been* Ideal!* to cross the lake and float over the packed trails.


















You'll get no more information here: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whooooo!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Miles91Collins said:


> Got honked at when I was as far right as I could be without getting doored.


Drivers don't know about the door problem so you were seen as a road hog. They also don't recognize that you decide where it is safe for you to ride, not them, Also in most places you have the right to the entire lans, if you need it for safety. In Indiana a line of 6 backed up requires one to pull over. Otherwise, they wait for a safe place to pass.

BrianMc


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## BigE610 (Oct 24, 2007)

it was cold. but still better than driving. first commute of 2013. I had some family stuff going on this week and had to shuttle the kids around.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

It was 22f this morning, which was downright balmy compared to yesterday's 15f. If you want a good workout, install some studded tires (1000g each).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> iBike? Is that a battery assisted bike of some kind? Sounds like you mentioned it already, but I must have missed it. Report?


Mentioned in MTBxplorer's thread on smart phone smart bike.

iBike Dash CC Bike Computer| iBike Dash Deluxe Bike Computer

Uses my iPhone.



BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woo Hooo! First lake crossing and snomobile trail ride of the season. The trails are packed powder so there are spots where I sink too much and it took me 1:45 to do my commute. A fatbike with studded tires would have been* Ideal!* to cross the lake and float over the packed trails.


Nice pics! You have enough ice, now, huh? I saw that 4 snowmobilers dropped through at Rangeley Lake (and did not get out alive) over there just before the cold snap.

And on that fatbike, they are in pretty high demand, so it seems doubtful that the one you saw on CL for a good price for weeks really was sold that day. The seller probably just did not take it down after the sale and didn't want to fess up. What I'm trying to say is, if you have to pay more than that, don't feel bad.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Apparently there's enough ice, I made it both ways. Local knowledge goes a long way. Thanks for enabling me on the fatbike Like I need it.:skep:

I think he really sold it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Thanks for enabling me on the fatbike Like I need it.:skep:
> 
> I think he really sold it.


Dang! Swear I don't have it. Don't know if you follow the fatbike forum, but in case not, some of the Pugsleys are coming up with frame cracks in the same place, FYI in case you see a REALLY good deal.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

was something like -16C windchill'd today.
i lost the bolt to my fender so my tire was dragging hard, but hey, my wife broke off the shift paddle on her campy veloce shifter so I'm not feeling too bad! 
running 31mm panaracer crossblaster front and 35mm kenda kross supreme tires now.
pretty decent.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I didn't even suspect until you denied it so vehemently 

So where should I be looking for cracks. I have been avoiding the fatbike forum.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> I didn't even suspect until you denied it so vehemently
> 
> So where should I be looking for cracks. I have been avoiding the fatbike forum.


Only seems to be the model year the frames were painted white, or so i've seen. Its the seat stay to seat tube weld, in the Heat Affected Zone. You can bearly make it out sometimes but the power coat starts to crack and lines form around the weld.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> i lost the bolt to my fender so my tire was dragging hard, but hey, my wife broke off the shift paddle on her campy veloce shifter so I'm not feeling too bad!


Doh! And double Doh! Good thing you weren`t riding studs- would have been like a cheese grater.

No more BikeCO? I thought he was going to hang around, but haven`t seen him in a while. Same with Junior in AZ.

Plant closed tonight, but my boss hooked me up with some PM inspections, so I`ll be all by myself. Get to ride all the way through the warehouse and park at my bench  
And taking a 13 week break from graveyard (going to swing) starting in a week. That`ll be nice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I didn't even suspect until you denied it so vehemently
> 
> So where should I be looking for cracks. I have been avoiding the fatbike forum.


Wimpus fatbikeus! But I will help. (apologies for the derail to others not in need of fatbike therapy). It's simple, you just have to hurry up and figure out which of the 26'r or 29'r twins you want to keep, and then it will be (n-1)+1=n

A few of the posted pix, where Jordy said, but a black was just posted:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Plant closed tonight, but my boss hooked me up with some PM inspections, so I`ll be all by myself. Get to ride all the way through the warehouse and park at my bench


Fun! :thumbsup: The first time I rode to work in Portland ME (35 mi), I did a lap around the cubies to celebrate.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Plant closed tonight, but my boss hooked me up with some PM inspections, so I`ll be all by myself. Get to ride all the way through the warehouse and park at my bench


Think you could log a couple of inside miles?  Don't leave any skid marks...you'll be busted.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Had a couple of snap-cold commutes in, but this one was my favourite. The bump in the skyline is Mt. Rainier.










It dipped to 17.8ºF before the rain and sleet kicked in, warming it back up to above freezing temperatures. More of the usual again next week (rain, rain, more rain).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> :lol: +2 for my ride home this morning, and it felt like cold, so I was a baby about it! Then couldn`t resist waking up my wife by dropping my frozen mittens on her warm face when I walked into the house.


This got by me. You posted so you weren't killed. Living dangerously. 

BrianMc


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> :lol: +2 for my ride home this morning, and it felt like cold, so I was a baby about it! Then couldn`t resist waking up my wife by dropping my frozen mittens on her warm face when I walked into the house.





BrianMc said:


> This got by me. You posted so you weren't killed. Living dangerously.
> 
> BrianMc


Damn dude... Someone call Kenny Loggins coz you're in the... DANGER ZONE.

You can tell when a man is planning for the future when he buys a really, really nice couch to sleep on. Because he can do stuff like this and know he's going to get a good night's sleep.

Coincidentally, my $1500 couch is FANTASTIC.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I've ride by here all the time at night on my way home, but only today did I notice that someon had made a Christmas tree along the multi-use trail:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good Monday morning all! 

Nice pics hunter & newfangled.

Trail commute again and it kinda sucked. I thought they would be firmed up after some warmer weather and snowmobile traffic but they were softer than they were on Friday. Again, a fatbike would have been perfect...I'm just saying. A friend and I skated the lake over the weekend and the direct route has plenty of ice so that is nice.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Back in action here... Christmas break was too short yet again. Only 2 weeks off. I don't know how people with 'normal' jobs do it :lol: 

It warmed up to the teens for me...a nice re-introduction. It's been single digits in the mornings. Still a lot of ice/packed snow out there, and it's been so cold that it's an instant transition... bone dry pavement to packed snow/ice in 1 centimeter :lol: Yesterday was the first day we've gotten above freezing since before Christmas.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

20 with a cloud front rolling in from the West. Pretty cool to watch it roll in.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this morning. First commute back for the new year. A bit slick in some areas. Wish Anchortown would get some new snow! Maybe the clouds coming in will bring some white stuff.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I clipped a walker on the MUP this morning and man do I feel bad about it.

Lucky for both of us I was going fairly slow (about 10MPH) because I was climbing a long grade. I was grinding along with my head down just daydreaming away when suddenly she appeared in front of me. I was maybe 3-4 from her when I first saw her. I made an emergency left move and clipped her left arm hard enough to knock the flashlight she was holding out of her hand. Thank god I did not knock her over.

I got off my bike apologizing profusely, asking if she was OK, picked up her flashlight and gave it back to her. She said "didn't you see me?" and I admitted I had not because I was riding with my head down daydreaming. I told her it was completely my fault and that I was an ass for riding with my head down. I must have apologized twenty times. She was nice about it, said she was fine and we parted with a "have a good day".

I cannot help but think about what could have happened if I would have plowed straight into her - I could have really injured her. In four years of riding this route I have never seen anyone walking this section of MUP in the morning which is why I was not paying attention but that's no excuse.

Big wake-up call that I have to pay better attention in the future. I've let myself get a little lazy. Be careful out there everyone.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Honest mistake. Sounds like she's over it... way to admit your error and actually have a concern for other people. That's too rare these days. I'm sure you'll be 100% alert for quite a while now :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

woodway said:


> I clipped a walker on the MUP this morning and man do I feel bad about it.
> 
> Lucky for both of us I was going fairly slow (about 10MPH) because I was climbing a long grade. I was grinding along with my head down just daydreaming away when suddenly she appeared in front of me. I was maybe 3-4 from her when I first saw her. I made an emergency left move and clipped her left arm hard enough to knock the flashlight she was holding out of her hand. Thank god I did not knock her over.
> 
> ...


I came within inches of going OTB into the rear of a parked car while daydreaming up a hill.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey woodway, keep you chin up! Literally and figuratively. It sounds like all turned out OK. So far I've only been a threat to myself daydreaming, like wandering too close to the soft shoulder and bouncing into it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

At least you handled the aftermath well, Woodway. I`ve done similar (usually on cold mornings), plodding along in a bike lane with my head down, just basking in the relative warmth with my nose in the lee of my helmet, when suddenly a pair of walking feet appear in the upward limits of my vision- Whoops!

We have CB`s heatwave going one too. So far all the mud in my yard is still covered, but now by slushy, grainy snow rather than the safe and squeaky kind. I have a few hundred yards of hardpack/ice over dirt to get to the street, then a couple long shady sections with the same overing over asphalt, but most of my paved ride has been bone dry for quite a while. Man, this snow has really held on figuring it was only a few inches and has been hanging around for a few weeks now!

No couch needed when I go overboard with Mrs Rodar- I go to bed an hour after she gets up. Next week I think I start swing shift, so had better watch my manners!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Woodway: good on you for taking ownership. It is a 'heads up' that New Year's resolutions may change use patterns on our routes.

CB: This too shall pass.

Rodar: I guess she is out of the house within 2 hours or you'd be fair game. She can save cold feet for the middle of your back next week.

Newfangled: Nice. I'm not the only one slow to get the Christmas Ornaments away.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I only rode home because I had to bring the work car back this morning after taking it for fieldwork and training on Friday. 13F and uneventful except for my pack (battery)-to-helmet cable kept getting hung up on something on my pack and was annoyingly tugging on my helmet. I was a bit anxious to get home because I picked up a foster dog yesterday and had not left her at home alone before today. But she did great!

Woodway, glad you both were none the worse for the wear.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Pretty mild day, comparatively. 15F on the way in this morning, must have been darn near freezing on the way home. One good thing about those negative temps, makes the other days seem easy.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

The morning after a hard workout at the gym probably wasn't the best time to try commuting on a SS


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

All the way up to 18 this morning :thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got to work this morning, and realized that I had worn my reflective vest underneath my jacket. Whoops.

Another nice day with temperatures around freezing. Unfortunately it looks like our heatwave is finally about to end, with temperatures supposed to drop back to normal starting on thursday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Got to work this morning, and realized that I had worn my reflective vest underneath my jacket.


Haha! That`s a new one. Did it give you that inner glow?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Well, maybe not a new one. I don't think I got out the door like that but mid-winter when I'm up to something like 20+different items to put on I've had some ordering issues.

Good commute, the trails were a little firmer for some reason I don't understand. A fatbike still would have been ideal but I'm going to try not to mention that every day.....oops, dammit!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A balmy 25 at my house this AM. Uneventful ride in. Still hoping for fresh snow.


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

First commute of the year for me and it was good to be back on the bike after a couple of weeks off. I got some bar mitts and a Philips Safe Ride light for xmas and I must say that I love them both. Just wore some liners with the mitts in 28 (F) temp and I was a tad chilly, but nothing compared to being way too hot or way too cold like usual. Its pretty nice having a dynamo light too. No more worries about recharging the current light. 

So far, I am loving 2013.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Haha, nice one newfangled! And I thought it was only me who did stupid stuff like that...

Sweet sunrise CB. Love those kind of mornings.

Dalton, I don't think there is anything better than new toys/gear to spice the commute up for a bit...

40 and light rain here. I managed to make it to work without running into anyone today


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I spent too much time this morning installing a PDW fat fender I had bought (I snapped a SKS DAD fender in a dodo rear dismount (works great on summer trails when no fender is in the way), and exercising foster Ginger (she's settling in nicely) to ride to work, but I brought the bike and took an xl lunch.


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

Warmest commute of 2013. I was able to shed 1 whole upper layer of clothes. Tomorrow it will be in the 40's. Think I will take the wrong way home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoa, glacial retreat big time! Only one patch of ice left on my route tonight, and no more snow/ice bridges through the yard to my shed or my truck. Good thing I didn`t have to get to either of them today, because the mud that I`ve been dreading is finally here.



thebigfish said:


> Think I will take the wrong way home.


Have fun :thumbsup:



Dalton said:


> Its pretty nice having a dynamo light too. No more worries about recharging the current light.


I love dyno- welcome to the enlightened world! Is there now a US distributor for the dyno version of that Safe Ride? I see Peter White now mentions it on his website, but so far only stocks the battery version. My buddy recnetly bought one and had to get it from a Dutch distributor. You already had the hub, didn`t you? Did you go with a wired tail light also?

@MtbX: Nice 
Ginger`s forgotten tennis ball really makes that shot! And is there a 45 N trail around you? If so, you need a pic by that sign next.


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## meatman (Jan 9, 2013)

*3 years of daily commuting*

I am 61 years old and I have commuted to and from work every day for 3 years without missing one day, except for days off. (vacations, etc. ) My ride is 2.5 miles there and back. At 5 miles a day, 5 days a week, for 3 years, I have racked up several thousand miles. I have never been stopped due to weather. I have only had 2 spills, both caused by black ice. And the one time it was just from horseplaying around. Right now I am using the new bright red Specialized Disc Hardrock. I got a DYNAMITE deal on it. $520 regular price, but the LBS dealer sold it to me for $400. Just recently downloaded Strava to my phone and have registered mph in the mid 20's at times. I am new to this site. Thanx for listening to an old biking geezer !! :smilewinkgrin:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> @MtbX: ... And is there a 45 N trail around you? If so, you need a pic by that sign next.


Great idea, I'll have to check the map.



CommuterBoy said:


> All the way up to 18 this morning :thumbsup:


Anoother great sunrise shot!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, Meatman! Welcome in 
Your profile says Tuna Town. When I was in the service, I had two room mates from central PA- one was in Morrisdale, right by you. I used to go home with them on long weekends. Very pretty up there and we had a lot of good times.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey meatman, welcome. Where are you doing all this commuting? Put your mark on the map.

The trails are firming up nicely but now we have a warm spell coming through so I'm not sure how long the ice is going to hold out. I did take an awesome detour to a local trail system that has singletrack. I didn't expect it to be ridable but the snowshoers and walkers had packed it to winter singletrack perfection. I briefly considered taking the day off to ride it.

Sunrise pics eh, I pulled off a few of those:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Good job Meatman! Welcome. 

The temp change Rodar mentioned has brought the FOG to my valley... we still have lots of snow on the ground...the dirt road is still packed ice/snow...very nice with the studs. But it's going to get nasty if we get a couple more days very far above freezing. 

I used to fear the freezing fog...but that was before studs. It was liberating this morning blasting down the packed ice on the dirt road, and not tensing up when the pavement got shiny. It wasn't very icy, but on arrival I had a nice crust on every part of me and my bike that was facing forwards. Hard not to get mesmerized staring at your headlight beam when you can see it so well :lol: Licking your glasses works to keep that frost at bay, by the way. I had to do something, and I wasn't going to take them off (well I mean I took them off to lick them...but 20* with no glasses is no fun)


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The ride home last night was a fun one. I ended up taking a bit of a detour and hitting up some of the winter social single tracks that are on my route and then hit up a brief ride across Goose Lake before catching some of the single track in the university area. Good times. This morning it was quite a bit cooler than it has been for the past week or so, 10 degrees when I left my house. Good ride in, but my knee is twinging a bit and I have a squeak coming from the back of the bike. Thinking it is either the brakes rubbing or my rack has come loose. Will have to check that out when I get home tonight.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yikes rodar, I just looked... High temp today is supposed to be 49, high temp tomorrow is supposed to be 27. Heat wave - over. Cold front coming this afternoon, snow behind it apparently. Bring it on


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## Dalton (Jun 30, 2004)

rodar y rodar said:


> I love dyno- welcome to the enlightened world! Is there now a US distributor for the dyno version of that Safe Ride? I see Peter White now mentions it on his website, but so far only stocks the battery version. My buddy recnetly bought one and had to get it from a Dutch distributor. You already had the hub, didn`t you? Did you go with a wired tail light also?


Rodar - I had the hub on the bike since March or so when I put it all together. I have been dying to use it. I got the light from Peter White, but it looks like his site says Philips is dropping North America, so they must have sold their remaining lights and I was lucky enough to get one. That sucks. Maybe a call in to him might find something.

As for the tail, the plan is to get one wired, but I am still unsure which one I'm going to get. For now I'm still rocking my Radbot 1000 from Portland Design Works. That one may move up to the helmet once I get a wired light.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Snuck a short ride under the last of the sun and temps in the 40's. Nice.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Licking your glasses works to keep that frost at bay, by the way.





CommuterBoy said:


> Bring it on


Gaza Extremes fear nowt!



Dalton said:


> Rodar - I had the hub on the bike since March or so when I put it all together. I have been dying to use it. I got the light from Peter White, but it looks like his site says Philips is dropping North America, so they must have sold their remaining lights and I was lucky enough to get one. That sucks. Maybe a call in to him might find something.
> 
> As for the tail, the plan is to get one wired, but I am still unsure which one I'm going to get. For now I'm still rocking my Radbot 1000 from Portland Design Works. That one may move up to the helmet once I get a wired light.


Dropping North America? Hell, I wasn`t even completely sure they had arrived! Personally, I`m happy with B&M, but mo options is always mo betta, so sorry to see they aren`t going to stick wtih it over here. Wired tail lights are nice, but not as much benefit as the front and routing the wire is a minor hassle. I`m going to keep the wired light on my commuter, but don`t think I`ll bother with one on the other bikes that I have set up for "occasional" lighting. If you do go with a wired light in back, I have a routing tip that might work for you. I was having trouble keeping that front-to-rear wire run out of trouble and eventually took care of it by routing through a length of 1/4 inch plack plastic tubing (for drip irrigation, I think) that I snuggled between two of the three cables that run along my top tube and tied it loosely to the cables with zip ties. For some reason, the zip ties tend to work themselves towards the front end, but it`s easy enough to slide them back where they belong every couple of days- I just do that while riding whenever it catches my eye. Anyway, whatever you do about your tail light, I`m sure you`ll continue to love that dyno light up front!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Roadblock!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Hard to fly like an eagle when surrounded by turkeys. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

torQ! said:


> Riding my mountain bike with slicks to work today, road bike is in the shop for some work. The first half of this week was in the 90s and raining so I didn't ride at all.


Cornflakes don`t belong in a cage.
They need to roam free, soar with the gerbils.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Holy smokes. That's a lot of turkeys. 


My dirt road was eipc yesterday. It started raining about 2 hours before I headed home (in the dark)...so it was a slush fest on top of the packed snow/ice. There was a nice 3 or 4 inch layer of hardpack on the dirt road in the morning, but by the time I got to CLIMB UPHILL on it on the way home, it was the worst I've ever seen it. a couple hours of rain on top of the packed snow created the most epically slippery, thick creation I've ever ridden through. Not over, through. The Nokians pulled me through, but it was quite an effort. I considered walking. 

We got some fresh snow last night. The road spray that the cars threw up yesterday froze, with a thin layer of fresh on top...it was the loudest road surface ever. PopRocks, all the way to town. I woke up VERY late... a bit stressful, but at least it was light out. Last year (before studs) this would have been a driving day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MTXB, I haven't seem many turkeys lately.
Rodar, what the hell are you talking about?
CB, That slushy stuff sucks! Congrats on the studded commute that you would have driven, you are now officially a convert.

This warm weather has me leery of the lake so I had to take the roads.:madmax: It's been above freezing since noon yesterday and the ice isn't that thick to start. It is forecast to be warm for a while so I'm not sure if/when I'll be able to cross again. WINDY too. I wore 1 layer too many, isn't it supposed to be winter?

I'll keep the image to a reasonable size today.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Playing with the GoPro... not sure when I'll be ready to 'drop' my first 'edit', but here's a screen grab from this morning...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Nice pictures above all!

20F, dusting of snow, fast firm trails, sub 50 minute commute!!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I agree with JordyB. Good commute this AM. Though I still wish for more snow...


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## Gunnar-man (Mar 21, 2008)

I commute about 9.5km each way in the winter and today was one of those days when I want to move somewhere where winter means no snow and low temps that are well above the freezing mark.

Woke up to 10+cm of drifting snow and paths that are never cleared by the time I start riding (5.15am) Today was just deep snow, no traction and a couple of wipeouts. 

The paths will be likely be clear when I leave the office but i will be riding into a headwind with windchill of -20C.

No real point other than me ranting/venting/whining.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Gunnar-man, do you commute on the HD or do you have another bike for that task? 

BrianMc


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## Gunnar-man (Mar 21, 2008)

BrianMc: I just use a rigid 700c with partially studded tires and Alfine drivetrain.

We get a dump of snow usually with cold temps that last a few days, then a chinook blows through melting the snow during the day/freezing over night. Lots of slush during that time. I couldn't subject the Mojo to that kind of treatment.


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

good grief.... borderline freezing and raining. BOOOO!!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

From my Monday post-work ride.


From this morning

Almost a heat wave today: was only 36 this morning and 45 this afternoon. That's not counting the 10-20mph winds - great when it's a tailwind but miserable as a headwind.

Storm blowing in as I type, luckily I'm not working again until Tuesday so I won't have to deal with it unless I want to.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-18 C (-.4F) 10 to 12 inches of snow.....started snowing at +1C then it went all the way down.

The 1.9 inch tires floated on the frozen wet layer.

Too cold for car snot the snow consolidated well.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Negative 4 Farenheit is my personal low temp record. I haven't had the "opportunity" to go lower. We hit negative double digits every few years or so... most winters low single digits is about it. I do like how everything firms up when it drops that far.


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## JAGI410 (Apr 19, 2008)

Painful one today. Freezing rain in the morning with 4+" of snow expected later. I walked onto the driveway and moved my foot about to check for ice. Didnt seem too bad. I took my Fat bike out, and rode it to the end of the driveway before all traction was lost and I fell. Skinned my knee a little but otherwise ok. Walked the fatbike back to the garage, grabbed my other bike with studded tires and rode in just fine. We'll see if the freezing drizzle now turns to snow, as the ride home will be quite interesting.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

At least you had the studded tire bike to walk back to.

Below freezing this morning so I took the lake route. It's a fickle route. Still nice sunrises:


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

It would have been a wonderful week of commuting weather wise, but this darn chest cold just makes it a real drag. I keep telling myself that I will ride it out of my system, but it just hurts. 7F this morning on my way in. It was almost 40F yesterday, so there was a fair bit of ice on the roads and sidewalks this morning. Not too bad, just enough to make you pucker and pray for pavement on the other side. The snowmobile trails are riding soooo well. I hope I feel better this weekend so I can get out and ride the trails outside of town a bit.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, I don't think I could get comfortable riding across a lake. It sounds awesome, but I would definitely be scared that I would break through the ice and lose my bike. Or die. I don't feel like I have the expertise to determine if the conditions were safe.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, I don't think I could get comfortable riding across a lake. It sounds awesome, but I would definitely be scared that I would break through the ice and lose my bike. Or die. I don't feel like I have the expertise to determine if the conditions were safe.


Really not to hard to tell.....4 inches of clear had ice is fine.....

Basically if you can feel the ice moving it is too thin.

In the spring the lakes are still well frozen....but the snow starts to melt the water can't get below the ice layer, so it will sit on top of it....

Cause the snow insulates the water from the cold nights, the water level above the ice keeps building...

You can get a thin layer of ice above the main ice.

Pretty freaky when you ski across the lake, and break through ice layers....just gotta remember where the real ice layer is.

Also on reserviors the ice can for say 4 feet thick....then the level drops, the ice will crack around the edges of the reservoir, and float out on the water....

if you go down a crack you might end up floating in icy water covered by an ice floe.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You start to know your lakes. After you see if freeze a few years in a row you know where the streams and springs are that make weak spots. Pressure ridges give me the willies so I try to avoid them. Luckily there are none on my route.I think they actually form because 2 layers of ice are overlapping but any liquid water in the middle of a frozen lake isn't good. That, and I've seen some pickup trucks at the bottom of them. 

It's been 35 here today so not warm enough to do any significant melting but warm enough to make the snow soft on the trails. I'm going to take the roads to the lake. I think I should make it....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jag`s story reminded me what I was going to post last night and forgot. Went out for one more smoke last night before I took off for work and decided I`d wheel my bike around to the door while I was there. It was completely windless and snowing lightly, so there was about a cm of fluffy white covering everything uniformly. I came bebopping along the driveway with a cup of coffee in one hand and pushing my bike with the other hand and stepped on a snow-hidden puddle- slid maybe one foot and didn`t go down, but I sloshed most of the coffee on myself. Glad I had another jacket to change into!

Schott, I hope you kick that chest cold before next week. I had it bad like that for the week leading up to Christmas. It sucks bad enough in the summer, worse when its cold out.



jeffscott said:


> -18 C (-.4F) 10 to 12 inches of snow.....started snowing at +1C then it went all the way down.


It snowed the whole time? I don`t think I`ve ever seen it snow below zero F.



bedwards1000 said:


> Still nice sunrises:


You`re giving CB a run for his sunrise money.



jeffscott said:


> if you go down a crack you might end up floating in icy water covered by an ice floe.


Now that`s a cheery thought.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> It snowed the whole time? I don`t think I`ve ever seen it snow below zero F.


Yup snowed heavily to start and then tapered off as the temp fell....Geez I have seen it snowing at -40C....

That is how you make the really light beautiful Alberta powder.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

True, that makes the best powder, but the real dumps happen when warm and cold fronts are fighting, which is why most snow happens within 20 degrees of the freezing point. To get über cold, we need clear skies.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's also why they call the stuff we get "Sierra Cement". gotta get further from the ocean to get the super light stuff... we get some up high, but it's rare. Tahoe powder is very different from Utah powder.

Our typical pattern is: big snow storm hangs out around the freezing point, then the cold front passes and it drops to single digits behind the storm. Our powder actually gets lighter after it's been on the ground a while sometimes, as some of the moisture evaporates.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm going to take the roads to the lake. I think I should make it....


Yup. Happy weekend everybody!

We get all of those types of snow. Sometimes in the same storm.

Jeffscott, you know the ice is save because it has been below -20C for days on end


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Jeffscott, you know the ice is save because it has been below 20C for days on end


Wait, what planet do you live on? What does 20C have to do with ice forming? Or maybe we are making fun of the Celsius users, because that's always fun....always making it sound colder than it really is out there. Just kidding...cough syrup is kicking in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Must be the cough syrup. Those tiny minus signs are so hard to see.:skep:


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## wxflyer (Apr 30, 2006)

Not a bad ride after work today. Knocked off early and logged 10.0 -- fairly stiff headwind until I made a 180 and headed west to the house. A welcome break from the week's rain!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Honestly, it was probably the F to C conversion that screwed me up. Celsius is only used in my engineering life. When I use it to talk about weather all bets are off. Not to mention that it is Friday night.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hit over 60F today, though it was in the high 50's when I rode. Snow almost all gone. More coming to replace it early next week. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No work tonight, starting swing shift for sure on Monday. Was out driving around twon this afternoon- crazy stuff! it just snowed a LITTLE BIT, but the roads were skating rinks. I drive a 2wd pickup with nothing in the bed and had to chain up as soon as I started getting out of the flat valley bottom. Somehow unbent the little hook end on one of my chains and had to have my dad come resuce me with a couple pairs of Channel Locks.



Schott said:


> Or maybe we are making fun of the Celsius users, because that's always fun....


Yes it is 
Almost as much fun as making fun of people who roll on tyres 
I can think directly in mm or KM, but have to translate C temps in order to wrap my head around them. But actually, with the international weather reports that we constantly get here in Commuterland, I`m getting pretty good at doing rough tanslations in my head- I just figure 32 +/- C/2 and I know I`m in the ballpark.

Other personal metric/imperial traits: because I work constantly with metric bolts and threads and shafts, I`m more accustomed to them than to SAE sizes. I`m getting pretty close to thinking grams over ounces, but still don`t do KGs over pounds- go figure. Liters are just 1/4 gallons and fluid ounces have never made much sense to me.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Not to cold at 26F but the wind was killing me on the way home. I ride a 29er Mtn bike about 6 miles each way. Mostly down hill to work and mostly up hill home. Riding into 35+mph winds up hill was a killer but I burned a few hundred more Kcal (Endomondo W/HR mon). Winter is not as much fun as summer.

Mark


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sixty three Fahrenheit and another 17 miles. Spring in January is nice but our California fruits and vegetables are going to be expensive with the cold they have.

Some others rode yesterday. The salmon BMXer was surprised. I am not much faster than a spotted salamander yet, so it took longer to catch him than I thought. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow! We've got a January thaw as well, hit about 45F today, so I drove to pavement for 14.5 miles on the road with the cross bike. The road shoulders were super spoogy and everything''s a mess, but I enjoyed it. A pic at the historical society museum and a not-so-frozen-as-it-was lake.

I passed a sign, *tortierres, $10* and had to look it up despite >30 years in VT & ME....it's a French Canadian meat pie, looks yummy, but the best is step 4, where you put it in a snowbank. How to Make Classic Tourtière (Québec Pork Pie) | Simple Bites


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forgot the 2 minute video. The BMX kid was faster than a spotted salamander and I was only slightly more faster. More fitness coming online, but it is slow.

Meeting Cyclists - YouTube

Nice Hi! at the end.

Brianmc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Forgot the 2 minute video. The BMX kid was faster than a spotted salamander and I was only slightly more faster. More fitness coming online, but it is slow.
> 
> Meeting Cyclists - YouTube
> 
> ...


Cool - I commented on your running of stops -

I know it's different every-time, but I thought I would have tried to tell the kid to ride on the right & maybe explain why if he was to listen, It's weird educating people - I get it; especially children - you'll get someone going, "he was trying to rape my boy!!"


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

I get the feeling that NJ is becoming England. Rainy, foggy, grey for most of the past week, and more to come.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...I passed a sign, *tortierres, $10* and had to look it up despite >30 years in VT & ME....it's a French Canadian meat pie, looks yummy, but the best is step 4, where you put it in a snowbank. How to Make Classic Tourtière (Québec Pork Pie) | Simple Bites


I just hear them called meat pies around here.

January thaw in full effect here as well. It's amazing how warm 40F feels. A week ago no gloves would keep my hands warm and this week any will do. Super foggy too. I took the longer squishy dirt road route to avoid as many cars as I could. I also added an extra Spoke LIt that I got for my B-day to my bike. Good timing.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Ah, yes. Meat pies. I usually have one a week, my little local grocer has a local lady that makes little individual ones, they are fantastic. She also makes salmon pie...I have yet to try one, kinda scared quite honestly. 
It was really, really warm here this morning. 37F feels like 70. Rode to work in a t-shirt, sweat shirt, wind-breaker. No snow or ice on the road, aired up the tires to 7.5psi and had a super fast ride down. The snow banks are solid and were really fun to play on. I can't wait for the big freeze tonight, the world will be my playground with an unbreakable crust on the snow. yay for January thaw.


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## OutdoorCatholic (Apr 19, 2010)

My eyelashes kept freezing due to the steam sent up from my balaclava. I really need to wear my ski goggles when it's this cold. 7 degrees F before wind chill. Lobster gloves with liners were slightly chilly. If and when it drops below zero I'll have to use my military over-mitts.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Didn't even try riding today. Anchorage is in the midst of another meltdown. The roads are ice rinks and I am sure that the trails are just horrible. I figure that by riding on them when they are soft, knowing they'll freeze back up in a day or so, would do more damage to them than what it's worth. So I carpooled. The local schools are closed. The university is closed. It's a good day to not risk riding. (Yet I feel so dirty for some reason...)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woot Woot! New record here... minus 4.5* F. My previous record was -4, so only a half of a degree, but I'll take it. 
You know it's cold when you get beard-cicles inside your 'clava.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

highdelll said:


> Cool - I commented on your running of stops -


Hehe. I run a lot of stops, but I was surprised to see B Mc do it  A few weeks ago, I saw a kid (bout 8 YO, I guess) all bundled up riding salmon on the sidewalk on a super cold morning. Thought about "educating" him a little and changed my mind- just give him a salute and a big smile for going for it.



OutdoorCatholic said:


> My eyelashes kept freezing due to the steam sent up from my balaclava. If and when it drops below zero I'll have to use my military over-mitts.


Wow, that does sound cold. And I can`t find my overmitts :sad:



CommuterBoy said:


> Woot Woot! New record here... minus 4.5* F. My previous record was -4, so only a half of a degree, but I'll take it.
> You know it's cold when you get beard-cicles inside your 'clava.


CB, you have me solidly beat with that one! For today, at least- don`t know what my all time low has been. Our weather report says +8 for this morning but by the time I got up it was definitely above that. I start 3 months of swing shift this afternoon, so no more 7 AM runs. It`ll be much warmer for me on the way in and my return temps should be roughly the same as my in temps have been.

My wife and I rented snowshoes Sat and met up with some of her friends to play for a while. It was my first time on the contraptions- nice enough, but I still prefer skiis. Also I was REALLY surprised to see that the entire surface of the lake (Donner Lake) was liquid- guess we just can`t even dream of competing with the real Northerners in that respect. Though I have seen snow mobile tracks across it in previous winters.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Our deep lakes haven't frozen yet. Sebago is one of the biggest and 300' deep in places and none of it is frozen. Some years it never freezes, some years half freezes and some years all of it freezes. Little Sebago, the one I commute across, has a depth that is measured in feet in most spots. Like 10-30, so there is a lot less water to cool off. The shallow lakes freeze fast and warm up fast too. Ironically, the lakes that are coldest to swim in are the last to freeze.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Everything melted over the weekend so I thought I'd try to sneak in a week or two before winter realizes it's supposed to snow on us again. Got all kitted up, packed up, was airing up before heading out and found a broken spoke on my back wheel. Crap. Tried to ride anyways but after getting up the first hill about half a mile from my house I had a minute to try to figure out if the clinking was the spoke hitting something and saw it banging into my chainstay every revolution. Tried to pull the spoke out on the side of the road but couldn't get it to clear the brake rotor. Wrapped it around another spoke to keep it out of the way, rode the next 10 miles to work. I'll have to leave early today and ride it another few miles to the bike shop in town nearby to get them to do the spoke, hell if I'm dealing with spoke tensions myself.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mmmm, Donner Lake. Cool spot. 

Turns out my record was all for naught... school is on a 'delayed start' schedule becuase of "extreme icy conditions"... busses are having trouble. I could have come in an hour later with solid temps around negative 2. These kids should be riding their bikes to school :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm a bit rusty after working only 5 days in the past 3 weeks. I forget that my commute isn't as easy as I think it is. I was struggling a bit on the way in. The cool temps (26F) and a mild, but consistent, headwind didn't help. I'm looking forward to getting back in shape so my commute will be a piece of cake again.


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## hah72215 (Mar 31, 2008)

First commute under 30 degrees F. Also first time seeing ice on the road in AZ when biking. Brisk, but still fun. :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

highdelll said:


> Cool - I commented on your running of stops -
> I know it's different every-time, but I thought I would have tried to tell the kid to ride on the right & maybe explain why if he was to listen, It's weird educating people,
> - I get it; especially children - you'll get someone going, "he was trying to rape my boy!!"


*** Salmoning: Lead by example, I guess. Be predictable. I had a car following me, first blocked by oncoming traffic, then not daring to pass between us on the corners. I was up to 20 mph so not too bad. The light is a demand light with cars stopped so it was about to change and did promptly. Safety first. The motorist was patient and took a left just after the video ends.

*** This is not the way I rode until I came here. Running stops is a local tradition by most drivers. I have been nearly rear-ended when driving and I actually stop. I stop for all red lights on the bike. Obeying the rules at 4-way stops just confuses the drivers who run the stops themselves. Two officers have witnessed me doing this and have not had a chat with me about it. But you can't be day dreaming. You must check and be ready to stop.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

highdell... 
I was in Redding this weekend. I saw some guys playing disc golf. I thought of you. The end.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

hah72215 said:


> First commute under 30 degrees F. Also first time seeing ice on the road in AZ when biking. Brisk, but still fun. :thumbsup:


Congrats on the milestone. Was that in Tempe? I know the AZ mountains get plenty of cold and snow, but didn`t think the Phoenix area ever froze. That just doesn`t seem fair after what you guys have to put up with in the summer.

Sanath, paying the shop now and again for a spoke isn`t the end of the world, but don`t be put off by all the comotion lately about spoke tensions if you have standard (32 or more spokes) wheels. It isn`t really THAT big an issue, and the pluck to tune method works just fine. If you have any interest in learning to do it for yourself, go for it. Besides, a little prior experience at it just might save your butt out on the trail or roadside someday.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Only commuted two days last week and then flew down to Las Vegas and attended the Consumer Electronics Show. Between meetings I checked out the various exhibit halls which are absolutely mind-blowing with all the technology and marketing hype. Paid extra attention to the cycling related technology...had fun in the GoPro booth, in fact saw many companies marketing sports-related camera systems (including one with a harness for your dog). Saw some electric bikes, and of course a lot of fitness-based technology.

The wife also came down and we stayed the weekend. Was able to get some mountain biking in:










Commute today was downright mundane, cloudy, no rain about 28F when I left the house.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sanath, paying the shop now and again for a spoke isn`t the end of the world, but don`t be put off by all the comotion lately about spoke tensions if you have standard (32 or more spokes) wheels. It isn`t really THAT big an issue, and the pluck to tune method works just fine. If you have any interest in learning to do it for yourself, go for it. Besides, a little prior experience at it just might save your butt out on the trail or roadside someday.


There's commotion about spoke tension these days? I've replaced whole rims by taping every spoke where it crosses and removing all the nipples. Put the new rim on, snug all the spokes tight and then true it using the brake calipers. I use the "That seems and sounds about right" tension method.

I also never buy just 1 spoke if I break one. If I'd stop buying bikes eventually I'll have replacements for all of them. :lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sanath, paying the shop now and again for a spoke isn`t the end of the world, but don`t be put off by all the comotion lately about spoke tensions if you have standard (32 or more spokes) wheels. It isn`t really THAT big an issue, and the pluck to tune method works just fine. If you have any interest in learning to do it for yourself, go for it. Besides, a little prior experience at it just might save your butt out on the trail or roadside someday.


I tried to true a wheel myself once, never was able to get the hang of it or get it true enough that I was happy with it. I'm a perfectionist with anything I work on myself, which is why I just pay somebody else to true my wheels and don't look at them too closely. Eventually I'll have to make the jump to figure out how to do it, but not until I've got a wheel I don't mind having torn apart for 6 weeks or so, tensioned and retensioned over and over again until it's straight enough that I'm happy.

Besides, it's 10 miles home and less than 3 to the bike shop.


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## hah72215 (Mar 31, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Congrats on the milestone. Was that in Tempe? I know the AZ mountains get plenty of cold and snow, but didn`t think the Phoenix area ever froze. That just doesn`t seem fair after what you guys have to put up with in the summer.


Yeah, Tempe. Just an abnormally cold week. We should be back in the 90's in a couple months though so not complaining.


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## kdirk (Jun 20, 2012)

note to self, and whomever may be interested: wear gloves if the temperature is suppose to sit around freezing.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A great ride home. 3" of super fluffy new powder, temperatures a little above freezing, thick cloud cover to bounce around a lot of light, and I saw two coyotes. They were maybe 100m away from the park where our NHL team staged a PR stunt game of pond hockey yesterday.

As I was about 50' from them I realized I was glad that they don't react to bikes the way my dog does. My puppy is generally okay with bikes, until you stick a headlight on them (either blinky or solid) which jumps them up to #2 on her most hated list. But the coyotes just trotted away.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Found a wire almost broken in the accident just before the ride was now broken. Quick but poor fix to ride sooner rather than later. The 26 wind chill sans bike wind was a face full after Sat's 63 F. After a mile or so the face was warm or numb, so no problem.  New meaning to icy countenance, I guess. A granite face. A stone cold look. Not scared but petrified? Not sedentary, but sedimentary? Not just morphed, but metamorphic? Not ignoble but igneous? Obviously the drop in temp was pun-ishing. 

The iBike's heart strap does not make dogs crazy (ultrasonics?) like the old Sigma one was suspected of, and now proven to have been. That got me bitten when I visited one of my neighbors. Nice feature. Know your heart rate on this charcoal on gray, almost unreadable interface and piss off all the dogs you meet. Four years use, but I'm glad it died.:thumbsup:

BrianMc


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Saw a coyote! I'd seen one before when riding my motorcycle in Yosemite, but this was the first time I've seen one in Washington.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I tried to remind myself this afternoon to pack my long johns when I left for work. Not only did I end up forgetting my long johns, I also forgot my helmet and my reflective vest. 

Great weekend, Woodway! What was the weather like down there? I bet it was a nice break.


CommuterBoy said:


> I could have come in an hour later with solid temps around negative 2.


Good thing you DIDN`T go in later or you wouldn`t have hit a new record. Not for naught :thumbsup:



kdirk said:


> note to self, and whomever may be interested: wear gloves if the temperature is suppose to sit around freezing.


Good plan!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Perfect 25F temps for commuting, and the snowmobile trails were hard and fast after the recent thaw, and down to the dirt in a few places. The studded fatbike tires earned their keep on the icy sections. My feeder trails and shortcut where no snomachines go were not great, pretty bumpy from old tracks, and too soft in spots - I should have re-groomed them when the weather was warm.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

2 degrees ABOVE zero this morning. Heat wave.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I tried to remind myself this afternoon to pack my long johns when I left for work. Not only did I end up forgetting my long johns, I also forgot my helmet and my reflective vest.


At least you remembered the bike.  The change in schedule must be throwing you off. I know when I have a change in my routine, I am more likely to forget stuff, like when I drive and bring stuff to ride home, or when the temp is super cold and I'm too focused on what to wear for the ride rather than what I need when I get there.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> 2 degrees ABOVE zero this morning. Heat wave.


7deg above 0C this morning. Which actually is a heat wave (45F).


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A great ride this morning. After our warm up yesterday it dropped down below freezing overnight and firmed the trails up nicely. There is one area of overflow that was so slick I had to walk it, but other than that, both the roads and the trails were surprisingly good for riding. It helps that much of the trail I ride was groomed for the skiers just before the melt down so things packed down nicely and set up well. 

The roads still had some slick spots, but even without studs I was able to make good time and remain upright. Good times.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

hunter006 said:


> Saw a coyote! I'd seen one before when riding my motorcycle in Yosemite, but this was the first time I've seen one in Washington.


Just come over to my house hunter...they run through my yard almost daily. Back when my wife was keeping chickens they would come around and snatch a chicken when we were not watching. Last year I startled one on the Sammamish River trail - it was standing on that section of trail in front of the apartments south of the ballfields and I chased it down the trail for about 50 yards until it cleared the apartments and was able to dart off to the side.



rodar y rodar said:


> Great weekend, Woodway! What was the weather like down there? I bet it was a nice break.


It was in the 50's for the first couple of days, but then over the weekend the temps went down into the 20's overnight and mid-30'd during the day. The sun felt good though! We seem to have brought the weather back with us to Seattle as the temps are going down into the 20's at night and mid-30's during the day...oh and the sun is shining!


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Whoa....ice is slippery. Had a couple of close calls this morning. I was tearing down a snowmobile trail that was hard and crusty....and fast, when I came upon the bridge that is about 1.5 snowmobiles wide, 10 feet off the rushing rocky water, and also seems to be water tight because there was about three inches of water ice on the bridge....I walked it. Not a fall worth taking, not like anyone was watching anyway.

Awesome thing said on the way in. I ride through a school zone, the kids love the fat bike. Today I passed two walking that I passed yesterday. One asked if I was riding to work, I said yeah, and he punched the other kid saying "told ya so".


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Melted my favorite gaiter with a hair dryer this morning trying to dry it out all speedy-like. Fah.

That spoke turned out to be expensive at my LBS. $23.something to fix it. Looked like $20 in labor + $2 spoke + tax as it went into the register.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

That sounds about right, really. Especially if you rode it that way afterward, I bet it was pretty outa whack. You'd pay 10 just to get a true, so I think that sounds ok.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Y'know, eyelashes freeze...*

when the temp. is hovering around -4F. 

Coldest commute for me, ever. Funny thing though, my co-workers weren't incredulous about me riding in sub-zero temps, but that I carry my bike up a flight of stairs when I get here. WTH?!

Roads were clear, sky was icy blue, wind was absent so with the exception of the cold, was a nice ride to work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Fitness coming back. Hit HR 173 on sprint up hill before my cool down. Up from 165. Coldest I've worn booties and SiDis. I usually ditch them at 40 F. Slightly cool toes but no bad. Humidity up so 36 felt colder in terms of sucking the heat out of you. Still slightly faster than a hibernating spotted salamander. 

BrianMc


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## Dominic49 (Jul 7, 2005)

damn dogs (owners that let them roam free).
Dog Attack - YouTube
That dog was very lucky I was able to kick him off of me.


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## ditchmedic (Apr 27, 2011)

I'll take a farm dog running from far away over those surprise dogs. Wouldn't even have time to defend yourself. Good job.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

panaracer cross blasters have wciked traction even slightly subzero on city streets!
stoppied to avoid ipod'd pede who wandered out between cars.
she crossed 4 lanes of traffic to find herself in my way... but was nice enough to apologize when my carradice bag popped me in the back of the head.
think she realized I'd obviously hammered HARD on the brakes to make sure she didn't get so much as a tire print.

**** fixed gear riders, sometimes there is NOWHERE TO GO but into a person.
and I didn't.
XTR v-brakes on cross tires for the win!!


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## Dominic49 (Jul 7, 2005)

ditchmedic said:


> I'll take a farm dog running from far away over those surprise dogs. Wouldn't even have time to defend yourself. Good job.


i get those farm dogs too. This was just as I left work in town. I have another 2 sets of dogs that tend to give me interval training in the mornings.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Clearly, that dog is trained to retrieve anyone that might not obey the stop sign.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Getting there, Brian. A few more weeks you`ll be passing the leaping lizards.
Do fat bike tires roll over groomed ski tracks, or get rut-bound?



Sanath said:


> Melted my favorite gaiter with a hair dryer this morning trying to dry it out all speedy-like.


Melted with a hair dryer? Wow, what material was it made from?



Spatialized said:


> Coldest commute for me, ever. Funny thing though, my co-workers weren't incredulous about me riding in sub-zero temps, but that I carry my bike up a flight of stairs when I get here.


I bet they thought you`d climbed to a record height in the stariwell, but already knew you were a cold weather master 



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Clearly, that dog is trained to retrieve anyone that might not obey the stop sign.


:lol: "Error occurred", so I have to take your word for it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After patching nearly 50 holes in a decon shelter at work, just about the last thing I wanted to do was patch a tube, but I had to anyway. We received a decent amount of sleet and freezing rain yesterday evening. Due to my last experience with an icy MUP, I decided it would be better to take a bike with knobby tires. I didn't want to take my main mtb, but my older Cannondale was stripped of a rear wheel. So after getting installing the cassette, tire, and tube, I began to pump and noticed a leaking sound. I swapped to another tube and got the same thing. It turns out the first tube had a stem that was tearing away, and the second tube had a puncture that I neglected to fix last time. Not having another presta tube, I either had to fix the tube or ride my mtb (the singlespeed with slicks was not a viable option at that point), so I fixed the tube. Oh well. Still beats driving.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Anchorage trails have turned as hell froze over...20F, walkers and animals have post-holed the trails very badly making for a very chatter slow ride. The fat tires do help with this problem, but still bad. The sidewalks are ice rinks, but very fast with Dillingers!!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I pulled the 'clava down over the chin about half way to town this morning, and got som Jordy-caliber beard-cicles going. I thought it was 10 or 11 degrees F (based on the forecast)...reality check when I got to work showed that it was actually 3.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I agree with JordyB - lots of holes and ruts to work around, though it is a bit of a fun challenge finding that one strip that is fairly smooth and fast rolling. As I'm rolling studless, the streets are a bit slow for me. Though I have to say that the fat tires with lower pressures do surprisingly well on the ice apart from the one section of overflow I have to ride on. Looks like snow is coming in, so maybe we'll get a bit over an inch before the ride home to help cover up some of the ice - hopefully it is wet, sticky stuff and not the dry, sandy stuff...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dominic49 said:


> damn dogs (owners that let them roam free).
> Dog Attack - YouTube
> That dog was very lucky I was able to kick him off of me.


Ah, crap! That was a surprise, going from sniffing around to attack mode just as you approached. No way in hell I`d have stopped at that sign either!

Blockphi, what are the "overflows" that you sometimes mention? You mean where water runs out of something and freezes or somewhere for excess traffic to bypass a standard route?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Blockphi, what are the "overflows" that you sometimes mention? You mean where water runs out of something and freezes or somewhere for excess traffic to bypass a standard route?


Part of my commute is through a swampy area that, when it warms up starts flowing - so water running over the trail and then freezing back down. Just part of the fun of living in Alaska! What's even more fun is when one layer freezes, then another layer forms but does not freeze completely so you break through as you ride or walk over it! Dangerous on a river or stream, but pretty harmless when the water is no more than a couple of inches deep, though last night I broke through in a deep spot and went over the top of my boot. The rest of the ride was a bit chilly.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Rodar:

This is kinda of what overflow looks like. It's when a body of water can't flow through its natural path and spills over onto trails and then starts to freeze or turn into a slushy nightmare.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

You surprised it, that poor dog...I kid...sounded vicious. Started snowing on my way to work this morning, 3 inches or so on the ground for the ride home. Freshies on super solid trails is the bestest.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice, bring an extra layer or 2 tomorrow, Schott & Bedwards, and any other N'n New Englanders and Quebecers out there. Arctic Front is supposed to drop temps from 25F for the a.m. commute today to 10 or less for the ride home. About 3" at my house today too, but I drove the foster pup to get spayed today.

CB, hope you get a little warm up, and maybe more ice for the studs.


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## Dominic49 (Jul 7, 2005)

No riding for me today

I was lucky enough to spot one of these Tuesday night on craigslist and the lady was willing to hold it for me until I get drive (yuck) the 50 miles to pick it up.

Amazon.com: Feedback Sports Pro-Classic Bicycle Repair Stand (BRS-80R): Sports & Outdoors

Was worth it though snagged it for roughly 70% off


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## FinRoller (Jun 21, 2012)

A bit too chilly at -8F. Fortunately the forecast says this does not last long...


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

woodway said:


> Just come over to my house hunter...they run through my yard almost daily. Back when my wife was keeping chickens they would come around and snatch a chicken when we were not watching. Last year I startled one on the Sammamish River trail - it was standing on that section of trail in front of the apartments south of the ballfields and I chased it down the trail for about 50 yards until it cleared the apartments and was able to dart off to the side.


Yeah, that's where I was. But 4 years of commuting through that area, this was the first time I'd seen one.d


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Nice, bring an extra layer or 2 tomorrow, Schott & Bedwards, and any other N'n New Englanders and Quebecers out there. Arctic Front is supposed to drop temps from 25F for the a.m. commute today to 10 or less for the ride home. About 3" at my house today too, but I drove the foster pup to get spayed today.
> 
> CB, hope you get a little warm up, and maybe more ice for the studs.


Thanks for the warning. I didn't see it until I got to work but I've got all my layers with me. Right around 0 for tomorrow morning too.

Pic Of the Day: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration 

This mornings commute was sloppy and slippery. At least all this spindrift was on my glasses and not my eyeballs.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

My commute at 6AM this morning temp was a chilly 24' according to the Garmin. 24'C that is.
I wasn't bothering commuting during our rainy season, just getting the bus or a cab; you can generally set your watch by it around 2 to 3PM it clouds over and by 4PM it is absolutely lashing it down usually with lightning thrown in to boot; just in time for the ride home.
Seeing you guys out there in arctic conditions made me feel a tad guilty so have rode every day in 2013 so far. It doesn't really get that cold even when it rains here.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had to walk across the street to the store after I got to work. Frighteningly cold out there after the change into work clothes. I see why people think we're crazy! I don't know how I just rode to work in that!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ I use skiing silk underlayers (allergic to wool) and took to saving the lightest for under street clothes. You don't get too hot unless on top of a heat source. Such strolls outside only affect the exposed head and hands. Tolerable short term. 

Others would say, "You're Canadian,eh?" 

"Yes but I am naturalized." :thumbsup: 

What they don't know won't hurt me.

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ I use skiing silk underlayers (allergic to wool) and took to saving the lightest for under street clothes. You don't get too hot unless on top of a heat source. Such strolls outside only affect the exposed head and hands. Tolerable short term.
> 
> Others would say, "You're Canadian,eh?"
> 
> ...


gotta link for the silk underwear....I used to have a full set including liner gloves but it hasn't been around for a while.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

About 3" of nice fluff over the packed trails made for nice fatbiking this morning. The only thing that detracted a bit was running late. But I still stopped for photos. The temps haven't dropped much here yet, but a good squall went through with gusty winds and blowing snow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Excellent commute this AM. Nice fluffy snow falling down. Fairly warm. The overflow section of my commute was nicely covered with snow and a few tracks to help it freeze down, so not too slick. I did lose grip on one spot, but was able to ride the whole section today. JordyB's pic shows a good example of what it looks like without the snow cover. Good times.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JordyB said:


> This is kinda of what overflow looks like.


Blech- what a slushy, sloppy mess! I can imagine how it is to ride over after it freezes up with all those tracks.



SimpleJon said:


> My commute at 6AM this morning temp was a chilly 24' according to the Garmin. 24'C that is.
> I wasn't bothering commuting during our rainy season, just getting the bus or a cab; you can generally set your watch by it around 2 to 3PM it clouds over and by 4PM it is absolutely lashing it down usually with lightning thrown in to boot; just in time for the ride home.
> Seeing you guys out there in arctic conditions made me feel a tad guilty so have rode every day in 2013 so far. It doesn't really get that cold even when it rains here.


SJ, your profile says Scotland and Singapore. I take it you`re not looking out the windows at any castles about now . Is this your rainy season right now?

We`ve been enjoying beautiful windless days with sunshine and highs in the 40s, then dropping like a rock when the sun goes down to single digits by dawn. Had quite a fog for my midnight return commute with zilions of ice crystals dancing in the air- makes a really neat cone from my headlight and sort of paints a textured white finish on all forward facing surfaces. I made myself a nose shield at work from cardboard and duct tape, tried it out in good nose shield weather (cold and damp). It really did keep my nose warmer but fogged me up terribly. Too much overhang at the end of my schnozz just funnels my breath straight up under the lenses. I`ll work on it, but kind of doubt I`ll be able to do much with glasses- better idea for goggles. How do I look?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I see from your photo why you're having trouble.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice :lol:



rodar y rodar said:


> Had quite a fog for my midnight return commute with zilions of ice crystals dancing in the air- makes a really neat cone from my headlight and sort of paints a textured white finish on all forward facing surfaces.


That's it, right there. Dropping like a rock when the sun goes down. Not getting warm enough here for any really good fog though. Our highs are barely getting to the mid 30's. Just a few trickles of water coming out a foot or so from under the snow piles before they freeze up again. boring forecast for the next several days... single digit low, high of 34, single digit low, high of 35, single digit low, high of 33,...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...I made myself a nose shield at work from cardboard and duct tape, tried it out in good nose shield weather (cold and damp)....


Making a nose shield out of cardbord and duct tape really says somebody but I'm not sure what that is. :lol:. You should add (Dark) to that list.:lol: :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After being cloudy for the past week, the sun is finally out! It's going to be a nice ride home.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

As I was changing into my riding clothes to go home I saw the groomer go by on the thru-town snomo trail. So good. I've been having to go by the grocery store 3-4 times a week lately, it's been a while since I've been able to take the Ute down for a big shopping trip. It really is a push to get up my hill, with snowy roads, fat tires, work stuff, and 10-15 pounds of groceries. May have to try to get the old VW started for a grocery run...then again, maybe I'll wait until after the -20 temperatures.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I live on a hill as well, and can’t get motivated to haul more than a quart of milk or so. I applaud those who do. I use the car and combine grocery shopping with other errands like trash, bottle return, getting gas for the snowblower etc. If it was available here I might use some of my bikecommuter gas savings to pay for that Peapod online grocery delivery service. It’s about $10 for delivery in NYC, would have been great in my gram’s 5th floor walkup. With the added benefit of not spending my free time at the grocery store.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The 10-20 mph winds were 16 gusting to 30 at an angle that was a bit of a headwind outbound (I assume my body was an airfoil, and more of one returning. Was 40 dropping to 39 F. Colder is coming.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was pedaling up the snowmobile trail section tonight that doubles as a mile-long driveway, and pulled over to let a truck pass. And waved, while trying not to blind him. He stopped to chat and then gave me a $10 gift card to his restaurant "The Quarry" in Barre. :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Like getting a couple of beers (guy here recently got given one) except you have to get there, but very nice! :thumbsup: 

BrianMc


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> SJ, your profile says Scotland and Singapore. I take it you`re not looking out the windows at any castles about now . Is this your rainy season right now?
> 
> .........How do I look?
> 
> ...


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Nice :lol:
> 
> That's it, right there. Dropping like a rock when the sun goes down. Not getting warm enough here for any really good fog though. Our highs are barely getting to the mid 30's. Just a few trickles of water coming out a foot or so from under the snow piles before they freeze up again. boring forecast for the next several days... single digit low, high of 34, single digit low, high of 35, single digit low, high of 33,...


I feel your pain, my feet were cold when I got home. BTW temp is lower left on pix.

Mark


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

6C(43F) this morning, capping off a really nice and really sloppy week. Trails have been too soft, so I've had to stick to the roads on the way home. There's still plenty of snow around, but there's even grass showing through in a few spots.

But that grass is stupid, because on Sunday it's supposed to be -27C(-17F). Thankfully I don't plan on riding anywhere, and the rest of next week is only supposed to be normal-cold and not really-cold. But Monday morning could be pretty rough, and all of the slop is going to flashfreeze into icy little moonscapes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We have the icy moonscapes now. 5F when I passed the thermometer sign near work. I was dressed for it so no problems but I am slower than a spotted salamander in these temps. Although spotted salamanders might be frozen nearly solid right now. If not solid I think the cold would slow them down more then me so I may still be faster...but I digress.

I wish the trails were passable, maybe after this weekend.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoo, free lunch  That`s even better than a free beer.

43F in the morning, Newf? Crazy!

Hang in there Simple John, and don`t drown.



bedwards1000 said:


> You should add (Dark) to that list.:lol: :lol:


I added (Dork) to my list. That`s okay, the chicks really dig it. The dorky chicks, anyway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^:lol: I've thought about trying to fab some cardboard and duct tape pogies. I'd use black duct tape to make sure it fit my bike's decor.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had an epiphany this morning. A well-digger's a$$ really can't be that cold at all, since the simple fact that he's digging a well implies that the ground isn't frozen solid like the arctic tundra that I'm commuting on. I would pay good money to be as warm as a well-digger's a$$.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I had an epiphany this morning. A well-digger's a$$ really can't be that cold at all, since the simple fact that he's digging a well implies that the ground isn't frozen solid like the arctic tundra that I'm commuting on. I would pay good money to be as warm as a well-digger's a$$.


Well well diggers often have to dig through frozen ground around here....

Actually we do most of the pipeline work in the winter, and hand expose the pipelines for tie-ins ...

Takes a while and the diggers get stinking cold.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I can't say that I've heard that expression, but I'd have to agree with you, as the groundwater stays pretty much the same temperature year round. Similarly, I don't see any reason why a witch's teat should be particularly cold either.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I skipped the ride today as it was 14 degrees and there's supposed to be a strong wind this evening (although it'll be up to mid 20s by then). I feel like I'm pushing it with a single layer of tights in the low to mid 20s, 14 was too much. How low do you all go before adding another layer on the legs?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I skipped the ride today as it was 14 degrees and there's supposed to be a strong wind this evening (although it'll be up to mid 20s by then). I feel like I'm pushing it with a single layer of tights in the low to mid 20s, 14 was too much. How low do you all go before adding another layer on the legs?


I ride down to about -15 C with a single layer of tights...5 F.

The trick is to have really well insulated feet (winter snow bike boots shimano MW81 or equal).....I also wear a pair of chamois shorts underneath the tights.

I hate wearing two pairs of tights, I layer a size large on top of the mediums....the do restrict the laeg somewhat.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Cold for this morning's ride. 1 F. A bit of a shock to the system after the last two weeks being so warm. Also, I just had no energy at all. In fact one of my co-workers commented after I got here that I was looking a bit pale. Hope I'm just tired and not getting ill. 

The colder temps did a good job of consolidating down the snow we got yesterday so things were not too bad in terms of being slippy. 

It does sound like more snow is in the forecast for this weekend, so by Monday the trails should be amazing for riding, particularly if the groomers are able to get out. 

I did run up on a young bull moose on the ride in. Just taking his time walking down the center of the trail. Those darn moose really slow down the commute. They don't respond to cries of "Passing on your left." Well they do. About as well as the skiers do. 

Thank goodness it is Friday!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath said:


> I skipped the ride today as it was 14 degrees and there's supposed to be a strong wind this evening (although it'll be up to mid 20s by then). I feel like I'm pushing it with a single layer of tights in the low to mid 20s, 14 was too much. How low do you all go before adding another layer on the legs?


Somewhere in the mid 20's I throw on a windproof pair of rain pants over the tights. I either wear mtb shorts and leg warmers, or thick (Sugoi 'subzero') tights, and then put the windproof pants on over the top. Once you block the wind, you're good to go. I've ridden both combos in the negative 4 range.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^:lol: I've thought about trying to fab some cardboard and duct tape pogies. I'd use black duct tape to make sure it fit my bike's decor.


CB can use camo duct tape.:thumbsup:



jeffscott said:


> Well well diggers often have to dig through frozen ground around here....Takes a while and the diggers get stinking cold.


Had to dig out the 4 ' deep line to the barn or haul a ridiculous amount of water one winter. The exercise of pick axing down keeps you warm enough until you hit water. Water has a hellacious heat capacity. Sucks you dry. Fingers lose feeling fast. A$$ not far behind. 



mtbxplorer said:


> I can't say that I've heard that expression, but I'd have to agree with you, as the groundwater stays pretty much the same temperature year round. Similarly, I don't see any reason why a witch's teat should be particularly cold either.


Well I'd guess the ones in Salem, Mass were pretty toasty at one time. Different meaning to "Light my Fire!" :eekster:



Sanath said:


> I skipped the ride today as it was 14 degrees and there's supposed to be a strong wind this evening (although it'll be up to mid 20s by then). I feel like I'm pushing it with a single layer of tights in the low to mid 20s, 14 was too much. How low do you all go before adding another layer on the legs?


I have different density layers so I use the stand in a sheltered area of the house test. Yep need another layer. Or that's about right. Neighbors know I'm nuts. So no problem if they see me. I ride a bike in winter. Enough said. 

BrianMc

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Had to dig out the 4 ' deep line to the barn or haul a ridiculous amount of water one winter. The exercise of pick axing down keeps you warm enough until you hit water. Water has a hellacious heat capacity. Sucks you dry. Fingers lose feeling fast. A$$ not far behind.
> 
> BrianMc
> 
> BrianMc


I had a job as a soils tester....worst job was measuring the fronst level....pretty high say 2 feet down in Decmeber....by March frozen down to about 8 feet

In June we still have a layer of frost that goes from about 8 feet down to 10 feet down.

We had a 4 inch diameter auger...when you hit ice you knew you would be there for quite a while.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

frozen to 8 feet!! Canada is insane. Water lines around here are usually 3 feet, and you're relatively safe from any freezing.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I would pay good money to be as warm as a well-digger's a$$.


You could hire a plumber for something and maybe warm your fingers in his "cleavage". Would that be close enough?



Sanath said:


> I feel like I'm pushing it with a single layer of tights in the low to mid 20s, 14 was too much. How low do you all go before adding another layer on the legs?


Funny thing about that. When it first starts getting cold, I`ll wear shorts over long johns down into the 20s. After I make the jump to pants, I won`t leave without them until it`s up close to 50.



blockphi said:


> The colder temps did a good job of consolidating down the snow we got yesterday so things were not too bad in terms of being slippy.
> 
> Those darn moose really slow down the commute. They don't respond to cries of "Passing on your left." Well they do. About as well as the skiers do.


Glad your snow consoildated- hope your overflows didn`t freeze into icy rock gardens. You need a moose bell!



BrianMc said:


> Had to dig out the 4 ' deep line to the barn or haul a ridiculous amount of water one winter. The exercise of pick axing down keeps you warm enough until you hit water.
> 
> Fingers lose feeling fast. A$$ not far behind.


Can`t say i`m envious of your frozen ditch digging days. I`ve had to do some minor digging in frozen ground and it was WAY too much work for my taste. A$$ not far behind maybe, but never seems to get out in front no matter how hard it tries.

A few pics from this morning- bunny with Jordy B ears, looking up my street, looking up driveway towards the street, our Christmas tree from about five years ago.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Sanath said:


> I skipped the ride today as it was 14 degrees and there's supposed to be a strong wind this evening (although it'll be up to mid 20s by then). I feel like I'm pushing it with a single layer of tights in the low to mid 20s, 14 was too much. How low do you all go before adding another layer on the legs?


I do shorts over tights from about 40-15, although the low varies depending on the wind. When it goes to 15-0 I have a pair of knickers over the tights and thick socks pulled up. I did that in -4F the other day and while cold, it wasn't too bad. If anything I'd be adding rain pants over the tights, did that when it was snowing and 30F. And I have a pair of chamois shorts as the base.

You just have to go out and figure out what works best for you, it's taken this far into winter to get it really dialed in to where I'm comfortable in pretty much everything ol' Mother Nature has thrown my way. :thumbsup: Although I haven't gotten my feet sorted, they're still cold and almost numb when I get to work. Working on that though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I have a few different pants that I wear alone or combined with chamois tights or chamois shorts, depending on the temps. I'm a bit self conscious for the tights only look. Most of the ski/snowboard stuff is too warm or baggy, better options (around here anyways) are made for mountaineering or xc skiing, or aerobic winter multisports. Today I wore the Lowe Alpine pants + chamois tights on the way in at -8F, but was comfy with the pants & shorts (they were at work from a day when the temps dropped) on the way home at 9F. My lightest pants are Ibex Clima-wools. really comfy and nice snug grippers that don't let any snow sneak up from my 5.10 high tops. Another alternative is to use chamois shorts + long johns + pants, which more people are likely to already own.

Everyone's a little different, I would not consider knickers over tights like Spatialized at 15-0(F?), I am more coldblooded than that.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

I guess I am not the only one that is slower in the cold. It seems that others slow down when it is below freezing as well, good to hear.

Mark


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

wonder where the wife is? bit slower than usual.
ah well.
(wait longer)
hey hon, where are ya?
"snapped my crankarm, walking home"
you... you what?? are you ok??
"yeah, be there soon"


snapped a fsa ti isis bb awhile bakc, her campy shift paddle like a week ago


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wonder woman! :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ You Gotta love the woman. Smart enough to marry you, strong enough to break a crank arm, and stoic enough to walk it home without calling you. I have one in the same vein. Keeps me humble.

BrianMc


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

millertm said:


> I guess I am not the only one that is slower in the cold. It seems that others slow down when it is below freezing as well, good to hear.
> 
> Mark


Yup, very much so slower in the cold temps...but able to keep going.

When it gets cold, I like to wear a pair of wind proof tights as a base layer, and my old pair of thrift store women's Patagonia soft shell pants that fit super snug and have a built in gator. Even in negative teens I am fine...my ass cheeks were a little cold this morning, but I'm mostly downhill to get to work.

Tonight since I was going to a party, I wore a pair of lightweight long johns and a pair of heavyweight woollies from Labonville (similar to the old woolrich pants) and because I was also on trails with deep snow possible, I wore tall gators. Super comfortable at -8 on the way home just now.

I also am of the mindset that if you can keep your feet warm, your legs don't really need to be all that warm.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

@Schott,

Yes I figured that out as well, my feet got cold on my 12F ride home. I have Mtn shoes that are like boots. I just wear my tights (rated to 40F) and a tee shirt and sweat shirt over it. I am close to 300lbs and stay warm but since I now have to carry a complete change of cloths to work my backpack is a bit heavy. 12F was the coldest ride I have had yet, I am in the Mtn's in the 30's and I pull my sweat shirt. I seem to be a heat pump and will stay warm in the high teens and above. You are correct about keeping you feet warm, I was surprized when that happend. But I do not have the same energy and seem to rev up the lower gears when it is colder and not push the higher gears.

Mark


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ya don`t pull the cape on the old Lone Ranger and you don`t mess around with Mrs Byknuts!

Finished my third attempt at repairing my broken Cyo (mounting lug snapped off in a fall). Third time`s the charm? I just need to remount and rewire it now.

Tonight was drier than the past two, with no ice fog, so I tried the nose thing again. It worked better- fogged up a little when I got home, but not while I was rolling.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

What a day. I left mid-morning thinking that I would ride down to the Cafe. Thing about that is that the cafe is in the next town over. I opted for the long way around the mountain for the trip there, thinking I would take the short route along the river for the way home. Neither actually happened. The trail around the mountain is state maintained, and comes down through Jericho State Park. The park is about 5 miles from my house on snowmobile rail trail. Frozen hard and riding really well. Once I crossed over into the park it started to rain a little bit...at which point I decided that I wasn't going to be riding all the way to the cafe today...in the rain, so I started looking at the park map to have some fun. Headed up, up, up. Had to get off of the bike 3 times. Twice for lack of traction/really steep trail, and once for lack of legs. Both walks were less than 50 yds. I came up on a speed trap by NH fish and game, they pointed that radar gun at me and told me to speed up or it wouldn't register. I stepped it up and got clocked at 13mph heading up hill...I'll take that. I was worried that I may get a hard time for not paying a day use fee for the park, but they didn't care. They loved the bike, saying that there is a first time for everything. Wished me safe and sent me on my way. All of the sled-necks I talked to we're super interested in the bike, but not in riding one. Of the estimated 30-40 sleds that I saw on the trails, I thought maybe 3 of them didn't slow down enough...but then I was going pretty fast down the hill, they were coming up. All of the rest were extremely courteous, and I got plenty of thumbs up from them. The rain turned to snow during my 1,300 feet of elevation gain, it was really windy, and there was even a bolt of lightning. About half way back down the trails turned a bit wet and soft, but still fine...just harder on the legs. Rode straight back into town and to my favorite Chinese restaurant/bar. Perfect day. 20.3 miles.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Nice story& pic.

I rode. I sucked. I was conquered. But I rode. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Schott, that's a lot of snowbike miles on a crazy weather day, sounds like a fun day though, and a great ending with the Chinese food/bar reward. Wild weather here too, a weird mix of snow squalls and sun, and very windy. I re-groomed my (off snowmo route) feeder trail and shortcut with the snowshoes and then the fatskis, so they should be running fast when I go back to work Tuesday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

byknuts said:


> wonder where the wife is? bit slower than usual.
> ah well.
> (wait longer)
> hey hon, where are ya?
> ...


byknuts, you forgot to post a picture of your wife's legs. They must be pretty impressive to snap a crank arm. How did she do it? Sheer power starting or going up a hill?

Nice pics and story Schott. Sounds like a great day. I only got out long enough to scope out the lake:






​Somewhere around 5F here this morning. The trials were firm enough but not fast. We've got a winter storm watch for tomorrow so I guess today is my only trail day for a while. I can probably squeeze one in tomorrow morning.


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## fattybikejones (Aug 17, 2008)

Psyching myself into it. Bitter cold ha s gripped SE WI. Snow hasnt been a factor thus far.. Oh Spring, how I long for thee1 *sigh*

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ya don`t pull the cape on the old Lone Ranger and you don`t mess around with Mrs Byknuts!
> 
> Finished my third attempt at repairing my broken Cyo (mounting lug snapped off in a fall). Third time`s the charm? I just need to remount and rewire it now.
> 
> Tonight was drier than the past two, with no ice fog, so I tried the nose thing again. It worked better- fogged up a little when I got home, but not while I was rolling.


Looks pretty good...the store bought one extends further to the sides underneath the lenses..

However the googles have a really good seal to prevent the air coming up so that probably won't work unless you have the glasses/googles like Mtsexplorer has.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this AM. Cool, back down to 12 F when I left my house. The snow we got last week and the light dusting we got over the weekend really helped to bring the trails back around. Took it a bit slow today to just enjoy the air and the feeling of the earth moving beneath my wheels. Oh, and it's Monday so I really don't want to be at work anyway...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Wiped out leaving my parking garage this morning. Studs + concrete = :madman:

I ride across it every day, but today there are a dozen new, footlong scratches in the floor.

Temperatures back down to 0F (from the 40s on friday and -15F yesterday), and fairly heavy snow all make an otherwise uneventful commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Schott, that sounds like a real punisher, 20 climby miles is a LOT of snow to cover! +1 on your reward being well earned!

Nice, Bedawrds . That`s an awfuly deep track you were pushing there before stopping for the pic. I hope you`ll soon be pushing a wide track rather than a deep one :lol:

I`m such a lazy 4$$ these days- Since late Oct, I`ve only taken one ride other than my commutes. I think about it often, but every time I poke my nose outside I go right back in the house.



jeffscott said:


> However the googles have a really good seal to prevent the air coming up so that probably won't work unless you have the glasses/googles like Mtbxplorer has.


Found a pair of ski goggles that I`ll try out tonight. I have the impression that single pane googles are known to be terrible foggers, but I don`t think I`ve ever tried them. Yeah, the nose thing really should go under goggles rather than glasses.

Been working on that old Rockhopper I bought a few months ago. I stripped it to the frame, scrubbed all the parts, did all the bearings, and started putting it back together. It`s in temporary SS mode for testing purposes, but I picked up shifter cables for it yesterday, ought to at least cable the RD today. FD isn`t going on yet because I`m not sure if I`m keeping those cranks or putting the original Deores back on


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nicely done Schott. When I first saw that pic, I thought it was a fux photo.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

hah! bedwards, you want pics of my wife's legs you gotta be sneakier than that! 
no hills, we were downtown, probably just starting off from the lights.
can't warranty them, but ah well, they've more'n served their purpose.

replaced TEMPORARILY with a set of FSA team issue full carbon roadie arms.
although to be fair, I'm at a loss as to what to suggest for her that's cx gearing but stronger than NextLp's! 

maybe salt got to the aluminium between where the carbon core is and the back of it's cavity, and just went to town on the alu?
anyways, I think I'm gong to bolt the 1/2 a ti bb to the crankarm and mount it somewhere.
"offerings to the gods of commuting speed" as it were.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

byknuts said:


> maybe salt got to the aluminium between where the carbon core is and the back of it's cavity, and just went to town on the alu?
> anyways, I think I'm gong to bolt the 1/2 a ti bb to the crankarm and mount it somewhere.
> "offerings to the gods of commuting speed" as it were.


My thought was micro cracks either from impact or original manufacture error plus salt. My guess but it is your $$ that this should not be repeatable. If if is, you'd have a very good case that warranty or no, the crank arm is not as advertised.

BrianMc


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

woodway said:


> Nicely done Schott. When I first saw that pic, I thought it was a fux photo.


What is a fux photo? Thanks for the props, it was a stiff day, but I was having so much fun out there. 10 of the miles were flat and fast, 6 or so climby, 4 descending. Guess which miles went by too fast. I was totally planning on a ride again today...the legs said to rest...so I did.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Schott said:


> What is a fux photo?


Fux is the mtbr version of Galen Rowell. You can see some of his pics in the "Long Cold Winter" thread.


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## limba (Jan 9, 2004)

Today was the first slippery day in the snow. I almost crashed three times in two seconds. I seriously don't even know what happened but it must have looked amazing. I spun around, almost crashed on my left, somehow got my foot down, over compensated and almost crashed to my right, got out of it, spun completely around and ended up with both feet on the ground, hands still on the bars holding the bike upright in the air. If I was using any other pedals than my severely worn Ritcheys I would have ate it. Craziest non crash ever.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Good work not eating it. Amazing how fast you can go down.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Fux is the mtbr version of Galen Rowell. You can see some of his pics in the "Long Cold Winter" thread.


Yup, calling something a fux photo is a compliment! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

limba said:


> Today was the first slippery day in the snow. I almost crashed three times in two seconds. I seriously don't even know what happened but it must have looked amazing. I spun around, almost crashed on my left, somehow got my foot down, over compensated and almost crashed to my right, got out of it, spun completely around and ended up with both feet on the ground, hands still on the bars holding the bike upright in the air. If I was using any other pedals than my severely worn Ritcheys I would have ate it. Craziest non crash ever.


Dang! That sounds video worthy. :rockon:


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

limba said:


> Today was the first slippery day in the snow. I almost crashed three times in two seconds. I seriously don't even know what happened but it must have looked amazing. I spun around, almost crashed on my left, somehow got my foot down, over compensated and almost crashed to my right, got out of it, spun completely around and ended up with both feet on the ground, hands still on the bars holding the bike upright in the air. If I was using any other pedals than my severely worn Ritcheys I would have ate it. Craziest non crash ever.





Schott said:


> Good work not eating it. Amazing how fast you can go down.


Amazing how fast your reflexes can compensate when you've learned how to  Nice job not eating pavement. We had similar conditions around here with black ice getting worse by the day. Yesterday I swung around a fairly sharp corner and felt the front tire slip, then the rear tire start to slide. Unclipped as the bike straightened up while I turned in to the slide, turning a slippery ice corner in to an impressive powerslide on pavement. Thankfully didn't slide off the trail in to the river below, but it was a reminder that while things are below freezing... one does not simply ride to work.

On the way home, I had to take the short route as I knew I wouldn't make it home on time by the long route. It's shorter, but more hilly; I miscalculated slightly and found myself with about 10 minutes less than normal to get home. I took some detours, powered through with about double the intensity I normally have on a commute, and ended up getting in almost the same mileage on the longer route but through a much more interesting commute. Even better, the whole reason behind taking the detours was Tank the Surly Ogre was showing 4972 mi on the clock before I left... and I managed to click over to 5001 before I got home . A lot longer than I expected it would take because of work, but considering the last 1000 mi were clocked in under a month, that is a surefire indicator of things getting better.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning was likely the coldest of my commutes this year. It was 12F, which isn't all that bad. The past few winters have been warmer than the previous two winters. Last year, temps only got down to 17F.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Commuter Boy - Beware!!!!*



Schott said:


> Good work not eating it. Amazing how fast you can go down.


Yes it is, yes it is.
First Crash of 2013

On a positive note, the winter storm that was all over the news yesterday blew out to sea and we haven't even seen a flake.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ouch!

We got an inch or two of fresh powder overnight. It made for a pretty and fun commute. The only other excitement was a school bus rear ended a sedan by the roundabout, the cops were already there. Pix are in the order of travel....


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great commute in this AM. Warm (27F) and fast rolling snow. Just overall felt really good to be on the bike today, apart from the fact that one of my headlights' batteries went dead. We had a nice bit of cloud-cover so I didn't need the lights anyway.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hehe. Reading backwards, I ran into "Good work not eating it" before I read what it refered to. I still had (snow) donuts on the mind, so thought diet or something. Anyway, good job not eating it.

Bedwards, keep practicing and soon you`ll be able to handle those stairs just like a rock garden!

Hunter, you`re a maniac. 1000 miles in January? Yowza!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards...my stairs are carpeted, but I've had some close calls coming into the downstairs door with snowy feet onto ceramic tile :lol: sorry man, hope the bumps and bruises are minimal. 

It was 1*F this morning. But on the plus side, it was noticeably brighter out... heading towards spring, in spite of the thermometer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bedwards, keep practicing and soon you`ll be able to handle those stairs just like a rock garden!


I made the comment that I would have handled them better on the bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*** My fall happened in less than a half second. I also got it on video. Hoping none here gets one for comparison for the rest of their lives! I have had my share of falling down stairs before I was school age and the stair door at the bottom was a rude stopper. Bad to get totaled before leaving the house. Been there, done that, and have the permanent brain damage! 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bedwards, hope I din't jinx you with my comment on the WL 2 days ago about riding alone...


mtbxplorer said:


> ^^... After all, it's not safe at home either. I could trip down the stairs and someone might not come looking for me for a few days.


 :cornut:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Great commute in this AM. Warm (27F) and fast rolling snow. Just overall felt really good to be on the bike today, apart from the fact that one of my headlights' batteries went dead. We had a nice bit of cloud-cover so I didn't need the lights anyway.


Nice! Same here, albeit warm. Glad its not 35 and raining...yet!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, hope I din't jinx you with my comment on the WL 2 days ago about riding alone...
> :cornut:


Nah, I think it was the shoes. Are you ready for a chilly one tomorrow? The forecast for tomorrow has the daytime high listed as 5F.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nah, I think it was the shoes. Are you ready for a chilly one tomorrow? The forecast for tomorrow has the daytime high listed as 5F.


Psh, sounds toasty. I'm looking at a high of -3F tomorrow, though it should only be -14f at the commuting hour. Today was lovely, actually. It is supposed to be wicked cold like this all week, so I went all out at the grocery store on the way home with a back pack and large pannier...probably 20 or 25 pounds.

Worst part about the cold is not being able to get the kids outside to play (I teach at the Head Start)....it's going to be a long, energetic week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Are you ready for a chilly one tomorrow? The forecast for tomorrow has the daytime high listed as 5F.


As long as the pipes don't freeze!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> Psh, sounds toasty. I'm looking at a high of -3F tomorrow, though it should only be -14f at the commuting hour. Today was lovely, actually. It is supposed to be wicked cold like this all week, so I went all out at the grocery store on the way home with a back pack and large pannier...probably 20 or 25 pounds.
> 
> Worst part about the cold is not being able to get the kids outside to play (I teach at the Head Start)....it's going to be a long, energetic week.


Yeah, and you're in Berlin, right? So it will be snowing too because it is always snowing in Berlin. At least it seems that way. I just checked the forecast for Berlin, Barre & Raymond, ME and MTBX wins with an overnight low of -17F. Best open the doors under the sinks so the heat can get in there.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I wish it was always snowing here!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*It's always colder at night*

Old man winter beckoned me
Drawing me into his icy grasp.

I loosened his grip
With my mind,
How many syllables in a haiku? 
Waffles with warm maple syrup.

And at last 8 miles was done.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Haha! 5, 7, 5

The crossing guard gets;
As icy morning lightens;
Cocoa for her work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The temperature drops;
Northeast dominates the forum;
Ride in tomorrow.

I don't' really get haiku.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bundle up, gang. We don`t want no frostbite OR frozen pipes.



bedwards1000 said:


> I don't' really get haiku.


Let`s see...
Won tons,
Mitsubishi,
Toyota,
Mitutoyo,
Panasonic,
SunTour,
Haiku...

Yup. They should have stopped while they were ahead. Well, as long as they stop right now, I think they still come out on the up side


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Yes it's true... you all thought I was commuting clean, and the whole time I've secretly been BUCKET DOPING 

...does anyone have Oprah Winfrey's contact info?

Today's commute was uneventful. On the way home, I took the rural route (with bucket in tow) and did 22 miles at about 22F, which is as cold as I care to tolerate.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

-4 for the ride in. I got up early to take the long way because the trails are getting firmer and faster. Bad idea. About halfway into my detour no snowmobiles had packed the trail but I decided to continue on to the other main trail because that connector isn't always used. After about 1 mile of hard 4mph riding I got to the main trail which was also untraveled. It was now too late to turn back so I rode about 2 more miles in the deep stuff. Any deeper and I wouldn't be able to make it and I had to walk up most hills. Once I got to the local trail system there was some nicely snowshoe packed singletrack.:thumbsup: I did get my exercise this morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

19F on the way in today, just a little cooler than my ride home yesterday. There was no wind, so the going was pleasant. Part of me felt like skipping work altogether and just going for a long ride. Work has felt like an exercise in futility this week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woo hoo! -20.5 F when I left, -10F when I arrived. Goggles worked great, I took extra care to smooth the neoprene Gator mask under the bottom edge of the goggles, and to exhale right against the little mouth holes. I was glad I added the toewarmer packets to my insulated boots. I was actually warmer than last night since I added the winterhelmet/goggles, those toewarmers, swapped the softshell for a more wind resistant/heat retaining hardshell, and took the trail route staying more out of the wind.

Bedwards, that sounds pretty rough - glad you made it out of the woods.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

-20 beats my low temp record. (No image attached, BTW. Either that or if is very small and grey)
Could explain this: Ski Area Closed Due To Cold


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

-20... is that a personal record MTBX? That's flipping cold. 

It was a glorious 18 degrees for my commute this morning. Unbelievable how warm that felt after the past couple weeks. I think my last double digit commute was way back in 2012. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mechBgon said:


> On the way home, I took the rural route (with bucket in tow) and did 22 miles at about 22F, which is as cold as I care to tolerate.


"In tow" sounds about right. Gives me the willies just seeing it there- sure hope it wasn`t windy.



CommuterBoy said:


> -20... is that a personal record MTBX?


 +2, that`s what I was wondering.
I think you beat out the Alberta guys this week. Oh, plus 20- something on my way home last night. You won`t even want to hear what my "to work" temp was at 2 PM.

Bedwards, did you make it in on time?

Hang in there, sOck. My week started out that way too, up until the middle of last night when I finished fixing my screw up from the night before. Smooth sailing now. I hope.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice work mtbxplorer!



rodar y rodar said:


> I think you beat out the Alberta guys this week.


Totally. I'm still sitting around 5F, and the highs should be close to freezing by tomorrow.

This is totally going to jinx it, but I think my coldest ride this year has been...maybe -5F? And that was just one ride. I think I've worn my fleece mid-layer twice, I think I've covered my face once, and I still haven't broken out my big-boy gloves or socks. Last year was the un-winter, and even then we spent a few days around or below -30C, but this year I've had just one ride below -20C.

So yeah, now I've totally jinxed myself, and February will be hell.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Nice work mtbxplorer!
> 
> Totally. I'm still sitting around 5F, and the highs should be close to freezing by tomorrow.
> 
> ...


It has got to get cold sooner or later......I have had only two or three days below -20C....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yeah, -20.5F was a record, I think the coldest before was -13 a few weeks ago. I probably wouldn't have braved the -20 if I hadn't done the -13.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice work MTBX. I haven't had the chance, but I want to say I'd do that if the opportunity presented itself... that's record low kind of temps around here. It happens, but it's rare. Negative single digits is about as cold as we get in a normal winter.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> -20 beats my low temp record. (No image attached, BTW. Either that or if is very small and grey)
> Could explain this: Ski Area Closed Due To Cold


The don't close the ski area in its entirity around here....but they do shut the affected lifts down when windchill gets below something around -40C...

Just too much risk of a lift shutdown and stranding someone for hours. Even with immediate lift evacuation (something like 20 minutes) the poor guy would be frozen solid.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great ride in this AM. Warm, good snow conditions, fast riding. Saw a big bull moose who must have recently shed his antlers as he was rubbing his head against a power pole. I stopped to gauge what he was going to do and if I could get around or would need to find an alternate route. He looked at me, then went back to scratching. Might have to poke around the woods tonight and see if I can find me some antlers! 

Four moose on the way home last night. We must have enough snow in the mountains now to have forced more of them into town again. 

Good times


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

It only hit -9F wheni left the house, but was -10 when I got to work, and climbed to a staggering -3F for the ride home around 3pm...that's a pretty cold day. Tomorrow looks to be more of the same, supposed to be -21 at the commuting hour of 7. I added a pair of long johns to the mix this morning, and used my ski helmet and goggles. I like riding past people getting in their cars and yelling at them to stay warm out there.

I usually have no problem stopping to talk to people about the bike and why I ride in the winter, but when it's 10 below, I'm not much for conversation.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice record, Mtbxplorer!

Once lived in Ottawa, Ont., when there was a period where the lows were not higher than-40 C (or F scales cross at this point) and -20 C for highs. Getting a cold car to start was loads of fun. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Saw a big bull moose who must have recently shed his antlers as he was rubbing his head against a power pole. I stopped to gauge what he was going to do and if I could get around or would need to find an alternate route. He looked at me, then went back to scratching. Might have to poke around the woods tonight and see if I can find me some antlers!
> 
> Four moose on the way home last night. We must have enough snow in the mountains now to have forced more of them into town again.
> 
> Good times


That's awesome, I love seeing moose! (in safe conditions of course). A big bull was chasing downhill skiers at Sugarbush. Good luck finding some antlers. :thumbsup:



BrianMc said:


> Nice record, Mtbxplorer!
> 
> Once lived in Ottawa, Ont., when there was a period where the lows were not higher than-40 C (or F scales cross at this point) and -20 C for highs. Getting a cold car to start was loads of fun.
> 
> BrianMc


Thanks! Hope mine starts tomorrow, I'm tuckered from 3 days of fatbiking and cold, it will be a day off I think. Already -15F when I got home, so I don't think it's going to be any warmer tomorrow. My work thermometer today never got over -.5F.

Schott, your comments to motorists to stay warm out there made me laugh 

Stay warm everyone!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow!, Flood warnings now.

... Flood Watch in effect through Friday evening...

The National Weather Service in Burlington has issued a

* Flood Watch for northern New York and much of Vermont.

* Very cold temperatures in the past 24 hours has led to more ice
buildup in the rivers... and a freeze-up jam has been reported on
the Salmon river in Malone New York. With very cold temperatures
continuing right through Friday morning... the threat of
additional ice jams will increase across northern New York and
much of Vermont.

* Ice jams of this nature happen quickly and can occur anywhere.
Flooding of roadways and homes in a short period of time can occur


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## bratok (Jan 24, 2013)

A not so nice guy in a Porsche cabriolet told me he needed all of the road. Showed little understanding for people who like to ride home from work...


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

This is my life.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bratok said:


> A not so nice guy in a Porsche cabriolet told me he needed all of the road. Showed little understanding for people who like to ride home from work...


You should have told him that if he needs the whole road with that car that he doesn't deserve to drive it.



mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks! Hope mine starts tomorrow, I'm tuckered from 3 days of fatbiking and cold, it will be a day off I think....


 Every opportunity you pass up is an opportunity you will never get again.

-10F here this morning. I think that is close to my limit with my current boots and gloves even with warmers.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

hunter, I chased your coyote down the trail this morning...right by the ballfields. Coyotes can run fast.

A major bow down and "I'm not worthy" to all of you riding in negative temps. My 37F commute is downright balmy in comparison. Heck most of you would probably have been riding in t-shirts!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Every opportunity you pass up is an opportunity you will never get again.
> 
> -10F here this morning. I think that is close to my limit with my current boots and gloves even with warmers.


 True, it would have been another record. A low of -22.8F at my house this morning!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bratok said:


> A not so nice guy in a Porsche cabriolet told me he needed all of the road. Showed little understanding for people who like to ride home from work...


*** "That makes me feel sick!" Followed by a re-enactment of the scene from 'Caddyshack".
Well, probably best only imagined. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Heat Wave!! Some magic happened over night... a glorious 31 degrees for this morning's ride. It was sn-aining... some snow and then freezing rain overnight made for very slick roads this morning. It was either snowing lightly or bits of fog were just falling out of the sky... didn't really get wet, but it was very wet out there. Strange. Sooooo nice to be "warm" though. Crazy how warm 31 feels after the past couple weeks. 
Another day of thankfulness for studded tires.

Edit for a couple pics:
We were talking a while back about heated bike lanes in Scandanavia... thought of that this morning. This is the spot where the geothermal line runs under the field... why not route that thing under the sidewalk or something useful?? 

And they're no moose, but I did see a cool heard of antelope the other day, way out in the valley. they usually hang much further from civilization...the cold must have driven them in or something. Beautiful critters.... closest thing we have to an African animal in my opinion.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool antelope, CB!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Schott, I NEED that shirt :lol: My life too. Where can I get one???


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not so great of a ride this AM. Feeling dead in the legs. The weather was great, though. Mid 20s with a bit of cloud cover. Nothing exciting to report. 

Riding home yesterday I did see a guy out riding in shorts. I think we were around 30 or so with beautiful blue skies.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

The shirt is from Fitzgerald's Bicycles in Jackson Hole, WY.

It has warmed up to a balmy 3 degrees. I'm gonna sweat like a stuck pig on the way home...I wore my ski helmet down today because it was -19.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

wet slush at 9am turns into formed salt crystals by 5pm.
neat!
it's like a metaphor for my workday...


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

Was a chilly morning ride. 3 degrees F with 15 mph headwinds. Lucky there wasn't much moisture in the air. Warmed up another 10 for the ride home, but at least I don't have to use my light on the trip home anymore. Hello sunshine. Been missing you.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

It was warm enough tonight to wear shorts and tee shirt. A nice balmy 55F, almost feels like summer. This little heat wave is a nice reminder of lost summer days.

Mark


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## Jason R (Dec 9, 2012)

*crashed!*

I've been riding the same route for 4 years and I've never had an incident until today. I bought some Mach Schnell goggles to try for the ride this morning. They fogged up quickly and I slowed down to adjust them. Not exactly sure what happened but the next thing I remember is my helmet bouncing off the concrete. I just put some 700x 42 knobby tires on and I'm hoping this will keep me from sliding as I'm assuming that's what happened. I always wear my helmet but I can say for certain now that I will never get on a bike without one because of what happened today. I feel that I would probably be in a lot worse shape had it not been for the helmet.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^ Ouch! What was the damage, Jason? I don`t know what kind of surface you were riding on (ice?), but unless it was dirt or sticky snow, I doubt knobbies would have helped much. You had slicks on when you went down?



millertm said:


> It was warm enough tonight to wear shorts and tee shirt.


Took a detour through Anchorage on your way? Sounds like Blockphi saw you ride by 



byknuts said:


> wet slush at 9am turns into formed salt crystals by 5pm.
> neat!


Damn, that`s some serious salt! If Clagary does it up like that, I think I finally understand how JeffScott goes through so many BBs and headsets.

Warm and rainy. If the rain keeps up, the remainder of our stale Christmas snow will probably be gone by morning. Replaced by mud, of course


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Took a detour through Anchorage on your way? Sounds like Blockphi saw you ride by


It had been single digit temps lately and another storm is on the way, I had to rub in in some while I can. 

Mark


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Dang Jason, be careful out there. 

I've never been so pleased to have the weatherman be wrong. The predicted -25F for this morning is sitting at -3F instead. Not that I am being a weenie or anything, but I'll take the warm spell.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Just about 20 miles south of here it is 24F and pouring down rain. Talk about miserable weather. Apparently the interstate is a solid block of ice as the rain is freezing on impact. Fortunately for me, it's just dark here with the slightest hint of wintry mix thrown in. All in all, it was a pleasant commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-8F when I left. I decided to take the MTB for a snappier ride than the fatbike. Since it was so “warm” I ditched the ski helmet and goggles, I just dislike them, plus it’s supposed to get up to about +8 for the ride home. There were some chilly spots, especially since the wind had not died down as much as they’d said, and it also felt colder in the hollows 600’ lower than my house. I was glad I opted for the tunes today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

A solid block of ice interstate sounds like an awesome studded tire commute as long as they kept the cars off of it.

I was moving pretty slow for this morning's ride in. At the end of this week my body feels pretty sore from falling down a half a flight of stairs, riding the trails every day, having some mild flu type aches and then getting a short nights sleep because i was dealing with some tenant induced frozen pipes.:smallviolin: Anyway, happy Friday:band:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ouch Jason...hopefully just little bumps and bruises...?



byknuts said:


> it's like a metaphor for my workday...


 ^^ :lol: :lol:
That is a ton of salt. Glad they don't do that around here.

Here's my morning:
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN RENO HAS ISSUED A DENSE FOG ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY. * TIMING: DENSE FOG IS DEVELOPING ACROSS LASSEN...EASTERN PLUMAS AND EASTERN SIERRA COUNTIES. THE DENSE FOG WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. * VISIBILITY: BELOW 1/4 MILE AT TIMES WITH LOCALIZED AREAS LESS THAN 100 YARDS.

It's pretty cool out there... the headlight beam is has never been more defined. it's warmed up A LOT (32 F!), and I thought I was getting SOAKED... when I arrived, it was just the forward facing stuff that was getting the wet... even the back of my arms on the softshell jacket were totally dry.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> A solid block of ice interstate sounds like an awesome studded tire commute as long as they kept the cars off of it.
> 
> ...and then getting a short nights sleep because i was dealing with some tenant induced frozen pipes.


Hmmm. Yeah, frozen interstate sans cars would be killer . I`ve been wondering about a related question. Being so damned cold, your trail condidtions are probably not changing in the slightest bit. Did teh superfreeze hit with things in a solid, smooth state, or rutted, or snow left uncompacted, or... ?

Frozen pipes: the worst. Worse than riding in the wind. I haven`t had mine freeze up since I bought my new trailer about ten years ago, but my sister-in-law ued to freeze up several times per year in her old trailer, bought a new (built in the 50s) duplex last year that`s better for freezing but has every other plumbing problem imagineable. Anyway, my heartfelt condolences.



CommuterBoy said:


> It's pretty cool out there... the headlight beam is has never been more defined. it's warmed up A LOT (32 F!), and I thought I was getting SOAKED... when I arrived, it was just the forward facing stuff that was getting the wet... even the back of my arms on the softshell jacket were totally dry.


CB, one or the of us must be stuck in some kind of microclimate system lately. You`re usually about 5* colder than me, but for the past few weeks the difference has been at least twice that much. It`s overcast and drizzly here too, but already almost 40F.

No workie again- haven`t had a full week since before Christmas. Kinda like being a teacher, except the days off can`t be stacked together to make a nice vacation :lol:
As much as I dislike riding in wet, I think I`ll man up today and go ride. I have more brevets in mind for March and it might not be too late to whoop myself into better shape than I was in for the New Years eve ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The trails around here are very mixed. From uncompacted, to very firm slightly washboard to post holed very washboard. And you are right, they have been exactly the same all week. The only traffic they get during the week is me. They could all use about 2" of snow and some traffic to pack it into the spaced. The singletrack detour is killer glazed hardpack. They are actually calling for rain next week, we'll see.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

There are definitely some weird pockets of cold air doing strange things around here lately. I'm going by the weather station at the little airport here...I think it's pretty accurate. Right this second it says 36* 
It does a temperature graph for the day, by the way, and I've found that my commute time (6:30 to 7:00ish) is generally the coldest time of the whole night/day. Generally a dip there. today's was not as pronounced, but there's a dip right around 6:00, working back up by 7:00 or so. Some days it's a very severe dip.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Was way over-dressed for the commute this morning. Phone said 39 but it felt a lot warmer than that, was sweating rather profusely by the time I got to work. But in consideration, the humidity was pretty high. 

The snow has melted, the ice is gone, anything dirt has turned to mud - but it is hidden under a very thin crust of solid appearing ground that you don't feel it until you're tire deep in it. It's even better when there's a gravel road after the mud so the tires pick up the gravel and it starts spitting out when you hit the road. :thumbsup:

Looks like more rain in the forecast, turning to snow showers early next week. I'm going to have to rig up a better rear fender though since I'm still getting sprayed even with the rear rack. Oh well, weekend project.

Big rep though to all you guys headed out in the cold! Commuters: the true hard men (and women) of cycling.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> As much as I dislike riding in wet, I think I`ll man up today and go ride.


What's not to like about riding in the wet? :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Wet's not great. Car snot power & fluff on compressed snow is worse. Should have mounted the Nokians. A slow ride but a careful one. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Elevation gain is not without pain*

On the crest of a hill I reside,
So it's always an uphill ride...

Pedal home from the west,
Pedal home from the east,
Either way it's always a beast!

But you have to get home,
so there's no second guessing,
And if I had to drive
It would be so depressing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Wet's not great. Car snot power & fluff on compressed snow is worse. Should have mounted the Nokians. A slow ride but a careful one.
> 
> BrianMc


Just havin a little fun with rodar. I had 93 rides in the rain last year. I don't even notice it anymore, haha.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...I was moving pretty slow for this morning's ride in. At the end of this week my body feels pretty sore from falling down a half a flight of stairs, riding the trails every day, having some mild flu type aches and then getting a short nights sleep because i was dealing with some tenant induced frozen pipes.:smallviolin: Anyway, happy Friday:band:


Happy Friday and hope you feel better.  Riding in this cold is a drain and your stair thumping on top of that - TGIF!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I don`t care how soaked I get as long as I`m nekkit 

I rode clothed today. No water falling from the sky, but a good bit splattering up from below (bike bidet?) and lots of mud between my door and the street. I ended up doing an extended test and adjust ride on a "new" bike I`m working on. Rode around for about 90 minutes with a pocket full of wrenches getting things dialed in nicely. If it doesn`t rain tomorrow, I`ll ride it into town for a visit to Mom and Dad. I should call now and make sure there will be leftovers for me


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> The trails around here are very mixed. From uncompacted, to very firm slightly washboard to post holed very washboard. And you are right, they have been exactly the same all week. The only traffic they get during the week is me. They could all use about 2" of snow and some traffic to pack it into the spaced. The singletrack detour is killer glazed hardpack. They are actually calling for rain next week, we'll see.


I'm really losing patience with the postholers! Last Saturday I snowshoed to stomp things flatter, even adding trailside snow to the holes, an Sunday I re-skiied it to smooth it up, and by Tuesday it was lumpy again - drat! Bit the snowmachined sections are fine...with the fatbike.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Full moon, clear night, moderately warm (approaching 40ºF!!) - what's not to love. Guided another commuter down a new trail so he could go visit his parents. My parents live a minimum of an 18 hour flight away, so I am quite envious of him that he can just ride to visit his.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the bike out on Sebago this weekend and it was like glass! Back out skating the next day. 








You only get 1 or 2 of these days ever few years so you have to make them count. They're calling for snow and rain (rain? It hasn't been above freeing even once for what seems like forever. I guess it's only been a week) this week so that's over.

The trails were nice and fast this AM, I'm hoping that the rain and snow is just enough to smooth and firm them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow, that's flat. I want to ride a frozen lake now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, you do! Here's a better pic of the lake (stolen from my friends facebook page)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Awesome! Ours are snow covered :sad: so no icy lake fun here. Well, maybe some of the bays on Lake Champlain have frozen over since the snow, I may have to check with the skaters. 

A good fatbike trail ride this morning, 5F, but it's supposed to get super sloppy Tue-Thurs with a high of 54F and rain or mixed precip.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^The whole time I would be worried about falling through the ice. I don't care if it's 3' thick, I would still be thinking about it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Man, that's making me think about summer and wakeboarding. I have pictures very similar to that taken from the boat :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well woodway, you might have had a problem with the 3 1/2 - 4". Really strong black ice though.

Wake boarding - how about an ice board toed behind a bike?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This morning was a rough one. -17 F at my house this AM. The trails were supper firm, but the cold made the ride almost painful. I noticed that it seemed like I was just working so hard and couldn't get much about 8 MPH for the whole ride. I might do well to repack my hubs with some winter weight grease. Got to work completely covered in frost and my eye lashes were frozen together. Good times. 

My kit worked really well, though: 
Top: 
Base - Under Armor Metal long sleeve shirt
Mid- Universal light thermal top 
MidTop-Under Armor poly top
Outer-REI Windflyte jacket

Bottom
Trek chamois
Base-Smartwool long johns
Mid - Fleece long johns
Outter: Novara Windwall pants

Poly socks
Wool socks
Keen winter hiking boots

Black Diamond Guide Gloves

Windstopper Buff
OR Windstopper hat

Beard. 

The beard is the key to staying warm.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> This morning was a rough one. -17 F at my house this AM. The trails were supper firm, but the cold made the ride almost painful. I noticed that it seemed like I was just working so hard and couldn't get much about 8 MPH for the whole ride. I might do well to repack my hubs with some winter weight grease. Got to work completely covered in frost and my eye lashes were frozen together. Good times.
> 
> My kit worked really well, though:
> Top:
> ...


Sounds like fun......but your kit ain't working for me...

I ride down to -35C no frost and no frozen eyelids...

The key is good googles with a nose guard and a balaclave that does not direct the breath into the googles.

I have had a beard and they are a pain in the ass when it gets cold.


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## lilrootrx7 (Jan 22, 2006)

im so excited to say ill be starting off my dream of being able to bike to work on Feb 4th! got a new job and ill be living a mere 6 miles from the office, rather than 16 with no easy route like I am now. 

gotta get a balaclava and a taillight and ill be all good to go!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> Sounds like fun......but your kit ain't working for me...
> 
> I ride down to -35C no frost and no frozen eyelids...
> 
> ...


I've worn goggles in the past and just can't handle them. I also don't cover my mouth with the Buff.

It is also fairly humid here even with the cold temp (relatively speaking - 66% this AM). I get frosted up from a combination of that and the vapors wicking through my layers.

I much prefer a beard when it is cold out. Let it frost up and the face stays nice and toasty. Just a bit of a mess when coming in and it starts melting.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

lilrootrx7 said:


> im so excited to say ill be starting off my dream of being able to bike to work on Feb 4th! got a new job and ill be living a mere 6 miles from the office, rather than 16 with no easy route like I am now.
> 
> gotta get a balaclava and a taillight and ill be all good to go!


All right, Lilrootrx! Congrats on the new job and I hope you like riding on your new shortened route. I have to wonder though- have you really been hanging out here for 7 years with nothing to say? You must have a lurkers record :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice day Satrday. I went out for half the day, riding hard with stops at 3LBSs (looking for skinny Schrader tubes), the donut shope, my folks` house (sorry, Hunter), and my wife`s weekend workplace. Wore shorts for the whole ride and half of it with jacket unzipped and no gloves. That night I had a personal "first" as far as bike wrenching- converted a 7 speed UG/HG hub to 8-10 speed HG. It was very simple really, but I wanted to toot my horn over it anyway 



CommuterBoy said:


> Wow, that's flat. I want to ride a frozen lake now.


+1, very cool looking frozen glass! And who needs a bass boat if he has a pike bike?
Cb, I`ve heard people ice fish at Antelope. Can you get in there without a snowmobile? I know you can drive all the wan in to Davis if you`re up for the longer road trip.



blockphi said:


> I've worn goggles in the past and just can't handle them. I also don't cover my mouth with the Buff.


I can`t stand breathing through anything over my face either. Of course, I don`t ride in conditions nasty enough to freeze my eyelashes together, so I might have to rethink that if I had your commute, haha! Glad you enjoyed yourself.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Sorry to rub it in, but it was almost 50F this morning. It's a little rainy now, but not bad.

Congrats on the job, lilroot. 6 miles is a nice commuting distance. Not too long, not too short.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> I've worn goggles in the past and just can't handle them. I also don't cover my mouth with the Buff.
> 
> It is also fairly humid here even with the cold temp (relatively speaking - 66% this AM). I get frosted up from a combination of that and the vapors wicking through my layers.
> 
> I much prefer a beard when it is cold out. Let it frost up and the face stays nice and toasty. Just a bit of a mess when coming in and it starts melting.


Enjoy

much nicer dry and warm...neither do I cover my mouth with the balaclava.

I hate the frosty face syndrome


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

Picked up a Hardrock 29er this weekend and mounted my Topeak w/fold out panniers on it instead of my Cannondale...just used to 29ers now I guess. Anyhow, Monday rolled around and I figured I would use take my Hardrock for some errands. So I rode around doing misc crud and then stopped for a burger before heading over to the grocery store. After about minutes I had more than enough groceries to fill my backpack and truck bag/panniers. Everything was going great, I hardly noticed the weight except for slight difference while turning. Well, I get right up to the apartment gate making sure to slow down but it wasn't enough. The side walk was damp and the back tire kicks out causing me to go sliding down the side walk


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cb, I`ve heard people ice fish at Antelope. Can you get in there without a snowmobile? I know you can drive all the wan in to Davis if you`re up for the longer road trip.


Yes they do and no you can't. But the north end of Eagle is shallow and usually freezes up pretty good, and the highway runs right by it. it was probably great during this last cold snap... I'm sure it has a bunch of snow on it though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Congrats on the job, lilroot. 6 miles is a nice commuting distance. Not too long, not too short.


Agreed. Mine is right at 6 miles, with the first part on dirt.... I have a 7.5 mile trail option, and a 9 mile road option. Just right.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

-7 for the ride in. I decided to cowboy up, dropped a layer, went bike helmet and glasses, and decided to take the long way in, and just ride harder to stay warm. it worked for the most part, still a little cold riding down from the house.

Snowing pretty good for the ride home, was inspiring. Got home, in the front door, dropped my stuff, went out the back door. Rode a bit over 5 miles of single track. Had my first epic yard sale about 50 yards from my house on the way home. Total washout going too fast down the trail, soft landing though. A pic from the top of Mt Jasper.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The trails were icy dicy on the way home with fresh powder over rutted ice. Not good. Schott, I'm guessing that is what you found? Cool pic. No yard sales for me but a little white knuckled.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! Snowing hard on my way home too, dropped these items that I had on for the a.m.5F commute: skimpy insulated vest, 2nd pr sox, warm gloves, bib tights (kept pants ), facemask, double layer hat (switched to lightweight cap + rain cap for snow). Made pretty good time considering the snow. Traffic was light, I was the only track on some of the dirt roads. The black shepherd got my heart going but gave up at the edge of the road.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Yeah, you do! Here's a better pic of the lake (stolen from my friends facebook page)
> https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/734735_10200293084720165_764207527_n.jpg


Wow, I'd like to skate there!
Here in Holland the snow spoilt most of the ice.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Actually, all of my trails are a nice packed powder. There were a couple of low lying spots that had water ice covered with a dust that I flew right over on the way down the hills, but couldn't even think of gaining enough traction to climb. The spot that I went down on has the connector trail from my house up to the snomo trails, so it was barely solid enough to ride up, and the perfect consistency to fall into.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Wait, where's my warm front? -1F, out the door. Tonight, sleet and freezing rain till sunrise.....should have bought studs.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

asphaltdude said:


> Wow, I'd like to skate there!
> Here in Holland the snow spoilt most of the ice.


It's over now. Covered in 4" of snow with rain on the way. We only get skating like that a few days every few years.

This morning's commute.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I got a pretty good ride in after work yesterday. I had the studs on and thought I'd get in some trail time, but the warmer temps made the snow pretty impossible... about a foot of slushy goop on top... the studs were spinning like slicks. So I had to abandon my trail plans, but I still got in a nice ride. This morning was the first day back on the commute tires in a long time. I felt fast, quiet, and smooth 

Yesterday:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Last week I said that I was going to jinx things, and I totally did! -28C(-18F) on the ride in. But thankfully we're supposed to be back above freezing by Friday.

There's a nasty wind, so taking the dog for a walk this morning was a nightmare, but the riding wasn't actually too bad. I saw 3 other bikes, and drivers were all well behaved.

It's been a long time since it's been cold, so I didn't know what to wear, so I wore everything. I don't start using my arm/shin warmers (old socks with holes in the toes) until below -25C, but they are really effective. I ought to start using them around -15C, because this morning there wasn't even a hint of cold hands.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I got a pretty good ride in after work yesterday. I had the studs on and thought I'd get in some trail time, but the warmer temps made the snow pretty impossible... about a foot of slushy goop on top... the studs were spinning like slicks. So I had to abandon my trail plans, but I still got in a nice ride. This morning was the first day back on the commute tires in a long time. I felt fast, quiet, and smooth
> 
> Yesterday:


Sounds about right. 1 degree above freezing and the trails become impassable.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 58F on the way in this morning! 70s for the ride home. If it's not raining, I'm going to head for the country and get a longer ride in. I found a nice loop last week. It's a bit tough with my current gearing on the singlespeed (steep hills), but it's a great workout. Chance of snow Thursday with lows in the teens. Our weather is ut:.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute in this AM. Light snow and 5F. A bit breezy, but nothing bad. Made first track for a big part of the ride. Always fun. It does look like the snow and wind are picking up, so might be an interesting ride home tonight. 

I could handle some 58F days here real soon. I'm envious Sockeyeus.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pretty shot, CB, sounds like a nice ride.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> A good commute in this AM. Light snow and 5F. A bit breezy, but nothing bad. Made first track for a big part of the ride. Always fun. It does look like the snow and wind are picking up, so might be an interesting ride home tonight.
> 
> I could handle some 58F days here real soon. I'm envious Sockeyeus.


Pretty much spot on from what I had as well, first tracks through Russian Jack North, got caught in some fresh grooming so that slowed things down, but the wind had already started to create drifts all along Cst, was easily ridable, just had resistance training for 3 miles.

Along Chester Creek this AM:


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Started snowing last evening on the way home but the roads were just bare and wet. Woke up to 3-4in. fresh powder this morning. I'm not a skier, but I can appreciate fresh powder: there is something sweet about being the first one to lay tracks on a blanket of virgin white snow. Plus, I get pretty good traction on the powder too. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately, that was only a small section of the commute. The rest consisted of frozen road snot, slush mixed with red cinders (so everything looks rusty) and snow over ice. Biffed it on a curb in one section, no big deal, slow speed onto snow, just misjudged the angle and the lack of a ramp - mistook the drifted snow as one. 

Thing I've found though, is that the longer the winter goes on, the less drivers give a sh*t about anyone but themselves (even worse than normal) so I'm getting closer drive-bys, sprayed with slush more and am generally feeling a little more scared on the bike. It's not a nice feeling. To counter that though, everyone at work thinks I'm even more nuts than before. Which is kind of cool. 

I'm appreciating my studs more every day too. Y'all be safe out there!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh my word I need a fatbike.


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

AWESOME!!! 55F for the morning temp with a 20 mph tailwind. It was a dream ride. The ride home was a little cooler with some snow for fun.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

I did want to add that Gore Windstopper enabled clothing rocks! Got new pants and coat that are thin and breath and work very well down to 0. Much better than the cheap poly stuff i was using that held all the sweat in and let the cold get to you easier.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice pic, CB. Confesional: I`ve never been to Eagle Lake 

Jordy and Blockphi, are all those trails you guys post shots from right through the middle of town?

Been warm to warm-ish here for a week or so, mud mostly dried out, and my studs are getting bored again. We had a little snow flurry a day or two ago, but it never even stuck. Another furlough this Friday, so hopefully take another good ride.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Rodar, yup, lots of greenbelt trails through and around Anchorage.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

yesterday was awesome!! so much nice crunchy snow!
today it all slushed the heck up and then rained in the afternoon.
washed the salt off my bike from last week though!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

What just happened to the forum? Everything is weird. 

Uneventful ride today. 21 degrees...enough dirt patches on the dirt road showing up through the ice that I can aim for them with the non-studded tires...it's a little slow getting down to the pavement, but from there, it's totally clear. I re-charged my tubeless goo in the commute tires last night, because I heard a booger bouncing around in the front... it was a good one. Both tires were totally dry...glad it's not goathead season :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Spatialized said:


> Thing I've found though, is that the longer the winter goes on, the less drivers give a sh*t about anyone but themselves (even worse than normal) so I'm getting closer drive-bys, sprayed with slush more and am generally feeling a little more scared on the bike. It's not a nice feeling. To counter that though, everyone at work thinks I'm even more nuts than before. Which is kind of cool.
> 
> I'm appreciating my studs more every day too. Y'all be safe out there!


I find they drivers are good for about two days after a snow storm....then they lose it and try to run you around....they seem to get it back after a week...and then things are normal till the next storm hits...

Heads up.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> What just happened to the forum? Everything is weird.


Forum software was upgraded.

Announcements - Commuting


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I hate changes!
Noticed that rbr had gone wanky a few weeks ago and wondered why we hadn`t been saddled with it here. Oh, well- not much room to b1tch about a free service and it`s still better than the options. 

Oh spell check


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Rodar, yup, lots of greenbelt trails through and around Anchorage.


That's one of the things I love most about this town! I work for a company who contracts me out to other businesses throughout the city so I end up working at a lot of locations. In the three years I've been here, I've been able to complete between 90 and 95% of my daily commuting without ever leaving greenbelt trail. The remainder is a mix of multiuse roadside trail and roadways.

It certainly makes for a great way to start and end the day. What's also really neat about A-Town is that I can leave my house and hit a mix of paved mutliuse, dirt double track, and some amazing single track all within two miles. I've not once had to drive to a trail head and I still haven't gotten bored with or discovered all of the trails available to me. Add to that winter, when a whole host of new riding opportunities spring up due to the social trails that the dedicated fatties blaze each year. I've found some amazing riding just blocks from my house. Challenging and fun. It's a great biking town.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Everyone needs a fatbike. Like a Tonka truck. Only better. 

Nothing special about this AM's commute, other than that I came in a bit later than usual and had some good trail to ride. The muni was out in force grooming with fresh cord and the skiers were likewise out in force, eating it up before it got too much traffic on it. 

A great day to ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride. Only 19-23 mph winds with gusts. Yesterday was 34 plus gusts. Mid 50's so had to ride. 30 F tomorrow. If it isn't winds it's thick fog. 

BrianMc


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

About an hour after I posted yesterday I emerged from my cave to see it had started snowing again, heavily. Ride home was interesting to say the least. BUt the commute this morning was even more exciting - all the road snot from last night's commmute turned to ice chunk. One road I take was basically a solid sheet of ice with a liberal scattering of gravel for traction but that didn't help the poor dude who hit another car and went into the ditch. Should be bare and wet though by the time I get out of this joint. Or slick with an ice glaze. It's all about the adventure.


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

It was in the 40's today but felt about like 37 according to my weather app. Anyhow, It wasn't that bad until I loaded my panniers down. This created more surface area and made for an interesting ride during strong wind gust.


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## mtbeagle (Jan 23, 2009)

We have been dumped on by snow the last couple days. Everyone is complaining about their commutes in the cars, but it has been a blast commuting in the snow on my Moonlander. My commute is only about 6 miles, but with a little work I can stretch it out as long as possible and still open the store on time.

Towards the end of this video I go through a flooded tunnel getting my feet WET and ended up wearing iced shoes into the store.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

holy weather!
-8 C and 4 inches of nice crusty snow on monday, +12 C today and meltwater everywhere.


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## epic-gamer (Aug 18, 2012)

it was rainging... can't ride but it was warm today, 10+degree


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

It was much nicer. I went tubeless on my Carve and dropped 5lbs in weight off the wheels. My bike is now easier to climb and will push the 42/11 gears much nicer. It is amazing how much dropping a few lbs on your wheels makes your bike seem quicker on the climbs. BTW it was in the low 30's but dry.

Mark


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Yesterday was super icy from freezing rain. Today, with the sun still down, it is 55F and pouring down rain. Tonight, 12F and flurries. This warm front did a number, but we still have snow. With the washed off roads, I am going to ride the Ute. First time I've ridden any bike other than the fatty since I bought it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We've got the same whacky weather. 52F here and very very windy. I'd say it was windier today than it was for Hurricane Sandy. When I was going fully against it it took me about 5 min to go a mile downhill. I was glad my bike was heavy for the side gusts.

Does everybody have a fatbike but me? Actually, once this freezes up the trails are going to be like ice highways for the studded tire bikes.


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## mfowler95 (Jan 9, 2012)

Going to be 69 degrees and sunny today...Guess I will have to tough it out on the commute home!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

almost didn't happen

first bridge I tried:









vicinity of the second:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was over 70F early Wednesday morning before the storms hit around 4am. This morning it was windy and snowing. It sounds like everyone is having crazy weather. I was happy to ride in the snow. Rain sucks.

Oh, and I don't have a fatbike. I probably won't be getting a new bike any time soon either, since I have a baby on the way...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Congrats on the baby on the way! Those are fun times (in retrospect... not that the preganancy support team job is the greatest :lol: )


Freak ride this morning... I saw no deer. Not a one. This is very odd.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congratulations, sOck! When is your stork due? Will that be a first for you?



millertm said:


> I went tubeless on my Carve and dropped 5lbs in weight off the wheels. My bike is now easier to climb and will push the 42/11 gears much nicer. It is amazing how much dropping a few lbs on your wheels makes your bike seem quicker on the climbs.


5 pounds? Must have had some seriously heavy tubes! Yeah, it`s nice to suddenly find yourself lighter.



AlexCuse said:


> almost didn`t happen.
> first bridge I tried:
> vicinity of the second:


Where is that? It looks a bit on the wet side, to say the least.



bedwards1000 said:


> We've got the same whacky weather. 52F here and very very windy.
> Does everybody have a fatbike but me?


That`s wacky, allright. It sounds like about a 100 degree shift- sorry about the wind.
I`ll have a fat bike just as soon as I find one with a 1 inch threaded headset.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this AM. 27F when I left the house and light freezing rain that stopped before I got to the end of my block. Quite a few skiers out now that we've gotten some good snow and the temps aren't so cold. Not that I mind sharing the trails, but it'd be nice if they'd yield some of it to oncoming traffic. Anyway. Any ride's a good ride, right?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Congratulations, sOck! When is your stork due? Will that be a first for you?


Thanks. Yeah, it's our first. Due in July.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`ll have a fat bike just as soon as I find one with a 1 inch threaded headset.


Why?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

blockphi said:


> Any ride's a good ride, right?


*** Any that end rubber side down, at least. One in November I could have done without. Thank goodness I had health insurance the bill is well over 8 grand.



s0ckeyeus said:


> Thanks. Yeah, it's our first. Due in July.


*** You lives will never be the same. I both envy th path ahead of you and commiserate. Ours is 24 in May. 



rodar y rodar said:


> Must have had some seriously heavy tubes! Yeah, it`s nice to suddenly find yourself lighter....
> I`ll have a fat bike just as soon as I find one with a 1 inch threaded headset.


*** Roadies say an ounce off the wheels especially rim and tire is worth a pound on the frame. So 5 pounds is like losing 80 pound of camping gear! 

*** If they are cracking welds on Big Dummy seat stays, i suspect a 1" threaded steering tube would be a tad unreliable. I don't have a threadless headset either, but it is only because no bike I own is newer than 1984. When the budget allows, I'm game.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I was happy to ride in the snow. Rain sucks.


*** And wind blows. Looking at 18-22 mph. Gusts higher. And snow. 29F today was 50's yesterday.



AlexCuse said:


> almost didn't happen- first bridge I tried: -vicinity of the second:


First bridge is fine. Its the submarine approach on the other side that is the problem. Vehicular traffic will also be late. It's not the time of year to test a fatbike (if you had one) as a floatation device (some of them float) in some impromtu rafting.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, someday threadless headsets, external BB's, and disc brakes will find their way onto your bikes. It's a shame that you'll be 80 years old and unable to use them to their full potential :lol:


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Where is that? It looks a bit on the wet side, to say the least.


That would be (usually) lovely Collegeville PA. If you keep going straight you get to the prison (made the mistake of trying to take that route once when I started this job - google maps damn near got me killed!). Unfortunately the route I usually take involves a trail thats probably under 7 feet of water in that picture. Trying to decide if I should take normal route home or not tonight based on this Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service: Philadelphia/Mount Holly: Perkiomen Creek at Graterford



BrianMC said:


> First bridge is fine. Its the submarine approach on the other side that is the problem. Vehicular traffic will also be late. It's not the time of year to test a fatbike (if you had one) as a floatation device (some of them float) in some impromtu rafting.


My boss said the same thing. I must really rub people the wrong way 

The good thing about the detour is I saw a blue heron looking for food in an overflowing stream once I was a bit closer to work - probably wouldn't have if I was on schedule. I don't see them often this time of year.


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

Rode to the downtown Dallas Y and sat in the Steam room for a few. Then I just cruised around a little bit before heading home. Once home, I installed my new rear light.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sunny and 59F a half hour ago for my ride to work. It looks about the same for the upcomming weekend 
Schott, I was mostly joking (although I do prefer threaded). I really think fat bikes are super cool, but since I personally don`t have much call for one, will probably never buy one. And since I seriously doubt I`ll ever see one with a 1 inch threaded headset, it seems safe to say that`s the one I`ll buy.


BrianMc said:


> If they are cracking welds on Big Dummy seat stays, i suspect a 1" threaded steering tube would be a tad unreliable.


Dummy is fat, or just long? Anyway, I generally do a good job of keeping my seat stays at quite a distance from my headtube. Although... I think the CHAINSTAYS on one of my bikes are actually side tacked to the headtube on their way to the BB :lol:



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, someday threadless headsets, external BB's, and disc brakes will find their way onto your bikes. It's a shame that you'll be 80 years old and unable to use them to their full potential


No big deal, CB. I already don`t use my bikes to their full potential!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ My bad. Not Big Dummy but Pugsley. I hate my mind when I am chelating. Still works better than most drivers here, though. 

Rode with 20+ mph winds. Mounted the snows as it was snowing. Then it stopped and sublimated before the ride and started as I returned. The 32 mm A10 Nokia studded snows add 2.5 pounds to the outer part of the wheels. So like adding 40 pounds of weight. So between the wind and tires I was 1.5 mph slower than yesterday. The tires are not tight to 700 C so I got a lump in the rear one feeling like a lump on the tire each revolution that took about 5 miles to settle in. On 16 mm rims and Max pressure of 58 pounds, they are not a tire to lean with too much. Tomorrow they will be needed.

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

HOLEEFRIKKTACKS!

was like 12 or 14C yesterday, today was -15C with winds up to 60kph and snow.


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## MJS95 (Jan 8, 2013)

Bad. First time in a week that it wasnt pouring rain or there being massive puddles to avoid. I was five miles in to my ten mile trip when I heard air leaving my tire at an alarmingly fast rate. I stop and look and I find an inch long glass shard going through my tire and tube, and I did not have a patch kit on me. I only had to walk about a mile before my ride got me. Thanks to my mishap, I missed a class.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Eventful commute this morning. We received about an inch of snow last night, which usually isn't an issue, but this time the temp dropped over 20 degrees in a short period of time (32F down to 10F). Mixing those conditions with roaring winds made things interesting. The snow basically melted on the pavement then was frozen solid. I was going to ride my old school Cannondale with knobbies, but it had a flat tire (surprise!). After bumbling around the garage a bit, I ended up putting the front wheel on my singlespeed so I'd at least have one knobby tire (slick in the rear). The roads had some snow and a few icy patches, but the MUP was a solid sheet of ice. I hit my first turn on the MUP at a much lower speed than normal, but my whole bike still washed out. Somehow I was able to hop off and slide a ways down the path on my feet with the bike on its side between my legs. I felt a bit like a hero. After flexing my muscles a few times for the bystanders, I continued on my way. The bridges actually provided some of the best traction because the bridges were colder and didn't melt any of the snow. After the MUP, the bike lanes were solid ice. I stuck to the road and made it the rest of the way without issue. I made it to work 12 minutes late. Oh well.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I had some of those commutes before I finally saw the light this year and got some studs. Nothing like feeling like a hero though :lol: nice. 


Yesterday's ride home was legendary. Just as I was leaving work, one of the local mountain biking buddies went by in his big 'ol van... I could see a couple bikes in the back, and at least a couple people...probably on the way home from the trails. We waved, and I stayed close enough to him in traffic that I was maybe 1/4 mile back as he crested the hill heading out of town and dissapeared. When I crested the same hill, I saw him sitting on the side of the road waiting, and as soon as he saw me he got back out on the road and started speeding up. An unspoken conversation occured, and I looked back to verify what he was communicating...no cars in sight coming over the hill, and empty two lane highway ahead for the 4 miles until his turnoff. I hammered it and got on his bumper, and spent the next four glorious miles in motorpace mode, blasting down the highway on the relatively new pavement at somewhere around 40mph (I haven't talked to him to verify). I spun out my big ring climbing uphill just before he peeled off to make his turn. So fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ ^^I'm glad you were able to stay upright.

^^Motorpacing is cool Which bike were you on?

Wow snow-melt! About half of the trials are bare again. The rest are pretty frickin icy, even with the studs I had to proceed with caution in a few places. The lake was awesome! All the snow is gone and re-frozen into a nearly smooth surface.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I had some of those commutes before I finally saw the light this year and got some studs. Nothing like feeling like a hero though :lol: nice.


This was probably the one commute this year that would warrant studs. My one decent wipeout on ice this year was a very isolated patch of ice caused by water seeping out of the hillside and freezing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

s0ck, I hate those surprise ice patches. I have one spot like that. I hear you on justifying the studs...I live on a dirt road that turns to packed ice, and it still took me like 5 years to talk myself into them.



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ ^^I'm glad you were able to stay upright.
> 
> ^^Motorpacing is cool Which bike were you on?


Thanks... no drama. I wouldn't do that on just any road. new pavement last year on this stretch, and I'm on it every day. You're still pretty on edge riding that fast, inches from a vehicle. I also positioned so I could see through the vehicle to the road ahead.

I was on the Ogre, but I had ditched the studs and had the commute wheels on, thankfully.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great ride in this morning. 27 degrees after reaching into the upper 30s last evening, so the trails were nicely consolidated for the most part. A nice freezing fog for the full ride, quiet and bright. No need for my headlights. Passed a huge group of military folk doing a walkabout on the trail. First time I've seen that during my commute. Not sure where they were going or where they came from, but it was fun watching a whole line of guys with full packs move to the right as a single unit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

What a sucky day 
No work, no wind, no clouds. By 9AM, the nasty sun had disposed of all the morning frost, and I was so bummed that I had to console myself by putting on my shorts and taking my new bike out on my old road loop. Took four hours off the life of my skinny Paselas. Just plain crap.


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## Khoder (Jan 21, 2013)

Mine was good! End of my commute went past my LBS and treated myself to a Sigma BC 1009


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## The Perkinator (Jun 15, 2012)

Rodar y rodar that is a gorgeous view! 

Well, my commute to work was mostly downhill and quite smooth. The commute back was a death trap. I swear that every car there was out to kill me. People running red lights, not using turn signals, it was a catastrophe and a miracle that I got home alive! Hahaha every day of my life pretty much.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ooh! Shorts, yellow bike, blue skies, and great views - sounds terrible! Great job on the bike, she looks nice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> What a sucky day
> No work, no wind, no clouds. By 9AM, the nasty sun had disposed of all the morning frost, and I was so bummed that I had to console myself by putting on my shorts and taking my new bike out on my old road loop. Took four hours off the life of my skinny Paselas. Just plain crap.


I'm sorry you had to go through that.

My lake crossing was equally bad. I took the long way home. 2 miles of smooth ice at about 20mph. Horrid.

I'm thinking about punishing myself and going out to check out Sebago this morning.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I mean...yeah. It was icy, but still fun, if not a little scary at times. It's good for the heart. I have climbed the hill on pavement that wraps back around my house and went in the woods up high just to get a taste of what kind of shape they're in, and I was pleasantly surprised. Still a lot of coverage, and firm...very firm. Driving to Burlington today with a friend so he can buy he and his wife fat bikes. Finally someone to ride with.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Another superdraft, CB? You must be getting good at that! I forgot to comment on it yesterday, since the page had rolled on me.



bedwards1000 said:


> My lake crossing was equally bad. I took the long way home. 2 miles of smooth ice at about 20mph. Horrid.


Was it as smooth as it looked in the picture you posted last week?



Schott said:


> Driving to Burlington today with a friend so he can buy he and his wife fat bikes. Finally someone to ride with.


Nice 
Good thing you`re in VT- I don`t think they have fat bikes yet in ME.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yeah, me too. 40mph uphill is crazy. CB, was it like hitting a wall when the van turned off?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Red Rock Rodar!! One of these days a random guy is going to pull up alongside and scare the crap out of you with how much he knows about you and your bikes, before you realize that it's me. :lol: Great weekend for a road ride!



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Yeah, me too. 40mph uphill is crazy. CB, was it like hitting a wall when the van turned off?


Well, he started accelerating... his turn was at the top of the (gradual) hill, and he saw a car coming up from behind. So rather than hold up traffic, he started to speed up... I got out of the saddle and did what I could to keep up...spun out my big ring, he started to get away, and then the wind started filling the gap between me and him... so it was like hitting a soft wall :lol: I pulled to the right, but kept the big ring going to the top of the hill...momentum.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Click it, you know you want to: 
Early Morning Cyclist Trail Maintenance



rodar y rodar said:


> Was it as smooth as it looked in the picture you posted last week?


Nearly. I went skating yesterday and there are some 4"wide cracks that run for a long way. I wouldn't want to get a wheel in one of them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Yeah, that would suck!! 

Schott, I got my 'Chop Wood' t-shirt in the mail this weekend


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

People are out to get me. Yesterday, I was driving the car and some dude pulled out in front of me and froze in the middle of the road. I laid on the horn, started skidding, then let off the brake and swerved around the backside of the car, going partially off the road in the process. Luckily, I was able to miss all the mailboxes and keep from ruining anything on my car. 

This morning, I played chicken with an Escalade after the driver passed a parked car and didn't seem to want to move back into her lane. A couple minutes later, I had some idiot riding my back wheel. I probably could have kicked his front bumper. I wasn't even the one holding up traffic. I had a school bus in front of me that turned off into a parking lot. I flashed him the "way to go champion" signal after he passed me and immediately had to brake for the red light. I turned onto the MUP and was on my way.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

s0ck, sounds rough. It always amazes me the stupid stuff drivers do. 

My commute was more of the same. Good snow. Good temps. No challenges. Can't say that's a bad thing. 

Strangely, the temps are moving up above freezing again, so it might be a bit soft for the ride home. A slight change of snow in the forecast, so maybe I'll get lucky with that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woop! Just got word that I have an extra hour to kill after work before there's any reason to be home... beautiful out there. now all I have to decide is which route to take


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> A couple minutes later, I had some idiot riding my back wheel. I probably could have kicked his front bumper. I wasn't even the one holding up traffic. I had a school bus in front of me that turned off into a parking lot. I flashed him the "way to go champion" signal after he passed me and immediately had to brake for the red light. I turned onto the MUP and was on my way.


Sounds like a good time to blow out the nose. All over his hood. "Oops" 

This used to be par for the course for me here. The reflective vest seemed to get the idea of "safety first" and being a jerk a bit lower priority.

BrianMc


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## tratch (Jul 14, 2010)

cold and wet. 38* and it wasnt supposed to rain til later. snapped this 30 seconds before the worst of the rain:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was pretty rough. This morning I took the trails to the old office, that part was a peaceful journey over snow and ice, stopping occasionally to toss aside the new crop of fallen branches. Then I drove that dang work Prius to our new office in Montpelier with my bike in the hatch. I'm not crazy about that car but the bike slides in without removing a wheel (at least my small ones), so it gets some points.

I did get a cheer from a fellow worker/biker who saw me pedaling over to lock the bike at work after parking and  turning off the car. We have not seen a lot of our co-workers for over a year when tropical storm Irene destroyed our complex and sent us packing to 3 temporary offices about an hour drive apart.

After work I wanted to try the full 11.5 mi bikecommute home. It took forever. OK, not forever, but nearly 2 hours. It was 7F and bitter winds, although not headwinds. And on the busy strip filled with cars, fast food, gas stations, stores, etc., I was like, "Wow, I've got to pay attention!", compared to the trail or backroad commute I had. My other excuses or the slow ride include doing the Frozen Onion bike race yesterday www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article...le-race?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s and then staying up late at a Superbowl Party. Honestly though I don't think it will speed up too much, so I might have to consider the bus for part of the way home, although that means hopping off and heading straight up the 3.5 mile hill home without warming up.

Tomorrow have prior plans, so I get a day to rest up, think about it, and hope for milder weather.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Commute today was good. First time since switching to drop bars and a rigid ford, the bike responds sooo much better now but there's a bit of tweaking needed to get the comfort factor dialed in with the drops.

Slight head wind for the 17 miles to work this morning got me there a couple minutes later than usual. The way home was nice though with the wind at my back watching the sunset. 

Temp was in the high 60s, I could really get used to this central Texas weather, at least in the winter time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

FINALLY back to your old office? Permanently? I didn`t realize that it split everybody up- must be nice seeing some old faces. Not so nice seeing others, maybe. Good luck with your new-old commute.



s0ckeyeus said:


> People are out to get me.


Don`t take it personally, sOck- they`re out to get all of us . It does sound like you got more than your share the past two days, though.



MrMatson said:


> Commute today was good. First time since switching to drop bars and a rigid ford, the bike responds sooo much better now but there's a bit of tweaking needed to get the comfort factor dialed in with the drops.


Mtb, I take it? What bike is it? I like drop bar rigids 

EDIT: I liked the old colon, cap D smiley better. The new version looks dumb. The "eeks" suck, too- what is the world comming to?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ It's actually a 3rd office, leased but semi-permanent I think. Most of the original complex is either not being fixed or is still in a fight with FEMA for $. But I now have the same bike route as my original bikecommute, minus the bus ride from Montpelier to Waterbury (I won't miss that), and plus an additional half mile to the hilltop office.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great commute this morning. I took (link) all trails which included a few miles on the lake with a stop at the (link) HUGE ROCK.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice rock. A couple trucks fell through here yesterday, but should be ok on foot or bike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That rock is cool! 


I did the 16 mile loop after work yesterday.... it was great, except the dirt part was horrendous! The mud and muck was super sticky, soft, and energy sapping... I had the GoPro cracking off pictures... it looked like this pic for about 5 miles. Serious workout. I'm hurting today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Blech, muddd! Better you than me, Bubba. I`ve posted pics a few times before from a road a lot like that that I rode last Feb. it was part of a two day loop from Caribou to Canyon Dam, then back via Seneca. Yuck.

Bedwards, I love checking out your home turf on sat images. Can`t believe all those lakes! And the islands in Casco Bay look awesome, too. We`re going to visit my SIL in Boston this summer and an article about the ferry routes in the bay helped me convince the ol lady that we need to get up and check out Portland and Acadia while we`re in the neighborhood.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice easy ride in this morning on the singlespeed.

Tomorrow will be a ~50km day, as I trek out to my least favorite meeting spot out in the boonies. At least the temperatures will be around freezing, and not -28C like last week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I don't like showing up to work (or home) a muddy mess either. 

rodar, you definitely should. The rocky coast of Maine is worth a look. If you an do them both, great. If you can only fit one, skip Portland and go straight for Acadia. Let me know when the date gets closer.

Funny, I checked back on my map link and you can see the moment I thought "I'm going to go take a picture of that rock. Any rock that you can see on google maps is pretty large.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That same road has the best traction on the planet in the morning when it's frozen up... like sandpaper. Afternoons...not so much. 

Rodar I remember your pics of that trip. Sweet area. I can't imagine doing what I did yesterday with anything extra to carry. Felt like riding in soft sand with two flat tires.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. A bit chilly over night so the trails firmed up really nicely and I made some good time. Just haven't been feeling it this week so far. Hopefully I get out of my funk soon.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Decent ride in this AM. A bit chilly over night so the trails firmed up really nicely and I made some good time. Just haven't been feeling it this week so far. Hopefully I get out of my funk soon.


Diddo! Fast firm trails, temps in the 20's, all the singletrack along Chester and APU is fast right now! Solid commute in this AM!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Funny, I checked back on my map link and you can see the moment I thought "I'm going to go take a picture of that rock. Any rock that you can see on google maps is pretty large.


Oh, yeah! Just to the right of that ski boat? If you`d have been just a wee bit slower, he`d have run right over you :lol:

Yeah, will put out the word before we leave. I plan to pack my folder to entertain myself while my wife and her sister are doing "girl stuff", so if we can manage to hook up, we can make each other feel fast.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Not quite as windy.Only about 10 mph. Too cold for spotted salamanders, but above freezing. Still slow, but still rolling. I am definitely not using all my bike's potential either, Rodar. 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Funny, I checked back on my map link and you can see the moment I thought "I'm going to go take a picture of that rock. Any rock that you can see on google maps is pretty large.


Very cool photo with the rock! But I am still thinking about your earlier photo with the crack in the ice - dude, you are going to fall through 

No riding for me this week - I was in Beijing earlier this week where the temperature was down to about 10F, but when I arrived in Taipei last night the temperature was about 75 degrees. Man this feels pretty good...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Bambi On Ice*



rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, will put out the word before we leave. I plan to pack my folder to entertain myself while my wife and her sister are doing "girl stuff", so if we can manage to hook up, we can make each other feel fast.


Sounds good. Thre is plenty of good riding around Acadia too.



woodway said:


> Very cool photo with the rock! But I am still thinking about your earlier photo with the crack in the ice - dude, you are going to fall through .


Nah. Those cracks were on a different lake. The one I ride every day in the dark is pretty predictable.

I did a full Bambi imitation not once but twice today trying to test my limits climbing some steep ice flows. I've seen people do it...I can't do it. Once the wheel spins out and I have to put my foot down I hit the ice like a sack of flower. Hardwood floors aren't the only thing those plastic bottomed boots are slippery on. One time I got off my bike and was "standing" and I just lost it and slid 20' down the flow with my bike in tow. I had one other crash going down an ice flow and also bashed my big ring trying to clear a rock I shouldn't have. All and all, it was a pretty good ride in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Pictures of ice flows! A 20' hill of ice sounds pretty cool. 

Speaking of hooker boots, I got a cool GoPro snap on the way home yesterday..well at least I thought it was cool...


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## Lone Desert Walker (Sep 15, 2011)

All you people riding in the extreme cold make me want to go somewhere cold for a week and try it. Sounds like great adventure! 
Nice commute this morning,


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ooh got a good one this morning too


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Pictures of ice flows! A 20' hill of ice sounds pretty cool.
> 
> Speaking of hooker boots, I got a cool GoPro snap on the way home yesterday..well at least I thought it was cool...


I'll try to grab some tomorrow before they get covered in snow. I was too late today to stop and smell the roses. One of them is pretty damn scarey. Ice with rocks on either side. My trails are about to totally change. Winter storm watch in effect for Friday. 4" to 24" depending on how it tracks. Friday is good timing to get the snowmobiles out to pack it down.

Cool pics, where do you mount the camera? It looks like it is dangling out in space. I like the second one the best.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have the GoPro mounted to the fork with a couple of extensions to keep it out away from the bike a bit. I'm still working on ideal placement... the money shot will be something like the 2nd one with an epic sunrise going off in the background... 

You can sort of make out the GoPro in the shadow of the 1st pic.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

OOOh, it`s mounted! I thought you stretched your arm way out for them. I like the pics too, but obviously have some perspective problems. In the second one, I could see the rear derailler and wondered where the hell your chainstays went! Yeah, now I get it. Front end, not back. And one of those weird new brake calipers, not a derailler.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I had an excellent commute home last night. Took off from work a bit early to check out some of the social single tracks JordyB mentioned and it was well worth it! Awesome fast riding in the heart of town! As I got near home, a fellow Fattie stopped me to ask if I had ridden any of the trails in the APU area, which is my home turf, and we had a great conversation about the trails and how they are different every time you ride them, about bikes in general, about the differences in ride qualities between the Salsa, 907, and Pugs.

This morning's ride was likewise a good one. Light snow falling so I got to make first tracks for much of the ride and just had a generally pleasant ride.

A couple of pics from last night's ride:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Did my 45ish km roundtrip today. I've probably ridden this route a half-dozen times by now, and this was the first time that the wind wasn't swearably strong, so it actually made for a pretty nice ride. The one thing about a longer commute is that I saw a lot of other riders - I lost track at 2 dozen, and that included two fatbikes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Warmed way up this morning... snow in the forecast for today/tomorow, but temps approaching 40... maybe some sticking overnight tonight, but otherwise it'll just be wet... it's been a nice week or two after our arctic blast...mornings around 20, afternoons hitting mid 40's. I bet this morning was mid 30's. The lobster gloves were way too hot.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Pictures of ice flows! A 20' hill of ice sounds pretty cool.


OK, here you go, how about a 200' hill of ice? The 20' one is the only one I attempt. (actually that one is closer to 40 but I only made it half way up.) Frozen water flows.

It looks like I'll be driving tomorrow. They are forecasting 14"-24" now, most of it tomorrow afternoon.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Snowy Fatback Commute on this fine Thursday. Fresh cord' on Russian Jack and Chester Creek trails, Ast sidewalk plowed with snow still falling! Big Fat Larrys sure help in the soft stuff! About 25 degrees.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather is fantastic here. It was 36F this morning and is already 53F. Temps should climb closer to 60F by the time I get off work. To make it even better, the sun is out in full force. Sucks to be indoors.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> OK, here you go, how about a 200' hill of ice? The 20' one is the only one I attempt. (actually that one is closer to 40 but I only made it half way up.) Frozen water flows.


That's awesome. We had some sections like that on my dirt road going for a while, but nothing that steep. The steeper sections were able to drain/runoff apparently. Those are crazy!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> OK, here you go, how about a 200' hill of ice? The 20' one is the only one I attempt. (actually that one is closer to 40 but I only made it half way up.) Frozen water flows.
> 
> It looks like I'll be driving tomorrow. They are forecasting 14"-24" now, most of it tomorrow afternoon.


I'm too old and fragile. Kamikaze riders and others with a death wish are going to die happy!

Discretion is the better part of valor in winter storms.

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Snow hit! Woohoooo!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice pic!!!!!!!!!!!

Only 1 minute faster on my new commute home than last time, but I felt better, so that's something. I thought I would beat it by more based on how I felt, and the fact that I remembered to lock out & lock down (compressed) the suspension fork, reducing bobbing and improving climbing geometry. When I had a problem with the fork I think (perhaps I misunderstood) a mechanic told me not to lock it down, but I thought it was designed for that (you turn a lever, weight the fork, and it stays down). Opinions?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I`m the LAST person who you`d want suspension advice from, but I thought the same as you.

Byknuts, see a doctor about that tongue, dude!

Bedwards blog: "The picture definitely doesn't do this one justice."
If that`s true, ain`t no way I want to be looking down from the top of it :lol:

Fairly nice today, but starting to get a little windy and cloud in time for the weekend. Tomorrow is supposed to be the worst of it, so I`ll put off riding until Sat and go work on an indoor problem with my wife`s office tomorrow.

Though it pains me greatly to admit it, I started a simplified training program- one long and fairly quick loop each weekend, one balls to the walls 9 mile TT midweek, keep the commutes slow and mellow. Yesterday was my first shot at the short loop. Jezamahell! I must never have pulled from the depths of my soul for more than 10 minutes before (maybe never even for 5 minutes)! Had no idea what a half hour of genuine "push it till ya wanna puke" was like, but now I know why I don`t attempt any forms of racing. Honestly, I think I should shorten that route if I can come up with something smooth enough (no stops or traffic issues). I have a whole new perspecive now of what racers of any kind go through. My hat is off to all of you.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Serious snow fever here tonight with the forecast nor'easter. On the ride home I saw a minivan with a snowmobile stuck (mostly) in the hatch.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Here too. They haven't had a storm this big to hype in a long time. So far it is the lightest, fluffiest snow I have ever seen. I just used the wipers to clear the windshield of the truck and by the time I hit 10MPH the rest was gone. Could be because it is only 5F. 

About the shock, see if you can find and owners manual online. That should tell you.

Nice work on the training Rodar. Group rides are a fun way to get out there and push yourself in you can find any.

I took my time meandering around the lake on the way home last night since that was the last chance I'll get to ride it sans snow. I'm at the mercy of the snowmobiles now to groom the trails for me but the timing is really good. Big storm before the weekend. People itching to get out and play in the snow. Maybe I'll actually break out the XC Skis


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Awesome snow-ride in today, Super fluffy stuff that was easy to go through as long as you could stay out of the greasy car-churned part. My favorite parts were: 
1. Going down steep Hill Street with the cars all stacked up at a crawl afraid to slide out of control, and the uphill ones either spinning in place or waiting at the bottom for a chance to try their luck, while I confidently rode down with all my carbide.
2.	Going up the last ½ mile to work and getting stuck riding the rear bumper of slow cars with cr*ppy tires that could not make it up. 
3.	I got a nice shout out from my fellow bikecommuter when he saw me go by as he left McD’s. 
I did have a couple yahoos with poor passing skills and one “get off the road”, but they couldn’t ruin it for me today. I will likely take the bus from the ½ mile point to the 8 mile point (closest stop to my house), and ride and/or walk the last 3.5 miles.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, I think locking it out in the down position is fine... you're just closing a valve that stops letting oil flow through little holes which control compression/damping. When it's shut, the shock doesn't care which side of the valve the oil is on... if you lock it out in the 'up' position, it's all on the 'down' side of the valve...if you lock it in the 'down' position, most of the oil is above the valve... either way, won't hurt and the shock doesn't care. 
That's my understanding at least...

We got a dusting last night...nothing too spectacular, but there was a bit of ice out there.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

When I went to leave this a.m., the fork was way too soft and the air pressure was nil. I went back in the house and put more air back in the shock and it worked fine. Weird because it didn’t used to do that, maybe locking it puts more pressure on a seal that is not as snug as it used to be. For regular trailriding it rarely has to be aired up.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well, it would compress air in there, so that's possible that a leaky air seal would be amplified by leaving it locked in the down position.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My new parking spot is in a prime location but unprotected from the elements.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> My new parking spot is in a prime location but unprotected from the elements.


It looks so cold and lonely. I take it this is just before cleaning it to leave? And those are your footie prints messing up the pristine snow? (Remembering Yosemite Sam as Bedouin cursing Bugs Bunny's prints in Foreign Legion Cartoon as analogy.) I mean, if you just got there, you really DID get dumped on! 

BrianMc


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Good rides lately. They have been cold and fast all week. Temps hovering around zero, and no snow. Plus, two friends bought fatties last weekend, so I don't feel the need to ride every trail on the way home, because I have been going on real trail rides every...single...day. I'm exhausted. Today, it started to snow again. Our snow was rock solid, and a bit stale, with some icy spots. I went in a little bit later than usually just to let the snow pile up a bit more (crazy?). On the way home there were about 4 inches down, super light, kinda slippy. I had my tire pressure too high for the townie riding. I made it without letting air out, but a couple of sections made me think about stopping. I'm guessing I wake up to another foot or so tomorrow. It will be a heavy ride over to my buddies house with my Tele skis and boots on my pack, but it is only a couple of miles. A ride after a commute, and the impending storm.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

it was frikking AWESOME!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice pix, byknuts, Schott & CB! On the way home I got a bus boost for almost 5 miles, and then a ride in the back of a pickup up the steepest 1 mile of Hill St. That was awesome, as it was real greasy on that section and a denser neighborhood, so more traffic. A guy at an intersection said "nice light" as I was pushing, and I asked if he was heading uphill. He said was, and did not hesitate to give me a ride - nice! ... and I noticed he went back downhill ater dropping me off. From there it was about 2.5 mi home, mostly rideable. I pushed a couple steeper sections, more because I was running out of oomph than traction. 

B'Mc, that pic was at 3 when some co-workers and I walked around the building; I started a 2x/day 10 minute "wellness walk" to try to get people out of their chairs and cubies. Surprisingly, not too many takers yet (2-5 out of 50ish people). But even the non-walkers seem to enjoy my announcement over quiet cubieland instead of emailing.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> B'Mc, that pic was at 3 when some co-workers and I walked around the building; I started a 2x/day 10 minute "wellness walk" to try to get people out of their chairs and cubies. Surprisingly, not too many takers yet (2-5 out of 50ish people). But even the non-walkers seem to enjoy my announcement over quiet cubieland instead of emailing.


Good job! The ladies that I work with formed a chub club, and honestly they need to. It is so frustrating though that they talk about how fit I am and that I can eat whatever I want, yet they call me crazy for riding my bike to work everyday. They go and quit coffee and think that they are going to lose weight and keep it off. I try to tell them that a healthy diet is awesome, but you are never going to lose weight and keep it off without exercise. I did manage to get one lady to quit smoking again. Maybe I should start taking walks too...I really don't think it will go off very well starting in February, though...

I got a great smile and conversation from some old guys headed into the basement at work, where senior meals are served. I thought it would be the normal "big tires, you need chains, where's the motor" conversation, but it was actually, "that's great, you feel good after riding in the morning eh, think about how much money he saved, Hey Darryl, he hade it all the way up that hill" kind of conversation.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Schott said:


> Good job! The ladies that I work with formed a chub club, and honestly they need to. It is so frustrating though that they talk about how fit I am and that I can eat whatever I want, yet they call me crazy for riding my bike to work everyday. They go and quit coffee and think that they are going to lose weight and keep it off. I try to tell them that a healthy diet is awesome, but you are never going to lose weight and keep it off without exercise. I did manage to get one lady to quit smoking again. Maybe I should start taking walks too...I really don't think it will go off very well starting in February, though...
> 
> I got a great smile and conversation from some old guys headed into the basement at work, where senior meals are served. I thought it would be the normal "big tires, you need chains, where's the motor" conversation, but it was actually, "that's great, you feel good after riding in the morning eh, think about how much money he saved, Hey Darryl, he hade it all the way up that hill" kind of conversation.


haha , yeah, perhaps February has something to do with the lackluster attendance on my walks. That guy sounds like he would be interesting to talk to, I wonder what adventures he's had. I still get the "crazy" comments, but today they were balanced a couple sincere Wows and Awesomes.


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## Happycoop (Feb 10, 2013)

Awesome as always...can't think of a better way I could spend my time getting to and from the job I despise (oh well, at least I have an amazing training ride 2x/day).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The reports of the blizzards in the NE look pretty bad. Hang tight, commuters!

2 to 5 walkers under those conditions doesn`t get a "lackluster" rating, in my book. You must have seriously charmed or threatened your crew. Which was it?



Schott said:


> Good job! The ladies that I work with formed a chub club, and honestly they need to. It is so frustrating though that they talk about how fit I am and that I can eat whatever I want, yet they call me crazy for riding my bike to work everyday. They go and quit coffee and think that they are going to lose weight and keep it off. I try to tell them that a healthy diet is awesome, but you are never going to lose weight and keep it off without exercise. I did manage to get one lady to quit smoking again.


Wow, convincing somebody else to quit smoking is really tough, even for your S.O. For a coworker, I would have said it was impossible. Whatever you did to her, I hope you don`t do the same to me! Coffee is fattening? I know it isn`t exactly the best stuff in the world, but I always thought it had no effect on weight.



Happycoop said:


> Awesome as always...can't think of a better way I could spend my time getting to and from the job I despise (oh well, at least I have an amazing training ride 2x/day).


Awesome is good. Sorry it leads you to a job that you despise, but at least you get the pedaling incentive to help you on your way in the morning and to look forward to in the evening. I guess that`s worth something.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Well, I'm sure I wasn't the only factor, but I certainly ragged on her enough about stinking up my office. As for the coffee, I think it was the quart of cream and pound of sugar that was adding on the pounds.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ah, cream and sugar. That`ll do it.
You work in a smoking permitted office? Dang, I didn`t think there were any left! Most work places out here now have us relegated to a shed (for lucky people) or just standing out in the wind and cold. As far as I know, casinos are the only places left where you can smoke inside in my state.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> 2 to 5 walkers under those conditions doesn`t get a "lackluster" rating, in my book. You must have seriously charmed or threatened your crew. Which was it?


Neither. I think it's been their own motivations, such as knee surgery, multi-joint arthritis, and birding, but the "new office/new habits" idea and the chance to get away from the desk don't hurt either. Surprisingly, no real weight loss motivated people have joined yet. I plan to reach out to a few more people that might need personal invites to push them over the edge.

^^ Yeah, I think we we have places you can't smoke outside now too. Of course NH has Live Free or Die on the license plates, so Schott-land is a little different.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*I ran into our old friend RadioActive over in the Women's Lounge*

I thought some here would be interested in her update...


RadioActive said:


> ...
> Mtbxplorer - thanks! I did hate to give up my bike commute. I stopped posting in the commuter thread after I moved out here to NM - I guess I just got busy and overwhelmed by the change (aside from my brief 3 months in Idaho Falls, I've lived in Las Vegas all of my life until May 2011). I lived up in Los Alamos for about a year and I was able to ride to work then, but I decided to move in with my boyfriend here in Santa Fe last September and 35 miles to work each way plus the hills is just too much.  I had even picked up a new commuter ('83 Trek 640) that's a blast to ride (I gave my Novara to my sister to encourage her to start riding), but now I only use it on the rare days that I get off of work early (throw it on the bus so that I can ride home from one of the other bus stops). Thanks for the tips on keeping the saddle clean! I usually have some of those wipes around for my car. It is definitely more of a challenge keeping stuff clean here in the desert.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

No, you cant smoke inside the office, especially in a school..you can't even be on the grounds. They have to leave the property, some sit in their car....hence the stank on them when they come back inside. I don't think that smoking is allowed anywhere inside any longer. Live free or die...right. Don't have to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, or a seatbelt in a car, but god forbid you smoke a little pot....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Even though I fully see the point of your last sentence, somebody that works in a school probably shouldn't be posting things like that on a public forum either.

Do you ever have those days when you wake up and aren't really motivated to ride in... The forecast was for 28F, they got the 8 part right. The sides of the road are mostly non-existent, the trails aren't ripe yet.:smallviolin:. Anyway, I HTFU and rode in anyway. Not an awful ride until I turned into the wind.

We're supposed to get rain this afternoon but since they're off by 20F on the temp I'm not so sure. I'm hoping because that would ripen the trails nicely.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Just speaking to the laws. Haven't smoked pot in years. That doesn't mean that I think my students should have a felony on their record for experimenting with s little marijuana. Teachers are entitled to a public opinion just as anyone else. It is a shame that we should be put under different scrutiny though, we get dumped on enough.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> Just speaking to the laws. * Haven't smoked pot in years. * That doesn't mean that I think my students should have a felony on their record for experimenting with s little marijuana. Teachers are entitled to a public opinion just as anyone else. It is a shame that we should be put under different scrutiny though, we get dumped on enough.


Well there goes your chance for public office now.
Teachers should be entitled to a public opinion just like anyone else. And then they get fired for posting a picture of their students having fun on Facebook. It's a crazy world out there. And your right, it shouldn't be a felony or even illegal if used responsibly.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I don`t understand how it is that vodka is legal and pot isn`t- seems backwards to me. But it makes no personal difference. What I`d really like to see is tobaco prohibition lifted. If a coworker had tol me to quit smoking because he didn`t like the smell that followed me in from another place, I`d have invited him to kiss my butts. Of course, when the management told me I had to start wandering outside like a farm animal, I just said bah, bah, bah 

How did you guys fare with the big storms? I saw news reports that made it look pretty awful, but my sister in law in MA says it wasn`t any big deal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was a snowstorm. We've had them before, we'll have them again. Overall we got about 30" that varied from none to 4' drifts. I was really surprised that we didn't have more power outages 'cause the wind was HOWLING! But the snow was really light. The 30" of light fluffy stuff would have been more like 12" of wet heavy stuff. It did make for some good XC skiing. These trails were totally bare on Friday morning.






​
Singletrack:






​


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We had a manageable 1', but it really helped out the ski areas when southern New England knew the storm was coming, school would be closed Friday, etc., so they got out of Dodge and came up here to ski. At 1 ski area, Friday was the biggest non-holiday weekday ever.

This morning's ride was pretty speedy, which was good, because I got a late start after hitting the snooze, reading e-mail, and the foster dog reading the p-mail. It was supposed to be rising temps and an icy mix, but so far it has only been snow. My glasses has an awful film of dried salt spray on them by the time I got to work. It was supposed to get up to 40F, but they've revised that to 33 for my ride home, so maybe it won't be as sloppy as I expected.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Slow one today. Took my just over an hour to make it 4.5 miles. A system came through last night and dumped quite a bit of fresh pow - about a foot, I'd guess. Made for a heavy bike, but a nice ride. I'm ready for a nap now!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yup, 4.5mph can be a little discouraging. 

We were supposed to get rain and have a high of 45. It's made it all the way up to 23 now with 4" of so so far. I'm going to have to stick to the back roads as much as possible on the way home and walk across the lake with 3 feet of snow on it, not ideal. I was counting on the rain to solid up the trails, herumf.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That sounds rough, hope you made it home OK. Maybe I misunderstood, I thought your wife worked in the same building, she won't give you a ride? 

I was lucky on the way home. The roads were sloppy and my dirt road was greasy with snow, but the most I got was some mist, and when I got home I talked to a friend maybe 25 miles away as the crow flies, and it was pouring there.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I couldn't figure out why I was soooooo cold on my way in this morning...it wasn't that cold out, but I just grinned and carried on. When I went to put my jacket back on to go home I noticed that I had the air conditioning on full blast (pit zips fully open) from my ski yesterday. We skinned up the Cog railway on Mt Washington.... I needed the AC. It rained for a second on my way to get my hairs cut, but had cleared out by the time I was done for the ride home. Could possibly have another biggen on the way this weekend!! Fingers crossed.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Looking back on today's ride.*

Snow long gone. 51 F and Windy. 20-30 with some gusts over 40. So I avoided the open areas where the wind always seems to be 10 mph over the forecast. :madman:

Resurrected the POV camera that had the lens over cover shatter. Mounted it CB style but the mount apparently vibrates a bit.



I like the Dali-esque effect,or is that just the wind? :skep:



Here comes the sun! :thumbsup:



This guy was shadowing me at times today. 



I can adjust the mount out some so it sees past my leg more and will try to take some of the bounce out of it. Curious how overtaking traffic will look.

BrianMc


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Motorpaced on the way to work. Had a super long shower at the end, and felt great for doing it. Did a fast, hilly ride on the way home which made me feel happy. No shitty drivers to make me feel bad either! Today was a good day. The worst part was that there was rain mist, and really in the grand scheme of things, when the east is copping snow storms, etc. rain mist is a walk in the park.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ That sounds rough, hope you made it home OK. Maybe I misunderstood, I thought your wife worked in the same building, she won't give you a ride?
> 
> I was lucky on the way home. The roads were sloppy and my dirt road was greasy with snow, but the most I got was some mist, and when I got home I talked to a friend maybe 25 miles away as the crow flies, and it was pouring there.


She works a different schedule from me but did some local errands and came back to get me. The roads were a mess. It's like they didn't really expect 4" of wet snow so they didn't bother to clean it up. I had to take the truck today 'cause they are still about the same. We never did get any rain but it is supposed to be warm today.



BrianMc said:


> I like the Dali-esque effect,or is that just the wind? :skep:


or your rims really need to be trued.

Big snow this weekend?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Fixed a persistent creak over the weekend! Ever since I built my TI commuter, I have had a creak when I stand on the pedals to crank up a hill. I've tried every remedy that I could think of. Finally over in the Bike Forums mechanics forum I read about another guy who had a similar problem and he fixed it by wrapping Teflon tape around the threads of his external bearings. I thought "why not?" and over the weekend I pulled my bearings, cleaned them up and reinstalled them with Teflon tape on the threads. Creak gone! Yay!

I had an encounter with an over-polite motorist this morning. Four-way intersection and I had the red light. Car approaching from the right had the green. I went into slow-creep, kinda trackstand mode waiting for the car to clear and then I was going to ride through the intersection. It was 4:45am and there were no other cars in sight - I ride through this light every morning after checking for cross traffic. Anyway, the gal in the car slows down and actually comes to a stop and starts waving me through the intersection. I look up and sure enough she has the green light, but she is stopped and waving me to cross! Why can't she just go? After I got over my initial shock I just thought "screw it" and went through the intersection. I know that she meant well, but I always hate it when drivers don't act predictably.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Warm enough to go hatless this morning! I could probably have lost the jacket too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well yesterday turned epic after I realized that in addition to me having the day off, my wife was working all afternoon and childcare was already lined up... this combination of events never happens, and I took full advantage. 56.8 miles, 2537 ft of elevation gain. Just under 4 hours of glorious solitude. I couldn't bust out the shorts Rodar, but the weather was still pretty great... hovering around 40 degrees.

Started with a monster climb:








topped out with a nice view:








Obligatory summit sign shot:








Then the questionable "will it be a mudfest" 1st dirt road section:








Wide open spaces. I spooked a Golden Eagle in this area, eating a rabbit on the side of the road. Massive birds!








Then I went looking for a new bike:








Didn't find one. On to some Americana:








Decisions, Decisions:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Absolutely lovely ride report, CB! Was it a loop around Eagle Lake? I need to get up and try some of those roads one of these days- I bet 139 is really low traffic. You were moving pretty good. The climbing is similar to my Redrock loop and I can`t quite get the 62 mile version under 4 hours with skinny tires. With Apples or dirt detours, I don`t know what it would be.

I like the Dali rim 
Camera looks a lot bigger than I imagined it. Or maybe it`s Dallied too.



woodway said:


> Fixed a persistent creak over the weekend!
> 
> I had an encounter with an over-polite motorist this morning.


Whoo, noise abatement program! I`m currently going nuts over an occasional squeel from my dynohub. Sounds like the seals, so I dripped a little Triflow around them, but it didn`t help. Unfortunately, the bearings are a "don`t touch" thing, so I dunno what else. At least it never makes any noise above about 25 degrees.

Overpolite drivers who want to give away their rights of way are kind of frustrating too. At a 2-way stop, where he driver doesn`t have a stop sign is not unusual, but I don`t think I`ve ever heard of one stopping at a green light. Good thing it was Oh-dark thirty, and didn`t back up any other traffic.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OH don't get me started on overpolite drivers. I've had them stop in the middle of an intersection on a green light, backing up traffic in their lane, while the other lanes keep going and the people behind them start honking, all the while thinking that they're doing the biker who's actually following the laws a big favor. It's horrible. Idiots. 

Rodar, it was up 139 towards the north shore of Eagle, but then a right turn down a dirt road canyon back to the valley.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice ride CB. I'm still in winter mode where long rides like that aren't even on the radar. Although we did break the freezing mark for one of the few times in the last month.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Absolutely lovely ride report, CB!


Yes. Nicely done.



rodar y rodar said:


> I like the Dali rim  Camera looks a lot bigger than I imagined it. Or maybe it`s Dallied too.


Check the rear rim's cubist side step and warped bottom. It isn't tiny but not that large. Just the camera phone in macro.

Compared to newer, smaller helmet cam:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

They are set at the 0" mark, so the older one is 5.25" long, not the 14 inches or so it appears to be in the close up. I have inverted the mounting bracket for less torque on bounces hoping to reduce the funky effects. We don't have front plates, so reading them is not an issue.



rodar y rodar said:


> Over polite drivers who want to give away their rights of way are kind of frustrating too. At a 2-way stop, where he driver doesn`t have a stop sign is not unusual, but I don`t think I`ve ever heard of one stopping at a green light. Good thing it was Oh-dark thirty, and didn`t back up any other traffic.





CommuterBoy said:


> OH don't get me started on overpolite drivers. I've had them stop in the middle of an intersection on a green light, backing up traffic in their lane, while the other lanes keep going and the people behind them start honking, all the while thinking that they're doing the biker who's actually following the laws a big favor. It's horrible. Idiots.


They are especially nice when sprinkled in with impatient, blind, and cyclist hating motorists! One 4-way stop intersection and I am over half way through when a car arrives to my right and the driver proceeds to go *then* looks (could be the bright helmet light aimed right at him got his attention?) then the next block and you are 100' away when the car to our left gets there and the driver doesn't go until you madly wave them through. They don't until you post. Then you have the dolt behind bunny tail them.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> You were moving pretty good. The climbing is similar to my Redrock loop and I can`t quite get the 62 mile version under 4 hours with skinny tires. With Apples or dirt detours, I don`t know what it would be.


Strava said 14.7 for an average speed. Better than I thought it would be, especially with that climb... I was definitely not pushing myself up that, stopping for pictures and what-not. I got slow towards the end too... dragging. Should have brought more food.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet pics, CB!

How many of you upload to Strava? I upload everything, commutes and all. Is there enough interest to form a MTBR-Commute Strava group?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I only use Strava on 'fun' rides like that, or stuff I'm curious to map. For just mapping, I actually use MyTracks because it uploads to google maps if you want it to, and you can save the map file. So I'm not religious about using Strava at all. 
I don't generally record the commutes at all. Sometimes if I'm trying a new trail combination. I map them once so I know the distance, and that's about it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, it was up 139 towards the north shore of Eagle, but then a right turn down a dirt road canyon back to the valley.


I see a Rice Canyon Rd that goes from the summit to the prison, guess that was your southbound route? Looks pretty cool on sat images. I don`t recognize that sandwich shop- not on the highway? I used to stop at 7 Acres (RIP) in Litchfield for bread pudding every time I was out that way. Yum.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix, CB, glad you were able to get away. We have a Bianchi St. as well, courtesy of the graniteworkers/sculptors I'm sure. I didn't ride today, had to pick up the BFL (big fat lab, 101 lbs) for dogsitting. So far he and the foster dog are doing great. Tomorrow the car is being inspected, so I will ride from the shop, which cuts off the 4 mile downhill and 4 mile uphill, which means the pups will have a shorter day at home.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

got bored waiting behind the minivans and luxury sedans, turned onto the snow-covered grass and said "fuggit!" and shot across the parquette diagonally.
hey, you know those slushie looking patches? ooh dang! a foot deep compared to the surrounding snow!! wet park ground dips up n down!
packed the bb area and derailleur with nice icy slush! grinned like a moron anyways.

unimportant!
the fun part? getting out of work and finding that it had not all fallen off as I'd hoped, but rather froze solid!
HEHEHEHE!
"FUGGIT!"
pedal off and just watch the ice shards shatter off the chain and club their way through the derailleur cage.
some days... world's just awesome.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I see a Rice Canyon Rd that goes from the summit to the prison, guess that was your southbound route? Looks pretty cool on sat images. I don`t recognize that sandwich shop- not on the highway? I used to stop at 7 Acres (RIP) in Litchfield for bread pudding every time I was out that way. Yum.


Yep, and hang a left when you get to the bottom (prison), take that till it hits the highway in Litchfield, and you're basically in the parking lot of Heard's Market. Just a stone's throw from this (a treasure from my private collection...note the 'vintage' 916 area code ):


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Sweet pics, CB!
> 
> How many of you upload to Strava? I upload everything, commutes and all. Is there enough interest to form a MTBR-Commute Strava group?


I went so far as to make an account last summer. For the most part I can't be bothered with starting it every ride and it sucks my battery dry pretty fast.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Overpolite drivers who want to give away their rights of way are kind of frustrating too. At a 2-way stop, where he driver doesn`t have a stop sign is not unusual, but I don`t think I`ve ever heard of one stopping at a green light. Good thing it was Oh-dark thirty, and didn`t back up any other traffic.


*cough cough*
4-Way Stop, You Go. No You Go. No You Go. Guy - YouTube


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

woodway said:


> Sweet pics, CB!
> 
> How many of you upload to Strava? I upload everything, commutes and all. Is there enough interest to form a MTBR-Commute Strava group?





bedwards1000 said:


> I went so far as to make an account last summer. For the most part I can't be bothered with starting it every ride and it sucks my battery dry pretty fast.


I upload every ride. This is one I did on Sunday in response to a LBS's challenge: Bike Ride Profile | E004 This is what I think of Woodinville Bicycle's elevation challenge. near Seattle | Times and Records | Strava


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Haha. good one! Strava art!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nothing like a 25F shower of water and slush up the rear in the morning! I switched to the cross bike and forgot to switch the rear fender. The mistake was evident in the first ½ block from where I dropped the car for inspection. Everything is filthy and my pants and shorts are soaked through. It was nice to go studless and knobless for a change though. If I’m lucky, the pants will dry but I expect it to be a chamois-less ride this evening. I did at least remember to switch over the lights, and was glad I grabbed the booties at the last minute.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Yeah, slushy commutes for sure. I've just been expecting it and embracing it. Waterproof feet and fenders, go. Dropped in on trail above the house on the way home late last night. Riding was firm thanks to snomos, until just a couple hundred yards above the house, which was a nice descent of Nemo snow. It would have been a good ski.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

No slush, but took a hell of a piece of road debris today. 1/8" hole in the tire casing, broke ~8 threads in the tire. First time I've had to boot a flat on the road :/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No slush, no road debris. Actually a nice ride home with some light in the sky when I left and temps right around freezing.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

wschruba said:


> No slush, but took a hell of a piece of road debris today. 1/8" hole in the tire casing, broke ~8 threads in the tire. First time I've had to boot a flat on the road :/


Glad you were fine. Rode by a new house on Saturday and picked up a sharp wedge shaped trimmed piece left by gutter installers on the new house there. Nice. This time the tire went flat over about 100 feet after a turn. Decided to swap the tube out so did not mark the spot on the tube. Replacement tube shed its valve core. Expletive deleted.  Got to change the tube twice.

Last flat was a sudden coring of the front tier in the middle of a turn and I suffered some loss of face.



Wish I knew about the macro feature on the phone then, but that lighter color is the casing inside the tire and that is a 3/16" plug that is cut about 7/8 of the way around down through the center rib of a low mileage tire (about 3/16") and the kevlar belt. Yes a hell of a piece of road debris.

Ride Harder. 

BrianMc


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

harrumph.
tried to skip across the park through the slush.
bastard slush had turned into ice-crusted slush which I assure you is a lot harder to zip through.
ah well, a couple dabs'll do ya!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Byknuts, you`ve been having quite an adventurous week! Did you ever get a new crankset for your studmuffin wife?

No flats on my commute in a long time, but had one Sat on a pleasure cruise. I`m terrible at spotting debris before I run over it- same thing every time... Bump! Whawaz dat? PFt,ft-ft- fffft,pffffft. Flat.

And no slush, ice, or rain either. I`m taking advantage of the warmth and sunshine, but really would rather see some kind of precip from time to time. I`d even take it if it came with cold. Well, not my decision, so I`ll just enjoy what we do have. Did a personal 9 mile TT around my valley this morning in 53F temps. Shorts, long sleeved poly shirt, no gloves or jacket. Sufferin. I was trying out a new stem for my new bike, it saved me over a pound, believe it or not. It`s working well, but I`m still hankering for something more lighter more roadier in a couple years. Maybe a Rodriguez Rainier?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, did you miss my coffee mug post? I was so proud of the coffee mug, and not even a mention.... You can't just trade Litchfield lore with anyone...first opportunity I've ever had, actually.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

hunter006 said:


> I upload every ride. This is one I did on Sunday in response to a LBS's challenge: Bike Ride Profile | E004 This is what I think of Woodinville Bicycle's elevation challenge. near Seattle | Times and Records | Strava


 Me too, I use both Strava and endomondo. Nice to keep track of your rides. To much work to log them all down.

Mark


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, I did indeed see your totally awesome coffee mug, and was duly impressed by both the fact that it was from the nearly forgotten Seven Acres Cafe AND the period correct Ma Bell era area code. I didn`t mean to slight you by not commenting, but I remained dumbstruck because I couldn`t come up with any response appropriate to express my immense admiration.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Had four solid days of commuting this week so that's 152km in the can.

As I rode in this morning, I crested a small rise to see a large bunch of high-viz cyclists around the upcoming intersection. At first I thought it was some sort of early morning critical mass thing, but as I got closer, I saw it was a cyclist down in the middle of the road.

I was great to see a crowd of other cyclists crowding round the guy to protect him from the surrounding traffic while they waited for the ambulance.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*I'm just going to say it.*

It would have been a great day for a fatbike trail commute. The regular mountain bike, not so much. The trails were just good enough to make me think I could ride them. I had to walk across the lake because there were no trails packed enough. The temps were right around freezing so the trails were soft.:cryin:

If I were the cyclist down and all the other cyclists in the area gathered around me...I'd be alone.

BrianMC, a picture is worth 1000 words but I think that one is only worth about 142. Pretty fuzzy :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Maybe a Rodriguez Rainier?


That Rodriguez Rainier is a pretty sweet looking ride rodar. Course if you want to shave a few more pounds off, I can recommend a certain TI Habenero CX build to you


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB, I did indeed see your totally awesome coffee mug, and was duly impressed by both the fact that it was from the nearly forgotten Seven Acres Cafe AND the period correct Ma Bell era area code. I didn`t mean to slight you by not commenting, but I remained dumbstruck because I couldn`t come up with any response appropriate to express my immense admiration.


:lol: Thank you. That feels much better. I had the underage cowboy kids in my class that were served the alcohol that led to the police being involved that led to the 7 Acres being shut down. Punk kids. No place else local can touch the steak and eggs or biscuits and gravy that came out of that place.

I've been trying to figure out a GoPro mount for the rear that works with the smaller size of the chainstay, and also doesn't interfere with the derailleur, chain, or foot...I think I'm finally on to something...


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## MauMiranda (Feb 13, 2013)

Only commuter in my area with tons of cars and buses around. Wish everybody could appreciate the smile on my face and join the environmental friendly, physically healthy and psychologically rewarding bike-commute. A nice wish...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've been trying to figure out a GoPro mount for the rear that works with the smaller size of the chainstay, and also doesn't interfere with the derailleur, chain, or foot...I think I'm finally on to something...


Which GoPro model do you have CB? I'm thinking about buying one...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The big dog. The Hero 3 Black Edition. It will take a picture, run down to the art store, purchase a frame, adjust exposure and color levels, crop, matte, make you a sandwich, and prepare a place for you at a table in front of the picture after it hangs it on the wall. And it will do all of that 30 times in one second. It's rediculous.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commutes both yesterday and today. Yesterday I had to take a different route home as I was working at my main office. The change of scenery was nice. Good trails all around. Fairly firm and fast. Glad for the wide tires on part of the commute, though, as one section has not firmed up quite as much after grooming as the rest - less traffic on it overall. Good temps, good snow, good legs. What could be better?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> The big dog. The Hero 3 Black Edition. It will take a picture, run down to the art store, purchase a frame, adjust exposure and color levels, crop, matte, make you a sandwich, and prepare a place for you at a table in front of the picture after it hangs it on the wall. And it will do all of that 30 times in one second. It's rediculous.


That's the one I was thinking about. I have read dissatisfaction with battery life and problems with the firmware (camera locking up requiring battery removal, etc.). You experience any of those issues?

BTW - why did you not mount the camera on the non-derailleur side? Seems like the mount would be simpler on the non-derailleur side and if you are riding on the road, that's where all the interesting action is going to be...


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Rodar: she's rocking FSA carbon roadie cranks. debating the options for long-term, she's insisting on having cross gearing on the bike (it's a 29er mtb so clearance for the chainrings is tough)


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Nice ride today...after I got started. Got down to the garage with a few minutes to spare before I HAD to go, and...the tire was flat. Apparently, more threads gave way last night after I got home, and pushed the boot out far enough to spear it and the tube on the mudflap's pointy mounting screw thing (SKS fenders). So, with a few minutes to spare, I had to run back upstairs, ditch the shoes I was wearing, grab my pair of clipless, switch my lights, and hopped on the mountain bike.

Got to practice wheelie-ing though. fun.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Nice ride in tonight, it was a bit chilly until I got warmed up. I was ridding in shorts and tee shirt and it was in the high 30's. Strava crashed and would not upload however, Endomondo was working and I copied over to Strava. Even though I feel lazy most nights I do feel much better when I ride in to work. It is only 6 miles but I am on a heavy Mtn bike so I still earn it.

Mark


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Not to sound like a broken record.*

Or these days I guess it would be a dirty DVD. But damn that was a hard ride in. I thought fatbikes were supposed to make you happy. I'm just pissy that I don't have one. The trails looked perfect but it took me nearly 2 hours and that was bypassing some of the trails. It would have been a damn good ride on a fatty. I may have to step up my search from *****ing to looking. If I could find one under $1200 this weekend it would be mine.

Anyway..

byknuts, I'm still waiting on that pic of your wife's legs. I can't imaging having the power to snap a crank..


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've had a bike's worth of dental work done in the past couple weeks. Fun times. :madman:

The weather this week has been mild, but strange. On Tuesday, it was 41F when I rode in. I overdressed slightly because we had snow in the forecast and it looked like temps would be dipping, which they did. We received about an inch of snow, then it cleared up. It was 47F on the ride home. It got a little toasty. Today's forecast is about the same, but I'm better prepared. Knowing my luck, the temps will dip into the 20s and I'll be underdressed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> That's the one I was thinking about. I have read dissatisfaction with battery life and problems with the firmware (camera locking up requiring battery removal, etc.). You experience any of those issues?
> 
> BTW - why did you not mount the camera on the non-derailleur side? Seems like the mount would be simpler on the non-derailleur side and if you are riding on the road, that's where all the interesting action is going to be...


I was a bit surprised at the battery life... You can record for maybe an hour and a half on a full charge. Longer in the picture modes. There is a two-battery pack with a wall charger for $25 on Amazon that everyone is raving about...

I had the battery removal, freeze-up thing happen when I first got it, before I updated the firmware. They released the Black before the software was ready to go with the new wifi app (allowing you to use a smartphone/tablet to control the camera)...so they releaed an update that you have to download from the GoPro site. I think they're shipping with the update installed now. But before I did the update I had a couple issues with the computer not recognizing it, it freezing up...but after the update, no issues. And it's sweet using the phone as a remote. It came with the GoPro remote also.

... I wanted the drive side in the picture. Also, the chainstays are too small to use the clamp mount that I have effectively, so I had to put the mount on something bigger in diameter than the chainstay... the lizard skin chainstay protector I have on the drive side worked nicely...it just made it hard to get the camera out of the way of everything.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Winds 20 miles, 47 F. Rode Pics from scene of crime last 2 rides (blowout-faceplant of November):





Tailwind made a record run for one section of ride. A bit over speed limit maintained till next grade 

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ice pellets this morning, so my face is feeling nicely exfoliated.

Ice ice ice in the mornings, and slush slush slush in the afternoons. Blech.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Not that I have one, but a camera on one of the left stays sounds like an inconvenience and possibly an expensive proposition. If you want to lay your bike down for a tire fix or whatever other reason, do you lay it on the camera or the RD? And after years of training to drop (when you have a choice in the matter) on the nondrive side, going down more often than not leaves the bike with derailer side up. Just thinking and rambling, here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The road crew has been hard on work on a bad 1/4 mile section of frost heaves on the paved part of my road. They added "FROST HEAVE" signs at either end of the trouble section, and then added an "S" in marker to the end of each sign.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. A new layer of snow and nice temps made for a nice slow recovery day. 

Funnily, I ran into the army guys again this am. They were all grouped around plotting strategy or something with sentries posted around the perimeter. Must ruin their war games having bikers ride right through the middle. I wonder if they consider us "enemy combatants"? 

Bedwards - go for the fattie! You'll never regret it. Heck, you might even retire your other bikes completely. I picked mine up at REI back in May last year for right around 1300. Best money I ever spent.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ ^^ Yeah, road work around here seems to involve lowering the speed limit to match the conditions.

^^If there were a 1300 fatbike available locally I would own it by the end of the weekend. The only one around is a Pugsley @$1650 and that would be about the most I've paid for any bike and I still see that fatbike as more of a special purpose machine. Retire my other bikes, I think not. I pride myself on having way too many bikes.  It is white too so I think it may be a 2012 and I'm worried about frame cracks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> The only one around is a Pugsley @$1650


Used? That isn`t much less than new retail. BTW, REI carries them- Spring 20% Off coupon comming soon.
Surly Pugsley Bike - 2013 at REI.com


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Used? That isn`t much less than new retail. BTW, REI carries them- Spring 20% Off coupon comming soon.
> Surly Pugsley Bike - 2013 at REI.com


No, that is new. I may have a sign from GOD, DOG or LOB depending on your beliefs but this bike was full price this morning and it is 20 miles away. I won't be able to use the "Haven't' bought any bikes yet this year" line and it is only Feb


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Brian, how is your camera mounted to the seatstay (i'm assuming) in your second pic? The speed blur makes it look like you're not being too timid about railing through that same corner...nice work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I want a fat bike. Ancient PC (10 plus years & dying) and numerous issues on the MacBook Pro (Six years, 3 at college, dropped and no room for all the pics, DVD burner issues, and some ke_s _ave stopped working. Pasting t_em in sucks. A wireless board plus laptop in lap is not on. Last straw.



rodar y rodar said:


> Not that I have one, but a camera on one of the left stays sounds like an inconvenience and possibly an expensive proposition. ... Just thinking and rambling, here.


*** It is a nice special effect. The rear mount needs to be lower or more outboard as even at top of stroke the leg is an issue. I agree: so the old camera that is expendable was used. I also noted that even on the shortest interval cars can be too far then passed, so missed. I think showing road texture is a great use. Or just trolling for a nice shot once in a few rides. Not a good spot for long time use, I'm afraid.



CommuterBoy said:


> Brian, how is your camera mounted to the seatstay (i'm assuming) in your second pic? The speed blur makes it look like you're not being too timid about railing through that same corner...nice work.


*** Used one of these: Amazon.com: Issimo Designs - NOB XL Computer/HR Monitor Mount, 30mm NOB, 39mm Strap Clamping Diameter: Sports & Outdoors. Wrapped it around the seatstay and rack vertical support or I'd run out of cogs on the strap part. The same as I used on the fork. With the steel L inverted to reduce vibration effects.

*** 50% of 20 mph wind at the back helped me do a fair bit over 20 (had a vehicle signaling the same turn and I wanted to be there first). Perma-right as it turned out, but safety fast! After years of doing the same, it is a sort of finger to fate.  The previous pic was likely about 15 mph.

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another shot from yesterday. It shows the rougher texture of the shoulder. I can usually shift up a gear if I take a right turn lane (no arrows so legal).



It is an interesting view but wading through them all is a lot of time. A mount further out and about mid bike might be interesting.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I was thinking about getting a clamp on seatpost mounted rack, and twisting it sideways at a 45 degree angle and mounting the camera to that. rock solid.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

extra hour and change ride just to grab a set of bars for the AM rig, ended up grabbing a barely used PAIR of schwalbe snow studs for 20$ from him too! SCORE!
been a lot of rough headwinds and the freezing rain one day, warm slush the next and frozen slush puddles after that is keeping the fairweather commuters off the roads.

only the voracious two-wheeled wendigos are out these days.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I was thinking about getting a clamp on seatpost mounted rack, and twisting it sideways at a 45 degree angle and mounting the camera to that. rock solid.


I salvaged a thin wall 1" aluminum tube from a worn-out collapsible ice scraper. I can bungee it to rear rack on each side just in front of the down legs but under the deck, and have it go either side. Attach the angle-camera snap mount to one end. Bungees allow for some give or even break away should it get it. Might get a ride with it tomorrow.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> No, that is new. I may have a sign from GOD, DOG or LOB depending on your beliefs but this bike was full price this morning and it is 20 miles away. I won't be able to use the "Haven't' bought any bikes yet this year" line and it is only Feb


Did you buy it yet? Looks like a good deal. Since you will only be using it sparingly, it should last a long time, so think of it as your bike purchase for the decade rather than for the year.  With your lake and trails I don't think too many people have a better excuse for one. The only possible discouragement I can provide is if you have a lot of road miles after the trails. I didn't mind going a couple miles on the road, but many would be sluggish, especially if you are running the pressure on the low side for softer trails.

The Old Spokes Home in Burlington is also having a sale $1530 Pugs $1575 muk 3 You might also find some demos/rentals going on sale soon, the shops in Burke (by Kingdom Trails) both rent them.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm paying for a full day demo on Sunday. (Picking it up this afternoon) They charge a $75 demo fee that is applied toward the purchase price if I buy it. If I want it I just keep it and call them to complete the sale which is what I am expecting. It will be a good day to try it because the trails are pretty packed but not enough for my bike. The last 2 rides were a chore! Usually the only reason I would ride the roads in the winter is because the trails are too soft. It could be a problem for those cold mornings with warm days. Now I can finally STFU about wanting a fat bike.

Ginger?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! Ginger is still here, but I heard yesterday that someone who came to see her a few weeks ago finally arranged a home visit, so she might have a home. I'll let you know. She's still doing really well with "my little pony", the big boy lab I'm sitting. Is yours a girl?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ... Ginger is still here, but I heard yesterday that someone who came to see her a few weeks ago finally arranged a home visit, so she might have a home. I'll let you know. She's still doing really well with "my little pony", the big boy lab I'm sitting. Is yours a girl?


 Yes, ours is a girl.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Tried the outrigger mount. Not for single track with close vines or branches.



A couple of shots from test ride:





Intimidates traffic. At least those who see it. On a scenic ride or in a group ride could give some fun shots. Camera at great risk, though.

BrianMc


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Snapped this picture on Friday morning of the sunrise, bloody excellent.









The ride was quite nice too, although I had a 15-20mph headwind on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Lovely colors and clouds, MrMatson! :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Waiting to hear if the Bike Stork made a delivery to southern Maine. I`m betting that`s a big YES. Seems inevitable :lol:



BrianMc said:


> Tried the outrigger mount. Not for single track with close vines or branches.


Ay, Chihuahua! From the speeds you sometimes post, you sound like a pretty fast rider- have you had the extra appendage for long enough to get an idea what it does to your crusing speed?



MrMatson said:


> Snapped this picture on Friday morning of the sunrise, bloody excellent.


Mmmm. Is that a windmill?


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Well, Bedwards? Sorry iI wasn't reading this weekend to be part of talking you into a fat bike, but since you rode one,I 'm assuming you bought it. It's time. We went over toBurke and rode yesterday, a friend rented, trails were a blast. I take for granted how much snow we have in the Whites.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ay, Chihuahua! From the speeds you sometimes post, you sound like a pretty fast rider- have you had the extra appendage for long enough to get an idea what it does to your crusing speed?


Not so fast lately. Running about 3 mph slow. Part is winter dress. Part is more accurate computed distances and times (iBike versus odometer). Part is struggling to regain fitness and get weight back down and dealing with the aftermath of pushing the detox meds a bit too hard. Some improvement recently.

I rode the test for a half hour in winds from 10 to 20 gusting to 25 plus. The angles of the wind, trees and buildings seemed to conspire to make a perpetual head wind from low to near gale even though I was riding laps in the neighborhood. Likely some added drag but not as much as a handle bar bag. Averaged 13 mph. Still, a setup I don't plan on using much. The low seat stay mount is more artistic, safer, lower drag, if not as good a view of the road ahead. It was no-cost. So that is fine.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott & MTXB, we might have to pick someplace central to all of us (N.Conway area?) and go for a fatbike ride.



blockphi said:


> Bedwards - go for the fattie! You'll never regret it. Heck, you might even retire your other bikes completely. I picked mine up at REI back in May last year for right around 1300. Best money I ever spent.





mtbxplorer said:


> Did you buy it yet? Looks like a good deal....





rodar y rodar said:


> Waiting to hear if the Bike Stork made a delivery to southern Maine. I`m betting that`s a big YES. Seems inevitable :lol:





Schott said:


> Well, Bedwards? Sorry iI wasn't reading this weekend to be part of talking you into a fat bike, but since you rode one,I 'm assuming you bought it. It's time. We went over toBurke and rode yesterday, a friend rented, trails were a blast. I take for granted how much snow we have in the Whites.


Well of course I bought it. Y'all know I don't have any willpower when it comes to not buying bikes. Actually it is still on demo but I'm not making the trip back to the bike shop I took it out for about 15 miles in pretty much blizzard conditions and it worked just about as I expected. I was moving pretty slow by the end in the fresh powder. The lakes were crazy with whiteout conditions.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I think I'm central to you both, lol. I'm always game, but I'd have to get a fat friend to drive/join us. You mean you bike commuters own cars? I do, but it is winterized, and won't be set free until after a few good rain storms this spring. Too much salt on the road for classic VWs.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes, that would be fun. I do indeed have a car in addition to the bikes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Well of course I bought it.


We`re all so surprised, Hahahaha!

Oh, you took a cue from CommuterBoy and camouflaged it against the white snow. Nice 

Pogies on the way?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, Berlin isn't central to anywhere I have plenty of cars, about 2 more then I normally drive. I actually bought a new one because Chevy was offering soo much off.

I'm game for meeting in N Conway or somewhere in the vicinity. I'm guessing there are some good trail systems there. I'm fairly open in timing including tomorrow. Let's take it to PM or a new thread here: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

This isn't so much about how one commute has been, more just how the past few years have been. I have been working full-time and in graduate school full-time since my last post. I commuted on an off on the days I did not have class, which was usually only two days a week. Of those two days, I only had the energy to commute about 15% of them. Mostly I would commute those couple days for several weeks. Then get worn out and life would get too hectic for a few months, then back to commuting for a couple of weeks and so on. Working 50 hours a week and taking 9 hours of graduate courses made for little time for the bike. I was at least glad to be getting in a few rides here and there. 

I took a new job and I finished graduate school this year. I was very excited. I tuned the commuter up for daily use again. I joined a gym in my office building so I can shower. You really can't get away with not having a shower in New Orleans during Summer if you are a professional. I commuted about 4 times a week and transported clothes the other day.

about two weeks into this schedule my dog tore her ACL. She had surgery and is on the mend. My wife cannot carry the dog outside to go to the restroom on her own, so that puts a kibosh on my commuting again. I either can't work late (which is impossible as accountants are very busy this time of year), or I have to come home on lunch and take care of the dog with her. My wife offered to come pick me up at lunch everyday, but that defeats the purpose of commuting. I did not take her up on it, as it seemed silly. In retrospect, I wish I would have though. 

After tomorrow I will be able to commute again! The route is great. All neighborhood, except for two areas where I am on busy streets.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Crazy weather last week*

Made for interesting commutes. Monday morning was very light flurries that morphed into steady snow by quitting time. Visibility on the ride home was terrible, fresh powder everywhere, stupid drivers all over the road and my mantra became "this was a stupid idea...this was a stupid idea". Of course the snow petered out about 30 minutes after I got home. Tuesday was frozen road snot. Wednesday the skies cleared and the winds howled. Now all that's left is scattered patches of old snow, until the next storm rolls in Tuesday night. I'm ready for winter to be done and to get the studs off...miss the sense of speed with the slicks, not this feeling of Velcro. But weather issues aside it hasn't been too bad.

Here's a pic from Tuesday morning:


Lonely snow covered road. Eerily still and quiet. Ride has just begun. #commutebybike #bikehaiku by Spatialized, on Flickr

Yeah, that road is solid ice.:eekster:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Spatialized said:


> ...Visibility on the ride home was terrible, fresh powder everywhere, stupid drivers all over the road and my mantra became "this was a stupid idea...this was a stupid idea". ...


I've had those rides. But due to a recent turn of events, I'm not quite ready for winter to be over just yet.

Welcome codwater.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spatialized said:


> Made for interesting commutes. Monday morning was very light flurries that morphed into steady snow by quitting time. Visibility on the ride home was terrible, fresh powder everywhere, stupid drivers all over the road and my mantra became "this was a stupid idea...this was a stupid idea". ..
> :


Glad you made it home safe. I think we're often more prepared than the drivers, which can be a good feeling, but also scarey.



codwater said:


> This isn't so much about how one commute has been, more just how the past few years have been. ..
> After tomorrow I will be able to commute again! The route is great. All neighborhood, except for two areas where I am on busy streets.


:band: Woohoo, pedal on! Points awarded to your wife for offering, and hope the pup continues to heal up.



BrianMc said:


> Not so fast lately. Running about 3 mph slow. Part is winter dress. Part is more accurate computed distances and times (iBike versus odometer). Part is struggling to regain fitness and get weight back down and dealing with the aftermath of pushing the detox meds a bit too hard. Some improvement recently.
> BrianMc


It would be interesting to test the accuracies on a measured mile. Unfortunately, around here I think I've only seen one on the interstate... I'm sure you will speed up some with spring weather, at least when it's not windy... It's quite amazing to me how had it is to lose weight, I console myself with thinking of how much I would be gaining if I weren't riding... Boy, those fenders are SHINY!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> It would be interesting to test the accuracies on a measured mile. Unfortunately, around here I think I've only seen one on the interstate... I'm sure you will speed up some with spring weather, at least when it's not windy... It's quite amazing to me how had it is to lose weight, I console myself with thinking of how much I would be gaining if I weren't riding... Boy, those fenders are SHINY!


Previous estimates used a vehicle calibrated with 50 miles of interstate mile markers. Mapquest distances matched pretty well. The Apple bike program was optimistic and could read 12 % high for speed. Some comes from a slow roll up to a stop counting with the iBike, whereas, i could account for that with manual timing. I get some consolation by not gaining weight, at least. Muscles are toning up (pain) so some fat loss is being offset by heavier muscle gain. Gold is seen better so it is part of visibility and bling.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice, Codwater! By then, hopefully all the streets will be clear of Mardi Gras craziness. Does it affect the whole city?

Brian, how much longer do you expect to be affected by that treatment?

You guys have me thinking about measured miles. I`m not sure how trustworthy the mile posts are, but I know of one particular stretch of road where I know for sure that they were all carefully surveyed- my dad got me a job as a gofer on the survey crew for a realignment and major repave of a 56 mile stretch the summer that I came home from the army. It`s a very desolate road, with a lot of long straights, so should be perfect for that kind of thing. Xplorer, don`t discount interstates for riding. As long as its the only route in a certain area, they`re legal to ride in most states. You can probably check to see how VT`s laws about that go if you don`t already know. I`ve ridden a few stretches of I-80 and it wasn`t totally awfull.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice, Codwater! By then, hopefully all the streets will be clear of Mardi Gras craziness. Does it affect the whole city?


Yeah, it is affected, but really does not affect commuting by bike. They get it cleaned up right away, although you will see bead remnants throughout the year. The bad part is that bead strands are held together by metal pins that tend to get exposed as the remnants whether and fall apart. I got a flat due to one after a parade a few weeks ago. I checked my seat bag for my air and spare. I had forgotten to pack a spare so I called the wife for a ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice, Codwater!


Sorry, forgot the welcome.



rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, how much longer do you expect to be affected by that treatment?


Another 2 years, minimum. I can't handle more than an eighth of the dose I should end at. I increased too fast and am just now back on June's dose level.



rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, don`t discount interstates for riding. As long as its the only route in a certain area, they`re legal to ride in most states.


Illegal in Indiana and Ohio. I get a taste of it with the four-lane. Lots of other roads.

BiranMc


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice commute this AM. We got some new snow last night along with some winds, so the trails were fairly nicely blown over, but still fast rolling. A bit colder this AM than in the past few weeks. 13 F when I left my house. Amazing how much I notice a 6 degree drop in the temp now that I am acclimated to 22, which has been the temp for the past few weeks in the AM.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Back down to 0 for the commute this morning. I do believe I am becoming a hearty soul. I'm loving the cold weather, wearing less layers, and riding harder. I have actually gained a little weight this winter, which is odd for me period. I figured out where it is, my legs. They're huge. I read an article the other day that eluded to not having to be superhuman to commute by bike, which I totally agree with...but it might turn you into one. Fat bike+commute+snow+(hills*lots)=I'm gonna have a great race season this summer.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, don`t discount interstates for riding. As long as its the only route in a certain area, they`re legal to ride in most states. You can probably check to see how VT`s laws about that go if you don`t already know. I`ve ridden a few stretches of I-80 and it wasn`t totally awfull.


That must be weird! The interstates here all have those "no pedestrians, bicycles, animals ridden, driven or led" signs at the entrance ramps. I did ride a few exits on a NH parkway (Franconia Notch) once on a poorly planned solo century. It was a killer hot day, and the worst part was no shade. I saw the signs but figured the worst they'd probably do was give me a ticket and a ride to the next exit. But no, I had to ride.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> That must be weird! The interstates here all have those "no pedestrians, bicycles, animals ridden, driven or led" signs at the entrance ramps. I did ride a few exits on a NH parkway (Franconia Notch) once on a poorly planned solo century. It was a killer hot day, and the worst part was no shade. I saw the signs but figured the worst they'd probably do was give me a ticket and a ride to the next exit. But no, I had to ride.


You do know that there is a nice bike path that runs the length of the notch...right?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes, I've been on that a few times, pretty much the most fun you can have on a road bike if it's empty, with those hills and turns they would never put on a bike path today. Not sure what got into me that day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> That must be weird! The interstates here all have those "no pedestrians, bicycles, animals ridden, driven or led" signs at the entrance ramps.


The NV laws say specifically that bikes are prohibited between Exit A and Exit B for Freeway X, but what it boils down to is no bikes on the freeways (Interstate or otherwise) in city areas. There are signs posted right before the last bike-legal exits that say all bicycles must exit.

In New England, are there surface roads to get to all the towns? Around here, they mostly built the interstate on top of the old highway, so the only way to get to many towns or even a few cities is via I-80 or many miles of dirt roads and sand traps. If there are a few paved roads from one town indirectly to another, it might very well be a few hundred miles worth of detour! I don`t know the wording of CA law, but it`s common practice to ride a 30 mile stretch of I-80 in order to cross the Sierra Nevada, and Adventure Cycling routes people on a few miles of I-5 near Mt Shasta.


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## meyer378 (Apr 19, 2011)

Today was my first time commuting to campus. Picked up a new road bike on Friday for the very purpose of commuting and occasional road riding. Commuted 7 miles round trip to campus. Almost makes me want to go to class just to get out and ride a bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*It would have been a great day for a fatbike...*

OK, it was a great morning on the fatbike. I would have been on the roads without it because of the new packed powder. Short post, got to work.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> As long as its the only route in a certain area, they`re legal to ride in most states.


I think that it's opposite, rodar - it's not legal to ride interstates in most states. It's legal here in Washington State, outside of urban areas, and I think that holds in most Western States. But as you go east, bikes tend to be banned from Interstates. Oh, here is an article:

bicyclinginfo.org: Are bicyclists allowed to ride on interstates?

I've ridden the shoulder of I-90 over in Eastern Washington. It's a little scary at first, but the shoulder is wide and you soon get used to the trucks blasting by. The bigger issue is all the debris that collects on the shoulder.

The Redmond Cycling Club puts on the Cannonball every year, Seattle to Spokane in one day, and almost the entire ride is on I-90.

Cannonball


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well, crap. Now I need a fatbike even more :lol: Looks like fun!

We got a dusting last night...made for cool pictures this morning 
the GoPro even snagged some critters as I went by.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Previous estimates used a vehicle calibrated with 50 miles of interstate mile markers. Mapquest distances matched pretty well. The Apple bike program was optimistic and could read 12 % high for speed. Some comes from a slow roll up to a stop counting with the iBike, whereas, i could account for that with manual timing. I get some consolation by not gaining weight, at least. Muscles are toning up (pain) so some fat loss is being offset by heavier muscle gain. Gold is seen better so it is part of visibility and bling.
> 
> BrianMc


A few years ago I dug up some articles on measuring marathon courses....the very best method was a calibrated wheel revolution counter on a bike. Beat out all the various GPS methods, laser surveying etc...

The bike rode a mesured 100m....and was calibrated..then the course was ridden....Then the bike rode a measured 100m and was recalibrated...the distance was then calculated by averaging the two calibrations....and the course adjusted with a tape measure,

The basic reason for highest accuracy was the bike rode the course in a manner similar to the the runner, so the measured path was an arc rather than truncated straight lines.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good, cold, and quick commute today. 5 degrees F at my house this AM when I left. Yesterday the local dog mushers association plowed and dragged the multiuse trails to remove the ski cord and pack in a nice smooth route for the races this weekend. Overnight those set up nice and hard and fast. Made the commute in just a touch over a half hour to do my 4.5 miles. Not a blistering pace by any means, but my average on snow is about 45 minutes to do the route. 

Yesterday it was so sunny out I just had to cut out of work a bit early so I could hit some trail on the way home. I got some in, but not as much as I wanted as many of the social trails had not been punched back in after our last snow and I didn't have the energy to do so myself. I'm thinking this afternoon I may give it another go or take the kids out tonight on snowshoes and get some work out of them...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Well, crap. Now I need a fatbike even more :lol: Looks like fun!
> 
> We got a dusting last night...made for cool pictures this morning
> the GoPro even snagged some critters as I went by.


Well or course you do but you got that fancy camera instead. My video camera cost $50 and doesn't make coffee, in fact it barely takes videos, certainly not ones that you can grab high quality stills from like that. Nice deer pics. I passed deer in about 4 different places today but they didn't hang around for me to get my camera out.

But I do think you need a fatibike, everybody's doing it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First day back from a long weekend and I had a flat front tire, with a pink, plastic thumbtack sticking right out of it. It was placed weirdly enough that if I parked downtown, or on campus, or in public I'd swear that it was sabotage. But I park inside at two very boring buildings, so I'm 99.5% sure that it was just bad luck. 

We've had fresh snow on top of lots and lots of ice, so today was not a day to take the backup winterbike, which meant I had to get the big winterbike working. I renounced tubeless about 6 months ago, and this is the first chance that I've had to try to fix a flat by adding my old tubeless sealant into a tube. And it worked like a charm.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Anybody else having trouble replying? On my computer the screen is so stretched out that the submit button is off the page to the right in infinity or somewhere. If you know how to fix this let me know. Had to post this from the phone.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> A few years ago I dug up some articles on measuring marathon courses....the very best method was a calibrated wheel revolution counter on a bike. Beat out all the various GPS methods, laser surveying etc...-snip-.


The Cyclemeter Apple program uses GPS. The iBike uses a wheel counter programmed with wheel and tire size so about as accurate as a wheel meter. The corners with the car and bike differ. I would score faster, braking hard to stops. I don't care over much about what was as I will plateau and slide with age eventually. The second day of the habitat ride the leader who was 35 years my junior, rode extensively had a hard time catching me. (Winded.) A light modern racer and The Duchess with ten pounds of tools, spares, lights etc. Not too shabby. Faster than a spotted salamander then, anyway.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Anybody else having trouble replying? On my computer the screen is so stretched out that the submit button is off the page to the right in infinity or somewhere. If you know how to fix this let me know. Had to post this from the phone.


Try going to the bottom of the page and changing the drop-down box from wide to fixed or visa-verse

You guys can thank me (or curse me) for ending winter here in New England. Highs above freezing for as far as they are forecasting.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

It ain't over.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

Haven't posted in a while... since I wasn't able to commute for my old job.

Thankfully, I was let go from said job and today was my first day starting my new line of work, bike shop!

Figured I would start it off right and ride. Mapped out the route, uploaded it to my GPS and was off at 7:30 this morning. 16 miles later I arrived and what a lovely 16 miles it was. Pretty happy with the route so far, nice bike lanes, old neighborhoods and a nice little bridge to climb. (About the only climbing to be had in FL)

And it was actually quite toasty on the ride home, gotta love FL winter!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

For some reason, I was hating my hill tonight. It's funny, my time doesn't seem to vary as much as the more subjective "feel" analysis. Last time I felt fast & easy but was slow; this time I was hurting and slow!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> I think that it's opposite, rodar


Dag nabbit, foiled again! I`d read that article or similar before and was going to try digging it up before you did the work for me :lol:. Yeah, I thought there were only a few that banned bikes from al freeways- looks like I did have it backwards.


MRisme said:


> Thankfully, I was let go from said job and today was my first day starting my new line of work, bike shop!
> 
> And it was actually quite toasty on the ride home, gotta love FL winter!


Congrats! It must be a good time for new bike shop jobs . FL winters are probably more conducive to bike commuting than IN winters.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

I'm gonna be honest with you guys... the commute was not good yestoday. Well, the commute in steadily increased in awesome, then fell sharply. It all went downhill after that.

The short version is I cracked the spider of my crank, and it decided that failing on me was not enough - no, it must take my chainring with it. I'll be having a chat with the manufacturer & getting a replacement, but in the meantime express mailed myself some parts because I'm doing an event this weekend and now no longer have a way to pedal.

I'll post a proper write up when I've talked to said manufacturer today.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's the second busted crank mentioned in this thread... I've rounded out the square taper part of an old square taper crank arm because It wasn't torqued properly, but I've never had the satisfaction of destroying one by sheer power and awesomeness. I'm rather impressed. 

Today was SUN DAY!! 1st direct rays of sunshine since October for me on the ride in. It's usually another week or so away, but I left a bit late this morning, and boom...sunshine. Glorious. If I didn't have my full 'clava on, drivers would have seen me smiling.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> It ain't over.


I hope you are right. I could do with a few more weeks of snow. We lost a lot overnight. I was on the roads today because the trails were too soft. I could probably take a regular bike tomorrow now that they are compacted. It might even be preferable to have some studs on my side.



mtbxplorer said:


> For some reason, I was hating my hill tonight. It's funny, my time doesn't seem to vary as much as the more subjective "feel" analysis. Last time I felt fast & easy but was slow; this time I was hurting and slow!


Funny how that works. Sometimes my ride seems eternally long, sometimes it doesn't.

Hunter you animal!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It snowed about 3” overnight, but it wasn’t the super fluffy hero snow we got last time, it was pretty greasy stuff, totally rideable, but a little more caution was warranted. Once I got down to the main drag I stayed out of the mealy plow-thrown shoulder and mostly rode in the right of the travel lane. Most cars passed nicely. I did get one beep, not sure if was the car behind me or another one behind him telling him to pass. At the beep I waved them by as it was totally clear in the oncoming direction. On the outskirts of Montpelier, the sidewalk plow had switched to shoulder duty for his return to town (only a sidewalk on one side of the road), so I got to follow him for a while until I caught up and he took a right over the bridge pedestrian path. 

Hunter, hope you did not get injured in that crank/chainring busting incident.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

At first, I thought I was a hero for braving -34F temps with a 238mph wind. But when the temps spiked to 82F and I was still wearing a jacket, I finally succumbed to the fact the batteries were going dead in my thermometer.


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## MRisme (Mar 22, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Congrats! It must be a good time for new bike shop jobs . FL winters are probably more conducive to bike commuting than IN winters.


Im not sure you can even call the weather in FL "winter". lol

This morning was almost 70 and rather humid, worked up a good sweat riding in my Pearl Izumi barrier jacket, but I'll take a little sweat for the high visibility of the jacket. I also used a backpack this morning versus my usual Chrome messenger bag and man what difference! The backpack was way more comfortable, which part of me thinks I might not be wearing the Chrome bag correctly...

Also got chased by a dog for the first time commuting, luckily he just wanted to run and bark with me for a moment!

Someday I hope to commute in snow but I am in no rush, warm clothes are expensive!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> That's the second busted crank mentioned in this thread... I've rounded out the square taper part of an old square taper crank arm because It wasn't torqued properly, but I've never had the satisfaction of destroying one by sheer power and awesomeness. I'm rather impressed.


Yeah, but we aren`t as big N bad as Mrsnuts or Hunter :lol:
You`re up on me again, CB. Sqare taper cranks are also among the bike parts I can`t claim to have done in. Never managed to break a chain or a spoke either. But pinch flats I can do!



mtbxplorer said:


> On the outskirts of Montpelier, the sidewalk plow had switched to shoulder duty for his return to town (only a sidewalk on one side of the road), so I got to follow him for a while until I caught up and he took a right over the bridge pedestrian path.


Double cool! Cool that they have a sidewalk plow and cool that you happened to time it like that!



s0ckeyeus said:


> At first, I thought I was a hero for braving -34F temps with a 238mph wind. But when the temps spiked to 82F and I was still wearing a jacket, I finally succumbed to the fact the batteries were going dead in my thermometer.


Haha! My bike computer went on the fritz for dying batteries anout two years ago. I forgot the numbers, but yeah- I had some really impressive speeds on that trip! Actually, it reset itself several times on my way home, and when I arrived, I remember that it had some outlandish avg speed, but a max of 0.0 MPH. It also had me climbing a 99% grade a few times!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> At first, I thought I was a hero for braving -34F temps with a 238mph wind. But when the temps spiked to 82F and I was still wearing a jacket, I finally succumbed to the fact the batteries were going dead in my thermometer.





rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, but we aren`t as big N bad as Mrsnuts or Hunter :lol:
> You`re up on me again, CB. Sqare taper cranks are also among the bike parts I can`t claim to have done in. Never managed to break a chain or a spoke either. But pinch flats I can do!
> 
> Double cool! Cool that they have a sidewalk plow and cool that you happened to time it like that!
> ...


Wow, you guys are rugged, those are some impressive numbers! The fastest I ever went was when I got so mad that my bikecomputer batteries died mid-season and zeroed it out, that I taped the wheel magnet to a box fan, put the wireless transmitter and computer within range, and recovered several thousand miles while I slept!

My town has a sidewalk plow too but they are not near as good as Montpelier about using it. These are narrow sidewalks, so they are only the size of a skidsteer (Bobcat), but with a plow instead. During Nemo (recent snowstorm), I took the sidewalk instaed of the street a ways and met the Montpelier guy who had just cleared it - whether for the evening commute or for fear it would pile up too much by morning, I don't know.

The best I've done destroying cranks was a hairline crack I found when diagnosing a squeek - but it was a Campy so I took "extra credit".


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Pix from today*

It was a lovely morning. I ran back in for something & then took this pic of Spruce Mtn. I blame this lazy bike dump for the front disc freezing up shortly thereafter. Luckily it recovered before I got to the steep stuff...

On the way home I stopped at the green for a few more of the naked kneeling guy war monument ("No Bicycling"), the Valentine's gazebo, and the church.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nice pics

I got this one this AM. Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration At the moment I stopped the sun had just barely broken above the hill. In the 30 seconds it took me to get my camera out it was already halfway above the horizon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Niiiice!

Next one looks scary. Your famous dirt road?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sweet photos MTBX and Bedwards.

I once had a handlebar mounted GPS freak out on a mountain bike ride at Tahoe...I think I've shared this story? Dejavu, but that makes it all the more possible that I was abducted... 
I was riding some trail around Tahoe City, part of the Tahoe Rim Trail, etc, and when I looked at the route later, at one point in the ride I apparently launched at 274mph directly to the center of Lake Tahoe, and then launched back to a few hundred meters up the trail from where I left. The ride was uninterrupted, but my average speed was pretty epic. I have no memory of the moments I spent at the center of the lake:eekster:

I'm loving this sunrise thing... tried to catch a pic of my shadow on this barn... it's never as good as I think it's going to be :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I wouldn`t have seen your shadow if you hadn`t pointed it out, but it`s kind of cool that way. Sort of like a secret little hidden detail :thumbsup:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great ride in to work this AM. Light snow. Temps in the mid twenties. Just took my time and enjoyed the ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Next one looks scary. Your famous dirt road?


No, that one's on pavement shortly after the dirt. It's another 2.5 miles downhill from there to the statue and gazebo downtown.

CB and Bedwards, nice sunrises! That barn looks like it is on fire!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It snowed again overnight another 3-4"and the forecasters suddenly changed today's forecast to 8-18", but said it would be hit or miss and was a hard system to predict. I considered driving, but decided that a) they might be wrong; b) even if they're right, they do plow c) I could take the bus if it was bad and get up the last 3.5 miles from the bus stop somehow. It snowed on the way in but the big dump hasn't panned out, so I'm glad I rode. Sadly, it seems the fatbike does not fit on bus racks, making it a poor choice for days like this despite its surefootedness.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning it was 5F and the wind was trying to blow me back up the hill! The headwind persisted, adding 20 minutes to the commute.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been having light problems. My rear light hasn't been firing up right away in the mornings, and my front light nearly fell off while I was riding home yesterday. It was kind of random.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> This morning it was 5F and the wind was trying to blow me back up the hill! The headwind persisted, adding 20 minutes to the commute.


The wind has been horrible around here for the last 5 days. Hence the Haiku in my blog. I came up with it last night when the temp was around 25 but felt like -5.

The snow should be good for Überwintern.

The temps never got above freezing here like they were forecast so I get to take the trails home.:thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice pics, all. 

Meds douse strength to ride
Energy Sapped by High Winds
Not riding in this 

Snow gone. Snow comes again. 

The Radbot 1000's needed a battery contact rejuvenation (bending them for more tension) occasionally. As to lights that fall off, that is not a desirable feature. Much like a video camera that sails out of its handle bar mount and shatters it's lens cover.

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> The Radbot 1000's needed a battery contact rejuvenation (bending them for more tension) occasionally. As to lights that fall off, that is not a desirable feature. Much like a video camera that sails out of its handle bar mount and shatters it's lens cover.


I have a Planet Bike Superflash that's going on six years old. It looks like there's a little rust near the switch. Charging up the batteries, I noticed one was noticeably lower than the other. Hopefully, it's just something small like that.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Good commute today. A little damp this morning, set up the gopro on time lapse, here's the best shot.








Stopped at the pub on the way home for a burger and some IPA's, an excellent way to finish the day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I have a Planet Bike Superflash that's going on six years old. It looks like there's a little rust near the switch. Charging up the batteries, I noticed one was noticeably lower than the other. Hopefully, it's just something small like that.


I rode for awhile with three of them. A little corrosion or a bad cell will do that, too. I love the turbo version. I use it on the back of the helmet. I use a Superflash back on a pivot and snap in the Turbo. Has to seat just so or the light will turn itself on or rotate through modes.

Is quite visible in daylight.

BrianMc


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Nice and warm 39F ride in tonight. My GPS has been acting up as well. Not synking up correctly. It is cutting off miles off the ride and I have been editing my rides. I can not wait for summer or spring, I am down almost a hundred miles a month since October. Oh well, less riding is better then no riding.

Mark


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

today was beautiful! 
cloudy but bright, sideways wind, snow... made it worth riding!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Snow came and went - again with freezing fog. But today the wind was below 10 mph (rare here), sunny & 40's.

Remounted video taking pics every 2 sec on chain stay. Leg still gets in the way, but a nice angle. About 2 shots in 500-900 are keepers.

I like the front tire and rim shadow in this one:



Almost back home:



I gained over 1 mph - likely the wind resistance of the wind pants, jacket and the weight, not improvement, but it was nice.

BrianMc


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Snow came and went - again with freezing fog. But today the wind was below 10 mph (rare here), sunny & 40's.
> 
> Remounted video taking pics every 2 sec on chain stay. Leg still gets in the way, but a nice angle. About 2 shots in 500-900 are keepers.
> 
> ...


Nice shots, how far do you ride each way?

Mark


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

millertm said:


> Nice shots, how far do you ride each way? Mark


Confession: my principal job is getting well. I find MTBR and specifically this forum a good match for my kind of cycling even with the shortage of single track here. I am aiming to get back to 15 miles out, then back. Currently at a bit over 9.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Found my sunglasses! Getting ready to leave for work Fri afternoon, they had gone into hiding. I made two or three frantic laps around the house and still didn`t see them, had to get out the door and ride without them, squinting in the sun. I had been paying bills before I left that day and it turns out that I threw my glasses in the kitchen drawer with the checkbook!



BrianMc said:


> I find MTBR and specifically this forum a good match for my kind of cycling even with the shortage of single track here.


Here, here. I`m not a mountain biker any more, still don`t consider myself a road rider, and my bikes can no longer be accurately classified as road bikes, mountain bikes, or even hybrids. This commuter subforum is where I feel at home. Keep hangin round, Brian- I will too


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Had to obey the stop sign last minute with the surprise of an unseen (until quite late) vehicle approaching. Had room, but it would have been a bit rude to pull out in front of faster traffic. Did not understand why I had not seen it coming before I was 3 feet from entering the road because I had looked as I always have and have never had such a surprise. Checked the video. They are building homes in the new subdivision but I was not thinking of camouflaged byproducts affecting me.



If a building had gone up that would have been obvious. The dirt colored pile of dirt stole the sight line while blending into the land. Such a change is one reason stopping at stop signs is the safer as well as more legal option. :thumbsup:

Approaching driver moved to center of road, so my sudden appearance from behind the sign and stop was as sudden for her.

BrianMc


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Confession: my principal job is getting well. I find MTBR and specifically this forum a good match for my kind of cycling even with the shortage of single track here. I am aiming to get back to 15 miles out, then back. Currently at a bit over 9.
> 
> BrianMc


Not bad, my ride to work is 6 miles. Down hill to work and up hill home. If I have NRGY I can take the long way and stretch it to 9 miles. I am on a 30lbs MTN bike with a 3X10 gearing so any road riding greater then10 miles would be a chore.

Mark


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*How was my commute?*

Well, it was pretty, I'll give it that. Otherwise, I was pushing my bike through snow that was too deep to ride, taking the back roads where I could (that part was OK), and praying that I didn't' get squished by a logging truck or plow on a few sections of busy snowy road I was forced to ride.

The sunrise on the far shore made it look like it was on fire. It looked like this but cooler and more dramatic.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Wow, that's cool. Love those kind of sunrises... wish I had a frozen lake 

I got an epic photo of my nose.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Don't worry. It will get bigger!  All the better to pre-warm the air. 

I like these bike and ride in the landscape pics. Wish my landscapes a bit more interesting. 

The pics capture the poetry of motion. Distortion of the fish-eye lens is a given. So you get reverse Popeye arms, thin lowers and relatively thicker compared to normal uppers in the CB pic. So the head and nose are also a bit out of true scale. One reason I am careful not to catch my full backside in the viewfinder. Not as poetic, one might say.  Let alone not being the least picturesque. 

The camo tape on the bars doesn't work, CB! I can still see them. 

BrianMc


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## tratch (Jul 14, 2010)

Hopefully the last snowfall of the season. Not becuase I don't like snow, but I hate the salty gritty slush byproducts.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this AM. Full moon and well packed trails. There were sprint dog sled races over the weekend, so all the new snow we got was packed down nicely and make for some good riding. Maybe the ride was made better knowing that I won't be riding in to work tomorrow as I have to be here and ready to work by 5AM, so I'll be getting a ride in and then riding home. I much more enjoy the AM ride than the PM ride as it is still dark and still in the mornings. The days are getting longer and my ride home is generally during that time when it is not dark enough for lights, but dark enough to make the world look flat white and hard to see. 

Next thing I know it'll be back to where it is light until 10 at night and I'll be running around all night long like all the rest of the crazy Alaskans and not thinking about snow at all.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Finally started warming up. Made the (hopefully permanent) switch to a thermal jersey and wind jacket today.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

45MPH cross winds. Fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah fun! Not.

Today was the day I found out what the fatbike's limitations were. The trails were good enough to tease me away from the road just to a point where I didn't want to turn back in the wrong direction to take the roads. I walked a lot. I'd say I walked about 2 out of the 10 miles and I probably took the roads for 6 of those 10 miles. As bad as the trails were... the lake was worse. Crusty snow over soft snow over a half frozen slush over ice. My knees are sore. Thanks for listening.

More on the way:
* Hazard types... heavy snow... which may briefly mix with rain or
sleet at times closer to the coast.
* Timing... Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon.
* Accumulations... snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well, I couldn't take it anymore :lol: I had to get off of the road and onto the trail. I saw that this was supposed to be the coldest morning for a while (around 20), so I got the MTB all ready and threw the studs on it last night....got up a half an hour early and hit the trail route this morning. It was horrible. It was fun. I hated it. I loved it. It made me want a fat bike. Again. The snow was just right, then way too soft, then just right, then full of post holes AND too soft, etc, etc. Much of the ride looked like this:








But at the bottom of the trail is a lake/pond. I got my Bedwards on and had my 1st adventure riding across a frozen body of water. It was terrifying for the first 30 seconds, and then I just wanted to stay and play. 








Good stuff. Got to work 15 minutes later than normal with a big grin on my face.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I missed the rain this morning. Hopefully I'll luck out on the way home tonight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Well, I couldn't take it anymore :lol: I had to get off of the road and onto the trail...


Nice! It sounds a lot like my commute except for the part where you loved it. I'm surprised you were only 15 min late. You tend to loose track of time when playing on frozen bodies of water. Those pics would be better with an epic nose shot thrown in there.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bummer about that sinking feeling, Bedwards. I hope you at least got some more nice sunrise views out of the deal.

Cool action shot, CB! Are you going to eat ice again tomorrow so you can post the sequel?

Dry thoughts going your way, sOck.

Been busy lately. Plotting 20 plate dinner for my mom`s birthday, then two days worth of visiting with out of town family took up most of my off work time for the past week, work time has been hectic also for a series of PITA projects needed at our adopted offset plant. I squeezed in a road ride yesterday morning and the wind threw me a surprise party when I was about 30 miles from home- had to really fight in order to to make it back in time to shower, eat, and take off for work. Knees are feeling it today. Gonna go easy for the rest of the week- my next brevet is Sat. Another 200 this time, but I`m also registered for a 300k later in March. If I complete that one, it`ll be a new personal distance record. I`m pretty sure I can do it. A bit doubtful about the 400 in April, but might try it anyway.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool action shot, CB! Are you going to eat ice again tomorrow so you can post the sequel?


Dunno... it was work. I am kind of bummed about my GoPro angle of choice this morning, so I'd like to get some better shots of the frozen pond before the thaw... supposed to warm up all week.

300k. That's 186 miles. Dude.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Awesome tales of adventure, woe and triumph, everyone. My own is that I have had conflicts that prevented bikecommuting so far this week. And company tonight makes tomorrow questionable as well. But Uberwintern with 40 fatties at Trapps in Stowe (yes, the Sound of Music Von Trapps)on Saturday was fun. Still having trouble posting pix from work, but you can see some over here: http://www.facebook.com/MTBVT?ref=ts&fref=ts


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bummer about that sinking feeling, Bedwards. I hope you at least got some more nice sunrise views out of the deal.


I don't think I would use the term "sinking feeling" with bedwards. He rides too much ice...



CommuterBoy said:


> I am kind of bummed about my GoPro angle of choice this morning


I really liked the nose angle, CB (as long as it's from above, not below).



CommuterBoy said:


> 300k. That's 186 miles. Dude.


Indeed.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Dude.


But that`s perfect. Enough miles to give me a head trip, not so much climbing that it`ll be a solid suffer fest like Deathride or Woodway`s RAMROD. And you get 20 hours to finish, so you only need to hold about a 9.5 MPH average.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I don't know, rodar - longest ride I ever did was 325K (202 miles), Seattle to Portland in one day. I suffered plenty those last 50 miles. Hat's off to you!


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## phartbrinson (Feb 12, 2013)

First day in weeks I wasn't riding studded tires. Oh, the glorious speeds I achieved! Upwards of 15 miles per hour! It'll be months before I'm in shape for warm weather; good thing it'll be months before warm weather arrives up here in WI.


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## meyer378 (Apr 19, 2011)

Commuting to campus has been refreshing compared to when I used to have to drive every day. Except for the motorists who seem to see me as some kind of target. I began taking a route with less car traffic that is about an extra mile longer. The ignorance of some drivers around campus is completely astounding though when it comes to cyclists.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Rodar, that's a beast of a ride. I'm pretty sure I could knock off a double century on the road, but can't decide if I actually want to. I need to pull a 100 miler on the MTB, raced a 100k 2 years ago, did 24 hours last year as a team...maybe this year.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

meyer378 said:


> Commuting to campus has been refreshing compared to when I used to have to drive every day. Except for the motorists who seem to see me as some kind of target. I began taking a route with less car traffic that is about an extra mile longer. The ignorance of some drivers around campus is completely astounding though when it comes to cyclists.


You get to ride an extra mile AND you get less traffic, lucky!

Rodar, you get to ride 186 miles AND you have to pay an entry fee? Jury's out on that one.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

As I got within a mile of work the snowflakes became the size of small bunnies. We're not supposed to take the hit Bedwards is, 3 to 6 here.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm sure we'll get another winter blast, but it's been a pretty mellow February... some cold mornings, but no real precip...We've got a lot of remnants from December hanging out though. My snowman from Christmas is still hanging on in the yard...a white lump. He's 2 months old...rather impressive snowman life span.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

phartbrinson said:


> First day in weeks I wasn't riding studded tires. Oh, the glorious speeds I achieved! Upwards of 15 miles per hour!


Whooo! Did you celebrate by pulling up next to one of those frozen Holsteins and drawing yourself a nice milkshake?



CommuterBoy said:


> I My snowman from Christmas is still hanging on in the yard...a white lump.


:eekster:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> As I got within a mile of work the snowflakes became the size of small bunnies. We're not supposed to take the hit Bedwards is, 3 to 6 here.


Schools are all closed for the day!! Forecasting 6-12" of wet heavy snow!!!

I'm not a rocket scientist but it has been above freezing for the last 24 hours. The temps are supposed to be above freezing for the next 24 hours. It's been snowing for 4 hours and the roads are what? Wet. So far they have the wet part right.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Not the best...*

Encountered a dog I see pretty regularly this morning, normally he's relatively chill, barks at me, chases for a block then leaves. Not today, I think the full moon got to him and he decided to take a nip of my calf. I didn't realize how bad he'd gotten me as there was no blood right away so I continued on my merry way to work.

Get to work and see a bloody patch on my new tights, pulling them up I see the punctures and bite marks, thinking "that little son of a ***** got me". After letting my boss know I was there I headed down to the ER (perks of working in a hospital!) to get it checked out. Lucky for me the wound was pretty superficial and didn't need stitches, just a good washout, some triple antibiotic ointment and a large bandaid. Normally I would fix something like this myself, God knows I've done worse to myself on rides, but since this involved a dog bite, I decided to err on the side of safety. That led to animal control getting involved too but when I talked to them they hadn't found the little b**tard. Yet. So I'm now stuck with a $200+ ER visit (including antibiotics for the next week) and worrying whether or not I need to start the rabies series, all because some ignorant uncaring dumb*$$ jerk off couldn't be bothered to keep his pet inside a fence and let it roam wherever it may. Just frustrating how irresponsible people can be.

Other then that though, the commutes have been pretty great. Blue skies, some pretty heavy winds which are bearable for a bit, but with the exception of last weekend, no snow.


> First day in weeks I wasn't riding studded tires. Oh, the glorious speeds I achieved! Upwards of 15 miles per hour! It'll be months before I'm in shape for warm weather; good thing it'll be months before warm weather arrives up here in WI.


I can't wait to drop the studs too!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^ I hope they find that he had his rabies shots! They can't find the owner either?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^ I hope they find that he had his rabies shots! They can't find the owner either?


Spoke with animal control before I left work, they said they have an idea where the dog lives but weren't able to speak to the owners. According to the officer, rabies is basically non-existent in our town, but I'll wait for the word from a vet before I celebrate.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

I had my first commute of 2013 last night and it was uneventful and pleasant. The days are getting longer which allows me to ride the MUPs again. 

I rode talking to an off duty cop on a training ride for about 10km and had a pleasant chat. 

After I return from my trip to Cali, I plan to ride at least 2-3 times per week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Egad, epic backpack fail today, it is still sitting in my mudroom. I remember taking it off to add something else…and didn’t even miss it until 11.5 miles later when I had no badge to get in the office. Dang, no lunch, no wallet, no phone, no underwear! Luckily I had all other needed clothes here, left my work phone here, have a battery for 1 of my lights on the handlebars, and I think I might have a $10 bill in my seatpack for luch. The doirt road was super slippery today, packed snow/ice with water on top. I did not even realize how slick it was until I stopped for a photo and my foot started to slide out from under me. I also had to hop into the soft snowbank when I heard the plow coming.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's some drama! Uneventful morning for me.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Still pretty wet so I couldn't get close enough for a picture (we still haven't really been able to dry out from the time I posted the flood pictures) but I spotted a cool old broken down car over in the floodplain of the creek I ride along for a little bit en route to work today. Gonna have to go check it out sometime.

Can't believe you guys are talking about 200 mile rides - I did a century on the road for the first time last year, and I'm hoping to do at least a metric century on MTB trails this year, but not sure I could do that. Then again I've got a century ride planned thats probably 50% gravel in the next few months as training for the same road ride I did last year (told a friend I would do it with her, but she is doing it as training for the Lake Placid Ironman race in July so I need to get my speed up this year!) so after that maybe I'll feel a bit more adventurous. 

Dammit now I am thinking about how I could take time off work and try to do the Great Allegheny Passage + C&O canal over the course of two days. Already wanted to try doing it in 3 or 4, but I'm sure the wife would appreciate me not taking as long


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

I saw a real live otter! And a dead bobcat.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> no underwear!


That is the worst. It seems about once every two months or so I forget that one critical piece of clothing. Just puts a strange spin on the entire day.

My commute was okay. I took both Tuesday and Wednesday off from biking due to commitments that had me all over town and the region from the wee, wee hours of the morning until the late hours of night, so I figured today's ride would be stupid good. Just average. I think I'll have to cut out a few hours early and see if I can't rectify that.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Quite an adventure, Xplorer. When a day starts off like that, it seems like I can never get back on track- hope you managed it somehow.

Hey, AlexC- if you ride GAp and C&O this year, don`t forget to post a ride report! Do you know anything about an abandoned turnpike somewhere in PA? I first read about it on a ride report for last year`s Crush the Commonwealth, then a few more mentions since. It sounds pretty cool- closed to autos, but still bikeable, including a few long tunnels.

Last day of the week for me. Just got in and checked my internal mail... no honey-do`s from my boss, nothing passed on from the last shift, nothing waiting for me on my bench . Kind of breathing a sigh of relief after running in circles for a few weeks. Hope nothing breaks between now and the end of my shift.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Got some good news on the dog: animal control found it (right where I thought) and it is up to date on shots, so no rabies shots for me! He issued 3 tickets, impounded the dog and it looks like a court hearing is in my future. I don't want to sound greedy but I asked about my medical bills since I'm already $110 in the hole...before the bill actually shows up (co-pay, antibiotics, not even worried about the lost hours) and he put it in the report, but I'm not holding any hope in that. Be interesting how much a 2.5 hour ER visit is going to run me though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spatialized said:


> He issued 3 tickets, impounded the dog and it looks like a court hearing is in my future....
> 
> I don't want to sound greedy but I asked about my medical bills...


Yeah! Tickets and impound will go a long way towards convincing the owner to do what he`s supposed to do. Med bills will probably be an even bigger nudge.

Greedy? Nothing greedy about that at all!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Spatialized said:


> Got some good news on the dog... it is up to date on shots... it looks like a court hearing is in my future.... I don't want to sound greedy but I asked about my medical bills ... Be interesting how much a 2.5 hour ER visit is going to run me though.


Subtracting the ambulance, X-rays, and MRI, from my last visit, I'd guess at about $1500 for about twice the time but the local hospital is a bargain compared to big city ones. So no, don't absorb it if possible to be remunerated. Even half would be a big help. Maybe the hearing will include assigning the costs. I assume the hospital visit triggered the animal control and the rest, so hopefully they are not broke and the bills will be covered. Could be an expensive pet for them.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Quite an adventure, Xplorer. When a day starts off like that, it seems like I can never get back on track- hope you managed it somehow.


Well, it was so beautiful this morning, I was not bothered at all..


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spatialized, glad you won't be getting those rabies shots!


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Still having issues with my phone GPS. Other then that my rides are not too bad. It is a bit cold in the morning going home (mid teens) and ridding in to work at night is high 30's to low 40's. It is staying light longer and I feel the warmer weather coming.

Mark


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## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

It was about as good as it gets today. It was in the teens this morning, but sunny and felt warm. Cruised into town and it was "Winter Bike to Work Day", so I stopped by a coffee shop (that I go to regularly anyway) and scored a t-shirt, free coffee and a little free food.

On the way home it was almost 50 and sunny - it felt like 70. I caught up to a guy and his daughter, both on bikes, and shared some of the ride home with them. It was Travis Brown and his little girl. We chatted about stuff, and he actually rode by his own house to carry on what was surely a dull conversation for him, then he turned back when we said so long.

Durango is heaven for old mountain bikers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Snow came and went today. Forgot to mention the earliest croci are in flower in the warmer courtyard since last week. Early. No sign of the snow drops in the back yet.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

AlexCuse said:


> Dammit now I am thinking about how I could take time off work and try to do the Great Allegheny Passage + C&O canal over the course of two days. Already wanted to try doing it in 3 or 4, but I'm sure the wife would appreciate me not taking as long


I'll be the first to enable you - go for it!

I'm back in the saddle today. My driveway was the most exciting part. It is the steepest hill in my commute that ends with a blind entry into the road and it was glare black ice. I dragged the studs and then steered into the banking before the road. The roads had a lot of the same but with no complications. I'm hoping the trails will be ripe again after the weekend's pack and freeze action. Although winter seems to be leaving us fast with highs near 40 most days.

Whoops, missed a whole page of posts.


mtbxplorer said:


> Well, it was so beautiful this morning, I was not bothered at all..


That's what it looked like here and then a day later it is all gone. It looks like you had the wrong bike for those conditions.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great, great, great commute this AM. I was rolling really fast and just felt like I was firing on all cylinders. Good times. Even saw a moose. 

I ended up taking off from work a bit early yesterday afternoon and hit up some single track on my way home. The temps were perfect, 36F and somewhat sunny. The trails had all packed down and set up really nicely due to the temps and the edges were nice deep and soft powder, making the ride more about picking and keeping the line than speed and powering through. Love it! 

This evening I think I'll head out after work to check out some new social trails someone has punched in at a local park that I've not ridden yet. I'm not looking forward to the exit of winter. There's so much to explore still that I just haven't gotten around to.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> That's what it looked like here and then a day later it is all gone. It looks like you had the wrong bike for those conditions.


It was fine, I just stayed in the part packed by the cars. It's only 1.3 miles to pavement, and there it was mostly melted from the temps/salt/traffic. Massive puddles and slush for the next 10 miles, so no need for the fatty there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Projected high of almost 60!! And a two hour chunk of time after work (cancelled meeting)!! And a Friday!! Today is shaping up nicely.

This was my epic Tuesday:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Dang my flash isn't flashy enough and my browser isn't htmlly enough to view the vid!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's because it is so epic, only the best computers can handle it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Good I have the new MacBook Pro, then! The masked man rides again! (Sort of fits the music as a chant.)

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It has snowed all day today, but there is no accumulation whatsoever because the temps are too high. It's kind of a misty, wet snow, but it's better than rain.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Truly epic commuter video! I like the Audioslave. If you practice you will be able to go over those icy spots just as fast as the rest of the trail :lol: 

MTXB & Blockphi, how well does the fatbike do on packed trails at 32-40 degrees? My other bikes fail the moment the temp climbs above freezing. The trails can be beautiful for the ride in at 28 degrees but impassible in the afternoon at 34. What tire pressure do you run for those conditions?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I picked Audioslave because hearing Chris Cornell sing reminds me that even though I think I'm cool, and even though I might have been a little bit cool in the 90's, a lot of people today just wish I would shut up. 

I had to take a break on the icy parts... 7.5 miles in under 5 minutes is tough to do, and you have to rest somewhere.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB & Blockphi, how well does the fatbike do on packed trails at 32-40 degrees? My other bikes fail the moment the temp climbs above freezing. The trails can be beautiful for the ride in at 28 degrees but impassible in the afternoon at 34. What tire pressure do you run for those conditions?


Around here my main commuting trail is a multiuse path that is groomed for skiing, so even when it warms up some, they stay fairly firm. That said, the fat tires do wonders when they do start to get a bit soft.

Last year I was still on a skinny and when it would get over freezing for a day or so I would often have to alter my route because the skinny tires just dig in wherever there is a soft spot. The fatties just float right over them.  Fatties won't get you through everything, but they get you through a lot more than skinnies will.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I don't think that I've ridden it much on snow at those temps because last year by the time it got that warm the snow was gone. Last week at Stowe's nordic trails it was 32-33 and very good fatbiking conditions. If anything it improved as we went, perhaps densifying the fluff that fell the day before. Many of us had to lower pressure to keep it going. I started out with 6 & 7 psi, maybe lowered to 5? There are so many factors in addition to temp, that it's worth a try - but if it's not good in the first 20' it probably isn't going to get better either! I think 40 is pushing it in most conditions though, although I am pretty lazy and don't enjoy slogging. Today at Kingdom Trails, it looks like it was about 33 and they closed the nordic trails to fatbikes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks fatbikers. I'll be looking forward to that next week.


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## DimGR (Feb 16, 2013)

not that good , 2 motherless ****s almost run me over because they did not stop at a stop sign , lucky enough i manouvred fast and avoided them


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Way home yesterday was in the 40s so I rocked shorts only - first time with bare legs in awhile. Today were nearly in the 60s so I took the opportunity for a non-commuting ride.



BrianMc said:


> I assume the hospital visit triggered the animal control and the rest, so hopefully they are not broke and the bills will be covered. Could be an expensive pet for them.
> BrianMc


It's partially the reason I ended up in the ER (getting animal control involved). Calf is just bruised now, the bite marks are healing well. As for the rest, only time will tell. The wife and I decided though that we weren't going to let it go, feel like we tend to get walked over because we're nice folks, not going to happen this time.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

So, I've been trying to find a route to commute from my home to my work entirely on dirt. Unfortunately, for part of the ride, it looks like I will have to ride on the road. I went for a test run today and hit some sand on the road and pulled my brakes too late. Wheels came right out from under me and I badly scraped my knee and my elbow. The blood was flowing and the pain was throbbing. Fortunately, nothing was broken. Amazing how much more dangerous road riding is as opposed to mountain riding. That's why I prefer mountain biking.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Killer vid, CB! Sunrise in action, more ice eating (thanks for that), and a lovely, smooth frozen lake- pretty much has it all! I like the speed variations. Not so hot on the soundtrack, but I`ll let it slide . Oh, and if it bothers you to have people think of you as uncool, you`re probably in the wrong line of work. Of course, if it DOESN`T bother you, just keep those vacations.


DimGR said:


> not that good , 2 motherless ****s almost run me over because they did not stop at a stop sign , lucky enough i manouvred fast and avoided them


Bummer, good thing you were on the ball though :thumbsup:



Spatialized said:


> Calf is just bruised now, the bite marks are healing well. As for the rest, only time will tell. The wife and I decided though that we weren't going to let it go, feel like we tend to get walked over because we're nice folks, not going to happen this time.


Good. Glad you`re healing up and glad you`re holding out for the dog`s owners to cover the bills. I don`t have a whole lot of problems with dogs, but when I do it really irks me that people continually let them roam free (as opposed to the ones who just "leak out" a hole in the fence now and then). The more it costs them, the more they`ll consider doing what they`re supposed to be doing all along.



BCTJ said:


> Wheels came right out from under me and I badly scraped my knee and my elbow. The blood was flowing and the pain was throbbing. Fortunately, nothing was broken. Amazing how much more dangerous road riding is as opposed to mountain riding. That's why I prefer mountain biking.


Ouch. Heal soon. We obviously have different experieces as far as when/where blood gets spilled. I seemed to lose a lot more of it MTBing than I do on the road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Yesterday, down in California...*

Nice event yesteray. Highs in the 60s, skies ranging from somewhat overcast to mostly sunny, occasional breezes (sometimes friendly, sometimes playfully devious).

There was a lot better participation this time compared to the New Years Eve ride- probably about 60 registered. Started out with a mass exodus from downtown Davis that quickly broke apart. Only about a half mile of city streets and traffic, then a two-hour warm up though the flat valley bottom, cruising amongst still sleeping walnut groves, newly awakening fields (hops?), and already blooming almond groves. After the flat warm up, moderate climbing up into the wine country on a trafficky state route (lots of boat trailers) and some delicous little side roads. My favorite of those was a one lane badly paved twisty short cut that climbed gradually for about three miles, then dumpped us back down to about the same elevation it had started at with a half mile roller coaster. Then a few more extended rollers on a lower-trafficed state highway to a tasty lunch spread at our turn around point. After lunch, reverse process.

This time it came off more like I expected a brevet to be- small groups forming, morphing, and disbanding, then meet up with other riders to do it again. Had a nice experience with the buddy system, helping MacGuiver a snapped RD cable at one point, then later accepting a couple power bars from two other riders when I was in need and the planned service stop was out of business. Looking forward to the next round. A few pics- enjoy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Looks fun, and the weather sounds nice for a ride. How did you manage the derailleur cable, just shorten it up & reattach, or was it more involved? Congrats!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I enjoyed the video, CB, if not the music. I found, however, that I could not turn off the sound.

BCTJ, hope you heal up quick!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Very sweet looking ride rodar. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The cable repair was pretty simple. We knotted it just above the adjuster nut on her RD, held the derailler in place under the next-to-biggest sprocket, and reclamped the tail to hold that gear, then tied the excess (nothing on hand to cut it with) to a seat stay with a wire tie. Worked fine- just like it says in the book, but it was the first time I`d actually done it. The result was possibly the world`s most expensive three speed drivetrain. Record/DA hybrid with ten extra sprockets :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> Very sweet looking ride rodar. Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us!


+ 1



rodar y rodar said:


> The result was possibly the world`s most expensive three speed drivetrain. Record/DA hybrid with ten extra sprockets :lol:


Beats walking. Did you get a pic for the jury rig thread?

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> The cable repair was pretty simple. We knotted it just above the adjuster nut on her RD, held the derailler in place under the next-to-biggest sprocket, and reclamped the tail to hold that gear, then tied the excess (nothing on hand to cut it with) to a seat stay with a wire tie. Worked fine- just like it says in the book, but it was the first time I`d actually done it. The result was possibly the world`s most expensive three speed drivetrain. Record/DA hybrid with ten extra sprockets :lol:


I'm impressed, that is very cool. I would not have thought of a knot.

p.s. I checked youtube for a visual and only found 2 vids demonstrating the limit screw method, and one guy carrying a spare cable. So your method doesn't seem very well known - well done! I did find this, which sounds similar Tech Tip: Broken Cable Quick Fix | Cannon Cyclery


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Looks like a nice ride rodar. I especially appreciate the pictures of the almond trees (I assume) and the dive restaurant (again, I am assuming).


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

I had a nice ride into the office today. I layed all my clothes out all my clothes and did a quick check of the bike last night. I have been prepping for this ride for what seems forever. As I said earlier, my dog tore some ligaments in it's leg, and my wife has needed me around early in the morning and around lunch to help out, so I haven been able to bike to work. I keep forgetting whether I put extra work clothes in my office, so I just keep bringing more in. It got so bad, that I did not have any khaki socks at home. I will resume riding Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday, I have to help my wife get the dog in an out of the car in the morning and when they get home from physical therapy. 

Today was not as cold as I anticipated, but my winter coat was still probably the best choice. Traffic was very light. I just kind of zoned into the road, and the next thing I know I am at work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great pics rodar, they give me hope for some warmer weather riding. 

I spent yesterday downhill skiing, my first time in about 10 years. It turns out that it is much like riding a bike. I think I actually skied better yesterday than I ever did in the past. I think it was because the shorter shape skis let me turn better in the moguls. 

The trails are in rough shape again. Soft snow that has been torn apart by snowmobiles and then frozen solid. The lake was worse. A crust of snow over 4" of wet slush over ice. Walking material. I'm glad my boots are waterproof because every step broke through to the slush. The poor trail conditions are getting old.

A dog charged out from his yard...and said hello. He was a good boy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Codwater, you might want to consider one of those extending dog ramps from a pet supply place like Dr Foster & Smith.

Bedwards, that sounds pretty miserable, not prime fatty conditions for sure.

I was looking forward to the commute today after a pretty lazy day yesterday, but the headwind made it more of a chore than usual, and I just squeaked in on time. It occurred to me today for the first time as I pedaled by that it is kind of funny that Hookers Furniture and Rubber Bubbles party store occupy the same shopping center. A few unnecessary horn beeps this morning from drivers, but the blaring horn was reserved for the car that took the illegal right on red off the iron bridge as out light turned green. At the last light (a left arrow), the driver behind me went through on the red arrow as I stopped for the light on the right hand side of the lane. Sadly, I don’t think people even notice when a car runs a red like that, but I’m sure they would have noticed if I did. 

I had some entertainment Saturday at my house. Since I ride and have an AWD car, I often don’t bother to snowblow for the smaller stuff. While I was out riding at the Frozen Onion, the Jehovah Witness folks made their pilgrimage up my driveway and left me a leaflet, but they also got their car supremely stuck off the side of my driveway, the snow was all churned up and there were all kinds of footprints and tire tracks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had some entertainment Saturday at my house. Since I ride and have an AWD car, I often don't bother to snowblow for the smaller stuff. While I was out riding at the Frozen Onion, the Jehovah Witness folks made their pilgrimage up my driveway and left me a leaflet, but they also got their car supremely stuck off the side of my driveway, the snow was all churned up and there were all kinds of footprints and tire tracks.


I like it! Telling them you are Pagan keeps them away for years.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Codwater, you might want to consider one of those extending dog ramps from a pet supply place like Dr Foster & Smith.
> 
> Jehovah Witness folks made their pilgrimage up my driveway and left me a leaflet, but they also got their car supremely stuck off the side of my driveway, the snow was all churned up and there were all kinds of footprints and tire tracks.


I tried to get the ramp in the beginning, but the wife saw no point it, and as the saying goes, "a happy wife, means a happy life." Now we are so close to the end it would not be worth buying a ramp. That was truly a funny story about the Jehovah Witnesses. Only once have I been visited by a random religious missionary, and it was a much welcomed visit. There is a Mormon Church down the street from where I used to live. After Hurricane Katrina, about 20 Mormons camping at the church showed up with chain saws, work gloves, and an appetite for destruction. They made quick work of the downed trees for me and moved on to the next house.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

I just made my commute easier. My wife an I are members of a gym that is occupies the building I work in. This is where I shower and get ready for work on days I bike. She bought me a locker at the gym to store all my things. This is great because my building is a U shape. The two legs of the U are offices, and the bottom of the U is a parking garage. I work on the top floor of one side, while the gym is at the top floor of the other side. So, everyday I have to go to my office, grab my gear, go back down to the garage and make my way across to the other building, then up to the gym, shower and get ready for work, go back to garage and go across to my side, and take the elevator back to my office. Then I have to do the same thing over again at the end of the day. The entire back and forth for an entire day takes up about 20-30 minutes depending on elevator traffic. Now, that time should be down to 10-15. It will cut out having to go to my office before going to the gym in the morning and going to the office after I have gone to the gym in the evenings. 

Also, I despise the looks I get in the evenings when I come back into the office to drop my work clothes off. People realizing that I am going to wear the same khaki pants again and asking why I am wearing bike clothes. I wish there were more progressive people in my office, but it is actually frowned upon to bike to work. In face one of thSo, another benefit will be that no will have any idea that I biked.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I’m a fair weather commuter, and I’m getting anxious to start back up again. The weather for the next week looks like it will be in the 50’s so I’m hoping all of the ice and snow melt off the MUP I ride to work. If all goes well, I should have my first commute of 2013 under my belt a week from this Wednesday!


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## Mr moab (Mar 4, 2013)

Great morning ride into SF. Getting light our now on the ride by 6:30- enjoying that, but know it all changes next week again. Did notice one thing in the office this morning- helmet needs a wash- ooof.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Another great day on the bike. It wont stop snowing, a little bit every day, every night, loving it. The temps are in the twenties in the morning, 30ish in the afternoon. I was on vacation last week, broke the bike down for some frame saver and a full grease job. Redid the tubeless, too. Time for some color in my life, spring is on its way and the skiing is fabulouso!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Our witnesses aren`t so persistant. 150 yards or so of level gravel has been enough to keep them from my door for the past 20 years. I did get a pair of trick-or-treaters once, though. Being as they caught me completely off guard, all they was got a can of tuna each. I feel sorry for the dentist whose retirement funding I devestated by not having candy on hand.



BrianMc said:


> Beats walking. Did you get a pic for the jury rig thread?


No, and I`m kicking myself for not taking one.


bedwards1000 said:


> I think I actually skied better yesterday than I ever did in the past. I think it was because the shorter shape skis let me turn better in the moguls.
> 
> The trails are in rough shape again. Soft snow that has been torn apart by snowmobiles and then frozen solid.


I`ve seen those new skiis and they sure are funny lookin to my eyes. I hear they`re a lot easier than regular skiis, though.

Snowmo snot? Damn, can`t win!


Schott said:


> Another great day on the bike. It wont stop snowing, a little bit every day, every night, loving it.


Little by little is nice . Alpine skiing for you too, or XC?


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Telemark, BC touring, and skating.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice job on the rim strips, Schott. Be careful out there in the backcountry, I saw the story on the ice climber that got avalanched off Mt Washington yesterday.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I am careful, thanks. He was climbing solo and unprotected, two shakes from suicide in my eyes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I figured from your posts that you're an experienced outdoors guy. Have fun, then! Oh, and have a good commute.  I am off today on another oddball VT holiday, Town Meeting Day. A ski at Groton State Forest I think...


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Dup.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You "dayoffers" have fun. It sure sounds like you are going to.

rodar, if you ski I'd expect to see you on old straight skis not these "new" ones. I probably would have just used my old skis if my boots hadn't disintegrated. 

I had another grueling commute today. The trails ranged from pretty good to pretty bad. I took the long way because the lake crossing is shorter and was out there for 1 3/4 hours of hard riding. My legs are actually pretty fatigued like I did a race or 50 miles of riding. Not complaining, just tired.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We had a pretty nice day yesterday. The ride home was sunny and about 50 degrees. As usual this time of year the nice days bring out a ton of cyclists on shakedown cruises. Nice to see so many people out enjoying the weather - but I did have to wave a dude off my wheel three times before he finally got the message that I was not comfortable with him back there.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Got passed by some dude on a carbon road bike yesterday on the way home so I decided winter was legally over.

So I edited a few remnant icy sections out of my route and went from the monster studded tires to 700x30c slicks this morning.

About 10 kph faster. I can get used to that. Except they are forecasting freezing rain overnight...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Looks like a great ride, Rodar!

I took the day off yesterday (not enough vacation days in my schedule :lol and got some snowboarding in. Absolutely glorious day. Fresh snow + sunburn. Awesome.

A wee bit sore for the ride this morning :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I humped the fatty over the 12+ mile road commute tonight due to soft trails. I Strava says I burned 354 calories. I don't think it understands what I was riding.
Elapsed Time 00:50:58
Max Speed 24.2mi/h
Avg Speed 14.2mi/h


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Had a good ride home last night. Took off from work early as it was in the upper 30s and sunny. Hit up some single track and just enjoyed myself. That made this AM's ride a bit tougher than normal as the legs were a bit stiff after yesterday's ride coupled with my first time exploration of the Kinkaid single track on Sunday. I love that feeling of being absolutely wiped out after a couple of days of hard riding. 

The weather is starting to look more and more like spring here in Anchorage and I'm not ready for winter to be over yet. At this point I'd be happy if it stayed just the way it is today year round - sunny, calm, and 38 degrees. I must be sick in the head.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'd like another few weeks of winter riding but since Mother Nature isn't cooperating I'm thinking of rolling out the Cross Check tomorrow for a nice easy ride. No studs, no fat tires....It will be the first time in a long time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

> I humped the fatty over the 12+ mile road commute tonight


 Hope that doesn`t get printed somewhere out of context. Talk about blowing your chances for public office!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

View on this mornings commute. Fast, firm, and warm in Southcentral Alaska!









Is it spring breakup already??? Icy Slushy commute home. Time to install the studs and fenders!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hope that doesn`t get printed somewhere out of context. Talk about blowing your chances for public office!


LOL, good thing I don't aspire to be in public office.

Nice looking trails Jordy. I haven't got to ride on anything that nice looking all year.

I pulled the Cross Check down from the hooks this morning, gave it a full spring tune up (pumped up the tires) and road to work on a glorious 80psi with no studs. The fenders kept me clean. It was awesome.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

The commute home two nights ago was great. I took the long way home around the lakefront and added 7 miles or so. 

This morning it was cold (for New Orleans). It was 45 degrees and windy. No problems on the ride, and I didn't notice the chill once I got warmed up. I wore sunglasses today because my eyes/contacts started to dry out last time from the wind. Anyone have any cheap sunglasses recommendations for the sole purpose of blocking the wind?

The new locker at the gym where I get ready for work was great, although it is a tad small for my use.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday it was rain both ways. Today is was light snow and a wicked headwind. I could have used a bigger cog out back. I was standing and mashing on fairly level stretches of road and straining up the hills. I had a nice tailwind the last 1/8th of a mile to the office, but other than that it was all in my face. I need to get my geared bike back up and running.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Horrendous wind and blowing snow this morning. It's coming in sideways now...the last part of my ride was lucky...caught a nice window in the storm, and had a tailwind. Most of the ride it was blowing sideways and pelting me with stinging snow. Ahhh, spring


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lots of interesting conditions and rides recently, thanks for sharing, all. i only got to ride home today, because I was on the road for fieldwork at 4:45 a.m. On the ride home, I had a mechanical: the rocket booster on my snot rocket failed, resulting in an unstable orbit - Ick! The ride was better lit than recently as I replaced the battery pack with a newer and bigger one.

^^Wow, CB, you're not kidding, I see that sideways wind blew a deer right across the road in front of you!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> View on this mornings commute. Fast, firm, and warm in Southcentral Alaska!
> 
> Is it spring breakup already??? Icy Slushy commute home. Time to install the studs and fenders!


It has been some beautiful weather for riding here in the Anchortown lately. Loving it, but I am not ready for breakup yet! I was riding along Old Seward today and hit an icy patch and the bike whipped right out from under me. Not fun. Bruised ego.

I'm loving the trails in the AM. Firm and fast. Evenings have been getting a bit soft, but not horrible yet. This AM I got to take an alternate route as I had to start my day at the home office. The change of scenery was quite refreshing.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We got CB`s wind and even a bit of the snow. No deer, though. I can`t say I needed a bigger sprocket, but I was happy to use the biggest one I do have to battle the gale on my way to work today. Pretty bad yesterday, too. Drove to the LBS this morning for wheel bearing rollers (anual hub maintenance time) and discovered I left the sliding rear window on my truck open since Sunday. Found a nice snowdrift covering up the all the dirt that blew in before the temps dropped. My rear hub is done now and tomorrow I`m going to cross my fingers and attempt to repack the squeaky Shimano dyno hub.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Warm and in the 50's ridding in tonight, looks like mid 30's going home. Yes, Spring is getting closer. Having rear Rim issues with loose spokes, looks like I need to get it re-tension'ed. But the weather is improving.

Mark


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...On the ride home, I had a mechanical: the rocket booster on my snot rocket failed, resulting in an unstable orbit - Ick!...


I've had them have guidance problems too. Usually when other systems are heavily loaded. Time to wash the jacket.

I took the long way in because I'm not sure how many more winter riding days there will be. The trails ranged from fast and packed to broken up frozen pieces of ice chunks. Some sections looked like a howitzer had driven through them and others had been torn up by dozens and dozens of deer traffic. But, all of them were passable. I could ride across the lake if I went fast enough not to break into the slushy layer.

This is one of the awesomer sections.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I think I just missed someone jumping off the big bridge today, because the emergency vehicles were just arriving to set up roadblocks as I was riding across. I'd talked to another commuter who'd seen someone jump once...not something I'd like to witness.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

newfangled said:


> I think I just missed someone jumping off the big bridge today, because the emergency vehicles were just arriving to set up roadblocks as I was riding across. I'd talked to another commuter who'd seen someone jump once...not something I'd like to witness.


Yeah, that would ruin a ride to work. Last year near the university where I go to grad school, I passed by a scene where a woman had jumped from her apartment building. It was pretty intense. By the time I arrived, she was covered in a sheet, but it was still spooky.

On a lighter note, I was glad there was little wind and no precipitation on my way to work. This winter seems to have been windier than usual. Also, my lighter winter gloves have been getting more use than my heavier gloves. Winter is almost over for us. I can't wait for Spring.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I’m so jealous of you guys who ride and commute in the winter. All of these pictures you post are great. I would attempt commuting in the winter except my wife would freak out way too much. As it is, she worries way too much when the weather is nice. I get read the riot act if I forget to call her when I make it in from a commute when the weather is nice.

Last year I commuted 2 days a week from the beginning of March through the middle of November. The previous year I commuted 2 days a week on and off from April through mid October.

I’m hoping I can slowly extend my commuting season into December and some winter conditions.

The snow is melting and I should be able start commuting next week.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

p08757 said:


> I would attempt commuting in the winter except my wife would freak out way too much. As it is, she worries way too much when the weather is nice. I get read the riot act if I forget to call her when I make it in from a commute when the weather is nice.


Sounds like we are married to the same person. I have worn my wife down though. She knows resistance is futile.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

codwater said:


> Sounds like we are married to the same person. I have worn my wife down though. She knows resistance is futile.


My wife had a bad bicycling accident on a casual ride. She went OTB on a narrow bridge (One I need to ride on my way to work) head first into a concrete pillar. Her helmet broke into 3 pieces and her over-sized sunglasses pushed into her eye sockets fracturing both orbits. She required surgery to repair her left orbit. She almost didn't put her helmet on, but I made her. She was worried about me riding to work before this, but after this accident she has been very cautious about my bike riding and where I go. I can't blame her can I? Over time I'm sure she will get more comfortable with me riding again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Cool blog there p08757. You should have some virtual milestones too, like crossing the Mississippi river or riding through the desert in Texas.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Just another day. Though yesterday when scooting from one office to the other I did have a nice little wreck. Hit a patch of glare ice and went down. Not hard, but enough to bung up my elbow a bit. I might just have to spring for fattie studs yet. Cheaper than a hospital visit for sure.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Good commute this AM. Just another day. Though yesterday when scooting from one office to the other I did have a nice little wreck. Hit a patch of glare ice and went down. Not hard, but enough to bung up my elbow a bit. *I might just have to spring for fattie studs yet. Cheaper than a hospital visit for sure.*


Yes, they are worth it, so far this winter at least! Specially during those transition periods. Mine worked hard yesterday for the 4 miles of sidewalk and streetside path I ride every day. They are a dog in the snow tho, deff add rolling resistance. Also big fat fenders!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

codwater said:


> That was truly a funny story about the Jehovah Witnesses. Only once have I been visited by a random religious missionary, and it was a much welcomed visit. There is a Mormon Church down the street from where I used to live. After Hurricane Katrina, about 20 Mormons camping at the church showed up with chain saws, work gloves, and an appetite for destruction. They made quick work of the downed trees for me and moved on to the next house.


We're down the street from a Temple too, but I guess since the area is highly saturated (with Mormons) they don't go door to door here...thankfully.

Going to enjoy the last day of nice weather this week, as the weather folks are forecasting a bit of nastiness tomorrow into the weekend. Glad I left the studs on! This should be the last storm of the season though, unless there's a freak one in late March, early April. It's a bummer though since the weather this week has been beautiful, blue skies, temps in the mid-50's on the way home. It will be back soon.

Haven't heard a peep about the dog bite stuff though. I rode past the location today and no one came out to "greet" me so I'm doubly sure about my ID of the mutt in question.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I ride past a Mormon church in the morning...some folks meet there in the early AM a couple days a week, and occasionally I ride by while someone is getting out of a car in the parking lot. I always exchange a wave when I see someone else out suffering in the cold when I ride by, but I have to admit that I entertain myself by saying "Mormon!" and trying to make it sound as much as I can like "Mornin'!" I don't think anyone has caught on, and I grin at myself from inside my 'clava for the next block or so. 

Nothing against Mormons...it's just nothing else sounds like a normal word you'd say when throwing a wave at a stranger like that :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^haha! By coincidence, yesterday I unknowingly told the story of the Jehovahs stuck in the driveway to a former Mormon. Apparently he'd had to do the door to door thing on his "mission", and his observation was that "people really hate it when you come to their house". Then he relayed that the Jehovahs went into his brothers house and left the leaflet on the dining room table when he was gone, and how irate he was about that. I have been suspicious ever since, because my biggest cutting board is missing - how the heck do you lose a 18" x 2' cutting board when it did not go to a pot luck or suffer diversion to the workshop? I am waiting to see of they left it in the snow after "borrowing" it for traction. 

Routine rides today, though I worked late and took a bus boost partway home. Old home day with the driver and one of the passengers.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

p08757 said:


> Last year I commuted 2 days a week from the beginning of March through the middle of November. The previous year I commuted 2 days a week on and off from April through mid October.
> 
> I'm hoping I can slowly extend my commuting season into December and some winter conditions.


There ya go! Keep sneakin it up a few weeks each year and you might eventually get up to year round without alarming the ol lady 



mtbxplorer said:


> Apparently he'd had to do the door to door thing on his "mission", and his observation was that "people really hate it when you come to their house".


Did that come as a big surprise to him? My wife used to do that as a Catholic. She told me she couldn`t believe how rude people were when she knocked on their doors. I bet most aren`t as rude as I would be under the circumstances!


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've had them have guidance problems too. Usually when other systems are heavily loaded. Time to wash the jacket.
> 
> I took the long way in because I'm not sure how many more winter riding days there will be. The trails ranged from fast and packed to broken up frozen pieces of ice chunks. Some sections looked like a howitzer had driven through them and others had been torn up by dozens and dozens of deer traffic. But, all of them were passable. I could ride across the lake if I went fast enough not to break into the slushy layer.
> 
> ...


Nice Pix, I miss Colorado and the snow rides, down here in NM it gets cold but stays dry for the most part.

Today's ride into work was very nice, close to 60F. I am starting to get spoiled again. Soon it will be shorts and tee shirt to and from work again. Yay, no more lugging warm weather gear back and forth to work.

Mark


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Cool blog there p08757. You should have some virtual milestones too, like crossing the Mississippi river or riding through the desert in Texas.


Thanks! I've always wanted to do a long ride like this for real, but I have this thing called work that keeps getting in the way, and I really doubt I could do it in the time I get off from work. For now I will do the ride virtually.

I'm putting in more miles that I thought. Next year I may do a ride accros America and back for my personal fitness chalange or a ride from the North Pole to the South Pole. Not sure which yet.....


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

I didn't commute today because I'm working 3 days/week. If I had, it would've looked pretty much like in the photo taken some days ago.









(now using "the bike my daughter doesn't like". The other bike has hydraulic brakes that don't like frosty weather)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ ^^I did the equivalent of across and back last year. I've been able to raise the bar each year but I may be coming to my limit.

Re: Mormons & Christians & Witnesses & all. They are almost always good, well-minded people that are kind and good at heart with a great sense of community. If it stopped there I'd probably join up with some of them. That's where it gets tricky.

Good Mormon Commuter Boy, how are you :lol:

I really need a day off but the trails were too good to pass up: This morning's Ride


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ ^^I did the equivalent of across and back last year. I've been able to raise the bar each year but I may be coming to my limit.


Just looked up the mileage and a ride from the North to South Pole is out of the question for a one year mileage total. I will try for across and back next year. That will put me at over 5000 miles for the year. This year I'm on target for ~ 3500 to 4000 miles. I've never tracked miles on a trainer before only the actual miles riding outside.

I should be able to start my commuting to work next week if we don't get any accumulating snow this weekend.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Heck, I've been on the BMW since over 2 weeks now. Injured my left thumb Tuesday 2 weeks ago and I can't really ride much since I shouldn't flex my thumb at all not to keep the wound open. Plus I have a front flat, need to install new chain, fix my front fender, clean the fd and install a mudflap at the rear too.

Bus, metro and walk.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I know better than to expect nice weather in March, but so far it's colder than January or February (mostly because we had a really nice Jan&Feb). It's disappointing, but it is nice that all the slush has hardened up again so now everything is either bare roads or glare ice.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Awesome, that's how it was! 33 degrees, warm, fast, and fun!

1/4 mile from the house comes the first Moose detour on my morning commute. Baby Bullwinkle is hiding.









"What are you looking at?" Mom and baby eating breakfast.









Chester Creek singletrack bridge crossing.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Did that come as a big surprise to him? My wife used to do that as a Catholic. She told me she couldn`t believe how rude people were when she knocked on their doors. I bet most aren`t as rude as I would be under the circumstances!


Only time I've slammed the door in a person's face was to a missionary - after I had run down three flights of stairs having been asleep for 45 minutes post-14 hour shift from Hell at work. I was expecting UPS, not a copy of the Watchtower. Not my best moment, although I held my tongue.

Commute this morning was rough, 20mph headwinds and rain, temps in the high 30s. It's currently snowing out so the ride home ought to be interesting. After looking at all of the dirt splattered on the back of my jacket I now realize I need a better rear fender. If I'm going to be snowed in this weekend, might as well have a project (besides drinking beer). :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I wish we had moose here!
No commute, but I played in the wind for a couple hours this morning. Kind of interresting set of signs in a part of town that I don`t often get to. I was toodling along in a care-free bike lane on the outskirts when a sign warned "Bike Lane Ends". But it was lying. A few minutes later, another warning that the bike lane was going to end. True, this time. Then another sign, just a hundred yards later: "Bike Route". Another hundred yards, another sign :"Bike Lane". And there was, though the street was plenty wide and I didn`t really need a special lane all to myself. Just plain strange all the way around.

I was also trying out a new piece of gear that looks promising. I ordered one of those magnetic mounted melmet mirrors that a guy was plugging on another thread recently:
Helmet mirror with an mtb twist
Kind of pricey (US manufacture), but pretty sweet. It`s bigger than any other mirrors I`ve used (all mounted to glasses in the past), and has a nice long arm, so I stuck it out and up far enough to see around/over my shoulder with a jacket on. I didn`t make any stops today, but it clicks right back in place, so no need to readjust every time I unhelmet myself. It didn`t budge over a short stretch of vicous washboard either, though it does seem like it vibrates more than the plastic arms snapped to my glasses frame. No biggie- I usually don`t use a mirror off pavement anyway. My biggest concern is how far off it`s going to be with a beanie under my helmet. Should have tried that today while I was at it.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

I have three commutes to report since my last. The wife picked me up from work because we had to pick up my truck from the shop. She dropped me off the next day, and bike was already there for the commute home Thursday.

The commute home was amazing. I was in the zone. I would see a light that I thought might change, and I hammered through. I stayed with traffic in a residential area. Typically the cars that, in my opinion, have the biggest bonehead drivers are BMWs, any minivan, and Dodge trucks, in that order. On this trip, it was a Subaru that that pulled right out in front of me. I am certain they thought they could do it without slowing me down, but my deceiving speed put me on their bumper. Not sure why, but my anger propelled me to ride their tail as long as I could. I know it was stupid, but I felt a little slighted. I hammered the rest of the trip home in the beautiful 70 degree night. 

The next morning it cooled off to about 43. Unlike the previous evening, I zoned out on this trip. I am not sure happened, but I just could not stay focused. I was slow, but the ride went by quickly, as I wasn't really paying attention.

It was 70 on the ride home again. Nothing interesting to report. Just a typical ride. No being in the zone and no zoning out.


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## Mr moab (Mar 4, 2013)

A tale of two Fridays. 

First of all is there nothing better than that Friday ride home? It is Such a great way to mental floss the week and transition to the weekend. I always feel like the weekend is longer if I ride home from work on a Friday. 

A week ago Friday was near perfect. Those that might also commute between SF and Marin will know that so often the morning breeze is a Southwesterly headwind in the AM that veers around to a Northwesterly headwind on the way home. But Last week we had 10-15 knot tailwind all the way home. And it was in the mid 60's. Warm tailwind in February? Yeah that works! 

Now come to yesterday. 20-25 knot headwind most of the way home. There is a short climb up to the Golden Gate Bridge that is well shielded by the trees and hill. It was one of those days when you actually feel relieved when you hit the base of the climb. But you know what, it was still a great ride home! What drives us to a bigger rear cog makes us stronger I guess.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Clock change. Now waiting for CamoOgreBoy`s first whine about going back to riding in the dark. About 23 hours to go...



Mr moab said:


> There is a short climb up to the Golden Gate Bridge that is well shielded by the trees and hill. It was one of those days when you actually feel relieved when you hit the base of the climb.


I don`t think I`ve experienced that combo before, but can easily imagine it. Knots? Miles and Kms per hour weren`t enough to keep track of, now we have sailors throwing out their own references? Sheesh! Before long, the engineers in the bunch will start relating speeds as FPM or something.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've had a string of questionable luck lately. Yesterday's weather was awesome. It was near 70F and partly sunny. Best of all, the trails were dry. I got my bike ready and drove out to the nearest trails and was pumped for a good ride. About 15 - 20 minutes in I discovered a new rock feature the trail crew had put it. I was going pretty fast, but I thought I'd hop up on top of the rocks. Well, my back wheel didn't quite make it cleanly onto the rocks and I heard a distinct wssshhhhh sound. I looked down and my tire was flat. On closer inspection, I discovered the rim was bent. I walked back to my car and found that I was out of tubes, so I drove home. When I got home, my wife informed me that I had left a pen in my pocket when I did the laundry and our clothes were stained. I tried to get the stains out with rubbing alcohol, but no luck. This morning was dark, partly because of the time change and partly because it was pouring down rain. Fortunately, it was warm (55F), and I had a tailwind for most of the ride. But still.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^70 degrees! Nice!!

My commute was one of indecision, deer sightings and mixed trails. More Here.  (Includes a nice 10 second babbling brook video)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Clock change. Now waiting for CamoOgreBoy`s first whine about going back to riding in the dark. About 23 hours to go...


Am I that predictable?

In other news, this morning sort of sucked because it was so flipping dark.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I thought my commute was going to be dark but I changed my shoes so many times I was over 1/2 hour late. For some reason I was up before the alarm this morning. Old time it would have been 4:30. My body must have thought we were changing the clocks in the other direction. Wait, no that would have made it 3:30. 

Well, there's one good side to insomnia, it makes the clock change suck less.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Am I that predictable?
> 
> In other news, this morning sort of sucked because it was so flipping dark.


*** Yes. I was thinking of your expected comment when I was resetting the clocks.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That sucks, sOck! Is your rim still useable, or do you have to replace it?

Bedwards, you don`t use weather as determiner for what shoes to wear? Probably a good thing you didn`t hang around for a few minutes more of the babbling brook. It was pretty good though- calming, ya know.

COB: apparently not THAT predictable. I was expecting you about now and you already reported nearly an hour ago. Hey, next year you can fool us completely! Maybe get yourself some new mongo lighting system so that you`ll actually want darkness to ride in like you went from dreading ice to living for it when you finally went to studded tires.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> That sucks, sOck! Is your rim still useable, or do you have to replace it?
> 
> Bedwards, you don`t use weather as determiner for what shoes to wear? Probably a good thing you didn`t hang around for a few minutes more of the babbling brook. It was pretty good though- calming, ya know.
> 
> COB: apparently not THAT predictable. I was expecting you about now and you already reported nearly an hour ago. Hey, next year you can fool us completely! Maybe get yourself some new mongo lighting system so that you`ll actually want darkness to ride in like you went from dreading ice to living for it when you finally went to studded tires.


Oh yeah s0ck, sorry about the rim. I was too hung up on 70 degree temps.

Funny how the right equipment can change your POV. I'm bittersweet on the end of winter with my new ride. 70 degrees does sound good. We had a taste of it at about 50 this weekend and it felt like summer.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> That sucks, sOck! Is your rim still useable, or do you have to replace it?


It should be useable. If not, it would really suck because I just had this wheel replaced under warranty. I've probably only ridden on it a half-dozen times. The wheel is still true. I should be able to get the dent out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No bikecommute this morning, but Winterbike Saturday at Kingdom Trails was a great pedal and party. Conditions were unbelievable, sunny and warm, and the snowpack held up fine for the fatbikes. There were even enough women for a women’s ride. I didn’t get many pix on the trailride, but here are a few good ones from the 6x race in the afternoon. Take a close look at the last guy...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: Is he filming? Or texting???


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Either way I guess it was a bad idea!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Man I want a fatbike!

Today's commute was good - got some new tires on my cross bike that are actually meant to be run tubeless and it seems the reliability issues I've been having are going to be in the past. Just in time for me to get my old mountain bike turned into a fixed gear to serve as my primary commuter  Roads were a bit wet this morning and I was still able to corner really well at speed. Being able to run pressures over 50 without worrying about the tire blowing off the rim does quite a bit for confidence I guess.

Starting to get warm around here, hopefully it sticks this time. Hoping once I get the old bike set up fixed I can start bringing a bunch of clothes to work with me on mondays and then biking in the rest of the week.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM even though I'm feeling like poo. We got a nice dumping of fresh snow yesterday, maybe three inches of heavy wet stuff and another bit of light powder on top. Make for some excellent riding this AM. I was surprised the Muni did not groom the trails last night, but I am thankful they didn't. Love breaking some fresh snow from time to time.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> :lol: Is he filming? Or texting???


Looks like he's tweeting to me. #faceplant


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Just found out a co-worker has a Rivendell. Mind blown.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> No bikecommute this morning, but Winterbike Saturday at Kingdom Trails was a great pedal and party. Conditions were unbelievable, sunny and warm, and the snowpack held up fine for the fatbikes. There were even enough women for a women's ride. I didn't get many pix on the trailride, but here are a few good ones from the 6x race in the afternoon. Take a close look at the last guy...


So you WERE there, I was wondering as I looked around...so which one are you? We're you on the epic ride? Did you get any good pics of #40 in the race (me)?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I probably do! At my friend's bday so I'll check tomorrow. Sorry I missed meeting you!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Mtbxplorer's Moose pics were just ahead of my brother sending me this link to a place just a bit north of where he lives:

Big Moose - YouTube

Where is he going? Wherever he wants to. Imagine riding that road! He weighs more than CB's usual herd of deer added up! Makes you wonder how big a menaceros (Irish or Giant Elk) were, if they were bigger than moose!

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, yeah! Rode in to work today in my "summer uniform" for the first time this year. Short pants and SS shirt, no jacket, no gloves, no `clava. Should have spent this morning riding, but I blew it at home, alternately cleaning out the storage shed and wasting time on the internet. Didn`t get to the bottom of either. Ride tomorrow morning- the rest of the crap from the shed can wait until Wed to go back in.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Slicks ON studs OFF that's the way we like to boff!! WOOOHOOOO!


Thos XTR v's snap the gatorskins into a silent skid at a moment's hesitation, I'd forgotten that...


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Rode the ute instead of the fat bike. Heavier, but rolls easy and quiet. A nice change.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, yeah! Rode in to work today in my "summer uniform" for the first time this year. Short pants and SS shirt, no jacket, no gloves, no `clava. Should have spent this morning riding, but I blew it at home, alternately cleaning out the storage shed and wasting time on the internet. Didn`t get to the bottom of either. Ride tomorrow morning- the rest of the crap from the shed can wait until Wed to go back in.


Mmm short sleeves... I was able to get away with compression tights instead of thick insulated ones, and a lighter weight winter long winter jersey yesterday. And only one pair of gloves. Good times - can't wait to ride in shorts again!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, I haven't been able to ditch the insulated tights yet or the extra layer of gloves. It was 35 here today which made for a fatbike fail. It was only 3 degrees above freezing but the trails were like cornmeal. If I could have rode them I would have ruined them for any colder mornings so I was on muddy roads for the way in.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Love the pics mtbx, funny a friend just sent me this related link:

Mountain biking (MTB) on snow in Val Thorens is the apres-ski activity that requires the most agility !

I had a driver purposely buzz me last night while laying on his horn - his mirror was just inches away. He got caught at the next light and I tried to chase him down to explain to him why his behavior was unacceptable. He saw me coming and hurriedly pulled a right turn before I could get there, almost clipping a pedestrian. Jerk. I think he works in my building...at least I saw him pull out of the building parking garage in my mirror. May walk around the garage today and see if I can find his car. If I do, I'll probably leave him a note (and I am cooled down enough now to be polite and rational ).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^And relieve him of his valve stems.

I almost forgot, I saw some ***** on my way in. They were pretty funny trying not to be seen but peaking down at me around the branches. Not very good pics because it is so dark in the morning now, right CB.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That is correct. :lol: 

I saw my first bat last night when I took the trash out. Bats mean bugs, and bugs mean spring. I think I saw a 70 in the forecast for later in the week... but there's still snow on the ground at the house. Weird spring thing :lol: 

Right at 32 this morning... but shorts and short sleeves are do-able for the way home. Tis' the season for a backpack full of all the extra layers you had to wear in the morning. 

I had a close one this morning on the dirt road...there's a long downhill section that is pretty full of potholes after the winter, and just above it there is a Y in the road...I can move down the pothole part much faster than a vehicle, just because I can pick a line that is smooth...so as I'm coming down to the Y, I see a truck through the trees, on the other side of the Y...I need to beat him to the Y, so I can cruise the next 1/2 mile or so at normal speed instead of sitting behind this truck eating dust (hard to pass with the dark and the dust and the potholes)... so I step it up a bit and get to the Y JUST before him (I don't think drivers think that I'll be faster than them, so they always seem to want to take the right-of-way instead of wait for me).

All was going well until I had to take an unfamiliar inside line thorugh the turn at the Y, in order to beat the truck...weird stuff going on with the truck headlights, etc...and I SLAMMED a deep pothole or 3...almost went OTB, rear tire was gaining elevation...I'm sure it was quite entertaining from the truck. 

I felt kind of stupid, but I came out with both wheels on the ground and made it down to pavment, on to the first turn, and never saw the truck again. That means I was ahead of the truck for at least a mile. Probably worth it to avoid the frustration on the dirt road.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^And relieve him of his valve stems.


I'm planning that revenge too. There's a Rockstar Energy drink truck that I often see - it's covered in decals, jacked up, with huge tires. It's not inconspicous. And it came really, really, really close to maliciously running me over once when I was walking. One day I will see it parked somewhere, and on that day my valve core remover is going to be very handy.

Mushy, mushy trails on the way home yesteday. But today is cooler, and it looks like we should be getting some winter again on the weekend. So the studs stay on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Schott at Winterbike*

Here are my shots of Schott...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm relieved that he wasn't on the phone :lol:


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

^^awesome, thanks! Still haven't seen any pics of my wrecks, or me humping it to the finish line in 6 inches of slush with a 35# bike over my head. I know they are out there somewhere.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Still feeling a bit under the weather - sore throat and upset stomach, which made the ride a bit less pleasant than it normally would be. Cold this AM as well. Back down to 11F when I left. Quite a change from last night's 40F ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It's pouring here and 43F - ick! Hoping to stay home in the morning to get some hot water around here!



AlexCuse said:


> Man I want a fatbike!


Don't know where you are, but round here a bunch of demo fleets are for sale. My friends at IRide in Waterbury VT have a half dozen.



Schott said:


> So you WERE there, I was wondering as I looked around...so which one are you? We're you on the epic ride? Did you get any good pics of #40 in the race (me)?


Dang I guess I missed your wrecks, my pix of you are not THAT good!! I did not go on the epic ride, a little to long and speedy for me. The best part of my ride was descending Frost Hill, a groomed nordic trail, did that one twice. The women's ride was about 1/2 U.S., half Canadian. The maple liquor at the "Aid Station" was delicious in some apple cider.



rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, yeah! Rode in to work today in my "summer uniform" for the first time this year. Short pants and SS shirt, no jacket, no gloves, no `clava.


 Wow!



woodway said:


> Love the pics mtbx, funny a friend just sent me this related link:
> 
> Mountain biking (MTB) on snow in Val Thorens is the apres-ski activity that requires the most agility !
> 
> I had a driver purposely buzz me last night while laying on his horn - his mirror was just inches away.


700m elevation drop on snow on a bike is pretty serious! Yikes on the buzzing buzzkiller, glad you're OK.



bedwards1000 said:


> I almost forgot, I saw some ***** on my way in. They were pretty funny trying not to be seen but peaking down at me around the branches.


Good sighting!



CommuterBoy said:


> I had a close one this morning on the dirt road...
> 
> ...All was going well until I had to take an unfamiliar inside line thorugh the turn at the Y, in order to beat the truck...weird stuff going on with the truck headlights, etc...and I SLAMMED a deep pothole or 3...almost went OTB, rear tire was gaining elevation...I'm sure it was quite entertaining from the truck.


The potholes right now are scarey; we have some that could really send you.



blockphi said:


> Still feeling a bit under the weather...


Hope you feel better soon!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I should have found my way to winterfest. I could have raced against Schott. Instead I spent most of my weekend dealing with rental units and fixing plumbing problems.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Tis' the season for a backpack full of all the extra layers you had to wear in the morning.


Sort of. I need to ride in with a bag stuffed full of things to wear home. It`s easy to forget gloves and jacket on my way out the door at 2 o`clock on a nice afternoon, but I don`t tend to forget again. For a while.



Schott said:


> ^^awesome, thanks! Still haven't seen any pics of my wrecks


Should have made more phone calls from the course!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I did not make my first commute of the year this morning as planned. The [email protected] snow and ice from Sunday is still sticking around and the MUP I ride to work has not been cleared. I'm really hoping the snow melts today and tomorrow enough for me to ride in Friday. Thats the plan any way. Keeping my fingers crossed for a big melt.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

What is mup?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Multi Use Path... like a paved bike/jogging path. they are foreign to some of us too! :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Multi-Use Path. Hang in there p08757 spring will get here.
(Dang you CB, I was typing the answer to that question. The other answer is it's the place you can ride your bike, dodge dog walkers and say "On Your Left" over and over again.)

I took the road bike again today after yesterday's trail fail. I woke up 45 minutes later and got to work at the same time. But it's not as fun or tranquil as the trails. No deer, no racoons but I did see a dead squirrel.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

kikoraa said:


> What is mup?


Multi-Use-Path. For bikers, walkers, runners, etc....

This one runs around a reservoir between my house and one of my offices I commute to.

Here is a YouTube time laps of my typical ride to work:


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Multi-Use Path. Hang in there p08757 spring will get here.
> (Dang you CB, I was typing the answer to that question. The other answer is it's the place you can ride your bike, dodge dog walkers and say "On Your Left" over and over again.)


This MUP is really bad on warm weekends. The 1st really warm weekends of the year are the worst with people not knowing what they are doing. I haven't killed anyone or myself yet. (Knock on wood) However, there are some fun single track paths that run along side that I ride when they are not too sloppy, but they don't run the entire length of the MUP. It will take a few weeks of dry weather before I can start riding those.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, I would forget my warm stuff every single day. That would be brutal :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*No Thanks...*

...I've got all I need.


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## doran (Nov 5, 2012)

How was my commute?.. Some days, you get on your bike and you realise just why you wear a helmet!


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## doran (Nov 5, 2012)

Today was a lucky day


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I got a late start this morning because I had an appointment at home about replacing my water heater. Of course they couldn’t actually replace it today, and it only takes a few minutes to determine it’s going to cost me a pile of money. 
When I stopped at the Traffic Shop (^^) a guy thought I was a customer and asked if I wanted to take my bike inside. I said no, I just like your sign. Well, he had made the sign, so he was quite pleased. As I expected, they don’t actually sell traffic in the Traffic Shop, they make highway signs, and do something with line striping on the roads.
When I got to work I was going to use the shower for only the 2nd time, but there were two workmen in there, so I just grabbed my clothes out of my illicitly locked locker. But as I chatted with them (one had done MTB racing in the past) I managed to forget my pants, which I did not discover until I was back across campus at my office to change. On the plus side, when I bent down to put something in my pack, I hit my head on the locker door on my way back up, but I still had on my helmet.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just got back from taking a load-o-crap down to donate at the bike junk yard. More room in the shed for the next load-o-crap. That won`t be long. I`m going back down there right now to buy a frame that I JUST managed to talk myself out of :lol:



doran said:


> Some days, you get on your bike and you realise just why you wear a helmet!





mtbxplorer said:


> On the plus side, when I bent down to put something in my pack, I hit my head on the locker door on my way back up, but I still had on my helmet.


Some days, when I`m digging in my locker, I realize just why I wear a helmet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> When I got to work I was going to use the shower ... but there were two workmen in there,


:eekster::nono:


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

So warm. Been riding skinny-ish tires all week. Yesterday I turned on to my street and saw 2 dogs running down the street. I've never met the owner, but knew which house they belong to, so I had to set about wrangling them up. Springer spaniels I think. I caught one pretty quick by tossing it snow balls...but the little one split while I put the 1st in the yard. Not being bad or anything, just psyched to explore the world, and clueless...so I took off after her. She was at least a 1/2 mile down the road. Caught her, parked the bike, and carried the wet dog back up to the house. Huge hill, by the way, my street. Walked back down for the bike and rode home. And I took the bike tow leash off the Ute like a week ago. Effed by the green weenie again.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So my lazy city is trying to avoid spending money on bike infrastructure again.

I'm listening online to the various people making their cases to Council, and right now a physician is up (representing a group of 20 intensive care physicians) talking about the health benefits - diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and the benefits of regular activity. Good stuff.

Hope our council is actually paying attention.


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

About a mile from the house this morning I saw a raccoon in the road just walking around. I got about 15 feet away, and started to say outloud, "hey little raccoon get out of the road," when I saw the white stripe and then the smell hit me. Not a raccoon. Luckily it ran off into a ditch and didn't spray.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very nice of you, Schott. I have to ask: what does skinny-ish mean IYO?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes, good karma for Schott x2. Perhaps it will ward off bad dogs.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> When I got to work I was going to use the shower for only the 2nd time, but there were two workmen in there.


I doubt they'd have minded overmuch.  Yeah, the unisex shower thing is sub-optimal when partnering is random. 

A bit off topic, but hopefully a fun related story:

I had the opportunity with my wife to one side and her mother to the other, to block the entrance to the Ladies Room at a movie theatre as my father-in-law helped the owner and friend with a plumbing problem. A 'lady' elbowed me aside like a roller derby queen and shoved my wife almost to the floor, and got by us. No "Please move". or "Excuse me, I'd like by". Nope. Nothing.

I said "What the..."

Mom-in-law said "Just wait..."

She came back out all aflutter in about 15 seconds.

"There's a man in the ladies'!" she screamed. (A lot like the tone of "There'e a Troll in the Dungeons!" from the first Harry Potter movie.)

My mother-in-law said, "I know! Isn't it horrible? I find him in mine at home *all* the time!"

As she stood there mouth agape, and with us laughing, I said, "That's why we were *trying* to block the way in." (You moron! implied.)

She didn't get it. No apologies. Just the landed trout look. Not too observant. Not too bright. Very impolite. Imagine her with a minivan and you on your bike! 'Dangerous at any Speed' could have been about this lady.

We offered to clear the men's room for her if she could not wait a bit longer for the repair to be done. I guess she decided to hold it.

BrianMc


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Very nice of you, Schott. I have to ask: what does skinny-ish mean IYO?


700x45 is skinnyish.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*With choice comes the chance to choose wrong.*

I picked the wrong bike today, again. It wasn't really a bad choice, just not the best choice. The temps dropped below freezing last night so I wanted to take the trails. Based on my recent experiences I went for the fatty since they've been pretty soft. Nope, today they were like cement, bumpy and icy. I could have really cruised on the trail bike but I had to be pretty cautious in spots. Not that it wasn't fun...

Tomorrow I will chose the right bike!

Part 2 in the babbling brook series, this time a little longer.

Oh, and I wish unpleasant things to happen to the 4-wheelers that seem to have their only goal as tearing the trail to shreds. F-ers Luckily they only trashed about a mile of it.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> No bikecommute this morning, but Winterbike Saturday at Kingdom Trails was a great pedal and party. Conditions were unbelievable, sunny and warm, and the snowpack held up fine for the fatbikes. There were even enough women for a women's ride. I didn't get many pix on the trailride, but here are a few good ones from the 6x race in the afternoon. Take a close look at the last guy...


It kills me when I see people texting while riding. There is no way you could be paying attention.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> When I got to work I was going to use the shower for only the 2nd time, but there were two workmen in there, so I just grabbed my clothes out of my illicitly locked locker.


Wow that is funny.

CB, the way you told the "race to the Y" story put some amazing imagery in my mind. There isn't much funnier than an "almost endo".

My commutes yesterday were great. Weather was nice. Traffic was great. The only two problems I ran into were caused by other bikers. The first was in the morning. The most dangerous section of my commute is right by an interstate exit. The road has three lanes. The right lane goes to the interstate, the middle lane goes straight, and the left lane goes straight or you can turn left onto the interstate going the other way. I go straight at this light and then ride a very dark two lane road that narrows to one lane in about half a mile. When I got to the interstate exits, I was stuck in traffic at the light in the middle lane. The middle lane the safest for me to take. In the right lane you risk getting right hooked and have to merge anyway. While I was waiting and older guy out for a fitness ride came zipping through in the right lane, ran two lights, and was on his way up the road. Shortly after the light changed, and I caught up with the guy right as the road narrows to one lane. I am not sure why he did this, but as the road narrowed, he moved to the left side of the lane. At this point, I was taking the lane, but over a bit to the right because people can easily pass on this road, the other biker was to the left side of the lane, and a car was coming up on us. I could feel the driver weighing in their mind whether or not to thread the needle between us. Luckily I turn at about that point, and I was out of the situation.

On the way home, I was in the zone. I was hammering. I was making every light. I was keeping speed with car traffic (which on a good day is doable on my home commute). Then some bonehead on a bike pulled right out in front of me. I had to swerve around him. I got the light and sat in traffic. The other guy got the light and he pulled up to the corner where he met up with a friend who was waiting for him on his bike. I heard the friend chide the guy I passed about not keeping up with me and make a couple of jokes at my expense. I wizzed by the guys once the light turned green. I slowed down for long enough to make a joke about my speed being due to a Lance Armstrong diet of holistic foods and steroids. They got a good chuckle, as did I. Nothing else to report. My calves have been super tight, but I think it was from a charity run I did for work.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

..and it's back. 0F, 2-3" of snow last night, up to 1' by tomorrow, and more snow through the weekend. Temperatures are supposed to stay pretty cold, so whatever snow we get isn't going to melt.

A nice, quiet ride in this morning though. Yesterday the roads were mostly bare, so under the new snow at least there aren't many ice patches to worry about.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It barely climbed above freezing yesterday, and the wind was howling. It felt like one of those uphill both ways kind of commutes. This morning was colder (around 25F) but sunny and no wind. We might get a little wintry mix this evening (maybe on my commute home), but tomorrow is going to be much warmer (around 60F). Gotta love this time of year...


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute home yesterday was pleasant. There weren't any crazy drivers getting in my way and being that I left work much later than I wanted, there weren't any clueless pedestrians on the W&OD. It was pretty windy last night but mostly to my back which clearly allowed me to go faster in some sections. I found that I pedaled up to 40km/h (25 mph) on some flat straightaways. Needless to say, I was prett happy about that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was slow and colder (23F) today, with a nuisance level headwind. My toesies were frozies. It was nice to have the mud and slush firmed up, the bike was a real mess from that yesterday . I was able to use the work shower, as the workmen had moved on. It’s supposed to be in the teens by the ride home. I’ve seen a couple unfamiliar bikecommuters in the last couple days.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Tried to take it easy this morning but there was a headwind... running a 5k fun run thing (even though there is no such thing) after work. Chances are by the time I'm riding home the wind will have shifted and I'll have a headwind for that too. :lol: Tomorrow morning is going to hurt.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Impacts up the wazoo :0*

Long story, bear with me.
I got my current commuter about 5 years ago- it`s a 92 Schwinn Impact Pro. I`ve had it in drop bars since like a month after I got it, and when it`s stripped of all the extra crap and wearing fu-fu tires, it`s fairly zippy as a road bike. But I can`t leave it in that condition, because its main duties are commuting and weekend tours, so i bought a regular road bike for road riding. Loved that road bike (beautiful lugged Bridgestone), but it never felt quite right for some reason, so eventually I sold it to try something else. Last fal I bought an 89 Rockhopper and put dropbars on that. It was definitely zippy (even lighter than the Bridgestone, believe it or not), but it had a few unacceptable flaws, so I knew that wasn`t my soul mate either. Decided to put the flat bars and thumbies back on and flip it to try yet another bike. Decided, haven`t actually done that yet, so the complete roadie-fied bike is still sitting in our spare bedroom.

Earlier this week, I cleaned out my storage shed and took a pile of stuff down to the bike recyclers to donate. Dropped it off and took a wander through the bikes and frames for sale (yeah, you can see where this is leading). No completes interrested me, but here`s a cool posssibility for AFTER I move that Rockhopper. 88 Schwinn Impact frameset with smoked chrome finish. It`s actually a totally different bike from my Impact Pro- standard tubing rather than mega oversized, lookes like laxer angles (hard to tell on a naked frame), mile long chainstays, some of the nicest TIG work I`ve ever seen on a production steel bike, and a few other little "old school" touches that were abandoned in the few years between that bike and my commuter. No price tags there, but I knew it wouldn`t be expensive, and I was interrested how it would feel with those skinny tubes and loooong stays. Drove home with empty truck, put away some groceries that I had picked up, then went straight back into town and bought that frame :lol:

Hid that $25 frame behind the shed until after I unload the Speshy, made lunch, went to work. Logged on and checked my daily Honey-do list from the boss, clicked onto Craigslist (yeah, still going there). I`ll be danged if somebody hadn`t listed an Impact Pro in the same size as my commuter! One year later, different color (Spiderweb White, very cool), and awesome condition, but it would be the exact same size and geometry, which I already know for a fact works for me! This is pretty unusual because that bike was only made for three years, so not many floating around.

Anyway, I just got home so now there is a fully weighted down 92 Impact Pro under my carport, a flat bar 91 Impact Pro complete and 88 Impact smoked Chrome frameset hiding behind the shed, and a lightweight roadie-fied yellow Rockhopper Comp in the guest room. I dunno exactly what I`m going to do! Hurry up and sell the hopper, for starters, then... hang those parts on the 92, dump that chrome limo and call it a day? Try out the limo first with the 92 waiting as a sure fire Plan B? Build the 92 and keep the chrome jobber in hiding for some day when I get bored? One thing for sure, I need to get started with the Bedwards Bike A Day For A Week challenge before the Rockhopper goes away :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: You're like one of those guys that collects old Datsuns or something. 

The obvious solution is to strip the yellow non-impact pro for parts and build up the chrome one with the roadie stuff...then sell the yellow frame and get another impact pro frame for the next project. :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My next door neighboors have quite a collection of old dachunds. Comparing vet bills with Jenson/Amazon/Harris bills, Maximum Schwimpact affliction is a lot cheaper. You might be onto something.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The questions I have are:
-Why did you have to hide a $25 frame? That's pocket change.
-How much is this awesome bike that you know fits you?
-If you ride a yellow rockhopper on Monday and put all the parts on the chrome Impact can you count it as 2 bikes?
- Have you bought the Spiderweb White Impact Pro yet? - Don't be wishing that that $900 fatbike didn't get sold out from under you when you are ready to drive there with the cash and then end up buying one for $500 more a few months later. Just sayin.

I've got to shoot for 7 bikes in 7 days now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Earlier this week, I cleaned out my storage shed and took a pile of stuff down to the bike recyclers to donate. Dropped it off and took a wander through the bikes and frames for sale (yeah, you can see where this is leading)......
> 
> Drove home with empty truck, put away some groceries that I had picked up, then went straight back into town and bought that frame :lol:


There is your problem ride the bike don't drive the truck.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> There is your problem ride the bike don't drive the truck.


Undeniably true. Guilty as charged, Your Honor.


bedwards1000 said:


> The questions I have are:
> -Why did you have to hide a $25 frame? That's pocket change.
> -How much is this awesome bike that you know fits you?
> -If you ride a yellow rockhopper on Monday and put all the parts on the chrome Impact can you count it as 2 bikes?
> ...


Hiding: It`s an inventory problem, not a money issue.
Counting: I was going to ask you the official rules because it`s your game I`m going to jump into!
Spiderweb white Impact Pro is mine for $100. It`s in REALLy nice shape, too- still has rubber hair on the Schwinn branded knobbies and has obviously been stored inside. In a way, I`m a little bit sad to see such a nice paint job fall into my abusive hands.
I feel your pain IRT the fatbike you lost out on. Same but different, I paid $1500 for our used tandem (in `08, when people had money and were willing to spend it), later saw a higher graded model languishing on our local CL for less than half that price. Take notes, chuckle a little, and pray for more patience. What else can you do?
7 for 7: OOOh, you`re good! I`m counting on my fingers right now...

EDIT: the spiderweb bike is the one that I know fits me- it`s the same frame as my ol` standby.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

11F and snowing when I got home. I'm not complaining, but that does seem a mite chilly for mid-March.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Spiderweb white Impact Pro is mine for $100. It`s in REALLy nice shape, too- still has rubber hair on the Schwinn branded knobbies and has obviously been stored inside. In a way, I`m a little bit sad to see such a nice paint job fall into my abusive hands.


Oh for Christ sake, just go buy it. Done!

(make up the rules as you go. I think that would count.)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> :lol:...
> The obvious solution is to strip the yellow non-impact pro for parts and build up the chrome one with the roadie stuff...:


I like the smoked chrome one too, but is it bigger?


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

I guess that I am luckier then most that I am here in NM, it was a very warm 70F ride into work tonight. It is getting almost warm enough to leave the cold weather gear at home and break out the no finger gloves. I am still bringing the cold weather gear because the AM ride home could still be in the low 20's but my speeds are climbing again. It seems that I ride a bit slower when it is in single digits. Nice to see spring is in the air. I do feel for the other folks that still have snow and freezing temps. 

Mark


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

millertm said:


> I guess that I am luckier then most that I am here in NM, it was a very warm 70F ride into work tonight. It is getting almost warm enough to leave the cold weather gear at home and break out the no finger gloves. I am still bringing the cold weather gear because the AM ride home could still be in the low 20's but my speeds are climbing again. It seems that I ride a bit slower when it is in single digits.


Warm here in northern NV too, and I simultaneously feel both guilt and envy because of it- weird, I know. You aren`t alone in riding slower when it`s colder out for the combination of various small reasons that all add up.

Bedwards, I guess I didn`t explain it well, but I DID buy that bike before I took it home for family portraits and posted them. I knew I had to snag it up as soon as I saw the listing.

Good eye, Xplorer! Yeah, that chromed frame is bigger than the others, and might well be too big for me. I won`t know for sure until it`s built up. And I don`t think I mentioned earlier that the finish on that one is in pretty bad shape, nowhere near as preserved the spiderweb frame.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

After a week of sub zero temps, 10 degrees feels pretty warm. After a couple days of 50, 10 feels pretty cold. I think i'll dress warm and ride slow this morning. Happy Friday.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Today is the day! Its going to be over 61F today and most of the ice and snow melted yesterday. I will have my first commute to work in. My wife is a worry-wart and doesn't want me to take off until its light out side so I can better see any icy patches that may lingering around. Hope to take my time and may be take some pictures on my way in.

I can't wait!!!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm not a huge fan of cell phones on the commute. Last night I came across a lady walking her dogs on the MUP. She was on one side, the dogs were on the other. I tried getting her attention, but she just kept walking. I guess I could have taken to the grass, but that seemed kind of rude. I ended up turning around and taking another path that loops around a football field.

This morning a woman on her phone was making a left turn from a side street that I was about to turn left onto. The side street is at the base of a steep hill, and there's a traffic light about 40 yards past it. I signaled my turn before hitting the brakes and preparing for the turn. Well, just as I was coming to a stop, the lady starts to creep out into the intersection with one hand on her phone and the other on the steering wheel. This was awkward because a few cars were coming towards her in the lane opposite to me. She was wanting me to go straight, but I was turning left. I couldn't quite turn because her hood was blocking me. The cars in the other lane came to a stop, so I took advantage of the situation and looped around the front of her car. If she had waited like she was supposed to, she would have still ended up at the red light. In the end, irony always wins.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...
> Bedwards, I guess I didn`t explain it well, but I DID buy that bike before I took it home for family portraits and posted them. I knew I had to snag it up as soon as I saw the listing...


Oh, nevermind. When you said it


rodar y rodar said:


> would be the exact same size and geometry...


 I was thinking you were still considering it. Good job then.:thumbsup:

Trails were fast and fun this morning except when I was standing almost knee deep in a frozen bog or stream. It happened more than once.

I did get to try the fatbike on the beach yesterday: First Beach Ride


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

millertm said:


> It seems that I ride a bit slower when it is in single digits.


Interesting discussion on why you are slower when it's cold out here:

Technical FAQ: Why is riding in the cold so hard?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Had a good ride home last night until my peddle fell off. Argh! The crank arm is stripped out where the peddle connects to the crank. Of course, my local shop doesn't have one available so now I am without a ride until I can get a new one ordered. Maybe I should subscribe to the N+1 approach so many others take. Not sure I can get the wife to agree to that, though. Oh well, a good excuse to upgrade.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Not sure how much snow we've gotten so far? It's not the foot that was threatened, but probably 6"ish. Had a nice ride home on the powdery trails last night, and 0F felt surprisingly warm.

This morning road conditions were just on the edge of easy - with a little more snow it could have been annoying, but as it was I made pretty good time.

Saw a guy honk at a bunch of people in a crosswalk by the university this morning. "Watch out! I have no control of my vehicle! I'm too stupid to be allowed to drive!" This is a crosswalk where I have to make a left and transition from path to road, and normally I'd yield to cars and just wait for a break in traffic. But since this guy was a ******, and he was in such a douchy hurry, I forced my way in front of him, took the lane, and rode reeeeeeeeeeally slowly to the redlight at the end of the block. Dumb, but it felt good.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

My ride in was not that bad. It was ~37F out when I left the house. Wore shorts and a wind breaker. Here are some photos of my ride in:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> Maybe I should subscribe to the N+1 approach so many others take. Not sure I can get the wife to agree to that, though.


Having two bikes takes a lot of stress out of commuting. Flat tire - meh, I'll ride the other one. It's 11:30PM and this hub rebuild is taking way longer than I expected - meh, I'll ride the other one tomorrow. When did I break 4 broke spokes - meh, I'll ride the other one...


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

newfangled said:


> Having two bikes takes a lot of stress out of commuting. Flat tire - meh, I'll ride the other one. It's 11:30PM and this hub rebuild is taking way longer than I expected - meh, I'll ride the other one tomorrow. When did I break 4 broke spokes - meh, I'll ride the other one...


I would agree 100%


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

p08757, where are you at? Looks beautiful. 

I did the commute/5k run/commute thing yesterday, and I was figuring this morning would be tough... but for some reason I felt great and really fast this morning. It will probably hit me for the afternoon ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Better luck next week against the Bonehead Brigade, Newf and sOck.

Jeez, Blockphi! You can`t find a square taper crankset in Anchorage? Unbelieveable. You`ll make CB wet his pants from laughing! So, when you have to order something up there, does it take ages to arrive? Yeah, you really need a +1. Sure hope you can convince your wife of that.



p08757 said:


> My ride in was not that bad. It was ~37F out when I left the house. Wore shorts and a wind breaker. Here are some photos of my ride in:


Whooo! With photo documentation, even . Very happy for you.

EDIT: Hmmm... CB posted while I was typing- looks like he missed the story about square taper nonavailability. Congrats on the run, ya maniac!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Believe it or not Rodar, I have a square taper cranset hanging in my shop. It's dusty, but it's there. I'll ship to Anchorage if you're desperate Blockphi :lol:


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> p08757, where are you at? Looks beautiful.


I'm in Omaha, Nebraska. I consider myself very lucky that I have such a nice and safe commute to work. This is at one of the dam sites we have around the city which happens to be inbetween my house and one of the places I commute to.

My other commute (14 miles each way) has about 7 miles of trail like this. The other 7 are on surface streets.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow, I thought all of Nebraska looked like this picture of Nebraska:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Better luck next week against the Bonehead Brigade, Newf and sOck.
> 
> Jeez, Blockphi! You can`t find a square taper crankset in Anchorage? Unbelieveable. You`ll make CB wet his pants from laughing! So, when you have to order something up there, does it take ages to arrive? Yeah, you really need a +1. Sure hope you can convince your wife of that.
> 
> ...


Well, to be perfectly fair and honest, I only took the bike back to REI, where I purchased it and they didn't have anything in stock. Of course, by the time I got it there Speedway (Fatback bikes) and Chain Reaction (9 zero 7 bikes) were both closed for the day. REI offered to pull the crankset off a complete build, but needed manager approval before doing so or, barring that, will give me the cash value of the crankset so I can go to another shop and get it replaced. I figure I'll end up at Speedway and pick up a Surly MWOD or the Fatback crankset later today.

My Pugs has the Truvativ Hussfelt - that's not a square taper, is it? At any rate, I should be back on the road by the end of the day.

N+1 is certainly looking better by the minute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Compatibility Question*

I'm considering whether I can or want to move my Campy Veloce 3x8 off a little used (circa 1996) Campy Veloce road bike to the currently 2x10 Fort cross bike. From what I can tell, both are 68mm wide shells, and English threaded. Any way to tell if the big ring will have any clearance issues? Just realized I haven't checked the FD mounts, but is there anything else I'm not thinking of? I do want to take a spin on the road bike again to make sure I won't miss it, but with the dirt road it doesn't call to me. I also want to re-try my hill with the 2x10 in case it's gotten less steep in the last year and a half, but at that point I could make it, but only with effort & standing.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wow, I thought all of Nebraska looked like this picture of Nebraska:
> 
> 
> 
> > Sad to say that most of it does. :-(


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, I think that pic is as wide as Nebraska.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

+1, maybe +2 I'm pretty sure I have 1 maybe 2 cranks in my spare parts bins. Who doesn't? Well, maybe rodar doesn't because he just brought all his stuff the the bike recyclers.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Haha! Reno Bike Project got a 4-arm Deore triple with included Octalink BB (NOBODY wants Octalink), but I kept all my squares!

Sorry, Blockphi- I totally misread your post. I could have sworn you said the corners wore off, so thought square taper. I just went back and see that you wrote nothing of the sort. Too much crack in my diet?

I wish I could help you on your drivetrain question, Xplorer. Hope BrianMc or some other Campy fan knows. Are you registered on BFnet? If not, you might consider doing that for future use because the Bicycle Mechanics subforum over there is awesome for when nobody else knows. You could probably find what you need for this problem on just about any road oriented forum, but for really weird problems, BFnet is the place to go!

I think that`s what Nebraska looks like to really tall people.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbx, I cannot help you on knowing in advance if the big ring will clear, but if it does not clear I can give you great instructions and advice on how to dimple your frame to fix the problem (if your not squeamish about taking a hammer to your frame). 

The only other thing I can think of is that you might need to add a drive-side spacer when going to a triple to a double. But rodar is right the mechanics sub-forum over on bike forums is a great place to ask that question.

On another topic - I realized this morning that my TI commuter is nearing 5000 miles since I put it into service last year. When I built the commuter I installed Conti GP4000 tires because I wanted to try something different, lighter and faster than the Gatorskins I have always ridden. I figured I would swap the GP4000's out for Gatorskins once winter hit and the roads filled with winter crud. Well, I never got around to making the swap and I'll be darned that those GP4000's have held up great all winter...a couple of flats, but no more than I would typically get riding with Gatorskins. The rear tire is now getting pretty worn and sometime in the next month I think I'll replace it with another GP4000 and keep rolling that way. Nice tire Conti.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

The ride home was great! I left work early to get some extra time on the trail so I took the long way home and got a good 10 mile ride in! I stopped at the same spot as I did this morning to show how much snow had melted. Needless to say the ride home was a wet one.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Got back on the bike after a long hiatus (family issues and such :madman. I just realized I never got my leather saddle (Gyes) broke in before the break, so doing double duty in breaking in the saddle and my posterior at the same time. I find that the first 15 miles ain't bad, but the last 5 miles tends to be a pain (you know where :ciappa.

On another note while shopping for some new bike shorts (Nashbar has a 17% everything sale this weekend), I came across these; Removeable Chamois Padding - Sews into Short
The idea is to just slip it into your shorts/pants/etc. and ride as opposed to special shorts and remove when you get off the bike. I'm sure they've been around awhile but has anybody ever tried them?


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

got the Ute laast night, swapped stem/bars/seat/post almost immediately.
tried it out today, 47mm citycontacts are like train wheels, they're heavy but once up to speed they stay there.
weighs a ton as a total bike, but handles VERY nicely, bit wide in the corners.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Update: Not dead yet.  Winds only about 5-12 mph! No snow, no deluges, no winds gusting 35+. Temps into 50's. Feeling OK enough to ride.

I am not the furnace I once was so wore one layer on the legs.

Heading out (slow check over of minor adjustments for return for repairs/more adjusting).



Yes, I can put a foot down at a stop sign.  Or show a leg.



Taking my left lane, and this light detects the bike.



Going my way.



Sorry. I have to ride a bit farther to have it look less like Nebraska.

I wish I'd aimed the camera to the rear from this vantage point. I had a driver in a pickup catch me about mid hill on the last one before my cool down laps. I had dropped to about 7 mph, spinning well at 180 HR in the brief steepest part but was back to about 10 mph and 160's when he changed his mind. (Blind hill, and Stop Sign = double reckless driving.) I rolled the intersection and he did too. Run sign to keep from being run over. Interesting. I signaled my left and he backed off and let me get out of his way. So maybe he was embarrassed by his previous move.


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## Christopher583 (Mar 14, 2013)

My commute is about 8 miles each way.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

byknuts said:


> got the Ute laast night, swapped stem/bars/seat/post almost immediately.
> tried it out today, 47mm citycontacts are like train wheels, they're heavy but once up to speed they stay there.
> weighs a ton as a total bike, but handles VERY nicely, bit wide in the corners.


I think you'll enjoy it. Mine is well used. The fenders are awesome. The bags are bombproof and cavernous. It handles like my old 77 Oldsmobile Delta 88. The citycontacts are pretty bomber too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> I wish I could help you on your drivetrain question, Xplorer. Hope BrianMc or some other Campy fan knows. Are you registered on BFnet? If not, you might consider doing that for future use because the Bicycle Mechanics subforum over there is awesome for when nobody else knows. You could probably find what you need for this problem on just about any road oriented forum, but for really weird problems, BFnet is the place to go!





woodway said:


> mtbx, I cannot help you on knowing in advance if the big ring will clear, but if it does not clear I can give you great instructions and advice on how to dimple your frame to fix the problem (if your not squeamish about taking a hammer to your frame).
> 
> The only other thing I can think of is that you might need to add a drive-side spacer when going to a triple to a double. But rodar is right the mechanics sub-forum over on bike forums is a great place to ask that question.


Thanks guys!



junior1210 said:


> Got back on the bike after a long hiatus (family issues and such :madman. I just realized I never got my leather saddle (Gyes) broke in before the break, so doing double duty in breaking in the saddle and my posterior at the same time. I find that the first 15 miles ain't bad, but the last 5 miles tends to be a pain (you know where :ciappa.


Hi Junior, good to see you!



BrianMc said:


> Yes, I can put a foot down at a stop sign.  Or show a leg.


Lookin' good, Brian!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well, I spent a little too much of the weekend worrying about and researching a hand problem I noticed last week. Initially I was not super concerned about the two somewhat tender BB sized bumps on my palm, but now I am 99% sure it is Dupuytrens contracture (Dupuytren's contracture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Over months or years the bumps develop more and form cords that pull on the tendons in your hand until you cannot straighten a few fingers (usually ring & pinky). Yeah, not too psyched about the possibility of a claw! While not very painful or dangerous, it makes everyday things like putting your and in your pocket, shaking hands, and um, braking, difficult. Calling the Doc tomorrow, so I should know for sure soon. Everyone is asking me if it is from biking, and the answer seems to be that it is not related to manual labor or vibration, or at least that it is unclear, but definitely has a genetic component.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

Are we allowed to talk about road commutes in our road bike in the thread?


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

kikoraa said:


> Are we allowed to talk about road commutes in our road bike in the thread?


I'm not a moderator, but I don't see any problem with it.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

Super stoked to start doing the work commute again. I have a road bike but I have to have a destination to enjoy riding it. I never just cruise on it. Ill use it to get around town or to work but haven't through this past winter. weather has been consistently awesome so I threw the roadie up on the stand. Boy she needed some work. Ordered the on-one midge bars on Friday and some new "soma almost honey" bar tape to match my honey brooks b17. I sold that saddle to my roommate at the beginning of winter and just bought it back from him haha. dialed in the derailleurs too, but the biggest problem were my pedals. I only have 1 pair of cycling shoes and they're my MTB shoes so I use crank brothers mallets on the roadie. They were in rough shape so I took them apart, serviced them, and now the spin like butta! cleaned all the crap from my panniers and mounted them along with my J.Paks frame bag to the bike. Had it made to a template of my Trance X but it fits perfect to the roadie frame. The cutout section for the rear shock allows for my 22oz insulated bottle in the seat tube cage. Cant wait to try out the dirt drops. Hoping to make the ride a little more relaxed with them.

Jealous of some of your stories! Especially the MUP's. I wish we had something like that!!!

Enjoy your commutes!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well, I spent a little too much of the weekend worrying about and researching a hand problem I noticed last week. Initially I was not super concerned about the two somewhat tender BB sized bumps on my palm, but now I am 99% sure it is Dupuytrens contracture (Dupuytren's contracture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Over months or years the bumps develop more and form cords that pull on the tendons in your hand until you cannot straighten a few fingers (usually ring & pinky). Yeah, not too psyched about the possibility of a claw! While not very painful or dangerous, it makes everyday things like putting your and in your pocket, shaking hands, and um, braking, difficult. Calling the Doc tomorrow, so I should know for sure soon. Everyone is asking me if it is from biking, and the answer seems to be that it is not related to manual labor or vibration, or at least that it is unclear, but definitely has a genetic component.


Don't worry too much until you know what you are worrying about. Men are 10 times more likely to get it than women so it seems unlikely for you to get it. There are plenty of treatments too.

Good trail commute today. It was midwinter cold out there -> 7F. I did have a one crash. I was trying to make it up over an ice flow and made it 90% there and was pretty sure I had it...I didn't. The problem with not making it up an ice flow is the flow part. I slid back down to the 25% mark. I thought I cracked my phone but it's only the anti-scratch layer.


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## codwater (Jan 20, 2009)

Nice ride to work today. Weather was 71 and humid. Bleh! So, it has started. New Orleans in the summer. The rides I am particularly looking forward to will be those that will follow an afternoon shower. It will be like riding the bike in a steam room.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's Monday, so what does that mean? Rain! Yesterday we had rain, sleet, and a little snow mixed in. It was a truly miserable day as far as the weather was concerned. This morning, I just had rain with temps in the upper 30s. Not ideal conditions, but at least I didn't have to ride in a thunderstorm.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well, I spent a little too much of the weekend worrying about and researching a hand problem I noticed last week. Initially I was not super concerned about the two somewhat tender BB sized bumps on my palm, but now I am 99% sure it is Dupuytrens contracture (Dupuytren's contracture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Over months or years the bumps develop more and form cords that pull on the tendons in your hand until you cannot straighten a few fingers (usually ring & pinky). Yeah, not too psyched about the possibility of a claw! While not very painful or dangerous, it makes everyday things like putting your and in your pocket, shaking hands, and um, braking, difficult. Calling the Doc tomorrow, so I should know for sure soon. Everyone is asking me if it is from biking, and the answer seems to be that it is not related to manual labor or vibration, or at least that it is unclear, but definitely has a genetic component.


Sorry to hear about your hand problem. My mother was diagnosed with this in both hands and both feet a few years before she died. Don't worry, she didn't die of this, but rather of lung cancer due to smoking. She said there was surgery they could do to remedy this for while, but she opted not to have it done as the condition didn't really impact her day to day life that much. She just had a hard time opening her hands up all of the way. Her feet were the worst of it as she had to get special shoes with molded inserts to fit her feet. Good luck and let us know what the Dr. says.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Mtbx, Bedwards had it 100% right, don't borrow trouble and worry until you have to. As far as the people asking about how it happened, tell 'em it's your body's reaction to having to answer stupid questions!

I think I'm gonna have to put the commute on hold til I get my new short liners delivered. There is no gradual build up of discomfort with this saddle, it's just fine then Ouch!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Police stop sign stakeout combined with a car that wouldn't pass me, and was just hanging three feet off my back wheel as I approach said stop sign.

I saw the cop at the stop line roll-though but had to almost fake a right turn and slam the brakes to give the car behind me room to stop in the crosswalk.

Harder than I like to brake studded tires on dry pavement, but we both made the stop sign-compliance grade, apparently.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, hope today`s dotor visit turns up something less sinister.



kikoraa said:


> Are we allowed to talk about road commutes in our road bike in the thread?


I hope so! We talk about everything else here.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snow snow snow. Yesterday was nice and sunny, but it snowed from wednesday through saturday night, it's snowing again now, and it's supposed to snow until the weekend. Not huge accumulations, but enough that my dog loves it. 

This morning I finally saw someone riding a fixie in fresh snow (I always knew they were out there, but had never seen it), and he made a valiant effort of it, but had to bail to the sidewalks which were in much better shape than the roads.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Shed too many layers this morning... we are having some major swings in temperature. Spring in the mountains. 24 this morning on the way in, and it'll be 64 on the way home. a 40 degree difference is huge! 

MTBX, I agree... don't worry until you get some real facts about your situation. Hope it's no big deal...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

It's good to be back. Ended up putting a new Race Face Turbine crankset on the Pugs and got some good rides in over the weekend. This AM's ride was a bit chilly. 4F when I left the house. Made for a nice ride. Only problem is that I seem to be developing some issues with what appears to be my sciatic nerve. Not fun. Lots of ibuprofen and stretching, but it's making it hard to get a decent night's rest and getting up in the morning is an exercise in pain. That said, it looks like some good commuting days coming up this week. Supposed to be clear and cool in the mornings and nice in the afternoons. Bring on the sun!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold here today too, 0F, not as cold as bedwards’ neighborhood. A somewhat slow ride in and locked out of my account once I got here, and I’ve had to call IT back a half dozen times already – ugh! Wishing I still had the trail commute because they were really good yesterday – in fact you could pedal anywhere through the woods on the crust with the fatbike, which made for a fun ride. Snow tomorrow!

Thanks for the hand on the hand, all. I'll report back Wednesday after my appointment.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well, I spent a little too much of the weekend worrying about and researching a hand problem I noticed last week. Initially I was not super concerned about the two somewhat tender BB sized bumps on my palm, but now I am 99% sure it is Dupuytrens contracture (Dupuytren's contracture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Over months or years the bumps develop more and form cords that pull on the tendons in your hand until you cannot straighten a few fingers (usually ring & pinky). Yeah, not too psyched about the possibility of a claw! While not very painful or dangerous, it makes everyday things like putting your and in your pocket, shaking hands, and um, braking, difficult. Calling the Doc tomorrow, so I should know for sure soon. Everyone is asking me if it is from biking, and the answer seems to be that it is not related to manual labor or vibration, or at least that it is unclear, but definitely has a genetic component.


Hah I had that when I was about 30 yrs old...A plastic surgeon asked me if I wanted it cut out so I said yes...

We went into a theater, he numbed up my hand put a torniquet on tighten the hell out of it (hurt like hell) then he cut out the lump and sewed me back up took all of about 15 minutes...no nurse....just an orderly to hold my hand so I didn't move it...

Been good ever since.

My lump was about 3/16 of an inch long maybe a little bit less in diameter.

He sent it to a pathoologist to make sure it wasn't something else....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's how they roll in Canada. Civil War medicine :eekster: 

Is that what they mean when they talk about "Universal Health Care"????? "Here, step into this theater...now bite down on this piece of leather..." :lol:



Oh, Bedwards...that was a great pic!!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ That's how they roll in Canada. Civil War medicine :eekster:
> 
> Is that what they mean when they talk about "Universal Health Care"????? "Here, step into this theater...now bite down on this piece of leather..." :lol:


Yup.....apparently a technique without the tourniquet was pioneered by a canadian doc....

got keep the costs down.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks for the hand on the hand, all. I'll report back Wednesday after my appointment.


Nice to be handy. Friendly abuse or concerned support, we are a one-stop shop. 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good luck mtbx...whatever it turns out to be I am sure you can "hand"le it!

Civil War medicine. LOL CB.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Cold here today too, 0F, not as cold as bedwards' neighborhood...


No you beat me. That was +7F in my neighborhood. the (-) was some misplaced punctuation. Still pretty cold for mid March. Just like tomorrow's storm's going to be a lot of snow for march. 8"-14"


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Shed too many layers this morning... we are having some major swings in temperature. Spring in the mountains. 24 this morning on the way in, and it'll be 64 on the way home. a 40 degree difference is huge!


I second the major swings in temps! Friday was 30ish in the morning and over 70 in the afternoon and of course I forgot to pack something other than cold ride clothing so I sweated it out all the way home. During spring/fall 30-40 degree swing in temps in not that uncommon up here in the mountains, so like poor weather you learn to adapt. Quickly. Sorry for those getting buried by the last storms of the season, it's been blue skies and warm temps here. Combined with putting the slicks back on has made for great commuting weather.

As a side note...any recs for new slicks? Have around 3-4K on the set and they're starting to look a little threadbare. Looking for something in the range of 35-45mm, don't need aggressive tread, need decent puncture protection, prefer relatively light (500-700g) and the kicker - under $50 for the pair (may be able to go as far as $80/pair). Suggestions?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man, I can`t beilieve you guys are still looking at single digit temps!

Spatialized, there was a thread on budget slicks about... a month ago? It`s probably still on the front page of the subforum. It started off for 26 inch, but I think it wandered into 622 also.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Yeah, it was 3 here this morning, quite the shocker since I shaved my winter face off. My face was numb when I got to work. I'm expecting over a foot of snow by this time tomorrow. in like a lion...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Man, I can`t believe you guys are still looking at single digit temps!


Ayuh, they're gettin a little punchy...a friend in ME shared this...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Not that cold here, but winds are back up and temps are sub 40 after a tease above 50 with little wind. Purple crocuses are up and the Red Wing Blackbirds chirp-chir-reee was heard yesterday, so spring is coming. Just won't know it by the temps here on the 21st. 

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Ayuh, they're gettin a little punchy...a friend in ME shared this...











I took the truck today. This morning would have been a great snow bike ride but I'm not sure how deep it will be this afternoon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I made it all the way to the recliner, as I brought work home. Maybe a back 40 ski at lunch.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Its going to be my coldest ride to work ever tomorrow. It is supposed to be 18 when I leave the house tomorrow and a high of only 33. The good news is I only have a 25-30 minute ride into work.


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## UtahDog (Feb 1, 2013)

Anybody else out in Utah? Had the long cold inversion coupled with long work trips and now I'm looking at getting back into the commute. Take the FrontRunner but they've changed their schedule for the 0530 NB outta Draper... was wondering about the gouge for if making that connection at N. Temple is reliable or typical UTA.

(I get about 4 mi to the commuter train here in Utah, then another 5 mi to the office from there - totals about 1hr 45m for the trip (one way) but saves about $15/day in gas)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome UtahDog. Checkout this thread to find people around you and add yourself while you're there.
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/mtbr-commuters-make-your-mark-map-821732.html


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute yesterday afternoon - in the upper 20s with bluebird skies. Ended up putting in a few extra miles on the single track on the way home. What could be better than early spring in Anchorage? 

Cold again this AM. 4F when I left the house. But a bit humid for the temps - watched as the water vapor froze in my headlights - pixie dust all over the place. I ended up with a really nice frozen Santa beard by the time I got here. 

The pain in my leg was quite a bit easier to deal with today. Stretching and ibuprofen seem to be helping.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

hahaaaa!! It's snowing again! 
1AM tire swap to something with tread (marathon XRs)
ride was fine, but boy oh boy is the UTE harsh with high-psi slicks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

UtahDog said:


> I get about 4 mi to the commuter train here in Utah, then another 5 mi to the office from there - totals about 1hr 45m for the trip (one way) but saves about $15/day in gas


Ouch! Daily choice between 15 out of my wallet or 3.5 hours of my day? Sure glad it isn`t me having to weigh that one up every time I get out of bed!


blockphi said:


> What could be better than early spring in Anchorage?...
> ....4F when I left the house.


Hmmm... Palm Springs in late summer probably doesn`t beat a 4F morning, but I might be able to think of situations I`d prefer if I put my mind to it.

So, now that I`ve bashed on everybody else`s home turf :lol:
I must have gotten up on the cranky side of the bed today, please don`t hold it against me! 
Warm and breezy yesterday and today. We might get some rain (fingers crossed) tonight if we`re lucky. Doubt it`ll snow any. 1.5 shifts worked this week, 2.5 to go, then another furlough day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sunny, pretty, high 43 but winds were supposed to be 'only' 20's more like gusts to 40+. Maybe tomorrow. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ouch! Daily choice between 15 out of my wallet or 3.5 hours of my day? Sure glad it isn`t me having to weigh that one up every time I get out of bed!


That sounds like a pretty good payback ratio to me...my RT 23 mile ride is taking 2:50 and I can't be saving more than $5 of gas/day, even with the big hill. But of course it "pays" in other ways.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

This morning it was 20 out with a nice brisk ~ 20mph north wind. Made for a chilly start for my commute going down hill directly into the wind. It wasn't bad after I got into the trees. I saw 3 deer and 1 jogger. It was a very uneventful ride. 

After reading about 4F in Anchorage it seems like summer here.

Edit:

Just got a panicked phone call from my wife and she read me the riot act. She was worried/mad about me riding in the cold and dark. Things will never change…… Looks like I won’t be riding when its this cold any more. :-(

Spring can't come soon enough.


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## UtahDog (Feb 1, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> That sounds like a pretty good payback ratio to me...my RT 23 mile ride is taking 2:50 and I can't be saving more than $5 of gas/day, even with the big hill. But of course it "pays" in other ways.


Eggs-actly. The time in the saddle coupled with Wi-Fi on the train makes for great commuting time, compared with potential of over an hour sitting in traffic, high speed chases, risk of life and limb (I-15 in Salt Lake sucks)...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

My wife calls when it's really icy or dumping snow to make sure I made it in OK ...but geesh p08757, do you have a habit of falling off your bike or something? 


So here's my day:

A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM
PDT THIS EVENING.

* TIMING: GUSTY WINDS THIS MORNING WILL INCREASE WITH THE
STRONGEST WINDS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* WINDS: SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH
INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH BY LATE MORNING.
GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH POSSIBLE IN WIND PRONE AREAS 

It was just spitting rain on the way in, but now that I'm here, it's started to come down pretty good. I just snuck in before it started really coming down. Love it when that happens. Nasty crosswinds though.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

^^^


connolm said:


> You've studied the online local weather radar images soo much that you know exactly - in minutes - how long you have until the rain starts and whether it will cross your commute.
> 
> You can do the same for wind direction using the noaa graphs.
> 
> AND... you'll try to thread that needle by leaving at the exact minute that might get you home without getting wet.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> My wife calls when it's really icy or dumping snow to make sure I made it in OK ...but geesh p08757, do you have a habit of falling off your bike or something?


I have never had a bad accident, but my wife has. I've told this story here before so here is the short version:

Last summer the wife and I were taking a short ride to get some drinks and dinner. She crashed OTB about 1.5 miles from our house face first into a concrete post on a bridge. (On the same route I would take to work) She ended up fracturing several bones in her face that required surgery. (I am very thankful that I made her put her helmet on or she may have died or worse...)

Since that accident she has been a total worry-wart about my riding...... I guess in an odd way, it shows she loves me.......


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ ah ok, I remember that story. Didn't make the connection that it was you, sorry. Well that would certainly be difficult to get over, I can understand that. Hopefully your consistant riding with no drama will start her understanding that her accident was a complete freak occurance. That will definitely take time though. 



Junior... exactly :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Temperatures finally back around freezing for me, but we're supposed to get up to another 6" of snow through tomorrow.

Riding home on the trails yesterday I was passed by a police officer on a snowmobile. Never seen that before.

All of our trails prohibit motorized vehicles, so this is the first time that I've ever ridden in snowmobile tracks, and it kindof sucked. All the recent snow is still pretty soft, but riding in the tracks left by hikers and x-country skiers was working pretty well. But then the snowmobile chewed everything up, and the rest of my ride sucked.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, that’s windy, CB, I don’t know that I would tackle those kind of gusts. But I know you have made it home before when garbage cans, fences, and other large objects were airborne. 

So the Doc looked at my hand and said they are nodules, but not necessarily symptomatic of Dupeytrens, the hand into claw thing I was worried about. I hope she is right. She wants to watch them and see if they go away or get worse. In the meanwhile, they definitely get a bit sore from the pressure on the bar, so I may have to add some other hand positions, cushioning, etc. 

My slicks are supposed to arrive today, but with a foot of new snow I don’t think they’ll be going on right away. Maybe I’ll find that mullet wheelset (V rear, disc front) I’ve been wanting at one of the spring swaps. I don’t feel like I’m a good judge of wheel quality/value, although I know from personal experience to chick how worn the rim brake surface is. Any pointers appreciated in case I see something tempting.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Cold again and a bit breezy, but nothing like CB had to deal with. 

Last night's commute felt colder than my AM commute. 27 degrees, but with a nice cold north wind the whole way. Brrr. I am ready for spring.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...So the Doc looked at my hand and said they are nodules, but not necessarily symptomatic of Dupeytrens, the hand into claw thing I was worried about. I hope she is right. She wants to watch them and see if they go away or get worse. In the meanwhile, they definitely get a bit sore from the pressure on the bar, so I may have to add some other hand positions, cushioning, etc.
> 
> My slicks are supposed to arrive today, but with a foot of new snow I don't think they'll be going on right away. Maybe I'll find that mullet wheelset (V rear, disc front) I've been wanting at one of the spring swaps. I don't feel like I'm a good judge of wheel quality/value, although I know from personal experience to chick how worn the rim brake surface is. Any pointers appreciated in case I see something tempting.


Good news on the hand. It's amazing how much time we can spend worrying about things that aren't.

I'm rolling on a $20 used pair  of wheels for my winter tires on my commuter. They just made it through their second season (about 2000 miles). They're single walled so I try to avoid rough trail riding on them but otherwise they've been great. So you don't need to get to fancy.

My commute today was in my plow truck.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, good news on the hand. Keep your claws crossed that they go away rather than growing. I have to say that your first post on it came within hours of listening to a story on the radio about "googlechondria", so you can guess where my mind went. Not to say it should have been ignored, but maybe your initial diagnosis was a little extreme.

My last job had me commuting (by car) about 20 minutes each way. Loved the job, but really got sick of that "long" commute. When they closed the plant, I didn`t apply at any places outside of my little valley :lol:. I would have if nothing had panned out in my own neighborhood, of course- ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Cooler, cloudy, and a double helping of wind today. The Saturday forecast for Davis and Clearlake, CA say mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60s, very slight winds. I`ll be out riding in it. Niiiice


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

p08757 said:


> I have never had a bad accident, but my wife has. I've told this story here before...Since that accident she has been a total worry-wart about my riding...... I guess in an odd way, it shows she loves me.......


Don't expect it to change anytime soon, based on my sample of 1. Kathryn broke her arm in a bike accident in 1978. She still worries. Of course my "falling off" my bike recently was no help! 



mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, that's windy, CB, I don't know that I would tackle those kind of gusts. But I know you have made it home before when garbage cans, fences, and other large objects were airborne.


Yeah. When they say gusts higher and average winds at over 20, they mean gusts above 40 here. I have a lot of road hugging weight but a lot of sail area, too. CB looks to be more aero. Still dodging flying garbage cans, dropping branches, or bounding deer is disconcerting to say the least.



mtbxplorer said:


> So the Doc looked at my hand and said they are nodules, but not necessarily symptomatic of Dupeytrens, the hand into claw thing I was worried about. I hope she is right. She wants to watch them and see if they go away or get worse. In the meanwhile, they definitely get a bit sore from the pressure on the bar, so I may have to add some other hand positions, cushioning, etc.


My hand nerves are very sensitive to vibration. A weed eater makes them numb with normal yard gloves. This is in part due to neuropathy from toxins. I had a set of half flngerd padded gloves with the iP logo and they lasted almost 5 years. I stuffed them in other gloves for winter riding. I got a set of Bontragers in June only to lose them in the accident, and now have a second pair. Together with padded gloves, and better riding tires, it is good. My first 50 mile ride before the Pearl Izumi's and with cloth bar tape left me unable to write for a over a week. So I can vouch for the help of good padded gloves if they relieve the pressure where you need it relieved.



mtbxplorer said:


> My slicks are supposed to arrive today, but with a foot of new snow I don't think they'll be going on right away. Maybe I'll find that mullet wheelset (V rear, disc front) I've been wanting at one of the spring swaps. I don't feel like I'm a good judge of wheel quality/value, although I know from personal experience to chick how worn the rim brake surface is. Any pointers appreciated in case I see something tempting.


You get to 'chick' braking surfaces, I guess I get to 'guy' them.  Sorry, it was too cute a typo. Be nice if you could trial fit them to your bike at the booth to eyeball them for trueness (fixable to an extent, no flat spots (not generally fixable) and flat braking suffices (fixed formerly bent wheels brake surfaces can have spots out of true). Mismatched spokes speak to breakage. If you get then for $20 a pair like some people apparently do, that isn't even the cost of a set of spokes. So you can forgive a bit.



bedwards1000 said:


> Good news on the hand. It's amazing how much time we can spend worrying about things that aren't.


+ 1 on the hand. Nice to now you can still give up the one-finger salute!  It is also amazing how little time we spend worrying about things that are, too!



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm rolling on a $20 used pair  of wheels for my winter tires on my commuter. They just made it through their second season (about 2000 miles). They're single walled so I try to avoid rough trail riding on them but otherwise they've been great. So you don't need to get to fancy. My commute today was in my plow truck.


Nice snag. I got a set of Weinman single wall rims with the cheapest Shimano hubs for the errand bike. Still have the rear on the bike. Decent but not trail ready. With cassette, $100 new. They would have been a great snag at $20 the pair.

So you rode in one side of the cab and out the other? Just kidding. Discretion is the better part of valor, after all.

BrianMc


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> So the Doc looked at my hand and said they are nodules, but not necessarily symptomatic of Dupeytrens, the hand into claw thing I was worried about. I hope she is right. She wants to watch them and see if they go away or get worse. In the meanwhile, they definitely get a bit sore from the pressure on the bar, so I may have to add some other hand positions, cushioning, etc.


When the plastic surgeon offerec me surgury.....I had previously answered the nodule hurt when I carried 2 x 4s around.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> So the Doc looked at my hand and said they are nodules, but not necessarily symptomatic of Dupeytrens, the hand into claw thing I was worried about. I hope she is right. She wants to watch them and see if they go away or get worse. In the meanwhile, they definitely get a bit sore from the pressure on the bar, so I may have to add some other hand positions, cushioning, etc.


Great news on your hands. Hoping for your bumps to quickly go away.

Getting ready for my return ride. Going to the bar for happy hour with my wife and son. Its now 32F out with a 13mph NW wind. It should feel warmer than my morning ride in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, good news on the hand. Keep your claws crossed that they go away rather than growing. I have to say that your first post on it came within hours of listening to a story on the radio about "googlechondria", so you can guess where my mind went. Not to say it should have been ignored, but maybe your initial diagnosis was a little extreme.


Ha, googlechondria that's a good one. In this case, my ski patrol instructor friend at the office said it looked like something her boss had. I flagged him down later in the week and he showed me his hands and wrote down the name of it. His left was pretty gnarly, having gotten bad and then undergoing the needle treatment. His right was just starting up and looked alot like mine. Then I googled it and got even more concerned.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I left in time to do my trail commute but took the road because I wasn't sure if the trails were packed. I kinda forgot that the roads are a lot faster and got here 1/2 hour early. I also forgot that the windchill on the road is a lot greater so I was pretty chilly on this morning's 16 degree ride.

I'm good for 1 more week of winter trail commuting and then I'm ready for it to start hitting 60.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute last night was the perfect way to end a hellish day at work. It was uneventful and I took out some aggression but hammering on the pedals.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's every day of my life :lol: 



Yesterday's ride home was pretty windy. I think I saw a cinder block rolling across the street at one point.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I also forgot that the windchill on the road is a lot greater so I was pretty chilly on this morning's 16 degree ride.


Yeah, that's so strange. One day last week it was 0F, and even though that's pretty cold I wanted to hit the trails. It felt great, and then I got out of the trails and onto a bridge and I was freezing.

Lots more snow today. Overnight we got a dusting, but it was really coming down by the time I headed out, and it's still going. Supposed to get around 6". I should swing by UPS on the way home tonight to pick up a package but I'm not sure I'll be confident enough to haul it home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

0 F when I left the house this AM. Nice Santa beard when I arrived at work again. My legs are feeling quite heavy today and the sciatica is starting to flair back up a bit. The ride itself was nice, though. Took it slow and just sank into thinking about ideas for stories I'd like to write. Now I'm stuck in my cube just hoping the day goes by fast. Tomorrow is an off day for me (I work a flex-Friday schedule - every other Friday off). Thinking I'll take some me time and hit the trails while the other shmoes are stuck at work!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

The weather has rain and snow forcast from Friday through Snday, but things are turning around starting Tuesday next week. I see lots of 50's with lows in the upper 30's. I hope this time spring has sprung. I want to get on a regular commuting schedule again!!! I hope to get commutes in Wednesday and Friday next week. Tomorrow looks shot for me with rain and snow. :-(


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A great mtb ride last night meant a sluggish commute this morning. I need to get in better trail riding shape. We are way below normal as far as temperature is concerned and the wind has been kicking.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The office moved to the other side of town center, so I'm still figuring out the route. Looking at the map, it might seem that it is closer to home now, but the route gets more complex, especially if I want to miss the only bigger hill between here and there. Another complication right now is that days are just warm enough to melt some snow in the sunny spots. The new route options include more of the melting/freezing spots.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> 0 F when I left the house this AM. Nice Santa beard when I arrived at work again. My legs are feeling quite heavy today and the sciatica is starting to flair back up a bit. The ride itself was nice, though. Took it slow and just sank into thinking about ideas for stories I'd like to write. Now I'm stuck in my cube just hoping the day goes by fast. Tomorrow is an off day for me (I work a flex-Friday schedule - every other Friday off). Thinking I'll take some me time and hit the trails while the other shmoes are stuck at work!


Sciatica sucks. Who are you calling a shmoe? Have fun!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> 0 F when I left the house this AM. Nice Santa beard when I arrived at work again. My legs are feeling quite heavy today and the sciatica is starting to flair back up a bit. The ride itself was nice, though. Took it slow and just sank into thinking about ideas for stories I'd like to write. Now I'm stuck in my cube just hoping the day goes by fast. Tomorrow is an off day for me (I work a flex-Friday schedule - every other Friday off). Thinking I'll take some me time and hit the trails while the other shmoes are stuck at work!


Same story here, that cold snow was slow this AM! Even tho it was mostly hard-packed. I'd hit the trails as early as possible tomorrow as they are calling for 1 to 4 inches of snow Friday. This hillside and Kincaid is bomber right now! I don't want this snow to come, just want these sunny warm evenings to never end!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And it's still snowing. 60 vehicle crash on the highway to the airport. The highway to where my wife works is partially closed. I'm still planning to detour to UPS to pick up my stuff, although that might get kiboshed.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> And it's still snowing. 60 vehicle crash on the highway to the airport. The highway to where my wife works is partially closed. I'm still planning to detour to UPS to pick up my stuff, although that might get kiboshed.


As long as it`s bike parts you need to pick up...


perttime said:


> The office moved to the other side of town center, so I'm still figuring out the route.


Nice to hear from you, Perttime. Watch those icy spots, now!


rodar y rodar said:


> Cooler, cloudy, and a double helping of wind today. The Saturday forecast for Davis and Clearlake, CA say mostly sunny with highs in the upper 60s, very slight winds. I`ll be out riding in it. Niiiice


Forecast changed. Now instead of upper 60s it says lower 70s.

The wind stopped here. My average speed on the way to work yesterday was 7 point something MPH, but I sure made good time on the home stretch!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> As long as it`s bike parts you need to pick up...


It WAS bike parts - levers for my eventual dropbar conversion. I was hoping I would do that next weekend, but it will probably get delayed because of the weather.

Roads were bad, but ride was okay. I broke some sort of record for riding through a gigantic, deep and long snow drift. And it's still snowing - the 6" forecast has grown to at least 1' - but thankfully I had tomorrow booked off.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Hello from Las Vegas. Have been enjoying this thread for sometime now. Like hearing everyone's commuter stories.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Yesterdays AM commute home had me pushing into a head wind all the way home. Since I am on a Mtn bike my torso acts like a wind sail and ensures my speeds will be slow. To make it a complete fun ride home there was a city truck in the bike lane (blocking it) so I hit the dirt to go around it. However, hitting 8" deep sugar sand at 25mph caused me to slow down like I hit a truck run away ramp. I almost pulled it but ended up bailing while coming back onto the bike path. I fell right in front of the worker but I was almost at a stop so no damage to me or the bike. I do have a bit of mild road rash on my R knee. Well, today's ride home will be better. BTW I have ditched the cold weather gear now and I am in tee shirt and shorts both to and from work.

Mark


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Great ride in this morning. We have blizzard warnings in effect, but I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of keeping me off the bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good commute this morning, sunny and calm, but brisk again at 7F. Got here in time to use the shower across campus, and nobody had messed with the lock I put on one of the lockers so I can leave clothes, soap, etc. over there instead of detouring to my office first. I had heard that a lock in the Men’s locker room had resulted in a note threatening to cut it off if it was not removed, but so far so good. Not too many women have been using the adjacent fitness gym, so there has not been much demand for the lockers. 

On the way in the passenger in a van from a tile contactor told me “you’re late” when we were stopped at a light. Also a rare bikecommuter sighting, he said hi as he passed, going straight at the red light from the right turn only lane. :nono:


Those new slicks arrived and they seem really heavy, albeit bombproof (Schwalbe marathon 420’s, aka greenguards) . I think I’ll try them and see how they roll. Hard to believe that they are heavier than my studded tires. :eekster:


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> Also a rare bikecommuter sighting, he said hi as he passed, going straight at the red light from the right turn only lane. :nono:


This is a good way to get run over. Rule of thumb -- Ride your bike just like you would a car. This causes way less confusion for other drivers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I have found that riding just like I'm a car confuses the crap out of drivers. I still do it, but they stop in the middle of the road, forget every traffic law they have ever known, wave me through when the law says I should stop, stop when the light is green, back up traffic and blame it on me...they are convinced that I'm going to ride directly into the side of their car or dart out in front of them...basically, they treat me like a deer or a stray dog. I can't possibly know what I'm doing out there in the middle of the road. 


It was back down in the 20's this morning... we had a nice dose of spring for a minute there... hopefully it's on the way back. There is officially no more snow in my driveway though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I really wanted to ride the trails today so I took the fatty. The lake SUCKED for everything but pictures. I got my workout pushing my bike through the thick crust. When I got across I found that the trail hadn't been traveled yet. I did get to take the trail for the last part. I'm sure there will be some traffic out there this weekend to make it passable again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^oooh aaah! Very pretty, sorry the riding was not!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Added a 7.5 mile loop of Hillside Singletrack on the way home from last nights commute, it was fast, firm, and fun!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Those tires are incredible.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

I was about to complain about my commute since I just switched from a road bike to a MTB. 

Then I saw the temps reported in some of the above posts. I'll shut up now...


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Commutes this week have been stellar. Cool mornings, warming into the 60s in the afternoon and if it wasn't for incessant winds it might be (too)nice. Seriously considering investing in a sail. :skep: Trying not to rub it in too much for those still suffering with snow!

Learned a fringe benefit of riding on studs for the last 4 months: I'm faster! Set a new personal record on a Strava segment that I've used to track fitness since I got here. Shaved 40s (or so) off my previous best, but this was with full on 20+mph headwinds and full pannier! Kind of blew my mind.

Get to go to court on Monday in regards to the dog bite I got at the end of Feb. Never done that before so it should be interesting. At least my boss was cool about it and let me take the whole day off...I see a nice ride Monday afternoon! :thumbsup:


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## meyer378 (Apr 19, 2011)

Had a pretty good commute although a little cold at 25 degrees. Had someone pull out directly in front of me and had to lock up the brakes to avoid crashing into them. Was a bit scary but otherwise a good ride and commute. 
Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...they are convinced that I'm going to ride directly into the side of their car or dart out in front of them...basically, they treat me like a deer or a stray dog. I can't possibly know what I'm doing out there in the middle of the road.


Of course they're confused, you don't normally see Ogres that close to civilization. They figure you're lost and confused, just looking to get back to the woods, where Ogres normally thrive.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^oooh aaah! Very pretty, sorry the riding was not!


+1
I hope the prediction turns out for weekend traffic to pack things down.


JordyB said:


> Added a 7.5 mile loop of Hillside Singletrack on the way home from last nights commute, it was fast, firm, and fun!


It does look like fun! You guys must have an awful lot of fatbikes around there in order for a system of frozen ST to develop.


Smudge13 said:


> I was about to complain about my commute since I just switched from a road bike to a MTB.
> 
> Then I saw the temps reported in some of the above posts. I'll shut up now...


Ha! I feel bad too sometimes, but never let that stop me from complaining! Whine away!



p08757 said:


> Rule of thumb -- Ride your bike just like you would a car. This causes way less confusion for other drivers.





CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I have found that riding just like I'm a car confuses the crap out of drivers.


I pretty much agree with the "ride like a car" plan too, but unless all riders ride in a similar fasion, we`re going to confuse cars no matter what. The writen laws for cycling are bad enough- different from one place to the next (much moreso than driving laws), not well known or understood, and enforced haphazardly. The unwritten norms are even worse- some riders paracticing VC to varying degrees, the old guy with a milk basket strapped to his rack who always rides salmon on the sidewalk, kids riding figure 8s in the middle of the street, Strava mongers alone or in a pack who won`t stop for anything, bonehead young adults who should know better cutting around/through/betwen traffic how ever they can...
How is a driver supposed to know what kind of cyclist he`s dealing with? Just an observation, since I really don`t see any practical solution. Except for every cyclist to ride "like me", of course!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I rode my 300K yesterday. Finished successfully in 16:25, but not so sure now if I want to try next month`s 400. Quite honestly, the last three hours or so I wasn`t having fun. I do have a few ideas where I could improve my strategy for next time, and the 400, while longer, doesn`t have the gnarly climbs that we got yesterday. Weather for the next ride could go either way compared to yesterday- we started out in the morning with vicious headwinds for the first 40 miles (NOT in the forecast!), then "head breezes" for a lot of the return stretch, but great temps and no precip. Nice scenery, and I did enjoy most of the ride. Even liked the butt kicking climbs, though I think they were a big part of why I felt so drained after the sun went down.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, congratulations! That's a crazy far and long ride. Hope it was only temporary discomfort (ok, 3 hours of un-fun), and you feel OK tomorrow


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I rode my 300K yesterday. Finished successfully in 16:25, but not so sure now if I want to try next month`s 400. Quite honestly, the last three hours or so I wasn`t having fun. I do have a few ideas where I could improve my strategy for next time, and the 400, while longer, doesn`t have the gnarly climbs that we got yesterday. Weather for the next ride could go either way compared to yesterday- we started out in the morning with vicious headwinds for the first 40 miles (NOT in the forecast!), then "head breezes" for a lot of the return stretch, but great temps and no precip. Nice scenery, and I did enjoy most of the ride. Even liked the butt kicking climbs, though I think they were a big part of why I felt so drained after the sun went down.


+1 Wow. I don't feel too bad after a century but I wouldn't want to turn around and do it again! How's your back? That's where it always gets me.

The predictions were good. The trails were fast and firm this morning. The lake wasn't too fast but at least it was firm (washboard). I made it to work on the trails in record time. About 45-50 min which puts me in the 12-14mph range average speed through the trails. Last Friday I think I was below 5MPH.

I ride my bike like a car to the degree I feel safe. Hanging out in the middle of a rural road waiting for a clear left turn scares the crap out of me so I don't do that...even though I legally could.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> I rode my 300K yesterday. Finished successfully in 16:25, but not so sure now if I want to try next month`s 400. Quite honestly, the last three hours or so I wasn`t having fun. I do have a few ideas where I could improve my strategy for next time, and the 400, while longer, doesn`t have the gnarly climbs that we got yesterday. Weather for the next ride could go either way compared to yesterday- we started out in the morning with vicious headwinds for the first 40 miles (NOT in the forecast!), then "head breezes" for a lot of the return stretch, but great temps and no precip. Nice scenery, and I did enjoy most of the ride. Even liked the butt kicking climbs, though I think they were a big part of why I felt so drained after the sun went down.


186 miles?? I'm not so sure I would have it in me to ride for over 16 hours and almost 200 miles in one day. I'll be content with a century every now and then (down hill with the wind at my back) I would be zonked for days after a ride like that. Good job!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> +1
> I hope the prediction turns out for weekend traffic to pack things down.
> 
> It does look like fun!
> ...


What he said.



rodar y rodar said:


> I pretty much agree with the "ride like a car" plan too...
> How is a driver supposed to know what kind of cyclist he`s dealing with?


The ride in a predictable manner assumes they actually see you soon enough to process that you are a predictable cyclist. It is actually good defensive driving on their part ot be prepared that you have a blowout, hit a bad pothole, or a sudden gust of wind forces you out of your line, but the state of panic situation is simply bad driving.



rodar y rodar said:


> I rode my 300K yesterday. ... Quite honestly, the last three hours or so I wasn`t having fun. ... Nice scenery, and I did enjoy most of the ride. Even liked the butt kicking climbs, though I think they were a big part of why I felt so drained after the sun went down.





bedwards1000 said:


> +1 Wow. I don't feel too bad after a century but I wouldn't want to turn around and do it again! How's your back? That's where it always gets me.


Another +1. You did half of my Habitat weekly ride in a day. Not ready for that, yet. The last hour of my first century ride with the rear stuck in 13 and reduced to a three speed was a case of finishing if it was the last thing I ever did.



bedwards1000 said:


> I ride my bike like a car to the degree I feel safe. Hanging out in the middle of a rural road waiting for a clear left turn scares the crap out of me so I don't do that...even though I legally could.


I let my sense of safety trump the rules of the road. If it is a defensible action in court from a standpoint of likely bodily injury, it is permissible in my book. In the US, we have the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All of these are jeopardized for the cyclist and the person who hits them if a cyclist following a rule of the road makes a collision likely. Sitting stopped for a left turn and allowing 55+ mph traffic to pass on the right (legal in Indiana) when a big SUV or semi may be blocking the view of a not-too-attentive driver, is not a wise thing to do. That driver suddenly sees you as the vehicle ahead shifts right. It is a recipe to be sent through a windshield or knocked into the next county. Definitely not conducive to continued life let alone the pursuit (meaning 'job') of happiness.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I rode my 300K yesterday. Finished successfully in 16:25, but not so sure now if I want to try next month`s 400.


Congrats Rodar very nice achievement! I hear you on the uncertainty. At some point it stops being fun and becomes insanity.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I rode my 300K yesterday. Finished successfully in 16:25, but not so sure now if I want to try next month`s 400. Quite honestly, the last three hours or so I wasn`t having fun. I do have a few ideas where I could improve my strategy for next time, and the 400, while longer, doesn`t have the gnarly climbs that we got yesterday. Weather for the next ride could go either way compared to yesterday- we started out in the morning with vicious headwinds for the first 40 miles (NOT in the forecast!), then "head breezes" for a lot of the return stretch, but great temps and no precip. Nice scenery, and I did enjoy most of the ride. Even liked the butt kicking climbs, though I think they were a big part of why I felt so drained after the sun went down.


Wow. That's an accomplishment. Nice work. 186 miles boggles my mind. A century is hard enough! That's crazy.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Congrats, Rodar!

After the big dump of snow last week I wasn't sure what to expect today, but things were in good shape. I got schooled by a fixie on the big bridge - merged in behind him and thought "I really don't want to have to pass this guy." But then he took off. I caught up to him again pretty quickly, but he was moving at a nice pace. Way too many people ride slowly in the winter.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A slog this morning. 21F and 4 inches of fresh pow at my house. Broke first trail for the whole ride. Forgot just how hard it can be riding through pow. Good times though. The snow is still coming down and the weather report calls for another 8 to 18 inches throughout today and into tomorrow AM. Could make for some interesting riding. The last hurrah, I'm thinking (hoping?).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

13F and calm this morning, but still ending up a pokey 11 mph average overall, despite over 17mph for the first 4 miles (mostly downhill). The studs sing nicely at 39mph though. These turkeys walked through the yard Saturday, but flew off when I opened the door for a pic. I also saw a snowshoe hare when walking the lab (his owner is at Snowbird until mid April ), but here's the dog since the hare was too quick.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> How's your back? That's where it always gets me.
> 
> The trails were fast and firm this morning. The lake wasn't too fast but at least it was firm (washboard).


Feeling fine now, and my back didn`t give me any trouble, which is a little surprising since I spent a lot of time tucked into the wind. In general, my trouble points can be back, feet, neck, shoulders, or butt. Two or three of those usually take brief turns on a long ride- yesterday it was mostly shoulders and feet (not too bad), but then plain old fatigue took over.

Washboard lake? Weird. I`ve seen plenty of washboard, but without exception, it`s been on gravel.



BrianMc said:


> The ride in a predictable manner assumes they actually see you soon enough to process that you are a predictable cyclist.
> 
> I let my sense of safety trump the rules of the road.


"...process that you are a predictable cyclist..." Hmmm. I hadn`t thought about that before, but you`re probably right. I`m sure non cycling drivers don`t make their assesments of cyclists to the degree that a cyclist behind the wheel would, but yeah. If they`re accustomed to seeing diferent flavors of cyclists on the road (sidewalk), they must develop some kind of expectation based on the rider`s actions, gear, and costume.

Deciding what exactly is the safest bet leaves a lot of room for opinion and debate, but I don`t think anybody will disagree that saftey trumps laws, even at the risk of possible unjust citations or fines.


newfangled said:


> But then he took off. I caught up to him again pretty quickly, but he was moving at a nice pace.


A "just wondering" question for people who ride in fixie-heavy areas: Do they normally ride at a much different pace from geared riders? Slower where they have to struggle and super fast on take offs and where their gearing is well suited? I imagine that`s how they must roll, but have never followed one.



mtbxplorer said:


> The studs sing nicely at 39mph though.


:eekster:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> A "just wondering" question for people who ride in fixie-heavy areas: Do they normally ride at a much different pace from geared riders? Slower where they have to struggle and super fast on take offs and where their gearing is well suited? I imagine that`s how they must roll, but have never followed one.


Downtonwn couriers ride fixies around here....they ride a fast normal pace...

While I have seen many downtown....(on the flat river valley)....

I have seen only one in 7 years up on the escaperment that forms the river valley...

That means they don't climb hills around here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Washboard lake? Weird. I`ve seen plenty of washboard, but without exception, it`s been on gravel.


Snowmobile tracks that were slushy when they were made and then re-froze. I could almost ride on top of the snow...almost.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I started to get a bit annoyed this morning at a safety conscious truck that stayed behind me on the narrow final hill to work. He geared down so far and hesitated so much that it sounded like he was going to stall out any second. I could tell he was politely waiting for a break in oncoming traffic to pass me, but I pulled way over in the dirt so he would have plenty of room to go by. But no, he stayed behind. When he finally was able to pull around, I saw why he was being so cautious…he had a giant wing plow that was nearly taking out the telephone poles, so he probably would have taken my head off despite my being on the shoulder. Sometimes drivers do know best.


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## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)




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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> A "just wondering" question for people who ride in fixie-heavy areas: Do they normally ride at a much different pace from geared riders? Slower where they have to struggle and super fast on take offs and where their gearing is well suited?


I wasn't worried that he was going to be slow because he was on a fixie - I was just worried he'd be slower than me.  Most people ride too slowly, especially at this time of year when all the hibernators are crawling out of their burrows. But if I'm approaching a climb I'd definitely rather be behind a fixie who'll mash their way up than someone who'll drop gears down to a standstill.

These daytime temperature swings from -15C this morning to above freezing on the way home are killing me.

Saw a cute coyote tonight, which is probably the first "normal" sized coyote that I've seen in years. All the others I've seen have been practically wolf-sized.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

edubfromktown said:


> View attachment 784413


Brag, brag, brag. 

Got my new liner shorts in the mail this morn. Got hit with an extra $8 charge since they sent it to my address instead of my P.O. box. On the plus side though, Nashbar liners are well made and according to tag, even machine washable (which is a definitely a plus.)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> But if I'm approaching a climb I'd definitely rather be behind a fixie who'll mash their way up than someone who'll drop gears down to a standstill.
> 
> These daytime temperature swings from -15C this morning to above freezing on the way home are killing me.
> 
> Saw a cute coyote tonight, which is probably the first "normal" sized coyote that I've seen in years. All the others I've seen have been practically wolf-sized.


I have meet the odd single speed on the hills....if the get arrogant I generally drop a few gears till I am in a higher ratio then them and kill the hill.

I gotta say let it get warm even if only in the afternoon.

Lots of big fat coyotes around here....lots of rabbits to till about mid january.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rode the trail commute this morning... not a speck of snow. Glorious.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sometimes drivers do know best.


Sounds like that one sure did!

Oh, just caught the new "no excuses at all" signature. Getting hard core now, Deer Chaser!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This morning's ride was another long slog. We ended up getting over a foot of fresh snow yesterday. The trail crews groomed yesterday morning, which made the ride a bit of a challenge as nothing consolidated down. I hit a number of soft pockets causing my wheels to wash out. Good times. Took me an hour to go 4.5 miles. Top it off with cold temps and it was a day when I spent most my ride wondering just what the heck is wrong with me. 

Of course it was not as bad as the ride home last night. Hour and a half with lots of walking up the hills.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

People were really cranky yesterday. I don't know if it's because it was snowing or because I worked an hour late and was riding home at a different time when more people are on the road or what. Everyone seemed to be riding on my tail, cutting me off, passing too close, or revving up their engines. We had more snow this morning. Our high temps are averaging 14F below the normal (60F), although this week we have yet to get out of the 30s.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some interesting cargo went by me this morning, hauled by a pickup truck and open trailer: a giant sawblade, maybe 8’ across, strapped in vertically but at an angle. After passing, they took a left over a small bridge, which looked even stranger, because you could not see the truck/trailer behind the bridge structure, just the moving blade, as if levitated. If it rolled off the truck, you would either be cut in two, or flattened under it. It looked like it was going to one of the granite sheds, where they cut the stone. Some of those blades are diamond-tipped, so I’ll have to keep my eyes open on the way home.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

This morning it was a nice 25F with a light head wind most of the way in today. The trail still had several patches of ice and snow. (Shhhh! Don't tell my wife) All of them were passed without incident and I made into work safely. In a few more weeks I can probably ditch the headlight as its almost light enough without it by the time I make it to the office. 

The ride home should be nicer as we are expecting a high of 48. For my next commute on Friday it will be almost be 60. I'm hoping this time spring has really sprung!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

300k. Impressive sir!

Today I rode the bike I've had for almost 17 years to work, but I rode it for the first time in its new life as a fixie. Felt pretty good but developed a ticking noise midway through the first big downhill. Hub was OK but when I inspected more closely on arrival I noticed a huge loss of tension in a lot of the spokes. Wondering if this is because rear wheels previous owner was running it on the freewheel side (hoping that is the case).

The wheel didn't deform noticeably, and I didn't see any broken spokes so it should be OK to ride home. I will be using the brakes this time though


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## mtbdl (Sep 19, 2008)

5 lbs? Those were some HEAVY tubes!


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

How was my commute? Fine until this...









Not sure if tubeless would have saved me. In through the tread and out through the sidewall.

With a puncture like that in the sidewall should I be replacing tires? Racing Ralph Evo...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Depends, Will you be thinking about it on a 35mph road descent or a technical trail descent? At a minimum I'd reinforce the inside of the tire with a large patch.

I'm still riding in on snowy trails. We're starting to approach normal temps so it can't be too long before it's really spring here.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally got a warm week coming....-3C this morning about 0C for the rest of the week..(high aobut 10 C)

Rode in without the balaclava and summer gloves for the first time this year.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Depends, Will you be thinking about it on a 35mph road descent or a technical trail descent? At a minimum I'd reinforce the inside of the tire with a large patch.


Yeah, I'll patch it for now, but I see a new tire in the near to distant future...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Brutal. That's all I can say. -8F when I left the house this AM. Trails were still quit soft in a lot of places, making is a slog.

Here's a bad pic a coworker took of me as I arrived.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Epic ice beard! 


I had some trail carnage yesterday after work... rode the MTB in since I had some time after work for a quick trail ride... I got a ways out and then proved my manhood by tearing the derailleur hanger in half by sheer pedaling force...not sure what happened, I must have missed a shift, but I didn't think I did. I was climbing, so I was mashing on it a bit. I mean it wasn't a snapped crank arm, but still... 

Folded the derailleur up and made things really ugly. Somehow, magically, I didn't break any spokes. So being the prepared commuter that I am, I was packing a multi-tool with a chainbreaker and a spare masterlink, and of course a few zip ties... derailleur went into the backpack, cable got tied up out of the way, and I found a chain length that made for a (too) tight chain on a too-high gear, and I went singlespeed for the rest of the ride. 
Worked so well I kept heading away from civilization... got a good ride in SS mode. And when I got home my REI dividend was in the mail... free derailleur. Sweet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Smudge, that is a most impressive tire-buster! And at least it was easy to find, unlike those little strands of cable, etc., that can be hard to spot.

Jeffscott, summer gloves for -3C?! Yikes!

Blockphi, -8F, that is terrible! Even Santa would be jealous of the beard, though.

Commuterboy, a great roadside repair & ride recovery.

It was warmer this morning, 25F, and I broke out the knickers to celebrate. It made the ride speedier too. 

I got my repaired pack back from Osprey yesterday, gotta love the lifetime warranty, no questions asked. I was never sure if the waistbelt buckle just broke or if I closed the car door on it or something. I also had a dog leashed to it for a ride, so that could have done it too. It is all better now.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

On my morning commute, there is a guy who passes in the opposite direction wearing no gloves. Temps are in the 30's and low 40's. I always have wanted to ask him why he does not wear gloves. And if the answer is that he cannot afford them, give him a spare pair of mine.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Smudge, that is a most impressive tire-buster! And at least it was easy to find, unlike those little strands of cable, etc., that can be hard to spot.


The loud "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding," as the head hit the inside of the rear triangle was a dead give away... :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Jeffscott, summer gloves for -3C?! Yikes!
> 
> It was warmer this morning, 25F, and I broke out the knickers to celebrate. It made the ride speedier too.


Knickers at 25 F yikes...

Just shows you how you get accustomed to winter.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

AlexCuse said:


> Felt pretty good but developed a ticking noise midway through the first big downhill. Hub was OK but when I inspected more closely on arrival I noticed a huge loss of tension in a lot of the spokes. Wondering if this is because rear wheels previous owner was running it on the freewheel side (hoping that is the case).


What difference would it make which way the PO had the wheel? Hope it works out. I guess you`re going to retension and retrue at home?


blockphi said:


> Brutal.
> View attachment 784989


Yeah! Go Get Em!


CommuterBoy said:


> So being the prepared commuter that I am, I was packing a multi-tool with a chainbreaker and a spare masterlink, and of course a few zip ties... derailleur went into the backpack, cable got tied up out of the way, and I found a chain length that made for a (too) tight chain on a too-high gear, and I went singlespeed for the rest of the ride.
> Worked so well I kept heading away from civilization... got a good ride in SS mode. And when I got home my REI dividend was in the mail... free derailleur. Sweet.


Way to go :thumbsup:
Working out at the Gym with the Byknutz family is really paying off as well as the late night Sheldon Brown course! I find it most impressive that you kept on riding away rather than turning tail 


mtbxplorer said:


> I got my repaired pack back from Osprey yesterday, gotta love the lifetime warranty, no questions asked.


I really didn`t need to hear that, Xplorer. Although I have absolutely no use for one, I`m so mesmerized by the whole Osprey line at our REI that I have to carefully avoid that section whenever I go in so that I don`t accidentally buy one! I think I`m safe for now though, because my refund is only 13-something.


woodway said:


> And if the answer is that he cannot afford them, give him a spare pair of mine.


Waiting to see how this turns out. If I end up in the PNW, maybe I`ll try walking part of your commute route and see if anybodody donates a Ti Habanero crossbike to me 


Smudge13 said:


> The loud "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding," as the head hit the inside of the rear triangle was a dead give away... :lol:


Guessing that a clean round puncture shouldn`t be TOO big a hardship for it, compared to a rock slice or something. How much life is left in that tire? Unless it`s getting close anyway, I`d probably boot it and just use it on the rear.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Still going strong here. Supremely uneventful commutes, which is good I suppose. Temps are great at 20F or so in the mornings, 35F coming home. Been riding a mix of bikes for the first time in a long time, not just fat. It's funny how I can be so indecisive as to which one to ride some days. Still getting a good freeze up high, we may try to ride up ze mountain one night this weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Working out at the Gym with the Byknutz family is really paying off as well as the late night Sheldon Brown course! I find it most impressive that you kept on riding away rather than turning tail


That reminds me....I saw these 4 minute vids this morning and thought you might be interested.
1 minute intervals: Phys Ed: The 20-Minute Workout Video - NYTimes.com
weights: Simple Advice for Better Weight Training - NYTimes.com


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Smudge13 said:


> The loud "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding," as the head hit the inside of the rear triangle was a dead give away... :lol:


Yeah. I got a 1.5" roofing nail in a rear tire and the screech as it scraped around the inside of the fender was like nails on a blackboard.

"That can't be good!" 

I also found that a small staple was not too easy to find. Sort of averages out. I guess.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I find it most impressive that you kept on riding away rather than turning tail


I thought about turning around, but I had a precious hour (hard to come by these days) before I had to head back to town to meet the fam, and I got lucky with chain length/gear ratio. It was pretty clear it wasn't going to fail or break anything else.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Nice ride in to work tonight, mid 60's and looking at mid 40's in the am for the way home. Been working on my speed on my way in lately. I feel it in my lungs, I have a bit of the burn for a while when I get into work. This weather is really turning around.

Mark


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

My ride home yesterday evening was full of notable events. 

I use a big heavy chain and padlock to lock my bike up at work that I usually put in my backpack to take home. This time my backpack was full of other stuff I needed for work so in my haste I thought I would just leave it locked to the bike rack at work and bring it home on Friday. I also thought I would save some weight since I had to climb a huge hill on my way to meet my wife for dinner before heading home……

It hit me about 2 miles from work….. I would need my lock to secure my bike when I stopped for diner, so I turn around to get the lock. 

Back on the trail about half way to my destination I see two children with an older lady on the side of the trail working on a bike. As I pass I ask if they need help, and they do. I pull over and see one of the kids bicycles had thrown the chain, and they could not get it back on. I showed them how to put the chain back on. I noticed none of them were wearing helmets. I politely scolded the lady and told her they all should be wearing helmets. She agreed and I was on my way.

Other than that, the ride was nice, in the upper 50’s and had a tail wind for most of the way.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I must look like an obstacle such as a cardboard box kicking down the road….Why else would a van pull out from behind me to pass and then turn right in front of me when I was taking the lane to avoid just such a fate? I was pedaling in the middle of the right lane, which is marked with a straight and right turn arrow (for the shopping center). 

Also had a rottie run out to the road to chase me as I sped downhill. Luckily, some combination of “NO GO HOME”” , a swerve left, and my speed allowed me to continue without incident. The same dog that came out at point blank range a couple years ago and inexplicably put on the dog brakes when he was seemingly millimeters from my front hub.

I’ve had a few yellers lately, mostly unintelligible, some were small children apparently in training. The one that really startled me was a piercing dog bark from a too-close rear car window. I think that was a kid too, but I’m not 100% sure as it was a very good impression.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Also had a rottie run out to the road to chase me as I sped downhill. Luckily, some combination of "NO GO HOME"" , a swerve left, and my speed allowed me to continue without incident. The same dog that came out at point blank range a couple years ago and inexplicably put on the dog brakes when he was seemingly millimeters from my front hub.


Next time once you are sure you are clear of the dog....call him to come...(let's go...wanna walk....come etc)....

Then wear the dog down...you will quickly become a very unsatisfing target...if the dog does come call animal services and hve him picked up.

I did this with a stupid owner of a rottewieller who could not control the dog, and thought it was cute that it barked and chased cyclists....when I brought the dog back she was in tears....and next time had a leash.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well this is the last day of work before spring break. Working Friday would just be too much before having the full week off. Nothing big on the agenda...a few home projects, and hopefully getting a few rides in. But I will be scarce around here. Have fun without me


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Warmer temps (12F) and the trails were nicely packed down. Nice not taking an hour to go 4.5 miles.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Guessing that a clean round puncture shouldn`t be TOO big a hardship for it, compared to a rock slice or something. How much life is left in that tire? Unless it`s getting close anyway, I`d probably boot it and just use it on the rear.


Lots of tread life left on the tire unfortunately. I put a standard round tube patch over each of three holes. Two in the tread and one on the side wall. (guess it took two rotations to maneuver the nail in such a way to punch it through the side?) Thinking about it now, I think I may put some shoe goo on the outside of the holes to keep sand, dirt road grime from getting in and having friction wear the patches off from the inside.

Wish I would have taken a pic of the nail in the tire. I almost had to laugh! One of those things you can't make up. Looked like the old arrow through the head gag.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been having back pain recently. Yesterday was really bad. I could barely signal for a turn and pedal at the same time. I'm not sure if there is one single cause or if there were a number of factors involved. For one, the straps on my backpack were not quite even. I know this last bout with pain was caused when I was pedaling really fast downhill, which is kind of weird. I think the combination of the straps and my backpack being heavier and fuller because of the clothing I have to shed on the way home were contributors. Also, my seatpost had been slipping, which encouraged a more erratic pedaling motion. Now that I have a new seat clamp and my straps are set to the same length, I won't have as much of a problem.


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## nathanmillen (Mar 22, 2013)

There is a bloke i see in the mornings on my commute who is riding to work in a short-sleeved shirt. Seems fine until you know that the average temp is -4C (mid 20's F). Funny thing is he doesn't even look cold, says hi in a not-out of breath way too. Must be bred differently to me.......


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Next time once you are sure you are clear of the dog....call him to come...(let's go...wanna walk....come etc)....
> 
> Then wear the dog down...you will quickly become a very unsatisfing target...if the dog does come call animal services and hve him picked up.
> 
> I did this with a stupid owner of a rottewieller who could not control the dog, and thought it was cute that it barked and chased cyclists....when I brought the dog back she was in tears....and next time had a leash.


I can see why that would work on the owner, but it sounds like a method for training dogs to chase bikes.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I've been having back pain recently. Yesterday was really bad. I could barely signal for a turn and pedal at the same time. I'm not sure if there is one single cause or if there were a number of factors involved. For one, the straps on my backpack were not quite even. I know this last bout with pain was caused when I was pedaling really fast downhill, which is kind of weird. I think the combination of the straps and my backpack being heavier and fuller because of the clothing I have to shed on the way home were contributors. Also, my seatpost had been slipping, which encouraged a more erratic pedaling motion. Now that I have a new seat clamp and my straps are set to the same length, I won't have as much of a problem.


Hope it feels better, s0ck. Back stuff is weird. When I had tailbone pain, it was actually caused by a lumbar problem, which I never would have guessed.



nathanmillen said:


> There is a bloke i see in the mornings on my commute who is riding to work in a short-sleeved shirt. Seems fine until you know that the average temp is -4C (mid 20's F). Funny thing is he doesn't even look cold, says hi in a not-out of breath way too. Must be bred differently to me.......


Can't wait to hear what he wears when it gets hot out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've been looking out the window all day watching a weather system move in between the mountains, hoping it'd wait until after I left for the day to actually get here. So I went to Weather Underground to check the temp and as I did so, took another look out the window. Weather's here. Light snow with a northerly wind. Good times.

Normally there are mountains in these views...


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## STidrvr (Mar 24, 2013)

Well, today was my first commute. I was paranoid about leaving too late, and google maps said roughly 30min to get here, so I left 30min earlier then I normally do when driving. needless to say I made it here in 20 min taking my time. I ended up being 40 min early. Oh we'll better early then late. Overall it was a pretty good ride, it was abut 45F, tonight though (2nd shift) will be much colder.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

Last night's commute was pretty fast. I made it home at an average speed of 24km/h. Good thing too because I had forgotten my lights. I made it home just before dark.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

nathanmillen said:


> There is a bloke i see in the mornings on my commute who is riding to work in a short-sleeved shirt. Seems fine until you know that the average temp is -4C (mid 20's F). Funny thing is he doesn't even look cold, says hi in a not-out of breath way too. Must be bred differently to me.......


That is like me. I too ride in shirt/short mode when I can, I bring the strechy bike pants and wear a sweat shirt under 30F but get overheated up hills. Moot point now since NM is in the hi 60's on my way in and mid 40's on the way home.

Mark


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Warm, cloudy, and somewhere between breezy and windy. I wish it would either rain/snow or clear up. Actually, I wish more for the wind to leave us alone. I`m working 5 days week (killing me!), but have Monday off. Sure would like to start this year`s weekend tour series, but my mom and dad are expecting me for Easter dinner, so that kind of eliminates any overnighter possibilities. Well, there`s always next week.

Good luck with the back, sOck. Hope the backpack and seatpost changes help.



STidrvr said:


> I ended up being 40 min early. Oh we'll better early then late. Overall it was a pretty good ride, it was abut 45F, tonight though (2nd shift) will be much colder.


Welcome! Yeah, I blow it often in trying to guestimate travel time. Happens to me while driving as well as pedalling. Now you have a better idea how long your commute route takes, at least.



scorchedearth said:


> Last night's commute was pretty fast. I made it home at an average speed of 24km/h. Good thing too because I had forgotten my lights. I made it home just before dark.


Note to self: no lights = good training


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

STidrvr said:


> Well, today was my first commute. I was paranoid about leaving too late, and google maps said roughly 30min to get here, so I left 30min earlier then I normally do when driving. needless to say I made it here in 20 min taking my time. I ended up being 40 min early. Oh we'll better early then late. Overall it was a pretty good ride, it was abut 45F, tonight though (2nd shift) will be much colder.


First commute is a great start. Timing is hard, I have mine down to a science now, but if I have to go somewhere further, I'm early or late...usually early. The biggest surprise was when I worked at a lake that took 1.25 hours or so to drive to @ 50mph, but on moose watch and slowing through a couple of small towns, but when on the road bike only took 2.5...I thought it would take longer. Getting through my town and the other small towns really taking some time driving, but on a bike you maintain your speed.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Schott said:


> The biggest surprise was when I worked at a lake that took 1.25 hours or so to drive to @ 50mph, but on moose watch and slowing through a couple of small towns, but when on the road bike only took 2.5....


That is impressive, a 5 hour a day commute is more then I would try. Good job.

Mark


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Oh, well...I was only able to do it a few times a month, usually had to have the state truck up at the park. But it did make for a pretty long day.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

My ride in this morning was a bit chilly at first then I realized that I overdressed and I started to sweat my @ss off. I guess I will take cooler weather versus temps in the 90's and 100's. They will be here before I know it.

I left my single speed home today and took my geared bike today. With my heavy backpack it made my commute a bit easier and my average HR went down by about 10 points on this ride in.

@STidrvr -- Glad to hear about your first commute. Over time you will be able to guess your travel times better. The way I look at it, if I leave too early and have problems on my way in, I have time to deal with it without being stressed. Keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing about your adventures riding your bike to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> ...It's funny how I can be so indecisive as to which one to ride some days...


Oh, I hear you on that one. The fun trail ride in the morning means a long road haul in the evening. Or "this could be my last trail ride, better try it."

Some day I'm going to start a thread to let others pick the bike you ride for the next commute. Anybody can play - post the available options and let others vote - wake up the the morning, check the comments, ride the one that gets the most votes and report back.

The trails were fast, slow, icy, impassable, wet, muddy & slippery today. Today's ride had it all except dry. I was glad to be on the studded mountain bike for the lake and icy spots. A studded fatbike would have been ideal. The trails are getting mucky enough that I'll probably have to stay off them unless they are really frozen. The temp this morning was about 33F so, not so much.

I'm pretty sure I've used the lights for the last time this year!:thumbsup: I've got one more week and then I'm on vacation for a week. When I get back on April 17 I expect it to be summer.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Where ya going, Bedwards?


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Some day I'm going to start a thread to let others pick the bike you ride for the next commute. Anybody can play - post the available options and let others vote - wake up the the morning, check the comments, ride the one that gets the most votes and report back.


Count me in on this!



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm pretty sure I've used the lights for the last time this year!:thumbsup: I've got one more week and then I'm on vacation for a week. When I get back on April 17 I expect it to be summer.


I'm thinking the same thing on the lights. Half way through my commute the sun was up enough as to where I didn't really need it any more. I expect the lights to be off my bikes in a week or 2.

Enjoy your vacation, I hope you are going some place fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Where ya going, Bedwards?


Puerto Plata
I've already got reservations for this:
El Choco Loco (44km) - Iguana Mama, Cabarete Adventure Tours
and the 27 Waterfalls tour:
https://www.facebook.com/Iguanamama/photos_stream



p08757 said:


> Count me in on this!


I was going to wait until the bike choice wasn't dictated by the weather. I think it could be fun. The "Interactive: What Bike Should I Ride" thread.


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## Adroit Rider (Oct 26, 2004)

Great day for a pathlete story. Spring is here, cyclists are out on the paths and I was geared up to demoralize some racer boys with tights and fancy pedals.

I left the garage super geeked for a ride into work. Nothing special, just 7 miles of fixed gear lolly gagging on Chicago's Lake Front Path. I tooled down a few city blocks, rode under Lake Shore Drive and came up onto the path with a racer type about 100yds ahead. He looked pretty serious, I put in a little effort to see how serious, and the gap got a little bigger. Uhoh, I am going to have to break a sweat which was not so jolly with cotton all over my skin.

I spun up the 46x16 fixed gear and kept the gap manageable, looking for his effort to ween. The path is nearly dead flat but I noticed his pace diminish on a slight rise, I sprung some watts from warmed legs and closed the gap, ding ding, with the bell and overtook him. I didn't demoralize him at this point, just a nice, Happy Friday pass, but he sure tried to rip my legs off for the next few miles. He accelerate with all his might, shifted some gears and opened a gap. I closed it down and sat in on his wheel until he started looking back and giving up on dropping the hipster. Close to demoralized.

He began to tire, I saw a rise coming, and unleashed an acceleration that only a fixed gear with BMX pedals can deliver.

Oh, wait, he turned.

Happy Friday.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Yikes! If you get to choose I may end up on my wife's road bike, or worse, the beach cruiser! Haha!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^No, you can choose the bikes in your pool that you are willing to choose from. Lots of interest, I might have to kick this off sooner than later.

^^ ^^Nice Job


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Smudge13 said:


> Yikes! If you get to choose I may end up on my wife's road bike, or worse, the beach cruiser! Haha!


I would only put *my* "working" bikes on the list. My wife has 2 bikes that are okay, but I would rather ride my own bikes. After today I should have 4 to put on the list, I'm expecting a UPS shipment this afternoon with a new toy the wife doesn't know about yet.

I was planning on building up a track bike type of thing, but there are ZERO good frames at a decent price around here, so I stumbled upon what I hope is a good deal at bikeisland.com and my new $229.00 track bike should be here today! Pricing out parts, I would not be able to build up a bike like this for this cheap using used parts.

I figure after a new saddle and some bullhorn handle bars I will be good to go and have a second single speed for my commute!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, the weather cleared up for my ride home last night. Just a light dusting and then the clouds decided to move on. This AM was a nice ride. 23F and partly cloudy. Today we are supposed to get some snow turning to rain and then back to snow as the temps drop tonight again. It looks like it is snowing lightly out there right now, but I hope the rain in the forecast does not turn up.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Well, the weather cleared up for my ride home last night. Just a light dusting and then the clouds decided to move on. This AM was a nice ride. 23F and partly cloudy. Today we are supposed to get some snow turning to rain and then back to snow as the temps drop tonight again. It looks like it is snowing lightly out there right now, but I hope the rain in the forecast does not turn up.


SOFT!!! Had to walk Russian Jack hills as no one has traveled the North side. Bumpy and a little faster further South West I got. Let a bunch of air out...

Got to see a Moose run through the snow up close today, almost turned into a detour but it ran into the woods. Was fun to watch it bounce on its hind legs and flail its fronts as it hopped around.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

a shop put up an add for someone to take away a free bag of tubes, some with minor punctures but still- free.
be rude not to.
this wasn't all of it though, actually had to go back with a backpack to grab the second batch.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^
Dayum! What a score! I`m surprised they didn`t donate the whole lot to a nonprofit of some kind. Well, you sure made out good.

Wow, Bedwards- what a cool trip! Especially after the way winter has been dragging out for you guys. Enjoy some nice weather and chow down


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Tried a rear pointed and rear mounted camera but the mount rotated some. Little use because Indiana doesn't use front license plates.

My first try posting pics directly on the forum. If too large, I will edit this post.









The sun and reflection flare in lens reminds me of a recent meteor strike in Russia.









Pivoted camera picks up hub flanges and cassette. Interesting through the wheel view.

A bit farther on a squirrel sidled just out of my path rather than try the through the front wheel suicide run. Superb bit of rodent athleticism!

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Byknuts, thatsalottatubes! :drumroll::rockon:

Bedwards, have fun, and I'm glad you know how to swim the waterfall trip looks :crazy:

Brian, everything in Indiana looks so clean- your bike, the road, lawns, etc. :thumbsup: I guess we're suffering from dirty receding snowbank season here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ I almost photographed a foot high sand encrusted heat sculpted pillar of snow that was all that was left from what the snow plow piled up. Rain washes things up well. Some snow on north slopes and under bushes melting in the heat wave (got above 40 F Yay!). Gone this morning. That wheel was just rebuilt in May and it has about 2000 miles on it, so not too much dirt around the spoke heads and the builder cleaned up the freewheel so 2-years of grime is not present. I too, was surprised how clean it is. 

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Indiana doesn't want me, apparently. He drove on by:









Public enemy number 320,867,531. 

BrianMc


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

^^Taxicab?


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

highdelll said:


> ^^Taxicab?


Nah looks like blue on top.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

kikoraa said:


> Nah looks like blue on top.


That`s a lot better than knowing what color the undercarriage is.

Brian, do you have 40 spoke wheels, or is that just some kind of fish eye effect making them look so close together?

Glad I didn`t go bike camping this weekend. Weather started geting ugly this afternoon. Not bad enough that I`d have been seriously uncomfortable, but yucky enough that I`d rather be here at home. I had a nice ride in the morning before the wind came up- rode to Cabelas to blow some store credits on a new 2 x AAA mini flashlight. Now it`s drizzly and windy and I`m still warm and comfy


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

highdelll said:


> ^^Taxicab?


Only if you want an express trip to the penitentiary in Terre Haute, In.

Rode with the new short liners (Nashbar Liner Shorts )was both pleased and disappointed. Pleased in how the chamois felt and the leg grippers did their job without pulling or irritating my legs, disappointed in how I overestimated the size in the waist so I had to keep re-adjusting every couple of miles. Grabbed a set of suspenders and am pleased at how they feel as a combo. If that is how bibs are supposed to feel I can see why there is such enthusiasm for them. Also got a new set of gloves to replace a set I dropped, just grabbed a cheap pair of Bell gloves with the gel padded palms, and was caught off guard at how good they felt (especially since they cost less than $10, less than half the cost of the previous pair). This year is shaping up better and better.

Btw.....HAPPY EASTER! :thumbsup:


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

I have 1 bib and only wear it for races because they stay put. Bibs are so damn expensive I'm scared to wear them for normal trail rides for fear I may rip them haha. Too bad I have like 7 pairs of baggies but I'm definitely going to scoop up a set of suspenders now that you mention it. No problems with chaffing? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Not so far, but I only tried them on a quick "round the block" to see if it would work at all, no long rides yet. I don't think it'll be a problem as long as the clips are on the outside of my base layer shirt so they rub against fabric and not skin. Got the idea from another thread in the Apparel/Accessory forum.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

Nice. I love my hoss ponderosa but I suffer from hank hill ass  everything slips down back there. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the road bike this morning since the trails are too soft. 37 and raining never felt so warm. It looks like I might get a few more trail/lake rides because the overnight temps are supposed to be in the high teens.

I did get a chance to take the fatbike out yesterday morning and do some free riding through the woods on top of the crusty snow.

You haven't got rid of me yet, my vacation starts next week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Brian in that copshot, is that three bottle cages on your bike?

Nice 45 degree ride into work this morning. We have had a nice stretch of weather here in the PNW. Hope it continues for a while longer.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Awesome commute this AM. 29 F when I left my house. That coupled with the temps that were near 40 yesterday made for some really nice, fast trails. Made the ride in just a touch under a half hour and that was with needing to stop for a moose on the trail. He was even cool enough to only look at me for a minute before sauntering off the trail and into the woods. 

Of course, the ride home is going to be a bit slower, I think. The melt cycle will soften stuff up a bit. Hopefully not too much. I forgot how much fun it is to go at a bit faster clip and want to do it again when the sun's out. While I love me some winter, I think I am ready for some summer now.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Got out of the house 20 min late which is 2/3 of my buffer time for mishaps and etc, but had a tailwind, and hit every light just after they changed for 13 miles, and still made it to work with 10 min to spare. The suspenders worked awesome, kept everything in place, no adjusting needed. Took it slow coming home, just an easy, low key cadence. Truly beautiful morning, and took the time to enjoy it. Had another rider meet me at a stoplight, and he commented on how slow I was riding. Told him I wasn't trying to go fast, Just trying to go home. He said "O, cool" and zipped off, like being shot out of a cannon. I got about half a mile before I realized what I had just said, and laughed so hard I had to stop, since I couldn't hold a line. Wasn't trying to be a [email protected], but it sure came out that way.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No commute today, but I had my first ride on my 29er running dirtdrop bars:



First time I've ridden drops since...ever. They were really comfy on the snowy singletrack, but on the road my shoulders really feel it, so some tweaking is needed. Switched the bike back to singlespeed on the weekend, but the studs are staying on for another week or two.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

highdelll said:


> ^^Taxicab?


No. That is the color of Sheriff Deputies here in Indiana. Apparently they are an acceptable distraction when a driver almost runs over a cyclist because the driver wasn't looking where he was going, but was looking up the street at a cruiser, instead. It's the attractive paint job, I guess.

Home internet is down for a while. I'll be rarely here for a bit. Getting the video on the rim tapes for that thread. Gives now meaning to what you see is what you get.

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I rode the geared bike today. I'm hoping it will be easier on my back, which is still pretty painful at times. The weather is pretty nice. It was cloudy this morning and 42F.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I rode the geared bike today. I'm hoping it will be easier on my back, which is still pretty painful at times. The weather is pretty nice. It was cloudy this morning and 42F.


What's wrong? I'm in the same injured back boat 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> Had another rider meet me at a stoplight, and he commented on how slow I was riding.


Somebody you don`t know just laid that on you out of the blue? How odd!



newfangled said:


> First time I've ridden drops since...ever. They were really comfy on the snowy singletrack, but on the road my shoulders really feel it, so some tweaking is needed.


Awright! In the other thread, you mentioned borrowing (cause you wouldn`t steal from your wife!) your wife`s stem to try. Does she keep it parked all winter, or will you have to wait for a good opportunity to catch it while it isn`t in use? Hope it feels better that way!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> In the other thread, you mentioned borrowing (cause you wouldn`t steal from your wife!) your wife`s stem to try. Does she keep it parked all winter...


She barely uses it, so stealing it for a bit won't be a problem. But it's 35deg, and I think it's 90mm or maybe even 100mm. So it's pretty goofy, but should work for awhile. I'm ultimately hoping that a less goofy 70mm/35deg will work, but we'll see.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We have had a stretch of really nice weather and the ride home today was no exception...sunny and about 60 degrees. There is a particular stoplight at the bottom of a long hill where cyclists tend to collect to hit the MUP. Tonite when I rolled up there were 11 cyclists already there in front of me. :crazy: During the winter I might see one other rider.

The light turned and we all filtered onto the MUP. Much CAT6 racing ensued. It was entertaining.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was a chilly 24F out when I left the house this morning with little to no wind. The sun is almost up by the time I leave the house. I think next week I can ditch the headlight.

The lake had some cool looking fog raising up from the water which made for an interesting view.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

kikoraa said:


> What's wrong? I'm in the same injured back boat


I think it's a muscle strain. Basically, I have a hard time bending or twisting. I was able to withstand the temptation to go riding this weekend, and after taking it easy on my geared bike, the pain isn't quite as bad. I miss my singlespeed though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Cool pics. You had 24F and mist coming off the water. I had 24F and I road across the water. I think that's my last trip across the ice. I road past a few shallow areas with open water. Most of the ice is still pretty thick but it's darkening up every warm day. The trails were pretty tricky too. Lots of flowing water where the trail usually is. But there are still a lot so areas that are still snow or ice covered too. The frost's going to be a problem when the ground melts:


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute last night was interesting. I devised a different route that cut 9km from my usual distance and the roads which I took were safe and pleasant. Some of the parks I rode through only had gravel paths so it felt like I was riding in Paris-Roubaix for a while but that made it exciting. With a couple of small detours, the ride took longer than necessary however I figure I can cut my commute down to an hour once I iron out the route correctly.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Somebody you don`t know just laid that on you out of the blue? How odd!


I was really poking along. I mean even the 4 year old on a Big Wheel gave me the finger and told me to hurry up.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another great ride this AM. 21F when I left the house. Trails were well packed again and fast for the most part. The ride home last evening was beautiful - bluebird skies and 38 degrees. The trail was punchy in the areas where the sun had sat on it all day, but still quite ridable. I did come across a couple of guys riding their skinny tire bikes pushing through the softer spots. I can remember doing that a bit last spring and am so glad I went fat!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

The wife is out of town tonight, so I'm going to skip my spin class and try to get some miles in on a moving bike on my way home. I will probably take the MUP I ride all the way north as far as it goes and turn around and come home. Should be almost a 30 mile ride when I'm all said and done.

Perfect riding weather its 47F with a very light wind at the moment.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My wife is out too, will be back on the 12th. I`ve been celebrating bachelor life by doing all my grocery shopping at the take and bake pizza place in the mean time. Started this morning on the opposite of Newf`s flat to drop conversion. I`m putting the flat bar back on a rigid Rockhopper that I bought last fall and roadie-fied, then realized it was too short for me. I had to dismantle the Schwinn that I just picked up and rob the trigger shifters so I can keep the Deore thumbies that came with the hopper. I don`t know what I`ll do with the thumbies, but they`re getting hard to find for cheap, so I might as well stash these away in case I ever want a pair. Project is currently stalled until I get one more mtb brake cable. Last week of swing shift starts today, then back to graveyard for me.

What is that, Bedwards? A sink hole? Careful if the lake tempts you out again- save the swimming practice for tri season!


scorchedearth said:


> Some of the parks I rode through only had gravel paths so it felt like I was riding in Paris-Roubaix for a while but that made it exciting. With a couple of small detours, the ride took longer than necessary however I figure I can cut my commute down to an hour once I iron out the route correctly.


Mmm... A little P-R action is always welcome


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I had a nice ride home last night. I took a different route on the MUP to see where it exactly went last night and found a new route to one of my other offices that I hardly ever have to go to, but now I know the way! I didn't ride as far as I wanted and only got in about 22 miles. I tested out the single-track trails that flow along parts of the MUP and they are starting to dry out and should be good to ride in a week or so.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute again this AM. 28F at the house. Fast trails with only a few places that were icy or sloppy. Love being able to make better time on the commute.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

About -10Celsius in the morning, +5C on the way back. I took the "scenic route" to work because the ground was frozen and there're aren't too bad patches of ice there. The downside is that the only uphill is just before arriving at work. The other way, I figured the "scenic route" was probably muddy, and took another way that might not be bad once all the the snow and ice melts. Now, I made it OK but there was a 2 second slide where having some trails riding experience probably helped....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A rare not-so-enjoyable commute this morning. I went with too-skimpy gloves for 19F and my hands hurt for the first 5 miles. I decided to try the cross bike as the layer of ice was gone on the dirt road. That part went OK, except I found that when I had cleaned it up after a January thaw ride, I has put the seatpost back in at some random too-low position. After a mile I decided I needed to stop and raise it. I had moved a multitool from the seatpack of my MTB to my backpack, so that was good. But the hex wrenches on the multitool were rusted closed and took some convincing to open with my already cold fingers. 

That done, the gusty winds were the real trouble. I found a corollary to “The wind is a hill with no soul”, and that is “Gusty crosswinds are a hill with no soul but with bouncers lining either side of it waiting to try to push you into traffic or off the bike”. So overall it was slow going despite the lighter, studless bike. I am now in fear of going up the hill on the way home, as I was already in the lowest gear on the hill to work, which I usually do in the middle ring on the MTB.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> A rare not-so-enjoyable commute this morning. I went with too-skimpy gloves for 19F and my hands hurt for the first 5 miles. I decided to try the cross bike as the layer of ice was gone on the dirt road. That part went OK, except I found that when I had cleaned it up after a January thaw ride, I has put the seatpost back in at some random too-low position. After a mile I decided I needed to stop and raise it. I had moved a multitool from the seatpack of my MTB to my backpack, so that was good. But the hex wrenches on the multitool were rusted closed and took some convincing to open with my already cold fingers.
> 
> That done, the gusty winds were the real trouble. I found a corollary to "The wind is a hill with no soul", and that is "Gusty crosswinds are a hill with no soul but with bouncers lining either side of it waiting to try to push you into traffic or off the bike". So overall it was slow going despite the lighter, studless bike. I am now in fear of going up the hill on the way home, as I was already in the lowest gear on the hill to work, which I usually do in the middle ring on the MTB.


What doesn't kill you makes you stronger....

I hope your commute home turns out better. Should be warmer and your seat post will be at the right height.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

p08757 said:


> What doesn't kill you makes you stronger....
> 
> I hope your commute home turns out better. Should be warmer and your seat post will be at the right height.


Yeah, MTXB and I hope your commute doesn't kill you because that would be really sad.

I had one of those commutes last Friday. I took the long way home and about 1/4 the way into it I wished I hadn't. Cold, windy, hilly on my mountain bike. It sucked. I don't really feel stronger but I'm not doing that again soon. Maybe whatever doesn't kill you makes you smarter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, MTXB and I hope your commute doesn't kill you because that would be really sad.


Thanks, me too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Just got back from a two hour morning ride. I won`t torture anybody with the weather report, just suffice it to say that I rode in my summer costume and was comfortable. I used to like the in town loop that I rode today, but there`s gotten to be a lot more traffic on it lately. I think it`s time to retire that route.



bedwards1000 said:


> It sucked. I don't really feel stronger but I'm not doing that again soon. Maybe whatever doesn't kill you makes you smarter.


:lol: Getting killed sucks! 
Signature from a BF net poster: It doesn`t get harder, you just go slower.

Xplorer, any progress on your idea to transplant that Campy triple onto your cross bike?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, any progress on your idea to transplant that Campy triple onto your cross bike?


Not yet, that's why I wanted to try the cross bike as-is today, to refresh my memory of the hard gears and help decide if I want to pursue the triple. I have a feeling the hill is not going to be any easier than it was in August 2011 (pre-flood) when I last commuted up it on the cross bike. I also want to try the road bike as I haven't ridden that one in years, before I consider cannibalizing it for the drivetrain.

Your warmer weather ride sounds lovely.


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## austin_bike (Apr 2, 2005)

We have a new foster dog so I am commuting in the morning, going home at lunch and taking the car back (just can't do 2 showers at work, too much of a pain.)

Went home at lunch to check on him and go caught in the storms. Last time I don't check weather.com's maps and rely only on the hourly.

If anyone in austin needs a dog: AustinBike.com - Scooby Doo Needs a Home


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

austin_bike said:


> We have a new foster dog so I am commuting in the morning, going home at lunch and taking the car back (just can't do 2 showers at work, too much of a pain.)
> 
> Went home at lunch to check on him and go caught in the storms. Last time I don't check weather.com's maps and rely only on the hourly.
> 
> If anyone in austin needs a dog: AustinBike.com - Scooby Doo Needs a Home


I hate getting caught in the rain when I don't plan on it, but on the other hand it sounds like for this one ride you found a way to take care of that shower thing....

My wife named our dog Scooby Doo. He is the best darn dog ever.... At least we think so.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Just about my 7th or 8th ride on the new commuter today. Pics to come when I get the rest of the parts in. Felt great, though it was a nice windy 15 knots today...tailwind going, headwind coming. 

Finally started to see other cyclists a few days ago, looks like the Spring thaw is bringing everyone out of the woodwork.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The ride home didn't kill me, but it came close, even though I had some good tailwinds. Just a lot more panting etc. But on the other hand, it took only 1 hour and 24 minutes to get home, 18 minutes faster than the best time on the MTB with 2"+ ice spiker pros and much lower gears. Not really a fair day to judge it, so the experiment continues.

I looked up the wind gusts and they were 35mph this morning and 30 this evening.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

I'm bored, what to do?
Thsoe tires off the Ute are frigging huge, wonder if they fit in the Casseroll? nah, they're 47's... shouldn't fit, hey they do! 
wonder what that'll ride like?

ain't half bad, big wheeled singlespeedy goodness!
My Ute's been slowly taking over gears and overall-ability. so big daddy Cass is pared down.
upright riding position makes me a bit of a sail, but there you go, still very fun.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Not yet, that's why I wanted to try the cross bike as-is today, to refresh my memory of the hard gears and help decide if I want to pursue the triple.


Another option is to keep the double up front and go to a wide-range cassette in the rear. My commuter is setup 50-34 in the front and 11-34 in the back. Great for climbing the hills around here when loaded down. May cost some $$ though...you'll need the cassette, possibly a different derailleur and you will have to lengthen your chain.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

I must say that all that winter riding did pay off. I have been riding to work at least 2 times a week and as much as 4 times a week. (12 hour shifts, 3 on, 4 off, 4 on, 3 off) Now that it is warming up I am much faster on my ride then I was last summer. Ave speed is up almost 4 mph and times have dropped.

Mark


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Took a ride to get some chinese food (tonight is my Friday night), on the way back thought there was a rabbit in the road. Kinda aimed for it so I could chase it off the road before one of the stupid, NASCAR wanna be teenagers ran him over. Turns out it was an owl, not sure what kind (other than being grey/white), looked at me for a long couple of seconds then flew up into a near by mesquite tree and resumed his watch.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute. Morning about 64f and ride home about 85f. Gonna be 113f here before I know it. I think we had spring here for five days last week. Summer is charging forward.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome, Vegas! Yeah, I bet this is the best riding weather of the year for you guys. I have to fess up that the last time you posted I didn`t comment because I thought you were a spammer :eekster:
Sorry!


byknuts said:


> I'm bored, what to do?
> Thsoe tires off the Ute are frigging huge, wonder if they fit in the Casseroll? nah, they're 47's... shouldn't fit, hey they do!


No kidding? I bet it would fit Nokian A10s then. I don`t remember- do you have one of the later Casserolls with cantis, or the earlier sidepull models?


woodway said:


> Another option is to keep the double up front and go to a wide-range cassette in the rear. My commuter is setup 50-34 in the front and 11-34 in the back. Great for climbing the hills around here when loaded down. May cost some $$ though...you'll need the cassette, possibly a different derailleur and you will have to lengthen your chain.


Yeah, it seems a shame to put one bike out of commision like that. Even if it isn`t used, it would probably be a lot harder to sell in nonoperating condition. Except my mind lept to triples before thinking of bigger sprockets! Weren`t Shimano brifters the same for both double and triple up until a couple years ago? That would mean new cranks, BB, FD and chain, I think. Hmmm... or a complete drivetrain swap between one bike and the other?


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Tomorrow is supposed to be the warmest day of the year so far with a high of 70! It would be a perfect day for riding but the forecast also has 23MPH winds out of the SSE. I may want to invest in a sail for tomorrows ride.....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Or just go for a smaller, small front chain ring. You could get some lower gears by changing 1 part. Is it already a compact crank up front? 
Here's one that would fit any or rodar's bikes. 50/34 Compact Crank - square taper

This morning's commute kinda sucked. I took the 29er on the trails and headed rodar's warning not to let the lake tempt me. It was trying to tempt me with 1/2 mile across vs 3-4 miles around. Probably a wise move because based on the rest of the commute I would have gone through for sure. My rear shock kept popping into lockout. The trails were soupy mud pits in spots despite looking like they were solid on top so I got to work a mess. I hit an icy rut, took a digger and bashed up my knee, which is now on ice, 3 days before my vacation. I get to work and am trying to clean the gunk off my bike and notice that my rear shock is covered in oil so that's going into the shop. I would have been much better off if I just took the car today.

The knee's the biggest concern.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Weren`t Shimano brifters the same for both double and triple up until a couple years ago? That would mean new cranks, BB, FD and chain, I think. Hmmm... or a complete drivetrain swap between one bike and the other?


Kind of forgot about the shifter...might need to change that out in order to go from a double to a triple.



bedwards1000 said:


> I would have been much better off if I just took the car today. The knee's the biggest concern.


That kind of thinking will get you into the confessional thread  Hope the knee is feeling better.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The road bike is full campy 3x9 and the cross (2x10) has campy shifters/derailleurs but a Shimano crankset. Lowest gear currently on the cross is 39 frontx29 rear. I can't put a smaller chainring on this crankset, but a compact might work, though some say the existing FD might not work so great. Campy specs the cross's RD as 29 tooth max, but maybe I can push that. If I steal anything off the road bike I would probably just steal everything (drivetrain/brifters), assuming its compatible. 

I have another commute experiment going on, those new Schwalbe Marathons to try on the MTB. That won't help too much on windy days like yesterday because of the riser bars, but I expect it will be comfortable and comfortably geared on a regular day, and speedier than the studded knobbies.

Sorry about the knee bashing Bedwards. Hopefully it will just be tender for a few days.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. A bit chillier than yesterday - 20F, though nothing to complain about. However, I have a bunch of creaking, crunching, squealing, and grinding noises coming from the bike. Might just be time to do a full on cleaning again! The amount of grime on the brief bit of road I ride is just enough to remind me what I hate about breakup. This time of year it seems I spend more time maintaining the bike than actually riding it. Went through a puddle yesterday that came up to my BB. Great fun. Maybe fenders are in order as well.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Finally got on my damn bike again now that it's taken a day to not snow. Still surprisingly cold this morning, had to put my extra socks on my hands just half a mile out from home.

I noticed this deal on some panniers I've been considering while browsing the tubes instead of working. With the 20% discount and my admittedly small dividend from last year I can get them for about $65, which seems like I'd be making out like a bandit, and stupid not to. I have bags already but they're not very waterproof (there was pooling at the bottom the only time I got caught out in heavy rain) and this year I'm trying to be more immune to poor weather. Or at least figure out a way to dry out my shoes before I have to put them back on. Any thoughts on the bags or the price?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> The road bike is full campy 3x9 and the cross (2x10) has campy shifters/derailleurs but a Shimano crankset. Lowest gear currently on the cross is 39 frontx29 rear. I can't put a smaller chainring on this crankset, but a compact might work, though some say the existing FD might not work so great. Campy specs the cross's RD as 29 tooth max, but maybe I can push that. If I steal anything off the road bike I would probably just steal everything (drivetrain/brifters), assuming its compatible.


In moving to a compact crankset, you might need to adjust the height of your existing FD, but otherwise it should not be a problem. I've never run campy derailleurs, but on SRAM and Shimano derailleurs you can push the "max tooth" spec and be OK, as long as you are still within the take-up capacity of the derailleur. I've run 32T cassettes on derailleurs speced for 28T with zero problems. Good luck!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> No kidding? I bet it would fit Nokian A10s then. I don`t remember- do you have one of the later Casserolls with cantis, or the earlier sidepull models?


cantis! xtr v's actually. 
the colour-matched front rack is a REALLY nice addition.
how big are the A10's?
I had 40mm schwalbe marathon winters. tons of room even for the studs.
I wouldn't go to a 45mm with studs on the outer tread blocks, but down the middle it'd be fine.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Supposed to get another 6" of snow tomorrow. Sigh.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Here's one that would fit any or rodar's bikes.
> 
> I hit an icy rut, took a digger and bashed up my knee, which is now on ice, 3 days before my vacation.


That crank would indeed fir on Rodar`s bike, but there`s no way in Hell that it`ll end up there until they bolt a 24t ring to the inside!

Oh, man! The knee + vacation combo just plain sucks . Sure hope it doesn`t get in the way of your guided mtb ride.



byknuts said:


> how big are the A10's?
> I had 40mm schwalbe marathon winters. tons of room even for the studs.


Looks like they come in 32 and 40 (I just checked), but I thought they were 35. Anyway, since you already have studs that fit, I guess it`s no big deal. That`s still a whopper of a tire for a road bike!

Sanath, isn`t that the pannier that AndrewSwitch reviewd a while ago? If it was, somebody else just bought it also, and the whole story just came back up again within the last month or so in another pannier thread. You might try looking over the first page or two of recent threads for titles about panniers and see if it`s in there.

EDIT: Seatle Sports Titan
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/pannier-s-mountain-bike-843594.html
Whoo, how`s that for a memory!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No worries, Rodar. Yep, here in Vegas we get about three weeks of perfect riding weather in the fall and three weeks in the spring. Supposed to be getting close to ninety tomorrow. Unseasonably high, however, so it will cool down again a little. Supposed to be closer to seventy-five or so right now.

Commute in today uneventful. About fifty-eight degrees or so . Seven miles all down hill. Easy, easy. 14-16 mph cruising pace and barely breaking a sweat. 

Ride home sort of sucked. Had to peddle home quick to be on time to leave for an art night at kids' school. Can usually do my seven mile all uphill single speed (40x16) trek in about 35-45 minutes or so depending on my mood. About 10-12 mph average pace. First thing out the gate heading home, however, the crotch of my pants torn out by catching on my seat. I wear work pants on my trek to and from so I don't have to mess around with changing. I work for Clark County Public Works. So now I basically have to ride one handed while trying to hold my pants together so traffic doesn't get a bad view. Then, for only the second time ever, my chain pops while I steer into a curb cause the one handed thing wasn't working that well for me. Now I got to put my greasy chain (probably not as good with my maintenance like most are) on one handed while holding my pants. 

Never the less, I got home only a few minutes later than usual. But it was one of those commutes. Some are better than others for sure, but even the bad ones are usually better than driving the Jeep. I'm in this cause I like riding bikes, need the exercise, and saving a little on gas isn't half bad either.


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## meyer378 (Apr 19, 2011)

Had a good commute today as it was about 27 degrees this morning but got up to 50 by the time my classes were over. Love commuting to class rather than driving a car because it actually gives me something to look forward too when I leave class. Getting much more confident in traffic but seems like each day someone gets close to hitting me so still trying to find some sort of comfort zone while commuting in traffic.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Had my warmest start of the year today. The temp was a warm 38F and I rode with bare legs. All of the wind "they" were predicting has not shown up yet. The weather report had calm 5mph winds out of the SSE. Ride home should be in the upper 60's or lower 70's and I hope that 20+ mph wind doesn't show up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Last commute before Vaca!*

I road a Guest Bike in today to asses it's roadworthyness for a co-worker. You can see by the pics that it was a real looker. It was kind of fun to ride a different bike for a day.

My knee is big and sore but functional so it should be alright. As long as I don't do any kneeling. I dropped the bike at the bike doctors yesterday for a shockectomy so that should be on it's way to being fixed while I'm away.

I'm not too upset about leaving for vacation because spring is still taking its sweet time getting here.

MTXB, I think a compact might be the right answer. It's possible that you might have front derailleur problems but I doubt it. I agree with others that cannibalizing a working bike feels wrong. I have a compact on my Scott CR1 and I don't really notice a difference in low gearing between that and my Cross Check which has a triple.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Climbing hills into a 10-20MPH wind is just plain unfair.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

woodway said:


> Climbing hills into a 10-20MPH wind is just plain unfair.


Just look forward to the return trip all down hill with a 10-20MPH wind at your back!


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

p08757 said:


> Just look forward to the return trip all down hill with a 10-20MPH wind at your back!


Don't bet on it. In the last few weeks I have had several commutes with headwinds both ways, and tailwinds both ways.

One of the headwind days was so bad it added 6 minutes to a net downhill route of just 5.3 miles.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sanath, isn`t that the pannier that AndrewSwitch reviewd a while ago? If it was, somebody else just bought it also, and the whole story just came back up again within the last month or so in another pannier thread. You might try looking over the first page or two of recent threads for titles about panniers and see if it`s in there.
> 
> EDIT: Seatle Sports Titan
> http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/pannier-s-mountain-bike-843594.html
> Whoo, how`s that for a memory!


Ah, thanks for that. I searched and turned up a fairly old thread in which AndrewSwitch briefly described them. Sounded okay, and I figure I can always just return the things to REI if I don't like them. Came to $71.something shipped (stupid sales tax) for the pair of bags, which still sounds pretty darn good to me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I got the new summer commuter shoes on the MTB for today's ride. It was quiet, comfy and 53 minutes 13.13mph. Most rides with the studded snows have been about 1:05, although I did clock a 55 last week somehow, probably some helpful lights and wind. I ended up getting the cheap wheels $59/$79 (Terramax?)on Performance, they are dual purpose compatible with disc/rim brakes. The dearth of mullet wheels (or any wheels really) on Craigslist convinced me not to spend my weekends scouring the bikeswaps, which are usually in May. The Marathon greenguards look pretty good, but I'd be surprised if they really measure 1.75". I didn't notice their heft, but we'll see how the hill home is. These are my first un-knobbies I've put on this bike and so far I am pleased with them.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...
> I ended up getting the cheap wheels $59/$79 (Terramax?)on Performance, they are dual purpose compatible with disc/rim brakes. The dearth of mullet wheels (or any wheels really) on Craigslist convinced me not to spend my weekends scouring the bikeswaps, which are usually in May.


I'm looking for an inexpensive set of wheels for my Single Speed and can't find anything worth it on Craigslist in my area, and what you have here is exactly what I'm looking for. Where exactly did you get those $59/$79 wheels from?

Thanks in advance!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Finally was able to commute today, long week, 15 deg, sunny, icy, punchy, gonna be nasty riding home...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

po8757, It looks like that sale ended, but there is a new one today that gives you 20% off, for a total of $199 when added to the cart.
PerformanceBike - bikes, bike accessories, bike gear, cycling equipment, cycling apparel, and more

You could also see if they might still honor the sale, since you had those items in your cart and must have forgot to hit submit.

From my 3/23 order confirmation:
Forté Terramax 26" Rear Wheel
Item #50-0106-NON-NON 
1
$79.99

Forté Terramax 26" Front Wheel
Item #50-0105-NON-NON 
1
$59.99

If that doesn't work they might tell you if they will be back on sale soon.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

^^^ Thanks. I will keep an eye out there and my other places.

I'm looking for an easy way to switch my SS from Commuter back to mountain bike with dirt tires and an 18t cog. Now its too much work if I want to take it out on the dirt.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Another thought...When I put the new wheel on, the mechanical disc brake dragged and I had to readjust it where it bolts on. I realized I should have bought some spacers that let you match the rotor location on the 2 wheels so that the swap can be done without messing with the brakes so much. Something like this: Universal Cycles -- Syntace 0.2mm Disc Brake Rotor Shims


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hit 57 F yesterday and I got back over 15 mph average. Still off last year's pace but getting there.

BrianMc


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Another thought...When I put the new wheel on, the mechanical disc brake dragged and I had to readjust it where it bolts on. I realized I should have bought some spacers that let you match the rotor location on the 2 wheels so that the swap can be done without messing with the brakes so much. Something like this: Universal Cycles -- Syntace 0.2mm Disc Brake Rotor Shims


Thanks again, I haven't thought of that, although the BB-7 is very easy to adjust on the fly. If it turns into a problem I will keep these in mind.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> Supposed to get another 6" of snow tomorrow. Sigh.


No word from Newfangled today - I hope he's not smothered in snow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm not sure what we actually got - maybe 3"? It was pretty underwhelming. But I'm happy to be underwhelmed, since the two March storms we had were also only supposed to drop 6", but each ended up at more than a foot.

I'd kindof been planning to take my studs off this weekend because the roads have been so clear, but the trails haven't started to clear at all, so I'm probably stuck with them for a few more weeks.


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## Sksbrowndog (Dec 25, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> No worries, Rodar. Yep, here in Vegas we get about three weeks of perfect riding weather in the fall and three weeks in the spring. Supposed to be getting close to ninety tomorrow. Unseasonably high, however, so it will cool down again a little. Supposed to be closer to seventy-five or so right now.
> 
> Commute in today uneventful. About fifty-eight degrees or so . Seven miles all down hill. Easy, easy. 14-16 mph cruising pace and barely breaking a sweat.
> 
> ...


Wow, this is a little freaky, I live in Las Vegas, commute 7.5 miles to work downhill and of course 7.5 miles back home uphill. I ride a Trek and my 4 wheeler is a Jeep. If I worked for the County (I don't) we would be living in a parallel world. Glad I didn't tear my pants today. Wow....


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

That is a little freaky, Sksbrowndog. I ride a ninety-nine dollar Walmart street cruiser, so that sets us apart too. Also got a Haro Vector rigid mountain bike that I ride up at Cottonwood every weekend.

Good commute today. Easy in and easy out. Only in mid-eighties today. I thought it was supposed to be ninety. Glad it wasn't. I think peddling home up hill in the summer at 3 p.m. when it's 113 degrees is gonna be hell. Not looking forward to it. Guess I should embrace ninety with enthusiasm.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hey, Vegas twins! You guys ever check out the Nevada subforum? It gets a surprising amount of action. Usually complete domination by you southern boys, but us "northerners" have been doing pretty well for the past couple weeks. I`m in Reno.

Bedwards, it looks like your guest bike has steel rims. You have an aluminum allergy like my threadless allergy?



BrianMc said:


> Hit 57 F yesterday and I got back over 15 mph average. Still off last year's pace but getting there.


Keep on working at it, Brian! Glad you`re making progress 

I did my little personal TT route this morning. A stiff breeze sprang up in the middle (no noticeable wind at home, just a few miles away), but I was delighted to see my AV speed up in the normal range as I got towards the end, and thought I must have really kicked butt against that wind. But I kept getting closer to home and watching my elapsed time, thinking I sure didn`t have much time left to get to my "finish line." I finished about a minute and a half slow- finally realized I had changed tires and didn`t recalibrate the speedometer, haha!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Thanks for the reminder to click on Bedwards' guest bike link - ha! That looks pretty uncomfortable to ride that far. The 1st pic is a great Craigslist lesson, they always look so nice from afar...

Sounds like a good ride Brian, and yours sounded good too for a while there Rodar. 

The ride home was good, 10 minutes slower than the cross bike, mostly because I could ride a comfy speed instead of a too-fast standing speed, but also because that was a killer tailwind that day. Still about 15 mins faster than the studded snows.

Vegascruiser, the pants story was a classic  There is yet another use for duct tape.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Keep on working at it, Brian! Glad you`re making progress  ... I finished about a minute and a half slow- finally realized I had changed tires and didn`t recalibrate the speedometer, haha!


Yeah. I used to time only the part of my rides after the warm up laps in the neighborhood to the cool down, subtracting seconds sitting at stops and use the corrected car odometer reading which matched Mapquest distances well. Now the computer averages it all in (unless I stop and save, not a safe thing to do at that place). The computer counts the slow roll up hoping the light will change, or traffic will let me roll the stop. So 16 mph might be more like 15.5 judging by the speed curves and my previous 16.5-17 may be more like 16-16.5. So I may be closer to being back than those numbers say.

I was trying to do the ride bys for the camera at certain speeds but it is clear that as I am coasting by on the level at 15.7 mph, then I am doing 16.5 about 20 feet further on. Either I am telekinetic or the iBike takes three or more readings before it changes the speed reading. I think I'd climb hills faster if I was telekinetic. 

BrianMc


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## tom-dave (Dec 28, 2012)

First ride of the year where ive managed to get to work warm looks like spring is finally coming looking forward to getting back on the trails


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

*Take the long way home*

Today was a bit cool, but was the first ride of my completed Cross Check. Put in 20ish miles after work, and it rides like a charm.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ OOh nice. 

I'm fresh off of spring break... actually woke up early enough to take the long way. We'll see how long that lasts :lol: 

Nice week "off" working on projects around the house. I got a few rides in also. One in particular that I'm still feeling was a 19 mile suffer fest on the rigid singlespeed. I think that's the farthest I've ever ridden a singlespeed. I gotta say, the singlespeed part wasn't nearly as bad as the rigid part :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Happy spring time, Ton-Dave 


wschruba said:


> Today was a bit cool, but was the first ride of my completed Cross Check. Put in 20ish miles after work, and it rides like a charm.


Ah- last week you mentioned a new bike, but I didn`t know what it was. Looks pretty sweet! You ordered the frame bag for it, or already had that?

Welcome back, CB. No snow? We have a dusting this morning. Wind`s been blowing hard for days. Back on graveyard for me starting tonight.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Was doing about 15.5 average then the chain came apart (jammed in the rear derailer cage) 1/4 mile before my usual 30 mph downhill and 1.5 from home. Boss was home so I did not need to walk. I am counting this as another 0.5 mph and at a lower heart rate. I was getting some auto shifting as the plate on the inside came off its pin. All that hard acceleration with the rim tape videos, I guess. 

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Welcome back, CB. No snow? We have a dusting this morning. Wind`s been blowing hard for days. Back on graveyard for me starting tonight.


Strangely, no. We got some hard rain yesterday, looked like it would turn to snow as the temp dropped... my house was basically ON the snowline last night... the tips of the trees were snowy this morning but the ground wasn't. Everything above the valley floor got a dusting. Roads were wet/drying out, wind was ripping this morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pretty uneventful today. Left early enough to battle some wind and still have time for a shower. My boss’ car died last week and he’s been relying on carpooling, but today he said “I don’t know how you do it”, as he was considering riding his bike in but changed his mind when it was only 35F, “I’m not riding in that!”


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Know the feeling about wind. Last night I rode in real fast for no other reason than I could. Coming home this morning Ma Nature got her revenge with gusting not-quite-headwinds (wind was on a diagonal call it 80% headwind) that kept trying to blow me into the traffic lane during morning rush hour traffic. Had to drop 2 gears just to keep it moving. I have a nice downhill coast about 2 miles from home I can get up to @35 MPH if I spin out top gear, I caught a gust that made me have to pedal downhill just to maintain speed. The worst part was I had to adjust the rack on the back of my seat, and when I went to tighten everything back up, I inadvertently moved my seat back almost 2 inches and didn't notice. So when pedaling home in that awful wind I just couldn't get comfortable on the seat til I looked at my shadow and saw how out of line my posture was.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> My boss' car died last week and he's been relying on carpooling, but today he said "I don't know how you do it", as he was considering riding his bike in but changed his mind when it was only 35F, "I'm not riding in that!"


:lol: But if he was considering it, good on him. I shudder at the thought of my boss`s heart rate graph if he sould ever decide to ride to work!



CommuterBoy said:


> We got some hard rain yesterday, looked like it would turn to snow as the temp dropped...


I went out for a joy ride Sat, trying out some dirt "short cuts" between 70 (Delleker-ish) and 89 (Clio). It had obviously rained the day before and the surface conditions were killer. Heavilly forested too, which kept me out of the wind for the most part. Will make some nice options in the future for any kind of Lake Davis or Gold Lakes loops.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit of a slog this morning. 6F when I left the house and just not feeling it. I put in a nice ~2 hour ride Saturday night (write up here: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/so...ble-long-no-pictures-848117.html#post10302536) and that may be why the commute felt a bit blah...

Trails were okay for the most part. Some overflow in the swamp, but not too back. Some of the underpasses were also a bit slick. Weather is forecast for another big snow storm today into tomorrow. Good times.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Was doing about 15.5 average then the chain came apart (jammed in the rear derailer cage) 1/4 mile before my usual 30 mph downhill and 1.5 from home. Boss was home so I did not need to walk. I am counting this as another 0.5 mph and at a lower heart rate. I was getting some auto shifting as the plate on the inside came off its pin. All that hard acceleration with the rim tape videos, I guess.
> 
> BrianMc


Had the same thing happened to me on a nice trail ride this weekend. Had a little bit of auto shifting as well, and thought I just needed to adjust the front gears. Inside plate came came off as well during a moderate climb.

My better half was not home, and probably could not find me even if she was. I had a nice 4 mile walk out with my bike. Lucky for me it still rolled.

Now I've included a chain-break tool, power link and some extra chain links in my pack.

I'm glad your better half was home to come get you.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

More snow and colder (-9C)....10 to 15 cm of xnow to come on the weekend...

I don't care I will be sailing in Hawaii.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Jealous. Do you sail, or are you hitching a ride? I have a Hobie 16. Good fun.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Jealous. Do you sail, or are you hitching a ride? I have a Hobie 16. Good fun.


Bare Boat Charter (Usail) Beneteau 42.5 First.

Honolulu across the Kaiwa channel to Molokai then maybe a night off Maui, around Molokai and back to Honolulu in 7 days.

Looks like the wind and waves will cooperate.

National Weather Service Forecast Office - WFO Honolulu, Hawaii - Marine Weather Graphical Forecast


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That will be awesome.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> That will be awesome.


The smaller boats take more skill to sail than the big boats....well unless you are out in a storm or something.

All the kids learned to sail on Lasers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have had a Laser. Constant stream of sailboats growing up...Flying Dutchman, International 14, Thistle, Olson 30, Star, Coronado, Hobies, Catalinas... Dozens of others. Dad currently has a Soling 27. He goes through boats like I go through bikes :lol: 

The smaller boats definitely improve your skill...especially on lakes with shifty wind. A big boat on a calm ocean with wind that always blows the same direction is a vacation :lol: Keeping one hull of the Hobie out of the water on the lake is work.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Anchorage got 10+ inches of snow on Saturday, enough to close our main highway.

Snowing again as I type, LET IT SNOW!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's almost too hot here. This morning was 56F! Temps are in the low 70s today and will be in the 80s the next couple days. It's like someone flipped the Spring switch or something. 

P.S. Go Cards!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Rodar: I picked up the bag about a week after I first put the bike together. My messenger bag and backpack were bothering my separated shoulder. Feeling much better now, though, as I can actually torque crank bolts.

Today's commute was great. Cool 50ish this morning, mid 60's on the way home. Made great time, even had time to check out a park I've been passing for the past few months. Gonna do some more exploring there another day, seems to be at least a few acres of (swampy) land.


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## jmmUT (Sep 15, 2008)

Epic rain dump on me riding home. Recently purchased cheap "waterproof" pants turn out not to be at all whats-so-ever waterproof or even resistant. More like a sponge.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ :bluefrown: Not so awesome to be Spongepants SquareBob.


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## nathanmillen (Mar 22, 2013)

I have left my MTB in the UK for the time being, i now live in the Netherlands and my commute is approx 5miles a day. I have a 3 speed rigid bike with a coaster rear brake. I miss the bells and whistles of the MTB but the sheer rugged simplicity of a Dutch cargo bike does make up for it a little. 

Brake is a little different to the twin hydraulic discs of the MTB though!! I only use the car now if i am going more than 30 miles (round trip).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

nathanmillen said:


> Brake is a little different to the twin hydraulic discs of the MTB though!!


On a good note, at least you don`t have to worry about stopping on a screaming downgrade! At least I wouldn`t think so...

Have a great trip, J.S. You and Bedwards both deserve a little sun and thaw time.

I survived my first night back on graveyard okay. Didn`t even have to slam coffee by the quart, like I usually do on the first night. I wonder what`s up with that? It was chilly and windy, so I wore my pants for the first time in a few weeks, and being out of the habbit, I forgot the mini bungie for my pant leg. Thought I could get away without "socking" it, but ended up tearing it a little when it got caught in the chain. THEN ended up socking anyway


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was a bit groggy riding in this morning after staying up late to cheer on my Louisville Cardinals last night as they won the national championship. Temps are going to climb into the 80s today. Can't complain.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I happened upon some tranquility this morning.








Rodar, those roads look nice. I need to get out that way more.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> More snow and colder (-9C)....10 to 15 cm of xnow to come on the weekend...
> 
> I don't care I will be sailing in Hawaii.


Make me homesick! I just spent three years in Honolulu. (well mostly, on a ship in the Navy so I was gone a lot)

Be safe in the channel. That crossing from Hawaii goes from bad to terrorizing in an instant. Even the Molokai channel can be a nightmare when the rades come up. I helped on a friend's escort boat for the Na Wahinie Ho canoe race every year...


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Ride in this morning was nice. No crazy flat tires. Lungs felt good and the bike felt great after a tune up. Just switched to Crank Brothers mallets from the flats that were on the bike and I'm not used to the cleats yet. Quite switch from the Speedplays on my old road bike. Don't feel as connected to the bike as I did with Zeros...Hmmm 

The bike was a craigslist score so I had my local wrench go through it thoroughly. He bled the rear brake, cleaned everything up, shortened my shifter cables a little which made shifting snappier and adjusted everything...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Smudge13 said:


> Make me homesick! I just spent three years in Honolulu. (well mostly, on a ship in the Navy so I was gone a lot)
> 
> Be safe in the channel. That crossing from Hawaii goes from bad to terrorizing in an instant. Even the Molokai channel can be a nightmare when the rades come up. I helped on a friend's escort boat for the Na Wahinie Ho canoe race every year...


Fore cast still looks really good less than 10 knots...I would prefer 15....but I'll take it.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

The commute last night was rough. I ended up being at the office for 11 hours, was starving, and exhausted. I ate two snack bars from the cabinet and then ate my own snack bar right before the ride to keep the hunger at bay. My low energy was definitely apparent on the trip. I couldn't put down as much power as I would have liked. The last 10km or so, I suffered through gritting my teeth but I made it home for a nice homemade burrito and a tasty beer.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A somewhat hard ride in this AM. We got more snow overnight. When I got on the trails it came up over my fatties and the rims, so three or so inches of powder. Not bad in an of itself as it was nice and light. But the trails under the fresh snow were still quite soft so it was a bit of a slog. It's almost to the point where I don't need my headlights in the morning anymore. I like riding without the lights, but will miss the nice quite and empty trails that the darkness tends to bring.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Winds 25 gusting to 35? 80F! The previous ride was my first in shorts since last fall barely made it to 70. (I find I do not generate the heat I once did, so the under layers get fewer put but I still need them. No short sleeve trips to the car at 10F for me anymore. Temps to drop by 30 degrees by the weekend so the tape is still covering the helmet vents. Got halfway up the neighborhood hill (more like a pimple to those riding in the rockies) at over 32 mph in 48/13 a far cry from barely getting up it in 42/28 when I resumed cycling five years ago. Normal now is 36/19 or 21 at about 18-20 (I can roller coaster it a bit and usually a hint of a tail wind). Nothing like a decent tail wind. Of course dead into the same wind and up a slope I did 9 mph. 

Still a nice sweaty ride.

Jeff: enjoy the islands; S0ckeyeus: as a Big Ten Alumnus living in Kentuckiana, both my teams won and lost. Some game.

Brian


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Been off the bike for a couple of days, took a long ride on Sunday and ended up with a busted seat and bent shifter cable. Good thing too though, yesterday we had winds sustaining in the 20-30s with gusts even higher as a cold front blew in. Woke up to 3 inches of snow on the ground this morning. Nice thing though is that the roads are bare and wet, but the snow on the sides makes it look so pretty... Hard to believe that we were nearly 70 on Sunday! Luckily the LBS is open today, I'll get cabling/housing and will be back at it tomorrow (poached and old seat from the "parts" bike). Might be interesting on slicks if the weather holds!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Cool down in Las Vegas. North winds made it chilly compared to last week. Ride in this morning about 50 degrees and ride home about 70 degrees. Strong headwind for ride in and tailwind for ride home. Blowing about 20-25+. Tuned up my Walmart street cruiser this weekend and it's riding like a champ. Read somewhere Walmart bikes were only good for 70 miles. This one's getting close to 700 and barely breaking a sweat.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Warm and windy this morning. Looks like it's going to be one of those days where I'll get stiff headwinds in both directions. Crossed 2000 miles for the year and I am actually ahead of last years mileage pace even though I decided I was not going to ride 100% this year. Go figure.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Crossed 2000 miles for the year and I am actually ahead of last years mileage pace even though I decided I was not going to ride 100% this year.


Rolling them in, Woodway. What`s your "play : business" ratio looking like?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The commute this AM was a bit of a slog again. Soft trails with another dusting of new snow. More importantly, my legs are just feeling dead lately. I think I might need to take a few days away from the bike just to give them a chance to rest up. I always start to feel this way by the end of the winter. It does get to be a bit of a drain on the mind and body.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Spring will save you. Hang in...

Sunrise is now happening early on my normal route... unless I get up a little early to take the trail route, which is getting packed down, "hero dirt" sticky, free of dust and/or mud... headlight is no longer coming out of the backpack.... yep, it's time for this:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

So yesterday afternoon I had to dodge a kid intent on peeing in the woods. His friend already had his pants down a couple feet from the M.U.P. and this guy darted onto the path just as I was coming through. :lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Just set a new personal record for late arrival at work, rolling into my office just a bit before 1. Car's got a dead battery (been coming for a long time, but still inconveniently timed), wife just got out of the hospital a few days ago, kid's home sick today, and it was absolutely pouring when I got up, so I wasn't in a hurry to get out the door. Installed my rear fender last night (finally) in anticipation of the ride, and I did end up ordering those waterproof panniers I posted last week, so the ride wasn't overly wet and I had some dry clothes/shoes when I got here.

Since this is only my second or third time commuting in the rain, and the first with the rear fender installed, I have one question: my drivetrain gets clicky/crunchy under load when riding in the rain, but is smooth/quiet with no load (as on a stand). Previously I had assumed it was the rear wheel throwing grit into the chain rings or between the crank and its bearing housing, but I presume the fender stopped the grit and yet the drivetrain remained the same, so now I'm wondering if the lube has just washed off the chain. I currently use rock n roll extreme for everything, which as far as I can tell doesn't bill itself as a dry lube, but it may still act like one in the rain. Is a generic wet lube all I need to prevent this? Is this normal and I have to get used to it?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ My hunch is that it's a derailleur issue and the rain just makes it more pronounced somehow...? Could be totally wrong, but my chain gets quiet in the rain and doesn't make the noise until the next day, when it dries out and the grit is left behind. Water is a great lubricant, as long as there's a constant source of it blasting the chain. But afterwards, the road grime and grit left behind makes it complain unless I give it a cleaning/lube.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Even with fenders you'll still get grit into your drivetrain. I've never tried rock-n-roll extreme. The best wet weather lube I have found is Chain-L. I can usually get around 400 miles between lubes in the winter when it's wet a lot. When it's dry, I can go 800-1000 miles between lubes.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Insult to injury: loud thunder, sheeting rain, and the food I left in the fridge from Monday has gone bad.

I ordered a bottle of chain-l (closest dealer is an hour round trip) but in the meantime I'll have to just carry a small bottle of my regular lube and do the job 2x/day. Fun times.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Yah, I still get sand/dirt in my drivetrain (thank you coastal living) but the bike (not to mention me) remains far, far cleaner with the fenders. When it's wet weather for a while, I switch to Finish Line wet, which lasts 1-7 days of commuting, depending on how hard it's raining. It's that, or I lube at night, wipe down at work, and lube again when I get home. I'll lube at work if I go on a long ride after work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Slower today with gusts to 35 and 80 F (feels like 81). Spring may be coming back on the weekend. So far it has been one day. GOne from underlayers to sun and bug repellent in one ride. I got some 20+ in on the way back (including a slight grade at 23 + in high gear) to counter the 10 mph into the wind outbound. I think the old chain side plate shedding messed up the 24 and 26 tooth cogs as I am shifting down only to have it pop back up. Suspect a bent tooth on each. Held a nice 165 or so peaking to 170 heart rate blasting the golf course leg. So power and oxidative capacity are on a comeback.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Sanath. Not much went right for you today, eh? good thing you hit the window between new panniers arriving and the clip breaking :lol:
Kidding! With only a few rain rides, maybe the rain is just a red herring? Lube it up good tonight with what you have (after you take care of your car battery), check your RD adjustment and cross your fingers.

I had some derailler/chain issues for like three weeks and thought I finally fixed it last week, now not so sure. It wasn`t super bad, just noise in the bigger sprockets and once in a while wanting to ghost shift. Had already done the relube and readjust thing, chain has 500 miles max, so I ordered a new cassette thinking maybe that would fix it. When the cassette came in, I tried one more time with the standard fixes and it was perfect for several days. Last night it started up again. I did nothing to it today, will wait and see if it was just in a snit and will sort itself out. If not, the new cassette will go on and I`ll see how it likes that one.

CommuterBoy, I think your Cycle Season demonstration is 90 degrees off for Blockphi. He sounds plenty happy in mid winter, MUST be happy in the brief Anchorage summer, it`s the spring time that`s messing him upright now!



s0ckeyeus said:


> So yesterday afternoon I had to dodge a kid intent on peeing in the woods. His friend already had his pants down a couple feet from the M.U.P.


??? 
You didn`t plug in a "his" for a "her", did you? Why do those kids have thier pants down to pee? Not that it`s any of my business...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rodar did you check your derailleur hanger to see if maybe it's a little bent? That will cause the kind of problem you are describing. Oh yea the work-to-rec ratio has not improved yet...still get a couple weekends of trailwork before I put the shovel and McLeod away till the fall.

I was emptying out my pannier tonite and I realized just how much clothing I carry this time of year. I mean it might be 35 in the morning and 70 in the afternoon. Or clear on the way into work and raining like crazy on the way home. When I got home tonite I was wearing tights, a long-sleeve poly shirt, rain jacket, rain gloves and shoe covers (it rained on the way home). In the panniers I had shorts, chamois for the shorts, a short-sleeve shirt and two additional pair of gloves (for varying degree of coldness). It's like I carry double everything until about May.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No, I haven`t checked my hanger alignment, but I guess I ought to. Though I don`t remember any incedents that might have bent it, I think you`re right about the symptoms matching that possibility- will check that out now that you mention it. I took a long route home this morning and my regular route in tonight, no noise or nuthin. Still better check the hanger or the thought will bug me for ever.

Putting away the trail tools means time to play? Remember, all commute and no JRA sends Jack looking for a fire axe!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> I had some derailler/chain issues for like three weeks and thought I finally fixed it last week, now not so sure. It wasn`t super bad, just noise in the bigger sprockets and once in a while wanting to ghost shift. Had already done the relube and readjust thing, chain has 500 miles max, so I ordered a new cassette thinking maybe that would fix it. When the cassette came in, I tried one more time with the standard fixes and it was perfect for several days. Last night it started up again. I did nothing to it today, will wait and see if it was just in a snit and will sort itself out. If not, the new cassette will go on and I`ll see how it likes that one.


Yeah, check the derailleur hanger. Last weekend, I knocked my derailleur on a rock and practically lost shifting in the 3 biggest cogs (chain would skip under load). It's possible your problem could be the cassette though. I've had problems I thought were due to the derailleur hanger that were actually the cassette. In my experience, the cassette related shifting issues are a little more subtle than hanger issues.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Brief Delusional Joy, baby.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Awful week continues: illness/stomach pain last night, little sleep, missed alarm (hit "dismiss" instead of "snooze", though it did help recover some lost sleep), no food in the house, still raining. Switched to hail halfway to work. Crunchy drivetrain also continues. Still felt funny after a lube last night so I'm not convinced that's the issue either. All I can say at this point is blah. Only one more day of this.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A cold one this AM. 1 F when I left the house. The trails were still a bit soft and slow in spots and my legs still feel dead. Got to work and was nicely frosted over and a bit cold. I also think I have a loose spoke on the rear. Notice a bit of wobble and when climbing in the lower gears I get more than normal chain rub against the tire. It's kind of creepy watching the rear wheel apparently flexing to the drive side as I hammer the peddles. Need to check that out tonight. I'm also having some issues with shifting in the front der. Might just be grime and moisture in the springs causing it to freeze up, but moving down the small ring requires me to tap the der with my heel. Probably need to check that out too. I love spring - the time of year when all my postponed bike maintenance comes back to haunt me!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

1*F is NOT spring. That's madness in April :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sanath said:


> Awful week continues: illness/stomach pain last night, little sleep, missed alarm (hit "dismiss" instead of "snooze", though it did help recover some lost sleep), no food in the house, still raining. Switched to hail halfway to work. Crunchy drivetrain also continues. Still felt funny after a lube last night so I'm not convinced that's the issue either. All I can say at this point is blah. Only one more day of this.


Sorry to hear it Sanath. Hang in there it will get better.

RE: crunchy drivetrain, when you get a lot of grit into your chain, it will still be crunchy even after a lube (just less crunchy). When my chain gets really crunchy bad, I pop it off and soak it in a jar of mineral spirits to get all the gunk out of it. When you get your Chain-L, you'll find two things: one is that it has a strong smell and two it is *really* sticky (which is why it lasts so long I think). Because it's so sticky, I always apply it with the chain off the bike by first soaking the chain, drying the chain, applying the Chain-L and then wiping the chain down really good before I reinstall it. If it rains enough that my chain starts to squeak and I don't have time for the full Chain-L routine, I'll wipe the chain down on the bike and then apply my 2nd favorite lube, Dumonde Tech, until I have time for the full Chain-L treatment described above.

Hope you are feeling better.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was the coldest 37F I've ever rode in. I had a stiff damp north wind the entire ride in that chilled me to the bone. Hoping for a warmer ride home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Sunny and crisp this morning, for a nice ride in. But there's a snowfall warning in effect, calling for up to a foot. Last week they were calling for 6" which didn't really happen, but this is still a really weird april.

I think that this weekend my experiment with dirtdrop bars will be over. After hitting the trails with them all week, my arms and hands have been absolutely killing me. I got them to alleviate a bit of wrist pain, but they've had the opposite effect. They actually are really fun on singletrack, but on the commute they're a little too serious and make my singlespeed feel remarkably un-fun. I took a different bike today which really isn't meant to handle a foot of snow, so I hope that the forecast is right and that it doesn't start falling until later tonight.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Another personal record in lateness to my office (1:20 PM) but the day started way better. Took the roads vs. the usual trail route so I could make a few stops on the way, and despite those 2 stops and my leisurely pace I was about 2 minutes faster than my fastest ever trail time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another cold morning. 1F and a bit humid for the temp. Had to go to the main office, so tacked on an additional two miles to the morning commute. Was nicely frosted over when I got there. 

I think I've come to realize that there is one thing I really dislike about my Pugs. It seems like if you even look ascance at the rear tire you need to readjust the brakes because they start to squeal. Haven't figured this one out yet. I'd removed the rear wheel last night to clean the der and touch up the spoke tension and now it is squealing like a pig even though before removing the wheel it was perfectly silent. Every. Dang. Time. Annoying.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I will take it off your hands free if you want.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I will take it off your hands free if you want.


That's mighty thoughtful... but I think I'll be able to see my way past this minor annoyance!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

An easy 62 degrees this morning. An easy 82 degrees for the ride home. No wind. It's amazing to me that some of you are still commuting in snow. Very different commuting worlds I guess. Coldest ride in this week was an abnormal 46 degrees on Wednesday. The coldest it got in Vegas all winter was on two consecutive days the morning lows in January were 23 and 25 degrees. My coldest ride home all winter (at 3 p.m. in the afternoon) was 43 degrees in December. Coldest ride in was 29 degrees. Chickened out on the two mornings it was in the low twenties and took the Jeep to work. Worried about getting a flat and being stuck in the cold, etc. I don't really have cold weather riding clothes.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Another cold morning. 1F and a bit humid for the temp. Had to go to the main office, so tacked on an additional two miles to the morning commute. Was nicely frosted over when I got there.
> 
> I think I've come to realize that there is one thing I really dislike about my Pugs. It seems like if you even look ascance at the rear tire you need to readjust the brakes because they start to squeal. Haven't figured this one out yet. I'd removed the rear wheel last night to clean the der and touch up the spoke tension and now it is squealing like a pig even though before removing the wheel it was perfectly silent. Every. Dang. Time. Annoying.


What about using monkey nuts to set the position?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've been toying with that idea, Jordy. Seems like it might just solve the issue. You know of anywhere in town that has them in stock or do I need to order them?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

You'd have to call around, isn't there a new stocking Surly dealer of 68th and Lake O?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Picked up my wife from the airport today, bachelor life is over again. Sigh... I did manage to get through 5 family sized Papa Murphys pizzas in two weeks, so it didn`t go to waste. Two days in a row with hardly any wind- hope it holds for the weekend.


Sanath said:


> Another personal record in lateness to my office (1:20 PM) but the day started way better.


Well, that`s something- couldn`t keep going the way it was. You have a stork delivery on the way, don`t you? Rest up now!


newfangled said:


> I think that this weekend my experiment with dirtdrop bars will be over. After hitting the trails with them all week, my arms and hands have been absolutely killing me. I got them to alleviate a bit of wrist pain, but they've had the opposite effect.


Aw, bummer! Finding the right personal combos for bike set up is no easy task. Have you gone the bar ends route yet? Maybe that would be the ticket for you.


vegascruiser said:


> It's amazing to me that some of you are still commuting in snow. Very different commuting worlds I guess.
> 
> I don't really have cold weather riding clothes.


+1. Half the time I feel guilty, half the time I`m green with envy.
No cold weather gear, and I bet you don`t have much more in the line of rain gear than I do :lol:


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

I felt lazy coming in to work Thursday night so I tool the cage. Started to feel guilty so on first break I went home and rode back. Then I rode home in the am. Then I rode back to work Friday night. Checked my Endomondo and saw that I had logged 3 rides for Friday. Only 23 miles but my legs are feeling it nonetheless. Now I get to ride back home this morning I do a seven mile trip to work but hit a nine mile ride home. Glad I will be off for the next few days. I also upgraded my XT Shadow RD to the new XT clutched shadow RD. I will update the difference after some more miles on it to see how different it works.

Mark


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Aw, bummer! Finding the right personal combos for bike set up is no easy task. Have you gone the bar ends route yet? Maybe that would be the ticket for you.


I've had a Carnegie alt-bar on that bike for several years now, and have actually been pretty happy. But dirtdrops were something that I was always going to have to try - even if just as a brief, $50 experiment - and my springtime switch from geared back to ss was the perfect excuse. But the carnegie will be going back on.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Perfectly normal ride into work, and for the first time I was glad to leave late, since it warmed up to 62*-63* for the ride home. Post ride check had me put air in my rear tire (almost 5#) for the first time since maybe Sept. or Oct.

Seriously thinking about buying a new frame, but bouncing between what I want (or weather I need it at all). Singular has some real pretty bikes, and I still love looking at Surly's Ogre, the Fargo is always lurking in the back of my mind, and saw a 2011 Kona Sutra frame and fork on E-bay for $200 and would have grabbed it of not for having to pay taxes :madman:.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

junior1210 said:


> Seriously thinking about buying a new frame, but bouncing between what I want (or weather I need it at all).


Don't forget to take a look at On One. I'd been pining away for a Soma or Surly for a long time, but couldn't justify replacing my perfectly good (but boring) frame. But the On One frames are inexpensive enough that it didn't even need justifying, so I just went for it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Rodar, no rain clothes either.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

The park I found has about a half mile or so of dirt paths going around farm fields, butting right up to the river there. Nice area, good place to get the bike a little dirty and break up the commute a bit.









All in all a good commute today, breezed past people stuck in cars because of a street fair.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Well, that`s something- couldn`t keep going the way it was. You have a stork delivery on the way, don`t you? Rest up now!


Nope, I got fixed a while ago, no (more) storks for me. The little one did just turn 8 this weekend though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Quite dull, as I drove. But I got in a nice fatbike ride before work with my speedy dogsitting charge, Spirit. Conditions were great due to a hard freeze (25F) last night. Someone finally sawed that big tree that I’d been climbing over all winter with the bike, skis, or snowshoes. :thumbsup:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Lucked out riding home, the wind started kicking up about 1 mile from the house and it was a tailwind at that. I'm also starting to think I lucked into a good deal with the Nashbar short liners. Riding them for two weeks now, even though I bought them a bit too large in the waist, with the suspenders they are very comfortable and the elastic in the waist keeps them from gaping front or back, but loose enough for comfort. I'm liking this set up enough that I think I'll buy some more in the larger size and keep rocking the suspenders.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Thankfully the foot of snow that we'd been threatened with amounted to basically nothing. So the studs came off of my cruiser, and the bigapples went back on, and today was my first non-studded ride in about 5.5 months. The 29er will stay studded for another week or two, because the trails are still annoyingly snowy.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Someone finally sawed that big tree that I'd been climbing over all winter with the bike, skis, or snowshoes. :thumbsup:


Maybe if they used a saw instead of a bike, skies, or snowshoes, it would have been cut sooner? Sorry the mind's eye saw this hapless fellow...

Nice pics. Dog is wondering what all the delay is about with that rectangular thing stuck to your face.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dragging this Monday morning. Some 'flu-like symptoms' overnight, little sleep, and even a little snow flurry to make things interesting. And my new shoes are amazingly ventelated, and I keep forgetting that, so my toes almost fell off. And the good long tights were in the wash, so the gap between my short socks and the bottoms of my leg warmers only added to the freezing feet situation. It was good for keeping the mind off of my stomach though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sorry, Sanath- a thread search says I had you mixed up with sOckeyeus.

We had some beautiful weather towards the end of last week that I hoped would hold out for the weekend, but that didn`t happen. No single digit lows, but the wind came up about the time I woke up Sat afternoon and hasn`t stopped, now chilly with snow flurries. I did a little bit of maint and a few "just to make sure" checks (including the derailler hanger, which was hunky dory) on my bike, then put it through the transformer routine to get it ready for one last brevet. That`s supposed to happen next Sat, but I might end up bugging out of it at the last minute due to sleep issues- some problems going on at work, and my mom has a surgery scheduled for Thur afternoon.

Bedwards, are you back? Hope you had a great vacation!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

This weekend I found a good length of single track leading from my neighborhood through the woods and under the busy street I usually have to cross to get to the lake MUP on my way to work. 

There are a few spots where I have to carry my bike over some fallen trees and hop over one creek, but it will make my ride way more interesting.

As soon as I get my new SS spacers for my new (used) wheels I will take this trail on my way to/from work. I currently run a 36x16 for my regular commuting mode, but for this bit of trail I will probably need a 36x20. I have a few cogs and will try to get find the proper gear.

I'll post some pictures as soon as I upload them.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I did a short overnight backpacking trip this past weekend. It was an awesome trip, but I was a bit stiff on my way in this morning. The weather is still warm. I almost needed to shower after getting to work this morning.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Windy commute. Tailwind pushed me into work this morning and the headwind and crosswind made me pay for the easy morning commute on the way home. 25-35 sustained with 40-50 mph gusts. More of the same tomorrow with a cool down. For the next few days highs in the sixties.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this morning. When I left my house it was 17F and light enough that I only needed my lights on the brief road stretches to alert drivers that I was there. The trails were hard and fast this morning, though I took it slow because it was just so wonderful out. Spent some quality time with the bike this weekend cleaning and tweaking and then getting it dirty again so I ended up with a nice, quiet ride. No brake squeal.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

After fat biking it all winter, 80psi on a track bike is a trip!! I can't wait to try and ride up my hill on the way home. I can always blame the sand for my failure.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

It was in the 40's when I started so I still wore long sleeves but rode in wearing shorts for the first time this year today


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Probably 59F wind was out of the South West. Guranteed to be out of the North West on the way home. :-/

First commute tubeless. So far so good!


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

vegascruiser said:


> Windy commute. Tailwind pushed me into work this morning and the headwind and crosswind made me pay for the easy morning commute on the way home. 25-35 sustained with 40-50 mph gusts. More of the same tomorrow with a cool down. For the next few days highs in the sixties.


Guess I must be a sissy, we're having similar winds down here near the border and I generally avoid riding in them, since I'm very leery of getting blown into traffic. Not that bad about 5-6 miles from work but the 6-7 miles near home I ride along a state hwy that tends to be fairly busy. I used to have a nice alternate route of fire road/dirt road/almost single track, but that land has been bought for some kind of development (assuming it actually happens) and I don't want to trespass.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Looks like I will be rained out for my scheduled Wednesday commute. This has been the worst spring I can remember in a long time. I'm hoping for a somewhat dry and warmer May.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Wish I carried a camera around like most folks now seem to (my phone doesn't have a camera, I'm not much of a picture taker), yesterday when I got to work there were several nice older mountain bikes locked up on the bike rack including a Haro Flightline, Cannondale 24' 3x6, and a Trek hybrid that was real pretty (and I don't much care for Treks), but the guy with the Haro managed to lock up his bike wrong (so you could have taken everything off his bike except the frame) and in such a way that nobody else could lock up their bikes to the rack, even though there would have been space for 5 more bikes. Wound up having the guy paged so I could lock up and get to work.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> A good ride in this morning. When I left my house it was 17F and light enough that I only needed my lights on the brief road stretches to alert drivers that I was there. The trails were hard and fast this morning, though I took it slow because it was just so wonderful out. Spent some quality time with the bike this weekend cleaning and tweaking and then getting it dirty again so I ended up with a nice, quiet ride. No brake squeal.


YES, I too cleaned the fatbike, felt like it took hours! sub 50 min commute was fast and fun! My ride started at 13F. Can't wait for the 40F ride home!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Indeed a good one this morning. A bit chilly as Jordy said, but the day is turning into a stunner so far. I love spring.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Denver doesn't know what to do with its weather. One day its 65*F and Im riding home in shorts, 2 days later its 23*F and there is 8 inches of snow on the ground. Today was the snow part. Last night on the way home I almost had to walk because of a frozen drivetrain.


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

Sunrise on my commute this morning









My commute today was awesome, faster than expected and great scenery.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

junior, if I had a dangerous situation like you do I'd drive in on windy days too. Nothing "sissy" about staying alive. My route is pretty safe traffic wise and I'm not above rolling down the sidewalk if need be. Plus, at around 200 lbs and with a heavy loaded down Walmart bike (couldn't pass up the $99 price last spring), the wind doesn't push me around too easily.

Another windy one today. But I got the better of the deal today. Good, solid wind blew me into work and another good, solid wind blew me most of the way home. Crosswinds an obvious pain but not as bad as headwinds. Was thrilled at quitting time to see the direction change. Probably 20-25 sustained with 35-40 gusts. Tomorrow morning will be back into the high forties with low sixties for trip home. Desert weather is very erratic in the spring.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ran about an hour late this morning, almost forgot my clothes, broke out my (winter) mittens at the trail head about 4 miles from home as I thought I was going to freeze the tips of my fingers off. Running late turned out to be a good thing as I also forgot my door fob in my rain jacket, which I left hanging up at the house. It would have rather sucked to have to wait outside for someone else to show up.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Wind still hard and heavy this morning, not even gonna bother setting my trash can (empty) back up again until it calms down. Looks like a good day to do maint. on the bike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I can count on one hand the number of sick days I've taken in 13 years... yesterday was one of them. Getting across the house was an effort. 

Back on the bike this morning...I'd say I'm at 60%...very slow ride in, but it didn't make me worse. I wish I had overdressed...it was freezing (to me in my weakened state). Probably mid to upper 20's in reality. 

trying to decide if coffee is a good idea...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I, too, was running late this AM. For some reason slept right through the alarm. Normally I am up and out the house by 6 AM. Today I didn't hit the trails until 6:30. It was still cold, but the sun was out and I actually wore my sunglasses. Spring is definitely here! The trails were fast and firm with some icy spots, particularly at one underpass that is a pond during the afternoon rides. Made good time getting here and quickly found out that I was not the only person running late. I'd say 50% of my cube mates who generally arrive around the same time as I were not here yet. Must be something in the air today.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Third windy commute this week and one more windy one tomorrow. About 49 degrees for the ride in with a brutal north headwind (probably close to 25 mph sustained) most of the way. About 64 degrees for the ride in and winds only slightly irritating. 

Friday, according to the weatherman, will be nice. What I do like about the wind, I must admit, is the added level of fitness it brings to my ride.


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## sir_crackien (Feb 3, 2008)

Very nice commutes for me lately. The heat here is finally starting to break and it is making for a good cool tempeture in the morning when I am leaving. This has me thinking about doing longer commutes to work. Also it has been less windy which has been pleasent.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Full Spring pattern: warm temps, thunderstorms, and tons of pollen in the air. My eyes are all puffy. We have some potential for severe weather this afternoon, so I'm crossing my fingers it holds off until I get home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First ride with the summer gloves! Whoo!

Also discovered that my radbot shuts off when I shake it...which explains why when I get to work I only have one taillight on. I was convinced that I just kept forgetting to turn on the second one.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A great commute this AM. Cool temps still, 14F when I left the house. Sunny with really fast trails. Even with waiting on traffic (moose on the trail) and eventually detouring around I made the ride in just a touch over 20 minutes. Not a bad way to start the day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We demand moose pictures whenever possible.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I guess I'll have to start carrying a camera. Though today's would have been nothing more than a picture of a moose butt, which is not a pretty sight. He was hanging around the same area on the ride home last night, so will likely be there tonight as well. I'll see if I can't get a shot of him that shows something other than his 'himness'.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Also discovered that my radbot shuts off when I shake it...which explains why when I get to work I only have one taillight on. I was convinced that I just kept forgetting to turn on the second one.


My cure for that: open it up and bend the copper contacts so they have to push against their mates more. A little steel wool to polish then doesn't hurt either.

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

blockphi said:


> I'll see if I can't get a shot of him that shows something other than his 'himness'.


Avoiding his 'himness' might be tough depending on your definition. As only the males have antlers there is a 'himness' at both ends. 

Try to avoid getting one of him bearing down on you. You likely won't survive to post it. We would miss that. Er... you. 

BrianMc


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Cold ride (by Vegas standards) in this morning and fast ride (wind finally gone) home. Supposed to be close to ninety this weekend. Be glad for Saturday so I can make the usual transition from commuter to mountain biker. Rough winds have made the commuting week feel longer.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

While checking out some parts and stuff came across these;







VO Thumb Shifter Mounts - Shifting - Components
Would have made my drop bar experiment much easier, as they are made to fit both drops AND riser/flat bars. :madman:


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Good commute today, if a bit overcast. On the recommendation from the boss man, I took a different route to work...adds about 4 miles, but is much less congested (at least until I hit the town center) and is a bit greener, versus the swampy road I go through usually. I found not a huge increase in time, for much more enjoyment.

Also, my shoes are out for repair/replacement (the top layer of carbon+the upper was separating from the midsole on both shoes), so I switched to flats,and in turn, was forced to enjoy the ride (read:slow down) a bit more than usual. On a related note, it turns out that a foot pain I was having was because I was leaning on the outer part of my left foot, rather than the ball, so hopefully the flats will help with my placement when I am reunited with my shoes.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Commute home last night, raining, busy road, found an opening in traffic and crossed the two travel lanes to get into the left turn lane. This section of road is downhill so that I can get enough speed to move across traffic without really holding anyone up. 

I'm coasting down to the red turn arrow when my back tire goes flat. Not a slow flat but a quick hiss and suddenly I am riding on the rim at about 20 MPH. I come to a stop and find myself sitting in a sea of cars at a red light with a flat tire. Now what to do? I'm in the left turn lane and it's not really safe for me to dismount the bike and walk it due to the heavy traffic in both directions. I've got cars in front of me and behind me in the left turn lane. So, when the light turns green I do the only thing I can think of which is to gingerly ride the left turn and get over to the curb as fast as I could. I was cringing feeling the flat tire and rim grinding in the back. 

Luckily there was an office building on the corner with a covered walkway so I was able to change the tube out of the rain. I pulled a big hunk of glass out of the tire but was soon back on my way. Rim seems to have come through just fine. This particular tire has ~5500 miles on it, perhaps it's time for a replacement...

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. Headwind this morning was brutal.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Man, drivers are @#$holes. I got yelled at again yesterday while dismounted and walking my bike through a lit crosswalk. The snow is gone, and all week it's just been non-stop idiocy. And plain vanilla idiocy would be bad enough, but a lot of this is malicious idiocy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woodway, that's no fun! I would have debated cyclocross-running through the intersection when the light turned green :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey you guys, I'm back. I've kind of been back for a few days but had to travel for work within 12 hours of arriving. I'll post some pics of my ride in the DR in the passion thread when I get a chance and post a link here. I did get to read both Bike Snob books during my airplane time, recommended read for all here. Funny and insightful stuff.

I was WAY overdressed for my commute today. Spring arrived while I was gone and I didn't get to ease into it. Not that I am complaining.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Came in an hour later than usual. Let me tell you, the scenery along San Diego's Embarcadero is a lot different at 7am than it is at 6!  :eekster:


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

It has been a very strange weather week which in turn makes for strange commuting. First was serious windage with some crazy headwinds on the way to work but nice tailwinds on the way home. Had some "fun" crosswinds from it too...nothing like screaming down a hill when a huge gust hits ya and nearly pushes you into the guardrail. 








Second was a freak April snowstorm. Did not enjoy that. Had left home in the AM figuring the forecasters were wrong...they weren't. This was conidtions before I left work:








Luckily I had an extra sweatshirt in the office to add a layer but I was missing tights, coat and warm gloves. I was one cold, wet commuter by the time I rolled in my door. And Sunday had been nearly 70 degrees!

Ready for the Spring crazy weather to be over, but it keeps you on your toes!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

26F, fast, and fun in the sun!!!


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

Huge wind today... almost tipped over by a side gust at speed! In to work in the AM wasn't too bad, though I had to haul out my gloves (low 40's). On the way home (mid 30's) I got pelted by micro-hail and still huge winds.

But still better than NOT riding!


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

A headwind from the east when you're heading east is unpleasant to say the least. That was the story of yesterday's commute home. It was good training though.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

After getting used to the warm weather I was reminded that spring is a confusing time. This weeks commute has been low 40's in to work and high 20's on the way home in the am. I had to pack my tights and sweatshirt. Nevertheless, times have been dropping and I feel a bit stronger lately. 

Mark


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

48 F for a high. Took three tries until I got the layers right. Nice in sun sheltered from wind. Chilly in shade with wind. One pickup's wide mirror came a within about a foot because his right tires were almost on the fog line. Likely wandered over looking too closely at me. Further along, I signaled and I took the right lane to get by a car that was parked on the shoulder. Nearest overtaking car was about 1/4 mile back. No others close enough to be affected. Closing at 50 mph with me riding into a stronger angled gust. I gave him the 'get it over now!' wave just before he moved. Left lane was entirely clear. I was heading for the rumble strip to crowd the parked car to avoid being his hood ornament. Closer than it needed to be, for sure. Daydreaming, I guess.

BrianMc


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Slid through Wal-mart this am for some stuff and on my way through sporting goods I was shocked to see they now sell Schwinn brand short liners, as well as Kryptonite and On Guard U-locks. Bought an On Guard 5523 (with the cable included), just too convenient after seeing the idiot locked up next to me with a rather nice 80's vintage Schwinn road bike with a real thin cable through ONLY the front wheel spokes.


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## ProfGumby (Feb 27, 2008)

On my last commute ride I had a first. A Pedestrian yelled some stupid **** at me! He yelled something about my helmet....I didn't catch it all as I didn't really care but I though it awfully stupid...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Feels so good to be healthy (finally) again. Last week was a long week of horrible commutes. I stuck it out and didn't drive, but it's so nice to enjoy being on the bike again! Got a good ride in last night, and took the trail route this morning. Legs are a little sore, but spring is in the air and coffee tastes good again. So nice.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Legs are a little sore, but spring is in the air and coffee tastes good again. So nice.


Blasphemy!!!!!! Coffee is the nectar of the Gods and always tastes good.:lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I totally agree, but last week my stomach did not.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today. 25F when I left the house. The trails were fairly well packed in most places, though the afternoon temps in the upper 40s and low 50s have started to cut way down on the snow pack. Legs were a bit sore after heading up to Hatcher's Pass for some pseudo-backcountry snowboarding yesterday, but totally worth it! Nothing better than hitting the hills in 50 degree temps in a tee-shirt.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Ride was nice. I was expecting pain and suffering after the few spills I took on Saturday. The bruise on my thigh is turning out to be just as epic as I thought it would! It hurts, but not while riding...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Increased averages speed another 0.5 mph with more clothes on. Was in top gear a lot outbound with the wind, and averaged close to 13 coming back into it. Hit 31 in a 30 zone long enough to register on the log. Getting there...

Sorry for that leg, Smudge. I did a number on my right arm three weeks ago that looked similar. I guess it made me stronger. 

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The brevet season isn`t over yet, but mine is done for this year. I completed my event Sat/Sun within the allowed time limit, but it dang near killed me- I`ve reached my limit until I get a handle on that tricky nutrition/hydration situation. FWIW, cold did not factor in this time, but temps well into the 80s sure sucked the life out of me for a few hours.



CommuterBoy said:


> I totally agree, but last week my stomach did not.


Ah, thanks for clarifying that. You had me wondering too! And glad you`re feeling "over the weather" again.

Yowza, Brian- that`s about as close a close call as possible without a wake involved.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Good commute today. 25F when I left the house. The trails were fairly well packed in most places, though the afternoon temps in the upper 40s and low 50s have started to cut way down on the snow pack. Legs were a bit sore after heading up to Hatcher's Pass for some pseudo-backcountry snowboarding yesterday, but totally worth it! Nothing better than hitting the hills in 50 degree temps in a tee-shirt.


You off the fatbike yet? When will you make the switch to a summer commute bike?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Full summer kit, second time. 70 F! Forecast was for winds of 6 mph. They lie! Based on one county to the west, they always seem 5-10 mph low. Maybe so with all the flat land to the west. The wind was at a weird angle where with woods, hills, and homesteads, it could be a headwind, crosswind, or tailwind both ways. I was in top gear over 20 mph for sections both out and back and down to 10 climbing into the wind both out and back. Averaged 15.5 again. 

Rodar: Chewed a hole through the Christmas replacement for the traffic yellow windbreaker. (Gee, I got all of what? four months out of it?) Came a bit too close to breaking my arm. Lucky I did not as the Boss was away all that week. Tried to turn the errand bike faster than the hard Michelin City 38 mm tires wanted to do on seal coated pavement with a little drizzle and flakes soaking it. More of a Driver's Ed skid pad, than a good spot to video it's reflectors. I never pushed its handling and did not realize what a tank it is compared to The Duchess. Like the difference between a heavily loaded Ford F150 and a Porsche Boxster. 

BrianMc


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Low 90s for the commute home and almost 70 for the commute to work. Hard to believe it was 46 degrees last week on several morning commutes. Back in the mid-70s tomorrow. Vegas has severe mood swings in the Spring to be sure. Beside being hot and dreading fast approaching 115 degree rides home, an uneventful commute today.


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

On vacation this week... no commute! Nevertheless I was doing errands by bike. Two trips today:
- D i c k ' s sporting goods to fill up the paintball CO2 cylinders I use for portable beer dispensing
- REI to do some misc bike shopping: brake pads (didn't have them; boo), GP-1 grips for my Big Dummy, extra water bottle, large metric ball-end allen key set.

I'm hoping to stay out of the car all week... until Friday when we drive 250 miles to visit grandma with the girls.

PS: Did you know that the forum edits out the name of that sporting goods store if it has no spaces?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

evandy said:


> PS: Did you know that the forum edits out the name of that sporting goods store if it has no spaces?


Weird, especially since Dick is a name: "Dick was a major dick in line at Dick's."


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Weird, especially since Dick is a name: "Dick was a major dick in line at Dick's."


Interesting. When I tried to post that, I got ****** instsead of Dick's.


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## Huskywolf (Feb 8, 2012)

Gonna vent a lil bit here....

Had some person chuck a apple at me from a 60+ mph speeding car in a 25 mph speed zone. Did not realize what was goin on til i saw the speeding car and a apple "rocket" past me, they missed. Couldn't get a good description or catch license plate. 

Other then that work was grrrrreat. :3


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, did I miss details on your last adventure? Did you seriously ride 6000 miles in 24 hours or whatever?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> You off the fatbike yet? When will you make the switch to a summer commute bike?


No switch over for me. I'm a one bike kinda guy. Rode it all last summer for my commute and trail riding. I will either switch back to the Larry/Endo combo or will throw on some ~2.5 rubber on the LM rims as I did for part of last summer. Ideally I'll build up a set of Rabbit Holes over the summer for summer riding, but that's down the road... maybe. Besides, there's something oddly wonderful about blowing past guys with skinny rubber when rolling so phat...

36F at my house this morning. Nice mix of snow, freezing rain, and rain on the way in. The trails were fairly soft and slow with some nice mix of packed fast rolling snow. I have switched back to clipless, so I'm sure we'll end up with a nice amount of fresh snow today...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Another boring (read as safe, no drama, no close calls, nothing thrown at me, nothing shouted at me) ride in and back. The guy with the old Schwinn again locked his bike in such a poor way I was temped (but didn't) to leave a note.

After doing a good bit of searching and browsing online the last week, I believe the next bike will be equipped with a Microshift group (perhaps the Nashbar exclusive). Since they seem compatible with Shimano parts, it looks like that might be a good compromise of cost and performance.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

I had fun yesterday on the Singlespeed enjoying Earth Day! First time on a skinny bike in over 6 months, rolls so much faster than 8 psi fat tires, LOL. I did get my first flat in 6 months too, entering my drive...WTFOVER! That's what I get for not riding my fatbike I guess.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> No switch over for me. I'm a one bike kinda guy. Rode it all last summer for my commute and trail riding. I will either switch back to the Larry/Endo combo or will throw on some ~2.5 rubber on the LM rims as I did for part of last summer. Ideally I'll build up a set of Rabbit Holes over the summer for summer riding, but that's down the road... maybe. Besides, there's something oddly wonderful about blowing past guys with skinny rubber when rolling so phat...
> 
> 36F at my house this morning. Nice mix of snow, freezing rain, and rain on the way in. The trails were fairly soft and slow with some nice mix of packed fast rolling snow. I have switched back to clipless, so I'm sure we'll end up with a nice amount of fresh snow today...


Nice, I ride fat a few days a week in the summer commuting, mostly Fat Fridays. I really need to get my full fenders complete so its not so bad on those crappy wet days. The 5 miles of road is killing my drivetrain right now...I ride the fatbike all summer long on dirt, pretty much converted to fat mounting biking and gravel grinding.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

15-25 mph sustained headwinds with 35 mph gusts for four of the seven miles into work this morning. Winds on the way home as well, but not nearly as bad. A mundane, hohum, commute today. The best kind.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

evandy said:


> PS: Did you know that the forum edits out the name of that sporting goods store if it has no spaces?


That`s funny- maybe the censors didn`t like it in combination with the gas cylinders- who knows what evil lurks in a mind like that...

Related: on the BFnet frame builders subforum, one guy had a devil of a time trying to suggest a half round bastard file (let`s see if it flies here), and I got bleeped for Kona Honky Tonk on the touring section there!


BrianMc said:


> They lie!
> 
> Came a bit too close to breaking my arm. Lucky I did not as the Boss was away all that week.


Forecasters should run for the senate.
So, The Boss didn`t know that you trashed your new jacket? Next week she comes home and breaks your arm. Another way to injure yourself via cycling :lol:


JordyB said:


> I did get my first flat in 6 months too, entering my drive...WTFOVER! That's what I get for not riding my fatbike I guess.


Fat to flat = not good. Does Anchorage ever actually get hot? You guys ever see like 90F?



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, did I miss details on your last adventure? Did you seriously ride 6000 miles in 24 hours or whatever?


I rode, but you didn`t miss any details- I posted them on a more related site along with my plea for nutrition and hydration suggestions. It was 400 KM, which only felt like 6000 miles- pretty sure it works out to 5000 and change. What planet do the guys who do those distances (and more) on dirt come from? This year`s last regular ride is Davis-Antelope Lake- Davis in 40 hours, and I`ll be working that one instead of pedalling. My claim to shame for Saturday was not quite being able to stop before puking Martinelli`s Sparkling Cider on my shoulder. Hoping to change that to a claim to fame for next year by boasting that I didn`t bother to stop even while puking on myself :lol:
The post season (once every four years) super ride comming up in June is Davis-Goose Lake-Davis in 80 hours. If you watch out your window, you might get to see one of them puke in your front yard.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Without being too specific, been having some issues in the personal zone for a little while, made sure I paid extra attention to how I sit on the bike on the ride in this morning. Sure enough, lots of pressure forward of where it should be. I'm going to try to point the front of the seat down for the ride home (assuming I can figure out how) but can anybody give me any pointers on what proper seat position should feel like? As I understand it I should be putting most/all of the weight on my "sit bones" kinda toward the back of my butt. And if I can't make this seat (still the seat that came with the bike, of course) feel right, suggest some other good seats I can look into?


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I know some guys who ride a LOT (training for tri's, not just commuting) who ride on a noseless saddle, supposedly much healthier. I use my seat way too much for jockeying my bikes around, but a simple commuter bike might enjoy it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I'm going to try to point the front of the seat down for the ride home (assuming I can figure out how) but can anybody give me any pointers on what proper seat position should feel like? As I understand it I should be putting most/all of the weight on my "sit bones" kinda toward the back of my butt. And if I can't make this seat (still the seat that came with the bike, of course) feel right, suggest some other good seats I can look into?


Saddle issues are tough! Keep working at it though because it`s got to be THE most important part of bike comfort. Most of my weight is on my sit bones, but they`re directly under my hips no matter what position I`m sitting in, just change angle depending on how upright or tucked I am. I don`t think I could even force myself into some position that put them towards the back of my butt. I have to wonder if you`re thinking about some other points (that I have no idea what the anatomy charts label them as).

For saddle tilt, I find that if mine is too nose down I need to use a lot of force against my bars to keep from sliding off the front, too far back and I get a "pinching" type pain at the base of my scrotum. Undoubtedly, other riders have different formulas for that (and for everything else saddle related). IMO, playing with different tilts is a good first step, just make the changes gradually, be sure to give it enough time for a fair test after each change, and be prepared to give up on that saddle if you don`t get anywhere with it after a reasonable amount of time. Your decision as to what reasonable means there.

You can read all the suggestions and reviews you want on how somebody else`s butt gets along with some other saddle, but I honestly don`t think those reviews are worth beans when it comes to saddles. I say try em all! look for cheap saddles wherever you can- take off box at the LBS, unwanted saddles that a buddy tried and didn`t like, flea market, places that offer no questions returns, whatever. Eventually you`ll start seeing a trend as far as what shapes, firmness, and other characteristics work or don`t work for you, then try to dial it in.

Aside from the saddle itself, you probably know that clothes make a difference. At least for me they do. Even though I don`t wear "cycling" shorts of any kind, I try to find shorts or pants and underware with seams as inobtrusive as possible (otherwise I get friction burns or zits on my crotch). Creams help me quite a lot, powder is nearly as helpful for prevention and good for fixing up minor problems that I`ve already developed. It also helps to get out of the saddle frequently in order to rest whatever parts you`re sitting on and to let blood circulate (which is also good for mitigating foot pain).

Hope some of that helps- I know it sucks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...What planet do the guys who do those distances (and more) on dirt come from?...


Check the mirror dude, the longest I've ever attempted is 100mi.

Sanath, Trial and error. One of my bikes came with a saddle that never felt right. I bought one off Nashbar that had great reviews but when it came in it was nearly identical to the one I was taking off. I swapped it out and it's been a big improvement. Check your LBS for tester saddles. I know WTB has a demo program.

OK, I'm still waiting for spring. My morning commutes have been 24F, 30F and today 40F with cold rain. We've been running below normal temps for months now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...the longest I've ever attempted is 100mi.


And damn exciting to finish, I know!

Yesterday`s mirror:
Yeah! Yeah! I did it!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Chilly morning in Vegas again. 50 degree ride in. Nearly an 80 degree ride home. No real wind. Pretty routine commute. Said hi, like always, to the lady standing at the bus stop in the morning, drove past the car in the Kmart parking lot a guy's been sleeping nights in since November, and avoided being hit by any cars. Like I said, routine--and good. 

As for seats, I point both my mountain bike and commuter seat down. Have a selle comfort on the mt. bike and WTB on the commuter. Seems to work for me. Friends get uncomfortable long before I do on rides. Trial and error I guess.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I caught this brief appearance of sun. Felt like upper 30's in the late afternoon, high of 50 at noon. Didn't stop the golfers, though.

0424-13 SUn - YouTube

Was roller-coastering it well until the shift off the big chainwheel. Got snowed on about 10 minutes later. Nutty weather.

BrianMc


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Well the ride home was better on the seat. I moved it about an inch forward and tilted the front down a bit. Probably too much, but I got the result I wanted: no pressure where it shouldn't be. My wrists did take some more weight so I'll probably try to dial the incline back down a bit in the rides ahead to see how flat I can make it before causing issues again.

edit: I also got a nice reminder not to ride with my mouth open in the form of a bug of some sort going straight in and hitting the back of my throat. Fortunately not a bee as there was no swelling. This was within maybe 50 feet of where I caught a bee in my mouth last year. Maybe just keep my mouth shut while riding through there? Or wear a face mask made of window screen?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good job controlling the bug population Santh. I'm not sure about your methods.

Woo Hoo, first day I got to ride in shorts. It was only 45 but this afternoon is supposed to to be near 60. Next week is forecast to be nice too. Otherwise it's been pretty routine.


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Slow - I hate head winds.

Left the house with temp at 30˚ and a 15mph headwind. Been worse, been better, at least I'm not driving a car.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hit the trails after work yesterday for an attempt at the brutal trail climb that everyone has been timing themselves on. Strava segment from hell. It's that sweet time of year when everyone is just coming out of hibernation, but I've been riding every day...so I have to capitalize on that while I can. Pulled off a personal best, and 3rd overall (128 attempts on it according to Strava). That spot won't last, but it feels good for now. Especially since I know the guys ahead of me and how good they are (and a few of the guys I was surprised to beat). 

This morning... sore! :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Brian, it took me a while to figure out what strikes me so odd about your videos, but I think I finally latched on to it. The big lawns al the way to the road edges with no fences, sidewalks, or even curbs give it a Legoland look. Oh, and the color of those lawns is sort of foreign to me too, but I`ve seen pictures of grass that wasn`t coffee colored, so at least I know what it is :lol:

Shorts! About time.

Nice going on your Strava coup, CB!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I haven't commuted much lately because of my @#$% work schedule and F'n weather, but should I be worried about what I found on my new single track route I will take on my wat to the MUP?

http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/done-mountain-lion-*kind-gory-pic*-851327.html


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Eew. I commented in your thread...mountain lions bury their leftovers and come back for them later. That was the work of a human. I'd be worried about sharing that trail with people who think it's a good idea to pick up a dead deer and hang it in a tree :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The muni's been scrapping down the trails each day to help them melt off, which is nice, generally. But last night it froze so they were an icy, rutted mess this AM. Other than that the ride was nice until I got to work and realized I forgot my keys to my bike locks. Then went to change and realized I'd have to go commando today. Then went to pour my coffee and realized that the coffee maker didn't grind enough beans so I'm basically drinking mud colored water. The day's not starting out so splendidly. Them's the breaks, I guess.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

blockphi said:


> The muni's been scrapping down the trails each day to help them melt off, which is nice, generally. But last night it froze so they were an icy, rutted mess this AM. Other than that the ride was nice until I got to work and realized I forgot my keys to my bike locks. Then went to change and realized I'd have to go commando today. Then went to pour my coffee and realized that the coffee maker didn't grind enough beans so I'm basically drinking mud colored water. The day's not starting out so splendidly. Them's the breaks, I guess.


Yeah had to go commando a couple of times when I forgot to put boxers with my work clothes. Kinda felt nice in a distracting kind of way.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well Rodar, somewhere needs to get enough rain for 6 T per acre corn and 3 T per acre soybeans to feed chickens pigs and cows. We do seem to like omelets and bacon cheese burgers. What we have in agriculture we lose in scenery. 

There seems to be an allergy to sidewalks here. They are going into the newest city divisions. Our division is in the county. Curbs imply storm sewers. None in my division nor any sanitary ones either. Septic systems on 1 acre lots. 

BrianMc


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute, sort of. Bad tooth ache. The harder I peddled the more it hurt. Stopped peddling and it didn't hurt. Filling feel out about three years ago. Guess I deserve this.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Wow, it was windy today. Pushing a head wind all the way to work (23 mph) needless to say it was a slow commute. On the brighter side, it seems that I have flipped a switch in my riding. I have gotten quite a bit faster last few weeks. It is a nice feeling when you see an improvement in your riding and know that hard work does pay off. Here is a pix of my latest add to my bike. This M786 RD is very nice and works quite well. I feel like I am riding a SS and shifting is great.

Mark


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I was in the states all week, but got back home yesterday and the temperature had jumped 15C, and the snow that had been hanging on finally disappeared. So first ride of the week for me, with lots of bikes on the roads in morning, and I got to volunteer at the bike co-op for the first time since januaryish. And tomorrow is a day off - whoo!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Eew. I commented in your thread...mountain lions bury their leftovers and come back for them later. That was the work of a human. I'd be worried about sharing that trail with people who think it's a good idea to pick up a dead deer and hang it in a tree :lol:


You are right. Not sure I want to be friends with someone who would do this.

Today was my first commute in a few weeks. I didn't take the single track today as I wanted to ride my single speed track bike. It was feeling neglected and needed some love. This may have been a mistake on my part. Its starting to get really windy and there is one big hill that I need to ride on my way back that will be directly into the wind. Not sure if I will make it all the way up without stopping.


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## Zeroack (Jul 4, 2005)

Great ride in this morning. First spring ride to work in shorts. Temp was 40˚ when I left the house. Slight breeze to my back. Looking forward to commuting this spring and summer.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great to be back on the bike after 2 weeks driving while spoiling my dogsitting charge, who is used to a work at home owner, with walks in the woods instead. Still chilly in the morning, 27F, but it should be 40-50 on the way home. While I was gone the fair weather bikecommuters came out of the woodwork, with about 5 in the rack already when I got here. Actually some may be staged for a quick lunch ride, but I know some are commuters.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Back at it 

Slicks on very fast spun out 46/11 with no wind....

First morning in shorts this year.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Yesterday we had fairly strong winds all day long that helped melt stuff down even more, though the 25+ gusts made the ride home a bit of a chore. This morning it was cool again and the trails froze down into a mostly icy, rutted mess. But where they were not too icy or rutted they were fast, fast, fast. I'm almost ready for the snow to be all gone so I can sleep in a bit longer each day and still make it to work on time! I'm hopeful that I'll get out on to some single track this weekend before they are completely melted off and a muddy, off-limits mess for the next month or so. 

Come June my commute is going to be changing up quite a bit. We've purchased a house in Palmer, a good 35 or more miles from Anchorage so I'll be going multi-modal on my commute - bike to the park and ride, take the bus to town, and then bike to work. Overall it only adds 2 miles to my bike commute time, but places some constraints on my scheduling to ensure I make the bus connection. I figure the bus time will allow me to do some work, work on that novel I've always wanted to write, or just catch up on my reading each day. Since I ride fat I talked with the folks who run the bus to see if I could test out their racks before I start the commute. They said the fatty won't fit, but they'll allow me to bring the bike onto the bus itself, which is awesome. I'd rather have it somewhere where I know it's safe.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Fatties don't Fit Fine!? :eekster:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Fatties don't Fit Fine!? :eekster:


Nope - the biggest tires that will fit on the bus racks are 3" and even that is a bit iffy. I'm sure it could be made to work, but I'd rather have the bike with me on the bus rather than hanging off the front.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Fatties don't Fit Fine!? :eekster:


Must to be a Surly bike rack on the bus.



blockphi said:


> Nope - the biggest tires that will fit on the bus racks are 3" and even that is a bit iffy. I'm sure it could be made to work, but I'd rather have the bike with me on the bus rather than hanging off the front.


I'm glad they will let you take it on the bus.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Taking it on the bus is ....









:lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

:thumbsup:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Nice update Block!!! As for me, got my wisdom teeth pulled this AM, ALL of them. FML!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The ride home was good too, I was able to lose the kneewarmers, so baggies over chamois shorts, plus a light ls and t-shirt with no jacket or vest on the uphill 3.5 miles. Only unhappy that those palm bumps I was worried about are getting worse not better, despite not riding 2 weeks. One is still bb sized, but the other is pea-sized and gives a pinch feeling on the grips. Back to request referral to a hand specialist perhaps.

Some pix from the Stone Arts School en route. The last one is a giant roller made of polished granite, probably from a paper mill (there's a granite museum there too).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Today was the first time this year that it was actually "hot", meaning that I`d have turned down the thermostat a notch if I had the power to do so. Not TOO bad, but it`s starting. I think I`m safe to turn on the outside water now, will probably do that within the next week or so. Beautiful ride in to work tonight.



mtbxplorer said:


> Only unhappy that those palm bumps I was worried about are getting worse not better, despite not riding 2 weeks. One is still bb sized, but the other is pea-sized and gives a pinch feeling on the grips. Back to request referral to a hand specialist perhaps.


 
Keep us posted.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Amazing to me how some of you are getting excited for Spring commuting and here in Vegas we are getting into summer weather already. Next week's commute promises, at least according to the weather man, several 100 degree days. Faired a ninety degree seven mile uphill commute on the way home yesterday pretty well, even with severe tooth pain, so I'm thinking 100 won't be the end of the world. I do question the sanity of attempting anything over a 110 though. Just started commuting in November, after Thanksgiving, so I haven't faced a summer yet. Got through the winter just fine but I think summer here in Vegas will be the real test of will.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No commute for me today, but I had been hoping to go for a fun ride. But we're getting winds gusting to 90kmh/55mph, and the ground is still covered in winter grit and garbage, so I've decided to stay home rather than be sandblasted.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

My hardtail is supposed to be my fairweather bike that stays reasonably clean while my other bikes play in the muck. But I haven't ridden it since last fall, and today it really needed an outing, so it got really, really mucky.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Windy. Outbound 12 mph, over 18 back topped 31 on three downhills only one is steep. First ride I ever did that. Big tailwinds helped. 30 miles.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

vegascruiser said:


> Next week's commute promises, at least according to the weather man, several 100 degree days.


Yuck. I can beieve it. I didn`t check a thermometer or listen to a weather report, but it sure was hot here today. Like flipping a switch. I turned on my drip irrigation system, put the swamp cooler in the window, and helped my dad hang his. Going for a nice ride tomorrow and I`ll be looking for high elevations. I`m not sure if it`s open yet, but I`m going to try a loop that was still being guarded by Polaris and CanAm the last time I checked, so it might turn into and out and back.

Cool pic, Newf. I forgot that you used to post up a lot of river/city scapes- it`s been a while.

EDIT: Gold Lakes/89, since I see that CB is in the room.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

My first flat! 4:30 AM, take my bike down from the rack and as soon as the front tire touches the ground it sounds wrong. Sure enough, dead flat. Changed it in the garage before I left rather than reinflating so I didn't have to change it in 2 miles in the dark and the rain. Was much easier than I expected on such small tires, I've in the past had a hell of a time getting my mountain tires back over the rim.

Other than that, uneventful. Still trying to get the seat dialed in right.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow! 10 bikes in the rack at work this morning!


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## classrc (Sep 18, 2011)

A little soggy, here in SE Michigan this morning... Warming up nicely, though!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Amazing granite art MTBX. That's cool stuff.

Newf, I've never seen the river ice aftermath like that. Crazy.



rodar y rodar said:


> EDIT: Gold Lakes/89, since I see that CB is in the room.


Nice. I was just dreaming up a century route over Antelope, on to Almanor, and back via the Bizz. I clocked it at 117 on google maps.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Add me to the list of commuters that are welcoming spring. We're got a week forecast with 35-40 degree mornings and 70 degree afternoons. I'm hoping the shorts out for the season. The streets are getting swept so I'm hoping to break out a road bike one of these days. Right now some of the paved shoulders are better for a fatbike than a road bike. The biggest reminder of winter I have is my sore knee from crashing in an icy rut about 3 weeks ago. It's OK when I ride but squatting, not so much.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snowy rain this morning, or maybe it was rainy snow? Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, so I may have to layer up again.



Sanath said:


> Still trying to get the seat dialed in right.


I think you were following Brian's advice to move the seat forward and tilt the nose down? Everyone will fit differently, but I would have recommended the exact opposite (I think Rodar mentioned this too).

If your bike is basically the right size then moving the saddle forward and tilting it down will both cause you to "fall" forward. This puts a lot of weight on the hands, and it doesn't really relieve the unmentionables.

If it's working for you that's great. But if you're still tweaking, it's worth trying a day or two with the saddle moved back to it's max, and tilted a little bit up just to see the difference. The goal is to be sitting firmly on your butt (technically your sitbones). If my seat is far forward I sort of hover, with a lot of weight on my arms and my seat wedged where it shouldn't be.



CommuterBoy said:


> Newf, I've never seen the river ice aftermath like that. Crazy.


I know a civil engineer who's speciality is river ice, and I always thought that was a weird thing to dedicate your life to. But up close it's pretty cool stuff.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit chilly this AM. 22F at my house. The trails were a nice mix of glare ice, bare pavement, and packed snow. Mostly a fast ride in. 

I can tell spring is in the air here as well, I mean apart from the scent of thawing dog, moose, and goose poop everywhere. The bike racks are starting to become the hot parking spots. So much so that I'm tempted to put a reserved parking sign on my spot. I figure riding every day year round means I'm entitled to that...right? Not that it matters overmuch as I am generally here before any of the other cyclists show up. 

Jordy, tough break with the wisdom teeth. I had mine removed while in HS, so it's been long enough ago that I don't recall just how much of a bummer it is for a few weeks while everything heals up. One thing I do recall is that the eating of peanuts is not advisable for a while - ouch.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We have a lake that freezes pretty good, and the wind and currents push up some crazy jagged slabs like that if the conditions are right...but the potential carnage of river ice breaking up/jamming/flowing downstream is a whole different animal. 


Rodar, this was the 'de-winterize the outside water' weekend for me too. I had a little pre-winter breakage I'd forgotten about and played plumber this weekend to get everything operational. Apparently I broke a valve and just drained/winterized instead of fixing it :lol: sounds like something I'd do, but I have no memory of it. We're not at swamp cooler levels of heat yet though...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Moose Poop and Goose Poop sounds like a Dr. Seuss book. 

"Goose poop, not moose poop, is poop from a goose, and moose poop, not goose poop is poop from a moose..."


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow! 10 bikes in the rack at work this morning!


Nice to see how you got 'stoned' and you apparently are a bad... er good influence at work.

Newf's cool ice reminded me of spring break up on the river where I grew up. Sometimes blocking the river road to town. Sometimes high and dry on our best land.

After Radar's 300 miles, I am shamed into another Habitat ride. I will be bringing spare wheels and parts to de-jinx me. I plan on stripping The Duchess pretty much to aid hill climbing. Keeping the rear lights but leaving off 5 pounds of batteries and lights. I expect to lose about 10 pounds during the ride judging from last year. The drivers on the route seem pretty bike aware and no one else had front lights. Cover Indiana Bicycle Tour

BrianMc


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

newfangled said:


> I think you were following Brian's advice to move the seat forward and tilt the nose down? Everyone will fit differently, but I would have recommended the exact opposite (I think Rodar mentioned this too).
> 
> If your bike is basically the right size then moving the saddle forward and tilting it down will both cause you to "fall" forward. This puts a lot of weight on the hands, and it doesn't really relieve the unmentionables.
> 
> If it's working for you that's great. But if you're still tweaking, it's worth trying a day or two with the saddle moved back to it's max, and tilted a little bit up just to see the difference. The goal is to be sitting firmly on your butt (technically your sitbones). If my seat is far forward I sort of hover, with a lot of weight on my arms and my seat wedged where it shouldn't be.


Forward and nose down was my initial approach, yes, but as you said I had a hard time staying in place. I tried backing off on the angle and it didn't do a lot to keep me in place. Slid the seat back about 1 cm, still nose down, and i think I'm almost back in the same crappy position I started with. I actually planning to slide the seat forward again and tilt it a bit back to see if that made it easier to sit up on the wider back portion of the seat, which is I think where my butt is supposed to rest anyways?

Sadly, I've considered buying a digital level to add some repeatability and some level of science to these changes rather than just fiddling with a wrench until it looks a little different and trying it out. I think that's my engineer side asserting itself.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ If it is any 'comfort' to you, I am having issues with my saddle when in the drops (into the wind) but it is near perfect on the hoods or the back of the bars maybe a little slide forward. My mount has notches so I am going to try one click up in front. I think I might be sliding onto the horn when I am in the drops and the weigh and angle changes on the sit bones. I need to push myself back a bit even when on the hoods. I think the issue is the sliding and not the tilt per se. It is very very close to being right, but not right is sore. So I feel for you and me. Especially riding into the wind. 

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

More green grass for Rodar and a 22 mph to 32 to 25 run:

32 mph 25 uphill - YouTube

Mere pimple compared to what a lot of you ride.

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Better safe than sorry. This morning as I approached the car wash, a pickup ahead of me with a big ladder rack on it tried to turn directly from the road into the car wash bay, but miscalculated and stopped short with the rear end hanging into my path and the ladders hanging into the main travel lane. I thought he might back up into me if I continued, so I stopped and waited. Sure enough the reverse lights came on as he readjusted his entry into the bay. You shouldn’t have to be a mind reader to ride a bike safely, but it helps to try.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Sanath said:


> I actually planning to slide the seat forward again and tilt it a bit back to see if that made it easier to sit up on the wider back portion of the seat, which is I think where my butt is supposed to rest anyways?


That's where I would suggest moving it all the way back just to see the difference. It will probably be too far back, but you'll really be able to see the effect it has. (also, making a big change can feel more satisfying than fiddly little ones)

For the longest time I couldn't ride my bike with no hands. When I was a kid I could do it no problem, but when I got back into riding it just would not work. Then at some point I moved my saddle back and suddenly riding with no hands was easy, because I wasn't falling forward anymore.

So you should be able to sit on your butt on the wide part of the saddle. If you have that falling feeling it means you're not balanced on your butt, and what you're falling onto is basically your unmentionables.

But some saddles are also not meant for some people. I've got one that I've used on 4 different frames with all kinds of setups, and like clockwork after about three days I start to have problems.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Does this make me look disarming?



Or just a shadow of my former self?

There was this big yellow thing in the sky briefly. I heard it is called the sun.

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Tonight might be the most unprepared I've ever been. It was what most people would probably call a blizzard, and the wind forced me to pedal to go downhill. And me in a tshirt with no hat. The temperature was right around freezing so it wasn't particularly uncomfortable, but I'm sure that it looked like I was crazy.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Like promised, 101 degree commute from work today. Where I work is the hottest part of the Vegas Valley. I expect the official temperature to be around 98 or 99. Official temperatures are recorded from McCarren Airport, which sits pretty central in the Valley. Basically, Vegas falls from west to east, with the extreme west parts of the Valley (Redrock area) being close, if memory serves correctly, to 1000' difference. This on any given summer day can keep the west side of town ten degrees cooler than the east and five degrees cooler than McCarren's official reading.

Anyway, hot commute this afternoon and I feel a cold coming on. Let the good times roll. . .


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

just can't reconcile the lack of traction of schwalbe fat franks with their looks. god these things suck


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

WTF? The forum will NOT let me quote Sanath today.
Anyway, My seated weight does fall on my sitbones, but I can`t handle having the saddle all the way under my butt, just sort of perch myself on it with it further back than most people probably do. Just guessing it`s because my femurs are close together, so the width of the saddle nose bothers me if I get all the way on top of it. Moral: no telling what`s gonna work- you just have to keep playing with it, and when you decide you`ve had enough, start over again with a different sadle.

The level might no be a bad idea if you`re messing with the tilt. Just remember that the angle on one saddle might not tell you anything useful for another saddle. If you do it, probably a good idea to set a flat board on the saddle and the level on the board because it isn`t going to be flat like a table top.



BrianMc said:


> ^^ If it is any 'comfort' to you, I am having issues with my saddle when in the drops (into the wind) but it is near perfect on the hoods or the back of the bars maybe a little slide forward.


Me, too. I have mine positioned for "slightly tucked". Full tuck it needs to tiltdown more, bolt upright, I feel like it`s a little bit TOO tilted. I`ve thought many times that it would be nice to have a tilt lock/unlock like those dropper seatposts, but you`re the only other person I`ve heard complain about the problem, so I thought it was just me.

For riding no hands more than about one second, I have to sit straight up and lean way back. I`ve always assumed that the difference was in my front to rear weight bias, but not really sure. Maybe that`s what made the difference when you moved your saddle back, Newf?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> Tonight might be the most unprepared I've ever been. It was what most people would probably call a blizzard, and the wind forced me to pedal to go downhill. And me in a tshirt with no hat. The temperature was right around freezing so it wasn't particularly uncomfortable, but I'm sure that it looked like I was crazy.


Ugh! I would have been 100% miserable in a t-shirt in those conditions.



vegascruiser said:


> Like promised, 101 degree commute from work today. Where I work is the hottest part of the Vegas Valley. I expect the official temperature to be around 98 or 99. Official temperatures are recorded from McCarren Airport, which sits pretty central in the Valley. Basically, Vegas falls from west to east, with the extreme west parts of the Valley (Redrock area) being close, if memory serves correctly, to 1000' difference. This on any given summer day can keep the west side of town ten degrees cooler than the east and five degrees cooler than McCarren's official reading.
> 
> Anyway, hot commute this afternoon and I feel a cold coming on. Let the good times roll. . .


Double Ugh!! I can't handle the heat! Ride safe!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I feel like I`m mising out, not knowing what thawing moose poop smells like. Maybe I can order it in scratch and sniff form from Amazon. Anybody ever hear the comedian`s story (Lemony Snicket, I think) about moose turd pie?

Better luck on the next Habitat ride, Brian. I hope you like riding the stripped Duchess :skep:. I like stripping down The Mighty Schwinn because all the important things are still intimately familiar, but she`s in such a light and airy good mood after the diet that it rubs off on me! Oh, and see if you can velcro in those bottles or something this time, sheesh!

Bedwards, your mention of your knee made me think of your excursion in the Carribean, which reminded me that you were going to post a link to the pics, which I haven`t seen. Did I miss it, or are they still in edit?

Went for a five hour ride this morning and found out that my highway is now open. The roadhouse between the two passes was not open, though- good thing I packed munchies to hold me over until I got to the midpoint town.. There was some road work going on for the first climb, which turned out to be a benefit to me. The flagger let me go as soon as I got to his station on the condition that I ride only on the left side and get off teh road when the wagon trains came through. It was cool because all the traffic goes by at once, then I know nobody else will be comming for another ten minutes or so.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Went for a five hour ride this morning and found out that my highway is now open. The roadhouse between the two passes was not open, though- good thing I packed munchies to hold me over until I got to the midpoint town.. There was some road work going on for the first climb, which turned out to be a benefit to me. The flagger let me go as soon as I got to his station on the condition that I ride only on the left side and get off the road when the wagon trains came through. It was cool because all the traffic goes by at once, then I know nobody else will be comming for another ten minutes or so.


Nice pix Rodar, geez 5 hours would likely kill me. That last pic looks like the cone burners they used to have in ME, basically a gigantic cone shaped burn barrel for trash with zero emissions controls.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> ..The bike racks are starting to become the hot parking spots. So much so that I'm tempted to put a reserved parking sign on my spot. I figure riding every day year round means I'm entitled to that...right? Not that it matters overmuch as I am generally here before any of the other cyclists show up. .


I agree. My lonely place of honor closest to the building was respected for all of one day, but now it's a free for all. I work 9-5:30 whereas some start at 7, so I got the last spot today. Actually, beyond the last bike rack spot, next to them but locked to a handrail. I had to walk an extra 10 feet at least to the building. :smallviolin:

Oh the shame. Today I got an email about the head to head Agency competition in the upcoming commuter challenge week (not just bikes, also includes bus, carpool, telecommute, etc). I checked the stats and the Agency of Transportation was ahead of our Agency of Natural Resources based on the registrations. I sent an email about VTrans beating us and by the end of the day we were in the lead. This "carbon throwdown" could get interesting.

Vermont ANR

Total Participants
31 / 600

Participation
5.2%

Total Distance
5,975 mi

Average Distance Per Participant
192.7 mi

CO2 Saved From Air
3,625.01 lbs

Average CO2 Saved Per Participant
116.94 lbs

VTrans

Total Participants
26 / 637

Participation
4.1%

Total Distance
5,790 mi

Average Distance Per Participant
222.7 mi

CO2 Saved From Air
4,009.66 lbs

Average CO2 Saved Per Participant
154.22 lbs


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

byknuts said:


> just can't reconcile the lack of traction of schwalbe fat franks with their looks. god these things suck


Any more details to share? I was thinking of Franks for whenever my Big Apples wear out. I'm surprised how good BAs are on everything from pavement to snow, although on slushy ice I'd swear they're out to kill me.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

The SS bike is giving me a big fat hot spot on my left arch. I replaced the stock soles in my shoes with Soles, and they have improved some, though not as much as I might like. Apparently the 2 year-old Soles I had in my old shoes (which did not fit in the "new" ones) spoiled me...practically fit me like a glove.

On a positive note, my separated AC is doing much better--was finally able to (kinda) pop a wheelie yesterday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MtbX, you`re pretty close. That cone is the waste incinerator from a long defunct lumber mill. I don`t think anything like "zero emisions" applied to it, though. It`s probably been shut down for at least 40 years and I`m sure the design comes from the days when nobody really gave a hoot about emisions.


CommuterBoy said:


> I was just dreaming up a century route over Antelope, on to Almanor, and back via the Bizz. I clocked it at 117 on google maps.


I`ve kicked around ideas for similar. It sounds like a nice (though climby) ride. Your route sounds clockwise- isn`t the climb to Antelope more gradual in a CC loop? Best way to avoid the highway down to Janesville is by the prison? Playing with Google maps, I`d be tempted to try riding right off the Bizz and a combination of Weatherlowe, Richmond, Wingfield, but don`t know any of those "in person" beyond the turn off for the park at Hobo Camp.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Another flat tire when I went to pack up the bike this morning. This time on the rear. There was a little air left in the tube. Near as I can guess I must have hit something last Friday and it made a bigger hole in the front tube than the back. Again, changed before I left the garage as a precaution against a road- or trail-side change, in the dark, in the rain (which the weather forecast didn't mention at all). This time I really am out of tubes, so I went to Pricepoint to buy some more (and I guess a patch kit) and it turns out those clever bastards save your shopping cart no matter how long you're gone.

So what does everybody think of Shimano R087E Wide Road Shoe | Shimano | Brand | www.PricePoint.com ? I think I want the click strap on top vs just velcro at all 3 closures, both because velcro isn't durable (loses its grip over time) and also because it'll loosen over the course of the ride. I was going to pair them with just some basic Shimano M520 pedals (Shimano M520 MTB SPD Pedals | Shimano | Brand | www.PricePoint.com), if that sounds like a misstep to anyone.


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

my commute was pleasant, if a little foggy












Sanath said:


> So what does everybody think of Shimano R087E Wide Road Shoe | Shimano | Brand | www.PricePoint.com ? I think I want the click strap on top vs just velcro at all 3 closures, both because velcro isn't durable (loses its grip over time) and also because it'll loosen over the course of the ride. I was going to pair them with just some basic Shimano M520 pedals (Shimano M520 MTB SPD Pedals | Shimano | Brand | www.PricePoint.com), if that sounds like a misstep to anyone.


I have just got the MTB version:Shimano SH-M088LE Wide-Fit Mountain Shoe | Shimano | Brand | www.PricePoint.com, Ive only done ~120kms in them, but I like them, Im also using the cheap shimano pedals.
I like the ratchet assembly as you can really tighten the shoe up when you wish (I have singletrack on my way to and from work), but I believe thats what broke my last pair of ratchet shoes, so I'll take it a little easier on these.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ I like the 2 velcro, 1 ratchet fastening of my Sidis. My feet can swell on long rides. Backing off the tension is easy. If I install them too loose starting out, then it is as easy to add a cinch them on the go. Can't speak to the Shimano shoe.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

A blizzard in a tee-shirt, no thanks. I'm done with that kind of weather for 6 months.

MTXB, they only take the close spots because they know how in shape you are from riding year round so a few extra steps aren't going to hurt you. I feel sorry for those poor out of shape summer commuters, don't you?

Rodar, you haven't missed anything, I've been remiss at posting them. Lots of things to do since I got back, death in the family, business trips..... Maybe by the weekend. Good pics of your ride though. It looks really peaceful out there.

I got my 9er back from the shop with a warrantied Fox shock that keeps the oil on the inside.:thumbsup: so it was mountain bike Tuesday. 32F when I left but it's supposed to get nice. It's really amazing how much warmer a spring 32F with the promise of a nice afternoon feels. I rode in shorts which I would never do in the winter.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Sanath said:


> So what does everybody think of Shimano R087E Wide Road Shoe | Shimano | Brand | www.PricePoint.com ? I think I want the click strap on top vs just velcro at all 3 closures, both because velcro isn't durable (loses its grip over time) and also because it'll loosen over the course of the ride. I was going to pair them with just some basic Shimano M520 pedals (Shimano M520 MTB SPD Pedals | Shimano | Brand | www.PricePoint.com), if that sounds like a misstep to anyone.


If the shoe fits...  It's all preference, but you might want to go with the mountain version. I think mountain shoes are more comfortable for walking around in (not that I do much of it). I have had luck with just plain velcro. I had a pair of Shimano M075 shoes for about 5 years. I used them for commuting and mtb-ing. I could still ride in them if I wanted to, but I'm sporting a pair of Northwave Spartas I really like. I usually have to try a shoe on. Some brands/styles just don't fit right.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Standard ride in this AM. A bit warmer - 35F, decent trails. Good ride. Can't complain. I did switch from my Salsa MotoAce bars to my old Titec Hellbent XC riser bars over the weekend and am still trying to get the set up all dialed in again. The Salsa bars were nice, but the sweep on them always felt a bit odd to me. So after nearly a year of riding the bike I finally got up enough gumption to change them out. Now that the risers are about dialed in, I feel much more comfortable on the ride.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, great pic! I love the 'smoooooke, on the water' pics. It's that time of year.



rodar y rodar said:


> . Your route sounds clockwise- isn`t the climb to Antelope more gradual in a CC loop? Best way to avoid the highway down to Janesville is by the prison? Playing with Google maps, I`d be tempted to try riding right off the Bizz and a combination of Weatherlowe, Richmond, Wingfield, but don`t know any of those "in person" beyond the turn off for the park at Hobo Camp.


I live off of Wingfield. Richmond is my main drag to down...so you've seen a lot of that in my pictures :lol: I roll by the Bizz trailhead every day. From the end of the bizz in town...go out Richmond, right on wingfield, and it turns to dirt just past Peter Lassen's grave (historical marker!!). It's well maintained dirt (a couple hills)all the way to where it T's into...wait for it... Wingfield (makes no sense) in Janesville (paved). If you go left, that's Bass Hill Rd. Right is 'paved' Wingfield. Turn right, that T's into Janesville's main street eventually. Turn right, and that T's into the very bottom of the grade up to Antelope Lake (basically at the higway). It's a nice cruise all the way out, 3 or 4 miles of dirt, no traffic, no highway. I rode that This weekend actually. The dirt is in very good shape right now.

Yes, it's a monster heading up the grade from Janesville...2000 feet in about 5 miles, but starting from here you get it all out of the way when you're fresh (that's my theory anyway), and the rest of that route isn't too bad except for the climb up from Indian Valley to Almanor.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

By the way Rodar, awesome pics. That is such a cool loop. We have a couple of those defunct incinerator thingies like that... MTBX, there's dead lumber mills all over the place in this neck of the woods...probably the equivalent of your dead granite quarries.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OOh I remembered that I had a sunrise pic with that incinerator thing making a cameo... hiding behind that shed.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, I did the whole sick thing commute today. Gather that a little sickness doesn't get many of you down, so I figured why not. New to commuting and looking for experiences. And boy did I get one today. By the time I left work I was running a 101 degree fever, but didn't know this until I got home. Just an absolutely miserable experience. Seven miles straight up hill (a gradual climb, but still) with a 98 degree headwind blasting me like a hot blow dryer. Did the walk of shame over the freeway over pass as I didn't want to exert too much energy so early into my ride. My 40X16 single speed isn't the easiest to peddle over steep passes with headwinds. Did the walk of shame again on the last hill just before reaching home. It was walk or collapse.

Several times I thought of calling the wife to come get me, but then figured I'm a big boy and decided to ride my bike to work this morning knowing I was sick. So deal with it. No need to put others out for my mistake. Got home, nearly falling through the door, and took some medicine. Crashed on my chair for two hours. Just woke up completely drenched (fever broken) and now I'm thinking maybe it wasn't so bad after all. Told my wife I'll just take a fever reducer tomorrow an hour before the peddle home. Beside, tomorrow is our cool down. Back to the mid-eighties.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Hope you feel better, Vegas, glad you made it home OK.

Wow CB, you have awesome sunrises there and take good pix too.

Good rides today, nothing exciting. A little too warm and still on the way home, like high 60's.
Yes for real, not used to this warmer weather yet and never like it hot anyways. A little light shower
on the way in so pleased to see there were still about 7 bikes at work, including a snazzy Steelman, 
which I had not heard of before, but knew it had to be good because it was the only bike with the front wheel off and a U lock.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

Very inspiring! Glad your fever broke!

After giving up for the winter, a herniated disc early march, and a vacation to Peru resulting in a 105* fever and being hooked to an IV thus ruining the vacation... I AM READY TO START F*KNG RIDING AGAIN! The weather is great and I have just been depressed having to "take it easy" 

My commuter is all packed up for the morning and I have my clothes laid out. Shouldn't need but a thin layer I think it's high 50's. waking up at 5am out the door by 530 (hopefully) I'm nervous to get back Into it and I know I will not want to when I wake up. It's only 12 miles but the kicker is I'm a landscaper and I've been sore from working again after my hiatus from injury. Then comes the ride home 

Love this thread! 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mmmmm, fog day 
Cmg71, that`s an enticing commute route! And Bedwards` might be Smoke On The Water, but I was thinking more Purple Haze. Didn`t mean to rush you on the pics, just honestly didn`t know if I had missed anything.

Jeez, Vegascruiser- that does sound bad. But you think it`s passed already? Hope so. I`m sure the drop in temps is welcome.

Welcome back to it, Kikoraa. No more fevers, now!

I like that western route better than the east one, CB. Not that there`s really anything wrong with the other side (or even with riding 395 for that matter), it just seems kind of boring to me. The foothills look very tasty. One way or another, I`ll probably ride through some time this year. I`d love to make a long Quincy/Susanville loop in another all night marathon, and that`ll probably be my route.

About the preferred placement of tough climbs in a long route, I`m not so sure. Getting it out of the way early makes sense, but then you`re dead for the "easy" part. If I enjoy the easy part at a moderate pace, the thought of being almost done is usually enough to convince me to dig up the needed energy to knock out the remainder. (that`s my theory, anyway)
Peter Lassen`s grave? There must be some kind of controversy about that because I read something about it being near a place called Stevens Camp, near the top of Highrock Canyon.
EDIT: Sneaking around the western edge of town misses all the services by quite a ways. But maybe that doesn`t mean much, depending on time of day. Are there any 24 hr stores there anyway? Wally`s? The gas station in the DMV shopping center?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

If the words in this thread are w- a - a- a- a- y off to the right, forcing you to scroll over to read, a switch to fixed mode (dropdown list on bottom left of page) for the time being will fix it. I think it fixes itself when we get to a new page.


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## kikoraa (Jul 25, 2011)

Overslept :/ still on vacation timing. 

Mulligan dammit! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks for well wishes. Home sick today. Fever is coming and going, but I suspect in a day or two I'll be good to go. 30 mile sustained winds today with 40 mile gusts. A pretty good day not to commute actually.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

kikoraa said:


> Overslept :/ still on vacation timing. Mulligan dammit!


Understandable. Call it another day of vacation.



vegascruiser said:


> Thanks for well wishes. Home sick today. Fever is coming and going, but I suspect in a day or two I'll be good to go. 30 mile sustained winds today with 40 mile gusts. A pretty good day not to commute actually.


I hate those winds and I don't have 90-100 F right now. Sounds like you could use the sick day.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I like that western route better than the east one, CB. Not that there`s really anything wrong with the other side (or even with riding 395 for that matter), it just seems kind of boring to me. The foothills look very tasty.


Yep. I do the 'prison loop' fairly regularly, and it sure is desolate out on that side of the valley. This puts you right up in the trees hugging the bottom of the foothills, and the traffic is lighter. And yes, the highway has super-wide shoulders, but it's just not as pleasant.

Quick version of Peter Lassen's grave... Peter Lassen's Grave (No. 565 California Historical Landmark) - Sierra Nevada Geotourism MapGuide

That site is wrong on a couple of points... the original marker is still there, it's just got a roof built over it to protect it from the elements. The massive Ponderosa Pine tree mentioned died of disease and was cut down, but the stump is there, AND everything I've ever heard says that Lassen's body was retrieved in 1992 also, not just his partner's. It was huge local news when the remains were discovered.


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

My commute last night was tough. I got some proper hardman training on the ride home from dealing with rain and headwinds. It helped me to deal with some stress which was a relief however it was a challenge and I had to HTFU.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Finally got my short liners from Price Point. I figured for $11.98 wouldn't be much of a gamble. Haven't ridden them yet, but just on visual inspection I'm not impressed. Unless they feel a lot better than they look, I won't be buying any more. I don't believe that price = quality, but the Nashbar short liners I bought for $17.98 strike me as much better.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit chillier this AM. 25F at the house. Trails were snotty slick in places. I'm really starting to look forward to some real warm temps some time soon!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been warm here. Cyclists are coming out of the woodwork. Many of them are out in jackets and other miscellaneous cold weather gear. I don't get it. I've been rocking shorts for a few weeks now (every once in a while I have to wear arm warmers and maybe knee warmers). Temps have reached the 80s a couple afternoons. I'd be boiling if I wore what some of these people are wearing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I saw a lady like that when I was driving this weekend. Full 'clava and long sleeves/pants in the 60's. Can you imagine?


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## scorchedearth (Aug 30, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I saw a lady like that when I was driving this weekend. Full 'clava and long sleeves/pants in the 60's. Can you imagine?


I've seen all kinds of people dressed for winter weather while riding these past few warm weekends. I sweat so much that I'd die wearing multiple layers in such conditions.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

A lot of people aren't comfortable with the notion of starting cold so you're an appropriate temperature once you warm up during the activity. If you're not a bit chilly when you start, you're going to sweat a lot.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

From last night, a couple miles to go.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I saw a lady like that when I was driving this weekend. Full 'clava and long sleeves/pants in the 60's. Can you imagine?


Ninja on her morning commute? S.W.A.T. team member who missed the van? Eco-minded bank robber? Yeah, yeah an eco-minded bank robber, that's the ticket!

*apologies to John Lovitz*


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It's been warm here. Cyclists are coming out of the woodwork. Many of them are out in jackets and other miscellaneous cold weather gear. I don't get it. I've been rocking shorts for a few weeks now (every once in a while I have to wear arm warmers and maybe knee warmers). Temps have reached the 80s a couple afternoons. I'd be boiling if I wore what some of these people are wearing.


There is a blood flow restriction that is worse in sedentary that regular cycling people that will make them feel cooler until their fitness improves (this is in addition to lower energy output because they are unfit):

Acute sympathetic vasoconstriction at rest and during dynamic exercise in cyclists and sedentary humans

So it is another marker for fair season cyclists starting out.

Older cyclists likely have a larger restriction in leg blood flow with cold arms, especially if not fit:

Augmented leg vasoconstriction in dynamically exercising older men during acute sympathetic stimulation

I am finding I can't ride as lightly clothed as in years past. However at 60 F bare legs are fine, but I need a light long sleeved wind breaker for the core (and arms?) with the tape off the helmet. My feet are warm, head, and hands warm, and only a lightly sweaty torso after 30 miles. My power output and heat generation and speed are all a bit off yet. Still, averaging 15 mph is more heat generated than the speed the one well covered rider I saw was making. He is another graybeard. The fires don't go out but they may be banked a bit. 



mtbxplorer said:


> From last night, a couple miles to go.


Love the pic Frame-able? Maybe not when windows look out on such as that. Someone's state has to be agricultural and flatter, I guess or we'd starve. Thanks for feeding my eyes.

BrianMc


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Anything over 40 and I'm in shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt. I sweat like a dog though, even when barely clothed. Too many fat reserves, still, I think.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Nice ride this morning. A southy is still blowing through so 12-15kt headwind all the way in. Passed a guy riding his MTB with skinny tires while climbing a little bridge near the beginning of my route. He passed me back up on the flat which gave me motivation to keep on his wheel. Not sure if he was trying to drop me. Glad he was there to block the wind a little and keep my cadence up. He pulled off after about 2 miles so I went back to my usual lumbering pace.

I discovered yesterday that the local trasportation department has a website where you can track your commutes. They even have monthly give aways! Some of the stuff is pretty good. $50-100 gift cards to grocery stores, local day spas and such. Also a $50 gas card, which I thought was sort of odd for a site that is supposed to be encouraging you to drive less and ride more. :/

All you have to do is commute 8 times a month and you are automatically entered into the drawing. They count each way as a commute! I meet their threshold every four days! LOL

If you're in San Diego, check out iCommute


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride on the lightened (but partly sans lights) Duchess.

Does this make me look flat?



Trees leafing out at home (no lego bricks, just white ones, Rodar).



It was 83 feeling like 82. I was warm with the Hi-Vis vest over short sleeved jersey when I stopped. Did not feel too warm riding though.

They lied about the wind direction (90 degrees and more), and speed. Again. Still gained about 1 mph with the wind shifting into more of a headwind homebound.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Cat 6 race with a purdy blonde in flip flops hauling ass on a C'dale CAAD something (105 crank and RD) and lost by one wheel radius. I think I did pretty well for a hybrid Marin Point Reyes 29er.

Still lost to a girl though


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Sounds like you were distracted. And she wasn't. 

Three minutes before quitting time I got a call i had to go out on. 
I was disgusted at first as it was 75F or so and beautiful today, so I really didn't want to lose time out of my evening...
but in the end the ride home as dark enveloped me was lovely, funny warm/cool air currents, little traffic, a good bar and taillight.


The first pic was not on purpose but I liked it, I was just trying to clear out a message on the screen. You can see I threw on the clipless pedals this a.m. No faster either down or uphill, though.
The 2nd one is from about the same place as the mountains posted earlier from last night.


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## alphazz (Oct 12, 2012)

Well, my commute this morning? Let's see. May 1st, ice and snow, 20 degrees, wind over 30 mph, and I didn't have the right clothing on. It was ugly. I tried to take a picture of the wind blowing the snow across the road in front of me and I was too cold to realize I hadn't gotten a picture. Another few miles and I would have been in a bad way.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes Alphazz! Glad you made it home OK. Your "winter" is getting ridiculous!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Got the clothes totally wrong this morning. Wore 2 tech layers on top and shorts on the bottom, weather report said 52 degrees and calm. Got outside, was freezing, turned around and got a vest. Within 2 miles I was sweaty on top with the vest fully unzipped, though I had socks on my hands and my legs were quite cold. It'd be interesting to have a quick-updating digital thermometer onboard.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks for the Lassen link, CB. I don`t know where I read that about him being burried near Stevens Camp, but if it`s true, nobody bothered to tell Google- I checked and couldn`t find anything like that.
So, does Susanville have any 24 hr services?


junior1210 said:


> I figured for $11.98 wouldn't be much of a gamble.


It wasn`t- you`re only out $12 :thumbsup:



mtbxplorer said:


> ...but in the end the ride home as dark enveloped me was lovely, funny warm/cool air currents, little traffic, a good bar and taillight.


???
The bars are better at 75F?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's interesting how everyone reacts to temps differently. I've been getting pelted with little insects lately. Yesterday was really bad on the MUP near the creek. I was rolling down the trail swatting in front of my face to avoid getting them in my nose and mouth and who knows where else.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Brian, I hope you have a riding mower. 

I feel bad chiming in about the weather, because it's been in a pattern of awesome with a chance of perfect around here. Chilly enough for long stuff in the morning, maxing out at the mid 70's. Green everywhere....snow on the mountains...you get the idea. Bit of a headwind yesterday if that makes you feel any better :lol: 

Rodar, Safeway is open 24/7, and at least one of the gas stations on main st.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

36F and rainy this AM. Not the best way to start the day, but the Muni's been working on the trails overnight in conjunction with the warmer temps so I have bare pavement for a big portion of my ride now. Of course, bare pavement, melting snow, and frozen ground underneath all make for a nice glazing of ice along the route. Had a few hairy moments when I could feel the back end start to slip out on me, but no crashes. 

On another note, my rear der cable is fubar - broke the cable housing and the little plastic thing that keeps it running into the shifter straight. Argh...shotty shifting suxor! Best get that fixed this weekend. Good times.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

jseko said:


> Cat 6 race with a purdy blonde in flip flops hauling ass on a C'dale CAAD something (105 crank and RD) and lost by one wheel radius. I think I did pretty well for a hybrid Marin Point Reyes 29er.
> 
> Still lost to a girl though


Some day I hope to upgrade to CAT 6!  That being said, I'd still probably follow behind a girl even if I could out pace her...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Brian, I hope you have a riding mower.
> 
> I feel bad chiming in about the weather, because it's been in a pattern of awesome with a chance of perfect around here. Chilly enough for long stuff in the morning, maxing out at the mid 70's. Green everywhere....snow on the mountains...you get the idea. Bit of a headwind yesterday if that makes you feel any better :lol:


It's a Deere with a wide deck and a 56" snow blade.

Yesterday was 85 not 83 and today is headed for the high seventies. This weekend back into the 50's up to 60 for the start of Cover Indiana.The yo-yoing is nuts.

BrianMc


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

After over a week of really nice weather, mornings in the 40/50s, afternoons in the 70s this morning was a shock as the thermometer showed 27, it was a bit chilly.

Had a nice tailwind though which helped me get a PR on a part of my ride that's been just out of reach for awhile now. Made me realize how much my fitness has improved in the last 10 months or so of commuting. And looking at my records, between the daily commute any the "fun" rides I've done, since June of last year have done over 3,000 miles. For a guy who did maybe (big maybe) 1,500 miles in 2011, this is pretty good. Also of note, I'm running a 96% coimmute rate, only have missed 3 days since January. This commuting life has been good to me!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another lovely day, high in the 70's, a few raindrops on the way home, but not even enough to get wet. 

Stopped to admire more granite...the Robert Burns (the Scottish Poet) monument. A lot of Scots came to Barre VT to work the granite , and were about 20% of the population after 1900. The Scot immigrants honored Burns with the statue. It was unveiled in 1899.
My pics do not do the 4 panels justice, they are very intricate and beautiful, apparently very hard to do with granite. 

The inscriptions are hard to read in the pix, so from Wikipedia:

Right: Tam O’Shanter’s Ride – “Ae spring brought off her master hale but left behind her ain grey tail.”

Front: The Cotter’s Saturday Night – “From scenes like these old Scotia’s grandeur springs.”

Left: To a Mountain Daisy – “Wee, modest, crimson-tipped flow’r; Thou’s met me in a evil hour.”

Back: “Burns’s Cottage”


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## alphazz (Oct 12, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> It was 83 feeling like 82.


That's funny. During my commute this morning it was 6 degrees and a very mild 10 mph headwind. Still, it was better than yesterday when it was in the teens with a 40 mph crosswind with fresh snow cover.


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## Mohammedqur (Jun 7, 2012)

A bit cold in my way back, around 38 degrees. Although I had a jacket in my backpack, it wasn't worth it after all. Also a lot of rerouting after some trails were closed due to fallen trees. Snow is melting fast
I noticed a new cracking sound from around the crank set. I though I could survive the coming year with this beaten bike.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Moving to a new house, just cut my ride to work in half. Now I will have to loop it to make it worth while. Nevertheless, still spring here in ABQ and weather is hot then cold. It was 40's in the am now it is low 30's. Oh well, still better then low single digits.

Mark


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## wvmtb (Jan 16, 2004)

Finally got to commute today for the 1st time is almost a year. Never realized how much I missed doing that until my ride came to an end here at work. It sure does make the morning feel so much better. I am jealous of those who get to do this everyday.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

alphazz said:


> That's funny. During my commute this morning it was 6 degrees and a very mild 10 mph headwind. Still, it was better than yesterday when it was in the teens with a 40 mph crosswind with fresh snow cover.


*** I have lived in much colder climes and I feel for you. That was January here. Spring was early last year and phased in nicely. This year near-record lows and highs within 2 or 3 days is weird. Usually when it gets above 80 F the humidity makes it feel higher. Ten mph winds are low here too. It's the more usual 20+ and gusts above 40 that really suck.



millertm said:


> It was 40's in the am now it is low 30's. Oh well, still better then low single digits.


Yep. Temps above 30 beat single digits. Alphazz would agree, i suspect. Spring is coming. Slow, but it is coming.

BrianMc


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Alphazz, you sure you're not talking Celsius? You look pretty comfortable for single digits!

This was my brutal commute this morning: 








And yesterday's ride home:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

That looks fun! I remembered this morning that I wanted to put an old road bike in the swap this weekend, which meant I had to ride it to work. 20 minutes later the tires were pumped up, the chain lubed, and the frame polished. It’s been a while since I rode a bike with brakes only in the drops and downtube shifters. It was a little sketchy on the dirt road and I was conservative going down the big hill, but it rode like a champ. I meant to take a pic for you, but someone already took it over to the shop for me. It was a clean one owner Puch Austro Daimler circa 1986. Wow that makes me feel old! While it rode in great I’m glad not to try to get back up the hill with the old school road gearing/12 speeds.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Back on the saddle a week after getting 4 wisdom teeth out. Been well over a week since commuting as well...

Mornings 35F damp commute was not without wildlife watching.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spatialized said:


> Had a nice tailwind though which helped me get a PR on a part of my ride that's been just out of reach for awhile now. Made me realize how much my fitness has improved in the last 10 months or so of commuting. And looking at my records, between the daily commute any the "fun" rides I've done, since June of last year have done over 3,000 miles. For a guy who did maybe (big maybe) 1,500 miles in 2011, this is pretty good. Also of note, I'm running a 96% coimmute rate, only have missed 3 days since January. This commuting life has been good to me!


That`s awesome, Spatialized :thumbsup:


JordyB said:


> Back on the saddle a week after getting 4 wisdom teeth out. Been well over a week since commuting as well...


Glad you survived!

I won`t get any riding in this weekend, but this afternoon I`m going down to work a rest stop for the brevet that I weenied out of. Looking forward to the experience and I hope I figure out my nutrition/hydration thing enough to try it next year.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

One of my co-workers has been griping about buying a bike for the last couple of months. Only thing is when you ask about the budget, she mentions numbers that wouldn't get a good wheel set. At this point though I think I'll offer to give her my old Wal-Schwinn backup bike. Even though it's heavy as the dirge from Saul, I've upgraded the entire drivetrain to liveable if still cheap parts, and since the frame is a little small for me, she should be able to ride it with not a lot of adjustment.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Well, my commuting to work is officially over for now. The school year is over thanks to the sequesters. I took a job as lead wrench at Burke Bike Park's new shop, mostly maintaining the new rental fleet of Norcos, and on the spot repairs. Sad part being that it is a bit over an hours drive. It is only Friday, Saturday, and Sundays, so I will be driving the 79 VW Westfalia over and camping every weekend, which is AWESOME! I promise to ride over there at least once this summer, promise.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Make sure to pop in and say hi once in a while. 

Nice moose Jordy!

We've got an exceptional weather week coming up!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

50 miles today, total. Single speeding is hungry work...two big pieces of meat lover's pizza, a donut, package of shot blocks, two beers, peanut butter, and a banana.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

wschruba said:


> 50 miles today, total. Single speeding is hungry work...two big pieces of meat lover's pizza, a donut, package of shot blocks, two beers, peanut butter, and a banana.


Nice!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Lots of other cyclists out this morning. It's supposed to hit 30C/86F today, which could very well be the warmest day that we'll see all year. May often has a few of these freak days just to mess with people, and then temperatures will drop back down to barely above freezing until mid-July.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The drippy remains of some thunderstorm action this morning... everything was wet, a light breeze... rode in in the running shoes... been running (I mean jogging...I mean shuffling) the 6 miles home the past couple mondays. Wife's in town with the bike rack, so I ride to the car, dump everything, and head for home. Only way to force myself to run that far without pulling the plug early :lol: I signed up for another Tough Mudder in Sept. This thursday is the annual "Heart Attack Hill 5K" ...it's as fun as it sounds.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

For the first time in a long time I found a guy riding a good pace on the trail, spent the commute chasing him. Didn't want to figure out how to pass on a narrow trail at speed so I just ran up behind him and dropped back a bunch. Definitely pushed me to be more consistent. All in all, a good commute.

Also read about the 15% rule for tire pressures, dropped my front tire pressure way down (90 to 60). Not sure if I was slower but it sure was less bumpy. Rear pressure drop was less, maybe 90 down to 80. There's a lot of weight back there, especially on Mondays.

Bad: went to pick up the bike from my office yesterday (didn't get to ride home on Friday since the kid crashed hard on the playground, so there was an emergency trip for ice cream) and the front tire was flat. Again. This makes 3 flats in 2 weeks. And my order of tubes & a patch kit haven't gotten here yet.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. The trails are mostly clear, though there are a few spots with some rotten snow on them still. Passed a couple of skinny tire guys who had to walk through the slush while I just blew through. I love living fat. 

Think I'll switch back to my nicely worn Endomorph tire on the back tonight to reduce rolling resistance (ha!) a bit and save the Nate for next winter's trails.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I have to head somewhere new later this week, so I figured that I would see what google's bike directions recommend. And for no reason that I can figure, almost half of the suggested route is in back alleys.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath said:


> (didn't get to ride home on Friday since the kid crashed hard on the playground, so there was an emergency trip for ice cream)


Ice cream cures all. Speedy recovery to the kiddo, and nice work dad. :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice ride in, but sadly the last one for a few days as I have some training in Boston. I might have considered taking the bike for transport from the hotel to the training downtown, but a co-worker is also going and I didn’t want to leave her to take the T by herself. Also, I would have had to investigate the bike parking situation.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sanath said:


> This makes 3 flats in 2 weeks. And my order of tubes & a patch kit haven't gotten here yet.


Repeated flats in the same tire usually means that you are not getting what's causing the flat out of the tire, your rim tape is worn or installed improperly or when you put the tire back on your "doing it wrong" 



mtbxplorer said:


> Also, I would have had to investigate the bike parking situation.


I had to go to a meeting at a local hotel a couple years ago. I called the hotel and they said they had a room to lock my bike in and when I arrived I should just go to valet parking. It was pretty cool to have my bike valet'ed. Gave the kid a nice tip when he brought it out!

I've been travelling for business, finally back on the bike today. Warm morning at 50 degrees and it's going to be near 80 for the ride home. Life is good.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Also, I would have had to investigate the bike parking situation.


I was in Boston for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and their bikeshare program seemed pretty well stocked around the downtown. I was hoping to try it out, but I waited until my last day and then the weather turned really crappy.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

woodway said:


> Repeated flats in the same tire usually means that you are not getting what's causing the flat out of the tire, your rim tape is worn or installed improperly or when you put the tire back on your "doing it wrong"


It was front, rear, front again. I didn't feel like finding the hole in the second front tube, but the rear flat had a hole in the side of the tube, so I'm not sure what that's all about. I took the front tire completely off the wheel, checked the whole thing all around for stuff sticking through the tire and debris sitting in the bottom, gave it a vigorous shake, and checked the rim tape. Tire was still holding air 20 minutes ago. We'll see.

BTW I finally got around to giving my chain a good acetone deep-clean followed by a hit of chain-l. All I can say so far is that it seemed fine for the first 10 or so miles, and does indeed smell pretty bad.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fast 45 min commute today, looks like the muni was out again this late morning scraping Chester Creek trail. Rolled Fat, arrived happy!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back on the bike again today. Good ride in. 10% rain in forecast. So of course it rained on me on my way home. Good ride though. Even without fenders, faired pretty well. Back rack and bag caught all the water and mud (have to ride a dirt section on commute) and front didn't kick up enough water and mud to get anything dirty but my work boots. Even with wind and rain pelting me, excellent ride home. Feeling good is great.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Good ride home today...skipped the ride in after yesterday's long ride. I grabbed the mountain bike and hit some of the single track at the park across the street from the house, and felt pretty good about it after 2.5 months healing from my separated AC. I will say, that though the bike came out with almost no damage, I didn't notice a ding in the top edge of the front rotor until I hopped on the bike. An ignition file is great for knocking off burrs, btw :thumbsup:

Will probably shoot for an actual trail after work next Sunday, there's a great park system (Hartshorne/Huber Woods) not a couple of miles from the shop.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

wife's 29erish commuter's kinda fooked. (BB5 road calipers are both seized?!)
so she's been bimbling on the singlespeed back-up, so mostly I've been on the ss'd casseroll to keep pace. 

today I pulled the ute back out, man is it ever a freight train!!
good sunny day so went and grabbed the kickbike for the sprog and went back to the schoolyard so he could zip around until the sun started dropping.
awesome day


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So yeah, last monday I'm caught in a blizzard in a tshirt, and today it's 30C. Crazy. 

Stopped and helped two ladies, one of whom had had a low pressure burp/wipeout which had torn about 6" of tire casing away from the bead. She wasn't going to be riding anywhere on it, but I was at least able to get the casing back on and roundish so that the bike could be rolled instead of dragged.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sanath said:


> It was front, rear, front again. I didn't feel like finding the hole in the second front tube, but the rear flat had a hole in the side of the tube, so I'm not sure what that's all about. I took the front tire completely off the wheel, checked the whole thing all around for stuff sticking through the tire and debris sitting in the bottom, gave it a vigorous shake, and checked the rim tape. Tire was still holding air 20 minutes ago. We'll see.


Pay attention to the orientation of the tube with regards to the tire when you pull it out. Pump the tube up till it gets really big and find the leak. Next using the orientation of tube and tire you know about where to look on the tire for what caused the leak. If the cause it not obvious, look for very small cuts in the tire and squeeze them open or use a small pick (I have a dental tool) to dig around in there looking for a small piece of glass or sharp rock. They can get buried in the tire, are not obvious and will cause flat after flat.

I think you will like the Chain-L once the smell goes away  It lasts a long time.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Absolutely flew home, more or less without the strong tail wind usually required for such a speed. Got home to find the shoes I ordered had arrived. And wouldn't you know it, they fit perfectly, despite claiming to be at least a size too small. Now I need to figure out pedals. I hadn't ordered any because I honestly didn't expect the shoes to fit (ordered from Zappos, yay free returns). They're road shoes with no cleat recess, but I guess m520s? I do feel like I'm putting on my big boy shoes with Velcro and ratchets instead of laces.



woodway said:


> Pay attention to the orientation of the tube with regards to the tire when you pull it out. Pump the tube up till it gets really big and find the leak. Next using the orientation of tube and tire you know about where to look on the tire for what caused the leak. If the cause it not obvious, look for very small cuts in the tire and squeeze them open or use a small pick (I have a dental tool) to dig around in there looking for a small piece of glass or sharp rock. They can get buried in the tire, are not obvious and will cause flat after flat.
> 
> I think you will like the Chain-L once the smell goes away  It lasts a long time.


That's a good idea. I'll do that if I get another flat in the front.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Remnants of thunderstorm convinced me to refender my steed after about a month of no fenders. Lots of rumbling and saw flashes of lightning to the east, but didn`t hear the fire planes (their local base is only a mile from my house), so I guess we escaped.


newfangled said:


> I have to head somewhere new later this week, so I figured that I would see what google's bike directions recommend. And for no reason that I can figure, almost half of the suggested route is in back alleys.


I`ve tried the bike option on GM before, just playing around. Around here, it likes to route through miles of sandtraps on unnamed dirt roads. Actual section of a request for route from Winnemucca NV to Reno with "bike" option:
21. Slight right 
2.5 mi 
22. Turn right 
0.5 mi 
23. Turn left 
16.6 mi 
24. Slight right 
12.1 mi 
25. Slight left 
22.1 mi 
26. Sharp right 
8.2 mi 
27. Turn left 
7.4 mi 
No street view, obviously, and there won`t be any road signs. How the heck is somebody supposed to follow those directions???


woodway said:


> It was pretty cool to have my bike valet'ed. Gave the kid a nice tip when he brought it out!


If you go back with your Habanero, the valet will probably tip YOU when he brings your bike!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I forgot how fast a real road bike can be. I averaged 21.2MPH on my commute home on the CR1 compared to 18ish on the cross check and 16ish on anything mountain bike like. But not today. Today I expect to be more in the 6-8MPH range on the ride home because it is FATBIKE Tuesday.







I arrived at work a little dirtier than I had hoped.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sloppy rain this morning. I spent the ride wondering how the tops of the fenders get so incredibly dirty when it's raining. Must be a dirt road thing? It's bizzare.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I averaged 21.2MPH on my commute home on the CR1 compared to 18ish on the cross check and 16ish on anything mountain bike like. But not today.


What I wouldn`t give for avgs like that...
From now on, I`m voting "fat" too!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The flatish route helps a lot. I only averaged 18.2 on the same bike on the hilly ride in. You notice I took the fat today because it was runner up with 1 whole vote. Now I'm working on 7 bikes in 7 days.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My back is finally starting to get better. I have found some exercises and stretches that have seemed to help. Some of the stuff I was doing before was probably harmful. The weather has been wet here, but I've managed to stay dry on my commutes. I'm still rocking the geared bike. Whenever I'm riding the SS in wind, I always wish I had gears. Now that I've been riding with gears, I sometimes wish for the SS. I guess wind just sucks.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I forgot how fast a real road bike can be. I averaged 21.2MPH on my commute home on the CR1 compared to 18ish on the cross check and 16ish on anything mountain bike like. But not today. Today I expect to be more in the 6-8MPH range on the ride home because it is FATBIKE Tuesday.
> View attachment 796928
> 
> I arrived at work a little dirtier than I had hoped.


You just described my every commute - fat and a bit slow. However, I love this time of year when the roadies are just coming out of hiding and I am still able to keep up or blow by them after a winter of riding in all kinds of conditions. I always chuckle when I see them dismounting to walk their machines around ice or snow while I just keep peddling away, throwing snow and mud in all directions as I roll.

I ended up throwing my Endo back on the rear last night so I'm rolling with the stock tire setup. It's amazing how much quieter the Endo is on pavement than the Nate. It might roll just a tad faster, but that's not something I worry about too much. Had a rough start this morning, though. Got the bike out and loaded up and as I stared to roll down the driveway realized the rear was at maybe 2PSI. I put in an old, Surly light tube that may just have a slow leak in it. Aired it up and made it to work without incident, but I have a niggling suspicion I'll be swapping tubes before the ride home, or at least spending a half hour airing it back up. Good times.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Starting a week of riding standing up....cause of a sitting issue....

46/11 unless im going up a hill or a overpass....i could make it in 46/11 but the torque feels a little too high for the bike...

Should be a workout for the back and the quads.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> You just described my every commute - fat and a bit slow. However, I love this time of year when the roadies are just coming out of hiding and I am still able to keep up or blow by them after a winter of riding in all kinds of conditions. I always chuckle when I see them dismounting to walk their machines around ice or snow while I just keep peddling away, throwing snow and mud in all directions as I roll.
> 
> I ended up throwing my Endo back on the rear last night so I'm rolling with the stock tire setup. It's amazing how much quieter the Endo is on pavement than the Nate. It might roll just a tad faster, but that's not something I worry about too much. Had a rough start this morning, though. Got the bike out and loaded up and as I stared to roll down the driveway realized the rear was at maybe 2PSI. I put in an old, Surly light tube that may just have a slow leak in it. Aired it up and made it to work without incident, but I have a niggling suspicion I'll be swapping tubes before the ride home, or at least spending a half hour airing it back up. Good times.


Sounds like my commute home last night on Chester, passing lots of folks, getting that look as they have to walk and I just roll on by! ;p


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Bedwards, where did you find moisture and mud? It's dry as a popcorn fart around here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We've got so few cyclists around here there is nobody to pass. I was pretty pleased to roll through what would have been sticky mud to 2.1" tire.

How easy do the tires mount on fatbikes? I haven't had to take one off yet. Is it pretty much like a MTB tire or am I in for a struggle?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was a really foggy/dewey morning so everything was wet and that dry/dusty stuff on the trail got thrown up and turned to mud on my bike. Some of the normal mud holes still haven't dried out from the spring thaw but most have. We're got rain in the forecast for Thursday.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

If using tubes, you'll be fine. Still soap suds it up to get that bead to seat right, or you'll get a lumpy ride. I put my summer tires on today, but I run tubeless. It took me about 2 hours.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride. No rain. Just wind. Kind of cool--mid-seventies, I'd guess, on way home. Low fifties for ride in. And the Vegas bipolar Spring weather continues. Next week closing in on triple digits again. Possibly rain tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sloppy rain this morning. I spent the ride wondering how the tops of the fenders get so incredibly dirty when it's raining. Must be a dirt road thing? It's bizzare.


Haha CB I have noticed the same thing. Shows how much crud is on the road...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning I came upon two tiny killdeer whose wings didn't quite work yet. They tried outrunning me, then veered off into the grass. The mother immediately sprung into action, flying diagonally across the MUP and making a bunch of noise. She soon realized I had no intention of hurting her young or her. I don't think I've ever seen killdeer this small before.

The weather is beautiful right now. It was 57F on the way in and will be in the 70s on the way home. Most importantly, the sun is shining.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Did she try to get you to buy into the whole broken wing thing? There was one on a path I walk and momma bird was so into her act to distract me from the nest that she eventually led me to it. Unfortunately I missed the baby's. Very pretty eggs though.








Boy I love my suspension. Taking the fatbike on the singletrack on the commute home was fun last night but there's nothing like the full suspension to suck up the bumps! This stray bike didn't have a FS and couldn't quite huck over these rocks.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

^^^that is one heck of a saddle position on your bike, the track bike of mtbr. I'm gonna take a stab and say you started mountain biking in the 90's.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hmm, am I doing it wrong? I think I actually started in the tail end of the 80s. I also have long legs and road bike roots. If the saddle is lower I feel all cramped and seem to have less power. If the saddle is any lower my knees don't even get close to full extension.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Did she try to get you to buy into the whole broken wing thing? There was one on a path I walk and momma bird was so into her act to distract me from the nest that she eventually led me to it. Unfortunately I missed the baby's. Very pretty eggs though.


No. She didn't do that whole dance. I imagine she would if I had stuck around. I used to work maintenance at a school during my summer breaks in college, and there was a killdeer that was constantly doing the whole wing thing. I never saw a nest or any of her chicks. (I did run over a nest of rabbits with a riding mower, which kind of sucked.)


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

No no, not "wrong" by any means....maybe antiquated is the word I would use ;-) . Next time you are up for a new bike, think about moving up a size, and look at some riser bars. With a more upright seating position you will have less weight on your bars, easing pressure on your hands, opening your heartspace, giving your lungs a better chance to expand, your core muscles less of a crunch, and by and large making technical riding easier, and lower back pain will ease...if you have any.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

My coworker was less than enthusiastic about my offer, not that I blame her since the Wal-Schwinn isn't something to get excited about, but a free, working bike in good shape with no strings attached is something to smile about. Then again, it's one less thing to complain and gripe about, which is something of a hobby for her.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Lovely post-rainstorm morning out there today. Here's me taking the worst possible line through some potholes (I think I missed them...but look at the perfect dirt to the left?) and grabbing a gear on the pavement. Took the GoPro on a whim this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> No no, not "wrong" by any means....maybe antiquated is the word I would use ;-) . Next time you are up for a new bike, think about moving up a size, and look at some riser bars. With a more upright seating position you will have less weight on your bars, easing pressure on your hands, opening your heartspace, giving your lungs a better chance to expand, your core muscles less of a crunch, and by and large making technical riding easier, and lower back pain will ease...if you have any.


That's the biggest size they make. All of my mountain bikes are the biggest size they make. My 9er had a more upright stance when I got it and it just felt wrong so i dropped the bars some after a few rides. I guess I prefer an "aggressive stance" or attack position.

I do think the angle of that shot exaggerates the seat height. When the bike is level it looks more normal and once the suspension sags it's even lower.

Next time I'm up for a new bike, LOL, I've bought 2 since December. The next one on the ticket is a carbon cross bike...................probably not this year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, you cut me off. I was JUST about to post how nice it was to ride home this morning post rain! Looked a lot like your morning except mine is all paved.
EDIT: Man, have you checked out the weekend forecast? Zippity doo daa! Going to try a Reno-Truckee short cut that I`ve never ridden before.

And it`s nice to see that our lazy killdeer aren`t any worse at nest building than their funny talking eastern cousins 


junior1210 said:


> Then again, it's one less thing to complain and gripe about, which is something of a hobby for her.


Ha! Can`t say as I blame her because complaining and griping are two of my favorite pastimes too!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Took the GoPro on a whim this morning.


And the crotch mount adapter.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

Well its Bike to Work Month here so every idiot and their brothers are out there riding on the wrong side of the street, running red lights and basically riding like complete douches. Tomorrows bike to work day. It's going to be a long ****ing day. Im going to be glad when its over


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> And the crotch mount adapter.


I'm sure it's a nice change from taking pictures 'out the wazoo'. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

junior1210 said:


> I'm sure it's a nice change from taking pictures 'out the wazoo'. :lol:


Huh? Why didn`t he post those pics?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Prob'ly cause they turned out 'crappy'?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Nice and fast. Came down a hill and blew by a couple of moose just off to the side of the trail. Fortunately, they were not too interested in me. If there were... well, let's just say I wouldn't have been able to do much about it except get stomped. Mama and young bull. Couldn't get close enough to get a pic of it, but the bull was just starting to bud his antlers for the summer.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Nice ride in. Was off of the bike for a few days for no good reason other than being lazy. Really had to convince myself that it wasn't that cold out. 60°F give or take! Haha! 

I still can't fathom riding in some of the weather that you guys get out it! My hat is off to you who ride in what appears to the Floridian living in San Diego to be the arctic tundra! I'm such a wuss!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Sub 45 min ride in, fast, fun, almost snow/ice free, almost...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Punched a minivan today. I was walking my bike through a lighted crosswalk, and a BMW swerved around me, being douchy enough that I should have punched it. And then following that a minivan did the exact same thing, so WHAM. The lack of respect people have for crosswalks (and in my case I only use crosswalks that have big flashing lights) is ridiculous. I really need to get gloves with knuckle armour so that I can do some decent damage when it's called for. 

And this morning on a quiet residential road approaching a t-intersection with a stopsign a jeep sped up to pass me, didn't even kindof actually pass me, and decided to right turn into me even though I was right next to the passenger door. After screaming at her she just gave me a dirty look. I should have called her fat and made fun of her, because knowing that she almost ran someone over clearly didn't do anything to ruin her day.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

newfangled said:


> And this morning on a quiet residential road approaching a t-intersection with a stopsign a jeep sped up to pass me, didn't even kindof actually pass me, and decided to right turn into me even though I was right next to the passenger door. After screaming at her she just gave me a dirty look. I should have called her fat and made fun of her, because knowing that she almost ran someone over clearly didn't do anything to ruin her day.


Don't do that, she might stop and pull a gun/razor or threaten to make you babysit her 19 kids all under the age of 4. Better to get her license plate number and report her as an attempted vehicle assault, and say yes I'd like to press charges. Won't go anywhere without witnesses but it'll get her attention when Officer Murphy knocks on her door and says "Ma'am you need to come with me".


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I had mostly good commutes today but a pickup truck didn't want me to pass him and tried to run me into a curb after he saw me. Ibwas beside the bed when he jerked to the right. I have a good idea where he lives. He might have some very ruined tires tomorrow. 

sent by carrier pigeon


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

jrm said:


> Well its Bike to Work Month here so every idiot and their brothers are out there riding on the wrong side of the street, running red lights and basically riding like complete douches. Tomorrows bike to work day. It's going to be a long ****ing day. Im going to be glad when its over


Well, at least they are riding bikes, even if wildly.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Can tell school is nearly out and the weather's getting nice: getting yelled at by young idiots in cars. Add the summer people streaming in and commuting is getting more dangerous daily. But at least the weather is nice. Can't complain about mid-60s in May in Arizona!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Spatialized said:


> Can tell school is nearly out and the weather's getting nice: getting yelled at by young idiots in cars. Add the summer people streaming in and commuting is getting more dangerous daily. But at least the weather is nice. Can't complain about mid-60s in May in Arizona!


Agreed!! I'm not far in the desert of socal and its been wonderful!

sent by carrier pigeon


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Took the alt route home to find it 100% snow free, so excited!!! Now I just need the trail next to my house to dry up...hurry up spring!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Kryptoroxx. That sounds really nasty. Have you had other similar incedents?

No work Friday night, so I had half plans to do an overnight ride. Just got a request from a friend to help his crew on a community cleanup job Saturday morning, so I think karma is going to win out over pedals this time. Damn. I need to go back to hanging out with more irresponsible people :lol:


junior1210 said:


> Don't do that, she might stop and pull a gun/razor or threaten to make you babysit her 19 kids all under the age of 4. Better to get her license plate number and report her as an attempted vehicle assault, and say yes I'd like to press charges. Won't go anywhere without witnesses but it'll get her attention when Officer Murphy knocks on her door and says "Ma'am you need to come with me".


+1, and well put.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Another amazing post-rain morning. It feels almost coastal out there. So it's national bike-to-work day? I think? I can't say I saw an increase :lol:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dang, Kryptoroxx. That sounds really nasty. Have you had other similar incedents?
> 
> No work Friday night, so I had half plans to do an overnight ride. Just got a request from a friend to help his crew on a community cleanup job Saturday morning, so I think karma is going to win out over pedals this time. Damn. I need to go back to hanging out with more irresponsible people :lol:
> +1, and well put.


Almost got run over by a policeman last week lol. I asked him if I was invisible. Now that me and my neighbor ride to and from work a lot there are more people commuting on base. Its around 3-4 miles one way so its not far at all. Some people will use their rank to push you around (not all, just enough to make it annoying) and some of the military spouses think they wear their husband's rank too. As long as you don't back down and make a public spectacle of shame out of them it probably won't happen again. Its not very tactful but it solves the problem.

However for the other 90% of drivers on base they are courteous, say hi, and are polite on the road.

sent by carrier pigeon


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Another amazing post-rain morning. It feels almost coastal out there. So it's national bike-to-work day? I think? I can't say I saw an increase :lol:


Honestly I have never heard of this. Its a great idea though even if there is a sudden bike congestion problem.

I lived in japan for 3 years and every day is bike to work day. You see some pretty interesting sights. Women riding in heels while texting with two hands is pretty entertaining.

sent by carrier pigeon


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kryptoroxx said:


> You see some pretty interesting sights. Women riding in heels while texting with two hands is pretty entertaining.


Generally speaking, it isn`t a good idea to ride while distracted like that. I find I usually get away with it though as long as I properly signal my lane changes so that the other trafic knows to watch out for me.
El Bombero Atomico - Cantinflas En Bicicleta - YouTube


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Another amazing post-rain morning. It feels almost coastal out there. So it's national bike-to-work day? I think? I can't say I saw an increase :lol:


Obviously that is because National bike to work day is Next Friday: National Bike Month Actually, bike to school day was yesterday so I'm not sure what you do if you work at a school.

But I biked to work today anyway. This is the first rainy ride I've had in weeks. It's my first ride on the bike with the big apples since I pulled the studs off, which actually happened last night. SMOOTH!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Generally speaking, it isn`t a good idea to ride while distracted like that. I find I usually get away with it though as long as I properly signal my lane changes so that the other trafic knows to watch out for me.
> El Bombero Atomico - Cantinflas En Bicicleta - YouTube


Bikes are everywhere in japan. At places like an outdoor mall you have bike racks that are 50 yds long and its still hard to find a spot. At rail stations they're even bigger. You barely ever drive anywhere that you don't see at least 20 people riding. Its kinda nice riding out there. No worries with drivers being rude or trying to screw you over.

sent by carrier pigeon


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Actually, bike to school day was yesterday so I'm not sure what you do if you work at a school.


Dang. going to have to keep riding every day to make sure I hit one of them. Actually my school's student government did a cool "ride to school day" thing...gave out T-shirts and stuff. I was proud.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this morning for the most part. My path is almost completely snow free, except for the swamp area and an underpass. Had a nice crash this AM. Tried to pop up onto a snow berm on the side of the swamp area to avoid the ice, forgetting that the Nate was not on the back end anymore. The Endo just slid along the berm, tossing me off the bike and bashing my knee with the handlebar. Good times. No bruising yet, though the way it feels, I figure there'll be one there by the time I head home. Good start to the day. If that's my worst wreck this spring, I'll be happy.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

Up @ 5, O dark 30 ride into work (nice), @ work @ 6am for the 8th year of volunteering to operate our work related Energizer Station for Bike To Work Day. Sorry but i dont give really give a **** anymore about BTWD.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I still can't fathom a city or a business actually doing something to encourage people to ride bikes to work. I hear talk of booths, food, give-aways... it's all so foreign :lol: 

And people just come out and ride to work once? To say they did it?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this morning for the most part. My path is almost completely snow free, except for the swamp area and an underpass. Had a nice crash this AM. Tried to pop up onto a snow berm on the side of the swamp area to avoid the ice, forgetting that the Nate was not on the back end anymore. The Endo just slid along the berm, tossing me off the bike and bashing my knee with the handlebar. Good times. No bruising yet, though the way it feels, I figure there'll be one there by the time I head home. Good start to the day. If that's my worst wreck this spring, I'll be happy.


My knee bash involving an icy rut was over a month ago now and it is still pretty sore. It was bruised for a few weeks and I still can't squat all the way down. But it is improving every day.

What's an "Energizer Station"?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Bike to Work Day is next Friday here in the Seattle area. I count 42 bike to work stations that will be setup that day all around the area. They are being sponsored by companies, non-profits, governments, bike shops, etc. I'll pass three on my normal commute route. They give out food, schwag and have prize drawings. There are bike to work breakfasts, a bike to work challenge where company teams log their results for bike to work month and compete for prizes and bragging rights. The roads and MUPs are jammed with cyclists this month. It's actually pretty cool to see so many people out.

But, in the end, it's like the gym in January - great enthusiasm to start with but by the time we get to the end of summer it will be back to me and a few other hardcore commuters.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's pretty cool. I assume people around here put "bike to work day" in the same category as "hug your goldfish day" or any other obscure "day" that no one knows about. I am definitely OK with the solitude though :lol: 

**however, if someone wanted to hand me breakfast and/or free stuff on my way to work, I'd be fine with that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had to bring the work car back today after the trip to Boston, so I only rode from the nearby satellite parking area to the office. I was sad to see that mine was only the 3rd bike in the rack, whereas it has been a steady 7-10 for the last couple weeks. I'm sure it's because of the "chance of rain" this afternoon. I've been trying to tell people that if you never ride when there is a chance of rain, you will miss a lot of good riding days.

Here's a few pix from Boston. I was most amazed that while bikes and U-locks were U-biquitous, 90% of them were only locked by the frame, and a couple were only locked to themselves (wheel to frame), not to a rack or post.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> **however, if someone wanted to hand me breakfast and/or free stuff on my way to work, I'd be fine with that.


You don't qualify since you do it all the time. That stuff is only for 'normal' people who have lives, and are too busy to do things that are good for them, save money, relieve stress, ease traffic pressure, require them to put down the cell phone and pay attention to the world around them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well crap.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> I've been trying to tell people that if you never ride when there is a chance of rain, you will miss a lot of good riding days.


That's the truth. It's amazing how few days I've gotten wet. Most people don't really know how to understand weather reports. I've gotten pretty good at it over the years. It's hard to say how many riding days I'd miss if I had an extra car int he driveway or other back-up plan, but I don't.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

junior1210 said:


> You don't qualify since you do it all the time. That stuff is only for 'normal' people who have lives, and are too busy to do things that are good for them, save money, relieve stress, ease traffic pressure, require them to put down the cell phone and pay attention to the world around them.


Haha it's never stopped me from dropping in to pick up a banana or two


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Just splash a bit of water on your face and hyperventilate for a bit before rolling up to the aid station so they don't think you are crazy enough to bike to work all the time and you'll be fine. Oh, you might also want to hide the clipless and any other kit you might have that would tip them off. You know, wear cotton stuff. 

Here in Anchorage we have a really good set of folks who set up aid stations for B2W day. One even does bacon. In my three years here, though, I've never actually stopped at one as I leave for work before they are even out setting up. This year I might actually take a break from work just to go get some bacon. I love me some bacon. That's why I ride fat. Too much bacon...


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Just splash a bit of water on your face and hyperventilate for a bit before rolling up to the aid station so they don't think you are crazy enough to bike to work all the time and you'll be fine. Oh, you might also want to hide the clipless and any other kit you might have that would tip them off. You know, wear cotton stuff.
> 
> Here in Anchorage we have a really good set of folks who set up aid stations for B2W day. One even does bacon. In my three years here, though, I've never actually stopped at one as I leave for work before they are even out setting up. This year I might actually take a break from work just to go get some bacon. I love me some bacon. That's why I ride fat. Too much bacon...


Wait, so you pull up and somebody hands you a few strips of bacon? Sign me right up for that action.

Clothes and shoes were still wet this morning from last night's rain (at 9:30 PM). Pedals also decided to be wet, so it was a slippery ride. Getting fed up with slippery pedals. Still torn on the shoes I got though. They've got a little vent hole in the front that I'm sure will let in every drop of water and scrap of dirt from the hard-pack trail I ride. I still ride platforms on my MTB on trips with the family so that's not really a concern at this point. Mountain shoes are about $30 (41%) more expensive though. Dunno if that's better spent on some rain booties if I'm really worried about wet feet.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

If your pedals are slippery when wet, I'd be more inclined to get new pedals than new shoes.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Just splash a bit of water on your face and hyperventilate for a bit before rolling up to the aid station so they don't think you are crazy enough to bike to work all the time and you'll be fine. Oh, you might also want to hide the clipless and any other kit you might have that would tip them off. You know, wear cotton stuff.
> 
> Here in Anchorage we have a really good set of folks who set up aid stations for B2W day. One even does bacon. In my three years here, though, I've never actually stopped at one as I leave for work before they are even out setting up. This year I might actually take a break from work just to go get some bacon. I love me some bacon. That's why I ride fat. Too much bacon...


I hit up 3 or 4 stations on my way to work, its pretty fun, takes a couple of hours, but worth it to chat with folks. I also ride Fat on Fridays so it just works out, everyone is always amazed at the big wheels. Hoping for sun next week!!!!! No ride today, worked all night, slept all day...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

What, nobody liked the video of my ride to work? 

I think there are bike to work freebees in my town, but not in my little part of it, and certainly not on my schedule.


s0ckeyeus said:


> Most people don't really know how to understand weather reports. I've gotten pretty good at it over the years.


You`re one up on me,then. I`ve gotten good at laughing at them after the fact. Does that count?


JordyB said:


> Hoping for sun next week!!!!! No ride today, worked all night, slept all day...


Sun all week for Anchorage!
Did you have something weird in your schedule, or do you normally work nights?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute. 60F in and about 80F back. Cloudy but it didn't rain. Got a root canal yesterday afternoon and right back on the bike this morning. First root canal. I feared these things my whole life and come to find out it's nothing really--or I should say, nothing as long as you're numbed before they do it.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sun all week for Anchorage!
> Did you have something weird in your schedule, or do you normally work nights?


All my maintenance happens at night while most folks sleep to minimize downtime to the network. Lots of upgrades, means lots of night work for this guy!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:lol:


rodar y rodar said:


> What, nobody liked the video of my ride to work?


I'll bite.
El Bombero Atomico - Cantinflas En Bicicleta - YouTube

:lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Schott said:


> If your pedals are slippery when wet, I'd be more inclined to get new pedals than new shoes.


I'm concerned about tearing up my fancy tights if I go with a pedal that's got a lot of pointy bits sticking out for traction. My shoes at the moment are also wholly unsuited for riding (Merrell sonic glove) and I'm not really sure how they'd fare with metal bits either. I figured I'd take the opportunity to try this clipless thing.

edit: also, shoe laces. I carry a crochet hook to tuck the loose lace ends under the crossed laces, because it's the best solution I've come up with, but it's kind of a pain and takes a few minutes.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Sanath said:


> I carry a crochet hook to tuck the loose lace ends under the crossed laces, because it's the best solution I've come up with, but it's kind of a pain and takes a few minutes.


See if you can get the local shoe repair to install a set of clips on some cowboy boots. A new pair of Justin's or Tony Llama's would be awesome with riding kit.:thumbsup:


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## Mohammedqur (Jun 7, 2012)

Was a great commute. After the crazy rain and hail we had today, the sun came out and the roads dried. Only small patches of wet spots on the trail. Great ride after all.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> :lol:
> I'll bite.


Thanks!
I feel better now 

Crochet hooks are very useful. Among other things, I use them for pulling wads of hair out of the shower drain. Never tried them on shoe laces, though. Sanath, maybe you could duct tape over the vent hole on your shoes for wet days?

Beautiful weather for the past few days here in the high desert! This weekend is definitely filled up with family and other commitments, and my wife`s sister will be here next weekend, so I`d better stick around and be sociable for that one too. Wonder how long the nice weather will last before it starts getting hot?


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I finally was able to commute to work today!!!! My geared XC bike had a flat this morning, so I had to take the single speed this morning.

I still had it configured for MTBR use and found myself spinning out most of the way to work. I'm hoping the trails dry out enough for me to make use of the low gearing on my way home today.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, the cigarette was a nice touch :lol:

What amazes me is that you read that comment and somehow knew to look for that video. :skep:



Pretty much a perfect morning around here. I took the extendo 9 mile option this morning. Absolutely glorious out there. The only downside was the soreness from the brutal 5k yesterday evening. My calves were sore before the run, and the last 1.3 miles of this stupid run gains 750 feet of elevation.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Was surfing this morning (I'm on my weekend) found this site;
Pro-Lite Oz (Powered by CubeCart)

Couldn't believe 100mm/130mm disc ready wheelset for $200 Aus (which is 1=1 $US):eekster:, and a disc brake set (front/rear + 160mm rotors and cables) for $119. Only fly in the ointment was NO info on overseas deliveries:skep:. Might have to shoot them an e-mail, cause that is the best price on wheels I've found by more than $100.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another good ride in this AM. Mid-30s and the trails are getting ever more clear. Still a few icy spots, but nothing major. Got the Pugs to 25mph on the flats for the first time this year. Good times. Now if I could only keep it up longer than a mile... Oh well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It's hard to imagine some of you still have snow. I just read that Maine was the second coldest state next to Alaska with an average yearly temp around 41 and our snow is all gone around here but I could probably find some if I went looking just a little north of here.

Since I already had a start to it I decided to do Seven Bikes In Seven Commutes Which I finished up today on my old favorite the Viva Sport. Sorry Rodar, no pics cause the phone was completely dead. It wasn't quite 7 bikes in 7 days because I took last weekend off but that can be another goal. I'm also thinking 70mi on 7 bikes in 1 day might be fun.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

*Re: Geometry question for fs*

My ride this morning was very painful. I ran 3 miles in 25min which is pretty slow and then biked 3.5 mi mostly uphill. Beautiful 65F weather with the wind in my face. Good short ride but I think I'm gonna be feeling it later. I gotta get back in shape.

sent by carrier pigeon


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Fixed gear experiment seems to be working well. I smoked a square taper BB that must be at least 8-16 years old from pedaling at such a high cadence down hills though. New BB is on the way, and I'm thinking I will put on a square taper cyclocross crank that I have sitting around on there. Torn between a 42T and 38T chainring I have sitting around. Rode in this morning on my cross bike in 39x14 which is about 3 gear-inches more than what 42x15 would give me, but I also wasn't hauling a rack or bag or anything. Guess I will try the 42 first since its easier to cut the chain down.

Also hearing an annoying rattling noise coming from the back when pedaling lately, I hope the cog that I got with the hub (WI eccentric) isn't worn out or I'll be sinking even more money into the bike I told my wife would be cheaper to maintain


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

AlexCuse said:


> Fixed gear experiment seems to be working well. I smoked a square taper BB that must be at least 8-16 years old from pedaling at such a high cadence down hills though. New BB is on the way, and I'm thinking I will put on a square taper cyclocross crank that I have sitting around on there. Torn between a 42T and 38T chainring I have sitting around. Rode in this morning on my cross bike in 39x14 which is about 3 gear-inches more than what 42x15 would give me, but I also wasn't hauling a rack or bag or anything. Guess I will try the 42 first since its easier to cut the chain down.
> 
> Also hearing an annoying rattling noise coming from the back when pedaling lately, I hope the cog that I got with the hub (WI eccentric) isn't worn out or I'll be sinking even more money into the bike I told my wife would be cheaper to maintain


I really doubt its your rear cog wearing out. If it is, tour LBS will probably have inexpensive BMX cogs for less than $10.00 each if you must have it replaced.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I bet an old square taper BB is pretty shocked when it finds out it's going to have to deal with resistance in BOTH directions all of a sudden :lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

2 hours shy of quitting time and patchy, very strong thunderstorms are moving in. ****. This is just about worst case for me, weather-wise.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Morning ride was nice. Worked late last night so came in an hour or so later than normal. Weather is absolutely phenomenal. No May grey. Sunny and bright with a good breeze. Just lovely.

Since it was such a nice day I decided to take the long way home. Turned south from the base and rode all the way down and then around the Silver Strand to catch the ferry back to town, then trundled the remainder of my normal route home. 

Riding the strand was a killer as usual due to the wind. Nothing stopping it coming off of the ocean. 45 degrees on the head and blowing! Averaged 15 mph for the first 19.5 miles. Kind of sad actually. I used to average 19 mph on the same stretch on my road bike. Guess the 10 extra pounds on the bike and the 20 extra pounds on me really make a difference! lol

36 miles total today makes me feel pretty good though...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Only 10 minutes in the rain over 2 days and 47 miles, despite the "chance of rain" both days. 

Props from a ped with a chihuahua this morning after 2 cars blew through the crosswalk (not at a light or stop sign) downtown after I had already stopped for them to cross. Cars are actually usually quite good about the peds in crosswalks.

The Green Mountain State is in the lead again so far in the National Bike Challenge.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

p08757 said:


> I really doubt its your rear cog wearing out. If it is, tour LBS will probably have inexpensive BMX cogs for less than $10.00 each if you must have it replaced.


Yeah, the cross crank I put on seems to be bringing chainline in a bit. Between that and the slight increase in chain wrap (42 barely cleared the stays so I used the 38) it sounds a bit less bad. cog doesnt look worn, I'll check hub bearings if sound gets worse. I think the hub takes a proprietary white ind splined cog so not sure how cheap I can find a replacement. May end up needing something smaller than 15 in time if I cant fit a bigger chainring though.

Oh and of course I already had a BB. Hopefully I remember in 10 years when its time to replace again


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> This morning I came upon two tiny killdeer whose wings didn't quite work yet. ... I don't think I've ever seen killdeer this small before.


Preparing land for corn planting often disturbed Killdeer in the downy puff balls with long legs stage. They trip over everything and tumble right back onto their feet. It is hilarious to see and I still smile at the memories.



CommuterBoy said:


> Another amazing post-rain morning. It feels almost coastal out there. So it's national bike-to-work day? I think? I can't say I saw an increase :lol:


Didn't notice on the ride. I would have loved some bacon. Good for the salt balance. 



rodar y rodar said:


> What, nobody liked the video of my ride to work?


Sorry, I was off line. I was one of about 10 of us passed by a lady texting and neither getting by or staying in her lane overly well.

I wonder if she was texting: Pssing bkes. Luv scaring the &$#* out of em. ROTFL.

QUOTE=rodar y rodar;10382905] I think there are bike to work freebees in my town, but not in my little part of it, and certainly not on my schedule. [/QUOTE]

Bikes? Bike to work? Are you nuts? That President is behind it, right? Nope. No stops seen here this week, though we avoided towns.



rodar y rodar said:


> Thanks!
> I feel better now . Wonder how long the nice weather will last before it starts getting hot?


Into the eighties one day, this morning 45 F felt like 39 F. Spring here is nutty that way.

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Some pics from last week*

Climbing out of the Wabash Valley last Sunday:



A great day to be riding



A SAG stop ( I was good at these)



Homemade Ice Cream (Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Black Walnut, etc.) The Raspberry Ripple was excellent.:



Two rainy days:



One scenery-blurring descent of many:



One slow grinding ascent of too many:

[

BrianMc


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I snuck home in a break between storms on Friday, got off with a light rain the whole way. Checked out my chain this afternoon, expecting no issues since the chain-l is supposed to be keeping things happy, and there was surface rust everywhere. Does everybody wipe down the chain/rings/casette after riding in the rain or just live with the surface rust? I just fished it out of another acetone bath about an hour ago, I'll give the chain-l another shot this week with a light wipe down after getting home every day. I wasn't blown away last week, but I've got no idea where noises/lack of smoothness could be coming from at this point since there's a lot of bearings and parts in the drivetrain and frankly as I cross 2k miles on the bike I expect to start seeing some of them fail. I tried checking for chain stretch last week but I don't think I measured right. Need to figure out how to pull an octalink crank so I can check out the bottom bracket too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A couple things to try for diagnosing the noise/roughness are 1) dropping the chain off the chainrings totally (to the inside) and then spinning the cranks to check for resistance - they should spin free. 2) Taking off the rear wheel and trying to spin the cassette (rear gears) by hand - do they feel or sound crunchy? If so, your freehub (or freewheel) needs work. 3) Spin each wheel to see if the hubs spin free or are seizing up. Usually problems with the actual chain, chainrings, or cassette will be associated with poor shifting more than just noise.

Surface rust will come off with a rag and good lube if you attack it pretty promptly. You may be ale to avoid it with more regular lubes. But wipe off any excess lube, it just attracts dirt and/or sprays on the bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> I was one of about 10 of us passed by a lady texting and neither getting by or staying in her lane overly well.
> 
> I wonder if she was texting: Pssing bkes. Luv scaring the &$#* out of em. ROTFL.


:lol: Rolling on the floorboard!



BrianMc said:


> Climbing out of the Wabash Valley last Sunday:


Listening to the jingle, the rumble and the roar? Brian, did you just do the habitat ride again? Looks like it. You mentioned it comming up, but I didn`t think it was so soon! No mishaps this time?



Sanath said:


> Does everybody wipe down the chain/rings/casette after riding in the rain or just live with the surface rust? I just fished it out of another acetone bath about an hour ago, I'll give the chain-l another shot this week with a light wipe down after getting home every day. I wasn't blown away last week, but I've got no idea where noises/lack of smoothness could be coming from at this point since there's a lot of bearings and parts in the drivetrain and frankly as I cross 2k miles on the bike I expect to start seeing some of them fail. I tried checking for chain stretch last week but I don't think I measured right. Need to figure out how to pull an octalink crank so I can check out the bottom bracket too.


I wipe,lube,rewipe my chain after a rainy spell, but that isn`t very often for me. Otherwise, I do the same W,L,W when it starts making noise or misbehaving somehow. Now only clean the chainrings when I do a more intensive maintenance. 2000 miles shouldn`t be a lot of wear to your bike with mostly on road riding- chain may or may not be worn in that time, but the rest of the bike ought to be fine. Well, maybe a bit of adjustment to compensate for cable stretch, but no other wear. I measure the chain with a ruler- for some reason, it looks like Sheldon doesn`t have pics of his description (???), but there are a few Youtube vids on it. For what its worth, I find it easier to line up the edge of a plate with one of the ruler marks and check against the same edge of another plate at the othe end. Since my ruler only goes to 12, I actually only measure 10 inches worth, but still use 1/16 stretch as my "replace" mark. Octalink BBs pull just like regular square tapers- in fact, I used the same tool to pull an Octalink that I use for squares, but I don`t know if all pullers are multipurpose or just some of them. What conditions produce roughness for you? Under power, coasting, soft pedaling?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> I wipe,lube,rewipe my chain after a rainy spell, but that isn`t very often for me. Otherwise, I do the same W,L,W when it starts making noise or misbehaving somehow. Now only clean the chainrings when I do a more intensive maintenance. 2000 miles shouldn`t be a lot of wear to your bike with mostly on road riding- chain may or may not be worn in that time, but the rest of the bike ought to be fine. Well, maybe a bit of adjustment to compensate for cable stretch, but no other wear. I measure the chain with a ruler- for some reason, it looks like Sheldon doesn`t have pics of his description (???), but there are a few Youtube vids on it. For what its worth, I find it easier to line up the edge of a plate with one of the ruler marks and check against the same edge of another plate at the othe end. Since my ruler only goes to 12, I actually only measure 10 inches worth, but still use 1/16 stretch as my "replace" mark. Octalink BBs pull just like regular square tapers- in fact, I used the same tool to pull an Octalink that I use for squares, but I don`t know if all pullers are multipurpose or just some of them. What conditions produce roughness for you? Under power, coasting, soft pedaling?


Under power. As before, it's generally worse when the bike's been out in the rain in the last few days. I do hope it's the pedals since I'll be replacing them soon, but my gut says otherwise. Regarding the crank removal, I was confused by the cap that I guess is hiding the actual crank bolt. On all the square taper cranks I've done previously the cap just pops out with some screwdriver prodding, but according to the internet I suppose the cap on octalink (or at least Sora) threads in, which explains why my screwdriver prying did nothing. More tools to buy to displease the wife, I suppose.

Regarding the actual topic of the thread, today's ride in was cold. Had to try to dig out all the winter stuff my wife just put away. Stupid weather better not damage the cherries this season.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Normal ride in and back. Got an email back from BikesDirect on an inquiry on the rear spacing of the Turino Disc model. They say the spacing is 135mm, and that they plan on introducing "several more road disc models in the 4th quarter". Since I gotta wait to see if they ever restock that model to any size beyond small, I think I'll wait to see what else they come up with. Still no word back from Pro-Lite Oz on their international shipping cost (if they do it at all).

On a different note, for those of you who like manga (Japanese comics) here's a fairly entertaining one so far; Yowamushi Pedal and can be found here free Manga Traders - Yowamushi Pedal .
It's about a kid in school who wants to start a club and gets pulled into road cycle racing. It's a little far fetched but it's funny, nice and safe for both work and kid friendly.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back down below freezing this morning, but it warmed to 35F by the time I had to leave. A beautiful morning but blustery headwinds kept me on my toes. I liked these black clouds over the white, and spied this merganser sunning on a rock in the river.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Yeah, I underestimated the cold wind and wished I had worn the full fingered gloves. 4 hours and a hot shower later and my hands and feet are still cold and I still have a chill.

Rodar et. al. I finally got the pictures posted of riding in The Dominican Republic. Full blog here:
EL Choco Loco Tour

Teaser Pic Here:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another day, another ride. A good ride this AM. Only one small remaining snow patch on the way in. 41F and light rain for the ride. Had the rain jacket on and remembered just why I try to avoid it whenever possible - I end up clammy because it just doesn't breath enough and has no pit zips, so to vent I have to cape it out at the bottom and then the overspray from the front wheel soaks my belly. Looks like the weather man is saying it's going to be a bit damp all week. Better than snow, for sure.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I wasn't blown away last week, but I've got no idea where noises/lack of smoothness could be coming from at this point since there's a lot of bearings and parts in the drivetrain and frankly as I cross 2k miles on the bike I expect to start seeing some of them fail. I tried checking for chain stretch last week but I don't think I measured right. Need to figure out how to pull an octalink crank so I can check out the bottom bracket too.


Grab both pedals and try to wiggle the crank back and forth sideways...this will highlight any play and thus possible noise sources....do this on all your suspect bearings.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> :lol: Rolling on the floorboard!... Brian, did you just do the habitat ride again? Looks like it. You mentioned it comming up, but I didn`t think it was so soon! No mishaps this time?


Rode again. Dropped a water bottle battery, A pack with rain gear, tools, various items, two headlights and taillights, rack, fenders, and bell. About 10 pounds, I guess as I was heavier, though I dropped 10 on the ride.

Mishaps? Who me? Need to keep us entertained here, right? I discovered a crack in the body of the left brifter a couple of months after the accident last fall. It did not seem to do any harm, so I ignored it. Bad move. It started shifting poorly, then disintegrated on the stand messing with it. So we switched to DT friction and old style lever to complete the ride. New brifter body is on its way. Campy lets you rebuild them. $60 instead of nearly $200 for a set of Brifters.

Several of us were climbing a mild grade after 70 miles of riding about 2 miles from our accommodations on the second day. We were doing about 13 mph and two bozos passed four of us against a close oncoming SUV. Passed too close, too fast, and forced the oncoming vehicle to a standstill. I don't understand why that driver did not lay on the horns for these buttheads. Would have cost them maybe 30 seconds to do it legally and safely.

On a brief connection through a town, I was doing 18-20 mph. Had a 'Blue Hair' in a late model Buick pass in town acroos a double yellow against a whole string of oncoming traffic barely missing the first bumper and cutting me off. She surprised me by that pass. Caught her a half block later. Big time saver of a move! Shouted "Nice Move!" (Riding for Habitat requires me to be politer than if this happened on my turf). Elderly passenger stared straight ahead obviously scared. Maybe playing 'chicken' with oncoming traffic was the cause.

Most other drivers were courteous. I pulled over on a couple of twisty hilly roads to get traffic by when they were patient and the road was not cooperating to get them by. Waved others by as soon as I got a sight line. So the idiots stand out as being extreme compared to the 99.9% (the rest).

Spring weather prevented most from enough preparation. I was hoping to drop 10-15 pounds and be stronger. Day four had me barely able to walk the hilly church camp where we stayed. Strength training, and spinning classes helped last year, it seems.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks like hot and windy for me all week. It`s been beautiful for the first few hours after sunrise, pretty nice (except still windy) in the evenings. I got in about two hours riding to and from a community cleanup project Sat morning, then back to back Mothers Day with my wife`s family and my family- well fed, but no more riding.

Nice, Bedwards! That store sure is proud of its Alka Seltzer distribution license, eh? It looks like just you and your wife plus the guide on the bike trip? Can`t beat that.

Sanath, only under power pretty much eliminates anything in the wheels. My guess is that you`re barking up the right tree by thinking BB. I found a thread on another bike forum about the tool for removing what you probably have- see posts 12 and 13 for sure.
Shimano dust cap removal tool - BentRider Online Forums
Hopefully Jeff`s or Xplorer`s ideas will turn out a culprit before you even have to "go there". If not, it doesn`t sound like a big deal to remove.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

I hate to brag... Nah, that's a lie. I love to brag and let me tell you what, the weather this morning was something to brag about. Left at 7am and it was probably 70F and little to no wind. Absolutely gorgeous. 

I retire from the Navy in about a year and the wife and I are moving back to FL to be close to family. I'm going to miss San Diego weather something fierce.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good mishap stories BrianMC. Sometimes mishaps are the most memorable, luckily none of them were too bad.

Oh, yeah, I should have mentioned that it was just the 2 of us and the guide. Alka Selzer and Presidente I tried the latter but not the former.

Santh, one other possible very easy place to look for creaks under load is the seat post. I had one only made noise under load and sounded like a BB or suspension creak that I couldn't find. I cleaned & greased it and the sound went away.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Sanath,

How does the non-drive side crank arm attach? On my road bike I had a horrible creak after getting caught in the rain a few times commuting. I had the pedals off and regreased. Then rebuilt them(Speedplay Zeros). Went through the seat and seat post with grease and a torque wrench and was about to tear into the BB when I took the non-drive side crank arm off. There was not a hint of grease on the spindle. I put some assembly grease on the spindle, tightened the arm on and voila. No more creak. Hope it's something that simple for you...


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

It was 63f when I left the house at 6:30 this morning. First morning commute with bare knees in a very long while. Lots of MTB'ers on the singletrack, but surprisingly few road riders on the paved roads.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in. 72F @ 5 a.m. Hot ride home. Display on dash of work truck claimed 106F at quitting time (3 p.m.). However, I have to question that cause the ride didn't feel THAT hot. I'm think around 101-102F. Nevertheless, hot times are here again. My schedule won't allow me to commute again until next Monday so that will give these unseasonably high temps a chance to clear out. Only supposed to be in low nineties right now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ Yeah, I underestimated the cold wind and wished I had worn the full fingered gloves. 4 hours and a hot shower later and my hands and feet are still cold and I still have a chill.


Brrrrr...no-finger gloves this morning = no fingers.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

OK that was crazy. Tailwind on the dead flat MUP. Rode for almost a mile at 29MPH. Now I know what the peloton feels like


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Rode again. Dropped a water bottle battery, A pack with rain gear, tools, various items, two headlights and taillights, rack, fenders, and bell. About 10 pounds, I guess as I was heavier, though I dropped 10 on the ride.
> 
> Mishaps? Who me? Need to keep us entertained here, right? I discovered a crack in the body of the left brifter a couple of months after the accident last fall. It did not seem to do any harm, so I ignored it. Bad move. It started shifting poorly, then disintegrated on the stand messing with it. So we switched to DT friction and old style lever to complete the ride. New brifter body is on its way. Campy lets you rebuild them. $60 instead of nearly $200 for a set of Brifters.
> 
> Spring weather prevented most from enough preparation. I was hoping to drop 10-15 pounds and be stronger. Day four had me barely able to walk the hilly church camp where we stayed. Strength training, and spinning classes helped last year, it seems.


Allright, ya done confused me. You had wanted to drop ten pounds from yourself and didn`t make it, but DID drop ten pounds from The Duchess? How did that feel? Good, I bet.

Sorry about the dead shifter, but you`re right- I would have been disappointed if something like that hadn`t happened :lol:
Glad it was only plastic that got injusred this time.

Cracked body can be rebuilt, or something in the guts broke?
BTW, I love this picture. That`s the kind of road that makes a ride


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats on the habitat ride Brian. One day charity rides are one thing, getting up the next few days and doing it again is another. Glad you wee able to leave a few pounds behind, both at the start and the finish.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I smahtened up this morning. My hands were even kind of sweaty. That was the only change to my wardrobe, the temp was the same or lower and I got to work feeling fine. I've been riding the Viva Sport the last few days and road bikes are just faster than other bikes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well yesterday turned out rather epic... I had a meeting at a far-flung office (actually not far from my house, but I had to do the regular commute first, which turned the commute map into a sort of giant "U" shape. I took my extendo trail route in the morning since the meeting started later than my normal day, did my errands at work, and then lived the dream by jumping right back on my bike and leaving. Wound up with just over 15 miles for the morning commute, and I wore shorts for the first time. Actually ditched the long sleeves after the first stop, so first ride in shorts/short sleeves in the morning also. 

It was my first commute to this other office...no idea on parking situation, changing situation (I mean I knew there was a bathroom)... it all worked out OK, and I found a place inside to stash the bike, but I had to stuff the sweaty clothes into the backpack so they were damp at the end of the day... 

but the day ended early, which was huge... back into the damp clothes, and with a couple hours to kill before the rest of the fam got home, I headed for a monster mountian ride that I haven't done in a while...screaming headwind on the highway, but it was calm in the woods. I was on the drop bar ogre, with a very full backpack... clothes, paperwork, iPad, plus all the normal commute stuff...probably 15 pounds of fun in the backpack. This ride is a monster... got high enough that I was able to stop and stuff my helmet vents full of snow to cool off. Strava said 2700 feet of elevation gain and just under 18 miles. (not the paved grade Rodar, logging roads on my side of there)

So I finished the day with over 3000 feet of elevation and 33 miles of riding. A solid Monday.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Smudge13 said:


> I retire from the Navy in about a year and the wife and I are moving back to FL to be close to family. I'm going to miss San Diego weather something fierce.


Outstanding!!! Was at N.A.S. Miramar back in 93', used to be a good place to be. Nice to see another squid doing well. :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Allright, ya done confused me. You had wanted to drop ten pounds from yourself and didn`t make it, but DID drop ten pounds from The Duchess? How did that feel? Good, I bet.


I did not ride locally before this year's ride with the tools, rain gear, and assorted support items I hauled last year or the double water bottles. The bike was much lighter than last year but only maybe 6 pounds lighter than I was riding it two weeks ago. So it did not feel as amazingly light as I had hoped. I had more than enough to be getting up hills with this year, I can't imagine struggling up with that last year's load. I still out coasted everyone I was near on downhills. Partly the potential energy of my road hugging weight, partly Campy bearings. On the stand, one person on the ride jokingly asked if the front wheel (Campy Chorus hub) had a motor, as it took so long to stop spinning once spun. Of course the Deep Vee Rims are about 60 grams heavier than say the A23 rims and that heavier again than the carbon-aluminum aero rims most had, and the 32mm tires are about 120 grams heavier than the 23 mm tires some used. So about 3 oz more flywheel effect, and 36 spokes too. The strong rims needed for my streets are stiff. So 28 mm is about as small as I'll go with these rims as some of the pavement was very rough, especially at the end of Day 2. So though I sucked at climbing, I excelled at downhills! 



rodar y rodar said:


> Sorry about the dead shifter, but you`re right- I would have been disappointed if something like that hadn`t happened :lol: Glad it was only plastic that got injured this time. Cracked body can be rebuilt, or something in the guts broke?


Yes, just the body allowing the pivot to move as the plastic flexed and screw up the cable pull. Pushed too hard, the plastic broke instead of flexing. The part is on the way, and I have the pdf manual in how to rebuild it. So my knowledge of the mysteries of the index/friction left (front) brighter is about to increase a quantum level or three.



rodar y rodar said:


> BTW, I love this picture. That`s the kind of road that makes a ride


There was just enough sand, gravel and moisture on that descent to keep me from a full tuck no brake descent or the scenery would be a bit more blurred.  I did it last year that way. Woo-Hoo! What a trip! There were three similar descents. One ends up flattening and straightening with 1000 feet to a stop and an ascent to the left. All that speed lost in heat, as the corner was blind. Bummer. Numerous perfect roller coasters where I went hell bent for leather spun out about halfway down as tucked as I get, and not getting down to cranking speed until at least half way up the next and cresting either side of 20 mph. Some long less steep descents where 28-30 mph for what seemed like miles was possible. Sections where I held 18-21 mph for miles of road (cloudy, un-pretty day, or I'd have included the ride through the or beside the woods.

I had trouble with the cameras (one died might be under warranty yet) and the iBike power supply so I don't have a record or my speed in a descent where I was leading about 6 cars in a 40 mph zone close to spinning out in top gear (48-13), each corner leading to another on a similar narrow road. I wish I had the power of 30 years ago for that 53 tooth chain wheel on the Campy triple that used to be on the Duchess! I had to pay for that exertion with a walk up most of the corresponding next climb as i had nothing left and needed to recover. I was smiling inside though.

I have the gradient graphs I could scan in for all but the last day (not much climbing or descent that day) if anyone is interested.

We had experienced tour riders from several other states who conceded this was a very challenging ride. Though none likely had much experience riding in the rockies, so take that assessment with a grain of salt.

BrianMc


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I finished the day with over 3000 feet of elevation and 33 miles of riding. A solid Monday.


We had pavement and someone said a 55 mile 4000 feet day. So what I said about a respectable but not a Rocky Mountain ride seems to be valid comparing to your ride yesterday. Rodar's 300 miles, and a day like yours with backpack are awesome. All that really matters though is that we enjoy our biking adventures and keep the rubber side down. 

BrianMc


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

junior1210 said:


> Outstanding!!! Was at N.A.S. Miramar back in 93', used to be a good place to be. Nice to see another squid doing well. :thumbsup:


I got to Point Loma for "A" School in 94'. I keep coming back. 94'-96' "A" School/"C" School at FASW. 03'-08' TTGP on the hill in Point Loma and finally 11'-14' at TSC 32nd St...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this AM. 34F when I left the house. No snow on the trail at all now, but icy in some spots. Made good time and felt nice and relaxed when I got into the office. 

Almost hit a moose on the way home yesterday. Was blasting down a hill that also happens to be a corner and he was standing just on the edge of the trail. His hackles were up, but he couldn't react as I came by, which is a good thing. Had he, I might have been seriously injured. Keeps the commute interesting...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I still can't fathom riding by a moose at close quarters. I've been close to one in a Jeep, and that was intimidating enough :lol:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Smudge13 said:


> I got to Point Loma for "A" School in 94'. I keep coming back. 94'-96' "A" School/"C" School at FASW. 03'-08' TTGP on the hill in Point Loma and finally 11'-14' at TSC 32nd St...


Went to boot camp in San Diego, "A" school was at Millington, Tn , but back to Miramar and bounced around hangar 6. Nothing like having shore duty and sea duty at the same place, same base, same people. Had some good times at Gator Gardens, made the mistake of having a beer at the Trophy lounge a.k.a. Westpack Widow Club down in National City exactly ONCE!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning I remembered that last night as I pedaled home I thought "this dirt road isn't going to get much smoother", so I should try that road bike that's been sitting in the basement unused. I had to scramble, but got it aired up, checked over, and quickly lubed to give it a try. Got to the bottom of the dirt driveway hanging on for dear life in the drops and only one pedal clicked in because of the rocks and loose dirt. Promptly found out the saddle was way low for some reason long-forgotten. Got off to raise it. First thought "dumb road bikes"; not only no quick release, but you need not one, but two hexes to adjust the seat height. Two of the same sized wrenches. So back up the drive I trotted in my dumb roadie shoes, only to find that said wrenches were already in my pack. Guessed a height, and re-rode the rocky descent. 

Proceeded 1.3 miles down to pavement at a cautious pace, feeling too far forward and low with my hands in the drops to brake. Froze my fingers on the paved hill, despite the windproof gloves, probably because of messing with the tools barehanded at 35F.

Once on the flats I was able to warm up, and was thankful that those wimpy road tires didn't flat out. The ride was not as harsh as expected for 23's, but I only ran them at 80-90 lbs. Since my gps was in my pack (no mount on that bike), I never reset it and don't know what the actual time was, but based on my questimate of the delay, it did not seem that I gained (or lost) any actual pedal time.

Suffice to say I did not fall in love on the first trip. Apologies for the long-winded report.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Two minute mile in WA, spun out descents in the midwest, climbfest in NorCal, pissed off moose in AK, and...
sunrise stroll with major school bus intervention in Reno. It was nice, but hardly worth relating to the pedal commuting world 

2700 feet in 18 miles sounds like some steep boogers! If you ever find yourself in Downieville with time on your hands, consider checking out the Galloway Road ascent. It`s basically the continuation of the street that crosses the river- make a left at the end of it and be sure you have golf cleats on your shoes to help you push your way up the next three or four miles. I pushed myself up it for about 20 minutes (didn`t get very far) then accepted a ride from a guy in a pickup. Would never have even tried if I had realized that it kept going so far at the same crazy grade.

Moose with his hackles raised? As if sedate moose wasn`t enough? I didn`t know they even had "hackles". Never seen one up close, but the few I`ve seen from long distance were certainly impressive- like a half ton chuck roast on stilts.

Rodar hasn`t gotten to the 300 mark yet unless you count them the metric way- maybe next year.

I`m beginning to suspect that Xplorer has a stash nearly equal to her homeboy`s. Was today`s roadie the proud bearer of a Campy triple drivetrain that might go on the cross bike? Maybe the Puch that went to the bike swap came back home?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Moose with his hackles raised? As if sedate moose wasn`t enough? I didn`t know they even had "hackles". Never seen one up close, but the few I`ve seen from long distance were certainly impressive- like a half ton chuck roast on stilts.
> 
> I`m beginning to suspect that Xplorer has a stash nearly equal to her homeboy`s. Was today`s roadie the proud bearer of a Campy triple drivetrain that might go on the cross bike? Maybe the Puch that went to the bike swap came back home?


I don't like the sound of the "hackles raised" moose either. Glad that turned out OK blockphi - sounds like it was too quick for either of you to react.

Yep, here's the BIanchi with the triple, the Puch sold at the swap! It wasn't alone, there were 8 in the rack earlier.















Here's the ride home:







You probably won't be surprised to learn that 10+ year old stick-on patches might leak around the edges a bit. Luckily I had grabbed all the necessary road flat supplies this a.m.

Looking back downhill.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> 2700 feet in 18 miles sounds like some steep boogers!


The worst section is a Strava segment... 1836 feet of gain in 5.8 miles, topping out at just over 6300 feet elevation. Pain Train.

I have no desire to do that climb in Downieville based on your description, but I will peek at it if I'm ever there...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Blockphi: I have to admit, I had to look up moose hackles too. I didn't know that was something that they did. Apparently is is and you were probably pretty closed to getting kicked.:eekster:

MTXB: Give the road bike a few more chances in an environment it can be successful in. 

I took the Cross Check this morning because it was frickin freezing and I wanted to wear my warmer shoes with time cleats on them. Back to the insulated tights too.

T'was a beautiful spring morning out there:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice pic. Cold but nice here too. Luckily I don’t have to leave until 7:30 so it warmed up from 28F to upper 30’s for the ride. Happy to be back on the MTB. Two particularly rude trucks this morning – a dump truck and an 18 wheeler - putting the squeeze on by the guard rail. Luckily with the 1.75’s I was able to utilize the sandy crap closer to the rail without waivering.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Took the Single Speed Track Bike into work this morning. It was a perfect 60F out with a light head wind.

Just found out I have a spot on "the bus" for RAGBRI this year. So I better get my road bike off the trainer and start putting some miles on that thing before July and work out any bugs...

The road bike will probably be my commuter for the next 2 months or so.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Yup, moose have hackles and it's not good when they're up. I was quite lucky that time. A buddy of mine, a year ago while riding home from the bar one night, came around a blind corner and actually ran smack-dab into a young moose. He was super lucky in that he only ended up with a black eye and a few scrapes and the moose ran off rather than stomping all over him. Drunk cycling in Anchorage can be dangerous! 

Good ride this AM. 38F when I left the house. Got to work just in time to witness a brief squall of snow. It's passed now, but not what I wanted to see! I'm tired of snow now. Tired, tired, tired of it.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Was checking the email after getting home from work this morning, and checked out the BikesDirect newsletter (that comes out about every 20 minutes it seems like). They have about 4 2014 models out now that are disc capable cyclo-cross bikes. Aluminum frame, carbon fork, 130mm rear spacing, come with canti's, but frames and forks have disc tabs, and hubs are disc ready. The 4 are all the same bike (by my reckoning) with group sets from Ultegra($1799) to Sora($599). Colors are o.k., but I like the set ups.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pretty bike, Xplorer! Is its unfriendliness on dirt the main reason you don`t ride it often?


bedwards1000 said:


> I took the Cross Check this morning because it was frickin freezing and I wanted to wear my warmer shoes with time cleats on them. Back to the insulated tights too.


The lake (pond?) picture makes me wonder when will you get to practice your swin segments? Like two days before the first event?


p08757 said:


> Just found out I have a spot on "the bus" for RAGBRI this year. So I better get my road bike off the trainer and start putting some miles on that thing before July and work out any bugs...


Cool! Is a local club aranging the bus?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^When it's warmer than 30 degrees in the morning would be a good start. That is more of a bog, I don't' think I'll be swimming there. This may not be a year that I try a real tri anyway. It seems like the whole summer is already booked.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

p08757 said:


> Just found out I have a spot on "the bus" for RAGBRI this year. So I better get my road bike off the trainer and start putting some miles on that thing before July and work out any bugs...The road bike will probably be my commuter for the next 2 months or so.


*** So you made the lottery, or you have a team support vehicle? 10,000 cyclists counting the day riders. We had about 80 do the whole week. You could ride in a group or on your own or in two or threesomes. I am not that gregarious to want to be in such a crowd. Though that is aside effect of metal poisoning, so maybe in a couple of years it will seem more attractive.



junior1210 said:


> Was checking the email after getting home from work this morning, and checked out the BikesDirect newsletter (that comes out about every 20 minutes it seems like). They have about 4 2014 models out now that are disc capable cyclo-cross bikes. Aluminum frame, carbon fork, 130mm rear spacing, come with canti's, but frames and forks have disc tabs, and hubs are disc ready. The 4 are all the same bike (by my reckoning) with group sets from Ultegra($1799) to Sora($599). Colors are o.k., but I like the set ups.


*** I hear a wallet opening up...



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^When it's warmer than 30 degrees in the morning would be a good start. That is more of a bog, I don't' think I'll be swimming there. This may not be a year that I try a real tri anyway. It seems like the whole summer is already booked.


*** Reminded me of the Beverly Hillbilly episode when Jethro made his first and very fast swim in the 'cement pond' after learning to swim in the thick partly dried up creeks of Appalachia. 

BrianMc


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Maybe, I'm thinking about it I'll admit. If they have this now, I think I'd like to see what else they come out with later at the end of summer.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Pretty bike, Xplorer! Is its unfriendliness on dirt the main reason you don`t ride it often?


Yeah, I got that Bianchi back in about '96, when I was
a) Living on pavement, and had better maintained roads overall.
b) Had a 35 mi ride to work (occasional, 1-way with car pool return)
c) Not surrounded by so many great MTB trails
d) Riding Boston-NY Aids Ride 3x, so I had to road ride every weekend to get ready for 3-4 days of up to 100 mi/day.

Funny, yesterday the road triple didn't seem geared as low as I remembered, I still had to stand to get up the hill.

I lucked out on the way home, it was really dark, like almost nighttime, at 5:30, and raining, but I didn't get out the door until about 6, and pretty much just had wet roads and wind on the way home.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

I love this time of year. It's not hot yet, monsoon is still a ways off and cold is a distant memory. Morning commutes are in the 50s, afternoon in the 70s, but we've been under red flag warnings off and on for the last month - fire season may be rough this year. I'll just have to keep on truckin'.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Just finished moving to a new house. Still very tired and do not have every thing un packed yet. Since I do not have my clipless shoes I jumped on the 2010, 26" hardrock disc. I am used to XT shifters and XT brakes with M786 RD and 3X10 drive train. Hardrock has X3 RD and mech brakes and super cheap Sram shifters and 3X7 drivetrain. Nevertheless, it still rides well but is much slower then my Carve Expert. Felt nice for a $500 bike. Just goes to show you that a quality bike will still put a smile on your face no matter what it costs.

Mark


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A shot from last week in harmony with Spatialized post:



A nice 70 something ride that day.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I wanna play too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:thumbsup: I'm enjoying the rider's eye view shots.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I'm enjoying how every one of Brian's helmet-cam shots has a reflection of a mustache and not much else in the rear-view mirror.

My rides have been good, though I came very close to eating it this morning going over a bump I didn't see at speed and nearly bouncing off the bike. The recovery almost put me into a large bush. Clipless pedals should be here tomorrow, hopefully that fixes it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

All the cool kids have helmet cam shots and all I have is this stupid smartphone shot. The fog over the lake was pretty cool. Even cooler than this.







When I got up to let the dogs out it seemed cold out which didn't surprise me after the cold rain I rode home in. 20 min later I headed out the door with my long tights and full finger gloves. 20 seconds later I went back inside and took them off.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sanath said:


> I'm enjoying how every one of Brian's helmet-cam shots has a reflection of a mustache and not much else in the rear-view mirror.


Aligned so I can see behind me, that is the unfortunate by-product. The snoz, sunglass frame, and a bit of cheek make half the reflection. As a cyclist and a barbershopper, it is of course, a handlebar mustache. Until people got my name, I was the guy with the mustache on the ride in spite of there being others sporting their versions. Sort of like the cheshire cat, but I leave a mustache image behind. 

The road goes ever on and on... the helmet cam shots do speak to the spirit of cycling, don't they? Promising more adventure.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Some nice photos everyone, keep posting them!

I've been bike commuting for five years now, and during that time I have:

- Run over four rabbits
- Nearly hit a Deer, a Coyote, a Racoon, multiple Geese and a Possum
- Been buzzed and hit on the helmet by an Owl
- Nearly had a snake dropped on me by a bird

Today I added another notch to my handlebars when I startled a large bird that I think was sleeping in the middle of the MUP. It flew up right when I was on top of it and I hit it at 20MPH. It bounced off my handlebars and then my left arm. It just seemed to appear in my headlight and scared the hell out of me to the point that I almost lost control of my bike. Otherwise it was a fine commute 

On another topic - I just got a GoPro camera. I bought it to do some aerial photography from a Quadcopter, but I am going to use it with my bikes too. So I need to figure out how to mount it to my bike. Brian and CB (or anyone else who has a camera mounted to their bike) can you take some pictures of how you mount your cameras? I'm looking for ideas.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I will get the helmet cam going tomorrow... nothing new in a while.

Rodar, is that 89 between Truckee and Sierraville?

Edit: OOOOHHHH I want a quadcopter so bad. My biggest advice is to get the handlebar/seatpost mount, and several little short extension pieces (like what's in the "grab bag of mounts"). 
then you can figure out multiple mount situations from chainstay, bars, top tube, fork, etc. I have a couple pics I'll try to dig up.

Edit again: 
Here's one: 








And an image from there:










Oh and I think I would die if a bird did that to me in the dark. I've had some critters just show up like that in the headlight beam, and it's terrifying. :eekster:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> All the cool kids have helmet cam shots and all I have is this stupid smartphone shot.


Yeah maybe, but only the REALLY cool kids have their tires varnished onto wooden rims 
Stupid smart phone??? Boneless ribs? Wieless cable?


woodway said:


> Today I added another notch to my handlebars when I startled a large bird that I think was sleeping in the middle of the MUP.


IMO, JSeko had the title for most bizarre incedents while commuting, but I believe you`ve pased him by. For strictly animal related "WTF-isms", you definitely have him beat.


CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, is that 89 between Truckee and Sierraville?


The Ogremeister is on it!

Rain comming. Good. I sleep very well on cloudy days. Will have sweet dreams of a beautiful lugged Fuji Saratoga with splined Ishiwata tubing waiting for me in Grand Rapids. Blue, please.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Raining here for my commute this morning. It's headed your way.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this morning. Beat the rain, so that's nice. 38F when I left the house again today. Got to try out a new wool long sleeve jersey I picked up at the thrift shop last week. Worked quite well. The more wool I wear, the more I like it. 

Now time for a bit of a rant as I'm feeling grumpy today. You've been warned: 

So the company I am contracted to right now works a flex Friday schedule, meaning that folks work nine hour days and take ever other Friday off. So this week is a flex week and the company is doing their bike to work day today. Which is the crux of my rant. Again, I'm just crabby today. 

So, I am a bike commuter. 99.95% of the time. The last time I drove a car was three weeks ago. The last time I drove to work was three months ago and that was just because I had to take a partial day off to go up to the Valley, a 35 mile drive. So bike to work day, while I think it is a good thing in the general sense, tends to p!ss me off a bit. Suddenly the bike racks are full of bikes ridden by people who ride to work one, maybe two days the entire year, there's breakfast and all kinds of self congratulatory events put on during the day. Like riding bike one day is going to save the world or something. 

Just rotten grapes on my part, but for those of us who commute by bike not as some special event, but as a daily choice we make, it seems a bit like spit to the face. Like I said, I'm just really grumpy today and the bike to work thing is just rubbing me wrong for some reason. 

A coworker joked that I should drive today, just to be contrary. I'm almost thinking now that I should have...

End rant.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Go get yourself a free bagel, pat yourself on the back and be glad that you get to ride to work every day grumpy. 

I'm actually surprised at the turnout you described based on a 38F day.

BTW, I work at a place with 100 people. On bike to work day I'm pretty sure my bike will be the only one here as usual. Maybe they need to serve free food.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Yeah, I think a bagel will do me good today. 

I think there are over 2K people who work in the building I'm in (a division of the world's largest oil company, though I won't say who that is...) so if even a small percentage ride today, the racks will be full and then some. 

And as we are in Anchorage, 38F isn't often viewed as terribly cold. Heck, folks around here wear shorts and flipflops when it's above 35


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I think the real answer is to program the quadcopter to fly behind you as you ride.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's ride to work week here, and I've only seen one other person on the roads. Last week, I think I saw four people. I think bike to work events are great, but I'm not the type to participate in them (or at least go out of my way to participate). I work for a small company, so I'm the only one to ride to work. There was another dude, but he stopped riding about a week after he started and quit his job a while back.

Next week, I won't be riding at all. I've been working on my master's and will be graduating next Saturday. I have class all next week and will be staying in a hotel.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Congrats on the master's sOckeye.:thumbsup: Once you get hooded, go get another, or even your PH.D


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'll try not to take us too far down a quadcopter rat hole...

I built mine with my son...it's based on the opensource "multiwii" board and software. Fairly inexpensive to build but takes some practice to fly. I used to fly gas powered radio-control airplanes a wile back (project with a different son) and got to be a pretty good pilot. But quadcopters are whole different thing altogether. The RC planes exhibited ballistic motion, which means it's relatively predictable as to what the craft is going to do next and did not have to be on top of the airplane 100% of the time. Quadcopters are basically a brick with propellers attached and you really have to pay attention and think in 3D space to make the quad do what you want. After about ten hours of practice and two rebuilds of the frame over the past couple of months, I can now fly well enough that I am comfortable flying the GoPro on the copter. But I am probably another 10-20 hours away from being able to do smooth and interesting photography. Sanath, it would be cool to have the quad follow you down the trail but that's a bit beyond my capabilities at the moment  I am trying to get good enough flying the quad that I can fly the copter down a trail next to, above in front of or behind a Mountain Biker. I am a long way from that 

Thanks for the mounting pic CB. I will pick up the handlebar/seatpost mounting kit.

Congrats on the masters s0ckeyeus! That's a nice accomplishment.


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## DuManchu (May 22, 2007)

Pretty standard commute today, forgot to snap some pics, nothing much to see anyway. Weather has been good, today's was much nicer than the 31mph gusts we were having earlier in the week.

Here's my ride parked in my new digs at work. Nice to have my stuff nearby rather than across the office for once.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool! Is a local club aranging the bus?


The social biking club I belong to has a bus and we are sponsored by a local brewery. We get to keep the bus at the brewery and in turn they painted the bus with their logo and such. They also give us several dozens of cases of beer to hand out during the ride.

This is my first year I've been able to go. I'm excited!!!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I learned now fast electric bicycles can be. I never realized they can keep up with and pass a 150cc scooter on a 16% grade without rider input. Made me wonder why those are still considered bicycles. They are like a motorcycle at that point.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Typical crummy Boulder County commute:


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Bike to work day/week? Guess they forgot about that at my place of employ. Oh wait, that would mean advocating something healthy...far be it for a hospital to do that! It's like every other week for me!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

MileHighMark said:


> Typical crummy Boulder County commute:


Man that is one helluva view! I word love to ride something like that. My scenery consists of Joshua trees....but only if I ride into the park which is not on my commute.

In other news I've been getting up earlier and riding further than the 3.5 miles to work. I cleared 8 today and it felt great! I know that's not really far but its the farthest I have gone. I'm trying to work up to 20 at a time....slowly. the desert is no place to bite off more than you can chew.

sent by carrier pigeon


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Here are work their are a few new bikes coming in this week, I was on my son's RH comp (red one) to see the difference of it vs my Carve. Nice bike to ride but a bit heavy and those Ex 1 brakes are not very good, I will stick to my XT's

Mark


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MileHighMark said:


> Typical crummy Boulder County commute:


Beautiful scene!



jseko said:


> I never realized they can keep up with and pass a 150cc scooter on a 16% grade without rider input.


Not to say that the ebike you saw isn`t a lot more potent than what was intended when the regs were written up for them, but don`t overestimate the 150cc scooters that you compared to. I have a 400cc EFI scooter and the silly belt drive CVT/centrifugal clutch combo makes it a dog compared to something like a Rebel 250 with regular transmision.



Kryptoroxx said:


> In other news I've been getting up earlier and riding further than the 3.5 miles to work. I cleared 8 today and it felt great! I know that's not really far but its the farthest I have gone. I'm trying to work up to 20 at a time....slowly. the desert is no place to bite off more than you can chew.


Cool, Krypto :thumbsup:
Can you get out and ride at night in order to beat the heat a little? I don`t get anywhere near as hot as you (grandmother lives in Palm Desert, so I know what you`re dealing with), but I still like to ride at night in the summer. Besides cooler, the traffic is way better and it`s just overall neat-o.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the Cross Check home through my normal mountain bike trails. Holy rough. I always thought that those trails were relatively smooth but not any more. I don't think my brake levers are positioned in the right position for rough off-road riding.

I'm running a 5K tomorrow so today's ride was intentionally slow to rest the old legs.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I have similar experiences with "smooth" trails.

Great morning here. Post rainstorm drippy woods, and I did go nuts with the GoPro:


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Hopped on the bike this morning, only to discover that the rear tire was flat. Replaced the tube, and had a nice, leisurely ride to work including a few miles of dirt/gravel. Not a bad way to start a Friday.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Beautiful scene!
> 
> Cool, Krypto :thumbsup:
> Can you get out and ride at night in order to beat the heat a little? I don`t get anywhere near as hot as you (grandmother lives in Palm Desert, so I know what you`re dealing with), but I still like to ride at night in the summer. Besides cooler, the traffic is way better and it`s just overall neat-o.


Eventually I will ride at night but right now as long as I stop riding by about 1100 or so its still only in the high 90s. Its the glaring afternoon sun that will melt your cheeks to the seat lol. Then the heat cools by about 6pm and by 8pm its dark and beautiful again.

I was disappointed today because we have to wear our dress uniforms and I can't fit my pants if I take a ride lol. Its overcast and around 65F right now.....and all I wanna do is ride. I'm thinking about getting off and going trail riding today.

Its funny how I've been riding for about a month now and its like a drug. I don't think about working on my truck, watching TV, playing a video game, or even going to the gym (I do still go)....I just wanna ride. Its relaxing, fun, and good for me. Only downside might be the buttheads out on the road that cut me off.

sent by carrier pigeon


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

My bike to work day loot! They changed the base color of the shirts this year but the graphics are basically the same. My wife's words as I left this morning: "Don't bring home a bunch of crap!" lol


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ride home started out awesome. 20+ mph tail wind down the canal trail. 25-30 mph for the whole exposed part of the trail, then 20 with some tree cover. _Fast_. Then I got off the trail and the wind became a cross/head wind, and it was less fun. Then I had a solid flat in my back tire. So... first road-side tube replacement. Took a while, sorta bent the arm that holds my mirror. Definitely found the cause of the flat, though. Looked like it used to be a paper clip. Going to have to work on my tire repair technique, my slow work would have sank me if I was trying to make it home in time for the school bus.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Only downside might be the buttheads out on the road that cut me off.
> 
> sent by carrier pigeon


Yes, but console yourself with the knowledge that they are condemned to their miserable existences, while you get to ride.:thumbsup:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

junior1210 said:


> Yes, but console yourself with the knowledge that they are condemned to their miserable existences, while you get to ride.:thumbsup:


Lol! I suppose one of the great questions is whether or not they see me.....and secondly if they are just jealous or I make them feel fat.

sent by carrier pigeon


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

What a fun bike to work week!!!

It all started on Tuesday on my commute home, I was scoping out some local singletrack in the park next to my house, came upon a couple having sex under a kazebow on a picnic table. That was fun!!! ;p

Followed up with fast commutes to and from Thursday, to today's wet, sloppy, mess of bike to work day. Lots of folks out enjoying all the coffee and treat stations. Coffee, muffins, bacon, beer coupons, did a say bacon?, cookies, smoothies, fruit, the list goes on. What a great breakfast after stopping at 5 stations along the way. Rode different bikes each day, Friday is always fun on the fat bike!!!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

And....now its snowing! Glad I rode the Fatbike...Only in Alaska? ;p


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, lots of great pix and stories, thanks everyone! I took a detour on the ride home and went by that reservoir that was on my old commute. I saw 2 loons, 2 deer and 1 moose! Not up close and personal like blockphi's , but great to see munching away in the water nonetheless. Too far and dark for a decent pic, so I have to share the sunset.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Smudge13 said:


> "Don't bring home a bunch of crap!"


:lol:


CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I have similar experiences with "smooth" trails.
> 
> Great morning here. Post rainstorm drippy woods, and I did go nuts with the GoPro:


Jeez, you must have been really moving, judging by the blur! Didn`t your GoPro come with a Schnozz mirror and a big grey mustache? If you still have the packaging, maybe check and see if it got lost in there.

Have fun on your run today, Bedwards.

Doh, and I forgot to congratulate sOck yesterday- congrats :thumbsup:

No commute for me at all. It was another no workie, no monie Friday. And no joyrides either . On the bright side, I got to camp in my backyard with three of my nieces. Woke up an hour ago (2AM) and knew that was all the sleeping I was going to do for a while, so here I am. Shift work messes with my sleep schedule in odd ways.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> What a fun bike to work week!!!
> 
> It all started on Tuesday on my commute home, I was scoping out some local singletrack in the park next to my house, came upon a couple having sex under a kazebow on a picnic table. That was fun!!! ;p
> 
> Followed up with fast commutes to and from Thursday, to today's wet, sloppy, mess of bike to work day. Lots of folks out enjoying all the coffee and treat stations. Coffee, muffins, bacon, beer coupons, did a say bacon?, cookies, smoothies, fruit, the list goes on. What a great breakfast after stopping at 5 stations along the way. Rode different bikes each day, Friday is always fun on the fat bike!!!


My wife saw a couple of teens doing the same thing in the middle of the trail right across the street from East high. How romantic, right. The hard pavement and the smell of goose and moose poop. I can certainly think of better places to do that.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Had to come in to work today to finish up a few things, figured I'd ride rather than save the time and spend it mowing the lawn. First clipless ride. My feet started to go numb on the bottom, which was worrisome. Shoes didn't feel tight at the time but the feeling of decompression when I took them off might explain it. SPD with the cheap road shoes isn't going to work, though. The riding is okay, and I rather like the little vent under the toes, but trying to move around off the bike is _terrible_. Just walking through the (mercifully empty today) production floor there was a loud-enough-to-echo "clack" every time the damn cleat touched the floor. I couldn't make it not happen. I knew I wasn't going to want to walk any significant distance in these, but I don't realistically think I can make it more than a few feet without doing this weird flop/waddle thing and looking like an idiot.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Had to come in to work today to finish up a few things, figured I'd ride rather than save the time and spend it mowing the lawn. First clipless ride. My feet started to go numb on the bottom, which was worrisome. Shoes didn't feel tight at the time but the feeling of decompression when I took them off might explain it. SPD with the cheap road shoes isn't going to work, though. The riding is okay, and I rather like the little vent under the toes, but trying to move around off the bike is _terrible_. Just walking through the (mercifully empty today) production floor there was a loud-enough-to-echo "clack" every time the damn cleat touched the floor. I couldn't make it not happen. I knew I wasn't going to want to walk any significant distance in these, but I don't realistically think I can make it more than a few feet without doing this weird flop/waddle thing and looking like an idiot.


That's one of the reasons I haven't moved to clipless yet. I know there are some good shoes in the 5 10 lineup and eventually I'll try them, but every time I see someone try to walk in 'classic' riding shoes away from the bike, I cling to my flats.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I wear Lake MTB shoes. What I like:

- Cleat is recessed so there is no "click, click" when I walk
- Comfortable to walk in. You don't get the daffy duck look
- Stiff sole means that they are comfortable on the bike

Generally MTB shoes are made for walking, since it's assumed you'll be off the bike more when Mountain Biking, as opposed to road shoes which I tried once and will never go back to.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, lots of great pix and stories, thanks everyone! ... Too far and dark for a decent pic, so I have to share the sunset.


It is even more stunning on second view. That's suitable for a large print. You expect to hear loons calling. A favorite part of the planet, Algonquin, Ontario looks a lot like that.

BrianMc


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

No doubt Woodway, that's why I loves my Sam Hill's. I wear them all the time riding, walking, at work, just about everywhere except grunt work at home where they might get really chewed up. On my second pair already. Once you get used to the weight (only slightly lighter than a battleship) they totally rock. Think I might get the Hellcats when I need a new pair, then try clipping in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My legs worked better than they felt this morning as they are sore from hiking Mt Ellen (one of VT’s five 4000-footers) on Saturday. It rained right on cue since my new lighter weight and more compact rain jacket arrived ahead of schedule Saturday. I tried out the new weather-protected bike parking today in the parking garage; kin of dark, dingy, and deserted, but it should be OK.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I run mountain biking shoes on all my clipless bikes. Time pedals on the MTBs and SPDs on the road bikes. I have a pair of Shimano mountain shoes that are extremely comfortable to walk in.

The commute today was a cool rainy one but not too bad. I got to go biking with my new dog this weekend, that was fun. And that was after a new PR on my 5K.:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^That's a good-looking dog, what's his name? Congrats on the 5K


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit chilly on the commute this AM (37F) as I thought I'd wear light gloves and a light hat. Good ride. The legs felt really strong today and the new chain and new-ish cassette made for a nice, quiet ride with good power transfer. I didn't realize how sloppy the transmission was until I switched out the chain yesterday, gave a test ride, and kept popping it off the cassette anytime I applied any power. Good thing I had the ~10 miles worth of use cassette that came on the Pugs originally to slap on and take care of the slippage. 

Saw a bald eagle about 10 feet off the trail sitting in a tree over the creek. He was obviously fishing. I rode down the embankment and looked up at him and he didn't even move until I whistled at him. Wish I would have had my camera with. I love big birds for some reason, and since there are no buzzards in AK, I guess I'll have to be happy with eagles...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ I'm a fan of big birds too, they're just cool. I'm surprised there are no buzzards/vultures in AK. We're got a ton or them around Maine. You never get to see 20 eagles together but you do get to see a bunch of vultures, and you know something dead is around when you do.



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^That's a good-looking dog, what's his name? Congrats on the 5K


That's Wesley. He's a boy in all the ways that count. (likes people, likes dogs, likes kids, stays in the yard [if you are watching], the list goes on.) I did find that he also likes to roll in stinky things around the trail, not his best feature.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I got a bonus ride this morning that I didn`t think I`d have time for. Drove the bike into the sierra foothills for a three hour-ish ride. I started with a lung burner up to a local trout lake, a long sweping downhill into town and beyond, then a leg burner back up. Ready for a shower and a nap now 


blockphi said:


> I didn't realize how sloppy the transmission was until I switched out the chain yesterday, gave a test ride, and kept popping it off the cassette anytime I applied any power.


I was having intermitant drivetrain trouble for a month or so that I couldn`t seem to get rid of. Finally realized about a week ago that three sprockets on my cassette were seriously hook-toothed, changed it out. It did pretty well for the week`s commutes, but I didn`t ever push it. It got a solid test this morning and still quiet, so I think I`m okay again. I guess what I thought were rough ghost shifts were actually chain skips. Funny thing- I did look at the cassette a few times when I was scratching my head over the problem, and I kept pronouncing it "good". Last week it was so obviously worn that there`s no way I would have thought otherwise. When they start to go, do they reach a certain point gradually and then go south in a big hurry? BTW, chain still checks out fine.



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm surprised there are no buzzards/vultures in AZ.


Something tells me you`re thinking of Anchorage, Arizona. Agree with Xplorer- pretty dog.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Almost hit a hare/rabbit this AM as it bolted out in front of me. Couldn't tell if it was wild or domesticated...Otherwise, enjoyed the sunshine!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was thinking AK but typing AZ. I fixed it. Sounds like a challenging ride. 

I've worn out a fair number of cassettes by not replacing my chain soon enough. I decide, "It's time to change the chain" even though it is shifting fine. And then it's not shifting fine anymore.


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## CabezaShok (Oct 15, 2007)

Today's commute to Venice Ca. from downtown LA. Im self employed and do most of my work at beach coffee shops. R.I.P Ray Manzarek


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. A bit chilly at 37F, but not too bad. When I looked at my thermometer outside my kitchen window it read 54 - then I realized that the rising sun was hitting it directly. Bummer. I could've done with some temps in the 50s this morning.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

*Cat 6 Drag Race*

On my way home got passed by two co-workers 1 in a Toyota 'fast and furious wanna be' and the other in a Mustang. They got to the light and were revving it up, like they were gonna race. I eased up to the light, and stopped in an almost perfect track stand. They looked over at me in curiosity, just then the light turns, and I go for broke. They both mashed on the gas so hard they peeled out at the light. By the time they got moving I was actually through the intersection. Then they roared off past me, but that's O.K. cause I still had the hole-shot.:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ 

It is fascinating to me that it adds an extra mile round trip to my commute to park my bike in the on-site parking garage instead of at the uncovered racks by the front door. The last couple rides have been muggy and sweaty. Last night I was sure it must be in the 70’s when I got home and the sportsbra was soaking wet and the T was partly wet. But no, the thermometer only read 59F – I hope my blood thins out or something before it gets any warmer. Chatted for a minute with another bikecommuter/bikechallenge teammate this morning. He broke his aluminum frame at the chainstay after about 40K miles. We were both on bikes donated by family members. :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

40K Miles!!! I don't think I've broken the 25K mark yet in my lifetime! It was pretty muggy here yesterday too.

Nice one Junior, if only the races were 100ft we'd have a fighting chance.

I road my fast bike today with no fenders and a storm on the horizon. That was incentive enough to average 19MPH on the hilly route. My average yesterday on the commuter tank was more like 14.5. Some of it IS the bike.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Just fitted new cables, housing, and bar tape the commuter, which means we will probably get record-breaking rain today.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Noises I was hearing turned out to be chain binding. Was surprised how much more slack the fixed gear seems to want (coming from mostly freewheeling singlespeeds) but feels pretty good now that I have it. Going back and forth trying to find the magic amount of chain tension is kind of a pain though. Think I'm gonna need to find a cone wrench that fits the hub so I can make on-road adjustments. But then my problem would be that I can't generate enough torque with portable tools to keep the wheel in place.

38t gearing is nice but I have a feeling I will be looking at a smaller cog soon, or trying to fit a bigger chainring. I got a rack and trunk bag too, that is making the commute way more pleasant. I think I notice the breeze on my back more than I notice the increased speed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> 40K Miles!!! I don't think I've broken the 25K mark yet in my lifetime!


Yeah, he's got >600 miles just for May so far, and I have also seen him show up at trailwork having ridden 7(or is it more ?) miles to trailwork with a heavy axe, doing trailwork, and riding home again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very windy outide right now, I hear each gust howl and whistle around my eves. Hope it calms down before I leave for work.

I wish I knew how many lifetime miles I`ve ridden. I couldn`t even begin to guess. I`d be REALLY interrested to know what my mileage was like as a kid. Between commutes (school), paper route, going to and from friends` houses, and countless hours of JRA, my old 3-speed really earned its keep.


junior1210 said:


> I eased up to the light, and stopped in an almost perfect track stand. They looked over at me in curiosity, just then the light turns, and I go for broke. They both mashed on the gas so hard they peeled out at the light.


Whoo! :thumbsup:


mtbxplorer said:


> It is fascinating to me that it adds an extra mile round trip to my commute to park my bike in the on-site parking garage instead of at the uncovered racks by the front door.


That is a big difference. When a little dirt short cut on my way in/out of the plant is muddy, I have to go around through the main entrance, which adds .3 miles each way. That was enough to be kind of surprising for me. The worst part about losing my short cut is that it gives me a traffic light. Left turn on the way home, and it`s a very short cycle light, so can be a bit tight waiting for all the people crossing straight across and still trying to get my own butt through before my side goes red.


MileHighMark said:


> Just fitted new cables, housing, and bar tape the commuter, which means we will probably get record-breaking rain today.


No two ways about it. I`ll listen from here and maybe will hear your sonic boom!



AlexCuse said:


> Going back and forth trying to find the magic amount of chain tension is kind of a pain though...
> ...38t gearing is nice but I have a feeling I will be looking at a smaller cog soon, or trying to fit a bigger chainring.


And then start all over playing with the tension, I assume. And possibly a longer chain? I have to wonder about the chain situation for SSers and fixed riders who frequently change around gearing. Do you guys also need to keep a stash of chains in various lengths, or is there usually enough play in your dropuouts to cover all that?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

First time back on the bike since last Monday. After work errands and a late week camping trip kept the bike parked. Cool 62f for the ride in and about 98f for the ride home. Windy ride home, too. Seven days off the bike had me dragging on my way home.

Getting a crown tomorrow, which will keep me off the bike then too. Don't have time to leave work and make it to dentist before dentist closes if I ride my bike. So far, this tooth thing has costed me three commuting days and almost four hundred dollars (even with insurance).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The hills were rough on my commute home - the hike Saturday, yard work Sunday, 2 days of cross bike standing-climbing and work craziness resulting in my having breakfast at lunchtime took their toll. On the plus side I beat this nasty thunder and lightning and rain home. Also, my MTB has it's new fork on and I'm hoping to pick it up tomorrow and try it out, although the trails may close with this rain.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

The eccentric hub actually gives more movement than I'd expect, but I used an old chain that was lying around. Once I settle on a gearing I like may splurge on a new one.

I like a fairly consistent wheel position on my main mtb so keep 2 chains. 1 sized for 32x20 slammed forward and 19 a little ways back, and another for 22 and 21 cogs. Starting to really love the 19 though, may see how far I can move it forward, halflink or otherwise.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another enjoyable ride in this AM. 40F at the house, so I decided to go with shorts this morning. Good choice. 

Last night as I was putting the bike away I noticed a bit of play in my rear wheel. Took it off and realized the hub was loose. Really loose. Hopefully this is not the start of a repeat of the early winter when I had to get a replacement due to the hub refusing to stay adjusted. Of course REI was super-cool about the whole thing, giving me a whole new wheel as the hub would have taken a week or more to get in from the outside. I adjusted it up and so far it seems like it is staying put, but I'll be checking it daily to keep an eye on it. May just run over and let the REI shop take a look at it this afternoon so that they are aware of the issue in case it continues. 

Last night was a nice commute. Ended up riding a completely different trail and a different direction - had to go meet the fam at a track meet my son was participating in. Elementary school track meets are funny things. Lots of lost shoes and walking...


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

First day this week on 2 wheels. No packable food in the house on Monday, and thunderstorms yesterday _right_ as I was putting on my shoes. I tried to ride anyways but the mrs. wasn't having it. Supposed to be stormy the rest of the week (today included) so I'm sure I'll regret it, but I couldn't stand just driving the whole week.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I endo`d today, arriving at work.
The last bit of my commute is a short cut through a gate in the fence followed by a fun little run down a road cut and a sharp right across a miniature wooden foot bridge. I went into the ST portion a bit hot, front tire started to wash out, and I couldn`t hold my line. Was faced with the otions of either plow into the hand rails on the bridge or go even wider and roll into a scraggly sage brush. The brush won, and sent me OTB. Good time was had by all 

Up until then I was doing very well. The usual west wind has been blowing from the E-NE this week, so instead of headwinds in and tailwinds home, I`ve been cooking on the way in and lagging on the home stretch. Still made the inbound today in under 11 minutes, where my "summer uniform" average is about 13. Doesn`t sound like much difference, but anything under 12 is pretty rare.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Sounds like the better choice on landing zones, hope you don't feel beat up later. That is a nice speedy trip in.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> bedwards1000 said:
> 
> 
> > 40K Miles!!! I don't think I've broken the 25K mark yet in my lifetime! It was pretty muggy here yesterday too.
> ...


Sounds like my kinda riding buddy. I'm yet to get a single frame over 25k miles, hoping the Ogre will fare better.

FWIW, I'm sitting on 55,400 miles since Jan 2009, 911 mi this month (It's been a good month until this week, when it started pouring with rain*). I didn't track it before that, but I was a pretty avid cyclist as a kid, and spent one summer riding up and down the beach (rifraf will know what I'm talking about - Joondalup to Scarborough beach & back, twice a day, with a swim and a run at the beach when I got there).

_* almost all of the miles there are done on my heavy ass 29er Rohloff Surly Ogre. The warranty is for 2 years, unlimited miles. Of course I'm going to ride as much as I can in that 2 years on the Rohloff!!_


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Sanath said:


> I'm sure I'll regret it


Was regretting hard on the ride home. The canal trail (~7 miles) was thick with bugs and it had gotten too dark to wear my sunglasses, the only eye cover I had on me. Rode with my head down as much as possible, still had several bugs in each eye and a few bites surrounding the eye. I don't know if it's possible to get bites on your eyeball but it sure felt like it last night. Got off the canal trail for the ~4 miles and what do I see in the distance, bearing down on my house? A storm, complete with a downpour and flashes of lightning. Raced the storm, won, was covered in enough sweat that I might as well have been rained on.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Yesterday and today, the mornings were nice and sunny, and I left home in shorts and T shirt. Coming back home the situation was a bit different: yesterday it rained enough to get me soaked, today the rain was so light that the ground was dry under even the smallest trees.

I knew there was a high probability of rain in the afternoons but decided that it didn't matter as I'd be on the way home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> On the plus side I beat this nasty thunder and lightning and rain home.





rodar y rodar said:


> I endo`d today, arriving at work. Good time was had by all  Still made the inbound today in under 11 minutes, where my "summer uniform" average is about 13. Doesn`t sound like much difference, but anything under 12 is pretty rare.





Sanath said:


> Raced the storm, won, was covered in enough sweat that I might as well have been rained on.





perttime said:


> Yesterday ... it rained enough to get me soaked, today the rain was so light that the ground was dry under even the smallest trees.


Surviving mishaps relatively unscathed, and not endo-ing up late, avoiding rain and/or lightning or not, all is well. Sometimes you beat the rain, sometimes it beats on us.

BrianMc


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Excellent ride in this morning. 43F and sunny after light rain most of the night. 

Last night I tacked on 11.5 miles to my total commute. Was an awesome evening for a ride. Just killed it. Average speed of 15 mph. Not too shabby. Can't wait for the ride home tonight. Looks to be a glorious day out there. Spring might have finally made it to the greatland for reals.


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## FlakoGT (Oct 1, 2012)

Great commute today, 49 Degrees. Lots of people out Golfing today thru the South Platte River Trail.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

It was a learning exp for me today. Got my first real arse chewing from a rather attractive jeeper who was unhappy that she had to slow down across a bridge. She for a wave and kiss blown for her troubles.

Stopped in to the local truck stop to get mud washed off the side walls and found I had broken a rear spoke at some point. Had an onlooker watching the extraction process, likely wondering what I was up to. Glad it didn't give me further problems.

Rain gear is a double edged blade. I think I had more water inside from my sweat than I had on the outside from the small amount of rain this morning.

That I will forever have a head wind going home.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ugh. Something about this 4 way stop near my house makes drivers stupid. They pass nice and wide but too close to the stop to finish the pass (since I happen to actually be moving), but since they don't want to be in the opposite lane at the sign they just cut back over and run me sort of off the road. Was it too much to ask to just wait the five seconds?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Yes! Yes it is! You should know by now that you have no right to be on THEIR road on YOUR stupid little bicycle!:incazzato: Hang your head in shame!:nono:

:lol:


Had to swap back from my leather saddle to my WTB Speed V, since the quick release for my saddlebag won't fit past the springs. Might take this opportunity to try a different leather saddle. Might not be a bad thing, but now I gotta go through the whole adjust the saddle process all over again.:madman:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sanath said:


> Ugh. Something about this 4 way stop near my house makes drivers stupid. They pass nice and wide but too close to the stop to finish the pass (since I happen to actually be moving), but since they don't want to be in the opposite lane at the sign they just cut back over and run me sort of off the road. Was it too much to ask to just wait the five seconds?


Not sure if I'm picturing it right, but it sounds like you may need to "take the lane", or as I prefer, "hog the lane" to block out the cars from making bad decisions. I have to do this at the roundabout or else they get halfway through and realize "now what??". I also have to do this at an intersection where I'm going forward and my lane is marked with both straight and right turn arrows. I used to try to let cars by on my right to turn up toward the highway, but one too many decided it was an invitation to drag race by on my right. Now I stop or roll dead center. There is still room for right-turners if they want to use the shoulder, but if they want to go forward like me, they have to wait. There is also a straight-only arrow lane to my left.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Yes. Hog the lane. I have a T intersection 3-way at the top of a hill 0.7 miles from home. Blind hill. In Indiana, it is a reckless driving charge to pass and not complete it before 100' of an intersection, also one for passing up a blind hill. So I take the lane to force them to think about passing in the left 'lane' (no centerline) when it would feel so wrong to the average motorist. I get out of the saddle and make it obvious I am working hard. I put my hand out at 45 degree down angle fingers splayed in a "don't pass" if I see oncoming traffic if I have someone threatening to pass me. I have left a lady stuck in the left lane facing a car stopped across the intersection when she ignored that signal. Adrenaline helps acceleration I find. I seem to have educated most local drivers. Part of that is being highly visible. Visiting dolts are still possible. So I also have an escape and watch to see I need to use it. I am now ready to take the lawn and pass the SOB's on the right. Their right mirror may get adjusted. 

BrianMc


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Saw this at the LBS and had to get it because I am an aggressive rider when needed. Normally I get no noticible flak, tho yesterday I got an earfull from a Jeeper.









Last night I was as happy as a kid in a candy store. I had a tailwind on my way home!!! Easiest ride I have had in a while, even the sections of rolling hills I normally granny gear through. I was amazed at how happy I was about it too. It was odd to find myelf in a windless pocket when I matched speeds.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I used to try to let cars by on my right to turn up toward the highway, but one too many decided it was an invitation to drag race by on my right. Now I stop or roll dead center.


Oh, wow. I almost always move over like that to let right turners get around when I stop at a light with the right lane being straight-or-turn. Glad my local drivers haven`t started abusing the priveledge!

I still think roundabouts suck for driving through, but they`re kinda fun to ride.



MaddCelt said:


> I had a tailwind on my way home!!! Easiest ride I have had in a while, even the sections of rolling hills I normally granny gear through. I was amazed at how happy I was about it too.


There`s something to be said for riding with a tailwind


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

0 C and raining......starting to get cold again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was one of those: rain coat is wetter on the inside than the outside commutes for me too. But I wanted the rain coat because we are supposed to get steady rain with falling temps throughout the day.

I let cars to my right to make right turns too. Usually it's in places where if they started to drag they would be in somebody's yard so it works out.

Hunter, those are some crazy miles. (I had typed a reply before but I must have hit preview but not submit, whatever I said was probably profound)

I accomplished another amazing bicycling first for me.:skep: 7 bikes in 7 days..

BTW, I'm really glad it's Friday - looking forward to the long weekend. The hills seemed a little extra steep this morning.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> Not sure if I'm picturing it right, but it sounds like you may need to "take the lane", or as I prefer, "hog the lane" to block out the cars from making bad decisions. I have to do this at the roundabout or else they get halfway through and realize "now what??". I also have to do this at an intersection where I'm going forward and my lane is marked with both straight and right turn arrows. I used to try to let cars by on my right to turn up toward the highway, but one too many decided it was an invitation to drag race by on my right. Now I stop or roll dead center. There is still room for right-turners if they want to use the shoulder, but if they want to go forward like me, they have to wait. There is also a straight-only arrow lane to my left.


I normally ride about 1/4 to 1/3 into the lane on the right side. It's enough to push people over so that just about everyone passes safely with more than enough room, but it doesn't help them figure out how to pass while approaching the stop. I guess next time I'll go for the full positional block + hand-waving if I see them trying to overtake. Many drivers do actually wait, and I try to show appreciation with a wave and a "thank you!" but I'm never sure how many people can hear, or can hear just enough to hear "____ you!" and fill in the blank with the wrong word.

Today's ride was wet. Light rain/heavy fog the whole way, with some extra distance at the start to swing by the library and drop off returns. Feet stayed mostly dryish until I went through the tall grass behind my office.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

Not so great. This guy merged behind me real close in a tundra P/U and i gave him the WTF look and guys like "get out of the way or ill just run you over". That was it i just went off on the guy. every other word was a cus word. Then the guys like dude we both merged into the same lane oat the same time. Then he apologizes and im like OK man but just be more careful OK. This came one day after i damn near hit some kids who ran in front of me, one of which took a swing at me. i left the scene saying to myself "dude youve gotta ****ing CHILL or your going to get into a bad situation. IDK ive been doing some sole searching since yesterday..glad im on vaca next week. Just trying not to let my behavior in the situation get me down.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another good ride in this AM. Fast and fairly warm. Well, relatively speaking, anyway. 41F. The sun is shining and it looks to be another beautiful day in Anchortown.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> No no, not "wrong" by any means....maybe antiquated is the word I would use ;-) . Next time you are up for a new bike, think about moving up a size, and look at some riser bars. With a more upright seating position you will have less weight on your bars, easing pressure on your hands, opening your heartspace, giving your lungs a better chance to expand, your core muscles less of a crunch, and by and large making technical riding easier, and lower back pain will ease...if you have any.


I tried. I felt like I was riding a bike that was much too small for me so I kept nudging the saddle up until if felt right again. It's just about where it was. I did try a technical trail with it lower. It didn't seem to help much, just felt like I was sitting on the ground. Thanks for the tip. I may try again. I'm determined to learn how to bunnyhop which would require a lower saddle for some maneuvering room but that seems impossible to me now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy here today too. I had to go to a First Aid class, but decided it was bikeable, especially since a coworker going by truck offered to give me a lift back to the office afterwards. It was about 10 miles, but a lot more uphill than my usual commute in. I made it up on the cross bike, but it wasn’t easy, especially with the gusty winds and driving rain. 

The DAD fender blew apart on the bumpy downhill section of my dirt road, but luckily I was able to put it back together. Over time, they develop a weak spot where 2 plastic pieces of the quick release join. I’ll have to see if the part is available from SKS. At the training place there was a spot in the entryway I could park it; this was nice since it was raining and my lock was sitting at the rack at my regular office. I had dry clothes to change into, but did not bring spare shoes, and just went sockfooted for the class.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I normally ride about 1/4 to 1/3 into the lane on the right side. I guess next time I'll go for the full positional block + hand-waving if I see them trying to overtake.


On residential roads I ride so there is more than enough room to pass a stopped car even if someone is getting out of it....

During rush hour people will still try to pass me.....and yes like you they can't get back into the right lane before the stop sign....

I will often speed up as or before the begin to pass so that it is really clear they will not have enough time to get around me properly...

Since I ride the same route alot....this eventually sinks in and most people just wait the extra 1 or two seconds it takes them to get it right.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I didn't have to commute but I had a pretty good ride today. Took some pics to share
















These were taken at the top of eureka peak in yucca valley. 3k climb in 6 or 7 miles....and it hurt. The way down took about 5 minutes if that and it was a blur. The bike rode wonderfully too. 
sent by carrier pigeon


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fatback Friday was a warm sunny success!!! Shorts, Tshirt, no cap or wool socks needed! Love these fun days!


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## citiznkain (Jun 11, 2012)

It was nice, a little cold, but nice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> On residential roads I ride so there is more than enough room to pass a stopped car even if someone is getting out of it....


I do the same on the only part of my route that has parallel parking, about 6 blocks of downtown Main Street.

Drivers sometimes seem annoyed by this, even though speeds there are quite low, but about half the time someone does open a door into traffic. When that happens I'm always hoping some other motorist will have an "aha!" moment and realize why I am not giving them enough room to pass.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

I did learn that getting caught on fresh laid blacktop is NOT a fun experience. Was taking the lane and when I came around the city truck I was smack bab in the middle of a few hundred feet of the stuff. Took about a half mile for the tack to go away.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice looking path citiznkain.

Tonight's commute was soggy, cold and that wind can blow me if you know what I mean. I could have used a long sleeved layer under my rain coat.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

The ride in was 70ish and muggy--the ride home was 47 and rainy. All I had was my wind vest; I bet on it not raining, and lost. My long finger gloves, shoe covers, and sleeves (yikes!) were all sitting on the table at home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My last in early day, covering for my boss`s very extended Memorial Day weekend. It`s really windy again- the wind is back to it`s normal direction though, so it doesn`t feel weird.

Nice pictures Krypto, but it looks ungodly hot! I can`t believe people go out for JRA time down there without at least waiting for the sun to go down. Crazy.



wschruba said:


> All I had was my wind vest; I bet on it not raining, and lost. My long finger gloves, shoe covers, and sleeves (yikes!) were all sitting on the table at home.


Doh!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

The flatlanders are now arriving in droves, one cut me off this morning due to her inability to look both ways. She was turning left put of the Walmart lot and I was headed straight, she just looks right, but not left and pulls out in front of me. Lock up the discs and stop short. She gets the "WTF!" look from me and barely acknowledges that I nearly added a divot to her door. Good fun. I'll be dodging old folks and tourists for the rest of the summer, better get used to it. It what I get for living in a tourist mountain town.

No commutes for 4 days, going on mini-vacation in Phoenix for Comicon and time away. Going to be fun.


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## nyxcracer (May 6, 2011)

First day I've ridden to work in about 2 years since moving to the boonies....34 mile round trip on the 'cross bike.
Ride in was great, rain free and warm-only downer was the a**hole driver that could'nt wait for me to make a lh turn and passed meON THE LEFT!
Wasn't that close but really?
I know my road riding skills are rusty but I have lights, signal a left and move to the center line and this cat blows past me.......
Anyway, enough of that-I felt great all day leaving the car at home and getting a few miles in Unfortunately the temps dropped about 20 deg and rain moved in later, it was a cold wet ride home-nothing a couple good IPA's didn't fix tho


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Very warm tonight on the way in, upper 80's. New house is way too close to work, 2.7miles. However, I have some longer loops to take to work. loving the warm weather but not looking forward to the triple digits coming soon. 

Mark


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

It was a great commute into work.

It was a crisp morning with plenty of sun and a low breeze. I decided to take it easy and left 2 hours early. I low geared up the hills and coasted down the other side. Traffic was minimal for at least half of the ride since I am a country commuter and the other half mostly industrial that are not working weekends. Even if there were less than pleasant people on the road, I put that out of my mind - (using hsi best Kevin Flynn impression) it's cycle-zen thing man, the secret to stress free commutes.

We have a flea market on my route that at that time of morning, they do not charge for parking (tho I have yet to find out if they would charge me for my bike later in the day) and took a browse of the bikes. I think I found one I am going to pick up for the gf for $40ish.









It's my early day, with only 5 hours to get through and I am back out of the road to who knows where to enjoy a beautiful day.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute Friday. 60f in to work and about 90f or so home. Miserable commuting month for me. With being sick, tooth issues, camping trip, and end of school activities at kids' school, I've only commuted to work six days so far this month, after 19 in April. Engagements after work, when paired too closely to quitting time, leave me with no choice but to take the Jeep to cut out the additional time necessary for bike commuting. Oh well, next month should be better, though very, very hot.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

OK, it's not quite that bad, but snow on Memorial Day is a little unusual. Power just came back on!


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

*Commute/Killer find/where there is a bike, there is a way*

Since i was off and the day was looking good, I decided to hit the flea market for cheap produce. For $8 I got pounds of tomatoes, huge cucumbers, sweet peppers celery and carrots. A goodly amount of weight but my Office Depot box rig could handle it.

Then I saw this!









What is that you ask? I wondered the same thing.

I then asked the guy what it was and tis is what he showed me!









How much says I and for $3 I was like this









Was an interesting and VERY relaxed 8 mile pace back home.

And I am loaded with healthy foods and a new project to make work on my Topeak rack.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ I am likely 10-12 mph when grocery laden on the errand bike, but it is such music for the soul. Burning off the fat while bringing home the bacon. 

Nice box, good price, BTW.

Feel for the poor lilacs, Mtbxplorer. 

BrianMc


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

It was a cool and humid trip in today. Realized, as I got to the bus stop that I forgot my wallet at work with my bus pass and didn't skip a beat at the thought of riding in. I made it to my drop off bus stop at the same time I do on the bus. So a 15 min difference.

Looking forward to the Rt 25 Yard ( https://www.facebook.com/U.S.25YARDSALE ) in two weeks. My route runs through some good picking grounds. Hope to find some good bikes/bike gear and do not have to find parking to search the tables.

Only dread, the droves of humanity that I will have to deal with doing the same thing but in cars.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Back in the saddle this morning. Last week was the annual field trip I help lead over to the redwoods...nothing like a week of camping with 80 sophomores. Epic country.

Apparently I missed the biggest earthquake in California since 2008, right in my back yard. We never get them like that way up here. Pretty crazy stuff. Rodar, did you feel that? No drama at the commuterboy household... but lots of people closer to the epicenter had some destruction of interior items, etc.

This was my week. No bikes allowed on any of these trails. It's always torture:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Came across a guy working on his bike this morning, slowed and asked him if he needed help. He said: "Well, it feels like my bike just shifted and maybe the chain came off". I rolled over and shined my light (it was still dark out) onto his drivetrain. Chain was OK, drivetrain looked fine. I asked him to flip the bike upside down so that we could get a better look at the drivetrain, and when I asked him to spin the pedals the problem was obvious: that ratchet on his rear hub was not engaging and the cassette was freewheeling in both directions. I pointed this out to him and he kept insisting that it was just the chain slipping...it took him a minute to accept the obvious. He had a cellphone and said he could call for a ride, but the bummer was that it was raining lightly and there was no cover, so he was going to have to stand in the rain waiting to get picked up. My ride, on the other hand, went off without incident


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I've always wondered if you could zip-tie the cassette to a bunch of spokes to make a geared fixie. I have wondered that because I have a ratchet that sometimes misses a few teeth when it is below freezing and I carry zip ties.

MaddCelt, Nice find on the collapsible storage.

No snow or earthquakes here. CB, it must have been torture because those trails look prime for some riding.


Today's commute in was just perfect. Crisp clear morning air, I got to pass a mile long stretch of stopped traffic, the forecast is for 72 & Sunny for the ride home, perfect I tell ya.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I've always wondered if you could zip-tie the cassette to a bunch of spokes to make a geared fixie.


I have had a simialr thing happen...

My hub totally locked up (fixie) cause the sprags jammed into the hub (my fault)...

Any way I had to ride out the trail for about 20 km....very difficult on the trail, cause you have to rotate the pedals at exactly the right speed or you will fold up your derailer into the cassette if you brake at all....

So I ended up pedaling with some force even while braking...

On the road it would work a lot better...

You should still be able to shift as well...maybe not the last gear but most of them...

I have spiders so I could zip tie the spider to the spokes and still have all the gears.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback on that one. I hadn't had to think of the derailleur issues. It sounds like the zip ties were strong enough for emergency riding.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great commute today after a long weekend of packing up my house, moving it all to a storage unit, and then trying to determine where we will live for two weeks while waiting to close on our house. Took a gamble that we'd be closed by the first of June so put in our 30 day notice with the landlord, and lost. Oh well. Could be worse. Don't tell the wife that, though. Jeez... Think we'll end up camping in Eagle River, which will bump my standard daily commute from 4.5 miles one way to 16.8 miles one way. I have a feeling that the first few days would be quite painful! I might have to exercise the remote work option...

Anyway - Not sure what the temps were this AM. Just know I was in shorts and a short-sleeved jersey. A bit chilly in the shade, but lovely in the sun.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Great commute today after a long weekend of packing up my house, moving it all to a storage unit, and then trying to determine where we will live for two weeks while waiting to close on our house. Took a gamble that we'd be closed by the first of June so put in our 30 day notice with the landlord, and lost. Oh well. Could be worse. Don't tell the wife that, though. Jeez... Think we'll end up camping in Eagle River, which will bump my standard daily commute from 4.5 miles one way to 16.8 miles one way. I have a feeling that the first few days would be quite painful! I might have to exercise the remote work option...


Ugh, I know that situation. Lease expiring, closing dragging on _forever_ because of some stupid fencing agreement. Fortunately the kid wasn't in school yet and the wife wasn't working, so I could ship them back to her mother's house to live there for a month or so. I got to crash on a stack of futon pads in the corner of a friend's apartment. If you can work remotely, maybe go stay with family/friends?

Nothing to actually contribute. A series of failures led to me driving in this morning. The Chain-L experiment hasn't been going great. Last application lasted 2 weeks before it got kinda noisy, though it was almost all dry up until the last day or two. Seemed a little quieter on the stand when it had dried out again but I didn't want to listen to it start making noise 2 miles out, so it got another acetone bath this weekend, and I didn't even get to re-lubing. That's 2 applications lasting a total of no more than 400 miles between them both. Far short of the 1000 miles/application promised on the bottle.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice crisp clear morning here too, although I would have enjoyed it more had I grabber a warmer pair of gloves. The cold, numbness and pain was creeping up from my fingers to my wristbones, making use of the controls difficult. By mile 9 it was a little better, but that was too long. It was a utility work kind of morning, with “one lane ahead” for treework by the powerlines, where the flagger gave me special dispensation to go through before the cars, and then a vac truck downtown sucking out the stormdrain. 

I spotted the woman bikecommuter going the other way, but she is quite serious and either doesn’t see me or doesn’t like to wave, I’m not sure which. 

At work a tandem was parked today! Probably Doug and co-worker Billy. Any stoker has to have some trust, but Billy is visually impaired, so doubly so.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Dude is riding to work and he's blind!? Wow! Hey, everyone else... What's your excuse?? :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Dude's got a job to ride to!  The average unemployment for visually impaired people is 70%. So doubly impressive.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:drumroll:


CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Dude is riding to work and he's blind!? Wow! Hey, everyone else... What's your excuse?? :lol:


Good point!:drumroll:


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> I have had a simialr thing happen...
> 
> My hub totally locked up (fixie) cause the sprags jammed into the hub (my fault)...
> 
> ...





bedwards1000 said:


> Thanks for the feedback on that one. I hadn't had to think of the derailleur issues. It sounds like the zip ties were strong enough for emergency riding.


That's the on-the-road fix for a busted freehub while touring - to get yourself out of trouble, zip tie the spokes to the largest cog in as many places as possible, and ride the bike as a fixed gear bike. As mentioned, you have to manage the brake very well to keep the pedals and cassette spinning at the right speed, and generally speaking you have to soft pedal as well as the spokes and zip ties aren't nearly as strong as a freehub. Most times the freehub just needs cleaning and regreasing, but occasionally it really does bite the dust.

Back in the day you used to be able to remove a bunch of links from the chain and run the bike as a singlespeed, however newer cassettes have shifting ramps, so nowadays the chains have a tendency to climb up the cassette until they're in the largest sprocket. If the chain is too short, it will bind and/or snap if you do this.



BrianMc said:


> ^^ Dude's got a job to ride to!  The average unemployment for visually impaired people is 70%. So doubly impressive.


2 years ago and last year, there was a visually impaired stoker who would ride on a tandem on bike to work day. I remember his coworkers did all they could to ensure their team did morale events, activities, etc. that were friendly to the visually impaired. It left such a strong impression on me that, combined with my regular masseuse being visually impaired, I'm now the special needs/accessibility advocate for my current team.

I work with a bunch of smart people, IQ's well north of 130 on average, but this guy... this guy was astounding. One of the few true geniuses that I ever was privileged to meet. I don't know what happened to him though, I didn't see him at the last bike to work day, and I don't think he works with the company anymore.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

hunter006 said:


> Back in the day you used to be able to remove a bunch of links from the chain and run the bike as a singlespeed, however newer cassettes have shifting ramps, so nowadays the chains have a tendency to climb up the cassette until they're in the largest sprocket. If the chain is too short, it will bind and/or snap if you do this.


I got lucky I guess? 
Rode it this way for about 6 miles after a derailleur hanger explosion. I got the chain to an approximate length, and manually shifted it up until it found a cog that made it nice and tight...hard to shift up onto. Chainline was happy and it didn't give me any issues.


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

You only have to be lucky enough - but there you have it - can be done, with a little luck involved


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB is still here!?! I didn`t remember hearing the usual "rub it in" countdown leading up to your annual 208 day weekend, but had been so long without seeing your report that I thought you must have forgotten! I heard something about an earthquake, but didn`t feel it or pay much attention to the news. Didn`t know there had been any damage.

Bedward, do you winterze your freehub with cold friendly lube?
Winterizing Your Freehub


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Hit the road after work and about two miles in low blood sugar set in. Not a fun experience to say the least. Depleted my gel stores and after the world was right again I took it easy the rest of the way.

Today I and heading to the store to stock back upon my test strips and other diabetic supplies.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bedward, do you winterze your freehub with cold friendly lube?
> Winterizing Your Freehub


Nope. I can't say that I've ever even serviced one. I think I have one that is suspect that I can experiment on.

I had some opposite commutes last night and this morning.

MaddCelt, sorry about the bloodsugar issue. I only seem to get those if I eat crap (AKA, cookies or a doughnut) about 1-1.5 hours before my ride home. If I eat nothing I'm fine, if I eat something and start the ride I'm fine but if I spike my bloodsugar before the ride I get the weird dizzy spell about 3-5 miles in and then it clears up.

Last night, part of the work to home time trial series: The weather was beautiful and I made it home with an average speed of 22.5mph for 12 miles.

This morning: Rainy drizzle, I took a lazy ride to work with an average speed of somewhere around 14mph. I was both taking it easy after my race-pace commute and I didn't want to sweat up the inside of my rain gear.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Since commuting to work isn't an option lately, I commute other places...like to my bike rides. Today I rode to Gorham on rail trail along the Androscoggin river, crossed over on the trestle, had a nice little ride at Moose Brook, then up and over on old logging roads back to Berlin. The increased 4 wheeler traffic on the logging roads has been disastrous. I've been riding this route for years, and it had its wet sections, but they have made it impassable. Not really sure what to do. It is partly the awfully planned ground work done by the snowmobile club, and partly 4 wheelers just doing their thing. Here is a pic from the trestle high above the Andro, with the Northern Presidentials showing fresh snow from Memorial Day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB is still here!?! I didn`t remember hearing the usual "rub it in" countdown leading up to your annual 208 day weekend, but had been so long without seeing your report that I thought you must have forgotten! I heard something about an earthquake, but didn`t feel it or pay much attention to the news. Didn`t know there had been any damage.
> 
> Bedward, do you winterze your freehub with cold friendly lube?
> Winterizing Your Freehub


I was over in the redwoods for a week with a school field trip. This thread is flying lately! I guess my grand return got swallowed up on the last page. I missed the earthquake, but the fam sure felt it. Apparently the epicenter was somewhere just beneath my basement... 5.7. That's pretty hefty! Biggest one in CA since 2008. There was something like 157 earthquakes in the Canyon Dam area in a 2 day period or something... everyone is saying the Almanor spillway is safe, and it's not related to Lassen blowing its top anytime soon, but the paranoia and conspiracy theories are going crazy over here.

The countdown is at 7, counting today. And it's a 72 day weekend. Not nearly long enough.

Winterizing your freehub with cold friendly lube? Ain't nobody got time for that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...Winterizing your freehub with cold friendly lube? Ain't nobody got time for that.


Sweet Brown couldn't have said it better herself.

Schott; Nice looking rail trail. Does it run all the way from Berlin to Gorham? And does it run south along the Androscoggin from there at all? Nice country up there, we have kayaked the Andro from Gilead down and would like to do some in NH but need to get a grip on when it is runnable.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A glorious, glorious ride in this morning. 60 degrees. Sunny. Calm. What could be better? Oh, I know. Feeling strong and fast. That's what makes it better. I love days that start out like this one has. A good ride always makes everything better. Heck, the few creaks and groans I'm hearing didn't even bother me today. Though I suppose I better get to the bottom of them to save them from becoming a major expense later. Most likely a combination of the eggbeaters getting a bit loose again and the cleats being about trashed out. Hopefully nothing more serious than that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cool idea zip-tieing the cassette spider to the spokes. I had not thought of that...and I had zip-ties in my pannier too...I could have helped the guy out.

Oh well, I did not see him this morning. Of course it was raining and I did not see many people 

I did a 100 mile charity road ride on Monday, about 7000 feet of climbing. My legs are still feeling the after effects today, but they feel better than they did yesterday. Weather is supposed to improve as the week goes on, so tomorrow's commute should be sweet!


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Yup, Berlin to Gorham, then it turns over the river and into the Presidential Rail Trail, running out to Jefferson quite easily. The Andro above Gilead has quite a few damn dam portages through Berlin/Gorham, but from Errol down is pretty awesome. The releases are posted online somewhere, but when Umbagog isn't too low it is a regular schedule.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

A good ride in and back. I don't have a computer on the bike, but @14 miles in 45 min to work, so figure averaged @17~18 mph on the way in and right on 14 mph on the way home. Not to bad I think for a 30# 29er with big tires (29x2.30) plus 7-8# saddlebag, at night.

Been seeing some decent older road bikes on Ebay, almost bid on one or two, but they aren't what I need but are kinda what I want.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I`m trying to take notes, Schott, but not sure if that`s all in English! Mmm.. converted tressle?


CommuterBoy said:


> There was something like 157 earthquakes in the Canyon Dam area in a 2 day period or something... everyone is saying the Almanor spillway is safe, and it's not related to Lassen blowing its top anytime soon, but the paranoia and conspiracy theories are going crazy over here.
> 
> Ain't nobody got time for that.


Yeah, I caught that bit about the redwoods. Sorry you had to be shackled to a bunch of HS kids for the occasion!

Lassen is comming up on it`s centenial. Wouldn`t want to blow the streak.

No time? Not everybody has a jeep :lol:



woodway said:


> Cool idea zip-tieing the cassette spider to the spokes. I had not thought of that...and I had zip-ties in my pannier too...I could have helped the guy out.


I dunno... if you had that much trouble just trying to convince him that his freehub was spinning, you`d have probably been late for work before you convinced him to let you tie his cassette to the spokes.

Any good pics from the century?



blockphi said:


> A glorious, glorious ride in this morning. 60 degrees. Sunny. Calm.


Whoohoo! Heatwave in Anchorage!


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Yeah, here in the northeast, we prefer the olde English. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trestle it is the old railroad trestle. The trains went across the top over the Androscoggin river and route 16. There is a walkers level underneath, here's a pic from trail work day. It leads to an island owned by the power company, who just gave us permission to cut a trail. Dubbed "Power Island".


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Naugh that`s a seriously coole trestle!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I figured Umbagog was one of the words that didn't translate. "Shallow Lake" by the way. Here's one of the trestles on our local rail trail with me jumping off of it. It's a rush.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Do your tyres get stuck betwixt the grates?


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## korbs (Oct 19, 2009)

Amazing! 

Well, its not exactly MY commute. I am watching over a friends house and cats while they are away. Ive been able to link up about 3 or 5 different parks depending on how much time and daylight I have. Lots of dirt trails and single track, a few fire roads and raised platform paths. 

My usual commute is through busy some suburbs of boston, where only the more quiet roads have bike lanes or shoulders. It sucks! I honestly ride around 3 days a week and drive the rest. By the time I get to riding my MTB or roadie, my legs only have enough for a recovery ride pace. This month long stint in a different town will be the end of me. I get to ride though some beautiful preserves and parks. Its amazing, only stopping to cross those awful pot-hole-filled roads, virtually stress free! 

This is what commuting should be like!

thanks for letting me share


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Rode the cross bike in again today. Its starting to feel weird, but I'm hoping to do a century on it in a couple weeks and want to get used to riding it again. Legs felt a bit dead when I started this morning (long ride on monday) but didn't seem any slower (despite intentionally riding slowly on all the flats/downhills because the roads were really wet).

One of these years maybe I'll suck it up and try to do the long rides on the fixed gear bike. Between the 2" tires and the steel frame, it is a hell of a lot more comfortable!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute in. Nearly 70 degrees and basically light now (at 5:15 a.m.). 

Threw my chain three times on commute home though. The first two times I didn't have time to put on gloves so I got my hands pretty greasy. When I leave work, I basically have to fly the first two miles to the turn off to the bike path. Being in the construction field, I work with lots of immature guys with big 4x4 trucks. They like to blow their air horns at me, smoke me out, etc. I can usually make the bike path ahead of all of them cruising 16-18 mph. Cause I threw my chain just out of the gate today, I had to put it on bare handed in order to make the turn off for the path ahead of everyone. No time to fight my sweaty hands into gloves. In fact, I lost the chain twice before the turn off. Still beat most of the guys to the bike path.

Third time I dropped the chain, I was able to put on gloves and take my time. Nevertheless, good commute home and I immediately fixed the chain issue. About 100 degrees for ride home. Getting hot.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No pics from the century ride rodar, it was raining pretty much the whole ride, so there was not a lot of motivation to get the camera out.

Sanath, are you wiping your chain down after the rain rides? One thing about Chain-L, it's sticky so grunge will stick to it and you have to clean it off or your drivetrain will get crunchy. I've gone 1000 miles between lubes in the summer. In the winter I typically get 300-400 miles between lubes.

I ran into the guy who blew up his freehub the other day - he had gotten his bike fixed. He's a "bike to work month" guy, so after Friday he said he won't be riding his bike much anymore. I kind of wonder why he even bothered to fix the hub?


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

For the next year!!! Lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Stumbled across this page today/yesterday, kinda caught my interest.
Wholesale Cycling Equipment - Bicycle Accessories
The gloves and helmets didn't really care about, but the jersey and shorts/tights combos for that price might just be .....something?!

Upon further research, the above link isn't anything special. Cycling Jerseys,Cycle Clothing,cycling clothes - Factory quotation, Quality Ensured|Customized over 30, 7 Days Arrived has other gear with prices just as good, and there are many others out there as well. My only excuse is never have seen decent prices for shorts, bibs, and jerseys. The idea that you can buy cycling specific gear without needing a second mortgage got me excited.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Today I got attacked by a big fat crow. I'm not sure if he was eating some roadkill and thought I was going to take it, or what....but he was pissed. Followed me for a quarter mile doing that nasty cackle/honking thing that crows do, right in my ear. I can't get it out of my head.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Weird, I thought crows and Ogres got along?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Crows have tremendous memories. It might have had a run in with another cyclist or your doppelgänger! 

BrianMc


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Crows have tremendous memories. It might have had a run in with another cyclist or your doppelgänger!
> 
> BrianMc


And they can tell others about you and what you look like. Going to need a mask...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bring it on


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride. No chain issues. A cool 70 for the ride in and a miserable 100 for the ride home. Not sure yet if I'm going to survive the 113-118 degree heat of June, July, and August. You'll never really see, unless Vegas is in a record heat wave, 114-118 on the national forecasts, as temps are taken "officially" from mid-Valley, which is usually about five degrees cooler than the area where I work and start my peddle home.

If we have a record heatwave, like we did in 2005 for a few days, temps at my work will easily be in the 120s. I might have to drive in that day if this should happen again. Nearly 1000 commuter miles since December and twenty pounds down. So this is really paying off and I'm determined not to let summer derail it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Crazy hot! Hang in there, but live to ride another day when needed. Impressive mileage gain and poundage loss!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Today I got attacked by a big fat crow. I'm not sure if he was eating some roadkill and thought I was going to take it, or what....but he was pissed. Followed me for a quarter mile doing that nasty cackle/honking thing that crows do, right in my ear. I can't get it out of my head.


I told this story to my birder friend at work. All she said was, is that the same guy who said the hummingbird sampled his urine mid-stream when he stopped for a nature break? 
Ummm, no, that was another guy. I don't know why my second hand stories are so suspect - they seem perfectly believable to me.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Good ride. No chain issues. A cool 70 for the ride in and a miserable 100 for the ride home. Not sure yet if I'm going to survive the 113-118 degree heat of June, July, and August. You'll never really see, unless Vegas is in a record heat wave, 114-118 on the national forecasts, as temps are taken "officially" from mid-Valley, which is usually about five degrees cooler than the area where I work and start my peddle home.
> 
> If we have a record heatwave, like we did in 2005 for a few days, temps at my work will easily be in the 120s. I might have to drive in that day if this should happen again. Nearly 1000 commuter miles since December and twenty pounds down. So this is really paying off and I'm determined not to let summer derail it.


It got close to 100 today for me down in 29 palms. Pretty miserable but it does help with weight loss.....

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had OT this morning, didn`t get out until 11 AM. Boy, it was hot! I hooked up the swamp cooler a few weeks ago, used it maybe two days, and then things cooled down again, and I was back to wearing a light jacket most times I rode anywhere. Even had a snow flurry last week. Warming back up now- no jacket for my ride in tonight, and no wind to speak of, just a pleasant (st)roll in the moonlight. The forecast calls for upper 80s over the weekend, breaking into the 90s next week. Will try to work in a mini tour somewhere.

Vegas, Krypto, et al, I feel for you. I don`t know how you guys manage.

Awesome `clava, CommuterBoy! I bet your students love it too- have any of them asked to borrow it yet? :lol:
Maybe you can talk your owl into running crow patrol on the commute route.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

11 miles of pouring rain!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

First ride with the second pair of shoes, Shimano M088 in 50 wide. Better, still some numbness in the bottom of the foot but I've got enough room to wiggle my toes a bit to counteract that. Slight pain in the right knee seems to be caused by habit from riding on flats with slippery shoes, a little cleat adjustment should fix it. Had to walk a mile in them before the ride and they worked _way_ better for that, so that's another plus.

Found a snapping turtle trying to cross a busy road, carried it across, got a sullen glare in return.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lovely ride in the upper 60’sF, but I’m not as thrilled about 80 for the ride home up the hill. I know some of you would love a commute that “cool”. Main street has been repaved, it’s nice not to have to avoid those manholes that were sticking up 3”, or bump over the bumpy base. They are partly done with striping, so this morning the “right turn only” lane only said “ONLY”; wouldn’t it be fun to add a bike silhouette next to it and watch the fur fly over the new “bikes only” lane?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

43 this morning. Wishing for more than the jersey and arm warmers for a while there. 
Can't imagine facing triple digits this early in the summer. 

Got chased by that bird again. I'm guessing it's nesting and there's now babies to defend or something... so now suddenly I'm a threat. There is a tree right there. The thing has probably been sitting on it's nest watching me go by for weeks, but now I'm freaking it out it has chicks. Too bad it can't understand that I didn't even know it exitsted last week, and now I WANT to kill it's babies because it's being so annoying :lol: 
It's kind of like my job... the kids are no problem, it's the parents that will drive you nuts!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Umm, don't you have a go-pro that even makes toast or something? We need some documentation of these bird attacks. If you can get some footage of your in your Nacho Libre costume that would be a bonus. 

I'm really enjoying the warm weather and road biking. I did a nice 21 miler last night on the way home in 85 degree temps. The scents of lilac, honeysuckle & cow manure all playing their part. This morning I was gong to take it easy but there was a school bus that was oligopoly following behind me for about 1/2 mile @20mph but I knew if he got ahead of me before the hill I would be waiting for 5 stops where I could have a fast mile long descent...so I pushed up to about 30 for a while. I'll take it easy on the hot trip home, promise.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> They are partly done with striping, so this morning the "right turn only" lane only said "ONLY"; wouldn't it be fun to add a bike silhouette next to it and watch the fur fly over the new "bikes only" lane?


Do I hear a Double Dog Dare in the making?



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Umm, don't you have a go-pro that even makes toast or something? We need some documentation of these bird attacks. If you can get some footage of your in your Nacho Libre costume that would be a bonus.
> 
> I'm really enjoying the warm weather and road biking. I did a nice 21 miler last night on the way home in 85 degree temps. The scents of lilac, honeysuckle & cow manure all playing their part. This morning I was gong to take it easy but there was a school bus that was oligopoly following behind me for about 1/2 mile @20mph but I knew if he got ahead of me before the hill I would be waiting for 5 stops where I could have a fast mile long descent...so I pushed up to about 30 for a while. I'll take it easy on the hot trip home, promise.


So many comments for this ^^^
Yes, GoPro! But we need an interactive poll:
Does CB wear the camera so that we get POV of his evasive actions? Or do we send HighDell up there to mount it on the bird so we get to watch Nacho Libre try to escape the wrath of Heckle and jeckle?

Is it shameful to admit that I love the smell of cow manure? Honesuckle, too. Two outa three ain`t bad. Ask meatloaf if you don`t believe me.

BrianMc gave me a suggestion for evading the Flashing Schoolbus Blues that works very well. If I leave in a hurry I get caught behind one too, but now I "convert to pedestian" at the first stop, push my bike past on the sidewalk, then mount up and continue on my merry way. It never catches up to me again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sometimes I am forced to play leapfrog/race with the trash truck. Rural road, so he only stops every 1/2 mile or more. I have to put the hammer down to stay ahead. 


I will give the GoPro a shot on Monday...we'll see if they're still in attack mode. A rearward facing helmet mount would have been pretty outstanding yesterday. Today it stayed a little further off, pacing me and yelling at me. Yesterday it was in 'full swoop' attack mode.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^:thumbsup:

Honestly, I'm sure what oligopoly is. It said politely when I typed it.

A light smell of cow manure riding through farmland in the spring is nice. But you don't like the smell of lilac too? You are weird.

I'm itching to get outta work on this beautiful Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sometimes I am forced to play leapfrog/race with the trash truck. Rural road, so he only stops every 1/2 mile or more. I have to put the hammer down to stay ahead.
> 
> I will give the GoPro a shot on Monday...we'll see if they're still in attack mode. A rearward facing helmet mount would have been pretty outstanding yesterday. Today it stayed a little further off, pacing me and yelling at me. Yesterday it was in 'full swoop' attack mode.


In my case it's what I call the Tuesday morning garbage truck hopscotch. Timing is everything, if I can stay ahead of him before the light where I turn left at a major intersection I can usually turn and burn and keep him in my rear view mirror. If I get caught behind him leading up to that light I'm screwed.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Well my ride this morning was eventful. My buddy and I rode out to camp Wilson and back. There were some poor fellas that were in a platoon run out that far. Its 14 miles from my house out there and the main part of base is only 3 miles away. I passed them at about the point where there were 3 of them throwing up on the side of the road. Total ride though was a solid 28mi at a 14mph avg. It was just getting hot when I arrived back at my house.

Sent by Carrier Pigeon and Pony Express


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I got paid to ride today, as I had to get a notarized document across town. With a 10 minute walk to the work cars, and parking a nightmare downtown, the bike was the most efficient way to go. Then about an hour later they called back and needed another paragraph added and it re-notarized, so I had to pedal back over for a total of about 7 miles. On the second trip I almost got creamed by a car diving across my path for a parking spot. Bad words flew, but I was able to avoid a collision by evasive action and braking. I can’t imagine the paperwork if a bike accident occurred while I was on the clock.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Do you get paid for mileage?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ooooh, I better check the contract, I could have $3.50 coming. I wonder if it refers to motor vehicles or just vehicles?


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

If you do get a mileage reimbursement just frame the check and refer to it when trying to decide if new gear is worth the $$


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A sobering sight on the way home...a pickup going the same way as me drove across the opposing lane and slammed into a large brick base for the credit union sign. The bricks were all over, the sign was akimbo, the truck was stove up, and the driver was getting a field sobriety test - and stumbled backwards toward the cruiser. A bunch of other cars were there, hopefully just witnesses, but I'm not sure if any cars were hit en route to the sign. Glad he was ahead of me, but it makes you wonder if he had passed me in the 4 miles or so from the office. I'm guessing not, since police, fire, tow, etc. were all there already.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Congrats:

Mtbxplorer: Avoiding getting creamed and (t sounds like) letting the driver have some bad words, all while being paid for it, and maybe earning mileage!

Several of you: For outriding trash trucks most of the time.

CB: For assuaging our voyeuristic tendencies with a rear facing Go-Pro. I wonder if you could play crows attacking an owl and get it diverted:

Crow Busters - Beginners Techniques - Decoying and Calling Crows

BrianMc


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The commute was kind of miserable this afternoon. I have come down with a bad cold and am running a slight fever. If that wasn't bad enough, it just so happened to be pouring down rain on my way home, and I didn't have fenders. Drivers were kind of testy today too, which didn't make me feel any more pleasant.

On the brighter side, I graduated last Saturday and now have a Master's degree. We also have had a couple baby showers and we're swimming in baby stuff, so I guess that's a good thing. I'm half tempted to buy a bike I see on Craig's List, but I guess I should pass on it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I have come down with a bad cold and am running a slight fever.
> 
> The fever ride. . .the worst kind of ride ever. Did this about a month ago. 7 miles up hill and hot--101 degree temp. Miserable experience--but at least I can say I did it!
> 
> Nice ride in on Friday. Hot ride home. Suspect this will be the norm for awhile.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dang! Looks like I won't be able to go to work tomorrow...








Millstone trails








View of one quarry and grout piles








It's a long way down...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

This mornings commute was a "glory ride". Beautiful morning, 50 degrees no wind sun rising...

I finally got my bar mount for my GoPro and hung the camera on my commuter for the ride in this morning. When I get a chance I'll have a look at and edit the video and maybe, just maybe I can post some stuff that is close to the quality the CB and BrianMc post.

I actually made my first movie over the weekend using the camera...I did some trail work out at the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River with the local MTB Club and shot some video of the day. You can see me in the video, I'm the guy with the chainsaw you see cutting that first tree.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Quarries look so cool! We need some in my neighborhood 

"A couple baby showers"? How did you manage multiple showers? Baby is due in July? Good luck with it all- sounds like you have a whole slew of things all going down at the same time.

Forecasted high of 87 today. I`m getting ready to step out and ride my local loop, haven`t done that in a few months. But I need to wait for Niagra to open first (just a few more minutes) because I noticed that I ordered a batch of 190mm spokes over the weekend instead of the 290s that I needed- doh! I checked my mileage for May and see that it was lousy. I knew it was pretty skimpy, but hadn`t looked at the odometers to see just HOW skimpy. Turns out it was the lowest since last November.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice movie woodway. Those single log bridges look just a little skinny for my comfort knowing that the wrong wheel slip sends you down 10 feet into the rocky river. I could ride them all day long if my brain weren't playing the what-if game.

We finally got some hot weather Friday and into the weekend. Today is very light rain so far which made for a fine commute. I'm really happy about it for all of the gardens I planted this weekend. The rest of the week is supposed to be stellar.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sorry kids, no bird action this morning. There was nobody around the tree they've been coming out of for the attack. I filmed a nice chunk of a really boring commute though. 

Did a 35 mile loop of some really nice trail yesterday. 2700 feet of climbing and I'm feeling it a bit this morning. 

Cool trail work vid Woodway! It's reminding me that I need to be out getting firewood. We had a pretty dry winter and I'm sure they'll be closing the woods to cutting pretty early this year. That looks like an awesome place to ride.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

So today begins my new bike commuter life. Just to get everyone up to speed - supposed to close on a house in late May - it's delayed. Lease up end of May. So until we close we are camping. So, the commute from the campground to work is doable; however, I would have to tack on an additional four miles to get to my home office to shower (Alas, I don't think there is a state-run campground in Alaska that has showers). A forty mile a day total commute doesn't seem like the best use of time or resources. Particularly when trying to get a grip on camp living. So, much stress. Thus the wife and kids drove me to my home office with the bike, where I showered and got ready for the day before heading to my contract office. So a short commute overall. 

For the next two weeks or so I'll be working remote as much as possible and will likely do one or two days of the full commute from the campground, but really don't see doing it everyday. 

Good times.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Sore, slow, and late. 14 mile round-trip hike up & back down Mt. Greylock on Saturday, surrounded with much drinking and bacon. Still recovering from the weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sorry kids, no bird action this morning. ... I filmed a nice chunk of a really boring commute though.


Oh! You mean like my videos! 

One of those glorious low wind (10-12 mph), bright sky with small cumulus clouds, temps about 65 F, days.

Camera on infrequent shots:

"The Road goes ever on and on from the place where it began..."


Fenderless, rackless, and with 28 mm instead of 32 mm:

URL=https://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/15/file0936.jpg/]







[/URL]

Southwest lots of puffy clouds:



Northwest this cartoonish one, or a stubby, bent snout alligator?



This car's driver either wanted to guesstimate my speed (20 mph then) or was dismayed at how long it was taking to get by or blinded by my taillights:



No wooded single track, but I can ride my backyard:



Still smiling here.

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m in sinus hell today. Somehow I got either a gnat or a bit of granola bar or something in my sinuses while riding today, and they`re pissed off and making me miserable. Sneezing uncontrolably, nose running like a faucet, and head pounding, and even my face hurts.

Lovely chainsawing, Woodway 
Hope you didn`t have to haul the saw all the way in on a BOB. Not sure I`d be able to convince my legs to pedal over one of those log bridges either.

Glad you found a way to bike commute, Blockphi. It sure is a good thing you didn`t end up permacamping in the winter! I`m sure it`s an inconvenience, but do you still enjoy the nicer aspects of camping, or is it strictly Suckville?

Damn, Brian- does lawn cover EVERYTHING that doesn`t have a layer of asphalt over it?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, hope you feel better soon, that doesn't sound fun.

CB, I feel kind of bad thinking "too bad that bird wasn't on he attack again".

Nice trails and trailwork, Woodway, and nice video of it too.

Looks like a great ride and a nice shady spot to rest afterwards, BrianMc

Congrats on the house, blockphi, and the baby s0ck!


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## hunter006 (Jan 20, 2012)

Brian, they could have been admiring your bike too. Or your butt. I had someone lean out the window and compliment me on my legs. He was gay, so I didn't appreciate it as much as I would have if it were a beautiful, sexy lady... but a compliment is a compliment.

Commute home was... lively. I think I'm going to have to go to my Plan B route. Plan A route takes me through a bunch of roundabouts and too many drivers were entering at high speed, only to slam on the brakes (or violate right of way) as soon as they saw us, which was usually too late. Plan B takes me down a high traffic stretch, but the good news is that there's no cross streets, so you just bomb down there at 25-30 mph and you're ok.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Rodar, I hop the schnoz is feeling better soon.

Let's all hope for some bird attacks today.

Hunter, I can tell you have nice legs from here...from those mega miles you rack up.

It was a nice 77 degree day last evening so I took the long way home and previewed the course for a triathlon I'm doing the bike leg on on Sunday. After riding 15 miles to get there I put my race face on and did the hilly 14 mile course at 19.5MPH on the cross check. Good enough so I won't embarrass myself when I get the bike out that ways about 12 lbs less with fresher legs.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back down to the mid 40’s this morning for a nice cool ride in. Blustery winds slowed my progress a bit but I actually prefer the gusts (within reason) to just a steady headwind. The ominous gray clouds stayed just that. Enjoyed a nice yogurt parfait I brought with me, layers of plain yogurt, granola, frozen blueberries, and blueberry yogurt. I passed a bike this morning, a salt-of-the-earth type with a scruffy beard and the workpants tucked into the white socks. I said “windy today” as I went by. He agreed and added “a Litespeed, no wonder you’re passing me”; I laughed, mostly because my initial impression was not that he was into cycling, but it’s always nice finding those diamonds in the rough out there.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hope you didn`t have to haul the saw all the way in on a BOB. Not sure I`d be able to convince my legs to pedal over one of those log bridges either.


Actually hauled the chainsaw + gas + bar oil + sawing chaps + hardhat + water + food + etc. in a backpack. Let me just say that riding singletrack and skinnies with 30lbs. on your back is not easy 

Now that I have a GoPro, I'm going to bombard you with newbie GoPro movies. Here is my next one. My commute this morning took 1 hour and 2 minutes. But you get to watch it in 60 seconds!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

So. Itchy.

Also, what do too-large cycling shoes feel like?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Excellent. I love timelapse stuff.

And on the bird topic, I certainly know why the ones at my house are ticked off. These pterodactyls nested in my kids' playhouse.

Wanna see some real "Angry Birds"? try getting a picture like this. I am lucky I still have eyeballs.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sanath said:


> So. Itchy.
> 
> Also, what do too-large cycling shoes feel like?


Well, if the heel slips out, that's too big. Or if they're clipless shoes and it feels like there is a lot of "slop" (movement between your foot and the shoe) when you pedal. I don't like them very snug though, especially if you're going to use them in winter temps too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I have some shoes that are too large. I keep them as a backup pair. The biggest problem is when you go to unclip and your foot twists in the shoe before the shoe twists out of the cleat. Not good. I only notice it on emergency unclips while riding technical terrain and need to bail quick.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> Now that I have a GoPro, I'm going to bombard you with newbie GoPro movies. Here is my next one. My commute this morning took 1 hour and 2 minutes. But you get to watch it in 60 seconds!
> 
> Does the go-pro have a built in time lapse option or do you do that in editing?
> 
> I can do a 2 X slo mo with the camera setting. I can take 2 sec out to 1 minute pictures to import as a movie but I am unsure how much time that would take.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ The GoPro has timelaplse modes with still pictures, where it will take a pic every .5, 1, 3, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds...and more I think... But his vid looks like regular video that was sped up in editing. I've done both...they create distinctly different effects.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ The GoPro has timelaplse modes with still pictures, where it will take a pic every .5, 1, 3, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds...and more I think... But his vid looks like regular video that was sped up in editing. I've done both...they create distinctly different effects.


I shot the video in 1080, 30fs, loaded it into Magix (video editing software) and told Magix to speed it up 60x (i.e. on hour of video becomes one minute of video). Then I saved it as a MP4 and uploaded it to YouTube. Super easy.

Here is a snippet of the original video. Check out the stupid rabbit.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Gotta love the bunnies :lol: 

Brian, when you do a timelapse with still photos, you just take however many photos you have (based on whatever you set the camera to do)...and then when you create your video with them you decide how long you want each 'frame' to display... so the length can vary depending on those settings. A typical video is 24 or 30 frames per second, so if you do stills at that rate (30 for example), you can do the math... 30 pictures = 1 second. Takes a TON of pictures to get a good length timelapse at that rate (like a sunset or moving stars in the night sky kind of thing). For bike ride kind of stuff with photos, I play with the frame rate until I like the look of it...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> Now that I have a GoPro, I'm going to bombard you with newbie GoPro movies. Here is my next one. My commute this morning took 1 hour and 2 minutes. But you get to watch it in 60 seconds!


Nice clip. How I envy everyone with actual scenery on their commutes. Mine is basically all hot asphalt and ugly desert landscapes, if any landscapes at all.

Off the bike yesterday and today, as my kids are having end of school year award assembly, kindergarten graduation, etc., so didn't got to work last two days.

Back on bike tomorrow in time for 106f+ for the peddle home. At least the 80f in won't be too bad.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Silly Rabbit!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Love diversions on the commute*

Took a totally different, albeit longer route home today. Even though the wind was trying to push me off the road (cross wind, then headwind for final push). Can't believe I've been commuting fly bike for almost exactly a year. Views like this makes me realize why.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Happy (almost) Commuter Anniversary, Spatialized!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Actually hauled the chainsaw + gas + bar oil + sawing chaps + hardhat + water + food + etc. in a backpack. Let me just say that riding singletrack and skinnies with 30lbs. on your back is not easy


Aw, what a baby- that should be a piece of cake!

CB, that pteradactyl shot is a great catch, worth the loss of an eyeball or two. Is the mother as ugly as the babies?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wanna see some real "Angry Birds"? try getting a picture like this. I am lucky I still have eyeballs.
> View attachment 805310


I can see why mamma crow sees you as a person of concern. Blue-Jays?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm dying to know how you knew that. Stellar's Jays, to be technical. 


Welp, today is my grand finale for the school year. I have once again set a personal record with 1.5 driving days (previous record was 3.5). Next year I ride to that meeting in October. Now that I have the studded tires, I think zero is completely reach-able. Something to shoot for next year. But 1.5...I'll take it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congratulations on the record and have a nice weekend. Are you riding the CA coast this year?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Do I know my birds or do I know my birds. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I combined a picture of blue jay babies and their nest type and that picture. I mostly remember that then come out looking all gangly like that. I wouldn't have guessed Steller's Jay because we don't have those in the east. 


AKA Lucky guess.

Make sure to check in during the summer.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

No plans for the coast this year. I have a couple of big rides planned though. 

Doing some math... 2064 commuting miles for the school year, zero flat tires. 
I will check in now and then between camping trips


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## Acton Bathe (Jun 5, 2013)

7 days a week. Rain or sunshine. Scared several elderly women, got chased by a 3 legged dog, used my, "social finger" on one or was it two blind motorists found some drunk cash lost in the stupor and darkness of the local night scene. In otherwords...just another ride.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The weather has been pretty warm, and that often means afternoon thunder showers. 
Today, it rained enough to actually make the streets and paths wet. No rain while riding.

I passed a guy who was riding with some sort of shopping bags at both ends of his handlebar. 
He was still in front when he got a pretty good wobble going, on a small downhill. Somehow, he got it settled down. 
I was already tightening my fingers on the brakes, to ensure I'd miss the crash and the mess of groceries spread on the path.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

It continues to frustrate me how when I call out a warning with a direction ("passing on your right!") most of the time the pedestrian practically leaps in the called direction.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Sanath said:


> It continues to frustrate me how when I call out a warning with a direction ("passing on your right!") most of the time the pedestrian practically leaps in the called direction.


One thing I learned in a "psycholinguistics" class was: "People don't hear what you say. They hear what they think you must have said."
Mention a direction and people think you want them to go that direction.
Use a bell, say hello, whatever. Don't tell them where to go.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Congratulations on the record and have a nice weekend.


How can he not have a nice weekend when his weekend is three months long, haha...

Congrats on the achievement CB and have a great summer.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in. High seventies. Hot ride home at about 105f. We are in a mini heatwave with temps reaching into the 110s by this weekend. Back into the high nineties next week. 

I'm thinking this month will be a better commuting month than May. Nothing planned for about the next five weeks. No camping trips, kindergarten graduations, birthdays, award ceremonies, etc. Five weeks of uninterrupted hot summer commuting to get back on track.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hot. But not 110. Getting ready for some dirt this weekend, I swapped a Big Apple onto the front and didn`t have time to do the back yet, so I rode in to work tonight with one 2.0 and one 1.25. Tire mullet? It`s kinda cool that way, really. Reno is supposed to get into the upper 90s for a few days, so I hope to stay above 6000 ft as much as possible.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride. Found one of these (photo: high boy crop sprayer) but since it passed me (I had 20 mph he was about 45 mph) I don't think it qualifies for the roadside treasure thread. This is the same sort of machine I raced up a hill earlier this spring (to get to a crossroad, I was coming the other way about a mile from this photo where the road is two lanes). See more of them this spring, were not common about 5 years ago, definitely rare 10 years ago.



Sky was partly cloudy but I caught a bank of cloud in this photo, so the day was not overcast like this suggests.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That thing looks serious. Interesting geared hubs and no axles.

My last few commutes have been intentionally slow. I'm trying to taper before my race on Sunday.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> That thing looks serious. Interesting geared hubs and no axles.


For driving through fields without damaging crops. They're kind of terrifying to see in person. They give me the impression of a giant insect and I always imagine them driving over my car and eating it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> Sky was partly cloudy but I caught a bank of cloud in this photo, so the day was not overcast like this suggests.


Cool-looking machine but what I can't take my eye off in that photo is how that road goes into the distance with nary a hill in sight!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Nice ride. Found one of these (photo: high boy crop sprayer) but since it passed me (I had 20 mph he was about 45 mph) I don't think it qualifies for the roadside treasure thread. This is the same sort of machine I raced up a hill earlier this spring (to get to a crossroad, I was coming the other way about a mile from this photo where the road is two lanes). See more of them this spring, were not common about 5 years ago, definitely rare 10 years ago.
> 
> Sky was partly cloudy but I caught a bank of cloud in this photo, so the day was not overcast like this suggests.


 I was going to say that picture must be from a fly over state but it's actually from MY fly over state. I see those spray rigs all over this time of year. I always have the urge to duck down and ride between the wheels!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

My homelessness and odd commuting situation continues. Tuesday and Wednesday I did short walking commutes to the local library as my base of operations for the day. Today I got back on the bike for a short commute from the home office to the client's site. Hopefully I know soon when my closing date will be so I can finally start building a routine again.


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## Awshucks (Apr 14, 2013)

First commute today. Excited to finally post here!

5:30 - Woke up, made peanut butter tortilla sandwhich. Got dressed and packed some things and got on the bike. Rode first 4 miles to military post check point. I was really nervous about this seeing as I have no military affiliation at all except a contractors ID to get on base every 2 months for my job. Alas, they let me through! Rode another 4 through base, got off and rode the last .8 of a mile on the wide shoulder of a highway. Stopped by my shop got my shower bag, went to the campuses gym and while I waited for it to open at 7 another commuter pulled up and parked and we talked for awhile! It was awesome. So all in all good ride, met someone new and cool, and made great time! 9 miles in about 40 min. I'll post pics of my commuter in that forum asap.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> That thing looks serious. Interesting geared hubs and no axles.


All the ones I have seen up close were diesel over hydraulic. Many steer all four corners using hydraulic rams to rotate the verticals.



Sanath said:


> For driving through fields without damaging crops. They're kind of terrifying to see in person. They give me the impression of a giant insect and I always imagine them driving over my car and eating it.


This one was partly on the shoulder and I went to the extreme right of the shoulder in case he needed to get someone by in the left lane he could take a bit of the shoulder. As you can see he did not get right back over ASAP. The one I raced was well back of me and I was climbing one of the hills just beyond the horizon, looking for a place to pull over and get him by (2-lane there). I have driven big farm equipment on the road and you can never underestimate driver's intelligence in dealing with a weird bug-like monster like one of these.

Also loaded with spray, they are heavy and not exactly designed for great braking. I give them wide berth on bike or in a car. Last summer I had one with a support truck and trailer with spray tanks following it. I got over to the extreme right as he approached and the unit used part of the shoulder as we had oncoming traffic. He was by about 10-20' and came right. That was fine. I went back to where I had been The idiot driving the truck decided to use some of the shoulder with no signal as he was passing me. The rumble strip-front tire warned me. Still, the trailer fender almost got me. He was not wide enough to need to have any shoulder. Either a complete idiot (just following the spray rig), or he was pissed that I dared use some of the shoulder and not get off the road to get them by. One reason for the video camera. Moron no matter how it happened.



nemhed said:


> I was going to say that picture must be from a fly over state but it's actually from MY fly over state. I see those spray rigs all over this time of year. I always have the urge to duck down and ride between the wheels!


Still on the part of the county that the Wisconsin Glacier leveled. Just over the horizon the road becomes rolling where the last glacier was 20,000 years ago. Also some meltwater valleys and hills in the other direction.

Meant to create a time lapse of the ride, but my version of iMovie does not like individual pics for that and the internet work arounds don't apply (no such buttons/menu options). Needs a true movie file. Or me to spend $50 on a new program. ;(



blockphi said:


> My homelessness and odd commuting situation continues. Tuesday and Wednesday I did short walking commutes to the local library as my base of operations for the day. Today I got back on the bike for a short commute from the home office to the client's site. Hopefully I know soon when my closing date will be so I can finally start building a routine again.


Yeah. I had the internet go down and the library was a good temporary office.

BrianMc


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Damn flats!!!! First fatbike flat in a year, and it only happen durring the summer months due to glass, no flats ALL WINTER LONG EVER!

First time back on the saddle in over a week, been too damn busy to ride with work and family commitments...enough excuses already!

Playing around in Russian Jack Singletrack on this mornings commute only to find this young Bullwinkle using the flag pole as a scratching post


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'd trade 3 flats in the summer for no flats in the winter (and usually do). Luckily, I've never had to change a flat below freezing and hope not to.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Isolated T-storms and the wind just came up out of nowhere. Summer afternoon thing. One more shift and I`m on weekend time. I posted an invitation to the masses on my regional forum since I`ll be doing a minitour during normal folks weekend, but no takers so far.


Awshucks said:


> First commute today. Excited to finally post here!
> 
> I was really nervous about this seeing as I have no military affiliation at all except a contractors ID to get on base every 2 months for my job. Alas, they let me through!


Whee, congrats!
Sheldonus and the other bike commuting gods must have wanted you to pull it off 



bedwards1000 said:


> I'd trade 3 flats in the summer for no flats in the winter (and usually do). Luckily, I've never had to change a flat below freezing and hope not to.


Same here. Living with gnarly tires over the yucky months has paid off.

What kind of race do you have comming up? Three flavors?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Ride in was pleasant. Eighty degrees, light just cracking, and no wind. Also saw a dead opossum in the street that got hit by a car. As I was coming up on it, I wondered if it was a cat or small dog and then was shocked to see it was an opossum. Must've been someone's pet is all I can figure, as I don't think these are common in the city. I'm going to research this a little further to find out if we have opossum populations in the city.

Ride home was not as brutal as I suspected, being that Vegas for the next several days is in an "excessive heat" warning. About 107f as I peddled from the yard toward home. Stayed hydrated today, took two bottles of water for the seven mile up hill ride, and knocked it out pretty well. Tomorrow is supposed to be close to 110f.

I really didn't think my "commuting commitment" would be tested with 110f until July. But here we are in early June. And I have every intention of peddling in and home tomorrow. Seems like just yesterday I was peddling to work in the high twenties.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> What kind of race do you have comming up? Three flavors?


My wife and I are in a relay team for a triathlon. I've always thought those people doing relays in a tri were cheaters because they're really not doing the whole race but this kind of fell into our lap so what the heck. It will be my first competitive road ride. (Other than the CAT 6 racing I do sometimes.) Besides, somebody else was willing to do the swim which is always the part I'm not that excited about.

Just barely raining on the way in.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

It started off so well. Warm but not hot, mild winds, little fluffy clouds overhead. Legs felt good, powerful, putting down serious power on the pedals. I was flying up to a segment I've been trying to beat for awhile and conditions were about as good as they get. But my mind was elsewhere. Too hot into the corner, grabbed too much brake, hit left-over cinders from winter and all of a sudden I'm on my back looking up at those clouds. Some road rash, some bruises, thumped my noggin pretty good and saw stars for a moment. Not a good way to end a ride.

That was yesterday. I'm pretty sore today and the bruises are starting to surface but it could have been much worse. Now I have to reattach the seat the the saddle frame...or buy a new saddle as that was knocked loose in the crash, but everything else seems alright. Funny thing is that it was almost exactly a year ago I crashed hard on a fire road coming home from work. Gonna' take it easy for awhile I think.

This is a reason I wear a helmet every time. 

That rock is jammed in there solidly, the cover is warped and the foam is cracked - it would've played havoc with my skull. Hence why I wear a helmet religiously.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

That helmet worked :thumbsup:, now go get another one! Glad it's only bruises and not broken bones.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Glad you're OK. You're going to have to get a new infinite MPG sticker for the new helmet. Check out the last question: Cycling Helmet FAQs


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning I was almost the victim of a freak accident. A contractor truck/trailer passed me and when he was a few cars ahead of me the ladder fell off the top of it. When I went by he had pulled over and the ladder was off the roof rack and leaning against the passenger door. Yikes!

I hope the ride home is uneventful, although it is still wet out there.


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## mnc1187 (Jun 7, 2013)

I spend more time in an elevator than on the ground. I've been riding a mini velo to work. Its great, don't need any more bike. 





​


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Last week high winds and a severe storm warning had me use the car for the farmer's market.

Today I bought strawberries (in box on front rack), tomatoes, other veggies and some pork chops, brats, and bacon. Total about 30 pounds. Literally bringing home the bacon. 



BrianMc


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Your typical boring Front Range (CO) commute:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mnc1187 said:


> I spend more time in an elevator than on the ground. I've been riding a mini velo to work. Its great, don't need any more bike.
> View attachment 806327​


That is a pretty cool looking rig!


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

It was a great Sat morning commute to work. Cool enough to not wear my fleece jacket and a light wind. 

The Rt. 25 yard sale is going on which is my route to work, so I took my time and browsed as I went. I saw some good bikes that caught my interest, sadly this hit between paydays.

Going to hit the LB/CS (Local Bike/Coffee Shop) after work and see about a barter/trade of my out of commission Subie for bike upgrades, second bike or a barter-trade-in for a better bike.

I have found that, although my Motobecane is not a bad bike for the money, it is not a bike I would recommend for commuting for the non-city N. Kentucky terrain. With quite a bit of rolling hills, challenging grades and varying degrees of pavement (blacktop to low grade chip seal) the weight of the bike and provided rubber makes for a harder commute than I had expected. Had I known what I was getting into when I looked into the bike I would have passed it up for a better commuter, which I am hoping to get or upgrade to one with the Subie.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

MaddCelt said:


> It was a great Sat morning commute to work. Cool enough to not wear my fleece jacket and a light wind.
> 
> The Rt. 25 yard sale is going on which is my route to work, so I took my time and browsed as I went. I saw some good bikes that caught my interest, sadly this hit between paydays.
> 
> ...


Just realized what you were talking about with the yard sale. I used to live in Edgewood. Haven't been back in quite a few years. Nice place though. My parents retired there.

Sent by Carrier Pigeon and Pony Express


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Just realized what you were talking about with the yard sale. I used to live in Edgewood. Haven't been back in quite a few years. Nice place though. My parents retired there.
> 
> Sent by Carrier Pigeon and Pony Express


I have been out to your neck of the desert a few times back around 2000. Was an enjoyable drive out there for work, seeing my first wind farms and nature induced sand blasting. It would be a fun area to ride from what I remember.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Personal best time to and from work today. To work; 14 miles in 39 minutes (downhill and flat), from work; 14 miles in 47 minutes (flat and uphill), caught about half the stoplights both ways and no wind to speak of either way.:band:
Wish I'd had a camera with me this am. When leaving work, the bike next to mine in the rack had a cable and lock just through the front tire... with a quick release skewer....cable wasn't locked to itself, just on the cable...and the cable was tied in a square knot. WTF?! :skep:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

MaddCelt said:


> I have been out to your neck of the desert a few times back around 2000. Was an enjoyable drive out there for work, seeing my first wind farms and nature induced sand blasting. It would be a fun area to ride from what I remember.


It can be fun and it can be a nightmare as well. This heat is a killer right now. 115 is my hottest ride so far and that's what a sign said. I doubt it was reading what was bouncing off the asphalt lol

Sent by Carrier Pigeon and Pony Express


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I was lucky that an OS system update gave me an iMovie update. So I had a hand at the time lapse of the 20 mile ride from last week. Had to do it in parts. Half a gig of RAM wasn't enough with >1000 1080 pics to process.

Time Lapse 4 - YouTube

BrianMc


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

At the last minute on Friday morning, I searched hard for an excuse not to ride and found one. While weather man called for a 109f afternoon, reality is that it reached 114f. Just wasn't feeling the seven mile uphill ride home on Friday. Just like all my coworkers, on this Friday I hopped in the Jeep, cranked up the AC, I got my weekend started early.

Next week is supposed to be in the low 100s. While I will eventually have to tough out the 113+ temps of summer or surrender commuting until fall, I just ain't ready to face them in Spring. This heatwave should be gone next week.

On a positive note, I did get in a good mt. bike ride this morning. Was peddling before 5 a.m. and done by 8 a.m.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

As CB noted a compiled time lapse from stills taken every few seconds looks different from a video that is sped up.

Here is Friday's ride to the bank (I want it all and I want it now) before the market. The camera's memory card refused to work on restart so the rest of the ride went unrecorded.

Time Lapse 6 - YouTube

The self leveling of the head hides the grades in both methods, though admittedly, I don't have hills by Vermont or Northern California standards.

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ You stopped the video right when we were about to see you punch in your PIN code 

Yes different than a sped up video, but still pretty cool.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ And your point is?  That was the plan. No record in the first place rather than an edit. Cost me the video of the rest. Still I got my chance to do time lapse both ways. The serial pictures ate a lot of time. A nice tool to have in one's skill toolbox. The advantage is that the serial pics take less rom and less battery. The disadvantage is the guy that crowds you won't be recorded.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A ride I recorded sideways, corrected, excerpts:

A June Ride - YouTube

The Bridge video not quite as sideways:

Bridges 2012 - YouTube

BrianMc


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Glad you saved your noggin, Spatialized. The following helmet talk reminds me that I`m due for a new one too. Mine has been down a few times (no big ones with the current lid) and it`s like five or six years old).

This weekend saw the first time Reno has cracked the 100F mark for the year. I went out Friday evening to get some elevation, was going to come home yesterday. It wasn`t AS hot up in the mountains, but still too hot to be riding around, so I cut it short, came home late Sat night. While I was out, I made a new connection that I`ve had on my bucket list, got in a considerable amount of ST (haven`t done that in years), and rode part of a route that a co-worker keeps trying to talk me into, so it was a successfull albeit shortened adventure.

Race results from Maine?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...Race results from Maine?


Looks like some nice riding Rodar.

The race was a blast. I did the 14 mile course in 39:59 which I was pretty pleased with. I was on a relay team so it's not fair to compare myself to those who just swam and had to save some to run...but I will. I was up in the 20 fastest riders. We're definitely going to try to do a tri as individuals within the next year.

Search for team "New Friends" in the Triathlon Relay section.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Okay, so today I did a multi-modal commute again. From the Valley I rode with the fam to my home office and then rode from there to my customer's office. Still homeless, but it seems that I'm getting closer to having a place to call home. Anyway... I noticed something really sad and pathetic while trapped in the death-box - every car we passed or were passed by, save one, had only one person in it. WTF? I mean really? Let's b*tch and complain about traffic and then be so inefficient as to have one person per car. Wow! I guess I always knew this was the general way of things, but it's been so long since I've done any "drive-time" driving that I just wasn't aware of it. 

Such is life...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Your pictures never disappoint rodar!

Congrats on the great time bedwards.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice commute in and nice commute home. Ride home was right around 100f, but welcomed compared to Friday's 114f, which I did not commute in. Even with a steady 20 mph headwind, it was a good ride. Hopefully I won't have to contemplate 113f+ temps again until July, the month we're supposed to get them.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Looks good, Rodar. Rodar & Vegas, when it was 100F, what was the temp overnight?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I think I might have developed a skin allergy to some tall grass on the shortcut trail behind my office building. My legs have been itchy as heck after riding through it the last few days. Long way around tomorrow to see, might have to try to find summer-weight leggings, or use the long trail all the time (which would kind of suck).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thunderstorms. Cool. Nice.
But we lost power at home about 2PM today and it was still out when I left for work at 10:15, so starting to get a little concerned for the contents of my freezer. At least it`s just the top compartment of a fridge/freezer combo, so in a worst case scenario we`d be out about the cost of a tank of gas for spoiled goods. And my yard weeds are loving the "torrent", will go wild this week.


bedwards1000 said:


> Search for team "New Friends" in the Triathlon Relay section.


Age 62? Wow, if I`m reading it right, I`ll save you the elbow strain and pat your back for the fastest bike segment for all the relay teams. They still show transitions for relays? Don`t you just do hand tag or something?


blockphi said:


> Still homeless, but it seems that I'm getting closer to having a place to call home.


On the bright side of things, I bet you have the nicest stable of homeless bikes in town 
When do you expect to get under a roof?


mtbxplorer said:


> Rodar & Vegas, when it was 100F, what was the temp overnight?


I`ll let Vegas and Palm Springs speak for themselves (no more Phoenix commuters here?), but at least we cool down nicely at night. 59 was our highest low last week, and even on our very hottest scorchers (I don`t think we`ve ever hit 110 in Reno) it drops into the 60s overnight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> ...Age 62? Wow, if I`m reading it right, I`ll save you the elbow strain and pat your back for the fastest bike segment for all the relay teams. They still show transitions for relays? Don`t you just do hand tag or something?
> ...


Our swimmer/team organizer is 62, not me, I'm 46. She had an asthma attack about 15 seconds into the swim and nearly turned back, otherwise I think we could have won for the relay teams. Oh well, I was just happy to get out and try it.

Sanath, are you sure you didn't brush some poison ivy somewhere? Sometimes it doesn't show up for a day.

It was pouring cats and dogs and frogs and fawns on my way in. OK, the fawn was just running by the side of the road. I stopped to take a pic but it didn't want to pose. I didn't want to take my phone out of it's zip lock bag so we were even.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I don't have anything unusual to report. It was 69 degrees last night when I rode home. It was 54 degrees when I rode to work this morning. Hasn't rained since the end of May. Pretty much perfect.

We are getting into prime commuting season here in the Seattle area. July, August, September - glory ride after glory ride. Dry, highs in the 70's, lows in the mid 50's. I feel for all you guys and gals who have to ride in the heat and high humidity.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Very soggy here too. We are 4" above average for the year so far. I can report that the Marathons have excellent wet weather traction, through puddles, on that slippery road paint, slick corners, etc. Also, the Showers Pass double century ex jacket has been serving me well; it has a wider comfort range than my heavier rain jacket, and it hasn't soaked through. Another winner is this fan Purchase the Vornado Flippi V6 Air Circulator for less at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better. I run in my cubicle's mini-closet cabinet. You can point it straight up, and on low it is whisper quiet. It has dried my hanging bike shorts and even gloves by the end of the work day. Socks I just bring a spare pair.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sanath, are you sure you didn't brush some poison ivy somewhere? Sometimes it doesn't show up for a day.


I've had the itchy legs before, I just attributed them to the clouds of insects I was riding through. This time though it was raining, so there were no bugs. The rash also cleared up shortly after a shower, and I skipped that trail this morning and my legs have been fine so far. I don't know if maybe there's nettles or thistles or something hidden in the grass, but I think it's something on that trail giving me trouble.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It could be pollen too.

Yeah, MTXB, I'm in the process of drying out my soggy shorts, socks & Gloves too. I might need a bigger fan.

So this might be my next big adventure:
Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge (CBCC) » Carrabassett Region NEMBA ? Maine Mountain Biking -


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Any time you all get tired of the rain, send it down here to S.E. Az. 82F at 1930 when I went to work, 85F at 0600 when I headed home. It always looks beautiful with no clouds and bright sunshine, but we can ALWAYS use more water down here.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Still homeless and still doing the reduced commutes. The weather is wonderful and the short commutes are eminently enjoyable and a great relief from the stress of my current situation.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

When the temperatures in Vegas were topping out during the heatwave last week at 114f the lows for the early morning were in the mid-eighties. Sometimes in the summer the morning lows will still be in the low to mid-ninties, though this is usually during abnormally hot weather.

No commute today. Had to meet my wife at her doctor's appointment. Back on the bike tomorrow. So far this week, great weather (compared to last week) with temps just breaking 100f.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was not happy when I went out to my bike this afternoon in the new weather-protected bike parking, and found it was all wet! 

I admit, it sounds a little silly after riding 23 miles in the rain today, but the reason it was wet is that they've been pressure washing the parking garage. Hoping no nasty chemicals were in the pressure washer and it was overspray and not direct pressure.

Other than that it was just plain old wet, 50-55F!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well, if there were any chemicals in it they are washed off now.

My commute home was oddly dry, with a tail wind! It's raining again now and the forecast has changed to rain for the rest of the week too.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Last couple of commutes home have been like riding in a convection oven...warmer temps (90s) but with plenty of winds to move the hot air around. Mornings run in the 60s so truly I can't complain.

Looked at my Strava last week and saw that today is my exact 1 year commuting anniversary. Some quick math later, found I've been running a 97% commute rate since. Pretty happy about that. Kind of evens out crashing last week...took a corner too hot, physics and gravity took over. Had to pay the gravity tax. . Luckily only picked up some bruises and a little road rash, rang my bell though. But back at it already!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yesterday 80 and a bit humid. Visited on the other side of town then rode out to the Honda Plant (some nice pavement) and back.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain rain. But this morning it was reasonably warm at about 55. On Monday morning it was right around 40.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning the game warden was at the bottom of my neighbor’s driveway crouched down and peering at something…I pedaled on, but now I wish I had stopped to see if it was anything interesting. Otherwise, more rain, but lighter than the last few days.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Really nice ride this morning. About a 1.5 miles from work, I discovered that the MUP was under approx 24" of water. Got to work, and found out that my commuter's fork may be part of a recall.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Tornado warnings, and a pretty nice thunder and hail storm rolled through around 3. But that was followed by blue skies and a pretty anti-climactic ride home.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Eighty degree ride in and 107f ride home. Thought it was supposed to be around 100 all week. Guess I was wrong. Already getting used to this heat. Guess most things in life are about "getting used to it." 

Can't complain too much. The worst winter threw at us here in Vegas were three mornings of low twenties. Maybe seven or eight mornings of high twenties, with every other morning all winter being in the thirties or forties. All and all, Vegas is a pretty commuter friendly city weather wise.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

HOT HOT HOT, in Anchorage, Alaska these past few weeks it seems!!! Almost wish winter temps were around, almost! ;p


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I`m curious what "HOT, HOT, HOT" means in Anchorage.

Great temperatures yesterday and today. Overcast and windy. My wife and I are both off this weekend, so will probably throw the tandem on the trunk rack and head off for a spin somewhere- Sacramento maybe. Just bought an 84 Centurion to play with for a while but it needs a different crank before I put it to a real test. 42/52- what were those old timers thinking!?!

I saw reports for an awful lot of T-storms and possible tornadoes in the midwest for tomorrow. Hope all come through well.



MileHighMark said:


> Got to work, and found out that my commuter's fork may be part of a recall.


Salsa fork. I`m pretty sure your blog was one of the sites that Google led me to while checking out what people had to say about Black Mountain frames. Do you still have that one too, or was I on a different blog with a similar name?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^42/52 sounds like the logical choice. I think I have one laying around, square taper of course. You never know when you might need one.

Wow, lots of extreme weather around: Flooded MPU, tornado watches, wild fires (not sure if anybody mentioned them yet but I got that internet thing so I've heard about them), HOT HOT HOT in Alaska (although I thing that means 70s), and a week of rain.

But today, the sky was blue, the sun was out, the roads were dry....weird.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Eighty degree ride in and 107f ride home. Thought it was supposed to be around 100 all week. Guess I was wrong. Already getting used to this heat. Guess most things in life are about "getting used to it."
> 
> Can't complain too much. The worst winter threw at us here in Vegas were three mornings of low twenties. Maybe seven or eight mornings of high twenties, with every other morning all winter being in the thirties or forties. All and all, Vegas is a pretty commuter friendly city weather wise.


Be careful in that heat man. I'm down here a couple hours away and got myself into heat exhaustion without too much trouble. Make sure you're drinking fluids. I was going about 20-25 miles a day and drinking water and hatorade almost constantly just to keep up. I benched myself till next week.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's hot here just like everywhere else. The morning commutes have been around 77-80F with dewpoints around 70, which means it's pretty humid too. Afternoons have been in the mid 90s the past couple days.

This morning, I arrived and someone was in the bathroom I take a shower in. I wasn't quite sure what to do. The other bathroom has a shower but no curtain, so the water would go everywhere. As I was devising a back-up plan, the person taking a dump in the other bathroom finished up. The air wasn't the freshest, but at least I got a shower in.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^I`m curious what "HOT, HOT, HOT" means in Anchorage.
> 
> Great temperatures yesterday and today. Overcast and windy. My wife and I are both off this weekend, so will probably throw the tandem on the trunk rack and head off for a spin somewhere- Sacramento maybe. Just bought an 84 Centurion to play with for a while but it needs a different crank before I put it to a real test. 42/52- what were those old timers thinking!?!
> 
> ...


Yes, that was probably me. I ride an orange Black Mountain and charcoal-grey Vaya. Thankfully, the Vaya's fork is not affected by the recall (I pulled the fork last night and checked the date code).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, MHM. Glad you won`t have to mess around with a recall.


bedwards1000 said:


> ^^42/52 sounds like the logical choice. I think I have one laying around, square taper of course. You never know when you might need one.


Square taper? Not for me, Bubba! I`m not sure whether to just put a Megahollo XTR triple on there and be done with it or send it back to Japan to retrofit a BB 36 Helical pressfit shell 

Anyway, it`s in good shape mechanically, but not much of a looker, so one pic is sufficient. Here it be:

EDIT: For vanity`s sake, the turkey wing levers will be removed and the wall paper patterned tape will be converted to black.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Doesn't square taper fall under retro-grouch quill stem territory? But you're right, you should probably spend 4 times the worth of the bike on a new crank.:skep:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this AM. Another multimodal commute, though not yet using the bus. Someday soon I'll actually have a house and will be able to use that form of commuting. Until then, camping and getting a lift into town with the fam. I ride from my office to the customer's office while they head to the library or wherever else they wish to go. I don't like the use of the car, but it works for now. 

My legs are looking for some longer rides, though. The piddly three miles is just not cutting it.


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## FlakoGT (Oct 1, 2012)

With all the smoke we have in the air I actually couldnt ride my bike today. My chest still feels congested from all the smoke I put in them yesterday.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Doesn't square taper fall under retro-grouch quill stem territory?


Cottered 4eva


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nah, I've got square taper cranks with 10,000 miles on them, no problem. I've never seen a cottered crank that wasn't loose. I'd rather go solid like a Huffy.

New PR on the work to home time trial: 23.1 MPH for the 12.5 miles. On a retro-grouch, square tapered, quill stem bike no less.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Be careful in that heat man. I'm down here a couple hours away and got myself into heat exhaustion without too much trouble. Make sure you're drinking fluids. I was going about 20-25 miles a day and drinking water and hatorade almost constantly just to keep up. I benched myself till next week.


Always careful and yes I do agree that one can get into trouble very easily without trying. A short seven mile--though all up hill--commute home. The seven miles in the morning are a snap--cooler out and all down hill. I suck down about 24 oz. of hot water during this summer peddle home. Last Friday I sat out the (weatherman) projected 109f commute home only to find out later the weatherman's projection was about five degrees cooler than it really ended up being. 114f might've been pushing myself too much so I knew when to say when. Through acclimation and plenty of fluids I do plan on commuting through the summer. . .and facing one of the 114f days head on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> New PR on the work to home time trial: 23.1 MPH for the 12.5 miles. On a retro-grouch, square tapered, quill stem bike no less.


Congrats on the PR :thumbsup: - and I'm glad you don't blow by me everyday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Today's commute in was at an average of 16. I can't go at race pace every day. For all this rain in the forecast I only had to ride in real rain for 1 trip and a few sprinkles on some others.

TGIF! We're running in a 5K tomorrow AM, going to a local blues fest in the afternoon and kayaking on Sunday weather permitting. Weekends are good.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Always careful and yes I do agree that one can get into trouble very easily without trying. A short seven mile--though all up hill--commute home. The seven miles in the morning are a snap--cooler out and all down hill. I suck down about 24 oz. of hot water during this summer peddle home. Last Friday I sat out the (weatherman) projected 109f commute home only to find out later the weatherman's projection was about five degrees cooler than it really ended up being. 114f might've been pushing myself too much so I knew when to say when. Through acclimation and plenty of fluids I do plan on commuting through the summer. . .and facing one of the 114f days head on.


Yeah I survived one if those days already too. Long story short....its really hot Lol. Maybe if I'm extra sweet to the wife I can buy that ss I've been talking about. Right now I commute on a fs Lol. Lots of effort to make a 18avg on that bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

114 degrees is just plain wrong. There should be a law against it.


bedwards1000 said:


> New PR on the work to home time trial: 23.1 MPH for the 12.5 miles. On a retro-grouch, square tapered, quill stem bike no less.


It`s probably because of all the weight you saved by eliminating that star nut in your steerer. Either that or due to having to escape all those grouch groupies who were trying to chase you down. 


Kryptoroxx said:


> Yeah I survived one if those days already too. Long story short....its really hot Lol. Maybe if I'm extra sweet to the wife I can buy that ss I've been talking about. Right now I commute on a fs Lol. Lots of effort to make a 18avg on that bike.


Whoa, wanting a SS in order to ride with less effort is hard core! Well I hope you manage to talk the boss into letting you have one if that`s what you really want. Crazy, man!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got caught by surprise in a complete downpour on the way home last night. About midway through the ride there was a flash of lightning, so I started the count to gauge the distance: one one thou-BOOM! That's a little bit too close, and I was in the middle of the woods with no quick way out. But thankfully that was the only lightning all ride. When I got home I wore my clothes into the shower, because I was completely covered in annoying little road grit.

Beautiful morning today, but a chance of thundershowers tonight, which makes it hard to choose which bike to take.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Incredibly rude driver on the road this morning. I was approaching the roundabout, where 4 or 5 cars were in line ahead of me awaiting their turn to enter the roundabout. I took the lane and got in line right behind the car in front of me. Traffic moved enough for me to stay on the bike, creeping forward with the cars. Suddenly the car behind me veered out around me into the oncoming traffic lane (leaving the roundabout) and snuck in front of me as the line moved forward. My words fell upon the air, as he zoomed off at the first roundabout exit. Probably the kind of guy that cuts in front of kids at the amusement park too.

Otherwise, the weather was fine, 50's and foggy. Chance of thunderstorms later.

Some pix from the cemetary on the way home yesterday, and the low fog and greenery starting out today.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Got caught by surprise in a complete downpour on the way home ... there was a flash of lightning, so I started the count to gauge the distance: one one thou-BOOM! That's a little bit too close, and I was in the middle of the woods with no quick way out.


Yes 30 seconds is five miles and too close. Are we to kick on the afterburners to the nearest house. Apparently a carport or porch is ineffective. I have sprinted to safety in a restaurant when the sirens sounded for a tornado warning. Has anyone seen recommended best practices for cyclists in the middle of nowhere caught in a thunderstorm?



mtbxplorer said:


> Incredibly rude driver on the road this morning. I was approaching the roundabout, where 4 or 5 cars were in line ahead of me ... I took the lane and got in line right behind the car in front of me. ... creeping forward with the cars. Suddenly the car behind me veered out around me into the oncoming traffic lane (leaving the roundabout) and snuck in front of me as the line moved forward. My words fell upon the air, as he zoomed off at the first roundabout exit. Probably the kind of guy that cuts in front of kids at the amusement park too.


Nice pics.

Beyond rude. What if a car was oncoming and just out of sight when he pulled that? It qualifies as reckless. He would have had my water bottle hit his car. I suspect then he would suddenly find he was not is such a big hurry, after all.

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

For lightning I just assume that trees are a lot taller than me and hope for the best. Tornadoes, luckily aren't a problem around here. Speaking of trees, there are waves of pollen coming from the pines today. The air filled with a yellow fog and my eyes itch.

We lost a cyclist on the biggest charity ride in our state today.
Trek Across Maine cyclist struck, killed by truck; trek will go on | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Yes 30 seconds is five miles and too close. Are we to kick on the afterburners to the nearest house. Apparently a carport or porch is ineffective. I have sprinted to safety in a restaurant when the sirens sounded for a tornado warning. Has anyone seen recommended best practices for cyclists in the middle of nowhere caught in a thunderstorm?


I've only been in one thunderstorm that made me afraid for my life (while commuting that is). There was no separation between lightning and thunder. It seemed to be all around me. I didn't really know what to do, so I tossed my bike into a neighborhood median, crawled under a small tree, and sat there on my knees until the storm passed.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I've only been in one thunderstorm that made me afraid for my life (while commuting that is). There was no separation between lightning and thunder. It seemed to be all around me. I didn't really know what to do, so I tossed my bike into a neighborhood median, crawled under a small tree, and sat there on my knees until the storm passed.


Isn't taking shelter under a tree exactly what they say not to do?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> For lightning I just assume that trees are a lot taller than me and hope for the best.


I was right in the middle of some singletrack, with an open drop to the river on my left and trees on my right. The trees were certainly taller than me, but if one gets hit the nearby ground effects are potentially not much fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

On the bike (not carbon) is probably the best place to be in terms of ground effect because the front and rear will be at the same potential and there's not really a side to side. The biggest danger is from trees getting hit and exploding. I guess the bottom line is that even in the middle of a lightning storm the odds are still pretty low that you will get hit. The odds of getting hit by a car are still probably a lot higher.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, it was mostly just a weirdly existential feeling knowing that nothing I could do would matter.

Terrible news about that charity ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks like an 1813 date on the first headstone. I wish we cool old stuff like that around here.



BrianMc said:


> Yes 30 seconds is five miles and too close.


And "one, one thou -BOOM" is even closer.
Newf, do you often get the tornadoes that plague the plains further south? It seems I don`t hear much about them on the Canadian plains.



bedwards1000 said:


> We lost a cyclist on the biggest charity ride in our state today.


Sucks.
" It's not clear what might have caused him to fall off the bike. "
I can see how that might sound strange to somebody who`s never ridden a bike on the shoulder of a highway. Whaddaya mean air wake?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Hopefully there is some video to figure the accident out. Having ridden 5 charity rides, it is sobering. Tough on his family.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Looks like an 1813 date on the first headstone. I wish we cool old stuff like that around here.


I think that was the oldest one I found that was still in good enough shape to read easily. Also interesting that a lot of the old ones say "The grave of....", which seems to have fallen out of favor on newer tombstones.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Newf, do you often get the tornadoes that plague the plains further south? It seems I don`t hear much about them on the Canadian plains.


We had a tornado in 1987 that killed 27 people. And in 2000 12 people were killed at a campground midway between Edmonton and Calgary. I think those are the only recent big ones.

On tuesday someone took this about an hour south of town:









So we get them, but we're nothing like tornado alley. I think that a lot of the time it's probably not hot enough.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Has anyone seen recommended best practices for cyclists in the middle of nowhere caught in a thunderstorm?
> BrianMc


I have looked into this before without finding out too much useful info. I did learn, as you said, that picnic shelters, carports, etc. were of no help. Also, sorry bedwards, but bikes are of no help either. Toss that metal bike, and kneel (I think on all fours) in the lowest spot possible, like a ditch. Don't lay down because you want to minimize the points of contact with the ground, because those will be the exit points for the lightning bolt going to ground. A passing car is good if they'll let you in and are not axe murderers. But mostly they said don't be out there in a lightning storm. Even if it seems far away, the next bolt could get you.

I think in VT we've had a fatal strike the last couple years, one was a farm worker called in from the fields, but who did not make it in time. Looking at the national numbers, it looks like 1 person nationwide has been struck fatally while biking in the last few years. NWS Lightning Safety Resources and Links


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Yeah I survived one if those days already too. Long story short....its really hot Lol. Maybe if I'm extra sweet to the wife I can buy that ss I've been talking about. Right now I commute on a fs Lol. Lots of effort to make a 18avg on that bike.


I'm riding a 40x16 single speed rigid and it works pretty good for getting me to and from work in the heat. And having every single bit of your energy going toward forward motion is absolutely critical in the heat. I'd imagine a lot of precious energy is being lost doing a commute with a full suspension.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I have looked into this before without finding out too much useful info. ... mostly they said don't be out there in a lightning storm. Even if it seems far away, the next bolt could get you. Looking at the national numbers, it looks like 1 person nationwide has been struck fatally while biking in the last few years. NWS Lightning Safety Resources and Links


In seven years there were 4 cyclists reported killed, but one was under a tree and one was in a parking lot so unclear if riding or not. One was on a reservoir (dam) so that may have been a hit to the structure he was on. I have heard to crouch without hands touching the ground, so you are low with minimal contact. If you can't get into a vehicle or structure you are SOL. It is what I figured. Just ride like H to the first place and hope someone will let you in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took a detour on the way home by the reservoir for a 29 mile day. But the best part was the moose was back:














that's a loon swimming to his right!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> I'm riding a 40x16 single speed rigid and it works pretty good for getting me to and from work in the heat. And having every single bit of your energy going toward forward motion is absolutely critical in the heat. I'd imagine a lot of precious energy is being lost doing a commute with a full suspension.


Yeah I've noticed there is a difference between me and my neighbor who rides a road rocket. He looks a lot better than I do when we finish our rides in to work. Just talked to the lbs. They are gonna hook me up with some used parts to get the ss up and running after I paint the frame something interesting....maybe powder coat? Its an old Spalding Blade frame.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

Been warm here in ABQ as well. Am rides home are in the 80's and pm rides into work near 100's. I have been taking a nice Cat 4 climb home it is only 2.25 miles but it gets the HR up. Since the move closer to work I have to take a roundabout way to bring up the mileage to 7.5 each way. All in all, it has been a nice few weeks of riding.

Mark


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Took a detour on the way home by the reservoir for a 29 mile day. But the best part was the moose was back:
> ....
> that's a loon swimming to his right!


Good moose pic! I'm glad you told us that was a loon because the video could have been of the Loch Nessi Monster and Sponge Bob splashing in the water.  We did a kayaking trip yesterday and were floating rafted together in the pond for a while and a loon popped up about 5 feet from the boat. We also got to see some osprey and a bald eagle pretty close up.

Mountain bike Monday. Head tall grass and a clump of iris around this bridge, (in case you couldn't make it out) Oh, and a moose (not really)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Sanath said:


> Isn't taking shelter under a tree exactly what they say not to do?


Yeah, but my other options weren't really great. This would have probably been the last tree around to get hit (it was more or less the size of a large bush).

My wife and I had an interesting experience with lightning on the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. We were in an aluminum canoe on the water with alligators all around (no joke, they were everywhere) when a storm came ripping through. The wind pretty much took ownership of our canoe and the lightning was striking like crazy. We didn't really have any good options, so we ended up on the shore surrounded by alligator shells under cypresses for a few minutes until things mellowed out. We got back to the park where we rented the canoe and the visitor's center had been shut down completely. I'm still not sure what the best course of action would have been, but I guess sometimes you just have to hope for the best.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this AM. Alaska is having some perfect weather lately. I love it. This morning's multimodal commute saw me driving from Hope AK to Anchorage, leaving at 4:30 AM, and then hopping on the bike to ride from my home office to the customer office in about 70F weather. Clear, sunny, calm. Wonderful.

Multimodal Alaska Adventures


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Sanath said:


> Isn't taking shelter under a tree exactly what they say not to do?





s0ckeyeus said:


> Yeah, but my other options weren't really great. This would have probably been the last tree around to get hit (it was more or less the size of a large bush).


Based on my experience last week I checked out Environment Canada's lightning safety tips, and here is what they recommend:



> In a forest, seek shelter in a low-lying area under a thick growth of small trees or bushes.


I guess the thick growth helps with any shrapnel, but also isn't likely to get hit? No mention of limiting contact points with the ground, though.

Oooh, and there's also this:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> ...My wife and I had an interesting experience with lightning on the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. We were in an aluminum canoe on the water with alligators all around (no joke, they were everywhere) when a storm came ripping through. The wind pretty much took ownership of our canoe and the lightning was striking like crazy. We didn't really have any good options, so we ended up on the shore surrounded by alligator shells under cypresses for a few minutes until things mellowed out. We got back to the park where we rented the canoe and the visitor's center had been shut down completely. I'm still not sure what the best course of action would have been, but I guess sometimes you just have to hope for the best.


Ah, the old lightening storm in a canoe (kayak) story. Been there, done that; sans the alligators. When you are on a day trip on a river there really aren't any good places to go. We have a family camping story that will live on forever involving a thunderstorm, and nothing happened to us other than getting wet.

Newfangled, great chart and explanation of dangers. Good to know on days like today:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Based on my experience last week I checked out Environment Canada's lightning safety tips, and here is what they recommend:
> 
> I guess the thick growth helps with any shrapnel, but also isn't likely to get hit? No mention of limiting contact points with the ground, though.
> 
> Oooh, and there's also this:


I would guess that the more stems, trunks, and legs there are for a ground surge to branch into the lower the hit (drops with distance, too).
My father's house was hit by a side flash from one of the many sugar maples and black walnut trees that surrounded it. From that, I would guess a clump of bushes/small trees would also split the fork up and reduce the current.
Contact suggests holding onto something wet or metal that was struck. Small trees might not have wet trunks early in a thunderstorm. 
Staying low and near low lying short bushes should reduce the chance of upward leaders.
If you do everything right and get a direct hit, a few survive, otherwise, so-long it's been good to know ya.
Exploding trees (that maple blew off half of its ample girth) would be slowed by low branches.

So I have wooded areas all along my route, usually in low lying (streams and creeks) areas. Sounds like a plan. Otherwise, so-long it's been good to know ya. 

BrianMc


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Ah, the old lightening storm in a canoe (kayak) story. Been there, done that; sans the alligators. When you are on a day trip on a river there really aren't any good places to go. We have a family camping story that will live on forever involving a thunderstorm, and nothing happened to us other than getting wet.
> 
> Newfangled, great chart and explanation of dangers. Good to know on days like today:
> View attachment 808802


The old golfing joke is to keep a one iron in your bag. If caught in a lightning storm, walk out into the open and hold the one iron up over your head because even God cannot hit a one iron.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Failed Turtle Rescue.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Uneventful commute, by and large. However before the commute I was finally (on the 3rd to last day of school) able to convince both mom and kid to try riding to school. Kid loved it, mom lacks confidence but will probably be fine.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yeah, but my other options weren't really great. This would have probably been the last tree around to get hit (it was more or less the size of a large bush).
> 
> My wife and I had an interesting experience with lightning on the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. We were in an aluminum canoe on the water with alligators all around (no joke, they were everywhere) when a storm came ripping through. The wind pretty much took ownership of our canoe and the lightning was striking like crazy. We didn't really have any good options, so we ended up on the shore surrounded by alligator shells under cypresses for a few minutes until things mellowed out. We got back to the park where we rented the canoe and the visitor's center had been shut down completely. I'm still not sure what the best course of action would have been, but I guess sometimes you just have to hope for the best.


After long thought and careful consideration of the facts of this situation and options left available to you, I have come to the conclusion that, if you find yourself in a situation that forces you to make a choice between alligator infested water, or lightning, you have perhaps made an error in judgement at some point previously during that day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Failed Turtle Rescue.


The hatching is temp dependent. 60 days to overwintering. (Common snapping turtle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, I had to look it up too. It also sounds like Mama T will leave the nest after she is done laying. It is right on my street so I'll get to check back on the progress. I also sent an email to our Inland Fisheries & Wildlife dept to let them decide if it should be moved or left. Snapping turtles aren't an endangered species around these parts.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

junior1210 said:


> After long thought and careful consideration of the facts of this situation and options left available to you, I have come to the conclusion that, if you find yourself in a situation that forces you to make a choice between alligator infested water, or lightning, you have perhaps made an error in judgement at some point previously during that day.


Nah! It was totally worth it. It's hard to predict a storm hitting. It was totally sunny when we left. By the time the thunderheads started rolling in, we were too far away to make it back to the park. I've never seen so many alligators in my life.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another great multi-modal ride today. Temps in the 70's and sunny as all get out. Glorious. So much so that I actually posted some pics on my blog. Check it out.

Multimodal Alaska Adventures

On a side note, the campground I call home currently has posted bear warning signs all over. There was a blacky haunting the place last week. I'll post a pic of the sign when my daughter gets it emailed to me.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

It was OK, thanks for asking


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Not real great unfortunately. I finally got the rear rim I got in replacement from bikesdirect replaced. Starting off I found the cassette lock bolt was quite loose, only two of the rings were removable and a piece of one ring broke when I was cleaning it with a rag with little pressure;








When I got to removing the rotor, all but one bolt came off, the last rounding out due to the lock tight, forcing me to run on one brake as my bike is my main transportation and it rained this morning, so braking wasn't fun.

Got on the bike and right off noticed this rim has a worse flat spot than the old one, and a slow leak in the brand new tube.

I did enjoy the ride tho despite the issues, so there was some redemption.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Man that sucks with your parts issues! Hopefully all will get sorted out.

My commute has been shortened to only riding in the mornings because of the heat. Came down with heat exhaustion last week but the mornings are nice to ride in. Now all I have to do is get some scenery for the ride and it would be wonderful.

Bad news for me though. I went trail riding at big bear and a bolt on my bike tore me open right on the side of my knee. Looks like I'm going to have to get the doc to look at it. Since its not a laceration stitches won't work well. I have a feeling systemic antibiotics are going to be necessary and it will take a long time to heal.








It does look better than this. Hot packing and hydrogen peroxide goes a long way but we shall see. 
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Like always, nice ride in this morning. Sun barely up, birds chirping, wild animals howling (I ride right by Wayne Newton's 52 acre estate loaded with animals), and a cool 78f. For the ride home, 15 miles in 105f+. Usual seven miles up hill and with a strong headwind, and then I dropped my Jeep off at the mechanic and did a mostly flat 8 mile ride home, once again, with a strong headwind. I am finding the that the key to hot weather riding is simply hydration, sunblock, and a nice hat. Getting used to it already.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Sorry about all the broken bike and body parts everyone! I replaced the chain on my MTB for yesterday's commute andthen heard the sucking sound of the middle ring not releasing the chain at the bottom and had to ride without that ring the rest of the day. Same action I had on the granny 6 mos ago, so I knew I needed a new chainring despite replacing the chain at .75 on the Park chainchecker. Things do wear out eventually I guess. 

Thinking I could run down to the LBS at lunch, I called to see if they might have it. Nope. They couldn't order it either, discontinued by Shimano. :madman: But my fave (but further) shop still had one in stock! I got stymied on removing the last 2 chainring bolts though, so back to shop #1 today with my bag-o-parts. They helped me on the spot, and I should have it back together in the morning.

I'm ordering some spares, found a granny at universalcycles (their $2.99 shipping for 1 or more of the same product is pretty handy) and a middle ring from some shop in MN. I was going to skip the big ring, but without me asking, the mechanic said keep an eye on the big ring, so I should probably get one of those too.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*I got hit today (by a bike while walking)*

Walking back to the office from lunch, downtown area, went to cross a small narrow one-way service road to get to the pedestrian walkway on the other side. Looked both ways, all clear, got to the other side and was about to step up from the road onto the curb when from my right side I hear "OH SH&tT" and before I could even turn my head to look a bike plows into me. I almost went down but managed to stay on my feet. The cyclist was one of those sandwich shop delivery guys on a fixie. He went down hard and had a yard sale in the street.

He got up an immediately started apologizing...had come down the curb from the sidewalk to the road intending to pass behind me and misjudged it and could not stop in time. After assessing the damage, I said I thought I was OK. My right leg took most of the hit and it's a little sore. Felt OK on the commute home tonight, have to see how it feels for the ride tomorrow. Also got a pretty good cut on one finger and skin scraped off another, but they will heal. I asked him to give a little more space next time and we shook hands and went our ways.

Been riding for five years...daily for the last 1.5 years and everyone is always telling me to be careful on my bike, and now my first bike accident comes when I am a pedestrian!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Blood, part carnage, and heat injuries... at least no lightning or alligators today. I have nothing worth complaining about, won`t even try to blow something minor up to whineable proportions.

Dang, Krypto- what kind of bolt did that? I hope you deburred it after it bit you.
Yes, irony in getting nailed while walking. I`ll stay away from fixie comments today. Good luck with tomorrow`s commute.
MtbX, did all those chainrings end up less than the price of a new crankset, or are you just in love with your cranks and willing to pay premium to keep them around? Glad you found the ring you needed to fix the immediate problem without keeping your bike out of commision- got lucky there, I think.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> MtbX, did all those chainrings end up less than the price of a new crankset, or are you just in love with your cranks and willing to pay premium to keep them around? Glad you found the ring you needed to fix the immediate problem without keeping your bike out of commision- got lucky there, I think.


Honestly, I didn't even check, I guess I just hate to get rid of something that is still working well.







Plus it's still _*s h i n y*_!

But now that you ask, I see an XTR crankset is going for over $600, and even the XT is $300, whereas all 3 chainrings are about $200.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I have got to actually replace some of my chains. I have the replacements, just not the motivation to put them on.

Wow, lots of tails or woe and injury. 

MaddCelt, you broke a cassette cog by cleaning it with a rag? Are they made of glass?

Great commute this morning. This is the last morning I get the satisfaction of passing over a mile of school traffic until Fall. We've got a great weather week ahead.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Geesh! Who needs bad drivers to have bike and body injuries! Don't even need to be riding. So much carnage! Feel for all of you.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Blood, part carnage, and heat injuries... at least no lightning or alligators today. I have nothing worth complaining about, won`t even try to blow something minor up to whineable proportions.
> 
> Dang, Krypto- what kind of bolt did that? I hope you deburred it after it bit you.
> Yes, irony in getting nailed while walking. I`ll stay away from fixie comments today. Good luck with tomorrow`s commute.
> MtbX, did all those chainrings end up less than the price of a new crankset, or are you just in love with your cranks and willing to pay premium to keep them around? Glad you found the ring you needed to fix the immediate problem without keeping your bike out of commision- got lucky there, I think.


That was task #1. I'm looking for a cap nut right now but I haven't found one yet. Hardware stores around here are not very well stocked sadly.

It wasn't really the bolt that did it. It was the landing after the jump. I didn't wreck it was just the motion of the landing on the trail. I didn't even notice it till I had gotten a lot further on the trail lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

My commute was pretty awesome - my first time! 15.7 miles one way. Beautiful day here in Wisconsin...sunny and cool!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Super! Hope your ride home goes smoothly as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

WiTrailRunner said:


> My commute was pretty awesome - my first time! 15.7 miles one way. Beautiful day here in Wisconsin...sunny and cool!


Welcome to the commuter forum. Happy Trails.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

WiTrailRunner said:


> My commute was pretty awesome - my first time! 15.7 miles one way. Beautiful day here in Wisconsin...sunny and cool!


Welcome!

Just in case you don't know, the Superflash has a very narrow bright part to its beam. So with that one at that angle what doesn't hit the wheel hits the ground.Not as effective as when aimed straight back. Some of us find a daylight visible light a help, too and the Superflash isn't too good at that even with fresh batteries. PB Turbo is decent. Depends on your environment. Like to see you on the forum for a long time.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Just in case you don't know, the Superflash has a very narrow bright part to its beam. So with that one at that angle what doesn't hit the wheel hits the ground.Not as effective as when aimed straight back. Some of us find a daylight visible light a help, too and the Superflash isn't too good at that even with fresh batteries. PB Turbo is decent. Depends on your environment. Like to see you on the forum for a long time.


Thanks! I realize that it's not doing any good at that angle. I didn't even turn it on. I need to get a new seat bag. My dad gave me the light from his bike, since he's retired now and no longer riding at dark. Right now I'm just commuting in the light via mostly bike paths, but I know that I'll need some decent lights once the days start getting shorter again.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Its been a while since I posted here. The commute to work this morning was good and I will have a brisk wind to my back for my ride home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Still windy here. I`m getting tired of it, but it does beat heat waves or rain.

Welcome, Wi TR. I`m sure you`ll get a handle on what you need by the time the sun starts setting on you.



mtbxplorer said:


> But now that you ask, I see an XTR crankset is going for over $600, and even the XT is $300, whereas all 3 chainrings are about $200.


Yeah, I guess the rings were a lot cheaper. For 74/110 bear raper type, a set of rings is just slightly less than the price of a whole new triple.



Kryptoroxx said:


> That was task #1. I'm looking for a cap nut right now but I haven't found one yet. Hardware stores around here are not very well stocked sadly.


If you can`t easily find a metric acorn nut, maybe just rounding off with a file will be good enough?


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

I broke one of my own cardinal rules this morning; I gave a guy in a pickup the one finger salute in response to his behavior, he acknowledged in kind. Nothing was gained... he probably passes me everyday. So the guy with the 4000 lbs vehicle is probably not my friend now.
On a more humorous note I howled at a coyote trotting across an open field with a rabbit in its mouth. He/she took a quick glance at me and then sprinted for the nearest tree line. He/she probably flipped me off for my behavior!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I love cool sunny mornings where a T and a windvest feels warm enough but with that nice brisk feeling on your bare arms. 50F when I left home.

Some dodo blew right through a red light I was stopped at. Not recently red either, I'd been stopped a good while. The car was going maybe 35-40, so it would not have been pretty of it had hit somebody.

Nice trailride last night, except I had some issues with shifts into the 3rd largest spot on the cassette from the 2nd largest. Rapid rise rear der, so this is with the thumb shift. So after some more fiddling this morning, I left on the knobby wheels to try to see if it was fixed or not. Thought it could also be that dang new chain causing issues with the old cassette. It seemed better on the commute but you never know if that will be the case on the trail next time. More hills on the way home, so that will be a better test.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Really nice pic there MTBX. It's sounding like you need to put that dang old chain back on an run it till it misbehaves since you are going to be replacing the whole drive train anyway.

Well, nemhead, some people just need to be flipped the bird. But you're right, I try to smile and be friendly since I do the same routes every day.

My AM trail report is elsewhere.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Another nice commute for me this morning! Sunny and cool again, but it's going to heat up this afternoon. I'm really tired today. I assume I'll adjust to my miles after a few weeks. I'm hoping to do my 31 mile round trip 2-3 times a week.

Really pretty photo, MTBX!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday was unofficially bunny hop over stuff day. I encountered some downed branches, debris, and a Burger King box that just had to be jumped over. The only run in of the day was with a delivery truck that decided to back down a cross street and onto my street without looking. It's a good thing I was paying attention, or I might have had to peel myself off the back of his truck.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Steady 2 inches per hour rain....also had to ride to the doctors office...

Still pretty dry under the four layers by the time I got to work.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

The store I work at has recently started carrying u-lock/cable combos from various companies (all of them reputable), and I had bought one so I stopped tempting fate. Yesterday at the bike rack as I was leaving (I work midshift), three other bikes there and all of them either cabled through the front wheel only or just around the bars to the rack, and then mine with u-lock and cable. Far as I know, no bikes have been stolen from my job ever, so starting to wonder if the double locks are paranoid or just ahead of the curve?


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## YKNOT (Nov 16, 2012)

Nice ride in today on the bike paths. There's a lot more traffic now that the weather is nicer, so my commuting time has gone up a couple minutes. Otherwise, I'm in a great routine. I love the morning rides in 50s/60s. Haven't had any heat so to speak yet but what ever bring it on!

Today is my 49th commuting day and next Monday will mark 1000 bike commuting miles since I started back in February.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Better than it has been in a while. Why? Because I got a far better understanding of cadence and how it effects glucose/glycogin levels. I put what I learned to the test this morning and I am impressed and ready to try it out on my 10 mile straight shot home.

The down side of being the lone commuter, none to learn from, leaving learning from trial and error.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

MaddCelt said:


> Better than it has been in a while. Why? Because I got a far better understanding of cadence and how it effects glucose/glycogin levels. I put what I learned to the test this morning and I am impressed and ready to try it out on my 10 mile straight shot home.
> 
> The down side of being the lone commuter, none to learn from, leaving learning from trial and error.


Care to share?


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

junior1210 said:


> The store I work at has recently started carrying u-lock/cable combos from various companies (all of them reputable), and I had bought one so I stopped tempting fate. Yesterday at the bike rack as I was leaving (I work midshift), three other bikes there and all of them either cabled through the front wheel only or just around the bars to the rack, and then mine with u-lock and cable. Far as I know, no bikes have been stolen from my job ever, so starting to wonder if the double locks are paranoid or just ahead of the curve?


Better safe than sorry. Where I work its the same thing, when I see other bikes there is just a cable through the front wheel. I see a bike now and then with NO lock.

I use a thick chain and padlock through the front wheel and frame and have had no trouble so far. Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Sanath said:


> Care to share?


My recent post -

There is something to said about running a lower gear set and higher cadence (pedalling speed). After doing some research on glucose burn whole cycling I found that depending your cadence and gear setting, your muscles burn glucose differently.
So this morning I dropped down a gear on the crankset and saw an immediate improvement on topping the hill as well as to the bus stop. Heart was racing and out of breath but worth it.

On the second stage of my morning commute, bus stop to work and to the LBS, 4 miles exactly. With two decent swigs of poweraide early in the ride I tested 100 at the LBS despite the increase in rmp and higher heart rate when riding. I didn't think to time it but I know I got a better time than normal.

I also got to thinking about my past months and riding and why, I think, my gl level issue started to manifest now instead of early on. It has to do with my endurance and increase in strength.

When I got in the saddle three months ago I was out of shape and weak in the lower half. This prompted the use of easier gears to get around. Higher rpm's to get me going. As I got in better shape I started dropping into lower gears thinking that was the best option. I seldom would drop out of the largest ring on my crank unless I hit a really hard hill.

That is when the gl issues started, something I did not understand until I did research last night on the benefits of cadence. I would crank harder to get up to speed or getting up hills, burning out the stored glycogen in my muscles and likely my blood faster than I would had I went with a higher cadence and easier gear. You would think this would be a no-brainer, but maybe I was not using my brain I didn't see it til now. As Gru would say, "Light Bulb."

Tonight will be the real test, 10 mile ride home.

And here is the link to what I read for the light bulb effect -

Bicycling Exercise Physiology


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

junior1210 said:


> -snip-Yesterday at the bike rack as I was leaving (I work midshift), three other bikes there and all of them either cabled through the front wheel only or just around the bars to the rack, and then mine with u-lock and cable. Far as I know, no bikes have been stolen from my job ever, so starting to wonder if the double locks are paranoid or just ahead of the curve?


*** If so, I was in another dimension doing that in 1982.  Still use the D-Lock. New cable lock, though. Theives will be deterred unless thwy have a cordless angle grinder and a truck to load 'em up fast and gone.



MaddCelt said:


> The down side of being the lone commuter, none to learn from, leaving learning from trial and error.


*** I hope the drivers in your area don't learn much the same way.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> If you can`t easily find a metric acorn nut, maybe just rounding off with a file will be good enough?


I put 3 or 4 washers in to patch it so at least there are no threads showing to slice and dice. I leave the desert about once a month to do exterior errands. It helps with gas being so high. Wish I could ride down to palm springs but that is a really long ride for me yet Lol.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

YKNOT said:


> Today is my 49th commuting day and next Monday will mark 1000 bike commuting miles since I started back in February.


:band:



MaddCelt said:


> Because I got a far better understanding of cadence and how it effects glucose/glycogin levels...
> 
> The down side of being the lone commuter, none to learn from, leaving learning from trial and error.


Huh. I never would have thought that cadence had any effect on how body chemistry. Glad you found some good info to help keep your levels under control.

Lone Commuter: Just as well, probably.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> :band:
> 
> Huh. I never would have thought that cadence had any effect on how body chemistry. Glad you found some good info to help keep your levels under control.
> 
> Lone Commuter: Just as well, probably.


I am getting ready to put this to the test. Getting my gl level up for the ride. So I hope to post the results tonight or in the morning.

The plus side to cycling is that I do not need anyone else, hop in the saddle and go. It would be nice tho to meet/ride with another diabetic as well.

The solo act has been a problem with other interests I have had and relocation to KY put an end to, such as sword fighting, brewing mead, leatherwork in relation to medieval reenactment, etc.

Hmmm, they have cycle polo, wonder if there is jousting? (new tab/google/searching....)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dang! Busted a saddle rail on the way home (or noticed it). First one for me ever. 16 mos old Specialized with chromoly rails, I weigh 135 lbs.

Rudely if not dangerously close to being right hooked by a driver who just HAD to pass me and immediately turn in front of me. Luckily her windows were open, so I think my loud but restrained comment "R E A L L Y ?" was actually heard.

Detoured to the reservoir. No moose, 1 loon, 1 merganser with 4 chicks, and 1 dead Canada goose. It was on the side of the road, but I think it was hit by a car. Interestingly, it had a leg band, with a registration number and 800 number on it. I'll spare you the photos.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bike jousting. Hmmm... sounds like fun.

Bummer about the saddle and the goose. Did you call that number to report it?

Rant time.
Nothing was out of the ordinary on my way home this morning (that was Thursday for you easterners and day shifters). On my way in tonight, I had a surprise. Three blocks from home I make a right turn, no stop for me and transitioning from downhill to uphill, so I`m usually moving along pretty good- probably about 20 MPH. As my headlight started lighting up the other street, I just had a half second or so to notice that something was amiss before I ran up onto new pavement. I didn`t wipe out, but it was a bit puckery. The new surface covers the whole right lane from my neighborhood to the start of an old airbase 3/4 of a mile away, and is extra bumpy with loose crumbly stuff on top. No notice sings during the week, no warning signs tonight, just out of the blue. 

What really gets me is that this is the THIRD time in recent years that road has been surfaced (with a daily traffic count of like 100 to 200 vehicles per day max), and there was nothing wrong with it! In fact, it was some of the smoothest, nicest pavement in town- not any more. The first time it was repaved (5 years back?), it really did need work. The original pavement was since the mid 80s and was potholed, patched, and cracked with both edges falling apart. The job came out great, and I rejoyced when they did it. The next time (2 years ago) it was inconvenient, and a waste of money, but at least it turned out well- even added a bike lane to my amusement. I`m just about the only bike traffic out there, and I had never wished for my own lane, but whatever. Anyway, I guess they`re going to do the other side tomorrow because they have those little stick on reflector things on that side too.

I sure hope they end up putting a smooth layer down over the top of this bumpy crap, but I think what we have now is what it`s going to stay like. They pulled the same stupid game on the main road into the front end of my valley the year before my last repave. Just like here, it had already been redone recently, and was nice and smooth.... until they went and "fixed' it some more. Since then, one direction has been so bumpy along the side that I have to ride way out in the lane even though I always felt safe and happy on the shoulder before. The surface is like somebody blade laid a layer of goat poop, drove a heard of cattle over it, then flash froze the result. My gas tax at work :nonod:
I guess that`s what I get for driving.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

^^^

Yea, chip seal is not fun, I have done that on my motorcycle a few times. Not a fun experience when you are moving.

Mark


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> The surface is like somebody blade laid a layer of goat poop, drove a herd of cattle over it, then flash froze the result.


:lol: Superb description. Hope things smooth out for you. Glad you didn't go down on the unsigned work zone.


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## crossracer (Jun 27, 2004)

Got 35 miles in on the beast yesterday, love riding the commuting bike and passing regular roadies. 

Bill


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Not chipseal. I just found the maintenance schedule on the county website and it looks like I`ve been slurry sealed. Compared to chip, this stuff is more lumpy-bumpy and less vibating. Relative suckiness is about the same.

I didn`t go down this time, but last time I did! I even posted about it here- road had been closed for a few days and they still hadn`t started the project, so I snuck between the barricades and rode on the closed road anyway (midnight). The first night was fine, the second night I clotheslined myself at the end because somebody had strung a rope between each of the orange drums that were spaced across the road! Didn`t injure myeslf or my bike, but I sure made a hell of a racket when I went down in a tangle of drums and rope :lol:


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> but I sure made a hell of a racket when I went down in a tangle of drums and rope :lol:


LOL! Price you pay for being an outlaw!

My summer solstice commute was awesome! I listened to this twice when I got to work:

June Hymn - The Decemberists - YouTube


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Pretty good ride in this morning. I don't always take an alternate route, but when I do I invariably end up playing leapfrog with a garbage truck.

Today I put the hammer down and the truck never caught back up though


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*I almost crashed into a deer!*

I rode my mountain bike but was on the road going down a steep hill. right at the bottom I was probably going around 30mph (44 feet/second) and a frickin big deer jumps out of the woods about 5 feet from the front of my bike. I came about 0.13 seconds from T-Boning the crazy woods cow at high speed.:eekster::eekster::eekster::eekster::eekster::eekster:

MTXB, how did the rail break? In half or did it just pop out of the saddle? I've got a nice collection of hard as a rock saddles you are welcome to I've never figured out how some saddles can be hard an comfortable and others, not so much. I have 3 WTB saddles, the Rocket is great, the one on my fatbike is OK (not sure which model) and the Silverado on my 9er is pretty hard.

Rodar, Nice description of the goat poop road AND your tangle of rope and barrels.

Crossracer, I also enjoy the egoistical pleasure of passing somebody that looks like they should be faster than you.:thumbsup:

I'm celebrating my solstice by volunteering at The Longest Day 5K


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Oh deer! Yikes! Close call for your hide, sounds like you were really hoofing it. 

The rail broke in half right behind the Easton clamp. Of course I was just riding along. I actually noticed it when I stopped at the reservoir and picked up the bike using the saddle and bars to lean it closer to the guardrail.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was a steep hill. It would have been a great go-pro moment.

Did you just go off any sweet jumps? Were you grinding down a handrail with the seat rail? Loan your bike to a circus elephant? Maybe they will replace it. It sounds defective to me. I've never seen one break like that and I weigh 175.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Not a bad way to start a Friday:



( Friday Photo | GRAVELBIKE.com )


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, and it was on...wait for it...Deer Acres, right at the intersection with Fawn Road.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Oh, that's gorgeous, Mark! Where do you live?

My ride in was long this morning. Dealt with a headwind and some sprinkles. Took me 1:12 today - 5 minutes longer than normal. Now it's pouring here. My legs are definitely tired after 3 days in a row.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> right at the bottom I was probably going around 30mph (44 feet/second) and a frickin big deer jumps out of the woods about 5 feet from the front of my bike. I came about 0.13 seconds from T-Boning the crazy woods cow at high speed.:eekster::eekster::eekster::eekster::eekster::eekster:


Sounds like one of somebody else`s stories. Sure you didn`t veer west on your way in?


bedwards1000 said:


> I'm putting the whole stable out there as options again.
> 
> 
> Camouflaged Ogre
> ...





WiTrailRunner said:


> My ride in was long this morning. Dealt with a headwind and some sprinkles. Took me 1:12 today - 5 minutes longer than normal. Now it's pouring here. My legs are definitely tired after 3 days in a row.


Knocking `em dead! Weren`t you just looking at a few days per week?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sounds like one of somebody else`s stories. Sure you didn`t veer west on your way in?


That's not my stable! I recognize the camouflaged Orge as a bike of somebody that doesn't post here when the days get longer. I remember somebody almost clipping a moose recently but the moose was stationary and this deer was airborne. This crossing stables / crossing threads thing is confusing me.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Knocking `em dead! Weren`t you just looking at a few days per week?


Yes  Of course, I brought enough clothes into the office earlier this week for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday just in case...sooooo...why not?

I'm just an injured runner looking for a fix. It's been over a year now and no one can tell me why it hurts when I run (pain in my groin, had plenty of x-rays and MRIs), so I've turned to my bike for now. I'm in the learning stage regarding cycling. I've been having a lot of fun mountain biking the trails I used to run. Commuting stemmed from there.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Oh, that's gorgeous, Mark! Where do you live?
> 
> My ride in was long this morning. Dealt with a headwind and some sprinkles. Took me 1:12 today - 5 minutes longer than normal. Now it's pouring here. My legs are definitely tired after 3 days in a row.


I'm in Colorado. My commute is between Superior and Boulder--just under 12 miles one way.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

MileHighMark said:


> I'm in Colorado. My commute is between Superior and Boulder--just under 12 miles one way.


I'm jealous...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I'm jealous...
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


Yeah, it doesn't suck. Even in winter.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

MileHighMark said:


> Yeah, it doesn't suck. Even in winter.


I'm actually planning on going to Colorado State after I get done with the Marines next year. One for the school. Secondly its equidistant from my parents and the in laws and thirdly for the scenery. It might not be the best for biking but I'm not there for fun this time Lol.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I'm jealous...


Me too. Wisconsin is great, but I'd love to live in Colorado someday.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

What? 1st day of summer and its 50 degrees in Anchorage??? It almost feels darn right cold after a what seems like a month of High 60s, 70s, and low 80s! At least you warm up after you start pushing a Fatbike around a few miles. Solstice tonight! Days get shorter, bring on the snow!!!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was a warm humid 78 when I left the house this morning and now its 90 and really humid. I will have a fun ride home this afternoon. The good news is I have a nice wind to my back for most of my ride home today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> Steady 2 inches per hour rain....also had to ride to the doctors office...
> 
> Still pretty dry under the four layers by the time I got to work.


I`m catching reports of serious flooding around there. Hanging in okay? 
Newf?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m catching reports of serious flooding around there. Hanging in okay?
> Newf?


Well, we had a lovely day in Edmonton. But Calgary is a mess, and there's probably a pretty good chance that Jeff's workplace is under water. As far as Canadian disasters go, that's going to be one for the record books.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Well, we had a lovely day in Edmonton. But Calgary is a mess, and there's a pretty good chance that Jeff's workplace is under water. As far as Canadian disasters go, that's going to be one for the record books.


Rode in this morning... River was very high...Got to work but they had already turned off the power, so I went for a ride to check things out...About two blocks east (downstream) the Bow and the Elbow rivers were meeting....normally they meet about 2 km downstream...Calgary has a lot of hills so really only the bottom of the river valleys are affected...But that is downtown Calgary, so the damages to all the large buildings is going to be incredible...Lots of people strolling along the river valley edge checking out the flood it is pretty big....Maybe no work on Monday as well.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Good to hear you're okay Jeff.

For anyone interested, this shows the scope of it:

Raw Video: Downtown Calgary flooding | Global News Video


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

That is pretty bad! You guys stay safe 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi kids, just checking in from summer break. I did a 124 mile monster on Wednesday. 7000 feet of climbing. Some of Rodar's past pics came to mind... Took a day off and hit the lake today...the wakeboard legs were not quite there...ha.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Rode in this morning... River was very high...Got to work but they had already turned off the power, so I went for a ride to check things out...About two blocks east (downstream) the Bow and the Elbow rivers were meeting....normally they meet about 2 km downstream...Calgary has a lot of hills so really only the bottom of the river valleys are affected...But that is downtown Calgary, so the damages to all the large buildings is going to be incredible...Lots of people strolling along the river valley edge checking out the flood it is pretty big....Maybe no work on Monday as well.


Wow, glad you were able to check in here, and apparently make it home after your flood ride. That flood silt really makes a mess of everything even if the water itself doesn't destroy things, we never did get back to our old offices after the flood here. Hope things work out OK there for you and all of Calgary.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It sounds like your house is okay, Jeff. Good thing there! Newfangled`s vid doesn`t come up for me, but I`ve seen a number of others- definitely looking nasty.

Gnarly, CB! What was your route?


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Last night was interesting. Saw a fellow cyclist on my way home heading southbound. Second cyclist I have seen on my route. The first one I have seen twice and he seems pretty uptight, or I'm not in his league to acknowledge. Maybe when I get proper cycling shorts, drop down bars and slicks I will have a foot in the door. 

I got told by a truck load of local hicks to ride on the sidewalk, then had my first accident. I miss calculated the length of a truck passing me and when I corrected, I ended up in a ditch. Fortunately it was grassy, so no injury or damage. Actually was laughing when I got back on the bike.

Finding that I still have a great deal of energy left when I get home with the change in riding style. Was able to cook up a nice piece of swordfish and a enjoy it with a salad (sounds all upper crust but it was on discount and I was curious), get the rear rotor back on my bike and make lunch for today within an hour. 

The ride in I hit the flea market and browsed the bikes, picked up a brand new craftsman tool bag for $12 that I am going to use for my bike related tools and some fruit and veggies.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bummer about the saddle and the goose. Did you call that number to report it?


I called in the Canada goose's band number and today got a certificate of appreciation from USGS/Canadian Wildlife Service. The bird had been banded 7/1/10 by the VT Fish & Wildlife Dept. when it was to young to fly :sad: That was at a little pond about 45 miles northwest.

I showed the saddle to the Specialized dealer and found a) the 1 year warranty expired 3 mos ago b) they thought it was clamped too close to 
the front, near where the rails start to angle up. They might actually be right about that, as I have 2 other Specialized saddles that have been OK. Still, I couldn't bear to replace it with the same model (not that they carried it anyway), and replaced it with the WTB Deva. Figured if I don't like it I will swap it to a bike I ride less often.

I also got a new cassette, and the popping etc. has stopped. I was surprised I had to call 3 shops to find an XT 9 speed cassette. Sure enough, it was I-Ride (where I found the discontinued chainring) again. :thumbsup:

Fun night ride on the quarry trails yesterday and a bonfire to kick off RockFireVT.com Two people went over the bars but were OK. Looking forward to seeing the new sculptures, rock carvings and giant fires on the grout piles tonight. Ironically, my volunteer duty is parking cars.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A few more from the Calgary news:


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Holy crap that is insane!

First thing that came to mind was the warning not to let water get into the crank housing.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Looking at those pics, the theme to 'Jaws' came to mind. Then Johnny Cash's 'Three Foot High and Rising'.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

MaddCelt said:


> Last night was interesting. Saw a fellow cyclist on my way home heading southbound. Second cyclist I have seen on my route. The first one I have seen twice and he seems pretty uptight, or I'm not in his league to acknowledge. Maybe when I get proper cycling shorts, drop down bars and slicks I will have a foot in the door.
> 
> I got told by a truck load of local hicks to ride on the sidewalk.../QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Yesterday's ride home, I went out to the end of Fort Hancock. Fresh pavement for most of the ride, so it was nice and smooth.
















Officer's Row, already in a state of decay, suffered quite a bit of damage during the past hurricane season.









Closeup of the (now) museum, one of 2 inhabited houses on Officer's Row.









Battery Potter. Made from masonry, constructed prior to WWI, it housed two large 'disappearing' guns. Mounted on large hydraulic elevators, they could be retracted into the 2-or-so story fortification. The crumbling structure on top was a radar station added during WWII--they just didn't build stuff like they used to! In years prior, there was a period crank-gun above the main gate (through the large rectangular opening) facing rear to repel any ground invaders. If you ever get out to NJ, the park service still does tours of Batteries Potter and Gunnison (not pictured).









Nine-Gun Battery, built just prior to WWI, housed (unsurprisingly) 9 guns. Out of frame (and buried beneath the ground, now) the entire area is crisscrossed by a rail network that carried munitions and guns between the various batteries and proving grounds that inhabited the island for the better part of a century. Around 10 years ago, the park service was still doing tours, where I visited a section of the battery that housed the magazine, shell lift, gun platform, and gas-attack safe room. The condition of the battery has since worsened, and funding has not/will not be sourced to maintain as a heritage site.

I can grab more pictures of the island and its fortifications if there is interest!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And now we've got a little mini-flood going on. It's nothing like Calgary's, but the river has jumped 6m over the last 48 hours, and flow has gone from 350 m3/s to 2800. A bunch of the low-lying trails are underwater, but we had similar levels in 2011, and it would have to rise a whole lot more for there to be any real damage. But the power of it all is pretty crazy.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

pothole bent rim locked wheel OTB.
roadrash and scrapes but nothing too bad. bars and rim are goners though.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

newfangled said:


> And now we've got a little mini-flood going on. It's nothing like Calgary's, but the river has jumped 6m over the last 48 hours, and flow has gone from 350 m3/s to 2800. A bunch of the low-lying trails are underwater, but we had similar levels in 2011, and it would have to rise a whole lot more for there to be any real damage. But the power of it all is pretty crazy.


I definitely sympathize with everyone getting flooded....but if you could send the extra rain my way I would greatly appreciate it. I think we are looking at 3" for the year so far....maybe not exact but its been really dry.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Less than an inch of rain in Vegas so far, I believe. Hot and dry. We only average about 4.5 inches a year with much of that coming durning the summer monsoon season. Quick summer storms that sometimes dump an inch of rain in minutes. Floods the whole valley. Becomes a real mess.

Hopefully I will get back on track with my commutes this week. Rode one day last week. Just terrible. Things to do right after work three days and I over slept Friday, so had to take the Jeep to be to work on time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hope you are all staying dry...sounds/looks crazy!



rodar y rodar said:


> Gnarly, CB! What was your route?


The previously discussed highway avoidance route from here to Janesville, then Janesville grade to Antelope, Genesee, Taylorsville, Greenville, Canyon Dam, along Almanor to Clear Creek, Westwood, and the Bizz back. Truly beautiful country.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Pics aren't working for me. Not sure if everyone is having the same problem. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Did a long weekend in Cleveland area. Should have brought The Duchess even though I'd only have had only part of one day to ride and would have needed to research my options. Saturday Night I was here:



I have 10 minutes phone video of fireworks after the game with rock soundtrack but will only load to YouTube by popular demand. 
Disclaimer: my better half is a Progressive employee.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

wschruba said:


> Yesterday's ride home, I went out to the end of Fort Hancock. Fresh pavement for most of the ride, so it was nice and smooth.


Wow, neat stuff . So, that`s close enough to home/work for you that your were able to squeeze it into your commute route? Very cool!



CommuterBoy said:


> The previously discussed highway avoidance route from here to Janesville, then Janesville grade to Antelope, Genesee, Taylorsville, Greenville, Canyon Dam, along Almanor to Clear Creek, Westwood, and the Bizz back. Truly beautiful country.


I thought so! Beautiful, indeed- I`ve ridden most of it before, hope to make a loop of it like that one of these days. And I believe that made a PR for you- congrats!

Damn, Byknuts. That must have been one hell of a pothole! Reminiscent of BrianMc`s water bottle through the spokes trick. Good thing you came through with only minor injuries and good thing it didn`t put your only bike out of commision. Heal up soon- you and the bike, both.

I did all my chores Saturday, had yesterdy to play, so I headed south for the first time this year. US 395 between Reno and Carson City used to be pretty scary riding, but a new freeway extension last year cut most of the traffic, and a new paint job gives loads of room between the fog line and the edge of the pavement. It`s a joy now. Too bad I have to make my way through 25 miles of city trafic to get to the good stuff. The weather strated getting a bit ugly before I made it home, but I beat the worst of it. Saw this guy in the middle of the good part...


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

Been off of the bike for two weeks for no other reason than being lazy. Rode in this morning and it felt very good to be out of the truck. Weather is sooooo beautiful. 65°F light SW breeze and the sun peeking out of the overnight clouds...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Weird coming home this am. Lots of people out riding or jogging, and all of them friendly and happy (or at least not sad/grumpy). Normally I might come across 4-5 people and half will wave or say good morning. This time I must have saw 25-30 folks including a 10 man group ride, and every single person either waved or said good morning with a smile. Like I said before, weird although in a nice way.

Keep seeing Nashbar doing their 20% sales seems like every 4 days. If they keep that up , I might just break down and buy that Slicker after all. $449 ain't bad and $359 is pretty decent.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Rode the skinny bike today, well, skinnier than a fatbike. Was a little faster, but only up hills. I still have more fun riding Fat that's for sure!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

While in NE Ohio, I visited my old LBS and they had one of these:

Krampus | Bikes | Surly Bikes

Surprisingly light with 3" tires on it set up 1 x 10 (I think 10). Interesting but they weren't giving it away.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Saw this guy in the middle of the good part...


Man, I have such a strange fascination with buzzards and other large birds of prey. When I lived in South Dakota I would spend most weekend days paddling on the Missouri river and would often just drift along watching huge wakes of vultures riding the thermals over the river bluffs. That's the one thing I miss about SD. Great pic!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in. 75 degrees and a strong wind pushed me the entire way. Paid for it on the way home. About 90 degrees with the same strong wind holding me back. Still a good commute day. Thursday and Friday are promising record highs (113+). Hopefully I won't chicken out this time and take the Jeep in. 107 is my hottest afternoon commute so far.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The first nosleeves commute, hot and muggy, but the severe thunderstorms came and went while I was still at work. One lightning strike and thunderclap were so severe that one coworker screamed. The wind was impressive too, I ran out just before the rain hit to move my bike into the parking garage. And now that I'm home the wind is picking up again and a black cloud is gathering.

Here are a few of the new carvings from this weekend's RockFire event on the quarry trails at Millstone Hill (ones that are not mine are labeled):


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Miss a weekend, Miss a Lot*

Wow! Lots of stories around here. Too much to comment on, briefly; Sorry to hear about about the flooding & crashes. I wish the vultures around here would get busy because there seems to be a lot of road kill around and the muggy 90 degree days bring out the best in it if you know what I mean. Wicked cool rock carvings. Having cut granite tiles with a diamond saw, I don't know how they do it. Someday I might have to find my way over there with my mountain bike to try those trails and see the quarries.

Here's what I did with my weekend, it involved my bike...big surprise: Marathon Chasing. Lots of pretty coastal pics like this:








And the last 2 day's commutes; PERFECT! Summer arrived right with the solstice. It was already a pleasant 80 degrees this morning at 6:30 and I took the flat way for a nice easy spin in.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Warm and humid day.
Leaving work at town center, all paved surfaces were still dark after the latest light drizzle - except under trees and in the tunnel under the railway station.
A couple of kilometers out, all paved surfaces were already dry - except under trees, bridges and parked cars.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute today. First day of actual multi-modal on the bus. I'll total right around 70 miles on the bus and 12 on the bike today. It feels dang good to be back in a house! Tent living was fine for a while, but 22 nights is a bit excessive. Read more herel!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Congrats on the move, *Blockphi*! I enjoyed the blog.
I took a different route to work this morning which upped the mileage from 11 to 13 miles. A lot hillier ride but almost zero traffic in the morning. I think a grand total of 2 cars passed me. It is much busier in the afternoon and with the hills, curves and lack of shoulder it really is not the preferred route.
Kudos for everyone's photos!


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## bigeyedfish (May 30, 2013)

I live 40 miles from work, but for our anniversary my wife booked a bed and breakfast about 12 miles from work. The b&b was right on a rail-trail, so we rode there after work and then rode back to work in the morning. It was great. I wish I could do that everyday. Now I need a house closer to work or a job closer to home.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Strong winds again today. Like yesterday, flew into work with a strong wind pushing me. Mid-seventies. All down hill.

Ride home a brutal 100 or so degrees with a strong blow-dryer like headwind. All up hill. For first time, got me rethinking the 40X16 single speed. Just might be time for options. . .


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wicked cool rock carvings. Having cut granite tiles with a diamond saw, I don't know how they do it. Someday I might have to find my way over there with my mountain bike to try those trails and see the quarries.
> 
> Here's what I did with my weekend, it involved my bike...big surprise: Marathon Chasing. Lots of pretty coastal pics like this:
> View attachment 810879


Nice blogpost on the marathon chasing! Love the tide pix. Never been there. Too bad about the fatbike!

Some of the artists were there Saturday while I helped set up firewood and water for that night, and one said it took 3-4 days to do most of the carvings. They use this pneumatic tool with different bits, which amazingly, are made right here in Barre by a company started in 1890! Rock Cutting Tools Marble Cutting Chisel Stone Carving Tool

Yes, come ride the quarries anytime. Well except today. They never close,because it drains really well, but the crazy rains are killing the trailriding statewide.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Cool!

Today's commute was filled with the stench of rotting corpses. Ahhh... I'm assuming all of them are animals. The muggy heat and the road-kill are not mixing well.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Cool!
> 
> Today's commute was filled with the stench of rotting corpses. Ahhh... I'm assuming all of them are animals. The muggy heat and the road-kill are not mixing well.


The other day I made some roadkill accidentally. There was a little prairie dog type animal crossing the road and a car scared it back into my path. It stopped for my front wheel but I guess it didn't see the back one.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bigeyedfish said:


> I live 40 miles from work, but for our anniversary my wife booked a bed and breakfast about 12 miles from work. The b&b was right on a rail-trail, so we rode there after work and then rode back to work in the morning. It was great. I wish I could do that everyday. Now I need a house closer to work or a job closer to home.


Cool! Where are you?



blockphi said:


> A good commute today. First day of actual multi-modal on the bus. I'll total right around 70 miles on the bus and 12 on the bike today. It feels dang good to be back in a house! Tent living was fine for a while, but 22 nights is a bit excessive. Read more herel!


Awright! Glad you finally got out from under the canvas. Glad you were able to get your bike on the bus too.



perttime said:


> ...all paved surfaces were still dark after the latest light drizzle - except under trees and in the tunnel under the railway station.
> ...all paved surfaces were already dry - except under trees, bridges and parked cars.


??? Weird.


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## bigeyedfish (May 30, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool! Where are you?


Central Missouri. Work is in Jefferson City, close to the Katy Trail.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It's taken two months, but I think I may have _finally_ gotten my 29er to stop creaking. :madman:

It's my winter bike, so every spring and fall I swap the whole drivetrain from the bottom bracket on up. And every spring it creaks, and I spend a few weeks selectively tearing it apart again to get it to stop.

I think the problem was a pinchbolt on a crankarm which I'd already pulled and greased twice, along with pulling the bb twice, removing and swapping the pedals probably a dozen times, and cleaning and lubing bottlecage bolts, chainring bolts, quickreleases, seatpost, saddlerails, rackmounts, rotorbolts, brake cps washers, singlespeed sliders, spokenipples, spokecrossings...

Normally by mid-may or maybe June I've got a quiet bike again, but it's basically July and it had been driving me insane.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> perttime said:
> 
> 
> > ...all paved surfaces were still dark after the latest light drizzle - except under trees and in the tunnel under the railway station.
> ...


I have a theory.
For the surface to dry, the water has to be absorbed in air. At over 80% humidity, air absorbed water slowly. In places where the air moves less than elsewhere, it can absorb even less water.

Not quite that humid today but 30 Celsius (86 F) with 50% humidity is quite warm enough, thank you.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent commute this AM. Lungs and legs felt really heavy and I was quite tired and didn't want to get out of bed, but once out there, it went well. The bus portion of the commute is working well and I've the added bonus of getting time to catch up on my reading list.

And the continuing discussion continues here...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Didn't have to commute today/last night since the guy who does the work schedules can't read a calender:thumbsup:, so I get a 4 day weekend and spent a good portion of my extra say off researching cranks. Starting to think a Sugino double might be a good buy (seen several on E-bay for less than $60).
And almost 5 days later Nashbar has another 20% sale for today and tomorrow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I discovered a wind tunnel effect from a particular wind angle around a storage building at an intersection where I turn right. The wind was 10-20 mph. So I averaged about 12 into it and almost 20 coming back. It funneled right at the corner where I had the front tire blow out in November. I started into the corner leaning for the turn then the wind knocked me back to vertical threatening to knock me clean over. Catching it took me on a 45 degree angle trying to haul myself the rest of the 90. I ended up using three lane's width to haul the bike around without being blown right over. Scared one oncoming motorist but i was back across the center line long before the driver got there. A personal best 20 mph up the last grade that I push (with my highest max HR of 182), so likely that will stand for a while.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had an unpleasant encounter with a fellow cyclist last night riding home. I passed him on the MUP and the next thing I know he is on my wheel. I don't really want anyone on my wheel when riding the MUP...there are peds, dogs, kids and inexperienced cyclists about which often leads to unexpected speed changes...so I'd rather other cyclists back off and give some room, or pass on by. When I saw him back there, I waved for him to back off. A minute later, he is still there, so I wave him back again and turned around and asked him to please back off. He pulls up next to me and says "what's your problem?". I (calmly) explained why I don't think the MUP is a safe place for drafting, could he either ride back about 50 feet or pass me? He said "I'll ride where I want". Jerk. Not wanting to deal with the jerk any longer, I put the brakes on and slowed down to walking speed and coasted along for about 60 seconds to let him get ahead of me, took a few extra deep breaths and then went back to my normal pace. I caught him again just before my turnoff from the MUP, but stayed back behind him not wanting another unpleasant encounter. I have drafters latch on without asking on a regular basis but the vast majority are polite and will back off when asked. This jerk really had an attitude which I just don't get...I mean what are you out there for? It really ruined what was otherwise a nice evening.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

woodway said:


> I had an unpleasant encounter with a fellow cyclist last night riding home. I passed him on the MUP and the next thing I know he is on my wheel. I don't really want anyone on my wheel when riding the MUP...there are peds, dogs, kids and inexperienced cyclists about which often leads to unexpected speed changes...so I'd rather other cyclists back off and give some room, or pass on by. When I saw him back there, I waved for him to back off. A minute later, he is still there, so I wave him back again and turned around and asked him to please back off. He pulls up next to me and says "what's your problem?". I (calmly) explained why I don't think the MUP is a safe place for drafting, could he either ride back about 50 feet or pass me? He said "I'll ride where I want". Jerk. Not wanting to deal with the jerk any longer, I put the brakes on and slowed down to walking speed and coasted along for about 60 seconds to let him get ahead of me, took a few extra deep breaths and then went back to my normal pace. I caught him again just before my turnoff from the MUP, but stayed back behind him not wanting another unpleasant encounter. I have drafters latch on without asking on a regular basis but the vast majority are polite and will back off when asked. This jerk really had an attitude which I just don't get...I mean what are you out there for? It really ruined what was otherwise a nice evening.


Yeah, jerks like that can be a buzzkill, but you did right by just getting away from him. Only other thing to suggest is to carry some kids jacks for the next unwanted drafter. Hard to suck on your wheel when dodging 'caltrops'.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So for unwanted drafters, how close is too close?

On my route I've got a 1/2mi bridge where I will often follow closely behind other riders. There are frequently pedestrians to pass, as well as oncoming pedestrians to avoid. To fit into those gaps it usually works best to stay with the other bike, but I'm also not going to pass them because there's no room for that.

I'm certainly not 50' back, but I'm also certainly not close enough to be rubbing wheels. And I'm on a mountain bike and usually pretty relaxed, so I don't think that I look like I'm drafting, but I dunno.

It doesn't sound like the experience you guys are talking about, but I'm still curious how close is too close?


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

I had my typical wet weather commute. I wake and hear that Mother Nature has decided to do the wash. I groan a bit and roll out of bed to get my day started. I commence with cooking and eating breakfast, mounting my buckets, swap my backpack contents to the buckets, pull out the rain gear, and sticking my head out the door and see it’s still raining. Twenty mins later I’m rolling out the door and I start seeing patches of sun. When I get to the bus stop, the rain has stopped and no sign to start up again.

I dumped the buckets at work and head for the LB/CS to talk shop and haggle on the car for bike parts/tools offer I have going.

Tonight it’s looking like it’s going to be really nasty.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

woodway said:


> I had an unpleasant encounter with a fellow cyclist last night riding home. I passed him on the MUP and the next thing I know he is on my wheel. I don't really want anyone on my wheel when riding the MUP...there are peds, dogs, kids and inexperienced cyclists about which often leads to unexpected speed changes...so I'd rather other cyclists back off and give some room, or pass on by. When I saw him back there, I waved for him to back off. A minute later, he is still there, so I wave him back again and turned around and asked him to please back off. He pulls up next to me and says "what's your problem?". I (calmly) explained why I don't think the MUP is a safe place for drafting, could he either ride back about 50 feet or pass me? He said "I'll ride where I want". Jerk. Not wanting to deal with the jerk any longer, I put the brakes on and slowed down to walking speed and coasted along for about 60 seconds to let him get ahead of me, took a few extra deep breaths and then went back to my normal pace. I caught him again just before my turnoff from the MUP, but stayed back behind him not wanting another unpleasant encounter. I have drafters latch on without asking on a regular basis but the vast majority are polite and will back off when asked. This jerk really had an attitude which I just don't get...I mean what are you out there for? It really ruined what was otherwise a nice evening.


I probably would have done exactly what you did, or even less by just slowing down or stopping altogether with no interaction with the dude. I try not to engage with a$$holes. It never ends well.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

MaddCelt: A wave is rolling in here now. More through 11 PM. 

I think 2 bike lengths is a good casual minimum distance. Easy to avoid changes by the cyclist ahead. In tight situations, paying more attention, one bike length maybe 1/2 a bike length seems doable safely if not too fast. With lots of space but random actions by pedestrians and pets and blind corners, more space is available and better. I like the slow down or pull over and let him by method. After he said 'he will ride where he wants', I might suggest that I was trying to politely save him from being on the receiving end of my digestive disturbances. Doesn't say you currently have them...from one a$$ to another.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

We got hit with that an hour ago, so if what you said is right, I'm in for a wet and loud ride.

I do not know what I would do if there was another commuter going the same direction. But if there was one, I would not get too close out of respect.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

newfangled said:


> It doesn't sound like the experience you guys are talking about, but I'm still curious how close is too close?


It depends on the speed. I was going 20MPH and he was just a few feet off my wheel. At slower speeds a bike length or two may be sufficient. It's really about the ability to maintain control if the bike in front of you has to stop suddenly.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

woodway said:


> It depends on the speed. I was going 20MPH and he was just a few feet off my wheel. At slower speeds a bike length or two may be sufficient. It's really about the ability to maintain control if the bike in front of you has to stop suddenly.


Well it couldn't have been me. He said something about 20mph Lol.

On a serious note that's some good advice. I haven't been found anyone on my specific route that moves at my speed.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Wind a little better today. Eighty degrees in and one-hundred ten home. My new personal high temp best. Tomorrow and Friday are supposed to be 114-117 depending on where in the Valley you are. The Vegas record high, or tie with a day in the 1940s, is 117 degrees recorded at the airport in 2005. Might be flirting with this high the next two days. If airport records 117 it will easily be in the 120s on the east side of Vegas where my commute home starts.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Had a great ride home, even if it was muggy. Had to race the thunderstorm home, and I managed to keep a 20 MPH average for 2 miles, and 17 on a 1 mile climb. The single speeding is definitely improving my form.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> He said "I'll ride where I want". Jerk.


Yep, that looks like the bottom line right there.

I can see why you're not comfortable with it. A friend of mine when down in a (voluntary) 3 person paceline about 2 weeks ago, Broken collarbone, plenty of road rash, and off the bike for weeks. Not worth it, especially to help a jerk get somewhere faster.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was not super psyched about the ride home, as I had a long day on the field getting hot and wet, and was also tired from having to leave my house (by car) by 4:30 a.m. and getting done at 6pm. So I took a bus boost partway home to help, and just took it easy up the hill. Glad I did, because tomorrow I have training at a location about 2/3 of the way to the office, and now I can bike there. It would have been silly to have to return the work car back to the office first.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

I managed to avoid the storms yesterday afternoon, but most importantly a slight detour brought me to this:


I don't know so don't ask me, some kind of Hoosier Mt. Ararat? It's not like this picture was taken at a marina.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Have you had a lot or rain lately?

Last nights commute was part of the personal time trial series. Fast bike, flatter route: 22.9MPH average.

This morning's commute was part of the personal time trial recovery series. Cross Check, hillier route, 14.2MPH average.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Heat wave comming. The forecast says 6 days in a row of 100+. Not bad yesterday.


Kryptoroxx said:


> Well it couldn't have been me. He said something about 20mph


Not me either. I did have a butterfly try drafting me once. She soon got bored and went around.



nemhed said:


> I don't know so don't ask me, some kind of Hoosier Mt. Ararat?


:lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I seem to have become a jerk magnet on my ride home. Last night it was a motorist.

Leaving my office there is a narrow bit of road, not enough room for a car to safely pass so I take the lane. The narrow bit only goes for a block before it opens up and cars can get by. A SUV in a huge hurry is on my ass while I am in the lane and at the earliest possible moment he blows by me with about a foot to spare...only to get stopped at the Red light 500 feet down the road. I roll up next to him and we have the following conversation:

Me: "You passed mighty close, how about a little space next time?"
Him: "Space? What about my space? Aren't you supposed to be within 3 feet of the right side?"
Me: "You misunderstand the law, I have to stay as far right as safe and if conditions dictate I can ride in the lane. See I have as much right to the lane as you do. And if you could have waited three more seconds you could have passed me safely. What's the big hurry?"
Him: "Well you should be in the bike lane. Bikes are supposed to be in the bike lane."

From where we were located, the nearest bike lane is four miles away. I looked up and down the street we are on and up and down the cross street and said:

Me: "Hmm, I don't seem to see any bike lanes, do you?"
Him: "Well, no. But if there is not a bike lane to ride in then you should be in a car like me."

I have to say, I did not know how to respond to this one. I think I said something like "Huh? Are you kidding me?". At this point the light turned green and he took off with me behind him. He got caught at the next three lights and I was right behind him at each one 

Crazy. This is what we are up against.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway, it's extremely hard to reason with stupid and crazy people. I don't think there is anything more frustrating.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> woodway, it's extremely hard to reason with stupid and crazy people. I don't think there is anything more frustrating.


I know, I know...why do I even try? What's the matter me?


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

woodway said:


> Crazy. This is what we are up against.


You summed it up right there. To him you're an alien freak.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

When I left work yesterday, the time/temp board at the local middle school read 105f. My Garmin maxed out at 107.5f. Even if the temps were off by 5-degrees, it was damn hot.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> I have to say, I did not know how to respond to this one.
> 
> At this point the light turned green and he took off with me behind him. He got caught at the next three lights and I was right behind him at each one


That`s a stumper all right. If somebody can make a statement like that with a straight face, there`s nothing you could possibly say that would get through his skull.

But since you did have that mutual conversation, the driver most certainly noticed you and had you on his mind when he saw you right behind him for three lights in a row. I have to wonder if that fact might not get through said skull. It has to stand a better chance of it than any words ever could.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

vegascruiser said:


> If airport records 117 it will easily be in the 120s on the east side of Vegas where my commute home starts.


Death Valley is supposed to be in the 120's. So maybe taking a paraphrase on a song form the musical Spamalot, you are in 'Not Quite Dead Yet Valley'?



woodway said:


> I seem to have become a jerk magnet on my ride home. Last night it was a motorist... A SUV in a huge hurry is on my ass while I am in the lane and at the earliest possible moment he blows by me with about a foot to spare...only to get stopped at the Red light 500 feet down the road. ....Him: "Well, no. But if there is not a bike lane to ride in then you should be in a car like me." Crazy. This is what we are up against.


That would have left me speechless. Now he'd get: "That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"

Yep. Had nearly the same happen but only with my comment from behind that he passed too close, but the van driver went left and stopped for continued 'conversation' (his anger must have kicked in) whereas I was by then going right. He did not try to make contact. He wasn't so pressed for time that he could talk, but not enough to pass safely. Drivers have the responsibility to drive safely period.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another day. Didn't want to get out of bed. Earthquake about 4 AM that woke me up. No damage done, but difficult to get back to sleep.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Broke down and got a ride home last night from a co-worker. With the lighting show and rain, I would have been Thor's target practice or an ugly hood ornament in no time.

The ride in I dealt with mist mostly but that was annoying. Where are the glasses mounted windshield wipers when you need them. Took them off and had the joy of getting drops hitting my contacts.

I also did not have my saddle rack mounted and opted for the hip pack I picked up at Goodwill over the back pack. I wondered why I hadn't used it sooner. Being diabetic it makes access to my needed items easier and with the two bike bottle holders, I can load the bottles with snacks, like trail mix. I had a much more comfortable ride.

I got to try a double shot Thai latte that wired me up this morning and now I'm at work trying to hold off a nap.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

I just have one river wash out to ride around....so life is good.

We are still on gens at work but they are getting the power up all around us.

The river looks like it took out the CPR main line with 6 tank cars full of diesel....they should have the road clossures and such cleaned up by this afternoon.

But the CPR may be out of business for a while....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MaddCelt said:


> The ride in I dealt with mist mostly but that was annoying. Where are the glasses mounted windshield wipers when you need them. Took them off and had the joy of getting drops hitting my contacts.


A hat with a visor under the helmet does wonders for most rain and some mist.

107.5F! I think I max out at 102F if it is at all muggy.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Got back from errands about 45 min ago. Basically rode to work and back + couple of other stops for about 32-3 mile round trip. Been a while since riding in 90+ heat and daylight. Wow it was warm, if not for the haircut and 6-7mph breeze, might have been too much. One of the few good points of being a vampire (I work 9pm to 6am) temps tend to be more moderate once the sun goes back down.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Home early as my training today was closer to home (8 miles) and I also got out early. Hot though, 91 when I got home, don't know how 100+ is physically possible! Left my water bottle in the sun all day, so I stopped at Cumby's where they let me roll the bike inside, buy a water, and fill the water bottle with ice. Drank and doused liberally on the ride up the hill. We're under flood watch from 8pm today til 8pm tomorrow, and people are a little antsy after Irene. Looks like it could be even worse for the Adirondacks across the lake in NY.

Jeffscott, glad you are able to get around without too many detours, hope your work powers up soon. Does the RR damage impact passenger service or only freight?


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## rufio (Jul 3, 2011)

Head wind both ways... 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We've got the flood watch too. I'm not sure where the water's coming from because they are only forecasting about 1" of rain.

Looking forward to the weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Buy local, haul local, eat local.*

An overdue time lapse of the ride back from the market on the square:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice! How far is the trip when not in time lapse? 

I also figured out why your roads look weird to me...here most of the roads have big ditches alongside them so that the runoff from the road and mostly the adjacent hills has somewhere to go. I guess that's not needed where it's flatter.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

It seems that it is hot every where or at least on most of the threads that I have read on this page. Well, it is > 100 here in NM as well. Took the 5 mile route to work tonight in low triple digits. Yep, it's hot. One nice thing is that I got a nice FD, got the M980 XTR and I love it. Much stiffer then the Deore that came with the bike. It sits lower and is much wider. They are giving these away at $99 or less. Great upgrade.

Mark


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

millertm said:


> View attachment 811701
> View attachment 811702
> It seems that it is hot every where or at least on most of the threads that I have read on this page. Well, it is > 100 here in NM as well. Took the 5 mile route to work tonight in low triple digits. Yep, it's hot. One nice thing is that I got a nice FD, got the M980 XTR and I love it. Much stiffer then the Deore that came with the bike. It sits lower and is much wider. They are giving these away at $99 or less. Great upgrade.
> 
> Mark


Great deal. Noticed something while I was rebuilding my shocks with new springs. (Found some heavy duty springs for a 98 z1 bomber which was awesome!)

It is currently 10ish pm and...









Yeah that's just depressing. Its gonna be a barn burner tomorrow.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> The river looks like it took out the CPR main line with 6 tank cars full of diesel....they should have the road clossures and such cleaned up by this afternoon.


How the heck do you clean up deisel from tank cars overturned in a flood?


junior1210 said:


> One of the few good points of being a vampire (I work 9pm to 6am) temps tend to be more moderate once the sun goes back down.


Definitely. My current shift is 11PM to 7AM, but I`ve been going in 4 hours early this week to cover for a worker who`s doing a temporary job at our other plant. Can`t wait to get done with that 6:00 ride to get in! In Aug I`ll be on swing shift and am already dreading the 3 o`clock special.



BrianMc said:


> Buy Local, Eat Local, Haul Local...


Did you consider extending your video to the waste treatment plant? Just for completeness, ya know!



millertm said:


> One nice thing is that I got a nice FD, got the M980 XTR and I love it. Much stiffer then the Deore that came with the bike. It sits lower and is much wider. They are giving these away at $99 or less. Great upgrade.


Whoa! If $99 for a FD is "giving them away", I`d hate to have to buy the expensive version! Can`t say as I`ve ever noticed any lack of stiffness in a front derailler, but I`m glad you like yours


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm hearing a lot of 100 degree stories and riding in 55 degree rain. I'm not sure which I prefer, probably just not both in the same day.

I had "a little old lady" pull over for me because I had my strobe on because of the dark and rainy weather. I guess it's visible.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commute was fast yesterday afternoon. I had a perfect tailwind for a section of road that descends to a stream bed and climbs the other side (one of the longer climbs on my ride). On the geared bike, I had enough momentum that I was riding the lowest gear uphill in big ring for most of the way. I felt like a hero. Unfortunately, the wind was moving in the same direction this morning...


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I also had a fast commute this morning by a few minutes. Must be the fresh legs. 15.7 miles in 1:03. We had huge thunderstorms and flooding earlier this week in Wisconsin, so this is the first day I've been able to bike to work. 

Cool video, Brian!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Nice! How far is the trip when not in time lapse?


I haven't turned on my iPhone GPS app, but my car odometer (with correction) says 3.1-3.2 miles. With the sail effect of the panniers and the very upright riding position really gets the blood flowing even on the empty run in. I was surprised by the light traffic. Mid-Friday afternoon with school out is so much less traffic especially as that route keeps me off the heavier travelled parts of two main streets.



mtbxplorer said:


> I also figured out why your roads look weird to me...here most of the roads have big ditches alongside them so that the runoff from the road and mostly the adjacent hills has somewhere to go. I guess that's not needed where it's flatter.


When a road is rebuilt to state standards it gets the width with wide shoulders and ditches. In most winters, we don't get the snowfall to need a lot of room to plow snow and let meltwater have a drainage path. When we do get 30" like at Christmas Eve of 2005, we were snowed in for two days (drive was clear but road was not) and some county residents were unable to get out for over a week. I still think they look weird after being raised in Ontario. Even the unimproved clay road of my childhood neighborhood though only 1.5 lanes wide, had ditches.



rodar y rodar said:


> Did you consider extending your video to the waste treatment plant? Just for completeness, ya know!


I think you missed a couple of details. First the food as energy is shown throughout (all that carbon dioxide has to come from somewhere). Then at 3:29 the flower pots on the left hide the cover for one of two septic systems and then there is the greener grass (just read Erma). Then there is the crap I get in comments....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice video Brian!

61 degrees when I left the house this morning. It's supposed to be in the mid-80's here in Seattle-land today. That's pretty hot for these parts and we will all be whining about it for the next few days. *vegascrusier* I hope you are hunkered down and not planning to venture out in the 117 forecasted for Las Vegas! Yikes.

Rodar I see that Reno is supposed to be 100+ for you as well. Stay cool!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, Woodway. There`s a big difference between 100 and 117, but I`ll be sure to use your sympathy anyway! You hang in with your heatwave, too 

Vegas and Krypto, all I can say is good luck and be careful. And I still think you`re crazy if your ride in that weather.

Ah, Erma- explains a lot about the greenery. Should have figured septic systems. I forgot to mention that I did note I wasn`t the only one who thinks your roads look weird, and I believe it was Woodway who noticed your weird horizon. Weird part of the country for sure!

Bedwards, did your little old lady present her license, proof of insurance, and registration after your strobe caused her to pull over?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I forgot to mention that I did note I wasn`t the only one who thinks your roads look weird, and I believe it was Woodway who noticed your weird horizon.


Yup, every time I see Brian's videos I keep thinking "what did they do with the hills?". It's hard to ride more than a mile around here without having to climb something...


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Just a typical day here in Boulder County.

Hey guys, moooooove:


My idea of a bike path:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Damp. Today's ride was damp. Rode an extra 5 miles to swing by the UPS store in a nearby town to drop off a package (my Pebble had a few issues, and I miss it already). Finally pull into work, quite late, and the farking UPS truck is sitting at the dock. At least there were donuts and bagels in the breakroom for some reason.

Boss brought in his toolkit yesterday, told me to grab what I need because he's got a friend who wants to borrow the kit too. Wound up partially disassembling my bottom bracket in the engineering test area. Tightened the bearing cups on both sides (the drive side cup felt a little loose) and possibly tightened that little plastic cap on the non-drive side a bit (not sure since it had to be removed entirely to mess with the cups. Either way, 11 miles last night + 16 miles this morning with no sign of that blasted click.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> Yup, every time I see Brian's videos I keep thinking "what did they do with the hills?". It's hard to ride more than a mile around here without having to climb something...


A lot of the grades are long and shallow, but I ride one that is short but a real b rhymes with itch to walk up in the steep part (15%?) and still it looks flat from a helmet cam aimed up the grade, likely because it is only about a 30 foot climb. My iBike uses GPS and has about a 6 foot error but the changes are pretty close.



The flattest part of the 25 mile route.

Slight downgrade into a 15-20 wind from the stop at about 14 minutes and back up a slight grade with wind sometimes straight back, with stop after 30 minutes. This is flat by Great Divide standards but hilly compared to Champaign-Urbana. I rarely used any ratios other than 48-17 or 48-14 there.

Getting faster and stronger again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hillier than it looks Brian!

Here is the elevation profile from one of my recent rides. This was a leg buster...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*I'll play*

This is my normal round trip, hillier than some, less than others. Work is about in the middle. So I have the option of hills or not depending on my mood.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ooh, I have one one of those graphs! This is my ride home. Unfortunately the geniuses at Runkeeper don't put units in the graph, so I left the total climb on to show that my hills are really quite economy-sized compared to some of these other rides I see.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> How the heck do you clean up deisel from tank cars overturned in a flood?


Tanker cars removed from broken bridge in Canada

Maybe our Intrepid Calgary Cyclist knows whether others went in the drink. So it sounds like if you can you pump them dry first.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Tanker cars removed from broken bridge in Canada
> 
> Maybe our Intrepid Calgary Cyclist knows whether others went in the drink. So it sounds like if you can you pump them dry first.


Pumping them dry is the priority. Those are 5k tanks....you can do the math on what kind damage and lost money.

The press release priority is to halt a huge hazmat spill and the capitalist priority is to recover lost product. In the end everyone wins.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Looking forward to my commute. Cooler temps and a tailwind!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wild weather today- I was digging it! Started off just plain hot (about 100, but I didn`t check exactly) and dead. I got up around 3:30 and that was what I had. `Bout two hours later I looked out and saw it had gotten dark- nice, block the sun for a bit. Then rumbling thunder from several miles away, then a few big fat drops falling, instant wind, very strong and steady with no gusts, probably about 40 MPH. I suddenly noticed I was out of "supplies" and had to head for the convenience store, decided I had better go before it dumped. My 7-Eleven is less than 10 minutes drive from home. Half way there, it opened up. I have to use my wipers on solid about twice per year, maybe once per three years I need to put them on high. They were on high today and not keeping up. I know that isn`t unusual for rain prone areas, but it`s something special when we get a dump like that around here. After a half minute of pouring rain, hail! So hard and heavy that I put my flashers on and pulled off the road, wondering if it was going to break my windows out. Thought I must have been transported to the midwest! The hail switched back to rain, and it was a little less than it had been before, but still had wipers on high and saw the water sort of stacking up on the road because it was falling faster than it could flow off. I remember that from when I was stationed in NC, and have seen it since in Michoacan, but really it just doesn`t happen in Reno! Wild, I tell you! Anyway, it all blew out eventually and it was cool (er), calm, and smelled great. The roads were mostly dry by the time I went to work except for a few deep puddles and some areas where mud had washed over the pavement. Take that, stupid new slurry seal!


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

About a week or so ago I received my replacement tires and cassette but due to my schedual I have a hard time getting mail and packages. My landlord got tired of seeing the box in her dining room and had it put in my room. So last night i did the swapping.

I had the day off so I headed out to the flea market to pick up a bike rack I have been wanting to get and landed a new floor pump for $5. I made it all fit and made it home intact















I was impressed by the easier ride I got out of the rims (WTB Speed Discs) and the experence of smooth shifting with the Sram cassette. Feels like a new bike. Cannot wait to pick a pair of gatorshells.


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## crossracer (Jun 27, 2004)

Since I had family stuff this afternoon I had to make the commute it. So heavy bike, fully loaded bags, 32mm tires, went for a nice 32 miles. Stopped and got a bacon egg and cheese sandwich halfway thru, that was awesome. 
Great way to start a day 







Bill


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

What the heck is Dreary? I had to take the quick way to work the other night. Wind was blowing me into the other lanes and it was dark and raining but since we are in NM, the rain did not hit the ground.

Mark


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Maybe it meant dangerous but didn't have the space 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Must have been 'kit' day this morning. Passed several riders going the other direction (all solo riders) all of them is full kit (not the same kit though), then me in my cargo baggies and hi-viz T shirt. Would have felt under-dressed except for actually wearing more clothes than they were. On the way in saw a kid (late teens-early 20's) trying to ride on of those two wheeled recumbents, and the bike was winning......easily.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Well it is the first weekend for Le Tour.... It's the biking equivalent of wearing a football jersey of your favorite player. My "Kit" is always the same, black shorts & whatever bike shirt is clean.

Rodar, any hail damage to your vehicle? 

Sticky, muggy commute this AM. More rain in the forecast for this afternoon & tomorrow. The gardens are digging it! It makes the kayaking good too. We went yesterday and had miles and miles of fast water and rapids, fun, fun!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good ride in, I left my company to fend for themselves and enjoyed a muggy but fairly cool morning. There were 2 rude-level right hooks (I had to slow down, but there was no real danger of collision). Also got slowed down by a tractor trailer backing up across rte 302, but then so did the rest of traffic. Passed one guy on a bike, maybe a landscaper, as he was tan and wearing those yellow hearing protector/radio headphones – making my occasional ipod/over the ear sport-buds look like the latest in safety gear. Flash flood watch and thunderstorm warnings, but that has been pretty much every day lately. We got about 6” more rain than average in May, and then another 6” above average in June, crazy soggy.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit wet and chilly this AM for the commute in. Though I can't complain. First day of rain this summer. The bus ride was nice and relaxing. The AM driver folds up one of the seats in the handicapped section and my bike fits there just wonderfully. I'd feel bad about taking the space, but I've come to realize that the AM bus is generally populated with the same cast of characters day after day. Each evening bus is a bit different and each one has me put my bike in a different place. But it's all good. Except for the old guy sitting next to me on Friday's ride home and, falling asleep, kept getting closer and closer to me to the point where I thought he was going to put his head on my shoulder. 

Still haven't had time to check out any of the single track around my new home, but i'll get to that eventually. I hope...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had to drive in last night, wicked lightning and thunder like to shatter the mountains. Needed every drop of rain we got and hoping for several inches more this week, God willing.


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

A comedy of errors on the way home from Work today. Fantastic weather, so I should've known something was up. About 30-seconds from work I run over a 2" nail. First flat since I started biking again, but no problem. I pull over to the sidewalk, flip the bike over the grass and take the wheel off. The little plastic tire irons on my Topeak Hexus are a bit of a pain, but no serious trouble getting one edge of the tire off. Pull the tube, throw on the new one, and start re-seating the tire bead. Here's where things started to get interesting.

Between forgetting to partially inflate the new tube, and the *** /pointy/ ends of the hexus tire irons, I manage to puncture the NEW tube, which I find out when it doesn't inflate. So I haul out the patch kit and check the old tube. Hole on the tire side where the nail went in, and about 6 holes on the inner end where the nail chattered while getting off the road; a total loss. So I take the tire back off, haul out the new tube, and find the hole. Patch it, put it back on. Guess what; there's ANOTHER hole in it. Still won't hold air. At this point I've been off the road for about 40 minutes so I just walk the bike home.

After getting home, I hop in the car and drive the 15 minutes to the bike shop, buy TWO new tubes ( and a better set of tire irons). When I get home, I throw the bike on my stand, remove the tire (again) and swap out tubes in 5 minutes flat. This one holds air; no worries. Amazing what having a nice pair of tire irons and the practice of replacing the tube twice already do.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Don't Drag Me Down*

Weird winds. Topped a grade the best I have with the best out of the saddle I have done in awhile. Small victories. Wind wimped out for the most part out bound (and I pulled the rear wheel into the brake pad). Wheel reset, QR tight, and headed home but the wind swung around a few degrees so it was head on for more of the homeward leg and it strengthened, finally with a light shower. Good workout, not the driest or sunniest ride, though. Made a fun little news item:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice job on the fixits, BrianMc (& video), & evandy!

My ride home was like this: light rain, steady rain, no rain, steady rain, hard rain, home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Happy Canada Day, northern neighbor bikecommuters! Did you get the day off?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No damage to my truck, Bedwards. Thanks for checking. Today was so similar to Friday weatherwise that I left early when I saw the sky darken. Since I was just hanging around watching the clock anyway, and I thought the rain would be comming soon, I figured i might as well just go while I still had a chance of arriving dry. I got a few sprinkles (could have counted the individual drops if I had been trying to), but that was all. And it STILL hasn`t rained, so I came in early for nothing :madman:
At least no lightning, so hopefully no fires. Junior, I hope you guys get some dampness to go with your T-storms. I heard the news report on those firefighters up around Sedona- terrible.

Wow, quite a string of bad luck, evandy! Next time it`ll be better.

"Rude level right hook" now added to my vocabulary


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had to give one driver credit yesterday. The car was on one of those sketchy home improvement trips with a long cardboard box sticking out the passenger window at an angle by 3 or 4 feet. Luckily the driver remembered it when he passed me, or I would have been taken out. When the car pulled back in front of me the box was trimming the bushes on the side of the road.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Congratulations on your new tire irons evandy.

I was up early to fix a slow leak. Judging by the hole in the tube it shouldn't have been that slow.

My ride to work was like this: light rain, steady rain, hard rain, steady rain, light rain, work. It was actually a nice rain, I skipped the headphones and took the camp roads to listen to it on the way in. I think the best thing about it is that it is supposed to end today!

Speaking of tire irons, I almost lost mine, and everything else in my seat pack. I finished patching my tube, put everything back in, didn't' zip it and then set out on the bumpy dirt camp road. duh. It all seemed to be there when I got to work.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Yup just about everyone gets it off.

Apparently the ran a cable through the tank cars as they were off loading them, so they would at least not float off down the river if the bridge collapse....there is a bridge close enough that once they were empty a crane picked each car up and bob's your uncle.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had to give one driver credit yesterday. The car was on one of those sketchy home improvement trips with a long cardboard box sticking out the passenger window at an angle by 3 or 4 feet. Luckily the driver remembered it when he passed me, or I would have been taken out. When the car pulled back in front of me the box was trimming the bushes on the side of the road.


That's pretty scary! 

This week has been smooth sailing so far. We have beautiful sunny skies and mild temperatures here in Madison. Last week, however, I got totally dumped on going home Friday evening. It had rained earlier that day, but I thought I might make it home without getting wet. No luck. I was pleased that all my stuff, including my iPad, stayed 100% dry in my Timbuk2 messenger bag. I received that bag years ago as a gift and never imagined I would use it as it was intended be used :thumbsup:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

My big challenge right now is timing. I get to the bus in the morning fine, leaving my house by 5:30 and getting to the bus stop, three miles away, by 5:45 at the latest for the 5:55 bus. But it is my return trip that I cannot quite get timed right. Case in point: Last night I had to stop by a local market and a big box lumber yard on my way home to get some items that just aren't available in the Valley. I leave work at ~3, figuring that between the shopping and riding at a super easy pace between the two shops, I should hit the 4:30 bus. Instead, I get my shopping done way faster than planned and end up at the bus stop at 3:48 - in time to catch the 4:10, which is my least favorite bus as it is the fullest. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind getting home a bit earlier than intended, but I could have worked an extra 40 minutes to get to a full 10 hours, thus enabling me to not have to use PTO when I take off Friday (Provided I work 10 today and 10 tomorrow - I work a bit on the bus both in and outbound)

I'll get it, eventually, and as soon as I do, my timing will all have to change to accommodate the winter weather... 

Other than that the ride home and the ride in this AM were all good.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Just reduced my commute by 8.5 miles! Got approved for an apt 1.5 miles from work. For me that means more riding for the enjoyment of it and able to venture by bus into Newport/Covington/Cincinnati regardless of the day or time. (Old route has only a m-f express)

So two more weeks of the long haul left.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

MaddCelt said:


> Just reduced my commute by 8.5 miles! Got approved for an apt 1.5 miles from work. For me that means more riding for the enjoyment of it and able to venture by bus into Newport/Covington/Cincinnati regardless of the day or time. (Old route has only a m-f express)
> 
> So two more weeks of the long haul left.


Sounds like you should just start hoofing it to work then. Where's the new apartment at if you don't mind my asking?


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

nemhed said:


> Sounds like you should just start hoofing it to work then. Where's the new apartment at if you don't mind my asking?


Wentworth Estates on Industrial.

True on the hoofing it but I'm likely going to be riding down to my favorite caffinating hole out on Burlington Pike. Hoping to get the chance to help them out by volunteering in the mornings.

Did a route check on Google maps. Says my total commute if I hit the LB/CS is 5 miles even.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

MaddCelt said:


> Wentworth Estates on Industrial.


LOL!, assuming you're talking about Florence, I used to live in Plantation Apts. off of Ewing Blvd. I worked at the airport. I often times wish I'd never left northern Kentucky.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

nemhed said:


> LOL!, assuming you're talking about Florence, I used to live in Plantation Apts. off of Ewing Blvd. I worked at the airport. I often times wish I'd never left northern Kentucky.


I know exactly where that is. I'll be passing there on the way to Velocity.

Feel free to come back any time. Not many cyclists around here aside from the kids on 20's at the skate park.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

1.5 miles is a running commute!


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

I'd be lucky I could run out of the complex, let alone all the way to work.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

While riding in yesterday on the Mount Vernon Trail I was passing a woman taking up the right lane of the trail while fiddling with her iPod. I gave her a loud "on your left" she yelled back "on your right" Shows me not to give any warning. For every ten joggers who actually get that they should stay to the right if not passing, there's one who insists the whole trail is theirs.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had to give one driver credit yesterday. The car was on one of those sketchy home improvement trips with a long cardboard box sticking out the passenger window at an angle by 3 or 4 feet. Luckily the driver remembered it when he passed me, or I would have been taken out. When the car pulled back in front of me the box was trimming the bushes on the side of the road.


I hear you. Had some dicey loads pass me too. Its the heavy pickup truck mirrors that whistle by way too close whether accidentally or on purpose that scare me too frequently.



bedwards1000 said:


> Congratulations on your new tire irons evandy.


I had some inexpensive Kendas with wire beads on the old wheels (27") which the decent plastic levers would not budge without limp noodling so I got some steel ones but they can too easily scratch the rims and poke the tube, and are heavy. Finally got some robust plastic ones.



bedwards1000 said:


> I was up early to fix a slow leak. Judging by the hole in the tube it shouldn't have been that slow.


I have had 'C' shaped ones which with the bike sitting on them kept a surprising amount of air in. The a door being help closed.



bedwards1000 said:


> My ride to work was like this: light rain, steady rain, hard rain, steady rain, light rain, work. It was actually a nice rain, I skipped the headphones and took the camp roads to listen to it on the way in. I think the best thing about it is that it is supposed to end today!


I would love to have averaged last year's drought and this years rain forest weather, though it is good for the seeded patches in my lawn.



bedwards1000 said:


> Speaking of tire irons, I almost lost mine, and everything else in my seat pack. I finished patching my tube, put everything back in, didn't' zip it and then set out on the bumpy dirt camp road. duh. It all seemed to be there when I got to work.


I have done that twice and lost a great wrench, though I heard the cascade the one time. I was too easily distracted trying to get back on acre a repair/adjustment. Haste makes waste.



MaddCelt said:


> Wentworth Estates on Industrial. Did a route check on Google maps. Says my total commute if I hit the LB/CS is 5 miles even.


Sounds great. Nemhed: Usually if I am in that neck of the woods, I am leaving Kentucky and would be quite disappointed if I could not. (Flying out or getting back home.) OhioKentuckyana has been good to me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> I had some inexpensive Kendas with wire beads on the old wheels (27") which the decent plastic levers would not budge without limp noodling so I got some steel ones but they can too easily scratch the rims and poke the tube, and are heavy. Finally got some robust plastic ones.


Pedro's are the ones I've settled on (The yellow ones). I've snapped my share of cheap ones, usually on the tires that need them the most.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Speaking of levers, last week at the coop I was working on a weirdo Cannondale Sobe Headshok - super swanky carbon raceface cranks, crappy promax vbrakes, swanky avid levers, sloppy and unadjustable cartridge hubs, superlight but hilariously oversized tubing - it was the strangest bike.

It had a flat, and I could not get the tire off the rim. I used the good park levers, the annoying park levers, the metal park levers, and probably 3 other types. After an eternity I finally got one side off, and then spent 10 minutes trying unsuccessfully to get the second side off but eventually gave up just replaced the tube with half the tire still on. Worst tire/rim combo ever.

It's supposed to maybe hit 92F today which would be pretty warm for these parts.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

MaddCelt said:


> I'd be lucky I could run out of the complex, let alone all the way to work.


I would be willing to bet that since you've been biking that your cardio has improved. That is barring knee and back problems though. I hate running myself but 2-3 miles at a time isn't so bad as long as it isn't at a 6-7 min pace lol

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Mainly knee issues. I can run when needed but since the bike I haven't been on my feet much.


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## daddyurbs (Jun 28, 2013)

I love riding to work at night,so much more relaxing and peaceful than driving the car.Love how every neighborhood has its own smells ,some good and well some not so good.Than there's that road kill that just screwed it all up for me lol.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

My favorite metal lever is a plastic-dipped metal one made by PDW; has a 15mm box wrench on the one end, and tapers to a nice, skinny tip, even with the plastic coating. Have yet to encounter a tire it can't [help] deal with. Now that none of my everyday bikes have any track nuts, I have no use for it 

Was good for 2/3 of the commute home today. I couldn't take not riding anymore, and chanced the schizo weather we've been having here. Got about 1/3 of the way home, and it started drizzling, so I pulled under a tree and covered up my saddle. About 10 minutes later, the skies open up (while I'm riding into the wind no less; got a nice massage courtesy of mother nature). 5 minutes later, it's not raining at all.

I can say with absolute certainty now that Revelate's bags are damn near waterproof, even if they insist that they aren't.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Pedro's are the ones I've settled on (The yellow ones). I've snapped my share of cheap ones, usually on the tires that need them the most.


I use the yellow pedros ones too.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I was riding home last night and thinking about how much I was enjoying the day (75 degrees, gentle breeze, and sunny), so I decided to take a longer way home to extend my ride. Hit some broken glass and got a flat. Had to hike-a-bike home about 1.5 miles. I really need to get a frame pump. Any recs?

Fixed my flat last night and had a less eventful ride to work this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've been pretty happy with this pump: Nashbar All Rounder Mini Pump - Frame Mount Pumps You can't beat the price if you can combine it with something else and get free shipping.

Today's commute was cool and damp. This afternoon is supposed to be warm and damp.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

WiTrailRunner said:


> I was riding home last night and thinking about how much I was enjoying the day (75 degrees, gentle breeze, and sunny), so I decided to take a longer way home to extend my ride.


Rub it in, why dontcha :lol:

I like any of the mini pumps that use a short flexy hose. They`re all pretty similar in service and price, but my favorite from that class is the Serfas version because it`s easier on my hand than Topeak and easier to use than Lezeyne.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Rub it in, why dontcha :lol:
> 
> I like any of the mini pumps that use a short flexy hose. They`re all pretty similar in service and price, but my favorite from that class is the Serfas version because it`s easier on my hand than Topeak and easier to use than Lezeyne.


Oh, I paid for this summer. I paid for this summer mightily with a 6 month long, dark, and cold winter. I deserve this 75 and sunny! :yesnod:

This guy?

Amazon.com: Serfas Grifter Mini Hand/Floor Bicycle Pump with Gauge: Sports & Outdoors


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I definitely prefer the hose-style minipumps. With the non-hose ones I've wrecked a valvestem, had the multi-head refuse to work with prestas, and had them just generally fail when I needed it most. I've had a lezeyne for a few years which is simple and bombproof.

92F yesterday, and my 29er is still clicking and driving me insane.

Cool with a little rain this morning, and I took my hardtail for probably the first time since May. Our trails are finally dry enough that I don't have to worry about this happening again like it did on the weekend:

Big chunks of gravel in there completely locked up my cranks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nasty, Newf! It looks like sewer sludge. You sure it was gravel and not unpopped corn kernels?

Okay, Trailrunner- I guess you do deserve a nice day! Yes, that`s my pump. My review is there, too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nasty, Newf! It looks like sewer sludge.


Nah, yesterday I got to do a manure ride at lunch and then go back to the office. But the photo is from one of our formerly gravel multi-use trails, that now has 6" of river silt deposited on top of it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

C'mon... six months of winter? That's nothing... try Alaska with what seems like year round winter and weeks of no more than four hours of daylight at a time. And I'm in the tropical part of the state! 

In all seriousness, when it is nice out, you just gotta extend that ride. I'm learning that now that we are having some less than ideal weather (relatively speaking, of course) and am kicking myself for not tacking on the miles last week when it was sunny and in the upper 70s or lower 80s. 

Haven't ridden any trails this summer. Haven't extended any rides. I have increased the amount that I use my bike for running errands around town, but with the move and the work that we need to do to the place to make it a home, I think I'll be lucky to get in many rides other than the daily commute this summer. I hope that once we get the painting finished that I'll have a bit of time to relax and ride before we get going on laying new flooring and re-trimming everything, which we plan to do in September or October - after my second job starts back up, because that just make sense to do...


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Not bad except that my usual morning routine was derailed due to the holiday. 

6 more days left of the 20 mile round trip commute, then it will be 3 miles if only from work to home and back, or 5 miles if I do the route of home-LB/CS-work-home.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, I'v totally chickened out on commuting this Vegas heatwave. No commute this week. Temperatures at my work have been from 117-122f over the last week at quitting time. Morning temps (4 a.m.) are still in the 90s. Just brutal. Hated being off the bike but "living to ride another day" seems to make sense. Riding seven miles up hill in black work pants and steel toed boots seems more along the line of "stupid" than badass. Next week temps are supposed to be in the 104-107f range so I'll likely commute next week.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

No commute today (day off) though I did stop into work on my ride. About .5 miles away from home on the way out, it starts pouring. I pulled under a tree and waited for 15 minutes or so,and it let up. Got on my way, and about 6 miles in, it started raining again. Pulled into work a few miles later, a little wet...dried off and lubed the bike, and headed out towards the beach (wasn't raining anymore) and tacked on another 12 miles...only to find out my planned rest stop, the snack bar, was not open, and I had no food...no biggie, there was a lot of damage, they were probably still fixing up some of the food joints. Turned around, and hit the MUP back down the island, only to find out that _none_ of the 4 snack bars were open (even the big one). Wind up going 8 miles into a headwind for nothing, can't top 11 MPH the entire way.

Onwards another 8 miles, and it starts pouring again...tough it out, get .5 miles away from home, and hear the last thing I want to hear: tire flapping. Got a flat that would take me just as long to find the cause, fix, and pump as it would to walk home...in the miserable humidity, none-the-less. So, 3rd time in 24 hours, I wind up having to wipe the bike down and lube the chain :madman:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Vegascruiser, that's not chickening out. That's just smart.

I had a satisfying ride home in passing out of staters that were coming in for the 4th. I was pacing a car with a kid in the back that was impressed every time I passed him.

Happy 4th everybody!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, I was driving to Tahoe last Friday when that hail storm blew up around Lemon Valley. Oh. My. Gosh. I was sitting way back in the seat and squinting because I knew that the Jeep windshield was going to blow up...every 10th hailstone sounded like someone chucked a golf ball at me. It was nuts. The windshield and the bike on the rear rack survived, and I rode 76 miles out of Tahoe City on Saturday. It's a charity ride thing I do every year. There was an Xterra triathlon going on, and we were sharing the single track with the race-pace mountain bike portion for a bit. Hard not to get caught up in the frenzy...gotta remind yourself you're going long and let them pass. They were gone the 2nd time I hit that trail...and the 3rd, and the 4th, and...


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Well, I'v totally chickened out on commuting this Vegas heatwave. No commute this week. Temperatures at my work have been from 117-122f over the last week at quitting time. Morning temps (4 a.m.) are still in the 90s. Just brutal. Hated being off the bike but "living to ride another day" seems to make sense. Riding seven miles up hill in black work pants and steel toed boots seems more along the line of "stupid" than badass. Next week temps are supposed to be in the 104-107f range so I'll likely commute next week.


Take it easy man....commuting in the heat you and I ride reminds me of that old anti drug commercial Lol.






I took a vacation to big bear for the 4th so instead off getting my ass kicked by heat it is now elevation. Rode/walked up the mountain 3 times in 3 hours and enjoyed the heck out of the trails. Not exactly commuting but well worth mentioning.

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Went out after a 11 hour shift to a flat rear. I was running late this morning so I wasnt thinking and rode on the wrong side of the road. ( one side is tree lined and drops those thorns)

So i got a ride home and found my new tires waiting for me from the mailman and they arrived two days early. Score! . 

I am having a bit of a crank issue if one of yall would check out my thread please as im not sure what cranks will fit my bike if i need new ones


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

AWESOME!!! I got a new bike yesterday (nova big buzz) and it only takes 5 minutes longer on my commute than riding! Fast as hell!!!


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

vegascruiser said:


> Well, I'v totally chickened out on commuting this Vegas heatwave. No commute this week. Temperatures at my work have been from 117-122f over the last week at quitting time. Morning temps (4 a.m.) are still in the 90s. Just brutal. Hated being off the bike but "living to ride another day" seems to make sense. Riding seven miles up hill in black work pants and steel toed boots seems more along the line of "stupid" than badass. Next week temps are supposed to be in the 104-107f range so I'll likely commute next week.


And I thought I had it bad when I was living in Mojave. It would be in the 70F's around 6am and then around 115-120F in the afternoon.

Drink lots of water though -- heat injuries suck.


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

I have been reading about these flats on this page, just a question for the rodies. Are you guys running Stans and tubeless or tubes? Can roadbikes run tubeless? Just asking.

Thanks,


Mark


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good plan, Vegascruiser. The bike and the roads will still be there when the temps go down. Hopefully.

Didn`t check the official records today, but I think we stayed out of triple digits. It`s muggy though.



blockphi said:


> ...try Alaska with what seems like year round winter and weeks of no more than four hours of daylight at a time.


So now that you have a few minutes of summer you`re spending it painting, laying new flooring, and replacing trim? I`m glad my neighborhood and my wife let me get away with looking on the hillbilly side! Sidenote: An old roommate who had spent a couple decades in Valdez related that they used to say "If summer falls on a weekend this year, we`ll barbeque!"



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, I was driving to Tahoe last Friday when that hail storm blew up around Lemon Valley. Oh. My. Gosh. I was sitting way back in the seat and squinting because I knew that the Jeep windshield was going to blow up...every 10th hailstone sounded like someone chucked a golf ball at me. It was nuts. The windshield and the bike on the rear rack survived, and I rode 76 miles out of Tahoe City on Saturday. It's a charity ride thing I do every year. There was an Xterra triathlon going on, and we were sharing the single track with the race-pace mountain bike portion for a bit. Hard not to get caught up in the frenzy...gotta remind yourself you're going long and let them pass. They were gone the 2nd time I hit that trail...and the 3rd, and the 4th, and...


Whoa, whoa, you confused me! I take it you were in my area when the hail hit? Apparently it was very localized, zero precip recorded at the airport. 76 miles offroad? Bits of Western States Trail and TRT? Singletrack for a triathalon? Sounds like lots of candidates for your Tough Mudder!



MattNorv said:


> AWESOME!!! I got a new bike yesterday (nova big buzz) and it only takes 5 minutes longer on my commute than riding! Fast as hell!!!


New bike = nice 
But whaddaya mean it takes five minutes longer than riding? I hope you aren`t carrying the bike!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

millertm said:


> I have been reading about these flats on this page, just a question for the rodies. Are you guys running Stans and tubeless or tubes? Can roadbikes run tubeless? Just asking.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark


The only way to run tubeless on a road bike (skinny tires, typically 23-35) is to get a UST rim (uncommon for road bikes) and a UST tire. The problem with the split-tube or Stans setup is that they are unreliable over 40-45 PSI, and downright dangerous as you approach the 60s and up (tire blow-offs).

My experiences with flats on road bikes is that they are very uncommon if you are an alert rider (which possibly makes them more frustrating when they happen) and slime-ing your tubes is fixing a problem that doesn't happen often enough to warrant it. In 3 years of commuting via road/trail, I've had 3 flats. One was a pinch flat from a pothole, and the other two were punctures that sealant would not have fixed.

So I'd say in order of importance, in terms of flat prevention, it would be: Rider, Tires, Tubes.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> At least no lightning, so hopefully no fires. Junior, I hope you guys get some dampness to go with your T-storms. I heard the news report on those firefighters up around Sedona- terrible.


No fires down here yet (or ever hopefully). As bad as it was around Sedona, it could have been so much worse. We have a lot of love and respect for the Hot Shot crews.

We had another two days of rain, storms were enough to shut down both 'net access and satellite signals, so no t.v., no 'net cruising, and no riding (lots of lightning).


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

These are the scenes from my riding today. Much improved over where I live....guess that's why they call it vacation.



Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## millertm (Jul 20, 2012)

wschruba said:


> The only way to run tubeless on a road bike (skinny tires, typically 23-35) is to get a UST rim (uncommon for road bikes) and a UST tire. The problem with the split-tube or Stans setup is that they are unreliable over 40-45 PSI, and downright dangerous as you approach the 60s and up (tire blow-offs).
> 
> My experiences with flats on road bikes is that they are very uncommon if you are an alert rider (which possibly makes them more frustrating when they happen) and slime-ing your tubes is fixing a problem that doesn't happen often enough to warrant it. In 3 years of commuting via road/trail, I've had 3 flats. One was a pinch flat from a pothole, and the other two were punctures that sealant would not have fixed.
> 
> So I'd say in order of importance, in terms of flat prevention, it would be: Rider, Tires, Tubes.


I run 60-65psi on my tubeless setup with no issues for about 6 months now. Using the blue tape and Stans. 29er and stock Alex built rims. I also am also > 300 lbs if that makes a difference. I too had slime in my tubes with liners and that seems to work well however, it added about 4 lbs to my wheelset which was nice to loose when I went tubeless.

Mark


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good day for VT bikecommuters to have off:









Granville Gulf, site of great roadside waterfalls that I pedaled past on my camping trip last fall. I guess they didn't stay on the roadside.

And here in Barre:
_07/04/2013 0541 PM

Barre, Washington County.

Lightning, reported by Emergency Mngr.

*** 1 inj *** VT EM and local officials relayed a
report of a 62 year Old Woman who was struck by
lightning in Barre. She has been taken to an area
hospital for treatment._


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whoa, whoa, you confused me! I take it you were in my area when the hail hit? Apparently it was very localized, zero precip recorded at the airport. 76 miles offroad? Bits of Western States Trail and TRT? Singletrack for a triathalon? Sounds like lots of candidates for your Tough Mudder!


Yeah I was just cresting the hill on the Reno side of Bordertown when it unloaded. And yes some of TRT and I don't know what else...it's a blur. Lots of fun trail but 76 miles hurts! The triathlon traffic was crazy on the singletrack.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Who else had to work today?

It is a hot muggy day! Traffic was extremely light because most people have the day off. I was able to complete my 9 month long art project: The 5 Seasons.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm stuck at work today. Rode in this morning and traffic was practically non-existent. That was nice.

A few miles in, I was on the MUP (which was totally deserted) around 6:45am. There was an older couple on the path on some big cruisers moving very slowly. They were riding single file, but I still called out, "On your left" as I made way to pass. As I was passing, going probably 15-16mph, the woman yelled out something like...garble garble TOO FAST garble garble. All I caught was the too fast part. And a good morning to you too, lady.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice photos, that Fall one is gorgeous.

I’m working today too. Traffic was light, but lots of heavy equipment out fixing washouts and cleaning up sediment. Muggy but only about 70, so it was pleasant, but not looking forward to the ride home with temps in the 80’s and more thunderstorms.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The fall one was the first one I took which gave me the idea to take one every season. Then I realized that I could take 2 different fall pics that looked totally different. Then I realized that spring was the same.

TrailRunner, you speed demon hooligan! Naughty! have a nice day.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I think I'm going to yell at the roadies who cruise past me going 20+ about going too fast from now on 

It's muggy here today, too. But no rain in the forecast yet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That would be hilarious.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Four years ago I started this job (I think my anniversary is this weekend) and I switched from walking to work to riding.

So today to celebrate, when I got to work I was surprised to discover that I'd forgotten to pack my work clothes. First time that's ever happened.

Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm suffering an un-cold and have been a zombie all week (which is probably why I forgot my clothes in the first place). Today is the type of day where walking up a flight of stairs or sitting up is too much effort, so the prospect of riding home and back was really, really discouraging. 

I should have just gone home to play with the dog all day, but instead I'm back. I'd taken a singlespeed for the initial trip, but switched to the geared bike for the repeat performance because today is so definitely not an ss day.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

More fun on the MUP on the way home. Comfortably cruising along and am quickly approaching a single rider -- rather large middle aged man in blue jeans, clearly not someone who spends a lot of time on a bike. A roadie passes me on my left and then passes the man in front of me. The man shakes his fist at the roadie. 10 seconds later, I pass the man in blue jeans. He yells something at me in an angry voice. I have no idea what he said. Am I supposed to call out on your left in this situation? This is a wide MUP and people pass me all the time without saying anything when I am solitary rider on the right, like he was. I typically follow suite and don't call out to every single rider I pass. I always call out to groups or someone in the middle of the path and slow down for families, etc. I am by no means traveling at blazing speed here. Again, probably traveling 15-16mph and the path wasn't terribly busy. I'm a woman on a heavy mountain bike lugging home a messenger bag full of dirty laundry home from work. Am I being an jerk or just running into holiday weekend morons?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Short work week this week thanks to the holiday and I've done nothing. Monday I got caught out in a rain storm that was a harbinger of incoming monsoon season here in N. AZ. Thunder, lightning, winds...the usual. Kind of disconcerting as the rain was steaming off the pavement creating a sauna effect, but it was intermittently mixed with spots that had cooled off so it was "ooh...cool, ahh...ooh..steamy, steamy, cool...ahh". Soaked to the bone with a nice front/back stripe (took the fenders off two months ago)as I rolled in to meet my wife for dinner. It felt surprisingly good. So it looks like it will be back to dodging afternoon showers for the next couple of months, which I'm ok with.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

WiTrailRunner said:


> More fun on the MUP on the way home. Comfortably cruising along and am quickly approaching a single rider -- rather large middle aged man in blue jeans, clearly not someone who spends a lot of time on a bike. A roadie passes me on my left and then passes the man in front of me. The man shakes his fist at the roadie. 10 seconds later, I pass the man in blue jeans. He yells something at me in an angry voice. I have no idea what he said. Am I supposed to call out on your left in this situation? This is a wide MUP and people pass me all the time without saying anything when I am solitary rider on the right, like he was. I typically follow suite and don't call out to every single rider I pass. I always call out to groups or someone in the middle of the path and slow down for families, etc. I am by no means traveling at blazing speed here. Again, probably traveling 15-16mph and the path wasn't terribly busy. I'm a woman on a heavy mountain bike lugging home a messenger bag full of dirty laundry home from work. Am I being an jerk or just running into holiday weekend morons?


Weekend, maybe visiting moron who rides MUPs with slower limits? After the first guy got the fist shake I'd have done the "On your left" to cross that off as a possible issue. It is his heart he is damaging with stress of his own making. He will pay.



Spatialized said:


> Short work week this week thanks to the holiday and I've done nothing. Monday I got caught out in a rain storm that was a harbinger of incoming monsoon season here in N. AZ. Thunder, lightning, winds...the usual. Kind of disconcerting as the rain was steaming off the pavement creating a sauna effect, but it was intermittently mixed with spots that had cooled off so it was "ooh...cool, ahh...ooh..steamy, steamy, cool...ahh". Soaked to the bone with a nice front/back stripe (took the fenders off two months ago)as I rolled in to meet my wife for dinner. It felt surprisingly good. So it looks like it will be back to dodging afternoon showers for the next couple of months, which I'm ok with.


I am going to put he fenders back on. Last year weeks with no rain and temps over 100 F. This year rains and 75-85 F.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> More fun on the MUP on the way home. Comfortably cruising along and am quickly approaching a single rider -- rather large middle aged man in blue jeans, clearly not someone who spends a lot of time on a bike. A roadie passes me on my left and then passes the man in front of me. The man shakes his fist at the roadie. 10 seconds later, I pass the man in blue jeans. He yells something at me in an angry voice. I have no idea what he said. Am I supposed to call out on your left in this situation? This is a wide MUP and people pass me all the time without saying anything when I am solitary rider on the right, like he was. I typically follow suite and don't call out to every single rider I pass. I always call out to groups or someone in the middle of the path and slow down for families, etc. I am by no means traveling at blazing speed here. Again, probably traveling 15-16mph and the path wasn't terribly busy. I'm a woman on a heavy mountain bike lugging home a messenger bag full of dirty laundry home from work. Am I being an jerk or just running into holiday weekend morons?


I think I'd get a little handlebar bell for that MUP, so I could give a polite 'ding' rather than going hoarse or being yelled at.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Muggy on the way home, rumbles of thunder but only a light sprinkles for 30 seconds on my route. Rain would have been more comfortable. I believe this was the first time I noticed my calf and back of thigh literally sticking together at the top of the pedal stroke from the humidity and sticky sweat.

Met a rare salmon biker going the wrong way on route 302 this a.m.

But too many young guys drowning in the swimming holes this summer. Usually the rivers are only this bad in the spring, when it's too darn cold to go swimming.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Wet. Today was the first time I have ridden in a full on rainy day, from home to work. 

Woke this morning and heard the rain. I was hoping it would slow or stop by the time I was ready to go, but Mother Nature wasn't having it. So I bolted on a bucket, packed my change of clothes, threw on my Skeli-toes and rain gear and hit the road.

It really wasn't too bad. I rolled up my rain coat sleeves and pants to let the combination of wet and cool air cool my core down and took my time. Was a new experience paying attention to road grade to avoid the runoffs. 

Glad my girlfriend is picking me up after work tho.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Did the big commute over to VT last weekend. Full touring set up. The worst part was carrying 3 days of clean work clothes. 1/2 pavement, 1/2 gravel. Rain. Wonderful. 50ish miles each way, with the other normal riding, errands, and a big 4th of July road ride, I hit around 220 miles last week.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Every time I see those it brings to mind a Klondike bike I saw in a mag years ago. It had two standard tires on one axle.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Niiice, Schott! Both the ride and the pics. I especially like the curves in the bridge.

I like the bell plan for politely announcing a pass. I don`t have on on my regular bike because it rarely sees bike paths, but my wife has one on her half of the tandem. Gets a little rambunctious with it at times, but it`s fun. The biggest problem is that kids are genetically deprogramed from bell sounds now. Maybe a ring tone would be better at allerting them that it`s time to check in with the world. For people of any age with headphones, nothing is going to work.

I`ve been off work since Thur morning, but busy doing "stuff" since then. Still hot, but staying under 100, and we`ve had a few more out-of-nowhere cloudbursts.



bedwards1000 said:


> I was able to complete my 9 month long art project: The 5 Seasons.


I like it. Not sure how you`re counting, but good job.



newfangled said:


> So today to celebrate, when I got to work I was surprised to discover that I'd forgotten to pack my work clothes. First time that's ever happened.
> 
> I should have just gone home to play with the dog all day, but instead I'm back.


Aw, c`mon. You should have just worked naked. Not like it`s still 30 below zero.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

I didnt commute today but i did ride to the gym and back. 10 miles each way. Rained last night so it was kinda muggy.

I have a dualathon race im doing inna couple weeks with a friend so im really trying to up my milage.
Fort B is two blocks from my house so ive been riding the crap outta those trails along with my commute.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

jhmeathead said:


> I didnt commute today but i did ride to the gym and back. 10 miles each way. Rained last night so it was kinda muggy.
> 
> I have a dualathon race im doing inna couple weeks with a friend so im really trying to up my milage.
> Fort B is two blocks from my house so ive been riding the crap outta those trails along with my commute.


Nice! I've always wanted to do a trail run/mountain bike duathlon. What are the distances?


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

run - 3.1 miles
bike -10
run -3.1
bike - 10

Im pretty excited and nervous at the same time. Im huge into bodybuilding so this was something else i wanted to challenge myself with.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

jhmeathead said:


> run - 3.1 miles
> bike -10
> run -3.1
> bike - 10
> ...


I hope that you don't lift for mass. That kinda activity would be hell for a muscle bound build. If you're looking to tone up without losing all of your muscle size try the trx. I have enjoyed it.

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Schott said:


> Did the big commute over to VT last weekend. Full touring set up. The worst part was carrying 3 days of clean work clothes. 1/2 pavement, 1/2 gravel. Rain. Wonderful. 50ish miles each way, with the other normal riding, errands, and a big 4th of July road ride, I hit around 220 miles last week.


Looks like a great ride, and your photos are really vibrant. That has to be the record for the longest commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great pics Schott! Love the color.



jhmeathead said:


> run - 3.1 miles
> bike -10
> run -3.1
> bike - 10
> ...


Looks like a blast. I would do an event like that if it came around here although I could do without the second 5K leg. I just signed up for this: Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge (CBCC) » Carrabassett Region NEMBA ? Maine Mountain Biking - Put me into the excited and nervous category too.

The commute in was nice. The rain had just passed. I'm really trying to take it easy this week to save my legs for the weekend.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Wet commute this AM. But I can't complain. Again, to this point the summer has been pretty danged awesome weather wise. A good cycling weekend. Ended up getting out for some trail riding with my son. Great fun.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s quite a program, Bedwards. Are you in for the 100K after all? I don`t see any course maps or profiles- they`re trying not to scare people away?

Beautiful day today. I left at 6AM to do some things in town, just got back. 30 miles with a slight tailwind both ways


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yes, I'm doing the 100K. There is something about my psyche that will only let me sign up for the longest distance available for any event. They keep the course a secret but it has about 6000 ft of climbing and one 3-4 mile climb I'm told. My longest ride so far this year has been about 40 miles and that was on the road..........

Those slight tailwinds are the best. You feel like yourself but better.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^That sounds brutal! Better you than me :lol:
Anyway, good luck with it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice commute this morning, 56 degrees and partly cloudy skies.

I took Friday off and went on an epic ride with friends in the Mt Rainier area. 27.5 miles, just over 5000 feet of climbing. This ride had a little of everything.

Started with a nice river trail.









Big climbs (with pushing)









Big views









A little exposure (if you turn left here it's 2000 feet to the bottom)


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Tried a slightly different route this morning to shave some distance off of my trip by cutting down some more direct roads, past a landfill. Figured since it's dry, there'd be no smell to worry about. This was true until a garbage truck passed me, kicking up garbage-dust into my eyes, nose, and mouth, and stinking like hell for entirely longer than I expected. I don't think I'll feel truly clean for days.

Also, something fairly neatly decapitated my valve stem cap today:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Nice pics. No wonder you think it is flat here. It is. Relatively. 

Picked up some ticks on the long weekend and it looks like Lyme. BP way up and feeling a little off. So riding will be on the back burner, as pushing climbs at high pulse with high BP sounds bad to me. Got one antibiotic. Now to find a LLD.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yes, I'm doing the 100K. There is something about my psyche that will only let me sign up for the longest distance available for any event. They keep the course a secret but it has about 6000 ft of climbing and one 3-4 mile climb I'm told. My longest ride so far this year has been about 40 miles and that was on the road..........
> 
> Those slight tailwinds are the best. You feel like yourself but better.


It is supposed to be a really fun course. Sorry, but I think my friend Odd is in your age bracket...and he slays all. I did the Hampshire 100k 2 years ago, a mellower course which I finished with fuel left in the tank. This year it's the Hampshire 100, but the 100 mile version. I have the same problem as you, how could I possibly sign up for the 100k, if they have the option for 100 miles.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Killer, Woodway!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix Woodway, thanks for sharing! Good luck at Sugarloaf, Bedwards, always a concern when a race is at a ski area. 

The rain continues, not 24/7 but 7 anyhow. Can’t remember the last dry day. I did some trailwork Saturday and thought the (closed) trails were in rough shape, but then I saw 2 other clubs in the area post, and one had a 15’ x 20’ across deep eroded area and “liquid gravel”, and the other lost 5 bridges, along with other damage. 

The ride in this morning started out soggy and slowed up enough that I got too hot and regretted the rain jacket.


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## camekanix (Sep 1, 2012)

Pretty warm here, 90 when I rode in and 111 forcast for the ride home. Humidity is up a bit too but only in the 20% range so not too bad yet. It's only 19 miles each way so I decided to ride my ghetto SS today. Given my "needs improvement" physical condition I probably should have gone geared.:madman:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pedaling past a car dealer on rte 302 I noticed this little brook raging. There's a little footbridge in the back parking lot to get from one building to the other. It's hard to appreciate these rapids without seeing how mild-mannered the brook ordinarily is.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We're under a flood watch here too. So far, nothing much. It seems like every time it rains the flood watch goes up. The garden is freakin happy though. 


Schott said:


> It is supposed to be a really fun course. Sorry, but I think my friend Odd is in your age bracket...and he slays all. I did the Hampshire 100k 2 years ago, a mellower course which I finished with fuel left in the tank. This year it's the Hampshire 100, but the 100 mile version. I have the same problem as you, how could I possibly sign up for the 100k, if they have the option for 100 miles.


Does Odd have a real name?  I'll try to look for him there. I'm really pretty interested to see where I place.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

got about 4 inches in about 4 hours.
pretty awesome riding home with thunderclaps and lightning flashes all around! yergh


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

I can't believe how beautiful some of the places are that many on this forum get to commute in. For the most part, my commute is void of any beauty, except for the rather rare commute that takes me across Las Vegas Blvd. But even then it's only manmade beauty, which is inferior, at least in my opinion, to the naturemade sort.

Back on my bike tomorrow after about eight or nine days off. With the heatwave and holiday, bike has collected a mild coating of dust. Excited to put foot to peddle tomorrow AM, even with homebound temperatures in the 110-112f range.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Got caught in a rainstorm, only hard part was when the rain was blowing so hard sideways it hurt. Turns out fording through just shy of BB high water is not only doable, but fun. Got a lot of funny looks from drivers.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

We've had a ton of rain down here in Koxville, TN. Places on our bike paths require riding through water near bottom bracket height. The usually tame creeks and streams are now fast moving rivers like those pictured above.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> We're under a flood watch here too. So far, nothing much. It seems like every time it rains the flood watch goes up. The garden is freakin happy though.
> 
> Does Odd have a real name?  I'll try to look for him there. I'm really pretty interested to see where I place.


Oh right, his real name is....Odd. Odd-age brevendensonvenmhandkinggr, or something like that...he's a crazy Norwegian.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Got it, nice spelling of that last name. Yeah he's registered but older than I am and registered as an expert. I don't expect to win anything. I'm only hoping to finish respectably. 

Unexpectedly soggy commute this morning. The weather forecast is like a song from Annie, "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow..." You can all thank me for putting that tune in your heads.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Dang, I need to realize that my assumptions of forum members are generally wrong. You have the writings of a much older man, lol!  How long for did I think that MTBexplorer was just another guy, LOL. I wish you the best of luck. I'm never in it to win it, just to finish and hopefully with a smile.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I guess I should take that as a compliment? I know it's not in insult because you already complimented Odd Brendenesservfaser on his shredding ability...Or was it because of my tall saddle height? You're actually not that far off, I'll take the guesswork out.
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/bike-commuter-age-819214.html


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Ha, yup...not that far off at all. And no, not an insult. Maybe I should have said "you are wise beyond your years"


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Bah... another commute. Not feeling it this AM. Legs like wood and a general malaise. The ride wasn't overall bad, just not as full of joy as usual. Haven't been sleeping well this week. Hopefully that'll get better.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

I just wish the humidity would go down. I'm relatively dry while moving but holy crap do the sweat pumps get going when I stop. 

Thankfully I have a short ride home, and showers at work.

Racing the inevitable afternoon thunderstorm home every day is getting a bit tiresome, but I'm so out of shape I need it.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Got the chance to put my new Continental Gator Hardshells to the test the past few days and my commute has been faster, smoother and more enjoyable. I do not dread the hills as much as well.

One to three more days of the 20 mile round trip commute. From there it goes down to 5 miles round trip. Hoping my new place is ready for move in tomorrow with the weather calling for rain.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

^^^love the gators.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No commutes this week. My wife had our baby yesterday. There were a few complications with the pregnancy, but mom and baby will be fine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to hear all is well s0ck. Enjoy.

I think I'm going to make it home without getting wet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Schott said:


> Dang, I need to realize that my assumptions of forum members are generally wrong. ... How long for did I think that MTBxplorer was just another guy, LOL.


:lol:

Yeah, I could have a girlie name or cute sub-heading :ihih:, but it's much more fun to have you assume. :nono: :smilewinkgrin:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Congrats on new baby.

Pleasant ride in this AM. About eighty-four. I noticed it's already a little less light out. Ride home not so pleasant. 115f when I departed work. Had a 25 mph headwind most of the trip home, but I appreciated the wind working with my sweat in creating a somewhat cooling effect.

Also noticed my PSI was down to 40 when I got home in both tires. I pumped them back up to about 66. Gotta trade comfort for less rolling resistance in this heat. Getting ready to cool down to 100 or so later this week as monsoon season here is starting. Tomorrow's peddle home should be the last super hot one for a week or so.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Happy Birth Day to Mrs S0ckeyeus and the future child seat rider. 

I like you just the way you are Mtbxplorer. I like the J. K. Rowling approach. 

End of another rainy day and the BP seems to be dropping. The flu-like symptoms of early Lyme are abating. I have a new mirror. Hoping to ride tomorrow. The Duchess is calling me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Glad you're feeling better, hope the date with the Duchess works out. 

s0ck, congrats and glad all are well. If you need help with baby names, I'm sure a thread here would come up with some winners.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Smokey. A lightining fire on the other side of Carson City has been burning since the 4th, but the wind just turned the smoke towards us Mon afternoon. I`ve been watching a pair air tankers come and go (runway is like a half mile from home and we`re right in the flight path) since it started. It looks like they got two more tankers yesterday, so the battle probably hasn`t been going well.



s0ckeyeus said:


> No commutes this week. My wife had our baby yesterday. There were a few complications with the pregnancy, but mom and baby will be fine.


:band:



vegascruiser said:


> Also noticed my PSI was down to 40 when I got home in both tires.


Maybe they partially melted, letting out a little air?
Any rate, wishing you a cooler week to come.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I can not imagine riding in that heat, that is something else. 

Yes, congrats on the wee one. I've seem some badass carbon fiber kick bikes lately...get one.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Congrats on the baby, s0ckeyeus! 

I finally got to ride to work for the first time this week. Muggy, but the humidity is supposed to drop today. Thank you all mighty wonderful weather gods for no more thunderstorms! I will sacrifice a goat or two in your honor.

For the record, I am also a chick.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Gorgeous weather this morning (62f when I left @ 6:30). Got passed by two silent TdF-inspired Cat 6 racers, but that's par for the course, I suppose.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Bike seems harder to pedal lately. Not sure if I just suck after a week and a half out of the saddle or if it's legitimately harder.

Also: the farking water cooler sprang a leak overnight, so now it's just shut off and "out of order". I'm thirsty. But I don't relish the thought of tap water 1/2 mile from a landfill.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Had a hard time getting going this AM. The alarm at 4:55 AM is a bit of a buzz-kill and we've been getting nightly rains and it is cloudy in the AM, so not as bright as it normally is. I don't know that I'm noticing any less light up here yet, but I know the days are getting shorter. Of course, when it's light out when you go to bed at 11 and when you wake up before 5, it doesn't really matter all that much to lose a bit of light each day! 

The ride in wasn't too bad, though my legs still feel a bit heavy. I think it's a combination of getting a bit less sleep than I should be this week and the slight bump in weekly mileage combined with the weekend rides I did and the addition of many more hills to the daily commute. At least that's my story. 

Taking a few days off this week to go do some dipnetting. Gotta fill up the freezer for the winter. It'll be a nice break, but certainly not relaxing. Trying to hit two different fisheries - Copper and Kenai. Kenai is less grunt work hauling gear to fishing sites, but is generally much more crowded and has a party atmosphere. Copper means a hike/bike ride at least a mile down an abandoned roadbed to find a fishing spot, which happens to be at the bottom of a 100 to 125 foot, for lack of better term, cliff down which all gear must be carried and up which all fish caught must be carried. But I'll at least have my bike and trailer for that trip so I can transport the fish and gear a bit easier. Good times.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Finally feels like summer again here. Highs in the upper 80's and humidity about the same. I've definitely had to up the fluid intake to make up for the gallons of sweat. I've also started to notice the shortening of the days signally that long slide towards winter.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

blockphi said:


> Taking a few days off this week to go do some dipnetting.


You got me curious enough that I had to look it up! I can see how the Copper would be more adventurous, but the Kenai is crazy in it's own way. I'm so jealous right now! I might have to go to the store and get some salmon.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

nemhed said:


> You got me curious enough that I had to look it up! I can see how the Copper would be more adventurous, but the Kenai is crazy in it's own way. I'm so jealous right now! I might have to go to the store and get some salmon.


You know, once you get salmon right out of the water and grill it up, the store bought stuff is just... blah. There are some great benefits to living in AK. A freezer full of salmon and self-harvested razor clams are just a couple of them.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ True of most fish, I think. Fresh caught catfish beats farm catfish hands down. Veggies fresh out of the garden are in another class entirely from supermarket ones.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

blockphi said:


> You know, once you get salmon right out of the water and grill it up, the store bought stuff is just... blah. There are some great benefits to living in AK. A freezer full of salmon and self-harvested razor clams are just a couple of them.


You nailed it right there. That's why, living here in the Midwest, I almost never buy any seafood. I've had it fresh off the boat or straight out of the water and there's no comparison. Heck, even the dogfish I caught on a little excursion off the coast of South Carolina beat just about anything I could buy in a store here.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Looks like my favorite route is going to be out of commision for quite a while....it goes over a concrete pier that juts out into the river....the foundations were scoured during the flood..

End result most people from the north take the south river bank path....and it is crowded...

wheel to wheel bikers....a peloton two wide...maybe half an hour long.

I am probably going to find an alernate route on the north side (pretty easy actually).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> I am probably going to find an alernate route on the north side (pretty easy actually).


Before you know it there will be snow, and everyone else will be scared off.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Before you know it there will be snow, and everyone else will be scared off.


Yup two years ago it snowed on the company golf tournement Aug 16th....Not sure if that was the last snowfall of the past winter of the first snowfall of the coming winter.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well a nearly windless day (8 mph) and only 79 F (for July 10!) though pretty humid. Did about 17.5 mph over the section I used to manually time. Best in a long time. Had two short intervals of exercise angina related to adrenalin with weird traffic but things settled. So still not quite dead yet. 

Winter is coming (again and again and again...for some time we hope). I think the summer solstice marks the watershed for last winter's last versus next winter's first snow.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute in. Mid-eighties, sun just breaking, no wind. Enjoyed ever minute of it knowing I'd pay for it dearly on commute home.

And pay I did. 113f, strong crosswinds, and I tried a different route (which I thought would be a little more scenic--my quest taken based on all the beautiful pictures I regularly see posted here) that I thought would be comparable milewise, and it ended up being over a mile longer. In this heat a mile matters. . .

Also saw an interesting sticker on someone's car window at an intersection. Looked homemade. It said: "Life Is Hard. Life is harder if your stupid." Just perfect, I thought. And the grammatical error wasn't on purpose, I am certain.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some interesting sightings Wednesday...

Bound for Punxsutawney ?
View attachment 815094


I also got a rare nod from "Lady Liberty", the perfect postured and steely eyed woman pedaling the opposite way.

And a wave from biking "Canary Boy", a teenager with a bright yellow shock of hair.

Another rainy day with flood warnings posted, but dodged the worst of it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I actually took the day off from peddling in today to save my legs for this:
Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge (CBCC) » Carrabassett Region NEMBA ? Maine Mountain Biking -


> The design of the course for the 100K race is now complete. The Endurance Course will cover approximately 100K of backcountry mountain bike terrain. The race will begin and end at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center, and will roughly consist of 40% double track, 30% singletrack, 30% gravel road, and 9000 ft of climbing.


I don't usually worry too much about it but this one has me a little worried. It's about 150% humidity out there today so it wasn't' a bad day to take off.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

I got to actually SEE the sun rise this morning. We're finally going to have a clear spell for the next week or so. I'm trying to decide how best to deal with a habitual salmon rider. I yelled "you're on the wrong side of the road" as I passed him yesterday and he replied "f#@k you". I think he's the same guy I almost ran into one dark foggy morning about a year ago. Of course, he didn't have any lights, any reflectors, and was wearing dark clothing that morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's about 150% humidity out there today so it wasn't' a bad day to take off.


That would be called rain.  Hot and foggy so you can't see far down the road is close to 100%.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

nemhed said:


> I'm trying to decide how best to deal with a habitual salmon rider. I yelled "you're on the wrong side of the road" as I passed him yesterday and he replied "f#@k you". I think he's the same guy I almost ran into one dark foggy morning about a year ago. Of course, he didn't have any lights, any reflectors, and was wearing dark clothing that morning.


If he is riding the same place and time, why not talk to the local law enforcement agency. He is breaking a number of laws. The least they could do is have chat with him about that.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

nemhed said:


> I got to actually SEE the sun rise this morning. We're finally going to have a clear spell for the next week or so. I'm trying to decide how best to deal with a habitual salmon rider. I yelled "you're on the wrong side of the road" as I passed him yesterday and he replied "f#@k you". I think he's the same guy I almost ran into one dark foggy morning about a year ago. Of course, he didn't have any lights, any reflectors, and was wearing dark clothing that morning.


Let it be.....or let darwin's law control.....he is not gonna kill anyone.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Winter is coming (again and again and again...for some time we hope). I think the summer solstice marks the watershed for last winter's last versus next winter's first snow.


Interesting OUr frost free days run from May23 to Sept 15 on average...that would make July 20 the middle of summer.....so snow after July 20 to Sept 15 is early snow,
snow after May 23 to July 20 is late snow.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Saw an exceptionally large eagle this morning:


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Cool eagle photo! I mostly see stupid baby rabbits that like to run in front of my bike.

Uneventful ride in this morning, but it was a nice morning. I really need new pedals. I've been eying up some pretty green ones to match my bike. I just can't justify buying them at the moment when I haven't even saved that much in gas yet.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Still haven't been able to ride, as the rain and lightning get started about 1700 (I leave for work around 1900) and rap up around 0500. Only consolation is the more rain now, the less chance of fire later this year.
Had to put off the new bike again, needed the funds for unexpected bills.:sad: Oh well, maybe September will see a new ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> That would be called rain.  Hot and foggy so you can't see far down the road is close to 100%.


Nope, it is most definitely wetter than when it is raining. The dew point musta been 100F.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

More rain, soaked again on the ride in (more comfy than a raincoat when warm and muggy). Considering just soaping up outside upon arrival at work to save time on showering and laundry.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

WiTrailRunner said:


> I just can't justify buying them at the moment when I haven't even saved that much in gas yet.


Phew! Thank God I`ve never had to justify that to myself because I`ve spent way more on bikes than what I save in gas! In fact, I sometimes wonder if the gas I burn when I throw my bike in the back of the truck to ride somewhere else is more than what I save by riding in the first place :lol:



junior1210 said:


> Only consolation is the more rain now, the less chance of fire later this year.
> 
> Had to put off the new bike again, needed the funds for unexpected bills.:sad: Oh well, maybe September will see a new ride.


I hope that works out for you. When we get summer rain, it makes for less danger for a week or two, but the extra weeds that spring up eventually dry up and make for MORE fire danger.

Okay, September then. We`ll be waiting 

Good luck this weekend, Bedwards. Don`t break anything, eh!

The weather report says today`s high is in the upper 80s, but it sure feels hot to me. At least it`s still nice when I come home from work- been in the 50s at 7 AM.

One more shift for me and I`m off for a furlough day, then two weeks vacation. Whoohoo!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in and nice ride home. About eighty-five degrees both ways. The overcast and muggy weather really cooled things down from earlier in the week. Feels like Spring again! Like always, the promised rain never materialized, but it feels nice to be riding in something other than hot-hot-hot.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

My Garmin maxed out at 105.8 on the ride home. I was probably averaging about 11mph. As long as I was moving, it was OK. If I had to stop, though, it felt like a blast furnace.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Today was a day that exemplifies one big reason why I commute by bike: pressure release. Stupid issues at work coupled with unreasonable expectations weighed down by lackadaisical coworkers ended up with a very frustrated and upset guy...me. Luckily I was able to hop on the bike and burn that anger away while burning up the legs taking the hilly way home. Got home hot, sweaty and nearly completely knackered (walking up the stairs into the house was tough!) but feeling at ease and relatively peaceful. If I had driven odds are good I would have blown a gasket on the way home and arrived worse off than I started.

Yeah, it's a good thing.


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## daddyurbs (Jun 28, 2013)

I'm so glad I work the graveyard shift,the ride in is so peaceful as I barely see much traffic at all.I work with a whole 3 people on night which I maybe see once the whole evening.Looking forward to a cool mid 50 s ride home in the morning.Thank god this humidity has dropped some ,makes it hard to catch ones breath after some crazy hill climbs..topped with tree roots lol.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sunshine! Hurray! It felt speedy without the rain and mugginess, although it wasn’t really. A local year round bikecommuter crashed yesterday when a cat ran into his path on a downhill. Yikes! Both kitty and rider seem banged up but OK.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MileHighMark said:


> My Garmin maxed out at 105.8 on the ride home.


Wow, that`s FAST!



daddyurbs said:


> I'm so glad I work the graveyard shift,the ride in is so peaceful as I barely see much traffic at all.I work with a whole 3 people on night which I maybe see once the whole evening.


Sounds like a nice shift and a nice ride. Welcome in.

Xplorer, that wasn`t you, was it? And did you mean a big cat or a house cat?

I`ve been riding my backup bike all this week. Changed out some parts that I`ve been cursing since I bought it (nice improvement), played with the FD (wish I hadn`t touched it), and made up some mini fenders (hope they arren`t too mini to do any good).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Is that sitting on a big lathe? Are you going to turn it down to save on some weight?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I can`t ind 20 inch Paselas so I though I might be able to turn the Apples down.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Xplorer, that wasn`t you, was it? And did you mean a big cat or a house cat?


No, luckily it was not me, it was a guy that does twice the mileage in half the time . It was a house cat, he didn't even see it until he was down. Despite his road rash and banged up shoulder, with the help of a couple in the neighborhood he found the owner, a teenage girl. The cat was dazed and also had bitten its tongue. Kitty concussion for sure. But when the cyclist got a car ride home in the afternoon with his wife, they stopped to check on kitty and it was still doing OK.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good luck with the race Bedwards, I hope some of this less muggy air has found its way over there for you. Remember:
•	No rabbit starts, conserve your energy.
•	Eat
•	Drink
•	Eat
•	Drink


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I can`t ind 20 inch Paselas so I though I might be able to turn the Apples down.


While you're at it, that stem looks way too beefy. You should be able to take half the material off and still be fine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^If I were riding with a stem that long I'd want to beef it up a little.


mtbxplorer said:


> Good luck with the race Bedwards, I hope some of this less muggy air has found its way over there for you. Remember:
> •	No rabbit starts, conserve your energy.
> •	Eat
> •	Drink
> ...


Very good advice, I've already started the eating, I hear doughnuts are good for carb loading. And speaking of rabbits, if they are any on the course it's best (not necessarily for the rabbit) to just roll over them with the big 9er wagon wheels. I don't want to reproduce your commuter's cat crash.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I thought pasta was the default carb load food because it's calories and carbs without the extra fat and sugar with most other calorie-dense foods. Although if I'm looking for a lot of calories quickly, I go for pop tarts. Not terrible, and mostly sugar.

Rides have been uneventful but deceptively fast. I think it was my standards that were borked after that time off, because my tracked times have been consistent with other rides, if not a little faster than average. Sore as all get out today because I also went back to lifting weights, so the ride was awkward but the recorded ride was still quite fast.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sunshine! Hurray! It felt speedy without the rain and mugginess, although it wasn't really. A local year round bikecommuter crashed yesterday when a cat ran into his path on a downhill. Yikes! Both kitty and rider seem banged up but OK.


Poor kitty and poor rider! I worry about doing this every day with the rabbits on the MUP. They are dangerously unafraid of bikes and humans. I had to brake particularly hard today for one.

And donuts are perfect for carb loading! Good luck on the race, bedwards!


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Commute? I don't need no stinkin commute!

Actually I just moved into my place that's 1.5 miles from home. Looking forward to riding home for lunch in 30 mins.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Muggy in Vegas and didn't break 100f. I will take muggy and under 100 any day over dry and 115f. Tuesday and Wednesday's commutes almost did me in. Glad for the nice "heat retreat" on Thursday and today.

Looking forward to some mountain biking tomorrow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Yeah I wondered what 100-105 at 90% RH was like compared to 115 F and dry.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

I just looked it up and humidity in Vegas today was only 33%, which is very high by our standards. Think we're usually in the single digits. Pretty sure I'd collapse in 100-105f with 90% humidity. That sounds like a pretty miserable experience to me. I'd probably have to take 115f and dry against that scenario.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Someone in a passing car threw a bottle at me last night. :madmax: Luckily they missed.

Other fine citizens were burning wire (nasty smoke) and poaching the reservoir (no boats allowed, fishing only from limited areas).


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

It was tolerable out today up until 15 minutes of rain got dumped on the area. Dead wind, 90 degrees. Within 5 minutes of getting moving, I was drenched in sweat.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> ^^good work. 100k is a long way. 3 gallons is a lot of fluid...possibly too much? Flush your system? Could have helped cause cramps. I dunno, every body is different. I'm guessing that in a month, at the Hampshire 100, I'll be thinking about what it was that I did or didn't do that caused MY cramps. I'm with you though, keep spinning if you can, lock ups are the worst. Great job.


Hey Schott, I saw a post on Facebook pop up on my page, a comment on the Nashbar page about chain lube by a commuter in the White Mountains named Schott.

I'm sure I was flushing my system but I was not over hydrated. I was peeing like a camel after the race. (that will give some of you something to look up if you aren't familiar with the peeing habits of camels) I probably should have balanced it with more electrolytes from the start. That would be my advice to you for the Hampshire 100.

BTW, Odd finished first in his class. I'm not sure what his time was, a LOT faster than mine I'll bet. I would have walked up and introduce myself but I wasn't sure what your full name is.

Today's commute was lovely.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Yup, may have been me...I thought it was on the Maine bicycle coalition or something, huh. Rock and roll gold lube is my opinion, just in case anyone else was curious.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> Yup, may have been me...I thought it was on the Maine bicycle coalition or something, huh. Rock and roll gold lube is my opinion, just in case anyone else was curious.


Oh yeah, that was it.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

wschruba said:


> I hear that, I was on a group ride the other week that topped 100 and 80% humidity, was not fun. The bottoms of my feet were burning around 3/4 of the way in, even with lightweight socks.
> 
> It's good to see another Jersey commuter--where are you riding from?


I work in Moorestown and live in Mt Holly.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Finally got around to taking off my knobbies and throwing on my slicks. Didn't seem to make a bit of difference time wise, but it was certainly a smoother ride in this morning. Sadly my bike hasn't seen many trails lately, so I figured it was time to make it more commuter-like. 

Saw a disoriented opossum on the MUP; he wasn't afraid of me at all.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw someone longboarding along with traffic this morning, which I've seen a few times recently. "That doesn't seem like a good idea," I thought, and then I felt bad for being so judgy since what they were doing wasn't much different from what I was doing. Then I felt proud of myself, because I hadn't immediately thought "Get off the road you stupid skateboarder" like I would have if it had been an annoying rollerblader.

It turns out that our Traffic Safety Act has basically nothing to say about skateboards, but based on a 2006 judgement they are to be considered pedestrians.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> I was afraid of the fair traffic but it was a neighbor or visitor who went into a nearby subdivision who crowded me unnecessarily.


It's the "hurry up to get around and turn right" syndrome that bothers me the most about your video. Stay safe!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, my commute started out pretty normal. First day back to the full commute after taking a few days off of work to fish and work on the house. A bit damp, but not raining. 57F so cool, but not cold. Got on the bus, no biggie. The legs were a bit tired and stiff, but then again, after pulling 65 fish out of the tidal mouth of the Kasilof river in 5 hours and 30 minutes on Sunday evening, that was to be expected. Got to Anchorage and started the commute to the office and that's when things got weird. 

About half way to work a couple of gentlemen stopped me and asked if I have a phone. Now, this is not strange in and of itself. The homeless population often will try to stop riders as they pass. However, the fact that as soon as they saw me round the corner, they started running towards me keyed me into the fact that something was indeed either really amiss or I was going to get jumped. 

"We found a body" they wheezed as I pulled to a stop. "We need a phone. Ya gotta call 911, right?" 

What could I do? I dialed 911 as I walked with them to where the body was. A man. I could tell by his size and his hands. He was lying face-down so I didn't see his face, which, I hate to say it, makes it a bit easier to process. Faceless - not human. Cold, I know, but...

Anyway. I made the call and gave the dispatcher the info she needed and waited for the police to arrive. They showed up in less than five minutes, took my name and number and sent me on my way. This is a first for me. I can handle wildlife much more readily than dead bodies. 

Anyway, hopefully the day turns around. It seems it might. I arrived at work to find a card on my desk thanking me for the work I do and giving me a 25 giftcard for the cafe here on site.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Whoa! You win on out of the ordinary commutes!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Wow, phi. I was going to whine about my morning but next to that I've got nothing to say.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

nemhed said:


> It's the "hurry up to get around and turn right" syndrome that bothers me the most about your video. Stay safe!


That is a fact of my life.....when it isn't people using the shoulder at 50mph to go around someone making a left turn.

.....or the yo-yo that goes by just to stop on the shoulder 15yards in front of me.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Tripped1 said:


> That is a fact of my life.....when it isn't people using the shoulder at 50mph to go around someone making a left turn.
> 
> .....or the yo-yo that goes by just to stop on the shoulder 15yards in front of me.


The yo-yo is my favorite. If I leave at a certain time I will beat traffic to work. Everyone that passes me rushes by me to slam on their brakes for a light. Then I split lanes to the front and get the jump on the green. Its kind of fun.

In other news I bumped my avg speed to 18-20 now for my short 4 mi commute. Then usually I go for a much longer ride after morning formation for physical training. Not bad for a fs sled IMO.

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

nemhed said:


> It's the "hurry up to get around and turn right" syndrome that bothers me the most about your video. Stay safe!


Bear in mind it is a 30 mile zone where 50 mph is not uncommon and though it looks flat is is about half the grade of just before and I was about 16 mph. Lots of time to get by safely as shown by the guy following. I don't like a parade behind me as someone will do the blast by everyone in anger. In Indiana if you get 6 vehicles behind you, you are required to pull over ASAP to let the traffic by. Not sure the police know that, but I'm sure it would be found to blame the cyclist if someone passed and screwed it up.:madman:



blockphi said:


> Well, my commute started out pretty normal. ..."We found a body" they wheezed as I pulled to a stop. "We need a phone. Ya gotta call 911, right?" .... I arrived at work to find a card on my desk thanking me for the work I do and giving me a 25 giftcard for the cafe here on site.


That beats the ride I had with the guy firing a pistol from a reclined position along the road as I neared. He walked off. I also called 911 with no dead body.



Tripped1 said:


> That is a fact of my life.....when it isn't people using the shoulder at 50mph to go around someone making a left turn.
> 
> This is a fear of mine if I am ahead and a large vehicle is turning left and someone moves to the shoulder to pass only to discover me too late. It would be rare, but would only take once. Remembering to check the mirror enough is hard.
> 
> .....or the yo-yo that goes by just to stop on the shoulder 15yards in front of me.


Like the schoolbus that passes me on a blind hill to stop on the less severe grade above with flashers where he dropped off the YMCA after school program kids (a long drop off). We have come to an understanding.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> ...
> 
> "We found a body" they wheezed as I pulled to a stop. "We need a phone. Ya gotta call 911, right?"
> 
> ...


Geez, if your day doesn't improve on that experience, you're in big trouble!
You should be proud that you stopped to help instead of fleeing the crazies. If you'd read about the body later and hadn't stopped, the "processing" would probably be worse than what you are dealing with now.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I agree. In a way it feels like a time last summer when I was at a local lake and was loading up my canoe and kayak. As I'm getting the kayak ready to load up a kid starts splashing around in the water and calling for help. His family was standing there on shore and just stood there looking at him as he started to go under. I suppose frozen by the whole thing. After the second time the boy went under I ran into the water and pulled him out. Ten feet from shore the lake bottom drops sharply off and it was clear he couldn't swim and just got too far out. Anyway, at the time I didn't think or feel anything about it. Later that night I realized that had I taken a moment to really stop to think about my phone and wallet in my pocket or about the danger that I could have been putting myself in that the boy may have died right there. And that's when I went though all the emotional stuff.

Now that I'm thinking about this morning's incident, I'm glad I didn't stop to over-think things and just stopped to do the right thing. I think the thing I feel the most bad about is that in the past I've joked about finding, as many around Anchorage do, a bum-cicle in the winter, as many of our homeless do pass away in the cold winter months and are often found on or near the trails. It's that whole black humor thing biting me in the rear.

Here's the link to the local paper's story: ANCHORAGE: Body found in woods near Sullivan Arena in Anchorage | Anchorage | ADN.com


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

More special on the way home yesterday....

First some chick in a X-5 decides that she has to stop in front of me on the shoulder, than go, than stop again, then go, so on and so forth for about a 1/4 mile, I ended up passing her in the dirt (go go commute on a 9er)

About a mile later so douchecanoe is is such a hurry to make a right turn in front of me that I can here him revving out his POS.....only to stop across the intersection, I nearly ran into his door.

In other news I managed an 15mph average with all of the lights and 1/3 of the route being a uphill. My legs are slowly coming back.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Pretty uneventful morning run to Fedex and the coffee shop. On the way home I scared two people not paying attention to both directions when crossing the bike trail (glad I learned to whistle very loudy hands free) and a somewhat close call when a person who passed me turned into the gas station.

Decided to take the Schwinn Sprint I got back on the road to work. The Mule deserves a break. So I will see if the adjustment I made to the back brake will eliminate the screech and whole frame vibration that takes me off the saddle due to the unpleasent feeling it gives to the area in contact. :eekster:


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

I'm used to (ok, maybe not "used to", but "expect") idiots on the road not paying attention, but on the multi-use path I've had better luck. Well, except for a girl yesterday who couldn't be bothered to look up from her phone as she pulled a u-turn. She's lucky I was able to come to a stop rather than taking her out at 20mph.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

The headshake. 


Classic.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ That is how technozombies get run over in the street, too. 

OK I am not the fastest even for my age. Still I got a perverse sort of pleasure seeing a man of a certain age riding a mountain/urban bike up the hill, or I should say bailing and walking just where the grade gets to be hard to walk up. I topped that section at 10 mph this morning. The small victories are so sweet.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

It is about the small victories, indeed. 

Good ride in this morning. No drama. Just a quick and peaceful ride. The weather continues to hold out here in AK. Warm, fairly sunny, fairly dry, and all around great weather for riding. 

Hey JordyB where you b? Haven't heard anything about your commutes lately.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Hey JordyB where you b? Haven't heard anything about your commutes lately.


Sorry, i've been lurking. Busy with friends in town from Sweden, midnight fishing runs to the Kenai, swamped at work, Got in one bike commute last week, so far only one this week. I miss my bike. Great work yesterday!


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Nice video, Dwayne. LOL. Sadly people are that stupid. 

The heat and humidity is thoroughly disgusting here. Riding home last night I had the epiphany that my saddle needed to be adjusted after changing tires (duhhhhhh), so today's ride in felt much better after I made the necessary adjustments. And I finally bought a mini pump to carry in my seat bag, so bring on the flats! (Now that I have the pump, I won't get any...which is fine too!)


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

So I didn't commute today. This heat is beating me down. Our thunderstorms, which were supposed to be here Thursday and Friday, have now been pushed back to the weekend. I was really, really, really counting on this slight cool down to help me commute the full week. In defeat, I threw my hands up and took the Jeep today, thinking this midweek break will help me peddle through Thursday and Friday.

Well, wouldn't you know it--all day at work I regretted taking the Jeep and wished I had peddled in. A little self-loathing taking place. When I don't peddle in my day seems a little off somehow. Weird. I will be riding in tomorrow and Friday for sure though. I don't like feeling weird.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Ash is currently in the air as the smoke rolls in from the Idlewild fires. I really hope they get that under control for everyone's sake.

No commute for me today but I passed my class A CDL test today. Hopefully this will give me better options for work when I make it back into college. I have this feeling knocking the cobwebs off my brain might be more difficult than perceived. Any thoughts?

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Bike Swim Bike*

I stopped for a 1/4 mile swim in the middle of my commute. I think I like the idea of the swims better than the swims themselves. The water was extremely warm but still refreshing enough. We had some impressive thunderstorms roll through last night but they didn't do much to knock the humidity out of the air.

Of course it isn't as bad as vegascruiser's heat 'cause I'm still on my bike and not feeling weird.

I brought the cross check today because part of my route has been milled/grooved because it is being re-paved. That crap is really rough on a road bike.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good to hear you're still around Jordy. Did a bit of dipping myself on Sunday - headed down to Kasilof around noon - started fishing at 6:30 and limited out our family permit (65 fish) by 11:40 PM. Back on the road to home by 1 and home and in bed by 6 AM. Gotta love dipnetting season!

Today's commute was good. Excellent sunny weather out there. Can't complain. Can't complain one bit.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

It rained pretty hard yesterday evening in Atlanta, flood watches all over the place.

Did get some interesting footage on my helmetcam though.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Dwayne said:


> It rained pretty hard yesterday evening in Atlanta, flood watches all over the place.
> 
> Did get some interesting footage on my helmetcam though.


That is sick! I really, really miss thunder and lightning and the unique feeling of an 80+ degree night with 90%+ humidity. There is something amazing about the way that feels. Not sure I'd want to be riding around in that, though. The idea of a lightning rod between the legs just doesn't sit well...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After being in the hospital with my wife all last week, I am back to commuting. I've been a little more sleepy, but it feels good to be riding. Weather is hot and muggy (temps in the 90s, dew points in the mid-70s).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Shocking pictures. One might call them electrifying or illuminating. A personal best for about two years, 18 mph over the section I used to time. Only 85-87 and about 60% RH. Feels like buttah stepping out of air conditioning. Some days I run like a whippet, others I ride like a dog, better than crashing, as that's a b itch.  Been there, done that, have the facial scars.


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## GTscoob (Apr 27, 2009)

Damn Dwayne, you rode through that mess? I threw my kit on and office clothes over it and took the MARTA train closer to my house rather than deal with Buckhead traffic amid the terrible weather. What intersection is that? Looks like horrible roads for biking.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back on the bike and feeling good today. Morning rides are just so enjoyable with sun just cracking (at 5 a.m.), the birds chirping, and a cool 80 degrees. Unlocking my bike for the ride home I couldn't even touch the bike rack without getting burned. 110 degrees for the ride home, but loved every second of it.

Also watched a guy with a geared bike walk over a freeway overpass that I always peddle over (Harmon west of Nellis) on my SS (40x16) commuter. What I found interesting about this is that he never shifted down to his lowest gear before throwing in the towel. In fact, he never shifted at all. I've noticed that a lot of people riding geared bikes (not really commuters but borrowing someone's bike to get to the store, etc.) don't know how to shift them.

Sure wish I had a spot for a quarter mile swim during my commute.

Congratulations on the A CDL. I'd think it should open up some doors. I've had my Class A for nearly ten years now, even though I don't use it often, but am still required to have it for my Public Works job. Monday was the first time I drove a big truck in a few months. I'm usually in Ford 350 with a crane on the back.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

For a change nothing goofy today, and I set new top speeds (for my fat out of shape ass) in both directions to and from work despite the stinking humidity and 107 heat index on the way home.

Its supposed to be cooler Saturday and rain in the after noon, so I may actually get some non-commuting time in this weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dwayne: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors! Although you wouldn't get any pics that are nearly that cool.

Not to rub it in vegascruiser, but I stopped for another swim to day. This time I did it more to just cool off than to try to train for swimming. Based on the afternoon forecast I may do it again tonight. We're supposed to be having the hottest muggiest day of the year.

The cross check with 700x35c tires did a lot better on the milled pavement than the road bike with 25s.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Seriously sweaty morning. Got in, toweled off, put on my work clothes, continued to sweat for another 10 minutes. At least it's Friday and everybody but the accountant and me goes home by noon, so nobody really has to smell me.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

Headwind, Hot, and a smoked my legs screwing around yesterday.

I was not a happy camper on the way to work this morning. Eighty-four degrees with a 79* dewpoint, and looking at a 110* heat index on the way home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I discovered I had a bad flat yesterday as I was getting ready to head home. I'm not sure what caused it. The positioning was on the inside of the wheel near the rim, almost like a pinch flat but with only one puncture. The rim tape is fine, and I couldn't find anything sharp in the tire or on the rim. I doubt I'd get a pinch flat at 55psi. The other odd thing was that I didn't discover the flat until I grabbed the bike to go home. At first, I thought it might have just been a slow leak, but the tire went flat almost immediately when I tried pumping it up. I guess I might have had a small fold in the tube or something that eventually created a hole, but who knows.

I ended up calling my wife for a ride. I must have emptied out my saddle bag because there weren't any patches or anything in there. Oh well. I rode the SS this morning. It was nice to ride it again after giving it up to try to diminish back pain I was getting before.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I've been off the bike this week because of this silly new boy I adopted:















He needs training, but he has good traildog potential. I will try to do some bikecommuting next week.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Great looking pooch, mtbexplorer! He looks to be about the perfect size and disposition. He also looks like a ton of fun, good choice!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I've been off the bike this week because of this silly new boy I adopted:
> 
> He needs training, but he has good traildog potential. I will try to do some bikecommuting next week.


Cute pup! Don't let him push open and jump out a second (almost third) story window in the middle of the night. That takes the traildog right out of them for a while. Trust me on this one.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Thanks, guys! Sounds like good advice, bedwards, sorry about your boy's attempt at flight.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Cute pup! I recently got an Alaska Husky pup, the type that are generally used to run the Iditarod. She's still young, so no running yet, but someday. Right now, my older dog, Max, is my trail partner most times. He's a good runner, but short legs - Lhasa/German Sheppard mix









Commute today was fairly standard after a rough night last night of rebuilding my rear hub and determining that I might have a cracked frame. Read more about those trials here.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

I did my first grocery run since I moved to my new place. I mounted the wagon and headed down a route I was told about by the LB/CS owner at 7 in the morning.

I loaded up $40 worth of groceries (didn't go as far as I hoped, darned paleo diet) and headed for home. I estimate the weight to be around 35 lbs. The route has a few low grade hills, most are on the way to the store, so I got a nice push on the way home.

My ride to work has been a nice change from to 10 mile run. Even tho I get more time to stay home, I still get the itch to ride.


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## WooitsPhillip (Mar 21, 2012)

I finally started my commuting on bike this Monday. I must say, it just keeps growing on me everyday! I ride a Giant Talon 29er Hardtail, which I ride trails on the weekend. 

My commute consists of 10 miles from my house to the train station and 1 mile from train station to my work. Then I ride again back to the station and back to my house. Total of 21 miles each day. 

Today would make it 5 days, and it has been wonderful. I'm getting used to it, but I want to get a rack for my bike so I wouldn't have to carry so much on my back. Can anyone recommend a good bike rack for a 29er? 

Thanks!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Ride into work in low eighties. Ride home a steamy 115 degrees. Humidity starting to roll back in with scattered thunderstorms on the radar for all next week. So we'll be in the low 100s with more humidity than we're used to. 

Been experimenting with new routes this week. More like little tweeks to my main route. Nice change in scenery. 

Have a good weekend everyone.


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## pointerDixie214 (Feb 10, 2009)

Yesterday was my first official commute. Wow, I loved it even more than I thought. Since it's less than 5 miles there, and downhill, the babywipe "hooker" bath worked just fine. 

Might be the first weekend I ever looked forward to work on Monday.  And I am already upset since I cannot commute on Tuesday since I have to take the car in for an alignment.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Back on the bike and feeling good today. Morning rides are just so enjoyable with sun just cracking (at 5 a.m.), the birds chirping, and a cool 80 degrees. Unlocking my bike for the ride home I couldn't even touch the bike rack without getting burned. 110 degrees for the ride home, but loved every second of it.
> 
> Also watched a guy with a geared bike walk over a freeway overpass that I always peddle over (Harmon west of Nellis) on my SS (40x16) commuter. What I found interesting about this is that he never shifted down to his lowest gear before throwing in the towel. In fact, he never shifted at all. I've noticed that a lot of people riding geared bikes (not really commuters but borrowing someone's bike to get to the store, etc.) don't know how to shift them.
> 
> ...


Thanks! The way I figure it even if I have to put college off for a year or two....at least I have something to earn with and I transferred my job from the military to civilian which is good.

You getting rain in Vegas at all? It keeps looking like its gonna rain but its just teasing us down here. I want to wash the truck but I know exactly what will happen if I do.

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

It dumped last night in Vegas. Because we only get about 4.5 inches a year, parts of the Valley picking up nearly half an inch last night is considered substantial rain. In true monsoon fashion, it was gone nearly as quickly as it came. Another storm is supposed to launching its fury momentarily, and from the sounds of the wind outside right now it might actually happen. 

This storm will likely keep me from mountain biking this weekend, unfortunately. Didn't go this morning cause the trails are about fifteen miles from my house and I didn't know if they'd be muddy or not. Seemed like a waste to get up early and drive all the way out there to find out the trails are unrideable. Well, I guess they'd still be rideable but tearing the tails up like that is never appreciated. . .if it doesn't rain tonight I'll head out for a mountain bike ride tomorrow morning. Trails probably dried out pretty good today.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Well we finally got some rain too and proved an old myth. If you wash your car it will rain. I thought it would be smart to wash my car since it rained early this morning......it rained again. Go figure. Great that we finally got some rain though. No riding this weekend due to back pain.

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I've been off the bike this week because of this silly new boy I adopted. He needs training, but he has good traildog potential. I will try to do some bikecommuting next week.


A tuxedo dog! Matches our cat! I put him in the smaller pet carrier and bungeed it to the front rack of the errand bike for a ride of the neighborhood. He loved it! He sort of works on a leash, too. Greets us. Most dog-like cat we've had.



blockphi said:


> I recently got an Alaska Husky pup, the type that are generally used to run the Iditarod. She's still young, so no running yet, but someday. Right now, my older dog, Max, is my trail partner most times. He's a good runner, but short legs - Lhasa/German Sheppard mix... Commute today was fairly standard after a rough night last night of rebuilding my rear hub and determining that I might have a cracked frame. Read more about those trials.


Cute pup, too. Those eyes! 



Kryptoroxx said:


> Well we finally got some rain too and proved an old myth. If you wash your car it will rain. .... Great that we finally got some rain though. No riding this weekend due to back pain.


Rain here too and needed it. Cooled things off nicely but very humid.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Bicycle cat! :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A dude on a scooter was riding on the wrong side of the MUP on Friday. I met him while I was nearing a road crossing. He was on the other side of the street, directly across from me. Instead of moving to his right as I expected him to do, he sandwiched himself in between me and the curb. I don't know what he was thinking, but the whole thing was just awkward.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. 69F and a 10MPH headwind for the first 1.2 of my commute. Can't complain, can't complain one bit. This summer has been just amazing weather-wise in the northland. In fact I even have a tan this summer!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

We had a long downpour this morning that thankfully ended just before I headed to work. But that kiboshes the ride I'd been planning tonight, since the trails were already gross yesterday - at one point I put a foot down, and sank into the mud past my knee, and barely escaped with my shoe.

Followed a couple of ebikes on the paved trails for a bit yesterday. Maybe a km of uphill, downhill, and flats, and all with zero pedaling. I sympathize with novice cyclists that even a gentle incline can make a nice ride pretty unpleasant, and I'd hoped that ebikes would help overcome that. But nope, apparently some people just want two-wheeled golfcarts.

Here's my contribution to dog cuteness:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute today. Monsoon moisture is keeping it cooler. Didn't even break one hundred today. Humidity, however, was close to 50% for ride in and about 30% for ride home. Still a good riding day though. Gotta take advantage of these days in July when mother nature passes them out.


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## sneakers (Nov 3, 2012)

Had a great day for a ride this morning, took my time and stayed in the bicycle lane all the way to work, it is a bit of a detour but I enjoy the bike lanes. A car drove by me and pulled over about 20 feet ahead and came to a stop right in the bike lane. As I went by I noticed he was texting on his cell phone - I said good morning as I passed


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

thought y'all would like this one(if you haven't seen it)


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## sneakers (Nov 3, 2012)

LOL thats bad timing for driving like that - costly


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

BCTJ said:


> I did my first commute today. I really enjoyed being outside in the fresh air and seeing the beautiful Arizona landscapes in the morning. I rode to a bus stop and then took the bus the rest of the way. Its a great way to start out the day....really a great way to wake up and destress before going to work. The only thing I worry about is some kid driver texting and taking me out. But, I guess there is risk in everything.


Good on ya! Going multimodal is a great way to make the commute, get some exercise, and arrive at work relatively stress-free. As far as the risks in biking over driving - yeah, there are some, but the benefits ultimately, I think all on this forum would agree, outweigh the risks. Big congrats on the first of what will hopefully be many commutes for ya.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A little light rain this morning, but nothing like yesterday’s soaking and massive puddles.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Flat tire last week, busted spokes this week, starting to think I'm a bit to rough on the old commuter.  Lucky for me both are fixable, patch the tube, swap cassette/rotor to extra wheel so I can still ride. Been needing to get the busted wheel into the shop soon anyways to get some maintenance so this just accelerated that plan. Comes with the teritory I guess. The commutes however have been very nice, cool in the AM, warm in the PM and compared to the rest of the country it's downright pleasant. Who'd thought that AZ would have such desirable weather? (granted I'm in the cool part, not the frying pan that is Phoenix)


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Good looking dogs, y'all! Say it with me now...I don't need a puppy, I don t need a puppy, I don't need a puppy... My old lady doesn't romp down the trail like she used to, but she still likes to go riding. We usually just run errands, which is hard because it is in town, all the cars and things around. I bought her the bike tow leash http://www.biketowleash.com/ , with no training at all, she friggin loved it. She gets so excited when I bust it out. Just thought I'd throw it out there, as it seems to be a superior product to other similar ones.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ She looks great! I bought one of those before I even had my own dog. It's great for safe dog-cycling. Haven't tried it with the new boy yet.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Big change in the weather here. We were seeing early morning temps close to 80, with highs in the low 90's. Yesterday and this morning the temp was 58 degrees, I actually wore a long sleeve jersey on the ride in. Highs are in the upper 70's for the next few days. Very sweet!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ditto. I had to locate my windbreaker for the morning ride this AM. It was downright fall like.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It feels pretty Fall-like here too. This has been a bit of an un-summer to match the un-winter we had last year. I'm okay with it (although the constantly soggy trails have been getting to me) but anyone who likes hot or even warm temperatures is probably pretty disappointed.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Fabulously cool this morning. First day with actual, padded cycling shorts. Not sure if I like them, still feels like there's a bit too much padding, or not enough width on the seat. Better than nothing, though, and they didn't ride up like what I wore previously.

Been hearing a... scuffing? sound at speed, once per wheel revolution, sounds like it's coming from the front wheel. Can't reproduce the sound with the bike in the work stand no matter how fast I try to spin the wheel, don't know if I can't get enough speed, it's not coming from the front, it needs weight, or it's something ridiculous like a fender hitting the wheel as its blown by the wind. I've tried re-seating the wheel in the dropouts and it's not rubbing in the brakes, nor does the front fender seem to be moving in the wind. Obviously I can't see the rear fender.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

Good thing it was cool this morning.

I had a crap morning.
1) Woke up like an hour late, no big deal
2) Took 45 minutes to wake up the dog and get her mobilized...issue
3) Finally get out the door, and make it half way to work, CRAP forgot work clothes....turn around.
4) Make it to work, discover the OTHER two items that I forgot, my badge and my wallet, they won't let me on the campus 
5) Return lap BACK to the house get the wallet and the badge and the haul ass back to work.
6) Get to explain to two managers why I was 3 1/3 hours late because I would forget my ass if it wasn't attached.

......not my day so far......total miles ridden before food, coffee or any other required morning rituals .....29:skep:

In other news I got a heads up about a dream job in Spain, so I have to polish up the resume and get that shot off.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Tripped1 said:


> In other news I got a heads up about a dream job in Spain, so I have to polish up the resume and get that shot off.


Don't tell them about the things you would forget if they weren't attached.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

nemhed said:


> Don't tell them about the things you would forget if they weren't attached.


inorite


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

I cheated and got a ride into work this morning from my girlfriend after picking up a bike for her from a local bike recycler and began tuning it up til I was almost late for work.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

I cannot believe how many of you are experiencing fall-like weather. July in Vegas is back with all its fury. Enjoying sub-100s on Monday and Tuesday and yesterday and today's rides in were 110f and 115f. Good, solid commute week though. Off tomorrow, so my commute week is done--thank goodness!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We are talking glory days for commuting here in Seattle. It has not rained since late June. It's sunny just about every day. The temps are mild - low 50's in the mornings, mid 70s to low 80s in the afternoon. Winds are light and there is almost no humidity to speak of.

Even the LA Times agrees:

Seattle tops list of cities with cool, comfortable summer weather - latimes.com

This usually lasts though mid to late September and I am enjoying every minute of it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> We are talking glory days for commuting here in Seattle. It has not rained since late June. It's sunny just about every day. The temps are mild - low 50's in the mornings, mid 70s to low 80s in the afternoon. Winds are light and there is almost no humidity to speak of.
> 
> Even the LA Times agrees:
> 
> ...


You are a very lucky commuter. . .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath, do you have another bike or another wheelset? Maybe you could do some wheel swapping to see for sure whether your noise is comming from your front (or rear) wheeel.



Tripped1 said:


> In other news I got a heads up about a dream job in Spain, so I have to polish up the resume and get that shot off.


I don`t know what "inorite" is, but good luck. That sounds like a killer possibility.



woodway said:


> We are talking glory days for commuting here in Seattle. It has not rained since late June.


Whoa! I didn`t know you ever saw that long without rain. Glad you`re enjoying it while you can


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great commute today because I Got To Share It With My Wife


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

vegascruiser said:


> You are a very lucky commuter. . .


Let's talk again in January after I have ridden in the rain 10 days in a row 



rodar y rodar said:


> Whoa! I didn`t know you ever saw that long without rain. Glad you`re enjoying it while you can


Summertime is quite dry in the Pacific Northwest. The rest of the year makes up for it 

Rodar, get any touring in during your time off?


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Great commute today because I Got To Share It With My Wife


Awwww, that's so SWEET!

On a separate note, inorite= I know, right? or as my wife abbreviates it: IKR.
An expression I don't believe I ever heard until my youngest daughter entered middle school.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

nemhed said:


> Awwww, that's so SWEET!


inorite


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Part of the damn trail was closed for tree work today so I had to detour back along the road (which I had just ridden to get to the trail in the first place) to pick it up a mile or two down. I don't mind closing the trail, but I wish they'd posted some signage about it before closing it. I rode it not even 24 hours before it was closed and there was no notice. IMO it didn't even need maintenance, they already came through a few weeks ago (without closing the trail) with trucks and chainsaws and mowers and cleared out a lot. I'd even go so far as to say they cleared out too much.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

did my 1st dualathon yesterday. I was on a team with a buddy who did the running section. I did the 20mile ride. It rained most of the race and it was slick and muddy as hell.

Was in a group when we did our 1st handoff and around the 1st sharp turn i got rear ended and went off track flipping over the front of my bike onto my back. The front derailer got all wonky and i had to reach down and move the chain by hand to switch between the big gears.

Luckily my bike shop was there doing support and after my 1st lap my normal mechanic was able to bend it and adjust it enough to get it semi working again. Loads of fun but damn am i feeling it today. this is me in huge green helmet. lol


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

^^awesome pic. Sometimes I wish I wasn't such a beanpole. Hard to look that badass.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Home sweet home today after two weeks lounging around. I love vacation, but that`s about long enough for me. Looking forward to going back to my own grind tomorrow. Starting another round of swing shift. Graveyard has gotten tougher over the years and I can`t handle it full time any more.


bedwards1000 said:


> I Got To Share It With My Wife


Awright! I remember you mentioned that, but I thought you were going to look at an mtb. Looks like a Raleigh headbadge?



woodway said:


> Rodar, get any touring in during your time off?


Just one weekend so far 
Spring was busy with other stuff, summer too hot (and also busy) so far, will get some weekends in soon and (fingers crossed) maybe a week in Oct.



jhmeathead said:


> did my 1st dualathon yesterday...
> ...this is me in huge green helmet.


Dang! I bet you didn`t get many elbows thrown your way! Glad you had a good time.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Monsoon moisture in the Valley again. Cool 70F commute in and a pleasant 103F commute home. Supposed to heat up the rest of the week though. Winds are already blowing the cool weather out. . .

Next week camping the whole week so no commute. Looking forward to that. Taking my mt. bike up to the mountains, so when I wake up three or four hours before the rest of the family I'll have something fun to do.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Tonight's ride home was damn near perfect.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I had good commutes today. Got a little hot but nothing horribly unplesant. It only hit 100 during the last 8 miles or so. 

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The bike part was fine, took out the cross bike for a spin. The car part cost nearly $100 per mile! Gotta check out that gold-plated muffler.


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## Sixty Fiver (Apr 10, 2006)

Great commute today... weather was nice enough and the rain held off until I got home but I was packing my rain gear anyways.

Last night I kitted out my Moulton with an old Wright's leather saddle and a new Carradice Pendle which holds all my stuff with room to spare.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jhmeathead said:


> did my 1st dualathon yesterday. I was on a team with a buddy who did the running section. I did the 20mile ride. It rained most of the race and it was slick and muddy as hell.... ...Loads of fun but damn am i feeling it today. this is me in huge green helmet. lol


NICE! I'm sure you feel it, 20 miles of offroad racing will put a hurt on you.



rodar y rodar said:


> Awright! I remember you mentioned that, but I thought you were going to look at an mtb. Looks like a Raleigh headbadge?


Yes, we bought her the MTB. Scott Spark, a very nice entry level+ full suspension bike. She already owned the Raleigh. Actually, she has 2 Raleighs and the Scott now. She's catching me in # of bikes owned.

Perfect 65 degree weather for the commute this AM. It was my first commute of the week because I took yesterday off.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I was running late this morning. My wife was taking her sweet time, so I got to take the dog out and feed her (the deal is when I ride, she deals with the dog, when I drive, I do). Just as a rode out of my driveway, I realized I forgot the put the trash out, so I had to turn back. Made up a few minutes by hauling ass to work and taking a very fast shower.

It was really cool out, I actually wore a light jacket!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looking good, 65!



vegascruiser said:


> Next week camping the whole week so no commute. Looking forward to that. Taking my mt. bike up to the mountains, so when I wake up three or four hours before the rest of the family I'll have something fun to do.


Sounds like fun. I hope you get some heat relief. Where are you going?



bedwards1000 said:


> She's catching me in # of bikes owned.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

After a little stay-cation, I am back to commuting and the morning commute was wonderful. Though I did, while trying to capture a picture of the mountains while speeding down a hill at ~20 mph, drop my employer's iPhone. I figured that it was going to be toast. However, there are a few scratches in the case, but the glass is fine, which is a good thing. Teach me to be stupid.


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

Was a rough commute today, but I did see the light at the end of the tunnel especially since I have a whiskey next to me now.

Morning went fine. 

When I got off work though my front tube had a hole and no air. No biggie, I got spares with me. Problem came when filling up the tube. I used one of the CO2 cartridges that was in my pump to fill it up a bit. It was only half full, so I needed another one. I screwed it on too tight and my pump literally exploded in my hand. The once full CO2 shot 50 feet across the yard. Lucky I or anyone else wasn't hurt. Took another 10 minutes to find the air compresser chuck that would work on a presta valve. Felt solid enough to ride. Made it a few blocks away and realized a few more bursts of air would do me well, but didn't end up having a way to fill it without going back to work.

On the way home got caught in a thunderstorm which then stopped only to make the roads feel like a sauna.

At least I'm home safe.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

When I put my shirt on to ride home this afternoon I almost threw up. I have never smelled anything so rank. I have no idea what the hell I ate yesterday, but it was disgusting. I hope to never experience anything like this again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, a couple of rough reports you guys! Hope things improve. I recommend wool for anti-funk and a mini-pump for cartridge crises! I'll raise you a near-sideswipe this morning, one of those dodo drivers where you feel the car go by (a small silver sedan with no excuse) rather than see or hear it. Hoped to catch up with him, bur he was gone with the wind. I'm regretting bypassing some treasure on the way home, a heavy duty utility knife I'm now sure to need next week.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Commuted a couple of days last week right around sunrise and it was spectacular. Thought I would get pics the next morning but it was blah. Teach me to pass up a good shot!

One school district started today so I'm back to dodging busses AND the remaining summer residents and tourists. Luckily the rains have been much later in the day so I miss them and stay dry on the ride. But all told, it's not bad at all.



Straz85 said:


> When I put my shirt on to ride home this afternoon I almost threw up. I have never smelled anything so rank. I have no idea what the hell I ate yesterday, but it was disgusting. I hope to never experience anything like this again.


I have shirts that literally take on lives of their own at the end of week so I feel your pain!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Looking good, 65!
> 
> Sounds like fun. I hope you get some heat relief. Where are you going?


Well, we were going to Mt. Charleston, which is a pine forest located less than fifty miles from Vegas. Unfortunately, my wife got a call from the reservation service today and the camping sites aren't opened yet. On July 4th a lightening strike caused a pretty nasty two week fire up there called the Carpenter 1 Fire. Even with the fire nearly out now, sites still not opening yet. My wife was told possibly the end of August.

On another bad note, my commute home today was a bit rough, but completely self-inflicted. Beside the 106F temperature, I transported a Koi fish nearly a foot long in a plastic ice chest in one of my saddle bags. I caught this fish today in a wash while working and figured it'd be a nice addition to my aquarium (my kids just love it when I bring critters home from work). Koi are obviously not native to washes here in Vegas. Figured the fish would just die if I left it. So I took it and then racked my brain for the rest of the day figuring how to get it home on a bike.

Eventually used a little ice chest a work buddy was keeping tools in. Anyway, the trip home went anything but smooth, with water sloshing this way and that, and me having to stop every half mile or so to make sure enough water was still in the ice chest. I eventually had to surrender all my drinking water to sustain the fish, as the water just kept sloshing out. Then I had to walk up the hills and hold the ice chest.

Anyway, eventually made it and the fish appears to be doing well in the aquarium. First thing my wife says is this new fish better not eat the smaller fish in the aquarium. I don't think it will.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Straz85 said:


> When I put my shirt on to ride home this afternoon I almost threw up. I have never smelled anything so rank.


I can usually get two rides out of a Jersey, but whether the Abx or the Lyme bugs did a number on me I had a new jersey I was debating burning today.



mtbxplorer said:


> I'll raise you a near-sideswipe this morning, one of those dodo drivers where you feel the car go by (a small silver sedan with no excuse) rather than see or hear it. Hoped to catch up with him, bur he was gone with the wind.


I hate that when it happens. I got a loud very well-timed 60 mph yell when I was in the zone and I almost bunny hopped on the spot.



Spatialized said:


> One school district started today so I'm back to dodging busses AND the remaining summer residents and tourists. Luckily the rains have been much later in the day so I miss them and stay dry on the ride. But all told, it's not bad at all.


They're back in school here next week. It's the blitz of high school drivers after 3 that has to be factored in. I aim not to be someone's first accident.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

vegascruiser, that is the most hilarious fish story I have ever heard.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Getting some commutes in a few times a week but works been busy at night, hitting up singletrack when I can as well.

Testing the VeeRubber Speedster: 26x3.5, 1025 grams, rolls fast, has some self-steer qualities with pressures lower than the 19 on a 70mm rim. Will be used to commute on and upcoming 90 mile epic that's got 20 miles of gravel. Will give final report in a couple weeks.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> vegascruiser, that is the most hilarious fish story I have ever heard.


+1. I can't even begin to imagine slogging home on a bike in 106 degree temps, with a LIVE FISH on life support in a cooler! I REALLY NEED PICTURES!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> vegascruiser, that is the most hilarious fish story I have ever heard.


You can't make this stuff up man!! I got a good kick outta that one.

Sorry about the vacation though. That does suck. Hopefully you will get it in though.

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

I kinda feel guilty that my commutes have been uneventful. Haven't had a shirt/jersey funk problem since I started wearing a moisture wicking compression undershirt (like Riddell).


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> vegascruiser, that is the most hilarious fish story I have ever heard.


OK, this is about the best commute story I have ever heard. More detail and photos are required. First, where and how did you catch the fish again? Second, I would love to see how you got a cooler with a foot-long fish into your pannier. And third let's see a photo of the fish!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM, again. With the clouds this morning, though, I was almost thinking I need to break out the head and tail lights. Don't want to think about that now. There is something so wrong about the sun not being up and shining bright at 5 in the morning!

I, too, get funk issues with my gear - mostly in the winter, when I have fewer items from which to choose so end up wearing the same item for three or more days in a row. Wool does repel the stank a bit better than other materials, for sure. One of the staples of my kit is a cheap poly tee I picked up at Old Navy years ago - I think I dropped 5 bucks on it and it has been an amazing piece. Doesn't get the funk like some other poly I've worn, wicks amazingly well. Never chafes. And can be worn as if it were a standard cotton tee - none of that athletic fit garbage that makes the moobs and pot belly more pronounced than they should be.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

One excerpted movie from recent rides.

Black walnut trees going. I asked the driver to get the move on (driver window was open). Bike and me are close to 300 pounds, so I hate to lose momentum. I need less air pressure in the front tire if I don't want to juice the ripe blackberries on the way home on the rough bits.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another excerpted movie from recent rides.

Driver on cell phone almost took whole road after his impromptu meeting in the road. (I warm up before tackling the fast road out and the park area, so I came by three times). Stand off of golf cart, kids, and me. Some speedy bits and decent climb rates. No answer from cyclist to my wave.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

woodway said:


> And third let's see a photo of the fish!


Vladimir Putin got photos of his fish too:
Vladimir Putin's pike size was exaggerated say critics | Mail Online

Nice rain today in the morning. I can't believe I just wrote that!
The rain was soft, more droplets than drops, and the temperature was just right so that I didn't either sweat or get cold wearing a thin jacket.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Got sneered at or ignored by an awful lot of people riding road bikes and wearing fancy cycling clothes along the MUP this morning. No idea what they were all doing on a trail at 9:30 AM on a Wednesday but I must have passed at least 5 packs of 4-6 riders. Maybe 2 returned my wave.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was a beautiful day, but feeling not too proud, as another local commuter pedaled 159 miles to Maine today to meet up with his family, and will do the same on the return in just a couple days. Luckily he is on our national bike challenge team, year-round commuters.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> OK, this is about the best commute story I have ever heard. More detail and photos are required. First, where and how did you catch the fish again? Second, I would love to see how you got a cooler with a foot-long fish into your pannier. And third let's see a photo of the fish!


I caught the fish in a wash. Vegas gets wicked monsoon rains every summer so the entire Valley has a system of flood channels. Most of the year sprinkler runoff, etc., flows down these channels. While a lot of these are concrete, many are dirt. Ducks, fish, turtles, beavers, raccoons, possum, etc. will live in these dirt sections. Trees grow, tule reeds. While not a real creek or river system, it often feels like one, with some sections being well over five feet deep and dense with greenery. I caught this fish in a shallow concrete section with a net I keep in my work truck. The fish likely got flushed from a deeper pool in a dirt section with the rains we had this weekend.

The cooler I used was a little six pack cooler. I have panniers that are made to hold grocery sacks. Basically, I could easily haul two gallons of milk in each bag on each side. So the six pack cooler fit in my bag with no problem. The fish had to be put into the cooler with its head in the bottom corner. This put it in the ice chest in a slightly diagonal position. Its back fin folded over just slightly to allow it to fit in the ice chest better. And its back fin was out of water most of the ride home. It was a very tight fit, which was good to stop it from thrashing about and to keep it calmer. I then put ice in the water to keep it cool for the ride home and to slow the fish's metabolism a bit.

Lastly, I will work on getting a picture up of the fish, the panniers, and my bike. I don't have a smart phone so I don't post pictures. I guess now is as good as any to figure out how to do it. I suspect I can use my wife's camera and then plug her camera into my computer. I will figure this out over the weekend and get the pics up.

As for my commute today, it was good. Even with 110F and headwinds most of the way home, it felt like a cakewalk compared to yesterday. Morning ride in a pleasant 80F but getting dark again.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Kind of disappointing ride today. I've been riding trails near me and I have now identified who they are. Sadly its not anyone who would be interested in riding with someone such as myself. It was a group of officers all around 0-4 and above. I don't have anything against them but its generally not wise when you're an E-5 to hang with field grade officers lol. Other than that I'm climbing faster than I was and feeling a little more confident on the bike in general. 

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hot again. I started mowing weeds about 9AM and had to call it quits less than an hour later. I usually run out one tank of gas per mowing session, but didn`t get that far this time.

Vegascruiser, sorry your campground is shut down. Maybe you can park your panniers in the back yard, fill them by water bottles, and sort of crouch in them :lol:
Seriously though, aren`t there any other cooler and elevated zones within striking distance? Seems a real shame to have to cancel when you`ve been looking forward to a nice break.


perttime said:


> Nice rain today in the morning. I can't believe I just wrote that!


You`re a maniac, Perttime!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Big bear is not too far. I would say in the 2.5-3.0 hr range I would think. From vegas at least. 

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I had some guy in a bro truck* yell out his window at me "I HATE YOU!" at me because he could turn left because I was in his way (just riding along, not doing anything out of the ordinary).

*Bro truck, for those of you who don't know, is a pickup truck with a big lift, knobby tires and a bunch of off-road accessories that looks like it's never done a day of work or off-roading in it's life. Always pristine, waxed, shiny.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Pouring rain today, got up a little late, felt like death. Was warming myself up to decide to drive to work when I look out the window and see, still in pouring rain, some high school or so age girl jogging along, looking pretty happy about it. Said to myself like hell I'm going to drive if she can work up the motivation to go out in this rain.

Packed in record time, skipped a few things I should have done, and had to take the short route to work, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. The rain tapered off after about 10 minutes to a light shower and I was a little disappointed.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Straz85 said:


> I had some guy in a bro truck* yell out his window...


This morning I had a guy in a brotruck decide 4-way stops don't apply to him. I called him some nasty names, and took the lane for a whole block while he reved his engine.

Yesterday I saw a guy riding with a whistle in his mouth...just riding along for a couple of blocks. That's a nicely low-tech approach, but it seems to have a lot of downsides. And idiot drivers ignore horns, screams and everything else, so don't they also just assume that that whistle couldn't possibly apply to them?

And finally a morning that feels like summer instead of fall.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Pouring rain today, got up a little late, felt like death. Was warming myself up to decide to drive to work when I look out the window and see, still in pouring rain, some high school or so age girl jogging along, looking pretty happy about it.


She was probably Perttime`s daughter.


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

Commuting is going well, I'm loving the bike with tubeless setup. Right now it's 70psi rear, 65psi front with 38mm Kenda Kwests. It's one of the cheapest 700c tires out there and obviously fairly sturdy, but no match for glass shards and other nastiness that I have to ride over on the roadsides. Thankfully I can limp back home with lower inflation rates when I get a puncture and spooge it back up prior to patching.

Can anyone recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Plus 32c or another really, really bulletproof tire for the rear?

Bike Ride Profile | Morning Ride near St. Francisville | Times and Records | Strava


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> This morning I had a guy in a brotruck decide 4-way stops don't apply to him.


I get running the stops OR the stop well before I get there and not take their turn. Maybe my lights work too well for some drivers. Mesmerizes them



newfangled said:


> Yesterday I saw a guy riding with a whistle in his mouth...just riding along for a couple of blocks. ... idiot drivers ignore horns, screams and everything else, so don't they also just assume that that whistle couldn't possibly apply to them?


Sounds like an inhalation risk in an accident unless it is a seriously big whistle.

As to making an impression, my first car was an MGB. It had twin eep-eep horns that sounded as threatening as a lamb. Not wanting to be sacrificed on the altar of self-absorption by someone's big Caddy, I installed twin Maserati air horns. That did the trick. No more continuing the left lane change into the side of my car without even a glance. It was snap back in line first, then see where the Mack truck was second. Nice. Saved a number of sure accidents.

The 22 oz twin Li car horns in another thread here, sadly, may not be enough for some cagers.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Here's one for your bike: Loud Bicycle | Car horn for bikes


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Interesting commute today. Dark-ish when I left the house again; cloud cover causing it, though, not lack of sun, and 57 degrees. The ride was okay, at best. I'm not pushing it on the commutes this week as I did a bit more riding over the last weekend than I have been able to yet this summer, pushing some good trail miles. However, on Tuesday I could feel that my legs were mad at me for not giving them a break between the trail riding and the daily commute. 

The bus portion of my commute this AM was were things got interesting. About half way here, the bus pulled over with a check engine light and rough running. Seems an injector blew. 

I was tempted to hop off the bus and onto the MUP along the highway and would have, too, except that the 6 AM bus was right on our trail. Why risk being late for the day's first meeting when the bus is there and waiting? I could have used the extra 16 miles today, but I'll save that for another time.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Not sure, but I think the tight beam flashing light on the helmet saved a left hook in front of me as I was doing 30 mph. The van was rolling the stop as I focussed the light on the driver, then it wasn't. It was close. I was looking at riding on the gold course as Plan B. Nice the driver responded to me or my light, though. Shocked them, as I got back on the power and flew by as they sat there a bit before coming on. I also beat them to the stop sign on the next rise did it at 17 mph and 180 HR. First ride in years on this route that I thought the 53-42-30 triple might have been a help.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Vegascruiser, sorry your campground is shut down. Maybe you can park your panniers in the back yard, fill them by water bottles, and sort of crouch in them :lol:
> Seriously though, aren`t there any other cooler and elevated zones within striking distance? Seems a real shame to have to cancel when you`ve been looking forward to a nice break.


I do have a small pond in my backyard so I could probably just lay in that. The biggest problem I have with taking a camping trip elsewhere is that I don't trust my Jeep Cherokee on longer trips. Mount Charleston is just the right distance in case I have vehicle problems. Lots of family in Vegas who could help me. We're going to be buying a new Chevy Silverado before next summer, so distance won't be an issue any longer in picking out camping locations.

Nice commute in today and hot commute home with a dash of headwind. Was glad to get home.

So the fish isn't actually a foot but only 11 inches. He swam in place long enough for me to measure him from the outside of the tank last night. Other issue with this fish is that he basically spends all day in a corner of the aquarium sleeping. Then, just as soon as the aquarium and family room lights go off, this dude starts cruising the tank like he owns it. I suspect he'll start getting onto a diurnal schedule like the other fish after some time.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I feel you on the vehicle stuff vegas.....looks like I will have to drive my 4runner across country to see my side of the family in Kentucky. That usually wouldn't be a problem except I have a bit of wrenching to do and then I usually take it into the dealer for something like an oil change to see if there are any other parts wearing. After 240k there really isn't a guide to see what is going to break next lol. 

Last commute for a week. I'm going to be up super early and won't be able to ride. Hopefully I can pick up another new to me bike this weekend though. Wish me luck in the haggling game lol. A 06 rockhopper should come home with me.

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I should say, it was going to be close:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> She was probably Perttime`s daughter.


She doesn't jog, if she can avoid it...
There's times when I can be quite happy in rain - but this only happens in times when it isn't too cold.
One of my clearest childhood memories is the fun we had running around the house in our undies - in pouring rain after a hot day.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Spent most of the morning dodging squirrels and small rabbits.


08-02-2013


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I hate Fridays! I really do. First, my routine gets thrown off as there isn't a 5:55 bus, but rather only a 6:00 bus. Of course, the bus is packed with both the normal 5:55 riders and the 6 riders. Not a huge deal, but there's this couple who ride every day - a couple who, between the two of them take up three seats. Nothing against that, as I am a big guy myself - 6'1" and 260+ - However, I had my seat firmly established, get the bike on the bus, and then spend the next 40 minutes being squished into the wheel well by wife of couple who decides when someone else takes a seat by her in her original seat to move to the three bank between her husband and I. Again, no biggie. The bus was packed. But, I just really am uncomfortable when a large woman comes and sits next to me and her arse spills over the seat and onto my seat, making me need to compress myself as small as possible just to remain seated. But, this is likely just me being grouchy as my morning routine was already out of whack with the whole five minutes later, but sleeping in 20 extra minutes thing. 

Get about half way to Anchorage and it starts raining. My rain jacket is back home. In my bedroom. In the basket of winter bike clothes my wife's been on me about taking care of. Fortunately, by the time I get to Anchorage, it's no longer raining and right now the sun is burning through the windows at the office and into my eyes. 

The bike portions of the ride were excellent. The first leg of the bike ride was a bit crisp. I'll need to start looking at the thermometer before leaving to make sure I have the right kit on soon. I didn't get a photo, but about a half mile into the ride this AM there was a large pile of bear scat on the roadway. From my understanding, there isn't much of a bear problem in the valley, but others say that bears often visit the neighborhood where my house is, as there is a productive salmon stream that runs through the division and it is illegal to fish it, so good eats for the bears. Still waiting to see the actual bear who left such a calling card.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Woodway, PM.
No work for me today. When they told me like Wed that we would be doing an annual bailer rebuild today, I was kind of bummed. Comming straight off vacation into a 40 hr week... yuck! But day shift was able to get an early start on it yesterday, and no catastrophes popped up to take us off that job, so by the time I turned it over to the graveyard guy last night, it was almost done. Phew, close call!

Back to back note worthy commutes, Blockphi?  Sounds like a rough week. It`s cool that you apparently have TWO morning busses into town most days- must be a lot of people making use of them. Liking the new house okay?



chomxxo said:


> Commuting is going well, I'm loving the bike with tubeless setup. Right now it's 70psi rear, 65psi front with 38mm Kenda Kwests.
> 
> Can anyone recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Plus 32c or another really, really bulletproof tire for the rear?


No other responses, so... I`ve used 1.5 Kwests in 20 and 26 and they`ve been pretty reliable (though fairly slow) for me. I think the very toughest I`ve used have been Maxxis Overdrives, which I think also come in 700c. Never tried any of the Marathon series or anything tubeless.



vegascruiser said:


> Other issue with this fish is that he basically spends all day in a corner of the aquarium sleeping.


I bet he`s bored and wants to go for another bike ride! Yeah, transportation issues can really suck some times. Hope your current truck keeps on hanging in there for you until you get the replacement. Whatever you end up doing for the weekend, keep it cool!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Windblown and wet on the way home yesterday. Lowlight was a drunken guy staggering toward me in the street; he was making some attempt to stay to the right but kept lurching toward traffic. I pulled way toward the centerline to avoid a collision. In the ½ second it took to actually pass him, the alcohol cloud was unbelievable.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> !
> 
> Back to back note worthy commutes, Blockphi? Sounds like a rough week. It`s cool that you apparently have TWO morning busses into town most days- must be a lot of people making use of them. Liking the new house okay?


Loving the house! Lots of work, but much nicer than a cramped duplex. There are actually seven trips in each morning and seven back out each afternoon for the Valley Mover buses. I've not ridden any of them later than 6:00, but each of those are generally 15 to 20 riders (5:10, 5:55, and 6:00 = 45 to 60 riders). Same in the afternoon. So, if we extrapolate similar numbers to all seven, we get 105 to 140 riders in in the morning and out in the afternoon. So, all in all, not bad numbers overall. I was actually surprised by the number of riders - happily so.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Woodway, PM.


Just responded, rodar. Did not see the little notification thingie up top.

vegascruiser, your fish story gave me a good laugh. Thanks for posting more detail. I really enjoyed the imagery of a fish in a cooler in your pannier...


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

So I shattered my previous speed record home. 

This morning was cool and not really humid, I didn't eat either enough or the right crap last night so I wasn't really feeling any real power.

About half way a dude I haven't seen before on a roadie pulled out in front of me, I was on a decent roll so I caught up quickly, stop next to him at a light nodded at each other, and stood up straight sprint mode for the next two miles, I couldn't get past him but he couldn't drop me either (this is two clydes with big ass back packs on going to work ) He broke off a light before my turn off waved...and that was that.

There are two hills that are both relatively (for south Jersey) steep and long on my way home, and they have been kicking my ass for the last month. This afternoon I said the hell with it got off the saddle and mashed it up both or them. My top average had been 14.7mph and I wasn't getting any faster at it. This afternoon I only caught one light (for a change) and averaged 16.5mph.

Considering I was having a hard time keeping up 12mph 6 weeks ago I'm kind of stoked.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> I bet he`s bored and wants to go for another bike ride! Yeah, transportation issues can really suck some times. Hope your current truck keeps on hanging in there for you until you get the replacement. Whatever you end up doing for the weekend, keep it cool!


He ain't going for a bike ride anytime soon. I'm actually thinking it's a carp and not a koi now. I saw smaller versions of this guy in the wash today in a non-concrete section and think I might let this sucker go if he doesn't start getting more interesting.

Biggest issue with the Jeep is towing the trailer on steep grades. Without something behind it, it runs just fine.

Will stay cool by staying in the AC.

No commute today. Took the Jeep to work. Woke up today feeling kind of stiff. As I usually go mt. biking every Saturday morning, I figured I could use this "off" day before my ride tomorrow.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> He ain't going for a bike ride anytime soon. I'm actually thinking it's a carp and not a koi now. I saw smaller versions of this guy in the wash today in a non-concrete section and think I might let this sucker go if he doesn't start getting more interesting.
> 
> Biggest issue with the Jeep is towing the trailer on steep grades. Without something behind it, it runs just fine.
> 
> ...


Remember if you figure out he's a carp they are edible. Nail it to a nice piece of cedar and bake for 1 hour at 350 or until golden brown. Then remove the carp from the board and serve the cedar in 2x2" servings. Enjoy 

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Look what I found on the commute home today:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Remember if you figure out he's a carp they are edible. Nail it to a nice piece of cedar and bake for 1 hour at 350 or until golden brown. Then remove the carp from the board and serve the cedar in 2x2" servings. Enjoy
> 
> Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


Lucky for the fish, he's less skittish now, took to the diurnal schedule like all the other fish, and has adjusted to aquarium living just fine. I'll hang on to him for a while and then release him where no fishing is permitted.

This forum sure dries up during the weekend. I guess all of us must be on M-F schedules, or just very busy on weekends.

Went on my mountain bike ride with a buddy from work Saturday. This guy's a maniac (the good kind) on a mt. bike. Came with a single speed (32x16) 2006 Redline Monocog and destroyed the trails, hills and all. Spent mostly the entire ride standing on his peddles as he hammered up hill after hill. He's the triathlon type and hasn't lost much for not doing them for a few years.

I bought this bike off of him at the end of the ride for $100. He picked it up for his sister a few months ago, for whatever reason he ended up with it again, and it didn't really fit him too well. I suspect I might've overpaid, but I've been eyeing Monocog's for a while now (Surlys are too expensive for my budget) as an introductory single speed. Not interested in a single speed conversion, as I wanted the single speed geometry. I suspect the geometry is set up for out-of-saddle peddling, as my buddy didn't lose traction on any hills out-of-the-saddle.

Bike looks fresh from the farm though. Couple of dents on the top tube, but welds are solid. Looks like the bike spent sometime outdoors and in the rain. Some rust here and there, etc. Spent this morning cleaning the bike up with some lube and grease. Chain pretty rusty and a soak didn't help it much, but I'll roll with the bike as is until things start breaking. That's the proper approach, in my opinion, to a farm fresh, one-hundred dollar bike. Been wanting a single speed mt. bike for some time now--so glad to have this one fall in my lap. Wife was pretty upset about another bike in the stable though. We're only up to four now--geez, and the Joshua 3 is basically just a frame at this point.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride out Sunday almost windless for most of it then it kicked up for the ride home. Not one for the record books. Saw two recreational riders (5 mph, cruisers, and no helmets). I waved as I went past but no reaction, I guess I look too serious/weird (they were crossing the 4-lane and passed behind me).

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Fall seems to be here. We mostly skipped over summer. This morning was cool, crisp and breezy. My wife did her third bike commute in 2 weeks. I think we may have a convert.

This weekend's bike solo bike tour: The Candid Cyclist: "I'll Be Back in Three Hours"


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This morning was a wake-up call for sure. At 5:25 AM there was no sun to speak of. Summer is officially over and now we begin the long slide into darkness. It was shocking; I was up at midnight on Saturday evening and it was dark out. Like full on dark. Would need headlights on dark. Soon, too very soon, it will be dark at 10 in the morning and the sun will set at 3:30. I'm not prepared for that - mentally. Too much left to accomplish yet. 

The commute was, apart from the darkness, good. Uneventful. 

I cleaned up the drive train over the weekend and found that the mounting bolts for my small chainring were all loose, which might explain some of the creaking I was experiencing last week. It's crazy how a nicely greased chain makes the ride so much nicer - quieter. I think I have come to the conclusion, though, that if I ride trails up in the valley that I need to clean and relube directly afterwards. The glacial silt of our soil up there makes a fine scouring powder. Not so good for the longevity of parts, though.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Fall seems to be here. We mostly skipped over summer. This morning was cool, crisp and breezy.


Yeah, what's that all about? Had to start out with a jacket and stop halfway to take it off.

I just read your blog, that looks like an awesome ride!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Another thing to watch for*

Thursday, I discovered the ramp just off the video to the right, closed. I often turn onto this road just north of the exchange on my bike as the overpass and roads approaching it are a bit dangerous and there is a less used alternate route. Still not something we see too often. Pigs next?






The trucker was forced off by another driver and caught the embankment for a launch into space. He and young son came through OK. Figured as it was near to where I ride it was not too far OT.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> This weekend's bike solo bike tour: The Candid Cyclist: "I'll Be Back in Three Hours"


Nice pics and story bedwards.

Rain riding 102: Go with the Showers Pass Club shoe covers. That's what I use. Be aware that the zippers need to be treated with care and zip them off before walking any distance or they won't last. I wore mine every day last winter (even when it was dry - they keep my feet warm) and they made it through the winter beat-up but intact. I'll probably buy a new pair for this winter and keep the old ones as a backup.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Thanks for the tips on the shoe covers. I've been thinking I need them for a year but it's best not to rush into these things. Although I've probably added 3 bikes in the meantime. I was also thinking that they would add a layer of insulation in the winter.

Sorry to hear that you are headed back to darkness blockphi. We've got a few more months but it is coming. It gets dark at 8:00 instead of 9:00, not long and it will be 7:00...6...5...4 that's about the earliest it gets dark here but it's enough so that all of the light hours are while you are at work.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Fall seems to be here. We mostly skipped over summer. This morning was cool, crisp and breezy. My wife did her third bike commute in 2 weeks. I think we may have a convert.
> 
> This weekend's bike solo bike tour: The Candid Cyclist: "I'll Be Back in Three Hours"


Yay wife (and Mom too!). Nice tour and pix. Evergreen cemetery on the cross bike must have been interesting, I used to ride some of that ledge at lunch and seem to recall both an endo and a bloody chaining tattoo as I returned to the office.

Lovely commute today, as instead of going to work I hiked Mt Abe with the new dog and friends. Crazy windy on top.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MileHighMark said:


> Look what I found on the commute home today:


Nice. Very Southwestie 



vegascruiser said:


> Went on my mountain bike ride with a buddy from work Saturday...
> 
> ...I bought this bike off of him at the end of the ride for $100.


I hope you found somewhere cool (-er than Vegas) to ride. Head up Charleston? $100 for a working bike can`t be too far wrong. Have fun with it.

As for carp, I`ve never attempted to eat it, but people from some cultures do. Then again, that doesn`t say much.


bedwards1000 said:


> My wife did her third bike commute in 2 weeks. I think we may have a convert.
> 
> This weekend's bike solo bike tour: "Wrong! I forgot to consider riding on trails is a lot slower, riding on unknown trails that aren't well marked is even slower and somehow that 35 miles turned to 58."


Good job to Mrs Bedwards :thumbsup: Now if you can get her to register here...

Been there. Er... been there, elsewhere. No railroad ties, though- I bet you were happy to be done with that part.



blockphi said:


> Soon, too very soon, it will be dark at 10 in the morning and the sun will set at 3:30.


Blech. Long, dark winter. I don`t know if I could deal with that. 


bedwards1000 said:


> It gets dark at 8:00 instead of 9:00, not long and it will be 7:00...6...5...4 that's about the earliest it gets dark here but it's enough so that all of the light hours are while you are at work.


All the light while you`re at work is better than no dark while you`re trying to sleep.



mtbxplorer said:


> Lovely commute today, as instead of going to work I hiked Mt Abe with the new dog and friends. Crazy windy on top.


Glad you`re putting him to good use!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Rodar,

Didn't make it to Charleston. I drive up to Blue Diamond (small little town about 20 miles from Vegas) on Saturdays and peddle the single track in the Red Rock Conservation area. Well over a hundred miles of single track there. Usually start peddling at 5 a.m. and done by eight or nine. Usually about ten degrees cooler than Vegas too.

-----------

Uneventful commute. Ride in wonderful. Ride home I pay for the wonderful ride in. I am very ready for fall.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> As for carp, I`ve never attempted to eat it, but people from some cultures do. Then again, that doesn`t say much.
> Good job to Mrs Bedwards :thumbsup: Now if you can get her to register here...


I have had delicious whole carp served at a Chinese restaurant, although I once saw an unfortunate offering on the menu of "Steamed Crap".


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

And now for some morning Haiku and a photo.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration



rodar y rodar said:


> All the light while you`re at work is better than no dark while you`re trying to sleep.


So True! And Mrs bedwards has talked about joining in here. I'm not sure if we have any husband and wife teams here yet.

Nice mountain view there MTXB. We're going to climb Washington when we're camping in a few weeks.

The commute was darn chilly this morning. I wore a windbreaker but didn't realize it was only 45. Um, hello? It's the beginning of August!


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I have had delicious whole carp served at a Chinese restaurant, although I once saw an unfortunate offering on the menu of "Steamed Crap".


My local Chinese place has crap Rangoon, one of my favorites. Aren't carp considered dirty fish, as they are bottom feeders...which is where a lot of the bad stuff we put in the water seems to settle?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It was a damn chilly morning for August. Wore the jacket for the whole ride. My hands were even cold for half my ride. What's the deal with the cold August weather?



Schott said:


> My local Chinese place has crap Rangoon, one of my favorites. Aren't carp considered dirty fish, as they are bottom feeders...which is where a lot of the bad stuff we put in the water seems to settle?


Best we have is Chicken Phuket and Chicken Prick King. I usually order the latter. It's tasty.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Schott said:


> My local Chinese place has crap Rangoon, one of my favorites. Aren't carp considered dirty fish, as they are bottom feeders...which is where a lot of the bad stuff we put in the water seems to settle?


Also true of catfish, but still tasty when fried in cornmeal.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Beautiful morning. Beautiful ride. A bit breezy, but with fall and winter coming, I need to prepare for that, I guess. Generally can't complain about the commutes lately. Yup, this is the life.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Love it, Blockphi!


Straz85 said:


> Best we have is Chicken Phuket and Chicken Prick King. I usually order the latter. It's tasty.


Haha! Valdez, AK has (at least HAD, about 15 years ago) a place called the "Fu King Restaurant". None of the locals would eat there.
And besides catfish, I believe halibut is also a bottom feeder. It`s my very favorite seafood, but so crazy expensive these days that I`m lucky if I eat it once a year.

I must be feeling very sociable this summer. Just got to meet and ride with Xplorer and Bedwards, now I have a trip booked to Seattle and will hopefully get to to the same with Mr and Mrs Woodway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Cool! It looks like they have some beautiful country to ride up there too. 

Catfish is awesome. I throw caution to the wind and buy the swai (straight from the dirty rivers of Thailand) from Walmart for $3/lb. It probably has enough mercury in it to make me crap thermometers but it's a tasty fish.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Love it, Blockphi!
> Haha! Valdez, AK has (at least HAD, about 15 years ago) a place called the "Fu King Restaurant". None of the locals would eat there.
> And besides catfish, I believe halibut is also a bottom feeder. It`s my very favorite seafood, but so crazy expensive these days that I`m lucky if I eat it once a year.


Fu King actually, up until a few months ago, turned into a bit of a chain resturant up here. There were at least three in Anchorage. They've all changed names now. No longer fu king. Sad days we're living in...

Lot's of good to eat fish are bottom feeders. I think a lot of the prejudice against eating carp has more to do with it's origins than with the fish itself. Invasive species, introduced from Asia at a time when Asians were not particularly welcomed here unless they were building rail roads, often starved out other, native species of fish, etc. etc.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I did something today I have not done in about 15 years. I rode my bike without my helmet. I got to my park-n-ride (by car) and realized it was back at home. I survived! 

I think the bottom feeders might have less mercury than the top predators like shark, since it bioaccumulates up the food chain.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Things have finally dried up and warmed up around here.

I've been riding my 1x9 a fair bit recently, and this morning I had the derailleur seize up. One of the pulley bushings was full of crud and wouldn't spin, so it was an easy fix, but it always amazes me how those things happen. I took that bike for two three hour rides over the weekend with no problems, when I started out this morning it was fine, but then 10 minutes in the shifting gets flaky, and a little while later a clickety-clacking tells me it is time to stop.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I've been riding my 1x9 a fair bit recently, and this morning I had the derailleur seize up. One of the pulley bushings was full of crud and wouldn't spin, so it was an easy fix, but it always amazes me how those things happen. I took that bike for two three hour rides over the weekend with no problems, when I started out this morning it was fine, but then 10 minutes in the shifting gets flaky, and a little while later a clickety-clacking tells me it is time to stop.


I had some string from one of those sewn bags (likely floating in the breeze above the pull tape on the road) wrap itself into an idler. Quick but greasy fix.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Thanks Brian. There was a fair bit of black thread in there that I'd suspected was the culprit, even though I had no idea where it came from.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I must be feeling very sociable this summer. Just got to meet and ride with Xplorer and Bedwards, now I have a trip booked to Seattle and will hopefully get to to the same with Mr and Mrs Woodway.


Hoping the timing works out so I can show rodar one of my favorite rides!



newfangled said:


> Thanks Brian. There was a fair bit of black thread in there that I'd suspected was the culprit, even though I had no idea where it came from.


I had something similar happen to me last year. Except that black thread was inconveniently woven into the shape of a sock that got sucked up into my derailleur and ripped it off my bike. :incazzato:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Commuted home with some tadpoles today but not nearly as exciting as the carp. Just put them in a little bottle, screwed on the lid, and off I went. A few years ago my oldest boy got this little frog habitat, where you could send off for a free tadpole as long as you paid the eight dollars shipping. Well, that didn't happen. In addition to the eight dollars being pricey for one tadpole, worried it'd arrive dead. Have kept my eyes peeled at fish shops over the last few years for tadpoles. Nothing. Doing some work in a wash today I found a few. Kids were happy to get more critters. Once they turn into frogs I will release them back into the wash.

Gorgeous morning commute and same-old, same-old commute home. Even with cool down in August (average high about 105, I believe), I am just flat tired of the heat. And with fires messing with my camping trip schedule this year, even worse. . .no cool down.


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## corivus (Mar 13, 2012)

It was wet which was unusual for me, but the rain didn't slow me down, in fact today was my fastest ride to or from work so far!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Wet morning in the northland. We need the rain so I'm not going to complain at all. Looks like it'll be raining the rest of the day, which is also fine by me. 

I learned a good lesson yesterday about the bus portion of my commute - don't even bother trying to get on the 4:10 bus unless I can get on at the first stop. I was going to hit it up at the second stop to try and get home a bit earlier in the day. However, the 4:10 bus was packed and, as there is a new driver, he's not realized it is more efficient to have our wheel-chair bound passenger ride on the passenger side rather than the driver's side (removing 4 seats rather than 5). I could have gotten on the 4:10 but didn't want to pack my bike into an already crowded bus.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Today was day 3 in a row, which is rare for me. I'm trying to step up my commuting. Since my wife and I bought a house and rescued a dog, I have far less time to ride recreationally. I need to get the dog trained to mountain bike with me!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I don’t know what gets into drivers. At one light there are 2 lanes for westbound traffic: a right turn only lane and a straightaway lane. I maneuvered from the right side of the road to the white line between the 2 lanes, so that cars turning right could proceed unimpeded. There were 2 cars at the light in the straight only lane (which had just turned green, so I was accelerating), and nobody in the right turn lane,. But did the right turning van take my invitation and go in the right turn lane like he normally would? No, he has to zoom by me then cut in front of me to make the right turn. Not sure why he thought that was better or faster. This kind of driving usually makes me decide to hog the lane, when it really should not be necessary.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi, do you just wheel your bike right up and onto the bus? Sounds like a PITA. I poked around your blog and didn't find the answer. I did find "I am Collosus", interesting mix of dubstep and deathmetal (or whatever you kids call it these days) I like the former but not the latter.

Wow, I forgot how much riding the fatbike for the 24 (plus little singletrack) mile commute wears me out. That sucker is heavy compared to the road bikes. That was yesterday.

Today I'm planning an extended ride around Sebago Lake for the trip home.

MTXB, don't try to understand cars. You'll hurt yourself. I like it when traffic it backed up and once it starts to move all the cars will race at 40MPH until they stop again and I ride by at my constant pace. Repeat 4-5 times over a 5 mile stretch.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, don't try to understand cars. You'll hurt yourself. I like it when traffic it backed up and once it starts to move all the cars will race at 40MPH until they stop again and I ride by at my constant pace. Repeat 4-5 times over a 5 mile stretch.


Cars aren't hard to understand. Its their drivers that can make one crazy. :madman:

We have lights that if you drive the stretch much, you know they will change soon and you can save a bit of fuel coasting up so that you can roll out with the stopped traffic on the green light. Sort of blending into the flow. A few drivers following me over the years pick up on the fact that we kept rolling and were just as fast as screaming up to a stop. It may take them three or four lights in a row, but they get it and stop following too close. Some don't get it at all and either tail gate me or scream by and cut me off to get in front. Their bad pass saves me being rear ended. I am not sure how much gas I save, but we get great mileage out of the front discs. I've wondered what percent of the slow on the uptake and heavy on the throttle drivers bend their rides before they see a fraction of that many miles. You can't do the smooth driving thing if you are busy texting, either.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, don't try to understand cars. You'll hurt yourself. I like it when traffic it backed up and once it starts to move all the cars will race at 40MPH until they stop again and I ride by at my constant pace. Repeat 4-5 times over a 5 mile stretch.


:lol: I have some of that cat-n-mouse on rte 302 here and I find it quite entertaining to roll up beside the same vehicle over and over!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in. Dark enough now where I'm actually using my headlight to see the road in certain spots instead of as a flasher for the entire ride to work like I've done since early summer. Getting darker in the morning everyday now. Darker and cooler. 

Ride home today was pretty nice as well, except for the headwind. Haven't looked at the weather report yet, but I bet it didn't break one hundred today. 

All this means is that pretty soon I'll be complaining about how cold it is, even though the two coldest mornings in Vegas last winter occurred in January and were only 23F and 25F. Winter commuting in Vegas is pretty good indeed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> :lol: I have some of that cat-n-mouse on rte 302 here and I find it quite entertaining to roll up beside the same vehicle over and over!


It must be a RT-302 thing. That's where I get it too.

I had a great ride around the lake last night. After a stop for a visit I had my first after dark ride of the year. It was nice as a novelty but I'm not ready to do it full time. The forum is being persnickety about uploading pictures so I'll have to link to it: Sunset Ride


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It rained yesterday afternoon, when I was riding home. It was quite OK, once I no longer needed to worry about GETTING wet.

A strange thing happened during the rain: after about 15 minutes, my eyes started stinging. I had to stop about a dozen times during the last 2 or 3 kilometers because I couldn't keep my eyes open! After a couple of stops I tasted salt on my upper lip....

What must have happened is: during a few months of use (it is my "easy streets riding" helmet) the helmet had accumulated same salt (read: dried sweat); the rain got inside the helmet and soaked the salt out of the helmet padding.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Double shot of animal weirdness yesterday for me. On my way to work I pass through a totally undeveloped area for about a half mile- nothing but the road with scrubby desert bushes on either side. The road going through drops into a long, shallow gully, then gradually climbs out again before it disappears around a curve way up in the distance. Yesterday afternoon I could see something out towards the middle of that stretch that first looked like a white grocery bag in the middle of the lane. But when an approaching car came up on it, the bag moved over into my lane. A few hundred feet out I thought "Man, if not for being out so far from any houses, I would say that looked like a chicken". A hundred feet out: "I`ll be danged- it IS a chicken!") 30 feet out, it wandered/scurried/breakdanced off the side and hid (badly) in a bush, watching me go by. I`m rooting for the silly gal to somehow get to saftey, but my money is on Wile E.

Comming home last night, two blocks out of work in a residential neighborhood, I met my old pal Mr Fluffy White Cat. I often see FWC wandering around in that area in the middle of the night, but we`d never had any interactions before. Last night, I guess he was hanging out under a parked car, and when I rode past that car, he shot out in the same direction of travel as I was headed. Not like he was running from me or even trying to chase me, but pretty much even with me, about ten feet over. He paced me like that for about 5 to 10 seconds (seemed like a long time), then peeled off and rounded the corner onto the next side street at full speed. Funny stuff.



mtbxplorer said:


> There were 2 cars at the light in the straight only lane (which had just turned green, so I was accelerating), and nobody in the right turn lane,. But did the right turning van take my invitation and go in the right turn lane like he normally would? No, he has to zoom by me then cut in front of me to make the right turn.


(Insert "shakes head in wonder" emoticon here. Crazy.



BrianMc said:


> A few drivers following me over the years pick up on the fact that we kept rolling and were just as fast as screaming up to a stop.


They`ve figured it out? Now, THAT is amazing 



bedwards1000 said:


> Sunset Ride


Phew! From what you wrote previously, I thought you were going to loop your lake on the fatty. Not ready for lights as a non-novelty? Sorry to hear that. I love riding in the dark of night.



perttime said:


> It rained yesterday afternoon, when I was riding home. It was quite OK, once I no longer needed to worry about GETTING wet.


Funny how that works. For all the comments about how dry my area is, I have actually had that happen. Don`t think it`s ever been on a bike ride, though. Hope your helmet got a good rinsing so your eyes won`t have to deal with the salt bath next time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Broke my pannier bag, so bungies came in handy. Full details at me blog, mates. Apart from that, nothing too eventful. Got a bit wet as the rain started pouring down just as I arrived at the office. Thank goodness it's my Friday today. I am ready for the weekend!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

A lil write-up on me went live today: I Bike Anchorage ? Jordan Blackson: Year-round fat-bike commuter by Tim Woody

Disliking the lack of light in the early mornings and late nights. If its gonna be dark, LET IT SNOW! ;p


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! Great tip for beginners too!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, the chicken and the fluffy white cat were clearly attracted by your animal magnetism.

Bedwards, nice Sebago pic on the blog, was the whole lake that calm?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Another animal catching day in the washes. Caught five turtles (four softshell and one slider) today. The natural dirt wash is going to be converted to concrete in the next six months to a year. So turtles needed to go or be killed once construction starts. These turtles were caught with an excavator. Just scooped up by the bucket. Brought them home to the kids and put them in our little pond/water garden. Did not take them home on bike, however.

Excellent ride in this morning and pretty nice ride home. Little cool down keeping it about 100F for ride home. Headwinds sucked, but seems like I get some sort of wind everyday now.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I had an odd animal encounter yesterday too. I was riding the rail trail to Gorham fairly early (early enough for no ATVs to be out scaring off the wildlife). It was a ways up, but was either the smallest bear cub I've ever seen, or the largest cat I've ever seen. I stopped about 25 yards from it, and it scampered back the way it came. Only thing for sure is it had a stubby tail. I hauled tookus right by after that, just in case it was a baby bear...with a mama near by.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Almost ran into/over this guy on the way home:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

With our collective animal findings we could open up a zoo!! Been too busy fir commuting since I'm at work from 0300 to when it gets done. 

I have been using this thread as encouragement and entertainment when I get the chance. I've been using the cool weather for engine swapping and painting of my older than dirt yota pickup. Its my project but I am sure thankful when I'm just working on my bike....much lighter and usually cleaner too lol. I should be back to riding Monday!

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk 4


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

I'm not trying to run down the brown fox I pass at night.

The cat and deer were already dead, and the raccoon is just a bag of bones with a few teeth poking out....yeah, so my way home rather smells at the moment.

In othernews I just went back to working nights, so I have to come up with some form of lights before I get run over.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

JordyB said:


> A lil write-up on me went live today: I Bike Anchorage ? Jordan Blackson: Year-round fat-bike commuter by Tim Woody
> 
> Disliking the lack of light in the early mornings and late nights. If its gonna be dark, LET IT SNOW! ;p


Wow Jordy! 60 miles round trip on a fatbike?!?! That's like 120 miles on a normal bike.



mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, nice Sebago pic on the blog, was the whole lake that calm?


That is actually an inlet on the other side of the road from the big lake. It was breezy so the big lake was a little rougher.


Schott said:


> ...I hauled tookus right by after that, just in case it was a baby bear...with a mama near by.


Good idea.

Wow, it is raining like CRAZY here. Like a several inches/hour rainfall rate. My commute was almost totally dry. It would have been kind of fun to be riding in this though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The school my wife works at is going back into sesion, so she starts back to work Monday. Not a minute too soon. Togetherness is nice, but only to a certain point. I`m just about ready to shove a credit card in her hand and order her down to Big Lots and Ross to get her out of my hair for a while. "Bye. Mind the speed limits, Dear."

Speaking of back to school... it must be about time for CommuterBoy to report for duty. And Schott, aren`t you close to switching your summer gig for the regular fare?



JordyB said:


> A lil write-up on me went live today: I Bike Anchorage ? Jordan Blackson: Year-round fat-bike commuter by Tim Woody


Awright, Jordy! +1 on the admiration factor for 60 fat miles weekly.



Tripped1 said:


> In othernews I just went back to working nights, so I have to come up with some form of lights before I get run over.


You might be onto something there if you don`t you want to end up like the cat, raccoon, and deer. How have you been managing it so far?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Today's my work from home day, so I did a bit of maintenance during some downtime. Put the 44t ring back on my wife's mtn bike for Acadia and adjusted the FD accordingly, put air in my CX tires and put the cassette back on those wheels. Also adjusted the seat on my Surly, it was a bit too far back.

Hopefully the rain will let up and I'll ride after work.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been super humid here, but no rain until today. Of course, it started pouring the minute I could go home. I'm waiting a few minutes to see if it passes.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Was a bit earlier and came by the driveway of the backing out car from last week and this time the driver yielded and stopped to let me by rather than back out into my path. Also crossed the paths of three school buses. Almost had to come to a stop for the four-way flashers on one but the last of the children finally got across and the bus started on its way just in time, so I could keep some momentum with the melons and stuff.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

You know I only ride fat in the summer to train for winter riding right? ;p All those winter races and singletrack, it doesn't get any better in Anchorage!

Blockphi, your next buddy, Anchorage folks need to know about your bike/bus/bike commute! It can be done!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Excellent ride in and a sluggish ride home. A bit windy home. Glad commuting week is over. Off to mt. biking Blue Diamond tomorrow. Gonna give the Monocog a try on the single track. Good weekend to everyone.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Egad! Invasion of the flying ants on the way home. These annoying but otherwise harmless creatures come out in swarms several days a year, tickling your exposed skin as you pedal through them, sticking in your hair, and onto your sweat, going up your nose. I made the mistake of not wearing glasses, so I kind of had to squint, but at least I kept my mouth closed. The state entomologist said “They will just smear your windshield and your windshield wipers will never be the same”


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Let me add to "animal encounter week". Ran over a rabbit today. It darted under my front wheel, I never even had a chance to swerve. Since I keep score, thats:

Woodway: 5
Rabbits: 0


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Egad! Invasion of the flying ants on the way home. These annoying but otherwise harmless creatures come out in swarms several days a year, tickling your exposed skin as you pedal through them, sticking in your hair, and onto your sweat, going up your nose. I made the mistake of not wearing glasses, so I kind of had to squint, but at least I kept my mouth closed. The state entomologist said "They will just smear your windshield and your windshield wipers will never be the same"


Yes, one ride the neighborhood with the cat two week ago was shortened in time because the clouds of flying ants got too difficult to keep out of my nose. The mustache strainer helped a bit. Thought about my neck warmer as filter but that would have been warm since the ants were sticking to my sweaty arms (a very humid day). I wondered at the lack of purple martins and swallows making a meal of the high density, but maybe the formic acid is an effective deterrent. Glad to know it wasn't an unusual plague.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Flying ants? What will they think of next? No picnic will ever be safe!



Straz85 said:


> Put the 44t ring back on my wife's mtn bike for Acadia and adjusted the FD accordingly, put air in my CX tires and put the cassette back on those wheels.


When are you going on that trip? If you`re registered on rbr, do a search on the "Comuting, Touring, and Ride Reports" section for some inspiration. There`s a member there (username Singletrack) who lives in Bar Harbor and posts a ride report or two every year from the area. It was one of his reports that first planted the Acadia seed in my mind.



woodway said:


> Woodway: 5
> Rabbits: 0


I can`t see a rabbit actually winning one of those matches (well, maybe a big honkin jackrabbit), but I could easilly imagine a two- way loss. Have they all been on straights and flattish or uphill stretch? Hope you never hit one on a screaming descent or around a curve with any kind of speed!


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> You might be onto something there if you don`t you want to end up like the cat, raccoon, and deer. How have you been managing it so far?


Carefully....

Its actually easier to avoid cars at night because I can tell where they are behind me with the headlights. Plus there is only one sketchy part on the way in (which is the night leg) the rest is well lit and generally has full lane width shoulders.

But yeah, need to get to the bike shop.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Lights must work. Yet to see a carcass with a blinky on the shoulder!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sanath said:


> Part of the damn trail was closed for tree work today so I had to detour back along the road (which I had just ridden to get to the trail in the first place) to pick it up a mile or two down. I don't mind closing the trail, but I wish they'd posted some signage about it before closing it. I rode it not even 24 hours before it was closed and there was no notice. IMO it didn't even need maintenance, they already came through a few weeks ago (without closing the trail) with trucks and chainsaws and mowers and cleared out a lot. I'd even go so far as to say they cleared out too much.


This news story sounded familiar...Cyclist?s construction complaint leads to apology, more signage | Toronto Star
..but I don't think Sanath is in Toronto.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Lights must work. Yet to see a carcass with a blinky on the shoulder!


Nah, I head home after dawn. So I get to see and smell all of it.

So of course I wake up to go to work and find a flat rear tire :madman: not exactly what I wanted to wake up to, thankfully I got up early so I just patched it and rolled out.

.....I had some serious motor going on, the Cheesesteak and beer I had for dinner apparently works the charm for energy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Cheesesteak and beer? Of course! How could it NOT work the charm !?!

Wife goes back to work today :band:
Trying to work up the nerve to order myself a new camera. Since I actually like my current camera (but not as much as I THINK I`ll like N+1), it`s a blatant case of unwarranted UGI.



BrianMc said:


> Lights must work. Yet to see a carcass with a blinky on the shoulder!


Hmmm... true dat. Since Fish and Game already tag some of the larger roadkill specis, they might do well to start tagging them with blinkies instead of those dangly plastic ear rings. I bet the mountain lions would like the idea as much as motorists and insurance adjusters would.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Jordy, I keep thinking to myself the only way to get an interview with the great and powerful Woody is to know him... I'd be happy to sit down and chat with him about my commute and the challenges it entails. I'll be heading over to read your write up in just a few. Saw it pop up on Thursday, but hate reading anything on the phone and, well, on my weekends I tend to stay away from the computer.



> blockphi, do you just wheel your bike right up and onto the bus? Sounds like a PITA. I poked around your blog and didn't find the answer. I did find "I am Collosus", interesting mix of dubstep and deathmetal (or whatever you kids call it these days) I like the former but not the latter.


Yeah, just run it right onto the bus. Not too much of a pain, though. The buses are kneeling buses, so they drop down to the level of the sidewalk, just roll it right on.

The original version of I am Colossus is all death metal, all the time, but, I agree, a bit hard to take. The dub step add an interesting element.

Today's ride was fun. Out the door at 4:55 in the dark, so dark I had to throw on both a helmet light as well as a handlebar light. Raining. But I was in a hurry so didn't bother putting on a rain jacket. Get to the bus stop to catch the 5:10 bus. Bus was nearly full, contrary to what I was told to expect. Couldn't read on the way in as it was dark. Got to Anchorage and had to deal with more rain and bad shifting.

That said, on the whole, it was a pleasant ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Cameras are like bikes. The cheap ones aren't that good and diminishing returns are exponential. They also seem to be in the same price range ($100-10,000)

Oh, and I have seen a picture of a rabbit that "won" or at least the bike lost. The rabbit had got jammed between the fork and the brake calipers of a carbon fork and done some serious damage. Probably stopped the bike pretty quick too.

I was on track to have a record breaking speed for my ride in. I started out hard, powered up all the hills, pushed hard for the last downhill before work. I got to work and my average speed was... zero. forgot to start the computer.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, and I have seen a picture of a rabbit that "won" or at least the bike lost. The rabbit had got jammed between the fork and the brake calipers of a carbon fork and done some serious damage. Probably stopped the bike pretty quick too.


Saw a shattered carbon fork caused by a squirrel attempting a crossing through the front wheel. Looks like a chainsaw had been used. Broken collar bone and compound arm fracture. Sounds about as much fun as a handlebar failure. My 36 spoke wheels may be visible enough and the gaps small enough to dissuade squirrels. Had one dodge at the last split second to cross behind the wheel and ahead of the bb.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was on track to have a record breaking speed for my ride in. I started out hard, powered up all the hills, pushed hard for the last downhill before work. I got to work and my average speed was... zero. forgot to start the computer.


I hate when I do that.

I usually because of rain, its raining so I throw my cell in a ziplock....and forget to kick on strava and then pedal my ass off because I'm wet and annoyed about it.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> This news story sounded familiar...Cyclist?s construction complaint leads to apology, more signage | Toronto Star
> ..but I don't think Sanath is in Toronto.


I am close, but I am not in Toronto.

Going to try stopping by Lowe's after work today to pick up an online order (for a bottle of wood glue). We'll see if they object to walking the bike in with me.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a root canal follow-up this morning, so I drove in. The good news is, I'll ride home. My wife needed the car for her appointment this afternoon, so we had to devise a plan to swap the car out. I switched the handlebars and stem on my mountain bike this weekend and swapped the old bars to my commuter. I'm hoping they will give me a bit more comfortable of a ride. We'll see. I might need to go back to the old stem with the wider riser bars.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Saw a shattered carbon fork caused by a squirrel attempting a crossing through the front wheel. Looks like a chainsaw had been used. Boken collar bone and compound arm fracture. Sounds about as much fun as a handlebar failure. My 36 spoke wheels may be visible enough and the gaps small enough to dissuade squirrels. Had one dodge at the last split second to cross behind the wheel and ahead of the bb.


That was it! Squirrel through the spokes that got flung up through the fork. 


Tripped1 said:


> I hate when I do that.
> 
> I usually because of rain, its raining so I throw my cell in a ziplock....and forget to kick on strava and then pedal my ass off because I'm wet and annoyed about it.


My cell is always in a ziplock, rain or shine.

I tried strava once or twice. 
- I forget to turn it on (can't be bothered)
- The GPS takes forever to lock.
- If I turn it on I forget to turn it off
- My battery gets sucked dry in an hour with the GPS on

Not a fan.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> That was it! Squirrel through the spokes that got flung up through the fork.
> 
> My cell is always in a ziplock, rain or shine.
> 
> ...


With the iBike and a spare cell, and wireless off, I can get about two hours with both the phone and spare battery full. The extra battery adds about an hour . I attempted an outboard larger pack for the 70 mile days on the Cover Indiana ride, but I ran out of development time to get all the bugs out.

I can run a different program on the phone for the errand bike but I keep forgetting to start it. The miles are known, the speed is slow, and that program doesn't give me HR, so it isn't of much value. Not worth a 2nd bike setup.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in. Took a slightly modified way to shake up monotony. Not sure if I liked it. I am a creature of routine. Even though the route I took in is the EXACT route I take home, felt wrong doing it in the morning instead of afternoon. Actually felt a little chilly this morning with temps in the low seventies. Subtle signs of the summer battling it out with the oncoming fall taking place in the early morning.

Rode the Monocog on Sunday. Did 16 miles of single track and loved every second of it. Almost did the eight mile loop for the third time but thought I should be getting home. Did experience one flat on the trail and had two more by the time I got home. All of my bikes have 5x thorn resistant tubes with slime and tire liners. Wanting to keep the Monocog more on the light side, I wanted to see if I could just run "plain old tubes." Mistake. Bought 5x Slime tubes and tire liners yesterday and will put in tires before next weekend's ride. Goatheads litter the single tracks in my area. I think weight tradeoff makes sense here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sanath said:


> Going to try stopping by Lowe's after work today to pick up an online order (for a bottle of wood glue). We'll see if they object to walking the bike in with me.


I only had a problem at one store. A fifty mile round trip. Last minute health food store stop and I left my cable and lock at home. I should have walked the narrow aisles with it but leaned it out to the way to the side of one cash register where the owner was doing weekly books. She said I could lock it up to the 10" x 10" posts supporting the front overhang. I said yep, I could if I had brought 10 pounds of locks on a 50 mile round trip. I wasn't her typical cyclist customer from in town and I drop a lot os money there each month. Nobody else has said squat.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, and I have seen a picture of a rabbit that "won" or at least the bike lost. The rabbit had got jammed between the fork and the brake calipers of a carbon fork and done some serious damage. Probably stopped the bike pretty quick too.


There was a whole photo series of similar carnage (more similar to your memory than to BrianMc`s correction) on the NV forum a long time ago. A cottontail was wedged between the spokes and the fork uppers, had to be euthanized. Somehow, no damage to the bike or rider came of the incedent. I tried to search it back up again a few years back, but drew a blank.

Megabummer about losing out on your land speed record. I didn`t think any modern bike computers still needed to be manually started and stopped for each ride.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I had a root canal follow-up this morning, so I drove in. The good news is, I'll ride home.


Now there`s a brave soul! The LAST thing I ever want after a dental ordeal is any kind of exercise to help the throbbing along. How`s life with the new addition treating you?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some nice riding and trailwork with Keeper yesterday. 








If you take enough blind action shots, eventually you will like one. I wish I had on white socks too.








He was hilarious when I used the McLeod to work on drainage, he came over a few times and dug furiously at the spot. 








We also saw this crazy caterpillar - you can see it is huge and it tried to steal my car.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> \
> We also saw this crazy caterpillar - you can see it is huge and it tried to steal my car.
> View attachment 823224


I saw one of those outside work the other day! Can't figure out what it was exactly.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. I do hate this time of year, though. It is dark enough to need lights in the morning, but because there is no snow to help reflect the light, they seem to just die right in front of me and don't really do anything. Not that I have a hugely powerful light set up, but it works excellent well in the winter. I use the Princton Tec Apex headlamp on my helmet - 200 lumens on high, and a cheap Rocky Mountain flashlight mounted to the bars - 100 lumens. 

Legs felt a bit dead today. Though I know why - over the weekend I finally set up the weight machine that I bought for the family before we closed on the house and I started lifting yesterday following a four day a week program that just happened to start with the legs. Squats kick my booty. The rest are simple enough, but the extra leg work was felt today. I hope that the strength training helps kick in some additional weight loss. I'd love to get down to 220 or so. I suppose that means I should figure out exactly where I'm at right now. Last I checked it was around 260, but who knows? I go up and down quite a bit throughout the year. Usually I weigh quite a bit less at the end of the winter and then slowly pack it on during the summer - too much beer and too many hot dogs on the grill.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> We also saw this crazy caterpillar - you can see it is huge and it tried to steal my car.


Hard work when you haven't got opposable thumbs. Looks like a member of the Sphinx moth family, larva stage. Doesn't have the horns of a tomato worm, though. They're slower than a spotted salamander, BTW.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rainy, 60F, but a nice ride in after driving yesterday (a beautiful day, of course). One annoying senior driver going so slow that even I was tailgating. Another apparently had a “Tractor Supply Emergency” and had to cut me off to take a right turn into the store’s lot. I got the first monthly bikecommuter schwag packet from the new “Capital Commuters” campaign, and it included a $10 gift card to the LBS/outdoor store, which I can definitely use, and some restaurant/fitness discounts I am less likely to use.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Got my Jamis single speed project on the road and took it out on my morning route, to the LB/CS to work and will be taking my trip home for lunch soon. It's odd feeling because I am used to shifting up and down hills, so more coasting so far. I am going to switch out cogs to find the best option.

I had to make due with a pair of mtb brake pads and found that they squeal at the pitch and volume of a bottle rocket, no joke. I found that it works wonderful for a horn as it easily gets peoples attention.









I still need to get the tape on the bars and waiting on a headset cap but it's road worthy. I am no used to such a light bike.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

It was a very bad day here in Boulder:

Bicyclist killed in collision with truck on Valmont Road - Boulder Daily Camera


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

MileHighMark said:


> It was a very bad day here in Boulder:
> 
> Bicyclist killed in collision with truck on Valmont Road - Boulder Daily Camera


When will people learn????


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Gorgeous ride in. Pretty much dark now when I start with light breaking when I get to work. Mid-seventies. Ride home a toasty 109F. I don't want to come across as a poacher, but I did transport a red eared slider turtle home on my bike today. Caught this guy in the wash soon to be lined in concrete. Just stuck him in the ice chest I brought the fish home in, added a splash of water, and a pretty easy commute actually. He's cruising my backyard pond as I type.

Very bummed out to hear a cyclist got killed in Boulder. But it should remind all of us that what we do is pretty dangerous. . .no matter how careful we are.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to hear about that Mark, safe travels.

I looked at the street view of the location, and it doesn't seem to be a tough place to see oncoming cyclists. I believe the truck was going left into this driveway, and the cyclist was oncoming with the right of way. https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf...=us&ei=INEKUvD6Kval4APHw4CQAQ&ved=0CC8Q8gEwAA


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry to hear about this Boulder cyclist. He is my age! Riding with another and still not seen? At least the truck driver has a tentative charge and they aren't trying to blame the cyclist.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

After a brief period when it seemed like summer again, the unseasonably cool weather has returned. Its was 49 degrees when I left the house at 6:30 this morning. Our high today is supposed to be 74. Our average highs should be in the mid 80's. Last year at this time we were suffering through record breaking drought and high temps. Go figure!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Well we're actually getting what feels like summer, after the monsoons of June and the fake-fall of July. Yesterday I realized that I've gone for lunchhour rides almost every day this month, when I did maybe 2 in all of June and July.

I don't know how people with large stables balance their ride time? I've got 3 bikes, and something always seems neglected. Last year I barely rode my hardtail at all. This year, my newly rebuilt hardtail is monopolizing most of my time while my 29er is suffering. There just aren't enough rides in a week.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Flat tire this morning....maybe a pinch flat off a grating??

Pulled the 1.25 tire off, and stuffed a 2.2 inch tube inside, inflated and away I went...

No tire levers either.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ve been hot, but the temps really aren`t that bad. This week`s past and forecasted future shows a very limited range- highs from 89 to 91 and lows from 51 to 53. Dry as a bone, windy every afternoon. The fire season hasn`t been as bad as it really should be- currently getting a lot of smoke though from a burn between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.



newfangled said:


> I don't know how people with large stables balance their ride time? I've got 3 bikes, and something always seems neglected.


I have trouble with that too, and don`t have a huge stable. This year, as usual, I`ve been mostly riding two bikes (one gets the lions share of my riding every year, the "second bike" sort of rotates from year to year). Those are both ready to roll at any time, but the tandem and a few others that rarely get used always seem to get grungy and need a preride clean/lube before I can take them out. I think if they were better sheltered they`d fare better.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. A bit tired after not getting home until late last night after running errands in town. I am starting to like the 5:10 bus. It's not terribly crowded and it gets me to work by 6:15 by the time I get changed and logged into my computer. I like having about two hours of near silence in which to work before the rest of the drones get here.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

After my commute yesterday and out to the LBS this morning, I decided I needed to drop a cog size on the SS Jamis from a 21T to 18T. The ride to work, home and back to work went better, so I think I found the right ratio.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Now there`s a brave soul! The LAST thing I ever want after a dental ordeal is any kind of exercise to help the throbbing along. How`s life with the new addition treating you?


Well...it was a 6-month follow-up, so no pain this time. The little guy is doing well. He's pretty good at messing diapers and keeping us awake at night. :thumbsup:


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Had to drive for the second day in a row (okay, didn't HAVE TO). Yesterday there were severe thunderstorms forecasted (of course it barely rained) and today one of my employees asked me for a ride from the place he's getting his Jeep worked on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bummed that I've been missing my GPS for about a week. I thought I left it in my helmet on the coatrack at work for a couple days while I used a work car for fieldwork, but I am hoping it will turn up in my car, house, etc. I suppose it could have fallen off the bike or out of a car (my sunglasses did that last week and I was lucky to see them before I ran them over), but who knows. I will probably switch to a bike computer I have kicking around as I tend not to get lost and need the GPS for commuting, but I do like it for hiking, skiing, MTB'g and exploring.

Nice rides today, upper 50's or 60F both ways. It rained on my work group walk (um... group of 1 today) but no rain on the bike. 

Tomorrow is "Friday", because we have Bennington Battle Day off! I should see Schott at Burke Saturday as I signed up for some downhilling with She Flows the Burke Bike Park and will be renting a bike. Hoping to have fun and walk away in one piece.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in. Creaking from the bottom bracket and a little side to side play. After about 1500 miles the Walmart Street Cruiser might need a little work. Can't believe this trusty bike has held up so well. Originally this bike was purchased to be a comfortable neighborhood rider with the wife and kids. Cause I'm usually broke (wife stays home with kids), I had to make this my commuter when I couldn't afford new shocks for my Fisher, thus making the Haro the go to mountain bike instead of the planned commuter. Anyway, not a bad little bike, all and all.

Ride home was warm. Last week's mild reprieve is waning. Kind of chilly in the morning though.


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## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

It was 110F outside today, but I needed to pay my Verizon cellphone bill. GF's car was in shop, so I had to commute 6 miles to my local Best Buy. I was done and back home, within 35 minutes....FASTEST commute run yet!

Yes, I could have payed for it online...but when you have a hybrid/commuter like mine - you tend to FIND excuses to ride it:

2001 Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra~


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Zachariah said:


> It was 110F outside today, but I needed to pay my Verizon cellphone bill. GF's car was in shop, so I had to commute 6 miles to my local Best Buy. I was done and back home, within 35 minutes....FASTEST commute run yet!
> 
> Yes, I could have payed for it online...but when you have a hybrid/commuter like mine - you tend to FIND excuses to ride it:
> 
> 2001 Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra~


That's one cool looking bike!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Megabummer about losing out on your land speed record. I didn`t think any modern bike computers still needed to be manually started and stopped for each ride.


There you go assuming it is modern. It's about 30 years old on that bike. They don't make them like they use to.



newfangled said:


> I don't know how people with large stables balance their ride time? I've got 3 bikes, and something always seems neglected. Last year I barely rode my hardtail at all. This year, my newly rebuilt hardtail is monopolizing most of my time while my 29er is suffering. There just aren't enough rides in a week.


Use 'em or loose 'em: The Candid Cyclist: 7 Bikes in 7 Days The newest (newly rebuilt) bike usually gets the most attention. I'm pretty happy to have 2 mountain bikes because my 26er has been down for a month now as I replace 1 piece of the drivetrain at a time only to find that the next one is worn out. The last piece(I hope) arrives today. Otherwise I've been pretty good at balancing them.
Bike - Miles	
Univega - 554
Surly "CC" -990
GT 9er Ex - 525
Bridgestone - 248
GT 1.0 - 227
Scott	-107
Pugsley - 375

I've been traveling for work the last few days. Today I'm taking it easy to save my legs for this: The Great Adventure Challenge at Pleasant Mountain
Then I'm off for a camping week next week.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Nice ride in. Creaking from the bottom bracket and a little side to side play. After about 1500 miles the Walmart Street Cruiser might need a little work. Can't believe this trusty bike has held up so well. Originally this bike was purchased to be a comfortable neighborhood rider with the wife and kids. Cause I'm usually broke (wife stays home with kids), I had to make this my commuter when I couldn't afford new shocks for my Fisher, thus making the Haro the go to mountain bike instead of the planned commuter. Anyway, not a bad little bike, all and all.
> 
> Ride home was warm. Last week's mild reprieve is waning. Kind of chilly in the morning though.


Probably loose bearing and cups on a Wally bike. Get out your grease, lube it up, retighten and you'll be golden.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

First day of school for my kiddos - first time I've not been there to see them off, but that's okay. They're in middle and high school and really don't want dad around too much anyway... 

The bike ride was good. I'm tired. Trying to get used to getting up earlier to hop on the early bus is taking its toll. I may switch back to leaving on a slightly later bus, but haven't decided yet. I like getting to work and have some time to myself. 

The bus was late this AM by a few minutes, which pushed my schedule back a bit, but nothing worrisome. Must get a booklight! Too dark to read in the mornings now. Sad.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi kids,

Can't say I'm thrilled to be back at work today, but it was refreshing to get up with the sunrise and be back on the bike. Not that I was really off of it this summer. Heck of a summer. 

But enough of that... back to the grind today. I'll read back a few pages and try to catch up... 

1st ride of a zero drive year?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Good to see you back, CB! Extracted this picture from last week's farm market ride:

Uploaded with ImageShack.com

Reviewing ride videos can be a learning experience. On the way back from the market last week, I was 3/4 of the way through a left turn into the cross street with a semi unloading and taking part of my lane just after the intersection. So I was about in the middle of the street to clear the driver ahead of me. Just as I was about to cross the crosswalk, I had a fast-walking pedestrian coming from my left. We made eye contact, I went to the right some and she slowed so we cleared by about 2 strides. I was puzzled. I could not understand how it was I did not see her approaching the crosswalk or why she would walk so aggressively into the path of a vehicle in the intersection and about to exit across her path. The video showed that she was under store awnings in the shadows about a store away from the crosswalk and pretty well camouflaged against window displays when I began my turn. Then a store's sidewalk sign completely blocked her from view. Traffic, especially left turning slow moving traffic like me, could not see her as she remained blocked as the relative angles kept her behind the sign, the in the shadow of the last building. She had not seen me either by her reaction. She was so into her power walk she must not have seen me in the intersection about to cross the crosswalk until our eyes met. That sign blocked her view, too. At about 120 pounds and me at about 12 mph with bike and produce over 300, it could have been quite ugly. No harm, no foul, but is shows how these things can sneak up on you when you are trying to be safe out there.

Mostly, I see I react to drivers, who on reviewing the video, are barely pushing the limits of safety. Coming barely within 3 feet or threatening to left hook out of a driveway. I interpret that as being not excessively paranoid about the ones I can see, just appropriately attentive. It was also gratifying that one driver learned to look a bit better and yield before backing out into a street with an oncoming cyclist.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome "home", CB. Zero Drive starts with One Ride- good luck!

Hemmed and hawed, talked myself out of it, changed my mind, round and round, finally parted with $260 for the camera that I don`t need. I was planning to buy myself a very schnazzy new sleeping bag directly from the manufacturer when in Seattle next month- now had better reconsider that luxury. If I skip on the bag because of the camera purchase, I`ll be able to count the camera as a savings. Nothing wrong wtih my justification system :lol:

Going to try my first "pansy" tour this weekend: bike in truck, drive ~1 hr and park, ride an unloaded climbfest to my sister`s house, sleep, ride back to truck (more climbing), drive home.



mtbxplorer said:


> I thought I left it in my helmet on the coatrack at work for a couple days while I used a work car for fieldwork, but I am hoping it will turn up in my car, house, etc.


Uh-oh. Fingers crossed.
Yes, please do get home in one piece from the downhill day. Have fun!



Zachariah said:


> 2001 Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra~


Hybrids by nature usually aren`t very exciting, but C-dale sure packed some sexy into those babies 



BrianMc said:


> Just as I was about to cross the crosswalk, I had a fast-walking pedestrian coming from my left...
> 
> No harm, no foul, but is shows how these things can sneak up on you when you are trying to be safe out there.


Haha! For all the times that drivers miscalculate a cyclist`s speed (they roll at 5 to 8 MPH, right?), I still plug in the same slow assumed speed for all pedestrians when I calculating the apparent path and projected crossing of my own path. Might be time to rethink! Good job on the forensic study.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It appears the upgraded network filter system is making it harder for me to attach pictures. Trying it this way...









Sweet, that works. That is this morning's "back in the saddle" commute.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Got an email this morning at work with a "healthy living" survey. Looks like they might improve the gym, locker rooms, add some activity clubs (cycling club was on the list) and give us a bit more time for exercise during the day. Great news since we sit in cubicles all day!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Haha! For all the times that drivers miscalculate a cyclist`s speed (they roll at 5 to 8 MPH, right?), I still plug in the same slow assumed speed for all pedestrians when I calculating the apparent path and projected crossing of my own path. Might be time to rethink! Good job on the forensic study.


I saw her midway through the stride (fast) into the crosswalk and calculated a collision was imminent with her second one. So nothing wrong with that part, but you have to see 'em to avoid 'em! I may have a word with the store owner about that sign if it is still there this week.



CommuterBoy said:


> It appears the upgraded network filter system is making it harder for me to attach pictures. Trying it this way...
> 
> View attachment 823956
> That is this morning's "back in the saddle" commute.


These fish-eye lenses can be fun. It looks like you are son-of-elastigirl!



Straz85 said:


> Got an email this morning at work with a "healthy living" survey. Looks like they might improve the gym, locker rooms, add some activity clubs (cycling club was on the list) and give us a bit more time for exercise during the day. Great news since we sit in cubicles all day!


All employers with staff who sit a lot, should, as they are damaging their employees health:

Sitting risks: How harmful is too much sitting? - MayoClinic.com


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in. Took a slightly different route in this morning. On both Tuesday and Wednesday some dude in a pick up truck I don't know honked at me and waved. He basically saw me on the two longest stretches of my commute, so he has a good idea of my route now. Something just told me to switch it up today. So I listened to the internal voice. I'm sure the guy's just friendly, but you never know. I actually have lots of options on my commute, so I'll start switching my commutes up a little.

Ride home hot (110F) and a little muggy.

As for BB, I was thinking the same thing, Schott. Now I gotta go buy all the tools now.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> perttime said:
> 
> 
> > It rained yesterday afternoon, when I was riding home. It was quite OK, once I no longer needed to worry about GETTING wet.
> ...


It seems that the previous soaking was enough to get all the salt out of the helmet...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I don't know what kind of crack August is smoking, but I like it! Temps have been awesome. August is usually hot and muggy, but not this year. We were cool and muggy for a while, but now we're just nice. Lows have been in the 50s and low 60s this week and highs have only been up near 80. I actually had to wear gloves to work because my hands were getting cold.

My new handlebar/stem combo is working out so far. My old Cannondale put the bars really low and kind of far out. Now I have a slightly more modern mtb feel so I can play a bit more on my commute. There is an awesome curved curb where I exit the MUP in to a parking lot I like to ride, and now I'm considering tackling some large rocks on the side of the path. I can clear them on my main mtb, but I don't know if I'll have enough chainring clearance to make it over on this bike.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Cool one this morning - 48 and humid. Should have worn a hat under the helmet as the ear canals don't like anything below 50. I like the bus on Friday morning - not many riders at all. I almost had decided to wait for the later bus, but decided I was up anyway, might as well get in to town early and then be able to leave a bit earlier this afternoon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here we go... figuring out this GoPro angle.

I have vowed to ride the trail route as much as possible this year. I'm on a mission to keep it packed and rideable through the winter.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Not too shabby...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So muggy this morning. I'm used to 0% humidity.

At the co-op last night someone brought in a bike with Shimano Positron shifting:








https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3392/3273541034_a71db77a99_o.jpg








https://velobase.com/CompImages/Shifter/8A941537-98C9-4822-AB96-C3B3AFBD1553.jpeg

It's early index shifting with a dual cable to the rear (the shifter photo is backwards because its from downunder). Weird.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> So muggy this morning. I'm used to 0% humidity.
> 
> At the co-op last night someone brought in a bike with Shimano Positron shifting:
> 
> ...


Hey we had one of these show up too at my local bike co-op earlier this spring. I was the only guy in the place able to figured it out and sent the poor guy back on the road. I really like the design, just not the fact that it's a single shift cable that runs the whole length (you have to get the tandem 3.5m long ones and usually nobody stock them) and that the thumb shifter used a set screw to pinch the cable in place, enhancing fraying and breakage issues.

However I think the one he had was a Suntour, not a Shimano, but I'm not sure anymore. I'll see that guy again in a month or so, I'll take pics too


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, have you seen that red Pugsley in Scheels? Oh man it was hard to leave without that thing.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

We had a big earthquake yesterday so the traffic was gridlocked. Luckily I was riding so I could slice through easily and get home.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Perfect ride in. I'm actually enjoying my new commute route. First part is through the rich neighborhoods and second leg is through the ghetto. Nice contrast.

Ride home sucked. Hot (110F) and muggy. Even hit a little rainy patch. Knew it wouldn't last long though--down pours in the bright sunlight never seem to last.

Did some tinkering on the Monocog and am ready for my Blue Diamond ride tomorrow. Funny how quickly the week flies by. . .


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Had the bike in the shop since Tuesday for work that I can't do so I've been out of riding for 4 days and I'm going a little nutty. Sounds odd, but I'm Jonesing for a ride . It's a problem with only having 1 bike, something I'm hoping to remedy soon enough. The break though has brought me perspective and realize how integral riding has become to my mental well-being. Hey, at least the EPL starts tomorrow so that will keep me occupied.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man, nasty shift at work tonight- I had the same assembly apart I don`t know how many times. It would all work fine in bits and pieces, but when I put the stuff into the shell and tightened it all up, it kept binding. Finally got it going and took it upstairs to install, then had to rip it up again because it wasn`t in sync with the mirror imaged part on the other end of the machine. I was very happy to see my bike when it was all over.

Really smokey still, and now we have ash added in. Glad I`ll be weekending downwind of the fire 



newfangled said:


> At the co-op last night someone brought in a bike with Shimano Positron shifting:
> 
> It's early index shifting with a dual cable to the rear (the shifter photo is backwards because its from downunder). Weird.


Neato. I`d heard of Positron, but didn`t realize it used twin cables. Did you guys call David C over to fix it?



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, have you seen that red Pugsley in Scheels? Oh man it was hard to leave without that thing.


Sorry, I`ve only been there a few times since they opened, most recently probably close to two years ago. I have seen a few fatties on CL, but they disappear almost instantly.

Are you getting smoke from the American River fire? Looking at satelite shots, it looks like it keeps going right by you after it passes me.



R+P+K said:


> We had a big earthquake yesterday so the traffic was gridlocked. Luckily I was riding so I could slice through easily and get home.


I heard about that. Sounds like it wasn`t quite as bad as the one you had a couple years ago?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, have you seen that red Pugsley in Scheels? Oh man it was hard to leave without that thing.


It would help to keep those trails packed.


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## gumby. (Mar 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> I heard about that. Sounds like it wasn`t quite as bad as the one you had a couple years ago?


That was a series three major ones in Christchurch, Sept 2010, Feb 2011 & a big pair within a couple of hours in June, waking to the first is the scariest thing I've experienced.
Biking in the last big one wasn't as hard as I'd imagined it would be.
Bikers cleared this track within a few days of the Feb event and have been threatened with a $5000 fine if caught using it by the disaster capitalists ever since.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

I decided to take the Mule in to work today since I hadn't rode it since the Ratbike was finished. I have to say, I didn't enjoy it as much. Part might have been the drag from the tires needing some air but I noticed the weight and the slowness. 

I think, unless I'm on a cargo run, Ratbike is going to be my primary.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Pretty good. Everybody was driving and riding "by the book" (including me): nobody ran red lights or cut me off at street corners; even the one taxi I saw obeyed the Yield sign (which does not have any text in Europe).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

gumby. said:


> Bikers cleared this track within a few days of the Feb event and have been threatened with a $5000 fine if caught using it by the disaster capitalists ever since.


Lovely. WTF is the deal with that? :nonod:



CommuterBoy said:


> 1st ride of a zero drive year?





bedwards1000 said:


> It would help to keep those trails packed.





rodar y rodar said:


> I have seen a few fatties on CL, but they disappear almost instantly.


Good thing you know the way to Scheels. Are you going back down today, or wait until next week?


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## gumby. (Mar 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Lovely. WTF is the deal with that? :nonod:


The central government using emergency powers declared large areas of the city red zones and barred access. Some hills residents are still waiting to know if they can live in their homes so this section of ancient crater rim is considered low priority, even though only a small piece of it has anything resembling a rock fall hazard.
It's puts a big hole in what was a very popular traverse.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Man oh man. Finally got around to getting the tools for my BB job on my Walmart cruiser. Four necessary tools, including the crank puller. Bought the crank puller yesterday and had to order the other three. $65 in tools to fix a $100 bike. After some very, very careful deliberation, I decided to just buy the damn tools. Figured I'll be doing this BB again after another 1000 miles or so anyway and I absolutely hate taking my bikes to the LBS for work. And beside, it never hurts to add more tools to your home arsenal.


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## amkmeco90 (Sep 6, 2012)

I've a question: I recently moved to NY and I have a mtn bike which is my daily commute to work. I was wondering when winter hits, will I be able to use it? I mean with snow. Thanks for the reply 


using Tapatalk


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

amkmeco90 said:


> mtn bike ... when winter hits, will I be able to use it? I mean with snow.


All snow is not created equal. You need some local knowledge, for real information.

When you have cars rolling over/through the snow, the result varies with temperatures, humidity, methods of clearing snow and ice from streets, etc.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

amkmeco90 said:


> I've a question: I recently moved to NY and I have a mtn bike which is my daily commute to work. I was wondering when winter hits, will I be able to use it? I mean with snow. Thanks for the reply
> 
> using Tapatalk


Nothing to add from Vegas. Last time we got snow that stuck was 2008. And even then, it melted in like two days.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Nothing to add from Vegas. Last time we got snow that stuck was 2008. And even then, it melted in like two days.


Awww cmon you could give him odds of getting hit by a car or something lol.

Looking forward to biking again. I've been taking apart and putting back together my truck fixing it up for sale.

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Found another commuting hazard: funeral processions

Police officer had stopped traffic but stood at the double yellow line -- effectively hiding himself from the bike lane. The light turned green when I was about 50-70 ft from the intersection and I didn't see him until I was in the crosswalk going about 20 MPH just as the hearse entered the intersection.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from a weeks vacation. Hiking, biking and fishing in that little slice of heaven called the Methow Valley in North-Central Washington. Had a close encounter with a black bear while mountain biking but lucky for me we seemed to have scared the crap out of each other and we both came away unscathed.

Back to the old grind this morning. Almost 60 degrees on the commute to work. Sunrise is after 6:00 now so I am pretty much in the dark almost all the way to the office.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

amkmeco90 said:


> I've a question: I recently moved to NY and I have a mtn bike which is my daily commute to work. I was wondering when winter hits, will I be able to use it? I mean with snow. Thanks for the reply
> 
> using Tapatalk


Here's what I found over my first two winters of commuting in Anchorage AK. Yes, you can ride a standard MTB year round, regardless of what anyone tries to tell you. It can be done.

That said, there are some big caveates:

1) More than two inches of fresh powder and you best plan on hike a biking

2) Take whatever your normal commute time is by bike and multiply it by 1.5 for most days, double it for days with fresh snow

3) Depending on your route, studs may or may not be a requirement - I was lucky that I rode on an MUP for 90% of my daily commute so studs were not necessarily a requirement, but I went with them to ensure that I had the control of the bike I needed to keep myself out of harms way on the 10% of my commute where I was on city streets.

4) Get low... ride the lowest possibly air pressure you can without pinch flatting out - Wider footprint equals better float and control in soft conditions.

The bike I rode during my first two winter commutes was a 2004 Giant NRS - full sus, lovely bike. In Anchorage, the year of my first commute, we ended up with record snowfalls. There were days when I would have to walk part or all of my route because the bike just couldn't get through. That said, I'm now on a Pugsley and last winter I also had a couple of days where, while I wasn't walking the bike, I was peddling no faster than what I could have walked it and burning a lot more energy to do so.

Give it a go and just know that you'll be learning something new about the ride every day. I, personally, love riding in the winter and in the snow because it always is a new challenge. Just keep in mind, it is a lot more work than summer riding - by spring your legs'll be ripped.

My commute today was good-ish. Sciatic pain is back. Trying to figure out what I did to make it flare up again after a good few months without any.

I missed the rain on the way in to work. I guess at about 6:30 it started downpouring and looks like it is still coming down. Good times.

I ended our City's Summer Bike Commute Challenge with 100% of my commutes by bike/bus. Which isn't that interesting, really, as I've been doing 100% bike commute to work for three years now. What is interesting is that even though my co-workers know I'm a bike commuter, they don't seem to realize that I never drive until they see it published somewhere. Because that makes it legit. I guess it goes back to my rant about bike to work day - those of us who bike commute all the time in all weather tend to get marked as loony, but those who do it that one day a year are labeled heroes or something. Bah Humbug.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

amkmeco90 said:


> I've a question: I recently moved to NY and I have a mtn bike which is my daily commute to work. I was wondering when winter hits, will I be able to use it? I mean with snow. Thanks for the reply
> 
> using Tapatalk


 yes of course


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

vegascruiser said:


> $65 in tools to fix a $100 bike.


Haha! That`s okay, Vegas- the same tools will still work with the next several thousand Dollars worth of bikes. Um... as long as you don`t buy any of those WEIRD bikes with outboard bearings or funky press-in shells :lol:
So, besides the crank puller, what did you get? I can only think of one more you`d need for cartridge BBs or two in the case of loose ball BBs (and I usually fake it for at least one of those two).



amkmeco90 said:


> I was wondering when winter hits, will I be able to use it? I mean with snow.


Yes. Exactly how you go about it will be a little different depending on situation and the budget you`re willing to spend (studs are make it a lot easier, but they`re expensive if you buy ready made), but give it a it a go and you`ll learn what techniques/equipment works for you.



jseko said:


> Found another commuting hazard: funeral processions


As the king of bizarre commuting obstacles, that one is pretty tame for you. Still, I think you`re the first here to post about that particular snag- :thumbsup:



woodway said:


> Back from a weeks vacation. Hiking, biking and fishing in that little slice of heaven called the Methow Valley in North-Central Washington.


Whoohoo! How was the weather for you? Pixels?

I did my first unloaded tour over the weekend. I stayed with my sister, so only had to carry a enough crap to get me through a few long stretches without services, no camping gear. Few miles, lots of elevation, three passes and one thunderstorm. Veeeery slow going. Boy, am I out of shape! Disclaimer: the grade with the sign saying 9% for 8 miles really was nasty, but the sign was a serious overstatement.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Oh boy, I forgot my shoes today. In retrospect, this alone makes it fortunate I went with MTB shoes over road shoes.

Still got that scuffing sound, I think I'm going to remove my rear fender for a (dry) commute day and see if the sound goes away. It was fixed for a while after I futzed with the rear fender recently so I'm betting yes.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Wow rodar........amazing pics. Looks peaceful and like a good amount of fun....except for the 8% grade part. I could skip that lol

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Are you getting smoke from the American River fire? Looking at satelite shots, it looks like it keeps going right by you after it passes me.


Today is the first day when it's really noticeable. From here for the past few days, it looks like it's bad out towards Herlong/Doyle...obviously smoky where you're at if you get up on any hill and look that way, but we've been lucky. 
Today it's finally getting pretty hazy/smelly out there... no ash or anything.

The Pugs is going to have to wait... I am itching to move from the hardtail 29er back to a full suspension mountain bike. It's been a good few years on the hardtail, but a mountain bike purchase is on the list before the fatbike...unless I find something else to sell real quick...

Edit: Nice pics!!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice pics, Rodar. Looks like great fun. The other tools were an adjustable cup wrench, lock ring spanner, and a box end wrench (Park HCW-4). I honestly think I could've probably used my 12" wrench in place of the cup wrench and box end wrench, but it really wasn't the right tool for the right job, and I didn't want to strip out and mangle the cheap parts on this bike. My wife has the same type of Walmart cruiser, so I can use the tools on her bike as well. Originally purchased cruisers for casual neighborhood riding with the family. Never meant to be my commuter. Now that it is my commuter, I'm kind of on a quest to see how long and how many miles I can push this Walmart bike along. As a single speed, I'm thinking forever.

Commute in was dark, humid, and pretty enjoyable. Temps in the seventies. Commute home was humid, warm but not really hot, and mildly enjoyable. Looking forward to winter and fall commuting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Super scenic tour Rodar, thanks for the photos! 

Before heading out for his gruelathon race, Schott hooked me up with a rental at Burke Bike Park Saturday for a day of downhill fun with about 25 other women. I noticed the reservation tag on the bike had "Barb Mtbxplorer" on it.  I'm still in one piece and had a real good time. Alone in the woods is more my thing as a rule, but good fun for something different and good people for sure. The bike, a Norco Truax was super fun too.


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## Dian3men (Aug 19, 2013)

morning was good but not memorable


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> As the king of bizarre commuting obstacles, that one is pretty tame for you. Still, I think you`re the first here to post about that particular snag- :thumbsup:


I only post the interesting/unusual stuff. I figured no one wants to know about mundane stuff like trolley tracks or glass on the street.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

jseko said:


> I only post the interesting/unusual stuff. I figured no one wants to know about mundane stuff like trolley tracks or glass on the street.


I ride on a bed of glass to and from work everyday, when its not entire bottles on the shoulder.
.....going at a rate of about two patch kits a month. My tubes are actually dotted at this point. But they are holding air so I haven't replaced them


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Tripped1 said:


> I ride on a bed of glass to and from work everyday, when its not entire bottles on the shoulder.
> .....going at a rate of about two patch kits a month. My tubes are actually dotted at this point. But they are holding air so I haven't replaced them


Knock on wood, but I've had maybe 4 flats over a period of 2-1/2 years. One of those was due to the rim strip moving out of place.

Would tougher tires help?


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

jseko said:


> Knock on wood, but I've had maybe 4 flats over a period of 2-1/2 years. One of those was due to the rim strip moving out of place.
> 
> Would tougher tires help?


Most likely, I'm still busy wearing out the stockers. Looking at 70 bucks for more road oriented rubber, at least, which I figure buys a butt load of patch kits.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics rodar. I don't have any to share from my vacation, left the camera alone and just enjoyed the days. I've got fingers crossed for good weather when you arrive up here in Seattle. Still good to go for the Orcas ride.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this AM. 52F and no rain, though still damp from yesterday. My shoes were still soaked this morning. Not fun. 

So in Anchorage we just finished up the annual summer commuter challenge and it got me thinking about how to get people to move from a car dependent to a car lite mode of transport and viewing transport as just that - a means to an end rather than the end in and of itself. How do we move away from the one car one person paradigm that pervades the daily commute? Anyway, I'm working on a series of articles over at my blog about this. But what are your thoughts? How do we get people to loosen their grip on their cars, just a little bit? How did you all overcome the initial hump when moving from car to bike commuting? What was the driving factor for you? 

Thanks! Have a great day all. You all rock.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice ride in, although it was lovely clear at my house and then got foggy and damp for the rest of the ride as I went down to lower elevations. I have been using the cross bike for the commute pretty much exclusively since I got the dog and tried to shorten my day a bit by driving the first hilly 4 miles from my house (it's geared a bit tough for my strength/that hill, but is great for the less steep stuff). But today the canoe was still on top of the car and blocking the hatch, so I just rode from home. A more challenging ride home is forecast. Here's a beautiful loon from our paddle on Sunday (my friend's pic):









blockphi, I think most people will need a crisis to get them out of the car initially. Like no gas available due to some disaster, big price increases, loss of a car, or road/transit congestion that makes the alternatives to biking more undesirable. bad habits are ingrained and tough to break!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> How do we get people to loosen their grip on their cars, just a little bit?


By the end of the year my wife's office will probably move - right now she's 20mi out of town on a really nasty highway, but her new office will be in town and maybe about 7mi away.

Do I think that she'll ever ride to the new office? Not really. She doesn't ride much, so this would be a pretty long distance to start off with. The hypothetical route would have a lot of twists and turns through crappy industrial areas. Probably the biggest problem is that there likely won't be showers, or lockers, or a changeroom. I'll still probably mention it to her, and I know I could plan a good route for her, but I don't think it's likely to happen.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Good ride this AM. 52F and no rain, though still damp from yesterday. My shoes were still soaked this morning. Not fun.
> 
> So in Anchorage we just finished up the annual summer commuter challenge and it got me thinking about how to get people to move from a car dependent to a car lite mode of transport and viewing transport as just that - a means to an end rather than the end in and of itself. How do we move away from the one car one person paradigm that pervades the daily commute? Anyway, I'm working on a series of articles over at my blog about this. But what are your thoughts? How do we get people to loosen their grip on their cars, just a little bit? How did you all overcome the initial hump when moving from car to bike commuting? What was the driving factor for you?
> 
> Thanks! Have a great day all. You all rock.


I think this is worthy of it's own thread.

I think the main reasons are:

-Lack of shower facilities
-Most people are scared to ride on roads, especially during rush hour (why my wife would never ride to work)
-Laziness. Why do any work when you can get in a comfy climate controlled SUV and have the 300HP engine do all the work for you?
-Lack of publicity (most people don't even consider it)
-Distance too great from work. When I tell most people I ride 15 miles each way they act like I ride halfway across the state everyday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

blockphi said:


> How did you all overcome the initial hump when moving from car to bike commuting? What was the driving factor for you?


I loved riding bikes before I had a job to ride to. The opportunity to turn a hobby into a lifestyle was a no-brainer. For most people, it's like trying to force a new hobby on them AND asking them to break an engrained habit.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

All - thank you for your input! Gives me a lot to think about and write about. The idea behind all this is to find ways, first of all, to get more of my coworkers to ride on a regular basis and then, who knows? Maybe partner with the BCA and share our lessons learned to try and get more people out there.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Tripped1 said:


> I ride on a bed of glass to and from work everyday, when its not entire bottles on the shoulder.
> .....going at a rate of about two patch kits a month. My tubes are actually dotted at this point. But they are holding air so I haven't replaced them


I ride on a bed of glass as well. The first flat I got as a commuter was in January. Because I like to ride my bike more than I like fixing flat tires, I decided a little overkill was in order. I bought 5X thorn resistant tubes with Slime and also stuck in some tire liners. Haven't had a flat since. Well over a 1500 miles. I also pick thorns and glass out of my tires every single day when I get home. I feel the additional weight this adds is worth it. Just yesterday, I ran over a broken bottle on the way home cause I wasn't paying attention. I thought surely this would flatten a tire. Nope. Just picked some glass out of the tire when I got home.

Good ride in today and a sluggish ride home.


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

Interesting experience on the way to work this morning. Approaching a red light with a line of 4-5 cars, the light turns green. The lady at the back of the line has her blinkers on, so of course I slow down to let her turn first as she's in front of me. As we approach the intersection, she slows down (and so do I). She finally stops, stares at me, and goes "WTF"?? I blink, wave her on, and shake my head.

+100 points to the lady for seeing a biker coming up BEHIND her.
-50 points for being annoyed the biker obeyed the traffic laws and let her go first.

She's still up by 50 points, though!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Evandy, I don`t get it. The blinker lady was in front of you and waiting for you to go around her?

I`ve had two slow leaks going on for a while now and finally went into action this morning with mixed results. The faster of the two (pump up daily before going to work and it`s "close enough" for the ride home) was easy enough to find, but the slower leak (twice per week pump) I still can`t find. I rotated it so many times through the water that it turned the toilet black (cleaned before my wife busted me ), but no bubbles. I sure wish I had an invisible tire to stuff tubes into so I could bubble-check them at higher pressure.


blockphi said:


> How did you all overcome the initial hump when moving from car to bike commuting? What was the driving factor for you?


No initial bump, it just sort of happened little by little. I guess nice weather was my main driving factor initially. I feel very fortunate that most of the standard problems don`t apply to me- short enough that no weather becomes unbearable, rural route with no scary traffic, don`t have to maintain any kind of appearance standards, and I change into and out of a leased uniform every day anyway.



mtbxplorer said:


> A more challenging ride home is forecast.


Glad you made it home from downhill day unbroken, hope making it home from work is equally swell.


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Evandy, I don`t get it. The blinker lady was in front of you and waiting for you to go around her?


Not just go around her... she was waiting for me to pass her, on the right, so she could make a right-hand turn.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

newfangled said:


> Do I think that she'll ever ride to the new office? Not really. She doesn't ride much, so this would be a pretty long distance to start off with. The hypothetical route would have a lot of twists and turns through crappy industrial areas. Probably the biggest problem is that there likely won't be showers, or lockers, or a changeroom. I'll still probably mention it to her, and I know I could plan a good route for her, but I don't think it's likely to happen.


I have a shower and lockers, and the main reason that I can easily get away with it is because throwing jeans a shirt and a pair of chucks in a backpack is pretty easy. If I had to do business casual with the office rats on the other end of the building it would be more of an issue (or my cube would look like a store display) for a woman, that is even more of a challenge, depending on office dress and the amount of warpaint your wife wears.

My roomate is a a woman that works in an office that is WAY more restrictive dresscode wise than mine, she has a hard time even riding a motorcycle to work, much less riding a bicycle.

Ironically, she has cleated shoes for spin classes at the gym, and I still haven't gotten off my ass and found a set of cleats or pedals for my bike commuting 70+ miles a week



vegascruiser said:


> I ride on a bed of glass as well. The first flat I got as a commuter was in January. Because I like to ride my bike more than I like fixing flat tires, I decided a little overkill was in order. I bought 5X thorn resistant tubes with Slime and also stuck in some tire liners. Haven't had a flat since. Well over a 1500 miles. I also pick thorns and glass out of my tires every single day when I get home. I feel the additional weight this adds is worth it. Just yesterday, I ran over a broken bottle on the way home cause I wasn't paying attention. I thought surely this would flatten a tire. Nope. Just picked some glass out of the tire when I got home.
> 
> Good ride in today and a sluggish ride home.


Yeah, I DON'T miss goatheads at a all, those damn things were enough to flatten motorcycle tires (I used to live in New Mexico) fortunately I'm safe from those here.



rodar y rodar said:


> No initial bump, it just sort of happened little by little. I guess nice weather was my main driving factor initially. I feel very fortunate that most of the standard problems don`t apply to me- short enough that no weather becomes unbearable, rural route with no scary traffic, don`t have to maintain any kind of appearance standards, and I change into and out of a leased uniform every day anyway.


I had a different issue, my license got suspended, so it was either take the bus....which is kind of hard when you go to work at 11:30pm most of the year.....or get to pedaling.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I started because I got heavy and fat at a desk job all day. Realizing your belly jiggles walking up and down stairs is not a good feeling!

Initially I started by throwing my bike on the bus rack and riding home twice a week for about a month. Later I got a different job and my commute went from 9 miles to 4 miles and there wasn't a good public transportation option despite living in San Francisco for that commute. Seriously, taking the bus is just as slow as walking my commute.

So I thought 4 miles - totally do-able. The hills kicked my butt for a month. I dropped about 25 pounds in about a month or two.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

newfangled said:


> So I thought 4 miles - totally do-able. The hills kicked my butt for a month. I dropped about 25 pounds in about a month or two.


Yeah, I have 5.7 miles door to door, I went from 220 to 195(ish) in two months flat.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

evandy said:


> Not just go around her... she was waiting for me to pass her, on the right, so she could make a right-hand turn.


Ah, now I get it. Yeah that`s a tough one. I sometimes catch myself on the shoulder and wishing I had just taken the lane, but by the time that becomes obvious, I`m already stuck. Sounds like what you got caught up in.


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## Mirrorsaw (Jul 7, 2013)

I have been riding to and from (I used to bus home.) So I have been doing 20 miles round trip. But I've been enjoying it more since I bought road tires. I'm going faster, and real enjoying it. And since it's not as hot in the afternoon, I don't feel like I'm going to die. There is a chill today. BUT after a mile or two I will be hot and sweaty, so it's all good. (I start with a big down hill so it makes the chill even worse.)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> How did you all overcome the initial hump when moving from car to bike commuting? What was the driving factor for you?


Necessity got me over the hump. My wife and I still have one car. Initially, if I wasn't riding, I wasn't going to work. Now my wife is staying home with our baby, and I'm not even tempted to take the car. I actually kind of forgot it was an option.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thunderstorms in the forecast...I'm out of the habit of checking the weather, so I took a look last night at about 10:00... Oh shoot, 80% Chance of T-Storms. So I go downstairs to install the fenders. I knew going in that I had one broken fender from last year, but I figured I could find a way to make it work...

By the time I came back upstairs I had two broken fenders, my front brakes weren't working, and I can't shift the front derailleur. :lol: And it's past my bedtime! Ever have one of those nights? 

Got things rigged up for now, but it's shopping time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit of a wet one this morning again. 51F and rain. I think I am over rain. At this point I say gimme snow...

This Friday is my last one off until December so I think I'm going to use it to hit some serious trail riding. There will be mud, oh yes, there will be mud. Might head down to Jim Creek and ride the ATV trails out as far as I can. Or maybe just hang at the Crevasse Moraine trail system and finally ride Moose Poop Loop. Another option is to head out to King River and push up into the mountains on the ATV trails there or ride the Moose Range ATV trails. So many choices. Only one allows me to bike to and from the trail, though, so that's probably the one I'll go with. Just need to get out there, though. 

Thanks again for all your responses to my question from yesterday. I think I will post a new topic to see if I can get any other responses as well.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Heavy commuter traffic this morning.


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## anthonybkny (Aug 16, 2011)

little humid this morning, made it a bit hard to breathe, but a good ride in over all. stress free


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> By the time I came back upstairs I had two broken fenders, my front brakes weren't working, and I can't shift the front derailleur. :lol: And it's past my bedtime! Ever have one of those nights?


That's why I tell people that you need to have at least 2 bikes. "It's midnight and I've irreparably broken something? Meh - guess I'm riding the other bike tomorrow."


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I have 4. But I was looking at 80% chance of thunderstorms and zero bikes with fenders :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> But I was looking at 80% chance of thunderstorms and zero bikes with fenders


They came south. Got drenched on my way to work just an hour ago- first time riding in genuine wet with fenders on this bike, and happy to have them. By some miracle, I arrived without any lightning strikes to my shorts, melting BVDs into my butt. How `bout you? Did you get a Sham-wow? If not, quit your belly-aching!

PS: That`s a nice traffic jam


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Okay, I'll add some two cents on what brought me to commuting. Used to avidly mountain bike in the mid to late nineties. My buddies and I used to tear up the trails in Cottonwood Valley and Blue Diamond. And we should've--in early twenties back then. Next thing you know life happens. Wife and three kids. Last August, one of these buddies says we should get back into mountain biking for fitness and "good for the soul" reasons. So we do. First trip out there we're both nearly puking on the gradual hills we used to sail up as kids. Heart pounding, huffing and puffing. Basically, ready to die. Then guys start riding past us carrying on conversations while mashing the peddles down hard and moving up the hill quickly. I was certainly disgusted with myself for letting 15 years destroy my fitness.

Anyway, figured I'd need more than a once-a-week mountain bike ride to get back in shape and get back to a fitness level where the mountain bike rides could be enjoyable again. So I started commuting. Both my buddies have again stopped mountain biking but I've stayed with it. Nothing like watching the sun come up on the Spring Mountains just west of Vegas. Every Saturday morning I start peddling just as the sun starts breaking and take in the show. Last Saturday, just as I started peddling, two rabbits, a coyote, and a burrow ran across the path. Kind of startling when it's basically dark still.

Ride in this morning pretty good. Took some time today while at work to cut some trees back off my new route. These trees were hanging right in the bike lane. Part of my job is inspecting drop-inlets and putting in orders for the Vactor truck to clean them. I'm also tasked with keeping our right-of-ways clear. So it's good to be one of the guys tasked with keeping the bike lanes free of obstruction. Ride home a hot and muggy 108F.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Ride my 'new' lemond to work the other day. Was missing the rack on my main commuter but hot damn does that thing feel fast - even faster than my cross bike when I had two chainrings on it. Should be able to fly once I get used to friction shifting and climbing with the taller gearing. Also found I can carry a large hoagie in a water bottle cage just fine.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> They came south. Got drenched on my way to work just an hour ago- first time riding in genuine wet with fenders on this bike, and happy to have them. By some miracle, I arrived without any lightning strikes to my shorts, melting BVDs into my butt. How `bout you? Did you get a Sham-wow? If not, quit your belly-aching!
> 
> PS: That`s a nice traffic jam


Dry on the way in, but I got nice and soaked on the way home. Happy to have the fenders justified after last night's maintenance meltdown... They worked well even with the issues...

Lightning pretty close on the way home. Lots of thunder and rain. I was chuckling about not having 'organic' chamois protecting me from the lycra melting into my skin. I was full synthetic and I survived... nice warm t-storm. Shorts and short sleeves. Wet but warm.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I have 4. But I was looking at 80% chance of thunderstorms and zero bikes with fenders :lol:


Yeah.

I've discovered the worst part about riding in the rain is the front wheel slinging crap into your face.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Heavy commuter traffic this morning.
> 
> View attachment 825696


 I thought those were some rabid cycling fans cheering you on. Unpredictable traffic is the worst! I assume they can sail over those fences?


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## brainwashedmc (Mar 23, 2013)

Nice temp though very humid.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Still enjoying perfect commute weather here in Seattle. For the month of August so far the average temp coming into work has been 55 degrees with 78 degrees going home. Two rides in the rain since late June. Aww, heaven...

Except on the ride home last night my right pedal developed an annoying creak. Every pedal stroke I had to listen to "creeeaaakkkk, creeaaakkk" all the way home. I just hate it when my bike makes those kinds of noises. Pulled the pedal apart when I got home and a quick cleanup and re-lube took care of the problem for the ride into work today.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> I thought those were some rabid cycling fans cheering you on. Unpredictable traffic is the worst! I assume they can sail over those fences?


Like you and I would step up onto a curb. 2 had already come over and crossed the road before I got there... I slowed down hoping they'd pour over the fence in formation in front of me...that looks so cool, but the rest stayed on their side with me on the scene.

Nice post-rain ride in this morning.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ugh, slow ride this morning. Feel not so great. Lack of sleep preceded by quite a lot of movie theater popcorn, and then I think allergies on top of that.


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

newfangled said:


> That's why I tell people that you need to have at least 2 bikes. "It's midnight and I've irreparably broken something? Meh - guess I'm riding the other bike tomorrow."


Exactly. Commute went really well today. I am still awaiting the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires but my Kwests are limping along another week. I have to ride over glass and shredded truck tires on the highway median so nothing less than bulletproof will do.

The commute went really well because I'm settling in with this iBike+Dash power meter and it spurred me on to my fastest 50 miles into the city yet. I guess all that staring at stems that Froome did really does work!

Chris Froome Looking at Stems


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A wet one today. Wet, wet, wet. I'm too cheap to buy fenders, so I just wear my rain gear and hope that I'm not completely drenched when I get in to the office. It works for me. I think if I can actually get out for a ride tomorrow it'll probably have to be on pavement as the trails are so wet right now that I'd just destroy the single-track and the ATV trails will be over the wheel deep mud. Bummer.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Tripped1 said:


> I've discovered the worst part about riding in the rain is the front wheel slinging crap into your face.


I should really rig something to stop the front wheel slinging water (and whatever) forward.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I put a fender on my fender last year... project "fender extender" was very sucessful. I cut off about a third of an old fender and bolted it to the front part of my front fender (PB Cascadia), because I was noticing that even though I had a fender, it was just allowing all of the water to launch forward for me to ride through... much too short in the front. The fender extender has improved my quality of life significantly :lol:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Been riding most days, working from home others. Trucks been parked for a couple of weeks now. Damn this rain...would rather it be -20 than all wet riding in rain gear. At least the mountains got some termination dust over night. LET IT SNOW!!!

Been rocking the 29er lately after killing the fatbike on its last epic adventure. Can't beat full fenders!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Wow, Jordy. Why so anxious to see that awesome Alaskan summer winding down?

Smoky, not much breeze. Brought my folding bike into work yesterday and today for some more mods. I added a single bottle cage boss to the main tube and a pair to the seat mast. I`m pretty sure drilling and breaking out the torch voids the warranty, so I hope nothing ever breaks on it. Now working on improving rack and fender mount hardware- should be able to finish tomorrow if I don`t get any calls.

Bedwards, kinda quiet lately. Still out there?



AlexCuse said:


> Also found I can carry a large hoagie in a water bottle cage just fine.


Cool! I`ll have to try that.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

As could be expected, my recent post about bullet proofing against flat tires stuck it to me. Got out of work today and had a flat tire. Back tire too. Actually looked like the Slime tube failed to me. Looked like it burst at the seam. I guess I can't complain about 1500 miles without a flat. Tube was unpatchable. Was a little more conscientious on the way home of road hazards, however, with a regular tube in the back tire. My first purchase this weekend will be a new 5x thorn resistant Slime tube. 

Ride in was nice and pleasant. Ride home overcast. My commuting week is done with tomorrow off. Probably go mountain biking Saturday and Sunday.


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## Mirrorsaw (Jul 7, 2013)

I went in earlier yesterday and it made me notice how bad my headlight was. I bought a new one that was brighter. But not really that much better. BUT I found a way to attach my flashlight to my bike. Which is very bright, however it takes the CR123 batteries, which aren't cheap. BUT I can see everything. So it's worth it for right now. (Also have two tail lights now as well.) The ride was great, and there is something extra fun about riding that early (I'm laving my house a bit after 4am.)


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## SteveF (Mar 5, 2004)

Beautiful weather in the mornings this week, made all the sweeter knowing that traffic around here will triple next week. (when the students come back to the local Big 10 U.) Some mornings the hardest part of riding to work is stopping when you get there!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Perfect weather this morning, low 70's and partly cloudy. Great commute. Tried out a new local rail trail last night. There will eventually be a ~35 mile loop through 6 towns, I'd say about half of it is complete, unfortunately it's a bunch of small pieces. CSX is trying to charge the towns extremely high prices for their old unused rail beds. The town I live in, Holliston, was able to get all the land they needed. They have cleared the whole thing, part of it is finished with packed stone dust/fine gravel, most of it is dirt/rock. I threw my CX tires on the Crosscheck last night and rode it for the first time. Nice change from the road.


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## anthonybkny (Aug 16, 2011)

great ride today, stress free route from brooklyn into midtown manhattan. was faster this morning. however, i just noticed a nice piece of glass sticking out of my rear tire. the tire hasnt gone flat, but look at the size of this gash. being a bike noob, should i attempt to ride home with this? my commute is 13 miles or should i get a new set of tires? if so, what do you guys recommend for NYC streets? i have a cannondale bad boy 5 with 700x28c slicks on it now.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ I'd have no problem riding that home. I assume in the photo that the tire is fully inflated...if so it does not look like anything is bulging so the casing looks intact. I'm cheap and hate to get rid of things before they are "used up", so I would probably continue to ride the tire until I saw it bulging or the gash was causing flats. But that's me - the conservative option would be to replace.

I've commuted for years on Conti Gatorskins and for the last year have been riding on Conti GP4000s tires with good results.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Anthony, if that leaves you feeling insecure, try booting it. You can buy self adhesive tire boots at most bike shops, or just wipe it clean (on the inside) and put a hunk of duct tape over it to help keep it from splitting.



rodar y rodar said:


> Smoky, not much breeze.


After I posted I saw why the increase of smoke. It`s been comming and going depending on wind direction from a fire between Lake Tahoe and Sacramento, but now we`re getting it from the Rim Fire, a monster down by Yosemite. That one has been burning for about a week, but apparently it tripled in size yesterday, now at 165 sq mi. It also went from 5% containment to 2%, which is never a good sign. If you want to see cool pictures of .22 shells, try an image search on "Rim Fire". For a wild GoPro "POV" video of a retardant dump, try USA Today:
Flames from massive 'Rim' fire reach Yosemite

I`m getting ready to abandon my Cell Free lifestyle. Decided what plan I want, but can`t find a phone locally that will work, so I had to order one. If it comes in and I can get it activated and programmed by next Friday morning, I won`t have to spend the weekend on employer mandated house arrest. Not very hopeful, but there`s a chance. Woodway, I`m pretty sure it`ll be working for me by the time I get up your way- will fill you in and you might even get the honor of recieving my first ever cell phone call.
What is the world comming to?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

anthonybkny said:


> great ride today, stress free route from brooklyn into midtown manhattan. was faster this morning. however, i just noticed a nice piece of glass sticking out of my rear tire. the tire hasnt gone flat, but look at the size of this gash. being a bike noob, should i attempt to ride home with this? my commute is 13 miles or should i get a new set of tires? if so, what do you guys recommend for NYC streets? i have a cannondale bad boy 5 with 700x28c slicks on it now.


Last time I had a gash like that was a couple years ago, since then I've been riding Gatorskins, I haven't had any issues. A couple years ago, I would have replaced a tire for less because I loved dropping cash on new bike stuff ("Sweet! An excuse to get new tires!"). Now, I'm more frugal since I own a house (and since my wife sees what I buy!) and I'd probably attempt to use some sort of combination of a patch on the inside of the tire with rubber cement. Here's what I would do (but again, I have never actually done this):

-Ride it home
-Clean it out really well
-Fill with rubber cement or similar from the inside until it comes out the outside
-Spread some around on the inside with your finger
-Put a tire patch over the wet rubber cement on the inside

After that, just check it out and see how it's holding up after riding on it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> For a wild GoPro "POV" video of a retardant dump, try USA Today:


Landing Gear. Landing Gear. Landing Gear.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m getting ready to abandon my Cell Free lifestyle. Decided what plan I want, but can`t find a phone locally that will work, so I had to order one. If it comes in and I can get it activated and programmed by next Friday morning, I won`t have to spend the weekend on employer mandated house arrest.


So reading between the lines, your employer requires you to have cell phone accessibility or you will be turned away at the door/gate, but isn't supplying the phone? Or because you commute by bike is mandating it for your safety? Are they defining it as a standard part of employee owned tools? Or is this the story to get a cell phone by the Mrs.?  If you are required to have one but you don't want it overmuch, you could forget to charge it a lot/or to turn it on.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm thinking the issue is the employer needing to contact him to call him in, like an 'on call' assignment...so if there's no cell phone, he's chained to the house all weekend. Or did I read that wrong?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ That makes sense. Some people assume everyone has a cell phone so this would not be a hardship. Every employer I have had who had me on call supplied the means to contact me wherever I was. Sounds like someone is cutting corners or may have something to provide but did not think of asking if everyone had a cell phone.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Sounds like a "standby pay" situation to me. If an employee is required to "possibly" return to work in an emergency situation, our Union contract makes management pay 1/4 of that employee's hourly salary for each hour on standby. So someone on 24 hour standby over the weekend ends up getting a day and a half of pay whether contacted or not. The trade off is that this employee must never be more than about an hour from returning to work. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a Union contract though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB got it- if they call on my weekend, I have an hour to be on the scene. The Mrs, and the original Mrs (AKA Mom), have been nudging me to go cellular for a long time. Yes, a lot of corners being cut these days. It sucks, but like they say, we all know where the door is. They haven`t yet cut enough corners that I`m anxious to be looking at the other side of any doors.

EDIT: Just saw you post, VC. We aren`t union, but that`s basically how our company policy works. It really isn`t unfair, it just sucks. The first two weekends, nobody got called, so just staying within an hour of work would have been sufficient. Another guys gets it this weekend, then it`s my turn, then it starts all over again.

EDIT II: The on call thing at work was the back breaking straw in my decision, but I`ve been thinking hard about it anyway. Trying to find payphones while out wandering has gotten really hard over the past few years, and doesn`t seem to be getting any easier. That`s the reason I didn`t just buy whatever prepaid disposable Radio Shack had on hand- I want the best reception I can afford.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice day, 60's and a brisk breeze, with some fog early. I stopped on the way in to check some road treasure - but instead of the brand new roll of strapping tape I imagined, it was just the lid of a zip-tie canister, with nary a zip tie in sight.  Otherwise, only some mildly annoying motorists ignoring the rules of the road and expecting me to be a mind reader. And one tractor trailer who I think gave a thank you "toot toot" after I heard him coming and pulled over to the shoulder more to ease his passage. The pavement and re-striping job on the massive parking lot/driveways at work seems to be done, with no sign of the bike lanes that some cyclists suggested be added at the same time. On the plus side, the new pavement is smooth.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB got it- if they call on my weekend, I have an hour to be on the scene. The Mrs, and the original Mrs (AKA Mom), have been nudging me to go cellular for a long time. Yes, a lot of corners being cut these days. It sucks, but like they say, we all know where the door is. They haven`t yet cut enough corners that I`m anxious to be looking at the other side of any doors.
> 
> EDIT: Just saw you post, VC. We aren`t union, but that`s basically how our company policy works. It really isn`t unfair, it just sucks. The first two weekends, nobody got called, so just staying within an hour of work would have been sufficient. Another guys gets it this weekend, then it`s my turn, then it starts all over again.
> 
> EDIT II: The on call thing at work was the back breaking straw in my decision, but I`ve been thinking hard about it anyway. Trying to find payphones while out wandering has gotten really hard over the past few years, and doesn`t seem to be getting any easier. That`s the reason I didn`t just buy whatever prepaid disposable Radio Shack had on hand- I want the best reception I can afford.


I haven't had a landline since the 1990s. I don't get people resistance to cells. I barely talk on mine.

What it DOES do is give me a pocket mounted computer that I use for ...well... everything. From IP calculators when I have to go back behind the network dweebs and figure out where routing is gone, to guitar tuners, strava (so I can see how pitifully slow I am) weather, navigation.

I waited a LONG LONG time for the modern smartphone.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> The on call thing at work was the back breaking straw in my decision, but I`ve been thinking hard about it anyway. Trying to find payphones while out wandering has gotten really hard over the past few years, and doesn`t seem to be getting any easier. That`s the reason I didn`t just buy whatever prepaid disposable Radio Shack had on hand- I want the best reception I can afford.


The police called my wife from my cell phone while I went in and out of consciousness. I use it as a bike computer. I am not using it to its fullest. As an "ET call Home" (ET = Exhausted & Tired, Eviscerated Tires, Emergency Transport, or whatever), it adds a lot of peace of mind.

If called in, do you get overtime rate? What if you finish in less than 4 hours, or 8 hours?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Bottom bracket on the Walmart cruiser done and my commuter is back to good. While I absolutely hated paying $65 dollars for the four tools, these tools made the job an absolute breeze. One of the bearing cages was destroyed and the bearings were all in there loose. Went to the Sport Chalet and they actually had two perfect match sets of caged bearings. Under a dollar for the two. Greased up and ready to go. No play in the bracket anymore and no noise. Looking forward to tomorrow's commute, even with 40+ mph winds and a supposed 70% chance of rain. Some storm is supposed to be blowing in from the Pacific coast, I believe I heard.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice job keeping it cruising, Vegas!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Heavy legs riding into work today, I went on a 37 mile, 6300 feet of climbing sufferfest on saturday. Well the suffering lasted for about four hours as we did the bulk of the climbing up to the top of a ridge, but then we enjoyed a sweet, sweet nine mile 5000 foot descent. Todays commute was just so boring in comparison  Here's a couple of photos:

Sweet singletrack:









Steeper than it looks:









Looking east over the Columbia Basin from the top:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Oooooh, very nice :thumbsup:

I did two Strava segments this weeekend (one Friday, one Sunday) as parts of longer rides... both of these segments are under 4 miles long, and both climb over 1000 feet...one is paved, one is dirt. Ridiculous. The rest of the ride is always awesome though :lol: I hit 2k climbing on each of those rides, but 37miles/6k is huge!


So I've finally started being really regular about recording my rides (on my smartphone Rodar)...I never used to record anything or care, but then I'm always curious about how far I've ridden in a given year, on a given ride, etc... 

Pretty surprised to find that I rode over 100 miles last week :shocked:. 106 actually. I got a couple good rides in after work, but nothing too crazy. I'm trying to take the non-standard routes as much as possible, since I know I won't want to as much when it's 4 degrees out there :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Okay, so I got out Friday evening for a trail ride. Woke up that morning to rain and more rain and pretty much chalked the day up to a waste. By noon it was sunny and beautiful so I started getting myself in gear to go later that evening. Decided if it didn't start raining by 5 I'd head out at 6 and get a couple hours in. So I hit the trails and it's glorious. There's not much mud at all and things are really firm and fast. I can tell that I've not ridden the single track in a while as I'm slow, twitchy, and just plain not confident as I normally am. So I'm out there for about 40 minutes, checking out Moose Poop Loop - as fun to ride as it is to say - and... it starts raining. No big deal as I am in the woods and, while I can hear that it is coming down hard, I'm staying fairly dry. Until I get back onto the trail to lead me home. Then I get a soaking like I've never had. Good times. Take hard-packed glacial silt, add a bit of water to it, and watch as even the burly Surly Nate tire spins as if on grease. 

This morning's ride was okay. A bit chilly - 46 when I left the house. It feels like fall, for sure. Got to the bus stop at 5:06 and the bus was starting to pull away - well, he was pulling around to face the other way in the lot for some reason. Anyway, I'm waving my arms all over the place trying to make sure that he doesn't leave me there. I don't want to wait a half hour for the next bus. Short story long, I make the bus and it's just another commute. New driver. He doesn't yet know how many to expect each morning. Guess I'll need to make sure that I'm not cutting it so close in the future. 

As to the cell phone discussion - Tripped1 states that he doesn't understand why some people have an aversion to cells - here's my reason. Disclaimer - I currently carry an iPhone for work. I don't have a personal cell phone, smart phone, what have you for two reasons - 1) Cost. I don't see the point in paying for the same types of services more than once. I have internet at home, so why do I need it in my pocket? I have a landline for the discount it gives me on my bundled services, so why do I need a cell? 2) When I'm away from the office or away from home people don't need to get hold of me. Let me refine that a bit. The only people who seem to call me are people from work - When I had a cell I would get calls at three in the morning asking about some aspect of some project. I was the tech writer. There is no way in heck someone should need my help at 3 in the morning. Ergo... when I am not at work, people from work don't need to get hold of me. That said, I do have a prepaid cell that is used for emergencies only - I put 300 minutes on it a year ago and still have over 280 of those left... no one has that number except for my wife, kids, and parents. 

It just seems to me that we are so connected all the time anymore and we should really disconnect every once in a while


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CB, you've started down the abyss, next thing we know your going to be out hunting strava segements that you can KOM 

I love my smartphone - very handy thing to have. I use it to listen to music, turn-by-turn driving directions, mobile boarding pass and rebooking flights when traveling, taking photos (the pics above are from my phone), finding restaurants, checking weather (radar function is very handy when out cycling), calculator and all other manner of things. The fact that it also happens to be a voice phone is a bonus. We dumped our landline at home a few years ago and never looked back.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Back from camping, kayaking, biking, hiking... (I'll add some more pics adn stuff when I catch up.)
Almost to the top of Mt Washington. 















My first commute in was not only in the rain but I had flats on both the front and back tire. I hate changing gritty, grimy, greasy flats in the rain. Oh well, at least it didn't' rain on us camping.

Smartphones are great. Without reading all the posts, make sure you have a carrier with the best coverage in your area. They are especially great when they work and especially frustrating when they don't. I hardly use any of the data in the smallest package I can get but it is (almost) worth it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ride in was nice, but it's been drizzling for the last couple of hours. It's annoying because I've got a brandnew tire on the front of my hardtail, and I was really hoping to give it a shakedown at lunch and after work, but I think that is not to be.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whooo, lots of riding this weekend! (none for me, though) Thanks for the pics, Bedwards and Woodway. The two panoramics from Mt Washington match together for a 360? Looks that way. I take it the Colombia Basin is the Colombia River plain? It looks just like the river plains I`m used to (including the Colombia) in southern ID and SE Oregon. Duh! GoProBoy seems to be holding out in the imaging department, ehem!

Good going on your BB rebuild, Vegas.

Unlike my opposition to many "advances" in bicycles since the 90s, my opposition to cell phones is mainly just stubbornness. The one thing I feel justified in whining about is that they`ve pretty much wiped out public phones. Not just in places where cellular service can replace phone booths, but also in areas (sometimes LARGE areas) where cellular reception is notoriously bad, leaving people with no means of outside communication at all.

We got a break from the smoke yesterday. Strong wids kept it confined to two well defined rivers on either side of the Reno area rather than letting it spread out and cover everything. It`s back in my `hood today. At least the temperatures have been pleasant.

@BrianMc: If we get called in, we`re supposed to punch in and out, so should get ST or OT for actual time worked, depending on how many hours we had during the week. Since no hourly employees had actually been called on this new plan as of the last I heard, we`ll just have to see what really happens.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ My apoloigies. I've got a ton of pics from the weekend that I haven't gone through yet...I'll see if there's any jewels in there hopefully tonight if I have time



woodway said:


> CB, you've started down the abyss, next thing we know your going to be out hunting strava segements that you can KOM


Oh I'm well into that abyss already. It's a regular Strava war around here with all the local guys. It adds a very cool social aspect to rides...best of both worlds in my opinion...I can get out there alone (which is my favorite kind of riding), and then still enjoy the banter and heckling and competition of the group ride, even when I stay home with my kids during the group ride. I got an "uh-oh, you just lost your KOM" email on my smartphone just moments ago :lol:


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

There's nothing like the shock and awe of catching a corn fed Indiana bull grasshopper right in the mouth at 25 mph!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whooo, lots of riding this weekend! ... Good going on your BB rebuild, Vegas... The one thing I feel justified in whining about is that they`ve pretty much wiped out public phones... in areas (sometimes LARGE areas) where cellular reception is notoriously bad, leaving people with no means of outside communication at all. ...We got a break from the smoke yesterday. [email protected]: If we get called in, we`re supposed to punch in and out, so should get ST or OT for actual time worked, depending on how many hours we had during the week. Since no hourly employees had actually been called on this new plan as of the last I heard, we`ll just have to see what really happens.


Congrats all and nice pics or pics to come.

Vegas: Good on you. Tools seem to last a lot longer than the parts they fix, if decent ones are collected they will pay back big time compared to shop rates.

The empty phone kiosks are like abandoned homesteads. Kind of sad.

The union shops I knew of had 4 hours just for clocking in. Job done in 2 hours? 4 hours' pay Monday to Friday. Six on Saturday and eight on Sunday, 10 if a statutory holiday. Often if the special job was finished say in 6 hours, the foreman would clock everyone out for eight. They were so happy to get the special work done, they were generous. Makes sense. Hanging around close by on weekends and holidays is seen in a much more positive light when it compensates for times when you are on furlough from lack of work. THings might not be profitable enough, but hopefully they don't rip you off either.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

My two cents on the cell phone: I have an AT&T "go phone" and have never been happier. While it does cost ten cents a minute to talk, I also purchase a side package of 200 texts a month for $4.99. Basically, I rarely answer a call on this phone except for calls from the wife or my boss. I also stay well within the 200 texts, as I only text to line up mountain bike rides on the weekends (on the rare occasion a fried will actually join me) and to line up a place to meet the guys at work for lunch. Before this, I had a Blackberry and received fifty-seventy emails a day as an officer in my Union. I got in a battle with the Union president over him trying to stick it to members on one of our contracts and got the Blackberry shut down and eventually pushed from my position. After that, I decided to drop off the grid, and the go phone was the means to do it. I changed my number and that was that. From over 700 contacts to like two or three. I completely understand the smart phone as a wonderful tool, but like someone else posted, I got Internet at home and a landline. And those who matter always know where I am or have a way to get a hold of me.

Just missed the rain on the ride in and just missed it on the ride home. Ride home was in the high seventies. Certainly an August treat. For some reason, I dropped my chain twice on the way home and it isn't even that loose. Probably time for new chain. Been meaning to buy a chain tool for about a year now, but haven't as I'm always hearing how inaccurate they are. I guess I need to pull out the metal ruler.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Screw riding, I went to play in the ocean this weekend.

The Silvers (Coho Salmon) were hot in Seward!



















Today's commute: Fast and sunny.

Phone: Work provides a mobile phone, I choose smart. Use it for all its worth. I turn off email sync while out of the office.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Just another boring day in Boulder County:


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Oh I'm well into that abyss already. It's a regular Strava war around here with all the local guys. It adds a very cool social aspect to rides...best of both worlds in my opinion...I can get out there alone (which is my favorite kind of riding), and then still enjoy the banter and heckling and competition of the group ride, even when I stay home with my kids during the group ride. I got an "uh-oh, you just lost your KOM" email on my smartphone just moments ago :lol:


:lol:

I'm not taking part in an strava shenanigans around my neck of the woods. There is actually a segment that runs right in front of my house....with average speeds that approach 40mph....

Of course you check the dude with the KOM its a professional racer...and I swear someone is using a dirtbike on a couple of the local trails lol

This week has been rugged thus far. Had to race a storm home this morning, had about 15mph headwind on the way in tonight.

...AND someone got hit by a car (on a bike) right next to the neighborhood bar so everyone there that knows me blew up my phone thinking it was me. So I woke up to about 15 voicemails and 20 texts asking if I was alright..."what the hell did I sleep through". My project for the morning is now to find out who got themselves run over, there are only so many of us that ride that road at night. This is apparently at like 10:00pm.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Screw riding, I went to play in the ocean this weekend.
> 
> The Silvers (Coho Salmon) were hot in Seward!


Beautiful haul there, J. I've been trying to get into some silvers, but a fisherman I ain't. Got plenty of reds to last me the winter...I hope.

Beautiful sunrise right now over the mountains. A bit cool this morning, but not too bad.

Had a nice ride last evening after the commute. Had to go to the fair grounds to pick up my daughter from her band performance, so I took the bike with and rode home from there. Tacked about ten extra miles on the day, though I can't be sure exactly as I left all electronics at home. No GPS, no iPod. It was just a nice ride in some wonderful weather.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mmmmm Salmon.

and nice pic MileHigh!!

Snapped some pics (finally) this morning. We're getting some weird sunrises thanks to all the smoke hanging out over towards Rodar's neck of the woods... pretty clear here, but there's a distinct bank of smoke between here and Rodar... it will probably get worse this weekend because it's Burning Man time again :lol: Is the freak parade in full force over there Rodar? It certainly is here.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep... but the pond on the trail route is almost completely dried up...end of summer mode. I rode across the bottom of the dry 'pond bed' this morning, just to say I have, because in a few short months I'll be rolling 10 feet above where my head was this morning on the ice. 

Oh, I have officially re-named this route "Goose Poop Loop" in case anyone is wondering.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jeez, that`s a lot of fish!

Yeah, saw plenty of the Freak Parade on I80 this weekend. Straight from The Haight. Smoke not as bad as last week. I won`t get caught in my personal favorite event this year (air races) because I timed my vacation to aovid it.



nemhed said:


> There's nothing like the shock and awe of catching a corn fed Indiana bull grasshopper right in the mouth at 25 mph!


:lol:



MileHighMark said:


>


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## corivus (Mar 13, 2012)

nice and quiet although I wish it was less urban, my recent trip to Wyoming is making me miss open spaces a little bit. Definitely wishing I had a day off this week so I could get some trail riding in though


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commutes have been hot and humid. My back is still not right. I'm trying some yoga stretches, and I might need to do more work on my hamstrings. The pain is minor, but my back really stiff.

As for the cell phone tangent, I have Consumer Cellular. I know they market to old folks, but their plans are pretty cheap. I basically have a phone for my wife to get a hold of me, and we don't have a home phone. I don't really talk to anyone on the phone or use it much, so it's not much of a burden. When I was hit by a car a few years ago, I didn't have a cell. Fortunately, a woman was kind enough to stop and let me use hers. After that, I try to always carry a phone.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Commutes have been hot and humid. My back is still not right. I'm trying some yoga stretches, and I might need to do more work on my hamstrings. The pain is minor, but my back really stiff.


Get some yoga advice before you stretch too much (maybe a restoritive yoga class) or maybe some physio advice...

Some stretches especially hamstring stretches can end up damaging your back.

Some deep bent knee lunges are very good for a sore lower back, and also the outside quads.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> Get some yoga advice before you stretch too much (maybe a restoritive yoga class) or maybe some physio advice...
> 
> Some stretches especially hamstring stretches can end up damaging your back.
> 
> Some deep bent knee lunges are very good for a sore lower back, and also the outside quads.


Yeah, I think I made things worse early on with hamstring stretches. I'm taking it pretty easy with the stretching now.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

51 and cool this morning. Is it snowing yet?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

CB,

That first picture is incredible, especially with the shadow of you and your bike in it. To me, that's what biking is all about. Catching those images when others are sleeping or stuck in their vehicles.

My streak of bike problems continues. I guess 1500 miles is the magic number on these Walmart cruisers. Getting noise out of the back hub now. Should be an easy fix with one cog and a coaster break set up. I'm hoping no speciality tools. I'm pretty sure speciality tools aren't needed. Also, my seat post rack dropped today and nearly started rubbing on my back tire. Chain popped again. . .flat last week. . .Looking forward to uneventful commutes again.

Ride in cool and humid. Almost wished I had a light jacket. Ride home hot and muggy. Still under a hundred though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

vegascruiser said:


> CB,
> 
> That first picture is incredible, especially with the shadow of you and your bike in it. To me, that's what biking is all about. Catching those images when others are sleeping or stuck in their vehicles.


Thanks much. And I completely agree.


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## Gerth (Aug 17, 2013)

I only wish I could commute to work on my bike. Even though I'm only around 6 miles one way is I would have to ride through what amounts to downtown Baghdad at midnight to get here. And even though I could carry my .357 I can't possess it at work so for now I drive.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

vegascruiser said:


> Getting noise out of the back hub now. Should be an easy fix with one cog and a coaster break set up. I'm hoping no speciality tools. I'm pretty sure speciality tools aren't needed. Also, my seat post rack dropped today and nearly started rubbing on my back tire. Chain popped again. . .flat last week. . .Looking forward to uneventful commutes again.


Dionne`s psycho friends say you`ll need to buy a cone wrench (cheap) to get to the wheel bearings. They didn`t tell her anything about the chain, the patches, or the seatpost clamp.



Gerth said:


> I only wish I could commute to work on my bike. Even though I'm only around 6 miles one way is I would have to ride through what amounts to downtown Baghdad at midnight to get here. And even though I could carry my .357 I can't possess it at work so for now I drive.


In the past I`ve been skeptical when people said they needed a gun for their commutes or that the neighborhood was SOO bad they wouldn`t ride through it. In your case, I believe it! Do you ride around the city in the daytime?

Two pics from my ride in today, more or less matched to the same views from times passed. If only the Sierra were full of tobacco forrests instead of pines and sequoias, I`d be albe to myself about $30 a week for the same raspy breathing.


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## Gerth (Aug 17, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> In the past I`ve been skeptical when people said they needed a gun for their commutes or that the neighborhood was SOO bad they wouldn`t ride through it. In your case, I believe it! Do you ride around the city in the daytime?


Well I live in East Haven which is a suburb of New Haven in Connecticut. I don't even ride in New Haven in the daytime without a gun nevertheless at midnight. It's a high crime and gang and general assh* le area. I've had a friend have someone chuck a broomstick into his spokes for ha has then when he went a** over tea kettle they mugged him and took the bike. At least he wasn't riding anything expensive. I routinely ride with a piece.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, crazy pictures rodar. Hope they get those fires under control soon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gerth, that's crazy. I've come close to a squirrel in the spokes, but that's about it.

Rodar, we are still in the clear over here. Crazy the difference in just a little distance makes.

Crazy daisies, not so hazy...









Soooo... I've got the dirt bike (motorcycle) listed on Craigslist... some interested parties and it might sell soon. The intent was 100%, no question, all the money goes to a new KHS Six-Fifty 6500 27.5" trailbike...that's the one, decision made, end of story.....until the last couple weeks, when the fatbike bug has started to bite hard. Now I'm completely torn, and if it sold today I'd be completely at a loss. What to do?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Smoke from expanding Yosemite wildfire triggers air-quality warnings 100 miles away - U.S. News


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit damp in the valley this morning. Not too bad, but was right in that spot where the air temp was cool enough to warrant a light long sleeved top, but just warm enough that the rain jacket wasn't quite breathable enough. I hate that. 

Jordy, you make it to the commuter challenge party last night? I wanted to go, but thought it would be a bit odd to have to drive to work to go to a bike commuting party - the last bus out of town is at 6.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Update - It's getting smoky...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Alright, alright... I'm getting sick of all these picturesque commutes.  I know you are all secretly jealous of my suburban/semi-industrial route.

I had a new experience yesterday. A car attempt a right hook while another car (tailgating the other one) tried to pass me. We were all hitting the brakes.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I had a new experience yesterday. A car attempt a right hook while another car (tailgating the other one) tried to pass me. We were all hitting the brakes.


Since the dead keep their secrets and no personal damage was mentioned, I assume the turner either let you go, if a bit late, or you waited until the idiots got out of your way. Every no-contact commute is a good one. Sort of like landings a pilot walks away from.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks for the info, Rodar. I got lots of cone wrenches so I'm good there.

Chain dropped three times today on the commute, so when I got home I tightened things up a bit. Rack dropped further yet. Think I rigged up a fix to that as well. Looking forward to an uneventful commute tomorrow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Vegascruiser, sometimes a small strip of emory cloth in a clamp joint like a seat post rack can add the bite needed to keep a clamped device in place.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks, BrainMc. I will give it a try.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Gerth said:


> Well I live in East Haven which is a suburb of New Haven in Connecticut. I don't even ride in New Haven in the daytime without a gun nevertheless at midnight. It's a high crime and gang and general assh* le area. I've had a friend have someone chuck a broomstick into his spokes for ha has then when he went a** over tea kettle they mugged him and took the bike. At least he wasn't riding anything expensive. I routinely ride with a piece.


There have been some issues here on a section of MUP that passes through a rough part of town. There are some areas that redevelopment is taking hold, but the scum still hold on in areas. Folks have been beaten with 2x4's and crap in the not so distant past.

It has had me thinking about general safety/security while on the commute.

It has been rare for me to see patrols on the MUP's but I did recently see a patrol with about 2 dozen officers cruising that section of trail.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Now I'm completely torn, and if it sold today I'd be completely at a loss. What to do?


Oh man, it sold today.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Alright, alright... I'm getting sick of all these picturesque commutes.  I know you are all secretly jealous of my suburban/semi-industrial route.
> 
> I had a new experience yesterday. A car attempt a right hook while another car (tailgating the other one) tried to pass me. We were all hitting the brakes.





BrianMc said:


> Since the dead keep their secrets and no personal damage was mentioned, I assume the turner either let you go, if a bit late, or you waited until the idiots got out of your way. Every no-contact commute is a good one. Sort of like landings a pilot walks away from.


New similar experience for me today too. I nearly got hit by a private tour bus using the bike lane to pass a left turning car. Spidey sense said don't go in the space and sure enough I would have gotten squished if I were another 20 ft or so ahead.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Oh man, it sold today.


That means you must buy a Fatbike!!! ;p


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Jordy, you make it to the commuter challenge party last night? I wanted to go, but thought it would be a bit odd to have to drive to work to go to a bike commuting party - the last bus out of town is at 6.


Neg, I don't do the challenge. With my company so large (1800) and the 1 handful or less of us that bike commute, its not fun, I just commute for me, no other incentives needed. I know I would not have drove just to make the party. I was working anyways. ;p


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

JordyB said:


> That means you must buy a Fatbike!!! ;p


Jordy's right. Winter is coming.

I feel sorry for you guys that have to commute through war zones. I feel sorry for America that we still have so many places like this.

I was going to complain about how dead my legs felt this morning but at least I got to ride through a save scenic area.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> That means you must buy a Fatbike!!! ;p


+1

A fatbike, definitely a fatbike, yeah. Yeah. Fatbike.

Cool and windy in the valley this AM, cool and rainy in Anchorage. I'm with Jordy - bring on the snow. I'm sick of being wet!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Aaah, you guys are killing me. I'm coming back around to the thinking that the fatbike is a 'novelty bike' (which I would still love to have and want to ride all winter), but when it comes down to it, I'm a mountain biker and it's time for a new mountain bike. No final decision made...but I'm leaning towards a new trailbike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wouldn`t you rather have a whole novelty bike than a novelty wheel size?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Aaah, you guys are killing me. I'm coming back around to the thinking that the fatbike is a 'novelty bike' (which I would still love to have and want to ride all winter), but when it comes down to it, I'm a mountain biker and it's time for a new mountain bike. No final decision made...but I'm leaning towards a new trailbike.


A fattie isn't a novelty bike at all. I guess depending on what type of trail you ride, it would make a difference, but I bomb my Pugs on lots of trails up here in Alaska and have found it quite capable - in fact, I can clear things on it that I never could on my FS. I ride everything from XC ski trails in the summer (steep, sharp up and downs) to single track, to road, to MUP for the daily commute. It's just pure good times fun. The weight might be seen as an issue - I'm still rocking the LM double-wall rims, but I'm a big enough guy that it's not that much of an issue. I say go test ride one on a mix of what you normally ride and see what you think.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I know, I know.... I'm sure I'd ride the wheels off of it all year long. I would truly love to have one. I only meant 'novelty' in contrast to a full suspension trailbike. What excites me most about it other than winter capabilities is trail-less woods exploration stuff... I've got hundreds of square miles of squishy pine needles that are just begging to be explored. 

I've even thought I could get a Pugs and then use a spare 29er wheelset for fair weather commutes... so many options...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Since the dead keep their secrets and no personal damage was mentioned, I assume the turner either let you go, if a bit late, or you waited until the idiots got out of your way. Every no-contact commute is a good one. Sort of like landings a pilot walks away from.


The first guy was just far enough in front that I could catch his brake lights and could slow down so it wouldn't develop anything. The unexpected part was the tailgater.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I, personally, would buy both

If I had none and I had to choose 1 I would go for a FS trail bike over the fatty. If I'm going to go out and ride 20 miles of trails I never go to the fatbike. Even though it is fun on the trails it is too much work for long hauls.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Fatbike CB. You know you want it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> The first guy was just far enough in front that I could catch his brake lights and could slow down so it wouldn't develop anything. The unexpected part was the tailgater.


Yes. In Indiana, passing a left turning vehicle on the shoulder is legal. A large vehicle turning left with a smaller tailgating one behind, sets up a 'dodge right and run over the cyclist they did not know was there' situation (assuming that the road they can't see is clear). Lucky to be looking in the mirror to see that one shaping up and take the ditch or if not seen, that the driver does not panic and takes the ditch rather than kill someone.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> I, personally, would buy both
> 
> If I had none and I had to choose 1 I would go for a FS trail bike over the fatty. If I'm going to go out and ride 20 miles of trails I never go to the fatbike. Even though it is fun on the trails it is too much work for long hauls.


See, and the entire motivation behind getting a new bike is being tired of the hardtail for going out and riding 20 miles of trails.

...you know how these things develop though. I'll proably buy a mountain bike, sell the hardtail, buy a fatbike, sell the commuter, buy something else...I'll have a whole new stable, be content for a year or so, and then start over :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Definitely sell the hardtail and buy a FS trail bike and a "hardtail" fatbike. There's your plan. Which one you buy first might depend on what deals you can find.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wouldn`t you rather have a whole novelty bike than a novelty wheel size?


This was funny. Well played, good sir.

... I'm looking for a 27.5 with a threaded headset, square taper BB, and rim brakes, but most of the ones I'm finding are road bikes??


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Yes. In Indiana, passing a left turning vehicle on the shoulder is legal. A large vehicle turning left with a smaller tailgating one behind, sets up a 'dodge right and run over the cyclist they did not know was there' situation (assuming that the road they can't see is clear). Lucky to be looking in the mirror to see that one shaping up and take the ditch or if not seen, that the driver does not panic and takes the ditch rather than kill someone.


^^Probably the most likely, deadly scenario I face on a daily basis. There are a couple spots on my commute I have to watch for this. Yesterday, at one of those spots there was a string of cars behind a semi turning left and no one was willing to go around on the wide shoulder. So here I come cruising up on the shoulder, cringing as I carefully pass the cars while simultaneously trying to watch my mirror for someone to come blasting along from behind at 60 mph.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Nemhed. This scenario is one of the main reasons I was concerned about daytime visible lighting. The sooner they see you the better. I have had worrisome cross traffic ahead simultaneous with the left hand turn by a truck blocking traffic behind me. A bad situation in the offing. You almost feel like stopping in the ditch until it all clears. A similar scenario killed a Kentucky cyclist in the right lane of a multilane when a driver gunned it right around a semi into the lane he could not see and ran the cyclist over. I always "peek" before committing when driving. Could be anything there if the semi is left of the right lane. Saves all that time with police and in court and a weight on your conscience.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Good ride today. The 170mm cranks I put on are gonna take some getting used to but the price was right. They help me spin a little faster downhill so now I gotta get some clipless pedals.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Just back from NYC where my Dad had a carotid artery de-clogging operation (he is OK).

Saw tons of bikes...my favorite was a guy on a little pink girl's bike salmoning down 1st ave with a cigarette in hand. Also saw a bike towing a regular sized hand-truck, set up kind of like that Burley Travoy. It was stabilized by a stickball bat (broomstick) lashed to the frame and extending behind the bike. It had a good-sized box lashed to it. Many bike take-out delivery guys sporting their newly required safety vests and plates. Square-sided heavy chains were the lock of choice for even the lowliest of bikes.

I grabbed my push scooter at the last minute leaving VT and it was great for going from a more distant cheaper parking lot (1.5 miles, $40 total for Tue-Th) to my Dad's apartment and for a quick portable zoom out for coffee (carried it in, no lock worries), exercise and sightseeing before going to the hospital, and was easy to store in their apartment. Citibikes' popularity is not flagging, noticed that they have pretty decent lights (maybe a little low in the rear) that come on automatically when un-stabled.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Rode home and noticed my rear wheel was all wonky and untrue. Took it to my lbs and had a broken spoke.

They had a Fargo 2 there i fell in love with. Such an awesome looking bike. Checks off everything on my list of needs/ wants and is on my short list for my spring bike shopping list. Its actually lighter than i thought it would be. And the woodchipper bars seem real comfy.

any commuter here ride a fargo?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Took a break from commuting today and drove the Jeep. Almost immediately I saw three commuters doing their thing and regretted driving. Regretted it even more on the way home while I was stuck in traffic. Fact is, though, I needed to give my body a rest. Summer commuting is pretty rough. Have lost ten pounds this month peddling the Vegas heat. Wake up every morning sore, too. The problem this week, I believe, is that I mountain biked on Saturday and Sunday. I usually take Sundays away from bikes and this lets me enter the commuting week well rested. Well, off tomorrow, so a four day weekend is in store. Gonna try and hit the mountain bike trails at least three of these days. Riding the Monocog is addictive. Can't seem to get enough of it. Looks like fall is already upon us. . .where did this year go. Bout time to get the long, cold winter commute forum going again.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

School started around here this week. Amazing how many more close calls I have when school is in session. Tons of people coming closer than 3' to me. Usually only 1 or 2 per ride, now it's like 5+. Had a landscaping truck pull out in front of me this morning too, he had a stop sign, I did not. Right after he pulled out, he sat in a line of traffic. He got flipped off. I had my headlight flashing so I was hard to miss.



vegascruiser said:


> Took a break from commuting today and drove the Jeep


What Jeep do ya have? I drive a 2012 Wrangler Unlimited when not on my bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Just back from NYC where my Dad had a carotid artery de-clogging operation (he is OK).
> 
> ...I grabbed my push scooter at the last minute leaving VT ...


Glad to hear dad's OK. I think your scooter story belongs in the Scooter Commuter sub forum.

The old wonky wheel spoke thing. Broken spokes are like flat tires for me. Sometimes I'll get a few in a row on different bikes and then go years without breaking one and I never know why they break. I also always buy a few extras to throw in the toolbox for every size spoke I need to buy.

I encountered not 1 but 2 salmon on last nights commute riding side by side. And one of these salmon was as wide as 2 :eekster:. They seemed to have no idea that I might need to use part of the road that they were kind of blocking, clueless.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Straz85 said:


> What Jeep do ya have? I drive a 2012 Wrangler Unlimited when not on my bike.


I knew I liked you guys.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> What Jeep do ya have? I drive a 2012 Wrangler Unlimited when not on my bike.


I have a 2000 XJ Freedom Edition. Bought it off my sister to tow our camping trailer. No off-road duty for her though as she's only a 2X4. Sister sold it to me for $3300, which was, at the time, nearly two thousand lower than Blue Book. With such a deep discount, I swallowed the fact that it's a 2X4. With the trailer brakes, HD radiator, and an extra leaf spring added, this XJ is a pretty capable tow vehicle. Towed my 4000 lb. trailer up to an elevation of 7500' with not too much effort and with a broken electric fan to boot.

When necessary, I use my '92 Isuzu Rodeo for off-road detail.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, that`s a nice picture of your brute, but you can`t see the coolest aspect- the lime flavored steering wheel.

I`ve been playing with my fancy-pants new camera for a few weeks now, and I think I have all the controls and options that I plan to use all figured out. Sweet lens! Ready to put it to the test with an innaugural vacation. Not such good luck with teh cell phone. I`ve been anxiously watching the UPS tracking, and it finally shows arriving at my local distribution point, out for delivery. But we`re way out of town in the wrong direction, so deliveries always come in the late afternoon, too late to save me from a weekend of house arrest. Figuring that I stil need to have it activated and program it (??), there`s very little hope of providing the brass with a new contact number today.



vegascruiser said:


> Looks like fall is already upon us.


YES!!! October is my favorite time of day!
Though it does seem like summer sort of flew by this year. I think part of it has to do with how early the rugrats go back to class these days. Already been back for weeks and we`re just now finishing up Aug.



mtbxplorer said:


> Saw tons of bikes...my favorite was a guy on a little pink girl's bike salmoning down 1st ave with a cigarette in hand. Also saw a bike towing a regular sized hand-truck, set up kind of like that Burley Travoy. It was stabilized by a stickball bat (broomstick) lashed to the frame and extending behind the bike. It had a good-sized box lashed to it.
> 
> I grabbed my push scooter at the last minute leaving VT...


Oh, for a picture of your salmon rider! The broom stick and hand truck dolly must have been quite a sight too. To think that you saw it on Mulberry Street.

Your scooter sounds like a good idea- much more compact and quicker to employ than my folding bike. Yours looks a lot more stable (big platform, monster wheels) and robust than the ones I`ve risked my own butt on.



bedwards1000 said:


> I encountered not 1 but 2 salmon on last nights commute riding side by side.


It must take a lot of huevos to double salmon. Wow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, for a picture of your salmon rider! The broom stick and hand truck dolly must have been quite a sight too. To think that you saw it on Mulberry Street.
> 
> Your scooter sounds like a good idea- much more compact and quicker to employ than my folding bike. Yours looks a lot more stable (big platform, monster wheels) and robust than the ones I`ve risked my own butt on.


How did you know I grew up a block away from the south end of Mulberry Street? 

The big scooter wheels make a huge difference on cracks, stones, and other uneven surfaces. Only on cobblestones did I opt to walk it. I also learned that if you walk it carelessly up an unramped curb, the tail end is apt to kick out and hit you in the ankle bone - lesson learned!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Fatbike CB. You know you want it.


More fatbike froth:

salsacycles.com/culture/beargrease_carbon_xx1_wins_eurobike_award


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Finally got my bike back from the shop. New chain, new cassette, tuned and tweaked it now rides like a dream (again). Funny how two weeks off the bike can drop the fitness level, felt slow and sluggish all the way to and from work. It will get better.


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## gmats (Apr 15, 2005)

Aloha,

This was my commute to work this a.m. It was awesome (as usual).


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I knew I liked you guys.
> 
> View attachment 828092


That's an awesome XJ! I threw around the idea of selling my JK and picking up an XJ to get rid of my loan, just couldn't do it though. If they had 4 door TJs I'd be all over it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

House arrest it is 
The cell phone came in right before I left for work yesterday, and now that I see it, I hate it. Think I`m going to look at what`s available in town for prepaid models and if one looks better I`ll return the phone I ordered even though it`ll mean I can`t get the plan I wanted.

Looking good, Gmats :thumbsup:



mtbxplorer said:


> The big scooter wheels make a huge difference on cracks, stones, and other uneven surfaces.


Ah, yeah- the "niner" scooter.



Straz85 said:


> That's an awesome XJ! I threw around the idea of selling my JK and picking up an XJ to get rid of my loan, just couldn't do it though. If they had 4 door TJs I'd be all over it.


Hmmm... TJ and XJ I know, first time I`ve heard mention of JK. Been a long time since I poured over Jeep mags.
When are you leaving for Maine?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hmmm... TJ and XJ I know, first time I`ve heard mention of JK. Been a long time since I poured over Jeep mags.
> When are you leaving for Maine?


JK is a 2007+ Wrangler. We're heading to Maine 2 weeks from tomorrow. It got a little messy over the weekend. Initially my friend was going to dog-sit for us, then I convinced my wife we should bring the dog so we switched to a pet friendly room. This weekend we took the dog to my in-laws. She did great most of the time, but she was whining non-stop by 5am every morning. We can't have that at a camp-site and the hotel. I ended up calling the obedience trainer she went to, who will board one dog at a time, only one that has gone through their training program. They agreed to take her for the 4 days we're gone, which is great. She LOVES their two yellow labs, she'll get to go to work with them everyday and hang out with the other dogs they're training, they'll take her for their weekly swim at the state park. She'll have a great time, and they'll also reinforce her training.

Didn't ride in today. Heading to REI at lunch to pick up the roof rack I ordered for my Jeep. It's the Thule one that attaches to the gutters. I also ordered a Yakima LoadWarrier roof basket and I have two Thule Peleton bike carriers. Can't wait to use in for Acadia in a couple weeks and Kingdom Trails in October!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Uneventful rides Friday and today. Most of last week I was in my car due to time or varying levels of illness.

I also over the weekend went full nerd and picked up a used tandem (surprisingly cheap at $150) to haul my daughter for longer distances. Captain's bottom bracket is a little wobbly but other than that the bike's in great shape for a $150 tandem (which generally speaking isn't even enough for a frame).



rodar y rodar said:


> House arrest it is
> The cell phone came in right before I left for work yesterday, and now that I see it, I hate it. Think I`m going to look at what`s available in town for prepaid models and if one looks better I`ll return the phone I ordered even though it`ll mean I can`t get the plan I wanted.


What'd you get? There's no shame in prepaid if all you want is to be available for occasional phone calls.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rain this morning. Sure can feel fall coming.

What a great weekend, topped off by the perfect day yesterday. What could be better than floating a beautiful river on a beautiful day, Mrs. Woodway on the oars while I fish, followed by a nice bike ride to go fetch the truck and trailer? Heaven.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That sounds pretty ideal woodway :thumbsup:



Straz85 said:


> That's an awesome XJ! I threw around the idea of selling my JK and picking up an XJ to get rid of my loan, just couldn't do it though. If they had 4 door TJs I'd be all over it.


Thanks. As long as we're throwing around the initials, I had 2 YJ's and another XJ before this one... the YJ's were great, but once I couldn't fit all the kids in there, I switched to the XJ. You can definitely build an XJ up cheaper than any wrangler. This one is my fav because it's right-hand-drive...you don't see that every day.

Rained for almost 24 hours around here...that's a rare late summer gift around here. Took the trail through the drippy woods this morning. Very nice. This is the 'after the woods before the pavement' stretch:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No commute this week, doing some stuff around the house and then off for a few nights camping, hiking, biking in the Kingdom with the dog.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> . This one is my fav because it's right-hand-drive...you don't see that every day.


I am thinking a fake steering wheel on the left, and a German Shepard in the seat on the left would make an interesting scene on the highway.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ My kids love riding in front and playing driver. Haven't gone as far as the fake steering wheel, but a 5 year old in a booster seat does prompt some double-takes.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> I knew I liked you guys.
> 
> View attachment 828092


It's a heep thang!! lol

j/k I didn't know there were any 4x4 guys in here. Working on mine a lot recently but hopefully by the end of October she will be streetable again. Lots of preventative stuff going on for the 82.



I did pick up a new bike this weekend. I was honestly looking for a commuter but this practically dropped into my lap. She rides great!


And finally for my commutes. I keep running into these little devils and I try not to hit them.....but they wait until the last second to move. It feels like the Geico commercial with the squirrels. They look like a prairie dog but they are the size of field mice. In any case it's a good thing I see them because that means there isn't a rattle snake in the area lol.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rained for almost 24 hours around here...that's a rare late summer gift around here. Took the trail through the drippy woods this morning. Very nice. This is the 'after the woods before the pavement' stretch:
> View attachment 829086


That's a pretty cool pic. It looks more like a painting.

I had a classic case of "Must Pass Cyclist" this morning. I was coming up to a line of stopped traffic at about 20mph. There was a car behind me and I started trying to control the lane because it was pointless for them to pass. They went around me even though I was in the middle of the lane and not more than 3 seconds later I passed them on the right. I'm not quite sure where they were trying to go.

I'm proud to say that my wife has been sticking to her commuting schedule of twice a week (≈50 miles total). She's got the bug and looks forward to her bike commuting days.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks Bedwards... It really did look like that this morning.



Kryptoroxx said:


> It's a heep thang!! lol


I don't discriminate... your Toy looks like it should have one of those "I got your Jeep thing, now it huts when I pee" bumper stickers :lol:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks Bedwards... It really did look like that this morning.
> 
> I don't discriminate... your Toy looks like it should have one of those "I got your Jeep thing, now it huts when I pee" bumper stickers :lol:


Lol I dont either but I love the jokes anyway. Ive seen some great jeeps.....and I think they might be easier to modify in some respects too. I have to bump my axle forward, weld on a new front spring hanger, relocate shock mounts, bolt down the toprack frame, bolt on the top rack.....and I think thats about it for now. She might even be on the chopping block with the arrival of a stork package here at the end of the month.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good to be on the commuter again after a long four day weekend. Got in two days of mountain biking in Blue Diamond, so I wasn't entirely off a bike the whole weekend. I can't seem to get enough of the Monocog. Getting stronger riding this thing and I cleared the entire 8 mile track without walking any sections on Sunday. And Blue Diamond is anything but level riding.

Dark and cool ride in this morning and a warm muggy ride home. Funny that the first four miles riding home felt like fall and the last three felt like summer. Didn't drop my chain on the way home so I guess Wednesday's fix paid off. Still having rack issues but I'm working my way through this as well. Each day I try a different "tweek" and see how it holds up on the ride in. There is a little play in the joint where the rack clamps to the seat post and the actual rack, which is causing the rack to sag a bit.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Blue Diamond? You talking about these trails:










Fun place to ride!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Haven't gone as far as the fake steering wheel, but a 5 year old in a booster seat does prompt some double-takes.


I bet! I love the "backwards" look anyway, but never even thought about that aspect of it! 24 hours of rain ?!? You didn`t save a drop of it for us.



Sanath said:


> What'd you get? There's no shame in prepaid if all you want is to be available for occasional phone calls.


Prepaid Verizon rather than the Page Plus I wanted, which would have supposedly been the same service for slightly less money. I feel no shame at all over going prepaid, just "defeated" for finally giving up my No Cell badge. Does the dial phone still in use in my living room maybe count for at least a tiny bit of the lud points that I lost by unplugging?



woodway said:


> What a great weekend, topped off by the perfect day yesterday. What could be better than floating a beautiful river on a beautiful day, Mrs. Woodway on the oars while I fish, followed by a nice bike ride to go fetch the truck and trailer?


By gum, that does sound awfully good, but I think you could have achieved microscopically better with a pedal boat rather than oars, which keep her hands busy. That way you could have had her cleaning and cooking your already caught stash while she pulled you both up the river.
* cue "Put Another Log On The Fire"


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> I bet! I love the "backwards" look anyway, but never even thought about that aspect of it! 24 hours of rain ?!? You didn`t save a drop of it for us.
> 
> Prepaid Verizon rather than the Page Plus I wanted, which would have supposedly been the same service for slightly less money. I feel no shame at all over going prepaid, just "defeated" for finally giving up my No Cell badge. Does the dial phone still in use in my living room maybe count for at least a tiny bit of the lud points that I lost by unplugging?
> 
> ...


I gotta give you props for making it this long with no cell rodar! Wish to hell that I could manage my job with no cell. Smartphones arent cheap! I could afford a really nice bike with the money I have flushed for service.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> 24 hours of rain ?!? You didn`t save a drop of it for us.


Man, it just sat on us. I was wondering if Burning Man was getting extinguished, but I heard it didn't make it that far out into the desert... we got a soaker... I was on a ladder clearing out the downspouts because the gutters were overflowing...looked like being inside a waterfall from inside the house. Crazy rain for a while, then just normal rain...but it was very constant from about midnight Sunday to about midnight Saturday.

Would you happen to have any grey pupon?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Got a 'boutique' shot of the Ogre this morning:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Snake day on the trail this morning. Dodged 3, might have hit the 4th (didn't see until I was almost on him).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dag nabbit! It`s my turn for a run of flats. Worse, I can`t find my patch kit. I used it Fri morning, flatted on my way to work yesterday, removed the offending thorn and changed tubes. Went to patch yesterady`s hole today and can`t find the stinking patches! What`s worse than losing the patches themselves is losing the prescription bottle I kept it in (perfect for preventing glue tube incedents when I pack the kit on my bike) because I can`t find any more around the house and I`m getting ready to leave on a trip. Worst of all was losing the little piece of plastic tube for applying chain lube. At home, I have one small bottle of Triflow that I refill from a monster bottle (little bottle has no cap, I just keep the tube in it at all times) and one little bottle with cap that I carry on longer rides and use in conjunction with the tube in my missing patch kit. Wonder if my wife "put away" my patching bottle in some obscure location after I left it out? For now, I just put a new spare tube in my tool bag in hopes that my old kit turns up soon. Will the tube from any aerosol lube or cleaner fit into a chain lube bottle?

I forgot to congratulate Krypto on the awaited stork. May all go well next month and thereafter.

Nice pics today and yesterday, CB. Those aren`t from your bike-mounted camera, are they?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I hear you on the 'wife clean-up relocation' :lol: 

No mount...camera in left hand.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

51, light rain, light wind, cloudy, with a touch of sunshine.

What crossed your path today?

The Alaska Railroad Passenger Train.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pic CB.

Rodar if the TSA throws your ass in jail because your lost patch kit is still in your pannier and accidentally take the flammable glue through security your on your own buddy 

Nice train pic Jordy. I never get tired of trains.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wonder if my wife "put away" my patching bottle in some obscure location after I left it out?
> 
> Will the tube from any aerosol lube or cleaner fit into a chain lube bottle?


Talk about thinking the cup is half full...

The patch kit will only turn up after the little bottle is broken, and the glue has hardened....

What ever little tube you find.....will not fit.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Woodway,

Yes, it is that Blue Diamond. These trails are about ten miles from my house. I suspect I should ride my bike to the trailhead from my house, but I never do. I despise riding streets on my mountain bikes. Only dirt riding for them. Every Saturday morning I catch the sunrise on those big, red mountains in the pic you posted. If you hit the trail from Blue Diamond, three miles later you'll be in front of and fairly close to these mountains. A glorious site to be sure. 

Found the perfect fix to the seat post rack. I removed it and loaded up a backpack. Part of the problem I was having with the rack is that I tightened it so hard it bent the heck out of my seat post. Not being able to buy a new and better seat post until the weekend, I decided to give the backpack a try. If this works out, I won't even replace the seat post, as I was able to pound it back to a doable position. If I'm going to keep with the rack, I'll need a stronger post that can actually take a little tightening force.

Commute in okay and commute home less than okay, all because of my rack slanting down and rubbing on the back tire over every medium sized bump. Very, very annoying. Gotta say, though, my bike sure looks zippy with just a headlight and taillight and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's ride. I figure I can absorb the extra weight of the back pack and especially so since I'm down thirty pounds since starting this commuting thing.

Sorry about the flats, Rodar. Flat week was last week for me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

vegascruiser - I've ridden the Blue Diamond trails (Cottonwood Canyon?) twice. That photo is my wife when we were out there this past January. Rented a bike from the little bike shop in Blue Diamond (nice guy who runs that shop) and just headed out and had fun. Great trails for sure and really a different sort of riding than we get up here in the Pacific Northwest. I can see why you like riding them so much.

I tried a backpack when I first started commuting but after about a month I was sick of it. My commute is longer than many at 36 miles RT and after a week of wearing that backpack I was really feeling it. I would think that in the vegas heat you'll be feeling it too, but everyone is different in that regard.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> vegascruiser - I've ridden the Blue Diamond trails (Cottonwood Canyon?) twice. That photo is my wife when we were out there this past January. Rented a bike from the little bike shop in Blue Diamond (nice guy who runs that shop) and just headed out and had fun. Great trails for sure and really a different sort of riding than we get up here in the Pacific Northwest. I can see why you like riding them so much.
> 
> I tried a backpack when I first started commuting but after about a month I was sick of it. My commute is longer than many at 36 miles RT and after a week of wearing that backpack I was really feeling it. I would think that in the vegas heat you'll be feeling it too, but everyone is different in that regard.


Yep. Cottonwood Canyon, Redrock, Blue Diamond--basically all the same thing. I've been told there's about 150 miles of trails in the area, though I usually stick to my familiar thirty to forty miles. I do 95% of my riding alone out there, as most of my buddies who do/will ride don't do so very often. The guy at the bike shop is named Chris and he's a really nice for sure. Got some really cold days out there this past January and I can even remember my water bottle spout freezing over on several weekends. Boy would I love to ride the Pacific Northwest. Bet it's beautiful.

I'm thinking the backpack might suck, but with the hot season winding down it might be doable. I think I'm going to like the clutter-free feeling of a bike with no panniers. The backpack will likely hamper my ability to transport critters home for the kids though. But my wife has put her foot down on the critters now anyway.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jeffscott said:


> The patch kit will only turn up after the little bottle is broken, and the glue has hardened....
> 
> What ever little tube you find.....will not fit.


I supspect you`re right with your first prediction. The second one I thought would be wrong, but it`s looking better for you than for me- brought home three different tubes from aerosol cans at work, all different sizes, and all of them too big!

Woodway, I`ll have a patch kit in my checked luggage one way or the other. If the TSA guys try to confiscate it, I`ll whoop out a contraband Dasani bottle and threaten to start drowning people :eekster:

I wore backpacks for my first few years of MTBing. Found a way to avoid them and have been much happier without. That said, they do work, and are always an option. In fact, I hear that Jeep driving cyclists even PREFER backpacks! But they`re all whackos


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

vegascruiser said:


> ... I suspect I should ride my bike to the trailhead from my house, but I never do. I despise riding streets on my mountain bikes. Only dirt riding for them. ...


That would kill me, I'm the opposite, I despise driving the mountain bikes anywhere I could ride to in under 1/2 hour.

I got up early to ride into work in the rain, in the dark, with my wife.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Good ride in today. Perfect weather. Starting to get dark/cold enough in the mornings to have me thinking about where my arm warmers and lights are though :-/


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I busted out the arm warmers this week myself. Still in shorts, with no headlight....but it's coming. 

Backpack all the way! I hate stuff hanging off of the bike. A water bottle cage is a huge decision for me. Don't like going there. I'll take a sweaty back any day. Once you have racks and panniers and seat bags and what-not hanging off of the bike, you can't ride it like it was meant to be ridden. That's my theory at least.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> A water bottle cage is a huge decision for me. ..., you can't ride it like it was meant to be ridden. That's my theory at least.


Really watch a UCI XC moutain bike race they all use water bottles and cages..

I use the water bottle and cage for up to a hard 11/2 hour ride.

Anything longer I need a fill up place or a camel back.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Took yesterday off from work and the bike - have a nasty chest and head cold and it was my birthday, so I thought if I'm gonna feel like crap on my birthday I'm gonna stay in bed. It was a nice change of pace.

Back on the bike today. 42 degrees this AM. Calm as can be. The ride was slow and painful with my lungs feeling like I am a smoker again. Not fun. My wife is just getting over her bout with the crud, so I figure I have a few more days before I'm completely clear.

In the past I've used backpacks for the commute, but have been using panniers for the last year or so. I like the panniers, though I'll be going back to the backpack at least on Fridays, so I can make the commute for my teaching gig with my laptop. I don't trust panniers enough to put anything valuable and breakable in them. I've broken too many of them in the short time I've been using them.

I agree that using a backpack rather than panniers does allow one to ride a bit more aggressively, if the desire should hit. I've ridden a lot of singletrack over the winter with my panniers attached, but in the summer when the trails are rooty and rocky, I tend to either avoid them or ride so gingerly so as to not destroy the panniers, that I might as well have not ridden the single track at all. Though, be careful with a backpack on single track as I have gotten it caught on a tree branch before and gotten pulled off the bike. Like a cartoon.

Picture from my Friday ride:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> I busted out the arm warmers this week myself. Still in shorts, with no headlight....but it's coming.
> 
> Backpack all the way! I hate stuff hanging off of the bike. A water bottle cage is a huge decision for me. Don't like going there. I'll take a sweaty back any day. Once you have racks and panniers and seat bags and what-not hanging off of the bike, you can't ride it like it was meant to be ridden. That's my theory at least.


I completely agree with this. I have a couple of backpacks that have breathable pads that kind of help. Those are both tactical "bug out" or daypacks. They are meant for all day wear and are quite comfy if you fit them correctly. Plus they hold enough food for the day, med pack, change of clothes (my whole camo uniform and boots fit), 3L of water, bike pump, tube, tools, and you wont even notice it after a while.

This is also an excellent way to lose weight lol. Ive been getting used to the trail bike the past couple of days and the 35ish pound bike really gives me a workout!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Really watch a UCI XC moutain bike race they all use water bottles and cages.


Good for them :lol:

I have bottle/cage, and I do use them occasionally...more typically on the road when I forego bringing tools, etc. For MTB I have the camelbak stocked with a tube, tire levers, multitool, pump, and water. Just would much rather have all that lashed to my back than dangling on the bike.

I can see just packing a bottle in a race situation and just not bringing the tools and what-not.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I have a couple of backpacks that have breathable pads that kind of help.


This statement makes me wonder about the Osprey packs with internal frames and a mesh that holds the pack completely away from your back. Does anybody here ride with something like that? I have a crush on Osprey products, used to fondle them up in REI and trip out on the lightness. It`s like holding a hologram- you can SEE it in your hands, but they have no discernable weight, whooooaa! Now I`m careful to avoid that part of the store because I`m afraid one will follow me home even though I really have no use for it.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Nothing on the back unless I have to. Frame bag all the way, or other bike packing gear. I dont have to carry much, lunch, phone, wallet, occasional beer. Never going back! ;p


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

If I need to pack heavy on my MTB for a family ride or the like I'll wear my Osprey day pack (Stratos 36 I think). The suspension is amazing for keeping the load from sagging awkwardly or poking into my back. I don't have any distinct memories of feeling a breeze on my back, but I also don't think my back was covered in sweat either. It's been a while. My regular pack is a Raptor 10, which has no suspension and leaves my back quite sweaty.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> This statement makes me wonder about the Osprey packs with internal frames and a mesh that holds the pack completely away from your back. Does anybody here ride with something like that? I have a crush on Osprey products, used to fondle them up in REI and trip out on the lightness. It`s like holding a hologram- you can SEE it in your hands, but they have no discernable weight, whooooaa! Now I`m careful to avoid that part of the store because I`m afraid one will follow me home even though I really have no use for it.


Took a look at their pack tech. I would say that their packs would be superior to what I wear for moisture wicking/breathability as mine are more bulletproof and then made comfortable lol. They definitely look pretty sturdy for their fabric selection. I would think they are a good hiker/biker pack.

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Passed a dead raccoon that was the size of a small bear cub. The sucker must have been 40-50lbs.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Passed a dead raccoon that was the size of a small bear cub. The sucker must have been 40-50lbs.


You passed it? I would've thought that qualified as supper!



rodar y rodar said:


> This statement makes me wonder about the Osprey packs with internal frames and a mesh that holds the pack completely away from your back. Does anybody here ride with something like that? I have a crush on Osprey products, used to fondle them up in REI and trip out on the lightness. It`s like holding a hologram- you can SEE it in your hands, but they have no discernable weight, whooooaa! Now I`m careful to avoid that part of the store because I`m afraid one will follow me home even though I really have no use for it.


Mine has the mesh and the first winter I noticed it was downright chilly on my back, so you know it works in summer. Mine is discontinued but they still use the mesh on some. The pad things are not nearly as good. One is airscape one is airspeed, I forget which is which.

Frost warnings here at the campground tonight, good thing I brought the dog.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Too greasy. Besides, I first noticed it a few days ago. Aged beef is good, 3 day old sun cured raccoon road kill, not so much.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

I am mixed on the backpack but will stick with it for now. I am determined to make this work. One mistake I made last night was tossing everything from my panniers into my backpack. Got into work nicely and barely noticed the pack was there (down hill ride and 75F). Ride home pretty much sucked. In the hundreds and all uphill. However, immediately upon getting home I lightened my load. Stuck my tool bag under my seat, threw the hand pump from my mountain bike into the pack (had a foot pump in my pannier), and wrapped my chain and lock around my frame. Saw no reason to carry bungees without panniers--so out they went. Threw away two Clif bars that expired in the spring. Instead of sockets and a ratchet, went with one crescent wrench (trail tools make no sense on a Walmart bike). Instead of two extra tubes, I'll roll with one--beside, got an extra tube in my locker at work anyway. In this fashion, I was able to weed a lot of weight from my backpack. I am really digging the clutter free feeling my bike has now and the sudden ability to bunny hop curbs if the desire arises. I have to admit, my style of riding before was often based on babying my panniers.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> This statement makes me wonder about the Osprey packs with internal frames and a mesh that holds the pack completely away from your back. Does anybody here ride with something like that? I have a crush on Osprey products, used to fondle them up in REI and trip out on the lightness. It`s like holding a hologram- you can SEE it in your hands, but they have no discernable weight, whooooaa! Now I`m careful to avoid that part of the store because I`m afraid one will follow me home even though I really have no use for it.


I have two of that style pack. I have an Osprey Atmos 65 that I use for backpacking, internal frame with the mesh back so you get lots of air flow. Helps keep your back cool quite a bit. I also have a 30L pack I commute with. It's REI brand, forget the model, but I really like it a lot. I will commute with it no matter how hot it gets. Sure my back gets sweaty, but it does with no backpack too. I would take pictures of the packs but I'm at the coffee shop right now and don't have them with me. If I think of it tonight I will.


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

Hurrah. The ride in this morning was slightly off best marks but, thanks to my new Marathon Plus rear tire, puncture and leak-free! It has been a real chore keeping air in the rear tire with all the glass and other nastiness out there on the highway median.

Bike Ride Profile | 49miles near St. Francisville | Times and Records | Strava

The Schwalbe is definitely a little draggy (It's 800 grams, after all) but I am loving the certainty.


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## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

I saw this on my ride to work this morning. Pretty cool...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is pretty cool. What keeps them in the pen? It looks like they could hop over it like it wasn't there.

Speaking of pretty cool, winter is coming. It was right around 40 this morning. I've had mid-winter rides that were warmer.


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## JChasse (Jul 21, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> That is pretty cool. What keeps them in the pen? It looks like they could hop over it like it wasn't there.


Nothing. It is just the back yard of a church, and open on the other end. They could easily have hopped over the fence at any time. After a few minutes watching them bounce around, I decided it may not be a good idea to be standing so close. :idea:


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Glad it's Friday.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I can see just packing a bottle in a race situation and just not bringing the tools and what-not.


Normal ride commute or otherwise...water bottle...and a seat bag...I also have very large pockets in my coat so I can carry lots of other stuff two...

Commuting about all I carry is a new pair of underwear to work.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Mornings are getting a bit cool but if I put on a jacket, I have to take it off after a couple of km, so I don't bother: still riding in shorts and T shirt.

Here, kids of 15 can get licences for light microcars. Yesterday, one of those was turning right into a school parking area across the sidewalk/bike path. The driver let a couple of other cyclists pass, but I was sure that I wouldn't be noticed coming from behind. I was wrong. The car didn't move. As I got close, I could see this girl with long blonde hair turned in the seat to make absolutely sure that she was crossing the path safely.

Well done!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

44, raining...Let It Snow!!!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute today so I didn't get to test out my much lighter backpack. Going to hit the Blue Diamond trails hard on both days this weekend, so I figured I needed a rest day today. Much as I want to, riding bikes seven days a week takes its toll on me and eventually a rest day has to be fit in somewhere. So what better day than a Friday. . .


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

Set a new pace record on the old 36-pound 4 speed. Saw two foxes early this morning in the dark, they crossed the road separately about 50 yards apart. Must have been engaged in a pheremony of love. Carry on...

Bike Ride Profile | 49miles near St. Francisville | Times and Records | Strava


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I stopped to snap a pic of the huge dead raccoon on Friday. This picture doesn't really do it justice. I think the smoking finally did him in.








Friggin cold this morning, in the high 30s.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

chomxxo said:


> Set a new pace record on the old 36-pound 4 speed.


36- pound four speed? Must be old. English? I think we need some porn here!



bedwards1000 said:


> I stopped to snap a pic of the huge dead raccoon on Friday. This picture doesn't really do it justice. I think the smoking finally did him in.


:lol: Hypothermia took over from Emphysema about tive years ago as the principle cause of death among smokers. Now it`s moved to truck tires?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That is a weird pic bedwards... looks like he's standing up walking under your bike. ...and he looks plenty fresh to me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, he was not fresh.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

haha.

And cool deer action, JChasse. Looks like something I'd see on my commute. The bucks are getting frisky around here too... Weird how they will all hang out together until late summer, and then they'll start running each other off. Your vid reminded me of this vid someone showed me:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Oh, it was okay today. Glad to be back on the bike after Friday's fiasco. Suffice it to say, after rebuilding the rear hub yet again, I'm starting to wonder if it is me or what. So, Friday morning I head out to hop on the bike and the rear wheel won't move. I mean, it'll move, but is quite stiff, as if the brakes are applied. I loosen the brakes all the way and no go. So I pop the wheel to check the hub, even though I had just checked it two nights before and it was good. Or seemed good anyway. So with the wheel off I try to spin the axle and no go. So I quickly spin off the lock nut and the cone nut and pull the cone out. Immediately I notice that the grease is packed with metal shavings. Not good. 

The cones are destroyed - but the races in the hub look good - smooth. So, as I am a bit cash poor right now, I go and get new bearings and new cones and rebuild the hub over the weekend. I have a nice little ten miler on Saturday through mud and gravel and such and the hub seems to be performing fine. This morning there were some grinding and grating noises, but I can't determine if they were coming from the hub or from my cranks - as those are starting to feel a bit gritty as well. Suppose I'll need new bearings in that soon as well. 

I assume that my hub is basically shot and that I'll be rebuilding it every few weeks until I can afford and convince the wife that I need a new hub or a maybe just a whole new wheel set. What absolutely perplexes me is that I had the same model hub on my old NRS and in 6 years never had a single issue and now with the Pugs I've replaced one hub and had to rebuild the other twice now - all the the course of a year. The first hub I never touched myself - had the shop service it each time prior to it's self destruction, so I don't think it is me doing something incorrect when servicing it - I leave it with just a touch of play when locking the nuts so that when the QR is bound it takes the play out without binding the bearings. Prior to the current build taking a crap on me I was riding through some deep mud and water, maybe a foot deep or so and I didn't service the hub afterwards, so that could very well be my fault. 

Anyway. Enough about hubs. Good commute today. Still feeling the residue of my last week's illness. Starting to hock some nice luggers as I cough the crap out of my lungs.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Maybe your seals are just worn and letting water/grit in. With how many miles you have on that Pugs, it wouldn't surprise me that its time to upgrade?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

*If it ain't one thing it's another....*

Monsoon season down here in S.E. Az, and the way it's been working out, often times the rain starts 1-2 hrs before I would leave for work, stop, then start up again an hour before I get off. I dislike riding in the rain for visibility reasons ("Windshield wipers? Yeah they're in great shape, been using them since 19xx."). So been riding when I can, when I had to cough up for a new phone, then lost all internet capability for several weeks. Now that the rain has found a different pattern that will allow me to ride more consistently, the crank retention bolt (FSA cranks if you hadn't guessed) decides to back out and start to strip, @ 9 miles away from the house. Had to finish the ride stopping every 2-3 miles to re-tighten the bolt. Just received the new bolt yesterday, and found out my profit sharing bonus gets paid this week so I can buy the new commuter bike right? Wrong, checked Nashbar and the bike I was gonna buy is sold out in my size and they're not planning on/or unable to restock.:madman: So now I gotta rethink what to get, while not listening to the little voice in my head telling my to just try the next size up ("Go ahead, try it. The ETT is only a few cm more. O.K. the standover is too high, but when are you just standing over the bike without it leaning anyway, huh?:skep.

I know it's not the worst that could happen, and could be even worse, but this summer has not been my best.:nonod:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Maybe your seals are just worn and letting water/grit in. With how many miles you have on that Pugs, it wouldn't surprise me that its time to upgrade?


Now that you say that, I think you are right. I've not replaced the seals ever. Very likely worn. As a stop-gap I think I'll run over to the shop and see if they have any on hand.

I think (hope) an upgrade is in my near future. Christmas is coming, after all. Saw some beautiful UMA III wheels built up at Backcountry Ski and Cycle in Palmer when I went to get my cones and bearings. I could handle some of those laced up to a Hope FatSnow. Now, the challenge - convince the wife that I "need" them!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Well your lucky enough that almost any 135mm hub fits on your pugs. Hope FatSnow is 170. ;p But great choice on the rims, id get the 90's and run Dillengers if I were you. ;p


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Junior, what nashbar frame are you shopping for? My 'X' Cyclocross frame is officially for sale. It's the older one with 135mm rear hub spacing. You know you want it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh yeah, the Deer Circus was funny! The elk version, too 
I haven`t ever needed to replace hub seals. Does that put me in the minority, or is it only necessary in harsh environments?

Smoke has been way better for the past week or so. Now my biggest complaint is the overhead traffic- practice runs and qualifying for airplane races going on in my neighborhood. At least I`ll be gone when they break out the jets.

I did some experimenting with new loading methods for my bike. The lack of a top tube is a bigger pain than I ever would have expected, but the funny design sure makes for some cool luggage options.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Threw this together last night. Mostly from parts I had laying around. Still needs the correct tires. Will be used to commute on and maybe CX.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Well your lucky enough that almost any 135mm hub fits on your pugs. Hope FatSnow is 170. ;p But great choice on the rims, id get the 90's and run Dillengers if I were you. ;p


Good point. Although, maybe that just means I need to start lobbying for a FatBack...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rodar: You made me smile. I like it. That scares me.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Got caught in rain this morning on the ride in. A little annoying riding with rain splashed eye glasses. Also, because I don't own a single item of rain gear, I arrived to work pretty wet. And of course the lack of fenders left me a bit dirty. Nevertheless, with rain so seldom an issue I don't see any need for fenders or rain gear. I'll just count on getting wet and dirty a few times a year and hope it happens mostly on the ride home.

Bought a hydration pack from Sam's Club this weekend. Saw it while browsing down the seasonal aisle. At only $15, I had to roll the dice on it. For now, I'm just using it as a small pack to get my lunch to and from work and the other items formerly in my panniers. Funny thing, with my bike lightened up, I shaved nearly five minutes off my seven mile commute on the way home and barely noticed the pack on my back. For now, this seems workable and even preferable to the panniers. 

The problem I'll run into is when it starts getting colder out and how to get my jackets, gloves, etc., back home in the afternoons for the next morning's chilly ride. In Vegas, a chilly thirty degree morning can often turn into a sixty degree commute home. Will need to use a bigger pack or get the panniers back into service for the winter for jacket transporting purposes. . .but for now I'm enjoying the fast-rolling, clutter free bike rides.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Junior, what nashbar frame are you shopping for? My 'X' Cyclocross frame is officially for sale. It's the older one with 135mm rear hub spacing. You know you want it.


I was gonna get the Schwinn Slicker in large. Sure 520 Reynolds ain't the best, but good enough for me, and I liked that tall head tube. Plus most discerning bike thieves would turn up their nose at a mere Schwinn :lol:. Too bad for me that I had to wait too long and they're all sold (the large anyway). I'm tempted to try the x-large but the stand over is a bit much, and the ETT is @ 15mm shorter than my mtn bike which I don't believe would be short enough once you take the drops into account (could work around that with a TT seatpost but just better to buy a bike that fit in the first place). What's really bad is the 2013's are flat bar and sell for $150 more, and the 2014's are flat bar, sell for $200 more and they replaced the 105 rear derailleur with Sora.

Oh well I have other options, I just kinda had settled on that one in my mind, and had already decided on what changes I was gonna make (like a Sugino X600 crank, and Microshift STI's).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Oops, I did it again!*

I bought another bike, Felt F4X. It was just too good of a deal to pass up from my regular bike guy. I must say it is awesome! At least it was awesome until I flatted a mile and a half from work on the trails and found that my pump was crap. On the plus side, it is really light to shoulder through the trails.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I like the look of most Felts. Very nice bikes.



vegascruiser said:


> The problem I'll run into is when it starts getting colder out and how to get my jackets, gloves, etc., back home in the afternoons for the next morning's chilly ride. In Vegas, a chilly thirty degree morning can often turn into a sixty degree commute home. Will need to use a bigger pack or get the panniers back into service for the winter for jacket transporting purposes. . .but for now I'm enjoying the fast-rolling, clutter free bike rides.


As a backpack advocate in a mountian climate, let me encourage you :lol: We're entering that season of occasional 40 degree swings in temp (I've seen 30's for the morning, 70's for the afternoon, or 20's/60's). Yeah, a hydration pack ain't gonna cut it, but most of that 'winter' kit can be pretty light if you get the right stuff...it fills the backpack, but it's still better than panniers!


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> 36- pound four speed? Must be old. English? I think we need some porn here!


As requested 










It's a cross bike set up as a touring/commuter. I should specify that's the weight fully loaded with two bottles, gear, lunch in the bag, light with two batteries, iBike Dash+Power... The Wazoo is a steel frame and it's got some heavy Profile cranks on there right now.

The 4-speed is set up to be a narrow gear range friction shift in order to keep the chain on without a guide. As soon as they're available for order, I'm going to get a 44t Wolf Tooth ring, and then I can have a cassette back there.

Mainly I just want the bike to be reliable so I can get up and go in the early morning. The tubeless rims with Schwalbe Marathon Plus 32s were what I needed to make it through broken glass and other nastiness on the highway medians without a flat.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoo, Bedwards gets to hang a new pair of hooks in the garage! Looks sleek and light- is it going to be the race version of your CC?



vegascruiser said:


> Also, because I don't own a single item of rain gear, I arrived to work pretty wet.


I finally bought a rain jacket about a year ago. I used it a few times in rain that wouldn`t have gotten me wet in my not-for-rain jacket and stayed dry. Used it once in real rain and got soaked anyway :lol:



chomxxo said:


> The 4-speed is set up to be a narrow gear range friction shift in order to keep the chain on without a guide.


Very cool, though not what I expected. Friction shift? So, it has a derailler and 4 of X sprockets? My original thought was a 4-speed hub, which is kinda what it looks like in the picture. Did you haul that big ol tent out and camp for your pic above?

Junior, you gave up on Craigslist? Seems like it wasn`t showing you many local options.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Rain gear is a strange thing, isn't it? When you really need it, it ends up soaking out anyway. When you don't really need it you get soaked from the inside out. I do have to say, though, that I have a pair of Columbia rain pants that I use quite often and they are not breathable at all really, but they have a mesh lining that keeps the vapor from touching my skin, so they work okay. 

This morning, I too, got wet. Though now it's looking like the day may shape up nice and dry. While on the ride in this morning I ran across a big, young moose - probably a two year old cow. She was by herself, so probably just broke away from momma. Always a bit odd seeing these huge creatures walking down the middle of the road. Would have taken a pic, but it was too dark. Other than that the commute was fairly uneventful - windy in the valley and wet in Anchorage.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I wear rain pants all winter for the wind protection. Paired up with some insulated tights, it's a very warm combo.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Rain gear is a strange thing, isn't it? When you really need it, it ends up soaking out anyway. When you don't really need it you get soaked from the inside out...


It's good for keeping the cold wet on the outside from getting to the warmer wet on the inside.



rodar y rodar said:


> Whoo, Bedwards gets to hang a new pair of hooks in the garage! Looks sleek and light- is it going to be the race version of your CC?


I'm actually 2 pairs of hooks short now. My wife's new bike doesn't have a home either. I've got to sell the motorcycle I never ride so I have more rafter access.

Yes, this is the race bike. After "racing" the Cross Check last year I decided that it might be named after a hockey foul and not a cycling race. It makes a great touring/commuting bike though. I'm not sure I'll even try to race this fall but this bike eats up rough broken pavement like nothing I've ever ridden. I'm going to try a set of road tires on it for my fall charity rides.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Been having a rough couple days commuting, all stupid little things, nothing major fortunately:

On the ride home yesterday
-Forgot my water bottle at my desk
-Forgot to have a snack before I left
-Got cut off by an SUV pulling out from a stop sign

This morning
-Had too much for my backpack, switched everything to my panniers and realized I had taken my rack off, had to put it back on
-Got to work and my tupperware had leaked chicken juice onto my shirt, I had an important meeting today
-Forgot my laptop case so I had to borrow one from an employee for the meeting. I didn't think a bright yellow pannier was appropriate
-Forgot my glasses, so I'll have a headache by the end of the day
-Last night there was no chance of rain today, now it's been raining since 2 minutes after I got here. Should be a nice wet ride home.


On a positive note, I saw more commuters than usual the past couple days. Saw a guy for the first time yesterday on a Karate Monkey with road tires and drop bars. He blew by me like I was standing still while I was moving at 18mph. Fastest cadence I've ever seen, must have been like a consistent 130.


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## quax (Feb 21, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Rain gear is a strange thing, isn't it? When you really need it, it ends up soaking out anyway. When you don't really need it you get soaked from the inside out. I do have to say, though, that I have a pair of Columbia rain pants that I use quite often and they are not breathable at all really, but they have a mesh lining that keeps the vapor from touching my skin, so they work okay.


Indeed! I've spent $$$ on "breathable" rain wear (eVent, Gore, ...). Pretty useless. You don't get wet from the outside but from the inside. And this wetness is disgustingly sticky!

Nowadays I simply use softshell clothes with windstopper. Yes, you get wet but you do not get cold. Currently I use Castellig Gabba Rain jersey and pants.

Regarding my commute today: both times, morning and afternoon, for my entire one way 20 miles commute it was raining!


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Very cool, though not what I expected. Friction shift? So, it has a derailler and 4 of X sprockets? My original thought was a 4-speed hub, which is kinda what it looks like in the picture. Did you haul that big ol tent out and camp for your pic above?


Yes that's correct. I spend lots of money on my mountain and road bike but with this bike, I try to use what I've already got, or low-cost stuff; no weight limit ;-) It's ironic because I put so many more miles on the Voodoo, but it's great for training. My 16lb Giant TCR feels like it's absolutely flying when I get on it.

I put together a custom mini-cassette with spacers from an 8-speed and limited the derailleur top and bottom. My derailleur BTW is first-generation Dura-Ace.

The cool thing about friction shifting is that just about any derailleur and any gearing of cassette will work, and it never needs adjustment. If I feel like spending a little money I might buy some Retroshift lever shifters:


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## system-f (May 15, 2009)

This morning was one of my not so fun commutes. I had to nurse a leaking tire to the office and dropped a pannier on a very crowded frontage road as I was trying to accelerate to an acceptable speed to the 30-40 cars behind me. Headwind on the way home, but the traffic should be better.

Lesson learned: check pannier straps and check tires for wear before every ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Sucks, System-f. At least you didn`t get chicken juiced.

Good finding for me. Found my lost patch kit and put it into service when I found two slow mystery leaks that have been plaguing me. I had already bought new patches and found a little tube (on an empty bottle out in my shed, covered with dust), but still happy to find the old kit.


bedwards1000 said:


> I'm actually 2 pairs of hooks short now. My wife's new bike doesn't have a home either.


Still expecting to see a "Raleigh Girl" post up a hello.



chomxxo said:


> I put together a custom mini-cassette with spacers from an 8-speed and limited the derailleur top and bottom.


Interresting. What`s the advantage of removing four sprockets? Something to do with a 120mm frame spacing? Prefer a noticeable jump rather than shifting through a bunch of miniscule changes?


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Interresting. What`s the advantage of removing four sprockets? Something to do with a 120mm frame spacing? Prefer a noticeable jump rather than shifting through a bunch of miniscule changes?


No it's to keep the chain tensioned enough without a guide. Going to get a Wolftooth Components 44t as soon as it's available though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's good for keeping the cold wet on the outside from getting to the warmer wet on the inside.


That is perfect and perfectly true.

Ironing was required for work today, plus I was preparing up to the last minute, so I ended up driving, even though the location was closer than my office.  Oh well, tomorrow is another day, and props to you 100 percenters out there.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

CB,

Once it starts getting cold I'll do the backpack with the winter gear. It's been pretty carefree and fast riding without the panniers hanging off my bike. I might be converted.

Rodar,

Thanks for reinforcing my desire to remain rain-gear free. Wet on the outside or wet on the inside (lose/lose)--of course I can go to work wet cause I'm just gonna turn right around and be working in the rain anyway, as I'm on the Flood Control crew at work.

Starz,

Absolutely hilarious account of your week thus far. Hope it gets better.

-------------

Tried to rain the entire commute in this morning. Little drops here and there for the entire seven miles. Never amounted to much though. With almost a year of commuting under my belt, I now realize that I'm only going to get two months of daylight for the commute in. Pretty much pitch black again on my rides in. Ride home was fast again, and especially fast cause I saw some pretty ominous clouds brewing in the north I needed to outrun.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

It's been a weird few day.

Yesterday I got buzzed by a bus, so close I ran my had down the side of it, then after passing it at a stop I decided I didn't feel safe letting him pass me that close again so I took the lane. He than just thought it was a good idea to PASS ME ON THE RIGHT. I was pretty surprised to say the least.

This morning while riding in a clearly marked bike lane I got cut off by some SUV, gave him a thumbs down and I hear a engine rev up beside me. Driver rolls down his window and preceded to try to tell me that I'm not actually in the bike lane and that is was to the right of the lines (which is clearly marked parking spots). Surprised, I check the pictograms, bike with an arrow between the lines, then turn back to the driver and ask "What?". He restates his case adamantly and I simple say "That's not true." He yelled something and sped off. The really confusing thing was he was clearly wearing a police uniform, and driving a police vehicle.

Austin is a weird place.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

been gone a while.
last month or two has been unofficial prep and such for this year's tour (last year I rode 1400km and we called it T2T, this year it's shorter distances, but multiple simultaneous tours converging on the province's capital and it's called B4UW)

So my commuting has been me trying, adjusting, readjusting etc my tour bike which is my big pink gardin with the 56 tooth chainring. (most have seen it at one point or another)

It was running an 11-30 xt cogset/stx derailleur, and is now running an 11-34 with an xtr derailleur. running it off a forward-pointed bar-con on my aerobars.
I've been riding with and without the kilt and trying multiple saddles/posts combos, but the drivetrain is butter-smooth right now!
It's been tough mentally, friend of mine just passed away from cancer so I've been hermitting a bit.

In any case, we're at Bike for United Way ? Sept. 11-16, 2013, we're on twitter at #b2uw_ca, we're EVERYWHERE!
Have a peek, donate if you want, follow us if you want, just don't disparage the guy in a kilt riding the 30 year old bike with the 56 tooth chainring!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice kilt (saw it on the bike pic thread). If you post your team and first name, we can credit you for any donations. I'm guessing Ian based on the kilt, but there are some other possibilities on the other teams. Sorry to hear about your friend.

big_papa_nut, that was a very strange bike lane incident!

I hope everyone's mechanicals, close calls, bad weather, bad drivers, forgotten items, and lunch explosions slow down for a bit...a lot of interesting challenges lately it seems,


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

big_papa_nuts said:


> It's been a weird few day.
> 
> Yesterday I got buzzed by a bus, so close I ran my had down the side of it, then after passing it at a stop I decided I didn't feel safe letting him pass me that close again so I took the lane. He than just thought it was a good idea to PASS ME ON THE RIGHT. I was pretty surprised to say the least.


School bus? They're awful drivers.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

In spite of summer's seemingly firm grasp on my region, I had to face the cold hard facts this morning: it was pitch dark when I left at 6:30 am, winter is coming. I used the main "to see with" light for half the ride in. And yet, we've had temps in the mid 90's everyday this week, with today's forecast predicting a near record 96 degrees. This is after having a surprisingly cool summer, but it has turned dry here for the last 4 weeks. Seems strange to hear Vegascruiser talk about riding in the rain. I've forgotten what it's like, but I'm afraid I'm going to be all too familiar with it again this fall and winter.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nemhed, I love your picture. It looks like a fun road to ride. Is that part of your commute?

Kilt !?! I want to ride in a kilt! It looks like a big change from last year`s ride. Did you mispost "B2UW" on the twitter number? Good luck, ride safe, and enjoy!



Straz85 said:


> School bus? They're awful drivers.


School busses are the only critters who really piss me off in my usual wanderings. Even if it was a school bus in his post, I liked the cop story better- didn`t see that one comming.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nemhed, I love your picture. It looks like a fun road to ride. Is that part of your commute?


Yes, that is part of my normal route. I alter my route at times and can string together a whole lot of sections that look like that, if I'm looking to up the mileage.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A wet one this morning. Got to work and my shoes were so wet that I litterally poured about a tablespoon of water out of each and had to wring out my socks. Good times. I've decided what I don't like about the rain. It's not being wet. I'm okay with that. It's the spray that is thrown up from the front of the bike and into my mouth. I swear I'm going to end up with some strange disease from the mix of moose, dog, cat, goose, rodent, and human poo that I'm sure is part of the mix that gets thrown in my face. I suppose I could just figure out some fenders. But where's the fun in that?


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Junior, you gave up on Craigslist? Seems like it wasn`t showing you many local options.


Pretty much. Only real alternative would be to expand to Tucson (1.5 hr drive one way), which would effectively ad @ $50 to any bike price plus having to transport it back. That would be assuming that whatever I went to get wasn't a hoax, or sold just before I got there, or wrong size, or just plain crap.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Mrs. Woodway and I are back from a little boondoggle. See that little yellow flag? You raise it when you want another drink. I could get used to that life...

Commute this morning was pretty boring in comparison.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^What? You have to raise the flag yourself? 

Lucked out on the ride home, with downpours before I left, a great lightning show en route, and no rain until I was done pedaling. The only close call was that when I went to "unlock" my bike, which I actually I had only fake-locked this morning, the cable would not release, I did not have the key in my pack, and my ID card (and a coworker's) were not working to let me back in the building to check for a spare key in my desk. I returned to the bike rack and this time was able to whip the cable through the (unlocked) locking mechanism.

Tried out my new Garmin Astro GPS/dog tracker today. It's oriented toward hunters but had the GPS stuff I wanted plus it can keep track of the pup. I was impressed when I left the transmitting collar "on" on the deck to test it, and I got about 3.5 miles away and the GPS indicated "Keeper" (my dog), was 3.47 mi away. I was more impressed when I got to work and it said Keeper was 8.59 miles away (although there was a "?" which I think indicates the signal is iffy or died), which should be about right as the crow flies. You can see your location and the dog's location on the topo, or follow the compass indicator to the dog while it counts down the distance. 

It will be interesting to see if it transmits as well from a moving dog in the woods as from a stationary deck on top of a hill. It is bulkier than my old Garmin Edge but a bike mount is on the way. One thing I didn't count on was that I had to re-purchase the topos as the old DVD I thought I could use was only authorized for 1 unit.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Been good riding here lately. With the summer monsoons in full swing, we've been significantly cooler. My peddle home wasn't even in the 90s. My ride in this morning was 70F. I suspect I'm getting ready to put behind me my toughest stretch of the commuting year while many of you might be starting yours. . .however, I do realize that many of you actually enjoy cold, winter commuting. The coldest it got in Las Vegas last winter was 23F and 25F on two respective mornings. I did not ride these mornings--chickened out cause I don't really have the clothes for this type of cold. I did ride several 29F mornings but felt that was pushing my limits. I decided 25F was my cutoff without the proper clothes, especially considering bike problems could put me in the cold longer than the normal commute. This year I'll get some better clothes so I won't be sidelined should this kind of cold return this winter. My coldest commute home last winter was 43F in December, which is a large contrast to my hottest peddle home this summer which I believe was 115F. Sanity had me sitting out several 120F+ days.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

Straz85 said:


> School bus? They're awful drivers.


Nope, good ol' Cap Metro. It always amazes me what professional driver will do in their work vehicles. Good thing I have the supervisors number.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here's a new one. Peacocks.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's a new one. Peacocks.
> 
> View attachment 831381


Katy Perry - Peacock (Music Video) - YouTube

Sorry, I couldn't resist!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A great ride in this AM. No rain, a bit chilly, but wonderful. If it stays nice, I might just have to ditch out of work a bit early and go for a ride...

nehmed, you know, that video's not that bad with the sound turned off!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Not sure why someone would be driving through a parking lot in the wrong lane at a high rate of speed, that is, in the lane I was using to exit the lot - but he came too close for comfort! Next, I stopped on Main St to let a pedestrian cross at the crosswalk. After I stopped, a car sped by before the ped could cross. The walker then got safely across, and as I accelerated, trying to stay out of the door zone, the school bus behind me decided he just had to squeeze by as a tractor trailer approached from the opposite direction. It was so close I could’ve kissed it, but I yelled not nice words at it instead. 

No other bikes in the rack today, .8” forecast for the afternoon. A bad batch just went through and it got bedtime dark, but it is getting brigher now, so maybe I'll luck out again today on the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ "Raleigh Girl" (or probably something else) headed out of work and into one of the heaviest thunderstorms I've seen in a while. It was raining inches/hour while she was out there. I've been doing this 5 years and I think she might have me beat for the heaviest rain commute. Oh, and she's coming back to pick me up 'cause we're going out to a concert tonight. Good thing too, it's still pouring. I expect she'll be making her debut here soon.

My AM commute was good, I drafted a truck up to 38MPH for about 1/3 mile.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nice! Trial by fire. errrr, water. And I love a good draftin' story. 


I've got a regular 'stay in town' deal going on Thursdays, so I wind up riding home after dark... weird for me. Usually all winter I ride in to work in the dark, and have the daylight ride home to look forward too... on the ride in there's a hint of things getting brighter as I get closer to work, but with this night time deal, there's no hope of that :lol: 

Feeling for you guys who do the dark both ways all the time. It's a novelty at first, but it gets old! Not looking forward to the ride home tonight. I'm thinking I'll invest in some better off-road lighting and take the trail at night, just to spice things up. My current headlight (Planet Bike Blaze) is great on the road, but the beam is too narrow for the trail.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

I'm on my weekend right now so of course it was clear as a bell last night, and beautiful all day today, but calling for rain on saturday night (my monday:madman.

Currently debating what shoes to get for my foray into clipless realm, since the new bike is on hold again. Decent sales on Nashbar, PricePoint, and Performance today and tomorrow. Funny part is for the 3-4 different shoes I'm looking at, pedals and multi-directional release spd cleats, the price is within $5 for all three sites and Amazon (and no LBS's in my area don't carry shoes except as special order).


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute today. High 60s for the ride in and low-to-mid 80s for the ride home. Another fast commute too (by singlespeed, cruiser standards). Summer heat back in the forecast. Supposed to be climbing close to the 100s again. Fall starts about mid-to-late October in Vegas.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

junior1210 said:


> Currently debating what shoes to get for my foray into clipless realm, since the new bike is on hold again. Decent sales on Nashbar, PricePoint, and Performance today and tomorrow. Funny part is for the 3-4 different shoes I'm looking at, pedals and multi-directional release spd cleats, the price is within $5 for all three sites and Amazon (and no LBS's in my area don't carry shoes except as special order).


My only advice would be to get the MTB version of a clipless shoe. Really no loss in performance or ease of clip-in, and you can walk like a regular person when off the bike and even have some traction on a steep grass embankment like I had to walk down today when I got to work. Otherwise, fit will be the only issue, so maybe see if they run narrow/wide/big/small if you can. If some have velcro and some have some of the ratchet attachers, I like the ratchet thingies.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ "Raleigh Girl" (or probably something else) headed out of work and into one of the heaviest thunderstorms I've seen in a while. It was raining inches/hour while she was out there. I've been doing this 5 years and I think she might have me beat for the heaviest rain commute. Oh, and she's coming back to pick me up 'cause we're going out to a concert tonight. Good thing too, it's still pouring. I expect she'll be making her debut here soon.
> 
> My AM commute was good, I drafted a truck up to 38MPH for about 1/3 mile.


All kinds of awesome, give the Thunder-gal a high-five for me.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> My only advice would be to get the MTB version of a clipless shoe. Really no loss in performance or ease of clip-in, and you can walk like a regular person when off the bike and even have some traction on a steep grass embankment like I had to walk down today when I got to work. Otherwise, fit will be the only issue, so maybe see if they run narrow/wide/big/small if you can. If some have velcro and some have some of the ratchet attachers, I like the ratchet thingies.


Yeah, that's what I've been looking at. I've narrowed down to a couple of Pearl Izumi's, or Shimano's with a set of Shimano A530s. Really just a question of who I want to buy from, as they all have the size I need.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

^^ I can highly recommend these: http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-iZUMi-X-Alp-Enduro-Spinning/dp/B005925UKO I got them for cross racing in the hopes that they would help on the runups (they do) but now I wear them on basically any ride that isn't super technical and under 50 miles. They are *great* for walking around.

My trunk bag had to be sent back to topeak for a warranty issue, so I've been using a backpack lately :-/ Decided this morning to ride my cross bike in, since it was looking a bit forlorn (it used to be my #1 commuting bike now it is a sorry #3) and damn I forgot how harsh an aluminum rear triangle is on my back if I'm wearing a backpack, at least on the road. Guess its gonna be off road duty only for that bike once I get that lemond back.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

What a change! It was 54 degrees on my way in this morning, had to put on the long sleeve jersey. That's a full 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. The high today might make it to 70, our high on Wednesday was 96! Ah, the good ol' Midwest! I will add that there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and the sunrise was beautiful over the fields and trees that are starting to change color.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

30C/86F here yesterday, and should get close to that again today. And the mornings are still pretty warm - certainly warmer than stupid July was.

I helped setup a bike at the co-op last night, and when we were finished I realized we'd reversed the brakes cables. Oops. I told her it was a quick fix, but she really liked that the cables crossed, which is something I never would have assigned any aesthetic value to. So I told her that if she ever rides someone else's bike she can be all pretentious and say "Sorry, but I'm only used to English brakes," and off she went.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sunrise was kickin' this morning through the amber glasses.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I helped setup a bike at the co-op last night, and when we were finished I realized we'd reversed the brakes cables. Oops. I told her it was a quick fix, but she really liked that the cables crossed, which is something I never would have assigned any aesthetic value to. So I told her that if she ever rides someone else's bike she can be all pretentious and say "Sorry, but I'm only used to English brakes," and off she went.


Sheldon Brown liked them this way and I do too. Panic braking a borrowed bike got me an OTB because I was used to mine.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ Considering that legal handsignals were designed for the left hand, it sure would make sense to have your right brake as your front. Plus most people being right-handed. I've thought about switching mine, but didn't want to be pretentious.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet pic CB!

We got clouds this morning for my commute, high 50's for temp. Pretty comfortable for shirtsleeves and shorts actually. Supposed to burn off to sunshine this afternoon.

No commuting for me on monday - there has been a rodar sighting here in Seattle and we are scheduled to meet up for a little ride in the islands.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sunrise was kickin' this morning through the amber glasses.
> 
> View attachment 831618


Cool pic!
Rain here and temps dropping from 60F this a.m. to maybe 50 for the ride home. I treated myself to tunes for the ride in the rain.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Funny, I usually skip the tunes in the rain because ipods are hyper-intolerant of getting wet. I also like the sound of the rain if I'm not near cars. My Generation 2 ipod nano just died a few days ago, not water related. Everything works except the keypad, so it's kind of hard to start the music.

We've had a LOT of rain. They're still promising that tomorrow will be clear.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

This mornings commute was interrupted by a flooded river, which is starting to become a theme lately....

















Doesn't look so bad in the photos but it's chest deep and moving fast- no, I didn't try to ride it.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

AlexCuse, I ordered those same shoes last night, along with a set of sh56 so I can unclip in either direction. Though for some reason Amazon didn't want to ship the pedals to my house, even though they had no problem with the rest of the order...weird:???:. Wound up getting the pedals from Nashbar, which worked out to be $6 less with free shipping.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Sheldon Brown liked them this way and I do too. Panic braking a borrowed bike got me an OTB because I was used to mine.


Been riding mine that way for years as well - no reason why for me other than that it feels like I have a bit more on-trail control of my braking with the front under my right hand.

Wet commute this AM again. Of course, when I left my house it was only lightly raining so I just had on the wool and no rain jacket. Got to town and it was downpouring, but I didn't bother with stopping to put on the rain jacket- silly me. Looks sunny out now, so maybe a nice ride home tonight.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I ride dirt bikes too, and I STILL can't make myself switch the ones on my mountian bike :lol: 

I transition instantly without thinking about it, but it would be a disaster if I switched the brakes on the MTB to match the right hand front thing of the dirt bike.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute today. Feeling tired and wanted a recovery day before Blue Diamond mt. biking this weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

J.B. Weld said:


> Doesn't look so bad in the photos but it's chest deep and moving fast- no, I didn't try to ride it.


Good call, stay safe out there. Whereabouts are you?


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)




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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good call, stay safe out there. Whereabouts are you?


SW New Mexico.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Flat tires, wobbly rear hub and no "oomph" describes my commuting this week perfectly. It has not been an enjoyable week.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

This morning I felt like I was flying to work, I checked my computer when I got here, it was actually a relatively slow commute. Tomorrow morning is going to be in the low 40's when I leave for work, will be the coldest day of the year so far. The following morning will be high 30's, but I'll be in Maine for 5 days, so just 2 commutes this week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Normbilt, we haven't seen you around these parts for a while. Nice pics.

I made up for my lack of commuting on Friday with a 66 mile group ride on Saturday and a few hours of MTB with wifey on Sunday. I put some road friendly but still knobby cross tires on the new Felt and rode that with the group. It was nothing short of awesome to ride over rough pavement, sand, grass and trails with almost no penalty. The rain held off for the weekend.

The rain came back for this morning's commute.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The hands were cold this morning...1st time. Considering 'level 2' gloves. They weren't numb, just cold, so I think I'll hold out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

36F when I left the house this AM. Hat and fleece gloves times are here again. Chilly, but not overly so. The ride was quick and, most importantly, dry.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Still really warm this morning at about 60F, and it's supposed to get to 80F. That's pretty unseasonable, and it looks like the temperatures will be heading down to normal starting tomorrow.

Last week I decided that my 29er had passed "nicely dirty for a mountain bike" a long time ago, and was now somewhere around "zero pride of ownership." It got a full wash&wax, and so of course today it's supposed to rain for the first time in forever.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I guess I have not really gotten the hang of this new "drive part way" bikecommute which I have been doing since I adopted a dog... I say this because on Friday I locked not one but two sets of car keys in the car (of course I did not discover this until I pedaled back to the car after work), and today I forgot my helmet at home (again!). Other than that it's been fine, though wet again this morning. I was pleasantly surprised when a coworker who passed me in her car later said "I saw that guy cut you off at Kinney Drugs".


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Just like phi: 36, Sunny, Icy Bridges, Loving these Fall commutes!

Broke out the "level-3" gloves, could have gone with "level-2" but like the added warmth. Wool long underwear, wool hoody, wool socks, wool hat, jersey and shorts. Cold to start but toasty warm after a mile. Love my wool!!! ;p


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Raised my seat height about a 1/4 inch....

Noticable difference for the knees and butt...

Think I will leave it this way for a while.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I guess I have not really gotten the hang of this new "drive part way" bikecommute which I have been doing since I adopted a dog... I say this because on Friday I locked not one but two sets of car keys in the car (of course I did not discover this until I pedaled back to the car after work), and today I forgot my helmet at home (again!). Other than that it's been fine, though wet again this morning. I was pleasantly surprised when a coworker who passed me in her car later said "I saw that guy cut you off at Kinney Drugs".


Don't worry, you"ll get the hang of the "drive part way". I have to have my truck for work, so I drive in Monday morning and drive back home Friday afternoon, commute by bike in between. For the longest time I was always forgetting something vital either for driving or for riding.:madman:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Last week it felt like fall was taking hold--this week, well, feels like summer is attempting its final stand. Close to 80F for the ride in and about 103F for the ride home. Last week unseasonably cool and this week unseasonably warm. Think the winds are supposed to kick in tomorrow and blow this hot air out of here. Rest of week should be low 90s on the peddle home. Can't believe some of you are peddling to work in the 30s.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hey Jeff, you're pretty happy with your duckbill skigoggles right? Anything you'd do differently if you were buying another pair?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Met up with rodar today and we went for a ride on Orcas Island. Unfortunately the weather was crap and I drug him all the way to the top of Mt. Constitution for the view of fog. rodar was a good sport about it and we still managed to enjoy our day. He's touring for a few more days...the weather is supposed to improved for him...I hope so, he deserves it. Here he is on the way up the mountain.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice!!
Rodar has really covered some ground, pedaling in both the far northeast and the far northwest of the US over the past couple months.

Chilly at 31F when I got up, but sunny on my hill and 35F by the time I left. Once off the hill though, the rest of the ride was in a chilly fog. Another uphill on the work end (although not high enough to emerge from the fog again), leaving me with an overwarm top half but cold toes from the mesh shoes.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday's ride home was infuriating. 3 close calls in the first third of my ride:

-First was the worst. I was just going straight, a lady driving a 10-12 passenger van was taking a left to head in the same direction as me. She had PLENTY of time to pull out ahead of me, but she waited until I was right there and very slowly pulled out until I was next to her. She then drifted so far to the right she almost pushed me off the road. I had to get on my brakes to avoid being hit. She then immediately got stuck at a red light. I went around her and gave her a staredown. She first was looking away, but I persisted until she made eye contact. Then she started yelling, but her windows were all up so I couldn't tell what she was saying. I didn't bother saying anything. I'm sure most people would think I was a jerk, 30 year old guy yelling at a 65-70 year old lady. The horror!

Second, I was passing a line of traffic in downtown Natick (where I'm always very careful). A lady tried taking a right on the main street I was travelling on, but could only pull out a couple feet because the traffic. she had a clear view of me coming, but pulled out in front of me anyway. I passed her and she was on her phone with her child standing next to her trying to show her what appeared to be a bag of candy. Yes, she was driving and her child was STANDING next to her (minivan, so there was room for her to stand) distracting her.

Third: Similar to above, woman pulls out in front of me into traffic in her massive Ford Excursion when she had a clear view of me coming. Again, she couldn't pull out all the way because of the stopped traffic so she completely blocked me.

This morning's commute was by far the coldest of the year. Even with thick wool socks my feet were cold with my regular shoes. It was a nice change though. 

When I went to the locker room to shower, I got in and there was a guy in one of the two showers. I got undressed, showered, dried off and was completely dressed before he was finished showering. I never knew any guys took that long.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

newfangled said:


> Last week I decided that my 29er had passed "nicely dirty for a mountain bike" a long time ago, and was now somewhere around "zero pride of ownership." It got a full wash&wax, and so of course today it's supposed to rain for the first time in forever.


Your classifications made me laugh, just because in the back of my head I do the same thing  Washed a few of the bikes two weekends ago because the commuter was beginning to look like I don't care about it.



Straz85 said:


> When I went to the locker room to shower, I got in and there was a guy in one of the two showers. I got undressed, showered, dried off and was completely dressed before he was finished showering. I never knew any guys took that long.


I see the same thing at the gym I shower at. This morning I walked into the locker room as a guy I normally see there gets out of the shower. In the time it took me to undress, shower, and dress for work, he had managed to dry off and put on underwear.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^My showers take anywhere from 45 seconds if I'm late to 5 minutes if I'm shaving.


woodway said:


> Met up with rodar today and we went for a ride on Orcas Island. Unfortunately the weather was crap and I drug him all the way to the top of Mt. Constitution for the view of fog. rodar was a good sport about it and we still managed to enjoy our day. He's touring for a few more days...the weather is supposed to improved for him...I hope so, he deserves it. Here he is on the way up the mountain.


Nice! We drug him up a few hills around here too but the views were pretty good.

Pretty chilly here this morning and more of the same for tomorrow. 'twas the wife's coldest commute yet. She's going to have to get her own account setup so I don't have to keep proxy posting


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I live 75 miles from Rodar and I've never met the guy :lol: 

I love a 20 minute shower. Don't judge  

Straz, I can identify with story #1...not enough traffic around here for the other two, but I hate it when people look/act like they're going to wait for you, then they go ahead and pull out to make their turn right at the worst possible moment, leaving you to wonder if they're going to just keep drifting over and push you right off of the road. I put my foot on the hood of a honda in a very similar situation one time.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Hey Jeff, you're pretty happy with your duckbill skigoggles right? Anything you'd do differently if you were buying another pair?


Yup I would use the bag to protect the lens every day or at least a hat stand for the bike helmet...

I need to start looking around for all that crap pretty soon.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

I always assume I am more or less invisible to cars, drivers will look right through you (looking for other cars) and even if they do see you they rarely judge your speed correctly. When I see drivers waiting to turn onto a road do my best to make eye contact and then start assessing my bail options.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

J.B. Weld said:


> ... and even if they do see you they rarely judge your speed correctly.


There it is right there. No one expects you to be moving faster than a pedestrian, since bikes belong on the sidewalk.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I love a nice long, hot shower when I'm at home. Not when I'm at a public shower facility. Though I'll admit that on a cold winter day, I've been tempted to hang out in the shower until the water runs out.

Warmer this AM - 45F and spitting the occasional rain drop. Dark as the underside of Pluto out there in the mornings now. This AM I dropped my helmet and busted the battery pack for my light. Well, the little tab that I ran the zip-tie through to hold it to the helmet. Oh bother. Guess it's time for some gorilla tape to hold it in place. (Here is the unbroken side:








And here is the broken side:






)

I, too, had a close-ish call this morning. A car pulled up to a stop sign and I could tell by how fast it was going it wasn't going to actually stop. So the driver rolled through. I was stopped because I figured this was what was going to happen. So half way through the intersection the driver slams on the brakes, locking them up, and squeals to a halt before flashing his lights and waving me through. Um, yeah. Crankheads. I tell ya. In his defense, had my blinkie been on and working he might have seen me sooner, but, alas, the batteries died shortly after getting off the bus - forgot to charge them last night.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Windy ride home today. First real wind (15-20 mph sustained) in a very long time.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice! We drug him up a few hills around here too but the views were pretty good.


Rodar can really move out on the Bike Friday folder of his. I was impressed.



J.B. Weld said:


> I always assume I am more or less invisible to cars, drivers will look right through you (looking for other cars) and even if they do see you they rarely judge your speed correctly.


My motto is "ride like everyone is out to kill you".


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Rodar can really move out on the Bike Friday folder of his. I was impressed.


Even on trails.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Nice kilt (saw it on the bike pic thread). If you post your team and first name, we can credit you for any donations. I'm guessing Ian based on the kilt, but there are some other possibilities on the other teams. Sorry to hear about your friend.


Yup, ended up riding 75K in the kilt, properly... 
You're right- Ian MacNeil

Rodar: my mistake there, it's supposed to be #b4uw_ca and the feeds are still there, but I'm byknuts in twitter and I was hashtagging the heck out of my own stuff so it got sent over to their feed.

Summary time!
Injuries: re-tore both achilles tendons, ulnar nerve damage on left hand.
Rode hard and got hurt, sat in the SAG wagon when I had to.
Recabled an internally routed Lapierre by campfire light while ankle deep in wet sand. Bathed in a lake, rode in the baking sun.
Wonderful.
Too short.


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## Tripped1 (Jun 29, 2013)

I've had an interesting coupe weeks.

Last week finished with another flat ....at 7:30am on Sunday morning at work :madman: Then a nice two passes back and forth to work before I dawned on me I was dying because my rear tire was low (I usually run it around 50-55psi) I was just under 30 when I finally figured that out :nono:

But at least I finally got the rear derailer right...so that is a win.Now if I could just get the cranks to stay tight, it seems like I am after it weekly, or it starts creaking again, right now I'm pulling about 120-150 miles a week depending on schedules, but that seem like a lot of re-tightening to me.

Otherwise there is no doubt that fall is here though, temps getting down in the low 50 for the last week it was 48 when I headed out to work tonight, I'm NOT looking forward to the ride home just after dawn, methinks this is going to be a cold one with my underarmor cold gear and a fleece


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

byknuts said:


> Yup, ended up riding 75K in the kilt, properly...
> You're right- Ian MacNeil
> 
> Summary time!
> ...


Sounds fun, except for the injuries, which sound terrible.
A good cause and a kilt on a fellow commuter are worth considering a small donation, byknuts' donation page is at Ian MacNeil's Personal Page for 2013 OPS B4UW Bike Ride in support of United Way


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this morning. I think I have come to the root of my hub problems. I was looking around on line yesterday for the parts needed to rebuild them complete - bearings, cones, axle, and seals, and realized quickly that my hubs seem to be missing something. And both hubs, the original one and the new one, were missing the dust caps. From everything I can find, ever image, the hub has the conical dust caps. Can a simple rubber gasket be the cause of my continually disintegrating bearings? I would venture a guess that the missing dust cap coupled with a warped or worn seal is what is allowing so much water and grit to get inside and chew the races up. 

Now, if I can only find the parts...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice byknuts. Achilles injuries...ouch!

COLD this morning. I went to the level 2 gloves, but stayed with shorts and a thin long sleeve shirt... my hands were the only things that were happy. I think it was very upper 30's...I'm so weak this time of year :lol:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Anybody else wear polarized sunglasses and notice any weird effects when viewing driveway sealant or crack filler at a low angle?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Anybody else wear polarized sunglasses and notice any weird effects when viewing driveway sealant or crack filler at a low angle?


Yup. It's not just you. I would venture that it has something to do with the binders that are added to the asphalt (generally fiberglass) and how they align when spread and dried and then the polarized lenses cause the reflection from the odd-ball strands to disappear.

Either that or I'm taking the same substances as you - the commuter mind meld trip.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath said:


> Anybody else wear polarized sunglasses and notice any weird effects when viewing driveway sealant or crack filler at a low angle?


Duuuuuuuude. Get on some nice newer black asphalt and start cocking your head from side to side and watch the magic color changing roadway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Anybody else wear polarized sunglasses and notice any weird effects when viewing driveway sealant or crack filler at a low angle?


Yup, the reflections off the leaves too. Not to mention that one of my monitors at work goes blank.

Nice commute on the new secret weapon this morning. It's going to need a bigger chainring if I'm going to keep riding it on the road. The 46T keeps me looking for higher gears. Anybody got a 50T 110BCD 5 arm chain ring collecting dust...

Not nearly as cold as yesterday or expected today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I just mentioned this in another thread, but last night I saw someone riding one of these on the mup on the way home:










I've probably seen it 3 or 4 times before, but I'd thought that maybe it was homemade? This time I was curious enough to find out what it actually was.

Stealth Electric Bikes Canada | Bomber | Electric Mountain Bike | Electric Dirt Bike | Electric Motorbike - Stealth Electric Bikes Canada
125lbs, with a top speed of 50mph, and a price of $11,000+.

The rider wasn't being obnoxious though (unlike everyone I've ever seen who's strapped a gasengine onto their bike.)

Temperatures are finally back around seasonal, with a chilly morning and a high of 55.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Honed my moose herding skills last night on the commute home. Move the yearling up the trail about a half mile before it was go into the woods.


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## crossracer (Jun 27, 2004)

Cold this morning, starting temp was about 45 degrees. Layered up and after 20 minutes I was fine. Did middle long way home and got 45 miles in. Extra nice 
Fyi, got this hat for 30.00 at ems and was very happy. It kept my head extra warm I highly recommend it 
Bill


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Anybody got a 50T 110BCD 5 arm chain ring collecting dust...


Actually, yes... well I'm not sure on the BCD, but 50T/5 arm...I will measure. It's off of an FSA Gossamer compact Road double, are they all the same BCD?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Mine is a FSA crank too so it's pretty likely. I think 110 is the standard for a compact. Takin' it to PM.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

crossracer said:


> Cold this morning, starting temp was about 45 degrees. Layered up and after 20 minutes I was fine. Did middle long way home and got 45 miles in. Extra nice
> Fyi, got this hat for 30.00 at ems and was very happy. It kept my head extra warm I highly recommend it
> Bill
> View attachment 833161


In case anybody wants a direct link. It looks nice. How's the coverage on the ear flaps? I never had any luck finding a snow helmet that fit right on clearance last spring, maybe this is a better option.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Late morning commute train delay, always fun!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

One of those commutes today, which is likely going to lend to a less than fun commute tomorrow. Ride in was fine. On the ride home I picked up a four inch nail, about two inches of which were deep into the tire. So don't believe the pictures you see on the thorn resistant tube box that shows tacks and nails, etc., sticking out of the tube. My tube went flat in a real hurry. Tried to patch it when I got home. Forget about it. . .trash. 

Like always, the flat couldn't be in the front tire. Took my time changing out the flat on the side of the road and then peddled home cautiously as my spare tubes are always just light weight cheapies. My route is pretty much suicide without tire liners, thorn resistant tubes, and Slime. Running with cheapie tubes always makes for a nervous peddle home.

So I get home and don't feel like a trip to the bike store to buy a new thorn resistant tube. I'm pretty much a weekend guy--meaning, I pretty much push off everything until the weekend. Bike repairs included. Not wanting to lose two days of commuting, I decide to move my lights over to the Redline Monocog. After all, having multiple bikes is supposed to mean you always have a back-up. At least that's what I always tell the wife with each new bike purchase. 

But I'm not looking forward to the ride tomorrow. At 32-16, I think the Monocog's gearing is kinda small for commuting. Don't feel like spinning the whole way home. My cruiser currently runs at 40-16. Secondly, I hate running dirt tires on asphalt. The resistance is terrible and the noise is kind of annoying. And there's not really any stretches of dirt to play in either.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I kind of like the dirt tire hum on pavement. Kenda small block 8's make a pretty impressive high pitched buzz when you're really moving. My studded Nokian Extremes which are about to come out of hibernation are REALLY impressive though :lol: 

Leg warmers and a jacket this morning. It begins... 'tis the season of packing a ton of extra layers home in the backpack when it's 75 or 80 degrees for the ride home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Multiple layer packing up in the northland as well. This morning was 42 and raining heavily when I woke up. Decked in full rain gear as I headed out, but the rain had let off so I stripped off the rain pants. Then as I get to the bus stop it starts coming down hard again. Ended up having to put the rain pants back on for the second leg of the commute. I wouldn't mind it except for the temp. Just snow already so I can start packing down trail!

Ended up running to the bike shop last night to see about getting the rest of the hub parts I need, seals and the like, and got to talking to the gal running the place about fat bikes. They are getting the Kona's in on Tuesday and will be getting three Borealis carbon fat bikes for demo in the next few weeks as well. I'm tempted to demo one, but that's probably a slippery slope best left untouched by me. Besides, my fat arse would probably destroy a plastic bike...No, really.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Still warm around these parts, and the rain is done. Kinda mixed feeling, since now I can ride to work regularly but the more rain, the less chance of wild fires (still bummed about having to evacuate because of fires 2 years ago). Today is the first day of my stay-cation, so of course my new shoes and clips came in, but still waiting for the pedals.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Block, stay away! ;p

40, damp, cloudy. Love this time of year. Turns into cold weather body training. Shorts, Long-sleeve, cold for a few miles but the body gets use to it. LET IT SNOW!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> I just mentioned this in another thread, but last night I saw someone riding one of these on the mup on the way home:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I clicked on this link yesterday and now advertising for this bike is showing up everywhere. On my Facebook news feed, a banner ads on most websites. No stealth bikes, I'm not going to buy your fugly motorcycle like "bike" for 11 grand.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Eleven Thousand Dollars??????!!!!!!!

I'll take one of these for $7000, thanks.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

The Cog wasn't as slow as I thought. Got to work in about the same amount of time as the cruiser but with a lot more revolutions. Only added about a minute per mile on the way home. So all and all not as terrible as I thought it'd be. For urban riding, however, I'd much rather us my cruiser. Much more upright riding position, which I feel is better for keeping watchful eyes over surrounding traffic. 

In running with (flat tire) bad luck, noticed a flat just before leaving for ride home. Been having a problem with Slime tubes giving way at the valve stem. This might be my fault though. I run such low pressure in my mountain bike tires that the tube has a tendency to pull this way and that way during a ride, which rubs the stem on the rim. The stems end up sitting at an angle sometimes. On my geared mt bike with presta rims this isn't a problem as I just use the nut to keep the stem upright. 

Looks like I'm taking the 29 speed Haro to work tomorrow. Certainly won't be slower than the Cog. Or I just might take the Jeep. TBD. . .

I'm digging the backpack over the panniers though. It has really opened up my options on which bike to take to work. The only hassle, and it's really not a hassle as it takes 45 seconds, is moving the lights from one bike to the other. Aside from that, everything's already in the hydration pack and ready to go. So instead of one committed commuter, it now feels like I have three. . .


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sounds fun, except for the injuries, which sound terrible.
> A good cause and a kilt on a fellow commuter are worth considering a small donation, byknuts' donation page is at Ian MacNeil's Personal Page for 2013 OPS B4UW Bike Ride in support of United Way


Thanks so much mtbxplorer, for everthing! 

How's my commute with torn ankle bits and my numb hand?
Dropped the singelspeeder's seatpost way down so I could pedal on my heels so that wasn't too bad but wow... even with high riser bars my hand still bugs me!!
Solution? 
Keep myself busy with trying to build the new "light" bike. :thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I clicked on this link yesterday and now advertising for this bike is showing up everywhere.


Sorry about that. I've posted about it twice, but it hasn't infected anything for me.

First frost last night, and I had an extra-long 12mi commute this morning at about 34f. Still t-shirted and hatless though - it is too early for surrender.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Chilly, but totally doable in shorts and short-sleeves. Having to be super careful with my tires as I found there's not a lot of rubber left and that's why they've been so prone to flats lately. Got new rubber on the way so soon enough I'll be back riding like it doesn't matter. The leaves turning are a sure sign that the summer people are leaving soon...we'll get a respite for a month or two until the ski people start showing up. Will be nice to not have to dodging octogenarians on cell phones for awhile!

But at least the sunrises are nicer!


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## daddyurbs (Jun 28, 2013)

Wish the weather would figure out if it wants to be hot or cold.Mother nature having hot flashes lol.Much nicer riding in when its cooler tho .You don't get the chill factor from when you work up your core temp than walk into the air conditioned building.Leg feels much better after having to bail off the bike from a downed monster tree.I can jump some stuff but not a downed full blown maple tree lol.Wasn't expecting it and I was loving my custom made air volume space that I turned on the manual lathe for my HV rp23 I got on a deal.Sure beats buying the full kit for 25 bucks just so you can use one plastic spacer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great pic Spatialized!

I almost plowed into a kid this morning. He darted through stopped traffic and right across the bike lane without looking up even a little. He just popped out from in front of a car in a matter of in instant. A brake and a swerve and I was around him but if the timing was any closer we would have been in a heap.

I'm trying to take it easy today because tomorrow I ride The Toughest Century in Maine. My page: Brian Edwards // Loon Echo Trek (I haven't really promoted any fundraising for this ride, I usually save that for The Dempsey Challenge.)


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Took another step towards the new bike, went ahead and bought a Microshift road groupset on Amazon. Got the one with the extra capacity for rear cassettes up to 34T, so I'd have a wide choice of gearing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sent you an email bedwards... 


I have an annoying cough. I'm wondering if the temperature transition isn't bugging me a little. When I'm riding in the morning I'm good. When I get off the bike and start to warm up, I hack for 45 minutes. 

We swung from 40 degrees to 80 degrees yesterday. It's that time of year.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sent you an email bedwards...
> 
> I have an annoying cough. I'm wondering if the temperature transition isn't bugging me a little. When I'm riding in the morning I'm good. When I get off the bike and start to warm up, I hack for 45 minutes.
> 
> We swung from 40 degrees to 80 degrees yesterday. It's that time of year.


i had that a couple of years ago vit d helped


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Sun Sun and low low temps!

Last nights view on the commute home!









Got the bearings I needed to rebuild my front fatbike hub. All built up and ready to commute on this AM!


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

It's a good thing you didn't have RollingRunner drafting you at the time! Bedwards100!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Indeedy


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute today. Getting harder and harder, it seems, for me to peddle in on a Friday. Today wasn't really laziness, however. Did a little work on the Cog last night to get it ready for today's commute. After I fixed the flat at work yesterday I couldn't get the brake pads realigned with the rim, so I just unhooked the back brake and peddled home. Then, after I got this problem all worked out last night at home, a nasty racket started coming from the rear hub. Decided at that point I'd just drive today and get the cruiser up and running for next week's commute. Anyway, just got home, did some adjustments to the hub, and the Cog's ready for dirt duty tomorrow morning in Blue Diamond.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Life's going to be very different for the foreseeable future:

After The Flood | GRAVELBIKE.com


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

Nothing like rolling into work to find 50% of bike parking was removed. No plans to relocate, and no body knows when they will be replaced, if ever.

Conversely, 100 parking spaces closed to build multi-level parking structure, they lease several hundred spaces off site. Parking structure adds 400 spaces when completed at a cost of $34k each.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Man oh man. Had to spend some time this weekend working on bikes. Tried to do some hub work on the Cog Friday afternoon but couldn't get the back hub apart. Looks like more speciality tools are in the future. Just blasted the rear hub with WD-40 (I know, bad) and the nasty noises went away. And the wheel got some of its spin back too. Needed bike ready for weekend dirt duty.

Overhauled the rear hub on the commuter. As Rodar had mentioned in a previous post, only one cone wrench needed. Degreased and regreased. Good as new. Did notice two broken spokes, however. Even with broken spokes, I am using the cruiser for commuting duty. I think it'll be fine (crossing my fingers) until I can replace them next weekend. I ran one of my old mountain bikes for two years with a broken spoke and nothing happened. The wheel even stayed true for the most part.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Man oh man. Had to spend some time this weekend working on bikes. Tried to do some hub work on the Cog Friday afternoon but couldn't get the back hub apart. Looks like more speciality tools are in the future. Just blasted the rear hub with WD-40 (I know, bad) and the nasty noises went away. And the wheel got some of its spin back too. Needed bike ready for weekend dirt duty.
> 
> Overhauled the rear hub on the commuter. As Rodar had mentioned in a previous post, only one cone wrench needed. Degreased and regreased. Good as new. Did notice two broken spokes, however. Even with broken spokes, I am using the cruiser for commuting duty. I think it'll be fine (crossing my fingers) until I can replace them next weekend. I ran one of my old mountain bikes for two years with a broken spoke and nothing happened. The wheel even stayed true for the most part.


Man I was having fits with my bike too. It was only an inner tube but this is the second one in a row for me! The bike is all good now but it looks like a new set of rims are in my future. 32h on a 220lbs rider (with gear) is not working out. Ones already almost rubbing on the pads amd the other is getting there. I am looking at the rhyno lites 36h for the reviews and the price. The hubs that come laced in are decent too.

Always seems like when I am really settling in to biking something pops up out of nowhere. Great temps though here. Mornings are in the 50s and afternoons in the mid to high 90s. However its still the desert so no awesome scenery lol.

stamped and snail mailed


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Glad you didn`t have any major damage to your house, MileHigh. Do you have another bike commute option to ride until the gravel route is passable again?

Byknuts, heal soon!

Back from 1.5 weeks vacation yesterday, I get to punch the time clock again this afternoon- yay. Hope I dry out by then :lol:
I`m going to post the whole vacation on Crazyguy eventually, but have some of pics for here of a great ride with Woodway on Orcas Island in the Puget Sound. Despite the damp, it`s a beautiful place! The whole region gets my recommendation for anybody with a chance to ride around there. Big thanks to W for his help in planning out the trip (and for the gloves when Bozo took off riding in chilly drizzle without any)! If you look closely behind me in the picture by the stone guardrail, you might be able to spot Mt Baker to the south. Use a little imagination if necessary.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Fell over trying to ride up a hill in front of my daughter's school this morning. Thanks, clipless pedals. She's only 8 but I'm sure she was suitably embarassed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MileHigh, that's some crazy stuff. I have some friends in Boulder that had some pretty significant damage... going to be a long recovery for sure. Hang in there.

Nice, Rodar. Welcome back. Sweet pics, looking forward to more!

I had big plans for an extended trail route commute this morning, but I overslept. Had to take the short route. I shouldn't plan these things on a Monday. 

I'm sill bike shopping by the way... enough cash in hand to pick up a nice new fatbike, and it's still killing me, but I'm being good. Must stay focused..... It's mountain bike time. Mountain bike.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well Jordy - you should be happy today, eh? It's snowing. And snowing nicely. Don't think it'll stick around, but I think that in the next week or so I'll be able to go to the mountains and get some early season snowboarding in. Hopefully anyway. 

Good ride in this AM. Was just about perfect for layers in the valley, a bit chilly once I got to Anchorage, but that could be from being on the overheated bus, or just the fact that it's snowing...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Glad to hear that you came out of the flood with only minor problems Milehigh. Good job being grateful for what you have. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. For instance: Car slams into cyclists during NH ride, killing 2 not far from where I was doing a century this weekend.

Great pics as usual Rodar. I should have stop to take some pics on this weekend's ride but I'm so passive competitive I couldn't.  
The Candid Cyclist: Loon Echo Trek


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> If you look closely behind me in the picture by the stone guardrail, you might be able to spot Mt Baker to the south. Use a little imagination if necessary.


Yeah, I felt so bad dragging rodar up there for that view of the fog. This is what we were supposed to see:


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Well, we're back from Acadia. We really liked it up there. Camped 2 nights and stayed in a hotel 3. I was happy we went this time of year instead of mid-summer, most kids are back in school so it wasn't very crowded at all. I can't stand crowds, especially in places like national parks that should be calm and relaxing.

We ended up riding all four of the full days we were there, which was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting to ride 2-3 days. Another surprise was that my mother and her boyfriend ended up being up there two of the days, so we spent a bit of time with them, including one of the rides.

The first day we got a bit lost. We tried riding from the campsite to some of the carriage roads, but the ones we ended up at said no bikes allowed. My wife got a bit frustrated due to a large hill and I thought she was going to kill me, but we ended up finding our way. We did the loop around Day Mountain and rode up the mountain. I was shocked she volunteered to try it, but she made it, I was proud of her.

Second day we did a loop around Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond. We tried parking at Bubble Pond but the lot was closed, so we parked half a mile up the road. Ended up being a 13+ mile ride. That was my favorite Carriage road ride.

Third day I rode alone from the Jordan Pond House up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. I would have ridden further, but my wife was just hanging out at Jordan Pond House while I rode, so I didn't want to take too long. Also, our phones didn't work in most of the park so I didn't want her to worry, she always does. I loved this ride. The grade was such that I could find a good pace and ride it the whole way up. I rode up the whole mountain without touching my granny gear (34/32). I took it slow on the way down, my canti brakes are awful. I'm going to get some Kool Stop pads at the LBS tomorrow and clean my wheels. I wish I had my road bike for the descent. It was an awesome road for a fast ride down. I recorded the ride with MyTrax:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=206381473563389879916.0004e711627ca38b8321e

Created by Google My Tracks on Android.

Name: Cadillac Mtn 9/20/13
Activity type: -
Description: -
Total distance: 24.50 km (15.2 mi)
Total time: 1:12:39
Moving time: 1:12:17
Average speed: 20.23 km/h (12.6 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 20.34 km/h (12.6 mi/h)
Max speed: 45.00 km/h (28.0 mi/h)
Average pace: 2.97 min/km (4.8 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 2.95 min/km (4.7 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 1.33 min/km (2.1 min/mi)
Max elevation: 440 m (1444 ft)
Min elevation: 43 m (141 ft)
Elevation gain: 508 m (1668 ft)
Max grade: 8 %
Min grade: -10 %
Recorded: 09/20/2013 11:23AM

Last day we rode around Jordan Pond with my mother and her boyfriend. They rented hybrids. It was a SLOW ride, I got a little bored by the end, but at least it was nice out and the scenery was great.

We also enjoyed the food in Bar Harbor quite a bit. We ate breakfast at 2 Cats (great food, but it was VERY overpriced. $41 for 2 people), dinner at Blaze (Dogfish Head Punkin and Founder's Breakfast Stout on tap...mmmmm...) one night and Side Street Cafe the second. We all loved Side Street, I'd go back there in a heartbeat!

Overall, a great trip. I can't wait to go back!

Not sure how to insert the attached images into the message, so here's the descriptions:

1) Me on the road up Day Mtn (with a crooked helmet)
2) My wife on her way up Day Mtn
3) Wife again, looking miserable climbing
4) Me at the top of Cadillac Mtn (crooked helmet again, I tightened it this morning)
5) The wife on a carriage road at the intersection near Jordan Pond House
6) Wife at the campsite
7) Campsite again

PS - The cheap-ass Nashbar tires I bought for my wife's bike worked wonderfully.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, it makes me want to head in that direction with the bikes. I haven't done that climb up Cadillac in a long time.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Well Jordy - you should be happy today, eh? It's snowing. And snowing nicely. Don't think it'll stick around, but I think that in the next week or so I'll be able to go to the mountains and get some early season snowboarding in. Hopefully anyway.
> 
> Good ride in this AM. Was just about perfect for layers in the valley, a bit chilly once I got to Anchorage, but that could be from being on the overheated bus, or just the fact that it's snowing...


Oh, you know i'm happy!!!

Wet, snowy commute this late morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Oh, you know i'm happy!!!
> 
> Wet, snowy commute this late morning.


I guess I'm going to have to think about getting the Nates put on here real soon...

I'm actually quite excited for the winter to come this year as well. Not sure why. When it's 20 below and my snot's freezing I might be singing a different story. For me there is just so much space that opens up for exploring up in the valley once it freezes over. The hayflats looks like it could be some awesome exploring once it freezes. Can't wait.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice to be back on the street cruiser for the commute, even though I only took the Cog one day last week. Wheel held up even with two broken spokes. Wore a thermal under my work shirt for the ride in today. While I'm pretty good at tolerating the heat, I'm sort of a baby when it comes to the cold. Busted out the thermal in the low sixties. Ride home was mid-eighties. Even after servicing the rear hub this weekend, had nasty noises coming from the drivetrain the whole ride home. Then I realized that I'd forgotten to lube my super clean chain.

Welcome back, Rodar and Starz. Nice pictures. Hang in there, MileHigh. Hate what this weather is doing to some many across this nation. . .


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw a porcupine on the way home tonight. I know they exist yearround (since they're certainly not migrating great distances) but I only ever see them in the fall. They're such cute little pincushions.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I forgot to mention the mountain south of town had a dusting of snow on top yesterday. Tonight was pretty chilly too, but I was warm and cozy on my ride home (see confesional).

Bedwards, you`re a machine! A passive competetive machine, of course.

Sweet, Straz! We loved the carriage roads, and the food too. Nice that you got a lot of solitude out there in the late season- not a lot of leaf peepers, I take it?. Did the camping get cold?

And Woodway, you take all the imagination out of the picture when you do that :nono:


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sweet, Straz! We loved the carriage roads, and the food too. Nice that you got a lot of solitude out there in the late season- not a lot of leaf peepers, I take it?. Did the camping get cold?


It's a couple weeks early for foliage. Only a few trees were changing. It was unseasonably warm when we were there, almost hit 80 on Friday. Got down to the low 50's at night. Not bad at all.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Grumble, grumble, rant, rant... this morning started off in the worst way possible. Went out to put the bags on the bike and as I roll it out the rear tire is flat. It's 4:45 and I have to be out the door in three minutes in order to make the bus in time. I change the tube in no time flat, but the wife insists on driving me to the bus stop. I load up the bike and we are out the door at 5:52. By 5:56 I'm at the 1.5 mile mark of the ride and decide that I'm going to ride the rest of the way. Would hate to get to Anchorage and realize that there's a problem. So I ride the rest of the way to the bus and everything shakes out the way it should, other than a slightly dragging brake (Danged horizontal drop-outs - I mean really - do I need to adjust the brakes every time I look at the dang thing wrong? - Tug nuts here I come). The coolest part of the commute, though was getting to see the Aurora. My wife thought it was moonlight reflecting off the clouds, but no, it was definitely aurora. I was glad I got to share that with her - even if it was from the confines of our car. 

The Anchorage leg was uneventful. A bit chilly. Still trying to dial in the layers and such.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

No commuting this week cause i finally took a vacation. Im planning on riding to the gym but i find myself being lazy and might just drive the 20m round trip


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

It was going very well until my headtube decided to separate from the rest of my bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back in the saddle after taking some time off for the last big mountain biking trip of the year. The trip culminated with a climb up the Angels Staircase, the highest singletrack we can ride here in Washington State at about 8,100 feet. Here is the view from the top.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

A pretty uneventful commute in and back. Just the way I like it. Glad fall is here now.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

woodway said:


> Back in the saddle after taking some time off for the last big mountain biking trip of the year. The trip culminated with a climb up the Angels Staircase, the highest singletrack we can ride here in Washington State at about 8,100 feet. Here is the view from the top.


Wow and double wow!! What a view!

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks mtbxplorer!! I barely mentioned it yet!

I took the new pony out to play on this morning's commute and it wanted to run hard. It bucked my coffee mug out of the cage twice (RIP) but luckily I hung on. If I didn't need to keep stopping to dig my mug out of the dirt I would have caught 2 different cars on the camp roads. Maybe I can find the missing pieces tomorrow in the daylight.

Woodway, way to make people with normal mountains jealous! Great pic.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, way to make people with normal mountains jealous! Great pic.


Not normal, let's call them "well aged". Yeah, that sounds better 

I've been posting way too much bad stuff about my commute lately. Last night, a lady drifted right in front of me almost taking me out. She then slowed down due to traffic and I saw her looking down at her phone, not at the road. I of course flipped her off, because I'm incapable of letting stuff go (maybe I should read that thread about letting stuff go....). I was expecting her to drive past me and yell at me, throw something at me, etc. A bunch of cars passed, including ones that were behind her so I figured I was in the clear and she had turned. Then several miles later she passed me. She slows down next to me, pulls out the iPhone and takes a picture of me. I'm now expecting her husband to run me off the road with his F-350, I'm actually legitimately nervous. I took the other route to work this morning. She probably just took the picture of me to freak me out (it worked) or to go show her ******* friends the guy in the spandex on the light blue bike and laugh at me. Ugh.

On a positive note, I took a route I haven't used in months today and it was completely uneventful, not so much as a close call. Haven't had a day like that in a while.

*sigh*


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Our morning temps have been pretty spastic, 46 degrees yesterday, 60 this morning. We've also started getting a little rain again so I've got to get myself back in the habit of checking the weather reports regularly. 
On a separate note, the receptionist at the front desk where I work stopped me this morning when I came in the building and asked me where I ride from. After I told her she said "Oh I see you all the time, you have those blinking lights". I thanked her for not running me over. Which just reinforced for me that a lot of these people that pass me everyday are probably friends and neighbors (okay, I really don't have any friends); no point in flipping them off. That's why I've adopted the "aggressive arm gesture", not as blatant as flipping them off but I still get to vent and express my displeasure. I also don't have to be concerned about someone hunting me down later. I do admit that I don't have nearly as many brushes with death as some of you. Yesterday I really wanted to chase down an older gentleman who decided it was necessary to lay on the horn just as he passed me. I just wanted to know what was running through his mind. :incazzato: I just gave him an arm gesture instead.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Got buzzed by some jackhole in a Pontiac Solstice this morning who couldn't be arsed to move out a bit more on a completely empty 2-lane road, about half a mile down the street from his/her house. Shouted some curses, as expected they probably didn't hear any of it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, way to make people with normal mountains jealous! Great pic.


There are no normal mountains in the east :lol: 
But that is a sweet pic!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Buster Bluth said:


> It was going very well until my headtube decided to separate from the rest of my bike.


Gonna need pictures.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Gonna need pictures.


x2

It's too bad so many people have been having close calls. Normally I dread september, since road stupidity always gets much worse when school and university start. But I've had an uneventful month so far.

34F again, and I still refuse to add layers.

Got my new duckbill ski goggles in the mail yesterday. I would say that I can't wait to try them out, except that I won't use them until it's -25C/-13F, and I can happily wait a few months before we see those kind of temperatures.

Last commute of the week for me. I think this weekend the 29er is going to get dirtdrop bars again.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> x2
> 
> It's too bad so many people have been having close calls. Normally I dread september, since road stupidity always gets much worse when school and university start. But I've had an uneventful month so far.
> 
> ...


Yeah I am still in shorts as well, hoping for no frost until into October....

Curiously I wore my jacket at 25 plus C a few times this summer, and am still only using it at 4 C, this fall.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ 37F here this morning. I have a moderately wind-resistant fleece jacket that's like that... good for a huge range of temps. I'm wearing that and leg warmers....probably could have held out in shorts for longer...lost my stubborn streak this year I guess :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Okay - someone is out to get me. Two days and two flats. This morning I rode to the bus stop no issues. A bit windy, a bit damp, but not too bad. Everything is just peachy. Get on the bus and have to ride all the way at the back. Still, no bigs. A good change of scenery. So I get off the bus in Anchortown and as I'm wheeling the bike out, I realize something doesn't feel right. Sure enough, it's completely flat on the back. Fortunately I packed my pump last night when I got home after realizing that it hasn't been in my bag for at least two weeks. 

So I pump it up, thinking I can limp to work and then worry about fixing it in the comfort of the building. No go. I get it pumped and can hear the air escaping and it's almost flat again in less than a minute. 

Pull the wheel, pop the tube out, and, because it's raining harder now, it's pretty easy to find the hole. So I dry it off best I can, being a bit soaked myself, and set to work patching the whole thing up. Rubber cement in the rain is a pain. Like Spain or the plain. Get it patched, spend twelve point two minutes pumping it up to an acceptable pressure and then start booking to work - watching the whole time to see if I can see the tire getting flatter as I roll. It didn't and I'm hopeful that when I go to check on it in an hour or so that it is still full. Argh. 

That is all.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Two days and two flats.


Happened to me this summer...turned out I didn't slowly feel all the way around the tire for anything sharp or rough good enough.

Sure enough after the second flat, I did, and found a very small piece of wire just sticking through so it irrittated the tube till it leaked...about 30 minutes of riding.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Some dumb lady in an SUV ran her red light nearly creaming me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

blockphi said:


> ... spend twelve point two minutes pumping it up to an acceptable pressure ...


:lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoa, separated headtube !?! Scarry!
Wow, that`s a view, Woodway!
No close calls for me yesterday. If I saw any vehicles on the road, I don`t remember them. Seriously windy, though. Still in shorts + jacket, but not for long. Will probably take my thin `clava and a pair of gloves with me today in case I want them for the ride home tonight, probably add long johns soon. And this morning I had to smoke on the sunny side of hte house- wasn`t long ago I was looking for shade.



blockphi said:


> twelve point two minutes


Somebody needs to sell a fat pump to make a little dough off you fat riders. Maybe like one of those matress pumps?



Straz85 said:


> She slows down next to me, pulls out the iPhone and takes a picture of me. I'm now expecting her husband to run me off the road with his F-350, I'm actually legitimately nervous.


Don`t worry. She`s probably just going to use it as an inspirational screen saver


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Leaving work, the sun was shining - and then there was a short flurry of teeny tiny miniature snowballs. Too compact to call flakes, too soft to call hailstones


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

perttime said:


> there was a short flurry of teeny tiny miniature snowballs. Too compact to call flakes, too soft to call hailstones


It sounds like you really got graupelled on - Graupel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

On a recent commute home from work on a busy road a passenger in a car screams out to me "Get a Car!". It sparks a soap box style rant in my head. What's the message there??? Be sedentary? Use up fossil fuels? Increase your carbon footprint? I finally let it go...or, did I?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

RollingRunner said:


> On a recent commute home from work on a busy road a passenger in a car screams out to me "Get a Car!". It sparks a soap box style rant in my head. What's the message there??? Be sedentary? Use up fossil fuels? Increase your carbon footprint? I finally let it go...or, did I?


Haha, I do the same thing. I picture what I WANT to say, but never do. I can never think of a response quickly enough.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Block, time to go tubeless and get some monkey nuts!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I saw some new bikers this morning, seriously safety concious with full reflective gear and helmets. They were going really, really, slow, probably due to their seriously out of true wheels, so I managed to get a pic of one...


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## speeding (Sep 22, 2013)

I had a great ride in today. My new route added a mile each way but was so worth it. 45 degrees in the morning, 65 degrees in the afternoon and sunny! Not many more of these kind of days left.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Got new tires from UPS yesterday and out 'em on. What happens 2.5 miles into the commute? Flat. Nasty metal shard embedded deep into the new rubber. Other than that, it's been good. Chilly in the morning but bearable. Tomorrow will be another try with the new tires.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I walked out to my bike today to leave for work and saw a goat head sticking out of the front tire. Pulled it out and heard an instant PPPSSSS. Crap.


mtbxplorer said:


> They were going really, really, slow, probably due to their seriously out of true wheels, so I managed to get a pic of one...


Ah, yeah- those new low spoke count wheels, I see. Almost new and already out of true.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Awesome commute today! My first MTB Trail commute since I startied commuting in July. A fun, slightly muddy, really beautiful way to start the day. The ride finishes along a corn field. So cool!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Cross Bike Trail Commute*

This corn is aMAIZEingly tall. 














I took rolling runner on her first trail commute this morning, same trail, different bike.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> This corn is aMAIZEingly tall.


*shakes head*


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Corny, bedwards. Corny


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had some tubeless drama yesterday... I use old valve stems cut out of presta tubes, and they work great for tubeless use, until eventually the metal 'stem' part separates from the little bit of rubber part that you leave attached, which is what forms a seal against the inside of the rim... I've had a couple of them separate over the past 4 or 5 years, and it's always when you go to add air and you wiggle it or move it. 

This past summer I got some Stan's stems for my mountain bike, and they totally eliminate this potential issue, but I haven't gotten around to getting them for the commuter.... maybe I will now :lol: I put some air in the commuter tires in the morning, rode to work, and then the rear was strangely low after work. No issues in the morning. It had enough air to limp down the road to do the errand I was going to do, and then I went to put air in it... got the pump on there, a couple pumps, and then woooosh. I was meeting the wife anyway, so I walked the rest of the way rather than mess with my spare tube. 

I took the opportunity to rotate my tires last night, which I've been meaning to do, and in the process I realized that it was past time to add sealant anyway. I ALSO found about 6 pokey little goathead spikes sticking down into the tires when I ran my fingers along the inside...the heads had long since broken off. Glad I didn't put a tube in...wouldn't have lasted long :lol:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had finally got the new A-530 clipless pedals, and the platform sides are.....lacking. Good sized for the purpose but so little grip that any shoe will slip off wet or dry. Gonna have to do the pin modifications that are recommended. Also checked out a weird lumpy feeling in my rear tire when rolling (not flat and no bubbles but it felt like there was a lump in the tire), when I took the treads off the rim the tube was covered in rubber dust. Not sure what it means, so I just swapped tires from the 29x60's I had on to the old 29x40's I had in the parts bin. I forgot how the narrower the tire the more twitchy and less stable the bike gets (had the biggun's on for more than a year now), but she is definitely lighter and faster to accelerate.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Corny, bedwards. Corny


I rode the Felt "CornThief"  It is a field of cow corn so I don't think it is going to be good eatin corn.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Block, time to go tubeless and get some monkey nuts!


I'm really toying with the idea of ghetto tubeless, just haven't quite committed to making the leap yet. The funny part is that it had been over a year since my last flat. Pulled the tire last night and couldn't find anything in the tire that should be causing flats, but both tubes had the hole in the same area of the tube. Maybe when I changed it out yesterday morning I knocked whatever it was out of the tire. I also lined the tire itself with Anti-monkey butt powder (Don't have standard talcum and I prefer my tires to have a bit of a mentholated scent) and gave the inside of the tire a good rubdown last night before remounting and airing up. So far, so good. No tire issues this AM. Plenty of other issues though. I must be losing my mind or something.

Forgot my badge for work, my ID card for the bus, and, most importantly, my bike lock. I normally leave that on the rack at work, but yesterday I got a ride home as I had to pick up some parts for my furnace in town so the wife came in to town and we ran the errands. I had grabbed the lock to lock the bike to the rack, but ended up just throwing it in the back seat, where it sits still. Good think Freddy's is just across the street.

Pretty darned sad that even in a building with massive security presence, so much so that if they see you on camera talking on your cell while driving in the lot or driving without a seatbelt, they will give you a ticket, bikes get stolen in broad daylight from the rack out front.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I rode the Felt "CornThief"  It is a field of cow corn so I don't think it is going to be good eatin corn.
> 
> View attachment 834864


Most definitely NOT good eating. Though when I was young and growing up around farms in the midwest, we'd use the kernels for sling shot ammo. Fun times.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Just got back from a 30 mile (+/-) ride with errands. That @#$*&^$ FSA crank bolt came loose on me again 3 times even though it was torqued down when I replaced it. Gonna have to go to the Loctite, even though I don't like using it. Great products but if natural tension won't keep a bolt tight, I tend to believe there's a larger problem... like a design flaw.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Yesterday, WET, today, WET, Just snow already!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

RollingRunner said:


> Awesome commute today! My first MTB Trail commute since I startied commuting in July. A fun, slightly muddy, really beautiful way to start the day. The ride finishes along a corn field. So cool!


Welcome RollingRunner!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Today was my 4th straight day riding to work, legs were screaming at me on most of the climbs. May have some questions later about how to harden TFU faster, though I suspect the real answer is "get a freewheel". Its been in the low 40s the last few mornings but when I walked out it felt warm so I went back in to change into short sleeves - the ride home should be more comfortable 

I guess the slight delay got me this view at one of my favorite spots on the route (I find the discord between the beautiful hillside and the buzzing high voltage lines fascinating) . Usually don't see the sky like this till I've got to the top of the hill.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

AlexCuse said:


> Today was my 4th straight day riding to work, legs were screaming at me on most of the climbs. May have some questions later about how to harden TFU faster, though I suspect the real answer is "get a freewheel".


For me commuting is an everday thing for the since 2005...

I use a geared bike, somedays I fly spun out in 46/11, somedays I wonder home in 46 18...sometimes I plow snow in granny...somtimes I sweat buckets

Point is everyday riding you need some flexibility, or eventually you are gonna wear out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I heard a snatch of conversation from the flagger into the radio to the flagger at the other end “Pedalpusher…” 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^He was commenting on your pants?



jeffscott said:


> For me commuting is an everday thing for the since 2005...
> 
> I use a geared bike, somedays I fly spun out in 46/11, somedays I wonder home in 46 18...sometimes I plow snow in granny...somtimes I sweat buckets
> 
> Point is everyday riding you need some flexibility, or eventually you are gonna wear out.


Yup, yesterday I did an all out race through the trails on the way home, averaged 14.5MPH on the mountain bike...
Today I took my lightest bike on the road and averaged about the same. Rest days are important.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

AlexCuse said:


> Today was my 4th straight day riding to work, legs were screaming at me on most of the climbs. May have some questions later about how to harden TFU faster, though I suspect the real answer is "get a freewheel". Its been in the low 40s the last few mornings but when I walked out it felt warm so I went back in to change into short sleeves - the ride home should be more comfortable


This is my second year of commuting 3-5 days/week and still I get a deep sore/tired in my legs towards the end of the commutes late in the week. You'll have fast days when you feel like a cycling god, you'll have slow days when you feel like you'd get there faster on foot.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I feel like a cycling god every day. Even when I'm walking with a flat tire.


I had the weirdest sensation this morning...it was way colder than it was supposed to be, so I was chillly...feet were cold, etc... and I let this bizarre thought enter my head that made me actually look forward to freezing snowy studded tire commutes this winter. I snapped out of it, but it was strange. I think it had something to do with the smell of the smoke from the chimneys that have been dormant for so long.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Commuted today, the first Friday in a while. Didn't feel like commuting 25-40 mph winds on Wednesday (50+ gusts) and didn't work Thursday. Good to be back on the bike.

I must be a cold baby, cause I was ready for some gloves and beanie this morning and it was only about 55F or so. I guess I can deal with the discomfort of the Vegas heat all day long, but throw some cold my way and it's another story. Good thing this cold snap is moving on and morning should be closer to 70F for the next month or so.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pretty sky, Alex 
Freewheel? I wouldn`t roll until I added a couple more rings and a pair of deraillers! Whatever makes you happy, though.



CommuterBoy said:


> I had the weirdest sensation this morning...it was way colder than it was supposed to be, so I was chillly...feet were cold, etc...


Colder than it`s been? We were cold Wed and yesterday, so I took down the cooler and lit the pilot on the furnace, but today was quite nice.



vegascruiser said:


> I guess I can deal with the discomfort of the Vegas heat all day long, but throw some cold my way and it's another story.


Well, I guess you`re in the right place, then. I don`t much mind cold, but would never survive a Vegas summer.

Pleasant commute today that really didn`t stand out for any reason, but it`s been a weird day here at work. One guy had to go down and get his arm checked out after a heavy door fell on it, then we had the cops show up and haul off one of our new temp workers. For some reason that nobody can guess, he took after another employee and hit her with a broom stick. The girl is okay, but very shaken up, and says she never even saw the guy before, so she has no idea what his trip was either.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It was very foggy and drizzly this morning, and I didn't have my fenders on because I did some monstercross riding over the weekend. Got a little wet. Otherwise not a bad ride.

Went to the CX race in Gloucester over the weekend, what a blast. I saw Cat 4/5 men, Cat 2/3 women, juniors, 45 and 55+ men.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was super foggy around here too. rollingrunner and I started out pre-dawn. Her on her mountain bike and me on the fatbike. The suspension seatpost I added takes the edge off some of the harsher bumps.







Out of the fog.​


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Today was a bit brutal. I did the ol' Tough Mudder on Saturday...it was tough and muddy. And cold. Very cold. there were patches of snow hanging out near the top of the mountain...which we ran up...straight up...black diamond runs at Northstar....to 8200 feet, where we got electrocuted and submerged in ice water and all sorts of other fun things.

...so of course it was raining for this mornings commute. I'm a wee bit sore.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Pictures!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

They have a photo service snapping pics all over the place...they match them up with your bib number (if it's not covered in mud and legible) and post online, so you can search the database for pics of yourself...but it's not up for a week or so. I didn't carry the GoPro...was thinking about it, but I didn't want to have to worry about it. This was TM #2 for me...my wife's first...and she's still speaking to me, so that's good :lol:


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Thank you mtbxplorer! Another trail ride in today, I'm happy to report that I was able to ride over all of the bridges (which I was intimidated by last week) and only walked up one really loose rocky section. Getting better! bedwards1000 was on his Fat Bike, so it was slightly easier to keep up.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ..... This was TM #2 for me...my wife's first...and she's still speaking to me, so that's good :lol:


Well how can she call you a sack full of dirty names if she isn't talking to you? :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Dirtdrop bars - Attempt #2 - Commute #1

I tried On One Midge bars for a few weeks in the spring, but gave up after some singletrack rides left me with incredible wrist pain (which is the opposite of what flared drops are supposed to do)

This time I moved the levers way up, so that I can use the hoods or the hooks. In the spring I had them way down, so I could really only use them from further down on the drops.

And they're fun. 

I had a nice long singletrack ride on the weekend, and was pain free. I breezed through some sections of trail that I normally need to really think about, but on the other hand there's the occasional section that should be easy but isn't. And on rooty/bumpy stuff when I'm in the hooks I'm absolutely smashing the side of my hands into the drops, so I've got to add some extra padding under the tape.

I'd like to ride these through the winter just to mix things up, so we'll see how the next few weeks go.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...it was tough and muddy. And cold. Very cold. there were patches of snow hanging out near the top of the mountain...which we ran up...straight up...black diamond runs at Northstar....to 8200 feet, where we got electrocuted and submerged in ice water and all sorts of other fun things.


Good times! :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nothing to report for me. It was yucky all weekend and neither my wife nor I felt like doing anything more adventurous than rent a movie and eat tuna sandwiches at my mom`s house.

Newf, I`m glad the drops are working better this time around.



CommuterBoy said:


> Today was a bit brutal. I did the ol' Tough Mudder on Saturday...it was tough and muddy.


Whooooo! How many beers did you get for for the Slurpee enema this time? Well, good job finishing it up, but I don`t know whether that calls for pity or congratulations. Yeah, I bet it was a lot colder than last year`s. Windy too. Does that make as much difference running (or crawling) through the muck as when pedalling?



RollingRunner said:


> Another trail ride in today, I'm happy to report that I was able to ride over all of the bridges (which I was intimidated by last week) and only walked up one really loose rocky section. Getting better!


Groovy, RR :thumbsup:
Welcome in. Are you planning to try two wheels in ice season?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Terrible day so far! Up late, had to take a bit of extra time to shuffle cars around before leaving, got buzzed by a pickup halfway to work, and then 1-2 miles out from my office I got a fast flat in the rear tire. Tried to pump it up, no joy. Didn't feel like a roadside tube change (the back tire is such a pain) so I just walked it to work.

edit: And I forgot my helmet.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Temp Loctite job working so far, just waiting for the new crank retention bolt to arrive then I'll do the job right, once and for all.

Finally decided what I'll do for the new ride. Got this; Amazon.com: Microshift R10 Double 10 Speed 30-34t Group Set: Sports & Outdoors about a week ago. Since I have a half-decent set of wheels already I think I'll order one of these; Amazon.com: FSA TEMPO Square Taper Crankset 175mm 50t 9 Speed Single Chainring CK-200T NEW: Sports & Outdoors , and one of these; Ribble Winter/Audax 525 Frame, Frames, FRAMES AUDAX / WINTER , with the matching fork, to build a nice 1x10 commuter for in the neighborhood of $750 after all is said and done.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whooooo! How many beers did you get for for the Slurpee enema this time? Well, good job finishing it up, but I don`t know whether that calls for pity or congratulations. Yeah, I bet it was a lot colder than last year`s. Windy too. Does that make as much difference running (or crawling) through the muck as when pedalling?


Yes it does. Anything involving water or muddy goop (so....a ton of stuff) was pretty miserable, and left you miserable as you tried to warm up/run for the 10-20 minutes afterwards. About the time you'd start to get a little feeling of temperature control back, you'd hit the ice water or something again. The "arctic enema" strangely wasn't as bad as last year to me...probably because you were already so cold...not as big of a shock to the system.

Here's the "official obstacle video": Tough Mudder: Arctic Enema Official Obstacle Video - YouTube
best quote: "It's like eating ice cream and getting punched in the balls at the exact same time." :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> View attachment 835770
> 
> Out of the fog.​


Don`t want to let this one go by without comment- it`s a winner.



junior1210 said:


> Finally decided what I'll do for the new ride. Got this; Amazon.com: Microshift R10 Double 10 Speed 30-34t Group Set: Sports & Outdoors about a week ago. Since I have a half-decent set of wheels already I think I'll order one of these; Amazon.com: FSA TEMPO Square Taper Crankset 175mm 50t 9 Speed Single Chainring CK-200T NEW: Sports & Outdoors , and one of these; Ribble Winter/Audax 525 Frame, Frames, FRAMES AUDAX / WINTER , with the matching fork, to build a nice 1x10 commuter for in the neighborhood of $750 after all is said and done.


Junior, that looks like a great job of budget building. The frame link isn`t comming up for me, so I guess I`ll just have to wait for the assembled pics.



CommuterBoy said:


> Here's the "official obstacle video": Tough Mudder: Arctic Enema Official Obstacle Video - YouTube
> best quote: "It's like eating ice cream and getting punched in the balls at the exact same time." :lol:


Best comment: "Everybody pee in the pool!"
How long does the whole event take? And how (why) did you talk your wife into it? If she`s into other athletic endeavors, I don`t think you`ve ever mentioned it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good ride in today after taking a sick day yesterday. Just a cold, but now that we have a new open office with 3 co-workers that I can reach out and touch without leaving my chair, I have lowered the bar on how sick I have to be before I call in, and I hope others will do the same. It’s been a pretty mild but foggy fall so far, 47F on my way in, but enshrouded in fog once I got off the hill. Had the blinkies going front and rear. At one point I was just riding along and an older man driving the other way leaned on the horn and seemed to be looking right at me. Not a hello beep, no obstacles that I could see in his path, so a bit puzzling. Either off his rocker, a bike hater, was not actually looking at me, or he thought my headlight was obnoxious.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Don`t want to let this one go by without comment- it`s a winner.
> 
> Best comment: "Everybody pee in the pool!"
> How long does the whole event take? And how (why) did you talk your wife into it? If she`s into other athletic endeavors, I don`t think you`ve ever mentioned it.


+1 sweet pic bedwards.

The whole event is 3-4 hours for most people. It was right about 11 miles. We took about 3.5. Mrs. Commuterboy is a runner...she would much rather go run by herself than do any sort of organized anything with other people, but she saw this as the next big challenge after I did it last year. She tore it up.... some real fear about some of the obstacles, but she pulled everything off (and certainly didn't slow me down... I am most definitely NOT a runner).


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Drove to work the last three of four days. Just terrible. 

However, the work we are doing in a wash channel is pretty intense, so peddling home seemed out of the question. A backhoe is busting up concrete in the channel and then I have to go behind it with a quickie saw and cut all the rebar out of the concrete chunks (so it looks like riprap rock instead of busted up concrete). Walking around in concrete chunks all day holding a forty pound saw takes its toll. Not to mention having to worry about falling on all the protruding rebar or cutting yourself. Oh, and there's water running down the channel too. Good times. 

Finished up job today so I will be peddling in tomorrow though.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*$100 wrong turn*

Was out yesterday trying to link as many dirt roads together to get me from work to the local casino (the family and I catch a free comedy show there every Monday, don't drop a dime into the slots though) and was following a track that appeared to be a county/forest road.

Nope, it was on the reservation. This was pointed out to me by the reservation cop hanging out waiting for folks to do stuff like that. Evidently where I turned there was a small sign denoting the start of reservation land (I went back today and it's not glaringly obvious but it's there.) So my little turn ends up costing me $100, because, y'know, it would have been too nice and decent for him to listen and hear my story (yes. I know ignorance is no excuse) that it was an accident, had never done this before etc and let me off with a warning and directions to get off the Rez post-haste. Nope, he had to be a dick about it, even though I was polite and sincere. I could go dispute the ticket, but the time off work it would take is more than the ticket itself so I'll just suck it up.

Lessons learned? Yeah, don't trust Google maps and make sure you don't trespass onto a reservation. I'm working to get past it.

Today the commute was great though. Even got to share a little local knowledge with some tourists on how best to get where they were riding to and avoid the highway. And the new tires are great on dirt/gravel!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Pretty sky, Alex
> Freewheel? I wouldn`t roll until I added a couple more rings and a pair of deraillers! Whatever makes you happy,


It was especially nice that day. The fixed gear is doing it for now, makes my short commute more interesting. Hate it on big down hills though. I have a wheel I built with a xT hub, 9spd shifter and derailleur that I might hook up someday, butt that white industries hub is too smooth to take off. For now I think a nice freewheel would do.



Spatialized said:


> Lessons learned? Yeah, don't trust Google maps and make sure you don't trespass onto a reservation. I'm working to get past it


I had it route me through the state prison once, got run down by a guard in a camo suburban. Scary. Glad you survived!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow Spatialized that's quite a toll road! Good thing they didn't decide the fine was $1000 because apparently they can just make it up.

I had a great trail commute today. The ATV group cut in a new trail but haven't ripped it apart yet. It adds about a mile to the commute but it is a much more interesting mile than the recently logged dirt road trail it cuts off. The fall colors are starting to pop:
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Commutes have been fine. Chilly, but not terribly so. Yesterday I got in on the early bus (6:00 AM) and then decided, due to stuff going on in my real life, to cut out of work early and catch the 8:55 bus home. Was actually quite energized on that second ride.

I do hate to say it, but the sequester has made the bus portion of the commute a bit... more roomy. Many of our riders are federal employees who are subsidized for their bus pass and with them not needing to go to work it does free up a lot of space on the bus. I feel bad for them, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can and stretch out a bit. I hope they get back to work soon, though. Without their numbers some trips might be temporarily canceled. I'm too stubborn to engrain a new routine now.


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## FlakoGT (Oct 1, 2012)

I had a pretty interesting commute back home yesterday. I usually ride on bike specific trails on my commute, but yesterday I had a job interview in downtown Denver and it was quite different to be rolling along side with vehicles. 

I didn't get yelled by anyone, cars where pretty good about giving me 2-3 feet space. I'm think that because of my lack of experience commuting in the city at rush hour I might have done one or two "inappropriate" things but overall I think it was a good ride.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Spatialized said:


> ... Nope, it was on the reservation. This was pointed out to me by the reservation cop hanging out waiting for folks to do stuff like that....


...
I find it highly likely that, for the rest of my life, I will stick to countries where I can go just about anywhere that isn't obviously somebody's garden or surrounded with a chain link fence.

Leaves are falling and days are getting shorter. Soon I'll have to put a light on my bike to ensure I'm seen.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Almost to the driveway into work, and I wondered why the car in front of me just stopped in the middle of the road...until I saw 4 deer on the side of the road, near the bottom right of the file pic below,

Despite being in the capital and in this big office complex with thousands of workers (and cars), we see deer quite often on the lawns, under the apple trees, or in the small patches of woods.

The other excitement was a brandy new Surly Disc Trucker in the bikerack that a coworker just got. I didn't get a pic of that either, but here is a tree in the parking lot as I left work.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

FlakoGT said:


> I had a pretty interesting commute back home yesterday. I usually ride on bike specific trails on my commute, but yesterday I had a job interview in downtown Denver and it was quite different to be rolling along side with vehicles.
> 
> I didn't get yelled by anyone, cars where pretty good about giving me 2-3 feet space. I'm think that because of my lack of experience commuting in the city at rush hour I might have done one or two "inappropriate" things but overall I think it was a good ride.


You get used to it. Most people are decent but always keep guard up. Lights and reflective gear help a lot.

hope the interview went well!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good to be back on the bike today. Good ride in. Good ride home.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow Spatialized that's quite a toll road! Good thing they didn't decide the fine was $1000 because apparently they can just make it up.


Pretty much how I felt about it. He did the, "well, I could've given you a higher fine, but..." Sorry, but typical dick cop move (known plenty of law enforcement, respected 99% of them, this guy was part of the 1% that gives others a bad name).

Had an early start this morning, kind of felt good to be riding in the dark again. Getting cold too, looking at 20s this weekend for lows and I'm just not totally ready for that yet.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I've encountered more jackass drivers since shifting my schedule earlier than I ever did when I was getting in late. I was in the center of the lane, because I've been having a problem with people _flying_ past me if I take the right 1/3 line, and a little mini-minivan (Mazda 5 or Kia Rondo sort of thing) comes up on my tail, honks, passes (safely), and then honks again before driving off. I looked as they passed but it was too dark to see if they looked angry.

Other than that, I forgot how hard it is to tell yourself that you should be leaving the house chilly so you're not too hot along the way.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. Running a bit late and pulled into the stop just as the bus pulled in. No worries, though. In the low 40s this AM. And dry. Should've just worn shorts. 

Can't wait for the weekend. I'll actually have some time available as the classes that I'm teaching don't have any major assignments due. So once I get the snow tires put on the car I think I'll throw the Nates on the Pugs and hit the trails or drive up into the mountains and take my first snow ride of the year. Haven't decided yet. And I'll be spending some time with my boy working on his science fair project - I guess he's making an ozone generator that he expects to be able to purifiy water with. I don't know nuthin bout that, just need to make sure he doesn't electrocute himself!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Went for our weeknight ride last night.

Drove through a rain storm that turned into snow....then it cleared on the other side of the front.

Started the ride at 2C with light snow falling...

At the top of the climb it was 4 C with DRY light snow falling and then sticking on unfrozen ground.

I was wearing a tee shirt and shorts.

Weird weather the very cold air must have been just above the mountain tops, and super cooled the snow flakes so they would last as they fell through the warmer air.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Gotta love bikes going the wrong way in bike lanes...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

24 hour stomach bug attacked me Tuesday night... spent yesterday on the couch... back on the bike this morning. Still trying to decide if that was a good decision :lol: Slow going. At least it's not raining.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice again this morning, strong winds expected for this afternoon- again. We`ve been getting heavy gusts every afternoon, which would be normal in 80* or more, but pretty strange now that it`s cooled down.

I`ve been tracking my bike mileage since 2010 by year and month, so far have hit a higher total each year. Yesterday I did my end on the month tallies (late) and see I`m about 300 miles behind last Sept`s YTD. It looks very likely that I`ll have to accept a downswing this time around.


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## gmats (Apr 15, 2005)

This is what it looked like today..............Kamuela, Hawaii...............


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> 24 hour stomach bug attacked me Tuesday night... spent yesterday on the couch... back on the bike this morning. Still trying to decide if that was a good decision :lol: Slow going. At least it's not raining.


Ooof hate those. I never start feeling healthy again till I get back on a bike so maybe its a good decision? Riding in ended up being a mistake today, forgot we have this beer swap thing and not sure I am going to be able to carry a whole case home. I can always take it home next week (Thursday and Friday my wife has to be at school/work real early so I like to ride both those days and avoid the wait for the shower). There was a cool fog just rolling out as I got started this morning, picture from usual spot


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

This baby bull was following me down Chester Creek Trail this morning. Saw another eating in a swamp just off the trail.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`ve been tracking my bike mileage since 2010 by year and month, so far have hit a higher total each year. Yesterday I did my end on the month tallies (late) and see I`m about 300 miles behind last Sept`s YTD. It looks very likely that I`ll have to accept a downswing this time around.


I think I'm going to be down a hair this year too but not by much.

I've been seeing deer almost every commute too. I counted 7 on a trail commute yesterday and I saw 2 on the road this morning.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

JordyB said:


> This baby bull was following me down Chester Creek Trail this morning. Saw another eating in a swamp just off the trail.


It's slightly disturbing that that moose calf has better better trail etiquette than most cyclists and joggers around my area (stays to the right and isn't being a wheel sucker).:winker:


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Snow is a coming. Time to take off the slicks and get my knobbies on


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

junior1210 said:


> It's slightly disturbing that that moose calf has better better trail etiquette than most cyclists and joggers around my area (stays to the right and isn't being a wheel sucker).:winker:


Isn't that the truth!!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pics everyone! The moose is my fave.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

That picture of the moose reminds me of my mountain bike ride this weekend. Baby burrow eating as he stood on the single track. Each time I rode closer in an effort to get him off the trail, mama burrow mean mugged me and snorted. Papa burrow and uncle burrow were off in the distance keeping a close eye on me as well. Eventually they accepted that no danger existed and let me pass. I see this burrow family mostly every weekend and roughly in the same vicinity.

Looks like tomorrow will be my first commute of the fall season in light gloves. Supposed to be in the mid-to-low 50s in the morning. I rode last week one morning in the high 50s without gloves and regretted it.  So far my only fall gear has been/will be light gloves and a thermal top, which both tuck nicely into the hydration pack. Looks like a bigger backpack or putting the panniers back on the cruiser is just around the corner.

Seems like just yesterday I was pounding the peddles in 115F. Crazy how fast time moves. . .


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A tree stole the visor off of my helmet tonight. Stupid tree.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Another nice sky, Alex 


junior1210 said:


> It's slightly disturbing that that moose calf has better better trail etiquette than most cyclists and joggers around my area (stays to the right and isn't being a wheel sucker).


:lol: 
Will a baby moose really follow you, or did he just happen to be going your way?



jhmeathead said:


> Snow is a coming. Time to take off the slicks and get my knobbies on


I HOPE snow is comming here.
My studs are still mounted on my spare wheels, but I switched from my foo-foo tires to sturdier slicks this afternoon. Don`t want to mess with flats when it gets cold. When I put the rear wheel back on and hooked up the brake, it rubbed hard on one side. I thought the return spring on the other side had broken. When I took the arm off the stud I saw that it had just come unhooked somehow from the inside end of the coil. Weird- never had that happen before.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

newfangled said:


> A tree stole the visor off of my helmet tonight. Stupid tree.


... reminds me of a joke about a member of an ethnic minority, explaining how the accident between his car and the train happened: "Sheriff, the train sort of hooked me."


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Ah huh! I had and awesome commute this morning! Why???? Because I had my first commute clipped in! Holy Smokes, what a difference. All fluid, and "one" with the bike! Yeah, baby...that's what I'm talking about! At least until I forget to clip out and tip over. So far so good! Can't wait for the ride home!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> A tree stole the visor off of my helmet tonight. Stupid tree.


I've had trees try to take my helmet mounted light too, stupid trees. Actually, I've seen a tree steal a rider right off their bike. (not mentioning any names)

I have achieved another micro milestone:
The Candid Cyclist: Eight Bikes in Eight (Calendar) Days


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Busted out the neoprene socks and ear warmer this morning. Chilly. Bouncing back from the flu though.

I could have done without the language, but this is a really good read: Albert McWilliams - You're Going to Kill Someone - You're Going to Kill Someone


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

First hard frost...about 3 weeks late.

Just about forgot to slow down on the overpass with the frost on the bridge deck very slippery...

Studs are ready but not yet.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

newfangled said:


> A tree stole the visor off of my helmet tonight. Stupid tree.


At least it wasn't your nose.....I GOT YOUR NOSE - YouTube


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another commute, another moose. ;p

Stopped to watch this lil lady eat breakfast this morning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

All of the deer I see every day probably add up to the weight of one of your mooses (mice?). those are impressive critters.

Be careful getting involved with thier mealtime, by the way.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

LOL, If you give a moose a muffin...;p Love that book, so do my kids.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, wore gloves and a beanie in this morning. Didn't feel like such a wuss once I saw another commuter in a beanie too. Gotta enjoy the next six weeks or so. Reasonable weather both to work and back home. 

Alas, the weekend is here again. Time to give the Monocog some love.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The first full dark ride home for this fall, mostly because I was at work an hour late. I had a real honker behind me on the downhill from the office, which is about 1/2 mile of really bad pavement on a state road, especially toward the edge (not really any shoulder), so I hog the good pavement rather than risk getting tossed off the bike or into traffic. I was probably up to about 20, in the 25mph zone, when a car came up behind me and blared the horn. Not a polite toot-toot "I am passing you", " I know you" or "I think I know you because I know someone in this town who owns a bike", or a harassing "let's see if we can make them jump" honk, but a "get out of my way" blare. I didn't. At the light at the bottom I looked back and it was a taxi (yes we have a handful around here).

This morning it was again sunny at home and foggy the whole ride. That is getting old. My hands were chilled in the fullfinger MTB gloves in the fog/low-mid 40'sF. 

Still having some trouble adjusting to the car/bike commute. Got back to my car and the zip pocket where I put my key was open & empty. Luckily I had added a spare to my pack after locking 2 sets in the car a couple weeks ago. But then I remembered that I'd had to re-open the car for the front wheel in the a.m. Sure enough, the key was still in the driver's door. Nothing appeared to be missing, most importantly, not the car.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I hope BrianMc is OK, been a couple weeks since we've seen him.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^ Yeah, I was just wondering about BrianMc. Last time he was mentioned after a brief disappearance he magically appeared after a week or so of cat-got-tongue lurking. Hello?



RollingRunner said:


> Because I had my first commute clipped in!


I bet no trees tried to steal your pedals today.



mtbxplorer said:


> Not a polite toot-toot "I am passing you", " I know you" or "I think I know you because I know someone in this town who owns a bike", or a harassing "let's see if we can make them jump" honk, but a "get out of my way" blare. I didn't.
> 
> Sure enough, the key was still in the driver's door.


Way to go!

and Whoops!

Bedwards, do you think your downcscaled mileage has to do with spending a lot of slow time on the still newish fat bike and the brand new 29er? My switch from dirt to road as a primary surface raised my mileage tremendously. I bet the opposite holds also.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> I hope BrianMc is OK, been a couple weeks since we've seen him.


According to his profile, he has not logged in for a couple of weeks. Hope everything is OK.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

My clear lens for my dragon goggles came in today so ill be able to use em in the chilly mornings. 

Was running late this morning and went half the day at work before i realized i forgot to take my pant leg strap off. lol


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## 1nterceptor (Jun 6, 2013)

From yesterday's commute to work, mild October temps:

NEW YORK CITY IN DUST - YouTube


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

Only commuted once to work this week. The rains on friday had work called off. Only rode Wednesday to work. Other days I waited too long to leave the house. Hopefully, I can finish out the season strong.

On another note, went mountain biking Wednesday and today. Both times got the dog and I super muddy


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

A little cool this A.M., low 50's but clear as a bell and visibility somewhere in the nature of...infinity. Only saw three people on the way home, two walking and one on a bike going the other direction. Did see two fawns of some breed or another, too bad my phone was in my saddlebag, they were cute in that way that fawns that are less than knee height can be. I even found a 6mm Craftsman box end wrench on the way home. The Pearl Izumi shoes are pretty decent so far, as long as I get them tight enough.


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## Mirrorsaw (Jul 7, 2013)

I got a new bike (Trek Crossrip) about two weeks ago. I have road to work every day and road home every day. It's an awesome machine. 

A few days ago I had an owl fly with me for about a mile, it was cool. It kept to my right side mostly, and was silent. Then it flew off. A few days prior to that, I saw two raccoons by the path. 

I'm starting work at 530am so I don't really see anyone most days. (I think in the month I have been coming in early, I have seen 8 people total.) I do see lots of people fishing though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> According to his profile, he has not logged in for a couple of weeks. Hope everything is OK.


A car trip to visit relatives first. Then been cruisin'. Celebrity Summit: Celebrity Cruise Ship | Celebrity Cruises

A lot of walking and taking 4-6 decks of stairs. There were options to cycle but as it was our 40th and Kathryn doesn't cycle... Amazed by the commuter cycling in Quebec City. Saw a very nice Dummy, but mostly a collection of classic road bikes, early mountain bikes, and hybrids. Lots of bike racks. Boston was pretty good, commuting bike-wise too but less locked up on the street. Hmmm. Charlottetown looked like a single speed dream terrain-wise and saw a salmoning rider who made me cringe. We both went internet free cold turkey for the duration. The things we do for love... 









At the end of a perfect day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Happy and relieved that you`ve been conjured up again, Brian. Looks like a nice trip. And a super sunset!


BrianMc said:


> Amazed by the commuter cycling in Quebec City. Saw a very nice Dummy, but mostly a collection of classic road bikes, early mountain bikes, and hybrids.


And DavidC`s famous snowbike?



Mirrorsaw said:


> A few days ago I had an owl fly with me for about a mile, it was cool. It kept to my right side mostly, and was silent. Then it flew off. A few days prior to that, I saw two raccoons by the path.


Way cool. We used to have an owl in this trhead, and it`s nice to see one back again 
Glad you`re digging the new bike.

Great weekend for me. Had my folks and one other couple over for dinner last night. My wife and I and I made our first attempt at a pot of pozole for the occasion, and it came out just like it was supposed to.

Rode a long fall color loop south of Lake Tahoe today. The best part was a section of abandoned highway that`s now used by hikers, trail runners and cross or mountain bikes. It looks like the highway was realigned back 30 or 40 years ago and left about 3 miles of the old section in place, just blocked at each end. Now the forest is very slowly reconquering the old asphalt.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Color in Quebec (global warming limited the amount of color on the cruise from late frost):









Weather was phenomenal. Only morning showers in Halifax (I was sick so could not go ashore until the afternoon). Temps in mid 60's to low 70's. Perfect for cycling. Got two spinning classes in. Rained here today. May ride tomorrow.

Nice to see color in Rodar's pics.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> And DavidC`s famous snowbike?


Quebec city is about 250km from Montreal, but I'm feeling the love.

Last winter I had another toy to play with, this winter I'm going with a full fleet of 2 mtbs and one commuter, all on custom studded tires and disc brakes.









And if you look far enough in the background, you can see Lake Champlain


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It's been a cycling kind of weekend. Thursday night I went to a CX clinic one of the LBS's near me hosted. Mark McCormack taught it, which was awesome. I learned a LOT.

From there, I went home, showered and my friend and I headed up to Kingdom Trails, camped at Burke Campground, another friend met us Friday morning, then Friday night, my wife and two more friends came up. We rode 25 miles Friday and 15 Saturday. I didn't ride Sunday because I told my wife I'd spend time with her and she wasn't feeling well all weekend. She was bummed she didn't get to ride. It was also the first time we brought the puppy camping. She did pretty well, except she kept waking up and very loudly growling and howling in the middle of the night. I immediately woke up and calmed her down each time, but she did it 3 times one night I think. She ended up stealing most of my sleeping pad so I slept in my sleeping bag right on the floor of the tent. It was nice having her there though.

This morning's commute was much, much wetter than expected. I was exhausted after camping/riding all weekend so I didn't bother putting the fenders on. Had I expected this much rain, I would have. I got to work soaked. I at least put on my shoe covers when I saw the rain, so my feet were dry. My legs were screaming the whole ride, it'll be a slow ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I hope BrianMc is OK, been a couple weeks since we've seen him.


I start to notice people missing and wonder what happened too. (I see that he's checked in and all is well by now)



rodar y rodar said:


> Bedwards, do you think your downcscaled mileage has to do with spending a lot of slow time on the still newish fat bike and the brand new 29er? My switch from dirt to road as a primary surface raised my mileage tremendously. I bet the opposite holds also.


Yeah, we're going to go with quality miles over quantity miles.



1nterceptor said:


> From yesterday's commute to work, mild October temps:


Cool video of a city commute. Kind of interesting to watch you click out instinctively at every light, although I admit I only had it playing on the side. There was a little more red light running than I'd be comfortable with. (If you want cars to respect the rules of the road, you should respect the rules of the road) But I don't ride in in NYC so there is that.

Awesome Tahoe pics Rodar. That abandon highway looks like cross bike heaven.

Today's ride was wet, the first time in about 2 weeks. Otherwise, not much to report.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Stopped on the big bridge to help someone who'd lost their rear wheel. Bolt-on axle, with horizontal dropouts and the little "D" shaped spacer to connect the derailleur hanger too. Amazingly she hadn't lost any of the pieces,

I keep trying to pare down my toolkit, because it feels like I'm lugging half a bike shop to work everyday. But the three things I would get rid of are an adjustable wrench, 13/15 conewrench, and chainbreaker, and this year I've needed each of those to help someone out. So I guess they're staying.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

"We used to have an owl in this thread" :lol:

Welcome back BMC... a cruise sounds nice.

I chased 4 deer down the bike path for a really, really long time before they finally decided to peel off... the GoPro was in my pocket :madman:

I'll be ordering a new mountain bike in the next day or two... very pumped. Pretty set on the new Santa Cruz Bantam 27.5... never ordered a bike so new they weren't even shipping yet. I heard November... I've been on the 29er hardtail for several years, and I've been itching for full suspension and flickability again... 27.5 had me at hello, and then they announced the single pivot Bantam. I love the single pivot simplicity and no one does it like Santa Cruz.

The kids seem to be OK with the smaller wheels. In fact it looks like they'd prefer something like Rodar's Bike Friday...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Still kickin'. Made the commute on Friday with nothing to report, didn't ride at all this weekend in favor of finally getting the garage put to rights - including the building of some serious shelving - and another nothing to report ride in this AM. A bit damp and it sounds like it could get interesting overnight tonight weather-wise, but the ride was same old, same old. A bit slower than normal, but I suppose that's from the aches and pains of this past weekend's work.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Really could have used a BRIDGES FREEZE FIRST reminder on this morning's ride. Tapped the brakes while riding over a bridge, and briefly fishtailed the rear wheel. Kind of like urban 'cross.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ "operation winterization" consumed my weekend... and probably some of next weekend too... gutters, chimney, cooler, water lines, hoses, woodshed, etc, etc... I'm beat.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Terrible weekend for bikes. We received over 6 inches of rain over the weekend. Nice day today. It was nice to not have to ride in that kind of rain, but I'd rather have good weather over the weekend. My wife and son are leaving town this week to go visit family. That means I can do all the things I never seem to have time to do (maybe...if I don't turn into a waste of space like I usually do).


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Nice ride in the rain today. No thunder/lightning, just warmish (~70 degree) air and a good solid rain. So wet when I got in I had to wring out my clothes before hanging them up to keep them from dripping.

Officially put the car up for sale this weekend. I don't know if I'll make it through the winter without a car or if I'll crack and find a cheap winter beater.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> It's been a cycling kind of weekend. Thursday night I went to a CX clinic one of the LBS's near me hosted. Mark McCormack taught it, which was awesome. I learned a LOT.


Wow, that sounds awesome! I bet it was a blast.



MileHighMark said:


> Really could have used a BRIDGES FREEZE FIRST reminder on this morning's ride. Tapped the brakes while riding over a bridge, and briefly fishtailed the rear wheel. Kind of like urban 'cross.


Jeff Scott tried to remind us all last week- he almost did the same thing. Well, if it doesn`t put you down, at least you probably got a rush out of the deal!



CommuterBoy said:


> View attachment 837373


Hmmm... that does look a lot like Rodar`s bike. Your kids have good taste in wheel sizes :thumbsup:
Their pop might learn a bit from them. 27.5? I guess, but what are you going to do next year when those tires go back into obsolescence in favor of 28.25? You know that ISO 602 is scehdule to be all the rage next summer!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: I'll do whatever it takes to stay relevant and cool on the internet. If I need to buy another bike next year, so be it.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I didn't, and I'm missing it something terrible. The mornings are cool and fresh this time of year. But I threw my back out last night rough housing with my two monsters, so I'm out for probably another two days. Doc put me on a steroid pack, and made the joke that when all is said and done, I might accidentally ride 40 miles in the time it takes to do 20. I plan on accepting his challenge. 

Keep it clean, keep it safe, and keep it fun.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> :lol: I'll do whatever it takes to stay relevant and cool on the internet. If I need to buy another bike next year, so be it.


ROFL!!! So true!

Watch out for those frozen spans, wet leafs, and trail hazards hidden by said leafs!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I forgot that I saw another one of those dirtbike/ebikes on the mups on the weekend. This was the lower-end model that is a few grand cheaper than the big one. Even though fatbikes have been around for quite awhile I don't think I saw more than a handful around town until last year. Compared to that the store that's selling these crazy overkill ebikes seems to be doing pretty well.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

David C said:


> Quebec city is about 250km from Montreal, but I'm feeling the love.
> 
> A bike path (2-way) went by the dock on its way east to at least the Montmorency Falls. We were back on board about 3 PM the second day before departure and watched commuters and some groups ride. Impressed by the volume of what appeared to be commuter traffic and that fit with the number of locked bikes. Exercised my limited French for the first time in 40 years. And no one shot me for massacring the language. Since they clear the city streets, snow should not impede winter bike commuting there. Montreal is close to Ottawa and we got there a few times when we lived there. Just never got to Quebec City. My first Montreal trip was for Expo 67. Likely before you were born.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Was cold the entire way to work this morning. Low 50s. Thermal under shirt just didn't cut it, even with a couple climbs up hills. Getting ready to be jacket weather around here. At least for me. . .

Ride home a gorgeous 82F with cloudy skies. The big decision of whether to go back to the panniers or get a bigger backpack is right around the corner.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

vegascruiser said:


> Was cold the entire way to work this morning. Low 50s. Thermal under shirt just didn't cut it, even with a couple climbs up hills. Getting ready to be jacket weather around here. At least for me. .


You suck! We're lucky to see low 50's in the morning this time of year. That's short sleeve short under light jacket weather riding for me.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had to break out a long sleeve shirt for the A.M. ride home, in the low 50's again. Feeling a little conflicted on the tire swap out, I like the lighter weight and faster acceleration of the 42cm tires, but I miss the comfort and stability of the 62's.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

37 or so for me this morning. Getting brisk. Single digits are coming... Hopefully not until after I winterize the sprinker lines. :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

44F here. The headwinds slowed me down, which would not have made me late except that I had already been delayed by talking to the power company’s tree workers who want to take down a nice spruce in my yard that is about 25’ taller than the power lines, and getting a neighbor’s lab puppy out of the road (it was just sitting in the middle).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If they have to do something, can't they just lop the top of that thing? 




Just realized I said 'sprinker.' I'm not going to fix that. :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> 44F here. The headwinds slowed me down, which would not have made me late except that I had already been delayed by talking to the power company's tree workers who want to take down a nice spruce in my yard that is about 25' taller than the power lines, and getting a neighbor's lab puppy out of the road (it was just sitting in the middle).


From a friend's facebook this morning. We had a bit of wind last night. Just a thought.








Fast Fun Fantastic Felt Commute. 'nuff said.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> You suck! We're lucky to see low 50's in the morning this time of year. That's short sleeve short under light jacket weather riding for me.


Shoot, that's shorts and t-shirt weather any time of the year where I'm at!

The ride home last night was 47 F and sunny. Beautiful.

This morning the weather forecasters predicted serious winds and rain. Some parts of town were hitting 30MPH sustained winds. At my house I saw a couple of gusts up to 20MPH before I headed out. Not sure what they were doing once I was on the road, but there were a few cross wind gusts that nearly pushed me off the MUP. Once I got to town it was fairly calm and dry, so I wasn't going to complain at all. If anything, though, I was overdressed.

Not sure what it's doing out now as it is still dark as night out there, so there must be some heavy cloud cover.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> If they have to do something, can't they just lop the top of that thing?


Topping a tree is one of the worst things you can do to them. It stresses them out and can lead to internal rot. In the end it's probably better to remove the tree completely and then plant something new. Though I would fight to keep a tree of that size and age and worry about the power lines later...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> From a friend's facebook this morning. We had a bit of wind last night. Just a thought.
> View attachment 837615


Quite similar to mine, but mine has 3 trunks and is bigger overall. I told them to go ahead and take it down. A sacrifice for reliability and public safety. The alternative was both topping and halving it. Windy here too. I left a window open yesterday and instead of the sill being wet, it was wet 6' across the kitchen floor from the small window.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Huh. It looks like the wind just lopped the top off of it.

I have a brilliant method for stretching the time before I need to cut off the irrigation water because it usually warms back up again and I end up watering seven trees by the Jack And Jill method. When it starts dipping below freezing at night, I make sure that at least one circuit comes on around 3 or 3:30 AM every day in order to get new ground-temp water into the vacuum breaker so it has to start on the road towards ice from scratch. Makes sense to me, anyway. Of course, that way I`m always tempted to stretch it down to the mid 20s, then down to the low 20s, which is why I had to replace the vac breaker two years ago :lol:


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

For those that have an office and keep their bike in their office, how do you do it? I currently have mine standing/resting against the wall but I want to hang it somehow. No pulley systems or anything like that, something that looks good.

ideas?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Do a google image search for "wood bike rack" and lots of things come up.

How about this?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here's mine:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute today. Man am I getting lazy. I justify this based on a pretty sore knee though. Pounding the hills on the Monocog this weekend took its toll. Six straight days on a bike had me feeling okay about an off day though. Back on it tomorrow for morning commute in the high 40s/ low 50s. Too soon for this in Vegas. Just a brief cool down.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

42 F here this morning. I rode in the mid afternoon. Windy but nice. 10 mph faster outbound with wind and downhill than back.

A sample:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Rode home through a rain storm started has soon as I left ended as soon as I got there....totally soaked at 5C shorts and a wind jacket.

Took 10 minutes in the steam shower to warm up.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Rode home through a rain storm started has soon as I left ended as soon as I got there....totally soaked at 5C shorts and a wind jacket.
> 
> Took 10 minutes in the steam shower to warm up.


But you were on a bike! That has to mean somethin.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Ugh, jumped on my road bike this morning in the hopes that the intermittent squealing I was hearing toward the end of a long ride on Sunday was just temporary. It wasn't. New set of old wheels I got off ebay, probably need to drop them off at the shop for some grease. Turned back and grabbed the cross bike. I remember when it felt like the fastest thing in the world, but now it feels kind of like a tank. Still fast enough though, and the aluminum frame really helps with climbing and accelerating. And it doesn't really start to beat up my back until I'm past 60-70 miles unless I have a backpack on.

Now I just gotta hope I can get the wheels in and out of the shop by Saturday. Hoping to do a century on the 20th and I'd like to get one more 60+ mile ride in on Sunday to make sure I'm sufficiently used to the downtube shifters.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Meh...fairly standard. A bit chilly. A bit dark. Didn't have to wait long at the bus stop for the bus to arrive. The ride in town was fine. But I do have a bit of twinge in my right hip - the muscle in the front. Not sure what's up with that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Alex, greasing up a set of wheels is easy!! If you're worried about turn-around time, spend your money on a bottle of grease and new cones and dive in!



...Rainy ride for me today. Not too wet. Not too bad.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

My commutes have been pretty uneventful. 44 degrees yesterday morning and the same this morning. Sun is still below the horizon when I get to work so the headlights are on for the whole ride now. Afternoons have been gorgeous! Can't deny, though, that it's about time to fully resurrect the winter support thread. People have already started asking "did you ride your bike today?" Maybe they'll stop asking in January if I do my part.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Meh...fairly standard. A bit chilly. A bit dark. Didn't have to wait long at the bus stop for the bus to arrive. The ride in town was fine. But I do have a bit of twinge in my right hip - the muscle in the front. Not sure what's up with that.


My back's been twerking (ever since I watched the Wrecking Ball video) or is that tweaking. Actually since sometime between my ride home last night and going to bed. I'm not sure what's up with that 'cause I didn't do anything.



CommuterBoy said:


> Alex, greasing up a set of wheels is easy!! If you're worried about turn-around time, spend your money on a bottle of grease and new cones and dive in!


Maybe a few ball bearings too, 9 or 10 each side (get 12 for the ones that bounce and roll under the wood pile) 1/4" for the rear, 3/16 for the front. Cones can be hard to find sometimes but they don't have to be replaced. I've got a few wheels with slightly pitted cones and they roll just fine. CB is right, it's an easy enough job. I should do it more. If you wheels have cartridge bearings than you have to know which ones you need but they're even easier to put in.

We had our first hard freeze last night. The ride was chilly to start any my legs were pretty lethargic but I took the trail and the long way at that. By the time I got half way through I was ignoring my tired legs and achy back.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

One day off on the cool down. It starts tonight. Mid-to-high 40s for the ride in tomorrow morning. This is pretty unseasonable for October in Vegas. Mid 60s for ride in this morning and high 60s for ride home. Thick cloud cover kept temperature pretty steady.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The first clue that it was chillier was that the dog wiped out on the frosted stairs from the back door. I almost did the same despite seeing the preview. 31F then, maybe a few more when I left, and more cold fog along the route. A brisk invigorating ride, gloves were the only item I should have turned up a notch.

On the way home, I saw, once again, that bikes freak people out. Downtown, I cruised along the right side of 3-4 cars already stopped at a red light. The first car was way back from the stop line, so when I stopped I was ahead of him (but to the right). This immediately put him into race mode or something, because he took off and zoomed right through that red light, leaving the rest of us scratching our heads, and me wondering where's a cop when you need one?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Sitting in the office Monday and heard a loud "SPANG!" Look over at the bike, see nothing, start checking spokes and sure enough there was a broken spoke. Weirdest thing ever. Got the wheel back today and the shop guy agreed it was pretty weird too. Lucked out not commuting today as the winds were going crazy, 20-40mph gusts blowing a storm. Ought to be fun tomorrow morning.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

99% of the ride was great, but there's always the 1% that cooks my noodle.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Odd and ^^ ^^ Odd (Edit, those 2 odds were for MTXB and Spatilized) Dwayne, I'm glad your noodle didn't get overcooked. That looked close.

A deer let me get pretty close last night although my phone camera makes it look further away. I need to start carrying a decent camera if I'm going to get any decent pics of deer.








The temps were hovering right around freezing this morning. You know you've biked through a few winters when freezing seems like a fine temp to ride.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I tried taking the new-old route to work this morning that the lady was taking pictures of me after I flipped her off for almost hitting me while texting. I'm never going that way again. I'm sticking with the old-old route. Had one pickup buzz by me way too close even though he had plenty of space to go around and had a guy back out of a parking space right in front of me in downtown Natick, then as soon as he backed out, he right hooked me with no turn signal. I see his truck everyday I commute parked in the same spot, I should leave him a strongly worded note.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

First time since last Friday I've been able to ride, after throwing my back out playing with the kids on Saturday evening. It's been cool here in Tampa Bay, and was pretty brisk this morning. 

By the time I got to the office, I found out that I blew two spokes, which would be the third in a weeks worth of riding. Need to figure out what that's about.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Had to watch Dwayne's video 3 X to make sure I understood it! No way I would figure a straight ahead from a left turn lane beside me or a dodge left to avoid the head on. I guess your lights worked and kept the driver a bit left of you. 

My video camera quit (bad SD card?) just before a close one two days ago. I suddenly had a pickup braked to a my speed beside me in a 55 zone (more like 60-65) as I passed an access to a farm machinery outlet. I had just topped out and shifted onto the big cog so was about 20-21 mph. He turned right behind me after letting me pass. Can't figure if that was a scare intimidation thing, a let's see how fast he is going before we turn, or an "I didn't think he was moving that fast (even if he was in plain sight for a mile!". I'll never know how close that was to a right hook. I would have been under his rear wheel before I could respond. They may know they have seen me and are being safe, but they have no idea how scary such a seemingly benign thing (to them) can be to the cyclist who doesn't have 2 tons of steel protecting them.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> Had to watch Dwayne's video 3 X to make sure I understood it! No way I would figure a straight ahead from a left turn lane beside me or a dodge left to avoid the head on. I guess your lights worked and kept the driver a bit left of you.


The lane to the left of me is a straight ahead lane, too, so the oncoming guy cut us both off. I think the person to the left of me probably had to change their underwear later on, too. I use a Philips SafeRide on high (about as bright as a car's headlight) on the street along with a reflective safety vest, but considering he didn't see the car in the other lane, I doubt he would have seen anything short of lights off the landing gear of a 747.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Had to watch Dwayne's video 3 X to make sure I understood it! No way I would figure a straight ahead from a left turn lane beside me or a dodge left to avoid the head on. I guess your lights worked and kept the driver a bit left of you.
> 
> My video camera quit (bad SD card?) just before a close one two days ago. I suddenly had a pickup braked to a my speed beside me in a 55 zone (more like 60-65) as I passed an access to a farm machinery outlet. I had just topped out and shifted onto the big cog so was about 20-21 mph. He turned right behind me after letting me pass. Can't figure if that was a scare intimidation thing, a let's see how fast he is going before we turn, or an "I didn't think he was moving that fast (even if he was in plain sight for a mile!". I'll never know how close that was to a right hook. I would have been under his rear wheel before I could respond. They may know they have seen me and are being safe, but they have no idea how scary such a seemingly benign thing (to them) can be to the cyclist who doesn't have 2 tons of steel protecting them.


Probably thought he could get by and turn then realized that he couldn't.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

29F when I left this AM. Was about perfectly layered for the ride, but when I got to the bus stop got a bit chilly with the slight breeze blowing. Need to make sure to pack my puffy to wear while waiting from now on, I think. I was pleasantly surprised that my Outdoor research versaliner gloves kept me warm enough today. I wore both the poly glove and the water/wind resistant covers and the hands were about perfect. Usually once it dips below 30 I opt for a heavier weight poly glove as the ORs are a bit thin and cooler, but this is the first time I've tried them with the covers when it's not raining. I like it. 

I suppose that I should seriously consider getting all my hats and gloves and buffs gathered up and ready to go so that I can choose the right one for the conditions each morning... I don't know that we'll have many more 40+ degree mornings for a while...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Traffic wasn't bad yesterday


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

26, Clear, Cold, Frosty Puddles/Spans.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Traffic wasn't bad yesterday
> 
> View attachment 838132


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Traffic wasn't bad yesterday
> 
> All it needs is a heard of rutting dear tearing through!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> All it needs is a heard of rutting dear tearing through!


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Got some big wind right now down here, thankfully it's my weekend so I don't have to go out right now. Hoping it dies out by Saturday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Scary, Dwayne.

I wish I had deer on my commute.

Definitely autumnal this week. Chilly and overcast, dusting of snow on nearby mountains a couple days, dry leaves falling. On the pass-by-the-store version of my commute, I have a neighborhood with a lot of cottonwoods. I can smell and hear the leaves in there. Zero broken spokes this week, or ever. You guys are animals!

Turns out I don`t have to work this weekend like I thought I would, so thinking about a weekend camping trip somewhere while I still can.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dwayne, It really did not look like you were going to be able to avoid a collision when those headlights were coming straight at you - way to keep it together. 

Beautiful deer and trails, CB & Bedwards. Have a fun trip, Rodar. I got out camping but not bikepacking this year.

Pretty routine today, selected warmer gloves but dropped the knickers for shorts (chamois + longish baggies, so some extra warmth). Pretty comfy at 37F. A nice sunset in the parking lot when I got back to the car...but only had the phone...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Speaking of broken spokes. . .still riding the cruiser with two broken spokes on the back wheel. I really need to get to the LBS to get them fixed. I should do it myself, but since I gotta go to bike shop to buy the spokes anyway, might as well just have them do it.

No commute today. Instead, I loaded the Monocog into the Jeep, left work 1 hour and fifteen minutes early, and went to Blue Diamond for a weekday mountain bike ride. Only thing that sucked is that it's windy and rainy today--and I got a pinch flat. Gonna have to kick my PSI up to 30 from 20. This is my second pinch flat in three weeks.

Looks like the hydration pack is being set aside for the backpack now. In the high 40s for tomorrow's commute--I'm not Rambo, like some of you. I'm gonna need a pretty warm jacket/coat. Backpack is so I can get it back home in the afternoon when it's 80F.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

vegascruiser said:


> Looks like the hydration pack is being set aside for the backpack now. In the high 40s for tomorrow's commute--I'm not Rambo, like some of you. I'm gonna need a pretty warm jacket/coat. Backpack is so I can get it back home in the afternoon when it's 80F.


40 to 80 is a pretty big difference for one day, makes dressing for the commuter a pain in the butt. It's been a 25-30 degree difference between the high and low here and I thought that was bad!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yesterday morning was nice and warm, at about 45F, but today we're back around freezing.

The underground parking at home is getting painted, and my wife has been out of town all week, which means I have to deal with the car. Most of the nearby street parking is metered or has a time limit, so every morning I've been driving around the neighborhood searching for a spot to leave the car in, so that I can then walk home and ride to work. It worked out okay and I never had to park more than a few blocks away, but I'm glad today is the last day.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

The ride itself went off without a hitch. I switched out treads and spent some time fine tuning last night, and it was apparent this morning. However, my trusty headlight decided to fail me in the darkest part of my ride, and almost caused me to be hit by a driver who was doing more texting than driving. 

So, today's a half day at work, the wife is picking me up with the kids, and were gonna go make a day of it. And pick up a new light.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> The ride itself went off without a hitch. I switched out treads and spent some time fine tuning last night, and it was apparent this morning. However, my trusty headlight decided to fail me in the darkest part of my ride, and almost caused me to be hit by a driver who was doing more texting than driving.
> 
> So, today's a half day at work, the wife is picking me up with the kids, and were gonna go make a day of it. And pick up a new light.


Get 2. One good and one okay in a pinch. Something I've been putting off for far too long myself.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Called off today as I had a pretty good headache when I woke up. Of course the headache was gone shortly after I should've been to work. That said, spent the rest of the morning working on the Monocog. 

Needed to put a new tire on the front. The one I've been running had all the nobbies nearly ripped from it. Lots of sharp rocks on the Blue Diamond trails, especially when climbing into the mountain areas. Threw on an WTB enduroraptor I had laying around. Then I had to add Slime to the new tube. A flat on the trail nearly always means a tube change when I get home, as I carry cheapie light tubes on the trail. Then I aired the tire up to 30 PSI, which I hope eliminates my pinch-flatting issue.

Next I decide to air up the back tire to 30 PSI and then call it day for bike maintenance. Nope. Doesn't work out that way. Go to air it up and the valve stem busts and starts blasting Slime everywhere. Fun, fun. This in turn leads to a back tire change, of course. Of course I'm out of good tubes. Then I see the rim strip is shot. Then I decide I might as well switch out the crusty chain as well. Next I'm at the bike shop buying a chain and tubes, etc.

Monocog is ready for the trails at least. Hope to be a better commuter next week. Only logged in 28 commuter miles this week. Been about six months or so since I did that bad.


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## SeattSlayer (Oct 11, 2011)

Again more broken spokes....just got my Muirwoods 29er back from LBS with a new back wheel...(this Clyde is tough on back wheels, spokes) first ride with it today. Been commuting with the Bianchi road bike & backpack. But the Muirwoods is fully tricked with fenders, rack...and much slower. Don't care nary a whit! 
Bring on the NW storms, darkness, melancholy outlook....!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Here is a sunset from the ball park yesterday:



The Duchess with Ghetto Panniers and 30 pounds of onions, tomatoes, watermelon, peppers, apples and spinach, this afternoon:



BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Brian, I appreciate the ingenuity, but the Duchess is way too pretty for those panniers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Yeah. But I broke the front brake cable on the errand bike and forgot I had, so the Duchess was pressed into duty when the new cable would not thread nicely. Can't do that often or I can't justify two bikes!.


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

Well, my job isn't going to lend itself to commuting this winter, so yesterday I gave it one last hoorah. I went to buy a winter vehicle in the southern part of the state. Jumped the bus with my bike to Concord and then rode 40 miles to the hopeful purchase. It was quite the change riding in cities, but AWESOME!! Googles bike route did awesome, kept one ear bud in and followed her voice the whole way on some great roads for riding, and probably 15 miles of different bike path/rail trails. The hardest difference from my normal riding was skipping lunch and having to ride by the smell of French fries umpteen million times. Have a great and safe winter, everyone. Schott...out.


"You're like a Ferrari engine driving a dump truck"


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had to grab a long sleeve shirt for the ride in last night. Got a reminder why I don't ride in that (and others like it) shirt; the cotton holds the stank, like jerseys resist the stank. On the plus side, on the way home that shirt was so rank I set a new P.B. trying to stay ahead of the fumes :lol:.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Whatever works. Could hold the cagers at bay, too!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Didn't have to commute this weekend but got to try out a Trek Remedy...it's been a long time since I've had that much fun on a bike. Anyways though, almost had my first beard-sicle of the season coming in early the other morning, wet but not quite frozen. Flagstaff, 200 miles west got the first snows of the season do I'm sure we're due soon enough.


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## In-Yo-Grill (Jul 19, 2011)

Rain in the forecast for the next four days. I guess I get to try out some rain gear.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No camping this weekend afterall. And no bike either, but it was nice anyway. Spent both days with my wife and her family, hanging out in the woods, where her kinfolk rarely tread. It was fun showing them what lies beyond the parking lots- might eventually "convert" some of them.



Schott said:


> I went to buy a winter vehicle in the southern part of the state. Jumped the bus with my bike to Concord and then rode 40 miles to the hopeful purchase.


For that much trouble, I hope you were pretty sure aboput the purchase! Did you end up buying it?



BrianMc said:


> Whatever works. Could hold the cagers at bay, too!


If convertibles count as cages. Do they?
PS: if you insist on panniers for Her Highenss, at least go with Carrradice, please


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## Schott (Nov 26, 2012)

I did, a nice old Audi 100.


"You're like a Ferrari engine driving a dump truck"


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## Mirrorsaw (Jul 7, 2013)

I left my bike light at work. And at 415ish am it's still night... Luckily I have my Surefire and noticed I forgot the light last night. So I at lest have a backup. The Surefire while bright is very dim compared to the Cree light I have. But it will get the job done. 

It's been getting colder, I have a jacket that is a hard shell. While it keeps me dry from the rain, I get wet from my sweat. Which isn't good. (I change at work.) I need to get a good soft shell/hard shell that breaths...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Schott said:


> Well, my job isn't going to lend itself to commuting this winter, so yesterday I gave it one last hoorah...


Too bad, we'll miss you around for the winter commuting banter. Pop in and say hi. Now you'll have a vehicle so you can meet somewhere this winter to do some fatbiking central to you, me & MTXB.

My commute in was a little slow after riding 100 miles yesterday. I will say that my year round training as a commuter puts me up near the front of the pack even after starting at the back with my pre-ride stress.
The Candid Cyclist: The Dempsey Challenge 2013


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Decided to work from home for some reason. When I woke up at four I was exhausted and figured the extra sleep that staying home would provide would be good. 

I'm hopeful that this afternoon I'll get a chance to get out and do a ride. Likely a road ride, but I might just decide to switch to the Nate tires for the winter and if I do that I'll ride some trail instead. However, I don't know how long until we will get our first snow and I'd hate to ride the Nates on clear pavement too much. One big gripe I have about fat tires is that they seem to wear much quicker than other tires I've ridden.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute for me, either. I was out a little too late last night for my Sunday night drinks with friends, and bolted out of bed 15 minutes after my last minute to leave for work. The wifey and kids had to take me in. 

It'll be alright, though. Gives me some time to clean it up and repack the front hub tonight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It's been so beautiful, I couldn't complain about the pouring rain on the way home. I was comfy at 53F, with a thin longsleeve, showers pass jacket, and shorts. The visibility through the rain and my clear (non-prescription) glasses was poor, I should have just stopped and taken them off. I was glad to have 2 taillights and 2 headlights (helmet & bar) going. Some good puddles since the leaves are clogging the stormdrains. 

At home, my apple trees worked overtime this year - yesterday I picked up 5 wheeelbarrows full from 3 trees. I saved some of the edible ones for pies, but left most in the field for the deer. Moose sign about 100 yards from the house this a.m., so I'll be walking the dog with the camera in hopes of spotting it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Okay. I think I'm back in commuter mode after a crummy 28 commuting miles last week. Resigned myself to the fact that it's already winter gear season here in Vegas, since October's unseasonably cool temperatures have seemed to rob me of my 65-70F morning commutes. Instead we went from like 70F down to 50F over the course of one day several weeks ago. The cold weather caught me with no panniers on my bike and only a hydration pack for getting stuff to and from work.

Stuffed my jacket, gloves, and hat into a backpack, now that I have one, for the 75F commute home. Backpack works out fine and I doubt I'll ever have panniers on my bike again. Toward the end, my panniers were just becoming a consistent pain in the neck.

Once I have a better bike, where I can use a real rack (mine was a seat post rack), I'll probably dust my panniers off and give them another spin. For now, a backpack works--and probably works even better. Nice having a clutter free bike.

Commute in a chilly 49-50F or so. Ride home just perfect.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

vegascruiser said:


> Commute in a chilly 49-50F or so. Ride home just perfect.


It would be nice if "chilly" here was 49-50F ! Itll be 49ish when I leave for my commute home tonight, which is just about perfect if you ask me. I do need to get some colder weather cloths though, last year I didnt have anything but hoodies and jeans.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

50F, chilly? ;p

In shorts and a LS this morning around 39 with 20+ mph headwinds. I call it cold weather training acclimation! Your body forgets its cold after awhile right? Oh wait, that's frostbite??? LOL.

Commute home should be above 50 so it will be hot...LET IT SNOW!


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Getting used to cold ?? I drive a forklift in a -10deg freezer all day so im used to cold. >.< But that being said its been raining all week and ive been fighting a serious chest cold so d riving it has been for me. I was slightly miffed when my wife said she rode my bike to walmart to shop while i was at work today. lol


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great weather going in this afternoon, but my knees were knocking on hte way home. I think I`ll pack something to cover them up for tomorrow night`s return. Current uniform is dorkus maximus- jacket, golves, balaclava and shorts.

I got tired of the trip report I was doing for my last tour and put it on hold for a week. Had a slow night at work tonight, so I went back and (mostly) finished it up. It still needs a good proof reading and some kind of afterward, but the maps and all the pics are up. Anybody who`s interrested can check it out over on Crazyguy:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/13179


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Had yesterday off because it was Columbus Day. Went for a 15 mile road ride and a 14 mile mtn bike ride instead. 

This morning's commute was good, I forgot to charge my headlight after last night's mtn bike ride. I made it about 1/3 of the way to work before the light changed from green to red (supposed to indicate 20%, but I timed it once at home and it was 7%. I emailed NiteRider and they said there was a batch made wrong). I switched to flashing mode and made it the last 8 miles without it dying. Now it's charging on my desk.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm still going, shooting for my 3 days a week. Although sadly I fear my time on the bike will end in the next month or two, depending on the weather. Once the snow starts or we get some serious cold weather, I'm done. 33 mile round trip is just too far for me in the snow. 

My fellow commuters are dropping like flies. I rarely see anyone in the mornings these days anymore. Yesterday was pretty darn cold at 36 degrees. I've been staying warm enough while on the bike, but I can't seem to get warm once I'm changed and settled into the office even with my space heater and coffee.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Saw a guy at work last night riding a [email protected] old steel Murry. He was also the first person I've seen in a dogs age who actually locks up his bike like I do mine (U-lock and cable through the rims). Of course I had left my phone in the break room so no pictures. It was a sweet ride though, pure white and polished chrome/aluminum.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I got tired of the trip report I was doing for my last tour and put it on hold for a week.


Yeah, I'd guess so. I'm worn out reading it!  Great job. 'Sounds' like it was wet enough furya! (The tour, not Puget Sound). Loved the MGB GT with boat frame. Reminds me of a British Racing Green one with a Christmas tree that was tied by its tip to the front bumper and by its trunk to the rear as if some sort of evergreen bondage/mating thing. We took a smaller one in the trunk of our roadster that first Christmas. Keep getting thoughts of owning one again then sanity returns.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice work bedwards. I hear you on the commute/training. I'm not hitting it as hard as you it doesn't sound like, but I love being able to go ride mountain bikes with the big boys on the weekend and hang near the front. 

Rodar, cold this morning! I also went riding yesterday (Columbus Day off...not sure why we celebrate that one, but anyway...) at 8:30 and it was 32* F when we headed up into the shady canyon. I think it was upper 20's at 6:30 for this morning's ride. 



So on Saturday afternoon, I discovered about half of a seriously mangled deer carcas on my property... only one kind of critter around here that does that to deer. It was very fresh. Blood puddles not even soaked into the dirt yet, etc. I would guess it was ripped in half early that morning. Sunday morning, I went to look, and it was completely gone. I know mountain lions like to drag off the leftovers and bury them somewhere nearby for convenient snacking later. I have wanted to see a mountain lion for a long time, but this was definitely a bit creepy. I am definitely bummed that I didn't see it, but knowing that it's hanging around out there somewhere made this morning's ride through the woods in the pre-dawn light a little more exciting :eekster:

I have a graphic photo if you want me to post it...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice ride in this morning. A bit breezy, but I was overdressed for the 45F temps - should have omitted the jacket in favor of just a long sleeved tee. Oh well.

Had a good ride yesterday afternoon. Finally got to the Matanuska river. Great riding there. Wish I would have had more time to explore. The river is ~8 miles from my house. By the time I got there, knowing I had 8 miles to ride back home and it was already fairly late in the day, I only spent about a half hour exploring. Some good finds, though.

















More pics can be seen here.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Left the house @ 6:30 this AM, and it was ~36f. Ran into some light snow flurries, but nothing to be concerned about. Glad I had my neoprene overshoes, four chest layers, and fleece bib tights (not to mention my skullcap and gloves), though.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

MileHighMark said:


> Left the house @ 6:30 this AM, and it was ~36f. Ran into some light snow flurries, but nothing to be concerned about. Glad I had my neoprene overshoes, four chest layers, and fleece bib tights (not to mention my skullcap and gloves), though.


Really 0C out wore a tee shirt and jacket, shorts under my long tights....bare helmet, and my summer gloves..winter boots.

Oh and forgot my sunglasses.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Blockphi, without a doubt, you have the coolest kickstand I`ve ever seen 



BrianMc said:


> Yeah, I'd guess so. I'm worn out reading it!


Yeah, I should have warned that I tend to run on at the pen. For the Cliffs Notes version, it should only take a few minutes to just read the photo captions.



CommuterBoy said:


> I am definitely bummed that I didn't see it, but knowing that it's hanging around out there somewhere made this morning's ride through the woods in the pre-dawn light a little more exciting :eekster:
> 
> I have a graphic photo if you want me to post it...


One vote for the carnage pics!

And don`t forget your GoPro when you ride to work for the next few days. If you get mauled in the pre-dawn light, we`ll all be able to watch the POV footage!


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## SeattSlayer (Oct 11, 2011)

This time of year here in Seattle metro, if it's going to be a nice day, it will be foggy in the mornings, and so it was. 43 degrees when I left, right at the border when I choose between regular bike shorts and a 'onesie' or 'unitard' or 'jumper'. (I can't figure out which term is more manly)

This Fall season I negotiated with Mrs. Slayer for 3x / week bike commuting...the other days I have kindergartner pickup.


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## In-Yo-Grill (Jul 19, 2011)

Did my first official commute today with a purpose other than exercise. I did a 16mile ride to the bank and enjoyed hitting the back streets to get there. It wasn't without issue and a woman took a right turn in front of me and came within inches of taking me out.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

My winds on my commute today...they were strong headwinds on the way to work, lets hope they are tail winds heading home.

"Rain. Highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Southeast wind 10 to 25 mph increasing to 20 to 35 mph in the afternoon. Gusts to 50 mph along the lower hillside and east Anchorage this afternoon. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations...southeast wind increasing to 40 to 50 mph with gusts to 70 mph."


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ There's a strava segment on one of my commute route options that I will be crushing when I get a forecast like that :lol: I'm just waiting for my 40-50mph tailwind aided moment. If I catch that day on the road bike I will destroy everyone. That's some serious wind!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> My winds on my commute today...they were strong headwinds on the way to work, lets hope they are tail winds heading home.
> 
> "Rain. Highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Southeast wind 10 to 25 mph increasing to 20 to 35 mph in the afternoon. Gusts to 50 mph along the lower hillside and east Anchorage this afternoon. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations...southeast wind increasing to 40 to 50 mph with gusts to 70 mph."


That forecast is frightening me. I've been lucky that my ride hasn't been too hampered by winds yet out in the valley, but... I think it was Saturday morning, my home weather station had recorded a high wind speed of 45. Don't want to have to try to race to the bus with that as a headwind.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lot of interesting reports today, thanks for everyone's contributions. Cold commutes, moosecommutes, mountain lion sign, close calls, bikepacking reports, windtunnelcommutes, newcommutes, oldcommutes, I can barely keep up. :thumbsup: 

Rodar, I have not gotten through the whole trip yet, but very interesting & I appreciate how you share info with other potential travelers out there about camping, etc. Some of that can be hard to come by when you are planning a trip.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I actually took these just before my ride in, but they show the flavor of another foggy fall day...

The field








CCC Red Pines in Rows








Foggy Sunrise








Did you hear something?







Or was that a leaf falling?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> One vote for the carnage pics!
> 
> And don`t forget your GoPro when you ride to work for the next few days. If you get mauled in the pre-dawn light, we`ll all be able to watch the POV footage!


2 Votes.

And nice Rodar! Who's going to retrieve the the Go-Pro Hero Black from the belly of the beast?

Nice pics MTXB.

The mornings have been unseasonably warm around here for the last few days. I'm still riding in shorts. Legs are still tired from the century.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Two votes was all I was looking for :thumbsup:









And just to balance things out, here's one I took yesterday on a post-work detour up the rail-trail. Rodar, time to hit the Bizz!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Tried a new route on the way home yesterday, it was not okay. Narrow road, fair amount of traffic moving very fast. 

Trying to sell some stuff so I can buy a new CX bike, I'm sick of swapping wheels and taking the fenders off the CC constantly. Send me a PM if anyone is interested in:

-Race Face Deus 31.8mm handlebars, 26" $20
-SRAM Force brakes $100
-Brand new Shimano FC-R45 crankset 50x39x30 w/ octalink BB $75
-Bontrager SSR road wheelset $100
-Fulcrum Racing 5 wheelset $160

Those are all slightly cheaper than I have them on CL, those are my special commuting forum deals


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

In-Yo-Grill said:


> Did my first official commute today with a purpose other than exercise. I did a 16mile ride to the bank and enjoyed hitting the back streets to get there.


Whoo! Congrats and keep passing the rigth hooks :thumbsup:



mtbxplorer said:


> I actually took these just before my ride in, but they show the flavor of another foggy fall day...


Mmm... Foggy doggy. Nice!

Gnarly mule deer! Or is it now a maul deer? D/2?
@Bedwards: Highdell and I are about the same distance so I guess we`ll just flip for it when the time comes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, time to hit the Bizz!


Beautiful 
We had a family hike over the weekend, and I wanted to head up there, but got out voted in favor of Marlette Lake







and the salmon run at Taylor Creek


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Last night's ride home was interesting. Got to the valley and it was lightly raining with a stiff wind from the east. Where the bus stops is at what is essentially the mouth of two glacial valleys that work as awesome wind chutes, channeling the north and east winds into a single wind. For the first 3/4 mile, which is all uphill, I was buffeted by what felt to be 15 or so mph sustained winds with gusts blowing much, much harder. So hard that I had to lean into the wind to keep upright. I'm 250+ pounds with a bike that's gotta be close to 50 pounds and that wind was whipping me around like nuthin...

Once I made it to my neighborhood, which is in a declevity, with the wind to my back and quite a bit weaker, I just flew. 

This morning was 9 mph headwinds for the first 2.25 miles and then a side wind for the remaining .75. A warm breeze, though it was a bit rainy, so I was overdressed a bit for the 56 degree temps in my rain jacket and Tempest bike tights. 

Got to Anchorage and it was still breezy. A bit cooler, but dry. A good commute overall.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Bonus points for using the word "declevity".



rodar y rodar said:


> and the salmon run at Taylor Creek


Cool!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Bonus points for using the word "declevity".


I had to look that one up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I looked it up too - "A descending slope", "A downward inclination" I wondered how that differed from an upward slope and if it was just a POV thing.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Awesome pics above folks!!!

The wind gusts last night would take me from 20mph to 0 instantly. Very strong. Again this morning, still bad, just not quite as much.

This Bull Moose was bedded down about 40 feet off of The Chester Creek Trail this morning. Big Wild Life!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commuted by car today and yesterday too. Yesterday I brought my mtb to work so I could hit the trails afterwards. I have to pick up my wife from the airport today right after work, so I would have driven anyway, but I forgot to set the alarm last night, which means I needed to drive to get to work as fast as possible anyway. Oh well.


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## In-Yo-Grill (Jul 19, 2011)

Awesome pics of the wildlife...


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

33deg this morning. Cold isnt so bad but i ride on a street with big buildings on both sides. So its like a wind corridor. brrrrrrr


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have wanted to see a mountain lion for a long time, but this was definitely a bit creepy. I am definitely bummed that I didn't see it, but knowing that it's hanging around out there somewhere made this morning's ride through the woods in the pre-dawn light a little more exciting :eekster:


As they told me in BC after getting a bit turned around on a solo ride and getting back to camp barely before dark, "it probably saw you". I've also read they generally attack from behind or the side, just to make you feel better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

No four legged cougars here today and I'm too old and too attached for the two-legged ones.  No one messes with Mama Bear! Though it has been awhile since I got the "Nice legs!" comment, so I imagine the risk is pretty low. Kids in the skate park shouted, "You're movin'" and "Ride It!" Too bad I had a head wind.

Nice ride. One of the slowest left hooks I have ever seen. I guess he did not realize I'd hit 30 or so by the time I got to him at the bottom of the hill and he was only just out of my lane though he started out when I was half way down and over 20 mph (no I did not slow, I had an out and I had two vehicles coming up behind me (30 zone where some do a lot more).

I put the new Glo rimskins on opposite sides of the front and back wheels so I can compare them in the same pass in a night video. Not seeing any difference in the day or with a driveway charge up in the sun and then a swing into the "tunnel" of the Florida Room.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

Just got to work. This is the 3rd day ive ridden this old stumpjumper and im lovin every bit of it.

I shouldve recorded some video footage of the drugged out, drunken guy at the light rail station. The guy had slipped off the platform and was laying on the tracks moaning and ****. Cops came and the dude starts yellin and starts rolling all over the tracks before they manage to cuff him so the fire department and **** comes to check him out. The guy was clearly on somethin.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

A story of contrast. The ride home yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, mid sixties and sunny. I took one of my longer routes which put the ride at a little over 16 miles. This morning was 44 degrees and steady rain for the whole ride. I opted to add a layer of fleece under a long sleeved jersey, but still wore shorts and no rain gear. Over all not too bad, my hands and feet were cold, but in a way it was kinda nice to suffer a little for my "art".


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took some pictures on the way in....
A steep start down a sidestreet from the parking lot








The fleet is getting ready, but the plows are still in their beds








75 Years of meatloaf, eggs, and tripe








Roundabout at the end of rte 302. 1st right to Schott's territory, 2nd to work, and 3rd back toward Bedwards.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I looked it up too - "A descending slope", "A downward inclination" I wondered how that differed from an upward slope and if it was just a POV thing.


If an upward slope it is an acclivity. Declivity I knew. I had to look up its opposite. Reminds me of a high school game friends and I played: new word of the day. Using a word like acclivity many times a day was problematic.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

m4xwellmurd3r said:


> J I shouldve recorded some video footage of the drugged out, drunken guy at the light rail station. The guy had slipped off the platform and was laying on the tracks moaning and ****. Cops came and the dude starts yellin and starts rolling all over the tracks before they manage to cuff him so the fire department and **** comes to check him out. The guy was clearly on somethin.


Maybe he went off the rails and was trying to get back on track?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Cool pics mtbx!



mtbxplorer said:


> As they told me in BC after getting a bit turned around on a solo ride and getting back to camp barely before dark, "it probably saw you". I've also read they generally attack from behind or the side, just to make you feel better.


:lol: I'm sure it has. I was thinking about how easy I'd be to stalk...doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time every morning. Hopefully it goes for the attack on a Saturday.

Also, I tried the GoPro a couple times...too dark in the morning. I get a tiny spot of headlight on dirt that you can see. Not getting good images until much closer to town when it barely starts to lighten up. You might get good audio of the attack, but the images would be weak, unless it got right into the headlight beam. :lol:

Weird one this morning. A car passed me just before getting into town, so it was slowing down from the 55 speed limit to the 25 speed limit, and it got on its brakes hard... deer on the shoulder. So the driver proceeds to do the irrational hard stop even though the group of deer has clearly passed over the road and is moving on with thier lives, and I blow through in the bike lane...passing the car on the right and scattering the last couple of deer further off of the road and over the fence into the field. When the car finally got going again and passed me, it honked at me. (?) It's possible that it was a "hey, cool, you got really close to some deer", or calling me out for being an idiot somehow. I had no idea how to interpret that one.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

jhmeathead said:


> 33deg this morning. Cold isnt so bad but i ride on a street with big buildings on both sides. So its like a wind corridor. brrrrrrr
> 
> View attachment 839588


Daaaammmn...That looks like my kit when it's -20F, not 33. But hey, you're out there and that's the important part, right?

Had a decent ride in this AM. 51 and windy at my house - 7 to 10 mph sustained headwinds to the bus. Not too bad. I'm starting to get used to them again. Got to Anchorage and the temps were lower and it was spitting rain, but it was a really nice ride overall. My BB is really getting crunchy over the last two days. Yesterday I took the long way to the bus and was worried that I wouldn't make it because of how loud it has gotten. Hopefully it'll make three more trips (home today and home and back tomorrow) and that my bearings get here on Saturday as scheduled.

There was one place in town that had the bearings in stock, but it is a 10 mile one way trip from where I work to get them and on Friday, when I was going to get them, it was raining and cruddy, so... laziness won out. And the fact that I could get them from Amazon with standard shipping cheaper than I can in town. Weak. I know. Of course, I might end up running over there to get them in town anyway if it doesn't look like the ones on order will get here on Saturday.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Has one of my scariest moments to date on my way home last night. Was coming down a hill, probably going 26-28mph. I had the right of way, there was a cross street ahead that had a stop sign. There were pickup trucks waiting in each direction, not moving. When I got about 50' from the intersection, one of the trucks went. I locked up my brakes going almost 30 then the truck slammed on his brakes in the middle of the intersection when he saw me. No way I would have stopped in time if he didn't slam on his brakes, pretty sure there would have been quite a collision. He had a perfectly clear view of me coming, so he just must not have been looking. It was about 5:15 at that point, so I didn't have my lights on since it was perfectly bright out. I did have my yellow jacket on. I think I'll be using my flashing headlight and taillights on my way home starting today.

mtbexplorer, great pics! Nice to see other people's routes.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> Has one of my scariest moments to date on my way home last night. Was coming down a hill, probably going 26-28mph. I had the right of way, there was a cross street ahead that had a stop sign. There were pickup trucks waiting in each direction, not moving. When I got about 50' from the intersection, one of the trucks went. I locked up my brakes going almost 30 then the truck slammed on his brakes in the middle of the intersection when he saw me. No way I would have stopped in time if he didn't slam on his brakes, pretty sure there would have been quite a collision. He had a perfectly clear view of me coming, so he just must not have been looking. It was about 5:15 at that point, so I didn't have my lights on since it was perfectly bright out. I did have my yellow jacket on. I think I'll be using my flashing headlight and taillights on my way home starting today.


He saw you but didn't expect you to be moving nearly so fast. Brain just said "bicycle, far away" and ignored you.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Though it has been awhile since I got the "Nice legs!" comment, so I imagine the risk is pretty low.


We`ve all given you the "Nice mustache" comment. What more do you want !?!



Straz85 said:


> Has one of my scariest moments to date on my way home last night.
> 
> mtbexplorer, great pics! Nice to see other people's routes.


God luck with the flashers- sounds like about the only thing to try.

+1 to MtbX`s pics today. The super-NEish bookends, especially


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in this morning was pretty good. Had some chain skip issues, which will be resolved after I clock out. 

Also, anyone have any good ideas for hauling a pack of diapers without panniers or a rack? Looks like a one handed slow trek for me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> Has one of my scariest moments to date on my way home last night. Was coming down a hill, probably going 26-28mph. I had the right of way, there was a cross street ahead that had a stop sign. There were pickup trucks waiting in each direction, not moving. When I got about 50' from the intersection, one of the trucks went. I locked up my brakes going almost 30 then the truck slammed on his brakes in the middle of the intersection when he saw me. No way I would have stopped in time if he didn't slam on his brakes, pretty sure there would have been quite a collision. He had a perfectly clear view of me coming, so he just must not have been looking. It was about 5:15 at that point, so I didn't have my lights on since it was perfectly bright out. I did have my yellow jacket on. I think I'll be using my flashing headlight and taillights on my way home starting today.
> 
> mtbexplorer, great pics! Nice to see other people's routes.


You may be doing this already, but on those kind of hills I would also "take the lane", as it makes you more visible, you can see cars pulling out earlier, and you have more "escape routes" in case of emergency.

Thanks for the pix compliments everyone. I want to see the photos from the recent contributor (on a different thread) in Paris.

CB, that sounds like a "I was being careful", "how dare you pass me" honk.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Speaking of interpreting honks, I got one the other day that left me puzzled. I had only just left my house and was maybe a half mile into my commute. Was in the bike lane traveling through my 'burb. 6:15am, dark, pretty darn cold, two blinking tail lights both on and in proper working order (I stopped to check after the honk.) MEEP MEEP MEEEEPPPP from behind. Car passes me and it's no one I know. I figured it was either a, "It's cold, you're a dumbass" or "It's cold, you're awesome" honk.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> One of the slowest left hooks I have ever seen. I guess he did not realize I'd hit 30 or so by the time I got to him at the bottom of the hill and he was only just out of my lane though he started out when I was half way down and over 20 mph (no I did not slow, I had an out and I had two vehicles coming up behind me (30 zone where some do a lot more).





Straz85 said:


> Had one of my scariest moments to date on my way home last night. Was coming down a hill, probably going 26-28mph. I had the right of way, there was a cross street ahead that had a stop sign. There were pickup trucks waiting in each direction, not moving. When I got about 50' from the intersection, one of the trucks went. I locked up my brakes going almost 30 then the truck slammed on his brakes in the middle of the intersection when he saw me. No way I would have stopped in time if he didn't slam on his brakes, pretty sure there would have been quite a collision. He had a perfectly clear view of me coming, so he just must not have been looking. It was about 5:15 at that point, so I didn't have my lights on since it was perfectly bright out. I did have my yellow jacket on. I think I'll be using my flashing headlight and taillights on my way home starting today.





mtbxplorer said:


> You may be doing this already, but on those kind of hills I would also "take the lane", as it makes you more visible, you can see cars pulling out earlier, and you have more "escape routes" in case of emergency.


I think taking your lane helps and I know my lights help, but my driver failed to see me and how fast I was approaching even after he pulled out. Not sure he even saw that it was too close for comfort. The good news is that we do seem to educate some of the partially attentive drivers. Space cadets aren't on our planet, so be careful out there.



mtbxplorer said:


> CB, that sounds like a "I was being careful", "how dare you pass me" honk.


Yep. How dare you blow by me when I was being excessively cautious and make me pass you again. If that is the worst thing that happened to them yesterday, maybe they should have a pickup pull out in front of them? Just sayin'...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

PBS had this special last night:

Video: Making Stuff Faster | Watch NOVA Online | PBS Video

The streamliner went by him at 50 and holds the record at 82 and some change. They had footage of him and I looked for Rodar but was unsure if I saw him steady the machine at the end of the run or not. Still I like seeing cycling on the screen as it makes it more mainstream and less weirdos versus us.

Stopping for red lights and stop signs would be problematic. It needs mirrors, a leg access door or retractable training wheels and drivers are really going to underestimate your speed.

BTW Straz I have buried a bike at an excess of 25 mph into the side of a car. Not recommended. Car 1: Bike 0. Die Hard or at least Die Another Day.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Lots of cool pictures and video clips. Liked the pictures of your trip too Rodar.

Good commuting week thus far. 4 for 4. Feels good after my miserable commuting week last week. Might be buying a bearded dragon (a lizard from Australia and common in the reptile trade) from a coworker tomorrow after work so a drive day might be in my future.

About 48-53 for the ride in all week and 73-79 for the ride home. Pretty agreeable riding weather, except for being a little cooler than seasonal averages in the morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

One more, from the way home. The fountain (planter) in the foreground has an old plaque saying it's from the Humane Society - it was for horses (and dogs below) to drink from.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Also, anyone have any good ideas for hauling a pack of diapers without panniers or a rack? Looks like a one handed slow trek for me.


Hmmm. Duct tape them to a backpack? Use Duct Tape to add shoulder and waist harness to turn the package into a backpack/papoose? New meaning for Huggies! Use a trailer you can later use for the mini-me? Pamper your pampers, so to speak? Make an interesting helmet extension? Gotta Luv it.

Sorry if you think these are crappy ideas or the humor Depends on trade names.

Mine is now 24. Sometime in the future you will look back with nostalgia on these days. Hauling in the pampers is better than hauling them out.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Today was nothing short of glorious. I caught every green light, the weather was just right, and the fully exposed moon gave plenty of ambient light so that even on the darkest sections of my commute, I could still see all around. 

As for the diapers. I grabbed a small pack and stuffed my backpack. I'll pick up the larger box this weekend.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

When I have to carry a box of diapers with no rack I plop them on top of my handle bar, right hand on top of the box so I can brake with the front wheel.

Works for short distances, but I had to ride 3 miles like that and it kinda sucked.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> anyone have any good ideas for hauling a pack of diapers without panniers or a rack? Looks like a one handed slow trek for me.


Depends on the size of the pack. 
People carrying stuff while riding one handed usually looks pretty sketchy to me.
Any way to strap it on your back?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't like to toot my own horn, but I feel obligated to point out that I did pretty well at this event this past summer:









:lol: I've been wearing it the past couple of days as inspiration. Wound up riding home after dark last night...pretty big (full?) moon last night, and it lit up the forst pretty eerily on both sides of my dirt road...much slower going UP the dirt road than it is going down in the mornings. I kind of creeped myself out.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Someone made a comment on how relatively flat my locality is. Lots of 1-3% grades and winds rarely below 10-20 mph, though. The Wisconsin Glacier made it flat and river and creek valleys form the "hills". About 3 mies south the glacier stopped and it becomes gently rolling. Last night at sunset I found a view just north of the airport (one small hanger and the limp windsock are visible). These demonstrate the big sky country not too impeded by trees, buildings, and grain elevators, and it was a pretty sky regardless:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ nice. According to Strava, I just topped 100,000 feet of elevation gain for the year. I didn't really start recording stuff until late April though. That would be tough to do there. Looked up my fast friend for perspective...he just topped 227,000.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

holy shlt, lots of driver aggression on display this morning due to the BART strike. Almost got it t-boned from 2 left hand turn drivers but the ultimate was the wrong way driver ...****in A folks


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Haven't had a commute since Tuesday. Tapering for Sundays Marathon. Seems best though, it looks like the Waxing Moon is making a lot of crazies out there. I've been reading the latest posts like it's a horror story, biting my nails and looking away! Yikes! Glad everyone is ok!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ nice. According to Strava, I just topped 100,000 feet of elevation gain for the year. I didn't really start recording stuff until late April though. That would be tough to do there. Looked up my fast friend for perspective...he just topped 227,000.


I don't normally use Strava but you got me curious so I created a Strava loop for my round trip commute and came up with a daily elevation gain of 1041 @170 days this year gives me about 177,000. I can think of 3 weekend rides that had more than 5K each so I think I'm in the 200,000 foot range. So, I've climbed 38 miles this year, no wonder my legs are feeling tired.

RollingRunner has some other fun news that she hasn't seemed to share yet. 

Rainy commute this AM, nice commute this PM.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Yup, it's true! I have my first ever new road bike! I've been riding my Father-in-Laws hand-me-down Raleigh until two weeks ago when bedwards1000 took me to a bike shop, fitted me for a bike and let me have a test ride. Big Love! I'm having a blast riding it, but can't seem to figure out how to post a photo. It's shiny and it matches my shoes 2013 Scott Contessa Speedster 25. You can be sure I'll be riding it next week while in marathon recovery.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice pix, BrianMc! 
Rollingrunner, it seems like you just have to keep clicking "go advanced", "upload pix""add pix" "select pix""insert inline" "done", and I may have missed a few clicks! Also they can't be huge or you will get a "red" error thingy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jrm said:


> holy shlt, lots of driver aggression on display this morning due to the BART strike.


Again? Didn`t they just strike last year?

Whoa, a full marathon, RR? Yikes! Good luck and have fun. Hope you copntinue to enjoy the new ride. As far as pics, I bet you can find a knowledgeable and willing pic poster to walk you through a time or two.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I don't get to see much wildlife, but my cute little porcupine buddy was out again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Awesome pics BrianMc and Mtbx!

I'm going to brag just a bit...I am well over 300,000 feet for the year. I really like to climb and am proud of that number. Drug rodar up 4K of those feet too!  (loved your write-up on your trip rodar - nicely done!)

Be safe everyone.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

I noticed last night on the way to work that I have a weird creak, rubbing noise coming from the rear wheel, only on right hand turns.WWheel is true and brakes dont rub so I was stumpped. Till this morning when I was trying to find the problem. 
Turns out I have tension issues on the non-drive side spokes. They must not have been relieved and one has actually become finger loose. The others have light tension compared to the other side, so ill see what I can do about it this weekend

Edit

So what happened a half hour after I posted this? I ran my bike through a patch of FRESH concrete, hadnt even begun to set, so I sank in it like mud. Luckily it was only one sidewalk square, but REALLY?! they couldnt think of I dont know, putting a SIGN and maybe barricading that spot? 

They had a huge spray canister right next to it so I assumed they had sprayed it down with something like maybe a sealer, or that it was water run off from the construction on the building. Nope, fresh concrete, all over my new to me bike.

Had to stop and clean off whatever I could from the rims, tires, and brakes so I didnt mess them up. I just now finished cleaning the rest of it off now that im home. Luckily the stuff just turns to powder so nothing stuck except for some on the tires. And every nook and cranny on one of my pedals.

I also fixed the loose spokes and got rid of the creak, but im not good at truing rims so I did throw it off slightly. No more creak though. Gonna take it to the LBS when I get paid next week to true it for me. If im lucky maybe hell do it for free, since its his old bike and all.

Why does editing erase all my returns and makes my post one block of text? I edit, save, post is one big block, then I have to edit and add all the returns again.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

RollingRunner said:


> Yup, it's true! I have my first ever new road bike! I've been riding my Father-in-Laws hand-me-down Raleigh until two weeks ago when bedwards1000 took me to a bike shop, fitted me for a bike and let me have a test ride. Big Love! I'm having a blast riding it, but can't seem to figure out how to post a photo. It's shiny and it matches my shoes 2013 Scott Contessa Speedster 25. You can be sure I'll be riding it next week while in marathon recovery.


FIFY:thumbsup: Very nice.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

That sucks about the sidewalk! On part of my commute, I have to jump on the sidewalk (they're tearing to the road, and I'm not good on gravel). Well, last week they decided to tear up a section at the end, but not the curb, so it goes: concrete-6in drop-6ft worth of dirt-6 inch cement wall. 

Great way to scare the bejesus out of someone at 0545. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

rode by the LBS today to grab some brake pads. Seen this new addition to the shop and it was whispering to me. " take me hoooome". lol 







I was honestly suprised how it rode. I expected it to weigh 10000000 pounds and turn like a tank. It was lighter than i thought and decently handling.

They had a new Kona WO setting next to it. Now that bike weighed a ton and rode like crap.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Thursday night after work, parts runs- one direction for a wheelset, back across the city for a fork. Ended up doing 2 1/2 hours in icy rain in my shorts and no waterproof clothing whatsoever.
Near-hypothermic by the end, had to get angry and hammer the singlespeed as hard as I could to bring my heartrate up and heat myself enough to compensate for the water and windchill.

Recovery pic...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ That would be lethal at my age. Hope the soup does the usual wonders.

A reprise anther photogenic sunset last night:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Working 7 PM to 7 AM tonight and tomorrow. After 1.5 rotations of swing shift, staying up all night is going to take me a lot of coffee.

I have a VDO altimeter on The Mighty Schwinn that records cumulative elevation. I change batteries and zero my computeres on New Years, now at 103k ft on that bike, representing 71% of my YTD total mileage.



m4xwellmurd3r said:


> I also fixed the loose spokes and got rid of the creak, but im not good at truing rims so I did throw it off slightly. No more creak though. Gonna take it to the LBS when I get paid next week to true it for me. If im lucky maybe hell do it for free, since its his old bike and all.
> 
> Why does editing erase all my returns and makes my post one block of text? I edit, save, post is one big block, then I have to edit and add all the returns again.


Good going, making the atempt at tensioning/truing your wheel. Do you have another bike or wheel available? If so, read up on the process and give it another shot- it takes practice, but nothing magical about it. If you`re stuck without a bike in the mean time, that`s anothers story.

I dunno about losing the return spaces. Though I have other weird issues come and go, I haven`t run into that one before.



byknuts said:


> Recovery pic...


Soup = good :thumbsup:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Today was the first day in along time I kinda wished I had a cycling computer on the bike for my ride home this am. 45*, skies were perfect baby blue with no clouds anywhere in any direction, the sun rising on my left (and just a little too bright), and the moon still very visible on my left, no traffic to speak of, me full of energy (couldn't tell you why). I just hammered it all the way home. I'm not sure if I was any faster than normal, but it felt like I was laying a strip of fire behind me. Reminded me of when I was a kid on my bmx, on my way home after a great day. Probably wasn't going as fast as I thought I was but it still felt killer. For that 55 minutes I was 12 again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ It's good to be an adult. I can pretend I am a kid again any time I want. Especially when I am on two wheels.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> I'm going to brag just a bit...I am well over 300,000 feet for the year. I really like to climb and am proud of that number.


That's phenomenal. What's your mileage, just out of curiosity?


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## Mirrorsaw (Jul 7, 2013)

I broke a spoke coming home Thursday. So I bused into work Friday (I felt horrible putting my bike on the bus rack like that I did.) But I didn't want to risk it getting worse by riding it. I took it to the shop after work, they fixed it up fast. I rode home. It was a good ride. And then the ride in Saturday was good. It was however, SUPER foggy. It made the ride in extra fun, cuz I couldn't see very much around me.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

Took another look at my rim after a good night worth of sleep and found the offending spoke that was throwing the wheel off. I guess I missed a loose spoke the morning I tightened them. It has thrown the centerline off a bit but at least the spokes arent creaking anymore from a lack of tension. 
When I get a proper wrench ill see about truing it back to center. Its nice and straight, I think maybe only a hairs off in one spot, but no brake rub or frame rub (which is really easy, im running 2.5in wide tires on a 95 stumpjumper)

Anyways, tonight is a little warmer, which isnt good or bad, since it was a little chilly last week. I need to dig out warmer clothes soon before it gets down into the 40s and 50s at night.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I got lazy this morning. We had some friends over last night, and we stayed up until 1 conversing while I went over their beach cruisers and made them rideable again. 

I hang my head in shame. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I got lazy this morning. We had some friends over last night, and we stayed up until 1 conversing while I went over their beach cruisers and made them rideable again.
> 
> I hang my head in shame.
> 
> Tradere Scriptura Magister


The wai I see it, you should be able to take a day off since you spent the night making more bikes rideable lol

Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kudos to those quickly fixing broken spokes. I've been commuting on broken spokes (two) for the last three weeks. In my mind it might be a bit of test (with a lot of laziness) to find out if there are any true consequences to this. Always heard to immediately park a bike with broken spokes, etc. So far no difference in handling really.

Off for a dr. appt. today. Back to commuting tomorrow.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

I had a stripped spoke on a bent front tire with my last bike. It was a wally world bike and I was so close to dumping money into overhauling it and making it a proper bike, then it got stolen. The only bad thing I noticed was the really gnarly speed wobble it had abover 12mph when I let go of the bars.
It also seemed to add more rolling resistance but I dont know if it was truly or not. I suppose over time the rim could warp since the tension is so far off, but im not really sure.

Im shocked how much a half hour makes in air temps out here. I got out at a bit past 7, its now 745 and it went from being "holy **** I need gloves" to "I dont want my hoodie on anymore"

Freakin desert. Besides that awesome weather.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I know when I kept blowing rear spokes before I upgraded to a stronger wheel set, it definitely had an effect on my rolling resistance. I wasn't able to coast but a small fraction as I should, and even in some of my easier gears, I was cranking harder than I should have. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

See thats what im thinking too. Even though I went from a full suspenion wally bike to this rigid, rolling resistance shouldnt change if everything is lubed up properly. I have the same tires, and for most of the week, I ran this rigid at 40lbs, and it felt like it rolled better than my old bike at 60lbs. The old bike had rims so flimsy that I almost folded them in half when I put some weight on them to try and flex the wobble out. The rims I have now are a double walled rim and feel a lot stiffer.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Strange temps today....Airport says 8C CBC down in the river valley says -3C....

Probably both are right....felt like -3C cause the ears got a bit nipped.

Some sort of inversion?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A surprisingly lovely 12C/55F here this morning. Plenty dark though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brisker than we’ve seen recently, 32F at sunrise, and 34F when I left. Added the knee warmers and was quite comfy; for the ride home it should be in the 50’s, so I’ll be back to shorts for that. I have to run a couple errands at lunch, my friend has mice in her car and wants her mini Havahart trap back. I was having the mice lick the peanut butter off of regular traps somehow, but the Havahart works like a charm.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Brisker than we've seen recently, 32F at sunrise, and 34F when I left. Added the knee warmers and was quite comfy; for the ride home it should be in the 50's, so I'll be back to shorts for that. I have to run a couple errands at lunch, my friend has mice in her car and wants her mini Havahart trap back. I was having the mice lick the peanut butter off of regular traps somehow, but the Havahart works like a charm.


Tha is why we got a cat.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Good ride this morning. Worst Monday at work in a looooong time. Really looking forward to the ride home. Sometimes I swear if I didn't ride to work I'd be a seriously horrible person to be around :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A fairly basic commute this AM. Not windy, so that was a plus. 41F, but it felt cooler than that for some reason.

Got my BB bearings changed over the weekend and the bike is running awesome now.

Also, found a link to my blog posted over at Fat-Bike.com. How cool's that?

I've made the big times now, boy-o! Guess I better step up the game with more pictures and fewer words... give the public what they want and all. Interwebz fame here I come.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Block, it was 33 on the East Side at 9am. Frost all over the grass, etc. I'd think it would feel cooler than 41 for sure. Your BB bearings sure didn't last long. Didn't you just get that raceface crankset?

Working from home today. I put in a 31 mile fatbike loop yesterday to make up for not commuting today.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Good ride this morning. Worst Monday at work in a looooong time. Really looking forward to the ride home. Sometimes I swear if I didn't ride to work I'd be a seriously horrible person to be around :lol:


Man I know what you mean. When I took the train to work for summer I was tired all night at work, and cranky all day after I got home to sleep.

Riding to and from works wakes me up for work, then burns out all that extra energy in the morning so I can sleep good at home.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Block, it was 33 on the East Side at 9am. Frost all over the grass, etc. I'd think it would feel cooler than 41 for sure. Your BB bearings sure didn't last long. Didn't you just get that raceface crankset?
> 
> Working from home today. I put in a 31 mile fatbike loop yesterday to make up for not commuting today.


I should have said it was 41 in the Valley before I left. I think it was definitely colder here in town.

Yeah, picked up the RF crankset back in March, I think. Lots of miles between then and now. It really seemed to go downhill when we started getting all the rain.

I'm bummed I'm not living in town anymore. I used to do the loop around town about once a month and remember crawling under the Seward bridges all winter before they started working on it. The link being complete is super exciting. I might just plan on heading home late on Friday and riding it after I get done working for the day.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Funny how its always warming in the valley. ;p

On friday, where would you start from? I might be able to find ya trail-side!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Also, found a link to my blog posted over at Fat-Bike.com. How cool's that?
> 
> I've made the big times now, boy-o! Guess I better step up the game with more pictures and fewer words... give the public what they want and all. Interwebz fame here I come.


In case you weren't sure which blog on Fat-bike.com is blockphi's, this page looks/sounds familiar...
Multimodal Alaska Adventures: Error has Turned Animals into Men...
:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Tha is why we got a cat.


Please send cat, food, and return shipping label.



CommuterBoy said:


> Good ride this morning. Worst Monday at work in a looooong time. Really looking forward to the ride home. Sometimes I swear if I didn't ride to work I'd be a seriously horrible person to be around :lol:


Hope Tuesday is better!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

29 degrees and very frosty this morning, which makes it the coldest we've had this fall. I haven't really had a chance to get acclimated to the cold yet and wore the wrong gloves so cold hands were the only problem.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I resolved to sell my car a few weeks ago, and since then I've been trying to pretend I don't have a car (even though mine isn't sold yet). Getting some serious discomfort from my stupid saddle.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Another nice fall morning with temperatures well above freezing. Still haven't had to break out the jacket yet, but there's snow in the forecast for sunday.

Last night was our civic election, and the new mayor-elect is very pro-bike. His wife is a well known local cycling blogger, they both ride year-round, and they've got a cargo bike. If bike infrastructure was ever going to be a priority around here, he'll be the guy to do it. And he's pretty funny too:





It's a good day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hope Tuesday is better!


Thanks. So far so good...but I haven't had to interact with any humans yet :lol:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Decent. A little too warm for my tastes, but that should change later on in the week. I've got a weird sound like a card in the spokes coming from the front end, but I can't spot it.

I decided to cut through the rail yard at Tropicana today, instead of going straight to the office, since I was about 10 minutes ahead of time. I spotted this awesome piece of graffiti on one of the cars. I've got a buddy who works down there as an engineer, and gave him a call. He's looking around for the other half.

The Hand of God from Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam".









Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

^^I'm not really a big fan of graffiti but that is pretty awesome!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

It's the first time I've seen anything like it. Gang markers and the like is on all of them. But this one, this one I'll leave alone. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Funny how its always warming in the valley. ;p
> 
> On friday, where would you start from? I might be able to find ya trail-side!


I'd be starting from the university area - Probably right at Goose Lake. Just have to find a good excuse why I can't hold office hours for my students that day. Another possibility is taking Thursday afternoon off and hitting it up then.

Good ride in this AM. Again a bit warmer in the valley than in town, but not bad at all on either end. I am wanting snow, though. Of course, once we get it, I'll want it to be over.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks. So far so good...but I haven't had to interact with any humans yet :lol:


So either this forum isn't interaction or we aren't humans...



mtbxplorer said:


> Please send cat, food, and return shipping label.


Skip the food. You want a mouser to be a little hungry.

Super fun commute on my Felt yesterday screaming through as many gravel roads as I could find between here and there. That bike just begs to be ridden hard.

Ho Hum commute on the cross check this morning 'cause there is rain in the forecast. Probably a little tired from last night.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks. So far so good...but I haven't had to interact with any humans yet :lol:


And hopefully none with pumas or randy stags.



nemhed said:


> ^^I'm not really a big fan of graffiti but that is pretty awesome!


Imagine if the idea of great art reproductions caught on among graffiti artists! Sure make waiting for a train at a crossing entertaining! Even reproduction cartoons like Calvin and Hobbs, Charlie Brown, or Pogo: "We have met the enemy and they are us!" would be great!



blockphi said:


> I am wanting snow, though. Of course, once we get it, I'll want it to be over.


Snow is funny that way, isn't it? A little seems to go a long way unless you get enough to really play in it with a fat bike, it seems.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> So either this forum isn't interaction or we aren't humans...


I can click a button and you all dissapear. It's beautiful :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Killer sunrise


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ooooohh Aaaahhhh. 
I had a pretty good sunrise, I was also late so I didn't stop to get a picture of it. Sunrise season is starting.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Wow! That's one thing I miss about the Texas hill country. We don't have good sunrises here on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Awesome sunsets, though. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Dr. appt. yesterday and lazy today. Rest of the week taking the family to Disneyland (or Expensiveland). My commuting week a complete bust this week. No mt. biking this past weekend either. Wanted to be fresh for my dr. appt. Wanted any aches and pains to be real and not related to weekend mt. biking. Might try sneaking in a mt. bike ride tomorrow morning, as we won't be heading to LA until my kids get out of school. LA's only about four hours from Vegas, so a pretty quick trip.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Last night was our civic election, and the new mayor-elect is very pro-bike. His wife is a well known local cycling blogger, they both ride year-round, and they've got a cargo bike. If bike infrastructure was ever going to be a priority around here, he'll be the guy to do it. And he's pretty funny too:


Cool. Hope he`s able to make life easier for you and your fellow riders. I liked his video, too.



BrianMc said:


> Imagine if the idea of great art reproductions caught on among graffiti artists! Sure make waiting for a train at a crossing entertaining! Even reproduction cartoons like Calvin and Hobbs, Charlie Brown, or Pogo: "We have met the enemy and they are us!" would be great!
> .


I know that a murals tend to discourage graffiti because the little punks somehow have enough decency to not deface them. Wonder if "high class" graffiti has the same effect?

RollingRunner, survived the marathon?


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I finally made it back on the Bike for commutes. My wife delivered Oct 1St and as you can imagine life has been a little busy. My buddy didnt help in the commuting department though. He got me out over Columbus Day to go ride Project X in Idyllwild. I provided a link down below for entertainment. I went over the bars a couple of times but the best was when I pulled a half inch thorn out of my calf after a chance encounter with a thornbush.

I am back to my short commute into work of 5 miles in the 50s in and 70s back home. Soon I will be commuting in mid day and back in the very early morning though. It will be quite cold so I might have to find some pants that are good to ride in. My hoodie will suffice for the small 20 min ride in but the wife said she might want another so I cant freeze my assets off yet.

Its not me riding btw. Just what the trail is like






And then how the pros ride it lol.






stamped and snail mailed


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I finally made it back on the Bike for commutes. My wife delivered Oct 1St and as you can imagine life has been a little busy. My buddy didnt help in the commuting department though. He got me out over Columbus Day to go ride Project X in Idyllwild. I provided a link down below for entertainment. I went over the bars a couple of times but the best was when I pulled a half inch thorn out of my calf after a chance encounter with a thornbush.
> 
> I am back to my short commute into work of 5 miles in the 50s in and 70s back home. Soon I will be commuting in mid day and back in the very early morning though. It will be quite cold so I might have to find some pants that are good to ride in. My hoodie will suffice for the small 20 min ride in but the wife said she might want another so I cant freeze my assets off yet.
> 
> ...


Great clips. The pro clip is just amazing. That would be suicide after twenty feet for me.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool. Hope he`s able to make life easier for you and your fellow riders. I liked his video, too.


It's a pretty big relief because the "other" guy is a very vocally antibike doofus (basically Rob Ford redux, for the other Canadians). I figured bikeguy would probably win, but it was a tight 3 horse race so I couldn't be sure. But then bikeguy ended up with over 60% and my faith in humanity was restored.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I can click a button and you all dissapear. It's beautiful :lol:


I thought you meant while riding. I think reading the forum while riding would qualify as distracted driving. 



mtbxplorer said:


> Killer sunrise


Ahhhhhh! She got me!  Only hurts when I laugh! PS: Cute cat request a few posts ago. Ours isn't too mailable. Be one pi$$ed off puss when they cancelled the stamps!



vegascruiser said:


> Great clips. The pro clip is just amazing. That would be suicide after twenty feet for me.


At my age the first one is challenging enough, the second? I've got about 5 decades too many miles to do that. I'll call it wisdom.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was pretty uneventful. Just the way I like it. Although there's a cool front coming in, and my ride is about 6.5 miles north, so I fought a decent 5-7 mph headwind, with some gusts to bring me to a stop. 

If it keeps up, I'll fly home. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Little chilly this am ay 30f. I need better pants and some kind of hat, have any of you found a good hat that covers your ears while still fitting your helmet?


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Great clips. The pro clip is just amazing. That would be suicide after twenty feet for me.


Actually it is a lot easier than you might think. What trips riders over 30 (barely there but I made it) up I would say is how much the suspension does with no input from the rider. We grew up knowing the only bikes that had suspension were motorcycles. A lot of it is in your head.



BrianMc said:


> At my age the first one is challenging enough, the second? I've got about 5 decades too many miles to do that. I'll call it wisdom.


At a certain point I am totally with you however I'm not quite to the wisdom part yet. I think it goes "old enough to know better but young enough to do it again" lol.

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

L4NE4 said:


> Little chilly this am ay 30f. I need better pants and some kind of hat, have any of you found a good hat that covers your ears while still fitting your helmet?


This one is good: Nashbar Thermal Skull Cap - Normal Shipping Ground
I've also got a wool one from icebreaker that I use a lot.

I took the fatbike through the trails this morning, great pre-dawn fall colors are trapped on my camera with no cable here at work.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Just found out it's supposed to dip down into the forties this afternoon. I'm excited! But, it means I gotta go spend some money I don't have of some long sleeved shirts. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

26 F in the Valley this AM. Clear and beautiful. I love how many stars I can see out there where there are no street lights. Amazing! A bit warmer in Anchorage. 34F when I got here. A bit cloudy as well, so no stars.

Took a few minutes last night to try to track down the creak I'm hearing. I also had a squeak - that I was able to track down easily - grass wrapped up in the bushings of the jockey wheels from my last river bottom cruise. Pulled that all out and hit it with a touch of lube and blessed silence. The creak is still there, but the cups are nice and tight and I pulled the cranks just to get a quick check of how the seals on the Enduro bearings work against the sand I was in and I'm impressed. Not a grain I could see. Relubed everything and put it all back together. Still creaking, but now I'm thinking it has something to do with the pedals, which also had a lot of grass wrapped around the spindles. I've also noticed that they are really tough to click in an out since the river ride. Just got them two weeks ago and thinking I'll return them.

I got the ShimanoM324 pedals, because I really wanted to get away from needing to switch pedals for the winter. I had a pair of these when I first went clipless and they did the job. But I eventually moved onto Egg Beaters and now I find the 324's to be a pain in the butt and a serious compromise. One river ride, I was able to click in only about half the time without first needing to knock the sand out of the pedal and the cleats - never had to worry about that with the beaters. My plan is to return the 324s and get a set of Egg Beaters and a new set of platforms for the winter. I'll also get a pair of shoe covers to see if I can extend my use of the egg beaters a bit longer into the winter season.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> This one is good: Nashbar Thermal Skull Cap - Normal Shipping Ground
> I've also got a wool one from icebreaker that I use a lot.


Thanks, just ordered it!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Krypto, those videos aren`t both from the same trail, are they? I agree the second one was fun to watch, but that kind of riding would scare the crap out of me. Even if my health insurance dedcutible were what it was ten years ago.



bedwards1000 said:


> This one is good: Nashbar Thermal Skull Cap - Normal Shipping Ground
> I've also got a wool one from icebreaker that I use a lot.


Say, that does look nice. I just use a knit watch cap. They fit under my helmet, but not well- I bet that beanie thing would fit a lot better.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Have my first commute on the Vaya coming on Sunday. I mapped my route that has changed since I moved, and it's about 1.5mi shorter for 20.5mi one way. Should help me get the fit of the bike dialed


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

30F so I added the kneewarmers and warmer gloves, no beanie needed yet though. Snapped this at a red light in Montpelier – it’s pretty skinny for a 2-way bridge.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

On the skull cap, I have a thin one that doesn't cover the ears all the way...granted, I have a big head and rather large ears... but I pair it up with a pricepoint ear warmer thing, which keeps the under-helmet part of the hat super thin, while giving me some nice ear warmth. I'm thinking about asking Mrs. Commuterboy to sew the two of them together for a custom-awesome experience. 

Yesterday I pushed the 9 mile route in to work in record time, and then did the 14.5 mile loop home (now featuring a strava segment on the one tough climb)... today I took it easy on the normal route. Uneventful ride in. 

Saturday is a local race. A downhill event which I will do on my hardtail 29er, because that's how serious I am about downhill. My goal is to beat at least one person in the open class who's on a full suspension bike.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I used to wear various beanies, got this one last Christmas from my mother-in-law's fiance and won't go back to another.

The North Face Men's Collections Flight Series® SKULLY BEANIE

Keeps me warm enough under the helmet, even down into the teens. Breathes pretty well. Mostly what I like is the slots for my glasses to go through.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've found that a Buff doubled over works really nicely for me down to about 20F. Leaves the very top of my head exposed for venting and gives just enough coverage on my ears. When it drops below 20 I break out the REI Thermo Fitted Beanie - warm and wind resistant. Works well for my fat head.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Did about 20km at lunch, including a bunch of new (but very tame) singletrack. Very tired.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

blockphi said:


> I've found that a Buff doubled over works really nicely for me down to about 20F. Leaves the very top of my head exposed for venting and gives just enough coverage on my ears. When it drops below 20 I break out the REI Thermo Fitted Beanie - warm and wind resistant. Works well for my fat head.


I'm with you on the Buff. Except I don't think I've ever used it doubled over. Single thickness works well for me well below freezing. I generate a good bit of my own body heat, especially in my head, so it's gotta be pretty cold for me to break out anything warmer. I do have a thin Smartwool beanie that works well for that. Like CommuterBoy, I have a big head and it doesn't cover the tips of my earlobes entirely. I will use the Buff as a headband to cover the rest if I need the coverage.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Now you guys made me go look at Ibex, who sent me my fave thin merino beanie as a freebie with my first order, and I go and see the bo-peep, which looks cozy and coverage-y and with helmet-friendly reviews. Bo Peep Hat | Women's aviator knit hat . Ibex tells you where the wool is from (New Zealand usually), what the sheep ate for breakfast, and where the stuff is made (US or Can usually). Plus they are in Woodstock VT and allow dogs at work, so that is my plug, check out their other hats too.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

I run different thickness of Ibex wool hats depending on how cold it is. Wool is your cold/warm weather friend! The Coppi Cap is my favorite! 2nd up is the Meru Hat.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Riding in the Buff at below freezing? Beware of shrinkage. 

On a more serious note I picked up a watch cap a headband and a neck covering for less than $10 at the "W" place. I have a heavier cap, a toque and a balaclava to take me into the below 0 range.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

JordyB said:


> I run different thickness of Ibex wool hats depending on how cold it is. Wool is your cold/warm weather friend! The Coppi Cap is my favorite! 2nd up is the Meru Hat.


Do you have a wool hat that doesn't cover your ears? I like merino in the summer to soak up sweat, but my icebreaker beanie has the extra little ear flaps that I have to awkwardly tuck up into the helmet. I'd like a summer merino skullcap, but haven't found one.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

I don't, I fold the ear flap up under the had to turn it into a skullcap.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

While I really like the Nashbeanie, I LOVED the BoPeep. Went googling for similar, but less girlie (would gladly wear the BoPeep anyway if I had one), and found that there are at least two companies making bike-specific versions. Both also claiming US manufacture, but not publishing the DNA of each sheep involved like Ibex does.

For anybody else interrested in "like the BoPeep, but different", try Walz Caps at about the same prices as Ibex:
Walz Cycling Caps : Wool
or Pace Sports for different, though a bit pricier options:
Pace Sportswear, Inc. - WOOL HEADWEAR

But I still might look for an $8 version- have to think about it.

EDIT: Taiga Inca Hat and Sierra Hat- made in Canada, not wool, but still looks danged comfy and way cheaper:
https://www.taigaworks.ca/Headwear-c17


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was awesomely brutal. That cold front blew in last night, and dropped the temp into the 50's, and it's still blowing strong. Took another route, much more urban and less residential. It was a blast, and just the change in scenery that I've been needing. They're about equidistant, but the one I took today is much more physically demanding. 

Oh, and I just got an email from Amazon saying that my new headlights, taillight, and blinkies to go on my chain stay will be here tomorrow morning. I see a late Friday night ride in my future. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

First frosty commute of the year today. I think it was 34 or so when I left. My legs have gotten big enough that I can actually use the legwarmers I have a little bit, that should save me a few rides home in tights and 50 degree weather.

Seems like its gonna be a colder winter than last year - hope I can find the balaclava I got on sale at the end of last winter.


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## dgaddis1 (Jul 1, 2007)

First time checking in on this thread I think. Finally had to break out some cold weather gear this morning, 41*F! Love the "cold" weather! A few pics.

Yesterday morning:









Yesterday afternoon, slight detour to hit some dirt:









This morning:


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Had my coldest commute so far at 30*F. Layered well. I've had a good teacher for cold weather riding. Two pairs of icebraker socks, and still had cold feet. I'll work on that. Found the commute to be SLOW on marathon recovering legs. Was nice to break a sweat again! Had a great marathon last Sunday, too! New PR of 3:43:00 and my first Boston Qualifyer! Enjoying some time on the bike during recovery.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Welcome dgaddis...cool pics.



RollingRunner said:


> New PR of 3:43:00 and my first Boston Qualifyer!


:eekster: Thats way impressive. :thumbsup: I can run about 3 miles at 8:30 pace. :lol: Cant imagine 26.

Epic Fall conditions here...this was yesterday's post-work detox:


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Thanks! Great pic!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The ride home last night was interesting. 39 F in Anchorage and beautifully sunny. Rolling in light weight gear. Hit the Valley and it was 26F and foggy - as I rode I could feel the front moving down from the mountains. I was surprised I didn't wake to snow this AM. Lots of moose out and about last night. I think I counted seven in less than three miles. Must have pushed down ahead of the weather in the mountains. Cool stuff. 

25F in the Valley when I left the house. Fairly clear, no breeze. A nice ride.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The clouds dispersed a bit by the time I left work. At one point, the sun was low between the horizon and some clouds, and I got a funny stobe effect: with the sun on my right, I rode along a field edged with bushes and saplings. Dark-Bright-Dark-Bright-Dark-Bright.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Right now it's 46F, windy, and raining. The rain better stop before I head out the door in 10-15 minutes or else it will be a cold ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

dgaddis1 said:


> This morning:


Nice Graniteville sign pic! Ours (VT) is not as impressive...








Great color and light in that pic CB!

Very dapper bo-peep alternatives, rodar.

Rollingrunner, congrats on qualifying for the Boston Marathon with that speedy time.

Just a single layer of styrofoam snow on the deck this morning at 28F, and some black ice on the road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

RollingRunner said:


> Found the commute to be SLOW on marathon recovering legs. Was nice to break a sweat again! Had a great marathon last Sunday, too! New PR of 3:43:00 and my first Boston Qualifyer!


Way to go :thumbsup:
Since you mention that it`s a PR, I take it you`ve run full marathons before? Now that you`re riding more, you`ll need to be careful not to make the 8-bikes-a-week guy feel bad by leaving him in the dust next tri season!



CommuterBoy said:


> View attachment 841453


Holy cow, those willows are SCREAMING yellow. Susan River? I get a mini campout this weekend- have to be sociable Saturday, but I get to take off in hermit style Sun and can stay out until about noon on Mon. I was thinking about investigating the possibilities of dirt connections from Bucks Lake to Twain, but maybe I need a Bizz trip. Or an Antelope loop featuring the back road to North Arm Road? Other? I need color and dirt in a 24 to 30 hour trip. What do I do? This is an official poll of one- your vote sends me on my way!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes that was the Susan River yesterday. Right place, right time... I stepped down off of the trail to the river and it was glowing down there...super cool light with the sun just right in that bend of the river. Lucky. Bizz gets my vote... over the top of Antelope has gotten cold and a dusting of snow already, so the colors up there are already on the forest floor. The North Arm route would still be beautiful once you got down towards the valley though...tempting, but the Susan River canyon is rocking this year. 
It's supposed to get cold next week, so this is your last chance at the fall colors I'd bet, lots of leaves already falling. You mentioned before you've never done the whole Bizz... perfect chance. Start at my end, go all the way up, camp somewhere near the Westwood trailhead, and cruise all the way back down in the morning. If you don't want to cook, hit Buffalo Chips Pizza in Westwood at the far end.

I PM'd you with top secret local insider knowledge :thumbsup:


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

I drained my airzound on one car who cut me off. I think it kills people but she was still able to drive for a while. She'll probably die later tonight or something.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Heading home yesterday was a blast. I stumbled upon a little single track beside a creek bed that went on for about 3 miles, so I flew down that thing with a huge grin on my face. It was nice to break out of the concrete jungle. 

This morning was another awesome workout. Stop and go, up and down, hop this speed bump, dodge this lamp post. I came to realize just how lacking my lighting setup is when I flew off a curb I didn't even see. Glad that my MagicShine clone is coming in today. 

All in all, I call it a grand success. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Fatty fall foliage porn: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration (from Wednesday)

Today was another F4X day. Have I mentioned how much I love that bike. I probably have.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Volsung said:


> I drained my airzound on one car who cut me off. I think it kills people but she was still able to drive for a while. She'll probably die later tonight or something.


^^Oh that's funny!

On a more serious note, it was 26 degrees on my ride in this morning, but I was much better prepared than on Tuesday's ride in when it was 27. This is around 20 degrees colder than average. Yesterday's high here was 37 and we had flurries, more typical December weather for us. It should be in the upper 50s/low 60s. I can tell though that I'm getting acclimated quickly. It will be interested to see if this weather trend continues for the rest of the winter.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oops, posted too fast. I see that a lot went on here while I was out yesterday.



mtbxplorer said:


> ...Ibex tells you where the wool is from (New Zealand usually), what the sheep ate for breakfast, and where the stuff is made (US or Can usually)...


Now I am picturing sheep eating waffles.



rodar y rodar said:


> Way to go :thumbsup:
> Since you mention that it`s a PR, I take it you`ve run full marathons before? Now that you`re riding more, you`ll need to be careful not to make the 8-bikes-a-week guy feel bad by leaving him in the dust next tri season!


We have mutual respect for each others abilities because I can't run more than a 10K (I've done that a total of once in my life). I think I'll still be able to hold my own on a bike next year. I might have to ride the Felt in a tri because that silly thing just begs me to ride it as hard as I can each time I throw a leg over it. (that sounded just a little dirty:skep


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Just another boring day along Colorado's Front Range:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Great pics bedwards and gravelbike.

Right at 30*F for my morning ride in. Dark out there. We've been having those weird 40 degree spreads between high and low temp. 30ish/70ish. It's pretty awesome, other than the full backpack you have to lug home :lol: There are some threats of cold temps finally reaching the western half of the country next week... we'll see if we can catch up with you easterners.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Weather here has been mid-high 30s and threatening rain all week. I haven't been caught in just-above-freezing rain yet, but I'm sure it's going to happen eventually, and I'm sure it's not going to be pleasant for me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Now I am picturing sheep eating waffles.


With straberries and whipped cream or drowning in Ma



bedwards1000 said:


> We have mutual respect for each others abilities because I can't run more than a 10K (I've done that a total of once in my life).


I get a jog in of a few hundred feet, but long distance stuff hurts me to think about. Congrats to those who do.

Congrats also to some nice pics to all contributors. Fall colors just coming in here now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

perttime said:


> The clouds dispersed a bit by the time I left work. At one point, the sun was low between the horizon and some clouds, and I got a funny stobe effect: with the sun on my right, I rode along a field edged with bushes and saplings. Dark-Bright-Dark-Bright-Dark-Bright.


Almost a haiku.

sun between clouds,
a field edged with saplings--
light-dark-light-dark

:thumbsup:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Broke down and finally ordered my first two jerseys from Amazon. Tenn-Outdoors looks like they should do the job for the cooler weeks ahead.


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## 69tr6r (Mar 27, 2007)

Very cold this morning, in the mid-low 30's. My hands were frozen, still tingling. I should have worn my winter gloves.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Almost a haiku.
> 
> sun between clouds,
> a field edged with saplings--
> ...


Woww.....
Sometimes, I manage to compress what I want to say - but I was never any good at poetry.
You made that MOMENT come back to me.

Today, the sun had just set when I got to that place. We worked a little later, trying to turn somebody's goof into an opportunity.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

perttime said:


> Woww.....
> Sometimes, I manage to compress what I want to say - but I was never any good at poetry.
> You made that MOMENT come back to me.


That's what haiku is about: the moment.

Nothing all that exciting happened on my commute other than being cut off by one of our customers and picking a couple persimmons from a tree along my route.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, did you miss out on the cold spell about two weeks ago? We got some genuine cold here for several overnights, then it jumpped back up again. Oct is my favorite month!



Texan-n-Fla said:


> Heading home yesterday was a blast. I stumbled upon a little single track beside a creek bed that went on for about 3 miles, so I flew down that thing with a huge grin on my face. It was nice to break out of the concrete jungle.
> 
> This morning was another awesome workout. Stop and go, up and down, hop this speed bump, dodge this lamp post.


Whoo, Git Some!



bedwards1000 said:


> Now I am picturing sheep eating waffles.
> 
> We have mutual respect for each others abilities because I can't run more than a 10K (I've done that a total of once in my life). I think I'll still be able to hold my own on a bike next year.


Now that I`m married I`m not allowed to picture sheep any more, so I kept picturing spiders and curds and whey for some reason 

Ride like a GOD, run like a DOG. Which is very good, really. A running dog can almost always outspirint a pedalling rodar.



GRAVELBIKE said:


> Just another boring day along Colorado's Front Range:


Looks nice, Gravelbike. How is your commute route doing with respect to the flood damage you blogged about?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It can be a haiku:

Picket fence of light
Just the sun and some saplings
light-dark-light-dark-light


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice ride in this AM. 34 F in Anchorage. A bit warmer up the Valley. I'm getting more and more excited for the lower temps. Bring on the negative temps I say. Clears the riff raff off the trails! Lots of close calls this AM. Must be something in the air. Peds walking out onto the trails from the woods and from fields without looking, cyclists riding down the wrong side of the path, cars not slowing for stop signs. Whew, lucky I made it to the office at all. I certainly like Monday through Thursday better - less traffic to deal with all around. 

My wife took my daughter to the ski and bike shop in Palmer yesterday and she made sure to tell me that they had studded fattie tires in "two different threads per inch." Bless her heart. She also mentioned the price for a pair. I wonder if this means she's thinking of buying me a set or if she was just in utter disbelief. 

Probably the later. 450 for a set of tires for a bike does seem ridonkulous. Of course, I'm trying to sell her on the idea of getting another fattie for them to share so that they can go with me in the winter. Not sure how well that's going though. Right now I plan on renting a couple this winter so they (wife and kiddos) can see just how much fun it is and then let the kids convince the wife that we need at least one more fattie in the house, if not four.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Stupid ancient poem
Multisyllabolic count
Search for right amount


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Last night I got to catch the sunset from the top of the hill I watch it rise in the morning behind. The high voltage lines are an even sharper contrast from that direction, and the nuclear plant is a good touch. This'll be nice for another week anyway before it gets totally dark. Saw a couple nice bucks right after I put my camera away of course :-/


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> While I really like the Nashbeanie, I LOVED the BoPeep.


My lil bo-peep arrived already today, yes 1 day after ordering it, thanks to shopping local. It is super-cozy, 2 layers & really soft, thinner than I thought it would be, which means it will probably be perfect for all but the 10% or fewer coldest days. Fits my pinhead perfectly, not sure that it well stretch for fatter heads. Not too girlie in the gray/black jacquard though, rodar!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great haiku's (spellcheck says haikus is wrong) and pix everybody, thanks for sharing!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Yesterday started way too early with me realizing that I hadn't charged the headlight this week. Yeah, it cut out on me halfway to work leaving me with a battery-drained back-up for the mostly lit remainder. I had thought ahead and brought the charger with, just in case so it was fully charged fir the ride home. Hit this little section of trail on the way home and it was a different experience at night...just too fun riding inside a little cocoon of light hurtling down the trail so much so I almost turned around and did it twice but was far too tired from the day.

Spent some time this afternoon getting lost in the woods on the way home, linking up portions of the "secret" trails (that very one knows about) and fire roads to get me home with no more than 3 miles on pavement (out of 15). It beat the crap out of me - rigid bike vs. rocky terrain makes me hurt, but it's a good hurt. Was spectacular out there though, leaves ablaze and falling, trail conditions decent enough with a bright blue sunny cloudless sky overhead - this is the time of year that makes me love living here!

Big thing for me though is rolling over 3,000 miles (and nearly 150,000 feet of climbing) for the year today. That's the most I've ever put on a bike ever and a huge chunk of that is from commuting but also it's due to the fact I rarely ever go straight to work/home that's its gotten this high for me. It's not as much as some but it's a new high for me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Riding a cone of light
Lost , yet found at the same time
Heart and leaves ablaze

Poetry is where we ride it.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Anyone else commuting tomorrow?


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Not commuting but I might go out for a ride sometime this weekend.

Nice pics Alex. I'll bet they looked even better in person.

I took a trail home last night that I usually take in the winter and consider "smooth" I was on my cross-bike and it was not smooth.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Not commuting but I might go out for a ride sometime this weekend.
> 
> Nice pics Alex. I'll bet they looked even better in person.
> 
> I took a trail home last night that I usually take in the winter and consider "smooth" I was on my cross-bike and it was not smooth.


Don't you ride a fattie in the winter, or am I thinking of someone else? I'd imagine that smooths things out quite a bit  Even the road feels rough on my cross bike - gravel and buff singletrack is about all I ride on it anymore. I think I'm getting too old for aluminum.

Does anyone else commute on a fixie/ss? Do you gear down for the winter?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Okay. Back on the bike tomorrow after nearly a week and half off the peddles. No doubt that some fitness will have been lost. Also just in time for a cold front heading in tonight. 

Also rigged up my geared mt. bike (fully rigid Haro Vector) for commuting duties. Found a rack and an old crate in one of the washes at work several weeks ago. They're both sunbaked and weathered, but sturdy and sound. Put 'em both on my geared bike so I have a way to get my winter wear back home each day, with the hydration pack being for tools and lunch.

Got a new commute ahead of me that's fifteen miles each way, so the singlespeed will likely take a bit longer than I want to commit to a commute. I'm hoping to make the fifteen mile uphill trek home in one hour and fifteen minutes (I know, I'm slow) on the geared mt. bike, which seems doable because of the gears.

So let the week begin. . .


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> It can be a haiku:
> 
> Picket fence of light
> Just the sun and some saplings
> light-dark-light-dark-light


Nah, mine was a haiku. The whole syllable count thing is a misconception. The Japanese count onji, which are small units of sound that may or may not correspond to a syllable count. In English, haiku generally have fewer syllables than 5-7-5. Many times people will shoot for somewhere around 12 syllables in English with around 2 stresses in the first and last lines and 3 in the second line, but there is no set rule for haiku in English.

Also, since we're talking ground rules. You should generally avoid metaphors and definitely avoid abstractions (like "picket fence of light"). The point is to deal with concrete objects and images, using only words that add to meaning. Writing in syllabics tends to encourage the use of superfluous words. Anyway, this is probably more info than any one wanted to hear, so here is my correction of your poem:

picket fence
the sun and some sapplings
light-dark-light

:thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Stupid ancient poem
> Multisyllabolic count
> Search for right amount


Ha! I like the addition of the extra syllable in multisyllabic.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I use the 5-7-5 rule because I'm simple.

Sunrise on the lips
Moments hang in the balance
Night turns to day

(I broke my own rule)

Seaways into some awesome photos:
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Decent commutes for me. Even the weather seems to be holding out in the 70s and 60s for my rides. I think someone has been getting me with a thumbtack in my rear tire. The holes I've been getting are tiny but are round just like a tack. 

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well I survived race day on Saturday. First "super-d" downhill race (on my hardtail of course)... achieved my goal of beating someone on a full suspension bike  Based on time I would have been 9th of 14 or so in the open class...wound up 2nd of 17 in the 'sport' class.

Only one vehicle in the trailhead parking lot when I went by this morning... nevada plates. Rodar, I presume??









Kind of looking forward to his little trip report... someone flipped the 'weather' switch yesterday. Crazy wind, rain/snow overnight... 
He could have had quite a miserable little experience :lol: Would have been a monster headwind for 27 miles up the wind tunnel canyon, wet cold night with snowflakes, and possibly a rainy ride back today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

We got a skiff of snow yesterday, that had all disappeared by noon. This morning was just below 20F though, so it was finally time to break out the jacket and gloves.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

This morning's commute was the coldest yet, it was 32 when I left home. Some lady gave me an awful right hook, she was hauling ass and she actually turned right around me, like she was purposely trying to do it. It wasn't like she passed me while going straight then turned, she almost hit me WHILE she was turning. Otherwise a good ride.

Got an email for 25% off anyone item from nashbar so I ordered a set of Stan's Iron Cross wheels for the CX bike I'm building, a 2014 Kona Jake the Snake. Got them for $427 shipped, incredible deal for those wheels. Most places are charging over $550 not including shipping. The LBS said he would give them to me for $485. I'm probably going to buy an additional set from him for road tires since this is replacing my road bike. I need to either have a commute/CX bike or a road/CX bike. I hate having to take the fenders and rack off the commuter all the time, so I'm parting out my road bike and going this route instead.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning went well. Nothing major, other than the realization that I'll need to put some double sided foam tape under my bar light, to put an end to the constant bobbing and need for readjustment. 

This evening I'll be heading over to the parish where my oldest is practicing for a Christmas play. I've got the trail-a-bike, so when I get there, we'll make the 7.5 mile trek home. He's gonna be stoked. I just picked it up this weekend as a Craigslist score and we haven't had the opportunity to give it a go. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

...More high winds today!

"Rain developing. Highs in the 50. Across town...north wind 10 to 20 mph becoming southeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 55 mph in the morning...then diminishing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Along the hillside and South Anchorage...southeast wind 20 to 35 mph with gusts t0 55 mph diminishing to 15 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations...southeast wind 45 to 55 mph with *gusts 75 to 90 mph* decreasing to 40 to 55 mph during the late morning."


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

JordyB said:


> ...More high winds today!
> 
> "Rain developing. Highs in the 50. Across town...north wind 10 to 20 mph becoming southeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 55 mph in the morning...then diminishing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Along the hillside and South Anchorage...southeast wind 20 to 35 mph with gusts t0 55 mph diminishing to 15 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations...southeast wind 45 to 55 mph with *gusts 75 to 90 mph* decreasing to 40 to 55 mph during the late morning."


Yowza. I have never ridden in winds like that and I dont think I ever want to.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

JordyB said:


> ...More high winds today!
> 
> "Rain developing. Highs in the 50. Across town...north wind 10 to 20 mph becoming southeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 55 mph in the morning...then diminishing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Along the hillside and South Anchorage...southeast wind 20 to 35 mph with gusts t0 55 mph diminishing to 15 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations...southeast wind 45 to 55 mph with *gusts 75 to 90 mph* decreasing to 40 to 55 mph during the late morning."


You might want to invest in one of those squirrel suits if the wind is to your back. Might get some free commutes out of it.






Beamed from my dumbphone


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

There is a big car

I hope it doesn't run me

Stupid big cagers


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*CB`s mandate...*

Haha, yes- a weather surprise!
I got a later start than planed, unloaded at the TH (VERY near to that Ogre parking stand, in fact) and noticed I had no helmet, rode anyway. Wind up the canyon was noticeable to say the leat, but bearable. Ate dinner at the world famouos Buffalo Chips, which I just learned about a couple days ago. Flew back down the canyon with a blessed tailwind and hit the sack. Quite a surprise this morning when I crawled out! Could have used an extra pair of socks and my warmer gloves, but did fine other than that. 
Liked the Southside Trail


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Excellent, Rodar. I know all of these places :lol: Sorry the weather turned on you at the last minute. Looks like a decent day going up though, and some color left in the trees for you to enjoy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I know all of these places


Of course. You told me how to find them :lol:

And congrats on the race. Nothing like blowing your intended goal right out of the water!

Wet stuff drying, lunch packed, time for a nap...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> ...More high winds today!
> 
> "Rain developing. Highs in the 50. Across town...north wind 10 to 20 mph becoming southeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 55 mph in the morning...then diminishing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Along the hillside and South Anchorage...southeast wind 20 to 35 mph with gusts t0 55 mph diminishing to 15 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations...southeast wind 45 to 55 mph with *gusts 75 to 90 mph* decreasing to 40 to 55 mph during the late morning."


Heard we recorded a gust of 105 up on Glen Alps, I think. Crazy. The highest I recorded overnight was 34 and it sounded like the world was ending.

No commute for me today. Brief write up over here: Multimodal Alaska Adventures: Solving the Correspondence Problem

Oh, and there's pictures, too.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

^^^Were you able to ride the groomed ski trails on your FB?


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

put on my knobbies finally and ditched the skinny slicks. I forgot howw much rolling resistance they had i kept looking down thinking something in my drivetrain was dragging. lol


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> ^^^Were you able to ride the groomed ski trails on your FB?


I did ride from the lower parking lot to the upper parking lot at the mine - the area that is generally considered multiuse. Once at the mine, I wouldn't even think of riding on those trails - I'd love to, but don't want some nordic goober in spandex jumping my portly behind. I also rode a bit of the Willow Fishook road, which is where the bike pics were taken.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Cool, we are riding from the parking lot, up and over to Willow, then to Wasilla on Saturday, you should come!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'll think about it. The up part freaks me out a bit. I had to walk a good portion of the bit of of the Fishook I was on. The snow was a bit unconsolidated and, well, I'm seriously out of shape, it appears. What time does the ride start?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

10, we always have to walk up to the summit, but most of the time we can ride the rest of the way, some years we do have to push our way through depending on how much snow has fallen and how much wind has pushed the snow around.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Haha, yes- a weather surprise!
> ...Quite a surprise this morning when I crawled out! Could have used an extra pair of socks and my warmer gloves, but did fine other than that.


Neat trip, nice scenery. That's a cold start in the a.m.! Did you still make some breakfast/coffee, or were you able to pack up and roll to warmer environs?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JordyB said:


> ...More high winds today!
> 
> "Rain developing. Highs in the 50. Across town...north wind 10 to 20 mph becoming southeast 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 55 mph in the morning...then diminishing to 15 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Along the hillside and South Anchorage...southeast wind 20 to 35 mph with gusts t0 55 mph diminishing to 15 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Along Turnagain Arm and higher elevations...southeast wind 45 to 55 mph with *gusts 75 to 90 mph* decreasing to 40 to 55 mph during the late morning."


Yikes! Hope you guys didn't blow away up there!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

The ride home was awesome. I flew across town to the parish where my 5 yr old was practicing for a Christmas thing. After that, we hooked up the new trailer bike and trekked the 7.5 miles home. It was a great time to spend some one on one time with him, since it's difficult with two younger siblings. We got a few stares, a bunch of smiles, and a friendly wave from a police officer.













































we spotted a Bald Eagle while leaving the parish. Their recovery in this area has been phenomenal.









And here he is showing it off to his brother after we got home.

Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Well I survived race day on Saturday. First "super-d" downhill race (on my hardtail of course)... achieved my goal of beating someone on a full suspension bike  Based on time I would have been 9th of 14 or so in the open class...wound up 2nd of 17 in the 'sport' class.


Nice hardtail handlin', CB, commuters represent!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks everybody for sharing. Loved the silhouetted rider with evergreen borders, Rodar. Brother relating his experience is another nice one, Tex.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, my wife warned me this morning. Winds blasting Vegas (like every where else it seems) with 25-35 mph sustained and 40-55 mph gusts. She tells me it might be a good day to drive. I tell her nonsense cause I'm on the geared bike. Certainly not new to geared bikes, but this was my first commute on one. 30 miles round trip. With wind to my back I sailed to work in less than an hour. She calls me at lunch and asks if I want her to pick me up. Nope, I say confidently. I'm riding gears today. Well, I guess I thought gears sliced through the wind or something. I was wrong. Sustained head winds the entire way home. Two hours to go 15 miles. Knock out first 11 miles in an hour and fifteen minutes. Closer to home I get the harder the wind blows and the colder it gets. Forty-five minutes to go the last four miles. Winds were that bad. I am beat. Time for a warm shower.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Well, my wife warned me this morning. Winds blasting Vegas (like every where else it seems) with 25-35 mph sustained and 40-55 mph gusts. She tells me it might be a good day to drive. I tell her nonsense cause I'm on the geared bike. Certainly not new to geared bikes, but this was my first commute on one. 30 miles round trip. With wind to my back I sailed to work in less than an hour. She calls me at lunch and asks if I want her to pick me up. Nope, I say confidently. I'm riding gears today. Well, I guess I thought gears sliced through the wind or something. I was wrong. Sustained head winds the entire way home. Two hours to go 15 miles. Knock out first 11 miles in an hour and fifteen minutes. Closer to home I get the harder the wind blows and the colder it gets. Forty-five minutes to go the last four miles. Winds were that bad. I am beat. Time for a warm shower.


I feel for ya man. Same thing here....but I drove today lol

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Did you still make some breakfast/coffee, or were you able to pack up and roll to warmer environs?


Ate too much pizza last night, had no interest in breakfast. If somebody had offered to make me a cup of coffee, I would have been very grateful, but wasn`t about to go putzing around and do it myself.



vegascruiser said:


> Well, I guess I thought gears sliced through the wind or something. I was wrong.


I bet it would have been a lot longer than that if you didn`t have those gears!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Enough said...







That's not really the indoor temp - the transmitter wasn't working so I set it outside.
Record low in Montpelier VT for today too (18F)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great pics and stories all.

So let me get this straight, CB and Rodar live near each other and have never met but CB has met Rodar's truck.

And, wow, 16 out in October. It was around 24 here but some spots felt colder.

RollingRunner and I hit the trails this AM. Pitch black when we left the house but pretty light when we got to the trails head. Almost light enough to get a good picture of Bambi. Almost.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> .....Record low in Montpelier VT for today too (18F)


What part of Texas is that? :lol:


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## dgaddis1 (Jul 1, 2007)

53*F and dry this morning. Just right.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The storm Rodar got to experience the start of is still hanging out... warmed up a little though. Rain all night, rain for the ride this morning. We need it bad, so it's a good thing. Very, very dark this morning. Heavy cloud cover and the rain making the headlight weak made it hard to even follow the white line on the side of the road when there was oncoming traffic. Why won't people dim their headlights for a bike?



bedwards1000 said:


> So let me get this straight, CB and Rodar live near each other and have never met but CB has met Rodar's truck.


More or less, yeah. :lol:

And those whitetail deer back there are so weird looking! It's like a stuffed animal with the back ripped off.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice whitetail Bedwards!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this AM. Strangely, no wind in the Valley, but windy in Anchorage. Trying some new gear combos - figured it was wet and nasty yesterday and I have had a pair of REI Taku shell pants laying around for a while - might as well try them out. A bit baggie for my tastes while on the bike, but even with temps at 48F in Anchorage, I was pretty comfortable because of the large side vents. I really wish it would have been raining, though, as that was really why I was testing them out.

Beautiful sunset last night.









Taken from my back deck while grilling up some of these for dinner.








Yes, that is Copper River Red, the best tasting in the world -caught it myself and it was good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Block those do look good. I'd call them done just about where they are. If you don't mind, freeze some solid, pack them in dry ice and send them out to me priority mail. OK? 

The whitetail just look normal to me. I see them most trail rides.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

33 and damp, snowflakes falling straight down and melting instantly on contact. Need to go fetch some groceries for dinner tonight. Salmon sounds really good for some reason?

Wow, Texan- I didn`t see the eagle last night. Now I don`t know how I missed it. Cool!



mtbxplorer said:


> Record low in Montpelier VT for today too (18F)


:eekster: Little Bo Peep to the rescue!


CommuterBoy said:


> And those whitetail deer back there are so weird looking!


...and that one is standing still- imagine when it starts bouncing and grunting! Yeah, weird.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Frost this morning. Cold in the toes most of the ride in even with my heavy wool socks. I guess these cycling shoes are better ventilated than my Merrells from last winter. I guess I'll try doubling up the socks tomorrow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I am so used to the mule deer that we have that anything else looks a little odd. Same boat as bedwards...if I don't see a few on the commute it's a weird day. I do see some antelope when I head out of the hills towards the desert though. Those are some sweet looking critters...almost look like an African thing. 

Ditto on the coolness of the eagle. I saw a couple several times this summer at the lake I frequent. Amazing. Yesterday I took the trail home and had my 2nd or 3rd encounter with what I assume is the same owl (yes, remember the owl :lol. This is one big dude. I come across him at a side-hill portion of the trail, and he leaves his perch when I come around the corner and sort of parallels me flyind next to the hill for a few seconds... Great Horned Owl for sure...wingspan has to be in the 6 foot range. Scares the poo out of me.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I have to get more pictures on my commute. Everyone is always posting cool pictures and I never see anything cool.

Took today off from commuting, had to go to UPS to ship the Fulcrum 5's and brakes I took off my road bike plus ship back a pair of PI rain pants that were sent to me in the wrong size. The wheel boxes were a little big to ride 10 miles with and lug up 5 floor to my desk. I am mountain biking after work though. 

Bringing the new Kona Jake the Snake frame to the LBS tomorrow to have the headset BB adapter installed (PF30 frame, GXP BB). New wheels will also be in tomorrow, which means it'll be ready to pick up and assemble by the weekend!!


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

28 F for the 18 miles to work. Nice and brisk, keeps the fair weather riders off the MUP. Almost time to break out the nokians.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ This little blast of snow we got inspired me to get the Nokians installed on the spare wheels 



Straz85 said:


> ...which means it'll be ready to pick up and assemble by the weekend!!


Looking forward to seeing the Jake... I came *this* close to buying one of those frames a few years ago.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another one of those cold weather acclimation training commutes getting ready for winter. Shorts, LS, summer gloves. 35ish. Go to fast, wind chill makes you cold, go to slow, your not working hard enough to stay warm. ;p

Funny, I BBQ'd salmon too! Russian River Red, caught at my cabin. Yum!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> I bet it would have been a lot longer than that if you didn`t have those gears!


Had I been on my singlespeed, I'd have probably walked the last four miles and gotten home at six. . .so longer for sure.

No commute today. Didn't even want to look at a bike today after yesterday's horrendous commute home. Ready to go for tomorrow morning though. I will get a better feel for how long my 15 mile commute home will take as there is no wind in the forecast. I'm thinking an hour and a half (bumped up fifteen minutes from my original guess of an hour and fifteen minutes), as it's all up hill and I'm far from a speed demon. Also have to factor in a few big hills that I'll be spinning at six miles an hour on and many, many traffic lights that'll slow down my average time as well.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Wind, wind and more wind. Sustained 20-25mph, gusts >45mph, all headwinds fir my ride yesterday. It evened out once I got into the trees but once back on the exposed highway it blew. More of the same today but at least I rode with a tailwind home. This was about the same time as I broke out the studs last year but I'm waiting for the second storm to jump.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I did the most cage-y thing ever today. Got to a place where the trail crosses a road. Looked left, looked right, no cars coming, slowly roll across the road. Totally didn't even see the person on a bicycle riding down the road. Cut her off in slow motion (both of us). Yelled an apology and basically fled down the trail.

Sigh.

Weather predicts winds of 20mph sustained/50mph gusts later this week. So that'll be fun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> :eekster: Little Bo Peep to the rescue!


Ibex Bo Peep cap ruled! Cozy, and no worries of it shifting above the ears. Although when I decided to tie the ties under my chin given the chill, I then forgot to clip the helmet strap  The Bo Peep also got a style compliment from a 20somehing upon arrival at work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice hardtail handlin', CB, commuters represent!


Missed this...thanks! There was just enough flat/little climb stuff that I made up for being slow in the techy stuff. Fun day...happy to be in one piece.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

No snow yet, but the -3°C this morning was more than enough to decide to mount my new custom front 26x2.25 studded tire on my commuter. Paired with front disc brake, I hope to be able to tackle some off-road fun without the danger of braking pads freezing from when I was using v-brakes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I flatted on the last block of my ride home tonight. At home, I found a new twist to flat tires. The bead wire has started snaking out of my tire and looks to be what punctured the tube (I know it tore the tube when I snagged it during the removal process. It really sucks because it`s an expensive tire (Big Apple) and is nowhwere near its half life yet, but I`m not sure if I`ll be able to trust it again. Has anybody else had that happen, especially with a tire you really hated to throw out? Did you try clipping and taping or what? Was the repair successful?

And pogies to go with that sheeper peeper, MtbX? I can see forgetting the helmet buckle because of the chin string. Does it seem like it would stay in place okay with the string amuptated?



Straz85 said:


> I have to get more pictures on my commute. Everyone is always posting cool pictures and I never see anything cool.


Maybe next week you`ll see a shiny new JTS on your commute. That would make for some cool pics to post!
Even if somebody did forget to thread the BB shell :lol:



Sanath said:


> I did the most cage-y thing ever today....


I know how that feels. Don`t often get to blow it around other bikes while I`m riding, but I`ve been the bonehead cager myself, and always feel doubly bad since being a rider myself I know first hand that somebody might be out pedalling when/where least expected.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> And pogies to go with that sheeper peeper, MtbX? I can see forgetting the helmet buckle because of the chin string. Does it seem like it would stay in place okay with the string amputated?


I pulled out the pogies but ended up braving it with my warmest gloves since it was so sunny and going up to the 40's later. The hat would stay in place fine without the strings but I think tying them keeps any cold out better, so I think I'll keep them. They did not interfere with the helmet strap once I remembered to click-it.

Sorry about the tire damage, that's a shame with so much tread left. I've never had that happen. 

Straz, all pictures are cool. What has become routine to you is new and interesting to us. Plus pictures are easier to read.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was pretty typical. I'm realizing that I'm still in recovery mode from the trek I made with the 5 yr old on the trail-a-bike. It seemed like I just couldn't keep a decent speed, and had to keep dropping gears until. 

Had a guy swing around me and cut me off on a right hand turn while he blared his horn. I should probably get a marine air horn so I can blow back. The typical arm waving and the dirty scowl just doesn't do much when it's 5:30 in the morning and they can't see you doing it. 

My kid has a doctors appt this afternoon, so when I get off work I'll head that way and meet up with the wife. I'm looking forward to it, since there's an awesome bridge over the river that must be crossed. If I do things right, I'm able to hit about 28-30 mph on the decent. It'll be the highlight of my day. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Missed this...thanks! There was just enough flat/little climb stuff that I made up for being slow in the techy stuff. Fun day...happy to be in one piece.


I meant to give you props on that too. Nice job. I frigging love my FS bike. 



rodar y rodar said:


> I flatted on the last block of my ride home tonight. At home, I found a new twist to flat tires. The bead wire has started snaking out of my tire and looks to be what punctured the tube (I know it tore the tube when I snagged it during the removal process. It really sucks because it`s an expensive tire (Big Apple) and is nowhwere near its half life yet, but I`m not sure if I`ll be able to trust it again. Has anybody else had that happen, especially with a tire you really hated to throw out? Did you try clipping and taping or what? Was the repair successful?.


Worth a shot:
Warranty Policy | Schwalbe North America

I took the long trail way in this morning...NICE! Not as cold as yesterday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Light rain this morning. The good news is that it was 60F, which is about as warm as it's been on sunny afternoons. Drivers sucked. As I was coasting down the steepest hill on my commute, a driver pulled out in front of me (very slowly). My rims were wet and I was worried I wouldn't stop in time, but my brakes caught and I kept my tires from skidding. Then at the base of the same hill, I was turning left and another car (to my left) started pulling out into the intersection when I was almost directly in front of him...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Good ride in this morning. Was chilly, right around freezing. Started unexpectedly drizzling when I was almost at work, still is, but it's supposed to stop soon.

Got everything for the new CX bike except the wheels, which should be here today. Here's pics of the frame. It will have SRAM Force shifters, derailleurs and crankset and Stan's Iron Cross wheels.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had to give the bike a miss, with the wind still blowing. Weird since down here it was supposed to have been done 2 days ago. I kept looking around for the big bad wolf.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM - kinda. So I got home last night and decided to put the Nate's on both the front and rear and to see if I could figure out why the one tire has so much of a hop in it. So I installed them, soaped up the bead to help the tires move on the rim a bit easier, and then pumped them up to 40 PSI (Not fun with a low volume floor pump - who knew it would take 15 minutes to pump those big tires up to that pressure) and then let them sit overnight. Came out to the garage this AM and let out air to ~19 PSI. No problem.

Went back into the house, got my coffee, played with the dogs, oggled the wife, then headed out the door. Front was flat. Argh...

So I pumped it up and headed out the door, figuring I just didn't get the nut tightened all the way down or something.

Nope. About half way to the bus I had to pump it up again. Then when I got almost to the bus stop I had to get off and walk because it was so flat I couldn't steer at all.

So, my ride in was spent swapping out the tube and getting it all pumped back up. Good fun, that. Bus driver was cool about things. As were the other passengers.

Last night I saw a huge bull moose on the way home.









I'm sure the home owner wasn't pleased in his choice of forage.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That looks like a sculpture :eekster:

I put my studs on the spare wheels the other night... they're on standby in the garage... noticed this morning that one of them is flat :madman:



bedwards1000 said:


> I meant to give you props on that too. Nice job. I frigging love my FS bike.


I have placed my order and will be (re)entering full suspension bliss in 2-3 weeks... new Santa Cruz Bantam is on the way.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I put my studs on the spare wheels the other night... they're on standby in the garage... noticed this morning that one of them is flat :madman:


Tubeless? 

Back above freezing this morning, but now that I've surrendered myself to wearing a cozy jacket I won't be giving it up again until April.

I've been riding my 29er exclusively for the past month because my other bikes weren't easily accessible. But yesterday I finally got back on the hardtail, and today was the street cruiser. Commuting on those bikes again is pretty natural, but after a month on dirtdrops it felt really strange to ride offroad with a "normal" bar.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Yesterday was only my second commute to work. It's about a 7.5 mile ride in or so, and for the most part, a combination of a dedicated bike/running path to a road with a dedicated bike lane which turns to two other roads with bike lanes. Approximately 1.5 miles from work, the bike lane ends, so I end up cutting through a neighborhood that I am familiar with. Little to no traffic, so I am pretty happy.

I never wanted to be a "roadie" or commuter for that matter. I only used to ride trails on my mountain bike. Ended up selling that and getting a Specialized TriCross for the simple ease of being able to walk out of my apartment building and ride, instead of loading up the bike, the gear, the car, and then driving 45 minutes to an hour to ride. 

The weather in Michigan has been very nice so far, with a temp yesterday of 51 when I went in to work. 8 and a half hours later, and it was 40 when I rode home. The ride home was cold. I didn't bring the appropriate gear for the ride. Clothing was fine. Socks were too thin, and the cold air just blew right through my Shimano shoes. Glove choice was also poor, with the Specialized Deflect gloves blocking the wind, but not keeping my hands warm. Still learning what works and what doesn't. 51 and sunny is a bit warm compared to 40 in the dark with a head breeze.

What I carry and how I carry is where I am having the issue. Hoping to get some help from the commuters here. I work at a hospital, and I wear hospital scrubs. I take them home and wash them since the service we use washes them with this horrible soap that makes me break out in a rash. So I have scrubs that I roll up to save room, undergarments, fresh socks, athletic shoes, deodorant, basic necessities, etc. I also need to carry my dinner somehow. I don't want pannier bags unless absolutely necessary. Currently using a backpack, but I get the dreaded sweaty back, even in this cooler weather. I don't want to switch to flat pedals, because I am used to riding clipped in, and honestly, I look at the SPD's on there as a bit of a theft deterrent. I also have to carry my Kryptonite U lock. Someone at work leaves their U lock just locked to the rack, which is a pretty genius idea.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling. I hope to continue commuting to work as much as possible, as long as the weather permits. I won't ride in the rain unless I get caught in it, or the snow. Cold temps don't bother me too much. Not sure about the summer and the heat. Pretty sure showers will be available if needed.

Also was considering getting a cheap single speed for commuter use instead of locking my more expensive cross bike at work in a somewhat not that desirable neighborhood. Thoughts on the Aristotle from Republic Bikes?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Not tubeless on the studs. They sit around so much I didn't want to have to worry about re-charging them...also, no real risk of goathead punctures when it's icy out


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Welcome to commuting and the forum, TenSpeed!

Nice Jake the Snake, Straz. Two coworkers have them, but in boring blue and industrial gray.

blockphi, that is a massive moose, I am impressed.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Good ride in this morning. Was chilly, right around freezing. Started unexpectedly drizzling when I was almost at work, still is, but it's supposed to stop soon.
> 
> Got everything for the new CX bike except the wheels, which should be here today. Here's pics of the frame. It will have SRAM Force shifters, derailleurs and crankset and Stan's Iron Cross wheels.


Hey nice frame! Hope that yoy enjoy it. I've been looking at similar style frames but it is a long decision process for me. Its down to a couple of frames though. The Ruben by Traitor, Soma Crosscheck, or Cotic Roadrat. All seem like they could be fun bikes but I'm not sure which one I will end up with.

Commutes are getting colder here but at least going in the weather is nice. No complaints here and I haven't hit a coyote yet lol.

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## Darkstar3.14 (Oct 30, 2013)

It was "portlanding" on my ride in to day.

Portlanding definition: not really raining, misting, yet you don't get wet. In these conditions glasses are guaranteed no visibility.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Darkstar3.14 said:


> It was "portlanding" on my ride in to day.
> 
> Portlanding definition: not really raining, misting, yet you don't get wet. In these conditions glasses are guaranteed no visibility.


Lol I have driven through that area on the interstate. This is the best definition I have seen.

Beamed from my dumbphone


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Darkstar3.14 said:


> It was "portlanding" on my ride in to day.
> 
> Portlanding definition: not really raining, misting, yet you don't get wet. In these conditions glasses are guaranteed no visibility.


In Ontario, Canada, this is called "Guelphing" after Guelph. Being nestled between the Great Lakes makes this a too common thing in the Kitchener-Waterloo & Guelph area. Nice to know it shows up elsewhere. Rode for my BS and MS through a lot of that in that area.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, it`s a bsuy morning here! Bedwards, thanks for the tip. since I`ve had the tires for over a year, I really didn`t consider filing a warranty claim, but I went ahead and did it after reading your suggestion. Even found the email confirmation for the purchase order last July! One way or another, I need a New Apple, so hopefully they`ll help me out with a rebate of some kind.

Big Winkle, Blockphi! If he were in my garden, he`d be welcome to all he could forrage- I won`t be the guy suggesting it`s time for him to leave now :lol:



TenSpeed said:


> I never wanted to be a "roadie" or commuter for that matter. I only used to ride trails on my mountain bike. Ended up selling that and getting a Specialized TriCross for the simple ease of being able to walk out of my apartment building and ride, instead of loading up the bike, the gear, the car, and then driving 45 minutes to an hour to ride.


Hahaha! Welcome to the "mtb-less mountain bikers" club. It sure is dark on this side, ain`t it? I started on this form as strictly a mountain biker, then that dark force pulled me slowly away and dropped me in nowhere land, nor a genuine roadie nor real a mountain biker. Thank God for mtbr Commuterland- the only home we really have!

Sounds like you`re heading the right direction for figuring out your methods. If you don`t want packpack or panniers, maybe a rack trunk would work for you. For a bit more space, you can even double-team that with a handlebar bag.

Welcome to Darkstar. Are you actually in a Portland (west?), or just have their weather?


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Regarding tubeless and studs, I am considering using some WSS homemade sealant for my DIY studded tires for two main reasons : virtually no chance of flats from screw heads getting past the tire liner and tearing the tube, and at the same time helping to offset the significant added weight of the 250ish some M4x10mm studs by taking out the heavy tire liner and tube.

My only concern going that route is with sealant's performance in freezing temps and how long it will last too. I hope that the antifreeze used in the WSS mix will greatly improve the working temperature range.


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## dgaddis1 (Jul 1, 2007)

TenSpeed said:


> I don't want pannier bags unless absolutely necessary. Currently using a backpack, but I get the dreaded sweaty back, even in this cooler weather.


Why no panniers? They make life sooo easy. I use just one, a "grocery pannier" from Banjo Brothers. Had it for years, works great. Very big, but you can collapse it down with the straps when carrying a small (or no) load. Even on my MTB I hate riding with a pack.

Is there anywhere you could leave clothes at work, like a locker? Leave several changes of clothes at work (and shoes, shoes suck to carry) and take the dirty ones home each evening. You may have to drive every once and a while to drop off more clothes.

Here's the pannier I was talking about on my rig:









Yesterday I did a few extra miles. It was beautiful out, sunny and about 78*F, so I headed up the canal towpath a few miles. Still waiting on the leaves to change color...

******* Riviera, currently empty of ********.









Sibley Mill









The Savannah River was really pretty yesterday.









"Traffic"


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## Darkstar3.14 (Oct 30, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> In Ontario, Canada, this is called "Guelphing" after Guelph. Being nestled between the Great Lakes makes this a too common thing in the Kitchener-Waterloo & Guelph area. Nice to know it shows up elsewhere. Rode for my BS and MS through a lot of that in that area.


 I actually don't live in Portland but got the term from someone there. I'm in Wisconsin by the Lake Michigan and seem to only get it in spring and fall, but it's way better then rain!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

David C said:


> Regarding tubeless and studs, I am considering using some WSS homemade sealant for my DIY studded tires for two main reasons : virtually no chance of flats from screw heads getting past the tire liner and tearing the tube, and at the same time helping to offset the significant added weight of the 250ish some M4x10mm studs by taking out the heavy tire liner and tube.
> 
> My only concern going that route is with sealant's performance in freezing temps and how long it will last too. I hope that the antifreeze used in the WSS mix will greatly improve the working temperature range.


I know you were a regular in my old thread on the subject, but I thought WSS tubeless worked terrifically well for DIY studs. In general, I find tubeless is more hassle than it's worth for my riding conditions. But DIY studs are a perfect reason to use it.

In 6 months of Canadian winter expect to refresh the sealant at least once though, and twice if you're being proactive. And I always carry a little 2oz bottle in my tool pack for emergency top-ups.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

David C said:


> My only concern going that route is with sealant's performance in freezing temps and how long it will last too. I hope that the antifreeze used in the WSS mix will greatly improve the working temperature range.


I use WSS version 1 on my non-studded commuter tires, and have had no issues with temperature. I have the studs on separate wheels, and only use them when there's ice on the pavement, so most of the time I'm on the other tires. My low temp record is 4 below zero (F), and normal winter morning temps are down in the teens (F) through much of Jan/Feb. If anything, it lasts longer in the winter based on my experience. If I had homemade studs with potential screw-tip penetration down to the tubes, I'd run them ghetto tubeless without hesitation.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Awesome view from the bridge I cross over to go to my boys appt. 
















Downtown Palmetto. 








The middle child feeling lovey with his sister after I arrived.

I'm taking my new rear wheel into the LBS tomorrow. I purchased it on recommendation a week ago and it's been nothing but trouble. It creaks, won't hold true, and has a wobble at the axle point. Ask me how I feel about that.

Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Newfangled and CB, good points and info. I did my first commute on the new studded tire and it's gnarly. Can't wait to hit the ice. The only thing keeping me from going getho tubeless right now is the wire bead tire seating in place on the clincher rim by itself without a tube. For my XC MTB, I had no problem when trying seating my other set on tubeless compatible carbon rims though, but they're not the same profile.

If I get time to try messing up with this front wheel, I'll try to get the tire to seat and go tubeless. This year I'm trying some class 12.9 steel alloy M4x10mm button head screws, with 4mm sticking out. It's 1pm too long, but if I used 8mm screws, then I would have been 1pm short of the 3mm (or 1/8") ideal stud length.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> What I carry and how I carry is where I am having the issue. Hoping to get some help from the commuters here. I work at a hospital, and I wear hospital scrubs. I take them home and wash them since the service we use washes them with this horrible soap that makes me break out in a rash. So I have scrubs that I roll up to save room, undergarments, fresh socks, athletic shoes, deodorant, basic necessities, etc. I also need to carry my dinner somehow. I don't want pannier bags unless absolutely necessary. Currently using a backpack, but I get the dreaded sweaty back, even in this cooler weather. I don't want to switch to flat pedals, because I am used to riding clipped in, and honestly, I look at the SPD's on there as a bit of a theft deterrent. I also have to carry my Kryptonite U lock. Someone at work leaves their U lock just locked to the rack, which is a pretty genius idea.


Any possibility of leaving the shoes and necessities at work? I leave shoes and clean-up supplies in my office (and when I had no office left in my locker at work), carrying my scrubs, lunch and personal stuff in my pannier. Leaving the lock on the rack is a good idea too, I left mine on the rack at the last place for just about 3 years and had another at home...worked out very well. If not panniers, maybe a trunk bag or frame bag of some sort? I changed to panniers after trying messenger bags, backpacks and sling bags due to the amount of stuff I carried and have never looked back. Just have to figure out what works best for your situation.

Evidently I missed a short bit of rain/snow/sleet this morning after I got to work. Still have yet to bust out the tights and winter gear, but tomorrow morning is looking like I might have to as they're predicting low 20s and my knees have been aching from upper 30s. While I'm not looking forward to true winter riding, I am in a way.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Big storm system moving into Indiana today. In spite of the radar showing nothing but rain in my area, I managed to stay fairly dry on the way in this morning. With the temperature of 61 and a south wind at my back, it was a fairly pleasant ride in. This afternoon looks like it might be a little different. Forecast shows 100% chance of rain, thunderstorms and wind gusting to 40mph. I'll be heading right into that.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Standard commute. 39F in the Valley with no wind. 36F with light drizzle in Anchorage. Just working for the weekend at this point.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally have to change out the XT 760 crankset...

The non drive side bearing always wears out about twice as fast as the drive side....

I get about a year on a bearing set so that means this is my 7 set of bearings...(actually probably about 10 cause I used stock bearings for the first little while)...

Anyway the axle was also slowly corroding where the non drive side bearing contacts...

Budddy lent an old bike to a new rider and he broke the same vintage axle just flexing the suspension in the parking lot...

So I checked mine and I am down to 60% of the remianing wall thickness.

So an XT crankset will last 7 years of long cold winter commutes and heavy MTB use....That is 44,000 km.

I got a XT 770 crankset for $215 and free shipping...

So $0.005 per km


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Windy and 39f when I left this morning just before 6:30. Discovered that wet leaves + frozen wooden bridge = extreme pucker factor.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Hey guys, I know this is a bit off-topic, but this morning I'm having a bit of trouble to cope with sad memories and rainy weather and I feel like crap. I have to get working on re-painting a frame and building it up for winter commute, but got zero motivation. How you deal with these days when you can't just go riding the trails ?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Sorry for the sad memories, feeling icky, and lack of motivation, David, it is very dreary down here today too. Sometimes when I feel like that I just give myself permission to do nothing more than put my feet up and watch a movie for distraction and down time to get better...other times I might take a walk just to get out, and end up feeling better, even if I am re-running those thoughts on the walk. Hope you feel better soon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> I got a XT 770 crankset for $215 and free shipping...
> 
> So $0.005 per km


But that's Canadian dollars and the metric system.... down here that's thousands of dollars per mile.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Thanks Mtbx. Good advices.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

David C said:


> How you deal with these days when you can't just go riding the trails ?


This will sound like typical singlespeeder douchebaggery, but for rainy days I genuinely love having a singlespeed street cruiser with slicks and fenders. An hour on that will always improve my mood.

And now, a tech conundrum:

1x9 drivetrain, and the chain slips when in the 2 highest/smallest gears. It also very rarely slips in the 3rd highest gear, but in none of the others. When it happens it feels exactly like a chain with a frozen link, but it's not the chain because I've tried a few. In the 2 highest gears it is very regular, occurring ~40 pedal strokes, whether mashing or JRA.

When I switched to 1x9 I wondered how long the 11&13 tooth cogs would last, but they can't be worn out. It's an xt cassette with maybe 500mi on it. _Maybe_ 500mi, and very little of that riding would have been in those cogs, and none of it would have been crazy mashing. And the fact that it also occasionally happens on the 3rd cog - I couldn't have worn out all 3.

Chain length is good. Cleaned and greased the pulleys. Cassette is clean, and doesn't have any garbage stuck in it. Played with the cable tension. Played with the b-screw.

Any suggestions?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> When I switched to 1x9 I wondered how long the 11&13 tooth cogs would last, but they can't be worn out. It's an xt cassette with maybe 500mi on it. _Maybe_ 500mi, and very little of that riding would have been in those cogs, and none of it would have been crazy mashing. And the fact that it also occasionally happens on the 3rd cog - I couldn't have worn out all 3.
> 
> Chain length is good. Cleaned and greased the pulleys. Cassette is clean, and doesn't have any garbage stuck in it. Played with the cable tension. Played with the b-screw.
> 
> Any suggestions?


Sounds like a slightly bent RD hanger


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Sounds like a slightly bent RD hanger


That's a possibility, although things sure look straight. The bike co-op is in the process of moving so I haven't been able to check the alignment, and it's a steel frame so I can't just swap on a new one. It will be on the list for next spring if I don't get it figured out.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride in for me today. I got fed up with my wheels constantly coming out of alignment and spending hours in my living room trying to true them. So, it's at the shop getting a full tune up. The wife and kids dropped me off at the office this morning, which they love, because they know I'll stop at the gas station and get them a treat. I'm such a sucker sometimes. 

I'm interested to see how the bike comes back. They've always treated me well, and they tend to bend over backward for commuters. Also thinking about picking up a new saddle this weekend. I would prefer to avoid weezer squeezers if possible, since I don't have a place to shower at work, and I like the idea of just jumping on and going, without having to get my special comfy shorts. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> This will sound like typical singlespeeder douchebaggery, but for rainy days I genuinely love having a singlespeed street cruiser with slicks and fenders. An hour on that will always improve my mood.
> 
> And now, a tech conundrum:
> 
> ...


I haven't the slightest, but I can say that sounds incredibly annoying and frustrating.

Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## cmg (Mar 13, 2012)

newfangled said:


> This will sound like typical singlespeeder douchebaggery, but for rainy days I genuinely love having a singlespeed street cruiser with slicks and fenders. An hour on that will always improve my mood.
> 
> And now, a tech conundrum:
> 
> ...


New cassette & chain ?
Just an idea..........


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cmg71 said:


> New cassette & chain ?
> Just an idea..........


I rotate chains every month, and all the chains in my current rotation do the exact same thing. Currently, I'm refusing to try a new cassette on principle.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I rotate chains every month, and all the chains in my current rotation do the exact same thing. Currently, I'm refusing to try a new cassette on principle.


Assuming all indexing is fine it's a puzzler. My last one like this was the quick-link separating. But multiple chains leaves the cassette or the RD/Mount. The process of elimination seems the only option.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

newfangled said:


> I rotate chains every month, and all the chains in my current rotation do the exact same thing. Currently, I'm refusing to try a new cassette on principle.


By experiencing something similar, but not exactly like yours, I would suggest to take a look at the followings :

B-screw adjustment
Chainline alignment
Hanger alignment
Cogs alignment (make sure they are stacked flat and parallel on top of each others)

Good luck !

Oh, and I am tempted to go out riding the rain, but right now isn't a good time to fool around when everybody is waiting on me for things to get done.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Assuming all indexing is fine it's a puzzler. My last one like this was the quick-link separating. But multiple chains leaves the cassette or the RD/Mount. The process of elimination seems the only option.


Shifting is fine and snappy. It's weird, because I can ride along for a block between skips. There's no noise, or jumping, or lag, or any indication that there's a problem, and then ca-chunk. I haven't been able to watch it happen, because I can't ride a whole block while looking down at my cassette. I've tried, but I keep looking up just as it skips. And it won't do it with the bike on a stand, or backpedaling.

I really want to blame my freehub, but I don't know why it would occur every 40ish pedalstrokes, or why it would only affect the smaller cogs (other than something vaguely to do with slightly higher rpms). I found a trick for testing hanger alignment using a spare wheel that I'll try out tonight, but the one time I bent a hanger I sure knew that it needed to be replaced, because nothing worked properly. And failing that it'll grudgingly be a new cassette.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I really want to blame my freehub, but I don't know why it would occur every 40ish pedalstrokes, or why it would only affect the smaller cogs (other than something vaguely to do with slightly higher rpms). I found a trick for testing hanger alignment using a spare wheel that I'll try out tonight, but the one time I bent a hanger I sure knew that it needed to be replaced, because nothing worked properly. And failing that it'll grudgingly be a new cassette.


Check wheel bearings (wiggle wheel side to side at the top, and then at the rear....

Look for bent tooth on the cassette.

Check for worn or damaged drop outs causing misalignment (will act like slightly bent hanger problem).

Check rear suspension.


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

Today someone almost hit me and justified it by saying he didn't want to drive into a parked car. He could have just waited to pass me, but it really puts other peoples value of my life in perspective.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Well yes, of course, that makes perfect sense, Sir! Next time just flatten me to avoid any paint scratches or miniscule delays!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

More "homework" for you Newf...is the cassette on snug? Is the derailleur tired (loosey goosey)?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

David C said:


> How you deal with these days when you can't just go riding the trails ?


Ella Fitzgerald.
And pizza.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

With the weather cooperating, I made my fifteen mile commute home in 1:13 minutes. Big difference from Monday's windy 2 hour commute. I'm satisfied with this, especially cause I have close to twenty traffic lights to tend with on this route. I can of course count on half of those to work for me at least. Might get me some Big Apples for this bike though, as the 2.3 Panaracer Rampage on the front is certainly adding unneeded resistance. Nice not tending with a seat rack anymore either. Bike mounted racks are the only way to go it would seem. I fastened a crate to it for hauling jackets back and forth. All and all, the Haro is proving a satisfactory commuter.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I was up late last night watching the SOX WIN THE WORLD SERIES and didn't take a good look at the weather. Ended up riding home in the rain today with no fenders and mostly non-waterproof clothing. At least it wasn't too cold, so it wasn't all that bad. I did have the built in rain cover with my new backpack, so that was nice. Worked great.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Well I went trick or treating with my brother, me dressed as a cow and him as a skunk. Had fun under the rain, but still I'm feeling the heart break, even over a year after.

Hopefully November won't be as bad, but the weather will not improve haha


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Bike is still in the shop. I didn't think it would take this long to true some wheels and do a run through. Oh well, no complaints. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

20 degrees a few mornings in a row followed by a humid 60 degree morning is really screwing with my ability to dress myself.

This could be fun tonight, glad I didn't bring a light bike.
* winds... southwest 25 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Yeah it's 15°C here and no wind. Rainy and cloudy, but they are expecting up to 90km/h east winds in the afternoon. Lucky I won't have to test their predictions today.

For those who have experience with rusted/stuck BB, my brother has '96 GT steel frame and the cartridge BB is rusted in place big time. I suspect it's the stock one, and if so it's been there for almost 20 years. The left side cup is steel, so I can apply decent torque, but it won't move a hair even after soaking in WD40 for 24 hours and using a 5' long breaker bar. The drive side is even worst, the spline notches are plastic and pretty much all busted already, so you can't torque much. I really want to save the frame, but I'm running out of options here. Two last things on my list are to heat the steel or cut a 3/4" long slice under the BB shell with a grinder to try relieving the holding pressure of the frame on the cup.

Help ?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Stormy last night on the ride home. The rain wasn't too bad, but the wind was pretty strong. I had a head wind to start and a side wind for the middle portion of my commute. I had to lean hard to my right to stay upright. Perfect conditions this morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> 20 degrees a few mornings in a row followed by a humid 60 degree morning is really screwing with my ability to dress myself.
> 
> This could be fun tonight, glad I didn't bring a light bike.
> * winds... southwest 25 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.


Same here, I was way to hot this morning. The rain was not cold enough to justify the plastic-y rain knickers I chose. I did switch back to the cross bike, which should help a bit in the wind, which is forecast about 5mph less than yours is.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Newf,

I was gonna say what MTBX said... is the cassette tight on the freehub? I've had similar weird problems that wound up just being a loose lockring on the cassette.



David C said:


> . Two last things on my list are to heat the steel or cut a 3/4" long slice under the BB shell with a grinder to try relieving the holding pressure of the frame on the cup.
> 
> Help ?


Steel BB in a steel frame? Heat, baby. Lots of stuck bolts on the Jeep have finally given in when I break out the propane torch. Try to heat the BB rather than the frame if you can get at it. Heat, heat, heat, heat, and when you about have it glowing, whack it with a hammer to jar things loose, then try to unthread.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, heat- try a hair dryer for fun (if you have one), but a heat gun will be better. I disagree with CB about trying to heat the cartridge rather than the shell. With an inner and an outer anything, the heat actually expands them, so making the outer part bigger is what will loosen it up. I do similar on a regular basis to remove or install bearings at work. Though, in reality, you`re going to end up heating both pretty much equally unless you take a torch to it and toast the paint job. For the stripped splines, I`ve heard a trick (never tried it myself) that sounds like a good idea. If you can get the opposite side out, you can use a long bolt or a piece of threaded rod with two nuts and two big washers. Remove the cartridge and sandwich the shell between nuts and washers, then go to town on the appropriate nut, depending on which direction that cup turns. Or just get one out, change the cartridge from that side, and leave the other in there forever. If you cut the shell, the frame is done.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I disagree with CB about trying to heat the cartridge rather than the shell. With an inner and an outer anything, the heat actually expands them, so making the outer part bigger is what will loosen it up. I do similar on a regular basis to remove or install bearings at work.


You're on the money, but with Jeep bolts I've had better luck heating the bolt rather than whatever it's stuck in. It makes no sense according to physics. The "extreme measures" way to do it is to heat the heck out of whatever it's threaded into, and then apply dry ice to the bolt head if you can get at it...so in theory, you're expanding the outer part and shrinking the inner part...but you're right, in reality, you're just heating everything probably...plus, who has dry ice laying around?


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

David C said:


> For those who have experience with rusted/stuck BB, my brother has '96 GT steel frame and the cartridge BB is rusted in place big time. I suspect it's the stock one, and if so it's been there for almost 20 years. The left side cup is steel, so I can apply decent torque, but it won't move a hair even after soaking in WD40 for 24 hours and using a 5' long breaker bar. The drive side is even worst, the spline notches are plastic and pretty much all busted already, so you can't torque much. I really want to save the frame, but I'm running out of options here. Two last things on my list are to heat the steel or cut a 3/4" long slice under the BB shell with a grinder to try relieving the holding pressure of the frame on the cup.
> 
> Help ?


Lock the bb tool on the cup with a large fender washer and a crankarm bolt, you need this tool-






, other ones will require a longer than standard (crankarm) bolt. Ideally you want a thick washer that doesn't exceed the diameter of the bb tool so it won't interfere with the wrench fitting on the flats. Hold the spindle on the other side with a crankarm and lock the bb tool on the cup nice and tight. Use either a 32 mm wrench or a _good_ adjustable wrench for the bb tool and find a long, stout cheater bar that will work with it. I've used this-







which is about 3 feet long and very stout but any large pipe should do. Mount the frame on a heavy duty Park repair stand if you have access or have a friend or 2 hold the frame on the floor while you have at it.

As mentioned above heat wouldn't hurt but I never had to resort to that and I have retired undefeated.

JB- 1043 ( vague est.) / bottom brackets- 0!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Good idea for locking the removal tool into place. I have a long piece of 5mm allthread that I use to do the same thing for freewheel or cassette tools, but never figured out a way to do it for BBs.

David, a few more thoughts: first, (you probably already know) be sure you`re not trying to turn the wrong way. Drive side uses left handed threads and the non-drive side uses regularRH threads. Secondly, once you get the booger out, I`d take the frame to a bike shop and get the threads chased. Finally, you did good by giving the WD40 time to soak in, but even after 24 hrs, it`ll still keep working. The logner it sits there, the better your chances are, so have patience.



CommuterBoy said:


> You're on the money, but with Jeep bolts I've had better luck heating the bolt rather than whatever it's stuck in. It makes no sense according to physics. The "extreme measures" way to do it is to heat the heck out of whatever it's threaded into, and then apply dry ice to the bolt head if you can get at it...so in theory, you're expanding the outer part and shrinking the inner part...but you're right, in reality, you're just heating everything probably...plus, who has dry ice laying around?


Ah, that old theory V reality problem :lol:
I think what happens is that you actually end up heating both parts- often impossible to avoid, but it seems to work to an extent anyways. As for cold, nothing we do warrants that, but I know it`s used for pressing a small part into something big, like valve guides into an engine block. The amount of expansion you can get by heating is surprising. We have an fancy-pants induction heater at work that automatically heats a bearing until the inner race is at 140 C. Then you grab it with thick heat resistant gloves and can push it right onto a shaft with your hands, and can even rotate the race easilly to make sure it`s seated. Within seconds, the shaft starts sucking the heat from the bearing and it freezes on as if it were welded in place. Very neat.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Thanks all for the tips.

First, I did let it soak 24 hours in WD40, but may try to let it sit for 40-60 hours.

Second, thanks for the reminder on the rotation rule, although I'm good with that already.

Third, I have the top of line Park wall mounted repair stand, the BBT-32 and a nice 1 1/4" wrench to fit over, plus I already got my stack of thick washers and crank arm bolt to lock it in place. I had the frame down on the ground, wrench in parallel to ground plus 2° upward for optimal down force, then over the big wrench I had a 5' heavy steel pipe and nothing moved at all. If I was going a bit more, the BB tool was going to snap.

Now, I think the heat might be the best option right now, I have everything from a heavy duty heat gun to a propane torch and I don't mind burning the paint off the BB area since it's easy to re-paint afterward anyway.

Like I said, it's a standard square taper sealed cartridge BB, except that it has steel left cup and plastic notches for the BB body on the right side. So I don't have a choice but to at least loosen/remove the left cup in order to free the whole BB cartridge and get a new one in. I will definitively get the threads chased afterwards and get something like LX or XT cartridge since they have all strong metal cups and use plenty of waterproof grease too (usually white lithium grease).

Since I never attempted to heat a stuck BB, using a propane torch, what should I be looking for to know when it's hot enough in there ?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

When it's red and glowy 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

David C said:


> Since I never attempted to heat a stuck BB, using a propane torch, what should I be looking for to know when it's hot enough in there ?


If you don't care about the paint, I'd blast the BB shell with the propane torch for a long time... even if you get it glowing you shouldn't deform it.

It's hot enough when the BB comes out :lol:

Rodar, I gotta get me one of those :eekster:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I'm impressed that a 5' bar won't budge it. I was sure I was going to break something with a 2' bar on a square-taper. I haven't used heat on a bike, but have had luck with it on my mower deck...I use a little heat, and tried it, then a little more, and re-tried, etc., until it worked and broke free. 

It turned into a beautiful but windy day right now, 63F and some peeks of sun.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Well I'll try probably tomorrow and hopefully not set my whole basement on fire. Thanks


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

David C said:


> Thanks all for the tips.
> 
> First, I did let it soak 24 hours in WD40, but may try to let it sit for 40-60 hours.
> 
> ...


I think everyone has missed a critical point here.....you ride Montreal or at least quebec with lots of salt...

The salt as probably worked its way into the threads and solidified and basically welded the to pieced of steel togeather...this is due to the fact that corroision products have a density lower than the parent material and this consumes all of the gap...

Yes heating the thing will break it loss has CB says it will also probably damage the alignemnet of the frame and or the threads (the wall thickness is alot smaller on a bike than a Jeep)...

So get some CLR and soak the thread in that (yes it will be a little difficult to contain the fluid)...

Also rather than heat...which will weakning the steel as it gets hoter and hotter....try cold...

Get some dry ice (phone around it is easy to get)...then put it inside the BB so that it shrinks the inside...

Then when it melts get some steam or a heat gun at less than 300F and heat the outside...

Repeat a couple of times...

The use penetrating oil in the threads...then apply the dry ice to the inside...before the dry ice melts...put the wrench on it and give it a good solid wack with a big ball peen hammer...Hot the wrench with the hammer.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ I'm impressed that a 5' bar won't budge it. I was sure I was going to break something with a 2' bar on a square-taper. I haven't used heat on a bike, but have had luck with it on my mower deck...I use a little heat, and tried it, then a little more, and re-tried, etc., until it worked and broke free.
> 
> It turned into a beautiful but windy day right now, 63F and some peeks of sun.


it isn't constant torque that breaks things loose it normally takes a shock to break it loose


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We just took our 15 minute walk break, and I found mmy bike had blown over in the bike rack!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I just realized my problem. No 15 minute walk break.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Jeff, thanks for the additional head up. Yes salt and other nasty urban chemicals are extremely damageable to bike stuff, working in a bike coop I get to deal with it every time. However, in this case I would say it's not the main reason as this bike was on his first winter that I know of and it's just part of the problem. I can always fill a container up with CLR, PB-Blaster and WD40 and let the whole BB soak in for a few days, but that'd be extreme science project.

The frame is quite strong, chromoly 4340 and I'm sure it would handle some heat before deformation.

I'm just wondering how the freaking hell does the drive-side splines are plastic ?? Since it's directly connected to the main body of the BB, could the threads be plastic too ? In which case I could melt it down and sucker punch the whole thing out ?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

David C said:


> I can always fill a container up with CLR, PB-Blaster and WD40 and let the whole BB soak in for a few days, but that'd be extreme science project.
> 
> The frame is quite strong, chromoly 4340 and I'm sure it would handle some heat before deformation.
> 
> I'm just wondering how the freaking hell does the drive-side splines are plastic ?? Since it's directly connected to the main body of the BB, could the threads be plastic too ? In which case I could melt it down and sucker punch the whole thing out ?


First of all you need to alternate CLR and WD40 and PB blaster not mix them....not a science project that is the first part of how I got my stuck seat tube out of the frame last spring.

Second doesn't matter the steel strength....all steel gets weak when you heat it...

I'm betting half of the bolts I heat up to get off....generally just break right off with heat rather than come out...(I'm thinking exhaust bolts/frame bolts under cars etc.

Don't know anything about plastic splines...everyone I have had have been some type of metal....at least on a bike.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Newsflash !

After some googling around, I gained more bike knowledge about stupid mid-90's "novelties" like that useless 1995 Shimano BB-LP25 cartridge BB that inserts from the left side instead of the right side... The bike being a 1995 GT Timberline FS, it would make a lot of sense that it uses this exact cartridge since the bike was spec'd with all Alivio stuff. Even more, I learned there is a recall on that crank too (Alivio MC-12) still going on since 1997, so I could also get a new crank haha

More googling showed that people had similar issue as I trying to remove it, and that the best method was to ideally soak the threads for a while and use the Park BBT-22 and a impact wrench to take it out. I could get the BBT-22, but first I'll try to soak the BB for the whole weekend and then re-try the whole breaker bar setup and hammer it down till either the BB break loose or the tool splines shear off. Then I'll get the BBT-22 haha

Damn Japanese... always making weird stuff



Alivio BB-LP25 diagram for reference :


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Okay, I think I have a first. I was held up on my way to work today by a fighter jet in my way. Anybody else been there/done that, or is it my own private honor?
I saw emergency vehicles and a circus-type atmosphere going on ahead of me (the chicken wandering straight stretch), and the first couple cars stopped by the sheriff`s roadblock. Saw a crane dangling something big and shiny over a flatbed trailer, and people were rotating the Big Shiny as I got closer. When I came into close enough range for my myopic eyes to make it all out, I finally determined it was a jet fighter with Russian markings. WTF? As soon as it was sitting safely on the trailer, the crane drove off the road and they let us all go by. I was really perplexed for a while- can`t imagine a fighter jet crashing and NOT being in a million tiny pieces, since I`ve seen that kind of wreckage around when the prop driven fighters in the races go down. As soon as I got to work I Googled up the story and found that it was a privately owned MIG which landed and then overshot the runway. Pilot hospitalized with only minor injuries. Top that one, guys!

Pilot Has Minor Injuries in Stead Crash

The fire truck in the little picture there is parked smack over my bike lane :madmax:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Okay, I think I have a first. I was held up on my way to work today by a fighter jet in my way. Anybody else been there/done that, or is it my own private honor?
> I saw emergency vehicles and a circus-type atmosphere going on ahead of me (the chicken wandering straight stretch), and the first couple cars stopped by the sheriff`s roadblock. Saw a crane dangling something big and shiny over a flatbed trailer, and people were rotating the Big Shiny as I got closer. When I came into close enough range for my myopic eyes to make it all out, I finally determined it was a jet fighter with Russian markings. WTF? As soon as it was sitting safely on the trailer, the crane drove off the road and they let us all go by. I was really perplexed for a while- can`t imagine a fighter jet crashing and NOT being in a million tiny pieces, since I`ve seen that kind of wreckage around when the prop driven fighters in the races go down. As soon as I got to work I Googled up the story and found that it was a privately owned MIG which landed and then overshot the runway. Pilot hospitalized with only minor injuries. Top that one, guys!
> 
> Pilot Has Minor Injuries in Stead Crash
> ...


LOL! That sounds like a freakin' sitcom episode.

Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Current bottom bracket entertainment sesion:
Never seen a plastic BB cup? Jeff is even more dinosaur than I am!
The drawing shows a lock ring- on a plastic cup, that one is new for me. It`s loose, isn`t it?
No telling what that mystery plastic will do when it melts. It might work for you, but personally I`d try it only as a last resort.
Agree, shock is good is you have a way to apply it.
Heating is going to be a guess- either try it little by little the way Xplorer suggests or hit it as hard and fast as possible and try to break the shell freee before the heat dissipates into the cartridge. That one is a coin toss.



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, I gotta get me one of those :eekster:


The induction heater? Ours isn`t much fun to play with cause it only works on donut shaped steel within a limited size range- you have to be able to fit a laminated bar through the middle.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Okay, I think I have a first. I was held up on my way to work today by a fighter jet in my way. ....
> 
> The fire truck in the little picture there is parked smack over my bike lane :madmax:


That is a first...at least the MIG didn't end up in the bike lane at the same time as you, it looks like it got pretty close. :eekster:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was windy last night, max gust in Montpelier of 49mph, but once I got off the hill at work, where I was buffeted around a bit, I was lucky that it was more tailwind than headwind. Burlington tied a high temp record of 71F!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Current bottom bracket entertainment sesion:
> Never seen a plastic BB cup? Jeff is even more dinosaur than I am!
> The drawing shows a lock ring- on a plastic cup, that one is new for me. It`s loose, isn`t it?
> No telling what that mystery plastic will do when it melts. It might work for you, but personally I`d try it only as a last resort.
> ...


Sorry for the confusion. Here's the situation :

In 1995, Shimano made a few OEM low-level model of cartridge BB that inserted from the left (steel body) and used a plastic cup on the right. Some of these BB were the BB-LP25, BB-CT90, etc. They were mass produced and very cheap.

So right now, my LP25 BB has to be removed from the left side like if it was any other BB, using steel splines. On the right side, the plastic cup was weak and already broken at the tool interface, so using a hole-saw I cut it off as much as possible till I reached the main cartridge body, to at least relieve the sleeve effect on that side. Now the BB is soaking in WD-40 since last night and I'll try to remove it with the tool on Monday. No heat on the menu yet.

I think the lockring was for some other OEM builds, not for mine.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Okay, I think I have a first. I was held up on my way to work today by a fighter jet in my way. Anybody else been there/done that, or is it my own private honor? ... I Googled up the story and found that it was a privately owned MIG which landed and then overshot the runway. Pilot hospitalized with only minor injuries. Top that one, guys!


Sounds like the reverse thrusters did not function. They have a fairly high landing speed so a lot of kinetic energy to dump fast. We had one here giving rides in 2005, I think. Amusing to see drivers react as that MiG flew in for a landing over the state route. Looked like it was going to leave tread marks on the semi trailler's roofs!

In your case, good the ditch stopped him or he could have rolled right through you and your bike lane had his or your timing been different. Would really suck is you survived service overseas only to get run over by a MiG stateside. If you survived, the irony would have killed you. 

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I actually knew a guy up here who had a mig. Since it was just a gigantic overcompensation device, the idea of him doing stupid things with it is not hard to believe.

An update (but no solution) to my tech conundrum:

I checked the derailleur alignment using the ghetto method of mounting another rear wheel in the derailleur mount. Not particularly accurate, but things seemed to be okay.

Suspicious of my crummy freehub, I flushed it using a freehub buddy (a ridiculous tool for me to have, but so handy). And in the process had to repack the hub and replace the cassette. And I still have the same problem.

Then I remembered I had an old deore cassette in my parts bin that has worn middle cogs, but pristine small cogs. Swapped them on...and the same problem.

So then I realized that with the bike flipped upside down on the floor, and me pedaling by hand I could get it to skip. It takes forever, but after closely watching it happen a dozen times I still can't tell what's going on. The derailleur doesn't move, and there's no visible skipping at the cassette. There's just suddenly some slack in the chain, and a ca-chunk.

Since I'm running out of parts to check, this made me wonder if maybe my fancy narrow-wide chainring is the culprit? It's a few months old, so maybe it's catching on something it shouldn't be like chainsuck? I'm going to swap my old ss ring on tomorrow to see if that helps. Failing that, I'll take the rear wheel off my dinglespeed, slap on the cassette and see if that wheel works any better. Failing that I think it's got to be a derailleur or frame problem. (I'm kindof hoping it's the wheel, since this wheelset kindof sucks and being forced to replace it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world).

We're supposed to get 5~10" of snow this weekend, so this bike might be going into hibernation right away. But I'd sure like to get it figured out so that I don't have to waste time troubleshooting in the spring.

Edited to add: narrow/wide chainring is not the problem...which is good. Next up, trying a different wheel.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No wind and not a cloud in the sky today. Went mt. biking in Blue Diamond this afternoon on the Monocog. A gorgeous 75f. Wife and kids at a baby shower. Sometimes things just work out like that.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Not particularly accurate, but things seemed to be okay.
> 
> ...And I still have the same problem.
> 
> ...


I hope it isn`t your drop bars!

And I want a Freewheel Buddy.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I hope it isn`t your drop bars!
> 
> And I want a Freewheel Buddy.


Dropbars are on the other bike, so they're probably not causing the problem (although I can't rule anything out...)

I swapped gears onto my dinglewheel, and rode around in the snow for a few blocks without issue, so now I'm pretty confident that the freehub is the problem. I still have no idea how or why a freehub would slip under moderate and continuous load in 3/9 gears every ~40 pedalstrokes.

The bike is now retired for the winter, so I can give the freehub a good long soak. The freehub has always been finicky (which is why I bought the freehub buddy) and the front hub eats cones for some reason (it needs a 3rd set in 5 years - even my walmart bike didn't do that) so the wheelset might just get binned.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Had a nice ride in and back, but the best part was with the new jersey. Tenn long sleeve jersey was very good, roomy (not 'race fit'), wasn't thick or heavy, but did block the wind so I could ride comfortably at 52*.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Newf, if that's a solution, I have a nice 26" LX/Mavic wheelset for sale, rim brakes only, almost new condition. Take-off of my XC bike that I'm swapping for carbon disc wheelset.

I'd ask $120. Hubs are LX M510 and rims Mavic X221, 32h with re-enforced eyelets and stainless spokes.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Just got off the phone with the LBS, and the Jamis should be ready to resume duties this evening. I've been without a ride since Wednesday, and have had to rely on either the wifey or friends for transportation. She's been a real champ about getting me to the office by 7am with three kids. I'm sure the morning stops at 7-11 for coffee and the nightly glasses of wine don't have anything to do with it. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

David C said:


> Newf, if that's a solution, I have a nice 26" LX/Mavic wheelset for sale, rim brakes only, almost new condition. Take-off of my XC bike that I'm swapping for carbon disc wheelset.


Thanks, but I need disc.

One of the times being in Canada sucks - Jenson has a wheelset for $100ish that would be fine, but shipping is $150. For a really cheap wheelset almost anything would be fine, but if I'm spending $300 or more then I should actually think about what I'm buying - thru-axle compatible front hub, high-engagement rear hub, cartridge bearings...luckily there's no hurry.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

newfangled said:


> Thanks, but I need disc.
> 
> One of the times being in Canada sucks - Jenson has a wheelset for $100ish that would be fine, but shipping is $150. For a really cheap wheelset almost anything would be fine, but if I'm spending $300 or more then I should actually think about what I'm buying - thru-axle compatible front hub, high-engagement rear hub, cartridge bearings...luckily there's no hurry.


Not sure if its the same situation but nashbar has several wheelsets in the 100ish range as well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Another beautiful ride in Blue Diamond this morning. At the trail head by 7 and back to the Jeep by 10. Got kind of busy out there so I'll have to go back to daybreak riding next weekend. Sleeping in this morning was good though.

Even though we have brutal summers here in Vegas, it is pretty nice to have year round mt. biking. We probably have well over three hundred days a year of perfect riding conditions, depending on how you handle the weather (daybreak rides in the summer and late morning rides in the winter).

Off work tomorrow and Tuesday. Back to commuting Wednesday.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Just picked the Jamis up from the LBS. Wheels are true as can be, brakes are nice and tight, and the best part is I didn't owe a dime. Took a 3 mi ride down to CVS to pick up some things and check out the ride, before I head out at 0530 tomorrow. I'm reminded of how quickly your fitness level can drop in 5 days. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not a commute today, but more of a trial run. Gear and route to be specific. Mid 40's with some wind, sun breaking in and out of the clouds. Did a 6 mile warm up and then decided to test my route to work. There are a few ways I can get there from my apartment, and I already have the best route laid out. Wanted to see if this would work. Absolutely not. Very busy road, not much room for a bike, 45mph speed limit, and way too much traffic, even on a Sunday afternoon. I sidewalked it to see how it was, and there is no way I will take that route. My current route is a bit longer, but more than likely faster, as it is 90% bike paths and roads with dedicated bike lanes. Minimal traffic lights really help, so that part is nailed down. It will get boring riding the same route to work and back, but it really works.

All in all, a nice 18 mile ride today. Tried to keep up with a guy for the last 3 miles on the bike path back to my place, but I just couldn't do it. He was trucking along, and no matter how much I gained on him, he kept a really steady pace, and I ran out of path to get him. Next time....


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Just picked the Jamis up from the LBS. Wheels are true as can be, brakes are nice and tight, and the best part is I didn't owe a dime. Took a 3 mi ride down to CVS to pick up some things and check out the ride, before I head out at 0530 tomorrow. I'm reminded of how quickly your fitness level can drop in 5 days.
> 
> Tradere Scriptura Magister


How'd you get off without owing a dime?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

The bike is still under warranty, I purchased the rear wheel from them just over a week ago, and I helped the owner out with his house. They seem to bend over backward to help commuters out because they know we're the bread and butter, with the big dollar road racers being the icing on the cake. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> How'd you get off without owing a dime?


That's what she said???

Sorry. I couldn't help it.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Michael Scott lives again!


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> That's what she said???
> 
> Sorry. I couldn't help it.


You beat me to it xD


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was okay. I was freezing and burning up at the same time. My hands and face were stinging, while the rest of me was pouring sweat. I guess I need to figure something out there. I did lose the backside casing and batteries out of my taillight (wtf?), so my last two blocks was without rear lighting. I'll be swinging by the LBS and picking up something for the ride home. I'm thinking a Serfas Thunderbolt?


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

This morning might have been my coldest commute ever, 28 when I left. Not impressive for many of you, I know, but in the past I've been a fair weather commuter. It's just recently that I've been getting out in the bad weather. I do have cold weather riding experience on the mountain bike, I've regularly ridden through the past few winters, so it was nothing new. Just a matter of motivation when I wake up before 6am and it's dark and freezing.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

We got a couple of inches of snow on the weekend, and now the sidestreets, parking lots and bikelanes are completely covered in a 1/2" of ice. The main streets are clear, but everything else is just about as bad as it gets. Even with studs there were plenty of spots where for a solid block I didn't dare steer, or brake, or pedal - just try to stay centered and hold on.

I saw a few other riders, and it didn't look like any of them had studs, so this was a pretty rough introduction to winter. I was on my dinglespeed with my backup studs. I resisted winterizing the big bike in the hopes of getting a week or two more of clear pavement, but the forecast isn't promising so it might have to get its winter boots this week.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Just a matter of motivation when I wake up before 6am and it's dark and freezing.


Ain't that the truth! Motivation is the only thing that keeps me going in the winter. I got to work one day last winter feeling like an ice cube and a coworker looked at me with a grin on his face and said "It's all self-inflicted, buddy." This tends to be the attitude toward my bike commuting from coworkers, especially in the coldest mornings of winter and hottest afternoons of summer, and especially so cause all know I have a vehicle at home.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A MIG Rodar...that's pretty awesome. Can't say I've had that one happen. 

Daylight savings time means I'm back in sunrise/non-headlight mode for a while...that's kind of nice. Grabbed the GoPro this morning and stuck it in my pocket just in case a deer wanted to run across the road in front of me... I saw 3 or 4 up ahead starting to cross, so I sat up and got the GoPro out... but the 'level 2' gloves aren't quite enough at 26 degrees and my numb fingers thought they had pushed the button...turns out they didn't.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> A MIG Rodar...that's pretty awesome. Can't say I've had that one happen.
> 
> Daylight savings time means I'm back in sunrise/non-headlight mode for a while...that's kind of nice. Grabbed the GoPro this morning and stuck it in my pocket just in case a deer wanted to run across the road in front of me... I saw 3 or 4 up ahead starting to cross, so I sat up and got the GoPro out... but the 'level 2' gloves aren't quite enough at 26 degrees and my numb fingers thought they had pushed the button...turns out they didn't.


That's a bummer. Since we moved to Florida almost 2 years ago, I haven't seen a single one. Then again, we're a mile away from the coast.

Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Not a huge loss... I'll see 10 or 12 tomorrow :lol: No glimpse of the ocean though.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Sucker finally came out !

Soaking in WD40 from Friday to Monday morning and using some long leverage broke it loose. It was rusty as hell. Now gonna bring back the old Alivio MC12 crank for recall and hopefully they'll send me a new Alivio M410/M430 crank too. Oh and a bit icy on the streets since they cleaned them and it froze overnight. Yay for going testing the new front studs


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow that thing has seen better days. Good job


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Riding home during dark hours feels fast. Not like I'm actually going fast but it feels like everything happens fast. Must be the visibility.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice going, David. Hope you get a shiny new one on the recall. 

Another chilly morning with a low of 14F at my house. I felt much warmer when I saw on the news that the local cold spot (Saranac Lake NY) was only 8F. Tried out the alpaca felt in one shoe as a test. Put it in the left shoe, which is usually colder. Both feet were “OK”, but the alpaca foot was noticeably colder, probably due to less toe wiggle room (I added it over the stock insole). We’ll see if it improves when it packs down or maybe try it on its own.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Today's the only day I am going into the office this week so it is going to be a short biking week for me. I'm flying to Seattle later in the week for a 1 1/2 hour meeting  The business world is crazy, somewhere around 12+ hours of plane time to make a proposal for a potential project. 

This morning's commute was brisk, and I ain't talking about the speed. I'd say it was in the neighborhood of 20 degrees. It's getting darn close to face mask time. (Edit: I see I was trumped in briskness, wow, 14 in early November)


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fast, Cloudy, and Fun! Not much else to say. Still no snow. 33 F!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice going, David. Hope you get a shiny new one on the recall.
> 
> Another chilly morning with a low of 14F at my house. I felt much warmer when I saw on the news that the local cold spot (Saranac Lake NY) was only 8F. Tried out the alpaca felt in one shoe as a test. Put it in the left shoe, which is usually colder. Both feet were "OK", but the alpaca foot was noticeably colder, probably due to less toe wiggle room (I added it over the stock insole). We'll see if it improves when it packs down or maybe try it on its own.


And I thought it was chilly at 60-something.

Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Both feet were "OK", but the alpaca foot was noticeably colder, probably due to less toe wiggle room (I added it over the stock insole).


I use insulated insoles down to about 0F. But below that, I think you get more bang for your insulating buck by getting rid of the insole and adding a good sock.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Well, my anticipated 7.5 mi ride home turned into almost 18 when my wife called and told me that our oldest boy had left the minivan door cracked, which drained the battery, which meant I would not be meeting up with them at our designated spot. I fought headwinds the entire way, and for about a mile, I had to dismount and walk. 

About .75 miles from the house my wife called and said she couldn't find my oldest son, who is autistic. He was playing in the front yard and when she went to check on him, he was gone. That kicked in the adrenaline to the point that I jumped up to 21 mph, flying across a busy street and jumping curbs. Get to the house, and he had wondered down the street, saying that he was going back to Texas to see my mother. 

Needless to say, it's been a hell of a day and my wife and I now have a new special needs learning experience. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, that is a rough day. Glad everyone -including you - is OK. Those headwinds sound brutal too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Mine was fine, but the bad news for northern New England pedalers plows on. So you're hit by a car in Keene NH. The driver takes off. They were drunk. You're dead. The driver is caught. The driver is your former girlfriend/current housemate.

Driver had been in relationship with victim in NH - News Local New Hampshire - Boston.com


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Damn that's heavy ^^

Commuting here around town for papers, crank recall, buying headset and then getting the frame BB's threads cleaned up and new hs cups in was actually enjoyable. Fair weather, sunny and 2°C without excessive wind.

Clean threads and grease fest.

















The frame is now sporting my old XTR pimp crank while we wait for the replacement.

"Purple pimp on gold ****"


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> This morning might have been my coldest commute ever, 28 when I left.


Good going, Straz :thumbsup:



David C said:


> Sucker finally came out !


Yay!



Texan-n-Fla said:


> Needless to say, it's been a hell of a day and my wife and I now have a new special needs learning experience.


Scary deal. Glad you found him before he hitched a ride or something.

Cold here, but nowhere near the northerners temps today. I didn`t check, but I think around 25 for my ride home this morning. Had to come back in 8 hours after I left (damn) and it was nice out.

And another thanks for Bedwards- his suggestion to file a warranty claim over a broken bead wire in my Big Apple worked. Schwalbe contacted me today to say they`ll cover it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

David C said:


> Clean threads and grease fest.


Looks great - a satisfying repair job and an extra plus that you didn't catch your house on fire.



rodar y rodar said:


> And another thanks for Bedwards- his suggestion to file a warranty claim over a broken bead wire in my Big Apple worked. Schwalbe contacted me today to say they`ll cover it.


Good news! I wasn't too hopeful for you, since Schwalbe can't control if someone rides it flat, etc.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Another personal low temp record, 25 this morning. Slightly more impressive than my previous record of 28. I was sweating my ass off, I'll need to work on that. Like Les Stroud says, "You sweat, you die". Granted I think he said that while in the arctic for 7 days with no heat or shelter...

Some van with a "Safety is our first concern" sticker came a little too close to me for comfort. She pulled out from a side street onto the street I was travelling on right next to me, didn't bother waiting until I passed. I tried catching up at the next intersection, there was a phone number to call, but I wasn't able to catch up.

Rode the new CX bike today. I'm racing it Saturday and I needed some time on it first. Glad I did, I noticed a couple adjustments I need to make. This is the first bike I've ever had with reverse brake levers, that's not easy to get used to. I'm running the CX tires for now, I'm still waiting for my road wheels for it:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

25ish here too... clear as a bell out there though. Sunrise on the dirt road:









Sorry about the drama Texan, scary. 
Good News on the tire Rodar.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was pretty sluggish, after that impromptu 18 mi ride home yesterday. I'm in no where near the shape I need to be in for that to be a regular thing. It took me an hour to make it 6.5 miles. 

The good news is that the wife is picking me up from work so we can go run some errands. If I do it right, I should be able to be back to normal tomorrow morning. 

Awesome news about the Big Apple. Always good when someone stands behind their product and it works out in your favor. 


Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> 25ish here too... clear as a bell out there though. Sunrise on the dirt road:
> 
> View attachment 844557


That's a beautiful sight. I've got nothing but street lights and business signs.

Speaking of lights. I picked up a Serfas Thunderbolt yesterday and gave it a whirl this morning. I'm pleased, and do believe it will be part of the daily setup.

Tradere Scriptura Magister


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> That's a beautiful sight. I've got nothing but street lights and business signs.


Same here. Really makes me rethink moving out west. My wife wanted us to move to Colorado a couple years back, we didn't because our family is mostly in the northeast (MA, NH and NJ)


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Same here. Really makes me rethink moving out west. My wife wanted us to move to Colorado a couple years back, we didn't because our family is mostly in the northeast (MA, NH and NJ)


I grew up in rural Texas, and moved to Denver when I was 18. I loved going off into the trails. Now, it's pavement and sand all over the place here in Tampa Bay. I can't complain too much though. I've never seen a more beautiful sunset than when I was standing in the waves.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

newbie here reporting...

I was all done on the street when I realized my mtb shoes had the crank bros cleats on which wouldn't work on my spd pedals...I was already a bit late, I'm not even sure If my old mtb shoes made all the moves I did in the past years so I just went on using the flat side of my pedals 

It was a bit uncomfortable but still doable. the rest was ok..75 °F leaving home.

6.72 mil one way..









La Trurly resting after her first commute in months!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in today. 32F when I left the house. No wind. Clear and lovely. C'mon snow! I thought it was going to be white when I woke up this AM as I watched the snow creep further and further down the mountain all yesterday long, but no dice. Yet.

Didn't commute yesterday as I had a day's worth of dr.s appointments. Never fun.

Had a great ride on Saturday. A little on the chilly side, but so much fun! Had a good no ride day on Sunday as well.









Read more and see some more pictures here.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I gotta give you folks props for getting out there and spinning when it's so freakin' cold. I can deal with the heat, but I wuss out when it comes to cold weather. Maybe that's why we left one hot place for another.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Back on the bike today after Friday and Monday on 4 wheels. Shoes and the right side of my bike (bar, pannier, pedal) covered in mud from when I stalled in a deep mud puddle and fell over on the way home last Thursday. Within sight of my building, at the start of my 10.5 mile ride.

I went around that trail today. Mid 30s, clear sky. My safety glasses aren't going to cut it in the deep cold like I'd hoped they would. Still no luck on selling my car off. Anybody want to buy a 2005 Nissan Xterra?


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

A chilly commute for me. 20 degrees. Used hand warmers and shoe covers. I forgot the orange vest though, so a little scary riding the country road that has cars parked along the side with hunters in the woods. Got ot work with feeling in my fingers with no bullet holes. A good day!


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Not-my-favorite-weather...
Light rain all day. In the afternoon, the wind picked up. I suppose you could call it brisk. The regional newspaper website reports thousands of homes without electricity. On the way home I came across a snapped tree on the "MUP". The bottom end of the trunk was on the path, the top was resting against the wiring of the streetlights.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

"Northeast winds steady at 18-20 mph with gusts up to 32 mph". 

Plans changed, wife isn't picking me up from work. Good thing I'm headed south, I could sure a good tailwind.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride home was much better. Took a tour through downtown, doing everything I could to take advantage of the tailwind.































.

And met up with my brother from another mother for a quick pressed Cuban sandwich before rolling into the driveway. 









All together, great ride home. How about the rest of yas?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I think I almost got sprayed by a skunk on the way home. Pitch black, riding with some brush to my right. I heard rustling but couldn't see what it was, sounded like it was running along me though. I sprinted and immediately smelled a skunk for a couple seconds then it went away. I sprinted slightly uphill for as long as I could.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

RollingRunner said:


> A chilly commute for me. 20 degrees. Used hand warmers and shoe covers. I forgot the orange vest though, so a little scary riding the country road that has cars parked along the side with hunters in the woods. Got to work with feeling in my fingers with no bullet holes. A good day!


At least you covered up those white shoes to combat the whitetail fever out there. I still remember the woman over there with white mittens who got shot hanging out her laundry (aren't Mainers rugged, hanging out laundry with mittens!). That's a chilly commute, nice rolling!

^^ NIce save Pepe - I mean Straz.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Tex: had a brief experience with a lost son, not as harrowing, feel for all of you. Also nice pics.

LaTruly rides again! 

So some mud hole dodging, downed tree avoiding, bullet escaping, and skunk avoiding. Been there, done that different years (except falling over in the puddle: I landed on dry ground, and I saw the skunk in time to see the stamping feet, so no scent in the air.) All in a day's commute. 

Been having fairly severe back and leg pain that has really cut my riding down. I had been returning some foods that I reacted to in the past and with no digestive issues thought I was home free. Uh-uh. A brief trial indicates potatoes, dairy, eggs, coffee, chocolate, gluten-free beer (yeast and sorghum), are off my menu for now. They can cross react with gluten antibodies and I have a good collection of gluten intolerance genes. Gluten, corn, and soy already are off my menu. The pains started to flare up on the cruise with a less restrictive diet and got worse. Thank the Lord I'm not a vegan! So its back to a modified neolithic diet. Thank goodness Bourbon, Rye, and Scotch and other liquors leave the gluten and yeast behind in the distillation so I can drown my sorrows and don't have to whine about no wine. 

My nominal 14.8 volt, 75 or so Watt-hr pack died on the last ride and will not take a charge (could run double headlights on full for 3.7 hours). They are said to last about 2 years depending on charges, rate, other factors and so it is on schedule. Might be a broken wire. I'll could try a warranty claim, as Rodar got lucky, but this thing is DIY, and I know the builder all too well.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> That's a beautiful sight. I've got nothing but street lights and business signs.





Straz85 said:


> Same here. Really makes me rethink moving out west. My wife wanted us to move to Colorado a couple years back, we didn't because our family is mostly in the northeast (MA, NH and NJ)


Thanks guys. I grew up in the sticks, but I did do 8 years in LA County...I'm well aware that I'm blessed.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

perttime said:


> The regional newspaper website reports thousands of homes without electricity. On the way home I came across a snapped tree on the "MUP". The bottom end of the trunk was on the path, the top was resting against the wiring of the streetlights.


Oooh, that can`t be good!

Looks good, Martin- glad you made it official. I bet you like that route a lot better than Monterrey.

Brian, sorry to hear your back is bothering you. Wow, that`s a lot of stuff going on your verboten list- that might merit even even more sympathy than the back pain.

No bullet holes is good indeed 
Dedication to RollingRunner and The Mitten Lady:
Tom Lehrer - The Hunting Song - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967 - YouTube


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Looks good, Martin- glad you made it official. I bet you like that route a lot better than Monterrey.


mm how to put it?...YESSS!

It was really dark on my way home though...need to improve my lights for sure!...hey BrianMC! hope you can ride normally again soon!, in the meantime are you selling your setups already? hehe

Third trip this morning...all including headwind...I can tell in my legs not riding since march once.

On my way home last night 6.89 Mi..this morning I took a slightly longer route than yesterday (6.91 mi) which I think will be my route from now on


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## silver07 (Jul 26, 2011)

Still fairly new to the commuting thing....in my second full week. I only have a 2.5 mile ride to work so I am able to pack light. Started out on my Giant Revel 1 then decided to unload that in favor of something a little more suited for commuting since i just dont have time for mountain biking anymore. Ended up picking up a Giant Roam 2 last week and so far I love it.....pic is attached.









As for commute today, was probably in the mid 40's and overcast. Overall a nice crisp ride in this morning which i am enjoying more and more. I am really happy with the decision to start bike commuting.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Nothing to sell! Good news is that the diet restrictions are paying decent dividends. Heck of a negative incentive to hold the line on diet.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

That was a great song! Hysterical! Oddly accurate. I'll be wearing my orange vest next commute! I'm sure Mitten Lady would agree. Thanks for the laugh!

Yeah, too many things ong the verboten list, but phew for the gluten free liquors to comfort your sorrows!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wore the GoPro bra and took the trail this morning. Pushing the low-light envelope with that camera yields some very cool motion-blur pictures. I think it took 1300 pictures this morning...didn't have time to look through them yet :lol: Here's a sampler:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oooh, that can`t be good!


Busy night and morning for power companies. Otherwise, there wasn't all that much damage. Apparently, winds here inland topped at 18 m/s (40mph, or so). We're back at light drizzle, little wind, and temps a few degrees above freezing.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Damn it's 12°C here right now ! I'm almost done servicing the '01 Marzocchi Z5 fork of my brother's commuter bike then I'll be able to put all the front end back together and adjust the drivetrain and brakes.

Btw, I saw in the best deals forum that OnOne had 26" Ice Spiker tires on sales for $50 each and I think free shipping over $100 orders. They are the wire bead version at 995g though. Still a very nice deal if you are looking for quality off-road studs !


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

20F when I left the house this morning. Overdressed a bit. I guess it is that gut reaction of OMG 20 degrees, it's going to be cold and then ignoring the hard won knowledge that less is more. 

Almost ran into a moose on the way to the office. There is a final up hill section that I take from the MUP to the streets and at the top of the hill was a young cow grazing away at a tree. Didn't see her until just before I made my turn onto the road. Gave a nice "Hi moosie" before peddling off and watching over my shoulder. I passed about 10 feet in front of her, but she couldn't be bothered with me. No pics. Too dark and I was just focused on not getting stomped!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Nothing to sell!


I meant if you were fabricating to sell, lol!

I guess I'll get some magicshines after I sell this


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

18F and sunny!!! Loved all 9 miles of it!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm burning up over here with 82F. I can't wait for an actual cold front to come trough.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Tried out the new saddle. Good commute to the PT/OT office. Downside is my rear hurts and I'm not looking forward to the hour long commute tomorrow morning. I need some weezer squeezers.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wore the GoPro bra and took the trail this morning. Pushing the low-light envelope with that camera yields some very cool motion-blur pictures. I think it took 1300 pictures this morning...didn't have time to look through them yet :lol: Here's a sampler:
> 
> View attachment 844776


I've gotta get me one of those!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

is raining...no late commute for me tonight..waiting for the wife to pick me up


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Did my short commute today. Seven miles each way. Got the geared Haro for the 30 mile round trip commute and put lights on the Walmart cruiser for the short commute days. Nice to have two functioning commuters, each with their own set of lights. The way the Haro stands it's not too much work to get it back to geared mt. bike duty. Since I got the Monocog three months ago all my mt. biking has been singlespeed.

Just before getting to work I interrupted a coyote chasing down a cat. Came around a corner and as soon as the coyote saw me it bolted down the wash and headed back toward the wetlands. The cat bolted back into the neighborhood. I'm not the biggest fan of cats but I'm glad I was able to spoil the coyote's plans.

Also brought a western banded gecko home for the kids. Threw it in my reptile tank with the desert iguanas so my wife didn't care too much about another animal being biked home from work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> I meant if you were fabricating to sell, lol! I guess I'll get some magicshines after I sell (edit: "something")


Yeah. Not ready to hang the bikes up yet. Though since it is too big for my son, the idea in a couple of decades or later to offer stuff here first, is interesting.

Cold solder joint in that DIY battery. SO it lives again! Well it looks like I need a new soldering iron (Santa!  ). I just figured out the thing is 35 years old so has a right to not be up to snuff.

No way a DIYer can compete lumens/$ with a magic shine. I used top quality parts in all but the taillights. But they are still hand made and somewhat prototypical with some failures. I don't know if magi shine quality has increased with the lower heat output of the newer LED's, but the batteries seem to have improved.

BrianMc


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Just got permission from the wife to go to Theology on Tap tomorrow night. That makes my commute from the office to the bar about 35 miles. I've got a buddy who will be there with a car that can bring me back home. I don't think I could handle a 45 mile ride in one day. I've only been doing this for about 2 months.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Well this Thursday is gonna be loaded with bike stuff. First off I'll be keeping on wrenching on my brother's bike (doing a little every day), then commute to one of my client to give him my bills, then head to open a local bike coop before 4pm (I run the place on Thursdays) and hopefully be able to close before 8pm because across the street at the bar we'll be having a [email protected] of our famous Montreal Bike Winter Facebook group (over 1000 members and I am one of the admins too) and they'll be expecting me to show up. Then commute back home at some point in the night. Weather for tomorrow should be 0 to 12° C and rainy. Although we're talking about a 6km round-trip since I live right by downtown. Nothing to do with your epics 45 miles commutes that I read around here haha.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in this morning was great. I felt like I flew the whole way. I suppose I'm done recovering from the unexpected long ride on Monday that seemed to do me in for the week. New saddle caused a little discomfort at the beginning, but soon felt right. Needs a little more breaking in, no doubt. Rear rack lost a screw that attached it down by the rear hub, so I had some fun shakiness going on the last few blocks. No biggie. I've got screws that match threads and thread lock here at the office. I'll be ready for that ride this evening for sure.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I worked until 7 last night instead of 5:30 or 6, and that always seems to bring the yahoos out of the woodwork – the hornhonking, unsafe passing, rubberpeeling sort who seem so impressed that they can pass a bike. 

At least it was unusually warm by then, about 50F, and I enjoyed the shorts. Raining today, which I wouldn’t mind except that it complicates a presentation I have to give across town at 10 which I want to ride to rather than deal with the lack of parking in Montpelier. I did remember to bring a bigger backpack that can fit the laptop and projector in it, and I’ll just change when I get there.


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## silver07 (Jul 26, 2011)

Rainy commute this morning. Was the first time i've ever done that. Wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be...actually found it to be enjoyable.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I forgot my helmet yesterday :-(

Left a little early to try and minimize time I was on dark roads without. Was mostly successful (and I lived to post this morning so thats good).

Saw this cool sunset as a result - I've never seen it look like this before. There was a low, thin layer of clouds that gave it an almost metallic appearance. I couldn't stop stopping to take pictures of it, a couple almost do it justice.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Awesome pics Alex, glad you made it home safe and sound.

Windy here, but warm.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sweet pics. Love a good sunrise. 

I had to bust out the headlight for the ride home yesterday at 5:00. Depressing. Today's ride home will be well after dark at 8:30 or so.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Cold and windy this AM. 26F at the house with 90% humidity (?) and a steady north wind blowing 8 MPH with gusts up to 20. Made for a rough ride for the first half of the first half of my commute. Once I turned to head to the bus stop, it was a nice tail wind instead of cross wind. My legs were feeling a bit dead today for some reason, so that didn't help things out much. 

Ran into some ice in Anchorage - at the C street underpass where the underpass is actually lower than the level of Chester Creek itself. Odd feeling riding below the water line. There is always a bit of water that runs down into the underpass and now that is frozen nicely. Thick rivulets of snotty icy muck. Fortunately I didn't hit it going to fast and didn't even slide a bit. Winter is here.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Today, for the first time, I stepped in dog ****, didn't notice, and clipped in. So now there's dog **** really worked into the clip on my pedal, as well as up around the cleat on my left shoe. Not fun. I didn't have the interest in cleaning it off this morning, left the whole mess in the back storage area.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Sanath said:


> Today, for the first time, I stepped in dog ****, didn't notice, and clipped in. So now there's dog **** really worked into the clip on my pedal, as well as up around the cleat on my left shoe. Not fun. I didn't have the interest in cleaning it off this morning, left the whole mess in the back storage area.


Been there. If it's really bad I'll try to scrape most of it out with a stick. The rest gets left to dry and I forget about it. Ends up all coming out within a couple rides.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Today, for the first time, I stepped in dog ****, didn't notice, and clipped in. So now there's dog **** really worked into the clip on my pedal, as well as up around the cleat on my left shoe. Not fun. I didn't have the interest in cleaning it off this morning, left the whole mess in the back storage area.


Let em dry, then ship them to me and I'll run them into my sandblast cabinet and then either polish or paint them the color of your choice.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Today, for the first time, I stepped in dog ****, didn't notice, and clipped in. So now there's dog **** really worked into the clip on my pedal, as well as up around the cleat on my left shoe. Not fun. I didn't have the interest in cleaning it off this morning, left the whole mess in the back storage area.


This is horrifying. Hope you can get it hosed out or something. Would drive me crazy.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Y'all need to quitcha whining about dog poo. Come up to Alaska where what you fling up off the tires is likely a mixture of dog, moose, goose, a bit of bear, and human poo. Then whine about it. 

Or just get a hose. My god man...

Wait... now I'm talkin' bout poo. Your work here is done!


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

Good day for commuting today, no dog poo thankfully 
I strapped the GoPro to my helmet, definitely makes for some wild results in low light.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Left the office at 1630, arrived at the bar at 1815. Awesomely fun ride, with lots of hustle and bustle. Check out some pics.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> No way a DIYer can compete lumens/$ with a magic shine. I used top quality parts...


 I wouldn't expect less!...I just need something quickly while you decide to fabricate! 

Last night I think I saved a rabbit...it crossed the street like 30 to 40 ft in front of me being chased by a youngster fox...I guess the curiosity was bigger than his hungry...he stop twice to stare at me (i suppose my front blinkie) an then ended up crossing slowly sniffing around.

this morning uneventful.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Accidentally left on my bike at the time I would leave if I was driving. Made me 10 minutes late for work, which no one really cares about, except my girlfriend who works with me was about to come looking for me since I never show up late and she thought something happened to me. Oops.

Ride was somewhat windy (10-15 mph) but otherwise fine.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Home on a vacation day today so no commute. Gonna head out to Blue Diamond this afternoon for some 75F mountain biking on the Monocog. Absolutely perfect riding weather.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Headwind both ways yesterday 
At least it was warm and dry.

Niiiice sunset, Texan!


martinsillo said:


> Last night I think I saved a rabbit...


Last night I think you cost a fox his dinner...



formula4speed said:


> Accidentally left on my bike at the time I would leave if I was driving.


Whoops! Can`t say as I`ve ever done that one. Good thing arriving a little late wasn`t a big deal.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice cold ride in this AM. 19F with 60% humidity. Clear and a sky full of stars. 

When I got to Anchorage, it was still chilly and still, but for some reason I just bonked about halfway to work. Might be because I ate before I left home, which I never, ever do. A kid on a BMX passed me for crissake. He was like 8. Whooped me like I was an old man. 

The ride home last night was rough. Cold and windy. Dark too. I am happy to say that it is officially beardcicle season though. Built some nice ones this morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday was almost like Groundhog Day. I saw the exact same car, in the exact same spot. The driver did the same lazy brake job and was hanging out into the street as I passed. It was kind of uncanny. Even my thoughts were the same. I heard the guys squeaky brakes and wondered if he'd actually stop at the end of the driveway or if he'd just run right over me.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

No commute for me today. Resting up for my first ever CX race tomorrow!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was not as cold as I expected this morning, but a bit windy.









Shot this about half way to work.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

David C said:


> Sucker finally came out !
> 
> Soaking in WD40 from Friday to Monday morning and using some long leverage broke it loose. It was rusty as hell. Now gonna bring back the old Alivio MC12 crank for recall and hopefully they'll send me a new Alivio M410/M430 crank too. Oh and a bit icy on the streets since they cleaned them and it froze overnight. Yay for going testing the new front studs
> 
> ...


Wow! I've never seen one that rusted in place before. Good job. I love the washers to keep your wrench in place. I may have to steel that idea some day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Not my video (Whew! Say a bunch of you!  ) but as the French say it is tres amusant!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^I like 
Three times amusing.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Excellent video. That one guy is incredibly rude to cause such congestion. 

Saw a cute little coyote on the way home. It let me get pretty close, and it was a "normal" sized coyote at probably about 40lbs, unlike the monsters I usually see that are the size of a german shepherd.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice video clip. Every time I drive instead of ride my bike i get caught in that sort of traffic.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> No commute for me today. Resting up for my first ever CX race tomorrow!


Good luck Straz!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commuting today. Sunny and 53 is the forecast for my departure time. I cannot complain about that at all. Brisk and 43 for the ride home is forecasted for later. Not too bad either for almost the middle of November.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Off the bike last couple days. Light strain of my left calf, not bad but enough to be painful if pushed. Figure better to just take it easy until pain is gone than 'man up and push through it'. Really liking the Tenn jerseys, wish I had coughed up for them earlier. Only thing I'm not crazy about are that the rear pockets are kinda shallow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

My nice sunny day turned into a cloudy and dark commute in. The headwind was absolutely terrible. At points, I was riding at about 7 mph that I normally ride 12-13mph. It wasn't just breezy, it was a constant wind. I am guessing that it was close to 30mph headwind gusts, with a constant of about 20 or so. 

I did a terrible job of packing my bag today. I forgot underwear. I don't know how that slipped my mind, but it did. I work at a hospital, and I wear light blue scrubs. They are paper thin. Tried commando for a little bit, but that was very uncomfortable. I ended up putting my chamois back on. Luckily, it was not wet or damp, nor did it stink from the ride in. You couldn't really tell that I had it on, so I worked like that. Forgot my cold weather leggings for the ride home. Wore orange tinted glasses, leaving my clears at home.

The ride home was pretty good surprisingly. Orange glasses at night threw me off a little, but I get watery eyes easily, so I wore them. It distorts the lights, especially my Niterider Lumina. Pretty uneventful until I made the turn on the bike path to the baseball diamond that I pass on the way to my apartment. I made the turn, and came across nearly 30 deer grazing in the grass on the field and across the path. I nearly jumped out of my skin when all of those eyes popped up and looked my way. I wish that I had a picture of that, because honestly, it sounds unbelievable, but I swear on my bike, it happened.

No commute tomorrow because the temps are supposed to drop, and we are supposed to get a lot of rain with a possible snowy mixture. Gonna pass on that for now.


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

My first day with panniers was interesting but I put the setup on my road bike. It takes a bit of learning to get use to how the bike handles especially walking and pushing it around. I don't really notice any difference riding around though. The rack and bag combined probably only weigh about 3-3.5 pounds; but even with just a lock, tools, and a few other things like lunch and phone, it feels like more.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Quite a day, 10S. I`ve ridden at night with yellow glasses and it`s weird enough- I can imagine orange.

Carnage report from Straz and Jake?

I had observation training last night. Met up with my occasional riding buddy after dark and we took turns, one riding the other`s bike with the other`s jacket/vest and that bike`s normal jockey driving my truck back and forth so we could get an idea how we looked from ahead, behind, and side via driver`s perspective. It was interresting! I think we both scored pretty well. I was especially happy to ride my buddy`s Rans Rocket (old-ish, but very sporty recumbent). He`s had it for at least a year now, and I`ve made a few parts for it, but that was the first time I managed to park my butt on it. Much more reclined position than mine or any of the few other bents I`d previously ridden.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am mostly packed for the ride today. Extra pair in the bag, and my clear glasses are inside of my helmet already. Looking at getting an oversized messenger back to replace my backpack, in hopes that I can fit everything, including packing a dinner. I guess the weather today changed, and it won't be raining until after 4 am or so, but it will be chilly. I have all of my clothes already laid out and ready to pack. Thank you to whomever suggested rolling the items, and placing items inside of shoes to save space. This is a huge help for me.

Any suggestions for cheap clip on red blinkers for a bag? Just want to add a little more visibility for traffic behind me.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute tomorrow cause we government employees have the holiday off. Went on about a three hour mt. bike ride in Blue Diamond this afternoon. Gotta take advantage of this beautiful weather cause it ain't gonna last. About 75F and not a cloud in the sky. My four year old had a sleep over last night for his birthday so the three hours of peace was nice. I went on my ride after the last kids were picked up. Took the single speed into an area I never in a million years thought I'd be able to single speed in. Much to my surprise, I made the three mile climb with few breaks and didn't have to walk a single section. A good riding day to be sure. Just gotta get my commuting back on track next week. . .I've been a pretty poor commuter the last month. Even my manager commented on it last week. He asked if I've been slacking cause he doesn't see my bike in the rack as often. . .


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

p08757 said:


> Wow! I've never seen one that rusted in place before. Good job. I love the washers to keep your wrench in place. I may have to steel that idea some day.


Go ahead, lucky enough I have pretty much enough stuff in my workshop to open a hardware store, so it was a quick fix to find the right stack of washers.

I also made a little adaptor a while ago to hold the FR-7 cassette locking tool on the axle. It's a copper bushing threaded with M10x1mm inside and upper half OD reduced to fit the bore of the tool. Next a threaded M10 steel rod, a spring and washers hold the tool in place, and the bushing screws on the axle. Let me find the link to the thread I made.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride into work today, very glad I decided to ride in. Car hasn't been started since Friday. Very windy again today, not as bad as yesterday, but still blowing. Temp in the upper 40's. Ride home was a bit brisk. 39 as I passed the bank. No wind, and a clear night and not too much traffic. Took a slightly different route home tonight, a bit more on the main busy road here which was nice with hardly any traffic. Ended up riding a little longer than I had planned. Got some looks as I rode by campus, probably thinking wtf is this guy doing on a bike hauling butt so late on a Sunday night? People at work say the same thing. They can't believe that I ride 8 miles into work. I am thinking that really is not that much of a ride.

Not sure when I will ride in again. Snow and rain forecasted this week. I will ride in cold, but I won't ride in that. New singlespeed is set to be delivered Tuesday, and I have Wednesday off to build the rest of it up. Hoping to ride Thursday or Friday at least to shake it down before I ride it to work.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

The ride in was really nice. Haven't had one like that in some time. I felt like I could keep going, and had all the energy in the world.

I cut through a parking lot that three sheriffs officers happened to be parked in. As I went by, all three turned on their headlights. I suppose you have to get in a good laugh every now and again.

Coming through downtown, I noticed that they had hung these large snowflake lighting decorations throughout the streets, which I find to be pretty funny, considering the high today is 85 and sunny. I'm meeting my family at the beach after work for Pete's sake.

My wife made me a saddle cover last night, with some gel padding built in. I'm digging it and my son will be getting one as well.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Nice cover Tex!

In Houston, so no commuting for most of the week...last Friday couldn't commute either due to food poisoning... Tough night on Friday and most of my Saturday in bed.. Feeling much better now.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

commuting 5 days a week, 110-130 miles a week commuting on the road bike depending on the route I take. I've kept it up for 4 weeks now but was inconsistent beforehand. 

Riding highway at night is a little sketchy, even with a 1200 lumen and 700 lumen headlight and a million blinkers, so I've found myself having to drive twice a week as no bus lines are running for the evening welding class I'm in. Still, gasing up once this month feels better than once a week.

Drove to the trail head a few times as some are 20 miles away, but been riding to most of them. 

Still trying to fit in the mountain bike; a good 40 miles a week with just 8-10k elevation gain-so between the two bikes I've been getting some good saddle time in. The hard part is keeping rotation on the clothes I wear and wash, since I hand wash and line dry. 

I even found a cateye computer during all this-too bad it didn't come with the wireless sensor.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm feeling bad. No commute for me this AM. The family had to come to Anchorage for a couple of dentist appointments so it seemed silly to take the bus, particularly given that the bus is running reduced service today in account of it being Veteran's day. With the fresh snow, it would have been my first snow commute of the year. When I get home tonight I am planning to ride my route to the bus stop to pack down the trail a bit to make tomorrow's ride easier. I did notice this AM one area of concern with the commute. Along the Trunk Road the plows throw the snow from the road onto the MUP. The city doesn't, I don't think, do any maintenance on the MUP during the winter, so if we have a really snowy winter, it might get interesting. 

Once I'm done packing my commute path down, I'll head over to the trails and try to punch down the snow on some of the single track there. Went out Saturday night and had a blast on the trails. It was cold and crisp and the ground was nicely frozen. The lights worked awesome and after 2 hours and change on a mix of single and double track and paved MUP, I was still fully lit and just a touch cold in the feet. I'm hesitant to swap out the egg beaters for flats this year for some reason. I'm also too cheap to drop multiple hundreds for a pair of cycling boots. I figure I'll probably have to get them swapped out today, though. Not even for the cold factor, but more for the fact that three inches of powder means than anytime I step down I'll get snow in the shoe. Not fun.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

We had a dusting of snow here over night on Saturday for Sunday morning. I slept through it, which was ok for me! I had what felt like a frustratingly slow commute this morning. I got to ride with my mentor/sweetie, which is great, except for the part where he cranks up the steepest longest hill on the commute and his tale light disappears and I'm still pumping near the bottom. I finally make it to the top of the hill where he's waiting for me. I tell him "just go ride" I can't keep up. No, he says, he can't, he just sprinted up the hill with the "Strava" app on and put it all out there. Ohhhh, ok, so it wasn't completely me. Phew! We had a nice leasurely rest of the commute. It's sunny and 45 today. Should be a nice ride home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Holiday today, but I was awake early so I went for a ride:



Shortly after taking that photo I had one of those experiences where you realize you came really close to dying.

I was just riding along and I hit a tree. It was maybe 10' long, and it was lying down, and I rode straight into the end of it. The end was about 1" in diameter and was fairly cleanly broken, and it hit me square between the shoulder and heart, knocking me off the bike like I was jousting. Between the fact that I was riding into the sun and that everything else is grey I didn't see it at all.

It looks like mostly surface damage - I've basically got a new 3rd nipple that will be extremely sore for awhile. But if the tree had been a bit more pointy, or I was going a bit faster, or it had hit my stomach instead of my ribs...yikes. My first thought was "This is how Discovery channel gets the material for their ER shows" except I was in comparatively the middle of nowhere at 10F.

It's supposed to be well above freezing this week, but the cold weather we've had for the past few weeks has been having an effect:


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Holy Crap! That's quite a story! Probably not so different from real jousting with the head gear on and they cant see either, except they knew they were going to get hit. Glad you're ok! Great photos! Happy to have warmer weather here!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Tried and failed...made it about a mile in 12 inches of fresh wet snow. No way I could do that for 9 miles and make it to work on time. Had to drive. Will have to wait for the trails to get groomed. Hope they start grooming soon...Not sure even the fattest of fatbikes would have even worked...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Tried and failed...made it about a mile in 12 inches of fresh wet snow. No way I could do that for 9 miles and make it to work on time. Had to drive. Will have to wait for the trails to get groomed. Hope they start grooming soon...Not sure even the fattest of fatbikes would have even worked...


I hear ya Jordy. Coming into town this AM saw a couple of bikes out, but they were all walking them. I though I saw one track on the Chester Creek trail where it goes under Seward, but it looked like rough going. Up in the Valley we got quite a bit less snow, so I think that it might be about prime riding for breaking first trail over at the Crevasse Moraine today. I'll give a ride report when I get back. Taking a partial sick day this afternoon, figure I might as well use it well.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I've basically got a new 3rd nipple that will be extremely sore for awhile.


Ouch! Hope you broke the @#$% out of the tree. Then, "You should see the other guy!" would be a good line.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

No bike today. Spent the weekend at the NASCAR races in Phoenix and got home late and too tired to drag my carcass onto the bike this morning. Don't feel too bad about it considering I rode a bar bike all over this weekend. Funny, for a sport so concerned with engines the sheer amount of bikes out there is too cool. Bikes with ape-hangers, fat tires, bondo fixes, beer holders and the works, was super fun though. Going to need some serious miles the rest of the week to burn off the excess from the trip.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

My bike developed a squeek in the front end today that is driviving me mad. I thought maybe it was my front shock since it happens on bumps but if i stand and depress the fork it doesnt squeak. My rack basket was kinda loose so i put new tie wrap on it and tightened down / oiled what i could. Hopefully that fixes it tomorrow


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

RollingRunner said:


> ... I got to ride with my mentor/sweetie, which is great, except for the part where he cranks up the steepest longest hill on the commute and his tale light disappears and I'm still pumping near the bottom. I finally make it to the top of the hill where he's waiting for me. I tell him "just go ride" I can't keep up. No, he says, he can't, he just sprinted up the hill with the "Strava" app on and put it all out there. Ohhhh, ok, so it wasn't completely me. Phew! We had a nice leasurely rest of the commute. It's sunny and 45 today. Should be a nice ride home.


I was having a Strava moment @ 100% full power for a 1/2 mile. KOM!

Back in the saddle after a full week off. I think that is my longest time off a bike in years due to a class and a trip.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Cold, much colder than it's been lately. 27 without wind chill, 12 with. And it was a head wind. Over-dressed my head because too much cold air gives me breathing issues and got crazy condensation on my goggles within 2 miles. Tried to just pull them down and not use them for the ride, and that sucked even more. Finally stopped at the trail head to get my **** together and the rest of the ride was okay, but slow. Wore 2 layers of mid-heavy weight socks and my feet were way warmer than when I wore 1 pair of my heaviest socks. Now I'm glad I bought shoes a little on the large side.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. 12F when I left home, 10F in Anchorage. Three inches of snow in the Valley and 6 to 10 here in town. Last night I got out and pre-rode the route to see how long it would take me and start the process of packing trail. Added about five minutes to the first half of my commute and about seven from the bus stop to work in Anchorage. Not too bad. Of course, conditions were fairly prime today - good paths packed down with no new accumulation. Where things'll get hairy is when we get three inches of powder during the day on top of unconsolidated powder. Hate those days.

From my minor trail packing ride yesterday afternoon in the Crevasse Moraine trail system.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ beautiful. Kudos to you for riding in what most of us would pass on, at least I would.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally retired the Mavic SLR wheels....bought them in 2006 for the TransRockies....pre-road the course then did the challenge...

They have about 35000 km on them....

The last three years I retired them to studs in the winter.

The salt has frozen the spoke adjustment so when I lose a spoke the wheel is almost ompossible to true any more...

So paid $1200 for them 

$.034/km


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great pictures, Newfangled and Blockphi. Thanks for posting them!



Spatialized said:


> Funny, for a sport so concerned with engines the sheer amount of bikes out there is too cool. Bikes with ape-hangers, fat tires, bondo fixes, beer holders and the works, was super fun though.


Are you talking pedalled bikes? If so, pretty surprising for me.



bedwards1000 said:


> Back in the saddle after a full week off. I think that is my longest time off a bike in years due to a class and a trip.


I hope you got in some play time while you were out a wanderin. Or was it all work and sleep?


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Rode my go-fast bike today (note that "go-fast" is relative). Left earlier than usual, and the weather was cold (33f) and damp/foggy. Hands and feet were OK until about mile 8 (out of 12). Been testing the Lupine Piko 3 headlight, and I really like the three distinct modes/levels.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

I have not commuted in five weeks. Can't get back on the bike for another 2 months.

I had an emergency quadruple bypass three weeks ago!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute home, but I did meet up with the wifey and youngest two at the downtown branch of the library for some fun time. She was running late, as usual, so I decided to ride around a few blocks of downtown and check some stuff out. Sorry about the poor quality of the pics, it was pretty overcast today and I really should use my zoom feature more often.








old jailhouse
























historic home downtown. They're working on turning it into a historical museum. 







Manatee River


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Man oh man, one of those days. Keeping about a 16-18 mph pace (all down hill keep in mind) the whole 15 miles to work when my tire flattens about a mile out. Because I didn't feel like struggling with the tight bead on this rim, I decided to walk it in. Nice morning and running plenty early. Figured I'd just fix the tire during lunch or something. I pop the tire off my bike and take my tire with me in my work truck.

So I go to fix the tire and see that it's sliced and then immediately notice the bead isn't in the rubber anymore. Well, I don't carry spare tires as I'm sure most of us don't. Throw a tube in, go to pump it up and nothing. Pull this tube out and see it has a pretty visible hole in it. This hole I figure is from bouncing around in my saddle bag with tools for the last year on mountain bike rides. No worries, I got a spare spare tube. Put this one in and pump it up. Good to go. Hoping the exposed bead will cooperate for the ride home. Not the best way to spend a lunch, however.

Get back to the yard at the end of the day and pop the tire back on. About two hundred feet out of the yard after work and my tube pops with a loud explosion. Luckily a buddy drives me up to my mother in laws house so my wife can pick me up after she gets the kids from school. My buddy, who lives in my vicinity of town, couldn't take me home cause he had a dr. appt. So I have my buddy drop me off at an intersection and decide to walk the quarter mile to my mother in laws, to save him some time as he's already running late to his appt. 

As I'm walking some guy in a pick-up truck drives by and starts honking and pointing at me. Okay, I'm thinking, he's got me completely confused with someone else. He flips a U-turn and then pulls up beside me and holds up a wallet. My wallet! He then tells me the wallet flew out of my hydration pack when I got it from my buddy's trunk in the intersection. I tell him thanks. And I tell him more than once. 

About twenty minutes after I get to my mother in laws my wife gets to her mother's. The kids come in and say hi, we visit a bit, and then get home. Well, my mishap today will cost me a commuting day tomorrow, as I left my bike in the weld shop at work. Tomorrow I'll take the Jeep and bring the bike home with me. 

Good times. . .


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Since I'm in-between studies (should start in a new field in Jan) and self-employed (graphic designer), my commutes nowadays aren't as glorious as they used to be. Still I managed to do a few km's today at freezing temp to get some christmas tools for dad at our Canadian Tire. They had a sale for a kit of neat adjustable wrenches, that has a reversible moving jaw to turn it into a pipe wrench and also a flat counter-side to be used as a hammer. I'd figure he will love to have these on the boat and at the beach house, since he's always using anything laying around when he needs to hammer something, but a hammer. I might as well pick a set for myself too since I'm in the same boat :lol:

So many of you might be jealous, but here's what my normal weekday looks like since weeks ago and for weeks to come. Get up at 7:30, kill zombies till 9, dress up, get downstairs and keep building up new flooring for the basement. Get back up for lunch and get back down to improve the man cave and workshop. Get back up for diner and then sit down and take care of all my online stuff. Rinse and repeat till next year.

But I miss biking to school and hanging out all day with classmates. My best friend right now is my phone and a set of speakers to play my music. Not the most social activity in the world. Next weekend I'm gonna be building a new staircase for the basement, lucky we got a secondary entrance by the outside, otherwise it's gonna be hard to get back up there for lunch time haha

Today was just hovering freezing point, bit windy, sunny, then it dropped back -5°C in the evening. Still haven't seen any snow yet


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was killer. I woke up 15 minutes early to the sound of wind howling past my bedroom window, and all three monsters in between my wife and I. 

Go out into the living room to get ready, check the weather, and see that it's in the 60's and winds are sustaining at 20 mph, with gusts up to 35. 

Needless to say, my headwind beat the crap out of me. I didn't see anyone else out biking to work this morning, although I did notice we're starting to get our rounds of seasonal homeless, who come to the coastal regions from up North during the winter, since it's easier on the body. Looks like I've got some work to do.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It dipped down into the single digits for the first time at sunrise, but luckily it rose into the teens before I left. Broke out the wool buff for light face protection. Still more windy than I'd like, but not bad. Made good enough time to detour to the post office to ship something, and the helpful person saved me $6 by finding a non-flat rate box that worked. Didn't have my bike lock, but just leaned it against the big windows, and it was OK; the building also houses the IRS etc. so there is security near the door too. Snapped a few pics between the PO and the office&#8230;

My normal route is along the right side of the river.








The "golden dome" of statehouse - they are working on the statue on top.








The Winooski River through Montpelier








Work is at the top of the hill on the right.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> It dipped down into the single digits for the first time at sunrise, but luckily it rose into the teens before I left. Broke out the wool buff for light face protection. Still more windy than I'd like


I would have called into work frozen. You guys put me to shame.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Great Pics! It was 16 degrees here which was fine for my run. I would have had to bundle a lot more if I were on the bike. I did see some skimming ice. Won't be long before we're commuting accross the lake!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

No single digits here. 23 when I left home. Quiet a few frozen puddles. Uneventful ride, which is a good thing. I usually leave all my bike gear in the garage. I tried bringing my shoes inside and leaving them in front of the heater vent overnight. My feet were much warmer. Usually for the first few miles my toes are freezing, this was the coldest temp I've ever commuted in and they didn't once get cold. Guess my Lakes now live inside!


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Leg is doing better kinda, sorta. Weird, on the bike I have no problem and feels fine. Off the bike, when walking, if I push off to hard, nasty dull pain (a lot less than I had a few days before). Oh well, at least I can ride...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Playing catch-up here... excellent 3 day weekend for me that included a 20-something mile loop on Saturday with the local riding buddies. Long training day at work yesterday (yes I rode, took the 9 mile road route...rode home in the dark, blech). Back to the grind today. 7.5 mile trail route this morning and I'm ready to start this week now that it's Wednesday :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Last night the temperature was right around freezing, the snow was nice and firm, and an overcast sky meant plenty of ambient light. In 6 months I'll be tired of this, but right now it's great.

This morning was above freezing with a little rain. About halfway through my commute I see a few pedestrians talking. These are individuals that I've seen before, but I didn't realize that they knew one another. And then I see why they've stopped to chat:



My phone doesn't do it justice obviously, but it was big and bright, and from end to end it was just hanging over the river. It was the last thing you'd expect to see on a dreary winter morning.

Riding across the big bridge I had one oncoming cyclist warn me to check out the rainbow, and another just pointed deliberately a couple of times. But you couldn't miss it, and all of the pedestrians were transfixed. By the time I got to the other end of the bridge (hoping for a better picture) it was already mostly gone.

Maybe 50 people saw this, and I'm sure that we're all telling the same story to our bewildered coworkers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OOoooh purpley.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

19 degrees this morning when I got to work, which is the coldest we've had it this fall. It was very calm and I was actually a little overdressed, so I was plenty warm. I did have a tire (rear of course) start to loose air with about 2 miles left in my commute. I actually ended up stopping twice to pump it up since I was so close and I didn't feel like swapping tubes in the cold.
I was off work for Veteran's Day so I went on a mini-expedition:































We do have a little bit of scenery here in Indiana. That general store has been in business since 1860. Overall I rode about 40 miles, with a section of hike-a-bike in the state forest. Kind of a gloomy day for pictures but still a great ride.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Wow that is quite the picture newfangled.

I wonder what the metrologist would call it?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> I wonder what the metrologist would call it?


"Phone camera with lousy lowlight performance and iffy automatic whitebalance"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix nemhed & newf!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It dipped into the 20s for the first time here. We haven't had much cold weather, and my body hasn't adapted quite yet. I felt slow.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Great pix nemhed & newf!


Thanks, you too! I've passed through Vermont once and really need to get back there again someday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Mountain Bike Wednesday*

Pretty darn cool rainbow shot!

It was a great morning for a trail ride. At 16 degrees there's no mud that needs to be washed off when I get to work:thumbsup: The coves in the lake were skimmed with ice this morning but I'm still thinking it will be a month before I get to ride across it since it's supposed to be near 50 on Friday.

CB, I'm now stalking you on Strava.

Both of my NiteRider Pro 600 lights are dead and being sent back for repair. I'm thinking a faulty charger did them in, not good.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoa, kickin pics Nemhed and Newf! MtbX, yours were great too, but I think you picked the wrong morning to post- they seem to have gotten overshadowed.



Straz85 said:


> I usually leave all my bike gear in the garage. I tried bringing my shoes inside and leaving them in front of the heater vent overnight. My feet were much warmer.


Duh!
Hey, how did your race go?



CommuterBoy said:


> Back to the grind today. 7.5 mile trail route this morning and I'm ready to start this week now that it's Wednesday


Then a two-day week for Thanksgiving, or wil you still be slaving away Wed? Washoe County now takes the bookends on either side off.



newfangled said:


> "Phone camera with lousy lowlight performance and iffy automatic whitebalance"


Well, don`t fix it! :lol:

Bedwards needs a dyno setup or twelve.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Both of my NiteRider Pro 600 lights are dead and being sent back for repair. I'm thinking a faulty charger did them in, not good.


I lost my drill battery,cause it got wet....the water screwed up the contacts so it didn't charge up right...I didn't notice and then really discharged....

I figured it out and actually got it to recharge but it was too far gone...

Check your contact???


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The ride home last night was the worst! Got to the bus stop early, as I wanted to ensure I had plenty of time to get there and to time things out. Anyway, get to the bus stop at 4:15 and the 4:05 bus hadn't even arrived yet. Rather than taking that bus, I opted to wait for my normal 4:30 bus, which was also late.

Traffic was horrible and it took us until 6:30 to make it to the Valley. The bike part of the commute was likewise horrid once I got to the Valley. Single digit temps (7f) and for some reason I just could not keep my fingers warm. Not sure what is going on there.

Then, this AM I had to take a later bus and it was standing room only. And slow, so I ended up standing for the hour long ride. Not a huge deal, just not my prefered method to start the day. And there is rain in the forecast today. Well, freezing rain and snow. Oh yes, good times are hear again.

That said, the MUP in Anchorage is rolling nicely. Can't complain there. Hopefully this weekend I can get out and get some single track punched in.

Beardcicle time is nearly here again...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> I lost my drill battery,cause it got wet....the water screwed up the contacts so it didn't charge up right...I didn't notice and then really discharged....
> 
> I figured it out and actually got it to recharge but it was too far gone...
> 
> Check your contact???


Nothing that simple. One of them locked up with one of the LED indicator lights on and it was getting hot so I had to take it apart and remove the battery. The other one indicated that it was charging it just never got to the point where it indicated that it was charged. After a few days it died. They are both on there way to the little elves at NiteRider to be fixed under warranty. I did buy some replacement lights but I'm not a fan of riding without a backup light and there are 2 of us in the household that are using them now.

No Dyno. I've just barely got enough mounts so I don't have to swap them from bike to bike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> CB, I'm now stalking you on Strava.


Ha. Creepy. I got that email and couldn't figure out who in the world that was. :lol: Strava wars are in full effect here... I have been recording EVERYTHING because "if it ain't on Strava, it didn't happen".



rodar y rodar said:


> Then a two-day week for Thanksgiving, or wil you still be slaving away Wed? Washoe County now takes the bookends on either side off.


What is this, soviet Russia? We get the whole week for Thanksgiving.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Ha. Creepy. I got that email and couldn't figure out who in the world that was. :lol: Strava wars are in full effect here... I have been recording EVERYTHING because "if it ain't on Strava, it didn't happen".


I think it's doubtful that we'll run any of the same segments :lol: I'd record everything except: I forget, I can't be bothered, my phone battery sucks..... I may ask Santa for a Garmin Edge. It would be pretty cool to have all my rides recorded in 1 place. Cool in a bike geek kind of way. (No offense)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had the app for a long time with a crappy phone and I didn't really care, but then everyone local started getting into it, and I got a phone with a 2 day battery...then it suddenly became a way to keep some real statistics (cool in a bike geek kind of way), and a way to be a part of the "group ride" on my own time, since I'm busy and those guys always seem to ride when I have obligations...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A Montpellier tour, a Pink Floyd Rainbow (reminds me of sights after a Yes Concert in 1972 as it was pretty smokey in that gym!), more Indiana scenes, and baby beardcicles - good job guys! 

Sorry Bedwards. I feel better about my past repairs when an outfit like Niterider or Dinotte has a warranty issue. I burned up 3 LEDs by using the wrong sealant. Just faded away.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Super short commute today for me. 2 mile round trip up to the local bike shop. 40 and somewhat sunny. Less of a commute and more of a shakedown ride of a fresh build. Was already there this morning buying pedals and getting a new front tire/tube setup/spare. Finished "building" this bike, and wanted to see how it was. Still need to wrap the bars, which I will be doing tonight after browsing how to videos on the YouTubes. First "road" bike, first single speed, first time putting anything more than a front wheel on or adjusting the brakes. I like it so far. Very different feel than my TriCross. Cockpit is a bit racier than what I am used to. Not sure how that will work on an 8 mile commute. Also got a slightly used Chrome messenger bag in the mail today off a guy from my local mtb forum. The ride to work tomorrow should be interesting. 










It is a BigShot Dublin singlespeed with flip flop hub to run fixed. Currently running singlespeed, but eventually could become fixed. Only the front brake for now. Stem has been flipped, saddle adjusted, and the brake finally adjusted correctly. Picked up a slightly used Aerospoke wheel in gloss black. Quite a bit of reflection from the flash on my camera. Bars to be wrapped in black tonight. Shimano M520 pedals for now, still undecided on what route to go. I hate that I like to be clipped in. Undecided on the black decals that came to be applied by the end user. I like the clean look so far.

Fixed Gear Bikes | Custom Cruiser made easy | Single Speed Bikes For Sale | Fixies and cruiser bicycles from Big Shot Bikes and you can design your own.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Still need to wrap the bars, which I will be doing tonight after browsing how to videos on the YouTubes.


Sweet bike.

As someone who wrapped my first set of bars not too long ago, I'd say don't sweat it. Since then I've unwrapped and re-wrapped my bars with the same tape probably 30 times because I've been fiddling with the brakelevers. It's a much more forgiving process than you might be expecting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Both of my NiteRider Pro 600 lights are dead and being sent back for repair. I'm thinking a faulty charger did them in , not good.


No, not good at all - it's one thing to lose a fancy taillight for repairs like I did, you can live with some lower zoot blinkies for awhile, but it is tough to be without good headlights! Maybe you'll get some snow. It reflects so much better and I've noticed that even the white road salt residue on the roads makes visibility better. Do you have a hiking type headlamp you could take along for emergency backup?

Or maybe you can just follow rollingrunner's taillight? You probably don't even need a headlight


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## gamb (Nov 21, 2010)

Cold ... Sub 30F which to this southern boy is COLD. bar mitts are a god send


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*Ugh...*

First day back commuting on the bike after a mini-vacation. Rolling along, enjoying the cool fall air and BOOM! Wheel locks up, cogs lock up, I skid to a stop. What do I find? A piece of wire/flashing metal trash wrapped around the cogs, dérailleur and just having taken out several spokes. No way I'm finishing the ride home on the bike...take the walk of shame.

Pics:


Was even more wrapped at first, had to take the wheel off to get the rest. Couldn't even roll with it wrapped without totally destroying the wheel.










It was originally 1 piece but snapped as I removed it. Damage appears to be at least 3 spokes. Dérailleur looks ok but I'm getting it looked at to make sure the cage or hanger isn't bent. Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper right now.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Many condolences. Like my water bottle into the spokes, this had to bounce up into the wheel/spokes then into the cogs. You probably couldn't do it again, if you tried. No idea why you'd want to, but... 

Depends on how localized the tension was applied as to whether the rim is OK. My Deep Vees withstood it and yours look like nice double wall with spoke hole rivets. If you have spare spokes you might make it workable until a full set of spokes is available for a rebuild if the rim isn't far off. I twisted a rim and straightened it out with my feet enough to ride home and tweaked it enough to ride until I could rebuild it. 36 spokes helps in such a case.

Why does it look like blood on the disc and cluster?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That has to be a reflection, possibly OP was wearing red?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

newfangled said:


> Sweet bike.
> 
> As someone who wrapped my first set of bars not too long ago, I'd say don't sweat it. Since then I've unwrapped and re-wrapped my bars with the same tape probably 30 times because I've been fiddling with the brakelevers. It's a much more forgiving process than you might be expecting.


I got it done, and well, it looks half assed. Some spots are just spot on. Others, it looks like I had a seizure while I was wrapping it. Good enough for now I guess. At least one side isn't perfect, and the other a hot mess.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Had my bike not spent the night in the weld shop at work, we could've enjoyed an 80F ride home this afternoon. Nevertheless, got a new tire and tube put on it and will try the commute again tomorrow.

Nice pictures everyone. Really enjoying seeing the various areas of the world. If I ever get a smart phone, I could start snapping some pictures of the Strip. My 15 mile commute crosses Las Vegas Blvd. Crosses at Warm Springs though, which is just like any regular road in this area. Might consider adjusting my commute to take me down LV BLVD from Flamingo to Warm Springs for better scenery. No bike lanes running down this section though, so I'd have to basically take the lane, which is why I don't make this section part of my commute.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> That has to be a reflection, possibly OP was wearing red?


This remembers me that the cassette I put on my brother's commuter bike actually has blood stains on it, from stabbing my thumb onto a paperclip I was using as a freehub anti-bite guard (Ti freehub and steel cassette).

However I'd be concerned with blood stains on the rotor


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Good ride this morning. A little chilly for my bones, and for some reason I decided to wear the paper thin board shorts that I usually bike in. I got to the office before anyone else and changed into my uniform in my work truck. Won't be making that mistake again. 

Got cut off by a driver making a right hand turn, so I let him know that he was a jackass. As I pull into the parking lot at work he comes flying in yelling "What'd you call me?! What'd you say to me?!" So, I dismounted and let him know that "jackass" is what he was and that the next fella he cuts off might not so quick to stop, and no one wants a dead man on their conscience. 

He drove away sulking.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nothing that simple. One of them locked up with one of the LED indicator lights on and it was getting hot so I had to take it apart and remove the battery. The other one indicated that it was charging it just never got to the point where it indicated that it was charged. After a few days it died. They are both on there way to the little elves at NiteRider to be fixed under warranty. I did buy some replacement lights but I'm not a fan of riding without a backup light and there are 2 of us in the household that are using them now.
> 
> No Dyno. I've just barely got enough mounts so I don't have to swap them from bike to bike.


You know, I've been having weird issues with my NiteRider MiNewt 600 cordless. When If first got it, I noticed the power light didn't change from red to green when it was supposed to and I actually had a lot less battery left than I should when it changes. I contacted NR, they said a batch was set at the wrong percentage. Is said as long as I know that, it's fine. Lately, when I turn it off, it always locks. You're supposed to have to hold down the power button for several seconds to lock it, but just holding it down for 1 second locks it. I have to unlock it everytime I use it. Lastly, the other day, I had just charged it the night before. After 20 minutes of riding with it on medium, the low battery indicator came on. I turned it off and back on and it was fine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> No, not good at all - it's one thing to lose a fancy taillight for repairs like I did, you can live with some lower zoot blinkies for awhile, but it is tough to be without good headlights! Maybe you'll get some snow. It reflects so much better and I've noticed that even the white road salt residue on the roads makes visibility better. Do you have a hiking type headlamp you could take along for emergency backup?
> 
> Or maybe you can just follow rollingrunner's taillight? You probably don't even need a headlight


I took it as an opportunity to buy another NiteRider cordless. I like having mounts for each bike. Once we get the 2 back we will each have 2 good lights. I only run the one on the helmet when I'm riding the trails...like last night. 
Straz, I guess I'm committing to NiteRider. Good or bad. I love the lights when they work.

Spatialized, Ugh is right.

TenSpeed on a single-speed, makes sense.:skep:

Yesterday was frickin freeing, actually a lot colder than freezing and only 21 for the ride home, so this morning I added another layer...It was 28. It's not that usual for it to warm up overnight.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Straz, I guess I'm committing to NiteRider. Good or bad. I love the lights when they work.


I agree, I really like them as well. Just found it interesting that you were having issues that sounds like they could be related. I'll be interested to hear how it turns out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. The freezing rain we were supposed to get never really developed, which is a good thing. It is warm and humid here though. The muni did their first ski grooming of the MUP yesterday afternoon, which helped give an even base, but it's still not set up, so unless riding on the wide foot path that was packed down before grooming, it is some slow going. Hoping for a nice warm day up in the valley today with a hard freeze tonight and all day tomorrow to help condense the snow in the trails so that I can get out there and blast around a bit. Baring that, I might take a look at riding some of the sloughs that should be frozen over now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> You know, I've been having weird issues with my NiteRider MiNewt 600 cordless. When If first got it, I noticed the power light didn't change from red to green when it was supposed to and I actually had a lot less battery left than I should when it changes. I contacted NR, they said a batch was set at the wrong percentage. Is said as long as I know that, it's fine. Lately, when I turn it off, it always locks. You're supposed to have to hold down the power button for several seconds to lock it, but just holding it down for 1 second locks it. I have to unlock it everytime I use it. Lastly, the other day, I had just charged it the night before. After 20 minutes of riding with it on medium, the low battery indicator came on. I turned it off and back on and it was fine.


When printed circuit boards start to mis behave it usually means that there are problems with the switches and or bad connections or cross connections because of salt and water getting in...

You definately see these with marine electrics and electronics....these alway require a fully potted system....bike lights not so much...

I have brought back several by cleaning throughly with WD-40...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Gotta watch out for those osage oranges. They keep getting dropped right after a blind corner on the MUP. It would kind of suck to hit one of those.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Really good ride this morning. Temp was in the low/mid-40's with very little wind. Managed to get out the door a little earlier than usual, and traffic was really light. Good stuff.

I need to get a DOES THIS MAKE MY BUTT LOOK BIG? sticker for my Carradice.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Snow is here. Rode my summer route 100% today, 1st day this week due to various issues. To much snow...working from home, etc. Glad to see the trails groomed so they were at least ridable. Took about 20 minutes longer then normal. Sluff all along Dowling. Testing out the VeeRubber Snowshoe, extra width helped with float, extra traction helped me get up the hills on our loose base, dense warm snow conditions.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Man, I miss living in Anchorage! I used to pop down that trail and over to blue dot for a bit o single track on the ride home from time to time. Now it's all time tables and gotta get to the bus stop. No fun. Definitely good snow conditions. It's gonna be a good winter!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Windy and slow. But nice and sunny.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute home this evening. Got out of work late, and the wife happened to be in my part of town, so she swung by and picked me up, and made a family trip to the store. 

Brought up the saddle issue and the pains I've been having, and decided that we would cut into our date night budget for a new saddle this month. I'm gonna try to make a few bucks back by placing the old one up on CL. 

Found out that the house we were looking at moving in to on the first is going to fall through, so I've been searching for something short notice, but with my commute in mind. Might be able to land me something out by the beach, which would make my ride just peachy, compared to my ride through the ghetto now. 

Found a new spot that the homeless gather in my way into work this morning. Think I'll pack me a few extra sandwiches tomorrow and make a visit. 

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

JordyB said:


> Snow is here.


And to think, I'm thinking of taking the family to the beach this weekend. It blows my mind how drastically different the climate can be.

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

^^^Yup, 6 months of winter and limited day light, gotta enjoy it best you can!!!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

JordyB said:


> ^^^Yup, 6 months of winter and limited day light, gotta enjoy it best you can!!!


Amen to that. The nice thing here is even on the cold days, walking the beach and playing in the sand is still a good time for the kids.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Had a nice commute back home, although on my way to the bike coop I had two mis-sync dooring (drivers opened their doors two seconds ahead of a real dooring), so wasn't very fun to see people are still innocent with their cars. Good thing the timing wasn't their thing.

Way back was smooth, until a block away from my house, coming up a calm one-way street with plenty of light and me very visible (headlight flashing towards ground to light up my front end) although I was going the wrong way, but on the right side and slowly, a small car pull in about 100 feet ahead and when it got at 50ft, he flashed me with his high headlights for a few seconds to the point I had to pull over in an almost panic stop because I was riding blind. Then he just drove past me. I don't know if he just had a driver douchebag moment or what, but that's how I felt.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Why does it look like blood on the disc and cluster?


I jammed my hand in there to stop. Hamburger fingers.

Not. Just reflection from my red pannier sitting off to the side. Talked to the shop, 3 spokes dead, dérailleur ok. He's going to re-tension the wheel and while the bike is there, overhaul the rear hub. I guess it works out in the end except for having to drive to work.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ordered a bunch of stuff for a wheel build today to replace my wheelset with the flaky freehub. In the past I've replaced plenty of spokes, trued plenty of terrible wheels at the co-op, and swapped a hub from one rim to another, but I've never built one from scratch. But I couldn't find any wheelsets I liked, and I'm in no hurry, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Got caught in a downpour yesterday which was okay, but it melted off all the snow and ice. So I've got bare roads, and two bikes with studded tires, which is no fun. I'm hoping we'll get some snow overnight and this weekend.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rode my new single speed to work today. Sunny and just shy of 50 today on the ride in. How can I complain about that in Michigan, near the middle of November??? I realized about 3 miles in to my ride that I need a stem with a higher rise. Lower back was killing me, and I feel very bent over on this bike. I happen to have another stem that I can try out, and will do so tomorrow before my commute in. I embraced my inner hipster, and wore jeans over my chamois. Felt really weird riding in jeans, as I don't think I can remember the last time I did it. One leg rolled up, hipster bike, in a kind of hippy area around campus, and I think I blended right in. Wrong helmet though, but I will keep the one that I have.

Ride home was 39 as I passed the bank near my place. Rode a few extra miles just getting the feel for one gear. Hills and grades are a problem for me. I have the legs, but I don't have the lungs. I am going to work on that for sure!

New messenger bag is doing the deal for me. I fit everything I needed today, including my dinner in my lunch bag. Shoes, scrubs, drawers, t-shirt, extra socks, and all my necessary small items, with some room to spare. Because I rolled my stuff, and used the inside of my shoes as storage, I could take more with me if needed. 

I just want to say a quick thanks to everyone that posts here. It is a really nice and informative group of people here, and I am glad to have found this section of MTBR. I know that I am dorky because I post my daily commute, but you know, it is nice reading about the different conditions, temps, encounters, etc that we all have. No one at work gives two rats butts about commuting except for one guy I work with, and he stopped riding in. The feeling of a common hobby or method of transportation is nice to have with all of you, knowing that we are spread out all over the country, and the world. Thanks!!


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## Tan&Green (Feb 25, 2013)

Rode to work this morning at 0500 hours....it took about an hour and then did my usual take the train halfway home then rode home. Got home at 2210 hours tonite. Well I promised myself I was going to ride to work again tomorrow morning......I made that promise this morning and when I got home tonite, I started making excuses for tomorrow morning.....

Anyone else every felt like that????


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was a brisk 27 F with little to no breeze this morning. Still wore the shorts and didn't freeze to death. My water bottle has not froze up yet this fall so It must still be warm enough to commute!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> ...I know that I am dorky because I post my daily commute, but you know, it is nice reading about the different conditions, temps, encounters, etc that we all have. No one at work gives two rats butts about commuting except for one guy I work with, and he stopped riding in. The feeling of a common hobby or method of transportation is nice to have with all of you, knowing that we are spread out all over the country, and the world. Thanks!!


Huh? What? We are dorky? . No! Did anybody see my Strava ride:lol: Ahem.

Jordy, your posts are almost making me look forward to the snow but not until the lake freezes over.

My commutes are mostly uneventful but my recent interest in Strava is making me push hard in some spots. It helps to mix up the commute and boost the training.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm ready for some weather. Yeah, I said it. It's been chilly a few times but that's about it. The change of pace would be fun. Upper 20's this morning...10 or 15 deer... nothing to write home about. 

But I am having some chainlube drama in my life... a couple (4? 5?) years ago I went into a Performance Bike superstore and they were were having a special on White Lightning wax-based chainlube...it was a "buy 12 get the 13th free" thing or something like that, so I wound up with like a gallon of the stuff, and it's all I've been using ever since. I really like the cleanliness of the wax stuff, and have had no issues with it at all. It's gotten me through several winters, etc, etc. 

But I ran out a week or two ago. The drivetrain was getting dry (you do have to re-apply that stuff pretty regularly), and I realized it was gone. So all I had laying around at the moment was TriFlow.... not a chain lube by any means, and I was dreading putting something that wet and grit-attracting on my chain. But I was out of options so I did it. 

Well... I'm experiencing a silent and happy drivetrain like I haven't experienced in 5 years. I didn't realize how dry the waxy stuff actually leaves it. Shifting is awesome, etc etc. It feels like I switched to a belt drive :lol:. Granted, it's horribly filthy. It's a nasty shade of black and I wouldn't dare touch it...I miss the cleanliness. But I'm seriously thinking about switching to a wet lube. I just never saw this change coming.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was good. Slept in almost 45 minutes past my alarm, so I was about 10 minutes late out the door. Thankfully I keep a bunch of spare stuff in my locker at the office. Body wipes, toothbrush, razor, that sort of thing. 

Forgot to charge the thunderbolt taillight last night, and it died on me about a mile from the office. Glad that it was daylight by that time, so I didn't have to worry too much. However, it won't be a mistake made twice. 

The new saddle is doing alright. Much more comfortable than the stock nosed saddle, or the Schwinn no pressure that is now on my wife's bike. Tomorrow's 15 mile ride with the 5 yr old on the trailer bike will be the deciding factor. If it doesn't work, I'll take it back and find one that does.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I just want to say a quick thanks to everyone that posts here. It is a really nice and informative group of people here, and I am glad to have found this section of MTBR. I know that I am dorky because I post my daily commute, but you know, it is nice reading about the different conditions, temps, encounters, etc that we all have. No one at work gives two rats butts about commuting except for one guy I work with, and he stopped riding in. The feeling of a common hobby or method of transportation is nice to have with all of you, knowing that we are spread out all over the country, and the world. Thanks!!


It's nice to have peers no matter what the endeavor. I always feel like the people I know think I'm from Mars for riding a bike to work. I know it helps motivate me to read about the conditions (ie: weather, traffic) that others willingly endure.
BTW, jeans+rolled up leg+messenger bag=hipster!:thumbsup:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm ready for some weather. Yeah, I said it. It's been chilly a few times but that's about it. The change of pace would be fun. Upper 20's this morning...10 or 15 deer... nothing to write home about.
> 
> But I am having some chainlube drama in my life... a couple (4? 5?) years ago I went into a Performance Bike superstore and they were were having a special on White Lightning wax-based chainlube...it was a "buy 12 get the 13th free" thing or something like that, so I wound up with like a gallon of the stuff, and it's all I've been using ever since. I really like the cleanliness of the wax stuff, and have had no issues with it at all. It's gotten me through several winters, etc, etc.
> 
> ...


Strange. I just made the switch from wet to dry about 2 months ago, and I think the dry is better. I've seen a semi-dry lube that I'll give a shot after this bottle is empty.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

nemhed said:


> BTW, jeans+rolled up leg+messenger bag=hipster!:thumbsup:


Add in the bike that I am using, and I am like a poster boy lol. I like it though, I honestly do. Less to worry about locking it up at work, even though I know it is pretty safe. If it gets stolen, it is 1/3 the price of my Specialized.



CommuterBoy said:


> I'm ready for some weather. Yeah, I said it. It's been chilly a few times but that's about it. The change of pace would be fun. Upper 20's this morning...10 or 15 deer... nothing to write home about.
> 
> But I am having some chainlube drama in my life... a couple (4? 5?) years ago I went into a Performance Bike superstore and they were were having a special on White Lightning wax-based chainlube...it was a "buy 12 get the 13th free" thing or something like that, so I wound up with like a gallon of the stuff, and it's all I've been using ever since. I really like the cleanliness of the wax stuff, and have had no issues with it at all. It's gotten me through several winters, etc, etc.
> 
> ...


Of all places, Wal-Mart carries White Lightning. I know, shaking your head already. They do though. I am currently using Pedro's Ice Wax 2.0 (from my mtb days) Good for all weather it says. No issues so far.

Just swapped out my stem for a higher rise, and my saddle, because the stock one just wasn't cutting it. I kept my Specialized BG saddle from my FS Stumpjumper when I sold it. Completely broken in, very comfortable, and looks great on the bike. I am a bit stretched out on this bike, and compared measurements to my TriCross, and I am about an inch more stretched out. I moved the saddle forward, but I will need to play with the setup before I get it just right. Looking for another stem with a bit more rise if I can find it, or shorter. The commute today should be great. Sunny and 48 by the time I go in. Low of 37 for the ride home. I just love this!!! I am like a kid, so excited, cannot wait to get on my bike. Am I really 41? Yep.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I don't blame you for riding in jeans. I ride in my work pants (similar to dickies) quite often. 

I remember my days as an ER Tech in a prison unit back in TX. The walk from the main building to the RMF (regional medical facility. A prison hospital, if you will) was about a half mile of uncovered pavement. Those scrubs didn't have a chance against that ice cold wind. 

So far, I haven't experienced much cold weather here in Florida. Not like that back in northeast Texas. Really missing it, to be honest. It's almost Thanksgiving and the high today is 81.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

What is it about volkswagons that makes so many of their drivers complete *******s?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> But I ran out a week or two ago. The drivetrain was getting dry (you do have to re-apply that stuff pretty regularly), and I realized it was gone. So all I had laying around at the moment was TriFlow.... not a chain lube by any means, and I was dreading putting something that wet and grit-attracting on my chain. But I was out of options so I did it.
> 
> Well... I'm experiencing a silent and happy drivetrain like I haven't experienced in 5 years. I didn't realize how dry the waxy stuff actually leaves it. Shifting is awesome, etc etc. It feels like I switched to a belt drive :lol:. Granted, it's horribly filthy. It's a nasty shade of black and I wouldn't dare touch it...I miss the cleanliness. But I'm seriously thinking about switching to a wet lube. I just never saw this change coming.


I have used tri flow as the go to product for 8 years now...just cause it is always available....I did try Pedro's ice wax for a while in winter...but it gummed things up too much.

Just bought a bottle of White lightning...cause it was on sale at the till...we will see...

Tri flow just seems to work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> What is it about volkswagons that makes so many of their drivers complete *******s?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


>


So. Much. Win.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Down in the 20's for the first time this morning. This is the day every year that I'm most thankful for the gore jersey my wife got me a couple years ago  Took an extra minute to warm up in the shower at work, and it was glorious.

Now I'm gonna be way too warm on the way home, unless I stay later than anyone should on a Friday.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> But I am having some chainlube drama in my life... a couple (4? 5?) years ago I went into a Performance Bike superstore and they were were having a special on White Lightning wax-based chainlube...it was a "buy 12 get the 13th free" thing or something like that, so I wound up with like a gallon of the stuff, and it's all I've been using ever since. I really like the cleanliness of the wax stuff, and have had no issues with it at all. It's gotten me through several winters, etc, etc.
> 
> But I ran out a week or two ago. The drivetrain was getting dry (you do have to re-apply that stuff pretty regularly), and I realized it was gone. So all I had laying around at the moment was TriFlow.... not a chain lube by any means, and I was dreading putting something that wet and grit-attracting on my chain. But I was out of options so I did it.
> 
> Well... I'm experiencing a silent and happy drivetrain like I haven't experienced in 5 years. I didn't realize how dry the waxy stuff actually leaves it. Shifting is awesome, etc etc. It feels like I switched to a belt drive :lol:. Granted, it's horribly filthy. It's a nasty shade of black and I wouldn't dare touch it...I miss the cleanliness. But I'm seriously thinking about switching to a wet lube. I just never saw this change coming.


I went from White Lightning (the green bottle) to WD40 White Lithium (spray can). Been great except for the dirty black just like the Triflow. Best part is the WD40 is cheaper than the White Lightning and more of it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I took a few hours off to get in last licks on the local trails. Rifle season starts tomorrow so they are closed to MTB'g. There was just a little snow left, but enough that I was glad the studs were already on for the slickery roots.

First tracks








New bridge courtesy of the Thunder Chickens snowmobile club.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

But dorky is GOOD!
Currenty 42, bright, and breezy. It`s been pretty nice lately for my commutes, but I remember seeing some lows in the `teens comming up, better check the forecast again before deciding on my "ensamble" before leaving for work today. It feels like a temp drop is right around the corner.



newfangled said:


> In the past I've replaced plenty of spokes, trued plenty of terrible wheels at the co-op, and swapped a hub from one rim to another, but I've never built one from scratch.
> 
> So I've got bare roads, and two bikes with studded tires, which is no fun.


Good luck with the wheel build. I`ve laced up about a dozen now, and IMO, it`s one of the greatest pleasures in life.

You don`t keep one bike unstudded?



TenSpeed said:


> I realized about 3 miles in to my ride that I need a stem with a higher rise. Lower back was killing me, and I feel very bent over on this bike.
> 
> Thanks!!


That white SS (fixie?) that you posted a couple days ago? I don`t blame you for wanting a higher stem!!!

And thank YOU for the same.



CommuterBoy said:


> I'm ready for some weather. Yeah, I said it.


May it be long and wet. Please.

Chain lube used to be one of the items I consistantly bought from an LBS. Tried a few and settled on TriFlow. Then I started having trouble finding it locally because all our shops went to New And Improved TriFlow Dry. I bought one bottle cause that`s all I could find, but hated it- it just laid on top of the chain instead of flowing in where it needs to be, so I started ordering giant bottles of Original Recipe TriFlow from Amazon. Sorry, LBS- one less reason for you to exist.

EDIT: Nice bridge, MtbX :thumbsup:
They close the trails for hunting season? Do they allow hunting right around town, or are the trails way out there?


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Oh damn, somebody had to bring up Nazis!
Seriously, after some experimentation in other fields I've gone from White Lightning chain lube to my own recipe of white lithium grease, ATF, mineral spirits, and acetone. While the dry lube is clean, I was never convinced it was a good chain lube because it seemed to disappear in such a short time. I know wet lubes are dirty but everything seems to just run better.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had always put TriFlow in the same categoy as WD-40 for chainlube use: it says you can on the bottle, but it's just not formulated for that so it will be a mess. 

Jeffscott and Rodar, how long are you guys going between re-applications?


Edit: Rodar -They close some of the roads in Plumas National Forest to vehicles during deer season. I've stumbled upon closure signs up there. Not sure if they'd apply that to bikes or not...?


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## SeattSlayer (Oct 11, 2011)

I admire you folk for riding in temps < 32 degrees. That's my cutoff. I used to like running in 20 degree weather (grew up in the Midwest). Makes you feel alive and have accomplished something. 

When it gets to be that cold around here (really below 40), that's when I call the commute season. Says the crotchety old man....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Jeffscott and Rodar, how long are you guys going between re-applications?


 I use the audible alarm system (bike starts to sound like a tracked vehicle) to determine when I need to lube up. If riding strictly on dry pavement, somewhere around 300 mi. On dusty roads or in wet conditions, it can be as little as 6 hours rolling time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

13F at my house this AM. The snow was nice and crusty - looking like some prime riding this weekend. Was 23 when I got to Anchorage, so I was a bit over dressed. Generally a fairly standard ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Glad the bag has worked out, Tenspeed. 

Contrary to some evidence, VWs are not a sinister devilish Nazi plot. It is just that they can be (not all of them) a blast to drive. So for those who can't have two thoughts at the same time (or they rattle too loudly in their empty skulls), getting into the fahrvergnugen means they cannot consider anything else - like safety and other road users. Dodge pickups seem to do the same thing or select that sort of driver. Probably nice folks until they drive.

I lube when I either get a noisy or a poorly shifting drivetrain. Only used wet triflow. Hate the dirty chains but it seems to work. 

Nice bridge and pics, Mtbxplorer. I would not ride that trail in hunting season. Drunk hunters can be lethal.

Dorky is good. Dead or left for dead, not so much. I can't believe I rode as I did 40 years ago and expected to be seen. Of course bike lights and flashlights were really crappy then. Bell helmets were new. Dorkiness wasn't very effective to add safety then. 

Yesterday I was almost slower than a spotted salamander into the wind. Miss the old sign off, Rodar.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I used to use tri-flow, but in the winter wet here in the Seattle area I was having to reapply daily. It just has no staying power in wet conditions. I've been using Chain-L for the last couple of years and have been darn happy with it. It attracts dirt and grim but it's the only lube I have found that will let me ride a couple of weeks between lubes in consistently wet conditions (a couple weeks of daily commuting for me was 360 miles).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good luck with the wheel build. I`ve laced up about a dozen now, and IMO, it`s one of the greatest pleasures in life.
> 
> You don`t keep one bike unstudded?


3 bikes - the hardtail stays unstudded, but it also hibernates all winter. And it's the one with the gimpy wheel, which is why I've got plenty of time to goof around with a wheelbuild.



CommuterBoy said:


> I had always put TriFlow in the same categoy as WD-40 for chainlube use: it says you can on the bottle, but it's just not formulated for that so it will be a mess.


Triflow has some sort of magic dirt attractor. I've been using winter-weight chainsaw bar oil for a couple of years now, and even though it's super sticky it keeps things a lot cleaner. I bought a quart for $3, and probably still have $2.50-worth left.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride home was good. Swung by the library to do some switching out, and a few homeless/unemployed were gathered around, apparently one fella from a "rival group" swiped another fellas bike. He watched it happen while he was upstairs, but couldn't make it down in time. Talked to him for a few minutes, got him to calm down. After talking, he said that when he found him, he wouldn't do anything, just take back his bike. I can only hope that's the case.

Swung down a new section on my way home to work, and spotted an old bingo hall that has been out of use for some time. Had some interesting graffiti. Check it out.
































As a Catholic, I'm not exactly sure what to make of the last one. It doesn't appear to be sacrilegious, or done in ill will. The only thing I can think of is that the hall used to be ran by Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Charities, with proceeds going to fund hospitals, food banks, so on and so forth. Strange.

And, as I was making my way into my neighborhood, coming to an intersection, I bump into none other than Al Bundy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Contrary to some evidence, VWs are not a sinister devilish Nazi plot. It is just that they can be (not all of them) a blast to drive. So for those who can't have two thoughts at the same time (or they rattle too loudly in their empty skulls), getting into the fahrvergnugen means they cannot consider anything else - like safety and other road users. Dodge pickups seem to do the same thing or select that sort of driver. Probably nice folks until they drive.


That reminds me...my commute takes me by a VW dealer with the blowback fahrvergnugen guy on the window...









I thought it would be pretty easy for me to add a few wheels to make him a recumbent fahrvegnugen guy. 



BrianMc said:


> Yesterday I was almost slower than a spotted salamander into the wind. Miss the old sign off, Rodar.


:lol:


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Was gonna have a nice ride in daylight today (I work nights so now my commutes both ways are dark now), but with sustained winds of 18-20mph with gusts over 35mph, I played it safe and stayed home and researched unlocked knockoff smart phones on Amazon ($150 goes a long way), and Campy grouppos on Ribble ($150 doesn't go far at all).


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Strange. I just made the switch from wet to dry about 2 months ago, and I think the dry is better. I've seen a semi-dry lube that I'll give a shot after this bottle is empty.


You have to keep it wet in the winter. Finish Line Wet lube and KMC Chain Lube are two of my favorite. So far the KMC has proven to be less of a mess than the Wet, but I'll see how it holds on this winter.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

David C said:


> You have to keep it wet in the winter. Finish Line Wet lube and KMC Chain Lube are two of my favorite. So far the KMC has proven to be less of a mess than the Wet, but I'll see how it holds on this winter.


I can see the need for something wet and heavy duty for a winter in other parts of the country. Down here, even in the winter, my biggest concern is sand. Although these summers sure are wet and rainy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I really liked ProGold ProLink, even though you have to re-apply it often, until I tried ProGold Xtreme. Both clean and lube well with just a rag. I also like that you can buy a 16oz bottle for just a little more than (2) 4oz bottles. Products | ProGold Biking


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in, not that great of a ride home. Was colder than I expected. Forgot to take my thicker Under Armor shirt, so I wore the one I rode in on, which is thinner. Arms were frozen. Snotted up like crazy, couldn't get my breathing into a good cycle. Got a compliment on my bike at the light by a couple in a car. Not a bad ride, just not that great. I will say that I am loving this NiteRider Lumina that I am using. Lights up the dark roads/paths really nicely.


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## Fat-nor (Oct 1, 2013)

JordyB said:


> Snow is here. Rode my summer route 100% today, 1st day this week due to various issues. To much snow...working from home, etc. Glad to see the trails groomed so they were at least ridable. Took about 20 minutes longer then normal. Sluff all along Dowling. Testing out the VeeRubber Snowshoe, extra width helped with float, extra traction helped me get up the hills on our loose base, dense warm snow conditions.


Where did you buy the vee rubber snowshoe?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Am I really considering flipping my wheel to run fixed? Is that a good idea for a commuter? Not too many hills on my ride. Not too much stopping other than a few lights. I can make the 8 mile ride only hit 9 lights or so. I am intrigued by the concept. I wish that I could do a coaster brake setup, because I don't always want to pedal, but maybe that will be better for me if I have to pedal?


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I can see the need for something wet and heavy duty for a winter in other parts of the country. Down here, even in the winter, my biggest concern is sand. Although these summers sure are wet and rainy.


Ah, sorry I forgot we're not all in the same latitude. My reply was directed towards all of us who were on the chain lube discussion, and I didn't wanted to quote too long of a reply, and yours happened to be the shorter one on the topic.

For sand, I'd recommend using a wet lube, but to wipe any excess off as much as possible. Otherwise if it's dry out there, the lube should stay on for quite a while and the chain will stay clean.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

David C said:


> Ah, sorry I forgot we're not all in the same latitude. My reply was directed towards all of us who were on the chain lube discussion, and I didn't wanted to quote too long of a reply, and yours happened to be the shorter one on the topic.
> 
> For sand, I'd recommend using a wet lube, but to wipe any excess off as much as possible. Otherwise if it's dry out there, the lube should stay on for quite a while and the chain will stay clean.


So far, I've been having great results with White Lightning dry lube. I apply it every morning, and it does me just fine, although my application is probably overkill. Nothing new there, though.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snowpocalypse happening today. Not sure how much snow we're getting, but there are plenty of foot-deep drifts and it's still coming down. It's nice that this is happening on a saturday, because it means I can lazily put gears on my winterbike today or tomorrow. The last couple of years it's happened mid-week, and I've had to scramble to get it done the night before.

And I realized that with my gimpy rearwheel I can just add a tomicog, and I'll finally have an excuse to try my streetcruiser as a fixie.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fat-nor said:


> Where did you buy the vee rubber snowshoe?


Speedway Cycles, my LBS here in Anchorage. 907-222-1967


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

I'm right around 6500 commuting miles for the year, was planning on being over 7000 by the end. Probably won't happen now, was literally two minutes into my hour ride home yesterday when my front tire washed out on a crack on the sidewalk (still a mystery to me how that happens to 2.15" Big Apples). Felt my left hand get bent back, chin slammed into the sidewalk. I knew something was wrong with my hand, but being made of 90% stubbornness and 10% common sense, I rode the 17 miles home anyway with my front wheel wobbling against the loosened brakes (there's an argument for disc brakes right there). Went to an orthopedist today, x-rays showed a complete fracture in the largest bone in my left pinky, have a splint on now, cast next week. It's not even a manly injury, but a broken pinky. Medical costs eat into the new bike fund (Surly Ogre), too. *grumble*


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Oh man Dwayne, that looked nasty. Hope you heal quick!

After the road debris debacle earlier this week got the bike back from the shop. Funny thing is, my wife brought the bike in since I was at work and the guy knew my bike on sight...so either I'm there far too much, or I've made an impression, and asked what happened this time. Since he's wrenched on it plenty this year he basically fully rebuilt the rear wheel and overhauled both hubs. I figure I got 6,000+ miles on the bike with minimal (read: none) maintenance on the hubs so it was past due. He also checked the derailleur and it was fine - luckily. Weather seems to changing so the project this weekend is to get everything sorted for winter commuting. Not putting on the studs yet...waiting until the first snow that sticks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oh, crap! Besides expense and inconvenience, it sounds and looks very painful 
What about your chin, jaw, and mouth? And any bike damage beyond the front wheel?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Dwayne, I can't see anything on the video that you ran over. Hard to believe that a joint did that. The God of sidewalks on your case? A finger is better than a concussion and a broken face. I saved the forum from my ugly mug as the damage made it even worse. Didn't need the negative votes.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Wow that crash was pretty bad. The joint in the sidewalk must have just been wide enough to mess with your front tire. Hope you get healed up, and major kudos for the miles ridden to work this year, that is extremely impressive!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Hope you heal soon Dwayne.

Got in a quick eight mile mt. bike ride in Blue Diamond today. Winds blasting. Cold in the shade and warm in the sun. Trails empty as can be. I've come to the conclusion that Vegas mt. bikers only venture onto the single track under the most optimum of conditions and mostly in the mornings. The half a dozen afternoon rides I've done over the last month have only spotted two or three riders each time. Nice having the trails to myself. . .hoping to get my commuting back on track next week. Hard to get consistent with some much time off lately. I've had a five day and three four day weekends over the last month. Next week I'm striving to make the full five. And then the next week is four days off again.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Prayers and thoughts for quick healing, and at the bare minimum, a cast that allows for at least some joy riding around the neighborhood.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not so much of a commute as it was just a ride on my commute route. 10PM at night, in the middle of November, in Michigan, and it is 55 out. How could I not go???? Saturday night, nice night, so I headed out and went down to the campus. Lots of nice things to look at, if you know what I mean.  Rode a little more, and when I went to head home, the rain started. Not too bad as I wheeled out of the neighborhood I cut through. Well, that changed as I neared the campus again. The few drops I felt a mile back turned into a constant rain. Not hard, not a downpour, but just rain. The wind picked up, and honestly almost knocked me off my bike a few times. I am heading east, and the wind was blasting from the south, and one gust nearly took me down. I was already being cautious with a slick skinny tire on wet pavement, and that took me totally off guard. This is my first road bike since I was in middle school. Not quite used to that skinny slick tire set. I was worried about being visible. My bag is reflective, and I had a blinker in the back, but I know that visibility is decreased at night in the rain. I cut down to the roads with less traffic, and got to my bike lane and bike paths and made it home. I was drenched. Water collected in my shoe, jeans were soaked, shirt absolutely soaked. 

My hands? Dry. I have a pair of Specialized Deflect gloves that I was hesitant about buying. The more I use them, the more I like them. Not enough padding, but I am adjusting to them. They are for cooler weather, not super cold. Wind proof, and I guess water proof. My hands were bone dry when I pulled them off. They have a reflective strip on them as well. 

All in all, a fun little trip. Just wanted to get more miles on the SS before the temps drop, and the white stuff flies.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dwayne said:


> I'm right around 6500 commuting miles for the year, was planning on being over 7000 by the end. Probably won't happen now, was literally two minutes into my hour ride home yesterday when my front tire washed out on a crack on the sidewalk (still a mystery to me how that happens to 2.15" Big Apples). ...Went to an orthopedist today, x-rays showed a complete fracture in the largest bone in my left pinky, have a splint on now, cast next week. It's not even a manly injury, but a broken pinky.


Impressive how far your bike went without you on it - maybe there was something slippery there. Hope you heal up well and don't get a more manly injury anytime soon.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That was a nasty spill Dwayne. Hope you heal up, and that it doesn't keep you off the bike for too long.

Aside for crashes, does anyone other than me get weirdo cycling injuries?

WARNING - POTENTIALLY GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD

A few years ago my left eye really started to hurt. Went to the gp and he gave me some light anitbiotics, but after a few days things were even worse so I went to my optometrist. He said I had an ulcer on my eye. It was basically like it sounds - a big yellow bruise. He'd asked if I'd been welding or doing construction, but I realized it was from riding. It was springtime, and there was all sorts of crap in the air from the melt, and something had embedded itself in there. He gave me a couple of drugs, and I couldn't wear contacts for a few weeks, and it eventually healed.

So then more recently I've had a sore on my cheek. It's not quite a pimple, and it's not just deadskin. I thought maybe it was because of winter, but it's been weeks and it's not getting better. This past week I've been diligently cleaning and moisturizing and trying hydrocortisone, but it hasn't had any effect.

I looked closely at it today, and I swore there was something in there. Is it stubble, or just a blackhead? I couldn't tell. So I exfoliated the crap out of it, and...something came out. It was about the length of stubble, but quite a bit thicker. Two colors - black and yellowish. It was pretty tiny, but I couldn't squish or bend it with my fingers, and it didn't disintegrate in water like a splinter usually would. I should have tried to see if it was magnetic but I didn't think of it. Anyway, hopefully that's the end of that.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

You would be surprised at what hair will turn into when it is embedded in your skin like that.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)




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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s pretty bad, Tex. Where were you riding? Through a goat herd? An assisted living complex? I think you need some Ergon grips, to!

Good ride to work last night, cold ride home this morning. In between sucked. It was a 12 hour shift (weekend coverage), and the first half saw no calls, so I took a whole bunch of stuff off the front of my bike and started working on it. Then the calls started in and didn`t let up. By quitting time, I was completely bushed, had a line of people waiting for my services (turned over to my boss, who relieved me, hehe!), and my bike was upside down in the welding bay in the middle of a pile of allen wrenches, scraps of tubing, and vise grips. It took me about ten minutes to get it put back into rideable form, then as I snuck out the back door with it, I saw that my computer was reading out in heiroglyphics with every number saying "8". I had TIG welded a little plug into my fork crown, with the computer wire right along side. Wire wasn`t melted, but I wonder if the HF somehow fried the electronics. Need to remove the battery and "reboot"- hope that fixes it up, but I`ll lose the wheel diameters that I had carefully dialled in to match the brevet cue sheets and never bothered to write down 

EDIT: I was welding with DC, so no high frequency involved. Hmm...
I`m re-racking The Beast this winter. Currently working on my 12th rack, I think. Not all for the same bike, of course!


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## motomuppet (Sep 27, 2011)

I had a freaky hair-in-face issue as well recently...wont bore you with the details, but it is weird!

Good commute this morning until a bus went past and was splashing what looked like water all over the road from its baggage compartment. Did not think much of it...until I realised I smelt diesel...not exhuat, but fuel. No idea why diesel would be coming out of his baggage compartment...jerry can fell over maybe? Anyway, light turned red in front, grabbed the brakes and my front disc squealed like a stuck pig but did very little to get me stopped! Was a decent pucker moment as was heading downhill at pace. Fortunately managed to avert disaster and seemed to wear off pretty quick.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute for me this morning. Borrowed the grandparent in-laws pickup over the weekend to do some heavy duty hauling, and need to bring it back this afternoon. Got the bike loaded up in the back for the way home, though. 

I've been thinking more and more about using my bike for everything, so I would obviously need a trailer for those times that I do the grocery shopping instead of the wife. Did a lot of googling (like sitting on Google Images is research) and remembered I've got a steel bed frame that I was going to scrap, but never did. Think I've got myself a project over the next week or so. The wife also wants me to build her a bakfiet, although I don't have access to a welder or a pipe bender. There's a fella online who builds them out of scrap bikes, and offers plans. It seems relatively simple, provided one had the proper equipment.


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

Thank you for the well wishes. It really was a bizarre crash, I might walk down over lunch to look at it closer, really want to know what that joint looks like. Rodar, chin stopped bleeding after about an hour, had to trim my beard there to clean it out, so it looks kinda funny now. My boss teased me , said I should have stuck with running and that "running injures you gradually, cycling injures you all at once." He can tease me all he wants since he's a good boss, others might be upset considering their software developer can now only type with one hand. Drove the car this morning, got to work at 6:30, so at least the upside is being able to leave in the afternoon.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Dwayne said:


> Thank you for the well wishes. It really was a bizarre crash, I might walk down over lunch to look at it closer, really want to know what that joint looks like. Rodar, chin stopped bleeding after about an hour, had to trim my beard there to clean it out, so it looks kinda funny now. My boss teased me , said I should have stuck with running and that "running injures you gradually, cycling injures you all at once." He can tease me all he wants since he's a good boss, others might be upset considering their software developer can now only type with one hand. Drove the car this morning, got to work at 6:30, so at least the upside is being able to leave in the afternoon.


To hel....heck with typing, now you'll have to choose between munching the donuts or drinking the coffee. I've had similar spills on big tires (2.3 inch Origin8 Captiv8rs), I think maybe the tire rolls horizontally just enough (just a guess). Hope you heal up soon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Glad to hear you are OK, Dwayne. That really did look like nothing, especially considering what kind of terrain a mountain bike can handle. Did you have a hand off the bar? I've gone down on a seemingly innocent section of trail when my wheel caught something with 1 hand off the bar.

Today's commute was though pouring rain. It was unseasonably warm and pleasant. Anything would be pleasant after the weekend I just spent ridding my attic of squirrel and mouse soiled cellulose insulation. God am I sore!

I rode the Cross Check with the fenders after a week on the Felt. I got to the point in the ride where there is a dismount to get over a rock wall, through a fence & over a stream. Wow, what a weight difference! I grabbed the top tube to jump over the wall and it felt like an anchor.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Weird crash Dwayne. Bummer!

I almost had this little lady this morning. They start peeling out and don't get much forward momentum when you startle them on the pavement :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

3F this morning, so I got to break out my mid-level gear. And it still works. We apparently got about 8" of snow on the weekend, but it's pretty nicely cleared and packed down, and the newly-geared winterbike made short work of things.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

I was passed by what appeared to be an electric fat-bike on the MUP this morning.

Weird...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sorry to hear about the crash, D.

Cold one this morning. -3 in downtown Anchorage right now (Merrill Field). Right at 0 in the Valley when I left with a light wind from the north.

Had a great cycling weekend even with the cold and wind. Rented a Kona Wo for the kids to ride and got to get out and have a nice trail ride with all three of them. Of course now they all want a fattie. What was I thinking? A good problem to have, I guess.

Working on my Santa look:


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## Dwayne (Jun 3, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Weird crash Dwayne. Bummer!
> 
> I almost had this little lady this morning. They start peeling out and don't get much forward momentum when you startle them on the pavement :lol:
> 
> View attachment 847708


Based on your description and your picture, it sounds like you were aiming for her, and were disappointed you missed. No venison tonight?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kudos to those of you riding in such cold and wet weather. I don't think that I will be doing that, as myself and my bike are ill equipped to handle those types of conditions and temperatures. I will be commuting through these updates though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dwayne said:


> Based on your description and your picture, it sounds like you were aiming for her, and were disappointed you missed. No venison tonight?


I've only ever touched one with the front tire. They are so stinking fast. :lol: I was riding on the right shoulder like a normal person a few seconds before this picture.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-17 Cnwc

-20 Cnwc forecast tommorow

Time to break out the googles


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sounds like you guys up north are enjoying some real winter.

Nice beardcicles!!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Today's commute was though pouring rain. It was unseasonably warm and pleasant. Anything would be pleasant after the weekend I just spent ridding my attic of squirrel and mouse soiled cellulose insulation. God am I sore!


Same here. It was 61 when I left for work, but it was windy and raining. I got to try my new rain pants, they worked out well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A little soggy and windy, but not as bad as I expected. Last night the wind was really gusty and pushing the house around from weird directions. I’m glad it subsided a bit, or I might have been late, which would have been bad timing because someone keeps scheduling meetings for the first second I’m on the clock, which I find really annoying anyhow. Shorts were fine, it was 48F. Took advantage of the spare wheelset, which I originally got for road commute vs trailride swaps, and put the slick wheels back on and removed the wheels with the studded tires.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Took advantage of the spare wheelset, which I originally got for road commute vs trailride swaps, and put the slick wheels back on and removed the wheels with the studded tires.


Since I retired the Mavics I am down too two wheel sets....I put the M&G studs on one xTR set and the Freddie Revenz on the other....I am gonna hafta put the slicks on an old set of beaters for the winter...

Switching wheelsets is the cat's meow with changeable conditions.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've got the studs on the spare wheelset ready to go if we ever get any winter...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Wild Sunday afternoon here. Tornados spawned well north of us. Ugly when the red part blew through. Plenty windy today with guts above 40 but about half to the straight line winds yesterday. So we dodged the "wipe out a town" tornadoes. Looks like Nemed, Nate, Joe68rs, GregB should be OK, bigpeddlar should have been north of the worst part. You OK guys?


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

caught a little bit of ice showers/snow on the way home tonight! Woohoo!!
almost there... come ooon baby, snow!! 
I'm basically in hoodie+softshell+waterproof vest combo permanently now. 
Studded tires are waiting by the front door for quick swapparoonie!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So the forecast today had called for flurries, which generally means not much of anything. But at 6pm there's now several new inches of snow on the ground, and the forecast now calls for up to 6" more.

So I got to ride home in a nice snowstorm of giant fluffy flakes, which was fun. A fat old man stopped to roll down his window to call me a goof. I had plenty of time to tell him to @#$% off. But I didn't. But I really should have.

Saw a moonlander at the start of my ride, and a few other bikes with very nice light setups after that. Then after I got home and was taking the dog for a walk I saw a mukluk with no lights, a black parka and black helmet, riding on the sidewalk. If you're going to spend that much on a snowbike get in the road man, and buy some lights.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Wild Sunday afternoon here. Tornados spawned well north of us. Ugly when the red part blew through. Plenty windy today with guts above 40 but about half to the straight line winds yesterday. So we dodged the "wipe out a town" tornadoes. Looks like Nemed, Nate, Joe68rs, GregB should be OK, bigpeddlar should have been north of the worst part. You OK guys?


Glad to hear you dodged that bullet.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Commute home was good. Took a new route. Less traffic and down hill. Might have to make it my normal home route now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Keep on missing those town erasing storms, Brian. Scary stuff.



blockphi said:


> Working on my Santa look:


:thumbsup:



CommuterBoy said:


> I've only ever touched one with the front tire.


Seriously !?! :eekster:



mtbxplorer said:


> Last night the wind was really gusty and pushing the house around from weird directions.
> 
> Took advantage of the spare wheelset, which I originally got for road commute vs trailride swaps, and put the slick wheels back on and removed the wheels with the studded tires.


Spare wheels are a delight, aren`t they? Of course, I bet it would be better to have a garage full of whole spare bikes, but I ain`t complaining!



byknuts said:


> come ooon baby, snow!!


man, that`s what I`ve been pleading for three years now, and still no luck :madman:


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

It was back to shorts weather for the ride home today. Yesterday would NOT have been a good day to ride here. The worst of the weather passed to the north of us though. A little town about 10 miles from my hometown in Illinois was hit by a tornado. Crazy things happen when it's in the 60's in mid-November here in the Middle.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I made it out of the storms okay. Reports are that we had 60+mph straightline winds in Indy. At times, I definitely think they gusted well in excess of that. Those storms were more severe for me than Hurricane Ike a few years back in TX. Got some small hail and about 2.5" of rain in maybe half an hour of actual storms.

Scared my dogs so much that one emptied his bladder and his bowels on the floor and both were trembling messes until the wind died down. They need Thunder Coats.

I prepped the basement with water, lights, some food, and my emergency radio just in case but never needed to go down there.

Just a couple miles away in Irvington, a 110 year old post office collapsed. The building was recently acquired by the neighborhood development organization and the historical society was in the process of restoring it. It was in rough shape and a load of steel was scheduled to be delivered Mon to reinforce it. The delivery had to be cancelled and demo crews were brought in instead to clear the debris.


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## trevordchi (Nov 2, 2013)

I think I'm gonna have to take the week off from my commute because I took a saddle to the ribs on Saturday and they are still ridiculously tender. There may be a trip to the student health center in my future...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

NateHawk said:


> I prepped the basement with water, lights, some food, and my emergency radio just in case but never needed to go down there.


Don't all the bike lights make you feel cocky when prepping for storms? You know most people have a couple Mag Lights they think are bright, but they're like 40 lumens. Camping gear helps too, before the last several hurricanes and blizzards we had, I charged up all my bike lights, my camping lantern, flashlights. I probably had more lumens worth of light than the rest of my neighborhood combined. Also nice having camping gear, I had my stove and water purifier all ready to go.



trevordchi said:


> I think I'm gonna have to take the week off from my commute because I took a saddle to the ribs on Saturday and they are still ridiculously tender. There may be a trip to the student health center in my future...


Gonna need more details on the saddle to the ribs. How did that happen?


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## trevordchi (Nov 2, 2013)

A couple months of commuting on a mountain bike made me cocky and my first time ever on a trail I went down some jagged rocks I had no business attempting. Tried to lose the bike and somehow landed chest on saddle. I guess it beats head on rock!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

trevordchi said:


> A couple months of commuting on a mountain bike made me cocky and my first time ever on a trail I went down some jagged rocks I had no business attempting. Tried to lose the bike and somehow landed chest on saddle. I guess it beats head on rock!
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk


Ouch. Could have been worse though. Hope it heals quickly!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Seriously !?! :eekster:


Yeah I tapped one one time, but I wasn't trying :lol: a group crossed in front of me and the last one didn't hit the afterburners until too late... I tapped him in the quarterpanel, we both stayed upright, and went our separate ways. One of those things you could never do again (although I try :lol

I had to run in the store this morning, so I leaned my bike in it's usual place in the 'airlock' between the doors to the store and the other doors to the store, in that little room where the carts go...you know the place. Well, you know that law of physics where a bike becomes a self-propelled machine when you lean it against a wall? I fell victim to that...the bike rolled forward along the wall until the front tire hit the glass window, which is no big deal except when those big doors slide open and smack into the front tire, tipping the bike over (helmet, gloves, glasses hanging on handlebars)... I had stuff scattered all over :lol: I swear it took me like 10 minutes to pick up those 3 things while wrangling my backpack and shopping bag...it's a small store so I was totally in the way of everyone (no one was there when I went in, 300 people showed up in that 30 second window when I as leaving). I finally rolled outside, arms full of bike gear, wallet, shopping bag, etc. and got myself squared away.... then I realized my chain had fallen off when the door punched my bike over. This is normally not a big deal, but as you recall I put tri-flow on the chain last week, so touching it is like jumping into the holding tank of an oil tanker... I was temped to go back in the store for rubber gloves and an apron, but I managed it while only soiling one of my gloves (and of course my bar tape when I started riding, and the grocery bag...)


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

NateHawk said:


> Scared my dogs so much that one emptied his bladder and his bowels on the floor and both were trembling messes until the wind died down. They need Thunder Coats.


It doesn't do anything for my dog, although she's also just generally crazy. It does have the advantage of making her look like she stepped out of an Elizabethan court - big fluffy neck, tiny little body, and big fluffy butt.

So much snow, although it looks like it's finally stopped. Riding was fine, except anytime I had to make a corner and then everything is rutted and there are no clear lines to pick. I held cars up at two different spots, but didn't really care. My jury-rigged dropbar index shifting is working pretty well, although when I'm flailing around trying to make a panic downshift I inevitably hit the upshift instead, so that needs some tweaking.

Also had to run an errand first thing this morning, so I took the car out at around 6. I'm so glad I don't drive much, because even when there are no cars on the road people are still idiots.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ugh. Hangover, late out the door, strong headwind, hail, and a slow leak in the rear tire 3-4 miles from work. Just... ugh.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

[email protected] cold this AM.
-10F at my house, 
usually one of the warmer locations 
in the valley. 
Light breeze. 
No heat on the bus. 
-7 F in town. 
Slow going. 
Good times?

<I think my brain is still frozen>


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was pretty decent this morning. Wet and nasty, though. Rained all night, so I was bunny hopping some decent puddles. I completely forgot to charge my Thunderbolt last night (I laid down to read a book at 2030, and was out like a light. Woke up next to the wife with the book on the other side and still in my lounge clothes), so I popped on two backup blinkies I got from Amazon for 1.98. They worked well, although I wasn't nearly as visible. I'm thinking of using them alongside the Thunderbolt, keeping the TB on steady and having the blinkies flashing at 45* angles. 

I was reminded of a dirt truck path that runs behind some businesses on my way home. It's no trail by any means, but I think it'll gimme some fun time headed back.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> [email protected] cold this AM.
> -10F at my house,
> usually one of the warmer locations
> in the valley.
> ...


This blows my mind.

I've always been intrigued by Alaska, but I've never been there. It's currently top of my list of places I want to visit. I would love to see some photos of your commute and just some general pictures of your area.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Some pics can be found here.

Right now the commute pictures are a bit boring. It's pitch black out during the ride in and pretty much pitch black on the way home. Within a week, sunset around here will be 3:30 in the afternoon with sunrise at 10:30 or so in the morning.

JordyB's usually got some good pictures on this form as well.

Alaska is an interesting place. Folks up here are a bit...different.

Definately come visit us some day, bring your bike regardless of what time of year it is, and we'll show you how we do.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

From theatlantic

One time when I was in montreal I saw an exhibit with a similar set of photos that I'm sure included cyclists too. But this one is just about transit.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> From theatlantic
> 
> One time when I was in montreal I saw an exhibit with a similar set of photos that I'm sure included cyclists too. But this one is just about transit.


That was pretty cool


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride home was good. Didn't hit up the dirt road, unfortunately. Apparently a water main broke on the main road of my commute, and I wasn't about to dodge traffic AND constructing equipment, so I decided to turn off and duck through some neighborhoods until I could get back on. Chain started to get a little noisy, need to give it a good scrubbing and lube it up tonight while my wife and I work on a presentation we're giving at a marriage prep retreat this weekend. 

Had one guy look me right in the eyes as I made my way across a cross street and gun his engine to give the front end a jump, I guess to give me a scare or prove a point. I swerved back at him, knowing full well what he was doing. I hope he doesn't pull that mess with someone more skittish than I. I could see it turning into a 911 call real quick.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

blockphi said:


> View attachment 848026
> 
> 
> [email protected] cold this AM.
> ...


I am curious what brand of light you are running? I have heard of many lights not being able to operate at those temps.

****


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Scar,

Every Light i've tried works, they just don't work as long as advertised!

I have MagicShine, Lupine, Cygolite, Niterider, AA headlamps, etc. They all work, just don't last like they do in the spring,summer,fall. ;p


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

scar said:


> I am curious what brand of light you are running? I have heard of many lights not being able to operate at those temps.
> 
> ****


I just picked up a CycoLite Expillion 680 for my handle bars and haven't had any issue with that at all. On the helmet I have a Princeton Tec Apex headlight zip tied and electrical taped on. I run rechargeable AA batteries in that and when it gets cold like this I can get ~60 minutes out of it at high, which gets me to the office where I can charge them up. During the warmer months I can get about a week out of a single charge.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Just curious as I have had a handful of people from Alaska inquiring about my lights because their other lights just would plain out not work in the extreme cold. Baja Design was one of the models I believe was having troubles in those extremes.

Thanks JordyB and blockphi for the answer! :thumbsup:


***


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I've got a bunch of basic bike lights (PB and PDW) that work surprisingly well. A set of rechargeable AA or AAA will last me a week of rides at 0F or below without worries. But I've got a nice little metal flashlight that will be dead in 5 minutes.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

scar said:


> Just curious as I have had a handful of people from Alaska inquiring about my lights because their other lights just would plain out not work in the extreme cold. Baja Design was one of the models I believe was having troubles in those extremes.
> 
> Thanks JordyB and blockphi for the answer! :thumbsup:***


Scar, I would love one of your lights! I've been on the Light forums for a while and always thought about your nice lights! Just never needed one yet, waiting for this magicshine crap to die off! ;p


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> View attachment 848026
> 
> 
> [email protected] cold this AM.
> -10F at my house,


Brrrrrrrrrrrrr! Well, since I can't give you any more wintercommuter rep right now, hope you have gotten some hot cocoa or something by now.

We were in the 20's and windy, with a dusting here at home in VT. Bypassed a Bud Lite cozy and a whole loaf of bread this a.m. Realized later I shoulda checked out the bread for stuffing next week.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

JordyB said:


> Scar, I would love one of your lights! I've been on the Light forums for a while and always thought about your nice lights! Just never needed one yet, waiting for this magicshine crap to die off! ;p


Please give a hollar when the time is right. :thumbsup:

***


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Was a bit late this morning (anyone else regularly sleep in when there's some weather happening? I swear it's a barometric pressure thing...) so I didn't do the GoPro.... and of course there were 2 massive bucks trotting down my dirt road with me at one point. We're in what hunters call 'the rut', and the big boys are out in force, and they're fearless. Sorry to have failed you all...would have been cool pics/vid.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-25C/-13F this morning. Went straight to the supermegalevel gloves and socks. Gloves were too warm, which was good because I couldn't remember how well they worked. Socks were just okay, but should definitely be good for a few more degrees. I debated breaking out the fancy new skigoggles+noseguard as recommended by jeffscott, but figured I'd save them for the really cold weather. Last Friday it was raining, and this weekend it's supposed to be well above freezing again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

-13, and holding out for "really cold weather" :lol:. That is both awesome and sad.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Last year I think there were only 4 days below -20C/-4F, and that was fabulous but it also set unfair expectations. The sad reality is that I should expect a few weeks of -13F or worse.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It gets that cold here, but rarely. The lowest I've commuted in was -4. I do hope to break that this year if I get the chance. The coldest I've been in was -24, and that just hurts. If I get the chance to ride at -13, I won't be saving any gear for the "real" cold, that's for sure.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Man... -13. I've never experienced cold like that. It got to around 0 (before wind chill) for about a week a few winters ago and I can safely say I had no clothing sufficient to make me comfortable outside, even just for a short walk. This was before I started riding. Winters the last few years have been teens to 20s, generally.

In other news, I think I need new tires soon. I was going over the rear after patching that tube, looking for bits of glass too small to immediately puncture but maybe sharp enough to eventually wriggle their way down, and found one pretty deep gash. The tire seems like it's holding fine, but I really don't want to deal with a blowout, especially going into the winter. I did a little looking around and studded winter tires are *expensive*. I'll have to get my other bike on the stand this weekend and go through it to see if I can use it as a winter ride.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit warmer this AM - -1F at the house with 4MPH wind for a chill factor of -8. Felt a bit colder in Anchorage, even though it was warmer temp wise at 2F. The bus ride is what does me in, I've found. The lack of heat on the bus itself is a challenge - my hands get cold, really cold, on the ride and they just don't want to warm up after that. 

No beardcicle pic today. Had some decent ones, but I'm really waiting for the weather to get just right so that I get the actual icicles forming rather than just the frosty beard.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Everything went great for my ride in.The only thing that would have made it better is if it were 50 degrees instead of 75. I had a woman in a Taurus pull into the bike lane while making a right hand turn. It just so happened that my bar light hit her right in the eyes (I didn't move a thing. Promise!), she yelled at me to get it out of her face and get on the sidewalk. 

I think once payday rolls around, I'll be picking up a rechargeable marine air horn.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

This morning was a bit warmer than the last few mornings. It was about 45 F and very windy. This is probably my last commute this year. We are getting cold snap starting tomorrow. See you next spring unless we get some really warm weather this winter.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

It's bone dry here, up and down around -2°/3°C and just a tad windy. Big sun right now. Stop keeping all the snow for yourself guys.

Btw, y'all recall the Shimano crank recall I did ? Well I sent back a 1995 Alivio crankset and two weeks later, got a big box in return. Turned out they had pre-made kits for these kind of replacement, so they sent me a brand new complete front end, all 2008 Tourney stuff. So now I got a Tourney crankset and FD, an UN26 BB, and a 8spd chain. Too bad I just switched to 9spd and not using an FD. I almost wanted to ask the lbs if we could trade all this brand new stuff for just a recent Alivio crankset (M410) and an UN55 BB. Meh, my brother wanted it fix ASAP so now he's stuck with it anyway.


**I wanted to post pictures, but somehow Tapatalk says the pics I took with my iPhone aren't a valid image file after I selected them and the size, etc. Weird. And it's for any pictures, even the ones I already did successfully uploaded in the past using Tapatalk and this iPhone.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We got rain last night! I didn`t check to see if it was measurable at the airport. And better than rain here, I`m sure the mountains got a few inches of snow. Keep it comming!

Keep warm, northerners. I don`t think we`ve ever hit double digit negatives in my area.

I installed new brake calipers today, it needed to be done, but I`m not particularly happy with the model I bought. The calipers I replaced were OEM on my 91 bike (now only the seatpost remains from the stock components) and the little disc inside for return tension adjustment was getting worn out. A few times in the past couple months it`s dropped the spring, leaving no return tension on one side, so the return spring on the other side pulled the dropped side into the rim. With the old Shimano calipers, I was able to mount the front pads backwards (yeah, I know) and they would clear my forks with the straddle cable unhooked, making for very easy wheel removal, even with my fattest tires. The new IRDs don`t have that nice feature, so I just installed them the "right" way . The other issue is that I can`t remove teh spring from the new ones, so I have to set the pads under tension, which just plain sucks. They`re very pretty, but I`m considering buying a set of CR720s instead.

EDIT: I posted simultaneously with David The Recall Man. Whoa- That`s a deal!
BTW, I did recieve a brand new Big Apple from Schwalbe last week for my warranty issue.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

newfangled said:


> -25C/-13F this morning. Went straight to the supermegalevel gloves and socks. Gloves were too warm, which was good because I couldn't remember how well they worked. Socks were just okay, but should definitely be good for a few more degrees. I debated breaking out the fancy new skigoggles+noseguard as recommended by jeffscott, but figured I'd save them for the really cold weather. Last Friday it was raining, and this weekend it's supposed to be well above freezing again.





CommuterBoy said:


> It gets that cold here, but rarely. The lowest I've commuted in was -4. I do hope to break that this year if I get the chance. The coldest I've been in was -24, and that just hurts. If I get the chance to ride at -13, I won't be saving any gear for the "real" cold, that's for sure.


You guys have more balls that I. Hats off to you both.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Teens here this morning, put the pogies back on and enjoyed the first bluebird day in a while. I picked up that roadside loaf of bread, it was frozen but the package seemed intact, so I grabbed it. Later I saw the date on it was 11/6 - not sure how a 2 week old loaf of bread ended up on the side of the road…I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been there all along. Considering saving it for stuffing anyway, it would make a good story, but I’m a little worried my brother in law wouldn’t eat anything after he heard where I got it. And when did bread get over $4/loaf? I guess I buy what’s on sale or if I do spend $4 it’s for bread from the bakery.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Everything went great for my ride in.The only thing that would have made it better is if it were 50 degrees instead of 75. I had a woman in a Taurus pull into the bike lane while making a right hand turn. It just so happened that my bar light hit her right in the eyes (I didn't move a thing. Promise!), she yelled at me to get it out of her face and get on the sidewalk.


Don't you love that people go on the offensive when they are caught in the wrong?

Maybe: "Sorry! I thought it was the least I could do for an illegal right hand turn!"



mtbxplorer said:


> I guess I buy what's on sale or if I do spend $4 it's for bread from the bakery.


Try buying gluten-free without potato starch in it for under $6. ;(


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Such a bright and sunny day that I couldn't not go for a ride at lunch:



My first chance to goof around in about a week (still need to really get used to get the feel of the studs/drops/gears), and my first daylight ride in quite awhile. It was up to -20C/-4F at lunch, which is okay with the sun.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Raining today and man do i need to find a front fender. I have one of those downtube fenders but my tire was throwing up water from the front. My rear is covered with my basket and bag but the front is no bueno. Prob gonna pick up a cheap one on payday. I Does anyone use these types of front fenders?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jhmeathead said:


> Does anyone use these types of front fenders?


I've used that style - sks, axiom, and topeak. Their main use is to keep stuff from being flung off the wheel and into your face. They also help to keep stuff away from the headset. They do nothing to protect you feet/legs, and may even make things worse by seemingly directing water right at your pedals. They're better for mud than for puddles.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride to PT/OT was good. Did a damn good job on the 9% grade bridge I cross over to get there. Had to dig some metal out of my brake pads, and found that my non-drive crank arm came loose. Haven't a clue in the world how that happened, but I'll be torquing it down pretty good tonight. Commute is about to be dark both ways, so I'm looking at upgrading the battery or buying a spare for my bar light.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jhmeathead said:


> Raining today and man do i need to find a front fender. I have one of those downtube fenders but my tire was throwing up water from the front. My rear is covered with my basket and bag but the front is no bueno. Prob gonna pick up a cheap one on payday. I Does anyone use these types of front fenders?
> 
> View attachment 848577


I don't have that brand, but similar, although 5" longer for a little more protection, and more adjustable since the fore and aft sections adjust somewhat on mine (more $ too, SKS Grand D.A.D.), and I am happy with them. As Newf suggests, they will not block every drop, but compared to no fender, I expect they would be fantastic. A few concerns of flimsiness/compatibility on Planet Bike Bog Front ATB Fender - Normal Shipping Ground
and Planet Bike Bog Front Fender - Free Shipping at REI.com


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Don't you love that people go on the offensive when they are caught in the wrong?
> 
> Maybe: "Sorry! I thought it was the least I could do for an illegal right hand turn!"
> (


Had I not been completely exhausted from giving everything I had on today's commute to try and do some "training", I would have chased her down.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Oh, one other thing about those fenders - the planetbike version has a collar mount, that is the same as the axiom one I had, and that several other brands use. It's kindof lame. There's play, so your fender will never point forward, and it has 3 flimsy clips that I broke. You can buy replacements, but they're equally lame.

The SKS version uses more of a slider mount. It's still not perfect, but it's much better:









I'm not sure if any brand other than sks makes those, but try to find one without the round collar if you can.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ I use the SKS one for trail riding with my MTB. It's a solid fender, good for keeping mud and water out of your face, but not off your legs and shoes. The clip thing will eventually work itself loose no matter what you do and I got tired of re-tightening it and finally tie-wrapped the fender onto the bike for the winter since it's unlikely I'll ever take it off.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ When mine loosened up I put a strip of electrical tape on the orange part, and that tightened it back up again. It's still a much more durable mount than the pb one.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I picked up that roadside loaf of bread, it was frozen but the package seemed intact, so I grabbed it. Later I saw the date on it was 11/6 - not sure how a 2 week old loaf of bread ended up on the side of the road&#8230;I'm pretty sure it hasn't been there all along. Considering saving it for stuffing anyway, it would make a good story, but I'm a little worried my brother in law wouldn't eat anything after he heard where I got it.


Aw, now you HAVE to use it- tell everybody except your BIL how it came into your hands so the rest of you can all share in the amusement at his expense!

My bread is a little over $4 per loaf if I buy at the closest store, though a lot less from the place I go for "big" shopping.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No, you make the stuffing, and when all is said and done, you tell the story.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

45* this am, the Tenn jersey with an undershirt works well.
Had a front page story in my local paper about recent HS grads just completing a Xcountry cycling tour, 3000 miles over 75 days, from Alaska down here to S.E. Az. I'd link the online story but I refuse to pay an extra $4.50 just to read a story online, that I already pay to read on paper.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We finally got a little weather...yesterday's ride home was a soaker... a very solid rain the whole way. It kept it up into the night, and switched to snow as the temp dropped and the storm passed... enough for a dusting at the house, but no real accumulation. Much colder out there this morning, as we're now on the canada side of the jet stream for a while apparently...

I got much closer to this guy, but the images came out very blurry...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit warmer this AM again. 2F at the house. Though the warmer air temp was offset by the 13mph sustained wind recorded on my weather station. The Wunderground station closest to my house recorded sustained winds of 25 with gusts of 37. From the north. Off the glaciers. Windchill was definitely a factor this morning. As I was peddling along I felt like I was just absolutely unable to handle the wind and feeling completely dead in the legs. Had to stand up on a couple of hills. Odd stuff. I realized as I got to the top of my second hill that I thought I was on my 24t ring when it turns out I was on the 44 the whole time! No wonder I was sucking air!

*edit* Forgot to add a picture from after my ride last weekend with my boy. 








For today's edition of beardcicle digest I present the following:


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

Almost made to work without getting wet....almost. And once i got to work the sun started poking through the clouds so the ride home tonight should be good to go.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

It has been cold....but at least no car snot.

Now the chinook has hit...warm but lots of wind and car snot.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Block, you make me miss my beard. Had to shave it off a year ago when I switched jobs. Miss it something terrible. 

Ride to work this morning was pretty good. A little too warm for my tastes, but that's what sweat rags are for. Did my best to pedal as hard and fast as I could the whole way, without breaks. 

We're moving in December, so this evening I'll ride that route to the new place, and then home. Interested to see how it turns out.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It started snowing after I arrived at work. Later during the day, it turned into wet snow and then rain.
The way home was "interesting": the ... porridge ... on the paths had been packed by pedestrians and other bike riders - just enough that the bike was trying to float on it, some of the time. I had a couple of hairy moments but rode home all the way. Some were pushing their bikes.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Started at 0, ended around +5. North wind picking up. Hope it snows as the trails are rock hard and bumpy.

Lots of overflow around the lower creek beds.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Awesome pics from up north guys. 

I had a weird one yesterday...it was pounding rain, so visibility was pretty bad from a car (I'm assuming)... I had someone zip by me and then brake hard, looking like they were going to "right hook" me at the turn just ahead... but then they stopped, sort of half-way into the right turn lane. I was assuming they realized that they had misjudged my speed and were going to let me pass on the right before making their turn, so I took them up on this gesture and kept the hammer down, passing them on the right and giving them a 'thank you' wave a I went by....I realized at that moment that they had rolled down their passenger window (raining hard remember) and were leaning over as if we were about to have a conversation... I was 20 feet down the road before that really registered...it's a slight decline there and I was focused on getting by without slippng on wet road paint..... so I hear the hiss of tires in the rain coming up behind me (apparently they weren't going to turn), but they just flew on by, window up. Very strange. 
The best I can come up with is that they thought I was someone else?
Embarrassed?
And they obviously don't ride, or they would have matched my speed and not expected me to come to a complete stop... it was not hostile at all. Just strange.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride home was great. Rode it as hard as I could, with my legs on fire and my lungs burning just as much. Cut through a dirt path, and caught a john being arrested. Check it out.

































Something tells me they can't do much for that persistent crick in my neck.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Awesome pics from up north guys.
> 
> I had a weird one yesterday...it was pounding rain, so visibility was pretty bad from a car (I'm assuming)... I had someone zip by me and then brake hard, looking like they were going to "right hook" me at the turn just ahead... but then they stopped, sort of half-way into the right turn lane. I was assuming they realized that they had misjudged my speed and were going to let me pass on the right before making their turn, so I took them up on this gesture and kept the hammer down, passing them on the right and giving them a 'thank you' wave a I went by....I realized at that moment that they had rolled down their passenger window (raining hard remember) and were leaning over as if we were about to have a conversation... I was 20 feet down the road before that really registered...it's a slight decline there and I was focused on getting by without slippng on wet road paint..... so I hear the hiss of tires in the rain coming up behind me (apparently they weren't going to turn), but they just flew on by, window up. Very strange.
> The best I can come up with is that they thought I was someone else?
> ...


This happens a lot with the right hook, drivers just don't know your speed vs. their own. Thad bad part is they can't be playing around like that, really they just need to pay attention, to much at stake to be messing around.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I saw a cold weather triker this morning on the sidewalk in town. A little off though..it was in the teens(F), and he had one of those full ski masks with eye and mouth holes, but no gloves at all. Ouch!


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## Jiff24 (Jan 4, 2012)

*Sad commute today.*

Was around 10 F this morning in Wyoming with windchill putting it down to about 2 F according to weather online. Its still be mostly dry up till last night and I haven't changed my tires yet for the season. Still running slicks on the commuter. Was super excited to try out my brand new WXB pants this morning as it was snowing. So got all dressed up and headed to school. There were a few slippery spots along the way but the worst was right in front of the bike rack at the end of my commute. Wiped out coming around the corner of the building on a slick sidewalk. Bloodied my knee and elbow both, and worst of all tore a hole in the knee of my brand new pants.:madman: Super frustrating.:madmax: Everything else was good. My own fault I suppose, shouldn't have trusted the slicks. Thought I was being cautious enough, but I guess not. The ride back home tonight should be interesting too, since its been snowing most the day. I ordered some studded tires today too, because I was so frustrated. Hope those turn out to be a good investment.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Hey Jordy... it's snowing! Now we just need enough freezing rain to close down the U so I can take the day to pack down the trails up in the valley... I can't believe I'm saying this, but c'mon freezing rain!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

LET IT SNOW!!! ;p Yes, I will be out tonight packing trails! Commute tomorrow AM should be interesting!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Pouring rain in Vegas. Rode the 15 miles in to work today, but had a buddy drive me home. Therefore, my commuter is spending the night in the welding shop at work, which means I'll be driving to work Monday (cause I have tomorrow off). I just have not been able to pull it together this month. Only 44 commuting miles this month so far. Just terrible. Expected though, as I've already missed eight work days so far this month for various reasons. Trips, CDL physical, Holiday, Union Days (our contract allows days off for Union business), a vacation day, and two days lost cause my commuter spent the night in the weld shop. 

It was raining so hard at quitting time that everyone felt really sorry for me having to peddle 15 miles home. One buddy offered me a ride. I told him to be careful with that offer cause I'm on the verge of taking it. He said he meant it and I took it. Would've been well over a two hour commute home tonight had I peddled, as Vegas drivers are terrible in the rain and I would've likely had to taken sidewalks at 8 mph the whole way home to avoid being hit by a car. At least I got the peddle in though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Aw, now you HAVE to use it- tell everybody except your BIL how it came into your hands so the rest of you can all share in the amusement at his expense!





Texan-n-Fla said:


> No, you make the stuffing, and when all is said and done, you tell the story.


I had just about decided to send the roadside loaf home with someone who has chickens, but it came home with me ... we must be thankful, after all.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Glad I wasn't riding and following a truck I saw today. It had an old woodchopper with no safety power off bars on back and was running. The feed drum was turning. Imagine following it on a bike and having the dolt behind texting and missing the red light change. Not pretty. Dolts.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Post Bike Thief News...*

ToughBuilt Compact Bolt Cutter - 24in.L, Model# F240 | Bolt Cutters| Northern Tool + Equipment
Handy, no?

Enjoyed a little dusting of snow yesterday, put my bored and lonesome studded tires on for today`s commute over no-longer-even-wet roads. It was cold, gray, and gloomy but I was happy. Aside from getting to wear a little carbide off, I got a bonus warm fuzzy when I passed a group of junior high kids walking from the bus stop. One of `em waved and yelled "Hey, biker dude!".


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

We've been having such beautiful night time weather lately that today I decided to man up and go climb the mountain after being done working at the bike coop at 9pm (no diner yet). I had a blast and also had a chance to try out my new UltraFire C3 led flashlight. Damn it is one hell of a stupid bright little sucker. It's 10cm long by 2cm diameter, takes either a single AA or a 3.7v 14500 battery, and using a 14500 @ ~600mh, I was able to light up the whole trail well enough to feel comfortable riding fast and aggressive. Puts out about 100lm with a Cree P4 emitter. For those who are familiar with DX.com, its the SKU 1993. For $10, it also comes with a nice holster, glass lens and OP aluminum reflector. Can't beat it honestly. And I had about 1.5 hours of runtime using the factory charge on the battery.

I'm thinking about building up a XML-T6 flashlight using a C6-T60 body to use as an helmet mounted light along with my XML-U2 one I have on my bars. If I can find a 17mm driver with 2 modes (high and low) that gives about 2500-3000mh and accepts up to 9v (to use 2xCR123A batteries instead of a single 18650), than it's a deal. DX has one similar already built, but it has 3 modes without memory, and I hate the stupid strobe mode that I'll have to go trough every-time I turn it on and off to get back to high or low mode. Although it has a confirmed 800+lm output and is under $20... I love them stupid flashlights haha


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute this morning. Wife and I were up late putting the finishing touches on our presentation that we're giving at a marriage prep retreat this weekend. I woke up at my usual time this morning and realized that I didn't have even close to the amount of energy I need to get to work. Woke her up and asked if she was going anywhere today. All it took was for me to hear "no" and I was in the van on my way to work. 

When I get off, we've gotta drop the boys off at abuela's house and head 45 minutes south to stay for the weekend. I'm hoping to bring the bike and get some riding in sometime, but I don't know if it will happen.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Low 20's for me today. Some beardcicles, but nothing on an Alaskan level. My beard isn't really on an Alaskan level either, so... 

My hands were miserable. I was holding out with the 'level 2' gloves. Time for 'level 3' for sure. 

I have next week off, so this is my last ride in for a week. Hoping to get some mountain biking in during turkey week if it stays clear.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A slushy ride in today, I decided to keep the summer wheels on because there was only ¼”at my house and it was hovering around freezing, with the snow sounding like it was changing over. Usually there is less at the lower elevations, or at least the increased car traffic melts it down there. That turned out to be an OK call, even though there seemed to be a little more snow in some areas. I rode the edge of the melted travelway for the most part, shunning the snowier/slushier shoulder. At one light cars were backed up more than usual, so I took the snow route to their right and the Schwalbe Marathons did fine there, ridden carefully. 

I did have one funny spot at a red light where there was some snow/slush, and when I tried to start out the back tire just spun in place until I shifted more weight back, and then I proceeded forward straight and smoothly. You know how you kind of stand on the pedals and over the front to get off quicker from a light? That method did not work well at that spot today. It should be 38F by the ride home, so it will be sloppy but not slippery.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

It rained here in Phoenix on my commute home last night. But, it still wasn't very cold, even with the rain. I was just hoping that some crazy driver didn't rear end me due to low visbility.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

You like the Marathons? I'm going to have to replace my treads soon, and I'm debating between Panaracer T-Serv and the Marathons. 

All this talk of snow and ice makes me happy to be subtropical. Although we're supposed to get a nice cold front on Sunday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> You know how you kind of stand on the pedals and over the front to get off quicker from a light? That method did not work well at that spot today.


I have a short hill that I usually just stand and push, rather than shift for, and I've done that little routine there... it's actually helpful to get a feel for when you're going to break loose... some ice has more traction than other ice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> You like the Marathons? I'm going to have to replace my treads soon, and I'm debating between Panaracer T-Serv and the Marathons.


I have those too, on my cross bike. I would say the T-Servs offer a more supple ride and are lighter (well those are skinnier too), but they do not have the flat protection that the Marathons do. I have the "green guard" Marathons, which are not the highest end ones. I would lean Marathon if you have more debris, and T-servs if you have less. Both have (or are available in a version with) nice reflective sidewalls.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A number of opinions voiced today by people I encountered:

- Negative but 100% unintelligible (but long) diatribe by a passenger in a passing car who rolled down the window to lecture me.

- "I want to thank you for having those bright lights on the back" by a stranger entering the building as I went to lock up my bike. Followed by a story about a ninja cyclist she saw in town recently.

- "WAY TO GO" Yelled from a car going the other way after dark. It sounded positive, so I woohoo'd and they woohoo'd back.

- "Blah blah blah" yelled, not so friendly-ly after work.

- A friendly wave, like "Hi, I know you, ride on" from a too-closely passing Honda about 1/2 mile from work. There was only 1 oncoming car, so they could have passed courteously in seconds.

- "Are you sure you need a parking lamp? I could see you pretty good." Comedian working at Autozone (I got pulled over in the daytime yesterday in the car for lack of a parking lamp and was looking for a replacement).


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> - "Are you sure you need a parking lamp? I could see you pretty good." Comedian working at Autozone (I got pulled over in the daytime yesterday in the car for lack of a parking lamp and was looking for a replacement).


"Yep, I need a parking lamp. I'm sure I can get one next door."


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Three straight days of rain in Vegas. A slow cold rain though, or more like a drizzle, but steady. Maybe 1.5 inches during this time, which is about one-third of our annual total, so a pretty good soak by Vegas standards.

Took the Monocog up to Blue Diamond today. About three miles into my ride the bottom bracket started popping and creaking and really announcing its displeasure. Stopped, checked it out. Some pretty good side to side play. Enough play to really loosen my chain. Well, there went that ride. Back into town and to the bike shop to pick up a BBT 22. Got everything all torn apart and going to the LBS tomorrow to price a new sealed cartridge. Saw a pretty highly rated 110 mm on Amazon that's less than twenty dollars. Thinking it might make sense to pay LBS prices to get it now though, with the four day Thanksgiving weekend coming up. Hate to have my bike down during these off days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This morning the deer let me get really close. Not a bad sunrise either:
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

Otherwise, it was one of the coldest commutes of the year at around 10 degrees. My legs were a little tired despite being home for 4 days in a row. Hmmm.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute in this AM. A bit slow. My legs just felt dead, but no worries. 20F when I left the house. Over dressed and got a touch sweaty, but not too bad. Friday's commute, though, not so fun. Read about it here.

Suffice it to say, I'll be a bit less cavalier about saying I want freezing rain in the future.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

If anyone interested, I got a $10 gift-card for an order over $50 at DX.com. Good till December 1st.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning went fine. I was a little worried, since I hadn't ridden in three days. I was a little slow, but I'm not sure if it's because I'm out of my game, or the horrible head wind. 

On the way home, I swung by the store and grabbed some supplies for the move this weekend. Noticed my left crank arm was loose and wobbly, and the next thing I know, it was letting out this terrible creak. I could hear it echo when I passed shopping centers. I haven't a clue as to why my crank arm would just suddenly loosen the way it did. Anyone have any ideas?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> This morning went fine. I was a little worried, since I hadn't ridden in three days. I was a little slow, but I'm not sure if it's because I'm out of my game, or the horrible head wind.
> 
> On the way home, I swung by the store and grabbed some supplies for the move this weekend. Noticed my left crank arm was loose and wobbly, and the next thing I know, it was letting out this terrible creak. I could hear it echo when I passed shopping centers. I haven't a clue as to why my crank arm would just suddenly loosen the way it did. Anyone have any ideas?


Is it the crank arm or the whole bottom bracket?

Just paid $30 today at the LBS for something I could've gotten online for $20. But I needed the bottom bracket for rides this weekend. Can't believe how much easier it is messing with cartridge bearings (bottom bracket) over the cup and cone on the Walmart cruiser.

Fate willing, I will be commuting tomorrow.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

BB is fine, it's just the left crank arm. I'll swing by the LBS if I get a chance. These next few days are crazy as hell, since we're closed Thursday and Friday. So I've got 3 days to get 5 days worth of production done.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ice was trying to creep over the river. This area is a bit of a pain, as I have to take a left at the next light. I like to get over early when there is an opening in traffic, but you have to watch out for all the people going in and out of Dunkin's and a bunch of gas stations in addition to those coming up behind you.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Nice view. I feel your pain about the traffic. I have to do the same thing in front of a McD's and several gas stations, across 4 lanes to get to the turn Lane. I've been thinking about just using the crosswalk. 

Ride in this morning went well. I'm freakin' exhausted from staying up half the night packing. Today and tomorrow will be 11 hr days, from open to close, and then a night full of packing. I fully intend on drinking my body weight in Red Bull and coffee to get this stuff done. 

Saw a fella in front of me for a short bit (he was extremely slow, so I had to pass), who had set up cheap blinkies all over. I tell you, I could see him from a good 300 yards...

I'm thinking I might do the same thing, but spend some time wiring them up to a 4 AA battery holder and using some rechargables.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Good commute today and on the way home yesterday. 

Yesterday there was an older guy riding in the pitch black. He had the dimmest light I've ever seen, it was no brighter than the power button LED on my lights, literally. He also had a full face helmet on, back pants and camo jacket. He kept riding across the street at every turn, then going back to the other side. Did this 3 or 4 times in about 2 miles. 

This morning a guy in an F-350 pulled up next to me at a stop light and says "That things cool!" I guess my taillights? I also came across another bike commuter. I was thinking "bright yellow jacket and no taillight? That's weird". Then I got closer and realized his taillight was tangled up in his messenger bag, so I pulled up next to him and let him know. He thanked me and I was on my way. He looked miserable and freezing.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another good ride in this AM. Though I'm having issues with my wheel slipping out of place again. Not sure what that is about. I really have a hard time with the horizontal dropouts. Normally I would run the wheel all the way to the front of the dropout, but if I do that, I get massive tire rub against the der when I am on the smallest ring with the Nates on. I think I might just have to call around this AM and see if anyplace in town carries Monkey Nuts and if not, break down and order from Amazon.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I've had family in town, so was off the bike since last wednesday. Last week was -25C, and today was -4C(25F) with lots and lots of carsnot.

Got the parts for my wheelbuild in yesterday. Threw the front together quickly with no issues - still need to repack the bearings and stick it on my rimbrake bike for final truing/dishing, but it's pretty much done.

The rearwheel is another story though, because the spoke lengths are all over the place. I'm sure I've got it laced wrong (and there are plenty of threads around here about that) but I've doublechecked all the left/right in/out leading/trailing stuff and I _swear_ it's exactly the same as the front. Except I must be missing something. I'll start over from scratch tonight, and it should be an easy fix. Worst-case is $30 for shorter spokes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> Then I got closer and realized his taillight was tangled up in my messenger bag, so I pulled up next to him and let him know.


Eh??? How the heck did that happen?



newfangled said:


> The rearwheel is another story though, because the spoke lengths are all over the place. I'm sure I've got it laced wrong (and there are plenty of threads around here about that) but I've doublechecked all the left/right in/out leading/trailing stuff and I _swear_ it's exactly the same as the front. Except I must be missing something. I'll start over from scratch tonight, and it should be an easy fix. Worst-case is $30 for shorter spokes.


Spoke lengths all over the place isn`t right- should only have two lengths. Are you using miscelaneous spokes from a box in the co-op? Starting over is a good idea, be careful with the longs and shorts! And I find it much easier to follow the patern of a wheel with the same drilling and crossing compared to a "new" lacing with no wheel available to copy. If you have another 32 X 3, or whatever, try matching that one spoke for spoke until you get at least one trailing and one leading installed on each side. From that point, it`s a piece of cake to just keep going in the same pattern.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been off the bike for over a week. Off work today, but might just might commute in tomorrow. Still waiting on my wheel and a new grip setup for my SS, so the TriCross might take on the duties. Haven't ridden geared in a few weeks, and it will feel weird. I may just leave it in gear and ride like that. We have had on and off freezing rain, and the drive home last night from work was pretty bad. Everyone was sliding. Once that stops, I will consider taking the bike back out.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Spoke lengths all over the place isn`t right- should only have two lengths.


New spokes, but the leading spokes are way too long. It's 100% a lacing issue, but I stared at it for an awfully long time and it refused to magically fix itself.

The front wheel looks nice and professional, though.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Eh??? How the heck did that happen?


I don't know what you're talking about


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Haven't ridden geared in a few weeks, and it will feel weird. I may just leave it in gear and ride like that.


This is what I do. I stay in a gear that is challenging, but not impossible. The *only* time I shift is going downhill to catch more speed, or when I do the 9% grade bridge on my way to my son's PT/OT, and even then, I'm sure I could manage, I just wouldn't be able to breathe afterward.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride home this evening. Just got word of a tornado watch until 10. Sustained winds around 30 mph, with gusts reaching 60. The rain is soon to come down. 

I left tornado alley for coastal Florida so I didn't have to deal with this mess. I've been in and lived through two twisters in my life. I'm not about to push my luck.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Newf, do you have another wheel with the same hole count and cross? What I do if possible is find the "heads in" spoke closest to the valve hole on the sample wheel and note where it goes in relation to the logo on the hub, then copy that on the new wheel and keep putting in the rest of the "heads ins" in that side. Then repeat for the other side head in spokes, then one side heads out, then the last heads out. You`ll get there!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I started from scratch and got it right this time. Sheldon Brown's instructions got me through the first one no problem, but I was messing up the crosses the second time. It's all sorted, though.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

First snow this evening ! I'm so excited, more than a little kid on Christmas morning, I'm a grown man with a bike riding in slush !!!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in this morning was better than most. I suppose I got a good nights sleep. Came up behind a guy rollin' ninja style, I let him know that with wet streets and low lighting, he should do more to make himself known, and gave him one of my Amazon red blinkies. I was meaning to place an order for more, so this just sealed the deal. 

Took my left crank arm off last night to give it a look. It's pretty much shot. The BB is okay, but the soft aluminum is mushed around so that it no longer firmly sits on the square taper, but rolls around, which causes the bolt to come loose. 

I'll call the LBS and see if they have a spare lying around that I can snag for cheap, otherwise I'll be rigging something up until I can replace the crankset. I was wanting to go to a 1X setup anyway.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

18 degrees this morning when I got to work. Which made it my coldest commute this fall. I missed some of the colder mornings while off work this past weekend. Worst thing was the 15 mph NW wind which I had to ride into most of the way. We've had a colder than average November, with temps often 20 degrees below average. We'll see how that bodes for December and January.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yesterday's commute was on snowy trails, today it is 45F, POURING and blowing like stink. All I could think as I pedaled hard to get down a hill at 10MPH was "Boy it would be fun to be going the other direction" 

I got a lot of "You rode in this" when I got to work which is unusual because most people know I ride in most anything.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We actually have a little snow too. Just a light dusting though. Still, the MUP was icy in spots. I think the switch on my Superflash is finally starting to go. I've had this thing since I started bike commuting in 2007.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

No commutes as I don't have my bike with me. I made it home for the holidays and I always hope for a White Christmas and almost never get one. Well I am getting a white Thanksgiving. It has been at least 5 years since I have seen a flake of snow so happy holidays to all and I leave you with a non desert picture.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I blew the last of the leaves and a bit of snow off the lawn on Sunday. The storm system that damaged so many towns stripped the oaks early. I ti s usually January before they finish. Some snow forecast today. Not going to make it above freezing today. Trying to figure how much to layer to ride today. Windy too.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Wrecked out on the way home. Dodged some debris and slammed my pedal into a curb. Sent me over the bars and into the street. Car almost hit the bike, but stopped in time. Right arm is pretty raw, and my right femur definitely took a hit. I don't believe it to be broken, so that's the silver lining. 

Toe clip, pedal, and crank arm are trash. So is the right brake lever and possibly grip shift as well. Unfortunately, my parts bike is all Shimano, and I've got SRAM. I won't have the time to run new cables and set up a different derailleur in time for work on Friday. We'll see what I'm able to pull off.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Wrecked out on the way home. Dodged some debris and slammed my pedal into a curb. Sent me over the bars and into the street. Car almost hit the bike, but stopped in time. Right arm is pretty raw, and my right femur definitely took a hit. I don't believe it to be broken, so that's the silver lining.
> 
> Toe clip, pedal, and crank arm are trash. So is the right brake lever and possibly grip shift as well. Unfortunately, my parts bike is all Shimano, and I've got SRAM. I won't have the time to run new cables and set up a different derailleur in time for work on Friday. We'll see what I'm able to pull off.


Glad to hear you are alright and the car didn't run over your bike.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> No commutes as I don't have my bike with me. I made it home for the holidays and I always hope for a White Christmas and almost never get one. Well I am getting a white Thanksgiving. It has been at least 5 years since I have seen a flake of snow so happy holidays to all and I leave you with a non desert picture.


Congrats on your white Thanksgiving. Nice picture.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Glad to hear you are alright and the car didn't run over your bike.


You and I both! Ha!

While I was doing a muscle rub, I decided to surf craigslist, and stumbled upon a guy selling some spare parts. Found myself some shifters, mechanical disc brakes (not awesome, but better than the stock linear pulls I have now), and some rims. I'm not sure if I'll keep the rims, so if nothing else, I'll take the rotors and sell them.

Now I just need to pick up some new cable and a toe clip.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

woke up to iced roads.
20-minute multi-bike studded tire swap after making the kids their lunches.
and can I just say "dang it's cold out there!"


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well Texan, you did not need to work so hard at getting something to be thankful for tomorrow. Jeesh! No face stitches and no emergency room bill is nice to be tankful for, but we can do that without the drama. Hoping for a fast healing. Happy Thanksgiving, BTW!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rest up, Tex. Hope you and your steed are in good shape by Monday.

Weather here is very nice, unfortunately. Over the weekend we took a quick trip to San Francisco. Barely any natural snow on 7200ft Donner Summit (ski areas have been manufacturing it to cover their runs). Zero snow at the Nyack Burger King and Sledding Mecca heading down the west side. Oh, the good part about nice weather in late Nov- sunny days in SF, good fog-free views of the city and the new Bay Bridge from Alcatraz.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it this week.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Got to ride for the first time in snow this winter today. Was kinda rainy too, so very wet. For those who might be interested, I was running a front BB7 caliper with the stock pads on a Shimano RT-56 6 bolts 160mm rotor and it was dead silent, whereas using the same caliper and pads on other bikes with Avid HS1 rotors and Hayes V8 rotors it always made noise when wet. The Shimano rotor can be found for $15 (bought it $10 wholesale), is the entry-level one not too blingy with a large braking track (which is why I chose it as a winter commuter rotor).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Did not commute today. Got my new wheel, and hit the bike shop for a new tire/tape/tube etc. Still want to ride my SS, but the brake is already off in prep for the coaster brake wheel. Well, I flipped it, and am gonna try my hand at fixie. Gotta work on Thanksgiving (hospital), so I figured that riding on a holiday won't be too bad as far as traffic goes and it will give me a good chance to feel it out. High expected of 28, and snow is expected. I am hoping that it won't actually snow, and I can ride in. Also installed my new Fyxation track grips and bar ends. I did my first tape job on this bike, and well, to be honest, it sucked so I yanked it off. A combination of cheap tape, and a lack of knowledge did not fair well for me.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Wrecked out on the way home. Dodged some debris and slammed my pedal into a curb. Sent me over the bars and into the street. Car almost hit the bike, but stopped in time.


So we put this accident down to Not Paying Attention.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

My coldwar with the cleaning staff continues - they schedule the cleaning of the lockerroom first thing in the morning. This is annoying and makes no sense because the lockerroom only gets used before work, after work, or at lunch. 

I eventually end up training or scaring them into switching to one of the other 8 hours of the day. But every few months someone new starts knocking on the door everyday at 8:05. Or on days like today they get in there before me, and I'm wearing my winter gear and have no patience, so I have to politely chase them out.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute today is cancelled. If it was dry, I would do it. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute for me today, given that it's Thanksgiving and my bike is wrecked. I won't be riding tomorrow or Saturday, until I'm able to fix everything. 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you all have a great time, and stay safe out there.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Yesterday, the paths had been covered with that small gravel that I don't like much, so this morning I decided to try a different route. Not a great idea today... Much of those lesser traveled paths were covered with a layer of ice from the thin layer of snow that was there before it almost melted before the night frost. I made it safely but took many parts extra carefully and slowly.

Now there's a thin layer of snow on the ground again.
(I need brake pads. The sooner the better. I hope I can make it to one of the shops tomorrow, while they are open, and that they have the model I need)


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Monocog up and running again for the Thanksgiving weekend. New bottom bracket, plus twenty dollar tool (BBT 22), set me out about $55. Had I purchased online, about $40. Then I see I have a flat while I'm replacing bottom bracket. Hole torn through both the tire and the tube (really bad tires that I was pushing limits on). Knowing everything is closed today (at least where I can get a decent tire), out the door to buy a new tire and tube(s) so Friday morning I can get a ride in. Again at LBS prices and forced to buy their limited stock. Out close to another $50 bucks. My wife is a little irritated that I've just spent over $100 on the $100 bike I talked her into letting my buy in August. I told her it's a $200 bike now. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving and rides until content.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Monocog up and running again for the Thanksgiving weekend. New bottom bracket, plus twenty dollar tool (BBT 22), set me out about $55. Had I purchased online, about $40. Then I see I have a flat while I'm replacing bottom bracket. Hole torn through both the tire and the tube (really bad tires that I was pushing limits on). Knowing everything is closed today (at least where I can get a decent tire), out the door to buy a new tire and tube(s) so Friday morning I can get a ride in. Again at LBS prices and forced to buy their limited stock. Out close to another $50 bucks. My wife is a little irritated that I've just spent over $100 on the $100 bike I talked her into letting my buy in August. I told her it's a $200 bike now. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving and rides until content.


Lol, I feel your pain. We sold my truck and I started biking so that we could save money. It seems that since I started back in August, I've spent just as much, if not more. My 200 dollar Jamis ain't worth that much anymore


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

haven't you saved that much gas money, Vegascruiser?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

8x10 color glossy photos, circles an arrows, seein eye dog...
And creating a nuisance.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Ice Ice baby ! Today was icy and cold, but calm commutting back home at 9pm. I was running the bike coop like every Thursday and of course this charming young lady waited for me to close the place down after helping her working on her winter commuter so we could ride along on the way home. These 3km in the cold quiet night made the whole day feel like it was worth it haha

I love teaching and helping people about bikes, and since a few months, I've seen a big increase in female vs male visitors at the bike coop, which is always a good thing to see more people from everywhere opening up to bike commuting and doing their own maintenance.

Newf, regarding my DIY studded tires, I've been using my front 26x2.25 120ish studs for about 10km/week for several weeks now and only for about 10km on snow/ice and using class 12.9 black oxide steel button head M4x10mm screws, sticking out 4mm (1mm too long, couldn't buy 9mm screws lol) and located about halfway from the side-knobs to the center-line, I've had minimal wear (0.5mm) and great performance in snow/ice at 32psi. In comparison, the sheet metal screws and lower psi settings would have had twice if not more the wear, already. I think I might be on to something for a viable solution for cost-to-durability ratio for DIY studs vs dedicated studded tires like Marathon Winter and Ice Spiker. It's about $0.05/screw and I will probably be able to pull off minimum 3 seasons easy out of them whereas only 1.5 for sheet metal. Only worry I still have is corrosion resistance against calcium and salt, as the black oxide may not be enough at all to prevent surface rust and then I may have to go for plated which will double the cost to $0.10/screw. But still it would be great. I'll keep you up to date later on this winter. 

Edit : Posted again the entire write-up, should be good now if you are reading this.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Something is wrong with Tapatalk, I wrote a lot more in the above post and only show the first 2 paragraphs. Tried to post it again with re-written info and still won't show more than the first 2 paragraphs. I'll try to post it back again tomorrow then.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> haven't you saved that much gas money, Vegascruiser?


For sure. I usually save between $50-60 a month commuting. If I committed more fully to the cause, I'd easily save over $100 monthly in gas. Been doing this about a year now and got 2000 miles under my belt. Gonna shot for 3000-4000 in 2014.

Biggest problem I have is always finding something else I swear I need (and sometimes things I really need) for my bikes. Right now I got two worn out tires on the Walmart cruiser (about 1800 miles on some no-namers isn't too bad) and my replacement tires of choice are likely some Big Apples. Like the reflective strip and seems like it'll be a pretty soft ride. Also need a new front tire for the Monocog, as I noticed it looking pretty ragged today. Gonna be out more dough for a new Panaracer Rampage (like the traction on these and the 2.35 width, which allows me to run lower pressure to soften up my fully rigid ride). . .and on and on it goes. . .sometimes it seems like the money saved is merely cycled right back into the bikes. Even so, having a hobby (way of life) that doesn't COST money is still something good too. Gonna break it to the wife that I need three new tires closer to Christmas and pass it off as my Christmas gift.


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## minte (Sep 26, 2013)

I was thinking about this same thing, having had to spend money on new studded tires this year. Am I really saving money in gas? I'm sure if I added it up I'd still end up a bit ahead when calculating gas and car maintenance vs cost of bike parts. However, its those intangibles that I think are more important, including being in a better mood, great shape, no old-guy belly... Im just allot better off in my life when I spend time on bikes.

Sometimes I have to stay at work late for night meetings that can be very contentious and stressful. When I drive it takes me several hours after those meetings to calm down enough to sleep. The other night I was riding home at 11:30PM, nobody else on the road, perfect quiet, just me pounding it out on the pedals. Slept well that night. How much is that worth? Quite a bit to me.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I've been doing this a little over 4 years now, and I think I'm mostly out of things to buy. I did just buy a new wheelset because my old freehub was done, but the important thing is that I didn't buy anything _else_. 

My wishlist was empty - "I must need new tires? Brakepads? Some blingy upgrade? A fancy tool? Tubes? There must be something!" I really, really tried to bump up my order (gotta maximize that freeshipping to Canada), but couldn't come up with anything frivolous.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

The commute was the only good thing yesterday. Had to work "haze grey-Thursday". AFAIC, anybody who's shopping on Thanksgiving instead of being at home with their family......I hope they get a toe fungus!:incazzato:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

minte said:


> I was thinking about this same thing, having had to spend money on new studded tires this year. Am I really saving money in gas? I'm sure if I added it up I'd still end up a bit ahead when calculating gas and car maintenance vs cost of bike parts. However, its those intangibles that I think are more important, including being in a better mood, great shape, no old-guy belly... Im just allot better off in my life when I spend time on bikes.
> 
> Sometimes I have to stay at work late for night meetings that can be very contentious and stressful. When I drive it takes me several hours after those meetings to calm down enough to sleep. The other night I was riding home at 11:30PM, nobody else on the road, perfect quiet, just me pounding it out on the pedals. Slept well that night. How much is that worth? Quite a bit to me.


I agree that the fringe benefits are why many of us do it. Even if it's only a break even, or even maybe just a tad in the red, bike riding (commuting, mt. biking, etc.) is mostly about fitness and emotional well being to me.

I also agree with newfangled that eventually you will run out of things to buy. In fact, this has already happened to me a few times. My wife was particularly miffed when I insisted all three bikes have its own mini pump. But hey, with the geared mt. bike being presta, the Walmart cruiser and Monocog being schrader, what'd she expect. Not gonna keep adjusting the internals depending on which bike I take. Then I decided I didn't want to keep bouncing one pump between the two schrader bikes. So three it was. And even though I ride a lot with a hydration pack, I like each bike to have its own pump and tool kit in case I want to zip to the store or something on which ever bike I fancy. So I've already exhausted the need for any future mini pumps--that is, of course, until one breaks.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

vegascruiser said:


> I agree that the fringe benefits are why many of us do it. Even if it's only a break even, or even maybe just a tad in the red, bike riding (commuting, mt. biking, etc.) is mostly about fitness and emotional well being to me.


I couldn't care less whether I save money or not....I ride to work primarly for what you call fringe benefits...

To me they are the prime benefits...

Exercise....

The 45 daily minutes of calming ride...

See the beauty of the ride up close and personnal..

Over the last 8 years I am probably running somewhere around $.30/km

Revenue Canada allows $.55/km for the average car....so I have saved

That is 45000 kms * (.55-.3)=$11250 total or $1450/yr

Actually I lie half of those miles are not commuting...so basically commuting has paid for my mtb habit.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> I did my first tape job on this bike, and well, to be honest, it sucked so I yanked it off. A combination of cheap tape, and a lack of knowledge did not fair well for me.


I ran across and saved this video for the next time I need to tape bars:

Wrapping Your Handlebars | Bike Shop Girl


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

junior1210 said:


> The commute was the only good thing yesterday. Had to work "haze grey-Thursday". AFAIC, anybody who's shopping on Thanksgiving instead of being at home with their family......I hope they get a toe fungus!:incazzato:


Sorry to hear you had to work


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

The ride was great! That is until I rode by someone burning leaves, then I got a massive headache. Something awful.

Tell ya what.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Nvm


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

To work temp: 31 and sunny, calm.
Heading home temp: 26 and breezy.

It was hard to pass up the commute today. End of November in Michigan, no snow yet, and sunny and 31 and calm out. My new wheel is still at the shop being finished, and I really wanted to ride my SS today, so last night, I was up until 3 am getting the bike ready. Charged the lights, checked everything over, and watched several videos on having the proper chain tension. This is my first SS, so I am still learning. Oh, yeah, I flipped it to ride fixed as well. I spent a good hour or so fudging with the rear wheel, getting it straight as an arrow, and then messing with the tensioners. I got it squared away.

I have never ridden a fixed gear bike before, so this was something new. The closest thing is when I was 6 or 7 and had a coaster brake Huffy BMX bike. I watched a lot of videos on how to brake, etc. but nothing prepared me for my commute. It didn't take long to figure out that it was a bit of work to slow down, let alone come to a complete stop. Nearly wrecked 1/4 mile into it after I crested a hill, and had to slow down to make a left onto the bike path. I recovered, and made my way down the path. I had to constantly remind myself, NO COASTING!!! My brain is prewired to coast sometimes, and I don't even think about it and just coast. Laziness mostly, but I always felt like I should rest my legs on a downhill before the next uphill. OK, that is right out the window. You aren't doing that, or even thinking of doing that on this bike. 

I took it easy on the ride, taking almost 50 minutes instead of my normal 30. I wanted to get a feel for it, and I also didn't want to get going so fast that I couldn't stop. There were a few hairy moments, but for the most part, it was pretty fun. I can see why it is popular, and why people say that you are connected with the bike. Hell yeah you are, or you won't stop. 

I finally got the clothing right. Broke out the Pearl Izumi lobsters for this ride, and I was glad that I did. Hands were nice and toasty. Feet were a bit cold, but they are always cold in any cooler weather. Wool socks helped, but they were still a bit painful. I also finally got the right bag for my commute. This Chrome messenger bag can really haul a lot of stuff. I can easily take everything that I need for work, and still have some room for extra stuff. 

So now I am having a late night snack while I type this. Space heater is on, dog is in the room with me, and my bike is in the stand, waiting for me to clean it. The path was slightly wet, and my bike is white, and I don't run fenders. You can see where this is going.....
New wheel is ready at the shop, and I will be putting it on tomorrow. Pretty excited to have the coaster brake and looking forward to a test ride. Sunny and upper 30's tomorrow in the forecast. I also have a meeting at work Monday morning, 7am. I think that I will ride in, ride home after, and then ride back for work. Double commute??


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I ran across and saved this video for the next time I need to tape bars:
> 
> Wrapping Your Handlebars | Bike Shop Girl


Thanks for the link, gonna watch this now.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Never been more excited for Monday to roll around. Got my wheel back from the shop, put it on the bike, and took a test ride. Exactly what I was hoping for. That double commute I mentioned for Monday, yeah, that is gonna happen.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Never been more excited for Monday to roll around. Got my wheel back from the shop, put it on the bike, and took a test ride. Exactly what I was hoping for. That double commute I mentioned for Monday, yeah, that is gonna happen.


Glad to hear it, man! I get to spend tomorrow running new cable, and hopefully I'll be back in the saddle on Monday after wiping out Wednesday afternoon. I'm just now able to walk around without some serious pain.

Hope all you fellas had an excellent thanksgiving, with friends or family.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

David C said:


> Something is wrong with Tapatalk, I wrote a lot more in the above post and only show the first 2 paragraphs. Tried to post it again with re-written info and still won't show more than the first 2 paragraphs. I'll try to post it back again tomorrow then.


Your whole post is there. Tapatalk does not like the less than/greater than arrow because it is also the bracket for style codes and they make paragraphs disappear.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Glad to hear it, man! I get to spend tomorrow running new cable, and hopefully I'll be back in the saddle on Monday after wiping out Wednesday afternoon. I'm just now able to walk around without some serious pain.
> 
> Hope all you fellas had an excellent thanksgiving, with friends or family.


I will be the first to welcome you back to your bike.  Glad that you are recovering fairly well.


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

I was thinking of getting a Surly Bill trailer. I like that it's 4130 because I can just tack some sheet metal on it. 

Anyone have experience with it? I wonder if I'll load more than 200 pounds on it, but I wonder who has used one with rim brakes.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute to work 1 of 2 complete. Was asked to come in for a 7 am meeting with our management. Dark and about 31 when I left. Felt weird riding into work in the dark, usually it is my ride home in the dark. Roads were damp and a bit slick from the humidity. Bike was filthy when I got there. Ride home was mostly uneventful, and actually colder than the ride in. 28 and it felt like about 10. Even with the sun out it felt colder. Almost to my complex, I cut through a park that has paved paths running through it for walkers, runners, bikers, etc. Came up on 2 women, dinged my Incredibell twice and they didn't really move. Went around them, and that is when I saw the dog running towards me. Just a Golden Retriever, but still made me apprehensive. I noticed one of the women carrying something, which I would imagine would be the leash that the dog should have been on. They called out for the dog, and I called out over my shoulder, in a rather annoyed tone that the dog should REALLY be on a leash in the park. Now I am less than 1/8 of a mile from my complex, same paved path. Came up on a single girl with 2 dogs off leash. She quickly gathered them up and was across from where I was turning. I love dogs, have my own in fact, but bigger dogs are very unpredictable, especially when you startle them, or their owner is between them and the bike. I have been bitten before while on a bike, on a public path, by a Pit Bull that was off leash. I am very cautious around dogs now.

I will be leaving for my second commute back to work to actually work in about 3 and a half hours. Cleaned the bike up, checked my lights and noticed that I need to adjust my rear wheel. I will take care of that, shower, eat, and head back out. Supposed to be in the upper 30's and sunny when I leave. Looking forward to that!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

From a post in a different thread:


Sanath said:


> Gads, the ride in was like ice skating. Around 4" of heavy, wet snow that just compressed to a functional equivalent of ice. Steering was a joke and I had to walk several sections.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Already sunny and 37, might clear 40 before I leave. I am pretty excited, although my legs are not. Still recovering from Fridays commute on the fixed wheel.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I knew I would be late but could not bear to drive after a long weekend of eating too much and doing too little. I will make up the time tonight. The ride was nice, about 28F. There was frozen fog on my apple trees when I left, but between the studs and the salt, I didn’t have any issues. I did have one extremely too close passer that I yelled at, but who knows if they even heard me. It was on the narrow stretch of state road going up the last hill to work…I could see a dump truck coming downhill, so I edged out into the lane more so that someone would not be tempted to squeeze by (there a curb and no room to edge further right). Apparently I did not edge out enough as a sedan threaded the needle and whipped by. Sheesh! 

Pedaling this morning my legs felt a bit sore from xc skiing yesterday and this a.m. with the dogs. Yesterday I did a few ballet moves and ended up on my butt when the leashed deerrunning dog pulled my arm, and this morning I did a faceplant when I was picking up too much speed and my snowplowing skis stopped on something. My face was actually OK, but I went down hard on 1 knee. I guess I am a better cyclist than skier.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^At least later in the season there is snow to cushion your falls but this time of year it is only a thin layer of snow over hard ground.

First run on the studs for me too. It was basically a freezing mist with slush on the ground. Parts of the lake have skimmed but this week is forecast to be relativly warm so it may not stay that way.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

After working from home are taking time off last week, I only rode at night, etc.

1st commute back and its good! 0 degrees, about an hour. Sure missed that time to decompress.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Did a couple of test runs this evening, just making sure I'll be able to handle the ride tomorrow after being laid up and what not. Have to remove the FD, since I set everything up to a 1x7 when I was replacing shifters and brake levers. I'm liking the smoothness of the X4 shifter compared to the Grip Shift 3 Comp, which had a tendency to be rough and jumpy. I've got a flashlight strapped to the bars until my new charger for the XML clone comes in from Action. I'm just hoping the Ace charger didn't fry the battery, although I have no indication to think that it would have. Just with my luck lately, it would be a reasonable expectation.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So all day long I've been watching the snow falling horizontally past my window. The fact that it's snowing horizontally means that it shouldn't be collecting on the ground, right? It's just heading south like the birds, and when I head out tonight the roads are going to be clear? Seems to makes sense. :skep:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I like your theory, but if it does not pan out, I hope it's blowing horizontally toward your house.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Definitely very windy on the way home, but also super-fluffy snow which explains the horizontality.

Got my new bolt-on cog in the mail which will let me turn my dinglespeed into a fixie. I won't get to try it for 6 months, and I'm not even sure I'll like it, but I am pretty excited.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute in and a good commute home. Low forties in and low sixties home. Cold front blowing in tomorrow which will put our HIGHS in the low forties and LOWS into the twenties. Hard to believe I was peddling 115F a few months ago. Such a terrible commuting month in November (44 miles compared to about 200 a month normally) that I'm going to peddle to work in the twenties so I don't let another commuting month slip by. Or maybe I'm just punishing myself. . .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No weekend for me, I worked through Thanksgiving and all. Our busy season is just about over with, and the current schedule predicts that was my last weekend this year. Back to furloughs in Jan (for better or for worse).

Warm, dry and serious wind today. 59F and headwind to be specific. It`s supposed to drop into single digits this week, and hopefully some precip.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ We're supposed to get snow tonight, and single digits for lows Wed/Thurs nights. It's go time! We'll see if it pans out... 

Crazy wind here today too. I had a monster headwind home, and as soon as I got there I switched bikes and blasted back downwind on the road bike to capture an elusive Strava segment I've been meaning to crush when the conditions were right :lol: Got a ride home back up wind after that one.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute 2 of 2 in the books. Was an absolute beautiful ride in at 41 and sunny. Fastest time in to work so far since I have started. The nice weather got my legs moving. The ride home was not that fun. Stopped to talk to a few buddies at a restaurant almost a mile into my commute. Was outside while they smoked for almost 40 minutes or so. I got very cold. Hands were going numb, and my toes were already cold. Figured the ride home would get the blood pumping, and I would warm up. My hands eventually did, but my feet did not. Had wool socks on, but it didn't do anything. By the time I got home, I was in a lot of pain. Came in, put my feet in front of the space heater. They were red and swollen, and to be honest, they hurt really bad. I almost had tears in my eyes when I took the socks off. I don't know what happened. It is 29 out currently. They didn't get wet or anything. They were ice cold to the touch, and I could barely touch them because they hurt so bad. They seem to be OK now. Thinking about shoe covers, the fact that I have Reynaud's, and the fact that I might be done here for the rest of the year. I found my cut off point as far as temps go. Nothing below 30.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was great. I was so happy to be back on wheels again, I smiled the whole way. Did my usual hopping curbs and dodging crazy drivers. Didn't have a single ache or pain like I expected. 

Rear derailleur needs to be fine tuned, since I had some skipping and it jumped a gear, but it wasn't the end of the world. Can't wait to get the charger in from Action LED, cause this flashlight business blows.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ ...Crazy wind here today too. I had a monster headwind home, and as soon as I got there I switched bikes and blasted back downwind on the road bike to capture an elusive Strava segment I've been meaning to crush when the conditions were right :lol: Got a ride home back up wind after that one.


Kudos given  34mph for a mile on pretty flat terrain. You ARE a strava whore.

Today was the day I broke my new Ice Spiker Evo tires in on the road. Holy God those are loud! I will say that they sound like the hook up pretty well. I found a new pair on ebay for $139. I handed my mostly new Nokian Extremes to RollingRunner because they have less rolling resistance and I was looking for some thing more aggressive. I didn't get any KOMs on the way in but I am planning on creating a Strava segment on a strip of the lake when it is time.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Crazy Midwest weather; high on Sunday was 50, high yesterday was 50, high is supposed to be 56 today. I'm back to riding in shorts and a long sleeve jersey in the afternoons. So far December is starting out warmer than most of November. The bottom is supposed to drop out towards the weekend with snow and lows in the teens. Maybe things will stabilize a little bit after that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Kudos given  34mph for a mile on pretty flat terrain. You ARE a strava whore.


A solo flat mile in under 2 minutes? Can't pass up that opportunity :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Can you see the sparks coming off of that plow blade? The camera doesn't do it justice... It was quite a show :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Been a while. Too long, it seems. Well, since last Tuesday, anyway. Had some great rides over the break and some not so good rides. Had some mechanical issues to sort, still have some mechanical issues to sort. Riding home last Tuesday night I realized just exactly why it is that Alaskan bike commuters go through parts so fast.









See, this was once a crankset and bottom bracket - before riding three miles in the salt, snow, and road grime.

And this was a derailleur, cassette, and chain.









Needless to say, things tend to get worn quite quickly in these conditions. Now, it's not everyday all winter long that things are like this, but there are plenty of days when it is. So, I guess I have a few choices: 1 - start driving instead of biking; 2 - ride all of my parts until they fall off the bike; 3 - get in good with the local bike shop and buy stock in SRAM and Shimano.

Hmm...

Good ride in this AM overall. -1 at the house, 12 and humid in Anchorage. A bit hard riding as I've picked up a bit of a sinus infection so I feel a bit run down even with the nice time away from work, but that'll work itself out over the next few days.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A mysterious new bike in the rack today - 15" entry-level norco hardtail with studs. It's just been me and another guy for the last month or two, so this is strange since yesterday we got a whole bunch of snow, and today the temperature dropped to 0F, which makes it a weird time to start riding. 

Roads were in pretty good shape, and after bowling over a couple of 2' high windrows I think I've finally got the hang of popping the front wheel with my dropbars (have to be holding the hooks instead of the drops). Got stuck behind a couple people on skinny tires (road/cross bike, and a dutch-esque bike ) and while I applaud them for trying they were really struggling.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Aw, yeah!*

That`s what I`m talkin bout :thumbsup:










CommuterBoy said:


> I had a monster headwind home, and as soon as I got there I switched bikes and blasted back downwind on the road bike to capture an elusive Strava segment I've been meaning to crush when the conditions were right :lol: Got a ride home back up wind after that one.


I love it! The 34 MPH flat that Bedwards mentions is your new KOM? I dont imagine that`ll fall in a hurry! Bedwards` proposed lake segment sounds pretty cool too. I guess Strava doesn`t care whether or not you`re on a recognized road?

Bundle up, 10Speed!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Strava just connects GPS based lines...anything you carried the GPS on, you can make into a segment. It would be hard to find the start and end of a segment on a frozen lake ever again :lol: Better get a good bearing on something on the opposite shore to head towards.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Little Sebago has lots of islands. I'm thinking Lyons Point to Spider Island is my segment. I might have to go over some land so people in boats don't' steal my KOM 

The big question? Do I complete my stud break in on last 12.5 leg home or do I call it good enough and hit the trails?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s what I`m talkin bout :thumbsup:
> View attachment 851740


Looks great! Nice pic to capture the moment.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The commute in was pretty routine, but I took a short fatbike beforehand with the boys.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Looks great! Nice pic to capture the moment.


Why thank you, maam . Nice captures yourself! It looks like the boys had a dandy time.

This afternoon`s trip to work was at 32 even, through a half foot of slush that hadn`t yet seen a hint of plowing. My ride home finished at 11F, just before midnight. The plows had been out in the mean time, and it looks like all but about a quarter mile got at least one pass. Very thankful for that because whatever is still on the ground now is going to be there for a while, and it would have been a bumpy, rutted mess!



CommuterBoy said:


> Strava just connects GPS based lines...anything you carried the GPS on, you can make into a segment. It would be hard to find the start and end of a segment on a frozen lake ever again :lol: Better get a good bearing on something on the opposite shore to head towards.


Wait a minute- you just finished telling me that it`s GPS based, so how could you NOT find the route again?

Bedwards, when do you think you`ll get to ride the lake again? Have you had RR out there before?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

First day on the bike in a week. I've been sick for the past few days. Sick enough to not ride but not too sick to stay home from work. Today I decided to suck it up because of the thread from a few weeks ago regarding riding when sick. I was f'n miserable. I blame all of you!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

mtbxplorer,
Great pictures of the boys! Looks like they had fun. You guys (I use that term in the generic sense like "buds" and it includes "gals") are making me a little jealous with the snow pictures. It was 49 degrees when I rode in this morning, high is supposed to be 63. I'll be riding home in short sleeves. It was also very foggy this morning; drivers seemed to be extra cautious and gave me a lot of space, which was nice. We're finally supposed to get some snow early Friday morning and the low is supposed to be 11 degrees.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride today. I was out at the new place until almost 11 last night ripping up carpet and hanging drywall. Headed back as soon as I get off work again today, so for the sake of more work time, I took the in-laws truck. 

Should be back to regular commuting on Monday, with 8 miles added round trip.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

16F when I left this AM. Nice riding. Felt like a heatwave, yet still cold enough to keep the snow packed to the roads and trails. Nothing exciting to speak of - no moose sightings, no cool finds, just dark and snow and ice and dark and cold - my favorite time of year. Though I think I have officially started counting down the days until we start gaining light again.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Blizzard Monday and Tuesday...

Picked the M&G for Monday cause I thought fresh snow I should be able to cut through it....but the drifting made all the snow hard enough that they won't quite get through it....20 min cummute took 55 mins..

Tuesday switch to the FR the floated fine on say 60% of the drifts so cummute went down to about 40 mins...

Sometimes you just pick the wrong tool.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wait a minute- you just finished telling me that it`s GPS based, so how could you NOT find the route again?


If you don't hit the proper start point, it won't "catch" the segment...so it won't realize you're on the same route you were on before, if you're, say, 40 feet to the left of where you were when you created the start of the segment. No big deal on a trail system, but you'd better have your bearings on a wide open lake if you want to ride the segment again.

You guys got way more out of this storm than we did. Some friends drove over there yesterday and confirmed that we basically got missed. Still have a dusting here and there this morning, 10 degrees for the commute, and dry roads.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^^ somehow the blizzard turned our roads from a shifty, unconsolidated mess to beautiful hardpack. It had been weeks and things just would not firm up, but the extra snow and colder temperatures of the last few days have magically resulted in perfect road conditions. Assuming it's not crazy-cold I might even take my backup bike later this week.


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## XJaredX (Apr 17, 2006)

I did my first work commute today! It was supposed to be 17 miles on Google Maps, ended up being 19.5 on Strava, about 40 degrees. 6 baby wipes and some deodorant and I'm good to go. 

I realize this is old hat for most of you, but I had some body smell anxiety, etc, and it was unfounded. I will shower at the local community center in the warmer months. 

I can only do this twice a week due to my family schedule, but that adds like 70-80 miles a week to my usual 7-20 miles of mountain biking, so I am super stoked about this. Way more fun than sitting on the highway!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ congrats!! I worried about the body smell as well.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

XJaredX said:


> I did my first work commute today! It was supposed to be 17 miles on Google Maps, ended up being 19.5 on Strava, about 40 degrees. 6 baby wipes and some deodorant and I'm good to go.
> 
> I realize this is old hat for most of you, but I had some body smell anxiety, etc, and it was unfounded. I will shower at the local community center in the warmer months.
> 
> I can only do this twice a week due to my family schedule, but that adds like 70-80 miles a week to my usual 7-20 miles of mountain biking, so I am super stoked about this. Way more fun than sitting on the highway!


Nice to have you join us loons!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've never showered after my commute and haven't had any issues with smell at all. And I sweat. A lot. I should say no one has ever mentioned that I smell. Maybe I do. Great, now I'm all worried about it! 

My first winter of commuting I never had any BO, but my gear did give a bit of a funk to my office as I had only one of everything and only washed it once a week to try to keep it from breaking down too fast - by Thursday folks generally stayed out of my office, which, I guess, was fine by me. Now that I have more gear and swap it out every day or every other day, it's not an issue.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> If you don't hit the proper start point, it won't "catch" the segment...so it won't realize you're on the same route you were on before,
> 
> You guys got way more out of this storm than we did. Some friends drove over there yesterday and confirmed that we basically got missed. Still have a dusting here and there this morning, 10 degrees for the commute, and dry roads.


Sigh...
However acurate a GPS receiver is, if it`s accurate enough to know that you`re "off track", it should be accurate enough that you can get back "on track". I mean, that was the original point of the whole deal, wasn`t it? Sheesh!

Yeah, this must have been a fairly isolated storm. Local news reports a slew of emergency traffic calls al the way across the north side of town, not so much on the south side. Couldn`t get any solid hits on "tahoe snow" that dealt with yesterday, and the few resorts that have their snow reports up didn`t show anything interresting. It didn`t do much drought busting, I guess.



XJaredX said:


> I did my first work commute today!


Whooo! Buy yourself an extra donut this week 
Don`t worry about stink- biker odor is sexy. I just learned that a couple days ago on another thread (don`t remember which one), and it`s a good thing because I haven`t bathed since I started bike commuting several years ago. Well, not on purpose anyway- I did get rained on while riding in the Seattle area on vacation a couple months ago.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

9* F and snowing this morning in Denver!!


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## SurlyBuckeye (Sep 19, 2012)

^^^ Thats my morning commute too! Except i start on that trail where the cherry & platte meet, then head north. It was cold but I bundled up nicely so it wasnt as bad as i thought it was going to be. Also decided to take the El Mariachi instead of the usuall Cross Check, for a little more stability.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sigh...
> However acurate a GPS receiver is, if it`s accurate enough to know that you`re "off track", it should be accurate enough that you can get back "on track". I mean, that was the original point of the whole deal, wasn`t it? Sheesh!


Well if you had it mounted on the bars and were watching the map, it would be easy... I usually just turn on strava and throw the phone in my backpack or a pocket. You can totally follow a very accurate little red line if you want to do it that way, yes. But everyone I know who uses it just turns it on, sticks it in a pocket, and then turns it off after the ride. If you've ridden any 'segments', they show up and it tells you how you did when you 'sync' your ride in the parking lot. I've never actually watched it while I was riding. But I have missed a few segments that I knew were there because of going around the official start point on accident, like if there is a split in the trail.


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

such a good commute today. I moved into my friend's refurbished water tank to be closer to school. I had been commuting 80-100 minutes a day just for school but wanted to be able to commute and do my errands with some more time as well as be able to climb and run and have some energy in the day. (I eat so much!) Now I run a quarter mile up the hill to the tank. Definitely not a bachelor pad, but for a kid in community college, whatever. I saved up enough money to make it work for a while without having to go to work. I order a Surly Bill Trailer and a Bob Yak trailer and have the Highlander for sale. Sleeping with long johns, sipping tea on cold mornings looking out on the valley before rolling down the hill and on my way. 

yeahhh


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

^^Sounds cool, ehigh, but I will need to see some pictures of your "pad".:thumbsup:


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

My car got stolen, I'm so ****ing mad right now. I feel like beating the **** out of all the ****ers out there and I barely can contain myself from punching the wall. Actually since we don't use it much, it's just today we realize it was gone when we were getting ready to go out. Turns out it was stolen right in front of my house, at 5:27am on Monday morning. We got footage of the guy breaking in and somehow by-passing the anti-start and drive away. Even more enraging is that I was sleeping with the blinds always open in a way the light gets in and you can see outside, but can't see inside and my big window give right on the street and exactly on the car. I can't believe this ****. I love that car and they don't make them anymore. Plus I had left a vintage tree-saw from my dad in there since I was supposed to go cut down some wood later this week and its gone too. Its so shitty things like that happens.

On the other hand, I got my new spokes for my carbon wheels today.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Wasnt terrible this morning. But this road is lined with warehouses on each side so its like a huge wind tunnel. brr


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Strada blaster?

The JET Bicycle - The most dangerous unsafe bike EVER - YouTube

Keeps people from tailgating, too!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Almost commuted in snow this morning. Snowing when I woke up. By the time my feet hit the peddles it was done though. 36 degrees for the ride in, so the snow didn't stick of course. 47 degrees for the ride home. Supposed to be in the mid-twenties tonight with the morning just as cold. Not sure I want to peddle in that, but I might. Coldest commute last winter was 29F on several mornings. I sat out the only two mornings it dipped into mid-twenties (24F and 25F on two mornings in January). Think my hottest commute was 117F last summer so I might have to grab a coldest commute tomorrow. We'll see.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

David C said:


> My car got stolen, I'm so ****ing mad right now. I feel like beating the **** out of all the ****ers out there and I barely can contain myself from punching the wall. Actually since we don't use it much, it's just today we realize it was gone when we were getting ready to go out. Turns out it was stolen right in front of my house, at 5:27am on Monday morning. We got footage of the guy breaking in and somehow by-passing the anti-start and drive away. Even more enraging is that I was sleeping with the blinds always open in a way the light gets in and you can see outside, but can't see inside and my big window give right on the street and exactly on the car. I can't believe this ****. I love that car and they don't make them anymore. Plus I had left a vintage tree-saw from my dad in there since I was supposed to go cut down some wood later this week and its gone too. Its so shitty things like that happens.


Sorry to hear. :sad: I know the feeling...a hit and run driver once totaled my parked car right across the street from my 1st floor apartment and I didn't hear a thing until a cop knocked on my door. It was a '73 Dart my grandfather gave me when he stopped driving, and it only had about 20K on it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No bikecommute today because that bad boy (the black one) took off on our walk on a deer scent for about a half hour and 3.9 miles (he has a tracking collar). Sigh. At least he didn't herd the deer back this time.



mtbxplorer said:


> View attachment 851782


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Cool this morning, then rain & sleet this afternoon, fun in a sick and twisted way. Temps are going to drop the next couple of days and there's a threat of snow but I'm not putting much faith in that right now. Who knows, I might wake up to snow tomorrow.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute, still working on the new house. Won't be riding again tomorrow. Spent the evening moving furniture and ripping up all the carpet. Tomorrow it's time to bleach and kilz the walls (previous owner smoked for 30 years inside), replace the oven, and scrape the ceiling of popcorn to do a drop down. All while doing a production blitz at work so that we can take extra time off around Christmas without the big wigs at corporate finding out. 

I'll be back to regular commuting on Monday, after we get all moved in this weekend.


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## Ricky J (Jul 17, 2005)

Today was a day off, but had that not been the case I would've found myself face-to-face with the local SWAT team...they were just going in to a house two doors down from mine, at the usual time I head out! Lemme tell you, nothing breaks the cool morning silence like four stun grenades exploding...it sounded like someone was getting blown away with a shotgun right outside. Resting heartrate to max in like two seconds! BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw man, that sucks David! Sorry to hear about the saw, too.



nemhed said:


> ^^Sounds cool, ehigh, but I will need to see some pictures of your "pad".:thumbsup:


Definitely need more info on the pad!



mtbxplorer said:


> No bikecommute today because that bad boy (the black one) took off on our walk on a deer scent for about a half hour and 3.9 miles (he has a tracking collar). Sigh. At least he didn't herd the deer back this time.


Hehe, I take it he did herd them on a previous break? That`s funny! It`ll be even funnier if you upload his collar track to Strava and watch somebody go crashing through the trees and brush and rock piles trying to beat the KOM. Still have Strava on my mind, I guess.



Ricky J said:


> Lemme tell you, nothing breaks the cool morning silence like four stun grenades exploding...it sounded like someone was getting blown away with a shotgun right outside. Resting heartrate to max in like two seconds! BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM


Whoa, I guess so! I don`t remember exactly what it was, but it seems Martinsillo had something like that on his old commute route.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me either today. Weather was unseasonably warm, upper 40's when I left for work, and a balmy 59 when I left tonight at 11:30. It was raining, and I don't want to ride in the rain, plus my rear wheel is disassembled, waiting for my 16t cog to show up from JensonUSA. Probably will be the warmest day of the month, as temps are supposed to head back down to normal December winter temps in the next week. 

Sorry to hear about the stolen car, what kind was it?


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

-2c this morning but dry, so didn't put on my new spiked tires that I bought for the deeper winter in Jan and Feb... Felt good, so thought I'd head on a slightly longer run before work.

After a climb to maybe 400m I hit the ice/snow level and found my usual trail too icy to ride  Oh well, I tried.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hehe, I take it he did herd them on a previous break? That`s funny!


Oh yes, I had to jump behind a tree because I thought the deer was going to run right through me. Of course he kept in hot pursuit, but darned if he didn't bring that deer back to me in another 10 minutes. Have to break him of it though or he'll either have to be on leash or will be shot by somebody, plus I don't want him harassing the wildlife anyway.


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## Iamcanadn (Nov 30, 2013)

Rode in this morning at 5am it was 6c. Very little wind and no rain, nice and pleasant ride.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Oof. Off the bike for 2 days because of my schedule/idiocy, slow going this morning. Trail was passable but wet, except for a downed tree I had to climb over. The entire length of the trail smelled like a wet dog.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Another cold one this morning in the single-digit range. Dry, cold, and clear.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Working from home as I have a project for a client who competes with my main client, so probably not best to mix the two... and it's freezing drizzle out. Schools in the area have been canceled and it sounds like the highway might be a bit slick and schools are canceled, so generally a good day to just stay home anyway. Figure I'll take a few hours after it is light out and put in some single track mileage in lieu of the commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

35F and climbing to maybe 40 today, so I switched wheels back to the smooth tires; I felt speedy but wasn’t.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Rain on the commute home at 23 degrees last night, made for some soft slow trails. Also, rain froze to my entire body, zippers failed to operate when it came time to undress. Bike, lights, helmet, covered in a thick layer of frozenness...today, working from home!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday's commutes were both in the 60s. It was 63 and raining this morning, but it's 45 now. We're supposed to have ice and snow tonight and tomorrow. Lows are predicted to drop into the single digits Saturday. Kind of crazy weather.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Save from a commute this morning by a last minute option to work from home. Had to tend to some pressing matters for our Union president. Which is fine cause it saved me from a 26F commute. Highs today in low 40s. Supposed to be colder tomorrow but I have a vacation day for my daughter's award ceremony. Back on the commuter Monday. Might avoid Blue Diamond this weekend, as it usually runs about 10 degrees colder than here. Not sure I'm ready for mt. biking in the (morning) teens. At least not for fun. . .


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Been seeing a lot of bikers lately (OK, 3 in 3 days):

1. Down on his luck (?) guy on cheap bike on a snowmobile bridge shortcut to the shopping center. Surprised to see him in the dark at the far end of the bridge,but he provided friendly coaching through the unfamiliar route.

2. A rare salmon rider - luckily (?) he darted across 2 lanes of traffic just before we crossed paths. He did have some kind of headlamp.

3. "Silent Cal" - my nickname for a well outfitted but quiet commuter who rarely speaks. He passed me silently. VT was the home of President Coolidge, known as Silent Cal for his reserve.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sorry to hear. :sad: I know the feeling...a hit and run driver once totaled my parked car right across the street from my 1st floor apartment and I didn't hear a thing until a cop knocked on my door. It was a '73 Dart my grandfather gave me when he stopped driving, and it only had about 20K on it.


The Dart's were nice cars, shame on that guy.

TenSpeed, it was a 2009 fully equipped Pontiac Montana SV6 extended version. Above $40 000 with the after-market upgrades.

Rodar, insurance should cover most if not all of the value. Didn't helped we had the keys for the boat in there too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And there we go: -30C/-22F. Roads were in fantastic shape, though.

It didn't get this cold last year, so it's been quite awhile since I've really tested my gear. Wore my fancy, duckbilled, jeffscott-recommended goggles for the first time today, and they worked. My old goggles would fog up right at the middle of my ride like clockwork, but these stayed nice and clear. And everything else was good. Fingers and toes didn't even feel a touch of cold, and the rest of me was too warm.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> And there we go: -30C/-22F. Roads were in fantastic shape, though.
> 
> It didn't get this cold last year, so it's been quite awhile since I've really tested my gear. Wore my fancy, duckbilled, jeffscott-recommended goggles for the first time today, and they worked. My old goggles would fog up right at the middle of my ride like clockwork, but these stayed nice and clear. And everything else was good. Fingers and toes didn't even feel a touch of cold, and the rest of me was too warm.


Glad the googles worked out for you.

-26C this morning....I am not riding cause I got a durolane injection in the knee so I am supposed to take it easy for a week.

Just checked and the temp fell another 2C to -28C.


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## Iamcanadn (Nov 30, 2013)

Was about 0C riding in today at 5am in Toronto, roads dry and wind at my back. Not bad, cooler than yesterday but still fairly mild considering.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> And there we go: -30C/-22F. Roads were in fantastic shape, though.
> 
> It didn't get this cold last year, so it's been quite awhile since I've really tested my gear. Wore my fancy, duckbilled, jeffscott-recommended goggles for the first time today, and they worked. My old goggles would fog up right at the middle of my ride like clockwork, but these stayed nice and clear. And everything else was good. Fingers and toes didn't even feel a touch of cold, and the rest of me was too warm.


Woohoo, that's awesome that you stayed cozy and frost-free!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Glad the googles worked out for you.


Yup, very nice. All of their snow goggles come with yellow lenses, which I don't like for night riding. So I ended up going with their clear, dual-lens moto goggles instead, and then adding the snowmask.

I'd thought about just DIYing a mask for my old goggles, but decided that -30C is not the time to screw around.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

34F and raining, nobody’s favorite weather, and a sloppy gritty salty mess from the snow leftovers. The Showers Pass jacket and waterproof cap performed admirably, and the Isis shell pants I have looked like hell (they’re lightish grey) but felt super. Supposed to get an inch of snow later, but I think I’ll be OK with the summer tires because the temps will be near freezing and I think it will mostly melt on the roads. Of course those could be famous last words! I have a bus option for all but .75 mile of the route if it’s way worse than I expect. Left my bike in the outside rack because I think any additional rain will actually improve the salt/grit situation.

Sad to see all this rain the day before Global Fatbike Day – all of our snow (there wasn’t much) is washing away!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I'd thought about just DIYing a mask for my old goggles, but decided that -30C is not the time to screw around.


None of my DIY attempts really worked out... All were better than nothing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> 34F and raining, nobody's favorite weather, and a sloppy gritty salty mess from the snow leftovers. The Showers Pass jacket and waterproof cap performed admirably, and the Isis shell pants I have looked like hell (they're lightish grey) but felt super. Supposed to get an inch of snow later, but I think I'll be OK with the summer tires because the temps will be near freezing and I think it will mostly melt on the roads. Of course those could be famous last words! I have a bus option for all but .75 mile of the route if it's way worse than I expect. Left my bike in the outside rack because I think any additional rain will actually improve the salt/grit situation.
> 
> Sad to see all this rain the day before Global Fatbike Day - all of our snow (there wasn't much) is washing away!


We've got the same conditions and I was going to take the cross bike but decided to go for the studded version because I've done the famous last words things a few times. The temp was hovering right around 32. We are supposed to get 1-3" overnight. I'm hoping for the 3" so I can take a token fatbike ride tomorrow. I think my fatbike day will be reserved for Moose Brook in January.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Heat wave in Ak for today's commute. 31F at the house and overcast. 32 in Anchorage and light rain/drizzle. The roads weren't bad at all, but there were some slick spots on the trails. 

Got out yesterday for some nice single track riding, but the riding wasn't so grand - punchy snow under ice crust. Lots of hike a bike, but, honestly, better than being stuck inside all day!


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## XJaredX (Apr 17, 2006)

Rainy night ride home on my second day ever of commuting, nice ride except for a few poor clothing choices, work in progress. Oh and a Dodge Ram turned into a parking lot right in front of me and I went sliding sideways on my Big Apples. Fortunately he stopped. I learned that although I have perfectly adequate lighting, my front lights weren't blinking. So my Flea on my helmet is blinking now, I assume that is better.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good job, Jared. So much for trying it out in dry winter first! Better luck with the blinkie. I`m not sure how much good they do at night (depends on the situation, I think), but it can`t hurt.

My ride home last night was a wonderful cap off for me week. Up to 20-something from the previous two nights floating around five to seven, and it started snowing about an hour before I left (yes!), giving me a nearly untouched white carpet to ride on that wasn`t thick enough to hide the remaining ice bumps from the first snow. Kinda yucky this morning. Cloudy and windy with a few inches of new stuff drifted around so I can`t tell how much fell. Supposed to get a little bit more off and on throughout the day. Think I`ll cross my fingers, pack my chains, and head in to town to take care of my mom and dad`s sidewalks and driveways before it gets packed down. I was late getting to it earlier this week and it sucked!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Still no luck on the car, and haven't commuted by bike since Thursday. I've been spending the late night hours on my carbon wheelset, prepping the spokes and then installing the nipples. Now I just finished lacing the front wheel.

The weather is freezing and melting, so I'm not even daring to go take a look at the trail's condition, simply judging by my flower garden looking like an abused cyclocross mudfest.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Snowed like crazy the past two days. Tried but couldnt make it on the roads. My LBS started renting Salsa Muks. I dunno maybe ill rent one for a couple days to see what this fat bike buzz is bout.

Off topic sometimes i really hate being 5'8" an inbetween bike sizes. my 15" hardrock is a bit small and my 16" giant is a bit big.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

jhmeathead said:


> Snowed like crazy the past two days. Tried but couldnt make it on the roads. My LBS started renting Salsa Muks. I dunno maybe ill rent one for a couple days to see what this fat bike buzz is bout.
> 
> Off topic sometimes i really hate being 5'8" an inbetween bike sizes. my 15" hardrock is a bit small and my 16" giant is a bit big.


So I guess I've finally found a reason to be happy about being 5'7", as all my bikes fit fine. Good luck on the quest to find the perfect fitting bike. . .


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

jhmeathead said:


> Snowed like crazy the past two days. Tried but couldnt make it on the roads. My LBS started renting Salsa Muks. I dunno maybe ill rent one for a couple days to see what this fat bike buzz is bout.
> 
> Off topic sometimes i really hate being 5'8" an inbetween bike sizes. my 15" hardrock is a bit small and my 16" giant is a bit big.


You should try to be 5'6" with 28" waist and shop for pants... Or any related body gear as matter. My bikes are anywhere between 15" and 18" and usually small to medium.


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## terrasmak (Jun 14, 2011)

Rain on the way to and from work, glad I have Ok rain gear. The fenders I bought are freaking awesome, the frame mounted muck guard kept my feet semi dry. The only thing I don't like is wearing my glasses with lack of vision.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A winter wonderland (OK, 1” of snow, 3 expected) made for a fun ride this morning. The shoulders were still mostly pristine snow which made for nice pedaling with the studded tires. Met a guy in the parking lot; he asked about winter riding, admired the bike and declared himself unworthy as he was just about to drive to a meeting <1/2 mile away.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have driven the past couple days. We were getting snow and freezing rain on Friday. We got out of work early, and the roads were kind of sketchy. I probably would have been fine on my bike, but it was probably a good idea to drive. There was quite a bit of traffic, about a half inch of ice when I left work, and people were driving like idiots. I would have biked today, but my rear tire was flat. Oh well. Guess I will have to fix it tonight.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

New personal low temp record of -5F this morning. First day this year on the studded tires, so I felt really slow with the cold and the studs. Also my first time wearing goggles (clear lens dirt bike goggles). I've switched to my snowboard helmet for the winter and it's designed for goggles, so the combo worked very well...full face 'clava, and just my nose peeking out. No fog, no frostbite, so that's good. If my ride was much longer I'd be looking into one of those nose shield thingies. For my 6 miles I was fine.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this morning. Felt strong and rested. 25F at the house and a light dusting of snow overnight made for some good grip, which I was worried about as it was freezing fog all day Saturday and Sunday and Sunday night it looked like an ice rink everywhere. 

Trails in Anchorage were good and packed and fast. 

Now just need to figure out why the front der is acting up on me. Probably crudded up after Saturday's ride. Should probably actually wash the whole bike sometime soon.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Wrong tires again

Forecast was for light snow flurries maybe 1/2 to 1 inch of snow great for the M&G

Snowing about 1/2 inch an hour for the last two hours and getting stronger...with 20 to 30 km/h wind...

It is gonna drift and I will want my Freddies.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I meant to comment last time jeffscott... I did that the other day too... totally underestimated the ice and went studless for a very stressful commute. The biggest challenge for me is living off on a dirt road in the trees.... you can't get a good idea of what the pavement is going to be like. Can't do much about a blown forecast though...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A brief reprieve from the deepfreeze: 20F today, but should be back around-5F tomorrow and maybe -20F by the end of the week.

Took the newly converted fixie today. It still has brakes and will always have brakes, but now I understand why fixie riders are so infamous for ignoring the law - stopping is really annoying. On my route there's a 4 block stretch with stopsigns on every block. Normally I sprint up to each sign, slam on the brakes, and sprint off to the next one. Trying to do that while ignoring my brakes was not as much fun. And doing something like signalling while stopping&turning&accelerating again is really complicated. But it should keep me entertained for awhile.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the fatbike today because we are getting our first real snow of the season. It hadn't really started on the way in but it looks like we will have about 3" by the time I leave. Just enough to smooth out the trails. I'm sure my tracks will be the first ones on the trail.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I am glad I don't *have* to go anywhere on Friday. Friday we got a couple of inches of snow by morning commute time, which mostly became slush then another 5-6 on top of that through to afternoon commuting time. As it was snowing at about an inch an hour, they did not have the main routes plowed. Strange with all the plants quitting times. They often wait until the storm is over. That was not ideal, but not the main problem. It was the first substantial snowfall so far and we don't have a lot of snow any year and some almost without snow. So even experienced drivers don't understand a fluffy layer on a slushy one = tobogganing. You could feel the car squirming down the road. The novices and those from further south are at yet another level of moron. With about a half million winter driving miles in snow belt areas and a couple of winters in Ottawa, Ontario, plus AWD, four expensive Dunlop Ice radials, i figured I was OK to go with caution. Not with those idiots. I went back home before someone hit me. Cycling would have been a very hazardous proposition. Maybe a lot of people moved here recently from Texas. Like Nate.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I haven't commuted by bike in over a week. With getting the house ready, to moving, and frying the battery pack, it just wasn't coming together. We got the full 1,000 dollar deposit back on the old rental, plus overtime on payday tomorrow, with no rent this month. I'll be picking up a new light and battery pack. Hope to be back at it by the end of the week.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Frying the battery pack? I thought I read you that you ordered a charger from Action. What happened? :eekster:



****


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Tried a universal charger from Ace Hardware that should have met all the requirements. Instead, the PCB got super hot, and I haven't been able to get any power out of it since. It was a cheap pack, so it's not killing me to replace it. I just hate not being able to commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> New personal low temp record of -5F this morning.
> 
> If my ride was much longer I'd be looking into one of those nose shield thingies.


Bad ass! 
We got super cold over the weekend, but I don`t get to claim riding in it. Minus 13 yesterday morning at the air base, which is the coldest I remember in this area. We must have had quite a micro climate going because the coldest low for Reno (Reno airport, I think) was -2 on the same morning. We even showed colder than Tahoe, which is very rare. Looking at all this still fluffy snow is giving me creepy memories from last year. Remember we got a decent storm around Christmas time that was still hanging around into Feb with nothing new on top of it? Sure hope we don`t have another version of that in the works.

Nose cover: I made one from cardboard and duct tape last year. Very Flintsone-ish, but it actually did help. Will be doing it again soon. Probably tonight.

Related, we got a propane delivery last week at a record price- $4.88 per gallon! Time to start calling around and see if I can do something cheaper. For the other propane users on board, what kind of prices are you paying?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I was thinking the same thing about the single storm/freezing month-and-a-half last year... We were colder on Sunday morning, but no commute for me. 

Weird temp fluctuations locally with this one...I checked all the local stations on weather underground this morning, and my -5 was an average... a couple at -7, and a couple at -3... Noticed there was one in Reno at +2, and one in Sparks at -7 ... how does that work? 

Ouch on the propane. I'm still a wood-burning caveman. Winter heating bill is $60 for the permits and the occasional new chain for the saw.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Oh man, I am sorry to hear that. That is such a bummer. 

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you out.



*****


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## tubby74 (Jun 2, 2012)

waiting at a give way sign for a car to go by, got honked by impatient driver behind me. turned right and they proceeded to overtake over unbroken lines, chirp the tyres on a Hyundai i30 and race off. Of course 3 blocks later they're waiting at the lights when I arrive. She proceeds to wear madly in front of her two young kids.
commute time is normally nice thinking time, todays topic was the madness and pressure of rushing about to little end. Rest of the ride I eased off, picked nice easy gears and enjoyed the view, was a little late to work but much happier for it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

New personal low for me too at 26F. With the hottest commute at 117F last summer that's a 91 degree swing. . .Ride home was about 41F. This is super cold for Vegas. Might get weather like this for one or two weeks tops all winter, but usually in January. Off tomorrow for my other kid's award ceremony, which is fine by me as lows are supposed to be in low twenties.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

yay personal low today!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

:band:Congrats to all the personal best lows today! :band: Where else can you celebrate your low points? :smilewinkgrin:


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## jseko (Jan 25, 2011)

I guess it was about time it happened. I hit a pothole and flatted. All the air was gone by the time I rolled about 100 ft down the street and realized what happened.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Where else can you celebrate your low points?


The golf course? But yes, congratulations- seems to be quie a batch of new records.



tubby74 said:


> Rest of the ride I eased off, picked nice easy gears and enjoyed the view, was a little late to work but much happier for it.


Admirable bravery there 
I think I`d have just arrived grouchy!

$60 per year? Something to be said for that.

Cold tonight, but no personal record- if I had worked Sunday it would have been one for sure. Ah, the "if" clause. From this afternoon`s ride in:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> The novices and those from further south are at yet another level of moron. With about a half million winter driving miles in snow belt areas and a couple of winters in Ottawa, Ontario, plus AWD, four expensive Dunlop Ice radials, i figured I was OK to go with caution. Not with those idiots. I went back home before someone hit me. Cycling would have been a very hazardous proposition. Maybe a lot of people moved here recently from Texas. Like Nate.


I'm kind of in the same boat only we didn't get as much snow. Here we have a mix of idiots in the snow. On the one hand, you have the truck/SUV tailgaters going too fast and other drivers going way too slow. It's a bad mix.

We received around an inch of snow this morning. The roads were cold and the salt isn't working too well in most areas yet. I drove again. On my way in, I saw numerous places where people had run off the road. There were three places on our street alone where people had either missed the turn or gone off into a ditch. It's nuts. I hate driving, but I think it was a good decision today.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

80 and sunny down here. Had to add another skinny notch to the belt, even after being out of the saddle for over a week. I'm looking forward to this new route, especially in the morning. Gotta pick up some street treads, since I'll be on asphalt the whole way, now.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jhmeathead said:


> yay personal low today!


Is that 4:23am? That's either really stinking early or really far north :lol:

I was right at zero for the ride in this morning... had to do an extra 3/4 of a mile to run an errand, and I felt it... the cold just saps you.

Hey Texan, didn't you hear?


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Morning ride: -7c, dry without snow or ice... but bracing! Turned on Strava and rode like crazy trying to get some PBs, but no dice, all the runs were kinda slow. 

It is already -4 outside with a few hours to go until I ride home - hoping for less suicidal dogs on trails than yesterday!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

newfangled said:


> A brief reprieve from the deepfreeze: 20F today, but should be back around-5F tomorrow and maybe -20F by the end of the week.
> 
> Took the newly converted fixie today. It still has brakes and will always have brakes, but now I understand why fixie riders are so infamous for ignoring the law - stopping is really annoying. On my route there's a 4 block stretch with stopsigns on every block. Normally I sprint up to each sign, slam on the brakes, and sprint off to the next one. Trying to do that while ignoring my brakes was not as much fun. And doing something like signalling while stopping&turning&accelerating again is really complicated. But it should keep me entertained for awhile.


Congrats on the fixie. I commuted one day with mine, and decided that it wasn't exactly for me. I had to relearn how to ride a bike. No coasting, and your legs literally are the brakes. I broke all kinds of rules of the road when I rode mine, I just never posted them up. Stop sign? What stop sign? No traffic at a red light? I didn't stop. My legs hurt for 4 days after riding like that.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> ... On the one hand, you have the truck/SUV tailgaters going too fast and other drivers going way too slow. It's a bad mix. ... I hate driving, but I think it was a good decision today.


I had a Ford Ranger (RWD, no limited slip diff, four winter tires with studs on the rears, and a 150 pounds of weight just ahead of the tailgate. Even in that setup, it was the *worst* winter vehicle I ever have owned (part of my severance package, was my work vehicle). It got stuck in about 4 inches of snow in my driveway. I pulled the Ranger out with the AWD car! Even my Dad's '69 Chevy pickup with nearly bald M & S tires would have driven rings around it (limited slip helps *a lot*). So when I see a beater pickup with bald tires going slow, or a Buick with an almost worn out set of "all-season" tires, I know that they really aren't going too slow. Possibly too fast, actually. Their traction and ability to turn and brake is pathetic. They should not venture out at all. They simply are not equipped to handle it.

Then you have the Audis, Explorers, and others thinking because they can go, they can stop, or turn like usual. No idea that they imperil everyone. Also driving needs practice. We don't get enough snow in all its forms enough years to get most people educated. The interstate is such a scary mix of these.

Congrats to the new record low rides, everyone.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Hey Texan, didn't you hear?
> View attachment 853699


Yeah, I'm catching some flak for it, too. I never had a white Christmas, but it was always cold. This mess is ridiculous. We're two weeks away from Christmas and I'm thinking of making it a beach picnic day.

Feel sorry for me


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It's looking festive. Stopped to snap this one...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

True grit 
(taken Sunday before cleaning, dirt dried on after Friday's commute)


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## roma258 (Apr 20, 2012)

My commute was awesome!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi, what did you do today since they canceled your bus service due to the icy roads???


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Yeah thats 4:23 am. I leave the house round 4am and get to work 430ish. 
Riding the frozen snow ruts in the morning are kinda beating me up. my joints are feeling it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well that makes my 6:30 commute feel pretty good, even at 0 degrees :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. The bus was not running due to another freezing rain advisory. But it is supposed to get back down to normal winter temps here in the next day or so. Good times ahead again...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> I had a Ford Ranger (RWD, no limited slip diff, four winter tires with studs on the rears, and a 150 pounds of weight just ahead of the tailgate. Even in that setup, it was the *worst* winter vehicle I ever have owned...


That bad? Granted, a FWD car is way better on slick, icy roads than my similar truck with no chains and empty bed, but a few hundred pounds in the back helps a lot, and by the time I chain it up (which I admit I do as seldom as possible), it does just as well on ice (though at seriously limited speeds) and much better for pushing through unplowed snow. All in all, I`d prefer a FWD car in bad weather, but a 2WD truck isn`t THAT bad with weight and/or chains. I`ve never had studs on a motor vehicle, can`t say about that situation.



mtbxplorer said:


> True grit


Blech!


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

newfangled said:


> A brief reprieve from the deepfreeze: 20F today, but should be back around-5F tomorrow and maybe -20F by the end of the week.
> 
> Took the newly converted fixie today. It still has brakes and will always have brakes, but now I understand why fixie riders are so infamous for ignoring the law - stopping is really annoying. On my route there's a 4 block stretch with stopsigns on every block. Normally I sprint up to each sign, slam on the brakes, and sprint off to the next one. Trying to do that while ignoring my brakes was not as much fun. And doing something like signalling while stopping&turning&accelerating again is really complicated. But it should keep me entertained for awhile.


I know I'm going to catch flack for this, but I've always been about the right tool for the right job. I see folks on fixes in DC doing really dumb stuff. It makes our relations with drivers so much worse.

A couple of months ago a woman on a fixie was next to me at a light. We got the green and there was a car in the intersection, she ran right into the tail light and cut herself good. The folks in the car were really nice and took her to the ER.

Take the fixie to the velodrome. On the road you need something with control and brakes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It got even more festive tonight...this truck went by in both directions, but I have to borrow someone's vid:


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

The ride home went pretty badly. Despite all my talk, I cheaped out and didn't buy any studded tires after the last big snow. I didn't expect any issues with riding today, but over the course of the day some **** blew in and dropped a few inches, with me still on my relatively very slick not winter tires. Went down pretty hard at low speed within the first mile. Brifter is bent or hopefully just twisted on the bar, still shifted and braked okay. The rest of the bike felt okay for the rest of the ride but I was too cold to check it out when I got home. Landed hard on my hip, so that'll be bruised, and blasted my head on the concrete sidewalk (with a helmet, thank raptor jesus, or I'd be at the hospital right now).

Just ordered the W240s from REI because they actually come in 700c, though they're backordered. I checked last week and they're supposed to be in very soon. I might wind up driving until after Christmas. On the other hand, frustratingly, I've got a strong lead on selling my car that I'm meeting tomorrow over lunch.

Always an adventure, if nothing else.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> That bad? .... All in all, I`d prefer a FWD car in bad weather, but a 2WD truck isn`t THAT bad with weight and/or chains. I`ve never had studs on a motor vehicle, can`t say about that situation.


I have driven several pickups and none were like this one. I could be sideways so fast.

The big V6 combined with a 4 speed automatic that engaged like an on/off switch was terrible in limited traction conditions. Trust me. I suspect it would bury itself in a instant in sand. Studs made it barely functional. Without them, and with weight in the back, launching without polishing the snow into ice was a real challenge. One four way stop I think I got to 5 mph by the time I had crossed the intersection. I drove it once on the summer tires and it would slide coming to a stop, too. So I was easing up to intersections and launching oh so carefully and creating a line of cars behind me. Not my usual. A standard and a lot more ability to slowly apply all that torque or a limited slip rear end would have helped a lot. It may have just been this particular example, I kept it out of the ditch and from hitting anyone in 50,000 miles, but I am glad it is someone else's now.  My tech had the 2.3 liter and 5 speed and it was an easy driver in winter.

Sanath: sorry to hear about the head contact. I would replace the helmet on principle but at least examine it thoroughly for cracks of any kind. They are meant to break at some impact pressure.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I can stay sideways for an entire block and make the next turn like a swiss rally driver with the locker in the back of the Jeep and the front disengaged  But when I want to be civilized it will do that too. Sometimes I miss driving it when I head to work on the bike in the snow :lol:


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## Tan&Green (Feb 25, 2013)

I know people outside the County of Angels think it is sunshine all the time, but this morning, it was really cold!!!! It had to be close the freezing temps!!! Aside from that, the morning ride was 10 minutes faster!!


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## terrasmak (Jun 14, 2011)

Amber road conditions, that means no bikes will be ridden on base. In a nutshell, it was snowing and I had to drive the car. 

Only been commuting for a couple weeks, my day starts off so much better with a ride in, muscles not sore, feel energized etc etc.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sanath, hope you are feeling ok this morning - amazing how fast and hard a bike can go down, even at slower speeds.



rodar y rodar said:


> Related, we got a propane delivery last week at a record price- $4.88 per gallon! Time to start calling around and see if I can do something cheaper. For the other propane users on board, what kind of prices are you paying?


That's not half right. My propane was delivered yesterday for $3.47. I was shocked that the gauge already said zero, but it was wrong, only 66 gallons fit in the 120 gallon tank.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I can stay sideways for an entire block and make the next turn like a swiss rally driver with the locker in the back of the Jeep and the front disengaged  But when I want to be civilized it will do that too. Sometimes I miss driving it when I head to work on the bike in the snow :lol:


My brother and I used to do power slides down a wide nicely graveled road 2 concessions north of where we lived. Helped with the MGB, Alfa Romeo, and Mustang Turbo. They could be drifted nicely. However, power sliding at 0-5 mph with the tiniest bit of throttle when you are just trying to get down the road in a civil fashion is not an endearing trait. Especially when a break away and a 180 is threatening so hard.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I really need to actually read the weather forecasts, instead of just looking at the temperature. It's warmed up a bit (5F) and I don't have anything planned after work, so this morning I was debating whether to take the bigbike or the fixie. I sortof randomly chose the bigbike, since it's been awhile since I've hit the trails. Then I get to work and see that we're supposed to get 6" of snow today, which would have really sucked if I'd taken the fixie.



nbwallace said:


> Take the fixie to the velodrome. On the road you need something with control and brakes.


You apparently missed the two times that I mentioned that I'm keeping my brakes.

After 3 days on the fixie, this morning I had forgotten how to coast. That was a much stranger sensation than the first fixed ride was. 
I knew exactly what I wanted to do - level the pedals to pop up the front wheel - but my legs absolutely refused to do it. They just hung there stupidly, waiting for some pressure from the pedals. It took me a couple of blocks and a couple of stops to figure it out again.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> blockphi, what did you do today since they canceled your bus service due to the icy roads???


Sat on my butt at home and fumed that no weather happened!

Why couldn't they have canceled service today? It was 27mph steady winds from the north when I left, gusting to 35+. A few times I was stopped in my tracks by the wind. Though, once I turned onto Trunk road, the wind was a nice booster, but a bit hairy with the mix of drifted snow, frozen road grime, and glare ice. I ended up going over right at the end of my ride when I hit a patch of glare ice at the exact same moment that the wind gusted. Right now feeling fine, but I might be a bit stiff and sore tomorrow. And it looks like the windy conditions will persist at least until the weekend.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

So cold I had to up the pace (I could feel the frost forming on my jacket!) - new Strava record in -7c 

New thermal softshell on the way in the mail!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

In my head, my commute was just like this:


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

First trail commute with studs on with 3+ inches of powder on the trails. Holy crap that was hard! The last couple of miles ended up being really beautiful with a great sunrise and more consistent terrain. Phew! I'm going to need the snowmobiles to come pack it down before I do that again. Every day is a new discovery!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Pretty wild video. I think I must have seen the "Part1". But does it still count as a road bike when the wheels have multiple spokes?

Sorry to hear about the mishaps, Sanath and Blockphi. I hope you and both your bikes are able to roll today. Wonder how Dwayne is doing???

Last night was a lot warmer than it`s been, and there was a frozen fog most of the way home. I did get a little bit of that forward facing surface shell going on, but not enough to be really cool, so my wife wasn`t as impressed when I walk through the door with ice cycles under my nose in a pitiful attempt at an Anchorage `stache. Fun watching the headlight beam through through al the ice crystals though. Very pretty in my back yard this morning.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

17 Degrees, A lil windy, Icy, Fast. Saw a moose munching on a tree in the front of a hotel in Midtown Anchorage. Didn't care I was 5 feet away.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Pretty wild video. I think I must have seen the "Part1". But does it still count as a road bike when the wheels have multiple spokes?


When he did the first video I read an article somewhere that listed the "rules". They'd headed out on the road with a 1 frame, 2 wheelsets, and a bunch of cameras. Since the goal was to show what you could do with a roadbike they figured that if they broke the frame that was cheating, but that they should be allowed to trash 1 wheelset.

Some of the editing in this one is a little annoying. I'd love to see him land the frontflip at 0:41 - without seeing, I don't really believe. But the Akrigg and Macaskill stuff is excellent.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> In my head, my commute was just like this.


I hope you mean the outtakes. They are closer to my reality. I need a lot more road hugging weight off to even hop a curb. :skep:


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

Today sucked. Some guy blew off the 3 yield signs and almost mowed me over on the bike path. He gets out screaming at me and shoves me. Another driver stopped his car and helped me and my stuff get out of the street. I called the cops and they were friendly although couldnt do much. I have to keep reminding myself that these stupid drivers exist whether I am in the car or on the bike.

It was -4F and I am still trying to get my clothing setup worked out. I have pretty much got the feet and hands which is a big deal for me since I have raynauds. The big dummy has been great for this since I can bring extra clothes to swap out in case I get too warm or too cold. They also make good extra insulation for my instruments.

I left early so made it to my lesson on time. The way back was really hard. I was burned out from the incident and my tires kept getting bigger and bigger with slop sticking to them. I used the lane as much as I could since the bike lane was full of plow crud and the cars were very accommodating. The only major hill on my route is right before I get home and for the first time I couldnt make it. I ended up waking part of the way back. At least the temps will be going up and hopefully melt some of the buildup. I am thinking about starting to take the bus a few days since I am worried I am going to get burnt out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Before leaving work I saw one of those special weather statements about snow squalls coming through - one town had gotten 1.5" in 20 minutes! Yowza! The first part down the hill did not have much accumulation but the visibilty was gnarly with the snow coming at the headlamp so fast. Then on the flatter part, it got snowier and snowier in the air and on the ground, until it was at least 4" by the time I was done. It was a little hairy on the narrow section, especially since there were no breaks in oncoming traffic (interstate closed?), but once the road widened out the untouched shoulder or right lane was all mine, deep hero snow that might case a downshift but was perfect traction with the Ice Spikers. Great tires! Even the last hill was pedaling perfection.


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## MrMatson (Oct 12, 2012)

@scubaklook - That sounds like an awful experience with a crazy driver. While true there are idiot drivers everywhere this sounds especially unpleasant. People like that ought to have their drivers licenses permanently revoked.

Commute today was good, it a little chilly, finally hit single digits on the way home (9 deg F), supposed to be colder tomorrow morning, should make for an interesting time. I'm struggling somewhat keeping my fingers and toes warm enough, thinking big mittens over my windstopper gloves might do it for the hands. As for my toes, I'm wearing ski socks, northwave gore tex winter cycling shoes and just got some 3mm neoprene overshoes. Tried the plastic bag trick this morning and that helped some but not quite enough. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get a little more heat into my toes? I'm thinking about trying some of those hot hands things in my shoes, anybody have any experience with these?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yes scubaklook, nice sharing the road moment. I assume you ended up broadside in front and he just stopped in time and scared the crap out of himself? Did the police talk to the driver about the road rage? What about the assault? Just a no harm no foul, sort of view?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

You guys stay safe out there. I've only been making laps around the block until my headlight comes in. Should be here tomorrow, with the upgraded battery pack. I've driven my new route about 20 times, just to get a good idea of what I'll be dealing with, since some of it does go through a high crime rate area. So far, I've noticed no areas of concern, since most crazies tend to be sleeping at 0500.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Do to a series of unfortunate events, yesterday was my first day on the bike since last Thursday, so the commute felt great!

Set a personal low record this morning with temp of 0F when I got to work! Actually over dressed for this ride.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Got a couple comments I enjoyed:

Yesterday when I was leaving work:
Him: "Are you going for a ride?!?"
Me: "I'm riding home"
Him: "To where?"
Me: "Holliston"
Him: "And I thought I was crazy for being on my motorcycle last weekend. That's f***ing awesome man!"

And this morning I saw someone else I know in the cafeteria:
Him: "Did you ride in this morning"
Me: "Yeah"
Him: "You're a hearty man"


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

@scubaklook. That's pretty intense. I've had people cuss me out and try to taunt me, but never has anyone touched me. Hope your subsequent commutes are better.

Today, the sun was out and temps were in the mid teens. Most of the snow is cleared out except on the bridges on the MUP. These are still covered in ice and snow, which makes riding interesting. I guess I could walk, but it's kind of funny to slip and slide across. It's more difficult in the afternoon when temps rise above freezing. The one overpass is like riding a track stand for 40 yards.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Fatbike Vs Studded 29er*

I was slower on the fatbike today than I was on the studded bike yesterday. Can some of the fat-bikers here chime in? Am I just expecting too much?
The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike Vs Studded 29er


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Major props to everyone riding in these temps. I went outside yesterday just to see what it felt like. Temp was 5 F. I could not imagine riding 8 miles in that, not with any wind. I am sad to say that my bike is put up for now, unless it really is going to be in the 30's next week, like is forecasted. I might be back on it then.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MrMatson said:


> As for my toes, I'm wearing ski socks, northwave gore tex winter cycling shoes and just got some 3mm neoprene overshoes. Tried the plastic bag trick this morning and that helped some but not quite enough. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get a little more heat into my toes? I'm thinking about trying some of those hot hands things in my shoes, anybody have any experience with these?


Sounds like you've got a lot crammed into your shoes. Do you have lots of wiggle room in there? Tight shoes are the leading cause of cold feet in my experience... they restrict circulation and make your toes cold, even if they're warm shoes. For multiple socks, etc, you need shoes that are at least a size too big to begin with. The air space insulates, and allows circulation for the toes.

Scuba, that sounds pretty bad. Hope it's a freak occurance. That's a lot of rage to stop a vehicle and get out to mess with somone when it's that cold.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike Vs Studded 29er


I can't help you, but I just wanted to say that your two comparison blogposts are great.

Around 0F again, with a little bit of fresh snow and a few more inches in the forecast. It's supposed to be above freezing this weekend which will be a nice change, but which will probably totally destroy the beautiful road conditions we've currently got. I was just flying this morning.


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> Yes scubaklook, nice sharing the road moment. I assume you ended up broadside in front and he just stopped in time and scared the crap out of himself? Did the police talk to the driver about the road rage? What about the assault? Just a no harm no foul, sort of view?


Yeah. I think he didnt see me or he was trying to beat me through and didnt make it. I go through this area to and from almost every trip. Although a good amount of people dont stop when they are supposed to, I have never had someone keep coming once I start crossing. And holy misdirected aggression. He kept insisting it was my fault and he couldnt be expected to stop. He did hang around until the police showed so I think he understood he had done something wrong and didnt want to flee the scene. Although he was trying to argue with me the whole time.

The police said since I didnt fall when he pushed me it would be very low level assault and might be more hassle than it was worth. They did ask me what I wanted to do though and were willing to go ahead with it. I asked them if they could just chew the guy out and they said no prob. Plus he would now be added into the system.

I dont think the guy learned his lesson since he seemed to feel I was completely to blame for the whole incident. But I didnt think he was worth it. If he had just almost hit me and then just kept driving I would have just written him off as another moron.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I always have visions of pummeling somebody like that if they actually got out of the car to threaten me. It probably wouldn't happen but I have visions, like voices in my head.


newfangled said:


> I can't help you, but I just wanted to say that your two comparison blogposts are great.


Thanks newf, oh, and I loved the footage of your commute.  I wanted to see the landing of the front flip too. That had to be a HARD landing.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Last night the ride home was the very definition of nucking futs! Get to the valley and hop off the bus. It's windy. Not breezy or blustery, but f*cking Windy. With a capital W. 37MPH. From the north/north-east. Thus a head or head cross wind. 

So I cover every bit of exposed skin and start pedaling. Trying to anyway. For the first 20th of a mile it's going great. I'm able to keep moving and am not getting blown around too much. Then I get my first gust. It hits me and pushes me and the bike from the east side of the MUP to the west side and tries to push me up the plow berm and off the trail. I get off and push for a bit until it dies back down enough to actually ride. Ride another 100 yards before I get punched in the face with a huge gust that stops me dead. Literally stopped dead. I'm pedaling, but my rear tire is now just slipping on the ice. I dismount and walk again. Or try to. I have to stop walking because it is gusting so hard that when I lift a foot to take a step it is pushing me backwards on the ice. I top 260 lbs. And the wind is pushing me backwards. 

This wind hates me. It lets me ride in 100 yard stretches and then kicks in again just as soon as I hit one of the numerous glare patches on the trail. Wind + dirt + blowing snow = mirror finish ice. Negative friction. 

Did I mention that this is all on an uphill? Yeah. A long, slow uphill. 

Eventually I get out of the open and am able to ride again and it goes slow, but better. It took me 50 minutes to go three miles. 

I have no idea how high the gusts were, but the weather service had predicted 60MPH gusts yesterday. The thing is, I've been in 60MPH winds before and these felt a lot stronger than that. 

The upside of last night's ride is that it made this morning's ride with 16MPH winds and gusts of only up to 25MPH much more reasonable. Heck, I didn't have any problems getting to the bus stop at all.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Last night the ride home was the very definition of nucking futs! Get to the valley and hop off the bus. It's windy. Not breezy or blustery, but f*cking Windy. With a capital W. 37MPH. From the north/north-east. Thus a head or head cross wind.
> 
> So I cover every bit of exposed skin and start pedaling. Trying to anyway. For the first 20th of a mile it's going great. I'm able to keep moving and am not getting blown around too much. Then I get my first gust. It hits me and pushes me and the bike from the east side of the MUP to the west side and tries to push me up the plow berm and off the trail. I get off and push for a bit until it dies back down enough to actually ride. Ride another 100 yards before I get punched in the face with a huge gust that stops me dead. Literally stopped dead. I'm pedaling, but my rear tire is now just slipping on the ice. I dismount and walk again. Or try to. I have to stop walking because it is gusting so hard that when I lift a foot to take a step it is pushing me backwards on the ice. I top 260 lbs. And the wind is pushing me backwards.
> 
> ...


Jesus. Do you have an exit strategy if the conditions you encounter at the end of the bus route prove much worse than you expected, or is it just a "make it home or freeze out here"?


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

MrMatson said:


> Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get a little more heat into my toes? I'm thinking about trying some of those hot hands things in my shoes, anybody have any experience with these?


I use the heaters but you will need enough room so your feet dont get squashed. I didnt like the sticky ones since they were a pain to remove. I used some velcro that is used for plants and put the hand warmers on top of my socks. I am a little worried about premature wear to the sock tops but it isnt very strong so it has been ok so far. I wear the extra wide mukluks that are a size too big. I dont like wearing multiple socks so I have a few different thicknesses of wool socks for different temps. But like CommuterBoy said make sure your feet can move around and your boots are not tight.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Jesus. Do you have an exit strategy if the conditions you encounter at the end of the bus route prove much worse than you expected, or is it just a "make it home or freeze out here"?


Most of the time I have a loving wife who will come and bail me out. Last night was a unique case in that she had to cart my oldest to XC ski practice, so was 20 miles into the mountains as I was getting to the bus stop.

That said, I do generally take the mind set of make it home or freeze. I loath calling for a ride. Doesn't seem "Alaskan" to me... Someday I'll post a little something something about a time when had I not called for a lift I would have likely ended up dead in the middle of the state's largest city for trying to be Alaskan...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Put the handwarmers in an airtight ziplock bag between rides and you can get 3-4 commutes out of a pair. I start using them when the temp drops below 0. I've got a pair of bar-mitts on my Xmas list so that may not be too important if a few weeks.

I was going to say something about you being Alaskan and therefore stubborn (in a good way, Persevering may be a better word) Looks like you did it for me.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

newfangled said:


> In my head, my commute was just like this:


Wow! The things you learn on the internet; Martyn Ashton had a severe spinal injury during a trials demo and was unable to complete this RBP 2 video as planned, thus the guest appearances, and possibly some of the editing issues. He is apparently in a wheelchair now.:nonod: I haven't found any info on his prognosis. I love all these guys' videos but cant imagine the risks they take!:eekster: Chris Akrigg fell off a cliff filming one of his videos and snapped a femur, then had another leg fracture a short time later.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was going to say something about you being Alaskan and therefore stubborn (in a good way, Persevering may be a better word) Looks like you did it for me.


Some say stubborn, some say stupid...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I hear you, some say I'm hearty for commuting in by trail in the freezing cold over a lake before sunrise. Some say I'm an idiot.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Someday I'll post a little something something about a time when had I not called for a lift I would have likely ended up dead in the middle of the state's largest city for trying to be Alaskan...


I'd love to read it. Is there a criteria for calling for a ride?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, busy thread today. I signed in briefly a while ago, but was interrupted before I could post, now even more news since then!



mtbxplorer said:


> ...but once the road widened out the untouched shoulder or right lane was all mine, deep hero snow that might case a downshift but was perfect traction with the Ice Spikers.


Ah, the payback . Did that last stretch make up for the beginning?



bedwards1000 said:


> I was slower on the fatbike today than I was on the studded bike yesterday. Can some of the fat-bikers here chime in? Am I just expecting too much?


As the world renowned expert that I am in both fatbikes and 29ers...
Both surprising and a bit disappointing for me, Bedwards. Wish I could help, but I have more questions than suggestions. Does that seem to follow your other experiences on both bikes in similar conditions, or is it hard to say without a testing format like you did this week and back in Feb? I know tires for both those beasts are expensive, but maybe the rubber combo for the Pugs is wrong for you. I know you had considerable studless freeslippage on the glare parts with the pugs, but it sounds like maybe you were also in a fix because the tires were too "tweener"- too fat to cut where that would have been an advantage and not quite enough to float consistantly. So maybe a half step in one direction or teh other would help? Or maybe a more aggressive tread? To save a little face for the fattie, remember this part:
"It was in no way something I would do on purpose. I rode back and took the Pugsley on the same route and it was a blast. It was much more sure footed on the road. I didn't get 1000' into the trail, I got about 2 miles into the trail and could have kept going but needed to get back."



scubaklook said:


> He did hang around until the police showed so I think he understood he had done something wrong and didnt want to flee the scene. Although he was trying to argue with me the whole time.
> 
> I dont think the guy learned his lesson since he seemed to feel I was completely to blame for the whole incident. But I didnt think he was worth it. If he had just almost hit me and then just kept driving I would have just written him off as another moron.


Wild scene, Scuba. Glad you both had enough presence of mind to keep things from escalating into a full blown battle. Maybe the wacko DID get a lesson out of it. Even if he never came to accept that he was in the wrong, he apparently has some respect for the police, and might behave better just to avoid future arrests or cop hassles. Wrong motivation is close enough it it has the right results.



blockphi said:


> Last night the ride home was the very definition of nucking futs!


Dang, I guess it was! Reading about it makes me wonder about what your route is like. It sounds like a maintained trail, so probably not waaay out in the boondocks, but is there any other traffic on that route on a nasty day? Snowmobiles or other ALASKANs out for a ski/snowshoe/fatbike torture infliction? Close enough to a shopping center or busy road that you could have limped in if need be?



bedwards1000 said:


> Some say I'm an idiot.


Many say I`m an idiot, and not necessarily for riding a bike :lol:



Sanath said:


> I'd love to read it. Is there a criteria for calling for a ride?


+1

MtbX, thanks for the propane price. I did a lot of calling and internet checking and came to a few conclusions. One, gas companies don`t like to announce their prices on bilboards like Shell and Arco and Mobile do. In fact, they hem and haw and beat around the bush even when asked directly. Two, no company will deliver gas to a tank owned by another company (seems to be a law in some states, and whether it is in my state or not, they don`t do it). Three, I now know for sure that I don`t want to remain at the mercy of one single company, so I`ll be buying a tank next year. Would like to do it sooner, but not willing to risk the frozen plumbing wonderland if something goes wrong in the switchover.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was slower on the fatbike today than I was on the studded bike yesterday. Can some of the fat-bikers here chime in? Am I just expecting too much?
> The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike Vs Studded 29er


I have only ridden 26 inch studded....

But I have ridden behind fat tired bikes....sometimes the go a little faster but not very often....just really depe3nds on the snow conditions...

Generally when the fat tireed bikes go faster conditions are very bad and the speed of both types of bikes very slow.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was slower on the fatbike today than I was on the studded bike yesterday. Can some of the fat-bikers here chime in? Am I just expecting too much?
> The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike Vs Studded 29er


I have only ridden 26 inch studded....

But I have ridden behind fat tired bikes....sometimes they go a little faster but not very often....just really depends on the snow conditions...

Generally when the fat tireed bikes go faster conditions are very bad and the speed of both types of bikes very slow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> As the world renowned expert that I am in both fatbikes and 29ers...
> Both surprising and a bit disappointing for me, Bedwards. Wish I could help, but I have more questions than suggestions. Does that seem to follow your other experiences on both bikes in similar conditions, or is it hard to say without a testing format like you did this week and back in Feb? I know tires for both those beasts are expensive, but maybe the rubber combo for the Pugs is wrong for you. I know you had considerable studless freeslippage on the glare parts with the pugs, but it sounds like maybe you were also in a fix because the tires were too "tweener"- too fat to cut where that would have been an advantage and not quite enough to float consistantly. So maybe a half step in one direction or teh other would help? Or maybe a more aggressive tread? To save a little face for the fattie, remember this part:
> "It was in no way something I would do on purpose. I rode back and took the Pugsley on the same route and it was a blast. It was much more sure footed on the road. I didn't get 1000' into the trail, I got about 2 miles into the trail and could have kept going but needed to get back."


I think my problem is based on conditions and tires. The research that I've done seems to point to the fact that the stock rear tire I have isn't much of a performer in the snow. My other big problem with my fatbike is that it is so GD heavy. Nothing $300 in tires can't help. Oh, and another $400 for some Marge Lite wheels wouldn't hurt. Grrr. Fatbike parts are too expensive.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Sorry Block! No wind here, nice and warm at +10 last night and this morning!!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> I'd love to read it. Is there a criteria for calling for a ride?


I posted it over here as it is a bit long...

Jordy... curses upon you... But hey, what doesn't kill ya makes ya more Alaskan, right?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Still no battery, should be here tomorrow, which will make it my last day of driving, Lord willing. But, in good spirit and cheer, I share my Florida Christmas with you all.










Taken this evening at Bradenton Beach.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Commute went normally buuuut my LBS rang me up today saying they finally got a new Specialized Awol in. Ive been waiting for months to see this bike in person. Yes ive bugged them enough they just asked for my # lol .Not much info on the web but ive read it weighed a portly 33lbs. 
. 
So i get there and its love at 1st site. Pics on the web dont do this bike justice at all. The paint is almost like powdercoating or something its got a texture to it not all smooth. we weighed a large with pedals and to my suprise it came it at 28lbs. Very well made and nice comfortable wide drops. Loads of tire room. Supposed to be able to fit a 29x2.2 and i believe it. Sadly i couldnt ride it since i ride a small and all they had was a large. They are asking $1249 for it so i have another couple months of savings.

Ive asked tons of questions here, researched tons of bikes and test rides and this bike hit all my go buttons. lol


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was slower on the fatbike today than I was on the studded bike yesterday. Can some of the fat-bikers here chime in? Am I just expecting too much?
> The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike Vs Studded 29er


Responded over on your blog too, but the fatbike won't really shine until the MTB is sinking in. You wouldn't expect a dune buggy to be faster on pavement with a little sand, would you? Wait for another 6"-1' of snow and for the snowmobiles to come out and then try the MTB - s*cks! It looks so do-able on a MTB until you turn 1/2 pedal stroke, and then you know it is hopeless until you grab the fatty.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

blockphi said:


> I posted it over here as it is a bit long...


Man, that WAS a close call. I always wonderd if a fat bike would float- awfully good thing it does.

The closest I ever came to Darwinizing myself permanently was about 15 years ago on a solo ski day trip. It was a really long run for a single day, though I had known that before I even left the house. After many hours of breaking trail (spring corn snow, but still...) and a few thousand feet of climbing, I was exhausted and dehydrated, and for at least the last two hours I just wanted to be done. Had lost half of my food somewhere (dropped or left behind at a rest stop), couldn`t find open water for a long time, and no way to melt reasonable quantities. I did have good clothes for day time, and even one extra layer, but I was in danger of running out of daylight before I got back to the highway, where I was parked. There were snowmobile tracks here and there, and I could often hear them or see them way off in the distance, but hadn`t actually bumped into any since mid morning. The big moment came less than a half mile from the parking area. It was just starting to get dark when ran into a river that I knew was there, but didn`t know which side of the only bridge I was on. Up stream or down? How far did I want to drag my straggling butt to hopefully find the bridge, and then how the heck would I get back to my truck in hte dark and go home? What I SHOULD have done was ski downstream for about 15 minutes to intersect the highway, then turn left and start walking/hitching myself the mile or so that I would have been from my truck. Instead, I javelined my skiis across the river and waded with my poles in thigh-high rushing spring runoff. I`m sure it took less than 30 seconds to cross, but it felt like hours once I had committed to doing it. I cussed myself out several times in that short span of time. Every time my feet started to slide out from under, I thought I was going down. Made it unscathed in the end, but I never went on another expedition length ski trip again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> I posted it over here as it is a bit long...
> 
> Jordy... curses upon you... But hey, what doesn't kill ya makes ya more Alaskan, right?


OK, that qualifies - great story, glad you lived to tell it!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

blockphi said:


> I posted it over here as it is a bit long...
> 
> Jordy... curses upon you... But hey, what doesn't kill ya makes ya more Alaskan, right?


Stories like that always remind me of Jack London's "To Build a Fire". It made a pretty big impression on me as a young "adventurer".


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Today was a bit better and I even stopped to get the camera out.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

I do have Husker Du(s) on my mind. I was more keenly aware of the limitations of both of my current tires.


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

Bedwards thanks for posting your experience with the fat bike. Every time it snows I keep thinking I would be happier on a fatty for the few days after. Although I will still probably get one at some point your info does put it a bit more in perspective, including how much it would cost to change tires.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey scuba, don't let me dissuade you too much. My biggest advice is to get what you want the first time through. I got an entry level pugsley and I kind of regret it. It's got large marge (not lite) rims and heavy 27 TPI tires. If i had it to do over I'd look to spend a little more up front to get a lighter bike with more aggressive tires/lighter tires. I'm not normally a weight weenie, my MTBs run in the 32-35lb range but my God does this thing seem like a pig going up hills. I'd swear to you it was 50 lbs.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

blockphi said:


> I posted it over here as it is a bit long...
> 
> Jordy... curses upon you... But hey, what doesn't kill ya makes ya more Alaskan, right?


Holy carp. I don't think I'd be back on a bike for a while after an experience like that.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Holy carp. I don't think I'd be back on a bike for a while after an experience like that.


I was out the next day - albeit riding familiar trails...

Bed - I, too, have the stock Pugs. Well, it was stock. I've slowly made some upgrades over time, but I'm still rolling the LM wheels. That's my big upgrade as soon as I get the wife talked into it. What I love about the Pugs is that it is a tank. Being a big guy, I tend to break stuff and the Pugs just feels solid under me. I agree though, it feels like 50 pounds when climbing!

Edit - der - my commute!
So, the commute was nothing special today. A bit cool and a light breeze, but good riding overall. The dusting of snow we got last night bonded to the icy patches so I was able to roll fast and not worry about hitting the ground. Sounds like a big amount of snow might be coming in this weekend. If I get my grading done, I want to try to get some trail time before it does. Don't know if that'll happen. My daughter is racing at the Lynx Loppet today and tomorrow at Kinkaid, so I might just have to hit up those trails.


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## evrac (Sep 28, 2005)

nemhed said:


> Stories like that always remind me of Jack London's "To Build a Fire". It made a pretty big impression on me as a young "adventurer".


Love that story. I read it as an added short story in the same book as "Call of the Wild". Great stuff.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Bed - I, too, have the stock Pugs. Well, it was stock. I've slowly made some upgrades over time, but I'm still rolling the LM wheels. That's my big upgrade as soon as I get the wife talked into it. What I love about the Pugs is that it is a tank. Being a big guy, I tend to break stuff and the Pugs just feels solid under me. I agree though, it feels like 50 pounds when climbing!


Yeah but your power to weight ratio is a lot better. 50lbs is only 20% for you but 30% for me. I forget what you are running for tires? Did you see any notable difference in weight when you swapped out your stocks? I'm seriously thinking Husker Du @ 1250g in place of the 1600+g tires that are on there will shed 2 lbs and improve the snow handling. I'm really trying to justify my tire fetish/obsession but it is really getting harder to do. My garage has a LOT of tires in it now. Mostly special purpose like studded or great deals on closeouts that I grab when I see but I'm getting close to 12 step program territory. I'll probably get them by the end of the weekend; 'cause that's how I roll  get it. Anyway, got to start thinking in terms of that Fat Bike Race


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If anyone wants to give up on thier stock Pugs I am here to take it off of your hands for ya :lol: 

I've been getting 4 or less hours of sleep for several days becuase of this super annoying cough... last night I slept good for the first time in a long time, it warmed up to 11 or 12 for the commute, and it felt fantastic compared to no sleep and single digits.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Today was a bit better and I even stopped to get the camera out.
> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration
> 
> I do have Husker Du(s) on my mind. I was more keenly aware of the limitations of both of my current tires.


I preordered some Husker Du's last winter but by the time I got them I was using the Dillingers because of the bad ice patches on the trail commute and trashing the carbon fork on one of those wipeouts. I put the Du's on this spring when I changed rim strips but don't have too many miles on them. So far they are good in snow, but honestly with the larrys/endos the bike came with (pretty sure not 27tpi) I more often ran out of oomph than traction on snow. I'll keep the Du's on until I run into too much ice. It looks like any lake ice over there will be covered with snow by the end of the weekend.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> My garage has a LOT of tires in it now. Mostly special purpose like studded or great deals on closeouts that I grab when I see but I'm getting close to 12 step program territory.


I think you just need to get some more bikes to mount all those tires on!

All the fat talk recently had me reading up on them and considering the possibilities too. Holy cow, what you need to know to piece one of those together is mindboggling! I haven`t been paying attention to the latest in mtb gear, and was amazed by how much has changed in just the past few years... hubs now in many many different widths, apparently you also need to match the axle specs to the frame spec because of different axle diameters, steerers have grown again and can even be tapered (sounds like a major hassle to adjust), more new nonmixable standards for drivetrains... 
The bikes are hot, but all the info was confusing and was really disheartening. If I ever go fat, it`ll have to be a complete, and probably need to stay stock.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Canadian Graffiti:

(I don't get to post commute photos because it's too dark, but even my weekend rides are low-light)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I ended up going a step up from the Husker Dus to the non-studded Dillingers. I figured that would let me have the option of throwing a row of studs in there in the future if I wanted to instead of buying yet another set of tires. Now there's a foot of snow over everything so I've got nowhere to try them out.
The Candid Cyclist: First Over The Lake Commute


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Still no battery, should be here tomorrow, which will make it my last day of driving, Lord willing.


Sure hope you got your replacement light/battery. Been watching to watching for an update. I know how "jonesed" you can get when not able to ride. Been keeping my fingers crossed for you!

I was really hoping you would have gotten ahold of me to help you out, even it was just for a loaner. Could have had it to you last week 

****


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> The Candid Cyclist: First Over The Lake Commute


Ice like that would be so cool. I'm totally scared of it though. This morning I took the trail...the pond that I can ride across when it's frozen is almost empty (used for irrigation so the level varies a lot)...it's maybe a foot deep in the part I thought I'd shoot across this morning. It's been below freezing for over a week, with lows below zero over the past week, and this morning was in the teens...had to be super thick Ice, I figured...I scooted right out onto it, and it started cracking and sagging... I put a foot down (of course no traction at all, and no studded tires this morning) and started doing the slip/drag/scoot thing back to safety while the ice mocked me with sounds that no ice should make. I knew I was going to have soggy shoes for the rest of the ride. Came out OK though. :lol:

Have you had any sketchy situations out on the lake bedwards?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The only sketchy situations I have are usually on shallow ponds or near shore. I try not to venture out on anything over 2' deep unless I am sure. I did ride a trail that crosses a boggy area last spring pretty late and had that "oh ship" feeling after crossing half of it. I had wet feet that day. Were you wearing the hooker boots? I had mine on when I went out on Sat. Those hard plastic soles are nearly frictionless on that clear ice. Today was not a day to do my over-lake Strava segment. I average 2.8 mph for 0.7 miles...trudging.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yes I was in the hooker boots. :lol: I hear ya.

There was a few-days-old dusting of snow on everything, so I had a teeny bit of traction, which is why I even tried it without the studs on the bike.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah but your power to weight ratio is a lot better. 50lbs is only 20% for you but 30% for me. I forget what you are running for tires? Did you see any notable difference in weight when you swapped out your stocks? I'm seriously thinking Husker Du @ 1250g in place of the 1600+g tires that are on there will shed 2 lbs and improve the snow handling. I'm really trying to justify my tire fetish/obsession but it is really getting harder to do. My garage has a LOT of tires in it now. Mostly special purpose like studded or great deals on closeouts that I grab when I see but I'm getting close to 12 step program territory. I'll probably get them by the end of the weekend; 'cause that's how I roll  get it. Anyway, got to start thinking in terms of that Fat Bike Race


I'm running Nates. I can't say that I noticed much of a weight difference with the tires themselves, but going to ultralight tubes with the Nates resulted in a clear difference.

Then again, I have never, ever, worried about the weight of things on the bike. I figure that until I get myself down to a reasonable weight that worrying about the weight of the bike is a bit like worrying about putting lifeboats on a ship that's already gone down.

For me, going to the Nates was all about traction. And because I am cheap as well as fat, I went with the 27TPI version, so not as much of a weight savings.

That said, I am thinking that I might treat myself to a set of Hu Du's or Dillingers for Xmas this year. I love the Nates, but where most of my riding takes place now makes it so that I would be better off with smaller lugs and more surface area in contact with the ground. If I didn't have a wife, I'm sure I'd have a similar tire fetish. She keeps me in check...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Canadian Graffiti:


:lol:



bedwards1000 said:


> I ended up going a step up from the Husker Dus to the non-studded Dillingers.
> 
> The Candid Cyclist: First Over The Lake Commute


I don`t see weights listed on the 45Nrth website (nor do I see the "option of studs" Dillingers). How do those and the HDs compare gram-wise to what you rode on the test? Or is it more of a traction thing than a weight thing? Seems like you were hoping for improvement in both those aspects.

First pic on your blog entry is neat! I take is the water in that shot is the black ice that looks like open water- having never seen that, it`s completely new to me. Nothing to judge scale by, so how big is that ice crystal and any idea what formed it?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This pic was on the 'photoblog' section of nbcnews.com yesterday...completely blew my mind. Apparently an inch or so of fresh rainfall on top of the ice, somewhere in Sweden. Too cool.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I went back through all my photos, and this is the first time my 29er has been buried that deep. (although it doesn't compare with Jan 2011). I'm assuming a fatbike wouldn't be any help with this?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> That said, I am thinking that I might treat myself to a set of Hu Du's or Dillingers for Xmas this year. I love the Nates, but where most of my riding takes place now makes it so that I would be better off with smaller lugs and more surface area in contact with the ground. If I didn't have a wife, I'm sure I'd have a similar tire fetish. She keeps me in check...


My wife is very supportive of my fetish. What do you call that? Enabling, yeah, that's it. I reciprocate. We made a pact "Neither of us can get (another) a new bike in 2013." I must say, this is the most I have ever spent on bicycle tires and it truly borders on ridiculous.



rodar y rodar said:


> :lol:
> 
> I don`t see weights listed on the 45Nrth website (nor do I see the "option of studs" Dillingers). How do those and the HDs compare gram-wise to what you rode on the test? Or is it more of a traction thing than a weight thing? Seems like you were hoping for improvement in both those aspects.
> 
> First pic on your blog entry is neat! I take is the water in that shot is the black ice that looks like open water- having never seen that, it`s completely new to me. Nothing to judge scale by, so how big is that ice crystal and any idea what formed it?


That was a piece of ice that I chopped out to see how thick it was. I should have left the hammer in the pic for scale. Skating or riding on that clear ice is a trip. In the shallow sections you can see the bottom fly by including big rocks and sometimes fish.

I weighed the tires I took off right about 1700g and the new Dillinger's weighed in at 1350 so not quite a pound each but pretty significant. The tubes are about 454g each so ultra-lite ones are on my radar. My bike weighed in at 40.5lb before so I've got it way down to 39lbs. The options are listed right on the site.
*OPTIONS 120tpi Studded, 27tpi Studded, 120tpi Stud-less * Costing about $225, $175 & $165respectively.

newf, that's just about what we have here and, no a fat bike won't help until that trail gets a little packed. Once there is some snow shoe traffic it's good enough.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Skating or riding on that clear ice is a trip. In the shallow sections you can see the bottom fly by including big rocks and sometimes fish.


That is just a trip.
I wakeboarded one time on a dead calm day on Lake Tahoe...there's a pretty big shelf on the south end of the lake that's 6 or 8 feet deep, and then it drops off to a couple hundred feet deep...a black/blue hole... If you cut way outside the wake and look down, it's what you describe&#8230;rocks flying by, old tree stumps, etc&#8230; You lose your perception of where the water surface is, because all you see is your shadow on the bottom&#8230;very strange. Then we went out over that ledge, and it just drops off&#8230; I had a total fear-of-heights moment before I regrouped :lol:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fully recommend tubeless and 120tpi Dillingers for commuting! The studs aren't the end-all be all ice tire, but they keep you upright and moving forward. You still use caution turning and start/stopping. If not tubeless, ultra-lite tubes, like a 2.4-2.7" 26er tube. So much less rolling weight, so much easier to pedal. It's nice to have studs when you need them, only keeping 1 bike online in the winter. If you don't drive, it's pretty easy to justify the cost.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*Question for the group*

Is it a problem when you let your tire wear down to the point the threads are showing?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

^^^ Yup, time to replace, you got your monies worth! ;p Did you rotate by chance? Was this a rear tire?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^Haha, yup was posting in jest. I have over 5100 miles on that tire so I am pretty happy that I "used it all the way up". I did not realize I had let it get so badly worn down until I flatted on the way home from a meeting today - as I was looking for what caused the flat I realized that the tire was in bad shape.

I don't rotate my tires, just swap them as needed. The front tire on this bike has over 10K miles on it and it's still in good shape.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, I did that once. Those tubes just don't have that much abrasion resistance. I think it was a $12 tire so I got my money's worth too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Fenders are the worst for keeping you from noticing how worn those tires are getting :lol:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Warming up in Vegas. Low 40s for ride in and mid-sixties for the ride home. Supposed to cool a little mid-week though. Gonna try and make this a five day commute week before the taking the week of Christmas off. 

On an unrelated note, got a new Panaracer Rampage for a front tire replacement on the Monocog. Looking forward to a test run in Blue Diamond this weekend. . .


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Found that the warm-ish temps and sub have not been enough to melt and dry out my favorite stretch of dirt road. Was a slimy greasy slushy muddy mess...and I enjoyed every moment of it.

Weather has been odd...last week lows in the single digits and barely breaking freezing during the day. Rode in shorts this afternoon and looking at 60F by Thursday. While I'm not complaining (well, totally) it's got me worried what the rest of winter will bring. Makes commuting not so difficult fir this time of year.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me. I miss the bike. It is sitting in the stand, all cleaned up, almost ready to go. I have a 16t cog for it to put on, and then readjust the rear wheel and then that is it. I just wait. 

We got about 5" of snow already over the weekend, and then another half an inch tonight. Supposed to be flurries, then a warm up. I might, just might, be able to ride next week. My fear is that I will ride to work, and then it will snow for the ride home, and on slicks, that will be hellish. I would take the cold right now, and it would be tough, but I would take it. The snow is what I wish was gone!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Woodway, are you sure those are threads showing? They look a lot like tooth marks to me. Could be your bunnies are gnawing on them.



TenSpeed said:


> I would take the cold right now, and it would be tough, but I would take it. The snow is what I wish was gone!


I took the cold while it was here, and it was kind of tough. I`m still begging for more snow- drought sucks worse than cold! If you`re worried about weather happenning while at work and leaving you stuck, maybe you can squeeze in some weekend rides?


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## XJaredX (Apr 17, 2006)

Pic from my morning ride today:









17 miles one way, and much of it was nasty greasy gray slush and me learning what snow I can ride on and what I cannot, not to mention scared drivers who can't drive on snow even when there isn't a cyclist next to them, but then there was stuff like that pic, and it was glorious. About 2 miles of my ride is on a park path, I had to go around that because we got a lot of snow with an ice layer on top that I can't float over. Can't wait for the ride home, as we should get some more powder coating the side streets.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Ride in was great this morning. The roads are all clear with the exception of a two mile stretch of back road that hasn't' received any love from the county crews in the last few days. Still it's no problem even without studs. I got honked at twice today which for some reason really chaps my hide. I just don't' understand what the drivers were trying to accomplish with their honks, I wasn't even in the way or slowing anyone down.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Cold one this AM. -14 at my house. -7 in town. I always forget how hard it is to ride in those temps. By the end of each leg of my ride my muscles were just dead - like they forgot how to work. Mad beardcicles, though.









Can't wait until Friday when I officially start two two weeks of vacation! I'm so ready for a break.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I haven't commuted in three weeks. I've been riding around here and there, but the lack of proper equipment made it impossible. I tried with a little 150 lumen flashlight strapped to the bars, but it died halfway through, even with fresh batteries. 

I'm hoping to be up and running by the end of the week, since the gas I've used to go to work and back has put a sizeable dent in my wallet. 

In other news, I scored an 07 Fuji Absolute DX hybrid for 50 bucks off Craigslist due to a broken derailleur hanger. Should be able to have it going by the end of the week and make that my designated commuter bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Woodway, are you sure those are threads showing? They look a lot like tooth marks to me. Could be your bunnies are gnawing on them.
> 
> I took the cold while it was here, and it was kind of tough. I`m still begging for more snow- drought sucks worse than cold! If you`re worried about weather happenning while at work and leaving you stuck, maybe you can squeeze in some weekend rides?


I would, but I work every other weekend so my schedule doesn't often allow for it. I am seriously contemplating getting my buddies fat bike. He has a white Pugsley that he wants to sell. I already have my eye on another nice weather commuter/fun bike. I am inquiring with him about possibly trading my TriCross for his Pugs. I guess we will see.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

blockphi, that is beardcicle perfection. Just awesome. I'm sporting a goatee, and I've had my best beardcicles ever already this winter, but that... that is outstanding. I pull the 'clava up over the face when it's getting towards zero though... not enough hair coverage to make it tolerable at those temps.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> blockphi, that is beardcicle perfection. Just awesome. I'm sporting a goatee, and I've had my best beardcicles ever already this winter, but that... that is outstanding. I pull the 'clava up over the face when it's getting towards zero though... not enough hair coverage to make it tolerable at those temps.


I made the mistake a week ago of trimming the beard down a bit and my face has been freezing since. I figure one more week and I'll be back to the lush thickness that I'm used to. I love the beardcicles. As soon as they get good and formed, the face stays nice and toasty. Right now we've got the strange mix of really cold and really humid, which is why they are forming all nice and white and puffy. Towards February when things dry out, they'll start being snot colored and like actual icicles. The fact that I know this is frightening.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Went deer hunting with a muzzleloader this weekend and returned home Monday night. I didn't have any luck with the deer (saw a few but no chance to shoot at them), but I got a nice workout in. I was fairly stiff this morning.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in and good ride home. Close to 70F for ride home, which beats the 41F high on several days last week. Uneventful commute--probably the best kind.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

First ride in three weeks. I kept having to put it off due to headlight troubles. None of them would work for a decent amount of time, before they would completely stop working. Thanks Chinese clones!

I couldn't stand it anymore. My wife purchased a Fuji hybrid for me as an early Christmas present, and I'd been itching to take it out. I just strapped a 250 LM flashlight to the bars to make due until I can spring for something a little more substantial.

The bike still needs some dialing in, but other than that, it was a blast! In just a few pedal strokes, I was flying at 22 mph, which is a speed I was never able to hit on the 26'er. I'm also enjoying the XL 21" frame much more than the L 19" of my 26'er. I'm not stretched out, nor am I cramped. It's just right.










There's more, but it's boring and unnecessary.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Congrats Texan. I'm glad you got something fun.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

40F yesterday. 0F today. Maybe -15F tomorrow? We'd had a bunch of carsnot that has now flashfrozen into little moonscapes. We also got a bunch of freezing rain on the weekend, and some of the roads are still crazy. At one stopsign where I make a rightturn my icespikers weren't doing anything.

Potluck day at work. After years of avoiding potlucks or struggling to decide what to bring, my default now is to bake scones soley because they travel really well in a pannier.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Gotta love a new bike. You may recall that I ordered one in October... I just got confirmation that it's supposed to be shipping in mid-January. Killing me. 


Today's commute was a trip. Super bright setting full moon, thick heavy fog, and a massive coat of giant frost on everything. I've heard it called "hoar frost" and "pogonip", but it's pretty cool stuff either way. I should have stopped to take some pictures. Picture frost on everything with crystals at least a half an inch long... then add the fog and the moon, and it was like an alien planet. Would have been an epic day for a pre-commute hike, MTBX style...but who does that???


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hoar frost is awesome. Everytime it happens I feel an intense need to skip work and go for a wander, but I've never actually done it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Whoot! New personal cold weather riding record day! -21F at the house when I left today. Yeah, only a degree colder than my previous record, but... -2.3 in Anchorage right now with freezing fog. It's really pretty out, but cold enough that I'm not going to go stand around and enjoy it. The commute was generally uneventful. Good riding. Well as good as it can be at that temp - I do hate how the temps sap my legs so badly.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Got the studded tires mounted last night. QC on the tires seems poor, with one of the tires having several splits at or just below the bead line. The actual ride was pretty miserable. I talked up my capability with the snow tires, figuring of course I could ride through the 6" of heavy snow on the trail, i have snow tires! Definitely couldn't. Rode a total of about 100 feet, walked the rest of the 1-1.5 miles (very slowly) while bashing my shins on my pedals non-stop. Whole trip took 70 minutes vs the usual 45.

Dunno how I feel about this whole situation. Discouraged.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Dunno how I feel about this whole situation. Discouraged.


When I first rode a rocky rooty climb it was very difficult....now we casually talk going up that trail.

When I first rode sand I got completely bogged down, and walked alot....(still kinda do)...but it doesn't get to me...

Your a newby in the snow it takes alot of specific skills to ride it well...

Do the basic training mode....practise, practise, practise...take on little bits...learn al the time.

Oh yeah and don't bang your shins on the pedals it hurts.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

What tires did you get Sanath? Are they a knobby or a road friendly studded tire? I went for the knobbiest, nastiest studded tire I could find, becuase in that kind of slop, the knobs help a lot too... knobs for the 6" of heavy snow situations, studs for the glare ice situations. A low rolling resistance studded tire won't do much for you in 6" of snow.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Nokian W240 in 700x40. They're not as knobby as I'd like, but the price was OK for a 700c studded tire. Ultimately I need to work on the bike a little more and probably do some re-evaluating of what I really need from a tire.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Got the studded tires mounted last night. QC on the tires seems poor, with one of the tires having several splits at or just below the bead line. The actual ride was pretty miserable. I talked up my capability with the snow tires, figuring of course I could ride through the 6" of heavy snow on the trail, i have snow tires! Definitely couldn't. Rode a total of about 100 feet, walked the rest of the 1-1.5 miles (very slowly) while bashing my shins on my pedals non-stop. Whole trip took 70 minutes vs the usual 45.
> 
> Dunno how I feel about this whole situation. Discouraged.


6" of fresh snow isn't really ridable for most people. Especially with anything less than 4 inch wide tires - even then, good luck with it. That's the thing with winter riding - knowing that you are going to be walking your bike more than you want to. And every winter you will have to relearn some of your snow riding skills. It is simply not a natural mode of bike riding. Keep at it. It gets better. Maybe...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Every winter I think that maybe I should get a fatbike. But then inevitably I see a thread like this: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fat-snow-frustration-891249.html

And I'm reassured that an unavoidable fact of winter riding is that occasionally it will really suck.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> 6" of fresh snow isn't really ridable for most people. Especially with anything less than 4 inch wide tires - even then, good luck with it. That's the thing with winter riding - knowing that you are going to be walking your bike more than you want to. And every winter you will have to relearn some of your snow riding skills. It is simply not a natural mode of bike riding. Keep at it. It gets better. Maybe...


6 inchs of light fluffy is ridable with out a fat bike...I would select a tire that cut through to a more consolidated layer.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> Every winter I think that maybe I should get a fatbike. But then inevitably I see a thread like this: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fat-snow-frustration-891249.html
> 
> And I'm reassured that an unavoidable fact of winter riding is that occasionally it will really suck.


I think us fat bikers are part of the problem... we like to talk about how we can ride over any and eveything with these huge tires, but there is a limit. I remember my first snow ride ever on a fattie. I thought I could bomb down a hill to a lake that was covered in a couple feet of snow. Went fine until I busted through the crust, then the bike did just what every other bike would do - threw my arse over the handlebars.

Unfortunately fatties are governed by physics no matter how much we like to say they aren't. They are dang fun though. Even the frustrating parts.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> 6 inchs of light fluffy is ridable with out a fat bike...I would select a tire that cut through to a more consolidated layer.


Yes, fluffy snow is ridable - depending on what is under it. But the OP said "figuring of course I could ride through the 6" of heavy snow..." That's quite a bit different than fluffy snow. Just saying.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> I think us fat bikers are part of the problem...


That's why I really like that Frustration thread, because several people flat-out say that "float" is a myth. I know what I can do with my studded 29er, and I don't think a fatbike would let me do very much more.

(all of this is in the context of me trying to talk myself out of needing a fatbike )


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sanath said:


> ... The actual ride was pretty miserable. I talked up my capability with the snow tires, figuring of course I could ride through the 6" of heavy snow on the trail, i have snow tires! Definitely couldn't. Rode a total of about 100 feet, walked the rest of the 1-1.5 miles (very slowly) while bashing my shins on my pedals non-stop. Whole trip took 70 minutes vs the usual 45.
> 
> Dunno how I feel about this whole situation. Discouraged.


6" of heavy wet (but unpacked) snow is tough conditions for any bike/tires/rider; try again if it gets well packed or if you get a little powder instead. When I had the trail commute, I would avoid it on the heavier snow days, and take the road, which was still snowy but at elast plowed at some point. Or you could go multimodal and carry snowshoes for the trail section - that would be cool!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Every winter I think that maybe I should get a fatbike. But then inevitably I see a thread like this: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fat-snow-frustration-891249.html


Or a blog like this: The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike Vs Studded 29er

Thanks for the link to the frustration site, will read. I'm sure I'll post another fat vs stud blog in the future as I learn what the fat can and can't do. I know it can't float, (See note about pushing it across the lake: The Candid Cyclist: First Over The Lake Commute) even with outrageously expensive tires on it.

Santh, I've had the snow tires on a bike... this still sucks, kind of ride too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> First ride in three weeks...
> ...My wife purchased a Fuji hybrid for me as an early Christmas present, and I'd been itching to take it out. I just strapped a 250 LM flashlight to the bars to make due until I can spring for something a little more substantial.


Whoo! Congrats on the bike and the return to bike commuting. Did you have to replace the hanger?



blockphi said:


> Unfortunately fatties are governed by physics no matter how much we like to say they aren't.


Down with physics! When I`m elected King Of The World, repealing many laws of physics will be near the top of my list. Right below supermarket product locations reform... all canned beans in the same aisle, all canned tomato products on the same aisle, all cheese in the same refrigerator, etc.

Caught a fraying front shifter cable just in the nick of time yesterday, replaced it this morning. Shifting felt kinda weird, and in hindsight, I can see that the lever position has been gradually creeping for a couple weeks as the number of remaining strands slowly diminished. Glad I caught it, but I know that cable is prone to fraying right at the spot where it frayed this time, so I`m knocking myself for not seeing it on inspection before it got that far. Need to improve the frequency of my general checks.

Bar tape for tomorrow- was going to do that today too, but couldn`t find the tape until after I left maintenance mode. This time I`m going to just do the right side because (as usual) that`s the side that`s already ripped, been repaired, and ripped again- left side is still just fine. I`ve always done both sides anyway, but it finally occurred to me that I`m wasting a lot of good tape that way. Anybody else do them one side at a time, as needed?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Caught a fraying front shifter cable just in the nick of time yesterday, replaced it this morning. Shifting felt kinda weird, and in hindsight, I can see that the lever position has been gradually creeping for a couple weeks as the number of remaining strands slowly diminished. Glad I caught it, but I know that cable is prone to fraying right at the spot where it frayed this time, so I`m knocking myself for not seeing it on inspection before it got that far. Need to improve the frequency of my general checks.


I caught a fraying shift cable right after it broke a few weeks ago. Had to ride home in high gear. It was shifting hard and then really hard and then not at all. I had to walk some of the hills, embarrassing.



rodar y rodar said:


> Bar tape for tomorrow- was going to do that today too, but couldn`t find the tape until after I left maintenance mode. This time I`m going to just do the right side because (as usual) that`s the side that`s already ripped, been repaired, and ripped again- left side is still just fine. I`ve always done both sides anyway, but it finally occurred to me that I`m wasting a lot of good tape that way. Anybody else do them one side at a time, as needed?


Nope, can't say as I have. I usually buy a few things of tape when I see them on Nashbar for $6. It's worth the three bucks to only touch it once. I'll usually change the color for a change of pace anyway.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute today cause son was sick. Stayed home to care for him. Had a heck of a time replacing the front tire on my Monocog while he was sleeping though. Had to cut through the nylon bead on the old tire to get it off the rim easier. Decided to cut it after I ran my knuckles across the spokes like five times and then smashed a finger when the tire lever slipped and the bead pinched my finger between the rim hard enough to leave a dent in my finger nail. After that, it was war with that tire and the wire cutters came out. . .realized after I cut the tire that the tube was inflated way too much to get the tire off. I've come to realize that the only real way to get all the air out of a tube with slime in it is to unscrew the valve. So lesson learned. It was my fault and not the tire's fault.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Would have been an epic day for a pre-commute hike, MTBX style...but who does that???


:lol:


bedwards1000 said:


> I caught a fraying shift cable right after it broke a few weeks ago. Had to ride home in high gear. It was shifting hard and then really hard and then not at all. I had to walk some of the hills, embarrassing.


:lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another nice little unpredicted squall on the way home, but better visibility and less accumulation than last week. Got 2 "friendly" honks (people going the other way and with a light touch), and one "hey, I'm an a**" honk (as they passed). Got back to my car and almost could not open the frozen hatch to load the bike for the remaining 4 miles to get home. 

This morning a school bus driver passed too close, only to stop 100' later at the RR tracks, making me stop too. At work, it seemed that the only spot on the giant campus not plowed or bobcatted, (I don't believe I've actually seen someone there with a shovel) was at the bike rack, where the snow is getting deep.

Also encountered a ninja salmon soon-to-be snow angel on the way home - c'mon, really - but luckily he was on the other side of the road.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Unseasonably warm temps led me to being way over-dressed this morning. Thing though is that it got colder as I went so it kind of evened out. Swung by the bike shop with a little holiday cheer (some brews) as a thank you for taking care of my bike with all of its foibles this year. While I was there put it on the scale, 48lbs in full winter mode (included the panniers with work clothes and stuff). Knew it was portly, but that was a bit much. Forecast calls for snow again Friday but I'm not putting much faith in that, they've been wrong more than right lately wait and see I guess.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I hear a lot about brews at the shop. Maybe for Christmas I'll treat the guys to a tasty Texas treat.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beer or donuts, or both. Mechanic at the shop I go to likes beer. Picked him up a sixer of some sort of IPA or something (don't know, I don't drink). Funny. My bike was done that day, instead of the 2-3 days they told me it would be ready by.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whoo! Congrats on the bike and the return to bike commuting. Did you have to replace the hanger?


Yeah, no biggie. The reason it was scored so cheap (50 bucks) is because the guy didn't realize that hangers are meant to be replaced. I made it a point not to scam the guy, and told him it could be repaired for a reasonable price, but he was more interested in cleaning out the garage and making a little cash.

It had new Jagwire cables already. The only thing needed as the hanger and a new chain. I'll be replacing the cassette, since I have some skipping under load. I'm loving it.

This mornings ride was miserable. Low 40's, which wouldn't be a big deal, except that I have nothing meant for such weather. Colder I can cover with thermal socks and a Carhart jacket. Warmer, and a long sleeved shirt with some shorts is just fine. But not for this morning. I did get there freaking quick, though.


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## satorimystic (Dec 10, 2013)

I got to work this morning and my boss comes running up to my desk, grinning ear to ear and shows me this.

http://summitdailynews.co.newsmemor...MJwcpKf1cnclKCGlpygkaeckHJ7jqKPm5%2BdnIuemZ2R

Our local paper dubbed me The Lone Rider and gave me front page billing. Now that is classy treatment for a crusty bike commuter. My town is awesome though, miles and miles of very well maintained bike trail completely separate from roads. I still have to venture in to traffic from time to time and our local laws regarding that are very supportive of non-motorized transportation. As long I am not being a "ME FIRST!" kind of rider everything works out well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nice, way to be intrepid! 

Another fatbike commute for me today but the trails still aren't ripe and neither is the lake so it was another push across. The last section of lake had slush under snow that froze to my below freezing wheels. This is just before a big climb. The bike must have weighed 80lbs. It was all I could do to get it up the hill to the road where I could slam it against the ground to knock some of it off. Luckily, my work has a hot water tap available and a plant watering can I can use to thaw my frozen bike with.

Weekend weather has wet heavy snow and freezing rain forecast. I'm hoping to get a good base out of it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Frontpage coverage!

Couple of firsts for me today:

Saw a fatbike with apehanger handlebars. And they weren't kidding around - the rider's hands were way up above their shoulders. I tried a google search to find something similar, and the best I came up with is:










But that doesn't do them justice. You have to imagine even taller bars, at -15F with crazily icy roads. I'm pretty sure it was a black surly, but the tires weren't big enough for a moonlander so maybe an older pugs? I...do not understand.

The other first was that I fell today. I usually fall a couple of times every winter, and it's always because I'm doing something stupid. But today I was going slow through an obviously very icy bermed corner, and my icespikers skated away like they were on polished concrete. I don't know if it's because the road conditions are extra terrible (they really are very bad) or because my tires are getting a bit worn (they've probably got as many km as my nokians, and do look a bit more worn, but should have plenty of life left). It was nothing major, but I honestly can't remember the last time that I actually just fell.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Been laying low lately and trolling CraigsList. I know a good bike is priceless, just didn't know there were so many good bikes (that is to say priceless....). Couple of real nice road bikes that were so over-priced (IMO) I didn't even bother to offer for. So I keep waiting.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was supposed to (maybe) snow a few inches last night, but hasn`t yet. Didn`t even try to. Really warm yesterday, and there was a mixture of slush and liquid water from the remaining snow and ice melting on my route- rode home with some of my clothes still in the bag. Maybe today it`ll snow. As of now (8AM), it`s slighty less war, windy and cloudy.

Better days to come, Bedwards and Newf.



CommuterBoy said:


> Gotta love a new bike. You may recall that I ordered one in October... I just got confirmation that it's supposed to be shipping in mid-January. Killing me.


Santa Cruz FS on 650b? I remember you talking about one, don`t remember that you actually decided. The warm thoughts can keep you entertained over Christmas Vacation. Or is it now called something else? Hey, have you seen this?
Fat Bike Rentals



satorimystic said:


> I got to work this morning and my boss comes running up to my desk, grinning ear to ear and shows me this.
> 
> http://summitdailynews.co.newsmemor...MJwcpKf1cnclKCGlpygkaeckHJ7jqKPm5%2BdnIuemZ2R


Wow, that`s cool! All I get is the front page and can`t zoom . Where is your town? And welcome to the forum.



junior1210 said:


> Been laying low lately and trolling CraigsList. I know a good bike is priceless, just didn't know there were so many good bikes (that is to say priceless....).


:lol:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

satorimystic said:


> I got to work this morning and my boss comes running up to my desk, grinning ear to ear and shows me this.
> 
> http://summitdailynews.co.newsmemor...MJwcpKf1cnclKCGlpygkaeckHJ7jqKPm5%2BdnIuemZ2R
> 
> Our local paper dubbed me The Lone Rider and gave me front page billing. Now that is classy treatment for a crusty bike commuter. My town is awesome though, miles and miles of very well maintained bike trail completely separate from roads. I still have to venture in to traffic from time to time and our local laws regarding that are very supportive of non-motorized transportation. As long I am not being a "ME FIRST!" kind of rider everything works out well.


Congrats!! That is really cool, and a great picture of you.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

satorimystic said:


> I got to work this morning and my boss comes running up to my desk, grinning ear to ear and shows me this.


Nice. I read "Summit County" Brain thought: Akron, Ohio! Saw mountain view. Oh! Finer print: Colorado. Where summits are really summits! Too often a newspaper report on a cyclist is not good news. Nice way to buck that trend!


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## satorimystic (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks Rodar y TenSpeed. I have learned so much from this site in the brief time I have been addicted to it. (actually Rodar I already recognize your handle from other comments I have learned from, thank you) I just finished building the bike in the photo last week, not even 100 miles on it, about 75 I pressed the headset myself with help from other forums here. I live in Summit County Colorado, there isn't an article, just some photographer stealing a bit of my soul to share with others. I sent the publisher an email this morning revealing the identity of The Lone Rider, haha.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

39F felt pretty good this morning. Temps will be in the upper 40s this afternoon. No complaints from me. Rain is coming though...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Santa Cruz FS on 650b? ........ Hey, have you seen this?
> Fat Bike Rentals


Oooooh, I hadn't seen that. That's less than a lift ticket (sadly)...might have to do that at some point this winter.

And yes... Here she is (as saved onto my desktop at work :lol She might be in a cargo container on her way from Taiwan as we speak...









edit: I still call it Christmas vacation :lol: 2 weeks, starting after tomorrow. WooHoo!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

13F at the house this AM. A heat wave. A nice ride in. We got an inch or so of snow last night and must have had some wind as it was drifted and crusty. An interesting surface to ride on. In Anchorage they must have gotten three to four inches of fresh pow. Nice and light and a bit fun to ride in. The Muni had nicely groomed up the trails yesterday so they have a nice firm base under the powder. The skiers are going to think Christmas came early for them.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Calgary's early December snowfall eclipsed only by record set 112 years ago | Calgary | News | Calgary Sun

Record snowfall and cold in Calgary.....

If it gets any worse I am gonna think I am living in Edmonton.....

And Edmonton winters suck.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Record snowfall and cold in Calgary.....


We apparently had record november snow, even though I'm sure that last year was as bad if not worse. I think a lot of it is because the media are just bored.

But one of my staff who's in Calgary was 2 hours late for work this morning, because of traffic. I told him he'd better start heading home now if he wanted to beat the afternoon rushhour.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Celebratory double-digit temps trail route on Monday, complete with my pathetic sub-Alaskan beardcicles. Don't judge, they're pretty good for California.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Oooooh, I hadn't seen that. That's less than a lift ticket (sadly)...might have to do that at some point this winter.
> 
> And yes... Here she is (as saved onto my desktop at work :lol She might be in a cargo container on her way from Taiwan as we speak...


Pick you rental day wisely. My local shop lets you demo one for $50/day and then takes that off the price if you buy. Kind of a rental with benefits.

Purdy bike, it must be killing you to wait. When I've ordered online the 3 days seems like an eternity.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

10F, warm, light winds, lots of snow! My 9 mile commute took a lil while this AM. About 6 inches of fresh snow in my neighborhood, 4ish in others. Didn't help that it was the dense, fine, humid but dry snow. Muni was out dragging Russian Jack, nothing yet on APU or Campbell. A little pushing involved. Quite the adventure!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> And yes... Here she is (as saved onto my desktop at work :lol She might be in a cargo container on her way from Taiwan as we speak...
> 
> View attachment 856010


Nice! I was just clicking around window shopping on that bike last weekend, considering my first full sus if the tax return looks good without some unexpected expense coming up. Or maybe one of their Julianas.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

My commute today was a little rough. I was going to a place that I usually take a MUP to because the street its on is essentially a highway. Being on the south shore of Lake Ontario I'm accustomed to light, fluffy lake affect show which is easy to ride in, which it kind of was. Never realized how foot prints and tracks mess up fresh powder. Ended up having to walk the bike for maybe a quarter mile to a half mile, then rode the bike another 1/4 mile in virigin powder. Kind of fun plowing through powder up to the BB, each pedal scooping out a divot of snow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Celebratory double-digit temps trail route on Monday, complete with my pathetic sub-Alaskan beardcicles. Don't judge, they're pretty good for California.


Big, bad, John.  Nice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Celebratory double-digit temps trail route on Monday, complete with my pathetic sub-Alaskan beardcicles. Don't judge, they're pretty good for California.


From the looks of it, my cadence needs work! Nice commute! No contest here on the beardcicles.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

This pic was on the local news today.....Like a BoSS


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Disc brakes on that puppy? Slam!


mtbxplorer said:


> Nice! I was just clicking around window shopping on that bike last weekend, considering my first full sus if the tax return looks good without some unexpected expense coming up.


If you decide to go FS, I bet I can think of a good way to ditch that crappy old soft tail you`ve been slumming around on 

Pretty good video CB, but I like your compilations better. The GoPro ad thing you did leaves you with a tough mark to beat.

Mention of fat bikes and lift tickets in the same breath makes me wonder if any of the bike-in-summer/ski-in-winter resorts will let Pugs jockeys roll with the standard winter customers. If you think car drivers wish cyclists would go elsewhere...

And for anybody who isn`t nerdy enough to be a rabid NPR fan, or those who ARE nerdy enough, but whose local stations are slacking and have not yet aired an annual repeat of David Sedaris`s Crumpet the Elf saga (that would be me), no need to do without- you can still get your Crumpet fix:
David Sedaris Reads From His 'Santaland Diaries' : NPR

EDIT: if you have no idea what I`m rambling about this time, invest about 10 minutes and click away. Happy Elf Season to all, and to all a good ride!

EDIT II: new Susanville Ranch video = :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^If you decide to go FS, I bet I can think of a good way to ditch that crappy old soft tail you`ve been slumming around on


Nice try! I'm sure the Unicoi would still be commuting...aww that makes me a little sad to think of leaving her in the stable for trail rides .



rodar y rodar said:


> And for anybody who isn`t nerdy enough to be a rabid NPR fan, or those who ARE nerdy enough, but whose local stations are slacking and have not yet aired an annual repeat of David Sedaris`s Crumpet the Elf saga (that would be me), no need to do without- you can still get your Crumpet fix:
> David Sedaris Reads From His 'Santaland Diaries' : NPR


***************
Thanks, NPR/VPR is the only thing I miss about a car commute.

Great pic find jhmeathead, the umbrella is a nice touch.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Crazy weather here. In the last two and a half weeks I've seen the temps go from a high of 65F to a low of 0F and then this morning back to 50F. In between we had about 10 inches of snow which is all gone now. This morning's ride to work was fantastic. I was back in shorts and had my clipless pedals back on the bike and absolutely flew with a 20mph tail wind. This was my last commute before Christmas, I'll drive home today, then I'm off work till the 30th. I hope everyone who celebrates it has a Merry Christmas! If you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you still feel merry and blessed! The days will soon be getting longer!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Studded tire unicycle?



mtbxplorer said:


> ...No contest here on the beardcicles.


That's a relief.



mtbxplorer said:


> ...aww that makes me a little sad to think of leaving her in the stable for trail rides .


That feeling will go away. FS is a game changer.

Thanks for the David Sedaris link Rodar

I had another fatbike fail on my way home last night. I even found a trail that had been gone over once by a snowmobile groomer but there was no forward motion to be made. I even kept letting air out of the tires like all good fatbikers recommend. After 3-4 iterations of air letting it just felt like I was riding a bike with flat tires, it pretty much sucked.

SO... I took the heavy studded steel MTB commuter today and it felt like I was on a rocket. We're supposed to get lots of wet, heavy, snow, rain and a little ooblek this weekend so the trails will be totally different by Monday.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ride was so-so. This guy makes me feel _so_ inadequate though.

edit: 


jhmeathead said:


> This pic was on the local news today.....Like a BoSS


Damn. I _knew_ I'd seen the unicycle guy picture somewhere other than Reddit. Oh well. He's still a badass.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I don't know what's going on this week, but my studs are just not working. It's not a problem everywhere, but there are a few too many roads where I'm riding right on the edge of losing control, which is not something I'm used to with my 379 stud icespikerpros. I'm blaming it on magic ice, but I'm honestly not sure what's going on. I've tried pressure from 15psi to 30psi, and it's still not doing what I want.

So of course, I'm riding along a slippery residential street traveling forward while trying not to also slide perpendicularly with the crown of the road. Half a block before a tee intersection an idiot decides to pass me, _and turn right_. @#$% moron. :madman: She couldn't stop to make the turn, and slid halfway through the intersection. And then I stopped yelled at her a lot. She was a captive audience, floundering away in the middle of the intersection looking like an idiot. Her driving would have been an @#$% move during the summer. In the winter, on slippery roads, when she can't even stop her stupid car she was being a complete and total piece of @#$%.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hmm. It must be magic ice because the ice spikers stick like glue. Do they still make that satisfying grippy sound when you ride over ice? I run mine at a higher PSI.

Nice bike-car story.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had a funny car/bike thing happen on the way home yesterday. It was getting dark, so I had my headlight/taillight going, and I could see cars coming up from behind be from way back, just based on their headlights shining past me. So I’m cruising along, and I start seeing headlights…so I’m scooting rather uncomfortably over towards the snow/ice on the very edge of the two lane road (no real bike lane in this spot) and the stupid car Just. Will. Not. Pass. Me. I was fuming…it’s sitting back there pacing me, and it just won’t go around, until finally I decide I’m not going to ride the shoulder anymore and I scoot back out into a more comfortable spot… then after a few secnds, the car makes a right turn behind me. Basically, they were doing exactly what we want everyone to do…slow down to my pace, don’t try to pass right before a turn and right-hook the cyclist, just be patient for a few seconds and then make your turn behind me, it’s not going to kill you to be 5 seconds later… they did all the right things, and I HATED them for it :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hmm. It must be magic ice because the ice spikers stick like glue. Do they still make that satisfying grippy sound when you ride over ice? I run mine at a higher PSI.


I've spent a lot of time staring at them recently, and they look fine (if a little worn). And they certainly still sound fine. But there are 2 separate intersections and about 3 blocks of sidestreet that are a lot iffier than I'm used to. It really is exactly like riding on polished concrete - albeit bumpy, rutted, offcamber polished concrete. We need some fresh snow or a thaw to mix up the road conditions enough that I can figure out whether the ice really is magic or not.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ... then after a few seconds, the car makes a right turn behind me. Basically, they were doing exactly what we want everyone to do&#8230;slow down to my pace, don't try to pass right before a turn and right-hook the cyclist, just be patient for a few seconds and then make your turn behind me, it's not going to kill you to be 5 seconds later&#8230; they did all the right things, and I HATED them for it :lol:


It is really nice if they signal, and usually drivers like this do. The mirror is a godsend for this situation. The ones who have you working several Plan B's only to turn with no signal are the ones that get my BP too high. Courteous and legal is much less stressful.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I had a funny car/bike thing happen on the way home yesterday. It was getting dark, so I had my headlight/taillight going, and I could see cars coming up from behind be from way back, just based on their headlights shining past me. So I'm cruising along, and I start seeing headlights&#8230;so I'm scooting rather uncomfortably over towards the snow/ice on the very edge of the two lane road (no real bike lane in this spot) and the stupid car Just. Will. Not. Pass. Me. I was fuming&#8230;it's sitting back there pacing me, and it just won't go around, until finally I decide I'm not going to ride the shoulder anymore and I scoot back out into a more comfortable spot&#8230; then after a few secnds, the car makes a right turn behind me. Basically, they were doing exactly what we want everyone to do&#8230;slow down to my pace, don't try to pass right before a turn and right-hook the cyclist, just be patient for a few seconds and then make your turn behind me, it's not going to kill you to be 5 seconds later&#8230; they did all the right things, and I HATED them for it :lol:


I had a pretty much identical situation last night. I was on the fatbike going up hill after I let most of the air out of the tires so I was probably doing somewhere in the 6 MPH range. When a car comes up on you like that it seems like they are behind you for an eternity. It was probably about 20 seconds when I started to think "The road is straight, I haven't seen another car in 5 min, pass me already!"

I don't have a mirror on the fatbike because it is supposed to be mostly a trail bike.:skep:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> I don't know what's going on this week, but my studs are just not working. It's not a problem everywhere, but there are a few too many roads where I'm riding right on the edge of losing control, which is not something I'm used to with my 379 stud icespikerpros.


My old M&Gs kinda do that on some section theyjust don't hold like the used to....

I think it is becase the rubber has worn down enough so the studs are kinda of laying over on their sides not all the way of course but the rubber is starting to go....

So if you hit something at the wrong angle it is more the side of the stud rather than the top of the stud (still works but not like new)....

Look at the stud and try to wiggle them with a pair of pliers if the wiggle easily that is rubber wear or if they are on their sides that is rubber wear.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Makes sense. And if you decide to retire said tires because of rubber wear and are going to throw them out... put them in a box and send them to me and I'll recycle the studs into my Dillingers.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

My commute today was GLORIOUS!

...because it's the first time I've been able to ride my bike since mid October due to a quadruple bypass.

http://forums.mtbr.com/rider-down-injuries-recovery/arterial-blockage-883453-2.html


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Congrats, that's huge! 

I'm heading home in a few...last commute of 2013. Merry Christmas you all. Catch you on the flip side.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Makes sense. And if you decide to retire said tires because of rubber wear and are going to throw them out... put them in a box and send them to me and I'll recycle the studs into my Dillingers.


Buddy blew out the sidewall of his M&G due to over inflation (45 psi max ran them at 60 psi) you never throw out a studded tire. I still have that one for spares.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> My commute today was GLORIOUS!
> 
> ...because it's the first time I've been able to ride my bike since mid October due to a quadruple bypass.
> 
> http://forums.mtbr.com/rider-down-injuries-recovery/arterial-blockage-883453-2.html


Congratulations, that's absolutely fantastic!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Buddy blew out the sidewall of his M&G due to over inflation (45 psi max ran them at 60 psi) you never throw out a studded tire. I still have that one for spares.


I'm pretty sure I run mine at 60, they are rated for 65.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm pretty sure I run mine at 60, they are rated for 65.


That a nice change 45 psi is enough but I sure wouldn't mind pumping them up a little more.


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## Moby P (May 31, 2013)

Mine was uneventful but a bit cold. The nice thing was that the college is closed up for the holidays so the town is absolutely dead. Hardly any traffic. I had to ride home and grab a truck to haul some things so I was a driver in the afternoon. As I was taking the truck back to grab the bike I notice an led light behind me and it's catching me. I was curious who this speedy cyclist was so I slowed a bit to let them pass. Turns out it was my 12 year old coming home from school. He running 25mph on a partially snow covered road. He flashes a grin as he goes around me and proceeds to ramp the curb/snow bank on the side of the road catching a good 2' of air then backs it into the next corner with the rear locked up. I can see him head onto campus knowing that he's taking a route so he can ramp off some stairs. I turn the corner just to see him flat land off of it. It was a joy to see him having so much fun with his commute and also depressing to know that at 12 he's already more awesome than I ever was. lol


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> I've spent a lot of time staring at them recently, and they look fine (if a little worn). And they certainly still sound fine. But there are 2 separate intersections and about 3 blocks of sidestreet that are a lot iffier than I'm used to. It really is exactly like riding on polished concrete - albeit bumpy, rutted, offcamber polished concrete. We need some fresh snow or a thaw to mix up the road conditions enough that I can figure out whether the ice really is magic or not.


I haven't gotten there yet on the Ice Spikers, but on the Nokians they started losing traction, mostly on the off-camber part of highly crowned icy roads, while they still looked fine. Closer inspection (visual and especially feel) found that some of the studs (center ones)were noticeably less sharp, probably from pavement wear, and this seemed to make the difference. It only takes one or two downhill sideways slides to lose confidence in them and then of course you also ride with more of a death grip and just make it worse.



bedwards1000 said:


> That feeling will go away. FS is a game changer.
> 
> I had another fatbike fail on my way home last night. I even found a trail that had been gone over once by a snowmobile groomer but there was no forward motion to be made. I even kept letting air out of the tires like all good fatbikers recommend. After 3-4 iterations of air letting it just felt like I was riding a bike with flat tires, it pretty much sucked.


I guess that means I will have to continue my window shopping this icy rainy weekend!

Slogging is no fun. Next week after the melt and refreeze it should be more fun.



bikeCOLORADO said:


> My commute today was GLORIOUS!
> 
> ...because it's the first time I've been able to ride my bike since mid October due to a quadruple bypass.


Congrats, a great Christmas present, and nice job on your ongoing rehab!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Closer inspection (visual and especially feel) found that some of the studs (center ones)were noticeably less sharp, probably from pavement wear, and this seemed to make the difference.


The center ones are worn but the outer ones are still plenty pointy, and at 15psi all the studs are in contact.

I laid the bike down again on the way home. I knew it was coming so I managed to stay standing, but the bike ended up on the ground. That got me thinking about how this ice could possibly be extra hard? Then I realized that I'm not riding on magic ice - I'm riding on Pykrete.

(for fans of wartime hijinks the link is totally worth a click)

It's obviously not Pykrete, but for now I will choose to believe that some fluke occurrence has led to the creation of super ice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> It's obviously not Pykrete, but for now I will choose to believe that some fluke occurrence has led to the creation of super ice.


You are probably right...not all ice is alike... I recall that ice skates will not work if it is too cold as they need a liquid layer between the blade and the ice...if it is warmer you may be getting "optimal" sliding


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> My commute today was GLORIOUS!
> 
> ...because it's the first time I've been able to ride my bike since mid October due to a quadruple bypass.
> 
> Nice early Christmas Present!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This mornings commute was great. 18 miles through well lit city streets at 0530. Went off without a single problem. Coming home, on the other hand, was insane. Fighting crazy ass last minute Christmas shoppers for the bike Lane was the last thing I wanted to do after working a mandatory Saturday. And, I stupidly
skipped lunch, which meant I bonked 12 miles in to the ride. I had to call the wife. 

On the other hand, it provided me the opportunity to have a nice conversation with a homeless fella at the CVS and about his goals to move back to California and straighten his life out. Seemed fruitful.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Ugh had to sideline the bike because of the potential for an ice storm, guess I should have coughed up the extra cash for studs


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

mtbxplorer, I'm gonna pass by your home town tomorrow on my way to Boston ! Leaving Montreal at 9am, so should be in your 'hood around lunchtime. Just look for the crazy canuks honking the cyclists !


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

So I took a few pictures to share while mounting my snow tires last weekend, but I'm just now getting around to posting them. Gave the bike a quick wipe down where it looked really grungy, took off the fenders for the winter, finally mounted my air pump on the frame rather than throwing it in my bag, and of course mounted the snow tires.













































Regarding the tires, I'd say the rolling resistance is surprisingly good. I haven't had a hell of a lot of snow/ice time on them yet (the temperature rose sharply late last week), but disregarding the ~6" of heavy snow that apparently nobody does well in, they've been okay so far. Average speed is about 13-15 MPH vs. 16-20 MPH with the regular tires, and I'll probably get faster as I get used to the tires since I took about a week and a half off while they came in. The biggest negative I have about them is that the QC seems exceedingly poor. There's a number of splits in the bead edge that sits against the rim, placed right about where the edge of the rim sits. None go all the way through, and the tire doesn't flex in a direction to exacerbate the splits, but they still bother me.



























Also, went to hop on the bike the night after my first ride in on the snows to find that the tube had exploded with enough force to unmount the tire all the way around the rim. I took a picture of it since I've only one other time seen a tube so mangled.









I took this coming week off in its entirety, but I'm still thinking about riding in to work tomorrow morning just because I haven't been getting all that much done over the weekend. I think something's seriously wrong with me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

David C said:


> mtbxplorer, I'm gonna pass by your home town tomorrow on my way to Boston ! Leaving Montreal at 9am, so should be in your 'hood around lunchtime. Just look for the crazy canuks honking the cyclists !


Have a safe trip, I'll wave if I see more crazies than usual! Are you driving in your stolen car or is that lost cause?

Sanath, that is disappointing about your sidewalls. Are you adding some alternate fenders for the slush?


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## Gritter (Dec 21, 2010)

Sanath said:


> took off the fenders for the winter,


Hi, Sanath. I'm curious why you removed your fenders for winter. I find even more nasty stuff being slung around during winter, and it's when I need them the most. Partially, because my studded tires are knobby, and might fling a bit more snow than slicks.

I had trouble with my P.B. Cascadia (plastic) fenders with mud-flaps, because the snow would acquire up in there and really slow me down. When I switched to stainless, without the mud-flaps, the edge is able to "cut" the snow off at the start, and not allow it to get all packed. It's been working out amazingly well, and really keeps me and the bike clean. I can't imagine riding through the slush without them.

Here's mine in its current spec:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Drove in this morning, since I will likely have to run home at some point to meet the insurance adjuster. Our sump pump line got clogged somehow and our entire basement was under 4-6 inches of water, depending on the spot. I had fun cleaning things out yesterday and getting blowers going. Fortunately, the basement is unfinished and it doesn't look like we lost anything of value. If things are ruined, our insurance should cover them. We'll see...


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Been keeping a low profile, the rides have been cool (~40*ish) but uneventful. Saw this one at work when I was leaving this am. Since this was at the employee parking bike rack, gotta think it was somebody's commuter.







It's the tassels that do it for me. :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Drove in this morning, since I will likely have to run home at some point to meet the insurance adjuster. Our sump pump line got clogged somehow and our entire basement was under 4-6 inches of water, depending on the spot. I had fun cleaning things out yesterday and getting blowers going. Fortunately, the basement is unfinished and it doesn't look like we lost anything of value. If things are ruined, our insurance should cover them. We'll see...


Seriously? Neg rep for this? :skep:

Oh, and just to rub it in a bit more. My garage saw a bunch of water too. I'm going to have to dry out my bike pumps and various parts that were in boxes on the floor.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Thats a very nice looking ride gritter.

Temp has been warm enough to start melting snow in the day then freeze solid at night. Made for quite an interesting ride threw the parking lot i go threw in the mornings.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Have a safe trip, I'll wave if I see more crazies than usual! Are you driving in your stolen car or is that lost cause?


Unfortunately, I'm stock with a cheap Chrysler van now, only van the rental place could provide. Last time we heard about our car, it most likely was involved in a mafia killing that took place about 30 miles north last week. I don't think we'll see it ever again. Now we have our eyes on a GMC Acadia AWD, waiting on the insurance company to pay us.

Not sure about the Canuks, but weather was sure crazy on the highways, lost of heavy mist, ice rain, snow, etc. We're spending the night in Burlington and getting back home tomorrow morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^^Yikes!!! Careful on the skating rink tomorrow!

Cool sighting Junior!

I almost didn't want to ride in the wet today after cleaning up my bike this weekend, but I got over it. Ride was fine but wet from puddles and some rain. I dodged the bullet with the ice storm this weekend and got mostly rain. Some others, further north in VT were not as lucky, and some will not have power for Xmas . The airport in Burlington also closed. A couple vids from the local news...

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...hts-out-in-Cambridge-during-Vermont-ice-storm
(No, the lady at the end in the fur coat is not me!)

CB may miss this one, but 2 minutes of ice and chainsawing!
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/videonetwork/2961571566001?odyssey=mod|tvideo2|article


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw the apehanger fatbike again this morning, and the bars have got to have at least 2’ rise if not closer to 3’. I think the rider might be a woman (tough to tell with the winter gear) and their hands were up above their chin. So very strange.

It was -5F all weekend, but had warmed up to above freezing tonight for the ride home. I'd planned to go to work tomorrow, but am probably going to take a vacation day instead to enjoy the nice weather.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Gritter said:


> Hi, Sanath. I'm curious why you removed your fenders for winter. I find even more nasty stuff being slung around during winter, and it's when I need them the most. Partially, because my studded tires are knobby, and might fling a bit more snow than slicks.
> 
> I had trouble with my P.B. Cascadia (plastic) fenders with mud-flaps, because the snow would acquire up in there and really slow me down. When I switched to stainless, without the mud-flaps, the edge is able to "cut" the snow off at the start, and not allow it to get all packed. It's been working out amazingly well, and really keeps me and the bike clean. I can't imagine riding through the slush without them.


Well, a couple of reasons, most of them wrong.

First, I wasn't sure they'd fit. I'm actually a major cycling noob and I've never actually seen a 40c tire in person, so I wasn't sure how wide it'd be, and I assumed they would be too wide. I think they'd fit, in hindsight, though with how I cut the stays I'm not sure I have enough adjustment to get the clearance I need.

Second, I was concerned about how low the fender/mudflap sits. It's only about an inch or two off the ground and would just scoop up snow. I don't know how often I'll ride snow deep enough to be problematic, I suspect not often. I don't have the spare cash to switch to a different/shorter fender, though, nor is my mud flap detachable, to my knowledge (SKS Longboard fenders). This is sort of up in the air, it'll be really annoying if I get stuck in deepish snow, but not so much if I spend my whole winter going through shallow stuff (or just riding on bare road/trail).

Third, frankly, I'd forgotten how damn messy it is to ride without fenders.

I may try to fit them back on soonish, if I feel adventurous. I may zip tie a piece of cardboard to the underside of my rear rack. Time will tell.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

To much Xmas joy. This commute is going to be slow n painful lol


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## Gritter (Dec 21, 2010)

Sanath said:


> Second, I was concerned about how low the fender/mudflap sits. It's only about an inch or two off the ground and would just scoop up snow. I don't know how often I'll ride snow deep enough to be problematic, I suspect not often. I don't have the spare cash to switch to a different/shorter fender, though, nor is my mud flap detachable, to my knowledge (SKS Longboard fenders). This is sort of up in the air, it'll be really annoying if I get stuck in deepish snow, but not so much if I spend my whole winter going through shallow stuff (or just riding on bare road/trail).


I agree about the mudflaps. They work great in the rain, but they don't work at all for snow, because they flex and allow all the snow to get packed inside the fenders, and "burn" your tires and slow you down to a crawl. My solution was Stainless fenders WITHOUT flaps, so the "sharp" edge of the fenders "cuts" all the snow off at the helm, and keeps my wheels spinning freely.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Never a dull moment. Was coming to a light and began to shift down for a good push off gear when it turned green, and had some nasty chain suck. That pulled the rear derailleur into my moving spokes, which proceeded to break the hanger and twist the derailleur. So, I'll be swinging by the LBS and picking up a hanger and used derailleur on my lunch break.


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## Gritter (Dec 21, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> 'll be swinging by the LBS . . .


Just curious, did this LBS install, or set up your bike, to begin with? If so, I'd say this nasty disintegration of components is THEIR fault. It's from an improperly adjusted rear derailleur. You could have broken spokes, if the chain sucked off at the big cog, or a bad accident and injury from chain suck in general. This is unacceptable.

I doubt anyone would be readily willing to accept blame for improperly setting the derailleur stops, and I guess they could say you messed with it after it left the shop. Bicycles are just to dangerous to trust other people with, IMHO. I don't know your situation, so I'm just speculating, but seriously, this is messed up. I suspect the LBS selling replacement parts to fix this will be earning profits from your wallet. I could be paranoid, but it seems they'd have a monetary motive to be a bit careless about precise adjustments of derailleurs. I wonder how much of their profits are from customer's chain suck repairs?

Cables stretch, and need periodic adjustments of the derailleur stops by minute increments, but it is part of routine maintenance. I'm glad you didn't crash, or break spokes, and the silver lining is that you can upgrade your components at this time.

I guess technically, it could be from too flexy chainstays (then you need a new frame to fix the problem), - as I've had "ghost shifting" from a cheap aluminum fame before, but never full-on chain-suck, with the derailleur's over-travel stops set up right.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No, I installed the hanger. I'm still very much a newbie at this. I watched a few videos on YouTube and figured I was competent enough to do it, since I'm mechanically inclined, but still wet behind the ears when it comes to bikes. 

This is a learning experience, from there I'll grow and eventually, laugh at the frustrating and sometimes painful beginnings of my commuting lifestyle.


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## Gritter (Dec 21, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> No, I installed the hanger. I'm still very much a newbie at this. I watched a few videos on YouTube and figured I was competent enough to do it, since I'm mechanically inclined, but still wet behind the ears when it comes to bikes.
> 
> This is a learning experience, from there I'll grow and eventually, laugh at the frustrating and sometimes painful beginnings of my commuting lifestyle.


RESPECT. That's how you do it. It's expensive to learn from mistakes, but worth it too. Glad you're doing it yourself, more power to ya.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

It might seem expensive, but it's cheaper than gas and maintenance on a car. And more fun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The roads were nice and quiet with the shopping over and some people not working today. The bike was not as quiet as the roads , with some squeaks that likely resulted from it sitting in my car a couple days without being cleaned up/lubed. Also less than quiet was a dog in a passing car that barked really loud in my ear and made me jump.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Drive by barkings can be rough on the nerves!

Back to work tonight after a five day weekend, mostly spent with my wife`s cousins in southern CA. Was registered for a New Years 200K in the Sacramento area, but I think I`m going to bug out on it- want to spend that night with my bropther-in-law, who`s getting ready to move out of the area. Besides that, I was already looking at the route and wondering how I could possibly survive it after a few months of hardly any riding.



Texan-n-Fla said:


> This is a learning experience, from there I'll grow and eventually, laugh at the frustrating and sometimes painful beginnings of my commuting lifestyle.


:thumbsup: 
You`ll get it, just had some bad luck on the last round. FWIW, cable stretch will affect indexing, but I don`t see how it could affect derailler limit stops. My guess is either limits set wrong to begin with or something bending. When you se the limits, it`s best to do without the cable hooked up (maybe you did that anyway).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Well...*

I'd have to say I've had better.







Fuller report here:
The Candid Cyclist: Wow, Did I Take The Wrong Bike


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I think the derailleur was already bent a little, not enough to be noticeable at a glance, but enough to screw things up. I've got an older Acera RD lying around that will shift well enough for my needs. I think that after a good scrub and oiling, that RD should work like new. 

I'm using this as an opportunity to go through everything, make sure this new bike is up to par. Fun stuff.


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## Gritter (Dec 21, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'd have to say I've had better.
> View attachment 857672
> 
> Fuller report here:
> The Candid Cyclist: Wow, Did I Take The Wrong Bike


Your story makes me glad I went with studded tires, instead of digging deep into my pockets for a fat-bike, that's for sure. A lot lighter too (studs -vs- fat).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BEdwards, 

Umm, is that triangle-y part supposed to be attached to something?

Sorry to hear about your injury, that is a bummer.:sad:  :bluefrown:


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

Ouch. Hope you have a speedy recovery. Will you need surgery for that? Or can they set it ok?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Damn, and I thought I had a rough ride in. I broke my collar bone playing football back in high school, and it was pretty horrible. Praying for a quick and full recovery. Hope you'll be back on the bike soon enough.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ack. bedwards, here's wishing you a speedy recovery.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yes, those 2 parts use to be connected. This is my second collar bone break. My first was in high school too. This one seems to be in a better place. They don't do anything except put it in a sling. Supposedly they heal up OK. I'll be off the bike for a at least a few weeks, best case and off the trails for probably a month or more. I might try some road commuting once it heals enough to be out of the sling. The fatbike race 1 month from today is probably a no-go but maybe I'll be feeling good enough to drop back to the short race for fun.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'd have to say I've had better.


Ouch! I guess they hurt more is broken in the middle. I'd have thought the jarring riding would have made the fractured clavicle more apparent. We need retractable studs like on Bond's Aston?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'd have to say I've had better.
> View attachment 857672
> 
> Fuller report here:
> The Candid Cyclist: Wow, Did I Take The Wrong Bike


Sorry to hear and see this. Looks very painful if I'm reading the xray right. Snapped clean through?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'm not sure how clean it is but it is through


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jeez Bedwards, don`t do that!
Heal well, I guess. Maybe you can volunteer to work the race if you aren`t up to entering?


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

I'm with Rodar! Don't do that! Who is going to show me the way across the lake to work with my studded tires now????


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

With nearly seventy degree weather in Vegas today, I had to make it to Blue Diamond for a good mt. bike ride. Been trying to make it there since Monday. Too many Christmas distractions. 

Interesting riders today. Saw my first cross-bike up there ever. Drop bars and skinny tires don't look natural in that setting. Saw a kid on a full suspension Walmart Next bike. He seemed to be tearing it up with his buddy on a Haro. Then I saw some lady in heels and a mini skirt on a bike from the Blue Diamond rental shop. Maybe not heels--more like tall wedges. Other than those brief encounters, mainly had the trails to myself.

Suffered mightily though with too much eating over the Holidays and too little riding. Amazing how quickly your fitness digresses. I did my eight mile loop and called it quits and glad to do so. On some ambitious days I can do twenty-five or more without breaking a sweat. Not a chance in hell today. . .


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Suffered mightily though with too much eating over the Holidays and too little riding. Amazing how quickly your fitness digresses. I did my eight mile loop and called it quits and glad to do so. On some ambitious days I can do twenty-five or more without breaking a sweat. Not a chance in hell today. . .


I found this out yesterday. Between holiday travel and other parts of life my first ride in a month was yesterday. That made me really tired and I lost 4mph on my average.

In other unrelated news I finally finished my truck. Now it will sell. It went from this








To this. Wish I could keep it around but it was fun while it lasted. 









I gotta get back to riding more often. The weather has been great but the holidays always find a way to get busy.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Commute? What commute? 

Yes, I took 3 days off work this week so haven't been on the bike since Xmas Eve. Sure, Monday is going to hurt, but I've needed the relax and rest time. It's good for the body and the soul. Will be back to the grind come Monday.

Bedwards...hope that heals up, does not look enjoyable. Get well soon!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute, since I put in some overtime at our sister office 20 miles away. Although, I did load up the bike into the back of the work truck and took down Legacy Trail on my lunch hour. Thanks to the hybrid, my average speed is about 18 mph, so I was able to go the full length without pushing my time restraints. It was nice to be able to get that in without going too far out of my way.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Not a "commute" per se, but a possible taste of a commute I have a chance at getting if I get a job I applied for. Interviews start around the 1st of the year.






I technically just paid a visit to my barber today for a haircut and a beard trim. Took me awhile to find a barber that I like, but now that I have, I'll be visiting John on a regular basis. Good conversation, great haircuts, clean business.

I had to rush home afterwards, because I had an appointment to sell a vintage mtb for my sister this afternoon. I might have been able to get more for it if I wanted to put the work into overhauling everything and making it all shiny and new-looking. But meh. The guy who bought it wanted a winter project. Some of the parts will go onto his kid's first 26er. If I didn't have that appointment, I'd have added a few miles onto the ride this afternoon.

The weather was awesome. I wore a far too heavy jacket, so my arms got really sweaty. Otherwise, temps were great. Didn't need warm gloves. Didn't need head covering. It was beautifully sunny. The cars were mostly on their best behavior. Only problems I had with cars were with parked ones. I passed by some kind of biker bar/motorcycle gang hangout that was packed, and a lot of them were parked IN the bike lane, forcing me into traffic lanes for about a block. Thankfully, traffic was extremely light in the area, and I had no trouble. That's one situation where I DEFINITELY knew to keep my mouth shut and keep going, but I did consider reporting all the illegal parking jobs to the police. Unfortunately, I didn't want to stop anywhere in that neighborhood for long enough to talk on the phone. If I notice it becoming a regular "thing" over there when I'm passing through, I'll make it an issue to the police. Ride with my GoPro so I can submit evidence without stopping in that area.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I found this out yesterday. Between holiday travel and other parts of life my first ride in a month was yesterday. That made me really tired and I lost 4mph on my average.
> 
> In other unrelated news I finally finished my truck. Now it will sell. It went from this
> 
> ...


Truck looks good. Checked my calendar and my last mt. bike ride was only 12 days previous to yesterday's ride. Can't imagine how trashed I'd be without a month on the peddles.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Downward trend : (*

I first counted my mileage for 2009 on the Commuting Miles thread (didn`t write it down that year), started recording it at least monthly in 2010. Each year from `09 through `12 showed an increase. 2012 was a landmark for me in two ways- for one, I finally made a full calander year with zero motorized commutes, and it was also the first year to break thet 4000 mile mark. In early fall of this year I looked at my mileage and saw it was a few hundred below last year at the same point, thought it was unlikely I would make it up. In late September, I drove to work, ending a 2.5 year streak. Just today I added up my odometers and see I`m at 3906. I`d be hard pressed to match 2012`s mileage even if I were on vacation for the remainer of the year. As is, I`m working tonight, so probably sleeping through a lot of tomorrow, and my wife and I are "doing" this year`s dinner for her family on Tues, so that`s pretty much tied up. I`ll get 7 commute miles for tonight`s shift, leaving me with whatever I have of tomorrow after sleeping and Monday pre-nap (working that night) to work in about 90 miles. I really don`t feel like it, but two hits is bad enough, and it`s really going to hurt if I fall back out of "the fours". I`m not sure I`ll be able to drag myself out and knock out some miles. Guess I`ll find out.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

I work away from my wife and kids for 2 weeks at a time, so when I am home for the weekend, and with it being Xmas, I've not been on a bike properly since the 10th December. My commute starts again on the 6th Jan, and I already know that I'll be feeling it!

Hoping that the nice upgrades I got for Xmas will make things easier when I get back in the saddle... Although I'll leave the new gopro off until I get back up to spare my blushes!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> 2012 was a landmark for me in two ways- for one, I finally made a full calendar year with zero motorized commutes, and it was also the first year to break the 4000 mile mark. In early fall of this year I looked at my mileage and saw it was a few hundred below last year at the same point, thought it was unlikely I would make it up. In late September, I drove to work, ending a 2.5 year streak. Just today I added up my odometers and see I`m at 3906.


That's a lot of pedaling, kudos either way! I'm at about 2300 miles based on what I entered in Endomondo, which I think is pretty close to accurate.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

My overall mileage for the year is disappointing, but I have to realize that I only started commuting a short while ago, and it being a 16 mile round trip, the miles won't add up that quickly. A few years ago, I racked up 2000+ only on trails on my mtb. I felt that it was pretty impressive to ride that many miles on dirt. I am hoping to hit at least that many on the road in 2014 riding to work and on the weekends. 

Kudos to everyone for commuting to work.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Had a redemption mt. bike ride in Blue Diamond this morning. Felt good and belted out 15+ miles, which made me feel better after Friday's dismal performance. 

As for 2013 commuting miles, I got right around 2000. One New Year's resolution is to get at least 3000 in 2014. We'll see. . .declaring a resolution is one thing but living it is something entirely different of course.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, supposed to drop from 30F for the a.m commute tomorrow to 1F for the ride home, an unusual pattern. Beware area bikecommuters!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

-6C right now, going to feel like -19C tomorrow morning.
first day back after xmas vacay.
Yay me?!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I knew it would happen eventually: I forgot my pants. Over the years I forgotten just about everything at one point or another, but I don't remember forgetting pants. It was bound to happen, I guess. Fortunately, my wife was able to drop off a pair before I was discovered in my commuting pants. I am so glad I don't commute in tights.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m not sure I`ll be able to drag myself out and knock out some miles. Guess I`ll find out.


Looks promising. Rode yesterday and today and I need to pad my commute tonight or in the morning with a loop around the valley, but it`ll work out.



TenSpeed said:


> My overall mileage for the year is disappointing, but I have to realize that I only started commuting a short while ago, and it being a 16 mile round trip, the miles won't add up that quickly. A few years ago, I racked up 2000+ only on trails on my mtb. I felt that it was pretty impressive to ride that many miles on dirt.


 With a 16 mi RT, you`ll rack them up faster than you think.

2000 trail miles IS something to pat yourself on the back over. I didn`t say it in my lat post cause I figured most everybody knew it, but 85 to 90 percent of my riding these days is on pavement, where the odometer just rolls right along.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I forgot my pants.


:skep:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute today cause I was lazy. No commute tomorrow or New Year's cause I'm working way early. I'm part of the crew that closes down the Strip for the New Year's celebration. All the metal rails lining both sides of the street are our responsibility. To work tomorrow at 2 a.m. Off at 3 p.m.  Then back to work on New Year's Day at 4 a.m. to pick up the rails. Very labor intensive work unloading these rails from flatbed 18 wheelers. Likely be too tired to commute anyway.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I knew it would happen eventually: I forgot my pants. Over the years I forgotten just about everything at one point or another, but I don't remember forgetting pants. It was bound to happen, I guess. Fortunately, my wife was able to drop off a pair before I was discovered in my commuting pants. I am so glad I don't commute in tights.


This emoticon must finally be used :ciappa: 

You would REALLY owe her if you had tights on!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sorry about the injury bedwards - heal soon.

I finished 2013 with just over 5000 commute miles, down from the 6000+ I had last year. I left my full-time job at the end of September and since then have been doing some part-time consulting that requires an occasional ride over to Seattle (43 miles RT), but not doing a daily commute really knocked my commute total down. On the plus side, not working full time has allowed me to get a LOT more recreational miles in...I am planning to ride tomorrow which will push my total mileage for the year to just over 7200.

Hope everyone has a great New Year!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was great. Just the right temp, and traffic was calm. I got down the street and realized I left my bottles sitting on the counter, which added a terrible 5 minutes  

I did have some chain skip due to a bent chain link and derailleur. I'll be replacing the link today, and I'm on the lookout for a replacement long cage Shimano. Let me know if anyone has one lying around that you wouldn't mind moving.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I got excited because Saturday was supposed to be sunny and 36, low of 32. All of the snow and ice is pretty much gone off the roads, so I thought COMMUTE to work!!!! Nope. Supposed to get possibly 7" over the next few days, and that won't be gone in time for the weekend. Damn


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## satorimystic (Dec 10, 2013)

Well ****. Last night was chaos. The roads are a nasty combo of black ice and coffee colored slushpools and I hadn't gone down yet this season... During my lunch break my taillight committed hari-kari, I took my Flea2.0 headlight and dangled it from my saddle bag and pedaled like a nancy. I was wearing a black jacket with black pants... AND ended up leaving my helmet at work. All this is the build up to nearly curbstomping myself dodging traffic while linking up sidewalk sections well after sunset. I made it home alive so I took my bike apart, cleaned it, fixed the front hub and bled the rear brake. Bike was happy this morning, my knee wasn't


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)




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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Cool Photos.

I rode over to Seattle today for a meeting. Came home the long way around Lake Washington and about halfway up the lake I was looking at the bottom half of Mt. Rainier. It was so clear that looked like the mountain was only 20 miles away (it's actually 90 miles). The photo does not do it justice.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Apparently -31C with windchill.
Tires were dead, legs were dead, balaclava froze over so I pulled it down so I could breathe. 
But then my cheeks would start to freeze up quickly.
Moist breath under a stupid goretex 'clava = warm moist skin which is fine if it stays that way, but sucks to expose to frigid air.
While I was locking up a nice guy wandered past and said "you're a brave soul! I only ride 9 maybe 10 months out of the year!"
Made me feel kind of awesome.

Got out of work and back tire was COMPLETELY flat. It's been a slow leak and is fine most days but the cold drops it down quickly (but not the front?!). 
Fiddling barehanded with the pump made me appreciate putting my lobster mitts back on all the more!

I just HAMMERED on the way home, passed a bunch of other people still riding in this absurd weather.

Occurs to me the duality of cycling: it is a singular and solitary experience, a means of travel where the passenger and the engine are one and the same and in that respect you literally are the only living thing that need exist for the experience to occur... it is very lonely.

But there is an odd solidarity from meeting others on the road in conditions like this. You lock eyes with complete strangers and there's a shared moment of warrior's companionship as if to say "Meet me at the pub in 20 and we'll share battle tales".
All too fleetingly gone as one winds their way past the other... but it IS there.

Needed: pogies, well-made balaclava.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

byknuts said:


> But there is an odd solidarity from meeting others on the road in conditions like this. You lock eyes with complete strangers and there's a shared moment of warrior's companionship as if to say "Meet me at the pub in 20 and we'll share battle tales".


I've started giving people a wave if it's below about -25C. Someone did it to me earlier this year, and normally I don't go in for the great-commuter-brother/sisterhood stuff, but when it's that cold I figure a wave is allowed.

Lots of freezing rain today for my first day back, but it's supposed to be down to -30C by the weekend. Should be slippy tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cold commute this morning, about -8F with a 20mph breeze! I wore 2 pair of socks and my level 3 gloves. About 1/2 way to work I passed a pickup truck stuck in the ditch so I turned around and pulled him out... Yeah, I was in my truck. My back was getting a little warm from the heated seats anyway. I did go to the bone doc and he gave me the OK to use the arm for light duty stuff, but no biking yet. Light duty stuff does include hooking up a tow strap. The guy in the other pickup drove off happy. 

Nice pics JH. Nice miles Woodway, I've got to tally my bikes this weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Coldest commute of the season so far (11F). The roads were pretty empty for some reason. I guess it gets pretty chilly riding in a climate controlled vehicle.  Conditions were really nice. The sun was out and there wasn't any wind. I had to deal with a coating of snow on the MUP and in the bike lanes, but it was powdery (not the wet stuff we usually get). Someone had hit the bike lane before me and appeared to have wobbled all the way down the hill going the wrong way...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pics ahoy! Hey, speaking of... no Fux pics this winter?

Feeling for all you storm and cold inflicted riders lately. We`re still dry and ranging from low 20s to low 60s. Cake and cookie hangover is finally all gone.

Sorry, Bedwards. Keep on behaving and you`ll get there.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

We got about 3-4" on top of what we had already. Temps are really low right now. It was -1F last night when I left work in my car. Bike is nice and clean inside just waiting for the opportunity to get out. This weekend and into next week are a total wash. 6+" expected starting tomorrow night, and then the temps are forecasted to drop, to a high of 0 or 1 for the day, and windchills to be in the -20 to -30F range. Even if I had the proper bike, I wouldn't be riding in that I don't think. I have done some crazy stuff on two wheels, but that is just too much for me.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Yay my light finally came in today. not to shabby for $30' Huge improvment over my dual flashlight setup.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Did you remove the reflectors in the second picture? Looks really weird.

****


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

i have a green Iphone. So its reflecting off the case.
The light itself looks really well made, the battery pack is kinda meh but i cant complain.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't posted for a while. Rides have been good, and it's gotten cold for Florida. I'm still getting chain skip and I don't know how to fix it. New cables and housing, chain, cassette, and derailleur. Everything's been set up by the owner and head mechanic of the only shop I trust. The only thing I can pin it on is the chainrings. 

I received a call from my manager late this morning, telling me that I'm being sent to our sister office 20 miles away for the rest of the month, as well as doing my normal production here. So, for the rest of the month, I'm looking at 80 hour weeks. So much for worrying how I was going to afford that Velocity Deep V rear wheel.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

First commute this morning since the 12th December  

Wasn't as bad as I feared; wonderfully sunny, 10deg C, really enjoyed the ride. 

Only issue was my bike - I had that 'nothing feels right' feeling I always get after not using it for a while. Brakes seemed less responsive and squeaked, weird rubbing noise from the crank... hmm. I'm sure it will all 'self cure' in a few days 

Now to install all the xmas goodies tonight when I get back home!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Haven't posted for a while. Rides have been good, and it's gotten cold for Florida. I'm still getting chain skip and I don't know how to fix it. New cables and housing, chain, cassette, and derailleur. Everything's been set up by the owner and head mechanic of the only shop I trust. The only thing I can pin it on is the chainrings.


Chainrings that look pretty good can skip when you add a new chain to the mix. Sometimes they skip under heavy load or sometimes they will cause chain suck when shifting because they "grab" the chain and pull it up. I've replaced a few drivetrains 1 piece at a time.

OK, I tallied my bikes and the results are in: 5452 miles in 2013.
The Candid Cyclist: 2013 Year End Review

I'm starting to get the itch to ride again but I think I should give the broken bone a little more than a week and a half. I did "ride" 30 min in the fitness center to keep my legs entertained.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bottomless puddles and a pedestrian on a backboard from freezing rain overnight followed by 42F and rain. Snowbanks were “calving” into the road. Quite a change, as it was -19F a couple days ago, and the news had a “time below zero” counter that was at over 2 days straight when I last saw it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I chickened out this morning. It was near 0F and windy. I'm just not equipped for that. It was 53F yesterday, but our temps are just going to keep dropping. We didn't get much snow, but I bet things are shut down for some of our Indiana commuters.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Back to the grind for me today. Crazy weather for the easterners... hang in there guys. A very mild and snowless 2 week break for me... got in quite a few trail rides and even encountered some dust. We have leftover snow in the canyons, but nothing new, and none on the horizon. It was back down in the teens this morning, so the temps are there, but the moisture is not.

Santa brought me the 1200 lumen Magicshine.... I'm suddenly in a whole new league of lighting, and the cars are dimming their brights for me now. Love it. Finally a 'trail worthy' light for the commute.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Oh it is good to be back. A decent ride in this AM after some good time off of work, some good recreational rides, some really bad rides, and some really cold rides. It was 40 F this morning. 40. On the plus side of the scale. In January. In Alaska. What's up with that? Can't complain, though. Better than the -24 I rode in on Christmas Eve day getting to a public use cabin.

Good to be back at it!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Bottomless puddles and a pedestrian on a backboard from freezing rain overnight followed by 42F and rain. Snowbanks were "calving" into the road. Quite a change, as it was -19F a couple days ago, and the news had a "time below zero" counter that was at over 2 days straight when I last saw it.


Back in the seventies Edmonton achieved 40 days below -40C ....but then Edmonton sucks.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Left the Freddies on for a week now....they are running tubeless with some small leaks...

So they were down to probably 20 psi this morning or less.....road in.. really noticable increase in traction and rut handling..cause all off the flatish tread was on the ground...obviously slower...

Still lost it on a bridge spiral...they floated on some relatively light snow so I lost traction...and had to get off. With higher pressure I am sure they would have cut through.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Finally back in the saddle. In a surprise twist, my plan for a super-cold ride late last week turned into some sort of relentless cold/sinus infection combination starting on new year's day, so I chickened out and drove in. Trail today was about an 1-2 inches of ice/slush/snow. Feet got wet prett early on and were cold enough that I couldn't feel them by the time I arrived at work. Snow tires were indispensible, I couldn't have used the trail without them. Ride was _slow_ though. 8.8 MPH average, into a 20-30 mph wind, gusting to 50+. Bar mitts were fantastic, wore no gloves at all and my hands were comfy to cool the whole ride. Amusingly by the time I got to work my rear tire had thrown enough water on my taillight that it was encased in ice so I couldn't turn it off, had to unplug it instead. To its credit though it was still flashing away.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Chainrings that look pretty good can skip when you add a new chain to the mix. Sometimes they skip under heavy load or sometimes they will cause chain suck when shifting because they "grab" the chain and pull it up. I've replaced a few drivetrains 1 piece at a time.


That's good to know! I'm taking out a bent chain link this evening. I've tried to straighten it as much as I can, but it's still not right. I only ever use the 53t and 42t chain rings, so it shouldn't be too expensive. Anyone know if they make high density carbon steel chainrings? I'm not worried about weight, so much as durability and longevity .


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Wind chills around -40F at the time of this photo, with actual air temps around -15F. We have a counter going for hours below zero, also. So far less than a day, but the anticipation is for around 50 hours of below zero temps before we're up above freezing by the weekend. No commuting going on today most likely. I did see a guy on the road in front of my house yesterday in the worst of the storm while I shoveled. The mayor requested businesses to close for today. The grocery store across the street is open, with almost no bread (only the expensive stuff is left). The plows haven't hit the bike lanes yet. They didn't get the center turn lane in the road in front of my house until sometime last night. It had a foot of snow in it by the time I finished shoveling. Snow from the plows has cocked my mailbox sideways. I guess whenever I can get a new hole dug, I'm going to have to re-set the post in concrete (I don't think it was ever put in concrete in the first place).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Back in the seventies Edmonton achieved 40 days below -40C ....but then Edmonton sucks.













> The "famous" cold spell for which Edmontonians were given certificates lasted from January 7 to February 1, 1969 for a total of 26 consecutive days of below 0°F (approximately -17.8°C)


It was -32C/-26F yesterday, but is currently a balmy -5C/23F. Back down to -18C/0F for tomorrow, and then up to freezing for the rest of the week. So weird.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Stay warm everyone.

And bedwards, stay thirsty


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was great. Not a hitch, and I got "in the zone". It was awesome. The ride home was just fine, save for the flat that I had at about the halfway point. Friday is payday, so I'll grab some liners and tubes. In the mean time, some gaffer tape and a patch kit will have to do.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


>


Awesome! There was one year here so cold, they just called it eighteen hundred and froze to death!

Pretty scene, Nate!

Nice year end round up blog, Bedwards!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> It was -32C/-26F yesterday, but is currently a balmy -5C/23F. Back down to -18C/0F for tomorrow, and then up to freezing for the rest of the week. So weird.


Dropped below 0 last night and may hit +14 tomorrow afternoon. All this complaining! You'd think it was actually cold! I was in Ottawa, Ontario the winter of 75-76 and remember a period (1 week? 2?) where the high has not above -20 F and the low not above -40 F. So -9 F (-25 or so wind chill) or whatever it was when I was out today felt OK. But I have the clothes for it. Most people here don't. They are all home concerned about frostbite in temperatures we used to go tobogganing in.

I did not ride. Haven't in a while. My BP is coming down. Was reacting to dairy. I hope to get a ride in when things are settled and I can trust the drivers. May have to mount the studded tires, though. Man, I 'm going to be slow.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Commuting 30 miles round trip on a single speed (40x16) Walmart street cruiser had me reconsidering the bike commuting thing altogether by the 28th mile. Now that I'm home and warm it was worth it. My commute used to be 14 miles round trip, which was a snap. Took an hour and a half to go 15 miles today, which was all up hill. I'm only about 15 minutes faster on my geared bike. I don't know how some of you average 15-20+ mph. If I tried that I'd likely die. Ride in low 30s and ride home high 50s.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very nice distribution, Bedwards. I`m happy to see Ms Univega getting a high percentage two years in a row 

Looks like Winter, Nate- a sad reminder that we`re looking at yet another winterless year out my way.

Newf, were you in Edmonton for that winter? If so, were you old enough to remember any of it? That`s pretty far out!

Rode into town today to pick up a two week supply of smokes and a few groceries. The ride back up to my valley was torturous- amazing how fast things fall apart every year. On the bright side, the club that runs my brevet series just posted the 2014 schedule, and it looks like I`ll be able to make both the middle runs that I thought would fall in the window when when I need to be on this year`s Main Event as far as riding goes. Will have to start shopping for excuses soon or be stuck riding them like it or not :lol:
I see the New England Randonneurs has already posted their 2014 schedule too.
2014 Event Calendar | New England Randonneurs
Um... just in case anybody was wondering 


vegascruiser said:


> I don't know how some of you average 15-20+ mph. If I tried that I'd likely die.


Tell me about it.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I think I'm younger one and two I don't have to ride that far every day. Now bouncing around base adds up but I still can only realistically ride about 15 miles each day. Since I have gotten the bike computer I have only logged 750 mi and there aren't too many days I didn't ride. My commute could be considered more of a sprint. When I go for longer rides like 30miles my average drops to about 15 and then if its trails 9-12 depending on technicality. 

I am still tossing around the idea of a commuter bike that is lighter than fs. If one pops at the right price I might go for it. If I do end up with a bike like that though I hope it let's me ride a little more aggressively in traffic (meaning keeping up, not bashing windows)

I finally got a full days ride in today and I am bushed. There's construction going on it seems everywhere on the roads so I am officially faster than traffic lol. 

Speaking of traffic the construction is making everyone a little fussy over being passed by a biker or two. I have been cut off many times in the past couple of days for riding.

My average is slowly climbing back up (17mph) while I am tossing gym days in 3 times a week. It makes for some sore times but it makes you feel refreshed every morning. 


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Basically miserable. Not from poor weather (although it was only 9F in the AM) but from missing something. I've got no oomph, no verve, feel like the legs have nothing to give. Still I persevered. Stubborn I guess. Hoping to get into the Doc to see if something is brewing. Until then I'm still going to keep at it. 

Hope you guys in the freeze stay warm!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

70kph winds?
-31C windchill?
frozen over 'clava?
and the inexplicable laughter?

yeah that's me!!


Another vote for Kenda Klondike tires.
I stayed upright, wife wiped out on the marathon winters.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Icy rain all night and day, now it's back to -10°C and dropping. Went for a little ride to the store and didn't had any issue with my front studded tire, and I had a lot of people just starring at me in awe in their cars like if I was some sort of god walking on water, riding my bike on the iced pavement like it was nothing haha

Was funny today


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> That's good to know! I'm taking out a bent chain link this evening. I've tried to straighten it as much as I can, but it's still not right. I only ever use the 53t and 42t chain rings, so it shouldn't be too expensive. Anyone know if they make high density carbon steel chainrings? I'm not worried about weight, so much as durability and longevity .


Surly makes unramped steel rings that work well with 8/9 speed chains. Downside is that they're a bit pricey, but they're good quality stuff.

The commute started 55f and rainy (and got so hard it soaked through my [mostly] waterproof boots) and wound up 32 with a 30mph headwind. At least it stopped raining on the ride home.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Took the easy short commute this morning! ~4deg C, few ice patches but nothing serious!


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## terrasmak (Jun 14, 2011)

Bike is broken, waiting for a new rear triangle. Been great weather and I'm in the car. Bike should be fixed in 2 weeks and the weather will be crap.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some parts looked a little slick&#8230;








I thought it felt cold for 2F, and I was right. That would be because of the howling wind! It felt like I was barely making any progress in some sections and my eyelids stuill feel funny from the wind and ice.


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## Maryfrkls (Dec 9, 2013)

*Great commute this morning!!!*

Sherbrooke, Québec, Jan-7-2014. 
-17C with 50km wind.
Sorry for poor video quality 

Ridding with Dillingers studded tires is a HUGE difference. The path was covered with a thick layer of grey ice. Wonderfull commute despite the wind and road condition.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

All's I can say is the world must be coming to a slow and grinding end.









That's the only way I can explain another night in January in Alaska where the temps did not dip below freezing. It is just wrong that it was 33F at my place at 4 AM. Not right. That said, it was a bit chillier in Anchorage at 24F. I really want the temps to drop back well below freezing for a while now that the snow has condensed so that the trails are bomber again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Enjoying that weird western warmth here also... forgot my glasses this morning (not my goggles, because it's not cold enough)...I forget my glasses maybe once a year, and the frozen tears remind me never to do that again. Today it was no big deal. Rain in the forecast later in the week... what the? 

We're either going to have a crazy February while the east coast basks in warmth, or we're going to start throwing around the 'drought' word again...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Another warm fast commute here in Anchorage with a few moose detours on the side! 22F! Was 40 yesterday, highs in the mid 30's today!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

You guys in Alaska must be roasting. It is currently 2 here in Michigan. Last night was -10 with a -27 windchill. Now they are forecasting upper 40's by Friday, and rain.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> We're either going to have a crazy February while the east coast basks in warmth, or we're going to start throwing around the 'drought' word again...


State water officials considering drought declaration - Capitol and California - The Sacramento Bee


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Light snow this morning. But I just got a new set of kenda krads I'm itching to ride so no truck for me today.  looks to be the fluffy snow so I don't mind . It's the heavy wet snow I don't care to ride in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I never tire of your moose and scenery, Jordy!


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Anyone know if bb7s will work with a vbrake/shifter combo or am I going to have to get seperate shifter and brake levers?


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

jhmeathead said:


> Anyone know if bb7s will work with a vbrake/shifter combo or am I going to have to get seperate shifter and brake levers?


pretty sure they'll work. I've used bb7 levers with vbrakes anyway. Enjoy the k rads, love mine.

I still haven't been for a ride this year. Between the weather and my perpetual half sickness it just hasn't seemed like a good idea. Somethings gotta give soon though.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Bb7 is a mechanical disc system so no fluids....good brakes too. 

My rides have been mostly uneventful however I am fighting a pinched nerve somewhere in my spine. Wakes me up after about 6-7 hours of sleep and after that I might as well get my butt up and get into the gym.

Good news about this is that I have a schedule and that helps me. 0430 up and kinda awake. Get to the 4runner and go to the gym (I don't have cold weather snivel gear for riding) , come back to the house and shower and eat, hop on the bike and in at work by 0730-0800. After that I simply bike everywhere I need to be. Just gotta make it home before sundown because that's when the temps drop out here in the desert. You guys in Alaska are pretty gutsy if you ask me....although a bike must be a lot easier to get around (and a lot easier to get unstuck than a awd or 4wd). I do not get the pleasure of seeing or riding in the snow. Its gotta be fun at times though.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was good, but I flatted out (again) about a mile from the office. I was able to keep enough air in the rear tire that I could stand and lean over the bars to make it to the office. Friday is payday, so I'll be looking into some Specialized Armadillo treads. Either that, or thorn resistant tubes and tire liners.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

When I get a series of flats, it's usually caused by a staple. I'm not sure why they are on the road, but I've had at least a couple of them in the past year or so. They hide out in my tire in a way that's not so easy to detect. Sometimes I have to bend the tire back to get the staple to protrude enough from the inside of the tire so I can feel it. I don't know if you, Tex-N-Fla, are having similar issues, but it's worth inspecting your tires closely to make sure nothing is stuck in there.

Commute was good this morning: 16F, sunny, with no wind.


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## Neurotic OCD (May 8, 2013)

I rode home in freezing rain last night and that was a bit slower than usual.  Looking out the window this morning, roads are still covered but school districts have not announced delays.
I guess I'll get the MTB out for the commute today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jhmeathead said:


> Anyone know if bb7s will work with a vbrake/shifter combo or am I going to have to get seperate shifter and brake levers?


There is a mountain version of BB7's that work with long-pull levers and a road version that work with short-pull levers (Shimano or SRAM brifters for example). If you connect the mountain version to short pull levers you'll be pretty unhappy.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nothing too exciting today, other than the warming trend continuing. I feel like the wicked witch in Oz "I'm melting..."

Tomorrow is a work from home day, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to carve out some riding time in the afternoon to pack trails while the temps are conducive to a good pack down.

Even the beardcicles have gone the way of the dodo.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> State water officials considering drought declaration - Capitol and California - The Sacramento Bee


Well there ya go :lol:

Today:









(There are probably several moose in that picture, you just can't see them becuase it's dark)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> I did not ride. Haven't in a while. My BP is coming down. Was reacting to dairy. I hope to get a ride in when things are settled and I can trust the drivers. May have to mount the studded tires, though. Man, I 'm going to be slow.


Hope you are able to ride soon and enjoy good health! Don't sweat the speed, enjoy the ride - throw out the computer if you have to!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hope you are able to ride soon and enjoy good health! Don't sweat the speed, enjoy the ride - throw out the computer if you have to!


I can agree to that. I definitely try to go faster when I know how fast/slow I am going. I do not have one on my trail bike though and I "enjoy" the ride more.

stamped and snail mailed


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had to be cautious on the MUP this morning. We received a dusting of snow overnight, which camouflaged the ice. My rear wheel slipped out once, but I was able to ride it out. I knew there were some icy spots but couldn't remember where they were.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

woodway said:


> There is a mountain version of BB7's that work with long-pull levers and a road version that work with short-pull levers (Shimano or SRAM brifters for example). If you connect the mountain version to short pull levers you'll be pretty unhappy.


Good point - I'm not sure but I assumed there wasn't a standard vbrake that would work with short-pull levers.

I saw the temp up to 18 when I got up so decided to ride in today. Between vacation and weather haven't been on a bike for about two weeks, wasn't really feeling strong enough to push the fixed gear but my cross bike didn't have a bottle cage on it, so not much choice in the matter. Got through it, took about 10 mins longer to get here but I think most of that was sitting in traffic (I must've waited behind like 20 cars to cross the main road down the hill from my house). I was worried about the k-rads on patches of ice but they seemed to handle it with aplomb - though I am sure the fixed-ness of the bike helps and I did keep the tire pressure a little low to get some help.

Oh, and after giving up on finding the balaclava I bought on sale in the spring I used an EMS gift card from my mother in law on a new balaclava (how did I ever live without one of these?) and a cycling specific jacket. The jacket is real nice - its rated to 40 degrees but with a fall jersey I was bordering on too warm in 20 degrees. So I'm thinking with a winter jersey I should be able to commute down close to 0F with it. Its probably not tough enough for mountain biking but I just wear tons of layers for that. There is only so much space in the office that I can hang clothes so that strategy doesn't work for commuting


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've been using "mountain" BB7's with road bike levers for a few years...haven't had any issues. I've never used the "road" BB7's, but I don't think the difference is that huge. Your mileage may vary 

Had a herd of Sierra Nevada Mini Moose cross in front of me this morning... swung the light off of the road to try to catch the big daddy... this was a smaller male that was slow enough for me to get a picture of


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've been using "mountain" BB7's with road bike levers for a few years...haven't had any issues. I've never used the "road" BB7's, but I don't think the difference is that huge. Your mileage may vary


I believe the only difference is the length of the pull arm that the brake cable attaches to.

I got an Amazon coupon for Christmas and decided to buy one of the HY/RD hydraulic brakes for my commuter. These drop in place of BB7 brakes (mechanically actuated hydraulic brake). I only bought one because I want to give it a try and see how I like it before I invest in a second one. It arrived last night and I'm going to install it and ride it today. Will report back in the "What have you done to your commuter" thread.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A regional transportation bus wooshed by this morning way too close, it seemed like the mirror just about knocked my block off and the bus body was too close also. Luckily a short bus. All the other cars and trucks seemed to be able to get by safely and courteously. I emailed the bus people about it and they both replied and called back to apologize and say they are investigating and will let me know the outcome. I don’t know if will have an impact, but it seems like they are taking it seriously. 

edit: 
They already reviewed the bus video and spoke with the driver. Apparently they could see that there was no oncoming traffic and discussed with him how he could have done better and given me more room, and also discussed other options like slowing down if there is not room to give a wider berth. They also said they could see in the video that the driver did see me and track that I was clear afterwards, which I guess is better than oblivious. The driver also apologized and it sounds like there are no hard feelings all around, which is sometimes a concern with reporting these things. A decent outcome, but of course the proof will be in the pudding.

The ride was otherwise uneventful, the 5th day in a row riding at 10F or less. I was tiring of boots and bulk so I went back to my summer trailriding 5.10 hightops but with a handwarmer packer midfoot.

I have mtn BB7's with xtr vbrake levers.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> A regional transportation bus wooshed by this morning way too close, it seemed like the mirror just about knocked my block off and the bus body was too close also. Luckily a short bus. All the other cars and trucks seemed to be able to get by safely and courteously. I emailed the bus people about it and they both replied and called back to apologize and say they are investigating and will let me know the outcome. I don't know if will have an impact, but it seems like they are taking it seriously.
> 
> edit:
> They already reviewed the bus video and spoke with the driver. Apparently they could see that there was no oncoming traffic and discussed with him how he could have done better and given me more room, and also discussed other options like slowing down if there is not room to give a wider berth. They also said they could see in the video that the driver did see me and track that I was clear afterwards, which I guess is better than oblivious. The driver also apologized and it sounds like there are no hard feelings all around, which is sometimes a concern with reporting these things. A decent outcome, but of course the proof will be in the pudding.
> ...


Seems like a good resolution...some aggressive bus drivers have been a problem for me in the past.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice quick resolution, wow. Amazing how stuff gets done when no one acts like a jerk.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I have mtn BB7's with xtr vbrake levers.


My daughter has a touring bike with what are probably mount bb7's and Shimano brifters (short pull)...

If I followed the destructions the brake preformed very poorly with lack of power...

If I simply set the brake up so that it came on as quickly as possible then the performance was fine....

I am a little pissed off because when she bought the bike the bike shop was supposed to do the upgrade to mechanical dics....so they clearly didn't get the finer points of the set up.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Dark and cold (by Vegas standards). Uneventful ride in and back home. Covered the 15 mile commute home on the single speed in 1:17, which was 15 minutes faster than Monday. This probably had more to do with catching a couple of green lights though. Finally feel like I'm shaking the Holiday excess. Lost the couple pounds I gained during the Holidays and back in the groove on the bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Nice quick resolution, wow. Amazing how stuff gets done when no one acts like a jerk.


Well said!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Dark and cold (by Vegas standards). Uneventful ride in and back home.  Covered the 15 mile commute home on the single speed in 1:17, which was 15 minutes faster than Monday. This probably had more to do with catching a couple of green lights though. Finally feel like I'm shaking the Holiday excess. Lost the couple pounds I gained during the Holidays and back in the groove on the bike.


That is good news. You are not far off the 15mph mark just by math alone. Hopefully like you I am shaking the Holiday excess. I am planning to go ride section 6 (local trail) and see if our wonderful equestrian friends have done any more damage to it. Leave it to the horseback riders to ruin a trail made specifically for bikes.

stamped and snail mailed


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> edit:
> They already reviewed the bus video and spoke with the driver...
> 
> ...The driver also apologized and it sounds like there are no hard feelings all around, which is sometimes a concern with reporting these things.


Whoa! Amazing.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

It's been snowing non stop the past two days so it's in the truck again this morning.  it's not so much I don't wanna ride as it's I really don't trust the drivers around here. Sucks cause I splurged this payday and got a new seat n set of pedals I haven't ridden yet. My old pedals were cheap wellgos that my feet would slip off in the wet.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^JM, that sounds like a lot of my posts last year. Winter's unpredictable. 

So, I lasted 2 weeks. The collar bone feels pretty good and riding doesn't seen to irritate it so I'm back on the bike. I got to take rollingrunner across the lake for the first time. We took the commuter bikes because we planned to ride the roads but the trails were sooooo nice that we just had to. Even with the skinny 1.9" tires the snow was firm enough. It was near 0 so the lake ice was really hard and some more aggressive studs would have been better. So once again, I brought the wrong bike but it worked out OK this time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards, I missed the drama while I was on break... collarbone! Ouch. Been there, done that. Sorry man. I also rode a frozen lake over break...so have no fear, frozen lakes were ridden in your absence. It was really fun after I got over the oppressive fear of imminent death.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

woodway said:


> Will report back in the "What have you done to your commuter" thread.


I did a quick write-up of the HY/RD BB7 replacement in the other thread if you are interested:

http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/what-have-you-done-your-commuter-today-892708-2.html#post10928322


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

On your left!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> bedwards, I missed the drama while I was on break... collarbone! Ouch. Been there, done that. Sorry man. I also rode a frozen lake over break...so have no fear, frozen lakes were ridden in your absence. It was really fun after I got over the oppressive fear of imminent death.


Yeah, it's hard to catch up after a few days away. Full details in my blog along with the obligatory broken bone X-ray (link below) It's my second on too.

I need to take my new camera (Contour Roam2) out of the box (kind of waiting to see if the company actually comes back)) so I can get some action deer shots too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The day after Christmas too. Major bummer. Speedy recovery.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> The collar bone feels pretty good and riding doesn't seen to irritate it so I'm back on the bike. I got to take rollingrunner across the lake for the first time.


Yeah! A double shoot of Whoohoo :thumbsup:



CommuterBoy said:


> It was really fun after I got over the oppressive fear of imminent death.


Oppressive fear of imminent death is often nice to be rid of. I can imagine it though- just as clearly as I can imagine the "really fun" part. I know that Frenchman is open for ice fishing now (surprising, but true). Tempting.
EDIT: Hmmm... the last time I saw Frenchman, if one were to break through the surface, I don`t think he`d have far to sink. Not so sure that the Imminent Death clause would really apply there.

Neither commute nor furlough for me today. This week is the first in my department`s new four X 10 schedule. Honestly, I was really getting used to the four X 8 schedule we`ve drifted into for most of the past couple years, but paydays will certainly be nicer this summer than last.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I know that Frenchman is open for ice fishing now


Watch out for fisherman holes :lol:


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

No commute today. Got to the end of the driveway, and wiped out on the road. Completely covered in a fine layer of ice. Wound up waiting 45 minutes for the ice to melt down and drove in.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

500 pages of posts. Speaks to the camaraderie members find here. 

Looks like the deluge and melt will be done by noon tomorrow, looking good for a ride health-wise.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Almost 40 today and pouring rain. I am pretty sure that it was near -30 below with the windchill almost a week ago. If the rain lets up, I may get one of my bikes out and actually ride it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Mid 40's tomorrow in the forecast. Getting my TriCross prepped and ready for the first commute of the year. Pumped up the tires, and I have a pinhole leak in the rear tube. Will be getting that rectified at the shop tomorrow before work.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Mid 40's tomorrow in the forecast. Getting my TriCross prepped and ready for the first commute of the year. Pumped up the tires, and I have a pinhole leak in the rear tube. Will be getting that rectified at the shop tomorrow before work.


Good luck and enjoy.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Was checking out Nashbar, I'm finding myself temped to do something ill-advised with my tax returns. They have the XL Slicker down to $299. Even though I'm sure it'll be too large, that price makes my hands twitch.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was great, minus the poor clothing choices. High 40's and I rode out in a thin button up and khaki shorts. Not sure why I thought it would be a good idea, but I was pretty chill by the time I reached the office. 

I've been playing around with different commute routes focusing on residential and roads with dedicated bike lanes. Swinging by the Chamber of Commerce today to grab a paper map so I can sit down and plan out several options. Anyone else do such a thing?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I've been playing around with different commute routes focusing on residential and roads with dedicated bike lanes. Swinging by the Chamber of Commerce today to grab a paper map so I can sit down and plan out several options. Anyone else do such a thing?


I like google and googlestreetview to plan routes. Streetview is incredibly handy, because you can see what's going on at intersections. Are there lights where I have to cross that major street? How does that multiuse-path connect back onto the road? The map shows a dead-end, but is it something a bike could easily hop over? That sort of stuff.

Should be really warm here his week, barely even dropping below freezing at night.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I do the street view thing, but the rest of it causes my head to twirl. I'm just so used to having maps, I suppose. When I was in EMS, everyone had a map book, and gps was simply a novelty that very few stations could afford.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Snowing in the Valley, so I had about 2 inches of fresh fluffy powder to ride in, which was nice overall. Until I got to the MUP, where it was 2 inches of powder over 3 inches of overthrow from the plows - soft and sucky.

Had a great ride on Saturday. Went out to Moose Range and rode a mix of the snowmachine and groomed ski trails (Everything is multiuse there) for a bit over two hours. Nothing technically challenging, but fun riding all the same. Some beautiful weather for it that day.









Cleaning up the bike yesterday, it appears that I might have the Surly Pugsley frame cracking issue. There are two cracks in the powder coat at the seat stay/seat tube junction. They don't have any rust bleeding out of them, so I am hopeful that this is not the issue, but I guess on the other hand, I'd prefer it to pop up now, rather than in four more months when the warranty is up.


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

Weather: 38 degrees F, low wind.
Me: Let's take the Cross-Check today; it's much faster than the Pugsley.
Bike path: Bwahahaha! I still have sheet ice.
Ground: Hello, there.
Chain Reaction Cycles: Marathon Winter Studded tires will ship later today.

Should've taken the Dillinger-equipped Pugs...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I've been playing around with different commute routes focusing on residential and roads with dedicated bike lanes. Swinging by the Chamber of Commerce today to grab a paper map so I can sit down and plan out several options. Anyone else do such a thing?


Calgary has an online bike/MUP path map.....

I have found that route selection is the most important tool to increase safety in the long run.....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Trail route today... mountain bike monday. Frozen mud is traction paradise. We had some rain over the weekend that got things sloppy, and the temp dropped back down to about 20F for the ride this morning... grip fest.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Temp wasn't too bad (32f), but the wind was brutal. With the headwind, it took me 33 minutes to ride 5 miles. Not fun.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

By far one of the worst commutes I have done. I will update later.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

About 40F for the ride in and close to 70F for the ride home. Sticking with the singlespeed for my 30 mile round trip commute and it's getting easier each day. Seat post cracked on the way home. It's been bent for awhile from a seat post rack.

Quickly snagged the seat post off my wife's cruiser (which she never rides) and I am good to go. Will by a new post this weekend and hope she doesn't try to jump on her bike before then.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Not a commute today as such, but I did go past work. 30 miles, with 7 of those into a 25 mph headwind. The peninsula almost always has the wind running that way anyway. The surfers tell me that if you go at the right time of day, you get a tailwind both ways. I've been here a year-and-a-half, and never experienced it... the closest I've been is just before sunrise, where there's little/no wind. Hunkered down behind a 3 foot wall at the halfway point to snack on a granola bar and get out of the wind. Despite being 51 degrees F, it was quite chilly right next to the water.

All in all, good, though. Got to test out my new cockpit, and got some exercise, to boot.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

I turned my commute home into a longish road ride. Up and back to the Tree of Pain. 29 miles, 3250' of climbing on a beautiful warm sunny January afternoon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Dangme, that`s a beautiful scene! Where is it?

I noticed last week that the plastic ring on my right barend shifter has disintegrated. It still seems to work fine, but I don`t think that`s a good sign. Ordered a new set today so if thet old one gives up the ghost I`ll be set. Thank God the Big S is still turning them out in my prefered 8-speed flavor!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have done some really dumb stuff in my life, but commuting to work today ranks in the top 5 now. I will preface todays ride with everything last week. We got at least 16+ " of snow, and the temps were below zero, with windchills at about -25 or so. A week later, it is in the 40's for a few days in a row, and the melt starts. Yesterday was mid 40's, and today was forecasted for sunny and 46. I had to ride. Checked out the first part of the route, and it looked OK, so I decided that I would ride. Well......

The first part of my ride consists of leaving my complex, heading up the road on the sidewalk for about 150 yards or so uphill, and then on to the bike path. The first part of the path was totally dry, so I figured that I was good to go for sure. The path is about 2.5 miles or so, and the first mile was great. The second mile and a half was a mess of half melted snow, ice, and a maze of some dry patches. I walked it part of the way, and slowly crawled the rest of the way. Got to the road, and it was OK at first. Bike lane was partially cleared, but some of the snow/ice combo still covered the lane. I had to roll into traffic to keep going. Road was completely wet, and of course, I forgot to mount that fender that I had kept meaning to mount. Aside from the wet roads, the ride in was OK. My bike which was spotless, looks like a wreck now, from mud on the paved path, and all kinds of crap that I rolled through. The rest of the ride in wasn't bad, until the car that passed me came really close. I am in the bike lane, and they drifted into it, nearly hitting me. It probably wasn't as close as it felt, but it was close. Shook me up a little bit as I wasn't expecting it.

The ride home? Horrific. Wet roads and 35, which I thought wouldn't be bad. More snow had melted, creating puddles on the road that I had no choice to go through. Quite a bit of traffic on the main road, and the bike lane ends before it really should. This is the same road that I ride heading the other way into work. I am not sure why it is only on one side of the road and not the other. Well, the traffic was making me a bit nervous as I couldn't help but think about the ride in. Now it is dark, and I had the good lights on, but still in the back of my head, I am getting nervous. Get off the main road, cut behind on another road, and get back to my normal road that will take me back most of the way. This is where it got sketchy. Fairly dark, and not well travelled.....and then I realized that it had iced over. Not fully iced over, and not all of the road, but most of it. I tried to judge based on the street lights and my headlight, but that didn't fair well for me. I came up on a huge patch, and thought I could stop in time. Hell no. Went down like a ton of bricks. Bike slid at least 15 feet past me on the ice. Almost fell again trying to get to the bike. Had to walk it again for a bit, and then the road was OK. I knew that there was no way I was heading back on that bike path, so I continued on my back up route. More roads that were slick, not well travelled and not well lit. 

My 8 mile commute took me 55 minutes total. I had to get to a main road to make it home. I ran out of options unless I wanted to walk it through a park on what I am sure where ice covered paths. Even the main road by my complex was slick. I realized that the center turn lane was completely dry, so I rode that for the last 3/4 mile. At that point, I didn't care. I just wanted to be done. What a hell of a night.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Scarey trip, glad you survived, TenSpeed. Have you ordered those studded tires yet?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I noticed last week that the plastic ring on my right barend shifter has disintegrated. It still seems to work fine, but I don`t think that`s a good sign. Ordered a new set today so if thet old one gives up the ghost I`ll be set. Thank God the Big S is still turning them out in my prefered 8-speed flavor!


I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that likes to have bike parts "in stock". I'm getting pretty close to bike shop proportions. My bar end shifters on the CC are getting pretty sloppy.



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Scarey trip, glad you survived, TenSpeed. Have you ordered those studded tires yet?


Yeah, with studs the story would have been "I rode home" . Of course, I own 3 bikes with studded tires and just broke my collar bone by riding one that didn't on icy trails. Glad you OK.

I seem to be back on the bike full time. :thumbsup: The lake is pretty sloppy so it's the roads until we get back to normal temps. Somewhere between -20 and +45 would be a fine compromise.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Don't sweat it TenSpeed, now you're due for a really, really good ride now. Call it commuter karma............


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

shiggy said:


> View attachment 862282


Overachieving topography compared to the Great Plains. The climb makes me hurt to think about, but the view is grand.

Tenspeed: Yes, black Ice at night is no fun at all.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Someone is about to order some studded tires I bet  Tenspeed, I waited way to long to order my studs... I had too many stories like that. Now I skid across the ice sometimes just to leave lines in it from my glorious carbide companions.

Rodar, you'll be happy to know I am a proud user of 8 speed bar-ends on the Ogre. That's about as retro as I get though. 
I'm actually working on a flat bar conversion so I can swap cockpits occasionally, and I had a heck of a time finding 8 speed trigger shifters... does anyone make them anymore? I wound up getting some from a friend's parts bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

My bike budget is beyond shot. To be honest, the thought of buying new tires right now just saddens me. I am going to wait and see how the weather is. It is another beautiful sunny day here, but that will be deceiving later on.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Drove this morning. I was all geared up and ready to go when I noticed my rear tire was flat. My other commuter still has a flat too. :madman: There was a little frozen fog and black ice this morning, but the weather was still awesome for commuting. Sucks to miss it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> My bike budget is beyond shot. To be honest, the thought of buying new tires right now just saddens me. I am going to wait and see how the weather is. It is another beautiful sunny day here, but that will be deceiving later on.


My insurance co-pay for the x-ray and a follow-up would have bought a new set of studded tires. And my crash was very non-spectacular. The front wheel slipped the wrong way and I landed the wrong way. If I was on the road and got run over by a truck it would have been more...Just sayin. Have I given you enough incentive to go get yourself some tires? Think of it as a health insurance premium.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A fairly non-eventful ride in this AM for me. 27F at my house with 16mph winds from the north. 18F in Anchorage. I dressed for the Valley, so was a bit chilly once I got into town. For some reason I didn't even bring an extra layer with me today. D'oh!

Had some traffic to deal with yesterday afternoon on the ride home...








He was chill, so no bigs.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Stay safe, my friends*

I thought drunks were bad...

Texting While Driving Crash Caught On Camera

Maybe the illegal right turn into the left lane was a hint. Surprised the cop didn't light him up for that. Would have saved him a lot of money.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BrianMc said:


> I thought drunks were bad...
> 
> Texting While Driving Crash Caught On Camera
> 
> Maybe the illegal right turn into the left lane was a hint. Surprised the cop didn't light him up for that. Would have saved him a lot of money.


I've never seen anyone pulled over for that sort of right turn. Thanks for posting that video, as I'm headed to Floriduh for a week tomorrow morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Dangme, that`s a beautiful scene! Where is it?


Since Shiggy has not responded - I believe that is over on the east side of the Washington Cascades...Wenatchee area if I remember correctly. Is that Sage Hills Shiggy?

Beautiful country and great cycling.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

For anyone who's interested, here's an extremely lengthy treatise on different types of ice and snow, from a local cyclist and fellow co-op volunteer:

Lexicon of Urban Edmonton Ices - By Robert Clinton | tuckamoredew

I've only skimmed so far, but I'm glad someone else feels the need to make a distinction between Brown Sugar, Cookie Dough, and Grind Sugar.

We are having lovely above-freezing temperatures, which is making me realize what a nice and solid snowpack there _used to_ be on the streets. Now there's plenty of sections that are 6" deep in what I would call "Sludge" but which the lexicon calls "Slice."


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I have done some really dumb stuff in my life, but commuting to work today ranks in the top 5 now. I will preface todays ride with everything last week. We got at least 16+ " of snow, and the temps were below zero, with windchills at about -25 or so. A week later, it is in the 40's for a few days in a row, and the melt starts. Yesterday was mid 40's, and today was forecasted for sunny and 46. I had to ride. Checked out the first part of the route, and it looked OK, so I decided that I would ride. Well......
> 
> The first part of my ride consists of leaving my complex, heading up the road on the sidewalk for about 150 yards or so uphill, and then on to the bike path. The first part of the path was totally dry, so I figured that I was good to go for sure. The path is about 2.5 miles or so, and the first mile was great. The second mile and a half was a mess of half melted snow, ice, and a maze of some dry patches. I walked it part of the way, and slowly crawled the rest of the way. Got to the road, and it was OK at first. Bike lane was partially cleared, but some of the snow/ice combo still covered the lane. I had to roll into traffic to keep going. Road was completely wet, and of course, I forgot to mount that fender that I had kept meaning to mount. Aside from the wet roads, the ride in was OK. My bike which was spotless, looks like a wreck now, from mud on the paved path, and all kinds of crap that I rolled through. The rest of the ride in wasn't bad, until the car that passed me came really close. I am in the bike lane, and they drifted into it, nearly hitting me. It probably wasn't as close as it felt, but it was close. Shook me up a little bit as I wasn't expecting it.
> 
> ...


Dang, Tenspeed, I was expecting a little more than this based on your "teaser" post. I thought you maybe got chased down by a pack of wolves or something. . .glad you didn't get hurt.

I admit that I don't contend with much ice here in Vegas, but if I did I'd be riding studded tires for sure. Your story is a reminder to all of us that we must face our daily commutes with a bike properly fitted to the current riding conditions. Get those tires ASAP


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> I thought drunks were bad...
> 
> Texting While Driving Crash Caught On Camera


Wow! Scarey.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> My bike budget is beyond shot. To be honest, the thought of buying new tires right now just saddens me. I am going to wait and see how the weather is. It is another beautiful sunny day here, but that will be deceiving later on.


What size tires does your bike fit? Maybe someone here has one or two kicking around that are not new but way better than "summer tires" and could pm you.

A friend in Maine used to call "all-season" car tires "the south's revenge on the north for the Civil War" - good snow/ice tires make a big difference.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Man, Tenspeed. I'm glad you're okay, but don't try that again, huh? I'm in the same boat as Vegas, I don't have to worry about ice, thank goodness.

This morning was great. Pretty taxing on the body, but whatever. No pain no gain. I've scouted out a new route that's three miles longer, but avoids most major streets, has plenty of bike lanes, and makes use of residential streets. I've ridden it the last several days, and it's been a breeze. I also made use of a Christmas gift for my eldest that he didn't want. Check it out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^What is it? Landing light for a UFO?

Last night's commute was wet. This morning's was pretty normal. 

Oh, I did almost get taken out by a car that was angry to be in stopped traffic and made a sudden right turn the wrong way into a parking lot. My cat like reflexes saved me.:skep: I was too happy to be passing miles of stopped traffic to care that much.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CosmicBritez. Battery powered string of LEDs that I got for him to wrap around his bike. He didn't like them, said they hurt his eyes while he was riding. I also have some reflective tape sewn on to my hydro pack that is reflecting the green light you see. I'm all for it, since I got so many compliments about it last night on a short 4 mile ride.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

45F this morning, with a wind warning for gusting over 60mph. I looked out the window and noticed that my bbq had migrated across the balcony. Lots of melting - plenty of roads are bare; plenty of roads have 6" of slush; plenty of roads look like a skating rink after the zamboni has been out. No hat for me today!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I think that I am going to wait for the weather to decide what it is going to do. I got a little overzealous with the temps and didn't really think about what the roads might be like. As much as I want to ride, I won't be putting myself through that again.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too shabby this AM. Warm and calm. A nice full moon to help light the way. 

Last night was rough, though. Nearly two hours to get home due to poor visibility and road conditions. 

Sounds like the rest of the week could be worse with a warming trend and rain. Rain? WTF?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No commute news. Mailing in Mrs Rodar`s naturalization application yesterday was a pretty big event for us though.


Texan-n-Fla said:


> I also made use of a Christmas gift for my eldest that he didn't want.


I KNEW I should have bought my wife a 52cm Crosscheck for Christmas! :madman:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> No commute news. Mailing in Mrs Rodar`s naturalization application yesterday was a pretty big event for us though.
> I KNEW I should have bought my wife a 52cm Crosscheck for Christmas! :madman:


Congrats! Hope the red tape has all been cut and it's nothing but smooth sailing from now on.

And there's always next Christmas...


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

I had an awesome commute! My commuter hybrid, Timmy, eats black ice for breakfast! I initially had some concerns, but Mr. Rollingrunner told me that my studs would just roll over the black ice like dry pavement. He was right! Excited!


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## WyldStallyn (Jun 5, 2013)

Got doored on a neighborhood street the other night, so I have recently changed my route to main streets with bike lanes that aren't lined with parked cars. Glad I had good reflexes, and walked away with a bruised right arm/taco for a front wheel. Could have been much worse. Had a run in with Pepe LePew this morning. My rear tire went flat shortly after. Thankfully the events were separate, and not in the reverse order. Fixed up the flat in 10 minutes and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way to work. A full moon and a beautiful sunrise coupled with 55 degrees made for a most excellent ride regardless of the road hazards.


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## AndrewJL (Mar 6, 2009)

Almost got righthooked this morning and the driver had to of seen me, they apexed the turn in the wrong lane


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## XJaredX (Apr 17, 2006)

FOG. I recently switch positions at work and I have to be ready to work at 7:15am instead of 9am now.

Today was my first attempt to ride to work on the new schedule, left the house at 5:45 (groan) and was met with a ton of fog. About 3 of the 17 miles are along a creek through a park, and I couldn't see more than 10 feet ahead of me, I almost hit a deer :lol:

I've only started bike commuting to work at the beginning of this winter, so every time I go out I am presented with a new challenge in terms of proper clothing (I run hot so I have a problem with sweat even with just say a jersey under a North Face LWR jacket in 30 degree weather). Between that and knowing what road surfaces have ice and what are just wet, it gets challenging, but still fun!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Mailing in Mrs Rodar`s naturalization application yesterday was a pretty big event for us though.


It is something you won't forget. The interview questions were OK. They did not ask who was the 17th VP or to name George Washington's horse.  So I guess they decided to go easy on me. The pledge of allegiance at the citizenship hearing is another moment.



rodar y rodar said:


> I KNEW I should have bought my wife a 52 cm Crosscheck for Christmas! :madman:


A lot of us in that boat. Mine would not have been amused. 



WyldStallyn said:


> Got doored on a neighborhood street the other night, so I have recently changed my route to main streets with bike lanes that aren't lined with parked cars. Glad I had good reflexes, and walked away with a bruised right arm/taco for a front wheel.


A friend riding a paper delivery bike in the late sixties took the door off the Police Chief's wife's car. Riding a tank helps in that situation apparently. I take the lane as no one here looks for cars let alone cyslists.



WyldStallyn said:


> Had a run in with Pepe LePew this morning. My rear tire went flat shortly after. Thankfully the events were separate, and not in the reverse order.


Flats stink, but...



AndrewJL said:


> Almost got righthooked this morning and the driver had to have seen me, they apexed the turn in the wrong lane


A miss is as good as a mile and unloading here helps. At least is made me feel better. Hope it was an: "Oops! I shouldn't have done that!".



XJaredX said:


> FOG. .... Between that and knowing what road surfaces have ice and what are just wet, it gets challenging, but still fun!


Congrats on not abusing the deer. Watch for traffic changes at the new time and you need to educate a new set of drivers that a cyclist may be present.


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## WyldStallyn (Jun 5, 2013)

Bluebird sky, 70 degrees, 13 miles of goodness for my ride home. Lookin forward to it!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> No commute news. Mailing in Mrs Rodar`s naturalization application yesterday was a pretty big event for us though.


Wow, lots of excitement today, hope that rolls smooth!



RollingRunner said:


> I had an awesome commute! My commuter hybrid, Timmy, eats black ice for breakfast! I initially had some concerns, but Mr. Rollingrunner told me that my studs would just roll over the black ice like dry pavement. He was right! Excited!


:lol: Mr. Rollingrunner = awesome! Ice-rolling = doubley so!



WyldStallyn said:


> Got doored on a neighborhood street the other night, so I have recently changed my route to main streets with bike lanes that aren't lined with parked cars. Glad I had good reflexes, and walked away with a bruised right arm/taco for a front wheel.


Whew! Close one. I'm sure I get lots of rolled eyes and frustrated faces for the few blocks through downtown here with a safe distance from parked cars. I have not had to use it yet but I am so ready to say, "do you really" think anyone in this town looks before they open their door".



AndrewJL said:


> Almost got righthooked this morning and the driver had to of seen me, they apexed the turn in the wrong lane


Yikes! They must have shaved .05 seconds off their commute!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I think that I am going to wait for the weather to decide what it is going to do. I got a little overzealous with the temps and didn't really think about what the roads might be like. As much as I want to ride, I won't be putting myself through that again.


I applaud your self-control. I could never sideline my three bikes for some cold weather and ice. I've been up mt. biking in Blue Diamond when my water bottles kept freezing over and parts of my body were so cold I couldn't feel them. But I loved every second of the ride and quickly learned about proper clothing. I pride myself on versatility. While it would seem that many of you, or maybe even most, are faced with hardship at wintertime, my testing of will comes during the summer here in Vegas. Singlespeeding up a hot asphalt road when it's 117F with 15 miles to go is pretty challenging, if not just plain stupid. Glad to see you're able to keep your enthusiasm for bikes in perspective, TenSpeed.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride home was awesome, too. Lost a screw on my right toe clip, so I zipped on in to the LBS and got hooked up. Decided to try and take a shortcut through a neighborhood I wasn't familiar with and got lost. Had to whip out the phone and get myself out. Got tons of compliments on the new green lights on the hydro pack, and a lot of folks telling me that everyone should have them. Had a Latina woman in a ragged out Oldsmobile yelled at me to get on the sidewalk, which made me chuckle, since she would be the last person I would accept bicycling advice from.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> I applaud your self-control. I could never sideline my three bikes for some cold weather and ice. I've been up mt. biking in Blue Diamond when my water bottles kept freezing over and parts of my body were so cold I couldn't feel them. But I loved every second of the ride and quickly learned about proper clothing. I pride myself on versatility. While it would seem that many of you, or maybe even most, are faced with hardship at wintertime, my testing of will comes during the summer here in Vegas. Singlespeeding up a hot asphalt road when it's 117F with 15 miles to go is pretty challenging, if not just plain stupid. Glad to see you're able to keep your enthusiasm for bikes in perspective, TenSpeed.


I just know what my limitations are, and having grown up with winter all of my life, I know that the riding will be here soon, and I will be ready for it. Don't want to be sidelined due to an injury. Since we are talking about 117F, does anyone have a recommendation on a type of man wipe to clean up once I get to work. Showers won't always be available to me, so I want to be prepared just in case.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute for me this morning. It wouldn't work out logistically, since I'm dropping off a bike to someone in need this evening, and riding 10 miles while holding a bike is not my idea of fun. Plus, several bags of clothes and shoes for her three boys.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Studspiration:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

38F in the valley when I woke up. No new snow or rain, so that was good. The MUP I usually ride is still buried in layer upon layer of over-throw from the road plowing and new snow such that I haven't ridden it for three days. Getting lazy, I suppose. Instead I ride the shoulder of the highway. Not my favorite place to ride with traffic moving by at 55mph, but in the long run a better route than trying to bust through the mess on the MUP.

Anchorage was 28F and snowing when I got to town. Good riding all the way. The nice powder on top of the groomed trails was awesome.









My wife just told me that it is raining up in the valley now. Not what I wanted to hear. I really don't care for the weather we've been having. Too warm. Too warm by far.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I wiped out on the ice last time I rode home, breaking one of the arms of the pump mounting bracket on my commuter rig. Rather than risk losing the pump or duct taping something, I rode my cross bike in today (ok I guess I just wanted to ride it) as a faux singlespeed and it was a blast. I forgot how much faster it is. I'm sure its partly because I don't have a trunk bag full of gear with me but it took me 12-15 minutes less to get in, forget what time was on garmin when I arrived. 

Hoping I eventually meet up with this guy who wants to trade me a 9 speed cassette and some cash for a fork I don't use anymore. At this rate it will be spring by the time I get to try commuter rig with gears. And by then I'll be getting back into shape so I'll probably still want it set up fixed so I get a bit more of a workout. Guess there's always next year


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Not a great week, as far as commuting is concerned. I had a flat on Monday, which prevented me from biking to work, and another flat yesterday. Usually I have stuff for this occasion, but for one reason or another, I had left all the stuff at home. I considered pumping up my tire and racing home, but I had forgotten to put the presta adapter back on my stem after fixing my first flat. I keep picking up staples in my rear tire, which is wearing thin and needs to be replaced.

On Tuesday, I nearly wrecked because my derailleur skipped under load while accelerating uphill out of the saddle (accidentally wrote about this in the "What have you done..." thread). Nothing has happened to me today (yet). It's snowing now, and there's still a lot of daylight left. :thumbsup:

EDIT: Scratch that. I forgot my undies today. :ciappa:


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Been taking the bus this week. It isn't horribly cold for me (-15 Celsius, or so) but I have a hydraulic brake model that doesn't seem to handle cold well.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> EDIT: Scratch that. I forgot my undies today. :ciappa:


I decided that I would keep a spare black pair in my bag in a hidden pocket. I forgot mine once. That is all it will ever be from now on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> Since we are talking about 117F, does anyone have a recommendation on a type of man wipe to clean up once I get to work. Showers won't always be available to me, so I want to be prepared just in case.


I don't know if they work on men, but I use the unscented ones from White Cloud, they are sold at Walmart.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Full Trail Commute*

^^ :lol: Nope they don't work on men.

Nice video CB. What do you use for editing software?

The trails are fun, fast and icy. This was my first trail commute since the crash. Non-studded tires need not attempt.

I did get to create my Strava segment, not surprisingly I'm the only one that has ridden it. Although RR will probably get QOM in the near future. 
Strava Segment | Lyons Point to Spider Island

With luck, the trails will still be firm enough for the trip home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> I decided that I would keep a spare black pair in my bag in a hidden pocket. I forgot mine once. That is all it will ever be from now on.


I usually keep a spare at the office, but I must have used them and forgotten to bring another pair. Either that or I hid them in a very good spot.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice video CB. What do you use for editing software?


iMovie on a Mac. Idiot proof.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice video CB.
> 
> The trails are fun, fast and icy. This was my first trail commute since the crash. Non-studded tires need not attempt.


+1, nice ice CB!

Bedwards, Yikes, you are brave to be out on icy trails already! KT even closed the fatbike trails due to ice.

I had a rough bikecommute week like some others, as I was in the car (and home 1 day) since my dog was sick! He has turned the corner and is now back to ricocheting off the furniture. But then a friend from work fell on the ice, hurting her foot, so I'm driving her tomorrow. Should be back to it next week.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

A chilly 40F for the peddle in and a nice 72-74F for the peddle home. We had a week and a half cold snap in early December that took us into the mid-20s for a few days. Since then, though, it's been in the mid-to-high 60s for the last month and breaking into the 70s this week. Crazy weather, even by Vegas standards. We're only supposed be in the mid-to-high 50s for afternoons highs right now. 

Glad to be back in the commuting swing. Have nearly logged more miles thus far in January than November and December combined. Boy did I get lazy going into the Holidays.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Looking forward to the ride in tomorrow. Got all my warm clothes laid out, chain is cleaned and lubed. Derailleur is dialed in and brakes are set up just right. Think I'll set up the bike brain app while I ride so I can get an exact idea of how far my route is, and how close my guestimation has been.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Studspiration was neat-o! Very nice U turns.



bedwards1000;10940369I did get to create my Strava segment said:


> Strava Segment | Lyons Point to Spider Island[/URL]


Cool. Since it says something about four runs, I take it you were able to follow your previous runs well enough to keep the computer happy. Were your tire tracks visible, or did you have to do it by constant eye on the GPS?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Neither. It is just a straight shot from the point to the edge of the island. I'm surprised it picked up my earlier rides because I wasn't really trying. 

No bike commute for me today because I need to travel to a customer's.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I don't know if they work on men, but I use the unscented ones from White Cloud, they are sold at Walmart.


Are you just using unscented baby wipes?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

So my week of less than stellar commuting continues. Snow hit just before dawn and the roads are a mess. I was tempted to ride in regardless, but I gave in and drove the car. The good news is one of the first streets I turn on to on my biking commute was bumper to bumper. By car, I skip that road completely. The roads into the business park were also a disaster. They were covered in wet snow, which is quickly getting icy as the cars pack it down and the wind hits it. I am one of two people in my office right now. Hopefully it's a slow day.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I've been using adult bath wipes found over by the Depends section. Work great, and one wipe cleans it all. 

This morning was good. Freaking cold, though. It dropped below freezing last night, and I'm sure it was around there when I left. Measured the distance on the new route since we moved, and it's 11.82 miles. Unfortunately, I stuck right around 11 mph due to the weather, so it wasn't much of anything.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, sweet segment. Summer bike tourists are going to be baffled :lol:

Wound up riding home after 9:00 last night after a day of family/errands/madness... my new big boy headlight has made me love the night rides all the more. Peaceful out there in the dark.

This morning's commute felt like a continuation of last night's ride though... felt like I was just out there.

From the GoPro today:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> Are you just using unscented baby wipes?


Yes, they are found in the baby section of the personal care aisles, but White Cloud calls them "cottom soft cloths", I get the blue 80 count "brick" pack.


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## Medic Zero (Jun 8, 2011)

.

Finally got my first ride in this year, this evening. I hurt my back and shoulder moving our household across town in late December and had to take some time off from riding.  I usually ride 3 to 7 days a week, so that was tough for me.

I would have preferred to ride, but my shoulder felt like it was on fire most of the past two weeks and was hurting in a way that told me not to push it. Starting out the new annum down about 100 miles from my goal for the year wasn't what I envisioned. Oh well.

First commute in from a new neighborhood too. I was afraid that the commute from this very car centric area through a couple of industrial areas was going to be bleak and dangerous, but it wasn't quite as bad as I expected. Parts of the industrial area had a beauty all their own, (at least today at twilight and with a bit of fog out) and traffic wasn't too bad, although I was honked at once for no good reason.

A big rig surprised me by backing out of my way, which was nice. I was rolling up the grandiosely named Duwamish Bikeway (usually just a sidewalk, if that) and a semi pulled across the sidewalk about a block ahead. As I got closer and he didn't have any gaps in traffic to pull out, he kindly backed up out of the sidewalk/trail to let me pass. I waved, but he looked like he was preoccupied with a clipboard or phone or something, so I don't think he saw my thanks.

I did get stuck behind a train. I had forgotten that my new route has to cross the industrial railroad tracks, as well as the Amtrak/local train/and main line railroad tracks, as well as the new streetcar. Today only the first one got me, and I was encouraged as it was a rather short length of cars that they were switching around, but then they stopped right in front of me. The engine was in the rear, and it literally stopped with only 10 feet of it hanging over the crossing! Grrr! If I hadn't left a few minutes later than I had planned, and wasn't sure exactly how long it was going to take me to ride in to work since this was the first time from our new home, I would've waited. Instead, I portaged my bike through the big gravel about 100 feet past the train then portaged it across all four sets of switching tracks to the frontage road on the other side. Yeah, I know, technically not kosher, but totally safe, as the train was at a dead stop, I was lit up like a christmas tree with all my lights, and I went so far down the tracks that they couldn't have run me over even if they had tried.

After a few more segments of heavy traffic on surface streets with only a faded sharrow as a fig leaf (painted far to the right no less!) I made my way through the short SODO trail and then through China Town and up the backside of First Hill. A car that appeared to be doing a poor job of either parking or pulling out blocked the bike lane on one of the few stretches I actually had one (door zone as it was), but I could see the next car approaching from behind me had spotted that we were all going to be in the same place at the same time and held back for me to go out into the lane to get around the car blocking the bike lane. Another one of those times that my continual appreciation for my mirror popped consciously into my mind, because I was able to see the car behind was me leaving me room _and_ keep an eye on the car blocking the bike lane for some unexpected last minute asshat manuever.

I was frankly a little daunted by how car-centric my new neighborhood is and how much heavy, fast moving traffic there is in the industrial areas I have to travel through to get to work on my new commute, so I really appreciated vehicle drivers twice going out of their way to be courteous to me, especially on my first commute in from our new place. I was also pleased that overall the commute wasn't as bad as I'd feared it'd be. I thought it was going to be all bleak, noisy, and awful, but it wasn't quite that bad, and had a few okay parts.

Although I'm missing aspects of my old commute, now that I've given up on trying to go back to college, two days a week I can take longer more scenic routes in to and home from work, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.  :thumbsup:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not to bad of a ride in this AM. The heat up came back overnight, along with strong winds - 38F and 16mph winds when I left the house this AM. Roads were a mixed bag of packed and glazed snow, salty soft slush, and glare ice. The MUP to the bus stop was a mix of packed snow and textured ice. The Anchorage side of the ride was interesting. The roads were clear pavement and the MUP was hard packed, ice-glazed snow. 

I have a feeling that the ride home tonight is going to be a bit more challenging - the trails will be really soft and the roads will be wet. I really don't like wet in January.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy Moly Medic, that's a long post.

I've finally got some premium fatbike conditions. A few inches of powder over well consolidated snow at right around 30F. It would be a little too soft for a not so fat bike. I can't wait to leave work so I can ride it home. Oh, wait I can never wait to leave work, that's right.  

Temps are supposed to drop below 0F for the rest of the nights this week. They're not using the "Polar Vortex" soundbite yet but I'll be it is coming.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

First ride in 11 days. (Whole family got the flu.) 28 degrees. Trails are hard, but bumpy from all the freeze/thaw cycles. Will it just snow already???


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> First ride in 11 days. (Whole family got the flu.) 28 degrees. Trails are hard, but bumpy from all the freeze/thaw cycles. Will it just snow already???


I hear ya! We got some nice snow up in the valley on Saturday night and it hung around nicely yesterday, but with the overnight warm up ... poof. I want it to be winter!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Flu here too, but not 11 days worth. It started Sat night as just a lot of phlegm, elevated to head/muscle aches yesterday, knocked out fairly well with OTC meds. Jusst tired now. Decided to try the non smoking thing one more time on Feb 1st. Just can`t win any more- feel crappy if I do, feel crappy if I don`t.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Good luck, man. I kicked the smokes after almost 15 years 9 months ago. Haven't looked back. I stood at the corner of the hospital parking lot the day after my daughter (and third child) was born, and decided I was done. 

Ride this morning was uneventful. Hoping to really sit down and plan out several routes tonight. It's about to get really cold, and I'm not prepared. Need some thermals.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good luck with the quitting Rodar! 


Texan-n-Fla said:


> ...It's about to get really cold, and I'm not prepared. Need some thermals.


LOL, I had to look to see what _really _cold was in Florida. It's going to get really cold here too.  But still not as really cold as those poor saps in Edmonton.

I get to go ride my bike, wheeee!!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Decided to try the non smoking thing one more time on Feb 1st.


Best of luck and hang tough! Put that cig $$$ into your bike account for some extra incentive. A good friend just re-quit recently, and reported she's weaning off with e-cigs, and doesn't even want to kill anyone!

Hope everyone with the flu feels better!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Really cold is freeze warning. Nothing like what some of you guys deal with, but I'm not prepared for this mess at all. 

I did the e-cig thing. Found some flavors that I like, weened myself down on nicotine strength, and now it's there for fun, but nothing that I can't live without.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> But still not as really cold as those poor saps in Edmonton.


Hey now, I'll have you know that we're actually in the middle of a heatwave.  It's 27F today, which is actually the coldest that it's been since the first week of Jan. We should be close to 50F later in the week, and the scorching temperatures should continue through the end of the month.

In related news, the roads are either completely bare, or in completely terrible shape.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Had an awesome ride home. Got into the groove, if that makes sense. I wasn't looking forward to doing the street thing instead of paths and canal trails to work, but I've been proved wrong. The mix of residential and major arterial streets keep it interesting and mixed up. 

I'm gonna slap some cheap bar ends on tonight. I know they look goofy as hell, but it's a temporary solution to some different hand positions until I can gather the parts I need for either drop bars, or bullhorns. I'm seriously leaning toward some touring drops, with Paul thumbies and a duel brake lever setup. Although I can't tell my wife any of this. She's burnt out talking about bike stuff.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s 3AM, there`s too much noise, won`t these people ever let me go to bed?
29F, dry and windless- good skinny bike conditions.

Thanks for the cheers- I need all I can get.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm sitting in a gas station parking lot. Somehow had a little electronics screw puncture through my Armadillo treads. Called the wife to pick me up, because I'll be late otherwise. I had really pushed myself last night, so my legs are no good this morning. 

I'll patch the tube while I wait, and hope for a better day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Man...today was not the day to have our only car in the shop. I'm usually up on the weather, but I didn't think twice about dropping off our car at the shop last night. This morning I awoke to about 2 inches of snow on the ground. Not a big deal. The roads were slushy but the temps were just above freezing, and the salt was working really well. 

As I was walking the dog, the wind ramped up, and we were suddenly facing near white out to white out conditions. Regardless, I headed out the door and hopped on my bike. The roads were a bit slick, but not terrible. Soon after I left the neighborhood, the wind and snow started slapping me in the face and wouldn't let up. I hopped on the MUP, cut through the park, and exited the other side. There were about 5 cars on the road. All of them were creeping along, and the wind was ripping straight down the road. The road had been plowed at one time, but all that meant was there was now a bunch of lumpy snow in the bike lane. I stuck to the lane. 

I descended down a long hill, made the slight turn and was hit with a nice blast of air on the uphill. The snow and wind was hitting me directly in the face. The cars in the opposite lane were probably going 10mph at this point. I felt like I was creeping up the hill, but I finally made it up. I turned at the top of the hill and enjoyed the tailwind for a while until turning toward the office and being greeted with more snow in the face. I was a bit wet and my helmet was filled with snow, but I made it. The warm shower sure felt good.


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## theGliberal (Sep 25, 2009)

-10F with wind chill of -25F at 6:30AM Central. Left side of goggles fogged up somewhat. Have to pay attention to the ice from Sunday's 38F high temp. Pedestrian bridge over RR tracks dicey.


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## Maryfrkls (Dec 9, 2013)

*-30C...still fun!*


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Similar here, got up to -10F by the time I left the car to be inspected. I had a little fogging too, really annoying. I had an overwarm core from a flimsy little thin insulated vest I call “the heater”. At least it was sunny, which was a little strange, as last week someone said we had not had a sunny day since Dec 1  .


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

0F in these parts. No fogging on my dual pane safety glasses. They look dorky as hell but rarely fog. Wow, the cold really slows down the snow. I took the same route with the same bike as yesterday but was about 10% slower. I might try a non-fat bike tomorrow.

Going to the orthopedist today to see if he says it's OK to start riding again. :skep:. I really hope he says yes because I have been for almost 2 weeks now.:nono:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I wish it were 0 or below around here! Woke up to 39F, wind, and rain this AM in the Valley. 31F and freezing rain by the time I got to town. Bothersome.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Way to go Rodar... tough stuff but you can do it. 

My family was passing the stomach flu around at the end of last week/over the weeked...I appear to have dodged a bullet at this point.. 

Great weather over the weekend, but the water pump in my Jeep grenaded...so I spent the sunny afternoons playing mechanic instead of riding. Booo. Better than doing it in sub-zero temps though. We are locked into a low of 20/high of 50 pattern that is getting really depressing in terms of actually having a winter. The trails are actually dusty. So bizarre to be riding wherever I want in Janary.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Best commute today - worked from home because of the impending storm, but woke to see that it had started snowing early. So in case it ends up with the trails crusted with filthy ice with footprints frozen into it again (lasted for over a week last time!) I decided to suck it up and take the 20 mile ride to my home office


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

5F, roads were shitty and half-cleared. Rode ~1 mile to the junction with a high-speed road, saw it too was in pretty poor shape, chickened out and got the car. Chain skipped a handful of times in that mile too. Replaced the chain the other night, but I was hoping to keep using the casette for a while. Guess not?

Blah. I think I was justified in bailing on the ride, but I still feel crappy about it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Thanks for the cheers- I need all I can get.


OK. Cheers!



AlexCuse said:


> Best commute today - ... I decided to suck it up and take the 20 mile ride to my home office


My favorite commute. BP down some, temps up some but blowing and drifting snow with the minimal snow removal equipment means I'm not going anywhere for awhile.

BrianMc


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## WyldStallyn (Jun 5, 2013)

Off the bike - Got a new memory foam matress. The old matress was way past its prime. My back thanks me. Better rest=more energy on the bike. My wife's green card was delivered this weekend! It sure feels good to have it in our hands after 3 years of applications and interviews. Celebrations took place. Rodar, I'm glad your process is going well too. By the way, kudos to you for quitting.

Commuting news - New kicks, fresh new bar tape, a nip to the air and a smooth ride to work this morning. The temperature was in that spot where it took a few miles to warm up, but the ride was sweat free. Switched from Panaracer Paselas back to my trusty TServ PTs. Even with less tread, the TServs held up to the borage of glass like true champs. Over the last week, many more broken bottles have littered my route. The street sweepers just make things worse by spreading the shards across the road. Anyway, the sun is out, and the temps are rising. Life is good.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

fuggaluggadingdong!!
it's cold.
DAMN cold!
How cold Roosevelt D Roosevelt?
So cold my friend Kelvin says "It's chilly out here!"


Need pogies. hands under -20C are just freezing for most of the commute. Even if I'm pumping my hands (stop giggling) to keep the circulation going.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

So this is what a post under the effects of hypothermia looks like lol!!

Props for making the commute though. My back problems are making me tap out currently but I had to respond to that awesome post!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Going nuts not commuting. Roads were clear tonight, but it is currently -5F, and I don't have the proper gear for those temps. Supposed to be on and off snow and freezing temps, so I will be off the bike longer.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 4F this morning and sunny. Most of the roads along my commute are clear-ish. Even the bike lanes were partially cleared. The road immediately in front of our office is almost solid ice. There was a pick-up that just went off the road when I passed. He was stuffing cardboard under his rear wheels. I didn't have any problems until I hit our parking lot and laid the bike out. I hopped off easy enough, even with my new pogies. Overall, great commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> We are locked into a low of 20/high of 50 pattern that is getting really depressing in terms of actually having a winter.


Really? Although I do feel a little (tiny bit  ) guilty about it, I`m digging the temps. It`s the continued dry that`s been depressing me. Four years now?


WyldStallyn said:


> My wife's green card was delivered this weekend! It sure feels good to have it in our hands after 3 years of applications and interviews. Celebrations took place.


:band:
Awesome! What a relief, eh? For the process to take 3 years you must have had some complications like we did. Waiver?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My commute isn't very scenic, but I snapped a picture along the MUP yesterday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-17F this morning. Cold, yes, but mostly the commute was agonizingly s l o w, it felt like it took forever. Resorted to the googles, which worked perfectly, but I still hate how they feel, like I have a clothespin on my nose, and kind of smushed against the winter helmet. I thought the dog was going to tip over this morning when he lifted a leg to pee but then decided his front paw was cold. 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> -17F this morning. Cold, yes, but mostly the commute was agonizingly s l o w, it felt like it took forever.


I can relate! (except it was closer to 0F here) I was up early so I decided to take the long trail route on the fatty. Pushing through that packed powder is like pushing through concrete. I was working hard for nearly a full 2 hours to go 12.8 miles at an average speed of 6.7MPH. Left the house at 6:00 and got to work at late o'clock (8:00) I feel like I rode 50 miles.

The inside of my jacket was covered in frost that took 20 minutes indoors before it melted.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, is that a personal record?? That's cold! 

It was +18 for my commute, but I shaved my goatee last night, so it felt like -4. :lol:


Bedwards, I bet you can't wait until you get released to start riding again :skep:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ No, not a record for me, last year we had two days below -20, and I rode one of them. Bedwards, I am exhausted just reading that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, I bet you can't wait until you get released to start riding again :skep:


I told the doc I was riding again, he seemed fine with that as long as I keep the wheels pointed at the ground and don't re-break it while it's healing.



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ No, not a record for me, last year we had two days below -20, and I rode one of them. Bedwards, I am exhausted just reading that.


I'm taking the shortest way home. The thoughts are creeping into my head, THAT was 12.8 miles and I'm signed up to do 16 this weekend.:eekster: It's going to be a chilly one too.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Dang it guys, I want my cold weather back! $%*$ing 40F at my house this AM. All the snow is melted from the path, though there are still some ice patches. In town it is staying a bit colder so the MUPs are hard-packed snow (yay) but are covered in a nice slick icy crust on top (booo). Nearly lost it twice on the ride in this morning.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ today we've finally cooled off a bit from our heatwave (15F today, but 40F again tomorrow) but now the MUPs are all under mini glaciers.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dark, cold, and desolate looking...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice pic! When it's super cold I never stop for photos.

Tonight I did stop for a few minutes to listen to the coyotes. Don't know what was up with them, but they were singing like crazy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Glad you got the retroactive go-ahead, Bedwards. Have fun at the races this weekend. Maniac.



mtbxplorer said:


> -17F this morning.


Man... I feel humbled. I`d send you a thermos full of hot coffee if I thought it would do you any good.

(image of peeing dog tipping over stuck in my mind)



newfangled said:


> Tonight I did stop for a few minutes to listen to the coyotes. Don't know what was up with them, but they were singing like crazy.


Trying to sing themselves warm?

Feeling a lot better than earlier in the week. Think I`m going to drive down into the Sac valley Saturday morning for a low elevation day ride (or possibly mini tour). I would tell you the forecasted temps, but I don`t want anybody to throw rocks at me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Nice pic! When it's super cold I never stop for photos.


I will but it has to be a pretty good one! Otherwise, I'm with you.

I actually drove today. I think it is the first time I drove the car when I could have biked in 2 years. My legs feel dead from yesterday's 3 hours of trail riding so I want to rest them some for the weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

6F here, but windy. I wore the same stuff I wore in yesterday when it was a couple degrees cooler. I overheated a bit yesterday, but today I was a little cool (buying some cheap pogies was a great decision for this year). We got a dusting of snow last night, which gave a little more traction in icy spots. I saw another cyclist today on a CX bike. I was surprised to see him, although I have been seeing his tire prints in the snowy bike lanes.

Yesterday, a blue-collar guy in a pick-up yelled at me out his window. At first I was like WTF, but then he stuck his hand out the window and gave me a thumbs-up. I'm pretty sure he said, "You're crazy!" It's rare I ever get any positive interaction on the roads, so it was a nice change of pace.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The cold is still hanging around, -12F this morning, but thankfully calm. I went back to the regular MTB helmet as the winter helmet was making my neck/shoulders hurt. The POC Trabec summer helmet worked better than my former helmet with the goggles, and with a windproof fleece underneath was more than warm enough. My bar light has been wonky, and stopped working last night. At first I thought it was the cold affecting the battery and making it turn off early, as it seemed to improve when I taped a warmer packet from the a.m. to it, but last night it did not go on at all. Further investigation is needed. The bike and new chain have been working well, except one morning when the disc started dragging and I had some extra resistance for the last ¾ mile hill. I thought the arm wasn’t springing back all the way, but that wasn’t it, I ended up having to back off the outside pad a few clicks for some mysterious reason.

See you Sunday, Bedwards!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute for me yesterday and today. I had to be in Tampa for CEU stuff yesterday at 7am. Wound up eating something tainted, spent most of the day in the restroom with my head in a toilet, and I'm doing the same again today. Thankfully, the wifey stays at home and we home school, so I've got some good company.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Man that's cold (not you Texan..) 

MTBX, I use a snowboard helmet in the winter (Mine's a Smith)...designed for use with goggles so it works great there... 

...and the GoPro on time lapse mode is great for pics in the 'deep' cold... battery life isn't very good when it's that cold, but it keeps cracking off pictures and you don't have to touch anything.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today or tomorrow. Work from home day today and a flex day tomorrow. It's still hot around here - 43F at 7 AM. I might take some time to home stud some tires today to try to keep upright as we deal with this freeze/thaw cycle that's really making things hard to handle. I think I'll also try to get out for a ride at some point today, but who knows.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Nice snowy commute in Denver this morning, the really fluffy kind of snow too.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Seems like everyone's getting snow this winter. What's in your glass, Simonns (other than ice cubes)?


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Seems like everyone's getting snow this winter. What's in your glass, Simonns (other than ice cubes)?


Check the sig...


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## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)

Mine was deep man...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Simonns said:


> Check the sig...


Yeah, saw the sig. I guess down here in bourbon country, whisky is never just whisky. I have some Knob Creek Single Barrel and some Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel I'm working my way through. Good stuff, especially with all the cold weather.

/tangent


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I had the chance to ride in San Francisco this past weekend. The wife, kid any myself rented some bicycles to make the ride from San Francisco across the golden gate bridge into Sausalito. I can truly say I felt much safer riding in traffic there versus riding with traffic in Omaha, Ne where I normally ride. I also wouldn't want to commute on my single speed there. Some of those hills are crazy. All in all a great time!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yesterday, a blue-collar guy in a pick-up yelled at me out his window. At first I was like WTF, but then he stuck his hand out the window and gave me a thumbs-up. I'm pretty sure he said, "You're crazy!" It's rare I ever get any positive interaction on the roads, so it was a nice change of pace.


Today a pickup pulled up next to me at a light. Rolls down the window. I see a guy in camo. He says "nice mitts" (he meant the pogies) - "thanks" - "where'd you get them?" "Dogwood Designs, from AK" blahblahblah as the light turned green. Not what I expected. :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Today a pickup pulled up next to me at a light. Rolls down the window. I see a guy in camo. He says "nice mitts" (he meant the pogies) - "thanks" - "where'd you get them?" "Dogwood Designs, from AK" blahblahblah as the light turned green. Not what I expected. :thumbsup:


Yeah, it's nice to have that kind of conversation every once and a while and not the usual "What the $#@# are you doing in the middle of the road?" Uh...making a left turn.

0.5 F today. The coldest commute (temperature-wise) of the year. Not much wind. As long as I avoided coasting downhill at 25+ mph, it wasn't bad. The MUP is getting really fun. Our highs have barely cracked the 20s this past week, so there is still some snow blowing around and the sun has formed more ice. I don't ride the MUP for very long, but it's a welcome adventure each time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, you getting this weird dust/haze from the desert? We had a weird wind reversal and they're saying that all this stuff that looks like fog is acually desert dust from the Black Rock...it's creating a weird inversion layer thing...reminds me of a coastal thing. ...except at 20 degrees.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Non-Fat Bike*

OK, even though it was about -5F this morning I did stop to snap a pic.








Oh, and I rambled on about the whole fatbike or not thing again with a few more pics.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

Either way I'm looking forward to seeing MTXB here: http://forums.mtbr.com/vermont-new-hampshire-maine/moose-brook-fat-bike-race-887394.html on Sunday.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

-10F wind chill this morning on the way in. I'm really liking my Shimano MW81 shoes. They're only good down to +15 with big socks, so today was exceedingly uncomfortable on the way in. Grabbed a pair of toe warmers on the way back, much better.

Wound up having to walk down the street out of the driveway, as the township decided that they were only going to plow side streets once a storm. They plowed with 2 inches left to fall, so the road is all but impassable by two wheelers or two wheel drive cars.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, and I rambled on about the whole fatbike or not thing again with a few more pics.
> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


I always enjoy those.

I think I'm starting to understand what a fat bike might be useful for. We've had three straight weeks of temperatures in the 40s. Normally we get snow, it turns to hardpark, and it stays as hardpack until mid-march. But with the weeks of warm temperatures every ride is just on the edge of too soft. Things are still rideable, but if this type of weather was actually typical I might have to add a fatbike (it's not likely though).

Saw someone with revolights tonight:









They show up really well at night, although they're also pretty static. It kind of looks like you hung lights on your bike, and doesn't really give an illusion of movement. Blinking would probably be more eye-catching (and is probably an option), but wouldn't look as cool.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

I got tired of rolling with studs in our non-existent winter weather so off they came. Funny, now I actually like riding again! Between the dismal sunny weather (no, really, it's winter, I want snow and ice like last year), wind and the drag of 1200g (each!) tires riding wasn't fun anymore. I thought leaving them on would be a talisman for snow but since we're pretty much under the same weather pattern causing troubles in California they're not needed. Besides, if it dies snow I can always put them back on.

That said, mornings are cold, been running 15-22 for the AM but it's been into the 50s in the afternoon. I really can't complain when seeing the news with truly nasty weather. Has me worried though with the lack of moisture that they're going to shut the forests down early due to fire danger and it could get ugly.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I would love to roll that Revolight up front just for fun, but there is no way that it will clear my carbon fork. I already had to drop a tire size to make it work. Looks very cool.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> OK, even though it was about -5F this morning I did stop to snap a pic.
> View attachment 864537
> 
> 
> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


Beautiful pics, Bedwards, love that light. Interesting fat vs MTB comparison on your blog too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> I would love to roll that Revolight up front just for fun, but there is no way that it will clear my carbon fork. I already had to drop a tire size to make it work. Looks very cool.


I have a few of these. They go on quick and won't have spoke clearance problems. They definitely show movement.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sorry, CB. I haven`t noticed any kind of fog or mist at all.

Bedwards and Xplorer, have a great time and come home intact!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That will take some more healing but I'll try.  Gonna be cold and windy.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

The commute was cold, but more importantly, messy. The side streets, which I'm forced to take, still have about an inch of slush on them, and sure to be more tomorrow after today's dusting.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Made it up to Blue Diamond for the first time in 22 days. Man oh man was there a stiff penalty for three weeks off the mt. bike. With lots of work from home days and the wife and kids sick I've spent too little time on the bike so far this year. Amazing how quickly the fitness level drops.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Both looking forward to and dreading the 12 mile ride in the morning. I haven't been in the saddle for any length of time since Tuesday evening, and my eating habits went to hell being home and out of tone for work, so I've been a lazy fatass. I'll face the consequences tomorrow morning around mile 4, when the route gets tough. 

On the good side, I replaced my front shifter, so I have access to that 52t ring again. Hello super fast ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It's easy to find your race pic when you have your commuter gear.








I got there late and never did catch up with Bedwards, he was probably still racing the full deal when I headed home. Looking forward to his report. Schott and crew at Coos Cycling Club did a great job on the event, it was extremely rough conditions for the marshals and timekeepers, with temps around 5F and howling winds.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This weather is such a tease. Saturday had a high of 46F, and Sunday got up to 51F. This morning was 18F and falling with a stiff headwind.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey MTXB, we were looking for you. Schott said you hadn't checked in by the race start so I thought you bailed. I finished at about 1:45. Maybe we can get together for a ride some other time. I'll try to pull together a blog post about it when I get a chance but for now duty calls.

Oh, and my ride in was good . I didn't' take the fat bike but I probably should have, IDK, it was a coin toss as to which would be better. The trails were kind of soft for non-fat tires but totally passable.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I haven't been in the saddle for any length of time since Tuesday evening, and my eating habits went to hell being home and out of tone for work, so I've been a lazy fatass.
> 
> On the good side, I replaced my front shifter, so I have access to that 52t ring again.


Apparently not TOO fat if you still need a 52t ring!



mtbxplorer said:


> It's easy to find your race pic when you have your commuter gear.


Whooo! Those are some wild looking tracks under your front wheel, Mtbx! Glad you had fun in the arctic conditions and a big thumb`s up to Schott & friends. I see Bedwards`s name at the bottom of the page, so presumeably he survived too.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Apparently not TOO fat if you still need a 52t ring!


700x23c slicks in flat Florida makes it quite easy. If I were back in TX, I probably wouldn't come off the 39.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice pic mtbxplorer!

After 3 weeks our heatwave has finally come to an end. 0F this morning, and mostly chilly for the foreseeable future. But that's okay. We've got very little snow left, and plenty of very confused lawns are exposed. 

I was actually hoping to maybe take my fair-weather hardtail later in the week, since the roads around my place are all completely bare. But it turns out that the second half of my commute is solid ice, so I guess I'll be sticking with my studded bikes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Way to go fatbikers. Sounds like a fun event, minus the wind and the 5 degrees :eekster:

Mountain Bike Monday for me. Heck of a sunrise today:


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Hey MTBX! I did see you there, just didn't know it was you! I kept running back and forth from the lodge (warm) to the start/finish line every time Bedwards1000 came through another loop to cheer him on. Then back to the fireplace to warm up for the next loop. Maybe next time I can ride with you guys, if your not on fat bikes...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Close encounters of the moose kind this AM: Perfect storm! Lights dim, head down, crossing driveway obstacles, moose hiding in shadow on trail. I stopped when I heard the stomp in front of me, could smell what she had for breakfast, hair raised, thank goodness for brakes and a quick turn around. Moose detour at its finest!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

RollingRunner said:


> Hey MTBX! I did see you there, just didn't know it was you! I kept running back and forth from the lodge (warm) to the start/finish line every time Bedwards1000 came through another loop to cheer him on. Then back to the fireplace to warm up for the next loop. Maybe next time I can ride with you guys, if your not on fat bikes...


Oh too bad I didn't know you were there either RollingRunner! I cheered some people through but either missed Bedwards or didn't pick him out in the winter gear. We'll have to get together for another New England ride.

Great moosey story Jordy, I did not see any en route to Moose Brook state park yesterday.

Beautiful shot CB!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Way to go fatbikers. Sounds like a fun event, minus the wind and the 5 degrees :eekster:
> 
> Mountain Bike Monday for me. Heck of a sunrise today:
> 
> View attachment 865285


That's one hell of a sunrise. Awesome shot!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Had a mini heatwave. Got all the way up to 49F, had dropped to 39 when I left work, and was 26 by the end of my 35 minute commute.

Ready for spring.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, the 15 mile each way thing wasn't working for me. So I now park my Jeep at my mother-in-laws to get seven miles each way. Worked well today. If I feel like doing the 30 mile round tripper home, just leave the Jeep and peddle home. I like the idea of having a "bail out vehicle" at the halfway point though. Takes more motivation than I have to peddle 15 miles to work when it's dark and cold. Seven I can handle though. 

Still warm in Vegas. Into the low 70s today. Good ride in and back.


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## Guest (Jan 28, 2014)

To quote my dad, "it weren't". Between morning temps at 1F with lower wind chills and ribs that feel broken even though they're only "inflamed" from fighting off a little upper respiratory BS I didn't quite pull it off. There's always hope for tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

vegascruiser said:


> Well, the 15 mile each way thing wasn't working for me. So I now park my Jeep at my mother-in-laws to get seven miles each way. Worked well today. If I feel like doing the 30 mile round tripper home, just leave the Jeep and peddle home. I like the idea of having a "bail out vehicle" at the halfway point though.


Yeah, that sounds like a neat arrangement! Glad you found a good way to salvage your commute when the mega-length route started getting you down.



Forster said:


> Between morning temps at 1F with lower wind chills and ribs that feel broken even though they're only "inflamed" from fighting off a little upper respiratory BS I didn't quite pull it off. There's always hope for tomorrow.


Good luck tomorrow, then. "Respiratory BS" + cold + physical exertion make for a bad mix.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

+5 (or so) on the great sunrise shot CB.

So, if I see a moose on my commute I should detour? I'm use to deer that run from me. Honestly, a detour would suck because it would add 2-5 miles of trails and I'm never that early. I'm glad we don't have mooses:skep: around here.

Today's commute had picture perfect fatbike conditions and  I had my fatbike.:thumbsup: I've been playing the "grass is greener" game swapping between fat and studs and always being on the wrong side of the fence but today I was on the right side. Even though my legs are really, really tired. Why you ask? 
The Candid Cyclist: Moose Brook Fatbike Race


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks all... I almost didn't take the trail yesterday, which would have made for less epic sunrise pictures. Glad I grabbed the MTB at the last minute and went for it even though I was later than I wanted to be.

Nice write-up Bedwards.... sounds punishing but fun. Way to not break your collarbone again. 

Finally got some weather around here. It was wet out there this morning. Can't believe it's not snow this time of year, but we'll take it. 

A nice round of Tuesday Morning Garbage Truck Hopscotch this morning to keep things lively also.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

That picture rules CB. 

bedwards - glad you took those 2 minutes to make sure your collarbone doesn't break. 3 would've been way too much though!

I have been slacking this week - haven't actually ridden since last Tuesday. No sleep Sunday night (probably due to lack of riding), today I have to go see a framebuilder after work, tomorrow happy hour with coworkers and then Thursday I wanted to try and swing by LBS after work to say goodbye to a mechanic who's leaving. Friday I'm headed north after work to visit friends / see a basketball game at my alma mater. Something's gonna have to give tomorrow or Thursday. Or hopefully both


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Woke up way too late this morning. 45 minutes after I usually leave. Had to take the super quick (and super sketchy) 5.5 mi route. Made it there just in the nick of time. Chain is rubbing on the front derailleur a little, so I'll adjust that before heading out this evening. I finally got a chance to paint my two buckets for the hard side panniers, and mounted them on the rack during my lunch break. I'll install the whole setup when I get back to the office, I'm just praying I left enough room for my heels. 

Seems as though that cold streak is gone, so I can actually ride without dying. I got rid of a vast majority of my cold weather gear when I moved here 2 years ago. I never thought I would need it all again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ As it finally got to 8 F here, just what is a cold streak in FL? Curious. I may as well embrace the situation. My cat wants to move.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Thirties and forties. Lol.


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## Guest (Jan 28, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> ^ As it finally got to 8 F here, just what is a cold streak in FL? Curious. I may as well embrace the situation. My cat wants to move.


Technically I believe it's referred to as a "Chilly Streak".


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

STAPLE!!!
Got a flat and I couldn't handle fixing it in the cold.
Turns out when I screwed my bike rack on, I wasn't paying attention and couldn't open the q/r. DAMMITRENDFRAGDESTROY!!
Walked the bike the rest of the way and changed the flat on my lunch.

HOLYCARP it's tough fumbling a tube and tire lever in -30C.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yikes! Having had trouble even at +40F changing a tube, I'm quite sure I would not bother trying at -30C, unless perhaps my life depended on it. Even then I would likely fail!

Bedwards, when I rode the parts of the course bumpy from frozen footprints, I wondered how your collarbone would fare - glad it emerged (semi-) intact. 

Brian, give that kitty a heating pad, it will love it!

I took these last week and forgot about them...Winooski River, Montpelier VT


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2014)

byknuts said:


> STAPLE!!!
> Got a flat and I couldn't handle fixing it in the cold.
> Turns out when I screwed my bike rack on, I wasn't paying attention and couldn't open the q/r. DAMMITRENDFRAGDESTROY!!
> Walked the bike the rest of the way and changed the flat on my lunch.
> ...


I've got a friend who does woodwork as a hobby (cabinets and furniture) and he ran a woodscrew through his road bike tire (revenge of the boards), tube and rim. Then he ruined the Phillips head bit of his multi tool getting it unscrewed only to find that the rim had a burr that would puncture tubes. Funny, when he called for a ride I suggested that he smooth the burr with his pocket knife and use a chunk of the old tube to close the hole (why I carry strips of duct tape) and he bawked at the idea because it might "ruin" the rim. Really?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in and a good ride to Jeep. I'm fairly certain at this point that I'll never peddle the fifteen miles home knowing my Jeep is at the midway point. 14 miles round trip each day will have to do I guess. Better than nothing. . .


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Forster said:


> I've got a friend who does woodwork as a hobby (cabinets and furniture) and he ran a woodscrew through his road bike tire (revenge of the boards), tube and rim. Then he ruined the Phillips head bit of his multi tool getting it unscrewed only to find that the rim had a burr that would puncture tubes. Funny, when he called for a ride I suggested that he smooth the burr with his pocket knife and use a chunk of the old tube to close the hole (why I carry strips of duct tape) and he bawked at the idea because it might "ruin" the rim. Really?


I've seen (but never had the misfortune to get) perforated rims before. If it isn't deemed useless due to the hole, it is almost always useless due to a large flat spot or other damage that prevents proper truing.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice, Xplorer. Your capitol dome is pretty.


AlexCuse said:


> ...today I have to go see a framebuilder after work,


Ooooh! 



Texan-n-Fla said:


> Thirties and forties. Lol.


I got home from work about 7:30 this morning... at 40 degrees. Heard today that it snowed in Tallahassee, so unless I`m forgetting about something, that puts them at more snow YTD than we`ve had in Reno. Brian, you can send your cat if you want.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I'm quite sure I would not bother trying at -30C, unless perhaps my life depended on it


Put on some loose mitts (or tight gloves)....and practice in a warm place....a lot easier than you think.

A skill every winter rider needs unless they are say a 20 minute walk max.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm pretty sure this winter has already set my record for the most commutes in the single digits. It doesn't usually stay this cold this long here. I've been pushing the limits of my commuting gear. Usually the challenge in winter is adjusting to large temperature swings, not necessarily dealing with the cold.

The MUP has been unrideable in spots. The ice is too slick and too thick. The bike will wash out completely if I even attempt it. It's almost worse now that it's partially melted than it was when it was covered in snow. Temps are supposed to climb above freezing soon, so they should clear up.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

All the room of a 2 lane rural road, and this dude couldn't be bothered to even scoot to the far side of 'his' lane this morning. Scared me. The GoPro makes it look comfortable...it wasn't.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> All the room of a 2 lane rural road, and this dude couldn't be bothered to even scoot to the far side of 'his' lane this morning. Scared me. The GoPro makes it look comfortable...it wasn't.


Can the Go Pro zoom in on the plate?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Depends on the conditions... in this case no. It was taking 1 photo per second, not in video mode... In low light like that, if the speed difference is to much, it blurs too much. The next couple photos show me doing the "what was that?" one arm shrug of shame, but the back end of the car is too blurry. They were movin'. In video mode, you might get lucky enough to get a frame that is clear enough in that low of light... 20 minutes later in the day, and it would be crystal clear. I see the same car a couple times a week though, so I could get it...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Depends on the conditions... in this case no. It was taking 1 photo per second, not in video mode... In low light like that, if the speed difference is to much, it blurs too much. The next couple photos show me doing the "what was that?" one arm shrug of shame, but the back end of the car is too blurry. They were movin'. In video mode, you might get lucky enough to get a frame that is clear enough in that low of light... 20 minutes later in the day, and it would be crystal clear. I see the same car a couple times a week though, so I could get it...


Thanks I was more interested in the Go pro performance.....

But I would get the plate and post it on some place like MTBX did....

A chat would probably be helpful they might not even know it is a scary thing to be doing.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Surprise snowfall last night. Only about a quarter inch, but the trails I take to avoid the busier roads are completely hosed right now (foot/hoof prints frozen into probably 6" of what used to be snow) and people aren't good enough drivers around here for me to trust them when there's snow on the busy roads. Guess I'm gonna have to hope for tomorrow


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've been out of the commuting game for a few days. Thursday was a work from home day, Friday a day off with a great 32 mile pavement ride on the fattie (rolling Nates nonetheless), Saturday a nice easy 20 miler on the fattie, then smack - the flu put me down for Monday and Tuesday. 

Back at it today with 32F at my house and 29F in town. On Friday I put my clipless back on and I think I'll roll those until we get some actual cold weather again. I am always amazed when I put them back on at just how much more efficient my pedaling seems.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Thanks I was more interested in the Go pro performance.....
> 
> But I would get the plate and post it on some place like MTBX did....
> 
> A chat would probably be helpful they might not even know it is a scary thing to be doing.


Yeah they're probably unclear on why it's a nice thing to scoot over like everyone else in the county seems to do 90% of the time... this was a VERY rare thing for me.

In daylight, the GoPro is stunning in it's clarity... low light, it's better than most, but with no flash in low light, while in motion, you're going to get some blur.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yeah they're probably unclear on why it's a nice thing to scoot over like everyone else in the county seems to do 90% of the time... this was a VERY rare thing for me.


Count your blessings!  I had a smart engineering student ask why I turned my wipers on before I met semis slewing slush. To me it was self evident. So even with examples of people at least moving left in the lane, I have had cars and especially pickup truck mirrors too close. Some of that may be having a good look and drifting (police train NOT to do that), but some I see coming a long way off hugging the fog line with absolutely no one in the left lane. The concept that they might be endangering someone doesn't seem to enter their world. I can imagine the reply: "What? I was in my lane!" A miss too close is not as good as a mile. The adrenalin surge is not something I need.



CommuterBoy said:


> In daylight, the GoPro is stunning in it's clarity... low light, it's better than most, but with no flash in low light, while in motion, you're going to get some blur.


When I got the Drift cameras they had the best low-light performance compared to others. The newest model still has a slight edge on the newest GoPro. It is one aspect that has me wanting an upgrade. Still, getting a plate in low light would be tricky the frame rate drops a lot blurring each frame.



That is at only 16-20 mph with low beams increasing the ambient light. So a car plate at 60 mph in that light? Fougetaboudit. A side radar hooked to a very powerful light array could do is but who'd want to haul that around?

Maybe just before daylight savings kicks in again there will be enough light to catch his plate.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Saw a guy on my commute home with a flat tire. After I blasted past him I thought maybe I should go back and give him a hand. Decided not to though cause I didn't see a seat bag, a backpack, or anything on him and I didn't want to lose a six dollar tube (my wife has been watching bike expenses more closely now) and fifteen minutes changing his flat. In a largely residential area though so I doubt his walk was far. After quitting time my mission is get home as quick as I can.

Good ride in and good ride home. Supposed to by 40-50 mph winds tomorrow. Should be a fun commute. . .


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Commuted to a doctor's appointment today, did about 20 miles. The way in was fine, but the way back way a persistent 18 mph headwind, which was good right up until I got home, and found out my draft guard has not made it flat, and I got a strip of windburn right down the center of my chest. Luckily, it amounted to little more than some bad redness, and likely a bit of chapping tomorrow.

Maybe those fancy asymmetric zippers aren't quite so stupid, after all.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Slushing tonight so no morning commute  Hopfully itll clear so i can ride to the gym and store tomorrow


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ooooh!


Ooh indeed - I'm not sure how commute-worthy its going to be but I will make sure I ride it to work at least once so I can get a picture posted in here  Going to be a steel cross frame, should clear the bruce gordon tires or even a bit larger. Optimized for really long mixed terrain rides - anything past about 3 hours and my aluminum cross bike really beats me up. Fit is probably a lot of that though - we found that my inseam is over an inch shorter than average for my height which explains a lot about my fitting woes (and why I literally can't stand over the most comfortable riding bike I have right now!)

I drank way too much tonight, not sure I'm gonna be up in time to ride to work tomorrow - maybe I can ride in Friday morning and my wife can pick me up on the way north. In my altered state I'm feeling really sentimental and really hoping I can get into the shop to say goodbye to our departing mechanic. I've got a bad feeling I'm going to need to learn to service the older hubs and BBs myself.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> ...Friday a day off with a great 32 mile pavement ride on the fattie (rolling Nates nonetheless), Saturday a nice easy 20 miler on the fattie...


Hopefully you at least put some pressure to them.

The trails are rolling fun and fast on the fatty! I wish my legs were a little more into the game but I'll take what I can get. Winter riding at its best.








The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

40F and raining something awful this morning. Called my supervisor for a ride, since he drives by my place on the way to the office anyway. 

Filed taxes last night and will be getting back a hefty refund, so it's gonna be time for some fenders (or DIY ones) and some wet gear, especially for the wet summer season. Even if I drop a few bills on gear (which won't be necessary), I'd still come out on top in a month or so considering gas.

Hoping to be able to ride in tomorrow. Rain should be gone be the temps back into the 60's.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Things are cooling back down in Alaska. Woke up this morning to more appropriate temps - 28F in the valley and 23F in town. The pavement is still clear in the valley, making for some fast riding. Anchorage is a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the MUPs are glaze ice. The roads are generally clear, though there are still ice patches here and there just waiting, silently, to catch me off guard. The main MUP I ride is firm and fast, but rutted and potholed, making for brief bouts of fastness followed by filling-rattling slow stretches.

No snow in the forecast, but I'm hopeful that some winter will return before the final spring thaw.

I got a shout-out from a really great podcast, the Sprocket Podcast. If you don't listen to them, you really should. Check it out here.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Last couple of days were warmer than normal for the ride home which was nice. Guy on Craigslist down here put up an add for a 12 speed Nishiki Tri-A. Of course he didn't put up any pictures or list the year, color, condition, details of components, or size. And he wants $200?! Had to send an email just to see if it's a hoax or not. On the off chance it's legit, it could be a nice score. Depending on the year, Tange 1 steel frame and maybe Shimano 600 group set.


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## Guest (Jan 30, 2014)

Great weather still not riding, apparently Costochondritis takes it's own sweet time to heal. Doc says that biking in moderation shouldn't hurt it, but right now every breath feels like a nail being driven into the chest wall. Sucky. :madman:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

I started my east anchorage commute at 15 degrees, haven't seen those temps in what seems like a month!!! Snow seems slow and grabby, of course super bumpy in the busy walker areas. Will it just snow already???


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful sunny and not windy morning for the 0F commute. I was tiring of riding in boots so I put the Fivetens back on and a toewarmer packet, and also went with thin long johns instead of winter bike tights under the pant layer, and it felt great and free! Nice to switch things up sometimes. 

One thing that has amazed me in our long stretches of zero or less weather, is how many people wash their cars at those temps. There is a nice ice track extending from the car wash into the road.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

^ Our car washes were packed last weekend. I'm sure all those cars are covered in salt again. It's not worth it to me.

Today is warmer. It was about 12F for the ride in, which felt nice. 33F right now. I'm hoping it doesn't get warm enough for the trails to start thawing. I was hoping on getting an mtb ride in once the sun goes down.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> Great weather still not riding, apparently Costochondritis takes it's own sweet time to heal. Doc says that biking in moderation shouldn't hurt it, but right now every breath feels like a nail being driven into the chest wall. Sucky. :madman:


I hear you. Not-so-great weather for weeks now but warming up this week. BP is down from 'call the EMT' levels so I may get a ride in. Going to be very slow. Santa brought new heavy silk ski under layer as I had worn my way through my first set. Shame to let it gather dust.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Forster, that sounds terribly painful, I hope it improves soon.

Brian, glad to hear you may be able to get in a pedal or two.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc I hear you on the letting Santa's presents gather dust. I thought mine would be pretty dusty after my day after x-mas crash. 

I recently got a car wash with an oil change. The next day it was like it never happened.

I am itching to go ride the trails!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I live on a dirt road. I wash the Jeep every year whether it needs it or not.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Checked the weather forecast, and it looks like I'll be able to get back to riding tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it, since I've been itching after these past few days of crappy weather. Thankfully, I'll be getting taxes back soon, and I'll be picking up some much needed wet weather gear for these rainy Florida summers.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Guess it's back to everyone hating Florida.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Got it in one!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> BrianMc I hear you on the letting Santa's presents gather dust. I thought mine would be pretty dusty after my day after x-mas crash. I recently got a car wash with an oil change. The next day it was like it never happened.


The big car went to Cleveland and Lake Effect Snow/White Out. came back with salt crystals on the edges of the doors. Tomorrow it will get above 32 so I can wash it without the doors freezing up. It looks like a Margarita glass with a white wash!



CommuterBoy said:


> I live on a dirt road. I wash the Jeep every year whether it needs it or not.


That's what rain is for, I thought. I like colors that hide the gravel dust. Though is is pretty bad when the door sill is noticeably higher after the wash.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoo, wet! It rained yesterday (on me, and I didn`t whine about it) and snowed a little today.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Never mind. Can't wait for those taxes to get back here so I can get some gear for this.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yet another great winter commute last night and again this morning. The trails are like snow paved roads. I averaged 9.7mph on the fatbike on almost all trails last night, fun stuff.

I saw some wild animal other than a deer. I think it was either a lynx of a bobcat. It moved more like a cat than a dog and didn't have a fox tail. It was tan and much bigger than a house cat, like 2x bigger.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Cooooool. I had a bobcat stroll though the backyard one time. Pretty awesome critters. I opened the door to get a picture and it vanished. One pounce over a pretty massive bush and it was gone. They can make themselves pretty scarce. Lucky you to spot one.



rodar y rodar said:


> Whoo, wet! It rained yesterday (on me, and I didn`t whine about it) and snowed a little today.


About stinking time, isn't it?! I had a tough decision yesterday over whether to put the studs on or not... I went without, in spite of the "snow later in the day" forecast... turned out to be a good call, even though I wound up riding home at 8:45 last night just as things were freezing up after a day of off-and-on rain. We got a dusting of snow overnight, and I put the studs on this morning... bad call...the roads were fine, just a little sparkly spot here and there.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ahh, January weather again! 15F when I left the house this AM. I put the flats back on last night so I could wear my boots today and keep my feet warm. 

It is absolutely insane to me how the first few days of cold temps feel so much colder than they did just a month ago when 15F was a warm spell after a week of 15 to 20 below. Back then I was wearing light gloves and only a single layer top and bottom and was comfy. Now my fingers are freezing and I'm wearing two layers and barely feel warm. 

In other news, my illness from the beginning of the week has morphed now into a nasty cough and heavy lungs. What worries me is that when I cough it has a slight coppery taste - yet there is no visible evidence of blood in what is coming up. Hmmm...best get thee to a doc. I think I am just falling apart in general. I've also got what feels like a pulled achilles tendon. Not sure what happened there. Was fine yesterday morning, then about mid-day it started to hurt to walk. Riding is no fun either. I have a strong feeling that this weekend will be spent just taking it easy.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Starting to think Mother Nature is jerking me around. Got an extra day off due to scheduling error at work, so of course we get high wind advisories for my whole 3 day weekend. Temps are good, but I'm too much of a sissy to try riding in 35mph winds (gusts up to ~45mph). 

Guy with the Nishiki add on Craigslist never answered the email, guess it was a hoax after all.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

31F this morning felt really good. I took off my pogies and wore two long sleeve shirts instead of a jacket. Hopefully the two icy sections on the MUP melts this afternoon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was fun. You know how you get random crazy ideas on your bikecommute? Today I followed through on one. I sent this email to 316 people in my Department:
***
Subject: Random Reward Today for Alternative Commuting

Isn’t it a shame that employers, government, oil companies, car companies, etc. do not provide adequate incentives (just look at the parking lot) for using alternative transportation? 

Today I am providing an incentive. If you are in the office today and arrived by foot, bike, bus, carpool, or other alternative to the single occupant vehicle, please stop by my desk for your reward.
***
Everybody got $10. It was totally worth it to see their faces, in shock . It was also great to have people consider the craziness of one person driving one car, and the radical idea of making a difference through an individual act.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was fun. You know how you get random crazy ideas on your bikecommute? Today I followed through on one. I sent this email to 316 people in my Department:
> ***
> Subject: Random Reward Today for Alternative Commuting
> 
> ...


That is a great idea! I might just have to steal it. You, my friend, are awesome!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Everybody got $10. It was totally worth it to see their faces, in shock . It was also great to have people consider the craziness of one person driving one car, and the radical idea of making a difference through an individual act.


Sweetness!!!! So i'm guessing not many folks really do use alt transportation which means you didn't have to hand out to much money? My parking lot is always full! Except at lunch time when everyone drives off 1 by 1 to go find lunch... I'm guessing out of 300+ people in my office, id hand out less then $50...;p


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was fun. You know how you get random crazy ideas on your bikecommute? Today I followed through on one. I sent this email to 316 people in my Department:
> ***
> Subject: Random Reward Today for Alternative Commuting
> 
> ...


You must spread reputation around before gibing it to MTBX


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Everybody got $10. It was totally worth it to see their faces, in shock . It was also great to have people consider the craziness of one person driving one car, and the radical idea of making a difference through an individual act.


So...how much money did you hand out? We have 100+ people here. If I did that on a random day I might have to give 10 bucks to my wife  Otherwise I don't think I'd be at risk. We may have a few carpoolers but only because they don't have cars of their own.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> You must spread reputation around before gibing it to MTBX


Same here. I guess I'm too stingy with my rep.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thanks guys. I figured it was 10% at most , plus not everyone is in the office on any given day. We are an environmental department so probably higher than average. I was careful to exclude the telecommuter wildcard by saying you had to be in the office. So far I’ve been about right. I have handed out $230, plus another 7 people have come by but refused their reward. No other riders, a mix of bus, carpooling, and walkers from downtown. It really has been fun, the best $230 I have spent in a long while.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow! That's a decent amount. What's the preferred alternate commuting method?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I should have kept better track (I know bedwards would have the data!), but I'd say it was about 40% carpool, 45% bus, 15% walkers.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

What, no cyclists? ;p Look at that rep climb!!!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Gee, I spread some rep and still can't add to MTBX. I guess the thought is going to have to count! But at least I can give some emoticons MTBX's way :rockon::smallviolin::drumroll::rant::band: That oughta do it!


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## fux (Oct 21, 2006)

Jeebus.... over 600 commuter km`s this month, and every single revolution of the pedal has been a fight. The snow is one thing but its been crazy windy.. :eekster:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoa- nuts, Xplorer! Actually, it surprises me how many eligible co-workers actually claimed the prize.

About time, Fux :thumbsup:
I was wondering where your pictures were this winter.

I didn`t put on my studs either. As quitting time came closer and closer I was watching things freeze up, thought I had made a terrible mistake. In the end, it wasn`t all that slick.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Sorry I can't do it either. MTBX is just so awesome nobody can rep her anymore.:eekster::thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^haha! Thanks all! It was the most fun I've had in a while.

Rodar, there were quite a few I had to be insistent with, and many planned to pay it forward. I think some were in shock (they thought I had cookies or something), and some totally "got it" in the spirit of "be the change" or random acts of kindness.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was a blast. I was seriously dreading getting back in the saddle after being out all last week due to weather and insane work hours, but this morning rocked. Everything just seemed "right", and even though I'm completely exhausted from not having ridden for so long, it's a good kind.

I do need to figure out a way to cut down road chatter on this bike, though. I'd hate to lose speed (and waste money" by going to some 700x38c instead of 700x23c, but I'm willing to try whatever right now. My arms can't take it.

Oh, and here's some fun.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in, overall, this AM. The achillie's is still giving me grief. I rested, iced, drugged, and compressed all weekend and it doesn't hurt all the time now, just when I walk too much or when I'm riding. 

The bus started a new schedule today, so there was another fat biker on the bus this AM. Presented a bit of a challenge getting two Pugsley's on, but we made it work. I don't think the other rider is a daily rider, as I've been told by other drivers that she isn't on the bus all the time, so no worries. It's also possible that she will shift to the later bus. I don't think the other riders who rush to get out of the bus through the forward doors when we get to town were too pleased - makes it a bit difficult to get to the doors. Such is life. 

Decent temps, a bit windy in the valley, but not terrible. Chillier in Anchorage, but no wind. 

Picked up my new hub on Friday, having the shop relace it later this week. Can't wait. I figure that after rebuilding the stock Shimano hub more times than I care to remember that it was time to try a different brand altogether. Went with a SRAM X7 - cheap, which is good, but with cartridge bearings, which is also good. Sure, I would have loved to go with a Hope or CK or something equally blingy, but I just can't bring myself to do it since the bike is a daily rider - through all conditions. I need something that when it goes to pot is cheap enough to replace. Besides, my Pugs will never be a show bike. Heck, most of the time it looks the same color as the 14 Moonie frames - Champagne beige. It's supposed to be white. 

Happy Monday all. Happy Monday.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> I figure that after rebuilding the stock Shimano hub more times than I care to remember that it was time to try a different brand altogether. Went with a SRAM X7 - cheap, which is good, but with cartridge bearings, which is also good. Sure, I would have loved to go with a Hope or CK or something equally blingy, but I just can't bring myself to do it since the bike is a daily rider - through all conditions.


Over the years I have found that really good bike components last longer and eventually cost less than the cheap replace as you go...

For example the bearings on my 2005 Mavic wheels lasted 5 years of riding winter and summer...the last 3 years were winter only....

That would be in excess of 15000 kms.

I gave up fixing the Shimano hubs every three months years ago....

I have to say that the Shimano XTR hubs are seemingly invincable as well just better seals...

I would howver recommend good cartridge bearings...the ones that last the longest have been Stainless steel races with cermic balls....(not as costly as you might think) and will certainly outlast any others on a $/km basis.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> Over the years I have found that really good bike components last longer and eventually cost less than the cheap replace as you go...
> 
> For example the bearings on my 2005 Mavic wheels lasted 5 years of riding winter and summer...the last 3 years were winter only....
> 
> ...


In theory I definitely agree. When I had to replace my crankset/bottom bracket, I went with the Race Face Turbine because the quality of the cranks and the ability to replace the bearings in the BB with better quality ones when the originals failed.

I could have went with a better hub over the X7, but my thoughts were that I will eventually, in the next year or so, either wind up building a new set of wheels and relegating the current ones to summer only riding, or I will end up getting a whole new bike without the offset frame. As such, it didn't make much sense to me to splurge on a spendy hub. On my old bike I had a Shimano XT hub and in six years of riding never had a single issue with it, which is why the hassle with the Deore hub has really turned me off of open bearings.

Other components, cassettes and chains, I go as cheap as possible with those as in my experience I have found that the mid-range parts wear faster than the cheap heavy stuff and I cannot/will not afford the top end parts.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Other components, cassettes and chains, I go as cheap as possible with those as in my experience I have found that the mid-range parts wear faster than the cheap heavy stuff and I cannot/will not afford the top end parts.


I use a Cn-7701 Chain (Nickel Plated Dura ace 9 speed) it lasts about 9 months for me at least a winter.....

I can pick them up for about $35 bucks each on sale....an Hg chain will last me at best 3 months in the winter. So again cheaper...

I finally went with the 11 36 cassette with the 3 Ti large sprockets...they will last me 5 chains.....I can get them for about $200 bucks for the whole thing...you can buy just the worn rings separate for like $50 bucks so they will last maybe 3 years for $300 bucks....the cheaper cassettes get blown away in one winter....steel even less...
So two per year at $30 bucks for three years is $180 bucks so a little cheaper on the cassettes if you go cheap.

Not everywhere as the salty freeze thaw cycle we do.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Again, I am sooooo thankful they don't use salt around here. That's just crazy wear. I just re-packed my open bearing Shimano Deore hubs because it's been at least 3 years...probably wasn't necessary as everything looked fine in there. :lol:

We (usually, but not this year) get plenty of snow and slop, but keeping the bike inside so it dries out well, and having an overall relative humidity in the single digits is a luxury I'm happy to have. I live in untreated steel frame and fork bliss.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Again, I am sooooo thankful they don't use salt around here. That's just crazy wear. but keeping the bike inside so it dries out well, and having an overall relative humidity in the single digits is a luxury I'm happy to have. I live in untreated steel frame and fork bliss.


Yup I get to bring mine inside after the morning run in and then inside after the ride home....the drying out really helps with maintance....

A few people dont have that and their bikes are even worse.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Is it normal for a new chain/casette to skip more than normal? Something about wearing in together?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ If you put a new chain on a worn cassette, it will skip, since the cassette is worn to where the teeth are properly spaced and ramped for a stretched out chain. (not that letting it get to this point is 'proper'...it's done, replace it).
If you put a new cassette under a stretched chain, unworn spacing between the teeth of the cassette will be to tight for the stretched out chain to nestle in to properly, so it will skip. 

If you use a chain checker and replace the chain when it gets stretched out, you can get a lot more life out of a cassette. Thousands and thousands of miles.


Edit: was that all 'no duh' stuff? Did you replace chain AND cassette and you're getting skipping? Is the chain the proper width for the cassette?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Is it normal for a new chain/casette to skip more than normal? Something about wearing in together?


Are both new? If one is new and the other not, then definitely there can be some skipping issues. If your chain is new and the cassette is not and you have a lot of skipping in some gears, it means that those rings on the cassette are worn such that the chain cannot seat properly - time to get a new cassette.

In my experience, I am able to go through two or three chains before I have to replace the cassette - generally one cassette a year. Winters are snowy, with lots of gravel and salt on the roadways and summers are usually a mix of wet and muddy and dry and dusty.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh yeah. Especially if the chain was well worn. Sometimes they will wear in enough to work. Sometimes you end up replacing the non-new part. And then you replace the chainrings when you realize that's where the skipping is. (Geeze, not one but 2 people snuck their answers in before me)

Good commute through the trails on the non-fat bike. The knees are still grumpy though. Watching the temp like a hawk hoping it stays below freezing.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Old chain and casette had seen ~3000 miles together. Chain was at about 1/16" over, I think, so I thought (hoped) I could get away with just the chain. Rode a total of about 2 miles with new chain/old casette, skipped like mad (and the conditions sucked in general), so I parked the bike and got a new casette too. Skips decidedly less than with the old casette, but it still skipped >5 times in my 9ish mile ride this morning. Thought I'd read somewhere that it might be normal behavior for the two to take a little while to settle into each other, but from what I'm hearing it sounds like no. I'll investigate my rear derailer, I bet the cable tension isn't quite right.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've never had a new chain working with a new cassette give me any issues. The new cassette could have ever-so-slightly different alignment than the old one though, making the derailleur/cog alignment a bit off... I'd bet that's your issue. I swap wheelsets for studded tires and it throws off the shifting a tiny bit, even with the same brand hub and cassette.

The only other thing I could think of would be if you put an 8 speed chain on a 9 speed system... that will work, but only 84% of the time :lol:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Took the super long 16.2 mile route home. May regret this in the morning.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Goodbye mid-70s and hello high 50s. Getting back to normal here in Vegas. High 30s for ride in. Nothing exciting to report, which is usually a good thing.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sanath said:


> Old chain and casette had seen ~3000 miles together. Chain was at about 1/16" over, I think, so I thought (hoped) I could get away with just the chain. Rode a total of about 2 miles with new chain/old casette, skipped like mad (and the conditions sucked in general), so I parked the bike and got a new casette too. Skips decidedly less than with the old casette, but it still skipped >5 times in my 9ish mile ride this morning. Thought I'd read somewhere that it might be normal behavior for the two to take a little while to settle into each other, but from what I'm hearing it sounds like no. I'll investigate my rear derailer, I bet the cable tension isn't quite right.


That could be, but I also noticed my last new chain measured <0 (newer than "new") on the Park tool scale, really "tight". I didn't have skipping, but I could see where that might cause an issue initially, so I would keep pedaling. I re-checked it after only 2 weeks, and it was already at .25 (regular new).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, 18-25F felt quite luxuriant after the cold snaps. 

I need to repair my bar light, the cable has a break (off and on) where it connects to the lamp head, and it looks like I can cut it shorter and re-solder it to restore reliability. As a kid I used to do some electronics kits, so I think I will give it a try myself. Anybody know if I can screw up the light permanently if I do a poor job of it? The 2 connections that need to be re-done are pretty close together. It is out of warranty but I could pay +/- $30 for repair instead of DIY.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

From years of repairing guitar amplifiers, the main thing you need to worry about is too much heat. A 15 watt will take some time, but won't overheat components. Post some pics or pm me, and I'll help you out as much as I can.


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2014)

Sanath said:


> Old chain and casette had seen ~3000 miles together. Chain was at about 1/16" over, I think, so I thought (hoped) I could get away with just the chain. Rode a total of about 2 miles with new chain/old casette, skipped like mad (and the conditions sucked in general), so I parked the bike and got a new casette too. Skips decidedly less than with the old casette, but it still skipped >5 times in my 9ish mile ride this morning. Thought I'd read somewhere that it might be normal behavior for the two to take a little while to settle into each other, but from what I'm hearing it sounds like no. I'll investigate my rear derailer, I bet the cable tension isn't quite right.


Assuming you have compatible components (and I think that's a safe assumption) there are a few things to check. When this happens to me the default check is the der adjustment then der cable. A worn or binding der cable can cause the der to hang-up midway between gears causing a skipping type malfunction. It's always good to check the connecting link for binding also. If neither of those looks suspicious, I might have the der hanger looked at. A new chain and cassette shouldn't need a break-in period.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ That and make sure of the wiring polarity. Same wire to same contact.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for the advices, Tex & BMc...I thought my soldering gun was small, but, wow, I see it is 40W, not 15 like you are suggesting. Here are some pix in case you notice anything else...









It looks like it was being held just by the connecting wires and not the stronger outer thingy, so no wonder it is wonky. This is after I removed the cover plate. The light looks like this:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

It's difficult to see, but it seems as though you may be able to heat up the solder that's there, run a little more onto the leads that are already tinned, and have yourself back as good as new. With a 40w, make sure you move quick. I don't think you'd be at risk of frying internals in this case as long as you're moving as a decent pace. Don't let your iron linger too long. As soon as your solder is remelted and flowing, you're good to go.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I added another pic and more info before your reply... I think the break is in the wire, not at the soldering point, so tht is why I was thinking to remove, shorten the cable, and re-attached the newly shortened lead wires. It goes on/off when you wiggle the cable.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Oh. Well, in that case, you have two options. Splice the casing until you find your break (feel around, you might be able to get a good clue before you start cutting). Once you've found your short, you can either twist them together, add solder and heat shrink tubing and be on your way, or shorten the lead by removing that section all together. Whichever option you choose is up to you and other factors (location of short, current cable length, etc). 

Good luck! Let me know if you need more info. I can whip up a mock run with pics rather easily.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Goodness it's foggy out! I couldn't hardly see 20 ft in front of me the entire way. I'm sluggish from that long ride yesterday evening, but it wasn't bad. It was just slow. 

I'm really glad that I put on those LED strands for fun, since they did an amazing job of increasing my visibility in this crappy weather.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Old chain and casette had seen ~3000 miles together. Chain was at about 1/16" over, I think, so I thought (hoped) I could get away with just the chain. Rode a total of about 2 miles with new chain/old casette, skipped like mad (and the conditions sucked in general), so I parked the bike and got a new casette too. Skips decidedly less than with the old casette, but it still skipped >5 times in my 9ish mile ride this morning. Thought I'd read somewhere that it might be normal behavior for the two to take a little while to settle into each other, but from what I'm hearing it sounds like no. I'll investigate my rear derailer, I bet the cable tension isn't quite right.


Hi Sanath, I still vote that it could be the chain rings. Here are a couple of threads on the subject from my last drivetrain swap.
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/check-replace-your-chains-866644.html
http://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-s...-truvativ-chainrings-any-problems-870322.html


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Sometimes you can get an idea where the break is by holding the wire steady and only wiggling one piece at a time. You could also take a multimeter or voltmeter and stab those two solder points to see what kind of voltage you get while wiggling the wire.

The skipping chain was a badly adjusted rear derailer, right in the middle of the range in a frequently used gear it was on the verge of shifting, so occasionally it would hop up and try to do so, then fall off again. I don't know if the cable and derailer need some cleaning and oil, but i got it working pretty well by screwing with my adjusters during the ride in this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Warm-ish and calm. Nothing much to report. The bus was nearly empty when it arrived at my stop. The other fat biker was on again this AM. We'll see if she continues on this bus or not. It's not a hassle, but I'm not sure that she likes the idea of my bike being shoved right up against hers for the ride in. Her bike is in a bit better shape than mine - it looks like she actually washes hers more than once a year and there's not a scratch on it... With I could say the same for mine... or not.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Is a fat biker the same thing as a fatbiker? Because you talk about me like that, and I'm probably going to quit riding your bus regardless of how nice your bike is :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

You are correct - it should be fatbiker - or maybe phatbiker? The rider is not fat, the bike is. The rider is quite svelt, in fact. Not like me. I am a fat fatbiker.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back down to 5F this a.m., but should be 20 or high teens for the way home, and then snow tonight/tomorrow. I’ve been regularly seeing a bikecommuter going the opposite way on my last ¾ mile. He’s going downhill pretty fast and I’m going uphill pretty slow so haven’t gotten in more than a wave or a nod. Kind of curious who it is and where he works. He has a similar commuter glo-green jacket, so it is kind of like looking in the mirror when we pass.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> You are correct - it should be fatbiker - or maybe phatbiker? The rider is not fat, the bike is. The rider is quite svelt, in fact. Not like me. I am a fat fatbiker.


Or a phat, fat fatbiker.

I've been riding the mountain bike after about a week on my phatbike and it feels so nimble and quick, I'm looking for candlesticks. Speaking of jumping, I love the sound of riding on crusty snow and then getting a few moments of air where everything goes silent...(continued)
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Guest (Feb 4, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Is a fat biker the same thing as a fatbiker? Because you talk about me like that, and I'm probably going to quit riding your bus regardless of how nice your bike is :lol:


 Fat-Biker = Person on a Fat Bike, Fat Biker = Large Person on a Bike, Fat-Fat-Biker = Large Person on a Fat Bike, Phat-Biker = Pimped out Person on a Bike, Phat-Bike = Pimped out Bike....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yesterday I knocked out the 18.5 mile route with an 18.5mph average on my phat-bike, this morning I felt like a fat biker.


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## SanguineSpring (Aug 1, 2013)

Today turned into a close call with Jacked-Up-Truck-Mcgee who wasn't even completely past me when he tried to come back into my lane.

I was taking my whole lane and everything. Nothing makes my blood boil more..


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

High 30s for ride in. High 50s for ride home. Ride home had three interesting aspects to it. At least more interesting than the typical nothing-happens commute. 

Saw two bike tourers. Both heading up a busy street without a bike lane. Cars honking at them and the works. Whizzing past at 50+ and maybe two feet from the bikers. In my opinion, they should've been up on the sidewalk on this busy street. Suicide otherwise. Their bikes were loaded down with racks and bags and gear everywhere. Didn't get the chance to talk to them though.

Second interesting thing is that someone yelled an obscenity at me for the first time since I've been commuting (November 2012). Wasn't anything I did as I was on the opposite side of the street. Kept a lookout for the van though the rest of my ride home in case it wasn't just a random act. 

Thirdly, as I'm almost to my Jeep (parked at my mother-in-laws, so partial commute really) something smashes into a tree right next to me and pieces of styrofoam rain down on me. Came in fast and from the sky. Next thing I see is a guy across the park with a remote control. Some kind of flying object. Anyway, it hit the tree pretty hard and blew apart.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A manhunt in progress on the way home made for some excitement. A swarm of about 10 state trooper cruisers passed me after I stopped at a store, and they swooped out of side lots (I pulled over for the first one, which had lights, etc.), so I knew something was up. I was a little concerned about being in the middle of a car chase (or worse) and/or rubberneckers. I thought it was a drug bust at the trailer park where a bunch were parked, but then further along I saw cops with flashlights walking the RR tracks, checking storage containers, etc. Apparently an inmate used the old "I have o go to the bathroom" trick when he was taken to the hospital for dialysis, and took off. He was caught in Barre shortly after I got home.

Vt. police capture escaped inmate - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Whoa, now THAT`s a wild commute. Riding on Mulberry Street, any chance?



Forster said:


> Phat-Biker = Pimped out Person on a Bike, Phat-Bike = Pimped out Bike....


I think you have it here. 
Unphortunately.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> .
> 
> Saw two bike tourers. Both heading up a busy street without a bike lane. Cars honking at them and the works. Whizzing past at 50+ and maybe two feet from the bikers. In my opinion, they should've been up on the sidewalk on this busy street. Suicide otherwise. Their bikes were loaded down with racks and bags and gear everywhere. Didn't get the chance to talk to them though.


Interesting. I saw the same thing on my way home. Guy and a gal, nice waterproof panniers and BOB trailer. On the busiest street in town. During rush hour. I don't know where they were going, but it could have waited an hour or two, for safety's sake.

Commute to the church was good. Stopped off and grabbed some goodies at the LBS. Was a little sluggish from the massive amount of weight in the backpack leaving work (some groceries, full hydration bladder), but it was fun.

Ride home from church took it out of me. Figured out that it was because my seat post keeps slipping down to the height the previous owner had it set at, instead of where I keep it. And it's very gradual. I guess I need to tighten the hell out of it.

Btw, you'll be seeing this on bikehacks.com soon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Whoa, now THAT`s a wild commute. Riding on Mulberry Street, any chance?


No, but how did you know? I grew up 1 block from the south end of Mulberry St, NYC!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Oh, I thought Rodar was referring to this.








I took the long way home across the lake last night and came across about 20 deer hanging out on the lake. They looked like a group of teenagers hanging out smoking. As I approached some went to one shore and the others went the other direction, still more waited until I got closer.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This whole week has sucked as far as commuting is concerned. I've taken the car every day. We had snow Monday, ice Tuesday, and the residual of both mixed with wind today. The trees are dangerous right now. I've seen at least two limbs fall in my limbited (sorry couldn't resist) amount of time outside. We heard a few booms and saw a few flashes as tree limbs took out power lines last night. I got a little exercise this morning shoveling at work, but I'm getting antsy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Pretty cool bedwards... I have broken up some deer smoking parties, but never on a frozen lake.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was kind of weird because normally I figure that they are eating bark or whatever deer do but there's nothing out on the lake but snow.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> It was kind of weird because normally I figure that they are eating bark or whatever deer do but there's nothing out on the lake but snow.


Predators (coyotes) wil drive the deer out on the lake. the deer go out there so they can see the coyotes coming from a long way away....so the coyotes give up after a while.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

All standard commuting fare again last night and this morning. I guess I should be happy for that. I do have some squeakiness in the back end of the bike. Not sure what it is. Possibly some brake rub or even the hub dying a slow and painful death. Tomorrow and Friday are non-commute days for me this week - work from home on Thursday and flex day on Friday. So I am taking my wheel to the shop tomorrow to be relaced to the new hub. I figure that while that is happening I will spend some time really cleaning up the drivetrain - jockey wheels, cassette, chain - the works. Then Friday I plan to spend some time riding out at Moose Range before heading over to watch my daughter hopefully kick some butt in her XC ski race. 

Good times, good times.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Pretty cool bedwards... I have broken up some deer smoking parties, but never on a frozen lake.


I've broken up a few smoking parties on the bike, but never deer. Or on a bike for that matter.

Ride in was uneventful, save for a huge Waste Management garbage truck coming inches from me. So close I felt the draft pull me toward it. I was so pissed off because it was an open 4 lane road, and he easily could have moved over a bit, and for those of you who have seen my lighting, there was absolutely no chance he didn't see me. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to grab the unit number, but I'm guessing that it's his route on Wednesdays, so I'll grab it next week. I already called and placed a complaint with the service manager, but was told "there's not much we can do without knowing who it was".

I just hope next time isn't the last time, if ya know what I mean.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I already called and placed a complaint with the service manager, but was told "there's not much we can do without knowing who it was".
> 
> I just hope next time isn't the last time, if ya know what I mean.


A response like this really pisses me off...

First of all these companies should all have on going training and safety programs...with regularly scheduled safety meetings...

In the absence of an identified offender..the managment can certainly bring your compliant forward through any one of many channels as a learning for all of their drivers.

Maybe go online they may have a safety officer or number that would bypass the general management...

The may also have a comment form for upper management and failing that they may identify upper management and a letter could then be sent.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I know with my company, you don't have to be directly identified. One complaint, and it brings on safety training nationwide. I'll be pursuing this as far as I can, and if I need to get the pro-cycling law firm involved, I will.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I know with my company, you don't have to be directly identified. One complaint, and it brings on safety training nationwide. I'll be pursuing this as far as I can, and if I need to get the pro-cycling law firm involved, I will.


As a second thought the guy that took the call needs a safety tune up as well.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Some companies run video on trucks to protect themselves in accidents. So the incident might be on camera as it MTBX's case. Also routes may be known and only a few or even just one truck ad driver would be there at that time. Yes, is seems like some attitudes need changing and if they have a safety person, he/she will not be happy with this being blown off.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm doing some research tonight as to who I should contact at a corporate office. I know the exact location and time, so that should offer some sort of lead. 

The ride home was sluggish. I've really been pushing myself physically, not only on the bike, but at work as well. I felt it today. 

As I was pulling into CVS for some wine and chocolate (wifey had a rough day), some jackass in a jacked up truck comes flying to the stop line, coming about two feet away from me. He yells "Get a f***ing car!", and I couldn't help myself. Without missing a beat I sarcastically quipped back "Get a f***ing bike!". Everyone in the parking lot had a good laugh. Some folks, man. Some folks.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fast and firm, 50 mins flew by, trails were mostly great, some still super bumpy...please send snow!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

waaahhheeeeyy!!
snow so deep the studs do NOTHING!
slewing everywhere, laughing manically out loud, overtaking EVERYTHING on four wheels!! 

why is this so fun?
somehow i lost one of my rack's bolts though?! ah well.
enough snow that I effectively washed the snow off my bike!!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

No work today, but rode in to my doctors appointment. 33 and rainy, the roads were a slushy mess... Had to get off and walk at some points.

At least the ride back was rain free.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I know with my company, you don't have to be directly identified. One complaint, and it brings on safety training nationwide. I'll be pursuing this as far as I can, and if I need to get the pro-cycling law firm involved, I will.


Is the legal issue not giving the bicyclist three feet when passing? Or some similar law?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Pretty much. That, and it was an ******* move. Like I said, there was no one else on the road, the other lane was open, and I know damn good and well he saw me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

In keeping with the theme of breaking up smoker parties...
Mon night was one of the occasional instances where I get surprised by a group of Job Corps kids hanging out (hiding) on a little "trail" that runs from a hole in the fence around our plant down to the back door where I park. Probably just looking for a good place to toke up, but I don`t trust the little delinquents not to make off with all or part of my bike. Used my rain parking spot that night, inside the boiler room.



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ Oh, I thought Rodar was referring to this.


He was!



bedwards1000 said:


> It was kind of weird because normally I figure that they are eating bark or whatever deer do but there's nothing out on the lake but snow.


Hoping for a few frozen fish sticks?



Texan-n-Fla said:


> So close I felt the draft pull me toward it. I was so pissed off because it was an open 4 lane road, and he easily could have moved over a bit, and for those of you who have seen my lighting, there was absolutely no chance he didn't see me.


Yeah, it really pisses me off when there`s an open lane and the driver still cuts close. Once got caught between a guardrail and a flatbed full of hay pulling a large trailer full of more hay, going up a pass with two lanes in our direction and no other traffic on the road. Besides the obvious terror of seeing those huge tires rolling right by my handlebars, I got added excitement of having to squint through the choking cloud of dust and debris blowing off the hay. Never fun.

Day four with no cigs- should have been day five now, but I blew it right off the bat on Saturday. It`s going a little better this time than previously, mostly due to the new gum I bought. it`s generic stuff from Wally`s, and I`m able to chew it as often as I want compared to the name brand stuff I used before. The old stuff made me hoarse and gave me a raw, swollen throat if I used it more than four or five times per day. I feel like I just might survive the ordeal.

Citizenship package for my wife recieved by immigration and moving along quickly- fingerprint appointment set for next week. And a big kudos to my honey for a successful interview with the school district. Found out today that they have approved her as an interpreter. All bilingual employees at the schools occasionally get asked to do that anyway, but now she`ll be on a call list for whenever they need one at any district school or office, and it pays nearly twice her normal rate. I think the best part is the official pat on the back though.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Nearly got badly right hooked the other morning, luckily I was able to turn with them. Then I confronted the driver, really just asking if they had seen me (checking to see if I was invisible as I feel some days) and the young girl admitted she had seen me, didn't bother to check before she turned or use her signal which would have clued me in. We were both pleasant and polite so I'm hoping she won't make that mistake again.

Have had flurries the last couple of days, but nothing really sticking, nowhere near enough to consider putting the studs back on, hoping not to regret that. But otherwise relatively uneventful, which is nice.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rodar: good luck going weedless and kudos to your spouse.

Spatialized: We were all young and stupid once, and not blowing up may have made a more lasting impression. Too bad too many get older but stay stupid.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Chilly again, -5F. The roads were rideable after 9" of extra slick snow yesterday. Took 1 pic on the road (the juxtaposed signs made me laugh) and some beforehand walking the dogs with snowshoes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats to Mrs. Rodar on the citizenship and translating gig. Most kids I went to elementary school with had to be translators for their parents (from Hong Kong mostly), and they may have made a few "mistakes". 

Glad your gum is working better, keep on keepin' on! 

Tex, happy that you are OK after the garbage truck scare, clearly you had some skills to hold that together. A few thoughts since I work in trash/environmental. The guy you talked to is likely to local dispatcher/manager, who is only paid to pick up more trash faster. Waste Mgmt is HUGE and has people paid to actually care about safety (or at least insurance "losses") and try to get the bozos in line. If you can find these people you may get more action. Sometimes the safety people are lumped in with environmental, and they are typically not out of the local hauling office, but instead have a larger region . Be sure to note the date, time, location, and as much about the truck as you remember (for example, a "packer" truck they load from a back, or one of those roll-offs" carrying a big dumpster). If you find the right WM person, consider following up your call with something in writing with a copy to the cops in case he hurts somebody down the road, and to give them extra incentive to improve.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Beautiful ride in this morning with no wind and the roads are finally cleared off fairly well. Set a new personal record at -12F when I got to work at 7:45 am. It's been a long time since we've had a winter this cold so I may never have a chance to break this record!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Xplorer: Pic 1- Glad I`m not riding that one
Pic 3- Yeah!

Congrats on the record, Nemhed. I hope you`re right about never getting a chance to break it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm happy I don't have to ride today - right now the wind is blowing like the devil. Steady 27mph out of the north. Gusting to who knows what. The biggest issue with this is the amount of glacial silt in the air since we don't have any snow. 

Of course, I get my rebuilt wheel today, so I might brave the wind anyway...


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Tried out a Serfas RX saddle. Holy crap! I would rather ride on a seat post than place my rear end on that thing again. Other than that, I have no complaints. No garbage trucks trying to kill me, no ******** wanting to run me over. Just nice rides, I'm loving it.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I bought a Serfas RX saddle yesterday, and promptly returned it less than 24 hours later. It felt okay on the short 3 mile ride from my office to my mother in laws house. However, the 12 mile ride into work this morning was absolute hell. I would have rather ridden on an empty seat post than place my rear end atop another one of those. Trying out a Specialized Avatar right now. So far, I like it. 

Also picked up a Bikeray USA on heavy discount from the LBS. Apparently the guy who engineered them for production lives just down the road and is a part of the cycling group, and it's a fully backed product. We'll see how I like it. I was really hoping to pick up an Amoeba from Scar, but this was too good of a deal to pass on. 

Well, that's it for now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Egad! Another Friday proving the end of the work week brings out the worst in some people. Left work at 5:45 and within 15 minutes someone yelled a**h*le - not only was he driving in the opposite direction, I was at the right side of the opposing lane - sheesh. At least that one was just obnoxious, not dangerous. Next one was a yellow whatever that reincarnation of the Subaru Brat is called. Veers toward me while passing, too close, plus blaring the horn. In my dreams the following driver called in this unsafe driving, and I passed the "Brat" pulled over down the road. Too bad it did not happen.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> I'm happy I don't have to ride today - right now the wind is blowing like the devil. Steady 27mph out of the north. Gusting to who knows what. The biggest issue with this is the amount of glacial silt in the air since we don't have any snow.
> 
> Of course, I get my rebuilt wheel today, so I might brave the wind anyway...


Ride sucked bro! Face full of dust all commute in it seemed...only bonus was the tailwind heading down Cst!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Sad Sunday...got out to realize LA Trurly was stolen...going to the police and to talk to our tenants.. 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Egad! Another Friday proving the end of the work week brings out the worst in some people. Left work at 5:45 and within 15 minutes someone yelled a**h*le - not only was he driving in the opposite direction, I was at the right side of the opposing lane - sheesh. At least that one was just obnoxious, not dangerous. Next one was a yellow whatever that reincarnation of the Subaru Brat is called. Veers toward me while passing, too close, plus blaring the horn. In my dreams the following driver called in this unsafe driving, and I passed the "Brat" pulled over down the road. Too bad it did not happen.


I thought in Vermont is is "Live Free *or* Die!" That implies that death is not to be imposed, that it is your choice.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I bought a Serfas RX saddle yesterday, and promptly returned it less than 24 hours later. It felt okay on the short 3 mile ride from my office to my mother in laws house. However, the 12 mile ride into work this morning was absolute hell. I would have rather ridden on an empty seat post than place my rear end atop another one of those. Trying out a Specialized Avatar right now. So far, I like it.
> 
> Also picked up a Bikeray USA on heavy discount from the LBS. Apparently the guy who engineered them for production lives just down the road and is a part of the cycling group, and it's a fully backed product. We'll see how I like it. I was really hoping to pick up an Amoeba from Scar, but this was too good of a deal to pass on.
> 
> Well, that's it for now.


I have an Avatar on my bike right now, and I absolutely love it. In combo with some padded shorts, it is nothing short of, dare I say, comfortable? It doesn't look like it would be, but so far, on the rides that I have taken with it, extremely happy with it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> I thought in Vermont is is "Live Free *or* Die!" That implies that death is not to be imposed, that it is your choice.


Hahaha, that is NH, but we're supposed to have peaceful cows, hippies, and sugarers here in the Green Mountain State, so WTF?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> Sad Sunday...got out to realize LA Trurly was stolen...going to the police and to talk to our tenants..


Oh noooooo! :bluefrown: Hope you are reunited!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hahaha, that is NH, but we're supposed to have peaceful cows, hippies, and sugarers here in the Green Mountain State, so WTF?


LOL, they must be from away.

Sorry to hear about the stolen bike martinsillo, good luck.

It was an exciting weekend up here in snowman race country. RollingRunner and I won! Interviewed and on the news and everything. I looked up the 2 people that beat me on the bike and they are both CAT3 racers so I don't feel too bad being solidly in the CAT6 range. Commuter pride! When Mr news man asked about my training I said it was from commuting through the winter.
Full story here: The Candid Cyclist: The Snowman Adventure Race

Cellphone shot of news story, poor mans Tivo


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Back in the saddle again. I took last week off because of ice on the roads. We had more snow last night, but the roads had a little time to clear up over the weekend with some sun and barely above freezing temps. No black ice. The MUP was a fun ride, but the bike lanes were mostly clear. School was cancelled for no apparent reason, so that kept a lot of people off the roads. This has been the coldest and snowiest winter we've had in years.

Sorry about the bike, martinsillo. Hope you are able to recover it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good luck with the bike recovery, hope you get it back in one piece.

No commute here, and there won't be for some time I guess. Snowing again, and it doesn't want to stop or warm up. The trail that I would ride is completely covered. They haven't plowed it in some time now, so it is quite impassible. The bike lanes are more than half occupied by snow, and the frigid temps are just too low for me to ride. If I had a fat bike, this would be a different story. Still considering getting one.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I ended up not even getting more than a quick two mile ride in this weekend between Thursday and today it was so windy up in the valley. Ended up getting a ride to the bus stop this AM because of the 30mph steady wind from the n/ne. I probably could have made it under my own power, but just wasn't feeling it, particularly with the gusts of 45+ coupled with the residuals of my illness, I could just see myself getting blown over. 

Once I got into Anchortown, though, the morning's ride was great. Not much wind and cool. Good ride.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice work bedwards and Mrs. bedwards!! sounds like a good time! 


Major bummer about the stolen bike... hopefully you find it quick. 

Finally a bit of winter around here. Major rain for the last couple days, and it froze up last night during the last blast, for a bit of snow and a crusty freezing-rainy sloppy crackly underlayer. The fog also rolled in this morning, making things even weirder. Studs mandatory for the ride in. Definitely a nice change.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride this morning. Family and I were at the mall in Tampa until late. Didn't get home until 10:30, and I had every intention if riding in this morning. And then I woke up with only 25 minutes to get up and to the office. Needless to say, the wife and kids were my commuting companions this morning in the minivan. It's a shame, I was really hoping to give my new Bikeray Speed II a go, since it'll still be daylight during my ride home. Oh well, such is life. 

Sorry to hear about the missing bike. I really hope it's recovered quickly!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats Bedwards and RollingRunner, too bad the vid is gone! Nice report and pics. I did a local fatbike race yesterday, the Frozen Onion. It was pretty hard because the snow had not compacted well and it got sunny too. It was fine on the flats and downhills, but the uphills quickly became a quagmire of footprints as pushing became the norm. After the 4 laps I was dang tired and DFL, but happy to make the whole thing. Schott of NH was there and off like a shot near the front.  The ride in today was sloppy, with a quick 2” of snow that turned slushy despite the 10F temp. Had some more of that “chainlock” where the pedals suddenly stop until you back/softpedal a bit. Had me a little paranoid after a few times.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> Sad Sunday...got out to realize LA Trurly was stolen...going to the police and to talk to our tenants..


Went looking for a picture of La Trurly. Doubt she'll end up near here, but wanted a mental picture.

Found the BaroneSS:

The Baroness

La Pugdozer is burned into my retin... er brain. 

Hoping that this sees you reunited.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Major bummer about Ms Trurly, Martin. Somebody took it right from your house?



mtbxplorer said:


> Hahaha, that is NH, but we're supposed to have peaceful cows, hippies, and sugarers here in the Green Mountain State, so WTF?


Wait a minute, now- the hippies belong to us out here in the left just as much as to you guys, and don`t you remember the Happy Cows? Half of your evidence is CA based!



bedwards1000 said:


> It was an exciting weekend up here in snowman race country. RollingRunner and I won! Interviewed and on the news and everything.


Hot dog, that`s awesome! But what happened to the costumes? You two do more races in any given half year than I`ve entered in since kindergarten. Don`t know where you dig up all that energy.



CommuterBoy said:


> Finally a bit of winter around here.


Yay! We`ve been getting a slow soaking for the better part of a week- a little snow, little rain, little more snow, lots of wind. I haven`t needed studs though because it`s been drying out in between wets and barely dipping below freezing.

And congrats on the Frozen Onion adventure, Xplorer and Schott!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nate: be careful of drivers dodging potholes in Indy. They may be looking at them and be to distracted to see a cyclist.

Holey Indy, Batman!

IndyPotholeViewer


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wait a minute, now- the hippies belong to us out here in the left just as much as to you guys, and don`t you remember the Happy Cows? Half of your evidence is CA based!


:lol: I will grant you guys some hippies but that happy cows commercial was not well received here!


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Nate: be careful of drivers dodging potholes in Indy. They may be looking at them and be to distracted to see a cyclist.
> 
> Holey Indy, Batman!
> 
> IndyPotholeViewer


Oh!! that gave me a good chuckle! So after careful study of that map I've been able to determine that All the streets have LOTS of potholes!:thumbsup: Ok, maybe it just seems like it.
On a more slightly serious note, it was -11f when I got to work this morning, but the warm up is in sight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ -11, must be going around. (OK, only -10 now)







but my Garmin bottomed out a -9 and that always reads 5-10 degrees high so...it was cold.

MTBX, did you figure out your chain thing? If it happens when shifting rings it could be a worn ring, probably not if you haven't changed chains. If it happens at odd times it could be a burr or a stiff link. You can just file the burr off if you find it. Your race conditions sound like my commuting conditions. My last 2 commutes have been 1-1/2 hour slogs at 6mph through "packed" powder. Kind of like packed powered sugar. The show just doesn't pack when it is this cold.


rodar y rodar said:


> Hot dog, that`s awesome! But what happened to the costumes? You two do more races in any given half year than I`ve entered in since kindergarten. Don`t know where you dig up all that energy.


The nest is basically empty and that's what we do for fun. It's always pretty humbling to see how many people are better, stronger, faster.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ahh, winter is back. No new snow in the Valley, but the temps are where they should be. -3F this morning. No wind (thank heavens!). Anchorage was also cool at 4F. Hoping for some fresh snow sometime soon, though. Although right now there has to be some great crust riding in the areas where there is still snow.

Got the new hub installed and so far it is wonderful! Josh over at Backcountry Bike and Ski did a bang up job of rebuilding the wheel in just a few hours. Love it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Our two week cold snap is coming to an end, and we should be above 0F tomorrow and maybe above freezing by the weekend. Also finally getting a bit of new snow after it almost all melted off back in January.

This Friday is winter bike-to-work day, so there will be snacks and hot chocolate on my usual route to work. There's also a bunch of stuff planned after work, but seeing as it's also valentine's day I'm going to have to skip it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No bikecommute today, but I took the dogs out for a quick fatbike before work. MTBR photo uploader has not been working for me at work on internet explorer, though 

Bedwards, that chainlock thing only seems to happen when the conditions are really nasty, dirt, snow, slush packed everywhere. Yesterday after work I put the bike in the heated entryway for 15 minutes, and had zero issues on the way home. It's just when pedaling along in the (new last summer) middle ring, not while shifting. I will check for a burr or something that might be making it more likely to accumulate crud though...and check the connex link too.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Woke up late again this morning, had to take the short (and dangerous) 6 mi route. Wasn't very happy about it, but whatever. I suppose I'm still just exhausted from the insane amount of work last month, and the cold I caught over the weekend. Short ride is better than no ride.

Finally got a chance to use the Bikeray Speed II I picked up the other day. I was impressed this morning. Good throw, decent flood, and a great hot spot. I like the fact that run time on high is just shy of 4 hours, and the tint is a great neutral white. I don't like that the daytime flash is SOS. I would prefer a steady pulse, but I'll take it. 

Bike is at the shop now, getting a good working over. New cables and housing, derailleur adjustments, brake setup and adjustment, wheel truing. It just needed a good inspect and tune up by someone much more qualified than myself, since I'm no where near "shop" quality. Got pushed ahead of others so that I'm good to ride home tonight. Figured I'd grab some Shiner Bock, the sweet nectar of my homelands, as a thank you to the staff and owners. 

Until then, I'm just praying my Shimano SPD's show up by this weekend.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I will check for a burr or something that might be making it more likely to accumulate crud though...and check the connex link too.


I wouldn't even bother checking the link just replace it for the cost.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Maybe I can get to the shop before they close. It's (the chain & link) only a month old or so, have you had issues with new ones? I suppose any product can have an occasional flaw. Is it OK to use another brand? Not sure that they have Connex there. It would be nice if there is really some cause besides the road glop.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Maybe I can get to the shop before they close. It's (the chain & link) only a month old or so, have you had issues with new ones? I suppose any product can have an occasional flaw. Is it OK to use another brand? Not sure that they have Connex there. It would be nice if there is really some cause besides the road glop.


No not specifically... I always have two spare links in my bike bag so if the chain is acting up I just change it out...

I didn't realize it was almost brand new....

The links certainly can bung up in crap conditions though


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Huffing and puffing up in Blue Diamond this weekend on the singlespeed mt. bike. For this reason, I've decided to hang up commuting for a few weeks to put some good, solid treadmill workouts in to get my lungs where they need to be. Don't get the intense workout on my commute that the treadmill gives me. And I don't have time for both a commute and a treadmill session. Hope to be back on the commutes soon. Also hoping the treadmill can give me the push to lose the last twenty pounds I want to lose. Lost thirty pounds commuting pretty quickly. Been stuck where I am now since August though.


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2014)

Whoa! 18F tomorrow and my inflamed chest cartilage is only moderately painful, I'm riding. Probably only hit a 10 miler each way but it's my first ride since 19 Jan.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride home today from the shop. Had too many errands to run with the wife. The good news is, the bike is up and going looking something sharp! Shifted flawlessly, with my brakes dialed in. Bike is clean, all new cables and housing. It's a real shame I didn't have the chance to give it a good run tonight. I'll be hitting the sack early tonight so that I can take the 18.5 mile route in tomorrow.

On a side note, I was gifted an unsellable item by the shop owner this evening, to fit in with my theme of "be bright as hell".









That's a bright red duel LED strip going down either side of my helmet. Too bad they're not selling, otherwise I'd get some white ones for the fork.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Pre-commute Ride*

Keeper on the move!







The knoll







Wheel fine morning







Bruin cheering on the US Ski Team and his Dad in Sochi helping them with physical therapy (Official dogsitter of the US Olympic Team!)


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was glorious. Low 60's and clear. Just cool enough to make you shiver when you first walk outside, but keep you in that perfect "in between" stage after pedaling hard. 

The Bikeray Speed II did well. Good amount of throw, and a fairly large hotspot. I'm thinking about a cutoff "brim" since I got a few high beam flashes, but it was great in all other respects. Same with the new Avatar saddle. It's taken a little bit of dialing in, but I'm finally comfortable riding for long periods of time without feeling the need to constantly dismount. 

Still getting positive remarks about the lights all over. In fact, at the LBS yesterday, I was told that a customer came in asking where they can buy lights like I have, after seeing me cruise down a Main Street here in town. I'm cool with that. I figure if you're not smiling and making others smile at the same time, it's not worth doing. Seeing kids light up and flip out while sitting in traffic is totally worth it. 

On a completely different note, I'm extremely upset with some Amazon sellers. I purchased a Shimano Click'R set, and paid quite a bit more for expedited shipping. Well, one item hasn't even shipped yet. I have half a mind to cancel the order and order from someone else.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Great pictures as usual, mtbxplorer. Keeper appears to have turned out to be a fine trail dog!


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2014)

Good return to the trail today. Weather was better than forecast (20 F and light winds), roads were greasier than usual, curb cuts on the trail weren't, chest pain negligible/manageable. Had two dabs, one because a truck cut me off (after flashing hi-beams and waving me through the intersection) and one where a plow had closed an curb cut with a 3' pile of snow. The second dab was unnecessary but I couldn't see the back side of the pile in the dark (lights and shadows are funny like that sometimes). The mush I rode through for several miles would have been perfect fatbike territory but alas, I find myself unwilling to commit to another ride for the time being.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Shameless self plug...

Great commute in this AM. Felt fast and free on the first leg. Tried to sleep on the bus, but just couldn't get to dream land. The second leg felt a bit sluggish. Probably just the difference between riding on snow vs dry pavement.

I did forget my glasses this AM, the first time in ages I've done that. Forgot how cold 3 F feels on the eyeballs.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Foot down*

What is it about those foot down spammers?
9 times out of 10 I can`t even figure out what they`re spamming about.
Are they all the same person? What am I missing?


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## Guest (Feb 12, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> What is it about those foot down spammers?
> 9 times out of 10 I can`t even figure out what they`re spamming about.
> Are they all the same person? What am I missing?


 They (we) all think we're riding an Observed Trials meet. Kinda like the Single Speed, Fat Bike, (insert your special interest here) spammers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Still smiling about the pics, MTBX! 

I have been stopped to ask about the Planet Bike Turbos and the PDW Radbot 1000's. And I get both a "Wow" and a "What a weirdo" response from the under 16 set.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well
I went to the police and pretty much they told I should look for it on my own.
I just contacted a local bicycle blogger and he helped me with some contacts of local clubs, I'll just spread the word and hope for the best.

Like I said to the blogger, La Trurly wasn't the more expensive bike on earth but I have already invested a lot of love to see it gone.

I'm living in an apt complex, pretty much everyone leave the bikes below the stairs, some locked some not.... during the week I wasn't locking it (couse believe it or not, I was actually commuting!) and during the weekends I was putting a simple lock on it...last weekend I forgot to lock it.

Besides what I already had on the bike...they also took my new set of magicshines.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Dammit that sucks. Be sure that you go to all the local pawn shops in your area, metal scrap yard, and put a post on craigslist. You've done a lot of legwork with contacting bike clubs and the LBS, but don't stop there. 

Funny enough, I was hanging at the LBS the other day when a guy came in looking like he was out of a rap video asking if someone could cut the lock off of his bike because he lost the key. It was a nice (but older) Schwinn road bike, which he had absolutely no business owning. Mechanic played along while someone else called a detective who is a member of the bike club. He came down, confirmed it was a bike registered as stolen, and arrested the individual. Long story short: buy your own Dremel.


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## Guest (Feb 13, 2014)

Finished the second 11 miles a little quicker today. The conditions were worse at 30F than at 20F because everything that thawed in the sun was refreezing as I rode home. Another good ride for a fat bike (hey Performance Bike, pick me for your Fat Bike Giveaway).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

nemhed said:


> Great pictures as usual, mtbxplorer. Keeper appears to have turned out to be a fine trail dog!





BrianMc said:


> Still smiling about the pics, MTBX!


Thanks! When he is good he is very very good, and when he is bad, he bolts off on a deer scent and gets 3/4 mile away in no time (his tracking collar tells me)! So still a work in progress. He seems to know the area now, and finds his way back to me, but it makes me reluctant to take him to unfamiliar wilderness or more traffic-y areas.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> (his tracking collar tells me)!


What kind of collar are you using?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> What kind of collar are you using?


The tracking one is a Garmin Astro, it is pretty cool. I press "dog" and it shows me what direction he is on a compass and how far away. Or you can see on a topo map where you are and where he is. It works better than I thought with the hilly terrain here; only rarely does it say signal lost, and then only momentarily. You can see the antenna in the pic. Then when you get home you can download the "track" and be amazed at how far and how many mph he ran.

You can also use the handheld part for a bike or hike gps, but a little clunky compared to my old Garmin Edge, or I haven't mastered it anyhow.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

This guy isn't much of a trail dog (or canoe dog for that matter), but at 120 lbs I don't expect him to be. He likes to chase me for 1/4 of a mile when I ride the little trail behind my house, then he flops down in the yard to await my return.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's slushier than Sochi over here. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's slushy and slick on the MUP in the afternoons.

Yesterday, there was a truck blocking traffic and trying to back into a driveway. The guy in front of me got a little nervous and started backing down the hill, seemingly without realizing that I was back there. I had to shuffle off to the side of the road as fast as I could so he wouldn't hit me. Then once the truck was clearing out of the road, I see a pick-up getting antsy, driving the wrong way, and darting into a parking lot. It turned out to be my boss trying to find a cut-through. I guess he didn't know one didn't exist. In his hurry, he ended up getting stuck in the parking lot and waiting for the other cars to clear. I got a chuckle out of that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> The tracking one is a Garmin Astro,..


Whoa, that's a little spendy! I'll stick with hollering and offering cheese when he comes back. Got to think of that bike budget.

The lake crossing was awful today. It had some trails that were just packed enough to make you think you could ride but they took about 3 attempts to get going and then in 20-50 feet the tire would wash out. Repeat for 1 mile.  On a positive note, 10 degrees felt darn balmy after a few days around 10 below. Big blizzard on the way so all that will change in about 4 hours.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Great googly moogly that headwind was something to be feared this morning. We had a heavy storm blow in yesterday evening, and while the rain was gone by this morning, the winds were still there. I could have sworn that there was a time when my feet were moving forward, but I was going backward. 

I'll say this, though, that tune up from the LBS set me right. They really went above and beyond the call of duty and made my bike something to be proud of. So, in a gesture of gratitude, I picked up a sixer of Shiner Bock, the treasure of my homeland an swung it by. That was a bit hit, and everyone seemed stoked to give it a shot. 

I've been really working on my diet to shed this extra weight and make the 22 mile round trip a piece of cake. 

Question: who is using waterproof shoe covers? If so, what are you using?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Whoa, that's a little spendy! I'll stick with hollering and offering cheese when he comes back. Got to think of that bike budget.


Yeah, I'd consider it a nice-to-have but that Garmin is out of my pricerange too. I've thought about the Tagg before, but it has an $8/month connectivity fee. What kind of dog is worth $8/month?!? (recognizing that we spend waaaay more/month on her than that...)

6F this morning, although I would have guessed it was warmer. It's definitely an improvement over the last few weeks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s funny, sOck. That was the parking lot at work? You`d think your boss would know it well enough not to get trapped!

Nemhed, very pretty first mate you`ve got there.



Texan-n-Fla said:


> I've been really working on my diet to shed this extra weight and make the 22 mile round trip a piece of cake.


I don`t think you`re supposed to put that cake in the same sentence as the diet, but good luck!


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## Guest (Feb 13, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Great googly moogly that headwind was something to be feared this morning. We had a heavy storm blow in yesterday evening, and while the rain was gone by this morning, the winds were still there. I could have sworn that there was a time when my feet were moving forward, but I was going backward.
> 
> I'll say this, though, that tune up from the LBS set me right. They really went above and beyond the call of duty and made my bike something to be proud of. So, in a gesture of gratitude, I picked up a sixer of Shiner Bock, the treasure of my homeland an swung it by. That was a bit hit, and everyone seemed stoked to give it a shot.
> 
> ...


 I'm using some neoprene shoe covers I got from Performance years ago (like these Performance Neo Booties - Cycling Shoe Covers but with a rubber sole). They work good down to 25F with normal socks, 15-20F with heavy socks and lower with another layer between the bootie and shoe (using regular road shoes). I like the rubber sole because you can walk in them without damaging the neoprene but they do rub on my cranks (light rub marks and squeeky noises).


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm gearing up for rainy season, and one thing I cannot stand is having wet feet. Looking for anything I can to limit this problem.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Question: who is using waterproof shoe covers? If so, what are you using?


It's always rainy season here in Seattle. Here is what I use:

Waterproof Cycling Shoe Covers - Cycling Booties - Cycling Accessories | Showers Pass

You don't want to do a ton of walking in them and you have to be gentle with the zippers, but they are easy on, easy off and keep my feet dry (warm too, I use them on dry cold days as wind breakers for my feet).


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## Guest (Feb 13, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I'm gearing up for rainy season, and one thing I cannot stand is having wet feet. Looking for anything I can to limit this problem.


 Seal Socks.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s funny, sOck. That was the parking lot at work? You`d think your boss would know it well enough not to get trapped!


No, it was the parking lot on the behind our property. Still, he should know better. Sometimes it pays off to chill and just go with the flow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fresh snow! I am stoked! yeah, it was only a measly 1/2 inch, but it's new, it's white, and it's so fluffy! 

Good riding ahead. Oh yes there is.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Felt like I flew into work this morning. Takes me all week to get out of that funk, I guess. Woke up to a chilly 44F (don't hate me), and wasn't expecting it. Should have worn some thicker socks. 

Shimano Click'R pedals came in yesterday. Emailed the company I got my shoes through (bike somewhere), and asked what the deal was. I ordered on the 8th, paid extra for fast shipping, received an email telling me my item was ready to be shipped, and then nothing. Emailed them back on the 12th, was told they would ship out next day and be here today. Received a notice late last night that my shoes had shipped. Turned out they're in Miami. Had I known that, I would have just gone and picked them up, for the 25 bucks extra in shipping charges. I'm so ready to be clipped in and give it a shot, that I cannot wait. 

In other news, switched over to a different bag. Old shoulder sling diaper bag. Think waterproof messenger bag. Worked like a charm. Much more comfortable than a backpack. Gonna see if the wifey can sew up a waist strap to keep it steady.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Felt like I flew into work this morning. Takes me all week to get out of that funk, I guess. Woke up to a chilly 44F (don't hate me), and wasn't expecting it. Should have worn some thicker socks. 

Shimano Click'R pedals came in yesterday. Emailed the company I got my shoes through (bike somewhere), and asked what the deal was. I ordered on the 8th, paid extra for fast shipping, received an email telling me my item was ready to be shipped, and then nothing. Emailed them back on the 12th, was told they would ship out next day and be here today. Received a notice late last night that my shoes had shipped. Turned out they're in Miami. Had I known that, I would have just gone and picked them up, for the 25 bucks extra in shipping charges. I'm so ready to be clipped in and give it a shot, that I cannot wait. 

In other news, switched over to a different bag. Old shoulder sling diaper bag. Think waterproof messenger bag. Worked like a charm. Much more comfortable than a backpack. Gonna see if the wifey can sew up a waist strap to keep it steady.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2014)

18F and humid today riding on a light coat of new snow (which made the ice below either ridable or totally unridable, not very predictible). Several times I looked like one of those guys racing motorcycles on ice (but not as smooth and I looked slightly more terrified). All the way in I kept thinking about the Bob Seger song "Traveling Man" because my wife called me crazy when I left, I was riding with the wind and the sun wasn't up yet. Probably over-thinking that. Looking forward to the new ride. Pulled the trigger on a new 2013 Fargo 2 last night. Fenders will be a nice addition.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I left a little early and stopped for a donut and a chat at winter bike to work day:



Not a great picture unfortunately, but check out the ape-hanger moonlander in the center. I finally got to chat with the owner, and he said he really likes the control it gives him.

I was there for long enough to finish my donut, and about 10 people went through.

Temperatures should be up around freezing today, and for the next week or so.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commute looked a lot like the inside of a car. Smelled like a car. Sounded like a car. A storm is coming. It was supposed to be snow, but it's kind of looking like it will start off as rain. Precip should be falling within the hour.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

shortened my fleecemask, breathing way better now, exhaled air's clearing out the sides a lot faster.
I'm definitely burnt out though, some zippy on a fixie passed me and I couldn't catch him for 3 blocks!!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

It was an awful commute this morning. Not too cold at 25, but there was a good inch of ice on every road surface. The only saving grace was that it was pitted, and provided some measure of traction.

Unfortunately, the slush that was on the ground packed up around my freewheel and gummed the system up enough to stick the pawls every time it freewheeled. Made it in oiled up the mechanism, so everything was good, all told.

Ordered up a fixed sprocket, so it won't happen again.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. 20 degrees with a light breeze. Fresh snow covering the ground. Can't complain, can't complain. With the Pres day holiday the bus is running reduced service, so it was a bit more full than usual, but not too packed.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Weather was decent this morning (26F and cloudy), but it's 40F raining now. Looking at the radar, it appears I might catch a break (crossing fingers). This week is going to be much warmer overall, but more rain is likely by the end of the week.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't posted in a while. I'm sure most of the country hates us by now, but oh well. If it weren't for work and friends, I'd kill to live somewhere with all four seasons. Preferably not all within the same week. 

Saturday I hitched up the trailerbike for the 6 year old and we went 8.5 miles to his play rehearsal against 25 mile sustained headwinds. He had a blast, I felt like dying. Once I got him to the church and was able to unhitch the load, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. Headed into downtown with an awesome (now) tailwind. For the most part, I was able to keep up with the flow of traffic thanks to the help of nature. Made my way down the farmers market, picked up some fresh greens and more local honey, where I then met with my hunny and went and picked up the boy. 

This morning in was great. Just about 45 degrees, which I should have dressed better for, but we can't win them all. Feet were numb from the cold by the time I got to the office. Jumped straight in my work truck and blasted the heater. 

On the ride home, it was a beautiful 74 and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky and a nice cool breeze coming in off the gulf that filled your nose with that gorgeous ocean air smell. Swung by the LBS to drop off the "card" or whatever the info thing is that a lot of new saddles come attached to. It was for the 155mm Avatar saddle that I demoed, and subsequently returned. While I was there, a middle aged woman picking up her bike commented on how "cool and personalized" mine was. She said you could tell right away that it was a bike that means a lot to someone and is ridden constantly. Of course, as everyone does, my leg iron bike lock was brought into conversation. It's interesting that out of all the things I've done to that bike, it's the leg irons that draws the most attention. 

Oh, and after going SPD, I don't see how I can ever go back.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

With a cold for the last week or so, I've missed out on some pretty awesome winter riding weather. Decided I'd start commuting again this week and fit the treadmill in here and there. Pretty painful driving to and from work each day last week while seeing bike traffic rise and rise with each degree uptick. Touched 80F a couple days last week. Supposed to be mid-60s this time of the year. Crazy how many more bikes start hitting the pavement as the weather gets nicer. Seems everyone walking out of Walmart has a few bikes.

Couldn't bring myself to hit Blue Diamond this weekend with this cold. Last time I hit the trails with a cold I paid for it with a much worse cold. Think this commuting thing really has me hooked, as last week was pretty miserable driving in each day.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Started riding again and have been having fits with tubes going flat. Oddly enough on my trail bike I have one tubeless setup. Guess which one has given me zero problems whether it has been beating it on the trails or commuting on the street. With tax returns and a few other extra bucks collected from here and there I am going completely tubeless. I gave ghetto tubeless a shot and tore it up on the trails with nothing but slime and didn't lose an ounce of pressure. Slime is a temporary seal though and I am going to a latex sealant for a more permanent solution. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2014)

Oddly warm today (53F) and tomorrow at 6am (30F) but that will make part of my trail completely unbikeable due to ice around the freeze point. Planning to take an alternate 10 mile loop in and out of work. I'll have to drive on Wednesday (bringing home computers from work and they wouldn't understand if I dropped one) but Thursday the new Fargo gets the nod.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Just remembered that I've got some stuff going on tomorrow evening, which will make my return trip around 21 miles. I'm looking forward to it, so long as that gulf wind keeps to itself and doesn't decide to get all up in my face.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Totally forgot some boxers this morning. Get to work out in the hot sun in weezer squeezers all day. Whoop!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The break in the rain I was hoping for never materialized. It was just sprinkling when I left work, but I turned out of our business park and the wind slapped me in the face. Then there was thunder. Then giant raindrops with icy cores. I had puddles in my gloves and shoes in the first 5 minutes. There is still some snow on the ground and drainage is not great. There was about a 1/2 inch of water in the bike lane. There was also still some snow/ice on the MUP, which was soaking up water. It was not the most fun I've had on a ride home, but I made it without freezing my butt off. It was 39F at the time.

This morning was 32F and there is a healthy dose of black ice out there. My feet were slipping while walking the dog this morning, and I had to be careful riding in, especially on the MUP. People seem oblivious to the fact that everything that looks wet is ice, even though the sun is out and temps are supposed to climb into the mid-50s this afternoon. Near the end of my commute, an SUV crossed over into the center lane to pass me, even though cars were coming the other way and had to move over to miss him. I do what I can to take the lane, but sometimes you just can't curb a person's will to drive like an idiot.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Snow last Thursday, snow on Saturday, more snow on the way today. The trails have an impressive base. Packed granular powder at near 0F continues to be a pretty slow ride on the fatty. I'm looking forward to riding a nice light road bike again. I'd even be happy with a snappy trail bike at this point. Still glad I can ride so the fatty it is.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Was looking forward to warmer temperatures this week, which we will still get. Wasn't factoring in the 5+ " of snow that we got last night. The melt will start this week, but it will be a while before I am on the road again.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Pardon my ignorance, but wouldn't it be possible to rig up a tire chain system in place of studded tires, or am I completely out of my element here?

Watch the drink, man.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It's Sun Day for me today... 1st rays of sunshine on the commute since October. Always a nice moment.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Tomorrow will probably be my first commute of 2014. Most if not all of the ice should be off the trail. Temps for tomorrow will start out around 30 and end with a high around 50. Great commuting weather! Time to charge my lights and find my bike lock.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fairly standard commute this AM. 20F, wind around 11 MPH from the north. Felt pretty good overall, even with a bit of heavy lung/sore throat going on. Still also battling with the achilles issue. I should really take a break from biking, but really loath the idea of taking bus for all of the commute.


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## Guest (Feb 18, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Pardon my ignorance, but wouldn't it be possible to rig up a tire chain system in place of studded tires, or am I completely out of my element here?
> 
> Watch the drink, man.


SlipNot Bicycle Traction Chains at BikeTiresDirect Not out of your element. My wife's quote of the week (after she dropped me off at work Sunday on so I could ride my bike home in a cold crappy headwind and overcast kind of day despite the fact that she has a rack on her car and was going home anyway) "I know what the differentiates between 'Stupid' and 'Crazy' now...no one is stupid enough to ride 20 miles into a cold wet headwind just because." She's probably right. Although she may be discounting the combined effects of being both crazy and stupid.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Not to rub it in, but it's 58F and sunny right now. Woohoo!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Not to rub it in, but it's 58F and sunny right now. Woohoo!


75F here lol


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Kryptoroxx said:


> 75F here lol


Same.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yeah, but I've seen you guys out in balaclavas when temps are in the 40s.  It's 40-50 degrees warmer than it was last week. It practically feels like summer out there.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yeah, but I've seen you guys out in balaclavas when temps are in the 40s.  It's 40-50 degrees warmer than it was last week. It practically feels like summer out there.


LIES! I don't even own a balaclava!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> LIES! I don't even own a balaclava!


Here here!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Thin button up and dickies shorts. Can't beat it. Met up with the wife and kids for pizza, and made my way over to the church to lead bible study. Get a nice 9 mile ride home in the dark, which is my fave. Looking forward to it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Almost touched 80F in Vegas today. I'm sure some parts of the Valley probably did. Only 79F where I was.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Whooo! Ride home was averaged at about 21 mph. I'll take it! But dammit, I was some bullhorn drops with bar end friction shifters. The only time I don't have my hands on the bar ends is to shift or brake.


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## Guest (Feb 19, 2014)

vegascruiser said:


> Almost touched 80F in Vegas today. I'm sure some parts of the Valley probably did. Only 79F where I was.


 Sure, but it was 70 degrees warmer here than two weeks ago, can you say that? I didn't think so. Consider yourself "Weather Nerd Served."


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

So we got 5+" of snow last night, and tonight, it is 40 on the way home. No commute for me still, but this melt will help for sure.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Beautiful weather this morning. 65 and clear. While I haven't recorded all of my rides on my BikeBrain app, this was the fastest so far, out of about 60 or so. Had a little teeny bopper slowly inch her way forward at a stop sign until she was almost into the bike lane. Braked hard and shouted, which made her do this yelp/scream thing while her boyfriend damn near jumped out of his skin in the passenger seat. She hit the brakes, and I was able to safely pass, but I'm just trying to figure out how she didn't see me. The CosmicBritez bike lights are toast, because let's be honest, they're a gimmick not meant for serious use. I need to find something that will help in that direction. I was completely invisible to her. 

Hope everyone else had a good ride in.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

My first commute of 2014 was a good one. 25 degrees and no wind. Got to see a wonderful sunrise. No better way to start my day.










Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

:


Texan-n-Fla said:


> LIES! I don't even own a balaclava!


Then what was that over your face? Don't tell me they were undies... 

I kid, I kid. I do remember being in Florida in January once and seeing a guy on a bike in full winter gear: pants, jacket, gloves, and a balaclava. It must have been 50 degrees at the time. Where I grew up, we bundled up when temps got into the 70s. Winter temps where I live now are pretty moderate compared to others on this forum.

Anyway...the commute in this morning was 48F, which felt awesome. I need to work on getting a tan. My bare arms and legs must have been blinding drivers.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> :
> Then what was that over your face? Don't tell me they were undies...
> 
> I kid, I kid. I do remember being in Florida in January once and seeing a guy on a bike in full winter gear: pants, jacket, gloves, and a balaclava. It must have been 50 degrees at the time. .


I plead the fifth. At least they were clean! A few days ago, we had a chilly morning of low 40's. I pedaled in wearing shorts, a long sleeved tee shirt, and a long sleeved button up with the sleeves down. I passed a roadie going the opposite direction completely geared out like you mentioned. Tights, arm Warmers, poofy vest, balaclava, gloves, and shoe covers. I chuckled to myself imagining the massive amounts of money spent on all of it that could be done without. It could have gone toward a better lighting system because he was seriously lacking.

That reminds me, next time I see someone going the wrong way in the bike lane, I'm gonna lose my stuff. Twice in three days I've had to swerve out into the street because of these jackasses.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I plead the fifth. At least they were clean! A few days ago, we had a chilly morning of low 40's. I pedaled in wearing shorts, a long sleeved tee shirt, and a long sleeved button up with the sleeves down. I passed a roadie going the opposite direction completely geared out like you mentioned. Tights, arm Warmers, poofy vest, balaclava, gloves, and shoe covers. I chuckled to myself imagining the massive amounts of money spent on all of it that could be done without. It could have gone toward a better lighting system because he was seriously lacking.
> 
> That reminds me, next time I see someone going the wrong way in the bike lane, I'm gonna lose my stuff. Twice in three days I've had to swerve out into the street because of these jackasses.


Don't forget the nice ladies with double wide strollers giving you a dirty look for being in their lane 

stamped and snail mailed


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Awesome commute this AM! Low 20s and fresh snow! an inch or two in the valley and, what Jordy? 5 to 6 inches here in town? At any rate it was slow going, but awesome fun!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Beautiful weather this morning. 65 and clear. While I haven't recorded all of my rides on my BikeBrain app, this was the fastest so far, out of about 60 or so. Had a little teeny bopper slowly inch her way forward at a stop sign until she was almost into the bike lane. Braked hard and shouted, which made her do this yelp/scream thing while her boyfriend damn near jumped out of his skin in the passenger seat. She hit the brakes, and I was able to safely pass, but I'm just trying to figure out how she didn't see me. The CosmicBritez bike lights are toast, because let's be honest, they're a gimmick not meant for serious use. I need to find something that will help in that direction. I was completely invisible to her.
> 
> Hope everyone else had a good ride in.


You need something up front? Serfas Thunderbolt headlight might do the trick, put it on bright flashing.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> You need something up front? Serfas Thunderbolt headlight might do the trick, put it on bright flashing.


That's what I was thinking, since I have had great experiences with the taillight. But seriously, flashing lights on the helmet and 1,000 lumens up front, and I was completely ignored... I also wouldn't be opposed to buying a cheap Chinese clone to only run flash.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Did this occur during the day or at night? I just assume that during the day, I am almost invisible. I watch every car that is ahead of me, especially those waiting to turn out. I stopped looking at the driver, now I just watch the front wheel.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

N


TenSpeed said:


> Did this occur during the day or at night? I just assume that during the day, I am almost invisible. I watch every car that is ahead of me, especially those waiting to turn out. I stopped looking at the driver, now I just watch the front wheel.


Night, on a fairly dark road. I was easy to spot by other drivers. The more I think about it, the more I think she just didn't give a crap.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> That's what I was thinking, since I have had great experiences with the taillight. But seriously, flashing lights on the helmet and 1,000 lumens up front, and I was completely ignored... I also wouldn't be opposed to buying a cheap Chinese clone to only run flash.


One problem with that idea is that most China clones have super-fast strobe settings. You'd probably piss off drivers and drive yourself crazy at the same time.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Awesome commute this AM! Low 20s and fresh snow! an inch or two in the valley and, what Jordy? 5 to 6 inches here in town? At any rate it was slow going, but awesome fun!


Yup!!! At least that much, maybe as much as 8 inches on the Hill/Eastside!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> One problem with that idea is that most China clones have super-fast strobe settings. You'd probably piss off drivers and drive yourself crazy at the same time.


I know. I had a cheap SecurityIng 3xXML that would strobe something insane. Not flash, or pulse, but strobe. But it's better than nothing, I suppose.

Did a 20 mile ride to meet up with the wifey at the shopping center. Could have made it 10 or so, but I figured I'd have some fun with it. Starting to get warm enough that I'm gonna have to switch to tee shirts instead of long sleeves.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I know. I had a cheap SecurityIng 3xXML that would strobe something insane. Not flash, or pulse, but strobe. But it's better than nothing, I suppose.


What about going with a dimmer light with a decent flash pattern? I have a Planet Bike Blaze that works OK in this application. There are slightly brighter options out there too. I kind of like have a blinking light that doesn't interfere with my main beam pattern but oncoming vehicles/random wrong-way cyclists can see.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> What about going with a dimmer light with a decent flash pattern? I have a Planet Bike Blaze that works OK in this application. There are probably brighter options out there too. I kind of like have a blinking light that I can't see while I'm riding but oncoming vehicles/random wrong-way cyclists can see.


That's why I'm thinking seriously about the Thunderbolt headlight. It's a good pattern, can run 9 hrs on flash, and is about 45 lumens with a wide spread with no hot spot, so it'd work well.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another great commute in this AM with more fresh snow, fresh grooming on the MUP, and a moose that spooked the h*ll out of me as he came up the ditch and crossed the road in front of me on a very dark street out in the valley. 

Love me some new snow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Fast run today. It's amazing what a little warm weather and 30 additional PSI in each tire can do. I can't control the weather (yet), but I need to keep closer tabs on my tire pressure.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sun in my eyes this morning. Can`t wait til daylight savings time starts!

Sorry, CommuterBoy.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Beautiful weather this morning. 65 and clear. While I haven't recorded all of my rides on my BikeBrain app, this was the fastest so far, out of about 60 or so. Had a little teeny bopper slowly inch her way forward at a stop sign until she was almost into the bike lane. Braked hard and shouted, which made her do this yelp/scream thing while her boyfriend damn near jumped out of his skin in the passenger seat. She hit the brakes, and I was able to safely pass, but I'm just trying to figure out how she didn't see me. The CosmicBritez bike lights are toast, because let's be honest, they're a gimmick not meant for serious use. I need to find something that will help in that direction. I was completely invisible to her.


You see what you expect to see. If you don't expect a bike, you won't see it. Looking back on it once you know there was a bike you'll see all of the signs that it was a bike, but your brain just won't put it together. I've told this before, but one time on my bicycle _totally_ cut off another rider while I was crossing the road. She was lit with a headlight, and looking back on the situation I remember that there was a headlight approaching, but my brain just didn't put it together in time. I didn't expect to see a bicycle there (never have seen one before or since at that intersection), so I didn't.


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## pigmode (Nov 15, 2009)

Been wanting to share this from last week, but you know ....

The first is the beginning of the ride home. That's Tripler Army Hospital (pink buildings) on the left behind the tree, Punchbowl National Cemetery (Diamond Head like crater near middle), and Diamond Head itself in the distance (13mi) to the left of the speed limit sign.










This busy and hectic stretch of road which is the main thoroughfare from Honolulu International Airport to Waikiki, also passes through three industrial areas, and the downtown business district.

Anyway the first section of this road is without bike lane. As I was passing through a motorcyclist pulls up at a stop light and lets me know he'd guard my 6 till we reached the start of the bike lane. Cool.


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## pigmode (Nov 15, 2009)

double-post


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sanath said:


> She was lit with a headlight, and looking back on the situation I remember that there was a headlight approaching, but my brain just didn't put it together in time. I didn't expect to see a bicycle there (never have seen one before or since at that intersection), so I didn't.


Good illustration- thanks for relating it.



pigmode said:


> Anyway the first section of this road is without bike lane. As I was passing through a motorcyclist pulls up at a stop light and lets me know he'd guard my 6 till we reached the start of the bike lane. Cool.


Wow. Yeah, that was cool of the moto pilot. Though the bike lane doesn`t look particularly safe even AFTR it appears! Still, I`m sure it`s much better than the same road with just a gutter between the fog line and the curb.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Sanath, that makes a lot if sense. Ride home was good, hot and sweaty. I've been really pushing myself on my rides, especially doing intervals and blasting off at lights. My legs are killing me. I stole the wife's rolling pin the other night out of the kitchen to rub the legs, and it's been a magic wand ever sense. Dunno if anyone else does it, but it comes highly recommended.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> Sure, but it was 70 degrees warmer here than two weeks ago, can you say that? I didn't think so. Consider yourself "Weather Nerd Served."


Definitely can't say that. Coldest it got here this winter was 25F for a couple of days in December.

Still haven't blown the dust off the commuter yet. Haven't ridden it in two weeks. Been sick for the last week. Hopefully I'll get the motivation to ride in tomorrow. Driving in is starting to become the habit the way riding my bike to work was a few months ago. That's not a good thing.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

pigmode said:


> Been wanting to share this from last week, but you know ....
> 
> The first is the beginning of the ride home. That's Tripler Army Hospital (pink buildings) on the left behind the tree, Punchbowl National Cemetery (Diamond Head like crater near middle), and Diamond Head itself in the distance (13mi) to the left of the speed limit sign.


I tried like hell to get stationed at Tripler when I was in. Got a decent assignment at Ft. Carson, CO. where I did my first true MTB ride. Giant rigid hardtail rental, no helmet, and no fear. What an idiot LOL. Early 90's though, so helmets weren't as popular as they are today.


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## Guest (Feb 21, 2014)

So mistake number one - Never make your take your new bike's maiden on a morning commute to work because something needs mounted, adjusted, etc. Panic ensues and persistance conquers all possible gremlins. Got the new Fargo out this morning and inspite of adjusting the seat height and angle late last night in street shoes and jeans, the cockpit geometery was pretty dang close to spot on. Not on point? My light mounting bracket had to be reversed because it interfered with the brake and shift cables, the front fender is still off pending a lowering bracket (couldn't bring myself to use an old license plate scrap) and the headset preload seemed off. I'm going to have to check that with a dial indicator tonight, because after I re-Preloaded and torqued the stack, it still seemed to have some play (hoping that's not an installation issue from the factory). Still, 9.6 miles at 13+mph average is pretty awesome for day one. Not super whippy about the SRAM Apex shifters with Pearl Lobster Claw gloves. May take some getting used to. If you own a Fargo this may seem normal, but I was surprised how similar sitting and standing feel when climbing. Don't know how to describe it. Probably mount the front fender and take one more shake down ride on Saturday then it goes into storage for two weeks as I dodge bullets and cars in our Nation's Capital (somewhat tongue in cheek, my last trip was during the Navy Yard shooting but overall the DC area seems safer than it did in the late 80's early 90's).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Sanath, that makes a lot if sense. Ride home was good, hot and sweaty. I've been really pushing myself on my rides, especially doing intervals and blasting off at lights. My legs are killing me. I stole the wife's rolling pin the other night out of the kitchen to rub the legs, and it's been a magic wand ever sense. Dunno if anyone else does it, but it comes highly recommended.


I have an actual foam roller I use for the back and legs. They are amazingly effective. 


Forster said:


> ...If you own a Fargo this may seem normal, but I was surprised how similar sitting and standing feel when climbing. Don't know how to describe it.


I get that on my Felt CX bike more than any other. The transition from seated climbing to standing climbing is like butta. I love that bike, I can't wait to get it out again. Actually, any of my road bikes would be nice.

We've got a slushy mess with rain so I'm still driving. I've set a record for the number of days in a row not on a bike.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

3rd day on my new Cyclocross bike - finally getting settled in. Everything clicked, not too cold, I felt great... put in 7 PR sectors and a few '2nd' overall sectors on Strava - not that it matters, but it put me in a good mood 

Until I got to work, forgot to unclip and keeled over like a turtle on my back in the work carpark!!!


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## pigmode (Nov 15, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good illustration- thanks for relating it.
> 
> Wow. Yeah, that was cool of the moto pilot. Though the bike lane doesn`t look particularly safe even AFTR it appears! Still, I`m sure it`s much better than the same road with just a gutter between the fog line and the curb.


Roger that. Riding on the road here can definitely be a dice roll, although my rides end up being quite enjoyable.



TenSpeed said:


> I tried like hell to get stationed at Tripler when I was in. Got a decent assignment at Ft. Carson, CO. where I did my first true MTB ride. Giant rigid hardtail rental, no helmet, and no fear. What an idiot LOL. Early 90's though, so helmets weren't as popular as they are today.


Thanks for serving. I hung up my blue cord almost two decades earlier.

Did a three year stint as a mountain biker in the early 90's including commuting, which is how I gravitated in this direction (MTB) post roadbike. No one I knew wore helmets except for races.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Great commute this morning. Donned the rain gear for the stuff that never showed, but I didn't mind at all... It was warm enough for a short sleeve and shell on the way home--50(!)F-- and I even had to unzip the shell and my thermal on the way in!

It's going to be hard going back to a high of 24 next Friday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Still enjoying those sunrises...neener neener Rodar.

Today's trail commute came to a skidding halt when a stick found its way into the rear fender. Score one point for the PB Cascadias...don't you wish everything was made like rubbermaid? It popped back to pretty much normal....there's a little crease where it bent, but you have to look to find it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*On The Road Again, but not ON the road again, but we visit the spot.*

Well three months off is enough. Slacker. Hypothyroid, adrenal insufficient, but the BP is back within bounds, the outdoor temps were up, snow washed away, and the sun was out. Keeping myself alive is more than vital signs. Damn it was good to be back on two wheels. Boring video. No close calls. No face plant. Hit over 170 pulse on the last climb a little complaint from the heart for that but not a Nitro moment. No adrenal crash after, so I did not overdo. Crossing another thread, but 'Keep Yourself Alive' could be the commuter's theme song.






Life's better on a bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great news! I didn`t realize you hadn`t been able to ride AT ALL. How long? Funny that the Youtube suggestion pop-ups after your ride ignored Queen and all want me to watch Willie.

Now maybe I ought to get my own self out and ride. Other than a week of "cramming" to push my anual mileage count over a close threashhold, I think the last non-commute ride I`ve done in late Oct when I got snowed on while camping in CB`s back 40.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I could not find a version of the Star Wars theme that YouTube did not scrub when I did the Rimskin videos, parody or no (supposed to be fair use). OTOH, the Philharmonic Queen stuff seems to get by the censor at least for now. 

My last ride before yesterday that was on the computer was Nov 20, though I think I may have done a short one I did not record. 

BP spikes above 180/110 are not to be trifled with. A shot of adrenalin from a too-close encounter of the vehicular kind on top of high BP and my saddle time would be in heaven (though there is nothing but downhills and tailwinds there, they say). The bummer is that all the fitness I have lost equals about 5 mph, reduced stamina (short ride), and I need to use chamois cream again. Glad it was only 9 miles. I got a supplement with an ingredient that I did not know it had, and it appears that indirectly nailed the heart, adrenals, and thyroid. It took a lot of detective work to work out what likely happened. Back on that road too, now.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Congrats on being able to ride again.

Took advantage of the beautiful weather (sunny and pleasant 75F) and spent some time mt. biking Blue Diamond this morning. Even without being on peddles for two weeks, my fitness was excellent. Even though sick and busy, I took liberty over the downtime to adhere to a pretty strict diet of good food. Even lost a few pounds.

Around Christmas time, my two weeks off, which was accompanied by excessive eating, made for several miserable mt. bike rides. So I've concluded that it might have less to do with time off the peddles and more to do with what you put into your body during this time off the peddles.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Well three months off is enough. ...Damn it was good to be back on two wheels.


Well said! Glad you were able to get back out, you haven't missed much weather-wise, and most cyclists are still on the couch. Here's to your comeback! :cornut: :band:

CB- impressive fender rebound!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Beautiful weather for the past two days. Hovering right around 47-48F. Back to below freezing all next week, though. Hope the snow misses us... the stuff on the ground just melted.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Glad to have you rolling again, Brian! 

This morning was great. Woke up feeling incredibly refreshed after only 3 hours sleep, hopped on and just went. Made it to the office about 10 minutes before I usually do, and while my legs felt great, I know I wasn't that fast. I suppose the traffic lights are longer than I thought. It's starting to get really muggy out there again, which makes it difficult at times to get a deep, full breath, since the air is so thick. 

Lost the Thunderbolt last night on my way to meet some friends at the bar. I remember stopping at an intersection to adjust my seat post since it was pointing the nose to the right. I can only imagine that doing so threw the Thunderbolt off kilter and allowed it to pop off on a bump. I had it on low flashing, and so I backtracked on the way home, riding the sidewalk so that I would have a better chance of spotting it. No such luck, it seems that someone much more worthy than myself is now in possession of it. I simply hope it went to someone in need, and not a roadie on a 4k bike who will toss it in his junk box. 

I pulled the red LED strips off of my helmet and zip tied them to my seat stays. The wife says she likes them better there than on the helmet, which means that they weren't doing as good of a job as I wanted them to. I'll be swinging by the LBS and picking up a few more lights. I'm not comfortable with only the strips on the back. 

No commute tomorrow, either. We're taking the oldest up to All Children's in Tampa for an in depth eval by a pediatric autism specialist, to lay out a course of action over the next few years. I'd much rather be on two wheels than stuck in that cage.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Pretty good commute in today. 20 F at my house and 4F at the bus stop. 3F in Anchorage. The cold was a bit of a shock to the system as I dressed for 20F, silly me. So, the cold coupled with a bit lower air pressure in the tires from yesterday's awesome ride at Government Peak Rec Area made me feel super slow. But fun riding just the same.

In related news, I have been asked to provide a weekly column to Alaska Commons focusing on cycling and other alternate transportation issues. Check it out every Tuesday beginning tomorrow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We had beautiful weather on Friday and Saturday with highs in the 60s. I had to get out and get some miles on Saturday. The trails are sloppy, so I had to stick to the roads, but it was still a nice ride. Winter is back this week. Temps were in the 20s this morning, but the ride home should be about 20 degrees warmer. Teens are expected later this week. Maybe I can get lucky and sneak in a night ride on the trails before the freeze thaw cycle resumes.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-17F this morning, and it's supposed to be around 15F for the ride home. That kindof spread sucks, because it means wearing almost all of my winter gear in the morning, and almost none for the ride home. If it's going to be cold in the morning, I'd rather if it stayed around 0F for the ride home, but it's supposed to be bouncing around like this all week. Bah.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM, again. 19F at the house, 8F at the bus stop, and 17F in Anchorage. The trails have been nicely groomed in preparation for the Tour of Anchorage ski this weekend. The underpasses are a bit soft, but the rest of the trails are great.

I hit one of the underpasses last evening on the way home and nearly went arse over teakettle, which would've been pretty funny to see. I kept it together, fortunately and even made the bus on time.

The new SRAM hub seems to be holding up quite well. Rolls smooth. I'm happy. Happy is good.

A shot from my ride on Sunday out at Government Peak Rec Area:









There are a few more images from the ride over at the blog.

The first episode of The Beardcicle Chronicles is online now. Give it a moment if you're so inclined. It is a bit of an intro article. Next week's article starts looking at some of the reasons mass transit and alternative transit in general has such a PR problem. Enough shilling from me, eh?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Cold and slow. Finally got my car mostly sold, but he wants it inspected, so I had to drop the car off at the shop and ride in from there, about 4 miles. Far enough to be nontrivial, too short to really warm up. Cracked a molar yesterday and I can't get to the dentist until Friday, so that's heavy on the mind too.

But: I (again, mostly, the deal isn't done yet) sold my car! I am excited and terrified, because this is the first time I'll be without a car in quite a while. My wife still has one, and I'll eventually pick up another (much cheaper) car because I just can't live totally without one, but this will be an adventure.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, I think that tomorrow I will be able to start riding again. The weather should be clear enough, the bike lanes and paths should be free of ice or at least clear enough for me to ride. The temps have me a bit worried. 16F is the high and 5F is the low, and I have not commuted in that low of a temp. I will more than likely experience that low on the ride home, as I get out of work at 11:30 pm. I think I have enough gear to keep me warm, but only a ride will tell. There is a 30% chance of snow, but if it is anything like we got last night, it was a light dusting of powder that the wind pretty much blew off the roads. I think that I will take the geared bike for the ease of the ride and to get back into it. Only my second commute this year.

I want to layer my clothing right?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Yes. Many layers for flexible, breathable warmth. Make sure you're a little (not a lot) cold when you start out. If you're warm at the start you'll be sweating in a few miles, and then nobody's having a good time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed, You'll probably want to have something for your face if it is 5F, a neck tube or buff you can pull up, a facemask, or even just a scarf. You need surprising few layers for 5F, but the feet, hands and face need extra TLC.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have a balacalva or however it is spelled. I also have Pearl Izumi shoe covers, the ones that come up the ankle. I have heard that sticking your feet in plastic bags then in the shoes helps with foot warmth. My hands are my main concern. Pearl Izumi lobster claw gloves, but I suffer from Reynaud's, so the cold really affects me.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I agree with Sanath - if you are warm before you start your ride, you will end up miserable and cold as all get out. There is, however, a huge mental hurdle to get over when it's cold out and you're heading out for a ride in essentially a windbreaker with a long sleeve shirt under it when you're mind's screaming for a puffy down jacket and thermals. 

Keep the face, ears, fingers, and toes warm enough and the rest of the body can get pretty cold without causing discomfort. 

Also, a vest is an amazing way to keep the core warm while going light on the arms. I've got a wind blocker fleece vest that is my go to garment this year.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

blockphi said:


> The first episode of The Beardcicle Chronicles is online now. ... Enough shilling from me, eh?


I guess the name is better than "The facial hair icing journal" or "Frosted Faces (They're Great!)", but do you rename it come the two months of bad weather you call summer? Interesting change in lingo, eh? Next thing, we know you'll be moving east across the border.  You'll be all set to speak Canadian, eh? I still say roof and boot with a hint of Canada. Just call me Monsieur Incroyable.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Found a new gear this morning less than a mile into the ride, but it was neutral, so the going was really slow. Yes, the pedals spun furiously without the bike going anywhere. That has not happened to me since I killed a freewheel years ago. Luckily after spinning it by hand a lot it re-caught, and after a few repeats, it then worked fine the rest of the ride. I have never had issues with the freehub oil freezing up, so I wonder if some water got in there and caused problems. I decided to drop it off at the shop on the way to work, and they already did an overhaul for me. 

I rode it with the one black Straitline pedal and a white Azonic one off the fatbike. Kind of a cool look, except the white one is a much “chunkier” design.

Leaving town there is some “traffic furniture” as the Tour de France announcers like to call it, sounds so much fancier than a center island. Anyway, approaching the island I take the middle of the lane so I don’t get squeezed out or unsafely passed. There was more traffic than usual today, so I stuck out my left arm to get between some upcoming vehicles. It’s only a 25mph zone, and people were going slower than that because of the traffic, people waiting to turn, etc. so this should have been easy. But no, the tractor trailer pulled right past my outstretched arm to pass as we approached the island. Knowing how skinny that area is, I knew at least the trailer would swing my way, so I pulled over rather than risk squishing. I stood a moment in amazement at the spectacularly poor driving. Meanwhile, the following pickup truck stopped and patiently let me go ahead of him from a standstill.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...Luckily after spinning it by hand a lot it re-caught, and after a few repeats, it then worked fine the rest of the ride...


After it does it once it's hard to trust it for the rest of the ride. Once it does it for a few rides it's hard to trust it ever again. I've never tried to take one apart.

I've been on the bench for the last few days with some kind of bug. The trails are pretty perfect now too but I just don't have the energy to ride them. :cryin:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> I guess the name is better than "The facial hair icing journal" or "Frosted Faces (They're Great!)", but do you rename it come the two months of bad weather you call summer? Interesting change in lingo, eh? Next thing, we know you'll be moving east across the border.  You'll be all set to speak Canadian, eh? I still say roof and boot with a hint of Canada. Just call me Monsieur Incroyable.


Naw. I'll keep the name, eh. I carry a freezer with me to keep the 'cicles strong all summer long.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> Also, a vest is an amazing way to keep the core warm while going light on the arms. I've got a wind blocker fleece vest that is my go to garment this year.


I don't want to argue with an alaskan about winter gear, but isn't a vest backwards?

I'm a big believer in arm and leg warmers to warm up the blood that's going to my hands and feet. I used to only use them when it was below -15F, but this year I've been using them a lot earlier, like below 10F. And they let me skip a layer of socks and gloves until things get really cold.

If I wore a vest I'd be sweaty with cold hands, which sounds bad.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

The idea with the vest is to keep te core warm, allowing for more blood to to pump to the extremities, thus keeping them warm. The extremities are the first places for the body to pull blood from in the cold because they are "non-essential" to survival. The body will pull more blood to the core to keep the organs, etc warm. A vest will keep the core warm and let the body spread the warm blood out to the extremities.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

vaultbrad said:


> The idea with the vest is to keep te core warm, allowing for more blood to to pump to the extremities, thus keeping them warm. The extremities are the first places for the body to pull blood from in the cold because they are "non-essential" to survival. The body will pull more blood to the core to keep the organs, etc warm. A vest will keep the core warm and let the body spread the warm blood out to the extremities.


\

Yup this is a?? backwards...

Your core is where you sweat need to keep this cool....your hands and feet need to keep warm...

Best example go for a ride and if you feet get cold put on some gators or leg warmers and your feet will warm up...

The body gets cold from the extremities inwards....


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I don't know whether it is backwards or not, but my non-empirical evidence shows that I am better regulated when I wear a vest. 

Example: Last winter at -20 I would wear the following layers on my torso: 
Merino base
light thermal mid layer
poly tee shirt
UA Coldgear (super thick stuff) top
REI Windflyte Jacket outer layer

By the time I got to work I was a sweaty, sopping mess. 

This year in similar temps I wore the merino base, midweight long sleeve, Windflyte jacket, and vest and was comfortable for the whole ride. That said, I usually do have to vent the vest a bit at the top of a climb to let out some accumulated heat, but that's because I am fat and old. 

For my hands and head everything was the same setup. I can't say if my hands and feet stayed warmer longer or not - anything below zero and my fingers tend to freeze for the first mile then get comfy regardless of gloves or top layers. 

I've just always heard it is vital to keep the core warm. Though this is advice given in a survival situation - the vitals are in the core and if they get cold it won't matter if your fingers and toes are still around and not frost bit. 

I will often go with the vest and a light wicking long sleeve on days around 5 to 10 with my Black Diamond guide gloves on, which looks a bit funny, but it seems to work really well. 

Again, no empirical evidence to back up any claims I make. Ever. 

The biggest thing, TenSpeed, is to test different options until you find what works for you. And get a vest


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> I don't know whether it is backwards or not, but my non-empirical evidence shows that I am better regulated when I wear a vest.
> 
> Example: Last winter at -20 I would wear the following layers on my torso:
> Merino base
> ...


Okay one step at a time....First you really mean you only have ancedotal evidence which is often called empiracal evidence.

Second to achieve better regulation you vent air from the core.....

Third you ride around with numb fingers...

So I ride around at -30 C as well (indeed Anchorage temps are moderated by the ocean)

My fingers are not numb my feet are not numb and I sweat I little if I don't vent...

So basically you need to loose heat from the core and the thighs to prevent sweating.

To keep the extermities warm you need to insulate them (and iinsure the blood flow to the extremities stays warm).

Log story short no need to ride around with numb fingers and toes while sweating at the core....no matter how old or fat you are.

So at -30 and below. I wear bike shorts, bike tights, and wool or fleece pants over top, thermal socks in Shimano winter boots....my feet won't go numb for about 45 minutes...if I want to go longer I add a pair of gaiters....the wool or fleece pants allow for ventilation when you are moving fast into a wind...Slow down and less ventilation.

On top I wear My helment balaclava and neck warmer with googles....no frost, no icicles and no foggy googgles.

I wear a long sleeve tee shirt, two long sleeve widn jackets, and a wool sweater over top of everything....again the wool breathes well when moving and inuslates when stopped.

I pull the neck warmer down to let hot air out as well...

On my hands I wear light weight glooves and a large pair of heavy weight guantlets...they go about half way up to my elbows.

I have found poogies not useful because if the bike dies you still need to keep your hands warm.

The very porous and breathable outer layers work really well. You can tell because the exterior of the wool layers has frost on it from the ventilating the body.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Maybe, just maybe... all these outdoor companies make vests because there are people who use them?

They have their place. Just because you don't use them doesn't make it less true.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

wschruba said:


> Maybe, just maybe... all these outdoor companies make vests because there are people who use them?
> 
> They have their place. Just because you don't use them doesn't make it less true.


Of course just remember riding around at -20 to -30 C is not what most companies are designing their clothing for...

And yes, use a vest if you want....but beware you will need to add more arm and leg warmth....or vent your core more.

I move from short sleeves to long sleeves when it gets cold....not the other way around....it keeps my hands warmer.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> I have found poogies not useful because if the bike dies you still need to keep your hands warm.


I have a touch of the cold hands and feet thing that Tenspeed mentioned. I like a bit more hands/feet/arms and legs than I once did. Sometimes the vest I have is great. Sometimes I need the arms of a jacket, too. I find that I am not consistent, so I sure don't expect us all to agree. Other than you have to experiment and that cold feet, hands, head , or core can do you in. A sweaty core is a very bad if you can't get it vented. I am glad we don't have layering police. 

Jeff, at your temps decent gloves seem obligatory. Me? I like my Bar Mitts. If I am suddenly a pedestrian, I have extra gloves, or better, a phone so I can say the "f" with this and bail. I am not out on a trail and don't have to walk the bike to a road. I also have a very understanding spouse who prefers my extremities remain intact.  So some of this sort of thing is situational, too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> I have found poogies not useful because if the bike dies you still need to keep your hands warm.


Back to vests, below -18C/0F is when I add a longsleeve fleece, and I don't do it because I'm cold, but because a breakdown at -18C while wearing a windbreaker and tee would be bad.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I got a shimano freewheel in a trade and put it on the flop side of my hub. Well about 3 weeks ago but I finally got to ride it today. It felt nice to coast, but by the ride back it was already popping and pinging like every other shimano freewheel I've had. I swear they are built for elves.

There is still a nasty snow/ice crust on the MUP I take to avoid the main road. Had to hike for a little bit this morning, and take the main road on the way back. All the nonsense aside, it was great to be back on the bike!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

AlexCuse said:


> I got a shimano freewheel in a trade and put it on the flop side of my hub. Well about 3 weeks ago but I finally got to ride it today. It felt nice to coast, but by the ride back it was already popping and pinging like every other shimano freewheel I've had. I swear they are built for elves.
> 
> There is still a nasty snow/ice crust on the MUP I take to avoid the main road. Had to hike for a little bit this morning, and take the main road on the way back. All the nonsense aside, it was great to be back on the bike!


It's not you, Alex. If you have a pair of pin spanners, remove the cone (loosen to the right, not the left) and pull the thinner spacer from beneath it. Make sure you do this with the wheel on its side, by the way, our you'll have bearings everywhere. Usually the popping and pinging is caused by too much play in the bearing assembly, in my experience. Try wiggling the freewheel side to side... if there is a good amount of play, this may solve the problem. Oil helps, too.

No ride today, the head-sickness is heading south, so I went to the doctor. We'll see is a Z-pak will take care of it.

Jeff: I've found that even within the climate I'm cycling in, just about everyone does it differently. For instance, I use a vest maybe twice a year, but I know one guy (who rides a recumbent, granted) who swears by a medium weight long sleeve shirt and a down vest. I use a heavy-weight soft shell with a light to middle weight base layer, while yet another uses a winter jersey and a hard shell.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Gaiters! I'm going to try that later in the week. Looks like tomorrow's my last day of commuting by car. Meeting for the sale at 11:30.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

wschruba said:


> It's not you, Alex. If you have a pair of pin spanners, remove the cone (loosen to the right, not the left) and pull the thinner spacer from beneath it. Make sure you do this with the wheel on its side, by the way, our you'll have bearings everywhere. Usually the popping and pinging is caused by too much play in the bearing assembly, in my experience. Try wiggling the freewheel side to side... if there is a good amount of play, this may solve the problem. Oil helps, too.
> 
> No ride today, the head-sickness is heading south, so I went to the doctor. We'll see is a Z-pak will take care of it.
> 
> Jeff: I've found that even within the climate I'm cycling in, just about everyone does it differently. For instance, I use a vest maybe twice a year, but I know one guy (who rides a recumbent, granted) who swears by a medium weight long sleeve shirt and a down vest. I use a heavy-weight soft shell with a light to middle weight base layer, while yet another uses a winter jersey and a hard shell.


I don't have them, but I think I could swap cogs on my white industries hub if I did so it'd be a good investment. Always prefer getting tools to parts, though next freewheel will be a lot nicer. There's a lot of sizes - is this kind of thing what I'd need or are the wrenches better? http://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-SPA...PGHY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393390885&sr=8-3

I have been taking antibiotics for a head cold for a few days now, seem to have helped a bit. Hopeful that I'll be full strength soon. And you too 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good luck with your temporary car-freeness, Sanath.

Beautiful today. Supposed to get more wet in tomorrow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I kind of do the inverse of the whole vest thing. A lot of times, I'll use arm warmers to give me more insulation on my arms and allow a little more venting for the core. If I were to double up on everything, I'd get a little sweaty. Of course, the lowest temp we've seen here in the past few years is -2F, so it's not quite in the same league as some of you riders from Hoth. 

Pogies are nice for my commutes and winter mtb rides. I find wearing thinner gloves under pogies keeps my hands more comfortable on the bars and warmer overall. It's especially nice on the trails. In an emergency, I could always strap the pogies to my arms and fly my way out. :thumbsup:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Sanath, you'll love it! I sold my truck in August, so now all we have is the wife's minivan. I bought a cheap kids trailer I use for grocery trips and the like. 

This morning was perfect weather. Sky was clear, temp was cool, around 60. Perfect t-shirt and shorts weather. Not a single hitch. No flats, no skipping, no nothing. I did have a big "oh sh**" moment when I went to hop a speed bump, the rear wheel ramped over it and I went air born without expecting. Landed fine, but it certainly wasn't expected. 

Spoke with my manager, and he's all for me entering the Tour de Cure 2014, and wants to sponsor. I'll be going for either the 62 mile or Century ride. We'll see closer to the date. I have every intention of doing the ride on my duct tape frame commuter, especially since I should be converted over to drop bars by then. Should give me a good chuckle standing next to guys in Lycra who take life a little too seriously.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

I did my first NoVA TdC on my Fisher Paragon with 700c tires. I rode the metric. It was fine despite a heat index of about 110. Since then though I've done full roadie.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not to start a flame war here. Just having some fun.



jeffscott said:


> Okay one step at a time....First you really mean you only have ancedotal evidence which is often called empiracal evidence.
> 
> Second to achieve better regulation you vent air from the core.....
> 
> ...


Well, yes, I of course mean that I only have anecdotal evidence. Empirical can be anecdotal, but anecdotal does not have a direct relation to empirical, from my reading of the definitions of both, as empirical, while based in observation *and* experimentation also supports the scientific method - the development of a testable hypothesis and the results of the experiments to test the hypothesis are repeatable.

Anecdotal evidence, on the other hand, does not have the same hint of scientific or academic rigor - i.e., one often uses anecdotal evidence to 'prove' a 'fact' that is otherwise difficult or impossible to prove.

That said, as a writer, not a scientist, I specifically chose empirical over anecdotal, with the modifier of non, to point out the fact that I have done no research and have formed no hypothesis about the verisimilitude of my claims. And empirical or, rather, non-empirical, just plain sounds better to my ear than anecdotal. Therefore, that's the word I chose.

I agree that there is no need to ride around with cold fingers (though I never actually state that my toes get cold), but I did mention that regardless of what I wear on my top - full layers all around or a reduced set of layers on the arms due to wearing a vest - my fingers get cold. What I did not mention is that my fingers get cold as my gloves are a touch too small and, after shelling out nearly 200 bucks for them, I'm not about to go buy a new pair when I can make due and get by. In my case and my post, the mentioning of cold fingers was presented as an attempt to show that, again, in my case, there is no relationship that I have been able to confirm through experimentation, between what I wear on my core and the warmth of chilliness of my fingers.

And, yes, I do vent from the core when I build up too much heat. Let's think about the body as a computer for a moment. Or better, a car. Yeah, a car. The core is the engine, right? Heart as fuel injector, lungs as carb, etc., etc. Using that metaphor, then, we can view the extremities, the places where heat is not generated but to where it is transported by the blood, our coolant in this example, then the extremities are analogous to the radiator. So, to keep the engine at the proper operating temp, it is important to radiate heat away from the engine by sending it out to the radiator(s). Yet, we also know that an engine needs to be within a specific temp range to operate most efficiently. This is why in cold climates, many people plug their vehicles in - keep the block warm (and, yes, keep the oil in liquid form). But sometimes an engine does overheat when the radiator (hands, arms, legs) can't keep up with the heat that the engine produces either through its own inefficiency or for some other reason and then there has to be a bypass (an unzipping of the vest, if you will)

H*ll. I don't know from science or nothin'. I've just found that I like wearing a vest. It works for me. And it fits with my fashion sense, or lack thereof.

I'm quite surprised that the vest discussion incited such heated (see what I did there?) debate.

So... who here uses arm warmers? With a vest? 

Today's commute was good. Trails are firm and fast. The muni's been working hard to prep them for the start of the Iditarod on Saturday and the Tour of Anchorage ski race on Sunday. Probably the best riding conditions on the section I ride everyday all winter long. In the valley it is windy again - steady 18mph from the north. Good times.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Pogies are nice for my commutes and winter mtb rides. I find wearing thinner gloves under pogies keeps my hands more comfortable on the bars and warmer overall. It's especially nice on the trails. In an emergency, I could always strap the pogies to my arms and fly my way out. :thumbsup:


I keep thinking that I'm going to get pogies for the commute because everyone raves about how warm and comfy they are and since I always carry extra gear in case I break down, including gloves. What I've wondered is if when it is really, really cold if they would help keep my shifters from getting all sluggish.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> I keep thinking that I'm going to get pogies for the commute because everyone raves about how warm and comfy they are and since I always carry extra gear in case I break down, including gloves. What I've wondered is if when it is really, really cold if they would help keep my shifters from getting all sluggish.


I don't know if they would do anything for the shifters or not. I'm assuming the grease in the shifters would be what is causing the sluggishness. If the air in the pogies got warm enough, I'm assuming shifting may be a little crisper. Of course if the sluggishness is caused by something else, pogies would have no effect.

I just have a cheap pair of scooter mitts I bought off Amazon ($18). They work well enough for me, but the more expensive models are probably better suited for more intense cold. Mine have been great down to 0F.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Black Diamond Absolute Mitts (Unisex) - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available

I have an older pair of these mitts certified for -40C to -28C....

From 0C to -20C I don't use a liner....from -20 to say -25C I will add a light glove...

Below -25C I use the liner...

My hands don't get cold.

The only problem I have had with the shifters is the release mechanism will freeze if there is water in the pod...

Every fall a squirt some WD-40 in there wait a minute then blow it out with air....no more water...

I have been doing this for 7 years and still have not found the need to add more grease to the pod.

Because the gloves are large you actually have enough dexterity to change a tire with the mitts on....and I have had to.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Alex: those adjustable type are useful in maybe 1/20 cases I've looked at. The most commonly used ones are the red Park spanners.

Bear in mind that you need a lockring wrench and a freewheel remover to make full use of a fixed/free setup...it sounds like you have those already, though.

If you are really adventurous, you can completely disassemble the freewheel, but in my (and other's) experience, it's usually easier to just take the cone off... you can usually tell if it is beyond saving at that point. When it does go, the sprocket/drive tooth assembly makes a pretty cool paperweight.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, it looks like my commute is going to be delayed by the weather. Winter weather advisory for tonight calling for a good chance of 1-2" with blizzard like conditions. I don't have the proper bike for that, and with winds of 30mph in some areas, and the temperature in the single digits, I don't think that I am going to risk it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

blockphi said:


> ...And empirical or, rather, non-empirical, just plain sounds better to my ear than anecdotal. Therefore, that's the word I chose.


Sounds like a testable hypothesis about the semantics of your word usage.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Sounds like a testable hypothesis about the semantics of your word usage.


:thumbsup:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Block, i'd say with my experience, pogies will not shelter your shifters enough from cold. They are still attached to the bars which still transfers the cold easily. I will say I don't ever have issues with my shifters, but I think thats because they are gripshift. Going down long decents, I can feel my grips and brake levers get ice gold since the windchill/airflow is so much higher. But also, I use them in any temps below 20, sometimes 15. Being able to run summer gloves is very nice.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

:thumbsup: +1

I always figured the cable housing was mostly responsible for cold weather sluggishness in shifting. Maybe needs some heat tape.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

No, some triggers have grease that's to thick...


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

When the lube in your shifters gets old, it gets tacky and starts messing up your shifting. Time to clean them and relube.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yup, pull off whatever parts of the cover you can to expose the ratchet bits, blast it with wd40, let it dry off, and then goop it up with something like Phil's oil or grease. At the co-op I'm surprised how many people will replace old shifters because they're "broken."


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, I did it. Friend called me before work, and told me that she ran on the treadmill. She inspires me to better myself, so....I took a risk and rode to work. I decided on the geared bike since it has tires that have slightly more to them then road tires. I left my place 1 hour before work, allowing me a lot of time and in case the path was in worse condition than I could tell. Headed out, temperature was 14F. That is a new record for me. My clothing choices were spot on, layers, shoe covers, lobsters, balacalva, head cover, and skate style helmet with less vents. Got out of my place, and got on the paved trail, or what I am guessing you all call an MUP? Usually has walkers, bladers, runners, hikers, bikers, etc. Good to go, for the first bit. Then I get to the fresh snow covered ice. Had to walk it part of the way. Back on, back off. This continues for a bit. Main road with a bike lane, and I notice that the bike lane is not as clear as I had initially thought. I am almost out in the lane. Not a busy road, but still has me on edge. The wind is blasting me, head on. Felt like 100mph, but in reality probably 15-20mph or so. Felt like it was cutting right through the balacalva, which surprised me. I had a little bit of exposed skin on my face, and it felt like someone was slicing it off with a knife. I continue on, but at a slower pace. The wind is just sucking the life out of me. The rest of the ride was uneventful. I think my max speed was something like 10.5mph or so, and the ride is just a hair over 8 miles. Took me almost the hour by the time I got to the rack, locked up and walked in. I was pretty sweaty, again, surprisingly pleasant. 

The ride home is now my new record. 11F and blowing flurries. Winds had picked up a bit, and at some points on the ride home, they were crosswinds, and I almost got taken down off the bike. Road appeared to be slick, but didn't actually end up being that way. Still had me very cautious. Uneventful after cutting through a neighborhood and taking some back roads that I am familiar with. Decided to cut through the park and chance the back paved trail from the park to my complex. Was pretty sure that I would be turning around and heading back because it would be impassable. Wrong. Completely plowed, free of ice all the way to almost the entrance to my complex. Walked it 15 feet, got back on and made it home. 

I like the options that I have as far as what roads I need to take, and where I can cut through. No commute Thursday, as we have a 60% chance of blowing snow, and a forecasted high of 9F. I give everyone here credit that is riding in these frigid temps. I think that I will be looking into one of the Minnesota fatbikes that I have seen online for next winter, or at least a single speed mountain bike with wider tires.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Yesterday's ride home was rather uneventful. I did have my phone bounce out of the handlebar mount I have when I went over some tracks. Didn't realize it until about a mile later, and had to turn around. These Otterbox cases can take a hit. 

This morning was apparently crazy day and I didn't get the memo. Must have gotten lost with the one about the TPS reports. The wind was blowing something crazy from the north, which sucks, since 7.5 out of my 11 miles is in that direction. I kept trying to drop into a position with less interference, but it didn't make much of a difference. When you're a big guy, there's no such thing as aero. 

Now, time for the crazy. Had a woman right hook me when I was in the middle if the intersection in a bike lane. She drove into the oncoming lane (no approaching traffic or lane divider) while turning so that she could cut me off, rather than wait one split second to tuck in and turn behind me. I yelled, she honked, and I went on fuming. 

Further on down, in a residential area I cut through, a Chevy 2500 diesel passes me going the opposite direction, turns around, follows me right on my tail for about a half mile, pulls up next to me for a quarter mile or so, but I couldn't see inside due to dark tint. He constantly kept pace with me, no matter what I did. Finally came time for a left turn, at which time I sped up to about 17 mph, hit the brakes hard and vanished behind him while he continued straight. I'm telling ya, it's the strangest thing. 

Signed up for the Southwest Florida Tour de Cure last night. 62 miles. Have to fundraise 200 dollars, which shouldn't be too big of a deal. Looking forward to having a lot of fun and showing some of the roadies around here it ain't all about counting grams and chamois butter.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Cold and dark. I think my light battery is either showing its age or dropping capacity due to the cold. Gaiters didn't really change much, except that I had sweaty ankles when I arrived, and I couldn't get the left one positioned so it wouldn't smack into the crank every revolution. Feet were still too cold (with 2 layers of good wool socks - need to get some wind-proof toe covers?), hands were still too hot (bar mitts + mid weight gloves, since all my light gloves have flipping vanished).

Need to find a local shop with an ass-o-meter to measure for a new seat. That's the one big thing I need to spend on for this bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> Well, I did it.


Congrats on your new low temp records and your safe travels!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I've never done anything with my trigger shifters other than spritz in a little silicone spray (and change cables/housings). They are about 15 year old XTR's.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Cold and dark. I think my light battery is either showing its age or dropping capacity due to the cold. Gaiters didn't really change much, except that I had sweaty ankles when I arrived, and I couldn't get the left one positioned so it wouldn't smack into the crank every revolution. Feet were still too cold (with 2 layers of good wool socks - need to get some wind-proof toe covers?), hands were still too hot (bar mitts + mid weight gloves, since all my light gloves have flipping vanished).
> 
> Need to find a local shop with an ass-o-meter to measure for a new seat. That's the one big thing I need to spend on for this bike.


I have these Pearl Izumi barriers for my shoes. They work fairly well. ELITE Barrier Shoe Cover - Pearl Izumi
My only complaint is that because I wear a 47 in biking shoes, these are a pain to get on and adjusted. I am already running an XL, and I don't think that they come any bigger. I don't know if it is the shoe, which is a Shimano MTB shoe or Specialized shoe, but I picked up a pair of normal shoes with SPD that I am going to try next time to see if they fit any better.

I was under the impression that with bar mitts, you didn't even wear gloves, which boggles my mind, but have heard that people still have sweaty hands in sub zero temps with those and no gloves.

Specialized shops have the ass-o-meter, and it as goofy as it sounds, it works. I was on the wrong saddle until I got measured. Was on a 155, needed a 143. Now I am all set. Bigger isn't always better, especially with saddles.



mtbxplorer said:


> Congrats on your new low temp records and your safe travels!


Thank you!!! Still feeling pretty good about it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> Well, I did it.


Nice! After a while, you get kind of used to the cold. It's even strangely addicting.

It wasn't as cold as predicted here, 21F instead of 13F. It's also super sunny, which is fine for commuting but totally thwarts my plans to ride trails tonight. Stupid freeze thaw.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't see myself becoming addicted to riding in the cold. I absolutely despise it. I prefer warm, even hot, and dry roads. The kind where you can see the heat pulsating up, and you start to wonder if the tires might be melting a little, because you know you are, and your back is drenched, and even the breeze is warm on your skin. Yeah, bring on summer!!!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Gaiters didn't really change much, except that I had sweaty ankles when I arrived, and I couldn't get the left one positioned so it wouldn't smack into the crank every revolution. Feet were still too cold (with 2 layers of good wool socks - need to get some wind-proof toe covers?), hands were still too hot (bar mitts + mid weight gloves, since all my light gloves have flipping vanished).


Sweaty ankles means you are close to the solution


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I've never done anything with my trigger shifters other than spritz in a little silicone spray (and change cables/housings). They are about 15 year old XTR's.


I've never done anything with mine, apart from changing cables and housings each year or two, but I think that it makes sense to give them a shot of lube before the winter, if for no other reason than to drive the moisture out. The only times that they get sluggish are when it is 0 or below. So, not a huge issue this year, but last winter I recall we had a lot longer stretch of really cold weather, so it was a bit of a bummer. My biggest concern is not slow shifting, but fear that it might be hard on the shifters themselves.



TenSpeed said:


> I don't see myself becoming addicted to riding in the cold. I absolutely despise it. I prefer warm, even hot, and dry roads. The kind where you can see the heat pulsating up, and you start to wonder if the tires might be melting a little, because you know you are, and your back is drenched, and even the breeze is warm on your skin. Yeah, bring on summer!!!


I wouldn't discount the possibility yet. Give it a try for a full winter and then see what you think. Yes, riding in winter is more difficult. That said, it can also be super rewarding. The hardest part, I think, is getting over the 'need for speed' and letting the slower pace really work its way into your being. Very Zen.

Good ride today. Things are hot again. 30F at the house and 34F in town this morning. No wind. Trails firm and fast on the whole. Taking tomorrow off - work from home day. Hope to get a trail ride in, but we'll see. My Achilles is telling me I really shouldn't.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^My cold is telling me I shouldn't ride tomorrow but dammit, the trails have been perfect all week and I have been too sick. I'm thinking of giving it a shot, better or not. Even if it is supposed to be near zero.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^My cold is telling me I shouldn't ride tomorrow but dammit, the trails have been perfect all week and I have been too sick. I'm thinking of giving it a shot, better or not. Even if it is supposed to be near zero.


Yeah, I generally don't listen to anything or anyone who tells me to not ride. Damned the torpedos and all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It's been 100% self imposed due to total lethargy. If I can drag myself out of bed early enough I should just do it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's going to be a warm ride home. Forecasters were off by about 10 degrees today. I wore slightly warmer pants in because I thought temps would be down in the low to mid twenties instead of the thirties. Plans for a trail ride this evening are also nixed. It's too warm and the trails are muddy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's been 100% self imposed due to total lethargy. If I can drag myself out of bed early enough I should just do it.


When I was sick a few weeks ago I would use walking the dog as the test. If that made me feel really weak, then I knew the bike would not be fun.

Are you going to Winterbike at Kingdom trails Saturday? Save your strength for that!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Just got a job with a local cycling nonprofit. PT for now, with the possibility of more work and pay once the 2014 budget is finished. Bennies include indoor bike parking, shower, and a bike shop downstairs (and maybe access to the YMCA, also downstairs). I'll be managing the Ride Guide program, distributing paper maps, managing the list of businesses doing distribution and making sure they're stocked, maintaining an inventory of maps in our storage room, and as the season wears on, working on the next version of the print guide and working to provide the data in some format online. The org currently contracts this work out, but will be looking to do more of it in-house since I have the skills to do it.

My commute here will be approximately 7mi one-way, almost entirely on bike lanes, when I choose to ride. Sometimes I will have to drive, as I will need to pick up boxes of maps to distribute to local businesses (especially for the next couple of months). I can handle small loads on my bike, but the rack is aluminum and has a lower capacity. Initially, I will be transporting too much for the bike, I think. It may be beneficial to figure out a way to haul the boxes lower on the bike (lower than the deck of my rack) when I need to carry more than one. I'm not sure if my kitty litter panniers will work for those quite how I'd want.

I will pass by no fewer than 2 breweries and a taproom where I can get a growler filled. It might be a good idea to get a stainless growler and a Growler Cage for transporting it. Pretty stoked about this job.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Sounds great, congrats!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Last night I went down for the first time since I don't know when.
Was being cocky and racing across a rutted ice field in the park.

I did the exact same thing the day before, but yesterday morning I pumped my tires way up so they weren't conforming to the ground at all. (well, to be fair they were WAY faster on the roads!)
Ah well, sore knee isn't that big a deal!


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## anomad (Nov 16, 2009)

NateHawk said:


> Just got a job with a local cycling nonprofit.


Congrats. I'm a gis geek, if I can help with the mapping stuff give me a shout. Maybe a trailer is in your future?

My commute this morning was 55 and clear. Rained steadily and 40 on the way home. I felt like a wet dog! Probably smelled like one too!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

anomad said:


> Congrats. I'm a gis geek, if I can help with the mapping stuff give me a shout. Maybe a trailer is in your future?
> 
> My commute this morning was 55 and clear. Rained steadily and 40 on the way home. I felt like a wet dog! Probably smelled like one too!


I've got a master's degree with a GIS minor and lots of GIS in my MS thesis. I think I'm good there. This map won't be using many new GIS skills, but I will be learning Adobe software. ;-)

A cargo trailer may be pretty useful, but not for awhile, I think. Not sure about actually doing map deliveries with it, though. Office is downtown and the businesses that carry the maps can be a bit of a distance away. Not sure about pedaling a loaded cargo trailer 20+mi. I'll be thinking about it. Maybe for deliveries closer to the office.


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## anomad (Nov 16, 2009)

Well you could probably help me then! haha


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Shoot me a pm if you have any Q's. It has been a little while since I've done much of the advanced stuff and I don't have any ESRI or ERDAS stuff to reference for questions at the moment. But I do have three other GIS programs at my disposal right now


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rainy, which is good.
Still no energy and don`t feel like doing anything, which is bad.
Nic cravings worse this week than last week, which is more bad.
Weekend starts in 5.5 hours and I honestly don`t care. Pathetic.

Congrats on the new opportunity, Nate. Trailer is what I was thinking too. What is (are?) gis?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> I have these Pearl Izumi barriers for my shoes. They work fairly well. ELITE Barrier Shoe Cover - Pearl Izumi
> My only complaint is that because I wear a 47 in biking shoes, these are a pain to get on and adjusted. I am already running an XL, and I don't think that they come any bigger. I don't know if it is the shoe, which is a Shimano MTB shoe or Specialized shoe, but I picked up a pair of normal shoes with SPD that I am going to try next time to see if they fit any better.
> 
> I was under the impression that with bar mitts, you didn't even wear gloves, which boggles my mind, but have heard that people still have sweaty hands in sub zero temps with those and no gloves.


I wear a 50, and I've never even seen a size chart for whole shoe covers that goes up that high. I bought some toe covers yesterday off Amazon (Amazon.com: Pearl Izumi Elite Thermal Toe Cover, Black, Large/X-Large: Clothing), hopefully they'll be easier to just force on over my unreasonably large feet.

I've gone without gloves into the 20s at least, if not teens. My hands are always very cold at the start and a little sweaty at the end. I think a light glove is really best even with bar mitts.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Damn the Torpedoes*



rodar y rodar said:


> Rainy, which is good.
> Still no energy and don`t feel like doing anything, which is bad.
> Nic cravings worse this week than last week, which is more bad.
> Weekend starts in 5.5 hours and I honestly don`t care. Pathetic.
> ...


Hang in there Rodar! GIS = Graphical Information Systems, basically combining some kind of data with a map to make if more useful, like this: http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/mtbr-commuters-make-your-mark-map-821732.html Sounds like a great job Nate!

I did drag myself out of bed today, glad I did. The trails did not disappoint and the fresh air probably did me good. And the air was really fresh or at least crisp.


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## anomad (Nov 16, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> What is (are?) gis?


Hope you get your energy back.

Geographic Information Systems. Computerized mapping, broadly, ranging from stuff like google maps to analyzing satellite imagery.

Looks like I'll have smooth sailing this morning, weather shows 10mph tailwind.


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## vaultbrad (Oct 17, 2007)

Had a great ride in this morning. Road tested my new xtracycle configuration. It's nice to have the xtracycle on a frame that fits me. everything worked great right out of the door. I love when that happens.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ontario man found 'frozen solid' on Highway 401 now in hospital | CTV News

Hypothermic guy wandering on the highway.

This is how you die in the cold.

Either that or drunk and passed out in a snow bank.

Always have enough warm clothing to survive the temp without have to stay aerobic to do so.

I have only been hypothermic in cold water (54 F). I was diving in the fall (low water level) to fix my dock anchor. After a while the water felt warmer than the air. That was the jog I needed to smarten up and get out.

That is a common syptom of hyothermia you actually start to feel warm after a while.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me this fine day. Probably no trail riding either. We are in a heatwave again (51F yesterday afternoon in the Valley) and all the snow melted. Today is supposed to be the same, so the trails will likely be a muddy mess. I may still check it out and bail to a MUP ride if the trails are too messy. Or head to the hills where there is still some snow. We'll see. 

GIS is some cool stuff. The company I work for is primarily a GIS shop. I had a GIS geek build me a map that shows all of our clients in Anchorage in relation to our home office with all of the bike routes highlighted to show that the bulk of our clients reside within two miles of our home office. This was done as part of a pitch to the company to supply a bike or two for use by employees to travel from the home office to client offices, or to grab a bite of lunch, what have you. The GIS part was pretty minimal, really, but allowed for a more compelling argument than simply saying "I think most of our clients are within riding distance." 

Maps are cool.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Sanath said:


> I've gone without gloves into the 20s at least, if not teens. My hands are always very cold at the start and a little sweaty at the end.


At first, I just read this without seeing the part about the bar mitts. I was like :shocked:.

It was 18F this morning and will be around 40F this afternoon. We're not up to our average temps yet, but we are starting to see bigger fluctuations. An ice storm might be coming this weekend, which kind of sucks.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

rodar y rodar said:


> Congrats on the new opportunity, Nate. Trailer is what I was thinking too. What is (are?) gis?


anomad explained it well. Basically it's very similar to any other computer database, but the kicker is the spatial component. It allows you to do all kinds of additional analysis. For this project, the Clark Index was used to rate the bicycle-friendliness of the existing road network. GIS enabled that analysis. That spatial data was then moved from the GIS software to Adobe Illustrator to make the maps on this page:

Indy Ride Guide

There's no 100% right or wrong way to do that part. Graphic design businesses tend to be more familiar with Adobe products so they do the design there. Most GIS software has native design support of one level or another, so you can do some map design in the GIS software itself and then move to Illustrator later. In the past, pretty much none of the design work was done in GIS. I know the GIS software better than Adobe's stuff and will probably start doing more of that work in GIS before going to Adobe.

Partly also because I will be working to make the map a little more accessible online on the website and through mobile apps, so I will be doing more GIS in general than has been done in the past. I have a couple of options for phone apps.

I was thinking more about the trailer idea last night and it might be possible to make the trailer idea happen without me spending any money out of my own pocket on it. I might be able to convince a shop (the one where I work, the one in the same building as the advocacy office, or maybe another in town) to donate a Surly Ted trailer for us to do local downtown deliveries.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Over 3 miles of trails in under 3 minutes*

Time Lapse (partial) Trail Commute






MTXB, no I'm not planning on being at Kingdom Trails this weekend. Have Fun.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Just found out that while Alaska is having the warmest winter in years, maybe ever, Michigan is having the coldest on record, ever. Great.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Slow going this morning with 1F and some headwinds. Despite the cold, the roads were still wet and slushy, I hate to think how much salt or brine is on there to work at 1F. I got a little overwarm fighting the wind, but unzipping and de-gloving (with pogies) helped. The freehub was fine today, but I had a recurrence of the chainlock, just as I entered the rotary. The pedals locked up, jamming my right leg nicely and forcing me to an abrupt stop in the middle of the roundabout lane. I had to drag it over to the center, spin the pedals (the chain was partly jumped off the middle ring and onto the granny), and carefully re-merge with traffic while testing out the “fix”. I did get a spare link but for some reason put it in my seatpack instead of on the chain, so I guess I will try that now. 

Forgot the underwear and the helmet light battery today! The bar light is not fixed yet. My re-soldering worked, electrically speaking but the solder glob is in the way of screwing the cover back on, so I will have to un-do and re-do it. I also neglected to bring the backup headlamp. At least it is staying light later. I may leave a bit early to get more daylight and also run a red blinkie on the front, although that is not optimal or legal.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Been a while since I have posted here.

I have moved from Florence, KY to Amelia, OH due to job loss. I have been combining bus and bike for the majority of my commuting and rides into Cincinnati when my fiance is on her way into work.

I have ridden through the worst of the storms and temperatures, thankful on a set of metal studded snow tires and old river winter gear. I upgraded from my 2013 Motobecane Elite Trail to a 2009 Globe Vienna and improved my commuting ability with backpacks and panniers. I ride all over Newport and into Cincinnati's downtown, Clifton and Northside neighborhoods.

On polo days I trade the Mule for what ever bike I was on, that now being a Surly 1X1, for the commute.

Today was cold and windy, pretty bad crossing over the river into Newport. Not looking forward to Sunday as I will have to change back into the snow tires for a while again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Welcome back, Maddcelt! Glad you found a new job and bikecommute!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

turns out the org already has a couple of Burly flat bed cargo trailers donated by a LBS. maybe not the load capacity of a Surly trailer, but still plenty useful. Apparently we don't have maps at very many of the downtown businesses. That will have to change, with a resource like the Cultural Trail, I'm pretty sure I can add more to that list.


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## Gunnar-man (Mar 21, 2008)

Good god, I am DONE with winter. -31C with the windchill is too damn cold for riding. During this cold snap again I have to shorten my commute to 4km each way by driving closer to work and riding from there but no matter how bundled I am, fingers, toes (hell, the entire body) are frozen.
The only respite I have is that I am flying to Phoenix/Sedona in 3 days for a week of actual warm riding...the thought of not having to wear layers, bar mitts, winter boots, balaclavas is putting a smile on my face.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'm with you. -30anything in march is not good. On the plus side, in 2-3 weeks the trails will be too soft to ride.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Just found out that while Alaska is having the warmest winter in years, maybe ever, Michigan is having the coldest on record, ever. Great.


And it's pis*ing us off to no end!

Well, that might be a lie. I got out yesterday for a trail ride - no commute - and it was glorious! Like late April riding. A mix of grippy snow and bare earth. There were a few muddy patches on the south facing slopes, but all in all, it was wonderful fun riding. I'm so glad I went out and didn't stay home as I had planned.

That said, I wish it was a normal winter with normal snow cover and temps. I had one big ride planned - to the Knik glacier on the river. With the warming it just doesn't seem like that will happen this year. Again. I really don't want to end up in the river and when it freezes back down, unless we get snow, it will be better for ice skating than biking. The strange weather is causing all kinds of issues for snow sports enthusiasts. Heck, I moved to Alaska for the winters. I shouldn't be seeing grass in March. It's just not right. Just not right at all. Though I might have to sample the trails again this afternoon... in shorts and a tee shirt this time.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back to commutes on Monday. Seeing everyone all over Vegas on their bikes--warm weather sure brings the bikes out!--has me itching to get back on mine. Gonna have to figure another way to get in treadmill time other than cannibalizing my commuting time. Good ride in Blue Diamond today. Cold, windy, and possible rain. . .but still a good time.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> And it's pis*ing us off to no end!
> 
> Well, that might be a lie. I got out yesterday for a trail ride - no commute - and it was glorious! Like late April riding. A mix of grippy snow and bare earth. There were a few muddy patches on the south facing slopes, but all in all, it was wonderful fun riding. I'm so glad I went out and didn't stay home as I had planned.
> 
> That said, I wish it was a normal winter with normal snow cover and temps. I had one big ride planned - to the Knik glacier on the river. With the warming it just doesn't seem like that will happen this year. Again. I really don't want to end up in the river and when it freezes back down, unless we get snow, it will be better for ice skating than biking. The strange weather is causing all kinds of issues for snow sports enthusiasts. Heck, I moved to Alaska for the winters. I shouldn't be seeing grass in March. It's just not right. Just not right at all. Though I might have to sample the trails again this afternoon... in shorts and a tee shirt this time.


Low teens right now, and we just got another 3.5" or so of snow. Still snowing. I am done, just done. I cannot take it any more. I don't think that I can go through another winter like this here. I am saving for a fatbike, the fund already started. I will have something by November of 2014. Winter wants to be like this, fine. Unless I win the lottery, I will be here for the next winter. I will have the proper bike for it though.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I was finally able to get back on my bike after a 2 month hiatus. My current commute the last 1/4 mile is either a MUP or a 4 lane, no shoulder, bikes not welcome 50+mph street. Up until this week the MUP has been too packed with snow to be passable. Thankfully we had a warm snap that melted most of the snow, so I was able to get back on the bike. I have to walk it for maybe 300 ft, but at least I can ride again.








Had to stop while crossing over a pedestrian bridge. I think it was -5 F with the windchill. Probably the coldest I've ever ridden, but sounds like it's not much for a lot of you guys.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This mornings weather was beautiful. A cool 55 with about 60% humidity, all the stars shining. 

The ride left something to be desired, however. I had converted to drop bars on Friday night, only to find out that I'll need a few more things and a little more time than a single night to work out the kinks. I rode it to a buddy's on Saturday morning, and realized I had done just about everything wrong, so I was up late last night switching back to a flat bar until my budget allows for the proper equipment instead of my usual zip ties and duct tape. 

When I switched bars, I guess I didn't set my brakes back up how they should've been, because I'm squealing like crazy in the front and a constant (not an out of true rim pulse) rub on the rear. So, I got all the workout of a taller gear with none of the speed or reward. 

I also realized that I left my boxers at home, so I'll have to walk around in weezer squeezers the next several hours until I'm able to swing by the house. 

All in all, I still got to ride a bike, so it turned out okay in the end.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Woke up early, got all tarted up for the ride, _then_ looked out the window to see the inch of snow on the road. Spent a few minutes waffling on whether to call it and take the wife's car, or sleep in and have her drive me in, but i did that last week. Rode, incredibly slowly, and failed to die the whole way. Something started skipping with alarming frequency towards the end of the ride, I suspect RD misalignment, possibly some sort of issue with the cable. Bottom bracket is clinking again, hopefully just a quick tighten job again.

Finally remembered to wear 2 pairs of tights, so my legs were pretty good for a change. I also just shoved the toe covers onto the shoe, they sorta fit. They helped the feet but my left foot still got pretty cold by the end of the ride. Not sure what the deal is with that.

Overall I'd describe this morning's ride as: good?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Drove today. We had sleet and snow overnight and the roads are a mess. Drivers were pretty bad on the way in. You'd think they'd learn after a while...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Glorious ride this AM. I went out on the trails again yesterday and mudded up the whole bike - didn't bother cleaning it off after the ride, so this morning had some residual issues with that, including water in something that caused the rear der to not want to shift. Also, left the Egg Beaters on so had to ride clipless - it was 13F at my house when I left. My bike shoes are not the warmest - I usually can't ride them below 30F very comfortably. I used toe warmers on both the top and bottom of my feet with a pair of wool and a pair of polar fleece socks and was surprised. Very surprised. Feet stayed just about perfect for the whole ride. Color me impressed. 

Things in the valley are nice riding. In town it is back to ice skating rinks everywhere - melt down followed by freezing. Good times. I didn't run into any issues with it today, but did have to alter my route prior to getting on the MUP because the MUPs in the downtown areas were glare ice - so rode the roads. 

Right now? Sunny, blue bird skies, and what looks like an awesome afternoon shaping up.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

Put my snow tires back on with the coming storm, and did not have school today, so no commute. 

Did head out with my fiance and have been on foot. Feels weird.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pretty chilly for March here, I guess Mother Nature is taking that “in like a lion” thing seriously, with -3F and a steady 10mph wind with gusts in the 20mph range. It’s 3pm now and 9F. I shortened my ride to about 5 miles one way because my dog walk stretched to an hour after Keeper took off on a scent through the woods. I parked at an empty shopping center that only had signs prohibiting overnight parking. Hopefully I will not forget and pedal past it tonight.

Winterbike Saturday was fun, the trails were in unbelievably good condition. Big crowd this year, but only 6 on the women’s ride (some other women attended but opted for other rides). A nice sized and pretty well matched group made for a good ride.

My friend brought that Mongoose Crossway up for me to work on while she is away. I ended up ordering some Sram 8 speed Centera shifters (Shimano compatible) and am hoping they will work with her 7 speed. They’re twisters, but with the little window gear indicator. I forgot to take a “before” photo, but I think she will like the purple housing and silver bars to replace her rusty ones. The chain is way stretched but I am not going to touch it until it breaks or doesn’t work. Luckily I was able to remove the quill stem, but the seatpost seems frozen in. Since it’s set for her size, I am not going to fight with that either.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM, after a crappy experience on the way home yesterday. Don't want to rehash it here, but you can read about it here, if you want. Needless to say, big pickup trucks are the bane of the commuter cyclist's existence.

Snow is the forecast today. I hope so. The ice is just a bit too icy for my tastes.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I was a slug this morning. I don't know if it was the lack of sleep, no leg rubdown, or whatever, but I couldn't going. Took me an hour to go 12 miles, which is dumb for a road bike on perfect streets. 

Spent the evening at a local restaurant for the Tour de Cure spirit night. Met some cool folks, and a couple who take the bike thing waaaay too seriously. To the point where it stops being fun and is more about how much better than someone else you can be. Not what cycling is all about. 

Calling for rain this afternoon. I packed an extra pair of socks and my rain jacket in the bag just in case. I'm hoping I won't need them.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning was the warmest 15F of the year. Working through the snow/ice on the MUP warmed me up quickly, then when I turned onto the road, I started to bake from the sun and the heat radiating off the pavement. I unzipped my jacket and eventually slid my arm warmers down, but it was still a little too warm. This evening should be around 40 and slushy.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice and snowy this morning. It won't amount to more than an inch or two, but it's probably the most snow that we've gotten since before Christmas. Also reasonably warm at 0F, which is a nice change from the last two weeks of -10F and -15F mornings (and -28F on the weekend).


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> This morning was the warmest 15F of the year. Working through the snow/ice on the MUP warmed me up quickly, then when I turned onto the road, I started to bake from the sun and the heat radiating off the pavement. I unzipped my jacket and eventually slid my arm warmers down, but it was still a little too warm. This evening should be around 40 and slushy.


Shoulda had a vest...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Fat Tuesday*

8 below this morning but the trails are supreme. 
Weaving Through The Trees on "Fat" Tuesday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> Shoulda had a vest...


Ha! A vest would have made me even hotter.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Checking in... my internet at work has made this website virtually impossible to navigate, with filters, etc, etc. Missing the daily antics around here. The rides have been good. My new MTB showed up finally, so that's the reason for all this rain Rodar...are you getting hammered in Reno too? Lots of wet for us. 

Starting to feel like spring...


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

after a weekend that was a balmy almost positive temperature reading... it dips way back down under -20C. :eekster:

my buddy grabbed me some barmitts, but he's facing -25 to -30 in his city so i told him to hang onto them and "break them in" for me! 

When the snow's falling and I'm on my bike I smile absurdly, broadly. I laugh out loud.
I don't know why.
I love this sh!t!!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Worked my ass off on the long (18 mile) route home. Hilly (for coastal Florida) route, and pushed until I couldn't pedal anymore, then dropped down doing intervals. But, it cooled down to the 60's and the clouds disappeared, so it was a nice ride at least. 

Dropping the bike off tomorrow for some new shifters and levers. The drop bar thing was a bust, the wife is aggravated, so that stuff is going on Craigslist. Anyone interested in some 22.2/25.4 drops and Origin 8 levers? Lol! 

No commute in the morning. Have a company meeting at 7 am down south at the Hyatt on the beach over the company's new healthcare changes. Essentially "Here, have fancy coffee at this fancy place while we tell you how much you're being screwed". It is what it is. 

You boys stay warm out there. I'm going swimming.


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## Skoezie (Apr 11, 2006)

With spring around the corner and temps around freezing in the morning it's difficult to find the right amount of clothing. Had really cold feet this morning, and upper body to warm. But still a nice ride with the sun rising. Few more days and the lights can stay home i guess.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2014)

Anyone know of a sale on Bar Mitts for drop bars using Campy/Sram levers?


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

We've got a baby due any day now so I have started working from home, missing my morning commute for the first time in years. Feels strange, so I decided to get up this morning and go for a run. That was a mistake. I have't ran more than .5 miles in many months and now my legs don't want to work and feel like they weigh 50 lbs a piece. I'll be living vicariously through you guys now for the next few weeks.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had fun fish-tailing my way to work again. I see it as good balance practice for riding the trails later on.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And back down to -12F this morning. Blah. I'd hoped to shed some layers this week (I did actually skip the fleece) but it looks like that will have to wait until the weekend.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

It's snowing! It's snowing! Great ride in this AM with fresh snow falling. Probably up to four or more inches here in town now. Might make for some fun riding out this afternoon, but I'm ready for it. I have time to take it slow if I need to, have my alternate routes planned in case I can't ride the trails, and have extra gear, if I need it. My only mistake today was not switching back to my flats and wearing boots - I'll be riding in summer shoes with Egg Beaters. Might just have to use the plastic bag vapor barrier idea today so that if I do end up walking it at all my feet will stay dry-ish.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Going to pick up the bike here in just a minute. Had new shifters installed as well as some Texas themed bar tape. I spotted it, and being a native Texan in a foreign land, I can't not do it. Usually I would do the shifters myself, but if free installation is included, why not just go with it? 

Weather is supposed to get crappy tomorrow. Good thing I've got fenders and a rain jacket...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> 8 below this morning but the trails are supreme.
> Weaving Through The Trees on "Fat" Tuesday.


Looks nice!



CommuterBoy said:


> My new MTB showed up finally, so that's the reason for all this rain.


Congrats on the new ride! Pix! I am windows shopping!



byknuts said:


> When the snow's falling and I'm on my bike I smile absurdly, broadly. I laugh out loud.
> I don't know why.
> I love this sh!t!!


That one belongs in the "you know you're a bikecommuter when.." thread. :thumbsup:



Simonns said:


> We've got a baby due any day now so I have started working from home, missing my morning commute for the first time in years. Feels strange, so I decided to get up this morning and go for a run. That was a mistake.


Congrats on the baby-to-be!

I find running is always a mistake.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today after a day off yesterday for "Town Meeting Day" (there are really still meetings, it is not just symbolic). Single digits and a some wind. I worked in the field today and got a chill in the afternoon as the wind picked up, so I added a polo shirt I had at the office to my ride-home layers and was glad to have it. 

This morning I provided some entertainment for the flagging crew...I overheard "what the heck do you mean a bike??" from flagger #1's radio while she roared with laughter.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Looking forward to tomorrow morning. Supposed to be cool and dry. Showers later on in the day. I've got the jacket and plastic shopping bags packed for the ride home. I'm supposed to meet up with a buddy 35 miles south to help load up his moving pod to take his family to North Carolina. Thinking I might just ride down there, especially if I can cut out of work around 3 or so. 12 beautiful miles of protected rail trail spitting me out 2 miles from his house. Should be a blast. Just have to worry about getting a ride back home.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

_Cold._ Probably the coldest I've ever ridden, somewhere between 0 and -10 F, depending on the weather service. Headlight battery was more or less frozen when I got out (took it off the charger, turned on the light, indicator went from green to blue to yellow to red in a span of seconds). Goggles fogged over and froze, had to take those off about 3 miles out. Face mask froze every time I inhaled. Pretty sure the condensation in my eyelashes was in danger of freezing, and may have frozen once or twice. Toes were painfully cold after ~5 miles, through 2 layers of socks + toe covers, with gaiters and 2 layers of pants on.

I think I may build a small heater for my battery and add some insulation. I know some of you are riding in colder weather much more than I and I've never heard complaints about battery thermal effects from anybody else. Am I doing it wrong?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was a blast. It was almost effortless pedaling. The shifting was incredibly smooth and braking was phenomenal, thanks to the boys at the shop. Honestly, it felt like a much higher grade system than Alivio and Altus. 

Did run into one hitch, though. When on the 53t ring and I pedal backward, the derailleur skips the chain from the largest cog to about the fourth or fifth, but it never catches. So, when I go to take off from a light, it's chain skip city. I know all the rules of big/big and chain stress, and I suppose it's a habit I should break, but I'd also like to resolve this issue. 

It's coming down something terrible right now, I just hope it clears up in time to head down to Venice. Looking forward to the long ride.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

Howdy all...

Bought a bike back on the 12th of February (my first as an adult, unless you count one Walmart thing I bought about 4 years ago and rode twice) and this morning was my first commute to work. I haven't ridden a bike for commuting purposes since I was in the 5th grade!

I really enjoyed it. 
The sun was lighting the sky but still hiding behind the Rincon mountain range behind me, and the air was a cool 55 degrees. I gave myself plenty of time to go the 11 miles to work. Around 9 miles of it is all on a paved bike path with no car traffic or stop lights -- but I did stop a couple times to smell the roses, so to speak.

If this becomes a thing for me, I'll need a second bike... with panniers and racks and junk!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Awesome! Glad to have you aboard. Back in August, I did the same thing. Been hooked dver since. Even sold my truck.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Sanath: What I learned to do with my camera equipment was to store the batteries inside/on my person right up until use. They won't have their full capacity, but they will work much better.

Texan: that sounds like a chain line issue. If you have a long straightedge, place it over the middle chainring (or between the two, on a double) and run it over the cassette. It should line up, again, in the middle. If the crank is too far outboard, there are only a handful of things you can do, depending on the type of bottom bracket/crank.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

23 F this morning, going to be near 50 F later today and it's bike polo day. So I traded my coveralls, winter boots and winter gloves for a hoodie, my colors, sneakers and my mechanic's gloves. I also swapped out the Mule II for the Surly.

Yikes! Less layers and a slower ride made for a rather chilly ride, almost uncomfortable. But the little bit of discomfort this morning will pay dividends this afternoon when the quiet afternoon air is shattered with the shout of MARCO!


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Awesome! Glad to have you aboard. Back in August, I did the same thing. Been hooked dver since. Even sold my truck.


Thanks! No way I am going so far as selling the truck! haha


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Commuter Boy, are you going to post a pic of your new sweet ride or do we all have to go trolling around on the Bantam forum? Looks nice, BTW.

TomaHawk: Welcome to our misfit family.

Sanath: I use Niterider cordless lights and don't have any problems other than shorter run times. I probably get 75% of the usual run time riding in the single digits. Even if you just insulate the pack it will probably self-heat while in use.

Texan: That doesn't sound that abnormal. If the chain is on the biggest ring and it doesn't' have the derailleur to guide it like it does going forward that angle is going to pull it off the big cog. 

The trails are still damn fine around here, damn fine. It looks like were going to get a few warmer days and then another blast of winter air next week. Most people are pretty sick of winter but I'm still having fun.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> _Cold._ Probably the coldest I've ever ridden, somewhere between 0 and -10 F, depending on the weather service. Headlight battery was more or less frozen when I got out (took it off the charger, turned on the light, indicator went from green to blue to yellow to red in a span of seconds). Goggles fogged over and froze, had to take those off about 3 miles out. Face mask froze every time I inhaled. Pretty sure the condensation in my eyelashes was in danger of freezing, and may have frozen once or twice. Toes were painfully cold after ~5 miles, through 2 layers of socks + toe covers, with gaiters and 2 layers of pants on.
> 
> I think I may build a small heater for my battery and add some insulation. I know some of you are riding in colder weather much more than I and I've never heard complaints about battery thermal effects from anybody else. Am I doing it wrong?


Your problems with the googles and face mask would kill it for me...try a sledding pair of googles with nose protector..Free breathing no fog.

About -20C

I would wear

helmet with balaclava (one big face hole) underneath....

Googles with nose protector...

Long sleeved synthetic shirt.

3 season jacket.

3 layer gortex ski shell (new)....or bigger 3 season jacket.
(wore out now)

bike short, bike tights, bigger bike tights.

One pair thermal socks, Shimano winter boots.

summer full finger gloves inside, over mitts gautlets.

I'll be good for an hour plus.

Feet will get cold first.


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## anomad (Nov 16, 2009)

Its just now getting light enough in the mornings (here at 41 deg. latitude) that I don't need a headlamp. And if I get out of the office at a decent hour I can make it home again before dark.

Time changes this weekend! Back to lights in the morning. But should be nice in the evenings.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> Your problems with the googles and face mask would kill it for me...try a sledding pair of googles with nose protector..Free breathing no fog.


You know my cheap safety goggles have done a generally great job the rest of the year. They fog occasionally when I'm blowing hard up a very steep hill on the route home after my mask is already saturated, but other than that they generally never give me trouble. I don't know what caused them to be grumpy this morning.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

https://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/darth.jpg

Me after 1 hour at -30C

No frost

No frost bite








No fog

There is a small amout of frost on the underside of the nose protector...

I can breathe as easily as in the summer.

If you want to ride cold you need the right stuff.....all fogged up with beardcicles and icy face masks don't cut it.

Once one part of me gets cold the rest follows.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

I agree, but this is also the deepest, most prolonged cold I've seen since moving here 12 years ago. It has to end soon, and I don't really want to drop a bunch of money on goggles and a snow helmet only to have it reach the 50s a few days later.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I agree, but this is also the deepest, most prolonged cold I've seen since moving here 12 years ago. It has to end soon, and I don't really want to drop a bunch of money on goggles and a snow helmet only to have it reach the 50s a few days later.


Then -20 C is gonna hurt.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A low of -10F this a.m., the meteorologist was going on about the higher number of below zero days this winter compared to the last two. My goggles don’t fog, but are uncomfortable. I realized there is just not enough real estate on my face for them between either my winter or summer helmet brim and my nose, so they end up squishing my nostrils and making it feel like it is hard to breathe. I guess I need to look for a pair in person with my helmet in hand instead of buying something online, or at least checking the vertical dimensions. I find the facemask (neoprene with fleecy inside) works best when it is snug enough that your breath is forced out through the openings, rather than exhaling “inside” the mask and having it condense. I always carry an alternative, like glasses and a buff neck tube, in case of problems or a change in weather by evening.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Can`t believe you guys are still getting sub zero lows.

Had to leave town for a family emergency over the weekend. Got back Tues night and I can`t seem to get myself back into the groove again.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

New record for me today, -9F. Was going to scrap the ride and drive, but I had to do it just for the bragging rights. 

I think I need to spring for the helmet and proper goggles next year. My duct taped road helmet and lab goggles don't cut it. No peripheral in the lab goggles and lots of fog problems.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

Just got home. The return trip wasn't as good as e trip in, it was extremely windy and I got passed by a bunch of chicks on skinny***** tires... But I was still on my bike so that's awesome.

I might do it again tomorrow but I need a few things to make it easier... Like a rack or a backpack that doesn't suck! Lol



Tomahawk3Niner said:


> Howdy all...
> 
> Bought a bike back on the 12th of February (my first as an adult, unless you count one Walmart thing I bought about 4 years ago and rode twice) and this morning was my first commute to work. I haven't ridden a bike for commuting purposes since I was in the 5th grade!
> 
> ...


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Woke up to fluffy snow so I threw myself out the door on my drop-barred longtail with studded tires.
Well, that was different!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Crappy commute today. Left for work and it was 31F and sunny. Didn't think that there would be much melt, but the bike path was mostly half frozen slop. Got through that, and then on to the road, where the bike lanes were in overall crap conditions. Ended up taking the lane for part of it, as the bike lane just isn't clear enough to ride in. Overheated big time, way too many layers for the ride. The jacket just topped it off, blew me up a mile in. Halfway in, realized tire pressure was too low. Felt like I was dragging all of you guys on your bikes, with your brakes on. Forgot to check it before I left, and the bike has been sitting a while now. First ride with the carbon fork, and it changed everything. More upright riding position which is good, but I am realizing that the bullhorns might have to go, and either riser or flat bars might have to be installed with the good ol OURY lock on grips that I used on all of my MTB's. The ride overall was weird. Running 700x23 up front (has to be this size to clear the fork) and a 700x25 out back. I swear I can feel the difference in the back end. I think it might have been the tire pressure, but the combination of the different tire size and the carbon fork is kind of throwing the ride off. I will have to wait to see if it is just me or the bike. 

The ride home flat out sucked. Lots of traffic by the campus, think a basketball game was just getting over with. Bike lane was garbage, wind was blowing, 19F when I left work at 11:35PM. Ride just sucked the life out of me. The whole thing felt like it was uphill, even the downhill. Tire pressure, must have been that. It took me an hour to get home. Roads were not icy, at least I don't think, but they were crunchy, like a slick layer was just forming, scaring the crap out of me. 

OK, so if you are commuting urban, and don't need much light to see, just to be seen, get the Serfas Thunderbolt. Massive visibility. I had one guy that was in front of me at one point, pull along side of me at a light further down, and ask me what the hell kind of lights those were, because he could see my tail like a mile away, and the duals up front were blinding his rear view mirror. As for riding on dark roads, paths, neighborhoods, etc. these flat out suck. I was wishing that I had my Niterider on the bike instead of the TB's. My idea of dual mounting them horizontally on the bullhorns looks straight up badass and gets you noticed. It kills the riding position though. You are limited to just the ends which is OK, but gets uncomfortable.

The extra crap that I have to haul with me to work is just too much. I think that I figured out some storage at work for my shoes, so I can leave those there, and possibly other items that I have been hauling back and forth. That will be really nice, especially if it ever gets warm out.


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## adam122 (Feb 4, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> Can`t believe you guys are still getting sub zero lows.
> 
> Had to leave town for a family emergency over the weekend. Got back Tues night and I can`t seem to get myself back into the groove again.


I hope everything is well with your family.

I've been sick last week and missed a couple of days of riding my bike. When I was finally better and ready to ride again, my will power was down....LOL! But, I am back and riding again. I hope you are too! Spring is coming any time now...I hope!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Not my own commute, but yesterday, I had some meetings with state dept of natural resources officials for the local mtb club (I sit on the board, and was there with a couple others from the club). One of those officials bike commuted yesterday, and had his commute bike in his office.

I was glad to see it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, Adam12.
Over.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I hate the temp swings of spring/fall. Half of my pannier on the ride home was taken up by extra clothes, but to be positive at least it was above freezing.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

morning? -11C.
afternoon? +2C.
some days... ah well, I threww the unstudded tire'd casseroll into the breach and had a twitchy but phenomenally fast-accelerating blast!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

2 days in a row, and I am pretty happy. I have 2 filthy bikes sitting here waiting to be cleaned. I guess I know what I am doing this weekend. 46F and sunny when I left for work today. No way I can complain about that. Layered it just right and used my Specialized Deflect gloves and my hands were just right. Left everything else except a head cover and my lobster gloves at home. Ride home temp was expected to be 30F and a chance of rain/snow. Overpacked my messenger back, so it was very uncomfortable on my back with something digging into me. Left my shoes at work so the ride home was much less of an annoyance. Bike path was an absolute mess with the varying temps of the day. Ride home temp was 38F which was very nice. Lobster gloves came in handy, keeping my hands very warm. Had to walk part of it to get to the main road, and then cut down that to another road, and pretty much looped around. Managed a few extra miles so I cannot complain. Used my X Blade removable rear fender for the first time, and even though it looks goofy as all hell, it kept my backside and bag completely dry. 

Just started raining, so I was glad to make it home before that nonsense started (been home for a couple of hours now). I am just ready for the winter to be over. The extra stuff I have to carry in my bag is annoying.


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## terrasmak (Jun 14, 2011)

I should be a commuter once again late next week. This driving the car daily sucks, I feel much better thru out the day after a ride to work.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't had a chance to post since Thursday. Everything went great, not a single hiccup. Did notice that my stem was a little low, causing me to put too much weight on my hands, so I'll add a spacer and remedy that. Wrapped my Specialized BG grips with bar tape to match the bar ends. So much more comfort. Just need to rotate them. 

After I got off work, I hopped on and rode down to Venice from North Bradenton, which was just about 45 miles. Cramped up about 5 miles from my destination, and had to dismount to stretch out. I'm blaming it on dehydration and lack of proper nutrition, really been struggling with that lately. Next time I'll keep some banana or something. Never did bonk though... 

No commute yesterday . Woke up feeling like crap, so I called in to make up the hours tomorrow. It was more of a sickly sort of thing than I biked 53 miles the day before. Took it easy, helped out around the house and with the kids. 

This morning was pretty chilly. 43 degrees. Long sleevrd tee shirt, softshell jacket, thick shorts and two pairs of socks with some leather gloves kept me just about right. Feet wound up getting cold toward the end, but eh. What I don't get is that I left the house 10 minutes after I usually do, stopped at the gas station to use the restroom, and felt like I was slower than normal, but yet I still arrived on time. Felt like I was in some strange paradox. It didn't help that it was day light instead of dark on the ride in. 

Looking forward to the ride home.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

MUP still jammed with ice but I found a way to avoid a lot of the main road riding. Turned my cross bike back into a 2x10 in the hopes of selling it but no luck yet. In the meantime it's making commute almost too easy between the big ring and the 32c slicks I got in a trade


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2014)

So no biking yesterday, but I commuted via United Airlines back home. Thanks United for placing me third on the standby list even though your ticket agent called me last and assigned me to a seat that was taken. I appreciate the flight attendant getting me a real seat more than having to drive to the airport to get my bags today. I guess I don't understand why I can't change flights once my bags are checked unless my flight is canceled in which case I can't access my bags until they land at their original destination. Time to ride the fargo and work out my frustrations on the gravel.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Been enjoying the last couple of 50 degree days. Took a quick jaunt off road on a little quarter mile gravel loop, and I have to say, the Salsa Cowbells are phenomenal. Until today, I hadn't use them off road... they just feel natural in the drops.

I'm already looking forward to the later sunsets.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The stars aligned and I rode again. Not sure what is up with the camera. I think the memory chip is bad. I love tailgaters who can't see a thing in front except the large SUV tailgate so wander over to the fog line when they have no idea that anything might be on the shoulder. Thank goodness it was a little econobox and not a duallie pickup with large mirrors. They likely have no idea how dangerous that is.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather for today and tomorrow is fantastic. It was 37F this morning and will be in the 60s on the ride home. Tomorrow should be similar but warmer. Then comes the rain/snow for a day before warming up again towards the weekend. I'll take it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Back to (almost) summer gear today. And thanks to daylight savings time I finally got to try out my monkeylite in (relative) darkness.

I'm not sure how this fixie thing is going to work once all the snow has melted. After a few months of this, I still haven't figured out how to jump with it. I can pop up the front wheel if I've got plenty of time to plan, but that's about it. As more potholes start showing up I'll want to hop over them, but I'm not sure that's going to happen.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

Almost got clotheslined by a woman and her golden retriever on a retractable leash. She was in her lane on the path, and the dog was across the lane in the dirt on my side with some other people, about 10ft off the path. I thought the dog belonged to them and could not see the black leash against the black tarmac ahead of me. I was going slow as it was but still almost didn't see the line until it was too late. Of course the lady with the other end of the leash was oblivious to everything. 

Otherwise, it was a little chilly this morning but that's the way I prefer it. Better than the 110+ degree days that are soon coming to Southern Arizona! The ride was great and a crushed my previous time to work by 6 minutes.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Blah. Today's commute was just blah. Harder than it should have been. I'm sure it is just the residuals of Saturday's snowboarding session. I don't snowboard that often and never at actual ski hills, so it is really more like climbing a mountain with a quick descent. It's the type of snowboarding where five runs in three hours is a dang good day. Good times. Beautiful weather for it, but each time I go it reminds me that even though I can bike like a mad-man, I should really diversify my training. Or something. 

Hoping that tonight's ride home is a bit better. Though I doubt it. Wind is supposed to pick up and we're supposed to get a snow and rain mix.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Blah. Today's commute was just blah. Harder than it should have been. I'm sure it is just the residuals of Saturday's snowboarding session. I don't snowboard that often and never at actual ski hills, so it is really more like climbing a mountain with a quick descent. It's the type of snowboarding where five runs in three hours is a dang good day. Good times. Beautiful weather for it, but each time I go it reminds me that even though I can bike like a mad-man, I should really diversify my training. Or something.
> 
> Hoping that tonight's ride home is a bit better. Though I doubt it. Wind is supposed to pick up and we're supposed to get a snow and rain mix.


Sorry the commute wasn't so great. Snowboarding sounds fun! 
Any time on the bike is good time, eh?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice commute, if a little sloppy and truck-infested today. 20F and an inch or two of snow had fallen overnight. One honk when I dared take the lane in advance of the roundabout – but they did not run me over or cut me off, so mission accomplished.

A flexi-leash clotheslining would make for a really bad day.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Tomahawk3Niner said:


> Sorry the commute wasn't so great. Snowboarding sounds fun!
> Any time on the bike is good time, eh?


Yes, this is true. Any time on the bike is good. I need to man up and quit my whining! Thanks for reminding me of this simple truth.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'm not sure it's always true. I had a ride a few weeks ago that sucked so much that it kept me off the bike for a week. OK, it was partially a cold but still by the end of that ride I was thinking it that was my only exposure to biking I wouldn't do it.

But today was good. The trails were soft and if I had it to do over I would have gone fat. There's always tomorrow. "Winter Storm Watch" in effect for Wed.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute today. 60F in and 80F home. Didn't even mind the 25 mph gusts.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

My ride home tonight was great. A little on the warm side (we didn't have a winter to speak of) but it wasn't bad. A lot of eye candy jogging on the MUP...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Temp in: 52F
Temp out: 43F

Roads and paths were soaking wet from the melt that is taking place. First ride with the Planet Bike fenders, and to be honest, I am not that impressed. Bike is still filthy, my shoes are speckled with splashes of water, and the fenders are already very crooked. My foot hits the front fender on any sort of a turn, so I have to plan ahead for that, which I dislike majorly. Fork, drivetrain and some of the downtube are just a mess. Drivetrain is my least favorite area to clean, and I will have to do it again. Pretty uneventful ride in, but the ride home had me puckering a few times from potholes that I did not see until it was too late. One, I thought for sure, was such a hard hit that I blew the rear tire out, had to, but I didn't. Third day in a row of commuting to work, and that makes me happy. Nothing tomorrow as we are expecting rain mixed with snow and freezing temps before I leave to head home. Wednesday is a mess too, some snow expected, then Thursday back into the 50's. What a wonky winter!!!

Got a compliment on my Serfas Thunderbolt taillight from a city police officer at the light. Said that he saw me a ways back, and was glad that I had it on blinking and not just on solid, and that it was very bright. Very happy with that purchase so far.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

More blah. Heavy snow scheduled for tonight into tomorrow, so probably driving tomorrow and Thursday. Went to turn on my headlight this morning and almost no light from the main spot, only the floods. I'm sure it made oncoming drivers happy. I suspect I overheated and damaged the spot driver while I was trying to run down the battery last week. My "save money by not having a backup headlight" strategy isn't really paying off at the moment.

It was a nice ride this morning, though. 34 and fairly calm.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Same here with the snow. Thought it was going to be minor, but 6" forecasted at rates of an inch an hour at some times. Bike is going to be cleaned and hung back up on the rack until this stops. 38F currently, and would be a great ride in later as it will clear 40 but the ride home probably wouldn't work for me in the snow and rain and freezing temps.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

I havent ridden full distance to work in a while. Started leaving home to late hah. Im tempted to start riding the full distance again before it starts heating up. It got me thinking though, how far are you guys commuting over a week? Im not sure if im crazy or not because for 2 months I rode 180 miles a week 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Last night was monstrous. Was supposed to meet the family and in laws from TX at the beach. I get there, and no ones around. Find out that they had to make a quick run to the hotel room and no one bothered to tell me. So, it was 30 miles to suffer beach drivers, tourists, and draw bridges for nothing.

My rear was killing me this morning. It wasn't like a sore muscle thing, but too much pressure in a specific area. Got to the office and took a look at my chamois shorts, and the padding had torn inside of the red pocket thing. So I've got a ton of padding bunch up toward the back (causing pressure on my sciatica) and a little up front doing jack. Nothing in between. I've only had these shorts for about a month, under normal riding conditions. Nothing extreme. At least I still have others to fall back on.

Anyway, here's some pics from yesterday's haul. Be jealous.










Going over Manatee Bridge and the Intercostal Waterway looking at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge connecting Terra Ceia Island to St. Petersburg.










The clear green waters of the Gulf in between Coquina Beach and Longboat Key. It's difficult to see, but to the left is a favorite hideaway, Beer Can Island.










Don't you wish you were here?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Monstrous, eh? Surly you must elaborate. Hey, I tried that back peddling thing with the chain on big-big. My 3x9 did jump off the big back cog but my 2x10 didn't. I still think that is normal. Don't back peddle on big-big.



m4xwellmurd3r said:


> I havent ridden full distance to work in a while. Started leaving home to late hah. Im tempted to start riding the full distance again before it starts heating up. It got me thinking though, how far are you guys commuting over a week? Im not sure if im crazy or not because for 2 months I rode 180 miles a week


When I'm riding the roads I'm usually around 125/week. Winter trails are tougher and sometimes un-ridable so I carpool sometimes or take my truck so my miles go down. There are a few who post here who are up in your range (woodway) but most are 100/week or less.

This morning had about 2" of fresh snow over firm trails. Enough to be fun but not enough to be a pain. I love how quiet it is riding on the new snow with the fatty. The lake was super foggy and with all the white snow it was hard to see the ground. I couldn't tell if I was staying on a trail or not. Tons of animal tracks in the fresh snow.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Original post edited. Posted before I finished typing. 

I should add that I wouldn't have been upset had I known that they weren't going to be there. I could have planned accordingly. Mainly fluids and grabbed a snack to keep from crashing. But we were supposed to meet and have dinner. I now know better for next time.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I average 22-24 miles a day. But that's if I go straight home after work, which rarely happens. Usually meeting somewhere to do something, picking up groceries, so on and so forth.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> First ride with the Planet Bike fenders, and to be honest, I am not that impressed.


Fenders are better than nothing...and that's about it.

Riding home last night on the flooded streets my cascadias were keeping me fairly dry. But once I got to the flooded mups my feet and legs were drenched. The water was 4" deep in a lot of spots, and the fenders aimed the spray directly at my shoes. They're still soaked this morning.

I think fenders are mostly helpful above the waist or knees. They tend to keep your face clean, and prevent the roostertail on your back. But the area around the pedals&drivetrain is a crapshoot unless you mod it:








(from here)

In other news, I think the zero-offset seatpost was the missing ingredient in my dropbar conversion. Not sure why it took me six months to think of it, but it's just the improvement I needed.

(not sure why the photo is showing up twice...)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

^ With the front fender being so high, no wonder that dude is getting wet. I guess that's one of the problems with suspension corrected forks. I'm not going to mod my new fenders, but a similar mod might work for my broken, duct taped set.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I've been commuting full time to work this week again, since the university is on break. Warm and windy so far, but tomorrow is supposed to be freezing rain and snow, so I might not get out on my bike, depending on how slippery it is. 

Fortunately, designated bike paths take me most of the 12 miles to work, so I only have to ride on the road for about a mile. That said, It can be pretty harsh, sometimes. People driving too fast, trying to dodge potholes/nails/glass, and all of that kind of stuff makes for a quickly pedaled mile. It's sort of a midwestern industrial town, so there's not a warm welcome for commuter cycling and most people who do have DUIs, so I imagine it's weird to see some guy with all sorts of cycling gear and lights. 

Yesterday an ambulance passed me to slam on its brakes right in front of me. It's lights weren't on, so I figure they should've known better. Oh well, I guess they could've picked me up? 

Regardless, this is a nice change of pace. The best I can do with school in session is to ride to the school, go to class, find where my brother parked the car, and then drive to work. It's pretty lackluster, but a nice 10 mile commute is better than nothing, and tends to help get the brain juices flowing. Normally I get my cycling licks in on the weekend.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> ^ With the front fender being so high, no wonder that dude is getting wet. I guess that's one of the problems with suspension corrected forks. I'm not going to mod my new fenders, but a similar mod might work for my broken, duct taped set.


Yeah, that wasn't a great example but it was just the first one I found. There are a ton here: BikeHacks: Fenders










But I will continue to stick with my ineffective fenders.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Two inches of wet snow overnight, but already 33F when I left and supposed to hit the 40’s later. Wore wooly knickers plus baggy shorts for a nice light feel. The cozy wool and chilly shin was a good combo. Also went with un-studded tires for the first time in months – yippee! 

I got really wet and dirty on my feet and shins though, from all the puddles, slush and spray. When I got to work and took off my soaked 5.10’s and socks, I had a striking stripe effect - there was brilliant white skin underneath my socks, offset by black roadgrime skin on the exposed shin. 

I had 4 more incidences of the chainlock today, but at least I was not in the middle of the roundabout and was able to backpedal and keep going. So back to the drawing board and re-check of the offending middle chainring. The new link is not helping, and it’s not the hub either, since I had different wheels on today. It was wet and plenty grimy, but not cold enough for the slush buildup to occur.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Two inches of wet snow overnight, but already 33F when I left and supposed to hit the 40's later. Wore wooly knickers plus baggy shorts for a nice light feel. The cozy wool and chilly shin was a good combo. Also went with un-studded tires for the first time in months - yippee!
> 
> I got really wet and dirty on my feet and shins though, from all the puddles, slush and spray. When I got to work and took off my soaked 5.10's and socks, I had a striking stripe effect - there was brilliant white skin underneath my socks, offset by black roadgrime skin on the exposed shin.
> 
> I had 4 more incidences of the chainlock today, but at least I was not in the middle of the roundabout and was able to backpedal and keep going. So back to the drawing board and re-check of the offending middle chainring. The new link is not helping, and it's not the hub either, since I had different wheels on today. It was wet and plenty grimy, but not cold enough for the slush buildup to occur.


I had a bent tooth on a chain ring....took a lot of time and care to actually spot the tooth that was bent...

I kept losing my place or skipping teeth. I did get it a little bit straighter with some work...but the fix is a replacement.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

newfangled said:


> But I will continue to stick with my ineffective fenders.


Me too. I guess I wouldn't call my fenders ineffective as much as imperfect. The stuff that really gets me mad is water spray in my face. Fenders are good at preventing that, and they are also good at keeping me dry when the road is just wet or a little slushy. Once there is considerable water or slush, my feet get soaked.

The mods above might be good for bikes that only see streets and aren't going to be used for messing around a bit on the way home.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I don't think you can prevent the wet feet with fenders. In my experience, it comes from the bike causing the water to part like the Red Sea, rather than carrying over on the treads. I suppose you could put on some wave boards or something.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Good fender flaps go a long way towards preventing soaked feet. I have Buddyflaps, a commercial product that looks nice with reflective graphics. DIY offers options for even more coverage but any flaps are a huge improvement


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fenders are for wussies. I kid, I kid. Or maybe not. Not sure. Come April and break up I'll be wishing for some of my own. 

Ride home last night was...interesting. Good riding in town. Then I got to the Valley and was hit with 26MPH steady headwinds for the first half of the ride with rain and freezing rain. Great fun. 

This morning was a much nicer ride than yesterday morning. I realized that a bit part of my feeling sluggish yesterday was that I had dropped pressure in my tires for my ride on Sunday and hadn't pumped them back up. Crazy how a few pounds of PSI in a 4 inch tire can make sure a difference.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Fenders are for wussies. I kid, I kid. Or maybe not. Not sure. Come April and break up I'll be wishing for some of my own.


I gave up on fenders years ago...they kept breaking in some way or another...

And by the time I had sorted out the cold weather gear, I basically have waterproof system except for the backs of my legs (which don't get roost).

I also gave up caring about a rooster tail up the back of my coat...I just clean it....I need to have it cleaned more often anyway.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We only have one winter down here. No need for waterproof winter gear for most of the year. Even in pouring rain, I find riding with fenders much more enjoyable than without. Different strokes for different folks...


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> I gave up on fenders years ago...they kept breaking in some way or another...
> 
> And by the time I had sorted out the cold weather gear, I basically have waterproof system except for the backs of my legs (which don't get roost).
> 
> I also gave up caring about a rooster tail up the back of my coat...I just clean it....I need to have it cleaned more often anyway.


 I don't have fenders on my Fargo to keep me dry, I have them to keep my drivetrain free of mud and grit. If you ride and there's water on the ground or in the air, you get wet. If you really want to stay dry on your ride to work, mount a stationary bike in the back of your mini-van and peddle while your spouse drives at 15 mpg.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Forster said:


> I don't have fenders on my Fargo to keep me dry, I have them to keep my drivetrain free of mud and grit. If you ride and there's water on the ground or in the air, you get wet. If you really want to stay dry on your ride to work, mount a stationary bike in the back of your mini-van and peddle while your spouse drives at 15 mpg.


Well you got that right...I jsut lube up my drive train after a wet ride....seems to get wet with or without fenders and needs a lube anyway.


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> Well you got that right...I jsut lube up my drive train after a wet ride....seems to get wet with or without fenders and needs a lube anyway.


Wet is one thing, chalked full of crud when the hose is frozen is another.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Today would have been a great day for a bike commute to the new job, except the bike storage is run by the YMCA folks downstairs and they don't know me yet. Gotta work out some of those kinks.

It's nice bike storage, though. Really nice Saris racks. They look like these:

Stack Rack | Saris Parking

Speaking of Saris' commercial stuff, there are a number of these installed around town, too.

Cycle Aid Station | Saris Parking


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

I need to start leaving for work earlier. I found out my tires were down to only 20psi. Explains why the 3 mile sprint was taking me over 20 minutes instead of less than 15. Aired them up back to 60psi and sprinted to the station in about 12min give or take for traffic lights.

My area of phoenix sucks for biking. Cant ride in the streets so im stuck on awful sidewalks.

Im also tempted to grab a cheap set of road tires to see how the weight drop effects my average speed. I can hold an 18mph average pretty easy, and my tire setup is heavy. Its a set of maxxis hookworms with sunlite heavy duty inner tubes. No joke these tubes are for 2.35in+ tires, have no slime, and weigh as much, if not more than standard slime tubes.

Depending on the traffic, and what time I get out, I think ill ride home. Gonna use my tracks to log my moving average and hope I can average above 15mph moving

Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

This morning's suckfest was the price I had to pay for yesterday's sunny and 68F ride home. 37F, rain, and a 30mph head wind this morning made for the least pleasant ride I've had in a long time. It's fun to talk about though, from my warm dry office! Now the rain has turned to snow, so we'll see what the ride home is like. At least I should have the wind at my back.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm back! It's been a few months since I've posted. I have been driving to work for the past couple months.

This past year was the most I've ever commuted. Before this year, it was just a novelty and I'd do it maybe once a week from April-October. Last year I commuted almost everyday from July-Dec and this year I hope to do almost everyday from next week on. I bike-commuted yesterday for the first time since mid December. I remember the last day, I had a bad ride, I was frustrated with all the cold weather gear I had to wear and said screw this, I need a break. Then I got a new car and have been content driving that, especially with the ridiculous amount of snow we've had this year. Roads that are narrowed due to snowbanks do not make me comfortable at rush hour.

Anyway, I'm excited to get back on the bike. Yesterday's ride was mostly uneventful. I'll get back on the bike next week. It's going to be interesting come June, my wife and I are expecting our first child in June so daycare dropoff and pickup could complicate things. We'll see how that works out....

PS - This was my 1000th post!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today. 50's yesterday to mid 20's right now with at least 6" of snow and it is still falling. This winter has been absolutely brutal in Michigan. All of the melt that we had in the last week is absolutely gone, replaced with just as much snow if not more than what melted. Hopefully this is it, and we can move on to spring, and some warmer and drier weather for commuting. Already looking forward to removing the fenders from my bike.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Had a 40 mile excursion yesterday, since I only had to briefly stop by work. Found a nice clearing in the holly on the peninsula, so I stopped and basked for a bit... when I left, my computer had recorded 78F! On the way home, I stopped and enjoyed a cup of coffee from one of the local roasters.

It felt good to get some real light for the first time in months... if it had been on a weekend, the beach lots would have been packed.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> Wet is one thing, chalked full of crud when the hose is frozen is another.


We have a number of livestock trailers coming and going on my routes and they leak. A good reason for fenders. With your comment I remembered MTBR's early 1900's photos of fenderless bikes that would have been ridden in streets with horses and their emissions. Now that was when cyclists had a certain 'air' about them. The 'skunk stripe' would smell the part, too. And all dirty bikes were crappy.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Butt puckeringly slick this AM. It rained much of the night here in Anchorage. Good times. Would have been a good morning for studs. Had a few instances where the bike almost slid out from under me a couple of times. Couple the slickness with the wind and, whew - great fun.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Should be 50F again today, and it hasn't even been dropping below freezing overnight. I normally expect the trails to be clear by mid-April, but this year we'll probably be several weeks early. And the streets are clear enough that it's almost time to put the bigapples back on the fixie. Still waiting for my warranty replacement Icespikerpro, but by the time it gets here I might just switch to summer tires.

5.10s are the worst possible shoes for the spring melt. They have so much padding (not the spitfire, but most other models) that they take forever to dry out. I was excited to ditch my chunky winter shoes this week, but now I've got permanently soaking freeriders.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I road today, probably shouldn't have. As soon as they kicked this stupid storm up to a blizzard warning, I figured I had to do it for the bragging rights. I now see why some of you guys like fat bikes and 29ers. Roads we're horrible, definitely not 700c weather. Think I need to find a 29er or fatbike for snowy days like today.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

IT WAS EFFING WONDERFULLLL!!!
Got stopped dead in this part (on the right there you'll see memorial flowers and pic of Jenna Morrison who was killed at this interesction in 2011) but other than that it was very tough riding and I had a great time. The snow down this hill was crazy high, felt hub-deep.

Longtail with a sidecar rig is VERY stable in the snow, it's almost cheating!
The studded tires did their part by sticking to the ground, and I did mine by keeping them spinning.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I just checked the weather channel and saw Rochester had blizzard conditions. My first year of winter commuting, I commuted in a blizzard. I'm very happy tonight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> 5.10s are the worst possible shoes for the spring melt. They have so much padding (not the spitfire, but most other models) that they take forever to dry out. I was excited to ditch my chunky winter shoes this week, but now I've got permanently soaking freeriders.


That is true. I have the impact highs and they are super soakers. I took a pair of goretex trailrunners instead on one bikepacking trip for that reason alone. Then I got the 5.10 Diddies as they are sorta water resistant, but I found the emphasis is on the sorta. They got soaked yesterday and only dried out because I used something like these show dryers that I keep at work Hotlink Portable Footwear Dryer - Save 29%


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats blizzardbiker kenthekona!


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2014)

KentheKona said:


> I road today, probably shouldn't have. As soon as they kicked this stupid storm up to a blizzard warning, I figured I had to do it for the bragging rights. I now see why some of you guys like fat bikes and 29ers. Roads we're horrible, definitely not 700c weather. Think I need to find a 29er or fatbike for snowy days like today.


Some of the thinner Cross tires might get you by if you have the clearance.


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2014)

KentheKona said:


> View attachment 876393
> 
> 
> I'm very happy tonight.


That's probably hypothermia setting in.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Made another beach ride again today. The in laws are leaving for TX at 0600, and I couldn't be happier. I know that sounds horrible, but a wrench has been thrown into the gears of an autistic 6 year old, which will take weeks to get back on track.

Check out some pics from the ride, and dinner at The Beach Cafe.




























Had dinner at Cortez Kitchen by the fish market last night. One of the oldest operating fish markets in the state, still serving the local community in both wholesale and retail.



















And someone happy to see Papa show up for some food.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

A nice brisk 44 degrees in a t shirt and shorts on my way in. It was glorious.

It seemed 44mph winds on my way home... Of course it was a head wind and not at my back. Took forever to get home but I burned about 200 more cals than I normally do for that distance/time.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

So I must have misplaced my light... If it's gone forever, is a headlamp a good option? If yes, then why not one like this:

Fenix HP25 Headlamp - Free Shipping at REI.com

It's not really made for biking but they claim it can project up to 153m away, which I thought was pretty good. But I don't really know.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

Pulled out mytracks to see how fast I can get to the train. 3.5miles took 15 minutes. 16 minutes overall. Would be a lot quicker if I didnt have to slow down for traffic lights and random people/cars. 

Highly contemplating a set of skinny road tires. I just need to figure out which ones will be decent for a 26in rim.
I think my tires and tubes make up almost half my bikes weight :screwy:
Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I posted my last thing in the wrong thread... hmm... sorry guys. That's just the danger of having multiple tabs open. 

Getting stoked for the ride to work today. 40's - 50's and sunny. Living the life.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The 8"-14" of snow we were supposed to get turned into a lot of rain topped with 1"-3" of light snow. The fatbike rolled through it on the trails like nuthin. Good thing 'cause the slushy lake froze my RD in the 3rd to lowest cog. I was running in 3 speed mode.

MTXB, did you get the snow? It looked like the snow/rain line moved further inland and with the amount of rain we got it would have been a LOT of snow.

My "real" Lake 303 winter boots came in so I'm taking credit for the end of winter weather here in the Northeast.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 77F on Tuesday. Dare I say it was hot? The trails were mostly dry, so I took a night ride in summer gear. It's amazing how much faster you can ride when it's warm.

I wimped out of yesterdays ride in because it was raining and the temp was set to drop 30 degrees by the time I got off work and rain was still in the forecast. Plus, I was running late. Turns out, we never got more rain but only flurries. Oh well. 

This morning was 24F. It felt colder than it should have. I think the recent warm temps have been turning me soft. The rest of the week should be really nice.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> It's not really made for biking but they claim it can project up to 153m away, which I thought was pretty good. But I don't really know.


About the output of halogen headlamps of a decade ago. Useable. On a helmet you can aim them at a driver about to pull out in front of you to get his/her attention. The flood will likely be too much for oncoming drivers. So you turn your head or reach up and shut it off. You can get a Magicshine with close to 3 X the power for about the same money. Texan for one has one and can comment on how it does in traffic.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Yeah, headlamps are pretty useless for [sole] illumination under 3-400 lumens, unless they have a very tight beam pattern... which would, incidentally, make it a poor choice for one light.

When it's dark, I have an 850 lumen wide angle light and a 700 lumen 'regular' angle, and I find that it is still a bit on the dark side commuting at 14-18 mph. Bear in mind that this is dealing with the intermittent car destroying my night vision. Off road I've never felt like I needed more.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another slick and scary commute this AM. At least in town, where the commute has generally been better than in the Valley for much of the winter. Had two really close calls yesterday on the way back to the bus stop, one where I hit a patch of ice I couldn't see under some water and the other on the MUP. I was going to take the long way to the bus, but as I got close to the inlet realized that I was essentially trying to ride on an ice rink and it didn't appear that it was going to get any better as this section of the trail sits in the sun all day long. Had a couple of close calls this AM as well, though only one that really shook me up - getting onto the MUP there is a transition from the sidewalk and up over a berm - and a nice section of glare ice leading to the berm - hit it just a touch off camber and barely kept my bike under me. I'm questioning the sanity of switching back to the clipless right now...

Also wondering why I haven't lobbied the wife harder to let me spring for studs. My butt cheeks hurt from clenching so tight the last two days!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

NDD said:


> So I must have misplaced my light... If it's gone forever, is a headlamp a good option? If yes, then why not one like this:
> 
> Fenix HP25 Headlamp - Free Shipping at REI.com
> 
> It's not really made for biking but they claim it can project up to 153m away, which I thought was pretty good. But I don't really know.


I've been using a similar light for two years now - a Princeton Tec Apex. Last year I used this coupled with a bar mounted 100 luemen flashlight jurry rigged to an old CatEye light mount. And it worked quite well for me. Set the Apex to its highest setting and set the flashlight to its highest and away we go. Never ran into a moose in the dark, so the combo must of worked.

This year I did spring for a Cygolite Expilion 650 for bar mount and the same Apex on the helmet. The only time I use the Cygolite on its highest setting is when I am riding singletrack in the woods at night when there is no moon. During the commute I use the medium setting (the default for the light) and find that that, coupled with the Apex set to flasher when on road or low when on trail provides plenty of light for me.

I think it's important to have two lights, though. One bar mount and one helmet mount.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I have a ~500 lumen Magicshine MJ808 (the really early one) with a Magicshine taillight. For commuting, I'm perfectly happy with the amount of light it throws. People give me MORE than enough space at night, and I find that it's good enough for daylight riding, too. Keep in mind, I also run it on the rapid flash setting (not the SOS strobe) while commuting, which seems to help with being noticed amid the light clutter/pollution in the city. That's the other big thing about my riding environment. I'm not riding dark rural roads, so my lights are less about seeing, and more about being seen. It's a little dim for night mtb riding, but useable. I run it on my bars because I kinda have to with the taillight running from the same battery.

A light on the helmet is good, too, for alerting drivers at driveways and intersections who aren't paying attention, but I don't currently have one for the front. I do have a red blinkie zip tied to the back of my helmet, though.



wschruba said:


> Yeah, headlamps are pretty useless for [sole] illumination under 3-400 lumens, unless they have a very tight beam pattern... which would, incidentally, make it a poor choice for one light.
> 
> When it's dark, I have an 850 lumen wide angle light and a 700 lumen 'regular' angle, and I find that it is still a bit on the dark side commuting at 14-18 mph. Bear in mind that this is dealing with the intermittent car destroying my night vision. Off road I've never felt like I needed more.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in, with the exception of my taillight dying. I did not like paying convenient store prices for AAA batteries, but it was convenient to just catch the nearest one. I pass like five on the way in. Ride home quick and about 70F.

On an unrelated note, I made the mistake of taking a buddy up on his offer to ride his Santa Cruz Superlite up in Blue Diamond last weekend. A couple hundred feet on this bike now has me questioning the sanity of my Monocog. Gonna make it point from henceforth not to ride other people's fancy bikes anymore.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

I guess all this commuting is starting to pay off. Rode over the weekend without panniers and felt like I was flying...it was wonderful.

Had one of those magical commutes yesterday. For just a minute or two, there were no cars, no stress, the sun was just peeking up lighting the hills on fire and it just me, the rubber and the road. Probably too cliche to call it magical, but it was. Don't get that too often so it was nice. Reminded me why I live commuting by bike.


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2014)

Cold this morning (27F) but over 60F after work. 27 miles and an LBS stop. Pretty good day.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

Looks like the ride home from work is 1 mile longer than I originally thought. I need to get back into cardio shape so I can ride to and from instead of just from work to home. My legs never feel too burnt out but my caedio isnt quite good enough. Need a camelback I think cause my throat dries way too fast. Still, not too bad for my first full ride home in months.









Also I discovered my tires and tubes come in to 8-10 POUNDS. New tires and tubes are a must
Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Still going strong here... web issues at work preventing me from playing along, but loving this slow conversion to spring. Here is the long awaited new trail bike, that I bought instead of a fatbike... so far no regrets. First pic when I first built it up, and second pic after the complete Wolfooth 1x10 conversion. So so fun.


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## dirt farmer (Mar 28, 2005)

I am a fair weather commuter, but due to a recent DUII, in which I'll lose my license for three months, I will need to commute daily. 

I got a good pre-suspension run in today/tonight. I am very pleased with the new Niterider Lumina 700 headlight. 

I'm looking forward to commuting daily, and hopefully will continue with it even after getting my drivers license back.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Another slick and scary commute this AM. At least in town, where the commute has generally been better than in the Valley for much of the winter. Had two really close calls yesterday on the way back to the bus stop, one where I hit a patch of ice I couldn't see under some water and the other on the MUP. I was going to take the long way to the bus, but as I got close to the inlet realized that I was essentially trying to ride on an ice rink and it didn't appear that it was going to get any better as this section of the trail sits in the sun all day long. Had a couple of close calls this AM as well, though only one that really shook me up - getting onto the MUP there is a transition from the sidewalk and up over a berm - and a nice section of glare ice leading to the berm - hit it just a touch off camber and barely kept my bike under me. I'm questioning the sanity of switching back to the clipless right now...
> 
> Also wondering why I haven't lobbied the wife harder to let me spring for studs. My butt cheeks hurt from clenching so tight the last two days!


Please get some studded tires before you get hurt! Tell your wife we said so.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> This year I did spring for a Cygolite Expilion 650 for bar mount and the same Apex on the helmet.


That was one of the replacement light I was looking at. It might happen. If I got something like this I'd look for a small helmet light.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

NateHawk said:


> I have a ~500 lumen Magicshine MJ808 (the really early one) with a Magicshine taillight. For commuting, I'm perfectly happy with the amount of light it throws.
> 
> That's the other big thing about my riding environment. I'm not riding dark rural roads, so my lights are less about seeing, and more about being seen. It's a little dim for night mtb riding, but useable. I run it on my bars because I kinda have to with the taillight running from the same battery.


Yeah, in the suburbs it's kinda spotty when it comes to the question of whether or not streets are going to be lit. I do have to ride by farm fields on the way home from work, and there's no light out there.

Also, it seems to me they've upped the intensity of that particular light to around 1000 lumens lately. I do like how it's mounted on the bars and has a battery pack and everything, but I don't like how no bike shops sell it around these parts. Hrmph.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Still going strong here... web issues at work preventing me from playing along, but loving this slow conversion to spring. Here is the long awaited new trail bike, that I bought instead of a fatbike... so far no regrets. First pic when I first built it up, and second pic after the complete Wolfooth 1x10 conversion. So so fun.


I'd choose a trail bike over a fatbike if I needed to make a choice. Looks nice.

Speaking of fatbikes, and ice, and lack of studs. It snowed most of the day yesterday. Luckily I was on the fatty because the trails were pretty soft. I got the the lake and it had been windswept in most places. I only dumped it once.

Got up late again so I'm in a truck today. Not to mention that the ride home was exhausting and I didn't want to push the pug to and from work again.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Still going strong here... web issues at work preventing me from playing along, but loving this slow conversion to spring. Here is the long awaited new trail bike, that I bought instead of a fatbike... so far no regrets. First pic when I first built it up, and second pic after the complete Wolfooth 1x10 conversion. So so fun.
> 
> View attachment 876748
> 
> ...


Nice bike! Is that a Heckler? It's hard for me not to lust after new bikes. I will be riding my 6-year old hardtail forever, it seems.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Roads were pretty bad today. High winds blowing snow across the roads all day yesterday that just got compacted by the cars, so now it's a very unstable, ridged layer of ice covered in slush. Supposed to be almost 50 later today, hopefully that'll take care of all that. In laws are up to "help" work on my house. I wonder how long I can stay at work before somebody gets suspicious.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Please get some studded tires before you get hurt! Tell your wife we said so.


it seems to take about 3 winters before the light shines


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

Not quite home yet cause shopping but I found out a few adjustments to go quicker. I flipped my headset so its a 10° drop instead of a 10° rise, and raised my seat a bit more. The screen shot is my average on a nearly 5 mile straight. Its got a very slight slope for the first couple miles before it levels off. I think its more humid today, yesterday my throat was burning every 10 minutes.
Before I get tires im gonna try ordering some straps. 20 bucks vs 100 for tires/tubes










I also noticed this app isnt very good at moving average vs overall. It doesnt update quick enough to see that ive stopped or slowed down right away

Sent from my SPH-L900 using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It's been so nice recently that I've stopped checking the temperatures or adjusting my gear, and this morning I could have really used a hat. It turns out it was -4C/26F which was just enough to give me and my shaved head a bit of a brainfreeze on the way in. 

Still stuck on the fixie, but wow do I ever like that bike. I tend to neglect it once the trails dry up, so it's nice to be getting so many rides on it (although it would be nicer if it had bigapples instead of nokians, but that will wait at least another week)


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

When I rode to work the other night I forgot the suspenders for my ghetto bibs (set of Dickies clip on suspenders + liner shorts) so on the ride home they kept slipping down, giving my one heck of a PITA. Might have to buy a real set of bibs if I do that again.
One of my co-workers has started riding into work, but he keeps his bike in our breakroom instead of locking up outside. Only bad thing about it is, it keeps making me want to drop the cash on a new road bike now, instead of waiting like I have been for more optimal financial situation. BTW he's riding a late 80's- early '90s steel Specialized Allez with the down tube shifters.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Another slick and scary commute this AM. At least in town, where the commute has generally been better than in the Valley for much of the winter. Had two really close calls yesterday on the way back to the bus stop, one where I hit a patch of ice I couldn't see under some water and the other on the MUP. I was going to take the long way to the bus, but as I got close to the inlet realized that I was essentially trying to ride on an ice rink and it didn't appear that it was going to get any better as this section of the trail sits in the sun all day long. Had a couple of close calls this AM as well, though only one that really shook me up - getting onto the MUP there is a transition from the sidewalk and up over a berm - and a nice section of glare ice leading to the berm - hit it just a touch off camber and barely kept my bike under me. I'm questioning the sanity of switching back to the clipless right now...
> 
> Also wondering why I haven't lobbied the wife harder to let me spring for studs. My butt cheeks hurt from clenching so tight the last two days!


My rationale for studded tires: the pair of tires is less than my ER copay.


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

Looking forward to a beautiful spring afternoon commute. Around 70F for the ride in and a low of 30F for the ride home. Perfect! I might ride the jumpy bike in too, stop at the skate park or dirt jumps for a couple hours before street riding to work. Sometimes a couple doubles and some 180s and 360s are what a commute needs.


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2014)

From this mornings musings


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

From 'How was Your Commute?" musings:


My mirror shows me another rider in sight
I am going to be passed on my route today
I do not care that on this nice day he rides
I am so going to be passed on my route today 
I ride fast (for me), my legs race (sort of), my heart burns
I am being passed on my route today
The light source nears, he goes right
I will not be passed on my route today
The heartache remains. I take a Nitro 
I will not Pass-on on my route today
Just another ride outpacing the OR


My bike's replacement cost is less than an EMS ride and a head scan, and it has a lot of Campy bits!


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

The ride home definitely didn't suck.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Nice bike! Is that a Heckler? It's hard for me not to lust after new bikes. I will be riding my 6-year old hardtail forever, it seems.


It's the new Bantam. Basically a 5" travel Heckler.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> It's the new Bantam. Basically a 5" travel Heckler.


Me likely! Seems like I am the opposite of most with two fs bikes. I really would like to build a hardtail for xc though.....fs is too much for xc riding IMO.


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2014)

Wierd ride yesterday. First a guy tries to cut me off in the intersection then wants to chew me out for daring to cross on a pedistrian walk signal. Part of that was my fault for existing. Next I'm riding a rail-to-trail and there is a Dodge Durango (and most of a wooden fence) parked in the trail. Driver apparently mistook "R" for "D" or gas for brake. I'm just glad no one was injured because the fence had been 24" from the trail and there would have been no time to react.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't ridden since Wednesday evening. Thursday and Friday were just too much. I worked 14 hours on thurs, so when it came time to heading home, I caved in and called the wife. Friday I woke up late and had to have the fam drop me off. I'm about to take a 30 mile ride to a friends house to try and get back into the groove. Next Saturday is the Tour de Cure. I've switched my registration for the century ride instead of the 62 mile trek, so I've been scrambling to get all of the fit dialed in, especially trying to eliminate hand numbness. I know that it has much more to do with core strength than other causes. Maybe I should get one of those le-n-lo bars that was posted in the dumbest components thread.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Had a fun ride home today, racing the sun. Looped out of work on my cross check to a local trail system frequented by mountain bikers and stomped my way up the hill. 42x18 is good for a lot around here, but climbing a 40% grade on a fire road is not one of them! Got a few weird looks, but the descents down the other way (and over the bridge back on the road) were well worth it... About 25mph down the fire road/dual track, and I hit 36 going down the bridge!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Always something new. Had an Escape pass me about as close to a 90 degree corner as I would like, and I saw a Park Avenue at well over the speed limit (30) closing the gap and unless it slowed, it would come abreast with me in the corner. All these years vehicles backed off and let me round that corner then pass after. So for the first time I signaled left to take the lane in behind the Escape. At first the Buick did not back off. I suspect he was talking to his passengers and not paying attention. Then saw that he was getting far too close to a cyclist he could not help but see. No horn though. So I guess he "got" my need to take the lane. The sand on the outside of that corner left from snow treatment would have taken me down.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I rode my bike thursday after the snow storm. Going into work was great, coming back not so much. I took the Kona Kahuna because of the snow. Going in was fun, the roads were hard packed snow. Enough traction to ride, but slippery enough to have fun when I wanted to. The ride back was horrible, the snow started to melt and the slush and ruts from the cars made it a slow exhausting ride home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)




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## Guest (Mar 17, 2014)

Sucky ride yesterday as I found myself in falling temps and 40 mph sustained winds. Suck factor magnified by grass fires making the ride smoky. Ten miles took more than an hour.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Just checked the weather for the morning. Supposed to be some hellacious downpours with sustained winds of about 25 mph out of the north (the direction I head for 80% of my commute), with gusts up to 40. I've got the rain jacket and grocery bags set out.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hero Dirt and the new bike got me a top 10 on the local "crown jewel" Strava segment... this was NOT on the commute :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice, CB, but I am a little dizzy now. 

Forster, glad you made it through the high winds and smoke, that sounds like a terrible combination.

I like that pic, Newf.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I like that pic, Newf.


The other side of the bridge says "Eat Your Veggies" so I'm really not sure what to make of it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today, but tomorrow I will be back on the bike. Weather was too cold this weekend to ride, for me at least. Chances of mixed snow and rain, and very cold temps just made it miserable, so I declined. Still dealing with the melt, and the temps will be back in the melt range this week. I cannot wait for warmer weather, dry roads and paths, and wearing shorts and a t-shirt to ride to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Hero Dirt and the new bike got me a top 10 on the local "crown jewel" Strava segment... this was NOT on the commute :lol:


That trail looks like a blast. I love trails with banked corners. So where's all your snow?

Winter won't release its icy grip here in the NE. It was about 3F here this morning and I got to try my new boots. I'll say that my feet were the warmest they've ever been in cycling shoes but my big toes were still chilly. Not painful but chilly.

The morning commute's have had some great trail conditions but the afternoon sun softens them up too much. I'm ready to ride a road bike again and have average speeds above 10mph. Just sayin.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

m4xwellmurd3r said:


> Not quite home yet cause shopping but I found out a few adjustments to go quicker. I flipped my headset so its a 10° drop instead of a 10° rise, and raised my seat a bit more. The screen shot is my average on a nearly 5 mile straight. Its got a very slight slope for the first couple miles before it levels off. I think its more humid today, yesterday my throat was burning every 10 minutes.
> Before I get tires im gonna try ordering some straps. 20 bucks vs 100 for tires/tubes
> 
> 
> ...


What app is that?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> My rationale for studded tires: the pair of tires is less than my ER copay.


Agreed. After going down hard on Thursday, almost missing the bus, and dealing with bruises and a stiff neck all weekend, I think that studs might be on the docket for next winter if not yet this spring.

Good ride in this AM. Fresh snow all around. A foot and more in Anchorage and a few inches up in the Valley. Windy at my house, but warm-ish. Calm in town. The MUP is in surprisingly good shape given the snow. Bumping from foot traffic, but well packed overall. The two access trails are still really soft and I did have a small section of hike a bike. I love snow.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

My commute in this morning was great. Fast. My best time yet (10 minutes faster than the first time I rode in a couple weeks ago!) 

It was rather uneventful and I spent a lot of time thinking. I love my bike, but I really need a different one, better for commuting. Something along the lines of a Surly Long Haul Trucker, at about 25% of the cost. (I can dream right!?)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> It's the new Bantam. Basically a 5" travel Heckler.


Crud, I whittled it down to those two models but chose the wrong one. If the bike doesn't work for you, feel free to send it my way. I'll pay shipping.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> That trail looks like a blast. I love trails with banked corners. So where's all your snow?


It is a very fun trail. Going up is a chore, but the good stuff is all above this one. Gotta earn your turns. And it does not snow here anymore.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another cold morning, -7F, but I was better prepared (had my facemask) than yesterday when I took it a little too cavalierly. Someone at work said that in 2012 on this date it reached 78 degrees! I got a shout out in the parking lot, “You’re tough as nails”.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I'm new to commuting, and really only bike part of the way. I leave my car in a parking lot at a state park and ride the last 3.5 miles in to downtown on my road bike. I feel so much better on the mornings that I ride in.

I was a little unprepared for the cold this morning. It was about 20F which in general was not an issue, but I wore my regular full finger MTB gloves this morning and my finger tips were completely numb by the time I got to work. They were still tingling until about 30 minutes ago. Live and learn. Wear heavier gloves.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. No wind. Good temps. Feeling good overall. Trails are still a bit soft and bumpy, but not horrid.

This weekend looks to be a fun one. My company has rented ten fat bikes and we're going to have a little get together to give folks a chance to test them out, ride some great trails here in town and generally have a good time. Pretty cool.

Check out The Sprocket Podcast | simplifying the good life. I was interviewed last night about cycling in Alaska. Pretty cool. Should be posted by the end of the day today. Brock and Aaron are some pretty cool guys. It was a joy talking with them about commuting, transit, and beards.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome Kleebs. You'll be parking your car further away in no time.

MTBX you made me consult my for last year. I had my first road bike ride on March 6th but I was still crossing the lake until April 2. This year I haven't considered the road bike yet and I don't think it has been above freezing more than a handful of days since January, today included.

The trails are holding nicely. The lake threw me onto it last night with some "Magic ice". 294 studs spread over a 29" wheel aren't as effective as they are over a 26" one. I took the bike with the ice spikers today. No more messing around.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Weather is great today, but I had to drive in. I have a dentist appointment right after work. I've taken my bike to the dentist before, but it's kind of a pain, especially since I'd get out of my appointment right at rush hour.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this AM. No wind. Good temps. Feeling good overall. Trails are still a bit soft and bumpy, but not horrid.
> 
> This weekend looks to be a fun one. My company has rented ten fat bikes and we're going to have a little get together to give folks a chance to test them out, ride some great trails here in town and generally have a good time. Pretty cool.


That's some fun team building right there!!! Can't wait to hear all about this. My commute sucked!!! 9 miles of SOFT, Bumpy, mup trails meant it was slooooow going. At least its all rideable.

A few pics that haven't made it online yet:

Cool Moon shot after 18+ inches of snow on Saturday:









Swamp donkeys eating their breakfest along Campbell Creek Trail:









Ridge overlooking Denali, etc.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this AM. No wind. Good temps. Feeling good overall. Trails are still a bit soft and bumpy, but not horrid.
> 
> This weekend looks to be a fun one. My company has rented ten fat bikes and we're going to have a little get together to give folks a chance to test them out, ride some great trails here in town and generally have a good time. Pretty cool.
> 
> Check out The Sprocket Podcast | simplifying the good life. I was interviewed last night about cycling in Alaska. Pretty cool. Should be posted by the end of the day today. Brock and Aaron are some pretty cool guys. It was a joy talking with them about commuting, transit, and beards.


I just listened to the whole interview, nice!


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> I'm new to commuting, and really only bike part of the way. I leave my car in a parking lot at a state park and ride the last 3.5 miles in to downtown on my road bike. I feel so much better on the mornings that I ride in.
> 
> I was a little unprepared for the cold this morning. It was about 20F which in general was not an issue, but I wore my regular full finger MTB gloves this morning and my finger tips were completely numb by the time I got to work. They were still tingling until about 30 minutes ago. Live and learn. Wear heavier gloves.


Kleebs, getting the clothing thing right will happen for you in no time. I generally carry lighter layers (if I'm not double layering with them) in my backpack for the ride home. When it's 20F in the morning and 60 in the afternoon, you'll need to peel off a couple of items. Somethings are indispensible (good medium and heavy gloves, balaclava(s), shoe covers or winter shoes, etc). Riding in from a mid-point is a really under-utilized tactic. I'm 17.5 miles from work. That distance isn't happening in crappy weather, when I'm in a rush, early in the season.... Riding to the edge of town and sneaking in a quick 10 miles helps me build miles, keep in shape during the winter and save money (verses driving). At first it seems overwhelming, but over time you'll get all the pieces you need and since you're saving at least $.50/mile (probably closer to a buck) you're paying off the extra gear rapidly. I road 3K miles last year so if you figure that at $.50 and add the $50/month I'm not spending at a gym that's a lot of tires/clothes/etc. Keep it going and you'll be surprised how quickly you advance to much longer rides. My long loop to/from work is 40 miles and I can usually knock that out on a mtb in 3 hours and a few minutes.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I just listened to the whole interview, nice!


Hopefully I didn't sound too dorky... I love that podcast. They are focused a lot on just ways of making life more simple, but with a definite bike-centric view. And very funny.

Jordy,

I'll report on all the fun next week. At a minimum, I have a feeling that there will end up being one or two converts out of the deal.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

Had a bus driver honk at me while crossing over the highway (where I take the lane because the bike lane cuts out for a block) which really pisses me off. I had some time to kill so I followed him the block over to the depot so I could get his info and report him. Turns out he also had some time to kill and we wound up having a half hour conversation. He explained that he was just trying to let me know he was gonna get fairly close to me in an attempt to prevent someone from cutting in front of him and taking me out. I explained that I appreciated his efforts but couldn't understand his intentions via a honk. We both agreed that we were just doing out best and parted on good terms. He invited me to come to him anytime I had an issue with his driving and gave me his info.

It's a shame that more drivers aren't like him because as far as I can tell the lot of em are nuts.

Also, it was about 40 when I left the house and almost 80 on the way back. I love Dickies on days like these.


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> I'm new to commuting, and really only bike part of the way. I leave my car in a parking lot at a state park and ride the last 3.5 miles in to downtown on my road bike. I feel so much better on the mornings that I ride in.
> 
> I was a little unprepared for the cold this morning. It was about 20F which in general was not an issue, but I wore my regular full finger MTB gloves this morning and my finger tips were completely numb by the time I got to work. They were still tingling until about 30 minutes ago. Live and learn. Wear heavier gloves.


 I forgot to mention that I use National Weather Service and use the local forecast to get hour by hour temps, winds and precip conditions. It's been pretty accurate so far.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Forster said:


> I forgot to mention that I use National Weather Service and use the local forecast to get hour by hour temps, winds and precip conditions. It's been pretty accurate so far.


Their point forecast for my area is constantly #1 on my frequently visited sites.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was a bit of a chilly ride in this morning. Temp was 33 and a nice stiff 20mph head wind. Had a small coating of snow but the MUP was mostly clear. High of about 50 this afternoon for my ride home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

*Shoulda Just Commuted...*

I rode in the car with my brother up to the university so I could get a trail ride in on the singletrack they have out there, because I was really itching to. Bad idea, it's just a little too warm and a little too cloudy, so the trails are too muddy to ride (erosion is a really big deal in Illinois). I don't even know why I wanted to drive to campus because on Monday it was 19F when I left and I rode up the the campus and then hit the trail. Today was 45F.

What the hell is wrong with me?


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

Beautiful morning in Southern Arizona today. In the low to mid 40s... Had to put on a long sleeve t shirt!. 

I installed a rear rack on my bike so I could haul my lunch box instead of smashing it all in my backpack in s sack. Amazing how much that little extra drag and weight affected my ride. I had to work for my speed this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today. A bit chillier than in the past few days at 17F. Not bad, but my toes were a touch chilly. Had to switch back to the egg beaters last night as my platforms (~5 months old) are toast. The dust cover for one of the bearings is gone, and so is all of the grease and at least one of the balls themselves. Grind-clunk- not a fun sound to hear while riding. I figure I'll get them replaced on Sunday while I'm in town - REI purchase, so easy enough to do. Just a bummer that I didn't even get a full season out of them.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

For once I had a tailwind on my way in. We were having 25mph gusts, so it felt like I was cruising. The wind hit at just the right angle that I could benefit from it the whole way in. It was rainy out, but I didn't get wet. All in all, a pretty lucky commute.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Solid cross/head wind for part of the ride today, but the cross part pushed me as soon as I turned to go west (my route is roughly an L shape, south then west). Otherwise uneventful lately. Probably going to buy a cheap minivan from a friend's father in law, to have a second car available.

Since I sold my car and have been riding much more (especially since somebody crashed into my wife's car last week) I've become more and more dissatisfied with my seat. I got measured at a local store (130ish mm) but the cheapest seat they had was $120, which is... a lot. Any good options out there? I guess I need a lot of cut out in the center to prevent the soft tissue pressure I've been feeling. I also don't wear padded shorts/pants in the winter (already own unpadded tights from running, hard to justify more) so I guess the issues will be exacerbated by that too.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Sanath, lots of folks i know like the Terry Fly saddle, might be an option?
Women's Bicycle Saddle | Terry Fly Cromoly Saddle | Terry Bicycles

I've had good success with the WTB SpeedV ProGel using it without any extra padding.
Speed V | WTB


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Pics from the warm sunny commute home. Sure love all the MUP and singletrack trails that allow me to bike safety to and from work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

JordyB said:


> Sanath, lots of folks i know like the Terry Fly saddle, might be an option?
> Women's Bicycle Saddle | Terry Fly Cromoly Saddle | Terry Bicycles
> 
> I've had good success with the WTB SpeedV ProGel using it without any extra padding.
> Speed V | WTB


I have the Rocket V on one bike and Pure V saddles on 3 bikes. Best I've found for cheap and they are in the $30 range on Nashbar.

I wear padded Lycra shorts over or under unpadded tights in the winter. The extra layer is appreciated the the "sensitive" areas.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

The ride home yesterday was brutal. Had a stiff head wind the entire ride home and it was colder than I thought. The good news is spring is here!!!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a tailwind both ways yesterday. First time I remember that happening in a while. Everyone around here is complaining that colder weather and maybe snow is in our 10-day forecast. This winter has been colder than normal, but our weather is erratic like this just about every year, and every people are surprised by it and complain that spring isn't coming fast enough. :smallviolin:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Still no commuting for me. Mixed day of flurries and rain, and I won't be riding in that. The warm up has been slow, but it is coming. As soon as this rain/snow mix breaks, I will be back on the bike. Paths should be fully melted now with the rain that we have had, just will need to watch out for ice in places.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Caught the opportunity and hopped in the car with the wife this morning. My tights were still wet from last night's ride, and high 30s is too cold to ride without my face mask (asthma), which I can't seem to find.

_But_ last night's ride in the rain was fantastic. Slow, and my goggles were foggy as all get out, but I love riding in the rain. Wore my rain jacket to keep the ~40 degree rain off of my body, got sweaty in the jacket, as always. Feet stayed surprisingly dry with just toe covers.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Today was a roller coaster of emotions:

1) Woke up 25 minutes late
2) Managed to get out of the house on time anyway
3) It's now light enough that I didn't need a headlight to see the road so I just had to bring my cordless light to have flashing
4) Forgot my keys so I couldn't lock up my bike
5) One of my employees let me put my bike in the back of his Jeep


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Got buzzed by a flatbed semi today while going over a bridge where the two eastbound lanes are split by a divider for a short period. He thought he could squeeze in front of me before the divider, even though there was no one in the left lane and he could have just taken that. I guess that's just part of commuting unfortunately. 

Once I got to work, I was approached by a stranger who apparently works in my building and is part of a group of cyclists who regularly commute together in the summer...so overall today was not a bad commute. It would be nice to have some company on occasion.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

My ride into work was great with no wind and thinks in the mid 30's

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk


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## WyldStallyn (Jun 5, 2013)

Cleaned my chain laster night. All I heard was the hum of my tires on the road this morning aside from a handful of cars. I love that sound. 

As for the traffic buzzing us cyclists, it happens all too often. It should absolutely not be a part of commuting. All I am asking for is a couple extra inches. It's pretty annoying when there is an empty lane on the left, and the driver does not choose that option. Do these buzzers not realize the few seconds they might lose by driving safely around a biker could be made up by pressing the gas pedal down a bit more further up the road? 

Rant over. The boss is on vacation, and I will be going to a brewery for lunch today. Life is good.


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## Guest (Mar 21, 2014)

One of "these days"


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

First day of Spring in Alaska? Maybe not, but the riding it spectacular!!!


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

^^^^^ Beautiful looking commute!!!!! :thumbsup:


*****


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks scar!!!

This swamp donkey was standing on the trail for a good 10 minutes before deciding to wonder off into the woods. "Anchorage's Big Wild Life" right? ;p


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Massive moosey! 

Thursday's commute. I paused for the pic when I caught a red light. Took too long and missed the green!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Still no commuting for me. Weather just will no cooperate and riding in the cold and rain/snow mix won't work for me. Looks like maybe Wednesday I can get one in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

JordyB said:


> This swamp donkey was standing on the trail for a good 10 minutes before deciding to wonder off into the woods. "Anchorage's Big Wild Life" right? ;p


Oh yeah, well you aren't the only one with wildlife! Pretty exciting stuff. (Damn YouTube put the title on it, the mystery is gone )


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. A bit chilly for some reason. My legs are a bit dead from a big weekend of riding. Yesterday was amazing with the company I work for renting ten fat bikes, buying burger and other grillables, and making a day of hanging out together riding and enjoying the sun. We put tracks all over Far North Bicentennial park and I got to turn a lot of people onto a number of trails they'd not be aware of before. Good times.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Rain beat my helmet. My shirt stuck to my skin. Water spun while my tires hummed and sloshed. And it was completely euphoric.


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## prerunner06 (Jan 27, 2008)

first commute in probably 8-9 months..body is sore...enjoyed the ride the whole time huffing up some small canal up hills on my SS. I have missed riding nice to have another bike...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another cold one (-3F) this morning, still no lamb in sight as we approach the end of March. Got buzzed too close by a pickup sporting a “Hang Up and Drive” bumper sticker. Had someone pass me after I took the narrow lane as I approached a small traffic island – they had to dive back in front of me in order to avoid the island and it’s sign, but I think they shaved .001 seconds off their commute. Otherwise the ride was good, I was very glad I opted to air up the studded tires a bit more rather than switch to the slicks, as there was lots of ice on the road from the snowbanks, I guess it must have sneaked up above freezing one day.

Cute bunny Bedwards, I have not seen many this winter, but I did have a cute little ermine come right up to the sliding glass door last weekend.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Nice bunny! No gopro here or else i'd post those too. ;p

Glad the company team building went great block!

Fast 50min 9.1 mile commute here, broke out the studs, deff needed this AM. Forgot what it was like commuting in single digits. Clear and sunny for at least another week it seems!


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Hurt my back, apparently, after 2 mountain rides in a row (after none for 6 or so months). Didn't start hurting until about halfway through work, but I made it home with a minimum of hurting. Getting up the stairs, on the other hand...

Switched the wheel to fixed, and my knee pains subsided for the entire ride back. It was nice getting some support back from the pedals.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I hope Rodar and his fam are OK, haven't seen him here lately


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode before it snows (again, maybe). A bit faster. Nose seemed to run faster than I rode, though.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

\o/ 

First commute in 4 weeks, and first ride of any kind since I broke my wrist. Painful(ish), but so so nice to be back on the trails!


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

Pulled up to a red light this morning and look over to see some guy blow it going the other way, I holler "red light means stop" at his and he ignores me and keeps going. Then I hear some raspy yelling coming from the sidewalk. Apparently the hobo that was walking by didn't like my approach and decided to try to ridicule me for it;
"You feel good about yourself?"
"Yep."
"That's a nice helmet." (Attempting sarcasm)
"Thank you."
Pause.
"Aren't you worried about falling down and hurting your head?"
"No, because I have this nice helmet."
"Well that's...really...good."
He turns and starts walking away, light turns green and I start to go.
"Aren't you sacred?"
"I wouldn't be out here if I was."

He seemed annoyed. I almost stopped to tell he that, with all due respect, he didn't look like the type of guy I should be taking life advice from. 

I then got to work and found out they screwed up and had two guys there to do the same job, so I snagged a new tire, rode home, installed it, and went for a mtb ride.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Just found out today that I'm transferred to the yard closest to my house. Just a tad over four miles each way. . .so I'll never have an excuse not to commute even in the summer. Previous commute was 15 miles each way, with me mostly cutting this to 7 miles each way by driving eight miles each way and parking at my mother-in-laws.

Been off the bike about three weeks with broken ribs, but should be ready to go by Monday. 99.9% of the time I mountain bike alone. The time I do go out with a buddy, I crack a few ribs when the bike comes to a sudden stop and the handlebar catches my in-motion body by the rib cage. This guy's a pretty strong rider and insisted I stay in front the whole morning. So I spent three hours overriding (to not slow him down too much more than I already was), got exhausted and somewhat careless, and then comes the careless mistake. . .think I might just go back to my solo rides.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I hope the wrist (marc2211), and ribs (vagascruiser), and back (wschruba) heal up!

A couple entertaining interactions recently...

I stopped for a ped in the crosswalk; 2 cars blew by and the ped said "funny how you were the only one to stop", and smiled.

At a light a guy in the next lane rolled down his window and asked how cold I had ridden in... "-20F, but it wasn't that fun". He then rambled about how prepared I was and how unprepared he was for the elements, and he was only going from the car to the store...but the weird thing was he was wearing this big furry Russian type hat while he was driving, which I thought was more than adequate for the conditions.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> At a light a guy in the next lane rolled down his window and asked how cold I had ridden in... "-20F, but it wasn't that fun". He then rambled about how prepared I was and how unprepared he was for the elements, and he was only going from the car to the store...but the weird thing was he was wearing this big furry Russian type hat while he was driving, which I thought was more than adequate for the conditions.


 That's pretty funny. My personal favorite biking conversation was riding past the outside smoke break area at my work last winter when a guy I know asked me (in 15F ambient -5F wind chill weather) what was my cold weather limit. I said "these days I limit myself to 10F or warmer and no lower than a -10 wind chill." Remember that we're outside and this guy (at 7:30 am) is already on a smoke break in the same weather. So he says "That's just f$%^ing stupid, you're going to kill yourself riding in this weather." And I tell him "There is a chance that I could be injured or killed riding to work in any weather but it's lower than the chance you'll die from smoking related illnesses." Funny how a reality check will shut-up some folks.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Still hanging in here, very spring-like. Been wearing gloves in favor of mittens, no long johns, no watch cap over my light clava, shoes instead of boots. Leaving Sat for two weeks in Mexico and will probably start commuting in shorts upon return. Haven`t been very active here cause I feel a bit out of place on a discusion forum devoted to cycling when I`ve hardly done any cycling in so long. I guess I`ll revert to forum junkie if I ever get myself back into the swing of riding more than 15 minutes at a pop again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Good to hear from you! Safe travels, and it sounds like great riding weather when you get back. Understandable if it doesn't feel right to be on here, but you always have good experience to share and general amassador-yness as well!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

amassador-yness


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to hear from you Rodar. Why the lack of riding? Just being nosy here but I know you usually love to ride as much as the rest of us.

Sorry to hear about the ribs Vegas. Cracked ribs hurt. Hopefully you didn't have a cold at the same time. Sneezing or coughing with a cracked rib is not good.

And these are just the things other than the clothes on my torso. It looks like we are finally heading into a warming stretch, maybe.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

rodar - always welcome here, riding or not. I haven't been on the bike in a few weeks now I think. I still whore it up here like I ride every day though lol. Will be back on the bike by the weekend with warmer temps in the forecast hopefully!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Okay, the nearly 40 degree swings in temps are really starting to annoy me! Yesterday morning: 19 at my house in the AM. 7 in town. 42 in town in the PM and 46 in the valley in the PM. This morning - 26 at my house and 8 in town. It's impossible to dress appropriately. Dress for the town segment of the ride and be a sweaty mess on the bus ride. Dress for the valley segment and deal with being too cold in town. Then deal with needing shorts in the afternoon. 

I know. Terrible problems to have. 

Other than that, the riding has been good overall. A bit icy in spots from the freeze/thaw cycle, but the trails are firm and fast for the most part all day long. In the valley we have a dearth of snow, which is a bummer, but... we deal.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well if Rodar is posting, I'm gonna post. :lol: 

My numbers are surprisingly up a bit... about to hit the 1k mark for 2014, which puts me on pace for a 4k year, which I don't think I've ever done. Going to hit a couple local races in the summer, pending any broken ribs or back or wrist problems...

I came to an intersection the other day where the road I was on T's into a two lane highway... 55mph speed limit. I was shooting straight across onto another side road. So I come to a stop and a lady on the highway gets all over the brakes and comes to a stop in the middle of the highway to let me go. So of course, I look up the highway in the other direction and pretend for a minute that I don't notice. She doesn't take the hint, so eventually I have to look back. When I look at her she's waving frantically for me to dart out across the road...there's cars coming up behind her and a car approaching from the other direction at this point as well...so she was essentially trying to kill me I think. She had her window down so I yelled "You have the right of way!" at her and she stared at me like I just lectured her on thermodynamics. So I pointed at my stop sign and said "I have a stop sign! You don't." It was a real scene with people backing up behind her, and somehow it was all my fault. Everyone that went by after she finally went glared at me like I was an idiot for holding up traffic.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Or a broken collar bone.

This is classic! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: I literally did a LOL when I read it.


CommuterBoy said:


> She had her window down so I yelled "You have the right of way!" at her and she stared at me like I just lectured her on thermodynamics. So I pointed at my stop sign and said "I have a stop sign! You don't."


I had a slightly similar thing happen. I was riding off the lake onto a single lane camp road. A road that often hasn't even had a single tire track on it before I get there on days with fresh snow. This time I get to the road and a lady stops apparently to let me out in front of her so I can slow her down for the next 1/2 mile uphill. The other option would be to let me out in the road to go the other way which had her car in the way.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Yes I get either the refusal to take the right of way (scared of or for the cyclist?) or the rolling 'stop' then slam on the brakes when they see I am almost to them in the intersection, clearly with the right of way, and they had only just looked my way. I must say the look on their faces seeing the lights and the vest, is priceless. I just hope i never get one that I can't avoid.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Daily freeze-thaw cycles, except the only thing that is freezing and thawing is the wet ground. There's a few hundred meters of that along my commute.

Confusion with right of way almost every day. Some drivers have got so careful that they are letting me and other cyclists cross even in cases where we have the clear legal obligation to yield. I slow down, they slow down, we come to a stop. Who makes the first move, or do we move at the same time?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Cool morning. Down in the 40's. Almost killed by a series of 5 Waste Management trucks again. Obviously my email to the local supervisor has fallen on deaf ears, as they clearly violated Florida's 3 ft law, and couldn't be bothered to change lanes. I'll be penning something tonight, sending it to every email I can find at corporate, and posting on social media. Seems that the only way to get things done these days is to make it public.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Cool morning. Down in the 40's. Almost killed by a series of 5 Waste Management trucks again. Obviously my email to the local supervisor has fallen on deaf ears, as they clearly violated Florida's 3 ft law, and couldn't be bothered to change lanes. I'll be penning something tonight, sending it to every email I can find at corporate, and posting on social media. Seems that the only way to get things done these days is to make it public.


 I think a 30" spring loaded probe with a giant crayon sticking off the handlebar would be a good disincentive until it quits working then I vote for nails. Not too excited about the ride home tonight, winds out of the south at 40 mph gusting to 48 mph are pretty close to my "screw it" limit. Gotta love the great plains.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> I came to an intersection the other day where the road I was on T's into a two lane highway... 55mph speed limit. I was shooting straight across onto another side road. So I come to a stop and a lady on the highway gets all over the brakes and comes to a stop in the middle of the highway to let me go. So of course, I look up the highway in the other direction and pretend for a minute that I don't notice. She doesn't take the hint, so eventually I have to look back. When I look at her she's waving frantically for me to dart out across the road...there's cars coming up behind her and a car approaching from the other direction at this point as well...so she was essentially trying to kill me I think. She had her window down so I yelled "You have the right of way!" at her and she stared at me like I just lectured her on thermodynamics. So I pointed at my stop sign and said "I have a stop sign! You don't." It was a real scene with people backing up behind her, and somehow it was all my fault. Everyone that went by after she finally went glared at me like I was an idiot for holding up traffic.


Yeah, that kind of thing is annoying. I turn left at a stop light on my way home, and someone is always stopping to make a right turn on green. It drives me nuts, especially when I'm already in the intersection looking to turn in after them and they just sit there. Sometimes I go, sometimes I don't.


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## Guest (Mar 26, 2014)

Wind
Oh wind, you worthless piece of crap blowing me around, slowing me down.
You’re not the breeze that lifted my kite as a child; you’re a 45 mile an hour psycho killer on a rampage.
I didn’t need to feel like I was riding 50 miles an hour while standing still, no thank you for that.
The dust grey sky was dull but the gravel pelting my face and watering eyes were worse.
Seriously, compared to other weather, you’re the smelly drunk at the bar.
Take your annoying, soul sucking, ride ruining, relentless barrage somewhere else.
Like Moscow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^An excellent primer on the wind and the wheel.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks for well-wishes on quick rib recovery. Intend on peddling to work Monday, despite this being a week earlier than medical advice.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> She had her window down so I yelled "You have the right of way!" at her and she stared at me like I just lectured her on thermodynamics. So I pointed at my stop sign and said "I have a stop sign! You don't." It was a real scene with people backing up behind her, and somehow it was all my fault. Everyone that went by after she finally went glared at me like I was an idiot for holding up traffic.


That's funny. I'm usually receptive to fellow cyclists when I have to drive, but drivers and cyclists are both dumb in Illinois, I guess. I was driving and stopped at a 4-way stop. Cyclists blows through it without stopping when I have right of way. I didn't care for myself, I wasn't in a hurry, but I wanted to say "you're doing it wrong!".

If you're ever in St. Louis, you'll see a lot of that there, too. People riding at night going the wrong way with no lights and no helmet. Other people driving that have no idea how stop signs or speed limits or right of way works. It's kind of a hopeless situation. Man... you're just doing it wrong... and it makes us all look like a bunch of jackwagons. Yeah. Whatever.

I haven't been able to ride very much this week. Been getting stuff done to the car. I can get cranky when I don't cycle. Hrmph. Tomorrow's thunder storms, might bike anyway, or else do my usual half-bike/half-drive. Something is better than nothing.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Just read that. Tired. 'parently fergot how to grammer.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

One more thing, I forgot about. 

What would you all do about this situation? At the university, someone who owns a Surly Long Haul Trucker has parked it on a bike rack more than a month ago and left it. The bike's sitting there, getting no maintenance, the drive train is getting rusty, and the tires are going flat. It's not even under anything, it's completely exposed. 

I left a note for the poor sap who doesn't know what that bike's worth. I'm going to try to buy it from him/her. Been a few days, no call. They obviously don't use or appreciate it. 

I just hope they get back to me. Hell, I'm pretty sure the university just throws abandoned bikes away at the end of spring. That's an awful thought.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a little run-in with a pick-up truck driver yesterday. He was revving up his engine behind me while I was stopping at a stop sign. As I made my turn, I swatted my hand at him, like I would a gnat. He got flustered and tried to yell something out the window, but I couldn't hear him. I just kept swatting and saying, "Go away, go away."


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

There is this old lady I always see walking her dogs down the MUP. They are on leashes, but she doesn't hold them. I guess they can get around the leash law by just putting it on the dog. Doesn't matter if no one is on the other end. 

This morning another rider passed me as I was just taking it easy watching the dry river bed the path follows.

Around the next corner, there is dog lady and the big one is going right into the path of the other rider. He was already slowing down but the dog kept getting in his way causing him to have to almost stop. He ran over the leash and I heard the lady yell something. Couldn't tell what but that just irks me. One of these days I'm going to have some not so nice words with her.

Otherwise beautiful morning for my ride in. The ride home doesn't look so good with wind forecasted but that just means more cals burned fighting it.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

NDD said:


> One more thing, I forgot about.
> 
> What would you all do about this situation? At the university, someone who owns a Surly Long Haul Trucker has parked it on a bike rack more than a month ago and left it. The bike's sitting there, getting no maintenance, the drive train is getting rusty, and the tires are going flat. It's not even under anything, it's completely exposed.
> 
> ...


Surly needs liberation. Get a hack saw. You're saving it's life!

(Joking of course)


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2014)

Tomahawk3Niner said:


> There is this old lady I always see walking her dogs down the MUP. They are on leashes, but she doesn't hold them. I guess they can get around the leash law by just putting it on the dog. Doesn't matter if no one is on the other end.
> 
> This morning another rider passed me as I was just taking it easy watching the dry river bed the path follows.
> 
> ...


 I can hop high enough to clear most mid-sized dogs and scare the crap out of their owners. Probably wouldn't try it with a pit bull or other similar breed. A few years back I squirted a neighbor's farm dog and he "chased" me down with his truck to chew my ass for "macing his dog." The argument deesclated rapidly when I squirted him with water and he realized that I wasn't lying (but so what if I maced a dog that's chasing me). We're better neighbors now and his dog doesn't chase bikes anymore.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Forster said:


> Wind
> Oh wind, you worthless piece of crap blowing me around, slowing me down.
> You're not the breeze that lifted my kite as a child; you're a 45 mile an hour psycho killer on a rampage.
> I didn't need to feel like I was riding 50 miles an hour while standing still, no thank you for that.
> ...


Until the wind is at your back. Then it becomes "I'm a cycling god" as you demolish PRs.

Then again maybe I'm just sail-shaped.


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## bmreal (Jun 18, 2010)

Went well.
First day in some time and first ride on my new commute specific build. I could have done without the headwind blowing a cool, crisp drizzle into my face for the entire 10 miles. But even that couldn't keep me from enjoying my new bike.

On the bright side, those winds will be at my back and the skies will be clear on my way home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> A few years back I squirted a neighbor's farm dog and he "chased" me down with his truck to chew my ass for "macing his dog."


Talented dog. 



Forster said:


> The argument deesclated rapidly when I squirted him with water and he realized that I wasn't lying (but so what if I maced a dog that's chasing me). We're better neighbors now and his dog doesn't chase bikes anymore.


Assuming it was the farmer, that would have been an interesting conversation if I had been on the receiving end.

"You maced my dog!"

"Did not! I sprayed the air on the road way. Your dog being in the public roadway where he was not supposed to be, ran into it. I did not hear you calling him back from running in a public roadway and risking his life and it you saw the spraying, you could have."

"Are you threatening my dog?"

"No, not at all. It is just that dogs get so focussed on chasing things like cyclists they will not see the gravel truck coming the other way and may become a road pizza before their next bark. You might say I was training your dog in order to save his life."

It is not the dog, but the owner at fault in most cases.


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> Talented dog.
> 
> Assuming it was the farmer, that would have been an interesting conversation if I had been on the receiving end.
> 
> ...


 For clarity's sake - the neighbor (not the dog) drove the truck and I sprayed (both) with water. My dad would say "if you're dumb enough to start a fight, be smart enough to finish it." Riding around after you mace a neighbor is not life affirming.


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2014)

Sanath said:


> Until the wind is at your back. Then it becomes "I'm a cycling god" as you demolish PRs.
> 
> Then again maybe I'm just sail-shaped.


 The problem with wind at 40 gusting to 45 is that at some point you're getting a cross wind. I love riding with a 25 mph tailwind and don't mind the cross wind (although the 29er is a bigger sail than the 26er was), but a 45 mph gust sucks unless it's a direct tailwind.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

The cross wind gusts just make life exciting. Nothing like not knowing if one will push you in front of a passing garbage truck.

No seriously, I agree that strong cross gusts are not ideal, but when the wind is actually at your back it's _glorious_. All I was trying to say there.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2014)

Sanath said:


> The cross wind gusts just make life exciting. Nothing like not knowing if one will push you in front of a passing garbage truck.
> 
> No seriously, I agree that strong cross gusts are not ideal, but when the wind is actually at your back it's _glorious_. All I was trying to say there.


 Absolutely concur. When I was roading a lot more I used to wonder how fast I could do a century if I started in a generally higher elevation and rode with a stiff tail wind (day 25 mph or higher) for the whole century. My personal best (unsupported, not a race) years ago was a 4:30 but with some of our recent winds I think even on a flat course pushing 2" contis I could best 4 hours. Two hardest rides of my life have been the recent crosswind rides, to your point about garbage trucks. I have never worked so hard to stay upright, nor worried so much about getting blown into something heavy and metallic. I should check the guiness book for a mountain bike century. Another day of 45 mph winds and it might be worth the work.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Forster said:


> Absolutely concur. When I was roading a lot more I used to wonder how fast I could do a century if I started in a generally higher elevation and rode with a stiff tail wind (day 25 mph or higher) for the whole century. My personal best (unsupported, not a race) years ago was a 4:30 but with some of our recent winds I think even on a flat course pushing 2" contis I could best 4 hours.


I got blown east with a tailwind when I was 13 years old did 100 km in about 2.5 hours with a flat....

Coming East out of the rockies (Crowsnest pass) with a chinook blowing 100+ km/hr...would definately be a record. Gonna hafta try that eventually


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent commute this AM. Not too cold. Not too icy. Odd to be riding to my office on a Friday again.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I didn't have the best start this morning. Got a new single speed Surly KM this week and wanted to ride that into work, but I had a flat tire from my first ride. I must have picked up a thorn on the test ride.

It took me a few minutes to switch my lights to my other bike and I was 15 minutes late to work.

Other than that I had a nice ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Snowy and sleety this morning, I had to stop after 3 miles and remove the frozen-over glasses. After that I had to use the blinking method against the stinging "wintry mix". Felt fast despite the bad weather though, as with 30F temps, I was less burdened by clothes and the cold than with the single digits and below zeros that have been plaguing us. Had to ride in the travel lane alot because of the killer potholes that could be hidden under snow or puddles. After work there were some breaks of sun and 37F, and big puddles. March is stubbornly marching on, 5-10" snow forecast for Saturday night.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sunday it starts. I was off today and again tomorrow. Temps forecasted for mid 50's with mid 30's at night. Then mid 60's for Monday!!! I hope it is here to stay because I have some miles to ride. Gonna air up the tires tomorrow and swap the grips out on my SS to run my new flat bar setup.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So this is a weird one (and a long one)

About 2 weeks ago my bike started murdering me. Even a short 20 minute ride straight home would have everything from my butt to my ears killing me. It was a lot of shoulder and neck pain, so I had headaches bordering on nausea.

This is my 29er with dirt drops, which admittedly has a bunch of fit challenges, but I'd been happily riding it for 6 months with no issues. So what changed? I'd switched to my summer gear - no hat, sunglasses, 5.10s, and thin gloves. Did one of those cause it? I spent a couple days messing with my helmet, saddle, bar angle, and stems with no luck. 

And then I remembered that I was using new pedals. And unlike most flat pedals, these ones aren't flat or slightly concave, they're actually convex. There's a thick buldge at the axle, and when you stand on them you really feel like you're standing on a narrow peg instead of a nice wide platform. It's subtle, but I think it was enough to seriously screw up my weight distribution. I swapped on some other pedals and the crazy pain went away, although I'd definitely made a mess of my back.

Long story short: after two weeks my back and neck are finally recovering, but I'm still trying to undo all the tweaks that I'd I made to my saddle and bars and get the bike feeling comfy again. The new pedals got moved to my hardtail which has a lot more room to adjust the fit, so we'll see how they work once actual summer rolls around.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, that is weird! I never would have thought pedals could cause such problems. I'm glad you seem to have figured it out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well, I spent a little too much of the weekend worrying about and researching a hand problem I noticed last week. Initially I was not super concerned about the two somewhat tender BB sized bumps on my palm, but now I am 99% sure it is Dupuytrens contracture (Dupuytren's contracture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Over months or years the bumps develop more and form cords that pull on the tendons in your hand until you cannot straighten a few fingers (usually ring & pinky). Yeah, not too psyched about the possibility of a claw! While not very painful or dangerous, it makes everyday things like putting your and in your pocket, shaking hands, and um, braking, difficult. Calling the Doc tomorrow, so I should know for sure soon. Everyone is asking me if it is from biking, and the answer seems to be that it is not related to manual labor or vibration, or at least that it is unclear, but definitely has a genetic component.


Well, it's over a year later, and I still don't have a claw for a hand, so that is a good thing. I did end up at the hand specialist, who said it is Dupuytrens, but did not recommend doing anything at that point. I can still lay my hand flat on a table. It has expanded some, with multiple bumps and larger than a year ago. But strangely, they seem less tender than when it first started, and it hasn't interfered with biking.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

This is the part of the year I hate, the temperature swings make it hard to dress properly for the ride. I have to waste pannier space on extra layers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer: Someone said it sucks to get older, but so far, it seems to beat the alternative. Maybe advances in treatment will be made bu the time you need to address this.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I never would have thought pedals could cause such problems.


They were the last thing I thought of. I spent 4 days troubleshooting everything else before it even occurred to me that the basically brand-new pedals might be the cause. But 4 days of wondering why I just couldn't get my balance right, and why my back was doing all this extra work. I'll have to see how they work on a normal bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

KentheKona said:


> This is the part of the year I hate, the temperature swings make it hard to dress properly for the ride. I have to waste pannier space on extra layers.


I agree!! Warmer on the way in, colder on the way home. No panniers for me, so on my back it goes. I hate this!!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, tomorrow morning I report to the new office, which is only 4.2 miles from front door to office door. This is substantially shorter than my former 15 mile one way commute, which admittedly was usually a 7 mile one way commute after driving my Jeep the first 8 miles and peddling from my mother-in-laws to work.

As it stands, I cannot see one good reason I shouldn't/wouldn't commute every single day. Even in the brutal summer 4 miles should be a snap on the way home. Here's looking to cutting the gas budget to get to work down to $0. My old commute drained roughly $140 a month (if I drove everyday, which of course I didn't) from the bank account based on $3.50 gallon gas and a measly 14 mpg from the 4.0 I6 Cherokee Sport.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Came in 86 out of 179 riders in the 62 mile Tour de Cure. I'm freakin' exhausted. It's the longest I've ever ridden. We'll see if I'll have the legs to push to work tomorrow.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Came in 86 out of 179 riders in the 62 mile Tour de Cure. I'm freakin' exhausted. It's the longest I've ever ridden. We'll see if I'll have the legs to push to work tomorrow.


Nice job! Not even sure I would've finished something that long.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Came in 86 out of 179 riders in the 62 mile Tour de Cure. I'm freakin' exhausted. It's the longest I've ever ridden. We'll see if I'll have the legs to push to work tomorrow.


Congrats!!! You rode fixed that whole time right? 

My ride was pretty good. 46 and sunny and still melting. I cannot believe how many areas still have several inches of snow. Between the rain and above freezing temps, it is pretty unreal. Slowed to a crawl where it was wet because I don't want to have two bikes to clean. Hit every red light possible on the way in to work, all of them. Never happened like that before. Not totally sold on the coaster brake as my only means of braking. Would love to find a carbon fork with disc mounts, or just a fork with discs and get a new Aerospoke disc and roll that. Having a hell of a time getting stopped at a light and prepped to start again. I can't track stand for crap, so I save face and just come to a stop instead of a track stand and crash. Ride home was cooler by about 10 degrees and it felt much colder on my face.

PSA: Serfas Thunderbolt headlights are bright, but I do NOT recommend them for lights to see, more, they are for you to be seen. Even running duals on the bar, on a dark path/road, my visibility is severely limited. I can be seen but I cannot see for garbage. If you do night rides in an urban setting, in a more lit area, these are great. Impossible not to see these.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice job Texan!

Weird on the pedals Newf

This morning was a heavy slush fest. I had to walk the slushy lake. The side roads weren't too bad. Judging by the skidding tire tracks on the steep hill I was doing better than the cars. I did have to do some time on a main road that was stressful. the shoulder had an unridable mound of slush. The driving lane was fine but in order to stay there I had to hold up lots of traffic. I don't' mind taking the lane when I need to but I also hate to piss off traffic by holding up a 1/2 mile line of cars. After the initial blast of traffic it wasn't too bad.

I got second to last on a Strava segment that climbs a big hill from the lake, embarrassing. My GPS didn't know that my rear wheel went around twice as many times as the front.


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## A1Rob (Mar 26, 2014)

First commute for me this morning, 6.2 miles and I enjoyed it. Not convinced how I'm gonna feel hopping on the bike to go home tonight but you've gotta start somewhere!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Hey guys!

Decided that had to accept La Trurly won't come back and that I had to take advantage of the following dry days.

The BaroneSS as my backpackmmuter:









Since it was the first day I used both front and seatbag, a bit overkill but I didn't want to crush my clothes with my shoes putting it all in one bag. Shoes now stay at the office.

Still undecided on what to do next, just the seat bag seems more "aero" than just the front bags, the thing I like about the front setup is that i can use the little pouch for my wallet, phone and tools. and still keep it separated from the main bag.

Changes to The BaroneSS to accomodate the bags: Remove the little Brooks Saddle bag, covered the little eyes with black tape to protect the porcelain bag and moved the rear blinky from the seat post to the left seatstay.

Things to improve: I need a better rear blinky. Two batteries and a front light from magic shine survived when la Trurly departed, I may just buy the rear light and will check tonight if the front light that survived will be enough.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I'm feeling guilty. Woke up too late to bike in today, and of course this is the nicest day of the year so far. Gotta get up early tomorrow.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Beautiful, clear, cold, first commute of they year, morning. 7 mile ride.

How do you like my bike parking?


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2014)

vegascruiser said:


> Well, tomorrow morning I report to the new office, which is only 4.2 miles from front door to office door. This is substantially shorter than my former 15 mile one way commute, which admittedly was usually a 7 mile one way commute after driving my Jeep the first 8 miles and peddling from my mother-in-laws to work.
> 
> As it stands, I cannot see one good reason I shouldn't/wouldn't commute every single day. Even in the brutal summer 4 miles should be a snap on the way home. Here's looking to cutting the gas budget to get to work down to $0. My old commute drained roughly $140 a month (if I drove everyday, which of course I didn't) from the bank account based on $3.50 gallon gas and a measly 14 mpg from the 4.0 I6 Cherokee Sport.


I always figure that driving is at least a buck a mile when you add wear on the vehicle and misc expenses. Keeps me from freaking out when I buy two bike tires that cost more than one tire for my Ridgeline but only last 1/10th the miles. Keep up the good fight. I'm getting ready for the summer assualt myself, I'll be riding 17.5 to work and 20 home (I take a flatter route with less gravel road on the ride home). I need to swap out the tires on my Fargo and see what that does for my ride times this week.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2014)

moefosho said:


> Beautiful, clear, cold, first commute of they year, morning. 7 mile ride.
> 
> How do you like my bike parking?
> View attachment 881409


 Looks like you have room between the partition and file cabinet for the front tire. I'm parked under a stairwell in our building. There is a barrier fence (to keep people from jamming under the stair case in case of fire and smoke) and I put a rack there. Seems good for the moment. Two or three folks gave me a hard time about that (since where was a post outside to lock bikes to) until I suggested they keep their running shoes out of the locker room and lean them on the post. I guess it seems illogical to keep your $1700 bike protected from the weather as well as you keep your $125 running shoes.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Forster said:


> Looks like you have room between the partition and file cabinet for the front tire. I'm parked under a stairwell in our building. There is a barrier fence (to keep people from jamming under the stair case in case of fire and smoke) and I put a rack there. Seems good for the moment. Two or three folks gave me a hard time about that (since where was a post outside to lock bikes to) until I suggested they keep their running shoes out of the locker room and lean them on the post. I guess it seems illogical to keep your $1700 bike protected from the weather as well as you keep your $125 running shoes.


We have an area in our parking garage that is locked and has a camera, but they changed the lock since last year. Thats where I normally park my bike. Next to the multi thousand dollar carbon bikes, I dont think mine would be the first to get stolen.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2014)

moefosho said:


> We have an area in our parking garage that is locked and has a camera, but they changed the lock since last year. Thats where I normally park my bike. Next to the multi thousand dollar carbon bikes, I dont think mine would be the first to get stolen.


 I was on a Pentagon tour and noticed they have a lot (hundreds) of U-locks on racks as you cross the footbridge to get to the main building. It appears to me that all bike parking there is outside and that you leave your lock when you change assignments.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Very glad for my new and much shorter commute today with 35-45 mph headwind gusts. Took about forty minutes to go 4 miles on way home. 15 miles (old commute) to get home would've killed me. Whereas this kind of weather would've had me thinking twice about peddling in with a longer commute, now I figure I can gut out any brutal circumstance tossed my way with only 4 miles of endurance necessary. Glad to be back on the commuter, after a month of healing. Probably hit Blue Diamond this weekend on the mountain bike as well.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

My usual everything 29er is out of comission until at least tomorrow night due to some hare-brained weekend trail hijinks. Sigh. Long story short, I took a turn too fast, hit a tree with my handlebars, flipped myself over the bike and now my front wheel is being rebuilt, because I can't afford a new one and don't even want new ones until I can actually upgrade from the ones I have. $25 is better for me right now than $175 (at least).

Tomorrow, for my ride up to the university, I will be riding a 30+ years old Western Flyer 10 speed. Not stoked, but riding a poorly maintained bike from a department store is still better than not riding at all. It's only 10.5 miles. I put a new tube in it and lubed the chain a bit. Adjusted the brakes so that they didn't rub on the tires. I kind of regret that now, because it was more trouble than it was worth, because none of the pieces wanted to actually move to let me do it.

For anyone who wants to see this "beast" (not mine, but exactly the same model (see:department store bike (POS))):









I miss my bike already, even though it rolls through wind like pudding.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Still no call back from that Surly LHT guy/gal... I hope they're not dead...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nicest day of the year by far, and with a 20% chance of rain for the ride home, I took full advantage of the weather. 59 and sunny for the ride in, with the melt still in effect. Slow going in some parts of the path because one dirty bike is enough for me. Entered a roundabout almost 3 miles from the start and nearly got creamed by a guy in a Saturn SUV who clearly did not see me. It was pretty close, and way too close for comfort for me. I screamed at the mouth breather, but he paid me no attention and cruised right off.

The ride home, well, 50 and a nice strong headwind. Great. Head out of the parking lot, and approach the street, and get ready to pull out after this one car passes, and they decide at the last second that they are pulling in. Crap. I did my longest official track stand, not on purpose, but because my right cleat would not disengage from the pedal. I was stuck, and my balance wasn't going to hold me. Right foot up higher than the left, and I toppled over, landing on the curb. Twisted the seat in the post, and that appeared to be it. Headed out after a slight fix, and started riding. Got some ways down the road, and I am stuck again. Right foot will not unclip from the pedal no matter what. I spun it as far as I could without breaking my ankle. Time for a roadside repair I guess. Had to take my shoe off to get unclipped. Apparently, in that crash, I ripped a cleat screw right out of the cleat trying to get free. No panic though, because I have four extra screws in a zip loc bag in my messenger bag. Learned this from the last huge group mountain bike ride that I went on. Guy lost a screw out of pure bad luck. Always have at least 2 of them with my multi tool and Leatherman. So I got the shoe fixed up, and was back on my way within minutes. Cruising along nicely on my SS, no idea how fast but it felt faster than I have ridden so far this year. Get to about 2 miles from my apartment, and one of the Thunderbolts goes dark. Uh oh. It was right when I hit a pretty big bump, no way that did it. OK, still have the other going strong, so I will just take it easy and limp back home. 2 minutes later, the other goes dark. Dual light failures about 1.5 miles from home. Luckily, I am not on a busy street. But bad because the street I am on, yeah, no street lights. Partial moon is out so off I go. Literally creeping through the park with almost enough light to see pretty well. Get home safely and without further incident. Immediately hook up the Thunderbolts to the charger to see if they died, or are just dead. I didn't charge them before I left today, as the ride was pretty last minute. I will never do that again, ever. They will always be charged.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

spoke too fast, I'm expecting a rainy commute back home later today.

Decided on my rear seat bag setup, head winds on both trips helped me out on the decision.

Front light is enough.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

The flyer is too small for me kind awkward. Got the thing up to 30mph though. Climbs like a bowling ball uphill. I'm probably going to yard sales this year to find an old roadie for my commutes. I don't believe in the one bike thing anymore. Especially if you use it as a trail bike too.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't believe in the one bike thing either, and all I have are two bikes that I commute with. You never have too many bikes. Never.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Right foot will not unclip from the pedal no matter what. I spun it as far as I could without breaking my ankle. Time for a roadside repair I guess. Had to take my shoe off to get unclipped. Apparently, in that crash, I ripped a cleat screw right out of the cleat trying to get free.


*** Made me smile. Only weeks into clipless use, on a Century a cyclist (blind? or moron?) called "Clear!" only the intersection had a Saturn SUV orbiting through. Last second stop by four of us. The rotate release was not a reflex yet, so I ripped my shoe right off the cleat stripping three screw sites. Still fell over. The 2 sided campus pedals came in handy that day.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ I may make the switch back to flats for the commuter. I prefer clipping, but after last nights event I am going to evaluate my needs for the ride in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good trip in, except that new chain has exacerbated my chainlock problem, which actually had gone away of late with the old chain. I can hear the new chain pulling the read derailleur forward as the middle chainring sucks the chain up the back of the ring, so I guess the middle ring needs replacement already. Luckily I ordered an extra one after I found out it had been discontinued by Shimano, so I have one on hand. It was clear and lower 20’sF and should get above freezing by this afternoon’s ride. I switched to a lighter jacket, but I tell you, Craft believes women have toothpick arms, I’ve never had one so constricting on the arms.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Saw some of the first patches of asphalt peeking through the snow on the MUP in town. I'm afraid it's going to disappear pretty quickly now. I'll be interested to see when the Muni puts away the groomers and breaks out the plows to scrape it down all the way.

Didn't ride yesterday - worked from home, which was a good thing as I had an awesome ride on Sunday that taxed the motors a bit. Went to Hatcher's Pass and rode the first two miles out and back on the Gold Mint Mine trail - awesome fun until I came to an avalanche run-out. Past that it was so soft as to be no fun to ride and every daub resulted in post holing to the family jewels - dangerous times there... So I ended up riding from the GMM parking lot to Independence Mine. A 1k+ feet of elevation road climb followed by another ~250 or 300 feet of climbing up to Independence mine itself.

What a glorious day for it. In the mid 40s and sunny to the point where I got a bit pink and tan.

I'd post pictures, but Flickr has changed something - hmmm... so here's the links: 

__
https://flic.kr/p/mEiRzU


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https://flic.kr/p/mEhnc2


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https://flic.kr/p/mEhmWc


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https://flic.kr/p/mEiTFY


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https://flic.kr/p/mEh8ca


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https://flic.kr/p/mEhsXR


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## Guest (Apr 1, 2014)

Funny ride in this morning. I'm riding on a rail-to-trails path and see this huge green snake. Oddly, the first question in my head isn't "what is a snake doing on the path in 27F weathe?r" it was "I wonder what the state record for Gartner Snakes is?" The answer to both is a 6" section of garden hose that fell off a trails maintenance vehicle. I'm easily entertained in the cold (apparently).


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Still windy in Vegas. Stiff headwinds once again led to a four mile commute that took 30 plus minutes. Good workout but bad time. Back below 70 for the next few days. . .


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

[QstoForster;11104332]Funny ride in this morning. I'm riding on a rail-to-trails path and see this huge green snake. Oddly, the first question in my head isn't "what is a snake doing on the path in 27F weathe?r" it was "I wonder what the state record for Gartner Snakes is?" The answer to both is a 6" section of garden hose that fell off a trails maintenance vehicle. I'm easily entertained in the cold (apparently).[/QUOTE]

Man, that's classic. I was in the field with one of my bio professors one time and they were like 'what is this mushroom?' I walked up to it and lifted it off the stump, because it was a ceramic tea kettle lid someone had put on A stick. I laughed so hard. Not bike related but oh well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The good news is, there was no dooring here in Barre VT yesterday. The bad news is it held up traffic for 20 minutes...

Morning traffic halted in Barre
| 
BARRE — Police say an incident in downtown Barre that stopped traffic for about 20 minutes Monday morning was caused by someone not being able to get out of a vehicle.

Police Chief Tim Bombardier said no one was hurt in the incident on South Main Street and that the person simply had trouble opening the vehicle’s doors. It occurred around 8 a.m. and caused all traffic downtown to stop as drivers were trying to get to work or school. Conditions were icy Monday morning due to freezing rain.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wait... April fools right?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I'm afraid not. I did not get caught in it since I was running late.

Morning traffic halted in Barre : Times Argus Online


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Woah.


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2014)

NDD said:


> [QstoForster;11104332]Funny ride in this morning. I'm riding on a rail-to-trails path and see this huge green snake. Oddly, the first question in my head isn't "what is a snake doing on the path in 27F weathe?r" it was "I wonder what the state record for Gartner Snakes is?" The answer to both is a 6" section of garden hose that fell off a trails maintenance vehicle. I'm easily entertained in the cold (apparently).


 I've got a good friend who's son is a College Senior majoring in Herpetology, I should run that specimen over and see what he thinks. We were at dinner last weekend and he was talking about a graduate internship in Louisiana. I asked to see if he had heard anything from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and there was a really long pause until he realized that I was aware that the U of A doesn't have a Herpetology Department, although they may be able to analyze garden hose.

Man, that's classic. I was in the field with one of my bio professors one time and they were like 'what is this mushroom?' I walked up to it and lifted it off the stump, because it was a ceramic tea kettle lid someone had put on A stick. I laughed so hard. Not bike related but oh well.[/QUOTE]


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

New personal record for me with 3 days in a row of commuting. Today was cooler, temp when I left was about 52 or so. Not too bad as I headed out, dressed perfectly for the conditions. I have a goal of 2500/+ miles before 12-31-14. So far, I have earned every single one of them, and today was no exception. To say that there was a strong headwind would be an understatement. On a nice downhill section in the bike lane, I was coasting to see how strong the wind was. It brought me down to about 5 mph or so. I could not believe it, and was actually laughing at how windy it was. Fairly uneventful, until I got to the bike lane on the busier road, and had to come to a complete stop. Not once, but twice. Got passed by an older lady in a car wanting to turn right. She passes, and then puts her blinker on. She comes to a stop, blocking the bike lane completely. No other traffic, but she didn't know what to do. I wanted to swerve around her left and just pass, but the traffic was a bit heavy for that so I just stopped and waited. Not two blocks later, a city bus does almost the exact same thing!!! I stopped my bike and waved my arms. OK, I might have thrown a few expletives out there as well, because after the first incident, I got back to speed quickly and was having a pretty good ride. 

The ride home was really nice. 36 and no wind. Layered perfectly, and it was by far my fastest ride to date. I felt like I was just flying!! Took my TriCross today, and used my NiteRider Lumina so lighting was a non issue. Fenders removed due to, well, just because. Cleaned it all up, and looked at the fenders and said screw it, they are coming off. Maybe in the winter I will put them on again, but for now, the bike is going naked. 

Day off tomorrow, but I may head out if the weather holds, and check out a possible new route. Looking to eliminate climbing and stop lights/signs as much as possible. May also take some backup items to work like undergarments and deodorant.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. Not too cool and the sun is just starting to peek over the mountains by the time I get to Anchorage (5:50 AM). Soon I'll be able to get rid of the helmet mounted light for the summer. Can't wait. 

A bit bummed overall, though. Went and got a set of Ortlieb Back Roller Classics yesterday to replace my quickly dying Koki panniers. Didn't even make it from the office to the bus stop before one of the clips broke. It wasn't even a particularly heavy load. Now I need to figure out a time to get to REI to exchange them, hope they have them in stock, and then ride worried every time I hit a bump that it's going to break again. Displeased.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> New personal record for me with 3 days in a row of commuting.


Did I read that correctly? Three days in a row of commuting is a record?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Been staying up until 1 or so every night for a few weeks working on my house, really starting to take a toll on me. I don't start riding to work until around Wednesday every week because it's so hard to drag myself out of bed on time.

Dropped the "new" car at the shop for an inspection and some exhaust work and rode the rest of the way. Almost perfectly dressed except for the super low rise socks I stupidly picked, which I couldn't get my tights low enough to cover. Good ankle ventilation. Wasn't that bad once I got used to it.

Probably going to swap the snows off the bike this week. I guess I'll have to go back to the old tires, but I'd really like to put on fresh ones since the old ones picked up some cuts over the miles. Not enough to get all the way through to the tube, but I can see the... thread? near the base of the rubber layer.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Did I read that correctly? Three days in a row of commuting is a record?


c'mon now, don't be a d*ck. It's not about how many days in a row you commute by bike, but that you commute by bike. Right?

What's your record?


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2014)

blockphi said:


> c'mon now, don't be a d*ck. It's not about how many days in a row you commute by bike, but that you commute by bike. Right?
> 
> What's your record?


Good call. I have a co-worker who took all summer to work up to the 10 miles from his home to work and needed a ride home after that. His second year he racked-up 3000 miles of commuting and general riding. We started the third year (early May) by riding to a nearby town and back (a hilly 20 miles) in 59 minutes. My point is that none of that was possible except for the support he received from family/friends and his own determination. Anyone who wants can always join me for three consecutive days of 40 mile round trip commutes on gravel, crushed rock and pavement (and a 9-hour work day) on their mountain bikes if they want to help be set a record of my own.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> New personal record for me with 3 days in a row of commuting.


:thumbsup: Sounds like the start of a new habit, way to go TenSpeed! :rockon:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Yep, you read that right. Three days in a row. I started commuting to work late in the season last year, and living in Michigan, with the worst winter that we have had on record, 3 days in a row is a huge accomplishment. I have two bikes, one being a single speed on the skinnies, and the other a CX on semi slicks. No fat bike, not even a mountain bike. We set records for most consecutive days under 0, and snow on the ground which I believe was in the 105 days in a row area for the snow. Between the bitterly cold temps, the snow on the ground, and the fact that I have Reynaud's, commuting in that type of weather is not ideal for me. I don't have the longest commute in the world at a little under 8.5 miles each way, but in those conditions, it simply was not possible. We would say thanks on days where only a few inches of new snow would fall. In some spots, there is still snow on the ground, and in the shade, several inches still lay in wait of the warmer temperatures. Snow piles in parking lots still blocking the view. Winter isn't over here, in fact, we have a winter weather advisory tonight for freezing rain.

I don't live in Vegas, where an every day commute is quite easy in the winter. After this winter and how miserable it was, I will gladly take my 3 days and be damn happy about it.

Perhaps the information and pictures in this link will help people understand what this winter was here. 10 facts show just what a crazy winter Michigan has endured | MLive.com


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wouldn't have to ask if you weren't looking past your nose. 
But I'm a rat bastard anyway, so I can't scold you.



vegascruiser said:


> Did I read that correctly? Three days in a row of commuting is a record?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Yep, you read that right. Three days in a row. I started commuting to work late in the season last year, and living in Michigan, with the worst winter that we have had on record, 3 days in a row is a huge accomplishment. I have two bikes, one being a single speed on the skinnies, and the other a CX on semi slicks. No fat bike, not even a mountain bike. We set records for most consecutive days under 0, and snow on the ground which I believe was in the 105 days in a row area for the snow. Between the bitterly cold temps, the snow on the ground, and the fact that I have Reynaud's, commuting in that type of weather is not ideal for me. I don't have the longest commute in the world at a little under 8.5 miles each way, but in those conditions, it simply was not possible. We would say thanks on days where only a few inches of new snow would fall. In some spots, there is still snow on the ground, and in the shade, several inches still lay in wait of the warmer temperatures. Snow piles in parking lots still blocking the view. Winter isn't over here, in fact, we have a winter weather advisory tonight for freezing rain.
> 
> I don't live in Vegas, where an every day commute is quite easy in the winter. After this winter and how miserable it was, I will gladly take my 3 days and be damn happy about it.
> 
> Perhaps the information and pictures in this link will help people understand what this winter was here. 10 facts show just what a crazy winter Michigan has endured | MLive.com


I only asked cause you are on here a lot reporting your commutes and I was surprised that you've only strung together three in a row. I am nearly certain that I wouldn't commute AT ALL in the winter if I faced some of the winter weather you all ride.

As for someone asking what my record is for consecutive days. I'm not certain but it's probably not any better than 17 or 18. I guess I should've posted my question in a less abrasive fashion. Upon reread I can see why it irked more than a few people.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I would get very lucky, and get a day in here or there, but nothing consecutive, at least not more than 2 days I don't think. 3 in a row was huge with the winter that we had. I apologize if my post came across as defensive, but I felt defensive about my lack of riding. It isn't that I don't want to ride, because trust me, I really do.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ride home was annoyingly good, if some 3.5 hours later than it should have been.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

When I look back over the past year's commuting, I realize I've dodged an awful lot of rain and thunderstorms. Now Spring has come roaring in with full force and I've had 3 soaking wet commutes in a row (this morning, yesterday afternoon and morning). The most annoying part is getting my gear somewhat dried out before the afternoon ride home. The scariest part has been all the nearby lighting strikes I saw/heard/felt on the way in this morning. Right now there is a pretty good chance I'll get rained on going home today and a very good chance I'll get rained on tomorrow morning.:thumbsup: I can say it hasn't been cold this week.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Currently raining here, hovering right around freezing. Going to pass on the commute today and drive to work instead. Supposed to warm up even more, so by Sunday, that extra shift that I picked up will let me get another day in that I normally wouldn't ride in.


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## Tomahawk3Niner (Feb 13, 2014)

Beautiful morning in the high 40s when I left. Clear skies, a slight breeze and... A low tire. (Forgot to check before leaving!)

Both my frame pump and the public pump along the MUP turned out to be broken. I managed to get to work with no issue. Filled it up at work with our compressor and I'll check later to see if slow leak or if it was just these dumb presta valves I can't seem to get along with. 


Great ride anyway!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice commute in this AM, though a bit chilly. My wife found me an Ibex riding jacket at the local thrift shop yesterday so I tested that out this AM. It's not as warm as one would think. But beyond that, great riding. 22F in town and about the same in the Valley with a touch of wind. Looking to be another glorious afternoon for the ride home. Tomorrow is a no work day, so I think I might end up out at Hatcher's Pass again, maybe trying to ride the road up and over the pass where it is closed for the winter and the snow machines play on the weekends. We'll see. 

Last time I drove my commute was, I think, in September or October 2013, though because my wife needed to come into town for a root canal. Ended up not going to work that day at all and drove her home, so maybe it doesn't count as a commute trip? I'll stick with that. My current streak is every commute to work between August and now has been by bike/bus. Prior to that I went two and a half years of 100% bike commuting. The funny thing is, those types of streaks and records... they mean nothing. I commute by bike not because I want to say I've gone X number of days without driving, but rather because the ride makes me feel better, makes me easier to be around, and gives me a chance to do something I love before going and having a little piece of my soul sucked away for the day. That is all.

*EDIT to accurately reflect when I last drove. Found a prior post from September - my wife's root canal was after that post...don't want to mis-represent...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good ride today, but the ice was a little nerve-wracking in places after the big melt yesterday and refreeze overnight. It was, however, great to have a spring like day yesterday, upper 40's. 

A couple bad drivers, one yesterday had not even gotten in her car yet and was just ridiculous. As she walked toward her car she started going ballistic, apparently she thought the car next to her had parked too close to her gigantic pickup truck. She went on and on, "jacka**, ridiculous", and a bunch of other crazy parking lot rage stuff while stomping around and slamming the doors of her truck repeatedly. It was not damaged, she just thought they were too close. I wanted to tell her to chill out but decided against it and moved along to hopefully avoid her on the roadways.

Then this morning while I was in the center lane at a light, a car pulled from the right hand lane across my lane and the left turn lane to make a left turn from the wrong lane.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather has been fantastic recently (shorts weather), but I decided to drive in today. Thunderstorms were moving through, and are expected to keep coming through off an on all day. Right now it's just dreary, steady rain. As the day drags on, I am getting more and more antsy. I'll have to try to get in some exercise when I get home.


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## Guest (Apr 3, 2014)

Didn't ride yesterday so I could run, today because of thunderstorms. Can't ride Friday because of schedule conflicts or Saturday because I have to be to work early and I'm running that day. It's a good thing I work sunday or I'd be screwed.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Woke up to tornado sirens. No ride today. Hrmph.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Another fun driver story from yesterday. I'm riding on the shoulder of a side street, thinking about making a left at an upcoming road... so I glance behind me and there's 3 cars coming up behind me. I slow down to let them pass me before I 'take the lane' and execute my left turn... car 1 passes...car 2 passes... getting close to the road so I slow down more...car 3 stops. Middle of the road, just stops. I'm almost at the turn now, and there's a car at the stop sign on the side street that wants to turn onto the road we're on...and a car coming the other direction. 
Obviously this person thinks they're helping me by disregarding every traffic law and coming to a stop in the middle of a road for no reason. Just crazy. I should have taken the lane earlier and slowed down all 3 of them, preventing this moron from displaying their powers. 

...anyway, I stopped. Put my foot down, turned around and gave the best "what in the wide world of sports are you DOING?!" look I could...I waved them through in gigantic sweeping arm movements and pointed and looked for the imaginary stop sign that they had invented. It took come convincing to get them to go, but there was no way I was submitting to this level of stupid. Finally they went, I took the lane, made my turn, and started the process of getting over it. I am so not there yet.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Didn't work yesterday so no commute. Today was a good day with the wind finally gone. Twenty minutes to get home from work without wind. Kind of wish my work was in the seven or eight mile range from home instead of four. Not a long enough ride. Old commute 15 miles (which felt two long thus the partial commute) and this one too short. Seems I just can't be happy. Nevertheless, nice to no longer be dependent on two vehicles. Might be time to get rid of two.

Didn't come off defensive, TenSpeed, even though you had a right to be based on the tone of my question. Hopefully the Spring and Summer will allow you to string together a lot of commutes. 

Helluva a streak you've put together blockphil. Though streaks are basically meaningless in the long run, they can often serve as motivation--in so much that you get up and commute even though you're tired, etc., cause you don't want to break your streak. I've found streaks useful in this way.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

been fairly dry so been racing in and now dodging the fairweather commuters.
-5 to -10C in the mornings, +5 to +10 in the afternoons so the roads are puckering from the temp shifts.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

No bike commute yesterday due to a short trip across the border early in the morning.

Third day tody on The BaroneSS and I'm done for the week, not due to my leg but due to my lower back that hurts a lot!

Taking a break until Monday probably.

Reading your encounters I have found people around here rather good drivers toward the cyclist, although I haven't commute for a whole month constantly yet so haven't seen it all!

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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Early ride today. Chilly, otherwise neutral. A little faster than normal (low 14.xx MPH average). Haven't had a chance to swap tires yet. Supposed to start raining continuously later on in the day. Hope I can get out to pick up the car from the shop before then. Not that I don't want to ride in the rain, more I don't want to have to put a soaking wet bike (or my soaking wet self) into the car.

Last night, though... last night. Work sponsored social hour at a local pub. Beer, pizza, wings, etc. Had a good time, but then I had to ride home. Whole ride at not much faster than a walking pace, feeling like I was about to boot inside my face mask. Got home, showered, passed out by 8:30.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I tried out my new commutercam this morning, it is the discontinued Ion Pro which was on Amazon for $90. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the current model, but it is a few hundred cheaper, so I’m hoping it works for my purposes (dirtb*g and distracted driver documentation). I did have to spend another $40 (total) for the handlebar mount and a good microSD card. I will report back after I take a look at the footage, assuming I did it right. 

The ride was good, back down to 24F, but that was up from 12F when I got up this morning. I noticed because I ran out of heating oil.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Trail route on the new bike today. I smiled a lot.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Windy as all get up, today. Heading north with 20mph headwinds to the south is kinda tough for me. Just tired really hard not to lose much speed. Problem is all the farm fields with no wind breaks. Happy to be back on my 29er as opposed to an old department store road bike that's too small. Makes all the difference 

I'm happy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

What do you guys use to record your ride data, if anything? I got a smartphone and have been using strava because it's free. It's OK, but I don't see how any of the calories or energy data could be accurate.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I document my miles in my signature. I don't count calories or energy data and I never have and never will. All that stuff starts to take the fun out of riding. I remember mountain biking with friends and all they were talking about was Strava and this segment and that segment and a KOM here and there, and hang on, I have to get my phone out to start Strava, and Strava didn't record that run.....I just shook my head and said can we please just ride?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I don't look at energy stuff, really. I brought that up because I think it can't possibly be right. It's a silly program, but I like how it tracks my miles because I will never ever remember to write it down. I do like speed data, though. Was gonna get a bike computer but had to get work done on the car.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I got a Garmin this year and I've started recording everything. Better battery life and accuracy than the smart phone. I Didn't used to record everything, just sometimes. It's cool to have accurate info on mileage, elevation, etc for the year and I'm kind of getting addicted to keeping data. I upload to Strava for the social aspect and smack talk with the local guys. The calorie and power is a best guess estimate that doesn't take into account things like headwind, how much weight is in your backpack, etc... I don't pay attention to that part.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

NDD said:


> What do you guys use to record your ride data, if anything? I got a smartphone and have been using strava because it's free. It's OK, but I don't see how any of the calories or energy data could be accurate.


I use Runkeeper. Tracks distance, speed, elevation, and route, plots it all on a Google Maps overlay. Hooks in with my watch (Pebble) for remote control while the phone's packed in a bag in an arm band. My wife can check in on me while I ride too, if the weather's bad and/or I'm overdue at home. I also keep it linked to a couple of websites (earndit.com and everymove.org) that let you earn points for exercise and every so often dump those points into (small) charity donations.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I like Strava for keeping track of rides but only since I got a Garmin Edge 500. I could never be bothered to get my phone out and even if I intended to, I forgot. I use to jot my commutes down in a spreadsheet but now even if I forget for a few days they all upload from the Garmin when I plug it in. Much more seamless than a smartphone app.

Strava calculates power based on your speed, weight, bike weight & hill grade. I think it is moderately accurate. It probably uses similar things to calculate calories. In either case, it can't account for wind or trail conditions so it can be really far off. I had a 2 hour ride through a blizzard and came home a sweat ball and Strava said I only burned like 300 calories because I was only going 5mph.

A good estimate of how many calories I burn on a bike is to take a perceived excursion rate from 1-10 and multiply it by 100 and then time. So all out race pace 10 I burn 1000 calories/hour. If I'm doing a lazy commute at an effort of 4 I'm probably only burning 400/hour. I'd guess I normally run in the 600-700 cal/hour range.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hmm... Small charity donations. I'll have to look into that.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

You need a heart rate monitor and to fall within 'normal' parameters for your age to get a decent count of calorie use.

Bedwards' explanation is pretty good. On a commute of a exertion 5, I use about 350 calories over 30 minutes.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yeah, I don't really have to worry about calories or anything, except that I eat enough to not be losing weight (I'm a pretty small guy, 5'11", 145 lbs). I'm a sucker for statistics, because I study ecology, but I really just don't trust their estimates to be accurate, so I don't bother with them. All in all, I figure my bike (32 lbs) + my gear (rack, saddlebags, spare tubes, water, pump, clothes, and textbooks, about 15 lbs) comes to a rough 45 lbs, so chances are I'm making more work for myself than is necessary anyway. 

Regardless, didn't go to work today, but rode up to the coffee shop to do homework. It was a good ride, mid-40's and rising, little wind, minor need to ride on busy streets, 10.2 miles. Made better time than I have been recently with more consistency in speed. In the probably 1 mile that I had to ride on the street as opposed to bicycle paths, I got to see both cyclists and drivers completely screw up the right of way thing. Cyclist blows through stop sign, some driver decides they're going to go even though it was my right of way and I had already started. Yeesh.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me yesterday; however, I got to ride with two of my kids to school and then go meet them to ride home at the end of the day, so ended up putting in just a touch more than my normal daily commute. Didn't do any other riding yesterday. i should have, but... had other stuff to do. 

Today I'm thinking about combining a road ride and a rails to trails ride for a nice afternoon ride. Was planning to take today off and then ride this route tomorrow, but the weather might turn over night and result in another bout of snow. If we get fresh pow, I'll be out riding single track on that. 

I have a Garmin that I used on most rides. I don't really pay too much attention to the number of miles I ride for a day or a week or a month or a year. Though I do map my rides so that some day I can export them to Google Maps and see just where I have roamed. I mostly use the GPS for keep track of the time and will watch my speed from time to time. I don't really care about watts, calories, cadence, or any of that other stuff.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Didn't ride today but had a funny story from work today that related to my commuter.

Yesterday I had a guy call about a Fargo, ogre, and a troll. My shop only had the Fargo in his size and it sounded like the guy wanted to test ride it so I expected to see him today. He came in late in the afternoon with a buddy.

We talked a bit about the Fargo vs the vaya (he asked) related to their respective versatility and he looked at me head tilted a little to the side and said, "are you the GPS geek? I read on your website about your vaya build."

The guy's buddy does a double take and says, "I don't know what just happened here but I am a little freaked out."

Speaking of the vaya, I will be riding it in tomorrow and it sounds like those guys will probably be back.

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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hot here in the land of tortas ahogadas and tequila. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the teens, whatever that works out to in temps I understand. No commuting, but I did ge to take an unexpected spin on a bike my father in law had stashed out back. Scary. skinny roads, different customs that I don|t understand well. Not exactly new to me, but I still freak out at the traffic in big MexicAN cities. Cars do NOT stop for pedestrians. If an octogenarian, 6 little kids, a pregnant woman and a guy in a wheelchair are all waiting at the corner, nobody crosses until every car in sight has passed. 

Witnessed a scene that warmed my soul yesterday. A lady squeezed into the back door of a crowded bus with standing room only. Then she passed a bill forward to the driver via twenty or so other passengers and a few minutes later her ticket and change came back to her via the same multiple hands. This in a city where nobody leaves a car for two minutes without installing The Club on steering wheel, rolling up every window to the top and locking all the doors. Go figr.

Working hard with my wife and her brother to sort out an incredible collection of crap that their father and step mother have been accumulating for the past several decades. Play time in the week to come. Going to Guanajuato by myslef for a few days while I leave the others to slave away. Yes Im a bum.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't posted in a while, but things have been great. Early mornings, so I get the chance to put in about 15 miles one way. 

Headed to Tampa tomorrow to pick up a Cannondale cyclocross bike to be my new commuter. Looking forward to it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Damn - posted this over in the "What have you done to your commuter..." forum by accident. What a rookie mistake.

I am back to daily commuting. I left my previous job at the end of September last year, took six months off (it was wonderful), started a new job this week. I've traded my 36 mile RT commute for a 42 mile RT commute. The new commute is a little flatter and 90% of is on a MUP which is a bonus. Rode the new commute three days this week and it's going to work out fine.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

cranked out almost 45mi RT for my commute today. I added a little bit to the route on the way home. I was tempted to add 7-10mi, but with it being early in the season, I didn't want to push it too much. My legs felt like jello when I got home anyway. I have a couple pics on the phone that I'll post later, but it was a great ride. sunny with temps in the mid-40's to low 50's during both my rides. Perfect with shorts and a long sleeved jersey.

I really am impressed with how most drivers behave around cyclists in Indianapolis these days. Years ago in my first bike commutes it was like the wild west. But I swear I haven't had a major problem in quite some time. About half of my ride today was on a MUP, which could have been much busier. The rest was on roads without lanes, except about a mile worth right by my house. Every car that passed gave me at least the required 3ft. Many gave me the whole lane, whether I took it or not. A few went a little fast but they still gave plenty of space. One car came close as I entered a roundabout this morning. It squeezed ahead of me right before the lanes started to split (just before the center median appeared). I still had plenty of space, but I think the fact that I felt that car was closer than any other is saying quite a lot about how much space people were giving me today.

And amazingly, I even got a wave from a solo roadie headed the opposite direction on a road on the way home. He was all kitted up, and there I was with running shoes, flat pedals, baggy shorts, a high-vis looser fit jersey (actually a running jersey) and a dorky helmet with a blinkie zip-tied to the back and a profuse amount of reflective tape on it. And a cat litter bucket pannier for my work clothes with lots of stickers.

Even the people walking dogs on the MUP were mostly well behaved. Except one girl in the morning letting her big dog drag her all over the place while she was on the phone. At least it wasn't on a flexi leash. There was even a little old lady walking 6 dogs no less than 50 or 60lbs each. Every single one of them was at her side and didn't flinch when anybody passed (person, dog, bike, anything).

A pretty smashing commute on the whole.


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## tubby74 (Jun 2, 2012)

first commute on wet roads since I added mudguards to the scourer. I was amazed just how much difference it made to the grit and spray. 
Sort of scared on guy, thought he was by the road changing a flat so I stopped to ask if all was ok, turns out he was just taking the front wheel off to stuff the bike in his car. 

wen through probably the second busiest bike route into the CBD and they decided to move a temporary works barrier so the gap onto king street path was narrow than the bars. the same barrier has been in place for a couple of weeks with no issues.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

I wave to the goon squads (roadies) on the weekends. They rarely wave back. Maybe they're afraid of looking uncool in front of their buddies.

Funny, they don't seem to have that issue when I'm kitted out on the same bike (sans pannier/rack, of course).


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Here are the pics I promised.









This one is a really cool bike sculpture at the intersection of the Monon and the Cultural Trail this morning. It is supposed to resemble Kurt Vonnegut but it isn't quite the same as what was planned.

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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

My other pic won't upload from my phone. I will have to get it another time

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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Pleasant ride today. I was actually in a poor mood before biking out, but felt a lot better and got work done at the university. Good day. Mid 50's and windy. I'll take it. Getting pretty near ecology field work season, so I'm pretty stoked about that. Biking and hiking in the woods. That's the good life.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in today, 99.9% dry on the main path that I use. Nice scenery as well. Not the trees. The three girls running in yoga pants, tank tops, and the middle one in a sports bra. Wasn't that warm out, but I guess mid 50's in Michigan seems like a heat wave. Unfortunately, I passed them from behind. 

I am just ready for the weather where I don't need to take any extra gear with me, like cold weather gloves/hat/under layer for the colder ride home. That will be really nice.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Cool, drenching mist this morning. I hesitate to even call it mist, but there really weren't defined drops. I got soaked. Oh well.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Nice morning, about 10C. Took the FS instead of the CX bike for the first time in 3 months... I rediscovered what brakes are and nearly put myself over the bars for the first few tries!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lovely ride in knickers and with the slick tires this morning. So nice to unload some layers and heavy vibrating studded tires. Below freezing but not for long today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First commute of the year on the bigapples, and it felt like I was flying. Although I still can't really jump the fixie, which is disappointing.

Tomorrow I have to <gasp> drive to work. It'll be the first time since I sprained my ankle back in 2010, but I've got a meeting after work and a dog to attend to, and sadly it's just not going to work any other way.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

First rain ride of the season. A bit damp this AM with a mix of rain and snow and sleet. Good times. In town the trails are starting to feel the effects of the warming and were soft for most of the way and in places there were significant stretches of pavement showing through. 

Ended up not riding at all this weekend, which was overall a good thing, I think. Needed some time away from the saddle and had plenty of yard work to do to get my exercise in.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Cool graffiti from yesterday








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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

newfangled said:


> First commute of the year on the bigapples, and it felt like I was flying. Although I still can't really jump the fixie, which is disappointing.
> 
> Tomorrow I have to <gasp> drive to work. It'll be the first time since I sprained my ankle back in 2010, but I've got a meeting after work and a dog to attend to, and sadly it's just not going to work any other way.


How do you like riding fixed? I am hoping to get the fixed wheel back on my bike and practice a bit now that it is warmer out. I would like to go full on fixed, but I don't think that I am doing it correctly, because after my one and only commute fixed, my legs hurt for a week afterwards.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

No commute today. Oh well. I'm getting proper rain gear soon so then I can't allow myself that excuse. I just don't like feeling so soggy for the rest of the day.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> How do you like riding fixed?


My legs buzzed for the first week or so, but that did fade pretty quickly. I have bad knees from when I used to run, so I was pretty wary of trying fixed, but I haven't had any problems. I'm not using straps or clips though, which might make things easier on my knees?

I've still got both brakes on, and won't take them off. I've had a few panic stops where the v-brakes stop me instantly, but if I'd tried to do it manually I would have needed another 20'. Generally I try not to use the brakes, but they're essential for emergencies and handy when I'm feeling lazy.

My only real complaint is that jumping is so, so complicated. After 6 months it's still completely terrifying to hop a curb or even ride off a curb at speed.

And with the snow melting we're starting to get some roots on our trails again. Last week was the first time I'd had to worry about pedalstrikes, and I had plenty of them. I'd been enjoying the snowy singletrack all winter, but summer riding will be something else.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2014)

Just dying today at work. Got passed by a roadie this morning and spent the next 6 miles cranking the fargo up to 18-19 mph to prove that fat tires kick your ass faster than skinny ones. Never a good idea to spend that long, that close to MHR, but I haven't learned my limits yet - apparently. Can't wait until I get my cross tires mounted and have the legs to spin them fast enough to play at that level. Meanwhile, I can't help but think he's at work feeling the pain too (from laughing at me so hard).:eekster:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> Just dying today at work. Got passed by a roadie this morning and spent the next 6 miles cranking the fargo up to 18-19 mph to prove that fat tires kick your ass faster than skinny ones. Never a good idea to spend that long, that close to MHR, but I haven't learned my limits yet - apparently. Can't wait until I get my cross tires mounted and have the legs to spin them fast enough to play at that level. Meanwhile, I can't help but think he's at work feeling the pain too (from laughing at me so hard).:eekster:


Don't feel bad. I got passed by a serious roadie some time back who made the snark comment "nice fenders" (mine are covered in Avengers duct tape) while coming around. About a half mile later we meet each other on a half mile 2% grade. Well, I've got plenty of weight to put behind those pedals in a tall gear, and watched him eat my dust. You'll be doing the same in no time.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Don't feel bad. I got passed by a serious roadie some time back who made the snark comment "nice fenders" (mine are covered in Avengers duct tape) while coming around. About a half mile later we meet each other on a half mile 2% grade. Well, I've got plenty of weight to put behind those pedals in a tall gear, and watched him eat my dust. You'll be doing the same in no time.


 I don't know about that. I'm on the backside of the century and probably past my prime. On the other hand, the season is young and I'm all sorts of competitive.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> I don't know about that. I'm on the backside of the century and probably past my prime. On the other hand, the season is young and I'm all sorts of competitive.


Think about it. These guys haven't been out pushing pedals all winter, and you've got the power legs now. I'm not saying you're going to start blowing them away left and right, but don't underestimate what you've got.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Think about it. These guys haven't been out pushing pedals all winter, and you've got the power legs now. I'm not saying you're going to start blowing them away left and right, but don't underestimate what you've got.


I love the first few weeks of spring when the roadies are out and I am able to keep pace or even pass them rolling on my 35+ pound Pugsley in full on commuter mode. They generally look at me like what the F? Of course, that fun is far too fleeting. Once they get their legs back, then they drop me like I'm standing still.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Well, I just found out that I'll be going with only a rear brake for the next few days. Went to have the new CX Cannondale serviced, front cantilever spring is shot, goes to replace it and the whole boss comes off with the canti lever right off of the fork. Fork is fine, but I have to wait while they order a new boss. Should be here Wednesday, so it's not that bad of a wait. I'll just have to keep my speed down in those squirrelly places.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Normal commute. 60F for ride in and 85F for ride home. Chain keeps falling off but I've been too lazy to slide wheel back. Has fallen off once each day for the last four days on my way home. I've noticed that four mile commutes are a lot less interesting than 15 mile commutes, but I get home a lot sooner.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> I love the first few weeks of spring when the roadies are out and I am able to keep pace or even pass them rolling on my 35+ pound Pugsley in full on commuter mode. They generally look at me like what the F? Of course, that fun is far too fleeting. Once they get their legs back, then they drop me like I'm standing still.


I've been on the same boat this last weekend. I kept thinking to myself 'just wait until next week, and it'll be no contest'. Ha!

Funny thing is the bike paths are a lot less appealing now that there are a bunch of summertime cyclists and slow families with baby strollers that either don't know what 'on your left' means our need a refresher on the left vs. right dilemma. Maybe I'll start taking the roads again... It's nice to not have to worry about cars and the trail system actually leads the 10.8 miles from my neighborhood to the university, though. That's kinda hard to just give up.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> I've been on the same boat this last weekend. I kept thinking to myself 'just wait until next week, and it'll be no contest'. Ha!
> 
> Funny thing is the bike paths are a lot less appealing now that there are a bunch of summertime cyclists and slow families with baby strollers that either don't know what 'on your left' means our need a refresher on the left vs. right dilemma. Maybe I'll start taking the roads again... It's nice to not have to worry about cars and the trail system actually leads the 10.8 miles from my neighborhood to the university, though. That's kinda hard to just give up.


^ THIS!!!! The path that leads out of my apartment towards work has a bunch of runners and walkers right in the middle of the path. That bugs me, because as I am riding, and I say that I am going to PASS YOU on your left, they do what? Move to the left. No, that is not how that works. I am on the left, you move to the right. Let fast traffic by, just like on the highway. I pass on the left, you move to the right to let me by.

I commute at an odd time of the day, so the chances of me getting smoked on my ride are slim to none. I might play catch up though if someone passes unless I am on the single speed, then I will for sure. Lots of roadies where I live, and the path that I ride is for the most part straight and smooth, and fast.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2014)

*Swiper, no swiping!*



TenSpeed said:


> ^ THIS!!!! The path that leads out of my apartment towards work has a bunch of runners and walkers right in the middle of the path. That bugs me, because as I am riding, and I say that I am going to PASS YOU on your left, they do what? Move to the left. No, that is not how that works. I am on the left, you move to the right. Let fast traffic by, just like on the highway. I pass on the left, you move to the right to let me by.
> 
> I commute at an odd time of the day, so the chances of me getting smoked on my ride are slim to none. I might play catch up though if someone passes unless I am on the single speed, then I will for sure. Lots of roadies where I live, and the path that I ride is for the most part straight and smooth, and fast.


 That's why I almost never announce when I pass (so long as the individual appears to be on course and no chance to make an abrupt turn presents itself). Folks with dogs and small children get the ding bell and a vocal but that's about it. On the plus side this morning, I watched a Red Fox running down the trail with a balled-up T-Shirt in its mouth. I guess the Dora stereotype of Foxes is at least plausable. I suppose that's the advantage of riding rail-to-trail in the country and being first on the trail.


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## zeeshan66 (Jan 2, 2014)

This morning marked the first time I've ever ridden my bike to work. The was about mid 40's here in Columbus a bit damp but my 30 min commute was awesome. Legs we're a bit wobbly for the first 20 mins after arriving but it was great. Felt very alert and refreshed. Wasn't to bad having my laptop/lunch/morning shake in my backpack but it worked out well. Hope it holds out. 

Will definitely be doing this as much as possible while my contract lasts at this location. So glad to join the community, hope to see a few other riders around the Dublin area. 

Cheers


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

On the way home yesterday, a douchebag roadie team ride was on the mup coming towards me, and a bunch of them were riding two abreast like douchebag roadies. So after successfully dodging 20 or 30 of the douchebags, I finally had to bail into the dirt for one pair of douchebags that had no clue what was going on. I just sigh/yelled "Seriously? F* off" at them as I swerved, but I realized I'm being too nice. I should have barked the standard "HEY!" that I use for idiot drivers to wake the morons up. Should have done that to an oblivious jogging group last week too when no amount of bell ringing would get them to clear.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

zeeshan66 said:


> This morning marked the first time I've ever ridden my bike to work.


Excellent!!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> On the way home yesterday, a douchebag roadie team ride was on the mup coming towards me, and a bunch of them were riding two abreast like douchebag roadies. So after successfully dodging 20 or 30 of the douchebags, I finally had to bail into the dirt for one pair of douchebags that had no clue what was going on. I just sigh/yelled "Seriously? F* off" at them as I swerved, but I realized I'm being too nice. I should have barked the standard "HEY!" that I use for idiot drivers to wake the morons up. Should have done that to an oblivious jogging group last week too when no amount of bell ringing would get them to clear.


Stop across the path and stare them down...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

zeeshan66 said:


> This morning marked the first time I've ever ridden my bike to work.


Huge congrats!! Welcome to a whole new world of riding.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> On the way home yesterday, a douchebag roadie team ride was on the mup coming towards me, and a bunch of them were riding two abreast like douchebag roadies. So after successfully dodging 20 or 30 of the douchebags, I finally had to bail into the dirt for one pair of douchebags that had no clue what was going on. I just sigh/yelled "Seriously? F* off" at them as I swerved, but I realized I'm being too nice. I should have barked the standard "HEY!" that I use for idiot drivers to wake the morons up. Should have done that to an oblivious jogging group last week too when no amount of bell ringing would get them to clear.


This is when it pays to be a bit of a clyde on a clyde ride - just keep rolling right at em and let their carbon dream bikes disintegrate as they come into contact with real steal...

I kid, I kid. I do have an issue with roadies doing group rides on the MUPs, though. Not that I don't think they have the same right to use the pathways as anyone else, but the issue is that they move at a pace that is quite a bit different than the majority of the users, causing a potential situation. And the more lycra they wear, the less attention they tend to pay to anyone else, it seems. I know when I am on the MUP, I keep my speed pegged below 13mph unless the pathway is completely clear (which it usually is at 6AM).

Good ride in this AM. Fresh snow in the Valley and in town. A bit chilly. The biggest challenge was that yesterday the MUP turned to mush - becoming pocked and tracked from users sinking into the mush. Then that froze over night. Would've been a good day for a 6 inch travel full squish bike. My teeth are still chattering from the vibrations!


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## zeeshan66 (Jan 2, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> Excellent!!





TenSpeed said:


> Huge congrats!! Welcome to a whole new world of riding.


Thanks!

I think my co-workers were even more excited than I was :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> This is when it pays to be a bit of a clyde on a clyde ride - just keep rolling right at em and let their carbon dream bikes disintegrate as they come into contact with real steal...


It's a quantity issue. I did successfully play chicken with 3 or 4 different pairs, but in a big pack there will eventually be someone who's just not paying attention at all.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It rained overnight quite a bit, I woke up this morning and it had just stopped. I got ready, wore rain paints but not a rain coat. I opened the garage door and it was downpouring. I didn't make it to the end of the street before my jacket started to soak through. I went back home and got a rain coat then had a very very rainy ride in. Hitching a ride home because a friend/coworker is helping me with some tree work this afternoon, I'll just throw the bike in his truck so he doesn't get to my house half an hour before me.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2014)

zeeshan66 said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I think my co-workers were even more excited than I was :thumbsup::thumbsup:


 +1 on the Congratulations. Co-workers are an interesting breed. They'll cheer you on when it makes sense to them that you commuted and question your sanity on the days when the weather is sketchy. Caution here, commuting is a strange addiction and it can lead to some questionable behavior (like buying bike for specific weather conditions).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wind, rain, and crazy lightning overnight. With the snow still on the ground, the lighting flashes looked more like balls of fire from missiles than lighting. By the time I left home the rain had let up and it was kind of like riding through a damp cloud the whole way. I picked a bad spot to pull to the curb and take off my hat and gloves for the uphill...all was fine until the Greyhound sized bus came past leaving about a foot at my elbow, two at the most. I had to take at least half the blame though, as traffic going the other way was backed up at a red light, so he didn’t really have the option of waiting to go further around me in the other lane unless he waited for their light to change.


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## zeeshan66 (Jan 2, 2014)

Forster said:


> +1 on the Congratulations. Co-workers are an interesting breed. They'll cheer you on when it makes sense to them that you commuted and question your sanity on the days when the weather is sketchy. Caution here, commuting is a strange addiction and it can lead to some questionable behavior (like buying bike for specific weather conditions).


That's definitely hardcore for now its only non-rain days for work. I've been out in a heavy downpour last week haven't felt like such a kid in so long lol Thanks for the words of encouragement. Even 500+pages on everyone is very supportive and tolerable esp of newbs lol cheers


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

We got the hottest day of the year so far up here. 72*! I definitely rode my bike. At 6am i was in shorts and not freezing cold.

Also, I pushed it about 90% today. Home to work in 18 minutes because the route is mostly trails. It usually takes me about 12-15 in a car depending on traffic.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

First commute on new bike, and day 1 of trying to commute by bike everyday. Working second shift has its downsides right now. Tshirt and shorts for the ride in, then dress for riding in barely 40deg when I leave at 1130pm. Nice to have a bike just for commuting now, can wear whatever and still be comfortable. Not to mention much quicker on road tires versus big knobbys on my 29er.

Sent from my Nokia Stupidphone using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Welcome to the group. We're a mostly a friendly bunch.

I think yesterday was my last lake crossing unless we get a cold snap. I commemorated it with a time lapse video. I'm ready to get back on the road.




I carpooled in and brought the Cross Check for the trip home.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Welcome to the group. We're a mostly a friendly bunch.
> 
> I think yesterday was my last lake crossing unless we get a cold snap. I commemorated it with a time lapse video. I'm ready to get back on the road.
> 
> ...


 Cool, what's the non-time lapsed duration of your commute?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ I wasn't sure if the video would load. Youtube has been funny for me lately. If you don't set it to HD viewing it goes so fast that it just looks like a blur. When I take the over lake route it is about 50-60 min to do the 8+ miles. On the road it is 35-40 min to do 12.5 miles. 

At just about the 2:00 mark you can see where the edges are opening up.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow bedwards..I have route envy, and I have an incredible route. Super cool. That looks like work when it's soft!


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

The roads are mostly dry and the pogies have come off for the year. So I decided that it was time to pull the Vaya out of the basement while the Dummy is getting repainted. I flew in and was sure I had set an all time world record. I then spent the next few hours congratulating myself on how fast and strong I am after riding a 50lbs bike all winter. 

Then I left on the return ride into a 22mph headwind...sigh.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

90F for the ride home. Too bad I had to sit out a month with broken ribs and miss all the 75F afternoon weather. Planning on getting up to Blue Diamond this weekend for my first ride in a month on mt. bike. Probably missed all the wildflowers too. We get like a two week window where the flowers are everywhere before the sun burns them all up. Guess I should be thankful though that Vegas is a 365 day a year biking town.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Guess I should be thankful though that Vegas is a 365 day a year biking town.


Huh? Whatda mean? Aren't all towns 365 day a year biking towns?

To be honest, I'd much prefer my -20F rides to a 90F ride any day. I can always put on more layers. I can only take off so much before the cops are called!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice time lapse, Bedwards, though I am a little dizzy now. Nice routing and cool it comes out so close to work. Road riding sounds like a good idea, I have no interest in how long it would take you to swim across the lake.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2014)

My lack of faith in drivers was confirmed today (as it is everyday). A woman backing out of her driveway hit her trash can (the big ones with wheels) and she kept backing until the thing had lodged under her rear bumper. Then she pulled forward far enough to let the can pop free of the bumper. Then (wait for it) she backed over the can again.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Getting back to the 40degree swings in temp that mark our shoulder seasons while awaiting the return of the seasonal gray-hairs. Commuting has been good and I keep getting faster. Turned over 6,000 miles since I started tracking on Strava not quite two years ago. Not as much as some, but the most I've ridden...ever.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

tigris99 said:


> First commute on new bike, and day 1 of trying to commute by bike everyday. Working second shift has its downsides right now. Tshirt and shorts for the ride in, then dress for riding in barely 40deg when I leave at 1130pm. Nice to have a bike just for commuting now, can wear whatever and still be comfortable. Not to mention much quicker on road tires versus big knobbys on my 29er.
> 
> Sent from my Nokia Stupidphone using Tapatalk


You and I are in the same boat. Not sure of your location, but I can feel your pain of having to haul more clothes than needed for that cooler ride home. I work 3-11:30, living in Michigan.

Ride in 57F and very sunny, cool breeze blowing, very nice conditions. Ride was super fast. Dressed just right for the weather. Jeans, t-shirt and thin arm warmers. Incident free except for the construction a-holes that are parked in the bike lane that is right in front of the building that they are working on. Not sure on the legality of this. Shouldn't the bike lane be open? Ride home was 48F and breezy, and cooler. Nice night for a ride home. Modified my route home slightly to include every possible upgrade that I could hit. Finally able to ride the MUP both ways now that the snow has mostly melted. It is pitch black at night, passing only one street light where it crosses a road. I reset my computer right before I hit the path, and my top speed was 26 mph. Not too bad for me. I don't know how long I maintained it, but I was riding on the edge of my Lumia 350's throw it seemed like. A suicidal rabbit darted out, stopped, then ran BACK right in front of me. Ain't nobody got time for the brakes, so I sort of swerved and wished that lil feller well as I almost ran his ass over.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> My lack of faith in drivers was confirmed today (as it is everyday). A woman backing out of her driveway hit her trash can (the big ones with wheels) and she kept backing until the thing had lodged under her rear bumper. Then she pulled forward far enough to let the can pop free of the bumper. Then (wait for it) she backed over the can again.


Solid strategy. Just keeping screwing up and keep wondering what happened. Don't acknowledge what your doing, ever. Works for me, just ask my girlfriend.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Spatialized said:


> Getting back to the 40degree swings in temp that mark our shoulder seasons while awaiting the return of the seasonal gray-hairs. Commuting has been good and I keep getting faster. Turned over 6,000 miles since I started tracking on Strava not quite two years ago. Not as much as some, but the most I've ridden...ever.


Wicked.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice time lapse, Bedwards, though I am a little dizzy now. Nice routing and cool it comes out so close to work. Road riding sounds like a good idea, I have no interest in how long it would take you to swim across the lake.


Other than the edges opening up the ice is still pretty thick but the edges are pretty important. The big problem is the muddy trails and streams that are forming where trails use to be.

I did take the roads today on a light, fast cross bike. Nice! I doubled my average speed of late.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. 16F in the Valley and a touch warmer in town. Other than that, nothing much doing. Just riding on. Riding on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good ride, but knickers (lycra) under knickers (baggy) was too warm at 34F. I passed Montpelier’s mini-streetsweeper doing the sidewalk, and it had also done one pass on the shoulder I was riding, a huge improvement as there was about an inch deep of spooge there before. He happened to look over and I gave him the thumbs up. The drivetrain was complaining a bit after 3 days of spring grit without any attention. I think we are done with the studded tires for a while, hallelujah!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Spring commuter traffic


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Clearly your camo allowed you to sneak up on him.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I was wearing the green jacket today too...total stealth mode.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today is looking like a good one, easy ride in, 60 and sunny for the ride home. 15-20 mph headwind, but that's sort of the norm right now.

Yesterday morning I got caught in the rain, no rain clothes or fenders, made a glorious mess and had a persistent 20-30 mph headwind the entire ride home. Still enjoyed it more than driving.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Not super stoked, today. Weather's great, had a wonderful ride in with time to kill, so I decided to hit some single track. That wheel I had repaired feels way squirrelly and I don't know if I trust it. So I'm not happy about that.

Knowing that I had probably done the wheel in that one day, though it still works for the commute, I did some research. The consensus I've seen on Alex rims is 'cheap and durable, but heavy'. That's exactly what I need. Does anyone have experience with Alex rims? They put them on the surly ogre so they can't be too shabby is what I was thinking.


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

I have had good experience with Alex rims. I have adventurers on 2 bikes and the Dummy is sporting the BH rims. I like them for exactly what you quoted them "cheap and durable".


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hmm... I'll take this to a wheel forum I guess. Since I need it for commute and trail purposes at this point, I am kinda worried about the idea of putting something like a Alex adventure or dm-18 on a 29er when they are considered road rims I think. Still, they put those on a lot of bikes... The only other things I've seen in the cheap, durable, heavy category that look promising are sun ringle mtx33, rhynolite, and inferno rims. I was thinking mtx33 for front only, thinner for rear.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in today. Sunny and low 50's. A bit breezy but that seems to be the norm for now? Made an adjustment on the saddle on my fakie, and it seems to be just what I needed because the cock pit feels a lot bigger now. I think I had it wayyy to close, and backing it off a bit made for a nice ride in. Will have to take the rear wheel in to the shop to see if they can figure out if it is dragging or not. It feels like it is, and if I spin it in the rack compared to my Aerospoke, it is no comparison, as it slows down and stops way sooner.

I mounted one of the Serfas Thunderbolt headlights all the way at the bottom of the downtube of my fakie, right by the crank aimed at the front wheel. I got a LOT of looks as I rode through campus tonight. I am pretty sure one guy at the bus stop video recorded me going by on his iPhone. It made for a really cool look, and actually created a lot of motion, because the shadow of me pedaling was thrown off on both sides of me, and it lit up my front wheel pretty well. Thunderbolt tail on the rear, and my Lumina 350 on the bar. Did get a huge compliment from a co-worker from the ride home Sunday. Said he could see me really far away, and that I was very noticeable with the reflective bits on my bag, shoes, the of course the lights. Was very appreciative of how much light I was putting off. I was running the dual Thunderbolt headlights on the bar that night, I remember.

Oh, and that same damn suicidal rabbit almost became roadkill today. Same rabbit, almost the exact same spot, only this time he was even closer to losing his life.

I know a lot of you would rather ride your bike to work than drive, but it really is not that way for me. Not when I drive this.


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2014)

60 degrees today, first commute in shorts since last fall. I forgot my radio so no NPR news on the ride, just the occasional "RREETTTT" of a rock between the tire and fender to mix things up. Got almost all the way to work before two donut munchers in a minivan pulled in front of me on a protected crossing. I felt so good about my ride I passed on the chance to tire scuff their van. I did experience the fun of having the entire trail consumed by runners last night. One of our local high school's teams on a training run. Coach was running on the far left (my right) of the trail until he realized I wasn't yielding. Sure, I'm on the mountain bike and could take the off-trail path, but he won't flat on thorns either.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

NDD said:


> Hmm... I'll take this to a wheel forum I guess. Since I need it for commute and trail purposes at this point, I am kinda worried about the idea of putting something like a Alex adventure or dm-18 on a 29er when they are considered road rims I think. Still, they put those on a lot of bikes... The only other things I've seen in the cheap, durable, heavy category that look promising are sun ringle mtx33, rhynolite, and inferno rims. I was thinking mtx33 for front only, thinner for rear.


I had Sun rims on my last bike - an FS Giant rode for both commuting and trail riding. They got abused like a mofo and held up awesome. When I purchased them I think I paid 80 for the front and 100 for the rear - full built up wheels. I sold them when I broke my Giant frame for 75 bucks and the guy rode them for a year with no issues before selling them to someone else.

I was pushing 280 for most of the 6 years I rode the rims. They were heavy as can be, but they took everything my fat arse was able to throw at them.

Good ride in today for the most part. A bit chilly though. 14F in the Valley. I've come to realize two things - first, the more expensive of a car the person is driving, the less likely they are to yield right of way or give ample room as they pass. Second, the bigger a vehicle is, the less likely it is to give right of way or ample room when passing. In the past two days I've been almost mirror clipped by a city bus and a Mercedes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> I know a lot of you would rather ride your bike to work than drive, but it really is not that way for me. Not when I drive this.


Nah, I had an RX-8 that I sold when I started commuting almost every day. I do miss that car but not the 20MPG. (Yours does look like a fun ride)

I forgot how much fun it was to ride a road bike. I took the long hilly, chilly way in. Only 25 this morning but it's warming up nice now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Same here, weatherwise. I should be able to swap the wool knickers for chamois shorts under the baggy shorts for the ride home. Nice ride in, the wind died, making it speedier than it has been. Pretty bad ice patches though, I actually walked one short section on the narrow Northfield street to make sure I didn't full either into the granite curbing or traffic.

My dog has had dog-company for 6 months, and his last friend goes home tomorrow. I hope he is good home alone. Mine has the orange vest on.








Here's a nice house I pass - wouldn't want to have to paint it, though.








And some cute snow buntings, a huge flock hung out at my house for a few days.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> I had Sun rims on my last bike - an FS Giant rode for both commuting and trail riding. They got abused like a mofo and held up awesome. When I purchased them I think I paid 80 for the front and 100 for the rear - full built up wheels. I sold them when I broke my Giant frame for 75 bucks and the guy rode them for a year with no issues before selling them to someone else.
> 
> I was pushing 280 for most of the 6 years I rode the rims. They were heavy as can be, but they took everything my fat arse was able to throw at them.
> 
> Good ride in today for the most part. A bit chilly though. 14F in the Valley. I've come to realize two things - first, the more expensive of a car the person is driving, the less likely they are to yield right of way or give ample room as they pass. Second, the bigger a vehicle is, the less likely it is to give right of way or ample room when passing. In the past two days I've been almost mirror clipped by a city bus and a Mercedes.


Wicked. The wheel forum hasn't been much help yet. Probably because I'm looking for heavy, durable, and cheap. Understandable I guess. I'll look into sun ringle, then. I'll talk to my lbs guy, they hook me up well. And usually if I pay more than if like they have impeccable service and that ends up being free or severely discounted.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Was a beautiful ride home last night. Weather is finally getting nice and the lake has now officially melted. It was my first ride in shorts for the year and I noticed a lot more cyclists out on my route today. Stopped to take a picture of downtown on the way out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I was riding on our lake this morning. I was going to ride across it on the cross bike but decided that the opposite shore might be open and I'd be stuck so I aborted. We've still got a decent amount of snow on the ground but it is finally disappearing fast.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm seriously hoping you east coasters get ripped off in the snow department next winter and we get it all.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I haven't posted in some time. Not because I haven't commuted, but I've been so caught up in everything. Commutes have been good. Still pushing myself to drop weight and get fast while still having fun. It's my goal to make my cruising speed somewhere around 18 mph, while I'm currently around 15.

I picked up a new (to me) Cannondale X6. Ultegra group set with upgraded Dura Ace crank. Older 9 speed setup, but it's a freaking blast anyway. Shifts so smooth. Currently I only have a rear brake, although that should change tomorrow. Had a busted canti set on the front fork, and the boss had fused itself to the canti lever. Taking the cantis from the rear and moving them to the front (Tektro Oryx, so it takes threaded V pads) and installing some mini V's on the back.

Got into it with a motorist on Tuesday evening, so much so that law enforcement got involved. He wasn't called, just happened to be on the road and witnessed us arguing in a turn lane. I was in the left hand turn lane coming up to the line at a red light pretty fast. With only about 15 feet between me and the line some asshat in a Jetta comes flying in front of me with horn blaring and misses my front tire by mere inches. I couldn't believe what had just happened, so I took off my helmet and yelled "What the hell is your problem". Young guy dresses like he was on the cover of GQ gets out and tells me he was allowed because he's a car and I need to get on the sidewalk and if he hit me then oh well. I completely lost my composure and went off. Around the time that I was yelling about how his arrogance and ******* move almost took a father away from three kids the officer shows up and calms everything down. Turns out he's the former partner of a part time mechanic and full time bike cop at my LBS, so he completely sided with me. Cited the driver for reckless driving and failure to signal a lane change.

I've got a coworker who lives less than a mile away from the office looking to start commuting by bike. We're going to the LBS tomorrow to check out some of their used offerings. I'm excited for him, especially since he's become a good friend. Maybe I'll finally have a bike buddy that doesn't work weird hours.

Oh, and here's the obligatory shot of the new ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Got into it with a motorist on Tuesday evening, so much so that law enforcement got involved. ... Around the time that I was yelling about how his arrogance and ******* move almost took a father away from three kids the officer shows up and calms everything down. Turns out he's the former partner of a part time mechanic and full time bike cop at my LBS, so he completely sided with me. Cited the driver for reckless driving and failure to signal a lane change.


Yes! Justice! I hope the officer educated the motorist, while he was at it.

Nice bike, too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice new ride, Texan-n-Fla!

For some reason it's _always_ jetta drivers.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Ended up staying at work an extra... 7 or so hours, to get some stuff done on time, putting my departure at almost exactly 1 AM. Was a clear but windy day all day, but by the time I got out the wind had subsided and a light rain had moved in. Very wet by the time I got home, but it was a quiet, quick, relaxing ride (I confess I took the short route). I saw one car in the whole 8.something mile trip.


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## Saphiro (Apr 11, 2014)

My ride back this evening was beautiful. 11 pm, and the stars were out, few cars on the road and the last 3 miles I had the bike path all to myself.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Looking forward to my ride this morning. I realized while I was cleaning my bike yesterday that my front wheel was totally too out of true to ride or really to fix. If that happens after a short trail ride, I'm fine with it. I've currently taken the front wheel from my dad's giant cypress DX that he left when he moved to Canada. Same size as my wheel actually.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Got into it with a motorist on Tuesday evening, so much so that law enforcement got involved. He wasn't called, just happened to be on the road and witnessed us arguing in a turn lane. I was in the left hand turn lane coming up to the line at a red light pretty fast. With only about 15 feet between me and the line some asshat in a Jetta comes flying in front of me with horn blaring and misses my front tire by mere inches. I couldn't believe what had just happened, so I took off my helmet and yelled "What the hell is your problem". Young guy dresses like he was on the cover of GQ gets out and tells me he was allowed because he's a car and I need to get on the sidewalk and if he hit me then oh well. I completely lost my composure and went off. Around the time that I was yelling about how his arrogance and ******* move almost took a father away from three kids the officer shows up and calms everything down. Turns out he's the former partner of a part time mechanic and full time bike cop at my LBS, so he completely sided with me. Cited the driver for reckless driving and failure to signal a lane change.


Well it's a good thing he didn't hit you. You also got really lucky with that cop, too. That'd be one of the few times I've heard of them actually enforcing the rights that laws give to cyclists. I think you need more bricks... But then again maybe not.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

NDD said:


> Well it's a good thing he didn't hit you. You also got really lucky with that cop, too. That'd be one of the few times I've heard of them actually enforcing the rights that laws give to cyclists. I think you need more bricks... But then again maybe not.


I am quite blessed that he didn't take me out. However, when it comes to law enforcement getting involved, they are generally able to discern the events. There was no possible way he was in the right, and there's no way he could have pretended he was. We have a very large cycling community here, and I'm sure if I had to get dirty and take the guy to court, I could have without much trouble. Fortunately, it didn't come to that and I pray it never does.

This mornings ride was pretty bland. Nothing to write home about. Feeling really sluggish and woke up 20 minutes late, so I only had 10 to get ready and out the door. At least it's Friday, right? Have to have the wifey pick up the Cannondale and drop it off at the LBS. The brake boss came in late yesterday and so we'll be playing brake swap today. The Tektro Oryx that are currently on the rear will be going to the front, and I've got a set of mini V's to go on the rear. I thought about doing mini V's on both front and rear, but cable housing has been cut and bars are wrapped. I ain't redoing that mess.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

*Texan-nFla*, glad to hear your story had a happy ending for you!

Due to a planning and scheduling error on my part yesterday, I rode to work this morning missing about half my kit. Then I get to work and realize I'm going to have to walk around the office all day in my MTB shoes with cleats because I have no other shoes here. That's all okay, the brand new set of Continental Contact touring tires I rode in on today made the ride very sweet. Goodbye winter knobbies!


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## Guest (Apr 11, 2014)

Spring has sprung in the great midwest and the stupid is in full bloom. Riding the bike trail today I was forced off the trail by a merging front-end loader carrying a dumpster from one part of our university to another. I get that the trail represents a short cut between university properties, but I don't care.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Great ride in today. Riding without the rack because I didn't put it back on after cleaning the bike. Just had a backpack with a single notebook and lunch. That is the lightest I've ridden in a while. kinda nice. Also with the warm weather and lack of wind I got there a bit faster than usual.

I'm happy.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Oh, how I'm loving having the road bike back in action! Three days of commuting, today included a stop at the pool for a swim as part of brick training for a triathlon. I was pretty happy to get a 2nd overall on a Strava segment and redeem myself from my prior DFL status. Road bike vs MTB with studded tires and fenders. What a difference the bike makes!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

First time I commuted the five day work week in a very long time. With work so close to home now (4.4 miles), I can't really ever justify not peddling to work, unless I have somewhere far to be after work in the opposite direction. In the 90s this week for the peddle home though the seasonal average is supposed to be 75F. Cooling down next week though with wind.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely awesome!!! Temp on the ride in: 71. Temp on the ride home: 66. Wore shorts and a t shirt for the first time this year, and did that ever feel good. No extra gear to take with me so my load was really light. Sweating when I got to work!!! We had a torrential downpour about an hour before I left to head home. Roads were soaked, and myself and my bike were/are a hot mess. Will take some serious time to clean it up this time as it is covered in dirt/grime/leftover winter stuff. I knew it was supposed to rain, just wasn't sure when. Once I got out and saw that it was just a light mist, I threw all caution to the wind. Still nerve wracking to look down at that skinny tire up front, and with how crappy the roads are it makes me nervous. Going from a 2.3 Panaracer on my mtb to a 700x23 on the SS takes some time to adjust!


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2014)

Oddly snowy for April. My wife found a cost-savings from commuting on your bike calculator on Kipplinger's website. It's pretty simple and makes me wonder if we should cancel our subscription (Federal reembursement rate+daily parking and Tolls - .10/mile for the cost of the bike). My car costs more to operate than the standard rate, but I thought the .10/mile cost for a bike might be about right.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Forster said:


> My car costs more to operate than the standard rate, but I thought the .10/mile cost for a bike might be about right.


Over the last 9 years, my biking (races, clothing, parts, shoes, bike and everything) Has cost something like $12000.

I have ridden some 46000 km.

So that is $0.26/km or $.43/mi Canadian dollars...

Take out the racing and stuff like that and I am closer to $.15/km or $$0.25...

Good news I am not even trying to save money, and I like and ride high end stuff


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. 35 and calm in the valley and 32 and calm in town. At 4:40 when I'm leaving my house the sky is just starting to lighten over the mountains to the east. With the gain of 5+ minutes of light per day, I should be able to go sans-lights in the next week or so. Love it! On Saturday night I got out for a ride at 8:30 PM and didn't even have to turn on my lights until almost 10. Light is good. Makes it warmer. Brought a set of shorts with me today for the ride home. Looking forward to getting some sun on my legs!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Five bikes in the rack at work for the first time in months! 49F this morning but now up to an unseasonably warm 71! Should lose a lot of snow from the yard today. Rain tomorrow and a flood watch is on through Wednesday evening.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Great commute this morning. 45, windy, rainy. Come July I'll be paying for any breeze at all so I'm cherishing this.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Simonns said:


> We've got a baby due any day now so I have started working from home, missing my morning commute for the first time in years. Feels strange, so I decided to get up this morning and go for a run. That was a mistake. I have't ran more than .5 miles in many months and now my legs don't want to work and feel like they weigh 50 lbs a piece. I'll be living vicariously through you guys now for the next few weeks.


First commute in over a month. The falling snow and slick path were a nice touch. Felt good to be on the bike in the morning again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Five bikes in the rack at work for the first time in months! 49F this morning but now up to an unseasonably warm 71! Should lose a lot of snow from the yard today. Rain tomorrow and a flood watch is on through Wednesday evening.


It was only about 35 here this morning. I went with the shorts anyway. Great sunrise from the top of the hill once I climbed out of the clouds.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

42 degrees and sunny this morning. I love my commute. 2 miles on a sweet bike path along the river and over bridges. Get to ride by marmots, geese, ducks. Takes me about 18 mins to ride to work and about 22 to go back due to hills. It takes me 12 to drive to work and 15 to drive back due to traffic.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Going from a 2.3 Panaracer on my mtb to a 700x23 on the SS takes some time to adjust!


2.3 Rampages?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute today. Back into 70s for ride home which was a nice change from last week's 90s.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tomorrow looks interesting...high of 62F, low of 22F, possibly over one inch of rain and winds 15-25 with gusts up to 50mph. Plus that flood watch.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> 2.3 Rampages?


Yep, I believe those were it. Didn't much care for them as they were way too much tire for what I rode, but I was way too lazy to swap em out lol.

Commute today was.....crap, because it didn't happen. Woke up to 66F. Left for work in the car at 48F. Left work tonight at 29F with snow falling. Seriously? It was low 70's Sunday, and now there is snow again. Mid 60's by Thursday again, so that will be taken care of. Will be back on the bike again before the end of the week.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too bad of a ride this AM. The muni started plowing down the MUP, so we're getting more bare pavement and less standing water overall. The freeze last night made for some really bomber trails in most places. Today it looks to be a bit rainy maybe, which might just be good to help get the rest of the snow taken care of. 

A bit of wrenching will take place tonight, I think. Time for a new cassette, chain, and 44T chainring. Ah, maintenance. Gotta love it. I'm toying with the idea of a new rear der not because I necessarily need one, but because I can justify it by saying I can take my current one and slap on my wife's bike that the son FUBARed by mucking about with the limit screws, throwing the der into the wheel and causing all kinds of chaos.


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## Saphiro (Apr 11, 2014)

I had a headwind this morning, and hadn't ridden for 4 days, so it took some time to work up to the task. I averaged 11 mph, so not my worst trip, certainly not my best.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in and a nice ride back. Been deferring some maintenance on the bike, but figure I'll wait until something drastic happens. Need new tires and a chain. But as long as they are getting me to work each day with minimal aggravation (chain falls off three to four times a week even after sliding the tire back), why do today what can be put off until tomorrow? And with a 4.4 mile commute each way instead of the old 15 each way, even the consequence of a walk home wouldn't be terrible.

TenSpeed, I agree that the rampages are pretty meaty for commuting. I have a 2.3 rampage on each of my mt. bikes as front tires. The tires grip good and hold up on all the sharp desert rocks in my area. Noisy commuting tires though with all the thick knobs.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Flew to work. Light side wind, first time this year breaking 30 minutes.

Bad head wind home as well as it was snowing.... Bla 38 minutes to get home.

Heres a lame clip of the non paved section of my commute. The music was the only thing youtube had that i found without singing that was long enough. I got the use my gopro more and play with editing more. 




The 29er with the race kings fly.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

My buddy has been trying to get into cycling. We went on our second commute together today. He's pretty slow, but it's nice to have some company every now and then for the ride up to the university. But... Sometimes I just want to go fast. No commute tomorrow, unfortunately. I'm going to the doctor to make sure I'm all set before going to Panama for three weeks. Three weeks without a bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> TenSpeed, I agree that the rampages are pretty meaty for commuting. I have a 2.3 rampage on each of my mt. bikes as front tires. The tires grip good and hold up on all the sharp desert rocks in my area. Noisy commuting tires though with all the thick knobs.


Oh these were on my mtb, not my commuter lol. That would be a hell of a tire to commute 8.5 miles each way on!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I got all my stuff ready to ride this morning, then I wake up to ice, snow and slush everywhere but my snow tires are off the bike, so I had to drive. Sigh....


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Like many of you, our temps took a dip. I rode the trails on Sunday and it was 85F. It was almost too hot. I managed to dodge the rain on Monday. It was snowing on and off yesterday (no accumulation) and I dealt with a little sleet and wind on the way into work. This morning was below freezing, but it was sunny and pleasant.


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2014)

Hit the road at 5 am and everything was going great. CX tires are fast, wind not too bad, making the lights, then BAM. 20 seconds of stark terror as I apparently rode into a herd of deer (inside the city limits) grazing between the cycling trail and street. A few miles down the road, with my new grey hair and heart rate recovered, a Fox pops up right in front of my front tire. I love seeing wildlife on the trail, but I prefer to see it before it's within arm's reach.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

New chain day. A good day. But a bad day as well. Good ride in, but realized after changing chain, cassette and the 44t chainring that I also need to change my other two chainrings - terrible chain such on the small ring and I can hear it clatter on the mid-ring. I'm trying to remember how long I've used these rings, because I don't think they are the OEM, but rather remnants from a crankset I put on my old bike, thus four or five years old. Bummer. 

However, the weather looks to be glorious enough to override all those concerns and it'll be an awesome ride home today, even if I have to climb a couple of steep hills without my granny gears -


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Commute today was uneventful. Just the way I like them.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2014)

blockphi said:


> New chain day. A good day. But a bad day as well. Good ride in, but realized after changing chain, cassette and the 44t chainring that I also need to change my other two chainrings - terrible chain such on the small ring and I can hear it clatter on the mid-ring. I'm trying to remember how long I've used these rings, because I don't think they are the OEM, but rather remnants from a crankset I put on my old bike, thus four or five years old. Bummer.
> 
> However, the weather looks to be glorious enough to override all those concerns and it'll be an awesome ride home today, even if I have to climb a couple of steep hills without my granny gears -


 Yup, that's a bummer. Usually do Chains every year and everything every other. Hate spending that much, but I'd spend triple the cost for a set that would last more than 2-3K.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

15F and headwinds was a little harsh after 70F earlier in the week. 2" of snow at my house, less en route. Then had to drive to "the Kingdom" for work (NE VT) & water was about halfway across the road in a few spots from yesterday's record rains plus snowmelt.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Unseasonably cold, but I guess thats par for the course this year.

It was the first time I got to ride my new steed into work though, and I know rodar had asked about it back when I started the process so needed an excuse to get a picture


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2014)

Texting Driver Who Slammed Cyclist: I, Like, 'Just Don't Care'
Guess I should feel lucky to have made it in another day.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Forster said:


> Yup, that's a bummer. Usually do Chains every year and everything every other. Hate spending that much, but I'd spend triple the cost for a set that would last more than 2-3K.


Yeah, I can't feel too bad about spending the money, though. The chainrings, when I pulled them off, were beyond beat to s*it. Probably had more than 6K on them.

I usually replace my chain twice a year - once in spring and once in fall. And I usually am able to get by with a single cassette for a year. This is the first time I've had a set of chainrings long enough to need to replace all of them - the last crankset I bought didn't come with rings. I usually destroy the cranks before I destroy the rings, so end up getting new of those and usually with rings. First world problems, right?

Anyway, swapped the other two rings and things are golden. Good ride in this AM. Beautiful nearly full moon lighting my way. No real need for lights to see by once in town (5:55AM), just turn em on flashing for drivers to see me. Spring has sprung.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Managed to recruit a co-worker today and the ride was pretty uneventful. Got some cheap new headlights and am trying to figure out the best way to aim them so that I don't blind oncoming drivers.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Nothing too exciting this morning. It was unseasonably chilly, 28 when I left. Should be around 43 when I head home. Seemed like a lot of cars buzzed by me unnecessarily close.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> Hit the road at 5 am and everything was going great. CX tires are fast, wind not too bad, making the lights, then BAM. 20 seconds of stark terror as I apparently rode into a herd of deer (inside the city limits) grazing between the cycling trail and street. A few miles down the road, with my new grey hair and heart rate recovered, a Fox pops up right in front of my front tire. I love seeing wildlife on the trail, but I prefer to see it before it's within arm's reach.


Missed this post yesterday. Too bad you didn't have a camera. 20 seconds of terror makes for a great story. Sounds like there were no collisions.

Nothing much to note in my commutes other than it being unseasonably cold. In the neighborhood of 16F this AM with a high of 44.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Another uneventful commute. Back into the 90s. Only thing out of the ordinary was a car crash blocking the freeway on ramp, but luckily everyone looked alright.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Maybe I just have a bad attitude, but now I realize why winter commuting was so nice, I was one of the only bikes on the road. Today was warm so everyone and their brother were out on bikes. Ugh, I hate most other cyclists. People riding on the sidewalk and weaving back and forth between street and sidewalk. The idiots going the wrong way in the bike lane. The hipsters that just pass me on the right and blow through a red light while I'm waiting with the cars trying to be a courteous cyclist during rush hour.

I guess on the positive side, it shows that cycling is starting to catch on.

(not that I don't sometimes jump lights, but its treated like a stop light and usually don't do it when there are a lot of cars sitting at the red. Just makes people angry, even if its completely safe)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday must have been national back up awkwardly day. Some dude was in the right lane and decided he wanted to be in the left turning lane, so he through his car in reverse and started backing up all wobbly like. I was in the left lane, and a car was in the right lane coming at him. I came to a stop a safe distance away, and the driver just kind of chilled in the middle of two lanes until the light turned green. 

Then I met another driver who was sitting in a parking lot with his engine running. The MUP kind of leads to a dead end near where we were, so I usually cut across the parking lot to where it picks up again. I proceeded with caution, but as I neared the SUV, the driver decided to back up. At this time, I was barely rolling forward because I was assuming he'd throw the car into gear. Of course, I was wrong, and the guy just sat there for about 5 seconds, oblivious to the fact I was behind him. I considered passing him, but then I ran the risk of him starting up and hitting me (he was obviously distracted). So I just sat and waited until he remembered which pedal made the car go.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Not a bad way to start one's Friday:


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## marpilli (Feb 8, 2011)

First full commute into work on my reconfigured bike. All worked well.










Looking forward to the ride home (in the sun).


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Nice commutes all week. Not too windy, not many people out on the bike paths, not too cold. Yawn.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> A couple good animal sightings today...
> Tonight I saw a spotted salamander, which I later found was one they want reported if sighted, as it is designated a species of greatest conservation need. I saw it slithering across the paved road by the reservoir, and thinking it was a small snake (5"), circled back around for a good look with the headlamp. I had not seen one like it before. Now I regret not taking a pic, but I filed a report of the siting anyway. At least I ddn't squish it. Below is a pic from the web.
> 
> I guess I'm faster than a salamander.


The spotted salamanders are back out and are challenged by the weather as are us bikecommuters...






Naturally Curious reported yesterday: "It's rare to get a glimpse of a Spotted Salamander - these secretive amphibians spend most of their lives hidden under rocks or logs or in the burrows of other forest animals, emerging only at night to feed and during spring mating. In central Vermont, the annual mass migration of Spotted Salamanders to their ancestral breeding pools began two nights ago, when the rain-soaked earth and rising temperatures signaled that it was time to emerge from hibernation. Unfortunately for the salamanders (and frogs) that answered the calling, temperatures dropped relatively early in the evening, and the rain turned to snow. Undaunted, these stout salamanders continued their trek through the woods, plowing their way through new-fallen snow, all in the name of procreation."


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, the prolonged bike maintenance is now taking its toll. Chain is so stretched out and nasty that even the slightest bump takes it off. Back cog is a little wobbly, getting a little play in the bottom bracket--and of course my tires still need replaced. On the way to work the chain got stuck between the rear cog and the frame of the bike after it fell off. Luckily it only happened 500 feet from work. Had to loosen back tire to get the chain unstuck. Dropped the chain twice in the dirt section I ride on the way home. Limped the bike home at a pretty slow pace and decided that now is the time for this deferred maintenance.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Broke a spoke nipple on the way into work this morning. I, as a rule, despise boutique spoked wheels, but in the defense of this 20-paired-spoke-radial wheel, the only reason I noticed it was the nipple and the spoke end jangling around in the rim... It stayed, more or less, true.

I replaced it before I left, and was immediately reminded, while truing it, why I despise those boutique wheels. Oh well, free is the right price, right?


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2014)

wschruba said:


> Broke a spoke nipple on the way into work this morning. I, as a rule, despise boutique spoked wheels, but in the defense of this 20-paired-spoke-radial wheel, the only reason I noticed it was the nipple and the spoke end jangling around in the rim... It stayed, more or less, true.
> 
> I replaced it before I left, and was immediately reminded, while truing it, why I despise those boutique wheels. Oh well, free is the right price, right?


Black anodized spoke?


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Yeah, bladed DT, black oxide in a silver aluminum nipple.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful day for a commute. 69F on the ride in, 55F on the ride home. Very little traffic on either ride, and it was very welcome. My only issue was that I forgot to lube my chain after a wet ride home last time out with the bike. Cleaned the whole bike, and forgot to hit the chain. Seemed a little noisy, so I hope that some lube cleans that noise right up. I may have to take the chain off and give it a thorough cleaning with some degreaser possibly. 

Also considering going back to a freewheel and at least a front brake. While I like the coaster brake, my pedaling is suffering from it, as are my stops and dismounts at the light. It isn't pretty.


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2014)

No commute today. Light rain was okay, lightning was not. Did make me wish I'd left my fenders on a little longer (pulled them for a road ride next Saturday.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It's Marathon Day in Boston and my commute crosses the marathon route about 5 miles from the start in Hopkinton. I altered my route slightly so instead of riding down a road that parallels the marathon route, I rode about 3 miles of the route. I snapped a couple real quick pics, but I made it quick. I didn't think it was the best idea to spend much time taking photos of the marathon route while carrying a big backpack. I wasn't about to get questioned and have my phone confiscated.

These were all taken on Rt. 135 in Ashland, which is the second town the marathon goes through:























I also took my CX bike today (with road tires), just because I felt like it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Some days it seems that people are out to get you. Friday was one of those days. At the second intersection on my ride home, a pick-up cut the turn and got uncomfortably close to me. After I made my turn, the SUV following me got all huffy on my tail before throttling it up the hill. I caught up with him at the light about 20 seconds later...

At the 3rd intersection, a bus went straight even though it was in the turning lane. A car in the other lane was also going straight and both were jockeying for position while I was standing in the opposite left turning lane. Eventually the car had to stop and let the bus go, which is good because the car was almost directly in front of me at that time and I didn't really have anywhere to move.

Things were good on MUP but shortly after exiting, a car attempted a late pass and cut me off at the stop sign. At that point, there was no sense in the minivan stopping, so they just rolled right through. I made it home from there with little incident. I don't know why everyone was so cranky.

This morning was 55F, sunny, and pleasant. The roads were fairly empty, and the ride in was peaceful.


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## FlakoGT (Oct 1, 2012)

Took my first ride to work of the season. Ohh was it nice. last year I put around 1200 mi on the bike but I have done nothing since November. So I have some lbs to lose and start getting ready for some trails.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Was actually surprised by this. 

Went out on Friday to do some crust riding at Hatcher Pass and had a great ride, though dropped the front wheel through the crust a couple of times while coming back down the hill. This results in going arse over tea kettle as the front wheel disappears into an air void in the snow and all forward momentum is halted. Good times, right? So Friday and Saturday I was nursing some nicely bruised ribs and sternum from those crashes. Sunday, after favorable crust reports from Saturday, decided to take the kids out so they could ski and I would ride the snowmachine trails, as they are now closed to motorized use for the rest of the season. Coming down hill about 20 mph, hit a huge void in the snow and my front wheel disappears, sending me over the handlebars again, so quickly that my feet stay attached to the peddles. Land on my head and right shoulder, the bike comes up and over my back and nails me in the head before coming undone from my shoes. Painful. Figured I was going to not be able to lift my arm this AM. It is stiff and sore, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. 

Good times! So this AM's commute was in the mid 30's, clear sky, huge half moon riding over the mountains. The bike paths in Anchorage are 90% snow free along my route, so I might just have to switch over to some less aggressive tires for spring now. 

This morning once we got into town I didn't even have to use my lights for anything but letting the drivers know where I'm at. A few more days and I'll be able to get rid of the helmet mounted light altogether. Whoot. 

I have a feeling that this week I may end up with some sick days if the weather cooperates - when the crust comes calling, you have to listen because it is so fleeting.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Seems like the shimano freewheel is about to die, noise has graduated to a klunking when pedaling, but only when some magic set of conditions is met. Usually if I coast for a little bit it goes away. Hopefully it gets me home as I've come to appreciate coasting.

Luckily when I got off the bike there was a notification on my phone that I'd won an auction for a 16/18 white industries DOS - hopefully the chainline being 1.5 mm off isn't too much of a problem. This will let me gear down a little bit to a 36x16 which hopefully isn't too short for commute (currently at 42x17 which is a bit tall). This will give me the 36x18 for trail riding, and I'll keep a 17t fixed cog on the other side for more trail riding.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Man, I haven't posted in forever. Not because I'm not commuting, but work has been so insane that the last thing on my priority list is updating this. Lol!

Was almost t-boned at an intersection a few days ago at about 0600 by a woman blowing across an intersection. Wound up kicking the front end of her car. She jumped out and apologized, which set for a rather pleasant discussion. She admitted that she wasn't even looking for anyone in the bike lane, and just paying attention to headlights. 

Had to replace the front fork on my Cannondale X6, due to the brake boss fuzing itself inside of the canti arm. The spring was shot and I was going to just replace that arm, but that didn't happen. Full carbon with road calipers. Working on setting up something for fenders. We'll see how that goes. 

Weather has been awesome. High 70's during the day, high 50's at night. Perfect riding weather. 

I'll be modifying my cycling shoes for a more midfoot cleat position this evening. Everything about it really appeals to me, so I'm gonna give it a go.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Spring Break last week... back at it this week. 10 miles of spring bliss this morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Good ride yesterday. Shorts & short sleeves. Seem to be regaining strength with an increase in testosterone shots.

I'm not riding the week charity ride in May this year as the diet the that does not mess me up is very limited and atypical. The 40th anniversary ride looks really good, too.  Cover Indiana Bicycle Tour. Might have been in adequate shape in time. But high calorie output and little input hurt enough last year. Little to no compatible food won't cut it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Had to take the 32X16 singlespeed mt. bike to work today cause the regular commuter has a bunch of broken spokes on the back wheel. 

This is my fault, though. In November, I had two busted spokes. Zip tied them to a solid spoke and didn't worry about 'em. Well, finally getting to some long deferred maintenance this weekend, I discovered five or six more broken spokes. With no truing skills (yet) let alone wheel building skills, I set out for the LBS. Guy immediately tries to talk me out of fixing what I have, so he can sell me a new set of wheels. He was right though, as the new wheels would be much cheaper. But I like the orange rim, black spoke and hub set up on these wheels. Nevertheless, the guy eventually recommends just replacing the black broken spokes, some tensioning and truing of the wheels. Should they continue to break, a new lace job is in order. Guy tells me department store bikes with black spokes are not tempered spokes to they break all the time. So I'm eventually in for a wheel build it sounds like.

Nevertheless, I much prefer my cruiser with its 38x16 gearing and street tread for getting to and from work.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Did my first ride in the rain. Glad I went in shorts and wicking tshirt. Was fairly light rain and around 70, shells would have sucked. But actually besides my glasses need wipers it was rather pleasant. Was very surprised I wasn't miserable.

I'm enjoying this commuting thing more and more, but well see how I feel when winter roles around again.

Sent from my Nokia Stupidphone using Tapatalk


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## Medic Zero (Jun 8, 2011)

How was my commute today? Karmic! Instead of waking up when I should have, I rolled over and tried to snooze for another 15 minutes. I reverse commute since I work nights, so I'm riding in at rush hour. Normally I leave my place about 4:45PM, and I realized today that leaving at that time usually gets me through the first industrial area I have to pass through before it becomes a race course for hundreds of asshats who get off work at 5M.

Got on my bike, and I immediately remembered why I had thought there was some sort of maintanence I was going to do to it on my big one day off. My new (plastic) fender is slapping against the underside of my front rack when I go over bumps, making an annoying noise, and probably not good for the longevity of the fender if I don't deal with it soon...and with the roads here, my commute is pretty much a constant series of bumps. :/

Make it down the hill from our place and into the first industrial district I have to pass through and traffic is way heavier than I usually experience through here and at times I don't have a shoulder to ride on, so that's nerve wracking. Get to a stop sign and just maybe a quarter block past it the road widens into two lanes. A lady in a Jetta has to let me know that I inconvenienced her by a second or two by passing me very closely at a stupid speed the moment the road widens. I give her the finger, and the phrase that goes with it, and I can hear people in cars going the other way chuckling. Unfortunately, I think they're laughing at my impotent rage at nearly being killed by some entitled jerk who thinks that is okay because they were very briefly inconvienenced, so now I'm feeling even worse.

I had checked the forecast just before I left home and was dismayed to see that not only would I have a headwind on my way in to work, but sometime during the night the wind would be reversing direction and I'd get to enjoy not only another headwind on my way home, but also rain. Once I got out onto an exposed portion of the road I realized the forecasters were wrong and the wind was actually quite a bit stronger than they said it was going to be! Good times!

Then as I'm coming down the glorified sidewalk that is the Duwamish Bike Trail, I have to stop to cross the street. Not really a big deal, except I'm running late for work and I'm usually able to cross here without waitng for the light. Making a mental note to myself to leave earlier to avoid the rush hour traffic again.

When I make it across the street and Duwamish Bike Trail is now literally just a sidewalk, I'm greeted by a bunch of runners coming at me. Just before I get to them, I have to pass two bikes coming the other way where the sidewalk narrows too much for that. I hate this "bike trail". Then I'm baffled as all the runners ahead of me do a u-turn on the sidewalk just before I get to them, so now instead of passing them going the other way I've got half a dozen joggers in front of me. At first it didn't seem to bad as they were moving pretty fast, but then it turned out the one at the very rear was much slower than the others. That's okay, I see that they are all turning left off the sidewalk to go into a warehouse and I realize its a bunch of crossfit nuts. Of course, a few yards before we get to where she is going to get off the sidewalk another conga line of crossfitters leaps out onto the sidewalk and one of them shouts "BICYCLE" into my face as they run by, causing the slowpoke ahead of me to nearly stop, and look over her shoulder. Now she's really barely moving and I'm nearly trackstanding but we're like a dozen feet from her exit off the sidewalk and she can't decide if she wants to let me around or go for it. Finally after half-heartedly waving me around, to her left, which is the direction she needs to go, she realizes that's stupid, as now we're there and she finally goes back to bench pressing tires or whatever.

Next I climb up and over the West Seattle "low bridge" and am amazed my Monday luck hasn't caused the drawbridge (swing bridge actually) to open, but my luck hasn't really turned yet. When you get to the bottom you can cross the street in the sidewalk and then cross the street in the sidewalk again to meander through the island, another lane of traffic and finally back onto the trail, or you can follow the trail around and under the bridge. Or you can do what I like to do, and that is leap off the sidewalk into the street and then cut across the road onto the handiramp for the trail on the other side. They way I do it is dependant on a gap in traffic, and so sometimes I can't manage it, but it's much faster and a lot less annoying to do it my way. It's also a lot more fun!

Amazingly it looks like I'm going to pull it off today. I keep checking my rearview mirror every second or two, and there's no one in the lane next to me going my way as I'm bombing down the bridge and the guardrail is about to disappear. There are three cars coming the other way, but my mental math says they are just going to be past me when I want to cut across the road to make it onto the handiramp on the other side.

Just as I commit and launch into the air off the curb and make my landing, a fricken road bike appears out of nowhere a little ways behind the cars! I can tell immediately that we are both going to occupy the same space if I keep going like I am, so I have to scrub off nearly all my speed so that I can let him get past, and even so I'm going to have to cut back from a little past the ramp. I wanted to be annoyed with this guy because here he is out in traffic when there is a perfectly good bike trail alongside him that leads to the bridge, but thinking about it, HE WAS DOING THE EXACT SAME THING I WAS! :lol: Well, minus the high speed leap off the curb anyway.

Like I said, karma!

Other than nearly getting run over by some sort of ballgame traffic that was making a highly illegal u-turn in the middle of an intersection while I was waitng for the traffic light in the lane, my commute after that was pretty uneventful. Had the usual fun playing tag with a bus going up the hill on Jackson though. It's kind of tempting to start climbing up King Street instead, even though it'd mean a two block detour and it's steeper, because every day there's either or bus blocking the right lane (and railroad tracks in the left lane) or a bus playing tag with me as we make our way up the hill. They stop for passengers, I squeeze around them between them and the railroad tracks (and traffic squeezing past me...), and then just before I make it to their next bus stop, they pass me and start the game all over again. I ended up going for several blocks in the middle turn lane again, because that seemed like the best option. I can't win, there just aren't any good routes to my work from my home for good portions of my commute.

Oh, and the cycle track on Broadway that they had the grand opening for last summer is still closed, forcing me onto sidewalks for the last four blocks of my commute. It's supposed to (re-?)open next month, but nothing ever happens on schedule, so I'll believe that when I see it. I swear they closed it less than a month after they opened it, it was just a public relations stunt.

I don't know how I managed it, but I ended up not being late for work somehow, despite the headwind, and leaving a good 15 minutes late. I skipped shaving when I got there like I usually do, but still, I must have somehow made good time.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Wow, Medic Zero, your commute sounds way more interesting than mine. Sometimes boring is good though.:thumbsup: It is frustrating having the wind pull a 180 in between rides and having to deal with the headwind both ways.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was thinking that reading that post would take longer than my commute which is about 1/2 hour.

Vegas, I can't stand the wobble I get with just 1 broken spoke. There's no way I could let it hit 2 nevermind 6.

Nice easy commute in with RollingRunner this morning. I pulled the road bikes down for the first time this season. The roads are still pretty rough from the frost but good enough. The most exciting thing in my morning is that I found a beer-> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Medic Zero (Jun 8, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was thinking that reading that post would take longer than my commute which is about 1/2 hour.
> 
> Vegas, I can't stand the wobble I get with just 1 broken spoke. There's no way I could let it hit 2 nevermind 6.
> 
> Nice easy commute in with RollingRunner this morning. I pulled the road bikes down for the first time this season. The roads are still pretty rough from the frost but good enough. The most exciting thing in my morning is that I found a beer-> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


You must read really slow!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The long words slow me down.  It was a really long post.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Bedwards100, I wouldn't have bothered to pick that up. Okay, who am I kidding? I would have picked it up!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Had a nice Earth Day commute this morning. Weather was beautiful. The low was supposed to be 40 but when I woke up, which is usually around the coldest time of the day, it was 48. Got to wear regular bike shoes with no covers, no hat, thin gloves and just a light jacket and my thinnest tights. I'm sick of wearing my warm PI AmFib bibs and multiple layers under my jacket, so much more cumbersome. 

I also lubed my rusty and squeaky chain over the weekend and adjusted my squeaky rear brake, so it was a quiet commute. Bike was riding great. 

On my ride home with my CX bike yesterday, it was creaking and rattling, I had no idea why. Also, it was far windier than predicted, at least 15mph winds when it was only supposed to be 7mph. Headwind almost the whole commute. When I got home, I found my cassette wasn't very tight. That's where the rattling was coming from.


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## Saphiro (Apr 11, 2014)

I had a beautiful earth day commute. The sky was blue and the temperature was perfect.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another standard/good commute. Felt a bit chillier than the reported 39F. Still a few icy/snowy patches, but they are getting smaller and smaller. Good times. Melted winter's worth of assorted poop on the trail. Not fun.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally back on the bike...

I've been off since Jan 8, ACL Restoration knee feels good, also back and neck also feel good and rested...

That is the longest I have been off the bike since 2005.

2C on the ride in, long socks, shorts, tee and a medium jersey...blue sky no wind..

Passed a guy on an electric bike...

Got my new Mapmyride working.....312 cal in 26 minutes, that should mean 400 cal plus on the way home uphill....no wonder the weight has been sneaking back on.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Passed a guy on an electric bike...


Isn't that the best??


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Finally back on the bike...


Welcome back jeffscott. I didn't realize you were out of commission. That must have felt like forever.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Welcome back jeffscott. I didn't realize you were out of commission. That must have felt like forever.


Yup Started riding the bike on a trainer at week 4, also started the rowing machine at week 4 as an alternate.

Simply not like just riding around though.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

32x16 gearing came in handy today with 35+ headwinds and 45+ gusts. I watched the weather though so I knew what I was getting into. Gonna be on the Monocog the rest of the week it looks like. 

Getting some work done on my cruiser wheels at the LBS. Five days at least they said before six new spokes would be put on and wheels trued. I've been meaning to buy a truing stand for two years now and start practicing up for this very reason. Hate operating on LBS time frame. I'm fairly proficient at most general type repairs--just never dove into wheels yet. Guess it's time to start.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Springy









Jeffscott, welcome back. That would feel like an eternity.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Decent tail wind ride to work. Made it in 27 minutes, working my way to 25. 12km there

Lunch went on a ride along the river on a nice little trail, lots of wet spots and mud and the race kings did ok but spun out a few times. 11.5 km there

Ride home took the river trail i took at lunch home instead of the shared walk way. Nice change, nice 18 degree day. I love warm day walkers vs daily joggers. Daily joggers when they hear the bell they move right and keep going, warm day walkers hear the bell, turn around or jump and dont get out of the way and look at you like you called their moms a b*tch. 50 km wind gusts sucked second half of ride but made it home and cleaned my whole garage, baby was at grandmas. 14.5 km to end the day. A good 2.5 hrs riding today. Now down to 7 and 5 degrees and rain next two days. Maybe get to ride thurs and fri. I should use my old schwinn as a rain bike and ride tomorrow.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

The weather people aren't doing so well this week. The forecast was for showers from late morning to early afternoon, but it started pouring right after I got to work, which was a little before 8:00. It was beautiful on my ride in though, 52 and party sunny. Hopefully the rain at least slows down before my ride home. I'm usually overly prepared, but today I didn't bring a rain coat for the ride home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Well that was a first - today I had a car roll onto my foot at a stopsign.

Approaching the stopsign I'm in front with the car behind me. I'm planning on going straight, so I'm mostly taking the lane to prevent some bozo from right-hooking me. I stop, and they still try to squeeze in beside me, and they're so close that they end up on my toes.

No pain or damage to me, but as you can imagine I gave them an spectacular earful, with a fist to the hood for good measure.

Then a couple blocks later there's another stopsign, and they're still behind me. So I got off my bike, stood in the middle of the road, and asked them if they were paying attention this time.

Light rain this morning. We're supposed to get 2~3" of rain today, which is weird. I can't remember ever seeing a forecast around here that called for multiple inches of rain.


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## digitalayon (Jul 31, 2007)

commute sucked today.....rode against the cold north wind.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Well that was a first - today I had a car roll onto my foot at a stop sign.


One for the record books.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> Then a couple blocks later there's another stopsign, and they're still behind me. So I got off my bike, stood in the middle of the road, and asked them if they were paying attention this time.


:lol:

How did it not hurt??? That's crazy


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, it's strange. It's an hour later, and my foot feels a little weirdly warm, but there's no pain, tenderness, or mobility issues. I think my 5.10 must have taken the brunt of it, and just twisted up tightly around my foot? They didn't actually roll over my foot, but my foot was wedged under their tire like a chock. I had to get them to back up off of it (in not so nice words).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Well that was a first - today I had a car roll onto my foot at a stopsign.


Ha! That's a story I've never heard before. I'd give you rep for that, but I can't. I guess it's a good thing they only got your foot, but unfortunate the car didn't get scraped by your handlebar.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

The weather in Denver has been perfect the last few days. first ride of the year wearing shorts in the morning, Spring is defiantly in the air.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today. Put the Fat semi-slick on the back last night and made great time this AM. I think I hit 12 minutes to go the three miles with stoplights. Not bad. 

What is a fat semi-slick you ask? Take one Surly Endomorph tire and ride it on pavement for about 8k miles. Voila! Semi-slick tire! I'm still thinking about getting some Vee Rubber Speedster tires for the summers, but for now will continue to roll on the Endo/Larry.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I recently swapped out a NanoRaptor that was so worn you could probably poke your finger through the rubber if you tried. I probably waited too long to change that tire out...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Good commute today. Put the Fat semi-slick on the back last night and made great time this AM. I think I hit 12 minutes to go the three miles with stoplights. Not bad.
> 
> What is a fat semi-slick you ask? Take one Surly Endomorph tire and ride it on pavement for about 8k miles. Voila! Semi-slick tire! I'm still thinking about getting some Vee Rubber Speedster tires for the summers, but for now will continue to roll on the Endo/Larry.


If you have any questions about the Speedsters, LMK.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Forgot about this from last nights bike commute home:

People never cease to amaze me: What possess an adult female pushing a baby stroller around 3 of her guy friends to yell "Your Tires Suck" as I bike by. I didn't even flinch and forgot about it once I got home. Gotta love East Anchorage...heck, I almost feel sorry for the baby she might be raising.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Forgot about this from last nights bike commute home:
> 
> People never cease to amaze me: What possess an adult female pushing a baby stroller around 3 of her guy friends to yell "Your Tires Suck" as I bike by. I didn't even flinch and forgot about it once I got home. Gotta love East Anchorage...heck, I almost feel sorry for the baby she might be raising.


Well, she might have a point... what tires ya riding? 

That is one thing I don't miss about riding big miles here in town. Freaks everywhere.

What are your general thoughts about the speedsters? I want something that'll last a bit longer than the Surly tires seem to and are cheaper than an arm and a leg...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Oh, I was riding the Fatbike, forgot that part. ;p

Unsure on long term rubber durability on the Speedster but they should be no less than a Endo or the like i'd think. I have some miles on them, but not 8k. They do pack up a bit on the soft stuff since their tread is so open but clear out back on hardpack. Deff not an tire to take into the woods but they do light duty dirt OK at lower preasure. They do better around 18-20 psi on the pavement, some self-steer for sure since there is so much rubber contacting the ground. They will be going back on my fatback soon for the summer.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in was sluggish, although I set a new PR on Strava. I've really pushed myself the last two weeks, and work has been long and push dialog exhausting, so I suppose it caught up with me. The midfoot cleat position has been doing some good, and seems to have helped with the pain I was having in my Achilles' tendon. Had the strangest thing happen, though. One of my bottle cages broke (aluminum) and had to chase my bottle across the road while I ditched the bike. Wound up having a guy (who looked rather amateurish, but he was riding at 5am so major props) pass me up without asking if I needed help. Wound up passing him up shortly after, and let him know that he could draft if he needed to. He wound up sucking in on my rear tire without ever saying a word. No thank you, no nothing. Wound up losing him shortly after, without meaning to. 

I'll be giving the tired legs a good rubdown and hope that it makes a difference tomorrow. I would like to make it to work in under an hour.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> Well that was a first - today I had a car roll onto my foot at a stopsign.


What? Only one foot? I thought there was a "3-foot law" for passing cyclists!

Glad you are OK, hope that weird warm feeling in your shoe was not blood or something else serious.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ no three foot law here, unfortunately. I'm fairly certain that I'm uninjured. Foot still feels a little weird, and ankle and calf are a little sore, but I've certainly done worse to myself on the trails before.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

To bad you aren't a cop, the interchange with a driver who ran over your foot is a bit more satisfying"


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Well, she might have a point... what tires ya riding?


LOL



Texan-n-Fla said:


> Ride in was sluggish, although I set a new PR on Strava.


I find Strava to be quite motivating to push harder, even when it is against yourself. I've picked up all the KOMs along my commute now. Riding the same route most days really gives you and advantage. It's only a matter of time before the wind is at your back for the whole segment. My fastest time on one of the segments is 24.9mph and my slowest is 13.1mph. Only about a 2x difference.

Speaking of wind, I was awake in the night listening to it howl. I was thinking the commute in was going to be brutal but it wasn't too bad even going into it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Riding the same route most days really gives you and advantage. It's only a matter of time before the wind is at your back for the whole segment.


So true. There are a 2 or 3 segments on my routes that I have not KOMmuted yet... waiting patiently for my moment to strike. :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Oh, I was riding the Fatbike, forgot that part. ;p
> 
> Unsure on long term rubber durability on the Speedster but they should be no less than a Endo or the like i'd think. I have some miles on them, but not 8k. They do pack up a bit on the soft stuff since their tread is so open but clear out back on hardpack. Deff not an tire to take into the woods but they do light duty dirt OK at lower preasure. They do better around 18-20 psi on the pavement, some self-steer for sure since there is so much rubber contacting the ground. They will be going back on my fatback soon for the summer.


Then in that case she clearly has no idea what she's talking about.

Good ride in this AM. Fast and generally dry trails. I'm thinkin I might be able to get in one or two more crust rides this weekend up at Hatcher, but then I think the snow will be go for the year. I think I'll miss it, but the first few weeks of dry pavement when the winter's worth of riding really shows through in fast times and strong legs is a great time of the year.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It's been windy as hell here the past week and a half. 27mph winds today. I ended up driving in. I rode home in 20+mph cross winds yesterday which was fun. I stopped and took a couple pictures.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good rides all week. I've been bored with my usual route, because I started breaking personal records on strava. Do I started adding miles to the route. The variations are a nice touch, but the last couple of days I realize I've been riding my alternate route into headwinds and my normal route has had tailwinds. Doh


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

It's been a fun couple of weeks: buzzed by AZDOT maintenance truck (couldn't get the plate in time), blown around by high winds on multiple days, finally got my wheel back after 8 weeks in the shop for re-lacing (it was the OEM that I'll use as a back-up) and today got chased by a boxer/pit mix. Never a full moment in redneckistan.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The air was cold.
The sun was warm.
The sky was blue.
The wind was light.
And I had the 30 year old between my legs.

It was a good commute.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Lots of spring traffic on the bike path today.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Leave me alone, human!



My trail buddy obviously didn't want his photo taken.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Been laying low and my commutes have been completely boring (which is a good thing, exciting usually means things went wrong). My dept. manager has started biking to work, but bought possibly the worst crap bike from Wal-Mart to do it. He's bigger than I am (I'm 6'1 ~240#) so he buys a 26' (not for off road) full suspension bike. I adjusted his saddle height and leveled it for him, then explained the limitations his choice in bike presents. He seems to be enjoying himself so far, so I'm happy for him.

On another note, ordered a new crankset and a new cassette and chain for next commuter build. Still trying to figure out how I can buy a cranks or cassette from U.K. and have them shipped (new) for 10% less than buying them here in the U.S. (both online or from LBS).


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I had a nice ride in this morning. It was a bit chilly and the fog was rolling off the lake which made for an interesting view.


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2014)

Had the day off but rode in anyway to meet with some folks about a 9-day tour across Nebraska (Wyoming border to Iowa border). 20 miles in the middle of the day and you still see the oddities. First a man and woman either walking or pulling their Rottweiler behind a motorcycle (at 5 miles per hour), then an old man on a three-wheeled bike walking what looked like a Cairn Terrier alongside. 60 miler tomorrow, time to stretch the Fargo's legs a bit.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Terribly windy for the peddle home. Got my wheels back from the LBS and am going to throw my Walmart cruiser back together. Hard to believe I'm excited about getting my Walmart bike back on the road. But, hey, with around 3000 miles on it in less than a year and a half how bad can it be? I do admit though that the Wally World $100 dollar full suspension mt. bikes are junk, no matter how good of a bike wrench you are.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

p08757 said:


> I had a nice ride in this morning. It was a bit chilly and the fog was rolling off the lake which made for an interesting view.


Cool pic!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Had a man pace me in the right lane as I rode the shoulder. Could only tell he was talking because his lips moved. Wind and traffic noise made his soft voice impossible to detect let alone understand. Had a devil of a time getting him onto the shoulder so we did not get clobbered by a distracted driver going 70 in the 55 zone. 

Turns out he missed the fact that 46 had merged with 3 at the previous light and wondered if he was on 46. In another mile or so the overhead signs would have told him. He complemented me on my setup to be seen. He once rode Europe, given his age, I'd guess he did that about the time I was born.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Neat encounter, BrianMc.

Warmer weather and less wind yesterday made for nice commutes. Went by the reservoir afterwards and was glad to see the pair of loons back, as well as a kingfisher, mergansers, Canada geese and mallards, despite it still being 1/4 ice-covered.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me yesterday. But I did end up taking a nice ride with my daughter late in the day. On Thursday evening while taking the dogs for a ride realized that my Endo semi-slick had a nice cut in the sidewall and that the tube was sticking out. So I ended up going to the local bike shop up here and picking up a Knard to replace the Endo. I should've waited to pick something up in Anchorage, but wanted to get on the bike and didn't want to put the chunky Nate back on. The shop had a limited selection - one Endo, one BFL, three Knards, and two Sterlings. I'm interested to see how the Knard does as a trail tire. One thing that was keeping me from going full bore with the Speedsters was that I would need to change out my rubber if I wanted to go ride trail, which generally ends up meaning I don't ride as much. The Knard might be a good compromise for most trail riding. We'll see. I just hope it lasts. The fatties just don't seem to like pavement that much.


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2014)

No commute today but rode a 60 mile tour with the local club. Should have checked the winds forecast better because the ride could have been ridden either Northeast first or Southwest First and I picked Northeast first. The wind started from the southeast at 15-20 but by the time I turned around the wind was blowing from the south at 25-36. Can't always pick em, but I can do better than getting blown backwards for 30 miles.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Got the Cruiser up and running again. New chain, broken spokes replaced, spokes properly tensioned and wheels trued. Back hub overhauled, too. And also new tires. Kind of surprising that I was able to get some Kenda hybrid tires for $10 bucks each, as I wasn't sure they sold any tires for that cheap. Even Walmart's tires are about $25 each. A bit skinny (1.95) compared to my other tires, but couldn't pass up the price. The Big Apples I was eyeing were pretty pricey by comparison. Looking forward to Monday's commute after running the 32x16 Monocog all last week while Cruiser was down.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Finished up the third week of my new commute. It's going well but a 40+ mile daily commute has taught me to manage my energy otherwise by the end of the week I am pretty pooped.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow woodway. I'm guessing those 40 miles aren't that flat either. That must take a reasonable amount of time each day.

My commute was surprisingly good. I ran a 5K fast (22:50) with almost no training (as usual) on Saturday and I can barely walk downstairs but hoping on the bike and riding is no problem at all. Only the muscles that don't get worked out on the bike hurt.

Found a mostly functional Leatherman on the ride in. Only the blade is missing but the pliers and everything else work great.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

So slow - may have over extended myself on my singlespeed a bit yesterday. Made it though, and I guess thats all that matters. Glad I took a geared bike today


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Light-ish at 4:40 when I left the house. Removed the helmet light over the weekend, which gives my neck a nice reprieve. A bit slow this AM after taking a nice long ride yesterday to test out the Knards. Well, not terribly long, just 25 miles, but a nice mix of road, rail trail that I'd classify as just about single track but not quite, some double track and ATV trails, and lots of gnarly river bottom riding with a great mix of sand, glacial silt, mud, mud made of glacial silt, rocks, rocks, and more rocks, and even bigger rocks. Was good times. I was quite impressed with the Knard on the rear overall. I can see where it could break loose on some terrain, but I didn't have any issues in any of the stuff I was in. I didn't get to put it to the test climbing anything technical, though, which is where I think it could be an issue.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> I ran a 5K fast (22:50) with almost no training (as usual) on Saturday and I can barely walk downstairs...


:lol: I have been there. The downstairs journey is the WORST.

...fast for me is 25:00+ though...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Anybody else feel like their commute is incredibly boring when seeing all of the photos and stories others post. 

I've been feeling generally "blah" today. I had an extremely busy long weekend (Took Friday off):

-Thursday afternoon I did some yard work from 4:00-7:30pm
-Friday I spread 7 yards of loam, by myself, by hand then put down a couple thousand sq-ft of grass seed. I also transplanted probably 13 or 14 small shrubs.
-Saturday morning took the utility trailer to the dump to get rid of a bunch of yard waste from Friday. They compost it all there. After that, my wife and I drove to my Mother's house about 1:15 away for our baby shower. Got home after and had to carry a car load of gifts upstairs to the nursery then started going through everything
-Yesterday finished going through all the gifts from the shower, primed a book case I built for the nursery and otherwise did some little things around the house.

All in all, not a restful weekend at all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> :lol: I have been there. The downstairs journey is the WORST.
> 
> ...fast for me is 25:00+ though...


Yup, downstairs first thing in the morning 2 days after is the *WORST*. I try to run a new PR each race out of sheer determination. I have another one in 2 weeks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

New chain and cassette for this morning's commute... so nice and smooth.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> Anybody else feel like their commute is incredibly boring when seeing all of the photos and stories others post.


Absolutely. I have one stretch of about 2.5 miles through a natural area from the start, and the rest is streets. Dark out on the return ride so I don't see it then.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow woodway. I'm guessing those 40 miles aren't that flat either. That must take a reasonable amount of time each day.


I'm doing about 1400 feet of ascent round-trip, so not really that bad. I am averaging 1:12 to get into work, 1:18 to get home. If I drove it would likely be 30-40 minutes plus at the new office I would have to pay for parking so the extra time biking is worth it.

I ride a MUP for most of the commute. The pavement sucks but the ride is pretty decent. I'll try to post up some pics at some point.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Welp, the cruiser is cruising a long nicely. Glad to be back on it this week. 

Now I have to go tear apart one of my son's rooms looking for darkling beetles. Thought I'd save some money by raising insects for my reptiles. A handful of superworms got out and are now morphing into beetles in the house. Wife is freaking out. . .man oh man. . .


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> Anybody else feel like their commute is incredibly boring when seeing all of the photos and stories others post.


No doubt. I used to commute entirely along a rail trail. The road commute bums me out, especially since all the interesting stuff is past work, relative to where I live.

Still, a bike ride is better than no bike ride.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Put some "skinny" 38 mm hybrid tires on my bike last night. The difference from my 29er tires is quite noticeable. Averaged about 19 mph over 15 miles. I feel like it would have been closer to 17 mph with the 2.2 slightly knobby tires. Plus it was a bit windier than normal, so I'm definitely loving that improvement.

Today I went to the bike shop and ordered some new wheels, a new cassette, two new Continental tires (race king 2.0 and mountain king 2.2), and a surly krampus fork for my bike. In pretty stoked for the wheels and fork mostly, but with so the new gear I'll just have to ditch the skinnies for a couple of days and maybe hit some singletrack. Darn.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

And I saw a turtle today while riding to the university. Eastern box turtle. Most common around here.


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

windy as hell yesterday, but still made good time. Stopped by the garden plot to water it. This morning only took me 14 minutes, faster than driving during the road construction spur we are having now. Debating going for a long ride home or racing home and hoping on the mtb....


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Feeling a bit slow yet and am still feeling a bit out of sorts after my weekend of crashes back on the 11th and 13th. I'm thinking now that I may have some cracked ribs rather than just bruised as I originally thought. Instead of getting better, they are more and more sore and if I sneeze... let's don't go there. My shoulder is still out of sorts from the second crash as well, but it is moving in the right direction overall. I might have to break down and go to the doctor if it the ribs don't start moving in the right direction soon.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Decent rides lately, nothing major to report so I haven't. Pedals/clips/something have started creaking lately, so I'll have to figure out what to lubricate to make that stop. Tips appreciated.

I also must shamefully admit that before last night I had never successfully performed a bunny hop in my life. It's much easier this time than last time I tried it (years ago, on flat pedals vs clipless now). Hooray?


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this AM. Feeling a bit slow yet and am still feeling a bit out of sorts after my weekend of crashes back on the 11th and 13th. I'm thinking now that I may have some cracked ribs rather than just bruised as I originally thought. Instead of getting better, they are more and more sore and if I sneeze... let's don't go there. My shoulder is still out of sorts from the second crash as well, but it is moving in the right direction overall. I might have to break down and go to the doctor if it the ribs don't start moving in the right direction soon.


Just a heads up, there is not much a Doctor can do for broken ribs. Flail chest and more severe injuries need a Dr. visit


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> I also must shamefully admit that before last night I had never successfully performed a bunny hop in my life. It's much easier this time than last time I tried it (years ago, on flat pedals vs clipless now). Hooray?


Start bunny hopping off curbs, lots of practice then start bunny hopping onto curbs....give it a month or two and you'll be ready for some 1 foot logs.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Decent rides lately, nothing major to report so I haven't. Pedals/clips/something have started creaking lately, so I'll have to figure out what to lubricate to make that stop. Tips appreciated.


Could be almost anything nises have a way of not being where you think they are.

Check all frame bolts especially if an aftermarket as been attached such as racks etc.
Or just remove all add ons and see if it goes away.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sanath said:


> I also must shamefully admit that before last night I had never successfully performed a bunny hop in my life. It's much easier this time than last time I tried it (years ago, on flat pedals vs clipless now). Hooray?


Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in my humble but correct opinion if you can't loft that rear wheel using flat pedals, then you're not bunny hopping. What you're doing is just jumping up with the bike attached. Bunny hopping is a time-honored, smooth elevation of the rear wheel attained by a one-ness with the bicycle that clipless pedals cannot replace or duplicate. It is best attained through a childhood of BMX obsession. 

That said, if it's workin' for ya, rock on man.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I can' t bunnyhop either. I can get over obstetrical in front of me but it's not a clean hop. If the log, curb, squirrel or whatever weren't there to push my back wheel up it probably wouldn't leave the ground. Jumping with the bike attached works too but only when going fast enough.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

In college I could clear 4 skateboards stacked on their sides, wheels to wheels, on flat ground on a 24" BMX cruiser (flat pedals). That was pretty much the highlight of my cycling career...it's been all downhill since.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in my humble but correct opinion if you can't loft that rear wheel using flat pedals, then you're not bunny hopping. What you're doing is just jumping up with the bike attached. Bunny hopping is a time-honored, smooth elevation of the rear wheel attained by a one-ness with the bicycle that clipless pedals cannot replace or duplicate. It is best attained through a childhood of BMX obsession.
> 
> That said, if it's workin' for ya, rock on man.


Maybe I'll try it when I get the MTB rolling again for the season, but I *still* don't really understand the physics of bunny hopping with flats. I was once told to just point my toes down and... I don't know what? Hope there's enough friction? Launch the bike backwards and land on my face?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It's sort of intuitive... what lifts the bike is your upper body...it's not your shoes sticking to the pedals. Loft the front wheel, jump/hurl your upper body up and forward, and your arms/shoulders lifting up on the bars is what sticks the pedals to your feet as you leave the ground... you can gain altitude by attaining "crazy steep downhill" position..stuffing your arms forward and dropping your butt behind the seat as the bike comes up...this allows the bike to keep gaining altitude when your heavy torso stops going up. But that's phase 2... first step is getting that rear wheel off of the ground. 

I ride by the sight of my first bunnyhop (circa 1989) every morning on my commute...a nice daily flashback.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Maybe I'll try it when I get the MTB rolling again for the season, but I *still* don't really understand the physics of bunny hopping with flats. I was once told to just point my toes down and... I don't know what? Hope there's enough friction? Launch the bike backwards and land on my face?


you can bunny hop properly with cleated in.

Easy way to start.....jump of curbs no falling on your face can be done at speed.

As you leave the curb make sure the fron t wheel is lofted....then as or slightly before the rear wheel leaves the curb push the handle bars down.

Don't have to lift up on the pedals at all sucess is landing on both wheels at the same time.

Most people when the bunny hop something at or near their max height will push the toes down....this allows them to pull up a bit more with their feet....you can do this with cleats, with or without pushing your toes down.

The real trick is rotating the bike once the front is in the air....thus lifting the rear off the ground....no pull up with the pedals at all....Once you get that everything start to improve quickly.

I have a curb to go up...but it is followed by a very steep up slope maybe one bike length high. This severely limits how much I can push the front down to rotate the rear up....so this is a very difficult bunny hop. Still can do it, but I put alittle more pedal pull in cause it is at my limit...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> you can bunny hop properly with cleated in.


I agree but it's easier to learn when you don't have the option of cheating.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Watch this 9000 times. Look at the motion of his hands the most:


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fast N Fun in the sun! Love commuting by Fatbike!!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Fast N Fun in the sun! Love commuting by Fatbike!!!


It's the only way to roll!

I was thinking about it on Sunday, while riding all over the valley, and I don't know that I could ever ride anything other than a MTB - preferably fat. The places I ride would destroy a road bike in an instant and I never know what I'm going to want to ride when I leave. Sunday I did road, rail trail, single track, river bottom, and more road. Can't have an adventure like that on a road bike. And having the fatty just opens up so much more terrain to explore that even a regular MTB would have trouble with. Love it. Love it. And there is a real joy in riding the darn things. Tonka trucks for big boys. Or:Get out and PlayInstagramI think she hits it right on the head.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Go Kikkan Go!!!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Man oh man. . .would've loved a boring commute today. Finding the weakness in the $10 Kenda Pathfinders already. Flat on the way to work. Feel it going flat so I keep peddling harder and harder to get as close to work as I can, before walking. With only 4.5 miles each way, you can almost get where you need to get as it goes flat. So I peddle hard for two miles and walk about a half mile from work as I start feeling the rim bottom out on rocks. Wasn't gonna waste my time changing a flat that close to work.

Then I'm at work thinking I better get some real tires or get used to changing flats. At this time a guy at work starts talking up those Bell foam tubes. They're the best, blah, blah, blah. Not gonna lie, I've considered them before but considered against it, cause it just doesn't make sense to me that these things would work. Nevertheless, I threw my back tire in my work truck and set off to inspect storm drains, figuring I'd just change the tire on my lunch and put tire back on bike at end of day.

The mistake I make is that I buy the foam tube from Walmart at lunch. The worst commute home ever. Felt like bricks in my back tire. Honestly took more effort than the twenty-five mile head winds I dealt with on Friday's commute home. Increased my commute time home by 50%, and I was exhausted. 

Immediately upon getting home, I pull this thing out of my back tire and pop in a trusted tube. I'd rather change multiple flat tires every single day than peddle a mile on one of these foam tubes ever again. . .and what a royal pain getting the tire off with this foam tube in it. Try taking your tire off sometime without deflating the tire. . .fun, fun.


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

Half way to work today, and the steering suddenly went odd. Got off the bike, and the front tire had a rusty screw sticking out of it. Second time in the last 12 months that I've had a nail/screw take a tire out from under me. Changed and back on the bike within 10 minutes, though... small favors.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> In college I could clear 4 skateboards stacked on their sides, wheels to wheels, on flat ground on a 24" BMX cruiser (flat pedals). That was pretty much the highlight of my cycling career...it's been all downhill since.


That's OK..you are way ahead...did I mention I met this taser-resistant BMX star through work?
Former BMX pro Craig Grasso arrested in Brooklyn after eluding police in Vermont in Feb. - X Games


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> It's the only way to roll!
> 
> I was thinking about it on Sunday, while riding all over the valley, and I don't know that I could ever ride anything other than a MTB - preferably fat. The places I ride would destroy a road bike in an instant and I never know what I'm going to want to ride when I leave. Sunday I did road, rail trail, single track, river bottom, and more road. Can't have an adventure like that on a road bike. And having the fatty just opens up so much more terrain to explore that even a regular MTB would have trouble with. Love it. Love it. And there is a real joy in riding the darn things. Tonka trucks for big boys. Or:Get out and PlayInstagramI think she hits it right on the head.


...Well, Your not going to jump on and ride 50 miles and then do something else with your day. A good solid cross bike would open up different and further away areas to explore.

Holy crap it is never going to warm up here. As we get further into spring my mental state tolerates the cold less and less. Today felt like the first day of March, not the last day of April. OK, I'm done.

Good commute today, a little chilly.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

My dog almost killed me while I was riding yesterday. I like her to exercise everyday. Usually she runs in the yard off-leash, but I planted a lot of new grass last week and I don't want her running through it. I've been riding laps through our neighborhood with her on a 10' leash so she gets to run. I've done it many times in the past and the worst thing that usually happens is she stops to poop. I always hold her leash in such a way that I can drop it quickly so she doesn't pull me down. I rarely have to do that though, she's good about not getting too distracted. Yesterday we were moving maybe 14-15mph and a bird flew right in front of us. She has a strong prey drive, so she noticed it right away. I yelled "JENNY!" which is usually enough to snap her out of it but she ran right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and at the same time her leash got caught up in my wheel. I somehow managed to unclip and jump over my handlebars without hitting her and I landed on my feet. My right brake lever was completely sideway and my seat got ripped, otherwise everybody and everything was fine. 

Otherwise the ride was good, mishap free until then!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> That's OK..you are way ahead...did I mention I met this taser-resistant BMX star through work?


Grassroots Grasso! I remember that dude from BMX Plus! magazine when I was in junior high.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Straz85 said:


> I somehow managed to unclip and jump over my handlebars without hitting her and I landed on my feet.


I bet you couldn't do that again.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I bet you couldn't do that again.


Hopefully I don't ever have to find out!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...Well, Your not going to jump on and ride 50 miles and then do something else with your day. A good solid cross bike would open up different and further away areas to explore.


Oh, I disagree respectfully. While I've not hit a 50 mile day in a few months, but when I did, I spent the afternoon/evening working on my car - replacing brakes, before doing whatever else it is that I do with my time - running kids here and there, running errands with the wife, etc.

Would a 20 pound lighter bike with less rolling resistance make it easier? Sure. But so, too, would losing the extra 40 pounds I'm still hauling around. And, being a one bike to rule them all guy, a cross bike just doesn't fit into the paradigm. Too many days in the winter when a cross bike is useless. Also, with the swampy, tussocky land around here, skinny tires get swallowed whole. Heck, even fatties get stuck, though less often.

Good ride in this AM. A bit chilly again. Saw a moose. But he was just hanging out by the creekside. Too dark to even bother to take a picture. All in all, a nice spring thus far.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2014)

Sorta cruddy this morning, wet and slippery. I rode the trail with the most traffic exposure and had several folks run stop signs in front of me or block my lane. Why not, it's not like I have the right of way if I ride through the intersection (law says you get off and walk). I also noticed lots of texting drivers on the adjacent roadway. Think I'll either buy a can of tennis balls to throw at them or an air horn to blast at them. When I retire from the current job I think I'll get a Dirt-Jumper and some old clothers and hop a few cars on my route, then store the bike and ditch the clothes before the popo finds me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Oh, I disagree respectfully...


You don't even have to disagree. I didn't' realize we were playing the only 1 bike game. For you riding winters in Alaska a cross bike wouldn't work as an only bike. I was thinking options are good. I'm sure there are endless miles of gravel roads that would be fun to explore on a cross bike around you.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

On the fatbike topic... I have miles and miles and miles of soft forest floor covered with pine needles out my back door... I love the idea of just making a b-line for some destination out there somewhere. Can you guys chime in on how one of those bikes might behave in that kind of situation? I mean it's nothing I couldn't really do on my new 27.5 trailbike...but I can see the fatbike kind of begging me to take the non-existant trail less traveled...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Spring is busting out all over. Trees leafing. Redbuds in flower (allergies waxing) and time for our spring concert. So killing two birds, here is a portion of the return of a run downtown showing the state of our trees yesterday and one of Friday Night's songs. Sorry, I am still a bit slow especially up the small grade into the wind.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> On the fatbike topic... I have miles and miles and miles of soft forest floor covered with pine needles out my back door... I love the idea of just making a b-line for some destination out there somewhere. Can you guys chime in on how one of those bikes might behave in that kind of situation? I mean it's nothing I couldn't really do on my new 27.5 trailbike...but I can see the fatbike kind of begging me to take the non-existant trail less traveled...


Awesomely. While a fattie cannot roll over any and everything, it shines in the soft stuff. Sand, snow, pine needles, swamp, slough, etc - within reason. 6 inches of fresh heavy snow - no go. 6 inches of light powder snow - oh yeah. Deep, deep sand with a loose base? Probably no. An inch or two of loose sand over packed sand? Awesome.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^What he said. 

It's also fun on uneven stuff like rocky stream beds. The wider contact patch tends to let you roll over things that a skinny tire would slid off. 

If I were starting from scratch a fat bike would be 3rd or 4th on my list of bikes to buy. 
1- Cross Bike - good on the road, good on dirt.
2- Full Suspension MTB - Can do 90% of what a fat bike can but faster and more comfortably.
3- Road Bike - After I got my really nice cross bike I realized this wasn't absolutely necessary but I go long on the road more than I go fat.
4- Fat Bike - All the things mentioned above.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've dusted off the singlespeed since I have a flat on my geared bike and haven't fixed it yet. I had to get a ride last week because I was unprepared to get a staple/wire stuck in my tube: a) no patch kit or spare tube, b) no presta adapter, c) didn't bring pump and compressor head at work was broken. :madman: My fault.

Originally I switched to gears because of back trouble, but my back has been doing better and the singlespeed doesn't seem to tweak it. I think I was pulling up too much on the climbs, which didn't cause my back problem but made them worse. I seem to be faster on my singlespeed, probably because I climb faster on the bike and my route is a little hilly.

Speaking of hills, where are the hills in your vid, BrianMc (oh, and where's downtown)?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> If I were starting from scratch a fat bike would be 3rd or 4th on my list of bikes to buy.
> 1- Cross Bike - good on the road, good on dirt.
> 2- Full Suspension MTB - Can do 90% of what a fat bike can but faster and more comfortably.
> 3- Road Bike - After I got my really nice cross bike I realized this wasn't absolutely necessary but I go long on the road more than I go fat.
> 4- Fat Bike - All the things mentioned above.


Well then I'm right on track :lol: I'm currently pilfering parts from the singlespeed to complete the conversion of the old Nashbike 'cross frame into my disc braked cyclocross/road/gravel bike (since everyone needs a "gravel bike" now). I think I have everything, I just need to throw it together. I'm very close to rounding out the stable with a fatty (I mean theoretically, not financially) :lol:


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^What he said.
> 
> It's also fun on uneven stuff like rocky stream beds. The wider contact patch tends to let you roll over things that a skinny tire would slid off.
> 
> ...


 Think I could live with a Fargo, extra set of wheels for road work and a suspended Fat Bike with an extra set of 650 or 700 wheels for fair weather off-road.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Speaking of hills, where are the hills in your vid, BrianMc (oh, and where's downtown)?


More like inverted hills: valleys cut into an almost plain (courtesy of a glacier about 12,000 years ago) so ahead the road drops about 50 feet to Sand Creek and rises again. North about 5 miles, East about the same, South or South west about 10 you run into a more rolling landscape of drumlins. The fisheye lens tends to make grades look like perspective to the horizon rather than a small grade.



s0ckeyeus said:


> (oh, and where's downtown)?


Behind me as I was homeward bound?

Here?






East and a bit North?

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3415834,-85.4851882,5189m/data=!3m1!1e3

The video started about 2 miles east of the Greensburg City Park ended about a quarter of a mile East of it on Park Road.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

22 miles home last night, 22 miles to work this morning. Will make for 60 miles in 2 days. Sunny days make for perfect excuses to go the long way!!! Plus its our transition time of year and we can't ride any dirt for another month, maybe 3 weeks!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Uneventful ride to work and uneventful ride home. Just the way I like it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

85 degrees on the ride home today. Summer in April in Seattle! Supposed to be just as warm tomorrow before normalcy returns.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> My dog almost killed me while I was riding yesterday.


Glad you are OK, Straz, a close call. I know someone who had a similar incident taking the dog on an errand to the nearby store and had a serious arm break that required those nasty through-the -skin pins. Then it got infected or rejected or something and had to be redone, his arm works but is gnarly. Consider a biketowleash or something similar.

As bedwards mentioned, the weather has been sucky in northern New England. Raw, rainy, 34 F right now and pouring. Tunes helped today, I was in a good mood anyhow.
Tried my new Showers Pass hardshell waterproof gloves today, and so far they are excellent. They were about halfprice Showers Pass Womens Crosspoint Hardshell Waterproof Glove at BikeTiresDirect Yes the women's model but they are not pink or anything. The chart is accurate I got a women's medium and wear a men's small in most gloves (except some euro ones that are too snug). So the women's large might work for up to men's medium wearers.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

JordyB said:


> 22 miles home last night, 22 miles to work this morning. Will make for 60 miles in 2 days. Sunny days make for perfect excuses to go the long way!!! Plus its our transition time of year and we can't ride any dirt for another month, maybe 3 weeks!


Wow, that's a lot of fatbike riding. "Transition Time" we just call it mud season.



woodway said:


> 85 degrees on the ride home today. Summer in April in Seattle! Supposed to be just as warm tomorrow before normalcy returns.


 It must be that wobble in the polar vortex giving Alaska & The Pacific Northwest high temps while New England gets the polar air. Our weather for the last 9 weeks has been like early March.

It was just as unseasonably cold as it was for my little rant yesterday - add pouring rain. It's all good though. I hadn't given the Cross Check any love in a while. It won't matter to me after tomorrow 'cause I'm off to a warmer climate with an open bar.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

I had an incident on the way home yesterday that could have been serious for someone. Not one but two big mastiffs came running out from a farm house across the road as I was passing. Of course, I was climbing a hill at the time so not carry or capable of generating much speed. I thought the dogs would stop at the edge of the road because there were several cars coming from both directions, but NOOOO! They ran right out in the road and cars started slamming on brakes and swerving to avoid these two beasts. I kind of anticipated all this and headed for the ditch, where I stopped well off the road and waited for the chaos to sort itself out. Long story short the two dogs had traffic stopped in both directions on a busy U.S. highway and everyone lived to tell about it.:thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> More like inverted hills: valleys cut into an almost plain (courtesy of a glacier about 12,000 years ago) so ahead the road drops about 50 feet to Sand Creek and rises again. North about 5 miles, East about the same, South or South west about 10 you run into a more rolling landscape of drumlins. The fisheye lens tends to make grades look like perspective to the horizon rather than a small grade.
> 
> Behind me as I was homeward bound?
> 
> ...


I was just giving you a hard time, but thanks for the follow-up. That's actually a nice old-fashioned kind of downtown. Pretty cool.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

There is still confusion at the one intersection on my route. The straight/right turning lane temporarily became a right turn only lane and the left turning lane took on the traffic going straight. Now, the lanes have been switched back to their original state, which was a good move, but drivers still can't figure it out. I haven't had any super close calls, but it still makes me nervous. It's not unusual to see someone in the left turning lane to go straight, which sucks when I'm in the opposite left turning lane getting ready to turn (or even if I'm just waiting to make a turn).


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## Guest (May 1, 2014)

New experience today. I thougt a guy was spitting at me (well he was but missed) while I was riding in the left turn lane and he was in the lane immediately right of me. When I looked over at the stop light he was brushing his teeth (while driving) and getting ready to spit his rinse water at me. So I say (a little louder than conversation but not yelling), "hold up, you're not gonna spit on me again are you?" I think I caught him off guard because he started choking on his rinse water and had to open his door and spit it on the ground away from me. Instinctively I start apologizing for startling him (no idea why I would do that) and he's all "No, it's all my fault, I didn't see you, sorry about that..." That's two firsts for me: Toothbrushing in traffic and an apology from a motorist.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Forster said:


> That's two firsts for me: Toothbrushing in traffic and an apology from a motorist.


Impressive! (especially the latter)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Forster said:


> New experience today. I thougt a guy was spitting at me (well he was but missed) while I was riding in the left turn lane and he was in the lane immediately right of me. When I looked over at the stop light he was brushing his teeth (while driving) and getting ready to spit his rinse water at me. So I say (a little louder than conversation but not yelling), "hold up, you're not gonna spit on me again are you?" I think I caught him off guard because he started choking on his rinse water and had to open his door and spit it on the ground away from me. Instinctively I start apologizing for startling him (no idea why I would do that) and he's all "No, it's all my fault, I didn't see you, sorry about that..." That's two firsts for me: Toothbrushing in traffic and an apology from a motorist.


That reminds me, I had a first for my commute yesterday too. Some dude was rolling down the street on a road bike with a weiner dog walking out front on a leash. If this were just a neighborhood road, I wouldn't be that surprised, but this is a fairly busy road during peak hours and has two yellow lines painted down the middle.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Had my first commute today with the new wheels and tires and rigid fork. My bike is so much lighter now and I didn't really lose much speed because of that. Even with the knobby tires. Pretty rewarding changes to my bike. 

Other than that it's chilly and windy, so most people aren't on bike paths. I'll take it. 

And toothbrushing in traffic isn't that outrageous. I mean, if you eat while driving you might as well brush your teeth while driving...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Standard commute today. A bit chilly in the AM. Strangely, the bus was darn near empty. Kinda nice. I wonder if the nicer weather is driving people to drive themselves? Don't know, but I like it.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

NDD said:


> And toothbrushing in traffic isn't that outrageous. I mean, if you eat while driving you might as well brush your teeth while driving...


Plus there's all that wasted time just sitting in a car, might as well do something constructive, no sense in paying attention to traffic or your driving. Maybe someone could invent workout equipment that can fit in a car, you know, so you could get some exercise on the way to work. :thumbsup:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

nemhed said:


> Plus there's all that wasted time just sitting in a car, might as well do something constructive, no sense in paying attention to traffic or your driving. Maybe someone could invent workout equipment that can fit in a car, you know, so you could get some exercise on the way to work. :thumbsup:


Great idea! You mean, like some Flintstones dealio where you power your car by running? I'd go for it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

nemhed said:


> ...Maybe someone could invent workout equipment that can fit in a car, you know, so you could get some exercise on the way to work. :thumbsup:


Like a stationary bike.


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## Guest (May 1, 2014)

NDD said:


> And toothbrushing in traffic isn't that outrageous. I mean, if you eat while driving you might as well brush your teeth while driving...


 I guess I'm old fashioned and only floss while driving


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## Guest (May 1, 2014)

nemhed said:


> Maybe someone could invent workout equipment that can fit in a car, you know, so you could get some exercise on the way to work. :thumbsup:


 I thought that was what bikes were for.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yep, new bike set up.









Handles better on the road, better on the trail. I'm happy. And I managed to at least not take a totally ugly picture.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I realized though that investing more dough into this bike kinda reinforces the whole one bike thing. Eh, oh well. I've got two wheel sets, a couple sets of tires. In good for now... Until something happens again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Better than expected in the a.m. (rain let up some when I left), and worse than expected in the evening (I envisioned shorts and T with the forecast of 65F and dry, but 60 and rainy meant i put the rain jacket back on.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Terrible, just terrible.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Steady rain

Supposed to get colder and turn to snow...hopefully not before the ride home.

Snow warning for the moountains 25 cm of snow.

West of Calgary 15 cm of snow..

Didn't care listen for what the city is gonna get.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

No commute today. Brought the MTB to work for a lunch spin on newly opening trails in Ketchum instead. 

My commute the other day was awesome though. Beautiful morning north, then close encounters with elk near the bike path and in the river on the way home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I saw a turkey. Tried to stop for a picture and spooked the little guy. Oh well. Also, there are a ton of baby geese on campus. They'll be pretty adorable for now... Then they become the honking monsters I know them to be.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spectacularly bad drivers today, which is not unusual for Friday evenings. But it started this morning, when a garbage truck carrying one big dumpster and towing another passed within an arm's length. At the next light I ended up ahead of him again, owing to the bike lane/shoulder. So when we got the green and I heard he was coming I made a pushing motion with my left arm, as in move over! Nope, buzzed again. Got to work and reported the incident and trailer plate number to the company. I am sure that this morning the driver had no idea that I inspect his company's facilities, and quite confident that he has since been informed that it would be a bad idea to run over the inspector - definitely would have made good headlines.

This evening it was just honking for no reason, passing me on the right in the straight/right turn lane, and an SUV passing too close.


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## sc10pc (Dec 3, 2013)

Hi all so my commute went a little like this.... So I leave my house wondering weather or not I will get swept up in a tornado in the black skies over my house. On my way down the the shop I see some biker up ahead who looked to be playing with his mp3 or phone or something hit the back end of a parked car!!!!!! I quickly rush over there to see if there was anything I could do as I know this fellow hit the car at a good little clip. When I get over there his carbon front fork had snapped at the steerer and the wheel and biotin part of the fork was laying separate of the bike!! The guy had a bloody nose but seem to be in a laughable attitude about the fact that he had just hit a car!! I helped him up and told him that I was on my way to work (lbs) and that I might be able to help him get his broken bike to the shop so he didn't have to carry it!? He agreed and I took his broken bike somehow jerry rigged his frame and wheel to my rack on my bike and took it to the shop with me. He said that he would be down in a few hours to see ththise damage of the bike and that he had to call somebody about the really big dent in somebody's bumper/ trunk. A few hours later he showed up with his nose taped and one black eye!! I felt really bad for the dude and I hope he is ok and I'm sure we will get his bike fixed if the damage on the frame isn't that bad!! But besides that snafoo the ride home was awesome the skies were like pink and purple and I even had enough time to stop for some food along the way!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Crappy. Started off the ride with having to stop to tighten both cleats on my shoes. Then realized that I didn't bring the right gloves. Headwind the entire way. Low 50's and it felt like winter all over again. Damp humid air that was chilly. Cleats are not adjusted correctly, so my left knee kind of hurts a little. Should have stopped and done a full adjustment, but didn't allow myself the time. Sprinkles on the way in, nothing too bad. The ride home sucked even worse. Wet roads, 47 and a light mist for most of the ride. Regretted not having the right gloves. Forgot to adjust cleats, so knee is pretty sore right now.

After riding the streets in Chicago last weekend, riding here is nothing. I used to be more afraid of the traffic, especially behind me. Now, I am just used to it I guess. I like that in Chicago the drivers are more aware of bikes since there are so many of them. Here, people are often surprised to see a bike on the road.

Was clean commute day here, so I did my part, after signing up on the local bus website that I would either ride the bus, walk, or bike to work today. Got a coupon for a free coffee or something at the Biggby here. I don't drink coffee, but the thought was nice. I will spend the better part of tomorrow wiping down my TriCross after the wet roads turned it into a dirty whore. Considering trading it with a friend for a 1x9 mountain bike and using my fakie for all of the commutes from here on out.


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## Guest (May 3, 2014)

Picked a great day to commute. Low tire on the Ridgeline (slow leak) so I aired on the side of caution (pun intended) and dropped it off for a repair. Meanwhile, my normal driving route was obscured by a serious accident (that I missed) so my commute time was faster (judging by the two hour delay for the interstate) than my drive time would have been. Going home will suck because I only managed about an hour's sleep last night and I can already feel my legs going flat. Good thing it only sucks for 11 miles and the weather is awesome.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute week. Heading up to Blue Diamond tomorrow for my first mt. bike ride since March 9th, which was the day I broke my ribs in a pretty weird way. (Foot slipped off the peddle as I prepared for a pretty steep uphill section on my single speed. As I was building speed and peddling really hard, foot slipped and all my forward momentum was brought to a quick stop as my left side handlebar caught my rib cage). Gotta say, a little uneasy about my return. Gonna take it really easy.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Ouch! I thought a bloody scrape the length of a shin was bad.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not necessarily a commute, however it was the route that I normally ride. Made modifications to the TriCross, and since it is 50 and clear out this evening, why not make the most of a weekend off, and ride to work, turn around, and ride home to see how it is. Not too bad. Graduation today on campus, so there were a lot of drunk people out walking the streets. Got a few "hey Lance Armstrong" comments as I rode by, which is not unusual for me. Miles are starting to accumulate now, and I am hoping to reach my goal by 12/31/14. I will probably get a ride in tomorrow as well, maybe about 20 or so if the weather holds up.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Good commute week. Heading up to Blue Diamond tomorrow for my first mt. bike ride since March 9th, which was the day I broke my ribs in a pretty weird way. (Foot slipped off the peddle as I prepared for a pretty steep uphill section on my single speed. As I was building speed and peddling really hard, foot slipped and all my forward momentum was brought to a quick stop as my left side handlebar caught my rib cage). Gotta say, a little uneasy about my return. Gonna take it really easy.


I had that problem last week when I rode the singletrack around here for the first time in a month due to my bent front wheel. When the last thing you did on the trail was bust your ass, is a bit unnerving. So I was pretty timid, but that's not really a good way to approach trails and I regretted not bringing my cajones.

Long story short: relax and bring your cajones.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

NDD said:


> I had that problem last week when I rode the singletrack around here for the first time in a month due to my bent front wheel. When the last thing you did on the trail was bust your ass, is a bit unnerving. So I was pretty timid, but that's not really a good way to approach trails and I regretted not bringing my cajones.
> 
> Long story short: relax and bring your cajones.


Good advice. I did bring my cojones and had a pretty good day of riding. Well, hour and a half of riding. Did a little 8 mile loop I enjoy. Thought I'd be winded to no end with two months off, but I guess the commuting helped counterbalance the time away. Once I figured things out all went well. I figured out that I have a tendency to stand up and mash hard on the peddles on steep up hill sections and lean heavily over the front of the bike. So when my foot slipped the peddle, I basically came crashing down on my handle bars. Just bad form I guess. Made some adjustments to eliminate this scenario again and all went well. Even blasted easily up the hill that got me last time.

Once at the top, a place where riders often congregate, several of them took note of the fully rigid, army green (and pretty ratty looking, but well maintained) Monocog, and said I must be crazy riding that thing up there. I told them that with the right gear (I'm at 32x16) it's probably easier riding than their full suspension rigs, with all the added weight and energy sapping travel. . .


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Like a stationary bike.


:lol:



sc10pc said:


> I see some biker up ahead who looked to be playing with his mp3 or phone or something hit the back end of a parked car!!!!!!


Didn't see that coming. ha.

Bit of a rare morning headwind around here. Plus I went running for some reason this weekend, which is a horrible, horrible thing to do. This morning hurt!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I left my commuting backpack at my mother's house over the weekend and she lives over an hour away, so I'll be using a pack not made for a laptop all week, which is a bit awkward.

I was moving at a pretty good pace this morning. Got to work on the early side, which is a nice change, I've been having to hurry up my shower lately. I HATE being late for work!



GRAVELBIKE said:


> Terrible, just terrible.


So jealous. Where is that?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Spectacularly bad drivers today, which is not unusual for Friday evenings. But it started this morning, when a garbage truck carrying one big dumpster and towing another passed within an arm's length. At the next light I ended up ahead of him again, owing to the bike lane/shoulder. So when we got the green and I heard he was coming I made a pushing motion with my left arm, as in move over! Nope, buzzed again. Got to work and reported the incident and trailer plate number to the company. I am sure that this morning the driver had no idea that I inspect his company's facilities, and quite confident that he has since been informed that it would be a bad idea to run over the inspector - definitely would have made good headlines.
> 
> This evening it was just honking for no reason, passing me on the right in the straight/right turn lane, and an SUV passing too close.


Irony is a wonderful thing. I hope the guy got reprimanded.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fairly standard ride in this AM. Cool, but not cold; light, but not too bright; and good, but not exceptional. 

I am rolling sans rear brakes, however. Was going to adjust the brakes last night due to being sorely in need of it and noticed that the inboard adjustment knob was completely seized - Have it soaking in wd-40 right now and hope to get it undone because I really don't want to buy a new brake set up yet. 

Good times. Good times.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Fairly standard ride in this AM. Cool, but not cold; light, but not too bright; and good, but not exceptional.
> 
> I am rolling sans rear brakes, however. Was going to adjust the brakes last night due to being sorely in need of it and noticed that the inboard adjustment knob was completely seized - Have it soaking in wd-40 right now and hope to get it undone because I really don't want to buy a new brake set up yet.
> 
> Good times. Good times.


If the WD-40 doesn't work...try somethng like CLR then WD-40 or some other penetrating oil...I have found that a lot of the seizes are aqueous based.

I finally bought an Ultrasonic cleaner...I just got feed up with cleaning up parts..

Now I just pop the part off and drop it in the cleaner....go have a beer and come back in an hour....voila clean.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> If the WD-40 doesn't work...try somethng like CLR then WD-40 or some other penetrating oil...I have found that a lot of the seizes are aqueous based.
> 
> I finally bought an Ultrasonic cleaner...I just got feed up with cleaning up parts..
> 
> Now I just pop the part off and drop it in the cleaner....go have a beer and come back in an hour....voila clean.


CLR - that's a dang good idea. I never would have thought of that. I'll give that a try tonight.

Thanks!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Horrible winds in the Valley again, which seems the norm lately. And while my bike is running great after the $90 dropped on it recently, it is making noises that I don't like. I'm just going to chalk this off to a new chain and give the chain some time stretch out a little. Nothing I hate worse than a noisy bike, which I'm sure doesn't make me unique.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Mediocre ride today. Had to turn back to get my keys, so my plan for the scenic route didn't work out. 

My new cassette and chain make noise, too. Lubed it up this morning... Guess it could be something else. I'd never heard it before until those were put on


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Pretty good ride in today. Mid 50's and sunny with little to no wind. Took the long way home and added a few extra miles in. Really nice not having to take so much cold weather gear for the ride home, like different gloves, hat, etc. Legs are pretty sore, but I will probably ride in on Tuesday since it will be in the 60's and sunny. Shot this on the way in, and I swear, this phone can take a good picture, I just manage to take crappy ones. This is on the path that I ride that is 1/4 a mile from my apartment. It is just shy of 3 miles of my commute, and is fairly straight and boring. Once summer hits, I will shoot another one to show how nice the path really is.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Man, I'm in a haze. My allergies are making me sleepy. I'm like this every time this year despite taking my usual allergy medicine, which doesn't make me drowsy. This past weekend, my forearm hit a tree while I was mountain biking (luckily no crash), and my front tire washed out on some algae while I was crossing a nasty stream ($%& creek). I finished the ride with a big scrape on my arm and with my clothes soaking wet. I also ran a red light with my car and didn't even realize what I was doing until I was half-way through the intersection. I'm lucky to have had eventless commutes the past couple days.


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## Guest (May 6, 2014)

NDD said:


> Mediocre ride today. Had to turn back to get my keys, so my plan for the scenic route didn't work out.
> 
> My new cassette and chain make noise, too. Lubed it up this morning... Guess it could be something else. I'd never heard it before until those were put on


 Sure you don't have a directional chain mounted backward? I've done that.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hmm. I'll have to check that. It's not like any chain noise is ever heard before. It almost sounds like disc brakes rubbing on the pads but I've checked and the brakes aren't rubbing a bit. They're in tip top shape.

In no good at diagnosing things and I'm a poor mechanic so I probably won't find out until something goes terribly wrong. My only guesses were the chain or cassette for making the noise. Could it be a wheel hub? Those are new as well.


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## Guest (May 6, 2014)

Fast ride today. Did my 12.7 in 51 minutes today (including lights and traffic). Kept thinking I was setting myself up for getting hit by a bus, but as luck would have it I was lucky and fast.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Back in the saddle after over a week. Work had been so physically exhausting, with work days reaching 12-14 hours. I borrowed the truck from my wife's grandfather, and drove in. 

After feeling the blow of a gas bill, and feeling all around crappy, I made the resolve to get back to riding in. This morning was good. Nice temp, and no crazy traffic. Slow, but steady. I've made the resolve to hit my target weight by the first weekend of November, so driving won't cut it. 

That be all.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

This morning is off to a rough start. It started out swimmingly, then it started to go downhill. Here's a rundown:

-Saw a school bus that I often get stuck behind when I'm driving to work blatantly run a red light. He always goes 20-25 in a 40 when I'm stuck behind him, there's typically a line of several cars, then he runs a red light. Nice. This annoyed me.

-There was a light that usually has a few cars at it with probably 20-25 cars backed up, this was very unusual. It's a wide road, so I was able to easily go to the right of the cars. The light in the other direction turned red and the "Walk" signal lit. We still had a red light, but 3 cars went right through it. The next lady stopped and the pickup truck behind her layed on his horn and started screaming. I made eye contact and pointed to the red light. He continued to yell. A few seconds later, we got a green light.

-The next intersection has a right turn lane and a straight/left turn lane. I go straight at that intersection. Usually the right turn lane has no backup but the straight lane is backed up and needs 2-3 light cycles to clear out so I stay in the right turn lane and wait as long as I safely can to go into the straight lane. Never have an issue. Today both lanes were backed up because an a$$hole truck got into the wrong lane and sat there waiting to get into the straight lane. Once the light turned green, he almost took me out, then the girl behind me almost hits me and starts yelling at me because I took the lane. She freaked out. She had "Seniors 2014" written on her window. Probably late for cheerleading practice.

-I got to work and found my leftover chinese food leaked all over my khakis in my backpack.


Bad morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Generally good ride for me this AM, though feeling quite run down. So much so that I went home early yesterday and slept from 3:30 until 7:30, then went back to bed at 9 and had a hard time getting up today. 

Lightly raining in Anchorage, so I guess spring is here. Not enough to be bothersome, but enough to notice.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snow here again this morning. I think that makes 4/6 days in May with snow, although none of it's been sticking around. Wore my level 1 gloves and hat yesterday, but ditched them today. Looking at the forecast, this should be the last of it.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I got attacked by a goose on the bike path today, never had that happen before. I saw it was watching some offspring (goslings?), knew it wasn't going to end well. Had my left foot unclipped to kick it away if needed, but I was able to sneak by just before it made contact.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Attacked by a goose :lol: Those things can be mean! 

crazy headwind this morning for me. It's hardly ever windy in the morning for me, but today was brutal. I took the 10 mile route and hated myself for it.


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## Guest (May 6, 2014)

NDD said:


> Hmm. I'll have to check that. It's not like any chain noise is ever heard before. It almost sounds like disc brakes rubbing on the pads but I've checked and the brakes aren't rubbing a bit. They're in tip top shape.
> 
> In no good at diagnosing things and I'm a poor mechanic so I probably won't find out until something goes terribly wrong. My only guesses were the chain or cassette for making the noise. Could it be a wheel hub? Those are new as well.


 Althought it's not foolproof, you could hang the bike on a car rack and run the drivetrain through it's paces and listen for the noise. If it were hubs, I would think you could feel roughness when you turned your axles by hand. Is the noise a constant clicking or once a pedal stroke? Does the sound vary based on speed or gear? What brand of chain/cassette did you use? Finally, did you replace the chainring? Here's why I ask - noises once a pedal stroke could be crank/bottom bracket related, if the noise is less frequent and you're using a chain that pins together (shimano) rather than a chain that uses power-links (or other joining link - like SRAM or KMC) it could be a tight pin. Finally, if your chain was very worn/stretched, it's likely that the chainrings also needed replacing. The teeth tend to wear based on the stretched chain so when you replace the chain, they're actually sliding down the face of the tooth as you pedal (poor version of an illustration). Good Luck with your trouble shooting.


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## moxnix (Nov 19, 2011)

My commute was fast, I was test riding my new F29 Carbon 3 in anticipation of a race Saturday. 

First ride with XO Grip Shift- love it except for an unintentional shift while bunny-hoping a curb.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I have a SRAM chain and cassette. The chainring could be it. I almost exclusively ride the 32t ring and after about 1200 miles it might be beat. On the way back I'll try the 42 and see what happens. I'll also try spinning the hub by hand. It's very inconsistent, but presumably happens more when accelerating or pedaling harder or faster against the wind. But that's only a really bad approximation as to when this happens. I don't see a pattern yet.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

AlexCuse said:


> I got attacked by a goose on the bike path today, never had that happen before. I saw it was watching some offspring (goslings?), knew it wasn't going to end well. Had my left foot unclipped to kick it away if needed, but I was able to sneak by just before it made contact.


I'm kind of worried of this myself. I get hissed at almost daily by a goose that has taken residence in our section of the business park. So far it hasn't escalated past hissing, but I'm waiting for the day the goose snaps and takes after me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)




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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Beautiful weather today. Worked in the home office for the morning, but needed to stop in the downtown office after lunch, so I biked in and took a scenic route home.

Got a flat on my way in, and didn't notice it until I got to the office. There's a public work station right outside the office, so I used that to replace the tube. Tiny little puncture, but whatever caused it was nowhere to be seen. I'm not surprised. There's a lot of debris in the bike lanes I rode today. If I have too many problems, I may consider a tubeless conversion for my commuter simply for the sealant. It could have been worse weather for changing a flat outside.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Brutal, brutal winds again. Rode a 30-35 mph headwind 75% of my ride. But with only 4.4 miles each way any weather condition is now doable. A couple of gusts almost stopped me peddling on the spot. Other than that, a good ride. But even a terrible ride is better than no ride at all. . .sometimes.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Diagnosis achieved. The front derailleur was slightly out of line and the chain was rubbing on it. It's always the easy things that you can never figure out. Oh well.

Had a good commute to work today. Tried a new route with less traffic. More miles, but I'll take it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Drove today, but got a workout holding the bucking bronco of a dog with 2 vet techs for shots and blood draw (heartworm test), Only 40 pounds of dog, but several hundred of "I don't wanna"!


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well commuting has been pretty normal except lots of overtime has forced me to drive some days (6-7days a week some 12s doing factory work) cause too damn exhausted to even consider pedaling 

Till today. Perfect day, felt rested wind was at my back for ride in, great weather. Then the ride home. Wind not too bad but annoying on the bridge over the Mississippi river. But on the climb up something went funky. Older bike lotta miles and being a entry mtb, some rough miles. Figured it was freewheel making noise. Nothing new on those things. But noise was loud... Ok needs oil.

Got home did my routine then went out to oil it and check why my shifting was a bit off. Oiled it, put wheel back on and all, went to check shifting and wheel was bent and rubbing brakes. WTF???? I noticed I was working way harder to climb bridge just before noise started and the hill to my house turned into granny ring...figured just tired. But no, rubbing brakes from bent rim. HOW THE HELL DID I MANAGE THAT????? Ok whatever. Went to true wheel noticed spokes I needed to loosen were really tight, backed them off a good bit. Started to work spoke to pull wheel straight and one was free spinning... Looked close didn't look broke at first (bad lighting) but as soon as I pulled on it, it was dangling. Had wedged in neighboring spoke. Really??? **** no spokes on hand either till I remembered old nasty rim with chrome spokes, happened to be right size. Got that mess all fixed realizing some previous moron had tried the wheel wrong and pulled too much tension right there. All fixed. Found shifting issue was bent hanger and shifter needed lube.

So was eventful night just so I could commute again tomorrow. Can't complain for a $75 bike that I have a total of $175 with rack invested in. Just couldn't believe all this in one trip home.

Here's hoping tomorrow goes smoothly lol!!!

Sent from my Nokia Stupidphone using Tapatalk


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Cold this morning -5C...but no snow or rain.

Idiot on his phone cut a left turn so I had to bail right...told him to get the f off the phone so he makes like he is gonna chase me.

Crowded bike path on the way in plenty of room for three a breast....one new guy has decided to enforce a single file....

Ahhhh summer is back..


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Obviously the guy driving while talking on his phone is right. You can't be right. You're on a bike, silly. Bikes are for the sidewalk. 

I've been happy lately as it seems the broke ass industrial town I work in has warmed up to cyclists. It has something to do with the fact that they built bike paths through it and there are a lot of really poor people and people with DUIs biking there more now. 

On the other hand, my brother was biking through a close by town with no bike paths and got two "get on the sidewalk"s and a " f*g" yelled at him... Ah, the pleasures of middle class neighborhoods. Actually, the only place I've ever had anything thrown at me was a relatively nice part of town. Yuppie kids have no respect for anything.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

For me, the morning side was really nice. +/-40 degrees and sunny. Little to no wind most of the way until the valley narrows. Unusual as there is usually a good stiff down valley thermal. Starting to feel in better shape for this too, and getting my routine and packing down a little better as well. 12 miles well spent!


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## Guest (May 7, 2014)

Worked late last night so by the end of my ride some folks were returning from the local Nacho Ride which is always entertaining(ish). Not sure if you're any safer with an unbuckled helmet on, but you don't look any cooler. Got to the parking lot where I start my commute and a woman needed help loading her bike so she could go get her husband (flatted). It was a little tough getting her bike loaded because they had taken all the straps off their Yakima rack (never thought about that before) and she had to find those. Then I was trying to figure out how to rack her bike (small framed, step-through) when she remembers that she has a cross bar in the car. After she was loaded I took off and eventually saw her husband where the trail crosses on my way home so I stopped and fixed his flat. She pulled up and was really shocked that I had stopped a second time but my whole point was to show her husband how a few tools could make their cycling much more predictible. It was a tube well spent.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Riding home yesterday through one of the up and coming stretches of downtown Cleveland where the bike lane disappears and merges with the one lane of traffic. I slot in behind a nice Acura SUV with a dog in the back seat. As soon as the bike lane reappears I move over and start to pass the now long line of cars. Turns out the window was slightly open and the dog nearly jumped out of the car to get to me! Scared the **** out of me at first but gave me a laugh when I heard the owner yell "WTF?!" at the dog.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

its finally spring like here, whoo 50 degree weather. Its nice not having to bundle up to ride


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

sunvalleylaw said:


> For me, the morning side was really nice. +/-40 degrees and sunny. Little to no wind most of the way until the valley narrows. Unusual as there is usually a good stiff down valley thermal. Starting to feel in better shape for this too, and getting my routine and packing down a little better as well. 12 miles well spent!


Getting ready to head home, and it has been hailing this afternoon. Idaho in the springtime I guess. Hopefully it will be just a passing mountain storm. Looks to be letting up as we speak.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

On the cooler side this morning at mid-50s. Been a windy few weeks in Vegas with the wind bringing in cool weather than hot weather, cool then hot. Held out on putting on the AC even at 97F on Saturday. 400 power bills are no fun. . .gonna hold off as long as I can.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

I... was a little bit silly yesterday.
But hey it worked!!!

whoever does the load ratings on chariots need to up those limits.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride both ways for me. Was very comfortable in shorts and a t shirt on the ride in, and threw on a light cold weather shirt under it for the ride home. Passed two city bike cops with weak lights on. When I say passed, I mean I blew by them. They were just rolling along, and I was full steam ahead. I have a few questions for early morning/late night commuters. My commute home doesn't start until 11:30PM EST so traffic is much lighter, and sometimes non existent. 

1. Do you ever run red lights when there clearly is no traffic? I often hit a red on a 2 lane + bike lane heading east, where there is a turn around for the west bound 2 lane + bike lane. I can obviously see the traffic coming, and there usually isn't any, so I run the light if there are no cars waiting heading east.

2. Do you ever blow stop signs in neighborhoods? I have been doing this because my route sometimes takes me through quiet neighborhoods at night. No lights at the 4 way intersection means I am blowing that one.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

1). The only lights that are on quiet roads intersect with a military road. The trigger is about half a mile down the intersecting road, so they come roaring through the intersection at 50-60 mph. I've since learned not to try to run the light.

2). Very infrequently. I've sleepily rolled through, but my backstreets are right next to a regional community college, with all the 'good' drivers that brings.

I don't think I've ever ridden in a place where I would feel comfortable rolling a stoplight/sign.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> 1. Do you ever run red lights when there clearly is no traffic? I often hit a red on a 2 lane + bike lane heading east, where there is a turn around for the west bound 2 lane + bike lane. I can obviously see the traffic coming, and there usually isn't any, so I run the light if there are no cars waiting heading east.
> 
> 2. Do you ever blow stop signs in neighborhoods? I have been doing this because my route sometimes takes me through quiet neighborhoods at night. No lights at the 4 way intersection means I am blowing that one.


Yes ans Yes

If you get hit it is your fault. and you are dead.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

Not today, but a couple of days ago.
















There's a couple of swans breeding right next to a cycle path on my commute.
Hunderds of cyclists pass there every day but they don't seem to bother.
Same couple (?) were breeding there last year too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Cool! I like how someone brought in barriers for them.



byknuts said:


> I... was a little bit silly yesterday.
> But hey it worked!!!
> 
> whoever does the load ratings on chariots need to up those limits.


Haha nice. That's a strange load.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> 1. Do you ever run red lights when there clearly is no traffic?


*** Only at one light that takes 90 seconds to respond if it is going to. After 90 seconds with no Green, I consider it malfunctioning. Under Indiana law you can run the red of a malfunctioning traffic light. I have since found a route to avoid it completely.



TenSpeed said:


> 2. Do you ever blow stop signs in neighborhoods?


It is a pastime here, it seems. I almost get rear ended in the car when I actually stop. It is a bad habit to get into that will lead to tickets in other places with stricter enforcement. I am always ready to stop but only put a foot down when I have to. I discovered that I confuse drivers even when they are clearly at the intersection first when I do that. Maybe they are waiting until I illegally enter so they can run me down scot free?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Nashbike Lives!!

This is incarnation #3 I think...Nashbike 3.0. It's one of the early 'cross frames that they made, with 135 rear hub spacing, so when the studded tires came off of the extra 29er wheels this spring, the parts swapping began. Good fast fun. This time with bonus 185mm front rotor! For supreme stopping power on loose gravel :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. A bit cool, but dry, so that's a good thing. 

Got the rear brake fixed back up. Was able to unlock the adjustment side by soaking in WD-40 and then using an open ended wrench to get it moved. Mounted back up and rolling like a champ. Good thing, too, as I can't bike-jour with both dogs with only one brake and they really don't like going alone. Well, the one dog whines and paces the entire time the other is out running. Crazy muts.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Idiot on his phone cut a left turn so I had to bail right...told him to get the f off the phone so he makes like he is gonna chase me.


I finally had to ask. OK the movie in my head is you are either taking the lane or maybe in the right wheel track area, sitting at a stop sign or light or at least slowing for same, and minding your own and keeping a sharp eye out for idiots. (or Lord knows they'd have run you down and backed over you for good measure by now). Then along comes Mario (Not to be confused with Along Comes Mary by the Association), cuts across part of your lane. I can see your gesticulations and hear your shouts. Why wasn't the driver as oblivious to your communication of your displeasure as he was of you needing just a tad bit more room like the rest of the lane? And why if he did 'get it' was he not a half block down the road? Or was he and then he braked and began a U-turn then clearly decided 'screw it' and went on his way? My mind movie of it isn't playing very well. I suspect there is some good dumb driver mockery to be had at his expense and we could use a laugh.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Great ride both ways for me. Was very comfortable in shorts and a t shirt on the ride in, and threw on a light cold weather shirt under it for the ride home. Passed two city bike cops with weak lights on. When I say passed, I mean I blew by them. They were just rolling along, and I was full steam ahead. I have a few questions for early morning/late night commuters. My commute home doesn't start until 11:30PM EST so traffic is much lighter, and sometimes non existent.
> 
> 1. Do you ever run red lights when there clearly is no traffic? I often hit a red on a 2 lane + bike lane heading east, where there is a turn around for the west bound 2 lane + bike lane. I can obviously see the traffic coming, and there usually isn't any, so I run the light if there are no cars waiting heading east.
> 
> 2. Do you ever blow stop signs in neighborhoods? I have been doing this because my route sometimes takes me through quiet neighborhoods at night. No lights at the 4 way intersection means I am blowing that one.


I don't blow them, but I do run them. A subtle difference in that I slow way, way down and sometimes even come to a stop, check for traffic, and then if the way is clear, go. I have few lights or stop signs on my route, and most of them are one way traffic, so not as dangerous. That said, traffic along most of my route is rolling at 45mph plus, so if I don't come nearly to a stop before checking for traffic and just roll it... well, let's just say I've had a couple of close calls even with my current practices.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

So I'm currently hiding under a railroad bridge about 3 miles from my house. A thunderstorm came up behind me on the way home and is passing basically over my house now. Lots of lightning. Wife's not answering her phone, so that's handy. There's another strong cell coming across just south of me after the one passes my house, so I'm stuck here at least 30 minutes. Wooo. I saw a flash in the distance when I was just leaving my office too, but didn't see anything on the radar. Bad judgement on my part. Anybody keep camping supplies at work, just in case?


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Update, she picked up! Good thing, there's a lot more lightning incoming.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

HOT!!! 87F as I rode in. Sweating like a whore in church once I got there. Stood in front of the massive fridge in our department to cool off which took a bit of time. 73F on the ride home with a really nice breeze. Storms are coming, and I hauled ass home. Had to stop at the store to get a few things, and quickly realized that the capacity of my messenger bag isn't as big as I thought. Made it work though.....and I can hear some thunder off in the distance as I type this. 

Sanath - glad to hear that you got through to her. Been where you are before, and it truly sucks.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> I finally had to ask. OK the movie in my head is you are either taking the lane or maybe in the right wheel track area, sitting at a stop sign or light or at least slowing for same, and minding your own and keeping a sharp eye out for idiots. (or Lord knows they'd have run you down and backed over you for good measure by now). Then along comes Mario (Not to be confused with Along Comes Mary by the Association), cuts across part of your lane. I can see your gesticulations and hear your shouts. Why wasn't the driver as oblivious to your communication of your displeasure as he was of you needing just a tad bit more room like the rest of the lane? And why if he did 'get it' was he not a half block down the road? Or was he and then he braked and began a U-turn then clearly decided 'screw it' and went on his way? My mind movie of it isn't playing very well. I suspect there is some good dumb driver mockery to be had at his expense and we could use a laugh.


All done at slowish speed

I am proceding west in the middle of the lane of a two lane with parking residential road slowing for the a left turn to the south while checking for traffic...

Buddy is proceding south and turning east across my path and enters the intersection before me by a slim margin.

Rather than do a "proper left turn" he cuts the corner, and does not see me....so if I don't bail fairly aggressively right his left rear quarter will impact the front of my bike...

His window is crack so I yell as this is all happening get the F of the phone...

I procede around him and complete my turn.

He stops and drops the pick up into reverse and hammers the pedal to back up and I guess have a talk....

I am pretty sure sweetie was in the right seat and told him to forget about it and keep going and get off the phone too.

Just a distracted driver....probably a little embrassed....and aggressive to boot.

He is gonna hafta try a lot harder if he expects to hit me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Thanks, Jeff. So He was going to reverse into an intersection, change direction, and follow you south. Brilliant. Probably despises the use of profanity.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> ^ Thanks, Jeff. So He was going to reverse into an intersection, change direction, and follow you south. Brilliant. Probably despises the use of profanity.


Yup you got it.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

I only stop at stop lights and stop signs to avoid being killed. If the coast is clear I blast through them. And for the most part, I think everyone around here does. Watched the other day as a couple of roadies in all their form fitting roadie gear blasted through several stop signs. I was actually surprised they didn't stop as they looked like pretty committed bike enthusiasts. 

I also don't hesitate to take the sidewalk and do the salmon thing if it makes for the safest route. My new commute has a mile and a half of pretty unbike friendly riding, where sidewalks and riding against traffic make the most sense in some sections. Luckily, this kind of riding gets little reaction as most ride the areas I commute in an "every man for himself" fashion. I just refuse to ride a road in an industrial area where your only option is to take the lane with big work trucks and semis everywhere. So I take the sidewalk, and when this sidewalk ends, I cross over and take the dirt shoulder against traffic, as I don't want a big truck running me down from behind.

Good commute today. If I have time this weekend, I'm gonna do my best to find the squeaks that are starting to drive me bonkers. It's the rear hub or the bottom bracket. Overhauling either of them will take me an hour or more.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not too many weekend commuters here I see. Today was a great ride in. 66F, windy and sunny. Perfect for a t-shirt and shorts. I didn't think about the ride home. Lets just say that it was brisk. 52F and a slight breeze. Everything on me was warm, except for my arms. Had I thrown some arm warmers in my bag, I would be set. Gonna take a set with me to work tomorrow and leave them in my locker just in case.

I did run into what appeared to be just a normal turtle. He was working his way across the path when I stopped for a quick shot of him. It wasn't until I got to work and was showing the photo to people that I saw his face. He is a grumpy looking bastard. He looks like I felt when I left the house for work on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.










My new phone takes a pretty damn good picture!! The only thing I did to that photo was shrink it down. Moto X if anyone is wondering.


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## nyxcracer (May 6, 2011)

Painted urtle-I was lucky to ride in 3 days this week, hoping to do all by bike weather
permitting.Finally getting decent here in the NE. 
This. .is my first time riding fixed, set my singlecross up 48x16 for the road.Gotta say its a nice change from gears, you feel every change in the road, grade etc. Definately a connectedness to the bike. - learned in a hurry that my 30 mile round trip leaves me pretty toasted! Works out with riding myself into shape plan this season.
Fits.
NE.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I tried fix once for my commute. The braking was my only issue. That and reminding myself that I cannot coast, always have to pedal. I would love to run fixed again, just not sure if I will. I agree about the single gear though, you definitely feel everything. The simplicity is what does it for me. No gear adjustment, no clicking, no finicky derailleur, nothing. Just pedaling and only pedaling.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice turtle pic. These are one of my particularly favorite turtles cause they don't get as big as redeared sliders. That guy'd set you back about $30 at pet shop here in Vegas.


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## nyxcracer (May 6, 2011)

10 speed-that bike is a ss crosser in the fall so I leave the brakes, skid stopping isn't for me.
My usual route has some traffic going through town plus a road construction bottleneck in the pm, stopping is a necessity.
Hear you about the derailleurs tho, I have a couple nice geared bikes but usually go for singlespeed, mtn and road now.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Happy Bike to Work week everyone.

Good commute this morning, uneventful. 

Some days when I commute, I can't stop eating all day. This morning I had a banana before I left home then when I got to work I was starving, so I got a bacon, egg and cheese on a whole wheat bagel in the cafeteria. I ate that about 45 minutes ago and I'm starving again.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Happy Bike to Work week everyone.
> 
> Good commute this morning, uneventful.
> 
> Some days when I commute, I can't stop eating all day. This morning I had a banana before I left home then when I got to work I was starving, so I got a bacon, egg and cheese on a whole wheat bagel in the cafeteria. I ate that about 45 minutes ago and I'm starving again.


Aw man, it's bike to work week? I'll only be able to bike Wednesday and Thursday, and then Friday I'm off to Panama which means no biking for three weeks.

I think it's better just to eat at much as makes you feel good, honestly. Yesterday I went on a 70 mile ride and neglected to bring anything to eat because I was anticipating 35 miles. On the way back there were wicked headwinds, too so we stopped in town about 10 miles from home and ate gyros. That was a supreme feeling after getting pretty energy depleted. Gyros and French fries is a bit heavy for biking, though.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Apparently my FD wasn't moving as freely as I'd like when I got on the bike this morning, had to give it a little nudge with my foot to loosen it up just after leaving. Can I just remove it and submerge the whole thing in... something? I suspect acetone is too harsh? Or is it all just metal? And what do you all use for a lubricant on these parts? I've been using a basic penetrating or 3 in 1 oil but it doesn't last very long.

Whichever of you mentioned the ultrasonic cleaner has got me thinking about one. They're not very expensive on Amazon.

Also got to work only to find one of my panniers had slipped a clip off. Fortunately I had the other clip and I keep the wrap-around strap through the back rack just in case, but of all days for my bag to make a bid for freedom it had to be the day I put the $400 piece of test equipment in that bag.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

NDD said:


> Aw man, it's bike to work week? I'll only be able to bike Wednesday and Thursday, and then Friday I'm off to Panama which means no biking for three weeks.


Sounds like a pretty good excuse not to commute for a few weeks! What are you going to Panama for?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute in this AM after a hell of a weekend. Started out Friday night when I decided to go for a ride to check out if the single track was getting to the point of being ridable and knowing that I had a lot to do over the weekend, so wouldn't get time to ride. 

The entrance to the trails is 2.5 miles from my house. So I rode to the trails, hopped on and powered down the trail, not riding hard or anything. Get to a trail called College Connector which starts with a nice little down hill followed by a steepish uphill with a bit of a rooty section and off-camber stuff. Not difficult, but you want to be in the right gear going into the climb. Anyway, on the descent I get to the combo I feel comfortable in and just before I lose momentum, start peddling the uphill. 

That's when it happens. Not more than a half mile into my trail riding. Pop. Clang. The sound of metal hitting spokes and the feeling of a set of cranks that won't move. 

I figure that I might have branched my wheel or dropped my chain or something. Instead, I found just what I didn't want to see. Busted rear der. 

I give the bike a quick once over to assess damage and it appears that apart from the busted der and a bent spoke that things are overall okay. 

I could break the chain and set the bike up single speed to make it home, but given that it's a brand new chain and the wife is out and about anyway, I decide to just push the bike back out to a roadway where I can meet here, give her a call to come pick my busted arse up, and begin waiting and seething. 

I shouldn't be too upset, I've never busted a der before and this one had a lot of hard miles on it. But still, I was not looking forward to putting more money into the bike. I was looking forward to a nice evening ride in perfect Alaska spring weather. 

Now I had yet another task to complete on my to do list over the weekend. While I enjoy wrenching on the bike, I prefer to do so when 1) it isn't critical that I get it fixed in order to be able to make it to work the coming week, and 2) I don't have two other huge to do items that are just as important to complete. 

Long story short - spent a bit of time on Saturday morning locating a der in the Valley so I didn't have to run to Anchorage as the family truckster was likewise out of commission. Paid a bit too much for the der, but was able to get the bike back to running order with a bit of time to spare on Sunday night and got a nice trail ride to boot. 

For more details and photos - check out the blog, linked in the signature.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Apparently my FD wasn't moving as freely as I'd like when I got on the bike this morning, had to give it a little nudge with my foot to loosen it up just after leaving. Can I just remove it and submerge the whole thing in... something? I suspect acetone is too harsh? Or is it all just metal? And what do you all use for a lubricant on these parts? I've been using a basic penetrating or 3 in 1 oil but it doesn't last very long.
> 
> Whichever of you mentioned the ultrasonic cleaner has got me thinking about one. They're not very expensive on Amazon.


That was me... turned out the RD was fine but the cable housing was sticking (it is probably 4 to 5 years old)...

Anyway I threw the chain in the Ultrasound cleaner and bingo an hour later it pops out shiney clean...

I get a sticky FD after the winter most years...before the ultrsound I had to soak in CLR then WD-40 then CLR the WD40 then tranny fluid.....then dry and lube up...

I have two FD's that I alternate


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That turtle is a perfect Monday commute mascot. I felt about as fast and happy as that turtle this morning.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

5 C this morning and a very nice commute...

Some guy had a single vehicle crash on Crowchild Trail at 6:30 AM...

Traffic was horribly tied up...backed up several miles on all the main north and west roads...

I thought I might cruise down 14 street just to wave at all the poor suckers stuck there...

But I took the scenic route and caught a glimpse of the rescue efforts.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice enough ride today. Tonnes of bikes out, including a half-empty (or half-full) tandem. All of the fatbikes from the winter seem to have disappeared, which surprises me a bit.

Walked into the changeroom at work, and one of the infrequent commuters needed to tell me about a bad experience he'd had on his ride in - over on the right at a stopsign, and a truck squeezed in and almost right-hooked him. He was pretty upset, and this happened on the grounds of our office campus where the only excuse a driver has is that they're an impatient *******.

Best I could do was agree with him, speculate about taking revenge on this white pickup, say that the same thing has happened to me but it's never been bad enough to stop me, and tell him not to let it ruin his day.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> For more details and photos - check out the blog, linked in the signature.


I saw this on your blog:



> as I install the der I realize that the hanger has bent. The hanger. On a Surly. Non-replaceable. But steel is real and, it seems, real easy to bend. After some fiddling with hammer, vice grip, and square I was able to get it back to near perfection - well, the best I could without a reference to look at


Last year I bent the non-replacable hanger on my steel inbred, and the co-op was closed so I couldn't use their alignment gauge. So I searched the internet and found the trick of threading a rear wheel (with 10mm axle) into the derailleur mount. It threads right in, and makes a pretty handy reference and lever. Maybe not perfect, but good enough.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> I saw this on your blog:
> 
> Last year I bent the non-replacable hanger on my steel inbred, and the co-op was closed so I couldn't use their alignment gauge. So I searched the internet and found the trick of threading a rear wheel (with 10mm axle) into the derailleur mount. It threads right in, and makes a pretty handy reference and lever. Maybe not perfect, but good enough.


That's a good idea. I know I have the up and down near perfect. I do need to check the front to rear though.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

70*s all week! Perfect for bike to work week. Today's ride I saw tons of geese with their little goslings, muskrats, and some ducks. Excited that this is the first solid week of weather this year. Lots of commuting and lots of mountain riding. Just waiting for the rest of the snow to melt on the mountain so I can have some fun downhill!


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Wet snowy ride this morning in the mile high city. A nice May Day.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Simonns said:


> Wet snowy ride this morning in the mile high city. A nice May Day.


Wow, seriously? That's crazy. First day of the year I wore shorts for my ride in!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Sounds like a pretty good excuse not to commute for a few weeks! What are you going to Panama for?


It's for a field biology and biodiversity course.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The commute to work was great, sunny, warm, no wind, very rested legs. The re-entry to work after 10 days in Mexico...not so much.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Best commuting day so far - was plenty warm with just shorts and short sleeves. Almost nice enough to make me forget how badly Mt Penn beat up my arms and shoulders on Saturday. I'm sure I'll be complaining about the heat on the way home 

That same goose was in the same spot this morning. This time I charged it and turned away at the last second - this didn't give him room to run me off the edge of the path. Was somewhat nervewracking considering I had just put some new wheels/tires on and wasn't sure if the tubes were in correctly. Going to have nightmares tonight about the alternate universe where I fall and get pecked to death. It is pretty cool seeing them like this - not sure if the attacker is the mom or the dad but the way that one kind of tries to shuffle the kids away while the other "fights" is awesome. I've gotta get some of those sunglasses with the built in camera for that kind of moment.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

AlexCuse said:


> That same goose was in the same spot this morning. This time I charged it and turned away at the last second - this didn't give him room to run me off the edge of the path.


I whistle then head directly at the goose...they always get out of the way....but do some serious hissing..

Doesn't take long till they just get out of the way early


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Rainy, cold, and slightly painful. Did a gran fondo on Saturday, then did 26mi on the fixie Sunday, and did a short ride today but still a bit stiff.


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## infatileregression (May 11, 2014)

**

It was a nice sunny morning. I hope the weather will continue that way.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The commuter in trail mode on Sunday. It was a beautiful day. You can see it's greening up a bit. Spotted this owl trailside. Monday's commute was great too, except for resulting in 8 hours in the office.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, what bike are you getting?

Trail route today... very nice. I go by a little lake/pond, and thought of all these geese stories. The baby (Canadian) geese are out in all their fluffy glory... the parents weren't close enough to me to get mad, but they get pretty defensive with the kids are around.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was off Friday and Monday to attend a funeral out of state. It felt good to be back on the bike this morning, even though I have come down with a cold.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> MTBX, what bike are you getting?


Same stable as yours, different horse, the Santa Cruz 5010!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Niiiiiice. Congrats.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM, again. Can't complain when it's spring. Even with the off the charts pollen count (Pollen) the ride isn't bad and the world smells amazing.

The fog in Anchorage condensed on my wool sweater and beard as I rode in. Kinda cool. A new form of beardcicles.

























A beautiful morning, indeed.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> I whistle then head directly at the goose...they always get out of the way....but do some serious hissing..
> 
> Doesn't take long till they just get out of the way early


Drove to work but tried this in the parking lot this morning and it sent a few skyward. Hopefully it works on my trail buddies 

Enjoy that Santa Cruz, MTBX - just looking at those has me questioning my decision to build a cross bike for long distance rides this year.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Going camping thursday and friday so no commute. So only one more day to listen to my squeak to work and back. I'm thinking it is time for a bottom bracket overhaul.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Good!


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## infatileregression (May 11, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> The commuter in trail mode on Sunday. It was a beautiful day. You can see it's greening up a bit. Spotted this owl trailside. Monday's commute was great too, except for resulting in 8 hours in the office.


It's okay to have 8 hours in your office, at least you have your bike on your way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Same stable as yours, different horse, the Santa Cruz 5010!


Making the jump to FS! You'll love it.

My legs felt like dead stumps for the ride in. Still recovering from vacation I guess.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I think I got "Cat 6'd" this morning!! I have NEVER seen a "real" commuter on my way to work... a few kids riding to school, and the occasional "I'm only riding this women's Walmart mountain bike because I got a DUI" type dude (not that there's anything wrong with that...but you know...not a rider)... but today was a new one for me. 

I started seeing this guy way up ahead of me on the rural 2-lane on the way to town, and I reeled him in easily, but I was sort of afraid to catch him. There's a light coming up in maybe 1/2 mile, and I'm sure he's going to go hit the button and be a pedestrian, rather than take the lane...and then what do I do? I always take the lane, but then do we have to do the same thing? Does the first one there determine what the next guy has to do? Is it rude to blow by him? Do we talk? It was quite the flood of emotions :lol: 

I decided to make my presence known before the light, and then take the lane to inspire him to do the same. It worked, but he stayed too far over to the right and blocked the right turn lane traffic (by 'traffic' I mean one car that showed up later). We said hi, and I looked down and dude was riding a Litespeed hardtail! What? It totally went with his Jeans and button down shirt. 

So at this point I know he was averaging about 11 mph before the light...I was rolling at 17 or so. But he's the man, so when the light turned green he says "well have a good one" as if it's obvious he's going to leave me behind and never see me again, and he starts cranking out the wattage...until maybe the other side of the intersection when he reaches 11mph again. Obviously we're going the same way, and the turn onto the bike path is maybe 200 yards up the road... I let him go and stayed behind, hoping he wouldn't take the path, but sure enough he starts looking over his shoulder to make the turn onto the bike path. I just couldn't sit back there at 11 mph for another mile and a half, so I just stayed on the road :lol: 

So weird sharing the road with another cyclist. I felt like a city boy for a minute there.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I think I got "Cat 6'd" this morning!! I have NEVER seen a "real" commuter on my way to work
> 
> So weird sharing the road with another cyclist. I felt like a city boy for a minute there.


Yup makes a big difference....

Last night going home a pretty good rider passed me as I started out riding....caught him be the time I warmed up.....road on his back end til the head wind slowed him down....

Then I took the lead....he didn't have it so I put about 500 meters on him...then the wind kills me and he catches up and drafts for the last km, before he turns off my route...

Didn't say a thing....but if he wanted to talk it woudld have been fine.

In the end nice pull...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes my first FS! Although Sunday, riding the trusty Litespeed on the trails, I was like, I don’t really need a new bike. But the money is down and I’m sure I will love it when it get here.

I should know better than to do any work on the bike before work, but how long could it take to swap the BB7 pads? 20 minutes later I decided to ride without the front brake, it just would not set in there right. Then I decided to stop at the shop rather than wrestle with it after work. But they had just as bad a wrestling match as I did, but at least they knew that you could wrench of the red plastic adjuster and use the sturdy metal piece underneath. It has taken a beating from the winter corrosion. But they still were not satisfied and sent me on my way with a loaner bike so they could work on it more.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BB7 pads can be brutal. You can get them in there and operational and they're still not right...and then a week later you realize that your wavy rotor has eaten the little spring thingy because the pads weren't completely in place. Rule of thumb: when you know you finally got them in the right spot...no you didn't.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this morning. Again. A bit breezy in the Valley - 6 to 10 steady with gusts to 15. 52 degrees. Not too shabby. A bit cooler in town, but less wind.

Nothing else to report. Just good times on the trail.

So, I'm writing an article for Alaska Commons about why I think bike to work day is a crock of sh*t and I want to enlist y'all's thoughts. Does bike to work day actually promote bike commuting and getting people to become bike commuters? How many of you became bike commuters as a direct result of bike to work day? Is it a good thing or not? PM me with any insight you want to share.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Meeting other bike commuters is generally awkward unless they are going the other way. I prefer not to see anyone else.

I had the opportunity to hit a pedestrian yesterday. He was on the phone, walking in the bike lane with his back to traffic and not paying attention to anything. He turned right where I turn and looked to be following the road, but just as I approached, he veered out into the street without looking. I hit the brakes and swerved behind him. I suppose I should have made myself more known, but I don't know if it would have made much difference.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Mine was nice this morning. The new Shimano platform SPD's that I put on last night to replace my venerable but beloved old Suntour toe clips increased efficiency dramatically. Made for a nice spin in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Good commute this morning. Again. A bit breezy in the Valley - 6 to 10 steady with gusts to 15. 52 degrees. Not too shabby. A bit cooler in town, but less wind.
> 
> Nothing else to report. Just good times on the trail.
> 
> So, I'm writing an article for Alaska Commons about why I think bike to work day is a crock of sh*t and I want to enlist y'all's thoughts. Does bike to work day actually promote bike commuting and getting people to become bike commuters? How many of you became bike commuters as a direct result of bike to work day? Is it a good thing or not? PM me with any insight you want to share.


My bike commuting started with commute another way day back in 1996 or so. I had a longer commute back then and biked less. The second year in I committed to doing it a few times a year. The third I tried for once a week. I took a long break and started back up with several times a week and ramped up to every day possible. So, I'd say it works.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

blockphi said:


> How many of you became bike commuters as a direct result of bike to work day? Is it a good thing or not? PM me with any insight you want to share.


I never knew bike to work days existed until reading this forum.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

blockphi said:


> So, I'm writing an article for Alaska Commons about why I think bike to work day is a crock of sh*t and I want to enlist y'all's thoughts. Does bike to work day actually promote bike commuting and getting people to become bike commuters? How many of you became bike commuters as a direct result of bike to work day? Is it a good thing or not? PM me with any insight you want to share.


I suppose it depends where you are. Here in Hailey Idaho, (and up valley to ketchum) there is a big deal where shops put out swag and stuff. Does it in itself turn people into commuters? I suppose a few. it got me thinking about commuting more I suppose. Though I already did some before. What it does do is introduce some of the normal family folk that live and work in our little town to riding the kids to school in the morning instead of firing up the car for those 8-10 blocks, and help get the kids used to getting places that way too. AND it raises local motorists' awareness that folks are out there commuting. so to that extent it is positive around here. Not seeing that it is bullpookey iMHO.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Great story commuter boy. . .left me laughing. Shows what a nice guy you are. I'd have blown by him if I was a 17 mph rider. As it stands, me and him seem evenly matched, so I'd have taken the trail and drafted him.

Well, time to get the trailer hooked up to the XJ and spend some time in the cool mountains. Supposed to hit 100+ this weekend in Vegas. May or may not take the mt. bike. If I take my bike, gonna have to let the kids take theirs. If the kids take theirs, I'm gonna spend all my time worried about them getting hit by cars as this campground isn't exactly bike friendly. Or I may be "that guy" who takes his bike but doesn't let the kids take theirs. . .figure I can get in a few morning rides fore anyone even wakes up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^+1, hilarious! Not sure about that Litespeed and button-down comment though 
I have always signed up for Way to Go Week, Commute another Way Day (got near 100% participation back in my Portland ME office of 30+ people, but not just by bike), etc. But what I want to know is who wins this stuff??? I have been participating for years and never won anything!
You’ll also be automatically entered in a drawing to win one of these great prizes:

iPad Air (16GB wi-fi)
iPad mini (16GB wi-fi)
$300 gift card to Skirack for gear*
$100 gift card to the restaurant of your choice (2 available)
$50 gift card to the restaurant of your choice (2 available)
$100 gift card to City Market* or food co-op of your choice
Green Mountain Coffee Personal Keurig and case of K-cups*
Fitbit tracker (courtesy of Zimride by Enterprise)

…and one lucky business will be the recipient of:

Green Mountain Coffee Commercial Keurig and case of K-cups*


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

This morning was my first morning commute of the year with shorts and short sleeves! It was beautiful out, perfect temperature. Low 60's and slightly overcast.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Tried the whistling thing this morning, either I'm really bad at whistling or we have tougher geese around these parts (probably didn't help that they were both trying to help their kids across the trail). Makes me feel pretty tough losing a game of chicken to a goose


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sounds more like you were playing a game of goose.


CommuterBoy said:


> I think I got "Cat 6'd" this morning!!...
> 
> ...So at this point I know he was averaging about 11 mph before the light...I was rolling at 17 or so. But he's the man, so when the light turned green he says "well have a good one" as if it's obvious he's going to leave me behind and never see me again, and he starts cranking out the wattage...until maybe the other side of the intersection when he reaches 11mph again. Obviously we're going the same way, and the turn onto the bike path is maybe 200 yards up the road... I let him go and stayed behind, hoping he wouldn't take the path, but sure enough he starts looking over his shoulder to make the turn onto the bike path. I just couldn't sit back there at 11 mph for another mile and a half, so I just stayed on the road :lol:


The correct answer was that you were supposed to blow by him with an ego crushing display of power. 

Good commute today. My legs didn't feel as stumpy despite my fast ride home. I might take a spin around the big lake tonight.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

AlexCuse said:


> Tried the whistling thing this morning, either I'm really bad at whistling or we have tougher geese around these parts (probably didn't help that they were both trying to help their kids across the trail). Makes me feel pretty tough losing a game of chicken to a goose


They will learn


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Near miss this AM. Fortunately I was paying attention. Lady rolls up to a stop sign and I can see that she is rolling fast, like she's not planning to stop at all. At the last moment, she slams the brakes and stops. I figure she must have seen my blinky and that's why she decided to stop - there were no other cars in any direction. Anyway, I speed up to get out of her way a bit quicker when I realize that she is looking the opposite direction and that her head has never turned my way and she's gunning it off the line. By the time I was able to slow down enough, she passed by my front wheel well within a foot - the whole time never looking to her right. And this is on a two way street. 

Being a bit grumpy already I think I did the whole raise and arm in the air and yell "What the f*ck Lady!" at the top of my lungs thing. 

Could've been bad. 

Made the rest of the ride a bit less than pleasant.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Near miss this AM. Fortunately I was paying attention. Lady rolls up to a stop sign and I can see that she is rolling fast, like she's not planning to stop at all. At the last moment, she slams the brakes and stops. I figure she must have seen my blinky and that's why she decided to stop - there were no other cars in any direction. Anyway, I speed up to get out of her way a bit quicker when I realize that she is looking the opposite direction and that her head has never turned my way and she's gunning it off the line. By the time I was able to slow down enough, she passed by my front wheel well within a foot - the whole time never looking to her right. And this is on a two way street.
> 
> Being a bit grumpy already I think I did the whole raise and arm in the air and yell "What the f*ck Lady!" at the top of my lungs thing.
> 
> ...


Obviously this was your fault for getting in her way (and being on a bike).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Took the same route in the hopes of a cat-6 rematch, but I didn't see Litespeed boy.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Being a bit grumpy already I think I did the whole raise and arm in the air and yell "What the f*ck Lady!" at the top of my lungs thing.
> 
> Could've been bad.
> 
> Made the rest of the ride a bit less than pleasant.


Use the adreline rush to set a new segment record.....gotta get it out of your system


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## Bokchoicowboy (Aug 7, 2007)

Good ride in to work today. I have been trying to get on the bike for a month but allergies and after work appointments had me driving in, missing some great riding weather. I couldn't let another day pass, especially since it is "Bike to Work Day" for my area. Temps were warm enough to let me leave the jacket behind and just wear a long sleeve with a thin merino base and shorts without the warmers. Going to be short-sleeve temps on the way home. 

Bike was working well, legs felt good. Sunrise was beautiful. Rode from Folsom Lake along the American River bike path to work, about 11.5 miles. When I got the the point where the path is right next to the intersection of Folsom-Auburn Road and Folsom Lake Crossing I hopped off the path and rode the bike lane down Folsom-Auburn until I hit Old Folsom. I had to smile as I rode down this section of road, since the previous Monday Sir Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, and a horde of other roadie types flew along where I was now riding. I was not able to see the Tour of California time trial in person, but it was still a neat thought that I was riding where the race had gone past.

Legs felt really good by the time I got to work. I'm hoping to ride again tomorrow....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Excellent! That is cool. How is the water level at Folsom Lake? Still horrible?


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## tbonealive (May 30, 2013)

I had an awesome ride this morning. It's only about 5 miles from my home to my work, but I just tuned up my Fujicross last night and it was really zipping around the streets and trails this morning. I work two jobs so I will end up riding a few more miles today but the weather in Fort Collins is pretty nice (considering we got 9 inches of snow on Mother's day), and a morning ride always puts me in good spirits for the rest of the day.


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## Bokchoicowboy (Aug 7, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Excellent! That is cool. How is the water level at Folsom Lake? Still horrible?


The level is a lot higher than it has been, probably attributable to the melt from what little snow we _did_ get in the Sierras this year. I didn't stop to take any photos unfortunately. Perhaps this afternoon on the way home.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday on my ride home I saw the most dangerous pothole for cyclists that I pass on my route was fixed, so that was nice. You either have to take the lane in a blind corner that drivers are going 30+ or hit a 2" wide strip of pavement between the pothole and curb. 

This morning some guy yelled at me. I was over pretty far in the lane because of (more) pot holes. There was nobody on the other side of the street though. Not exactly sure what he yelled, I thought I heard him counting. Maybe "you have 5 seconds to get out of my way"? 

Otherwise, it was nice and warm. Low 60's. It's supposed to be raining when I ride home.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was darn cold for mid May. 32 when I left the house. I had to find the cold weather gloves for the ride in.

The steam coming off the lake this morning was cool.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I don't know what's up with pedestrians this week. A teenager was walking down the middle of the MUP yesterday, heading my direction. At first he looked to be moving to the correct side of the path (there's a line down the middle), but then he switched directions and stepped right in front of me. I hit the brakes, and he scooted off to the side.

Temps are quite a bit cooler. I actually wore long sleeves yesterday and today.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

tapatalk is being a PITA today over pics.

I was working the BTWD festivities downtown today, so I commuted at 5:30am to arrive at 6am and help with setup. It was raining and about 40F. my favorite...like taking a cold shower with the A/C blowing on you at the same time.

there was mucho free coffee courtesy of Hubbard & Cravens, and breakfast (fruit and bagels) courtesy of Whole Foods, though. I was there to talk up the local cycling advocacy group and hand out our bike maps and other freebies.

Headed back home at around 10:30am so I can attend some of the IMBA TCC events and help out with those.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

_"Dear Motorists: Thank you for being aware on bike to work day and all. But please, if you are slowing at the multi user path, either observe and go through the intersection, thus clearing the path, or come to a complete stop to yield. Slowing vaguely and ambivalently, so that you do not clear the intersection, then continuing to roll through the intersection slowly as cyclists are trying to pass does not really help."
_
Otherwise a pretty nice commute, though having all the extra folk out for bike day gummed up the works some.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Yesterday: "No morning bike commute is complete without a transient popping a squat alongside Russian Jack trail. The look on their face when you catch them with their pants down around their ankles is just priceless!"

Today: "Happy National Bike to Work Day. Anchorage Muni really screwed up by moving the date to next month this year... Today could not have been a nicer day to commute!!! Deep down I hope it rains on June 5th. ;p"


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## Agwan (Feb 16, 2011)

I did a 20 mile commute last night. 11 of it on a rural road after dark. I live RIGHT on the coast, so the view of various bays and inlets was hauntingly beautiful. Even with my lights it was inky black at times.

with 46x18 gearing it was easy sailing the whole way home. nothing to think about. it felt good.

except for that one drunk girl who screamed at me from a Prius.

but other than that. magical.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ride to farmer's market. Bringing home the filet. ...

On the way in I had my foot down as two were at a 4 Way ahead of me and I had to wave them to proceed. If UI am going to get hit I want to be able to argue it was the driver who was at fault.

Same four way returning, I get there last, guy to my right first. He goes, guy to his right goes, and the guy behind him pulls to the line, guy to my left goes I launch as he crosses in front of me and the lady to my left who was behind the one just clearing the intersection launches with me now in her path. She was not next by two! Her window was half down so I yelled: "Not your turn, yet!" So I get those who won't take their right of way and those who won't cede it as required. Great mix. OK. Rant over.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The car ahead of me crawled into the roundabout with me on her tail and struggling not to fall over or pass her. She proceeded to wave every car in sight (entering the roundabout ahead of her) into our path as we proceeded slowly around the roundabout. It was as if she truly believed there were no rules, and she was simply being polite and careful. Her window was partway down, and by now I am hovering at the left rear of her car, so I yell "You have the right of way". To no avail of course, she was not to be deterred from her yielding and snail's pace. 

There is also a pesky directional drilling construction job (sewer?) on part of my route, shifting the lanes with cones and narrowing them to the point where you have to take the lane. I don't mind it in the slightly downhill direction where I can keep up with the cars
easily, but in the uphill direction it feels like I am holding up traffic.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

On my ride home, i was in a bike lane approaching a t intersection. I shoulder checked and signaled that i was changing lanes to get into the left turn lane as a car was passing me. That car saw my signal and stopped suddenly to left me in front. The light ahead was red and I just wanted to slide in behind them as they approached the light. With the window down they gaped at me stupidly. I waved them forward and said "go ahead".

I hate when people pull stupid traffic maneuvers being overly cautious. I had to stop in the middle of the right turn lane as they stopped immediately next to me rather than pull all the way to the light.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This is gonna be long, and contain some complaining. Just a friendly warning.

I am starting to hate my commute. I don't know if it is the route, or the timing, or the distance or what, but it is getting to me. I work second shift at the local hospital. I head west from my apartment, so it seems like there is a constant headwind just blasting me. I have a few different routes that I can take that eventually meet up. The MUP is long and straight, smooth, but has nothing to block the wind so it is worse. The other route has me cutting through a park, but dumps me off on a road that is horrendous. 45mph speed limit on a 2 lane road with potholes and general conditions suitable for Afghanistan. I have a super narrow shoulder to ride on, and luckily it is only about a block. The bad thing is the angled railroad tracks that I have to cross. I might walk the bike the next time I go that way. It is nerve wracking, between the speed limit, the narrow road and those tracks. I almost wrecked there today on the tracks. Funny thing is that the road is closed from the south due to flooding so it wasn't pressure from traffic. This route puts me into a neighborhood with wide streets and not much traffic. I absolutely fly through this section which as soon as I exit, I meet up with the end of the MUP. Then on to a traffic circle that is at the bottom of a hill for both the north and south directions, with east and west being flat. Most drivers do not pay attention to a bike, and will take the right of way, theirs or not. I have just gotten used to this as it is almost always like this at the circle. I can continue on west, or head south up the hill to another neighborhood. West puts me on a 2 lane road with a bike lane with a 35 mph speed limit, 25 near the school. Since I travel during school hours on the way out there are usually police present either driving or clocking from a side street. The bike lane is fairly rough and still has not been swept by the street sweepers. Lots of rocks and stuff to puncture tires. South puts me into another neighborhood that allows me to zig zag West, taking a bit longer, but is nicer because there isn't much traffic. West continues on and has me avoiding foot and vehicle campus traffic. South has me through neighborhoods now that have lots of stop signs, and college kids that don't always pay attention or give the right of way at 4 way stops. They eventually meet back up, putting me on a busy road for less than a block with no bike lane which branches off to another road with a bike lane which is my route. Once I get near campus, all hell breaks loose usually. Pedestrians not paying attention, drivers not paying attention. Cabbies not paying attention. There is not a dedicated bike lane, however there are markings on the road that present a section of road for bikes with arrows and bikes on them. Occasional double parked cars, people texting and walking, people stepping out in the lane to jay walk, you name it. 

OK, once I merge onto the bike lane road, I have to deal with a big construction site where the workers just park their cars in the bike lane forcing me to merge to the left and roll with traffic. I also have to deal with bus stops, and playing frogger with buses, as they pass me and I pass them and they pass me, the **** gets old. The fear that they won't see me even though they just passed me always bugs me. The bike lane continues on and then somehow it just ends and I am forced to take the road for about half a mile or so. This gets a little hairy as I travel under a highway overpass and there is a bit of congestion in that area. I can continue down that road and it will take me right to the hospital. That would be the ideal route. The road is so destroyed and laden with potholes that for my safety I have to cut through the neighborhood and continue on to get to work. There is no safe way to ride down this road without either getting hit or killing your wheels. Cars blow their tires on this road and the potholes all the time. You can only imagine what a 700c wheel with a skinny ass tire will do. 

My ride home starts at about 11:35 PM. The traffic is much lighter which makes me very happy. My visibility is worse though for the road. They can see me just fine with my lights, had co workers and friends tell me that they have no problem seeing me. I just can't see the road that well. The intersections are still full of gravel and sand from the winter, and it makes taking turns in traffic/along with traffic absolutely nerve wracking. I almost went down today in a neighborhood from this. Had to cut the turn sharply since there was a van coming towards me. Front wheel started to slide out from me, but luckily I caught myself. Once I get past the campus, the streets are dark for the most part. The longer I ride, the darker it becomes. The last neighborhood has scattered street lights, but it is dark. The park is pitch black, as is the MUP. That is almost scary because stuff jumps out at you like rabbits, deer, skunks, possums, whatever the hell else is out there. I don't ride the MUP usually. It is faster since there is no traffic but it is sketchy as hell with the wildlife. I am thinking about getting another light to aim down at the street so I can see what is coming like potholes and cracks. 

The ride today sucked. Mid 40's and windy of course. Overcast and humid. I was snotting up something fierce. I can see why this temperature sucks so bad. Dressed perfectly for it but it still sucked. Rained all week so this was my only day to commute in. Saw a jackass blow the light on his bike, so when it turned green I took off like a bat out hell and passed him like he was going the other way. No helmet, earbuds in, not a care in the world. Total douche bag giving bikers a bad name. The ride home was clear and about the same temperature. It felt good to be on the bike but put me in a bad mood for the night. 

Sorry to vent.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Other than that how was the ride?  Sounds like you could use a bright light you can either click up and down power or adjust if you meet traffic, otherwise blast a hole in the dark. The inattentive drivers and myriad potholes suck. If I remember right you are in Michigan and I have nightmares of Michigan pot holes! Rumor said Jimmy Hoffa disappeared into one.


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## Guest (May 19, 2014)

I thought Hoffa rode a 29er. No way that could disappear completely in a pothole.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Yep, in Michigan, and you should see the potholes. The ride was OK. Monday will be better I am sure, just didn't have a good day Friday.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Forgot my grown up shoes, so I'll be shuffling around the office in my bike shoes for the day.

Oh well. I got up on time, and got to ride in. Just got to focus on that good side of things.


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## Guest (May 19, 2014)

Probably need to start another "How you're coping without your daily commute" thread. Week 2 of my cold begins as week 1 ended. In dissapointment. Getting a tooth fixed tomorrow morning, perhaps Wednesday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Plodding through my generally bike-less existance, but Bedwards invited me out of hermitdom 
Last year I had a hankering to try some backpacking, but hated the idea of speding a weekend that could OTHERWISE have been spent on a bike trip doing other than bike stuff. Since I`m not doing much bike stuff anyways, I went out over this past weekend. Boy are my calves hating me! On the filp side, Boy are modern backpacks comfy! Seriously- the only other packs I`ve used have been 70s and early 80s external frame jobbers that are actually quite light, but comparatively torturous. Any old folks on this board (I know we have a surlpus) who remember the old ones and haven`t tried any 21st century models, make a small investment and you`ll be amazed.


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## CDK (Oct 1, 2013)

Just went to coffee then to some errand running with the little one today. Cutting through a neighborhood had a woman slow down and stop next to us and ask about the weehoo. We chatted for a minute about it then we were back rolling. This happens prob once a week and I am more than happy to answer peoples questions because these things are awesome.

Passed this wall that I have never seen somehow and thought it was kinda cool


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Awesome pics Rodar! Makes me want to go backpacking!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Partly Cloudy, Gusty, Fast on the skinny bike!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Plodding through my generally bike-less existance, but Bedwards invited me out of hermitdom
> Last year I had a hankering to try some backpacking, but hated the idea of speding a weekend that could OTHERWISE have been spent on a bike trip doing other than bike stuff. Since I`m not doing much bike stuff anyways, I went out over this past weekend. Boy are my calves hating me!


Wow, those lakes are gorgeous, what/where are they?
Hiking is rough on the calves, even when you have been biking. I hiked one f our 4000 footers (big out here in New England) 5/7, and I was feeling it for a couple days.

Thanks for posting, we were getting kinda depressed without you around.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I was thinking about posting the where's Rodar question.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Temp in: 70F and sunny, no clouds, and a slight breeze. Perfect for a redemption commute. Took the geared bike today since I felt like really opening it up. Managed to get to work really quickly with 0 incidents. Drivers were very courteous and it was much appreciated.

Temp out: 61F and a 90% chance of rain. It was only a 20% chance when I left for work. Scratch that, 100% chance, since it was raining when I left work. Light drizzle that turned into rain the further east I went. Hardly any traffic out which was very welcome since I get nervous about not being seen at night in the rain. That Serfas Thunderbolt is a really amazing taillight. Co-worker in her car caught me at the light and said that they could see me really far away. I always run it in bright blinking mode at night for this reason, especially in the rain. OK, through the neighborhoods and then it came time to make a decision. MUP or not. MUP is straight, fast, and really dark. The other option is slower, has some traffic, and has sweeping turns that are probably slippery. MUP it is, so off I go. It was eerily relaxing to be riding in pure darkness, the sound of the rain hitting my helmet, and blazing through small patches of fog and steam coming off the road. They were warmer than the air temperature, so they felt good on my wet skin. The sound of the frogs and insects buzzing, the rain constantly hitting me, covering my glasses, and me just pedaling into the darkness, alone with my bike and my thoughts. 

And the race was on. The MUP joins up with the railroad tracks and runs alongside them for a good distance. I could hear the train coming. I knew what I had to do. Shifted and started cranking. The MUP ends, and comes to a T, to get home I make a right to go over the tracks. So it is raining, dark, and at the end of the MUP, uphill to get over the tracks. I could hear it coming. Then I could see the light. I had to beat it. I wanted to stop on the overpass and see the train go underneath me. I beat it by about 20 seconds. I waited up there, and when he got close, threw the conductor a wave. Not sure if they saw me up there, but that train brought me back. This is why I ride, because it is fun. Not because I have to, but because I want to.

So tomorrow I get to clean my bike again, but as I do it, I will be thinking about the ride home, and why I ride, and it will make me smile. The geared bike is for sale right now and I have my eye on a few different options to replace it. I will more than likely be going single speed with a coaster brake, and I will turn my current single speed into a fixed gear and learn how to ride that properly. 

Lastly, thanks to everyone who posts in this section, and those who support the rest of us when we are feeling down, or not feeling it at all. A lot of you inspire me to get on the bike and just ride it.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Blasted the pedals with some PB this morning, nice and quiet again and the unclip is much smoother. Bike is still a symphony of other noises to be investigated, but at least that one thing is better. Ride was okay. Had to take the short route because of a late wake up and earlyish meeting, and I took my lunch out of my pannier only to find that the lime juice had all leaked out of my guacamole container. Might rain a bit this afternoon. Rain/thunderstorms tomorrow, but I've been working from home on Wednesdays, which is nice.

Kid might start riding to/from school on a regular basis. She's excited. Rode in with mom this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Forgot my grown up shoes, so I'll be shuffling around the office in my bike shoes for the day.
> 
> Oh well. I got up on time, and got to ride in. Just got to focus on that good side of things.


Isn't that the best way to spend the day in the office? I remember once a co-worker forgot his pants and had to wear bike shorts all day. We were working on a client site, which made things a bit more awkward, but the client was cool with it and the rest of the guys in the boiler room got a good kick out of it.

Good commute in this AM. Breezy up in the valley - 17mph sustained, gusting to 28. Beautiful sunny morning, though, so it's all good.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Sanath said:


> Blasted the pedals with some PB this morning, nice and quiet again and the unclip is much smoother. Bike is still a symphony of other noises to be investigated, but at least that one thing is better. Ride was okay. Had to take the short route because of a late wake up and earlyish meeting, and I took my lunch out of my pannier only to find that the lime juice had all leaked out of my guacamole container.  Might rain a bit this afternoon. Rain/thunderstorms tomorrow, but I've been working from home on Wednesdays, which is nice.
> 
> Kid might start riding to/from school on a regular basis. She's excited. Rode in with mom this morning.


What is PB? Curious. I love riding with the kids to school on bikes. I do it with my daughter nearly every day when the weather is good enough. Have fun with that!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

sunvalleylaw said:


> What is PB? Curious. I love riding with the kids to school on bikes. I do it with my daughter nearly every day when the weather is good enough. Have fun with that!


I'm assuming PB Blaster

Blaster 11 oz. Penetrating Catalyst Lubricant-16PB-THD at The Home Depot

Good stuff if you have any parts seized together. Never used it as simply a lubricant though, only to unstuck stuff that's stuck.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

sunvalleylaw said:


> What is PB? Curious. I love riding with the kids to school on bikes. I do it with my daughter nearly every day when the weather is good enough. Have fun with that!


PB Blaster. No idea what "PB" stands for. From what I understand it's comparable to Kroil if you're more familiar with that.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

first mountain ride of the year....Some snow patches left....most were ridable....little bit of mud but things are drying out nicely.

They finally completed the rip/rap and flood protection on my MUP into work...So no more crowded rides on the South side MUP


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Two days of riding home straight into a headwind. The positive of this is that my squeaky bottombracket isn't as noticeable. Gonna try to overhaul it this weekend.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Really great today. Feeling stronger and stronger the more I pedal under load. It is helping my pedal turnover with Mountain biking as well. Plus commuting in spring is just awesome.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride for me as well. Very warm on the way in at about 76F. Ride home was perfect at 62F and a slight breeze. Was trying to beat a storm home, and I won. Took a short cut off the MUP to hit up the local store for some water. Ended up offroad, in the mud, climbing a slight grade, in the dark, headlight swerving side to side with me trying to get traction. Never fell, but got the bike pretty dirty, and I had just cleaned it really well earlier today before my ride to work.

I stopped at a new shop that opened up last year that caters to mostly roadies and hipsters. In the back they have a nice area with a Park stand and matching tools that the customers or anyone can use. Made a slight adjustment to my cleats which worked well for me. My friend is the manager there so I wanted to talk to him but he had the day off. Talked to the owner, and he made a slight adjustment to my rear brake which now works like it should. A quick 5 second adjustment that I simply overlooked. 

No commute now until Monday for me, but I will be riding almost every day. Wednesday is the local Ride Of Silence which will net me about 20+/- for the day because I will ride to it, ride it, then ride home.


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## pulser (Dec 6, 2004)

Really nice ride for me. Mid 70s on the way in and 50s on the way home. Got quite the scare when I got to work. I checked Facebook and every one was reposting the alert from the Nat. weather service. Severe Thunderstorm Watch, strong winds damaging hail. It all stayed out east and it was a really nice night to ride home from work.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Xplorer, those little lakes are in the Lakes Basin region of California`s secret gem Plumas County.

Neat building, CDK! I guess your tag along is the "weehoo"? It looks like one of those 80s long wheelbase recumbents.

10speed, scary story about your train race until I finally realized you were trying to beat it to an overpass, not an on grade crossing.

Got a little rain on my ride in today. Hope it put out the smoldering remains of our season`s first fire.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I had to hurry home yesterday and ended up with my fastest commute of the year. I hit most of the lights just right, which is rare on my route.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Last week I had to fight frost bite on my way in. This week I sweated my ass off on my way in. I wasn't too hot, but its humid as all get out. Thats life in (Insert Mid-West State Here). Just wait 5 minuites for the weather to change.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Sanath said:


> Forgot my grown up shoes, so I'll be shuffling around the office in my bike shoes for the day.
> 
> Oh well. I got up on time, and got to ride in. Just got to focus on that good side of things.


One time on a business trip to my corporate HQ, I packed 2 left dress shoes.... Luckly there was a Wal-Mart type store near my hotel that was open before I had to show up for my meetings. Got some cheap black dress shoes that hurt my feet. That was better than showing up in flip-flops and a tie!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM, if a bit chilly. A few places along the route were recording temps below freezing. Beautiful sunrise up in the valley with the sun backlighting the Talkeetna mountains. There are definitely benefits to getting up at 4AM in the summer in Alaska. 

The ride home yesterday was likewise awesome. Warm and breezy in the valley, but just warm and sunny in Anchorage. So I put on a couple of extra miles along the Coastal Trail, which, apart from all the trail users who can't seem to figure out how to walk/skate/roller ski/bike right and pass left, was a beautiful strip of pavement to ride. Which reminds me of another thing I miss about living in Anchorage - the 'beach'. When we first moved up here and were broke, our favorite thing to do was to go to Kinkaid or Point Woronzoff, build a fire with driftwood, and have a picnic lunch. No place to do that up in the valley on the salt water that I've been able to find yet and the good picnic places along the Knik are generally overrun with ATVs - so not nearly as relaxing.


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## TitanofChaos (Jun 13, 2011)

Long time follower first time committed 

Finally no thunderstorms in the forecast today!

Despite the extra miles and technical "features" provided by road construction it took me a whole 10 min longer than by car (my route is only 7 miles)

I spent the money I saved on gas on some chocolate milk, I'm pretty happy about that

The ride reminded me how much I hate my camelbak, (no water for the short ride, just clothes) 

I have a rack but it's not compatible with my kiddo's tag-a-long and I don't want to take it on and off all the time

A little extra prep time and then cleanup and changing time before work but some free exercise time seems worthwhile

While not hardcore about it at this time I'm pretty sure I'm going to make this a weekly thing

I'll be hitting the singletrack on the way home, the construction detour put me 100' from the trail on the way here, it's amazing that I'm at work at all


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## CDK (Oct 1, 2013)

blockphi said:


> apart from all the trail users who can't seem to figure out how to walk/skate/roller ski/bike right and pass left, was a beautiful strip of pavement to ride.


I can relate to this.. It is becoming more and more frustrating to me that I need to slow down for a group walking side by side the entire length of a path and not seeming like they want to move or someone has a dog not on a leash that I not trying to run over or my favorite is the 2 runners side by side blocking the path with headphones in going the same direction as me so I cant even alert them to move . I honestly feel that I may be getting a little bitter about some of this but also feel it is a justifiable nusense


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CDK said:


> I can relate to this.. It is becoming more and more frustrating to me that I need to slow down for a group walking side by side the entire length of a path and not seeming like they want to move or someone has a dog not on a leash that I not trying to run over or my favorite is the 2 runners side by side blocking the path with headphones in going the same direction as me so I cant even alert them to move . I honestly feel that I may be getting a little bitter about some of this but also feel it is a justifiable nusense


When the paths get crowded I spend a lot of time out passing on the grass...10 feet of the path...

Always wonder shy the people stopped an chatting don't get off the path....but I don't really care any more


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TitanofChaos said:


> Long time follower first time committed  ...
> ...While not hardcore about it at this time I'm pretty sure I'm going to make this a weekly thing...


The seed has been planted.

Good to see Rodar popping back in.

Not much to report on the commutes lately. It seems like the wind is against me more than with me but that seems normal now.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Smokey, large forest fires not far from Anchorage, wind blowing, please send rain!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

My wife is due with our first child on June 12. She asked me the other day "what will you do if you biked to work and I go into labor?" I was half expecting her to ask me that, but I didn't bring it up. Guess I'll be asking a co-worker for a ride home ASAP! Is it okay to expect her to bike to the hospital in labor?

I kid, I kid (no pun intended).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Darned if I didn't spot another perfectly good doughnut on the commute today. It was an old fashioned, which I am partial to. These are the mysteries of my world - did a kid drop it for fun? Did a dieter fling it out the window in a remorseful moment of restraint? Did Dunkin Donuts (it was between 2 of the 3 I pass in 8 miles) plant it suggestively? I will never know...

Other than not eating the donut, the commutes were good.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Commute was basically great today, though I find that my Ortlieb Office Bag is rubbing badly on my Axiom Journey rack, cutting into the aluminum in one spot. Tried to move it but that made it too close to my heels. I am going to have to futz with it some more to figure out how to get the rack to carry the load without the QL2 system rubbing on the rack too much. Other than that, and that I got caught in some pretty good wet from thunderstorms without having yet installed my fenders, it was nice!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not exactly a commute today, however, I ended up riding my route that I commute. Beautiful sunny and warm today, around 81F. Rode down to the shop to shoot the BS with a friend of mine that manages. Wanted to look into a new crank/BB for my fakie. The shop offers a nice work place in the back for customers to either install new parts that they just purchased, pump up tires, make minor adjustments, etc. My friend was busy working on a bike, and a guy that had just purchased an online fixie/single speed came in for some help. I ended up helping the kid, felt pretty bad for him. He had the fork on backwards, the tires were way low, brakes needed some adjusting, handlebar was crooked. Showed him what he needed to do, and why, and helped him figure out the stuff. Just kind of supervised while he did the work. I don't know crap about bikes, or so I thought. I guess I do because my buddy didn't say much as I was helping him. He was listening though. 

Then it was off to the Ride Of Silence that left from the campus and headed on a decent 5 or so mile route that took me right past work. There had to easily be at least 200+ riders, some on full blown race bikes, some on mountain bikes, one on a fatty, a guy on a really old bike with a huge front wheel like from the 1800's, a few tandems, and me on my fakie. I don't think there were hardly any fixed/single speed riders there. We had a huge police escort with 4 local departments including the county blocking roads and stopping traffic. It was a pretty amazing sight to see. People were stopped on the sidewalk filming us with their phones and cat calling out whooping and hollering. This was my first one and I can't wait to do it again. We rode in complete silence, well, I did. That many bikes fairly close, and you wouldn't believe how loud derailleurs and brakes are. Quite a few people out there needed adjustments that is for sure. My bike is silent. The sound of chains skipping and the familiar howl of Avid brakes seemed like it echoed off the buildings. 

After the huge group dispersed, there was to be a much faster paced police escort back to campus for those who were headed east. Well, a huge group of riders ended up leaving before the escort so I joined. The pace was not that fast as a father and his young kids were leading the pack. They looked like they were just having a blast, so the group just went at their pace. We got split up at a light, and as it turned green, we hauled ass to catch up. It felt really good to open it up on the road with other riders. There wasn't racing, the younger guy next to me and I were going the same speed. Most of the group kind of turned off and there were only a few of us left, the younger guy and myself included. Well, we got kind of impatient and ended up breaking away from the other riders. Again, not racing, just riding quite a bit faster than the rest. He ended up turning off into the campus and we said see ya to each other, and by younger, I mean he was college age (I am 41) and I was left on my own. 

Lots of people with Go Pro's and cameras, and part of last years ride ended up on YouTube so I am hoping that this one will as well. I was positioned so that if they recorded from the same spot, I am guaranteed to be famous for at least a few seconds as I pass by.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

My wife told me this morning when she saw me dressed to ride to be careful of the storms (apparently there is a chance of violent thunderstorms today, forecast looked good last night). Before I could even get my phone out to make a plan she was looking ahead and told me tomorrow and Saturday would be more of the same. For a second I considered driving to work, before she said "I'll pick you up if you get stuck". I think she might be a keeper.

OTOH the geese have moved down to a narrower section of path. I really hope they were just down there to get out of the rain.


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## TitanofChaos (Jun 13, 2011)

The ride home last night started off with a quick loop at the local singletrack then off to the new bike path thru town

bike path baby mama drama 

this couple was so busy yelling at each other, they had no clue I was there, then she shoved the stroller away as she threw a punch at him when he turned to walk away, she almost pushed the baby in the stroller directly into my bike as I passed

I didn't want to get involved as it looked like they were about to go their separate ways and were yelling less the closer I got

I would have been devastated to even tap a stroller when on my bike much less crash into one head on, I certainly wasn't going to ride directly between the people screaming at each other and had at least 4' of the path to myself, IDK why she felt it necessary to shove the stroller, the kid could have tipped over just from rolling off the path

I should have stopped 1/2 block away and just waited till they parted or dug out my phone to make the call if it got any worse, I was in the zone pedaling and just didn't process the situation as I probably should have


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Easy. Was cool at 47F this morning but is going to warm up to the 70s for my ride home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Smokey, large forest fires not far from Anchorage, wind blowing, please send rain!


Agreed - this morning's ride was quite rough with the smoke coupled with all of the pollen in the air. My lungs hate me right now! I was tempted to just ride the bus back to the Valley and work from home, but, alas, have meetings I have to be at in person today.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

First commute on my "new" dedicated commuter. So far I had just been riding my road bike while I tried out commuting to make sure it was something I really wanted to do, but at this point I am riding 3-5 times a week and wanted more of a beater to handle all the wear and tear of city streets. Going from a race-oriented road bike to a late 90s hybrid was a bit of an adjustment. I need to get rid of the horrible squishy gel seat and will probably swap the risers to drops. Also considering converting it to single speed at the same time.

Overall the commute was very nice. Had one overly cautious driver. We were waiting for a red light and I had filed into traffic behind him. He was going to turn right at the light. Light turns green and he doesn't move, instead waving at me in his mirror for me to pass him on the right on the shoulder. I declined. I appreciate that he was thinking about me as a cyclist, but sometimes I don't get drivers that lose their common sense when they see a bike. 

Shortly after that I was waiting at another light and another cyclist blows past between me and the lane of traffic on my left. Not a word of warning. Light was still red, though this is a light at a T - intersection coming from the left so not particularly dangerous to run if you stay in the right lane. Not sure what his hurry was because he was not moving very fast. I'm not sure what the etiquette is between bike commuters, but I was a little annoyed that he didn't say anything to let me know he was passing. I had no idea he was there, and it's not like we are encased in a glass/metal box where you can't hear the person next to you. A simple "good morning" is all it takes. Maybe I'm just sensitive. Either way, the Cat6 race was on. Blew him away on the next hill :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I hate doing the Cat6 race, but sometimes you just need to knock them down a few levels. I always try to make my presence known when passing.


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## Guest (May 23, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> I hate doing the Cat6 race, but sometimes you just need to knock them down a few levels. I always try to make my presence known when passing.


Think I'm normally Cat 8 but I'm riding tomorrow and I'm riding sick so probably a laggard Cat 9.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Glad to see you back Rodar. Your lack of presence is noticed around here. Congratulations on your soon to be new kid, Starz. And glad you had such a good ride, TenSpeed. Sounds like something I might have to do sometime--a group ride.

Stayed home today with my son who has pinkeye. Planned on overhauling my squeaky bottombracket, but my son talked me into a happy meal at McDonalds and some lizard hunting. Hopefully I will get to it over the three day weekend.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Stayed home today with my son who has pinkeye. Planned on overhauling my squeaky bottombracket, but my son talked me into a happy meal at McDonalds and some lizard hunting. Hopefully I will get to it over the three day weekend.


That sounds way like way more fun than overhauling a bottom bracket. Hope he gets to feeling better.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A better ride in this AM. A lot less smoke, though there is still enough in the air to be able to see and taste it. Ended up putting in a few extra miles on the way to work because it was so nice out. Looking forward to the long weekend and getting some miles in on the single track.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Straz85 said:


> My wife is due with our first child on June 12. She asked me the other day "what will you do if you biked to work and I go into labor?" I was half expecting her to ask me that, but I didn't bring it up. Guess I'll be asking a co-worker for a ride home ASAP! Is it okay to expect her to bike to the hospital in labor?


That's what I did last year. My wife actually had gone to work the morning my son was born. She started to not feel well and went home after only an hour or so. When I heard the news, I had a co-worker drive me home. My boss actually let us use his pickup truck so I could get my bike home. I ended up staying at the hospital the whole week because there were a few complications, but everything turned out OK.

If your wife goes into labor, you might actually have time to bike home. I'm not so sure how well that'd go over with your wife, but you could probably get home in record time. Maybe save that for your second child, if you want one after the first.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

No bike commute for me to work today. We are going on a vehicle supported bike camp trip visiting hot springs in the back dirt roads of Idaho. Will be "commuting" to camp tonight on my old Fisher mountain bike converted now to a commuter. I took the slicks back off and put regular old mountain bike tires on the old 26 inch wheels. I intend to finish the 26 to 700C conversion on this bike maybe next week or week after. But for now, it looks very much like when I bought it in 1989.


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## Guest (May 23, 2014)

So once again today I'm riding with a head cold because you can't wait forever to get well enough to ride. My wife (concerned over my apparent lack of concern for my own health) says "Are you sure you should ride today?" Fair question, but not just because I don't feel well. I think we all lean into our riding at some point or another mindlessly ignoring conditions we should not. So I tell her "Just another day in the park." She asks: "Exactly how does riding with a sinus infection qualify for another day in the park?" FTW I answer "Because I ride through three different parks on my ride in so it's always another day in the park.:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Son is doing much better, TenSpeed. Plan on dismantling the bottombracket right now. We'll see what interferes between now and getting downstairs to the garage.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Supposed to be a hot one here tomorrow. Forecast for my commute in is supposed to be 80F with a 30% chance of some showers. I think that I will allow myself some extra time after the ride to cool down once I get to work. That is one of my biggest issues is regulating my body temp.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rainy ride this morning on the fixie. First ride for me in a week-and-a-bit, because I'd been down in the states. It was a neat time to leave town, because when I left the the trees were all still bare. I get back and everything is leafed-out, and the whole neighborhood smells of lilac.

While I was gone a cyclist was killed on my route to work, at the time that I ride. It sounds like a right-hook by a garbage truck.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot and fast!! Coaster brake feels great, but the ride of the fixed wheel is much smoother as is the pedaling. Thinking it might be time to have the hub serviced at the shop when I get a chance. Traffic was extremely light for both rides which made me happy. Rode the lightning tonight, or what I like to call it. Storm was working it's way towards the east, and the race was on! Did a few extra miles because I didn't hear any thunder, and it never rained.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Good ride today on the trail...freshly rebuilt fork on the hardtail and I'm realizing I don't think I ever had the sag set right before. It was quite plush. 

On another note, I was given an estate sale barn find retro-grouch bike over the weekend. Gonna need some help from some of you identifying some parts... probably deserving of its own thread...it's an old Raleigh... lugged steel, downtube shifters, 2x5 drivetrain, complete with stock Brooks saddle (worn beyond hope). I thought it might be a fun summer project.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit damp in Anchorage this AM. A good thing. Helped to knock some of the pollen out of the air - to the point that the water pooled on the streets had a nice yellow tinge to it. At least I hope that was from pollen and not from smoke, which seems to still be hanging in the air nicely, though not as bad as it has been.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Two days wrenching (well a part of two days) and the squeak is still there. Installed a cartridge bottombracket, which is a nice upgrade for a Walmart cruiser. Overhauled the back hub, which was just overhauled by LBS last month. Wanted to make sure they greased it properly. And now I'm having trouble getting the cone properly adjusted. . .thinking 2500 miles on this bike might be close to its limits, at least its squeak free limits. Gonna try and get right adjustment on cone and maybe flip the chain around.

Hot ride home today at 106F. Getting a summer preview this week. Back to the 90s in a few days.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OK Brian and Rodar (and anyone else...but I'm counting on you two), come on over to the retro forum and set me straight... it's my only bike without disc brakes... and what is up with a cotter pin crankset??

http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro-classic/what-do-i-have-here-915229.html#post11227158


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## Sleeveless (Nov 18, 2006)

Just started my new commute today. 2.4 miles each way. That's a good thing in that I'm not sweaty when I arrive, but not long enough to be much fun. Luckily the job is about 500 yds from my favorite nature preserve and a bunch of hiking and biking trails. Looks like these longer days will serve me well after work. Becoming a daily commuter was a lifelong dream. Now it is so feasible I have no excuse not to bike commute. If you can't tell I'm super excited. 

Oh, and I just bought a bike for the wife to join me on these adventures. She is even considering ditching the car for her commute as well, on occasion. We will see how it all plays out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> OK Brian and Rodar (and anyone else...but I'm counting on you two), come on over to the retro forum and set me straight... it's my only bike without disc brakes... and what is up with a cotter pin crankset??
> 
> http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro-classic/what-do-i-have-here-915229.html#post11227158


Same rule as for all commuters...you need to lube it up and maybe change the brake pads! :lol:

It must be pretty old though, you probably have a guess, but I haven't seen those style phone numbers (on the sticker) GRanite8-8638 since the 60's. Even my gram stopped saying YEllowstone2-2984. I had odometers with those starfish thingys in the 70's, they were cool and never ran out of batteries.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm going to need to post it here in the commuting forum... the vintage guys only want mountain bikes :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Sounds to me like you've finally got an excuse to have a dedicated singlespeed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

haha, yes! I just took my singlespeed 29er apart to complete my disc-braked 'cross bike...now a SS roadie? I'm forgetting who I am :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoa, Brian MC FTW! With the old school phone number that Explorer picked up on, it sounds like it should be older than the 70-71 guestimate. Didn`t those disappear in the late 50s/early 60s? Brian, can European drivetrains be dated by model numbers like Shimano?

CB, that`s a delightful bike no matter what, but I`m dying to know if the Westlake sticker has anything to do with your neighboring burg. I have a hard time imagining Lassen Cty`s Westlake ever supporting a bike shop, but if it did...

Oh, and do you still get to claim no stinking square tapers in your stable?


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Sup guys. Havent been commuting forever. I quit my job of 14yrs to start my own company bout 6 months ago. Currently i have 5 stores and im finally getting time to start riding again. I did a simple 6mile yesterday and damn my legs and rear end aint used to it anymore. But i had the biggest smile on my face!


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## Guest (May 28, 2014)

Had my commute cut short before it began. My wife's care needs strut mounts and she graciously let me drop it off rather than ride all the way. Turned a beautiful 17 miler into an okay 7 miler. Worse tonight as I'm cut from and even better 20 down to the same 7 miler. Ugh!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I have a hard time imagining Lassen Cty`s Westlake ever supporting a bike shop, but if it did...
> 
> Oh, and do you still get to claim no stinking square tapers in your stable?


I Found some info on the shop... it was a few blocks from UCLA campus in that other westwood...

And yes, but this cotter thing is scary :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Took the longer route once in town. A nice ride along Cook Inlet to start the day. No complaining there. Beautiful sunrise this morning over the mountains. It is a beautiful place to live, Alaska. When the smoke from the wild fires isn't obscuring everything, that is.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Der... westWOOD.


CommuterBoy said:


> And yes, but this cotter thing is scary :lol:


Already scared? Better hope the bearded guy doesn`t know what he`s talking about!
Threading/interchangeability Issues for Older Raleigh Bicycles


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Had to drive in today but yesterday was described as "dirty." It rained the night before so I had to liberally use wet naps when I got in, didn't help with the humidity even at 530am. Picked up some bonus miles going to the gf work to ride with her home.

To Work
Bike Ride Profile | To Work near Minneapolis | Times and Records | Strava

To Home
Mountain Bike Ride Profile | To Home near Plymouth | Times and Records | Strava


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Nice morning. Dusted off the shimano sandals for the time this year. Nothing better than riding with the wind between your toes!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

This may be of Interest, CB:

Retro Raleighs: The Super Course

The 1970 Catalog says they were available in blue that year. Maybe the Bike shop was using up old stickers.

http://sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/catalogs/Raleigh-Catalog-1970.pdf

This chart doesn't show a Blue for 1970:

Tom Forhan's Periodic Table of the Raleigh Super Course

No blue ones in 1969 catalog.

First produced in 1968 (no blue):

http://sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/catalogs/Raleigh-Catalog-1968.pdf

Setting the record straight: Raleigh Super Course database (Need Pics!)

The long DT levers are associated with 1971:

Setting the record straight: Raleigh Super Course database (Need Pics!)

Likely a late 1970. My '72 had some '71 bits.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> And yes, but this cotter thing is scary :lol:


I tend to shy away from bike repairs that require the use of hammers (if I remember them right).

^^Cool catalog, Brian.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I tend to shy away from bike repairs that require the use of hammers (if I remember them right).
> 
> ^^Cool catalog, Brian.


That is the difference between the weekend mechanic and a real mechanic....yeah just gotta know how to whack it in just the right place...

Crown races

Head set cups...

Bearings


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Already scared? Better hope the bearded guy doesn`t know what he`s talking about!
> Threading/interchangeability Issues for Older Raleigh Bicycles


Wow, I didn't know any of that. I've seen plenty of raleighs at the co-op, and I guess it's a good thing I've never had to work on them. It makes me wonder if some of the post-1970 but pre-walmart ones might be normal, or if they're all from the UK with the weirdo standards?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Meh, I'm a Jeep guy... a little PB Blaster pre-soak, some well placed heat from the propane torch, and a good whack with a hammer...another day in the garage :lol: 

...in theory. We'll see how that goes... Anyone know what I'll find in there? Loose bearings and cups?




Brian, you're a wealth of knowledge...I'm buying your 'late 70' theory... can't find any evidence of any other blue ones being offered.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Went out for a ride at lunch, and came back without my taillight. Darnit. I have no idea how or where I lost it. It was just an old superflash that I use as my backup light, and I'm probably more annoyed about the recharable AAAs it took with it, but still.

I have this foolish hope that some day I'll be able to go one whole month without buying any bike stuff.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Those guys on the vintage MTBR forum are hard core. I forget this is a MTB forum here in the commuter section. I haven't bothered to create a login on any road bike sites even though half my bikes are more road orientated. 

I'm sure you'll find cups and bearings in there. I've never met a cottered crank I like, I'll take a square taper any day.

Commutes have been mostly damp & cold. I opted for some car-pooling vs a few of the rainy rides this week. Tonight looks to be cool but dryer.


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## owtdorz (Apr 26, 2012)

A little warm 90 this morning and going to be 107 this afternoon.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Brian, can European drivetrains be dated by model numbers like Shimano?


*** Campagnolo cones on their hubs were dated. When I crashed I had the choice of keeping the cones with 1970 or replacing with NOS 1974 (this was 1981). One problem is that I get the impression that Raleigh may have built the next year's bikes using up a batch of components and who knows how long they were on site before being put on a bike. That tells you that it could not be older, but not how old it is. Huret is part of SRAM. Normandy is gone, I think. Stronglight is still in business.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Meh, I'm a Jeep guy... a little PB Blaster pre-soak, some well placed heat from the propane torch, and a good whack with a hammer...another day in the garage :lol: ...in theory. We'll see how that goes... Anyone know what I'll find in there? Loose bearings and cups?


Yes. Loose bearings and cups in the BB, the hubs, the pedals and the headset. Old grease becomes hard wax, The seat post is open at the top so water can get in and there may be some rust in the BB.



CommuterBoy said:


> Brian, you're a wealth of knowledge...I'm buying your 'late 70' theory... can't find any evidence of any other blue ones being offered.


A not quite wasted youth it seems. Yes, that is my take that the color says 1970. The steel crankset, pedals, seat post and clamp, the Hutchison tires on mine, the rims all add a fair bit of weight. With the racing wheels and alloy crankset, mine was about 23 pounds.

The stem looks a lot like the one here, down the page:

French Bicycles

That suggests if you have an AVA, as it appears you have, you may want to replace it.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Been good days this week, no bike issues (like last week one night coming home...huge bruise on thigh from tt and calf from pedal...) and nice weather. Till tonight. Nice ride in, storms came through early so no wet ride home. But huge temp drop and wind kicked up. Riding the bridge over the Mississippi was not fun! I didn't pack my jacket and that wind was COLD when I had nothing but t and shorts... Plus the uphill fighting the wind. Got a good workout though 

Sent from my Nokia Stupidphone using Tapatalk


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ah 5 C and 30mm/hr rain (1.25 in/hr)

Spring is in the air.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, it wouldn't have surprised me to see snow this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Took the longer way again along the coast. A nice change to the normal ride. Having some strange squeaking going on - possibly pedals. I love my Egg Beaters, but find that the 1s (cheapest model for the cheapskate) tend to not really stand up to the amount of riding and punishment I dole out. This current pair I purchased in October. The other possibility is a slightly loose crankset - things to check out this weekend, I guess.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Got on my road bike for the first time this year today (well I guess technically I did ride it to the grocery store after I put the tires on and replaced the chain - had a few links rust in my garage on the old one). The 23c tires I put on are MUCH more comfortable / confidence inspiring than the 19c's I took off. Few creaks to diagnose, but I fear its the campy seatpost I put on over the winter. Its a shame I already put the thomson post I took off onto another bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sitting at work yesterday afternoon, took a peek at the weather radar and realized some heavy rain was coming. Calculated that if I left right away and busted ass I could maybe beat it home. Jumped on the bike and hauled ass down the trail (set new Strava PR's all the way down the trail). Got within six miles of home and the rain started, pretty light at first but getting steadily heavier. Stopped and put rain gear on...and then the SKIES OPENED. Oh my god did it rain. Then it started to HAIL. I slogged through if for about four miles...and then it stopped. And the sun came out. I got home looking like a drowned rat and my wife was wondering why since it was sunny and dry the whole time at home...


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## Guest (May 29, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this AM. Took the longer way again along the coast. A nice change to the normal ride. Having some strange squeaking going on - possibly pedals. I love my Egg Beaters, but find that the 1s (cheapest model for the cheapskate) tend to not really stand up to the amount of riding and punishment I dole out. This current pair I purchased in October. The other possibility is a slightly loose crankset - things to check out this weekend, I guess.


 I switched from 1's to 3's about two years ago (have two pair of regular EBs and a pair of Candies) and haven't regretted it for a minute. I figure on rebuilding them at the 5000 mile mark whether they need it or not.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Its been cool and overcast here for the last two days, wish it would get into the 70s and be sunny.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Commute has been pretty good. The forecast looks good for tomorrow which would make this my first week that I have ridden everyday! With the weather getting warmer I may need to figure out a way to get shower access at work. Temperatures in the 50s and 60s were fine, but the sweat is getting a bit more serious at 70.

Random question: How often do you guys clean your chain/drivetrain?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Kleebs said:


> Commute has been pretty good. The forecast looks good for tomorrow which would make this my first week that I have ridden everyday! With the weather getting warmer I may need to figure out a way to get shower access at work. Temperatures in the 50s and 60s were fine, but the sweat is getting a bit more serious at 70.
> 
> Random question: How often do you guys clean your chain/drivetrain?


If it is dirty, dry, squeaking, or needs repair...

Typically once or twice a month much more in the winter.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Probably bi-weekly, or if it rains on me. I probably lube the derailleurs on my mountain bike twice a year.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great commute for me. Tomorrow will make it all 5 days this week riding, even though I had Wednesday off. I haven't started my car since Wednesday, and before that, it was Sunday I think. 

Sweating like a whore in church after I got to work, and it was only in the mid 70's. Not sure how it will be when the temps hit the upper 80's/90's. Body wipes and deodorant only go so far. Showers are an option, but a locker is not. So I would need to bring soap/shower shoes and whatever with me. Not huge on that whole idea.

Got a few cat calls from drunk college girls stumbling out of the bars. Land speed record, go Lance, yadda yadda yadda. I just ignore them and drop the hammer.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday I rode home, took a shower, and took the car to a function downtown. It struck me as kind of a weird thing to do as I was sitting in rush hour traffic. Part of the joy of riding a bike to work is skipping out on annoying car traffic, but I guess it's hard not to get caught in it once and a while.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot it's bike to work day. Meh.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My commute was less interesting than this.




But still good.


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## mayonays (Oct 22, 2010)

It's Friday, the sun was out (it's since retreated), and I didn't hit a single red light. No complaints here!


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

HUMID! It was only about 67F this morning but felt like 80F.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Haven't commuted in a week. After I finished getting my bike ready for last Friday's commute, my wife and I sat down to watch TV and all of a sudden "oh my god, my water just broke!" The next day, our first child was born! Three weeks early! We named him Jack, he was 6lbs 10oz. He's one week old today. Pretty good reason not to ride to work I think


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Congrats Straz! Jack is very cute, and I see from his pacifier that he is already drooling over new wheels!


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

Just started a few weeks ago. Had my first "full" week of commuting. Drove my truck in Tuesday am and left it there until I came home tonight. New job, still trying to get a feel for when I may need to have a vehicle during the week (traveling between offices). Didn't end up using my truck at all as the few times I had to go places a work vehicle was available. Don't even remember the last time I put gas in my truck (and still have half a tank).

Really enjoying it!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Congrats Straz! Jack is very cute, and I see from his pacifier that he is already drooling over new wheels!


+1 Straz!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Congrats Straz!!! Hope that the baby and wife are doing well. 

Full week of commuting for me, all single speed miles. TriCross is sitting against the wall and hasn't moved in over a week now. More drunk cat calls from hey Lance to hey you should race that car off the light like Fast N Furious 7!! I don't acknowledge it and just watch the light so I can get moving again. Researching options for another route home to avoid the row of bars that I pass on my ride home. 

Cannot complain other than that. Happy to have cleared the 500 mile mark for road miles. This is the most that I have ridden on the road since I started biking as a kid. I will be back at it in the morning as I head to my buddies shop to have him install the new crank and bottom bracket. I will have to get his opinion on my front wheel, as I changed the color of it from black to orange with a can of Plasti-Dip. I am not exactly sold on it to be honest. It is different that is for sure.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Awright, Straz! Congratulaions!!

Congrats on the 5c mark, TenSpeed :thumbsup:

CB, did you notice the "Dating Your Raleigh" (perverse is cool) link at the bottom of the SB Raleigh threding page? Most is for 3-speeds, but at the bottom of THAT page was a serial number key. Might help.


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## Guest (May 31, 2014)

The ride went pretty well, but I'm nursing a "Bass Fishing" hangover (no Beer, just too much sun and heat yesterday) and I was fried by the time I got home. Thankfully I remembered sun screen on the places I missed yesterday. Odd to ride 25 miles for 2 hours of work, but less odd than driving for only 2 hours.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Felt very fast. Wasn't really fast overall, but fast for this point in the season after a week off I suppose.

Got passed by a very slow train this morning, was so busy looking at the train I didn't notice a half-eaten fish in the trail. Bump.

Removed and cleaned my jockey wheels this weekend, after hearing some of you all mention them. I frankly didn't even know they came off. They were surprisingly dirty, even though I wiped them off before removing. Amazing how much the cage keeps you from removing.

Oh, and I almost hit my building this morning. Came up to the door hotter than usual, and my stupid cable discs don't provide very good stopping power. Squeezed hard, felt a popping from the front brake, managed to stop in time. Are cable discs supposed to be not very good, relative to rim brakes, or are mine somehow defective? I can push the bike with the brakes full on.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sanath said:


> Felt very fast. Wasn't really fast overall, but fast for this point in the season after a week off I suppose.
> 
> Got passed by a very slow train this morning, was so busy looking at the train I didn't notice a half-eaten fish in the trail. Bump.
> 
> ...


you should be able to do a nosey with cable disks


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## mayonays (Oct 22, 2010)

Started working 4x10 shifts and going in 2 hours earlier. It's amazingly quiet out at 5:30AM!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> ...Are cable discs supposed to be not very good, relative to rim brakes, or are mine somehow defective? I can push the bike with the brakes full on.


Yup, you should be able to lock them right up. All disk breaks are subject to pad/rotor contamination. Try cleaning the rotors & pads with alcohol. If that doesn't' work you can try to heat treat the pads to burn off the contaminates (plenty of threads on this). Sometimes you can burn them off with some hard braking like you were trying to bed the pads in. Pedaling downhill with the brakes on gets them pretty toasty. Or just drop in a new pair of pads after you know the rotors are clean.

It's starting to feel almost like summer. OK so it was only 46 this morning but I know it is supposed to be summery this afternoon. Legs are a little tired after a 40 mile ride yesterday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Raced on Saturday, hurtin' for certain this morning :lol: This teacher is almost done... last week of work and therefore commuting for a while. Looks like the world record record zero-driving-day school year is a reality, assuming I make it to Thursday (no work Friday).


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Raced on Saturday, hurtin' for certain this morning :lol: This teacher is almost done... last week of work and therefore commuting for a while. Looks like the world record record zero-driving-day school year is a reality, assuming I make it to Thursday (no work Friday).


That is awesome! I'm hoping just to get in a zero-driving *week* this year 

Tried riding my "new" SS cross bike conversion to work today. I don't think 39x18 is going to be a tall enough gear for the road, hoping 38 or 36x16 will be (leaving me x18 free and x17 fixed for the occasional trail ride on the way home). The woodchipper bars are pretty different also - think I need to get the extensions pretty close to horizontal. Hopefully I don't have to retape the bars to get there. I think its proven enough as an SS option that I can start turning my old mountain bike back into a 3x9 that I can pull my dogs up the hill with in addition to regular commute duties


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Okay ride in this morning. Raining and 38F at home, raining and 41F in Anchorage. Apart form the wet, the ride was nice.

The trail I take through the city got a new sign last Thursday:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Warm here too. 50F this a.m., but 82F now. A nice ride in. Rushed a bit for an early meeting, which it turns out is tomorrow. The car’s in the shop for a lovely burning oil smell, which turned out to be a nearly rusted out oil pan. I’ve had a lot of rusty cars over the years in New England, but that is a first.

Congrats CommuterBoy! Be careful out there Blockphi; a deer chased my dog recently and that was scary enough.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Carried the GoPro on race day: Ridin' High at the Ranch 2014, Susanville, Ranch Park - YouTube

This was a hasty edit... going to do a better one.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Raced on Saturday, hurtin' for certain this morning :lol: This teacher is almost done... last week of work and therefore commuting for a while. Looks like the world record record zero-driving-day school year is a reality, assuming I make it to Thursday (no work Friday).


Congrats on another making it through another year CB. Enjoy your summer!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sanath said:


> Oh, and I almost hit my building this morning. Came up to the door hotter than usual, and my stupid cable discs don't provide very good stopping power. Squeezed hard, felt a popping from the front brake, managed to stop in time. Are cable discs supposed to be not very good, relative to rim brakes, or are mine somehow defective? I can push the bike with the brakes full on.


Sanath are these BB5's or BB7's? If so you need to be diligent about keeping the pads adjusted as close to the rotor as possible without them rubbing. Keep clicking them in until they start to rub and then back off a click. You'll need to re-adjust on a regular basis. The pads don't have a ton of throw so even a little adjustment makes a huge difference in stopping power. When properly adjusted they stop great.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

woodway said:


> Sanath are these BB5's or BB7's? If so you need to be diligent about keeping the pads adjusted as close to the rotor as possible without them rubbing. Keep clicking them in until they start to rub and then back off a click. You'll need to re-adjust on a regular basis. The pads don't have a ton of throw so even a little adjustment makes a huge difference in stopping power. When properly adjusted they stop great.


BB5, I think. I'm *constantly* screwing with the adjusters, but I think it's backed out a bit at the moment because the rotor's a little out of true and I was tired of listening to it. Is truing the rotor something I should mess with, or just deal with the little scuffing sound?

Is the BB7 easier to keep in check? I was looking at some dual piston mechanical disc calipers but a set of BB7s appears to be *way* cheaper ($65 vs. $160). I'd love to wait for the Shimano mech/hydro brifters but at $700 for the set with the brakes I doubt I'd ever pony up for them.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

funny photos, donkey in car - Mandatory


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Carried the GoPro on race day: Ridin' High at the Ranch 2014, Susanville, Ranch Park - YouTube
> 
> This was a hasty edit... going to do a better one.


Nice! No crashes, huh? It was hard to tell the uphill parts, maybe you need a few of those in slow mo.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Carried the GoPro on race day: Ridin' High at the Ranch 2014, Susanville, Ranch Park - YouTube
> 
> This was a hasty edit... going to do a better one.


Are you saying that the ride was a piece of "Cake". (Flagged for 3rd party content  ) You were a passing machine on that course. 
BTW, you link is dead. I had to search for the new one.
Ridin' High at the Ranch 2014 - YouTube


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today. No rain, beautiful sun. A bit chilly, but not bad. Great day for riding.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> BTW, you link is dead. I had to search for the new one.
> Ridin' High at the Ranch 2014 - YouTube


Yeah thanks, I re-edited (to include more passing footage and make myself look better)  and I just reposted...you may have been the first viewer. This is the new and improved version. MTBX, this version is better... Yeah, I didn't record most of the 2500 feet of climbing...would have been a pretty lame video :lol: Me...alone...climbing...climbing... the field was pretty strung out by then. I was 6th overall.

No crashes, no mechanicals...great day on the bike. There were a few out-of-towners washing out on berms...apparently everyone doesn't have so many berms. Our trails are a berm-fest. Home field advantage was a real factor.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Flat today about a block and a half from work...

Big chunk of tie wire from a construction site...

Looks like a new tire too since the threads are starting to come out of the side wall..

Conti SPort Contact 2008 vintage maybe 25000 km on it.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

First commute since the baby was born. Gorgeous day, low 80's and sunny.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Two days of commuting without bike issues. Bike running tight and sound free. Loving it except for one hundred degree temps.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was the hottest 71F day I have ever ridden. Started off leaving a few minutes early since it was sunny and just beautiful out, wanted to get a nice ride in to work. 1 mile in or so, I cross some railroad tracks. The road is closed, and they are starting work on the crossing which is in dire need of repairs. I heard the train coming, and there was no way to beat it. I turn the corner to get on the one block long ride on the road with the crossing, and the train is just crawling. Must have started 100 feet before the crossing, or so it seemed. So I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. I think it took almost 15 minutes for the train to finally clear, then they couldn't decide if I could cross or not since it was all torn up. Was already off the bike, and finally they waved me across. Still in a good mood, still have plenty of time to get to work. Start riding again, turn into the neighborhood, and BOOM! Hit in the face with huge gusts of wind, had to be nearly 30mph winds. It never let up, not the whole ride. 6 times the wind nearly took me down, bike wobbling like a drunk in the turns. It was a struggle. Oh, and I am still riding fixed gear with the rear brake. So not only am I nervous about getting knocked over, I have to concentrate on pedaling, and cannot coast.

Was a fun ride in though, got to work really sweaty which bummed me out. Cleaned up, deodorant, lotion, and body spray, and off to work. Was excited about the ride home. Clear night and low 60's. Absolutely perfect night for a ride.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Ride in was great but I didn't bother to check full details of the weather for the night.....thank god a coworker that lives near me drives a truck lol.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Oooh, Xplorer now has a badge :thumbsup:

`Nother nice video, CB. Except that I hate that song! Passes on single track must be pretty tricky- good job managing so many of them.

I made a boo-boo yesterday. It was stock-up time, so I came in with a 12 pack of sodas and a new jar of instant coffee in a single pannier, then stuffed my my jacket for the morning run in too since that was a little easier than my usual method of cramming it into my front bag along with lunch and gloves. When I arrived, I just carried the pannier into the shop and threw it under my bench. It wasn`t until I was just about to leave that I unpacked it and found one of the soda cans had somehow gotten a pin hole and leaked all over the other contents. My jacket spent at least ten hours soaking up all that sticky mess. Good thing it was warm enough that I didn`t need the jacket anyway.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Decent ride. Had to dodge some lady making a left out of the driveway just before mine at work. She didn't see me, which I know because I saw her face as she finally noticed me (as she started turning), said "oh ****" and then kept turning.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

With over 5 inches of rain last night the lake flooded. I wasn't going to ride or walk through waist high water. Had to find an alternate route this morning.


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2014)

We only got 2" of rain last night and some smaller hail. It was enough to keep me from getting the requisite 4 hours of sleep, but not enough to interrupt the commute. We did see plenty of light rain/heavy mist this morning.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Today and tomorrow the local co-op is doing tune-ups at my office, and I'm one of the mechanics. We should have close to 36 bikes to work through over two lunchhours. 

Nothing particularly interesting going on in terms of riding. Daily rain means the trails are randomly greasy, and the mosquitoes are out in full force. And tomorrow we should be getting some of blockphi's alaska weather, with a low in the mid 30s and high around 50F.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

counted ten bikes in our bike garage yesterday...

We have about 50 people in the office


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Lots of rain in the forecast here too. Got all suited up in my rain gear this morning then it didn't rain at all, I was soaked from sweat instead when I got to work.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM as well. A lot more riders than usual due to the Bike to Work day thing. Only had two instances of people riding multiple-abreast, not paying attention, and not moving out of the way of oncoming traffic (me) until the last possible moment. Oh well, it's good that people are out there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> `Nother nice video, CB. Except that I hate that song!


Cake (the band)...love them or hate them, you have to admit... a LOT of people hate 'em!! :lol:

Good job having babies, getting badges, riding through floods, etc, etc, everybody. One more commute day here and I'll wrap up the year-of-no-driving-days. Feel free to send some of that rain to Nor-Cal.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Cake (the band)...love them or hate them, you have to admit... a LOT of people hate 'em!! :lol:


Personally, I love them! Great video! How many people raced?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks. 54 total in 3 different divisions/race lengths. I was in the 19 mile race with 25 entries. Finished 3 minutes off of the podium for 6th overall/4th in age group. Nice to be up near the front. Scary/motivating up there. Some serious "shut up legs" moments during the climbs, knowing that those guys you passed are probably gaining ground. A few friends who I know are usualy faster than me were not far enough back to let me relax.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^There's nothing like a race to get those competitive juices flowing. It's kind of a unique feeling. Pedal as hard as you can with out blowing up and don't look back because it doesn't matter if you are going your hardest. I'm gearing up for my first official full Tri this weekend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

WooHoo good luck bedwards


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^There's nothing like a race to get those competitive juices flowing. It's kind of a unique feeling. Pedal as hard as you can with out blowing up and don't look back because it doesn't matter if you are going your hardest. I'm gearing up for my first official full Tri this weekend.


Good luck! Where's the race?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It's a sprint triathlon. 1/3 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 5K run. The bike section has some good hills. I did it as a relay last year and did great on the bike but I'm not sure how I'll do stringing them all together. There were 300 people last year. I'll report back.

Pirate Tri at Sebago Lake | tri-maine


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Good luck Bedwards and congrats Commuterboy in/on the races. Ironically, I had to drive today ro leave work early for a bike thing, I helped out and "raced" at the 1st Klunker classic race where I do trail work. Not being a racer or even real speed oriented rider, it made me realize how much I just cruise the trails normally, as "trying" to go fast was noticeably difficult, even on a 2-4 minute flat/downhill course. Most impressive were the true Klunkers with coaster brakes and the guy who braved it on a push scooter.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Good luck Bedwards and congrats Commuterboy in/on the races. Ironically, I had to drive today ro leave work early for a bike thing, I helped out and "raced" at the 1st Klunker classic race where I do trail work. Not being a racer or even real speed oriented rider, it made me realize how much I just cruise the trails normally, as "trying" to go fast was noticeably difficult, even on a 2-4 minute flat/downhill course. Most impressive were the true Klunkers with coaster brakes and the guy who braved it on a push scooter.


Ah yes the infamous comfort zone...

I used to ride with a speedometer...so I had an objective reading I didn't push all the time but I made sure to push at least a couple times a week...

It has been several years since I had a measurement...and yes I fell into a comfort zone...as your fitness tapers so goes your comfort zone...the percieved effort just isn't good enough to keep me honest...

Recently got a heart rate monitor and map my ride....I use it maybe once or twice a week....just to cure the percieved effort problem...

Kinda fun actually but it sure burns through the phone battery.

I need to hold 150 plus heart rate to get any sort of training effect...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Rainy morning today. Man, it feels good to take all the rain gear off when you're soaked with sweat underneath! I'll probably just get soaked on my ride home and not wear any rain gear, we'll see. Depends how warm it is. And, here's a new, completely unrelated to bikes picture of my son. I had to share it because it's so damn cute. My friend's a photographer and she took it last night:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Things are back to normal today with many fewer cyclists out and about. I guess the teeming hordes can't handle the effort of riding bike a few miles without aid stations every couple of miles to give them free goodies. Beautiful weather for biking - 50 in the valley and 50 in town. Sunny. A bit hazy, though. One thing I'll never quite get used to in the summer in AK is watching the sun rise from the N/NE.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good first bike ride in three weeks. Not too hot, not too windy. A lot of people in rural Panama ride their bikes, because they're really poor. Saw some old dude riding a rusty ten speed down the highway while carrying a propane tank on his shoulder... I don't know how he balanced that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Saw a nice great blue heron on the commute this morning, as cars whizzed by oblivious to nature’s wonders. It was initially much closer, on a rock on my side of the river, but when I stopped to admire it, it flew to this dead tree down river and on the other side.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Got access to shower facilities a few blocks away so I will be attempting my first full commute from home instead of the half drive, half bike commute I have been doing this year. 6.8 miles each way will be increasing to 14 tomorrow!

Good luck on the tri bedwards. My wife and I are doing our first sprint triathlons at the end of this month.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Welp, pulled it off... zero driving days for the 13/14 school year. A couple sick days and a couple vacation days in there, but the Jeep never hit the faculty parking lot. Also a low temp record of five below zero (F)... 'twas a good year. 10 mile route home to wrap things up here in a couple hours. 

Then, a nap. 

Hitting the lake Monday. Hopefully with no punk kids cussing at me. Catch you all on the flip side.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Welp, pulled it off... zero driving days for the 13/14 school year. A couple sick days and a couple vacation days in there, but the Jeep never hit the faculty parking lot. Also a low temp record of five below zero (F)... 'twas a good year. 10 mile route home to wrap things up here in a couple hours.
> 
> Then, a nap.
> 
> Hitting the lake Monday. Hopefully with no punk kids cussing at me. Catch you all on the flip side.


Well done

The last two years for me have not been good because of ACL reconstruction...

But hopefully I'll be back from now on.

I especially like the nap.


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

MUP was flooded, but at least I got to ride the new fixed gear I put together!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Welp, pulled it off... zero driving days for the 13/14 school year. A couple sick days and a couple vacation days in there, but the Jeep never hit the faculty parking lot. Also a low temp record of five below zero (F)... 'twas a good year. 10 mile route home to wrap things up here in a couple hours.
> 
> Then, a nap.
> 
> Hitting the lake Monday. Hopefully with no punk kids cussing at me. Catch you all on the flip side.


Congrats and have a good summer!

I rode in the Klunker Classic last night and was nearly demoralized by the faster time by the guy on a push scooter, but thankfully I realized that my class rode a different course. He won the no disc brakes, no suspension "classics" class. At the bottom, the scooter brakes had melted the plastic rims some on his smokin' run.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

Was getting in a 12 mile ride on the way home last night. Creeping up a steep grade in low granny I see what looks like three cats slithering around each other on top of a mailbox, with hugely disproprtionate eyes. I became more and more creeped out during the next 20 seconds as it appeared they were staring at me while moving about. I was nearly freaked out enough to turn around. Your kid's birthday party ended at 7pm, it's now 5am. WTF?

Serves me right for leaving the helmet light at home. The area I was in has strict laws to preserve the flora, so the houses sit well away from the street, trees provide a lot of coverage, and there are few to no street lamps. Even with a full moon, lights are a must.

Rabbits. Rabbits were everywhere.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Awesome ride in and home. Stopped at my buddies shop to see about a new rear brake for the fixie. Score, as they have one in stock, and it will be put on tomorrow morning. Supposed to be another beautiful day here Friday, and I am off, but I will be on the bike.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Bleh. Woke up feeling not so good, pulled it together while waiting for the family to get ready, rode with the kid to school and then on from there to work. Felt fantastic the whole ride. Now that I'm at work I'm back to feeling awful. Fortunately I came prepared with a bottle of pepto, but I have to be home in time for the bus and have no backup ride to call so I'm still a bit worried.


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## Guest (Jun 6, 2014)

Bunnies and Goslings everywhere. Dang that nature anyway.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Hello! If anyone remembers me, I am back.  Long story short: winter came, I'm a wuss in the cold, I had hip surgery this spring, was on crutches for 4 weeks, had to recover, bought a new bike, and finally I got to bike commute to work for the first time this year today!

15.7 miles into work and it was a beautiful June Wisconsin morning. I am just waiting for the plethora of baby bunnies to take over the bike path and cause me to slam on my breaks. The day is near.

New bike rode like a dream. I love steel.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back! 

Nice easy ride in this morning with RollignRunner.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great ride in this morning. Temps were just about perfect for riding and the trails were clear of anyone else. Love it. 

I haven't even had any close calls with cars lately. Not sure what's going on there, but I like it.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Hello! If anyone remembers me, I am back.  Long story short: winter came, I'm a wuss in the cold, I had hip surgery this spring, was on crutches for 4 weeks, had to recover, bought a new bike, and finally I got to bike commute to work for the first time this year today!
> 
> 15.7 miles into work and it was a beautiful June Wisconsin morning. I am just waiting for the plethora of baby bunnies to take over the bike path and cause me to slam on my breaks. The day is near.
> 
> ...


What bike? Where at in WI? I am in Southern WI and commute across the border to Gurnee.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm in the Madison area with bike paths galore; I imagine your commute is a little different.

New bike is a 2013 Salsa Colossal 2.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Welcome back WiTrailRunner! Glad that you are liking your new ride, looks really nice.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Been off the bike dealing with erratic Blood Pressure. Nice and low today (think I found the root cause), rode into the market. No wind!? A rarity here. Rolled fast for me by gearing and cadence but the iBike program was non-functional so no reading.

No incidents except this big smile.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Happy pedalling Trailrunner- have fun with the new bike.

Congrats to CB if he happens to check in (doubtful!). My county still has ONE MORE WEEK of school bus season, but I`m looking forward to seeing them all parked for a couple months.

Have a good race, Bedwards. BTW, how`s last year`s (shoulder?) injury doing? Back to 100%?



Flamingtaco said:


> Creeping up a steep grade in low granny I see what looks like three cats slithering around each other on top of a mailbox, with hugely disproprtionate eyes. I became more and more creeped out during the next 20 seconds as it appeared they were staring at me while moving about.
> 
> Rabbits. Rabbits were everywhere.


Slithering cats??? 
Wild. Did you ever figure out what it was, or still a mystery even to you?


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2014)

Rode up to a three-car accident on my way home (only one serious injury) just as the fire department arrived. Normally I'm the first guy to dive in and help but I have to admit I was relieved to see the FD. Driver had face and neck lacerations and probably some spine/skull fractures so I'm good handing off to the guys with backboards.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My commute must be the Bermuda Triangle for wallets, I found my 3rd tonight, plus a credit card another time. Dropped it at the police station on the route, as I have learned that meeting up with people can be a PITA, plus many are not in the phone book anymore.

Nice to see people back here, back on the bike, and new here!

Straz, I'm not sure if that is the cutest dog photo or baby photo I have seen!


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## Call_me_Tom (May 26, 2008)

I haven't ridden in years due to a few shoulder surgeries but I decided I would start commuting work. Given that I have 2 bikes, one a HT & the other a FS I began rebuilding the HT to full time commuting. While it's being rebuilt I've been riding the FS. Even though I only work 5 miles away my legs are feeling the pain, along with my ass!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Congrats to CB if he happens to check in (doubtful!).


:smilewinkgrin:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Heating up in Vegas. Into the 110s next week. Too early for this. Made it through my first 100F+ week of the year. Already looking forward to the fall. Upside is that the bike is finally running silent again.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride into work today. Felt like one of my fastest times on the non geared bike since I started. Ride home was 72F and clear. Will have to talk to my co-worker when I get to work tomorrow to see how fast I was going, when I passed her in her car.  I couldn't maintain the speed but I did manage to catch her, and pass her for a short while, until I got to a bit of an incline, and the speed limit went up, and then she left me. I want to say that it was at least in the mid 20 mph range, so I was pedaling pretty hard with my set up on the fixie. Thinking about taking the geared bike tomorrow and seeing if I can keep up with her.

I found an app for my phone that will announce the time for me, at designated times. I leave for work shortly before 2PM. I have it set to announce at 2:15, 2:30, and 2:45 so that I know what time it is without having to pull it out of the pouch on my messenger bag. This lets me know if I need to step it up, or can take my time a bit. It simply announces the time, that is it. I could set it up like an alarm clock as well, so I may use that instead of the default alarm. Will be giving this a shot tomorrow to see how it works.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sanath said:


> Is the BB7 easier to keep in check? I was looking at some dual piston mechanical disc calipers but a set of BB7s appears to be *way* cheaper ($65 vs. $160). I'd love to wait for the Shimano mech/hydro brifters but at $700 for the set with the brakes I doubt I'd ever pony up for them.


BB5's are crap, I would ditch them. You can only adjust one pad with BB5's so that pads wear unevenly and when the non-adjustable pad wears the only way to move it closer to the disc is to reset the caliper. Just crap.

With BB7's both pads are adjustable. I have a BB7 on the rear wheel of my commuter and I adjust it at least once a week by turning both pads in an equal amount until they start to rub and then back them off a click. The pads have to be regularly adjusted to maintain good braking power.

If the rotor is out of true and the sound drives you crazy you'll either have to true the rotor (it's not hard, google it) or get a new one.

On the front of my commuter I have a TRP HY/RD mechanically-actuated hydraulic disc brake and I like it. The pads self-center and self-adjust. Braking power is good. I think I paid $135 and for that you get the brake caliper, a set of pads and a rotor. I'm going to put one on the back of my commuter when I get some time.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Realized the other day that I'm on my longest commuting streak ever. It'll be a month this week since I drove to work. I'm hoping to get through all of June without driving. I've been commuting on the bike more and more each year since 2011. This year is shaping up to be the best yet by far.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Hello! If anyone remembers me, I am back.  Long story short: winter came, I'm a wuss in the cold, I had hip surgery this spring, was on crutches for 4 weeks, had to recover, bought a new bike, and finally I got to bike commute to work for the first time this year today!
> 
> 15.7 miles into work and it was a beautiful June Wisconsin morning. I am just waiting for the plethora of baby bunnies to take over the bike path and cause me to slam on my breaks. The day is near.
> 
> ...


Cool looking bike! Hey, what tires are those?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

600 miles logged so far this year. Not too bad for me. Decided to ride the TriCross today since I hadn't ridden it in a while. I don't like it. I felt so out of touch with the bike, and not in control like I do on the fixed gear. All of my bad habits reappeared quickly, coasting, looking for an easier gear instead of just pedaling, etc. Will be back on the fixie for sure tomorrow. 

Spoke to my co-worker. She said her speedometer was at about 24-25. That is pretty good, considering there was a slight incline, and I had one gear. Tried it again tonight, and kept up for a longer distance, but felt slower. Not too many drunks out on campus, so that was good. Pretty boring ride home honestly, and I am alright with that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Have a good race, Bedwards. BTW, how`s last year`s (shoulder?) injury doing? Back to 100%?


I don't think I'm going to be perusing that pitching career. It crunches some when I move it certain ways but overall I think it's healed.

The Tri was a good success. My strong biking background put me at 58/241 and 4th in my age group. I have plenty of room to improve in the other 2 legs.

Even after racing to exhaustion yesterday my ride in was pretty peppy. Must be the nice weather.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Terrible.

Rained on. Cut a turn too hard the front wheel slipped from under me and I took a nasty fall, thumb is all swollen at work now, felt broken at first. Still made good time to get to work though.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Mr Pink57 said:


> Terrible.
> 
> Rained on. Cut a turn too hard the front wheel slipped from under me and I took a nasty fall, thumb is all swollen at work now, felt broken at first. Still made good time to get to work though.


Ouch, that's rough. Hopefully it gets better as the day goes on. Any damage to the bike?


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Mine was nice and quiet. Im loving my new bike.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

sunvalleylaw said:


> Cool looking bike! Hey, what tires are those?


They came stock on the bike - Clement LLG 700c x 28mm. I just ordered some Gatorskins to replace them, actually. I don't want to deal with flats if I can help it!

Congrats on the tri, bedwards! I can't swim for crap, so I'll never do one. I have dabbled in a duathlon from time to time though.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> They came stock on the bike - Clement LLG 700c x 28mm. I just ordered some Gatorskins to replace them, actually. I don't want to deal with flats if I can help it!


Good call on the Gatorskins. I've been running them on both my road and commuter bikes for 2 years now, probably a total of 5000 miles or so, and I've only had one flat. Before that, I don't think I ever went more than 1000 miles without a flat.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woohoo, congrats Bedwards, that is an excellent finish. 

Nice ride in this morning, except for one car that just had to squeeze by me to try to pass a tractor trailer on the right, and the people who raced past just before the roundabout so I had to wait in line behind them – I’m sure they would have loved it if I pedaled past them back to my proper place in line. 

MTB ride yesterday started out good, but after 5 miles of angelic behavior, my dog saw 2 deer and it was off to the races. He got a half mile away (on the dog tracker GPS) and by the time I caught up with him he had decided to head back to the car, where he was laying in the shade waiting for me. I was not impressed with him running off, but I have to admit he has a really good sense of direction, as he returned to the lot on trails he had never been on, and there are dozens of intersecting trails in that area. Here he is with my new bike.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> MTB ride yesterday started out good, but after 5 miles of angelic behavior, my dog saw 2 deer and it was off to the races. He got a half mile away (on the dog tracker GPS) and by the time I caught up with him he had decided to head back to the car, where he was laying in the shade waiting for me. I was not impressed with him running off, but I have to admit he has a really good sense of direction, as he returned to the lot on trails he had never been on, and there are dozens of intersecting trails in that area. Here he is with my new bike.


I love the orange frame. I love orange in general. I'm a little jealous.

What kind of GPS do you have for the dog? I've been interested in getting one. I have an e-collar that I've been working on training my dog with for recall, but if the battery ever ran out or she got out of range, I'd be SOL. She's a great dog and I have no doubt she'd come looking for me, but if she got lost I'd be devastated.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Oh, I am glad to hear of the good review of the Gatorskins, Straz. I haven't had a flat since I bought my mini-pump last year (knock on wood), and I'd like to keep it that way!

Mtbx, I LOVE your new bike! The orange/blue combo is so pretty.  What saddle do you have on there?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Thanks! I am still getting to know it but it is super comfy and makes some stuff easy. It was supposed to come with a smaller chainring, but didn’t, so they said try it as is and let us know. Ordered the smaller chainring yesterday.

The dog GPS is a Garmin Astro, wicked expensive. I attempted to justify it by the fact that I needed a new bike GPS at the time anyway. I have the Garmin Delta electronic training collar also, because with the GPS one you can only track, not train. Yesterday I was too slow or too soft, I got a yelp out of him, but he kept going.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Thanks! I am still getting to know it but it is super comfy and makes some stuff easy. It was supposed to come with a smaller chainring, but didn't, so they said try it as is and let us know. Ordered the smaller chainring yesterday.
> 
> The dog GPS is a Garmin Astro, wicked expensive. I attempted to justify it by the fact that I needed a new bike GPS at the time anyway. I have the Garmin Delta electronic training collar also, because with the GPS one you can only track, not train. Yesterday I was too slow or too soft, I got a yelp out of him, but he kept going.


I've been there. I have an Einstein collar. The other day, my dog took off into the street when a guy who always walks his dog around the neighborhood and always gives my dog a treat when he sees her walked by. She didn't respond to the quick correction, so she got the constant correction for a good 10 seconds, she didn't respond. I forgot how to boost it because I hadn't ever done it. I wish I remembered, that would have gotten her attention. I hate to do that, but when it comes to her safety, I will. I have the normal level low enough (12/100) that I can do it to myself no problem. I actually always shock my arm to make sure it's working.

That Garmin unit looks really nice! I couldn't justify the price but if I spent a lot more time in the woods I would definitely get it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Congrats on the new full squish! Looks very nice and matched the pup's wardrobe to boot.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Very Chic, Mtbxplorer: Orange is the new black. 

Good one Bedwards!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Best commute of the year so far. When I left, it didn't seem that warm, just a nice sunny 76F. Was making really good time, like I mean really good time, much faster than I thought. I am just loving the fixed gear now that I am used to it. So I have this app on my phone now, really nice app. It announces the time for me for a designated period. I leave for work at 2PM. At 2:15, 2:30 and 2:45, it announces the time once for me, just so I know. Rolled out the door, and before I even hit the street, it was 2PM on the nose. I took off and rode what seemed a fairly normal pace. Get down to the campus, and it wasn't even 2:15 yet. What the? That is like halfway. OK, keep rolling, make some lights, hit some reds. I get close to work, probably about 3/4 of a mile. Still haven't heard the 2:30 chime, so I just hammer it down. Get to work, in the parking ramp, at the bike rack. Take my phone out. It is 2:28. Holy hell. That is my fastest ride in ever. 8.51 miles in 28 minutes, with some stop signs, some red lights, dodging a little traffic, and a bit of a longer route in a neighborhood to avoid a pothole laden street. Had I kept on going straight, I think I could have made it in about 26 minutes or so. 

I want to try to beat it tomorrow, but my legs are just spent. In learning how to slow down and do some braking with my legs, I am really wearing them down. Supposed to be a chance of a thunderstorm tomorrow. If it looks clear at 2PM, I am rolling out but just at a normal pace.

On a side note - I need to stop shaking my head in disbelief at people as I pass them while they are riding on the sidewalk without helmets on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Mtbx, I LOVE your new bike! The orange/blue combo is so pretty.  What saddle do you have on there?


Thanks! The saddle is a Specialized ARIEL EXPERT SADDLE WMN WHT 130 that I got in the Specialized.com outlet for $70 back in March. I previously had the Ariel with steel rails and broke it, so I was psyched to try this one with Ti rails for almost half off. I had always used the medium width, but this narrow one seems just as comfy to me so far.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Man, I haven't been on here in some time. This mornings commute was great. Pushed myself harder than usual, with the goal of dropping that last 30 pounds and gaining some great legs. I have a ride planned in December to go from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Ocean across the Old Florida Cracker Trail. Not too many can say they've pedaled from coast to coast, and I want to be one of them.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks! The saddle is a Specialized ARIEL EXPERT SADDLE WMN WHT 130 that I got in the Specialized.com outlet for $70 back in March. I previously had the Ariel with steel rails and broke it, so I was psyched to try this one with Ti rails for almost half off. I had always used the medium width, but this narrow one seems just as comfy to me so far.


I thought it looked familiar! I have the same one. And it's funny because I picked it up after I broke a different one.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I rode into work today, since it's supposed to rain tomorrow. My goal is ride 2x a week for now, to try to ease my body back into this post-surgery. Hopefully I'll be doing 3-4 times a week later in the summer. Healing takes too darn long.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> I rode into work today, since it's supposed to rain tomorrow. My goal is ride 2x a week for now, to try to ease my body back into this post-surgery. Hopefully I'll be doing 3-4 times a week later in the summer. Healing takes too darn long.


Once you start riding twice a week, you'll feel bad on the days you drive. That's how it started for me, now if I drive more than once every couple weeks I feel lazy!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ this. Rain forecasted with thunderstorms for the rest of the week after tomorrow. I almost dread driving to work, and by no means do I have a car that anyone would dread driving.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ this. Rain forecasted with thunderstorms for the rest of the week after tomorrow. I almost dread driving to work, and by no means do I have a car that anyone would dread driving.


I need to ask. What kind of car do you drive?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

6 speed manual, 5 liter 302 cubic inch with Flowmaster Outlaw axle back exhaust, JBA X pipe, and 420hp out of the box.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ride in was a bit damp this AM, but more importantly, painful. On Saturday I volunteered to work timing at the top of a mountain for a mountain running race. 3500 foot elevation gain in 3 miles. Going up wasn't too bad. Coming back down destroyed me and showed me just how crappy of shape I am in. Didn't come in to work yesterday because I was so sore. Got out for the Sprockidz mountain bike coaching I do on Mondays, and was able to ride in this morning, but sore, sore, sore. And forget about stairs...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> 6 speed manual, 5 liter 302 cubic inch with Flowmaster Outlaw axle back exhaust, JBA X pipe, and 420hp out of the box.


Nice! I admit, if I drove that, I would probably ride to work a bit less!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Going up wasn't too bad. Coming back down destroyed me and showed me just how crappy of shape I am in. Didn't come in to work yesterday because I was so sore.


Classic bike muscle imbalance....gotta do squats and lunges...do the squats slow as you descend and then a quicker rise....

Pretty soon you won't have any glutes if all you do is ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> Nice! I admit, if I drove that, I would probably ride to work a bit less!


Quite the opposite, when your fun car gets 18MPG you need to ride more often. I use to have an RX-8, fun car, crappy mileage for a car so light. Now I drive a Chevy Sonic and get over 42MPG. I'll admit, I loved that RX-8. Everybody should have a fun car at some point in their life.


jeffscott said:


> Classic bike muscle imbalance....


I thought you were talking about the Mustang.  No offense TenSpeed

Today I took the nearly zero emission vehicle, my Cross Check. I did eat a lot of onions on my sausage last night so there could have been some trace emissions.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Classic bike muscle imbalance....gotta do squats and lunges...do the squats slow as you descend and then a quicker rise....
> 
> Pretty soon you won't have any glutes if all you do is ride.


All I'm doing these days in PT is working on strengthening my glutes. Lunges are good if you're doing them properly. Glutes are super important in running, but I would also argue that a 3500 foot downhill in 3 miles would make almost any normal runner hurt as well. That's some serious pounding!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Quite the opposite, when your fun car gets 18MPG you need to ride more often. I use to have an RX-8, fun car, crappy mileage for a car so light. Now I drive a Chevy Sonic and get over 42MPG. I'll admit, I loved that RX-8. Everybody should have a fun car at some point in their life.


My previous vehicle was a Wrangler Unlimited. I got between 15 and 17mpg, so I can relate! It wasn't fun in a fast way, but it was certainly fun in a top down and doors off kind of way.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

So i got up this morning to a flat front. Eh no biggy I havent put anything in the tubes yet anyway. Pulled the tire, fixed it , slime the tube, cussed at the presta valve a bit to help it go back into place. Should i do the back too? Naw what are the chances. Head off to work.

Leave my office and what do i see....


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

jhmeathead said:


> So i got up this morning to a flat front. Eh no biggy I havent put anything in the tubes yet anyway. Pulled the tire, fixed it , slime the tube, cussed at the presta valve a bit to help it go back into place. Should i do the back too? Naw what are the chances. Head off to work.
> 
> Leave my office and what do i see....


Murphy is a bastard. So they're set up tubeless? Or did you put slime in the tubes?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Headwinds tore me up on the ride home. Gusts up to 30 mph with this evening storm rolling in. But man, the Cannondale was fast. Finally got my drop bar angle dialed in just right, so that no matter where my hands are, I'm comfy. 

Got buzzed a little too close by a teenager who was yapping away on his phone. Pulled up to him at the light and asked him to respect Florida's three foot law, to which he responded he never even saw me. I've got two lights flashing on my rear to totaling 240 lumens and you never saw me? Schools out for summer, I suppose. 

Attached a visor to my Specialized Echelon II road helmet with some double sided foam tape and plasti dipped it matte black with reflective bits in the back. Digging it a lot, and the wife says that it's much less "old man" than the fluorescent yellow that it was prior.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Hot, hot, hot. Too hot too early in Vegas. About 107-08F for ride home with a 20 mph headwind. Just dropped my head and peddled while thinking happy thoughts. Nothing else to do.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hang in there and be safe, Vegas! Can you stop anywhere for AC if overheated, the way we can stop for a cocoa in winter sometimes?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fast!!! Ride in wasn't since I stopped at the shop and picked up some Fizik bar tape/gel which I will throw on my bullhorns tomorrow. Drenched in sweat when I got to work, and worried most of the day that I stunk. Got cleaned up but I still felt like I smelled.

The ride home, that was the crazy part. 60% chance of thunderstorms when I left. It had drizzled a little bit, but the roads were pretty dry. Checked the NOAA website, and it wasn't pretty. I seemed to have this window of time to get home before the storms came. Opened it up and let it rip.

Left the rack at work at 11:34PM. Pulled up to my door at 12:05. Almost beat my ride in yesterday, almost. Took a slightly different route and I think that cost me the extra time. Actually passed my co-worker in her car by timing a light just right and flew by her. She caught me at the next light and was laughing because she said I was hauling ass when I went by. She wished me well and told me to ride fast and safe, and that is what I did.

Put the flat bar on this morning before I left, with the OURY lock on grips. Feels like a totally different bike. Handling is so much better, but when I climb on the pedals after stopping, I cannot get the leverage that I do with the bullhorns. Off a light, it feels like a turd. With the bullhorns I can just crank the hell out of the pedals and get going so much faster.

Listening to the rain right now. Had a snack on the couch with the dog, watching YouTube videos on how to properly wrap handlebars. I have Wednesday off, and it is supposed to rain. Meeting a guy to potentially sell my TriCross, and I will be working on both bikes for most of the day. That is how you spend a day off.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Ride home yesterday ended up being a race to beat a downpour. When I turned into my neighborhood the rain went from a sprinkle to steady, then about 1 minute after I went inside the sky just opened up. Glad I beat it! I flew home, potentially the fastest commute home of the year.

This morning was tough. My 3 week old son was up half the night screaming. He just wanted to be held by my wife. I think he was gassy, he let out some farts that would put grown men to shame. Long story short, I'm exhausted and it's surprising that I rode in today instead of giving in to the comforts of driving.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the long way in this morning. Beautiful day for a ride. I even had enough time to snap a few pics.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration 
I want to go out and ride some more.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Cool, but generally dry. Legs are still dead, but getting better. Getting better.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I took the long way in this morning. Beautiful day for a ride. I even had enough time to snap a few pics.
> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration
> I want to go out and ride some more.


Looks like a beautiful day to ride up there!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Tried to + rep you Straz for beating the storm but apparently I need to spread it around more. Looks like you and I had similar days, minus the 3 week old fart machine.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hang in there and be safe, Vegas! Can you stop anywhere for AC if overheated, the way we can stop for a cocoa in winter sometimes?


A couple places to stop at for first mile and last half mile. The three miles in between are industrial and residential. But with only 4.4 mile ride home, I think I will be alright with a hat and some water. Probably just uncomfortable more than anything. And a steady blow dryer wind is just the icing on the cake.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

New commuter (1 month)... was proud of myself as I rode in Monday after partying a little too much at a reception Sunday night. Was really thinking I'd make an excuse to drive, but didn't. Had a big windstorm Sunday night as well, was dodging tree branches everywhere!

Have been tracking my days and am averaging about 4 days a week. Always seems to be something that comes up at least once a week that keeps me from riding everyday. Usually Fridays are the toughest because I don't have access to a work vehicle so if I know I need to go to our other offices I just end up driving. This Friday is already looking difficult as I need to go to a meeting at another office first thing in the AM and I have to take my laptop, etc.... I can squeeze it in my backpack though, I think I'm gonna try and make it work somehow.

Was surprised to find I hadn't put gas in my truck in over two weeks the other day. And I only put gas in since we were heading out of town to go camping. Pretty sure my $100 commuter bike has already paid for itself!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got caught in heavy rain yesterday on the way home, and honestly that was preferable to heading home _after_ a big rain, and knowing that the trails aren't rideable. I'm thinking I should just put my mountainbikes away during June, since the chances of actually getting to hit the trails are basically zero.

Chilly and foggy this morning. Crossing the bridge that I ride across every morning I got weirdly disoriented because I couldn't see the river. There was a second where I was thinking "How long have I been on here? Is this the beginning of the bridge, or the end? Am I coming or going?" Very weird feeling.

Ordered a woodchipper bar yesterday. After 9 months with the Midge I've decided that I really like having one of my bikes setup with dirtdrop bars, and after scouring Guitar Ted's various writings on the subject I think the woodchipper should be a bit of an improvement over my current setup. And I've haven't bought any fun bike stuff in awhile, so why not.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Ordered a woodchipper bar yesterday. After 9 months with the Midge I've decided that I really like having one of my bikes setup with dirtdrop bars, and after scouring Guitar Ted's various writings on the subject I think the woodchipper should be a bit of an improvement over my current setup. And I've haven't bought any fun bike stuff in awhile, so why not.


So all the various bars etc....whcih works best for very steep uphill climbs....


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

cobi said:


> New commuter (1 month)... was proud of myself as I rode in Monday after partying a little too much at a reception Sunday night. Was really thinking I'd make an excuse to drive, but didn't. Had a big windstorm Sunday night as well, was dodging tree branches everywhere!
> 
> Have been tracking my days and am averaging about 4 days a week. Always seems to be something that comes up at least once a week that keeps me from riding everyday. Usually Fridays are the toughest because I don't have access to a work vehicle so if I know I need to go to our other offices I just end up driving. This Friday is already looking difficult as I need to go to a meeting at another office first thing in the AM and I have to take my laptop, etc.... I can squeeze it in my backpack though, I think I'm gonna try and make it work somehow.
> 
> Was surprised to find I hadn't put gas in my truck in over two weeks the other day. And I only put gas in since we were heading out of town to go camping. Pretty sure my $100 commuter bike has already paid for itself!


Keep up the good work. There will always be days where a commute might not be the best option, or even possible. I am very lucky that with my job, and my hours, it allows me to commute every day. The weather is usually what holds me back.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> Tried to + rep you Straz for beating the storm but apparently I need to spread it around more. Looks like you and I had similar days, minus the 3 week old fart machine.


Haha. Thanks anyway! I've gotten the message about spreading the reps around too....


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> So all the various bars etc....whcih works best for very steep uphill climbs....


Probably a wide bar with bar-ends? For pure climbing I'm not sure if there's anything more effective than the little ergon stubbies.

But the midge is fun too, because it gives you 5 climbing positions - drops, hooks, really in the hooks, hoods, and top. For a steep, technical climb where I've "rowing" the singlespeed I'm probably really far forward in the hooks. But for steep pavement the drops or the hoods work well.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

This mornings office view. You can do conference calls from just about anywhere!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Lots of snapping turtles out in or just off the path, I presume laying eggs in a little hole in the ground. Constant fear of getting too close and one of them reflex-bites my tire in half or something. They seem pretty disinterested so far. The geese haven't set up shop on the trail this year, though, which I do appreciate.

Cut out about 90 minutes ahead of schedule today to fit the return trip in between storm clusters, and the storm hasn't even had the decency to show up at my house yet (2 hours after I was supposed to leave).


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

cobi said:


> New commuter (1 month)... was proud of myself as I rode in Monday after partying a little too much at a reception Sunday night. Was really thinking I'd make an excuse to drive, but didn't. Had a big windstorm Sunday night as well, was dodging tree branches everywhere!
> 
> Have been tracking my days and am averaging about 4 days a week. Always seems to be something that comes up at least once a week that keeps me from riding everyday. Usually Fridays are the toughest because I don't have access to a work vehicle so if I know I need to go to our other offices I just end up driving. This Friday is already looking difficult as I need to go to a meeting at another office first thing in the AM and I have to take my laptop, etc.... I can squeeze it in my backpack though, I think I'm gonna try and make it work somehow.
> 
> Was surprised to find I hadn't put gas in my truck in over two weeks the other day. And I only put gas in since we were heading out of town to go camping. Pretty sure my $100 commuter bike has already paid for itself!


Keep up the good work. Soon youll find when you do drive to work youll HATE it lol.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sanath said:


> Lots of snapping turtles out in or just off the path, I presume laying eggs in a little hole in the ground.


Funny you should mention that.
The Candid Cyclist: I Found a Turtle, Can I Keep Her?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No rain yesterday, and nothing in the forecast today, and that means that today is hardtail day. Especially since it's supposed to rain again tomorrow, and probably most of next week.


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## mayonays (Oct 22, 2010)

Left for work a bit earlier than usual, decided to take the long route and get some extra miles in.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> This mornings office view. You can do conference calls from just about anywhere!


Don't think i'd get much work done there. I'd be too busy just enjoying the feeling of sun on my face.

Good ride in this AM. The legs are still a bit leaden, but each day is a little bit better.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Ride home was even better! Hit up a few miles of single/double track to help decompress after a long work day!


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Very NorCal-esque weather (grey skies, damp roads) this morning, so I broke out the Black Mountain for the commute. The trails should be total hero dirt for the ride home.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

JordyB said:


> Ride home was even better! Hit up a few miles of single/double track to help decompress after a long work day!


Looks awesome! Where do you live?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well my bro crashed into a deer with our shared car, so it's out of commission for the next week and a half. Oh bother, now I'll have to bike every day. . It's pretty nice for now... Storms on the way home if I can't find a ride. 

The rides in this week have been kind of anxiety inducing, though, because I have to pass by this one spot where a cyclist was hit and killed by a driver who just drove away. That happened last Thursday. It's just unnerving to me. It's not even rely a bad spot, quiet neighborhood.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Straz85 said:


> Looks awesome! Where do you live?


Anchorage, Alaska


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Surprise 18 hour day at the office and now a ride home in the rain, possibly with some thunder chasing me. Woo.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Three days in a row this week that I was outrunning a storm on my ride. Good thing I had my rain cover for my pack! Then I got home and my inlaws where at my house. Hooray.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Poor Straz! (Re: the in-laws.) 

That is a gorgeous photo, Jordy! I would love to visit Alaska, but I'm not sure I could live there. The winters just about kill me here in Wisconsin.

I had a beautiful ride into work today. It was sunny, cool, and I had a tailwind. What more could a girl want? And to top it off, I have a new double IPA waiting at home for me later. :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Alaska is beautiful, but I am with WiTrailRunner, that winter would kill me. This last winter in Michigan nearly did me in. Mentally and physically it really took a toll on me.

No commute today, no work today either.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good ride in today. Got soaked last night on the way home. So happy, about 4 miles from home it starts pouring. Felt good tough, no thunder or scary lightning. My sites got soaked though, and they're still wet so I rode in unclipped today. Interesting feelz. Had to get my feet used to it again, but it was nice for a change of non literal pace.

It sounds like everyone's been getting rained on this week. Good times. I like hearing the frogs and toads.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It was cold for mid-June. Temps around 50 and my fingers and toes were numb by the time I got into work.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I got rained on last night too. The ride was fine, even fun, but I had a haircut appointment right after the 8 mile ride, so I wasn’t too excited about going to that half-drowned. Oh well, they were good sports about it, and I had a dry longsleeve to put on so I didn’t get too chilled despite the wet shorts and socks/shoes. The Showers Pass hardshell gloves are still making the grade for cooler rains. 

Drove today so I could get the new smaller chainring for the trail bike. They swapped it while I waited plus they did a quick pedal rebuild on those Straitlines with the kit Newf posted up back when I was having issues finding a part. They are smooth like new now. If you remember I had lost one of the clips while taking one apart to try to clean it up. The first thing the mechanic said when he unpacked the kit was, oh good they included the clips so I don't have to worry about losing one.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Rain? I'd take some rain. We've been under red flag conditions off and on for months now, it's scary dry out there. Commutes in the PM have been hot, dry and windy...kind of feels like a convection oven when it's 93 w/15-20mph winds. Between that and dodging the geriatric summer visitors, it's been interesting.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

We'll send it your way. I'm patiently waiting for the offload trails to be dry enough to not tear them up again. No ambiguity there, i'm not capable of tearing them up in a good way.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Ok i have had it with these specialized tires. another flAt today. Goat heads are pretty bad here but i went all last year with no flats on my old bike using liners , slime and running kenda krads.

What 700x32 tire would yall suggest?


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Depends on what terrain you're riding. I use gator hardshells on street/mild gravel, and Marathon+ for winter/mixed stuff. Neither gives me problems, but the worst I have to deal with is construction/glass.

Slime is probably your best bet for goatheads, from my talking to other people.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

jhmeathead said:


> Ok i have had it with these specialized tires. another flAt today. Goat heads are pretty bad here but i went all last year with no flats on my old bike using liners , slime and running kenda krads.
> 
> What 700x32 tire would yall suggest?


I just put some Gatorskins on my new bike, but last year I was running Conti Sport Contacts with no flats either.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I really want to try the Gatorskins. Only problem is that current tires are in really good shape still.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I went to REI right around the time they opened on Saturday not realizing it was garage sale day. Ended up scoring a Burley D'Lite trailer for 60% off because a little plastic clip is broken. Can't put the kiddo in it until next spring, but I couldn't pass up the deal.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Tried a couple variations on my route yesterday (my 20+ mi commute, not my short 7mi Tuesday commute). Some major construction on my previous route had me wanting to avoid that area. The option I chose for my morning ride sucked. It wasn't completely horrendous, but the traffic was awful busy for a Sunday morning. Possibly people avoiding the construction about a mile away. So I took my detour a bit farther south for the ride home and found a much calmer route. The potholes I was warned about seem to have been filled in, so road quality wasn't bad, either.

I found a good use for fenders (and mudflaps) in dry weather, too. It's mulberry season right now, and spots of the road and MUP I use were slick with squished berry guts. My fenders and BuddyFlaps kept those berry guts off of my frame, so I'd call that worth keeping the fenders year-round.

Drivers overall weren't too bad. A couple close passers, but they were still close to the mandated 3ft. Most still gave me a full pass. A couple of honks, but they didn't seem to be the aggressive blaring honks. They seemed to be "toot toot I'm passing you" variety. Which are no less irritating, especially when they're the 3rd or 4th car in a line passing me, so there's no question that they were back there anyway.

The morning ride on the MUP was surprisingly clear. Temps were absolutely gorgeous in the morning. There were more people out in the evening when it was hotter. Typical MUP idiots, too. Guy on a cheap mtb with a kid trailer hauling a$$ nearly creamed me head on as he tried to pass some walkers going the opposite direction. His wife just smiled at me as I nearly skidded to a stop, cursing under my breath. Lots of large groups of half a dozen plus out in the evening, too. Of course occupying the entire trail. Usually I use an "excuse me" call when about to pass someone. But with groups like that, I decided to use "on your left" in hopes they would all move the same way, instead of scattering unpredictably. Amazingly, it worked. They all moved to the right, usually without even looking back at me.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Alaska is beautiful, but I am with WiTrailRunner, that winter would kill me. This last winter in Michigan nearly did me in. Mentally and physically it really took a toll on me.
> 
> No commute today, no work today either.


Depends on where at in Alaska. I can say from experience that Anchorage is much nicer in the winter than Sioux Falls or Pierre South Dakota.

Good ride in this AM. Beautiful sun rise.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Oh the humidity! Sweatiest ride of the year by far. Forgot my towel.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Same here, heat and humidity, and I still made it in just under 30 minutes. I will have to try the faster route the next time I ride to see if I can trim some more time off of it. Severe storms forecasted tomorrow, and a high of 91F. I am not complaining, nor will I be riding to work.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Cold (40s) yesterday morning, drenched in sweat on the ride home. Decent temps today. Weather forecast keeps threatening scattered thunderstorms at inconvenient times, but none appeared yesterday.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

Got some new shoes on the bike. Went with some CST Ciudads and some thick tubes. Definitely added some weight but once i get rolling I really dont notice. extra weight or extra flats is an easy choice. Only have a couple miles on them but they ride pretty comfortable vs the 28's i had. Plus i still have tons of tire clearance.

Next on the list is to get some bb7's


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jhmeathead said:


> Got some new shoes on the bike.


Nice kicks. I really need to get some new skinny ties for the commute. So far I've been too lazy to swap out the trail tires from the weekend. Meh. My skinny tires are about six years old and dry rotting, so they're not very comfortable, actually, and I'm kinda thinking they'll blow up soon.

Definitely thinking about some cyclocross tires. That way I can use them for commute and mixed terrain rides. Anybody have any suggestions on a good commuting tire in that spectrum? I can get the continental race king cyclocross edition. I like the mountain bike edition, but damn are they pricey.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Nice weather this morning. Took a slightly different route than usual and it was nice to do something a little different.



jhmeathead said:


> Got some new shoes on the bike. Went with some CST Ciudads and some thick tubes. Definitely added some weight but once i get rolling I really dont notice. extra weight or extra flats is an easy choice. Only have a couple miles on them but they ride pretty comfortable vs the 28's i had. Plus i still have tons of tire clearance.
> 
> Next on the list is to get some bb7's


If flats are a concern, flat resistant tires will give you far more flat protection than thick tubes. A nail or glass won't be stopped by a couple extra MM of rubber. I know you probably don't want to buy ANOTHER set of tires, if if I were you, I'd get some Gatorskins or similar.

Flat pedals? Booooo. Get some clipless pedals!

Bikes looking good!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Interesting ride in today and an interesting re-route yesterday. Windy and wet in the valley - 19MPH sustained with gusts to 30. No bigs. The 41F temps were a bit lower than I'd like. In town was beautiful and sunny. A perfect morning for riding.

Yesterday I was working my way over to the coastal trail when I ran into this:








Needless to say, I'll need to find a different long route.

The latest Beardcicle Chronicle is up now and provides a bit more insight into my Government Peak experience and subsequent pain at realizing I'm not in as good of shape as I thought.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I did something stupid. I read a thread of a car forum about cyclists. Ugh. I replied too.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

41F in June? That is why I would not want to live in Alaska.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> I did something stupid. I read a thread of a car forum about cyclists. Ugh. I replied too.


Are... Are you OK? Are you mad at yourself?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

NDD said:


> Are... Are you OK? Are you mad at yourself?


So far I've survived. I'm in the process of debating with one person whether cyclists should be able to pass cars on the right when traffic is stopped. Otherwise I'm surviving....

It's sickening though how so many people think every cyclists is some sort of scofflaw eco-terrorist who spends all day telling everyone else how they're better than drivers because they're saving the planet. Someone actually stated that "every bicyclist" where they live rides in the middle of the lane all the time. I'm sure it's EVERY ONE ALL THE TIME. Also a lot of people seem to live in some fantasy land where there are zero cyclists who stop at red lights.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Yesterday I was working my way over to the coastal trail when I ran into this:
> View attachment 901782
> 
> 
> Needless to say, I'll need to find a different long route.


What would Danny MacAskill' do?

Good commutes in summer weather, finally! High 50s in the morning, 80s in the afternoon. I find myself taking the long way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> So far I've survived. I'm in the process of debating with one person whether cyclists should be able to pass cars on the right when traffic is stopped. Otherwise I'm surviving....
> 
> It's sickening though how so many people think every cyclists is some sort of scofflaw eco-terrorist who spends all day telling everyone else how they're better than drivers because they're saving the planet. Someone actually stated that "every bicyclist" where they live rides in the middle of the lane all the time. I'm sure it's EVERY ONE ALL THE TIME. Also a lot of people seem to live in some fantasy land where there are zero cyclists who stop at red lights.


As I pass people on the right (which is totally legal here at your own risk) I tend to notice them texting (which is not). Stay strong Straz.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I have never run a stop light on a bike. You just can't let them have excuses to say you shouldn't be there. I've run stop signs, but I'll do that in a car at intersections I know aren't busy. My own risk. Plus I feel I have a lot more time to actually look while slowing down on the bike. 

I always use hand signals. Never see cars use their lights. I just feel like you have to one up them on following the rules. Plus if you're riding 22 in a 25 are you really inconveniencing them that bad? Gawsh. 

It's such a silly debate. Then there's the whole "get on the sidewalk" thing. That's for pedestrians and kids with bmx bikes. C'mon! 

It'll never be resolved. And with all issues that are like that I'ma say " just be good ".


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> What would Danny MacAskill' do?


I'd give you rep for that, but apparently I can't.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> As I pass people on the right (which is totally legal here at your own risk) I tend to notice them texting (which is not). Stay strong Straz.


This is a good point. It's also not legal here to text and drive.


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## Bakudan (May 19, 2011)

Kinda crappy but I suffered the commute with a co-worker. Been sick for a little over a week and just wanted to freaking ride my bike so I didn't let lack of sleep or sickness stop me. Kind of regretting it while I sit at work right now.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> 41F in June? That is why I would not want to live in Alaska.


That's how we keep the riff raff out...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> I'd give you rep for that, but apparently I can't.


Yeah, I don't think I can rep any regulars on the commuter forum anymore. Our little clique is too small.

I think Danny M's next video should be on a fat-bike.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Needless to say, I'll need to find a different long route.
> 
> The latest Beardcicle Chronicle is up now and provides a bit more insight into my Government Peak experience and subsequent pain at realizing I'm not in as good of shape as I thought.


Channel that inner downhiller inside you and clear the gap.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, I don't think I can rep any regulars on the commuter forum anymore. Our little clique is too small.
> 
> I think Danny M's next video should be on a fat-bike.


I'd love to see that. Bet he could do some wicked stuff on a fattie.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> What would Danny MacAskill' do?


:lol:

Looks pretty sketchy for mere mortals though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> The latest Beardcicle Chronicle is up now and provides a bit more insight into my Government Peak experience and subsequent pain at realizing I'm not in as good of shape as I thought.


A good read, glad you made it down.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Commute today was slow and tired. Still haven't been able to get to sleep early enough to get more than 5 hours of sleep before my alarm goes off at 4. They say this is supposed to get easier at some point, here's to hoping.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Slow and tired here, as well. Didn't fall asleep until 10:30, and the 3 yr old woke me up around 1:30 wanting a sippy cup of milk, with the 1 yr old waking me up at about 3 wanting the wifey. Then the alarm started blaring at 4. It's been a rough few weeks, with at least one of the three kids waking up in middle of the night for some reason or another. 

I got buzzed twice coming home, one by another Waste Management truck. I was able to yell loud enough to have the driver flip me the bird. I've had enough of sending emails and making complaints to have them ignored. I've saved my paper trail of emails and calls made to complaint lines and managers and supervisors that I feel confident in moving up the chain until something is done. If it's not me killed by one of these monster machines, it's going to be an elderly person out on their single speed cruiser or an immigrant farm worker trying to make ends meet. No matter whom it is, it shouldn't happen. 

It's been just over two months since I picked up the Cannondale. I can confidently say that the "honeymoon" period is over, but I'm still extremely taken by the bike. I've not once had to replace, repair, or readjust anything since the initial tuneup and cable replacement. I did wind up replacing the Tektro Oryx cantilever brakes with some Shimano V-brakes, but not out of necessity. The cantis worked fine when set up properly, but I just had to scratch that itch...

Interested to see what this afternoon holds. Perhaps I'll make a run down the beach. Or maybe I'll save that for Friday, and then sleep in class on Saturday...


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I think I am falling in love with the salsa woodchipper bars. I made it to work today without standing once, on a singlespeed. There are at least two hills I usually end up standing a bit for even on a geared bike. The leverage you can get on those long extensions is lovely as well.

I'm trying an experiment of using flat pedals on my two main commute bikes for the summer, to see if it helps me get better at pedaling. So far so good, but we'll see how quickly that changes once I turn the back wheel around to run fixed. 

Today should be our first day of the year to go over 90F. I will take that 41 in Alaska any day (not sure about your actual winter temps though  )


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Been thinking about switching over to these from the Shimano Click'R set that I'm running now.










I like the idea of a versatile pedal that allows me to wear whatever shoe I desire, but I wonder if it provides an efficient pedaling experience similar to being clipped in. I'm not expecting that level of performance, but would like something better than toe clips and straps. Not only did they tear up a pair of Van's, but unless my straps were pulled tight, I didn't have the ability to pull up.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Slow and tired this AM myself. Didn't get to sleep until well past 10:30, which makes for a short night when getting up at 4 AM. Must be something in the air.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Today a motorist asked me for assistance! I was at the light in Barre by the library, waiting for the green to go forward. A lady was on my right in the right turn only lane when I got there. A truck came up behind her and after a brief wait gave the most polite honk possible. No reaction from the lady in front of him, despite the lack of cross traffic. Another 30 seconds pass and he decides a bigger honk would now be justified to get her to go right on red. Nope, her only reaction was to fuss with her drink and check the rear view. So he yelled to me “Tell her she can go right on red!” Her window was up, but I point right and said “you can go”, and finally she did. The truck rolled by and we had a laugh and mutual head shaking as I got the green.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

AlexCuse said:


> I think I am falling in love with the salsa woodchipper bars.


What a coincidence - I just swapped to a woodchipper last weekend on my ss. I'm still doing plenty of standing, but the extensions are fantastic, and the wide top is even more fantastic.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today. Strong line of storms heading this way with warnings going up all along the line, and on radar, it is not pretty.


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> No commute today. Strong line of storms heading this way with warnings going up all along the line, and on radar, it is not pretty.


It snowed here yesterday.
........


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## jhmeathead (Apr 15, 2013)

But today was awesome!

















Ill quit spamming pics of my new toy. lol


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

newfangled said:


> What a coincidence - I just swapped to a woodchipper last weekend on my ss. I'm still doing plenty of standing, but the extensions are fantastic, and the wide top is even more fantastic.


I found some good standing hills on the way home  Not sure I'd like the angle with gears (unless using bar end shifters) but mighty fine for SS.

I got scolded for running a 3 way stop sign by a lady that was mid California roll in her car (don't think it was an except right turn deal). Not sure how to feel about that.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

On the way home in waiting for the light at a particularly busy and dangerous intersection when some yahoo behind me decides to blow through the red light. Now, there were no cars coming in that direction, but I know from riding through it everyday there are blind spots where you wouldn't see a car going 55mph. Which goes back to this whole idea that cyclists need to be responsible if they want motorists to recognize their right to use the road.

I waited for the light, hopped on the MUP, and since he was in sight and going slower than me I was thinking about asking if he was training to participate in the next fatal hit and run, but decided not to go with the obviously passive aggressive route. Instead I just smoked his punk ass and he looked over as I was passing him. Looked at me, looked at my bike (still haven't taken the knobbies off) and had this look on his face like "but... but".

Summertime roadies...


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Pretty much ran intervals the entire 12 miles home. Some wicked storms chased me, and I did a good job of staying out of the brunt of it until about a mile from the house. Even though I absolutely love riding in the rain, this downpour was so bad that when it hit, I could barely see the road in front of me. Other than that, nothing to report. 

A good friend of mine from the LBS had a serious accident on Saturday, from what appears to be a chain skip in the middle of a 35 mph sprint. He wiped out, lost consciousness, and has retrograde amnesia, not to mention insane road rash. This sparked a lot of the local groups looking for basic first aid instruction, so my named got tossed around, being the former paramedic of the group. Looks like I'll be putting something together. Found out that one of the guys on the group ride when my buddy wiped out is an RN, who gave no assistance. I called him up to see what happened and if there was a piece of the puzzle that was missing, and he tells me he just froze when it happened. He never dealt with prehospital emergencies before and had absolutely no idea how to respond. Gotta fix that. 

Looking forward to tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jhmeathead said:


> It snowed here yesterday.
> ........


That's wrong!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Snow? Wow!!! No thanks, I will gladly stick to the upper 80's that we have been having. Good thing that I didn't ride today to work. Got there at about the normal time, and the storm beat me, and it was a hell of a storm. As it cleared the parking ramp, the winds picked up, and the rain came in sideways. Lightning, thunder, and that crazy wind/rain combo made me glad I had 4 wheels instead of 2.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

My wife was at Target right next to where I work, so she picked me up and we went out for lunch. On the way, there was a guy on a bike (no, not a cyclist) riding the wrong way on an off-ramp to a very very busy road. Technically biking is legal on said road, but I wouldn't be caught dead on it. And here he is, going the wrong way. The red arrow is exactly where he was.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

I was "that guy" on my way home last night. Rolling up to the railroad crossing the gates came down just as I got to it..... no cars around to see, so I went around the gates. Train was creeping along, would have taken him 30-60 more seconds just to make it to the intersection.

Not sure if I feel guilty or not, or if I would have still done it if there were people around to see me.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Nah, watching trains go by sucks big time on an bike. I've seen people in cars do it. I'd have at least thought about it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I suppose a decent ride in this AM. Tired and the legs still feel a bit leaden. The weather was nice and I caught sight of a young bull moose.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> I suppose a decent ride in this AM. Tired and the legs still feel a bit leaden. The weather was nice and I caught sight of a young bull moose.
> View attachment 902262


Lucky. I get to see coyotes at best.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

__
https://flic.kr/p/o2SM3f
Rainy day brings out the rodents.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, a new one for me on the way home tonite.

A wasp or bee flew into my mouth. Stung me inside my lower lip before I could spit him out. My lip swelled up immediately and is still swollen. I'm drooling as I type this...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ blech. I had one bounce off my lip last year, but it made enough contact to feel like a bb and leave me with a fat lip.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wasp sting inside the lip does not sound pleasant 

I`ve had a few weeks of superb mornings followed by really gusty afternoons. Then some kind of cold front came through (Jhmeathead`s surprise snow?) and I froze my hiney off on the way home one morning, had to dig an extra layer out of annual retirement for the next day. Warmed up again and it was gorgeous all day today, supposed to be up into the 90s this weekend. Oh, and no more school busses on my homebound commute for the next two months, YAY!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Had a couple of really close calls, one that almost made me stop and rethink my route. The shoulder is really cramped, and the speed limit is 40mph. I only have to ride on it for like one block, but it is a hell of a long block. Two SUV's came within what felt like inches of my left arm. I am sure it was more, but I could feel the heat from the vehicle as they went by. The funny thing is that today of all days, I threw the blinkie on the seatpost and ran it. I don't usually do that for whatever reason. I probably should more often, but today was the day where it wouldn't have mattered if I had that light, almost got hit anyway, and this was during the day.

Ride home was nice, a bit cool but still nice. All kinds of deer out where I live, and sometimes they like to jump out and scare the crap out of me, like it is a damn game for them. I scared one as I made the turn onto a dark road, forgetting that they are blind as hell and wouldn't see my light. Apparently I was ninja enough that I startled the hell out of it, and it literally did a comical "burnout" trying to get some traction on the pavement. Like a small dog on a wood floor, he was all over the place.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> Well, a new one for me on the way home tonite.
> 
> A wasp or bee flew into my mouth. Stung me inside my lower lip before I could spit him out. My lip swelled up immediately and is still swollen. I'm drooling as I type this...


Yeah, it happens for sure. Had some stinging bug fly in between the little vent holes in my helmet one time. Little dude couldn't get out so he just started singing away.

Had to stop and take my helmet off. Big welt on the top of my forehead all day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Rodar, glad to see you back in the swing of things. 

That snow seems a little out of season. Hope you didn't plant the peppers outside yet.

RollingRunner and I are wrapping up a totally car free week. She usually ends up driving a few days to transport stuff but this week our cars haven't been out of the garage since kayaking last Sunday. I have had to resort to a backpack to carry food and clothes a few days. Some stops at the store via bike too.

I took the long way in and the long way home yesterday for a total of 60+ Miles. Today I'm just making headway speed.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Hmm looks like they added some technical features to my commute:










I guess the good news is they don't have a plan to rebuild the bridge yet, so I can still get across it for a while. Once work is underway I'm going to have to find a new route if I want to take my road bike though. There's one that I like a lot but its 25ish miles with 1800 feet of climbing or so. Guess that is one way to HTFU.

Good news is there will be less traffic at the intersection on the other side of the bridge where I sometimes have to wait 5+ mins to cross. And if I have a gravel capable bike under me the detour is actually quite short / pleasant.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Warm enough for bare legs this morning.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

woodway said:


> Well, a new one for me on the way home tonite.
> 
> A wasp or bee flew into my mouth. Stung me inside my lower lip before I could spit him out. My lip swelled up immediately and is still swollen. I'm drooling as I type this...


A couple years ago, I had one fly under my sunglasses and sting me under the eye. This was 2 days before my wedding. I still was a bit swollen for the ceremony. haha.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

So yesterday I am pedaling along, and a big white newish pickup goes by with the most enthusiastic “hello” type honking. Then the blond waves out of the sunroof too. I don’t recognize her, but hey, I’m friendly, so I wave back…only to realize it is a Chevy truck and we were passing the Chevy dealer. Apparently she was actually just trying to say hello to someone at the dealership 

Last night I had trouble with a truck, but not on my bike. At almost 11pm, I’m sitting in the living room and do a doubletake because there are headlights in my backyard! This is over 200’ from the road. With no outside lights on, all I could see was the lights and the shape of a pickup. Then it went around the house and down my driveway. Investigating further, I found that it had not traveled up from the road via my front yard, but down from the snowmobile trail onto my feeder trail, which is only riding mower wide, squeezing between a fence and my shed into the yard. Amazingly, the only evidence was some laid down grass and (wild) shrubs, and one red pine on a tight turn that they took some bark off of.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. 45 in the valley and 50 in town. Sunny. Beautiful. Who could ask for more? Not I/


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Yesterday on my way home from work a guy in a truck came to a complete stop at a stop sign where the bike route crosses. He looks over toward me as I am coming to the intersection and then right as I am going through he starts to give it gas. He slammed on his brakes, his front bumper clipped me, and I almost went down. I dont know if he didnt see me or what. But it gave me a massive adrenaline rush. I wanted to turn around and throw down, but something told me that was a bad idea.

Just kept riding, but I used that adrenaline and anger to fly up a .8 mile hill climb and got my first KING OF THE MOUNTAIN on Strava. 

We have some beautiful weather today, and although I didn't feel like riding to work today, as soon as I got outside, it was amazing.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fast. The new bike is fast. Not the rider, just the bike. First issue with the bike almost to work. Seatpost needs to be regreased. I think that some or most of it came off in transporting the bike in the car when I took the post out. It is creaking like crazy while pedaling, but as soon as I stand up to pedal, silent. Will hit that in the morning and get it squared away.

OK, not sure who else gets this, but I am growing tired of the "Hey Lance" cat calls from pedestrians/drunk college kids. Got it twice tonight in less than a 1 mile period. They think it is funny. I think it is annoying. Got cat called from some drunk girl in a van taxi at a light. The drunk dude with her kept saying how sweet the bike was. She kept going Hey Lance, Hey Lance!!! I ignored both, and quietly waited for the light to turn green. Never looked their way or acknowledged them, as if I was deaf.

Beat a rain storm home although it sprinkled lightly on near my apartment. Looking forward to the ride in tomorrow.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

moefosho said:


> Yesterday on my way home from work a guy in a truck came to a complete stop at a stop sign where the bike route crosses. He looks over toward me as I am coming to the intersection and then right as I am going through he starts to give it gas. He slammed on his brakes, his front bumper clipped me, and I almost went down. I dont know if he didnt see me or what. But it gave me a massive adrenaline rush. I wanted to turn around and throw down, but something told me that was a bad idea.
> 
> Just kept riding, but I used that adrenaline and anger to fly up a .8 mile hill climb and got my first KING OF THE MOUNTAIN on Strava.
> 
> We have some beautiful weather today, and although I didn't feel like riding to work today, as soon as I got outside, it was amazing.


Glad you didn't get hurt. And probably good call on not confronting him. Not sure I would have been as collected about it as you were. Good hill result is better than yell fest.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got a ride in in the evening yesterday. Only 9 miles but over 16 mph a speed I am happy with, after being off the bike pretty much for months. Getting the BP down and the temps up has been tricky. I did not want to have adrenalin from an idiot driver give me a stroke. And low temps make you want to sleep, not ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I pressed the commuter into shuttle service for my paddle today. 8 miles by river, 4 by road to return to the put in and car. This is in the Northeast Kingdom, north of Kingdom Trails by 20+ miles. Worked like a charm, the beaver dams were more challenging than the bike shuttle. I locked the bike at the downstream take out and then locked the kayak after the paddle until I returned with the car.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

TenSpeed - maybe all the college girls just think you're cute! :thumbsup:

Mtbx - great photos! I like the bike/kayak combo idea. I've always thought about doing that with hiking or trail running, but fear locking my bike up to some random tree.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in, no incidents. Strong headwinds on the ride home. Had a crazy incident with a few deer on the MUP. Crested the hill, and there were three of them a little way down the path grazing. I slowed, and they took off into the brush along side the path. I slowly rode by, just in case there was a fourth that I didn't see. Passed where they crossed, and kept going. One of them, at least one, ran in the bush along side of me for at least 50 yards or so. I could hear him/her trouncing through the brush and tall grass. I got a little worried, maybe that it would jump out back onto the trail because it was scared or lost or whatever. Didn't know if I should accelerate or stop. Kept going and eventually they stopped and it was absolutely nuts. 

WiTrailRunner - thanks for the vote of confidence.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

After a moderately ambitious trail ride yesterday, maybe the singlespeed wasn't the best choice.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Singlespeed is always the best choice.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. 49 and sunny. Had a great Solstice ride Saturday night with my twelve year old son. Decided we wanted to ride the sun down, so took off at 20 after 10 and rode until the civil sunset of 11:43 PM and then just a little bit more to get back home. Great times on the single track. Love riding at midnight and not needing lights and still able to wear sunglasses. Alaska is a blast!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It was on the chilly side this morning for late June, 53 when I left home. Should be around 80 and mostly sunny on my ride home, can't complain about that. I'm still on a streak for the most days commuting without driving, today is commute #17 in a row. Last time I drove to work was May 13th. Unless anything unexpected happens, I should be able to make it until July without a problem.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Singlespeed is always the best choice.


True dat - certainly was yesterday, though I only really have one mountain bike so I didn't necessarily have a choice. And now I can fall back to the even slower geared bike tomorrow (an old 26" bike that I recently switched from SS mode to a touring type setup) if my legs beg loud enough for it


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> It was on the chilly side this morning for late June, 53 when I left home...


Same here, I left around 6 and it was around 50 but by the time I got to work I could feel the warmth of summer in the air.

Mountain Bike Monday. This was my first trail ride in since the lake melted. It had been too long.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> I locked the bike at the downstream take out and then locked the kayak after the paddle until I returned with the car.


MTBX, that's awesome! If you get a bigger boat you can just take the bike with you as my wife and I like to do when fishing from our drift boat.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Actually, I've used a bike to retrieve the upstream vehicle on a kayaking river trip. Left the bike at the bottom, put in about 7 miles upstream, kayaked down then biked back up for the truck.

OK, I'm ready for my afternoon commute. 'nuff of this works stuff. The trail is calling.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

got a steal of a score on a trek portland. 
too smalll but i built it up anyways. figured i'd ride it in today.
whoo-eee that thing is light n fast and stunty short! (it's a 54, i ride 58)
think I chopped a couple minutes off my usual time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> MTBX, that's awesome! If you get a bigger boat you can just take the bike with you as my wife and I like to do when fishing from our drift boat.


Cool! I bet you get some funny looks from the other people fishing!



bedwards1000 said:


> Actually, I've used a bike to retrieve the upstream vehicle on a kayaking river trip. Left the bike at the bottom, put in about 7 miles upstream, kayaked down then biked back up for the truck.


As they say, great minds think alike! Only a handful of cars passed me while pedaling , so I was thankful not to be trying to hitch a ride.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Going in this morning was fast and easy. Had to drop the truck we borrowed from the in laws over the weekend, which is only a few miles from the office. Took about 15 minutes, so by the time I started getting into the groove, I was there. 

This evening was rough. Hotter than hot, and right at the busiest part of rush hour. A few buzzes, but nothing out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, when I got home, I had to mow the lawn, since we're expecting rain in the afternoon for the rest of the week.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, close call MoeFoSho. Glad it didn`t turn out bloody.



TenSpeed said:


> Fast. The new bike is fast. Not the rider, just the bike.


I hope you caught up with your bike by the time you got to work!



woodway said:


> If you get a bigger boat you can just take the bike with you as my wife and I like to do when fishing from our drift boat.


If you borrow Woodway`s boat, be sure to borrow his wife too so you don`t have to row :thumbsup:
Love the cloud picture!

Had to evict my recumbent from its spot in the shed over the weekend to make room for a different toy. I haven`t ridden it in a couple years, so it was completely covered in gunk- decided I might just as well send it off to a new home. I stripped it completely and shot the rest of the paint left over from its initial painting on the frame, started scrubbing the parts to rehang before listing it.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday on my commute home someone passed me closer than ever before. Couldn't have been more than 6" from me. They had more than enough room to go around. They were driving a Prius. Probably jealous that I was getting better gas mileage.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Had to evict my recumbent from its spot in the shed over the weekend to make room for a different toy.


Pics of new toy? Bike?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had an unusual encounter with another cyclist on the MUP last night. He passed me mashing a HUGE gear and was pulling away from me when we entered a stretch where driveways and low traffic roads cross the MUP every quarter to half mile.

We get to the first driveway, which everyone blows past with a cursory glance for traffic, and he is about 50 feet in front of me. He slows WAY down carefully looking for cross traffic. He never shifted so when he decides that the coast is clear he is mashing that big gear again and SLOWWWLLLYYY cranks back up to speed. Knowing that he will eventually be going faster then me, I brake and stay behind him but it's painful how long it takes him to accelerate.

We come to the next driveway and the same thing happens. This time I think to myself "screw it" and call out, pass him and keep going. He passes me back, but at the next driveway, same thing happens. This is getting annoying.

After passing him again at the the 4th driveway he comes up next to me and says "you seem like a nice guy, but I really don't want to race you". Huh? Racing was the last thing on my mind...I'm just trying to ride home from work at a steady pace. If this guy would just use the damn gear shifter on his bike (which I know works because he did occasionally shift up one cog while I was behind him) and not be such a nervous nelly going through the driveways he would be out of my way and I would be out of his way. Suppressing my inside voice, I just gave him a smile and said "I'm not interested in racing, just trying to ride home a consistent pace". He turned off the MUP soon after and the rest of my commute was uneventful.

What is it about the MUP that brings out the Cat6 in people?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I was cat6ing a roadie a bit this morning on my ss 29er. I was doing a reasonable job of it with my 2.4 knobbies and 32x16 gearing, but he didn't stop at stopsigns which really gave him an insurmountable lead.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Had to evict my recumbent from its spot in the shed over the weekend to make room for a different toy. I haven`t ridden it in a couple years, so it was completely covered in gunk- decided I might just as well send it off to a new home. I stripped it completely and shot the rest of the paint left over from its initial painting on the frame, started scrubbing the parts to rehang before listing it.


You should ride it. As much as I love my commuter I still miss the recumbent ride. It was like a lounge chair. At least in seating position, if not in padding.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Second day in a row of storms/rain that just isn't going to allow a commute by bike. Had the new bike for 4 days now, and have ridden it to work 2 days only. What a bummer. The rest of the week is shaping up nicely for riding, so that will make up for it.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Rather uneventful here, minus one moment. Ran into a guy I know from the local bike scene who works at an LBS known for poor customer service and a rather pretentious feel. We met as he passed me on the right as I was stopped at a red, proceeded to run the light, causing a vehicle to take evasive action, and then rode in the gutter for a few until he picked up speed, at which point he took the lane without signaling, didn't hold a line, and was extremely unpredictable. Literally everything he did was a reason given by motorists to justify a disdain for cyclists. 

I messaged him on Facebook, to keep it between he and I. So far, he's done nothing but defend his actions while telling me that because he's been riding for blah blah blah. "I have to ride aggressively to be seen"... Yeah, no.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> ^ I was cat6ing a roadie a bit this morning on my ss 29er. I was doing a reasonable job of it with my 2.4 knobbies and 32x16 gearing, but he didn't stop at stopsigns which really gave him an insurmountable lead.


The only racing I did today was CAT-S. I won too. Strava Segment | Crystal Lake Circuit

Rodar, you're doing it backwards. You're supposed to start with traditional bikes and retire to the recumbent. I'll ask too, what's your new toy?


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Dogleg Commute home last night took me to the lower hillside. Singlespeed is fun right? ;p


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Rather uneventful here, minus one moment. Ran into a guy I know from the local bike scene who works at an LBS known for poor customer service and a rather pretentious feel. We met as he passed me on the right as I was stopped at a red, proceeded to run the light, causing a vehicle to take evasive action, and then rode in the gutter for a few until he picked up speed, at which point he took the lane without signaling, didn't hold a line, and was extremely unpredictable. Literally everything he did was a reason given by motorists to justify a disdain for cyclists.
> 
> I messaged him on Facebook, to keep it between he and I. So far, he's done nothing but defend his actions while telling me that because he's been riding for blah blah blah. "I have to ride aggressively to be seen"... Yeah, no.


Frustrating!

Nice pic Jordy


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice picture Jordy, and yes, singlespeed is FUN!!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

newfangled said:


> ^ I was cat6ing a roadie a bit this morning on my ss 29er. I was doing a reasonable job of it with my 2.4 knobbies and 32x16 gearing, but he didn't stop at stopsigns which really gave him an insurmountable lead.


Sounds like an excuse to me


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ oh, he would have gotten away from me regardless. 

But I'd have preferred if he'd done it fairly instead of cheating. Normally someone will pass me at a stopsign, and I'll catch up again with them pretty quickly. But actually trying to keep up with someone who is blowing stopsigns really made me realize how much effort repeated stops/starts take.

I will say it was the better part of 2km, and I was only about half a block behind him when he turned off, and I'd had to stop 4 times.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> ^ oh, he would have gotten away from me regardless.
> 
> But I'd have preferred if he'd done it fairly instead of cheating. Normally someone will pass me at a stopsign, and I'll catch up again with them pretty quickly. But actually trying to keep up with someone who is blowing stopsigns really made me realize how much effort repeated stops/starts take.
> 
> I will say it was the better part of 2km, and I was only about half a block behind him when he turned off, and I'd had to stop 4 times.


I get it often from the "racers" in the community, but the way I see it, the stopping and starting just makes me stronger.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I get it often from the "racers" in the community, but the way I see it, the stopping and starting just makes me stronger.


Standing and hammering from every stop is a great way to get faster. Especially on a commute with a lot of stopping. As Rides a Ten Speed Everywhere Guy says, "it's a great way to stay in shape".


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## Bakudan (May 19, 2011)

Painful yet satisfying. I got a flat on my roadbike 'cause I somehow tore the stem while filling up the tire. I didn't have time to fix it 'cause some co-workers were waiting for me. I took out my old beater SS converted Trek 850. It's not too steep of a gear at 40x16 but it was a long climb to work.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Standing and hammering from every stop is a great way to get faster. Especially on a commute with a lot of stopping. As Rides a Ten Speed Everywhere Guy says, "it's a great way to stay in shape".


I keep it at 53x23 when at lights and stops. Takes a good amount of effort to get going, but makes a great "in between stops" gear.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Rather uneventful here, minus one moment. Ran into a guy I know from the local bike scene who works at an LBS known for poor customer service and a rather pretentious feel. We met as he passed me on the right as I was stopped at a red, proceeded to run the light, causing a vehicle to take evasive action, and then rode in the gutter for a few until he picked up speed, at which point he took the lane without signaling, didn't hold a line, and was extremely unpredictable. Literally everything he did was a reason given by motorists to justify a disdain for cyclists.
> 
> I messaged him on Facebook, to keep it between he and I. So far, he's done nothing but defend his actions while telling me that because he's been riding for blah blah blah. "I have to ride aggressively to be seen"... Yeah, no.


This guy sounds like an ass-hat. You should definitely post the conversation here when it comes to a conclusion.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Took a geared bike today. Was actually slower, not sure if its the gears or the fact my legs are a bit deader (or the fact that its an old 26" mountain bike set up like a flatbar touring bike). That'll show me 

Hopefully I have the legs to get home, and maybe find some of the sweet spots in the new gearing.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> This guy sounds like an ass-hat. You should definitely post the conversation here when it comes to a conclusion.


Me: Hey man. I'm not going to call you out in public, but some things do need to be addressed.

This morning I watched you pass a line of cars on the right who were stopped for a red light when you had no dedicated lane, which is a dick move, and dangerous. From there, you proceeded to run a red light whilst dodging cars, and jumped from riding in the gutter to trying to take the lane without signaling. Pretty much a trifecta of why there's so much tension between motorists and cyclists.

The bottom line is if you want drivers to give us the respect we're owed, you have to do the same for them. It particularly annoys me because I'm not just a commuter, but I ride everywhere, and during peak traffic times, 7 days a week. I see and experience first hand the effects if such cavalier and irresponsible behavior.

Do me a favor, and ride like a car, not like you're in a crit.

Him: I have been doing this for a while. By pulling in front of the cars makes it so they don't turn into me while not using a signal. Crossing traffic allows me to get back up to speed and get back in a strait line before the onslaught of cars pick up again. im sorry you don't agree with my style. its something that I have learned over time to be aggressive and highly visable

Me: It's not a style to be agreed with, Rich. The thing is, everything I described to you was illegal, and goes against what has been fought long and hard for in Florida. At no point in time did anything you did promise a safer ride, and in fact, made things even more dangerous. You and I both know you should have taken the lane behind the last vehicle, but instead, you chose to ride like DUI pedal masher.

I kept this private between you and I, and intend on it remaining as such. I have no reason to smear your name, but I'm asking you as a fellow bike commuter to clean it up a bit.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back on the bike after shaking a cold. Got someone to give me a ride home last week as I wasn't gonna do the "fever" ride again. Did that last year and it was a terrible ride home. Might've ridden out the cold if it was cooler out but with the Vegas summer in full force I gotta be 100% for the blazing peddle home. 

An incident free commute today and the bike is running smooth and silent after weeks and weeks of frustrations.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Back on the bike after shaking a cold. Got someone to give me a ride home last week as I wasn't gonna do the "fever" ride again. Did that last year and it was a terrible ride home. Might've ridden out the cold if it was cooler out but with the Vegas summer in full force I gotta be 100% for the blazing peddle home.
> 
> An incident free commute today and the bike is running smooth and silent after weeks and weeks of frustrations.


Glad you're feeling better. I tried to do the "sweat it out" thing a few weeks ago. Wound up calling the wife to pick me up at noon and called in for the next 4 days. Definitely not one of my brightest moments.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`ve never Cat 6`d or been Cat 6`d. I suppose that`s good, but I still feel a little left out!



newfangled said:


> But actually trying to keep up with someone who is blowing stopsigns really made me realize how much effort repeated stops/starts take.


Seriously. Downtown (the old downtown, where the casionos are) Reno is actually kinda neat with slow traffic and a beautiful tree-lined "river" flowing right through the middle of it. It would be great for riding except the constant traffic signals.



Sanath said:


> As much as I love my commuter I still miss the recumbent ride. It was like a lounge chair. At least in seating position, if not in padding.





bedwards1000 said:


> You're supposed to start with traditional bikes and retire to the recumbent.


You had a bent, Sanath? Yeah, I found riding it to be a lot of fun though, strangely, not as comfortable for me as a "wedgie", so retirement to bentdom didn`t work out.  I found that my beaten up old Schwinn has been and continues to be my go-to for nearly every kind of riding. Better to pass the bent along to somebody who`s going to use it, and better to be taking up space somewhere besides my limited shed.

New ride is a very used Suzuki DR650, heavy and clumsy highway-friendly dual sport. Hmmm... just about the same description as my Schwinn


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Blech...humid here today, but at least it's not raining for once - just cloudy. Finally got to ride in after too much time driving in the rain last week. I had a headwind, which is bizarre. I almost never have headwinds on my way to work. 

Physical therapy approved me to "run" yesterday. And by run, I mean run for 30 seconds and then walk for 4 minutes. Repeat 5 times. The last time I ran it was February and I was running through snow. So while it's small progress, it's still progress! The only good thing to come out of being injured for 2 years is that it gave me the idea to bike commute


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I bonked on my way into work this morning. I took the long route for the first time this year, last time I did that route was the day last summer that crazy lady who almost hit me and I flipped off started taking pictures of me. Before leaving I had 4 or 5oz of homemade fruit protein smoothie and 5 miles into my 14 mile ride, I started to lose energy. I stupidly had no food with me other than my leftover chicken parm for lunch, so I had to ride through it for the next 40 minutes.

On a positive note, it was beautiful out. Mid 60's and sunny. Can't beat that for commuting weather!


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> You had a bent, Sanath? Yeah, I found riding it to be a lot of fun though, strangely, not as comfortable for me as a "wedgie", so retirement to bentdom didn`t work out. I found that my beaten up old Schwinn has been and continues to be my go-to for nearly every kind of riding. Better to pass the bent along to somebody who`s going to use it, and better to be taking up space somewhere besides my limited shed.


The first ride I used to bikecommute was an old Bike-E I borrowed from my boss for a few months. 7 speed casette + 3 speed hub gear, no lights, not really enough reflectors, and not really enough seat padding. He offered to sell it to me but I didn't want to deal with a bike with no round tubes, making it basically impossible to fit into any common bike carriers or work stands.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I found that my beaten up old Schwinn has been and continues to be my go-to for nearly every kind of riding.


You still riding the Bike Friday folder, Rodar? You were riding impressively strong on it when you were out my way last year.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Glad you're feeling better. I tried to do the "sweat it out" thing a few weeks ago. Wound up calling the wife to pick me up at noon and called in for the next 4 days. Definitely not one of my brightest moments.


Thanks. I ended up calling off three days over this cold.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> I bonked on my way into work this morning. I took the long route for the first time this year, last time I did that route was the day last summer that crazy lady who almost hit me and I flipped off started taking pictures of me. Before leaving I had 4 or 5oz of homemade fruit protein smoothie and 5 miles into my 14 mile ride, I started to lose energy. I stupidly had no food with me other than my leftover chicken parm for lunch, so I had to ride through it for the next 40 minutes.
> 
> On a positive note, it was beautiful out. Mid 60's and sunny. Can't beat that for commuting weather!


I can ride on an empty stomach (not counting coffee) with no problems. I can roll out the door and do 30 miles before breakfast. But if I eat something too sugary about 1-1.5 hours before my ride I bonk. Usually it's a few cookies around 3:30 and a 5:00 ride. It's pretty weird. If I eat something right before my ride it doesn't happen.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride this morning. Didn't sleep well at all last night, and woke up extremely fatigued. Took the wife's minivan, hoping that it will give me enough of a rest to get back in the saddle tomorrow. Got plans for an early dinner and early bedtime tonight, which should put everything back on track.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Grabbed some rear brake Monday and there was nothing there. If you are ever tempted to "just leave it" when you bend one of those v-brake pad retention pins, since they are only needed if you brake while going backwards, don't! One of the v-brake pads was gone, making it - not surprisingly - ineffective. Probably backed out while putting it in the hatch after that kayak shuttle Sunday. Rode in with just the front disc and the LBS put on new rear pads after work for pads + $5.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> You were riding impressively strong on it when you were out my way last year.


:lol: Thank you, Woodway! I don`t hear that one very often, at least not by people who ride. Haven`t used the folder since the trip up in your neighborhood, but I`m hanging on to it anyway. It`s just too neat-o to part with.



mtbxplorer said:


> If you are ever tempted to "just leave it" when you bend one of those v-brake pad retention pins, since they are only needed if you brake while going backwards, don't!


Uh-oh! I that same train of thought then had the to-be-expected results! In my case, the tuition was very cheap for that particular lesson. It popped out while while pushing my mtb up a steep section and I knew right away because I felt it hit my shoe. Was able to retrieve it and put it back in, then just had to be careful not to shoot it out again on that ride and put a pin in it (piece of a paper clip, I think) as soon as I got home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Day off of work, but I still rode the route. Wanted to test out a new light setup that I have. Niterider Lumina 700 on the bar, Niterider Lumina 350 on my helmet, and the Serfas Thunderbolt on the rear. The helmet mount is really only for the few miles of MUP that I ride. The rest of my route is well lit with street lights/traffic/house lights. Once I hit the MUP though, it is lights out, total darkness, and all kinds of wild life that jumps out. Nearly creamed a suicidal rabbit in fact as I was building up speed to make the last climb. I like being able to look off the path quickly, and have it lit up for me very well on the brightest setting. The downside? It looks really dorky.

There is a guy here, and this is no joke, who is decked out in full body armor, a full face helmet, and a Go Pro mounted to it. He rides a full suspension Superfly of some sort I believe, it is pretty decked out from what I have heard. He rides the sidewalks on campus and "jumps" off the curbs once in a while. I have seen him twice now, and people have asked if I know who he is. He is dressed like he is at the top of the run at Whistler. I put that light on my helmet, and I feel like him LOL.

Aside from testing my lights, wanted to test my stem and bar position. It is perfect now. Very little hand or back fatigue and I rode there and back with a 20 minute break in between. Managed to snap off a few pictures while I was out and about. So far, I absolutely love the bike and how fast it is. Feels like I am just flying on the flat areas. Have to catch myself so that I am not going faster than I can stop without crashing.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Pretty good, weather was fine etc. There's a section of cycle/footpath that runs between two main roads past a meadow etc. Maybe a mile long and runs down to river level then back up the other side. You could comfortably ride 3 abreast. Towards the the end of the uphill there was an oldish guy on a mountain bike pretty much randomnly tacking his way from one side of the path to the other as he made the climb. Needs a lower gear I think.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Took the makeshift touring bike again today. Not sure if its the gears or the weight I'm trying to get used to. Technically it only takes about 10-12 minutes longer but I feel so slow. I can't seem to pedal fast enough to really get my heart rate up either (suspect that part at least is the gearing, though the bike probably does weigh about twice what my SS cross bike weighs, and nearly twice what my road bike weighs). 

I suspect I will probably end up using the bike as I intended - for bike path rides with my wife, and eventually to do the Great Alleghenny Passage / C&O canal tour, making the SS my go-to commuter. I do like taking the trunk bag to work so I can pick up groceries if needed though (it has expandable panniers on either side) - guess I will have to ride home, get the other bike and then ride to the store in those cases


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A somewhat soggy but good ride in, with temps in the lower 60’s. Making some progress with my deer-chasing dog. On our morning walk Monday, he watched a doe who stood still and stared at us from 25’ away, coming when called and walking on by afterwards. Tuesday another deer, but this one bounding away from maybe 40’ off the trail, and again Keeper did not chase it. I’m sure there will still be setbacks, but perhaps some light –and a reliable trail dog - at the end of the tunnel.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^How did you manage that? Deer are a pretty fun thing in a dogs world. I can't imagine a one that resists that temptation and just watches one.

Soggy commute here too but it would have been less soggy if I just ditched the rain gear. It was borderline cool and I made the wrong choice.


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## Guest (Jun 26, 2014)

So Jealous of everyone riding today. I'm 2.5 weeks from my last ride. Think I'll take tomorrow off (assuming I fly back on time) and hit a half century to catch up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^How did you manage that? Deer are a pretty fun thing in a dogs world. I can't imagine a one that resists that temptation and just watches one.


Yes, this is an interesting result of using a remote control (Garmin Delta electronic collar) to discourage deer-running. Where a regular dog would chase a deer maybe a few hundred feet and come back, my hardened criminal (a former stray in NY north country with tons of deer) would sometimes go for miles, and has even herded one back to me at least 3 times. Obviously, this is not good for the deer, safe for the dog, or conducive to off-leash hikes/bikes. So now that he has been getting a shock as soon as he takes off after one, instead of becoming a normal dog that chases for a bit, he is learning not to chase them at all, there is no halfway with him. He gets treats and "good dogs" for not chasing, although he sometime eschews the treats altogether, or grabs them with a "can't you see I'm going out of my mind with that deer right there" attitude and keeps focusing on the deer. I have not been giving him a "no" or any other command when we see a deer, just the zap if he chases it, because I want him to not chase it even if he sees it before I see it. The desired effect is like the deer is doing the correction, and thus should be avoided.

edit: the other key is from the first use of the collar to convince your dog that you are the "safe zone" and to call gayly and provide treats and jollying up, so that they always return to you if you have to use the remote.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, gotta love the remote collars. My dog had a serious freakout hatred of bikes, and considering that all of our offleash areas are riddled with bikepaths that made things tricky. But she got a couple of well calibrated zaps last year, and this year she seems to be magically cured.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hasn't ridden to work in the last three days because I've been working 10.5 hour shifts. Today was the fastest ride in a while. Funny thing is I've been contemplating converting an old steel road frame into a single speed for commuting and other utilitarian purposes, so today I just found a good feeling speedy kinda gear setup (44/17 I think) and just kept it. I know it's not the same and I'd never say it is but it's nice to not worry about shifting and I think many times we do it because we think it's going to make things easier. That's not necessarily true.

Averaged 18 mph with full saddlebags and set some pr's. My legs also feel good, so I'll probably commit to a real single speed and keep my Fuji as the tail bike. 

Good times.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> I know it's not the same and I'd never say it is but it's nice to not worry about shifting and I think many times we do it because we think it's going to make things easier. That's not necessarily true.


This is one of the reasons I went to singlespeed, and then on to fixed. I found myself constantly shifting on my CX bike, not because I had to, but more likely because I could. Always tried to make the hills easier than they were, and now, I have to just drop the hammer and pedal.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> This is one of the reasons I went to singlespeed, and then on to fixed. I found myself constantly shifting on my CX bike, not because I had to, but more likely because I could. Always tried to make the hills easier than they were, and now, I have to just drop the hammer and pedal.


Yup. I also hate adjusting shifters/derailleurs (except the friction stuff on my road bike). I think I still find myself "needing" the gears for rides longer than 50 miles or so, or with really widely varied terrain. But I have a 16/18 freewheel and a 17t fixed cog I'm due to put on the SS crosser that will hopefully help with the latter. I'm gradually getting over the former too - gonna have to if I ever want to finish a century on proper MTB trails.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Has anyone here used any single speed conversion kits? I've looked at a few. I don't know what to expect from any of those. What is an inexpensive and relatively easy way to convert? I've read something about taking apart a shimano HG cassette or two, slipping on a few spacers and a , getting the chain line straight, and then riding that. Is that real? Does that work?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ the cassette spacers work fine. It's easiest if you've got a co-op that you can raid for worn, old cassettes.

This isn't a great shot, but on the left side is a dinglespeed setup using something like 8~10 old cassette spacers:


__
https://flic.kr/p/ibeRDH

I've also used the kits. I'd say stay away from the 2-piece ones, and go for one of the Fibonacci ones or at least one that has lots of spacers in different sizes. But the kits are $20+, and for that price you might as well just use old cassettes.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Great news. The frame will be free and I've got a couple old cassettes laying around and the frame I'm getting is free as long as it fits, so I'm stoked about that. Now I guess I need a good cog and chainring.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice ride in. A very very warm 76F that had me dripping in sweat for some reason. Humidity wasn't too bad, and the sun wasn't that hot but the ride got me drenched. Absolutely love this bike and the new stem setup. Tomorrow the Specialized Avatar saddle is going on. Factory one isn't bad, but it isn't that great.

This is what the last two miles or so of my commute looks like.










Pitch black, with lots of noises off on either side, things moving in the brush, deer, rabbits, skunks, possum, and probably other stuff. It is relaxing with the sound of the frogs, but kind of creepy at the same time. Loving the dual light setup now as well.


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## Guest (Jun 27, 2014)

Factory saddles are seldom very good until you get pretty high-end builds. Even then, one size never fits all.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

First and only bike day this week. Not that I really have any more available time today, but it's been a great week weather-wise (pleasant light rain M-W into warm and cloudless R-F) so I did it anyways.

FD high stop is still off of where it should be, I knocked the chain off the outside of the big ring again this morning. Giving some thought to removing the FD and running pretend 1x9 (50 x 11-24 or something). I've so far been unsuccessful adjusting the FD to get full casette range in the big ring without rubbing on the FD cage.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Forster said:


> Factory saddles are seldom very good until you get pretty high-end builds. Even then, one size never fits all.


Oh I know, just wanted to try it out to see how it was. There have been a few saddles that came on the bike that I have kept and prefer. Once I got the Avatar though, I was set, and that would be go to for any bike. One of the reasons I haven't swapped is because the factory saddle matches the bike very nicely, and I love how it looks. Vanity aside, my ass would like the Avatar installed pronto!


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

The saddle that came stock on my Salsa was utterly horrific for me. Some WTB. No matter how I positioned it, it hurt my, ummmm, female parts. I wonder if it'll sell on Craigslist. I'll never be able to use it.

Commute in today was nice, although I had to drag myself out of bed. I stayed up too late last night visiting with a friend who was only in town briefly. There may have been beer involved as well.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

WTB stuff seems to sell pretty well for some reason. I have tried quite a few of their saddles, and they did nothing for me. My friend swears by them and that is all he will ride. Find out what it is, and what size, he may buy it from you just to have a back up if you will ship to Michigan.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

WiTrailRunner said:


> The saddle that came stock on my Salsa was utterly horrific for me. Some WTB.


I'm a WTB fan and have WTB saddles on all of my bikes, but my Kona came with a WTB valcon that was horrific for me. I've tried it on 4 or 5 different frames now, in a bunch of different setups, and it is just 100% no-go. It's been in the parts bin ever since.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

newfangled said:


> I'm a WTB fan and have WTB saddles on all of my bikes, but my Kona came with a WTB valcon that was horrific for me. I've tried it on 4 or 5 different frames now, in a bunch of different setups, and it is just 100% no-go. It's been in the parts bin ever since.


Yep, the Valcon. That's the one, at least according to Salsa's website (2013 Colossal 2 | Bikes | Salsa Cycles)

TenSpeed - will let you know. I'll measure it later and take a photo. It's all white with "Salsa" stitched onto it if that makes a difference. Happy to sell it for super cheap and ship to MI. I probably rode it for a week before I just gave up and stole the saddle off my mountain bike. I have a Specialized Ruby coming via FedEx today, as I would like to return my saddle to my mountain bike eventually.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ it's a little funny, because I've seen two valcons donated to our co-op. We _never_ get fancy saddles but those showed up and I'm ready to donate a third (I've been keeping it as an emergency-saddle, but will probably purge it eventually)

No commute for me today: 5 day weekend! Nice 3 hour ride on the hardtail on some trails that I've never made the trek to before.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful at my house this a.m., sunny and clear, but quickly descended into a cold damp fog that lasted the rest of the way to work. The kind of fog where you can't see some of the traffic lights unless you know where they are. Kept the Dinotte super blinky on "stop right there" and arrived safely.

Took off from work an hour early, rode home, walked the dog and played frisbee, and then left him home for a group night ride and then a bonfire - he is not ready for that! Tomorrow night is ROCKFIRE ? The Elemental Experience @ Millstone Hill, and ironically, my assignment is "parking", but I guess I do have experience telling cars "where to go". Looking forward to seeing the new rock carvings, the gigantoric fires on the grout piles (junk granite piles), and seeing the molten metal pour and other performances.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was alright. I put my Aerospoke on the front just for kicks and decided to ride to work like that. Well, I immediately noticed a difference. That wheel is heavy, and it is heavy enough to notice when you pick the bike up, and when you are riding it. No worries, was gonna yank it back off when I got home. Well, I get out to my bike this evening, and I check things over, and the skewer was fairly loose. I think that there might have been an attempted theft to be honest. The lock was not in the same position that it was when I left the bike, but I didn't think much of it. Only when I got ready to ride did I notice the wheel wobble slightly when I picked it up. Then I looked things over to make sure that everything was still tight like the seatpost/handlebars, etc. I will have to check with the security at work and see if they can go back and look over their surveillance footage.

On the ride home, cutting through the neighborhood that I always do, someone was approaching with their brights on. They were really bright, and so bright that I knew that they were brights, not like the lights you see and you aren't sure if those are the brights or not. In other words, I couldn't see sh*t. I waited a few seconds for them to kick them down to regulars, but they didn't. OK, hit em with the Lumina 700 on the brightest setting and swivel it directly over towards their car. They quickly cut over to their regular lights. I have never had to do that before, but knowing that it is an option for me now makes me smile. Usually the brightest setting is reserved for the MUP since the that is the darkest part of the ride


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Hot commute this week.

Finally blew some dust from the mt. bike this morning and made it to Blue Diamond for some singletrack. With only one ride on the trails since March 9th (the day I broke a few ribs), I expected to have a dismal fitness level. Surprisingly, I felt strong as ever and tore through the 8 mile track. Guess peddling to work everyday and practicing soccer with my boys several times a week has kept my fitness on the level.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not a commute, but a good story that I have to share. Today a friend of mine came over and we headed out on my normal commute route to work. We went to my buddies shop so he could check it out. He was on his SS Scattante CX bike with disc brakes, and me on the Felt. It was a pretty nice day, just humid, and the sun was behind the clouds. We messed around at the shop, I got a lesson in proper chain tension for my bike, my buddy tightened some stuff up and bought a saddle pack. Owner lets us know that a storm was moving our way fast, and we hit the door. Half way home, and the sprinkles started. Got to the MUP, and the ground was soaked like it had rained there already. Sweet!! Uh, no. The further east we went, the more the rain started to fall. The last mile of the MUP it was a steady rain that felt pretty good as it was about 80F out or so. As we hit the last climb right before the MUP ends, the skies opened up, and it poured. As you get to the end of it, at top of the hill, we make a right and climb just a little more to get over the railroad tracks. As we crested that, the rain fell harder. The thunder cracked, and there was lightning. Not ideal for us, not at all. Down the hill on the sidewalk, water pretty much rushing down the cement with us. As we turn into my complex, it starts raining harder. This is an absolute soaking rain. He gets along side of me, and we start laughing like a couple of kids way back in the day on our BMX bikes that are riding home after getting into mischief. It is like we had been friends our entire lives. We had an absolute blast riding back. We couldn't stop laughing as we wheeled into my carport to take some sort of shelter. We waited it out and shot the BS, and he loaded up his bike in his car when it stopped, and headed home. I don't like riding in the rain, especially on slicks on a brand new bike, but this time, it was quite alright with me. That is gonna be one of those days that I remember for the rest of my life. Thanks Chris, I had a blast!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Fun story, I enjoyed it!


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2014)

I would have a similar story from the days before helmets were common (on road bikes) but we hit Nickel sized hail and that ended any chance of fun memories. What I remember now are panic, face welts and riding as hard as I could to a liquor store for cover. My buddy hid under a tree and took a pretty good beating.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

*New tires*

The X'plor MSOs I've been running decided to give up the ghost (barely 2000 miles, mixed surface, mostly road though) by attempting to blow out the rear tire. Felt something weird when I was riding and found on side pointed one way, the other another. So I needed new tires.

Unfortunately our LBS is small and doesn't have a huge stock but the owner gave me a smoking deal on a pair if Bontrager 29x2.0 tires. They had a tread so I figured I would be slower...wrong. Was just as fast and with the bounce to them instead of the rock hard 40s it was fun again. What little gravel I rode they're going to be a blast in first roads and exploring around here once the rains come and they open the forests. But until then my commute will be a bit more fun I think.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rainy day today, so I took the fixie and rode and rode to the very end of the mups over in the northeast part of town.



__
https://flic.kr/p/nSdmCS

About 70km roundtrip. Part of the goal was to test the new bars, and for a frakenbike it's pretty comfy. This is my usual "rain" bike, but for the first time ever the fenders and tires packed up with gravel and mud, and I had to stop a bunch of times to clean them out to keep them spinning.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Good commute this morning. It's going to be hot this week. Mid 90's by Wednesday. 

Yesterday I rode from my house to Concord, MA which is a 45 mile round trip. There was a roadie we were with for a while just blowing every red light and stop sign like they weren't even there. Didn't even slow down. This includes crossing Route 2, which is a 55mph road with 2 lanes on each side. Moron. This is the type of guy who gives cyclists a bad name.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

My car blew up on Friday so no choice but to ride in this morning. Felt OK, good to be back on drop bars after experimenting with the new old bike last week. One of the roads I've been getting detoured off is finally reopened.

Between thunderstorms in the area and the world cup starting at 4 I think I'll be working from home tomorrow


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride home from the bar was a blast. Had a great tail wind which allowed me to set a few new PR's on a section of 10 mile stretch that it seems everyone in town rides on. No where close to some of these guys, like my buddy the endurance racer, but it's nice to see a bit of progress. 

This morning was good. Been thinking about switching over my treads to possibly some 28's or 32's, instead of my more speed oriented 23's. I really don't have a need for larger tires, it's just something I want. 

The wife and I have been talking about the idea of moving back to Texas. It seems that the economy has rebounded from when we had to leave several years ago, and I have the ability to transfer to another service center within my company, so I know I'll retain employment. I've been investigating the bike commuting culture in D/FW, and what's going on in the cycling scene over that way. It'd be nice to jump on some single track or fire roads on the way home instead of asphalt all the time.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

55 and sunny at 6:30 this morning. beautiful riding weather today. Trying to let my legs recover from playing in a massive 3v3 basketball tourney all weekend.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> There was a roadie we were with for a while just blowing every red light and stop sign like they weren't even there. Didn't even slow down. This includes crossing Route 2, which is a 55mph road with 2 lanes on each side. Moron. This is the type of guy who gives cyclists a bad name.


Winner winner, chicken dinner. The problem isn't inherently cycling or car related. The true issue is that people view themselves as exceptional. Like the rules don't apply to them and everyone needs to get on their level. It's all that Ayn Rand BS mentality. Unfortunately, I'm not kidding, that's the real scourge of the earth.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Ride home from the bar was a blast.


Yeah, the ride home from the bar is always pleasant. When I do that I try to time it right by leaving late enough for early birds to be hike and early enough for the late crowd to still be out at the bar. That works surprisingly well.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Peddled home at 112F. Summer time in the city.


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## Guest (Jul 1, 2014)

I had a cooler less humid ride home than my ride in (which is really odd in the midwest). On the downside (sort of) I was cutting down a railroad access drive (dirt road along a RR track) and dodging mud puddles when I found myself riding straight into a mud patch about 12 feet in diameter. Sometimes your only choice is to commit fully to the task at hand. I can't remember ever peddling that hard seated, but I made it through some really deep goo. When I cleared the bike was a mess and I could see toe marks from my shoes hitting the mud. Gotta say, that's about as deep in the crud as one can ride without getting stuck. The cheapo Saguros I'm running may not be great mud tires, but they handled today okay (until I rode out then they managed to cling on to enough crap that the bike felt wobbly all the way {11 miles} home).


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

vegascruiser said:


> Peddled home


Where are you going to live now?


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## Guest (Jul 1, 2014)

Riding in today I realized that I've been commuting to the same job (from 4 different homes/apartments) for 30 years. I don't know what that adds up to but I think I'm ahead at least one car.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Slow ride in, both because of a hangover and to minimize sweat. Pinhole leak in the rear tire from the last ride (last week), finally got around to checking it out last night, found what looks to be reinforcing wires sticking out of my tire, into where the tube goes. I see no entry wound or even a place where it could have come in through the outside of the tire. Booted it with a strip of a flyer I had sitting on my desk to keep the wire from wearing/poking through the tube again, and I suppose it's time for another set of tires. Are the armored/flat resistant tires worth the extra weight/money?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I think that anything that will help with a flat is worth it.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Very nice! The new tune up worked pretty well, including a shifter that has been wonky. I think the remaining wonkiness is just due to a much larger spread (up to 32T vs. 28t previously) on this cassette, and an old short throw derailleur. I may just put a different cassette on there. The brakes were working very well, and the new tires (Clement USH) felt great.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> Where are you going to live now?


LOL

Great trail commute this morning! I'm glad to be on the mountain bike again. Summer is in the air for sure, muggy 70s this AM, muggy and around 90 now. I was up early and rode in with RollingRunner but didn't have to be at work for another hour so I got a chance to explore some new trails.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> I think that anything that will help with a flat is worth it.


Certainly, but I guess what I wanted to know is whether they'd help with the kind of flats I encounter (though that's not really what I asked).

Most of my flats are either pointy little rocks, bits of broken glass, or the occasional thin piece of metal - like a staple or a paper clip. No goatheads for me (I had to look them up, they look like nature's caltrops). I expect an armored tire might turn away the rocks and glass, but I'm not sure about the metal bits.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

HaHa! I was hoofing it to my house so I could change for court and get here on time, and passed what appeared to be an out of town middle aged guy on a santa cruz full suspension. I was pedaling along, grooving to my tunes to hoof by, when he pulls up on the left and tries to Cat 6 me. I let him pass and get over, then just could not take it and dropped the hammer on him for the last mile before home. Juvenile, I know. But I just was not going to take that, and also, he was not going to hold the pace I needed once he passed me. One of my first "Cat 6" experiences.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I was exhausted on the way in this morning. This week the weather decided to get really hot, plus I did a fast 45 mile ride on Sunday. All those combined = tired Brett. Good thing I'm telecommuting tomorrow and have Friday off.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was great. While I didn't set any new PR's, I was plenty fast. I wound up catching a guy on an 80cc motorized beach cruiser on like the last straight stretch of my ride, and he looked just as surprised as I was. Although, I do have an issue with him being in the bike lane. If that thing can hit 30, it needs to be in the street. 

I put out a call to some friends looking for a shorter stem, to see if it might alleviate some of my wrist issues by not being so stretched out, and lessening my wrist pressure at the same time. LBS owners daughter called me and said just stop on in, and we'll switch it out with another from the used box, no charge. Gotta love these guys. 

Ride home was a blast, and that new stem set me up great. Legs are sore, and I started to really overheat when I was almost home. Drained my 2L hydro bladder, and called the wife to run me a cold shower so I could jump in as soon as I got home. Did a world of difference and I was able to get back on track. 

No commute tomorrow, since I'm taking a buddy to Tampa International at 5am, and then going in to work right after. Might have to make up for it with a long ride on Friday...


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

More commute singletrack randomness from the singlespeed!


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

My commute has been numbing. Hands and feet going numb. I am switching to ergon grips with the built in bar ends, had those before and they were great. I switched to a Brooks C17 but I need to adjust it a few more times. If I cant get it right I am thinking about something from fizik.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

My ride home today was pretty terrible. Left work and it was 91 degrees with 20 mph head winds. 1 mile into my ride I tried shifting into my big chainring and my derailleur twisted. Stuck in the 34T. Not sure if it broke or just wasn't tight enough on the seat tube. 2 miles later I got a huge nail my tire. Almost had to call my wife for a ride. Got the tube changed and my hand pump handle broke off. Managed to sort of get it working. Rode home with maybe 40psi in a 32mm tire.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ that sucks. Tomorrow can only get better?


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Commute to work was awesome. I only recently started to commute in earnest. Been averaging 100 miles a week. My 9 year old asked to come to work on one of my commute days. So, I agreed to take him along for the ride into work. Told him we'd do the ride, get some breakfast, and his Mom would pick him up and take him home. He was bummed he couldn't stay the whole day but agreed.

So, he wakes me up today at 4 am and asks if it time to go.. Was he excited or what? I tell him to roll back into bed and catch a few more zzz's. We left at about 6 am, rolled into work about an hour and ten minutes later. He was so excited. Other commuters coming and going seemed to get a big kick out of seeing him tagging along. He did a great job and wants to do it again. 13.1 miles! To say I am proud is an understatement.

The ride home was a little less great. The trail I usually ride was closed due to the police shooting a drug dealer in a bust gone wrong. Had to take the streets and they were crowded and it was hot. I kinda don't like riding in traffic anymore. I'm just glad I wasn't riding through the park when the shooting went down. The same park my boy and I rode through this morning.

Another kool thing is I have new set of Mavic Open pro wheels coming in. Should be here next week. Been needing a new set for while. My old set is 17 years old. I have gotten about as much use out of them as is possible. Looking forward to the new wheels, ones that will support my bulk. When I built the bike I was 60 lbs lighter.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Road bike day today. carried only what was in my jersey pockets. The commute was fast.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in was sunny and 70F with one hell of a head wind! Felt like my wheels were square, the tires made out of cement and they were flat. In other words, slow. Ride home was pretty nice and fast with the temp in the low 60's. Getting sick of the comments from pedestrians about the bike, the lights, my attire, Lance, whatever. I ride a bike to work, it isn't that big of a deal. Cleared 800 miles for the season so far. I am not really on pace for my goal, however I work the next 6 days and the weather is supposed to be nice for the entire time, so the car will be getting a break, and my legs will be getting a workout.

Bike shop called me today to see how I was enjoying the new bike, and I will call them back tomorrow to let them know that I love it!

"Accidentally" won a 25.4 Thomson stem on a great deal on an eBay auction, so now the search starts for true 25.4 bullhorns. Would love carbon, but will settle for whatever.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Que effin calor! The thermometer has been flirting with that third digit, will probably reach it in the next few days. Sure am glad I`m not in Phoenix or Vegas.



JordyB said:


> More commute singletrack randomness from the singlespeed!


I like it. Would be perfect if your Unit were a Dawg.


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2014)

z1r said:


> Another kool thing is I have new set of Mavic Open pro wheels coming in. Should be here next week. Been needing a new set for while. My old set is 17 years old. I have gotten about as much use out of them as is possible. Looking forward to the new wheels, ones that will support my bulk. When I built the bike I was 60 lbs lighter.


 Your post had me thinking about my son, great rides and odd reasons I've had to detour (our last Drug Dealer issue in the park was dealer on dealer with a knife) then you brought me back to my first racing wheelset (Open Pros on Campy Super Records - Circa 1983) and BAM, the weight comparison. Now I'm going to be thinking about how I weight 165 when I raced and 208 today on the whole ride in. Geez


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

z1r said:


> Commute to work was awesome. I only recently started to commute in earnest. Been averaging 100 miles a week. My 9 year old asked to come to work on one of my commute days. So, I agreed to take him along for the ride into work. Told him we'd do the ride, get some breakfast, and his Mom would pick him up and take him home. He was bummed he couldn't stay the whole day but agreed.
> 
> So, he wakes me up today at 4 am and asks if it time to go.. Was he excited or what? I tell him to roll back into bed and catch a few more zzz's. We left at about 6 am, rolled into work about an hour and ten minutes later. He was so excited. Other commuters coming and going seemed to get a big kick out of seeing him tagging along. He did a great job and wants to do it again. 13.1 miles! To say I am proud is an understatement.


That's a great story! Must have been a great feeling! I cant' wait until my son is old enough for that! He's 6 weeks now so it will be a little while....


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2014)

Chilly 51 degrees today and a healthy looking Red Fox (not Redd Foxx) on the trail today. Always like seeing non-Coyote/Skunk critters on the trail, makes me think the trail is less impactive to the native species. No real issue with Coyotes, you just don't see healthy ones lingering on the trail often. Real issue with skunks. Trap one almost every year by my front door and I'm tired of dealing with the smell.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Y'all lucky. I only got to commute once this week. Took liberties this morning in doing singletrack before work. I got to be the one to go out at 7am and wake up the spiders by going through their webs.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold front and some storms moved through the area this morning. It was 49F and raining this morning, but should be sunny and 70F again for my ride in. A 16 year old boy was hit on his bike by a car yesterday and is in a drug induced coma from the local news Facebook page apparently. I just added more reflective tape to my helmet and bag, and revamped my lights for more visibility. I currently do not run a blinky on the rear during the day, but I am going to use my Blackburn Flea 2.0 now. I always try to wear either red, orange, yellow or some bright color shirt, and sometimes white which offers a huge contrast to my black and white bag. I hope that the kid pulls through and is OK, but from the sounds of it, doesn't look too good.

ETA: Here is all I can find aside from stuff on Facebook. Apparently he was crossing when he wasn't supposed to. Damn.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...esday-bicycle-accident-Lansing?nclick_check=1


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)




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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Nice Kid

Anyway recently I got tickets to a preseason football game....lousy game, great evening.

We rode the bikes over and then looked for a spot to lock them up..

Damned if every bike stand was "secured" to the ground with a 6 inch piece of rebar....I just pulled them all up???

One stand was not even secured to the ground.

Some of these were big enough that it really didn't matter, but Geez get your **** together guys.

I finally found a well secured one about 3 blocks away near a city run pool.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Did a 115F commute home yesterday and a cooler 112F commute today. Thank goodness for this cold front. Seriously, the news is actually calling next week a cool down at just under 110F. To me, just about anything over 85-90F starts becoming uncomfortable. The extra 25-30 degrees just makes it more uncomfortable. Luckily my new commute is only 4.4 miles each way, compared to 7 miles each way last summer. Upside is the bike is running smooth and quiet.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ how bad do you sweat on days like that? I know that it is bone dry out there, but still, that is effin hot!!!

Beautiful day for a commute today. Dedicated both rides to the kid hit by the car here that I posted earlier. Not sure how he is doing, but I took a moment of silence before I left for work, and when I left work for him. Hope he pulls through.

Ride home let me experience 3 deer, 2 stray cats, 1 raccoon, 1 suicidal rabbit that likes to dart out near my wheels, 1 drunk college kid puking by the side of a building, some fog, the awkward wait at a 4 way stop sign because people cannot figure out how they work, and 3 drunk college guys walking down the street and rapping some nonsense but managed to freestyle in "eff that guy on the bike." 

Ride in let me experience nearly getting creamed by a guy who really did not look at the traffic circle. His windows were down, so he heard me scream "Nice move a--hole"


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I felt some heat last night too. Saw a black cloud of smoke from maybe 1/2 mile away - WTF?? Came upon a detached garage on fire with the flames twice as tall as the garage and only one volunteer firefighter's pickup there so far, and a few cars pulled over and some teenagers looking on. The garage was set back from the road 200' or so, but you could feel the heat on the road. Saw a man and woman walking away from the house supporting an elderly woman between them, and then they set her down on the grass a safe distance from the fire. I think everyone was out, as nobody looked frantically back at the house or garage, but the older woman was clearly spent from the evacuation and stress. I was soon passed by VFDs coming from that town and the next town over...This morning I saw they were able to save the house, which luckily was a good distance from the garage, but only part of the back wall of the garage was left.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Super cute photo, Straz!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in, hectic ride home. Lots of firework traffic still dispersing when I got out of work. Just stuck to the main roads since people were going crazy in the neighborhood lighting off fireworks. Had a minivan come alongside me closer than I liked which made me nervous. Took it easy on the rest of the ride home, just enjoying the cooler temps. 55F when I got home a little while ago.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ how bad do you sweat on days like that? I know that it is bone dry out there, but still, that is effin hot!!!


Sweat pretty bad for sure cause body is working overtime to keep itself cool. As long as you are hydrating at same pace all is well. I certainly wouldn't go mt. biking for fun at these temps, but for a quick commute home it is very manageable.

Upside, though, like you said, is it is a bone dry heat with almost no measurable humidity. I am pretty certain that most of you used to 85-95F with 60, 70, 80% humidity commutes would find a dry 115F commute pretty easy by comparison.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

My afternoon commutes are usually 90+ degrees with 80% or higher humidity. It presents a serious challenge, since the humidity doesn't allow the sweat to evaporate to cool the body. It's easy to overheat in this sort of climate, and I'm starting to think I'm insane for doing it. I don't have the money for jerseys (and I think commuting in a kit is a little ridiculous), but I definitely plan on grabbing some mesh athletic shirts come next payday. 

Busted out 42 miles yesterday before having to call it quits. My bad knee started acting up something terrible and began popping every revolution. I pedaled the last mile to the shop with only my left leg, and iced it down when I got there. Funny thing is, it hasn't given me a single problem since. I'm thinking something to do with saddle height and position. Really need to get together with a buddy and get this thing dialed in.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Sweat pretty bad for sure cause body is working overtime to keep itself cool. As long as you are hydrating at same pace all is well. I certainly wouldn't go mt. biking for fun at these temps, but for a quick commute home it is very manageable.
> 
> Upside, though, like you said, is it is a bone dry heat with almost no measurable humidity. I am pretty certain that most of you used to 85-95F with 60, 70, 80% humidity commutes would find a dry 115F commute pretty easy by comparison.


Yep, I remember visiting Vegas a few times, and living in Colorado for 4 years, the humidity was almost non existent. Walking out of the casino at noon in the middle of the summer was like opening the oven door. Blasted with heat, but you didn't really sweat that bad since it was so dry. Biking would be different though I am sure.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Yep, I remember visiting Vegas a few times, and living in Colorado for 4 years, the humidity was almost non existent. Walking out of the casino at noon in the middle of the summer was like opening the oven door. Blasted with heat, but you didn't really sweat that bad since it was so dry. Biking would be different though I am sure.


Exactly. Like getting blasted by an open oven door. If you're just strolling back to the car pretty much no sweat at all.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

We complain about the cold weather as one aspect, and this would be entirely different. Does it get hot enough that you do not commute?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Boring. Nothing special, nothing happened. Weather was beautiful. I guess that was a pretty good ride.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> We complain about the cold weather as one aspect, and this would be entirely different. Does it get hot enough that you do not commute?


We did have an excessive heat warning back in early July of last year, a stretch were Vegas tied its highest official high at 117F. I did not peddle in that week. Now that my commute is a few miles shorter I'd likely peddle in under any circumstance. Even 117F for only 4.4 miles properly hydrated shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The biggest difference I see between the heat I ride in and the cold many of you ride in is that the heat, at least from my experience, has never caused physical pain the way the cold does. Heat can be pretty dang uncomfortable, but not physically painful the way toes and finger can become in the cold.

There is no doubt in my mind that anyone on here can do a 4.4 mile 117F commute with ease.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I would do one every day if it meant not riding in the cold. I despise the cold with everything I have. The frozen extremities, the regulation of body temperature, the snotting up, the coughing, the bundling up, the extra stuff you have to carry...it is just too much.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

The only thing I really dislike about very hot days is that public decency demands that there's a minimum clothing level. Don't have that problem in the cold.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Dry. Very dry. So dry that it almost seemed like I was in a car. A car? Oh, a car, yeah, I still have one of those. Looked decent on the way in. The way home? Lots of lightning and thunder, some light rain, but the lightning!!!! The sky was lit up for most of the drive home. Bolts shooting across the sky, up, down, sideways, everywhere. I haven't seen it like this in years, maybe ever. My weather app said a 50% of thunderstorms for this evening earlier on in the day. That is my cutoff. Anything under and I will chance it. That turned into an 80% chance by 9:30, and 100% chance by 11:00. They were dead on. Still going on as I type this. Not much rain, which seems strange, but the lightning and thunder is still a constant.

I made a very good decision today.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Freakin great weather in Eastern, WA. high 80s to low 90s all week long (low humidity).

It was a fast commute for me today. Set 2 PRs (#6 and #10 overall) on the way to work. This is on a 27# hardtail commuter.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Mine was nice. Loaded up front and rear panniers including the office bag pannier with the laptop, in order to test the front rack install and panniers for fit, etc. Also, the handle bar bag so I could adjust out any annoying fit issues. I put some legal files and papers in the front ones. I think I was going for the heaviest bike ever. But it all rolled really well. Surprisingly well. and the handling was fine, and the ride quite comfortable. If anything, the load over the 35mm Clement USH tires softens out the frost heaves and root bumps nicely!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Been trying this diet that won't allow me to eat my normal oatmeal for breakfast, so I had to bring in eggs. I was worried but didn't manage to break any


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2014)

Nice ride in but it's gonna suck going home. According to the National Weather Service I'm riding at the highest heat index of the day. Passed a guy on the way in that could be my evil twin, 2 year older Fargo, similar Camelbak, same helmet, probably the same age... I think we were both contemplating the effect of touching matter and anti-matter at some point.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So this is really super goofy, but my city just did the big unveiling of some fancy LED lights that have been installed on the "big" bridge that I ride across every morning. It's the bridge that most cyclists use, since it's the only one that lets you avoid riding down into the valley and then having to climb out again.











It will be awhile before I get to experience it on a commute, since the sun is currently up from 5am to 10pm. But soon enough.


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## In-Yo-Grill (Jul 19, 2011)

Forced to get out early here in South Texas. It hits 90+ degrees by noon.

Took my wife on my 12mile city route today. Just picked up on some Schwalbe Marathon tires. Can't wait to get them put on.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rain in the morning so hopped onto the casseroll with my bent seat and concluded that no... my tailbione isn't doing a heckuva lot better and no a seat that's bent into a convex shape has no comfortable place on it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I like the LED bridge! Another day here with thunderstorms in the forecast but dry rides in both directions. That can't last forever, but I'll take it. Really pollen allergic on the way home though, red itchy eyes and face, congested, etc.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

I had my first commute in with two new items today. I got to use my Osprey Radial pack that I picked up over the weekend. Wow it can hold quite a bit. I ride in to campus, so I had my lab coat, goggles, long pants, change of gym clothes including shoes, and everything I needed for lectures as well. It fit everything with room to spare.

I also got to ride home at night (when it's not mid-upper 90's) and give my Expilion 800 a real test. Sucker's bright. I'm going to enjoy my campus commute for the rest of my college career.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

newfangled said:


> So this is really super goofy, but my city just did the big unveiling of some fancy LED lights that have been installed on the "big" bridge that I ride across every morning. It's the bridge that most cyclists use, since it's the only one that lets you avoid riding down into the valley and then having to climb out again.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Goofy? That is pretty damn cool. I would love to ride that bridge.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Going to be a hot one today. It'll be 92 and humid on my ride home. My ride in was uneventful. I added an extra 2 miles because it was nice out. Today is my 25th straight day in the office that I've ridden to work. Prior to this, I had never done more than 5 or 6 straight. A coworker asked me to pick him up at the car dealership sometime soon. He did the same for me a few months ago, so I can't really say no. I guess that's when my streak will end....


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Was caught out yesterday by wearing my full rain gear... when it turned out to be 25C and clear! Today I wore my summer gear, and it was 11C and torrential rain - thankfully I had a rain coat in my backpack. 

My usual forest trail to work was blocked for some kind of 'treatment', so I was diverted to the road... which was blocked due to roadworks! Ended up taking some shortcuts, mini trails and backroads - finding some new areas to ride in the process. 

All in all, not an ideal run fun run.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Good ride in. Had some cramping in my feet, which I'm not sure if it's cause is fatigue or cleat placement. I'll play around with the cleats on the way home if it gets to be a problem. Decided to take the MUP at the Riverwalk that everyone raves about. It's a fun attraction, and great for the kids on the weekend, but didn't do anything for my ride this morning. I can think of much better places to go than to dodge old people on pavement.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Yesterday evening was easily my worst commute of my short bike commuting career. Walked across downtown to our office building with the showers where I change, and realized I forgot my keys in my desk drawer and had to walk back to get them. Finally get changed and down to my bike to discover I have a flat. No problem, I have a spare tube and CO2. Change the flat, hop on my bike and ride out of the garage, just to hear "ssssssssssssssssssssssss".....there goes all of the air out of my spare tube. Forgot to check for whatever caused the initial flat. Ended up being a sharp piece of glass lodged in the tire. Called the wife for a bail out. 

This morning was much smoother. Need to order some more tubes and potentially a new set of tires with more puncture resistance.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

Like Kleebs had my worst commute (also only been commuting a short while) so far yesterday. Was 96 on the way home and a very strong wind made a surprise appearance, hot I don't mind so much (only 4 miles) but the wind made it miserable. Couldn't even really manage to get in my "big" ring on the 10 speed. Wind somehow managed to feel like it was in my face no matter which direction I was headed.

Oh well, this mornings commute was super easy. Great temps (mid 60's) and had clear intersections every time. That never happens. So I guess they evened out.

Supposed to be 99 today. But it's a "dry" heat......


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi all. Checking in from summer break with a little vintage bling for ya... Raleigh Restoration underway...


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Almost smoked by a car when i was in the cross walk, didnt see them coming, just heard the car slam on the brakes but i was luckily already out of the way, I just kept going. Then a block later im middle of the cross walk and the guy moves forward at me a foot. That guy got off easy with me flipping him off. Then a couple blocks later a suv pulls beside me, i can tell they are looking for an address, then they like edge me out so i slow down, they proceed to cut me off and then pull to a stop. They also got off easy getting flipped off. 

Its ridiculous! Some ones getting their mirror kicked next or something.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great ride on the way home yesterday. I ride an old Trek 810 26" hardtail, steel frame, guards rack etc. Pulled up next to a guy at a set of lights who was on a similar vintage rigid MTB. Never seen him before. We both mashed up the hill and through the bollards and had an awesome CAT 6 for the next mile or so (dead end road to nowhere for cars so no traffic). He got the jump on me so was in front. I couldn't catch him and he couldn't pull away. Some banter to and fro aswell, really enjoyable. Hope I see him again for another!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Decided to take the longer 18.5 mi route this morning. About 4 miles in I started noticing that the roads were feeling super rough, much more so than usual. Reached down at a light and noticed my front tire probably only had 20 psi. Grabbed the Co2 and aired it back up, only to have it dwindle a few minutes later. Pulled over, changed the tube and found a massive thorn in the side wall were the Kevlar belt runs out. Got that all taken care of and didn't have an issue until some jack wagon in a pickup comes flying up on me going in to a curve, right when the road splits for a short median. Instead of heeding my warning to fall back, he blows his horn and barrels through the empty oncoming lane. Absolutely ridiculous. Then, right toward the end of my route, I was cut off by a car. There's a skate park that has quite a bit of trouble, so cops hang out there frequently, and it happens to be placed in the middle of a sharp curve. Well, she came blowing through, cuts me off, and then proceeds to go 12 in a 15 because she saw the cruisers. I wound up drafting her to my office, upward of about 25 mph. That was fun.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Woke up late, really too late to ride, rode anyways. Miserable ride, felt like crap, slow, had to take the short route past the dump (which smells _awful_), and one of the roads on the way was closed. And to top it all off, I got to work just to catch the tail end of a company-wide meeting I totally forgot about.

Should have just driven.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Warm (65F _is_ a really warm morning around here) and uneventful ride in.

For the last week or so there's been a newish, entry-levelish Scott hardtail locked up outside an apartment building down the block. It's out of the way, but still very visible, and it had remained unmolested. But last night the qr seatpost disappeared, so now I'm wondering how long it will take the other parts to disappear too.


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

another uneventful commute.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

MattNorv said:


> another uneventful commute.


Usually uneventful on a bike = good.


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## MattNorv (Jun 1, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Usually uneventful on a bike = good.


it was a good one. I guess I did see a co-worker. Stepped up my cadence and didn't see him again until I finished locking up my bike


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

It looks like I might have to go home early. We have a storm coming in... The weather was supposed to be clear until late tonight. Any excuse to go home early I guess...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Hi all. Checking in from summer break with a little vintage bling for ya... Raleigh Restoration underway...


Trip down memory lane. Make sure the three spider bolts are torqued properly. I lost one and bent the 52 ring. Lead to buying the Sugino crankset now on the Schwinn.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Been busting my ass this week. Sunday I did a group ride with the LBS, my fastest pace ever. 19.6mph over 33 miles. Since then, I've added at least a few miles to my commute each day. 5 extra on Monday, 3 Tuesday, 9 yesterday and likely another 7 or 8 today. Needless to say, my legs are pretty tired. I will get a break this weekend though, going to visit the in-laws in NJ (though of all reasons I'm getting a break, going to NJ to see my in-laws isn't at the top of the list).


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## In-Yo-Grill (Jul 19, 2011)

Knocked out a 12.4 mile ride this morning. Was fighting a mild head-wind and a mild hangover. This hot Texas weather will sweat out your toxins on no time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Back at it today after nearly two weeks off. Felt good to be out there and riding again. Nothing earth shattering or ground breaking. Just an overcast day that has now turned to rain. 

I did, however, have to have my rear wheel pseudo rebuilt again yesterday. Noticed on Monday night that I had a broken nipple again. Tuesday night I went to replace the broken nipple and lightly true the wheel. Each nipple I touched fell apart as I tried to tighten it. Took it to the shop and the guy who built it for me was somewhat shocked to see all of the nippled so corroded after only 6 months. We ended up replacing them all with brass - what we should have used from the get go - so all should be good now. Alloy nips don't mix well with salt and water.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Alloy nips don't mix well with salt and water.


I heard a little salt water was good for nipples...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Excellent ride in, but boring. Beautiful day out for a ride so I took full advantage. Ass clowns at work do NOT know how to properly lock their bikes up at the rack. There is always the one person that takes up the entire end of the rack where I like to put mine. I had to carefully move his bike back so that we could both use the end of the rack. I actually made his bike a little more stable instead of he had it. I don't like to touch other peoples bikes but I had no choice.

After I got home this evening, I was looking at my latest copy of Road Bike Action, and Pearl Izumi has an ad in there that I have not seen. I really liked this ad a lot.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ when people do the smalltalk "How's work?" thing, I usually say that I get 2 or 3 bikerides out of it each day, so it's tough to complain.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

NJ + inlaws is not a good equation! Head on down to Delaware to enjoy the beach and some Dogfish Head beer.

I've been MIA because one of my main roads into work was under construction and I am not comfortable riding any other way in. However, I think it's mostly done now and I was able to pedal into work today.  Finally! Next week's weather looks promising too.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another good ride in this AM. Dry in the valley. Wet in town. Can see the band of rain clouds moving down the mountains right now from my office window. Pretty cool.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No commute today, I had to take a day off or lose it! I went riding at Kingdom Trails, which I prefer to hit on weekdays. Funny, it ended up being almost the same mileage as my RT commute 15.5 vs 16, but trail miles make you more tired. 
They were haying this field one of the trails goes through. It smelled great!








Also had a refreshing dip in the East Branch mid-ride. Most of it is rocky and not very deep, but there was a sand bottom pool that was swim-able.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, a two and a half day work week with camping in the middle. Peddled in Monday and today. Took a half day Tuesday but drove in. While driving only saves a measly ten minutes, I felt I needed it cause we were rolling out of town an hour and half after I got off and I still needed to load the trailer and hook it up. Today's commute a little longer than usual on the way home cause I had to do a work errand. Had to unlock a channel gate for a contractor. Decided to just peddle there instead of taking the work truck and working a few minutes overtime. Five, ten minutes overtime seems pointless. Beside, had El Pollo Loco for lunch and needed to burn a few extra calories.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in and a better ride home. Did a few extra miles, and stopped at the local 24 hour dairy/convenience store for some of their homemade ice cream! They put a bike rack in, be it that it is not anchored to anything, but it is a huge and heavy rack. It isn't going anywhere. Probably room enough to park 20-25 bikes or so. I was hesitant to lock my bike up there, but it is a good part of town, and is fully lit. And that rack is really heavy. I tried to lift it to see if it was anchored.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

In the spirit of Rodar's camping trips, and MTBR's tours, I thought a recent trip to Cleveland area for four days might be worth a virtual slide show.

Watched the Indians beat the Yankees Tuesday night:



Tramped about the the Cleveland Botanical Gardens in the sun (rare thing, Cleveland only gets 74 sunny days a year!):



Rode some in North Chagrin Reservation yesterday:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.575685,-81.4240567,13z/data=!5m1!1e3

Hope the map shows the MUPs. They are in need of some tending but not bad yet.



Their are commuter routes that parallel the road and cross under Som Center Road and I changed and showered after in one of Progressive's Campuses located directly across from the parking lot I used. My wife works for them.



The further reaches had fewer pedestrians, though early afternoon on Thursday it was not bad at all. This downhill went for maybe a mile counting the parking lot at the bottom? My iPhone connector is broken and won't connect with the iBike, so no mileage or speed data:



They haven't repainted the center dashed green line on this path yet, though it was done elsewhere. It is named Foster's Run, apparently:



Not far from that first curve, is this boardwalk beside the babbling stone lined brook (a small tributary of Rocky River, I think), this spot had a quieter vernal pond and a description of its role in the life cycles of various animals that also held The Duchess up nicely:



A lot of the paths are in tree lined tunnels. I wanted video of riding that and brought the camera but without the mounting plate to fasten it to anything. So you are spared that.  Picture a 5 foot wide faded asphalt paved path with a forest green dotted line in the center, running though an emerald tunnel of leaves. Cool and minty fresh. 

Most of the paths are independent of roads, though I did take off and ride the streets in two places as pedestrian safety and the sharpish turns made riding at speed a precarious thing at times. Foster's Run was steep enough for 20-25 mph dragging the brakes. I needed the Granny to climb it, but was amazed to discover my strength was significantly improved and I hauled my a$$ up it in 26-23 at 100 + cadence gaining on a 29er rider a third my age, close to my height but without the extra 30 pounds I have. The Duchess with tools, batteries, and lock was at least as heavy as his 29er. He was surprised to look back and find me closing! Not Cat 6 but plenty good for my ego!

To get to Foster's Run from the where I parked, you need to ride a road in great need of resurfacing (understatement), but I did not hold the phone steady enough for the tree filtered light available to show you that. It was already a decent down hill grade (20 mph coasting) when I discovered this sign:



I was still not steady enough taking this pic to not blur the bike. Oh well. I had never seen such a sign before. I was temped to lock the Duchess to the post at the same angle but like my paint job too much just to make that lame joke. I had reservations about a 45-50 mph descent hill with a mosaic of 6" deep potholes and multiple shedding patches. It actually was better surface from the sign to Foster's Run but I did not explore further downgrade on the road.

Numerous nature trials including this one with a nice look at one of the ponds:



All in all, a nice 2 hours of riding. But it had to end sometime. Folding rear seats and wide trunk pass through with a blanket to hide the bike that sticks into the cabin make it less of a theft issue when stopping along the way than a trunk rack does:



Time to get Kathryn and head home.

Lyndhurst has some nice trails according to one person.

Lyndhurst Bike Trails - Maps of Bike Routes in Lyndhurst, OH

Renting a mountain bike for one or more of those might be an option next year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Looks like a great trip (except for the Yankees losing  ) and ride, Brian. Glad to hear you were feeling strong on those hills. Thanks for taking and sharing some pics.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Our third year seeing one game. I could barely stand crowds the first year, Three Indian wins: one against the Brewers, two against the Yankees. Not a rabid Indian fan or anti-Yankess, but always liked underdogs and enjoy a good game.  If we keep up this record, maybe we can get free season's tickets to help the Indians record? Naw. Fun idea though: the positive jinx. Five runs against Tanaka is a first. Too bad he is out for 6 weeks with an elbow injury Thursday night with 9 runs scored against him by the Indians. The Indian errors Tuesday almost cost them the game. So it was a bit of an ugly win. The drunk Yankee fans in the next hotel room came in at 2:30 and didn't shut it until 4 AM. I got to hate the Bronx accents. So I paid for that Indians win!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> In the spirit of Rodar's camping trips, and MTBR's tours, I thought a recent trip to Cleveland area for four days might be worth a virtual slide show.
> 
> Watched the Indians beat the Yankees Tuesday night:
> 
> ...


Great pictures. . .


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Took a long route. Really cool seeing the clouds roll on the water being lit by the moon. Tried to snap some pics, but it was too low light for my iPhone camera to do a decent job.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> NJ + inlaws is not a good equation! Head on down to Delaware to enjoy the beach and some Dogfish Head beer.


You're telling me! They're in northern Jersey, so it would be a hike to Rehoboth. I've always wanted to go though! I actually have a DFH bike jersey! It's one of my three favorite breweries (also, Jack's Abby and New Belgium). I did bring my bike and rode a state park in NY, just 15 minutes from there house. The road was called Seven Lakes Drive. It was just repaved recently, nice wide shoulders and not many cars. Tons of cyclists. Most were riding tri bikes. I learned first hand what roadies say about triathletes. All they can do is go in a straight line on flat ground. They would fly by me then I would catch them on the next climb or descent. Never failed. I saw guys riding bikes that cost several times what mine cost and I passed them on climbs.

This morning marked 2 months since I've driven to work. There were a few moments that I wasn't sure I'd be riding in. As of last night there was a 60% chance of thunderstorms all day. It was wet out when I woke up but the sky didn't look too threatening, so I went for it. We'll see how the ride home is. I don't mind riding home in the rain as much because I can just get soaked and not care since I don't need to wear those clothes again 8 hour later.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Took a long route. Really cool seeing the clouds roll on the water being lit by the moon. Tried to snap some pics, but it was too low light for my iPhone camera to do a decent job.


Burning eight hundred calories is never a bad thing. . .kind of a muggy commute today with the summer monsoon season under way here.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am not that proud of myself today. Less than 2 miles in, and I wasn't very nice. Two women were walking in the same direction that I was riding. The path is about a car and half wide or so, and they are smack dab in the middle yapping their fool heads off. I buzzed them. I shouldn't have, but I did it. Scared the hell out of them. One of them yells, "say something"!!! So I yelled back, "don't take up the whole path"!! Normally I would have slowed down, and hit my Incredibell, but I took it off and forgot to put it back on. For the most part, that goes unnoticed anyway. Might have said "excuse me" or "going to pass on the left" but I didn't. Later on, parked in the bike lane, were 12 trucks that are working on this construction site. I guess there is no other place to park, so they take the bike lane, forcing me into traffic. This has now been going on for about 3 months or so. Sometimes there are less, sometimes there are more.

Looked like rain, but I rode in anyway. Figured as long as it was dry on the way in, I would be OK. Rained about 2 hours after I got there, and then dried up, then rained again, and started drying up for the ride home. 

Down by the downtown area across from the campus, there is a bike lane, and reserved parallel taxi parking spots. They wait there for the drunks to come out of the bars and need a ride. They are not that nice, and they don't pay attention to potential cyclists and just pull out of their lane into the road. Tonight there were several parked, and one double parked into the bike lane, chatting it up through the passenger window of his taxi to the other one. I could hear them before I got there. They were speaking in a non English dialect, and it was rather loud. I buzzed in between them, and as I passed, I did my loudest Nature Boy Rick Flair WOOOOOOOOOO. People walking down the sidewalk heard me. It was loud.

Like I said, I am not proud of myself today. I was kind of a dick on my bike, and I don't know why. I guess that I am sick of my lane being taken over, and the path being occupied, and people not looking when they pull out, and it got the best of me. Hoping to redeem myself tomorrow.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Left work yesterday to some rain clouds looming. Made it about halfway home before the rainstarted to pick up. It got harder and harder until I got home. By time I got home, it was torentially downpouring. Standing water all over the road. The last mile and a half, I could barely open my eyes. I think I was going 6-7 mph. I got home and my wife had our son in his car seat about to come out and look for me. Here's a couple pictures of the rain I took from my garage right when I got home:

















More thunderstorms all day today. I rode in and it was a little drizzly, it's clearing a bit now, but there's a 50-60% chance of storms all day. Tomorrow there's an 80% chance of heavy rain, which stinks because my mother, wife son and I were supposed to be going to Martha's Vineyard for the day. We will have to reschedule.

EDIT: I forgot something that happened on my ride home. Before it started raining, I got to a crosswalk and there were two women with strollers waiting to cross. I stopped and at least 20 cars went by without letting them go. They were clearly visible though. Then this other guy on a bike (I've mentioned him before because I see him ride like an A-hole regularly) then buzzed by me and the women with the strollers, cut across the street, onto the sidewalk on the other side. I caught back up to him and was going to say something, but he didn't look like the most wholesome character so I just let it go. He got a dirty look from me, that's about it.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

You need to earn back some bike karma after that day, TenSpeed. I did laugh about your WOOOOOO though. 

My commute in this morning was actually kind of cold. Even in the great North we don't wear long sleeves on the bike in July, but I did today. Brrrr. I may or may not get rain on my way home; if I do, I hope it's nothing like yours, Straz! Yikes!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> I forgot something that happened on my ride home. Before it started raining, I go to a crosswalk and there were two women with strollers waiting to cross. I stopped and at least 20 cars went by without letting them go. They were clearly visible though. Then this other guy on a bike (I've mentioned him before because I see him ride like an A-hole regularly) then buzzed by me and the women with the strollers, cut across the street, onto the sidewalk on the other side. I caught back up to him and was going to say something, but he didn't look like the most wholesome character so I just let it go. He got a dirty look from me, that's about it.


Real issue as I see it is why either the women or you did not make yourselves apparent and stop the traffic...

Safely of course...just a little bit of driver education.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I saw a skater kid with his little brother waiting to cross a busy arterial street the other day, at the cross walk but no cross signs. I pulled my bike into traffic and blocked all lanes so that they could pass. They were both appreciative, and the little tike got a kick out of my "funny bike". I'm assuming he was referring to the drops, instead of the BMX at the skate park. 

This morning was another long 27 mile ride. Not sure what I'm going to do on the way home, since my main routes are being worked on and repaved. I'll be driving in to work tomorrow as a recovery day, and I've taken Thursday and Friday off. Probably do a 60 miler on Thursday, and rest up on Friday. Should be fun.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> I am not that proud of myself today. Less than 2 miles in, and I wasn't very nice. Two women were walking in the same direction that I was riding. The path is about a car and half wide or so, and they are smack dab in the middle yapping their fool heads off. I buzzed them. I shouldn't have, but I did it. Scared the hell out of them. One of them yells, "say something"!!! So I yelled back, "don't take up the whole path"!! Normally I would have slowed down, and hit my Incredibell, but I took it off and forgot to put it back on. For the most part, that goes unnoticed anyway. Might have said "excuse me" or "going to pass on the left" but I didn't.


We all have those days from time to time. I know I am much less pleasant to my fellow trail users in the afternoons as there are just so many more of them along the route I take and the bulk are tourists who, bless them, don't realize that people live and work here and use the trails for transportation as well as recreation.

Good rides yesterday and this AM. I am a bit sad though as I'm starting to notice that sunrise is coming just a touch later each morning. Summer is on its way out and it seems like it's barely begun. Of course, that means some nice fall rides, berry collecting, and then I'll get the trails back to myself when the snow finally flies. Well, until the skiers come out, anyway...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> Real issue as I see it is why either the women or you did not make yourselves apparent and stop the traffic...
> 
> Safely of course...just a little bit of driver education.


While in principal I would have loved to walk out into the street to stop the cars, I'm not going to walk in front of cars going 45mph to save the women 30 seconds. Nor would I expect them to risk the lives of them or their children.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> View attachment 908270


I'm going to steal you picture. That's exactly what 1/2 of my commute in looked like this morning. I'm kind of hoping for the same for the ride home, it was pretty fun. I had my visor and water shedding glasses so vision wasn't a problem.

Haven't popped in here for a while...too busy at work for a break.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> Lyndhurst has some nice trails according to one person.
> 
> Renting a mountain bike for one or more of those might be an option next year.


Glad you enjoyed your trip to Cleveland! I live on the west side and my in-laws live in Lyndhurst. Renting a mountain bike would be worth it if you are going to make the trip to West Branch State Park or Mohican State Park, but there are no mountain bike trails in Lyndhurst. Most of those routes you linked are paved paths through a park that was formerly a golf course. Beautiful park but not requiring a mountain bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

TenSpeed said:


> I am not that proud of myself today. Less than 2 miles in, and I wasn't very nice. Two women were walking in the same direction that I was riding. The path is about a car and half wide or so, and they are smack dab in the middle yapping their fool heads off. I buzzed them. I shouldn't have, but I did it. Scared the hell out of them. One of them yells, "say something"!!! So I yelled back, "don't take up the whole path"!! Normally I would have slowed down, and hit my Incredibell, but I took it off and forgot to put it back on. For the most part, that goes unnoticed anyway. Might have said "excuse me" or "going to pass on the left" but I didn't. Later on, parked in the bike lane, were 12 trucks that are working on this construction site. I guess there is no other place to park, so they take the bike lane, forcing me into traffic. This has now been going on for about 3 months or so. Sometimes there are less, sometimes there are more.


"On your left" is pretty effective for me. Sometimes people are not paying attention (or have earbuds in) and I may have to say it a couple times, louder each time, before they move. A little annoying but in the big picture of life it's really not a big deal.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> While in principal I would have loved to walk out into the street to stop the cars, I'm not going to walk in front of cars going 45mph to save the women 30 seconds. Nor would I expect them to risk the lives of them or their children.


So they had a thirty second wait and you had a what 15 sec wait...

There are multple things you can do to attract driver attention and get the cars to stop without running out and getting yourself killed.


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2014)

Well I've put off the last 5 miles of my commute long enough. Tomorrow I'm riding the 17.5 in and 20.5 home, allergies be damned. Weather's been great so it's a good day to pull the trigger.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Typical ride in and typical ride home. Just the way I like them.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Kleebs said:


> Most of those routes you linked are paved paths through a park that was formerly a golf course. Beautiful park but not requiring a mountain bike.


Good. The Duchess will ride again! Something about what I read when I googled them made me think that they were not paved.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, I got lucky today. Really lucky. Forecast was for a 40% chance of rain around my departing time. Looked outside, and there were clouds, but the sun was out still. Went for it, and hopped on the bike. Made the turn onto the MUP, and the wind hit me square in the face. Rode this way the entire time to work. Not bad right? The sky was not quite what I thought it was when I left. The black clouds were forming, and it was a little ways off in the distance. I can make this, I know I can. I could see the rain falling in the distance, off to my right. OK, they are moving away from me. Well, no that is not quite true, because now they look closer than they did 5 minutes ago. Too late now, so I just try to hammer it out. Wind is just sucking the life out of me, and it feels like my wheels are made out of oatmeal. I cannot seem to get going and keep a steady pace. 1 mile from work, the cloud is directly over me. I am thinking that there is no way I am gonna make it. Stay on the main street and just hammer it instead of cutting through the neighborhood. Out front of the building, then into the parking ramp and over to the rack. Not 10 seconds later, the skies open up and the rain pours for about 5 minutes. I shook my head in disbelief.

It rained again at 11PM, 30 minutes before I leave. Temperatures drop to the low 60's. I wore shorts and a t-shirt in. Rain let up about 11:15, and the roads were still wet. Enjoyed the ride home, especially on the MUP. All I could hear was my chain, and the hiss of my tires on the semi wet pavement. Just wet enough to make them shine, but not really throw that much water up. Threw my SKS rear fender on before I left, which I am grateful for. Tomorrow, I sticker bomb the hell out of it since no stickers will go on the bike.



woodway said:


> "On your left" is pretty effective for me. Sometimes people are not paying attention (or have earbuds in) and I may have to say it a couple times, louder each time, before they move. A little annoying but in the big picture of life it's really not a big deal.


You would think that this would work, but here, so many people hear that, and jump to the left. I used that on the trail on my mtb, to let someone know I was passing them as that is the common announcement. Pedestrians hear the word left, and they move to the left. They are not used to it apparently. Almost better to not say something, then say on your left and they move to the left nearly causing a wreck.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

We finally got a break from the rain today. Might get a little more this morning but afternoon looks good. Felt nice to be back on my bike, I'm working from home tomorrow and Friday to take my dog for an operation so this was my last chance this week.

I tried riding to work without riding shorts for the first time in a while today, felt pretty good (thanks to the bench-like brooks b17 I got in a trade). This will be nice if I can keep it up because commuting won't put as much strain on my "serious" riding clothes supply.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

It rained on me on my way home last night, but nothing too hard or too long (TWSS?) It was my first rain ride with the new bike - she preformed beautifully, of course. I love running disk breaks on a road bike. 

I rode in again today, which is my first back to back commute post-surgery. Feels pretty good! And today is my Friday...4 day long weekend coming up! I haven't taken any vacation while not being on crutches in a long time, so I'm excited.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Rainy and cool this morning. It was my first commute in the rain and I'm happy to say my new ortlieb backpack kept everything nice and dry. Once I was wet, I didn't really mind riding in the rain and the temperature was actually perfect. Unfortunately I bent the stays of my front fender last week while loading my bike in my wife's car, and I really missed having a front fender today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> You would think that this would work, but here, so many people hear that, and jump to the left.


I think the trick is to make "left" the least important part. I usually say "I'll Be On Your..." and time it so that I'm not saying "left" until I'm actually passing them. Of course, this doesn't work with the slack-jawed idiots, but they're going to need a wide berth regardless and they could use a good scare.

It's supposed to be 88F today, which is just about as warm as it'll get around here. Yesterday was around 85F, and I got out for a nice lunchhour ride on the fixie, but had to rush home after work.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Pushed hard on the way to work today to get a workout in. It felt like it was 70* out at 615 am. Set some PRs on some segments and a couple top 10s for strava. Got that nice post workout high when i got to work. Now I am dreading the 100* ride home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

High is supposed to be 70F today, but it is 60F and mostly cloudy. Slight chance of rain, and dare I say this, I will be wearing pants (in July) to commute to work. Low of 49F when I get out tonight. If this is any indication of what the upcoming winter is going to be like, I might not make it through another one.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> High is supposed to be 70F today, but it is 60F and mostly cloudy. Slight chance of rain, and dare I say this, I will be wearing pants (in July) to commute to work. Low of 49F when I get out tonight. If this is any indication of what the upcoming winter is going to be like, I might not make it through another one.


It was 50 degrees when I left home this morning. I opted for shorts, but with a warm long sleeve. You have Raynaud's too, right? My hands are already having issues. I can't do another winter like the last one. I will go crazy.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

TenSpeed said:


> You would think that this would work, but here, so many people hear that, and jump to the left. I used that on the trail on my mtb, to let someone know I was passing them as that is the common announcement. Pedestrians hear the word left, and they move to the left. They are not used to it apparently. Almost better to not say something, then say on your left and they move to the left nearly causing a wreck.


I've hear people say this everyone once in a while. Must be different here in the Seattle area...in all my years of MUP commuting I have never had anyone move left when I called out "on your left".


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Nothing much to report. Traces of bear scat on the trails - always fun. Yesterday I decided to push it a bit, just because I was feeling sluggish. Made for a great ride in the sun. Good times. I always love the look on people's face when they see a fat bike blowing by doing 20+ mph on the flats with the rider grinning like a shaved monkey.


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## Sizzler (Sep 24, 2009)

After a two year hiatus from commuting I'm back at it with a 30 mile round trip commute each day!


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Mine was excellent today.


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## In-Yo-Grill (Jul 19, 2011)

Took my bike out for an evening spin. Testing out the new commuter tires I put on my Niner. They freakin hall balls. Can't wait to get some longer rides in.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

WiTrailRunner said:


> It was 50 degrees when I left home this morning. I opted for shorts, but with a warm long sleeve. You have Raynaud's too, right? My hands are already having issues. I can't do another winter like the last one. I will go crazy.


I do have Raynaud's, and I absolutely dread this upcoming winter. I should have opted the same way you did, as the jeans were too much, and I was roasting when I got to work. The temps are supposed to warm up again, so shorts it will be. The ride was boring, only one incident as I approached a stop sign, a car in the cross traffic was stopped even though he had no sign, waiting for me. I had to yell and wave my arms for him to get going again.

I told my coworkers that I didn't care how hot it got this summer, they would not hear me complain. I would even ride my bike in the heat, and there would be no complaints. They haven't heard a peep out of me when I ride. Even though it has been warm, I love it. I know that I am getting old now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Enoyed seeing her majesty`s romp on the Cleveland trails, Brian.

Sizzler, happy return to bike commuting! Behave yourself :lol:

Is that Orcas Island, WA, Sunvalleylaw? Your profile says ID???



woodway said:


> I've hear people say this everyone once in a while. Must be different here in the Seattle area...in all my years of MUP commuting I have never had anyone move left when I called out "on your left".


I want to hazard a guess here. The impression I get from reading, along with my brief personal experiences in "high bikeage" areas is that riders there tend to be more responsible and better behaved than in not-so-cycled cities, and I get the idea that they often use peer pressure to encourage the cycling community as a whole to be safe, courteous, and predictable. In that environment, I believe they`re more likely than not to announce a pass. And with the enormous number of both cyclists and pedestrians on the same trail systems, pedestrians are going to be accustomed to hearing "on your left" and automatically react.
No idea what it`s like where Tenspeed rides, but unless 90% of the riders there abide by that "behave yourself" mentality, and unless the walking public is very accustomed to sharing narrow paths with bicycles, peds aren`t going to have an instant reaction to "on your left". More likely to hear only the last word of it and maybe scoot that direction while they figure out what`s going on. Of course, there`s a lot of guessing in my statement!

Oy, it`s been full on summer here  We`ve passed the 100 mark several times in last few weeks. Luckilly, my commutes start at 7:15 AM and 8:15 PM, so not so hot at those times, and I sleep through the nastiest part of the day with the swamp cooler keeping the house reasonable for when I get up. But today was just miserable. Although it hasn`t actually rained in a couple months, we`ve got high humidity and heavy clouds blowing around with random lightning strikes. A few strikes have started brush fires, and a pretty big one (about 800 acres last I heard) has been burning about 10 miles upwind of me since yesterday afternoon. So, it`s hot, muggy, and smoky- crappy combination. How long til October?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It was a beautiful morning, after 3 days of rain. I rode an extra 7 miles on my way in. I'll probably do some extra on my ride home as well.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

75 degrees in July. Yawn, I'll take it. Cleaned my chain this morning. Feels good.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Is that Orcas Island, WA, Sunvalleylaw? Your profile says ID???
> ?


Yes. Working vacation so commute is in a different venue this week. Cycling here is nice but feels much more exposed on the road than I am used to. Also had a big blowout flat yesterday but repair was quick and easy.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

Got stuck waiting on a train.... 10 minutes late for work. And all of the sudden can't get my bike to stay in the big ring so I was spinning a bunch. It's like my front derailer cable got shorter all of the sudden. Keeps yanking it back down to the smaller ring.

Old 10 speed with lever friction shifters. Can I adjust this easily at work?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

cobi said:


> Got stuck waiting on a train.... 10 minutes late for work. And all of the sudden can't get my bike to stay in the big ring so I was spinning a bunch. It's like my front derailer cable got shorter all of the sudden. Keeps yanking it back down to the smaller ring.
> 
> Old 10 speed with lever friction shifters. Can I adjust this easily at work?


If the cable got shorter it would stay in the big ring. The cable may have slipped a little bit in the bolt, or it could have finally just stretched to the point where it needs an adjustment, though I am of the opinion that cables don't stretch as much as people claim.

PS - It's "all of *a* sudden"

;-)


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## Guest (Jul 17, 2014)

cobi said:


> Got stuck waiting on a train.... 10 minutes late for work. And all of the sudden can't get my bike to stay in the big ring so I was spinning a bunch. It's like my front derailer cable got shorter all of the sudden. Keeps yanking it back down to the smaller ring.
> 
> Old 10 speed with lever friction shifters. Can I adjust this easily at work?


 Could have slipped, should be able tighten at work but you may have to loosen the binder bolt and take some slack out. Lots of things cause cables to appear to stretch, slipping, stretching, housing liner wear... Not a bad thing to check every other week or so.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

sunvalleylaw said:


> Yes. Working vacation so commute is in a different venue this week. Cycling here is nice but feels much more exposed on the road than I am used to. Also had a big blowout flat yesterday but repair was quick and easy.


Don't miss the climb to the top of Mt. Constitution. Ask rodar about it!


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## Tim_Ky (Jun 16, 2014)

Cool commute this morning for July. Long sleeves and wind breaker jacket were about right. Still in shorts though. New 22/32/42 crankset has been nice on the hills. I was afraid I might have gone too far with this crankset, but I like it so far. I rarely used the big ring on my old crankset anyway.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Brutally hot. About 112 when I left work. Looking forward to fall.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> If the cable got shorter it would stay in the big ring. The cable may have slipped a little bit in the bolt, or it could have finally just stretched to the point where it needs an adjustment, though I am of the opinion that cables don't stretch as much as people claim.


+1
And check for frayed wires! Mine has a habbit of eating the cable right wehre it clamps to the FD. Works fine for about a year on a new cable, then starts to get a little "long". Within a week of that first sign, if I don`t replace the cable, it snaps and I`m stuck in the little ring.



woodway said:


> Don't miss the climb to the top of Mt. Constitution. Ask rodar about it!


Ah, a view to die for 







Seriously though, what a beautiful place to ride! Hit up Woodway for a guided tour while you`re in the neighborhood if you get a chance.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

We have a new and rapidly growing menace on our roads, electric bicycles. They can be picked up very cheap, go at a similar speed to a fast road rider and no license, basic competency test is required to operate one. Was very nearly taken out this AM for about the third this time this month. Common idiocies Are: running red lights, cycling up the wrong side of the road or veering to the road from the footway.
The govt has limited the power to 200W, ped-elec only (i.e. power assisted) and speed limited to 25Kmph (~15mph) however it is a matter of a couple of hundred bucks at Ah Bengs bike store for a non limited DC motor controller and throttle assembly and a few hundred more if you want a bigger battery and you have your self a motorbike. (without the hassle of insurance, licenses, registration etc)
Anywhere else starting to get similar issues with these things?

(Ah Beng roughly translates to Chav , UK English or *******, US)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cobi said:


> Got stuck waiting on a train.... 10 minutes late for work. And all of the sudden can't get my bike to stay in the big ring so I was spinning a bunch. It's like my front derailer cable got shorter all of the sudden. Keeps yanking it back down to the smaller ring.
> 
> Old 10 speed with lever friction shifters. Can I adjust this easily at work?


I seem to recall that my friction shifters would sometimes lose enough friction to stay put, and the lever would work back toward the frame on its own. I would have to tighten something where the base of the lever attached to restore enough friction.

Good rides today, chilly this morning in the fog, I almost needed more than my merino T. Construction project (directional drilling sewer line fix) is getting old, especially now that the work seems to be done but the road surface is terrible and the cones and signs are still taking up the room bikes usually have.

Recently I've been meeting another bikecommuter going the other way, today both ways. I started waves right off and now I get a great over the head wave and a nice smile. A tall young man, from his lilting "hello" I'd guess he's immigrated/resettled here, but I won't guess from where. He seems to be picking up road smarts quickly as he has also emigrated from the sidewalk to the lane since I first saw him.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I was off work today, but I dropped the car off for some maintenance this morning and then rode home. Later in the day I rode back to pick up the car. About 22 miles or so. I used the brand new bike path that's still under construction both times. My passing through the second time was amusing, because a couple of the workers flagged me down to ask if I had been on a bike ride that entire time. (10am-6pm.)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> +1
> Ah, a view to die for


Rodar I still feel bad about dragging you all the way to the top for that view of the fog


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fast!!! I am in love with this bike. I love the ride, the feel of it, the fit, and the look of it. Really getting used to riding fixed now, and I am really glad that I gave this a try. Not sure that I can make the transition back though. It was one of the reasons I got rid of my TriCross. I passed a few people in the bike lane on the way in today. That has not happened since I started riding. The ride home....fast as hell or at least it felt like it. Co worker clocked me at 31mph in short bursts. Told me at the light when I caught her. Shocked the hell out of her because she asked me if I could coast, and was like holy hell when I told her no, it was pedal or crash.

No commute for Friday as it is my day off, however, there is a local group of cyclists who meet every Friday at 6pm with anyone who wants to go, and go for a nice cruise around town, exploring, dinner and hanging out, so I will join them for the evening. I don't know a soul from the group, but it will still be fun I am sure.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Woodway, no reason to feel bad. Views or no views, it was a nice day and a nice trip.

Doh! Cobi has friction shift- good thing Xplorer was paying more attention than Straz and I were :lol:
Yeah, try snugging up the mounting screw at the pivot point a little bit like she said.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Late to the friction discussion. The dead give away for a loose friction shifter is that you can hold the lever in position and the big ring or bottom sprocket is maintained, and shortly after removal of the hand's force you can feel the lever move and derailler shifts. Some DT shifters had D rings or wingnuts to let you tighten as you rode. Also careful disassembly (cell camera photos are good here), cleaning and oiling (yes, counter intuitive, bit oiling actually helps), will often give a longer lasting fix.


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## Bergrin (Jul 16, 2014)

Encountered an absolute lunatic in a white lexus suv this morning within just a few blocks of my home. 

I was riding past the elementary school near my house this morning at about 7:15am. I took the lane because cars that stop there often open their doors to let people out, and it's slightly downhill so I'm riding fairly quickly (just shy of 20mph). It's a mellow residential area, and most people drive at or below the 25mph speed limit because of the school. The area surrounding the school is usually busy between 7am-8:30am with teachers and students arriving showing up for the day. 

As I approached the blind right hand turn just past the school a woman in the white lexus SUV passed me on the outside of the turn completely in the lane for oncoming traffic. She didn't even poke her nose out to see if it was safe, she just blew past me going a solid 30-35mph driving in the oncoming traffic lane. For just a second I was sure she was going to get into a head on collision. 

Fortunately nobody was in the oncoming lane. But it had to have been one of the most reckless things I've seen someone in a car do. There is no way she could have known that nobody would have been in that lane until it would have been too late. There is a building, and a tree blocking your view around the turn, it's completely blind! 

The things people will do to save 17 seconds is amazing.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

One last day of ferry travel on my working vacation/family bike tour. Everything worked well with the panniers and gear. I would just add a good tire gauge next time.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Late to the friction discussion. The dead give away for a loose friction shifter is that you can hold the lever in position and the big ring or bottom sprocket is maintained, and shortly after removal of the hand's force you can feel the lever move and derailler shifts.


Thanks for the advice everyone. I haven't looked at it yet (only a 4 mile commute and don't need the big ring much anyway). I'll look at it this weekend. FYI BrinaMc's description is exactly what I'm experiencing.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Bergrin said:


> Encountered an absolute lunatic in a white lexus suv this morning within just a few blocks of my home.


That's where a majority of accidents happen (we have the most time there).



Bergrin said:


> I was riding past the elementary school ... it's slightly downhill so I'm riding fairly quickly (just shy of 20mph)...As I approached the blind right hand turn just past the school a woman in the white lexus SUV passed me on the outside of the turn completely in the lane for oncoming traffic. ... it had to have been one of the most reckless things I've seen someone in a car do. There is a building, and a tree blocking your view around the turn, it's completely blind! The things people will do to save 17 seconds is amazing.


I had a rant on here of a like maneuver within 100' of a stop sign so wreckless for a blind curve and reckless for too close to the 4-way stop. In the car I had the through and the right entry a yield and the dolt behind the minivan slowing to yield, passed him on the shoulder to find me in the through lane. Would have been funny if I had been hauling a long low trailer. In Cleveland, my wife and I witnessed a left turn from the right lane against the red light.

Since I have been rant-less for awhile I will share a fresh one. Today coming home from the market minutes ago a lady pulled out of the bank about 20 foot in front of me because i slowed when I saw she wasn't looking or it would have been much closer. Open driver window so I yelled "Too close, lady!" Moron. I am lit up like a christmas tree and a bright yellow jersey, but you heve to turn your head and actually look. Moron. There, demons exorcised! Hope she didn't lose bladder control. Sorry I forgot to turn the camera on to record.



cobi said:


> Thanks for the advice everyone. I haven't looked at it yet (only a 4 mile commute and don't need the big ring much anyway). I'll look at it this weekend. FYI BrinaMc's description is exactly what I'm experiencing.


Yep. Still have friction on the errand bike and the Campy front is a stepped friction lever.

Never had 2 flats in six miles before. One was within a few blocks of the market after crosiing the RR track. Hmmm. Snakebite? One 200 feet from home. The front was flat when it came out of the car after Cleveland and I could not find the source in the tube or tire. So I suspect a tiny thorn, metal or glass sliver I missed. One record I do not wish to break.


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## jcaino (May 26, 2007)

Avoided some cars.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

A hot week of commuting behind me. Yesterday when I aired up the tires on my wife and daughter's bikes, I decided to check my air, though I didn't think the tires were low at all. Surprised to find both tires at 40 PSI when I normally run about 60. My commute times have been creeping up from about 19 minutes home to about 24 minutes (4.4 miles). I figured the increase was just the summer heat but now I suspect the low PSI figured into it as well. Quicker peddle home today at 60 PSI.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today, just a 28 total mile group ride with some local people. 8 miles of it was me riding to meet them, and head home. Did some urban exploring, rolled through some neighborhoods I have never been in, and found a new restaurant that opened up. We ended up at a bar that didn't really serve food, and I don't drink, so a few of us headed back towards the campus. It was supposed to be a longer and faster paced ride, but there were some new people that rode at a slower pace. Had a good time, just 2 of us riding fixed, but another guy flipped his wheel at a stop and the three of us rode together. My legs are spent so I am taking the day off tomorrow from riding, and am going to drive to work. I rode all week, and am very happy with my mileage, and have decided that I am more of a sprinter than a climber.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took a couple hours off and went trailriding before work Friday. Before tropical storm Irene, which destroyed our offices, these Perry Hill trails were a short 1/2 mile away - it was good to go back!


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

cobi said:


> Thanks for the advice everyone. I haven't looked at it yet (only a 4 mile commute and don't need the big ring much anyway). I'll look at it this weekend. FYI BrinaMc's description is exactly what I'm experiencing.


Yeah you guys were dead on. It took all of a half-turn of the screw driver on my shifter to fix my big problem. Glad I rode it that way for two days before looking into it..... Embarrassing.....


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2014)

cobi said:


> Yeah you guys were dead on. It took all of a half-turn of the screw driver on my shifter to fix my big problem. Glad I rode it that way for two days before looking into it..... Embarrassing.....


Don't feel bad it happens to everyone at some point. I've been riding since I was 3 and fixing my own stuff since I was 9 (which led to my first concussion) and I still (at 51) stumble on stupid crap sometimes. Usually I ride a new bike a week past the point where the der cable is past the point of adjustment and needs tightened or my rear der housing gets fouled and I ride with ghost shifting until I twist a chain link.

There is real value in reading the adjustment instructions for each of your components. You'll find that things are seldom perfectly adjusted on a new bike.


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## Conrad85 (Jul 21, 2014)

I borrowed a bike from work (yeah the company is awesome) and procrastinated getting to an appointment after work.

Having not exercised for the last 6 months I pedaled as hard as I could for 4 miles on the bike path to get to my destination.

Felt like crap when I got there - went to a grocery store, because I was feeling nauseous - thought Gatorate would help..

Before I could get out the door I held onto my bike and barfed on their floor. I then got on my knees and did it again lol. Poor store wasn't prepared for such an event and took a few minutes to locate paper towels and a mop. 

Most interesting commute I've ever had


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

vegascruiser said:


> A hot week of commuting behind me. Yesterday when I aired up the tires on my wife and daughter's bikes, I decided to check my air, though I didn't think the tires were low at all. Surprised to find both tires at 40 PSI when I normally run about 60. My commute times have been creeping up from about 19 minutes home to about 24 minutes (4.4 miles). I figured the increase was just the summer heat but now I suspect the low PSI figured into it as well. Quicker peddle home today at 60 PSI.


How often do you check your tire pressure usually?


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2014)

Trying something new today: 20 mile commute in, using a standing desk all day, 20 mile commute home. Should be ready for a few beers by dinner time. My son thinks it should be a new sport called "Workathalon". Not sure there's any market for that sport. On the plus side, the weather was decent on the ride in and I made it in an hour and twenty five minutes (only 3 miles of gravel and .5 miles true off road). On the minus side, heat indexes approaching 112 F this afternoon.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Something kind of cool just happened. The company I work for has 8 different buildings in eastern Massachusetts. Occasionally we have to travel between buildings for meetings. I was scheduled for a meeting tomorrow in a building that I wouldn't easily be able to ride to. My boss knows I'm on a 2+ month streak of riding to work, so he came over to my desk and offered to make sure he stops at the building I work in on his way since he's going to the meeting anyway.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Conrad85 said:


> I borrowed a bike from work (yeah the company is awesome) and procrastinated getting to an appointment after work.
> 
> Having not exercised for the last 6 months I pedaled as hard as I could for 4 miles on the bike path to get to my destination.
> 
> ...


Yup that story is a winner.....ride within your capabilites the fitness will come very quickly.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

The air is finally clearing up enough in E Washington to ride again. We have some pretty serious fires going on in the middle of the state burning 10s of thousands of acres. Its also cooling off down to high 50s in the morning and 80s during the day. I like that weather.


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## Guest (Jul 21, 2014)

Straz85 said:


> Something kind of cool just happened. The company I work for has 8 different buildings in eastern Massachusetts. Occasionally we have to travel between buildings for meetings. I was scheduled for a meeting tomorrow in a building that I wouldn't easily be able to ride to. My boss knows I'm on a 2+ month streak of riding to work, so he came over to my desk and offered to make sure he stops at the building I work in on his way since he's going to the meeting anyway.


 Funny how a little concern can result in such a nice gesture. Sounds like a great boss.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A nice ride in this morning. Got some new shoes and a new set of Egg Beater 2 peddles this weekend, so I was happy. New gear is always nice, isn't it? A bit chilly, though, reminding me even more that fall is on its way. 49F. Not cold, by any means, but cool enough.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> A nice ride in this morning. Got some new shoes and a new set of Egg Beater 2 peddles this weekend, so I was happy. New gear is always nice, isn't it? A bit chilly, though, reminding me even more that fall is on its way. 49F. Not cold, by any means, but cool enough.


40's in July?!? Jeez.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Conrad85 said:


> I borrowed a bike from work (yeah the company is awesome) and procrastinated getting to an appointment after work.
> 
> Having not exercised for the last 6 months I pedaled as hard as I could for 4 miles on the bike path to get to my destination.
> 
> ...


Nice introduction! Welcome! Try not to puke next time.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I haven't posted up in a while. Not a whole lot of excitement on the commuting front other than almost getting t-boned by an SUV one day and having to stop and wait for another SUV parked in the bike lane while the driver talked on the phone (traffic was heavy at the time, and I couldn't get out into the lane).

My commute might be changing in the future. I'm going to be transitioning out of my job and looking for another. I'm not sure what kind of opportunities I will find or how I will get to work, but I hope to keep biking full time, or maybe have a mix of bus/bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back on the cross bike for the commute, after it sat too far down on my to-do list since late fall when I put it up. Finally just took it in to the pros and it got new bar tape, shifters cleaned up, new derailleur hanger, new chain and cassette, fenders mounted, brakes worked on, hubs overhauled, etc. It cut maybe 5 minutes off my +/- 45 minute commute, but on a windy day would probably save more time. Miss the disc brakes though, and my hands are kinda small for the brake levers on the drops.

Stopped for a root beer float on the way home, as summer only lasts so long.


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2014)

Forster said:


> Trying something new today: 20 mile commute in, using a standing desk all day, 20 mile commute home. Should be ready for a few beers by dinner time. My son thinks it should be a new sport called "Workathalon". Not sure there's any market for that sport. On the plus side, the weather was decent on the ride in and I made it in an hour and twenty five minutes (only 3 miles of gravel and .5 miles true off road). On the minus side, heat indexes approaching 112 F this afternoon.


 So the heat index only hit 105 and that was good, on the other hand the gravel road was maintained while I was at work so the last 5 miles sucked.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in, right up until the woman I was following failed to signal on her bike, and I nearly creamed her as she was turning. Had to swerve to avoid her. She apologized, and I was on my way. Luckily it was just in a neighborhood and not a major street. Warm temps on both rides. Supposed to hit the low 90's tomorrow, and a big chance of storms on the ride home. Will throw the fender on and hope for the best!


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## Guest (Jul 22, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Good ride in, right up until the woman I was following failed to signal on her bike, and I nearly creamed her as she was turning. Had to swerve to avoid her. She apologized, and I was on my way. Luckily it was just in a neighborhood and not a major street. Warm temps on both rides. Supposed to hit the low 90's tomorrow, and a big chance of storms on the ride home. Will throw the fender on and hope for the best!


 Funny, I was thinking just the opposite last night. I'm about to add my fenders back because we're really dry and I'm hoping to control the dust when I ride gravel.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Rough ride home last night...no energy to start with + head wind + the last 18 miles on a flat rear.
Good thing it's tomorrow now.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Shayne said:


> Good thing it's tomorrow now.


But is it really ever tomorrow?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Tomorrow it will be, until it is today, and then you will have to wait again for tomorrow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. 47 at the house when I left. Had a great ride home yesterday. Had to run over to the U to meet with a student and then blasted the ~6 miles over to the bus stop in about 20 minutes in the sun and it was just about perfect. One of those rides where everything just feels effortless. Got a decent ride last evening as well with the Sprockidz group I work with each Monday night - a clinic for kids of all ages to get them some skills on the bike as well as excited about riding trail. Good times. 

I'll be switching up my route this afternoon as the MUP is closed for a good section of the ride as the muni is going to tear some portions out and re-pave. Hopefully it doesn't take them too long as I really don't want to deal with riding in traffic any more than I have to.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Moderately bad. Riding was slow, but full of incidents. Dropped the chain off the small ring, then had a large hard-shelled insect ricochet off my face an inch from my open mouth (I never learn, apparently) and another lodge in my helmet next to my head, and then got what appears to be a pinch flat (my first ever) just as I got on the trail through a swamp into the back of my office parking lot, allowing mosquitos maximum time to attack me. Get to work, try to patch the tire with the last patch in my kit and the damn thing doesn't stick well enough to seal (probably because I dropped it on the ground after peeling the backing). Been holding off on ordering supplies so I think that's the last patch I own, and I've got my last spare tube in my bag, soon to go into the tire and hope for the best on the ride home.

On the upside I saw what I'm pretty sure was some kind of owl swoop across the path while walking the bike.

edit: what's everybody's experience with making patches from old tires and some vulcanizing fluid? The internet seems undecided on the matter.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> How often do you check your tire pressure usually?


Usually check it every week or two. I can usually tell when tires are getting low by feel on street. Just didn't feel low this time so I never checked them. Surprised by 40 PSI though.

Good commute today. Pleasant in the morning and way too hot in the afternoon. Supposed to be around 112-116 tomorrow. That should be a fun ride home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Usually check it every week or two. I can usually tell when tires are getting low by feel on street. Just didn't feel low this time so I never checked them. Surprised by 40 PSI though.
> 
> Good commute today. Pleasant in the morning and way too hot in the afternoon. Supposed to be around 112-116 tomorrow. That should be a fun ride home.


Dang, I have to full my front tire up every day. It's been that way since I got the tube. Probably a pinhole leak. Still functional I guess.


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2014)

Very fluid commute today. Covered 5 miles of gravel, 4.5 miles of rails-to-trails and 8 miles of paved trail/street in 1:15. The split between the cyclecomputer (pauses when the bike stops) and stop watch on my HRM was less than a minute. Must have been fired up after watching Greg Lemond on 30 fo 30 last night. Kind of sad to seem him in a backbrace and unable to ride due to the lead he still carries from his turkey hunting accident. Odd how that works, I started my serious cycling training in a backbrace after a car accident and was really inspired by his early successes in professional cycling.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

As has been the case most days lately, I added quite a bit of extra mileage. Around 8 extra this morning. Beautiful weather, my legs were pretty tired though.



NDD said:


> Dang, I have to full my front tire up every day. It's been that way since I got the tube. Probably a pinhole leak. Still functional I guess.


I find that some tubes hold air better than others, even the same brand. My theory is that the presta valves don't all screw down as tight as they should. My previous tube was great, it would go 2 weeks without needing air. I got a nail in it a few weeks ago and I need to add air to the brand new tube, same brand, every 2-3 days.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. My route, due to detour is a bit longer now and there's a nice hill to climb both ways, but it's nice having a slight change of scenery.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Twig took out the RD on last nights mountain ride. Nothing left of the RD or RD hanger.

Chain climbed up a sprocket on the way out and I think took out the chain ring bolts. one or two anyway.

Gonna need a RD hanger, to fix it up, should have the rest of the parts kiciking around.

First time since 2005 the bike has not been available for a commute after a mountain ride..

I dug out the 1990 Norco Bush Pilot, rigid seven speed with BiopPace gearing...Pumped up the tires, put my cleats on...and off to work.

Commuted with that bike from 1990 to 1994, can't really remember anyway.

Still a nice bike.

Knobby tires suck up more energy than a Full Suspension.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

Commuted on my Salsa Spearfish this AM. Planning to ride after work tonight (ride to trailhead, ride home). On my commute, I was only about a minute slower over 4 miles than my 10 speed..... and that's with full sus & knobbies. Supposed to be 98 today though, we'll see how motivated I am come 4:30.

Again considering turning my rigid SS into a commuter, but it will cost me at least $250 to put gears back on it. Just not sure drop bars and a heavy old steel 10speed is right for me and I'm concerned about winter already. My commute will also get longer early next year (from 4 to about 6.5 miles). Hate to change the SS back to geared but it would be a great commuter. It's a 2008 On One Scandal 29er with carbon front fork, throw on some big apples, change back to ergons with the bar ends...... might be a sweet ride. It would be lighter than my 1977 Schwinn!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I wore my rain jacket. Then the sun came out, humidity crept up. So I took it off. Then it started raining. Put it back on. Stopped about seven minutes later and the sun comes out again. Just left it on. Got so soaked in sweat before work...

I also started stretching before commutes or any riding. I kinda realize now that neglecting to do so was a great disservice to myself. My knees don't hurt when I'm going really hard anymore.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Straz85 said:


> My theory is that the presta valves don't all screw down as tight as they should.


The screwing down doesn't do anything in that regard. Prestas are held closed by air pressure.
All tubes leak. Rubber is porous. Inconsistencies in the rubber make some leak more than others.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

cobi said:


> Just not sure drop bars and a heavy old steel 10speed is right for me and I'm concerned about winter already.


I am right for everyone.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> I wore my rain jacket. Then the sun came out, humidity crept up. So I took it off. Then it started raining. Put it back on. Stopped about seven minutes later and the sun comes out again. Just left it on. Got so soaked in sweat before work...
> 
> I also started stretching before commutes or any riding. I kinda realize now that neglecting to do so was a great disservice to myself. My knees don't hurt when I'm going really hard anymore.


Do some stretches afterward too.


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2014)

Forster said:


> Very fluid commute today.  Covered 5 miles of gravel, 4.5 miles of rails-to-trails and 8 miles of paved trail/street in 1:15. The split between the cyclecomputer (pauses when the bike stops) and stop watch on my HRM was less than a minute. Must have been fired up after watching Greg Lemond on 30 fo 30 last night. Kind of sad to seem him in a backbrace and unable to ride due to the lead he still carries from his turkey hunting accident. Odd how that works, I started my serious cycling training in a backbrace after a car accident and was really inspired by his early successes in professional cycling.


 Ride home should have been really good (good weather, legs felt fresh, sun was shining) but it was an hour and twenty minutes of suck fest. One of my friends at work collapsed and died during my last hour at work. 46 year old with no health history walking from the parking lot to his building and then nothing. EMTs on-scene within two minutes of collapse (literally next to a fire station) and no response, heartbeat, nothing.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Peddle home was hot, hot, hot. About 115F. When I walked in the house my wife asked how my ride went. Told her I felt like crying. . .she rolled her eyes and said I do it to myself. I have a Jeep and Isuzu Rodeo sitting right in front of the house that I rarely drive. Of course she reminded me of this.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Forster said:


> ... One of my friends at work collapsed and died during my last hour at work. 46 year old with no health history walking from the parking lot to his building and then nothing. EMTs on-scene within two minutes of collapse (literally next to a fire station) and no response, heartbeat, nothing.


Wow, so sorry to hear, that is rough.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Forster said:


> Ride home should have been really good (good weather, legs felt fresh, sun was shining) but it was an hour and twenty minutes of suck fest. One of my friends at work collapsed and died during my last hour at work. 46 year old with no health history walking from the parking lot to his building and then nothing. EMTs on-scene within two minutes of collapse (literally next to a fire station) and no response, heartbeat, nothing.


I'm so sorry, Forster. That's both sad and scary.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Forster - sorry to hear about your friend and coworker. Thinking about you and his family.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

Sorry to hear Forster. That is tough to go through. Had a similar situation happen with a co-worker, right down to CPR being immediately administered and EMT's being on site within minutes. Sometimes there's just nothing anyone can do and no good explanation. In our case he was sitting in a chair at the end of his shift talking to a good friend one second, gone the next. 

Hug your family, remember to tell everyone you love them regularly. Unfortunately that's about all we can do I think.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

cobi said:


> Commuted on my Salsa Spearfish this AM. Planning to ride after work tonight (ride to trailhead, ride home). Supposed to be 98 today though, we'll see how motivated I am come 4:30.


Well, I didn't wimp out (although the people I planned to ride with did). Thankfully there was a bit of cloud cover and even just a few tiny/faint sprinkles. Turned out one of the local shops was demoing Rocky Mountain and Giants at the trailhead. Always hard to turn down riding someone else's bike so I took A Giant Trance for a demo since I may be in the market for a 5" bike next season. Wasn't particularly impressed with the bike (might have been partially the heat and my lack of energy though). Rode my "go to" after work quickie loop and just was all out of whack. Also hands were numb within two miles. Not sure if it was a fit issue or crappy grips. First flat of the year (tubes are THE DEVIL). Was just going to get the bike back on time and with less than 1 mile of downhill left, ssssssssssssss! Felt bad, he had everything packed up (except my bike) and was waiting to get his ride in. Was about 10 minutes late. Sorry man but next time demo tubeless! Specialized did. Rode my bike home, and it was still 96 at 7:45 when I pulled in. I'd complain about the heat but VegasCruiser has me beat!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Forster said:


> Ride home should have been really good (good weather, legs felt fresh, sun was shining) but it was an hour and twenty minutes of suck fest. One of my friends at work collapsed and died during my last hour at work. 46 year old with no health history walking from the parking lot to his building and then nothing. EMTs on-scene within two minutes of collapse (literally next to a fire station) and no response, heartbeat, nothing.


Sorry to hear this - hope everyone involved is doing as well as can be expected.



NDD said:


> I wore my rain jacket. Then the sun came out, humidity crept up. So I took it off. Then it started raining. Put it back on. Stopped about seven minutes later and the sun comes out again. Just left it on. Got so soaked in sweat before work...
> 
> I also started stretching before commutes or any riding. I kinda realize now that neglecting to do so was a great disservice to myself. My knees don't hurt when I'm going really hard anymore.





jeffscott said:


> Do some stretches afterward too.


Any particular stretches you'd recommend - if I ride too many days in a row I start to get some slight knee pain that makes me worry (usually notice it right after riding).

Today's ride was good - had a really bad cramp in my calf this morning around 4 am, bad enough to make me jump out of bed. It was still there when I woke up again, but I massaged the calf a bit and jumped on my bike hoping for the best. I did take it slow, but made it  I realize this is cheating because I'm only working 4 days this week, but I haven't driven in at all (including the day I had to carry in a boatload of clothes / towels / etc...). Feeling pretty good about that. Hopefully I can do a full week one day this year.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Found out today that a rail trail that has been "under construction" since 2010 has some more work happening now that may be enough for me to use on part of my commute. Eventually it will replace about 30% of my commute, including a section of road that's so rough it's dangerous (which I emailed the town about and got no response, go figure) and a downtown area that's a bit nerve wracking too.

My legs are shot today. I've added at least 9 miles to my commute everyday this week and I rode 65 miles on Saturday, so I've done 175 miles in the last 6 days. I will be taking tomorrow off, maybe a short ride one day this weekend, otherwise I need to rest.


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## Terp (Jul 25, 2013)

This morning was my first commute by bike in about 10 years. My office just moved to the outskirts of town, off the main bus route. But with the shorter bus ride that skips downtown my round trip time is actually shorter. And some of its on my bike. Score!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

My wife wanted to lift legs at the gym on Monday, and in trying to be a supportive husband, I agreed to lift with her. Big mistake. Pedaling in the next day was a little rough but I figured it would help clear the lactic acid...no dice. Pedal home yesterday was no good. Just didn't have the energy and my legs feel thrashed. Between lifting, a XC race on Saturday, and commuting the first three days of the week, I opted to take a break today and drive. I'll be back on the horse tomorrow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

AlexCuse said:


> Any particular stretches you'd recommend - if I ride too many days in a row I start to get some slight knee pain that makes me worry (usually notice it right after riding).


If you're actually having problems, I would totally recommend getting a foam roller. They're incredibly painful, but so good for tired legs. (they should probably be used in addition to stretching, but I tend to use mine instead of stretching.)

And there are a million possible causes of knee pain, but I always like to point people to Sheldon Brown:



> Something the doctors don't seem to think of suggesting, but which really helped me a lot, is to make a concious effort to avoid lateral knee movement during the pedal stroke. Watch your knees as you ride (in a low-traffic setting!) They should move up and down as you pedal, with no sideward motion.


I get knee pain sometimes, and when that happens I deliberately brush my knees on the toptube with each pedal stroke (to counter my natural tendency to flail outward), and that makes it better. It might not help you, but it's worth trying.

Nice ride in on the fixie this morning. I've got tomorrow off, but the weather all weekend is supposed to be kindof crummy.

I think I must have bruised/cracked a rib two weekends ago. Had a minor fall, and a bunch of miscellaneous aches and scrapes. Now all of the scabs have healed and the bruises are gone, but my chest still hurts as much as it did two weeks ago. It's nothing intense, and is mostly just annoying. The internet tells me there's nothing to do but wait.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Yesterday morning was great. I've got new gearing (34-11), and it makes things much easier than trying to push around that 23-11 sprinters cassette that came on the bike. 

Yesterday evening, however... Well, a part of my route was just repaved. Super smooth stuff and it makes riding a true pleasure, especially in comparison to the trashed stuff that was there previously. Some kids were flipping boards in the cycle lane, and I asked them to clear, which they did without conflict. What they didn't do was alert me of the black ramp they were doing tricks on. I didn't spot it until about two feet away, and by that time, it was too late. I hit it at 20mph and went down. Slid a good 10 ft and have some good road rash to show for it. I'll be doing dressing changes for the next few weeks, that's for sure. 

Their dad came out yelling at them. He had apparently told them to move the ramp out of the street, and they refused. Either way, he was extremely apologetic, helped me get the bike back in order (reset the wheel in the dropouts, reposition shifter, adjust brakes) and gave the kids a good tongue lashing. Wound up trashing my helmet, so I've borrowed a buddy's spare until payday rolls around.

Needless to say, I caught a ride into work today. I'm going to try and knock out 10 miles or so tonight to loosen things up and get back at it in the morning. 

And for those who were wondering, cyclocross bikes were made for that.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

AlexCuse said:


> Any particular stretches you'd recommend - if I ride too many days in a row I start to get some slight knee pain that makes me worry (usually notice it right after riding).


I don't know what any stretches are called. Just any and all leg stretches. Definitely get quads, hamstrings, and calves. I need to keep working at it. I'm incredibly not limber. I have never been able to touch my toes. Everyone else I know that's not over forty can... Just about anyway. So yeah, any stretches, do them slow.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

newfangled said:


> If you're actually having problems, I would totally recommend getting a foam roller. They're incredibly painful, but so good for tired legs. (they should probably be used in addition to stretching, but I tend to use mine instead of stretching.)
> 
> And there are a million possible causes of knee pain, but I always like to point people to Sheldon Brown:
> 
> ...


I love my foam roller. I started using it per the recommendation of my physical therapist. I have had some leg issues due to my particularly muscular legs that aren't at all flexible. I have IT band syndrome and it's a huge help for that. It does hurt a lot the first few times, but once the knots work themselves out, it's far less uncomfortable (I was going to say "far more comfortable" but I couldn't bring myself to say "comfortable" in the same sentence as "foam roller"). Sort of like getting a deep tissue massage, the first few times are incredibly painful.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

newfangled said:


> If you're actually having problems, I would totally recommend getting a foam roller. They're incredibly painful, but so good for tired legs. (they should probably be used in addition to stretching, but I tend to use mine instead of stretching.)
> 
> And there are a million possible causes of knee pain, but I always like to point people to Sheldon Brown:
> 
> ...





NDD said:


> I don't know what any stretches are called. Just any and all leg stretches. Definitely get quads, hamstrings, and calves. I need to keep working at it. I'm incredibly not limber. I have never been able to touch my toes. Everyone else I know that's not over forty can... Just about anyway. So yeah, any stretches, do them slow.


Thanks I'll check out the foam rollers. I tend to notice the pain coming up more when I use a bike with flat pedals so it could be my knees drifting out for sure, like you mention. I will try to focus on keeping my knees straight on the way home. And stretch a little bit too!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

AlexCuse said:


> Any particular stretches you'd recommend - if I ride too many days in a row I start to get some slight knee pain that makes me worry (usually notice it right after riding).


Every morning I do

Cat and Cow stretch

Side bend

Lat stretch

Back lunge...and stretch the quad.

Calf stretch straight and bent knee (Gas and Sol)

Arm Swings back and front, arms behind the back and Reverse prayer pose.

I also do hip machine three times a week

https://www.google.com/search?q=Hip...35%2F2005%2F08%2Fmultihip_machin.html;200;277

You get a good foam Roll off of that.

For cramps get a Ph Balancer and check your urine Ph certainly really acidic...need hydration and some ions. Ultimate pH Balance

People who exercise alot tend to build Lactic acid that causes a drop in urine ph...you will never get to the 7.0 or 7.2 but you can improve it and this helps with cramps.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It poured on the way home, but luckily I left after the lightning excitement. The server got fried at the office where I park, and the pumps and cash register got toasted while my friend was at the gas station.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I feel you on the dead legs, Straz. I've been easing my post-surgery body back into running lately and combine that with bike commuting and I'm tired. I really just wanted to stay in bed this morning, but alas, I dragged myself out before 6am.

Easy ride in this morning, nice weather. I saw a dude going for a run in jeans on MUP. Huh. I never understand that one.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in today. Nothing to report. Mozzies are bad in the mornings. Maybe the loss of blood makes the ride seem better than it really is? Don't know. Tomorrow is an off day, so I'll be dipnetting some sockeye if things go well and won't be riding the bike. If things go really well, I'll get the dipping done and then ride the bike.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Commute in was great, legs felt great, I might actually need a bigger gear.

Random picture from commute...


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Every morning I do
> 
> Cat and Cow stretch
> 
> ...


Thanks will try this out - did just a minimal amount of leg stretching before I took off after work and its amazing how much livelier my legs felt. On one stretch I wasn't much slower than I was on my road bike a week or two ago, despite being on a relative tank of a bike. Well I guess my road bike is a relative tank of a bike too


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Sorry to hear about coworker. . .that sort of stuff never stops being shocking.

Ride to work resulted in a half mile walk. Heard a clicking from the back tire. Jumped off bike to check it out and heard air whizzing out. . .about two miles from work at this point. Immediately jumped back on the bike and peddled like crazy. Covered about two miles before completely flattening out. Even stood up to get the last quarter mile.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I really focused on minimizing lateral movement in the legs. Amazing how much less effort you'll actually use and end up going faster. Pedaling technique has been a slow process for me.

I need to figure out how to tighten up my pedals where the cleat how in, I think. I noticed my feet wiggle in them a lot. I feel like that takes away from efficient pedaling.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Normal commute for me today, ride in and home felt slow although it took me the normal time to get there. Was the warmest 71F day I have ever ridden in on. I was drenched when I got to work. Running into a problem, and I am sure that others here may have the same issue. The straps of my helmet are rubbing my freshly shaven face, giving me some redness and burning. I always run the helmet straps fairly tight, but I may have to loosen them a bit, or stop shaving before work. I am starting to get ingrown hairs and bumps on the right side of my jawline, which I am assuming is from the strap constantly rubbing and touching my face. I have two helmets, and have been switching them out to prevent the straps from getting gross, but it may be time to invest in a new helmet or find a remedy for the straps.

I managed to get Friday off and now have a 3 day weekend, so no commute, I am however going to ride with the local group again and explore the city, so I will get my miles in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

NDD said:


> I need to figure out how to tighten up my pedals where the cleat how in, I think. I noticed my feet wiggle in them a lot. I feel like that takes away from efficient pedaling.


Also check if the cleat is still snugly attached to the shoe. Most pedals have an adjustment for release tension (how hard it is to get out), but this should not make it wiggly, even when set on "loose". Others also have an float adjustment, controlling how much you can angle your foot around and giving your knees more "freedom"; this might feel like more wiggle. Some brands have you reverse the left and right cleats for different release angles. Worn out cleats can also feel wiggly. See if you can track down the pedal instructions online if you don't have a paper copy.


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## jcaino (May 26, 2007)

Freaking awesome. Started the ride at 55 degrees F. Didn't expect to use arm warmers in July....what a gorgeous ride into work. Best part is that it's a half day for a company opicnic back at North Park.

http://www.strava.com/activities/170677596


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

It was a cool morning for July, but I'm not complaining. Perfect cycling weather. I ran out of clean lycra shorts/jerseys so I rode in my baggies this morning. Felt like I was pulling an open parachute. Must have been mostly in my head though, as my average speed was pretty comparable to normal.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Normal commute for me today, ride in and home felt slow although it took me the normal time to get there. Was the warmest 71F day I have ever ridden in on. I was drenched when I got to work. Running into a problem, and I am sure that others here may have the same issue. The straps of my helmet are rubbing my freshly shaven face, giving me some redness and burning. I always run the helmet straps fairly tight, but I may have to loosen them a bit, or stop shaving before work. I am starting to get ingrown hairs and bumps on the right side of my jawline, which I am assuming is from the strap constantly rubbing and touching my face. I have two helmets, and have been switching them out to prevent the straps from getting gross, but it may be time to invest in a new helmet or find a remedy for the straps.
> 
> I managed to get Friday off and now have a 3 day weekend, so no commute, I am however going to ride with the local group again and explore the city, so I will get my miles in.


I shave at night, and find that it doesn't make much of a difference. Since your body doesn't really grow hair during sleep, it really is negligible, but it's enough to prevent that. I also find that coconut oil with shea butter makes a great aftershave and provides enough protection for the strap to glide.

Whether I shave at night or in the morning, I still look like I have a 5 o'clock shadow, so you might want to give it a shot.

No ride yesterday or today. Still recovering from my wipe out on Wednesday afternoon. I'll be back at it tomorrow. A buddy and head mechanic at the LBS is doing a coast to coast Florida ride tomorrow morning, and I'm SAG/med support, along with another mechanic. We've got five riders so far. But, since I have to be at the shop at 0430, I'm riding, so the wife and kids can get plenty of rest.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> I really focused on minimizing lateral movement in the legs. Amazing how much less effort you'll actually use and end up going faster. Pedaling technique has been a slow process for me.
> 
> I need to figure out how to tighten up my pedals where the cleat how in, I think. I noticed my feet wiggle in them a lot. I feel like that takes away from efficient pedaling.


This flies in the face of a lot of issues you don't want to bring to the table.

First float is there to allow for proper knee movement, take out the float blow out your knees.

Second the cleats help your foot stay where it should be on the pedal, but they are just intended to be a guide, for your pedal stroke.

Thirdly cleats allow for a much smoother pedal circle (not just stroke)...without a lot of "ankling" that a flat would.

You can think of the pedal circle in many ways...

people use a four count, down..wipe you foot...flash your knee up to your chest...kick forward.

I like a three count down...wipe your foot....flash your knee up.

When done well a FS bike sith out lockout can be ridden with no perciptable pedal bob.

I tighten my cleats only when I start to pull out of them on the up stroke.

Lastly on adjustment that is often forgotten is whether the cleat how far forward the cleat is on the shoe...

To far forward and you have to use too much calf to prevent "ankling"

To far back and your toe might interfere with the front wheel on turns..

I ride as far back as possible.

This brings up another issue pedal length...most bikes will come with a 170 to 175 mm length...

If you are around 5 11 or up a 175mm should feel a little better than a 170...no firm rule of thumb here....

My point is if you go from a 170 to 175 you will use more range of motion in the knee
This can cause knee pain for a week or two til you get used to it.

Be very careful with pedals, cleats and seat postions.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

I live in the desert..... we get 9 inches of rain per year. It is absolutely pouring out!!! But it's Friday and I take my truck home on Fridays so I'm gonna be nice and dry!

I've been driving it in on Mondays leaving it at office all week in case I need a vehicle and there isn't a company one available.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> This flies in the face of a lot of issues you don't want to bring to the table.
> 
> First float is there to allow for proper knee movement, take out the float blow out your knees.
> 
> ...


That is quite the can of worms...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not quite a commute, but one hell of a ride. Met up with the local bike group that meets on Friday nights. Did this for the first time last week and had a nice ride. Same tonight, but a much faster pace, and nowhere near the amount of stops. Found some really cool places that I never knew existed here in the city, and had an absolute blast. Met a few new people, ate some delicious food. Oh, and clocked 50.07 miles. All fixed gear. That is officially my longest single ride ever. It was split up a bit by a dinner stop, but the total miles is what counts for me. I am just spent. Wrists hurt, ass hurts, and my legs are like jelly. Rode the bike in my sig, with that gearing, and even put the Aerospoke on the front to show one of the guys in the group. That wheel weighs a ton in comparison to the stock front wheel. I am really happy with my light setup, and it lasted the whole ride because of my smart battery conservation. I received a few compliments from fellow riders along with some questions about the brands and of course, the cost.

This is the view from one of our stops at a park with a garden and a view that I didn't know we had in the city.


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2014)

10Spd, I did the same thing today. Cranked out 30 miles and lunch at a little bar. About half way through the first leg we had a guy break the chain on his mid-80's road bike (never heard of the brand and can't remember it not) but the chain hadn't seen any lube for a while and both outer plates popped off the pin. I pulled the bent link out and reassembled the chain. At the parking lot after he tells me he's going to keep riding until the chain fails a few more times. Really, it's nearly 30 years old, buy a chain.


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## snailspace (Jan 12, 2014)

Last 2 commutes were in pouring rain, roads full of huge puddles. Got my new ride all dirty.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> 10Spd, I did the same thing today. Cranked out 30 miles and lunch at a little bar. About half way through the first leg we had a guy break the chain on his mid-80's road bike (never heard of the brand and can't remember it not) but the chain hadn't seen any lube for a while and both outer plates popped off the pin. I pulled the bent link out and reassembled the chain. At the parking lot after he tells me he's going to keep riding until the chain fails a few more times. Really, it's nearly 30 years old, buy a chain.


*** He may make intimate contact with his top tube pounding up a hill. That will make a new chain seem cheap.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Oh, and clocked 50.07 miles. All fixed gear. That is officially my longest single ride ever.


So by the end, how much leg-braking were you doing? I just did 45mi on my fixie a couple of weeks ago, and for at least the last half hour everytime I got to a downhill I'd maybe think about braking for a pedalstroke or two, but then I'd give up and go for the lever.


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> *** He may make intimate contact with his top tube pounding up a hill. That will make a new chain seem cheap.


 Agreed, an ounce of prevention is always cheaper in the long run than a pound of cure.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute this morning, since I had to borrow the truck from the in laws to pick up a bunch of portable ac units, since our central unit went out and won't be replaced until the end of the week. I'll be dropping it off when I leave work, pedaling to the LBS, and doing our Monday night 15 mile ride. Not too fast, it's more for people just getting into the sport. How to ride with a group, hand signals, so on and so forth. I teach a 10 minute thing on first aid and what to do in the event of an emergency on the bike. Fun stuff. 

This weekend, I crewed 6 guys who biked Florida Coast to Coast, just shy of 300 miles. It was an incredible experience and an honor. Learned a ton, too. Two RAAM finishers, as well as the first guy to finish RAAM after having quadruple bypass open heart surgery from a congenital defect. Held a steady 24 for the first 150, and 19.5 for the last half. Insane.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fairly standard commute this AM. I did have a fun bike commute with my daughter yesterday afternoon. We just put clipless back on her bike and the wife wanted me to ride with her to make sure that she didn't have any problems during the commute. I love that my 16 year old bikes to her job and hasn't once asked to get her driver's license!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Last night I had a really vivid dream that it snowed. So much so, that when the alarm went off I allllllmost rushed to the blinds to check.

And in the dream I thought "oh, it's august. It always snows in august. How boring. But waitaminute...it's still July, and it never snows in July!" (I have seen snow here in June and August, but apparently it's never actually snowed in July which is why dream-me was so happy)

Nice enough ride in today, and rather than snow it's in the 80s.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Stormy in Vegas. Poured last night. Ride in and home was under cloud cover and threat of rain. Good ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> ... I love that my 16 year old bikes to her job and hasn't once asked to get her driver's license!


Very cool! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wet and cool this morning, but I had a preview when I walked the dog, so I was prepared. Got lucky on the way home and split the 2 forks of the storms passing through and was totally dry.

I really needed to ride and stretch after wiping out on the Angry Gnome bridgework yesterday - on foot during trailwork! The Gnome claims it's first victim and it's not even open yet!


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## In-Yo-Grill (Jul 19, 2011)

Did my 12.4mile route today and got my fastest time. Good workout before the heat ramped up.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

newfangled said:


> So by the end, how much leg-braking were you doing? I just did 45mi on my fixie a couple of weeks ago, and for at least the last half hour everytime I got to a downhill I'd maybe think about braking for a pedalstroke or two, but then I'd give up and go for the lever.


I was too mentally exhausted to even think about braking. We don't really have many hills here, and there is a climb right as I get to the end of the MUP. The ride down was fast and smooth, and I took the turn into my complex super wide so there was no braking. 

New bar and stem combo is nice, still need to make some minor tweaks to the bar and the light mount. Today, I am not that proud of myself. I was an angry biker. Followed a guy into the neighborhood that I cut through in a truck yakking on his phone who made 2 turns without looking or using his turn signal. At the stop sign, he sat, yakking some more. I was behind him, and was hesitant to pass on either side for fear of him turning. Sure enough, he made the slow move to the left with no signal as I went to the right. As I passed, I slapped my hand on the rear quarter panel and screamed at him to use a signal next time. It startled the guy walking his dog down the street. I wasn't quiet about my displeasure for his crappy driving.

Unseasonably cool today, high in the 60's I think it was. Ride home was in the 50's. Shorts and a t shirt were perfect. Squeezed out a few extra miles through campus before heading home to walk to the dog.


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2014)

Once again I am stumped. I'm stumped because I can't figure out why a guy was riding his motorcycle down a city bike trail (and I couldn't catch him to get the license plate number). I'm stumped because a Chevy Tahoe almost slammed into me when I was crossing with the light because (and I quote) "Sorry about the tires squeeling, my front brakes don't work very well." (I did get that license plate and call it in.) Finally I'm stumped because my Fargo sporting Club Roost CX tires is consistantly slower than my Fisher Paragon sporting the el cheapo version of the Geax Saguro on my ride in. My route is 5 miles of gravel road, 5 miles of crushed lime rail-to-trail and 7 miles of various types of pavement. I'm stumped (and pissed that I didn't get the plate number off the bike.)


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I just can't get over how stupid people are.

Do other jurisdictions have these things?
















They're in our driver training manual, and I assume that they're not just some bizarre invention that no one except me knows about?

I'm stopped at this redlight this morning, taking the lane, sitting outside the x-ed out no-stopping zone. A car comes up behind me, has to weave around me, and pulls into the box at a 45deg angle. Since right now I'm feeling pretty much zero patience for idiot drivers, I asked her (loudly) if she really was that much of a moron, and she politely raised her window.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> I just can't get over how stupid people are.
> 
> Do other jurisdictions have these things?
> 
> ...


We don't have them here in Alaska. Honestly, I've not seen them before anywhere in the US I've been. We have a simple line that folks are supposed to stop at or behind, but... not many do because they are usually set back from the corner such that one cannot see around the corner.

Anyway, good ride in this AM. A touch chilly at 47F.

I realized yesterday just how important tire pressure is in the big tires. On Sunday night I threw a couple of pumps of air into each tire, getting them up to about 18 PSI front and 17 rear. High pressure for the fatties. Anywho...I noted on the ride in that I felt faster. On the ride home I know I was faster than my average and the perceived effort was the same or even less. How much of that is all in my head, I don't rightly know, but I felt like greased lightning. Probably looked like a slug. Greased maybe, but a slug none the less. Except to that one roadie I blew by, but I think he was doing his cool down.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> We don't have them here in Alaska. Honestly, I've not seen them before anywhere in the US I've been. We have a simple line that folks are supposed to stop at or behind, but...


We don't use these everywhere. Most intersections just have a stopline, but at narrow spots they'll use these to keep cars back a bit, to give buses and large vehicles space to turn.

So then the question is, if you came across one of these, and you didn't know what it meant, but there was a bike stopped at the solid white line, is the natural assumption just to go around the bike and park yourself in the crossed-box?


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Pretty good. I'm loving the wide saddle I got from Nate, and the ability to skip the riding shorts it gives me. 

The last few commutes I've gotten to see a blue heron flying at eye height maybe 20 feet off my right shoulder - really cool to ride alongside them for a bit. I wish I had a gopro or something to take a picture (really want the google glasses, but I object to pretty much everything else about them except the ability to take pictures while riding my bike)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> I just can't get over how stupid people are.
> Do other jurisdictions have these things? They're in our driver training manual, and I assume that they're not just some bizarre invention that no one except me knows about?


*** I have not seen them in Ontario, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana or any stare I have passed through. I have see the set back or staggered stop lines so that long vehicles can clear without forcing people to back up. She ran the stop light and set up a dangerous situation for you. A cell phone picture of her and her plate would be justified. In Indiana it is illegal to pass if you cannot return to your lane within 100 feet of an intersection. I called a pickup driver on that because you can't see traffic that stopped and would enter from left or right and be head on (until they move sideways into me that is). It is a reckless driving charge here, if caught. So wiht running the light, a big point hit on the old driver's license and an insurance increase.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ she didn't actually run the light. She just decided that the line she wanted to stop at was infront of the line that I was stopped at, and that it was worth driving around me to get there. It wasn't particularly unsafe, so much as just "how stupid are you?"

(compounded by the fact that I go through here every day, and plenty of people will pull past me and basically right out into the intersection, so that they can be "ahead" of me and "first" when the light changes)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ she didn't actually run the light. She just decided that the line she wanted to stop at was infront of the line that I was stopped at, and that it was worth driving around me to get there. It wasn't particularly unsafe, so much as just "how stupid are you?"
> 
> (compounded by the fact that I go through here every day, and plenty of people will pull past me and basically right out into the intersection, so that they can be "ahead" of me and "first" when the light changes)


I always make allowances for Edmonton drivers.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in and good ride home. Slight cool down here in Vegas. Not even sure it made 100F today.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was brutal. Headwinds like you wouldn't believe. Had an unbelievingly exhausting day at work, so I asked the wife to pick me up. I just didn't have the legs. Swung by the LBS and grabbed a Big Chill bottle for 5 bucks (it's good to be friends).

Tomorrow should be much better. What they're saying is a cool front (really just dryer air) moved in, so I'm looking forward to a break. Still steadily pushing for training. I'd like to be able to keep up with the A group on Saturday without turning in to a serious roadie. I enjoy my bunny hops and helmet visor too much


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We don't have those weird x things in VT either. They just move the stop.line back at intersections where a turning truck is liable to take you out if you are too close.to the intersection.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> ^ She didn't actually run the light.


If she did not stop behind the painted stop line and stay until the light changed to green (unless making a right on the red) she ran the light in some jurisdictions.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fast and cool, both in and home. Barely broke 70F today, and it is 59F right now. Not sure if fall is coming or this just a lull in the temperature. Did a few extra miles since it was so nice out, averaging about 20 round trip now which I like. Missed the rain on the way in by about 20 minutes or so, and there was nothing on the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Checking in. I've been too swamped at work to make or read any posts. I've even had to opt for the car a few 12 hour days because instead of leaving at 5:00, I've left at 8:00 with no light....in a thunderstorm.

Commutes are all good.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

Been getting a bunch of nasty little rain showers the last week or so (uncommon for the desert). Somehow I've managed to dodge them all on my commute. And of course now that I said that, I'm sure I'll get caught in a deluge on the way home today.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM and last evening. The mountains are beautiful this time of year. Hard to keep focused on the trail ahead when the sights are so wonderful.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

An elderly lady almost hit me this morning. She took a left from a stop sign onto the street I was travelling on and either didn't see me at all or didn't care. If I didn't brake, she would have hit me. She looked like she was well into her 80's. Amazes me that people that old don't have to get re-tested for their license.


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

*Yesterdays commute sucked... or did it?*

Yesterday a friend joined me on the commute to work, I ride to their house and then to work which adds four miles total to my 18mi commute. The commute from their house is actually much nicer then mine, 80% forest preserve (crushed limestone) trails. I currently have some sort of head cold that is robbing me of energy but I still wanted to ride, I am sick whether I ride or drive right? I was good on the way there, no problems. On the way back however I felt terrible. No energy, legs tired, coughing, throat throbbing, etc. About half way through the commute I realized that even with everything wrong with me I was still pedaling efficiently and was keeping up my normal pace. It was a weird sensation because I was able to focus on pedaling and not what my body was feeling like, therefore, I thoroughly enjoyed it! When I arrived home I had some dinner followed by Nyquil and was out!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good ride in today. I usually save my energy for this one section of road so drivers don't think they absolutely have to pass me and cut me off or something. I was going as fast as the car in front of me for about 400 feet. I'll take it. Going 30-35mph on a mountain bike with smooth tires is tough work for my baby legs at any distance.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Had to strip some bits off the portland for a friend's build, back on the casseroll.
Slower, but more "freight train-ish" in chopped asphalt.
The extra heft makes it a bit harder to toss around and will undoubtedly delay my rehab and training for thiis year's tour.

I'm down to a month before the trip... haven't huffed more than 40K in a day and the last couple times I've gone out with clipless have been newbie-embarassing getting clipped in. 
Getting worried.


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2014)

Rode my longest day this year (on MTB tires) at 38.3 miles. Saw a few hundred Robins on one mile of trail (there must be a food or water source there) so I got my Hitchcock fix. Met a couple guys near work who were new to town and commuting to work for the first time. Then on the way home I saw a Fox (should really buy a GoPro) and had a der pulley take a crap. Looks like I'm down to one bike for a while. Guess I should clean things more often.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Really nice ride in today. Stopped at my buddies shop to pick up a new computer, and ran into one of the guys that is in the group that I ride with on Friday nights. He ended up riding the rest of the way to work with me as he was heading that way already. Ride home was really nice, very cool, but pretty fast. It looks like my max speed on the fixed gear was about 28.7 mph. That was me just screwing around. I want to hit 35 eventually. Made the days total a nice 20 mile round trip ride. 

Thoroughly annoyed with the people that ride to work, and how they just don't understand how to lock a bike up to a rack. I will try to get some pictures of the rack these next couple of days and show everyone what I am dealing with.


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## lextek (Mar 24, 2004)

No commute today. Woke up to some violent thunderstorms. Guess the weather guy was wrong…….


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit slow feeling this AM after yesterday's ride to the bus (20 miles) and bike clinic riding (10 miles single track with kids - slow going and lots of uphill starts...) last night. A good ride, though. Nice weather overall. Mid 50s, but cloudy.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Had a flat yesterday for the first time in something like 2.5 years. Discovered that a big section of my gorillatape rimtape had migrated off of the spokeholes, and bunched up under the bead. I haven't tested the tube to see if the exposed spokeholes were what caused the leak or not, but they'd clearly been like that for quite awhile. We're in the middle of two weeks of temperatures touching 90F, which I don't mind riding in, but my clothes sure get gross quick.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Left home about an hour early to make it in for an all day meeting, and saw 4 other bikes! One guy already had on a winter hat and I don't think it was a fashion statement.

Yesterday an 18 wheeler behind me honked just as the narrow cones marking the construction lanes began. "Move over" I guess. So I did, right into the middle so that he didn't try to squeeze by. I did pick up the pace for the remaining couple blocks of the zone.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

I have been commuting most every day this summer. Most days are good, but not terribly notable. Yesterday was one of those days that you just want to tell about. I was about 2 miles from home and saw a road treasure and turned around and went back for it. It was a spool of blue nylon rope, brand new in the package just the right size to fit in my backpack. I grinned, excited to return home and show bedwards1000 what I had found. Just as before I was to turn onto the side street we live on the neighbors dog ran across their yard, into the road to come after me. Cars coming in both directions...the car coming behind me hit the dog, I hit my brakes hard, then realized that I needed to clip out...just a little too late. I crashed down into the street still clipped in. Ouch! Then I watched the dog run back into the yard. Not dead! Then looked back to see there were about 5 cars all stopped in the street waiting for this drama to unfold. Holy Crap! After picking my self back up and getting out of the street I realized the dog had not been injured, I had not been injured and everyone around was very concerned for my wellbeing. Phew! I rode the bike (with a newly cracked mirror) around the corner and completed my commute. A happy ending! After gushing through my story to bedwards I remembered the spool of blue rope in my backpack. Score! I prefer the less notable days


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, rollingrunner, so glad nobody was hurt. I hope you're not too sore tomorrow.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Glad you are alright.

It is amazing to me how gloriously nice my rides in can be and how utterly miserable the exact same ride in reverse becomes on the way home. Guess it's the difference between 80F and 110F. Today was brutally hot after the monsoonal cool down (low 100s) of last week.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

21 miles today round trip to work and back. Just glad I didn't get another flat. Can't believe how many flats I get. Anybody have any suggestions for good puncture resistant tires? If this is already covered somewhere let me know please.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

biker_soldier101 said:


> 21 miles today round trip to work and back. Just glad I didn't get another flat. Can't believe how many flats I get. Anybody have any suggestions for good puncture resistant tires? If this is already covered somewhere let me know please.


I really like the performance and speed I get from Conti Gatorskins, but Specialized Armadillos aren't too shabby either.

This morning was a blast. Put the hammer down and set a few new PR's, and felt the burn. Unfortunately (but fortunately) I put in a 13 hour, extremely physical day, so the wifey picked me up. It would have taken over an hour to make it back home. We'll see if I can roll out of bed on time to make it to work. 0430 comes awful early...


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

Ugh. I think I caught the flats from reading everyone else's posts. I took my wheel off to check the problem and there was a small metal piece that looked like a stud from my winter tires on it. I tried to pull it out and couldnt. So I took the tire off and there was about an inch of it in my tire. Pulled out the spare tube and the valve broke. Luckily I wasnt too far away and my roommate was able to bring the Troll. Ended up only 15min late for my appt and didnt really miss anything. I also got to swing by the fun doughnut shop on the way home when I went to the bike store to pick up some extra tubes. So it was almost worth it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

biker_soldier101 said:


> 21 miles today round trip to work and back. Just glad I didn't get another flat. Can't believe how many flats I get. Anybody have any suggestions for good puncture resistant tires? If this is already covered somewhere let me know please.


Continental Gatorskins. Absolutely love this tire. I have some Specialized Armadillos as Tex mentioned above, but they roll slower imho.

Ride in was very windy, with that headwind just blasting me. Hotter than hell for 70F for some reason as well. Ride home was actually warmer I think, and pretty boring all the way back to the MUP. Once on the MUP, it was nice and quiet, nothing going on, wait, wut? Come up on a guy with his bike upside down. My lights caught his rear reflector. BMX bike, and it is screwed up, and he is swearing up and down left and right. He hit something, and wrecked, and wrecked bad. The rear brake is completely locked up on the wheel. The whole caliper is completely bent, and when I say bent, we could not get it undone. He went otb, and hit his face, his hands, and his knee pretty bad. It was swollen already and it had just happened. I told him to keep walking and moving it around and I looked at the bike. I hate to say this, but my first thought is that I was going to get jumped and/or robbed. I kept looking around for someone to jump out and try to steal my bike or whatever. MUP is pitch black at night, and this kid was pretty shaken up, and it was after midnight so I dismissed that pretty quickly. Well, I couldn't get the damn brake undone at all. I had a multi tool and a single speed tool with me, and neither did the job. He calmed down and we decided that he should just carry the bike for the last .5 miles to the main road. I walked my bike with him, using my lights to light the way. I have never been happier to have really bright lights before. He kept thanking me because he was pretty sure that he wouldn't have made it back without me. I felt good, but at the same time felt bad for him. Riding a BMX bike home from work on a pitch black path using his cellphone LED for a light. That path is really dark. I tried to ride it one night with just a BlackBurn Flea headlight, and I could barely see. I don't imagine that a phone LED is much better.

He told me that he hit a rock. A rock? No way. I looked on the path because that would have been one hell of a rock to hit. Then I noticed where we were. I had issues here a few times in the past. Why? The suicidal rabbit. I swear, I bet he hit one of them. He said he felt it when he hit and then he was down.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

New bike rack in Barre, VT, supporting our claim to Granite Capital of the World.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Been thinking of carrying patches. Not sure how much to trust those though.

As far as my commute this morning. One word........ construction. :-/


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

There was a few week period where I rode 6 days a week between commuting and recreational riding, then last weekend I had to take a few days off just because I was busy. My legs got completely rested and I figured I'd feel invincible when I got back on the bike, but they just didn't want to work everyday I rode this week. Legs felt useless, no motivation. I was only able to ride three days then my father came up from Florida for a few days, so now I won't ride again until Monday (and the last day I rode was Wednesday). Hopefully I'm feeling a bit more motivated next week!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I felt great on Monday, and then for some reason my legs were just tired the rest of the week. Theoretically I'm going to take it easy over the weekend, but in reality I know that won't happen. I have 100ft of hedges to take out on sunday.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

biker_soldier101 said:


> Been thinking of carrying patches. Not sure how much to trust those though.
> 
> As far as my commute this morning. One word........ construction. :-/


I find that it is much easier to change a tube than to try to patch while out on the road. If I flat out, I change the tube quickly and then when I get home or wherever I'm going, I find the hole and patch it and put that tube in my bag for then next time I need one. I do carry a patch kit with me - depending on the riding I am doing, as I have had times where I've gotten multiple flats on a single ride - though that is rare.

Good riding this morning. Warmish, but humid. I am looking forward to the weekend. Have a trail work and bbq day for the kids bike clinic I've been coaching at this summer - should be fun. Might even get some river bottom riding done afterwards.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Love the bike rack! It has a LOT of personality! Seems like no-one would steal a bike with those guys watching!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I almost always bike with a bad or wearing cargo shorts. That way I always have space for a tube, patches, and tire levers. Does me well enough. I like the glue patches. Takes a few more minutes but they'll last longer from my experience. 

Good ride today. Felt sluggish but was actually pretty good. 17.9mph. I'll take it. 

So I think I'm going to get a new bike this weekend. Road bike. 1986 Schwinn Let Tour with wheels upgraded to 700c, new tires, new bar tape, new saddle. It's super clean and pristine. Dude won't take less than $150. I haven't seen anyone selling a newer bike with all cro mo tubing at a price that lot so I'm thinking about jumping on it. It's also got index shifters. That's good. Almost bought a newer aluminum frame bike for the same but the guy sold it for less because he didn't wanna hold it for another day... Craigslist, where you always wonder if it's stolen.

Do any of you know about centurion bikes? Some guy is selling a fixed converted Dave Scott ironman centurion (which just sounds silly) and I declined because he didn't know anything about it, like if it was fixed only or flip/flop. I don't need fixed for a commuter. Single speed, I'd like that.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> I don't need fixed for a commuter.


Why not?


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

As long as it doesn't have brakes


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Why not?


Simply put, I would hurt myself. And I really like being in control of where my feet are positioned. That's a big one for me.

To each his own. I know your bias on this.  I'll try single speed before I try fixed, but I'd rather have a flip flop and be able to do either.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Hot and humid ride home on the Monocog. Geared too low for commuting but the low gear might've worked to my advantage as I just took the ride home slow and easy. Commuter had a flat this morning. Almost drove in but figured having two extra bikes in the stable hardly justified a drive in. Will fix flat and lightly tune up commuter this weekend.


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## lextek (Mar 24, 2004)

Yesterday morning was cool and cloudy. Got caught in a few light, sprinkles. Nice ride. All pavement. Ride home started with a downpour and thunderstorm. Only lasted about 10-15 minutes. The sun came out when I hit the trail. All in all a fun commute. My PI jacket isn't ad waterproof as I thought. Any suggestions for breathable rain jackets?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

42 miles last night, not on a commute, but with the local bike group. Dodged thunderstorms most of the day, and luckily, we ended up rain free. Not sure how that worked out, because when I left to get to campus to meet up, the sky was pitch black to the northeast. Thunder in the distance, and a few hits of lightning. We rode all over town, hitting a jazz festival and a kayak and canoe rental place. That was fun and all, but the ride that 4 of us took to get some white spray paint was better. There is a ghost bike near the hospital that I work at, and someone defaced it, painting part of it pink. We took care of that last night, and it was an honor. We had a foreign exchange student with us, on a brand new to him 1974 Schwinn road bike, and he was loving it. Kid busted it out like a boss, as he rode about 38 miles of the ride with us throughout the night.

No commute for me today as my legs are pretty shot after riding all week, and then the ride last night.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Friday was my first commute in a week post crash (wheel sucking crack + inattention = me splayed out on the ground) and it was obvious my wrist was not healed as much as I thought. Between the crash damage and the humidity it ached all the way, not really enjoyable. But it did feel good to ride again.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Few close calls on the way in this morning. Two right hooks then a lady backed out of her driveway in front of me, then she puts it in drive but is still angled towards her driveway because she sucks at backing her car up, so she starts to pull forward before turning the wheels left so the front right of her car sort of goes into the shoulder in front of me, not only that, she completely stops when her bumper is blocking the whole shoulder so she can wave goodbye to her child so I had to slow way down. Then she starts to accelerate really slow, so slow that I was able to pass her for a couple seconds. I looked over but she didn't see me. I just threw my hands up like "what the hell?" but I don't even think she saw. People are completely oblivious to others. Then I got to work and had all sort of issues with our servers to fix (the group I supervise is in charge of around 350 servers for the software company I work for). I took out my anger on a guy in the cafeteria. My bagel was toasting then he put his in and changed the speed (one of those conveyor belt toasters) which people do all the time and I think is rude, so I said "you know there's other people's food in there too" and changed it back. Let's hope the day improves.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

In a strange turn of events, I didn't end up buying the Schwinn (guy never actually called, doesn't matter) but my buddy who works at the lbs called and said he'd sell me one of his personal bikes for a good deal. Now I have a cannondale synapse (it's actually a"femme" frame, but it fits me well). Today will be the first commute on it. I'll see how that goes. 

Only beef, it's bright orange and every bike I've owned for the last eight years has been gray.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Steady drizzle falling since some time last night. I`ll take it.

Just dragged in my BOB and loaded it up with cardboard and junk mail to recycle at work, then noticed one of the spring clips that hitch it to the axle has mysteriously disappeared. I`ll have to order a new one, but in the mean time, I found a diaper pin to stand in. Diaper pin! man, what are the chances ?!?

Yesterday I rode my folder into town to retrieve Mrs Rodar`s car from my mom`s house. For a few seconds there, I thought I was in somebody else`s ride- car frantically beep-beep-beep-beeping at me and the driver pointing at a silly potholed bike path that runs for a couple blocks on the salmon side of the street. Made me smile, so I waved. That short run (1.5 hrs including a donut stop) was my first ride of 2014 other than commuting. Puts my work ride : fun ride ratio firmly at 748:14. Woodway, you got that beat, dontcha?



Spatialized said:


> Friday was my first commute in a week post crash (wheel sucking crack + inattention = me splayed out on the ground) and it was obvious my wrist was not healed as much as I thought.


Ouch. Don`t do that!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> That short run (1.5 hrs including a donut stop) was my first ride of 2014 other than commuting. Puts my work ride : fun ride ratio firmly at 748:14. Woodway, you got that beat, dontcha?


Rodar, I'm missing your touring reports/photos. Come on man, get with it 

My Work Ride:Fun Ride ratio for 2014 is 3157:1345. Here is a snap of the latest fun:


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

It is raining about as hard as I've ever seen right now....... might wimp out and take my truck home tonight if it doesn't clear up! 

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION HAS ISSUED A URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR... NORTHWESTERN MESA COUNTY IN WEST CENTRAL COLORADO... UNTIL 500 PM MDT 

* AT 203 PM MDT... DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED HEAVY RAIN DUE TO THUNDERSTORMS. THIS WILL CAUSE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING IN THE ADVISORY AREA. 

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER IN URBAN AREAS... HIGHWAYS... STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TRAVEL ACROSS FLOODED ROADS. FIND ALTERNATE ROUTES. IT TAKES ONLY A FEW INCHES OF SWIFTLY FLOWING WATER TO CARRY VEHICLES AWAY.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

cobi said:


> It is raining about as hard as I've ever seen right now....... might wimp out and take my truck home tonight if it doesn't clear


Cleared up enough to ride home! I got plenty wet, but didn't get rained on.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cobi said:


> Cleared up enough to ride home! I got plenty wet, but didn't get rained on.


Aw c'mon. Storms are the best!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday I rolled a stop sign at about 4-5mph from one side street to another. There was a lady in an SUV a few hundred feet back moving really slow. A few second later I hear her beep from pretty far away then a minute later she pulls up next to me, rolls down her window and says "You didn't even look" then rolls up her window and speeds away. She then proceeds to stop about 10' past the stop line at the next light and turn left with no turn signal. Double standards are a wonderful thing.

After that I lucked out, there were isolated thunderstorms all around me and I only got rained on for maybe 5 minutes at the most. This morning's ride in was nice, weather was just about perfect.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

Had another thunderstorm last night/this AM. Didn't get rained on though. Was a nice cool wet morning , felt like fall. I can't wait for fall!

Mental note, look into fenders and a breathable rain jacket!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yesterday I rode my folder into town to retrieve Mrs Rodar`s car from my mom`s house. For a few seconds there, I thought I was in somebody else`s ride- car frantically beep-beep-beep-beeping at me and the driver pointing at a silly potholed bike path that runs for a couple blocks on the salmon side of the street. Made me smile, so I waved. That short run (1.5 hrs including a donut stop) was my first ride of 2014 other than commuting. Puts my work ride : fun ride ratio firmly at 748:14.


What gets into people?!? :crazy:

Sorry your fun ratio has been hit so hard.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, a coworker thought I was "crazy" to ride home, but it only rained hard for the last mile or so, and instead of thunder and lightning, there was a rainbow.

Lots of wildlife by my house lately, a bear took down 3 bird feeders Saturday night, removing every metal perch from the tube feeder and leaving some bite holes in the plastic. Then yesterday morning a brown blur ran away from my dog on the trail and then up a tree. It posed there eyeing me curiously, and I was able to see it was a fisher cat, which I have never seen before. They're in the weasel family and known as the only porcupine predator, and also for eating housecats, even though they are only housecat size themselves. Ten minutes later, we saw a doe and fawn.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great day for a commute, so I did. Decent on the way in, longer ride on the way home. Took the longer way home, and did some exploring. The route is something I have driven before, but never ridden, so I went that way. All out of the way, but still nice. Almost halfway to my goal for the year, and it will be a struggle to reach it I think.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Got rained on a little bit on my way in, not too bad though. Then I got to work and had forgotten my breakfast, but that was okay, because it was chocolate chip pancake day in the cafeteria, which is my favorite breakfast!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

It took some work to get them on, but I tried out some origin8 "space bars" I saw laying around EMS - feel pretty good, though I think I may swap on some non-ergon grips when I get home. Mostly just like the width (I had an old school 540mm bar on there before) but the sweep is nice too. Been riding through the state park a lot lately, adds some good scenery and a couple miles.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

AlexCuse said:


> I tried out some origin8 "space bars" I saw laying around EMS - feel pretty good, though I think I may swap on some non-ergon grips when I get home.


Not sure how you've got it setup, but it's worth playing around with the angle a bit. I've run my sweepy alt-bars level, angled up, angled down a bit, and angled down a lot. It completely changes the feel. For my Mary bar (which I think is pretty close to the spacebar) I tend to angle it down about 20deg. But it depends on stem length and height too. You can also flip it for a completely different feel. There's plenty of options is what I'm saying. 

As for the commute, it's too humid here. 80% is not right for the prairies.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I really like the performance and speed I get from Conti Gatorskins, but Specialized Armadillos aren't too shabby either.
> 
> This morning was a blast. Put the hammer down and set a few new PR's, and felt the burn. Unfortunately (but fortunately) I put in a 13 hour, extremely physical day, so the wifey picked me up. It would have taken over an hour to make it back home. We'll see if I can roll out of bed on time to make it to work. 0430 comes awful early...


Thanks man. I have heard of the gatorskins more than once. Went for a ride Sunday and had another flat. Front tire this time. I try to avoid debris too. Fustrating. Anybody seen these?.... WTB Freedom ThickSlick Deluxe Sport Tire - Performance Sales Exclusions


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

biker_soldier101 said:


> Thanks man. I have heard of the gatorskins more than once. Went for a ride Sunday and had another flat. Front tire this time. I try to avoid debris too. Fustrating. Anybody seen these?.... WTB Freedom ThickSlick Deluxe Sport Tire - Performance Sales Exclusions


Just looked at the specs, those are pretty heavy. Most WTB tires are. They seem to get good reviews though, and much cheaper than Gatorskins. I have been running Gatorskins on my commuter and road bike for a combined 6000 miles and only had 2 flats.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Rodar, I'm missing your touring reports/photos. Come on man, get with it
> 
> My Work Ride:Fun Ride ratio for 2014 is 3157:1345. Here is a snap of the latest fun:


That does look fun. I'm not Rodar but here's a few pics from my latest ride. The mountains aren't quite as tall as that big one in your picture.
The Candid Cyclist: A Mountain, A Ledge and a Notch

I just ordered up some Gatorskin 28Cs for me and the misses for the cross bikes.

Commutes have been good dodging thunderstorms and working late. The lights have come out early in the season.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Cool trip, you went up the Maine side of Hurricane? I have only done the NH side to take the trails back down. For others unfamiliar, when you drive that road over Hurricane you say "how the heck did they put blacktop on something this steep and winding?"

Say it ain't so on needing the lights already for the ride home from work!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Wrist is healed (basically) but the mind has doubts (and worries and other issues clogging up the works) and riding just wasn't fun, it was work. So I drove. When the mind's not in the game it's just not worth it to mount up. It's even a bit dangerous as I found out. Be back at it soon enough.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> That does look fun. I'm not Rodar but here's a few pics from my latest ride. The mountains aren't quite as tall as that big one in your picture.
> The Candid Cyclist: A Mountain, A Ledge and a Notch


Nice report bedwards!

That big on in the picture is Mt. Rainier: Mount Rainier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

biker_soldier101 said:


> Thanks man. I have heard of the gatorskins more than once. Went for a ride Sunday and had another flat. Front tire this time. I try to avoid debris too. Fustrating. Anybody seen these?.... WTB Freedom ThickSlick Deluxe Sport Tire - Performance Sales Exclusions


Every bike shop I have been in tells me to get the Gatorskins over the ThickSlicks, so I did. Very happy with them so far. No issues, price wasn't too bad, and the ride is nice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spatialized said:


> Wrist is healed (basically) but the mind has doubts (and worries and other issues clogging up the works) and riding just wasn't fun, it was work. So I drove. When the mind's not in the game it's just not worth it to mount up. It's even a bit dangerous as I found out. Be back at it soon enough.


Maybe a few fun relaxing rides somewhere to ease back into the saddle once your wrist is a little stronger. Hope your other worries resolve OK too, hang in there.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I feel like everyday recently I have another story about someone being an idiot. Yesterday on my ride home, I was on a residential side street and this lady is walking her little foofoo dog on a retractable leash. I was on the right side of the street going around 15mph and the lady was on the left side of the street. Right before I get to her, the dog pulls to the end of the leash, must have been 20-25' from the lady, right in my path, so I stop a few feet from the dog. The lady goes "You could have warned me". I said "don't let your dog pull the leash across the whole street" and she proceeded to continue yelling at me, I just rode away. Apparently we should be warning pedestrians walking on the opposite side of the street in case their dog wants to run across the street.

Otherwise it was a really good ride. Again I dodged the rain, missed a storm by about an hour. I got home and the ground was soaked, at work not a drop of rain all day after around 7:00am.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Not sure how you've got it setup, but it's worth playing around with the angle a bit. I've run my sweepy alt-bars level, angled up, angled down a bit, and angled down a lot. It completely changes the feel. For my Mary bar (which I think is pretty close to the spacebar) I tend to angle it down about 20deg. But it depends on stem length and height too. You can also flip it for a completely different feel. There's plenty of options is what I'm saying.
> 
> As for the commute, it's too humid here. 80% is not right for the prairies.


Definitely will fiddle with the height some. But my main issue here was with the ergons - I have been using the GA1 (I think - got in a trade) on my hardtail since going to a 12 degree bar and I don't miss the "wings" as much as I thought I would. So on these bars with a million degrees of sweep, the wings end up putting my wrist angle too far to the outside. Put on some oury lock-on grips from the same trade last night when I got home and everything feels perfect now. Hopefully it stays that way, because I am not looking forward to wrestling that bar out of my stem!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Cool trip, you went up the Maine side of Hurricane? I have only done the NH side to take the trails back down. For others unfamiliar, when you drive that road over Hurricane you say "how the heck did they put blacktop on something this steep and winding?"
> 
> Say it ain't so on needing the lights already for the ride home from work!


Yes, up Maine, Down NH and then on the the same stretch of road that you, me and Rodar road through bear notch. The road hits about 25% grade in a few spots. I may try to get out and explore the trails while we are out camping in that area next week.

Light are only out because I've had to work 8:00-8:00 a few days.

Hey Woodway, I knew which mountain that is. I've seen it a few times in person too but never close enough to climb it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> I feel like everyday recently I have another story about someone being an idiot. Yesterday on my ride home, I was on a residential side street and this lady is walking her little foofoo dog on a retractable leash. I was on the right side of the street going around 15mph and the lady was on the left side of the street. Right before I get to her, the dog pulls to the end of the leash, must have been 20-25' from the lady, right in my path, so I stop a few feet from the dog. The lady goes "You could have warned me". I said "don't let your dog pull the leash across the whole street" and she proceeded to continue yelling at me, I just rode away. Apparently we should be warning pedestrians walking on the opposite side of the street in case their dog wants to run across the street.
> 
> Otherwise it was a really good ride. Again I dodged the rain, missed a storm by about an hour. I got home and the ground was soaked, at work not a drop of rain all day after around 7:00am.


Aim at the dog...99% she pulls it out of the way if not go around or stop.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

The last few days have been really good. Been feeling like a boss, just constantly going. I'm sure that will run out soon, but for the time being, it's great. My only two complaints were yesterday afternoon on the way home, and this morning on my way to work. 

Yesterday, I was in a semi-residential area coming to a stop sign. I was about 25 ft away when I heard a car approaching from the rear. I motioned for the vehicle to stay behind me, since there would have been no way for us to both safely maneuver the stop. I slowed to about 10 mph and began coasting, while the vehicle gunned the engine. He swings in to cut me off, and even with me slamming on my brakes as hard as I could and skidding on the asphalt, I still had to steer away from his truck bed. Turned out to be a local competitor, and it gave me a great look in the back of his bed for his EPA violations. I did the typical "wtf?!" Hand motion. He blared his horn and sped away, trying to peel out. 

This morning a car making a left turn almost slams into me while going straight through a green light. Dude at least apologized, with a cell phone in his hand...

I called the competitors regional office and spoke with the manager. I made the laws clear, as well as the fact that I noticed several serious EPA infractions that will shut down a pest control business in a heartbeat. I'm sure she didn't care, but we'll see. 

Greatly looking forward to a nice recovery weekend. The legs could use a rest.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Lots of nasty driver stories here lately. That sucks. I'm glad everyone is staying safe, despite them. 

My ride in today was nasty-driver free, thankfully. I'm also rolling Gatorskins this year and I love them so far. I made a small seat adjustment recently and now my lady parts are a lot happier on my rides. :thumbsup: 

I have some weird rattling coming from my drive train area. I'll have to try and figure out what's going on this weekend. I really, really love this bike, but it's had a lot of random noises that I keep needing to figure out, which annoys me. My cheap(ish) mountain bike that I bought in 2011 has been totally quiet for all its life.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Interesting catching up on the forum since I haven't been on all week. Haven't been riding enough between last minute projects and a job interview. That's sad. Next week should hold good commutes. 

The increase in driver stories is interesting. I haven't had any issues in a while now, but in the stl area in general there have been at least two incidents in the last couple weeks In which cyclists are actually targeted by drivers. In both cases, as far as I know, the police refused to charge the drivers. The one that happened a few days ago was basically a hit and run by some guy who decided to get miffed while passing the fast paced group on a shop ride. The cyclists computer has his speed at 28 mph in a 30. Seems... Warranted. I read the comments too... Mistake.

Any way, it's raining here and I have to run errands for my boss today so no ride. Coulda used a good shower.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Oh yeah, returned the road bike to my buddy. It was a great bike, real fast, but it was really not a commuter and I would not have felt comfortable with text books and for and clothes packed on it for the school semester. It just lacked that utilitarian swag I love so much. Looking currently for a steel road bike. This'll take a while. Craigslist is unfruitful as usual.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Lots of nasty driver stories here lately. That sucks. I'm glad everyone is staying safe, despite them.
> 
> My ride in today was nasty-driver free, thankfully. I'm also rolling Gatorskins this year and I love them so far. I made a small seat adjustment recently and now my lady parts are a lot happier on my rides. :thumbsup:
> 
> I have some weird rattling coming from my drive train area. I'll have to try and figure out what's going on this weekend. I really, really love this bike, but it's had a lot of random noises that I keep needing to figure out, which annoys me. My cheap(ish) mountain bike that I bought in 2011 has been totally quiet for all its life.


Glad to hear your lady parts are happy. Sad lady parts aren't good for anyone.

Did you get it at a shop or online? If you bought it locally, I'd bring it back and tell them they should go over all the bolts.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> Glad to hear your lady parts are happy. Sad lady parts aren't good for anyone.
> 
> Did you get it at a shop or online? If you bought it locally, I'd bring it back and tell them they should go over all the bolts.


Thank you for your concern over my lady parts. 

I bought it at a local shop in Minneapolis, which is a good 5 hour drive from where I live. So essentially I did not buy it locally or online. It's only rattling when I am pedaling, not when I am coasting. I can always take it to my LBS if I can't figure it out myself.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today, but I did do my big group ride. Just a hair over 10 miles, then stopped for dinner at a folk festival down near the campus. Then the fun riding began. We escorted a young lady to her car from our group, and then three guys on fixed gear bikes just tearing the town up. Did some urban exploring, went back to the festival, picked up a few more people, and then rode some more. 46 miles for the night, and I feel pretty good. I did ride right by work, not once, but twice. That is a hell of a way to spend your day off, but at least I was on my bike. 

Living in the capital of the state gets you shots like this!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I don't think this thread has ever been so far down the page. 

It was pretty foggy this morning, ended up having to pull over and turn on my taillight and take off my sunglasses. It was clear by time I got to work though.


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## jcaino (May 26, 2007)

Rough one this morning. First day back from vacation, taking a tight right-hand turn onto another street from a downhill and -BAM- next thing I know I'm sliding across the road on my right side.

Hit a damn-near invisible oil slick. Poor Brooks saddle now has some nasty road-rash, as does my arm and shorts.

Ugh.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Good ride in today. KOM'd a half mile segment! 1/118 riders. This is on a old, heavy Gary Fisher hardtail 26er. I am getting stronger, and I cant wait to finish my new(2003) cannondale road bike project.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got a grocery run in on the Schwinn. Last ridden with the cat. Tires needed a fair bit of air. Mostly pretty good. A couple of poor passers. Decent run, overall.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jcaino said:


> Rough one this morning. First day back from vacation, taking a tight right-hand turn onto another street from a downhill and -BAM- next thing I know I'm sliding across the road on my right side.
> 
> Hit a damn-near invisible oil slick. Poor Brooks saddle now has some nasty road-rash, as does my arm and shorts.
> 
> Ugh.


You might want to consider a route with less spies.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

moefosho said:


> Good ride in today. KOM'd a half mile segment! 1/118 riders. This is on a old, heavy Gary Fisher hardtail 26er. I am getting stronger, and I cant wait to finish my new(2003) cannondale road bike project.


This. This is why strava kills me. To hear someone talk about KOM-ing. It's so masturbatory. I get infinite laughs about watching people run stop lights and stuff on segments because they're KOM-ing to hard to stop. I'm sorry. I'm really immature.

Anyway, keep it up bud!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday's ride home was filled with tire related irony....tirony if you will.

Last week I decided to order some new tires, so I ordered them and they were scheduled to come yesterday. I ordered them before I really needed them and was planning on using the remaining life on the Gatorskins on a SS project I'm planning.

I realized half way on my way into work yesterday that I had put my multi-tool, which has my tire levers on it, in the seat bag on my road bike, so I didn't have it with me.

I was riding through the Framingham State University campus (I take a detour because there's a good climb I like to do when I'm feeling motivated) and noticed the back end didn't feel right, I look and my tire was really low. I pulled over to the side, opened my seat bag and remembered I didn't have my multi-tool. I called my wife and told her to stay tuned, I was going to try to pump up the tire and see what happened. Then I noticed that one of the tire levers had fallen off my multi-tool in my seat bag. What luck! I was able to change the tube! I noticed while changing it that my current tires were completely shot. Tons of tiny cracks in the rubber and a lot of larger chunks missing from all the glass and stuff in the road. Also ended up finding a staple in there that caused the flat.

Got home, new tires were waiting for me, put them on and road in with them this morning. Took the long/bumpy route to see how they did. I went from a 32 on the Gatorskins to a 35 on the Marathon. They both run narrow, so it's more like a 33 or 34. Part of me wishes I went with the 40, but it's not the end of the world. Maybe I'll get those when I build the SS and put the 35's on that.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

NDD said:


> This. This is why strava kills me. To hear someone talk about KOM-ing. It's so masturbatory. I get infinite laughs about watching people run stop lights and stuff on segments because they're KOM-ing to hard to stop. I'm sorry. I'm really immature.
> 
> Anyway, keep it up bud!


Obviously don't run reds and stop signs because your strava is running. If you don't understand the benefit of competition, maybe strava isn't for you. I enjoy the competition and challenge. It adds another aspect and makes me push physically to get stronger. And just so you know, I KOM a hill climb on the way home too.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

moefosho said:


> Obviously don't run reds and stop signs because your strava is running. If you don't understand the benefit of competition, maybe strava isn't for you. I enjoy the competition and challenge. It adds another aspect and makes me push physically to get stronger. And just so you know, I KOM a hill climb on the way home too.


I agree with you on the motivation and challenge point, I like competition and am a Strava premium member, but it does get out of hand... I often see people doing idiotic speeds in inappropriate places due to Strava KOM attempts.

I saw a guy on a cyclocross bike racing full speed down a single track full of adults, children, dogs etc, shouting for people to get out of the way - all it needed was the cry of 'STRAVA!' and the scene would have been complete.

We have a guy at work who plans his family holidays based on the number of 'easy' KOM's he could get on Strava in the holiday destination.

I like Strava, but it can be an obsession for some.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Marc2211 said:


> I agree with you on the motivation and challenge point, I like competition and am a Strava premium member, but it does get out of hand... I often see people doing idiotic speeds in inappropriate places due to Strava KOM attempts.
> 
> I saw a guy on a cyclocross bike racing full speed down a single track full of adults, children, dogs etc, shouting for people to get out of the way - all it needed was the cry of 'STRAVA!' and the scene would have been complete.
> 
> ...


I definitely agree. It is somewhat of a joke for my friends. We generally just compete against each other.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Oh I like strava for the challenge aspect. I meant it kills me with the hilarity that people do stupid things in order to win. And, you know, all of the KOM-ing jokes. 

In reality I use it to keep records of miles for physical fitness and bike maintenance reasons. I like to track my progress and see how much I can outdo myself. It's fun but really, I don't see how some people take it so serious.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

> I enjoy the competition and challenge. It adds another aspect and makes me push physically to get stronger.


I think the bulk of Strava users feel this way without getting out of hand. I really enjoy Strava for a number of reasons. I'm almost always riding alone so I appreciate being able to see how I stack up against other riders in my area. It allows me to track my improvement as I work to get stronger and I like using it to track the miles I have ridden throughout the year.

Just like anything else, there will be a couple fanatics that make the whole group look bad. As mtbers and cyclists, we all should be very familiar with that phenomenon 

And now...back to the regularly scheduled commute thread. Sorry for the hijack. I drove today so I have nothing to add. Hope to get back on the bike tomorrow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I haven't ridden since Friday, and I won't today either. Bad storms forecasted for the afternoon/evening so I am driving. Once that moves out, the remainder of the week is clear, so I will be back on the bike.


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## Flash (Jan 30, 2004)

Good time to ride in Detroit.......... In a kayak.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Got monsooned on my way to work yesterday. Never know in Florida really. Forecast says one thing and you get the total opposite. I always keep socks and underwear at work just in case.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've been quiet for a while. I can assure you that I have been commuting. They've just been so standard that I didn't feel like they were worth sharing. All my fun rides have been coming on the weekends when I ride just for fun. Been putting in some good miles this year. I've booked 7300+ miles since January - combo of commuting and fun rides. I'm pretty happy about this as it is a 2K jump over my total yearly mileage last year - though I did have two months last year with less than 100 miles commuting each month due to life circumstances and being homeless.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> I haven't ridden since Friday, and I won't today either. Bad storms forecasted for the afternoon/evening so I am driving. Once that moves out, the remainder of the week is clear, so I will be back on the bike.


We're getting those storms tomorrow. I will be working from home because I don't want to drive to work.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Just did some statistics on this year's commutes, just because I felt like it:

-I've biked 63 days so far out of 116 days in the office, that's 54%

-If you take out Jan/Feb when there was too much snow on the road and I wouldn't commute for safety reasons, I've biked 74% of the time.

-I haven't driven to work since May 13, that means I'll officially hit 3 months since I've driven to work on tomorrow. My longest streak before was <2 weeks

-I've logged 1346.6 commuting miles as of last night for an average of 21.7 miles per commute (round trip). 

-I've ridden 1944.6 miles total this year as of last night, which is 64.8% of my goal of 3000 miles for the year.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> I've been quiet for a while. I can assure you that I have been commuting. They've just been so standard that I didn't feel like they were worth sharing. All my fun rides have been coming on the weekends when I ride just for fun. Been putting in some good miles this year. I've booked 7300+ miles since January - combo of commuting and fun rides. I'm pretty happy about this as it is a 2K jump over my total yearly mileage last year - though I did have two months last year with less than 100 miles commuting each month due to life circumstances and being homeless.


And you wonder why you keep breaking/wearing out parts....;p


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> And you wonder why you keep breaking/wearing out parts....;p


You might have a point there...

I was chatting with the wife the other day and complaining about my Knard and how it's already going bald after only getting it back in April or something like that. And we figured out the per mile cost of the tire - it was something ridiculous like a 2/10ths of a cent per mile or something. So I don't feel so bad about it now and she's starting to see that it make sense to get the higher-end components to get more miles out of them.

Now I just need to start working on her about how much I need the Bucksaw...! Well, maybe not really.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

8/14/13


mtbxplorer said:


> Bummed that I've been missing my GPS for about a week. I thought I left it in my helmet on the coatrack at work for a couple days while I used a work car for fieldwork, but I am hoping it will turn up in my car, house, etc. I suppose it could have fallen off the bike or out of a car (my sunglasses did that last week and I was lucky to see them before I ran them over), but who knows.


Wow, it was found and returned to me - almost exactly one year later! Plugged it in and it worked like a champ. It was under the seat in the work car.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

So, I want to throw a question out to you all. I'm looking for a new saddle, something that's going to last longer than a year or two and something that's going to be as comfortable as possible. So the question is: What saddle are you using and what do you like about it? Dislike? 

In full disclosure I'm leaning towards Brooks, the Cambium, but I am drawn to the B17 as well. Just figure if I'm going to spend those kind of dollars I better make sure I'm getting the best option.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> 8/14/13
> 
> Wow, it was found and returned to me - almost exactly one year later! Plugged it in and it worked like a champ. It was under the seat in the work car.


That's pretty impressive. Did they just not see it forever or were they all "meh, I have no idea where this came from"?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> So, I want to throw a question out to you all. I'm looking for a new saddle, something that's going to last longer than a year or two and something that's going to be as comfortable as possible. So the question is: What saddle are you using and what do you like about it? Dislike?


I'm going to keep tuned in on this one. I use whatever comes on the bike. The whatever oval saddle on my mountain bike is pretty cool by me. Got a Schwinn super le tour from some guy Monday. Love everything but the GT saddle he put on there. It hurts my butt and cuts off circulation in my naughty bits. So I want to replace it.

Other than that I'm all about the chromoly frame and fork and having drop bars. So having this bike for my daily commuter now is pretty badass. And it fits my color scheme with bikes. All black and white except the brown hoods on the brake levers.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

There it is. Wish it was 700c tires. Are there any 27" cyclocross tires? I want to roll some gravel with this thing, too. The feel is super stable. Nothing like that c-dale I had for three days.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We`ve been getting a lot of afternoon T-showers. Mostly isolated, but some fairly widespread and everywhere has been soaked at least a few times in the past month or so. The rainfall has definitely been helping to keep wildfires at bay, and I`m now wondering if summer rains like that can actually improve our water supply by any measureable amount. Mostly it comes from winter snowpack.

For all the overcast afternoons and evenings, it`s been darker than what the sunrise/sunset program would suggest on my way to work (~8PM), but today was clear, and I can see that it certainly is close to genuine dark at that hour now. Won`t be long before my ride home is plagued by "sun-right-in-my-eyes" syndrome.

School busses are back 

I spent an hour or so plugging known climbs in my area into Mapmyride, trying to find something similar to 2 miles at 17% for the sake of comparison. No luck- it`s gnarly for sure.

Cool deal on the returned GPS, Xplorer. What a surprise.


blockphi said:


> I've booked 7300+ miles since January - combo of commuting and fun rides.





Straz85 said:


> I haven't driven to work since May 13, that means I'll officially hit 3 months since I've driven to work on tomorrow. My longest streak before was <2 weeks.


:thumbsup: to ya both! Good going, guys


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

NDD said:


> That's pretty impressive. Did they just not see it forever or were they all "meh, I have no idea where this came from"?


It was found under the seat, I guess nobody had been under there. I had replaced it with the Astro dog-tracker GPS, but found it's trip computer a little too much trouble to bother to use for daily riding, so I will definitely use this one.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Rain rain go away, come back another day. 

Small patch of rain this morning. Almost turned back but decided to wait it out. Really felt like riding today.


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2014)

I got the tri-non-fecta of cool humid air, dusty roads and sinus issues. Nothing that can dampen the spirits when you start your day with a 25mph run down your driveway and knock out another 17.6 miles before the first minute of work.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> So, I want to throw a question out to you all. I'm looking for a new saddle, something that's going to last longer than a year or two and something that's going to be as comfortable as possible. So the question is: What saddle are you using and what do you like about it? Dislike?
> 
> In full disclosure I'm leaning towards Brooks, the Cambium, but I am drawn to the B17 as well. Just figure if I'm going to spend those kind of dollars I better make sure I'm getting the best option.


It's not really so simple. There's different saddle widths that are right for different people. To be honest, I'm not sure how your saddles are only lasting you a year or two. Though I suppose you ride a lot more miles than me in more extreme weather. I've always had good luck with WTB, and some of them aren't very expensive at all. I have a WTB Silverado on my road bike which I've had for a few years and it's been holding up well.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I'm currently hunting for my perfect saddle as well. I've bought a handful of saddles for cheap on ebay to compare with the 3 different saddles that came stock on my various bikes. So far I haven't found my favorite saddle yet, but there is definitely a difference between all of them. I have a Fizik Arione waiting for me at home that I haven't tried yet. Good luck with your hunt for the elusive perfect saddle.

I expected to feel dead on the bike today because my wife decided we will be running a half marathon in October and yesterday was a 6 mile training run. To my surprise it was one of my fastest commutes. Weather was beautiful for riding and overall it was a very pleasant ride, with one exception. 

Nearly got run over by some ******* in a Mercedes who lined up behind me at a stoplight and then squeezed between me and the lane next to me in order to get ahead of all 3 other cars. It infuriates me because it's in the city where you literally just move from stop light to stop light. Rolled up to him at next light and asked him if it was worth (added a few other choice words as well). The road has 3 lanes in each direction and an abundance of stop lights. He was also directly into a construction zone where he will be slowed down again (this is where I turn off to take an alternate route). I just don't get people.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Straz85 said:


> To be honest, I'm not sure how your saddles are only lasting you a year or two.


x2

All my saddles are 20+ years old. When you do find one that works for you....buy several.

Check your local bike shop for a bin of take off saddles and ask if you can borrow some of them.

B17 is a nice saddle but it's really big and I found it uncomfortable 'cause it's always there. I like a saddle that disappears under me so I feel at one with the bike.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> It's not really so simple. There's different saddle widths that are right for different people. To be honest, I'm not sure how your saddles are only lasting you a year or two. Though I suppose you ride a lot more miles than me in more extreme weather. I've always had good luck with WTB, and some of them aren't very expensive at all. I have a WTB Silverado on my road bike which I've had for a few years and it's been holding up well.


I've been using WTB Pure V and Rocket V saddles for a while now and I find that after about six months use they grow increasingly uncomfortable as a the foam in them start to break down. Also, given that I ride a lot of single track I seem to wear right through the cloth bits that they like to put on these saddles from moving around a lot as I ride. And, truth be told, a lot of the times I get rips in the covers from wrecking and such.

Crap ride in this AM. Light rain the forecast said. Wasn't light at all and I was not prepared at all. Realized about two blocks into my ride that I didn't have dry socks to change into once I got to work today, so stopped, took my socks off to keep them somewhat dry and rode the rest of the way without. Not a pleasant feeling. Not sure how some people go sockless all the time. Eww. Apart from that, nice ride. Then again, any ride is a nice ride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I've got > 16,000 miles on the WTB Rocket on my commuter and it's going strong.

A good bike shop will have one of those pin things that you sit on to measure where your sit bones are. That can be helpful in finding a saddle that works for you.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

NDD said:


> View attachment 915326
> 
> 
> There it is. Wish it was 700c tires. Are there any 27" cyclocross tires? I want to roll some gravel with this thing, too. The feel is super stable. Nothing like that c-dale I had for three days.


Nice looking bike NDD. Looks pretty close to mine! What rack is that? I haven't really checked them out much but mine doesn't have the top mounts, is yours connected where your brakes attach?


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## L4NE4 (Apr 24, 2007)

Commutes have been great lately, legs feelin good and having great weather. Although this morning was a little chilly. What are you guys using for a light jacket (maybe light rain jacket)?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cobi said:


> Nice looking bike NDD. Looks pretty close to mine! What rack is that? I haven't really checked them out much but mine doesn't have the top mounts, is yours connected where your brakes attach?
> View attachment 915407


It's connected where the brakes are. Dunno what the rack is. I actually put the Blackburn rack I had on there and plan on giving that one to my girlfriend. She's been wanting one... Maybe I'll wait until Christmas .

Today was the first non recreational ride on it. Excellent handling when loaded with panniers. I greatly appreciate drop bars for hand positioning and better aerodynamic ability of riding positions. Wind ain't got nothing anymore. 17.3mph through a headwind today. I'll take it!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

L4NE4 said:


> Commutes have been great lately, legs feelin good and having great weather. Although this morning was a little chilly. What are you guys using for a light jacket (maybe light rain jacket)?


If it's cool out (35 to 50F or so) I'll wear an I/O Bio merino jersy (sweater, really) I found at a thrift shop. It provides warmth and breathability. If it is lightly raining I'll still wear that. For heavier rains I have a Novara eVent rain jacket. I loath wearing that thing because it doesn't breath well at all and it seems to end up wetting out pretty easily - not sure if from the inside or out, though.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

L4NE4 said:


> Commutes have been great lately, legs feelin good and having great weather. Although this morning was a little chilly. What are you guys using for a light jacket (maybe light rain jacket)?


I have a long sleeve thermal jersey from Nashbar that is a bit too big on me that I wear over my normal jersey on cool days. I don't usually use it until we get into the low 50s. Cooler than that I pop a fleece jacket over the top and I'm good to the low 30s.


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## cobi (Apr 29, 2008)

NDD said:


> It's connected where the brakes are. Dunno what the rack is. I actually put the Blackburn rack I had on there and plan on giving that one to my girlfriend. She's been wanting one... Maybe I'll wait until Christmas .
> 
> Today was the first non recreational ride on it. Excellent handling when loaded with panniers. I greatly appreciate drop bars for hand positioning and better aerodynamic ability of riding positions. Wind ain't got nothing anymore. 17.3mph through a headwind today. I'll take it!


Do you know what year yours is? I believe mine is a 1977 model. Wish mine was black, but the pink (formerly red) gets a lot of looks!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cobi said:


> Do you know what year yours is? I believe mine is a 1977 model. Wish mine was black, but the pink (formerly red) gets a lot of looks!


I think mine is 1977 too! That's how it specs out when I look at components and color scheme. Also for a few years in the 80's they made them from carbon steel, not chromoly. I think that's when they dropped the "12.2".


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Fairly uneventful ride. No hooks or bad passing. No bike computer, no pulse, no speed, no Strava! At my age, I make a new record every time I ride just by riding. Just ride and enjoy. Not stinking hot, Unusually cool weather.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Brought in the newly converted Karate Monkey from SS to XX1 all kitted out for a trip to Western Australia and the 700 mile Munda Biddi trail in mid September. The XX1 is ultimately destined for a different bike but thought I may as well use it for this trip which I bottled out of attempting SS. 
All appears to be working well smooth and precise shifting, was a little concerned about how it would like the Surley horizontal dropouts but that appears to have been unfounded. The 30/10 combo is a little low for paved cycle tracks but made for a casual, relaxed and altogether pleasant change, if somewhat slower, to my usual high stress free for all on the road bike at rush hour. 
I will give it a proper test on 15 to 20 miles of single track some of it steep this evening on the way home. As long as the promised lightening storm doesn't appear - in which case I will get the bus home and try again tomorrow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in was crap. Strong headwind most of the way in. Was making what I thought was decent time, but it wasn't. Had an issue with a pedestrian who crossed the street in the middle, not at a crossing, while looking down at his phone, not paying attention at all. I came fairly close to him as he passed, and yelled "they make crosswalks you know" as I buzzed by. Startled him, because he never saw me because he was ass deep in his phone. Not a half mile later, I yelled at the Coca Cola delivery guy, who parked his huge ass truck in the bike lane, and was unloading, street side, not sidewalk side. Screamed at him as I went by that it wasn't a parking spot. I felt like those two incidents put me in a bad mood. Got a call from a great friend when I got to work, which changed the day around. Ride home was fast. Cooler nights, less traffic right now, and an almost open road just lets me open it up.

New light set up is pretty ideal and will work for me I think. As I crossed the halfway point on the MUP - I ran into the guy that had crashed a few weeks back that I stopped to help. We rode the rest of the way using my lights instead of the LED flash on his cellphone. He was OK after the crash, just a contusion on his leg that put him off his feet for a day. He thanked me for stopping again as we parted ways at the end.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been riding my singlespeed again now that my back is finally almost normal. The geared bike can be faster on the flats and downhills, but the singlespeed is faster overall. Speed going uphill is so much faster. (Plus, I had a nasty case of chain suck on the geared bike and haven't felt like digging the chain out yet.)

Weather this summer has been mostly pleasant. The hot days aren't as hot as usual and the humidity is manageable. We've even been able to turn of the AC in the house and open the windows for days on end, which is unusual in August.

Overall, my commutes have been uneventful, minus a few incidents. A couple weeks ago, a car took a left turn and swerved almost completely into my lane. I hit the brakes, and the driver finally started paying attention and swerved back over. It wasn't a terribly close call, but it got my blood flowing.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Yep, it's definitely starting to get chillier in the mornings here too. So far I've gotten away with just arm warmers and a t-shirt, but this morning I threw on gloves over my bike gloves. Sigh. A reminder that fall will be here soon and my commuting season will end in a few short months. Otherwise my ride was just lovely. 

As for jackets, I really love my Patagonia Wind Shield jacket. Not sure if they make that anymore. Patagonia is expensive, but luckily my sister-in-law gets me a hefty discount through her work.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Yep, it's definitely starting to get chillier in the mornings here too. So far I've gotten away with just arm warmers and a t-shirt, but this morning I threw on gloves over my bike gloves. Sigh. A reminder that fall will be here soon and my commuting season will end in a few short months. Otherwise my ride was just lovely.
> 
> As for jackets, I really love my Patagonia Wind Shield jacket. Not sure if they make that anymore. Patagonia is expensive, but luckily my sister-in-law gets me a hefty discount through her work.


Patagonia makes good stuff, but like you said, expensive. I find that REI or EMS brand clothing are 90% as good for 70% the price. Plus you can get better discounts at the end of the season. Or Pearl Izumi, there seems to be better discounts on that than Patagonia, and you can get "Screaming Yellow" which makes you quite visible.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent commute this AM. Dark and a bit chilly, but not raining...yet. I really find I'm not looking forward to the dark mornings before we get snow. I always feel like I need so many more lights then to be able to see and to be seen - but don't need them for the evening ride. Once it snows I am usually fine with just a single light up front - sometimes no light at all if the moon is full (but only on the MUP where I don't have to worry about cars.)


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Ride in was crap. Strong headwind most of the way in. Was making what I thought was decent time, but it wasn't. Had an issue with a pedestrian who crossed the street in the middle, not at a crossing, while looking down at his phone, not paying attention at all. I came fairly close to him as he passed, and yelled "they make crosswalks you know" as I buzzed by. Startled him, because he never saw me because he was ass deep in his phone.


In looking forward to this whenever the bulk of students get back to campus next week. Everyone will be looking at their cell phones and not the road/mup. And they can't hear you because they have headphones in with music full blast.

I'm 22 and I feel like an old man now. Sometimes I might identify too closely with Hank Hill.


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2014)

NDD said:


> In looking forward to this whenever the bulk of students get back to campus next week. Everyone will be looking at their cell phones and not the road/mup. And they can't hear you because they have headphones in with music full blast.
> 
> I'm 22 and I feel like an old man now. Sometimes I might identify too closely with Hank Hill.


 Our High Schools started this week and there's no safe place to ride.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back to commuting after about a week and a half away from it. Camping trip, flat tire I was to lazy to fix that evening, etc., and suddenly over a week is gone. Felt if I drove in again today it'd be that much harder tomorrow. . .hot and muggy but I notice the sun isn't nearly as high in the sky as it was two months ago when I set out at 5:50 a.m. Looks like fall is quickly approaching.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I sold my SS cross bike in the hopes of funding a fat bike. Was missing it this morning. Love my road bike, but stuff was a little damp from showers last night, so something stuck to my tire and punctured it. Its only my second flat of the year after like 2200 miles of riding so I guess thats not bad? (Third if you count a dried up stans incident, I don't because I never ended up putting in a tube on trail)

Chilly too, like 50 degrees when I started. Should make for a nice ride home if my tire stays inflated, I'm out of CO2


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

New record ride for me, not really a commute but my Friday night group ride. 52 miles. It was a crazy night lets just say that. Headed out with a small group of people including a guy on a Catrike low recumbent. Have never ridden with one of those before, but this guy was moving out. We cruised around, got some miles in, and then it happened. His chain broke. We were in the parking lot of a huge 24 hour store similar to Wal-Mart, but higher class. On a whim, we went in to check out their bike section, which is exactly like Wal-Mart. No. No way. THEY HAVE A FREAKING CHAIN TOOL!!! Unreal. $5 later and we are back at it in the parking lot trying to fix this chain. Get it fixed, he test rides it in the lot, and bam, it breaks again. So what do we do? Yank the chain, and tow him home. Now, here is where it gets interesting. It is already almost 1 am and the temps are dropping. We are about 8 miles or so from this guys house, and us you are wondering about? Yeah, we are all on fixed gear bikes. Guy has some 5050 rope in his bag, we concoct a make shift tow rope, and slowly make our way back. It was absolutely comical. We were cracking jokes and just having a blast. Had to take it kind of slow so nothing happened, but we made it. I am absolutely exhausted right now. Stretching out my legs as much as possible to make them stop throbbing. 

New Shimano shoes were spectacular, as was the new Canari liner I picked up from REI. Luckily I packed a warmer top layer and wind proof gloves for after the sun went down. Currently mid 50's as I write this, and it was in the upper 50's when I got home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> Our High Schools started this week and there's no safe place to ride.


Yes. Ride and home before 3 PM or wait until 4:00 for most of them to get home. If cops parked in several places they could ticket stop sign and light running, and speeding like crazy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good ride in today. Riding around campus is as bad as I thought. A little worse since I anticipated people in cars having a better grasp on what they were doing, since driving here is 90% pedestrian dodging. Nope, no way. They're worse than pedestrians so far this year. Some guy in a mustang tried to take my right of way. I just kept going because it was a 25mph speed limit and we were both approaching the same stop sign. I didn't really slow him down, he just thought I would and decided to be a d*ck about it. Grumble.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A nice ride this morning. Well, generally. Changed my chain yesterday and didn't test ride afterwards. Cassette is bad, too. Bummer. Ran and picked up a new one, so the ride'll be much better tomorrow. 

Found a nice thrift shop find this weekend. A Performance Bike branded Illuninite jacket. An older style and not as breathable as I'd like, but I look like a vampire from Twilight when car lights hit me. Unfortunately, it is now complete dark at 4:30 in the AM when I leave so I am rocking full lights now along with my new reflective bling.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Think I'm gonna run the lights again starting tomorrow. . .easy ride in and back. Made it up to Blue Diamond this weekend for the first trail ride since 4th of July. The rains have really battered the area washing out a lot of trail.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

Weird ride today. Rode a different route and had to play bumper cars with some plastic barricade barrels. Don't know if it's 25 year-old criterium racing experience or the forgiving nature of the Fargo but I took a shot on the left hand and flew right then recovered. On the second half of a 31.5 mile (round trip) commute (about mile 25) a Big Dummy went whizzing by. Never been smoked by a cargo bike when I was doing 19 mph.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy, you aren`t tardy coming back from that long weekend, are you?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in minus the a hole in the Crown Vic who was all over my rear wheel waiting at the light. I could feel the heat from the engine on my leg. I inched up, he inched up, I did it again, he did it again. I turned around finally and shot him a look. Was just worried that as the light turned green, and I started to go, he would be on my ass and throw some pressure my way. He got the hint I think and backed off and let me get into the bike lane after the intersection before whizzing by. Just shook my head and kept going.

Ride home was fairly uneventful minus the deer that startled me as I came around the bend in the neighborhood cut through that I have been neglecting. I ride by a co workers house, and she told me that she would ride but it would take her way too long to get home. We both left work at the exact same time, in fact I was right behind her. She said it takes about 15 minutes to get home. It took me 23 minutes to get to her house. That excuse is no longer valid.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Forster said:


> Weird ride today. Rode a different route and had to play bumper cars with some plastic barricade barrels. Don't know if it's 25 year-old criterium racing experience or the forgiving nature of the Fargo but I took a shot on the left hand and flew right then recovered. On the second half of a 31.5 mile (round trip) commute (about mile 25) a Big Dummy went whizzing by. Never been smoked by a cargo bike when I was doing 19 mph.


Gotta watch out for those folks on the 'strange' bikes - cargo, fat, tall - they are sneaky b-tards and like to rip the doors off of anyone they can... 

New cassette installed and all is good. I do feel a bit sheepish saying that I went from an 11-34 to 11-32 and it seems that everything is a bit off - Probably all in my head, but I feel like I'm working harder to go the same speed. It can't be that much different. More likely the issue is the legs being in recovery mode after a few tentative and brief exploratory runs over the weekend - thinking some other forms of exercise besides just cycling might do the body good.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm readjusting to riding with bags full of text books, clothes, notebooks, and food. Because of that my cookies have been slow. Yesterday morning I picked them up and I have been considerably shower since.

The real downside to having friction shifters is that I never feel like shifting so I have to find my good gear combo for riding with text books and everything. The good thing is that I'll never feel like shifting, so when I find my good gear I won't mess with it.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Gotta watch out for those folks on the 'strange' bikes - cargo, fat, tall - they are sneaky b-tards and like to rip the doors off of anyone they can...


 Funny thing was, I was pretty toasted when he passed and even then, if he'd been on a road bike I would have tried to catch-up. When I got smoked by a cargo bike it was just a little too humbling to try and recover any sense of mastery of my surroundings. Caught him at a light and had a nice discussion about his commute, turns out the Big Dummy is his only bike. Wonder how fast he'd have been on a less girthy bike.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Forster said:


> Funny thing was, I was pretty toasted when he passed and even then, if he'd been on a road bike I would have tried to catch-up. When I got smoked by a cargo bike it was just a little too humbling to try and recover any sense of mastery of my surroundings. Caught him at a light and had a nice discussion about his commute, turns out the Big Dummy is his only bike. Wonder how fast he'd have been on a less girthy bike.


With the Pugsley as my only bike I often wonder how much faster I could be on something else - or even with a set of niner wheels for summer riding. For me the extra weight of the bike is actually something I want - makes me work harder in an effort to get the extra weight on my gut off...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in and nice ride home. Picking up speed on my peddle home as the temperatures here are starting to drop. Pretty much in the low 100s for good now. Morning 78-81F. My commute time increases in the summer from about 17-19 minutes home to about 31-33 minutes.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

What a ride today! You can sure tell school is back in session. School buses everywhere. And lots of distracted drivers. On my way to work there was a huge mirror in the bike lane and an underbody panel too. Then on the way home I counted 5 texting drivers in the bike lane and 2 other drivers cut me off turning right.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2014)

The Irony of today's ride is epic. All year I have commuted at least 20 miles once during the month with 1400+ miles of commuting to date. In all types of weather and terrain, not one flat. On road/off road, gravel, dirt, streets and trails, not one flat. Swap tires for a century this weekend (WTB Puncture Resistant Slicks) and ride on all pavement and bam, thorn. On the plus side the spare tube was solid, on the minus side, my 10 year old CO2 filler apparently only had a 9 year lifespan.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Ride home in the rain made me love the time I spent adjusting my brakes this weekend: no squeal. Now if I could get the shifting to level of pleasantness I'll be happy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

haha, OK, Forster, what we really want to know is what tires you took off!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice enough ride tonight, but a bit of a surprise when I got home:



__
https://flic.kr/p/oP2YrZ


__
https://flic.kr/p/oPh39w


__
https://flic.kr/p/oPiYUK


__
https://flic.kr/p/owSrEu

No real damage - they hit the concrete ponywall that has the fire department connection. But drivers sure don't make it easy for me to have any faith in them.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*Advice to One-off Less Experienced Riders, etc.*

I have been asked a couple of times in the last week for advice on riding part of my route to drop off a car, or other one-off necessity. In the first case my advice about the roundabout, and watching out for turning/entering cars went well. The second request was regarding a sig- other who I don't know but reportedly dislikes traffic and hills. Hmmm. I recommended the flat but more trafficky route, on the theory that it is less unsafe than most imagine, but I don't really want to make her a-feared (or worse) either. Have you dealt with these types of inquiries, and how did it go?

Wow Newf, I don't get how they got there without doing more damage along the way!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I bet that Infiniti is totaled. Frame damage I would imagine, and more. Glad to see that it hit that wall instead of your building.

Severe storm warnings went up today right before I left to ride to work. I took the chance and hit the road, as the storm was still to the west, and moving east but moving quickly. Lets just say that my ride to work was rather quick. No messing around this time around because I really didn't want to be caught in the storm. I made it in with about a half hour window before the skies turned pitch black and opened up dumping a lot of rain rather quickly. Tornado watches were being announced, severe thunderstorm warnings remained in effect and I can see why. The storm was pretty wicked and I took a real chance by riding. Luckily I made it in before it happened. The weather was set to clear up by about 9pm, and the roads were pretty much dry when I left shortly after 11:30. Well, they were dry until it started raining again. First it was a few drops, then a steady rain, and then it opened up again. I stopped under a highway over pass to adjust my equipment and move my phone to inside my Chrome bag which is waterproof. Rain let up after a few minutes, so I headed back out. All was good for about a mile, and then it started raining fairly hard again. My rear fender!!! Yes, I have one of those, and it looks pretty cool on my bike. It also looks pretty cool leaning up against the wall in my apartment where I left it because I left in such a rush. Damn!!!

Completely soaked when I got home. It was fun on the MUP with all of the frogs hopping out of the way trying to avoid my tires. I felt like a kid, and I might have even been humming a little tune as I rode down the dark and wet path all alone. I might have.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow Newf, I don't get how they got there without doing more damage along the way!


Yeah, the route in is not obvious. I assume the plants just popped back up.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> Nice enough ride tonight, but a bit of a surprise when I got home:
> 
> No real damage - they hit the concrete ponywall that has the fire department connection. But drivers sure don't make it easy for me to have any faith in them.


Did you advise them to start biking?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

So, yeah. The new semester is treating me well with good commuting. Just missed a storm tonight, as I was in my last class when the rain came through. Good enough for me! Actually saw two other people on the MUP with lights. Good lights, too. Usually when I see other people biking on the MUP at night they never have lights and are all swerving between lanes. Then they complain about my light... "getoverit!" that's what I think.

My bro and I commuted back home together last night. I learned yesterday that I have to taxidermy a mammal for my mammology course I'm taking... and I have to supply the specimen. We saw an opossum waddling through a tunnel on the MUP and since then every time we see a small mammal (usually an opossum, baby bunny, chipmunk, or groundhog) we have a running joke where we call it my specimen and race at it. I'm going to have to start commuting on the mountain bike again after all. :arf:

(I used to be a  kinda guy, but I think with the goofy mood I've been in for the last month or so it's actually turned into :arf:, and I think that might be an improvement)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Surprise when you got home...
that isn`t your house, is it? Wife`s car? Hope not!


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Newf, I'm trying to figure out how that even happened? The plants/fence behind it don't look that disturbed. You'd have to be really drunk/asleep to drive that far off the road. 

My commute this morning was fine, aside from one idiot who decided that he was going to share the lane with me, when I was very much aggressively taking the lane going around a winding corner on a road with no shoulder. That'll wake you up.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I bet that Infiniti is totaled. Frame damage I would imagine, and more.


I honestly can't tell how old it is, because those Inifiniti dunebuggies have barely changed in the last decade. If it's an older one, I could see it being done.



BrianMc said:


> Yeah, the route in is not obvious. I assume the plants just popped back up.


Even inperson it was tough to tell, and we spent awhile puzzling over it.

What happened was that they got onto the sidewalk offscreen to the right, weaved between two big old trees, hit a streetsign which tore up the right fender, got onto the paving stones infront of the building narrowly missing the black metal fence, took out one little plastic lightpost and some pavers, plowed through all the plants, smooshed two large concrete flower pots (which I think took most the impact) and then basically kissed the pony wall.

Hearing third-hand from some neighbors it sounds like the driver "panicked" whatever that means.

Boring ride in this morning with some light rain.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Nice enough ride tonight, but a bit of a surprise when I got home:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/12/0...ision-rate-than-other-big-cities-insurer-says

Edmonton is trying to get better


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

two flats in the saame spot yesterday had about a 4.5 km walk to work.

Took my 32 mins flat out, damn near late for a meeting.

Went back on the way home.

A snow fence angle iron has been bent over for years, sometimes I ride over it...

Anyway it finally broke of at the ground surface, exposing a very sharp and jagged edge....

I hit the stump full speed with front and back.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Would have been a regular commute if it wasn't for a flat today. And of all the places the piece of metal went through. I couldn't believe it. Right through the patch I put on my tube. What are the chances of that happening. I'm so tired of flats. Gator skins are going to be installed this weekend.


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

ride 6 miles to work everyday for the last month today was pleasantly surprised byy a couple of deer in the bike line was able to keep coasting past them safely.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I saw a cop riding his motorcycle down the MUP. C'mon, man. Can't even get him a bicycle?


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2014)

*Le Tour Detour*

Started off good until the trail detour at mile 5 which concided with the rain starting (WTB Slicks are slick in the rain). Then my detour was detoured by an accident sending me into another detour further from my intended path. More rain and lightining as I neared work and the construction zone from hell. The finally have one side walk open to the base of the viaduct I cross, but the viaduct has no shoulder or sidewalk and is down to one reduced width lane in both directions due to a repaving project. Fortunately a motorist waved me in and followed me for the next 1/2 mile at 20 mph to prevent other drivers from trying to pass. Pretty funny scene, cars honking and flashing high beams at this guy following a drowning rat on a bike, his middle finger on proud display to the crowd in trail. Felt like I was in the national "Don't kill a commuter on your way to work day" Parade.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> ... Fortunately a motorist waved me in and followed me for the next 1/2 mile at 20 mph to prevent other drivers from trying to pass. Pretty funny scene, cars honking and flashing high beams at this guy following a drowning rat on a bike, his middle finger on proud display to the crowd in trail. Felt like I was in the national "Don't kill a commuter on your way to work day" Parade.


There are a few really great people out there. One person helping another can make a difference. I love the middle finger salute! It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out he was protecting the cyclist (you) and it would all be over shortly. So it they are that rude and stupid, then the finger is appropriate. Speed limits are the maximum allowed. One can drive slower legally and they can use the horn all they want.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Bummer on the double flat jeffscott, one at a time is bad enough.


biker_soldier101 said:


> ... I'm so tired of flats. Gator skins are going to be installed this weekend.


I've never noticed a significant change in the frequency of flats from the ultra-guard-super-duper-iron clad - impervaguard - armadillo skin- whatever flat protected tires to the cheesy $12 Michelin Dynamics I've used. A thin piece of metal, a sharp piece of glass, a nice stout screw or a sharp broken off iron fence post will go through them all.

Nice detour story Foster. We've got some one-way roads around here lately. My wife reported not taking the lane and getting passed WAY too close, then taking the lane the next day and getting hollered at, you know the old standard "Get Off The Road" (very clever) Impatient A-holes are everywhere. Lots of recent reports of bike car conflict with my facebook friends too. Must be in the air.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fog, so much fog!


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Road in the rain this week. Just didnt care. My back get soaked from my pack anyways. Short fronts and shoulders only thing that got overly wet anyways. My heads usually sweat soaked as well so no issue there. 

I just figured when it rains i gear up and catch monster fish, when it snows i play in unreal pow in the trees snowmobiling while guys sit in the cabin. It was great! No other bike or walkers. Awesome thunderstorm tailwind too. Nice 40+ km/h no effort stretches.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Decided to ride even though there was a pretty good chance of storms. Nice ride in even though the students are back and are not really paying attention. I had to do a few "Premium Rush" style moves dodging my way through some bs backed up traffic due to someone not knowing how to parallel park. Took my chances with oncoming traffic rather than passing on the right in the path of that parking thing that guy was trying to do. Stormed like crazy once I got to work, and the roads were still damp on the ride home. Not wet from the rain I don't think but wet from the 96% humidity we had. Lady in all black crossed the street in front of me not far into my ride home, nose deep in her phone. Not sure she even looked when she crossed. The only reason I saw her was because her face was partially lit up by the phone. I had my Thunderbolt set to the brightest blink that it does, and there is no way that she could not see that out of the corner of her eye. Guess I was wrong. I slowed down just enough to let her pass right in front of me, and I purposely scared the hell out of her as I passed yelling HEY really loud. She screamed.  Then I yelled "pay attention when you cross the road"!!! The fog was eery as I got closer to home, getting thicker the further east into the swampy area near my apartment. I love living here because of the fog, the wildlife, and the fact that I am close to the MUP.

Bike is filthy again, and I will clean it in the morning. My normal Friday night ride will be happening, and I got a co-worker to work for me so I will be going. A lady that I work with and her husband are going to ride the first part with us. Should be interesting!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Plus rep for Forster`s hero!

I rode from work all the way to my mailbox just fine yesterday morning, then felt a flat rear tire when I left the mailbox and headed down the driveway. I just walked it home, took wheel, tool bag and pump into the house with me to deal with in the comfort of my kitchen. Kind of weird flat. I found nothing in the tire, but did find a pinhole in the tube quite easily by just blowing it up and listening/feeling against my cheek. I always line up the tire label with the valve stem, so I knew exactly (well, two possibilities anyway) where to double check the tire for debris, and still couldn`t find any. Put in a prepatched tube and reinstalled wheel, then went to patch the flat tube and just happened to see yet another hole (pinch) right next to the valve. Too close to the valve to patch, in fact, so it went in the trash.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have never patched a tube. Mine all go in the trash. I guess that I don't trust myself to do it correctly, and always have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that my patch job will be the reason that it flats.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I have never patched a tube. Mine all go in the trash. I guess that I don't trust myself to do it correctly, and always have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that my patch job will be the reason that it flats.


It's surprisingly easy. I like the patches that come with sandpaper and vulcanizing glue rather than self-adhesive ones. They take longer, but I think they work better. I've got one I need to patch this weekend come to think of it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> I have never patched a tube. Mine all go in the trash. I guess that I don't trust myself to do it correctly, and always have that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that my patch job will be the reason that it flats.


At $3.00 a tube I just buy another....but I keep the old tubes and when I get bored in the winter I patch a bunch of them up...or toss the ones with two or more patches just cause.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've never noticed a significant change in the frequency of flats from the ultra-guard-super-duper-iron clad - impervaguard - armadillo skin- whatever flat protected tires to the cheesy $12 Michelin Dynamics I've used. A thin piece of metal, a sharp piece of glass, a nice stout screw or a sharp broken off iron fence post will go through them all.


Ah man. Don't tell me that. Maybe I need to find a different route.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have kept tubes that have punctured and cut them up to use for various projects on and off the bike. They are pretty handy to be honest.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

biker_soldier101 said:


> Ah man. Don't tell me that. Maybe I need to find a different route.


It's the luck of the draw. I've had 4 flats in a week, all on different tires with different "guards". I've also gone nearly a year with none. I will say that Nokian Extreme studded tires have never had a flat. The composition is about that of a car tire and they're a few pounds each but tough as "nails". Maybe not nails.

Re: patches, I always use the new tube first but keep the old one in case of a second flat and then repair it at home. I have great luck with vulcanizing patches. Thin amount of glue and wait until it dries before sticking on the patch. The sticky patches are really good for a quick fix but if the tire sets out in the sun they tend to let go in my experience. Trouble is, if you use a sticky patch you can't use a good one later unless you peel all the glue off.

Commutes have been pretty uneventful. My legs are still way-sore from running down the mountain in The Great Adventure Challenge. Not being able to walk for a week was OK because my wife and I took the top male & female finisher spots. More here:
The Candid Cyclist: Great Adventure Challenge 2014
I did manage a few new KOMs on some new segments that popped up near my normal route. I'm a sucker for a new Strava segment.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congrats on another race coup, Bedwards and RR.



TenSpeed said:


> I have kept tubes that have punctured and cut them up to use for various projects on and off the bike. They are pretty handy to be honest.


+1 to that. One "fat" tube and one "skinny" tube, but more if I let myself hold on to all of `em, they seem to multiply and get out of control, so I pitch them if I already have a couple on hand for custom rubberband stock.

My method is the same as Bedwards- swap on the road and fix at home for one flat, self adhesives in the tool bag if one spare doesn`t turn out to be enough. Patch at home with the sandpaper and rubber cement kind because the SA ones don`t seem to hold more than a couple months. Unlike him though, I haven`t been able to get a bad one off to repatch later with my prefered kind. Even if they were $3 per tube (I pay $5 at the supermarket), I feel better repairing than filling up the landfill and booking passage for yet another tiny bit of cargo from China each time. That and I kind of enjoy patching :lol:. If in doubt abotu a patch, you can always install it at night and check it again in the morning. As long as it`s still holding presure after a few hours, you know that AT LEAST it won`t leave you stranded even in odd chance of a slow leak that you need to stop a few times to repump.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

This lil Bull was walking across the street on the commute to work this morning.


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## Guest (Aug 22, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> At $3.00 a tube I just buy another....but I keep the old tubes and when I get bored in the winter I patch a bunch of them up...or toss the ones with two or more patches just cause.


 An extra patched tube makes a great "freebee" for a stranded cyclist and you'll never miss it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Commutes have been pretty uneventful. My legs are still way-sore from running down the mountain in The Great Adventure Challenge. Not being able to walk for a week was OK because my wife and I took the top male & female finisher spots. More here:
> The Candid Cyclist: Great Adventure Challenge 2014


Congratulations bedwards and rollingrunner, that is impressive! A entertaining read as well!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Speaking of tubes. . .I had a tube that I patched three times before finally giving up on it. I guess I wondered how big of a hole was too big. . .I keep my tubes aired up at the max for the tires. 65 psi. I took a goathead at this psi and realize it leaves a much larger hole than when the tire is at, say, 30 psi. I had slimmed this tube and at 20 or 30 psi the slime would fill the hole. But go above that, and leaking air like crazy. Of course all my patches were put on at almost no psi. Patches would hold at 30 psi and the patch would blow above that. Did this three times before finally conceding hole was too big to patch and ultimate defeat. Pulling the back tire three times sort of sucked.

The summer is breaking here in Vegas with much cooler mornings. Looking forward to fall. Got two super depressed kids this evening as tomorrow is first day of school. When I rub it in a little they quickly remind me that I have no summer at all.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's the luck of the draw. I've had 4 flats in a week, all on different tires with different "guards". I've also gone nearly a year with none.


The Panaracer TG was no contest for whatever cut the circular hole in it. I got twin flats in the Soma tires with their improved fiber crossing a RR track (not pinches but punctures). Bur they reduce the carnage, I think.



bedwards1000 said:


> My legs are still way-sore from running down the mountain in The Great Adventure Challenge.... because my wife and I took the top male & female finisher spots.


That will do it. I did my first 25 miles in some time and was rarely out of the big ring (no wind) so I am gaining ground again. No video. Camera problems. May be terminal.



rodar y rodar said:


> ... I kind of enjoy patching :lol:. .


Hey Man! Me too. Just breathe in those fumes man! 



NDD said:


> It's surprisingly easy. I like the patches that come with sandpaper and vulcanizing glue rather than self-adhesive ones. They take longer, but I think they work better. I've got one I need to patch this weekend come to think of it.


Yeah. You know that you have been doing pretty well flat wise when all your patch kits' glue are all dried up. So I have some of the thin self adhesive ones in place needing proper patches.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Forster said:


> An extra patched tube makes a great "freebee" for a stranded cyclist and you'll never miss it.


Dumb enough to have forgotten to replace the one tube I normall carry.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Back to work today after spending the last week in Seattle for my cousin's wedding. First time in Seattle for me. The wedding was a blast, they had the whole Seattle aquarium for the wedding which was awesome. Surprisingly, I wasn't overly impressed by Seattle. I expected it to be a lot cleaner and friendlier than Boston, but I found it extremely unfriendly and not all that clean. The only area I really liked all that much was 1st St (which is where my cousin lives) and Capitol Hill. I got to see a Bike Polo match on Capitol Hill which was cool. Far more cyclists riding like jerks than I expected. Probably 1/3 of the bikes I saw were riding on sidewalks with pedestrians, also a lot running red lights and not yielding to pedestrians. That was pretty disappointing. I wish we got to spend more time outside Seattle. We went to Mt Rainier which I loved. Next time I'm out there visiting my cousin I'll probably spend all but a day outside the city. 

Not all was bad. The weather was incredible. Other than one day, it was around 80 and sunny. We took my son on a plane for the first time. Many people told us flying with a 3 month old was a bad idea (*cough*in-laws*cough*) but it really couldn't have gone any better. He slept 99% of the plane ride both ways and was incredible which we were there. He traveled like a champ!

My first day back at work and my 3.5 month bike to work streak came to a screeching halt due to a couple meetings. Turns out, one of the meetings is a conference call which I just found out this morning and the one I have to travel for, my Manager is also going to and I could have hitched a ride with him. I ended my streak for nothing. Bummer. Oh well, I was completely exhausted this morning anyway.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Conditions depend on what part of Seattle you were in Straz. As far as friendliness goes, it's a big city, just like Boston - there are goods and bads. You encountered typical Seattle summer weather which we enjoy from July through September.

Next time you are out, PM me and I'll see if I can take you on a great road or MTB ride. Plenty of epic rides to do around here. Just ask rodar...


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

79 degrees and ~95% humidity at 5:15 am is not where it's at.

Although I did get to work about an hour before the thunderstorms started rolling through. Hopefully they'll be done before I have to head home.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Had a nice tail wind almost all the way to work. Became a cross wind once I headed west. Left early too thinking I would take it easy today and still got here early.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

woodway said:


> Conditions depend on what part of Seattle you were in Straz. As far as friendliness goes, it's a big city, just like Boston - there are goods and bads. You encountered typical Seattle summer weather which we enjoy from July through September.
> 
> Next time you are out, PM me and I'll see if I can take you on a great road or MTB ride. Plenty of epic rides to do around here. Just ask rodar...


Thanks for the offer! This was a family trip, so there was no riding. That was a pretty big bummer, but next time definitely. We don't really have anything I would consider very epic in the northeast, and I've seen so many threads on mtbr that make me jealous, to say that least.

I'm not a city person in general, I tried living in Boston and it lasted about 3 months. I think ultimately I wouldn't enjoy many cities I visited. I always have really high expectations and end up disappointed. It was the same in San Francisco. Denver is the other big city I've been to out west and I enjoyed that more, probably because I spent the whole time with my cousin (same one who now lives in Seattle) who lived there at the time and knew where to bring me. I spent most of my time in Seattle with people who had never been there, so we ended up being around a lot of tourists.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Shayne said:


> 79 degrees and ~95% humidity at 5:15 am is not where it's at.
> 
> Although I did get to work about an hour before the thunderstorms started rolling through. Hopefully they'll be done before I have to head home.


You picked a hell of a day to ride. I left my house at 7:30am in the car. Just in time for some of the worst driving conditions I've ever driven in, including blizzards. You couldn't see anything the rain was so thick. Then it started to hail. Oh wait, this isn't the excuses thread... Hope you have a clear ride home!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> You picked a hell of a day to ride. I left my house at 7:30am in the car. Just in time for some of the worst driving conditions I've ever driven in, including blizzards. You couldn't see anything the rain was so thick. Then it started to hail. Oh wait, this isn't the excuses thread... Hope you have a clear ride home!


Come on. It's just like riding in the shower! Then you don't need to shower when you get to work/home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nasty wet weather today for the ride in. 48F and rain in the Valley and 51F and even more rain in Anchorage. Right now it's the proverbial cats and dogs. Have a strong feeling it isn't going to clear up before the ride home, either. 

I will say that my NRS Hydro-Skin 0.5 socks are a nice addition to the arsenal. They are not water-proof, but being neoprene, stay fairly warm when wet. The idea was to use them in conjunction with a wool sock in the winter. This is the second time I've worn them in the rain and while my feet do get soggy, they don't get cold the way that they do with normal socks. Nice.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Nasty wet weather today for the ride in. 48F and rain in the Valley and 51F and even more rain in Anchorage. Right now it's the proverbial cats and dogs. Have a strong feeling it isn't going to clear up before the ride home, either.
> 
> I will say that my NRS Hydro-Skin 0.5 socks are a nice addition to the arsenal. They are not water-proof, but being neoprene, stay fairly warm when wet. The idea was to use them in conjunction with a wool sock in the winter. This is the second time I've worn them in the rain and while my feet do get soggy, they don't get cold the way that they do with normal socks. Nice.


YupYup! So, humor me, why not use a waterproof shoe/boot and/or covers and of course rain gear? Wouldn't that keep your feet dry? Only time mine get wet is when not using rain pants.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hot and muggy. Delicious.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Peddled from work to my kids' school to see how their first day went. Of course I had a big headwind trying to make me late for the dismissal bell. Got there with about five minutes and mildly winded. Good ride in and home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot and muggy. Only in the mid 80's but the humidity!!!! Looked like it was going to storm, but it all passed. Humidity stayed and it was 78F at 11:30PM and 82% humidity when I left work. I stayed on the main road today, bypassing the row of bars down by the campus. All of the students are back, and drunk, and walking and texting and are not paying attention. Caught several red lights unfortunately, but gave me an opportunity to attempt a track stand, or at least a super slow roll. Not that easy on a fixed gear and being clipped in. Slowly learning how to do it though.

Got home, and since I was already drenched, decided to take the fat bike out for another spin. Tire pressure is way too low which makes turning heart attack inducing. The whole thing feels like it will tip over if I turn too fast. Will bump up the psi tomorrow when I get up. Handlebar is really wide and is pretty uncomfortable so I will swap out another 25.4 bar that I had for commuting over with my sweet Thomson stem to match the seatpost. Not sure how the narrower bar will work with turning on that bike but why not give it a try?


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

JordyB said:


> YupYup! So, humor me, why not use a waterproof shoe/boot and/or covers and of course rain gear? Wouldn't that keep your feet dry? Only time mine get wet is when not using rain pants.


I use the neoprene socks as well, over a normal pair of wool socks in the winter time. I do this because I don't trust shoe covers to hold up.

Commute in today was nice, put the rock n road tires back on my cross bike over the weekend and it was good to hear them "sing" on the pavement again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Glory ride this morning. 60 degrees, clear and the only hint of wind was at my back. Watched the sunrise turn Mt. Rainier pink. My bike was running smooth and I felt good. At times it seemed like my tires were barely touching the ground.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

49 and sunny, can't beat that, about the perfect weather!!! ;p


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've been in the 90s with dew points in the 70s, which means it's hot and muggy. We were in a deficit for rain, but we rebounded with all the storms we've been having. Fortunately, none of these have affected my commute, although I had a couple close calls.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

forgot to post this picture I took this morning


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm considering using all of my commutes as training rides to gain speed and endurance. My endurance isn't too bad. I can ride at a good 15-17 mph all day without any pain or much fatigue. Speed, not so much. What do you guys incorporate into your commute for fun/building strength and speed? 

I'm also needing to mix up my route a bit. Need to find one with more hills, but there aren't too many around here that I know of.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Nice photo, Alex!

My ride in was nothing noteworthy, but I was happy to be out there. It's supposed to rain the next few days, which makes me cranky.

Not a commute photo, but I do wind up on the paved section of this trail for my commute. This was from a ride over the weekend.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A soggy one this morning. 51F and raining cats and dogs at the house. Not as bad in Anchorage, though.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> I'm considering using all of my commutes as training rides to gain speed and endurance. My endurance isn't too bad. I can ride at a good 15-17 mph all day without any pain or much fatigue. Speed, not so much. What do you guys incorporate into your commute for fun/building strength and speed?
> 
> I'm also needing to mix up my route a bit. Need to find one with more hills, but there aren't too many around here that I know of.


Try riding at really high cadence a couple of times a week, maybe down a gear or two from normal....

Try working on your breathing pattern...lots of info out there, but good clean technique (belly breathing)...in pause out pause etc.

Try nose only to help establish and push your aerobic limit.

Practice aero positions whether you a going fast or not...

Work on pedalling technique...nice high knee flash...sweeping on the bottom.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

My commute effin sucked last night. 80F and humid still. I was a dummy and didn't check the weather before I left. 40% chance of storms, so I risked it. Got onto the MUP, passed a couple of people, and then WHAM, something flew into my helmet. Thought it was a bee, so tried to move the helmet to let it out, and that is when I got stung. Skidded to a stop, ripped my helmet and glasses off and tried to feel for the stinger. It hurt like hell!!! So was it a bee? Hornet? Wasp? All I know is that it stung like crazy. Two people I passed rolled right by me and never said a word. Didn't ask if I was OK, nothing. They were slow rolling when I Cat 6'ed past them calling it out first though. Back on the bike, off the path into a neighborhood that I often cut through. Guy in a Malibu blasted the yield sign, nearly creaming me. Slammed into a skid stop again, aiming to go behind him to avoid him. Never even looked. 

Had 5 co-workers look at my head to try to find the stinger. They came up with nothing and offered me an ice cold antibiotic bag to reduce the swelling. They told me that I had more of a cut than an average bee sting. Still was hurting like crazy. At one point on the ride, it was making me tear up. I couldn't believe how bad it stung. Maybe it was the sweat off my head getting in there that made it hurt.

Not half an hour after I get to work, the skies darken. Whew, I beat that luckily. All hell breaks loose slightly to the west of us. Severe thunderstorm warnings go up, tornado watches, cloud to ground lightning strikes, torrential downpours, wind gusts of 60+ mph!!! At one point, there was debris flying through the air which looked like a scene out of a Stormchaser TV show. Pieces of wood and tree branches 50 feet in the air just sailing along. The street behind us flooded within minutes. There was easily 6 inches of standing water after the rain stopped. The storm was clocked moving at about 45mph or so. It didn't last long, but when it hit, the end of the world was near. I watched 5 consecutive bolts of cloud to ground lighting repeatedly hit in the same spot.

Luckily that all blew over, and my ride home was left with 70F and 93% humidity. Roads were for the most part dry, and the fog was rolling in. Everything is just damp and dripping. The pain in my head finally has for the most part subsided to a dull annoyance.

Still have not decided if I will ride today or not.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Wife was on night shift yesterday so I opted to take an extended commute home since I wouldn't get to see her before she left for work anyway. Overall it was a nice ride. About 5 miles from home a cold front came through and the temp dropped from 85 to 73. Started hearing thunder and booked it the last bit home. Pulled into the garage and let the dog out to pee just in time before the sky's opened up and dumped just a ridiculous amount of water on us. Didn't last long but it was the hardest rain I've ever experienced.

Question for you guys and girls. If you get buzzed by a car with a company logo, do you call/email to complain? I had a car from a local real estate firm floor it to get around me and cut me off. Was probably within a foot from my left elbow. Haven't decided whether to call and ***** or just drop it. There's always that possibility that they weren't really all that close to me, but when I hear a car revving the engine and then it goes blasting past me trying to squeeze between you and the other lane of traffic, I get a little sensitive.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

This is first week of riding in on my new (to me) bike. Been having issues with clipping into the new pedals (Wellgo W-41s). Durn things always want to hang wrong side down, and I haven't gotten into the habit of automatically flipping them yet. She spins up way faster than my 29er, so my average speed has increased.

First night going to work I came upon two guys coming the other way on the MUP riding side by side. They were spaced just enough to look like car headlights, and I've seen multiple instances of a few local idiots driving on the MUP as a shortcut. I let out a loud "S***!", and dodged off the path, then got to hear a laughing, "Sorry mister". Spent the rest of the night feeling like an paranoid idiot.

Today the left sole on my Five Tens (Sam Hill 2, I love these things!) split completely across the ball of my foot and all the way into the sole bed (way past the rubber portion).:cryin: I had planned to buy a pair of Giro Republic's, but I think I'll have to replace the Five Tens first. Been an interesting week.

Pic of the new ride;


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> My commute effin sucked last night. 80F and humid still. I was a dummy and didn't check the weather before I left. 40% chance of storms, so I risked it. Got onto the MUP, passed a couple of people, and then WHAM, something flew into my helmet. Thought it was a bee, so tried to move the helmet to let it out, and that is when I got stung. Skidded to a stop, ripped my helmet and glasses off and tried to feel for the stinger. It hurt like hell!!! So was it a bee? Hornet? Wasp? All I know is that it stung like crazy. Two people I passed rolled right by me and never said a word. Didn't ask if I was OK, nothing. They were slow rolling when I Cat 6'ed past them calling it out first though. Back on the bike, off the path into a neighborhood that I often cut through. Guy in a Malibu blasted the yield sign, nearly creaming me. Slammed into a skid stop again, aiming to go behind him to avoid him. Never even looked.
> 
> Had 5 co-workers look at my head to try to find the stinger. They came up with nothing and offered me an ice cold antibiotic bag to reduce the swelling. They told me that I had more of a cut than an average bee sting. Still was hurting like crazy. At one point on the ride, it was making me tear up. I couldn't believe how bad it stung. Maybe it was the sweat off my head getting in there that made it hurt.
> 
> ...


That's one rough commute. I always think there's a bee in my helmet even when there's not, usually just sweat or something. I can't imagine what would cause a cut, maybe when the bee had his stinger in you and you pulled the helmet off you pulled him (or her?) sideways, cutting your scalp?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Question for you guys and girls. If you get buzzed by a car with a company logo, do you call/email to complain? I had a car from a local real estate firm floor it to get around me and cut me off. Was probably within a foot from my left elbow. Haven't decided whether to call and ***** or just drop it. There's always that possibility that they weren't really all that close to me, but when I hear a car revving the engine and then it goes blasting past me trying to squeeze between you and the other lane of traffic, I get a little sensitive.


Sure do. I got buzzed by a school bus last year and was able to get the company and bus number. Emailed them the next day after I had chilled out and found the relevant laws regarding passing. Pretty much got a form letter response but it seemed they were a bit worried about it. If feel that if someone is going to advertise and then act like a jerk they deserve to get called out for it. It may not do any tangible good but you never know.

Been commuting by car this week as due to my massive grip I managed to tear my front derailleur cable apart inside the shifter. Funny thing is I had just ordered new cables the day before so I've been waiting for them to arrive. Freaked me out that maybe I broke the shifter but I pulled it apart that evening and discovered the busted cable. Cables showed up today but I'll wait until the weekend to fix it when I have enough time to deal with it.

Driving has it's perks, like getting home quick, but it's not my thing anymore.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

The World Triathlon Grand Final is in town this week, and their route overlaps a lot with my route. And that's depressing. It's not as depressing as when I used to run and fancy marathoners would actually lap me when they were training. And at least with bikes I can blame it on my 30 year old steel fixie with giant tires. But it's still depressing. And then next week there's a UCI Tour in town for more shame and awe.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another hot and sweaty ride in, and it was only in the mid 70's. Seriously considering changing my route to avoid the campus area. Too many distractions for drivers. I watched a kid make a left turn while checking a girl out that had just crossed in front of him. He never even glanced to the right to see if there was anything coming. He never saw me as I entered the intersection. I caught him at the stop sign, and let him know my extreme displeasure with his lack of attention. He apologized and called me sir. Damn that makes me feel old. I think that I scared him because he was at the stop sign waiting, window down, and music up pretty loud and there I was right near his window, off my bike and pretty pissed off.

The rest of the ride and the ride home were uneventful. 3 days commuting this week, and I will be riding in tomorrow and then riding again with my group on Friday. The miles are starting to rack up nicely.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Another hot and sweaty ride in, and it was only in the mid 70's. Seriously considering changing my route to avoid the campus area. Too many distractions for drivers. I watched a kid make a left turn while checking a girl out that had just crossed in front of him. He never even glanced to the right to see if there was anything coming. He never saw me as I entered the intersection. I caught him at the stop sign, and let him know my extreme displeasure with his lack of attention. He apologized and called me sir. Damn that makes me feel old. I think that I scared him because he was at the stop sign waiting, window down, and music up pretty loud and there I was right near his window, off my bike and pretty pissed off.
> 
> The rest of the ride and the ride home were uneventful. 3 days commuting this week, and I will be riding in tomorrow and then riding again with my group on Friday. The miles are starting to rack up nicely.


But how can one pay attention to the road when booty abounds? Priorities, man. Cheeseburger, booty, paying attention to anything that's not cheeseburgers or voluptuous booty. In that order. :arf:


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I stupidly forgot my water bottle yesterday for my commute home, it was 88 and humid. My legs haven't been cooperating this week. I think because they are incredibly tight and need a good stretching, but I haven't because I've been so busy since I got back from vacation. I finally got a good stretch in last night and will stretch another 2x today since I'm telecommuting. I'll probably take the SS out for an hour this afternoon, but that's it for today. 

I ordered a few goodies for the SS on Monday and am anxious to get them. New seatpost, computer, grip tape and pedals will be here Monday and I'm not sure about the Midge bars, haven't gotten a tracking number yet. I won't be taking the SS for a commute until I have all that, it's just too uncomfortable right now to ride that long. I've found that in it's current configuration, an hour is about as long as I can ride it without being really uncomfortable.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

newfangled said:


> The World Triathlon Grand Final is in town this week, and their route overlaps a lot with my route.


I live on an Ironman route. Besides most of them being a bunch of ass-clowns that have no respect for the road I think it's fun. There are always people to chase down. Only a handfull of triathletes are top level cyclists.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

NDD said:


> But how can one pay attention to the road when booty abounds? Priorities, man. Cheeseburger, booty, paying attention to anything that's not cheeseburgers or voluptuous booty. In that order. :arf:


Booty has been the downfall of many a man. I've seen cyclists make the same types of mistakes due to checking out the booty. Ahem...not that any of us on this fine forum would be so base or crass...

Decent rides lately. Yesterday afternoon I got a good ride in on the way home - a fast 10 miles before the bus (average 20MPH on rolling hills - with the fat bike). At one point I caught a middle school cross country team on the trail doing an out and back, so they were taking up the whole trail going both directions. I should've waited for them to finish, but had places to be, so carefully, but quickly made my way through them. There were a few close calls and my voice almost gave out on me from yelling "left" over and over. Put in another quick 7 miles when I got up to the valley and off the bus for a nice 25.5 mile day of commuting overall.

Today's commute will be a bit shorter. 8.5 miles in this morning and maybe 10 on the way to the bus, if time allows. I'll be getting picked up in the valley so that I can head off to watch my son run cross country - then will hopefully get a ride in after that.

I kinda feel like I'm banking miles in preparation for the coming winter when I'll cut my overall commuting miles to twelve a day - when it's in the teens or below with snow I tend to not tack on extra miles the way I do in the summer.

That said, I think I've gotten to the mental place I need to be in order to face winter. I say bring on the snow!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Booty has been the downfall of many a man. I've seen cyclists make the same types of mistakes due to checking out the booty. Ahem...not that any of us on this fine forum would be so base or crass...
> 
> Decent rides lately. Yesterday afternoon I got a good ride in on the way home - a fast 10 miles before the bus (average 20MPH on rolling hills - with the fat bike). At one point I caught a middle school cross country team on the trail doing an out and back, so they were taking up the whole trail going both directions. I should've waited for them to finish, but had places to be, so carefully, but quickly made my way through them. There were a few close calls and my voice almost gave out on me from yelling "left" over and over. Put in another quick 7 miles when I got up to the valley and off the bus for a nice 25.5 mile day of commuting overall.
> 
> ...


I am trying to get to that mental place in advance of the upcoming snow season. The fat bike will help with the snow, but the temps may do me in. Not sure my body or my mind can handle another winter like we had.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Uneventful...
I didn't touch a bike for about 5 weeks. Spraining your knee isn't exactly fun. Now I've been doing my 30 minute commutes by bike for a week. The knee feels tight for a few minutes when I get going, but then it is almost normal. Not trails riding normal yet, though.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Not a bad ride today, but still adjusting to new saddle (or the saddle adjustments). Not exactly an @sshatchet but not as comfy as I'd like....yet. Went ahead and ordered the Giro shoes, new pair of Five Tens were same cost, so I flipped a coin and clicked 'buy'.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Howdy...long time no post. I've been back at the regular commute for a couple weeks, with some pretty significant changes...I made a little job swap, and I'm realizing how spoiled I was. Still teaching, but at a different site, so I'm faced with some of the problems I always scoffed at. I have no indoor bike parking, no place to store clothes, and a ton of stuff to carry. I've gone from having only a lunch and some underwear in my backpack to carrying a laptop, a full change of clothes, a thermos of coffee... this stuff is heavy! I actually thought about panniers (just for a second though)! I am on a mission to find a closet or something around here that I can claim...

The upside is that I've already planned my first mountain bike field trip, I get to come in later a couple days a week, and the stress level has plummeted.

Looking forward to establishing a new routine and catching up.

Summer was good...did a century, another 80 mile MTB charity ride, and I'm training my trail pooch. She's gonna be a champ:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> YupYup! So, humor me, why not use a waterproof shoe/boot and/or covers and of course rain gear? Wouldn't that keep your feet dry? Only time mine get wet is when not using rain pants.


Missed this one Jordy.

So...Ride clipless and only have a single pair of shoes that are not waterproof (eventually I will get some Lakes or something so I can ride clipless in the winter, but that's a ways away).

I've toyed with the idea of covers, but feel that the neoprenes are a better bet for me so that I can use them both summer in the rain and winter as an insulating layer under my boots to get a few extra degrees warmth out of them.

Rain gear is a constant battle for me! I sweat enough that I haven't yet found rain gear that keeps me dry from the rain and allows me to stay dry from the inside! Most times I just opt to get wet from the rain rather than even bother with rain gear, unless it is coming down like it did yesterday morning - then I do wear a rain coat and pants - more for the warmth than to stay dry. Again, I sweat quite a bit.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Missed this one Jordy.
> 
> So...Ride clipless and only have a single pair of shoes that are not waterproof (eventually I will get some Lakes or something so I can ride clipless in the winter, but that's a ways away).
> 
> ...


I've had the rain/sweat dilemma a few times. I honestly don't know which is better or worse. One will make me more wet, the other more stanky. It depends where I'm going. Usually more wet wins.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Howdy...long time no post. I've been back at the regular commute for a couple weeks, with some pretty significant changes...I made a little job swap, and I'm realizing how spoiled I was. Still teaching, but at a different site, so I'm faced with some of the problems I always scoffed at. I have no indoor bike parking, no place to store clothes, and a ton of stuff to carry. I've gone from having only a lunch and some underwear in my backpack to carrying a laptop, a full change of clothes, a thermos of coffee... this stuff is heavy! I actually thought about panniers (just for a second though)! I am on a mission to find a closet or something around here that I claim...
> 
> The upside is that I've already planned my first mountain bike field trip, I get to come in later a couple days a week, and the stress level has plummeted.
> 
> ...


I usually have all kinds of stuff like that. Textbooks, food, change of clothes, notebooks, bike accessories. I find that a set of saddlebag panniers with a shoulder strap to carry it when off the bike is very handy and doesn't destroy my back. On the other hand, I feel like I'm faster with a pack on, but hate that sufficiently enough to prefer saddlebags.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have a long history of being a staunch supporter of nothing strapped to the bike. Backpack sweat back is always a thousand times better than having stuff strapped to the bike in my book. I just can't go there. 7 day trip? Bob trailer, nothing strapped to the bike :lol: I have a Surly Ogre with mounts everywhere for anything cages, etc...so far they remain unused.

But this is a new level of stuff that I have to carry. The solutions is obviously either A) bigger backapack or B) find a cupboard or closet that I can claim


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I get that. Depending on how loaded up I am I can feel how it affects handling. That said, I don't have the RSVP on my MTB any more and I'm so stoked to ride more trails soon because it's feeling pretty spunky.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Summer was good...did a century, another 80 mile MTB charity ride, and I'm training my trail pooch. She's gonna be a champ:


Sprocket looks like a great trail dog already!

Congrats on the new job, there's gotta be a cubbyhole or file drawer around there somewhere!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have a long history of being a staunch supporter of nothing strapped to the bike. Backpack sweat back is always a thousand times better than having stuff strapped to the bike in my book. I just can't go there. 7 day trip? Bob trailer, nothing strapped to the bike :lol: I have a Surly Ogre with mounts everywhere for anything cages, etc...so far they remain unused.
> 
> But this is a new level of stuff that I have to carry. The solutions is obviously either A) bigger backapack or B) find a cupboard or closet that I can claim


I am the exact same way. I have a bottle cage on my fat bike, and I keep debating on whether it will stay or go. Panniers? No way in hell. My back is usually drenched from my messenger bag, and I like it that way.

Today's ride was well, slow. Took the fat bike on its first real ride. It is heavy. It rolls nicely, but it is slow. Need to leave with a bit more extra time to get to work as I cut it pretty close today. The cockpit is a bit cramped, and my riding position is almost upright. Hands went numb within 3 miles on the ride home. Not sure if the bars are too close or too far so I will need to get that ironed out. Forgot what it was like to ride a mountain bike style frame, and the bars really lack the different hand positions that my bullhorns have offered me. It isn't ideal, but the fattie might see a set of bullhorns if I can get the brakes and shifters to fit. Rides were almost twice as long, and given that the bike is twice as heavy, that makes some sense. Didn't coast much due to the fixed gear mentality that I have adopted. That is fine with me because I feel like it is cheating when you aren't pedaling.

Got a lot of looks and stares from pedestrians and some motorists. Lots of looks like uh, what the hell is that? I am right at home with that, and prefer it over blending in. Hardly any fatties around here that I have seen, at least on the road.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Perttime and CB, both 
Wow, five weeks must have been a pretty bad sprain, Perttime- glad you`re back on the bike.
CB, I was wondering what happened. Even went so far as to Google up your county`s class schedule- not comforting.


CommuterBoy said:


> The solutions is obviously...





CommuterBoy said:


> ...Bob trailer, nothing strapped to the bike


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

My commute over the last few days hasn't involved bikes but has been odd; multi modal is probably the best descriptor. 
Hotel 5:00am bus pickup
Airport 6:30am Sikorski S76
Offshore construction vessel 7:00am
Crane and manriding basket 8:00am 
Offshore platform 8:05am
And then the reverse from 4:30pm finishing in the hotel bar at 8:00 pm


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Howdy...long time no post.


I was going to post something similar. I've been a stranger to this site for a while. Mine is related to too much work, not a summer off. Good luck finding your closest. I like my commutes unencumbered too. Sometimes I'll have 2 weeks of clothes here. Can't get those KOMs with 20lbs of laptops on your back.

We got a new dog just a few days ago too. A 6 month old pit-mix rescue puppy. I'll start grooming her for trail dog duty when she's a little older.
Obligatory puppy pic:








I'm signed up for 2 centuries and 1 60 mile ride in a 8 day span coming up here. 160 miles in 2 days will be a record for me.

The commute was good. We're in a stretch of perfect weather in the Northeast.


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

Just started raining before my commute home fudge I was not prepared


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

First five day commuting week in a while. Felt good.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> We got a new dog just a few days ago too. A 6 month old pit-mix rescue puppy. I'll start grooming her for trail dog duty when she's a little older.
> Obligatory puppy pic:
> View attachment 919351


She is cute and she matches the carpet!


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

uneventful, hammered anyways.
our official livery for this year's tour, and the tandem I built so I can bring my buddy who's blind with me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute, just the longest ride I have done to history. 56 miles, all fixed gear with some pretty good friends. It was an absolute blast tonight with spirited sprints, slow rolling, Mexican food, pizza and friends. This is what life is about.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, five weeks must have been a pretty bad sprain, Perttime- glad you`re back on the bike.


I suppose it takes a while to rebuild the tissues when a big joint gets twisted in a way it doesn't like to be twisted... Now I'm not sure if it is still the ligaments adjusting themselves that sometimes bothers me - or all the other things that got strained from a few weeks of limping. I did get it checked by a doctor and the verdict was that nothing was actually broken so that an operation would help: bandage, pain killers, and "Try not to do it again anytime soon".

I needed to drive a few times, soon after the "sprain", and moving my foot between accelerator and brake was painful...


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

My commute was pretty good. Most of it was on mountain trails. However, I got some pretty strange looks being in dockers and dress shoes on the mountain. Maybe I should carry my work clothes/shoes in my backpack and change at a trailhead bathroom or something??


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

They were just curious if your dress shoes were SPD or Speedplay.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yesterday I was coming out of the town where I work and the safest way is to connect to the bike trail. It's pretty easy, but I was pulling up to the train tracks and there was a train stopped, blocking the intersection. It was pretty much holding up that whole side of town. I waited for about ten minutes thinking it had to go. 

This guy working for the railroad asked if I knew which way it was headed before it stopped. I didn't, and asked him if he knew how to get to the bike trail. He was in his truck and said "yeah, follow me". Eventually we saw where the front of the train was blocking yet another intersection. He said to just walk around the front and then told me how to get there. I cut through the golf course and got on another trail two miles north of the one I needed. As I was approaching the place I would normally need to be I saw the train was still sitting there. All in all I was only about 30 later to home than normal. I think next time I'll just risk it and carry my bike between two train cars.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ In Illinois they can only block an intersection like that for 20 minutes or the engineer can be ticketed. They break the train up to allow traffic to pass. On a foggy morning to work in Ohio, I almost submarined under a black freight car with no reflectors at an unprotected crossing (no lights, or gates) when I was commuting in the pre-dawn hours. I saw farm yard lights suddenly eclipsed by nothing. I stooped the GTI about 2 feet from collision.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Little frustrating last night. Get ready to leave and the middle LED on my MagicShine MJ-816 dies. The two side lights still work and were more than enough to light the way and allow me to be seen. Figure it's only a matter of time before the rest of the light head dies, so I ordered a cheap dual light off Amazon to tide me over til I buy a new Magicshine. Monsoon season is still here, and the rain has put tons of sand on the MUP I take to work. Wasn't a big deal on 2" tires of my MTB, but it's a total PITA for the 28's on the new ride. 

Got passed on a uphill close to home by a guy on a Spec' MTB. Didn't care about being passed until I heard his squeaking chain. Don't have a rational reason for being upset, but it did irritate me to no end being passed, then dropped like a gold-digging girlfriend by a guy with a squeaky chain.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ In Illinois they can only block an intersection like that for 20 minutes or the engineer can be ticketed. They break the train up to allow traffic to pass. On a foggy morning to work in Ohio, I almost submarined under a black freight car with no reflectors at an unprotected crossing (no lights, or gates) when I was commuting in the pre-dawn hours. I saw farm yard lights suddenly eclipsed by nothing. I stooped the GTI about 2 feet from collision.


Interesting. It makes sense, though, because that whole side of town was pretty much just cars driving around looking for the quickest way to get out and to the other side. It was just silly, and that it was just sitting there after I had ridden an extra four miles or whatever out of my way is just silly, too. I won't have to make that commute again until next week, because I have a wedding rehearsal to go to this Friday. I hope it doesn't happen again, but I'll probably just cut between the parked cars if it does.

I'm looking forward to this week. I'm thinking about riding my mountain bike a couple days this week. It really hasn't been getting the attention it needs. Maybe I'll squeeze in a trail ride, too...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^^^

SIUE Trails | Gateway Off-Road Cyclists

Because we have some light singletrack trails on campus. I should really take advantage of this more than I do.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Found a short cut that bypasses a hill right at the start of my ride and dumps me right on the MUP. Crosses the railroad tracks which is a hike a bike. I hauled across that, because I could see the train coming. Raced an incoming storm after that. Super hot and humid, and even though I ended up being drenched by the time I got to work, it wasn't from the rain. Faced a decent headwind most of the way, and only encountered two idiots. First one was a girl turning left, from the exact same stop sign where the guy didn't see me last week, and then a mouth breather on a bike with headphones in, no helmet, smack dab in the middle of the bike lane that goes west, yet he is coming head on to me going east. I shook my head as I passed and mouthed the words "you are going the wrong way". There are directional arrows in the bike lane pointing west, the direction that I was traveling. 

Ride home was great!!! Storm hit about 4pm or so, with a massive downpour. It let up after about 45 minutes or so, and started drying up. The humidity stayed, and I will say that the city is like a jungle right now. I don't ever remember having this kind of humidity in Michigan, ever. It is like Florida right now, and at 1am, the humidity is 89%. Anyway, I stuck to the major streets that roll right by campus, and it felt like I was just flying. Legs felt great, was extremely comfortable on the bike, and the pace was just fast. It really helps that this is one of the smoothest streets in the city. These long weekly rides are really helping me, specifically with being more comfortable right on the road with the cars. Last year, I would have been a mess, but now I am very used to riding with traffic. Light setup is perfect for being seen, and then I swap over to the light that lets me see through the blackness of the MUP. Coworker passed me again, said that she could see me from really far behind. Reflective tape on bits of my bag, the lights, the back of my helmet, and the reflective parts of my shoe.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Humid as hell this morning. My sunglasses were at least partially fogged up most of my ride to work, which rarely happens. Nice sunrise though.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ In Illinois they can only block an intersection like that for 20 minutes or the engineer can be ticketed. They break the train up to allow traffic to pass. On a foggy morning to work in Ohio, I almost submarined under a black freight car with no reflectors at an unprotected crossing (no lights, or gates) when I was commuting in the pre-dawn hours. I saw farm yard lights suddenly eclipsed by nothing. I stooped the GTI about 2 feet from collision.


15 mins around here


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wicked humid!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Commuterboy, I know exactly what you mean about not attaching things to the bike now. I was riding to my class on campus, just getting in this morning, and there were a bunch of people blocking this but stop. Usually I just go around the back of the bus stop through this little dirty path made by cyclists going around it. Today it was a mud path. My mountain bike tendencies and the extra weight totally caused me to bust ass. Lifted the front wheel over the curb to get back on pavement, the back wheel will follow, right? Nope. Back wheel didn't follow, just slipped and the whole bike feel out from under me, starting at the back. I missed my big 2.2 wide tire when I skinned my knee in pavement and like like an idiot in front of a group of people...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fairly standard commute in this morning. Getting darker and darker each morning. I was happy that the temps were in the 50s today as all weekend the mornings had been in the low 30's with frost on the grass on Monday morning. Yowza.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

A 30 minute downpour just passed. If it came half an hour later, I would have been asking for a ride home.


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

Fudge not prepared for the rain today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> ... all weekend the mornings had been in the low 30's with frost on the grass on Monday morning. Yowza.


Whoa! :eekster: :rockon:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice flat tire on the way home. Must not have been paying attention and hit something really hard riding on the dirt shoulder. Immediate pinch flat (discovered later when I changed the tube). Two coworkers saw me and one gave me a ride home.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Seemed to be silly season again today, a car pulled out of a side road cutting me up and forcing an emergency stop within the first 100 yards, the driver giving me that exasperated what are you doing on MY road look.
2 left hooks and an idiot going the wrong way up the bus lane on an electric bike on a 3 lane highway hogging the whole lane.
Then in the last 1km the shared use tarmac track through the river park a group of middle aged to elderly women had decided to block the entire path with their Tai Chi and Yoga group, they have the whole park to use but no lets block the track and screw everybody else.
Ho hum since my last encounter with an idiot driver a couple of weeks back and him getting pulled over by cops everything had been going well; my faith in humanity was well on its way to being restored but today that has all come crashing down again


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

OK, this fat bike sucks to commute on. The ride is so slow and boring. Rode it in to show a couple of co workers who wanted to see it. In the snow it will be fine I am sure, but when it is 72F and overcast, a slow ride just saps the energy right out of me. It does get a lot of looks, probably due to the orange wheels and the rumbling it makes on the pavement. Accelerating off a light is a joke because it takes forever. Handling is subpar due to the fact that I cannot dial the tire pressure in for the street. Tried to chase a co worker down in a car on the main road by campus and failed miserably. This is no track bike that is for damn sure. I do find myself pedaling constantly and not coasting as to not mess with my being accustomed to always pedaling on the fixed gear.

Speaking of track bikes......possibly getting another one. We will see.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> OK, this fat bike sucks to commute on. The ride is so slow and boring. Rode it in to show a couple of co workers who wanted to see it. In the snow it will be fine I am sure, but when it is 72F and overcast, a slow ride just saps the energy right out of me. It does get a lot of looks, probably due to the orange wheels and the rumbling it makes on the pavement. Accelerating off a light is a joke because it takes forever. Handling is subpar due to the fact that I cannot dial the tire pressure in for the street. Tried to chase a co worker down in a car on the main road by campus and failed miserably. This is no track bike that is for damn sure. I do find myself pedaling constantly and not coasting as to not mess with my being accustomed to always pedaling on the fixed gear.
> 
> Speaking of track bikes......possibly getting another one. We will see.


depending upon snow conditions they can be pigs in the snow too.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> OK, this fat bike sucks to commute on. The ride is so slow and boring. Rode it in to show a couple of co workers who wanted to see it. In the snow it will be fine I am sure, but when it is 72F and overcast, a slow ride just saps the energy right out of me. It does get a lot of looks, probably due to the orange wheels and the rumbling it makes on the pavement. Accelerating off a light is a joke because it takes forever. Handling is subpar due to the fact that I cannot dial the tire pressure in for the street. Tried to chase a co worker down in a car on the main road by campus and failed miserably. This is no track bike that is for damn sure. I do find myself pedaling constantly and not coasting as to not mess with my being accustomed to always pedaling on the fixed gear.
> 
> Speaking of track bikes......possibly getting another one. We will see.


If your fatty is too slow it just means you need to work harder! 

Here's the thing with commuting on a fat bike, which I do year round, every work day - it will become faster and more enjoyable once you do get things dialed in. I assume that you might be running Nate tires given the description of rumbling tires - Nates suc on pavement. End of story. This last summer I ran a Larry up front and a Knard in the back. My average pace is in the 16 to 17 mph range. Not fast by any means, but not a slouch, either. I generally run the Knard at 18psi and the Larry a bit higher on the pavement and they roll nice. The biggest problem - they wear out so dang fast - Knard put on in April or May and just about completely shelled as of today.

A fattie is a different beast, for sure. I hope that you do enjoy it in the snow, but as a kind word of warning it will be even slower and more energy sapping in the white stuff than it is on the pavement, particularly if you don't prepare yourself. In the fall I start riding a lot of gravel and sand to rebuild my snow riding muscles.

Oh, if you think Tonka Truck rather than Ferrari while riding the fattie it makes a big difference in the enjoyment factor as well. And running over Kias like Bigfoot also induces grins.

My commute today was pretty good. Started out wet and cold in the valley - 49F and light rain. Cold and dry in town. The best part of the commute, though, were the finds I made today. The first came after my tail light fell off and I had to go back round to find it - Got the light all put back together and found a still in cellophane VHS copy of Apache Trail with some western actor who is not John Wayne. I set that off to the side of the trail, because whomever lost that is sure to come back for it. It's a classic. Then when almost to work I found ten bucks cash. I figured that the owner of that couldn't be determined, so picked it up and think I'll get some breakfast with it. Good way to start the day.

I've got the next two days off due to a vaca day to bemoan getting another year older and Friday is a flex day. I have a strong suspicion that tomorrow I will either: Ride single track by my house, then make my way to the skills park, then make my way to the river bottom or power up Hatcher's Pass, ride Gold Mint and Archangel before heading up to Summit Lake before turning around and heading down the mountain via the 16 Mile downhill trail. We'll see. All I know is that there will be an epic ride of some sort. Epic.

And a picture of me looking really fat riding the front line of a 5K my son ran in on Friday evening.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I do have Nates but not on the bike right now. Currently have Vee Missions on there that are working their way to the bald side. That worries me because the Nate's have a lot of tread, and will be more work to push. The cockpit needs some work, hands go numb fairly quick, and my knees started getting sore. Not sure what is going on there but this weekend I will get it perfectly dialed in. 

Oh, and for looking fat on a bike, every picture ever taken of me on a bike makes me look fat. I am 6'0" and about 200, but there is something about leaning on the bars just the right way, and it looks like I have this humungous beer gut which I don't. Jerseys make it 10 times worse for me so I quit wearing them.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I seem to have lost one of my bar plugs over the weekend. Probably from loading the bike into the trunk, so I am riding with a hole at the moment.  I ordered some sweet orange ones off ebay as a replacement...should arrive soon! 

Anyway, the weather here today is just lovely so my ride in was nice. School has started and thus there is more traffic, but not much to be done about that. I can already feel the seasons changing. Sigh. Anyway, just popping in to say hi! I'm heading home here shortly.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I was enjoying the cooler weather this morning. Maybe 75ish. Did an alternate route with an extra three miles. Pretty good, and I've been working on trying to build up my cadence by pedaling quicker on a smaller gear a few rides a week. Going well, but haven't seen many results yet. It'll happen eventually I'm sure, and it's hard to judge results when you almost always have an extra 15lbs on the rear wheel. I find that on leisurely rides I feel much quicker and have infinitely more stamina to go faster. Maybe having all that weight on offer the drive train is a good training exercise? That's what I'll say.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

NDD said:


> I was enjoying the cooler weather this morning. Maybe 75ish. Did an alternate route with an extra three miles. Pretty good, and I've been working on trying to build up my cadence by pedaling quicker on a smaller gear a few rides a week. Going well, but haven't seen many results yet. It'll happen eventually I'm sure, and it's hard to judge results when you almost always have an extra 15lbs on the rear wheel. I find that on leisurely rides I feel much quicker and have infinitely more stamina to go faster. Maybe having all that weight on offer the drive train is a good training exercise? That's what I'll say.


If you want to build up stamina and endurance throw in some interval training a couple of times a week on your commute. Man It really hurts; but the results in terms of fat burning, endurance and power building make it well worth it definitely one of best and quickest ways to see results. When I started doing that within a month I had seen a noticeable improvement in my fitness and stamina on the bike, I have to go a longer route to find a quieter road so morning jams don't get in the way, you don't want stop lights and the like when you are doing it so it is not possible for all.


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## Ridefat1981 (Mar 17, 2014)

Ride fat all year ! I rode home today, as I do most days, up hill for last 1.5 miles.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

This was a new one:


__
https://flic.kr/p/oLN2uG

I really should have taken a "before" picture to show what happened, but basically my cable and ferule got sucked into the brake caliper. The rotor sheared off the rest of the ferule, but it was all wedged in there and I had to get my multitool in there to pry the cable back out.

I had just hit the trail - literally just hopped from pavement onto dirt - and my rear wheel locked up. I guess my pannier knocked the cable into the rotor, which makes me a little surprised that it's never happened before.


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2014)

Odd ride home. So many grasshoppers that my spokes sounded like I thumbnails in them and I had to clean the goo off my down tube. On the plus side I had three cars back out of the crossing so I could remain on trail.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Involuntary yell of _*"A**" *_twice today:

One this morning for the oncoming fuel truck driver who cut the tight corner on a residential street so bad that not only did he cross the centerline, he left me only about 2' in my lane (curb and sidewalk, so no shoulder) - Yikes, those tires look big close up and personal!

Another this afternoon, for the quiet motorcycle who had to blow by at my elbow to pass the car ahead while there were still 2 lanes.

Neither heard nor cared.


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## Tan&Green (Feb 25, 2013)

It was my first commute when I did not look at my watch or watch my time....I did it 15 minutes faster, but it felt like I was going really slow. Now watch, I will not do that again for at least two weeks.....


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hump day blow off ride today with the group that normally rides on Friday. Only 4 of us today, and we headed east back towards my side of town to ride the MUP and do a loop around the local lake. Beautiful night for riding, and after we stopped for some delicious pizza by the slice, myself and another guy on a Catrike headed west down to the capital and rode some more. 42 miles for me all said and done tonight. Stopped by the LBS for a few goodies including a small pump (finally) and another rear light. 

On my way home, I stopped at a local restaurant that started doing bike delivery. One of the guys was sitting out back with his bike, so I struck up a conversation. Most of them are riding Specialized Langsters, some regular, a few S-Works, and a guy has a Surly CrossCheck. The guy that bought my BigShot just started working there as well. Was just chit chatting it up asking questions etc. Really nice kid, and I may try to tag along on one of his deliveries to see what it is like. They have a 1.5 mile delivery radius so the trips are usually short and fast, just how I like to ride!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Involuntary yell of _*"A**" *_twice today:
> 
> One this morning for the oncoming fuel truck driver who cut the tight corner on a residential street so bad that not only did he cross the centerline, he left me only about 2' in my lane (curb and sidewalk, so no shoulder) - Yikes, those tires look big close up and personal!
> 
> ...


I feel like I had the opposite happen yesterday. Two times overly cautious people stopped when they had right of way and I was waiting at a stop sign for them to pass. They tried waving me on, I shook my head and waved them on, they kept telling me to go, I pointed at the stop sign I was waiting at, and then they went. Right of way is something we all know by this point I would hope.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Came closer to getting hit by a car than I ever have yesterday, by a long shot. There's a major intersection I go through every commute. Two lanes, one straight/left the other straight/right. I was in the shoulder passing a line of cars stopped at the red light. The line starts to move, so I hit my brakes as to not get stuck next to a car that doesn't see me then turn right. This SUV is one car behind me as I'm still in the shoulder, even though he can clearly see me, he pulls up next to me and turns right while I'm going straight. I was forced to turn right. I had so little room between his huge SUV (Nissan Armada) and the high curb that I had to pull my leg and elbow in. I was 99% sure I was getting hit, he couldn't have been more than an inch or two from me. I was, in a word, terrified. By far the scariest moment I've EVER had on a bike. 

This morning I was riding down a one way street, a couple hundred feet from a left turn I had to take. There's a lot of pot holes on the right so I stay towards the left side of the street to avoid them. I hear a car coming, so I sped up so she didn't get stuck behind me going <15mph. She then starts to beep at me from probably 150' back, so I said f*** it, I'm not hurrying for her. Then she gets to me about 50' before my turn and just lays on her horn at me. I slowed down and held the lane until the turn. I saw the parking lot she turned into. I rode back a couple minutes later to leave her a note explaining that I have the right to take the lane and had she not beeped, I would have let her by (true story, I would have). Unfortunately there were a few SUVs similar to what she was driving, so I wasn't sure enough which one was hers to leave a note. I got to work very frustrated and anxious.

At least the weather was perfect!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Close call!!! I will never understand how someone behind you that clearly can see you, does not understand how the whole bike on the road thing works. And you do have every right to take that lane, and you did the right thing. You are nicer than me with the note. I would have given her a quick note, no pen, no paper, one finger.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> This morning I was riding down a one way street, a couple hundred feet from a left turn I had to take. There's a lot of pot holes on the right so I stay towards the left side of the street to avoid them. I hear a car coming, so I sped up so she didn't get stuck behind me going <15mph. She then starts to beep at me from probably 150' back, so I said f*** it, I'm not hurrying for her. Then she gets to me about 50' before my turn and just lays on her horn at me. I slowed down and held the lane until the turn. I saw the parking lot she turned into. I rode back a couple minutes later to leave her a note explaining that I have the right to take the lane and had she not beeped, I would have let her by (true story, I would have). Unfortunately there were a few SUVs similar to what she was driving, so I wasn't sure enough which one was hers to leave a note. I got to work very frustrated and anxious.
> 
> At least the weather was perfect!


What can work is to stop your bike and get off, stand in the way and ask them what the problem is...

This can work because it takes the issue out of the driving "arena" and puts it into a personnel one on one talk.

Anytime gain is total lost, and the issue then generally diffuses to lets all just get there.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

We drive on the left and that's what we call the left hook happened to me twice a couple of days ago over take on the right then cut the cyclist up by turning left across their path. it can be pretty scary and unfortunately all too common Obviously where you are it's the right hook.
I try to claim the entire left lane when coming up to an intersection if possible then move to the right of the lane to force the left turning vehicles to go past me on the left. You still get the odd wanker who will go into the right hand lane and left hook you though


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Man, sure a lot of bike V cage incedents this week . I don`t have much traffic on my route, so rarely any problems. Next week though, there`s a special event going on right in the middle of my commute, and it`s always a circus, especially towards the end of the week. I`m not loking forward to that, but it`ll pass.

I came very close to eating dirt on my way home about an hour ago- made the turn into my driveway a little too fast and my front tire slid out from under me. Fortunately, a little acrobatics and a wild foot stomp somehow kept me upright.

Lovely fall weather has shown up early this year. It`s just a little bit chilly on my fingers in the mornings, perfect in the afternoons. The sun is another matter- now just the faintest afterglow in the west on my way in, and the sun shines straight in my eyes for much of my homebound trip.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

No commute last night as I was given the night off, since I worked the holiday. Got the Giro Republics yesterday afternoon. They look fantastic and are very light, compared to the LG X-Alp III's I had been using up to this point. They even included an extra pair of laces (white, black laces were installed on the shoes), which was a first for me for ANY shoes. If you like the old school cycling shoe look, give these a gander.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Man, sure a lot of bike V cage incedents this week .


School started this week (at least in this part of the country). Lots more cars on the road, lots more stress from getting stuck in traffic.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Had a car almost hit me yesterday. I was riding on the bike lane and a car pulled out from standstill traffic to park on the shoulder. Wasn't sure why as I saw this ahead of me then I figured out why. A second car pulls out from traffic to do the same thing. Problem is I'm 10 feet away when he does this and I had no time to stop. Went as far to the right as I could and he came a few feet from hitting me. Just put my hands up in the WTF motion and kept riding. Maybe I should look into a horn.....


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> School started this week (at least in this part of the country). Lots more cars on the road, lots more stress from getting stuck in traffic.


Here too. I hate the start of school. Not just because of the drivers, but because lots of the college kids at UW-Madison don't abide by traffic laws and make the rest of us look bad too.

Glad you're okay, Straz!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

That bums me out to hear about all of the close calls lately. Being so removed from most things in a car really brings out the sociopath or general mindlessness in people.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

With the heat returning my commutes have been slow and steady and eventless. Just the way I like them.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

vegascruiser said:


> With the heat returning my commutes have been slow and steady and eventless. Just the way I like them.


Amen! Slow, steady and eventless, means nothing went wrong and nobody did anything stupid. That's why I hope my commutes are boring, cause when things get exciting 95% of the time bad things are happening (5% of good things are usually happening to somebody else).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

How are you guys riding slow? I get on the bike, and it starts slow, for a little bit, and the next thing I know, I am hitting my pace, and breaking a sweat, and trying to get a KOM even though I am not on or ever been on Strava.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> How are you guys riding slow?


Simple. I just get on the bike, start slow, and stay that way.

School has been back in for almost a month here. I don`t notice any difference in the cars and trucks, but the school bus drivers are my biggest on-road foes.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> How are you guys riding slow? I get on the bike, and it starts slow, for a little bit, and the next thing I know, I am hitting my pace, and breaking a sweat, and trying to get a KOM even though I am not on or ever been on Strava.


Easy. Don't use Strava ;-)

You just have to take a deep breath when you notice yourself start to push really hard and relax. Nothing wrong with pushing yourself though, it'll make you faster, burn more calories, get your heartrate up.


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## Guest (Sep 5, 2014)

Got close to hitting a Deer inside (well inside) the city limits this morning. Apparently, the "Deer in the Headlights" is a saying well founded in fact. Beyond that, it was a critter dodge along all trail segments today.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

TenSpeed said:


> How are you guys riding slow?


Since you ride a fixed gear bike your gearing determines how fast or slow you are. If it's geared to go 21mph that's what you'll do. If it's geared to go 12mph that's what you'll do.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I can ride slower. The bike will go slow. I just can't seem to ride like that. 

Sent from my Moto X


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Haha, I can't. 

My legs have a very narrow band of cadence where they feel good. When I'm riding my track bike it only goes fast.
Geared bikes let me ride slow if I want to.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

I got soaked this morning on my ride in. I didn't think it would start raining until later, but right at the start of my last mile or so it started pouring on me. I actually quite enjoyed it, and since I was going in early to hit the gym anyways getting soaked didn't bother me in the least. Riding back from campus to go into work, though, I'm really hoping it doesn't rain again...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> How are you guys riding slow? I get on the bike, and it starts slow, for a little bit, and the next thing I know, I am hitting my pace, and breaking a sweat, and trying to get a KOM even though I am not on or ever been on Strava.


drink heavily the night before...and keep practicing that will slow you down.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Jumped on the bike this morning, got down to the trail and settled into my usual cadence. Except it just felt *hard*. I kept thinking "man I'm a slug today". Finally it dawned on my that the back end felt a little squirmy so I stopped and checked my rear tire. Yup, slow leak - half empty tire. That's why things were so hard. Only took me 10 miles to figure things out. Aired up the tire and the remaining 10.5 miles to work were fine. Plan to change the tube out before I head home tonight.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm jealous of all who get to ride. I couldn't today or yesterday and probably can't tomorrow. Sigh. Go out and ride as slow as you want, I'll just sit here in the air conditioning and wish I was out there.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

A good day today. No commute as it's my normal day off. Put the new bike on the stand and trimmed the cable housings, again, and got shifting to where it needs to be. Shakedown ride felt good with shifting, new saddle positioning. Tried out the Giro Republics and they felt good too. Felt a hair small on left toe box, but I could also feel the material stretching too, so not worried about comfort. They felt great walking around the house so they should do well at work. My replacement headlight showed up in the mail, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it looked and worked. If it holds up well, I might just stick with it as opposed to buying another MagicShine. MG worked well for a couple years, but $50 vs $130, no contest.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Only 89 F or 101 humidex today. Did not feel that bad actually. Hauling a watermelon in a milk crate on the porteur rack was interesting. I should have used the bungee cord cargo net to corral it better. No fast moves or I could feel the bars flex a lot as I corrected the shift of mass. Once up to speed it was easier. Low blood sugar shakes when I got home though. Treated with the sacrifice of 1/4 of the watermelon. That will teach it who's boss!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute, just my Friday night ride. It was 88F before, sun just blazing, and probably the hottest day of the year here. Everyone was drenched at the start from riding in, but we did a quick ride and returned to pick up more people.....that is when we saw it. The dark cloud off to the west. We waited to see where it was going before we left again. Not 5 minutes later, the entire sky above us was pitch black. Saying that the skies opened up above us would be an understatement. Lightning all over the place, and a torrential downpour that was unbelievable. This storm was moving fast!!! We waited a bit, and it let up, and the sky to the west actually looked pretty good. A bunch of us headed out on our bikes to a restaurant to get some grub. Once there, it stopped raining and started drying up. That lasted for about 10 minutes, and the skies opened up again, and it just dumped on us. Lightning again all over the place, the wind picked up and even the TV's in the restaurant all lost their satellite signal. Again we waited a bit, and then 3 of us that lived to the east decided to trek out. By the time I got home, I was completely soaked. Shoes were drenched, shirt and shorts were sopping, and my socks felt like they weighed 50lbs. I used my brand new Chrome Citizen Night edition messenger bag and all my stuff stayed dry as a desert. These bags really are waterproof. I would not hesitate to get another one or recommend them to anyone. They are pricey, but they are high quality!!


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Similar to ten, we had a full on Sumatra squall on my commute in to work yesterday morning, lightning, gusty winds and lashing it down with rain - I think the news said something like 3 or 4" fell in an hour. Left the bike at work and got a cab back - hate putting clammy wet shoes and socks back on


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No commute, but the Tour of Alberta was running basically right outside my door. I know nothing about road cycling, but a bunch of this was on my commute route so I took the dog and did a rainy walk of about half the course:



__
https://flic.kr/p/p7Jh4V






They did 11 laps, so it was reasonably entertaining to watch. It is actually kindof amazing how many of them there are, how tightly they're packed, and how much wind they throw off.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Hauling a watermelon in a milk crate on the porteur rack was interesting.


 I`m damn sorry I wasn`t there to witness that event!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Well the video was all a-kilter so I erased it. But I did post the loaded bike back at home. Must have been too much for it, as the rear tire blew with a hiss whoosh this morning and the bike was on its kickstand with no weight on the tire at all.

carrying cargo, on a normal bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> No commute, but the Tour of Alberta was running basically right outside my door.


Great video. I've never witnessed a pro road race in person.

I'm moving a little slow on the commute this morning after a 56 mile ride including the top of Mt Agamenticus (which isn't really that tall) yesterday






.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I commuted on the SS for the first time today. It was a nice ride. My upper body was exhausted because I spent a few hours splitting firewood yesterday, I also still don't have the SS quite dialed in, so my shoulders were a bit tired and I had to change hand positions a lot, but I think once I get a few more small adjustment made, it will be good. 

Met two other commuters at work this morning which was nice, In the previous 3 years I've only met one, so it was surprising to see so many in one day. 

I found that SUV that was obnoxiously beeping at me the other day too. Turns out I had the wrong parking lot, I saw her on the same street at the same time this morning, this time I was behind her though. Her house is across the street from where I thought she was pulling into. I was right all along, it was a black Rav4. She might get a note today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'd leave her a mysterious note, like "Don't drive like an @$$ole" so she has no idea who's pissed at her.

This morning...snow! And a high for today of maybe 40F. I was all set to break out the jacket, but at the last second I decided it was too early for that, and stuck with the shortsleeve merino tee to show nature who's boss.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 - I am liking that Felt. 

newfangled - snow already? That is something that I really don't want to think about yet.

Temps at night have drastically dropped here since a huge cold front rolled through Friday night after that big storm. Lows in the 50's now so that means summer is just about over. Will be riding to work later, and will have to pack something a bit warmer for the ride home.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Days are getting shorter - but not quite so short, yet, that I'd need to think about lights for office hours commuting.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ I'd leave her a mysterious note, like "Don't drive like an @$$ole" so she has no idea who's pissed at her.
> 
> This morning...snow! And a high for today of maybe 40F. I was all set to break out the jacket, but at the last second I decided it was too early for that, and stuck with the shortsleeve merino tee to show nature who's boss.


Big Fat Flakes on the north edge of Calgary looks like Airdie is really gonna get some...

I put on the long tights and jacket....still cold when I got in.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

__
https://flic.kr/p/p8xUZ4


__
https://flic.kr/p/oR4Dzb

I checked my old photos, and apparently that bike was in "summer" mode by April 10 this year. And despite the weather today, there's probably another 2 months before I switch it back to winter mode. So I guess that's not too bad.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Snow?! Awww, I can't even think about winter yet.

No commute for me today. I spent the majority of yesterday biking around town trying to follow and cheer on some friends who were competing in Ironman Wisconsin. They still put in a lot more bike miles than me. 112...no thanks. The weather looks good for tomorrow though.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today. A bit slower than normal, which I expected after going for a 3.5 mile trail run with my 12 year old son on Saturday. I haven't really run in over 10 years. Felt pretty good doing it overall.

Took a nice ride on Thursday to celebrate my b-day. Wrote it up with photos over here.

No snow in my neck of the woods yet, but it is getting colder and the mornings are staying darker longer. I think sunrise this morning was 7:10 or so. Late enough, anyway, that my daughter could not ride to the bus stop as she doesn't have lights yet. Winter in the north is coming soon.

Yesterday engaged in a new fall tradition: The wife and kids pick lingonberries while I ride cross country and power line trails in Houston, AK. Good times.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

Finally got my road bike project rideable. I still want to do a few little things, but for $110 investment I am very happy. I took to for a 17 mile hour long ride this weekend and I am going for my first group ride this evening(after I get done working my second job!UGH). I am excited to use it to commute.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

Tomorrow, I ride through this intersection:









Past this traffic pole:









...ehhh... I think I need to drive... In fact, I may be called out since that is a picture of part of the property. I uh... actually don't even know where I am supposed to park, to be honest. I have been commuting for 2 years now, and have long since lost track of the parking schedules.

And... uhhh... looking at pictures... I think the lot I am supposed to park in is flooded too? There is one road into work, and the entire street that leads in is flooded like that.

XD


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Are you in the Phoenix area, Bikemaya?


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Are you in the Phoenix area, Bikemaya?


No, Coachella Valley. Southern Cali. Have the storms been hitting Phoenix after they are done with us?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I hope you get the day off, bikemaya, that does not look safe using any form of transportation.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My commute was pretty good considering I had a trail crash yesterday - did you know granite does not yield to a shin-bone and kneecap? Felt pretty good today until I sat too long at work, then the knee stiffened up. The way home I noticed the knee more than I did in the morning, but still better than the sedentary stiffness.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

No wind! A miracle here! Ride was eventless And by gearing used, fast (computer died). I did have to pass one guy on the grass verge to keep it that way.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

My boss called. Rain day! Actually, rain week. They closed the entire resort until the weekend, possibly longer. They evacuated everyone. The damage will be substantial, my boss is going in tomorrow to assess with the other managers... the entire property was hit. I have no clue how my workplace fared. This could be very bad...

Apparently, some major roads were washed away too. I know the ones close to me are too built up, but there is substantial amounts of debris and sand that needs to be cleared once the water goes down too.

I would say some billionaires are crying over their multi-million dollar private club houses being flooded (that is the area hit the hardest), but I know that not only were none of them crazy enough to be staying in them over summer with the extreme heat we have here, I am sure they will be cleaned up by the time season comes around and they want to use them again. So, businesses are really the ones suffering the biggest losses around here... Especially where I work, which has already been struggling to stay afloat for years due to the tanked economy. They had a similar weather related flood earlier in the year that cost them months and millions of dollars to fix. Same area flooded again, only much worse this time. Bummer...

No commute for a while... a horrible summer this has been!


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Bikemaya said:


> No, Coachella Valley. Southern Cali. Have the storms been hitting Phoenix after they are done with us?


Must have! I have some friends in the area who were posting photos that looked just like that. Stay safe!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Amazing day for a ride in. It was just beautiful. MUP was a ghost town so I had it all to myself and it was really nice. Sunny and 72F when I left for work. Slight breeze hitting me head on but it felt really good. No incidents which we all know is good. Took the major road that runs between downtown and campus. Speed limit is only 25 and it is fairly heavily enforced, so I feel comfortable on it. Easily passing other people on bikes on the sidewalks which is just nuts if you ask me.

Ride home was 65F and slightly breezy again. Took the long way home again on that major road that was pretty deserted near midnight. Computer said that I did a max of 26.2 mph which isn't too bad on a fixed gear. I have hit 31.6 before but that was on a slight downhill that is pretty fast. Passed a guy riding on the sidewalk with no lights, on a black bike, in all black clothing and a black helmet. I know that not everyone spends money like most of us do on lights and the gear, but that is just downright dangerous especially on a fairly dark road. Always want to say something but I always keep my mouth shut.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Riding the MTB today and tomorrow, just because I haven't gotten to ride it enough. Tomorrow I'm giving it some trail love. I realized a few things that are probably reasons that I'm just as fast on the MTB even on pavement. I noticed everything about it is quieter than the old road bike. I really need to get the hubs and bottom bracket serviced, at least greased up or something. Also I need to get the fit dialed in just a little better. I think that'd solve that. 

Either way. I realized tonight as I was leaving campus that I had forgotten my bike light. Blargh. The ride home was slow, because the mup was dark and I really have no desire to run into things when it's 9:30 at night and I'm hungry.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Amazing day for a ride in. It was just beautiful. MUP was a ghost town so I had it all to myself and it was really nice. Sunny and 72F when I left for work. Slight breeze hitting me head on but it felt really good. No incidents which we all know is good. Took the major road that runs between downtown and campus. Speed limit is only 25 and it is fairly heavily enforced, so I feel comfortable on it. Easily passing other people on bikes on the sidewalks which is just nuts if you ask me.
> 
> Ride home was 65F and slightly breezy again. Took the long way home again on that major road that was pretty deserted near midnight. Computer said that I did a max of 26.2 mph which isn't too bad on a fixed gear. I have hit 31.6 before but that was on a slight downhill that is pretty fast. Passed a guy riding on the sidewalk with no lights, on a black bike, in all black clothing and a black helmet. I know that not everyone spends money like most of us do on lights and the gear, but that is just downright dangerous especially on a fairly dark road. Always want to say something but I always keep my mouth shut.


Yeah, it's hard not to say anything sometimes. Some things are just safety issues though. Wearing black isn't the worst. The worst are cyclists that do whatever they please because they think the world lives in their head.

Edited 9/9/14 6:12 am


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> My commute was pretty good considering I had a trail crash yesterday - did you know granite does not yield to a shin-bone and kneecap?


Ouch! Granite does yield to Bedwards and his chisels. Next time maybe you can call him to get the obstinate part out of the way? Hope it improves throughout the week.

Good deal on not having to go in to work, Bikemaya. I think rowing would have been more appropriate than driving anyway.

Any of you folks getting snow who don`t want any, I`ll take it off your hands for you.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ouch! Granite does yield to Bedwards and his chisels. Next time maybe you can call him to get the obstinate part out of the way? Hope it improves throughout the week.
> 
> Good deal on not having to go in to work, Bikemaya. I think rowing would have been more appropriate than driving anyway.
> 
> Any of you folks getting snow who don`t want any, I`ll take it off your hands for you.


There is a fantastic picture circulating of a woman rowing an inflatable boat down "Delaware" street, which looked more like the 'Delaware River' at the moment. Obviously staged, but I was impressed by the cleverness of picking out "Delaware St." for the picture.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

4 inches of snow wet heavy -1C.

Pavement is still wet though...not gonna put on studs for another month at least.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Rodar - you can have all of our snow this winter. All of it!!

My ride in today was pretty uneventful. I should have stopped for a few photos, because the way the sun was rising this morning had some really neat lighting that would have worked well for pictures. We're due for some rain at some point tonight and whenever there's any rain in the forecast, I inevitably get some co-worker who freaks out that I rode my bike and offers me a ride home. :lol:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Rodar - you can have all of our snow this winter. All of it!!
> 
> My ride in today was pretty uneventful. I should have stopped for a few photos, because the way the sun was rising this morning had some really neat lighting that would have worked well for pictures. *We're due for some rain at some point tonight and whenever there's any rain in the forecast, I inevitably get some co-worker who freaks out that I rode my bike and offers me a ride home.* :lol:


I work with the same type of person. OMG it might rain!!! What will you do? Well, I will ride my bike home.

Winter should be interesting since I picked up a fat bike. When we get the worst possible blizzard like conditions, with blowing snow and frigid temps.....that should be pretty fun with my coworkers.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm telecommuting today, but yesterday's commute on the SS ended up being great. I wished I didn't have to get home so soon. I did get to do an extra 6 miles, but I had tons of energy. My legs were the best they've been in a while. I felt like I could easily ridden another 10-15 miles. My average speed was the same as it is on my geared bike too. I was slightly slower on the flats but I climbed much faster because I couldn't just spin in an easy gear. Kept me honest.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> I work with the same type of person. OMG it might rain!!! What will you do? Well, I will ride my bike home.


I usually say "I'm not wicked enough to melt (ala wicked witch of the west) or sweet enough to dissolve, so I think I'll be OK"


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit damp here this AM as well, though not bad overall. I was asleep on the bus when I heard the deluge hit. By the time we'd gotten to Anchorage it was nothing more than a light sprinkle. Got to work just as it was starting to get heavy here in town. Looks like it's done for now. 

Anyone have any thoughts on how to break the bond between a steel frame and an aluminium seat post that was installed with plenty of grease last December, but not serviced at all since then? I've tried PB Blaster, Deep Creep, hitting it with a hammer and using a vice grip with a large bar for leverage and no go. Haven't tried a bench vice yet - that's the next step. Any other ideas? The interwebs aren't terribly helpful. It's a nice Thompson seatpost which is why I'm not keen on just cutting the darn thing out.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> A bit damp here this AM as well, though not bad overall. I was asleep on the bus when I heard the deluge hit. By the time we'd gotten to Anchorage it was nothing more than a light sprinkle. Got to work just as it was starting to get heavy here in town. Looks like it's done for now.
> 
> Anyone have any thoughts on how to break the bond between a steel frame and an aluminium seat post that was installed with plenty of grease last December, but not serviced at all since then? I've tried PB Blaster, Deep Creep, hitting it with a hammer and using a vice grip with a large bar for leverage and no go. Haven't tried a bench vice yet - that's the next step. Any other ideas? The interwebs aren't terribly helpful. It's a nice Thompson seatpost which is why I'm not keen on just cutting the darn thing out.


I had my thompson stuck in my alu frame two years ago.....didn't wash the bike enough and a got a salt build up down near the very bottom of the seat post...

I tried lots of stuff...what fially got it was a kettle steaming near the seat post where the bottom of the seat post was, and a bag of ice around the seat post near the connection point...

I left the steam and ice on til a bag full of ice melted...

Then I got a BFH and wanged the tip of the seat hard as I could given all the difficulties of holding everything.....it moved about a 1/16 of an inch....

Then it was a whole body work out with the hammer and twisting for about an hour....but I got it out...

PS use CLR as much as possible cause it is probably aqueous based siezing.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Try filling ST with Coke? ;p


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

You know, I've heard people say Coke might work. At this point I think I may just try it. I also found some info on building an electrolytic cleaner - that might be the ticket as, if it is really corroded, it is an electrolytic corrosion. Besides, playing with electricity and water is always a good idea...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Here I was thinking that only "bad" bike owners got stuck seatposts. I had no idea it could happen in such a short time, and with plenty of grease.

(I realize your bike sees some extreme conditions, but my steel 29er winterbike does too, and I'd thought I was safe)


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

newfangled said:


> Here I was thinking that only "bad" bike owners got stuck seatposts. I had no idea it could happen in such a short time, and with plenty of grease.
> 
> (I realize your bike sees some extreme conditions, but my steel 29er winterbike does too, and I'd thought I was safe)


If you have the right conditions, galvanic corrosion can happen quite fast. Salt, dissimilar metals, and any tiny spot unprotected by grease and there you have it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

This means I'll have to stop silently judging people at the co-op.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> This means I'll have to stop silently judging people at the co-op.


Where's the fun in that? I think that many would say I am a bad bike owner...the only things I really maintain are the things that keep it running - chain, rings, cassettes, brakes. Not sure when the last time I actually washed the bike was. Too long, though. Slugs leave a nice stain if you leave their dead bodies on there long enough.

With the salt and water around here throughout the spring and that I don't run fenders, I can't say that I am that surprised that it happened. I just feel silly that I didn't even think to take the post out and regrease it at least once a month. Live and learn, I guess.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Had my first true rain ride home yesterday. Raining from start to finish. Only about 4.5 miles though. Wife kept calling asking if I wanted her to pick me up. Not too hard of a rain. Asked my wife if she thought I was a little wuss or something. Thought I couldn't handle a peddle in a drizzle. I enjoyed it. It was fun. Today's commute hot and muggy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Was looking forward to a commute home tonight, but during my afternoon fun trail ride, I had my front tire blow out around a turn. Good thing my brothers a good guy!

But seriously man, buzzkill. It was a better ride than most until that happened. I even successfully bunny hopped something for the first time. Oh well, just gotta patch it up and get back to it. :arf:


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## Tan&Green (Feb 25, 2013)

During my morning commute, it was around 0545 hours and still dark.....while I am pedaling along in the bike lane and what happens????? A clueless morning walker steps into the bike lane wearing all black, probably trying to make himself look thinner, and proceeds to walk as if he does not have a care in the world. It irritated me because the sidewalk was perfectly fine, clear of trash/debris, but this person decided to walk in the bike lane, wearing black, and the streetlights were partially blocked by the trees......what is wrong with some folks?????:madmax:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another beautiful day for a commute in. Mid 70's and sunny with a light headwind. It was like the day before, only nicer. Had to pass a bus on the left on a 3 lane wide road near downtown because I didn't want to keep playing leapfrog with it the rest of the way to work. He finally caught me about 2 miles down the road. Had to pass a girl on her bike going extremely slow kind of weaving in the bike lane....and then I saw the white earbuds in. She was messing with her phone or iPod or whatever. I called out on your left, but she never heard me. She was going maybe 3-4 mph. I looked down at my computer and was hustling at 18.5 mph. Gave her room but I am sure that she probably got a little startled. 

Ride home was tough. Legs are starting to hurt from all of the riding. Going to take a break tomorrow and more than likely Thursday in preparation for the ride Friday. HUGE storm working its way across the country right now, and it will be hitting us sometime tomorrow. The last time I checked the radar, it was over Iowa, and was about the size of Iowa. I could not believe it. All kinds of warnings and even a few tornado warnings with it. Yeah, good day to take the day off I think and drive to work.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Here's a new one (for me at least). A passenger in a car yelled out the window, "USE A DAMN HAND SIGNAL!" The thing is, I had signaled my turn before coming to the stop sign, but the car was second in line across from me at the intersection. It's kind of difficult to signal a turn when braking and in the act of turning, especially on an incline. 

Basically, the driver of the car was planning on rolling the stop but couldn't because I was turning left in front of him. As he hit the brakes, the passenger through her hands up in the air, obviously agitated. Then she yelled at me later when they passed. The whole thing was kind of absurd.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Here's a new one (for me at least). A passenger in a car yelled out the window, "USE A DAMN HAND SIGNAL!"


Did you ask when the last time she hand signaled was? Since, you know, the signals were invented for cars.


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## Guest (Sep 10, 2014)

Shayne said:


> Did you ask when the last time she hand signaled was? Since, you know, the signals were invented for cars.


 I'm right there with you Shayne but I've become a fan of: "Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it." George Bernard Shaw. I usually add the following "and passersby have a hard time distinguishing you from the pig after a minute or two."


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Shayne said:


> Did you ask when the last time she hand signaled was? Since, you know, the signals were invented for cars.


Forget hand signals. When was the last time a car at a 4-way stop used a turn signal period.

I have seven 4-way stops on my route to work, and the laziness of drivers astounds me. It'll be -30, I'm balancing on two wheels, with my arm stuck out signalling a turn, and the moron across from me is too lazy to lift their fat paw 2 inches to indicate they're turning.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> I think that many would say I am a bad bike owner...the only things I really maintain are the things that keep it running - chain, rings, cassettes, brakes. Not sure when the last time I actually washed the bike was. Too long, though. Slugs leave a nice stain if you leave their dead bodies on there long enough.


Yeah, my 29er never actually got cleaned this year either.

Out of curiosity, did you framesaver your bike? I can't find it locally, but apparently Boeshield works too, so my frames get a hit of that every second fall or so.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit damp again this morning. Looks like it will be damp this afternoon as well. Strangeness with my GPS the last few days - takes it a really long time to acquire a signal. So much so that I reset it to factory last night (forgetting to save my odometer data for the year - argh! At last check it was at a touch over 8K - wanted to hit 10K for the year...) I hope it's just heavy cloud cover causing the issue and not that the unit is getting ready to die or something.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Interesting info about rolling resistance and wide tires. See, I am doing it right! Rolling Resistance | Schwalbe North America


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Forget hand signals. When was the last time a car at a 4-way stop used a turn signal period.
> 
> I have seven 4-way stops on my route to work, and the laziness of drivers astounds me. It'll be -30, I'm balancing on two wheels, with my arm stuck out signalling a turn, and the moron across from me is too lazy to lift their fat paw 2 inches to indicate they're turning.


Come to think of it, I don't remember their turn signal being on. Maybe my mind forgot that detail, but it's quite likely they weren't signaling at all, knowing people around here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Forget hand signals. When was the last time a car at a 4-way stop used a turn signal period.


S0ckeyeus was at the intersection first. They are required to yield. If he had signaled they would have waited just the same as they did with his not signaling, so what's the legal beef? They surely see that a lot with other drivers as pointed out. The problem was they almost rolled the stop into him which would have been totally their fault. Scared them, and people do dumb things when scared. Probably talking too much to notice the signal when they approached the intersection.

I had a small town cop think I was flagging him down with a left turn signal. :madman: So much for obeying the traffic laws! Criticism if you use them, criticism if you don't. :madmax:

Our first legal requirement is to maintain control of the bike: it trumps signaling a turn. Besides it is pretty obvious a bike is turning early in the cyclists progress into the intersection. But that requires they actually come to a full stop and *look*! Some people need to gripe about everything especially when they screw up.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Nice ride in. Muggy and hot home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Had a full sized van pass me doing about 45 in the 30 zone (I was at about 17 and accelerating the slight downhill). This was just before the crest of a hill (no clear sight distance and you can hide a semi over that crest). He was also in the center of the road at the top of that blind hill. Both are reckless driving charges. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic. At the bottom of the hill that I usually hit 30 mph on, he stops (no signal) at the entrance to the Country Club. He does not take the turn but waits for a golf cart that was far away to come by him. He had lots of time to turn. I am trying to segue so that I slide by as he turns. He starts to turn then stops after rolling about 6" (not stalled) and does not proceed with no one oncoming. He'd have had my car horns at this point if I had driven up behind him with him just sitting parked in the road no signals no 4-way flashers, just brake lights. I would have to have dumped about 25 mph very quickly to stop behind him, I thought "screw this" and rolled the grass verge on the right. 

Was he drunk? Maybe. Definitely unpredictable and not a safe driver. If purposeful, I figured he was trying to force me to stop or pass on the left so he could hook me. Maybe he wanted to talk. 4-way flashers would have had me stopping to see what was wrong. More likely he was just plain oblivious. In Indiana we can pass on the right when there is room, the grass verge might not qualify as 'room', though. Still, I'm required to avoid the accident. So I did. I looked back and he was slowly making the turn finally. So slowly I get the impression he raced by me so he could make this left turn. Moron.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2014)

Misty commute, not like this day in 2001 though when I arrived to work in time to watch the first tower burning.

Did manage to stay clipped in for the first 15 miles and may have made the entire run had it not been for one car who decided that the stop sign was optional.

Today was critter on the road day as I got the "Deer in the headlights" look from rabbits, raccoons, a fox, turkeys and ground squirrels but ironically, not from any Deer. Light mist and cooler/darker mornings seems to bring out the wildlife.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ouch! Granite does yield to Bedwards and his chisels. Next time maybe you can call him to get the obstinate part out of the way?


Good memory, I haven't split any granite in a while. They are probably better at it over in VT. They're got so much of the stuff over there they carve it into pillows...I hear.

I can't believe people are talking about snow already! Boo.

Good commutes lately. Took the MTB today.

This is from a few days ago. Honestly, the moon looked HUGE! Not like the tiny dot in the picture.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A dry ride in today. Well, at least no water falling from the sky. A bit on the trails yet and one underpass had a good foot an a half in it, but I ain't complaining. Beautiful sunny day out there right now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

So snows Monday but wet so i am okay on the slicks....Tuesday night looks like it might get cold and ice up so that night I mount the studs on a spare set of wheels...but I get bored and leave the change over of the cassette til Wensday morning...

Get up power off, so I mount up the cassette in the dark....well with a head lamp with the batteries dying.

So I miss mount the thing, throw it on the bike....half way down I notice the wheel gets stiff about every half block...oh well keep riding...

Busy all day so I jump back on and ride home...

Get home and finally take a look... the cassette nut had come off and would get stuck between the hub and the frame evey so often...

So I rubbed the nice finish off, but everything still works....

Anyway took the studs off thurday morning cause it was all drying up...

Moral of the story...should have ignored the whole thing and just kept riding.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

on a further note

When riding in through the park on Wendsday morning...the snow was just starting to make the tree branchs snap off...

So as I start through two big ones let go, one on each side fortunately the did not fall on the path..

So I rode out in the middle of a grassy field and watched and listened as tens of branches snapped off under the weight of a full load of green leaves and snow.

Moral....Pay attention, smarten up and becareful.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Lastly sunny ride home tonight 7C 16 km/hr wind...

Maybe more rain or snow Friday....but it no longer matters.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, Jeffscott, glad you were able to get out of the way! Snow:eekster:

Just windy and a little rain here, but I lucked out and did not lose power, had a tailwind home, and no close calls with branches. Probably made record time, but stopped for a 9/11 pause and picture downtown and did not glance at my watch.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Rain, [relatively]cold, dark. Blah.


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

Cold and windy forgot my gloves and froze my fingers off


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Beautiful morning. 44 degrees, clear and calm. Watched the sun rise over the mountains. Supposed to be in the upper 70s for the ride home.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

44?? I'm not ready for that yet....

We're supposed to be able to see Northern Lights tonight, crossing my fingers it's clear....


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today, just my normal Friday night ride. 54F and cloudy was the high today. Last Friday it was 89F and blazing hot. What a difference a week makes. Dug out the base layer and cool weather gear and I did it just right not overheating and I wasn't cold. We rode around town for a bit then east on my commute route and MUP to the local lake for a spin around that. Most of us ate dinner, and then we headed back west to take some people back to their car. Right at that point, it started lightly misting. Was still 52F so it wasn't bad and we continued on west. The further west we went the more it started misting and almost raining. We decided to call it quits before we got drenched for the second week in a row and a few of us headed back east. It is currently raining right now and we avoided being drenched and cold. The mist was enough to make it seem a lot colder as the wind and the mist were hitting us right in the face.

I don't know if anyone knows this but I am absolutely dreading winter. I honestly don't know if I will make it if we have even half the winter we had last season. Even the fat bike won't be enough for me I don't think. Fall in Michigan lasted about 36 hours and I think I slept for half of that.


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## lextek (Mar 24, 2004)

Friday morning was dark, cool and drizzle. It was a nice ride. Felt great on the bike. People at work asked "you rode in the rain?" Even in the rain the commute is the best part of the work day......


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

It took a bit longer than I thought. However, the weather was beautiful. Nice, crisp fall weather. Perfect for riding. But, a harbringer of the cold to come.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Does it count as a commute if I ride to and from the bar-arcade? Pretty great. Nice cool weather, pinball and a beer and then a slow ride home at 55°F. That's a solid Saturday night commute for me! It was also nice to ride with a group since I almost always ride alone. Didn't even mind slowing down for my girlfriend (she only just over a year ago started riding with me again because I promised not to push her faster than she wanted to go).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Frost warning tonight...sigh!...summer is over.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So tomorrow I have to go out of town. In a perfect world I'd do a quick ride downtown to the bus depot, lock up my bike, catch the 6am bus, get back 14 hours later, and ride home. But I just don't have a bike I'm willing to abandon for that long. The neighborhood isn't that bad, and the chances of something bad happening are really pretty slim, but I'm just not gonna do it. It makes me think I need a real beater bike for the two or three times a year it would be handy, but that also seems kindof dumb.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ That's one of the bad things about having bikes that are nice or that you can't afford to have anything happen to. It's a sense of gaining whatever made you want that bike but losing freedom in as much as you don't want anything bad to happen to that bike and by golly you won't let it. 

Unless you often need a less impressive bike to park in sketchy places or that you don't mind leaving, it's really not worth having, IMO.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thinking outside the box there are folders you could fold and put in a bag or backpack to carry on.

Thinking inside the box you could put frame couplers from S & S in a steel frame and put it in a backpack for the bus:

Backpack bike case for a folding travel bicycle

Both may be a solution for parking the bike at work, too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

NDD said:


> Unless you often need a less impressive bike to park in sketchy places or that you don't mind leaving, it's really not worth having, IMO.


Once or twice per year. BUT, right now I also have a stripped down frame and a bag full of parts that I was going to donate to the co-op. It's almost everything I'd need to make a beater, except it's missing hubs, spokes and tires. Space for a 4th bike would be the other issue, but if it's a beater I could even lock it up outside somewhere. So I could do it, but I probably won't.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yeah, I use what I'd call my beater probably three to five days a week to commute, at least. Put extraneous miles on that, save the pricier parts on the MTB from wear. I respect it's function as a bike that I can use and use for minimal input of maintenance. The bike's twice as old as me almost all parts still work just fine. I replaced the tires and grip tape. Now I just ride it and it doesn't have problems. 

Still might convert it to single speed once I get enough parts/time... Hmm...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I couldn't leave my bike like that. I already worry about it at work and it is in public view with security cameras on it 24/7.

Today I declare day of the dumbass. Beautiful sunny and 55F so I rode to work. Nailed it on my riding attire with a t-shirt and sleeves and a pair of shorts and my windproof gloves. I took a base layer, merino wool socks, head cover and lobster gloves with me just in case. It started just as I was leaving my complex. To get to the MUP I turn left out and head up the sidewalk less than 1/8th of a mile. Taking the street will not work as there is no way for me to crossover and get on the MUP as it branches off the sidewalk. It is uphill so I always ride fairly slowly watching for pedestrians. There is a guy walking right in the middle of the sidewalk heading my way carrying a guitar over his shoulder with his head down and the infamous white ear buds showing. I slow way down almost to a crawl and I am just about in the grass and still his head is down. I screamed at him as I buzzed him at a snails pace "HEADS UP!!!" He got all pissed off at me because I probably scared him. Yeah, watch where you are going and you won't have that issue.

Get on the MUP and there are a lot of people walking and a few bikers. Came up on two guys taking up the whole MUP riding side by side at a slower pace than I was going. I politely let them know that I was going to come by on the left. This is when I miss having a geared bike because before I would just coast and let that rear hub announce my presence. Hope Pro II's do the job nicely as do Chris King's and some of the Mavics as well. They hesitantly let me by but not before attempting to mock me. Ignored and I just crank it out to get away from them before I hear something that pisses me off. Came up on several dog walkers, some with them on leash and some off. There is something about coming up on a dog off the leash that could be aggressive like a German Shepard, Doberman or a Pit Bull which is my least favorite. Today I lucked out and it was just a retriever of some sort but I gave the lady my typical one line lecture about the dog needs to be on a leash. 

Get on the main road and have no issues with cars at all which is always good. I got plenty of room from those who passed and I was the courteous biker obeying the rules of the road and signaling properly. The main road branches off and the bike lane starts which I absolutely love. It is great, until there is a guy riding his bike with earbuds in coming straight at me. Seriously? 2 lanes of traffic heading west, the bike lane heads west, the arrows in the lane point west, and this guy is heading east. I kept to the center of the lane and made him go around me. I politely said that he was going the wrong way as he passed me but to be honest I am not sure he saw me and I know he didn't hear me. 

The rest of the commute and the ride home was uneventful which was welcome after the ride in. 44F by the time I got home. Was a bit cold in shorts but the base layer and the windproof gloves helped a lot. Keeping my core, head and hands warm usually is enough for me to be alright in the colder weather.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It was the coldest morning of the year by 12 degrees. 42 when I left. I didn't have some of my cold weather gear ready, so I wore mountain biking gloves and my fingers were freezing. Also had to wear long tights for the first time this year. At least they make my butt look fantastic....

Riding the SS was a mistake. I spent a while with my chainsaw yesterday cutting up a tree that we had taken down a couple months ago so I can start splitting it. My lower back is exhausted from moving around the wood and bending over with the saw. Being able to spin up hills would have been appreciated. Oh well, this is how we get stronger, right?


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2014)

Well, normally I'd be talking about my ride in today and perhaps about my rides over the weekend but I've been shuttling around a guy from our national office since friday morning so the bike's been parked at the rack since thursday. I get to ride this afternoon and after three days of 16-17 hours/day schedules I think I'm leaving early today as well. Perhaps I should kickout a half century to catch-up on one missed ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bikecommuter Morning

The dooryard was white with frost this morn,
Of winter’s approach it surely did warn.

The sky was clear, the air was crisp,
Until I descended into the abyss.

In Barre the fog was like a wet blanket,
But enough with the rhymes, I have to crank it.

I saw some resisting winter’s advance,
A Jeep with no top – and a guy with just pants.

Up the hill to work I did pedal,
the months ahead will prove our mettle.

Winter’s coming but don’t be a weenie,
Grab a windproof jacket, your bike, and a beanie.

But don’t go nuts and add layers like silly,
Or you’ll sweat too much and then you’ll get chilly.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, must be getting toward winter, the bike commuter poetry is coming out. You're a regular old Robert "Frost" there MTBX. 


Straz85 said:


> It was the coldest morning of the year by 12 degrees. 42 when I left. I didn't have some of my cold weather gear ready, so I wore mountain biking gloves and my fingers were freezing. Also had to wear long tights for the first time this year. At least they make my butt look fantastic....


I pulled out the tights for the first time too. I did it because of the 36 degree temp, not even thinking how good my azz would look.  It took a few extra min to get all my warm weather gear out of hiding this morning. Once I got out the crisp air felt good. I think we escaped the frost, luckily, I didn't get out to cover the Habeneros.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Surprising considering I did a run again this weekend. Yesterday. Did a 3K loop with my son trying to see ho fast we could do it. He did his mid-13 and I clocked in a 17:44:49. Not too shabby for being fat, old, and not running for years. Feel pretty good this morning. A bit stiff, but not bad at all. 

Almost bought a second bike on Friday night - an old Surly 1X1 with SnoCat rims and a Spectro S7 internal gear hub. The frame was in good shape and there were some great components on the bike, but the hub had some issues - it wouldn't shift - and I just don't know that I have time for a fixer-upper. That said, the wife is all on a mission now for me to get a second bike as a back up. The only problem is that she's thinking 650 0r 700 tops. I suppose I could get something decent in that range, but I just think that I spend 700 on a bike and immediately will want to throw upgrades at it - a decent crankset, a Deore or better der - that sort of thing. I wish I could find something decent used, but it seems everything up here is either way over priced, complete crap, or both. First world problems, huh?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

The weather was pleasantly chilly this morning. As I was leaving, I thought about how great my ass looks, because I do every morning. Because my ass just looks great all the time...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

We might have to start a thread "Who has the best ass in bike shorts"


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

I had a nice ride in this morning. Spent the night at my girlfriend's house and took my bike with me as she lives about a mile off the MUP that runs right into campus. Had it all to myself as I was riding before sun up. Saw a lot of rabbits and deer, and even had a bat fly into my helmet while passing under a bridge. It was a nice early morning ride, but the workout immediately after has killed my legs. I don't know how my ride tomorrow will go...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

NDD said:


> The weather was pleasantly chilly this morning. As I was leaving, I thought about how great my ass looks, because I do every morning. Because my ass just looks great all the time...


Did a bit of a spit take there. Thank you sir or madam.

I do wonder, though, if we are going to make such bold claims if photographic evidence is in order? Or would that make MTBR just like the rest of the interwebs?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Did a bit of a spit take there. Thank you sir or madam.
> 
> I do wonder, though, if we are going to make such bold claims if photographic evidence is in order? Or would that make MTBR just like the rest of the interwebs?


I'm just going to tell you now I'm a dude. But I've got a chick butt... So if the photo is just of my butt in bike shorts, it's cool right?

Seriously, though. I put on some of my girlfriends pants one time. Rear fit perfectly. As for the absence of crotch room and pockets, that was just awful. Maybe we should keep mtbr classy, but you'd have to kick me out...

But I'm just saying, if there's a booty thread I'm there.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Note, my avatar is of a random dog licking himself. We found him in Panama. He was a really great and aggressive friend for a day. But yeah, if you wanna keep mtbr a family site, I'll just leave.


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## billyrayeast (Dec 24, 2013)

Saw a doe get mashed by an F-250....He was nice enough to put it out of it's misery


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I just saw a big doe in the ditch on my regular route, must be the season.

_It was raining so I turned on my lights.
One of fall weather's delights.
But the question that's burning.
From what I am learning.
"Does my ass look good in these tights?"_


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! I'm sure it was poetry in motion.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> We might have to start a thread "Who has the best ass in bike shorts"


I approve of this, especially since the men outnumber the women here by a large margin.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Nice Poetry! 
The answer is YES! I have personal knowledge on this one Trust me.

I just saw a big doe in the ditch on my regular route, must be the season.

_It was raining so I turned on my lights.
One of fall weather's delights.
But the question that's burning.
From what I am learning.
"Does my ass look good in these tights?"_


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

WiTrailRunner said:


> I approve of this, especially since the men outnumber the women here by a large margin.


Yeah, but(t?) at least one has a girl butt, so the hiney gender ratio will be skewed by AT LEAST one each way. Still, you`ll probably come out ahead.

Good rhyming, guys! I`m staying out again- BrianMC can have my turn.

Okay, my turn to whine today. It`s really hard to guess how many flats I average per month/year/whatever because they tend to bunch up and then leave me alione for long periods, but I definitely got way more than my share this morning! I don`t know how it happened, either. I rode my regular route home, same as I ride twice a day, and exactly the same as I just rode last night. Both tires passed the calibrated thumb test when I got on. Comming down my street, I hear a clic-clic-clic that`s obviously from something stuck to my tire. So when I stop at the mail box, I stuffed the mail in my bag and took a peek at the front tire. Goat head. Pulled it out and heard a hiss, rotated a little bit and saw two more. Then more. Well, crap- the thing was dead flat by the time I had pulled out all the obvious ones, so I walked it down the driveway and gave it a better inspection, pulling out even more remnants of goat heads with the point of my pocket knife- just the thorn part when the head has broken off. I didn`t even think to count when I started, but I bet there were a dozen in there. Then the back tire- not so bad, but I did count. Pulled seven out, and that`s just the ones I could see or feel on the outside. Shazam! I just commented a few weeks ago that I enjoy patching tubes, but I think theese are going in the trash. How the heck could I get so many goat heads in one trip on exactly the same route that I usually get none at all!?! I have to wonder if somebody threw a handful of them out in the street.

Okay, whine complete. Carry on with butt comparisons.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

OK Rodar.

On seeing my butt on a bike:

There was a 250 plus cager
Who returned to his bike on a wager
That he'd get more slim
Now just look at him
His butt's still a pain just not major!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

So do I have to get the official biker tights now? I don't wear those, I just wear shorts.

Commute was terrible. Felt like I was biking through mud. Noticed that when I push my bike, the crank turns, and when I try to cost the freewheel doesn't disengage or something because the chain losses all tension, so when I pedal again I'm going nowhere until it catches up. What is happening? It's kind of a big problem.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Wow, poetry and asses. Reminds me of grad school...  Well, add in a bit of pomposity for good measure. 

I find my ass to be a bit too hairy and round 
to be viewed as fine or beautiful, 
instead I admire the way
my attire accentuates 
the ample topography of calves 
and thighs, the striations of muscle, 
the ridges and valleys formed by 
vascular undulations as 
I push hard to warm to operating temps 
as the frost threatens 
and the termination dust 
starts to build on the mountain tops 
that circle the valley 
where I start and end my days. 

The proliferation of coats, 
gloves, and hats can 
only mean soon
I'll put the shorts away, will break out
the layers that make me look 
much like the Michelin 
man, but in black
and reflective silver 
rather than white. 
The winter tires are on their way, 
the beardcicles will form, 
and the damned tourists will finally 
get off my trails and go back 
from whence they came, 
leaving only the skate-skiers
with which to contend - speed bumps
in lycra you could call them, though some
indeed have major nice butts that 
don't pain one to watch for that brief 
moment before leaving knobby tracks
all up and down their backs. 

A good ride in this AM. A bit chilly, but not bad yet. 46 F or so. A bit wet in Anchorage. Dry in the valley. We are getting termination dust on Pioneer Peak today, so I guess it is official that summer is indeed over. Bummer. I guess one could likewise say that the rise of cyclocross in town is also a sign that summer is over. Bummer.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

NDD said:


> So do I have to get the official biker tights now? I don't wear those, I just wear shorts.


Otherwise you probably don't stand much of a chance in the 1st Annual MTBR Commuter Forum Asstastic Bike Shorts Contest


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've got the official Colombian Women's Cycling Kit ordered for myself.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> A good ride in this AM. A bit chilly, but not bad yet. 46 F or so. A bit wet in Anchorage. Dry in the valley. We are getting termination dust on Pioneer Peak today, so I guess it is official that summer is indeed over. Bummer. I guess one could likewise say that the rise of cyclocross in town is also a sign that summer is over. Bummer.


Bring on that cold weather!!! I've raced both cross races so far, been lots of fun! Have you raced any yet? You should!!!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> Wow, poetry and asses. Reminds me of grad school...  Well, add in a bit of pomposity for good measure.
> 
> I find my ass to be a bit too hairy and round
> to be viewed as fine or beautiful,
> ...


Finally, some free verse.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> Otherwise you probably don't stand much of a chance in the 1st Annual MTBR Commuter Forum Asstastic Bike Shorts Contest


When's the deadline for pics?

I'll get bike shorts as soon as I get my freewheel fixed/replaced. Is this a good time to learn how to rebuild a wheel with a new hub? If so, I'll just pick up a flip flop dealy and a cog. My bike has horizontal drops... I should be able to make something work.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

Welp, damage at work was somewhere between 'not awful' and 'not bad'. The worst news is they had been working on room renovations for over a year, and had half of them done. That is the half that got flooded. Only one ballroom was flooded, the second largest one. It will be a little bit before it can be used again. The golf course I ride past to work still has a swamp running through it, but I think that is the only one that got damaged. Lots of sand on the street that hasn't been cleaned up yet, made me nervous since I have slicks on my commuter. It wasn't too bad, the local bike club have cleared lines through it in the bike lane.  The weather is still so effin hot, commuting is a bummer. Well over 100F still, though usually only in the 90s on my way to work. I am jealous of everyone who are getting crisp mornings... gawd, I miss that...

I get the same thing from my coworkers about riding in the rain too! Haha! They think I am CRAZY and offer me rides. The truth is, I actually enjoy riding home in the rain.  Riding into work in the rain, however, not so much. Mostly only because coming in soaking wet is frowned upon... I would ride in the snow too, but only because it is a short commute and snow doesn't stick here on the very rare times it does snow. I am not exactly a pro on the bike, and would be too afraid of slipping and hurting myself/ my bike if there was always ice and snow around.

If I were a celebrity, I am sure everyone would have seen a picture of my ass already. One, ONE picture exists of my ass. I was young, and stupid. I was smart enough to only send (covered) ass, however, and nothing else that was requested.  I shall not repeat this mistake! :|


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ So, you're back at work, bikemaya? That at least is good news.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Enjoying the poetry, doesn't anyone have a GoPro A** Edition? Mentally reviewing "what did someone yell at you?", I can't recall any rearward comments, but then I am partial to baggies over chamois.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Been on a pretty good commuting run. . .slow and steady and free of bike issues or any kind of excitement. Well, this post will guarantee the end of that. . .


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## bgkz25 (Dec 29, 2013)

Nice one.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NDD said:


> Commute was terrible. Felt like I was biking through mud. Noticed that when I push my bike, the crank turns, and when I try to cost the freewheel doesn't disengage or something because the chain losses all tension, so when I pedal again I'm going nowhere until it catches up. What is happening? It's kind of a big problem.


What kind of rear hub do you have and when's the last time it was serviced?

I'm staying out of the ass discussion lest I make one of myself...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Oh it's a forty year old hub. Original on my Schwinn super Le tour. That's kinda why I think it might be shot. I haven't serviced it in the five hundred miles I've ridden that bike since getting it in early August. 

Just looked it up, is a "Schwinn approved hub". Haha. It's probably seen some miles. I think maybe I'll have to get it serviced, but I'll see if I can't do it first. If not, I'll see what my mechanic will charge. If it's too much, maybe I'll just replace the hub and keep the rim and spokes, because they seem solid. I kinda got the bike for the frame and thought, when the drive train goes bad, it'll be time for single speed.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've got the official Colombian Women's Cycling Kit ordered for myself.


That's a racy choice...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NDD, if your hub is 40 years old, it has a threaded on freewheel. You can try dribbling a little motor oil into it and maybe free it up. I guess people used to disassemble them to repair, but now they mostly just remove and replace if lubing through the available cracks and crevices doesn`t work. Yours is probably (cross your fingers) a standard English/Japanese thread that is still available for order even if your bike shop doesn`t stock any. Still a good idea to service your wheel bearings, but that`s not your immediate problem.

Bedwards, does the Colombian kit include a sports bra? Hope it goes well with the hooker boots.

I drove to work today. Scrounged up one tube, patched one, ate dinner, and when I was ready to go to work, I was flat again. Guess I`m going into town tomorrow for a few more tubes and a new patch kit.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

What exactly is the immediate problem, most likely? Is the freewheel just locked up or what would cause it to not disengage while the wheel is spinning? It's just odd to me because it's been so quiet and now it feels like I'm putting in twice the effort to go slower than normal. I just don't understand, I guess why the crank moves when the wheel does and the chain loses tension if I stop pedaling.


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## bgkz25 (Dec 29, 2013)

Maybe crushed ball bearings inside the freewheel mechanism. That happened to my shimano sprocket few years ago. When i opened it, all those bits and pieces came falling apart. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've got the official Colombian Women's Cycling Kit ordered for myself.


Are you sure you've got the nationality right? Don't they speak Portuguese?


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Couldn't quite get a limerick, I'll make do with a haiku:

Jeans and a hoodie
No tights nor a trim jersey
The campus thanks me

Today's ride was perfect, sunshine and cool, few people on the road or path. There were just enough down trees and construction activities to give me a reason to hop curbs and ride grassy shoulders.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NDD said:


> What exactly is the immediate problem, most likely? Is the freewheel just locked up or what would cause it to not disengage while the wheel is spinning? It's just odd to me because it's been so quiet and now it feels like I'm putting in twice the effort to go slower than normal. I just don't understand, I guess why the crank moves when the wheel does and the chain loses tension if I stop pedaling.


Your guess sounds right to me. If the little fingers (pawls) in the freewheel get gummy, the springs aren`t strong enough to pull them away from the teeth that they engage, so the sprockets turn with the wheel just like you described. They can often be fixed just by removing the freewheel and squirting some kind of oil or solvent into the works through the joint and working it around a bit.

Whether or not you keep the whole wheel, replace the hub and keep the rim, or just get a whole new wheel depends on how what you want (it`s all possible) and on what combination of time and money you`re willing to throw at it. For the record, I think learning to relace is a great skill for your bag of tricks, but probably the most expensive option. There are too many variables to go into in this thread, so for starters, see if your freewheel starts working again with a little lovin (cheaper to have a bike shop remove it for you than to buy the little tool), then read up on the options, and if you still have questions, feel free to start a new thread just for that- we love an excuse to yack about all that stuff 

Here`s a good place to start:
Traditional Thread-on Freewheels
Click away on his linked pages and don`t be intimidated if it tries to make your head spin- it isn`t as complicated as it looks at first glance.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That sounds right to me too, although when I had a threaded freewheel fail, it went the other way, and suddenly all I had was "neutral" gear - you could pedal like mad but it wouldn't go anywhere, because the sprocket was just spinning around without engaging and moving the wheel.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wicked, thanks y'all!!! I'll see what I can't get done this morning.

Rustedthrough, where your seasonal word? Nice touch with the haiku. Now I have to write lemerick and haiku. I'll get to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So, did we determine that you have a threaded on freewheel? If so, just buy a new one and be done with it. All the complicated parts are inside. I've had one go into "neutral" too and all the pieces fell out. I just replaced one on the Viva Sport a few weeks ago. That bike has somewhere around 12K-18K miles on it and is still rolling on the original wheels but it's been through a few freewheels. You might as well replace the chain while you are at it. 
6 speed? 
Amazon.com : Shimano MF-TZ20 14-28 Teeth 6 Speed Freewheel : Bike Cassettes And Freewheels : Sports & Outdoors
If you do it yourself you will need the freewheel tool.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Another chilly morning, some fog. Got out on the bike a little earlier than usual to get some extra miles. Still have no desire to ride the CC, just want to take the SS everyday. I may give the CC a good overhaul soon. New headset (starting to see some issues with the current one), cables, housing, bar tape and otherwise just strip down the bike and clean and lube everything. I just serviced the hubs, replaced the freehub and services the BB, so those should be good.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> So, did we determine that you have a threaded on freewheel? If so, just buy a new one and be done with it. All the complicated parts are inside. I've had one go into "neutral" too and all the pieces fell out. I just replaced one on the Viva Sport a few weeks ago. That bike has somewhere around 12K-18K miles on it and is still rolling on the original wheels but it's been through a few freewheels. You might as well replace the chain while you are at it.
> 6 speed?
> Amazon.com : Shimano MF-TZ20 14-28 Teeth 6 Speed Freewheel : Bike Cassettes And Freewheels : Sports & Outdoors
> If you do it yourself you will need the freewheel tool.


Yes, it's a freewheel. I forgot to mention that. It's actually a five speed. The chain I think is newer, because it's not stretched, really. So I think I'll get a spare freewheel and spare chain and when the chain goes they'll both go.

I used the last tiny bit of my finish line ceramic lube to dribble into the freewheel. Worked it in. It made some awkwardly, almost organic sounding, squishy noise for about ten seconds and now it spins freely again. Worked the cranks for a few minutes after that, too.

This weekend, I will get a small tube of the thicker grease and ball bearings and learn how to service hubs. Woo.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ That sounds right to me too, although when I had a threaded freewheel fail, it went the other way, and suddenly all I had was "neutral" gear - you could pedal like mad but it wouldn't go anywhere, because the sprocket was just spinning around without engaging and moving the wheel.





bedwards1000 said:


> I've had one go into "neutral" too and all the pieces fell out.


Hmm...
That`s right. I think I had it backwards- springs engage the pawls, and the wedge-ness makes them disengage, so I guess it`s weird that they stuck in fixie mode rather than free mode. Hope yours don`t fall apart too, NDD.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, 5 speed, that's older school than I have. As a caution, when the temp drops freewheel problems tend to get worse. It's best to fix it at your convenience than to be stranded in the cold.

< $9, amazing.
Sunlite 5-Speed Freewheel, Black 14-28


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind. When it snows or is wet/icky I'll probably use the MTB, so I'll be back in freehub territory again. At least I know those parts are new and working well.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hmm...
> That`s right. I think I had it backwards- springs engage the pawls, and the wedge-ness makes them disengage, so I guess it`s weird that they stuck in fixie mode rather than free mode. Hope yours don`t fall apart too, NDD.


Both your posts were on the right track. The spring forces the pawl into the ratchet face, where if you begin pedaling, is held in place by the pedaling force. If the pawl pivot is gummed up, they have difficulty sliding back when you let go of the pedals, or the spring can't force it back out to engage the face. Freehubs work the same way.

My experience with freewheels in snow/rain/ice/salt has pretty much been one of mo' money, less problems. If you have a five speed bike, chances are good that it is a friction shifter, so throw on a Shimano 6-speed Altus freewheel. That's, unfortunately, as reliable as a multi-speed freewheel will get.

The commute home last night wasn't bad, but my light is. It is no longer taking a charge, but it is thankfully still under warranty, will be calling niterider today.


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## Gnarly Road Rash (Aug 18, 2014)

First time poster on this thread here... 

WELLLL two days ago my commute home SUCKED! Its about 10 miles each way from Downtown Denver to the burbs. 

100 yards from leaving work an oblivious lady turned in front of me crossing a busy intersection. I made an evasive maneuver but unfortunately met the curb head-on. I did an over-the-bars (OTB) front flip and landed in the grassy median. Luckily I was unscathed, however my beloved 700x23 front wheel did not fare so well. I typically carry bus fare instead of tools when commuting, so I made it home alright ;-)

Yesterday I drove my truck. What a mistake!

Which brings me to today's commute: Rode my fulls suspension 29er to work today. Being a slower ride with fat knobbies and 150mm of suspension float, i thought it would take forever. It was a beautiful morning so I locked my suspension out and went for it. You can take certain "liberties" such as blasting over curbs and bombing road shoulder and frost-heaven sidewalk like its some single track. It was awesome and because of the shortcuts, I actually did the ride quicker. While I would normally be sitting at a traffic light, I'm flying past the traffic on the sidewalk. 

I think i may build a new commuter - a rigid 29er with fat slicks and discs built to be light, fast, and agile. There is a downhill section of "urban single track" which contains very narrow rough "sidewalk" and lots of thorn bushes, glass, hobo shopping carts, dog crap, and utility poles to dodge. Its a kick first thing in the morning! I would never dream of riding on the road paralleling this unlikely route which happens to save me a lot of time.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Haiku:

Paw paw fruit hangs,
Underdressed - the chilled wind
Cups my bare cheek.

5-7-5 is for Japanese and Chinese characters, so I'm not worrying about syllable count as much as identifying season, imagery, and a little word play.


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## Gnarly Road Rash (Aug 18, 2014)

Hey I'm a biker in Clyde class - 6'4", 225lb with an awkward build. This is completely off base but my legs and ass are waayyyy to thick for any decent jeans from a lifetime of riding. I guess I can wear like a size 40 and wear a belt, but theyre all baggy. Anybody have a brand they recommend? I guess you could say I have a chick butt in a way - its huge, and curvy  and hairy thunder thighs for dayyyysss. Actually, put a week on it. 

I've been wearing my fire retardant jeans every day because they're the only kind that fit, but damn are the expensive and ugly! Theyre designed for your average out of shape oil field worker, which is not me.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Bring on that cold weather!!! I've raced both cross races so far, been lots of fun! Have you raced any yet? You should!!!


I don't know, Jordy, the idea of getting off my bike to go over an obstacle or to go up a hill just seems anathema to my concept of bike riding. Though the beer part is a good thing.

A good ride in this morning. A bit chilly again, and windy in the valley, but overall dry, so I ain't a complainin'.

Still riding shorts and tee-shirts, so all is good. Hope to not have to dress like an astronaut for at least a few more months.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome G.R.R. I would think the American Eagle relaxed fit would work. They usually have a pretty generous cut for the waist size. Don't' really know though. Haven't been a clyde since about 8th grade.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> I don't know, Jordy, the idea of getting off my bike to go over an obstacle or to go up a hill just seems anathema to my concept of bike riding. Though the beer part is a good thing.
> 
> A good ride in this morning. A bit chilly again, and windy in the valley, but overall dry, so I ain't a complainin'.
> 
> Still riding shorts and tee-shirts, so all is good. Hope to not have to dress like an astronaut for at least a few more months.


It's all about the beer bro! ;p 47, overcast, damp trails 32xKickass!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Gnarly Road Rash said:


> Hey I'm a biker in Clyde class - 6'4", 225lb with an awkward build. This is completely off base but my legs and ass are waayyyy to thick for any decent jeans from a lifetime of riding. I guess I can wear like a size 40 and wear a belt, but theyre all baggy. Anybody have a brand they recommend? I guess you could say I have a chick butt in a way - its huge, and curvy  and hairy thunder thighs for dayyyysss. Actually, put a week on it.
> 
> I've been wearing my fire retardant jeans every day because they're the only kind that fit, but damn are the expensive and ugly! Theyre designed for your average out of shape oil field worker, which is not me.


I'm not a clyde but I have big thighs. Ever since I was young my mother had trouble finding pants to fit my thighs and now my legs are very muscular. Prior to biking I did a lot of lower body workouts and since I started riding they just continued to get bigger. I find some of the more outdoorsy brands like you'd find at REI tend to be good. Look for brands with a gusseted crotch:

https://www.allamericanclothing.com/mm5/images/gusset.jpg

That will help add a bit more room. I have Mountain Hardware, Patagonia and Eastern Mountain Sports (chain similar to REI that's only in the northeast).

Also, welcome to the forum. The build you mentioned above sounds awesome! I look forward to seeing it!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Just saw this article on boston.com:

Hey Massachusetts, It?s Time to Stop Driving - News and reviews - Boston.com

Yup, that's where I commute every day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Gnarly Road Rash said:


> Hey I'm a biker in Clyde class - 6'4", 225lb with an awkward build. This is completely off base but my legs and ass are waayyyy to thick for any decent jeans from a lifetime of riding. I guess I can wear like a size 40 and wear a belt, but theyre all baggy. Anybody have a brand they recommend? I guess you could say I have a chick butt in a way - its huge, and curvy  and hairy thunder thighs for dayyyysss. Actually, put a week on it.


I'm 6'1", 175 lbs, thin and have a similar problem with jeans. Even shorts are becoming an issue, as they seem to be getting narrower. I always have to go up a size to fit my legs, but the waist is always too big. Some brands don't fit at all. I guess I'd have better luck if I put on a few pounds, but that's not worth it in my book.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Gnarly Road Rash said:


> I guess you could say I have a chick butt in a way - its huge, and curvy  and hairy thunder thighs for dayyyysss. Actually, put a week on it.


Now where's that show off your ass thread?

Can't help you in the pants department. Women's jeans are ridiculous. Oh, and welcome!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm 6'1", 175 lbs, thin and have a similar problem with jeans. Even shorts are becoming an issue, as they seem to be getting narrower. I always have to go up a size to fit my legs, but the waist is always too big. Some brands don't fit at all. I guess I'd have better luck if I put on a few pounds, but that's not worth it in my book.


Hmmm...maybe I just don't wear jeans enough. 6'1" and 246 as of this AM. I haven't worn jeans in probably six years now. Just Carharts and a variety of khakis. The only pair of pants I have the have a similar fit is a pair of Eddie Bauer mountain khakis that are a touch tight in the thighs, but have enough spandex that it doesn't bother me much.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

It might be something about biking. I have the same pants problem. I'm 5'11" and 145 lbs. Over the last year my waist shrank (32 to 30") and my legs got bigger. Most jeans that fit my waist are too tight on the thighs. 

I find that corduroy pants fit pretty well. And I swear if I ever actually get a pair of bike shorts I'll start the dang booty thread... But as of now I don't own any. So tough luck. I'll borrow my girlfriends, but she'll be made when I cut out the padding.


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2014)

No commute today because I finally got a day off. Rode a 20 miler with my wife (more like coasting at her pace) and had lunch at a veggie-wrap place. Awesome morning. Gave the SQlab 612 MTB seat an initial ride. Love the cover and padding, still getting used to the sitting position. I'll give it a few hundred miles and review it in the users reviews.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Tried to hop a curb on the way home, and completely forgot I was on the fixie. It can feel so much like an ss...up until you try to level the pedals and preload the bike into the ground.

And then I picked the dog up and drove to the park, and almost got left-hooked by a cyclist who had no idea I was there BECAUSE OF HER EARBUDS!!! So stupid.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Crashed on the way home. Wasn't paying attention because I usually have the whole mup to myself on the ride home. Veered into a patch of wet grass and slid out trying to get back on the trail... Well, that's what I get I guess. Absorbed most of the fall by doing a sweet roll out of it though. :arf:


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Gnarly Road Rash, Have you tried CE Schmidt, the Tractor Supply Company house brand relaxed jeans? They are cheap, durable, and look like jeans. I have found I can buy them in my waist size and still use the pockets for things like keys and a phone. A higher priced option, with a lifetime guarantee is Duluth Trading Company, sizes are all over the map, but the pants are rubber bullet proof and comfortable.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Wimping out of the actual commute as daylight and classes no longer match up. Commute replacement therapy looks like twice as many miles in exploration mode for a few hours before class. Sorry Roy.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

On the pants subject, I am a woman and I also hate women's jeans. They are so silly. I also hate slim and skinny fit both due to how they look and the uncomfortable fit. I hate shopping for work pants, because women's pants are always some kind of stylish cut with cheap material, but all I need is really comfortable, loose, and a solid material like duck canvas. Men's pants almost never fit, I have to order the waist way too big and wear a belt just to get something that fits my ass and thighs comfortably. At least they last longer than the cheap women's pants.

When I find jeans I like, they usually have a small percentage of spandex in the jean material. It makes them really comfy, even when they are tight around ass and thighs. I am not sure if any men's pants do that, but check for a bit of spandex in the material, try them on, then move around and see if it binds. Even though jeans are usually tight for me in the legs, the spandex stops them from binding and keeps them comfy.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Early frost lingers
Sunny morning will come soon
Did I bring fresh socks


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Rant on, Maya! I hear you. I feel like I am a normal sized woman and I can't find jeans that fit. It's crazy. 

My commute in this morning was very misty and foggy. I didn't know viability was going to be that bad -- thankful for all of my lights. I'm having a hard time right now balancing running and biking together as I continue to recover from surgery. It's certainly a challenge.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

NDD said:


> And I swear if I ever actually get a pair of bike shorts I'll start the dang booty thread... But as of now I don't own any. So tough luck. I'll borrow my girlfriends, but she'll be made when I cut out the padding.


I think you only need to wear them briefly for the photo op.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent one this morning after a windy ride home last night. That's how I really know it's getting to be late fall - the winds in the valley start really kicking up. The weather station just before the bus stop was recording a 16mph wind from the east with gusts into the 30s. A nice cross wind for the first three miles of the ride - the uphill miles. Then a nice tailwind for the final 2 miles. Flying. Topped 30 mph on the flats on the fattie - whoot! (Does anyone say whoot anymore? If not, I'm bringing it back. There it is...) 

This AM was calm and cool and a bit damp in town, though not raining enough for me to both with rain gear. Good times, good times. 

So I've a question about jeans for those of you who wear them. Since when do guy's jeans have elaborately embroidered or bejeweled rear pockets? What happened to the days of the simple Levis stitching or the wrangler W? I mean George Michael didn't need no bling to get the ladies looking. Then again, for that matter, I'm plenty happy with women's behinds in jeans that likewise don't have bling all over the backside. It's just distracting and, quite frankly, cheap looking. Like putting a Rolls Royce grill on a VW bug. Let the product sell itself on its own merits I say. But that's just me. 

Oh, and I think we might officially need to start a Jeans Talk thread real soon.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice commute this morning. Still warm weather. I'm wondering if I should buck up and do the winter commute too? Guess I would need to buy some bar mitts (is that what they're called) and some warm winter wear.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got passed on the mup by a throttled e-motorbike this morning. I was cruising along the bridge at 20mph~ish, and I heard a noisy derailleur behind me for a second, and then he was gone. He might only have been at the 28mph legal limit for those things, or he might have hacked it, but no bike has ever passed me that fast before. I could be wrong, but I don't think this is going to end well.

After the snow and rain of last week, this week has been really nice with highs around 80F and this morning was 60F.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

BCTJ said:


> Nice commute this morning. Still warm weather. I'm wondering if I should buck up and do the winter commute too? Guess I would need to buy some bar mitts (is that what they're called) and some warm winter wear.


Where you located? I ask as I suggest that bar mitts might not be necessary at all. I ride in Alaska all winter without them (also known as pogies). I have a pair of Black Dimond Guide gloves with removable liners that I pair up with a number of different inserts based on the temps. The coldest I've ridden is 27 below and they worked fine for a short while. My fingers do tend to get cold overall and the gloves themselves are just a touch too small which makes the problem worse. That said, I know a lot of folks that insist on pogies in anything below 30 degrees. I'm just suggesting that before putting out a bunch of money on special gear, try commuting in the winter by adapting gear you might already have. If it seems like you'll keep on keepin' on, then start investing in the specialized stuff.

Okay, there's my two cents.


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## PDX:ST (Sep 10, 2013)

Today was my first official wet commute of the season. It hasn't rained here in a couple months, so the roads were quite slick and my shoes and socks got covered in grime, even with fenders. At least it's still warm enough to not care about rain gear.

Usually I drive in on rainy days, but there is a regional bike commute challenge between employers for the month of September and I'm trying to keep my 100% commute rate for the month. I'm hoping this rain knocked out my competition at work, as there was three of us at 100% yesterday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi kids. Still at it over here. Haven't missed a day yet this year.... I did a mid-day cross-town dentist appointment commute in street clothes the other day...no helmet...felt like a rebel. Never knew I was a rebel when I was a kid with no helmet... 

In other news, the "3 foot" law went into effect in California yesterday, so that will have an impact on absolutely nothing :lol:

I need some eastern advice... planning a trip to DC in the not-too-distant future...any bike related stuff I need to make sure not to miss in the area, other than the Wright Brothers bike in the Air and Space Museum? Definitely going to go test ride that sucker...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jordy B, I think my wife and I are going to try a cross race next month. I've done it once but now I have a proper race bike.

I go with just gloves to about 0 deg. F. Below that I haven't found any that cut it. Feet are the bigger problem. Either use a bike with flat peddles so you can wear winter boots or invest big bucks in winter cycling shoes. I did both.

I head out into the darkness.
My lights are my only guide.
A rocky path,
A low tree branch,
Avoided.
Slowly, imperceptibly, daylight creeps in.
The day awakes as my lights slumber.





​


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Jordy B, I think my wife and I are going to try a cross race next month. I've done it once but now I have a proper race bike.


Nice! No proper race bike here! Just an old Kona Unit SS with Drop Bars and 40c tires. Been having a blast so far!


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

Rode in the rain this morning gotta say the dakine rain coat and shower pass storm pants worked like a champ but I was super sweaty


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

JordyB said:


> Nice! No proper race bike here! Just an old Kona Unit SS with Drop Bars and 40c tires. Been having a blast so far!


I thought that fork looked pretty stout in your picture. I used my cross check last time and was reasonably non-competitive. Not to mention that it is set up as a commuter so I had to strip the fenders and everything else off it. This year will be on the F4X. My wife has never tried it so that will be fun to watch.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

WiTrailRunner said:


> I think you only need to wear them briefly for the photo op.


You dog, you 

And @blockphi, as a matter of fact, I still use that word, only I spell it "woot!"


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Where you located? I ask as I suggest that bar mitts might not be necessary at all. I ride in Alaska all winter without them (also known as pogies). I have a pair of Black Dimond Guide gloves with removable liners that I pair up with a number of different inserts based on the temps. The coldest I've ridden is 27 below and they worked fine for a short while. My fingers do tend to get cold overall and the gloves themselves are just a touch too small which makes the problem worse.


I'm in Utah....thanks for the suggestions. It does get quite cold here in the winter, but I doubt that it compares to Alaska cold.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

More power to you pogie-less people, but I found them to be the best winter biking purchase ever. I managed without them, but it was always a struggle, multiple layers, handwarmers, etc. With the pogies, I hardly have to think about keeping my hands warm. I have the dogwood designs "regulars" (not "plus").

Commuterboy and others, did you see the 29" BMX at interbike, and do you think it would be as fun as it sounds, or loses something in the translation? I guess it's been around awhile, but the first I've seen of it. TB X Famous Big Ripper 29" - Retro Series, Bikes | SEBikes.com


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in and good ride out. Batteries dead in rear light. Risked it and got to work just fine, if not a little bit nervously. Lights are by no means a force field, but they do draw some attention. Got some batteries at lunch and good to go for AM.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

Ugh, I hate the jean bling too! They just fall off and look tacky! I definitely just look for plain jeans as well, and like I said, in loose and comfortable cuts. I find flare is usually as close as I can get to a classic 'loose fit' in women's jeans, though I do have a beloved pair of 'trouser' cut with super wide legs and a nice heavy denim! They must be 5 years old, regular wear, still going strong!

Six years ago, while I was in art school, I made a piece that was a commentary on horrible jeans and fashion. I got a pair of plain 'ol men's Levi's jeans, straight fit, smallest size I could find with the longest legs (maybe 30W/ 36L or something, to represent model expectations), and sewed on gold-painted pennies with a hole drilled in them one-by-one in a simple pattern (my initials in cursive, to represent designer signatures) on the ass, as well as down the legs or something. Then, I put a price tag on it. I don't recall how much it was, but I counted the pennies and added a zero to the number. I think it was something like 500 pennies and $5,000 price tag. Since it was an art piece, you list the materials used. I happily listed all that went on them, including the prices of materials, jean size, number of pennies, retail price tag of the piece, and "Fashion by (my name)".

I thought it was clever!  The pants must weight like 10 pounds though! XD!! I *think* they are buried in the closet with other art pieces somewhere, but I haven't seen them in years...


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## Mengesch (Jul 10, 2014)

Good commute in on the single speed today. Hands were a little cold since I had already packed my gloves for a short bikepacking trip tonight.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2014)

Fast 17.5 today. Lots of motivation when you see eyes in the weeds along the road and you can't tell what they belong to. Crossed infront of a Ford Explorer that was stopped at a light and made eye contact. Half way in front the thing lunges forward and nearly nails me. Then I get the "What the hell are you thinking..." speach from the (now irrate) driver. "What the hell am I thinking? I'm thinking that I have the right of way because your light is red and my little walkie guy is white, go sober up." I'll call that one a draw.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> Fast 17.5 today. Lots of motivation when you see eyes in the weeds along the road and you can't tell what they belong to. Crossed infront of a Ford Explorer that was stopped at a light and made eye contact. Half way in front the thing lunges forward and nearly nails me. Then I get the "What the hell are you thinking..." speach from the (now irrate) driver. "What the hell am I thinking? I'm thinking that I have the right of way because your light is red and my little walkie guy is white, go sober up." I'll call that one a draw.


How is you has right of way? Are you a car?!?! I proved muh points.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Sometimes I find timid cars just as annoying as the aggressive ones. 

Some little foam green Dodge Neon or something pulls out behind me when I'm almost to a stop sign and then inches past me to get to the stop sign first. We're both turning right at a T-intersection. He starts inching forward, hesitant about going while I am stopped waiting for him to go. YOU MADE SURE YOU BEAT ME TO THE STOP SIGN...GO! Not a half mile later, I'm turning left coming down a hill. I signal and slow down as there is a car coming the other way and turning right into where I am going. They see me, slow down, and hesitate about turning. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY...GO...YOU'RE HOLDING EVERYONE UP. Drivers. Ugh. :madman:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Straight/leftturn lane. I'm behind 10 cars, most not signalling, but I know that almost all of them will go left. There's also a rightturn lane so I could scoot up to the front, but like a good little cyclist I don't cut to the front because someone might actually be going straight and that just gets awkward.

The light changes, and we all start inching forwards, and when I'm getting to the intersection the shitty old minivan that's behind me floors it and passes me in the rightturn lane and then cuts back infront of me. And then blow through 4 stopsigns. Drivers. Ugh.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2014)

NDD said:


> How is you has right of way? Are you a car?!?! I proved muh points.


 Marked bike path + cross light = right of way (most states). Person in front of stationary vehicle (not commiting a felony crime) = right of way (all states). Unless someplace has made it legal to kill pedistrians or cyclists I think I'm on safe ground (legally).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Most states and provinces: Any vehicle already in the intersection directly in front of you has the right of way. You cannot take a right of way, but you are required to cede it. I think all jurisdictions require you to avoid an accident if at all possible, so threatening to cause a collision one is likely citable in some jurisdictions. Crowding crosswalks is in some. I assume he was intending to cross the bike path for a better view before a right turn, and forgot to check the bike path/cross walk. Eye contact means little if they are not looking for pedestrians/cyclists.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

We've got a bunch of mups that cross major roads with crosswalks and flashing lights. And I'm still not clear of the legality of crossing without dismounting. 

It's a crosswalk, so you're supposed to dismount. But if the lights are flashing then the cars should yield the right-of-way regardless? 

Luckily I don't deal with any on my normal routes. When I do deal with them I dismount, and the cars don't stop anyway.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> We've got a bunch of mups that cross major roads with crosswalks and flashing lights. And I'm still not clear of the legality of crossing without dismounting.
> 
> It's a crosswalk, so you're supposed to dismount. But if the lights are flashing then the cars should yield the right-of-way regardless?
> 
> Luckily I don't deal with any on my normal routes. When I do deal with them I dismount, and the cars don't stop anyway.


All ours are signed "cyclists dismount" I don't....so if something goes wrong I am gonna get some blame...


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

newfangled said:


> We've got a bunch of mups that cross major roads with crosswalks and flashing lights. And I'm still not clear of the legality of crossing without dismounting.
> 
> It's a crosswalk, so you're supposed to dismount. But if the lights are flashing then the cars should yield the right-of-way regardless?
> 
> Luckily I don't deal with any on my normal routes. When I do deal with them I dismount, and the cars don't stop anyway.


Crosswalks are for pedestrians, if you're riding a bike, you're not a pedestrian. I don't think it's illegal to ride across the road, but you're not afforded the same protections as a pedestrian then. that's always been my take on it. FWIW, I usually ride across.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

I am SO glad my commute is not only short, it is in an area with bike lanes through most of the city. These stories of crazy drivers scare me! I have seen a smidgeon of crappy behavior, mostly around the neighborhoods, with cars cutting me off at 4 way intersections, not looking for/ not seeing me while I cross, and speeding up to pull in front of me to turn. At high speeds, this kind of stuff must be MUCH scarier...

I am pretty consistent with how I ride my route. I follow the traffic lights in the bike lane, but use crosswalks where there is no bike lane. When a street is too crowded to come out of the lane and cross across to turn left, I just ride up to the crosswalk. Really, it's about safety for me. If crossing a street is too sketchy, I will use a crosswalk to keep myself safe. In neighborhoods, I always use crosswalks because drivers many times STILL don't see me in the crosswalk, let alone if I tried to go with the cars. I love when they nail people at the busiest one by posting a cop around a blind corner to watch the kids crossing it to school.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I had to check after the ride to and from the market. and discovered the full moon is next week. Had a dufus in a 25 year old pickup decide to start to pass me within 100 feet of a 4 way stop. I took the lane and accelerated faster having entered the road just before he crossed the intersection a half block behind me. Left him in the oncoming lane at the stop sign. Not bad for me on the almost 50 pound errand bike. I am down 38 lb since Christmas and my heavy metal treatments have the mitochondria ramping back up. 

Lost my new metal glasses mirror maybe got "liberated" while the bike and helmet was sitting while I shopped. They are so much better than the plastic ones. Onoy got about 4 rides with it. I'll pocket it from now on. 

Within a half mile of home someone touring my neighborhood cut a corner just as I was about to enter it. She was on her side entering it. I was less that 25 feet away when she crossed almost to my edge of the road. Lucky I wasn't pushing it and that she got it back over so I was not forced to take the ditch. Sure as heck would have violated the 3' foot rule (if we had one)! The ditch drops pretty fast and it is soft from rain so with the load aboard I was ready to go there but did not relish it with almost 300 pounds on 37 mm tires. Some trail riding experience would have been handy. One of these days. 

So a good ride. I got home without a side trip to the hospital!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ hooray for no hospitals. Glad they just missed you.

Does anyone else get restless or anxious and grumpy on days when it's not possible to ride? I've been at work staring out of the window all day... The woes of retail life.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Legally there are times when I have the right of way but I always assume a car is going to take it unless they clearly yield to me. There is being in the right and then there is staying alive.

Ran into a crazy bike dude tonight on the way home. I climb a mile+ long hill towards the end of my commute. I started up the hill and this guy passes me going fast. I kept cranking away at my usual pace and I could see that he could not hold the pace he passed me on and I was gaining on him. We got to the steep part of the hill and he downshifted and stood to climb - he was really struggling. I passed him at my usual pace and after the hill levels off I make my way across the travel lane and into the left turn lane where I line up behind six cars waiting to turn left. As I am waiting in line to turn he comes flying past in the middle of the through lane and I thought "OK he's going straight". But no, when he reaches the intersection he cuts in front of the line of cars waiting to turn left and then squeezes through an impossibly small gap in oncoming traffic to make the left turn. How he did not get crunched I don't know. What a dick. Gives cyclists a bad name.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today, just a hike and bike fundraiser for the local hospice. My Dad is in town from Florida, and my Mom was in hospice, and today was her birthday so I got us signed up.

My Dad - 5K hike / 5K hike completed
Me - 40 mile ride / 59 mile ride completed

I did alright for the first 18 miles to the rest stop and turn around point. Rode back with a few people that were not going as fast as I would like so I dropped them. Should have stayed with them because I probably would not have taken the wrong turn and ended up about 11 miles north of where I was supposed to be. Got directions and headed back. It sucked big time. Back country roads with little or no shoulder and cars flying by at what seemed like 70+ mph. I got buzzed a few times, once by an RV that was too close for my liking. Doesn't sound that bad right? It was 58F and dropping and raining for a good part of it. Still not that bad. Headwinds that were in the neighborhood of 25+ mph at times. Add to that situation that my Dad was waiting for me back at the park grounds where the festivities were taking place. Not that bad because they had a heated tent for him. They closed it down though and he had to wait under a pavilion cover for me. And he is hungry. And I am hungry and miserable. 

I will not be riding on the country roads any time soon, and possibly never again. Give me congested streets, a bike lane, stop lights and drunk college kids any day of the week ending in y. I will never complain about my commute ever again. That lady in Kentucky or wherever, the one that got ticketed for riding in the lane and not on the shoulder, she is insane. There is no way you would catch me out there again like that.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday I saw some guy on the bike path riding a hybrid wearing a bib with no shirt over it. It was hilarious. I really wanted to tell him there's supposed to be a shirt on top, but it was just too funny to watch.


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## widespot (Jan 20, 2009)

Great today, its starting to get a little cool in the morning, here in MN. Tonight's ride home should be perfect.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

28, clear, brisk, sunny by 9am in Anchorage. Added a wool beanie to my normal shorts and 3/4 sleave jersey. Winter weather training starts now!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

JordyB said:


> 28, clear, brisk, sunny by 9am in Anchorage. Added a wool beanie to my normal shorts and 3/4 sleave jersey. Winter weather training starts now!


I'm sorry, you wear SHORTS when it's 28 degrees? And 3/4 sleeves? You Alaskans are crazy!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Best weather of the year today. Happy to be riding except I left a little late today and had to huff it.

Have any of you hooked up another bike to your bike for transporting to a friend or the shop? I was scheming a way today because my bro forgot his bike and wanted to do trail riding today. Had a plausible way but I dropped an important puce in my garage and can't find it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Starz85, you didn't know that? The ones from the mid section of Canada are a little touched too. I'm only good in shorts down to about 35 or so and that's if my hands and feet are really warm.

Today's commute was nice and easy after a 111 mile fundraiser "century". I knew we had to cross the river, I didn't make a mental note of exactly which bridge. Oh, well, the road was nice and that's my longest ride to date. Next weekend I've got a 60 miler on Sat and 100 on Sun.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bikemaya said:


> I am SO glad my commute is not only short, it is in an area with bike lanes through most of the city. These stories of crazy drivers scare me! I have seen a smidgeon of crappy behavior, mostly around the neighborhoods, with cars cutting me off at 4 way intersections, not looking for/ not seeing me while I cross, and speeding up to pull in front of me to turn. At high speeds, this kind of stuff must be MUCH scarier...


Same here. There are a few (very few) commutes by other members here whose pictures make me envious, but by and large, reading the horror stories keeps me grateful that I don`t have to deal with any crap-my-drawers zones on a regular basis. I`ll keep my own "smigeon of crappy behavior" and be happy.



woodway said:


> There is being in the right and then there is staying alive.


Sig line on rbr by a user I don`t remember: Nobody wants a tombstone even if it`s engraved "Technically Correct". That one has always stuck with me.

Jeez, Brian- somebody swiped your mirror right off your parked helmet? Theiving sounds like an odd bahavior from a responsible person, and mirrors don`t mix in my mind with irresponsible riders. That one is as weird as it is sucky!

Sorry you had crap weather for your longer-than-expected ride, 10 Speed. Where are you that country roads are worse than city traffic?

Super smoky in Rodarville today. It`s from the King Fire, about 100 "crow" miles south of here. My sister was evacuated for that fire last week, but even though it`s grown a lot since then, they let her go home Saturday. I guess everything on her end of it is already burned up, so no more hazard. Thankfully, very few houses lost to that one so far, compared to half the town of Weed from a much smaller burn up near the OR line.

EDIT: Appologies (for my thoughts more than my actions) owed up to an unknown kid on a BMX bike I saw today who carefully checked over his shoulder, then moved over two lanes to the LT lane, SIGNALLED, and turned off into a sidestreet. I know it`s ufair of my, but I generally see BMX guys and think "what`s this jerk going to pull?" THis one I was so suspicous of today handled the situation more responsibly than I usually do.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Jeez, Brian- somebody swiped your mirror right off your parked helmet?


I gave up on the stick to the helmet mirror and use one that clip to the eyeglasses. I left it in the upside down helmet but it would catch the light and people's kids were all around after I parked the bike and the lady in the booth was in deep conversation the whole time with someone. I'll pocket it from now on.



rodar y rodar said:


> Super smoky in Rodarville today. It`s from the King Fire, about 100 "crow" miles south of here. My sister was evacuated for that fire last week, but even though it`s grown a lot since then, they let her go home Saturday. I guess everything on her end of it is already burned up, so no more hazard. Thankfully, very few houses lost to that one so far, compared to half the town of Weed from a much smaller burn up near the OR line.


I wondered how close it was to you and CB.

Rode a charity ride, opted for 25 miles as I had to sing in the afternoon and I don't have the miles in. Averaged 17 mph by time assuming the 25 miles is accurate, passed by two guys definitely not carrying 25 pounds of extra body weight and with about 10 pounds less equipment on their bikes. True most of the rest opted for 25 miles because they had kids on BMX bikes, they were clearly way into the Clydesdale category, or were on cruisers. There was a smattering of younger riders. I am doing better.

Ride today was good. Had a driver actually hold back and not pass me at the top of the blind hill . So nice when drivers drive smarter than you have come to expect.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Mine was very poorly planned:



__
https://flic.kr/p/pm5QM8

85F and no humidity in mid-september though, so it's tough to complain.



__
https://flic.kr/p/p4SbaY


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Yuck, Newf!
The mud, not the river.


BrianMc said:


> I wondered how close it was to you and CB.


Long ways. About 100 miles from me, maybe 125 from CB. But the smoke plume drifgs over us and back off again- I think CB is pretty much always in it.
Really cool time lapse of the smoke cloud here:
Watch: King Fire produces breathtaking fire cloud


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

The ride to campus was great. The ride back sucked. I forgot my light and felt unreasonably anxious, so I went pretty slow. The moon was not anywhere close to full and some of the MUP trails were pretty dark. So dark in fact that I used my cell phone as a flashlight to see the trail. When I could see the trail again, I put the phone in my shirt pocket. terrible mistake. Stood up to take a bump and when I hit it, the phone flew out of my pocket and now the screen is all busted. Oh well, I'm sure it's fixable. 

The good thing is that the weather is that deliciously chilly fall weather. Does anyone live in Minnesota or Wisconsin? I only ask because once I graduate from school I'll be looking for conservation and state park jobs. Are these states conservation minded states? Can you bike around well enough there? Are there state park jobs? I really like the idea of cold and lakes/rivers/coldness.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful but cool day today for the ride in. My legs are absolutely wrecked after yesterdays long ride. It was only 54F and sunny on the trip in, and 50F and clear on the ride home. Specialized Deflect gloves have been getting a real workout with this cooler weather, and they are really nice. Passed several bikers, all riding on the sidewalk with me in the bike lane. I just shake my head because I don't understand why you wouldn't use the bike lane when it is right there!!! Dealing with cars pulling out of alleys and side streets, students walking and texting, people walking dogs....you would rather deal with that????

rodar - located in Michigan, and the country roads were just north of Lansing. Extremely bumpy and some broken pavement and since the roads are crowned, the far right part of the lane usually gets water and snow buildup, and deteriorates the part of the road that I would ride on. The roads on my commute are for the most part smooth with the exception of about one mile.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Sorry to hear about the phone. I have heard good things about Madison and the Twin Cities being bike able. The country roads outside of the big cities are beautiful in a truck with a stock trailer, many have good shoulders.

As much as I enjoyed my ride today, cool and sunny, I moved to MI 11 years ago with ideas about how wonderful cold could be. I have managed to spend five of the last 7 winters in southern Africa. NDD, look at jobs with the national parks in Wi or MN, they are stunning places, and when you come to your senses about cold, you can try to transfer to South Carolina or Puerto Rico.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ I will second that. Cold winter just sucks the soul right out of you. Go somewhere warm where you can bike all year round fairly comfortably.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First morning wearing arm warmers.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

NDD said:


> The good thing is that the weather is that deliciously chilly fall weather. Does anyone live in Minnesota or Wisconsin? I only ask because once I graduate from school I'll be looking for conservation and state park jobs. Are these states conservation minded states? Can you bike around well enough there? Are there state park jobs? I really like the idea of cold and lakes/rivers/coldness.


I live in Madison, WI. One of the best biking cities in the US. I also do a lot of trail running (hence the user name) and we have some fantastic state parks too. I love living here, aside from the winter.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

WiTrailRunner said:


> I live in Madison, WI. One of the best biking cities in the US. I also do a lot of trail running (hence the user name) and we have some fantastic state parks too. I love living here, aside from the winter.


Had a gf from Wisconsin, and I have been there in the winter and it is no joke. We have it easy in comparison at least compared to the times I have been there. She lived in the Fox Valley area.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in, temps in the upper 40’s F. No excitement, I had enough yesterday when the sunroof exploded out of my ’05 Subaru into a million pieces while on I-93. It was like someone shot a gun off in the car. I didn’t see anything hit it, it may have just been the wind, etc. Apparently spontaneously exploding sunroofs are a real thing. Had a nice beach ride in the fog on Cape Cod on Sunday.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ love that picture!! Sorry to hear about the sunroof.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Apparently spontaneously exploding sunroofs are a real thing.


Every time that I debate saving a couple of bucks a year by taking glass coverage off of my car insurance I hear another story of an exploding sun roof. Your story didn't help. Glad you're okay, though.

First commute on my hardtail since making it ss. Great fun on the trails, but so slow to get to work. The other ss was out of commission though.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice ride in, temps in the upper 40's F. No excitement, I had enough yesterday when the sunroof exploded out of my '05 Subaru into a million pieces while on I-93. It was like someone shot a gun off in the car. I didn't see anything hit it, it may have just been the wind, etc. Apparently spontaneously exploding sunroofs are a real thing. Had a nice beach ride in the fog on Cape Cod on Sunday.


That's scary! I have a Subaru with a sunroof, hope that doesn't happen to me...

Which beach is that you can have a dog on? Did you ride anywhere else on the Cape?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> Which beach is that you can have a dog on? Did you ride anywhere else on the Cape?


The dog rules seem quite complicated:
http://www.town.orleans.ma.us/pages/orleansma_parks/dog_areas.pdf
I walked him on leash through the busier area by the parking lot and let him off when it emptied out.

We mostly kayaked on the Swan River where my friend lives, and even went swimming yesterday, but I've MTB'd in Barnstable before - those trails were pretty fun, but tick infested at certain times of year. There is a map online.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> The dog rules seem quite complicated:
> http://www.town.orleans.ma.us/pages/orleansma_parks/dog_areas.pdf
> I walked him on leash through the busier area by the parking lot and let him off when it emptied out.
> 
> We mostly kayaked on the Swan River where my friend lives, and even went swimming yesterday, but I've MTB'd in Barnstable before - those trails were pretty fun, but tick infested at certain times of year. There is a map online.


Thanks for the link. I don't live too far from the Cape, about an hour from the Bourne Bridge, straight shot down 495. I'd like a beach to take my dog to, but most around here don't allow it.

Next time ride Otis in Falmouth. It's a blast. Expect to get lost though, it's like someone dumped spaghetti on the ground and said "here's the map, let's go make all the trails now". Lots of smooth flowy trails with a few good rock gardens. Most of it is smooth enough that I threw 32mm CX tires on my SS and brought that with me 2 weekends ago.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Every time that I debate saving a couple of bucks a year by taking glass coverage off of my car insurance I hear another story of an exploding sun roof.


*** Windshields are thinner than they used to be and more likely to be taken out by a stone. Keep the coverage.



WiTrailRunner said:


> I live in Madison, WI. One of the best biking cities in the US. I also do a lot of trail running (hence the user name) and we have some fantastic state parks too. I love living here, aside from the winter.


Say Hi to Andy in Yellow Jersey, for me if you drop in. I wished I had more time to ride there when I visited.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> *** Windshields are thinner than they used to be and more likely to be taken out by a stone. Keep the coverage.


I haven't has glass incurance for years....the put gravel ships on the roads when it gets below -18 c....so every year the windshield gets more and more chipped..

You only need to survive two years to payout glass insurance around here....I can usuallly make 4 years.

Pretty common around here....I have never heard of or seen a sunroof explode.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

BrianMc said:


> Yellow Jersey


Haha!

That shop is interesting to say the least. They closed/moved a few years ago.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Exploding sunroof. Ha. That's a real drag. How does that happen?

Well Wisconsin sounds like my kinda place... Cool. Bikes and nature.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

70F and sunny for the ride in and 53F and clear for the ride home. Strong headwinds on the trip in but aside from that it was fast and fun. Legs are still fairly sore which makes me smile.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

20 mile or so round trip with grocery shopping in the most lovely weather we have had in some time. Not much wind, 70 or so degrees and sunshine.

On the return leg, I was flagged down twice to identify loose pit bulls in the neighborhood, neither one gave chase. Such a very fine day.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

As I was getting my bike off of the rack, I noticed that my girlfriend had stopped by and left a sweet note on my bike. That's really the best. Plus, the weather was perfect so the ride home was just great. I've been riding unclipped the last two days and without a rack. Not bad, I kinda dig the more relaxed feeling about it. Hop on the bike, go. I have to say, even with a light backpack, having a bag still bothers my back. I don't get it. Maybe I should just do more core exercises and stop being a wimp. 

TenSpeed, I feel like if you have to point out "not a hipster" after typing that you ride a fixed gear in your signature, then that just makes you that much more hipster.  jkjk (omigoshimjustrazzinyadude). Anyway, I'm glad you're feeling and embracing "The Burn!!!".


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

So, my wife is back to work after maternity leave, she got a new job. She previously worked the same hours as me and we didn't want to do full time day care. She got a night job (nurse practitioner). Last night was her first night. Unfortunately there's no way I'll be able to ride to work the days after she works. She gets home too late. I typically work 8:00-4:30, I could do 9:00-5:30 if I wanted, but there's no way I'm doing any later. By time I got home from work, I'd barely see my son before he went to bed. Bummer, looks like for the foreseeable future, I'll do riding to work 3 days on a good week and 2 most weeks. At least until he's in school in a few years.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Slowest commute ever. Just terrible. At least I had this sweet jersey to match my new bike


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

AlexCuse said:


> Slowest commute ever. Just terrible. At least I had this sweet jersey to match my new bike


Sweet! Is it a Pug? Love the matching bike, jacket and helmet! It's like your sponsored by Slimer.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning my dog was slow on his walk. I got back to the house with very little time to change into my bike clothes and head out the door, but I made it out the door--just a little late. On my way to the garage in the back yard, I started to feel nature's call. It wasn't urgent quite yet, so I hopped on my bike and started down the driveway. By the time I reached the front of the house, it was urgent. The pizza I had for supper was taking its revenge.

I ran inside, did my thing, and ran back out. 8 minutes late. I hopped on my bike and started off again. My back was feeling a little cool. As I reached the end of my driveway, my wife runs out the front door with my backpack. Duh! I threw on the backpack and was on my way, for real this time.

But there was a bus stopped at the corner. I knew if I followed the bus, I would have to stop at least twice, including once in front of a daycare where the kids always seem to be somewhere other than at the side of the road waiting for the bus. There was also the possibility of getting stuck at a stop sign waiting for a spot to open in the line of traffic that would inevitably back up behind the bus. I decided to take a different route. 

Instead of turning where the bus was lodged in the intersection, I sprinted straight, up a hill, to the stop light that turned red just as I was approaching. I waited. I imagined the bus taking its first stop and heading toward the intersection a block down from where I sat. I needed to turn. Just then a small hole opened up, and I took it. I made the right on red and took my place in the line of cars. As we crested the hill, I could see the bus waiting at its stop sign. Someone was going to let the bus in; I just knew it. Then I'd be stuck. The SUV in front of me thought about it but decided not to. I didn't think about it. I followed the white SUV through the intersection and continued on my way. 

The commute was smooth sailing from there, albeit a more frenetic pace than usual. I still got to my desk 8 minutes late, but that's acceptable.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Beautiful sunrise here this morning. I wanted to stop and take a photo, but I had overslept and was running late. In the middle of my ride, I was on a deserted county road heading East into the rising sun. I had a lady pull up next to me and roll down her window and proceed to tell me that I was "nearly invisible" due to the sun. I thanked her, but I wasn't really sure what to say. I was running two rear blinkies and wearing neon. There's much else I can do in that situation. And since I am here typing this, no one ran me over, so I'm still alive...I think.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Your bike looks like Christmas, Alex! Digging the green and red combo. Congrats on the new bike!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Beautiful sunrise here this morning. I wanted to stop and take a photo, but I had overslept and was running late. In the middle of my ride, I was on a deserted county road heading East into the rising sun. I had a lady pull up next to me and roll down her window and proceed to tell me that I was "nearly invisible" due to the sun. I thanked her, but I wasn't really sure what to say. I was running two rear blinkies and wearing neon. There's much else I can do in that situation. And since I am here typing this, no one ran me over, so I'm still alive...I think.


Funny that you say that. The town I live in has a facebook group that people use to ask for things like recommendations for local plumbers, electricians and stuff. Someone posted the other day that pedestrians and cyclists need to avoid roads where they won't be easily visible due to the sun and narrow windy roads. I wanted to comment on the post and say "that's funny, I thought it was your responsibility not to hit anyone, not everyone else's responsibility to get out of your way." But it wasn't worth starting an argument when that FB group is probably 99% non-cyclists.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ that story had me on the edge of my seat lol. I was hoping no one would let the bus in. I hate being stuck behind a bus and playing leap frog with it.

AlexCuse - fat bike commutes are the slowest possible. I feel like I got passed by a kid on a Strider the last time I rode mine in to work. Jersey goes well with the bike.

NDD - gotsta clarify. I am pretty much the opposite of a hipster. Too thick for skinny jeans, no beard, no thick rimmed glasses, no PBR, no flannel shirts, no dangling keychain. I do have the cliche' messenger bag and tattoos though (had those for a while now). Been thinking of dropping that line from my sig though.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> NDD - gotsta clarify. I am pretty much the opposite of a hipster. Too thick for skinny jeans, no beard, no thick rimmed glasses, no PBR, no flannel shirts, no dangling keychain. I do have the cliche' messenger bag and tattoos though (had those for a while now). Been thinking of dropping that line from my sig though.


I think hipsters have moved on to craft beer now.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> Sweet! Is it a Pug? Love the matching bike, jacket and helmet! It's like your sponsored by Slimer.


It is a pug. Named it after blanka from the street fighter game but slimer would have been appropriate 



WiTrailRunner said:


> Your bike looks like Christmas, Alex! Digging the green and red combo. Congrats on the new bike!


Thanks! The tape and cables are orange, but computer screens do crazy things to colors. Red would be sweet too!



TenSpeed said:


> AlexCuse - fat bike commutes are the slowest possible. I feel like I got passed by a kid on a Strider the last time I rode mine in to work. Jersey goes well with the bike.


Yeah the road was definitely a drag. Found a few spots to test out the newfound fatness though so that was fun, and its better to work out the kinks this way than on the trail this weekend! Gonna head north to pick up the rail trail on my way home - gravel should be a little more fun. There is some singletrack off the road that I think should go down to it also, may check that out. There are private property signs but I'm hoping they are just for liability purposes


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed & Straz, Hipsters drink craft beer when they get their paycheck and pbr when the wallet's low. I'm different, I drink stag when the wallet's low... Anyway I'm just making fun of you because I've been called hipster (and also "hickster") a number of times. In the past it was more or less warranted. 

The sad thing is I can't grow a beard and want a tattoo of Bart Simpson... But skinny jeans suck... Yeah and pbr is only OK. I'm good.

Going for a rub today before the commute in to campus. I don't know about you guys, but I feel like running helps me be a better cyclist. Reasons unquantified as of yet.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Crazy morning, s0ck! Thanks for the laugh 

Straz, good luck to your wife on night shift. A lot of people don`t "do it well, so hopefully it agrees with her okay. And good luck to you too, of course- bummer about having your bike commuting broken into, but it`s for a good cause, and remember it`s only temporary.

Goatheads are killing me this year. After last week`s big puncturefest, I ended up tossing one tube and repairing the other, then switched to thicker tires, and still had two flats in two days this week. Sigh... sooner or later my tire will have picked them all up, so no more new holes in my tubes. I hope.

Chilly and clear this morning. Sunset last night demonstrated the good side of forest fires.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am safe on all accounts of the beer. Haven't had any alcohol for over a year and a half now. Stopped drinking one day and haven't had a sip since. Feels damn good to be honest.

As for the fat bike, they feel like absolute tanks on the road. On the trail they feel pretty good. I haven't ridden mine much because my nice weather days of commuting are growing slim, like this week it is supposed to be nice and sunny all week so I am taking the fixed gear to work. When the weather turns to garbage, that fattie is coming out of hiding and will be my work horse.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Crazy morning, s0ck! Thanks for the laugh
> 
> Straz, good luck to your wife on night shift. A lot of people don`t "do it well, so hopefully it agrees with her okay. And good luck to you too, of course- bummer about having your bike commuting broken into, but it`s for a good cause, and remember it`s only temporary.


Thanks Rodar. She's worked nights before, so she knows she can do it. Fortunately she's capable of falling asleep anywhere anytime, so catching some sleep during the day won't be a problem.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Long ways. About 100 miles from me, maybe 125 from CB. But the smoke plume drifgs over us and back off again- I think CB is pretty much always in it.
> Really cool time lapse of the smoke cloud here:
> Watch: King Fire produces breathtaking fire cloud


Yeah it's been a pretty constant haze...not too thick though, so it's sort of bearable. Supposed to maybe get some rain tomorrow...that would be awesome.

Typical morning from last week: 








So I have to park outside now, and with the first real rain of the season approaching, I'm wondering if anyone has any strategies for pampering their indoor bike when it has to sit outside. I was thinking about getting one of those motorcycle covers for it...something I could stash here at work that would at least keep it out of the elements? Stupid?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, I'm back at it after a bit of a forced break. Suffice it to say that there has been some bad juju around me lately and I hope that it's finally done. Broken frames are involved as well as broken skin. I hate to redirect, but don't want to rehash it all here. So will point you here instead. Might be worth your time. Pictures included.

The ride in this AM was a bit chilly. 34F at my house with wonderful Northern Lights out. A touch warmer in town, but not too much. Need to be cautious on the bridges on the bike paths - a bit frosty this AM and the new metal covered ones on the Coastal Trail are less than grippy when frosty.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

A few chilly days now:
Monday - pretty OK in the morning, but then temps dropped during the day and it started to rain.
Tuesday/Wednesday - barely above freezing in the morning, some degrees warmer in the afternoon, some sunshine too.
Coming days - a little warmer but the possibility of rain is increasing.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

block - read your story, glad you are OK and that you are back on the bike. Hopefully the string has been broken and you will be good now.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

AlexCuse said:


> Slowest commute ever. Just terrible. At least I had this sweet jersey to match my new bike


Alex, not sure if it was the cell phone camera or the effort expended, but your face matches the red trim on the Grinch bike. The overall coordination is just awesome!



TenSpeed said:


> - fat bike commutes are the slowest possible. I feel like I got passed by a kid on a Strider the last time I rode mine in to work.


Still faster than a Spotted Salamander, though? (Mtbrexplorer reference, and running gag.)



blockphi said:


> Well, I'm back at it after a bit of a forced break. Suffice it to say that there has been some bad juju around me lately and I hope that it's finally done. Broken frames are involved as well as broken skin. I hate to redirect, but don't want to rehash it all here.


Yes, not quite dead yet, but are you stronger? Glad you made it.

Nice ride today. Our hills are really valleys so you can't see them coming. If the video shows well I will post it to show that we do have climbs even though we have a lack of hills above the horizon. Negative hills as it were. 

BrianMc


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Well, I'm back at it after a bit of a forced break....


Heck of a story. I had a similar seat post experience with my cross check but it didn't go that far. Luckily I wanted to raise it up 1/4" and caught it before it went too far. It's well greased now. I think I'll go check my pugs. (Snowblind white, XL Frame  )

Commutes are still good, I extended mine to 30 miles this morning. Chilly!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> As for the fat bike, they feel like absolute tanks on the road. On the trail they feel pretty good. I haven't ridden mine much because my nice weather days of commuting are growing slim, like this week it is supposed to be nice and sunny all week so I am taking the fixed gear to work. When the weather turns to garbage, that fattie is coming out of hiding and will be my work horse.


I agree and I disagree, Ten. This coming from a guy who's ridden his fatty ~8K miles this year.

Riding on pavement can be a lot slower with the fatty depending on: tire pressure, tire tread. There's an interesting article on Scwhalbe's site about wider tires being more efficient to a point.

What I've found is that for my fat but running 18psi in the back and 16 to 18 in the front is the sweet spot for my commuting. Like I've said here before, I can easily manage a 17mph average on my commute - similar to what I rode on my full squish mtb. I'm rolling on Knard rear and Larry front right now. When I put the Nates on, whoa... it does feel like riding through fresh concrete, but... still more fun than any other bike I've ridden.

Heck, you could really go all out and do a fat fixie. That would definitely get you some hipster points, right? 

It is good to be back on the bike and I think the string might be broken. Well, maybe. I'll see if I can go a week without breaking anything else!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> Heck, you could really go all out and do a fat fixie. That would definitely get you some hipster points, right?


I always thought big tubes in skinny tires were more of a hipster thing, but what do I know...


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

blockphi said:


> I agree and I disagree, Ten. This coming from a guy who's ridden his fatty ~8K miles this year.
> 
> Riding on pavement can be a lot slower with the fatty depending on: tire pressure, tire tread. There's an interesting article on Scwhalbe's site about wider tires being more efficient to a point.
> 
> ...


Yeah I think with another tire it'd be a lot faster on the road, but I was still very happy riding it today. I liked the Nates on trail when I demoed a pug, and pretty sure from the terrain I hit on the way back that I like them even more on the Marge lites I ended up getting (demo had holy Daryls). Will probably ride them through winter then look for something faster. Hopefully I won't have to sell all my other bikes to afford them


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Typical morning from last week:
> View attachment 926083
> 
> Nice pic!
> ...


I crabbed until we got a dingy spot for a bike rack in the garage, but I have also loosened up my standards, figuring the clean rain/snow that falls on it outside while parked is actually a lot cleaner than the wet road grime and road salt I ride it through, possibly actually a net benefit. If stuff freezes up and won't work, that's no good. I sometimes move it into a super-heated unauthorized spot between the double automatic doors for the last half hour in winter after most have left.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Well, I'm back at it after a bit of a forced break. Suffice it to say that there has been some bad juju around me lately and I hope that it's finally done. Broken frames are involved as well as broken skin. I hate to redirect, but don't want to rehash it all here. So will point you here instead. Might be worth your time. Pictures included.


Yeah, a bit of a rough patch there, blockphi! Glad you lived to tell the tale. I got a bit scared when Drano was mentioned.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sunset last night demonstrated the good side of forest fires.


Pretty, but kinda eerie too.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Well, I'm back at it after a bit of a forced break. Suffice it to say that there has been some bad juju around me lately and I hope that it's finally done. Broken frames are involved as well as broken skin. I hate to redirect, but don't want to rehash it all here. So will point you here instead. Might be worth your time. Pictures included.
> 
> The ride in this AM was a bit chilly. 34F at my house with wonderful Northern Lights out. A touch warmer in town, but not too much. Need to be cautious on the bridges on the bike paths - a bit frosty this AM and the new metal covered ones on the Coastal Trail are less than grippy when frosty.


Wow, that is an epically miserable weekend. I'm glad you wrecked and got back up with spirit in tact, despite the apparent ego blow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> I agree and I disagree, Ten. This coming from a guy who's ridden his fatty ~8K miles this year.
> 
> Riding on pavement can be a lot slower with the fatty depending on: tire pressure, tire tread. There's an interesting article on Scwhalbe's site about wider tires being more efficient to a point.
> 
> ...


I still have not dialed in my tire pressure on my Minnesota. I had it at about 11 or so for the road with Vee Missions on there and it was bobbing like a Wal-Mart "full suspension" bike thingy that they sell. Will have to mess around with it more and see what I can come up with. Any suggestions? I am about 210 lbs or so.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was the closest I have come to being hit by a vehicle. Not once, but twice. 

Incident 1 - riding as far to the right as possible in the right lane on a three lane road that is 25 mph. Got buzzed by a black Chevy Suburban. When I say buzzed, I mean I think his mirror touched the hair on my arm as he went by. That scared the hell out of me. Kept going though after throwing my hands up in the air at him.

Incident 2 - riding in the bike lane with 2 lanes of traffic headed west, 2 lanes heading east, divided by a big median. A van cab was waiting to cross the west bound lanes to enter a parking lot. This is a 35 mph zone and a car was ahead of me in the left lane. The car passed the cab. I saw the cab. I thought there is no way he is going because he sees me wearing this bright red shirt. I am watching as I enter the intersection. He goes. UNREAL!!! In the back of my mind I guess I knew he was gonna go because I found myself ready on the brake just in case. I needed it. The passenger side window was down and he had a passenger so I screamed "HEADS UP" and I scared the hell out of the two of them because I was right there, all up on the side of that van. The sad thing is that I don't think he even looked as he crossed. That was on the way to work.

The way home was interesting. Since I leave work when most people are falling asleep watching David Letterman, I often will take the main road home most of the way as it is baby butt smooth and there is little to no traffic. Same road that I got buzzed on but further east I had a guy go flying by me as I signaled to move from the right lane to the left lane, and then into the turn lane after the small median. Well I guess that he didn't want to be behind me because he flew by me and pretty much cut me off getting into the left turn lane and getting to the red light 6 seconds faster than me. I politely pulled up behind him, positioning myself in his rear view mirror, and went ahead and kicked my Niterider Lumina 700 up to the brightest setting. I am a dick. 

Gotta remember that I am invisible to drivers and that no one knows how to drive when there is a bike on the road.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Having a fall heat wave of 30 degree Celsius, and bus drivers are on strike so there is pedestrians and new commuters everywhere! Cant wait for the freezing temps so im all by my self again.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Yikes, TenSpeed! Those moments where you almost get hit leave me all ramped up for a while. I hate it. 

Rode to work with a big tub of hummus and pita chips in my backpack today for a work potluck. Otherwise my ride in was uneventful. It's one of those mornings where I can't get warm after my ride. I must have under dressed because it wasn't that cold out there.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ those days where you cannot warm up after a ride, those are some of the worst. Just that chilled feeling all day, where you wish you had a hot shower, a heated blanket, and a comfy sweatshirt.....oh I hate those days. Because most of the time, you have none of that, and are just cold all day. The cold that feels like it is taking your soul hostage and won't let go. I would rather be hot all day than cold that is for sure!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Is it national scare a cyclist day or something? I had two vehicles try to turn into me today, less than a mile apart. Both were turning left. The first time it happened, a truck was making a left turn and immediately turning right (maybe). I was in the bike lane, and all of the sudden he comes lumbering my way and hits the brakes a couple feet away. He kind of gave me a dirty look, but I just kept going. I assume he turned right because he never passed me.

The second guy was an SUV turning out of a Subway parking lot. He was just sitting there waiting. Then just as I passed in front of him, he pulled out and clumsily forced his way into my lane. I yelled at that guy. The other situation was just awkward, the second guy didn't seem to have any regard for my safety.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> I still have not dialed in my tire pressure on my Minnesota. I had it at about 11 or so for the road with Vee Missions on there and it was bobbing like a Wal-Mart "full suspension" bike thingy that they sell. Will have to mess around with it more and see what I can come up with. Any suggestions? I am about 210 lbs or so.


I was riding yesterday around 16 psi - pumped the tires WAY up to try to minimize the nate's contact patch. Seemed to work well enough - a little bit of bobbing when I stood to climb but not too bad. Still felt better over the roots and stuff I rode than my 29er at 20-22. I may experiment further over the next few weeks - thinking I may need to build up my legs a bit before going on my longer weekend rides with it, but will probably just dive in this weekend


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> I still have not dialed in my tire pressure on my Minnesota. I had it at about 11 or so for the road with Vee Missions on there and it was bobbing like a Wal-Mart "full suspension" bike thingy that they sell. Will have to mess around with it more and see what I can come up with. Any suggestions? I am about 210 lbs or so.


I would start out by taking them up to about 20 and then working down until you hit the sweet spot. WIth Surly tires there is a small window between bouncing like a basketball and bouncing like a low rider. I assume the same with the Vee tires. At 210, I would think that the 15 to 16 range will be close to where you want to be. Of course, in the fat tires there are gradations at each pressure that you don't get in a smaller tire - an extra two or three pumps of the pump will still keep you at the same PSI, but can change the feel quite a bit.

Glad to read your close calls were nothing more than that - It's insane how drivers, particularly professional drivers, don't see bikes.

A decent ride in this AM. Chilly, though. 29F at my house. I need to figure out my footwear again. I don't want to take the clipless off yet, but by the time I got to work my feet were a bit chilled. Wore the neoprene socks today. I think I need to get a thin pair of wool socks for under them and see how that works. The plan is to ride clipless until it gets into the low teens (sub-15) if possible or, if I can talk the wife into it - doubtful after just buying a new frame - getting some winter cycling boots such as Lake or 45North. I'd prefer to not bother with switching pedals this winter if I can help it.


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2014)

TS, I'm lucky there as I have a shower available at work. It was a real fog-fest this morning and I almost got taken out by a herd of rabbits (more than 10, never seen that before). Otherwise I'm slowly getting used to riding in the dark.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I have to park outside now, and with the first real rain of the season approaching, I'm wondering if anyone has any strategies for pampering their indoor bike when it has to sit outside. I was thinking about getting one of those motorcycle covers for it...something I could stash here at work that would at least keep it out of the elements? Stupid?


Is a grill cover smaller than a motorcycle cover? Maybe just a folded rectangle of 5 ml plastic sheet with the edges bound with small wire ties? A Shower Hair Cover would do to keep the seat dry. This is more important if it is leather though a dry saddle when it is time to leave is nice leather or not. Rain could actually was off some road grime. Stainless steel cables make for less of an issue than the old cables had with sitting out in the rain. The ice issue is cleverly solved if you can sneak it indoors at the end of the day to thaw as Mtbxplorer does at times.



TenSpeed said:


> Today was the closest I have come to being hit by a vehicle. Not once, but twice. ... Gotta remember that I am invisible to drivers and that no one knows how to drive when there is a bike on the road.


Those bring up frightening memories and a high heart rate! I guess misery loves company. It is nice to know it isn't just me.

Had a dolt almost pull out of a T intersection which he was trying to roll, but he decided the idea of me embedded in his driver's door was not at all desirable, so he stopped with the right corner out past the curb (so he failed to stop at the stop line, crosswalk, or before entering the cross road). I was signaling a left in a 100 feet and looked back and he was turning wide behind me, so I took the center of the road. An oncoming driver slowed and waved me left, as the guy behind was still threatening to pass me in the oncoming lane. He could have passed all safe and legal on my right. So thanks to a nice driver, I got away from a complete moron.



s0ckeyeus said:


> Is it national scare a cyclist day or something? I had two vehicles try to turn into me today, less than a mile apart. ... The other situation was just awkward, the second guy didn't seem to have any regard for my safety.


I love the pull out while looking into your lap (text message?). Just how the H are they supposed to see me if they are driving blind? Morons! Then there is the left turn with a phone held against the ear where they use all of my lane (oncoming) and the other as they cut the corner because they can't steer worth a crap one-handed. I can put a dually pickup squarely in the proper lane on that corner with one hand on the wheel. The real pisser is they did not even see me after they almost hit me to scare themselves silly!

It's a New Moon, not a full moon, so I don't get the spate of incidents either.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Had a Cat 6 1 km sprint race today on the way in....I got him...he was on a single speed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's a bold attack on a SS. :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ everyone should brush up on the scoring rules: It?s Not A Race » FCN Calculator



> Your position in the grand scheme of Silly Commuter Racing is determined by your Food Chain Number (FCN). If you drop/pass anyone who looks faster than you (i.e. has a lower FCN) +1 point. If you get dropped by anyone that looks slower than you (i.e. has a higher FCN) -1 point.
> 
> *FCN Starting Points*
> 1. Scooters
> ...


Not sure why Electric bikes are at one end of the FCN and scooters are at the other? Must be an old list?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Not impressed by the drivers here today, either. This morning, a big blue pickup with handicap plates tried to impress me with a blaring horn and record flight time for "the bird" as he passed, even though he had the entire lane open.

This evening I had shifted from the shoulder, across the empty RT lane, and into the edge of the straightaway lane, only to have a car pass me in the right turn only lane and then cut in front of me from the right to go straight as well. Umm, you pass on the left, not the right, and you use the RTO lane if you are turning right, not going straight.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No complaints here today. Simply another beautiful day to ride to work, ruined by 8 hours of work, followed up by a wonderful commute home. Did a few extra miles since it was so nice out. Clothing choices this week have been spot on. With a day off tomorrow that is forecasted for a high of 78F at the end of September there are 0 complaints. Some friends are joining me for an early evening/late night ride around town. Skipping the normal group as they will be doing something bike related but not riding. There will be camaraderie, pizza, fixed gear bikes, parking ramp races, and bombing the main road down through the campus. Oh, and the nice weather.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good ride in. Not looking forward to the next 10.5 hours, but that's OK. I'm going out for Mexican food after work. I suppose those meals are justified when you bike to commute.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I have to park outside now, and with the first real rain of the season approaching, I'm wondering if anyone has any strategies for pampering their indoor bike when it has to sit outside. I was thinking about getting one of those motorcycle covers for it...something I could stash here at work that would at least keep it out of the elements?


You aren`t saying that Herr Ogre is a pansy, are you? I mean, nothing WRONG with a bike like that, but if that`s the case, you might want to shop around for some nice pastels to cover up the Chuck Norris paint job. Just so as to not give the wrong impression, ya know.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A nice ride in this AM. 28F in the valley and 32 in town. My broken front der is starting to bug me. The replacement is supposed to be here on Monday. Good stuff. 

Funny story about trying to find a der in town: It's an old style e-type der and I called all over town to try to find one. Most shops said nope, but we can order it. One shop said yeah, we've got one. 30 bucks. I didn't specify that it was the old style. So I rush over there and find out, no, it won't work. But they have another one that they said will work after looking at the bike. 45 bucks. Buy it, head back to the office, and search the model number to get the install instructions as I didn't take the box or pamphlet that came with it. The one they sold me is for a double, not triple front. Argh. Call em, yep, we've got the triple version. Go make the exchange. Get home, install it and it won't clear the big ring. I adjust as much as I can and no love. Take a look at the model, search it real quick and the largest large ring it'll work with is 42 teeth. I run a 44. Call the shop. Nope, they don't have anything. They'd be happy to sell me a new 42 tooth ring, though. Returned it yesterday and ended up finding the exact replacement from Jenson for 19.99 plus shipping. No, clearly it's not the best der, but for under 30 shipped? Yeah, I'll take it. 

I am getting rather good at kicking the chain from the big to middle ring with my heel, though. I still have to unclip to get to the small and the der that remains is just a touch out of adjustment so every once in a while while shifting onto the big ring the chain falls off. Oh well, such are the travails of the bike commuter.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

So I am a 7 and he was an 8....I lost.



newfangled said:


> ^ everyone should brush up on the scoring rules: It?s Not A Race » FCN Calculator
> 
> Not sure why Electric bikes are at one end of the FCN and scooters are at the other? Must be an old list?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I have to park outside now, and with the first real rain of the season approaching, I'm wondering if anyone has any strategies for pampering their indoor bike when it has to sit outside. I was thinking about getting one of those motorcycle covers for it...something I could stash here at work that would at least keep it out of the elements? Stupid?


I kick mine in the bottom bracket from time to time and yell "Man Up!" That seems to do the trick.

In all honesty, I'm firmly of the mindset of "ride it till you kill it" - obvious, right? The only thing special I do for mine when it is wet and cold is to lube the chain before parking it for the night. A day's worth of rain isn't going to rust the frame through. Heck, a year's worth of rain won't as long as it's getting used. I say let it be. Maybe cover your seat, but... if it's wet out anyway, your arse'll still get wet, so unless it's a leather saddle what's the point?

Someone in some movie once said that "Broken bones heal and chicks dig scars." I think that applies to bikes as well.


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## Guest (Sep 26, 2014)

blockphi said:


> I kick mine in the bottom bracket from time to time and yell "Man Up!" That seems to do the trick.
> 
> In all honesty, I'm firmly of the mindset of "ride it till you kill it" - obvious, right? The only thing special I do for mine when it is wet and cold is to lube the chain before parking it for the night. A day's worth of rain isn't going to rust the frame through. Heck, a year's worth of rain won't as long as it's getting used. I say let it be. Maybe cover your seat, but... if it's wet out anyway, your arse'll still get wet, so unless it's a leather saddle what's the point?
> 
> Someone in some movie once said that "Broken bones heal and chicks dig scars." I think that applies to bikes as well.


 I take the middle ground here. I relentlessly beat my bikes when I ride but I like them inside the rest of the time. I'm not doing all that maintenance so they can waste away when I'm not on top.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Forster said:


> I take the middle ground here. I relentlessly beat my bikes when I ride but I like them inside the rest of the time. I'm not doing all that maintenance so they can waste away when I'm not on top.


I do keep mine inside at night in a heated garage, but during the work day? I let it sit outside if that's the only option - as it is now. I obviously prefer to keep it inside - more from a security perspective, but don't worry about the elements damaging it during the day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

blockphi said:


> Someone in some movie once said that "Broken bones heal and chicks dig scars." I think that applies to bikes as well.


Not with my 'chick'. She has not much liked the feat driving to the hospital with no info as to whether it is life threatening. Scars loose their macho in light of those memories.

QUOTE=blockphi;11477388] I am getting rather good at kicking the chain from the big to middle ring with my heel, though. I still have to unclip to get to the small and the der that remains is just a touch out of adjustment so every once in a while while shifting onto the big ring the chain falls off. Oh well, such are the travails of the bike commuter.[/QUOTE]

Three, maybe four years ago a builder at the NA bike builders show, had a wire guide FD that lifted the chain and scooted it to one side or the other. I suppose a coat hanger could do the job. Maybe with a little roller for the chain to run on or a short piece of PVC with a slot on the top that the chain slips through then runs against and a way to clamp it to the seat post when not shifting. No trimming to avoid FD clatter at one end or the other of the cassette! Though you'd have to plan your shifts like in the old 2 x 5 10-speed days.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Yesterday's commute was going so great at first. I'm cruising along, hit heavy traffic caused by construction. No big deal, no spot for me to slide along side, but its only like a block of congestion, so I'll just walk it on the sidewalk and be on my way. Meet another biker with the same idea, so we make small talk while bypassing the block long line of cars. I think to myself, wow that's great. If I had been driving I'd be late and hating everyone. Now I'm on time and had a nice little talk with another biker. All was well in the world, until I was a block from work and a transit bus buzzed me, not more than 6 inches from my handlebars.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Took the river trail home. Some nice person whipper snipped it, it was getting so over grown. Beautiful fall colours but slippery root hiding leafs everywhere.









Also destroyed the hills I usually have a bit of trouble on. Do squats..... 3rd week doing them, first week I could barely walk for 2 days even with light weight. Piling on the weight to the bar now, really improved my peddling fatigue.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Learned a new insult today when passing cars on the right on a very wide road. I do my best to obey traffic laws but draw the line at waiting in line on an uphill if I see a safe way around it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute, but it was one hell of a ride. Met a friend and we set out to explore. Had an absolute amazing ride with him on a really nice night. We found new places to ride and explored old places. Got a slice of pizza, did some people watching, and best of all, we rode the hell out of our bikes. 55 miles clocked tonight which puts me over 2000 so far for the year, and 220 miles since last Friday. 

I think that I will take the day off tomorrow and get behind the wheel to get to work. My legs need it more than anything. Aside from that, no other part of my body hurts.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

78F and sunny in Michigan at the end of September. I will rest my legs when I am dead. Excellent ride into work for 8 hours and then back home. Tomorrow doesn't look good for the legs either because the weather is forecasted for the exact same.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Another "group project" meant another day in the political science department's library. A fine excuse for a commute. As ten speed mentioned, the weather here was phenomenal. 

No issues with taking lanes in the city, only buzzed once in my neighborhood. My Brooks saddle must be broke in, because I didn't think about it until just now.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rustedthrough said:


> Another "group project" meant another day in the political science department's library. A fine excuse for a commute. As ten speed mentioned, the weather here was phenomenal.
> 
> No issues with taking lanes in the city, only buzzed once in my neighborhood. My Brooks saddle must be broke in, because I didn't think about it until just now.


This is one hell of a last hurrah of summer isn't it? We had that little cool spell but are back on track for some of the nicest weather I can remember this time of year.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

My wife was mowing hay today. She plans to mow again on Tuesday. Thank god for grad school or I'd be bucking bales all week. As it stands, I have an excuse to ride to campus instead. 

I'm taking advantage of this weather, a little annoyed when someone tells me I should be in class or at work. For the first time in my life, I look forward to group work as an excuse to pedal on down to campus.


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2014)

Couldn't let the weekend go by without a couple of rides on the Fargo. 40.5 yesterday and 54.5 today. Perfect weather and great company without the bother of work between commute halves. Time to get everything ready for winter.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Went over to North Central Washington for a late fall ride over Angels Staircase. 26 miles and 6250 ascent. A fair amount of bike pushing. But it was worth it because of this:














































Back to my boring commute tomorrow.


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

Very nice pics


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another beautiful day to commute to work. Legs are spent and I am taking tomorrow off, this time for sure. Ride in was amazing and the ride home was pretty good too. Came face to face with the biker that most people hate. Dark clothes, no lights at night, no helmet and wearing massive headphones....heading right for me......traveling the wrong way in the bike lane. I cannot believe how clueless some people are. I shook my head as I passed but I am sure that he could not see anything but that 700 lumen light shining right in his face.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Went over the North Central Washington for a late fall ride over Angels Staircase. 26 miles and 6250 ascent. A fair amount of bike pushing.


Wow, that is quite a ride, and the photos are beautiful. Thanks for sharing!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ +1 Nice change of color, too. Trees just nicely started here. We are topographically deficient and there is a scarcity of vistas when you can see the curve of the earth on the horizon if trees don't get in the way. Thanks for sharing with the flatlanders.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Had to drive in this morning. I saw this high school age kid riding a low-end Specialized mountain bike on the sidewalk. Looked like he got one way too small for him thinking it would be like a DJ or something, but it just looked silly. He hucked off a 4' cement wall, then proceeds to ride into the middle of a very very busy main road and swerve back and forth between the two lanes going in the wrong direction. Several cars had to stop because he was in the middle of the road...again...going the wrong way. Then I'm waiting at a light and he crosses the road without looking, 4 lanes of traffic and goes right down another main street doing the same thing. Wow, just wow.



woodway said:


> Went over the North Central Washington for a late fall ride over Angels Staircase. 26 miles and 6250 ascent. A fair amount of bike pushing. But it was worth it because of this:
> 
> Back to my boring commute tomorrow.


See, that's what I SHOULD have done while I was in Washington last month.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Straz85 said:


> See, that's what I SHOULD have done while I was in Washington last month.


PM me when you come back Straz and I'll see if I can hook you up.

Commute was fine this morning except my legs are still a little cooked from the Angels Staircase ride. Still basking in the glory of the high country though.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. 28F in the valley when I left. Felt a bit slow as I threw the Nate's on this weekend for some trail riding yesterday and was too lazy to switch back over.

So I swapped to the Nate's on Saturday night and pumped them up to 30 PSI to help the beads seat as I need some new rim strips - come out early Sunday morning to take the dog out and notice that the rear tire is flat. No biggie, I think. The tube was patched, so figured the patch just gave out being pumped a bit high. Come out later in the morning to swap the tube and get ready to go riding and saw this:








I guess that was the loud bang my wife heard about 4 in the morning.

WTF Surly?

I guess it might be time for a new tire. Though I think I might have the wife sold on letting me get a new Kona Wo and gifting the Pugs to my kids. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> A decent ride in this AM. 28F in the valley when I left. Felt a bit slow as I threw the Nate's on this weekend for some trail riding yesterday and was too lazy to switch back over.
> 
> So I swapped to the Nate's on Saturday night and pumped them up to 30 PSI to help the beads seat as I need some new rim strips - come out early Sunday morning to take the dog out and notice that the rear tire is flat. No biggie, I think. The tube was patched, so figured the patch just gave out being pumped a bit high. Come out later in the morning to swap the tube and get ready to go riding and saw this:
> 
> ...


You are just to hard on parts!!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> You are just to hard on parts!!!


You know, I've heard tell that I am a bit hard on things... 

You know, the more I look at the Wo, the more I like the package. I think it might just fit the niche where my riding falls. I can slap a rack on it, I can build up some 29ers for summer. It has a fairly good mix of components on it and I can easily swap out some of the better bits and pieces I've strapped onto the Pugs while still leaving the Pugs in good ridable order for the kids. I blame you, Mr. JordyB. I was about sold on the KHS until you posted over in the fattie forms about the Kona. The only thing I'm not sure on is the Joytech hubs, but... can always rebuild the wheels later.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Most of the newer import hubs i've seen and used have been pretty nice. Sealed cartridge bearings and replaceable freehub bodies.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

It was quite a bit warmer than I had anticipated today. That flat i patched on the mtb didn't hold I guess, or there's another leak. Was going ride that up and do trail riding in between the next four hours of data entry bit there's no hope for that one anymore.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, still unseasonably warm. At the roundabout, what I thought was a clueless motorist confused about bikes and/or rotaries and/or right of way, turned out to be someone I know through work. Luckily I waved back (even though I had no idea who it was), rather than getting mad that he made me stop before entering the roundabout, as he later called for work related reasons and mentioned that he saw me at the rotary and was going to let me go first but then I got off my bike.

We had two hit and runs in VT this weekend
Reward offered after 70-year-old cyclist hit by car in Westmore

Police: Drunk driver hits cyclist - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

First day on 2 wheels in a few weeks and that loose wire on the inside of my rear tire manages to work its way out far enough to dig a pinhole in the tube. Again.

This is the last time, tire. Ordering some Bontrager H2s as soon as I get home to my credit card.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> You know, I've heard tell that I am a bit hard on things...


Man, thank you for making that dirty joke. I needed that.

My ride home was miserable. I made good time, felt physically good, but damn I've been having anxiety again. On the ride home i got to the point where i felt like i was going to hyperventilate or barf or both. I started pedaling faster but that made it worse so i just slowed down. Took it slower than I'd usually like to.

I know what it is. I'm finishing up with my sampling for my undergrad research that I've been working on for the last two years. I am absolutely terrified of beginnings and endings,and usually a good ride will mitigate that. This makes two times in the last to weeks that a good ride and good weather failed to do that. It has honestly never failed me in the past. I'm clueless.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Ride in was great other than the SUV to my left that crept out into the intersection while I was making a left turn. The driver ended up at a strange angle with the nose of the SUV right around the yellow line. I do actually need some room to turn, you know. You can't just run me over.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Sorry to hear about your anxiety, NDD. Sounds like it could be coupled with stress too, which never helps anything. I hope you feel better soon.

My ride in was kind of miserable. 44 degrees, dark, headwind. I probably shouldn't have been wearing shorts either. Thankfully my hands did okay with 3 pairs of gloves. I had "company" for the last 3 miles or so, as I was slowly catching up to another commuter going the same direction. I caught him just as I turned, otherwise I would have tried to initiate a conversation. I so rarely see people on that part of my commute. Speaking of, the MUP was deserted this morning. People are dropping like flies.


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2014)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Ride in was great other than the SUV to my left that crept out into the intersection while I was making a left turn. The driver ended up at a strange angle with the nose of the SUV right around the yellow line. I do actually need some room to turn, you know. You can't just run me over.


 Sadly, I think they can just run you over. Seems to becoming more popular every year.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good rides today, still unseasonably warm. At the roundabout, what I thought was a clueless motorist confused about bikes and/or rotaries and/or right of way, turned out to be someone I know through work. Luckily I waved back (even though I had no idea who it was), rather than getting mad that he made me stop before entering the roundabout, as he later called for work related reasons and mentioned that he saw me at the rotary and was going to let me go first but then I got off my bike.
> 
> We had two hit and runs in VT this weekend
> Reward offered after 70-year-old cyclist hit by car in Westmore
> ...


From the second link:

"They also issued a ticket to the biker, because he wore black shorts and a black shirt and his brakes did not work prior to the accident."

Sounds like this "cyclist" was actually a guy on a bike. Wearing all black at 3:30am with (supposedly) no working brakes? The driver certainly should be charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident, but the guy on the bike is an idiot. The only other thing I could think of is he was riding a fixie with no brakes, which is only slightly less stupid. It doesn't say if he had lights at all. Best case scenario here is a fixie with no brakes, but he had lights.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This AM was one of those mornings where you're not quite sure what to wear - 25F in the valley and 40F in town. Winter is inching her way closer and closer. The Talkeetna mountains had a nice fresh layer of snow last night on the way home. I don't see termination dust on the Chugach yet, but soon, soon.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Straz85 said:


> The driver certainly should be charged *with several felonies and should probably have his license revoked*, but the guy on the bike *should also receive a ticket for a minor traffic violation*.


Fixed that for you.

Anyway.

I've got two routes between work and home. There's the flat route, which is all on road. And there's the route down into the rivervalley and back out again, which is all on mups.

When I first started commuting, I always took the flat route (because hills are bad, obviously). Fairly soon after that though I started taking the valley route for the ride home - mostly because it connects to dirt trails, but even if I'm heading straight home it's nice not to deal with dumb afternoon drivers.

And that's how it's been for probably 4 years. I took the valley route on the way home every day, but not once did I ever take it to work...until last week. Not sure why it took me so long to try it, but I've taken it every day since. No lights. No stopsigns. No idiots. It's nice.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

I was starting out my commute but there was a slight rain and the trails were muddy. And, when the trails are muddy, the rule is not to ride because it "ruins the trails." I guess people get angry about ruts in the trail afterwards. And, I don't really feel comfortable riding with cars on the road in the morning hours. It makes me wonder how I will ride in the winter. I'm not sure if snowy trails is the same thing as muddy trails.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> This AM was one of those mornings where you're not quite sure what to wear - 25F in the valley and 40F in town. Winter is inching her way closer and closer. The Talkeetna mountains had a nice fresh layer of snow last night on the way home. I don't see termination dust on the Chugach yet, but soon, soon.


Hmm, East side is surely colder. 30 here at 6am. Still a 3/4 sleeve DH jersey and shorts with wool socks and wool beanie.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Hmm, East side is surely colder. 30 here at 6am. Still a 3/4 sleeve DH jersey and shorts with wool socks and wool beanie.


Yeah, I had to look at the weather report a few times before I believed it. Of course, my first weather in town is right on the coast, so usually a bit warmer. I love that little pocket by the CC science center that is always the coldest spot in town. My route used to take me right through there every day.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BCTJ said:


> I was starting out my commute but there was a slight rain and the trails were muddy. And, when the trails are muddy, the rule is not to ride because it "ruins the trails." I guess people get angry about ruts in the trail afterwards. And, I don't really feel comfortable riding with cars on the road in the morning hours. It makes me wonder how I will ride in the winter. I'm not sure if snowy trails is the same thing as muddy trails.


 When frozen trails are not impacted by riding...

Even if thawing the tires only bite through the unfrozen ground.

Lots of trails are not really impacted by rain and mud....a lot of the *****ing is people don't like loking a tire tracks.....hike boots are way worse.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> No idiots. It's nice.


Well you will eventually run into an idiot..perhaps a dog walker with a yappy dog on the end of a thirty foot leash completly blocking the MUP and surroundings...

Or some other idiot.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Cycling accidents and domestic violence: two situations where people always seem quick to blame the victim.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

After taking the time to tarp/Gorilla tape that busted sunroof (since it was misting and there was a chance of thunderstorms), and collecting the dog after his 45 minute flyer in the woods, I had to surrender the bikecommute and drive to make it to my 9 a.m. meeting. :smallviolin:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good rides today. Took an extra spin, short loop between a meeting and my six o'clock class. Was able to just focus on breathing and pedaling. It felt damn good.

I haven't been clipped in this week at all. I've been riding in boots. Not too shabby, but I'm feeling like I'd like to clip in tomorrow.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Wet ride in this morning. First time I've taken out the rain gear in months. Actually felt good. What I find about riding in the rain is at first it's fun, but you hit a certain point where within minutes, it goes from fun to miserable. I fortunately didn't get to that point. Stayed completely dry under my EMS jacket, Novara pants and Showers Pass shoe covers.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Woke to find a proper Swiss mountain deluge outside - so much that the drains were overflowing and the roads had 20cms of water on them. 

I geared up in my rain stuff, got the bike out... and went back in get changed for my normal stuff. First time I've ducked out the commute in the rain in over a year. Guess I just wasn't on form this morning


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> You aren`t saying that Herr Ogre is a pansy, are you? I mean, nothing WRONG with a bike like that, but if that`s the case, you might want to shop around for some nice pastels to cover up the Chuck Norris paint job. Just so as to not give the wrong impression, ya know.


Haha. The Ogre can take it, I just have this guilt about preventable wear and tear. I abuse the bikes all winter when I'm riding them, I just want them to be comfortable when I'm not 

Funny you should bring up Chuck Norris. I was in line for ice cream after a lake day this summer and I got a text from my wife (she was standing 2 feet in front of me)... I pulled out the phone, and the text said "Chuck Norris is standing right behind you." Scariest text of any man's life, I'm telling ya. :lol:

So I turned around and what do you know, he was. When I got over my fear I asked him if it was true that when he went away to college, he told his dad "you're the man of the house now." He got a good chuckle out of that one. Heck of a nice guy...and he didn't roundhouse kick me in the face, so that's always a plus. I got a pic of me and him, but I wasn't on the bike...would have been cool to have had him sign the frame or something.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Another wet one this morning, even wetter than yesterday. Steady rain, and it's been coming down now for 36 hours, so there's a lot of standing water out there. Supposed to clear up for my commute home today and all day tomorrow, then more showers on Saturday. We do need the rain though, so I'm not complaining.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A little excitement on the way in. My ride takes me through a park and past a football complex. This morning there were three teens near the concession stand throwing bags of ice. They were mostly slamming them down on the sidewalk or throwing them at buildings. My normal route takes me near where they were. They saw me and kind of ran off a bit, but they went around the back of the bleachers, not far from where I was headed. I was a little concerned but decided to keep going. They were rounding the back of the bleachers right as I was turning off into the parking lot. One of the guys threw/kicked a block of ice at me. It passed through my tires. I paused and thanked him sarcastically and reminded him to keep it positive then rode off.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too bad of a commute this AM. Got a new rear tire after destroying the Nate. Not sure how I feel about it yet. It's the Vee Mission. 120 tpi version. It seems to generally roll fairly quick, but I have it at about 19 PSI and it still feels a touch bouncy and leaning over makes for some strange vibrations in the scranus area. I think some of the things I'm feeling are simply due to the fact that this is the first time I've run a 120 tire. I normally go cheap and heavy, so there's that. Of course the real test will be when we get some snow. My plan is to run the Mission on the back and my remaining Nate out front. 

Sh*tty day yesterday. Got a call from the wife about 2:30 - she was coming into town on the highway and a car in front of her rolled over a chunk of split firewood, threw it up into the air, where it promptly hit the windshield of the burban, spraying the interior with shards of glass. Thankfully it did not go all the way through and no one was hurt, but she ended up stuck in between the valley and Anchorage - so it was up to me to figure out the plan to get it fixed and get her and the kids home again. Lots of running around. Frustrating. But everyone is okay and I was able to find a shop to fix it this AM, but it seems my bad luck is growing, not shrinking. Maybe I should hole up in my basement for a while...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ glad everyone is OK from the glass shattering. That would really suck!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have those same Vee Missions on my Minnesota. I have only had them up to about 16 psi or so and they bounce. I need to take them up higher I think to eliminate that Wal-Mart bounce that I felt.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Sh*tty day yesterday. Got a call from the wife about 2:30 - she was coming into town on the highway and a car in front of her rolled over a chunk of split firewood, threw it up into the air, where it promptly hit the windshield of the burban, spraying the interior with shards of glass. Thankfully it did not go all the way through and no one was hurt, but she ended up stuck in between the valley and Anchorage - so it was up to me to figure out the plan to get it fixed and get her and the kids home again. Lots of running around. Frustrating. But everyone is okay and I was able to find a shop to fix it this AM, but it seems my bad luck is growing, not shrinking. Maybe I should hole up in my basement for a while...


I'm sorry to hear that. Glad nobody was injured. Surprising that the wood caused shards of glass since it should be laminated.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> I'm sorry to hear that. Glad nobody was injured. Surprising that the wood caused shards of glass since it should be laminated.


Some of the inside layer of glass broke away from the center plastic sheet - and there was actually a hole in the plastic sheet. I think the previous owner probably had it replaced at one time with a cheap replacement instead of an OEM. I've seen them break before where the inside layer comes off, but not in sharp splinters but in the more geometric blocks that one normally sees with safety glass.

I'm glad no one was hurt as well. My son was in the front seat when it happened and had the wood gone all the way through he'd be, at minimum, in hospital, if not worse. Crazy how fast things like that can happen.

Ten - The strange thing I found this morning was that they don't bounce all the time. It's like I hit a bump or rock or something at just the right resonant frequency to start them humming and then they bounce a bit before settling back down. I hope I can fine tune them a bit better, particularly in the winter, because having bounce just sucks - takes away too much energy. I can't even really say I got that good of deal on the tire. The shop dropped 25 bucks off the sticker price, but still left it at 75 - I could get it online for less, but...

We'll see, we'll see. Worse case, I go back to Nate/Larry for the winter and use the Mission for summer.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Some of the inside layer of glass broke away from the center plastic sheet - and there was actually a hole in the plastic sheet. I think the previous owner probably had it replaced at one time with a cheap replacement instead of an OEM. I've seen them break before where the inside layer comes off, but not in sharp splinters but in the more geometric blocks that one normally sees with safety glass.
> 
> I'm glad no one was hurt as well. My son was in the front seat when it happened and had the wood gone all the way through he'd be, at minimum, in hospital, if not worse. Crazy how fast things like that can happen.
> 
> ...


I had a similar situation once, where I lost control of my car, hit a fence and a board came through my windshield and narrowly missed my best friend in the passenger seat. Absolutely terrifying.

Edit: "Similar" might be a stretch since this was my fault. The only similarity is that wood hit the windshield.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I have photos of a very wrecked Jetta too, Straz. I'm so glad I don't own that car anymore. 

Glad your family was okay, blockphi! Those things are so scary.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

My commute was going well, until I was 3 blocks from home. I was on a secondary road that is not only excessively wide, but doesn't have much traffic that runs parallel to the major road my street is off of. I slow down to let one car pass, I signal and get very far left into lane so a second car that is further behind the first and will pass me right as I'm about to turn has room to easily pass me on the right. Turns out the unsavory woman driver laid on the horn and yelled out the window at me.

I'm not really sure what she has to be mad about, I slowed her down in no way. I think she just was appalled at the gall I had to ride in the street.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ken, don't you know that we belong on the sidewalk? The road is for cars and the sidewalk is for bikes.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Ken, don't you know that we belong on the sidewalk? The road is for cars and the sidewalk is for bikes.


 I think the street is for folks like me who don't have a Red Bull Rampage like course, but still feel the need to risk their lives. Song in my head "Highway to the Danger Zone."


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday's commute home was great. I hit the lights almost perfectly, and a couple people even stopped to let me go. One tough intersection I go through had no cars because of a fender bender blocking the road. Also no angry drivers or close calls.

This morning I got the SS back on the road. I was having fitment issues. My left elbow hurt and my pinkie and ring finger were tingling and numb. I found this article which describes the issue perfectly. I wanted to raise the handlebars a bit, but the stem was already all the way up. I swapped the (1100 gram!!!) steel fork for a carbon CX fork I traded AlexCuse some stuff for that had an extra 1.25" of steerer. I moved the stem up 1CM, so we'll see if my elbow starts bothering me again or not. Also lightened the bike by a full pound.

I was the one who did something stupid this morning. I was in a left turn lane which usually gets a left arrow. There was a school bus in front of me so I couldn't see the light. The bus went, so I went too, assuming there was a green left turn arrow, but there wasn't. Almost got creamed by a Jeep. I felt bad, wish I could have apologized to the guy. Strange there was no left turn arrow, I go through this intersection every commute and there always is. Wonder if the bus took too long to turn and the green arrow ended. My responsibility to look though. Live and learn (better than get hit by a car and learn I guess!).


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang, y'all gotta keep it safe with these close calls and objects flying through windshields. 

S0ckeyeus, teens are the worst. Always. 

Wicked headwind on the way in today. Slowed me down quite a bit. Oh well, it beats driving still. And i know I'm going to get to bike to eat some barbecue after work, so that makes the next part of my day alright.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2014)

We had our 6th Cyclist injury accident last night (city less than 250,000) and this morning I see some knucklehead riding in wearing all dark clothes, no lights, no reflectors in total darkness jet out in front of traffic at a crosswalk. I think we've had enough bad drivers this year that we don't need any help from the Darwin Awards Committee.


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## Sooner44 (Sep 29, 2014)

Had some crazy strong headwinds heading to campus this morning. Felt like I was getting nowhere fast.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> We had our 6th Cyclist injury accident last night (city less than 250,000) and this morning I see some knucklehead riding in wearing all dark clothes, no lights, no reflectors in total darkness jet out in front of traffic at a crosswalk. I think we've had enough bad drivers this year that we don't need any help from the Darwin Awards Committee.


Well that must be frustrating. I realized today after i left i was wearing all black and riding a black bike, but I have lights and reflectors, so I'm good until someone who wasn't paying attention hits me and gets the easy out.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

S0ckeyeus' story reminded me of a driving lesson years (too many) ago when a young teen lobbed a rock through the car window and caught me square in the lower jaw. Lights started to go out, fortunately I was almost to the stop sign. The instructor asked if I was OK and I was back on line by then. Scary. Kids can be such idiots.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A stellar ride in this AM. Last night I pumped the new Mission tire up to 20 PSI and then put in two additional pumps of air - still in the 20 PSI range, but ... anyway, hit the sweet spot. No bounce and a fast ride in. I can see where there may be some traction issues in loose snow, but I think that once we get snow I'll flip it so the tread rolls backwards. 

After looking at the 1700 to 2K price range fatties out there and comparing the OoB builds, I'm thinking that the Trek Farley 6 might be at the top of my short list. And the wife is just about completely on board with getting a new bike. I just have to go and take a look-see and a test ride to see what I think. I want to ride a couple of different bikes before I pull the trigger, but I like the overall spec of the Farley. I'd say the Kona and the Farley are nearly identical in overall spec - so it'll come down to ride and comfort - though the Trek has hydros and the Kona has BB7s. I like the simplicity of mechanical disks, though there have been a few times where the more better stopping power of hydros would be nice. I don't know. When it comes time to pull the trigger I might get gun shy and stick with what I have - though after the recent snafu I am not as wedded to the bike as I once was. It's like that girlfriend you had that you never thought you could live with out who sleeps with your best friend and suddenly the attraction isn't quite there anymore, but you still have feelings for her - conflicted feelings, but... Okay, maybe it's not like that at all. Or it is. Damn you Surly. Damn you to hell.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ From what i understand, Surly must have spotty quality control. They get a lot of good reviews, and i love the krampus fork on my mtb but I've seen some stuff (after owning the fork) where people have just gotten bad stuff and Surly refused be held accountable. 

Most of it is good but there seem to be lapses in quality control that are kinda concerning now that i have their fork.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today, but the Friday group is still happening even though rain is in the forecast. We usually do a faster longer ride after, but tonight I think it will be short so I am going to take the fat bike. A couple of friends want to check it out so out it will go. Going to raise the tire pressure like blockphi did and hope to eliminate some of that bounce. I am not sure how much good my normal SKS seatpost fender will do on the fat bike but I think I will put it on anyway.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice commute this morning. It was rather cold though. Especially coming down those steep hills. Now, in the afternoon, it has heated up and I don't think I will need my jacket on the way home. Funny how commuting teaches you how quickly the weather changes - things you never notice in a car.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, I think I may have just made mistake - just went over to the Trek store and tested the Farley. A very nice bike. If I had had my wallet with me and wasn't bike commuting I probably would have ridden away with it. Now just to get the wife finally convinced...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Increased psi to about 19 or so, and it rode completely different. Very manageable and less bounce which made for a really nice ride. Got rained on and rode in the winds making it fairly miserable. Got lots of looks and compliments on it though so it made it all worth it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Well, I think I may have just made mistake - just went over to the Trek store and tested the Farley. A very nice bike. If I had had my wallet with me and wasn't bike commuting I probably would have ridden away with it. Now just to get the wife finally convinced...


Good luck blockphi, you must have put a bazillion miles on the Pugs, so this bikecommuter/fatbiker thinks you deserve it!

I skipped the bikecommute Friday, in favor of the morning off on a beautiful day for a trailride on some brand new super fun trails in Stowe (Snake and Florence), It was worth it.


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2014)

Well the morning was the usual combination of people running lights and blowing off stop signs. Natural lack of faith in car-bound humanity kept things in check. The ride home was really cool, lots of squirrels, a stop at the LBS and cool temps. Just when I thought I was in the woods (literally) an older guy (maybe mid-60s) signaling left, drives through the intersection right at me (doing at least 30). I yell and he locks up his brakes and we come within two feet of colliding. So close I was actually hopping the Fargo hoping to go over rather than under. Couple of heated words and he's on his way. Made the last 8 miles seem pretty easy because I spent the remainder of the ride being happy about not having two broken legs and a concussion.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me tomorrow, but I will be riding a ride of silence for a woman that was recently hit and killed on her bike by a car. The driver was allegedly texting and didn't see her, the woman died, and she was charged with a misdemeanor. People here are NOT happy. I am looking for more information online to validate the alleged charges.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Well, I think I may have just made mistake - just went over to the Trek store and tested the Farley. A very nice bike. If I had had my wallet with me and wasn't bike commuting I probably would have ridden away with it. Now just to get the wife finally convinced...


So why a Farley over a Wo? Didn't think the Farley had clearance for 4.8's like the Wo? Plus no sliding dropouts!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> Just when I thought I was in the woods (literally) an older guy (maybe mid-60s) signaling left, drives through the intersection right at me (doing at least 30). ... So close I was actually hopping the Fargo hoping to go over rather than under.


*** So was he signaled and turned left and found you straight through against him? One I had close to that the woman was talking on her cell phone, steering one handed, I braked and she went by still oblivious, but I was spared.



TenSpeed said:


> No commute for me tomorrow, but I will be riding a ride of silence for a woman that was recently hit and killed on her bike by a car. The driver was allegedly texting and didn't see her, the woman died, and she was charged with a misdemeanor. People here are NOT happy. I am looking for more information online to validate the alleged charges.


'She' I hope was not the dead cyclist. Though the way things have been going lately.... So texting is not equivalent to DUI there?


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> *** So was he signaled and turned left and found you straight through against him?


 He was on my left entering a primary road from a secondary road. I was on the primary road crossing the intersection he ran into from his left. and yup, he ran right on through that ole non-descript red sign with eight sides.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Hard to see cyclists or much of anything if you don't stop and look. Maybe next time it will be a 40 ton semi at speed. That might cure him forever.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> 'She' I hope was not the dead cyclist. Though the way things have been going lately.... So texting is not equivalent to DUI there?


Both the driver and cyclist were women. Driver was texting. Misdemeanor charge apparently. Vehicular manslaughter, and it is a misdemeanor. Had the cyclist been in a car, the charge would have been far more severe. Apparently it is OK to hit and kill a cyclist, and you get a friendly slap on the wrist for it. I had detention in high school that was more severe than this punishment. It simply is not fair. Equivalent to a DUI? It is more equivalent to jaywalking it appears.

Cold, windy and not really sunny with temps in the low 50's. I rode to meet the local group that was riding to meet the main group for this ride of silence. Flatted, like a damn amateur. Well, more like a slow leak. Didn't see the glass. Luckily I was only a mile from the meeting spot, and had a spare tube with me along with levers and a pump so I limped it in and got it changed, well, had help because I truly suck at changing tubes. 135 people showed up to ride and we had a state police escort to her house, the crash site, and then the cemetery. My final miles were 51.8, but not a single one of them was pedaled without thinking about this woman who is gone. She was 35, married, and has two young kids. That poor family, and the stress and nightmares that they have because someone was careless enough to text and drive at the same time. She was out doing something that she loved at least. There is some gratification in that because when I go, I either want to be on my bike, or in bed with a woman......


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed, while I am sad to hear of the loss in your community, I am glad to hear that you're cycling community is so strong. Around here, there would be no way we could host something like that, and it's really great that you all were able to give a meaningful goodbye. Honestly that's the best of that awful situation. 

Also, it seems like in most places the punishment for texting and driving is pretty severe. Not up there, eh? Or did the driver just luck out but hitting a cyclist and not a ped?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The more I have been riding, the more I am finding out that there is a pretty decent cycling community here. Everyone that I met so far has been very nice and friendly. No one here is sure why the punishment if you can call it that, is so easy.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Not really a commute, I set out on my weekend 9 mile round trip grocery run under perfect conditions. Cool, overcast, with no wind. Heading home, the wind had come up. On the MUP immediately South of the Grocery/ super store I came to a full stop twice. Usually, I can coast up to 25mph on this stretch returning (takes a bit of swearing to get up on the outbound trip). Tacking meant riding through several residential streets, adding a few miles to beat the headwind. Had this been a commute, I would have been late. It wasn't a commute, so it was a lovely afternoon.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Drove in this morning. I was running late, it was raining, and I just wasn't feeling it today. I went camping over the weekend and got in a long mtb ride and a short-ish hike with a steep climb and quite a few stairs, which wouldn't have been all that bad if I hadn't have had my son on my back. It was an excellent leg workout, but it wiped me out. Today, I'll just recover and get back to riding again tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I decided to replace the cables and housings on my commuter yesterday and it went bad. Bad enough that I am ordering a new rear brifter today. I should have taken a break when I cut the first piece of housing to length with the new cable still inside. Went downhill from there.

I borrowed my son's bike and moved my commuting gear and most importantly my saddle over to it. Ride's a lot different than mine but got me to work just fine.


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## boomersooner523 (Sep 28, 2010)

Dark and cold at 5am. I ride back home for lunch, then ride back to work, then ride home at the end of the day. Work is only about 2 miles away


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> I decided to replace the cables and housings on my commuter yesterday and it went bad. Bad enough that I am ordering a new rear brifter today. I should have taken a break when I cut the first piece of housing to length with the new cable still inside. Went downhill from there.
> 
> I borrowed my son's bike and moved my commuting gear and most importantly my saddle over to it. Ride's a lot different than mine but got me to work just fine.


Been there, man. Oh let me true this wheel up a bit...oops must've turned it the wrong way...oh God, it's worse than it was...it's getting worse.

Yeah, it happens.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It started poorly. Waiting at a stopsign for a break in traffic so I can go left. I am toward the center line to allow anyone behind me who wants to turn right at the stopsign to do so. A car creeps up to my right, and based on the speed I intuit this is a cautious and courteous person proceeding slowly to make a right turn. When he is right beside me he makes some questioning sign language, which I interpret as, "is it OK for me to go?" - which was correct, except that he wanted to go left, not right, and proceeded to cut ahead of me as a break opened up, Yikes! Not sure what he was thinking. No danger, I just fell in behind, but really?

Other than that, the legs were a little sore, I think from using the heavy backpack blower on my adopted trails yesterday, essentially like backpacking weight and terrain-wise, or perhaps from riding up my hill Saturday returning from downtown (the hill is no longer part of my multi-modal commute). The rest of the commute was pretty uneventful, but it sure is getting dark early.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Love these cool fall mornings. 24ish, clear. Perfect Cold Weather Training. It's a trifecta.
Pedal fast and get to work faster?
Pedal slow to keep the wind chill down?
Pedal fast to make the body warm up?
LET IT SNOW!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Been riding the lower geared (32x16) mt. bike to work as I've been messing with the rear hub on my daily commuter (40x16). Makes for a lot more spinning and adds about a minute to each mile. Think I got the back hub back in order but still making a noise(s). A guy at the bike shop when I bought the bearings said probably need a new hub, etc., as 3000 miles on the back wheel, especially a single speed coaster brake wheel, is about all I should expect. So I guess I can live with some racket and ride until it dies, or go put some money into the bike. Think I'll keep riding until it dies.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely beautiful ride in today, sunny and 62F. Got to work faster than I think I have ever ridden in my life for some reason. I was just flying and catching mostly green lights down by the campus. Dealt with the idiots at work who know 0 about utilizing the bike rack properly. Ride home, that was cold. 47F and breezy with damp roads from a 5PM monsoon that came on very quickly. Got buzzed by one car that was a little closer than I am comfortable with. 

I ended up taking what I thought was the long way home. It turns out that this route is actually about a mile shorter, but takes about the same amount of time for some odd reason. It completely avoids the MUP which I knew would be a wreck with small branches and wet leaves from the storm. It remains on roads that have higher speed limits, but less traffic at the time of night that I am riding. I got passed by maybe 15 cars total which is fine by me. On this road, I am never sure what to do, so I do not take the lane and try to stay over to the right as much as possible.

Tomorrow does not look good for a commute as the forecast is calling for cooler temps, and more rain. Hoping to get a ride in possibly Wednesday, most likely Thursday, and my group ride on Friday is guaranteed.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2014)

Great ride in this morning. The moon was peeking through the clouds, wildlife was everywhere, the morons who usually try to kill me in the intersections along the way were still in bed. As I passed the lake along my route you could see the sun rising and highlighting showers in the distance. Pretty cool. Managed to do the whole ride clipped in, pretty good for a 17.5 with 25 or so road crossings.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ you never had to stop once, or you just didn't unclip and did track stands at the lights like a total boss?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> ... Bad enough that I am ordering a new rear brifter today ...


So, I have to know, how did cutting a cable end up costing you a brifter?

Meetings combined with the threat of rain have me in the car today, boo.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good rides lately. Fairly standard stuff. Still getting used to the cooler weather. Today was officially the opening of Beardcicle season! Nice.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Weather apps on my phone are all over the place. It is sunny and 57F right now, but the chance of rain looms, and I cannot seem to get a straight answer on if it will be clear for me to ride to work. I guess I won't know until right before I leave.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Beautiful ride this morning. I was surprised to see how many other early morning riders were out with their shining lights. Some of those lights are so bright, they almost seemed to blind me. Maybe folks can tone the lights down a bit - before they blind me on one of my morning rides and make me crash into a tree or something.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> So, I have to know, how did cutting a cable end up costing you a brifter?


Well, it's not a story to be proud of.

Sizing sections of housing for the rear derailleur cable - it's not continuous housing so you have to cut pieces to fit between the stops on the frame. I had half the housing sized and test installed onto the bike and then threaded the cable through to check for friction. I decided that one housing section was too long, pulled it and cut without pulling the cable. Ouch. I dug around and found another cable installed it and then without thinking did the same thing again. Damn. I am an idiot.

Now it's7PM on a Sunday night and I am out of shift cable and don't have a vehicle I can drive to work the next day. The conversation I am having with myself goes like this: "Oh, what's this? I do have another piece of shift cable, and hot damn it's long enough! Oh, but it's missing the little metal ball on the end that goes into the brifter to anchor the cable, hmmm, let's see if I can MacGyver something up here until I can go out and get a new cable...yeah that should work, let's go ahead and install this into the brifter and check the shifting action...oh damn...this thing seems to be stuck...let me see if I can pull it out...wow this thing is really stuck...I'll pull harder...oh damn, damn, damn..."

And that's how cutting a cable costs you a new brifter.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ you never had to stop once, or you just didn't unclip and did track stands at the lights like a total boss?


 Not that I'm opposed to track standing (although I look like a circus bear riding a mini bike when I do), but I was able to time lights and crossings without stopping. Not my fastest time by a ways, but a really fluid ride none the less.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It is one aspect of riding that I have not mastered at all. I clip in like you, and the fear of tipping over at a dead stop and hurting my ego and my body scares me. I have learned to roll very slowly, almost crawling and the fixed gear allows me to do that. I try to time the lights out just right, but unfortunately here they are not aligned that well and I end up hitting half of them.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> I try to time the lights out just right, but unfortunately here they are not aligned that well and I end up hitting half of them.


 We're lucky here because they're aligned over the street on wires and damn near impossible to hit with out a jump ramp.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> ...And that's how cutting a cable costs you a new brifter.


I can see that. I know for a fact that lopping off the wide part of a universal brake cable stop does not a shift cable make.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No commute for me, because it's the final day of my 6-day weekend:



__
https://flic.kr/p/phBPXb


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Got the cruiser back up and running and no more noise. Guess things just work out sometimes. Good ride in and an overcast ride home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^Awesome shot newfangled!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Got the cruiser back up and running and no more noise. Guess things just work out sometimes. Good ride in and an overcast ride home.


That's good! Looks like you're doing better than woodway with a wrench today. .

Sorry, I shouldn't kid. I've done some stupid stuff working on my ride. I find that the rule of stepping away is important. Otherwise stuff will just pile on.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I was very undecided if I would ride today or not due to the weather. I rode and it was pretty awesome. 64F and lots of sun with a nice breeze. MUP was pretty packed for the afternoon during the week near my apartment but then deserted further down. It was a great ride until the Mercedes crossed right in front of me. It was so close that I could hear the pedestrians on the sidewalk gasp, like they knew a crash was imminent. Three lanes going each way with a 25mph speed limit. The lanes are divided by a curbed grassy median. The driver was turning left heading east as I was heading west. For the first time in my life, I managed to use both the front brake and do a skid stop at the same time. I was watching the driver the whole time and I made the mistake of assuming that she saw me. She froze like a deer in headlights. I was probably less than a foot from the passenger door when she finally saw me. I think she saw the pedestrians at the corner kind of point towards me. That is officially my closest call to being in an accident on my bike on the road. Everything else takes a back seat to that one. 

At night, I feel like I am very visible between the 700 lumen headlight, the blinky, the reflective stuff on my bag, the bright taillight, the reflective strap around my ankle...but during the day I feel like I am just invisible no matter what I do. Started running the blinky during the day now but that doesn't seem to matter. Wear bright clothes and that doesn't matter. Do I need to mount pink and green neons to my bike to be seen? It is more comforting to me now to ride at night vs. the day.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Whew, 39 degrees this morning. That's brisk, baby! Think I nailed most of my clothing choices, but my feet were still going numb by the end. When it starts to get cold, I really wish my commute was shorter. I'm good for the first 8-10 miles and then it quickly goes downhill. No one was strobbing on the MUP today...that's gotta be a sign of a good day, right?

My remaining commutes this year are numbered. I'm quickly wussing out with this cold morning weather even though my rides home are gorgeous. I didn't ride yesterday because I had a PT appointment. And they kicked me out!!!  NO MORE PHYSICAL THERAPY! I'm 7 months post-op now and my hip feels good. It's a small miracle after 2 years of pain.

TenSpeed, I hear you. I also wear bright colors, run day time blinkies, etc, etc, and I feel like none of it helps. I also feel safer in the dark, as I am lit up like a Christmas tree.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> ...yeah that should work, let's go ahead and install this into the brifter and check the shifting action...oh damn...this thing seems to be stuck...let me see if I can pull it out...wow this thing is really stuck...I'll pull harder...oh damn, damn, damn..."


: (


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

This is the first week I can ride everyday in over a month, so I'm happy about that. Looks like barring any unforeseen issues, I should hit my goal of 100 commutes this year. That's almost twice as many as last year. Today was #86. I'll also hit my 3000 mile goal, as of this morning I was at 2750. 

The past couple days have been beautiful. A bit on the windy side, but not terrible, and the fact that it's been sunny and pretty warm certainly makes up for it. Last night they were saying there was a chance of severe thunderstorms this morning, so I wasn't sure I was going to be able to ride. I woke up an hour late this morning, must have turned my alarm off, but the rain was just tapering off, so I ended up having a good commute, but I had to haul a$$ to get to work on time. I HATE being late. I pride myself on my punctuality. I'm always the early guy to the party. 

Supposed to be nice this afternoon, so I'm looking forward to the ride home!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Whew, 39 degrees this morning. That's brisk, baby! Think I nailed most of my clothing choices, but my feet were still going numb by the end. When it starts to get cold, I really wish my commute was shorter. I'm good for the first 8-10 miles and then it quickly goes downhill. No one was strobbing on the MUP today...that's gotta be a sign of a good day, right?
> 
> My remaining commutes this year are numbered. I'm quickly wussing out with this cold morning weather even though my rides home are gorgeous. I didn't ride yesterday because I had a PT appointment. And they kicked me out!!!  NO MORE PHYSICAL THERAPY! I'm 7 months post-op now and my hip feels good. It's a small miracle after 2 years of pain.
> 
> TenSpeed, I hear you. I also wear bright colors, run day time blinkies, etc, etc, and I feel like none of it helps. I also feel safer in the dark, as I am lit up like a Christmas tree.


Congrats on being kicked out of PT!! I hear you on the wussing out of the commutes. Trying not to wuss out, but it is getting colder here in the midwest as you know, and like you, I wish the ride was shorter when it gets cold.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I love the weather this time of year so much. When its dry anyway 

This picture was technically taken on a commute so I'm gonna show it off.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM, though a bit chilly - 18F when I left the house. Definitely built some baby beardcicles this morning! Stayed nice and warm except for my feet. Still need to get them dialed in. Wore the neoprene socks and for the first three miles was nice and warm. Then on the bus I started to get cold feet. I wonder if they started to sweat and that's what caused them to get cold once in town. Hmmm...need to figure that out. I am really hesitant to switch to flats and boots quite yet as the afternoons are great riding. 

JordyB, maybe you know the story about the dude here in town who rides the older Vicious fat bike with Endos front and rear? I've seen him a few times now and it seems like no matter how warm it is he's decked out in full winter cycling regalia - boots, gaiters (in the middle of town), shell pants, pogies, face mask - the whole works as if it were -20 out. See him riding all over the place and just curious. Seems like he's a bit of a figure on the scene - was in the bike shop yesterday and everyone seemed to know him. I just can't figure out how he rides in all that gear in any temps above 0 without melting into a puddle of his own sweat, but, then again, I am a big fat guy who sweats even thinking about getting on the bike. 

Ten - sorry to hear about your near miss. I don't know that there is a good way to be seen during the day. It seems like the time of day plays a bit role - the closer to rush hour, the less drivers will see a cyclist. Just ride like everyone is out to kill you and you should be okay.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Stan is the Man. Got to put his juice to the test today. And bike maintenance in the ghetto at 5 am during a lunar eclipse is something everyone should try at least once.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

block - we have a guy here like that, rides a full suspension Trek Superfly 29er I think it is completely decked out. That isn't that strange, but the fact that he wears a full face downhill helmet and full body armor including the boots is only because he rides on the sidewalk all the time. He has a Go Pro mounted to the helmet and everyone knows him as Go Pro guy. I have seen him a few times just riding the sidewalk like it is his own personal Whistler.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> block - we have a guy here like that, rides a full suspension Trek Superfly 29er I think it is completely decked out. That isn't that strange, but the fact that he wears a full face downhill helmet and full body armor including the boots is only because he rides on the sidewalk all the time. He has a Go Pro mounted to the helmet and everyone knows him as Go Pro guy. I have seen him a few times just riding the sidewalk like it is his own personal Whistler.


I think cycling must bring out some of all of our excentricities or something. I think about my own riding and the fact that I always wear gloves, summer or winter, riding pathway or trail. It seems like there is a bit of a uniform that goes along with cycling and some of us just take it a bit too the extreme, like GoPro dude or, let's just call him winter biker dude. I guess they're just each different versions of the Fred.

On the one hand I want to say big ups for getting out there and riding, but on the other, I wonder if the full regalia does more to intimidate folks than to bring them into the sport. "Oh, I need all that plus the bike...naw, I'll stick to my beer and football."


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## boomersooner523 (Sep 28, 2010)

Another good ride this morning. I have been taking my Superlight to work lately and trying to avoid pavement as a little game. It is pretty fun


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

TenSpeed said:


> It is one aspect of riding that I have not mastered at all. I clip in like you, and the fear of tipping over at a dead stop and hurting my ego and my body scares me. I have learned to roll very slowly, almost crawling and the fixed gear allows me to do that. I try to time the lights out just right, but unfortunately here they are not aligned that well and I end up hitting half of them.


Muscle memory is your friend.

Set aside an hour once a week. Go to a park with a flat open grassy field. For 30 minutes, pedal around and practice coming to a stop. Unclip AFTER you stop (work on your balance).

I am a long time mountain biking clipless rider who started commuting clipless 2 years ago. I recently started road riding clipless too. I noticed something immediately when riding in groups - many road riders clip out long before they stop, almost like a "oh crap, we're slowing down, I better get ready". Get so comfortable you don't even think about it.

For the next 30 minutes practice panic stops, pedal around and randomly hit the brakes and unclip. It really helps during the panic stop sessions to have a friend randomly yell out "STOP!". You have to come to an immediate stop and unclip as if a car pulls out in front of you.

I have shared this trick with countless riders and it works like magic. You're not practicing in live, nerve wracking (and maybe dangerous) conditions. But...you are burning in those nerve/brain/muscle pathways.

You will get to the point where you don't even think about it. Once you get there...work on track stands (YouTube is your friend!).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks for the advice. Like you, I rode my mountain bike on the same exact pedals as on my commuter so I am familiar with them. I only unclip when necessary. I have become quite comfortable in the slow roll at the light, more like a crawl, keeping your balance as you do a turtle paced rolling track stand. I will give it a shot here when I can.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Just ride like everyone is out to kill you and you should be okay.


I'm lucky enough to take bike paths and extremely low traffic roads for at least 50% of my commute but when I am on busy roads I have taken to riding like I want them to kill me (out a couple feet into the lane). I figure I'd rather have people look at me like they want to kill me when I let them pass (after curve or whatever) than actually get killed trying to give them space.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Good tail wind and dry conditions going to work in the morning.
Good head wind and wet surfaces on the way back.

In the morning I wondered about the road next to the bike path being so crowded. Then I saw that traffic lights at a pretty big crossroads were out of use and there were blue and amber lights flashing (emergency and warning lights). Local newspaper website reports that two cars had collided at some speed and the traffic lights were hit too. Both drivers were talken to hospital.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

AlexCuse said:


> I'm lucky enough to take bike paths and extremely low traffic roads for at least 50% of my commute but when I am on busy roads I have taken to riding like I want them to kill me (out a couple feet into the lane). I figure I'd rather have people look at me like they want to kill me when I let them pass (after curve or whatever) than actually get killed trying to give them space.


Been contemplating doing this to be honest. Have you had many bad experiences with it?


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Been contemplating doing this to be honest. Have you had many bad experiences with it?


Not really. A couple honkers and middle fingers but I will take that over getting clipped on the elbow any day


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Been contemplating doing this to be honest. Have you had many bad experiences with it?


That would draw a ticket in my neck of the woods. Cyclists must ride as far right as practicable unless there is a useable paved shoulder. I don't know that we'd get treated any worse in the lane than on the curb. Really need a holograph projected image of a garbage truck behind my bike. That would fix everything.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Forster said:


> Cyclists must ride as far right as practicable unless there is a useable paved shoulder.


"Practicable" is a tricky word. Most state laws I have seen leave room for exceptions like road hazards, passing, and lanes that are insufficiently wide for a car and bike to fit safely side by side. That last one is particularly open to interpretation. In my experience, riding in the lane a couple feet is far safer than hugging the edge of the road.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday afternoon was apparently freeze-in-the-middle-of-the-road day. First, an armored car didn't go on green. I was in a left turning lane opposite him and didn't really know what to do. The pick-up behind me grew impatient and sped around me. I finally decided to go because the driver of the armored car wasn't doing anything. Then on another street, a car randomly stopped in the middle of the road. Again, I wasn't sure if I should pass or wait. I waited. With these situations there is always a chance the driver will wake up and go all of the sudden. I prefer to play it safe.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Forster said:


> That would draw a ticket in my neck of the woods. Cyclists must ride as far right as practicable unless there is a useable paved shoulder. I don't know that we'd get treated any worse in the lane than on the curb. Really need a holograph projected image of a garbage truck behind my bike. That would fix everything.


Someone do a kickstarter for this garbage truck hologram. Maybe a farm equipment option would be good too 

I have yet to get a ticket, but I only ride out maybe 2 feet into the lane. Find that drivers see me better there than when I hug the white line. Might be ticket-worthy in PA also but I haven't gotten one. Will continue riding like this until I do, and probably until the ticket $$ per year exceeds whatever my ER deductible is


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

The ride in had headwinds like I have never seen/ felt. For a quarter mile out of 4 miles, it was a strong quartering wind, doubled my time. A good ride, just a lot more work. Tried the lane taking trick a little more than usual trying not to lose any more time waiting for cars to pass, no horns, no fingers, no nothing. After several questions about the bike locked to the rack (every one else is thinking of the impending snowpocalipse, and wondering what the hell I do with so many gears) the ride home was excellent, pedaled hard to beat the setting sun, no wind to speak of. Took the last/ steepest hill home, finally tried out my lowest two gears. Time to quit smoking.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Anybody seen my gloves? I really wanted them this morning for the first time since spring, decided to pack them with me tonight for my ride home tomorrow. But they seem to have evaporated over the summer :skep:


s0ckeyeus said:


> "Practicable" is a tricky word.


Understatement of the year.

Side note, I wonder how it came to be that so may different jurisdictions all over the US happened to write their bike laws with that same oddball (never hear it anywhere else) word? Maybe after the lawyers in the first place to use it found out how much legal fun it could be the lawmakers for all the other places had to jump on the bandwagon too.

Add me to the list of riders who weant a garbage truck hologram.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

horrible headwinds headed to kickball tonight, makes me wish for drops. Maybe the next bike will have them


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I will pass on the garbage truck hologram. Make mine a cop car.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We have the same word on the Maine books. I take it as totally up to your own discretion. If you have any argument about why you don't ride to the far right, then it is practicable to ride in the lane.

I haven't been on the bike a few days this week due to stuff but we are headed to Acadia National Park tomorrow to ride the carriage trails.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Is that crushed gravel?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

So the motif for yesterday afternoon was drivers talking on cell phones (isn't it every day). My first experience started just one block from work. I stopped at the stop sign and waited for an SUV to go buy. The SUV was going slower than I though, and I noticed the driver was swerving a bit. As he past, I saw the driver was texting or trying to look at a map or GPS function on his phone. I followed him down the road for about 50 feet when he turned off the road, but he didn't turn into the driveway but blocked it with his wheels turned back towards the road I was on. I was concerned he was going to pull a U-Turn, so I swerved way over to the other side of the road just in case. The guy just sat there.

Near the end of my commute, I made a left turn and found a car heading diagonally across the road directly toward me. Not only was the driver on a cell phone, but she was digging around for something on the floor, meaning she didn't even have a hand on the steering wheel. Just as I was about to take evasive action and hop the curb, she decided to focus on driving a little more. Such great drivers.

P.S. I would prefer a hologram starship instead of a garbage truck.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> Is that crushed gravel?


No, those are my abs. :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Is that crushed gravel?


Yes, 40+ Miles of it. It is crossbike heaven. We're planning a pre-dawn trip up Cadillac mountain to watch the sunrise.


s0ckeyeus said:


> No, those are my abs. :thumbsup:


What? ass-phalt?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> What? ass-phalt?


Huh? No faults on my ass. :ciappa:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

40+ miles of crushed gravel? That sounds like a slice of heaven right there. I have only ridden on a trail like that once, and it was amazing. Nowhere near that kind of distance though. Have fun on that ride!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Found some gloves. Not the ones I was looking for, but they kept my fingers nice and warm this morning. Then I got home, filled the sugar jar with salt, and proceded to dump it over my oatmeal :thumbsup:



s0ckeyeus said:


> Huh? No faults on my ass. :ciappa:


Oh, c`mon now- is it as nice as NDD`s?

Mmmm... carriage roads. Watch out for coneheads!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, I read your response without the picture and figured you were talking about something similar to road apples. Now I see.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> 40+ miles of crushed gravel? That sounds like a slice of heaven right there. I have only ridden on a trail like that once, and it was amazing. Nowhere near that kind of distance though. Have fun on that ride!


I went last year with my CC with 35mm CX tires on it. It was amazing. There is a fair amount of horse poo on the trails, but it's a wonderful place to ride. Great scenery too. The ride up Cadillac Mtn is beautiful. Here's a few pictures from last September:

Top of Cadillac Mountain. Here's my ride up: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3PuHrN64U7LaHRlVmh5STZRdTg/view?usp=sharing








My wife on a bridge right behind Jordan Pond House








Another intersection on the carriage roads.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

AlexCuse said:


> I have yet to get a ticket, but I only ride out maybe 2 feet into the lane. Find that drivers see me better there than when I hug the white line.


Wisconsin allows you to ride 3' from the curb or road edge and wider to avoid doors, grates, and debris. Practicable means safely and feasible as the cyclist sees the road. Some officers may think that it means as far to the right as they think you should ride. We are also supposed to be predictable and not swerve to avoid things like patches of gravel, grates, and sticks. With wind and debris, riding on the fog line is doable if there is a 2 -3 foot apron, otherwise 2-3 feet into the lane avoids a lot of the less predictable debris like glass. I take the lane when it is unsafe for a vehicle to pass to discourage unsafe passing. Since the city and county have elected to put in no center lines there are no marked no passing zones = idiots.



bedwards1000 said:


> We have the same word on the Maine books. I take it as totally up to your own discretion. If you have any argument about why you don't ride to the far right, then it is practicable to ride in the lane.


This is as it should be as their is clearly an allowance for subjective assessment and that needs to be by the cyclist. It is his/her face at risk.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

My bad...double post.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. New bike day, so some fine tuning is still in order, but all in all, a nice ride. Got a bit of light trail riding in last night as well. Like the bike thus far. Not the Pugs, that's for sure.

Friday I'll get the Pugs all ready to go for my kids and wife to use. I think with a shorter stem they will all be able to ride it. If it were the XL frame, definitely not, but with the L frame, they should be good to go. Fun times ahead.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, c`mon now- is it as nice as NDD`s?


I don't know if it's THAT nice, but it's up there.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> 40+ miles of crushed gravel? That sounds like a slice of heaven right there. I have only ridden on a trail like that once, and it was amazing. Nowhere near that kind of distance though. Have fun on that ride!


We have a bunch of crushed gravel trails around here. One runs South from Madison all the way down into IL. About 50 miles. Me...I don't want to bike it. I want to run it.  I had plans to do this before I got injured. Maybe once I'm back in ultra shape. HOWEVER, there is an organized ride on this trail. They start at midnight and ride to the border. The first person to the border has the privilege of carting a bunch of beer back for everyone to drink in the middle of the ride back. I've never done it, but it sounds like fun.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this AM. New bike day, so some fine tuning is still in order, but all in all, a nice ride. Got a bit of light trail riding in last night as well. Like the bike thus far. Not the Pugs, that's for sure.
> 
> Friday I'll get the Pugs all ready to go for my kids and wife to use. I think with a shorter stem they will all be able to ride it. If it were the XL frame, definitely not, but with the L frame, they should be good to go. Fun times ahead.
> 
> View attachment 929994


Nice bike. I rode one of those about a month ago and liked it. Unfortunately, my wife would have skinned me alive if I had bought one.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

It's time for me to get some lights. It is pretty dark when I am riding to work in the morning. Got a new job which is up a pretty nice hill of about 10% grade for the last 3/4 mile or so. Gets me warmed up.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

I'm excited to ride the crushed gravel trails with Bedwards1000, but you got me with the idea of running them. I wish I had more days to run and ride! The "Beer Run" ride also sounds like a hoot!


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## boomersooner523 (Sep 28, 2010)

Riding back home on lunch break today and ate it big time on the pavement on my mountain bike. I wasn't doing anything ridiculous... I hopped a curb I always do to get a little jump. Today I was going a little fast and hit it a little awkward. Ate it big time. No skin on the left elbow anymore and also I am now currently nursing a pulled hip flexor and a pulled groin as a result too...

Ill be back on the bike next week


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I had my closest call yet so far. I was cruising down a main road, flatbed tow truck is making a left into traffic from a side street on my side. I'm riding in a parking lane that at this point in time is illegal to park in and out 4ish feet into the road. Pretty much in line with where the driver is now that he's inched forward. I'm passing in front of the truck as he starts pulling forward. The passenger or him see me or hear the stream of curse words that are starting, and slams on the brakes way to close to me. I think maybe an inch between him and my bars if I'm lucky. I brake maybe 15 feet away from them and launch into a tirade of curse words (not my most composed moment, but inches from being pushed into traffic my a truck I think I get a mulligan.)

The guy riding shotgun I think understood the gravity of the situation and started apologizing and calming me down, whereas the driver I believe thought I was at fault due to his extended middle finger. Called the company, apologized for my profanity while explaining how from my end it is seen as a brush with death and not a fender bender. I guess the crew called it in themselves, figuring I'd call. The guy on the phone had the typical explanations for why I wasn't seen, but by the end came around that it was still wrong. I was wrong with how I reacted, but damn that was close. 

I think from now on I'll use a light even during the day. This happened during the day and there is no excuse for my he didn't see me, but I guess I'll use the lower power lights I have been neglecting after moving to the bright lights.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

The string of bad luck reported does make me think the hologram is worth looking into. Glad to hear you are all alright.

Maybe we need them front and rear. A street sweeper projection might have additional power of suggestion behind it, as well as matching my speed and movement around cars and curbs.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

KentheKona said:


> I think from now on I'll use a light even during the day. This happened during the day and there is no excuse for my he didn't see me, but I guess I'll use the lower power lights I have been neglecting after moving to the bright lights.


You've got the power, use it. While the lack of street lighting, and older eyes, makes 2 x 900 lumens handy at night, they really work well in daylight. I aim the twin lights out at 45 degrees to warn drivers of vehicles at cross streets/roads. My lights exist because of close call like yours.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am glad that we are all OK with all of these close calls, and my last close call has me using a blinker up front now during the day. We are just invisible and must ride like no one can see us.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ken, that is absolutely ridiculous that string of luck you're having. Be careful, man. 

Rusted, stay on the bike, dude. Don't be me. I've crashed my bike so many times lately. Just stupid little miscalculations that end up putting my ass on the pavement.

Speaking of which... I'm glad we're all still clear on that front of who has the most righteous of rumpuses.

Good commutes this week. No ride to work today. Meh. Have to drive for work reasons and it'll be raining. Hrmph.


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## boomersooner523 (Sep 28, 2010)

I decided I would take the M3 to work today and take care of my bruised ego lol


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wait...it was you, Boomersooner that crashed, not rustedthrough. That's what I get for being up at 4am. Anyway. Yeah, don't do it. Don't crash. You probably needed the day off.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Getting the new bike dialed in slowly, but surely. It rides nice. I can definitely tell he difference in weight on the climbs and overall it just feels faster than the Pugs. I think tomorrow morning I'm going to take it out on some single track to see how it feels. Then I might take it up to the mountains in the afternoon for some snow riding.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, the commute was good. No wind. Low 30s. No precip - yet.


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## jkirkpatri (Sep 16, 2008)

newfangled said:


> No commute for me, because it's the final day of my 6-day weekend:


Which bridge is that? I can't figure it out. Trying to see where you are in that shot - opposite Fort Edmonton?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today, just our group ride. Rode 51 miles tonight on the new bike which is pretty good. Had a few minor issues that are my fault. I didn't completely go over the bike checking every nut and bolt like I should have. Saddle ended up coming loose as did the handlebars. Luckily I noticed in time and was able to make the adjustments needed to continue on without causing too much of a hold up. Also there is a slight creak coming from what I think is the bottom bracket. Might stop by the shop again tomorrow and take the crank arms off and adjust the cups to see if that helps and have my buddy look at it if needed. 

Temps are steadily dropping here and the darkness comes way too quickly now. 54F and partly sunny when we left and by the time we picked up the second group, the daylight was fading quickly. Temps stayed fairly decent for the ride but towards the end it got pretty cold quickly and my phone said 37F when I got home. Not ready to put the shorts and t shirts away and get the base layers and cold weather stuff out.


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## crank1979 (Feb 3, 2006)

My commute the other day was my first by bike for a long time. I managed to get a double puncture on the rear 30km in. The last 20km were a bit slow. Fortunately the Schwalbe Durano Plus tyre that I had set up tubeless managed to seal enough to keep riding.

I pumped some more air into it before leaving for the ride home at the end of the day and it held up without losing any air. The 20-30km/hr headwind the whole trip home didn't make it much of a fun ride though.

There are a few different ways I can go so I might have to give the highway a miss from now on. I've managed to puncture every tyre I've tried down the highway.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

58F and sunny when I left for work on a beautiful ride!! Took the new bike since it was so nice out and there won't be many days left like this. Swapped the stem and bars out for an extra set of bullhorns that I have. Had to jerry rig the brake up since the lever is for a 31.8 bar and this is a 25.4 bar. Bike just flies!!!! Had one close call with a woman who insisted on texting as she drove, and even at the light, and continued on as the light turned green. Thought about tapping on her window as I passed her but decided against it as she was distracted enough. Managed to do the best track stand I have ever done at a light to date waiting at the light. Had to smile since I am scared to death to even try them. Ride home was chilly but I dressed just right for it because I was a little sweaty when I got home. 41F and clear for the ride home which was a breeze as I made just about every single light except for one. Supposed to have similar weather tomorrow so I will be riding in again.

Small handle bar project for tomorrow before I ride in so I will post that in the what have you done to your commuter thread.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

My first commute. 4.04 miles. A bit windy. I kept a better pace that I thought. Still over 9 MPH average and 2 minutes over 12. I am anticipating the ride home. I think I will take a longer route. Hoping it isn't foggy on top of the darkness.
I work 13 hour shifts and soon it will be dark when I leave and dark when I arrive both directions. My goal is to ride more than 100 miles before the end of the year. It may be a lofty goal as I have not been on a bike for almost 2 decades. Going to give it an honest shot though.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fish - you can do it, and welcome back to a bicycle. What is your location? A good set of lights will help you out here if you don't already have them. Like you, I set a goal that can be seen in my signature. I update it every time I ride which helps me keep track and keep it honest here on the forum. I didn't think that it would be possible but I should be able to get it by November instead of December 31st as originally planned. 

Ease your way back into it, and soon the mileage will just rack up like you wouldn't believe.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> My first commute. 4.04 miles. A bit windy. I kept a better pace that I thought. Still over 9 MPH average and 2 minutes over 12. I am anticipating the ride home. I think I will take a longer route. Hoping it isn't foggy on top of the darkness.
> I work 13 hour shifts and soon it will be dark when I leave and dark when I arrive both directions. My goal is to ride more than 100 miles before the end of the year. It may be a lofty goal as I have not been on a bike for almost 2 decades. Going to give it an honest shot though.


Welcome to the forum, Mr. Fisherman. Congrats on the commute and getting back on the bike! The first one is the hardest, once it becomes a habit you're hooked. With a long work day like that it must be a challenge, but definitely an efficient way to squeeze exercise into a long day.


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## cassa89 (Jun 30, 2014)

No work today, but took my new Cannondale out for a 45 minute ride before the sun came up. 47 degrees felt amazing after being in the 20's and 30's overnight the past few days. With winter well on its way here in North Dakota, we need to get our rides in while we can!


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## Guest (Oct 12, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Managed to do the best track stand I have ever done at a light to date waiting at the light. Had to smile since I am scared to death to even try them.


 You'll be changing your handle to TrackStand in no time. Nicely done.



Mr. Fisherman said:


> My first commute. 4.04 miles. A bit windy. I kept a better pace that I thought. Still over 9 MPH average and 2 minutes over 12. I am anticipating the ride home. I think I will take a longer route. Hoping it isn't foggy on top of the darkness.
> I work 13 hour shifts and soon it will be dark when I leave and dark when I arrive both directions. My goal is to ride more than 100 miles before the end of the year. It may be a lofty goal as I have not been on a bike for almost 2 decades. Going to give it an honest shot though.


 Great start and great goal. You'll find bike commuting can become addictive. I'm trying to commute 2000 miles this year (my round trip is 35 miles) and I've got a ways to go. Welcome to the forum.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

Thanks for the warm welcome. Another 4.1 miles this morning in the cold dark wet fog. At least there wasn't much traffic. I added Revolights and they really stand out though I need to add supplemental lighting. For now I put a head lamp on my helmet and it worked ok. I will try to do a review on the bike and the lights when I can. I need to get some footage and sort them out a bit first.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am a night commuter like you, as my shift doesn't end until 11:30PM at the hospital. The night ride home is almost more enjoyable than the day ride for now until those temps drop. Then it will officially suck.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back on the bike tomorrow after missing three days of work last week for the annual Disneyland trip. When I returned home I was glad to see my cup holder had arrived. For about a year now I've been contemplating a cup holder for my morning cup of coffee. I usually start the day with two cups of coffee and always find myself chugging the second cup cause I got to get out of the door. Now I can just take the coffee with me. I bought some disposable cups with lids and hope this works out. I suspect there won't be too much spillage.


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## Guest (Oct 13, 2014)

Ya know, if you put that coffee in an insulated water bottle, you can use it on angry dogs and motorists that yell at you. Might just find the perfect way to combat road rage.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> Thanks for the warm welcome. Another 4.1 miles this morning in the cold dark wet fog. At least there wasn't much traffic. I added Revolights and they really stand out though I need to add supplemental lighting. For now I put a head lamp on my helmet and it worked ok. I will try to do a review on the bike and the lights when I can. I need to get some footage and sort them out a bit first.


The cold, dark commutes are the best (not the wet, though), I think. Usually there are less people around. Best part is you've only got four miles to go, so you'll probably be less apt to cut the commute when the weather gets bad.

On another note, I went on the first (and probably only) large organized bike ride of for this year. It was chilly but not bad. It misted most of the time and started raining whenever we were about 6 miles out from the finish. Got soaked and I was cold as hell. It was only a 45 mile ride, and I would have really have liked to ride faster, but my girlfriend kept my pace down to around 11 miles an hour. For me, this is painstakingly slow, and I feel like I didn't even get a leg workout or any kind of workout. Like some country roads just passed me on my bike.

On the bright side, my LBS was sponsoring the ride, so when we got back, I hung out with my mechanic and warmed up in the shop van. There's talk of me leading one or two group rides a week from the shop in exchange for free service/discounted parts, which to me is pretty wicked. It would be like two road/mup rides or one road and one singletrack ride per week. Leading a road ride seems easy enough, but I would have no idea how to lead a singletrack or any kind of offroad ride, in all honesty. But really, I think I can learn.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> My first commute. 4.04 miles. A bit windy. I kept a better pace that I thought. Still over 9 MPH average and 2 minutes over 12. I am anticipating the ride home. I think I will take a longer route. Hoping it isn't foggy on top of the darkness.
> I work 13 hour shifts and soon it will be dark when I leave and dark when I arrive both directions. My goal is to ride more than 100 miles before the end of the year. It may be a lofty goal as I have not been on a bike for almost 2 decades. Going to give it an honest shot though.


Once you get a few commutes in you, you'll be riding everyday you can. I bet you'll crack 100.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was the kind of day where you walk outside with a smile on your face because you get to ride your bike or in my case, commute to work. Sunny and 60F with a light breeze from the west. Jumped on the Felt and took off. MUP was pretty busy with some bikes, walkers, runners and people just enjoying a beautiful day. The ride in was great because I made most of the lights again minus the one big one. Everything was going pretty well minus playing leap frog with the bus in the bike lane which I inevitably always end up doing. As I get closer to work, the bike lane disappears, and the road becomes a three lane road. I passed a parking lot where a small car was waiting to pull out. He waited for me to pass and then pulled out. Well, I beat him to the light somehow and was waiting when he pulled up behind me. Did I say behind me? I should say on top of me. I could hear how close he was so I glanced back to see exactly how close his car was. Less than a foot away from my rear tire. Now, I am a courteous rider and stay to the right of the lane when I am on a public road riding solo. I obey the rules of the road, I signal, I try to flow with traffic and just ride with everyone not causing issues. I moved more over towards the center of the lane so that I had a fighting chance to at least get started on my bike when the light turned green. I think this pissed him off. Getting started on a fixed gear is not always the easiest thing to do from a dead stop. It takes a few revolutions of that crank to get yourself going. Light turns green, and in anticipation of it, and watching the traffic stop from the cross street I am ready to go. I make it through the intersection. He passes me. In the lane. He did not move over, nor did he give me room. He just passed me. When I say that there was maybe 3 inches between his mirror and my elbow I might be giving him too much credit. Had I drifted even a little from my course, he would have hit me. I was in total disbelief and a bit of shock as he went by. Not sure what to say even though I noticed that his windows were open. I screamed REALLY????? He wasn't going that fast, maybe 20 mph or so? That is enough to take a cyclist down if they hit you with the car or even a mirror. I don't really want to find out.

Part of me wanted to catch him at the next light, and part of me is glad that I didn't. For a few seconds, I had that debate in my head. Do I open it up and just crank it out and try to catch him, or do I become the bigger person by not acting crazy? I continued riding and got to work a little shaken up. The ride home was excellent because it was 52F when I left work. That is fairly warm considering it was about 10 degrees cooler the previous night. Late Sunday night down by campus is a ghost town which is a nice treat. The road is one of the smoothest that I have found and if you catch the lights you can really fly. 

Between the rain forecasted for the week, some cooler temps and some days off I am not sure how much I will be on the bike.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

Had a sweet ride in tonight, perfect weather though I was a bit tired. Safety boots are not good biking shoes and I am going to have to rectify this soon. 
Heavy rain is forecast... .25 to .50 inches. It if is that heavy I might not ride but plan to hit the gym to keep the miles up on my lunch break if I get one.
I can endure almost anything for half an hour but arriving soaking wet and not having dry clothes for the ride home doesn't sound like much fun. 
I am enjoying being on the bike again. I used to practically live on my bike.
I am glad to have the basket for my lunch cooler. I am going to need a dry bag for work clothes because a little rain (0.10) is not going to stop me. 
Drizzle is the shizzle, but if it is coming down like a cow pissing on a flat rock I am smart enough to stay out of it.
81.58 miles to my first goal post.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Different commute today. Those of you who recall my exploding sunroof will be glad to hear it is getting replaced today. No deductible as it is under a recall. But the repair.place is 40 miles from work. I was able to pedal about 6 miles to an express bus that goes right to work. I also got to use the nifty bike carrier that is in the bus' baggage compartment. It worked great but you lose your place in line because the driver has to come out and open it for you after everyone else gets on.


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## Guest (Oct 13, 2014)

TenSpeed, pretty jealous. I off today and it's raining so no fun ride either. I won't see many 60 degree mornings until spring either. I do ride down the thermostat a ways so I'm good for at least 100 miles a month through March. That's the goal anyway.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

Had a great ride home. Took the long way because rain is coming and I wanted to push a little as I will likely miss a day or two due to rain. Found a new parkway route and got a little lost. Rode part of it 2.5 times, but in the lifting fog with the cool weather it was nice. Beautiful. Ducks stink. Work boots do not make good commuter shoes. It is easy to get turned around in new places. Take water because you just never know. Cramping leg at the stop light isn't fun.

18.42 + 7.39 = 25.81 and rolling. 55.77 to the first goal post. Longest ride so far since getting back on the bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ There you go!!! You will make it I am sure. Congrats for getting back on the bike, and for those days where you don't want to ride, there is a great support group here in this section of the forum. Always take water and an energy bar if you can because you never know when you might need that.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. Nice and warm - 38 in the valley and 40 in town. 

Had a couple of nice long rides on the new Trek over the weekend. Wrote up a review over at my blog, if you want to check it out.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> Had a great ride home. Took the long way because rain is coming and I wanted to push a little as I will likely miss a day or two due to rain. Found a new parkway route and got a little lost. Rode part of it 2.5 times, but in the lifting fog with the cool weather it was nice. Beautiful. Ducks stink. Work boots do not make good commuter shoes. It is easy to get turned around in new places. Take water because you just never know. Cramping leg at the stop light isn't fun.
> 
> 18.42 + 7.39 = 25.81 and rolling. 55.77 to the first goal post. Longest ride so far since getting back on the bike.


At this rate you'll surpass your goal easily! Good job, man. And then next year you'll do more and on and on. The fun doesn't stop.

Another wet ride today. I'd be stoked if I was a goose.


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## mayonays (Oct 22, 2010)

Nothing out of the ordinary today until I'm about 50' from work. Same curb I've hopped up nearly every day for a year caused me some trouble today. Mistimed my hop and the front wheel hit the curb sending me OTB and onto the sidewalk, still clipped into the pedals. Couple of scrapes on my hands but otherwise fine, I think I'll go around a ways to the sidewalk cut-out next time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mayonays said:


> Nothing out of the ordinary today until I'm about 50' from work. Same curb I've hopped up nearly every day for a year caused me some trouble today. Mistimed my hop and the front wheel hit the curb sending me OTB and onto the sidewalk, still clipped into the pedals. Couple of scrapes on my hands but otherwise fine, I think I'll go around a ways to the sidewalk cut-out next time.


Ouch. Been there, done that. Glad to hear you're okay. Maybe some bruised ego, but could've been much worse, huh?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

So the coffee on the ride didn't go as smoothly as planned. Took some coffee cups with lids from my camping trailer. First bump in the road splashed coffee everywhere. And since my commute to work has me needing to average about 15 mph to get there in good time, coffee was everywhere on the handlebars, etc., by arrival. So tonight I am heading to Walmart to get me a real insulated coffee cup with a sealed lid. Suspect that should do the trick. Everything new has kinks to work through.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Well, it's been pouring here since this afternoon with no signs of stopping for the next few days. (Sigh.) So no commutes for me until this rain lets up and even then November is quickly approaching. Sadly my commuting days are almost done for the year. I go into winter kicking and screaming.

I did manage to get in a nice ride over the weekend, since it was gloriously sunny and in the 50s. Took the Colossal out for a nice spin on some hilly back roads that are quite popular with the cycling crowd here. I find it amusing that all the roadies wave to me now when last year they ignored me when I road the mountain bike on the same roads.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^It's an interesting thing huh? I noticed the same thing when I started commuting mostly on my road bike. Sometimes I take the mountain bike and I get no waves back, but I still pass three quarters of people on road bikes. Some folks I could never hope to pass.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today but I did have one of the best rides of the year tonight. Friend let me know that he would be down by the campus. I met him down there, in shorts and a t-shirt. In Michigan. In the middle of October. It is currently 68F with 86% humidity right now. Contacted another guy while we were down there and the three of us took off on a fun fixed gear ride through the city and urban paths that we are lucky to have. Ended up doing about 37 miles or so. The storm is coming. The radar looks pretty ugly, and it is supposed to rain here for the next few days starting around 2AM so probably no commute this week.

It was one of those nights that you would remember. You could smell the air and hear our noisy chains as we pedaled all over the city. Cars passed, pedestrians waved, and we rode. We rode like it might be the last day of the year for us to ride. We rode fast, but not so fast that we missed everything. Fast so that we could feel the breeze on our faces, and the sweat under our helmets. Our lights blinked, and our phones were silent. We laughed, we told stories, we took everything in. We rode to the capital and to the campus and all types of places in between. We raced each other, and we slow rolled up to the lights. It was a great night on my bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Well told, Tenspeed!


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2014)

Back at it after a day off. Reasonable weather, but the gravel from my house to the trailhead is mush and not bikeable without a FB so it's a hybrid commute for me (truck to trail to work). Still, 10 miles is better than 0 even if it's not 18.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Foggy as all get out in the valley this morning. Had a hard time seeing anything. No heat on the bus ride in - well, heat for a little bit, but then something broke - so I was quite chilled by the time we got to town and was just never able to get warmed back up. Apart from that, a fairly standard commute.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Peddled to Walmart after work to buy an insulated coffee cup with a tight sealing lid. My new cup holder is useless without it. Found myself chugging my last cup of coffee before running out the door this morning. . .which the cup holder on the bike was supposed to avoid. Should be good to go for tomorrow's commute now. Beautiful riding weather for now.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Cold, wet,
A good day - 
For a goose.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Rare hot day in Western New York in mid-October, awesome day/night to ride. Car commuters are really missing out.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Wet, warm but wet. The ride home was misty and dark, but still warm. Disk brakes in the rain made me smile.

Vegascruiser, Stanley now makes a one hand operated travel mug that fits a standard bottle cage. As I am fueled by a 75/ 25% mix of strong coffee and smoked pork, I have been investigating these cup holders as well. Found this one on Amazon, one of the sellers was the other premium LBS in town, so I thought I'd pedal on over and pick it up. I will make any future Amazon purchases delivered by AEBike through Amazon, but I love the mug.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had to hit the brakes for a squirrel this morning on the MUP. The silly thing darted in front of me and started running away straight in front of my front tire.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Yesterday was 80 and sunny, so of course I drove. Today was 60 and raining, so of course I rode.

But I want to share this wisdom/experience: I got a cup holder a while ago and have been bringing coffee on my ride for a few months now, but today's the first time it's coincided with a wet morning. Within the first half mile the cup was of course covered in water, but I couldn't tell what was nice clean rain water and what was awful road-water kicked up by passing cars, full of god knows what. If I'd been thinking ahead I'd have covered the top of the cup with something (plastic bag/wrap + rubber band) until I got to the trail head.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Great, cool Sunrise and Coffee commuter meet up this morning.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/238720492990838/


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Neat pictures, BikeCO!

Very windy last night and this morning. Last night was back and forth between strong headwinds and gusty sidewinds, so I expected a quick ride home. Wind turned 90* over night, so I got... strong headwinds alternating with side gusts :skep:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Some good afternoon commuting weather lately - mid 40s and sunny. Wonderful! Breaking out the shorts on the rides home. I love these last days of fall, but I am ready for the snow. I tend to ride a bit harder on the trails in the winter - it doesn't hurt as much to crash in the snow. Most of the time.

A pic from last Friday's inaugural father/son fatty ride - all paved trail, but fun just the same:








Since this was taken I've dropped the bars a bit lower to make it fit a bit better. The frame on the Pugs looks so much bigger than the Trek. The kids all fit it, though, so I now have riding partners in the snow! Sweet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Neat pictures, BikeCO!
> 
> Very windy last night and this morning. Last night was back and forth between strong headwinds and gusty sidewinds, so I expected a quick ride home. Wind turned 90* over night, so I got... strong headwinds alternating with side gusts :skep:


Ditto, plus rain this morning. Crazy wind yesterday.

Hi all, been a while... I crashed hard in a super D race two weekends ago and I'm still feeling it. Assorted right-side raspberries (elbow, side, hip, knee...) and a lingering shoulder issue. Managed to finish the race (two run format...managed 4th overall out of 25 in sport class even with the crash....was feeling fast...I coulda been a condenda :lol. I haven't done the "rag doll" thing in a long time...where you're just at the mercy of whatever gravity is going to do to you. Scary stuff, could have been waaaaaaay worse. I haven't missed a commute, but I wouldn't call the riding enjoyable lately. I certainly don't heal up as quick as I used to :lol:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Took the long way in to campus today. 18 instead of 11 miles. Windy as all get up. My body still hurt from doing core and arm exercises yesterday. Damn you medicine ball, pull up bar, and rowing machine... you've expressed my whimpitude.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks for the coffee mug advice. Glad you are healing up CommuterBoy. Nice ride in this morning and about a 90F ride home. Even by Vegas standards, that warm of a peddle home in mid-October is ridiculous.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2014)

Great ride in, sucking air going home. Started feeling cruddy after lunch and the ride home just drained me. Got home and opened my new Shimano MW 81, then boxed them back up. Can no one figure out how to standardize shoe sizes? I've got Pearl Izumi, Sidi, and Bontrager cycling shoes, all size 48. I looked at Shimano's size chart and guess what, size 48 supposedly a 13.5 (Campmor Website). Well I wear a 12.5 and these are too small by at least 1/2 size.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ouch, CommuterBoy, hope your skin and shoulder heal up OK.

It's been crazy warm here in Barre VT the last 2 days, highs of 75/76F in mid-October are highly unusual, but not record-breakers. There have been a few days of frost, but not as many as "normal". 

"Caution Rut Fill starting 10/14" lighted signs have had disappointing results so far for pedalers. I hope they are re-surfacing again because the new layer wanders from 1' to 0' toward the white line, essentially forcing cyclists further into the lane for a consistent surface, and asphalty bits are also spewn across the shoulder. Heaven forbid they cover 1' to the right of the white line.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Today's a sad day. First time since early May that I drove to work when I didn't have to. The reason I drove is two-fold:

1) I spent 5 hours splitting wood, leaf blowing and mowing my lawn yesterday and I was exhausted last night and had no motivation to prepare all my rain gear.

2) There's supposed to be "Heavy thunderstorms" during my commute home.

I think next week I might be able to ride everyday, so that will help make up for today.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2014)

Straz85,
Weather "predictions" are a constant threat to the commuter. I don't have significant rain gear so I limit my rides in heavy stuff or when it's particularly cold and wet (18 miles is a long time to be cold). I had the same happen last week, predictions of thunderstorms that were delayed until long after I got home (several hours). I usually make the miles up with a needless side trip to the LBS so I can drool on bikes and stuff. It pisses off the sales people when they have to wipe the bikes after I visit but that's how it goes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> "Caution Rut Fill starting 10/14" lighted signs have had disappointing results so far for pedalers. I hope they are re-surfacing again because the new layer wanders from 1' to 0' toward the white line, essentially forcing cyclists further into the lane for a consistent surface, and asphalty bits are also spewn across the shoulder. Heaven forbid they cover 1' to the right of the white line.


Oh, I hear you on that one. They just did a long anticipated resurfacing on the road I ride. They skipped the shoulders with cracks and grass. They swept all the road sand into them and the width varies from 3' to 6" (and sandy) making them useless. I've written 2 letters to the road commissioner and I'm pissed.

My coffee cup recommendation is the Innate Kaze. I've had one for 3-4 years. take the handle and cap off and it is a 1 handed operation, leak proof and keeps coffee hot for hours. It's bounced out of the cage on rough roads (see above) and survived fine. 
Amazon.com: Innate Kaze Vacuum Bottle, Charcoal, 13.5 oz: Sports & Outdoors

I've got come Acadia pics to post when I get a chance.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a rough day at the office yesterday, and it was raining and kind of cold my whole ride home. This morning was damp and misty but not terrible.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Forster said:


> Great ride in, sucking air going home. Started feeling cruddy after lunch and the ride home just drained me. Got home and opened my new Shimano MW 81, then boxed them back up. Can no one figure out how to standardize shoe sizes? I've got Pearl Izumi, Sidi, and Bontrager cycling shoes, all size 48. I looked at Shimano's size chart and guess what, size 48 supposedly a 13.5 (Campmor Website). Well I wear a 12.5 and these are too small by at least 1/2 size.


Shimano may just be dumb. I had to size up a couple sizes from Shimano's chart as well.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> Today's a sad day. First time since early May that I drove to work when I didn't have to. The reason I drove is two-fold:
> 
> 1) I spent 5 hours splitting wood, leaf blowing and mowing my lawn yesterday and I was exhausted last night and had no motivation to prepare all my rain gear.
> 
> ...


I do the same thing. There is rain forecasted possibly right before my commute so I will play it by ear. I don't like to ride in to work in the rain, but will ride home in it, but not heavy thunderstorms. Drivers here are already bad and I don't need to be invisible to them because they are oooohing and aaaaaahing over the lightning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Meh ride home last night. A bit chillier than it has been and I got out of the office a bit later than I wanted, so only able to put in about 11 miles before getting on the bus. Did see a moose, though. First one in a while. Then again, the route I take usually does not seem to have many.









This morning was decent. 35F and foggy/misty in the valley. About the same in town. A nice fall morning for a ride. Tomorrow is a flex day, so any riding I do will be only for fun and, most likely, on dirt - thinking I might ride over to the new Mat-Su river park trails, ride those a bit and then hit up the Matanuska river if it is back down with enough bed exposed for a decent ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good ride in. The rain was moderate, I treated myself to tunes, and with temps.in the mid 60 's and muggy I opted for a tech tee rather than a rain jacket. It was a good.call.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Forster said:


> Got home and opened my new Shimano MW 81, then boxed them back up. Can no one figure out how to standardize shoe sizes? I've got Pearl Izumi, Sidi, and Bontrager cycling shoes, all size 48. I looked at Shimano's size chart and guess what, size 48 supposedly a 13.5 (Campmor Website). Well I wear a 12.5 and these are too small by at least 1/2 size.


This is one reason I always try on shoes before I buy. Not only do sizes vary, but fit varies as well. Shimanos were OK, but Bontragers were awful on my feet. I seem to remember Bontragers running big, but maybe Shimanos run small. My current Northwaves are the same size as my Shimanos though.


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## Guest (Oct 16, 2014)

Sanath said:


> Shimano may just be dumb. I had to size up a couple sizes from Shimano's chart as well.


 I think their sizing chart is accurate but I was on Campmors site and it doesn't agree. On the other hand, 45 north's instructions led me to believe I'd fit their 48, but it fit just like the shimano. It's like they use the same shoe last and don't account for the insulation.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've had horrible luck with shoe sizing...Pearl Izumi and Shimano are at least 1.5 'Merican sizes off from each other. I don't get how hard it is to universalize something as universal as shoe sizes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just went to gloves last week, now contemplating a Level II `clava.

No idea what Super D is, but good job to ya for nearly placing even with a crash in your run, CB. Did you amd Mrs Boy do the mudder this year?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride in and a good ride home.


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> I just went to gloves last week, now contemplating a Level II `clava.
> 
> No idea what Super D is, but good job to ya for nearly placing even with a crash in your run, CB. Did you amd Mrs Boy do the mudder this year?


 Saw a MC Clava last year that covered the nose and mouth with a layer of neoprene open at the bottom that looked pretty good. Keeps the wind off without making you breath through cloth or fogging your classes, plus you can blow clear if you need to.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Yesterday's commute went well, so well I almost did the long ride to work this morning. But, I had a roofing job, and a nasty forecast. I find it hard to leave 45 minutes early for a foreboding day at work, so I left 5 minutes late in protest and drove.

Had a lovely, misty ride for groceries this evening.

Not to start a mug war, but:

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-1913-..._sim_sg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DF2H7TR3YHEQ9FKDBP8


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Super D is a fun format... longer and less technical than true downhill...so fast and furious, but a wee bit of endurance and some technical stuff. This course was 4 miles and lost 1500 feet of elevation, with two little punchy climbs in the middle. Runs were under 15 minutes for most of the faster guys. Two runs, lowest combined time wins. Shuttle rides to the top. 

No Mudder this year... kind of 'been there, done that'...it's fun a couple times, but I have nothing to prove after having done a couple.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I overheated on the way in. Jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt and it was 56F and muggy out. Poor clothing choice mixed with the feeling of riding in wet cement made the ride in flat out suck. Ride home was in a mixture of a light mist and a drizzle and 52F. Enough to get the glasses and road damp and the leaves as slick as ice. Had drunk college students yell out the window of a passing SUV at me but it was hard to decipher their garble of being drunk and/or plain stupid. Lots of commotion down by the new art museum as they are filming scenes from the new Batman vs. Superman movie I guess. Cops all over the place, one lane of traffic closed and lots of gawkers trying to sneak a peek.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I did the Mt. Ashland (OR) Super D race a few years ago and it was a hoot.

OK, my commute takes me right through the heart of the University of Washington campus. I've decided that smartphones are the single biggest danger to cyclists. Not only from drivers absorbed in their phone screens but also pedestrians who refuse to look up.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ agreed!! My commute takes me along the edge of the Michigan State University campus, and is the same situation here.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Donated blood yesterday and I definitely felt a difference. Just slow. 55F and clear. Beautiful fall day with the leaves changing.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ agreed!! My commute takes me along the edge of the Michigan State University campus, and is the same situation here.


I have to bike through campus three days a week. Sometimes I just walk the bike once I roll in. As you've said before... they're ass deep in their phone, they're not paying any attention.


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2014)

NDD said:


> I have to bike through campus three days a week. Sometimes I just walk the bike once I roll in. As you've said before... they're ass deep in their phone, they're not paying any attention.


 It's all good, I just think of it as Bike Slalom with students as gates.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> It's all good, I just think of it as Bike Slalom with students as gates.


Hmm. Nice approach there. I'll try it out. Maybe I'll take out a self righteous humanities major or libertarian while I am practicing my skills.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Forster said:


> It's all good, I just think of it as Bike Slalom with students as gates.


:lol:


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2014)

NDD said:


> Hmm. Nice approach there. I'll try it out. Maybe I'll take out a self righteous humanities major or libertarian while I am practicing my skills.


 Is that because they're less rigid than engineering students and less likely to knock you off the bike?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yeah, that's a pretty good reason. Not really why though. That's most of the people you'll see just walking around, though. Most people are humanities, so probability of hitting one is high (also, there are many biology majors, but very very few are specializing in ecology such as myself, the other 90% are pre-med, pre-dent, pre-reality). And there has been a large influx of libertarians handing out pamphlets and flyers as of late, so I could hit one of them. 

The engineering students are never walking around. They're in the library or in the engineering building. So there is very little chance of hitting them while practicing my wicked bike skills, unless I catch a stray out for food. I know a couple of those guys and they would fall apart given physical contact because their level of exercise is lifting a Jack-in-the-Box taco to their mouth. 

Really it's just a matter of probability. Who is there more of and who is outside more often.


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2014)

NDD, The pamphlets would be more "Flagish" than notebooks in backpacks. I do think you're discounting the fun of riding in the Library, but if you're currently enrolled, the risk may exceed the reward.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'll give it a shot and let you know after spring semester how it goes.


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2014)

Getting ready for the ride tomorrow (commuting on Sunday sucks but the weather is reasonable, so there's that) and noticed my front tire was low so I checked and found a broken thorn sticking into the tire. Pull the thorn and check for a leak in the tube (full on kitchen sink stuff) and no leak. Found another thorn in the rear tire, pull it and spray the tire with water, no leak. Odd.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

All a bit hazy here back end of the dry season and the ecological disaster of slash and burn in Sumatra and Kalimantan blows in on the south east through south westerly winds.
A few weeks off work between projects and bike packed the munda biddi track through western Australia did about 1350km in 3 weeks which was great vurtually no one else about. Just back into the office last week and expecting the chaos, stress and madness of my new EPCI project to kick in any time soon


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good about the thorns! Why does commuting on Sunday suck? Picked up an extra shift at work tomorrow to fund my bike sickness so I will be riding in as well. Possible rain tomorrow night, but screw it, still riding in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SimpleJon said:


> All a bit hazy here back end of the dry season and the ecological disaster of slash and burn in Sumatra and Kalimantan blows in on the south east through south westerly winds.


 Wow, that's terrible.



SimpleJon said:


> A few weeks off work between projects and bike packed the munda biddi track through western Australia did about 1350km in 3 weeks which was great vurtually no one else about.


Wow, that sounds great. Share some pics or stories when you can.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Gorgeous day for a commute!! Sunny and 54F when I left the house which I will take since it was 27F when I got up at 8:30. Strong head wind most of the way which just messes with my head. Got on the main road and ended up in between two city busses in the far right lanewhich I was OK with. SUV passes me and decides that they want in as well, pinching me out. I think that the girl realized that I was there and decided to wait and got behind me. I got along side of her and gave her and the passenger a really dirty look while throwing my hands up and mouthing the word REALLY? That is my go to word now. No swearing, no middle finger, just that. 

Ride home was really fast. 48F and clear with no wind. Ended up racing a co worker down the main street while she was in a car. Gave it all, and left it all out on the road. Ended up having to stop by the time I got to the MUP. I was coughing and dry heaving and felt like I was going to throw up. Between the cooler air and the lack of any kind of warm up I am guessing that I blew myself up pretty well. Was still coughing when I got home. She won. For now.

Took the clean Jamis today hoping that the 30% chance of showers was just that. It was luckily and felt a few drops as I pulled up to the door of my apartment building. Just in the nick of time!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Very chilly this morning. 35 when I left home. Had to dress much warmer than I have any other day this year. I feel a cold coming on, I'm achy and have a sore throat, so I'm not really looking forward to that. Hopefully it passes quickly. Crappy week to be sick, I would otherwise be able to ride to work everyday this week, my birthday is tomorrow and my in-laws are staying with us Wed-Fri so if I'm home sick, I get to hang out with them all day while my wife is at work. So yeah, fun times! Took the SS today, but I'll probably just try to take the CC the rest of the week if I don't stay home sick so I can just spin and easy gear the whole way and take it easy.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Uneventful ride, but this was my first "cold" morning of the season and had trouble deciding what to wear. 37 degrees when I left the house, settled on shorts with a long sleeve shirt with a light hat and gloves and felt pretty okay. Should be close to 60 for the ride home.

It will be time to break out the cold weather layers soon.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this morning. 33F in the valley. About the same in town. But there was a bit of a surprise once I got to town...Snow! Awww yeah! I am so ready for it. I know this snow won't last, but it's a start. And the first snow is always the best snow. Made for a fun ride in. Along the coast it was mostly raining with some patchy snow and the further east I rode, towards the mountains, the more accumulation there was. Good times a-comin' that's for sure.
















Some pictures and a few words from my ride yesterday are over at the blog if you want to check them out. Link in the sig.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

blockphi said:


> View attachment 932674


Whoohoo!

I had a one night weekend last night, probably won`t get any more off until early December (busy season at work), so this morning I took the moto out and stirred up some dust. Time to chill for a few hours now, then a nice nap after dinner before I go in for the long stretch.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> Very chilly this morning. 35 when I left home. Had to dress much warmer than I have any other day this year. I feel a cold coming on, I'm achy and have a sore throat, so I'm not really looking forward to that. Hopefully it passes quickly. Crappy week to be sick, I would otherwise be able to ride to work everyday this week, my birthday is tomorrow and my in-laws are staying with us Wed-Fri so if I'm home sick, I get to hang out with them all day while my wife is at work. So yeah, fun times! Took the SS today, but I'll probably just try to take the CC the rest of the week if I don't stay home sick so I can just spin and easy gear the whole way and take it easy.


 You forgot to mention that the forecast is for cold rain from tomorrow evening on.

Rollingrunner and I both did some cyclocross on Saturday. Fun stuff. I pulled off 16th out of 41 in Men's Cat 4 with my commutes being my major training.

I'm 1 week behind in my blogging, here are some pics of the previous last weekend's events.
Acadia National Park - The Carriage Trails


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Still unseasonably warm here, which has meant plenty of nice fall riding.

Anyone out there ever had problems with old, one-bolt seatpost clamps not properly clamping a saddle? My vintage-y bike has had two different '80s-era seatposts, and two different modern WTB saddles, and the saddle keeps sliding backwards. It feels secure, but over the course of two or three rides it will always move back a 1/2". I've degreased it and roughened with sandpaper, but it keeps happening. Next solution might be a shim, but since this post is the wrong size anyway (26.6 in a 26.4 frame) I might just get a new two-bolt post off ebay.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Anyone out there ever had problems with old, one-bolt seatpost clamps not properly clamping a saddle? My vintage-y bike has had two different '80s-era seatposts, and two different modern WTB saddles, and the saddle keeps sliding backwards. It feels secure, but over the course of two or three rides it will always move back a 1/2". I've degreased it and roughened with sandpaper, but it keeps happening. Next solution might be a shim, but since this post is the wrong size anyway (26.6 in a 26.4 frame) I might just get a new two-bolt post off ebay.


Ask the old guys.  At first I thought you meant the post slides down the seat tube.

I assume it is one of these:









If so, try wrapping the seat rails with a fine emory cloth that should give the tooth needed to let the clamp bite the rails better. Old machinists' trick.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> You forgot to mention that the forecast is for cold rain from tomorrow evening on.
> 
> Rollingrunner and I both did some cyclocross on Saturday. Fun stuff. I pulled off 16th out of 41 in Men's Cat 4 with my commutes being my major training.


Saw this short vid this morning and wondered if you 2 were there...

Post by Team Bikeman.

A miserable rainy sleety weekend here in VT followed by a chilly but clear 29F morning, then more rain through Friday - ick.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Still pushing the 90s here in Vegas. Warm ride home.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> I assume it is one of these:


It's actually like one of these:








There's nothing complicated about it, but with both posts no matter how much I crank down on the bolt the saddle eventually works its way back. But anyway, I should really get a post that's the correct size, and the 2-bolt ones are way better. I just thought it was weird.


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2014)

newfangled said:


> It's actually like one of these:
> View attachment 932833
> 
> 
> There's nothing complicated about it, but with both posts no matter how much I crank down on the bolt the saddle eventually works its way back. But anyway, I should really get a post that's the correct size, and the 2-bolt ones are way better. I just thought it was weird.


 Two things you can try. First is applying a little valve grinding compound on the rails. If that doesn't work a little JB weld or stud and bearing mount might hold things in place.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

No exciting commutes lately. Some ass hat sped around me to turn right and blow a stop sign as I was pulling up to it to uh...,ya know, stop. The road was recently rocked so I got a couple rocks and a good deal of dust. Yum? 

On the bright side I did some leisurely singletrack riding this afternoon with a buddy from the bike shop. Takes most of the edge off of an otherwise nerve racking day.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Still pushing the 90s here in Vegas. Warm ride home.


You know that we are all envious of this right?


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

newfangled said:


> It's actually like one of these:
> 
> There's nothing complicated about it, but with both posts no matter how much I crank down on the bolt the saddle eventually works its way back. But anyway, I should really get a post that's the correct size, and the 2-bolt ones are way better. I just thought it was weird.


Last week Chainreaction cycles were selling off Thomson Elite seatposts + an additional 10% all told it was under $50 for some sizes, maybe worth checking out. I needed a new 27.2 and picked one up - there is no sales tax this end so it may be slightly more to the US


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Loved the blog post, Bedwards! As much as we liked the park in the summer, it looks even prettier in the fall. I tried once again to post a comment, but still can`t get it to go through- does one of the options in the "Select profile" box allow posting with just a plain old email address? Seems like I used to be able to comment on most blogs, but haven`t been successful for a long time.



newfangled said:


> Anyone out there ever had problems with old, one-bolt seatpost clamps not properly clamping a saddle?


Yup. My commuter has a chronic problem with that, same style post. It doesn`t move a half inch in two to three rides, but I used to have to reposition it about once a month. Finally just readjusted my butt to accept the saddle where it wanted to be and now just sit on the nose :lol:. The lapping compound idea sounds good- maybe I`ll give that a try.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yup. My commuter has a chronic problem with that, same style post. It doesn`t move a half inch in two to three rides, but I used to have to reposition it about once a month.


Thanks Rodar, glad it's not just me. The 26.6 on my kuwahara was maybe once a month, but the 26.6 wedged in the bridgestone is every couple of rides. Nobody online stocks those older sizes, but thankfully there's ebay.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Saw this short vid this morning and wondered if you 2 were there...


We did the one the day before:





Seatpost Issue: how about some carbon paste?

I fear this morning's commute was the last before 3 days of cold rain.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Cool and windy in the Valley - 30F with winds from the north/north west at 10-12 mph. In town was a touch warmer, 34F with no wind. However, there were some slick spots on the roads and trails. Nearly ate it twice - both on downhill curves. Somehow saved it both times. That's the one bad part about this time of year - the random icy patches. Oh well, still better than driving!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Thanks Rodar, glad it's not just me. The 26.6 on my kuwahara was maybe once a month, but the 26.6 wedged in the bridgestone is every couple of rides. Nobody online stocks those older sizes, but thankfully there's ebay.


I have two posts like that with Brooks saddles as far back as they will go so that part of the bends in the rails where they narrow are in the clamp. They don't move.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Morning commute find! Spur path off Campbell Creek Trail. Can you guess what made them? Nate tire track for size reference.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Morning commute find! Spur path off Campbell Creek Trail. Can you guess what made them? Nate tire track for size reference.


Sure looks like Ursus arctos to me. Judging by how far out the claw prints are and the apparent lack of instep on the rear. Nice find!

Prior to the last big rain we had there was a nice pile of bear scat at the corner of Fireweed and Latouche. Never saw the bear that left it, though.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> You know that we are all envious of this right?


Yes, I suspect I should stop complaining. Supposed to cool down about ten degrees next week. Good ride in today and good ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice tracks Jordy and cross clip Bedwards! All I have seen of our bear is poop and a busted birdfeeder. 

Moderate rain and 40ish in both directions today. Had a yikes moment tonight - when I got off the bike my big taillight was not on (user error I think :blush: :nono, and the smaller one on my pack was not on because I had the rain cover over it. Plenty of reflective stuff, and a front light and blinkie, but still! :eekster: Be safe out there! :rockon:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

This morning was the second ride in row that someone sped in front of me to immediately hit their brakes and take a right turn in front of me. Kinda annoying, but at least this person didn't run a stop sign. I don't like how common this is becoming.


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## Montanadan (Sep 19, 2014)

My ride to work this afternoon was good...had a tailwind, 70-ish degrees. My evening ride home in an hour isnt looking so hot...very strong headwind and chilly. Good thing its only a couple miles.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy and cool on the way in, cold on the way home. Glad that I brought tights and a head cover. Finding the need to pack warmer gloves for the ride home now that the lows are hitting the upper 30's. Mid 40's and I am fine with just the windproof gloves, but colder than that and I need to get the lobsters out. We are looking at a bit of a warm spell coming up with possible highs in the mid 60's. Hoping to see that at least one more time.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2014)

NDD said:


> This morning was the second ride in row that someone sped in front of me to immediately hit their brakes and take a right turn in front of me. Kinda annoying, but at least this person didn't run a stop sign. I don't like how common this is becoming.


 I hate that, and I hate it when other cyclists do that on the trail as well. Funny this morning, the guy who usually does that to me rides a road bike and it turns out, those don't handle wet leaf piles in corners as well as the trusty Fargo. Still helped him up and made sure his bike was okay before I rode off saying "[email protected]$$" under my breath.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That was nice of you Forster. I personally hate taking turns in or even riding in wet leaves. Always makes me really nervous.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I think today was the first day I rode in to work that it was actually raining when I left the house. I like riding in the rain but not usually enough to commute in it - really needed the ride this morning though. I had a good enough time this morning to get me on the hunt for a front fender.

Also made it to my mileage goal for the year this morning, that felt good. Now what to do with the rest of the year


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Roadie tires are alarming on wet, damp or greasy roads - have to take it steady as it very easy to wash out the front and down you go. There is one bend on my commute where I've nearly eaten tarmac a couple of times in the damp, I've seen a couple cars crashed in to the wall there before - I think the road camber is dodgy.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

One could argue that roadie tires are just plain silly. But that's just me.  The fatter the better? Maybe, to an extent. 

Anywho... the ride home last night was dreadful for two simple facts. 
Fact 1 - We went for a run in Sunday and yesterday my legs felt it. Bad. I need to run more. I know this, but the aching legs make me want to run less. 

Fact 2 - Dropped tire pressure yesterday to deal with icy conditions - almost biffed it on the way over to REI to pick up some pants that I had on order - Ended up letting too much pressure out and was too lazy/hurried to bother stopping on the way to the bus to pump them back up a bit. Rolled about 9 to 10 PSI on the way home. Being a big guy, those types of pressures on pavement are just soul sucking. 

Good ride in this AM. Cool. 25F or so on both ends of the ride. The icy patches are much more sparse today, which is good.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> That was nice of you Forster. I personally hate taking turns in or even riding in wet leaves. Always makes me really nervous.


 Reminded me of my son's Parent/Teacher open house last night. One administrator was discussing how they have a Zero Tolerance policy for students who fail demonstrate "intolerance" towards other students. I know what she meant to say, but it made no more sense to me than a recent incident in the news where a football player beat his kid to teach them to be non-violent. I'm pretty much in the "stay on the moral high ground" camp, but I usually keep a fist balled up just incase. In this case, I assume the rider to be under-educated in trail etiquette. I never pass up an opportunity to improve the community.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Man, yesterday was the day of flats. I noticed I had a flat as I was leaving work. I patched the tube and rushed home because I was trying to make a group ride. Half-way through the group mtb ride, my rear tire went flat (different bike). I tried pumping it up a bit to see if the sealant would stop the leak but no luck. I installed a tube, and lo and behold the brand new tube had a hole in it (couldn't find any sharp objects in tire). So I had to bum a tube from someone else to finish the ride.

One highlight of my commute home was scaring the crap out of a runner wearing headphones on the MUP. I called out to him once when I was approaching and another time when I got closer. He must not have heard me the first time, because the second time I called out, the dude literally jumped into the air and flailed his arms. I don't try to scare people, but that doesn't mean I won't laugh when I do. :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

JordyB said:


> Morning commute find! Spur path off Campbell Creek Trail. Can you guess what made them? Nate tire track for size reference.


Wow, those claw marks are impressively far out there in front of the toes. Awesome. I got a good shot of this dude that keeps following me to work this morning:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The rain was a little harder, a little colder, and a little more wind driven. Other than that, it was the same as yesterday. Lubed the chain and pedaled on.

Nice pic, CB.


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2014)

Raced a rainstorm home and just about bought it a few times on a couple sections of gravel road. For some reason, the county just laid 3" of new gravel all at once. I may need a fatbike. The jackwagon that passed without a verbal and cut me off before he crashed this morning passed me without a verbal and cut me off again this afternoon. I knew he was coming so while he was passing I yelled "On your right!" but it didn't help.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

blockphi said:


> One could argue that roadie tires are just plain silly. But that's just me.  The fatter the better? Maybe, to an extent.


The weather is normally pretty benign here and the roads very well maintained I like to get up to decent speeds so I ride a road bike. During the rainy season or if it looks dodgy in the morning I use a mountain bike and take the multi use paths, quiet back streets and/or some trails. 
Main plus for the road bike on pretty busy roads is that it only takes 30 mins+ to do the 13Km any other way is significantly further and takes well over an hour.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> Raced a rainstorm home and just about bought it a few times on a couple sections of gravel road. For some reason, the county just laid 3" of new gravel all at once. I may need a fatbike. The jackwagon that passed without a verbal and cut me off before he crashed this morning passed me without a verbal and cut me off again this afternoon. I knew he was coming so while he was passing I yelled "On your right!" but it didn't help.


Next time just don't help him. sometimes people can't help but jump on the jackwagon (dammit I don't think that worked well, but it's staying there). I went on a trail ride with a buddy the other day and he didn't call out when passing people on the MUP. He also rode on the wrong side of the road and seemed to take stop signs lightly. I was like, "I commute by bike. This isn't how it's done" and then I smoked him on some singletrack. Funny thing is I'm pretty slow anyway and took it slower. He was all decked out in cycling gear but didn't inflate his tires and didn't lube his chain. I was in jeans and a thermal shirt and had lubed up my chain that morning and optimized my pressure. Goes to show... some cyclists have the wrong priorities. And as to your previous post: a zero tolerance policy on demonstrating intolerance...C'mon. The logic.

So I realized tonight while riding home that my seat was a bit low. More so, it's been low for about a month now. I don't remember why I lowered it, but did realize that I was feeling slower and like my friggin quads were hating me at the end of every week. So I raised the seat and it was feeling pretty zippy after that. I lowered the seat on both bikes. I cannot fathom any excuse for that. They weren't too high. Nobody else rode them. I was possessed by demons? Yeah... probably.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another good commute day that was incident free both ways. Cool today on the way in at about 45F and 36F on the way home. Co workers are in shock that I am still riding to work. Not sure what they expect as the weather is still pretty good. I don't ride in when it is raining but will ride if the chance of rain is on the way home. Waiting at a light I almost asked a girl who was riding on the sidewalk to ride in the bike lane but decided against it.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

This morning's ride was a $hit show. 25mph winds, driving rain, puddles, leaves and branches everywhere. It was fun, but everybody seems to think I'm a nut case. I got a text from my wife saying "I can't believe you rode today" and a coworker saw me this morning and said "you friggin rode today? You're crazy". I also had a few people beeping at me, not like "get out of my way" beeping but it was either "you're a badass" or "you're an idiot" beeping. I like to think the former.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> I also had a few people beeping at me, not like "get out of my way" beeping but it was either "you're a badass" or "you're an idiot" beeping. I like to think the former.


I've gotten that a few times too, both on the bike and while running. I'm pretty sure they're "you're a moron" beeps.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Straz85 said:


> This morning's ride was a $hit show. 25mph winds, driving rain, puddles, leaves and branches everywhere. It was fun, but everybody seems to think I'm a nut case. I got a text from my wife saying "I can't believe you rode today" and a coworker saw me this morning and said "you friggin rode today? You're crazy". I also had a few people beeping at me, not like "get out of my way" beeping but it was either "you're a badass" or "you're an idiot" beeping. I like to think the former.


Rule 9 man. Rule 9.

This morning was a bit chilly: 18F at my house. 22 in town. Still rolling with my clipless. Feet were a touch chilled, but not too bad overall. I do have a pair of neoprene shoe covers on order and I think they'll work nice to boost my clipless riding into the single digits. I just really don't want to think about switching to flats and heavy boots.

The new bike has been riding well. It does seem like my seat keeps sliding down a bit. I need to mark the post and watch it to make sure it's not all in my head. I plan to pull the Ride cranks and bottom bracket off this weekend and swap over to the Turbine I bought for the Pugs - I upgraded the bearings on that one's bottom bracket, so I'll swap that over as well. Might be an interesting color scheme - black, blue, and red. Also have a new headset on order for the Pugs. When I rebuilt that bike the bearings in the original headset basically disintegrated. I threw an old set on from another bike, but for some reason can't get that one to adjust up right - there's always play in it - probably because it's super old and worn... The kids'll be happy once they can ride the Pugs properly. Figure I'll take them out on some single track after I get it all put together. The Ride crank is going on the Pugs, along with some sweet blue bits and bobs - it'll look like a whole new bike for them.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Rule 9 man. Rule 9.


Straz, Rule 9 applies to you. No ifs ands or buts. Period.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Straz85 said:


> This morning's ride was a $hit show. 25mph winds, driving rain, puddles, leaves and branches everywhere


Same here Straz. Yesterday we had 2" of rain, today was more rain and winds. Fall in the Northwest.


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## mayonays (Oct 22, 2010)

NDD said:


> So I realized tonight while riding home that my seat was a bit low. More so, it's been low for about a month now. I don't remember why I lowered it, but did realize that I was feeling slower and like my friggin quads were hating me at the end of every week. So I raised the seat and it was feeling pretty zippy after that.


I did the same thing this morning, I think my seatpost had just slowly been slipping so I never noticed it until my legs were unusually sore. Raised it 1/2" or so and tightened up the collar nice and snug.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today was one of those rare commutes where I rode my full commute and also drove the car. This was all due to those pesky things called pants. Apparently, I have to wear them while at work, and I definitely did not have any. When I got home again, I mistakenly thought I had forgotten my keys as well. I broke into my own house, only to find I had the keys in my backpack the whole time. I took a quick shower, dressed, and drove back to the office. Just one of those days...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ ha...that's a busy morning. I forgot shoes the other day. Luckily my mtb shoes are marginally acceptable and don't stink too bad at the moment. 


Wound up doing the 10:00 night ride home last night... I kinda like it out there at night. As you leave town and all sources of light, you kick the headlight up to full power and spend the next 6 miles scanning the roadside for reflective eyballs...


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Straz85 said:


> This morning's ride was a $hit show. 25mph winds, driving rain, puddles, leaves and branches everywhere. It was fun, but everybody seems to think I'm a nut case. I got a text from my wife saying "I can't believe you rode today" and a coworker saw me this morning and said "you friggin rode today? You're crazy". I also had a few people beeping at me, not like "get out of my way" beeping but it was either "you're a badass" or "you're an idiot" beeping. I like to think the former.


Now is the time of the year when everyone gives weird looks when they find out you rode. I rode my bike to kickball(aka excuse to drink) in 40ish degree rain, and everyone was surprised.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ ha...that's a busy morning. I forgot shoes the other day. Luckily my mtb shoes are marginally acceptable and don't stink too bad at the moment.


Luckily, my commute is only 3-4 miles one way. I would have run to Walmart if it had been 10+ miles. Usually my wife is around to bail me out, but she's out of town this week.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

WiTrailRunner said:


> I've gotten that a few times too, both on the bike and while running. I'm pretty sure they're "you're a moron" beeps.


I find that when women get beeped at it's usually guys with no class "hitting on" them. Who knows though, maybe they were women drivers who wanted a piece of this?



blockphi said:


> Rule 9 man. Rule 9.


I already knew I was a badass, I just didn't know if they knew 



woodway said:


> Same here Straz. Yesterday we had 2" of rain, today was more rain and winds. Fall in the Northwest.


Sounds like the northern corners of the continental US are in a similar situation right now. You guys in the PNW will be getting this weather for the next 7 or 8 months though, right? We'll be covered in snow in a couple months over here! I'm excited about that now, but by the beginning of February I'll be complaining about it.


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## sasu (Nov 16, 2013)

It was -2 C this morning when I began my 20 mile commute. After half way it started snowing.

I was on my Schwalbe CX Comp tires, not the time for spiked tires yet. Or so I thought until I lost the front end in an intersection and fell on my side. The rear derailleur got hit and now shifts poorly.

I got three gaping holes in my wardrobe, spent the evening patching them up with the sewing machine.

As to myself, just a huge bruise and some abrasions of skin.

A couple miles further down the road I saw a fellow cyclist being loaded into an ambulance. While riding around the emergency workers I almost fell again, the bridge was very slippery. I saved that one, though. Even SPD pedals did not prevent extending a leg fast enough to prevent the fall, they really do release when needed.

So the winter has begun! The real cycling season has been opened.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Straz85 said:


> Sounds like the northern corners of the continental US are in a similar situation right now. You guys in the PNW will be getting this weather for the next 7 or 8 months though, right? We'll be covered in snow in a couple months over here! I'm excited about that now, but by the beginning of February I'll be complaining about it.


November through February are the worst months for us. Things start improving in March. It rarely snows here, just a lot of clouds and a lot of drizzle (it actually does not rain really hard here that often). I'll take it over your snow!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nearly has a 4 car accident before my eyes tonight when the first car dared to stop to take a left on a sidestreet. The next car nearly rear-ended him, the 3rd thought to swoop right (where I was headed) but had to skid when there was not enough room, and then the 4th car came up way too fast, slammed on the brakes and fishtailed into the oncoming lane (luckily nobody was coming). Meanwhile, I went further right than normal just to stay out of the way. It's only a 35mph zone there, really people are just in too much of a hurry to tailgate and squeeze by, rather than leave a reasonable amount of room, even for other cars.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was interesting. Nice temps at about 54F and sunny when I hit the MUP. At the end of the MUP, it dumps you off on a road with a very wide bike lane. Two construction guys with a pickup of some sort have it blocked right near a side street that they could have parked on. Ironically enough, they were just past the sign that says No Parking - Bike Lane. I let them know that they were blocking it as I had to take the lane to get around them. I really wished that I had stopped and snapped a picture. It was pretty comical, with the sign right there, the side street, and these two just blocking the lane.

Further down by campus is where it got hairy. Traffic seemed to be moving at a much faster rate than the posted 25 mph. Was trying to follow three cars that were doing about the limit, and the gap was a few cars. Guy with his head down crosses the street at a crosswalk mid block that has huge signs that say cross when traffic clears. I have used these crosswalks and seen the signs. He never looked. And yep, we are on course to collide. I did not buzz him. I did have to move to the center lane and and yell "heads up" when I went by. Scared the hell out of him. Head down, never looked just assumed that it was clear. OK, with that behind me I continue on. Next block, two guys on bikes cross at a similar crosswalk. Second guy looks right at me and he saw me I swear he saw me. He had this look of serious confusion on his face. Was unsure what to do. First guy accelerated to get across. Second guy, he keeps going at the slow pace making no effort to get across. We are on a path of collision. He has no idea what to do. I move more to the right and just crank the pedals. I remained calm. I gave him the "really" that I use now and he just looked at me. Had absolutely no clue. Was like I wasn't there and he was the only person on the face of the earth.

I know that not everyone will see me as that just is impossible. I try to be nice to everyone and understand that not everyone knows what to do. I move with the flow of traffic like I am supposed to and follow the rules of the road. It is so damn frustrating though. 

Did meet up with a friend of mine after work and we rode around the campus area a bit. Fairly cool night at about 42F and breezy. Feet got cold quickly and my hands started to go numb.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, Straz :thumbsup:



s0ckeyeus said:


> Apparently, I have to wear them while at work, and I definitely did not have any. When I got home again, I mistakenly thought I had forgotten my keys as well. I broke into my own house, only to find I had the keys in my backpack the whole time.


A week`s worth of excitement all in one morning.



CommuterBoy said:


> Wound up doing the 10:00 night ride home last night... I kinda like it out there at night.


Me too. In the summer.



sasu said:


> I was on my Schwalbe CX Comp tires, not the time for spiked tires yet. Or so I thought until I lost the front end in an intersection and fell on my side.


Whops. Do you know what happened to the guy getting loaded into the ambulance?



woodway said:


> I'll take it over your snow!


Not me- snow riding is fun (until ya get sick of it), getting soaked just sucks!

Dang, Xplorer! It sounds like you just scraped though by a hair. Glad you didn`t get squished by one of those cars.

No notable commutes for me so far this week.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

To whoever recommended the Stanley one hand mug, THANK YOU! Awesome mug that not only keeps things hot or cold for a long time and doesn't leak... It works with my Areopress! PERFECT! My quest to find the perfect cup is over.

Still haven't made it back out. Had over an inch of rain yesterday. I just don't want to have to work a 13 hour night shift starting wet.

I bought a new helmet to replace my 20 year old one that was starting to break down. Picked up some full finger gloves and shopped for shoes with no luck. Not many wide bike shoes out there. I am hoping to find some decent hikers and I might get some bigger flat pedals.


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## Guest (Oct 24, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> It was interesting. Nice temps at about 54F and sunny when I hit the MUP. At the end of the MUP, it dumps you off on a road with a very wide bike lane. Two construction guys with a pickup of some sort have it blocked right near a side street that they could have parked on. Ironically enough, they were just past the sign that says No Parking - Bike Lane. I let them know that they were blocking it as I had to take the lane to get around them. I really wished that I had stopped and snapped a picture. It was pretty comical, with the sign right there, the side street, and these two just blocking the lane.


Our bike lane downtown (in the middle of the street) is protected by code from folks parking for any reason (no trucks unloading, no half done lane changes, etc.). Right after they did that I rolled up on a guy delivering food to a Bar and Grill. I explained the law and he gave me the "suck it up" speech. The Officer that responded to my call is normally on bike patrol and a serious cyclist in his own right. I had a photo on my phone and even though the truck had moved, he caught up to him and issued the citation. I've always wanted to find that driver so I can give him the "suck it up" speech. Getting the driver feels good and comes highly reccomended.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Well, I am thinking that yesterday was my last commute of the year. This morning was ridiculously foggy, so I had to take the car. Next week I'll be in Chicago and the week after that I am house sitting/dog sitting for a friend who is out of town. So by the time I am back home, it'll be mid-November. I get pretty wussy around that time of the year in the cold and dark with such a long commute. You winter riders are tough! 

So I'll be lurking and try to pop in every now and again, but I won't be commuting again until spring most likely. I am okay with being a fair weather commuter. I have accepted it. But don't worry - I run outside year round, so I'm not a total wuss.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Not me- snow riding is fun (until ya get sick of it), getting soaked just sucks!


I agree RyR - snow riding is the bomb. I would take that any day over riding in the rain. It seems like no matter what riding in the rain you end up wet and cold. Riding in the snow you can stay dry and by staying dry, stay relatively warm. That and there aren't a bunch of other yahoos out riding in the snow - just us crazy folk. I like the solitude of it.

Good ride in this AM overall. Legs are feeling strange. Still really fatigued quads. I assume it's from running on Sunday coupled with the daily act of sitting on my arse, but still seems a bit odd. Might also be that the bike is a bit harder to push now as I have my winter kit bag attached and am still running some lower pressures.

Or maybe I'm just getting old?

I hate winter kit bag, but given my commute demands, I kinda have to have it - one bag just with extra gear: 
Puffy jacket
Extra shell pants
Extra gloves of different weights
Extra hat
Extra buff
Extra socks - though I've never actually used these

And, as it is the shoulder season - 
Afternoon lightweight long sleeve poly shirt
Lightweight shell jacket

It seems excessive, I know, but given the bus ride between the two legs of the bike commute, I tend to change out hat and gloves due to them getting damp with sweat before I get on the bus and not drying by the time I get to town. In the afternoons I try to get to the bus stop 15 minutes early to ensure I have my place in line and such. On some days, even five minutes of standing and waiting could lead to hypothermia, so I have to have dry items and layers to put on. Not as important right now, but it is nice to have that puffy if I have to go anywhere during the day.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

blockphi said:


> That and there aren't a bunch of other yahoos out riding in the snow - just us crazy folk. I like the solitude of it.


I think that's my favorite part about winter riding, most of the idiot no light, law breaking hipsters aren't out.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Things get real when you have to think about hypothermia/survival :lol: I whine this time of year about how full my backpack is on the way home because I'm carrying all the stuff I had to wear in the morning (30's/40's F in the morning, pushing 70's on the way home). I almost like it when it's 20's/40's just so I can wear all that stuff instead of carry it. 

"Alaskan winter kit/survival bag" puts it into perspective. :lol: 


I hit 3k for 2014 on the way in this morning. Woohoo!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice list Blockphi. But the bears are hibernating so you can leave the bear repellent at home, right? 

The Boy Scouts be prepared motto has its place.

Used to drive 325 miles across Southern Ontario early in my MS program to get home once or twice a month. This is where the Great Lakes make weather, and when forecasts looked like Wheel of Fortune. You set out and the forecasts change several times on the way. So much for planning. The breakdown/blizzard winter survival kit was impressive. Never needed it and very glad for that. Though a guy in an Audi 5000 lost on the white on white (6-8" of the wet kind on the road and more snow falling at over an inch an hour) and entering the corner mostly in my lane, he finally responded to my flashed headlights and missed me by about an inch maybe two while I scraped the 12 foot snow banks on the right shoulder with my right mirror. Fun times. Be safe out there. This guy may have moved to Alaska.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

If a commute is gonna s*ck, it's gonna be on Friday night. I believe I got my first taste (literally) of rolling coal, not from a pickup, but a little VW diesel. The clouds of choking diesel just went on and on after it roared past me and then passed a few cars on the right in a brief double-lane section. Then the cloud suddenly totally dissipated, which I doubt would have occurred if the car was simply poorly maintained.

Later, a passenger in a minivan, gave me a good long lecture, but I only heard "lights" "legal" "get off", but enough to know it was unfriendly. I had blinking lights front and back, plus a solid light front.

I was not Zen, I was angry. But I did not catch up with either one, and no words (or anything else) went their way.


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## isis07734 (Apr 3, 2012)

I rarely look fwd to my night time commutes, and my weather just got ear cold. Tried a new route today though, kinda boring. My usually route has a few down hills and one little climb.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Minus the temperature, I look forward to my night commute as the traffic is significantly less than the ride in. No commute yesterday, just a nice 45 mile with some bike friends on a Friday night. Temps dropped quickly and my hands were cold. Minus a small issue with a cyclist heading the wrong way in the bike lane, it was incident free.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Easing back into the commute after 4 weeks off, huge amounts of crap to sort out at work as expected. Will post a ride report as soon as I get chance but working 7 days at the moment, weather has been hot and hazy but we had a few storms which cleared the smog away. Nice and quiet on the roads as we have had Deepavali holidays so the traffic is reduced.
work is going to be a pain for the forseable future as new projects are kicking off but As I still have 30days accrued leave on top annual for all the offshore time i put in this year i am planning another big trip in feb so I can live with it


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

isis07734 said:


> my weather just got ear cold.


That is an awesomely descriptive little sentence. :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I was not Zen, I was angry.


That's an awesomely descriptive sentence too.

Decent ride in despite feeling sick. (in bed at 7:00 last night)


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Had an issue with a city van this morning. I'm in a stretch of my commute that has three school zones back to back to back, which I love because I can keep up with traffic in this section. Also, there are three lanes in each direction with the right most being bus only during the morning commute so I typically have my own lane. 

However, during the end of the second school zone I see the front bumper of a large work van out of the corner of my eye hovering about 8 inches to the left of my rear axle. He just cruised next to me through the entire third school zone, not passing, but not slowing down to give me room. I held my line, refusing to crowd the curb for this @sshole. I was close enough and maintaining the same speed that when I decided to give him the bird I did so with my hand pressed directly against his passenger window. He never looked over to receive my message. To quote mtbexplorer: "I was not Zen. I was angry."

After the school zone ended he sped up and turned right at the next light. I'm going to give the city a call this afternoon to report the guy's license plate. Lakewood is supposedly a Bicycle Friendly city according to the League of American Bicyclists. 

I don't know what this guy's issue was. He clearly saw me because he was nervous to pass, but couldn't slow down 1 mph more to stay behind me. Some people just don't make sense to me.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A nice ride in this AM, if a bit on the cold side. It was 12F at my house, 18 at the bus stop and 23 in town. Still rolling with my clipless and standard summer shoes. My feet weren't too cold this morning, though I did break out the foot warmers. I've a pair of covers on order and hope they show up soon. I could've used them yesterday. Went for a nice little ride with my son and by the time we were done my feet were numb from the cold. I've also started looking at boots to wear with flat pedals, but... I just don't want to switch back to flats if I don't have to.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

So we are entering the last week of October here in Michigan and it is currently 62F with a high of 70F today with a low in the upper 50's tonight with a chance of rain and a possible thunderstorm. How can I not ride to work? 95 miles registered over the weekend from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. Legs are very sore right now but I will still be riding in. The forecast for the rest of the week will be typical October weather, a mix of rain and cold, with the chance of some flurries later in the week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's a good weekend! Made the early jump to level 2 gloves today. I always hold out until the first day of November, but it was cold out there.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> A nice ride in this AM, if a bit on the cold side. It was 12F at my house, 18 at the bus stop and 23 in town. Still rolling with my clipless and standard summer shoes. My feet weren't too cold this morning, though I did break out the foot warmers. I've a pair of covers on order and hope they show up soon. I could've used them yesterday. Went for a nice little ride with my son and by the time we were done my feet were numb from the cold. I've also started looking at boots to wear with flat pedals, but... I just don't want to switch back to flats if I don't have to.


23F in Anchorage? Wow, wish it was that warm on the Eastside. 14 here. it was 6 or lower at Campbell Creek Science Center.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> 23F in Anchorage? Wow, wish it was that warm on the Eastside. 14 here. it was 6 or lower at Campbell Creek Science Center.


You know, now that I'm not coming in from the east, I kinda forget just how different the temps can be. 23F was at Westchester. I think at 5:55 it was reading 19 at Tishlika Park. And I don't even check the Science Center anymore. Yesterday I felt the differences, though. Started riding at Hilltop and it was 18F and as the boy and I got into the Science Center area, we could definitely feel the cooler air that always hangs there. Reminded me of just how much I miss living in town and having easy access to those trails all the time.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

The wife joined me on my commute for her very first bike commute to work today...and my life just keeps getting better and better.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My wife joined me and now we fight over who's going to take the car with the weeks supplies. Right, RollingRunner? Actually, she's usually willing to take it in on Monday and then it stays at work until one of us needs it for an errand. 

Speaking of going home, that seems like a great idea.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> The wife joined me on my commute for her very first bike commute to work today...and my life just keeps getting better and better.


:band:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good stuff. Great day today. I've been riding the mtb for a couple weeks again. I love that. Although I think some of my issue with the road bike has to do with the unbelievable amount of friction in the hubs. I opened up the front one for a looksee and it was bone dry. Oh well. I'ma fix these wheels up and sell them to get money for ss 700c wheels. I checked, it should be fine. Then I'll get cross tires and I'll have an mtb and an ss cross bike. 

For now, I just have an excuse to ride the mtb all over. (Woo!) I guess that means more afternoon trail rides in between busting my ass learning stuff.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

You know how I was going to commute because the weather was going to be great? Well....it was worth it. 72F and sunny when I got to work, sweaty and all. It was a breezy but warm ride in that was incident free for me. Not so much for the guy on the moped that got hit by an SUV turning left right in front of him. Be careful out there because so many people, so many places to go and so many distractions!!

Rain was forecasted for the ride home. At 10:40PM, the radar on my phone looked pretty bad. Alright, a ride home in the rain isn't bad. Well, it never rained. The storms turned to a 50% chance, and it skipped right over us. 69F and breezy for the ride home. That ride home, that was zen for me. Not much traffic and hardly any pedestrians. That will always make for a nice ride. Ended up riding a few extra miles before heading home for the night. It was way too nice out to pass it up. Storms are still forecasted for tonight which is a bummer. Not sure if I will ride tomorrow as it is supposed to rain all day. 

It looks like I will reach my goal 2 months earlier than planned. 2500 miles by 12/31/14 at 2359 is the goal. My next commute will be the one as long as I put a few extra miles in which I will. Wednesday and Thursday look nice but cool. If the goal is met by the end of October, I will increase the goal to 3000 by NYE.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2014)

Tenspeed, you're ahead of me, I'm knocking at 2250 with a 3000 mile goal for the year. It doesn't help when you're traveling several weeks during prime riding weather. I made a rookie mistake this morning. I drove yesterday (apparently my alarm clock still adjusts for the old daylight savings time dates) and left my camelback at work (with my blinkies and toe covers). Fortunately I've got functional (but not optimal) rear blinkies from every decade, so getting minimal rear light coverage was easy enough. What I didn't have was toe covers. I should have grabbed the winter boots (little warm at 45F, but still doable) but I haven't taken them on a shakedown ride yet. Toes were a little frosty. Better prepared tomorrow. In the plus column, I moved my cleats back 1/5" and love the change. 
Still looking for another 105 miles this week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Since we're posting mileage, I'm at 4600 according to Strava. Down a little from last year which was down from the year before but still close to par. My only goal is to have fun on the bike. 

Pinch flat last night a few miles from my house from blasting over a bumpy dirt road with the cross bike. I had somebody that I've never met offer to drive me home. I told him I had to fix it one way or another so I might as well just do it there.

Short ride in because I dropped the truck off for the yearly pain of seeing what is rusted away from lack of use. I know a bumper is on the list.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

1017. With a little extra push, by the end of this year I might hit the mileage I had at the end of March last year :lol:

And I think I just did my last "naked legs" for the year. My knees are frozen!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^
Man, I hate having to switch to tights. I love riding in shorts - white legs and all!

At the end of this week, I'll be just shy of 6,900 miles with a goal of 8000+ for the year.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

At last official recording I was at 9753 for the year total mileage. That was in mid September when my first Pugs frame rattled it's death-knell. I haven't bothered putting the GPS back on a bike since then. I figure that at this point I'll be able to end up right about 12K for the year, which is pretty awesome. I still haven't decided if I'll put the GPS back on for next year or not. I am confident that I hit my mileage goal of 10K in a year, so I don't feel as compelled to keep track now.

Though it might be cool to get everyone here to track their mileage next year to see just how many miles we cummulatively bike and extrapolate how much gas we've saved.

I kind of like not having that data at my fingers - makes me judge speed by effort rather than what the little screen tells me. I also find I probably ride longer because rather than trying to ride for 20 miles or 30 miles or whatever, I just ride until I feel like I'm done and if I'm curious afterwards, I'll roughly map it on gmaps pedometer.

A heatwave this AM. 24F at the house and about the same along the coast in Anchorage. Breezy, though, which did make it feel quite a bit cooler. I think in the valley the wind chill was in the mid teens. Picked up a pair of 2009 Pearl Izumi AmFIB tights at the thrift shop over the weekend - looked like they had been worn maybe once - and I think I've fallen in love. I'm not a big fan of tights generally, but these things are awesome. Warm and comfy and breathable like all get out. Normally I wear Novara Headwind bike pants, which are likewise nice, but not nearly as warm, wind resistant, or breathable. I'm not sure how good they'll be in sub-zero temps due to the lighter weight back panels, but they'll work awesome under the headwind pants when it gets that cold I think.

Forgot to mention the newest Beardcicle Chronicles. Try to take the [email protected] out of fatbikers a bit. Beardcicle Chronicles: Sh*t Fat Bikers Say - Alaska Commons


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Congrats to everyone with all of that mileage!! Tracking mine in my signature, and I use a Cateye Stealth 10 on rides that are not my commute since I know the mileage of that one.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Damn, Blockphi! :eekster:



woodway said:


> Man, I hate having to switch to tights.


Try calling them long johns instead of tights. It`s easier for the male ego to digest!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was waiting for woodway to chime in because I know he's always up there but 12K miles on a fatbike is just insane. My hat's off to the Alaskan!

I love collecting the data. I use to do it with separate bike computers and jot it down in a spreadsheet. Now I just run a garmin 500 and let Strava keep track for me.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Man you guys have a lot of miles!! I'm at roughly 1,900 miles this year. It's my first year of bike commuting and I started in mid April only doing a third of the total distance from home to work. I'm excited to see how many miles I rack up next year with a full year of full distance.

One thing I have noticed, it feels like an eternity between oil changes now on my car.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2014)

Kleebs, That's a great start and you're right about the oil changes. My drive would be 44 miles/day, my ride is 35 miles/day. All things being equal and using the gov rate of $.56/mile I can easily claim a minimum of $17/day in savings, probably really close to $22/day. Doesn't matter much beyond those numbers are my own internal validation of cycling expenses (like new Brooks Saddles). My wife bought me new shoes for winter so we'll see how this year goes. Last year I managed a commute every month at least once. This Winter I'm trying to his 100 miles a month as a minimum. We'll see, Jan/Feb is a ways off.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

This year I'm up to about 2100 recorded miles since April. That doesn't include rides that weren't recorded or anything from January through March. All in all, my conservative estimate puts me around 2600-2750 so far this year. 

Not too shabby, considering in May I had a mandatory three weeks off and July was a slow month due to odd and intensive work hours.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This is the first year I've kept good track. It's always been an estimate, but I finally did like Bedwards and started using Strava to record everything for 2014. It's cool having accurate data. Before summer I was eyeballing 4k for the year, but being a teacher/commuter, I ride less when it's nice out than I do all winter :lol: so I didn't keep up the 1k per quarter average. I got the cheap Garmin 200 and I love it. Does all I need it to, especially when combined with Strava. I'm at 3040 for the year as of this morning. 

I can't fathom that kind of Alaskan Fat Bike Mileage. We have a winner. Of course, anyone with more mileage than me is obviously a superstar, since I obviously set the standard.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> I can't fathom that kind of Alaskan Fat Bike Mileage. We have a winner. Of course, anyone with more mileage than me is obviously a superstar, since I obviously set the standard.


I'm quite lucky in that my wife and family are quite supportive of the commuting. Also, having a single car for a family of five helps to ensure I'm not tempted to drive .

The funny thing is, I clearly remember the last time I drove to work and it was 13 months ago and that was only because my wife was coming into town for some dental work anyway. And I felt out of sorts all day long.

My daily mileage will start to taper off now that it is getting colder and when the snow comes, but that also means I'll start picking up a lot more miles on the weekend again. I've been slacking over the weekends lately because I'm putting in so many miles during the week.

Riding the fatty for all those miles hasn't been too much of a chore. Of course, my legs are starting to look like a body builder's...which isn't too bad, except that the rest of me looks like a couch potato...The gut is getting a bit smaller, but it's taking a long time...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ "the rest of me looks like a couch potato". Haha. Classic. I think I have the same problem. Not so potato-y but super twigy except the legs. 

Not much variation in exercise...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

All hail blockphi!  Impressed! 

I look to be at 2097 miles for the year. I haven't been running a computer lately, but am pretty religious about manual mileage logging on endomondo when I get to work, and adding in any weekend miles on Monday. Since my old Garmin was found under that work carseat a while ago, I think I may try to go back to logging that way next year, if just to see what my record is for the route. I did more trailriding this summer with the new full suspension, so I was happy with that even if it lost me some commute mileage on "Freedom Fridays", when I sometimes took off a few hours in the morning to (drive to) trailride something new, or old and not ridden in a while.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Short ride in because I dropped the truck off for the yearly pain of seeing what is rusted away from lack of use. I know a bumper is on the list.


My car goes in tomorrow. The most ridiculous thing I had to replace this year was the oil pan, which was leaking and nearly rusted through despite the car's body bring half decent. I'm sure disuse on the gravel drive didn't help, although you would think that would be offset by reduced salt exposure. I hate to think how the other important parts might be doing. Bottom line is rust never sleeps.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Woo, fast ride home tonight. Chilly enough for a little bite to the air. Flannel weather. Perfect.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I drove to work today due to the potential for cooler temps mixed with rain and I had a meeting to go to before work started. Of course, 60 and sunny as possible on the drive in. Oh well it would have been a great day to ride but you cannot win them all.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

blockphi said:


> I'm quite lucky in that my wife and family are quite supportive of the commuting. Also, having a single car for a family of five helps to ensure I'm not tempted to drive .


I've got the supportive wife/family...I do have a Jeep but I never drive it to work (bonus living at altitude in the west... relative humidity in the single digits, and no salt used in the winter. Rust is a foreign substance) I haven't driven to work in 14 months. I take the longer route usually at least one way... what's your daily average on a work day? considering all my route choices I'm probably averaging 15-17 miles per day on a typical work day. Granted, I do get a lot of vacations :lol: That is just huge mileage.


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2014)

No commute today. Driving the interstate reminds me that riding (while physically harder) is more relaxing regardless of the weather. It's not hard to appreciate why motorists are sometimes angry at cyclists, it's pure jealousy. :thumbsup:


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Forster said:


> Kleebs, That's a great start and you're right about the oil changes. My drive would be 44 miles/day, my ride is 35 miles/day. All things being equal and using the gov rate of $.56/mile I can easily claim a minimum of $17/day in savings, probably really close to $22/day. Doesn't matter much beyond those numbers are my own internal validation of cycling expenses (like new Brooks Saddles). My wife bought me new shoes for winter so we'll see how this year goes. Last year I managed a commute every month at least once. This Winter I'm trying to his 100 miles a month as a minimum. We'll see, Jan/Feb is a ways off.


I calculated the expenses one day for my commute and I save $8.33 per day on just gas and parking. That doesn't take into account wear and tear on my car or the health/well-being benefits. My wife has been very supportive of my commuting as well and the associated expenses for parts and gear. She's a big fan of my new-found physique  I've dropped 20 pounds since I started commuting in April and have nearly worked off all the beer belly I worked so hard for in college. I'm going to shoot for a goal of 150 miles per month through the winter. I think the wind will be the killer for me.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Forgot to note, I drove today because I was bringing in a bunch of frozen home cooked meals for a coworker that unexpectedly lost a loved one yesterday. The drive was for a good reason, but I was a little sad to be driving on the way in. I'm always in a much better mood when I ride.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs - nice move for the coworker. Driving is worth it if you are helping out someone.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've got the supportive wife/family...I do have a Jeep but I never drive it to work (bonus living at altitude in the west... relative humidity in the single digits, and no salt used in the winter. Rust is a foreign substance) I haven't driven to work in 14 months. I take the longer route usually at least one way... what's your daily average on a work day? considering all my route choices I'm probably averaging 15-17 miles per day on a typical work day. Granted, I do get a lot of vacations :lol: That is just huge mileage.


As long as the weather is nice enough my average daily commute is 23 miles. Depending on workload and such, there are some days where I'll ride my standard 8 in the morning and tack on about 30 in the afternoon. I also had a big bump in overall riding this year due to coaching a kids bike clinic once a week for six weeks - that usually ended up with an addition 20 to 25 miles each week on top of the commute and weekend riding. All in all a great year for riding.

This morning was a weird one - woke up at 4, as per usual, and looked at my personal weather station and it showed 8 degrees. Fuhhhh... I thought and went to get ready for the ride. Checked Weather Underground and saw a mix of temps from 9 to 23 in the valley and in the mid teens in Anchorage. Suited up and went back out to the bed to sit down and put on my sock. Checked the personal weather station again and it read 20. WTF? I am fairly confident that I didn't mis-read the station, as I looked at it twice before getting out of bed just to be sure. Welcome to Alaska in fall.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Suited up and went back out to the bed to sit down and put on my sock. Checked the personal weather station again and it read 20.


I go with 2 socks when it's below freezing :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> I go with 2 socks when it's below freezing :lol:


Alaska!

We only don one sock. And let our beards produce a cone of warmth around us.

I think Alaska! is my new answer for every question...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We had a heat wave yesterday, so I`m still in my knaked knees costume. A nice motivator for short rides in winter is that a good chunky ice layer on the windshield takes longer to chip off than it takes me to pedal home from work. Even a scrapeable window is more effort than throwing a leg over a frosted saddle.



CommuterBoy said:


> Rust is a foreign substance


Foreign substance- got it. Thanks, CB. I was hoping somebody would define that word for me. Now what`s that Kleebs says about saving money on parking???


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I thought rust was a fungal infection of plants. Or a color of fall leaves.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Looks like 2000-3000 is the range most of us are in. As of this morning, I'm at 2910. By the end of this week, I should hit the most mileage I've ever had in one year. Last year I did 2925 which was my record. 

Looks like I'll avoid the showers this afternoon which is good. I brought no rain gear.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> ^ I thought rust was a fungal infection of plants. Or a color of fall leaves.


Rust and smuts. I don't know why all these cyclists complain about one agricultural pest while appearing to be quite fond of the other...typical.

Boring ride in today. Windy as all get up and bright n' sunny. Blah blah blah blah.


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## CrzyTuning (Mar 31, 2012)

Went to apply for a job on my new (to me) bike. ~16 miles round trip. I wouldn't mind doing that trip daily if it weren't for the snow coming soon.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

I must be the slacker of the group. I'm only at about 1200 miles for the year. Since April my commute shortened up to about 9 miles round trip. With holidays, vacations, sick days, and the occasional drive to work (only about six or seven since April), the numbers don't add up quickly with such a short commute. I also don't take the long way home as I'm usually pretty tired and ready to hit the AC and Lazy Boy.

The total doesn't include mt. bike miles but I kind of slacked off there this year too. Broken ribs in the spring and a rolled ankle in the fall, kids' sports all year. . .maybe another 300-400 miles here.

Ride home in the mid-80s ride in the low 50s.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had to get to work an hour early today (8 instead of 9) for an all day thing, and the traffic difference is pretty dramatic. At the last light, I am usually the only one waiting for the left arrow, or maybe 2 cars max ahead of me. Today there were probably 8 in line, and only 5 made it through on the first arrow. Same deal at the driveway to the office parking lot, backed up with people going to find a space or waiting for peds to cross the parking lot. If you can adjust your schedule to avoid the most popular commute hour, I highly recommend it. The shift also lets me have daylight for at least part of the ride in, instead of riding both ways in the dark in winter. I am also guaranteed some quiet time in the "open office" at the end of the day after most people leave.

Low 50's today, woohoo, back to shorts!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Vegas, I would gladly trade my mileage in for your riding conditions year round. I have to accumulate the miles now, because in another month and a half, it will be a different story.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Sucks to be me since yesterday... On a commute to a appointment at the clinic, a taxi driver decided to keep getting on my rear wheel on a one way tight street with cars parked each side and finally he pulled to my height and accelerated to send me flying off like superman over 12 feet into a parked car. No, this is no accident, he did it on purpose and got away with it, because the police officers took his story first while I was getting first aid in the ambulance, then they let him go before I even got the chance to tell the cops it was an assault, and they acted like douchebags with me saying it's just an accident and to forget about it. I had to pull myself and my bike to the police station a few blocks away to finally be able to file a report, because the officers on scene (who never witness the "accident") called it a day based only on the aggressor's story and refused to take my declaration. I'm gonna sue his ass off, even if it takes years before the case goes to court. Even thought I was wearing my helmet, gloves, long pants, work boots, a coat, a hoodie and a long sleeve shirt, I got serious rash on my face and my hips, ecchymoses and contusions on my right arm and left leg (I couldn't even write properly at first filling in the report at the station, more than an hour after the crash), and a slight headache and shoulder pain. The helmet is okay, gloves looks ok, but my coat, hoodie and shirt have the forearm sleeves ripped, and my work pant are damaged too. Not to mention my glasses being scratch and my bike too. My bike was actually stuck in the rear bumper of a parked car 4 meters away from where the taxi guy ram me over and it damaged that car, but the taxi driver never got account for that either. The driver never came to see if I was oaky nor did he tried to call for help or talk to me. He stopped slowly 20 feet further and I had the time to stumble and fall on the pavement in front of his car 30 feet from where I landed, than started dialling 911 on my cell phone before his passenger came out of the back seat to help me. Then afterward the driver casually step out of his car and watched from a distance like he was on his coffee break and nothing bad happened. I can't believe how hard it's gonna be proving that guy doesn't deserve to drive on our road anymore after what happened yesterday and he just drove away from the cops. He should have been arrested right away and released later after the police investigated the charges for assault using a vehicle and neglecting first aid to someone he ran over. I feel like crap ever since and I look like crap too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Sorry, for that, David. Montreal, right? Did you get the passenger's name? I think I would also register a complaint against the attending officers. Maybe their superior will chew them a new one. Maybe not, but unless you complain, the admin will likely never see paperwork on it.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Thanks Brian, I did everything I could, I'm sure the officers learned some new laws that day too, no need to file a complain and stick it under their nose again, I was strong enough to carry myself and my bike to the police station and that show them who's the man haha

Yeah Montreal. Sucks that the lady was in a hurry too and she started to give me her phone number but the police car arrived and I never got the last 4 digits. At least I gave her my business card and she said she'd call, but that was before she spoke to the officers, so I'm not expecting anything right now. If the guy gets found guilty of criminal charges, then he'll loose both his driver and taxi license for a least 5 years. That's what I'm aiming for, because I don't want him on the roads anymore, at least not on the same roads as mine. I don't care how long it's gonna take, justice will be lay down.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

So sorry to hear about that, man. I think that's the thing we all fear most when we're on the roads, and I'm glad it didn't turn out worse for you.


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

David C, That is really messed up. I dont understand what people are thinking sometimes. Hopefully you will be able to get some resolution. Glad at the very least you didnt take more damage.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

David - first off, and most importantly, glad that you are OK for the most part. Sounds like a terrible incident, and then to have to go through the other BS afterwards is just aggravating!!! Wish you the best in your recovery!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

How funny to mention that I'm suppose received a brand new SJ4000 action camera in 2-3 weeks that I was planning to stick on my bike so it can act as a "black-box" device for an eventual accident of some sort... Stupid thing is still in the mail since almost two weeks now... Boy I can tell you the minute it gets delivered it will never leave my bars until the world's end and it's gonna be recording big time. Although if I would already have had it yesterday, it would have only captured my own riding and most likely not shown any of the driver's moves since he was always behind me and when he passed he threw me to the left and straight down on the pavement, but it would have been something helpful to prove I was not riding in a reckless way to start with, despite riding to the left of the one way one lane street with cars parked on both sides. I ride to the left on these types of street for two main reasons, first you have a lot less chance to get "doored" by a passenger side than a driver side door, second it gives the drivers passing me a easy way to gauge how much room they give me between their car and myself because they are right next to me, so most of them actually pass me in a safe way and only when there's enough room for it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, David, that is terrible, hope you feel OK today.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Checked in yesterday after a couple of weeks and kept thinking I wanted to respond, but was past the statute of limitations, Bedwards100 told me that It was ok to post on old stuff, and I should check in more regularly. Here I am! After joining him on a commute in July 2013 my biking has evolved! I rode 1120 miles last year and am about to cross over 3300 by the end of today. On my commute home yesterday I set out to earn two QOM's on strava. Advice from Bedwards100 "stand up on it and push until your legs burn, your lungs burn, you are sucking wind and you can't see anymore" Using this strategy I got them both! 

I thought I would have dead legs for the ride in this morning, but somehow they seemed to work. Riding 3300+ miles in a year is making me tough!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ congrats, and yes post more!!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

David C - Glad you are okay. Gasholes abound everywhere. It seems like professional drivers are often the worst offenders. 

Good commute today. Mid 20s and light breeze. Can't complain, though I want snow.


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## Guest (Oct 30, 2014)

David C said:


> How funny to mention that I'm suppose received a brand new SJ4000 action camera in 2-3 weeks that I was planning to stick on my bike so it can act as a "black-box" device for an eventual accident of some sort... Stupid thing is still in the mail since almost two weeks now... Boy I can tell you the minute it gets delivered it will never leave my bars until the world's end and it's gonna be recording big time. Although if I would already have had it yesterday, it would have only captured my own riding and most likely not shown any of the driver's moves since he was always behind me and when he passed he threw me to the left and straight down on the pavement, but it would have been something helpful to prove I was not riding in a reckless way to start with, despite riding to the left of the one way one lane street with cars parked on both sides. I ride to the left on these types of street for two main reasons, first you have a lot less chance to get "doored" by a passenger side than a driver side door, second it gives the drivers passing me a easy way to gauge how much room they give me between their car and myself because they are right next to me, so most of them actually pass me in a safe way and only when there's enough room for it.


 You've got me thinking about a camera too. Had a guy run a very red light in a 45mph who narrowly missed me (I started across with I had the green light/Walk guy) and then almost slammed into another car because he was (I think) turning to yell at me). I was about mid-lane when I realized he wasn't slowing so I crossed center and stopped to show my disbelief. Apparently that's not "respectful" or something because he was turning and rolling down his window when another vehicle turned into the lane in front of him and he went skidding across on-coming lanes. Feel pretty lucky today but I didn't get a license plate and without that, there's not much point in calling the POPO.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow David! Crazy stuff. Hope your side of the story gets heard. Glad it wasn't worse.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

David C said:


> Sucks to be me since yesterday... On a commute to a appointment at the clinic, a taxi driver decided to keep getting on my rear wheel on a one way tight street with cars parked each side and finally he pulled to my height and accelerated to send me flying off like superman over 12 feet into a parked car. No, this is no accident, he did it on purpose and got away with it, because the police officers took his story first while I was getting first aid in the ambulance, then they let him go before I even got the chance to tell the cops it was an assault, and they acted like douchebags with me saying it's just an accident and to forget about it. I had to pull myself and my bike to the police station a few blocks away to finally be able to file a report, because the officers on scene (who never witness the "accident") called it a day based only on the aggressor's story and refused to take my declaration. I'm gonna sue his ass off, even if it takes years before the case goes to court. Even thought I was wearing my helmet, gloves, long pants, work boots, a coat, a hoodie and a long sleeve shirt, I got serious rash on my face and my hips, ecchymoses and contusions on my right arm and left leg (I couldn't even write properly at first filling in the report at the station, more than an hour after the crash), and a slight headache and shoulder pain. The helmet is okay, gloves looks ok, but my coat, hoodie and shirt have the forearm sleeves ripped, and my work pant are damaged too. Not to mention my glasses being scratch and my bike too. My bike was actually stuck in the rear bumper of a parked car 4 meters away from where the taxi guy ram me over and it damaged that car, but the taxi driver never got account for that either. The driver never came to see if I was oaky nor did he tried to call for help or talk to me. He stopped slowly 20 feet further and I had the time to stumble and fall on the pavement in front of his car 30 feet from where I landed, than started dialling 911 on my cell phone before his passenger came out of the back seat to help me. Then afterward the driver casually step out of his car and watched from a distance like he was on his coffee break and nothing bad happened. I can't believe how hard it's gonna be proving that guy doesn't deserve to drive on our road anymore after what happened yesterday and he just drove away from the cops. He should have been arrested right away and released later after the police investigated the charges for assault using a vehicle and neglecting first aid to someone he ran over. I feel like crap ever since and I look like crap too.


Man, that sucks. I think most people assume a person would never act like the taxi driver did, at least not on purpose, but as we bike commuters know, people can be total douches behind the wheel. I'm glad your injuries were relatively minor because it sounds like things could have gotten a lot uglier.

I was buzzed by a guy yesterday who drives a car for a business down the street. I've had minor gripes with some of the drivers before, but this guy didn't seem to give a crap about my safety at all. A semi was making a right turn onto the road I was riding down. Knowing how wide of a turn these trucks have, I slowed down just a little as I approached the intersection to let the truck complete the turn. The next thing I know the guy behind me comes zipping by just off my handlebar. I yelled out at the guy and put my hand up in WTF position. I later caught up to the car, but the driver jumped the gun and started into the intersection even though the light hadn't turned green yet. I got the guy's license number, or at least enough of it to identify him if I have to.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

RollingRunner said:


> Checked in yesterday after a couple of weeks and kept thinking I wanted to respond, but was past the statute of limitations, Bedwards100 told me that It was ok to post on old stuff, and I should check in more regularly. Here I am! After joining him on a commute in July 2013 my biking has evolved! I rode 1120 miles last year and am about to cross over 3300 by the end of today. On my commute home yesterday I set out to earn two QOM's on strava. Advice from Bedwards100 "stand up on it and push until your legs burn, your lungs burn, you are sucking wind and you can't see anymore" Using this strategy I got them both!
> 
> woohoo Rolling Runner, nice mileage as well as QOM status! Congrats
> 
> I thought I would have dead legs for the ride in this morning, but somehow they seemed to work. Riding 3300+ miles in a year is making me tough!


woohoo Rolling Runner, nice mileage as well as QOM status! Congrats


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hang in there, David C!

And congratulations, RR.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I rode alone, and I rode with friends. I rode fixed and geared. I rode to work, and I rode for fun. It was on the street, and a little in the dirt. The wind in my face and the sun on my back. My lights lit up the darkness and got me home every night. I rode.......

48F and overcast today with the chance of showers in the evening. Said screw it after watching bike videos on YouTube this morning. Rode in with no incidents and at what seemed like a fast pace. A bit windy but for late October, wearing shorts while riding...no complaints. My journey home was at a very nice 44F and a light breeze. I took the long way home tonight. Past the campus and the drunk college kids stumbling around in costumes. Past my old neighborhood and into the darkness. The street lights were not all on and there was no traffic. Just the sound of my tires on the road and the wind in my ears. My lights lit my way as I headed into my peaceful place. The more I pedaled, the more I left work behind me.

Thank you to everyone who frequents the commuter section. The support that you all offer along with the encouragement and knowledge is inspiring. All of you, along with a close friend at work have helped to motivate me to reach my goal, which I did tonight. Not only did I reach it, but it was 2 months early. Setting my sights on 3000 now by the end of the year. Not sure that it will happen, but I will try like hell to get there.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

Well done TenSpeed!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Chilly Willy - And I'm Not Talking About the Penguin*

It was only around 35 this morning but I'm thinking thermal tights or shorts over tights are in order. The single layer of Lycra offers little protection on the fast downhills.

Keep us updated David C.



TenSpeed said:


> ...Thank you to everyone who frequents the commuter section. The support that you all offer along with the encouragement and knowledge is inspiring. All of you, along with a close friend at work have helped to motivate me to reach my goal, which I did tonight. Not only did I reach it, but it was 2 months early. Setting my sights on 3000 now by the end of the year. Not sure that it will happen, but I will try like hell to get there.


We'll have you riding through the winter in another year.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Woulda rode in today, but I had to transport two cases of paper for the boss. That would be an extra sixty some odd pounds I'm not prepared to ride with, for both putting it on the bike and my physical ability. Oh well. Cold and windy, perfect day for a ride.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I carried one bankers box full of paper home on my rear rack once, and probably wouldn't do that again.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

If I had a cargo bike or a trailer, it'd be a different story. Paper is deceptively heavy. One piece of paper is nothing. 10000 pieces of paper is pretty dang heavy.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

I took the easy flatter way in today. Seemed appropriate after a week of hard pushing (and after running 5 miles before getting on the bike this morning) and my tired legs thanked me. Sort of. I'll take the car home tonight for the weekend. I'm feeling pretty ok with that. 

Nice Job TenSpeed! It's exciting seeing your mileage goals come together. Winter riding isn't so bad, you just need the right gear...and attitude, especially when you see your average speed drop a lot. 

Time to break out the extra layers Chilly Willy


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have the bike for it, just need to get some more gear. The slower speed will bug the hell out of me, not gonna lie about that. I still plan on riding as much as possible until the cold gets the best of me. The logistics of it will come together as it has for the previous part of the year. Once it gets figured out I will be alright.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had off today. Yesterday I had another small run-in with the guy who buzzed me just the day before. This time I was sitting in the turning lane waiting for a clearing, and the guy swerved around me into the left lane and sped through to make the turn in front of oncoming traffic. I'm not exactly sure what to do or if I can do anything at this point, but I have his license plate number and know where he works. I guess I could talk to the manager, but I'm not sure how that would turn out. If anything major happens, I will be sure to contact the police.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I'd say contact the police before something major actually happens... Is he using his company truck or his own ? The cops usually can't give a ticket if they can't witness the infraction, but a video is always helpful, perhaps it's a sign you should start recording your daily commutes asap and let the local police know about your concerns that this guy doesn't seem to care about other's safety on the road ? Usually the cops who are on the motorcycle team (or any two wheels patrol) are the ones being the most receptive to this kind of citizen concerns. I would recommend to find out if your local police department has a bicycle patrol unit or motorcycle patrol unit, and to get in touch with the chef officer of such units, they are usually very friendly people and open to hear about concerns from the two-wheel community, because they also are in the first seat of the reckless driving show.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

No commute here today as today is Nevada Day and local government has the day off. Instead I got myself caught up in pumpkin carving and it took four hours. Got those little paper things you put on the pumpkin and then have to carve out. After working with my first kid (rather, doing it I should say) and realizing how long it took, I knew I was in trouble cause it isn't like I can tell my other two kids no to carving their designs. Woulda gladly taken the commute today. . .


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was cold and drizzling on my way in last night, kept going until the wee hours. Beautiful sunrise lit up white dusted mountains. I was hoping for a few flakes down below for tonight, but the skies had cleared by the time I got up this today. Last night and I have are 11P to 11A shift, nice to ride home in sun-warmed temps with full light and get a few hours of sleep in while it`s fully dark.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Lots of wind in the Valley, but not bad in town. I still am hoping and wishing for snow, but it almost seems like maybe not this year...

Had a great ride this weekend down in Girdwood. A bit of a write up over here, with pictures. Good times!

Olympian Kikkan Randall was there training and my oldest got a chance to work with her a bit on technique. Pretty cool. I got to watch her change in the parking lot - sounds a bit pervy, eh? - this gal has not a six pack, but a twelve pack and could easily crush 99% of the men I know. Da-amn! Inspiring to see someone who works so hard out there in the community and working with the kids. Embarrassing to think that I'm not that much older and am in such terrible shape...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I've been riding my boring hillclimb route for about a month now, and wow is it boring. It's honestly great, but it's also so boring. Every morning I spend the last km or 2 practically falling asleep. It won't get great snowclearing though, so in the winter I'll have to switch back and forth between it and my old route.


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2014)

blockphi said:


> A good ride in this AM. Lots of wind in the Valley, but not bad in town. I still am hoping and wishing for snow, but it almost seems like maybe not this year...
> 
> Had a great ride this weekend down in Girdwood. A bit of a write up over here, with pictures. Good times!
> 
> Olympian Kikkan Randall was there training and my oldest got a chance to work with her a bit on technique. Pretty cool. I got to watch her change in the parking lot - sounds a bit pervy, eh? - this gal has not a six pack, but a twelve pack and could easily crush 99% of the men I know. Da-amn! Inspiring to see someone who works so hard out there in the community and working with the kids. Embarrassing to think that I'm not that much older and am in such terrible shape...


 Hey is the Double Muskie still open in Girdwood? We're passed by last year but didn't have time to stop in Girdwood so we didn't check.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Got some new cool weather gear over the weekend and was excited to try it out this morning. It was a Nashbar Derby softshell jacket and some miss new booties. I ended up being overdressed and had to shed some layers before I got to the office but the ride was pretty solid overall. Yelled at some idiot pedestrians that were obliviously crossing a 6 lane road with construction without looking. Later, lobbed some obscenities at a pickup truck that very nearly right-hooked me. 

Had an issue with my Serfas Thunderbolt randomly turning itself off. It's only two weeks old and this is the second time it has turned itself off in the middle of my commute. Now that the time has changed, I'm going to need that baby on during my ride home in the evening so it might be time to see how good their customer service is.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Forster said:


> Hey is the Double Muskie still open in Girdwood? We're passed by last year but didn't have time to stop in Girdwood so we didn't check.


Yup, still open and, I guess, one of the best places in the area to eat. Never been there personally, but all reports are that it is still amazing.


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Yup, still open and, I guess, one of the best places in the area to eat. Never been there personally, but all reports are that it is still amazing.


 I haven't been there in more than 10 years and still remember it being great so that checks with my experience.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Total bummer. I think I'm getting sick. Rode the long way, so stoked that I was gonna come into campus through the off road trails. About the time I'm thirteen miles into my eighteen mile ride I get helluva headache and feel winded. I took the short way on the off road trails, cut the ride to about sixteen miles.

Then I rode to do some volunteer work between class and felt pretty meh. The ride tonight might suck, but at least I'll be home. Tomorrow I'm probably getting a ride up so I can vote before class, whatever that it's worth.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

You were not messing around. I would have kept going.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Standard commute today. A bit windy in the Valley - gusts to the mid twenties. Otherwise, not bad. Not bad at all.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ahhhhh! Not cool.

First bits of ice on the road this morning. Still no snow in the forecast, but it looks like next week is when we drop below freezing for good. Have to start thinking about the winter bike makeovers.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Saw this on the side of the trail yesterday morning, looks like a possum has been working it over last night.
> 
> View attachment 936744


I agree with posters in the other thread. That would have been BADASS strapped to your handlebars.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Haha, you should have made a ******* pogie out of it


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## Kogswell (Nov 5, 2014)

Terrible! Bike was stolen last night and I awoke to my bike lock on the ground and my classic, unique, hand built bike gone! MFer's!!! Anyone fortunate enough to find this bike please contact me. It is a light blue Kogswell Porteur/Randonneur with many custom features including hand built wheels and front hub that powers front light. It also has an uncommon sticker on top bar, and black fenders, bar tape and Brooks saddle. I just moved to Phoenix and have been riding for past month and I am extremely pissed at moment for lack of bike paths and MFer's who steal a very 'uncommon' bike that thieves will never appreciate and will probably try to sell for a couple hundred bucks when it is worth well over 2k!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Saw this on the side of the trail yesterday morning, looks like a possum has been working it over last night.
> 
> View attachment 936744


Is it dead?

Good ride in and good ride home.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

No excitement in today's ride, just a pleasant run both ways. 

I am starting to see the appeal to riding through the city at night. I am also beginning to get the layering right.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Blech! BikeCo, you must have some seriously vicous possums!



Kogswell said:


> Terrible! Bike was stolen last night and I awoke to my bike lock on the ground and my classic, unique, hand built bike gone! MFer's!!!


My condolences, Kogs. I don`t suppose there`s much chance of you getting it back, but here`s hoping for some miracle reunion.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BikeCO, that is truly impressive. Whatever left that have that opossum quite the treat.

The only animals I ever get to see are white tailed deer, rabbits, this adorable gang of kittens, skunks and the usual Virginia opossum. 

I do sometimes hear coyotes in farm fields at night on the way home and some kind of raptor nest by the park. Nothing brutal though. Living in the burbs, snore.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I got the camera at lunch time today, cones with a bunch of accessories for mounting and even a spare case cover with vented holes (default one is waterproof), even zip-ties, double-sided adhesive pads and a steel string (safety line), but the charger is Europe plug (input voltage is universal tho) and there's no place on the external case to secure the safety line, but I'll figure it out soon enough.

I never got to mount a camera on my bike or helmet before and it proves itself to be an annoying task to mount it in the helmet despite the wide selection of mounts included. It's mostly because my helmet has very little to no flat spots and the camera has a very wide angle lens, so it's easy to get the helmet in way. I absolutely don't want to mount it on top or front of the helmet, obviously due to the sole purpose of wearing a helmet, and now I'm hesitating between left side by my ear or at the back of the helmet where I can have it stick up and fold back in case of a hit or if I want to record behind me. For tomorrow I'll simply mount the camera on my bars, so at least I won't be walking to class anymore, although I still haven't checked the bike thoroughly since the crash, but I hope I can pedal the easy 1km commute without my rear IGH breaking down in pieces yet.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sunny and 52F on the way in but the wind seriously kicked my butt! 42F and crisp on the way home. Fairly fast ride home since it started to sprinkle as soon as I left work. The road that leads me to the MUP is mostly deserted on my way home since it is late at night and there is hardly ever traffic. The entire road has a bike lane traveling each direction. There was a pizza delivery van completely blocking the bike lane forcing me to take the lane to get around it. OK, no big deal I guess since the guy is probably at the door getting money and getting ready to leave. Nah. Almost got doored as I went by but luckily I had enough time to get out and around him and luckily there was no traffic. I said to him that he was blocking the bike lane and could not park there. He mumbled something at me and I couldn't quite make it out. Got to the MUP and decided to call the pizza place and talk to the manager. He seemed annoyed but said he would talk to the driver. Hit the MUP, and the count started.....the deer. 17 of them total from the MUP to my apartment complex. That is about a 2.5-3 mile stretch or so. Saw a few bucks and one that had a huge rack of......wait for it......not horns, but antlers.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

TenSpeed, glad you could avoid the dooring, that was a close call indeed. I think it should be illegal (I mean morally illegal too) to park or double-park in a bike lane with a motorized vehicle, and that it should only be tolerated if you park in the car lane and for valid reasons. Why would they get their car in our bike lane on top of already making an illegal stop on the road ? Every time I see people doing so, I make sure to let them know about blocking only the car lane and not the bike path. Even worst, some idiots even park in the full bike lanes in the winter, thinking its free parking for their shopping downtown. Too many cars and now we're starting to have too many people on bikes to allow drivers to keep acting like idiots. Good count on the deers !


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## sasu (Nov 16, 2013)

Having this week off, giving the legs time to recuperate. I have 20 miles each way and being close to 50 years old I cannot ride that distance every day... yet.

I will commute on the bike the whole winter, it is good endurance training as we will have permanent snow cover for several months. The commute time can more than double. Bike paths are not a high priority object for snow plowing.

I will be like Superman in the Spring.

I rode the whole last winter but then my commute was only 7 miles each way. Now I have triple the distance in rural and urban environments, luckily almost 100% bike path coverage.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I hit my yearly mileage goal this morning, 3000 miles! That was my goal last year and I missed it by 75 miles. I should rack up a couple hundred more by year end. Nothing else noteworthy this morning. 

I forgot to mention the other day, on my way down to my bike at the end of the day on Tuesday, I got stuck in the elevator. The power went out for a second and the elevator stopped working. I was stuck for about an hour an 15 minutes. The operations staff was clueless, they couldn't figure out how to get the door open. I pried the inside door open and found a latch that released the outside door. The elevator lined up with the floor below mine by about 2', so the person I was stuck with and I had to jump through. I texted my boss and told him I want a raise and extra vacation. He said I can leave an hour early on Friday. Guess it's better than nothing...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Straz - congrats on the mileage!! That is a great number to have achieved already with a month and a half to go in the year. 

sasu - 20 miles each way, mostly on bike paths? You are very lucky to have that commute and that route as well. Very jealous over here.

David C - thanks for the encouragement. Hope that your recovery is coming along nicely after that incident.

No ride for me today. Legs are really feeling this past week and the non stop drizzle that we have had all morning is making the air seem a lot colder than what it is. I will ride tomorrow on my day off and then again on Sunday with a friend as we do some urban exploring.


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2014)

First for me, skipped the commute to do an after work ride. Don't normally drive to a ride, but I didn't think I had the legs to add the miles to my day.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fairly standard commute this AM. 16F at that house, 19F in town. Full moon reflecting on Cook Inlet - amazing. Still hoping for snow.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Had a rough day yesterday. Pumped my tires up before I left in the morning and not 2 miles later had a flat in the rear. Flat tire, easy enough to change so I dig out the piece of glass I found in the tire, pull out my spare tube and CO2 and get on my way to work. Work was terrible and didn't end up leaving until 7:30. Most of the way home and what do you know? Another flat and I already used my spare tube and cartridge. Had to call the wife to come rescue me. 

This morning I rotated the rear tire to the front as a stop gap until I buy some more durable tires. I've had 8 or 9 flats this year and its just getting frustrating. Gonna pick up some gatorskins or schwalbe marathons. Too much broken glass in the city here.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> Fairly standard commute this AM. 16F at that house, 19F in town. Full moon reflecting on Cook Inlet - amazing. Still hoping for snow.


Ditto.

Nah, just kidding. It was rainy and upper 40s on the way in. Looks worse now. This whole week has just been one big cloudfest. It's starting to get annoying.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

This week there were 2 nights I had free to hit the trails after work - Tuesday, and Thursday. On Tuesday it started raining around 4. And today it started raining around 4. Bah.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Gorgeous weather here. Up to about 60f for the ride in and about 80f for the ride home. Can't complain about that. About ten degrees above normal right now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Totally forgot that I left my car at the shop today, and not only did I neglect to call and pay the bill (they are closed by the time I pedal there), but I went right on by and on to my usual park-n-pedal lot, where I noticed my car was not there. Backtracked to the shop, where they could have easily locked it inside due to the unpaid bill, but no, it was outside, how nice. But a clueless guy was walking toward it while on the phone, raising my personal safety radar on a dark, wet, deserted street. PSA: if you see a woman, or anyone really, in this situation, the polite thing to do is to walk in the opposite direction, not hang around aimlessly. I got out my phone first and then the spare key, and loaded up without incident. 

And tonight, a winter weather advisory through 7 pm tomorrow:
Hazard types...heavy wet snow.

* Accumulations...2 to 5 inches of heavy wet snow with the highest snowfall totals above 1500 feet. (I'm at 1700')

* Maximum snowfall rate...up to 1 inch per hour...mainly early Friday morning.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Kleebs said:


> Had a rough day yesterday. Pumped my tires up before I left in the morning and not 2 miles later had a flat in the rear. Flat tire, easy enough to change so I dig out the piece of glass I found in the tire, pull out my spare tube and CO2 and get on my way to work. Work was terrible and didn't end up leaving until 7:30. Most of the way home and what do you know? Another flat and I already used my spare tube and cartridge. Had to call the wife to come rescue me.
> 
> This morning I rotated the rear tire to the front as a stop gap until I buy some more durable tires. I've had 8 or 9 flats this year and its just getting frustrating. Gonna pick up some gatorskins or schwalbe marathons. Too much broken glass in the city here.


Try some tire sealant with latex in your tubes, should cover most of the small punctures and allow you to ride home by slowing down a leak or even sealing it right up. It really works.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I copped out last night and got a ride home from a friend who lives nearby. I thought I was going to be riding home in light rain when it was still light out, but it was so dismal out that it was almost completely dark at 4:00 and the rain was coming down hard.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Wow, Deer heads, stolen bikes, flat tires! What a week it's been for commuters! I've had a drama free commuting week and happy with that! I've been riding my carbon cross bike "Lucky" most of the time since I got it in the spring and have been neglecting my road bike. Finally brought the road bike "Angel" today and it felt like I was wearing someone else's retainer. I was slow, slow on dead legs, so that didn't help. I had been riding along with Bedwards100 and then suddenly he was out of sight, blinking lights and all. Turns out he got a KOM on a stretch that has been taunting him for a while now. There can be peace!


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

I knew I had to bring the car home one day this week, so what the heck drive it home on a rainy night...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Cold. First ride since March where I thought, "well it's actually cold". Had some toasty gloves, couldn't find my balaclava, wore one too many layers, and got stopped at every single light. The worst part was cold ears. I hate that. 

I'm being a weenie tonight and not riding home because my girlfriend will be close by and she wants to grab a bite to eat. I'm so lame.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice morning here, 48 degrees, partly cloudy and a slight tailwind. The only annoyance was some asshat on the MUP who did not want to be passed. Would speed up when I tried to go by him and then slowly slow down again. Finally dropped him when the MUP turned uphill.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Weenie'd out this morning and drove. Shoes are still wet from my ride home yesterday, and I had several too many beers last night as I tried to wash away the bed-wetting performed by the Bengals in last night's game. Got a cyclocross race Sunday so I'll just claim I'm "saving my legs"...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Beautiful weather again today. Eighty degrees for ride home. Uneventful commute week. To and from. The best kind.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

The forecast is calling for 4 days of snow, and temperatures down to 0F (when we haven't really been below 0C yet), so tonight might very well have been my last snow-free commute. One bike is definitely getting its studs this weekend, and probably the other bike too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ 0 f!!!! ???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

can't ride this week due to location changes at work, very annoyed. I strongly dislike this.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Seems to be a lot of thundery shower dodging at the moment. Seems to lash it down at either 5:00AM to 8:00 or 15:00 to 19:00 or both. Keeps the temperature at a pretty pleasant 70 to 80 though as opposed to mad hot. No issues with crazy drivers over the last few weeks though, long may it last


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

What the??? Supposed to be 52F tomorrow!! I will take that for sure!


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## Guest (Nov 10, 2014)

Had to pass on the ride this morning. Woke up with a foot that I couldn't stand on. Felt like the tendons on top were all sprained. Things are better now, but what a weird deal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I occasionally get that. For me it is some kind of dislocation. I can't put any weight on it at all but if I rotate my foot while pointing my toe I can usually get it to go back in place. Once it does it is like nothing happened. It only happens once every few years usually if my foot has been resting in some weird position. Swimming with flippers can do it to.

I had an uneventful but chilly commute in this AM. Temps just below freezing. 'clava weather is coming soon. I'm giving the road bike some exercise before it gets hung for the winter.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

I occasionaly wake up with aches from my achiiiies tendon right above the ankle, same deal though and I am terrified to put weight on it it doesn't exactly hurt but there is no way I would want to try and walk on it. I massage it out for 10 or 15mins and the tension abates.
I crashed one time and I knew I had tooled myself but hobbled out, the next day when I tried to get out of bed my left leg just collapsed under me. No pain, my leg didn't work, my then 6 and 8 year old kids had to help me into a taxi and wheelchair me to the osteopath, an MRi and a shot of corticosteroids into my lower back and half an hour later I could just about walk again. Strange feeling, when I have bust bones it really hurts, but when you can see a limb but can't feel it and it doesn't work and it doesn't hurt, bizarre is the only description.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Strange weather in the northland today. Was 48F at my house this AM. In November?!? Windy, but warm. I suppose we'll have a no snow year since I bought a new "snow" bike. Just my luck. I can't say that I'd be sad if we were to skip the spell of temps in the negative 20s, but I will be sad if we miss out on snow. I need me some snow. It's the only way I can deal with the darkness. Heck, today I almost wore shorts. Soon Alaska will be the new spring break destination for all the college kids...

JordyB - were you out at the MatSu greenbelt trails this weekend? At the junction of Picnic Table and the ski trails? If it was, sorry for not stopping to actually chat and introduce myself. That climb up to Picnic table always turns my brain to mush - didn't even realize it was probably you until I was on my way down the trail and starting to get some oxygen to my brain again...


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

There were shoulder repairs today which I was not expecting. Had to merge into traffic on a busy 50 mph road which isn't my favorite thing to do. My saving grace is that it was on a slight downhill section and I was able to spin out my 46x12 gearing, not sure exactly how fast I was going but I think it was around 35 mph. I couldn't do that for very long, even with the slight downhill my legs really felt it.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I raced my fat bike in my local cyclocross race yesterday, which turned out to be a great call. Exceptionally muddy and only 1 dismount needed so the weight penalty wasn't that bad. Legs were dead this morning though so I drove. Planning to stop at the local bike shop this evening to order some new rubber for winter.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good ride in. Exquisite tail winds today!!! Unfortunately there were a few people with their dog's leash stretched across the entire mup, who didn't think to get outta the way even after I called out. Being the gentleman I am I slowed down, let them walk slowly out of my way, smiled, waved, and busted ass to get back up to speed after passing. This never happens, and on the day when I can go stupid fast it does. I was digging being able to pretend I was being chased by killer bees because the knobs were making so much noise. C'mon, you all do it too. 

I just don't get it though. When I walk my dog on the mup I make him walk in the grass next to it so he can't be in the way or sh*t on the trail. Dodging poop is not fun. Hitting it is considerably worse.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kleebs said:


> I raced my fat bike in my local cyclocross race yesterday, which turned out to be a great call. Exceptionally muddy and only 1 dismount needed so the weight penalty wasn't that bad. Legs were dead this morning though so I drove. Planning to stop at the local bike shop this evening to order some new rubber for winter.


Impressive. My fatbike weighs just about 2x what my cross bike does. I don't think it would compete well. My legs were dead when I raced my fatbike against other fatbikes.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> JordyB - were you out at the MatSu greenbelt trails this weekend? At the junction of Picnic Table and the ski trails? If it was, sorry for not stopping to actually chat and introduce myself. That climb up to Picnic table always turns my brain to mush - didn't even realize it was probably you until I was on my way down the trail and starting to get some oxygen to my brain again...


I sure was not, only played on the Hillside Saturday Afternoon. ;p


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## Sgraffite (Oct 6, 2014)

Sunny and 61F on the way in today. Then the cold front moved in around 11AM. Now it is 20F with flurries and the temperature is still dropping.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

About 85f for peddle home which is crazy. Even by Vegas standards this is warm for Novemberl


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Headwinds on the way back made for slow going. Oh well., some good riding today. About 70°F this afternoon, so I took a bit of time out of writing a paper about shrews and studying botany to ride a mix of singletrack and the cross country course, because think that has bigger hills than the single track. Riding through grass is pretty fun, too and I don't really get why.

Set some pr's though, a strava leader board, and a couple of close seconds. If I woulda remembered to wear the clips instead of boots. ..who knows?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was probably the last good commute of the year. We are to the time now where it is going to be cold, wet and of course miserable. Partly cloudy and 56F for the ride in. November in Michigan? I will take it!! Slightly windy but whatever I didn't care. When I left work, my weather app on my phone said 50F. Left work and did some extra riding downtown by the capital. The streets down there at that time of night are absolutely deserted. 5 lane wide one way road all to myself. I made my way around the capital, dodging potholes, blinkies blinking and with a huge smile on my face. Headed back east towards home and got on my normal route. Had a car come to a full stop at their stop sign, and as I approached, since they were waiting, I thought that it would be clear. Nope, he decided to go. Then he saw me. We both stopped, me, about 8" from the drivers side door. I run a Niterider Lumina 700 on the second brightest setting for the ride home and then I bump it up when I get on the MUP. I stopped with that light right at eye level right in his face. Didn't have to say anything, he knew and just looked up at me like sorry. I went around the back of him and continued on. Took the long way home and got buzzed by a dumbass in a wagon. Two lanes going each way with me to the far right in the right lane, and he buzzes me with no other traffic in the other lane. I run a bright rear blinker, reflective stuff on my helmet, bag and shoes. There is no way that the buzz was not on purpose.

So I got home in just under an hour after doing 17 miles. That is pretty good for me on the fixed gear. That includes the lights and stop signs that I stopped at which is not all of them haha. Oops! I walked in the door with the realization that after tonight the sun won't be out much and it won't be very warm. The upper peninsula is forecasted for about a foot of snow already tonight and tomorrow I believe. The shorts will be put away and the t shirts as well. I will be cold and windburned. It will be messy and slippery. I will get honked at for sure riding in the snow and cold temperatures by people who will think that I am crazy. Just trying to mentally prepare myself here for what is to come. Going to try and go Wednesday to find boots hopefully. Tomorrow the flats will be on the fat bike. Winter? It is coming.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

formula4speed said:


> There were shoulder repairs today which I was not expecting.


Ah, the ROAD shoulder- for some reason, I thought when I read it that you were going to say your own shoulder!

The weather has been beautiful here for the past week or so, but it cooled off a lot between this morning and tonight. I went to work carrying my long sleeved shirt in my bag in case I want it in the morning, though as soon as I got to the street I was kind of wishing I had put it on under my uninsulated jacket. I survived okay without it, but tomorrow I`ll be sure to go out and check current temps before "dressing out" for my commute. I saw the forecast for heavy snows in the plains. Still no signs of a solid winter snow here


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ah, the ROAD shoulder- for some reason, I thought when I read it that you were going to say your own shoulder!
> 
> The weather has been beautiful here for the past week or so, but it cooled off a lot between this morning and tonight. I went to work carrying my long sleeved shirt in my bag in case I want it in the morning, though as soon as I got to the street I was kind of wishing I had put it on under my uninsulated jacket. I survived okay without it, but tomorrow I`ll be sure to go out and check current temps before "dressing out" for my commute. I saw the forecast for heavy snows in the plains. Still no signs of a solid winter snow here


Ha, I guess between the two I prefer have road shoulder work and having to ride with traffic. Still blocked off today and my alternate route has construction going on as well. Hopefully they finish whatever they need to do this week.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> I sure was not, only played on the Hillside Saturday Afternoon. ;p


Was there any snow left up there? I hear there is some up Goldcord way, but not much. I think I may try to get up to Hillside this weekend myself. Have to see.

Decent ride in this AM. Too warm in the Valley. 49f at my house. It's just not right.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Charging Items*

OK, who can beat me. Today I am charging:
2 front lights
2 rear lights
1 Garmin
1 Ipod
1 Cellphone



TenSpeed said:


> Today was probably the last good commute of the year. We are to the time now where it is going to be cold, wet and of course miserable. Partly cloudy and 56F for the ride in. November in Michigan? I will take it!! Slightly windy but whatever I didn't care. When I left work, my weather app on my phone said 50F. Left work and did some extra riding downtown by the capital. The streets down there at that time of night are absolutely deserted. 5 lane wide one way road all to myself. I made my way around the capital, dodging potholes, blinkies blinking and with a huge smile on my face. Headed back east towards home and got on my normal route. Had a car come to a full stop at their stop sign, and as I approached, since they were waiting, I thought that it would be clear. Nope, he decided to go. Then he saw me. We both stopped, me, about 8" from the drivers side door. I run a Niterider Lumina 700 on the second brightest setting for the ride home and then I bump it up when I get on the MUP. I stopped with that light right at eye level right in his face. Didn't have to say anything, he knew and just looked up at me like sorry. I went around the back of him and continued on. Took the long way home and got buzzed by a dumbass in a wagon. Two lanes going each way with me to the far right in the right lane, and he buzzes me with no other traffic in the other lane. I run a bright rear blinker, reflective stuff on my helmet, bag and shoes. There is no way that the buzz was not on purpose.
> 
> So I got home in just under an hour after doing 17 miles. That is pretty good for me on the fixed gear. That includes the lights and stop signs that I stopped at which is not all of them haha. Oops! I walked in the door with the realization that after tonight the sun won't be out much and it won't be very warm. The upper peninsula is forecasted for about a foot of snow already tonight and tomorrow I believe. The shorts will be put away and the t shirts as well. I will be cold and windburned. It will be messy and slippery. I will get honked at for sure riding in the snow and cold temperatures by people who will think that I am crazy. Just trying to mentally prepare myself here for what is to come. Going to try and go Wednesday to find boots hopefully. Tomorrow the flats will be on the fat bike. Winter? It is coming.


Well that was quite a melancholy post!  Sorry about the dumbass that pulled out in front of you.

I pushed hard on the ride home last night to catch the wife who left 5 min ahead of me. This morning the commute pushed back. 21mph average on the way home, 15 mph average on the way in. Conservation of speed.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ that is quite the charging set up you have going on. Minus the iPod, does everything else use the same type of charger?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^ 4 different kinds of USB cords. If I scrounge I could probably do them all simultaneously but I usually do them in batches.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

^^ Doh, you got me by one iPod. I've got everything else, but still ride unplugged. 

I rode hard last night, having left 5 minutes ahead of the husband and told him to catch me. Then tried not to make it too easy on him. 

I did a power yoga workout before the commute in this morning which made for a slow ride in. 

17.4 MPH last night...15 MPH this morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I don't think I've charged anything all week, other than maybe my cell phone (can't remember). That's winning in my book. 

I've been doing Lee McCormack's F6 program. It wore me out last night. I thought the ride in this morning would be tough due to tired muscles, but I made great time, despite having to wait for traffic. It's 62F right now, but the arctic cold front is coming our way...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> OK, who can beat me. Today I am charging:
> 2 front lights
> 2 rear lights
> 1 Garmin
> ...


Not today. But I have had:

1. Three front lights
2. Four rear lights

(Though to be honest the helmet front light and the double DIY rear lights are the same battery)

3. One iBike
4. One iPhone4
5. One Drift HD POV camera

All on charge for the same ride, though the two water bottle batteries were in relay (one charger). Six chargers total, though two will interchange.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Two flats this morning. One about mile 5, again at about mile 15. I checked the tires carefully after the 1st flat and did not find anything. But it was dark and the temp was hovering right around freezing so I could have missed something. Will be checking the tire out before I head home tonite - I used up both of my spare tubes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rollingrunner said:


> 17.4 mph last night...15 mph this morning.


_FAST!_ :thumbsup:


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

Took me forever to get out the door this morning. This was my first real winter ride for this year. I made a spreadsheet last year of what worked at what temps but still had to keep talking myself out of overdressing. I ended up with half a bag of extra stuff "just in case" so I would leave the house.

We had a couple inches of slop which then froze followed by a couple inches of snow. So icy ruts with loose snow on top. Wasted more time wavering between studded tires or the fatbike. 

I decided I didnt feel like playing with cars this morning so did the 8mi route which is off street MUP almost the whole way. The fatbike was a great choice for it since the city plowed some parts but not others. I had a great ride in. It was a blast plowing through everything in my path. 

25F, flurries and heavy wind on the return. Took the road home. I was on the street with snot dripping out of my nose pedaling into a 25mph headwind thinking how much fun this is. It was one of those days.


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## Guest (Nov 12, 2014)

Looking at 13F temps tomorrow morning. Seems like a tough first winter commute, but at least most of the snow that fell last night has managed to melt and turn into ice. May cut the first/last 5 miles off my route.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today for me. 56F and pouring rain when I left in the car. 36F and drizzling with snow mixed in when I left work 8 hours later. That just wasn't an option for me unfortunately. Legs could use a break anyway but I was still bummed.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Both flats on the same tire, Woodway?


bedwards1000 said:


> 2 front lights
> 2 rear lights
> 1 Garmin
> 1 Ipod
> 1 Cellphone


Not a lot of charging for me.
Dyno lights
No Garmin
No Ipod
Cell phone only when I expect to need it, so about once per month.



scubaklook said:


> I made a spreadsheet last year of what worked at what temps but still had to keep talking myself out of overdressing. I ended up with half a bag of extra stuff "just in case" so I would leave the house.


Nothing wrong with "just in case".


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Pedaled on the other side of the country last week! Lucky enough to have a vacation in DC and also convinced the wife to rent bikes...rode the Mt Vernon trail to George's house and back, saw the city, monuments, etc. cool to ride in a big bike friendly city with a bike share system and professional types on bikes everywhere. I was completely impressed by the bike infrastructure. And now I understand flat bar singlespeed road bikes. Makes total sense.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, 1st winter with the Garmin here... How do they do in low temps?


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## jarwes (Mar 13, 2012)

Yesterday was the first full commute day in 6 months due to injury. Felt amazing... 10 miles all in all.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Underdressed this morning. It was 37F, but it was cloudy with a little wind and a damp chill in the air. My arm warmer/leg warmer combo with shorts and short-sleeved shirt wasn't quite enough. Temps are expected to drop off the next couple days, but thankfully we won't get the kind of cold/snow some of you are getting.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

jarwes said:


> Yesterday was the first full commute day in 6 months due to injury. Felt amazing... 10 miles all in all.


Welcome back and congrats on your commute!


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

It was ridiculously foggy this morning. My wife asked me to drive, I didn't listen. I lived to tell the tale. Supposed to be pretty warm today, 62. It was nice not having to bundle up too much this morning. It was 52 on my ride in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Straz85 said:


> It was ridiculously foggy this morning. My wife asked me to drive, I didn't listen. I lived to tell the tale. Supposed to be pretty warm today, 62. It was nice not having to bundle up too much this morning. It was 52 on my ride in.


Those were my exact temps yesterday (no fog though). I'm guessing tomorrow will be colder for you.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Official winter commute for me this morning - plenty of packed snow from the long weekend, 7F, ice on the river, winterbike in full winter-mode, two layers of clothing all over.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Both flats on the same tire, Woodway?


Yup, they were both in the rear. I pulled the tire and went over it closely over lunch yesterday. Pulled a couple small pieces of glass out of it and I got home last night without incident.

I think that the flats are the result of my own cheapness. The tire was pretty worn and had a couple of good sized cuts in it. But cheap me was hanging on to it for "just a while longer" to save some pennies. I came to my senses last night and mounted a new tire up.



CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, 1st winter with the Garmin here... How do they do in low temps?


My garmin's (Edge 705 until it died earlier this year and now an Edge 800) have always performed just fine in cold temps.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Official winter commute for me this morning - plenty of packed snow from the long weekend, 7F, ice on the river, winterbike in full winter-mode, two layers of clothing all over.


Yup cant find my nose protector though...hope it turns up before it gets much colder.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in today. Surprised as I had a bit of a good wreck yesterday and woke up this morning quite stiff and sore in the neck and shoulder as well as hip and knee. Hit a slick patch of pavement while making a left hand turn, went down while still connected to the bike and we both did a 180 in the middle of the road. Fortunately no cars were coming. It happened in an intersection, one of the few I have to deal with, that I know is usually slick as the muni in their intimate wisdom decided to prettify the intersection by using a dyed concrete instead of the standard asphalt and in finishing it must have used the power trowel to put a nice smooth, pore less surface on it. A perfect surface for an ice rink...I guess, is what it is. On the plus side the wife and I are both getting closer to being convinced that 350 for a set of dillingers is a good deal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, 1st winter with the Garmin here... How do they do in low temps?


The display gets sluggish below 0F. Mine has a temp sensor that always reads a few degrees high which pisses me of because I know I am more badass than that. (funny that it reads down in tenths when it is off by full degrees). Here's an example of it doing it's job in the cold.
Moose Brook Fatbike Race  I swear it never got above 5 that day.

Sluggish commute this AM with heavy, dense, thick FOG.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Terrible commute today.

I got a new bike last night, cool single speed belt drive bike, super stoked. Weather today is beautiful, mid 60s and sunny. Why is that terrible? I had to drive to work today, I've got people working on my house and so I need my car to transport my dog. Cold weather rolls in tomorrow. Thinking I might grab my lights and just ride around town for a bit after work.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi said:


> Was there any snow left up there? I hear there is some up Goldcord way, but not much. I think I may try to get up to Hillside this weekend myself. Have to see.
> 
> Decent ride in this AM. Too warm in the Valley. 49f at my house. It's just not right.


Nope, not really. Ice and mud or ruts now...have to go really high to find snow. Sucks, why does America get Winter and we don't???


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> Terrible commute today.
> 
> I got a new bike last night, cool single speed belt drive bike, super stoked. Weather today is beautiful, mid 60s and sunny. Why is that terrible? I had to drive to work today, I've got people working on my house and so I need my car to transport my dog. Cold weather rolls in tomorrow. Thinking I might grab my lights and just ride around town for a bit after work.


Pics of this bike are where?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> The display gets sluggish below 0F. Mine has a temp sensor that always reads a few degrees high which pisses me of because I know I am more badass than that.


Mine tends to read 2-3 degrees LOW. Maybe we should swap, haha...


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Pics of this bike are where?


Haven't had time for any good photos yet, but in the meantime...









Not the coolest looking bike I own, but from the limited time I've been on it I think I'm going to like it a lot. LBS owner was impressed enough that he said he was going to order one for himself.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Disc brakes, belt drive single speed, black frame, nearly a flat bar.......this is nice!!!


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

blockphi, fresh report from FB!!!

"Not sure how things are looking at Kincaid, but the Matanuska greenbelt and Palmer Bike Park trails are totally awesome riding right now.

If you guys are jonesin for frozen, tacky, and dry trails then you should head to the valley to rip some singletrack. Not a lick of ice or moisture out here. Get some!"


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I was out in the greenbelt on Saturday and it was Bone dry over frozen. Awesome riding and with the ground frozen the new trails should be poach able. I'm heading over there on Friday to get in some more good times.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Excellent ride both ways today/ tonight. Low 30's, windy, but just a few flakes in the air. The usual flakes behind their wheels gave me more room than usual.

Tried out my new hi- viz wind jacket from LLBean over a good Irish wool sweater, couldn't be happier. Now to dial in the gloves.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

A little adjusting today. Monday was 60+ and today was 30 or less. Still beats taking the bus around here. My family has been nagging me about how I ought to quit riding now that it's cold... I rode all last year and nobody complained once. I have no idea what changed, now. All I know is I don't wanna hear it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD, I had the same thing. Yesterday morning was 55 and today was 28. Re your family not wanting your to ride in the cold - what do they care?

I felt like I was dragging anchor today. Not sure why because I haven't been pushing too hard lately. Must be getting old.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm relieved I wasn't in front of one driver I saw yesterday. I was at a stop sign and waited for the guy to pass. Just as I pulled out onto the road, the guy started swerving and ran his right tires off the road. He corrected back onto the road, then continued swerving and went off into the grass again. About half of his car was off the road. I don't know if he was drunk or super-distracted. Either way, it was kind of scary to see someone that out of it on (err...or off) the road.


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> NDD, I had the same thing. Yesterday morning was 55 and today was 28. Re your family not wanting your to ride in the cold - what do they care?
> 
> I felt like I was dragging anchor today. Not sure why because I haven't been pushing too hard lately. Must be getting old.


 I got that a bunch yesterday at work. It was 12F (-4 windchill), so it was cold but not unmanagable. After the first three people decided I was nuts I started asking "Do you bring an extra layer of clothes and cold weather boots when you drive to work or are you hoping that your smart phone will rescue you if your car breaks down?" Of course none do because they assume they'll have AAA come save them if the car breaks. I point out that I'm fully prepared to walk to the nearest business open 24 hours or back home (never more than 3 miles from my route) so maybe they're nuts or maybe I'm not willing to let people tell me when I can ride and when I should wuss out. Not suggesting that anyone is defined by how cold they ride, only that the decision to ride or not is the individuals to make, not a committee discussion.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I fear the sound of rumble strip behind me. You don't have much time to head for the ditch or hold the line if the driver is going in the ditch to your right. Your next sight might be the sky as you go over the roof of the vehicle on your back as if pole vaulting (assuming you miss the windshield). An adrenalin rush I don't need. 

Saw a semi on the interstate two weeks ago at times using most of the shoulder at others about 18" of the passing lane and wished I had a passenger for photos. He was texting or at least fascinated with something in his lap (keeping it PG 13) when I dared to pass him.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

-4F this morning. At the very start of my new route I ride down a big hill for a km, and it's kindof brutal because I haven't had a chance to warm up at all.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Outstanding commute this morning.
It rained for a few hours before dawn, stopped about 6AM. When I got off at 7, it was 40-ish with no wind. Puddles in the streets, smell of wet leaves, sun playing peek-a-boo in and out of the clouds, and mist rising off the marsh.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-23 C this morning.. that is -9.4 F...

Should warm up be the weekend.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Supposed to get some snow today so I ditched the road bike with slick tires and opted for the fat bike with the skinny hybrid tire wheelset... Wow what a difference! Felt like I was riding through wet cement the whole way in. It must have been mostly in my head though, because it only added 5 minutes or so to my normal commute time. Average speed dropped from 17.5 mph-ish to 16.0 mph.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Doing the same here, only going full on fat bike with fat tires since I don't have another wheelset. Testing out some new cold weather stuff. 30F right now, and should drop to the low 20's tonight.


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## djrez4 (Apr 6, 2012)

I completed my new commuter over the weekend. I rode it to work on Monday. Then I rode home at lunch and got the car. I haven't ridden any other day this week because the temperature fell off a cliff.








I'm going to try to ride tomorrow. I'm also going to start collecting cold-weather gear.
(Also, that graph is off. It dropped below 0° at my house on Tuesday and stayed there until 9 o'clock this morning.)


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Doing the same here, only going full on fat bike with fat tires since I don't have another wheelset. Testing out some new cold weather stuff. 30F right now, and should drop to the low 20's tonight.


How was it with the fat tires on mostly pavement (I think I remember that your route is mostly pavement)? Are you using the stock Vee Missions?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Uneventful ride in and back. The best kind.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, some cold temps out there already, stay warm and safe everyone! It is snowing right now but only up to an inch expected, and it has not dropped below 25 yet. Today stayed close to freezing both ways. Some gratuitous honking and a guy exclaiming "it's a bike!" as he waited for me to pass the Wayside restaurant driveway. Not sure what he was thinking - aliens?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

First commute with the belt drive today and it turned out to be a good day for it. Forecast was around 40 F and dry, but come time to leave work it was a mix of rain and sleet. Wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion, but the belt drive performed wonderfully, meaning I didn't notice it or hear it at all. Didn't mind having disc brakes either.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> I got that a bunch yesterday at work. It was 12F (-4 windchill), so it was cold but not unmanagable. After the first three people decided I was nuts I started asking "Do you bring an extra layer of clothes and cold weather boots when you drive to work or are you hoping that your smart phone will rescue you if your car breaks down?" Of course none do because they assume they'll have AAA come save them if the car breaks. I point out that I'm fully prepared to walk to the nearest business open 24 hours or back home (never more than 3 miles from my route) so maybe they're nuts or maybe I'm not willing to let people tell me when I can ride and when I should wuss out. Not suggesting that anyone is defined by how cold they ride, only that the decision to ride or not is the individuals to make, not a committee discussion.


Isn't it just annoying. Like, c'mon. I could whine about how they couldn't physically bike the distance I bike on a usual basis to get to and from work or school. That's more of a health concern, and therefore more warranted. I don't know where they get this junk from, that biking in the cold is bad.

So Bedwards, I can't answer your question, because there's not a good reason for them to care.Either they are or I am delusional, because they insist that riding in cold weather is bad, and I'm like "since when".

Still haven't perfected my cold gear yet. I always show up a little soggy. One too many layers or something. Might not bike tomorrow, depends if I wake up in time to do it. I hope I do, but sleep hasn't been the best lately.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> How was it with the fat tires on mostly pavement (I think I remember that your route is mostly pavement)? Are you using the stock Vee Missions?


Stock Vee Missions are still on the bike, and yes it is all pavement. It sucks, plain and simple. Once there is snow on the ground I think that it will be better suited for a commute. Right now it is just terrible. Put decent pinned flats on there so I could try out my new boots. The Wolverine boots are really nice and kept my feet warm. It is currently 23F out right now and when I got home, my feet were actually sweating. I paired the boots up with some knee high soccer socks that I picked up from my mtb days to help protect my legs. The North Face gloves I got worked extremely well. So well that I have a problem. The inside of the gloves were soaking wet when I left work. My hands were visibly wet when I got to work so they kept me very warm. So, what do I do at work to dry them out? The ride home meant cold hands because they were so wet. Eventually my hands warmed up but now they are soaking again. I parked them in front of the space heater to dry them out. Wore a t shirt and my Columbia jacket and I was sweating. The jacket is a thinner jacket but is wind and waterproof. This will be good I think as it is more on the fitted side and obviously kept me warm enough in just a t shirt.

The ride in was boring and slow. No incidents at all. I did get a lot of looks because around here, I think that I have seen 2 other fat bikes out and about. The flats flat out suck. I spent 90% of the ride trying to find the proper foot position. When I did find it I lost it because I had to stop at a light or a stop sign. The boots are kind of wide, and trying to find that sweet spot on the pedal and keep it there was a lot of work. I truly missed my SPD's and the connection felt with the bike. I also really missed the fixed gear. This drivetrain is decent enough, but it really feels sloppy as you pedal and start to pedal after coasting. The hub engagement just makes the whole thing feel very poorly put together. Most of my commuting and riding miles have been fixed so this is an adjustment and maybe I will get more used to it.

I have nicknamed this white Framed Minnestoa 2.0 the White Ox. It is sturdy and stout. It is also slow and is a fat pig. Feels like I am driving a school bus at the Rolex 24 hour at Daytona. Every mile that I ride on this bike I will definitely earn. Thinking that one of the track bikes will see duty tomorrow more than likely.


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## cassa89 (Jun 30, 2014)

Haven't ridden in a week now, and it sucks. Temps sticking between 0 and 20 degrees with 15-30 MPH wind every day. I can dress and stay warm, but my lungs can't take the cold. I may get out for a more casual ride now and then, but no commuting for any distances.

It's been quite the change from the near 50 degree temps we had 2 week ago. Gotta love North Dakota.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

First snow trail commute: A very short story.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> First snow trail commute: A very short story.


Yuck. There's nothing more brutal than those conditions around freezing when mud and dead leaves turn into actual concrete.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It wasn't cold enough to harden and the drive-train never complained. It was an excellent example of accretion. I should have got a pic of my mud spattered face. I think I'll carpool home.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Left late last night, just in time for the winds to shift. Got caught in a lake effect snow storm the whole way home and of course it was the day I opted to not ride the fat tires. Made it home safe but my shoes were still wet this morning so I opted to drive. I immediately regretted driving. First snow of the season here, which means everybody loses their minds and forgets how to drive. Turned my 35 minute drive into 2 hours. Could have shaved at least an hour off that if I would have ridden.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

djrez4 said:


> View attachment 938794


That's a crazy weather graph! That cold front was not messing around!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, that reminds me of my favorite drivetrain pic of my old commuter:

View attachment 938938


Like glue, it was. :lol: Those conditions can be pretty tiring.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, that reminds me of my favorite drivetrain pic of my old commuter:
> 
> View attachment 938938
> 
> ...


Wow, the lengths some people will go to for an aerodynamic chainring fairing :thumbsup:

Yesterday I put a new seat on my commuter. Sort of.









A new office chair, actually. It was a slow, fishtail-y 3.5-mile ride home, but I got there OK.


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## djrez4 (Apr 6, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> That's a crazy weather graph! That cold front was not messing around!


Things got better today.









Rode to the office, home for lunch, back to the office, and will be heading home in about an hour.

My coworker saw me on the highway. She didn't notice my rear lights, but said she could see my headlight flashing from 1/4 mile away. So, the front is well lit. Not sure about the rear.

I also discovered that my fenders do not extend low enough. Slush built up on the bottom bracket. So, some mud flaps are in my future.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Did some light maintenance on my bikes when I got home this afternoon. It occurred to me this morning that should I come out one morning and have a flat on my daily commuter I would end up having to drive to work despite having three bikes. I would drive because I'm not going to change a flat just to ride to work (as time from "wake up" to "out the door" is limited) and because the other two bikes in my stable would need tires aired up and chains lubed in order to ride. Another thing I wouldn't be willing to do in the morning cause of limited time. Too easy to just grab the keys to the Jeep in those scenarios.

So I decided despite rarely riding the other two bikes that it makes sense to always have them in "grab and go" condition. So if the commuter has a flat I won't miss the commute. So anyway, good ride in and good ride home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mechBgon said:


> Yesterday I put a new seat on my commuter. Sort of. A new office chair, actually. It was a slow, fishtail-y 3.5-mile ride home, but I got there OK.


Made me smile. I was itching to try the errand bike with the Christmas present of studded tires so in spite of (because?) of temps in the teens and 6 inches of poorly plowed snow meaning about 3-4 inches of mealy snow (they don't get much practice). I decided to take an old HP laser jet combo printer to the church for the ministers use. I regret I did not get a picture of that. It was also a bit squirrelly but more fun, than I ever expected. Just because I could. Most drivers were very nice. One buzzed me for no good reason that I could decipher. If we are to make a habit of such shenanigans we need Big Dummmys. 

BrianMc


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

31F and dreary out for the ride in. Took the Jamis today and it felt amazing!!! New stem fits the bike well and I will be honest, even after riding the fat bike for one day it affected my commute. I felt like I was on a tiny bike!!! I need to do something to mimic the cockpit so that the fat bike isn't such a huge difference. Since the ride in is only about half an hour my feet didn't get too cold in just Shimano SPD shoes with knee high soccer socks under my tights. They felt pretty good actually. My temporary fix for the glove situation is PI lobsters for the ride in, and the North Face for the ride home. These gloves are just ridiculous!!!! 23F for the ride home. Get home and my hands are just drenched in sweat. I am not complaining because it beats them being cold but holy hell this is nuts. I have never had gloves that performed like this. Curious to see how they will handle the really cold stuff. Also decided that until the snow flies I will be riding fixed. Once that happens they will be put up on the wall until it is clear out.

Our forecast looks decent through the weekend and then all hell breaks loose. 3 consecutive days of 25+ mph westerly winds bringing lake effect snow off of Lake Michigan all the way to my doorstep which is about 100 miles east! This should be interesting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> First snow trail commute: A very short story.


Nice! But not!



BrianMc said:


> Made me smile.


 +1 The chair feat was impressive!



TenSpeed said:


> My temporary fix for the glove situation is PI lobsters for the ride in, and the North Face for the ride home. These gloves are just ridiculous!!!! 23F for the ride home. Get home and my hands are just drenched in sweat.


I am lucky to have a desk with a cabinet where I can hang a few things. Paired with some of those hangers with clips and this small flan that can blow vertically, damp stuff dries right out. Vornado Flippi V8 Air Circulator CR1-0095-06R - Walmart.com If gloves or socks are apt to get totally soaked, however, I bring spares.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I wish that I had that luxury. I am already impeding on a public break room space by leaving my clothes out hanging over the back of stacked chairs. I just felt the gloves from last nights ride and they are soaked on the inside. Parked them in front of my space heater in hopes of drying them out. This does not appear to be anything that will be easily remedied.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

TenSpeed said:


> I wish that I had that luxury. I am already impeding on a public break room space by leaving my clothes out hanging over the back of stacked chairs. I just felt the gloves from last nights ride and they are soaked on the inside. Parked them in front of my space heater in hopes of drying them out. This does not appear to be anything that will be easily remedied.


I have a couple ideas. One is a shoe/glove dryer, I have a Dry Guy at work and at home. It dries them from the inside out and has a heat option.

For gloves, I use a windproof shell glove over military-surplus wool gloves. Since the shell and insulation can be separated, I can either swap to a dry set of wool gloves, or separate them so they dry fast. I used to use the Pearl Izumi Zephyr shell glove until they stopped making them; now I use the Manzella silkweight Windstopper, in the XL size so there's room for the wool gloves inside. Anyway, this solves the dilemma of the typical waterproof cycling glove that can't be dried at work without a forced-air dryer.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

First snow today ! So now I'm installing my brand new Schwable Marathon Winter 26x1.75 on the front of both my commuter and my brother's. Got a steal on these for $75 the pair from a fellow commuter who prefer even narrower tires.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mechBgon said:


> Yesterday I put a new seat on my commuter. Sort of.


Somebody is really in need of a Big Dummy. Strong rack! (CommuterBoy would have strapped it to his back because he hates stuff strapped to the bike )

Today's commute was pretty awesome. It was the first day on the studded commuter. Ice pellets falling out of the sky stinging my face. I enjoyed it more than I should have.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First snow ride of the season! It's the earliest I can remember and certainly odd for this time of year. Schools were cancelled and the roads were pretty empty, which was nice. The only issue I had was some pickup driver who was thinking about forgoing the right turning lane and cutting me off at the intersection. I wasn't stupid about it, but I established my position before the truck had time to pull out. Both of us were making right turns on red.

I also tested out some new tights I bought from TJ Maxx. They are running tights with wind panels in the front and fleecey kind of stuff on the inside. They were very comfortable. I think they'll work well. The temps are going to drop this afternoon, so I hope they are just as good on the way home.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

djrez4 said:


> For a lot of situations, yes. I prefer the Buff because of its versatility. I can wear it like a balaclava, a neck gaiter, a headband, a hat...you name it, the Buff can do it. I can even pull off a Hulk Hogan do-rag if I'm so inclined.


Yeah makes a good clava at when it is really cold.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Overheating at 16 degree. Ooh boy. I was fine until I stopped in the grocery store, then I think I warmed up. The last the miles were sweaty to say the least.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> Overheating at 16 degree. Ooh boy. I was fine until I stopped in the grocery store, then I think I warmed up. The last the miles were sweaty to say the least.


Insulate the extremities....don't insulate the core.

Arms and hands...

Thighs not so much but claves and feet.

Let the air out the neck as required, good clava under the helmet. with stretch so it can cover the nose or ride below the chin, without the top coming down over the eyebrows.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

First ride below 20 degrees, first ride in snow in years. 

Six inches of heavy packing snow with the automotive ballet pirouetting through the intersections this afternoon. Today's ride was hair raising, beard icing, slow, and mostly fun. I'm beginning to see why the fat bike guys might look forward to snow.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Finally, purple Surly Troll frame sets are out of stock and discontinued  Will have to do with the black, no way that I'm waiting for the new color, the "seized pants" brown. Should arrive at the lbs before saturday next week if I'm lucky. What's the best full fenders for 26" and rear rack ? Ideally I would like to be able to fit all my school stuff (usually just a lunch and books, I'll use my backpack for tools and supplies when needed) into a quick-release panier bag that I can carry in to class so I get rid of the backpack most of the days. My commutes are ridiculously shorts, like 6 minutes on wheel or 15 minute walk, so I don't need to carry much or to have something worth the glorious 86 miles you guys do 4 times a day  What's your suggestions ? I don't want to buy cheap, but I'd like to stay under $100 for the bag and rack and $30 for the fenders. I'm about to order stuff from ChainReactionCycle tomorrow, but I wasn't impressed by their selection of racks and bags, however if there's something interesting on there, let me know asap before I book the order !

I'm also looking for bar mitts and boot covers. The covers are just to keep slush and rain off my $$$ work boots, no need for insulation, just to protect the boots from above the rubber sole. Looking for top $50. For the bar mitts, I want something warm as hellfire and insulated like there's no tomorrow. Ready to paid up to $100 for them, to use on my MTB, not really on the commuter.

As for my commuter today, all the wet snow from yesterday turned into solid ice and if you think those insane truck drivers on "Ice Road Truckers" have it hard, you should have seen the city here today ! Lucky I had my front Marathon Winter on already and I had so much fun skidding down the ridged ice lanes haha ! Irony, almost all bike lanes and bike paths closes on November 16th, aka not maintained or de-iced anymore, and it's exactly the opposite we would have needed on a day like this, where it's even more dangerous to go mix into the driver's lane and traffic with ice everywhere. Go figure, Montreal suck balls for cycling, car lobby is still going strong, despite thousands of people riding year round in the city. Big winds today too, like 30+km/h with strong gusts from everywhere. A little -4° C without wind factor.


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## scubaklook (Apr 20, 2005)

Check out the Revelate Williwaw pogies. REI is having a 20% off sale now too if you are a member.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Finally able to commute on the bike again after a 2 week hiatus due to work issues. Kinda wish I had the studded tires on it, but its great to be on the bike.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

scubaklook said:


> Check out the Revelate Williwaw pogies. REI is having a 20% off sale now too if you are a member.


I'll do, thanks. Never done business with REI before.

On this last note folks, I go to bed with a big smile knowing how awesome it's gonna be on the bike in 10 hours !!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> Insulate the extremities....don't insulate the core.
> 
> Arms and hands...
> 
> ...


I ditched a layer for the way home, went without the scarf, and only zipped the jacket three-quarters up. It was an improvement. 20F and no sweat.

My professor saw me starting to bike out tonight and seemed concerned enough to offer me a ride home. I politely declined and told him that it'll get colder yet so I have to get used to it somehow. Thanked him and rode away.

There are people who work in these conditions, and worse ones at that. Who's telling them to take the day off? Sorry to rant, but this just keeps happening to me lately and I don't get it. Be cold sitting for the bus or be slightly less cold riding home. Either way I'll spend about the same time outside around here.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

One way might get you killed, while the other will kill you out of boredom


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

19F and 30mph westerly winds when I left. Not much snow on the main roads, just some slush. The ride in took a lot longer than usual due to the wind and the cold. Got a huge thumbs up and nod from a college student riding his bike waiting at the light. I waved back and just kept pushing. Ride home was decent, 13F feels like 1F. That might be my new record low now. Started snowing which I was happy for. The fat bike rides very nicely in the snow, and the MUP still had snow on it so crunching down the MUP I went. This was taken right off the MUP heading on a short cut to just outside my apartment complex. It is pitch black for the most part back there.










Shot was taken with my phone, which immediately shut off right after I took this picture. This is a concern for me, and I think it just turns off due to the cold. Well, I plan on riding in on colder days than this, so what do I do?


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

David C said:


> Finally, purple Surly Troll frame sets are out of stock and discontinued  Will have to do with the black, no way that I'm waiting for the new color, the "seized pants" brown. Should arrive at the lbs before saturday next week if I'm lucky. *What's the best full fenders for 26" and rear rack?*


I had a Troll. It jacks the rear rack up really high. If I could've found a Blackburn Mountain rack built for 24" wheels, that would've been a good bet, but they're rare. Here's one on Ebay at the moment:

Blackburn Rear Pannier Rack Silver Fits Wheel 24" Bike New | eBay

Alternately, get a rear rack with lowered pannier rails. Aside from the high-end ones (Tubus), Zefal and Blackburn both have mainstream ones.

For fenders, the SKS Longboard models have extended coverage, which is most valuable in the front for intercepting front-tire spray that's headed for your feet and drivetrain. The laminated metal/plastic is flexible and resistant to cracking even in cold temperatures. Ironically I find it stronger than the polycarbonate fenders I've tried. They're not the easiest model to install, however. Pro tip: cut the struts to match the outer radius of your tire at that point.

On the topic of pogies, I use these (in black): Amazon.com: Kwik Tek ATVM-B, ATV Hand Protector Mitts (Black): Sports & Outdoors $17. Works for me.



> Sorry to rant, but this just keeps happening to me lately and I don't get it. Be cold sitting for the bus or be slightly less cold riding home. Either way I'll spend about the same time outside around here.


Totally. If I drove my car to work, I'd be shivering the entire time, and the heat would just start to work by the time I arrived. I might feel the chill on my face when I ride, but overall I'm warmer since I'm the engine and can just ride harder if I'm not warm enough.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

TenSpeed, your phone battery is too cold, meaning it cannot allow enough current discharge to power the phone when you do anything more than looking at it. It also have happened to me in the winter rides several times, all you have to do is keep the phone close to your body heat when riding.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Mech, thanks for the info, I'll check these out today 

Brrrr, -7° C here this morning. Its getting colder quickly !


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

So far so good today. Crazy weather, though. 45 and windy in the valley and 45 and calm in town. Been away for a few days on a band trip with my middle school aged son. I was going crazy without the ride. 

Funny/sad thing happened Sunday night. Took one of the dogs for a run along the multiuser path to go check on my kids who were out for a run. Had the dog attached to the. Ike via a long lead on the handlebars as per usual. We catch up with the kids and as I am preparing to turn around the dog decides to bold after my daughter and I, for some reason have only one hand on the bar. I go down and come in lipped from the bike and the dog takes off running, dragging my. Ew bike along. behind- bouncing along the roadway. Fortunately no one was hurt and the rack, grips and qr skewer and saddle were the only things on the bike to suffer any damage.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Well that didn't last long. I bought a Serfas Thunderbolt UTL-6 tail light about a month ago, excited because it was the first really solid tail light I had ever purchased. Rode on Monday morning through the snow and slush that was on the roads. WHen I went to put the light on my bike to head home, it's dead?!! I charged it at my desk all day. Apparently the road spray from my rear tire found its way into the light and managed to kill it. I'm going to contact their warranty department. Stay tuned.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ that is very unfortunate because it is a great tail light. Keep us posted as to how they handle it. Where did you get the light from?


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Bought it from my local bike shop. Serfas warranty department responded within two minutes of my email. Told me the fastest way to get a replacement would be to take it back to my LBS, since I just purchased it. If they give me trouble (which they won't because I talked to them about it yesterday), I can send it back to Serfas for a replacement. Pretty damn solid customer service.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Are you going to get another one or try something different? One thing I like about the TB is the many different mounting options that the light gives you.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I plan on just getting a replacement TB. like you said, it is so versatile with the mounting options, super bright, and I like that it is just as bright when viewed off axis. I'm hoping I just had a dud. If I continue to have problems with them, I'll try something different.

To keep the thread on topic, my commute was good today. It was a record temp for me, 17F with 25 mph winds. My phone claims a "feels like" temp of -4F this morning. The fat tire have crushed my average speed to 10.5mph, but they keep me upright and my tires give me one more level of visibility .


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ riding the same bike as you, just a different color. Slow on the pavement, but wait until you get it on the snow covered roads!!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> 19F and 30mph westerly winds when I left.
> 
> Shot was taken with my phone, which immediately shut off right after I took this picture. This is a concern for me, and I think it just turns off due to the cold. Well, I plan on riding in on colder days than this, so what do I do?


Ride with it inside the insulation so it stays warm..if the battery gets cold the voltage falls then the phone shuts off...they will normally start back up when you warm them.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Yesterday's personal cold weather record didn't last long, it was 2 degrees colder today. 22F when I left, wind chill said 10F.

I took a section of MUP that is usually completely empty. Even on beautiful days, but today there were 4 separate walkers, complete with headphones, dead center and impervious to my bike bell.

Whatever construction is blocking the shoulder won't seem to end, still have no idea what they are doing.

All that said, it still beats driving.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

What do you guys think of the Ibera racks and trunk bags ? Similar to the Topeak racks and MTX/RX trunk bag system, but the Ibera racks seems better while the Topeak bags looks superior to the Ibera bags... Eitherway, I'm looking at minimum $100 CAD to get a rack and a bag.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Car snot has been developing of the last week....It was starting to be an issue...

Anyway today....the car snot was all frozen and consolidated...just -9C...never seen car snot solidify before.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I have. In Ottawa. Two weeks of -20 or below for high and -40 or below for the lows. I rode the summer there but not in winter. When they loose the sidewalks and right lanes to 14 foot of piled up snow, it is not wise to ride the remaining lane. Your frozen corpse might not be found until spring.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I'm so happy to be back on the bike. I just need to put my xerxes tires on tonight, I was sliding a little too much on my ride today. I think I love riding in the winter more than the summer.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Are the SKS LongBlade really worth the money over the less expensive competitors ? I'm starting to reach the end of my budget here and wondering if they will hold up for years to parking in the city and potholes or just as long as any other fenders out there. I can get a set of black chromoplastic with mud flaps for $20 locally, but what the heck is chromoplastic anyway ?

Edit : Just purchased Bar Mitts in large from Amazon.com, still have to check the final bill, but I think it did cost me close to $70 CAD for a $57 USD purchase. They better be warm as hell and not just hype from guys with big fat fingers riding in not so cold Las Vegas on a saturday morning of february...  Next purchase is an Ibera PakRak rack ($30 CAD) with an Ibera quick-release commuter 17L trunk bag ($65 CAD) and an Ergodyne windproof hinged baclava ($15 CAD), all from Amazon.ca. I already bought for $150 worth of stuff at CRC earlier today too. With a $620 for the frame, I'm already over the $1k mark. Hopefully it'll help get me into recovery by riding more.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I haven't tried those. 

Today I was a bit afeared because we got 2" of snow and my trusty MTB was at work without me - the result of fieldwork running late - so I decided to try the cross bike. The wider roads were OK, I could ride where it was down to pavement from traffic, plowing and salt, and drivers could get by pretty easily. I did get one good spray of slop. But approaching and after the roundabout it was hairier, starting with a crazy honker, then diving to the side for the big wingplow's pass (he honked too), and a skinnier road making it harder for cars to pass me. So I hopped on an empty unplowed sidewalk for about 1/2 mile, and the traction was surprising good, even though the x-bike has street tires. Arrived safely to the usual coworker comments.

After work, I put the lights back on the MTB, which still has Marathons on it, but a lot of the roads had dried out during the day so it was fine. Got home without incident except another honker at the roundabout approach who did not like my taking the lane - really, what would you do if I stay right and we get to the first "exit" simultaneously????


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

SNOW SNOW WOOT!!
Went down a block or so from work before I readjusted my braking distances, I was just so damn happy to be riding in the fluff!
Got home, tossed the studdies on and I'm ready for tomorrow!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I see a lot of snow reports here, but so far no mention of the huge accumulations I`m hearing about on news reports from Buffalo. Anybody have several feet yet?

Reno snow- it`s the middle of Nov and still nothing. Everybody around here has been hoping and praying for a super snow year (or three), but it isn`t looking like a good start. In fact, it smells like year four of dismal Sierra snowpack


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

We, habbs of the north, have only received a few little inches in the last days. Most of it has melted and turned the city streets into an iceberg of dangers. Sorry to disappoint you, maybe they got more lucky in Norway ?


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

The snow event in Buffalo is insane. It's so concentrated and intense. One local weatherman was reporting at one point Buffalo Airport only has 3.5 inches of snow while a town several miles south received 3+ feet. We only got a dusting in Rochester, maybe next storm will be ours.

If we really want to geek out talking about snowfall. Both cities probably get a lot more snow than they are credited for because while the city itself is right in the path of the lake effect snow coming off the lake, their airports aren't in the best spots to measure it. Buffalo's airport is on the east side of the city, furthest from Erie and Rochester's is on the south side which is the far side from Ontario.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The ride in was alright, snowing but nothing heavy. MUP still had snow on it which was nice to ride on, even saw a few tire trails at some points. Did the one thing that I hate to do and pretty much swore off. I took the sidewalk for part of my commute. Bike lane was not really passable because the roads had been plowed, but not the bike lane. Oh, that's not bad right? Well, everything shoved off into the bike lane, and it was partially melting leaving a sloppy mess. I don't have fenders yet, so I skipped that part and took the unused sidewalk. 

We got a couple of inches while at work, but the plows were already out which was a disappointment. Tried to take the neighborhood roads as much as possible because those were not plowed. Anything that had been driven over was slick as snot and I almost went down several times. Decided that I really like the bike in 3" or so of fresh snow but that is about it. Plowed roads and rutted half frozen car tire tracks are just miserable. My route will have to be changed to accommodate changing conditions.

Stopped at the bike shop and did order fat bike fenders. Should be in on Friday as my buddy was putting the order in when I stopped. Should be a lot more enjoyable with those on there.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't posted in a while. Tuesday I was hit by a car on my way home from work. Ambulance took me to the hospital. Just minor injuries so far. Having a lot of trouble with my left shoulder. 

Spoke with a local bicycle attorney as to what I need to do to get everything replaced. Got some good advice in that regard. Not looking forward to contacting insurance to get the ball rolling, but since the driver was cited by FHP and I was cleared of fault, I don't think I'll have an issue.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Crap, welcome in the club buddy !

Was it accidental or the driver was driving carelessly ? Get better soon, wish you all the best :thumbsup:


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Texan, sorry to hear that. Everything ok? How did it happen? I've never been hit, but I assume its just a matter of time...

TenSpeed, what fenders did you order? I was looking at the PDW mud shovels, but the front doesn't look like it has much coverage...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Haven't posted in a while. Tuesday I was hit by a car on my way home from work. Ambulance took me to the hospital. Just minor injuries so far. Having a lot of trouble with my left shoulder.
> 
> Spoke with a local bicycle attorney as to what I need to do to get everything replaced. Got some good advice in that regard. Not looking forward to contacting insurance to get the ball rolling, but since the driver was cited by FHP and I was cleared of fault, I don't think I'll have an issue.


Man, that sucks. When I was hit, dealing with insurance was really easy, almost too easy. They wanted to take my bike and have me buy a new one, and I was like, "Hey, hey, hey. Hold on a minute." I found a solution that would work better for me (new wheelset rather than new bike), and they paid for everything. Luckily, I wasn't injured in the accident and didn't have to deal with medical bills.

It sounds like you have everything you need in place. Hopefully, it's going to be an easy process for you.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Tex - welcome back - sorry to hear about your incident. Was wondering where you were and why you hadn't posted at all. Hopefully you can get healed up and back on the bike and the insurance thing settled fairly easily.

Kleebs - I am not gonna lie, I am not sure what kind they are. I was in the shop last week and they had ordered them for another customer and they looked decent so I bit the bullet. $40 for the set I think. Will post up tomorrow when I go down there and get them and put them on the fattie.

Was not going to ride today to give my legs a rest. Wake up and it is snowing and we have a winter weather advisory until 7PM tonight. A couple more inches are forecasted and the temps are going to drop to single digits tonight. Sorry car, but you are going to get a rest, and sorry legs, you are not.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Sorry car, but you are going to get a rest, and sorry legs, you are not.


That quote makes me smile.  My legs were asking for a rest today - they didn't get it either.

I've got the planet bike cascada fenders for both 26" & 700C. They're cheap, do the trick and still look good year after year. I've got 2 pair of the silver and my wife's got the black ones. Can't complain.

Trail Ride Thursday! Temps were in the 20s so the trails were firm and clean, NICE!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The icy incline Toronto cars just wouldn't stop trying to climb - Toronto - CBC News

I can't deal with these people anymore.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Perfect winter commute weather last night. Just below freezing with snow flurries and not a whole lot of wind. Had a guy slow down to ride next to me so his buddy could lean out the window to take a picture of me. Made me smile. 

Taking a break today and tomorrow to let my legs rest up for the weekend. State CX Championships are Sunday and its the first race my parents will get to watch. Would love to have a good showing.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Got to work this a.m. and discovered when changing into my work clothes that my beard was frozen. Now, an hour and a half later, I just got back from getting coffee in short sleeves. Amazing what a difference the sun makes, lol.

Tex, glad to hear you are ok.

I was rear ended Saturday before last. Guy ended up having no insurance. Gonna be some time before my car sees the road again.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Our weather sucks, though. Yesterday it rained. In November. Rained. November Rain. Epic? Yes. Hairy? Absolutely. The ground is frozen so rain turned to ice in many places after it hit the ground. Made for a bung-hole clenching ride. Wowza. I didn't even make it out of the work parking lot before nearly biffing it the first time. Ended up dropping pressure way down and slogging through a slow five miles to the bus. Got home and decided to try swapping out the rear Hodag for the 120TPI Vee Mission I picked up for the Pugs to see if that would give me better grip on the slick stuff. Rode it in this AM and it seemed to work pretty well, though there was plenty of hoarfrost to add to the traction. My thoughts were that the Mission's nobs are a bit lower profile and are wider and flatter overall, so a greater surface area patch than what the Hodag gives. Couple that with a bit more suppleness overall and I think it might be a better tire for the conditions. 

I hate to say that the one thing I've really been disappointed with on the Farley are the Hodag tires. They seem much stiffer even than the 27 TPI Surly offerings. At lower pressures they seem really unpredictable - you turn or lean and the sidewall feels like it goes from straight and solid to flopping over with no warning - just an abrupt transition whereas the Surly tires seem to be much smoother in moving from up and down to leaning or turning, even at lower pressures. The real test of the Missions will be the ride home this afternoon when the hoarfrost is gone and the glare ice is ...glare-y. Ekk. 

Looking forward to so fun riding this weekend. Was tipped off to a trail in the valley I've not ridden before and the word is with it being frozen right now it is some awesome riding - Rippy trail for those in the know.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

All these snow reports are killing me. I'm sitting here out west with Rodar just waiting patiently... my studs are somewhere out in the shop and I assume I have tubes for them somewhere... haven't started to look around yet because why would I. 

Sorry Texan, that's lame! Hope your injuries aren't too bad. I'm still dealing with a shoulder injury (self-inflicted, so I can't complain..haha). No fun. 

Caught this morning's commute between scattered rainstorms (rain is the stuff that happens in places like the high sierra where it doesn't snow anymore) and it was actually really nice. Damp and crispy. Stretched it to 11.5 miles because my toes were happy (it's been dang cold the last few days). 

Rodar, the big light-up CalTrans sign was warning of "Icy Roads" on the way to Reno...so there's something :lol: It almost felt like winter for a second. Just damp over here though.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No ride for me today. Last minute change of plans where I will need my car after work tonight.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

ghettocruiser said:


> The icy incline Toronto cars just wouldn't stop trying to climb - Toronto - CBC News
> 
> I can't deal with these people anymore.


Funny, the reporter says "20 cars pill-up, no injuries". I guess all those drivers already had severe brain injuries and that's why they didn't seemed to have suffered even more.... What a bunch of jackass, hopefully they'll learn that a car is nothing more than a 2 tons metal frame with rubber wheels and lots of fume, not a snow****ingmobile-batcaterpillar machine !


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

There's a bunch of short hills like that in the west end!

Studded tires and gruntacular thighs.
Been grinning n grinding up icy hills for years.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Welcome back Tex and sorry to hear the bad news. Certainly no snow here. Last good snow we had here was about three inches that feel and actually stuck in 2008. Been doing the commuting thing two years now (third winter) and the coldest temp I've got caught in was 26f. So I guess I got it pretty good. 42f for ride in this morning and about 62-64 for ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, Texan, sorry to hear you got hit, hope your injuries heal up OK. Glad you got some good legal advice, when its all said and done, come back and share how it went. 

20's and breezy today, the roads were in good shape, and nicely "lightened" for enhanced night vision by yesterday's salting.

CB, if it makes you feel better (-not- ), I see they are now up to 10 dead from the Buffalo storms, and even the NFL game is cancelled.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Haven't posted in a while. Tuesday I was hit by a car on my way home from work. Ambulance took me to the hospital. Just minor injuries so far. Having a lot of trouble with my left shoulder.
> 
> Spoke with a local bicycle attorney as to what I need to do to get everything replaced. Got some good advice in that regard. Not looking forward to contacting insurance to get the ball rolling, but since the driver was cited by FHP and I was cleared of fault, I don't think I'll have an issue.


I was thinking recently about how you hadn't posted in a while. Glad you did, but dang the circumstances aren't so great. Take care, now.

Tomorrow, I think I am skipping my Friday commute. But is it a good reason if I need the car to pick up some wheels from a guy after work? Then my road bike will be single speed. That evens out, I think.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well what a crappy commute day today. First I flatted on the way to work this morning. Had to change the tire in the dark while it was raining. The on the way home, riding through a small town about four miles from home, I hit a large rock and went down hard. It was raining again, and between the rain, the dark and the glare from cars I never saw the rock - hit it, lost control of the bike and ended up on my back in the road. Lucky I did not get hit by a car.

I'm feeling pretty sore tonite. Big raspberry on my back. My helmet is cracked (glad I was wearing it!) but my bike came through with a broken mirror and out of alignment handlebars. Hope I feel OK in the morning to ride to work.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Got attacked by a dog, luckily i had bit winter boots on. He bit the hell out of my boots. 

I punched a truck too. He was 3/4 in the cross walk. I was in cross walk, just as im infront of hime he pulls forward more...... I turn, headlight blinding his passenger and BANG right into the fender. I was hoping he would follow me.... He was going to have a terrible day if that happened. 


#canadastrong


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

David C said:


> Are the SKS LongBlade really worth the money over the less expensive competitors?


When I saw how much front-tire coverage they had, I immediately bought a set to replace my standard SKS's, so I put my money where my mouth is  However, you could do the same thing by adding a big flap to the bottom of a regular-style front fender too.

The "chromoplastic" material is a flexible plastic with a layer of aluminum laminated into it, and you can grab both ends of a chromoplastic fender and twist it well beyond 180 degrees, and it just springs back into shape. Whatever it is, it's pretty forgiving of normal daily-driver mishaps. If they break, it's usually because something got into the spokes and hit the struts, and even then the front struts have a breakaway feature.

My commute today was OK. We had a dusting of snow, but the arterials were mostly just wet. I hauled in a folded-up area rug sticking out of one pannier, which didn't help with the aerodynamics. WHY are there no aerodynamic rugs? :madman: I ask you. Anyway, first snow commute this year


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

First day on the studs, very nice. Majoy step up from studless.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woodway, that sounds like a terrible day! Hope you're alright today and if you ride it goes better.

Kleebs, good luck at your race, share a pic if you can.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome back, Texan.



woodway said:


> First I flatted on the way to work this morning. Had to change the tire in the dark while it was raining.


That part sounds like a re-run of half your double flat day from last week. Sorry about the rash and the bike damage- well wishes for tomorrow.

No flats, dog attacks, or blizzards for me today, but I did finally join that "forgot my...." club. For the first time in my career I rode to work and left my whole bag sitting on the coffee table at home. Lunch, lock, extra smokes (yeah, again), and sunglasses for the ride home in the morning. I just parked my bike inside so I don`t need to lock it, ran over to the all night convenience store for a couple frozen burritos, put myself on ration mode with the cigs, and I guess I`ll have to squint if it isn`t overcast when I go home.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

it was around 0c or 32F so i dressed down to my fall stuff. Took my 29er 30 speed but with my specialized ground controls on not race kings as per usual. 32 minutes to get to work..... wasnt really pushing it. In the summer pushing it can make it in 28. on wednesday it was -14c. Road my 26er 24 speed with marathon winters on......48 minutes. WTF. may have to get a kona unit (29er single speed with rigid fork) with ice spiker pros on it for next winter....sheshhh.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Chinook came

Probably close to 1 km of skating rink quality ice on the way in this morning


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

solarplex said:


> may have to get a kona unit (29er single speed with rigid fork) with ice spiker pros on it for next winter....sheshhh.


That's my winter bike, although I run it as a 1x8 during the winter. I like it a lot, but I wouldn't call it fast.

Lots of rain over night, and temperatures well above freezing this morning. But there's a snowfall warning for tomorrow (maybe 6", so nothing to worry about).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Well what a crappy commute day today. First I flatted on the way to work this morning. Had to change the tire in the dark while it was raining. The on the way home, riding through a small town about four miles from home, I hit a large rock and went down hard. It was raining again, and between the rain, the dark and the glare from cars I never saw the rock - hit it, lost control of the bike and ended up on my back in the road. Lucky I did not get hit by a car.
> 
> I'm feeling pretty sore tonite. Big raspberry on my back. My helmet is cracked (glad I was wearing it!) but my bike came through with a broken mirror and out of alignment handlebars. Hope I feel OK in the morning to ride to work.


I was going to say flats in the rain are the worst but then you continued with the story and it got worse. Talk about getting back on the horse! I hope you feel up to riding to work too.

solarplex, I don't think the ice spikers are going to help your speed.

Skating quality ice is fun to ride on as long as you have the studs to do it. And the cars don't slide into you. That helps.

The worst thing I can report about my commutes is that my legs are a little tires. We're supposed to get a real warm spell starting Sunday.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> That part sounds like a re-run of half your double flat day from last week. Sorry about the rash and the bike damage- well wishes for tomorrow.


Only half a re-run 

I took stock this morning and decided to ride to work. Body feels OK except for my back and left elbow are a bit sore. Bike needed a little tweaking last night but the only real damage was the broken mirror. I was able to steal the mirror off my wife's bike. I tore my jacket and cracked my helmet. Jacket is still useable, helmet's a total loss. Lucky I have a spare one. I remember when my head hit the pavement...if I had not been wearing a helmet they would have been carting me off in an ambulance.

Rode this morning and everything went fine...no flats and no crashes. Just 48 degrees and light rain.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

newfangled said:


> That's my winter bike, although I run it as a 1x8 during the winter. I like it a lot, but I wouldn't call it fast.
> 
> Lots of rain over night, and temperatures well above freezing this morning. But there's a snowfall warning for tomorrow (maybe 6", so nothing to worry about).


Faster than a 1998 schwinn moab? I find the frame geometry, and tires and gearing suck now im use to my trail head 29er.

I use to ride the moab in the summer, could fly on it, rarely was not in 3/8 or 3/7... Now its a different story.

I got a different riser, a 35 degree, hoping to less hunched over. The judy c fork is crap as well but.... Winter, hard on bikes im told. Salt and road grime destroy the drivetrain??? Ill see after this year.

#canadastrong


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

solarplex said:


> Winter, hard on bikes im told. Salt and road grime destroy the drivetrain??? Ill see after this year.


That's why I do 1x8. At the end of every winter I toss the chain. This winter I'm using a new cassette, but my last one lasted through 4 winters. Heavy stuff, but cheap.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Standard ride in today, for the most part. 20MPH winds out of the north in the valley and nothing in town. Bottom bracket issues again - the non-drive side bearings (Enduros put in as replacements last year some time - maybe 18 months on them) took a dive - squeaky and grinding horrible. Swapped them out with the stock BB that came on the Farley and will look for a new BB or just new bearings in town today. Thought I heard some squeaking coming out of the BB area when I got to work this AM. Hope it's all in my head, otherwise I'm thinking that the wreck I had on Sunday while out with the dog may have resulted in a bent crank spindle that's putting odd pressure on the bearings and chewing them up. Seems odd that riding 8 miles would chew them up enough to cause them to squeak, though. Hope it's all in my head at this point. I love my Turbines.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Block, i think you just killing your BB's due to mileage, etc. If you get 15k miles over 18 months, they paid for themselves many times over. Id get another set of Enduro bearings and hope they last 18 months of your riding...I go through about 2 BB's a year and i've never upgraded to enduro status.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Chinook came
> 
> Probably close to 1 km of skating rink quality ice on the way in this morning


You're so lucky !!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Jordy I think you're right. I actually just rode my butt from midtown down to Paramount to pick up a new set of enduros. I'll swap em over tonight and call it good. A bit of a haul from the Bp building down there and then all the way back to the transit center. And of course they are the only shop I've found that stocks them here in town.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Well.... It was plus 3, rained. Roads were fine, got on to the single track..... Snow was packed all week by walkers, rain made it a skating rink. Was on my summer bike, sure enough fell on my ass. Damnit! Guess its full time on the winter bike... So damn slow. 


#canadastrong


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

65F and humid. Early last week it was in the low 20s with wind chills in the teens. I suspect the change is due to me packing away my shorts thinking I wouldn't need them until spring.

Had a hard time willing myself out of bed this morning, so I was running late and almost drove, but I couldn't bring myself to drive in this weather.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning was 60F with 45mph wind gusts. A week ago we were at 11F with snow on the ground. Temps are dropping though. I hope the wind tapers off or switches direction. I had a wicked tail-wind this morning, but wouldn't have as much fun with that kind of head-wind.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

This morning started out at 28F but is warming up quickly. It must not have been below freezing for long because the goose poops were not frozen. As I was trying to dodge most of them on a section of the trail I commute in on, I got a chuckle thinking back to last week when it was COLD and the poops were frozen solid creating what seemed like a thousand tiny speed bumps.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have been off the bike now for a few days. No commute again for me as it is warm out, but pouring rain. Last week we were at 19F with snow, and it is currently 52F with a high of 55F. Short week as I only work today and tomorrow and then am off for 5 days. Taking my bike with me though to Chicago. Oh, I will be riding!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Jordy I think you're right. I actually just rode my butt from midtown down to Paramount to pick up a new set of enduros. I'll swap em over tonight and call it good. A bit of a haul from the Bp building down there and then all the way back to the transit center. And of course they are the only shop I've found that stocks them here in town.


I rode the enduro's for several years...I averaged one non drive side gone per year, usually just after winter...pretty good.

The steel outer race was the main cause of failure..

So I went to a SS race with the ceramic balls....viola sitting at 2 years now and still going strong.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Got my bearings replaced on Friday night - I'm becoming a pro. I think it took me five minutes total - and went for a ride on Saturday at the new Government Peak single track trails. Nice riding. The trails still need a lot of hand finishing in the spring, but they are pretty awesome. It was powdery dust over frozen.

































Sunday there was some fresh snow in the mountains so I ended up going up and running the Gov Peak trails with one of my daughters. Good time. Legs actually feel pretty good today.

This morning there was light snow falling on my way to work along the coast. Tapered off once I was about a mile in land. Hopefully we'll get some real snow here soon!

And just because I'm picture happy this AM - here is one from last week when I was transporting home a wheel I found on the road that just might work to replace a wheel with a bad hub on my wife's bike...


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

well, snowed 10cm but blew here saturday. Most part the side walks and paths were plowed. slow going at first, first path wasnt plowed, then got to plowed stuff and flew! got cocky on a gravel trail and was going 25-30 km/h and then hit a snow drift and launched me off the pedals down onto my seat on my stomach and superman'd for a bit but kept it up, came to a stop and kept pedaling. Road were not plowed or packed enough to ride on....... all in all 12.3 km in 50 minutes including red lights. Took some co workers an hour or more to drive! (main reason i started biking) I also dont know how much air are in my tires......i think i have 50 psi still (breaking in the studs this summer for 40km), they are 26X2" marathon winters ....... could be a reason they were such crap in the soft snow. I really want a fat bike....... i could cut km out of my route going threw the woods but the paths are only packed by people walking thier dogs so the 2" wides will have a tough time.


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## djrez4 (Apr 6, 2012)

Nice day out, but windy as [email protected]#%.









Winds running W-E aren't that big a deal. They're either straight headwinds or tailwinds. NW winds run across my route and try really hard to blow me over. I don't consider myself to be a lightweight object, but it seems the wind does.


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2014)

djrez4 said:


> Nice day out, but windy as [email protected]#%.
> 
> View attachment 941565
> 
> ...


 I'm a clyde for sure and we had 45-50 mph gusts last year that felt like they were going to push me over when they blew crosswind. Riding into a 50 mph wind at 6 mph was a new experience for sure. Should have traveled upwind a hundred miles and set a land speed record for a mountain bike century.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

going form high 60's to low 40s/high 30's tomorrow, so I'll be carrying a lot of clothes into my overnight job. Ugh, only thing I really hate about fall and spring is the temperature swings.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I have been off the bike now for a few days. No commute again for me as it is warm out, but pouring rain. Last week we were at 19F with snow, and it is currently 52F with a high of 55F. Short week as I only work today and tomorrow and then am off for 5 days. Taking my bike with me though to Chicago. Oh, I will be riding!


Same boat here. Little things get in the way of riding and I've been working on getting this single speed thing up and working. I just need cogs and a chain... so stoked.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Chilly at 40f when I left and a pleasant 65f for ride home. Uneventful commute.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I rode with fenders for the first time today. They didn't create as much drag as I thought, and kept everything but my shoes dry. Pretty cool. They are a quick-ish release model (made it easier to install with my rack already on) and did not rattle around too badly. There is a clip on bracket in the rear that seems to secure it pretty well - ordered another one from planet bike for 4 bucks to screw the front one in, hopefully that fixes the bit of rattling it does have.

They were also damaged in shipping (had to rig one spot with a ziptie) and bike tires direct gave me a credit for the full purchase price to use on my next order. I would have settled for 5 bucks off haha.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Haven't commuted in 4 business days or so. Last week the break was to get ready for the last cross race of the season. Took the day of yesterday to finish some remodeling before hosting thanksgiving. Today....well today I was dressed and ready to go, excited that the roads were dry. Got to the garage and decided I needed to swap tires on my road bike to the new gatorskins so I don't continue getting flats every 2 weeks. Those gatorskins were not easy to put on, so I was running a little late by the time I get them set up. Finally had the bike ready to go so I went to grab my spd shoes from the car...forgot to clean them off from the race on sunday. Completely caked with mud, to the point that the cleats would not engage with the pedals. Sigh. Went inside to shower and change and admitted defeat. Drove in today. 

As for the race itself, it was brutal! They had age group championship races all day Saturday in the rain so the course was a swamp. Sunday morning was a beautiful day for spectating as the temperature warmed up to the high 50s/low 60s and was dry. Unfortunately that turned the mud to that horrible sticky peanut butter mud. By the end of the first lap I had to abandon my A bike because the mud had packed up enough to freeze the rear wheel. My B bike was my 26er hardtail, and it only lasted a half lap before I had to stop to free the front wheel. Not enough clearance because of the bridge from the suspension fork and the mud picked up every leaf and twig on the course. it was a lot of running. Ended up middle of the pack - 25th out of 43. Not what I was hoping for, but I look forward to improving next year.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Still waiting for snow. I hope to get some snow riding up in the mountains this weekend, but we'll see. Have the next three days off of work for the turkey day holiday. Good times.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

tried to ride yesterday, little shakey mechanically so I just turned around and parked the bike and took the car  not happy, hopefully I'll have it sorted out for next week.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another day not riding. This weather is just unreal. Snow, then rain, then snow, then rain. Snow I am OK with, but the temps are hovering around freezing and I won't do that to my body or clothes by riding to work in soaking wet clothes freezing. Seriously considering wet weather gear but the cycling budget is on a complete lockdown after looking at what I have spent this year on bikes and accessories to include clothing.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The vultures are back. I saw at least 3-4 dozen on my ride home last night. They seem to gather along one of the creeks on my commute and either migrate or disperse. Vultures are kind of nasty birds, but there is something cool about seeing them fly in huge groups.

The wind was kicking all day yesterday, but it shifted just enough that I didn't have much of a headwind on the way home. There was debris all over the MUP. It was so windy the coyote decoy in the back of one of the businesses had blown over. I never have figured out why they have that thing back there. They move it from time to time. Maybe they think it will deter thieves or vandals, but it's not too convincing.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Since there was no ice or snow, I rode my new Motobecane. My commuter bike has studies on it and is really slow. A good workout but I don't want to wreck the tires riding on dry concrete and pavement. 

It was nice to get back up to an average speed of 18 mph. The lack of fenders wasn't an issue since the roads were dry.

Usually I like to switch back and forth between my Lyon and my SSCX but I have the SS setup on my trainer still.

After my last gravel race I got it in my head that I NEEDED a CX bike with discs and tubeless ready wheels. Got em both, and I'm really digging the SRAM shifters. My Commuter has bar end shifters and they have worked flawlessly for 17 years. But I may have to consider upgrading if they ever wear out.

I love new toys.


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## Guest (Nov 25, 2014)

After a week plus off (usually deer hunt during the seasonrather than ride, if I'm getting shot at I wanna return fire) I rode the Paragon to work this morning. 18F and dry so that was good, maybe a little over dressed but pretty good ride. Got passed and couldn't reel the other rider in so apparently my deer hunting doesn't count as training. Normally I'd ride the Fargo but with the dry conditions I thought (who needs fenders?) then I discovered my Paragon had a flat front tire. Again considered riding the Fargo but then I just delay fixing the flat. Wish I had more bikes, I like complex decisions.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Got a call this evening, my new frame just came in !! I'm going to grab it tomorrow and I should be commuting on a spanking new Surly Troll by next week ! Super stocked right now I can't stop smiling


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Commute home was not so good. Started hearing a thump, thump, thump, from the front tire. Pulled over and found a huge goat head impaled in the tire. So I walk the bike over to the nearest street lamp and pull the front wheel off, take out the tube, and dig my spare tube out of my back pack. Put the tube in and reseat the tire then try to fill it with air. Air was coming out as fast as I could put it in. New tube was defective. So, I pull off the tire again, fish out the old tube, the rummage around to find my Park patch kit. First patch just won't stick. Neither did the second. Third one worked. Must have been an old kit? Anyway, I finally get everything back together and try to pump up the tire and my pump decides not to cooperate. Crap! 13 miles from home and no way to get air in my tire! Maybe I should gone tubeless already?

Not one of the 6 or 7 riders that raced past bothered to ask if I needed anything. So much for Karma, I can't count the number of tubes I've given away to people with flats in the past.

It was cold but my footsies were toasty! Thanks Lake Mxz303's!

Anyone have a recommendation for GOOD pump?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Carry two tubes. I've run over glass and double-flatted.

The one has given good reliable service over the years:

Amazon.com : Topeak Road Morph G Bike Pump with Gauge : Frame Mount Bike Pumps : Sports & Outdoors

If you go a longtime between flats, make sure to cycle your pump every once in a while. The seals need to be worked (and you'll know that the pump still works).

Sorry about your sucky commute. Hope the next one is better.


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## Smudge13 (Mar 14, 2013)

z1r said:


> Not one of the 6 or 7 riders that raced past bothered to ask if I needed anything. So much for Karma, I can't count the number of tubes I've given away to people with flats in the past.


That is thoroughly disheartening. I always stop and ask.

I'm riding tubeless, but still carry two tubes in my backpack as much to help another rider as insurance for myself.

Terribly bummed that no one stopped for assistance. I've even stopped my truck to ask a downed rider if they needed a hand. Hmmm...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I always stop but nobody ever needs help. One lady was actually picking mushrooms, couldn't help the guy whose seat post broke into pieces.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Wet streets this morning. After work, I pumped up the studded tires for less rolling resistance, then headed to the supermarket, and then on to Home Depot to buy some 8-foot wood trim for a work project, which I strap to the side of my top tube. Temperature was above freezing and light drizzly-fog... stuff. Fizzle? Fozzle? That stuff. 

Anyway, I dumped the lumber off at work in the fire corridor on my way back, then proceeded home. Made it home alive


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

z1r said:


> Commute home was not so good. Started hearing a thump, thump, thump, from the front tire. Pulled over and found a huge goat head impaled in the tire. So I walk the bike over to the nearest street lamp and pull the front wheel off, take out the tube, and dig my spare tube out of my back pack. Put the tube in and reseat the tire then try to fill it with air. Air was coming out as fast as I could put it in. New tube was defective. So, I pull off the tire again, fish out the old tube, the rummage around to find my Park patch kit. First patch just won't stick. Neither did the second. Third one worked. Must have been an old kit? Anyway, I finally get everything back together and try to pump up the tire and my pump decides not to cooperate. Crap! 13 miles from home and no way to get air in my tire! Maybe I should gone tubeless already?
> 
> Not one of the 6 or 7 riders that raced past bothered to ask if I needed anything. So much for Karma, I can't count the number of tubes I've given away to people with flats in the past.
> 
> ...


So 13 miles away from home. What did you do to get home? I have walked it home about 7.5 miles in Specialized mtb shoes after an epic mechanical failure once. Sunday afternoon and didn't have many people to call for a ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> So 13 miles away from home. What did you do to get home?


That`s just what I was wondering! I hope it was as painless as possible, anyway. As for pumps, I do like Topeak Morphs, and you rarely hear a bad word about them, but my unsung hero in that department is the Serfas version.
http://www.amazon.com/Serfas-Grifte...F8&qid=1416993491&sr=1-9&keywords=SERFAS+PUMP
And I second Woodway`s suggestion to give your pump a workout from time to time if you don`t get many flats. I had the seals in mine get sticky once when I was in a similar situation and had to take them out and slobber on them to get my tire aired up again!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Official, first single speed commute this morning. May have to bus home, due to freezing rain (I'm a wimp, ok) but it was good. Pretty low gearing, 39/18, but I got a good workout, cause I still made about 17mph. Wicked.


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## Guest (Nov 26, 2014)

NDD said:


> Official, first single speed commute this morning. May have to bus home, due to freezing rain (I'm a wimp, ok) but it was good. Pretty low gearing, 39/18, but I got a good workout, cause I still made about 17mph. Wicked.


 I wouldn't cop to the title "wimp" just yet. I "manned-up" last year in January, crashed and lost a week of riding because I wasn't gonna concede to a little ice. Commuting isn't about proving anything so much as it is about taking advantage of an opportunity. When the value proposition of commuting decreases (your risks significantly outweigh your possible gains) it's a good time to skip. Think about it this way, if you knew you were going to get hit by a car or break your arm falling you'd skip the ride, if the chances were less than 50% of either you'd consider riding. We instinctively make these calculations all the time, then we disregard our own instincts. Sometimes bad stuff happens when it shouldn't, some people are less risk adverse than others, but commuting isn't a sport on the Red Bull tour for a reason.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I thought maybe people would be nicer on the day before Thanksgiving. I guess not. I had a run-in with some d-bag who was stuck behind a semi that had stopped in front of him. Trucks always stop at that point when making a delivery at the business at that location, and anyone who travels that street regularly should know this. 

Anyway, I was coming the opposite way when the truck was rolling to a stop and couldn't see that there was a car tailgating the truck. As I was approaching the front of the semi, the car pulls out from behind the truck and starts towards me. I hit the brakes as soon as I could, but the dude started honking at me and then threw up his one hand and yelled who knows what as he swerved around the front of the truck and back into his lane. By that time, I was yelling too because there was a freaking truck in his way, and it wasn't my fault he was stuck behind him. 

Clearly, I should have had the right of way in that situation, but I slowed down and would have let him go without even raising a peep if the guy hadn't been a jerk about it. Errr....people.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s just what I was wondering! I hope it was as painless as possible, anyway. As for pumps, I do like Topeak Morphs, and you rarely hear a bad word about them, but my unsung hero in that department is the Serfas version.
> http://www.amazon.com/Serfas-Grifte...F8&qid=1416993491&sr=1-9&keywords=SERFAS+PUMP
> And I second Woodway`s suggestion to give your pump a workout from time to time if you don`t get many flats. I had the seals in mine get sticky once when I was in a similar situation and had to take them out and slobber on them to get my tire aired up again!


Luckily my wife was able to pick me up but not until I'd been futzing around pulling the tire off three or four times. he irony is that by car its only 8 miles but by bike trail it's 13.

Thanks to all for the pump suggestions. Gonna be getting a new one asap. The seals seemed to work but it just wouldn't do much more than get a little air into the tube. Can't complain too much I suppose. It was a Crank Brothers mini pump that I found at mesa Verde when my kid decided he had to pee and couldn't hold it any longer. I pulled over, got out and opened the rear door on the Pick Up so he could get out when I noticed it lying by the side of the road in what looked like new condition. I'd used it a few times on my MTB's but when I got back into commuting this summer, its size or lack of made it seem like a natural for the back pack.

I did get a chuckle out of one guy who did stop to ask me if I'd seen his friend. And, while he didn't have a pump, he did have a small 12 volt car battery strapped to his rear rack and a car stereo hooked up. He offered to play me some tunes while I waited for my wife.

Definitely gonna start packing two tubes from now on. Who would have thought a factory fresh tube would have a hole. Never ran into that problem before and I've gone through a LOT of tubes.

Stayed up way too late last night going over the plans for my Mom's kitchen remodel. Woke up, (barely) too tired to think so I drove today. Was kinda bummed when I saw we'd had a dusting of snow. It would make the studdies seem less superfluous.

Onward and upward!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

z1r said:


> Not one of the 6 or 7 riders that raced past bothered to ask if I needed anything. So much for Karma, I can't count the number of tubes I've given away to people with flats in the past.


I would have stopped to help a fellow out. Don't dismiss karma yet. I've swapped over from the pump to C02 as my main emergency inflation solution.



rodar y rodar said:


> That`s just what I was wondering! I hope it was as painless as possible, anyway. As for pumps, I do like Topeak Morphs, and you rarely hear a bad word about them, but my unsung hero in that department is the Serfas version.


I gave a Topeak chain tool a bad review in another thread but I emailed their customer service and they are sending a new tool out after I sent a pic of the broken one. I give them an A+ on service. (still think the chain tool is weak)

Fatbike ride in today in prep for the 4-6" of snow we are supposed to have by the time I commute home.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Had a weird moment this morning. I left the house wearing full fingered mtb gloves, and decided after a mile and a half that I needed to swap to my winter gloves. As I'm digging through my backpack on the side of the road I got a really nasty dizzy spell. I've never been one to have issues like that so it made me a little nervous. I made a side trip to the nearest drug store and grabbed a bottle of water. Made it to work after that with no issues. My only guess is I was either dehydrated or my blood sugar dropped. I don't usually eat breakfast until I get to work, so I don't know why today would have been different. Here's to hoping the ride home is early and uneventful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

NDD said:


> Official, first single speed commute this morning. May have to bus home, due to freezing rain (I'm a wimp, ok) but it was good. Pretty low gearing, 39/18, but I got a good workout, cause I still made about 17mph. Wicked.


Congrats.

I got my first single speed this summer. I lucked into a Fantom Uno for $80. Guy was moving and couldn't take the bike with him. It needed a new chain I try to ride it at least once a week to work. It has 38/16 gearing which is about perfect for my commute. The hill up to my house being the worst of it. You did better than me, I tend to top out at about 16 mph but did manage 18 on my commute once. Must have been the Wheaties or something that day, lol.

As someone else has said, discretion is the better part of valor. Ok, I paraphrased a little. Ice is nothing to mess with. a couple of years ago one of the Professors I work with came hobbling in to work with a huge cast on his leg. He wiped out on some ice while riding into work. He was out of it for two month and then some. Sometimes it is better to take the occasional day off. Besides, being cold is one thing, being wet and cold is another! Enjoy the bus!

By the way, what's your ride?


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Kleebs, same thing happened to my Grand Mother in-law recently. She was very disoriented, speech was slurred, etc. Turns out she was dehydrated.

Like you , I don't typically eat til after I get to work. Never really had an issue with blood sugar but I'm no expert on that either.

Might be worth mentioning to your doc at your next check up.

Hope it was a one-time event.

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Kleebs said:


> Had a weird moment this morning. I left the house wearing full fingered mtb gloves, and decided after a mile and a half that I needed to swap to my winter gloves. As I'm digging through my backpack on the side of the road I got a really nasty dizzy spell. I've never been one to have issues like that so it made me a little nervous. I made a side trip to the nearest drug store and grabbed a bottle of water. Made it to work after that with no issues. My only guess is I was either dehydrated or my blood sugar dropped. I don't usually eat breakfast until I get to work, so I don't know why today would have been different. Here's to hoping the ride home is early and uneventful.
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving everyone.


Eat breakfast before the ride


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## Guest (Nov 26, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> Had a weird moment this morning. I left the house wearing full fingered mtb gloves, and decided after a mile and a half that I needed to swap to my winter gloves. As I'm digging through my backpack on the side of the road I got a really nasty dizzy spell. I've never been one to have issues like that so it made me a little nervous. I made a side trip to the nearest drug store and grabbed a bottle of water. Made it to work after that with no issues. My only guess is I was either dehydrated or my blood sugar dropped. I don't usually eat breakfast until I get to work, so I don't know why today would have been different. Here's to hoping the ride home is early and uneventful.
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving everyone.


 Go see your doctor. We just lost a guy at work who had an "unusual dizzy spell" but was otherwise healthy (Heart Attack). You wouldn't write-off losing sight in one eye for a few minutes, you'd go see a doctor. If you did something that normally makes you dizzy that's one thing, dizzy out of nowhere is bad. Go see a doctor, cheaper than new tires and potentially life-saving.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> I wouldn't cop to the title "wimp" just yet. I "manned-up" last year in January, crashed and lost a week of riding because I wasn't gonna concede to a little ice. Commuting isn't about proving anything so much as it is about taking advantage of an opportunity. When the value proposition of commuting decreases (your risks significantly outweigh your possible gains) it's a good time to skip. Think about it this way, if you knew you were going to get hit by a car or break your arm falling you'd skip the ride, if the chances were less than 50% of either you'd consider riding. We instinctively make these calculations all the time, then we disregard our own instincts. Sometimes bad stuff happens when it shouldn't, some people are less risk adverse than others, but commuting isn't a sport on the Red Bull tour for a reason.


Well, my boss let us all out of work two and a half hours early because we were so slow. There was precipitation coming down, but not bad yet. The kind that bounces off your jacket and melts before it hits the ground so you're not wet and the ground isn't slick. So I rode and decided if I skidded or it got worse I'd stop off and wait for the bus. It was fine, I took it slow.

Really more than anything I dislike macho-ness, the problem lies in tone over internet text that's poorly thought out and lacks emoticons. My buddy always says about certain bike activities that you can try to be more extreme than the next guy or you can stay intact and enjoy the sport for as long as you want. I prefer the latter.

z1r, I have a 1977 Scwinn super le tour. Changed wheels to 700c with a flip flop hub. It works pretty well. And I think I'll need to drop the ratio in a couple months. Riding that fast requires about 100rpm with my current setup, if I did my calculations right. Not bad,but I'd rather get a little more zip for pedaling that fast.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well, good ride in and good ride home. Just checked my records and noticed that I've only driven to work 10 days since April, about four of which I was pretty sick. The others were appointments directly after work, etc.

Off the next four days. Hoping I find the time for a few mt. bike rides.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Stupid taxi driver almost gave me an heart attack on my commute home today. Very similar scenario to the one where I really got ran over by another taxi a month ago 

Skip at 2:25 if you can't wait. Make sure to go full HD 1080P. He scared the crap out of me, I didn't even notice the big 4Runner passing me by afterward.


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## Carton (Sep 15, 2014)

David C said:


> Stupid taxi driver almost gave me an heart attack on my commute home today. Very similar scenario to the one where I really got ran over by another taxi a month ago
> 
> Skip at 2:25 if you can't wait. Make sure to go full HD 1080P. He scared the crap out of me, I didn't even notice the big 4Runner passing me by afterward.
> 
> Dépassement illégal par véhicule sur Parthenais le 26 nov 2014 - YouTube


It was way too close for comfort (probably illegal, depending on the jurisdiction), but since you were just retaking the left lane I do think you have to cut the driver some slack.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

^^ there's no left or right lane on that street, it's a one way with one lane. For the most part it's wide enough to allow safe passing, but sometimes due to parked vehicles, you can't safely pass (just like the taxi driver did). It's not like I had room to my right, he should have expected me to possibly take even more room to the left (for example if there was a huge pothole by the truck and I had to avoid it at the last minute, etc, there's potholes everywhere here). He could and should have waited instead of playing carelessly with my life.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

That's rough dude. I can't tell on your cam though, were signaling your intent? I know it seems silly to do so when it's obvious what you have to do, but maybe they really expected you to stop. I dunno. 

To be clear I'm not blaming you. I just think it's our burden to always remind drivers that we're here using the road like any law abiding road user ought to. I think a lot of people don't know what to do because they think you are going to be unpredictable. Be more than predictable, be painfully clear in intent.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Maybe you are asking too much of a dumb taxi driver. They aren't usually Mensa members or the most patient and accommodating of drivers. It should not be that way but it too often is. Some drivers seem surprised that when they pass us it takes so long even though he did it three times before pushing it. I think that once you drop past the passenger door, you disappear in their mental picture of things to deal with. I get the rear bumper within 8" when the front was 4 feet or more away. 

Some observations: You passed him that close or maybe a bit closer at two stoplights. So maybe he took that as a cue as to how close you were comfortable with. It might have been a good option to have taken the lane behind the three vehicles so they did not have to pass repeatedly. It doesn't slow you up as witnessed by the fact that you caught them at three lights. You don't have to, but I don't trust taxi drivers when I am in a car let alone on a bike. Ceding right of way to live another day seems a good trade. Defensive riding can be complex and it takes a different mindset on a bike than in a car. I think it is good sharing that road as a cyclist to shift right when you can. However, safety experts warn that this can be dangerous when you need to move left around a parked vehicle, potholes or whatever. Somehow motorists don't get the idea you need to come over and door room. I did this once on a 2 lane and the pickup driver behind me was lucky no one was oncoming. I did look in my mirror and over my shoulder but not quite soon enough he was already trying to overtake me with no room in the lane. He kept coming as if I was not there. I assume you have a mirror to check traffic behind before coming left and a check over the shoulder apparently helps a lot with connecting to drivers who do give a crap. You are a human and not a traffic cone. You can also slow to avoid being crushed in a chicane like that if you know what is about to crowd you. Sure, he should have allowed you room and held off until you passed the van, but who is hurt the most if he misjudges the pass a bit worse? You can only control you in such situations. Figuring that drivers are morons with no concern for your life and limb will generally work better than pushing for your right of way. I am a 62 year old cyclist because I learned this after a decade or so.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Good morning America ! (north and south  )

No commute today as we have a day off from school (no holiday here though, just a random day off), so I'm gonna keep wrenching on my new commuter all day long ! Then I'll take it for a spin this weekend and hopefully we'll get more white snow next week 

Laws for riding your bike on the streets are pretty lame and outdated here (still stuck with laws from 1986), so it pretty much says that you can't pass a vehicle by moving to the right lane (either in a car or bike or to pass a car or bike), then it says you must always stick to the extreme right of the road when riding your bike, unless there's indications to do otherwise (like a bike path on the left of the road). Then it allow cars to pass cyclist in the same lane only if there's enough room to do it safely, but it doesn't state any minimal distance, only says "if there's enough room to do ot safely", aka as long as you don't hit them, you're fine. In short, it's illegal for cyclists to pass other vehicles by the right side, even if we are forced to always stay on the extreme right of the road, so we then have to pass vehicles by the left, and come back to the extreme right immediately. They want us to swerve around cars like flies, but they allow drivers to run us off the road. It's very shitty and unsafe, but until they pull their whole fist out of their arses at the gov, we all have to abide to those endangering laws every day for almost 30 years now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-21 C and dark this morning

Winter boots thin cotton socks.

One pair full length tights, one pair summer shorts.

Light Cotton tee shirt.

Light merino wool sweater (long sleeves).

Light balaclava, helmet,

and triple layer gortex ski jacket.

winter mitts without liners.

Googles (still cant find my nose protector)..

Felt nice and warm after 25 minutes.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rough. Last night was 6-8" of fresh powder. Roads were completely loose and useless. Mups were okay, and I managed to climb my 1km long hill without too much trouble.

And it kept snowing.

Presumably a foot this morning. In plenty of spots I was riding along with the snow well past my bb, and past the bottom of my brake rotor, and getting close to the hub. So it was a mix of sidewalks and roads today, depending on what worked. Wore my fleece since it was -21C, and was drenched when I got to work.

And a casualty - on a clumsy dismount I kicked the rear light that's mounted on the back of my rack, and sent it flying into a foot of fresh snow. I spent a few minutes digging around for it with zero luck, and gave up. I did the same thing last year or the year before, but that time managed to find my light. I guess I'm going to have to stop mounting a light there during the winter.

And there's still a snowfall warning in effect.


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## Gunnar-man (Mar 21, 2008)

^Jeffscott: You wore only that this monring? In Calgary? It was -36 with the 40km wind. You are a stronger man than I.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ silly. Windchill doesn't count.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ silly. Windchill doesn't count.


Yeah very true


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Gunnar-man said:


> ^Jeffscott: You wore only that this monring? In Calgary? It was -36 with the 40km wind. You are a stronger man than I.


I was able tor ride at about 75% full output without sweating too much...so just about right.


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## Gunnar-man (Mar 21, 2008)

I am just getting old, I guess. I am bundled up and by the time I get to the office, I am frozen. Pogies and winter boots don't keep the hands and feet warm by the 25-30min mark. 

This weather does make me appreciate the rides in -5c though


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Today it got very windy, rained, and the temperature approached the mid-50F range. Apparently this is the precursor to a much colder weather system that arrives tonight or tomorrow. Anyway, the wind hit me especially hard since I was bringing home my rolled-up rug tonight. But I made it home alive AND there was cold pizza in the refrigerator. Take THAT, mother nature!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ The world is always good with a pie in the ice box. Also, since we have a bunch of leftover stuffing, I've found that eating cold stuffing is almost as good as cold pizza. Both acceptable bike fuel,because that's what I call food now.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Didn't notice the forecast changed since last night before I left. Sunny and 50F when I rode in, but now they are calling for rain for the ride home. I did not dress for rain, oops.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Overall great ride in today after a great long weekend of riding. We finally got some snow so part of my ride was a bit challenging where the snowplows throw snow up and onto the multiuse path, though my son and I rode it last night to try to pack down a path. Apart from that, the snow in town is fast and well packed already. Temps were decent, in the mid-teens. All in all, good times.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not sure what I should do today. I somehow hurt my foot last night. Hurts to walk, and also hurts to drive. I am sure that it will hurt to ride but I think it will actually hurt less. 24F and cold out, no snow on the ground or in the forecast so I may just say screw it and ride in. Picked up a pair of Specialized Defrosters last Wednesday on a whim even though I said my budget was shot. Tried them out Friday night in Chicago on Critical Mass - they work. I was outside for 4.5 hours in 30F temps and wind and my feet were warm with just mid weight socks on.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> Didn't notice the forecast changed since last night before I left. Sunny and 50F when I rode in, but now they are calling for rain for the ride home. I did not dress for rain, oops.


I hate when that happens! Ride faster, maybe you can outrun the rain drops! 

I commuted last Friday and it was a repeat of sorts of last Tuesday's flat tire misadventure. I flatted about four miles from home. No problem I figure, I have learned to carry two tubes now. I replace the tube, pump up the tire, barely, it seems this pump too has reached the end of its life. But, I get enough air in the tire that I can at least ride it.

When I noticed the flat I pulled over into the parking lot of a bar so I could work under their light. Once I finished my repairs I saw a dirt path just in front of me that was maybe 20 feet long that reconnected with the trail. Rather than ride 100 yards in the opposite direction I take the path. A decision I will soon regret. Less than half a mile down the road my tire is flat again. I picked up another goat head! So, I pull over and begin the process again. My faith in humanity was at least restored when a fellow biker stopped to ask if I needed anything. It seems the Karmic forces have been realigned!

Needless to say, I took advantage of the Black Friday deals and bought some Kevlar belted tires and a new pump.

Couldn't ride in today, my son has a basketball game (Season Opener) right after work. So, hopefully tomorrow those new tires will prove their worth!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Howdy kids. 

Happy holidays, congratulations, nice work, sorry to hear about that, etc, etc :lol: 

Dumping rain this morning. I thought it might potentially become freezing rain overnight looking at the forecast, so I actually located tubes for my studded tires over the weekend. Didn't actually put them on rims, but that's one step closer to actually having a winter. 

I don't really have a place at my job anymore to hang wet stuff... I'm going to have to install some hooks or something under my desk just so stuff can get airflow throughout the day. Gonna be a soggy ride home in the dark since I'm working late. Woohoo Monday.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

The new bike is awesome !! Woohoo I love it !


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Woohoo Monday.


Don`t worry- I sense a two week vacation heading your way very soon!

We`ve been getting some rain here too (YAY!), and my commutes have been very well timed. One day last week (they all run together, so can`t remember which) I rode in when the wind was just picking up, turned into a gale within a half hour of arriving at work, wind stopped and it rained hard about 5AM, then the rain stopped just in time for me to go home.

I got Thursday night off, first night off since Oct something-teenth. It was also the first of 19 Thanksgivings I`ve worked at this job that the presses shut down for- could be good or bad depending on how you think about it. Then I got last night off, and now the crazy hours are over until next year. Probably won`t work more than 4 days per week this month. Good. I`m whooped.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The foot of snow we got on Wednesday has mostly melted, and with 40F this a.m., the ride was warm but filthy. It dropped to 27 by the trip home, but icy spots could be avoided. I had one yeller, pretty mild, "ride that bike" and "woohoo" but in an obnoxious rather than friendly tone. Then I came upon the 2nd accident in 2 weeks where the car inexplicably ended up at 90 degrees to the curb or roadway...don't really like to see the evidence of those totally out of control drivers.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well, there was ice on everything when I woke up. About 1/8 inch. Bike wasn't rolling on that. Had to use other means.

Still figuring out things on the single speed. I think I hadn't tightened the rear wheel enough, because it shifted position in the dropouts. Then I didn't get the wheel far back enough in the dropouts and the chain would skip when I pedaled exceptionally fast. I'm just glad I had time to sort this out before an official commute. I will be bringing a 15mm wrench with me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ I always have the wrench with me. As invaluable as a spare tube. Getting the wheel far back enough to create the right amount of chain tension is a bit of an art. Bolt on rear wheel? They can be a bit on the tricky side.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> The foot of snow we got on Wednesday has mostly melted...


I rode home through the trails on the fatty in that. HARD GOING! Don't worry, we'll get some back tonight.

Commutes have been snow, warm, cold, repeat. I did get buzzed way too close by somebody doing about 45-50 mph this morning. I was hoping to catch him in traffic to knock on his window to tell him so, but he must have gone another way. There was a wide load, house, stopped in traffic and blocking my way. He saw me and pulled to the left to let me by. He got the big friendly wave as I passed and again 2 miles down the road when he passed me back.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This morning's ride was just meh... New snow in town, but the legs were just feeling dead and I was hungry and cold and not feeling it. Mama said there'd be days like this.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NDD said:


> Still figuring out things on the single speed. I think I hadn't tightened the rear wheel enough, because it shifted position in the dropouts. Then I didn't get the wheel far back enough in the dropouts and the chain would skip when I pedaled exceptionally fast. I'm just glad I had time to sort this out before an official commute. I will be bringing a 15mm wrench with me.


Get yourself a couple of Surly Tuggnuts, they will make things much easier:

Drivetrain | Parts and Accessories | Surly Bikes


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dry and cold here, 22 degrees this morning on the way into work. Things are just harder when it's cold.

On a bright note  After my crash a couple weeks ago I decided to get a brighter light. My old Dinotte light was trusty as hell, but it was six years old and LED technology has advanced. So I bought a Dinotte XML-3 and man am I happy with that light. It's small, lightweight, easy to use with gloves on, works with my existing batteries and chargers and best of all - it's really BRIGHT! When I run it at 50% power (800 lumens) it's brighter than my old light was at 100% power and lasts more than twice as long. Should have made this move a long time ago.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I'd go for that, but the horizontal drops on my bike are front-facing and they seem pretty persistent that it is made for rear-facing dropouts. I imagine my bike isn't what they had in mind when they designed that thing, either.

Single Speed: Hipster


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

That was me this a.m. Legs just felt like lead.

Still, it was a beautiful 32 degrees and drivers didn't try to run me over in the single lane detours recently set up. 

Maybe my legs will feel better this afternoon.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Thanks for the concern everyone. I will keep a close eye on myself, and have made a concerted effort to eat a little something before I leave home and to not forget my water anymore.

Cool and dry this morning allowed me to take the road bike with newly installed gatorskins. I love that bike, almost too much. I have a hybrid in the garage that I am in the process of converting to a drop bar commuter, but I'm in no hurry because I enjoy riding my road bike so much. With the stupid amount of salt they dump on the roads here I really need to get off my ass and finish that project. Just need to grab a thumbie for the rear shifter and adjust the cantis for the road levers.

Had a bit of a confrontation this morning. The bridge into downtown has a bike lane for 80%, but at the crest of the bridge, the two car lanes are split by a divider and the bike lane merges with the right car lane for about 50 yards because there is no room for both. So I peek over my shoulder, signal my intentions, and take the lane. Get a tiny honk from the driver that has now pulled behind me but nothing crazy. Then as I get to the end of the shared section and pull back to the right side, this woman gets bold and lays on the horn and gives me the finger as she passes me. I think she felt empowered now that I was out of the way and she could speed away. But wait...the plot thickens...a red light at the bottom of the hill. I slowly rolled up to driver side window and just stared at her and smiled, motioning to lower the window so I could explain why I took the lane there. She tried not to look at me and then caved, started yelling inaudible swear words, and sped away as the light turned green. I pedaled the last quarter mile to work with a smile on my face. I shouldn't have poked the bear, but the look on her face when she realized that she couldn't run away when she's trapped in a metal box, surrounded by other metal boxes was too perfect to miss.


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## 43st (Jan 19, 2013)

5F degrees with a 15mph headwind this morning (In David C's area). My legs felt like concrete blocks for most of the ride in. I'm still coming to terms with the overall slowness of winter biking this far North. Actually the cold is not the problem.. it's the wind and darkness that are the most depressing.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Excellent commuting today. About 35F there and back. I guess i got the chain tension right last time i fixed up the rear wheel back in the dropout. 

On the way to campus I got about 15 minutes away from the house and realized i had forgotten two assignments and both of my lights. So I was late to my first class, which was embarrassing because I'm never late to things... preparedness is key.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Hey buddy ! Better get your studs out next morning, we're having a few inches of snow falling down already ! Merry Troll is gonna enjoy her first snow ever ! She'll get all dirty for me hehe 

Almost got ran over once again on the same location today, I told the driver about it, he said "Really ?" and took off. ****ing morons. I'm just gonna report them all and at some point it's gonna get better, hopefully. I'm gonna stick to the middle of the lane now and I'll get to decide when it's safe for them to pass me by pulling to the right and waving them to drive by. Although I'm still concerned some drivers can be dumb enough to simply try to run me over and then get away with it thanks to our friendly police saying it's just "accidents".


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Dry streets and a bit below freezing today. I went a little out of my way on the way home, and climbed a gravel climb before heading home. It was really slow going (studs, pogies, panniers, U-lock and some cargo, including a new pillow!). My feet were starting to get pretty cold by the time I got home.

What I want to make, is some inductive shoe heaters that work by eddy currents. I'm thinking a stamped sheet of metal with magnets attached, sandwiched between the crank and pedal, and then a metal sheet with holes under the shoe's insole. The eddy currents would stir electrical current around the holes, creating electrical current and some heat.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

NDD said:


> Excellent commuting today. About 35F there and back. I guess i got the chain tension right last time i fixed up the rear wheel back in the dropout.
> 
> On the way to campus I got about 15 minutes away from the house and realized i had forgotten two assignments and both of my lights. So I was late to my first class, which was embarrassing because I'm never late to things... preparedness is key.


I was embarrassed this morning because I was actually on time for my class at 7:45am... And that we didn't do anything till 8:30am, and despite the fact I'm living only 5 minutes from school on my bike, I usually always get there around 8am and this time I was hoping we would do something before 8am, but nope. My class is full of teenage morons and it's so freaking slow... We're talking about tradeschool, ****ing construction workers to be ! And they are slacking and joking all day long instead of learning their trade (I'm in Electricity and the top student of the class) so we spend 75% of our 1 800 hours program in class with books. These dumbwits are so immature it is now 90% of time we are spending in the books because they aren't trying to learn ****. So I don't mind getting 15 minutes late to class everyday, we ain't doing anything for the first 45 minutes 4 days out of 5 !


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sunny and 32F with a headwind for the ride in which was really nice. Started off cold but that is usually a good sign. The ride home sucked because it was just under freezing at 29F and it had started to lightly mist/sleet/snow. My hands got cold even in these warm gloves so my finger was really throbbing with that Reynaud's. Damn that disease. Sucks the life out of you if you have never had it. The pain can be really bad at some points, and tonight was one of those nights.

Everything was fine until I got about halfway down the MUP. I was checking to see how my glove was fitting, looking down......and then I saw it.....





















A dark brindled pit bull off leash, crouching just off the path. Luckily my sucking air and skidding startled the dog and it took off. That could have gone really bad for me as there were no people around. Midnight on a dark path is not where you want to meet up with a pit bull that you just scared the hell out of. I know that not all of them are mean, but my previous experience with the breed, especially the last incident where I was bitten on my foot while on my bike makes me severely dislike them as a whole. It took off down the path ahead of me so I cautiously proceeded with my right foot unclipped ready to jump off and use the bike as a weapon if needed. No further incidents after that luckily.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

David C said:


> I was embarrassed this morning because I was actually on time for my class at 7:45am... And that we didn't do anything till 8:30am, and despite the fact I'm living only 5 minutes from school on my bike, I usually always get there around 8am and this time I was hoping we would do something before 8am, but nope. My class is full of teenage morons and it's so freaking slow... We're talking about tradeschool, ****ing construction workers to be ! And they are slacking and joking all day long instead of learning their trade (I'm in Electricity and the top student of the class) so we spend 75% of our 1 800 hours program in class with books. These dumbwits are so immature it is now 90% of time we are spending in the books because they aren't trying to learn ****. So I don't mind getting 15 minutes late to class everyday, we ain't doing anything for the first 45 minutes 4 days out of 5 !


I have very low tolerance for people who are bad students and don't care to be any better. I have offended more than a couple of people, because apparently I'm a grumpy old man.

@ TenSpeed, i kept waiting for a picture to show up, because there is a big random space and i figured you had a pic of the dog somehow. I'm glad you didn't get mauled. I almost got skunked once again actually. Seems like it'd be a bit cold for them, but they've definitely been less active these last few days.


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## 43st (Jan 19, 2013)

David C said:


> Hey buddy ! Better get your studs out next morning, we're having a few inches of snow falling down already ! Merry Troll is gonna enjoy her first snow ever ! She'll get all dirty for me hehe


Yeah.. this morning was rough, especially for the Laval section of the commute. I have 700x40 Marathon Winter's on the Vaya but they don't help much on rutted snow/ice (which is all of Laval right now). I still managed 13km in 30 minutes, so maybe it's not that bad. But with about 20-25 wash outs on the front tire, which instantly get's me out of the clips and into the "training wheel stance".

And what's up with the weather?!?! -17C yesterday.. 2C today.. and -9C tomorrow. I really hope the roads have enough time to melt today, because tomorrow is going to be hell if all this freezes.


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## djrez4 (Apr 6, 2012)

Perfect day for a commute until some douchenozzle in a Ford F-350 rolled coal on me. Wish I had gotten his plate.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this morning. We got more snow and some freezing rain yesterday and last evening. It took me a total of 3 hours to get home from the time I left the office and that was with the wife picking me up at the bus stop in the valley - other wise it would have been another 45 minutes to finish the day, I suppose. Trails are packing down nicely, but I am still rolling a bit slower than usual due to a number of things - the snow, lower tire pressure, and switching from clipless with fairly light shoes to flats with some new big honkin' boots (Vasque Snowburbans just purchased yesterday. Like them thus far). No weather to speak of this morning, though it does sound like more snow is on the horizon. Should be good. I'm hoping to get out to pack down some single track this weekend. Need me some single track action!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here in The Real NorCal we had *almost* forgotten what riding in the rain was like until this week. We're finally getting a sip of water (massive rain, but it's only a sip compared to the drought we're in) Yesterday's ride home was a super-soaker. Today's ride in was rainy, but a pleasure compared to the ride home yesterday. We need the moisture so bad I'm not even grumpy about riding in it. 
I'm bitter that it's not snow though. Strangely warm storm. 35 Degrees this morning and they were warning of potential freezing rain, but there was no sign of it here. I did get the studs mounted on rims last night for quick swappage this morning, but no such luck.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Less than one mile into my 12-mile commute, one of the saddle's rails broke. Rode very carefully and made it to work without incident. Might try positioning the broken section in the clamp for the ride home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The forecast for the next week or so is sunny and clear and in the 30's during the day. I can see the car being parked for a while. After that surprise winter we had a few weeks ago, there are no complaints by me with this forecast.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Ride home yesterday and ride in today were uneventful, which is good. Really like the gatorskins so far. Very excited to get home today - got some Lake MXZ303's waiting on my porch for me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have been extremely happy with my Gatorskins so far.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kleebs, you will love the Lakes. 

Well, we were supposed to get snow overnight then lots of rain and 40 degree temps. We got snow and freezing rain with temps in the 20s. My wife and I headed out at 6:00, she headed back at 6:02. I followed and swapped the regular commuter with Mount & Grounds to the fatbike - Good Move. She took the truck, also a good move. The ride through the back roads was pleasent, the fatbike was happy. When I got to the main road that I have to ride there were a few inches of slush in the shoulder and I became a Saltsicle, not pleasant but not too bad. Average speed, 11MPH.

Oh, and by the time I got to work my softshell jacket had a hard shell of ice encrusting it.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Nice ride in today, temps in the low 20's. Legs still feel like wood. Time to evaluate my diet and training.

Some asshat decided to ride my tail and honk at me through a detour section. Cones were setup and the normal bike lane was full of equipment. Speed limit is 30 mph and I was managing 25 through this section. As soon as we came out of the cones her raced ahead. The irony is, I passed him as he waited at the next red light and I flew by on the trail which has no stop.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Rainy and foggy today. Off of bike for about a week and I could tell. Good ride in and missed rain on way home.


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## jmmUT (Sep 15, 2008)

Was running late this morning. The rain had stopped and I thought I'd get to work before my window closed. I had forget to grab my rain pants (just in case) but didn't turn back, hoping my window wouldn't close.

Well it did. It downpoured on me. The downpour also created traffic and so the commute took even longer. I had a rain jacket but my legs and shoes were drenched. 

Oh well, I dried.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

3" of crusted snow overnight, but the commute in was mostly slushy and close to freezing. It was not the best night to work late, as 10 minutes in it started pouring, which lasted until I got home, where it was snowing. Squeaked it out with the summer Marathons.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mechBgon said:


> My feet were starting to get pretty cold by the time I got home. What I want to make, is some inductive shoe heaters that work by eddy currents. I'm thinking a stamped sheet of metal with magnets attached, sandwiched between the crank and pedal, and then a metal sheet with holes under the shoe's insole. The eddy currents would stir electrical current around the holes, creating electrical current and some heat.


10 watts of heat would be about 0.13 hp, and we can generate 0.2 to 0.25 hp if in some sort of shape, so about a 5% drain on total system power. So I wonder if heavier warmer footwear would not be more energy efficient.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> 10 watts of heat would be about 0.13 hp, and we can generate 0.2 to 0.25 hp if in some sort of shape, so about a 5% drain on total system power. So I wonder if heavier warmer footwear would not be more energy efficient.


IIRC, it's 746 watts per horsepower, so I could give up 10W if it made my feet warm  My problem is primarily that my circulation doesn't bring a lot of heat to my feet in the first place. It doesn't help to have more insulation if there's not enough heat for it to retain. I do have some Lake winter shoes but not the fancy ones, so maybe I can upgrade.

Also, my feet sweat and eventually soak out the insulating value of my socks, and I cannot find the correct Registry entry to edit in order to modify their sweat output :madman:

What I have at the moment is some heated ski-boot insoles made by Hotronics. On MAX, they help some. But combining Murphy's Law with electronics, I've got to figure they'll have a failure right when I'm two hours from home and really depending on them. So an eddy-current dynamo heater has an attraction...

Anyway, so tonight it was 27F and I added one medium-sized hill climb to my homebound commute again. Bike Ride Profile | 11 miles near Spokane | Times and Records | Strava Not very fast  but I got some exercise without going too far afield.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Honestly I've had plenty of success using a combination of hiking boots (the kind that are vented) and some really thick wool socks. My feet sweat really bad if i use a heavier work boot and freeze if I use my cleats, though I'll admit I haven't been able to shell out the dough for shoe covers for the cleats.

I think the vented boot lets in enough air to prevent sweaty feet. Plus they are quite a bit lighter than my workboots, and maybe only slightly heavier than my cleats (it actually surprises me how much that plastic interface adds to shoe weight). I have to admit, creating a heating dynamo would just be awesome, if anything just because.

How cold does it get over in Spokane?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Brutal. 31F and sunny, and a killer headwind the entire ride of 25-30mph. It never really let up. Aside from that it was a boring ride in and home.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

NDD said:


> How cold does it get over in Spokane?


Low temperatures generally get into the low-to-mid 20F range. Sometimes cold air comes down from that other country to the north of us, and drops us down into the 10F-20F range. It's rare for it to go below that.

My direct commute is short, about 20-25 minutes each way, so I can make it that far under almost any conditions. But if I want to go longer and further for exercise, then my feet can be the weak link.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mechBgon said:


> What I want to make, is some inductive shoe heaters that work by eddy currents. I'm thinking a stamped sheet of metal with magnets attached, sandwiched between the crank and pedal, and then a metal sheet with holes under the shoe's insole. The eddy currents would stir electrical current around the holes, creating electrical current and some heat.


Um, those would probably have to be some pretty Strong magnets to induce an eddy current large enough to heat a metal plate in a shoe that is out in the cold wind, especially on the outside of the pedal where the magnetic field would be weak. I think it would be more likely that the plate would conduct heat out of your foot. I'd stick to the heated insole route with some chemical foot warmers as backup. Or just buy some Wolvhammers if that is your weakest link.

Good ride in this AM: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yes. I mistyped the 0.013 as 0.13. Ooops. Some people use deodorant on their feet. Beware those that have aluminum, though. Some like me absorb and retain aluminum from anti-perspirants.


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## 43st (Jan 19, 2013)

mechBgon said:


> Low temperatures generally get into the low-to-mid 20F range. Sometimes cold air comes down from that other country to the north of us, and drops us down into the 10F-20F range. It's rare for it to go below that.
> 
> My direct commute is short, about 20-25 minutes each way, so I can make it that far under almost any conditions. But if I want to go longer and further for exercise, then my feet can be the weak link.


I have poor circulation also. The single item that helped me the most were Gore-tex sock covers (these). I wear wool socks, the sock covers, and insulated boots. They do not stretch, so I'd recommend 2 sizes larger than your normal size if you go this route.

You could try plastic grocery bags as a test (they will not breathe like the Gore-tex). I never heard about this before coming to Canada, but it seems to be a thing here.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Reynaud's sufferer here, and I have tried quite a few things. So far two things have helped. Flat pedals with Wolverine boots with 600g of Thinsulate and medium weight socks. I also bought a pair of Specialized Defroster SPD boots to try out, and they work well. 4+ hours in 30F temps with medium weight socks and at the end of the ride, my feet were just starting to get cold. Some of that time was spent just standing around which will make anyones feet cold. I have only run the Defrosters once but will again for my commute later today as I don't think it will break 30F here. My ride is about 40 minutes or so each way.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I had a forgetful commute today. Left my handlebar light on my CX bike at home and left my pant leg strap in one of my other bags. Pant leg got sucked into my drivetrain probably 20 times on the way in, super annoying. Thought I had a couple rubber bands in my bag, but nope. I threw a handful in when I got to work.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ always have to tell co workers that I am not LL Cool J, and yes I have to roll my pant leg up and that your right pant leg can get sucked into the drivetrain. Riding a single speed bike with nothing protecting you from the chain is even worse. Sometimes that front derailleur or a bash guard can keep your pants out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in today. Decent temps and the trails were, for the most part, packed well. The MUP in the valley for the first leg of the commute are crap - 9 inches of powder mixed with the overthrow from the plows, makes for some tough riding.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh yeah tough riding! We're supposed to get some rain over the existing snow this weekend and then below freezing for days. I'm hoping it makes a nice crust for some free range fatbike riding early next week.


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## Sgraffite (Oct 6, 2014)

A rat decided to cross the bike path at the perfect time to bonk into the side of my front tire. That could have gotten messy if he decided to hop into the spokes or his timing was a little different.


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## 43st (Jan 19, 2013)

Or you could fold you pant leg over itself and tuck it into your sock. Or peg it 80's style. :yesnod:


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I wore track pants today, they don't roll up well, I did try. I don't know if I like the idea of rolling my pants when it's below freezing anyway. The one plus is the belt drive didn't destroy my pants and coat them in grease. Nor did my pants jack up the belt drive, that would have sucked.

I don't think I'll let myself do that again, I'm usually pretty good at finding all new mistakes to make.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I wouldn't mind checking these out, but as someone bordering on the Clydesdale size, skinny jeans are not an option for me.

Bike Around in Style With Levi's Commuter Jeans


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

43st said:


> Or peg it 80's style :yesnod:


I do this for sure.
At the time I didn't realize I was learning a life skill.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> 10 watts of heat would be about 0.13 hp, and we can generate 0.2 to 0.25 hp if in some sort of shape, so about a 5% drain on total system power. So I wonder if heavier warmer footwear would not be more energy efficient.


So a normal biker might put out 250 w when going pretty good...

To put out that work the biker consumes about 1000 W of energy....

The remaining 750 kW is emitted has heat...that is why you sweat...to help get rid on all that heat...

Point: 10 watts of heat is nothing when it comes to staying warm..

The trick is to take some of the wate heat and direct it to places that get cold ie feet and toes, hands and fingers, and of course the schnoze.

For the feet and toes you have to well insulate the lower leg and foot..

For the hands and fingers you need to well insulate the arms and hand...

So try gaiters, try thermal socks insoles etc. For the arms arm warmers, guanlet style mitts.

for the schnoze...a windshield is all that is needed.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've only managed one day of bike commuting this week. In my defense, I was off Monday and Tuesday, but it has been raining all day and temps have been below 40F all day. Pretty miserable. I don't regret driving.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I wouldn't mind checking these out, but as someone bordering on the Clydesdale size, skinny jeans are not an option for me.
> 
> Bike Around in Style With Levi's Commuter Jeans


That's relatively interesting. I find though that any pants skinny enough to not catch the drive train are bad business for leg flexibility and worst of all for "the guys". Except two pairs of Lee's jeans i have... we have a thread for this nonsense. (But really jeans are best for winter since i can't afford real cycling clothes and bikes together. It'd be silly to just have the threads).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Egad, a squall had 30 cars off the interstate during this morning's commute, and traffic backed up for miles as a result, but I got to work on the bike just fine. But _"isn't it dangerous?"_ I did have one "Get the F out of the road", from a guy going the opposite way and 2 lanes over besides..sigh...

Bedwards, super pic on your blog!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> ... it has been raining all day and temps have been below 40F all day. Pretty miserable...


Welcome to my world


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

There was a dusting of snow when I got up, but streets were OK. By the end of the day, we'd had another trace of snow, and it was starting some freezing rain. I was all, "hmm, not that bad, I should go do some gravel grinding on the way home." So I geared up, packed extra dry clothes in the panniers as a precaution, put on my plastic-bag makeshift booties, and headed uphill to get out to the gravel roads. 29F and freezing rain.

The freezing rain was still quite wet, and picking up its intensity, so I decided it was a bad idea to get out into the country, and headed home along the south perimeter of the city instead. Discretion is the better part of valor, etc.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> That's relatively interesting. I find though that any pants skinny enough to not catch the drive train are bad business for leg flexibility and worst of all for "the guys". Except two pairs of Lee's jeans i have... we have a thread for this nonsense. (But really jeans are best for winter since i can't afford real cycling clothes and bikes together. It'd be silly to just have the threads).


I would love to try them out just to see how they would fit. I don't think that skinny jeans and I would get along though.

Great commute for me with a change up. Headwinds on the way home not the way there. Some guys in a pickup truck told me to get off the damn road. I ignored them as I was really moving with the light traffic hitting all the green lights. Cold but very tolerable. Specialized Defroster boots are really nice. I don't like boots or things around my ankles but they keep my feet warm so I put up with it. Still getting them broken in and getting used to them.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

43st said:


> Yeah.. this morning was rough, especially for the Laval section of the commute. I have 700x40 Marathon Winter's on the Vaya but they don't help much on rutted snow/ice (which is all of Laval right now). I still managed 13km in 30 minutes, so maybe it's not that bad. But with about 20-25 wash outs on the front tire, which instantly get's me out of the clips and into the "training wheel stance".
> 
> And what's up with the weather?!?! -17C yesterday.. 2C today.. and -9C tomorrow. I really hope the roads have enough time to melt today, because tomorrow is going to be hell if all this freezes.


Oh, today was a real ice paradise all over the city. Slow and steady, no fall, but with a slim CX Pro tire in the rear, it was a bit rock'n roll on the ice canyons.

13km in 30 minutes is pretty good in summer already, for winter it's more than decent. Although I'm curious to know if there was many traffic lights or stop signs along the way to slow you down ? When I was working at a bike shop in NDG, I was doing 10km each way every day and it was almost exclusively on DeMaisonneuve bike path, from St-Urbain to west of Décarie blv. I was doing it on a 40-45 minutes average, but with traffic lights and stop signs every every other intersections, so obviously wasting a lot of time and momentum. Hang on for tomorrow, it's already -10°C and it's not melting till the weekend at least ! Stay safe


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## 43st (Jan 19, 2013)

David C said:


> 13km in 30 minutes is pretty good in summer already, for winter it's more than decent. Although I'm curious to know if there was many traffic lights or stop signs along the way to slow you down ? When I was working at a bike shop in NDG, I was doing 10km each way every day and it was almost exclusively on DeMaisonneuve bike path, from St-Urbain to west of Décarie blv. I was doing it on a 40-45 minutes average, but with traffic lights and stop signs every every other intersections, so obviously wasting a lot of time and momentum. Hang on for tomorrow, it's already -10°C and it's not melting till the weekend at least ! Stay safe


DeMaisonneuve is in a really busy part of town with long lights. It's not quite that bad here.

I have a 3-4 lights, and maybe 6 stop signs. I respect the lights, and get in line with traffic at the stop signs. I rarely stop though. I can usually adjust my speed to arrive at the light when it turns green. I really need to slow down for weather like this, both for my lungs and for poor road conditions. If I keep going fast I'm going to eat it hard one of these days.

I bailed out and had my wife take me to work yesterday and today. This is the view out the window.. all ice.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. The MUP in the valley was plowed last night, so the riding was fast and fun. They plow it as a way to keep the snowmachiners off of it. At first I was peeved about it (last year) because they plowed only after all other roads in the borough were plowed and it always happened after I had gotten a really good swath packed down. This year? Not even bothered. 

In town things were firm and fast and a bit chilly. 13F by my work. It's always fun dropping down into the creek valley and feeling the air temp change. It was 27 at the bus stop. It's kinda like swimming in a deep lake and diving down through the pee warm water on top and into the colder water below. But in the air. Weird. 

Tried to get some single track in last night, but the foot or so of powder on powder on ice on powder made for terrible riding - well, hike a biking. Such is life. It was a beautiful night to be out in the woods though - full moon and mid 20s. Kids skied, wife walked the dogs, and I tried to bike. A good night.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Awesome ride today, 22F and dry. The karate monkey has 2.3 slicks on 35 mm rims, wide and fast. The cold weather keeps to fair weather riders in the car or T.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Yea, my commute to school is only 7 blocks and I take a one way street directly to it, but with a stop sign every single block. Sometimes I can clear the ride without even having to put a foot down (trackstanding at the stops or slowing down a lot to check if the way is clear, not ignoring the sign), but some mornings I waste as much time to wait at stop signs as I spend pedaling the bike.

I'm gonna upsize the rear cog by 2t (now using a 18t cog on a Shimano Nexus 3 IGH) and swap the BB for a shorter axle (50mm chainline to a 47.5mm one), probably also take off the outer chainring and go single and loose the fd, shifter and chain tensioner for the winter. The Nexus 3 with the push-rod design and twist shifter shift fast enough for my needs (coming from a Nexus 7 with cassette joint and thumb shifter) and the IGH range is good enough to fit all my needs of winter commuting.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Uneventful commutes today. I took the shortest route both ways. I worked a bit late to put fenders on a good customer's bike, then splurged my good karma points on...

















An old ti hardtail with a fairly long top tube! It'll be taking over from my aluminum commuting/training hardtail. Gonna need to drill my own rear rack mounts. YOLO, etc.

Weather's turned warmer here (lows around freezing for a while) with periodic rain in the forecast.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ very cool frame. Be sure to post it up once you are done building it.

Awesome commute today on the way in. Mid 30's and little to no wind made for a fast ride. Found myself out in the traffic which I don't usually do down by the campus. Three lanes, 25mph speed limit and for some reason traffic was not moving that fast. Ended up in the middle lane to pass people turning and then the middle lane got all congested so I took the left lane passing people carefully at speed. It was a really nice ride in. Did a few extra miles on the way home taking a route that I sometimes take. Right calf started to cramp near home which it did last time I took this route which was weird.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice, MechBgon. The rack mounts you`re talking about are only drilled in the dropouts, I hope. What is YOLO?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

YOLO = you only live once.
INNW = if not now, when?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Considering it is December, I can't complain one bit about the conditions especially knowing that others are struggling with ice and snow. Haven't even busted the studs out of storage yet and Thursday was the first really wet day in a long time. So commuting, with the exception of being cooler, hasn't changed all that much from the rest of the year. Luckily, all the summer/seasonal residents are gone so now we just see the holiday tourists "up to spend the holiday in a cabin". I'm ready for winter but I don't see it happening soon.

Also broke 3k miles on the bike for the year which isn't nearly as much as some, I'm happy with it.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice, MechBgon. The rack mounts you`re talking about are only drilled in the dropouts, I hope. What is YOLO?


You obviously love Oreos!


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Forster said:


> You obviously love Oreos!


I can neither confirm nor deny any allegations of a sandwich-cookie addiction 



> The rack mounts you`re talking about are only drilled in the dropouts, I hope.


Agreed, I just intend to drill & tap a 5mm x 0.8mm/thread hole in each dropout. For the rack's upper struts, I will either use Tubus seatstay clamps, or perhaps adapt some braze-on adapter bands (the type you use to put a braze-on style FD on a round seat tube).

Anyway, can't wait to try that out on some evening training commutes. I've been using a lightweight aluminum XC-race frame, and the last one I had eventually cracked after a few years of hard training and grocery-hauling abuse.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

To campus and back twice today, nice both times- better yet there was no snow or ice so I could take the Bossanova out again. 
On the second trip home I discovered a new hole in the wall serving gyros and a variation on the Philly cheesesteak. Bike commuting may get hard on the arteries if I'm not careful.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Legs felt like cement today. Having some foot issues with these Specialized Defroster boots. I cannot get comfortable in them and I now have a rub on my achilles tendon area. Tried swapping out the inserts for the inserts in a pair of Shimano shoes that I have. I don't know if that will help or hurt. It feels l am really out on the outer part of my feet when I have them on. Also cannot seem to find that sweet spot for the cleats. Adjusted twice in the last two days and either they are too far forward or back. I should get one more good commute day in on Sunday before the weather changes to a freezing rainy mix that I won't be riding in.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in felt really good. Slightly overdressed but because I knew it would be colder on the way home I was alright. Ended up talking to my buddy at the shop and should have the boot issue fixed up tomorrow. Apparently the insert that comes with the boot has a high arch, and I used to but no longer have them. 5 years in Army boots will do that to you so now they are flat. Will get the insert for the flatter foot and that should help. I wore my normal Shimano shoes and my feet froze on the way home. Only a couple of near misses and one semi close buzz. On a side note, I have found that chewing gum while I ride in colder weather helps me to not lick my lips and get them all chapped to hell and back. I will use Chapstick but I honestly hate it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this morning in general. I hate the fact that it is 40 degrees and the little bit of snow we got is starting to melt. The trails in Anchorage are holding up pretty well, as they got lots of traffic over the weekend to really consolidate them down and pack them in. Out in the Valley the roads and the pathways are generally dry from all the wind we've had. It doesn't feel like December at all. So much so that I swapped back to my egg beaters because wearing 400 gram thinsulate boots with flats just doesn't seem right when it is this warm out. 

Got some good riding in this weekend. On Saturday went for a two hour fatbike ride with my son for Global Fat Bike Day and then packed in a bit of single track out in the Valley on Sunday. Good times.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I was bummed to not take the fat bike out for Global Fat Bike Day but it's just been rain and more rain here lately. Even if it wasn't pouring the trails would have been soup.

Short break from the rain today which hopefully lasts through my ride home. Just below freezing when I left but felt colder than that for some reason. Was warm enough when I got to the office in any case.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar: Brace yourself. There may be a winter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I don't believe I've ever seen a holiday decorations warning before!

Hello, there, Below 0F!
Cold nuf for ya?
It's been a while
Where ya been?
Oh, down to the southern hemisphere, huh?
May be seeing your cousin,
Winter Storm Warning tomorrow,
Maybe heavy at times.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good commuting today. Makes me feel better about that physics final that kicked my booty and the four hour long meeting I had about data analysis. 

Oddly warm, but it's only the beginning of December. Tomorrow I might only commute one way, but I'll see if I can get up early enough to be out by 6:50. Used to be easy for me until I started having night classes. Summer was great, wake up at five and go to sleep at midnight or 1:00. I guess that can only last so long with early morning bike commuting, too. Trade offs. 

I'm planning a bike trip for when I graduate. I may just take a bit of me time after the last to years of long hard work. That might be when I go over the edge into mountain bike survivalist mode.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Commuting was quickly done today for a stupidly easy exam. I actually spent almost as much time on the bike as I did at my desk, and I only took 30 minutes of saddle time. Funny as I thought exams should get harder as you learn more and more stuff in each class, instead they're getting more and more ridiculously short and easy. Who knew Electrician program would be such a easy trade ?

So I took advantage of my short day of school to swap a few things on my commuter in the morning before my exam, aka BB and rear cog, loosing the fd, shifter/cable, outer ring and chain tensioner. Then in the afternoon I geared up and went for a night ride on the snowy trails and it's was amazingly grippy and nicely packed. -7° C, but thanks to my bar mitts I for once didn't had any cold problem with my fingers. Pretty happy about it 

I also received a rain cover for my commuter bag, a Kryptonite 7" u-lock to lock the rear wheel and frame and ATV bar mitts to use on my commuter. They looked fine on picture, but when I took them out of the box, they're freaking huge ! I would never have guessed these were some DH sasquash bar mitts, they go about 1' over the bars on each side. I think I'll find a way to shorten them. Despite this surprise, they are warm and beefy/heavy and use a simple drawstring to close them onto the bars, extremely quick on/off, and they have a hard rubber padding on the outside around the hand to resist and protect from hits. They'll do nicely for a urban duty where regular neoprene bar mitts would get damaged too easily IMO. Plus they were only $25, so I'll give them a try and look funny riding these huge mitts that goes all the way to my elbow. Or, I could simply get a wider handlebar, hmmmhh...


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

Today was the only promising day for this week, weather-wise. I took the direct route to work today, but was delayed by a fire drill at the high school along the way. Lost a few stoplight cycles, but still got to work before opening.

After work, I set out to ride a little further. A co-worker suggested a hill climb just south of town, so I went and did that. Altogether it was a good ~700ft / 200m vertical and pretty tough. Then I threw on my rain jacket to block wind and came back down, keeping the speed down and watching for deer, and headed home. 23 miles and I got a good workout.

The rest of this week calls for rain until at least Friday, with highs in the mid-40's F / 7C range, so maybe I'll knock out a few high-intensity hill climbs close to home if I feel the need for a workout.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Paradise lost tonight. About two hours ago I finally became the victim of a malicious drive-by tossing. Some bonehead punk in a white sedan hit me with something as he drove past. Something slightly harder than a beanbag, less hard than a beer bottle- plastic water bottle, maybe? Whatever it was landed with a thud on the road after it bounced off my back. Fortunately, no damage, and really not even painful, but the indignation still stings. Besides being a jerk, the guy was an idiot. It was right in the middle of the only street light part of my commute, and he was going slow enough that if he had picked on somebody with decent eyes his plate number would have been easy to read.

Part two of tonight`s memorable events was going to change clothes and finding that the uniform company delivered me plenty of shirts this week, but no pants. Working in shorts is prohibited, and I must not have replaced the spare "just in case" clothes that I usually keep in my locker after the last time I suddenly found myself without uniforms, so I had to turn around and go home for a pair of jeans. I just drove here the second time. Rethinking it, that was a mistake because now I`m going to have to scrape my windshield before I can go home. Damn! I knew there was a reason that I try not to drive until afternoon in the wintertime!



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar: Brace yourself. There may be a winter.


Bracing and hoping. But not hoping for chain requirements this coming weekend- planning to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium to celebrate my wife`s birthday.



NDD said:


> I'm planning a bike trip for when I graduate. I may just take a bit of me time after the last to years of long hard work.


Go for it! There may never be another good opportunity.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Rodar, perhaps your wife and kids will get you an action cam for your bike this Christmas  I feel your frustration towards that *******.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

That’s terrible, Rodar, I’m glad you weren’t hurt. I’ve had a couple bottles thrown at me, but they both missed, but even so it leaves an awful bitter taste in your mouth. The pants episode was a bit entertaining though. I’ve had to go commando, but at least my workplace doesn’t have rules about that. Looks like today will end up a mixed bag of precip. It was 28 F but misting and supposed to change over. I finally put on the studded snows this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry to hear it Rodar, small minds need to do things at the expense of others for entertainment.



mtbxplorer said:


> ...I've had to go commando, but at least my workplace doesn't have rules about that...


 LOL. Ours does but the enforcement is difficult.:skep:

The forecast for the foreseeable future is 33°F Rain. That is my least favorite forecast.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ick!


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Paradise lost tonight. About two hours ago I finally became the victim of a malicious drive-by tossing. Some bonehead punk in a white sedan hit me with something as he drove past.


What is wrong with people these days :nonod: Glad to hear it wasn't worse, but that's a small consolation.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

As a commuter, if you haven't had to go commando, you might be doing it wrong. I have had to, twice now since I started riding to work. Most people would be like, eh, not that big of a deal right? Well, I wear scrubs in a hospital, and they are quite transparent in the right light. In fact, I have to be mindful of the boxer briefs I take to work as they can often be seen under the right light as well.

Sorry to hear about your incident, hopefully that doesn't happen again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sorry Rodar, I've had the fountain drink toss come incredibly close, but I've only ever been hit by a snowball... It was such a nice lead-out toss from behind a snow pile in a parking lot that I let it slide. That kid had a future as a quarterback.



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ I don't believe I've ever seen a holiday decorations warning before!


That's when you know. 
"WINTER STORM WATCH" = Eh, no big deal. "WINTER STORM WARNING" = OK, I'm paying attention. ... "HOLIDAY DECORATIONS WARNING" = Things just got real.



bedwards1000 said:


> The forecast for the foreseeable future is 33°F Rain. That is my least favorite forecast.


Boom:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM and a good ride home last night. I love it when I can knock off work early enough to get in about an hour of riding before getting on the bus. Of course, this time of year, that's barely ten miles, but still a nice way to end the day. I've been riding across Westchester Lagoon most days - love the frozen lake riding. Just enjoying being able to ride pretty much where ever I wish. Love me some winter. Now if we could only get some snow and appropriate temps for this time of year. Was 40F again when I left the house this AM. Not right.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Great, until I punctured about 3 miles from work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

High Wind Warning for Thursday. In addition to the "holiday decorations warning" :lol:

I've never seen a 90 on one of these things... Thursday could be interesting!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Go for it! There may never be another good opportunity.


I think I have to. I really do. Sorry to hear about your incident. It's a real shame.


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## CrzyTuning (Mar 31, 2012)

Wonderful 40F on my way to work this am. Got off at 3:30 and pouring rain like crazy and I don't have good enough waterproof jacket.:madman:

Has anyone ever used the water resistant spray made for tents? I figure that's cheaper than buying a new jacket right now.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

+2 tonight but it was packed snow, so thats good... Thinking it will be soft in the am with +3 over night. Thinking all paths will be soft and like soft sand.... Lameeeeee


#canadastrong


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I've had a couple bottles thrown at me, but they both missed, but even so it leaves an awful bitter taste in your mouth.


Yeah. It`s the thought that counts.



CrzyTuning said:


> Has anyone ever used the water resistant spray made for tents? I figure that's cheaper than buying a new jacket right now.


When I was a kid, we used it on blue jeans for skiing. It sucked for that! Worth a shot for a commuting jacket, though. Maybe try making "wet but warm" your goal.

I got lucky with the window scraping this morning- it came right off. In light of the weather warnings, we`re still hoping to go to the coast Friday, but will wing it for a room rather than reserving one in case we have to change plans. I can`t imagine motel rooms being a rare commodity under the circumstances.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

We got about 2" today and should have another 4" over night !! Lucky I'm done class at noon on Wednesday, so I'll be escaping the afternoon traffic and ride in a snowstorm ! you guys with over 20 miles of commute each day are crazy. I can't imagine doing it under freezing point in the dark.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

CrzyTuning said:


> Wonderful 40F on my way to work this am. Got off at 3:30 and pouring rain like crazy and I don't have good enough waterproof jacket.:madman:
> 
> Has anyone ever used the water resistant spray made for tents? I figure that's cheaper than buying a new jacket right now.


Yes, but its effectiveness fades easily for me. Let me recommend this cheap jacket:

Amazon.com : O2 Rainwear Original Cycling Jacket : Cycling Rain Jacket : Sports & Outdoors

These are extremely light and can be rolled down quite small. The inside is flocked. The outside is permanently waterproof and windproof. It's even a little breathable. Downsides: I don't like the elastic wrist cuffs (I'd rather allow airflow up the sleeve) and the material isn't very tough. But this always goes with me in the winter. My most frequent use for it, is when doing hill training. I put it on after climbing big hills, so I don't get chilled while coasting back down. Also great as a bail-out jacket if something goes wrong (and I carry a space blanket as well).

Today I had to be at work a bit early, and after closing it was time to back up the server, then install the Microsoft and Adobe monthly updates, and then update the point-of-sale software on the business computers. So I stuck to the short, direct route. I got sprinkled on in the morning, but caught a break in the rain on the way home. Quite warm at about 47F, but I was feeling too burnt-out to take advantage of it.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Absolutely no noteworthy incidents over the last 3 or 4 weeks, which is good news, even the usually manic local drivers seem pretty chilled at the moment. A few inter monsoon lightning storms to dodge every once in a while but they only last for a couple of hours max. No wind, no snow, no smog - temp around 30' (80' to 90'F) - North East Monsoon will be kicking in soon so likely get a bit more rain and the temp may drop to 70. 
I don't think that I could handle snow commuting (like I did when a student) definitely going soft these days


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## jekylljim (Nov 10, 2014)

Would love to commute by bike but I am too scared. My drive to work is mainly down B roads and like any road, there are loads of bad drivers.

I absolutely LOATHE commuting in the car and am currently working on a couple of opportunities that will allow me to give up my job and work from home, purely because I hate the everyday morning BS!!!! Cannot wait to work from home.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Minneapolis, MN Weather
23°F
Feels Like 15°
Cloudy
Some areas nearby are reporting fog.



> Would love to commute by bike but I am too scared. My drive to work is mainly down B roads and like any road, there are loads of bad drivers.
> 
> I absolutely LOATHE commuting in the car and am currently working on a couple of opportunities that will allow me to give up my job and work from home, purely because I hate the everyday morning BS!!!! Cannot wait to work from home.


I commuted to work about 27mi a day for a while but I was lucky that I could take a MUP the entire 13.5 miles each way. I now live about .9 miles from my current job and life is so much better. I am able to walk/bike/skip/run to work. I have no traffic to deal with anymore so getting to work is always the same time.

Overall I think my life is better and I am less annoyed by things with the change. Who knows it could have just been the job vs the commute.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in today. Raining at my house. Freezing rain as I caroomed down the hill to the bus stop, just frozen at the bus stop, and decent in town. There is something terribly wrong about rain in December. In Alaska. It's almost like Portland or something.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2014)

blockphi said:


> A decent ride in today. Raining at my house. Freezing rain as I caroomed down the hill to the bus stop, just frozen at the bus stop, and decent in town. There is something terribly wrong about rain in December. In Alaska. It's almost like Portland or something.


 Sure, but you have Moose and Bear and that keeps the Darwin principle alive and well.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Forster said:


> Sure, but you have Moose and Bear and that keeps the Darwin principle alive and well.


This is true. I hear bears find the wax used in handlebar mustaches to be quite tasty, which is why one does not see many of these facial hair abominations around here...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No rain here, but it was into the 40s yesterday and should be again today. Grass is starting to peak through the foot of snow that we got last week. My almost brand-new chain is disgustingly rusty, even though I've been wiping it off everyday since the melt started.

And since it was warm enough to go hatless today I tried out my new helmet for the first time. I got it a month ago because I hate my old helmet...but I hadn't used it because my old helmet is just fine for the winter when I'm typically also wearing a beanie or a balaclava. Anyway, new helmet was nice and comfy.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

jekylljim said:


> Would love to commute by bike but I am too scared. My drive to work is mainly down B roads and like any road, there are loads of bad drivers.


Unfortunately I think this is really common. I was apprehensive when I started as well, so I would drive most of the way to a park, from which my route was almost entirely on quieter streets with bike lanes. This helped me figure out the routine of bike commuting, and gave me more confidence sharing the road. I know it's not an option for everyone, but I would recommend something similar to anyone just starting out.

The other recommendation I would make is to find someone who commutes by bike and ride with them to work. This is easier said than done if you don't know anyone personally who rides to the same area you do, but there are some programs out there that help to match ride buddies for this reason (for example: Welcome to RideshareOnline.com). You could also check with local cycling groups or your LBS as well.

I'm a pretty firm believer that anyone can commute by bike with the right planning. If it's really something you want to do, there is nothing stopping you. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this board that would be more than willing to answer whatever questions you may have!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Yesterday was quite uneventful which is nice. This morning was 35F with 20-30mph crosswinds which added a special little challenge to the ride. Got my replacement Serfas Thunderbolt last night. There were no issues getting it replaced, except for a minor miscommunication between the LBS and Serfas that delayed the process a bit, but I was in no hurry. I'm happy with how it worked out.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Last commute of the semester today. The ride home seemed a lot faster, unburdened by thirty two pages of text. Unseasonably nice weather, 30 and a little sunshine convinced me to take the Jamis out again.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Two days off the bike here and I am going bonkers. Rain mix with sleet and cold temps told me to drive. Glad that I did because I don't have time for that garbage. 36F and sunny tomorrow, so I will be back on the bike. Did some damage today on my day off at REI getting some new gear which I told myself that I didn't need, but secretly, we all need new gear.


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## CrzyTuning (Mar 31, 2012)

Thank you guys for the rain jacket advice. I will probably get the one posted! 

Today was really weird. 45F at 5am and 55 at 4pm. Ridicolous weather this time of year for the Pnw!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Two days off the bike here and I am going bonkers. Rain mix with sleet and cold temps told me to drive. Glad that I did because I don't have time for that garbage. 36F and sunny tomorrow, so I will be back on the bike. Did some damage today on my day off at REI getting some new gear which I told myself that I didn't need, but secretly, we all need new gear.


You're outta control, dude! Outta control. On one hand, what's the price of safety/efficiency? On the other, aren't you going to miss doing things in the *******-fix-it-up-hoosier-ghetto kinda way? C'mon. As long as you don't say "git'r done" it's ok.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

CrzyTuning said:


> Thank you guys for the rain jacket advice. I will probably get the one posted!
> 
> Today was really weird. 45F at 5am and 55 at 4pm. Ridicolous weather this time of year for the Pnw!


No kidding! I got home from an extended 34-mile commute including some gravel roads, and here is the current conditions:









Naturally it waited until I was as far from home as possible before it started to rain. But I went well-prepared with a pannier full of gear, and threw on one of my Value Village wool sweaters and my "intermediate" jacket, plus my ear-warmer, and slogged on home. Wet but alive.

The gravel roads out there were soft and very slow. The headwind on the outbound part of the ride was also a challenge. It was a good workout.



> but secretly, we all need new gear.


The Voices urge me to buy more gear as well! :thumbsup:


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## jekylljim (Nov 10, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> Unfortunately I think this is really common. I was apprehensive when I started as well, so I would drive most of the way to a park, from which my route was almost entirely on quieter streets with bike lanes. This helped me figure out the routine of bike commuting, and gave me more confidence sharing the road. I know it's not an option for everyone, but I would recommend something similar to anyone just starting out.
> 
> The other recommendation I would make is to find someone who commutes by bike and ride with them to work. This is easier said than done if you don't know anyone personally who rides to the same area you do, but there are some programs out there that help to match ride buddies for this reason (for example: Welcome to RideshareOnline.com). You could also check with local cycling groups or your LBS as well.
> 
> I'm a pretty firm believer that anyone can commute by bike with the right planning. If it's really something you want to do, there is nothing stopping you. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this board that would be more than willing to answer whatever questions you may have!


Thank you for the positive inspiration and advice!

If I do start, I will definately start in the summer when there is more light at the end of the day. I have been put off as I know someone who was killed on their commute. I don't normally let this kind of thing put me off but some reason it has. You could die on the sofa playing GTA 5 but I dont let that stop me!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Gonna ride in 1' of snow today, hopefully drivers won't be too douchy.


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## CrzyTuning (Mar 31, 2012)

Don't you just hate it when you can't get your morning poop in before your commute, then Half way through your commute you gotta go? Good thing my commute is only 30 minutes. 

On a good note, the weather was fantastic again. 45 when I headed out. This is just insane for the PNW. at least on the east side of Wa.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. 13F at the house, 16F in town. Flipped back to flats so I could wear my winter boots. Wise choice, I think. I could have ridden clipless with shoe covers, but didn't want to deal with cold toes at the end of the ride, particularly as I am thinking about trying to get two hours on the bike before heading to the bus this afternoon. 

Found out that the contract I am on right now is being closed out in early January so I'll be moving to a new client/position/contract soon. The one it looks like they will move me to placed me in an office two blocks from the bus stop, so it would greatly reduce my commuting time and distance, but would also require me to follow a standard 8 hour x 5 day a week schedule instead of my current 10X4-ish schedule (Some weeks its 9X5, some 8X6, some 11X4 - you get the picture). So I figure I should get in as much bike time as I can. If I do end up at that office I'm still trying to decide if I'll even bring my bike to town or if I will leave it in the valley in the bike boxes at the bus stop and just walk in town - which is fine, unless I need to go to the home office or anywhere else out of the downtown corridor. I'm also not sure how I'll handle less physical activity - might have to really, seriously, start running again over lunch hour. Egad.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

45F on the way in this morning. Really wanted to take my fixie (for the first time in forever) but realized that I've already got one bike that's covered in disgusting road slime, and there was no point in dirtying a second one.

Tomorrow morning is #CoffeeOutside, which is an idea someone in town apparently stole from Portland? Cyclists are meeting up on my (alternate) route to work for coffee and bike chat. So I might have to leave early and attend...possibly with luke-warm tea in my insulated camelbak bottle.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I’ve been spending my mornings shoveling and snowshoeing with the dogs instead of bikecommuting the last 2 days. Also, the power is out, which you would think would keep you from eating up time surfing the web and watching the news, but it also takes more time to do stuff in the dark and without conveniences like the coffeemaker. It may be out until Saturday, but the outage website went down, so who knows. The cell tower must have gone down too, as I no longer have cell service at home. Thankfully the Ipod is still working and I have several audiobooks on it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well it was breezy this morning. Rodar, how's it going over there? The semi trucks are stacked up over here waiting for them to open the road to "high profile vehicles"... No trees down at my place...we'll see what the day/night bring.

Hurricane-Force 135 MPH Wind Gusts Recorded In Sierra « CBS San Francisco


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ ^^ MTXB, At least you get to post to MTBR at work. And hey, you didn't mention why you were pulled over by the cops. You can't just mention that and let it go.

^^ CB, I was wondering how you were doing with the 90MPH winds.

I had to take a car today too, boo. Appointment after work, didn't want to show up wet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

More of a crosswind than a headwind for my commute today... some of Forrest Gump's "stinging rain"... Probably 20 or 30mph winds during the 40 minutes I was out there. Brutal, but not unbearable. It was gusting WAY harder than that overnight at my place... I was looking for downed trees in the neighborhood this morning, but didn't see any. 

I fabbed a sweet ghetto trash bag backpack cover for the first time this morning... worked awesome, but I was awarded zero style points, and the big floppy corners were sticking up into the wind and poppoppoppoppoppoppoppoppoppopoppoppoppop-ing all the way to town in the raging wind. Gotta tape those suckers down for version 2.0. 
The ol' North Face backpack is dying a slow death... now one of the zippers is going, and it's even less rain-friendly.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

blockphi said:


> I'm also not sure how I'll handle less physical activity - might have to really, seriously, start running again over lunch hour. Egad.


Hmmm. Second bike at the office?

Sorry you have such hatred for handlebar mustaches. Mine covers scars from going face first into an ice covered snowbank. Rendering my upper lip nearly impossible to shave cleanly. Are droopy ones OK? 



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ ^^ MTXB, At least you get to post to MTBR at work. And hey, you didn't mention why you were pulled over by the cops. You can't just mention that and let it go.


+ 1

The Duchess has not been ridden in some time. Hoping to sneak a ride in around all the holiday duties.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Mtbx, you should cone visit us in Montreal while they wire it back in your neighborhood. We rarely get power outage, maybe 5 times a year and never for more than an hour, usually it's during summer time due to maintenance on the grid with the new constructions. I hope your house is running on combustible heat furnace and not electrical heating :/


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yay the power is back on unexpectedly early, and despite passing some dark houses on the hill home. Frozen pizza and TV and beer to celebrate. No dsl but the phone works.
The cop was in a side lot and asked how you doing (good) and where you headed (Barre, another 4 miles)*from the SUV as i struggled by, then pulled out and turned on the blue lights. Basically a safety check and asked if I could call someone. I said no but I would take the bus if it got worse. He said he just didn't want me to get hit but also said he couldn't stop me and lights etc were good.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sorry, CB. The Big Storm is even more anticlimactic down here than what your account suggests. Overcast, certainly windy, but nothing wild, and no rain at all yet. Sounds like it hit pretty good on the coast side of the Sierra, though. No work tonight (or the next three, woohoo) and still looks like a good chance at getting over Donner Summit tomorrow without having to chain up.



mechBgon said:


> The Voices urge me to buy more gear as well! :thumbsup:


Great, it`ll get along famously with the new frame!



mtbxplorer said:


> The cop was in a side lot and...
> ...He said he just didn't want me to get hit but also said he couldn't stop me and lights etc were good.


That`s kind of cool, really.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

snow snow happy snow! with the exception of the mandatory Jeep-itude I was happily knobbing about like a bad thing. Even though I have a kitchenaid mixer in my bakcpack. (those things're HEAVY!)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

David C said:


> Mtbx, you should cone visit us in Montreal while they wire it back in your neighborhood. We rarely get power outage, maybe 5 times a year and never for more than an hour, usually it's during summer time due to maintenance on the grid with the new constructions. I hope your house is running on combustible heat furnace and not electrical heating :/


Thanks for the invite to see Montreal again! The oil furnace didn't work but i have a gas fired woodstove- looking thing that kept it warm enough in the livingroom.


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## jmmUT (Sep 15, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Tomorrow morning is #CoffeeOutside, which is an idea someone in town apparently stole from Portland? Cyclists are meeting up on my (alternate) route to work for coffee and bike chat. So I might have to leave early and attend...possibly with luke-warm tea in my insulated camelbak bottle.


That's an amazing idea! Just stole it from you. Just posted the idea to the local cycling community boards where I'm at. How often does it meet?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jmmorath said:


> That's an amazing idea! Just stole it from you. Just posted the idea to the local cycling community boards where I'm at. How often does it meet?


Apparently every Friday, and tomorrow is week #3, and every week is at a different centralish location on the mups. Not sure why they started this in late November in Alberta, but tomorrow should be above freezing so I figure I should take advantage of the nice weather.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks for the invite to see Montreal again! The oil furnace didn't work but i have a gas fired woodstove- looking thing that kept it warm enough in the livingroom.


Sweet  Glad you're alright !

I just noticed, you got promoted to Moderator ? Congrats !


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy! I hate hate hate riding into the wind. It just sucks the life and soul out of me, especially in the 30's. At least the sun was out. Stopped in to my buddies shop to adjust the headset that I thought was slightly loose and shoot the bs for a few minutes. He enjoyed the company and I like hanging out there. Dressed well for the ride in, the ride home was a different story. Feet were talking to me as I got close to home. New gloves worked fairly well. New rear light is good, mount sucks though on an aero post.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

David C said:


> Sweet  Glad you're alright !
> 
> I just noticed, you got promoted to Moderator ? Congrats !


Well I did enjoy that pizza and a shower but then the power went out again! 
Mod in the Womens Lounge so behave if you visit over there!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Hahaha, poor you, I hope they sort it out soon !


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

After shoveling it all clean yesterday, we had another 2 cm of snow over night. The streets aren't too bad at least.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...The cop was in a side lot and asked how you doing (good) and where you headed (Barre, another 4 miles)*from the SUV as i struggled by, then pulled out and turned on the blue lights. Basically a safety check and asked if I could call someone. I said no but I would take the bus if it got worse. He said he just didn't want me to get hit but also said he couldn't stop me and lights etc were good.


You Rebel!

I keep hoping that the temp dips below freezing so the heavy wet snow freezes solid enough to ride on top. No such luck again. It was about 32 this AM. Pretty though.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commutes have been pretty decent this week. Temps have been pleasant and no precipitation. This morning was the coldest of the week, and it was 25F and sunny, which I wouldn't mind all winter.

A guy was hit this morning by two cars. I guess the one hit him and the guy bounced into another lane and was hit again. I'm thinking it's not looking good for him. It sounds like he was riding in the dark without a light, reflective clothing, or a helmet. The guy clearly wasn't taking preventative measures, but it's still sad.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Great commute this morning. Temps were in the high 20's this morning with a high of 65 predicted. Ride home will be a drag as my feet are going to roast.

I'm on the road at around 6:30 because I bike 12.5 miles to work and it takes me about 45 minutes. I allow extra time for changing clothes when I get to work and the possibility of a flat on the ride in. So, around 7 am, with the sun just barely up, I come across an older gent, obviously retired, riding along the path headed toward me, when he pulls over and stops to snap some pics. I've seen him before stopped along the trail taking pics. What a badass! A biker and a poet. I mean, what are pics if not graphic poetry? He rides the same loop I do and probably more, early in the am and in the freezing cold, just to snap some pics. I'd like to see those pics sometime.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So #CoffeeOutside was nice and fun this morning. Met about ten other cyclists. We shared route info, complained about drivers, complained about infrastructure, and talked winter riding.

One fatbike, a few cyclocross, two 29ers (including mine) and a few 26ers. I think I was one of the few people with studded tires, which was a bit of a surprise. I had planned to take my fixie again, but this time I realized it doesn't have a bottlecage, so I grabbed the big bike instead.

I need to rethink my beverage choice, since a diuretic like green tea was a poor plan for 45 minutes of standing around.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

newfangled said:


> I need to rethink my beverage choice, since a diuretic like green tea was a poor plan for 45 minutes of standing around.


Lol. I bet it made the last bit of your commute fun!

I met up with another guy riding a cross bike at an intersection. We both groused about the fact that it was going to hit 65 today and how hot the ride home was going to be. A month ago I never would have thought the day would come that I would complain about it being 65, lol.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That temperature change is a nightmare for commuters. My difference between commutes is usually only about 10 degrees or so. A 45 degree change is huge. Think about it, that is the difference between 45F and 90F. That is a big difference. Good luck with your feet.


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## jmmUT (Sep 15, 2008)

newfangled said:


> Apparently every Friday, and tomorrow is week #3, and every week is at a different centralish location on the mups. Not sure why they started this in late November in Alberta, but tomorrow should be above freezing so I figure I should take advantage of the nice weather.


Awesome thanks. I started getting one going here in Salt Lake City. Going to try for every two weeks and rotate spot/day. This is perfect for encouraging winter commuting because we have atrocious winter pollution and the mayor/city gov't is very pro-cycling


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I was actually a little too warm on the ride in when it was 34F, I think I'm going to ditch the balaclava for just my light weight skull cap on the ride home.

Forgot to plug in my handlebar light to charge until about an hour before quitting time, so we'll see if it makes it all the way home. Can always turn up the helmet light if needed.


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## anomad (Nov 16, 2009)

jmmorath said:


> Awesome thanks. I started getting one going here in Salt Lake City. Going to try for every two weeks and rotate spot/day. This is perfect for encouraging winter commuting because we have atrocious winter pollution and the mayor/city gov't is very pro-cycling


Is #CoffeeOutside a Twitter thing I guess? I don't do social media that much... But I do ride to work in Salt Lake City. I'll resume riding to work after Christmas, as long as the air isn't sh*t. I'd be happy to meet up for folks and BS over a cup of my home roasted coffee.

The poor winter air quality actually stops me from riding when its above 15µg/m3 or so.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

One block after leaving the parking lot on my bike, I came across another young man who had his old Civic stuck big time in the snow bank. Turns out he backed right into it like a champion this morning and the undercarriage went surfing on the snow, then every iced up around the wheels during the day and now his traction wheels weren't even touching the ground. I shouted to give him a hand as I passed by and he got back to me right away. After several minutes of digging out ice with our work boots and some lumber he had in the trunk, we managed to push the vehicle forward enough for the front wheels to grab on and pulled out of the misery. We both had fun getting some exercise 


This morning, it was kinda rough and very slippery with the wax-like potato mashed brown sugar 1/2" of snow on the small one way street I ride all the way to school. Rock'n roll, but still enjoyable and overall no complain with drivers today.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The ride in was alright, windy as usual, and slow or at least it felt slow. Bought the inserts for the Defrosters and after having them in for less than 45 seconds they came right back out and are being returned. They are not at all what I need. I simply cannot get the boot to be comfortable on my foot. The left one is alright, but the right is hassling me big time. They keep my feet nice and warm which is really nice but they are just horrible to have on my feet. They add some lift to my feet so I have to adjust my seat post which I have not done yet. Thought it might be in my head but talked to the guy who sold them to me at the shop and he agreed. OK. Seriously? 32F on the ride in.

The ride home? 32F. Cold and 100% humidity. Fog. Light misty rain that renders clear glasses useless. Wet roads and temps hovering right around the freezing mark on slick skinny tires on a fixed gear? Damnit. I hate that!!!! Decided to run my front light on as a flasher only through the city to maximize visibility. Nearly got hit twice. Apparently a 320 lumen front light on flash is invisible. 

I usually am in a good mood when I get home from work, especially on a Friday night and having the weekend off. I am in a bad mood. I love the boots, and hate them at the same time. Still cannot get the cleat adjusted where I need it. Have debated on selling them, taking the slight loss and looking elsewhere. I don't know what to do with them. Maybe I have a faulty right boot?


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## jmmUT (Sep 15, 2008)

anomad said:


> Is #CoffeeOutside a Twitter thing I guess? I don't do social media that much... But I do ride to work in Salt Lake City. I'll resume riding to work after Christmas, as long as the air isn't sh*t. I'd be happy to meet up for folks and BS over a cup of my home roasted coffee.
> 
> The poor winter air quality actually stops me from riding when its above 15µg/m3 or so.


I don't do twitter either. That seems to be part of the spreading of it. Do you do facebook? There's a group on there called SaltCycle. Search it out and all things cycling going on in the city are posted/discussed there. Otherwise, I'll try to announce it on the Utah forum here.

And yeah, I don't ride when the air is bad although I do have a mask for it. But those days I bus/walk and the hope is people doing that will join too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Decided to run my front light on as a flasher only through the city to maximize visibility. Nearly got hit twice. Apparently a 320 lumen front light on flash is invisible.


It might be invisible. Setting up lights for drivers to see is trickier than slapping on a light.

How fast is the flash - or more importantly: how long is it off? In one second at 17 mph a cyclist travels about 25 feet. Scale from there or convert to metric if you wish.

Then there is the driver doing a quick glance each way and he catches the off part of the cycle. How visible/intense is it from a cross street on either side? All of these issues became apparent when I attempted to video my lights with the camera where a driver's eyes would be.

Lastly, there is the 'filter' effect of drivers only looking only for cars and not registering the cyclist. Unless the cyclist's lights are unusual (brightness or pattern) burn through that filter into the driver's conscious awareness you will not be seen even if the driver is staring at you. Daytime lights need to be very bright to cut through that mental haze.

Putting myself in the driver's shoes (I am one, too) to appraise my lights has paid dividends. It may also have made me a lot less forgiving because I know exactly what I am giving them. They are driving way too inattentively if they don't see me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am currently running this light up front. The video shows the different modes it has. The flash cycle is short enough that you simply cannot not see it.






My guess is that the drivers are not looking for bikes. That is unfortunate as there is a bike lane on this particular road that is near the campus, so drivers should be paying attention for them.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

50 degrees in December. Outrageous. Made for a nice and quick commute to and from the restored watershed I volunteer at. Made for good outside working weather, too. Done with finals, got to bike, and got to volunteer today. Feeling like a winner.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

TenSpeed said:


> I am currently running this light up front. The video shows the different modes it has. The flash cycle is short enough that you simply cannot not see it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I use another Cygolite model. The daytime strobe is wicked and would catch my eye from great distances, even my peripheral vision. You're on the right track.

On my commute, there's a section with a bike lane alongside a row of parked cars. They can obstruct me from view until I'm almost into an intersection, so people trying to pull out from my near side (the right-hand side in the United States) can sometimes get Bicycle Surprise as they begin to roll out into my path. This is particularly an issue if the parked vehicle that's closest to the intersection is big, like a pickup with a canopy. It would be helpful if the City would eliminate that last parking spot whenever putting in a bike lane, so there's more reaction time.

If it's a smaller vehicle or one they can see through, like a mini-van, then a helmet light may help in that scenario. And/or I can just get out into the "everyone lane" where I'm visible sooner (and where people are probably expecting traffic to be found), or anticipate the issue and be ready to react.

If they have a clear line of sight and still don't notice you with a Cygolite daytime strobe, they obviously aren't doing their duty. But the next countermeasures to consider would be hi-vis outerwear if you don't have that already, and some sort of helmet light you can aim straight at them.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> 50 degrees in December. Outrageous. Made for a nice and quick commute to and from the restored watershed I volunteer at. Made for good outside working weather, too. Done with finals, got to bike, and got to volunteer today. Feeling like a winner.


^5 NDD, sounds like a damn good day!!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I am currently running this light up front. My guess is that the drivers are not looking for bikes. That is unfortunate as there is a bike lane on this particular road that is near the campus, so drivers should be paying attention for them.


I like the "Lightning Mode". The real proof is in the seeing. Theoretical doesn't work with your life and limb on the line. For example, the old PB Superflash with 50+ hours on its cells still looked pretty good sitting there. Not so on the bike viewed from a car. The cheap way to get a handle on how a light looks is to have the bike (secure or with a friend) as you try different distances and angles from it. I am not saying that the light is inadequate (I actually like it a lot and had good luck with a Cygolite HD light in the past), but that knowing how you appear to drivers helps.

I like the not quite off and more rapid pulsing though epileptics may not.

Information overload is another issue with too much background lights and the brighter car lights have upped the ante to stand out. That may be occurring but with so many pedestrians and cyclists, it seems unwise to not up the attention if you are driving in that environment. Still, if they are glancing to see if they can roll the stop rather than stopping and looking to see if they can go, they are much less likely to see us.

Sucks. But reality so often does.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I will check it out tomorrow night since the temps will be up. I will be sure to post my findings.


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2014)

Perfect "Portlandia" weather this morning (45 and light drizzle), just what the Fargo ordered. Unfortunately, it's a no-go because I need to wear a suit today and they don't look great when you stuff them in a camelback. Same thing for Monday. Perhaps I'll finish the week strong and get the last 240 miles of my (new) 2500 mile goal knocked out before the weather changes too much.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Forster said:


> Perfect "Portlandia" weather this morning (45 and light drizzle), just what the Fargo ordered. Unfortunately, it's a no-go because I need to wear a suit today and they don't look great when you stuff them in a camelback. Same thing for Monday. Perhaps I'll finish the week strong and get the last 240 miles of my (new) 2500 mile goal knocked out before the weather changes too much.


Same weather here today, but I am going for a ride anyway. 47F, Michigan, in mid December. Hell yeah!!! Good luck with your new goal!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice day for a 30 mile ride. No commute, and it managed to hit 49F but the sun never came out. I checked out my light once it got dark, and it is bright. There is no way that on the flash mode, you cannot see it. I think the driver just was not paying attention. I left the bike against a mailbox, and walked about 100 feet or so, turned around, and was like holy crap that's bright. Had to mostly shield my eyes walking back.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

If you've ever wondered what my commute is like, here's the morning and afternoon rides of this friday. Takes less than 5 minutes in the summer, but this friday was quite hazardous. Two way streets get turned into a one lane two ways, people are dumb enough not to dust off the snow on their car, then stopping in the middle of the road to do it, driver's doors opening like they are alone in the world, emergency vehicles blocking the way, cyclists with a wide smile helping out drivers 

Morning commute :


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Terrible


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Had a rattle driving me nuts today. It got progressively worse on the way out, but I couldn't find it. On the ride home, it was even bad on smooth asphalt. 

Sounded like it was coming from the vicinity of my rear axle. Fender and rack mounts were tight, nothing funny in the drivetrain. 

Got home, took off the locks and panniers, and gently bounced the bike on the garage floor. The reflector on my rear fender had worked loose and was resonating the fender. 

No harm, no foul. Lesson learned for the twentieth time: always check the dumb/ improbable stuff first.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. A bit slick, but not bad. 36F in the valley with a 15mph wind from the north. 27 in town and calm. Threatening rain today. Hope not because that would just suck. I really wish we would get some actual winter weather around here. It's depressing. Though my son and I got some dang good riding in on Saturday afternoon. Kinkaid singletrack in the dark. Awesome times. I'm always a bit hesitant at Kinkaid, though, as I haven't ridden there much, so I don't know the trails quite as well and worry about getting a bit turned around. It is a huge park. Huge. But awesome fun for riding.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Had a couple interesting days last week - we had a series of strong storms come through at the end of the week that made bike commuting rather interesting. My adventures included 30MPH tailwinds, big tree branches breaking and dropping all around me from the wind, coming upon a pedestrian laying in the middle of the MUP on a dark and rainy night after being hit by a cyclist and watching another cyclist destroy his bike when he ran into a tree that was down across the MUP.

Thank goodness the weather is supposed to be benign this week.

Oh, and I crossed 8000 miles for the year this morning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Finally some snow for my commute. Pretty wet, but 10x better than rain.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Back down to reasonable temperatures (8F) this morning. The last week of nice weather was certainly nice, but it really makes a mess of things. Give me 5-25F and I'm happy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Mod in the Womens Lounge so behave if you visit over there!


Don`t all mods retain their superpowers in whichever subforum they happen to be cruising? Unless you`re a Womens Lounge specific mod, I hate to break it to you, but you wear the only badge in Commuting too!



BrianMc said:


> The cheap way to get a handle on how a light looks is to have the bike (secure or with a friend) as you try different distances and angles from it.


You can get an even better idea what you look like to a passing/following/oblique driver by teaming up with a fellow rider and riding each other`s bikes around while looking at "yourself" from the other rider`s cage. I did that last year and found it ENLIGHTENING. Sorry.



Forster said:


> Perhaps I'll finish the week strong and get the last 240 miles of my (new) 2500 mile goal knocked out before the weather changes too much.


Two weeks left? Go, Forster, go!



woodway said:


> My adventures included 30MPH tailwinds, big tree branches breaking and dropping all around me from the wind, coming upon a pedestrian laying in the middle of the MUP on a dark and rainy night after being hit by a cyclist and watching another cyclist destroy his bike when he ran into a tree that was down across the MUP.


:eekster:
Good job on hitting the 8K mark.

We returned last night from a weekend on the coast and were greeted by a little snow and a lot of ice. Just dragged in my studded tires and a spare wheel (one studdie is already mounted) to mount up after they get up to room temp. I`ll be pissed if it warms up and melts off before I get to ride it at least once!

Need to go watch David`s commute now- have a nice day, all 

EDIT: Snowing now. Double smiley


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Pretty warm today, felt close to 40F when I left.

My forgetful streak continues though, charged up the battery pack for my Gloworm and tossed it in my bag. Sadly I took the actual light off my helmet for a ride on Sunday and never put it back so the battery won't be very useful.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> EDIT: Snowing now. Double smiley


Snow picture required rodar...


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Another out of his mind driver with his son on the front passenger seat passed me by the right side ($200 +2 pts) on a one way very icy single lane street with very little room (another $200 + 2 pts) and then didn't even used his left blinker as he turned at the next intersection (a few more $$). I managed to catch him at the next intersection and then all he had to said was "I pass you and didn't hit you, what are you complaining about ?". I had it, I'm heading to the police station and showing them the full recording of my commute and the discussion I had with the driver.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

woodway said:


> Snow picture required rodar...


I'm close enough...same storm:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Canceled the bikecommute today in favor of a trailride on the fatbike. Did just a 3 mile loop but it was fun and pretty. I had done snow-covered branch thwacking and sawing yesterday on snowshoes and wanted to get out on the bike while the trail conditions were still firm. That's an old granite quarry and grout pile beyond the bridge.

Rodar, that must be the SuperMod powers, the mod options don't show up for me here, so in the unlikely event that someone is inappropriate here in commuterhaven, report it through the usual channels (that little exclamation point/triangle to the left of the post).


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

woodway said:


> Had a couple interesting days last week - we had a series of strong storms come through at the end of the week that made bike commuting rather interesting. My adventures included 30MPH tailwinds, big tree branches breaking and dropping all around me from the wind, coming upon a pedestrian laying in the middle of the MUP on a dark and rainy night after being hit by a cyclist and watching another cyclist destroy his bike when he ran into a tree that was down across the MUP.


Uhh... whoa! :eekster: Good job on the 8k 

The morning commute was frosty and a little below freezing, but fine. The day was pleasant, but the sky was clear so it quickly dropped back to about freezing by the time I left work. I chugged out to the southern outskirts of the city and climbed a pretty decent hill, getting my heart rate up probably a little TOO high for someone my age, then threw on my bail-out jacket and came back down and headed home. So I got a little workout.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was supposed to be nice, but I had no idea. 51F and the sun peeking out from the clouds here and there. Shorts? The middle of December? Michigan? Hell yeah!!!! I packed some stuff for the ride home, but I rode to work today in shorts. That was an absolutely peaceful and fun ride in. Stopped at my buddies shop just to say hi and see if the fat bike fenders could be ordered yet. The ride home? Well.....different. Rule #9 came into play here. 46F and wet roads. Glad that I brought the clothing that I did. The rain started halfway home and by the time I got home, it was raining steadily. This ride brought me one ride closer to my new goal. One more full commute and I will clear 3k for the year. Never thought that I would hit 2500, let alone 3k.

Now, for my 30 second plug. I bought this jacket from REI kind of on a whim. The color matched my fat bike, and the jacket seemed really nice, and fit well. I have put this thing to the test already, and it has passed with flying colors. Windproof, waterproof, and it keeps me warm in the cold, and even in the mid 40's and rain, I didn't over heat. Novara Headwind Bike Jacket - Men's the only thing is that I wish that the color selection was better. Black or red, or grey, white, something other than the green and I would buy 2 more of them in a heartbeat. They have a really generous return policy if you have never bought anything from them before. I highly recommend this!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I managed a snow picture, but was way too late for a snow-ing picture. I did wear my studs, but it was hardly worth it- all the roads are nearly dry and it was above freezing anyway. At least it was a pretty morning, so two pics from the most scenicest section of my ride home. Are your roads still icy, CB?

Xplorer, I`m surprised that mods only mod in certain places. So, we`re still orphans here?
Nice snow


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Canceled the bikecommute today in favor of a trailride on the fatbike. Did just a 3 mile loop but it was fun and pretty. I had done snow-covered branch thwacking and sawing yesterday on snowshoes and wanted to get out on the bike while the trail conditions were still firm. That's an old granite quarry and grout pile beyond the bridge...


I am so jealous of those packed trails. I took the fatbike in to find that nobody had been on about a mile of the trails but some deer. A thick non-supportive crust. It took 1:35 to go 11 miles.

PS, I need a lighter fatbike. Preferably a bucksaw carbon...but probably not. Grinding that 38.5lb Pigsly up hills annoys me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Are your roads still icy, CB?


No. I went with studs yesterday also, with similar results as you... mostly just really wet from the melt...but it did snow most of the day yesterday and last night. I went back to the semi-slicks (Serfas Drifters) for today, and other than the dirt road, it was like riding in rain. A little slushy slop here and there. Almost killed myself trying to get this pic... typical warm storm dirt road conditions. Nasty:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good, standard commute today. Nothing new. Still no snow.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> I am so jealous of those packed trails. I took the fatbike in to find that nobody had been on about a mile of the trails but some deer. A thick non-supportive crust. It took 1:35 to go 11 miles.
> 
> *PS, I need a lighter fatbike. * Preferably a bucksaw carbon...but probably not. Grinding that 38.5lb Pigsly up hills annoys me.


We have Trek Farleys at work. I could weigh one if you wanted. I seem to recall they were 30 pounds and change, without pedals, but can't remember if that's the one with the Bluto or the full-rigid.









Morning commute was non-eventful. After work, I loaded up a couple of my APC uninterruptible power supplies in my panniers, which if you know anything about UPSes, they're quite heavy due to the batteries. So with about 50 pounds of lead-acid batteries back there, I took it slow (and wished I had something to plug into them for the heck of it :thumbsup: ). When I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment, a nice old fellow pulled in to extol the praises of my lights and reflective gear, and we chatted for a couple minutes. That was kind of cool


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mechBgon said:


> We have Trek Farleys at work. I could weigh one if you wanted. I seem to recall they were 30 pounds and change, without pedals, but can't remember if that's the one with the Bluto or the full-rigid.


Bed - riding a Pugs makes you strong. It does. Like Guinness. Most of my daily commutes saw the Pugs weight in around 50 pounds or so in the mornings and probably 48 in the afternoons with all my gear for the day -clothes, shoes, extra tubes, lunch, sometimes a computer. It's a bear, but once you get used to it - let's just say my legs are freakin' amazing.

The Farley 6 (my new fattie) is indeed lighter, but I promise you, the Pugs climbs better even though it is heavier. I do like the stiffness of the Farley over the Pugs, though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Bed - riding a Pugs makes you strong. It does. Like Guinness. Most of my daily commutes saw the Pugs weight in around 50 pounds or so in the mornings and probably 48 in the afternoons with all my gear for the day -clothes, shoes, extra tubes, lunch, sometimes a computer. It's a bear, but once you get used to it - let's just say my legs are freakin' amazing.
> 
> The Farley 6 (my new fattie) is indeed lighter, but I promise you, the Pugs climbs better even though it is heavier. I do like the stiffness of the Farley over the Pugs, though.


Well, I took off yesterday for the ride home, it all started OK, the trails were mostly OK since they had one tire track to follow. I got to the road part of my commute and decided to air-up the tires. I must have left the valve stem cracked open because by the time I was 3 miles from home my back tire was squishy and it was like trying to peddle a rhinoceros up a hill. I was too gritty, grumpy and tired to get off and pump it back up.

My pugsley weighs in at 38.5lb with nothing on it. Sometimes I go out and have fun but usually on my commutes which are longer and involve part road at this time of year, I head out full of excitement and anticipation and arrive beat to crap, aching back, knees & ass. Part of that is because the fatty comes out in the worst conditions.

I'm going to hold off for a year until full suspension fatbikes evolve and don't command stratospheric prices. Then I'll go for something that is lighter and back friendly. Hopefully they will have made fatbikes that are less flexy by then. Feels like half my hill climbing power goes into pushing the bottom bracket from side to side.

Today I rode the Cross Check which is no lightweight and it felt like a bullet.  33 degree rain, my favorite.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> PS, I need a lighter fatbike.


Sveltely fat? Hmmm...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fatbikes are most definitely a different breed, that is for sure. Being a bit of a chunk myself, a heavy bike has never been too much of a concern. The Pugs is definitely a one of a kind within the breed as well. I hear ya about leaving full of excitement and arriving to work beat to all sorts of hell and back. Then again, there are just those days when no matter what, you'll get beat down by the ride. 

Would I go back to the Pugs as my daily commuter? Nope. Don't think so. That said, I've started entertaining the idea of selling the Farley in favor of a Mukluk or, ideally, a Fatback - of course, I'd have to sell both the Pugs and the Farley to even think about getting a Fatback and the time I get to spend riding with my son is worth more than I'd ever get for the pugs if I were to sell it. I like the Farley, but I'm not in love with it like I fell in love with the Pugs. It's just a bike to me instead of an extension of me. I've tried to get the Farley to feel more personalized in little ways. And it is a nice looking bike, but... I don't know. Maybe not quite as crusty as the Pugs, you know. Just mass produced, nice riding, well behaved, run of the mill fat bike - a corporate fat bike. Dang, this is like a total existential conundrum. How do I get my fat biking cred back if I'm riding the same bike as 50K other people? I think I've sold out...

Good commute in this morning. A dusting of snow overnight - twelve flakes the wife said. She counted them all - however, it was just enough to cover up the icy patches and give me Spiderman grip as I blasted down the road. We're supposed to get some more snow today - hope so, because without some the single track will be nothing but luge runs.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> I managed a snow picture, but was way too late for a snow-ing picture.


Nice pics, rodar. Beautiful.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Ride in this morning was FAST with the 20 mph tailwind  Averaged almost 19mph despite the normal number of traffic lights I got stopped at. I have my fingers crossed that the wind will have changed for the ride home...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Blockphi is a sell out.  

Probably rides like one too. 

I think we might get a bit of snow, which means I'll be riding the mtb tomorrow. Wicked.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

The morning commute was good, a little above freezing. When I left work, it was about 35F and damp streets. I wanted to throw on a little extra distance, so I went through downtown on 2nd Avenue (3 lanes one-way), then climbed one hill for about 450ft elevation gain and went pretty hard there, and then headed home.

2nd Avenue is a 30mph arterial with a slight downhill grade at first, with mostly synchronized stoplights. Tell me, does this sometimes happen to you too? People coming up from behind see you in line at a red stoplight, and they're all "oh, a _bicycle_. ut: I'll change lanes, and then after the light changes I'll pass them and change into their lane." And then the light changes and it turns out that dumb bike rider has no problem keeping pace with the rest of the traffic, especially on a stoplight launch. And they then try to flank you and wedge themselves into your lane, or (my preferred outcome) merge back in behind you. I had no less than three of these tonight! Did they not go to kindergarten and learn how to get in line? 



> I think we might get a bit of snow, which means I'll be riding the mtb tomorrow. Wicked.


Yes! The element of challenge!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That was a hell of a ride. 30F and 15-20 mph headwinds the entire way in. I had to work for it today. Ride home was decent, cold with the wind at my back. Came up on a guy in all black riding his black bike the wrong way in the bike lane toward me with no lights and no reflectors. I politely told him that he was going the wrong way as he approached. He yelled to me "you think so"? I said no, I don't think so, I KNOW SO!! +1 for my witty reply right? RIGHT? 

With tonights ride home, I have set a new personal best of 3000 miles for the year. The year started off rough with a lot of snow and the improper bike to handle the conditions. I didn't start getting serious until the summer I think, and then it was full steam ahead. Thanks everyone for the encouragement, support, and listening to my nonsense ramblings about my boring commute. Still some good days to ride left in the year, so I will be back at it again Thursday and then the weekend for work.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was running late on my way home last night, but I'm glad I was. There was a multi-car accident at one of the first intersections on my way home. At least two cars hit each other, but there were 5 or 6 cars total stopped in or around the intersection. The accident couldn't have occurred more than 10-15 minutes before I rolled through. The police hadn't shown up yet. It could have gotten dicey if I had been standing at that intersection when the accident occurred. Luckily for me, I didn't have to deal with it.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

There were some middle school age kiddos in the back parking lot where I work. I rolled up to the back door and they stopped playing football or whatever the heck they were doing. One of them asked if it was cold outside. I replied that it wasn't really too bad (30-32F) and then they asked what I was doing. I said "I'm going to work" and then closed the door, I'm sure I was just as annoying at that age.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. No ice to worry about as the temps stayed low enough to keep the little bit of snow we got on the ground. A bit chilly feeling this morning, though. 29F with a 15mph wind from the north/north east. So apart from being cold just from being the north wind, those winds also flow over glaciers/ice fields. Bitter. Good times.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The debate to ride today is on. Freezing drizzle right now, but I am motivated to ride. My Felt is absolutely trashed right now from riding 2 days in raining/drizzling conditions. Chain is talking to me a little making some weird noises. Forecast says that it should clear up later so I might give it a shot. New jacket to try out still that is waterproof so this might happen. Also did more cleat adjustments on the Defrosters in a last ditch effort to make them work for me.


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## Guest (Dec 18, 2014)

Ride yesterday was interesting at best. Had a crap day at work, riding home a couple Jr High kids were on the trail so I announced "bike on the left" and one kid jumps and yells "MFer, you scared the hell out of me!" Seemed like a kid who needed his ass kicked, but it didn't seem like my job to do their parents job.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^The schools need to open back up and give those punks something to do.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

After a week or so of straight days of lame weather with only a ride or two where nothing was falling out of the sky (even on those rides the roads were sloppy), today's ride in was strange. Dry roads, no precip, no wind, warmer than normal... I ditched a layer, ditched the 'clava, broke out the iPod... just lovely. I almost felt guilty.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

On my ride in this morning, two blue collar guys were walking out to their work truck and I braced for the insults as I rode by in my tights. "Ride safe man." ...Oh..well that was pretty awesome.

Pretty psyched to get home today. Got another pair of Lake MXZ303s waiting for me after I sent the last pair back because they didn't fit right. Just in time for a four day weekend with no commuting...


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

I did a practice run on my new fat bike and just couldn't stop riding! When I came home I did at least 3 or 4 "one more lap" before I headed for the barn. If I had my light with me I may have had to do a few more but this is further than I have ridden at one time for almost 2 decades. 
I really like this new bike!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Thanks. I needed that. Proxy grin here.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I made a good decision today, and opted to drive. Drive home was slick, and I almost fell walking up the walk to my building when I got home. Todays weather did not match the forecast yesterday that is for sure. Winter weather advisory until sometime this morning for freezing rain/sleet/mist/whatever the hell this is.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> I did a practice run on my new fat bike and just couldn't stop riding! When I came home I did at least 3 or 4 "one more lap" before I headed for the barn. If I had my light with me I may have had to do a few more but this is further than I have ridden at one time for almost 2 decades.
> I really like this new bike!


Great to hear it! What is the new fat bike?


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

Rustedthrough said:


> Great to hear it! What is the new fat bike?


Surface Element in blue.


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2014)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> I did a practice run on my new fat bike and just couldn't stop riding! When I came home I did at least 3 or 4 "one more lap" before I headed for the barn. If I had my light with me I may have had to do a few more but this is further than I have ridden at one time for almost 2 decades.
> I really like this new bike!


 Newbikeitus. Accute in your case. Congrats on the new ride and the renewed enthusiam.:thumbsup:


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Mr. Fisherman said:


> Surface Element in blue.
> 
> View attachment 948086


Is that an electric bike??? Looks like fun.

On a side note -- This was my last commute to work for 2014. I can't believe the year is almost over!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This morning was likewise my last work commute for the year. I'm excited to start a new year of riding. Still trying to decide if I want to strap the GPS to the bike and start recording all my trips again to see where I end up next year compared to this year. I assume much lower milage as my commute is changing up, but maybe that just means more time for tacking on miles on the final leg of the commute. Who knows. 

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. Get out there and ride!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Did coffeeoutside again this morning, for my last commute of the year. Just 5 of us today, chatting for about an hour at 10F. I knew I'd be standing around for awhile, so I layered-up a lot compared to what I'd normally wear, and it worked just fine. This week I tried a non-diuretic Roobois tea, which was a huge improvement over the green tea from last week, since this week I didn't feel like I was going to burst when I got to work.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

blockphi said:


> This morning was likewise my last work commute for the year. I'm excited to start a new year of riding. Still trying to decide if I want to strap the GPS to the bike and start recording all my trips again to see where I end up next year compared to this year. I assume much lower milage as my commute is changing up, but maybe that just means more time for tacking on miles on the final leg of the commute. Who knows.
> 
> I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. Get out there and ride!


I GPS track all of my rides. I'm kind of a nerd that way. I keep a spread-sheet with how many miles I do on each of my bikes and such. I'm down about 25% from last year on my mileage, but I had a knee injury that had e sidelined for about 6 weeks.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Last commutes of the year already???? I easily have another 10 days of commuting before the end of the year with my work schedule. Hoping to ride for most of those sans the weather we had last night. 

Congrats on the new fat bike - ride it hard


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> On my ride in this morning, two blue collar guys were walking out to their work truck and I braced for the insults as I rode by in my tights. "Ride safe man." ...Oh..well that was pretty awesome.
> 
> Pretty psyched to get home today. Got another pair of Lake MXZ303s waiting for me after I sent the last pair back because they didn't fit right. Just in time for a four day weekend with no commuting...


My route has a detour that temporarily take me across a surface street. Invariably, the only people who stop for me at the crosswalk are blue collar types driving their work trucks. Mom's in their sedans or minivans just blow on by.

In addition to the 303's I ordered and received a pair of 145's. The right shoe was too tight lengthwise. I wear a 48 and they don't make a 49 so I returned them and got the 50. The 50 seems loose but has room for thick socks. Only way to really tell is to fit the cleats and try them to see if my feet slide around in the shoes too much.

Were yours too big or small?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Pretty uneventful ride, mid 30s on the way in. Too warm for the clava but my ears got a bit cold. I'm also getting sick, congestion is setting in and I'm starting to cough. Actually feel pretty good on the bike, but annoying none the less.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

p08757 said:


> I GPS track all of my rides. I'm kind of a nerd that way. I keep a spread-sheet with how many miles I do on each of my bikes and such. I'm down about 25% from last year on my mileage, but I had a knee injury that had e sidelined for about 6 weeks.


Wow, that's way deeper than I get. I once tried to create a spreadsheet to keep track of miles ridden in relation to parts broken - you know these cranks lasted 5K miles or what have you. Just got bored with it. As I only have one bike it's pretty easy to just use my GPS to track how many miles I've put on.

All I know is up until October, when I had to reset my unit due to some funkiness, I had averaged 1K miles a month. I know I'm a bit shorter now that it has turned dark and cold. I'd like to see about doing a full year of 1K a month next year, but with reduced commuting, that'll be a challenge. Of course, the long days in the summer sure helps with finding the time to ride. We'll see.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I use to do the spreadsheet thing but Strava has made me complacent. I load my rides and it keeps track of them for me. You can enter in the date you put parts on your bike and it will keep track of how many miles are on them.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I use to do the spreadsheet thing but Strava has made me complacent. I load my rides and it keeps track of them for me. You can enter in the date you put parts on your bike and it will keep track of how many miles are on them.


Yeah, no Strava for me.

A - no cell phone at all - well, a work cell, but...
B - Not real keen to give my data points to entities such as FB, Twitter, Strava, etc. 
C - Well, I don't really have a C.

It does sound like it would be easier for tracking just how often I do replace parts, but, to my mind, the trade off isn't worth it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hey, that's me (in the reflective vest with white helmet):


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Yeah, no Strava for me.
> 
> A - no cell phone at all - well, a work cell, but...
> B - Not real keen to give my data points to entities such as FB, Twitter, Strava, etc.
> C - Well, I don't really have a C.


A - You can probably use whatever GPS you have. I never could remember to start the app on the phone but I almost always remember to start the Garmin on the bars.
B- You can keep your rides private. Unless you don't trust the strava people themselves. Unless you're a spy, your day to day whereabouts probably aren't of much concern to most. Besides, you already have a web presence with your blog.
C- All the cool kids are doing it. You already sold out.

My commute today was OK. The trail conditions could have been better. I probably should have taken the fatbike instead of the studded MTB but I was so soured on my last trip that I let it sit.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> A - You can probably use whatever GPS you have. I never could remember to start the app on the phone but I almost always remember to start the Garmin on the bars.
> B- You can keep your rides private. Unless you don't trust the strava people themselves. Unless you're a spy, your day to day whereabouts probably aren't of much concern to most. Besides, you already have a web presence with your blog.
> C- All the cool kids are doing it. You already sold out.
> 
> My commute today was OK. The trail conditions could have been better. I probably should have taken the fatbike instead of the studded MTB but I was so soured on my last trip that I let it sit.


Nope, my antique GPS (Garmin Colorado 400T) doesn't work with Strava, though my daughter's wrist GPS does and I was thinking about stealing that anyway.

There is a strange conundrum there, isn't there - I have a web presence with the blog and with some of the other writings that I do, as well as with my activity here. However, I do try to keep an extremely mediated web presence so that there is not a full data portrait of me out there. I'm not worried about the government or any of that foil hat stuff, but do find it unsettling the way that our data points are used. Yeah, you can set your rides as private, but I don't trust any corporation to keep that data private. Maybe I'm just tilting at windmills, but I really don't want to contribute to a future where my web presence and gps location collude against me to activate targeted advertising on street signs al a Back to the Future or Bladerunner or Neromancer. I've decided to try to be a bit more analog.

Yes, I have indeed sold out. But I was never cool, so there's that...

Maybe I just fear that if I use Strava I'll become a Stravhole, because, well, I have those tendencies.

Gotta get some cred back. I think I'll go get my nose pierced over lunch and pick up a second-hand franken-bike. Yeah. That's what I'll do!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That should help.

I kind of enjoy the targeted advertising. Saves me all that time. I do wonder why I get so many zulily banner ads, they don't seem to fit my demographic. The google location history is a little creepy. Anybody with an Android phone click here to see what I mean. https://maps.google.com/locationhistory/b/0

I guess if your GPS doesn't export GPX data you're out of luck (which is luckily what you want).

Being a Stravahole is cool too. I find it extremely motivating.

In all seriousness, I find it fun and semi useful for the reasons above and just to be able to go back and look at any ride for whatever reason.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No Strava here either. I just want to ride and not become a Stravhole like mentioned above, because I could see myself doing that. It won't be fun anymore because I will actively search out KOM's locally, and then when I don't get them, or lose them, I will get pissed off and quit. That is what happened with 4Square when I started it. No longer fun, became work, and a competition, and I ultimately quit.

I would like to get a GPS unit that will track my mileage accurately, but does not need to be mounted on the bike. Could be attached to a bag or whatever, but not mounted to the bike. I already have too many things to take off when I lock it up at work and don't need another. The Cateye Stealth 10 that I bought? It flat out sucks. I don't like it, and cannot seem to sell it.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Last commutes of the year already???? I easily have another 10 days of commuting before the end of the year with my work schedule. Hoping to ride for most of those sans the weather we had last night.
> 
> Congrats on the new fat bike - ride it hard


Today is the last day I work until January 2nd. I probably will get out on the trail just about every day between now and then, but no more rides to work left for me!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That's funny, finding new segments and seeing how I stack up is what keeps it fresh for me. I don't get pissed if I can't get a KOM because there are plenty of riders that are stronger, more dedicated, younger, with lighter bikes, etc. But when I do get one, yahoo! Or course I am a self proclaimed Strava Whore. KOMs pretty much take a hiatus for the winter.

Absolutely no complaints about the Garmin Edge 500. OK, maybe some small nit-picky ones but it works fine.

I've still got 6 (er 5, got to travel on Mon) days to ride to work this week. I'm within 100 miles of my 2013 yearly mileage...Must...top....it. ,"Stravahole"


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I use Strava daily and I am not a Stravahole. The KOM and segment hunting side of Strava holds no appeal. I use Strava for three things: Track my own rides (they have made it so easy), see what kind of rides my friends are doing and use the search function/heatmaps to find new rides.

I ride with a Garmin 800 and am very happy with it.

BTW bedwards, you can delete your location history on Google and go into the settings and stop capture of the information.

I've got today, mon and tue for work rides then am off till the new year. I'll finish the year somewhere around 8300 miles. My biggest year ever.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

I like strava because it helps me track mileage by bike as well as by week and in total. Really keeps me motivated. I'm almost too old to be very competitive but tracking my performance or lack of helps motivate me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A slow end of the bikecommuter year for me, with 1.5 sick days this week, taking the bus home when I started to feel crappy, and driving Thurs & Friday to save some energy. Next week will be low on miles too, as I will be dogsitting 3 dogs, 2 of which are used to someone who works from home, and one of which is a pup prone to eating sponges and socks if she can. Here's to 2015!


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Had snow Weds/Thurs (that didn't stay for long) and freezing fog today so it's been fun with the weather but not overly obnoxious. Just adds spice to the adventure.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Here we go again with everyone talking about KOMing and not KOMing. 

TenSpeed, why does it upset you when you can't KOM? You're still a man, trust me. Look bedwards, he finds joy wether he KOMs or somebody else KOMs. The important thing is to get on the bike. 

As a note, I use strava to compete with myself and my twin brother exclusively. Neither of us are KOMing any segments. For the most part I just it to log mileage. That's it, but I've thought about using excel. I know how to use that pretty well...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It doesn't because I don't use it. If I did, I would delve into that side of it, and regret it, so I just stay away from it all together. I will ride Strava or not.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Second time rolling the speed-O back to 0!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Commuting is done for the year as I have the last two weeks of it off. Hoping to get some mt. biking in over the break, as I have really neglected mt. biking this year. Satisfied with the commuting year, however.


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## Guest (Dec 21, 2014)

I've got two days of commuting left. I'll have to add about another 100 miles by the end of the year to make my 2500 mile goal (left after I gave in on the 3000 mile goal).


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Good on you, I wouldn't have hit 3000 either if I hadn't done a 3+ week 800 mile bikepacking trip in October + it is much easier to rack up miles on a road bike. It also is no big chore to cycle year round here, 5mph is classed as high winds and we only have two types of weather, Hot or hot and wet.

Was an interesting article in the local rag the other day a govt minister commenting on the lack of cycling infrastructure commented that the weather was not conducive to cycling so there was no point. Compared to Scotland the weather is great; damn near perfect from 5AM to 9AM and after 5PM here as long as you avoid the middle of the day in urban areas - under the trees in the rain forest areas it always stays cooler and is fine any time of day.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold and ridiculously fast. No wind today which was a really nice break. Got the thumbs up from a pedestrian walking along the busiest street that I ride on as I was more than keeping up with traffic in a 25mph zone. Tried out a new jacket that I got and it is alright. I love the extra coverage offered in the rear but it is not as wind proof as I initially thought it would be as the wind from riding went right through the sleeves. It turned out to be alright because it helped cool me down to be honest.

Today was a first as I never used my front brake. I had to stop at several lights and a few signs but using the brake just didn't happen. No skidding either, just leg control and timing to make lights when possible. It was a great ride in.


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## Guest (Dec 21, 2014)

SimpleJon said:


> Good on you, I wouldn't have hit 3000 either if I hadn't done a 3+ week 800 mile bikepacking trip in October + it is much easier to rack up miles on a road bike. It also is no big chore to cycle year round here, 5mph is classed as high winds and we only have two types of weather, Hot or hot and wet.
> 
> Was an interesting article in the local rag the other day a govt minister commenting on the lack of cycling infrastructure commented that the weather was not conducive to cycling so there was no point. Compared to Scotland the weather is great; damn near perfect from 5AM to 9AM and after 5PM here as long as you avoid the middle of the day in urban areas - under the trees in the rain forest areas it always stays cooler and is fine any time of day.


Funny how "Government Experts" seldom understand the topic under consideration.


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## Mr. Fisherman (Sep 27, 2014)

First commute leaving in the dark.
Installed my new front rack for commuter duty and was eager to get back at it.
I failed to consider how my lighting was mounted. I am going to have to make adjustments. It is not good enough in the dark in the rain.
That said, I held a respectable speed and had a great ride in.
Unfortunately I overstuffed my lunch box and my chili squished out of the collapsible container.
I have a few kinks to work out but I like where this is headed.
Hopefully just dark and not foggy or raining for the return trip in a few hours.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold. Wore my normal Shimano shoes and my toes were very cold when I got home. Temp is actually warmer than when I went in, but this 94% humidity is just horrible. No rain or precipitation, but the roads were slightly wet. Wish it was just cold and not damp as well. Less than half a mile into my commute as I entered the MUP, I came up on a couple taking up the entire path with their two dogs. Called out that there was a bike back, one dog got scared and left the trail, the other got really aggressive as I went by causing me to have to do an emergency stop as it lunged at me. No apology from the owner, nothing. I continued on very annoyed at them. Other than that, great ride in.

Weather this week is going to be tricky with rain and 40's tapering off to a snowy/ice mixture later in the week. The fat bike will more than likely see some action this week.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

z1r said:


> My route has a detour that temporarily take me across a surface street. Invariably, the only people who stop for me at the crosswalk are blue collar types driving their work trucks. Mom's in their sedans or minivans just blow on by.
> 
> In addition to the 303's I ordered and received a pair of 145's. The right shoe was too tight lengthwise. I wear a 48 and they don't make a 49 so I returned them and got the 50. The 50 seems loose but has room for thick socks. Only way to really tell is to fit the cleats and try them to see if my feet slide around in the shoes too much.
> 
> Were yours too big or small?


Ordered the same size as my summer shoes and they were too small. Sent them back to exchange for the next size up and they sent me the wrong size (2 sizes smaller than the original pair), so I had to send _those_ back and order one size larger than my normal size. Came in yesterday and fit great. Really excited to get to use them this winter as my feet have been my one problem spot on cold days.

Was off work Friday and Monday because I had some PTO days to burn before the year ended. Capped off my first cyclocross season with the final race of the year on Sunday. It went really well, and left me excited for next season. I'm planning on making the trek to Michigan at some point this winter for a fat bike race. Will help keep me motivated to stay in shape.

Weird weather this week. 50-60 and rainy today and tomorrow, then supposed to drop back to the 30s later in the week. 60 degrees from Christmas eve just seems so....wrong. Hoping to be back on the bike tomorrow and Friday for my last commutes of the year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whee, from first malicious attack to first sub freezing flat tire! Tis the season for my luck to run out, I guess. I picked up a drywall screw in my rear tire, finally had to change one with gloves on. It was pretty easy, really (light out and obvious damage not requiring a close inspection) and I only had to unglove once to coax the stem through the hole in the rim and once to get the velcro strap back on my pump. Glad I got to do a trial in full light, but I`m pretty sure I could manage without too much trouble even on the dark half of my commute. As long as it doesn`t happen with studs mounted, at least!

Four more RTs for me this year, I think.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

1460 commuting miles for 2014, which I am comfortable with considering in April my roundtrip commute went from 14 miles to 8.8. Only drove to work 12 times since April, too. Got in a mt. bike ride on Sunday, so that was nice.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

*Bicycle Lock Strategy #Fail*

Saw as I was riding through UW campus this morning. Had to stop and take a pic.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Since getting back into cycling in June after a hiatus of about 17 years, I managed to rack up 1,906 miles, most of which was commuting. Today is my last day at work and I drove due to a Holiday party. I won't rack up any more commute miles this year but will strive to reach 2000 for the year (half year).

I hope to double my mileage next year.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Had some fun on my commute today and made for funny videos afterward.






If the farmer takes the wife, then the cow takes... ?

The car, obviously.






Broke the speed limit, in front of a church, next to a school. I'm such a hooligan on my bicycle.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've been *****ing about my fatbike too much here, so here is the other side.
The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike Fun

Commutes have been damp but good. Up to 3 more for me next week. My yearly mileage looks like it will be within 100 miles of last year, right around 5500. The weather hear is looking good for the day after Christmas so we might get a longer mid-winter road ride in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, I didn't realize that word would be censored. I have a female dog, she is a *****.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Third day in a row off the bike for me. Rain, low 40's and a thunderstorm forecasted for today. Possibly snow tonight and into tomorrow, and if that is the case, the fat bike will be coming out for the ride in tomorrow. 46F and sunny by Friday so hopefully it dries up a little and I can ride in again.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Today is my last commute of the year, and it is a good one to end on. Forecast is for 50 degrees on my way home this afternoon, it's sunny (a rare treat for winter in Cleveland), and the roads are practically empty because most people took today off.

Hope everyone has/had a happy holiday season! Happy New Year!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Currently 41F today and temps rising for my ride in. I am pretty ecstatic since the lows tonight will be in the upper 30's. That will actually seem warm. 

Yesterday was a great ride. Hardly any traffic, mid 30's and of course a decent head wind. Made double time and a half, got free dinner, and it was not busy. Ride home I think I saw 6 cars in 8.5 miles. Doubled up the socks and it really helped with my regular Shimano shoes.


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## mayonays (Oct 22, 2010)

Very few cars on the road today! But I felt like I had to be even more careful riding as the ones who were out seemed to be paying little to no attention to the road.


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

About 10*F tonight, with 6 inches of snow packed into the roads. I love when it snows. Snow packed roads smooth out all the potholes. Mixed surface with ice in spots. The side streets were perfect. The downhills felt like skiing. Even made some carves tonight. Getting the rear end slid out is a blast. Misplaced my scarf at work somewhere, though. Might not see it again and have a cold face for a few days.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another solid ride in, actually got warm and was sweating when I got to work. Damned headwind made me work for the miles though. Ride home was excellent as well, with very little traffic. Campus is a ghost town since they are on break, and it is really nice.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

A little below freezing both ways today, with frosty streets in the morning. After work, I rode home to get my U-lock, put on my pogies, and then went to the supermarket for groceries, which is about 10 miles round-trip. 

It's supposed to snow tomorrow, with a high around freezing, then turn considerably colder, with lows approaching 5F / -15C. I work tomorrow, so it'll be interesting to see how that all works out. The City had the de-icer trucks out to get ahead of the de-icing game.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

About 45, cool, rainy. Got a new base layer and cycling jacket for Christmas. I was dry, not sweaty, and Pretty gosh dang happy about that. 

I had never thought that a vented jacket would be so awesome. Also, it's reflective and waterproof. Perfect for the winter commute.


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## mechBgon (Jan 28, 2007)

As promised, it snowed today, but it also was above freezing, so the snow was wet slush on the edges of the road. I forgot that my trunk bag wasn't at work, and it normally serves as a _de facto_ rear fender, so my rear tire did a very efficient job of cooling my backside with a non-stop spray of ice-cold water on the way home. So refreshing!  However, next time I'll listen to the little voice that says "mechBgon! tape a piece of cardboard down the center of the rack for tonight! you'll thank Us later!"

The deep-freeze weather is supposed to arrive... Sunday night & Monday.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The ride in flat out sucked. 32F and partly sunny with strong headwinds, annoying pedestrians on the MUP and I kept snotting up even though I have been riding in this colder weather. Tried out my new setup with the water bottle and it was excellent. Easily reached while riding, did not lose the bottle since it is secure. I may need to adjust the cage because I could feel it if I was too far back on the saddle. Logged my first official commute on MapMyRide. Disappointing results for the ride in, with stop lights, signs, traffic, etc. my average mph was below what I expected it to be, and the travel time was higher.

Ride home was very cold. 28F but felt like 19 according to my phone, with a gusty southerly wind that crossed me several times. I somehow managed to hit every green light, adjusted my route for this to avoid all stop signs, and made it home in record time. 8.2 miles in 28 minutes. Had the weather been warmer I think that it would have been faster. Was seriously huffing and puffing the closer I got to home.

So MapMyRide is pretty cool, but after the second ride using it, I am already annoyed. Apparently it works a lot like Strava where there are sections that you can take over the record. Well, apparently I took 9th place on the MUP today. Had to be the ride home because it crosses a busy street and at night I can see if there are cars coming and slow down if needed. This is why I don't use Strava, I don't want to compete, but here I am sitting here thinking about the next ride....can I move up in the standings? I didn't know about this, and wish that I would have never seen the little badge awarded to me. Now I will probably obsess with it as much as I do with making sure that the stem is straight.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Uneventful ride in, but it felt good to be back on the bike after the Christmas break.

Got a new rear rack from Santa for the new ride which I installed over the weekend, UPS should be bringing me a new light with rack mount today to put on there. Also got a Cateye Volt 100, certainly not the brightest light I own but I think I'm going to mount it on my helmet as a to be seen light that won't blind oncoming traffic. Should make a very good secondary light.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sunny and 28F on the way in with the headwind just blasting me. The ride home was 18F and felt like 30 below zero. The wind on my face was just painful. About 2 miles into my ride or so I came across this outside an apartment building near the campus.










I was frozen solid, but my blood was boiling. This is a delivery car for a local food joint. The car is running, the flashers on, and smack dab in the bike lane. The ironic thing about this? The sign on the lamppost in front of the car says No stopping, standing or parking. I pulled up behind it and proceeded to wait. I could see the person inside waiting to deliver the food. This went on for about 5 minutes or so. I thought, what a time for a cop to go by right? Bam, cop goes by, sees whats going on, and proceeds to flip a U turn up ahead and come back around. By this time, the driver has exited the building, and I see it is a female. I wasn't going to be vulgar or aggressive, just remind her that this is not a parking area for vehicles. She proceeds to profusely apologize as the cop pulls up. He asks what is going, and I calmly say that I am waiting for the delivery car that is parked where it shouldn't be to move so I can continue on. The cop seems less than amused and rather annoyed at the situation. She apologizes to him and goes to leave. Cop leaves. Was hoping for a different outcome, but I think she got the hint.

The rest of the ride sucked because I got cold, really cold. Every single finger hurt from the Reynaud's since I pulled my phone out barehanded and tried to stop shaking enough to take the picture. Once they get cold, I am done for. Couldn't ride that fast to get warmed back up since the wind on my face hurt so bad. I am going tomorrow to get some ear muffs or something to cover my ears better than the head cover I have. The sound of the wind in my ears even through the cover makes me want to punch a baby.

I got the day off tomorrow but will try to get a ride in, and then Wednesdays commute will be it for the year. I am very pleased with my total mileage for the year given the late start that I had into it. At one point, 2500 miles seemed like an impossible goal to reach. Surpassing that goal by 600 miles makes me feel like I accomplished something. Luckily I work on Thursday, and the weather should be cold and clear so I will be starting the new year off on two wheels!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> I pulled up behind it and proceeded to wait. I could see the person inside waiting to deliver the food. This went on for about 5 minutes or so.


Not to say that the driver was A-Okay by parking in the bike lane, but why didn't you just grab the lane and go around? I would think you could have found an opening in the five minutes you waited.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I could have easily, that's not the point though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Of all the atrocities drivers commit against bikes, I'd have let that one go. Sucks that you had a cop there in the right place at the right time and didn't get any satisfaction. 

Tuesday trail ride in for me. I was hoping for a nice frozen clean ride since the temp was 12 degrees but not all those puddles are completely frozen. But, some that looked like water with a skim of ice were totally solid.

I see lake crossings in my very near future. The lake was skimmed and the temp isn't forecast to break freezing for as far as they are forecasting. I'm thinking a skating recon this weekend and I'll be crossing it next week!!!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

That probably wasn't worth the effort you put into it Ten Speed, but hopefully she got the point. No commuting and one mt. bike ride so far during this winter break. Lots and lots of juke food and unhealthy living taking place though. Don't really want to go back to work Jan 5th, but at least healthy living will get back on track.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Slow days here in the commute thread. I could have today, but skipped because my legs are still sore. I ran a 5k on Sunday after not having ran for two months or so. Then yesterday morning I rode 35 miles of pavement-dirt-pavement just for fun. Forgot water next to my helmet as I was leaving and didn't stop for any for the 2.5 hours I was biking. I bet that has something to do with sore muscles. This makes me a bad commuter...

Next two days are no work, some drinks, and a lot of bikes... and reading. I'm looking forward to it.


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## tylerw (Dec 7, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> Sunny and 28F on the way in with the headwind just blasting me. The ride home was 18F and felt like 30 below zero. The wind on my face was just painful. About 2 miles into my ride or so I came across this outside an apartment building near the campus.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


the car was over as far as possible. Street does not look busy at all. should have just went around instead of trying to prove points. The police and delivery driver probably thought you had a different problem.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

There is no parking allowed there. I am surprised at a lot of your reactions to this.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I dunno, to me it seems like you gotta pick and choose your battles. This is one i woulda let slide. Maybe you could carry a pen and paper with you and either write down their plate number to report to the police non emergency line or you could leave a note. 

There are some I'd let slide because i know whether I'm biking or driving my adherence to traffic laws is close but never at 100%. The cop on the other hand... well that's his job in this situation to issue citations or warnings and unfortunately he didn't do it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Time to embarrass RollingRunner: The Candid Cyclist: Raw Christmas Joy

Winter temps arrived and I met them with a smile...which you couldn't see because it was under my balaclava. I was having such a grand time I actually added a few miles. My new Aerotech Jacket is warmer than the one it replaced. The HH Warm baselayer under my tights was awesome too.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NDD said:


> The cop on the other hand... well that's his job in this situation to issue citations or warnings and unfortunately he didn't do it.


Maybe he was anxious to get back to the sandwich the driver had just delivered to him!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ooh yeah, that must be it. Can't blame him if it's about a sandwich. :lol: His job is to protect and serve sandwiches after all.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

A bit chilly at 26F, steady breeze had it feeling more like 16F. I must have had my hand in a weird position because my right thumb started getting really cold with the rest of my hand being warm. Switched hand positions and everything was fine after that. Think I'm going to leave early today, pretty dead at the office.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Time to embarrass RollingRunner:


Haha, if it weren`t for the new bike, she`d probably skin you for posting that first pic! BarfingRunner? Now that we`ve gotten a good laugh at her expense, may she enjoy the living crap out of her lovely new ride 

2014 ended for me this morning with a chilly one, by far the coldest ride of this winter. The mini airbase I ride past reports a tie with Bedwards` 1F. Mileage was no surprise. Since I started tracking...
2010: 3418
2011: 3494
2012: 4389
2013: 4000
2014: (drumroll) 1294


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today is the last commute of the year, and I will definitely earn the miles. Blowing flurries with decent winds, and a balmy 15F temperature, with it feeling more like 8F or so. Fat bike is ready to go since there is actually some snow on the ground. Gear is ready as well and I will be running both Niterider Luminas tonight on the way home, since it is New Years Eve. I will try to avoid the main busy roads as well as much as possible, taking a longer more safe route home. Cutting through the campus is actually a good idea since the students are gone on break there should not be much traffic. Luckily I get out at 11:30 so most people will be where they need to be to celebrate, leaving me to get home in one piece.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Totally over the unflattering photo, did you see that bike!!! Happy here!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Congrats on the new ride!! Don't worry about the pictures, at least they are not incriminating!


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## Asmodeus2112 (Jan 4, 2008)

Last commute of the year was the best kind: uneventful. ~2,774 miles logged commuting for me this year. At the IRS expense rate that's about $1,594 dollars saved.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Time to embarrass RollingRunner: The Candid Cyclist: Raw Christmas Joy


Awesome xmas surprise and amazing job keeping it secret, Bedwards. Enjoy RollingRunner!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

RollingRunner said:


> Totally over the unflattering photo, did you see that bike!!! Happy here!


Saw the bike. Saw the smiles. Smiling here too. She'll look great on a podium. We need pics, though!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I closed out the year with a hell of a ride. 17F actual temp, felt like -1F with the wind. Oh, speaking of the wind, it was a steady 24-30 mph for the entire ride in. Not bad eh? At my back? Oh, no, right in my face. Oh that isn't bad since you were on a road bike. Nah, took the fat bike in today since there was some snow forecasted. New Giro snowboard helmet along with the Oakley goggles I splurged on, along with a Pearl Izumi balaclava and I was sweating. That helmet is great!!! Removable snap in ear covers kept my ears warm and the wind out of them which is annoying.

The ride home? Amazing. Hardly any traffic and a nice wind at my back this time. Forgot to start MapMyRide, but I got home in about 30 minutes or so, just missing the ball drop. I was on the pitch black MUP when the fireworks went off from the township police department. That was really cool to be riding solo on a pitch black path and see and hear fireworks right at midnight. Only one other place I would rather be than on my bike, and I am working on that. 

Just had a snack and I will browse some forums then turn in. Already have the first commute for 2015 planned out for Thursday, which will be double time and a half sandwiched by two nice rides.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The results are in, the miles have been counted:
The Candid Cyclist: Year End Review - 2014
Happy New Year Everybody.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First one of the year. Cold and windy on the way in, nice on the way home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Temps broke the 30's today and the sun was fully out, so I had no issue riding in. Stopped at the shop to shoot the bs with the guys and met up with a coworkers husband who was buying a Cervelo P5. Wow what a bike that is!

Ride home was cold but very enjoyable. The weather for this weekend is supposed to get kind of nasty so the fat bike will making an appearance more than likely. Have not decided about commuting on Saturday. Temps hovering around freezing, a frozen rain mix with some snow on top of snow that is partially melting with temps eventually dropping below freezing. Yeah, I don't know about that yet.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

I begin again Monday. Had the last 10 days off. Managed a few recreational rides but the temps have been at or below zero much of the time with a good deal of snow. Took my cross bike out on some trails around the lake a few days ago during the snow. Lotsa fat bike tracks and many hikers or skiers marveling at the skinny tires I was riding. I was actually riding on some 40's that did remarkably well. People kept asking how many times I'd fallen. They didn't seem to believe me when I said not once.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First real winter ride on the fat bike. 32F and slushy on the way in, clothes got wet because I still have not picked up any type of fenders for it. Ride home was 15F feeling like 1F with 20mph winds at my back and blowing snow. There was a bit of accumulation maybe an inch in some spots, but it was like a skating rink underneath. Swapped to SPD's today to wear my Defrosters which I am glad I did. Feet were actually toasty with merino wool socks on under. People at work thought I was crazy for riding. No, crazy will be the Monday commute, with a high of 8F, low of 6F and the same winds along with more snow. The windchill warning goes into effect in about 3 hours or so, and will be there all day with lows of -10F I believe the warning said.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> There is no parking allowed there. I am surprised at a lot of your reactions to this.


I'd would have done the same thing, way to go buddy !


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

First commute of the new year with some impressive wind, it was steady at 25 mph which is manageable but the gusts nearly pushed me over a couple times. Perhaps I should have taken the drop bar bike today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First day back for me too after two weeks off. -26C/-15F this morning, which was actually nice since the forecast was for -30C. I managed to get plenty of funrides in over the break, and last thursday it was even raining, but then on friday we got a big dump of snow and a deepfreeze set in on the weekend.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

First commute of the year for me this morning. 51 degrees, windy and pouring rain. January in Seattle.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The moon was nice, the trails were crap: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've shifted to an earlier start time. I'm not used to riding in before the sunrise, but the ride was OK. My one headlight crapped out less than half-way to work. I hope it was just me neglecting to charge the batteries and not another issue. I had another light on flash mode, which is less than ideal but still reasonably safe.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

1st day back after 2 weeks off here too... new Timbuk2 backpack and shoe covers from Santa made the ride in luxurious. I was getting really used to riding in rain before the break.... 20-something degrees and clear for the ride in was a nice re-introduction. 

On another note, I think my seat collar is letting my seatpost sink ever so slowly... I keep putting off adjusting it, but the seat felt undeniably low today.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

The new bike (2005) rear shifter finally died (2006 XTR)....the little pot metal dohicky that grabs the cable end broke off...tried gluing it but no good....oh well...gotta get a new one.

Back on the old commuter 1990 rigid 7 speed, mounted up the lights, XTR pedals, Freddie Revenze studs, and the tool bag...almost looks cool.

Oh yeah and stock BioPace drivetrain.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Didn't happen. Planned on the first commute of 2015, and laid my stuff out, but after 4 days off I was running late anyhow, and the killer headwinds would have significantly increased the lateness. Plus I loaned the fatbike and pogies to a friend for the weekend, and would not have them back for the windy single digit commute home. Anyhow, plenty of excuses and no bragging rights tonight, except for 45mph gusts on my home weather thingy.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Horrific. 6F, felt like -11F and 18mph west winds hit me head on. Snowing but little to no accumulation. Roads were slick and the bike lane was an absolute mess of slush, ice, snow and car boogers. The final few miles of bike lane had me on the sidewalk because they were horrible. Ride home was miserable. 4F, feels like -6F and the wind at my back at least. The back roads were a sheet of ice. Everything had partially melted from the sun, and the wind had blown all the snow off, leaving a nice shiny sheet of slickness. My hands were the worst part. I didn't think about it, but my bike sat out for almost 9 hours in single digit temps. I run an aluminum bar on my fat bike with OURY lock on grips. A mile in, and my hands went completely numb. I tried everything to get my heart rate up and the blood flowing, but the road conditions prevented that. This has helped me big time in cooler weather to get my hands back to temp and sweating before I get home. I had a death grip on the bar and started to panic because it hurt so bad, but I was all over the place on the bike. My Reynaud's was the worst tonight that I have ever experienced. I was in tears because it hurt so much, and then my mind took over, started panicking like what if I fell and couldn't ride home? What if I had to walk? What if I was just laying there in the middle of the road too hurt to get up and get to someones house? This is one of the downfalls to commuting later at night, and being single as well. 

I have been home now for about half an hour. I let the dog out, and brought my hands up to room temperature slowly. No hot water, not in front of a heater, just let them warm up on their own. The fingers on my left hand are still tingling, and it at one point, I had lost all feeling in my ring finger. That really worried me so I am taking Tuesday off from riding, and have the day off Wednesday. I may take the bike out a little but from a warm place and only for a short distance. This was my coldest commute to date I believe, and it may stay that way.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Really nice tonight. Really nice yesterday too, come to think of it. And I may be an exception, but I couldn`t wait to get back in- too many days off in the last three weeks or so, and mostly NOT as nice as yesterday and today, so didn`t feel like doing anything outside.

CB, your legs are stretching?

No offense to anybody with Reynauds, but it really seems to be going around on this forum. I never heard of it before becoming a commute forum junkie, and the first mention of it here all I could think of was Le Car.



jeffscott said:


> Back on the old commuter 1990 rigid 7 speed, mounted up the lights, XTR pedals, Freddie Revenze studs, and the tool bag...almost looks cool.
> 
> Oh yeah and stock BioPace drivetrain.


What is it? Pics!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tenspeed, that sounds horrific. You need some pogies, they make a world of difference. I like these Dogwood Designs Winter Pogies offered by Fatbikes.com!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't know if that will help with my commute home. The bar itself is what is so cold. If there was an indoor storage option at work that might help, but the fact that the bar is so cold and I have to hold it I think is what does me in. I may have to look into something like heated grips or possibly adding something to my gloves like the chemical reaction heaters. I also cannot leave Pogies on the bike that are that expensive for fear of theft. I don't leave anything on the bike at all when I park it, another problem as I have to add my lights and get my lock going. If I could just walk out and go it might be better. 

rodar - be glad that you do not suffer from this. It can be manageable at times, and at other times, it can be horrible. Mine doesn't always act up if I take the right steps to keep my hands warm. If not, game over like I posted above.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I don't have any experience with them but always thought they looked cool, but what about bar mitts? Those that hang off the bar. They might get chilly but they couldn't get as cold as that bar. Unless the mittens have a similar heat capacity to aluminum... Which is pretty unlikely.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My wife and I both have Reynaud's. Her's is worst than mine but I still get it occasionally. Bar mitts are very good at keeping hands warm. I do better with bar mitts & 1 pair of gloves than with 2 pair of heavier gloves. We have the relatively cheap version like these: http://smile.amazon.com/Mountain-Ba..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=05XVEKJRS9K3ETK84HHY
I still wouldn't leave them on the bike if it was unattended outside. They go on fairly quick (<1 min each) but it all adds up.

Maybe you could try some natural cork grips for some insulation from the bars.

It was -12F here this morning and my hands were fine after the first few miles. Otherwise it felt like I was riding through glue on the fatbike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Feel for you TenSpeed. I have a mild case (my brother'e is more like yours) and remember having to peel my left hand off the bars with my still partially functioning right after a 3 mile early winter commute in the early 1980's. Could barely take notes in class. I took the bus until spring. A carbon handlebar conducts less heat. Our TO pal recommends that approach. My Bar Mitts come on and off in a jiffy, padded bar tape, adds insulation to the cold bar. 

On a dealing with the root cause, getting my amalgam fillings out safely was the single best thing I have done that helped the Raynaud's.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> What is it? Pics!


I have pics on my Iphone but no idea how to upload from there?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

6 inches of light Alberta Powder snowing at -16 C...

compacted the snow down to about 1 inch and then floated with the 2.35 inch Freddies...

Got chicked, by a cross bike with about 30mm tires, cutting right down through the snow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

First commute back of the new year. And it was a bit of a bummer. Bummer because I'd rather be bumming around all day on the single track, but, I guess work is important or something. 

Had a great vacation with lots of riding. Was able to ride some of our new single track that the Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers have put in and are grooming for winter riding and it was a blast. Rode those trails easily nine days of my vacation. Throw in some other single track at the college and at the local bike park as well as up in the mountains and, well, sure can't beat it. 

The first commute back had weather much more like what I would expect for this time of year. -7F at my house and -4 in town, probably a bit colder along the creek where I ride - I can always feel the temps drop as I make my way to the MUP along Chester Creek. I did forget just how hard riding in those temps can feel, though, if you don't get your layers just right. I might have been over-dressed so my legs got a bit damp and then chilled and just worthless for peddling. Also, I think my freehub grease is a bit too thick for the colder temps. Also, I'm experimenting with tubeless and it seemed that my rear lost pressure over the course of the ride - though that might just be in my head as I haven't put a gauge on it.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

First commute of 2015 this morning and it was a doozy. 11F with 18mph winds and a "feels like" temperature of -2F. Also got snow last night with more in the forecast tomorrow. Would have been an excellent day for the fatbike but it's currently out of commission after being abused in some extremely muddy races this fall. Need tear everything down and regrease but just haven't gotten around to it yet. So I opted for the mountain bike, which rarely sees commute duty. Overall it worked well, but I went down once when the front wheel packed up with snow and then slid out when moving to the sidewalk. First commute crash, and it was pretty uneventful. I had so many layers on I hardly felt it.

Hoping the ride home goes well tonight. 90% chance of snow for 7PM so it could get interesting.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

19F and snowing, probably a half inch of accumulation when I left. My girlfriend punched me repeatedly for biking in, but I otherwise enjoyed the ride.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Feel for you TenSpeed. I have a mild case (my brother'e is more like yours) and remember having to peel my left hand off the bars with my still partially functioning right after a 3 mile early winter commute in the early 1980's. Could barely take notes in class. I took the bus until spring. A carbon handlebar conducts less heat. Our TO pal recommends that approach. My Bar Mitts come on and off in a jiffy, padded bar tape, adds insulation to the cold bar.
> 
> On a dealing with the root cause, getting my amalgam fillings out safely was the single best thing I have done that helped the Raynaud's.


I don't have any fillings luckily. Might have to try out the carbon bar, or just suck it up and realize that I simply cannot commute in single digit temps. I am fine in the 20's or so, even with wind. While the Pogies will help, they will not eliminate the cold bar that I have to hold onto. Seriously considering making everything on the fat bike work with bullhorns and tape. Just not sure how much it will cost and how it will work. I completely despise the flat bar on there now and the set up.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

My first commute of the year and it was awesome. Most of the paths resembled a skating rink. The Nokians performed flawlessly on this surface. Some of the trails however have gone through a few thaw and refreeze cycles and the ruts give my tires a lot of grief. There was about a half mile section where I had to walk a good amount or offroad to avoid the ruts which the tires just can't climb out of.

After that section though things got good again and I got passed by a guy who routinely passes me. Only today I was able to get on his wheel and keep up. Will probably never happen again, lol.

My average speed was almost 13 mph. Not bad considering. I did mange to exceed 20 on a mile long stretch.

Great to be back after more than a week off.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> or possibly adding something to my gloves like the chemical reaction heaters.


I buy these in bulk every winter and *always* have an extra pair or two with me in my saddle bag or running pack. They have saved my hands more than a few times. Raynaud's is a horrible, horrible thing.


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## 73pinz (Dec 11, 2012)

Tenspeed, I too have had a problem with frozen fingers. Repeated freezings have left them damaged and more prone to freezing again. The only thing that works for me is pogies and heated gloves. Fingers still get cold in -10f or below but no more waiting 10 minutes before I can do anything with my hands. It has been a revelation.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-5F but calm this morning, 10 but a pesky breeze this evening. I think I may have pedaled that chainsuck on the new chain into submission; only one hitch (cured by a backpedal) this morning, and none this evening.

Stealing pogies would be pretty low - is there really a black market demand for them? I would tie or mini cable them together so you can't just pull them off. I don't even lock the bike outside on cold winter days, although my work is a pretty low risk location. Also, I don't really notice any difference in pogie effectiveness on my carbon bar commuter vs, the metal-bar fatbike. I think you might be surprised at their effectiveness; not only do they block the wind, but a little microclimate develops within them from your body heat. 

WTF does it mean when a driver opens the car door to give you the peace symbol? I was driving at the time and we had not had any conflict. He opened it a 2nd time and I rolled down the window to see if he was saying something, but...nothing.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back to commuting this week after, like many of you, two weeks off. Two uneventful and routine commutes under my belt in 2015. Off to a good start.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

80'F no wind to speak of - crazies back on the road after the holiday though, one 'left hook' at a junction yesterday and this morning buzzed / horned by a car driver who believed that the right turn lane is for overtaking the jam in the straight on lane then push back in at the lights; damned cyclists have no right to interfere with his illegal maneuver by being in the correct lane to turn right.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

20F with a headwind this morning with snow showers starting part-way through my commute. I was running a different headlight this time, a 3x XM-L Chinashine I picked up on eBay for under $7 shipped. The beam is better than the MJ-872 clone I ran earlier this week, which might have a bit too much flood for the road.

Temps are taking a dive today. I'm not sure what the temps will be like when I leave, but I packed extra clothing. Temps could be anywhere from 0 to 15. It's rare for us to have temps fall this low during the day. Tomorrow will be cold enough people will probably not drive to work, which doesn't make sense to me but that's how people are around here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Winter is here. I've got all my layers on and -1F this morning was an 11 degree improvement over yesterday. I've been taking the lake which went from a perfect 10 on Saturday to a barely passable 1 this week. Luckily I found a secret passage along the shore that got flooded and refroze. Tomorrow is supposed to be really cold.

A friend and I got to do 17 miles of open lake skating on Sat. It was awesome! 
Activity Profile | Skating The Whole Lake!! near Raymond | Times and Records | Strava


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Today was the first time I commuted in snow since building up the pugs. It was only about 2" of loose powder but it did surprisingly well. Took maybe 10-15 minutes longer than it did on clear paths? I'm pleased.

Only problem is I don't have a rack on it so had to carry my gear in my camelback. Been thinking about getting one of those huge revelate seat bags so I can do some light touring on my mountain bikes (the only two bikes I have without loops for a proper saddle bag) maybe this will provide some motivation. Though I think I could get by with a lot less than that for commuting - I figure a 2 liter bag would hold a tube, mini pump and some various tools just fine. Not as cool though 

I think it was like 12-13 degrees when I left the house this morning - possibly the coldest I've ridden to work in. Seeing bedwards post above makes me feel a little soft for that


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah but those crazy Canadians routinely ride at -30F which makes me feel soft. Except I've been riding the pugs every day this week and that does not make me feel soft. If I make it out in the AM at -15F with -30-40F windchill I'll not be soft. Especially if I freeze solid. Kudo'd you back Alex.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Still about an inch of snow on the ground with a layer of ice underneath. So I decided today would be a good day for my first commute with my fat bike. As expected it was pretty slow going, especially with a headwind but the Surly Nates sure do grip. I was sweating when I got to work, I guess 19F was just too warm.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I was too warm at times this morning but every time I went downhill I was glad to be overdressed - it amazes me how quickly the heart rate goes back down. Nates are awesome - I haven't found anything yet that they can't grip, though dry leaves get dicey at times.

Good point bedwards - I guess if there's potential to freeze solid then you aren't soft, by definition. Though the soft center must persist for at least a few hours  Not sure how kudo-worthy my ride was but that ice skating trip looked awesome! I've never even considered the possibility of a trek like that on skates, bet it was a blast.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

first day this week I cleaned the commute due to car snot etc. Supposed to Chinook today.

-12 C on the hill -16 C in the valley so it is trying....Supposed to go to +2C in the afternoon then back to the deep freeze to night.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ it's so strange how -15C/5F (with a pretty healthy wind) can actually feel warm. But after a couple days of deepfreeze, this morning when I was walking with the dog and then riding in I thought "This feels like spring" even though it really doesn't.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent second commute back for the year. 20F at my house. 1F at the bus stop, 7F where I get off in town, 1F along the creek and 1F at work. 

Went tubeless over the break - think I mentioned that here, maybe not - and so far so good. Though I don't know that I am realizing any great benefits yet...I did have a strange thing happen yesterday on the way home. Left from work with temps around 7F and the rear tire felt to be at about 15psi. Got four miles in and the rear was nearly flat. Now, I wonder if it is due to the tire sitting on a heated concrete slab all day keeping the air inside a bit warm and expanded? I know that my valve stem wasn't quite as tightly screwed down as it should have been, so I took care of that last night and pumped it up to 18psi, which seems to have held overnight and I had no noticeable loss of pressure on this morning's ride. Also realized I have a freehub pawl that is all chewed to h*ll after being sticky and crappy for a few weeks. Time to go talk to the shop, I guess. Though, I'm half tempted to wait until it dies completely before taking it in - easier to explain to the mechanic than "it felt funny so I took it apart to see why and..."


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> Went tubeless over the break...I don't know that I am realizing any great benefits...I did have a strange thing happen yesterday...Got four miles in and the rear was nearly flat.


That pretty much sums up my 1-1/2 year experiment with tubeless. I never get flats normally, but when I switched to tubeless I thought it was cool, but I had so many "strange" flats that I eventually gave up.

(And I'm not bashing tubeless, because I know that a lot of people love it. But for me personally, with conditions around here I get maybe 1 flat per year. With tubeless it was 10x that across my 3 bikes, and troubleshooting tubeless flats takes 5x as long as just throwing in a new tube (especially if you don't have an air compressor).)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Does anyone here NOT have Raynaud's? It's the Asbergers of commuting, I'm telling ya :lol: No offense meant, I'm a Special Ed teacher and we throw these kinds of things out there:nono:

I don't have it, I don't want it... but if I did have it, and especially after hearing TenSpeed's story, I'd be dropping the cash for some A'me heated grips, or heated bar tape. Seems like that and pogies would be the ultimate solution.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Left from work with temps around 7F and the rear tire felt to be at about 15psi. Got four miles in and the rear was nearly flat. Now, I wonder if it is due to the tire sitting on a heated concrete slab all day keeping the air inside a bit warm and expanded?


The fall in air pressure due to cooling is proportional to the absolute temperatures and pressures.

eg heated slab at 70f tire at 15 psi

70f+460f= 530 R

15 psi + 14.7 psia = 29.7 psi

Then cools to 7 F

So 7F+460F= 467R

Cold pressure = 467/530*29.7psia=26.2 psia

26.2 psia -14.7 psia= 11.5 psi


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Does anyone here NOT have Raynaud's? It's the Asbergers of commuting, I'm telling ya :lol: No offense meant, I'm a Special Ed teacher and we throw these kinds of things out there:nono:
> 
> I don't have it, I don't want it... but if I did have it, and especially after hearing TenSpeed's story, I'd be dropping the cash for some A'me heated grips, or heated bar tape. Seems like that and pogies would be the ultimate solution.


Wife and Daughter have it. I don't. Pogies are insulation just like mitts....when you lose blood flow all the insulation in the world is not gonna help...you need to add heat ie iron filings that react with the O2 in air....that means you have to remove them from the mitts and shake them up every so often to add O2. I suppose a battery heated boots or mitts would also work.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ finally someone gets it!! Pogies are great for riding, but they will not keep my hands warm from that cold bar. Heated grips are a possible option at this point but I am going to look into other things before that becomes a reality. Also not sure how much actual heat these generate or how long it will take to warm up after the bike sits outside for 8-9 hours.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

After a 5 hr ride in 20 degree temps in the mountains last month I got a pair of fancy insulated gloves, almost like the ones I used to use for snowboarding. Apparently my old liner + regular glove strategy can only get me so far. Not sure what you are using now but something like that might be worth looking into if you haven't tried it. Good luck and please be careful. After over a year of being told it was "just reynaud's" my wife got an echocardiogram the dr had said was "unnecessary" and it turned up some really horrifying ****. Just seeing the word has me reeling, I'm glad I didn't page back this morning.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ah there it is chinook hit -1C Sloppy Joe ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This whole pogie debate is silly. I've used oversized 100g thinsulate gauntlet style gloves with wool liners and my hands still get cold below about 10F degrees. I can use 40g thinsulate gloves with barmits and my hands are good to -15F (not much data below that) My commutes are over an hour in the winter and the bar has certainly chilled to the outside temp. I can undeniably say that every time I have tried them, bar mitts work better than gloves. 

I don't see any people that use the pogies saying that they don't work. Just sayin.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ahhhhh 6C now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> This whole pogie debate is silly. I've used oversized 100g thinsulate gauntlet style gloves with wool liners and my hands still get cold below about 10F degrees. I can use 40g thinsulate gloves with barmits and my hands are good to -15F (not much data below that) My commutes are over an hour in the winter and the bar has certainly chilled to the outside temp. I can undeniably say that every time I have tried them, bar mitts work better than gloves.
> 
> I don't see any people that use the pogies saying that they don't work. Just sayin.


Mitts work better than gloves or pogies...

But if there is no blood flow there is no warmth with any of them...once the Reynauds attack starts, insulation is not gonna stop it, and the attacks can start really warm.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Those who do not have Reynaud's simply will not understand how it works, what affects it, and what you need to do to prevent it. Not trying to start a debate or argument here, but Pogies for Reynaud's is simply like peeing up a tree. With Reynaud's, once your hand is cold, you are done. You could have a thousand Pogies on the bar, it will not change the fact that it is cold and there is little or no blood flow to your hand. In fact, Pogies would make it worse because as mentioned above, you have to constantly shake your hand to get the blood flowing back into it, which would defeat the purpose of Pogies, requiring you to remove your hand from the Pogie/bar to get it going.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Thinking on the bar warmer options, I will have a few dumb attempts at solutions in the next few days. The chemical hand warmer in a pogie for a few minutes before takeoff sounds like a good first attempt.

Borrowed a Wo from my LBS and test rode my campus commute today. Cold, snowy, windy with cars doing all sorts of acrobatic feats across the roadways. What could be a better trial by fire day for a fatbike? I was impressed, the fat flotation was sweet on the unshoveled sidewalks, but without studs the glossy bits were not much fun. This was my first ride on a fatbike and it lived up to everything I have been told, and a few things I hadn't heard. Busting 7 inches of new snow was more work on the Wo than it was an hour later on a Unit.

Now I see why so many people love their fat bikes. I just didn't find it much fun, too much like snowshoeing rather than cross- country skiing. So I ordered a 2014 Unit with Nicotines, that bike was fun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I don't get how Reynauds sufferers could possibly need less protection (i.e. no pogies) than other people. Yes, augment with handwarmer packs or whatever you need, but pogies offer real benefits in the cold to anyone.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> A friend and I got to do 17 miles of open lake skating on Sat. It was awesome!
> Activity Profile | Skating The Whole Lake!! near Raymond | Times and Records | Strava


Wow, quite a skate! I have never been comfy on skates for very long. Quite a few here are into the distance nordic lake skating with special skates, clubs etc., what kind of skates did you use?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> A friend and I got to do 17 miles of open lake skating on Sat. It was awesome!
> Activity Profile | Skating The Whole Lake!! near Raymond | Times and Records | Strava


That is simply awesome bedwards!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Today was going to be my first bike commute to work for this year, but I'm being a whimp. I have never commuted below 10°F, and when I let the dog out I realized that I'm just not ready for it. Kinda wanna work my way there.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

-24° C this morning and we still have a very thick ice coating on the streets and now with a layer of brown slippery snow since yesterday. I installed my 26x2.25 studded tire in the rear last night, I couldn't take the CX Pro 26x1.35 anymore, I had to ride ridiculously slow and painfully stiff just to avoid wiping out constantly. I still have the Marathon Winter in the front, but it's not as good as my custom studded mtb tires because it packs with snow very easily and doesn't bite as much as my other tires did.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow DavidC, We've got the same cold air mass over us.







That's -27C for those of you that use that other system.



mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, quite a skate! I have never been comfy on skates for very long. Quite a few here are into the distance nordic lake skating with special skates, clubs etc., what kind of skates did you use?


I just use hockey skates. I bought a really nice pair about 20 years ago and it paid off. I had them on for about 3 1/2 hours and they were still comfy. The ones they replaced had a 20 minute time limit. I'd like to try the Nordic ones but they are quite a bit less versatile so I just stick with these.

I still disagree that pogies won't help with Reynauds. The hand is still getting blood even if the fingers aren't. The #1 cooling effect is convective from the icy wind. The best advice I can give is start trying things to see what works best for you.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today, heck I don't even want to drive to work today. Currently 0F with a wind chill of -17F. The snow will start later and we should have 4-6" by tomorrow afternoon. As much as I want to take the fat bike to work in the snow and play around, the temperatures are just too low for me. That last ride really put some fear in me and made me re-evaluate my commute. I did pick up 5 packs of hand warmers at the store that rhymes with Rick's last night, one to keep in my car just in case, one for my jacket to have at all times, and a few for my messenger bag. They were .99 each and activate simply by opening them and the air activates them. I also picked up a Thermax glove liner from Seirus (I have one of their balaclavas and I love it). 

I appreciate everyones attempt at the help with the Pogies/bar mitts, etc. I think that I know what is best for my Reynaud's, and for now, that is being off the bike. I am going to check in at work and see if there is possibly an indoor storage option for my bike in the winter, even temporary if possible. If that were the case, I think that starting off at a room temperature bike with Pogies on would work. 

As I sit here typing this in my apartment, in my Smartwool socks, track pants, thermal biking shirt with another shirt on top of it and the space heater going aimed directly at me, my right hand is suffering from Reynaud's. Three fingers are going cold, and no matter what I do, nothing is helping. This is the stuff that I think that people without Reynaud's don't understand. Once they get cold, even a little cold, that is it, you are done. Nothing seems to help.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Rice bags are great at bringing the numb white fingers back around. Nice gentle comforting heat.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

You can pick up 9 to 12V silicon rubberised heating elements for about $10 each (a local electronics supplier has them, but god knows why it never drops below 70'F).
A lot of the lock on grips have a the gel on top of a thin hard plastic shell between the two lock rings you scrape it off, glue on the heating elements then wrap them with a padded roadie bar tape. I bet that would work coupled with pogies - the element would be insulated from the bar by the plastic on the grip so the steel / Al bar won't suck all the heat out. All you need is a battery to plug them in $60 ish cost in total as it would be worth going rechargable I reckon.
Or get battery heated motor bike gloves at about the same cost


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Just about an hour for my 8 miles this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, back up into the teens and twenties here in AK - with freezing rain forecast for today. Really? WTF? 

Wind in the valley, too. 24 sustained out of the NE with gusts to 34. First half of the ride was brutal with head and side winds on top of riding on icy surfaces. The second half was, well, exciting - tail wind downhill on icy surfaces. Oh, and I don't have studs...

Good times.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ we had a freezing rain warning yesterday, but thankfully it turned to snow. 

Hey mtbxplorer, you had a freeload pannier rack right? Do you still like/recommend it? I've got some annoyances with my old rack and new frame, and think a freeload (now Thule) might be the way to go. The reviews are all good, but they sure look rickety and unstable.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Coldest morning of the year, and I had to call in. My wife had a bit of a health scare last night, and is not feeling well today. I've been making pancakes, picking bath toys out of the toilet, and dumping puke buckets. Good times. Here's to hoping I don't come down with anything...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> Hey mtbxplorer, you had a freeload pannier rack right? Do you still like/recommend it? I've got some annoyances with my old rack and new frame, and think a freeload (now Thule) might be the way to go. The reviews are all good, but they sure look rickety and unstable.


The Freeload racks are not rickety at all, really stable. The weight limit is huge. That said, I did manage to break a plastic piece falling on ice (no pannier on it at the time). I glued it back together and it worked fine on my next trip. One of my trips was pouring rain all week and I learned that the webbing stretches a little when wet; luckily I had the tightener tool with me so it was not a big deal when it started to slip. Maybe it was me, but I found it kind of a pain to put on and take off; fine for an occasional trip, but if someone wanted to swap it on and off often, like between trailriding and commuting, I think they might be disappointed.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Coldest morning of the year, and I had to call in. My wife had a bit of a health scare last night, and is not feeling well today. I've been making pancakes, picking bath toys out of the toilet, and dumping puke buckets. Good times. Here's to hoping I don't come down with anything...


This is how you properly husband and dad at the same time. Hope everyone gets to feeling better soon!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> The Freeload racks are not rickety at all, really stable. The weight limit is huge. That said, I did manage to break a plastic piece falling on ice (no pannier on it at the time). I glued it back together and it worked fine on my next trip. One of my trips was pouring rain all week and I learned that the webbing stretches a little when wet; luckily I had the tightener tool with me so it was not a big deal when it started to slip. Maybe it was me, but I found it kind of a pain to put on and take off; fine for an occasional trip, but if someone wanted to swap it on and off often, like between trailriding and commuting, I think they might be disappointed.


Thanks. I just think that they look rickety, even though every review I've seen says they're great. And I wouldn't be planning on taking them on and off so no worries there.

Is the plastic thing that you broke one of the sideframes  (or do you have the sideframes, since I would definitely get them)?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes, exactly, the sideframe. I think that is why my glue job worked, there is not really a lot of weight supported by them unless you are crashing.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I don't get how Reynauds sufferers could possibly need less protection (i.e. no pogies) than other people. Yes, augment with handwarmer packs or whatever you need, but pogies offer real benefits in the cold to anyone.


What mitts have you tried?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Props to you guys dealing with the deep freeze in the northeast. That's cold! 

Now I want to skate a lake. I saw a cool youtube video from finland or somewhere where these guys were chasing fish around under their feet, the ice was so clear and perfect. That would be a hoot. 

I have some friends with a big pond on their ranch... took my kids skating during this last cold snap, and the ice was maybe 3 inches thick...very nice conditions, but we started hearing these shooting cracks blasting around at one point. Man, that will make your heart leap. Probably just settling, not many people had been on it, etc... it was plenty thick and was probably fine...but we got the heck off. :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> What mitts have you tried?


More like what kind haven't I tried? I would show you my glove bin but it would be embarrassing.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I am going to check in at work and see if there is possibly an indoor storage option for my bike in the winter, even temporary if possible. If that were the case, I think that starting off at a room temperature bike with Pogies on would work.


I have never ridden a bike in the winter that was stored outside, so I suspect you may be correct. Works for my much lesser case anyway.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> More like what kind haven't I tried? I would show you my glove bin but it would be embarrassing.


Well, maybe you can next christmas:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> I have never ridden a bike in the winter that was stored outside, so I suspect you may be correct. Works for my much lesser case anyway.


This is the trouble I am having....

I ride with Mitts, I haven't used the liners they came with but below -30C. at -25C, my finger tips might just start to feel the cold, so from -25C (-13F) to -30C(-20f) I will put on my summer gloves as a liner...

Yet everyone here as issues????

I don't get it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I think you're just an outlier, Jeffscott!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jeffscott, you must be blessed with some really warm hands. What kind of mitts do you use? I have some Garneau lobster style which are OK with liners into the single digits (F) but fall off sharply below about 5. I don't like the idea of not being able to grab the bar and the brake at the same time on the trails in full mittens.

I'm with MTXB, I've tried a LOT of gloves. All the ones rated for EXTREME COLD work pretty good down to freezing. The best ones I have were 10 bucks in a bin at Lowe's.



CommuterBoy said:


> ... but we started hearing these shooting cracks blasting around at one point. Man, that will make your heart leap. Probably just settling, not many people had been on it, etc... it was plenty thick and was probably fine...but we got the heck off. :lol:


I kind of like those sounds. They do get your attention but once you get use to them they kind of sound like whale calls.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Saw this posted on Facebook, and figured it was worth sharing (assuming the embedding works).

Trick-riding is always amazing, but I don't know that I've ever seen it done in high-heels before:

Post by Bikemap.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well, since it was expected to warm to 23°F today, I had my brother drop me off at my job with the bike and then rode home. Actually a pleasant 24°F with some gusty 25+mph winds. I'll take it.

So glad I decided to ride home instead of bus. Nothing takes the edge off of a day like a bike ride home.

Here's a blurry picture of the adorably goofy bike squeak toy/"bell" my bro got me for Christmas. I really only use it at the college or on the mup to alert people of my presence in a non threatening way. A dog on the off-road trails thought I was a chew toy, though...


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

temps in the negative teens C, 60+kph gusts.
first time I have ever felt the pogies weren't enough.
back seizes periodically in these conditions... sucks.
windblast just... sucks.
breath freezing to the stubble immediately... sucks.
very sucky day.


Oh, I have new goggles, Gordini with optics by Zeiss, very swanky! they didn't suck.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

My commutes have been spotty, but I've picked up since the new year. As some may remember, I was hit by a car on my way home in November just before Thanksgiving. I didn't get back on the bike until Dec. 10th. I suffered some decent bruising and aches, 3 bulging discs in my cervical spine, one of which is herniated with tear, and a serious temporomandibular joint injury. Some local cycling friends came together and helped replace the damaged parts on my daily commuter so that I could get back up and going again while my attorney and I deal with the insurance company and get the bike replaced. 

Today was good. It was really brisk for Florida, with a wind chill down in the 20's. I don't have clothing for that sort of weather, but I dropped into a lower gear and upped my cadence to stay warm. My usual rain jacket cut the wind perfectly, so the only things that really got cold were my shins (I don't have any pants I can ride in). 

I hope you're ready for me to start posting regularly, then. New years resolution was to hit 7,000 miles and 90% of work days commuted.


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## Gunnar-man (Mar 21, 2008)

Got a used Pugsley from a friend that I was commuting on this week instead of my normal commuter, since we have quite a bit of snow in Calgary. The recommendation of using ~5psi in the tires resulted in a veeeeeeeeeeery slow ride on Monday morning. By the time I got to the office, I was sweating like it was the middle of summer. That was with a -30c windchill.
Pumped the tires up to around 20 psi and that cut the commute time in half from Monday.
The pathways into work have been plowed and packed down enough today that I think the regular commuter with studded tires will be the best bet tomorrow.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Ah, took the recycling out, came back in to grab my pannier bag and of course by the time I got back out my glasses were all frosted. No big deal, I head into the garage to install my bag and camera, still not defrosting. Get out of the yard with the bike, try to wipe off the lens, turns out its iced big time. Had to throw them in the bag and ride without. Those without glasses don't know how lucky they are in winter


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We got colder again this week, but relative to most of your reports, still nearly tropical. Our lows were floating around the freezing point last week, now back down to upper teens, low 20s. Thinking about bundling up and making a motorcycle run to camp in Death Valley this coming weekend.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I've been making pancakes, picking bath toys out of the toilet, and dumping puke buckets. Good times. Here's to hoping I don't come down with anything...


Hang in there, sOck. Hope the wife perks up soon.



mtbxplorer said:


> I think you're just an outlier, Jeffscott!


:lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Texan, glad to see you are working out of it. It sounds pretty rough. I have 1 disk in my back that is never that happy which leads to a lot of chronic aching.



Gunnar-man said:


> The recommendation of using ~5psi in the tires resulted in a veeeeeeeeeeery slow ride on Monday morning. By the time I got to the office, I was sweating like it was the middle of summer. That was with a -30c windchill.
> Pumped the tires up to around 20 psi and that cut the commute time in half from Monday.


Oh, I hear you there. About midway through today's ride I turned onto the trails which were very lightly packed. I let a lot of air out (pugsley) to get as much float as possible, which worked. But the trails weren't ridable all the way to work. I was struggling to go 11mph down a hill that I usually cruise at 30 on a road bike. I'll be pumping them back up before the trip home.

It was nice to be able to hit a section of trail. Of course, it's snowing now so that might be over for a while.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I've been having trouble picking the "right" bike to ride in on. Most of my commute is cleared pavement but with a couple long sections of sketchy snow/ice. 35s are great for the pavement but suck on the ice, fat bike is great on the ice but sucks on the pavement. Maybe I need studded tires, but I imagine they'd wear out fast since I ride a lot of clear pavement.

I went with the 35s today, had to walk a small section where the bike was sliding everywhere. Pretty sure everything is going to thaw and freeze again today which isn't going to help.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And back down to -25C this morning. Since it's a friday I was honestly kindof hoping that the cyclist's coffee group would still meet (since people stand around waiting forever for the bus at these temperatures) but saner heads prevailed.

My "new" "trafficless" route to work starts with riding downhill for 1km, and it sure is rough when it's this cold. I ride 1 block, and I build up 0 body heat, and then I'm heading downhill. "Do I pedal more quickly to get to the bottom faster or do I slow down to cut the wind?" It is a couple of minutes of super unpleasantness.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Jeffscott, you must be blessed with some really warm hands. What kind of mitts do you use? I have some Garneau lobster style which are OK with liners into the single digits (F) but fall off sharply below about 5. I don't like the idea of not being able to grab the bar and the brake at the same time on the trails in full mittens.
> 
> I'm with MTXB, I've tried a LOT of gloves. All the ones rated for EXTREME COLD work pretty good down to freezing. The best ones I have were 10 bucks in a bin at Lowe's.


I have a pair of MEC mitts the have a light lining inside a water wind proof outer, the guantlet goes halfway up to my elbow. (pretty important). The mitts fit quite loose (massively improves dexterity, I brake and shift happily with the mitts on. They have a hollow fiber inner mitten as well.

Todays ride in -23C, about 40 minutes...(no liners just mitts), hands fine.

Lobster mitts are much colder and really don't improve dexterity.

Has far has hands go I have okay circulation, but over the years have nipped probably all of my finger tips, so no my hands are not super warm. (Think outdoor hockey).

The key to a warm mitt is large and loose, with a long guantlet. no lobsters.

The loose mitts allow you to use and one or two finger separatly.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Gunnar-man said:


> Got a used Pugsley from a friend that I was commuting on this week instead of my normal commuter, since we have quite a bit of snow in Calgary. The recommendation of using ~5psi in the tires resulted in a veeeeeeeeeeery slow ride on Monday morning. By the time I got to the office, I was sweating like it was the middle of summer. That was with a -30c windchill.
> Pumped the tires up to around 20 psi and that cut the commute time in half from Monday.
> The pathways into work have been plowed and packed down enough today that I think the regular commuter with studded tires will be the best bet tomorrow.


Yes it has been a long cold week in calgary except for Wed. I here you about low pressures...

Today I rode in 2.35 inch Freddie studs...the air in the rear was down since I last pumped it up, and of course the cold makes it even lower during the ride. The to add insult to injury the cold makes the tire alot less supple so for the increased flex due to the lower pressure, the loss of suppleness multiples the drag.

For sure skinny and studs are gonna be way faster than a fat bike.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> The to add insult to injury the cold makes the tire alot less supple so for the increased flex due to the lower pressure, the loss of suppleness multiples the drag.


And this morning I was definitely feeling that wonderful drivetrain drag that becomes apparent around -25C. (or I just didn't want to go to work)


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Haha, I had to ride downtown to the justice hall this morning, there has been a house fire on the main street that lead to the bridge so they had to close the entrance thus causing major traffic jam and very slow commuting for everyone, not to mention the continuous fresh snow fall since last night and yes, bikes were as fast as cars and as painful as cars to commute too, because the brown-sugar snow was blocking the path to ride next to any vehicle. At least I got away by using the small streets that loop back into inbound traffic (nobody use them unless they live there) and respecting all traffic signs and laws. Then added bonus, drivers are keeping their distance and give you room, just because they can't drive any faster than you without loosing control. I had one lady hunk me on a one way downhill after following me like if I was a car driving way too slow, when in fact she couldn't speed up and still had to wait at the traffic light with me 100' further. I guess she could use a bike ride and take it easy haha. Then a bit later an older driver was waiting to turn left coming from the opposite direction and instead of waiting for me to clear the intersection and for the pedestrians to clear the crosswalk, he just drove in front of me and got stuck having to wait for pedestrians to cross. Classic mistake, he got rewarded by a gentle kiss of my boot on his rear bumper. It's funny because everything is in slow-motion for cars today, so all the *****y or douchy driver's moves are hilarious when they can't go faster than 10mp/h xD

The temp went up from -12° C this morning to -5° C at noon, lots of slush and slick snow over the ice coating, but a few main streets are a real PITA to ride with studs due to the lack of ice and high rolling resistance of fully studded wheels and cars being abel to go >20mp/h easily.

Also worth noting, after riding the last 3 winters with homemade studded tires in the front and big lugs in the back, I tried a skinnier and slicker setup with the 1.75" Marathon Winter front and 1.35" CX Pro rear. So far, I'm having a lot of doubts about the Marathon Winter being superior to my custom studs for 3 main factors. First being the weight, above 1kg for the tire only vs ~700g for a similar volume/stud count/hardness custom. Then the short studs, despite their hardness and high count (240 carbides studs), they are ineffective on irregular ice surface and ridiculous if there's even the slightest layer of slick/loose snow over the ice or pavement. The only improvement I saw over my own studs were riding on bare pavement where the rolling resistance is minimal, or on hardpack snow. Third, the shallow tread depth and lack of lugs combined with hard rubber is turning the tire into a slick unless you're riding in slush or liquidish snow. It won't track well in deep slick or powdery and will have no traction at all on slick snow over ice or even soft ice/snow. Also higher retail price and small volume and stiff wire bead.

As for the advantages, they are clearly noticeable regarding the low rolling resistance (very fast for a 1kg tire with 240 studs !), slow wear of both the studs and rubber with very little rust visible, highly effective and desirable reflective sidewall strips, very hard to pinch flat even at super low pressures because of a sturdy sidewall, 1.75" width is actually more than enough, as good as a standard 1.95" Kenda department store type, nice square profile even on a 22mm inner width rim, good cornering on both pavement and rougher ground (which lacks most custom studded tires) due to short studs and wide studded pattern surface, no need for tire liner and added puncture resistance, inflate and seat very easily due to quality wire bead fabrication, durable and quality made that keep the tire looking and performing sharp for many years, optional stud replacement at decent price and easy to do. However, I really don't like the performance on snow, soft and slick ground, only on bare pavement and clean ice. I guess the Ice Spiker Pro would do better, but very expensive for commuting 5km a day. I kept it on for now, hopefully there'll be less snow on monday. Compared to a 112 studs (2 rows of 56), 2.1 folding, short lugs, 650g custom, the Marathon Winter rolls faster on bare pavement and handle better (mostly on cornering and heavy braking), but feels slick on snow and deep/bumpy stuff. Might worth working on a new custom design with shorter studs (3mm down to <2mm length), less volume (2.1" down to 1.9") and 4 rows (200ish studs) to improve cornering.

For the CX Pro in the rear, it's awful even without the ice under the snow. At best it excels in slush, but will not do even with a thin layer of slick snow or soft ice. At >400g for 26x1.35" and wire bead only, no reflective sidewall strips, is only advantage is a low rolling resistance with good bump compliance (soft sidewalls) even at 40psi. Would be perfect for commutes where nothing freeze, but everything is wet and sloppy. Switching to a big 2.25" mtb folding with 2 rows (120 ø4mmx3mm length) of studs and close to 1kg, it felt like I was slowing down even in a fast downhill on pavement and like I was in a 25% higher gear ratio right away, a bit less when riding on soft or slick snow. I does track and grip a lot more than even the Marathon Winter, but is a real PITA even at 30psi. It makes me wish for the CX Pro anytime I don't have ice/slick snow under the wheel. Could try to find a tire similar to the CX Pro to do custom studs work.

Overall, having to ride either on bare pavement or on full ice/snow on my commute, the Marathon Winter/CX Pro combo was a deception for ice/snow performance. I'll go back to praising my custom studded tires for real winter riding around here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> I have a pair of MEC mitts the have a light lining inside a water wind proof outer, the guantlet goes halfway up to my elbow. (pretty important). The mitts fit quite loose (massively improves dexterity, I brake and shift happily with the mitts on. They have a hollow fiber inner mitten as well.


These?: MEC Overlord Mitts (Unisex) - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available

I never thought about using fingers independently through the mitts. Maybe it's time to add to my glove drawer. I do have a little birthday cash I should spend on myself. Those new shifters I just bought for the Cross Check were a maintenance item


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> These?: MEC Overlord Mitts (Unisex) - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available
> 
> I never thought about using fingers independently through the mitts. Maybe it's time to add to my glove drawer. I do have a little birthday cash I should spend on myself. Those new shifters I just bought for the Cross Check were a maintenance item


Black Diamond Absolute Mitts (Unisex) - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available

Closer to these although this is not exactly right either....they have goretex in them and a fake leather palm....the loose soft mitt really does work for dextrity...

I like something that if the bike dies my hands are still warm....doesn't quite work with pogies.

I just bought some some XO grip shifters maintence item as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks! EDIT: Whoa, I didn't get that much birthday money!! 


jeffscott said:


> I just bought some some XO grip shifters maintence item as well.


Shimano 105 Brifters. The bar end shifters were crapping out (never did like bumping them with my knees in standing climbs) & the brake levers were too stumpy to grab in a bumpy emergency. The new lighter weight ergo bars were more of an indulgence but when the cockpit is getting changed anyway... 25 bucks an Nashbar, not a huge indulgence.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Got a first uneventful week of commuting under my belt for the new year. Did notice a broken spoken on my back wheel though, which means bike repairs already. That didn't take long.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have some friends with a big pond on their ranch... took my kids skating during this last cold snap, and the ice was maybe 3 inches thick...very nice conditions, but we started hearing these shooting cracks blasting around at one point. Man, that will make your heart leap. Probably just settling, not many people had been on it, etc... it was plenty thick and was probably fine...but we got the heck off. :lol:


As a rule of thumb, 5 cm / 2 inches should be plenty to carry a person - if it is hard ice and not frozen slush, or melting and becoming icicles on the bottom side. In cold temps, all sorts of tensions in the ice are possible and that can cause thin cracks. Usually, they are harmless but they can cause a big noise. The ice works like a drum skin, amplifying the sound.

If the water is flowing, all bets are off. A few winters ago, I was strolling on a frozen lake, covered with snow. Lots of people had gone before me on foot or skis - but then I started to look for a way to get on the nearby road. Through some reeds on the lakeside looked promising but I didn't realize that a small creek or ditch or something runs to the lake there. So, at some point I was knee deep in muddy water. The last couple of kilometers, going home, were a bit uncomfortable.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Well, my wife is feeling better, but now I feel like I'm coming down with a bug. Errrrrr...

I'm hoping I can make it to work Monday, but I highly doubt I'll be riding my bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Have not been on the bike since my last incident. Temps have not been above 11F since then either. Windchill warnings have just been too much for me to even try it. Temps should be warming up to an ideal riding temperature this week, and I will be back on the bike. It feels weird driving everywhere.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Thanks! EDIT: Whoa, I didn't get that much birthday money!!


Yeah I wear the mitts probably november through April geez 6 months they are on their third year....just starting to get some wear on the felt inside layer.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I heard a loud thud over hear in CA this morning on the way in... sounded like Bedwards crashing, but I could be wrong...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks like the fat bike will be out today. Got a few more inches of fresh snow and hopefully it is not too wrecked by the time I head in. Temps are still under freezing but the sun is out and that can cause a slushy mess. Will be trying out some air activated hand warmers tonight for the ride home as it is supposed to be pretty cold.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Fairly standard fare anymore. Mid 20s and no snow. 

Excellent ride over the weekend on the Iditarod Trail. Working on a post with pics over at my blog about it. Good times.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I heard a loud thud over here in CA this morning on the way in... sounded like Bedwards crashing, but I could be wrong...


Strava Stalker! Yeah, there was some unexpected, unseen ice on a hill. If I only had 1" studs all would have been well. It only hurts when I cough, sneeze or laugh.

The Candid Cyclist: Why is My Back Wheel Passing My Front Wheel...****


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ugh, you quoted me before I saw that grammatical error. Over "hear"? And I call myself a teacher.

I'm at the tail end of some bruised rib action from this one: 




Hope that's all you did and you heal up quick.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Ugh, you quoted me before I saw that grammatical error. Over "hear"? And I call myself a teacher.
> 
> I'm at the tail end of some bruised rib action from this one:
> 
> ...


I fixed it in my post.

That was a decent looking unplanned dismount from the bike at high speed at night. I'm surprised it was only ribs. I don't think I even did that much damage. Just wrenched things around a little.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Strava Stalker! Yeah, there was some unexpected, unseen ice on a hill. If I only had 1" studs all would have been well. It only hurts when I cough, sneeze or laugh.
> 
> The Candid Cyclist: Why is My Back Wheel Passing My Front Wheel...****


That dusted over ice on a hill is deadly, not ashamed to say I've walked known ice-under sections! Hope you heal up OK.

CB, that was pretty funny (your comment, not your vid, which I have not been able to view on my lame-o slow-mo internet tonight).


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> That dusted over ice on a hill is deadly, not ashamed to say I've walked known ice-under sections! Hope you heal up OK.
> 
> CB, that was pretty funny (your comment, not your vid, which I have not been able to view on my lame-o slow-mo internet tonight).


I wish I was as smart as you this morning. Riding all the way to campus spotty ice. No problem. I'm getting to the uphill that leads onto campus and I start slowing down and dismounting and I think "nah, it'll be fine". This, despite the fact that I know I'm going to lose all of my momentum, then need to pedal with some good torque to push uphill and that would cause me to slide out. Should've trusted my gut because physics is pretty consistent, at least over here, it is.

Long story short , I got a nice little kiss from the pavement on my cheek and chin to not so proudly display on my first day of my last semester of undergrad. Good thing that after three and a half years at the uni I don't have to worry about first impressions.

Another note. Pinned flats. Love them on the commuter. Perfect for my boots. It's a close second to being clipped in for me. Nice little stick to the bottom of my shoe.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great commute in, 22F and partly sunny. Roads were kind of a slushy mess after riding the nice hard packed MUP which was totally deserted. A quick stop in at the shop only to find out that my idea of bullhorn bars on the fat bike is nearly impossible. Headed back out to finish the ride and had to take a different route due to the bike lane being just about impassable even on my fat bike. It had not been plowed at all, and was covered in a slushy/snow/car snot/mix along with some ice. I ended up on the sidewalk for most of that part of the road. I hate riding on the sidewalk. More dangerous than the road if you ask me. Pedestrians darting out from houses and from between buildings. I took it slow on the sidewalk. Got into my old neighborhood which had not been plowed at all. That was interesting because I was all over the place. Nearly went down a few times but managed to catch myself. Coming into an intersection where the cross road had the stop sign, and the truck wasn't able to stop......he slid right through it, right in my path. I grabbed all of the BB5 disc brakes and tried to turn in the same direction as him hoping to not get hit. He did not hit me, and I caught myself as I went down, and twisted my back really bad. He didn't stop, just kept on going. Probably did not see the stop sign would be my guess. Back on the bike for the last mile and by the time I got to work and off the bike, I could barely walk. It still hurts after Motrin and Excedrin and stretching. Tuesday will have to be a car day to let my back recover. Damnit.

Ride home was 4F and breezy. Bought some hand warmers and gave them a trial tonight. They work pretty well. Will have to try them with my lobster gloves. I had them between a liner and the glove that I was using. I like how they would cool down a little, and then you just squeeze your hand or move them around, and boom, they warm right back up. Works nicely so they are not constantly warm making your hands hot. At $1 a pack, they will help me out and not break the bank.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey TenSpeed good to see you didn't have to take too many days off. Hopefully you won't need to take too many off after your spill. Your conditions sound pretty identical to ours last night. We had a bout 3" of snow yesterday that they mostly just sanded and salted then just before 5:00 they pushed it to the shoulder. Luckily we only had to ride that for about a mile they it was back roads and the lake. 

The lake was pretty awesome. The 3" of fresh snow made the ride across the ice nearly silent. There was a layer of snow below that had partially adhered to the ice so it wasn't' deadly as long as you made wide turns.

This morning's ride...Lightly packed cornmeal with ruts. Why do I do this to myself? I know the trails are shite but I take them anyway. As long as you didn't want to make any headway uphill or be able to steer downhill, all was good. The icy patch that took me out yesterday was some of the best riding today.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Not as windy as the ride home last night - 26mph out of the north gusting to 33. Good times. Still waiting for snow. Need me some dang snow...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> That dusted over ice on a hill is deadly, not ashamed to say I've walked known ice-under sections! Hope you heal up OK.


The real irony is when you get off and immediatly go for a ride cause the studs on your tires grip better than your shoes.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, 3 crashes in one day. Well, one of them from before I guess, but reported today anyway. Limp well, guys and continue to not break bones!



NDD said:


> Another note. Pinned flats. Love them on the commuter. Perfect for my boots. It's a close second to being clipped in for me. Nice little stick to the bottom of my shoe.


:thumbsup:


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

North of Boston, 14 F with a steady headwind. The nokian mount and grounds work great on frozen puddles and footprints. 18 miles this AM. All good except the gatorade slush. +1 on good steel pinned flats.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

David C, not loving the marathon winter? Try the nokian mount and grounds, 1.95 x 26 with 160 studs. The studs are offset from center and the tires have some good chunky v treads. For crappy conditions, I run then at 30 psi to flatten the tread out some. For better conditions, I use 40 psi. I ride a rockhopper with a front shock. Here in the Boston area we get a lot of freeze/thaw that leads to rutted and frozen bike path awesomeness. It adds about 10 minutes to my 18 mile commute. I l also run a nokian hakkaaplitta in 700 x 35 on my other winter commuter. I looked at the marathon winter, seems to be lacking tread.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Fairly uneventful which is good. I'm running non-studded Marathons and they can be an adventure when it gets icy. So far I've been okay at tracking my ride vs drive days, will see if I can make it part of the routine.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

About 14°F this morning and windy. All this cold and wind really saps my speed...and the fact that I need to inflate my tires (shh).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-10F for the ride in, goggles, winter helmet, pogies, etc., but I was actually colder on the *drive *home (about -3F) in a work car (for a.m. fieldwork) - that *%[email protected]*! Prius would not heat up right on the 30 minute drive. -15F overnight, so I hope it warms up better for my 90 minute drive to the work site. Yesterday's snow was not cleaned up very well this morning, I had to take the travel lane mostly, and had one a** dumptruck honk right when he was come up on me, I just about jumped a mile.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> The real irony is when you get off and immediately go for a ride cause the studs on your tires grip better than your shoes.


True!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

First commute for some time. It seems that since the accident, my body has fluctuated in its ability. One day I'm great and can hammer with the best of them, and then I'm done. Today was okay, but I'm still experiencing a bit of pain. Weather was beautiful, right at about 60 degrees with a strong head wind. Looking forward to this evening when that head wind is a tail wind.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Forecast was for light snow, but it was just cold and overcast.

I haven't seen many other bike commuters this winter. Last year I actually saw more people riding in the winter than when it was nice out, which I thought was weird. Of course I only see 3 other people on a regular basis.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Rode in yesterday and it was about 20F. We'd had a freezing drizzle fall the night before. I saw a kid fall as he was coming out of basketball practice Monday night so I knew the roads would be slick but the temps were supposed to hover between 20 and 30F all day. Not too cold and the ice that is there won't melt and refreeze.

Ride in wasn't too bad but I did consciously slow down a good deal. Especially on the many foot bridges and sharp turns often leading onto and off of them.

At 6:30 am I was the fourth biker to ride the path. I saw where one of the previous commuters wiped out as he was coming off a bridge and joining the path. You could see where the front tire washed out. Hopefully it wasn't bad.

About half of the trail had a fresh dusting of snow from Monday night and the ride was absolutely gorgeous! Like a postcard. Luckily it was only about 1/2" deep. The Nokians I ride on are great on ice but less so on snow. More than an inch deep and I am sliding all over.

I made it to work without incident.

The ride home was also great but it had just started snowing and I rode home through flurries. Not too bad and not more than 1/2 and inch accumulation but fresh snow is pretty slick so it added almost another 10 minutes to my commute. Small price to pay for not wiping out.

Tomorrow it is supposed to range from low 20's to upper 50's. I will be riding in for sure.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Jeffscott, you must be blessed with some really warm hands. What kind of mitts do you use? I have some Garneau lobster style which are OK with liners into the single digits (F) but fall off sharply below about 5. I don't like the idea of not being able to grab the bar and the brake at the same time on the trails in full mittens.
> 
> I'm with MTXB, I've tried a LOT of gloves. All the ones rated for EXTREME COLD work pretty good down to freezing. The best ones I have were 10 bucks in a bin at Lowe's.


Funny, the best pair I have came form Home Depot's $10 bin. Probably the same gloves. They are easy enough to operate the brake only levers on my commuter but are much harder to work the levers on integrated units.

I actually bring two pairs of gloves most days. the Home Depot specials for when it is below freezing in the mornings and a pair of full finger Harbor Freight, stink to high heaven, gloves for the evening ride when temps are 40 and above and the other gloves are to hot.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Took a dip into the upper teens this morning. Still doesn't snow here anymore...

Texan, I hear ya. I have experienced the same thing during recovery in the past. Over time the slow painful days become less frequent, and then you realize you haven't had one in a while, and then you instantly forget how miserable it was until you crash again. Rinse, Lather, Repeat.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

z1r said:


> Funny, the best pair I have came form Home Depot's $10 bin. Probably the same gloves. They are easy enough to operate the brake only levers on my commuter but are much harder to work the levers on integrated units.
> 
> I actually bring two pairs of gloves most days. the Home Depot specials for when it is below freezing in the mornings and a pair of full finger Harbor Freight, stink to high heaven, gloves for the evening ride when temps are 40 and above and the other gloves are to hot.


yeah I keep hering that then people say they have cold hands and buy pogies..

Mitts are warmest.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Taking a break from riding. It is just too cold and even though the sun is out, it is just bitter. When the high is forecasted for single digits, the bike stays parked. I applaud those of you who continue to ride in the colder temps. My hats off to you, seriously. I know what my breaking point is, and I have reached it. I guess that is smart so that I don't do damage to myself trying to appease rule #9.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> one a** dumptruck honk right when he was come up on me, I just about jumped a mile.


Time for a mirror?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Taking a break from riding. It is just too cold and even though the sun is out, it is just bitter. When the high is forecasted for single digits, the bike stays parked. I applaud those of you who continue to ride in the colder temps. My hats off to you, seriously. I know what my breaking point is, and I have reached it. I guess that is smart so that I don't do damage to myself trying to appease rule #9.


I actually did the same. The forecast was for -18F and I just wasn't feeling the love enough to go out and ride in it even though I have before and will again. Tomorrow is supposed to be relatively warm at 4F. It will feel like a heatwave.


jeffscott said:


> Time for a mirror?


Why, does that stop A-holes from blowing horns when they get right next to you?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. The wind has died down, but still no snow and weird temps. 37F at my house this AM. With the windchill around 26. I want snow!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

-4F this morning which is by far the coldest air temp I have ever attempted to ride in. Only made it about a half mile before I realized my rear derailleur wouldn't shift to harder gears. Of course, I tried down shifting to see if that freed it up, which then left me in my granny gear from which I couldn't get out of. So I turned around, packed the bike in the car and drove to work.

I'm planning to stop at the local co-op this evening on my way home to pick up some new cables, as I'm assuming that's the problem. They are old and haven't been replaced in 3 or 4 years of hard single track riding on this bike. Can extreme cold stop cables from working?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

If water enters the cable housing either directly or through melting snow, it can re-freeze and bind it up. New housings wouldn't hurt since you are having problems.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Monday was actually the first time I've been knocked off my bike by a car in 10+ years. Minivan pulled alongside on a sidestreet and then just moved over into me and pushed me sideways until I was at the curb. There was about an inch of snow on the road at the time but IMO weather and road conditions were not factors.

The entire mishap was at low enough speed that I stayed on my feet, but had to drop the bike in the snowbank, and I was far more irritated than scared. 

Would have made a fun headcam video for the interwebz, but I didn't have it on...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Why, does that stop A-holes from blowing horns when they get right next to you?


The way I read it, she was suprised by the truck?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

ghettocruiser said:


> Monday was actually the first time I've been knocked off my bike by a car in 10+ years. Minivan pulled alongside on a sidestreet and then just moved over into me and pushed me sideways until I was at the curb. There was about an inch of snow on the road at the time but IMO weather and road conditions were not factors.
> 
> The entire mishap was at low enough speed that I stayed on my feet, but had to drop the bike in the snowbank, and I was far more irritated than scared.
> 
> Would have made a fun headcam video for the interwebz, but I didn't have it on...


These are the stories that make me want something expendable and hard to throw. That and people who yell at or threaten riders. But I'm edgy and irresponsible lately.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Kleebs said:


> -4F this morning which is by far the coldest air temp I have ever attempted to ride in. Only made it about a half mile before I realized my rear derailleur wouldn't shift to harder gears. Of course, I tried down shifting to see if that freed it up, which then left me in my granny gear from which I couldn't get out of. So I turned around, packed the bike in the car and drove to work.
> 
> I'm planning to stop at the local co-op this evening on my way home to pick up some new cables, as I'm assuming that's the problem. They are old and haven't been replaced in 3 or 4 years of hard single track riding on this bike. Can extreme cold stop cables from working?


 Water is not your friend. Are you able to run full length housing? A much better option in nasty winter conditions.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> If water enters the cable housing either directly or through melting snow, it can re-freeze and bind it up. New housings wouldn't hurt since you are having problems.


Now that you mention it, this is probably what happened. I took this bike for a snowy singletrack ride on Sunday morning, then immediately hung it in the garage when I got home, which certainly would have enabled the melted snow to get into the housing.



leeboh said:


> Water is not your friend. Are you able to run full length housing? A much better option in nasty winter conditions.


The bike wasn't originally designed for it but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. A couple of zipties should do the trick.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> The way I read it, she was suprised by the truck?


Only because it honked. Dump trucks generally can't sneak up on me.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride after work was fun. Took off worth early and went over the bridge to surprise my wife and kids at my eldest's therapy office. He got a big kick out of it. 

Tomorrow morning it's supposed to be 55 with 10 mph head winds, and 60 something with 17 mph tail winds with gusts around 24 mph. Hoping to feel like a pro on the way home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

ghettocruiser said:


> Minivan pulled alongside on a sidestreet and then just moved over into me and pushed me sideways until I was at the curb. There was about an inch of snow on the road at the time but IMO weather and road conditions were not factors.


Damn! That sounds scary as sh1t- sure gald you weren`t squooshed in the deal! The "snow" threw me. For some reason I thought you were in the Philippines, had to check your profile.

Glad you had a good ride home today, Texan. Keep on rolling


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First commute back since being sick. I have worked the past 2 days but didn't feel up to riding. Usually bugs like this come and go pretty quick, but this one lingers for a while. My stomach is still not always quite right.

In other good news, I scored an almost new Serfas True 250+ on eBay for like $17 shipped (the battery cap was scratched, but everything else was pristine). It's not the brightest light, but it's good quality and worked perfectly on my way in this morning. Between an old PB Blaze on flash mode and the Serfas on high, I feel visible enough, and I can see where I'm going in the dark without blinding everyone, as I felt I was doing with my other lights.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Today was my first ride on my rebuilt (again) trek that I've had for I think over half my life now. I really like it, the drop bars / high stem stretched out the cockpit just enough, feels great. I'm hoping to use it the way people use long haul truckers and similar bikes. Which I kind of already did but now it has drop bars which feel more appropriate.

A few nasty ice spots I had to walk today (biggest one was on the closed bridge I cross) but other than that smooth sailing. Loving the warmer temps we're having lately, it truly does feel like a heat wave. Hoping it gets warm enough over the next couple days to melt away some of the ice, though I'm not sure the water would have anywhere to go...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> The way I read it, she was suprised by the truck?


I read that jack-off did it to get a rise out of her. Even riding with a mirror, if somebody pulls up next to me and lays on the horn it's startling.

I had no such problems today because my commute was mostly on snow covered trails. They've finely got some snowmobile traffic to pack them down and are riding better. Temps were substantially warmer than forecast. My legs still feel a little sluggish even after a day off. I think it's from rolling fat for the last 2 weeks.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The cable issue with my mtb yesterday was the motivation I needed to finally finish the hybrid that I bought in the spring and have been slowly converting to a drop bar commuter. Finally finished it last night and gave it it's maiden voyage this morning. 8F with a "feels like" temp of -5F and had very few issues. The bike worked great. The only issue I had was finding room on the bars where the lights wouldn't be obscured by the cables/thumbie shifter. Also, I think the seatpost was slipping a bit, but I can adjust the collar before heading home tonight. 

Had to walk a section of the commute today. The metroparks staff didn't clear the footpath that crosses the freeway so it was 4-5 inches of stale snow. If i was on the fat bike it would have been fine, but I wasn't so I walked. It was nice to be back on the bike!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in today? Sorta. Swapped over to my egg beaters last night as it wasn't forecast to get under 40F overnight or today and the 400gram winter boots - a bit warm in those temps. So I got up this morning and, indeed, it is in the 40s at my house. And raining. Light rain, not enough to warrant full rain gear, but enough to ensure that my water resistant clothing items would be wetted out by the time I got to the bus. This isn't Portland or Seattle. This is Alaska. It shouldn't rain in January! WTF? 

A bit windy up in the valley again as well. Last night was 18 MPH, this morning about the same. Just enough to drive the rain into my face. 

Town was decent riding. The roads were a touch slick given that it rained over night, but the MUP was awesome tacky riding. Good grip and a generally fast conditions - I think I made the short route in just a touch under 12 minutes. Not a bad pace on the fully loaded fatty.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> ...This isn't Portland or Seattle. This is Alaska. It shouldn't rain in January! WTF? ...


Blame the wobbly polar vortex. Whenever AK is in a warm spell the US seems to be below normal. We haven't been above freezing even for a minute since around Christmas if memory serves. We are supposed to get a 40F January thaw on Sun-Mon and then it's back to our normal winter temps.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Blame the wobbly polar vortex. Whenever AK is in a warm spell the US seems to be below normal. We haven't been above freezing even for a minute since around Christmas if memory serves. We are supposed to get a 40F January thaw on Sun-Mon and then it's back to our normal winter temps.


Wobbly wobbly. The funny thing is I am generally okay with the temps - it makes it much more enjoyable to be out there for hours and hours riding around. I just wish we had more snow. I guess, though, I won't complain and I'll just deal with what we've got. It just means I have to drive a bit to get to trails that do have snow - This weekend I'm thinking of heading up to Willow AK to ride a bit of the Iditarod trail that the sled race is held on each year.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I'm having a decent start to the year as far as commuting goes, 4 days a week on the bike and 1 day in the car for the first 2 weeks. Wouldn't mind if the temps got above freezing so I could take the cx bike out instead of the SS. My cold weather clothes always want to go into the drivetrain on my cx bike.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Standard commutes this week. High 30s in and high 50s to low 60s home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> A good ride in today? Sorta. Swapped over to my egg beaters last night as it wasn't forecast to get under 40F overnight or today and the 400gram winter boots - a bit warm in those temps. So I got up this morning and, indeed, it is in the 40s at my house. And raining. Light rain, not enough to warrant full rain gear, but enough to ensure that my water resistant clothing items would be wetted out by the time I got to the bus. This isn't Portland or Seattle. This is Alaska. It shouldn't rain in January! WTF?


I tried to send you some snow via rep, but it says I most spread it around first.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good ride home at 11 F after a few feeble work-car attempts this week. First one car's tire went flat in my dooryard, so I didn't dare take it any further than the tire shop (so no ride home or in to work). Then yesterday I couldn't open the key cabinet and it was already 6:15pm, so I ran down the hill through the woods for the bus instead so the dogs could be let out quicker. Ran for the bus again this morning so that I could ride home...phew. Putting off that fieldwork until next week, who knows what would happen if I tried another car tomorrow. The car flat that I took in to be fixed (1 hour wait), was flat again today!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

36°F on the way home. Feeling like a heat wave. All next week is supposed to be warm, too. Huh. I just wish the night commutes were the same temp as the morning ones so I didn't have excess clothing. 

Finally used one of the tool kit work stands they installed on campus. I actually park the bike next to it every day, just in case. But the cable on my front der kept going slack (friction shifters) so I tightened the screw where the lever is held onto the down tube. I really appreciate how quiet the single speed setup is once it's set up right.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I tried to send you some snow via rep, but it says I most spread it around first.


It is the thought that counts, though, so I appreciate that and am willing to take anyone's extra snow off their hands. PM me and I'll give you the address to ship it to 

Good, fast ride in this morning. Left later than normal given that I normally don't come in on Fridays and that I had to get my oldest on the bus to a ski meet in Fairbanks. Got to town and had other cyclists to contend with. Unfortunately, I fear that my riding style may have been construed as CAT6 racing, but I was just feeling on my pace today. Passing the guy on his Surly Disc Trucker, though, did make me feel a bit faster than normal...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Friday morning coffee again with the other cyclists, and temps just nicely a little below freezing.

From the coffee spot I take my old route to work, and of course some ******* in a cayenne has to try to right hook me as I dismounted to cross at a cross walk. I was sooooooo close to pushing my studded front tire into his rear fender as he drove past, but I didn't, but I should have.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TGIF, I skipped the trails due to their softish condition, my tired legs, my over sleeping and a few stops for pictures. It was a pretty morning out there:The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Been lurking, riding when I can...

Random Moose Detour:









Random Creek Overflow, yes, its January and 40+ degrees...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^The detour looks advisable! Great pix Jordy and Bedwards. It was particularly pink here this morning as well. The ride in was good and close to 20F I think. The ride home was 7F and dropping, with a stiff breeze that fortunately was mostly a tailwind, or at least not a headwind. Overall, people were ruder than average and the roadways have been cleaned up poorer than average. Pretty slow, an hour for my 8 miles with lights and a stop at the bank. The crazy sideways whiteout snowsqualls fell while I was at work, bad enough to draw people to the windows, to see...nothing.


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

Shitty ride to work at 5am couldn't find my gloves my hands were frozen couldn't even feel my brake handles


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Warm this morning, and a tail wind pushed me right along. Probably my fastest commute in a few months.

BrianMc, are you tuned in? We haven`t heard from you in a while.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> BrianMc, are you tuned in? We haven`t heard from you in a while.


Turned on, and dropped out, too! 

Headed out in a bit. Warmer here. Rode yesterday and had angina right off the bat. Sux. A nitro pill settled it. High BP issues have kept me off the bike a lot lately.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Great ride home yesterday and today. Yesterday, it dawned on me that I have two 100+ mile rides in the coming months, and I've completly forgotten about training. So, yesterday, I took the long way home of 18 miles. Did the usual 12 mile route home today, but both were really cranked up in intensity. 

Weather has been beautiful lately. It's a shame we'll be leaving Florida soon, but I'm looking forward to hills and a change of scenery.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Not quite dead yet*

It got above 50 today but with 20-30 mph winds. Was about 10-12 mph outbound and 20-22 coming back. Proof that I rode:






Boring, I know. No single track. I forgot to stop down the exposure, but I liked that tall shadow straight ahead of me racing me home. Also happy they are keeping the speeders in check and I was not the person feeding the bears today.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

An unseasonal warm day here, 42F by the time I got to work. Things were melting, but the roads were mostly dry. New cockpit setup on the fat bike is like night and day. Very happy with how it turned out. Felt very comfortable yet aggressive enough to keep me happy. This frame might be a smidge on the small size for me, with my super long torso and super short legs. 

Ride home was windy, wet roads, icy back roads, raining snow, and the MUP right outside my complex was a sheet of ice. The snow melted off the top, exposing the skating rink underneath. I had to walk it most of the way once I got to that short path. Made up for it by attempting to ride a bit of single track behind the complex. That was a slushy mess that had me battling to keep the bike going.

I know that I complained a lot about the Specialized Defrosters that I got, but after having worn them a bit now and finding the right socks....they are nice. I tested their waterproofness? tonight walking in ankle high snow. Feet were dry as the desert.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Headed out in a bit. Warmer here. Rode yesterday and had angina right off the bat. Sux. A nitro pill settled it. High BP issues have kept me off the bike a lot lately.


Oh geez, sorry to hear, take care BrianMc!



BrianMc said:


> It got above 50 today but with 20-30 mph winds. Was about 10-12 mph outbound and 20-22 coming back. Proof that I rode:


Nice! I would not look forward to battling those winds in such an open area.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cheers, Brian! Good luck keeping your BP on check. The short gaps in your rumble strips look handy!

And good luck on your early season training, Tex. I take it you`re getting ready to move permanently from FL?

I don`t think we`ve gotten into the 50s lately, but on the low end we`ve been dandy. Haven`t dropped below freezing in a week or so.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> And good luck on your early season training, Tex. I take it you`re getting ready to move permanently from FL?
> .


Yeah, we moved to Florida 3 years ago looking for a better opportunity than what I had at the time in TX. We said we would give it a year, and see what happens. Well, now we're in a position to go back home. The company I work for approved my transfer to a thriving service center with the opportunity for more money. We'll be closer to family, and I'll finally have some hills.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice! I would not look forward to battling those winds in such an open area.


Yes, home is in a wooded area of creek valleys and about 2 miles in a straight line from the video at a 30 degrees to the right. It is almost always a shock to discover how windy it is away from windbreaks. This was a rare ride where it was into my teeth out bound and straight behind inbound. Gusty crosswinds that vary over 45 degrees or more are a real handful on this stretch.



rodar y rodar said:


> Cheers, Brian! Good luck keeping your BP on check. The short gaps in your rumble strips look handy!


They have some poorly placed/missing gaps in places. Two in particular require my moving into the right lane. Worst case, I ride through the strip. The padded gloves, bar tape, and the SOMA tires make this less excruciating than the Panaracers with the Kevlar belts even though I am using 28's instead of 32 mm. That shake up can require a fender or light adjustment afterward, though. It feels like the eyeballs are still bouncing.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kind of messed up today. All paved paths were just a half melted slush fest with ice underneath. Skipped those and crossed the railroad tracks and rode the rocks alongside the tracks. One side of the tracks looks it has been travelled by vehicles of some sort, so there is more than enough room if a train came by. Did about a mile and some change of that and then got into a neighborhood. Wind was blowing pretty hard and I had to work for the miles today unlike yesterday. It was a nice 34F when I went in. 

It is about the same temperature now, and was snowing for the ride home. The roads had a fine dusting of semi frozen ice pellets from the half rain half snow that we got earlier in the day. Once I got down by the campus, I opened it up. Strava had me at 25.1 mph on the fat bike at one point according to my app. I don't know exactly how accurate it is, but I was moving. Two college girls walking on the sidewalk said "holy sh*t Mr. Bikeman, you go!!" It sounds like a monster truck rolling down the road when I ride by. People do look because they hear me. The MUP was frozen enough to ride home and the crunching of the tires on the ice seemed like it was going to wake the dead. 

I have been quietly recording most of my commutes on Strava. Some things that I found interesting, and some annoy me. I don't want to become a Stravhole, but the temptation is very hard. 

1. My times. I am not racing anyone, but I see these segments that I ride, and my position on the board, and I am disappointed. Granted, the conditions and the bike are not ideal for fast times. I know the KOM of most of them, he manages the bike shop down the street from me. He is very very fast. I won't catch him.
2. There is a whopping 33 feet of elevation on my commute. Most of you probably climb that before you leave your neighborhood. 
3. I get annoyed when the GPS doesn't lock onto me, and I get to work or home, and it recorded 0.0 miles.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^
1. I'm about 1/2 my summer speed on a lot of segments riding my winter bike in winter temps with winter clothes on winter roads.
2. Wow, flat. My commute this morning reported 554ft
3. That is especially annoying if you are feeling speedy and push to beat your time on a segment.



Texan-n-Fla said:


> Yeah, we moved to Florida 3 years ago looking for a better opportunity than what I had at the time in TX. We said we would give it a year, and see what happens. Well, now we're in a position to go back home. The company I work for approved my transfer to a thriving service center with the opportunity for more money. We'll be closer to family, and I'll finally have some hills.


So are you going to change your name?

I avoided crossing the lake today because we had rain and a 2 day January thaw. My guess is that there is 6" of slush on the lake. It was a good chance to take a different bike anyway.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Don't worry, Ten, that's about what my elevation change is, too. Sometimes I go take detours that I consider to be hilly, but they really aren't in the grand scheme of things, which I guess means I'm a big baby


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## iamJ4R0N (Nov 7, 2012)

Worried about segment times during a commute? Shesh..

Just enjoy the ride, man.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

iamJ4R0N said:


> Worried about segment times during a commute? Shesh..
> 
> Just enjoy the ride, man.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


This.

Now, granted I'll use my rides home as training rides for endurance things that I like to do, but I don't get upset if I don't hit PR's or take KOM from someone. I can't expect to overtake someone who is fully kitted and riding an aero bike when I'm wearing baggy shorts, a t-shirt, and a backpack.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

iamJ4R0N said:


> Worried about segment times during a commute? Shesh.


Not that there is anything wrong with that.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

We have a few guys down here that ate insanely fast, and it's a humbling experience for sure. I think the best thing for using Strava aa a commuting tool is to shoot for PR's when you get the chance. I had my KOM taken the other day by the owner and founder of SeaSucker, and that's cool. We've got a few junior national champs running around, and a few Cat 1-2 crit guys. No way in hell will I ever catch them, but that's not the point. The point is to better myself m


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I hear ya, I dominate my little commuter loop but only because it's just off the beaten path of the local shop group rides. If I ride segments that are closer to the city I don't stand a chance. But it doesn't keep me from trying. So, are you going to change your moniker when you move back to Texas (my birthplace BTW)


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I don't know how, but yes, if I can, I will. I go by commutingtexan on a few other forums, so maybe I'll go with that.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

very cautious ride in this morning

4C overnight temp 


This is the second major snow chinook cycle.

We have about 4 inches of ice or car snot with ruts on the residential roads.

This morning it was wet and glaring...

Just about came of the bike 4 or 5 times....ruts with ice.

A couple of places if I would have stepped off the bike I would have gone down instantly...

Thank god for studs....even old worn out studs.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This is the exact reason I didn't want to use Strava. MapMyRide had me in a much better position as far as being fast LOL. Oh well, I am really using it to track my mileage, and I love that you can add multiple bikes since I have three that I use. I know that being on a fixed gear will severely limit my top speed and my times for some of these segments, and I realize that. Might have to add that into my name if I can figure out how to. 

I also have been documenting all rides, fun and commutes on a Google document that I constantly update, which is good for when the app doesn't record my ride. It will be interesting to see the breakdown at the end of the year between bikes, and which one accumulated the most mileage. I do know that once the warmer weather hits, the fat bike will become idle.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> Don't worry, Ten, that's about what my elevation change is, too. Sometimes I go take detours that I consider to be hilly, but they really aren't in the grand scheme of things, which I guess means I'm a big baby


I am going to change my route today slightly and see if I can get to 50 feet LOL. There is a hill right after one of the turns that I take. I can add this to my ride. I call it a hill, but when you only have 33 feet of elevation change, a small hill becomes a mountain.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. I didn't ride at all this weekend. Didn't do much of anything. Not sure how I feel about being completely lazy, but it is what it is, I guess. 

Looking forward to some good rides this week, though. And hopefully something fun this weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I am going to change my route today slightly and see if I can get to 50 feet LOL. There is a hill right after one of the turns that I take. I can add this to my ride. I call it a hill, but when you only have 33 feet of elevation change, a small hill becomes a mountain.


Someone here commented that all my videos looked flat. They could not see hills. My "hills" are actually valleys caused by waterways and some long low grades as in the latest video. So they don't stick up on the horizon, At 173 feet min to max elevation, and a number of 30-50 foot valleys to ride down and climb out of. My defunct computer system did not record cumulative elevation climbed. I have no where near as flat as your situation. No foothills of the Rockies either.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> It got above 50 today but with 20-30 mph winds. Was about 10-12 mph outbound and 20-22 coming back. Proof that I rode:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I took my SS out for a road ride yesterday in similar weather. The wind was brutal on the way home. I wasn't sure I would make it up one of the climbs that is over a mile long and has a couple steep sections. It's difficult enough on a geared bike, but I had to really muscle my way up that thing. There are few flatter sections that would usually allow for gaining some momentum, but the wind zapped all of that.

Ride in was great. The sun was just thinking about coming up and the horizon was a nice purple. Ride home looks to be just as good weather-wise.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Eh, I'm in Florida. I have to do a century to reach 300 ft elevation change. Although, planning out my new commute in a few months in Texas, I'll have an elevation difference of almost 800 ft in 10 miles. Gotta love Hill Country.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Freezing rain overnight, but a full week of melting ahead.

I'm not sure why it took so long for fatbikes to take off here (3 years ago there was basically 1 in town, as far a I could tell), but there are finally enough that an LBS is putting on a triple-crown race series over the winter, and saturday was the first race: 





(I was riding my only-slightly-husky bike elsewhere)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I had never even another fatbike in the wild before I did The Moosebrook Fatbike Race last year. I'm signed up to do it again this year on my very husky bike. Maybe this year I'll actually see mtbxplorer there.  Based on the weather we've had lately I'm guessing that it will be plenty icy. At least I have partially studded tires this year.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

A bit icy this morning but fine.

40 minutes before time to pack up and leave and I realized I never charged my lights for the ride home. Luckily I don't really need them to see where I am going for the most part so I can run them on flashing if needed.


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## iamJ4R0N (Nov 7, 2012)

Finally had a morning commute with temps above 50F. I know it sounds nice compared to other people's but for me, is chilly.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Ha! Hey we all have our tolerances. Just takes some getting used to is all.

We are having an odd heat spell here. Not stoked because I know it's gonna get cold again...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Added the hill in today to my ride. Went from 33 feet to 35 feet of elevation according to Strava. I don't know if I can handle this type of climbing.  And now many of you know how and why I can ride a fixed gear to work.

Ride in was decent, over did it the last mile or so before I got to work. Had to sit down inside and catch my breath and let the lightheadedness pass. Ride home was a bit windy, and the MUP is still a mess of slick ice and half melted slick ice. Rear tire slid out on me but somehow I managed to keep it going and ride it straight out.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

NDD, weren't you telling us how much you longed for cold, cold and more cold a few months back? If I am misremembering, I am sorry.

As much as I cuss the snow and slush around here, it may have saved me today. I was building up a good head of steam on one of our more serious hills when I pulled the rear brake lever and it came clear back to the handlebar. The cable had slipped free and I was free falling at about 30 mph. The melty, custard- like stuff plowed up at the road side grabbed my wheels and brought me to a stop as I fiddled with the front brake lever (which still worked) to force the tires to bite in rather than glide over the stuff. I don't want to do that again.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I might want to try Strava one of these days. But first I have to buy Strava receivers for all the kiddos I see on Barney and Dora bikes on my commute route so I`ll have somebody to beat.



Texan-n-Fla said:


> I don't know how, but yes, if I can, I will. I go by commutingtexan on a few other forums, so maybe I'll go with that.


Not sure how it`s done, but others do it, so it must be possible. Ask our former NateHawk (don`t remember what he changed to) and I`m sure he`ll tell you how he went about it.



TenSpeed said:


> And now many of you know how and why I can ride a fixed gear to work.


I`m sure being flat makes the difference from multi-speed to fixed less drastic, but it doesn`t give you the same weather conditions every day. If I lived in Flat Stanley`s home town I might go to a single chainring, but I`d STILL have a rear derailer!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Rustedthrough said:


> NDD, weren't you telling us how much you longed for cold, cold and more cold a few months back? If I am misremembering, I am sorry.


Hmm, maybe. My memory is crap. And I do wish it would be cold, and stay that way a while. 55 one day and 24 the next isn't exactly ideal for me. It's all about getting used to it for me


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I wore shorts and short sleeves on the way home last night because it was 55F. I felt naked out there (and white), but I'll take it. It looks to be similar weather again today, with a ride in about freezing and a ride home in the 50s. I might have forgotten my shorts at home though, so I might be sweating in tights...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Temps are starting to go back down to where they should be around here. 19F this AM and 24F last night on the way home. Nothing too exciting on the commute. Took a later bus last night and it went quick and I did have a little bit more traffic to deal with on my short on-road segments, but not bad. I'm not sold on taking the later bus as that puts me to the valley bus stop at 6:10 with another 15-ish home. Makes the time at home before sleep quite brief.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Not sure how it`s done, but others do it, so it must be possible. Ask our former NateHawk (don`t remember what he changed to) and I`m sure he`ll tell you how he went about it.


Good to know! I'll give it a go once the move has taken place. This mornings commute was good. Chilly in the 40's, but nothing too bad. Had grocery bags on my feet, which do an amazing job at cutting the wind. Wind was calm, and I had wanted to do a 27 mile beach ride before work, but I couldn't get up in time. Maybe tomorrow.

Thinking I'll change up the route home this evening. I've got one that is 18 miles of good straight segments and few traffic lights, so I can bump my average speed up and get some training in. In May, I'm riding from Ft. Pierce Beach starting at sunrise, and ending on Anna Maria Island at sunset. Only place I can think of that you can ride water to water in a single day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Is that about 170 miles? Miami to Naples would be shorter if you can avoid the gators. Not much help along the way probably. 

I had my first non-fat trail commute this winter. I'd give the trails a 7. The lake was a little "sketchy". The recent rain left about 3/4" of ice over 4" of water over plenty of thick black ice. But you couldn't see the black ice so it kind of felt like you were going through every time the top layer gave way. This condition didn't present until I was in the middle. Tomorrow should be better with tonight's temp in the low teens.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Not sure how it`s done, but others do it, so it must be possible. Ask our former NateHawk (don`t remember what he changed to) and I`m sure he`ll tell you how he went about it.


There is a whole thread on the topic!

http://forums.mtbr.com/site-feedback-issues/change-mtbr-com-user-id-737083.html

(NateHawk is now Harold, see above thread...)

Edit: rodar, I was thinking of changing mine to rock y rodar...what do you think


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Good to know! I'll give it a go once the move has taken place. This mornings commute was good. Chilly in the 40's, but nothing too bad. Had grocery bags on my feet, which do an amazing job at cutting the wind. Wind was calm, and I had wanted to do a 27 mile beach ride before work, but I couldn't get up in time. Maybe tomorrow.
> 
> Thinking I'll change up the route home this evening. I've got one that is 18 miles of good straight segments and few traffic lights, so I can bump my average speed up and get some training in. In May, I'm riding from Ft. Pierce Beach starting at sunrise, and ending on Anna Maria Island at sunset. Only place I can think of that you can ride water to water in a single day.


Do you live near Ft. Pierce? Ex's father in law lives in Vero Beach and I have been there a few times. You mentioned Ft. Pierce and I immediately knew where that was.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm in Sarasota, but before moving back home to Texas, I'll be doing the sunrise to sunset ride following the Old Florida Cracker Trail.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Hey everyone! I haven't posted in a couple months. I haven't been on a bike in 1.5 months due to many reasons. I had Shingles, Norovirus and 2 colds over the past 6 weeks, plus some other more serious illnesses in my family which are still ongoing. That combined with the cold weather and difficulty getting motivated in the morning when it's cold and dark out, I haven't been riding. Excuses, I know...

Well I finally rode in this morning. Taking the SS was a mistake, my legs weren't ready for it, but I made it. I put on my snow tires last night because it rained over the weekend then froze. I noticed a huge crack in the sidewall of one of my Nokians which have been ridden no more than a couple hundred miles. I emailed Suomi, but I'm not expecting much. 

Hopefully I'll be back on the bike at least a couple days a week!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Sounds like a rough few months Straz - hope you and the rest of the fam pull through OK.

I don't know how you guys do these flat rides - I need downhills to give my legs a break!

Had to leave the bike at home to thaw yesterday after I got caught in freezing rain Sunday. Back on it today, a few sections of ice left on the paths but nothing terrible. I'm thinking about trying this pop rivet method of studding my tires though Pop Rivet Ice Tires for Your Road Bike - looks like it may be easier, and the tires I run on my commuter don't have big enough knobs to really support a screw I don't think.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

__
https://flic.kr/p/qSRvAD

Yup. Ice.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Back on the bike after a three day weekend. Just a normal and nothing special commute. Did finally air my tires up. What a difference 20 psi makes.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Good commute home. Took the long, fast route home. It's 18 miles, but takes me the same amount of time as it does going 11.5 miles through town. Almost got taken out about a mile from the house by someone who decided to pass WAY too close with oncoming traffic. Their side view mirror came inches from my bar, and I immediately dodged right to give myself more room. I tried catching up with them at the light about a half mile down, but as soon as I started rolling up to say something the light turned and they accelerated hard. I can only hope it's because they saw the error of their ways and wanted avoid confrontation from a guy who just got hit by a car two months earlier. 

Speaking of, I have another MRI Thursday of my lumbar, and possibly right shoulder and hip, depending. I'm just praying that we can get some sort of answer out of the insurance company soon, because so far, they've been completely uncooperative with my attorney's office. 

Hoping to wake up early enough to do the long fast route into work. Gotta get my fitness level back up for May...


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

For those of you who might be interested, this is the route we'll be riding in May. If you're in Florida, feel free to join in. SAG provided.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Feeling good in this 40 degree weather tonight. Rode the mtb since the ss is still brakeless. Unfortunately, I looked at my shadow under a street light riding home and realized I need a new chain. The tension is visibly slack. Meh...

As I was pulling away from the bike rack on campus some lil' prick decided to smart off. Keep in mind, I have a bright yellow jacket with reflective tubing, a similar helmet, front light, back light, and since it was only cool and not cold, I had some thin gloves that are black and reflective orange (which is actually pretty cool for hand signals). It's kinda over the top, but I like being seen on the roads. Actually, I feel like I want more lights some times. 

Anyway, I'm starting to pedal and this dude says in a really snarky tone "Safety first" and then giggles to his buddy. I didn't have anything nice to say, so I didn't say it. Unless calling someone a vapid f*ck is nice now... Over the top, right? But that's what came to mind. Anyway, I wouldn't feel like arguing with anyone who obviously has zero perspective on commuting any other way than by car.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Also, Tex, that seems like a pretty wicked ride. Have fun! My brothers and I are thinking about something similar in the Missouri Ozarks.


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## Biggie (Dec 11, 2004)

woodway said:


> There is a whole thread on the topic!
> 
> http://forums.mtbr.com/site-feedback-issues/change-mtbr-com-user-id-737083.html
> 
> ...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Only place I can think of that you can ride water to water in a single day.


Punta Abreojos, BCS (Pacific) to Santa Rosalia, BCS (Sea of Cortez) is 184 Km according to Google maps. Sunrise to sunset makes it tougher, whichever one you do!



bedwards1000 said:


> The recent rain left about 3/4" of ice over 4" of water over plenty of thick black ice. But you couldn't see the black ice so it kind of felt like you were going through every time the top layer gave way.


Unless I misunderstand (and I don`t think I do), you have a thick layer of ice on your lake, with 4" liquid water over it, then a thin layer of ice on top of that? Far out! I didn`t know that condition was possible.



woodway said:


> Edit: rodar, I was thinking of changing mine to rock y rodar...what do you think


Cool. Or if that one is already taken, maybe you can get NateHarold


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Pop-rivet studs might be the solution to my lack of mild studded 26er woes- will think about that one.



Straz85 said:


> Hey everyone! I haven't posted in a couple months. I haven't been on a bike in 1.5 months due to many reasons. I had Shingles, Norovirus and 2 colds over the past 6 weeks, plus some other more serious illnesses in my family which are still ongoing...
> ...Well I finally rode in this morning. Taking the SS was a mistake, my legs weren't ready for it, but I made it.


Welcome back. I could have told you not to start off with SS!



NDD said:


> Also, Tex, that seems like a pretty wicked ride. Have fun! My brothers and I are thinking about something similar in the Missouri Ozarks.


Similar to randonneuring. If you`re interested:

Randonneuring - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RUSA: Randonneurs USA


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A beautiful morning yesterday, a few pics from the pre-commute snowshoe with the dog...


























The ride in was nothing to write home about, with a bit of a headwind and an excess of poor passers, one of which passed too close and then kept veering toward me while alongside. I thought it was going to be a right hook as we were near the corner, but he was either not paying attention or just being a jerk.

The ride home was nice. Thanks to lots of green lights (I think I only got 1 red) and a slight tailwind, my time approached that of the normal warm weather commute, despite the studded tires, 10F, etc.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Number 4 FTW


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Unless I misunderstand (and I don`t think I do), you have a thick layer of ice on your lake, with 4" liquid water over it, then a thin layer of ice on top of that? Far out! I didn`t know that condition was possible.


That was it. The lake froze solid, then it snowed, then it rained and flooded the top, then it re-froze. All better today since it was <10F this AM. There may still be a layer of water under the ice but I wouldn't know it.

Took the fatbike today for the start of my 3 day winter-bike shootout experiment.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I slept in... I swore up and down last night that I would be up and going to do a nice long ride before work. And instead, I stayed in bed so long that my wife had to take me to work.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I slept in... I swore up and down last night that I would be up and going to do a nice long ride before work. And instead, I stayed in bed so long that my wife had to take me to work.


That was almost me today as well. I just closed my eyes for a few minutes, which turned out was actually about 40 minutes. Managed to hurry myself around the house and get on the bike this morning. Looks like they are calling for snow for the ride home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. The weather men are predicting that winter might actually come to Alaska this week. Today we were at 6F when I left my house. Anchorage is a bit warmer in places. 13F where I get off the bus, but colder in others, 4F along the creek. A bit of a shock to the system after the temps we've had to this point. 

On the ride home last night I had a nice little spill. Making a righthand turn I hit a bit of slick ice and went down. The accident wasn't bad overall. Just a touch sore, but not bad. Broke on of the buckles on my pannier, but again, nothing bad. The worst part was that a car was coming in the opposite direction as what I was turning and when she saw me start to go down, she slammed on the brakes. The sound of locked up studded tires skidding on the roadway sent chills up my spine. It's good she did hit the brakes, though. I didn't slide much, but the bike did almost cross the centerline. Good times.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^My back is still sore from my not so bad spill last Monday. Glad you or your new bike didn't get squished by a car.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Glad you're okay, man.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Good to know! In May, I'm riding from Ft. Pierce Beach starting at sunrise, and ending on Anna Maria Island at sunset. Only place I can think of that you can ride water to water in a single day.


If you include the Great Lakes as 'water', there are a number of spots this could be done. There is also Vancouver Island, Nova Scotia, PEI, Long Island, Manhattan, Montreal, Britain, Ireland, the list is likely very long.



blockphi said:


> On the ride home last night I had a nice little spill. ... I didn't slide much, but the bike did almost cross the centerline. Good times.


Paraphrasing good landings: Any spill you and the bike walk away from is a good one.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

In the US, and coast to coast, I should clarify.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> That was it. The lake froze solid, then it snowed, then it rained and flooded the top, then it re-froze. All better today since it was <10F this AM. There may still be a layer of water under the ice but I wouldn't know it.


We get that every spring....The lake is frozen with snow on top....The snow melts, the melt water goes down and sits on top of the ice (I suppose it gradually freezes down there). Then at night the top will freeze up into a crusty snow layer....

As you ski along over this layer it will sometimes fail, and leave you standing in a foot of water with snow on top....

Absolulety terrifying, cause you think you have broken through the main ice layer and are on the way to swimming...

The wet pants help cover up anything embarassing that may have happened.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> In the US, and coast to coast, I should clarify.


Michigan has both east and west coasts (lower peninsula, Lakes Michigan and Huron) and north and south coasts (upper peninsula, Lakes Superior and Michigan) that should be doable at one or more points. There is Long Island, in fact a lot of islands like some in Hawaii, that would meet the criteria. Still, point taken that is somewhat unusual and if you add subtropical, then it is likely unique in the continental US for the mainland.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Across Michigan in one day on a bike? That is a hell of a ride. 240 miles wide at the widest points. You are looking at about 225+ miles or so. Sun up to sun down? That's gonna be a pretty impressive pace I would imagine. You would have to do it west to east with the wind at your back.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My own commute was a non-starter as my dog that was so good yesterday took a flyer, after a deer I presume, on our morning snowshoe. The gps tracker showed he got .63 miles away in the woods before turning around, and by then it was too late to ride. The groomer had been by on the snowmo trail and it was totally smooth and hard packed, would have been a crazy fast trail ride (had I gone in late), but I only got my snowshoes on it.



rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Number 4 FTW


:thumbsup:



bedwards1000 said:


> Took the fatbike today for the start of my 3 day winter-bike shootout experiment.


Looking forward to that report.



blockphi said:


> On the ride home last night I had a nice little spill. ...and when she saw me start to go down, she slammed on the brakes. The sound of locked up studded tires skidding on the roadway sent chills up my spine. It's good she did hit the brakes, though. I didn't slide much, but the bike did almost cross the centerline. Good times.


Yikes, sounds scarey, glad you are OK. Also, I loved the labeled "ICE" trail pic!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

We've had a couple days of freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw, and then last night it cooled off a bit which solidified everything up. So the ride in this morning was pretty slick.

But then this afternoon we got freezing rain - and wow. I don't know how slippery it actually was since I wasn't pushing it, but the world should not be this reflective. And taking the dog for a walk when I got home, she kept slipping out all over the sidewalk.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This "winter" has been crazy. I use the term winter loosely. Unsure if I will commute tomorrow with this weather. Hovering around freezing and freshly packed down side streets make it just dangerous. Finding the right tire pressure for the fat bike is very hard to do. The right pressure for dry streets is not the same as it is for snow and ice covered roads. Low pressure on dry roads and the bike feels sketchy like the tire might just roll right off the wheel. High pressure on hard pack snow makes it feel like a skating rink.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Taught bible study tonight, so my ride was to the parish rather than home. Nice easy ride, didn't overdo it, and it was nice and quiet, which is always appreciated. Took my fenders off, since it looks to be dry for the next week or so. They only take a few minutes to slap on, and I don't see a reason to constantly run around with them if it's not raining. Switched my Camelbak Mule over to my larger 30L hydration backpack. Needed a little more carrying room, especially for tonight. Plus, I'd rather have an empty backpack and have the room to carry what I need to carry than not have it at all. Especially when the pregnant wife calls on my way home to ask to pick up her latest craving. Last night it was homemade tacos, so I had to figure out how to fit tortillas, stuff for pico, some salsa verde, sour cream, and other necessities. Better safe than sorry.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Across Michigan in one day on a bike? That is a hell of a ride. 240 miles wide at the widest points. You are looking at about 225+ miles or so. Sun up to sun down? That's gonna be a pretty impressive pace I would imagine. You would have to do it west to east with the wind at your back.


Who said anything about doing it at the widest point? Google Maps indicates that Rogers City or Cheboygan to Petosky looks doable and the biggest issues the lack of roads and quality of them maybe? The distance is no issue to do in half a day in the UP and a day in the south. A couple of numbered routes there do the trick if they are rideable. I have driven across the width and the length of Michigan numerous times. I am aware of its size. Coast to coast in a day is possible. You just have to pick the right route.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Go big or go home!!! Do it at the widest point! If you go narrow, that is the same as riding across the pan handle of Texas and claiming that you biked across the state of Texas. NOPE!!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I think Key Largo would be the easiest place to go "coast to coast"


jeffscott said:


> Absolulety terrifying, cause you think you have broken through the main ice layer and are on the way to swimming...


Yup, even knowing full well that there should be a foot of ice down there somewhere it is a very uncomfortable feeling. I was mostly able to shuffle along with the bike trying to equalize my weight between it and my feet. Good practice for the real thin ice emergencies. 


mtbxplorer said:


> My own commute was a non-starter as my dog that was so good yesterday took a flyer, after a deer I presume, on our morning snowshoe. The gps tracker showed he got .63 miles away in the woods before turning around, and by then it was too late to ride. The groomer had been by on the snowmo trail and it was totally smooth and hard packed, would have been a crazy fast trail ride (had I gone in late), but I only got my snowshoes on it.


Too bad, the trails sound as perfect as they have been here.


mtbxplorer said:


> Looking forward to that report.


 One more bike to ride. 
Here's a preview: Yesterday's ride was fun on the fatbike but today's ride was even funnerrer. The trails around here are pretty darn perfect if you have studs.


TenSpeed said:


> This "winter" has been crazy. I use the term winter loosely. Unsure if I will commute tomorrow with this weather. Hovering around freezing and freshly packed down side streets make it just dangerous. Finding the right tire pressure for the fat bike is very hard to do. The right pressure for dry streets is not the same as it is for snow and ice covered roads. Low pressure on dry roads and the bike feels sketchy like the tire might just roll right off the wheel. High pressure on hard pack snow makes it feel like a skating rink.


There is no one right tire pressure for a fatbike, unfortunately. What's good on trails and snow sucks on roads. I usually try to compromise for my commutes since I'm on both and too lazy (or late) to get off and adjust them.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> There is no one right tire pressure for a fatbike, unfortunately. What's good on trails and snow sucks on roads. I usually try to compromise for my commutes since I'm on both and too lazy (or late) to get off and adjust them.


True 'dat. Most of the time I keep mine really firm because the trails are so packed and the valley portion of the ride is generally on pavement, even in the winter.

Good ride in this AM. Got to see some really stunning Aurora against perfectly clear skies with some great stars out. Beautiful. The weather report calls for 5 to 12 inches of snow overnight, starting around 4 this afternoon with more snow forecast for Friday and Saturday as well before we drop into a deep freeze on Sunday and Monday. I'm looking forward to that if it actually pans out. Right now in town the skies are clear, but I do see a huge fog bank over Cook Inlet, so some moist air is definitely pushing up.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Warmed up (?) overnight to 45F. So the roads are all pretty clear, but the mups are like curling rinks, and my dog was still all over the place this morning. Hopefully today will be sunny enough to burn some of this stuff off.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

In a word, _messy_.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Quote Originally Posted by Texan-n-Fla: "Only place I can think of that you can ride water to water in a single day."



TenSpeed said:


> Go big or go home!!! Do it at the widest point! If you go narrow, that is the same as riding across the pan handle of Texas and claiming that you biked across the state of Texas. NOPE!!!!


My original post was because I thought that there were other places to ride coast to coast unthought of by Texan-n-Fla and I thought that the answers provided some for fun and a geographical teaching moment. My claim that you can do that in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan was based solely on the condition of riding coast to coast. I contend they still do.

No claim was made By Texan-n-Fla of riding across Florida at the widest point. In fact, that would be from say, St Augustine to just past Pensacola. That is about 400 miles and not doable in a day in daylight by bike. So are you suggesting he go home because he isn't going big enough? Obviously not. That would be rude.

So where did you get the concept that my solution to coast to coast requires riding the widest point of Michigan? I provided a means to do ride coast to coast in Michigan. Sure, there is a bit of corner cutting to do so, but that is part of the fun in my proposal. I see absolutely no reason that you get to add extra conditions and ruin a fun solution.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Too serious man, you are wayyyyy too serious. 

Anyway, no commute for me today. Just not in the cards. Maybe tomorrow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Never sure if linking to facebook will work or not, but someone posted this last night, and it was pretty much my commute:

Post by Shane Gaboury.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Cool! While I miss seasons, and cold, and snow, I thank God I don't have to deal with that. I can only imagine driving...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Pretty good. 30-35°F. Today as I was pulling away from the bike rack some dude that TenSpeed would describe as "ass deep" in his phone made a random turn from his direction as I was passing him. I almost hit him and he got all huffy about how I almost hit him.

Get over it. Get off your phone. Ugh. Blargh.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

+1 rep for remembering that I said that.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

It was one of those phrases that I might say is "right up my alley "... Wait does that sound weird?


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

First real commute on ice on the Unit. I got home with much more faith in single speed than I had imagined, and an unshakable faith in these noisy tires. I will still be going 1x9 for the rest of snow- tire season, but I am not giving up my Nicotines until Lent.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ where are the pics, already?!?


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Pics? Who, me? I'll get some up next week after we add the gears, for now it is stock except for the tires and tupperware, and an Axiom front fender I stuck on today but didn't photograph.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> It was one of those phrases that I might say is "right up my alley "... Wait does that sound weird?


 LOL

This commute concludes my "Winter Bike Shootout" 
The Candid Cyclist: Winterbike Shootout: Fat Vs 6er Vs 9er

mtbxplorer, RollingRunner and I will be looking for you on Sunday. Don't avoid us like last time.:skep: The weather compared to last year is looking relatively awesome.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today makes my first "perfect" week of the year. Drove one day a week for the first two weeks because of weather. Had to earn it this week on Wednesday when it was cold and wet and snowing.

So far the bike is winning with 13 commutes vs 2 for the car. Pretty happy with that for the "off season".


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Cold feet this morning but the $30 tights from amazon seemed to work well enough down around 20. May need to get a new pair of hiking boots, or just put clipless pedals on my commuter so I can wear my lakes.

Paths were clear for once, so I can forget about tracking down all the stuff I need for DIY studding for a while. Or not, there's a good bit of snow in the forecast tonight that will probably clog them back up for a while.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL
> 
> mtbxplorer, RollingRunner and I will be looking for you on Sunday. Don't avoid us like last time.:skep: The weather compared to last year is looking relatively awesome.


Ha, I was right there next to rollingrunner cheering you (and others) on after I completed my lap - only I did not know it was her, or you with all that stuff on. And you were probably still out suffering in the cold and wind by the time I had my chili and left. I was thinking of bailing this year as I haven't put in too much trail time or climbing, but I've been leaning toward going after a fun ride last night.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, why not. You're only signed up for the 8 miler. Send me a PM to let me know if we should be keeping an eye out for ya.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Will do! Should see you there with my commuter green helmet and anno blue Fatback!

Commutes were good today 10-23F, and a major traffic enforcement push tonight on my route with 3 cars pulled over within 1 mile, unprecedented!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL
> 
> This commute concludes my "Winter Bike Shootout"
> The Candid Cyclist: Winterbike Shootout: Fat Vs 6er Vs 9er


Great report. Funny how rides can feel so different in effort and surefooted-ness, yet only come down to a 5 minute time difference. Does this mean we really only need 1 bike?!?!


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

^ One bike and a back- up, for when the one is in need of repairs, or when the roads are really clear and a road bike is called for. Even having made that N+1 argument, my commute on the Unit with snow tires is within the Bedwards observed range of 5 minutes difference from my theoretically faster fair weather bike under fair weather conditions.

Bedwards, thanks for the "shootout." I am seeing the inverse between a 26" Raleigh rigid mtb and the 29 inch Unit. The Winter Marathons on the Raleigh are great for patches of ice but not great for snow and slush, while the Nicotines on the Unit seem to offer limit-less grip. I am willing to believe that 26" is the better platform, I just want to see a shootout with comparable tires.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold and windy. Pretty sick of this thaw - freeze - thaw - freeze cycle that we are currently in. MUP closest to me has been plowed and salted, but there is still a good part of it iced over. The second one I have not checked since I am pretty sure it is still a skating rink. The closer one is in a county park so it gets maintained quicker and a little better. 

Got buzzed by two *ss bags in a Ford Focus, not once, not twice, but three times. I passed them because I had the lights timed just right. Couple of real d-bags in the car, could tell just by the way they were acting. I also got salmoned near campus, by a car. They flew around me only to have to almost slam on their brakes for a stop sign. I was going close to the speed limit. Not sure what that was all about.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Uneventful commute. Good luck to the fat racers this weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Great report. Funny how rides can feel so different in effort and surefooted-ness, yet only come down to a 5 minute time difference. Does this mean we really only need 1 bike?!?!


Nonsense!



Rustedthrough said:


> ^ One bike and a back- up, for when the one is in need of repairs, or when the roads are really clear and a road bike is called for. Even having made that N+1 argument, my commute on the Unit with snow tires is within the Bedwards observed range of 5 minutes difference from my theoretically faster fair weather bike under fair weather conditions.
> 
> Bedwards, thanks for the "shootout." I am seeing the inverse between a 26" Raleigh rigid mtb and the 29 inch Unit. The Winter Marathons on the Raleigh are great for patches of ice but not great for snow and slush, while the Nicotines on the Unit seem to offer limit-less grip. I am willing to believe that 26" is the better platform, I just want to see a shootout with comparable tires.


Tires are probably most of it. Although the higher center of gravity, larger overall heel diameter that the studs get spread out on and further distance to fall are considerations.



rodar y rodar said:


> Uneventful commute. Good luck to the fat racers this weekend.


Thanks, we'll go tear it up.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Threw a rack on my bike this evening to get some old work uniforms back to work. Don't want to waste a ride by car just to turn in ten old uniforms.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy and cold again. MUP that is further from me is a sheet of ice. I rode in some plow tracks that are actually in the grass off the MUP. Cut into the neighborhood to avoid the rest of it. The wind was just kicking my butt today for some reason. New bar ends and stem setup are pretty good. Ride home was somehow windy as well. Used the chemical hand warmers again since the wind chill was near zero. These things work pretty well for me. Adjusted my route home to try to add some elevation.....was happy when I saw that I had a new accomplishment on Strava...was not happy when I saw that I was 108/125 on a new segment for me.....back by about 7 minutes compared to the KOM. This is what I didn't want to think about. Damnit


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Awkward standoff this morning. A driver at a stop sign was creeping out into the road where was trying to make a left turn. It seemed that every time I tried to go, the driver would start moving again and positioning as if they were going to cut me off. The driver was almost entirely in the road. I still feel a little hoarse from yelling. Maybe it was overkill, but I didn't want to get hit and I'm a bit on edge this morning since my son decided to wake up at 4am again and scream until it was time for me to wake up (4th morning in a row doing this). Errr...not sure what to do about my son, but I'd advise cars from doing anything stupid. Or else... :incazzato:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Oh, I was running my new Radbot 1000. I know it's not a newest light on the market, but it was pretty cheap and is brighter than my PB Superflash, which probably 7 years old now. I like the zZz Pop pattern. I am trying to figure out the best way to mount my Superflash to my backpack, so I could run it steady in the morning.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Cold, wet, and windy this morning. Checked the weather and it said nothing about rain, but not even 5 minutes in, it started coming down. I was completly caught off guard, and made the next 10 miles soaked to the bone. Pisses me off... I'll be fixing it when I get home tonight, making sure that something like this doesn't happen again. 

Sock, how old is your boy?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Sock, how old is your boy?


22.

Nah, just kidding. 18 months.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> 18 months.


Oh man, could be any number of things. Hopefully it calms down soon. Although, I get up at 4 am, so it's not a huge deal.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Snowy.

I'm just south of the really bad stuff that's supposed to be rolling in. Be careful up in the Northeast.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

No ride for me today as I'm recovering from an active weekend. Took a spill on Saturday falling off a teeter totter at Ray's so I'm a bit sore and most of my right arm is bruised. I'll probably be back in a day or so.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this morning. A bit chilly - 0F at my house and -1 in town. Last night before bed I recorded -11F at the house and was expecting the worst. Not too bad overall. Got the layers just about right. The hands are still a bit of a tricky bit. I'm using a thin Outdoor Research liner glove with a chemical warmer covered with the OR waterproof covers, covered with Black Diamond Guide Glove outters and that seemed to work okay for the first bit of my journey. After the bus, though, not so much. I think the liners were damp, so even with the chem warmers, my fingers got a bit chilled before they started to warm back up - just before getting to the office. 

Yesterday I took an 18 miler in fresh, dry, powdery snow and temps in the low single digits. Awesome time. Wore the same hand system and didn't have any issues at all. Got home and my buff was frozen to my hair and my hood was frozen to my buff and the inside of my outer layer of pant had a nice rime of frost. I love me some winter!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey Sock - my youngest is 22 and he still screams, but it's usually when he wants money 

I got squeezed against a curb by a frigging metro bus this morning. Had to hop onto the sidewalk. I had a few choice words for the driver (he ignored me). I'm going to send a note into the bus agency since I got the bus number and combined with the time/place will let them identify the driver.

It's supposed to be 60 and sunny here in Seattle this afternoon. Sorry to point that out to the folks in the Northeast. Good luck to you all.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Still above freezing here this morning, and the ~2 week long warm spell is going to last a few more days. I think we've had more rain this winter than snow. Roads are clear, the grass is bare in a lot of spots, and the singletrack is sheer ice. Looks like it will be a fixie-week for me.

Good luck to the folks in the NE.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Reminds me of Bill the Cat:









I have one nerve left in my body, and you are standing on it!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Oh man, could be any number of things. Hopefully it calms down soon. Although, I get up at 4 am, so it's not a huge deal.


Yeah, he sleeps well other than this one new issue. 4am is too early for me. Say...do you babysit?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Going fixed here myself today. Roads are dry and clear and so are the bike lanes. MUP's are not, so getting out to the main road will be a bit tricky.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Great report. Funny how rides can feel so different in effort and surefooted-ness, yet only come down to a 5 minute time difference. Does this mean we really only need 1 bike?!?!


Yup and some stratetgic spare parts, and a workstand.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yeah, he sleeps well other than this one new issue. 4am is too early for me. Say...do you babysit?


Sure. I've got three of my own with another on the way. I'm sure one of them could keep the little tyke company.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm getting pretty sick of hearing about all this snow in the east.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm getting pretty sick of hearing about all this snow in the east.


Yeah, cut it out you guys!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, cut it out you guys!


Hell no, keep it up. Snow in the east is just where it belongs


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CC-VT220W | CATEYE

Picked up one of these for stupid cheap today at my LBS. It was the last one they had and I was kinda looking for something backlit. Interested to give it a good run this afternoon when I get off work. Have to meet up with the wife at the super giant mega store to run some errands. Unfortunately, my shoes are still soaked from this morning, so I'll probably wrap some grocery bags around my feet for the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm getting pretty sick of hearing about all this snow in the east.


They are not forecasting how many inches we are getting, they are forecasting it in feet, FEET I tell ya! The media snowstorm hype machine is in OVERDRIVE! Figures since all they've had to talk about for a week very slightly flat footballs.

For me it means I am taking the truck tomorrow. Knowing this, I rode today after the fatbike race yesterday since I knew I'd have a few days off. That was a bit of a mistake. I'll post up a race report in a day or so. I saw MTXB there too


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Knowing this, I rode today after the fatbike race yesterday since I knew I'd have a few days off. That was a bit of a mistake. I'll post up a race report in a day or so. I saw MTXB there too


I had the same plan today, until I remembered I had to pick up a 104 pound labrador retriever on the way home. So I drove, the legs got a rest, and then of course the dog's owner's flight was canceled. We are only getting 1' here max, be careful blizzardiers!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well it must have been warm enough for long enough here. Smelled a skunk on the way back tonight. Didn't miss that smell.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had the same plan today, until I remembered I had to pick up a 104 pound labrador retriever on the way home.


The picture in my mind of you wending your way up the hill with a lab on the bike is a grin maker!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good uneventful commute here today.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Didn't commute home, but I did meet up with my wife for dinner about 14 miles from the office. Changed clothes in a gas station parking lot because they wouldn't unlock the bathroom. It was gorgeous out, too. Just enough chill to feel it in your lungs, but not enough to make it hurt. Got on the leader board on two Strava segments on the way there, which means I'm getting back up to where I was prior to being hit by a car in November. Glad to see my abilities coming back, and just it time to really start training for the cross Florida ride. 

Found out my light is interfering with my wireless bike computer, so there's that. I have both pushed all the way to the tape on my bars which seems to be working. Might pick up some conductive shielding tape that we used to use on guitars and wrap my light with it. Not sure what else to do, really.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

FAST!!! Took the fixed gear since it was clear, sunny, and for the most part dry. It felt sooo good to just pedal and go and feel like you were getting somewhere. Missed my first KOM by 8 seconds tonight on the ride home. It is 12° out currently and I am in full gear. Let it get warmer out....I think I might be able to get at least one. 

Tomorrow is forecasted for the same, only colder for the ride home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> Hell no, keep it up. Snow in the east is just where it belongs


It belongs here too! That`s why it bothers me- they keep rubbing it in!



BrianMc said:


> The picture in my mind of you wending your way up the hill with a lab on the bike is a grin maker!


With the fat bike? Hmmm... yeah, that does paint an interresting picture. I had visions more of bici-skijoring.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Our landlord at work, a large insurance company, is applying to the League of American Bicyclists to be considered a bicycle friendly business. One of the steps is to survey everyone. The questions were tough...What has the business done to promote cycling?... Ummm, there are a few bike racks I guess. It will be interesting to see if the application process results in positive changes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No commute for me today. We're havin' a wicked blizzard (in case you hadn't heard). I needed a rest day anyway. My legs were like stumps both ways yesterday but I knew I'd be driving today and tomorrow.

I did put together a race report from Sunday's race. 
The Candid Cyclist: Moose Brook Fatbike Race 2015


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hey bedwards, looking at your bike comparisons I was wondering how much distance your lake crossing saves you?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It saves a mile or 2 depending on the route. I have a shorter hilly way around that is about 10.5 miles or a longer flatter way around that is 12.5. Over the lake is about 8.5. I'm afraid that passage will be closed at least until the snowmobiles get out and pack it down this weekend. Even then it will be hit or miss. By the end of today there will be between 0" and 48" on it. It's blowing snow like mad.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Lacking snow.

They were calling for 6-8 inches overnight, we got nothing. Ended up being a pretty decent ride, roads were clear and had a slight tailwind.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Newish commuter

Young girl on a towny equipped with studs .... spins along pretty good...and all dressed up for work.

We will see how cold she lasts...supposed to cool off next week


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not upset that this blizzard missed us. Hope all that are in the northeast are doing alright. Sunny and similar to yesterday, should be a good ride in.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. 2F at the house. 5.7F and light snow in town. 

I am surprised at how easy it is to forget what works and what doesn't in terms of layering and getting dry with the bus portion of the commute in between the rides. Last night I was damp on the way home and hung up my gloves to dry on the way to the valley. Got there and rode about a mile before I had to swap the gloves because the liners were just damp enough that the 4 below temps were causing my fingers to completely freeze and go numb. The more I think about it, the more I really think pogies might just be the ticket. I just don't know how they'd work with the bus situation. The only time I don't like riding is when my fingers are cold. That just sucks.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this AM. 2F at the house. 5.7F and light snow in town.
> 
> I am surprised at how easy it is to forget what works and what doesn't in terms of layering and getting dry with the bus portion of the commute in between the rides. Last night I was damp on the way home and hung up my gloves to dry on the way to the valley. Got there and rode about a mile before I had to swap the gloves because the liners were just damp enough that the 4 below temps were causing my fingers to completely freeze and go numb. The more I think about it, the more I really think pogies might just be the ticket. I just don't know how they'd work with the bus situation. The only time I don't like riding is when my fingers are cold. That just sucks.


Big floppy mitts


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BliZzard. OMG! There was like 1/4" of snow on the ground this morning.

Actually the road was kind of slick in spots, but not bad. It's actually starting to get light on my ride in, even on cloudy days like today. I kind of like riding in the dark, but it will be cool to catch the sunrise more consistently (if we ever see sun again).


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

In the 'burbs of Philadelphia, PA. 

We were lucky enough to escape the giant blizzard that was supposed to happen. Got about an inch of snow. Real powdery stuff. Mostly slush on the way into work. As a bonus, not much traffic out. I guess a lot of companies closed today? Rode in on the studded tires just in case it was icy out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> ... Got there and rode about a mile before I had to swap the gloves because the liners were just damp enough that the 4 below temps were causing my fingers to completely freeze and go numb. The more I think about it, the more I really think pogies might just be the ticket. I just don't know how they'd work with the bus situation. The only time I don't like riding is when my fingers are cold. That just sucks.


I had no problems with the pogies regularly riding the rack on the front of the bus (12 miles, up to 50mph).


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had no problems with the pogies regularly riding the rack on the front of the bus (12 miles, up to 50mph).


The problem is that my bike goes in the bus, with the handle bar slid in between the driver's seat and the partition wall with one end out in the aisle. I think I'll chat up my LBS and see if he will loan me a set for the day to test with and just see how they work out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was just starting to snow when I rode in, and a brisk 5F with a 10 mph headwind. I'm still at work, but they reduced the forecast totals to 3-6". The gusts up to 35mph and current 1" per hour could make it sketchy though, so I may take the bus.

I enjoyed your race report Bedwards, and congrats. The 8 mile option was long enough for me! The fastest racer in the 16 mile finished only 7 minutes after my 8 mile finish - not quite twice as fast as me. 

I didn't take a single pic, but I did do the following better than last year:
arrived before the starting gun; ate breakfast; drank water (small Nalgene in bottle cage, easier to get open in the cold than a bike bottle) had a snack on the course, and; completed the 8 mile course. Bedwards, did you check the amount of climbing?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

They've been threatening me with a freezing rain warning all afternoon, but it looks like it'll hold off at least long enough for me to get home. Whoo.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hang in there, you snowbound Easterners! Glad it`s less drastic than what what was feared, but keep staying safe out there!



blockphi said:


> The problem is that my bike goes in the bus, with the handle bar slid in between the driver's seat and the partition wall with one end out in the aisle.


I guess taht does complicate things, but it sure is cool of the drivers to let you load up that way.



CandidCyclist1000 said:


> Overall people were very courteous and wouldn't let too much time pass before pulling to the side for a moment to let others get by.


Wow, that`s pretty neat- very friendly competetion. How much of this year`s gains do you attribute to tire pressure? It seems you really had issues with it last time.



mtbxplorer said:


> ...arrived before the starting gun;


Definitely a better starting strategy!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was both good and bad. A nice and dry sunny 22F for the ride in. Headset felt a little loose the night before so I tightened everything up and got it all adjusted. Well, I got home tonight, and it was completely loose again. Took the stem off, and now, well, now there is definitely something wrong. I can no longer tighten the top bolt, and it appears to be screwed into something that came right out of the fork. I will take it in on Friday to my buddies shop and see what kind of damage I did. I know a little about forks, but this is something that I have not seen before. Going to not try and think about it and just hope for the best. 

So the good is that I took 3rd place on a segment on Strava, so I guess that is considered to be on the leader board? I got into it on the ride home and guess I did pretty well. That part I am happy about. The rest, ehhhh, it was cold and my hands were freezing because I stopped to try to tighten the stem after the blast because I could feel that it was loose. Personally, I am sick and damn tired of the cold, ice and snow. I am more than ready for mosquitos and humidity.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was nice. Around 45 with a 15 mph headwind. Finally got my light and wireless computer set up so that there's no EM interference. Other than that, I just keep on keeping on. Looking forward to the Tour de Cure, my coast to coast ride, and a new bike.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed, something similar happened to me. What it sounds like is that the star fangled nut that the headset screws into has come loose. Mine somehow migrated up closer to the cap, and I couldn't tighten it anymore. 

I'm guessing, so don't quote me on it. Does your fork kinda rattle if you hit a bump? You may need a new one. What I did was I took off the cap and then got a screwdriver with a rubber end. Put the rubber end on the nut and gently hammered it down. It worked, but I say you might need a new one because it happened to mine again after a few months, so the star fangled nut may have been defective.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I enjoyed your race report Bedwards, and congrats. The 8 mile option was long enough for me! The fastest racer in the 16 mile finished only 7 minutes after my 8 mile finish - not quite twice as fast as me.
> 
> I didn't take a single pic, but I did do the following better than last year:
> arrived before the starting gun; ate breakfast; drank water (small Nalgene in bottle cage, easier to get open in the cold than a bike bottle) had a snack on the course, and; completed the 8 mile course. Bedwards, did you check the amount of climbing?


The 16 mile course was about 2400 feet of climbing. I was struggling to figure out if I had lapped you on my drive home. You finished the race, your second lap, 3 minutes before I finished my third lap. So I didn't quite lap you.


rodar y rodar said:


> Hang in there, you snowbound Easterners! Glad it`s less drastic than what what was feared, but keep staying safe out there!


We got about 2 feet with more on the way on Friday. It may be a very low biking week. I'll have to get out and do it for fun over the weekend.



rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, that`s pretty neat- very friendly competition. How much of this year`s gains do you attribute to tire pressure? It seems you really had issues with it last time.


I'd say at least 10+ minutes were tire pressure. Not stopping to fix it and lower overall worked for the conditions. It was a slightly faster course this year too, that helped.

This is for Commuter Boy, the look out my window at work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> TenSpeed, something similar happened to me. What it sounds like is that the star fangled nut that the headset screws into has come loose. Mine somehow migrated up closer to the cap, and I couldn't tighten it anymore.
> 
> I'm guessing, so don't quote me on it. Does your fork kinda rattle if you hit a bump? You may need a new one. What I did was I took off the cap and then got a screwdriver with a rubber end. Put the rubber end on the nut and gently hammered it down. It worked, but I say you might need a new one because it happened to mine again after a few months, so the star fangled nut may have been defective.


The star nut should be irrelevant once the clamp on the stem is tightened. It's only used to pre-load the bearings.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Right near the end of my commute I have a hill to climb with a traffic light at the top. I was at the bottom of the hill and saw the light was about to turn green so I decided to try to race to the top to catch the light. Well the hill combined with a headwind and being on the single speed all conspired to make my legs feel worthless. Didn't make the light, but still got to work early.

Broke 200 miles of commuting for the month on the ride in. Not as impressive as others here but it's a good number for me in the winter.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. -7F at the house and about the same in town. 

Odd thing last night. Got out of work and my rear tire was inflated just fine. Got about three miles down the trail and noticed it was bouncing all over the place. Went another mile and noticed that it was nearly completely flat. Stopped and pumped it up and made it to the bus with no issues. Once in the valley it seemed fine overall. A bit soft, but I just attributed that to the fact that I was using a small pump and just got it up enough to roll easy. Put the floor pump on it at home and got it up to about 18PSI where I normally have it at for packed conditions. Held fine over night, but it seemed softer when I got to the office. I have a sneaking suspicion that the valve might be leaking. Don't know. Tubeless. Figure I'll go get some sealant today and top it off a bit. Had no issues for three weeks with losing pressure at all until after this past weekend when I dropped pressure for trail riding. Hmmm...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> The star nun should be irrelevant once the clamp on the stem is tightened. It's only used to pre-load the bearings.


LOL. Star nun.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Old fangled star nun.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Haha you guys are cracking me up.

Back on the bike today after a bit of a break. Fingers were freezing for the first couple of miles, then they warmed up and my toes got cold. This seems to be how my body works in single digit temps. Oh well. Ride went well and the roads were clear. Tons of traffic today though, so much that on one section that is 1 lane with a bike lane and parking lane became a two lane because people couldn't stand to wait single file. I hopped on the sidewalk here rather than splitting the lanes because the lanes merged not far ahead.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Not upset that this blizzard missed us.


I'm with you on the blizzard. I've done 30" without drifting here. Not fun. Rodar and CB seem to be the only ones bemoaning a lack of snow. We got 1/2-1" Monday and Tuesday mornings. Clear sunny and will hit almost 40 today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You know what I meant. 

blockphi, I get that a lot on my fatbike. If I don't tighten the valve stem REAL GOOD it leaks air. It almost seems like the top of the threaded part can unscrew but I haven't thought to look at it at a convenient time.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> The star nut should be irrelevant once the clamp on the stem is tightened. It's only used to pre-load the bearings.


Would it be an issue if one had recently adjusted or swapped a stem? I'm just perplexed as to why that would temporarily have fixed my issue.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You could have loosened it during the adjustment but once the clamps are tight all the star nut does is hold the top cap on. You could take the screw and top cap off and the headset would still be tight.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> This is for Commuter Boy, the look out my window at work.
> View attachment 959369


Thank you. Thank you very much.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

bedwards1000 said:


> You could have loosened it during the adjustment but once the clamps are tight all the star nut does is hold the top cap on. You could take the screw and top cap off and the headset would still be tight.


In theory yes, but not always in practice.
I have one bike that the headset will loosen/stem will slip up over time no mater what I do.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Shayne said:


> In theory yes, but not always in practice.
> I have one bike that the headset will loosen/stem will slip up over time no mater what I do.


Hmm... I'll just do what I did last time and take it all apart and put it back together...


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## Mengesch (Jul 10, 2014)

Good commute into work today here in SeCt. The roads still were still covered in snow but nothing compared to yesterday.

We got about 2 feet of snow yesterday from the snowstorm so work was cancelled. Went for a 7 mile ride and the roads were a mess saw a few other bikes out downtown.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. -8 at my house and -4 in town. Stopped by the bike shop yesterday to pick up a booster of Stan's for my rear wheel, which was something I needed to do anyway. Talked to the mech and he recommended using just a small touch of super glue put on the stem about a quarter way up from the bottom before screwing it down tight. This gives it a bit of stick to the rim so that when putting a pump on it, the stem does not move enough to break any seal that the sealant has created there. Didn't have any glue at home last night so just cranked down the nut a bit more, put in the Stan's and figured I'd give it a go and see what happens. I'll pick up some glue today and try that as well. 

Looks like it will be a low mileage month for me. I think I'll end it around 350 unless I can get in a couple of long rides tomorrow and Saturday. Had a few weekends that I wasn't able to ride much more than a few miles, if at all, and with the recent cold snap, I've been taking the short route to work. I figure once we are back up into the mid-teens I'll pick up the long route in and out again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Some days your ride catches you by surprise. I felt like I was absolutely struggling on the ride into work this morning - just felt like a slug. I get to work, hit stop on my GPS and look at the elapsed time - fastest commute so far this year by about two minutes.

Still no snow to report here. Sorry rodar and CB...

Nice race report bedwards - well done.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Took the trail with the steep climb home yesterday... that super soft but not muddy freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw dirt that makes it feel like you have 2 flat tires. So much work. It's my duty to pack this thing down, so I rode it this morning too... frozen. like riding on frozen pudding. my hardtail 29er felt like a dual suspension fat bike. I think. I've never even seen a dual suspension fat bike.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

boring as heck on the way in, but couple inches of snow fell while I was inside so I had a blast on the way home!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Gonna try to get up early and make it the long way in. Not supposed to have bad headwinds, and I could definitely use the boost. Just a few months before the huge ride, and I don't have the option of goofing off and sleeping in late hoping the wife will drive my lazy ass in the morning.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Felt a bit like Shackleton coming home, high headwinds, glare ice and the wet kind of cold we don't get much of here. Forgot to pull my glove liners out to dry during class, the frozen fingers where my own doing. 

On the positive side, the few drivers who were out were giving me huge amounts of space on the roads, and I got to compare my assortment of blinking/ breathing lights to those on the salt trucks. The studded tires were flawless, the stud-less boots less so.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've never even seen a dual suspension fat bike.


I am so lusting after a dual suspension fatbike.







You're fatbike needs must be pretty low since you never ever get snow anymore.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

So I did coffeeoutside again, with the usual group of cyclists. And there were a few out-of-towners who were here for the wintercities conference. And a good time was had by all.

But then: *******ville.

I've mentioned before that for 5 years I rode the same route to work, but last summer I finally got sick of dealing with idiots and I switched to a different bridge which means a totally different route. But on days that I go for coffee, my old route is the route to take. And it's still full of idiots.

One SUV completely inexplicably decided he was allowed to go on redlight. It's a weird intersection, and it's totally illegal, and if he'd done it a few seconds later I would have been right in the middle of crossing. Not quite a close call, but a major wtf.

Then a white-minivan tried to pass me by driving onto the sidewalk - *twice*. And got kicked - *twice*. This was all within the first 30' of this intersection. After he'd avoided the lightpost, and then the tree, I finally stopped and made him stop.

The conversation (as close as I can remember it) was:

Driver: "What's your problem man?"
Me: "Are you drunk?"
(I didn't actually think he was drunk, I just thought he was an *******. But awhile ago I decided that my default response to ******* drivers was going to be "Are you drunk?" That way I don't have to be clever or rational in the heat of the moment.)
Driver: "What's your problem?" (he asks, as his van is only half on the road, and touching my pannier)
Me: "Are you drunk?
Driver: "So you think with your bike and your lights that makes you in charge?"
Me: "What are you talking about? You're in a white mini-van."
Driver: "Yeah, don't go kicking my van."
At this point a pedestrian tapped on the opposite window, and made the I'm-watching-you sign at the driver.
I asked "Did you get his license plate?"
Driver: "What do you want my license plate for? I didn't do anything you banana."

We don't have front license plates in this province, because of some stupid cost-savings/vanity ********.

So if you're in this sortof situation you can:


Go behind the vehicle to get the plate, allowing the driver to speed off in a blaze of macho ****-you glory
Realize you're not actually going to report it anyway, so just stay in front of the vehicle and ride really, really slowly for awhile.

I went with Option 2, because seriously, what else am I going to do?

So anyway, I don't think he was drunk. But I think there's actually a reasonable chance that he was stoned. He saw absolutely nothing wrong with the fact that his car was half-way off the road. And that changes how I have to think about things.

And finally, saw another minivan almost hit a jogger who was crossing at a crosswalk with flashing lights. "I'm so important that I have to blow through this so that I can stop at the line of cars that is literally 100' away." And of course then I had to line up behind this moron, and because I wasn't having a great day (and he wasn't going anywhere) I really debated tapping on his window and calling him names. But I didn't.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

^ Oh boy.:madman:


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> It was both good and bad. A nice and dry sunny 22F for the ride in. Headset felt a little loose the night before so I tightened everything up and got it all adjusted. Well, I got home tonight, and it was completely loose again. Took the stem off, and now, well, now there is definitely something wrong. I can no longer tighten the top bolt, and it appears to be screwed into something that came right out of the fork. I will take it in on Friday to my buddies shop and see what kind of damage I did.


You're over torquing the top cap. This is pulling the star nut out of the fork. The top cap bolt is used to set bearing preload (how quick or slow you want the steering). The top cap bolt should be tightened only enough to take the play out of the headset bearings.

Best case you need a new star nut installed; next worst you need a new fork. Worst case, the headset is ovalized from being loose or overloaded and you need a new frame.

To install a threadless fork:

1) Place lower bearing on fork crown race, grease liberally
2) Install fork into frame, place upper bearing in upper bearing race, grease liberally
3) Install rest of headset onto steerer
4) Place spacers as needed
5) Install stem, do not tighten clamping bolts, there should be ~2mm of space between top of steerer tube and top of stem (I prefer a 1.5mm spacer on top of stem)
6) Install top cap and top cap bolt
7) Tighten top cap bolt until there is no more play in the headset, do not over tighten
8) Align stem and fork, tighten stem clamp bolts to specified torque.

If this happened before and the headset won't stay tightened it's likely the headtube is ovalized. Hopefully it's just the star nut and/or fork.

Top cap bolts on threadless stems are not like quill stem bolts. Quill stem bolts are tightened 10-12Nm, whereas top cap bolts are in the 10-20 in/lbs range


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> You know what I meant.
> 
> blockphi, I get that a lot on my fatbike. If I don't tighten the valve stem REAL GOOD it leaks air. It almost seems like the top of the threaded part can unscrew but I haven't thought to look at it at a convenient time.


The valve may have a leaking valve core. If it has a removable valve core.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.
> 
> I really debated tapping on his window and calling him names. But I didn't.


Sigh Edmonton....

But I like the first comment of "are you drunk"....

But I like "geez how drunk are you" better....

I think kicking the car is better than tapping on the window...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The only time I had someone pass me on the lawn was when I was at a stop sign and some cranky lady decided I was taking to long and thought the grass was a turning lane.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Newf, that's some insane stuff! I have zero problem calling anyone out. It's both a blessing and a curse. I've found the hard way that far too many here in Florida are willing to run me over, possibly deliberately.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> But I like the first comment of "are you drunk"....
> 
> But I like "geez how drunk are you" better....


After experiencing l'esprit de l'escalier on more than a few occasions, I've thought hard about what my "default" insult should be. And [email protected] is okay, but it's not always appropriate. So I like a flabbergasted "Are you drunk?!?!" because it could/should put them on the defensive. Unless they're a stoned sociopath, like this guy.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

snow hit! tons of fun!!!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

The wind put a hurting on me today on the ride home. Sustained at 25mph and gusting over 30mph, basically a straight headwind the entire ride home. It felt like it never let up for a second. Almost made me regret riding a single speed, almost.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

rogbie said:


> You're over torquing the top cap. This is pulling the star nut out of the fork. The top cap bolt is used to set bearing preload (how quick or slow you want the steering). The top cap bolt should be tightened only enough to take the play out of the headset bearings.
> 
> Best case you need a new star nut installed; next worst you need a new fork. Worst case, the headset is ovalized from being loose or overloaded and you need a new frame.
> 
> ...


You are entirely 100% incorrect in your assessment. I took the bike into the shop today. Since the fork has a carbon steerer tube, there is no star nut. The previous owner must have done something at one time with the fork, because part of the compression plug setup is missing. This caused the whole thing to literally fall apart and no longer allow me to tighten the top cap to anything. Half of the compression plug had fallen down into the fork itself. It was not making any noise so I never heard it down there.

While the fork was off of the bike, we both visually inspected it for imperfections. It was checked for marring and for ovalization, neither which were present. While it was off, everything was properly greased and inspected, including the bearings. Everything checked out perfectly. I did sand down part of the inner part of the stem because there was an imperfection which could have eventually caused some marring on the steerer tube. Once that was completely done, everything was properly reassembled by the manager, and everything was torqued down to spec using a Park Tool torque wrench.

I appreciate your help, but your demeaning post towards me was unnecessary. I feel the need to call you out on this. I am fully aware of how to tighten down the stem and what the appropriate method of doing so entails. Thanks, but no thanks.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I appreciate your help, but your demeaning post towards me was unnecessary. I feel the need to call you out on this. I am fully aware of how to tighten down the stem and what the appropriate method of doing so entails. Thanks, but no thanks.


It appears you are being too sensitive. Waaaay too sensitive.

While after the fact, there appears to have been a lack of knowledge of your particular skill levels, that is no insult, merely a bad guess. The help seemed well intentioned.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> It appears you are being too sensitive. Waaaay too sensitive.
> 
> While after the fact, there appears to have been a lack of knowledge of your particular skill levels, that is no insult, merely a bad guess. The help seemed well intentioned.


Making assumptions on a public forum can be quite embarrassing. It does appear that after the fact, there was indeed something wrong beyond my technical knowledge of the fork and headset. The "guess" was written in a fairly condescending manner, as it came across that way. Had I been a third party in this, I would have taken it the same way. Based on my post history, and the simple number of changes that I have made to all three of my bikes, and the bikes in the past, something as simple as tightening down the stem.....I know how to do that.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

^ So, how was your commute today?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No ride for me as I was off today. Will be riding in on Saturday though, snow expected.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes Newf! I sounds like pretty much a miracle that you were not run over on that trip.


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Making assumptions on a public forum can be quite embarrassing. It does appear that after the fact, there was indeed something wrong beyond my technical knowledge of the fork and headset. The "guess" was written in a fairly condescending manner, as it came across that way. Had I been a third party in this, I would have taken it the same way. Based on my post history, and the simple number of changes that I have made to all three of my bikes, and the bikes in the past, something as simple as tightening down the stem.....I know how to do that.


No condescension intended. I didn't realize you have a carbon fork, else my post would have reflected that. Further, the bulk of my post was intended for NDD. I thought I had multiple quotes in there.

I don't follow all your posts and had no idea of your mechanical abilities. I laid out the process I follow when troubleshooting headset problems in the simplest terms. Feel free to take it or leave it, but there is no need for accusations. We're all on the same team.

That said after the worst night at work, my commute was enjoyable. Though, I prefer the streets at 3am, after all the Friday partiers are gone, as to 8pm when they're all coming into town and don't know how to parallel park.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yeah, I'm with BrianMC. I didn't see any condescension in rogbie's post either.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang it, It's all my fault. Me again... Not knowing anything. 

Thanks Rogbie, that helps with diagnosing issues with me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh&#8230;..
> Then a white-minivan tried to pass me by driving onto the sidewalk - *twice*. And got kicked - *twice*. This was all within the first 30' of this intersection. After he'd avoided the lightpost, and then the tree, I finally stopped and made him stop.


Likely driving on a suspended license and no insurance, too. Maybe a video cam would help? Hard to believe.

I made the mistake of driving in a commercial section of town in the 4 PM time frame. Apparently there is a some rule suspending all traffic laws that I am totally unaware of but seems to be in effect.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Finally weather, health, and the stars aligned and I rode our new (late last fall) and only MUP ( that is known as such and is not actually a street with no sidewalks and a substandard width). I think that the official opening is yet to happen. About 5 miles long estimated from my time and guessed mean speed. Not bad. Met three pedestrians and on Samoyed who was not happy and appeared to want to relieve me of a foot.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Likely driving on a suspended license and no insurance, too. Maybe a video cam would help? Hard to believe.


Yeah, in retrospect I realized that in this case I really should have treated it like a real accident and demanded his license/registration. But standing out in the middle of a street, holding a bike, when someone has genuinely just threatened your life, it sure feels less automatic than if some idiot rear-ends your car.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy both ways? Snow never came, supposed to hit sometime tonight and go through Monday. Between 8-12" is forecasted, but we will see. I plan on riding in on Sunday. Co workers think I am insane. I have only ridden in an inch of snow so far since I got the fat bike. I want to see what 6" of snow feels like. Will be allowing myself a lot of extra time because I will have no idea what the conditions of the roads will be, and since the first half is MUP and neighborhood roads, it might be slow going.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Snow is currently falling, and we have about 2" already. Looking forward to getting out there in a few hours. Charging up all of my lights and going to run 3 taillights for extra visibility. Should I go solid up front or a bright blinker? I am not familiar with what will be better seen in actual snow fall.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

The ride in yesterday morning was trying, to say the least. It was about 40 degrees, and windy. I did the whole "grocery bag over the sock inside the shoe" thing, but my feet still froze. I suppose it wouldn't be too bad, except for the fact that I have zero cold weather riding gear. That will change when we move back to TX, and actually have a winter worth preparing for. Here, we get a week of cold temps and then it's back to perfect riding weather again. I didn't ride home, and instead met up with the wife at the grocery store. It was an 11 hour day, 13 days straight without a day off, and I was exhausted. I still am. I'm hoping to change things come tomorrow, and ride whether I "want" to or not. My wallet can't afford all this driving


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I tried sandwich bags over the socks, and to be honest, it didn't really work. I think at first my feet got warm a little, then they froze.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'll be alright. It's supposed to warm up on Tuesday, and doesn't show another cold front. By the time that I really need something, I'll buy some neoprene covers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Been riding with double socks and Neoprene 'booties' in temps down to the low 20's and that was good enough for an hour with no noticeable issues one day and just starting to get cold the next. In the past, I could not use that system below 32 or my feet were cold before I got out if my neighborhood. So not only does blood flow and temperature issues differ between us, they can change for each of us. For me it is better adrenals and thyroid.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Tenspeed, if its snowing like it is here you might blind yourself with the bright blinking headlamp.

I bailed on my ride today after watching some excellent 3 car ballet in the intersection in front of the house. Nine inches of powder and more on the way. Not a plow truck in sight.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Wait until I get home. I have a commute to tell you all about. Oh boy.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> ^ Been riding with double socks and Neoprene 'booties' in temps down to the low 20's and that was good enough for an hour with no noticeable issues one day and just starting to get cold the next. In the past, I could not use that system below 32 or my feet were cold before I got out if my neighborhood. So not only does blood flow and temperature issues differ between us, they can change for each of us. For me it is better adrenals and thyroid.


I've got some waterproof thermal socks that we used to use in EMS for those horrible shifts in the cold, but they're too thick to use with my cycling shoes. Supposed to be in the 60's tomorrow morning on the ride in, so I'm not too worried about it anymore. I've got a check up with the MD after work that I'll ride to, and then Tuesday I have an appointment with DMD for treatment for the temporomandibular joint injury that I received in the accident. Planning on having the wife drop me off in the morning, I'll do the 2 hour appointment, and then ride the 70 something miles back home. Only thing I'm worried about is making it through downtown St. Pete and Tampa. Completely unfamiliar areas with lots of turns. Need to figure out a way to set up turn by turn directions.


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## Guest (Feb 2, 2015)

Been off the bike for three weeks (one week on the road, two weeks sick) and now 18-24" of snow. Can't wait for the snow to get packed enough to ride over or scooped to ride through.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

OK, I came home sick early from work with a nasty cold. I feel like my head could explode. Well kiddos, pull up a chair, get your hot chocolate out boys and girls, because I am about to tell you a tale to top all tales. First, a little background on me. 42 years old, been riding a bike on and off all of my life, from a BMX when I was a kid, to a mountain bike in my 30's, to where I am today. I have ridden in all kinds of conditions, from scalding hot to actual temps in the single digits with negative wind chill. 50+ mph wind, severe thunderstorms, torrential downpours, ice, snow, and everything in between. Nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to the ride today.

When I left, the actual temp was 20° and breezy, with about 4" of fresh snow on the ground with it still falling. The fat bike handled it with ease for the most part. The side streets and intersections were sketchy, but I managed to keep it upright, the whole time, until I pulled into work, as I came off the main street, the back tire slid out, and boom, down I went. Laughed it off and locked my bike up and went in. Well, for the last few days, I have been simply denying the fact that a cold was coming on. Convincing myself that I was not sick, it was in my head, etc. Hah! Felt alright when I got in, but as the day progressed on, the worse I started to feel. Decided to go home early, take the possible unexcused absence because I was absolutely miserable. Left work at 7:45PM. Superbowl is still on, shouldn't be much traffic, Sunday night, I will be alright.......

It never stopped snowing. They would be out plowing for sure, no way that they wouldn't. Left work, boom, I am down before I left the lot. Alright, this should be fun. Get out onto the main street, and even though the street is plowed fairly well, I am just all over the place. Not from the snow or the traffic, but the wind has just got me all over the road. Gusts were forecasted in the mid 30mph range, and they were dead on. It was a northeast wind, and it is hitting me right at an angle. I am 210lbs, on a 35lb bike, and it is tossing me around like I am a crumpled up piece of paper. The back end just keeps sliding out, and it keeps pushing me to the right, to the curb. The snow is still coming down, in waves of whiteout conditions alternating with calm. It is pretty cold out, lower teens at this point. I am dressed well, every inch of my skin covered, hand warmers inside the gloves, snowboard helmet, balaclava, goggles, Defrosters on, etc. Pretty good to go for just about anything. Boom, I am down again. Crossed an intersection and the garbage left in the middle grabbed that tire and I went down. I cross the city line, and that's it. The road conditions go from alright to poor. Plows have not been out much clearly because there is a lot of snow on the roads. Not much traffic, so I take the clearest possible lane, the left one. It was tough going into that wind, sliding around like crazy. Only got passed by two cars since most people were smart enough to not be out. At one point, I had to walk the bike because it was just that poor. I stuck to the main road for fear of what the other roads would be like. If the main road was like this, no telling how bad the others would be. At some point, I have to leave the main road to get to the apartment complex. The further east I headed, the worse the roads got. Headed down another road to get to try to get home. It wasn't bad, but the wind was now coming across directly at me making me just slide all over the place. I went down two more times on that road just from it being so windy. The wind was actually grabbing me and just moving me wherever it wanted. Get onto the last main road that I will be on, and it is plowed. I flew down that road because the wind had let up and it was clear. By flew, I think I hit double digits, maybe 10mph or so. This road connects to the main MUP, or continues on into a neighborhood that will dump me off at the county park which has the other MUP that I take that dumps me off at my complex. Stopped to look at the MUP, and laughed. It hadn't been touched and since it is so exposed, the drifts at the beginning were huge. That would have been my most direct route but looked impassable. Continued on into the neighborhood that had not been plowed. Tried to keep it in the tire tracks, but went down 2 more times in half a mile. Walked it a little more. At the end of the neighborhood, it dumps me out on one last main road. The park is a block to the south, the main MUP is about a block to the north. There is a road that heads east further down each way, but is really out of the way by at least a mile and a half if not more in each direction. From this point, the park is the most direct route. The park should have been cleared off, but since it is Sunday and getting late, it wasn't. I had to make a decision here as to what to do. Try to walk it, or go a mile and a half out of my way to get to a road that is not a main road and I have no idea what the conditions are. Cutting through the park is about a mile or so, however, the snow is a foot deep from the entrance as far back as I can see. Debated on what to do, and went for park. Fell again just walking in the snow since it was so deep and I got a patch of ice or something. I hoofed it, and then had to take a break. The wind was just beating me up but I trudged on. The Defroster boots claim to be wind and waterproof and I tested that out tonight to the MAX. Their claim is spot on. My feet were still toasty when I eventually got home. So I made that last mile, pushing the heavy fat bike in the wind and blowing snow. That was quite the ordeal.

It took me an hour and 45 minutes to travel 7.7 miles. I don't know how I made it home feeling the way that I do. Concentrated so much on making sure I kept the bike upright (hah) that before I knew it, the complex was in site. I can now add blizzard to my list of things that I have ridden in. Currently still snowing and they are saying 16"+ by the time it is over tomorrow morning. Going to be taking a break from the bike for a few days I think. Also debating on flipping back to pinned flats and running the Defroster boots with them, just not clipping in. Thoughts on that?

Here is the one picture I took from the MUP by my complex. Excuse the crappy quality, just wanted to hurry up and get the heck home!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just got back from a short trip to Palm Springs for my grandmother`s birthday party. Terribly weather- wished I had brought a pair of shorts.



newfangled said:


> (I didn't actually think he was drunk, I just thought he was an *******. But awhile ago I decided that my default response to ******* drivers was going to be "Are you drunk?" That way I don't have to be clever or rational in the heat of the moment.)


I like it. Good idea having a default and I like the specific response. Did he really call you a banana? If you ever see him again, you should suggest that he develope his own default insult for cyclists who piss him off!

NDD, behave yourself!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> OK, I came home sick early from work with a nasty cold. I feel like my head could explode.....


I must admit, that was a really long post and I started skimming it. It does sound like my Soul Sucking Lake incident. Nice pic. The lighting came out really cool.

Speaking of the soul sucking lake. It sucked today too. 3+ foot drifts, even the tracks were too soft to ride. I walked it for the whole mile. Really really good exercise pushing the fat bike. The rest of the trails were pretty energy sapping but still pretty good. I had a good chance to take a pic of some deer closeup but the camera decided that 0F was just too cold to work. It was snowing pretty good for most of the ride.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Ride in this morning sucked. I averaged 13 mph, on a fast cross bike, with slicks. Ugh.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Back to winter

I don't know how 4 inches of snow turns into 4 inches of hardpack and car snot.....but it does.

-15 C 25 km/h head wind.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Continuing with the new reality of how it doesn't snow in the Sierras anymore, today was a soaker of a rain ride for me. Wasn't paying attention to the weather this weekend and didn't see it coming. Weather says 40% chance of scattered rain... I should buy a lottery ticket because I got hosed all the way to work.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Today's commute was pretty craptacular- woke up late, so had to take a later bus that was filled to the gills. Then I finished the book I was reading five minutes into the ride and the other book I checked out didn't down load last night so I was stuck looking out the windows. Then I get to town and panic because I didn't remember putting my keys in my bags. Then one of my bags fell off my rack. Then. Then. Then. Actually, it wasn't terrible, overall. Just the type of stressful that the commute always is when the routine is busted for some reason. First time in a year and a half, though, that I have overslept. The funny thing is, I woke up at 3:30, looked at my watch and then went back to sleep, figuring the alarm would wake me at 3:55. My bad, I didn't turn on the alarm. Argh. Oh well. Good times. 

Ended January with 351.3 miles for the month. Not too bad with the first week being non-commuting and it being January and all. Nowhere near my summer average of 1K+ a month, though. Should see some bigger numbers in February as it starts to stay lighter longer and the days warm up a bit.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Just got word from my wife that with this huge paycheck coming in, I get my Bosanova. So, my commutes are about to be a whole lot sweeter.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I must admit, that was a really long post and I started skimming it. It does sound like my Soul Sucking Lake incident. Nice pic. The lighting came out really cool.
> 
> Speaking of the soul sucking lake. It sucked today too. 3+ foot drifts, even the tracks were too soft to ride. I walked it for the whole mile. Really really good exercise pushing the fat bike. The rest of the trails were pretty energy sapping but still pretty good. I had a good chance to take a pic of some deer closeup but the camera decided that 0F was just too cold to work. It was snowing pretty good for most of the ride.


Yeah, that was a long post, but once I got home and started typing, couldn't seem to stop. I am glad that my lighting shows so well in the snow. Niterider Lumina 700 and 350 up front on the bars on full blast, and just a Cygolite Hotshot Micro on blink on the back (caught it at full blink). That was one of my worries while riding.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

We got the same snow storm that TenSpeed had, although less wind and a little less snow. I replaced the busted bottom bracket and upgraded the cranks on my fat bike yesterday so of course i had to give them a test spin in the fresh snow. Had a fantastic 7 mile jaunt around town with the snow coming down. Probably had 5-6 inches of fresh snow at that point. Kept snowing all night though and I woke up to another 6-7 inches this morning. Clearing the plow drift from the driveway took longer than I expected so I was running late. Opted to throw the fat bike in the car and drive to a park that is about 1/2 way to work. I couldn't believe the roads were as bad as they were. Glad I had the fat bike or I wuoldn't have made it. 

Must have been some water in the cables again because the shifters froze. Second bike that has happened on this winter. I think I just need to run full length housings on any bike I plan to ride outside in the winter. Between the snow, the 3psi fat tires, and the lack of gear options, it was slow going this morning but I stayed upright and had a blast. Got a lot of fun comments about the pink tires.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Kleebs said:


> Must have been some water in the cables again because the shifters froze. Second bike that has happened on this winter. I think I just need to run full length housings on any bike I plan to ride outside in the winter.


It could also be water in the shifters themselves....

I have had that problem, just spray a little wd40 in through the cable insertion hole....wait a minute then blow it out with a blast of air....I seem to have to do that every year or so.

I have never had a cable freeze though, I run XTR cables not full length, but they do have nice little rubber boots wher the enter and exit.

I have also had water get into the steerer tube and make the steering catchy....had to pull the bearings and re grease, after a shot of Wd-40 to pull out the water.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have full-length housings and have had very good luck with no water getting in there and messing with things. I had a mechanical disc brake get super sticky this year, and I thought that was the problem, but it turned out to just be frozen crud messing with the caliper itself, not a cable/housing issue. If you do full length housings, my advice is "go long"... My rear D housing was as short as I could get away with one time, and then I had a fraying issue at the rear D and had to cut a half inch or so of the housing off to get a nice new end on it, and as a result I wound up having to get all new housing, re-wrap the bar tape, etc... all for a stupid fraying housing end. Give yourself a little wiggle room.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commute was rough this morning. The wind was kicking me in the face, and it was cold enough to not be fun. I had to take in the SS, since my attempt to install V-brakes on my geared commuter didn't go as planned. The bolts were too long for my fork. I don't know if this is just one of those stupid Cannondale things or what, but even the bolts I took off my previous brakes would not thread all the way in. It's as if the fork were designed to take a certain model of brakes and none other. Oh well, I guess I'll have to get some washers.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

godd-dayumn that was rough. level of exertion was super-high.
no traction despite the studded tires, tires were floating too much, all over the place. magura hydraulics were either iced, or running on icy rims, either way, levers were almost to the bar every shaky stop.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Cold and windy. Second coldest for me at 15°F this morning. We just haven't gotten the cold temps or snow around STL this year. We got something that I wouldn't even call a dusting. Sigh. All last week they say snow, then on Sunday, rain. 

On the way home, I could smell someone cooking garlic bread. The worst, I almost found the house and asked to come in for dinner. On the bright side I had some chili waiting at home. Supreme.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Got up on time and on my regular bus. -1F at the house and -3 at the low point of my commute in town. Lots of icy fog this morning coming in off the inlet. I assume that this means there is a mass of warmer water coming up the inlet but I don't know if that will have an effect on the overall weather. We could still use a few more shots of snow to get things really awesome for riding.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Did anyone see the stories about the guy in Detroit who has walked 21 miles roundtrip to work for the last decade?

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourcei...#q=detroit+man+walks+21+mile&safe=off&tbm=nws

I'm not being judgy (or blaming this on a systemic failure of Detroit's public transit) because he's free to spend his time however he wants. But personally a cheap bike from Walmart seems like a good idea?

I guess what surprises me is that a bike doesn't even enter the conversation. (well, it doesn't surprise me because the media are dumb)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I did and I agree. Anybody from this forum would have had the same thought. Well now he has a car and $150K so I guess it worked out for him.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I did and I agree. Anybody from this forum would have had the same thought. Well now he has a car and $150K so I guess it worked out for him.


With. 150K he can get a few pretty sweet bikes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Maybe he likes to walk to work. Our household has 3 very capable cars. 1 high mileage, 1 sport utility & 1 3/4 Ton truck with a plow. And I ride my bike to work any time I can and so does the wife. 

Unfortunately, any time I can't doesn't include today. We've had about 4' of snow in the last week. The main roads are too snow covered to be safe and the trails are buried. Maybe they'll get packed this weekend.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Maybe he likes to walk to work.


The stories spin it that he spends 20 hours of every day either at work or commuting. I like walking too, and I'm not saying that he shouldn't do that, but a bike would free up ~6 hours every day.

(sometimes I just can't get over how slow walking is. Seriously evolution, how did you screw this up so badly? Dogs with legs that are 4" long can walk as fast as us.)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> (sometimes I just can't get over how slow walking is. Seriously evolution, how did you screw this up so badly? Dogs with legs that are 4" long can walk as fast as us.)


:lol: :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> (sometimes I just can't get over how slow walking is. Seriously evolution, how did you screw this up so badly? Dogs with legs that are 4" long can walk as fast as us.)


Opposable thumbs? kinda help out a bit.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ Hey, I'm not greedy. I don't want better ears and a better nose too - I just want humans to have a decent middle gear between walking and jogging.

(But for anyone who's never heard of the Human vs. Horse marathon, humans have actually outrun equestrians in 2 out of 34 years)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> The stories spin it that he spends 20 hours of every day either at work or commuting.


That is a gross exaggeration. 
21 miles @ 3mph = 7 hrs
+12 hour shift
+1/2 hour unpaid lunch
*= only 19.5 hours at work and walking!*


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I did that math too, but he's multimodal. There's some bus in there on top of the walking, and you could easily spend another 0.5hr just waiting for the bus.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Oh yeah, forgot about that, he probably does not sleep at all!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yesterday I drove, and was glad, given an early sighting of an 18 wheeler having to back down a hill on rte 302, and 4 vehicle vs. state plow collisions for the day.

Rode today and it was kinda cr*ppy despite the bluebird morning. -13F, roads poorly cleared from yesterday's all day snow (too much overtime?), and way too many 18 wheelers on my route. One of them with a log picker thingy came up on my a** and honked, pretty much guaranteeing I would not move from the lane. Tonight some a**holes in a sedan passed too close and yelled "WHAM" when at my elbow, since that is what they likely wanted to do. 

Rode an empty sidewalk partway home, but it was slow and bumpy like horse tracks on a trail, and the occasional street/driveway crossings were gnarly. My feet were cold from the slow ride home, even though it had warmed to 8F, so I walked the last 2 blocks uphill to my park-n-pedal to warm them. Getting in a cold car with cold feet is like sticking them in icewater.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> Did anyone see the stories about the guy in Detroit who has walked 21 miles roundtrip to work for the last decade?
> 
> https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourcei...#q=detroit+man+walks+21+mile&safe=off&tbm=nws


Not to be confused with: *Michigan man abandons truck, clothes, walks up highway wearing only a cowboy hat*... https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dai...hway-wearing-only-a-cowboy-hat-182444028.html


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> (sometimes I just can't get over how slow walking is. Seriously evolution, how did you screw this up so badly? Dogs with legs that are 4" long can walk as fast as us.)


It's all about endurance. That's all we've got where mobility is concerned. That, thumbs, and a high degree of cephalization and a large cranium are pretty much all we've got.

My commute was good. Not too cold, not bad. I bought a base layer shirt and pants from target - Champion brand, obviously general athletic wear and not cycling specific - over the weekend (had a gift card) and I have to say, it works very well for cold and I haven't gotten sweaty at all like I tend to when I wear long underwear and an extra garment. Baselayer, t-shirt, jacket was all I needed today. Pretty cozy. I like it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I read but did not verify that humans top endurance running. Seems that wildebeest, bison, maybe kangaroo and some of the other migrating mammals would beat us there but maybe we are talking no rest. That does not alter the speed of walking, which seems fine for about a half mile or a mile commute.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I should have specified it as running endurance. It has something to do with the most efficient transfer from one type of energy to the next. Yadda yadda. Kangaroos are terrible walkers and move most efficiently by hopping. How would that be for a commute? "Yeah, I hop to work."


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Something in the air this morning. Right off the bat, not even a half mile down the road someone buzzes me too close. On many of these narrow residential streets, I ride in the passenger side tire path, perhaps on the outer right edge, but still taking the lane. A few miles later, with oncoming traffic and a narrow road with a solid yellow line, some jackass passes while trying not to go left of center. Not only did he come within inches of my leg, but he did it at a high rate of speed. I caught up with him at the light and lost my mind.

"What the f*** is your problem, a******?!" 

"If you weren't in the road, I wouldn't have almost hit you!"

"Did you really just tell me that it was my fault you're driving like you're drunk?!" 
*peels out making a right on red without properly looking for oncoming traffic. Almost causes an accident*

Few miles later, and some guy pulls right out in front of me. Like skid the tires and lock them up close. I don't get it. I just got new safety vests for me and the backpack. I'm lighting up the night like a freaking airport, and still this stuff happens. 

Other than that, it was cool.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I should add that I didn't fly off the handle because of his crappy driving, but because when he passed me, he dropped clutch and revved several times, letting me know he was the big bad car on the road.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^All this talk about evolution and opposable thumbs and then Texan reports this and we have to realize that we really haven't evolved that far.

No ride for me again. It would have been like MTXB's but longer and that didn't sound like much fun.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> "Did you really just tell me that it was my fault you're driving like you're drunk?!"


Yeah, I think hitting the "Drunk" button is a good place to go with morons.

Really thorough huffpost article and video about wintercycling from a couple of days ago:

Winter Cycling 101: What You Need to Know*|*David Dodge






(I don't know how the people in the video ride in those heavy jackets. I would be roasting)

Anyway, boring ride in today. Cold enough that the carsnot has nicely firmed up, but it'll turn to mush again later since we're supposed to get close to freezing.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

newfangled said:


> ^ Hey, I'm not greedy. I don't want better ears and a better nose too - I just want humans to have a decent middle gear between walking and jogging.
> 
> (But for anyone who's never heard of the Human vs. Horse marathon, humans have actually outrun equestrians in 2 out of 34 years)


Walking is slow, but I'm always amazed by how quickly I can cover miles (many, many miles) running. Jogging is kind of a middle gear in a way. I can jog for a very long time.

Have you read Born to Run? I don't agree with the author on all the barefoot stuff, but it's a fun read and goes into the humans being able to outrun animals from an endurance standpoint.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I think I clicked the walk-commute story a day after the rest of you, and it says "This post has been updated" at the bottom, so maybe it didn`t say anything yesterday about setting up a board to manage the guy`s money for him. WTF is that??? I`m not him, and not even one of the donors, but what`s being hinted at makes my skin crawl:

>“Putting a car in his driveway and just handing James the keys or filling his pockets with cash is not the answer. But with these resources now, we should be able to do something very positive for the guy,” Pollock told the newspaper. “I think the hundreds of donors want this to go to James and not have this go out of his hands. So, if we can set up this little board to manage his money, I think that can happen.”<

Sure hope your commutes go better today than yesterday, Mtbx and Texan.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Generally a good ride in today. Temp was right around 28-30F so I was able to cut down on the layers this morning. Got another 2-3" of snow last night but the roads were in pretty good shape. 

I went down for the first time on a commute this morning though and it was entirely my fault. I was riding down a relatively busy street that is one lane each direction except during rush hour when they turn the parking lane into a second travel lane. There was a car waiting to turn left onto the side street I usually use to cut to a less busy, parellel route, but I couldn't merge behind him because there were cars right next to me and several following me in the right lane as well. I made the decision to pass the line of waiting cars and then move to the left lane and just go onto the sidewalk (I know I know... I usually avoid the sidewalks at all costs but I was trying to avoid backing up traffic and more importantly avoid getting hit). There was about a foot of plowed snow blocking the entrance to the sidewalk but I figured "I'm an experienced mountain biker on a fat bike...This should be no problem." I hit that snow at about 14 mph and failed to lift the front wheel at all. Bam. Over the bars into a nice soft mound of fresh(ish) snow. One of the plow drivers rolled his window down to ask if I was ok which I appreciated. The only thing I hurt was my dignity. I've never jumped up from a crash so fast in my life!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in today. -7 at my house. A bit warmer in town. 

Had to run to REI yesterday to pick up some stuff for my daughters and ended up exchanging my Vasque Snowburban boots (ripped out the top eyelets on one side) for a pair of Baffin Attack softshell boots - they seem to be pretty decently okay. A bit odd fit with straps instead of laces, but seem to be warm enough for riding. Not sure about standing around at ski meets and such. I also picked up a pair of Black Diamond Soloist Finger mitts on sale. So far I love these things! I wore them back from REI in temps in the 10-12 range and my hands got too dang hot. I wore them on the first leg of the ride home last night in the mid-teens with a pair of ragwool gloves instead of the BD liners and my hands were perfect. In the valley, with temps in the single digits I wore the outer shell with the liner gloves from my BD Guide gloves and my hands were perfect. This morning in the below 0 temps I wore the liners that came with them and my fingers stayed nice and warm. I can see where double-digits below 0 will result in indexes and thumbs getting cold, but the mitt design, I think, will work much better overall than a standard glove. What I found with the BD Guide glove - which is rated to like -10F - is that anything below the single digits and my fingers would turn to ice - partially because they were just a touch too tight. Anyway. So far I am happy with these new globs. We'll see how they work out if we actually get a deep freeze up here anytime soon.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-20C overnight

Rode in at -16C

Sitting at 2 C and the chinook wind is blowing....

Supposed to be back down to -21C tomorrow morning....then up to 7C and up for the weekend.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> Yeah, I think hitting the "Drunk" button is a good place to go with morons.


I stole it from you a few days ago. It worked well.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Tex, aren't leaving Florida? Probably for the best, yeah? Stay safe out there.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Yeah, we're moving to Austin in June. Until then, I still have to commute in the worst state for cycling, statistically speaking.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I thought I remembered that. Too lazy to flip through pages, though. I feel like Florida is a lot of worst for me. Saw some huge damn spiders there on a vacation when I was fifteen or sixteen. No urge to go back. 

I might be doing field work in Texas in a year or so. Beaumont area, closer to Louisiana in the Big Thicket Nature Preserve. That's pending though. Don't think I'll be able to have a bike tough...maybe I'll buy a cheap used one if I need to.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It was fine, slow getting to class lots of traffic but quick getting home.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Fast, Cold, Clear, w/ a side of Moose Detour:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

JordyB said:


> Fast, Cold, Clear, w/ a side of Moose Detour:


Nice, nice. I've not seen too many moose lately, but have been privy to the fast conditions.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> No ride for me again. It would have been like MTXB's but longer and that didn't sound like much fun.


I think you are worse off. A friend in Maine posted the new state record snowfalll...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM -9 F/-22.8C. 

Pulled a 20 mile day yesterday with 15 of it on the way home last night. Good times. 

Nice styrofoam creak snow this morning. Really fast rolling. Supposed to get a wind event starting late this afternoon. Sounds like it could make things pretty dang chilly.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It's freezing today, but sunny so I will be riding. Hoping that the roads will be dry enough since it is so cold that the salt simply won't be melting anything. Expecting side roads to still be kind of messy. High of 13° and a low of 8° with windchills in the negatives.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice moose Jordy! I only get deer. Well, lots of turkeys today too. (not just the ones in cars)


mtbxplorer said:


> I think you are worse off. A friend in Maine posted the new state record snowfalll...


Yeah, it's deep. I "rode" today. The lake is awful! Worst I've seen. I was at my max heart-rate pushing my bike through the deep snow like a bulldozer for the whole way. When I got the the other side the trails were crap so I took the road. I'm really hopeful that they will get well packed this weekend.

I avoided the main road as much as possible but did get honked at by somebody that seemed to think I was in his way because I pulled into the breakdown lane on his side. It was snowing heavily and I was moving much faster than traffic so I waved as I left him sitting there. 
It reminded me of a song. (adult language)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Still doesn't snow here in the Sierras, just FYI if anyone is considering relocating.

In other news, my neighbor got an, um, interesting series of pictures on her trail camera... I have made a little addition to the backpack shoulder strap for the pre-dawn dirt road excursions. I've had no problem being alert on that first part of the ride for the past few days :lol:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I carry my knife and small pocket light in a very similar fashion.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

33 F and light snow. Major snow( more than 40 inches in a week) and giant mounds everywhere. Some bike paths still not cleared, add in narrow lanes make for and interesting ride. Mostly good though.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

About 20F and 30mph winds seems to be my new normal commute. Stupid wind.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

formula4speed said:


> About 20F and 30mph winds seems to be my new normal commute. Stupid wind.


Today's weather warning: "WINDS TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY: INCREASING TO 25 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 70 MPH. LOCAL GUSTS TO 85 MPH POSSIBLE IN WIND PRONE AREAS NEAR HIGHWAY 395."

I hear ya. Buckle up, Rodar! Another non-winter rain storm is coming!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have made a little addition to the backpack shoulder strap for the pre-dawn dirt road excursions.


No problems carrying that into school, then? Just wondering how that would fly here.


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## Biggie (Dec 11, 2004)

CommuterBoy, you are going to defend yourself from a mountain lion with a $10 Buck knife? My money is on the cat.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> No problems carrying that into school, then? Just wondering how that would fly here.


It wouldn't fly here either...



Biggie said:


> CommuterBoy, you are going to defend yourself from a mountain lion with a $10 Buck knife? My money is on the cat.


No way. It's a $40 Gerber. :lol:

I am certain I'd lose round 1... but I'm hoping it would be better than my fingernails if I made it to round 2.

Everyone I know who's come across a cougar while riding has only gotten a glimpse, because they run away so quick. They have all the deer to eat that they want around here... I'm not in fear of being attacked, but it does feel like I should have something for that freak chance... I'm more concerned that the GoPro is on than that the knife is sharp...call me crazy. I want to see one bad.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm more concerned that the GoPro is on than that the knife is sharp...call me crazy. I want to see one bad.


You'll want to turn the Go Pro around so it takes a picture behind you....

Cause that is where the cougers attack from.

BTW that is also why there are not alot of round two's.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm thinking on the bars facing back...so you can see me riding along oblivious with the snarling beast hanging in the air behind me.... something like that HAS to go viral :lol:


And true, round 2 is rare... but I have a way better chance of being struck by lightning than even getting into round 1, so I'm feeling OK about my chances with the Gerber and the GoPro...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Thankfully no big cats around here.

I did bump into a coyote last night with the dog, though. It popped out of the trees maybe 50' in front of us, ran down the mup for a bit, and then headed back into the trees. The dog had never actually seen a coyote before, so I think she was pretty confused.

And this was a cute, "normal" sized coyote. The last few years I kept seeing these monster coyotes that were bigger than a german shepherd, but this year it's all been the little ones.

Snowfall warning in effect, and we might get 6~8" through tomorrow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I always carry a knife, too. Even on campus, but I usually have it on me not hanging off my pack. I know I'd get some trouble for it if it was out. Hell, starting in July it'll be illegal to smoke on all campuses in Illinois. I don't smoke anymore but that's just really stupid. Illinois for ya.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

And I have a Gerber knife too. Pretty sharp and dandy. I like it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> And this was a cute, "normal" sized coyote. The last few years I kept seeing these monster coyotes that were bigger than a german shepherd, but this year it's all been the little ones.


Yup lots of coyotes this winter.....saw one out on the river ice in the downtown....big one looked more like a wolf??

Acutally now that I think about it not so many coyotes....but definately the one big one....makes more sense too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I got this "normal" guy on my trail cam at my house... Stretching his neck out to smell my bacon bait. I have seen a lot of them this year also... I wonder if the population is up, or if I'm just noticing... It's always way off in a field, there's another one... maybe I'm just seeing the same one or two over and over.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Coyotes are all over in this area, especially the wooded mangroves by the river that I usually pass on my commute. It's funny because our dog, Baby Girl, is half coyote and half Australian Shepherd. So when she spots these things, it's like she's not sure what to do.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ my aussie is practically a wild animal. I can't imagine that crossed with an actual wild animal. :eekster:

After seeing a bunch of normal coyotes this year, I'm thinking that I really must have been seeing coy-wolves for the last few years, because those things were massive. And based on Jeff's story, it sounds like maybe that pack has moved south.

Plenty of new snow for the ride home...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Just checked the weather out in the valley to see how to dress for my ride and, well, the wind is out of the north/north east at steady 48 mph with gusts to 67. Yeah - boy! You heard it here first - the wife is picking me up from the bus stop. Though if I could actually make it to where I turn to head eastward it would be a dang fast trip.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Windy!! 

Cool cat and coyote. My Dad took out his sailing knife (1 blade, 1 spike) when he met a mountain lion at a trailside boulder in CO. Luckily the cat slunk off before he had to see how he'd do in a knifefight.

We have coyotes here but I have only seen one while trailriding and it took off when we locked eyes. Usually I just hear them, and a few weeks ago saw a big one run over on the interstate.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> ^ my aussie is practically a wild animal. I can't imagine that crossed with an actual wild animal. :eekster:
> 
> After seeing a bunch of normal coyotes this year, I'm thinking that I really must have been seeing coy-wolves for the last few years, because those things were massive. And based on Jeff's story, it sounds like maybe that pack has moved south.
> 
> Plenty of new snow for the ride home...


Believe it or not, BG is the most well behaved dog I've ever had. She'll sprint through the yard after a squirrel or something, but she always stops when she reaches the edge. She never nips at the kids, never barks (unless there's a loud noise or knock at the door late at night), never tears up furniture, and is generally extremely well behaved. But, at the same time, she eats chicken carcasses whole, steals tuna cans out of the garbage and leaves them in my bedroom at night, and hunts squirrels. She's 12 now, and goes with me every once in awhile on a ride, but I'm dreading the day that she passes. Irreplaceable.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ mine just thinks that _everything_ is a potential threat. Coyote, skateboard, person wearing a hood, parked car with its lights on, plastic bag blowing in the wind...she's great with us but psycho when she loses it.

So much snow today. Probably about 5" on the ground, but it was still coming down really hard. I can't even imagine what it's like to get feet of snow in one shot.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have a way better chance of being struck by lightning ..


Especially now with that Gerber as a lightning rod!


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

I finally found a surface treatment my tires don't like, I think y'all have been calling it car snot. This is the high sodium version, soft- ish at 15f and unpredictable. Road shoulders were reasonably well plowed after this week's first snow of 18 inches or so. The following few inches of snow were apparently too much for the County and City trucks.

I tried my usual routine of riding the wide shoulders, in the stuff for about a quarter mile, then just took the lane for the rest of the ride, it was just too much work to grind through. To my surprise, everyone gave me a wide berth with all my lights going. I got smoke dumped on me by a Cummins and a Powerstroke- still waiting for a Duramax to smoke me on the same day for the Trinity of belligerent Redneckism. Other than that, it was a good ride and one of my coldest at 9f on the trip home. 

Nice pics of the cats and dogs. Have trail cams got that much better in the last few years, or is this due to the photographer's skills?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rustedthrough said:


> Nice pics of the cats and dogs. Have trail cams got that much better in the last few years, or is this due to the photographer's skills?


Well the coyote is my picture, and the cat was my neighbor's...knowing that makes me say it's the cameras. :lol:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Essentially the same weather as Rusted - cold. Car snot all over the place here as well, and the narrowed lanes are not helping. Bike lanes are half plowed which really sucks. Windy and boring for the ride today. Forgot to charge both headlights. Made it home with one on red. 

Stopped at the bike shop - fat bike fenders are IN!!! Going in on Saturday to get them as I was pressed for time today. PDW finally made more of these things, and I could not be happier. Will post pics, of course.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I hear ya. Buckle up, Rodar! Another non-winter rain storm is coming!


Buckled up. This morning was dry, 47*, cloudy and breezy. Now it`s dry, about the same temp, overcast, and windy. Wet, please.

PSA for you, CB:


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Finally back on the bike after some procrastination and maintenance issues. Everything is back in working order, so it was just fine.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Rustedthrough said:


> Nice pics of the cats and dogs. Have trail cams got that much better in the last few years, or is this due to the photographer's skills?


Trail cameras have gotten exponentially better in the last few years, and perhaps even more affordable. I know the ones at the university that we use for wildlife classes are pretty sweet and the professor says that they aren't very expensive. They also hold thousands of pictures on a micro-sd card, which is considerably easier than film.

I'm going to guess that they are getting better because of higher demand by hunters, researchers, and amateur naturalists. I know I've been caught on some farmer's trail cams next to their hunting stand while trespassing in some woods a few times.

Woke up late today, no bike commute. I'm a failure, or just exhausted.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

KentheKona, that's really cool.

After all the snow yesterday I figured the mups were a no-go, so I took my all-road route which was in great shape. Minimal idiocy, but I do have to wonder why snow means that everyone can ignore 4-way stops? At two different spots I saw streams of cars one-after-another just blowing through stopsigns.

And now I feel bad, because as I was leaving my building the car infront of me got stuck on the ramp. I was 3' behind her, so I hopped off my bike and was going to push, but she said she was just going to backup and try again. And that meant I had to quickly grab my bike to get it out of the way. So I grabbed it, hauled it to the top of the ramp to get it out of the way, and I left. I definitely wasn't thinking, and I have no idea if she made it. 

Big fatbike race here tomorrow. For the race a few weeks ago they had beautiful hardpack and temperatures around freezing. Tomorrow will have 8" of fresh snow and temps closer to 0F. Should be interesting.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Buckled up. This morning was dry, 47*, cloudy and breezy. Now it`s dry, about the same temp, overcast, and windy. Wet, please.


That non-winter rain storm has been here in Seattle for a couple of days. Windy and pouring rain. Standing water in places where water has no business standing. Supposed to rain through the weekend than high pressure is going to build in. Ski areas around here are desperate for snow. Enjoy the storm rodar and CB.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Good ride in here as well. 17F with 15mph sustained winds made for a feels like temp of 0F. Roads in general were good but the shoulders and bike lanes had various amounts of ice, snow, and car snot. Got a great up close view of a hawk eating a mouse for breakfast in the park. Should have gotten the phone out for a picture but I was running late.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-20F and the furnace died, so I took the car in case by some miracle the repair guy called me back. He didn't, but I caught him when I came home at 1:30 to turn on the gas "woodstove". So I took 4 hours off and am still waiting for him now @ 4:30. On th plus side we are still warm and the dog is baking in front of the "fire".


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

20 below and a dead furnace 
Good thing it isn`t your only heat source! Sure hope you don`t burst any plumbing.



newfangled said:


> KentheKona, that's really cool.


Yeah, neat-o! Is that in Rochester?



woodway said:


> Enjoy the storm rodar and CB.


Thanks, Woodway. We did get a lot of wind Thursday (several accidents caused by dust-outs), then rain pretty much all day Fri. I don`t know how much good it did for our water suply, but it saved me from watering my trees by bucket again


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Once again I was berated by someone on my way home. I had taken the lane at a four way stop in a residential area when he came flying around to my left in the oncoming lane, and stopped at the stop sign just 6 inches to my left.

I yelled "Yo, what are you doing?!", to which he rolled down his window and asked what the **** my problem is. I responded asking if he was drunk or something, which he mumbled at, yelled for me to get the **** off the road, and turned his vehicle toward me as he sped away.

I snagged his plate number and called it in thinking he may have actually been drunk, but was told "We'll have someone drive by and see what we can do" once they found out I wasn't in a vehicle.

This **** is getting out of hand.

I think the thing that gets to me the most is that I bend over backwards and go out of my way to make myself visible after being hit in November. I'm looking to take away the ability for a driver to say "I didn't see him", and it come down to me. I wear a hi-viz reflective vest, and then a smaller one draped around my backpack. Lights are always on. It's just a slap in the face, ya know?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

There are always gonna be the d-bags that think that cyclists belong on the sidewalk. That will never change unfortunately for us. They will buzz us, harass us, yell at us, cut us off, no matter how many lights or high viz vests you wear. They simply do not like us being on the road.


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> There are always gonna be the d-bags that think that cyclists belong on the sidewalk. That will never change unfortunately for us. They will buzz us, harass us, yell at us, cut us off, no matter how many lights or high viz vests you wear. They simply do not like us being on the road.


^^^this
Here I classify them a Redneckicus Douchebagicus or Teenageicus Dipshiticus and they are the predominant species on the road, although there is the Soccermomicus Rex which is deadly if encountered during school hours.

My commutes have been better than I deserve, I mean nearly 60F for the afternoon commute and barely under freezing in the AM? In February? I'm not going to complain.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm aware that I can't change the attitudes of everyone, but it remains just as frustrating. Sure, I could write it off as someone just being an a-hole, but after being hit in November, the current back and forth with the insurance company trying to refuse to accept liability, and the measures I take to make sure such an incident doesn't occur again, it's a slap in the face.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ You seem to get far more than you fair share of that crap. The only thing I ever get is a shout to get off the road or get called something along the lines of f*ggot because macho ******** is the way to go. 

I think you should ride with a pistol on your hip. Or something... Wouldn't normally say that but you seem to have a situation that is out of the norm.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

There's a reason Florida is rated as the worst state to ride in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> We did get a lot of wind Thursday (several accidents caused by dust-outs), then rain pretty much all day Fri.


We had 70+mph gusts on Friday morning. I had Friday off...would have been an epic commute. Stole these from friend's Facebook pages... we just got internet back, lots of folks are still without power. Power was out at my place for 24 hours.

On my route there is one barn blown down, that tree leaning against the wires is on my route... most road signs are probably in Reno by now. So many trees down, it's crazy. Cleanup will be a while. Good thing it doesn't snow here anymore


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Once again I was berated by someone on my way home. I had taken the lane at a four way stop in a residential area when he came flying around to my left in the oncoming lane, and stopped at the stop sign just 6 inches to my left.


You should have asked if he was drunk.  It attacks behavior and not the person, so seems to have a better outcome more often.

He violated two Florida driving laws but reporting him as a possible drunk driver is good. He was driving like one.

Like you, I am the opposite of camouflaged and am visible for over a quarter of a mile.

I have something similar happen and was too flabbergasted to do anything but avoid plowing into the rear bumper that barely cleared me, as he cut me off and slammed to a stop at the stop sign. I am prepared now. I will borrow the neighbor's lawn if I get the squeeze again. I wonder how they will respond to my slapping a fender? Hopefully I will never find out.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, neat-o! Is that in Rochester?


Sure is.

Texan-n-Fla,

Dude, sorry to hear about the flak you get on the streets. Sounds like a lot of *******s on your rides. I hope the attitudes change, because it does sound like people that just dislike cyclists and pedestrians.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

It's such a strange thing. We have tons of bike lanes, plenty of share the road signs, and city and county master plans promoting the hell out of non car transport; but we have the highest rate of injury and death for cyclists, and a disdain from motorists that can't be matched. A simple Google search turned up page after page of bad cycling reports in Florida. I can only hope that Austin has its crap together.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CB and rodar - wow those are some pics. Glad you came through OK. One more good shot of rain coming through here before high pressure builds in. Looking at the satellite thingy, looks like you may get another shot of moisture out of this one too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It is D U M P I N G rain where I'm at now... not sure about Rodar over in Reno. We desperately need the moisture, but it would be much better if it was in the form of snowpack... Supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, and then start clearing up. That was some crazy wind though.


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## Guest (Feb 8, 2015)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Once again I was berated by someone on my way home. I had taken the lane at a four way stop in a residential area when he came flying around to my left in the oncoming lane, and stopped at the stop sign just 6 inches to my left.
> 
> I yelled "Yo, what are you doing?!", to which he rolled down his window and asked what the **** my problem is. I responded asking if he was drunk or something, which he mumbled at, yelled for me to get the **** off the road, and turned his vehicle toward me as he sped away.
> 
> ...


 I think taking license plate numbers and filing police reports is a good first step. I'd consider pepper spray or something with more punch. I've been stopped by cars three times in 30 years and only empty handed once. It was some scary crap.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Who said I was empty handed?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Whoa, those storm pix are severe! Be safe in the aftermath. 

The snowstorms here are blending into one another, and off-road/ungroomed travel is difficult even on snowshoes. Tried to pack some new trails today and it was tough work. Only the dog's head remained above the snow as he tried to help. Another 8-12" through tomorrow night.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute yesterday or today for me. Temperatures hovering in the low 30's for a high, with a rain/sleet/snow mix and slippery roads seal the deal on that. It isn't worth an injury that could put me off the bike for the rest of the year just to ride one day. Haven't had a chance to test out the fat bike fenders yet.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Once again I was berated by someone on my way home. I had taken the lane at a four way stop in a residential area when he came flying around to my left in the oncoming lane, and stopped at the stop sign just 6 inches to my left.
> 
> I yelled "Yo, what are you doing?!", to which he rolled down his window and asked what the **** my problem is. I responded asking if he was drunk or something, which he mumbled at, yelled for me to get the **** off the road, and turned his vehicle toward me as he sped away.
> 
> ...


Just to play devil's advocate here: If you didn't initiate by yelling at the driver, would he have responded as he did? It is possible that he though, when he pulled up to the stop sign that he was following the rules of the road - most drivers don't know how to interact with cyclists who follow the rules of the road and act as any other user by taking the lane, etc.

I'm just always interested in the concept of pre-mediation and how our perceptions and expectations shape our interactions with the world. Then again, some drivers are just a-holes.

My ride in was decent, I guess, after Friday and Saturday with no riding and a short ride on Sunday due to the wind. The top wind gust recorded in the Valley was 76MPH. Saturday the straightline winds were 44-48MPH. Good times. Even this AM, the winds were still kicking up in the mid-teens from the north. Resulted in quickly freezing skin when I removed the gloves to put my puffy on while waiting for the bus. Good times.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Was windy here as well this morning, though nothing compared to the reports from others on this site. The ride in was pretty uneventful for the most part. Got buzzed on the bridge into downtown, and I'm pretty sure it was the same black Kia that I had an issue with a few months ago in that same spot. Not sure what the deal is with some people. 

Texan's posts make me really appreciate the culture around here. Sure we have potholes that can swallow small cars and the sky is grey for 8 months every year, but I rarely have someone so much as honk at me when I'm on my bike. Stay safe out there everyone.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I haven't had to deal with that much hostility either...some, but not on that level. Ignorant ******* stuff around here, not outright hatred. I have one or two stop sign situations that bring up similar pass-at-the-last-minute-while-I'm-trying-to-take-the-lane-for-my-own-safety situations. Most drivers seem to think the best thing to do is pass you at the last minute and get angry that you're drifting out into the lane. Letting you go first since you have the right of way is out of the question. So strange. Sorry you're dealing with it, Tex... And sorry to divert the conversation with my storm stories...I was just so excited to have internet again I had to share :lol:

A little aftermath this morning, but not too bad on the route I took. Some bike path debris, and something we haven't seen in NorCal in too long... river is almost at flood stage. Wish it was snowpack, but we'll take it!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> ... river is almost at flood stage.
> 
> View attachment 962811


Wait...that's _*almost*_ flood stage?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Flood Stage is when it gets past the bench :lol:


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

That looks like when hurricane Irene came rolling through NJ. The Delaware flooded downtown Trenton, and the canal towpath that I commuted on at that point was under 5-6 feet of water. I think it took 6 or 7 months for them to repair the whole thing?

I had a head shaking moment yesterday with a driver as well. Rolling up to a stoplight about 500 feet away, a guy blasted past the car behind me (who was slowing down for the red light), went into the wrong lane, and screeched to a stop at the light.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

After some fifteen hours of work, school, work, and data analysis, I accepted a ride home since my brother was leaving the university around the same time. 

Ride this morning was cool and misty. Nice stop at the grocery store on the way in. I'm pooped.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> It's such a strange thing. We have tons of bike lanes, plenty of share the road signs, and city and county master plans promoting the hell out of non car transport; but we have the highest rate of injury and death for cyclists, and a disdain from motorists that can't be matched. A simple Google search turned up page after page of bad cycling reports in Florida. I can only hope that Austin has its crap together.


I'd hate to stereotype Florida, BUT I have to imagine there's a lot of truck driving hillbillys (or are they swamp billys in Florida?) that get enraged by your commie unamerican mode of transportation. It's people like us that don't drive that killed Earnhardt. NEVA4GET #3


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Letting you go first since you have the right of way is out of the question. So strange.


And then of course there are those drivers who REFUSE to go in front of you even though they do have the right of way. So strange. :lol:
Those guys irritate me much more often than the a-holes, but I try to keep even my silent complaints against them to a minimum since I know it`s way better than what less fortunate pedalers have to deal with on a regular basis.

Yeah, we got a real soaking here too, much welcomed. Not as much wind damage as CB`s pics, though.

Brace up for the next round, Nor-Easters.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

To continue the comments on drivers doing idiotic things, a few weeks ago I was riding home and turning right with a green light. I pulled out into the lane so that I could take the turn at speed, and just as I got to the intersection a large truck screeched around me in the non-turn lane and almost spun out as he slammed on the gas pedal after the turn. All I could do was show my emotions with the one finger salute as he sped off. 

I actually caught up to him at the next light, but he was over in the left turn lane (I was going straight) and I didn't want to weave through traffic to tell him off.

My commutes for the last two days have been quite pleasant, though, as we are finally having some nice weather here in San Antonio. Today I set a new PR with an average speed of 18.9mph on the way to campus. That speed of course doesn't include time spent not moving at stop lights.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Temps are mid-teens and the wind has pretty much died down to a breeze. The afternoons are getting lighter and sunrise usually comes right around my first coffee break rather than around lunch. A sure sign that spring is on its way. I just hope we actually get some snow before winter is over.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks like we are getting a break in the weather so I will be riding in today and tomorrow. The roads here are for the most part dry, the bike lanes are still messy, and I am unsure of the condition of the MUP.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Commutes the last two day have been nice. The streets have been cleared up thanks to the thaw over the weekend so I have been taking the commuter which is a welcome change from the fat bike. As fun as the fatty can be, it is just an energy suck on a commute. Still beats driving though - at least my energy is renewable.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texico said:


> To continue the comments on drivers doing idiotic things, a few weeks ago I was riding home and turning right with a green light. I pulled out into the lane so that I could take the turn at speed, and just as I got to the intersection a large truck screeched around me in the non-turn lane and almost spun out as he slammed on the gas pedal after the turn. All I could do was show my emotions with the one finger salute as he sped off.


Not new. I gave a guy the 'Italian Salute' in a similar situation over 30 years ago. He stopped (so he had time to be insulted, but no time to yield, what an effin' a$$h0le!). Then, as if almost hitting me was not assault, he threatened to beat me up. As I was a trim, fit, and strong 6' 185, and he was a slightly pudgy 5' 4" 140 or so, I folded my arms across my barrel chest and told him I did not fancy his chances if he tried. I wasn't going to play nice if he initiated. Recognizing that I was not backing down to his short man's syndrome temper tantrum, he then said he had a pizza to get home before it got cold. His daughter watched all this from the back seat. Some role model. Maybe there was a son on the other side and this guy's moronic legacy lives on!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

blockphi said:


> The afternoons are getting lighter and sunrise usually comes right around my first coffee break rather than around lunch. A sure sign that spring is on its way.


That still blows my mind. :lol:

Took a different route today to check some more storm damage. There was a "share the road" sign that had completely blown over so it was still attached to the ground, but sticking sideways on it's post, parallel to the ground. Wanted a pic of the bike leaning on that, but someone had removed it (yesterday, apparently). Here's a pic of the aftermath of an epic tailwind. Rodar will recognize the caboose on the right.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Commutes the last two day have been nice. The streets have been cleared up thanks to the thaw over the weekend so I have been taking the commuter which is a welcome change from the fat bike. As fun as the fatty can be, it is just an energy suck on a commute. Still beats driving though - at least my energy is renewable.


You speak the truth. Cannot wait to put the fat bike up, and get the fast bike out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Just sayin'


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'd be pretty happy to get any bike out.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fat is fast? So far I have hit 25.1 on my fat bike, on pavement on a straight away, wind at my back, slightly downhill. That is it. Maxed out beyond all belief. I can easily push 27.5 on the fixed gear in traffic. My fat bike is anything but fast.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> I can easily push 27.5 on the fixed gear in traffic.


What gear are you pushing?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Fat is fast? So far I have hit 25.1 on my fat bike, on pavement on a straight away, wind at my back, slightly downhill. That is it. Maxed out beyond all belief. I can easily push 27.5 on the fixed gear in traffic. My fat bike is anything but fast.


On my pugs I hit 29 on the flat, no wind 44 up front and 11 on the back. That was a one time thing. The fastest I've ever been on a fattie was also on the pugs going down the Hatcher Pass road in Alaska - 15 or 16% grade - 48.7 MPH before I started riding the brakes because I was starting to freak out. Good times. As I only ride fat, I've found that I am just as fast on in anymore as I was on my non-fat before.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

The packed snow on the paths was melting. One part of my commute had turned into a nasty porridge by the time I was heading home, so I got into a lane, instead of the path, for a while. No drama.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Caught a ride in to work with the wife this morning. Ride home was freaking amazing. 22 mph tailwinds, caught every green light, and every driver gave me plenty of room. I averaged 21.2 for the ride home without breaking a sweat. That'll never happen again 

On another note, I witnessed a Waste Management truck come WAY too close to two female cyclists on U.S. 301 while they were in the bike lane. The one who was leading took a dive into the grass and screamed at the driver. I sped up and grabbed the truck number which I then spent an hour trying to track down the right person to speak with in order to call it in. You may remember that I modified my route sometime back because I left the house around the same time they rolled out of their depot, and dealt with them passing too close and too fast. I sent email after email and never received a reply, mainly because I wasn't able to provide any info for them. Well, this time I was able to talk my way to speaking with the regional transportation manager for a few minutes. We've got a phone conference tomorrow at noon to address my concerns. 

Secondly, I just picked up a new frame to replace the "damaged" one from the collision in November. While I'm still working things out with my attorney and the insurance company. 2005 Trek 2100 road frame. While it isn't a "commuter" so to speak, I think it will do the job nicely, and is cheap enough that I'm not gonna complain about it. I don't use a rack or panniers anyway, so there ya go.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Uneventful commutes so far this year with only one commute day missed. Was raining in the morning, rain forecasted all day, and I didn't see the need for my bike to get rained on all day in the bike rack. Cheapie Walmart street cruisers don't like to get rained on too heavily. Didn't feel like regreasing everything. I also don't have rain clothes, and it doesn't pay to invest in them. This was the first day in my two years of commuting that it rained at exactly the same time my morning commute took place. I never care about getting rained on for ride home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good commutes. About 30°F both in and out. 

Overslept this morning. Woke up just in time to throw on a new shirt, scarf a peanut butter sandwich and hop on the bike... No morning coffee, but at least I want late to work.

After 15+ hours at the university at work/class/lab I was tired again but didn't skip the commute home. I'm glad I didn't. I had a hawk swoop down in front of me. Swoon, how majestic.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> What gear are you pushing?


49:15 on both fixed gear bikes. Stationary police speed trap had me at 28mph last year when we were screwing around. I would imagine that I could get 30 pretty easily.

Ride in was alright. Fat bike fenders are alright for now. I am not happy with the rear mount but I will see how it goes with it on there. Kept my backside dry at least. Ride home was decent, but had two separate idiots pull idiot maneuvers. First one flew by me as we approached a 4 way stop. That was closer than I like. Followed him and he just happened to be getting out of his car as I passed and casually called out "nice driving". Second was on the one fast downhill that I have, SUV flew by me to make a right turn at the bottom of the hill. I had to get all over the brakes to slow down enough that I felt comfortable with. Considered taking the lane on that one as I was in the bike lane. Wasn't sure if they were really going to turn so I held back. MUP is a sheet of ice still which is unfortunate.

Strava reminds me daily of how slow this fat bike is, with a 12.2mph average speed on my commutes. It feels as fast as an oil tanker. It does allow me to ride in the winter however, so that is a positive aspect of it.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> That still blows my mind. :lol:
> 
> Took a different route today to check some more storm damage. There was a "share the road" sign that had completely blown over so it was still attached to the ground, but sticking sideways on it's post, parallel to the ground. Wanted a pic of the bike leaning on that, but someone had removed it (yesterday, apparently). Here's a pic of the aftermath of an epic tailwind. Rodar will recognize the caboose on the right.
> 
> View attachment 963091


I saw your pic on the "Look At My Bike Leaning Against Stuff" group. Lol!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Great ride in this AM. Warm temps and good conditions allowed me to roll pretty fast. Fun times. The weather man predicts a small shot of snow today. We'll see.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I saw your pic on the "Look At My Bike Leaning Against Stuff" group. Lol!


Best group ever! I had the banner photo one time :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Things are calming down a bit. Nice sunny ride this morning.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Your pics make me miss my previous, mostly canal path, commute. There was a certain calm about rolling through nature amidst sprawling suburbia.

The last two days were pretty miserable in the morning. No extreme temperatures, but the wind is blowing down from the Hudson bay to the north. Bitter, dry, cold, miserable, etc. Supposed to get a rare calm day tomorrow, maybe I'll break my streak of not riding on my days off.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> 49:15 on both fixed gear bikes. Stationary police speed trap had me at 28mph last year when we were screwing around. I would imagine that I could get 30 pretty easily.


For 30mph you'd have to pedal around 120rpm, so it's definitely possible. My top pedaling speed is around 20mph, but I'm running 42:18 on 26" wheels. I don't know if I'd make it up the hills around here on 49:15.

The wind was raging today. 28F with flurries. I had a tail wind for maybe a minute. I had to travel for work yesterday, so I didn't get my ride in. It felt good to get back on the bike. We might get some snow early next week, which is welcome news for me. We've only had about 6" total all winter.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Last night's trip home was extremely disappointing. I rode the trails home and they SUCKED. The groomer had just come through, which sounds like a good thing, except the grooming is to make it better for snowmobiles, not bikes. What it does is take the very lightly packed snow, which was OK to ride, dig it up and spread it out leaving a few inches of dense but not packed snow on the top. It took about 1-1/2 hours to go 7 miles. The back wheel may have gone 12 miles. Finally the groomer turned off and I got to ride about a mile of semi-packed trail which was much better. This was all on a fat bike running tire pressure so low that riding any firm surface was awful.

Blah, I took the car today. I may try to ride tomorrow but my spirit is broken. This is getting old.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Last night's trip home was extremely disappointing. I rode the trails home and they SUCKED. The groomer had just come through, which sounds like a good thing, except the grooming is to make it better for snowmobiles, not bikes. What it does is take the very lightly packed snow, which was OK to ride, dig it up and spread it out leaving a few inches of dense but not packed snow on the top. It took about 1-1/2 hours to go 7 miles. The back wheel may have gone 12 miles. Finally the groomer turned off and I got to ride about a mile of semi-packed trail which was much better. This was all on a fat bike running tire pressure so low that riding any firm surface was awful.
> 
> Blah, I took the car today. I may try to ride tomorrow but my spirit is broken. This is getting old.


I have hit that wall (well not the slow fat bike wall)....Commuting for me is all about everyday and conveince...

You have to know when to bail, and take the easy way....Even one week of heavy car snot, can sap the legs and spirit...

Adjust your riding accordingly.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Meh. A bit ill the last few days. Went home early yesterday and went to bed by 5:30 and slept straight through to 3:55 this morning. Was seriously considering not coming into the office, but figured the miles would help me feel a bit more like myself and I've got a ton of stuff to get done today so I can take tomorrow off guilt free. So here I am - headache, stomach ache, tired and run down, with achey joints to boot. Good times. At least there is no wind and the temps are decent. 

JeffScott - I do agree that it is important to know when to bail, though I think bail can have a different meaning for everyone. For me it can either mean taking a shorter route, taking a route that puts me out of whatever it is that is dragging me down (wind, car snot, ect.), taking a longer route if it is a mental malaise that's dragging me down, or - in only the most dire of circumstances - calling for a ride - as I did last Thursday when the wind on the second leg of my commute was blowing from the north at a steady 48mph and gusting to near 70 and the first half of my second leg is north and uphill. 

Grooming is a strange thing - it can take something that is superior riding and turn it to crap if you get there too soon after the groom. I've had days last winter when in the AM the trails were bomber for riding, then the muni groomed it for skiing at mid-day and by the time I was leaving for the day it'd still be soft and hard to ride coupled with foot holes from the walkers. Ideally it's best to not ride a fresh groom until it's had plenty of time to set up - overnight if the temps are much above 20F.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, the trails looked like they were in good shape before the groom. The trouble we have is that the temps have been so cold that the snow refuses to consolidate. Yes it gets packed but it doesn't stick together so the groomer or a yahoo on a snowmobile that likes to get into the throttle stirs it back up again. Most of the trails are in the woods or the sun would help. Oh, and we get more of the white stuff every other day, like today.

This too will pass. The sun is getting stronger and we're going to have a killer base. It feels like it's been forever but it's only been 2+ weeks.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, the trails looked like they were in good shape before the groom. The trouble we have is that the temps have been so cold that the snow refuses to consolidate. Yes it gets packed but it doesn't stick together so the groomer or a yahoo on a snowmobile that likes to get into the throttle stirs it back up again. Most of the trails are in the woods or the sun would help. Oh, and we get more of the white stuff every other day, like today.
> 
> This too will pass. The sun is getting stronger and we're going to have a killer base. It feels like it's been forever but it's only been 2+ weeks.


I'm certain that south central Alaska would be more than happy to take any of that snow off your hands for you! We're still super light on snow - so much so that the start of the Iditarod this year has been moved to Fairbanks. This is only the second time that has happened in the race's history.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I know they are out of "snow farms" in Boston and are asking for private landowners if they can take any snow. I think Alaska might be a little too far to ship it. We haven't had quite as much but more than enough.
Boston Turns to Snow Farms, Melting Trucks in Desperate Effort to Unclog City Streets


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I know they are out of "snow farms" in Boston and are asking for private landowners if they can take any snow. I think Alaska might be a little too far to ship it. We haven't had quite as much but more than enough.
> Boston Turns to Snow Farms, Melting Trucks in Desperate Effort to Unclog City Streets


Help me out here Boston has a seashore and a harbor....

dump the snow in the ocean it melts and you move on....kinda like montreal....they built up the sewer system so they can dump the snow into it at snow dump stations then add water melt it and let it go to the river....

The may have issues with the harbor but geez a couple of big barges should do the trick


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> Help me out here Boston has a seashore and a harbor....
> 
> dump the snow in the ocean it melts and you move on....kinda like montreal....they built up the sewer system so they can dump the snow into it at snow dump stations then add water melt it and let it go to the river....
> 
> The may have issues with the harbor but geez a couple of big barges should do the trick


There are some hurdles to just dumping snow into the harbor. I read an article somewhere that there are state laws regulating the dumping of snow into the ocean or harbor, and there are EPA restrictions as well relating to the contaminants found in road snow. It can be done, and it looks like they are going to go that route, but the practice is typically frowned upon except for under extreme circumstances.

Boston Weather: City May Dump= Extra Snow Into the Harbor


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Kleebs said:


> There are some hurdles to just dumping snow into the harbor. I read an article somewhere that there are state laws regulating the dumping of snow into the ocean or harbor, and there are EPA restrictions as well relating to the contaminants found in road snow. It can be done, and it looks like they are going to go that route, but the practice is typically frowned upon except for under extreme circumstances.
> 
> Boston Weather: City May Dump= Extra Snow Into the Harbor


Interesting

So where does the EPA think all the bad stuff (salt, gravel, fines, soot etc) ends up....in the harbor via the storm drain system....albiet at a much slower rate, but nonetheless a significant rate during a snow melt period...(solution to pollution is dilution)

Best bet shovel it up quick and dump it in the harbor before all the crap gets laid down on it.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> So where does the EPA think all the bad stuff (salt, gravel, fines, soot etc) ends up....in the harbor via the storm drain system....albiet at a much slower rate, but nonetheless a significant rate during a snow melt period...(solution to pollution is dilution)


I think the line of thought there is, under normal circumstances, much of the snow melt gets filtered before ending up back in the harbor. Not sure how true that is though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> So where does the EPA think all the bad stuff (salt, gravel, fines, soot etc) ends up....in the harbor via the storm drain system....albiet at a much slower rate, but nonetheless a significant rate during a snow melt period...(solution to pollution is dilution)


Most people, including me, agree with you. Most of it will end up there anyway. I think they made a law against it so it wouldn't happen routinely. Probably the media, strong opinions and politics got in the way making it a bigger issue than it really is. It is mostly "pure" snow at this point so dump away.

Another Noreaster is brewing for Saturday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Man, I wish I was sick of snow... I hear ya though Bedwards, I have actually been there (when it used to snow here, which it doesn't anymore).

Took the trail route for the post-storm clean-up commute this morning. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Several big oak branches down across the trail, but only a couple of little trees. This is a switchback that had a new creek running through it, and a tree down. I was able to move everything major out of the trail with no tools, which I wasn't expecting. Slow going with all the stops though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

If you think snow dumped from street cleanup is clean, go to your local snow dump this spring (even a little one at a grocery store) and see what is left behind. Report back on what you find.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride home. But I did ride to the shop where the Pinerello truck was there doing demos. I spent most of the evening on a Dogma drooling. Not that I have a use for a bike like that, but it was awesome to ride something so top of the line. 

Picked up a pair of safety glasses, hoping to cut down on the tears from the cold weather.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

About 12 F with 22+ mph winds going against me on the way in. Slow. I was five minutes late to work. First time ever being late riding a bike and I didn't like it, but the ride was worth it. It was my relaxing time for the day, considering I only had five minutes to eat lunch. Ride home wasn't bad, but eating almost nothing between 6:30 am and 7:30 pm made the ride slower than it should've been.

I think we're supposed to get snow next Monday. So stoked!!!


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Not as cold out as I had expected, held on to 12f for both the ride in and home.

I'm starting to really like this ugly corrugated plastic pannier, and becoming less sure of its advantages over a kitty- litter bucket.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I was wondering the same thing as Jeff- why not just dump it in the water? I see the complications now.

Spent a few hours this morning doing maintenance on my Toyota (hope CB doesn`t read that and come to the conclusion that a Toyota is something other than 100% maintenance free). Eventually I came to a point where I had to get into the engine bay up to my elbows, so I took off my sweatshirt to keep it clean. I never bothered to put it back on, just spent the last hour outside in a shirt and blue jeans. That sort of isn`t right for February.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

42* on the way in to work this morning. Had some steady winds @ about 14 mph on, with some stronger gusts. I know you're supposed to get stronger and all that, but when you haven't had your coffee yet, it sucks the motivation right out of you. 

I spent most of yesterday playing phone tag with a transportation manager for Waste Management, only to be told that he couldn't solve my problem. It was the last straw, and I had to take to social media to get something done. Posted on their Facebook page, hopefully something good will come of it. Check it out and give it a like.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> If you think snow dumped from street cleanup is clean, go to your local snow dump this spring (even a little one at a grocery store) and see what is left behind. Report back on what you find.


I said MOSTLY!  I think it is good practice not to do it every storm. On the other hand, on an environmental impact scale over and above the normal street runoff, I'd put it at about a 2 out of 10. Running snow melters that burn fuel and create more waste & soot has got to be worse and more costly to everybody. IMHO, of course.

My commute was exhausting. But I rode on winter ride to work today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I just noticed that my wife`s bulbs have started sprouting :skep:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A few degrees above freezing for the Winter-Bike-to-Work-Day Pancake Breakfast:



__
https://flic.kr/p/qTmo8B


__
https://flic.kr/p/qTjwEc

Two city councillors rode in to officially proclaim it wbtwd.

The problem with having an event like that inside is that you don't get to check out everyone else' bikes.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> I just noticed that my wife`s bulbs have started sprouting :skep:
> View attachment 963888


Well... That's odd. I don't presume that'd be because things tend to be warmer and wetter than usual these days.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Stayed up late for no reason at all last night so I naturally overslept this morning. Drove most of the way to work before parking and riding. I had to at least ride a few miles because it's Winter Bike to Work day. I psyched myself out about the temperature, thinking it would be worse than it really was. Forecast was for 4F this morning so I wore an extra layer top and bottom and ended up being too warm. Live and Learn


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I just noticed that my wife`s bulbs have started sprouting


These have been poking up since January 30, a couple of weeks early. It was 9 F this morning but these are close to the house. Still, a bit early.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rodar and CB, not looking good for snow. Mtbx, bedwards, etc., looking good for more snow:

Cliff Mass Weather Blog: Revenge of the Ridges

I've been enjoying commutting in the warmth of the west coast this year. I count only 9 rain rides since January 1...NINE! Last year I had 15 rain rides in January alone! No, you can keep your cold and your snow. I'm liking this winter.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

After months of trying, several phone calls, and unanswered emails, a freaking Facebook post got the job done. A very kind young woman got in touch with me today, and got herself into more than she realizes. She asked for more information, of which I have more than enough. Maps and routes, dates, times, locations, and truck numbers.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^A tenacious Texan for the greater good!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Isn't it odd though how well that social media crap works? The only way you coulda done it faster was to use a snarky hashtag. At least you got the ball rolling again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Way to go Texan!

Apparently the snow drops are up and coming today (maybe a couple of days):



Spring is on its way evidence to the contrary aside.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode over to MUP and rode it end to end but the video was upside down. About a 15 mph wind to ride back against and the socks and booties and the Bar Mitts were not quite enough to last over an hour at 24 F. A lot warmer and drier than many here, though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Spent a few hours this morning doing maintenance on my Toyota (hope CB doesn`t read that and come to the conclusion that a Toyota is something other than 100% maintenance free).


:lol: Yes I am a Jeep guy, but our family wagon is a Sequoia. I only open the hood for oil changes. Awesome reliable vehicle.

...and I've been outside today chopping firewood in shorts and a t shirt... just in case it ever decides to get cold around here...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Pushing the 80s all week here in Vegas. Even by our standards this is a bit odd. Only supposed to be around 65F this time of the year. Good commutes all week. Just did four hours of yard work cause it appears Spring is here already. Usually don't tend to these annual yardly chores until mid-March.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in: 10F, sunny, and very windy. They forecasted them to be near 35mph but I think it fell short. I ended up stopping at the bike shop on the way in, not to warm up, but to cool down. I was dressed better than I ever have for any ride, ever. Bike lane was a mix of slush and car snot. Was able to park the bike inside since it is the weekend. 
Ride home: 0F, felt like -20F with a strong NW wind. I got home, and honestly, I felt underwhelmed. I might have psyched myself up and was let down. It was cold, but when I got home, the only thing remotely cold were my feet, and they were just starting to get cold. I actually rode the rest of the MUP near my complex to check out the conditions. Hands have never been warmer on a cold ride than today. They were drenched when I got to work, and very warm when I got home tonight. Sunday is forecasted for wind chills near -35F so I will probably test that out and ride in again. 

I remember last year I think I set my minimum temperature to ride at 30F or something like that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woohoo TenSpeed, 0F rider rep!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

You have certainly come a long way since last winter to be sure.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Took the short route nice and easy this morning. I picked up a new commuter on Saturday. NOS 2013 Jamis Nova for a price that couldn't be passed up. Took it out for 56 hard miles yesterday, 35 or so in headwinds sustaining around 17, gusting up to 25. For the most part, it's a great bike. The downside is the entry level Tektro Lyra brakes are only marginally better than the Single Digit 7's I had on the Cannondale, and the crappy 8 speed Sora shifters have horrid ergonomics. But, they had to skimp where they could to hit a price point in entry level cross bikes. I've got a friend with 10 speed 105 that I'll be taking off his hands, and some BB7's will be going on sometime this week. 

The mandatory new bike day pictures will be posted this afternoon once it gets light.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No ride today. We are actually having somewhat of a snow storm. Drivers around here really suck in the snow. It's only about 15F, so the snow is not wet and is relatively easy to drive in. Most of the drivers I saw were actually going too slow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Taking a break from the commute. This winter is really wearing on me, and the preparation and items that I need to take with me, I just need to take a small break. Will return very soon.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Passed on riding this morning. Was -5F this morning with a wind chill of -25ish. My boots are not good enough to keep my feet warm in that kind of temp. I got a pair of Lake MXZ303s for Xmas and I'm honestly not that impressed with them. I expected them to be warmer than they are. The shoes say they are "sub-zero rated", but that must be in Celsius because they are certainly not warm enough for subzero fahrenheit. Oh well, live and learn. I like them a lot for the 15-35 degree range. Next winter I will reluctantly give up the clipless pedals and go with flats and heavy winter boots.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

What type of socks are you wearing with the Lakes? When I got my Defrosters, I was doing it all wrong. I am now using a thick Smartwool sock and it makes all the difference in the world, even at these ridiculous low temps were are having.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Strange weather, though. 40F at my house. A bit windy. Supposed to rain today. 

Put the egg beaters back on for yesterday's ride. Glad to have them back. Kleebs, thanks for the info on the Lake's. I really want to get a pair of winter cycling boots, but have heard that even the 45Ns aren't as warm as they claim. Of course my problem isn't usually during the ride, it's the bus ride in between when too much insulation leads to sweat which leads to frozen toes and too little insulation just leads to frozen toes during the bus ride as the heat on the bus doesn't work so well when it is really cold out. 

Good find this AM - A new can of bear spray. Odd time of year to find that, but a welcome find just the same. I needed a new can.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Rode in today. low 20's to start and 4 to 5" of snow. it was coming down hard. 

Surprise, surprise, another detour off the bike trail onto the streets. The bike lane wasn't plowed and had too many ice chunks in it to safely ride in. Had to ride in the middle of the street. Luckily, traffic wasn't bad because of the Holiday and the drivers were content to stay behind me.

I like my Lakes, wore them this morning. My problem with them is I ordered 48's and they fit my left foot perfectly it stays toasty warm. My right foot is a half size bigger 13.5 and the 48 shoe is too tight. The 50's too loose and Lake doesn't offer a 49 which would be perfect. If your shoes are snug, try wearing a thinner sock. 

The Lakes are a good bit bigger than my non-winter MTB shoes and I get toe rub on the front wheel when making tight turns. I hate overlap.

Sorry to hear yours aren't warm enough.. If the Lakes aren't I'm not sure whose will be.

I also have a pair of Lake MX 145's I got in size 50 and wear them mostly for days where it starts out in the teens and 20's and warms up to the 60's by evening. I wear a pair of thicker socks on the way in to work and switch to a thinner pair for the ride home. My ride each way is 12 to 13 miles depending on the detour de jour.

The MXZ303s are way better in the wet. Like on those warmer afternoons when the snow has melted and is slushy as heck or has turned into puddles too big to ride around. My feet have stayed dry no mater how wet the shoes got. Gotta love that.

It's still snowing. It was supposed to have stopped before the morning commute, lol. Gonna be a fun ride home.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

I have now joined the club of "Cyclists who have been hit by cars". Another student hit me right after I had turned onto campus from the main road. I was going straight on a road that circles the parking lots, and she turned left and hit me broadside. Luckily no fractures or breaks (which is the most important part), but parts of my bike are pretty well mangled. No more bike commuting until the insurance claim goes through. Also I'm just in pain all over the right side of my body.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I think part of my problem is the sizing. My summer shoes are size 44, so that's what I initially ordered in the Lakes, but they proved way too small. Sent them back in exchange for a 46, and Nashbar sent me a 42 by mistake. Sent them back again for a true 46, and they fit, but they are still a bit snug. At this point, I just wanted shoes to wear so I have stuck with them, but I can't help think that maybe I need one size larger to allow better circulation. I've tried various weights of socks, and it hasn't helped. 

I will say that the quality is outstanding and the waterproofness is excellent. I have not once had wet socks with the MXZ's.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Texico,

I am Glad to hear that there are no breaks or fractures. Once the adrenaline wears off, the hurting begins.

Often, the scariest part of my commute begins once I arrive on campus or when I leave to go home.

Hope the insurance company gets you sorted out quickly and that the hurtin goes away!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> I think part of my problem is the sizing.


That's my problem to be sure. I drove all the way down to Colorado Springs to the CO Cyclist to try on a pair. Made the mistake of 1) wearing socks that were too thin. 2) not accounting for my feet swelling a little when riding. On my ride home the shoes are noticeably tighter than on my ride to work. Not that it matters in my case as they don't make a 49. :-(

I really hate how inconsistent sizing is amongst various manufacturers.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Texico said:


> I have now joined the club of "Cyclists who have been hit by cars". Another student hit me right after I had turned onto campus from the main road. I was going straight on a road that circles the parking lots, and she turned left and hit me broadside. Luckily no fractures or breaks (which is the most important part), but parts of my bike are pretty well mangled. No more bike commuting until the insurance claim goes through. Also I'm just in pain all over the right side of my body.


Good that you're ok. Hope everything works out for you.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Oh no, get well soon Texico!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

From one Texan to another, get better! I'm still fighting with the insurance company from my collision back in November. Finally replaced that bike Saturday, out of my own pocket.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone. That's crazy about your situation, though, Texan! I didn't realize you were still fighting their insurance. If you don't mind me asking, which insurance company is giving you a hard time?

Also it has been confirmed that my bike is pretty much totaled. I didn't realize it before taking it in to the shop, but the steel fork is bent quite a bit, which means the frame might be warped too. The non-drive-side crank arm is bent back in to the rear wheel as well. This is along with damaged rims and I don't know what damage is like to the drive train.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Yup, still going back and forth with Auto Owners Ins. My Cannondale was wrecked, and they refused to pay, saying that because the van never came into contact with the bike (it came into contact with ME!), they weren't liable for those damages. It's been nothing but stupid crap from the insurance company, and it really irritates me considering that I strive to live my life in a way that I don't cause suffering to others. These folks, on the other hand.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I leave the house at 0530 for 8 miles north. It's gonna be a fun ride tomorrow morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Texico said:


> I didn't realize it before taking it in to the shop, but the steel fork is bent quite a bit, which means the frame might be warped too. The non-drive-side crank arm is bent back in to the rear wheel as well.


Sorry to hear it, Texico. It`s amazing that you could come out unhurt with ll that damage to your bike. Did you go flying clear of everything and the bike go under the car? Hope you have better insurance luck than Texan-n-Fla. I have read of insurance cases on the forums that actually went well for the cyclists, so you do stand a chance!



Texan-n-Fla said:


> My Cannondale was wrecked, and they refused to pay, saying that because the van never came into contact with the bike (it came into contact with ME!), they weren't liable for those damages.


Aw, jeez- that`s nuts. After all the weird crap that health insurance companies pull, I guess the auto insurance guys wanted to get in on the craziness racket too : (


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Yup, still going back and forth with Auto Owners Ins. My Cannondale was wrecked, and they refused to pay, saying that because the van never came into contact with the bike (it came into contact with ME!), they weren't liable for those damages. It's been nothing but stupid crap from the insurance company, and it really irritates me considering that I strive to live my life in a way that I don't cause suffering to others. These folks, on the other hand.


Wow, that is insane! I wonder if your insurance company would get involved and do the fighting for you if you can make a claim under auto or home. I assume hiring your own lawyer would be prohibitively expensive...wouldn't it be nice if bike advocacy groups could afford a staff attorney to help out in these situations?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I have an attorney, and this is what we're getting. I'm pretty disappointed with how it's all played out, but this far in I can't go get another attorney. My primary concern is having medical bills paid that my insurance has covered, and some reparation for missed work and decreased work productivity. I was going to replace the Cannondale anyway, just not so soon. 

I opted to drive in this morning. Threat of 30 mph headwinds and sore legs from this weekend aren't the makings of an enjoyable ride. Take myself a recovery day, and get back after it tomorrow. Baby #4 is due any day now, so who knows when I might get back to commuting, although I'll likely only take a week or so.


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, that is insane! I wonder if your insurance company would get involved and do the fighting for you if you can make a claim under auto or home. I assume hiring your own lawyer would be prohibitively expensive...wouldn't it be nice if bike advocacy groups could afford a staff attorney to help out in these situations?


 That's a really sound idea. Perhaps at the local club level a member who's an attorney could take that on for a modest retainer. In 1983 I was hit by a car leaving an alley. Although I was able to shrug off the injuries (when your 19, getting launched 20 feet is apparently less impactive than it would be at 52) my bike was totaled. Now you'd think an insurance company whose driver hit a cyclist leaving an alley would jump at a $400 settlement, but that wasn't the case. I went to the legal office at the college I was attending and presented the facts to their attorney (birkenstocks and a schwinn varsity in the office were very telling). He made one phone call and based on the cost of litegation (as opposed to the facts of the case) they settled. Again, that's a solid idea. I may propose it to our club.


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## Oleycow (Feb 13, 2015)

I'm new to winter biking, but not winter weather...This morning was one of my coldest commutes...I'd say top 5...that being said, not as bad as I really expected...
Little Falls, MN (56345) Weather

Wind Chill Advisory #1 from Tue, 12am until Wed, 12pm 
2  

8:30 am 
Tue, Feb 17

Weather Condition Icon
-12°F 
Feels Like -22° 
Partly Cloudy 
0% 
WNW 9 mph


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Florida requires PIP insurance, and because it was a motor vehicle collision, my auto insurance is covering my medical bills up to 10k, after which my health insurance through my employer will kick in. The problem was the Cannondale had significant damage. Carbon fork was trashed, new rear mech was scratched and bent, bars were bent, shifters had to be rebuilt. I had two repair quotes, both around 1600, to get the bike to where it was before. I'm looking into Velosurance, which seems to be a good deal. Honestly, I'm over the whole thing. I'll live with my injuries and learn from the experience. I just want it to be over with.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Took the longer route as the temps are so warm. The trails are snot slick in spots, though. A few shots of rain overnight top of packed snow...not fun, but not horrid, either


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Florida requires PIP insurance, and because it was a motor vehicle collision, my auto insurance is covering my medical bills up to 10k, after which my health insurance through my employer will kick in. The problem was the Cannondale had significant damage. Carbon fork was trashed, new rear mech was scratched and bent, bars were bent, shifters had to be rebuilt. I had two repair quotes, both around 1600, to get the bike to where it was before. I'm looking into Velosurance, which seems to be a good deal. Honestly, I'm over the whole thing. I'll live with my injuries and learn from the experience. I just want it to be over with.


Sorry for this trouble. If there is a police report that includes that the bike was damaged, then I don't see how the insurance company is not honoring the claim. without such a police report, you are done there. Check you homeowners insurance. You will have a deductible but won't be out the whole thing.

We need a police report of any collision and all the damage or we are screwed.

I had a police report with the driver charged for failure to yield and even then the agent tried to screw me out of paying the full repairs on the bike. I had to point out that I was not intending to sue for pain and suffering, the hospital visit and all the other crap, but if he wanted lawyers involved, they would likely get me a nice chunk of change and the full replacement cost and make themselves some easy cash. I got the settlement.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Baby #4 is due any day now, so who knows when I might get back to commuting, although I'll likely only take a week or so.


Wishing you the best in both endeavors.

Also wishing Texico a fast healing and better insurance results.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Yup, still going back and forth with Auto Owners Ins. My Cannondale was wrecked, and they refused to pay, saying that because the van never came into contact with the bike (it came into contact with ME!), they weren't liable for those damages. It's been nothing but stupid crap from the insurance company, and it really irritates me considering that I strive to live my life in a way that I don't cause suffering to others. These folks, on the other hand.


Man...when I got hit, the insurance company (Progressive) was super easy to deal with. Good luck with everything.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow, Texico, sorry to hear that!! Heal quick, and may your new bike be in every way an upgrade.

Feels like spring around here. Took the trail this morning. Ditched a layer. Unzipped the softshell. Fired up the GoPro to fuel the east coast jealousy. Only a matter of time before the Sierras are the new Florida. I'm gonna plant some palm trees soon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...Fired up the GoPro to fuel the east coast jealousy...


Oh, you did not just start a jealousy contest did you! Our trails ripened over the weekend. Miles and miles of hardpacked SNOW. I set a new PR on one trail section this morning, it was like they paved it for me.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Wow, Texico, sorry to hear that!! Heal quick, and may your new bike be in every way an upgrade.
> 
> Feels like spring around here. Took the trail this morning. Ditched a layer. Unzipped the softshell. Fired up the GoPro to fuel the east coast jealousy. Only a matter of time before the Sierras are the new Florida. I'm gonna plant some palm trees soon.
> 
> View attachment 965197


Don't harbor invasive species,CB. Oh yeah, we must've got your winter..









Slow going today. Cut out two miles by taking road half the way and mup the remainder. May do a little trail ride between classes...


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Supposed to be coming down tomorrow. Fenders mounted. Need to find myself a good rain cover for my backpack. Speaking of, I just found a Camelbak Hawg for a great price on Online Swap Meet. Can't wait for it to get here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice try CB, but I just told a friend in Maine she should put her snow on ebay for you guys Drought cancels World Cup ski competition at Squaw Valley - SFGate  We should be trail riding by July!

My snow this weekend was so wind-driven (and cold), that I can stand on 3' drifts in my yard without even making a footprint. Step in the wrong place, however, and you'll be hip-deep.

No ride today, could not get the bike to my park-n-pedal, as my Subie's hatch was frozen shut and then the latch busted.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Feels like spring around here. Took the trail this morning. Ditched a layer. Unzipped the softshell. Fired up the GoPro to fuel the east coast jealousy. Only a matter of time before the Sierras are the new Florida. I'm gonna plant some palm trees soon.


Yeah, happy Valentines Day, CB. Does this look "seasonally correct" to you?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ride back was meh. I tried the mup, but people had walked all over it leaving the surface really uneven. Add some super wet and slick snow coming down and at 9:00 after more than 14 hours outta home I just decided I was gonna use the road. I was hoping it wouldn't be busy... But it was. The right lanes and shoulders were clear though!!

If this happened more than once or twice a year, I might be in for wider tires or even studs... or a Krampus.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Bummer on the Subie latch. We've got the same wind packed snow. To my surprise I can ride over the drifts on the lake...until the wheel breaks through and I stop abruptly.

Last night was a prime example of when a fatbike works and a non-fat bike doesn't. Rollingrunner was excited to finally get on her bike after weeks of deep snow. My report from the morning ride was that the trails were firm. Along comes the groomer and loosenes everything up again. She had a nice walk through the woods on her bike until the first road. An hour later I rode the whole way. She's already started fatbike shopping.

The trails had firmed back up by this morning and it was awesome. 
CommuterBoy, This Post Is For You.​


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Great pics, Bedwards! 

This morning was hell. 17 mph sustained head wind with gusts up to 30. I decided to embrace the hurt and do some HIIT. I'm loving everything about this new bike except the shifters and brakes, which I knew I would be replacing. I just didn't think I would hate them this much. It finally dried out and the sun is shining, so I'll be posting pics tonight.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Ride in: 10F, sunny, and very windy. They forecasted them to be near 35mph but I think it fell short. I ended up stopping at the bike shop on the way in, not to warm up, but to cool down. I was dressed better than I ever have for any ride, ever. Bike lane was a mix of slush and car snot. Was able to park the bike inside since it is the weekend.
> Ride home: 0F, felt like -20F with a strong NW wind. I got home, and honestly, I felt underwhelmed. I might have psyched myself up and was let down. It was cold, but when I got home, the only thing remotely cold were my feet, and they were just starting to get cold. I actually rode the rest of the MUP near my complex to check out the conditions. Hands have never been warmer on a cold ride than today. They were drenched when I got to work, and very warm when I got home tonight. Sunday is forecasted for wind chills near -35F so I will probably test that out and ride in again.
> 
> I remember last year I think I set my minimum temperature to ride at 30F or something like that.


Sounds like you figured out something that works for your hands - glad to see that. What did the trick?

(sorry, I got frustrated clicking back to find it. something is wrong with my right arm and I think the mouse has a lot to do with it. Even though it doesn't seem to be making things worse have been limiting myself to 1 ride / week in an effort to promote healing, which means no commuting  )

Glad everyone in here is keeping it going.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. The temps are starting to go back down and the MUP isn't in too bad of shape overall. There are a few swampy spots that haven't completely frozen back over. Today we are supposed to remain right around freezing, so hopefully things won't get too wet before I have to ride home.


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## Oleycow (Feb 13, 2015)

This morning in Central Minnesota: Little Falls, MN (56345) W-13 °F 8:25 am CST Feels Like -29°F. Every ride is a good ride  On my way home yesterday I took the scenic route through the Lindberg State Park...just opened to fat biking about a week ago!!! You gotta break your own trails but that's half the fun on a fattie...took it down on the frozen pike creek bottom...scenery and ride is just awesome...next time i'll try and bring a camera to share a picture...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> CommuterBoy, This Post Is For You.​


:lol: no secret that I'm insanely jealous and just trying to convince myself that dirt is cool in February... thanks for the shout-out. Nice pics.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

As for me, I am loving this winter. Another awesome morning ride 37 degrees, clear skies and no wind. I can see the sun starting to rise in the east now as the days are getting longer. Should be sunny and upper 50's for the ride home tonight. Sweet!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

tomorrow morning is going to be terrible. Tomorrow evening, on the other hand... I need to get some tights for this weather, but I feel stupid when I know it's only going to last a few days, if that.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

AlexCuse said:


> Sounds like you figured out something that works for your hands - glad to see that. What did the trick?
> 
> (sorry, I got frustrated clicking back to find it. something is wrong with my right arm and I think the mouse has a lot to do with it. Even though it doesn't seem to be making things worse have been limiting myself to 1 ride / week in an effort to promote healing, which means no commuting  )
> 
> Glad everyone in here is keeping it going.


Thanks, yep got the hands finally figured out. North Face outer gloves, Nike running style gloves as a liner, and the air activated hand warmer packets is the perfect combo for these cold temps.

Hope you get healed up quickly.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> tomorrow morning is going to be terrible. Tomorrow evening, on the other hand... I need to get some tights for this weather, but I feel stupid when I know it's only going to last a few days, if that.


I would not buy tights for just a few days of cooler weather. 46 degrees is quite comfortable in shorts once you get moving, IMHO.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Went out for a ride at lunch with the temperatures a little above freezing, and my back and butt got soaked. My new pannier rack doesn't have a top deck (I have no idea why they do that), and while a rack with a deck isn't as good as an actual fender, that deck sure does something. I'm going to have to rig something together.


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## Oleycow (Feb 13, 2015)

newfangled said:


> Went out for a ride at lunch with the temperatures a little above freezing, and my back and butt got soaked. My new pannier rack doesn't have a top deck (I have no idea why they do that), and while a rack with a deck isn't as good as an actual fender, that deck sure does something. I'm going to have to rig something together.
> 
> I use a breathable pair of rain pants tucked into my waterproof airborne boots...keeps me dry and comfortable and the road grime off me...that being said my wife giggles every time I leave the house looking like that...but I'm ok with the trade off.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'm just riding in junky commuting clothes that I'm going to change out of, so it wasn't actually a big deal...but I still got completely soaked. And I've also got a different bike with full fenders for really wet days. I was just surprised that pannier decks apparently are reasonably effective fenders, and not having one makes a huge difference.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

Leg warmers are nice for many situations, much cheaper than tights. They are especially great for fall MTB rides when the morning is in the upper 30s low 40s, but the afternoon gets into the 60s.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Newfangled, Axiom's rackrunner rear fender is probably too narrow for your tires. 

I made a deck for mine with bent wood held on with zip ties. The side of a plastic storage tote or a strip of coroplast from a political campaign sign would do the same thing for really cheap.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

AlexCuse said:


> ... something is wrong with my right arm and I think the mouse has a lot to do with it. Even though it doesn't seem to be making things worse have been limiting myself to 1 ride / week in an effort to promote healing, which means no commuting  )


Sorry to hear about your arm, AlexCuse. If you haven't tried it yet, one thing that has helped me is switching the left and right mouse buttons (in your control panel settings) and using it with the opposite hand for a while.



woodway said:


> I would not buy tights for just a few days of cooler weather. 46 degrees is quite comfortable in shorts once you get moving, IMHO.


Other alternatives people might have lying around are track/warmup pants or old sweatpants cut off to knicker or long-shorts length. Both can go over chamois shorts for warmth combined with cush.

Nice pix Bedwards, and glad you got a nice fatbike ride in. 
Happy fatbike shopping RollingRunner!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rustedthrough said:


> I made a deck for mine with bent wood held on with zip ties. The side of a plastic storage tote or a strip of coroplast from a political campaign sign would do the same thing for really cheap.


I've certainly admired that woodwork. But I used a plastic duotang/folder/thing from work to DIY one of these, and I'll probably try something similar for the rack.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Tupperware?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

My wife has a pair of tights I'm gonna try out. We'll see how that goes.

Oh, and as requested, a few pics of the new ride. More to come later in the pic thread.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ rad bike. 

Realized today that my right cap to my new lock on group fell off yesterday. Heard a ping on the road and assumed I had hit some debris... All good things suck. I mean, it's on tthere alright, but now it looks ghetto. 

Seriously considering scouring the road tomorrow. Probably too late. Ugh. On the bright side Easton grips are the bee's knees. They're the kinda oval shaped ones with nice tacky rubber. So wicked sweet on the hands.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> I would not buy tights for just a few days of cooler weather. 46 degrees is quite comfortable in shorts once you get moving, IMHO.


OTOH...
They sure come in handy for all sorts of circumstances both on and off the bike. I have a pair of cheap synthetic long john pants that I use under shorts for when it`s just a little too cold for bare legs, under pants for an extra 10* of comfort, in my sleeping bag when the temps are not quite up to snuff.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I tried my wife's tights on tonight. I'm surprised by how much stretch they had. I think they'll get the job done, and really look no different than any other tights that would be worn. I'm good with it.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I felt like Oprah was giving away free headwinds this morning.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> I felt like Oprah was giving away free headwinds this morning.


You get a headwind! YOU get a headwind!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I chickened out this morning. 0F with 15-20mph winds and I let it get in my head.. I debated riding for so long this morning that it eventually got to be too late and I had to drive. I was disappointed that I didn't ride as I walked in from my parking lot. Really didn't feel that cold...I let the cager hysteria skew my perception of how cold is too cold.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride this AM. This afternoon might be fun - may ride over to watch my daughter ski at the State meet. If I do, it will end up making my afternoon a 21 mile ride. Always fun, if not a little time consuming.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Weird one today... I was on my longer route, which includes a short section on a rural highway... 2 lanes, but busier than a typical rural road. I was approaching my left turn off of this highway, which has a big left turn lane, so I need to cross the lane of traffic going my way, get into that turn lane, and turn left when there's a gap in traffic... I can see ahead maybe 1/2 mile at this point, so it's an easy left turn.

I glanced over my shoulder, and there was a car coming up behind me, but no one behind them...no other cars anywhere...so I sit up and wait for this car to pass before I cross the lane into the turn lane. Turns out this car was going to turn left too, so they are slowing, and they pass me just before easing left into the turn lane. I drift across the lane and into the turn lane behind them, no problem, no drama... well oiled machine so far... they get up to the turn, and....wait for it.... they just stop. This is a highway...not a stop sign in sight (well, there are on the side roads T-ing into the highway). What possesses someone to stop in this situation is baffling. No cars coming the other way, no one behind (except the obvious problem, the crazy cyclist). I literally almost rear-ended this SUV, because who expects that? I stopped inches behind their bumper, unclipped the right foot and put it down, and extended the arms in the universal "...the heck are you doing?" gesture, while looking through the black tinted rear window in the direction of the rear-view mirror...and I held that pose for a good 6 seconds before they inexplicably got on the gas and made the turn. What in the world.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rain yesterday and again today. February has been nicely snowy, but we're really close to having more rain than snow this winter.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Record lows tomorrow morning. Think I'll trade the wife some coffee and donuts for a ride in. I'm super excited for the baby to show up.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Probably had to finish typing and hit send on their text CB....


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

First commute in the negative degrees. Fortunately the wind held off, and so did most of the crazy drivers.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well how did ya like it?


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

A lot like commuting at 10f, with less warm toes and firmer car snot. Spring can come anyday now.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I'm trading the wife some coffee and donuts (she's preggers, so it works) for a ride into work. I don't have the proper equipment to handle such temps. It'll be back up in the 50's when I get off work, so I'll be happy to ride then.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Thanks, yep got the hands finally figured out. North Face outer gloves, Nike running style gloves as a liner, and the air activated hand warmer packets is the perfect combo for these cold temps.
> 
> Hope you get healed up quickly.


Awesome! Hate when the body is otherwise willing but a seemingly small thing keeps you off the bike.



mtbxplorer said:


> Sorry to hear about your arm, AlexCuse. If you haven't tried it yet, one thing that has helped me is switching the left and right mouse buttons (in your control panel settings) and using it with the opposite hand for a while.


This is a great idea thanks.

I'm hopeful it will resolve quickly. The "spring classic" rides are coming up and they're my favorite.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Yesterday's ride to the XC Ski race and then back to the bus was interesting. Because of the thaw and freeze everything is icy icy. Didn't go down at all, but there were some sphincter tightening moments. Also had a bit of a run in with a car. One short section where I was on road and a jacked up Jeep passed me giving only a foot of space or so. Didn't rev his engine or anything. Just didn't get over to pass even though there was no oncoming traffic. I figure he though there was enough room. Don't know. At the time I flipped him the bird, which I feel bad about, but on the other hand, the car that passed me right before he did gave ample berth, so it's not like he shouldn't have had a sense of how close he was.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Great ride this morning. Temps are perfect, but we had a lot of fog roll in, which drenched my clothes and I guess accumulated on my chain and stripped the lube. About halfway through I started hearing squeaking, and I just applied some last week, less than 100 miles ago. I keep an extra bottle in my locker, so it's no biggie. I'd simply never encountered this problem before. Yeah, sure, when it's a heavy downpour and I'm going through puddles and the like, but not just from some wet air. I forgot to charge my headlight over the weekend, so my red light came on about halfway through. Put the hammer down and made it to the office right about the time it switched itself to power saving flash mode.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A crappy one this morning. 35F and rain. In February. In Alaska. This is so not right. Just about went down a couple of times on the ice in town. Over the weekend I was able to get a long-ish ride in on Saturday - 33 miles of road. The idea was to ride trail, but every trail option I found was so covered in ice that it would've been suicide, so... Road miles aren't so bad sometimes - had a lot on my mind, so riding that way helped me to zone out a bit and try to work through them. Ended up riding a 28 mile day on both Thursday and Friday so I could watch my daughter in her state ski races. I can tell I am in winter shape right now. The distances were easy enough, but three days of bigger miles than normal has my legs feeling it today.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

got up late to a flat (pinch I know the curb)....changed the tube, then the old M&G bead blew out with a bang....

Changed the wheel and moved the new 10 speed cassette to the summer slick wheel.

Then rode in.

Third M&G to fail at the bead after 20,000 km still have just enough tread to keep the studs in place.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ how old are your m&g when they're failing? Mine are on the backup bike now so their mileage is way down, but this is winter 6. Just wondering when I need to start being paranoid.

Above freezing this morning, and should be pretty warm this afternoon.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ how old are your m&g when they're failing? Mine are on the backup bike now so their mileage is way down, but this is winter 6. Just wondering when I need to start being paranoid.
> 
> Above freezing this morning, and should be pretty warm this afternoon.


We bought four fall of 2006 to train all winter for theTransrockies.....one left.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Who's "We" Jeffscott? Did you do Transrockies with a spouse? Because that is cool... 

I guess that's the positive of it not snowing here anymore... another year of bonus life out of the studs  I think I've put 14 miles on them this winter... and it was a bad call...not very icy that day after all.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Who's "We" Jeffscott? Did you do Transrockies with a spouse? Because that is cool...
> 
> I guess that's the positive of it not snowing here anymore... another year of bonus life out of the studs  I think I've put 14 miles on them this winter... and it was a bad call...not very icy that day after all.


Nope four of us did the challenge, one guy kept his, one guy gave me his so I had 4 tires, from 2007 on. one guy was from ontario didn't do the winter riding.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

OK that's cool too. :lol: That would be an epic adventure.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> OK that's cool too. :lol: That would be an epic adventure.


Great fun turned fifty on the finish line.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> A crappy one this morning. 35F and rain. In February. In Alaska. This is so not right. Just about went down a couple of times on the ice in town. Over the weekend I was able to get a long-ish ride in on Saturday - 33 miles of road. The idea was to ride trail, but every trail option I found was so covered in ice that it would've been suicide, so... Road miles aren't so bad sometimes - had a lot on my mind, so riding that way helped me to zone out a bit and try to work through them. Ended up riding a 28 mile day on both Thursday and Friday so I could watch my daughter in her state ski races. I can tell I am in winter shape right now. The distances were easy enough, but three days of bigger miles than normal has my legs feeling it today.


Looks like we are getting your winter block - Currently 1°F right now, was -11°F when I woke up. 35 and rain? I would gladly trade you.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> Great fun turned fifty on the finish line.


Mid-30's when you started? I know the feeling. hahaha


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Looks like we are getting your winter block - Currently 1°F right now, was -11°F when I woke up. 35 and rain? I would gladly trade you.


And when your done with it, we'll get it in the morning. -15F forecast with some breeze.

Jeffscott, I looked up the Transrockies after you mentioned it in another thread. Looks like quite a challenging race!

Other than the cold it looks like I might get a consistent week of commuting on the fatbike at least. No big storms on the horizon. Tons of deer around this morning. 
The Candid Cyclist: The Year Of The Deer


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

So, on one of my routes now I have a 5-way stop. That gets interesting. :skep:
I come from the right side of this pic, and I need to turn left...not a hairpin left, but the other left. Signals mean nothing to anybody at this intersection :lol: Add to that the shock and awe of the presence of a bicycle and you get some good drama.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Rough commute this morning. I skipped out all last week because of snow and ice. We received about 10 inches of snow last week and had rain and freezing rain over the weekend. After riding my mtb around yesterday, I thought today would be OK, but the MUP was unrideable in parts. What had been slushy snow yesterday was like a frozen sponge today. I just couldn't keep enough momentum going to ride the snow and my pedals kept hitting the top layer of ice. I had to walk a number of sections. I got to work about 15 minutes late. I'll probably have to take the road tomorrow.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I guess I'm not the only one who had it rough. We also got snow, didn't think too much of it. Turns out they plowed all the snow off the road onto the MUP I take, so instead of about 6 inches I had 2-3 feet of rutted snow.

Needless to say my 35s were useless and I had to walk over a quarter of my commute. Pretty annoyed considering we are generally a bike friendly area. Might send a note to the DOT about it, until recently it was headed up by a cyclist. I don't really expect help, but it would be nice if they didn't make it harder to get around by bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bedwards, impressed you caught one deer still in bed! 

Back in the saddle today, but I can't say the conditions were welcoming. Killer headwind this morning and -3F made me regret choosing the glasses not the goggles, but I warmed up and it was mostly slow, hard work. Temps dropped during the day but I figured I was due for a tailwind, so I added a poloshirt layer I had at work and rode home. 

Suddenly there was a steaming puddle in the roadway +/- 100' long, perhaps a water main break. Too late to veer left,, so I pedaled straight on through and made it OK, then had a half mile of ice from cars dragging the warm water down the road, but stayed upright. Tailwinds were not as strong as I'd hoped, but it beats headwinds. Struggled a bit with the bike rack on the car at the park-n-pedal, those rubber straps don't work very well in the cold. On the plus side, my uncharged headlight stayed on... this morning I couldn't find the charger and hoped it was at work, but it wasn't.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Commute was too short. Had to head straight home to take the dog for a walk, but could have goofed-off for a whole lot longer enjoying the sun and warm temps.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Suddenly there was a steaming puddle in the roadway +/- 100' long, perhaps a water main break. Too late to veer left,, so I pedaled straight on through and made it OK, then had a half mile of ice from cars dragging the warm water down the road, but stayed upright.


Yikes! I take it you didn`t soak your feet in subzero weather? Now THAT would have been interesting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^No, thankfully my feet stayed dry, I rode through slowly and also had on winter Keens boots. The frost line is down at 4-5' where the water mains are, so a lot of towns are having trouble with frozen/burst lines. I have a well, and so far so good. The furnace is still finicky after repairs though, woke up to 48F inside today (-15F outside). A cozy 56 now with a restart and the gas stove helping. Morrisville VT is currently -33F! Jay Peak has gotten 261 inches of snow http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/travel/snow-snow-snow-and-the-east-coast-skiers-rejoice.html It has been quite a winter - so far!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I took a different way today. It kind of sucks because there's quite a bit of traffic, and I have to cut over from the shoulder to the left turn lane. It's actually rideable though. The highlight of my commute was launching off a chunk of snow in the bike lane. I caught some pretty good air.

Coming into the parking lot at work, I hit a patch of ice and my bike slid out. I caught myself with a foot, but a dude in a passing van opened his door, leaned out, and yelled, "I seen ya!" I got a chuckle out of that.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No ride for me today. Meeting a friend in Tampa after work, so I took the van.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^No, thankfully my feet stayed dry, I rode through slowly and also had on winter Keens boots. The frost line is down at 4-5' where the water mains are, so a lot of towns are having trouble with frozen/burst lines. I have a well, and so far so good. The furnace is still finicky after repairs though, woke up to 48F inside today (-15F outside). A cozy 56 now with a restart and the gas stove helping. Morrisville VT is currently -33F! Jay Peak has gotten 261 inches of snow http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/01/travel/snow-snow-snow-and-the-east-coast-skiers-rejoice.html It has been quite a winter - so far!


I've had times lately crossing the lake where I break through to a slush layer. As soon as my boot comes out it freezes solid, repeat as necessary. I got to work and had 2 blocks of ice for feet. Not easy to walk across smooth flooring! I had to leave my boots in a shower stall to thaw and drain.

I checked the Mount Washington Observatory: Min temp -34F, AVERAGE wind 71.3MPH..

Caught a ride this AM, fatbiking the trails home.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

New personal record for coldest commute today. 0F with a windchill of -23F. Overall, I actually overdressed, but my boots just aren't warm enough to handle temps that low. Toes were freezing, but everything else was warm and a bit steamy. 

There was a lot of traffic this morning for some reason, which means people think they can use the parking lane and bike lane as their personal get-ahead-of-the-line lane. Which is dumb because the lanes merge half a mile down the road and then everyone gets more backed up. Sidewalks weren't rideable on my 35c tires so I got to experience the joy of bike frogger, weaving between half merged SUVs that were sitting still as if stuck in a quagmire. There were many insults hurled, but none of which could pierce their cozy cage bubble.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ congrats on the personal record. What kind of socks are you wearing with your current footwear?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Things have started to freeze back down after the latest rain/thaw event, but the trails are a mess. Lots of ruts and gouges that are freezing now and lots of water still under the little bit of snow that still exists. Good grip, overall.

Out in the valley the roads and MUP are clear, clean, and fast. I'm hoping we get some good snow in the next week or so. Otherwise a ride I'm planning will likely not go down.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ congrats on the personal record. What kind of socks are you wearing with your current footwear?


Today was a pair of Wigwam wool hiking socks.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Today was a pair of Wigwam wool hiking socks.


On really cold days I've found that a really light merino sock as a base, a plastic bread bag, then a decent wool sock on top really helps to keep my feet warm. Another option that has worked for me is the light liner sock with a SealSkinz sock overtop and then, depending on how cold, maybe another light wool sock on top of that. The whole vapor barrier idea.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Thanks for the advice. For next winter I'll have to invest in some liners and potentially heavier socks. This is my first winter riding so I'm kind of feeling it out as I go.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm pretty sure if I was biking across a frozen lake and broke through to a slush layer, I would die of a heart attack and the wetness of my boots wouldn't be a factor. 

In other news, I sold some stuff... the fatbike budget now has more than a zero balance... eyeballing the new Framed Alaskan Alloy. I'm a few craigslist sales short of placing an order... Could be a month, could be next winter...but the budget exists.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^What do you need a fatbike for? If you buy one it will never snow there again. I've been eying the Framed bikes too. Look at the gearing. The gearing is pretty high if you ride hills. Although, as I look again it seems to be getting better. Bikes I was looking at had 32F/32R(max). I've got something like 22F/36R on the Pugs and am often wishing for something lower. Other than that they seem pretty good.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I forgot to mention that I also met the Grim Reaper last night. She (?) was walking toward me on the road, long capelike hooded coat wide open to the wind and cold, and spooky goth makeup and bright red lipstick. I moved over a little more in case she got the urge to sacrifice me under the wheels of a passing car. I hope she had somewhere warm to go.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I forgot to mention that I also met the Grim Reaper last night. She (?) was walking toward me on the road, long capelike hooded coat wide open to the wind and cold, and spooky goth makeup and bright red lipstick. I moved over a little more in case she got the urge to sacrifice me under the wheels of a passing car. I hope she had somewhere warm to go.


pictures or it didn't happen?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^What do you need a fatbike for? If you buy one it will never snow there again. I've been eying the Framed bikes too. Look at the gearing. The gearing is pretty high if you ride hills. Although, as I look again it seems to be getting better. Bikes I was looking at had 32F/32R(max). I've got something like 22F/36R on the Pugs and am often wishing for something lower. Other than that they seem pretty good.


N+1 man. :lol: Snow is one thing...I do hope it actually snows here at 4500 feet in the Sierra Nevada MOUNTAINS some day again, so I can ride the local snowmobile trails... but I also love the idea of just riding off into the pine needles and exploring... we also have some desert nearby that would be fun.. and I have a brother that lives on the coast, and every time I'm there I want to just get on the beach and go... 
And gearing...I'm with ya...but I have a spare wolftooth 42 already, and I'm 1x10 with a 34 front on my MTB. 1x10 with a wolftooth and a 32 up front sounds manageable, although admittedly I've never ridden a fatbike... totally sold on 1x10 though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^There you go. You do need lower gears pushing fat-flat tires through snow uphill with the rear wheel spinning faster than the front. With the wolftooth and the possibility to drop the front from 32 to 28 that should do it. I did test ride a Framed Minnesota last weekend around a small pump track they had set up. It was a little too small for me and with that and the track it felt like a BMX bike next to the Pig. Desert on a fatbike sounds fun.


blockphi said:


> pictures or it didn't happen?


That's what I was thinking.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> pictures or it didn't happen?





bedwards1000 said:


> That's what I was thinking.


Don't you guys know anything??!!! The Grim Reaper's image does not show up in photographic images! The first thing I saw was a reflective glint - a belt buckle? a scythe? It was a teensy bit scarey.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Of course the images show up on film. I've seen it on Monty Python. "It was the salmon mousse". But I understand being ascared.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I've been having to use the busy roads lately. Not digging it but I get out too early for most of the crazies. 

Tried the mup today. Couldn't get traction. It was all melted and twice frozen snow and boot ruts. Walked about a quarter of a mile and got back on the road. 

Is there like a technique or something to this that I'm missing? Maybe studs would help but there's gotta be something else. Two weeks a year does not justify studded tires.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> I've been having to use the busy roads lately. Not digging it but I get out too early for most of the crazies.
> 
> Tried the mup today. Couldn't get traction. It was all melted and twice frozen snow and boot ruts. Walked about a quarter of a mile and got back on the road.
> 
> Is there like a technique or something to this that I'm missing? Maybe studs would help but there's gotta be something else. Two weeks a year does not justify studded tires.


Sounds like we're in a similar boat. Lower tire pressure helps a little and getting your weight back a bit helps too, but some snow is just plain difficult or impossible to ride through.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> I've been having to use the busy roads lately. Not digging it but I get out too early for most of the crazies.
> 
> Tried the mup today. Couldn't get traction. It was all melted and twice frozen snow and boot ruts. Walked about a quarter of a mile and got back on the road.
> 
> Is there like a technique or something to this that I'm missing? Maybe studs would help but there's gotta be something else. Two weeks a year does not justify studded tires.


Twice frozen sounds like it is well consolidated ie you are not sinking in to the snow pack????

The frozen ruts and boot prints are very rough to ride....I get the weight a little bit back steer with the hips...let the front wheel go where it wants (to a limit) and spin.

Not sure why you don't have traction were you going uphill??? on the flats it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Full suspension also helps....studs help with traction and steering, but you still need the technique.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm pretty sure if I was biking across a frozen lake and broke through to a slush layer, I would die of a heart attack and the wetness of my boots wouldn't be a factor.


It's been below freezing here for over 60 days aside from a few hours on Sunday. This morning it was fricking 51 degrees below freezing. That lake is probably frozen to the bottom. The weight of the snow pushes the ice down and the water comes through the cracks and floods it. I'm surprised it hadn't re-froze, that was Monday. I'm guessing it's firm today. I'm going to go check.....


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

It'll ride on top initially and then sink. There's probably 3mm of hard crust on top. I'll see what I can do after this last class here. I didn't have any problems like this last year. Or when this snow was fresh, but the last couple days... Probably doing something wrong.

I'm trying pretty light gearing, too, should I kick that up a notch?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

He shoots and he misses!

Deflated tires, took care to hang back on the bike, didn't force the front wheel anywhere. Managed about a mile going about 4-5 mph on the mup. Couldn't do it fit 11 miles.

I'm sure it's a combo of my gear, lack of snow riding skills and experience (though I've never had this issue for real, even on deeper or looser snosnow), and my weak baby legs.

I hopped on the road and took that way. Wish I had just done that instead of lowering the pressure in the tires
tires. This is what the mup looked like: doesn't look too bad.









This morning I was riding and tried to adjust my front der using the barrel adjuster, because it was stupid outta wack somehow. Didn't work. Got to campus and looked. Dang plastic barrel is just broken off inside the shifter.

Pretty bogus feeling day today with a lot of little things playing into some greater negative reinforcement I have going on about life lately. Still better than driving.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Good ride in this morning. I felt really powerful, but I'm coming over a head cold so I took the short route in. That heavy breathing really helped knock some of the phlegm out of my chest. The best thing about the short route is that it takes me right by the Tropicana factory, and the rail yard. I was feeling feisty so I cut through and snagged a pic right as one of their golf cart security guards spotted me. I was able to cut down the gravel access road and be back on the street before he reached where I was at. So, for adventurous mornings, I share the fruits of my labors.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> It'll ride on top initially and then sink. There's probably 3mm of hard crust on top. I'll see what I can do after this last class here. I didn't have any problems like this last year. Or when this snow was fresh, but the last couple days... Probably doing something wrong.
> 
> I'm trying pretty light gearing, too, should I kick that up a notch?


Same exact deal here with the ice. My front tire breaks through the crust of ice, which hits my tire a couple inches up and totally kills my momentum. It's like riding with the brakes on, even downhill. I had some luck yesterday with pumping the ruts and footprints. I was actually able to keep more momentum that way, but it's hard to maintain that for a long period of time. In my case, I'm not sure studs would help that much, although a fatbike would likely be able to stay higher. Not in my budget at the moment.

For now, I'm riding the road in to work and trying out the MUP on the way home. I actually rode the whole thing yesterday and only had to dab a few times. It was still dreadfully slow, but hopefully things will continue to improve.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The trails are just about perfect for the fatbike. RollingRunner attempted them on her non-fatty and it was a no-go. The lake as firmed up too. The ride home was pretty energy sapping. The Garmin reported a -5% grade and if I stopped peddling I stopped moving. This morning was somewhat better.

Still lots of deer around. Here's some from today.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in today. A bit chillier and a touch breezy, but nothing bad. Nothing like it should be this time of year. 

Right now it's looking like I'll break 400 miles for the month. Still way off of my normal averages, but it's also a short month.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Of course the images show up on film. I've seen it on Monty Python. "It was the salmon mousse". But I understand being ascared.


But mtbx didn't eat the salmon mousse! 

Super boring commuting around here. 32-40 in the morning. Low 5's in the evenings. No wind, no rain. Supposed to be rain coming in tonight and I'm looking forward to the change.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

One of the guys from work recently started dating someone who lives on my block. It was weird, because one morning last week I was leaving my building and the guy was right there on the sidewalk for some reason.

So this morning I headed out just as he'd finished brushing the snow off his truck. And I got to work just as he was getting out of his truck. I figure that deserves some sort of commuter points. (of course after that I still had to spend another 5 minutes changing, but there was also 2" of fresh snow, so I figure that's a wash).


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Bought a new studded tire after the M&G sidewall finally blew.

MEC only had four row studs in 26 inch (I wanted two rows, but that is only in for 700C tires?).

Ice spiker from Schwalbe, or a Spike Claw from Continental.

I picked the Conti cause it looks like it will set up tubeless real easy, nice interior lining.

And of course...it had the magic words.

Made in Finland on the side.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Uneventful commute this morning. Warmer than the last few days. I'm well ahead of my goal commuter mileage so far this winter. Goal for the year is 3,500, with 100 per month in Jan and Feb. I'm currently sitting at 262 miles as of this morning and if I ride tomorrow and Friday I can kick it to 300, a full 100 miles ahead of schedule.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 2015)

blockphi said:


> A decent ride in today. A bit chillier and a touch breezy, but nothing bad. Nothing like it should be this time of year.
> 
> Right now it's looking like I'll break 400 miles for the month. Still way off of my normal averages, but it's also a short month.


 You can catch up next year on Leap Day.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Back at it. 4 days off, chiropractic adjustment yesterday got me back in the saddle.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Jeffscott, that's what makes my Nokians awesome also.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks like I will be able to start riding to work again on Sunday. Temps are finally going to give us a break. I am hoping to get my miles back up and back on track to reach my goal for the year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good going, Kleebs :thumbsup:



Texan-n-Fla said:


> So, for adventurous mornings, I share the fruits of my labors.


I like it- thanks for the share!



jeffscott said:


> MEC only had four row studs in 26 inch (I wanted two rows, but that is only in for 700C tires?)


Yeah, I wish there were something like the Nokian A10 in 26 inch. Not that my slicks are any problem lately.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good rides. Lots of deer sightings. I ride through a pack of dozens of them in each direction.

I stopped to take an evening and morning shot in the same spot. The evening is much more fun.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Meh. Just okay. A bit chillier again. Still icy. Just standard fare.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Messy, even with full fenders the snow/slush/salt mix makes a mess. Have I mentioned before I hate road salt? Because I do. A lot.

One plus side today was one extra considerate driver, I suspect possibly a fellow cyclist in his car. Came up to a bridge, shoulder were impassable so I signaled to take the lane. Jeep behind me slows down to let me over, throws on his flashers and gave me tons of space until I crossed the bridge, keeping any more aggressive drivers off my butt.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Ride in this a.m. was COLD @ 7F according to my thermometer. About 1/4 way into my commute along the bike trails, the normally plowed trails ceased to be. I found myself too far way to return home, so I forged ahead through as much as 6 inches of snow. Thankfully, I snagged a pair of Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240 studded tires last nite off of Craigslist. New, with tags for $30 less than retail and with the fresh snowfall I was happy. These tires grip much better on the rutted refrozen surfaces and much better on snow than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta A10's I'd been running. 

My normally 45-50 minute commute turned into an hour and a half trudge through mostly unplowed trails. The new tires made it sketchy than it would have been with the old tires In fact, I'm sure I would have had to walk most of the 13 mile ride otherwise.

The real only issue occurred on one of the detours that take me up onto the surface streets. I was almost t-boned at a 4 way intersection. The cross streets had stop signs, I didn't. As I entered the intersection a flatbed work truck starts to cross. Luckily one of the passengers grabbed the wheel and the driver stopped a few feet short of making me his new hood ornament. Amazing how time slows down at moments like that!

Fresh snow is predicted around rush hour and the high will only be in the teens . :-( Bummer. That might make my ride home more like 2 hours.

Even with my Lake MXZ303's my toes were cold.

Still, the fresh snow makes everything look so beautiful!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Not shabby. Slow ride in. The ride back was quicker than usual lately. I'm getting used to taking only roads again and using the busy ones too. Th mup is cushy and all but I realize now how spoiled I have been lately.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Cold but dry with mostly clean asphalt. Neither fast nor half- fast, but less slow than the last few runs in the drifted and plowed stuff.

Clear pavement, a better saddle and chunky grips made the ride much more comfortable, almost leisurely. The frozen face-mask is still hard to get used to.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Woke up this morning and it was -6F so I drove today. That means I won't get to 300 commute miles by the end of Feb, but I'm well ahead of my goal pace so that's fine. We're supposed to get 5-8 inches of fresh snow on Sunday night so Monday morning will be very interesting!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Your post made me wonder where I'm at for the year. 446 miles so far. 390 of them on the fatbike. Speaking of the fatbike, I've made 7 trips on it this week and my legs are spent. Average temps have been in the single digits and the 20lbs of cold weather gear and stiff cold snow are wearing on me. I'm catching a carpool home with the wife. 

I did manage to break some KOMs this week. One is a 1/2 mile downhill with an average of 22.4MPH over the snow. Good fun! Good Trails!

Deer sightings every day.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Was supposed to have the day off, but had to go in anyway. Since my wife is home to take car of the dog, I left a little early and got some trail time in before work. I should really do that more often.

In other news, I think I got the slightest touch of frostbite on my ear yesterday morning. In 6 winters that's actually the first time that's happened, and it was only about 0F. But as I was riding down the long hill at the start of my commute I could feel the wind getting into my balaclava weirdly, but I just pressed on. But today it's definitely a bit nipped.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was really good. Had a decent headwind, so my moving average was like 15 mph, but I'm incredibly impressed with this new drivetrain. Keep in mind, I've never owned anything new, so that's what I'm working with. I had Ultegra from 07 on my Cannondale, but even at it's best, it wasn't as smooth as this. I felt no resistance from the chain, unlike other drivetrains of the past. 

Looking forward to the ride home. Winds are picking up and coming in at about 20 mph, with gusts up to 30. Maybe time to set a new PR?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been a minute since I have ridden to work, so I rode today. Sunny and mid 20's and mostly clear so I took one of the track bikes and man do those tires feel small!!!! Sketchy on the MUP since it was still slightly snow covered ice. Vittoria Rubino Slick 23's + ice = near death experience. Other than that, it was cold and windy. Stopped at the shop, talked to my buddy, and after all of that work we did on the bike, it still creaks a little. The thinks it is the weld at the bottom bracket of the frame. The entire bike has been apart and everything inspected, greased, properly tightened, and it is still there. White flag, I give up.

Ride home was brisk and I decided to stick to all the major roads because the back roads were melting and probably slightly frozen with runoff. Started snowing halfway home. Was pretty fun to ride the fixed gear again. I miss it big time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Got some snow last night so took the dogs for a bike run and ended up the month with 379.25 miles for the month, bringing me to 733.5 for the year so far. Feel a bit behind, but oh well. Had a nice wreck on Wednesday that I really started feeling on Friday while trying to ride some icy single track. 

Sounds like it rained a bit in town yesterday, so my Monday morning commute might be a bit interesting.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Similar to Saturday, down to the wind, the cold and the blowing snow on the way home, hell, even the bike was the same. Melting roads, a little ice covered by snow on the MUP, it was like Bill Murray riding a bike in Groundhog's Day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We got wet 
It snowed for about twelve hours Sat (melting the whole time). We ended up with about 4 to 6 inches on grass and other insulated flat surfaces, an inch or so of slush on the roads. It`s all melted today, and I expect the streets to be completely dry by the time I go to work. Not much, but I think it`s been our biggest snow yet this winter. Surely not as much water as the last rain, though.

EDIT: Has anybody posted pictures since the last change? It sounds like we now need to host on another site, but I haven`t tried yet, not sure.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in today. The roads were quite slick after freezing fog most of the evening. Good times. The trails in town were fairly firm and fast and the brief shot of snow we got has bonded to the ice layer to create some good grip. Lion or lamb, I can't say yet.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Glad you finally got some snow Radar!

I always used the tags to post pics hosted on picasa and that still seems to be working. For example, here is some singletrack I built over the weekend.

[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fGrDLPUYrDw/VPPPM_tcp0I/AAAAAAAADBc/0kfJQz7DVnQ/s800/20150301_133155%255B1%255D.jpg

After a couple days of rain last week back to dry commutes this week. I just passed 1500 miles for the year this morning. Fastest ever to that mark for me.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Chose the wrong bike today and payed for it. We got a couple inches of snow yesterday afternoon, but it had stopped snowing by 7PM so I assumed the roads would be clear. They were clear in my suburb and the one next to me so I grabbed the normal commuter, but the inner ring suburb and the city were not at all clear. I needed the fat bike or some studded tires, which I don't have, so it was a really slow commute trying to stay upright in the snow and ice. 

Went down in an intersection when the tires just slide out from under me. It was almost like sliding into second base. No hard impact, thank goodness, and no traffic at that point. This will likely be my first and only winter without studded tires.

Roads got worse a I got closer to downtown. Cars were parked halfway in the bike lane so I had to take the lane to avoid the door zone, which of course invited some ******* to let me know how he felt about cyclists. Guy in an SUV rides up behind me and honks at me and then slowly pulls alongside as close as he could and gives me the stink eye. I just held my line and did my best to ignore him, but it really pissed me off that he felt justified to try to see how close he could get to me when there was a completely empty lane to the left. As he's passing he started trying to squeeze me out of the lane. Rear quarter panel was probably about 8 inches from my left handle bar. Almost immediately after that, he got stuck in traffic and I passed him and never saw him again. I thought about stopping to have a chat but a couple things stopped me. First, the commute had already taken a lot longer than normal so I was running late. Second, I have a long fuse, but a nasty temper when I finally lose it and I didn't want to start my day with that. I opted for the one finger salute as I rode by.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, wanna know what sucks about that little storm? I was in Sacramento from Thursday to Saturday. Completely missed it. Nice to see some decent snow coming over Donner though. You guys did better than we did, based on what we saw driving through Reno Saturday evening.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice looking trail, Woodway! And a neat pic, too. Have you been using Picasa for the editing features, or is there some other advantage to hosting on a separate website? I do have a Photobucket acct for other websites, but every time I post pics that way I curse the extra trouble compared to how easy it is (was?) to simply attatch to a post here on empty beer.



Kleebs said:


> ...so it was a really slow commute trying to stay upright in the snow and ice.
> 
> I just held my line and did my best to ignore him, but it really pissed me off that he felt justified to try to see how close he could get to me when there was a completely empty lane to the left. As he's passing he started trying to squeeze me out of the lane. Rear quarter panel was probably about 8 inches from my left handle bar.


That`s bad enough on good surface. Figure in ice and it`s a move for serious a-holes. Good thing you didn`t end up going under his tires.



CommuterBoy said:


> You guys did better than we did, based on what we saw driving through Reno Saturday evening.


My wife and I went to lunch in Gerlach yesterday, just for the hell of it. I was surprised how much snow there was around Pyramid- they must have twice as much as we did just 20 "crow miles" away. I guess the weather gets trapped in the basin and just keeps circling around over the lake, picking up moisture and dumping it, then cycling around again.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Freeze thaw freeze thaw freeze thaw....and that is just the MUP. Roads are wet, then freeze with a really thin coat of ice at night in some spots. Makes for a sketchy ride home. Decided that it is time to add the brake back on both fixed gear bikes. Had a few situations that were less than optimal for me to try to stop with no brake. Taking Tuesday off from riding since it is supposed to be mid 30's and rain mixed with snow/sleet/ice. A perfect day to drive the car that I washed Friday and has been sitting in my car port since.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Trailbuilding in March, mind blown!

We've finally had some relief from the winter-long cold snap, my ride in the teens yesterday felt positively balmy. An inch or two of fresh snow made the ride pretty, but messy. The winds went crazy at 4ish and it looked like a snow tornado outside. By the time I left work it was a more well behaved tailwind. With the warmer temps (and salt and sun) some big puddles are getting trapped on the road because of the big snowbanks. So far they have been avoidable.

Did a few fatbike laps at Millstone Trails Sunday, followed by a snowshoe with a friend, who took this great porcupine pic, and one of my "Keeper" too. (Rodar, I used the regular "go advanced, upload images, select images thingy.) Saturday we exceeded my skijoring/skinny ski skills in the fast conditions, 18 mph maxspeed and several good wipeouts convinced me to use something with brakes on Sunday.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

That's great porcupine picture! I both do and don't wish we had some around here.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. A bit of a squeak coming out of the back of the bike - brake pads about gone. Need to replace those. The weather report was for freezing rain this AM, but so far it hasn't gotten here, so fingers crossed that it just stays away. At this point I'd be find with the pathetic winter we've had just being over so I can get to some dirt riding.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

NDD said:


> That's great porcupine picture! I both do and don't wish we had some around here.


Wow, no porcupines there? I did not know that! How do the vets manage?

Newf, how is your frosted ear? Hoping it is still attached to your head.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Almost ate in on a snowy/icy patch on the MUP. The tail end of my bike whipped around suddenly at the bottom of a small decline. I was able to stay up, but my front wheel slipped off the edge of the MUP. I jammed my foot down just in time.

The MUP is mostly clear, save for two stretches I have been mostly avoiding (I ride one stretch on the way home for fun). We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. Since they never plow the MUP, I might be back on the road. I'm tempted to complain to the city works about the condition of the MUP. The roads have been clear for almost 2 weeks. It wouldn't seem that hard to make a run with a plow on a path that connects people like me to an industrial park that is one of the state's largest places of employment. But I digress...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

2+" of snow already, and it just turned to freezing sleet pellets. I think the fat bike is in order here. Should be interesting.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sunday I swapped the chain on my fatty and realized that the smallest front chainring was too worn for the new chain.

So, Monday I took a regular MTB. It was the first time riding non-fat in a few months. OMG I felt vulnerable! But fast! The road & lake were OK but the trails were still to soft for 2.1" tires...Abort to road.

Today I put the old chain on the Pugs until my new chainring shows up all is well again. I think the trails were firm enough for the other bike but it changes day to day.

We're due for some wet snow and a 40 degree day so I think the tide is about to turn.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Going from a fat bike to a mountain bike is tough, right? Now go from 4" wide tires to a fixed gear on 23's. That transition is really tough. Feels like I am going to topple over when I start mashing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^This was the first time it really felt odd to me. Just so much fat tire riding this winter. There's really been no opportunity to ride a road bike for months so I'll get to ease into it.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Almost ate in on a snowy/icy patch on the MUP. The tail end of my bike whipped around suddenly at the bottom of a small decline. I was able to stay up, but my front wheel slipped off the edge of the MUP. I jammed my foot down just in time.
> 
> The MUP is mostly clear, save for two stretches I have been mostly avoiding (I ride one stretch on the way home for fun). We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. Since they never plow the MUP, I might be back on the road. I'm tempted to complain to the city works about the condition of the MUP. The roads have been clear for almost 2 weeks. It wouldn't seem that hard to make a run with a plow on a path that connects people like me to an industrial park that is one of the state's largest places of employment. But I digress...


Here they plow the snow off the road and onto the MUP. I emailed the DOT about it and they told me they had no plans to do anything about it. We are generally a pretty bike friendly area, but I find that policy pretty lame.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, no porcupines there? I did not know that! How do the vets manage?
> 
> Newf, how is your frosted ear? Hoping it is still attached to your head.


Too far east and not far enough north. Just not in porcupine range. The vets stay busy with the usual endoparasites and accidents and such. My dog has a knack for getting hookworm so I have to make sure he's covered as early as March.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

formula4speed said:


> Here they plow the snow off the road and onto the MUP. I emailed the DOT about it and they told me they had no plans to do anything about it. We are generally a pretty bike friendly area, but I find that policy pretty lame.


Luckily, my MUP has a 3-4ft wall acting as a divider as the path butts up to the street. There is a nice "drift" at the one end where the wall tapers off, but I can get past it if I hug the fence on the other side.

I ended up sending our public works department a message, but I doubt anything will come of it. It's worth a try. This year, they did plow off the bike lanes after a day or two, which was an improvement from last year.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Newf, how is your frosted ear? Hoping it is still attached to your head.


Oh yeah. I did far worse to myself when I used to run, but this was the first frostnip in years of biking. Biking forces you to dress properly, but when I ran I'd occasionally go hatless down to about 0F...which is dumb.

And speaking of 0F, that's where we were this morning. A weird, 2-day coldsnap before heading back above freezing tomorrow.

And everything around here is an offleash area, which can be annoying because they're impossible to avoid if you're going for a longish ride. But on the weekend I finally actually took advantage of that, and went for a ride with my pooch for the first time. And it was fantastic:


__
https://flic.kr/p/qtD2JX

Most fun bikeride I've had in ages. My rigid ss 26er is a perfect dog bike. And now I can't wait for Saturday when we'll try out a different loop. I figure there are 4 different ~10km routes around town to keep us entertained.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice looking trail, Woodway! And a neat pic, too. Have you been using Picasa for the editing features, or is there some other advantage to hosting on a separate website? I do have a Photobucket acct for other websites, but every time I post pics that way I curse the extra trouble compared to how easy it is (was?) to simply attatch to a post here on empty beer.


I don't remember how I stumbled into Picasa...it has decent enough editing tools but I rarely use them. What I like it how easy it is to link picasa photos...select the photo, select from the predetermined sizes picasa gives you, copy the link and paste it between


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## UberBikeGeek (Mar 3, 2015)

Gorgeous day here in PDX!


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## climb hazard (Mar 4, 2015)

It was a recreational ride for me, but lots of snow and courteous drivers led to a fun 8 miles. My city is pretty friendly towards cyclists; usually more so than towards other drivers. Share the road, right?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have ridden in some bad weather before, but I think today takes the cake. 27F with a strong westerly wind, and this is no joke, it was raining ice and snow. That is the only way to describe it. 2+ " had already fallen of regular snow, but as the day progressed, the temps were on the rise from when it started. The road conditions were poor at best, brown mashed potato snow everywhere, the kind that is super slippery. By the time I got to to work, I was covered in ice. Glasses had water droplets frozen on them. My waterproof jacket was wet on the front, and covered in ice. It was a long ride in, but a few coworkers complimented me on my tenacity, so it was worth it.

Ride home was surprisingly better, 31F with the wind at my back. Roads were wet and just starting to freeze. I took it easy and was watching for ice. MUP could only be described as a Slurpee. Half frozen, with the ice at the top, and then as you rolled, it squished the water out. That is my best description. 

Fat bike fenders were worth the money. I am happy with them for sure after today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, 10 speed- your inbound trip sure does sound nasty! Glad you had it a little better on the way home.

Getting chilly again (from what we`ve had), but pretty sunrises with a little white still on the shady sides of my local hills so I brought my camera with me tonight. Will try a commute shot on the way home and see if I get as lucky as Xplorer with the new attachment system.



newfangled said:


> But on the weekend I finally actually took advantage of that, and went for a ride with my pooch for the first time.


Newf, is that the star of your your avatar pic? I always thought you were using a generic downloaded photo for some reason!



climb hazard said:


> It was a recreational ride for me, but lots of snow and courteous drivers led to a fun 8 miles. My city is pretty friendly towards cyclists; usually more so than towards other drivers. Share the road, right?


Now there`s a cheerful introduction! Welcome aboard, ClimbHazard. Welcome to UBG, too.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I had my first bike commute yesterday after 4 months off the bike...
It was a fairly uneventful 12km. I did notice that I am way out of shape compared to before and that the nerves in my ass that I had deadened from many long hours in the saddle have come back to life.

I.e my ass is killing me...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> __
> https://flic.kr/p/qtD2JX


Wow, that dog in the pic looks almost identical to you in your profile picture. 

We got about 2+ inches of dense snow overnight which made my ride in pretty slow. The lake was surreal. The snow was so bright and featureless I couldn't tell I was moving unless I actually looked at my wheel rolling. Very odd.

Welcome newcomers.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A cyclist was killed here last week while riding his fatbike on a training loop to get ready for a tour this summer.

Not a single news outlet even bothered to mention it.

Media Release: Ghost Bike Memorial Installation ? Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society (EBC)



rodar y rodar said:


> Newf, is that the star of your your avatar pic? I always thought you were using a generic downloaded photo for some reason!


Yup, and nope. It's cropped from a pic I took the day we got her (or maybe the second day)


__
https://flic.kr/p/bQ7JGB

Just below 0F this morning. Blah.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

34F here today. Light rain/fog mix. Roads are slick and wet. Will be miserable on the way home as I'll be soaked by the time I get to the bus. Not fun. Oh well, such is life, I guess.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Beautiful dog Newf. My dog is one of those "so ugly she's cute" kinds of dogs, but that dog is purdy. 

Looks like I sold my hardtail 29er... I'm just a couple craigslist sales away from fatbike shopping... getting excited about riding in the snow someday (when I visit somewhere where it actually snows since it doesn't snow here anymore).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ which hardtail? Access I? Access II? Ogre? I've lost track.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Haha what are you saying?

I have bonded with the Ogre in that rare way that only happens once in a great while... I can pretty confidently say that I will never sell that bike.

Selling Access 1, otherwise known as Special Ed:


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Best ride in a while this morning. 34F with an 8mph tailwind made for a very pleasant ride. My commuter was protesting a bit from the lack of maintenance this winter though. Will need a new chain at least, probably a new freewheel, and definitely a new quill stem because my current one keeps slipping. Once a week I realize that I am leaning over an awful lot more than what I started at on Monday and I have to rotate the bars and tighten the clamp again.

Which gets me thinking....buy a new quill relatively inexpensively, or pick up the 1" quill to 1-1/8" threadless adapter, a modern threadless stem, and upgrade to a new set of drop bars....While I'm at it, the old thumbie that I repurposed for rear shifter duty is ok but very finicky, as is the altus rear derailleur. I should probably just spring for a nice bar end shifter and new derailleur. I think I have a problem...

I think I know where the finance committee at home will stand on this one. Expect no new toys


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

off since thursday....bacterial sinusitis.....amoxicillan for 10 days.

might be able to ride monday or maybe tuesday.

Talk about coughing and snot....


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I rode home in shorts and short-sleeved shirt yesterday. It was around 60F in the afternoon (around 32 in the morning). We're expected to get 5-10" of snow tonight, and we're supposed to be in the single digits by Friday. Right now we are just getting an ungodly amount of rain. It will be interesting when the temps take a dive.

I hitched a ride with my wife this morning.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Access 1, otherwise known as Special Ed:


Are the decals staying?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Buyer must remove if they don't like 'em. I can't bring myself to take them off. :lol: 
(For the new, sensitive members of the forum, relax... I've been a special education teacher for 15 years. Ol' Special Ed has been my 'short bus' for quite some time)


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'm curious how that conversation with the buyer went?



newfangled said:


> A cyclist was killed here last week while riding his fatbike on a training loop to get ready for a tour this summer.
> 
> Not a single news outlet even bothered to mention it.
> 
> Media Release: Ghost Bike Memorial Installation ? Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society (EBC)


And now, because of social media and a bit of shaming, someone has finally picked up the story:

Edmonton bicycle community remembers cyclist killed in crash - Edmonton | Globalnews.ca


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I rode home in shorts and short-sleeved shirt yesterday. It was around 60F in the afternoon (around 32 in the morning).


Thank you, sOck. I feel less guilty now!



CommuterBoy said:


> I'm just a couple craigslist sales away from fatbike shopping... getting excited about riding in the snow someday (when I visit somewhere where it actually snows since it doesn't snow here anymore).


Don`t worry. It should work great for cruising the dust dunes :thumbsup:
(insert old Dorthea Lange pic here)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Edmonton Ghost Bike:

How hard is it to swerve around a cyclist? Even if his battery died in his tail light, the headlights of the pickup have to light him up even if he was dressed all in black. It does speak to the need for redundant tail lights and bright ones, and Hi-Vis jackets and vest do show up in the headlights of an approaching vehicle. 

Seven C in Edmonton! Wow we barely broke through to +1 on Saturday for the first time in weeks. Clipper I suppose. 

BrianMc


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> And now, because of social media and a bit of shaming, someone has finally picked up the story:
> 
> Edmonton bicycle community remembers cyclist killed in crash - Edmonton | Globalnews.ca


Thanks for reporting it here. It's a real shame.

I had no idea the ghost bike thing started in St. Louis. Guess I should have.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ and now it sounds like the reason the media didn't report it was because the RCMP (the Mounties) were too busy to inform the media of this particular highway fatality? I don't know the logistics of that, since it sure seems like every scratched SUV bumper gets reported automatically. But anyway, he was killed on Feb 23 and it's taken a week-and-a-half for any reporting. Extremely depressing.

As for the ghostbikes, I know that some cyclists argue they send a negative impression of cycling: Ghost bikes: memorials to road victims blamed for putting people off cycling | Life and style | The Guardian

But in this case I certainly can't argue, since the alternative is apparently complete silence.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I can see where it might be frightening, especially to people who would otherwise be a cyclist or support commuter cyclists more if they thought it was safer. In essence, it makes commuting seem a lot less safe than it actually may be, because it broadcasts the result of one terrible yet uncommon occurrence. So I can see where they're coming from there.

The reality is that it just sucks that there are a lot of people who never have and never intend to commute by bike that seem to know a whole hell of a lot about it and what it entails.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Wet and cruddy in the afternoons. Foggy and chilly out now. Supposed to get some rain/snow mix today. We'll see. After yesterday's ride to the bus I decided to put a ghetto fender on the back - just a bit of old political sign zip-tied to the underside of my rack. Not pretty, but it'll do the trick, I think. Now I just need to figure something out for the front. Seems to be much more human poo on the streets and trails this spring and I really don't want that flung into my mouth - eww....I'm okay with moose and dog, but homeless? Not so much.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Decent ride in this AM. Wet and cruddy in the afternoons. Foggy and chilly out now. Supposed to get some rain/snow mix today. We'll see. After yesterday's ride to the bus I decided to put a ghetto fender on the back - just a bit of old political sign zip-tied to the underside of my rack. Not pretty, but it'll do the trick, I think. Now I just need to figure something out for the front. Seems to be much more human poo on the streets and trails this spring and I really don't want that flung into my mouth - eww....I'm okay with moose and dog, but homeless? Not so much.


Not enough endoparasites in homeless poo for ya? Ha, that's pretty gross, man.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

NDD said:


> Not enough endoparasites in homeless poo for ya? Ha, that's pretty gross, man.


It is pretty nasty. The down-town area has been really bad this year for some reason. Most days I'm seeing a new pile somewhere in the area of the transit center. Just all kinds of weird up here this year.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> It is pretty nasty. The down-town area has been really bad this year for some reason. Most days I'm seeing a new pile somewhere in the area of the transit center. Just all kinds of weird up here this year.


I've never been homeless, but I will say, I'd probably try to find somewhere to sh*t that was further off the road. Like I said, could be a lack of perspective on my part. So maybe I wouldn't find somewhere further off the road.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Today's ride was cold. Single digit temps and damp. I need better tights. Darn near frostbit my willy!

Most of the ice has melted off the trails. Still, I ran into a couple of the people whose job it is to clear those trails. Up at the crack of doom removing snow or, as in today's case, spreading sand on the worst ice patches. I want to give them a big thanks for making my commute much safer through their hard work! I consider myself lucky to not only be able to ride trails on most of my commute but also have those trails so well cared for! Thanks powers that be and politically inclined activists whose hard work most probably procured those trails and provided for their upkeep!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NDD said:


> I've never been homeless, but I will say, I'd probably try to find somewhere to sh*t that was further off the road. Like I said, could be a lack of perspective on my part. So maybe I wouldn't find somewhere further off the road.


I've never been homeless, but I will say, I'd probably try to find somewhere to live that wasn't ALASKA IN THE WINTER!!! Could be a lack of perspective on my part...but I'm thinking I'd be pooping on the streets of San Diego or something.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

newfangled said:


> ^ and now it sounds like the reason the media didn't report it was because the RCMP (the Mounties) were too busy to inform the media of this particular highway fatality? I don't know the logistics of that, since it sure seems like every scratched SUV bumper gets reported automatically. But anyway, he was killed on Feb 23 and it's taken a week-and-a-half for any reporting. Extremely depressing.
> 
> As for the ghostbikes, I know that some cyclists argue they send a negative impression of cycling: Ghost bikes: memorials to road victims blamed for putting people off cycling | Life and style | The Guardian
> 
> But in this case I certainly can't argue, since the alternative is apparently complete silence.


The attitude that it puts people off cycling is rubbish. People don't complain about seeing roadside memorials for flipped/totaled cars...or at least it doesn't stop them from driving.

Anything that reminds people that they are sharing the road with _other people_ is a good thing, in my estimation.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

wschruba said:


> The attitude that it puts people off cycling is rubbish. People don't complain about seeing roadside memorials for flipped/totaled cars...or at least it doesn't stop them from driving.
> 
> Anything that reminds people that they are sharing the road with _other people_ is a good thing, in my estimation.


I agree basically anything new will get noticed by regular road users.....thats why advertising signs work....and we have distracted drivers.

In the end the ghost bike thing works cause people who dont know about talk about it until they figure out what is going on. By then the message has sunk in.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've never been homeless, but I will say, I'd probably try to find somewhere to live that wasn't ALASKA IN THE WINTER!!! Could be a lack of perspective on my part...but I'm thinking I'd be pooping on the streets of San Diego or something.


 Reminds me of the guy in Boulder asking for spare change. I indicated that I didn't have any "Spare" change so he starts ranting about "sure you don't, you look poor I can tell by your new clothes..." Before I can inject that I work and therefore have a budget and that all my "change" is therefore allocated, my 6-year-old asks "Dad, is that guy a Hobo or just a Bum?" Apparently he'd never been confronted by a 6-year-old like that before because it got real quiet. Of course now he's 15 and asking his english teacher if they can't read something less depressing than Romeo and Juliet. Kids, gotta love the 4-15 year-old period when they say what they think with no filter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

newfangled said:


> And now, because of social media and a bit of shaming, someone has finally picked up the story:
> 
> Edmonton bicycle community remembers cyclist killed in crash - Edmonton | Globalnews.ca


Geez, not reporting on a 2/23/15 fatality until 3/4/15 does seem pretty strange, ours have been pretty much instant or next day. Looks like it might be one of the first fat bike fatalities too, based on the still image at the video's start.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Seems cold for March, continuing this winter's theme. 12F this morning with a pesky headwind dragging me down, and 2 F for the way home. On the plus side the puddles that gathered on the road shoulders during a couple warmer days are now perfect skating rinks. An intrepid road crew was attempting hot-patching potholes this morning with a heated stinky trailer unit thingy.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

came out of work. front maguras have ZERO fluid pressure... 
so hey lookit me riding home in the snow with no front brakes and some admittedly fairly shot rear brake pads.
bloody hell!
don't feel like replacing an entire brakeset tonight, so might string the fatbike up and try that.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Finally found the sweet spot with the goggles and face mask, and I hope I don't need to know where it is till Fall. Single digits again this evening with a strange shell of ice over the snow, and everything else. 40's in the forecast, maybe even 50's, but now I wonder if I'll remember how to dress for that.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Well, the weather dropped 12" of snow Wednesday night. No work yesterday. I drove in today. I should probably have ridden, but I walked off in my dress shoes when I was picked up on Wednesday and couldn't fit them into my backpack with all my other stuff. It was a chilly 7F, but the roads were half decent. Decent riding conditions, all things considered. Oh well.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A beautiful, sunny, 42F morning. And coffeeoutside with the regular crew of friday cyclists. And no drivers did anything particularly dumb to ruin my mood.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Didn't commute today. brought my bike to work though since I'm taking it to my buddy's to work on it after work. Since it's been slow this morning and I'm working alone, I've had the time to clean most of the road grime and salt off of it and otherwise show it some love.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Really nice out today, with sun and 37F when I left for work. Roads had a little moisture but the melt hasn't really started yet. Fat bike was moving as I got going, until the wind hit me like a truck. Cooled me right off but I was dressed just right. Ride home was pretty awesome, 30F and a slight breeze at my back. Roads were a bit sketchy as I got into the neighborhoods with the wind and temp just at freezing it left me unsure if they were icing over or were just wet. It was really nice not wearing a balaclava and just a regular helmet and sunglasses, and ONE pair of gloves!!


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Light gloves, safety glasses, shoes not boots. Spring has begun to spring, finally.

First ride of the year on the Bosanova, felt much faster than it was.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rustedthrough said:


> Light gloves, safety glasses, shoes not boots. Spring has begun to spring, finally.
> 
> First ride of the year on the Bosanova, felt much faster than it was.


Gotta love Michigan in March. Just ready for all of the snow to be gone and the roads to be dry again.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

"Whooo-eeeeeeee!" That's how it was. Roads are back to nearly full width and mostly dry, completely ice free in the lanes.

Back to looking for excuses to ride, instead of storage for more gloves and things.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Anyone ever been to a redbull crashed ice? They're doing one here next week (track is in purple):


__
https://flic.kr/p/rfu5u1

It's kindof a weird layout, because there's basically nowhere for spectators to stand...but I guess they just care about how it looks on tv? I'm going to try swinging through next week when it's on.

and a photo from the pros:








https://www.edmontonsun.com/2015/02...al&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

No bikes though.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rustedthrough said:


> "Whooo-eeeeeeee!" That's how it was. Roads are back to nearly full width and mostly dry, completely ice free in the lanes.
> 
> Back to looking for excuses to ride, instead of storage for more gloves and things.


The roads there are dry? Not so much here. I am still riding the fat bike because it is the only bike I have that will take fenders. The ice is all gone I think, at least I hope. Once the roads are dry, then the other bikes will make an appearance.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Spring flipped the switch. We were in the upper 40s to mid-50s this weekend. The 12" of snow we received last week is still on the ground in spots but is rapidly melting. Today is going to be in the 60s. I am not complaining. It felt good not to layer up as much this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Same thing here but not quite as warm. I shed a layer on both the top and bottom. After months of NEVER getting above freezing it is supposed to break it every day this week and not even get below freezing on Wednesday. I may have to break out one of those skinny tired bikes that go on that place with cars on it.

Busy weekend. Took the dogs out to drain their energy: The Candid Cyclist: Wearing Out the Dogs (With video)
Then had 50 people over for a party. Got up early for a group fatbike ride with a new group then back home to head out for dog training class.

Today's ride was pretty decent but not great. I had to take the non-fat bike. On Friday my fatty had a rear flat that turned out to be around the stem so it was not patchable. On Saturday I noticed that my front tire was now flat, same route cause. I had one spare tube. So, I put in a 9er tube in the front which turned out to be defective. So, I put in a second 9er tube which held for the group ride and then blew out with a bang in the middle of the day on Sunday. For anybody keeping track, that's 4 tubes in 2 days! These were the original tubes that have never even been patched so I guess it was time.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

We are getting that weather here, and I am not complaining!! Forecasted for 43F today and 51F tomorrow!!! I think I am going to have to take the fixed gear regardless of the possibility of wet roads. Faster bike, less layers, normal SPD shoes instead of heavy boots, possibly normal gloves.....the happiness is making me smile ear to ear. It is supposed to be like this for the next week!!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Anyone ever been to a redbull crashed ice? They're doing one here next week (track is in purple):


Just noticed your post. I've watched a few of their videos. That is some crazy stuff. If there was a place to spectate I'd probably try to get a glimpse.

Crashed Ice is to my skating as Rampage is to my mountain biking.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

First time in a month that my beard, oh did I say a dirty word, didn't freeze on my ride to work! WooHoo!

Will be in the 50's for my ride home.

And only one driver thought hey were more important than me. Passed me, then turned right. Luckily the roads more mostly dry. Last week with the snow and Ice I'd have been toast.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

back on the bike with full on summer here


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

We were supposed to have a significant winter storm on Saturday. Woke up to ride over to a daylong retreat for board members of Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers and it was p*ssing down rain. Got to the conference center and was soaked. But no snow. By the time we were done at 4, the sun was out, the wind was blowing, and the water had mostly dried up. 

In town this morning the roads were bone dry, but the MUPs were a mixed bag o mess. The Iditarod ceremonial start was Saturday, so they chewed up the trails quite a bit and the melting on Sunday turned it to mush in some places. Now today we are at 12F so things froze down solid. Some bare pavement on the MUP, but mostly mix of icy crappy. 

Conundrum - guy of Craigslist is selling 6 fatbike tires (4 Devist8er ULs and 2 Vee 8s) for 200 bucks. Do I drop the coin on these tires for summer use knowing that they are not the best tires or wait until I actually need a new tire and then drop half the total for all six for a single tire that'll be bald by the end of the summer?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I would beg to ride that redbull course with my studs. No thanks on the skates though. Looks crazy!

Low of 27 for the commute today, and a high of 71 forecasted for this afternoon. That's a 44 degree gap. Gonna have a backpack full of this morning's clothes for the ride home :lol:

In other news, I always hate breaking out the headlight again when the morning commute goes dark because of daylight savings time. Everyone gets all excited about all the extra daylight after dinner, when I'd really rather have it be dark so the kids will go to bed without too huge of a battle... give me my mornings back, thank you very much :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> In other news, I always hate breaking out the headlight again when the morning commute goes dark because of daylight savings time.


Yup. I'd just put away my magicshine clone and its annoying batterypack away. Lousy DST.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Conundrum - guy of Craigslist is selling 6 fatbike tires (4 Devist8er ULs and 2 Vee 8s) for 200 bucks. Do I drop the coin on these tires for summer use knowing that they are not the best tires or wait until I actually need a new tire and then drop half the total for all six for a single tire that'll be bald by the end of the summer?


If you are riding trail tires on the road they will wear out quickly...so the alternative to buying these tires is to ride less.

That is how I ended up with three wheel sets, including some road slicks, has reduced my tire consumption from garage fulls of worn out knobs to a one set of knobbies every couple of years, and road slicks that last 5 plus years.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I would beg to ride that redbull course with my studs. No thanks on the skates though. Looks crazy!
> 
> 
> > We have a ski hill in town, years ago before they prefected snow making the hill would turn into a skating rink.....great fun to skate down the hill when the skiis couldn't get a bite on the ice.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> CommuterBoy said:
> 
> 
> > I would beg to ride that redbull course with my studs. No thanks on the skates though. Looks crazy!
> ...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Conundrum - guy of Craigslist is selling 6 fatbike tires (4 Devist8er ULs and 2 Vee 8s) for 200 bucks. Do I drop the coin on these tires for summer use knowing that they are not the best tires or wait until I actually need a new tire and then drop half the total for all six for a single tire that'll be bald by the end of the summer?


$33/tire. Probably worth it based on the miles you ride.

I'm actually enjoying the dark morning commutes. I get to catch the sunrise again and the evenings are all in the light unless I get trapped at work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ The sunrises are coming back for me... another week or 2. That makes it *almost* worth it.

Kleebs, that sounds awesome. Jeffscott...I would do that on crampons. Skates...nope.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> $33/tire. Probably worth it based on the miles you ride.


I'd emailed the guy back and said no thanks. So he comes back with - How about 125 for them all and I'll throw in a 27TPI Nate and a rotor. Seems a tenant left them behind. I couldn't pass that up. Even if I happen to bald out two of them a summer it's still worth it.

Helpful hint - seven fat bike tires do not fit so well into a single Ortlieb Backroller bag. And it makes the bike just a touch unbalanced...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Heck of a deal! Yeah, I'll be it was unbalanced. 7 lowish end fatbike tires, what's that...30 pounds. LOL.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm like 3 craigslist sales away from ordering a fatbike. WooHoo! Sold the 29er... a friend bought it and says he will keep the stickers.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm like 3 craigslist sales away from ordering a fatbike. WooHoo! Sold the 29er... a friend bought it and says he will keep the stickers.


Hey, need some rubber for that fattie you're getting? I know a guy...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

#1 
There is something _just not right_ about being able to ice skate on any kind of hill. In my experience, you are supposed to go round n round to organ music, or perhaps back and forth chasing a puck if you are really good at it.

#2


bedwards1000 said:


> Took the dogs out to drain their energy: The Candid Cyclist: Wearing Out the Dogs (With video)


Nice doggy report and video. I am also a fan of the year round hi-viz dog vest, so much easier to spot them at a glance in the woods. Mine has stayed out of trail trouble (deer) for over a month now (a new record), but the deep snowpack may have been of as much help as any training. We did a 10 mile fatbike on Sunday, I could not even get him to pant, but he was tired afterwards.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Heck of a deal! Yeah, I'll be it was unbalanced. 7 lowish end fatbike tires, what's that...30 pounds. LOL.


I commuted once with an all steel SA 3 speed rim/hub combo strapped to my pack...I can feel his pain.

Though...he missed a great opportunity to go all road warrior and strap the tires around his chest.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The ride in seemed like the start of spring. Sun was out in full blast, the snow is melting and puddling on the roads and by the time I got to work, it was 43F. I felt naked without my full gear on. Just did tights, wool socks and REGULAR SPD shoes and wind resistant gloves along with this Mammut cycling jacket I got. It was a fast ride in and I enjoyed it even though the bike got dirty.

The ride home? Ehhhhhhhhh. 30F and since the roads were wet, it was hard to tell what was starting to ice up and what wasn't. There was some slush that was questionable and had me puckering a few times. It was alright, until my headlight went out. I thought that I had charged it, and I had not apparently. Last 2 miles were in the dark and luckily I took the main street route which at least had me on anything but a pitch black MUP. I took the turn lane and hoped for the best. Not much traffic on that road at almost midnight on a Monday night thankfully.

Light is charging, and tomorrow is forecasted for a high of 53F. I might be one of those crazy Michigan guys wearing shorts on the ride. Might. At least for the ride in.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

So, this happened on my commute home from work - It may not seem that aggravating to some, but it kinda ticked me of for a bit

I'm riding along a 2-lane road that splits neighborhoods - something like This - southbound

It's a pretty fast road (45?) but at least there is generally a good shoulder/bike lane

A sputtering VW bug pulls along-side me and driver makes eye contact. He then gasses it forward and SLOWLY starts moving over in front of me - and slowing down.
Behind him is apparently a car that is following him, as they are moving over too - but not really slowing down as much

BTW its dusk, but I'm pretty well lit up - brighter than most things on the road

So, the bug is creepin in to my travel ("bike lane"), and I'm hittin my brakes. I have a car behind me starting to get on my ass.
And behind them are two big trucks going the speed limit.

As I triple check my 6, to see about going into the lane/left of the bug, I can see that my window is too short.
After the trucks pass, the bug is now stopped, and the car behind is almost stopped. I'm now basically track standing behind the bug like this [car]---ME-[Bug] - I'd guess 20' between the two

Then I zip out and around and live to tell another story, But I, 1 (ONE) thought the guy in the bug to be quite the A-Hole - if your car is breaking down, hit the brakes, don't try to try to pass and pull over!

Also, with that follow car crunching me in, I didn't know if I was getting set up!

anyways, fcuk that part of my commute tonight


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Crazy, Highdelll. Hey, where have you been lately?

Daylight savings time would be a lot better if the sun followed the rules too. I mean, if we all set our clocks ahead/back and the sun came up an hour earlier/later, then we`d still have screwed up sleep schedules, but at least we wouldn`t have to instantly get used to new light and temp situations twice per year. Maybe they could make that a new law?

No riding for me again this weekend (makes about 70 in a row, I guess). I went camping in the low country. It got hot this afternoon- had to look for some shade.



blockphi said:


> Helpful hint - seven fat bike tires do not fit so well into a single Ortlieb Backroller bag. And it makes the bike just a touch unbalanced...


Congratulations on the deal. Sorry I missed the show.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

wschruba said:


> I commuted once with an all steel SA 3 speed rim/hub combo strapped to my pack...I can feel his pain.
> 
> Though...he missed a great opportunity to go all road warrior and strap the tires around his chest.


Or The Michelin Man



CommuterBoy said:


> I'm like 3 craigslist sales away from ordering a fatbike. WooHoo! Sold the 29er... a friend bought it and says he will keep the stickers.


Framed Alaskan Alloy? I'm seriously thinking the carbon bluto will be my next bike. I'll see what the price does over the summer. If I see it dip, I am in. With the carbon fork installed it will be my lightest mountain bike. I've bought the misses 3 nice bikes since my last (real) bike purchase in 2013.

The trails were fantastic this morning. Good thing too because I spent all of last night fixing things I didn't know were wrong with the Pigsley. Who knew that the hubs on that were real balls and races? I did after they loosened to the point of falling apart.

*Sunrise Porn: *The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

highdelll said:


> After the trucks pass, the bug is now stopped, and the car behind is almost stopped. I'm now basically track standing behind the bug like this [car]---ME-[Bug] - I'd guess 20' between the two
> 
> Then I zip out and around and live to tell another story


I'd be pretty irate in that situation and probably would have stopped and had a conversation with the driver in the bug.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

highdelll said:


> &#8230; A sputtering VW bug pulls along-side me and driver makes eye contact. He then gasses it forward and SLOWLY starts moving over in front of me - and slowing down. Behind him is apparently a car that is following him, as they are moving over too - but not really slowing down as much. BTW its dusk, but I'm pretty well lit up - brighter than most things on the road. So, the bug is creepin in to my travel ("bike lane"), and I'm hittin my brakes. I have a car behind me starting to get on my ass. And behind them are two big trucks going the speed limit&#8230;. After the trucks pass, the bug is now stopped, and the car behind is almost stopped. I'm now basically track standing behind the bug like this [car]---ME-[Bug] - I'd guess 20' between the two...
> Also, with that follow car crunching me in, I didn't know if I was getting set up!


Sounds like Dumb and Dumber nursing and supporting getting an ailing old Bug home. Not all drivers are of above average intelligence. Moving such a car at dusk is unwise. Just dumb, not thinking ahead, and not coming up with good solutions. When things break you need over right now!

I remember driving a U-Haul Truck under an overpass in a downpour in Michigan and the bridge's drains were plugged so I drove through this waterfall coming out and drowned the distributor cap. Sudden engine failure at 55 mph alongside an onramp leaves no viable options but to signal right and squeeze the entering traffic. No doubt I was thought to be quite the a$$hole. The difference is my power loss was instantaneous, whereas the sputtering Bug's driver had a lot of hints, though maybe it did not feel all that different until he got alongside.

It is the guy behind who could have been shotgun for you and held the trucks off while you got around the bug on on your way, who is the bigger dolt of the pair. He/she had no idea that such a squeeze play would unnerve you. Motorists don't think that way if they don't ride.

A lot of stupid and distracted drivers out there. Take care.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

How quickly the tide turns. Save money on rubber only to have the chain break just a block from the bus stop. Of course, I don't have a chain tool or quick link with me. On Friday night I broke the chain and fortunately a guy on the ride had a quick link for me. I should have bought a new chain while I was out and about yesterday, but it seemed to be working just fine so no biggie. Then pop and it's done for. Of course, by this time the bus will be there in ten minutes, there is no bike shop within three miles of the bus stop and the bike shops in the valley are all closed on Mondays. I have chains and quick links at home, but all for 9 speed drive trains, not ten. 

What is a guy to do? I could have (should have) stayed at home and in bed this morning. Instead, I adjusted the Pugsley and am riding that. Definitely a different ride. I notice it most in the brakes and in the narrower handlebar. Of course, it's not dialed in for me any more - the seat position is a touch off and the handlebars could be raised a bit. 

I hate going to a different bike, but am dang glad I have the backup bike.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> #1
> There is something _just not right_ about being able to ice skate on any kind of hill. In my experience, you are supposed to go round n round to organ music, or perhaps back and forth chasing a puck if you are really good at it.


The figure skaters are the ones that really know how to.

Hockey players take lessons from them regularly.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

First ride since mid december. Was icy icy with the days being +5 and nights -5. Took 45 minutes.... Co workers took that long to drive cause of a couple accidents jamming traffic. Probably have to take a different route home, the park i went threw was ice packed snow and in sure it will be slush because of the frozen foot prints everywhere


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Speedy and silent! I pulled the 'cross bike (Fort Race) out of mothballs this morning, it had been there since early winter. Temps were about 20F. It felt great to go studless! There was quite a bit of ice, but apparently it had enough dirt mixed in to provide some traction. The Diadora Polaris shoes have proven themselves worthy for light winter and wet weather duty. I only have clipless pedals on the cross bike, so I have not tried them in colder weather. I think they are discontinued, but should you happen to see a closeout in your size, I recommend them.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First commute in about a week. Thanks northwesterners, for lending your cool, rainy weather. It was kinda nice. My feet were dry until I hit a puddle pulling into the parking lot. Hrmph, now my boots are wet and I'm probably gonna get foot fungus.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> I'm probably gonna get foot fungus.


OMG what a drama queen! 

OK, I just walked outside. It's 50 degrees. I think the trails are going to be a tad soft for the fatbike. Quite a change from the 15 it was this morning.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I say it endearingly. I actually think I might have athletes foot anyway. But for real, my boots are gonna get stanky. I worry for the sake of others. 

I was glad to be on the single speed. It was a much better day for it than Saturday when I road to the coffee shop because the trails were still icy and rutted. I'm still setting up the bb7s because I need to true my rotor, so the single speed is all I'm riding right now. Woo!


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> Speedy and silent! I pulled the 'cross bike (Fort Race) out of mothballs this morning, it had been there since early winter. Temps were about 20F. It felt great to go studless! There was quite a bit of ice, but apparently it had enough dirt mixed in to provide some traction. The Diadora Polaris shoes have proven themselves worthy for light winter and wet weather duty. I only have clipless pedals on the cross bike, so I have not tried them in colder weather. I think they are discontinued, but should you happen to see a closeout in your size, I recommend them.


I bought a pair of those Diadoras, too. Perfect for in-between temps, I'd say. Although I have used them in 0 Fahrenheit and below, it was never for more than 2 hours and I won't say that my feet were exactly comfortable in those temps.

Commute today: Winter's back seems to have been broken here in MN. With 60+ degrees today and very few puddles remaining I had to unzip my light jacket and stow the gloves. But my commute is a mere 15 minutes, at most, so I didn't have too much time to overheat. So nice out there, it seems impossible that it could snow again here this year. But that's not something I'd money on


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice! 45F on the way home here made for puddles galore, and you know that half of them are hiding killer potholes! I lucked out at one point, because if I'd stayed to the right as usual, I would have gotten totally drenched by a passing car...but I had to drop a package at Staples and had already moved into the left turn only lane for the shopping center when the car passed and sent an arc ot water toward the shoulder.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, where have you been lately?
> 
> Pretty good - most commutes have been uneventful
> 
> how 'bout yourself?





rodar y rodar said:


> Daylight savings time would be a lot better if the sun followed the rules too. I mean, if we all set our clocks ahead/back and the sun came up an hour earlier/later, then we`d still have screwed up sleep schedules, but at least we wouldn`t have to instantly get used to new light and temp situations twice per year. Maybe they could make that a new law?


I think the next time the adjust time - only do it by a half-hour, and leave it there


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

Kleebs said:


> I'd be pretty irate in that situation and probably would have stopped and had a conversation with the driver in the bug.


I thought about that in hindsight - I just wanted to get out of the situation - didn't know what was up


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> A lot of stupid and distracted drivers out there. Take care.


Absolutely, and thanks!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in although the weather was not as forecasted. It ended up being about 43F for the ride in, and I am not complaining. There was a massive fog this morning, so the roads and paths were damp with humidity. I didn't really care because again I rode in normal clothes and had normal gloves on. 

The ride home was alright, 40F and the roads were really wet, again from this fog that is starting to develop. I zig zagged my way across my route, avoiding streets that I knew were soaking wet because I saw them on the way to work. Rode the rest of my route, and one particular section pretty fast. Kept it moving and wasn't really worried about the roads at all. Got to the park, and got on the MUP, and that is all she wrote. I was trapped, sliding, half catching myself, half trying to pedal, and I went down. It was a sheet of ice. That is what I get for trying to short cut. No more MUP at night until the temps are higher and the snow is completely gone. I will have to resort to the main roads which is fine with me. Turned my Strava off when I got home and checked it, yep, got my first KOM. I was pretty happy because previously I was in 4th place on this section, and in the company of some pretty fast riders, two of them who I know personally. So on a fixed gear that is not totally dialed in, on wet roads in very cool weather, I managed to take the crown. I am pretty excited to see what it will be like in 3 months.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Weather has been wonderful this week. Much like others here, my commutes have been in the upper 30s in the morning and upper 40s in the evening. Glorious. My only issue is after months of temps from 0F - 20F, I don't remember how to dress for temps this warm and have found myself overheating a lot. Luckily I have a shower at work. 

My commuter was protesting its lack of maintenance on the ride home last night. Didn't want to stay in any gear other than the 11t, so I had to just grind it out. It was fine for one ride, but I need to pull out the surgery kit and get her up and running soon.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

highdelll said:


> I thought about that in hindsight - I just wanted to get out of the situation - didn't know what was up


That's probably the more responsible reaction. You never know what some yahoos are up to, and getting boxed in on the shoulder between two cars when you have no backup would be unnerving.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

After a complete and thorough safety inspection (pumped up the tires) I got the cross check out for the first road ride of the spring. The temp was right around 33F so I wasn't too worried about ice from the thaw/freeze cycle. It was nice.

I tried a section of trail on the ride home. It turns out that there is still over a foot of snow packed in the trail. There was a lot of walking and a few times when I lost the fatbike tire to the axle. Other times I was able to ride. Trail riding should be available again on Friday morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This weather is absolutely nuts. Woke up to everything iced over, 100% humidity, and dense fog. It is clearing up now, but should be a repeat tonight. I will be better prepared for that tonight however. Supposed to hit the upper 40's later for the ride in so hopefully that gets this melted.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

4F at the bus stop with some amazing northern lights out. 3 in town at the office. Felt a bit colder, but that could be due to riding so slowly because of all the ice on the trails. Was close to taking a road route to avoid the ice, but simply couldn't bring myself to do it - wasn't feeling up to the big hill along that route - a hill I used to do daily when I first moved up here. About 3/4 of a mile long with the last 10th of a mile being 15% or better grade to a stop light. 

Got the new chain put on the Farley, so the Pugs is back in the stable. Having ridden it again yesterday reminds me of what I like so much about that bike - the ride just feels so plush compared to the Farley. Though if I were to go back to it I would have to make some serious changes, starting with a longer stem, wider bars, and a set-back seatpost. From there I think I would probably go to a 2X10 drive train, which shocks me. I love the big ring on a 3X for the commute, but it felt like I was shifting all the time. I'd also have to swap to hydro brakes. There is just no comparison. Of course, I would want to swap wheels as well. The way the bike is set up now, I felt a bit like a circus bear on a little kid's bike while riding. Most of that was due to the saddle being not adjusted quite right and the bar being set too low.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

howdy Highdelll...you still in Redding?

A drizzle today, but not enough to be a factor. Dark out there. And no sunrise because of the cloud cover.

Yesterday is the big news.... sold off the 29er and a boat load of Jeep parts, and was about $500 away from ordering my fatbike...But that craigslist can be a dangerous thing.

Finding an XL frame on Craigslist has proven to be quite a challenge over the years. 
Finding a Fatbike that didn't sell within 8 hours of posting is also a rarity.

...So a dude exactly my height selling a one year old XL Mukluk because of unforseen circumstances in desperate need of unloading it at a loss... not gonna happen, right? 
Must have been my lucky day. Made the 80 mile drive and snagged it yesterday afternoon from Rodar's territory.

He had a spare set of tires and the frame bag that he threw in also. Looks like the bag will fit the Ogre perfectly also. I might have to give it a try even though I am very vocal about how I hate having stuff strapped to the bike.

I've been reading about putting this thing on a diet... going to tackle drilling out the rims and will definitely convert to tubeless... I can tell this is going to be a hoot to ride though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Congrats CB! I guess that answered the question of whether you are getting the Framed Alaskan Alloy. Make sure you aren't drilling double walled rims to create a place for mud to pack.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Wow, that's a fantastic score.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Under a grand. Be jealous. Be very jealous. :eekster::nono:

Bedwards, they're the Surly Darryls, which are apparently super common to drill out... single wall. At least based on my brief research.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Under a grand. Be jealous. Be very jealous. :eekster::nono:
> 
> Bedwards, they're the Surly Darryls, which are apparently super common to drill out... single wall. At least based on my brief research.


Yup, lots of folks drill them out and they are single wall. Oddly, I've run across a few people who have drilled out double-wall Large Marge wheels. Packing the rim full of mud and snow always seemed like a big issue with that, but... who knows?

Congrats on the Muk. Good find.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Brace yourselves fatbike commuters... the questions are sure to be coming.


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## cole likes bikes (Mar 11, 2015)

good


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ah, twitter.

Someone locally asked "Why do the cyclists insist on pushing the pedestrian lights to cross but cry about bike lanes? One or the other."

Someone wisely responded that we don't _have_ any bikelanes, which is why we have to use pedestrian lights.

My comment was "Is it illegal to push pedestrian light sensors now? I see drivers do it all the time."

And the OP's response was "it actually is"

Just to be clear, we're talking about intersections with lights, where there is a button to request a light change. Around here some of these intersections may have a vehicle sensor (which probably wouldn't detect bikes anyway), but many only change if you press the button. And I often do see people jump out of cars to press the buttons.

Here's one example - you don't have a redlight, so you could wait for a break in traffic, but if you actually want traffic to stop you have to push the button. (and just to be clear, pushing the button does not instantly change the light...it's synced to major intersections so you're usually waiting a light-cycle).

Why the **** does this matter to a driver? And why does it matter _so much_ that he's convinced himself that it's illegal for cyclists to do this? It's a red light. It doesn't matter why it's a red light. Just stop your ****ing car and stop being a whiny baby.

This is why when I dismount and press the button to cross at a marked, lit crosswalk, car after car will go screaming through - because they're pretty darn sure that I don't count.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

I think it was 60F when I left work yesterday. Was hungry, got tacos, went home, profit!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats CB, that is fat-tastic!

Newf, just so you know, that is really weird. We have several of those ped-request buttons at lights, and I have yet to see a driver get out out the car to press the button. I don't press them either, I just wait for the green.

I wrote some Poetry in Motion this morning on the ride in, mostly derogatory, so perhaps it is best I got too busy at work and did not write it down or share it. I only recall it included a line that rhymed with truck and something that rhymed with mist, and one that rhymed with pass, you can fill in the *[email protected]#$!

Tonight I got a free shower from a passing car, but I was dirtier afterwards (also spitting salt water). A lane-wide puddle appeared just before a light, and I moved into the lane, hoping this would signal "please don't splash me", but if it did, they did not heed my request. They zoomed around as the light turned red, totally drenching me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Just to be clear, we're talking about intersections with lights, where there is a button to request a light change. Around here some of these intersections may have a vehicle sensor (which probably wouldn't detect bikes anyway), but many only change if you press the button.


Indiana had a law that a motorcycyclist can proceed as if the light is a stop sign after 2 minutes with no response. They have now done the same for all road users. Before, there was a "malfunctioning light" law, but no doubt a cyclist could still get ticketed when the light was never going to pick up the bike and have to fight it in court. Still, you then have to get a break in traffic. I see no issue with pushing a pedestrian button to get the response that the lights should have given a cyclist in the first place.

Some people have too much time on their hands and not enough problems in their lives, I guess.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

^Nice bike! I'm a fan of red+black bikes. Sounds like it was meant to be. Enjoy it!

Mtbxplorer- all I can say is "GAH!!" Can't believe a person would splash you like that! May karma get them good if there was any intentionality to it!

I had a nice commute today, (#6 for the year, goal is 100) still unseasonably warm here at 60 or thereabouts with full sun.

After work, the Mrs gave me leave to ride s'more. So I pulled a wheel and a seatpost off my 26er off-roader and stuffed it into the car with the back seat folded down. Got to my destination and- D'oh!- realized that in my haste the seatpost/seat didn't make the trip!

No matter, I said to myself, gonna do something here anyways. So I worked on the hills some. Had to hop off and push when I missed the seat too much on the ups. Gravel paths, since the trails are still wet. Anyways, ride salvaged! That was interesting


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hot diggity, CB! Looking forward to some debris strewn trail pics 
Did you end up trying one out before you found this bike, or was that your first fat mount?



newfangled said:


> My comment was "Is it illegal to push pedestrian light sensors now? I see drivers do it all the time."...
> 
> ...And I often do see people jump out of cars to press the buttons.


Seriously? Though it wouldn`t bother me to see it, I really can`t imagine it happening- would probably burst out laughing if I were to witness an occurance. Different situation from here to there, I guess.



mtbxplorer said:


> I wrote some Poetry in Motion this morning on the ride in, mostly derogatory, so perhaps it is best I got too busy at work and did not write it down or share it. I only recall it included a line that rhymed with truck and something that rhymed with mist, and one that rhymed with pass, you can fill in the *[email protected]#$!


:eekster:
Sorry about the bath.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in, good ride home. Stuck to the main roads to avoid any potential ice. One main road is still fairly drenched from this melt. Now they are forecasting 60F on Friday, so the local group is going to start riding again. Heh, I just happen to be off this Friday. Should be fun!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hot diggity, CB! Looking forward to some debris strewn trail pics
> Did you end up trying one out before you found this bike, or was that your first fat mount?


I rode an Access Chinook at a Performance Bike...but it was too small. This is the first fatbike I've ever sat on that was actually my size. Dude l bought it from lost a rather important bolt for one side of the super-cool Salsa Alternator dropouts in the rear... so I can't really ride it until my 5 dollar bolt shows up. It's pretty much killing me.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Well... This morning I was coming down hill fairly fast (in the cycle lane) - the traffic to my left (we drive on the right here in Norway) was stationary & this arsehole in a BMW X5 suv sitting at a junction approximately 100m from me sees a gap in the traffic that he absolutely MUST have.

What did he do?

Yep - pulled out right in front of me...

I braked like F**k and managed to go round him. I admit that I invited him to make more use of his eyes in rather graphic and direct terms. 
What I didn't expect is that he stopped dead across the road, blocking off all traffic going in our direction shout at me and take my picture with his cellphone (??). I love it when people do this - you see, I'm Scottish (no, not the kilts and whiskey kind - the other kind...) and this sort of thing is bread and butter to me. Plus I speak fluent Norwegian so I could understand everything the arse was saying to me whilst swearing back in my best Scots 

It was getting quite heated until the guy in the car behind threatened to kill us both if we didn't get moving...

Funny thing is that he claimed he didn't see me. Today, I'm wearing the N.C.F (Norsk Cycle Forbund kit. White top and white shorts. Im lit up like Cycle - effing - Jesus here...


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

^That tale of dysfunction made me LOL! Not because it's funny in reality, but you tell it so well 

May your next commute be perfectly smooth and uneventful. And people that drive BMWs should try extra hard to avoid fitting the stereotype. Seriously!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ugh. no bike for me today. I actually drove. I feel so ... dirty. Have to go to two different client sites today and with temps in the -10s right now, really couldn't bring myself to add the extra five miles from the office to the first location. Funny thing is - was up and all dressed out to ride when the wife asked, "Hey, aren't you driving today?" That was all it took to break my will. Dang her!


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Sweet ride CommuterBoy!

After a long time of resting during the week for my wrists sake (which didn't seem to help much) I rode in today. Some of the MUP I like to take are still packed with ice, had to walk some spots and reroute a few times, but it felt great to ride in again. Still need to find the right seatpost after converting my commuter to drop bars but its very close to feeling good. Ironically I think the stock seatpost that I haven't used in years is going to be the right fit - it didn't have enough setback when I was running flat bars but may be perfect with the midges


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Hey strangers! Yet again, I had a couple month hiatus. I stopped regularly riding in late November. I finally sucked it up in late January and got my ass on the bike a couple days, then the next week is when we had the blizzard and got 34" of snow in one storm, then another storm, and another and so on and so forth. I'm sure you're all familiar with the unprecedented winter we've had in southern New England. 100" of snow in a few weeks. This week has finally warmed up a bit and the roads are widening. I had all my stuff ready to ride this morning, then I didn't get my lazy butt out of bed in time. I'm shooting for next week to start regularly commuting for the year.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I rode an Access Chinook at a Performance Bike...but it was too small. This is the first fatbike I've ever sat on that was actually my size. Dude l bought it from lost a rather important bolt for one side of the super-cool Salsa Alternator dropouts in the rear... so I can't really ride it until my 5 dollar bolt shows up. It's pretty much killing me.


I am glad that your discussion of 'riding fat' as Rodar put it did not digress to include college romances. :thumbsup:



Ghost_HTX said:


> Well... This morning I was coming down hill fairly fast (in the cycle lane) &#8230;.Funny thing is that he claimed he didn't see me. Today, I'm wearing the N.C.F (Norsk Cycle Forbund kit. White top and white shorts. Im lit up like Cycle - effing - Jesus here...


He was not looking for a cyclist so he dos not see one. You have done all you can to help him see you. He has to do his part. It is the same reason I am all lit up and have the video to know exactly how I look if a driver is in fact looking properly.



AthleticAL said:


> ^That tale of dysfunction made me LOL! Not because it's funny in reality, but you tell it so well May your next commute be perfectly smooth and uneventful. And people that drive BMWs should try extra hard to avoid fitting the stereotype. Seriously!


+1 Also older RAM pickups seem to be the vehicle of choice for those who can't afford a used Bimmer here. The bigger the tires and exhaust stacks the worse they share the road it seems.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

He he thanks guys. Took a different route home and it was nice and uneventful. Not an arsehole in sight


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

He he thanks guys. Took a different route home and it was nice and uneventful. Not an arsehole in sight


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode the new MUP yesterday. Video set + 2 stops on a sunny day did not work. Imagine that! So much sun after all the overcast we have endured. Third try should be a charm. At a couple of streets, the snow plows ripped up the fiberglass ramps used at each crossing. At one, they were completely lifted and some dolt placed them back upside down with the screws pointing up. These were not visible enough. Flatted the rear. Replacement tube's valve blew out. Had to call to be picked up. First flat riding in 2 years. I have swapped out slow leak tubes at home, but this was the first on the road in a long time. The anti puncture tires are pretty decent if I don't run over screws.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this morning. A bit chilly, but not bad. Good to be back on the bike. Even a day away feels way too long.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back Straz85.

I tried a different bike for every day of the week: The Candid Cyclist: Five Bikes in Five Days

In other fatbike news, we've planning on picking up one for rollingrunner tomorrow. Craigslist find, young Framed Minnesota 2.0 for $650.

In other, other fatbike news, I'm racing in the Mainely Fatty event on Sunday. (https://www.bikereg.com/27214)


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Yesterday was good, forgot to post it. Was running late, still managed to stop at the bike shop for a quick chain lube and back on my way. Night time temps hovering around the freezing mark make puddles on the road extremely hazardous. When I am on a multi lane road, I have started just taking the lane. Got sick and tired of people squeezing me out, going around while I hugged the curb. Decided that it was safer to just take the lane, make sure my light was on, and be confident out there. So far, no honks, no close calls in the lane, and the road is admittedly nicer in the middle of the lane vs. the far right where the debris tends to collect.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Howdy, Straz. I`ll wish you up some sunshine for next week so you can roll back in smoothly :thumbsup:



BrianMc said:


> First flat riding in 2 years. I have swapped out slow leak tubes at home, but this was the first on the road in a long time.


First in two years and the best you could come up with was a non-crash screw hole and a bum valve? I`m disappointed in you, Brian! What happened to the spectacular blowouts that you had so (pain)stakingly perfected? Sheesh!


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## Raul34 (Feb 7, 2012)

Started commuting this week- rode to work 2 days on the new Straggler and today on the Pugs for Fat Friday.

Bike paths are drying up from the snow melt/ground thaw so it got better by the day. I can't wait for those warm mornings and hot afternoons! 

Home---> Work---> Brewery ---> Home

Thanks for the motivation, cheers!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Commuted 4 out of 5 days this week, the first time in a long time I've accomplished that. The one day I couldn't ride was because I needed to be home early for a meeting and wouldn't have made it on the bike. Temperature has been wonderful with no precipitation. It is supposed to rain on my way home this evening though, but I might just use that as an excuse to duck in to the local pub on the way.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> First [flat] in two years and the best you could come up with was a non-crash screw hole and a bum valve? I`m disappointed in you, Brian! What happened to the spectacular blowouts that you had so (pain)stakingly perfected? Sheesh!


I know - borrrrring! But hey! Having recorded that prior one and having the tarmac tattoos as mementos, I figured been there, done that, have the scars!

For those who want to view or review this moment from November 2012:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^We also fondly remember the bottle through the spokes trick from the Habitat ride about the same time.

I retired my wind pats this year, went to shorts with long johns for today`s commute and downgraded one glove level. The pants might possibly make a comeback, but I doubt it.

Happy Pi, fellow US-icans. I guess the rest of the world doesn`t get pie until 31 April, which I think is the day following the 12th of Never?


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## Bikin' Bric (Sep 7, 2003)

Well, I began commuting to work this week. Its 14km each way, I rode 2 of the 4 days I worked this week. Hopefully by April I'm riding 3-4 days per week. It was cold and dark but alot of fun.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The new MUP, there and back again, Happy Pi Day!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

AthleticAL said:


> ^Nice bike! I'm a fan of red+black bikes.


Thanks. Went a little redder with the wheels and blacker with the seat (the red seat that came on it didn't match). Now I gotta ditch those anodized pedals... stoked to have flats to play on, but that red is just wrong.

1st fat commute is coming as soon as I get a bolt... still waiting on a bolt for one of the plates on the Salsa-specific dropout. So I'm killing time by drilling holes in things.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was a pretty nice day here for the most part. Sunny and low 50's for the ride in. I won't go into detail about me trying to get air into this 88mm deep carbon front wheel I have, but I have a few things to purchase now in order to prevent the Charlie Foxtrot that I had of an experience at a different shop that I stopped into for some air. That is for a whole other thread so onto the ride. Going very well as I headed closer to work. Under the highway over pass and near the car dealership. Mind you, this is a Sunday, and they are not open. I am in the right lane, more over towards the curb than the center of the lane. As I neared the entrance, they cut me off. When I say they right hooked me, they effin Mike Tysoned me. Came across from the left of the two lanes, they cut across, and had I not hit my brake, I would have hit their car. There is no way on the face of this earth that they did not see me. Imfreakinpossible. Very bright rear blinker going, and I am wearing a bright red jacket with a black and white bag strapped across my back and black tights. The contrast of that alone should have alerted them. Now, this was in the middle of the afternoon, not at night, like 2:15. They sped up to get around me and just whipped into that lot. I had to swerve to the left to not hit the car. I did though, with my hand, on their taillight, pretty hard to be honest. That was some serious bullsh-t on their part. Their carelessness almost got me pretty injured if not in a body bag. They also got the one finger salute as I went by because of course, they stopped and were all doe eyed like they did nothing wrong. 

The ride home was windy but very nice at 48F. Supposed to only get down to 45 tonight, and then a high in the low 60's tomorrow. Should be a really nice ride in, maybe shorts on the way in. Maybe. Oh, if you were wondering about the wheel, it looks pretty cool, but in a crosswind, you have to hold on to your a** and say a prayer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> They also got the one finger salute as I went by because of course, they stopped and were all doe eyed like they did nothing wrong.


Did they look like this? From this morning. These deer cut right and front of me and then cut into the woods and looked at me all doe eyed.  








Good commute this AM even though I was spent from a fatbike race this weekend. I'll post a write-up soon, it was quite a race.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I wish that those were the only animals I had to deal with on my commute.


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## Guest (Mar 16, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> Hey strangers! Yet again, I had a couple month hiatus. I stopped regularly riding in late November. I finally sucked it up in late January and got my ass on the bike a couple days, then the next week is when we had the blizzard and got 34" of snow in one storm, then another storm, and another and so on and so forth. I'm sure you're all familiar with the unprecedented winter we've had in southern New England. 100" of snow in a few weeks. This week has finally warmed up a bit and the roads are widening. I had all my stuff ready to ride this morning, then I didn't get my lazy butt out of bed in time. I'm shooting for next week to start regularly commuting for the year.


 That stuff happens. I rode pretty regular until mid-January this year then got the annual cold/sinus infection which led into allergy season (evergreen pollen) and lots of work travel. Now I'm scrambling to catch-up on my fitness (starting with the short commute - 10 miles each way) so I can get back on the long commute earlier this spring (38 mile round trip).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well I'm trying out the framebag that came on my new-to-me fatbike. It's a nice bag... made for the Mukluk but fits the Ogre really well. I never attach anything to the bike, but I looked this thing up and it's like $165, so someone somewhere must like the way it works, yeah? :lol:

I stuck the spare tube, tools, and pump in there...freeing up a little space in the backpack. Surprisingly it didn't really bug me at all... I do some pothole-patrol bunnyhopping coming down my dirt road, and I did feel it then (or at least hear the contents jostling around... the weight being on the bike with little stuff like bunnyhopping potholes is what I know I won't like. But overall I think It's not bad... for something like touring or bikepacking, it would be awesome to have, for sure. I can see wanting it just for packing that gigantic spare tube around for the fatty. I see lots of these things on fatbikes...is that why you guys carry them? I mean, spare tube....and your backpack is pretty much full :lol: I went tubeless on the Mukluk this weekend and I think I shaved about 24 pounds.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Had to take my oldest to the airport at 3AM, so working from home. Feeling a bit under the weather as well, so a good day to just do some basics and veg. Back at it tomorrow.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Commuted on the bike for the first time since the end of Snowpocalypse 2015 this morning. We actually got a dusting of snow yesterday afternoon, then it went down to 20 overnight, so I knew it was going to be slightly icy, but I wasn't going to be dissuaded. There were a couple sketchy sections (see photo) but the ride was mostly good. Just took it nice and slow. The ride home should be better, it's supposed to be in the mid 40's. It was 25 on my ride in. The other photo is one of the piles of snow at work.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Great ride this morning. 51F in the morning and supposed to be 63F for the ride home today. Did some spring cleaning on the road bike over the weekend so I took that this morning. Felt great to be on the fast bike. Had one idiot that tried to squeeze between me and the lane of traffic next to me at a stoplight. He seemed embarrassed that I kept up with him through the next several stoplights and would stop and yell at him at each one. He refused to turn his head to look at me. I think he was sufficiently shamed, so I let it go and enjoyed the rest of my commute to work. Loving this spring weather.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well the tracking info says my Mukluk dropout bolt is out for delivery... Sunny and 66 degrees tomorrow? Sounds like fatbike weather :lol:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hey, Straz is back, welcome back. I hope you enjoy your rides.

TenSpeed, stay safe as always. Beware of the oblivious, for they truly don't know what they are doing. 

CB, digging the new bike. Actually, I'm jealous. As for the frame bag, I think there is a Robert Frost poem about being dogmatic and why you'll always kick yourself later for it. 

50F this morning and 70F this afternoon. Windy, but a good day for the SS anyway. I was on the track to setting PRs this afternoon but all of the Spring fitness buffs were out. Couple weeks and it'll be too hot for them and I'll be zipping along singing "good riddance" all alone on the bike trail again.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

Today was my first commute since getting hit nearly a month ago. Nothing eventful on my rides today, which is just perfect. It felt great to be on the bike again, but I definitely pushed it a bit too hard on my way in this morning. I need to get my legs back now.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Glad to hear your first commute back was a good one.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

March 16th, 2015. Michigan. 63F for the ride in. Shorts. It was amazing. I stopped in at the bike shop early to get a little brake work done (needed a new lever) and ended up leaving rather late from the shop so I had to really open it up on the way to work. Felt really good to be out there in the sun with shorts on!!!

Ride home? 55F and slightly breezy. Said F it, wore the shorts home and was very comfortable. Dressed it just right for both rides. Had tights with me just in case it got too cool before I left. Did a few extra miles down on campus just tooling around. Might have beaten my own KOM tonight by 2 seconds. Might have.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 78F here yesterday afternoon. It was warm again this morning, but I drove because I need to be at an appointment to get my son's passport. I have 3 weeks off this year, plus my normal 3 weeks vacation time. So we're thinking of heading overseas for a bit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Well the tracking info says my Mukluk dropout bolt is out for delivery... Sunny and 66 degrees tomorrow? Sounds like fatbike weather :lol:


Waiting for the report. 

Speaking of reports, here's a race report from my weekend event.
The Candid Cyclist: Mainley Fatty Fatbike Race 2015

The commute home last night was oddly good on soft trails. I also wandered around the lake on my way home in the 40 degree heat.


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

On my way in today I passed a cyclist coming the other way with his/her lights focused up and in the eyes of myself and drivers. I couldn't see anything except the lights. Not the edges of the road, not debris, nor the headlights of the minivan that passed me from behind a few moments later. 

I wish the states had something like the German guidelines. If we want drivers to consider our needs, we need to consider everyone on the roads, including other cyclists. Worrying just about ourselves is what so many complain about with drivers. Then too many do the exact same thing. 

If you have lights (and you should), please remember they are to illuminate the road, not blind a driver.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Got myself a bike GPS so I can track my mileage better since I want to start doing longer rides. I took my "B" route to work because it has a good hill to climb on the SS. Turns out my "B" route is 6.66 miles long, apparently I take the devils route.

My girlfriend also decided she is going to start bike commuting with me once a week which is pretty cool. She doesn't ride in the winter at all so she needs to get her legs back.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

formula4speed said:


> Got myself a bike GPS so I can track my mileage better since I want to start doing longer rides. I took my "B" route to work because it has a good hill to climb on the SS. Turns out my "B" route is 6.66 miles long, apparently I take the devils route.


And as of this moment, the commuter thread is on page 666. :madmax:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today. 37F and windy in the valley. 32F in town. Swapped over to the egg beaters for today's ride. Don't know if it was that, the new rear tire, or just getting left a bit early, but I made the bus stop a full ten minutes earlier than my normal time. Must have left early. No way to shave ten minutes off a twelve minute ride...

Running the Vee 8 tire on the rear for now - part of the bulk tire deal from last week. Pretty happy with it thus far. Just have to see how long it lasts. 

Supposed to get up to the upper 40s today. I just hope that if it does, it doesn't decide to rain as well. With the ground still frozen... no bueno.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A couple of blocks from me there's a bridge that's being replaced. Normally it's a pretty handy commuter route, and once it's completed it will be home to "high quality bike infrastructure".

So at this point it's been closed for about a year, and it was supposed to open sometime this fall.

But last night between 2am and 2:15am this happened:









edited to add: this bridge is also a connection for two singletrack trails. You can't see them, but they're just off the bottom left corner and upper right corner. And I've also been avoiding them for the last year since they're partially closed, and they don't connect anymore. So this likely delay is extra annoying.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

^ You mean the supports aren't supposed to look like spaghetti noodles??


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

evandy said:


> On my way in today I passed a cyclist coming the other way with his/her lights focused up and in the eyes of myself and drivers. I couldn't see anything except the lights. Not the edges of the road, not debris, nor the headlights of the minivan that passed me from behind a few moments later.
> 
> I wish the states had something like the German guidelines. If we want drivers to consider our needs, we need to consider everyone on the roads, including other cyclists. Worrying just about ourselves is what so many complain about with drivers. Then too many do the exact same thing.
> 
> If you have lights (and you should), please remember they are to illuminate the road, not blind a driver.


Agree 100%
I often pass people with enough light to block out the sun. So ridiculous. Yesterday morning it was a good 2 seconds before I could see anything after I passed one such individual.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

evandy said:


> On my way in today I passed a cyclist coming the other way with his/her lights focused up and in the eyes of myself and drivers. I couldn't see anything except the lights. Not the edges of the road, not debris, nor the headlights of the minivan that passed me from behind a few moments later.
> 
> I wish the states had something like the German guidelines. If we want drivers to consider our needs, we need to consider everyone on the roads, including other cyclists. Worrying just about ourselves is what so many complain about with drivers. Then too many do the exact same thing.
> 
> If you have lights (and you should), please remember they are to illuminate the road, not blind a driver.


I am guilty of this I think. My headlight mount really lacks and moves my light up from the really bumpy roads. I try to remember to make sure that it is aimed down more but just last night as I got into the darker neighborhood, I realized that it had worked its way up.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

How did that bridge do that? Earthquake? Tectonic shift?



bedwards1000 said:


> Waiting for the report.
> 
> Speaking of reports, here's a race report from my weekend event.
> The Candid Cyclist: Mainley Fatty Fatbike Race 2015
> ...


Nice work on race day... that sounds (and looks) pretty brutal.

1st fat commute is in the books. No burped tires (as per our other discussion), no drama... learning how one of these beasts handles, feeling things out, a couple little adjustments on the side of the trail. And I didn't break through the crust once 











blockphi said:


> Running the Vee 8 tire on the rear for now - part of the bulk tire deal from last week. Pretty happy with it thus far. Just have to see how long it lasts.


Are you running it backwards on the rear? Granted, I've ridden a fat bike exactly once at this point :lol: but I have a brand new Vee 8 on the front. I think it's good? Honestly the amount of wandering all over the place that the bike wants to do, how would you know if the tires were good? :lol: As soon as I hit the singletrack I was surprised at how much the thing wants to claw its way to the high side of any off-camber trail. Same deal on pavement... just outrageous traction. I don't think the tire was wandering though... just physics at work. I gotta learn how to ride one of these things :lol: It requires a whole different kind of steering input. I think I dislike the amount of sweep in the bars I have, and I think they're also too narrow. Gotta go fat and flat so I can boss this thing around.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

60F + for the ride home yesterday so I took advantage of my wife being on night shift (meaning I didn't have anyone to rush home to) and took an extended route. Added about 10 extra miles, several on roads I have never ridden which is always exciting. Wore tights on the way to work but I brought shorts for the ride home, and I'm glad I did. I was dressed absolutely perfect for the temperature. Glad spring is finally here. 

Working from home today so that means no ride. Didn't want to deal with crowds of belligerent drunks downtown for st. paddy's day. Excited to get back on the bike tomorrow though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Nice work on race day... that sounds (and looks) pretty brutal.
> 
> Are you running it backwards on the rear? Granted, I've ridden a fat bike exactly once at this point :lol: but I have a brand new Vee 8 on the front. I think it's good? Honestly the amount of wandering all over the place that the bike wants to do, how would you know if the tires were good? :lol: As soon as I hit the singletrack I was surprised at how much the thing wants to claw its way to the high side of any off-camber trail. Same deal on pavement... just outrageous traction. I don't think the tire was wandering though... just physics at work. I gotta learn how to ride one of these things :lol: It requires a whole different kind of steering input. I think I dislike the amount of sweep in the bars I have, and I think they're also too narrow. Gotta go fat and flat so I can boss this thing around.


All the brutal parts aren't on film the stuff near the start and finish was smooth as silk. The singletrack took 100% concentration and that was 90% of the race. My friend took a video, turn up the sound, another friend is a screaming lunatic. Fun stuff.





Play with the pressure. I prefer higher PSI when possible. It really minimizes the self steer and of course is a lot faster. I usually go soft for the conditions, get pissed at just how totally awful if feels on the road, overcompensate and go to high on the PSI, finally get it dialed in. And then the conditions change and I need to go real low again. Right now it is dialed in pretty good.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

NDD said:


> Hey, Straz is back, welcome back. I hope you enjoy your rides.


Thanks!

This morning was wet. With all the sand and salt on the roads, it was a mess. Even with fenders, my shoes looked like this when I got to work. Good ride though, incident free.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Number 8 for this year is going into the books (goal of 100). I had to take one off yesterday because my legs were sore from the off-roader weekend action. 

My first commute this year was at -11 F early in the morning. That was rather unpleasant so I had to back off for a bit. Seasonal temps today (high about 45) with nice strong sunshine and a bit of wind. I'll take that though. Going home in the dark will be cooler... but I've got the gear for that too.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

The wind. Ugh. Terrible day for a single speed, though I made good time, considering the circumstances. I'll get rid of my baby legs yet.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

AthleticAL said:


> Number 8 for this year is going into the books (goal of 100). I had to take one off yesterday because my legs were sore from the off-roader weekend action.
> 
> My first commute this year was at -11 F early in the morning. That was rather unpleasant so I had to back off for a bit. Seasonal temps today (high about 45) with nice strong sunshine and a bit of wind. I'll take that though. Going home in the dark will be cooler... but I've got the gear for that too.


That was my goal last year, ended up with 103. At this point in the year, only had 4 or 5, so you're ahead of where I was. Where are you located?


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Straz85 said:


> That was my goal last year, ended up with 103. At this point in the year, only had 4 or 5, so you're ahead of where I was. Where are you located?


I'm in Minneapolis and have a super short commute. So last year a friend and fellow cylist at work challenged me to "bike 100." "Wha-?" I asked. I managed maybe 25 but started mid summer... I am hopeful to make the goal this year.

I do have a studded tire bike that I love to ride on frozen creeks and lakes and icy trails but I like to keep that one for that purpose.

Here's my "commuter" is my original mtb from back in the day outfitted with Conti TravelContact tires. Love the tread pattern (smooth center, knobs on the edges), hate that they seem prone to dry rotting sidewalls


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

NDD said:


> The wind. Ugh. Terrible day for a single speed, though I made good time, considering the circumstances. I'll get rid of my baby legs yet.


I'm getting ready for my commute home, can hear the wind howling. Weather.com says currently 28mph sustained and gusting to 40mph, that's borderline push me off my bike territory. It's going to be a straight headwind, think I'll take the short route home.

Single speed may have been a poor choice for both of us today.


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## carthief (Aug 11, 2014)

It was awesome!
Sort of.
It was my first commute since Dec 20th. I had to leave extra early for rare work reason. Temps were in the low 20's with one heck of a serious head wind the whole way in. Left house at 5:15 so the whole commute was in the dark with lights on the bike.
And it was awesome! Man am I glad the ice has finally melted away...
Good to be back on the bike


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> And as of this moment, the commuter thread is on page 666. :madmax:


My computer just passed 666.66 for the year today :eekster:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> I'm getting ready for my commute home, can hear the wind howling. Weather.com says currently 28mph sustained and gusting to 40mph, that's borderline push me off my bike territory. It's going to be a straight headwind, think I'll take the short route home.
> 
> Single speed may have been a poor choice for both of us today.


Yep. The ride home was good. Cooler and more windy than yesterday, so walkers and summertime cyclists weren't out. Despite my legs feeling toasted from earlier still, I averaged 17 mph and set two PRs.

Still need to fix the brakes on the mtb... So my only choice is to ride ss or drive. The right choice is clear.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Third for the single speed commute to work. That wind was no joke today here either. I head W for most of my ride, and the wind was out of the NW with gusts in the 20's. Not bad for a ride eh? Put an 80mm deep wheel on your bike and see how that likes the wind. I might as well be dragging a boat anchor and have the sails at full mast. It was rough to say the least. Lots of drunk students wandering around the sidewalks at 2PM on a Tuesday here. Just another excuse to drink. Almost got taken out by a city bus who clearly saw me, and started to encroach the bike lane to get to the bus stop. He was maybe a foot from me, maybe a foot. Felt like 3 inches. That's what she said.

No commute on Wednesday because I have the day off!! Still gonna ride down to the shop and maybe take my cranks off. I seem to have some sort of roughness somewhere in the drivetrain and it feels like the cranks.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

I had a meeting in Tenspeed's neck of the woods today, commute was by car. The wind was no joke, even the Golf could feel it in the state capital.

When I pulled into my driveway, I saw a familiar looking cyclist grinding his way up the hill, dark flat bar bike, high viz jacket and a few good lights on the front, moving much faster than I do uphill. When he passed me, he had a red tail- light like any other good quality LED tail- light, and a flashing blue. Anyone know what the blue was, is it legal? It was damned sure visible against the red breathing light.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Could be a Xenon strobe, like they use on top of school buses here. I had an amber one I tried on the front. Like this:

Lightman Xenon Strobe Bike Kit•Mount Lightman on your handlebars or under your seat•Lightweight

It used 3 AA's and 1.5 to 2 hours run time. Ate batteries and did not like NiMH. EMF messed up my pulsimeter and the flash was hard to shield. Blue is illegal in most places as it is reserved for police and emergency vehicles.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

^Thanks Brian. This was "Roller/ Po-po" blue, not blue tinged white. Being illegal would explain why I haven't seen them in the shops.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

wschruba said:


> My computer just passed 666.66 for the year today :eekster:


:devil: :rockon:


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Yesterday's commute home was ridiculous. The forecast was 48 with 15mph winds and mostly cloudy. I left work and saw some dark and menacing clouds. I starting riding out of the parking lot and got hit by a massive wind, had to be 40mph. Almost stopped me in my tracks. I pushed on, the wind continued, I got nervous a couple times I was going to get blown into the street. The winds were at least 40mph, maybe more. About 1 mile into my ride, it started raining and the temp dropped rapidly. I wasn't wearing warm enough clothes. I pushed on hoping it would end soon, but it got worse. A few minutes later I was getting pelted with hail and the wind was consistently 40+. At that point, I did something I hoped I never had to do, I called my wife and asked her to come get me. I continued riding towards home and it didn't get any better. A couple miles later, my wife got to me. At that point, my jacket, tights and gloves were all soaked through. The thermometer in her car said 37, with 40mph winds that's a wind chill in the low 20's. Add in the rain and that's a recipe for disaster. Glad my wife was home. 5 minutes after she picked me up, the sun came out and the wind died down. Got closer to home and the road I take home was closed due to a bad accident, had I sucked it up and ridden, I would have add either 5 miles or 3 miles + a large hill. At that point I probably would have had a breakdown and throw my bike.

I have to drive the rest of the week. My wife started working nights so we don't need daycare and for me to get to work on time, I need to bring my son with me and she picks him up. She's working the next 3 nights.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I got a reprieve from single speeding in the wind yesterday, sorta. Went to grab my bike from the warehouse and noticed I had a flat. No biggie, I've got a spare tube. Nope, turns out the tire failed (Schwalbe Marathon) with maybe 500 miles on it. The bead to keep it on the rim peeled off the tire, letting the tube bulge out. Got a ride home from my girlfriend and rode the CX bike in today. 

Should I try to have my LBS warranty the tire or should I contact Schwalbe directly?


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

formula4speed said:


> I got a reprieve from single speeding in the wind yesterday, sorta. Went to grab my bike from the warehouse and noticed I had a flat. No biggie, I've got a spare tube. Nope, turns out the tire failed (Schwalbe Marathon) with maybe 500 miles on it. The bead to keep it on the rim peeled off the tire, letting the tube bulge out. Got a ride home from my girlfriend and rode the CX bike in today.
> 
> Should I try to have my LBS warranty the tire or should I contact Schwalbe directly?


If you got it at the LBS, I would try them first. They might be good about it and just replace it for you and return it to their distributor.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sionce you apparently bought it locally, I`d start with the shop. If it doesn`t work, don`t hesitate to email Schwalbe about it. I had the wire bead break in a Big Apple (low mileage, but two years old), and contacted them thinking MAYBE they`d give me a discount on the replacement. To my surprise, they sent me a brand new one, completely free of charge.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks guys, I'll give the shop a call when they open. Tires came with the complete bike, so not sure if it's a tire they stock to do a straight swap.

Aside from this issue, which obviously sucks, I do like the Marathons. Seem to roll well, haven't really noticed any tread wear over 500 miles and no punctures despite a lot of debris.


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2015)

wschruba said:


> My computer just passed 666.66 for the year today :eekster:


 I'm only 6 behind you with 66.66


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

formula4speed said:


> Should I try to have my LBS warranty the tire or should I contact Schwalbe directly?


As others have said, try the shop (if you like the shop).

But I've had two failure of Schwalbe's, and their online warranty process is painless: Warranty Policy | Schwalbe North America

You send them a few photos, and a day or two later get an email that they've shipped a new tire. (although with my most recent claim it took almost a month for the replacement to make its way up to Canada)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> As others have said, try the shop (if you like the shop).
> 
> But I've had two failure of Schwalbe's, and their online warranty process is painless: Warranty Policy | Schwalbe North America
> 
> You send them a few photos, and a day or two later get an email that they've shipped a new tire. (although with my most recent claim it took almost a month for the replacement to make its way up to Canada)


The best warranty is not to have failures....it seems top me Schwalbe is missing that point, with all the various bead failures noted here.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Had to pump up my rear tire today down to 40 psi, in three weeks?

cruised some bike shops and noticed that Cinti Spike claw is available with two rows of studs....same tire with holes for 4 rows of studs, but just the two side rows installed.

About 75% of the 4 row tire.

Tire Made in Finland.

We will see if this tire has a bead failure cause I like to run high pressure for the commutes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Today's commute was not bad at all.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> The best warranty is not to have failures....it seems top me Schwalbe is missing that point, with all the various bead failures noted here.


Can't say I'm a fan. After 2 failed Icespikerpros, my non-failed one is done after 3 winters. The sideknobs all have cracks at the base, and look like they're ready to tear off. The center studs are ready to fall out. And the sidewall has longitudinal cracking/delamination.

And rather than a 3rd warranty, this time I'm going to try 45nrth. They can't be worse (or at least that would be tough).


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> Today's commute was not bad at all.
> 
> View attachment 973929


Nice Postcard! Bike's looking awesome against the backdrop.


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## bigeyedfish (May 30, 2013)

newfangled said:


> A couple of blocks from me there's a bridge that's being replaced. Normally it's a pretty handy commuter route, and once it's completed it will be home to "high quality bike infrastructure".
> 
> So at this point it's been closed for about a year, and it was supposed to open sometime this fall.
> 
> ...


Any more info on this? Looks like a truck hit it full speed ahead. Where is this bridge located? I work in the steel industry, and trucks hitting low clearance bridges is more common than you'd think, but typically we hear about them through the grapevine.


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> I got a reprieve from single speeding in the wind yesterday, sorta. Went to grab my bike from the warehouse and noticed I had a flat. No biggie, I've got a spare tube. Nope, turns out the tire failed (Schwalbe Marathon) with maybe 500 miles on it. The bead to keep it on the rim peeled off the tire, letting the tube bulge out. Got a ride home from my girlfriend and rode the CX bike in today.
> 
> Should I try to have my LBS warranty the tire or should I contact Schwalbe directly?


Which version of the marathons? Studded?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bigeyedfish said:


> Any more info on this? Looks like a truck hit it full speed ahead. Where is this bridge located? I work in the steel industry, and trucks hitting low clearance bridges is more common than you'd think, but typically we hear about them through the grapevine.


Definitely no risk of that. This is the original bridge that they removed last year, which was tall enough that there wasn't even a need to post a sign with the clearance:


__
https://flic.kr/p/m76Vox

My non-expert opinion was that it was an installation error, and maybe related to cranage. They were loading all of that steel into place, and something shifted which compressed the beams? And because they hadn't been properly tied-in and cross-braced yet they buckled like cardboard.

(the original bridge had an odd history. It was built 100 years ago by a real estate developer who was trying to sell lots in his new suburb. Since people couldn't get there, he built a bridge and a streetcar line. I guess that sortof thing used to be common?)

edited to add: Here are comments from an actual expert:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/story_print.html?id=10897736&sponsor=

He points out that there is a chance that the beams haven't been permanently deformed, and that once the load is removed they could just spring back. But nobody knows at this point, and the un-construction will keep the road underneath closed to cars for at least 2 more weeks. (it's been closed to bike and pedestrians for 2 months already, but no one cares about that)


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Chippertheripper said:


> Which version of the marathons? Studded?


Not studded, it says "The Original" on the tire. Don't know how many versions there are of the Marathons.

LBS advised me to just do the online warranty through Schwalbe since he didn't have anything comparable in stock to swap. I'll have to see if I have any slightly worn tires I can toss on there while I see how the warranty plays out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Today's commute was not bad at all.
> 
> View attachment 973929


Bike Porn! Looks like snow up in them there hills. Road Trip?

Commutes have been wicked pissah. Tons of snow on the trails, packed to perfection.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Windblown! 7F with a steady 20mph wind at my house made for a pretty harsh commute for March 18. I was not cold, but of course it was all headwinds, and an occasional front quarter gust to grab the front wheel – I really had to hold on. When I walked the dog before work – snowshoes still required – I noticed that we are developing sastrugi-like formations like they have in Antarctica.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Bike Porn! Looks like snow up in them there hills. Road Trip?


Nah, that's rideable. No road trip necessary. I could be up there in an hour and a half. What is that in fatbike time? Like, 3 hours? :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CTV Edmonton: Groat Road closure | CTV Edmonton News

Turns out some do care about it....pretty big deal.

My guess improper lifting plan, lack of lateral support....

Betcha it is screwed for well over a year.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well 8th commute day after about two weeks of being sick. Standard commutes. Gonna need to do some work on the bike soon but like always I wait for something to break first.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Sleet here this morning. Not too bad though.

Yesterday, another driver pulled along side me at a stop sign. There is a blind turn maybe 40 yards before the stop. I think people clear the turn and see it as their chance to get by me, but even uphill, they don't have too much of a chance. I usually cheat in a bit on the turn, signal, and move into the center of the lane, but I may need to make a more aggressive move even earlier. I was pretty close to the center of my lane when the car passed me, but I guess this isn't enough. If I'm driving, I don't like being parked with half my car in the other lane, but maybe that's just me...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ In Indiana, if they can't get back in before 100' of the intersection, that is a reckless driving citation, if seen by an officer willing to write the ticket. (so starting to pass with 120 feet to go isn't in the cards. Few know of this rule. It sure feels unsafe, though when I imagine trying for it! I have had several on a blind hill with a stop sign at the top. Not happened since I added day visible lighting. I held one off with a sudden left arm signal down 45 degrees with fingers splayed. I could see the oncoming car. The driver could not. Actually passing on a blind hill is another reckless driving charge, so it is more than a little unsafe and very stupid. One other incident led me to shouting at the idiot. He turned left and got out, but I was going right, so he had time enough to get upset but not time enough to share the road. A self declared idiot.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM.

Yesterday was out and about a bit, running between clients and got a lot of honks and yelling out windows. Meh. Seems like in every case it was some dude looking like he just woke up in a gutter, smoking a cigarette, and generally fitting the description of white trash. I say f-em.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Legs were dead today.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Due to a tire failure I've been on my CX bike instead of the single speed and I feel like a machine. Dropped 10 minutes off a 6 mile commute.

I'm at 40 commutes for the year so far, don't think hitting 100 will be a problem, I might need to aim higher.

Ran into another bike commuter that I've met a few times before, he's got a older (90s) Canondale MTB, fenders hanging on for dear life. Something I'd expect to find on Craigslist for $100. Turns out he's rocking a Rohloff hub on that thing, pretty sure that makes his bike more expensive than mine. Unexpected but awesome.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I wish that I would have tracked my days commuted on the bike along with my mileage just to see. I supposed that I could log into Strava and see if it keeps track of individual days. Should be mid 40's and sunny here when I leave.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Three days on the fatbike and my legs are tired! This morning I had to detour up a big paved climb (550 ft elevation in 2 miles) to get some firewood permits... if you remember that big wind storm we had a while back, they just opened up the woods to cutting and there are thousands of trees blown down out there...easy wood for a while, until everybody gets on it later in the season. Hitting it this weekend. But daaaang, I was feeling it going up that climb. My PR on the Strava segment (1.8 miles) is 12:08... fatbike legs could only pull off a 15:03 today. 37mph back down the hill to work though


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

formula4speed said:


> Got myself a bike GPS so I can track my mileage better since I want to start doing longer rides. I took my "B" route to work because it has a good hill to climb on the SS. Turns out my "B" route is 6.66 miles long, apparently I take the devils route.





s0ckeyeus said:


> And as of this moment, the commuter thread is on page 666. :madmax:


I saw this too late but it reminds me of the last time I broke a chain (in 3 spots hahaha, took all the spare links I had to get out of the woods). Had to capture my GPS reading


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Is your top tube made of oak?


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Yup. Wood is wonderful ™

I was trying to figure out what that was but I gave up, assuming I noticed the 666 when I picked the bike up after patching my chain together and leaned the bike on a very strange branch to get the photo.

Later on in the ride I broke 1 cleat screw and couldn't get out of my left pedal - luckily that persisted till I was on the rail trail to head back home at which point it broke loose and I couldn't get IN to the pedal :lol:


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

CommuterBoy said:


> Is your top tube made of oak?


Mine's not...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> ^ In Indiana, if they can't get back in before 100' of the intersection, that is a reckless driving citation, if seen by an officer willing to write the ticket. (so starting to pass with 120 feet to go isn't in the cards. Few know of this rule. It sure feels unsafe, though when I imagine trying for it! I have had several on a blind hill with a stop sign at the top. Not happened since I added day visible lighting. I held one off with a sudden left arm signal down 45 degrees with fingers splayed. I could see the oncoming car. The driver could not. Actually passing on a blind hill is another reckless driving charge, so it is more than a little unsafe and very stupid. One other incident led me to shouting at the idiot. He turned left and got out, but I was going right, so he had time enough to get upset but not time enough to share the road. A self declared idiot.


Yeah, lots of reckless driving around here. Not holding my breath for citations. The cops even fill up their cruisers at a facility right there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Shayne said:


> Mine's not...


I stand corrected Wyatt...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yeah, lots of reckless driving around here. Not holding my breath for citations. The cops even fill up their cruisers at a facility right there.


Yes, but now I know. I found that getting out of the saddle also seems to stop this on this climb. Won't for blind corner to a stop though.

I watch to see how fast they are approaching (30 zone and some do 50-60! as it is through the Golf Course). Of course if they just slowed up a bit, I would crest the hill, and they could pass me after the stop sign where they can see oncoming traffic. But intelligence or its use is proven to be lacking in these particular motorists.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Shayne said:


> Mine's not...


OOoohhh! We need a photo session of that! Renovo?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

There was a confrontation. He was too close and impatient, and I let him know about it. That is all I will say. Aside from that, both rides were pretty good. Growing tired of the constant wind that I am faced with on both rides. Sunny and 55 tomorrow, should be a nice ride.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

^ I hope the confrontation remained verbal, and unrecorded.

I had my best commute in months. No snow anywhere (except the melting piles in parking lots), no ice, no brushes with crazed motorists. 

And then I couldn't get my U- lock to close on campus, argued and argued, and eventually won. Went out to free the Bosanova and ride home, and argued and argued to get the lock off. Hit it with some Kroil when I got home and worked it back and forth a few dozen times, will douse it with white lithium in the morning. Some maintenance doesn't like to be overlooked through a salty winter.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ all verbal with a middle finger blazing as I turned left and he laid on the horn.

Checked Strava - it appears that I have commuted 27 days so far this year. Not as impressive as I had hoped.

Edited because apparently I cannot count


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A bluebird morning for yesterday's commute!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Soaking mist and 44F this morning. I'm glad I overdressed or I would have gotten cold.

I might need to dial back my track stands a bit. Yesterday, I was looking to make a left turn, and the guy coming towards me in the other lane was a bit tentative to go (traffic wasn't moving fast anyway). I should have put a foot down to send the right signals, but I held my track stand, lifted one hand, and waved him through. He still seemed confused. :thumbsup:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

3 or 4 inches of really dense snow this morning, for the first time in forever. I did the big spring singlespeed switchover last week and I don't have any bikes with gears anymore, but that's the risk I take.

And this is probably for the best, because the trails have been impassable for 2 weeks already - everything is covered in a layer of polished ice that just refuses to melt and is basically unrideable even with studs, and then there are a couple of disgusting mudholes. This should roughen things up enough that a weekend ride might actually be worthwhile.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Trails are awesome, just awesome. Want to see?
The Candid Cyclist: Trails are still awesome - see Strava for proof


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

3 KOM's? Congrats!!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this morning, not that I really wanted to come in to work, but I did it anyway...

Last night I had a good ride home. Put in a few extra miles and tackled one of the really nasty hills in town. Not sure of the grade, but it is short and steep and a quad killer. I love it. Got to the top and a dude pulls around me in his beater car, smoking a smoke, gives a quick honk and raises his hand in a heavy-metal horns salute. That's what I'm talking about.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> 3 KOM's? Congrats!!!


Thanks. These trails don't get much Strava traffic so I mostly win them from myself. And it is mainly condition based. It's a lot easier to go 20mph down a practically paved trail vs the same trail with roots, & rocks. It still gives me something fun to reach for when I'm feeling spunky.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Thanks. These trails don't get much Strava traffic so I mostly win them from myself. And it is mainly condition based. It's a lot easier to go 20mph down a practically paved trail vs the same trail with roots, & rocks. It still gives me something fun to reach for when I'm feeling spunky.


Just think, when the next person comes along and sees what you have done, they will assume that you are just a beast 100% of the time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well, actually, there is a guy that tried to get a KOM there in the summer that crashed and ended up in the hospital. Strava claims another one.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this morning, not that I really wanted to come in to work, but I did it anyway...
> 
> Last night I had a good ride home. Put in a few extra miles and tackled one of the really nasty hills in town. Not sure of the grade, but it is short and steep and a quad killer. I love it. Got to the top and a dude pulls around me in his beater car, smoking a smoke, gives a quick honk and raises his hand in a heavy-metal horns salute. That's what I'm talking about.


Metal horns. That's awesome. I'm jealous, because at best I get "woooo!" or like a sarcastic yee haw.

Yesterday morning I got the best time for the year on a hill. Two weeks and I'll have lost the segment. Oh well. It's a hill and I'm on a single speed. I still win de facto right?


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

One of those days. Every motorist on the road was in an all fired awful hurry, no- one seemed to know where they were going or how to get there. But, it was a pretty day and no one got hurt.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Rolled the 29er Wednesday (so fast!). Had to take my truck into the shop Thursday and it had to stay the night. Snowed this morning and took the winter 26er (so slowwwww). Drove the truck home, now 29er rear wheel needs to go in and get relaced, popping spokes constantly


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in but windy. I have made a bad habit of stopping in at the bike shop to BS for a few minutes with the guys on my way in to work.  It is about half way on my route and they don't seem to mind but it is preventing me from getting into a rhythm when I am riding. Ride home was pretty good, a bit on the cold side but still good. Picked up my second KOM right outside of work, well, I tied the time of the guy who has it and it says that we both have it now so I guess that counts? I will need to go ahead and shave a second off of my time to get that locked in. Didn't want to be that guy, but apparently I am turning into him haha.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Did a short one mile ride to go get sauerkraut. As I was getting to the door, another approaching guy who saw me ride into the lot opened the door and said "go ahead brother, you're living strong ". They were out of sauerkraut though, so it ended up being just mustard with the bratwursts.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have never ridden for sauerkraut. 


Today was wet. It rained all night, but let up for the commute... sun came out, everything was soaked and green. There was a rainbow. I had fenders. Took the 10 mile route.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have never ridden for sauerkraut.


Really? I thought everybody did. Bicyclists of Iowa City: Sauerkraut Days ride to Lisbon | Iowa City, IA Patch

We're having some of the best late winter riding here. We paid the price with nearly a month of snow too deep to ride but the base is amazing. Had a good group ride this weekend on trails that are so close (abutting the ones I ride every day)but so far away (they go in the wrong direction so I'd never tried them).
The Candid Cyclist: Riders from different groups collide; not literally


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No riding for kraut for me, either. 

Had a good bit of riding this weekend. a 23 mile day total on Friday, 12 on Saturday with one of the dogs and a 33 mile road/trail ride yesterday. Some bad came out of that, though. Got home and washed the bike and as I was lubing it up after its bath I noticed that on the rear wheel on the drive side at every other spoke, the rim is cracked around the nipple. Some of the nipples are starting to pull through the wall where the rim is cracked. Not cool. Called the shop and they are going to warranty it out for me, but they don't have any of the MuleFut wheels in stock, so it'll be at least a week before a new one comes in. I think they are going to set me up with a loaner wheel in the mean time. We figure it is probably bad tension from the factory, but... who knows how long I've been riding like that. This might explain some of the 'floppiness' I've felt on the rear for a few weeks on hard turns - where it feels like the back is going to slide out - I just thought it was a tire issue. 

Decent ride in this AM. Taking it slow and easy due to the wheel issue - I know I shouldn't be riding it, but I have to get to work some way - and my legs are a bit stiff today. By the time today is said and done I'll have close to 30 miles in for the day again, as I have to run all over town today. Good times.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Got home and washed the bike and as I was lubing it up after its bath I noticed that on the rear wheel on the drive side at every other spoke, the rim is cracked around the nipple. Some of the nipples are starting to pull through the wall where the rim is cracked.


which way are the cracks oriented? acoss the rim or along the rim.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Along the rim.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Along the rim.
> 
> Hah
> 
> ...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> blockphi said:
> 
> 
> > Along the rim.
> ...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today. Taking a break after a 44 mile ride yesterday in the cold and wind. Legs need a break and my mind does as well.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A crack at every other spoke on only one side of the rim seems like a tension issue to me. That's crazy. 

Can't decide if this means I should give my bike a good cleaning and inspection, or never clean it again because I don't want to find anything :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> It seems that if it were an issue of too high of air pressure that it would be a single point of failure rather than 8 of the 16 spokes on the drive side - the pressure causing failure at the weakest point rather than at multiple points.
> 
> Though this is a good thing to look into. Of course, Sun's website has bupkus for tech specs on the rim.


The failure almost certainly occurred first at one spoke hole...the one that was most over stressed when you hit a bump and increased air pressure, or it occurred and the "weakest spoke hole" perhaps a clightly out of round drill hole...

In any case the load would then increase on the remain spokes holes and a chain of events type pattern would emerge.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I had a velocity p35 do that after a year, and the tensions weren't that high, and the replacement has been going strong for 3+ years. Sometimes things just need to be warrantied.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The mechanic thought that they were probably over-tensioned from the factory - but he said he'll check the tension on the new wheel before we install to make sure that it is good and then just watch it and if the same issue occurs with the new wheel, we'll track it down. 

It still seems odd that every other spoke is cracked at the nipple - if the cracks are the result of being over stressed, I would expect that one or two or maybe even three would crack, but then the tension should have been released enough to prevent the others from cracking. These are on the cross spoke on a 2-cross pattern. 

Commuter - wouldn't hurt to check, but I don't know that I've heard of Rolling Daryls having this issue ever. I tend to think it's just the luck of the draw for me and probably as much a manufacturing issue as anything else. 

I would be interested to see what the manufacturer's life expectancy is for all the different parts in a bike, in use hours. I bet most of my failures are simply hitting those expectancies faster than the typical customer either through riding more often or the fact that all of my riding is on one bike.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> The mechanic thought that they were probably over-tensioned from the factory - but he said he'll check the tension on the new wheel before we install to make sure that it is good and then just watch it and if the same issue occurs with the new wheel, we'll track it down.
> 
> It still seems odd that every other spoke is cracked at the nipple - if the cracks are the result of being over stressed, I would expect that one or two or maybe even three would crack, but then the tension should have been released enough to prevent the others from cracking. These are on the cross spoke on a 2-cross pattern.
> 
> ...


Simple test get an old wheel overtighten up the spokes, load it til it fails....not the same pattern.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I swapped my studded tires for my normal ones, man do I feel fast. I never realized how heavy the studded tires were until I went back to regular. I can't wait to smoke some roadies when weather gets a little better.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> The failure almost certainly occurred first at one spoke hole...the one that was most over stressed when you hit a bump and increased air pressure, or it occurred and the "weakest spoke hole" perhaps a clightly out of round drill hole...
> 
> In any case the load would then increase on the remain spokes holes and a chain of events type pattern would emerge.


It's always an uphill battle for you, man. I feel for you.

My commute was great. Had my mechanic dad help me set up my bb7s Sunday since he's in town. These things are so much better than my crappy stock brakes. They stop so well I even skidded the bike on accident (locked tires) because I'm just not used to responsive breaking like that. I'm pleased. It was also nice having gears again. Set three personal records, so I'm feeling good about biking today.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Been nice going home the past few days. At the halfway point, I wind up shedding down to the shorts and a mid-weight long sleeve.

@blockphi I can't promise this is the reason, but when I saw that happening to WTB's first generation frequency rims, it was because they were using an alloy that was too hard (brittle). They switched, and the problem went away.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Monday. Good commute. My bike is in dire need of a tuneup, with two spokes broke at the back rim. My mechanical skills have not gotten to changing broken spokes yet. Don't want to put my bike out of commission for a week at the bike shop. Guess I'll do nothing for the short term. Finally relented last year when the broken spokes hit four.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi, I have no idea why your rim is cracking. It's probably one of the reasons given here or a different one. It will either happen again or it wont. . Nice on getting it warrantied. 

Winter is still hanging on hard, temps in the single digits this morning. The trails are holding up beautifully but mud season is inevitable. 50F & rain on Thursday will change things substantially.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

vegascruiser said:


> Monday. Good commute. My bike is in dire need of a tuneup, with two spokes broke at the back rim. My mechanical skills have not gotten to changing broken spokes yet. Don't want to put my bike out of commission for a week at the bike shop. Guess I'll do nothing for the short term. Finally relented last year when the broken spokes hit four.


I don't think I could stand to ride a bike with 2 broken spokes. Replacing them is pretty easy. Buy some replacements that are the same size (I always buy extras while I'm there). Pull the broken ones out noting how they are run (not critical unless you're critical, since you are riding with 2 broken spokes my guess is that you aren't that worried). Thread the new one back in and tighten till the wheel is true. The only catch is that you will need the tools to pull the cassette. If you don't have them, this would be a good excuse to get them. (chain whip, lockring tool specific to your cassette)


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

vegascruiser said:


> Monday. Good commute. My bike is in dire need of a tuneup, with two spokes broke at the back rim. My mechanical skills have not gotten to changing broken spokes yet. Don't want to put my bike out of commission for a week at the bike shop. Guess I'll do nothing for the short term. Finally relented last year when the broken spokes hit four.


Yep it's pretty simple like bedwards said. If you don't want to drop the money on the tools, check to see if there is a bike coop near you. If so, just buy the spokes you need and take the wheel and spokes down there and someone should be able to teach you how to use the tools, how to change the spokes, and how to true the wheel after.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kleebs said:


> If you don't want to drop the money on the tools


I made my own chain whip with a flat bar of scrap and a piece of retired chain. 10 minutes with a drill and a chain tool and it was done. It's taken off dozens of cassettes.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I don't think I could stand to ride a bike with 2 broken spokes. Replacing them is pretty easy.





Kleebs said:


> Yep it's pretty simple like bedwards said...


Ugh. Replacing spokes is the _worst_.

It's so many steps just to get at them: tire, cassette, rimtape, possibly detension perfectly good spokes to weave the new spokes in. And if you've been riding like that for awhile, there's the chance that the final squeezetest will break more spokes.

Not that it shouldn't be done, since leaving it just makes it worse. It's not difficult exactly, but I can't think of a worse bike maintenance task (maybe brake rotor truing).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I usually leave the tire on and use the existing nipples. I also never detension any others. Sometimes that means slightly bending the replacement but the tension pulls it straight and I've never had a repeat failure. I also will mark the new spoke with a small piece of tape so I can go back an re-tension it if necessary. 5 minute job. 

What usually takes the most time is when I decide to clean the cassette while I have it apart.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

newfangled said:


> It's so many steps just to get at them: tire, cassette, rimtape, possibly detension perfectly good spokes to weave the new spokes in. And if you've been riding like that for awhile, there's the chance that the final squeezetest will break more spokes.


I never said it was a fun task, just that its not that difficult


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm getting seriously sick of this cold weather in the northeast. Yesterday I couldn't bring myself to get motivated to ride to work when it was 13 degrees in the morning. Today I found the motivation, it was 17. It's been the coldest Feb/March on record in Worcester, Providence and Hartford. I'm the closest to Worcester, the average Feb/March temp has been just over 20 degrees. So done with this.

That being said, I made it to work alive and well, so there's that...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I used a pair of vice grips for a chainwhip for a long time. An old chain, grab it with the vice grips, and bam..chainwhip. But then I bough a proper one and it is nice to have for sure. I don't like replacing spokes any more now that I have it though :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I used a pair of vice grips for a chainwhip for a long time. An old chain, grab it with the vice grips, and bam..chainwhip. But then I bough a proper one and it is nice to have for sure. I don't like replacing spokes any more now that I have it though :lol:


lost my whip somewhere in the garage (it has since resurfaced)....so I just grabbed a chain with a glove on put it on the big sprocket....and I got the cassette nut off....they aren't really supposed to be to tight just 40 nm.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

If you broke four last year, and now have two more broken, I say it`s time to respoke the whole wheel. That gets you out of "the worst" (replacing a few broken spokes) because lacing a whole wheel is the most awesome immaginable way to spend time. Seriously, it`s zen nirvana! And the tools aren`t expensive- chain whip has been discussed, spoke wrench and the cassette wrench thingy are each about $10, don`t even think about buying a tension meter or special stand. The spokes will run more than the tools, and even that isn`t terribly expensive. Since you said your mechanical skills haven` gotten to that point YET, it sounds like you aspire to reach for the stars. Go for it now.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks guys for the advice. The guy at the bike shop last year told me that my spokes are likely breaking cause they weren't tempered (didn't know exactly what that meant but he said they likely weren't heated up to make them more stout--something like that). He said cheapie department store bikes with black spokes don't usually have tempered spokes. He was gonna redo the whole wheel but told me a cheaper alternative was to just fix the then broken spokes and see what happens. So I guess it's time for a new wheel or time for me to get busy learning how to replace spokes. 

As for riding with two broken spokes, guess I am so used to a crappy ride that I don't even notice anymore. Been riding this Walmart singlespeed (40x16) cruiser so long that it's probably time for a better commuter. Probably got close to 4000k on it in two years.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Thanks guys for the advice. The guy at the bike shop last year told me that my spokes are likely breaking cause they weren't tempered (didn't know exactly what that meant but he said they likely weren't heated up to make them more stout--something like that). He said cheapie department store bikes with black spokes don't usually have tempered spokes. He was gonna redo the whole wheel but told me a cheaper alternative was to just fix the then broken spokes and see what happens. So I guess it's time for a new wheel or time for me to get busy learning how to replace spokes.
> 
> As for riding with two broken spokes, guess I am so used to a crappy ride that I don't even notice anymore. Been riding this Walmart singlespeed (40x16) cruiser so long that it's probably time for a better commuter. Probably got close to 4000k on it in two years.


Galvanized. You have galvanized steel spokes (if that...are they painted?). They _are_ weaker, but not because they haven't been tempered. Good quality spokes are drawn and/or cold/roll forged.

Unless your mechanic doesn't value his time or skills (a sad thing by itself), it would be cheaper to buy a new pre-built wheel. I whole-heartedly encourage learning to build wheels, though. Rodar is right, it's almost like a zen state, and it is almost magical following through building components that couldn't even support a fraction of your weight through to being able to support twice or more. There's no better feeling than the maiden voyage of a well built pair of wheels you put together yourself.

Today was chilly, wasn't really a fan of it. I didn't take off any layers on the way home. How soon I forget the cold, cold days of winter :/


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A nice warm up from single digits this morning to just above freezing this evening. Switched to the cross bike. Yesterday when I grabbed the bus partway to avoid tardiness in the killer headwinds, the guy who has been yelling "you go girl" and "you're amazing" from his car stopped to chat. He then realized he had met me when I inspected a place he used to work...that's how VT is, really, really small.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

vegascruiser said:


> As for riding with two broken spokes, guess I am so used to a crappy ride that I don't even notice anymore. Been riding this Walmart singlespeed (40x16) cruiser so long that it's probably time for a better commuter. Probably got close to 4000k on it in two years.


4000k on a walmart bike is impressive! When you do upgrade you will probably be amazed!

The rides have been so awesome this week. I took 3 different bikes to see if they compared the same as before. They pretty much did:
The Candid Cyclist: Winter Bike Shootout Take 2


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

My full fendered commuter is sitting in the garage with a flat and its raining and 35F this morning...so I took the lazy route and drove rather than changing the tube this morning. I immediately felt shame when I got in my car and found it to be barely raining at all.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Starting a 7 day in a row stretch off on the wrong foot. It is raining here and I have to be in early for a meeting so I am driving. Rain should be clearing up by the time I leave, but tonights forecast is for a mix of freezing temps, rain and snow with potential ice. Going to pass on that. Not sure how much I will be riding this week. Weather looks to be uncooperative with my riding.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I got a nice loop in after work yesterday. Raining off and on, didn't see a soul. Excellent bonding time with the new bike. It's actually pretty light on its feet for a big fella.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ oh come on, there's no need to resort to photoshop. 

Blah ride for me. We had been snow free for weeks, but then we got 8" on the weekend, and now it's the aftermath of that, which sucks. I've already gone through the big spring melt once, and I've already been off the trails for 3 weeks. Why does this all have to happen a second time?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Meh... didn't commute yesterday after getting home really late on Monday (started work at 5:10 AM on the bus and didn't get home until 7:30 PM) due to client meetings, so decided to work from home and work on swapping a few things over to the Pugs to ride that until my new wheel comes in. 

Good ride, overall, until I get to town and about half way to work the front trigger shifter stops working. Not sure if it's just gummed up (likely) or if there is something else going on. Figure I'll grab a can of brake clean at lunch time, blast it with that and see if things start working again. If not... Who knows.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> ^ oh come on, there's no need to resort to photoshop.


If I was using photoshop there would be a unicorn in there somewhere.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> I got a nice loop in after work yesterday. Raining off and on, didn't see a soul. Excellent bonding time with the new bike. It's actually pretty light on its feet for a big fella.
> 
> View attachment 975734


That's just unfair.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I got a nice loop in after work yesterday. Raining off and on, didn't see a soul. Excellent bonding time with the new bike. It's actually pretty light on its feet for a big fella.


Oh come on, there's no need to resort to microsoft paint.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'd give you rep if I could.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hahaha nice!!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

It's good to be back. Was accidentally banned for a bit, but it's all sorted out. 

Weather has been warmer than usual, so it's been pretty rough on the ride home. Tonight the wife is picking me up from the office so that we can go run errands, so no ride home. Hoping to make a long loop tomorrow morning before going in to the office. We'll see how that goes.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Galvanized. . .yes. I got that understanding all wrong. When the four spokes broke last year the mechanic suggested I just buy a new wheel for about 30-40. This thing was all steel though. My rims are orange and the spokes are black. I like the look. Told mechanic I didn't want plain old steel wheels. He said he could relace orange rim with better black spokes for about $200, or just change out broken spokes for about $40. I went the cheapie route on this cheapie bike. As for doing it myself, I am really starting to consider it. My goal has always been to eventually unwind myself completely from using the bike mechanic except for the very, very hardest of things.

Had a flat after work. Just aired up the tire at the automotive shop in our yard, gave the wheel a good spin (over 8 oz of slime in tube), and peddled most furiously to get home. Made it in record time. Got to take kids to soccer practice so no time to fix tube now. Likely be taking the Monocog to work tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Virtual rep all around for rainbows and unicorns!

My commute was not pretty to start, there was an iceflow across the first intersection. I was a-feared, and decide to unclip and walk across the iceflow, but this stuck me out on route 302 a bit, standing there trying to turn left. Before I could even re=clip my right foot, a motorist to the right decided to over-politely stop so I could proceed, backing up maybe 5 cars. In a rush to not hold up traffic, I flailed at the clipless pedals a few times like a newbie, while simultaneously attempting a waved thanks to the motorist. I finally got clipped in and sped through town as fast as the cars. The rest of the commute was uneventful.

At work, another bike was in the rack for the first time in months, a Kestrel that I later learned was planning to be pedaled about 29 miles after work. A serious seasonal start!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Schwwweeeeeett photo CB!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Welcome back Tex!!


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Riding tomorrow! Not happy about it. Took out my 29er last week and i flew! Snowed on the weekend and its almost gone but freezes over night so frozen run off in the am. Studded bike is sooo slow. Hoping to get back on my at least 4 out of 5 days commuting by bike next week.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks like today will be a commute day. Weather looks alright, possible rain later on tonight mixed with flurries? OK, whatever.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Had to poach a shifter off of another bike as the one that died on me yesterday was not just gunked up, but dead dead. Bummer. My garage is turning into the island of broken bikes - seven bikes in the garage and only three ridable. 

Going from the Farley to the Pugs is definitely a learning curve. Just the difference in shifting and cadence is eye opening. I put my wider bars on the Pugs and can't believe how much of a difference it makes. The last time I rode it, I was on a narrower bar and I felt like a bear on a circus bike. With the wider bars and a slightly longer stem, the bike feels really good - like maybe I should've tried swapping bars and stem before buying the Farley... Naw, a new bike is fun from time to time.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

I had to change routes a couple of days ago due to conflicts i was having making a unprotected left turn across two lanes of speeding cagers. Now im on a one-way street the entire trek through downtown Oakland..and its nice


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You just said "downtown Oakland" and "nice" in the same sentence :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well I hate to rub it in, but around here, we have arrived:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Love that, shared with VT bikecommuters. We now appear to be out of the "absurdly freezing" epoch and in the "hoping for brief delusional joy phase".


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ We're bouncing back into the absurdly freezing. 28F, 19F, and 22 F forecast for the next three mornings. We almost broke 70 two days ago. March can be such a tease.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

"That f*#@king wind!!!!!" Both ways. Damn I hate the wind. Ride in was alright minus the snotting up and coughing from the cold air blasting in my face. Ride home was equally windy, if not more windy. Forecasted gusts of 30mph tonight according to the weather. Alright, had enough, bring on the spring already.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That chart doesn't have the covered in muck phase between absurdly freezing and brief delusional joy. When a winter's worth of grime is concentrated by evaporation and a spring rain liberates it from the ground. 

Sorry about the wind 10-speed. It can be a little *****.

Ride in was damp and on the slow side, a rest day is in order.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First Friday commute in a while. Glad to have more light back around these parts. Other parts are just fine to ride in the dark, but not these .5 miles of road or whatever. 

It was slow, cold, and almost damp. Just the way I like it.

Edit: just changed into work clothes. Looked out the front window, the sun is out now. The whole ride in I was getting flurries... Hmm.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

GAHHHHHHH!

That about sums it up. I probably went a year without getting a flat, but these past couple weeks I had a tube fail at the seam, then I had a tire failure which I posted about here, and this morning I double flatted. Gave up and called my girlfriend for a ride.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Just looked outside. They forecasted light flurries. That is exactly what it is doing. So light that you can barely see them, but they are there. Will probably still ride the fixed gear in to work. Can always get a ride home from a co worker if the conditions get bad. I won't complain about the 30's but we had a taste of the upper 60's and shorts, and now everything else is just freezing. I rode in single digit temps earlier this year and was OK. One taste of warm weather and now I turn into a complete pansy.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Had to replace a slowly leaking tube yesterday morning, and the new tube worked fine both ways yesterday. Pulled it out of the car this morning, and what do you know, another flat in the same wheel. Sigh. Must have missed whatever caused the first flat when I checked the inside of the tire. Put the bike back in the car and drove the rest of the way to work. Crappy way to start a Friday.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> GAHHHHHHH!
> 
> That about sums it up. I probably went a year without getting a flat, but these past couple weeks I had a tube fail at the seam, then I had a tire failure which I posted about here, and this morning I double flatted. Gave up and called my girlfriend for a ride.


Been there, done that. Good thing you have a girlfriend to call. I keep thinking that if my girlfriend and I split up I'm really going to have to get my sh*t together. No forgetting spare tubes or neglecting to check the weather, etc, etc. It'll be a bad day for me when that happens.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Terrible, just terrible. The sun was out and I had the trails to myself.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Decent, hovering around freezing and not windy. Speediest trip home in a while at 39 minutes for 8 miles with lights and all. It was close to or about an hour in the dead of winter, so that's a big improvement. Big ol' snowflakes on the way home, but they were not sticking until I got home at 1700', maybe an inch and a half accumulated since this morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sorry about the wind 10-speed. It can be a little *****.


I know you are on a one speed, but the wind really blows when you can't get out of granny (you have't cross chained enough to bother) on the downhills!


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## santa cruzer73 (Oct 22, 2013)

I quit my business about three years ago and been on vacation ever since. Monday I stated working part time. Its only about five miles from my house which is good cause I wanted a job where I could ride to work. Today was my first day ever riding to work and Im 42 yrs young. Coming home was a little rough but was so worth it. The sun was out and nobody tried to run me over or took the time to scream obscenities so it was great! Not that it would have made a difference. Look forward to making this a habit. Im a little out of bike shape but I dont think it will take long to get back to where I was.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

68 degrees and a tailwind tonight. Three PR's coming home. Busted 2000 miles for the year. Great way to start the weekend.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome, SantaCruzer. Glad you had a nice return to the commuting life 

Bummer about the tires, F4S and kleebs. I had my batch last fall, persisted even after swapping tires.



BrianMc said:


> I know you are on a one speed, but the wind really blows when you can't get out of granny (you have't cross chained enough to bother) on the downhills!


Sucks- nothing more demoralizing than having to struggle down a hill! I`d rather have to fight wind on an uphill than to have my downhill reward stolen.



woodway said:


> 68 degrees and a tailwind tonight. Three PR's coming home. Busted 2000 miles for the year. Great way to start the weekend.


:thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

woodway said:


> 68 degrees and a tailwind tonight. Three PR's coming home. Busted 2000 miles for the year. Great way to start the weekend.


Congrats on the miles and PR's!!!

Rides today sucked. Windy and cold for both. The sun came out 5 minutes after I got to work and it warmed up almost 10°. Was cold and guess which way the wind was blowing on the ride home? Looking ahead to next week the temps are looking decent. Not trying to get my hopes up or anything....


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Took the road along the river, longer but was nicer. Nice 8 degrees. Had a chat with a retired guy walking his dog about fatbikes, tire studs, then 29ers. He rips a giant 29er full suspension! River trail is super saturated yet and some snow so the 29er would be a work out and a half. Swear i look at fatbikes online everyday. Would ride it almost more than my 29er.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

After work yesterday, I took the oldest boy camping with some friends for a birthday party. Good times were had by all, except for the late bedtime and early rise for me. The state park we stayed at is about 16 miles away from the office, and it's a pretty straight shot. 

My legs weren't up to par, as I was hoping to average around 20, but it was closer to 16. Just didn't have the strength to push those big gears today. 

Almost had another incident. I was on a large 6 lane road coming to a popular intersection. Guy pulls up to the light on my right as I'm making my way through, but stopped as if he recognized that I was there and would wait until I passed to proceed with his right on red. Well, he didn't. He pulled right out in front of me and I locked up the wheels while yelling to get his attention. He stopped right in the middle of the right hand lane and bike lane. I moved to the middle lane to go around him and he pulled forward and blocked my path. I finally yelled at him "JUST STOP! Let me get over to the bike lane! I don't know what you're doing but stop doing it and let me over!" 

At that point he rolled down his window and told me "Well, go, before I run you over" and sped off. I tried to get a plate number but he was too fast, the guy gunned that engine. Other than that, I had no problems.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Decent ride in and home. Temps are still too low which is depressing. The high during the day now is hitting at about 5-6 PM which is pretty odd. Had 3 female college students crossing the street while I waited to turn right onto the main road. One said she loved my bike.  Coming home tonight, taxi passed me with drunk college kids in it, guy said he would buy me a shot at the bar if I came, and the girl told me she loved me, like seriously loved me. Got home, and somehow the headset worked its way a little loose. Got that taken care of rather quickly. No ride tomorrow which bums me out. 80% of rain, then rain mixed with snow into the night. Pressed my luck 3 times in the last week with precipitation so I will drive instead.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

I made two mistakes today. Trusted the hourly weather forecast, and rode the bike with shorty fenders. Sleet and freezing rain followed me home from the grocery store.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ precisely why I did not ride tonight and I am really glad I didn't. 35mph winds and sunny. After I got to work, then the snow started. That wasn't too bad. Then the rain started. OK, happy I didn't ride. Then the raining snow started mixed with sleet and hail? Yeah, good call on driving. Roads were wet when I left work in the car, and the temp is above freezing but I could just see it getting bad.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was pretty good. Took the short 6.5 mile route in since I needed to be at the office earlier than usual. Dropped into the 40's overnight, which isn't something I was anticipating. Forgot my gloves, but everything else was fine. 

I initially thought that it might be a holiday or something and I missed the memo. I live off of an arterial road that leads to a large industrial complex near the airport, so it's usually quite busy when I leave for work. I didn't see a single soul for 2 miles, and until I made it close to downtown, they were still few and far between.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

solarplex said:


> Took the road along the river, longer but was nicer. Nice 8 degrees. Had a chat with a retired guy walking his dog about fatbikes, tire studs, then 29ers. He rips a giant 29er full suspension! River trail is super saturated yet and some snow so the 29er would be a work out and a half. Swear i look at fatbikes online everyday. Would ride it almost more than my 29er.


Hey solarplex, I'm going to help you out! I had quite possibly my best fatbike ride ever over the weekend. (been at it for over 2 years). Both of the other guys just bought their first fatbikes and were smiling the whole time. Maybe it's time to stop looking 
The Candid Cyclist: Awesome, Just Awesome
Oh, and the commute in this morning was awesome too. We still have 0' to 3' of snow in the woods and I skipped the trails as much as I could and just rode through the woods. I took some video I could post if I have time.

Not sure what you are looking at but the Framed Minnesota 2.0 is a lot of bike for the money and they are popping up on craigslist at even better deals. Just bought one for my wife with upgraded tires & pedals for $650

I hope that helps you make a decision.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

New one for me this morning.

Crossing some railroad tracks that had those rubber grade blocks around the tracks, I did not see the gap between two of the rubber blocks and my front wheel sucked down into the gap (gap was perpendicular to the tracks).

Over the bars I went.

It was a slow-speed crash and I was fine but now my bike was stuck between the two rubber blocks and I could not pull it loose! I had visions of a car coming along and crushing my bike. 

I finally figured out that I had to get behind the handlebars and pull up and backwards.

Sheesh, what a way to start the day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

So now you can't ride at an angle across the tracks, and you can't ride perpendicular across them either!! :lol: 

Maybe next they'll install a nice wheel-grabbing gap device at a 45 degree angle to the tracks. 

...I'm not saying that a fatbike is the solution, but you have to ask yourself if you'd have floated right over that gap on a fatty :lol: N+1.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Had to take a later bus, so that stunk - Seward's day, a state holiday that the bus has reduced service for, yet only a small proportion of the ridership gets the day off. 

Apart from that, the MUP trails are back to almost all pavement, so I'll be back to my normal off street route again. 

Still waiting to get the Farley back from the shop. I had to bring it in on Saturday as they needed to take more pictures of it for the warranty claim. I ended up just leaving it with them. I really hop Trek doesn't try to weasel out of the claim. 

By the by, I am looking to sell the Farley if anyone is interested...

Of course the shipping would be killer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Over the bars I went.


Ouch!

I'm not sure a fatbike would work for Woodway's lengthly commute.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

My legs are killing me today (in an okay, muscle-related way), and I have no idea why. The trails are terrible, so on the weekend I did two sortof hard mostly-pavement rides on the fixie. I assume that's what caused this? But I've been riding that bike at least weekly all winter. I'm amazed that "summer" riding can be so different from winter.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I've got some of that going on also. I have a 6 mile loop from my house that takes me about an hour and is just over 1000 feet of elevation gain. I haven't ridden it in a while, and I hit it yesterday on the fatbike (doing my duty of packing the primitive trails). I haven't climbed like that on the fatbike yet :lol: I wanted to get in at under an hour, so I just kept moving...not pushing too extremely hard, but no stopping. 57 minutes. 6 miles...pretty pathetic, but oh man today's commute hurt.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Finally found what was causing my flats - a tiny curved piece of metal. Looked like a shaving from someone drilling a hole in metal. I had to look at the tire 3 times before I found it as it was just barely poking through the inside of the casing and was fully embedded in the tread on the outside.

Rode my first metric century over the weekend in 18 degree weather. I don't think I would have done it if I hadn't gotten my seasoning while commuting this winter. I figured the legs would be shot this morning but they felt fresh. Temperature was a lovely 37F with a tiny tailwind and not a cloud in the sky. Feels like its been 6 months since we had blue skys here so it was a real treat of a commute this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> My legs are killing me today (in an okay, muscle-related way), and I have no idea why. The trails are terrible, so on the weekend I did two sortof hard mostly-pavement rides on the fixie. I assume that's what caused this? But I've been riding that bike at least weekly all winter. I'm amazed that "summer" riding can be so different from winter.


Mine are, too. Though I know why for mine - took my fat, slow dog for a run yesterday. Not sure who was fatter or slower - him or me! I do know that he slowed to a walk before I did, so that's good. I guess.

I'd venture that the fixie uses your legs just a bit differently than a geared bike and that is where the pain is coming from.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And now I remembered why my legs hurt so much. It's not because I'm out of shape (that will come when I'm actually riding dirt again), but because as part of my quest to find a "dry" route (meaning not so sticky that it would lock up my bigapples and fenders) I climbed a couple of big sets of stairs with the bike on my shoulder cyclocross-style.

All of the rivervalley stairs around here have planks on the sides that make it easier to push a bike up...unless that bike is a fixie...in which case you're constantly clobbering your shins and calves, and hiking is a better plan.

Stock photo for reference:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

What an awesome nod to the bike crowd. Loving the planks on the side of the stairs. Otherwise not crazy about that stairway! :lol: Looks large!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

There's something like 70+ of those stairways. And they've had the bike-planks forever. I don't know who fought to have them included, but they're very handy.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Wind, infernal wind
Dropping branches in my path
March leaves as a lamb?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Free Range Fatbiking


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No evening commute. I have to service a restaurant at 0500, so I took the work truck home. I'll make up for it tomorrow. I promise.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool freerange riding and lake/hill trip, Bedwards. How did your lakes get back down to bare ice? Ours are still snow covered. 

Woodward, that is crazy, glad you are OK and were able to wrestle your bike back from the RR barons.

Routine commute today, a little overdressed, and a little tired on the way home after a day in the field. 

A good fatbike ride at Kingdom Trails yesterday, bobsled like conditions, mostly good traction, with some icy spots. Dared to take the dog as he has been good for a couple months. He was angelic the first 7 miles, leading the way, staying on trail, and going "on by" when we passed deer trails. Then a deer popped up in front of him and then the chase was on, he got as far as a mile away. With the help of his GPS collar I tracked him down about 2 bike miles later...I haven't downloaded the collar to see how many dog miles that was.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^All the snow sucked up the water from below and then re-froze. They've been pretty solid for a while now. I just checked an ice fishing hole tonight and the lake I cross has a good 2 feet of ice. Well, except for the spots that are open water now.

Our dogs are the same way. They are great, right up until they aren't. Then they come back like "Hey, what's going on?"

Great commute home across the lake with a very close eagle sighting as he flew over my head.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

sheared a couple more spoke-heads off the wheels from my cdale bad boy.
kinda snapped and threw the old coda hub and a new dt swiss rim at the lbs, waiting for them to throw them back at me.

meanwhile? erghh... the casserole's still toast.
so I threw some 26" wheels with fat boy slicks on the bad boy and rode anyways.
faster spin's worth about 2 gears. kinda like it.
buzzing hornet hub means an extra lock though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^
> 
> Great commute home across the lake with a very close eagle sighting as he flew over my head.


Cool!!!

They have been warning of ice thinning from below here with the spring sun, but I thought they were nuts, given the frigid winter. But I see 6 ATVs took a swim yesterday...6 ATVs on Lake Champlain rescued when ice breaks


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm not sure a fatbike would work for Woodway's lengthly commute.


A fatbike would be so cool! A fatbike would be so slow  Maybe they will come out with an electric-assist version...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

newfangled said:


> Stock photo for reference:


Most photos make things look flat but that looks darn steep!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Can't tell if I'm getting sick or if I have a combination of allergies and poor diet. Weird. Weather was great. Ride up was great because my brother rode in with me. Ride back, meh. 

I think I might be spending the second half of the summer in Vermont working for the VYCC. I won't need a car and can ride my bike on the weekends.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rustedthrough said:


> Wind, infernal wind
> Dropping branches in my path
> March leaves as a lamb?


Have to agree with the wind comment. Unbelievable over here, just unbelievable. Steady winds from the WNW at 19 MPH with 35+ MPH gusts. 4 times I was almost knocked over on my bike while riding. Yeah, I had the fat bike out today and almost got blown over. Forecast called for rain tonight mixed with the possibility of up to an inch of snow in some places. The only bike with fenders that I own, so I rocked it. 59° F when I left, and I had shorts on. Aside from the wind, the ride in was great. The wind? It mentally destroys me and sucks the power right out of me. Already dislike the fat bike because it rides like a school bus and is as fast as one. Add in the super strong head wind and I was cursing like I stubbed my little toe a million times in a row.

The ride home at 43° F wasn't bad, but it was lightly raining and some snow was falling, or what looked like snow. Had to put the tights on for the ride home, but used my wind/water proof light gloves and my hands were not cold by the time I got home. This weather is crazy. Global warming my ass.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Windy for me too. Just bitter biking into it. Home i flew going with it. Side wind is almost as bad as head wind. +18 tomorrow. Then snow wednesday.... Yay. Not, just starting to dry up.


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

I'm on the opposite schedule than a lot of you. 27 peaceful miles mostly in darkness this morning. I'll ride the same miles home tomorrow morning. 
Speeds are low, I'm just trying to get there. I have plenty of time, so I try to keep the heart rate low on these rides.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Cool!!!
> 
> They have been warning of ice thinning from below here with the spring sun, but I thought they were nuts, given the frigid winter. But I see 6 ATVs took a swim yesterday...6 ATVs on Lake Champlain rescued when ice breaks


GOOD! That is the best place for 4-wheelers, at the bottom of the lake. They were probably doing something stupid because that seems to be the modus operandi of people to ride 4-wheelers. (I realize the article doesn't support this) I hate to stereotype a whole group of people, like people do to cyclists. BUT! I can't think of any other group responsible for more public trail damage that the yahoos that ride on 4-wheelers. They just don't seem happy unless they are spinning their wheels and tearing something up. Either temporarily to the winter trails or permanently in the summer causing washouts & erosion.







A-Holes, This use to be a trail​
Discuss....


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

Now it's two trails.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Chippertheripper said:


> Now it's two trails.


Yeah...No... 2 trails that zig-zag back an forth that are too deep to turn the cranks.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Supposed to be another nice day today, but tomorrow the temperature will drop and we're in for a few inches of snow.

:madman:

I took the trails home last night, and they were 1/3 ice, 1/3 mudholes and 1/3 good actual ready-to-go dirt. They're sooooooo close, and I would love a good day of rain to clear them out, but I really don't want more snow to set things back another week.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Not sure if this is applicable to anyone?

Why do bros fear â€˜being chickedâ€™ on their bikes? | Metro



> Last week, on one of those terrifically snowy mornings, a fit-looking man on a nice bike nodded at me on my bike in that special "yup, we're both warriors" way.
> 
> Then, as if he felt he had to, he took his place in front of me at the red light.
> 
> It makes me sizzle: Male cyclists assuming they are faster than any woman on the road, and therefore insist on squeezing in front of them at red lights...


Just personally, I think all the clipless & geared people are going to be slow.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Not sure if this is applicable to anyone?
> 
> Why do bros fear 'being chicked' on their bikes? | Metro
> 
> Just personally, I think all the clipless & geared people are going to be slow.


Hah somebody pulls in in front of me.....I am on his ass drafting until he or she dies....I love a cat 6 race.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I almost got "chicked" by an 18 year old girl at the fatbike race. It won't be too long until she can beat me. Damn fine rider she is. 

I think "bros" fear it because men are stronger than women. I'm not being sexist, it's fact. There's a reason they have men's and women's categories in every single sporting event. That said, on an individual level, anybody pulling ahead of you at a light because they think they are faster is a di(k. Strong women are going to beat all but the strongest men. I'm reminded of that every time I enter a 5K.

I love a good CAT 6 race too but we don't have many contestants around here.

Oh, and my commute was good. We're above freezing today so the trails are shite.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ There's this superhero chick that has done a couple of our local races, and just marched away from me on a big climb a couple years ago...there was nothing I could do, she just flat whooped me. 

fast-forward a year or so, and I pull in to the lunch stop of a century ride, feeling pretty good...and there was this chick and her husband (also a superhero who crushes everyone). I was feeling awesome, because I obviously reeled these guys in over the past several miles, catching up to them at the lunch stop. We chatted for a minute, almost like we were actual peers, about the course so far, yada yada...then I glanced down....






wait for it....






They were both on singlespeeds :nonod::lol::lol:



I suck.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I suck.


Awww CB, you don't suck, you're special! 
I don't know how those singlespeeders do the centuries around here. We have one with 6000'+++ of climbing and a few hard cores will do it on the SS.
We've also got a super-human cycle duo and she was racing the last cyclocross race on a SS.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I gave in to winter today and used my morning time to skijor instead of riding to work. Wiith a fresh 3" of snow over crust, conditions were fantastic. My dog was able to pull me along at a good clip, when he wasn't lifting a leg or looking for deer.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I got "chicked" at the last mountain bike race I did, big time. Doing really well the first half, miss a turn that was poorly marked, run into a female cyclist headed the other way on the dirt road, realizing one or both of us is lost. I call the racer director to get directions, we get back on track. I look over, and this girl is young, I mean young. I ask her how old she is. "Oh, I am 12." Seriously?? I am struggling to keep up with her on some of these hills. I jokingly tell her that I will tell my wife (at the time) that I got beat by a 12 year old girl. We get back on to the course, and immediately she leaves me on this huge hill while I am sucking and just gasping for air. She disappeared into thin air. I finish the race. Check the results, holy hell, she had me by like 5 minutes.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Power to weight ratio. That upper body strength has little to do with climbing hills. And is less aero to boot.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

one more commute home


then sailing for a 10 days


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Rest day x10. Nice. Where you sailing?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Boo! I had every intention of riding home, went to saddle up, and my rear tire was flat. Went to fix it, and remembered the kids took my repair bag out of my backpack. I guess there's a wire or something in the tread that I missed. I'll pick up some tubes from the lbs and order a super huge patch kit off of Amazon. I've got over 20 tubes lying around waiting to have holes fixed.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

How does a weather alert start with "April's weather in Alberta will begin on a note that won't be fooling around"?

65F right now. Chance of thundershowers this evening, with gusts to 50mph. 4-6" of snow overnight? W. T. F.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Swung by the shop to use some credit I had and pick upholstery some tubes. Turns out that the 40 dollar credit I thought I had was actually 124. So, I got some tubes, and now I'm wondering what else to get. I could use some bars with a more ergo drop, and some new bar tape...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Man, all y'all worried about getting beat. I could pretty much get passed up by anybody, definitely anyone on here. It's probably a good thing y'all don't drive cars all the time. I can picture it now:

"Like hell that guy in the Volvo is gonna beat me! Wait, why do I have a Mustang anyway?"

But in all seriousness, my commute today was good. One PR on the way home. I've been working on pedaling technique again, which I let slip quite terribly over the winter. I didn't even realize it really until I clipped in again (at which point I also realized I need to adjust my cleats a bit). I'm ashamed of myself but I just had almost no desire to go too fast during the cold months. 

I've also gotten out of the habit of running and doing other exercise. I am a failure :/


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> Man, all y'all worried about getting beat. /


As long as I am faster than people 6 feet under I'm good.  I suspect I'm faster than most cagers, too if they were on a bike like me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Mustang driver and not ashamed to say it. No one beats me off the line. 

Today was an overall great day to commute. Decent temps and the sun even managed to peek out a few times, the wind has definitely died down, and the bike just feels good. Still micro adjusting this Specialized Phenom that I got recently. Great saddle but having some issues with leveling it out properly. Will get that taken care of Wednesday which is my day off. 

Cleared 700 miles by the end of March. I am pretty happy with that considering this hellish winter that we had.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Mustang driver and not ashamed to say it. No one beats me off the line.
> 
> Today was an overall great day to commute. Decent temps and the sun even managed to peek out a few times, the wind has definitely died down, and the bike just feels good. Still micro adjusting this Specialized Phenom that I got recently. Great saddle but having some issues with leveling it out properly. Will get that taken care of Wednesday which is my day off.
> 
> Cleared 700 miles by the end of March. I am pretty happy with that considering this hellish winter that we had.


I was unofficially hanging with you mile wise for a while there, but you are starting to pull away on me. I might need a longer commute, I was just under 600 miles for the end of March.

Today was commute #45 for the year, so way ahead of the mark for hitting 100 at least. Winter was crazy, but between the belt drive with fenders and a fat bike in the stable I was able to ride a lot more than usual.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Did you guys miss me?  Guess what I did this morning? First bike commute of the year! Woo hoo! And to think this time last year I was just getting off crutches. 2015 has been good to me so far. I may disappear again for the next two weeks, as we're forecasted for cold rain all next week and then I'll be on vacation the week after that, but I will reappear again shortly.

As I was riding down the MUP this morning, I passed a guy and bid him a very cheerful good morning. He took this as an invitation to keep up and start a conversation for a few miles. He was very impressed that I rode 16 miles one way. Sometimes I wonder if it's because I'm a woman. Must be the long, blonde ponytail that throws people off. Absolutely beautiful morning here. My ears were pretty chilly for most of the ride, but otherwise my clothing was perfect. Not too shabby for someone out of practice.

I ran 8 miles last night, and then with my commute this morning, I am hungry! Time for first breakfast!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Only barely topped 400 miles for the month of March. That puts this year's total to 1489. Going to have to step it up if I am going to hit 8K by the end of the year, but I'm not worried. I haven't started my summer route riding in the AM or my summer-long bike coaching gig. Though I would say that last March I likely had a lot more miles in already as the conditions were much, much better for all types of riding. In fact, I remember last year in mid April I had an amazing few hours of trail riding on some awesome corn snow. Not this year.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Not too shabby for someone out of practice.


Not too shabby for someone who just ran 8 miles the night before. 
Maybe I need a blonde pony tail.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> I was unofficially hanging with you mile wise for a while there, but you are starting to pull away on me. I might need a longer commute, I was just under 600 miles for the end of March.
> 
> Today was commute #45 for the year, so way ahead of the mark for hitting 100 at least. Winter was crazy, but between the belt drive with fenders and a fat bike in the stable I was able to ride a lot more than usual.


600 miles for just the month or for the year? It is the year for me, and my commute was cut short due to the MUP conditions. I have added a bit of mileage both ways now that will slowly add up.



WiTrailRunner said:


> Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Did you guys miss me?  Guess what I did this morning? First bike commute of the year! Woo hoo! And to think this time last year I was just getting off crutches. 2015 has been good to me so far. I may disappear again for the next two weeks, as we're forecasted for cold rain all next week and then I'll be on vacation the week after that, but I will reappear again shortly.
> 
> As I was riding down the MUP this morning, I passed a guy and bid him a very cheerful good morning. He took this as an invitation to keep up and start a conversation for a few miles. He was very impressed that I rode 16 miles one way. Sometimes I wonder if it's because I'm a woman. Must be the long, blonde ponytail that throws people off. Absolutely beautiful morning here. My ears were pretty chilly for most of the ride, but otherwise my clothing was perfect. Not too shabby for someone out of practice.
> 
> ...


Welcome back!!! Jealous of your MUP and how nice it looks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NDD said:


> Man, all y'all worried about getting beat. I could pretty much get passed up by anybody, definitely anyone on here.


You're lapping everyone who's home on the couch.

I only worry about getting beat when I'm in a race. Except I do struggle with not turning every ride into a race because of Strava. :lol:

Today was cold again! 25 degrees F, and I was lulled into not checking the forecast by the past couple weeks of great weather... Went with the summer gloves, light jacket, numb toes, frozen fingers approach... fairly miserable. I had my breath freezing in the facial hair... totally not expecting anything below about 40. Yeesh.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I cat 6'd a bus this morning. He passed me and then made a stop just up ahead of me, and I put down the hammer to get around him again. Made it my goal to not get passed again until the point where our routes diverged 3 miles ahead. Success! Averaged 22 mph for that stretch but needed some recovery for the rest of the ride in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I assume you weren't on the fatbike.



CommuterBoy said:


> I only worry about getting beat when I'm in a race. Except I do struggle with not turning every ride into a race because of Strava. :lol:


Guilty. Maybe not every ride but that is a way I entertain myself.



CommuterBoy said:


> Today was cold again! 25 degrees F, and I was lulled into not checking the forecast by the past couple weeks of great weather... Went with the summer gloves, light jacket, numb toes, frozen fingers approach... fairly miserable. I had my breath freezing in the facial hair... totally not expecting anything below about 40. Yeesh.


About the same temps here but that is extending the snow riding. The sunny days are knocking it down but there's still plenty around. More free range today.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Stupid snow. Nothing overnight, but it started around 7AM and they're still calling for several inches. It's really coming down, but after 3 hours nothing is actually accumulating on the ground which is good. Two weeks ago we got a big dump which made the trails fantastic...for 2 days...and then they quickly reverted to garbage. So as much as I would like snow, I'd rather if everything could finish melting in peace.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I assume you weren't on the fatbike.


Haha I wish I could hit 20+ on the fatbike with out a downhill, let alone maintain it. Temps have been upper 30s and its been dry here for several weeks so I'm back on the road bike. Sweet sweet speed.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> I cat 6'd a bus this morning. He passed me and then made a stop just up ahead of me, and I put down the hammer to get around him again. Made it my goal to not get passed again until the point where our routes diverged 3 miles ahead. Success! Averaged 22 mph for that stretch but needed some recovery for the rest of the ride in.


I have to do this quite often, to avoid playing leap frog with the damn bus. Sometimes they pull into the bike lane at a stop, sometimes they don't. + rep for wasting him.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> You're lapping everyone who's home on the couch


That is true. I'm slow and steady, but that's better than not biking at all.

I'm thinking about doing my first full century this summer. Don't know why I haven't. I've biked close to it without any pain etc, but I guess I'm just lazy. I'm gonna do it on the single speed, too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Kleebs said:


> I cat 6'd a bus this morning. He passed me and then made a stop just up ahead of me, and I put down the hammer to get around him again. Made it my goal to not get passed again until the point where our routes diverged 3 miles ahead. Success! Averaged 22 mph for that stretch but needed some recovery for the rest of the ride in.





TenSpeed said:


> I have to do this quite often, to avoid playing leap frog with the damn bus. Sometimes they pull into the bike lane at a stop, sometimes they don't. + rep for wasting him.


I also am forced to do this with other vehicles approaching stop signs to keep people from passing too close to the intersection, or otherwise getting out of the way so they are not endangering my life. A healthy distrust, I guess. One of the reasons I need the HR monitor so I don't push the heart to maximum so that distrust stays healthy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NDD said:


> I'm thinking about doing my first full century this summer. Don't know why I haven't. I've biked close to it without any pain etc, but I guess I'm just lazy. I'm gonna do it on the single speed, too.


My longest ride to date was a completely self-imposed 125 miles, some of it on dirt...maybe 25 miles. Just me out there alone seeing the world go by, no hurry. I thoroughly enjoyed myself... took like 10 hours. So much more fun than the "organized" centuries I've done.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Haha I wish I could hit 20+ on the fatbike with out a downhill, let alone maintain it. Temps have been upper 30s and its been dry here for several weeks so I'm back on the road bike. Sweet sweet speed.


Cmon, it's not that hard to do.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Not with these wee baby legs of mine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Cmon, it's not that hard to do.


Unless you have the tire pressure dialed in for soft snow, then it's darn hear impossible. AT 10psi, sure.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Not with these wee baby legs of mine.
> 
> View attachment 977628


Now, if you switch that image around you have me. Well, except for the fact that the upper body is fat and flabby and the lower is "carved outta wood"


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Unless you have the tire pressure dialed in for soft snow, then it's darn hear impossible. AT 10psi, sure.


You got me there...


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> 600 miles for just the month or for the year? It is the year for me, and my commute was cut short due to the MUP conditions. I have added a bit of mileage both ways now that will slowly add up.
> 
> Welcome back!!! Jealous of your MUP and how nice it looks.


I almost said for the month because of today's date, but no, for the year. My commute is 13 miles round trip so it takes a few commutes to rack up any real miles compared to some of you guys.

I do intend to get my mileage significantly higher now that we are getting back "in season".


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Awww, crap:

Pedestrian dies after being hit by bicycle in northeast Edmonton

With apologies to the poor victim and her family, this is going to bring out all the idiots.

Already from a reporter: "[You] install ghost bikes when cyclists hit and killed. Are you planning anything now when cyclist hits ped?"

(and since I first saw this on twitter, I actually assumed that it was a cyclist making an April Fool's day joke...)


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Not too shabby for someone who just ran 8 miles the night before.
> Maybe I need a blonde pony tail.


We'll need photos of that, Rodar!

Thanks for the welcome back, everyone. I love walking to the building next door and not seeing my car in the parking lot.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> Awww, crap:
> 
> Pedestrian dies after being hit by bicycle in northeast Edmonton
> 
> ...


Wow, that's a bummer on so many levels. Such a rare occurrence, too, and it's gonna be blown out of proportion real bad.

I hate to say it, but on the reporter's comment: people should be outraged when this happens by car to cyclist or pedestrian. Any easily avoidable but deadly accident is just a damn shame.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

72 degrees, sunshine, and no wind. I couldn't resist the most circuitous route to the grocery store on the ride home. Absolutely perfect conditions, even the cars were mellow.

Popped across the street to the liquor store and returned to find an older guy on a new K2 MTB from "Nishber" studying my rack, er, ogling my Unit, well, looking at my bike. He gave me the latest gossip on all the sometime commuters in the area, and was stunned by the weight of my rig with panniers, groceries, bourbon, etc. He had laid down 107 miles already this year, much of that today, and was damned proud of that number. The figure rolled off his tongue like it was "One Million Dollars," no way could I mention that I had done that this week and several previous weeks.

The absolute- pure joy this guy was feeling with his new discount bike rubbed off on me. I still can't wipe the sh1t eating grin off my face from such a lovely commute, even if there is snow in the forecast.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good to see you, WItrailrunner! 

I had an annoying ride home, as my right eye started itching and hurting a bit right away. It's hard to scratch with lobster gloves and sunglasses on, and I was too stubborn to stop, and of course I got all green lights for a good stretch! Still a bit itchy now, but I think it's OK. I must have gotten something in it right off. 

I have talked about biking to a janitor at work many times as I'm leaving work, he is hoping to get another bike since his $50 one eventually disintegrated. It would be cool if I could help him find something nicer than the walmart bike he is planning to get, for the same money at the coop or something. Not that I discouraged him from the walmart bike, he would be able to ride at least! He works til 10 pm and I was glad to hear he has 3 lights he can use from his old bike.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

This is the time of year, I both hate and love. In the morning, the ride in can be 20-30 F and the ride home in the evening can be 40-60F. I love it when it's nice, but dressing for the temp swings is hard.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Excellent Sunrise: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Amazing colors!


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## jmctav23 (Oct 16, 2010)

From yesterday, but today will be much the same:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry about the cyclist pedestrian death in Edmonton. The organization's President responded very well to the leading question. If the pedestrian did not step out from between parked cars or some other invisible situation, the cyclist will have an even tougher time with his conscience. What seems to be missing is the car-pedestrian tally for Edmonton in that article. That seems to me to be an essential piece for perspective on the incident. I have been hit a glancing blow by a cyclist on a sidewalk on Campus. Usually these are not fatal as a cyclist can change to make it a glancing blow so easily. 

I have missed getting photos of some great sunsets of late. Thanks for the sunrises. And mountains.

Rode yesterday because it was gorgeous. Was barely faster than a spotted salamander. Considering I am some 45 pounds lighter than a year ago December, this is a bit of a pisser. I know I lost some conditioning, but it isn't like I have not ridden at all this winter, much less than I hoped, but I did not hang the bike up. I am going to blame it on the almost carbo free diet.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

@Bedwards and Jmctav:
:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ +1, gorgeous!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Those are some great photos and reports! Beautiful skies.

This evening was all good. Left work and met the family out on the island for dinner. It was hilarious watching the faces of the people get all huffy when I flew by them while they sat in traffic.

Here's some photos from tonight's adventures. Spotted several groups of rays, a cruise ship, and some dolphins. Also had a great time with a wonderful family on vacation from London.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So that's what water looks like when it is liquid. I vaguely remember that. Warmer days are in the forecast so my lake riding days may come to a close pretty soon.

Took a fast bike today...OMG!!! Such a difference even over the Cross Check. I volunteered to shuttle the car home tonight so the wife can get a ride in. It IS forecast to be the warmest day since before Thanksgiving.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute yesterday. Back at it this AM. Decent ride. Legs still feel a bit dead overall. Have a nice ride planned tonight - hopefully we have a good turn out. The weather should be good for a night ride, the moon will be full, and the sun will be out until 8:50 PM. Yes, summer is about back and with the limited snow this winter we have a lot of trails that are nice and dry already.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

You get some 2015 KOM's today bedwards?

When I was a kid and we played on the beach it was with pails and shovels. Todays kids play on the beach with Smartphones...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> You get some 2015 KOM's today bedwards?
> 
> When I was a kid and we played on the beach it was with pails and shovels. Todays kids play on the beach with Smartphones...


Well, since you asked. 







Every 2015 one on my route and overall my fastest commute on that route, ever. blockphi's right. Pushing that Pigsley around tends to make you stronger.
I had a similar thought about the phone on the beach. Mine was more like: "That doesn't look like a safe place for that phone"

Freakishly warm here today after being freakishly cold for so long. 65F now, 15F yesterday morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nicely done!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> You get some 2015 KOM's today bedwards?
> 
> When I was a kid and we played on the beach it was with pails and shovels. Todays kids play on the beach with Smartphones...


Ha! That's a kid who was vacationing from London with his family. He took a picture of my oldest to remember him, and the were laughing at the pic.

This mornings ride was great. Took the 18 mile long route for the first time in months. I really don't know why I don't do it more often. The lack of traffic lights and congestion usually makes the timing just about the same, and it's much more peaceful.

No ride home tonight. Wife has to do some running around and would like me to join, so she's picking me up. 60 miles planned before work in the morning. I might not get anything done once I get there... Lol.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

It drizzled on the way in and rained on the way home today. I didn't care...it was 65ish both ways.

Brief, delirious, joy, indeed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

First shorts day! Granted, I was glad for the chamois knickers under them, with all that cold snowmelt running down the streets. High of 60, but did not see a single other bike on my 16 miles RT, other than one in the rack at work.

Right off, the first and worst offender was an ambulance from my town (no lights or siren), who had to pull close alongside as I sped down the hill at around 20 in a 25 zone. It was probably made worse by how much wider the body of an ambulance is compared to the cab. At least an EMT would have been nearby if he'd hit me.

Everyone wants to be a truck driver! It seems the CDL school in town has more and more customers, based on how many I see on the road with the "learner" signage. I haven't has any trouble from them to date though.

Snow tomorrow, but they are hedging their bets with !"-7".


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Holiday today.

I went for a ride with my "muck" bike, and wasn't expecting much. I figured it would just be a continuation of this miserable month: invincible unmelting ice over here, and disgusting muck over there.

But no:


__
https://flic.kr/p/rU6YWQ

Things have finally cleared up, and I had a fantastic ride. I'd forgotten what roots felt like. I'd forgotten what traction felt like.


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## snailspace (Jan 12, 2014)

Had a crash today. Lucked out with a scratch and ruined set of pants. Bikes just had the handlebar caps scratched. Now I've crashed all 3 of my rides.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

snailspace said:


> Had a crash today. Lucked out with a scratch and ruined set of pants. Bikes just had the handlebar caps scratched. Now I've crashed all 3 of my rides.


Glad that you're okay and not seriously injured. So far, I haven't laid down my new Jamis, but I'm sure the time is coming when I'm cut off or dodge to miss a lovely phone zombie.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Glad that you're okay and not seriously injured. So far, I haven't laid down my new Jamis, but I'm sure the time is coming when I'm cut off or dodge to miss a lovely phone zombie.


Hell I wish I had those reasons for when I crash. Usually it's more like failure to pay attention. Both of my bikes have scars from me just being a bozo.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Beautiful ride this morning. Averaged close to 20 mph for 27 miles, so it's really good to see my ability returning since being hit a few months back. Still trying to dial in the bike, since my back is screwed. Some days I'm great, others I cramp up no matter what I do. Had a sweet young lady roll down her window at a stop light and let me know that my lights and visibility efforts were doing the job. She had passed me some way back, and then saw me pull beside her. Said that when she was coming up on me, I was visible at least a half mile down, so that was really cool, and she was super nice about it. 

I've been trying different foot beds to alleviate some pressure and numbness, and they're not working much. I'm about to take my dremel to the cleat slots and just shove them back.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

NDD said:


> Hell I wish I had those reasons for when I crash. Usually it's more like failure to pay attention. Both of my bikes have scars from me just being a bozo.


Well, I've got scratches from the kids and dog knocking it over, or thinking it's stable leaning and then a wheel rolls, but I've yet to go down with it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Averaged close to 20 mph for 27 miles, so it's really good to see my ability returning since being hit a few months back. Still trying to dial in the bike, since my back is screwed. Some days I'm great, others I cramp up no matter what I do.


Glad it`s starting to come together for you. Wasn`t that you a few months ago talking about a sunrise to sunset peninsula crossing? (pretty sure) Will that still be possible if you don`t get to it before summer cranks up?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Yeah, that was me. We're still working out the kinks and logistics of it, but it's planned for the end of next month. Anyone want to join in?


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Excellent ride on an outstanding day.

My wife decided to serve Easter lunch at the farm for our interns who couldn't get home for the holiday. Several beautiful side dishes showed up around her leg of lamb and farm raised potatoes. The fine food and a few pints of Dogfishhead IPA might explain why it took so much longer to get home.

The MUPs were empty, and the new one was finally open. No foolishness on the county highways, just a headwind.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ is your Unit still geared, or did you switch it to ss when you took off the nicotines?


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

The gears come off the Unit next week. I've mostly been riding the Bosanova since the roads have opened up.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rustedthrough said:


> Excellent ride on an outstanding day.
> 
> My wife decided to serve Easter lunch at the farm for our interns who couldn't get home for the holiday. *Several beautiful side dishes showed up around her leg of lamb and farm raised potatoes.* The fine food and a few pints of Dogfishhead IPA might explain why it took so much longer to get home.
> 
> The MUPs were empty, and the new one was finally open. No foolishness on the county highways, just a headwind.


Food or interns?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Picked up an extra day at work for the money and the chance to ride in. 53F and mostly windy. Roads were pretty bare since people were probably with their families. Always a good day to ride in if you ask me. I have been taking the lane on any road that has multiple lanes and no bike lane. I stay to the right, but not so far over where people think they can squeeze in and squeeze me out. Ride home was equally windy and 41F. Thought I might have underdressed but by the time I got home, I was sweating. I know you should always be a little cold when you start but with my Reynaud's and severe disdain of the cold it is hard for me to force myself to do it. Worked out perfectly tonight. Looking forward to riding in again tomorrow before the rain starts for pretty much the rest of the week.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning left much to be desired. Felt a little queasy as I geared up to walk out of the house. Then, I plop down on the saddle and feel it shift because the tension bolt on the seat post wasn't tight enough, so that had to be fixed. Then, I had a weird pain in my right knee. I've come up expect some stuff, due to 2 acl surgeries and early onset arthritis, but this was pretty bad. And I tried some green BG foot beds to alleviate cramping and discomfort, but they just made me cramp up more. 

I feel like I'm Alexander and this is about to turn in to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Let's hope not.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Picked up an extra day at work for the money and the chance to ride in. 53F and mostly windy. Roads were pretty bare since people were probably with their families. Always a good day to ride in if you ask me. I have been taking the lane on any road that has multiple lanes and no bike lane. I stay to the right, but not so far over where people think they can squeeze in and squeeze me out. Ride home was equally windy and 41F. Thought I might have underdressed but by the time I got home, I was sweating. I know you should always be a little cold when you start but with my Reynaud's and severe disdain of the cold it is hard for me to force myself to do it. Worked out perfectly tonight. Looking forward to riding in again tomorrow before the rain starts for pretty much the rest of the week.


You would think for a fella with such a hatred of the cold, you wouldn't live in Michigan. There's always room for another here at the beach.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I didn't commute Thurdsday afternoon or Friday. We had some crazy thunderstorms that dropped over 7" of rain. There was quite a bit of flooding in the area. I had a little water moving through my garage, but no damage. A bunch of people around the region had to be evacuated from their homes. The ride in felt good this morning.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Feeling weird again today. Can't taste any food and most drinks just taste bad, kinda like those bitter things that only some people can taste, forget what they're called.

That said, fastest commute of the year today.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

It rained Thursday and Friday of last week and my fendered bike is out of commission so I opted not to ride either day. Got back on the road bike Saturday for a beginners crit clinic and we ended up riding a full 33 miles by the end. It is in preparation for a local weekly crit training series that starts up in two weeks and will by my first foray into the world of road racing.

Commute this morning was excellent. My first shorts day of the year! Had a guy ask me for money while I was stopped at stoplight...not sure where he expected me to keep money...I wear lycra on my 15 mile each way commutes.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. I ended up taking Saturday off after a great ride on Friday night after work. The trails are mostly dried up and riding like they do in late May. But there was some mud, so Saturday I washed the bike and swapped rear tires. Before I took the Farley in to the shop I threw a 27TPI Nate on it just to see if the bead was destroyed as the guy I bought my lot of tires from a month or so back thought that it was a foldable as well. It's not... Anyway, the shop installed that tire and, while I love the Nate for traction, it's not so hot for commuting. Long story short, I mounted up a Devist8er UL on the Jackalope rim and it was so dead simple I couldn't believe it. Mounted and set with just a floor pump and held air with no sealant overnight. So I decided to go ride it on some rooty, gnarly stuff, trying to get it to burp or lose air and no go. Kept all the pressure through it all. 

Then I made the mistake of adding sealant. Not sure, but when I got up this AM, the tire was flat. Aired up no issues, so I hit it with some soapy water to see if I could figure out where it was leaking. Looks like a couple of spots at the bead. So I pumped it up to 30 or so and let it sit while finishing getting ready for the ride, then dropped it back down to 17 or so. Seems to be holding now. I'll head out at lunch to check to be sure. 

The Devist8er seems like it will be a good commuting and trail riding tire. The compound is hard enough that I think it will wear well and, apart from the muddy sections I was riding yesterday (on equestrian trails that are both always muddy and never were sustainably built) the tire didn't slip out once, even on some hairy climbs with damp roots and chaff. 

So this morning's ride was pretty standard. A bit chilly, with a few snow flakes here and there, but good, fast riding overall. The legs felt pretty spritely.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kleebs said:


> Got back on the road bike Saturday for a beginners crit clinic and we ended up riding a full 33 miles by the end. It is in preparation for a local weekly crit training series that starts up in two weeks and will by my first foray into the world of road racing.


Cool. I`m not into racing myself, but crits sure are fun to watch. Maybe as good as watching cyclocross.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Good ride this morning, nice weather today before the rain rolls in for the week.

Got my girlfriend a fatbike and we had a nice 13 mile ride on some rail trail style gravel pathway yesterday. She digs the fat tires and started asking about some easy singletrack to try.

After the commute home I'm going to meet up with my UPS driver to hit the trails. Need to get as much riding in as I can before mother nature revokes our good weather. I'm ready for more dirt riding after the nasty winter that kept me on pavement.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> Good ride this morning, nice weather today before the rain rolls in for the week.
> 
> Got my girlfriend a fatbike and we had a nice 13 mile ride on some rail trail style gravel pathway yesterday. She digs the fat tires and started asking about some easy singletrack to try.
> 
> After the commute home I'm going to meet up with my UPS driver to hit the trails. Need to get as much riding in as I can before mother nature revokes our good weather. I'm ready for more dirt riding after the nasty winter that kept me on pavement.


You ride with your UPS driver? Oh, this could be so good and so bad at the same time. Packages of bike stuff to your house first. That is good.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> You ride with your UPS driver? Oh, this could be so good and so bad at the same time. Packages of bike stuff to your house first. That is good.


Yep, actually my main UPS driver and our back-up driver both ride. My girlfriends fatbike came UPS and he came to our office early because he knew I was amped to get my hands on it. It's good to be friendly with your delivery drivers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Nice cycling weather*

More signs of spring:



It hailed today though. Grass is greening and kids are out on their bikes, including 'kids' who are AARP members.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thanks for the boost, still no signs of spring here! OK, that is not totally accurate, there is a 4'x20' area of my lawn that is not snow covered, and I have seen a robin, a red-winged blackbird, and some Canada geese (they took a U turn since the Dix reservoir had no open water).

Snow today midday, so the ride in was nice and clean at 20F, and the ride home was messy at around freezing. A net gain of an inch or two at my house.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful and half way warm today. 63F by the time I got to work. Stopped at the bike shop to refill my water bottle, cool down and remove my arm warmers which were not needed and look at the floor pumps. Will be investing in a decent floor pump soon. The wind is just kicking my butt and making the rides less than enjoyable. The ride home was much the same, decent at 42F but windy as hell again. Rethinking my rear light set up as feel vulnerable at night with just one blinker, be it as bright as it is. Going to try running a dual tomorrow night.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Well, it definitely isn`t winter here, but not many blue birds either- they`ve all blown away. Got a few hours of sloppy wet snow late last week.

A friend asked me about a bike for commuting- he has no DL and has been walking about a mile each way to work. Looks like I found a home for a rigid mtb that I bought and stashed out back a few years ago. And found a project, too . I scrounged a stem and flat bar for him that seems to fit well, have a nice set of Deore thumbies + Dia Compe brake levers to go on them. Did the wheels today, will strip tomorrow and start cleaning de-grunging parts. Need to order brake pads. Anybody tried these?
Amazon.com : Avid 20R V-Brake Pads : Bike Brake Pad Inserts : Sports & Outdoors
It says "One left in stock", but for that price, I bet one pad is plenty.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Today was great! Sunny and a balmy 6 deg Celsius. No discernible wind either. Fist time back on the bike for three weeks and loving every minute of it!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ha! You will be squealing instead of the brakes if you buy those!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> More signs of spring:


Us too, we had April showers here today... Except they were snow showers. None of our gardens with bulbs aren't clear of snow yet but we're getting closer. The temps this week make me think that yesterday's lake crossing may be the last. The lake is actually holding pretty well but the trails aren't. Scary receding frost too.



rodar y rodar said:


> It says "One left in stock", but for that price, I bet one pad is plenty.


I think I'd be buying new brakes if I had to replace those. I should look in my junk parts drawers, maybe I've got a $50 ebay item.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent commute this AM. Windy as all get out last evening and windy this AM in the valley. Light rain in town right now. Hoping that goes away before this afternoon as I was planning to button up my work early and put in some miles, but that might just have to wait. 

Being back on the Farley is nice. I still have a few adjustments to make, but overall it's good. The front brake is dragging just a touch, it seems. That or the rotor is warped. I'd take it to the shop, but they are so swamped right now that it'd take them forever to look at it. 

Might be able to get in some more snow rides this year if I travel up. Thinking Saturday I might head up to the mountains and see what is what. I know that one of the XC skiing areas is still being groomed, though that is scheduled to end tomorrow excepts for when the elite skiers come back from doing their thing around the world and if there is snow up there in May still. I have a sneaking suspicion that there won't be much up there at the rate we're going.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

At some point over the weekend I lubed one of my chains, and tossed the bottle back into my pannier. So this morning I discover a pannier that is completely sodden with at least a couple of ounces of chainsaw bar oil. :madman:

Suddenly my strategy of having one pannier for clothes/lunch/wallet and the other for tools/tube/lights/chainlube seems brilliant. (it's actually just so that I have one pannier to bring along on weekend rides and one to leave at home)

Otherwise a pleasant first-ever commute on my gryphon with its summer tires.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was able to squeak in my morning commute before the rain hit again. Thunderstorms are supposed to be more spotty in the afternoon. I'm crossing my fingers. I guess the good news is that it was 60F on the way in and is only going to get warmer.

In other news, some people added more coyote decoys to the property behind their buildings. I don't know what this company does. They seem to own three indiscreet buildings with barbed wire in the back. I never see cars in their parking lots, but I saw a security vehicle on patrol the other day and every once in a while I see someone leaving the complex or picking up the mail. The fake coyotes are a strange touch too, and someone apparently moves them from time to time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> At some point over the weekend I lubed one of my chains, and tossed the bottle back into my pannier. So this morning I discover a pannier that is completely sodden with at least a couple of ounces of chainsaw bar oil.


Whoops! I had a bottle of water lose its top to vibrations inside my handlebar bag once. Not as messy as bar oil I`m sure, but besides being down one bottle worth of water, my sandwiches were swimming. You really carry a whole pannier just for maintenance?



s0ckeyeus said:


> The fake coyotes are a strange touch too, and someone apparently moves them from time to time.


Maybe they`re just very lazy coyotes, not fakes.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> You really carry a whole pannier just for maintenance?


Volume-wise it's mostly-empty, but yeah.

Tube, chaintool, bag of spare quicklinks, a couple of junk straps, tire levers, spoke wrench, chainring wrench, hollowtech nubbin, normal patch kit, tubeless homebrew lazy patchkit, chain length checker, hex keys, torx key, grease, electrical tape, rag & toothbrush, minipump, chainlube, thin cable for locking the wheels, spare liner gloves and chemical handwarmers (will be going away soon), merino beanie, and lights.

A lot of it is because I randomly have the urge to do bike adjustments when I'm out riding. And I've been a good samaritan a bunch of times (I just gave away my 6th quicklink last week).

Every so often I try to pull something out - I got rid of a a small crescent wrench that I used to carry - but generally it's like why bother? There's already so much stuff that one or two items won't make a difference.


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## JordyB (Oct 26, 2007)

Haven't been commuting much...busy with life. I did get to commute yesterday and today, also voted on the way to work.

Bummer, I can't seem to direct link from Facewaste anymore...


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

JordyB said:


> Haven't been commuting much...busy with life. I did get to commute yesterday and today, also voted on the way to work.
> 
> Bummer, I can't seem to direct link from Facewaste anymore...


I haven't commuted by bike since I fixed my car. Sad really. Bikes been inside collecting dust. I told my gf I'm gonna spend some money doing maintenance on it so I can ride again to which she replied "no you aren't, you don't have time for that" like hell I do, I don't care if the ride to work now is crap vs the 15 mile ride through downtown it used to be (its now a 5 mile ride down one road)

I'll make it worth it.

Sent from my SM-N910P using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

m4xwellmurd3r said:


> I haven't commuted by bike since I fixed my car. Sad really. Bikes been inside collecting dust. I told my gf I'm gonna spend some money doing maintenance on it so I can ride again to which she replied "no you aren't, you don't have time for that" like hell I do, I don't care if the ride to work now is crap vs the 15 mile ride through downtown it used to be (its now a 5 mile ride down one road)
> 
> I'll make it worth it.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910P using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


Hmm...time for a new girlfriend?

I kid, I kid. I know that there are lots of times that the wife would like to see me stop bike commuting just because of the time involved, but the overall money saved makes up for that. I think.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

Haha she doesn't think I'll willingly ride to work when I have a perfectly functioning car.

I do want to get a roof rack for my car so I can take my bike to south mountain in phoenix. Its a riot to drive up and down that road, so I can only imagine how much of a thrill it'll be running down hill at full speed on a bike 

Lots of road bike people go up and down but they don't seem to be the type who would bomb down hill in jeans and a shirt at top speed. Boring folk
Sent from my SM-N910P using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, but felt a bit low energy on the way home, despite the nicer weather. The roads are in terrible shape, though, and it sounds like the planned "road diet" on part of my route (which would pare a scary 2 lane section down to one plus bike lane) may be delayed due to budget. In other news, a violent rapist is being released in the area after serving over 20 years for a local attack, and refusing any treatment the whole while. His previous attack may have been the result of him somehow causing flat tires on the woman's car. Ugh! Rapist's release generates concern : Times Argus Online


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ that sucks.

And I actually had to detour tonight because my route was closed because a body was found: Body found on riverbank near Government House - Edmonton - CBC News

Also, I broke a bell. I think this is #3 for my career. When I first started riding offroad I broke two in newbie OTBs, and after that I started mounting them behind the bar instead of on top of it where it's so easily smashable. But today (after 5+ years without incident) I slammed my knee right into the bell and off it popped.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in was alright, wind at my back and a nice 53° F with the sun peeking out a little here and there. Really bad habit of stopping at the shop but today was a necessity, well, it wasn't but I did tighten up the chain tension and recenter the rear wheel. I am getting to the point where I can feel when the chain tension is not right, and I was spot on. The customer repair area is an absolute wonderful thing and because of it, their business has really increased. The forecast called for possible rain and thunderstorms but a low chance. Left work with it being 43° and the wind in my face. It startled sprinkling a little here and there, and then as I got on the MUP it became a light drizzle. Stopped by the time I pulled up to my apartment though. Storms and rain for Wednesday and Thursday and my legs are really sore so I am going to take a break I think.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Caught, passed and parked an E-bike on the way home yesterday.
I don't really care if the other guy was racing me or not or if he cared or not.
It made my day and that's all I'm bother about


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I got in a bonus lake crossing/trail ride this morning. The forecast was supposed to be above freezing for the foreseeable future so I thought I was done with that this year. 1-4" of snow is forecast for overnight but the weekend is looking amazing!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The forecast for every week day for the next two weeks is rain and potential thunderstorms....ugh. So I went ahead and rode in this morning and just dealt with the drizzle and fog. Glad I did. I just feel a lot better when I ride in the morning. Not riding home though. A friend and I are meeting our better halves after work for some rock climbing and then I'll pack my bike in my wife's car for the drive home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> that sucks.
> 
> And I actually had to detour tonight because my route was closed because a body was found: Body found on riverbank near Government House - Edmonton - CBC News


Last summer I called in a body on the side of the trail here in Anchorage. They didn't shut the trail down. Then again, finding bodies along side the trails around here doesn't seem to be that strange of a thing, unfortunately.

Finished the day yesterday with a 13.5 miler to the bus and a 5 miler from the bus to home - with headwinds the whole time. Fun times. Today we're looking at rain and rain/snow mix. The morning ride was pretty good. We'll see what the afternoon brings. Maybe a blizzard.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

More April showers here. Didn't ride yesterday because of the rainy forecast which turned out to be barely anything, so I decided to suck it up and ride today. I should really figure out some decent rain gear, it's the biggest reason the bike stays at home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> More April showers here. Didn't ride yesterday because of the rainy forecast which turned out to be barely anything, so I decided to suck it up and ride today. I should really figure out some decent rain gear, it's the biggest reason the bike stays at home.


You know, I've yet to find rain gear that works for me on the bike. What I find is that I either end up getting wet from the outside because it wets through so quickly or I get wet from the inside because it is so unbreathable that I steam like a bag of broccoli in the microwave.

What I've ended up doing when it is raining enough to warrant rain gear is: 
Feet - SealSkinz socks with a thin merino liner -or- a neoprene shoe cover

Legs - Pearl Izumi AmFib tight. If the temp is low enough, a light weight wool long john under. The AmFib is awesome for keeping the front of the legs dry for most rain situations and has enough insulation to keep me warm, even if damp

Top - poly base layer, mid-weight merino long sleeve sweater (I/O Bio merino cardigan I picked up at a thrift shop. Good stuff), shell jacket of some type with some DWR properties (I have a Marmot jacket I usually wear, but have to say it's duribility is sub-par. I also have a couple of North Face Summit Series light jackets that have a decent amount of water resistance and work well.)

Hands - Outdoor Research Versaliner shells - these are awesome! The liner glove itself is not my favorite, but the shell provides some good water and wind resistance. I do need to pick up a new pair as mine are two years old and are showing their age. The shell glove is probably one piece of gear that gets used in more conditions than any other I have. I'll throw them on over a thin liner down into the low twenties, wear them in the rain by themselves or with a liner, over a midweight liner (ragwool gloves) into the low teens, over the same midweight liner and then stuffed into a heavy weight shell like my BD Guide or Soloist mitt for temps into the low, low single digits.

Head - usually just a buff. I'll swap the wet one out for a dry one when I stop or get on the bus.

Truth be told, I'd much rather ride in -17F and snow than in rain at any temp. But that's just me.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

yesterday was sick! fresh snow, hit up the river trails rather than the bike paths and had some fun.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

I used to ride with rain pants/jacket/shoe covers. Like blockphi, I found that if I wasn't getting wet from the rain, I was getting wet from the gear. Now I do one of two things: use a rain cape/shoe covers if I'm going to be out in the rain for a significant (20+ minutes) amount of time, or wear what I normally would (wool buff, shorts, shirt, wool socks) with two minor changes. One is swapping the shirt for a very lightweight long sleeve, and two is an ultralight vented rain jacket (not waterproof by itself, DWR). I've noticed that if I don't use a long sleeve, I wind up getting soaked from the inside due to condensation. The bibs/shorts/socks are thin enough that they'll dry by themselves by the time I go to use them again, and I'll wad up some newspaper in my shoes to help speed things along.

If you're talking about mid 30s rain, I've never found anything that I'd be comfortable in all day riding. But the above works out well for mid 40s to mid 60s. Above that, I'll just get wet.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I tried to thread the needle last night, but I got wet. It was warm though, so it wasn't bad. The only excitement for the ride was I hitting a little flood mud that had been dry on my other rides. It was very much not dry this time and quite a bit squirmier than anticipated. Stayed up though.

More rain in the forecast today. It's only the 8th, but it's already #7 on the list of wettest Aprils. We need to ship some of this moisture to the west coast.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

As a fulltime Seattle bike commuter I think I am qualified to talk about riding in the rain 

First you have to accept that you are going to get at least partially wet. Therefore you should focus on keeping the most important bits dry. For me it's my feet and my hands.

I wear a Showers Pass jacket (actually one of two based on the temperature). They breath relatively well and keep your upper body mostly dry.

Pearl Izumi elite tights. These just get wet. I tried lot's of brands of rain pants and never found any that I liked. IN the summer I wear shorts. My legs get wet and it's not a big deal.

Showers Pass Club Shoe covers. They do a great job keeping my feet dry.

I have a variety of gloves that I wear and cannot recommend a specific brand. They are all going to get wet in a good rain. The main thing is to bring a second pair for the ride home.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks guys, I may just stick with what I have then. Mostly I just wear stuff that will dry out quickly, I can put stuff on hangers at work and even blow a fan at my gear so most synthetic stuff is fine after an 8 hour day.

I ended up not really getting rained on today anyway. Almost got hit by a car, but that's another story.


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## m4xwellmurd3r (Oct 15, 2013)

I've ridden in light rain a few times. What really sucks is not expecting it. Then you get home with a wet back and wet legs from all the water slinged off the tires (no fenders) that's the other thing that sucks in the rain, no fenders

Sent from my SM-N910P using JellyBombed Tapatalk 2


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Last night - took the long way home and climbed up Holmenkollåsen (check it out on google if you've never seen it - it's Oslo's most popular tourist attraction. The good news is that the climb up one side of the hill gives you beautiful views over Oslofjord and then of course there is the descent too 

This morning was an early start - I was on the bike for 0600. I was super tired when packing my bag this morning and subsequently found out that I forgot to pack shorts... 

That's right - Ghost_HTX is coming at you commando...

Sorry...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ been there, done that. I now have a clothes packing routine that has me adding shorts right after socks. No more commando for me!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had to slam on the brakes big time for a dude on a cell phone. Less than 100 yards from where I work, there's a parking lot entrance/exit on the left side of the road just in front of a stop sign. This dude sort of stopped then pulled out directly in front of me and went pretty much all the way to the other side of the road. I was literally staring in his rear windshield. The guy behind him, a driver for Bumper to Bumper (a company that only seems to hire idiot drivers who don't see cyclists as legitimate human beings), cut me off after the turn. I kept my cool in the moment, but I was kind of pissed the rest of the ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Last night - took the long way home and climbed up Holmenkollåsen (check it out on google if you've never seen it - it's Oslo's most popular tourist attraction. The good news is that the climb up one side of the hill gives you beautiful views over Oslofjord and then of course there is the descent too
> 
> This morning was an early start - I was on the bike for 0600. I was super tired when packing my bag this morning and subsequently found out that I forgot to pack shorts...
> 
> ...


Pictures or it didn't happen....Holmenkollåsen, not the commando part :skep:

Speaking of pictures, here are some of the spring weather we are enjoying in Maine. The Candid Cyclist: Spring In Maine


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Crap ride home last night. Well, the ride wasn't too bad overall. Got some good miles in, but there was a "wintery mix" going on. Snow and rain - just not fun. Made it about 7 miles before I started to really wet through and then I was quite chilly for the bus ride and second leg of the commute - mostly my feet. 

This morning was good. A bit chilly and breezy in the valley. A bit chilly with flurries in town. Ended up taking one of my longer routes this AM. Actually saw two other riders this AM. Not something I am used to in the mornings. Guess it is a sure sign that spring is on its way.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

Road my 29er over my new fat bike. Went a bit longer (dryer in the pm) route.... Lost 6 minutes from my time on my fat bike. Have a damn click in the crank again.......


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Last night I rode from work to the Sarasota city hall (set up something like St. Paul/Minneapolis, or Bryan/College Station, large metro of two cities) for a transportation meeting regarding non motorized transport throughout the city. The fear mongers were out in full force, screaming that the city was looking to take away bike infrastructure and regulate bikes from the road completely. In reality, it was great to see what projects are in store, where the city is looking to fill some gaps, what their budgets are and what the timeline is for some of the big projects that everyone wants. Got interviewed for the local news, and the reporter couldn't wrap her head around the fact that I said "I don't own a car, so typically, if I go somewhere, I'm riding." 

The ride home from the meeting was very humbling with headwinds that cut me down to size very quickly. I was struggling to maintain 13 mph on level ground in the drops. It was rough, lol.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Another really nice friday morning for coffeeoutside.

(one of the regulars is running in our farcical provincial election)


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Damp and glorious. 20 mph tailwinds helped me set several PRs on the way in. 59F and not a lot of traffic either, so it was an outstanding ride to work. Hoping the wind dies down for the ride home though.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

May the wind gods favor you and change the direction for your ride home. There's nothing more humbling than a face full of headwind and burning legs.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Not too chilly and the trails are getting ever more clear of ice and debris. Won't be riding home tonight as the fam has to come into town for a track meet for the kids, so I'll be catching a lift with them. I'm hopeful that I can get some good riding in this weekend, but we'll see.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy and spoogy, but some snow is melting and sublimating.


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## dfp23 (Aug 27, 2013)

*AZ Commuting*









Absolutely beautiful weather in AZ- 65+


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## evandy (Oct 3, 2012)

First really NICE weekend this year... time for spring maintenance.
- Winter Tires swapped out; so much quieter without the studs
- Finally got around to installing the crosstop levers sitting in my parts bin for 9 months
- Cleaned everything off
- Adjusted cable tension all around
- Chain and brake pads look OK for now

On the "boo" side; without the studs, I can finally hear the bearings clacking in my Shimano External-bearing BB. Have ordered a new one. Will have fun next weekend installing it.

Also, tried converting the front wheel over to tubeless, but found out that the 909 Shrader valves I got are too wide to let the tire bead get into the slot. Need to decide whether to grind them down, try presta valves in the schrader holes, or just leave everything tubed.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

17 commutes so far this season, maybe a dozen off-road excursions. I did my first real rainy commute this past week. Rain/snow mix, actually. It revealed to me that I need better foul weather gear if i'm going to keep tallying commutes in the rain. 

Spring feels official in MN now, little likelihood of snow any longer. Gonna rack up some good riding right soon I think. 100 pedal-powered commutes certainly seems possible, maybe even probable now.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great day in on the bike minus the wind. A friend came over and rode with me just to see what a commute would be like. He is considering riding to work at least 3 times a week but his commute would be about 1 and 1/2 what mine is and he just isn't sure yet. Having the company sure was nice as my rides are 99.99999% solo. He got a good idea of what the wind would be like as he would be heading the same direction in from his house. Ride home was uneventful. Decided not to adjust my rear tire in the dropouts when I got out of work and made it home but I can feel that it is off.

Tomorrow I will do that and fix the flat I have on the Jamis and maybe take that one to work for a change.


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2015)

Cheated and rode the road bike today. I fell behind in prep and needed to make time somewhere. Looks like the better plan as I'll be racing showers home this evening. On the plus side, my new road bike does seem to fit the long club ride bill.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Busted out a grueling and extremely hot 85 miles today. I might ride in tomorrow. Maybe I won't. We'll see how the legs feel in the morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in, a bit windy again, but 63F and sunny. Lots of pedestrian and cyclist traffic on the MUP today which was no surprise. Lots of hustle and bustle on the sidewalks along campus. I was doing 25 mph or so in traffic as I approached a fairly busy intersection. Mom and her son are waiting to cross the street with their bikes, kid was I dunno, 4 or 5? He got really excited and was poking his mom to get her to notice. He started waving frantically and had this huge smile on his face. I threw up the peace sign and gave him a huge smile back as I passed. All I heard was "wwwwwooooooooowwwww." I think I made that kids day. After that, the rest of my ride had me smiling and cranking hard.

As I got to the split where the bike lane starts, I started thinking, you know, I know why drivers get pissed off at cyclists. We are all over the place. On sidewalks, bike lanes, the road, cutting across lawns, etc. Prime example....today, I pass I dunno 5 people riding on the sidewalk when there is a perfectly good and wide bike lane for us to use. The sidewalk down there really sucks, and there are so many driveways and streets and pedestrians and bus stops. Why wouldn't you ride the bike lane? Then you get people that half follow the rules of the road, busting off curbs, running lights, running stop signs, etc. I can see why non cyclist drivers get so annoyed and pissed off. In a sense, some of us act like total a-holes with no regard for the rules of the road and think that they don't apply to us.

[/rant] Ride home was rather fast as the rain was coming that I never saw in the forecast. It had rained already, and the roads were half dry. I flew home and pulled in right as it started to do more than just a light drizzle. Not much traffic on a Sunday night at 11:30PM so the roads were fairly empty. No commute tomorrow with rain and thunderstorms in the forecast, and an 80% chance of storms through the night.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Cool - It really makes my day when you get some love from passers by. The other day I get asked by a 5-6 year old as I zipped past "er du med i Frankerike rundt?" (Basically - do you ride the Tour de France?)... I think he was taking the piss, though...  I think the drop bars on my 26er had him a wee bit confused too.

As for my ride today - it was lovely. Sunny with a slight head wind. Legs felt good too!
Problem was I forgot to close the zip on the small compartment of my bag. You know the one - where your put your keys, phone, wallet, tablet, reading glasses etc...

Luckily nothing seems to be lost


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Good news bad news kind of riding.

I got my girlfriend a fatbike for when we do rail trails because she likes mine and she decided she wanted to try some single track. Took her out for her first ever MTB ride on Sunday and she loved it, 12.2 miles in total and she did really well.

Bad news is my streak of luck continues, got my first ever MTB flat on the ride with my girlfriend, ended up walking/jogging the last mile. No idea what caused it, I pulled the tube and I can't find a puncture. Put some air in it and it held overnight 

Today on the ride in the bolt holding my rack to the stays came loose and fell out. Managed to find the bolt, couldn't find the spacer that keep it from hitting the disc brakes. Rigged something up when I got to work using some nuts and a piece of cardboard. I'm ready for this streak to end now...


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Ride home Friday was brutal as I expected. Those glorious tailwinds from the morning were pounding me head on for the way home. I opted to add on some extra miles anyway to get ready for the race season. Even with the wind, it was a beautiful sunny day so I didn't mind too much. 

This morning was excellent as well. 57 and not a cloud in the sky. Traffic was light and I made good time. Got to work and....forgot my keys at home, so I couldn't lock my bike to the rack and I'm going to have to hope my neighbor is home this evening so I can get my spare.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

My first official commute to work. Instead of lurking and reading others, I made my commute. 15.2 miles all bike lane/sidewalk did it just over an hour. After doing "weeks" of reading, I purchased Big Apples and got them on my rims Friday. I ride a 2011 Gary Fisher (Trek) X-Cal. Luckily, this weekend was the Trek (Bontrager) sale. I was able to pick up the seat post rack and the Bontrager "Trunk" with fold out panniers. I was nervous about getting everything I needed in the bag, but shockingly everything I wanted to bring fit. I'm very fortunate to have a shower and a locker at work. Having read a lot of this forum, I had prestaged my work clothes last week. I'll only have to bring clean socks and under garments.

My initial goal is to commute Mon & Wed. Use Fridays to bring clean towel and clothes. Eventually I want to get up to 4 days a week.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

^Welcome!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Glad to have you join our insanity!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Jelako said:


> My first official commute to work. Instead of lurking and reading others, I made my commute. 15.2 miles all bike lane/sidewalk did it just over an hour. After doing "weeks" of reading, I purchased Big Apples and got them on my rims Friday. I ride a 2011 Gary Fisher (Trek) X-Cal. Luckily, this weekend was the Trek (Bontrager) sale. I was able to pick up the seat post rack and the Bontrager "Trunk" with fold out panniers. I was nervous about getting everything I needed in the bag, but shockingly everything I wanted to bring fit. I'm very fortunate to have a shower and a locker at work. Having read a lot of this forum, I had prestaged my work clothes last week. I'll only have to bring clean socks and under garments.
> 
> My initial goal is to commute Mon & Wed. Use Fridays to bring clean towel and clothes. Eventually I want to get up to 4 days a week.


Welcome!!! Sounds like you did your research, figured out what you needed, and got everything planned out. Jealous of your work set up with the shower and locker. Still working on getting that for myself if possible. A shower is available, but no locker at this time, so I would have to carry everything every day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> My first official commute to work. Instead of lurking and reading others, I made my commute. 15.2 miles all bike lane/sidewalk did it just over an hour. After doing "weeks" of reading, I purchased Big Apples and got them on my rims Friday. I ride a 2011 Gary Fisher (Trek) X-Cal. Luckily, this weekend was the Trek (Bontrager) sale. I was able to pick up the seat post rack and the Bontrager "Trunk" with fold out panniers. I was nervous about getting everything I needed in the bag, but shockingly everything I wanted to bring fit. I'm very fortunate to have a shower and a locker at work. Having read a lot of this forum, I had prestaged my work clothes last week. I'll only have to bring clean socks and under garments.
> 
> My initial goal is to commute Mon & Wed. Use Fridays to bring clean towel and clothes. Eventually I want to get up to 4 days a week.


 Sounds like you have a similar and perfect bike commuting situation. I stage my clothes for a week at a time too. If you only had a wife that worked with you and needed a car at work you could get that up to 5 days a week.

Don't be shy about asking for advice here, it's a friendly group.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

On the way home this evening I caught and passed an older guy on an e bike. I felt great! Until another older guy caught and passed me on an ancient Trek hybrid with saddle bags and a back pack... 

I love biking to work


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> On the way home this evening I caught and passed an older guy on an e bike. I felt great! Until another older guy caught and passed me on an ancient Trek hybrid with saddle bags and a back pack...
> 
> I love biking to work


 For me (at 52) it's not about age that much (most riders are younger) it's about the second thing you mentioned (ancient Trek hybrid). I was passed early last year by a guy wearing flipflops and old basketball shorts on a walmart special bike. That was my low point for a while, then I got passed by a guy carrying a bag of aluminum cans. Granted both these guys were 20 years (or more younger) and riding skinny tires, but the second guy was basically a homeless guy riding one handed. I'm not particularly slow, but there are days when I wonder.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

This is the time of year I love, on my clunky/abused city commuter a lot of the roadies under estimate me at stop lights. Little do they know, I've been riding almost non-stop, so my legs are a bit stronger than them. I love smoking them off the line or staying with them light after light.

Rough commute, I broke a spoke the other day, but kept riding because I had to. Well leaving work today, I noticed my wheel was especially screwed up. Took it to the bike shop and I actually broke 2 spokes. Rode it home with the promise I'd return tomorrow to get it fixed. Thankfully, I have a spare(s) bike to ride while that wheel is in the shop. Also I got a nice compliment from the bike mechanic, he looked at my clunky, abused commuter and said "Looks like you've really been using it how it was meant to be used."


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

That's a great pleasure of mine too - hunting for road warriors. What with their toned shaved legs and skinny little tires and bikes that weight less than my left testicle... Not that I'm jealous, understand .

When I used to cycle through the winter I noticed the same thing - mashing through nasty head winds in a couple centimetres of gravely slushy snow on studded tires does wonders for the legs! The fair weather cyclists that start coming out at this time of year on their high end road bikes don't appreciate this 

Forster - when I said the guy on the e-bike was older - I meant "old". He was not far from 70 in my estimation. In great shape, but not far from 70. Nice guy too - I got chatting to him at the traffic lights - well, he was chatting, I was struggling to get my breath back after passing him...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

First T shirt and shorts ride for the way home yesterday! It would have been more fun without the wind, but I guess the big jump in temps had something to do with that. Stopped at the LBS and got the new Specialized Myth (women's) saddle at their 20% off sale. I've had good luck with Specialized saddles and this one has gotten some good reviews.

I had a too-close-for-comfort call in the morning. I had moved onto the left lane to continue forward (the right lane is right turn only) and was pedaling on toward the green light, when a pickup started veering toward me from my left. At first I assumed it was also going straight and was just bad at maintaining his line, but no, he kept veering and turned in front of me to make the right turn from the left side of the wrong lane. Unbelievable. He left to a bunch of arm waving and yelling in his rear view, but I doubt he even noticed.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ those can be tricky mtbxplorer. Glad that you are alright and there was not an incident. I deal with one of those daily on my commute, where the right turn lane takes over the bike lane which continues on after the intersection. People coming up from behind usually can see you, but they decide to speed up, veer over, and just pass and turn right in front of you, like you aren't even there.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> For me (at 52) it's not about age that much (most riders are younger) it's about the second thing you mentioned (ancient Trek hybrid). I was passed early last year by a guy wearing flipflops and old basketball shorts on a walmart special bike. That was my low point for a while, then I got passed by a guy carrying a bag of aluminum cans. Granted both these guys were 20 years (or more younger) and riding skinny tires, but the second guy was basically a homeless guy riding one handed. I'm not particularly slow, but there are days when I wonder.


Um, if you get passed by somebody riding one handed hauling a bag of cans you may be particularly slow.:skep: Either that or he was on crack, that might get you moving.

All of a sudden it is spring here. We've melted about 2' of snow off the ground in about a week. It looks like shorts commutes for the whole week. It's really not a bad deal, we got great winter riding conditions and then jumped into the 60s.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute yesterday due to the type of sinus headache that makes it impossible to see straight. So I worked from home. Had a nice ride back this morning, though. Chilly, but not bad. Grabbed the long route in town. 

Had a great ride on Saturday with my son. We went and explored some creek bed. Awesome times. A mix of crust snow, rock, mud, and sand. Fun, fun. Though I suspect that I may have bent my brand new Jackalope wheel. I had a sudden loss of pressure transitioning from dirt to snow, but didn't hit anything during that transition. Looking at the wheel after I got home, it appears that there is a dent in the rim right at the bead shelf where, if I dropped pressure low enough, could get to burp just by pushing on it. Now I just need to figure out if I should take it to the shop to have it actually checked out or just leave it because, obviously, if it is bent that is my bad - though it seems pretty chintzy that one ride off piste would result in a bent rim. 

A couple of pictures from the day are over at my blog. Too lazy to post them here. No, I kid. Don't have the images on my work machine.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I never get passed by another cyclist on my commute. Thank god I`m the only one- if there WERE any homeless recycle toting old guy flip-floppin e-bike geezers, I`d be feelin the shame too!

Very windy last night. Wind turned into rain some time in the early morning, but I never caught the rain in the act. It was really weird- every time I went outside the ground was wetter than it had been on the last round, but nothing ever falling from the sky. I was starting to wonder if the building dept had turned on the sprinklers and the water was blowing over until it got light out and I could see that heavy clouds had moved in. On and off snow flurries since then.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi all, 
I've been on Spring Break for the past week...back in action this morning. Did a fun big ride on the fatbike and got it into some snow, which was fun. The 3k feet of climbing on that ride wasn't as fun...ha. Super sore from some back-to-back firewood runs... I never cut wood this early, but you may recall some pics a while back of an epic windstorm we had... they opened up a section of the forest for cutting and it's the easiest firewood you can imagine. Pick a perfect down lodgepole, limb it, buck it, load it...home before lunch.

Rodar, we got snow last night over here, no real rain. That wind was pretty crazy last night, and we woke up to a dusting. Weird.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I got smoked on my ride home yesterday. Weather was beautiful and sunny all day, reaching a high of 80F around 3pm. I couldn't wait to get on my bike! Around 5 I looked outside as I was preparing to leave work, and it was dark and cloudy and had just started raining. What a bummer. I had a commitment that evening so I needed to leave anyway, so I changed and loaded my stuff into my backpack and braced myself for a soggy ride home. I was miserable for the first 10 minutes. After anticipating sun and 80F all day, the temperature had dropped to 60 with hard driving rain and strong wind gusts which of course were head on (because when aren't they?).

A funny thing happened after that first ten minutes though. I was completely soaked from head to toe, but for some reason I couldn't stop from smiling like an idiot. There was no lightning so I had nothing to fear from mother nature, and the temperature was still pretty pleasant all things considered. All of a sudden, I felt like a kid playing in the rain. It was fun! The rain was coming down in buckets at one point. Felt like riding through the kid's splash zone at the water park. 

And to top it all off, my neighbors were home to give me my spare key, my backpack kept everything inside completely dry despite the downpour, and my shoes haven't been this clear of mud since I bought them! That goes down as one of my most memorable commutes so far.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Day 2

I wouldn't have it any other way but the commute home last night was nothing but down pour raining. The cool thing about my new "Trunk" is that it has a folded "rain poncho". It did it's job and kept the contents dry. I now understand and appreciate the function of fenders. I don't have them. I would have liked them. High on the list if/when the day comes I purchase a dedicated commuting bike designed for the purpose of commuting.

Ride in this morning was completely overcast and mist/fog. It's only the 2nd day but the Big Apples really do provide a nice ride. I made the commute in the same time frame.

Just starting out though, I think i'm going to give my legs and my butt a day off tomorrow. New saddle is high on my list, but I had to get the tires and the trunk first.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I actually saw someone on a bike this morning, and it was raining nonetheless. I am tired of all the rain we've been getting. My crankset was groaning like a mofo last week. Since my crank is goofy, I had to take off the drive side to check the crankbolts, if you can call them that (tiny little things). They were super loose. I have also started getting a squeak in the back when I pedal. It might be the freehub, or I guess it's possible one of the jockey wheels is rusted a little and needs some lube. The sound tends to go away after I ride for a few minutes. I'm not super concerned about it but should probably take a look.


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## solarplex (Apr 11, 2014)

60km head winds! Bring it! Yesterdays 60km tail wind was too good to be true i guess, today is yesterdays hangover!


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

Had a great commute this morning. 75F Little tail wind and even got to see a western diamondback sunning on the trail. I made an exception to the whole stay on the trail in order to give him plenty of room. Then about a half mile later saw five more sunning in the trail. The funny thing is there was a jack rabbit and a few quail chilling with the rattlers. They must not have been very hungry. Anyway did 8 miles in 1:04 averaging 7.4mph and 147 heart beats per minutes.

On the way home sucked a bit. I was fighting a 15mph headwind. My computer said it was 91.5F but weather.com said it was only 87. Passed a jogger just before a nasty climb then he passed me on the climb. It was at the last 1.5 miles and I did not have the steam to stop it from happening. I blew past him when it flatted out for little consolation. Despite the headwind and feeling like I was crawling home I actually did the trip home in 59 minutes at 154 heart beats per minute.

Picture of the Diamondback. Sorry its a crappy cell phone picture from a nice safe distance.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ that is pretty sweet, but makes me nervous at the same time. I would have given him plenty of room as well.

Ride today? Awesome. Windy, but still awesome. 63F and sunny on the way in and 53F and clear on the ride home. Still have to wear arm warmers at night with a t shirt to stay warm. Perfect combo tonight to be honest. Wednesday will be the last commute of the week for me as I am off Thursday and will be heading to Chicago on Friday to see my cute little nephew who is now walking. Taking my bike because you always take your bike. Might be acquiring a little something something while I am there. Still in the works.


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## Guest (Apr 15, 2015)

Chilly ride with spitting drizzle. Would have been better if I'd remembered a jacket and gloves with fingers. I'm pretty new to commuting (only starting my 32nd year) so I'm giving myself a pass. When I'm older (like 60) I'll have learned theses lessons for good.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. A bit windy again in the valley, but decent in town. Seeing more cyclists in the mornings. I kinda miss being the only one out there.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Forster, do you have 32 years commuting by bike or commuting in general? That`s a lot of pedal rotations, if it`s your bike total 

Perfect weather, great ride. I took several pictures for Xplorer`s "Calling All Commuters" thread and couldn`t make up my mind between the one I put there and this one, so...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Nice weather here, and terrific trails for the rides home.

Big news yesterday when our city council approved 2 new protected/separated bike routes.

These will run north<>south, which is important because right now there really aren't any options. Getting east<>west isn't bad, but because of where rail lines used to be there we are really lacking good north<>south routes.

The roads they've picked are the ones I would use anyway. Except that right now they're a pain because you have to deal with 4-way stops, badly timed lights, dismounting at various spots, and etc. So I would have been happy if they'd just spent a few bucks to make being a cyclist easier, but if they want to go whole-hog that's okay too.

The final designs haven't been released yet so they might still screw things up. But they do actually seem to be taking it pretty seriously.

The winner of the crazy-online-commentor award goes to:


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## Guest (Apr 15, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Forster, do you have 32 years commuting by bike or commuting in general? That`s a lot of pedal rotations, if it`s your bike total
> 
> Perfect weather, great ride. I took several pictures for Xplorer`s "Calling All Commuters" thread and couldn`t make up my mind between the one I put there and this one, so...


 32 years of commuting by bike. I figure my lowest mileage years were a minimum 40 rides of 16 miles (round trip) and my high side is probably 100 rides of 20-38 miles (round trip - mileage varies based on road conditions forcing me to drive part way). I've had a few 6K+ years but as I age and get busy with my son the miles have tapered a bit. 2.5K of commuting last year, probably another 500 miles of club rides.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm just gonna put this here :eekster:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Sorry commuting lately. No time, just swamped with work and school and preparing for a conference this last weekend and now catching up on work...etc.

That said, yesterday was good. Perfect weather. Saw a guy in cycling kit a mile ahead on the trail. Picked up the pace because I just had to beat him. Gaining on him pretty good for a few minutes and he hit this hill that comes up. As he was rounding the peak he got passed by me - hipster douche in jeans, with a backpack, steel frame single speed - going full speed up the hill. He looked relatively defeated. Give it two weeks, he'll probably whoop me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My rides were fine, but sad...
A husband and wife went out for a ride yesterday. At 5:30 pm a drunk driver with a "criminally suspended" license hit the husband head on on a back road and killed him. Police: Drunk driver charged in fatal bicycle accident - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The Weather Channel covers VT Mud Season http://www.weather.com/tv/shows/amhq/video/mud-season-in-vermont


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another beautiful but windy day here. Getting sick of battling headwinds both ways. Seems like it never fails! Got right hooked by a car, threw my hands up, and then right hooked AGAIN by a trailing car, same right hand turn, right in front of me. Co worker saw the whole thing go down. She asked me about it at a light further down the road. Beat an incoming storm home by at least a half an hour if not more. Radar looked like it was moving pretty fast but I must be faster. 

NDD - nice going, you hipster douche in jeans on your singlespeed.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

My trip in yesterday morning was great! Sunny and (relatively) warm at 3 degrees C. I know it's wrong but I wore ear buds on the way in - I really needed some musical motivation - and got so motivated that I blew away my personal best up this local climb! Yes I use Strava - yes, you can hate me if you like 

The trip home? Sunny to start, so I eschewed the Goretex in favour of a regular under shirt + cycling shirt. Then it rained. Freezing cold rain +2degC rain... Which turned to hail (hale?) and thunder about two minutes after I got home

Today's commute in was just fine - except that I had a major brake lock up avoiding another cyclist - I was on the cycle path pedalling down a -2% gradient (doing about 30kph) when this cyclist climbing up the hill in the opposite direction decides to hop from the road to the bike path, crossing right in front of me... 

The road goes like;


| bikes v | bikes^| cars v | cars^ |


He came straight from the road (in the correct lane) and across me!

And I thought it was the pedestrians and drivers we needed to look out for... 

Oh, and mtbxplorer; I hope that DUI guy gets the full 17 years. Even then it isn't enough.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> The Weather Channel covers VT Mud Season http://www.weather.com/tv/shows/amhq/video/mud-season-in-vermont


They make it sounds like it is unique to Vermont. Most states with a deep frost are going to have a mud season.

Sad news about the fatality! You just never know which ride is going to be your last.

We had a chilly start to the morning but I still got in a good ride! Spring (mud season) is in the air - finally!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Another flat on the way home last night, I think that's 6 in the past month. My stack of spare tubes is basically depleted.

This morning however was perfect riding weather. 50F, sunny, a little bit of wind to make it interested. Turned my 6 mile commute into a 15 mile ride around town. Left early and cruised around, it was awesome. Rode the CX bike instead of the SS and I hit 25.7mph on a 25mph speed limit section of road, according to my GPS I hit 29mph at some point on the ride but I'm not sure where I did that.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

38F and light rain this AM. Not my favorite conditions, but it is what it is. Had a nice, longer ride home last night. On track for my first 500 mile month of the year. Will still have to step it up quite a bit to hit my 8K goal for the year. But the days are getting longer, so that'll help quite a bit.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Had to do drop off with the kiddo this morning, so I had to drive. My wife gets out of work too late to get home in time for me to ride, or even drive to work on time, so I bring him to work with me mornings after she works and she picks him up. I was able to ride Mon/Tues/Wed though, so that was good. That will pretty much be the best I can ever do for the foreseeable future. I figure I'll be averaging 2 days a week this year, with the occasional 3 day week. I'm in the office 4 days, so at least that's more than 50%. 

Had a run-in yesterday. I took the lane to turn left at a stop sign and a guy in a pickup got pissed and yelled "get out of the f***ing road s**thead!". I just ignored him. I'm actually a little curious about what many of you would have done in the situation I was in:

There was a T intersection, I was coming from the direction that I had to turn either left or right, I was going left. I had a stop sign, but the other 2 directions didn't. There was a line of maybe 15 cars at the stop sign in the direction I was going. That intersection moves SLOW, so I went around the line of cars (which is legal in MA), then when I got 3 cars from the front, I saw the 2 front cars had their right turn signal on and there was a bit of space between them and the next car (the truck that yelled at me). I merged into the lane so I could turn left. That's when the driver directly behind me got pissed. Would you have waited in the whole line? I'm not sure what I could have safely done otherwise.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

blockphi said:


> 38F and light rain this AM. Not my favorite conditions, but it is what it is. Had a nice, longer ride home last night. On track for my first 500 mile month of the year. Will still have to step it up quite a bit to hit my 8K goal for the year. But the days are getting longer, so that'll help quite a bit.


You kind of make me feel like a wimp. I'll be happy if I get 3k this year.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I took the last two days off because I had a road race back home on Tuesday that I needed to drive to get to on time, and yesterday I had a job interview on the other side of town in the afternoon. Interview went well but...they don't have any shower facilities and it's kind of out in the boonies. I know I'm a little spoiled with showers at work, but I'm not sure how I would make it work without them. My commute would be 15 miles each way, so I get pretty sweaty, especially in the summer. I guess I can figure that out if I get to that point. Just to think that a year ago I wouldn't have considered commutability in a job decision haha.

Commute this morning was not bad. A bit chilly with a headwind which is unusual for my ride to work in the morning. Cars were all very well behaved. My issue was the other cyclists. I had the slow guy that went around me in the bike lane at every red light to run the red and then I had to pass him again immediately after. I always hope that guys like that will succomb to the peer pressure of being the one that breaks the law when the faster dude is willing to stop and wait, but it rarely works.

Also had to deal with someone riding the wrong way in the bike lane. He saw me coming and moved way out almost to the center line....but then moved right back into the wrong bike lane after I passed him. I shouted a gentle "wrong way man!" but I know it won't do any good.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

back on the bike 

2 weeks in the windward islands 

9 days sailing.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

My commute in was foggy and snowy. I usually ride the trails to avoid the cars, but, I can't ride the trails when the snow is as deep as it was today. I'm always worried about a car hitting me when I'm on the road, but fortunately no problems today...I don't know how you road bikers do it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

OK, here is a little Thursday cheer for you all.

WARNING: This video contains the F word. If you are offended by the F word, DON'T CLICK. If you are at work PUT YOUR HEADPHONES ON OR TURN YOUR VOLUME DOWN!

This is commuting related


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, that's horrible... no words. 


I was getting a squishy tire yesterday on the commute home. Tubeless sealant caught it and saved me from having to do any stopping or anything (score another point for tubeless) but I had to run off and do other things right away when I got home, so I never got to it (was going to give it a shot of sealant and see if I could find the culprit). I forgot about it until this morning when I went to grab the bike... still holding air, but I was nervous... I have nice new tires on the MTB that I don't want to waste on pavement...those things are expensive... so I went for the fatbike (since I now have a fatbike. Have I mentioned that? ). Heavy, slow, glorious commute :lol: 

I think it's beyond time to take the (unused this year) studs off of the 'cross bike wheels and get that almost-road-bike running again. Man that would feel fast.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Re Straz85 encounter with the chucklehead at a T intersection--

You played it right. I'm pretty sure I would've done likewise. I try not to mix with traffic, but when I do, I move quickly (nobody would accuse me of dawdling) and I own the lane.

And kudos for ignoring that turkey. I might've invited him to pull over for further discussion on one of my lesser days.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> They make it sounds like it is unique to Vermont. Most states with a deep frost are going to have a mud season.


From a great VT author...
March in Vermont? Here's to mud in your eye!

One advantage Maine has over VT is plenty of gravel deposits - whereas our dirt is dirt! And we are 55% dirt!


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

My commute is about to gain a mile! (a good thing, really) Bridge work is commencing on a key bridge on my shortest/usual route. When I turned the corner this morning to begin the short climb up the bridge, I was greeted with orange barrels and signs. I was able to slip through today in both commutes without offending anybody but I don't think that'll be possible maybe as soon as tomorrow. The hardest part will be giving myself the extra time so I'm not late.

So now I'll be crossing a grand total of two pedestrian bridges for each ride--one being a part of my regular commute--since the next closest crossing of a seriously busy thoroughfare is a ped bridge 1/4 mile past the vehicle bridge that'll be temporarily closing. So, not a real big detour. But more hike-a-bike up (and down) steps...

I'll take a pic soon to post here. I hustle up the steps, shouldering the bike, zip 75ft (?) across on my bike--just enough of a run to get a little speed up (I ride across because no peds are EVER on these  only to have to squelch it all with the brakes, dismount and carry the bike down the steps. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for this option. It's the quickest, safest, shortest route across a busy road... but now 2! I'm gonna feel like Rocky!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> OK, here is a little Thursday cheer for you all.


Pretty funny, but I like this one better:





Same sentiment, but no F-ing involved.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> Would you have waited in the whole line? I'm not sure what I could have safely done otherwise.


Hmmmm.... I most likely would have, but just cause I`m a sheep. Doing it your way also makes sense to me, though. Tough situation- glad it didn`t get ugly.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Afterthought on the Straz T-intersection dilemma, but for some reason I haven`t been able to edit posts from this computer for the past 6 months or so.

I know how frustrating that slow left turn can be, when a lot of people all have to wait for few and far between spaces to make their move. Would it be feasible to make a right, then a left at the next block or into some kind of driveway or parking lot, THEN get back into traffic with a right to put you in the direction you needed to go originally? A lot of extra screwing around, but maybe less stressfull and simpler in the end.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Straz85 said:


> There was a T intersection, I was coming from the direction that I had to turn either left or right, I was going left. I had a stop sign, but the other 2 directions didn't. There was a line of maybe 15 cars at the stop sign in the direction I was going. That intersection moves SLOW, so I went around the line of cars (which is legal in MA), then when I got 3 cars from the front, I saw the 2 front cars had their right turn signal on and there was a bit of space between them and the next car (the truck that yelled at me). I merged into the lane so I could turn left. That's when the driver directly behind me got pissed. Would you have waited in the whole line? I'm not sure what I could have safely done otherwise.


I will go around cars to the stop line at a light, but at a stop sign I will wait in line. My theory being that at a light I am not delaying anyone, we can all roll when it turns green, but at a stop sign I look at it as cutting the line/taking someone's turn. Plus it seems more dangerous, they are more liable to roll a stop and possibly make a turn into me. If there is a right turn lane and we are all going right on red at a light, I don't pass either.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Straz85 said:


> There was a T intersection, I was coming from the direction that I had to turn either left or right, I was going left. I had a stop sign, but the other 2 directions didn't. There was a line of maybe 15 cars at the stop sign in the direction I was going. That intersection moves SLOW, so I went around the line of cars (which is legal in MA), then when I got 3 cars from the front, I saw the 2 front cars had their right turn signal on and there was a bit of space between them and the next car (the truck that yelled at me). I merged into the lane so I could turn left. That's when the driver directly behind me got pissed. Would you have waited in the whole line? I'm not sure what I could have safely done otherwise.


I would have moved into the middle of the lane and taken my place in line. It think this is the best practice in most situations. The only time I pass cars on the right is when I'm in a bike lane, or maybe a road with a big shoulder when I'm not looking at getting into the line of traffic. Even if there had been a bike lane, I think I still would have pulled into traffic and taken my place in line. It's just easier.

One problem with pulling in front of a bunch of people, other than pissing them off, is that many times those same cars will have to pass you again. Waiting in line takes longer, but it minimizes the chance of conflict. That's my take at least.

I have a stop light on my commute, also a T intersection, that gets backed up in the morning. I take a left on a street about 30-40 yards away from the light. Sometimes I'm tempted to pass the line of cars in the right hand turning lane, pull in front of some cars, and take my turn. I could get away with it, but I think waiting is better for drivers and safer for me too. It kind of gets annoying sometimes, but that's just life sometimes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Straz85 said:


> There was a T intersection, I was coming from the direction that I had to turn either left or right, I was going left. I had a stop sign, but the other 2 directions didn't. There was a line of maybe 15 cars at the stop sign in the direction I was going. That intersection moves SLOW, so I went around the line of cars (which is legal in MA), then when I got 3 cars from the front, I saw the 2 front cars had their right turn signal on and there was a bit of space between them and the next car (the truck that yelled at me). I merged into the lane so I could turn left. That's when the driver directly behind me got pissed. Would you have waited in the whole line? I'm not sure what I could have safely done otherwise.


I assume you passed the line of cars on the left which means there was room. I would have stopped behind the 2 cars that were turning right and then turned beside the first car that was turning left at the same time.

It is definitely a double standard. It's perfectly fine for cars to pass you and then make you wait behind them in a line but drivers can't accept the fact that you can pass them in certain traffic situations and then make them wait in line behind a bike. God forbid!



rodar y rodar said:


> Pretty funny, but I like this one better:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd seen both of those before and in my mind they were the same video.

Commute in was good. Damp and cool but I ended up riding 24 miles.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I assume you passed the line of cars on the left which means there was room. I would have stopped behind the 2 cars that were turning right and then turned beside the first car that was turning left at the same time.
> 
> It is definitely a double standard. It's perfectly fine for cars to pass you and then make you wait behind them in a line but drivers can't accept the fact that you can pass them in certain traffic situations and then make them wait in line behind a bike. God forbid!


He passed on the right, which is why the two cars turning right was an issue. Double standard or not, playing leapfrog with cars is not my idea of a good time. In my state, it's not even legal unless on a bike lane or shoulder, which most roads don't have.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Perfect commuting conditions for #21. Sunny, but not hot, and light winds. ¡Perfecto!

Foot bridge uno (as usual)-









Ped bridge dos (new starting today)-


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM, even though it is Friday. A bit chilly and breezy, but no rain, so there's that. No big riding plans for the weekend. I'll have a lot of grading to get done and with the moisture recently, the trails are probably too soft anyway. I'll get a few miles in tomorrow on the road, but not sure how many.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> He passed on the right, which is why the two cars turning right was an issue. Double standard or not, playing leapfrog with cars is not my idea of a good time. In my state, it's not even legal unless on a bike lane or shoulder, which most roads don't have.


This morning I passed a line of maybe ten cars....held up by a construtction flag man...on the left in the oncoming lane....there were two cars who approached from a head...they gave me lots of room. so no problem. The flagman held up the cars for another full light.

Legal or not there was a cop parked on the right hand side of the road (oncoming side for me....he waved to me....

All low speed tight traffice just after rush hour.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

jeffscott said:


> This morning I passed a line of maybe ten cars....held up by a construtction flag man...on the left in the oncoming lane....there were two cars who approached from a head...they gave me lots of room. so no problem. The flagman held up the cars for another full light.
> 
> Legal or not there was a cop parked on the right hand side of the road (oncoming side for me....he waved to me....
> 
> All low speed tight traffice just after rush hour.


True story, bro? :winker:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

s0ckeyeus said:


> True story, bro? :winker:


To make it seem even less true....When I got to work I discovered my wallet was not in my coat pocket...

I had fiddled with it to get it to sit flat in my pocket just has I left my house.

Called the wife she said she would have a look...

Then I got a call from the police department....turns out someone had turned in my wallet to the District three station...

Wife went over to pick it up....and all the cash $20CAD and $150USD was all still in there....

Unfourtunately the wife did not give the cash back to the cops as a reward.

How can you make stuff like this up.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

This morning, just as I was pulling into the train station, I heard a big crunching sound. I looked up the road and, sure enough, one car had just backed smack into the bumper of another car. As the distressed drivers got out of their cars, I thought, thats another very nice reason to commute by bike.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got into a discussion with one of the other coffee cyclists this morning about why I run lower pressure upfront than in the back - obviously it's because there's more weight on the back wheel, so you can get away with less pressure upfront.

But he was having trouble intuitively wrapping his head around the idea that the weight isn't equally shared between the two wheels (even though you see the same thing front/back with a car, or you can rock back and forth on your feet)

And that took me back to 1st year statics. So if you've ever puzzled over this:


















The short version is that the weight distribution between front/rear wheels (R1 and R2 in the diagram) is proportional to the how far your center-of-gravity is from the two contact patches. The front wheel is further away, so it has a longer "lever" to push against you, so it can hold you up with less force than the back wheel.

Still too cold in the mornings for me to forego the jacket. In the fall I'll wear a tee down to freezing, but in the spring I'm such a wimp.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Second commute today after a _long_ time off in pursuit of more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Having trouble finding a replacement battery for my cheap amazon light (they're all about as expensive as the light was originally, or have the wrong connector), probably going to have to make one. My butt's not used to the seat anymore, so that's not comfortable. Nice to be back on 2 wheels though.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Sanath said:


> Second commute today after a _long_ time off in pursuit of more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Having trouble finding a replacement battery for my cheap amazon light (they're all about as expensive as the light was originally, or have the wrong connector), probably going to have to make one. My butt's not used to the seat anymore, so that's not comfortable. Nice to be back on 2 wheels though.


Congrats on getting back on the bike! Now you have "momentum" in your favor!

Do yourself a favor and get a comfy seat now and you'll be in great shape for keepin' on a steady roll...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> But he was having trouble intuitively wrapping his head around the idea that the weight isn't equally shared between the two wheels (even though you see the same thing front/back with a car, or you can rock back and forth on your feet)


He must have a really hard time with the concept of a wheelie where the rider shifts all his weigh to the rear wheel. Or why tire rotation or replacing the rear tire more frequently than the front is needed. 

Last commute of the week and I'm headed to Boston to watch RollingRunner run the marathon. She's ready to get it behind her because there's been too much running and not enough rolling in her life lately. I'm planning on navigating the crowds by bike. Maybe I'll see Starz85 there.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> He must have a really hard time with the concept of a wheelie where the rider shifts all his weigh to the rear wheel. Or why tire rotation or replacing the rear tire more frequently than the front is needed.


Yeah, it was weird because obviously it's true - I can demonstrate it just with the sidewall deflection when I'm sitting on my bike. But when asked Why it was true it took me awhile to come up with a good explanation. And I wouldn't be surprised if the guy still tries to weigh his bike on two scales when he got home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Last commute of the week and I'm headed to Boston to watch RollingRunner run the marathon. She's ready to get it behind her because there's been too much running and not enough rolling in her life lately. I'm planning on navigating the crowds by bike. Maybe I'll see Starz85 there.


Woohoo, good luck to RollingRunner, and safe travels to you both. Hope it is good running weather! A hot spring day in Boston can be tough on us northerners!


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Got into a discussion with one of the other coffee cyclists this morning about why I run lower pressure upfront than in the back - obviously it's because there's more weight on the back wheel, so you can get away with less pressure upfront.
> 
> But he was having trouble intuitively wrapping his head around the idea that the weight isn't equally shared between the two wheels (even though you see the same thing front/back with a car, or you can rock back and forth on your feet)
> 
> ...


Worryingly enough I had a very similar discussion with our heavy lift vessel contractors graduate engineer yesterday. He submitted a lift plan which indicated that it was OK to tandem lift a 320 metric ton reel with 2x 200MT cranes, the reel COG 7/8ths of the way along the spreader bar giving a hook weight of 160T on each crane! In the end we agreed that it was a better idea to put the 190MT reels on the outside and keep the heavy one in the centre of the bar.

I haven't commuted since january been working away or offshore - did 500 miles in the first 2 weeks of Jan and that's been about it. I don't count the hour or so I do in the gym each day when offshore.

To count as a bike commute I think that you actually have to go somewhere under human power.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No commute today, but 10C/50F with snow for some reason? Weird.

I hit a bunch of trees today. It was a good ride, and the Gryhon is feeling great, but I was all over the place, and am really going to feel it tomorrow.


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

Awful. I was hung over to start. Had to sacrifice a pair of mid weight gloves to the underlords in the woods behind a cemetery, and then couldn't get my legs back in line after holding myself up against the tree. I thought I'd settle down, humming some Johnny cash to myself, "and it burns burns burns..." But then the dry heaves started. 
I finally crushed the last of my 27 miles and now that I've finished sweating and pounded a couple cups of black coffee I'm starting to feel like the 'ol ripper again. 
Hopefully the ride home in the morning is better.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Chippertheripper said:


> Awful. I was hung over to start...
> ...But then the dry heaves started.


:skep: Glad it wasn`t me! Hope you feel better on the ride home- sounds like you will.

RR is running the Boston Marathon? Awesome! Any specific time goals, or is the finish line itself the grand prize? Good luck to you!

More weight on rear than on front, sure (normally). That being the reason for rear tires to wear much faster than fronts I`m not so sure of. Because teh diference in wear is so much more than the difference in weight, I`ve always chalked it up to the rear being the drive wheel. (Normally)

Comming along pretty well with the commuter bike I`m refurbishing for an extended family member, but I`ve run into a crazy string of brake issues. Pissed off that the brake calipers have no spring tension adjust ments even though they LOOK just like the original cantis on my beast, and are only one year later. Then realized that I had forgotten to order straddle hanger clips, couldn`t find any at home, and it took two LBS stops to find some- the guy at the first shop couldn`t even figure out what I was talking about (comic releif was nice). Also had problems with bad threads on two of the four Avid brake pads (not the $150 version), and now can`t get the rear to stop squealing. It`ll come together somehow, and I`ll post pictures before delivery.

BEAUTIFUL weather this weekend! I went camping at a CA state park with wife, S-I-L, two 9 YO nieces (twins) and a 10 YO niece. Had fun, but boy am I glad I don`t have kids of my own- more drama than the Shakespeare festival! Today I get the job of cleaning up the aftermath, but that`s okay because I`m alone and all is calm and peaceful. It really makes me wonder though how three 70 pound kids can manage to go through what looks like a hundred pounds of clothes in the span of about 30 hours


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. A bit windy. Supposedly we are on tap to get 4" of snow today, but I just don't believe it. 

Just have to put this out there - going commando today and it's a bit liberating. We've all been there. I did manage to remember everything else though. So that's good.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I shouldn't even admit this, but I got Cat6-ed by a rollerblader yesterday.

In my defense:


This was a speed-skating rollerblader - hunched over, long strides, arms behind his back.
And I was on my "slow" ss, which will hit 30kph/20mph if I'm madly spinning at 125rpm. And I was done my ride and heading home, so I wasn't in a hurry.

But I don't get passed much - maybe 10 times that I can remember (including at least one bike with a gasengine, and one throttled e-bike) - but this guy flew by like he was a roadie. I don't actually know what my flat-pavement cruising speed is on that bike, but it's probably not much below 25kph? He was really moving, and I was super impressed.

Impossible to dress for this weather: 32F this morning, but should be around 70F for the ride home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today as the forecast just isn't there for me. Cooler temps, rain, thunderstorms mixed in and then rain tonight. Did do some riding this weekend in Chicago while visiting my sister. Took my Contour Roam2 cam and a 64GB card to record the ride. Started out boring but somehow I made it into one of the most interesting and daring videos I have never seen. Wait, what? Never seen? Yeah, that's right, the memory card didn't format in the camera correctly so it never recorded. That was an absolutely epic ride and I have nothing to show for it other than memories. Very bummed but determined to get another video like that. Going back with a buddy at the end of next month, and will do the same route and hope to get some of the same type of footage. New card installed, formatted, tested and ready to go.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I was in my own little world on the commute this morning.


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## bigeyedfish (May 30, 2013)

Today was probably the windiest ride I've ever had. I got to school very fast. The ride home was tough. I almost got knocked over by gusts of wind twice. That was a weird feeling.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I was in my own little world on the commute this morning.
> 
> View attachment 982542


Whoa, that's cool!

I felt a bit queasy and had a headache this morning, so I hemmed and hawed until it was too late to pedal my usual route. Cut it in half for 8 miles round trip, glad I rallied to do that much, as I felt fine the rest of the day. Headwinds and rain on the return, so the short trip was just fine with me.

At home a pretty big tree came down across my trail, but is high enough to walk under so far. We had a "good dog" day on the morning walk, he came back when I saw him staring into the woods suspiciously, and then we both heard the crash of a deer bounding off. Five minutes later we saw 3 take off and I convinced him not to take chase.

They told us today at work today that the top deck of the parking garage is closed for emergency repairs to the ramp, putting a good-sized dent (maybe 100 spaces) in the already tight parking situation. It's a good time to ride, provided I can steer clear of drivers with steam coming out of their ears.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

bigeyedfish said:


> Today was probably the windiest ride I've ever had. I got to school very fast. The ride home was tough. I almost got knocked over by gusts of wind twice. That was a weird feeling.


I've had a couple days like that, and today was pretty windy but it was only a crosswind. It threw me off my line a few times, but it was nowhere near as bad as the headwinds we can get. It's good to be back on the bike though. My new Tamland is feeling really good now that I swapped the stem out.

I also have a new bag that I'm using to carry everything in to class. It's a Banjo Brothers Backpack/Pannier. I'm liking it quite a bit so far, as getting the 15+lbs off my back has made my ride SO MUCH more enjoyable.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> I was in my own little world on the commute this morning.
> 
> View attachment 982542


I'd give you some rep for that pic, if I could. It has a Le Petit Prince kind of feel.

Ride in was unremarkable. It was chillier than it has been. I've been spoiled with 50s and 60s. 44F this morning.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'd give you some rep for that pic, if I could. It has a Le Petit Prince kind of feel.
> 
> Ride in was unremarkable. It was chillier than it has been. I've been spoiled with 50s and 60s. 44F this morning.


Ditto on the chillier than usual. If last week was "the bomb" around here, then this week must be the fall-out. Yesterday going home was gusty enough that birds were lying low, mostly. This am had the same... plus snowflakes. Beats cold rain though.

Last cold day. No, really. Fer shur.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute again as the rain continues, with a chance of snow tonight. Just not feeling it after the nice weather we have had. More of the same forecasted for tomorrow as well, with snow a high possibility but not much of it. Then I will be back on the bike.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Wasn't really feeling it this morning and was really debating driving in. Ended up riding and I'm glad I did. I'll need the stress relief of a long ride home after this day at work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks for the pic love... came out cooler than I thought it would. 

I dusted off the 'ol Nashbike road/cross/disc-braked-gravel-bike-before-it-was-cool this morning. The wheels had been holding onto my studded 29er tires for me all winter, just in case... but we all know how that went. Put the super skinny road tires (1.5") back on the wheels and got it ready to rip last night. I was averaging 22mph for the ride when I hit the edge of town :lol: 19 by the time I got to work. Man I felt like one of the fast guys. Nashbike lives!


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## Guest (Apr 21, 2015)

Chilly and confrontational. I ride by our local City Mission everyday so I usually ride by a homeless person a few times each ride. This morning I'm riding on the MUP next to the Mission and a guy walking towards me yells "What are you looking at?" Knowing that I should just ride around I say "You, I'm wondering which side I should pass you on since you're walking right down the middle of the trail." As I rode off I could hear (tapering in the distance) the worlds most complete dissertation on civil rights and the trails system in America. Awesome.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold and soggy on the way in, clear and 40ish on the way home. Was speeding down the hill toward downtown in the left side of the empty right turn only (RTO) lane, when one of the cars who was backed up in a line at the straight ahead only lane changed his mind and pulled into the RTO lane just ahead of me - luckily I was looking out for that kind of move and was able to avoid a collision.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. My work from home day for the week. Huge snow last night on the way home. I mean, the flakes were huge and wet and stinging the eyes. Some snow on the ground this AM, but it's all gone now. Bummer. 

Need to step away from the computer and go ride.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Sigh...another flat today. I think that makes it 8 in the past month.

My Schwalbe Marathon failed at the bead just over a month ago, warranty replacement still hasn't arrived. No updates from them whatsoever. Will probably have to buy a new tire while they leave me hanging.

Not impressed with Schwalbe's service at all. Highly doubtful I'll ever buy another tire from them after this, super frustrated :madmax:


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

I was down for most of last week due to a stomach bug. Today I got to ride. The ride to work was just an uneventful except that I swallowed a bug. Normally not a big deal but it stuck to my uvula so I was hacking and gagging the last mile and a half. Luckily I didn't see anyone on the trail to work. 

I wasn't so lucky on the way home. I really pushed it hard coming home to make up for lost riding days. I was averaging 9.2 Mph up from my 7.4. I was in the last stretch of the commute thinking I was all kicking butt when I get passed by a guy who looked to be in his late 60s with no effort. To add to my embarrassment when I had to lift my bike over the little iron gate barrier thingy at the trail head, my legs decided to go jelly on me and I fell over my bike in front of a bunch of people walking their dogs and stuff. 

So although my pride bruised, I rode better than I did last week.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

Within a 5 minute span I faced a near pinch between an SUV and a guard rail, followed shortly by one of the most vivid rainbows I've ever seen. The near pinch is probably going to make me re-evaluate my route to avoid the section with guard rails, because that was scary. I saw it coming from a ways off but there was nothing I could do and nowhere to go other than stop, get off my bike, and fling myself over the guard rail. Not something I could have accomplished in the time available. Also no way to make a sound loud enough to alert the driver.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

My commute in yesterday was great!! On the ride to work I had to stop off at the Chinese consulate to apply for a visa - but I forgot to add my residency permit to the application - so I had to cycle to work, collect the document, ride back and apply then ride into work. This was great! I spent the whole morning more or less on the bike! The weather was nice too! (+14degC dry and a mild breeze) 

The way home was strange - I actually got stuck in traffic. Bike traffic. On the bike path. The first properly warm days are here (+19degC and sun sun sun) and it brought out every possible biker in Oslo. I couldn't get up to a descent cruising speed and the path isnt wide enough to safely pass all the middle aged women on city bikes. It was actually really nice to see so many bikers out after winter, though - I spent most of the time bike spotting.

The ride in this morning was pretty forgettable. +7degC, no wind and nothing to report...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

foxtrot7 said:


> I wasn't so lucky on the way home. I really pushed it hard coming home to make up for lost riding days. I was averaging 9.2 Mph up from my 7.4. I was in the last stretch of the commute thinking I was all kicking butt when I get passed by a guy who looked to be in his late 60s with no effort. To add to my embarrassment when I had to lift my bike over the little iron gate barrier thingy at the trail head, my legs decided to go jelly on me and I fell over my bike in front of a bunch of people walking their dogs and stuff.


Cool! Reading all these guys post about 20 MPH averages keeps rubbing in how slow I am. It`s nice to know I`m not the only one :lol: Keep riding and you`ll get to the point where you can plan your screw ups for places without an audience.



formula4speed said:


> Sigh...another flat today. I think that makes it 8 in the past month.
> 
> Not impressed with Schwalbe's service at all. Highly doubtful I'll ever buy another tire from them after this, super frustrated :madmax:


That`s odd. Although I read a lot of complaints against Schwalbe`s product (as well as a lot of raves), their customer service is usually top notch. At least it has been for me and for the people whose comments on the matter I`ve read. I hope you soon get a surprise package in the mail. Then whether or not you continue using their tires, at least they`ll have hopefully taken care of the bum one you bought.

Flat for me this morning (Mon) too. After months of living with a slow leak that required me to air up my rear tire about every other day, I finally put in a brand new tube. It stayed patch-free for only one ride, then I caught a nail on my way home, dag-nabbit! At least it`s the first flat on my bike in quite a while. My moto and my wife`s car seem to have gotten the curse in a big way this spring, and I had one on my pickup.


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

My ride home wasn't much better. I REALLY mapped myself up with that long mtb ride last week. 
My legs felt like wood. Painful wood.
I didn't have time for a recovery spin yesterday, so we'll see how today goes.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

*Springfield Sunrise Coffee and Bikes Club*

It's a local commuter "meet up" group every other Wed morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This morning was a nice ride in. A bit chilly, but not too bad. More importantly, the sun is rising by the time I leave the house (4:38AM) and by the time I get to town I no longer need my light to see - just to blink for the motorists. I like that.

I should probably also mention that I almost sold my Pugsley. Yes, almost. Had a guy lined up and ready to go and then I flaked out. He offered me what I was asking, but had to come back the next day with cash. I was cool with that until I went inside and sat down at my computer to do some work and saw a pic I took last weekend with my son - him riding the Pugs and me on my bike and I realized that the 1k of play money would be awesome, but the fun and memories I'm making with my son on that bike are worth far more than what I can get from selling the bike. I was almost going to be able to get my Mike Curiak built set of wheels. Now I gotta go back to saving my pennies...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

'Cross bike again. I averaged, like, 54 miles per hour or something Rodar. 


Had a cool ride after work yesterday. It was the 18 mile meet-the-wife-and-kids-at-grandma's-house commute. There was a major thunderstorm brewing over town just as I was getting ready to leave work. When I got on the bike, and the downpour was just starting. Raining hard, but the road wasn't soaked yet. Thunder rumbling everywhere. I was on the fenderless 'cross bike, so I was hoping to be able to outrun it. 
Just about the time the tires started throwing up water, I started to get ahead of it, and I shot out of the storm just as I was leaving town like I had just blown up the death star and rode the tailwind all the way across the valley on dry roads, watching lightning zotting the hilltops and listening to the thunder.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> 'Cross bike again. I averaged, like, 54 miles per hour or something Rodar.
> 
> Had a cool ride after work yesterday. It was the 18 mile meet-the-wife-and-kids-at-grandma's-house commute. There was a major thunderstorm brewing over town just as I was getting ready to leave work. When I got on the bike, and the downpour was just starting. Raining hard, but the road wasn't soaked yet. Thunder rumbling everywhere. I was on the fenderless 'cross bike, so I was hoping to be able to outrun it.
> Just about the time the tires started throwing up water, I started to get ahead of it, and I shot out of the storm just as I was leaving town like I had just blown up the death star and rode the tailwind all the way across the valley on dry roads, watching lightning zotting the hilltops and listening to the thunder.


+ rep left for best description of a commute and the use of the Death Star in that description. Bravo!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Haha thanks. I'm hating that grammatical error that I made now. :madman:

Just like this, I'm telling ya:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't been doing much commuting lately. Work has been working me to the point of exhaustion every day for the last two weeks or so. But, I rode home last night, and was feeling like getting in a little trouble, so I modified my route and took off down a dirt path that I spotted while driving around for work. Turns out it's an access road for the county to a traffic control box by the interstate. It's just about a mile long, and had some offshoots that I imagine workers use to hide out when avoiding the boss man. Anyway, here's a pic I snapped.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

It was nice and cool, no humidity today (and luckily no rain)...all sunshine. Then I discovered "head winds". Still got to work on time, but I can feel my legs got a little more workout. Hopefully the same head winds will become tail winds for the ride home. I did stop in the LBS shop today to verify if my Trek/Fisher was on the recall. Mine is not. If you're not familiar with the recall:

Trek recalls nearly 1 million bikes for safety issue - Apr. 22, 2015
Trek riders: Here's what to do with your recalled bike
Trek Recalls Bicycles Equipped with Front Disc Brakes to Replace Quick Release Lever Due to Crash Hazard | CPSC.gov

I'm still enjoying the ride of the Big Apples, but long term wonder if I'll move to something skinnier like the Marathons.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Open Water*



CommuterBoy said:


> 'Cross bike again. I averaged, like, 54 miles per hour or something Rodar.


I think he meant to say 16.8mph.








Commute in was good. I rode past the lake which was totally open water. It was less than 2 weeks ago that I rode across it and it had about 2 feet of ice!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Haha. But did you see yesterday's death star ride?? Stay on target....stay on target... :lol:









Must be so weird looking out at the lake and thinking that you were out there somewhere on top of it last week. Good job not losing a bike to the depths as it started to break up :lol:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Haven't posted in a while. They changed the mobile view for the forums I guess... More ads.

Commutes have been pleasant. Been taking the mtb all week. With the strong winds, I like my gears. Yep. Pretty boring here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Haha. But did you see yesterday's death star ride?? Stay on target....stay on target... :lol:


Nice! I've got to go try my own deathstar ride. I'm moving a little slow after an unintended meeting with the ground on Monday. More on that shortly, gotta go race some rain.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Haha. But did you see yesterday's death star ride?? Stay on target....stay on target... :lol:


OK, I'll see your deathstar ride and raise you 0.6mph.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dang cold (30somethingF) on the way in and dang wet (water flowing down or across or sitting in the road, depending on the grades and pavement quality) on the way home. Nearly wiped out just walking across my icy deck this morning. Rivers are rising, but we hope they don't get to flood stage. My lawn is down to only about 1/4 snow covered! 

Descending the 1/2 mile potholed hill from work, I rode conservatively slow but took the lane due to the twin streams running down the road and all the potholes. At the bottom there is a light and I stopped, then turned to give the thumbs up to the following motorist who had given me plenty of room on the descent so I did not feel crowded/endangered in the slick conditions- but there was no following motorist, which accounts for the extraordinary courtesy! It is almost unheard of for someone not to catch up with you despite the 25 mph speed limit, but I had left work late.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats to RollingRunner, I saw you listed in State o' Maine Boston Marathon finishers, with a sub-4 time!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> View attachment 982978


Nice! By the way, is that a Smoothie ES?



CommuterBoy said:


> 'Cross bike again. I averaged, like, 54 miles per hour or something Rodar.


Meh, with the Nashrocket AND a DeathStar tailwind, you should have averaged like 56 on the flats. Or were you riding up Janesville Grade at the time?



mtbxplorer said:


> At the bottom there is a light and I stopped, then turned to give the thumbs up to the following motorist who had given me plenty of room on the descent so I did not feel crowded/endangered in the slick conditions- but there was no following motorist, which accounts for the extraordinary courtesy!


:lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Congrats to RollingRunner, I saw you listed in State o' Maine Boston Marathon finishers, with a sub-4 time!


She did awesome! Here's a little more of the story. 
The Candid Cyclist: Boston Marathon Chasing 2015

Down near the bottom I describe how I bounced my head off the ground riding on wet trolly tracks. The helmet really saved my head from damage. The sounds of it whacking the ground sticks with me. My shoulder is still pretty sore and I can't put pressure on it in certain directions. I think a hairline collarbone fracture is possible but it's nothing like the full break I had last time. Based on the treatment (none) I'm not bothering with the doctor this time.


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## Guest (Apr 23, 2015)

Chilly ride on the road bike (shakedown for the 60 miler on Saturday). Not much to report but a much less compliant ride than the ole 2"+ tire bikes.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Back down in the 30s today, but first commute in a while. My wife is in nursing school and has been doing clinical at night the last month+, it has really thrown off my sleep schedule which has thrown off my work and commuting schedule. Last night was her last night doing it though, so I rode in to try and snap myself back into a rhythm. We'll see if it takes.

I'm finally getting the drop bar conversion on my old trek dialed in, really loving that setup.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Thank you mtbxplorer! It was really a great day. I loved it. Much love and appreciation to bedwards aka Candid Cyclist for all of his course support and the calamities that went with it. True dedication! (phew)! Yeah, I'm going to ask him to do this again next year. He knows to avoid the trolley tracks now.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> OK, I'll see your deathstar ride and raise you 0.6mph.
> View attachment 983077


Touche'. Nice one! Sorry to hear about the crash, that sounds nasty. Yay for helmets. 
RollingRunner, Nice work! Give me a 100 mile bike ride any day :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

The light in the sky - azure? Midnight? Purples and pinks and blacks mixed with the faint band of orange of the sun burning its way up the mountains lets me know that spring is indeed here. The heaviness in my legs disappears when that first ray spikes my eyes and I watch the clouds reflected in the perfect still shimmer of the lagoon freshly released from a winter's stillness. 

It was a beautiful morning for a ride. Chilly, but dead calm and clear. The sky was amazing, the water was amazing, the pavement was amazing. It was all just amazing.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today was a good ride, and I needed a good one. I extended my 6 mile commute to 13.2 miles of cruising around town.

My long string of flats had me pretty frustrated with riding. To top it off when I went to re-stock tubes at my LBS they told me my gift card is no good so I had to drop cash on what should have been free. Not sure what I want to do about that, should have had $17 on it.

Felt better after today's ride. Had some decent speed going, was able to stay above 20mph on most of the flats with the CX bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Touche'. Nice one! Sorry to hear about the crash, that sounds nasty. Yay for helmets.
> RollingRunner, Nice work! Give me a 100 mile bike ride any day :lol:


Your deathstar story was an inspiration to push. It was my second fastest ride home Evah!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, RollingRunner! :thumbsup:

I just finished my semi-donation bike project this morning. It`s been a while since I`ve redone a bike, and I was really happy with how this one turned out, so I`m going to hog up some bandwidth for it. The frame and about half the goodies are 92 Schwinn Impact Pro (the bike I`m more or less married to is a 91 version of the same model). Note the BB30 loose ball spindle conversion, hydraulic straddle cantis, super-duper XTR ramping on the BioPace rings, and the state of the art INDEXED thumbies- state of the art, man! Actually, I while I was a little disappointed in a few downgradings that Schwinn threw on there since the previous year, but I sure can`t complain about the condition of the stuff. For mid-level components, it all works very smoothly, and the old single wall rims tensioned up nice and true. Total billable project cost was $86. Sure wish I could have found a pair of Apples for a decent price, but I guess he`ll make due with Kenda Kwests.

EDIT: CB, forgot again to give you a pat on the back for your latest commute story masterpiece. Good stuff, as usual!

EDIT II: The rack on the spider web bike was the first one I ever built. I made it for a Univega Rover that doesn`t exist any more, but it lives eternally on page two or three of the "Post Your Commuter" archive. It slopes back a little bit, but otherwise fit perfectly with no mods.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Your deathstar story was an inspiration to push. It was my second fastest ride home Evah!











Edit: Rodar, ^^That can suffice for a reply to your schwinn build also :lol:


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> Wasn't really feeling it this morning and was really debating driving in. Ended up riding and I'm glad I did. I'll need the stress relief of a long ride home after this day at work.


Well, I didn't end up getting the stress relief of a long ride home after a rough day at work. Ended up staying at the office until 9, so I called the wife for a ride home. I couldn't find my rear blinky that morning which would have been fine if I got out of work at a normal time.

No commute yesterday because I took the day off to attend the Ohio Bicycling Summit to represent my local coop. It was a big bike summit at the state house to advocate for some bike safety laws that have recently been introduced, including a statewide 3-ft passing rule and increasing the penalty for hit and run to be at least on par with DUI. It was also a great chance to network with other bike advocates and make some good contacts with the department of transportation, and other regional transportation planning agencies. Well worth giving up the commute!

I was back on the bike this morning and it was pretty uneventful. I took an extended route to work, adding an additional 6-7 miles. It was cold though. 35f and windy.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

We've got heavy thunderstorms pushing their way through this afternoon, to the point where you can't see through the windshield. Wife is hanging out with her mom about a mile away from the office, so I'll probably give her a call.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, I go away for a few days and I come back to exploding Death Stars and bike crashes in the Boston Marathon.

Nice looking restoration job Rodar! The rack is especially cool.

Speaking of Schwinn, if you've got some time to kill I remember reading this article a few months back about the rise and fall of the Schwinn company. I still get nostalgic about the very first bike I saved my own money to purchase - a Schwinn Varsity 10-speed. Looking back now I realize that it was a heavy clunker but at the time all I knew was that it was all mine, earned by delivering about a bizillion newspapers, and I was damn proud of it. Anyway, here is the link, it's an interesting read:

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/19931009/ISSUE01/100018007/the-fall-of-schwinn-pt-1-of-2


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

@woodway

Schwinn still lives, albeit with a different name.

There are some fascinating reads about the engineering/production side of Schwinn on Sheldon Brown's website, too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice project Rodar, it looks in great shape! I need me some of those hydraulic cantis!

How did Bedwards ride so fast after the trolley trax train wreck? Deathstar inspiration or marathon magic?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> View attachment 983207
> 
> 
> Edit: Rodar, ^^That can suffice for a reply to your schwinn build also :lol:


^^ What he said.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy, cold, overcast, and miserable. Temps in the upper 30's and just that cold that goes right through your clothes. Mix in the wind, and it sucked. Ride home was alright, cold of course, but no incidents. Warmer weather along with the sun are in the forecast for the weekend, and I work all weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> How did Bedwards ride so fast after the trolley trax train wreck? Deathstar inspiration or marathon magic?


Tailwind on the last half of the ride is part of it. My commutes are "7" shaped so I never get a headwind or tailwind for the entire ride. The irrational urge to beat CBs average speed on a different ride with different conditions on a different side of the country...??? And I did want to beat the rain.

Yes, good job on the Schwinn Rodar.



TenSpeed said:


> ...Warmer weather along with the sun are in the forecast for the weekend, and I work all weekend.


That sounds like 4 good rides to me. The glass is half full 

Commutes have been on the cool and raw side of pleasant. 33F and damp this morning. That didn't stop me from riding a few extra miles though, it wasn't raining!


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

That Schwinn looks sweet! Ride in this morning was pretty uneventful. Muggy and hot, with no breeze to be had. I've been in a real funk since my accident in November. I really want to get back to where I was, riding 6 days a week, and never thought about asking for a ride. Now, when I wake up, I immediately think of all the excuses not to. I really need to figure something out and shake it because my wife, kids, and waistline can't handle all of this sitting around crap. I know a lot of it is my lack of restful sleep due to the accident, and the pain in my neck and shoulders that won't go away, even after countless visits to the chiro and physical therapist. Once I finally settle with the insurance company, I'll look into steroid injections to see if that won't help. 

Borrowed a Selle SMP Plus from a buddy of mine, gonna give that a go on the way home. Let's see how it goes.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> That Schwinn looks sweet! Ride in this morning was pretty uneventful. Muggy and hot, with no breeze to be had. I've been in a real funk since my accident in November. I really want to get back to where I was, riding 6 days a week, and never thought about asking for a ride. Now, when I wake up, I immediately think of all the excuses not to. I really need to figure something out and shake it because my wife, kids, and waistline can't handle all of this sitting around crap. I know a lot of it is my lack of restful sleep due to the accident, and the pain in my neck and shoulders that won't go away, even after countless visits to the chiro and physical therapist. Once I finally settle with the insurance company, I'll look into steroid injections to see if that won't help.
> 
> Borrowed a Selle SMP Plus from a buddy of mine, gonna give that a go on the way home. Let's see how it goes.


I crashed hard on my left shoulder geez 4 years ago....still working it out...

Might want to try a different PT...that is what started working for me after 3 years of not so good results.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Wish I could, but these guys were secured by my attorney, and I don't have the funds to pay them, or pay a Copay with my health insurance. I also feel like I'm stuck in a rut route wise. Same thing every day. I've tried to mix it up, but after 2 years of the same thing, I've ridden all the routes I could find.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> I crashed hard on my left shoulder geez 4 years ago....still working it out...
> 
> Might want to try a different PT...that is what started working for me after 3 years of not so good results.


It can take an awfully long time to heal. A crash in 1982 as a grad student (no PT) took over a decade to get so I could raise that arm over my head, and longer than that to sleep comfortably on that side. So I don't recommend doing nothing. I recently damaged it again sliding off a wet ramp. Doing exercises the doctor specified and making gains. At least I have full movement this time and no longer wince to put on a shirt.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride this AM. Feeling a bit sore and slow, but that's okay. Busted my bike shoe today. Not fun. Like wearing flip flops while peddling. Oh well. Just reason to run to the shop and see what they have, eh?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

A little bit rainy today. Good.



BrianMc said:


> It can take an awfully long time to heal. A crash in 1982 as a grad student (no PT) took over a decade to get so I could raise that arm over my head, and longer than that to sleep comfortably on that side.


Seriously? I know from first hand experience that some injuries never get back to pre-manglement form, but it surprises me that you apparently saw improvement after a decade. I guess that`s good compared to the former option.



Kleebs said:


> It was a big bike summit at the state house to advocate for some bike safety laws that have recently been introduced, including a statewide 3-ft passing rule and increasing the penalty for hit and run to be at least on par with DUI.


3 foot laws are nice gestures, but I really like the idea of comming down like a hammer on hit and runs. I hope your bills pass.

Woodway, thanks for the article! It took me over an hour to get through Part 1, and I`m looking forward to reading the second half.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

blockphi said:


> . Busted my bike shoe today. Not fun. Like wearing flip flops while peddling. Oh well. Just reason to run to the shop and see what they have, eh?


Been there, done that.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Had the trails all to myself:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Awesome!!! Ride in was mid 50's and a little sun peeking out here and there. Wind at my back for a change. Seemed to be a fast ride in which is always good. Ride home was into the wind, and the temps had dipped into the low 40's by the time I left. Still managing to dress correctly for the weather. Just starting to sweat a little by the time I got home. The forecast looks clear and a bit warmer for the rest of my work week so I will be on two wheels instead of four. Sunday will have me breaking 1000 miles which is ahead of where I was last year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This cycling season is already a deadly one here in VT, and today another cyclist is dead, this time the young driver did not survive either, after his car went out of control on a curve. Such a terrible loss of life. With only 600,000 people in Vermont, this hits us pretty hard. Two killed in bike vs. car crash


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## Guest (Apr 27, 2015)

We had a tough season last year with two rural highway deaths, a trail death (bike hitting bike) and a Jr High student run over and drug by a drunk driver just to name a few. We're at three or four car v bike incidents this year with no end in sight. It's hard in any community, especially tough in a community where the cyclists are close-knit.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Two close calls from the least expected.......motorcycle riders. I figure that they would be more on the lookout, but that is not how it is apparently. First one was entering a roundabout, where I had the right of way. Motorcycle entered from my left, and had no intention of stopping. I had to brake and veer to the right to let him by. Stupid loud Harley or whatever, so loud that he didn't hear me screaming obscenities at him as he passed by. Second was closer to work, right in front of the police. Cops waiting near a parking lot exit clocking people. Motorcycle is waiting to cross the road that I am traveling on in the bike lane. Traffic ahead of me is moving faster so they clear him first. He just goes right in front of me, right in front of the cop. After I had to brake to slow down, I throw my arms up and yell at him, again, no dice since his loud pipes are saving lives according to them. I looked at the cop and he did nothing. I just shook my head and continued on. 

Ride home was very uneventful which is always welcome. Fast ride for me and I forgot to turn Strava on of course. Always next time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> This cycling season is already a deadly one here in VT, and today another cyclist is dead, this time the young driver did not survive either, after his car went out of control on a curve. Such a terrible loss of life. With only 600,000 people in Vermont, this hits us pretty hard. Two killed in bike vs. car crash


WOW! You are getting more than your fair share of fatalities. The article said the speed limit was 40. The amount of mangle on that car looked like it was doing double that.

Commute was great! I did a major overhaul on the Cross Check and can feel the difference. Lighter wheels and road tires vs tank like wheels and knobbies made a huge difference. I also upgraded the cockpit to 10-speed STI from bar end shifters. New stem and bars. But the fresh bar tape makes the biggest difference.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rained for the first ten miles. Dry for the second ten miles. Had to stop and strip a layer off when the rain stopped. Supposed to be sunny and 70s this afternoon. I may take off early and take the long way home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in today. A bit sore. Did a 22 mile ride yesterday with 18 of that being singletrack. Awesome times! I love spring time.








Of course, today I'm feeling it, but that's okay.

Nothing exciting or dangerous about the commute today. Just same old same old. And that is just fine by me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My commute was OK.



bedwards1000 said:


> WOW! You are getting more than your fair share of fatalities. The article said the speed limit was 40. The amount of mangle on that car looked like it was doing double that.


You are right, the Chief's guess was 60 mph Police: Driver near 60 mph in fatal crash This is really hitting people hard, Richard Tom was a well known cyclist, and worked at a Burlington area shop for 10 years, and also for a bike touring company. And the driver is such a kid, his photo was in the article too. And on top of the other cyclist killed less than 2 weeks prior. I don't know that I ever met him, but have 2 mutual FB friends.

This was posted at the scene, and I hope some took it to heart..


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good. Great. Terrific. Took the road on the way home. Can't get my rocks off on the mup anymore with all the walkers and leisure cyclists mucking things up.v


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice short ride. A bit cool and windy. New Garmin 500 and it looks like I need some gel at these temps and in this wind as I estimate it read 10-20 low and maybe more.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

The ride in was cool and breezy here as well. The breeze was mostly at my back, I actually snuck up into the big chain ring for few miles. As near to perfect as any ride so far.

The ride home, had 20 mile an hour sustained headwinds and some impressive gusts, was not nearly as exiting (at least not in a good way). The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Forgot my helmet. First time ever doing that. Put my glasses on, then a head warmer, and then gave my dog a treat. Grabbed the bike and my bag and hit the door. Didn't realize that I forgot it until 3 miles in and I got pretty warm so I was going to take the helmet off while riding no hands (smart right) and quickly take the head warmer off. Reached for the chin strap. Nothing. Stomach dropped. What if? What if a car hit me? What if I fell? Should I stop at the shop and buy a new one? Figured I would be alright and rode in anyway. Was too late to turn around and go back for it. Will have to start doing the pat down now. Keys, phone, gloves, bike, bag, helmet, etc. 

Ride was alright, went a slower than usual and was extra careful. Strava is really pissing me off right now on my phone so I am trying MapMyRide again. That at least worked before. Sick of getting home and showing 31 minutes, 0 miles. Thanks for keeping track of the time. How about the miles now?


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

On the way home yesterday was a really nice ride - my legs felt great and according to Strava I averaged like 312W for 24 minutes... I am in doubt of this but it gives my ego a MASSIVE boost 

I was mixing it up with a guy I see riding the same commute as me regularly. Great fun because you really push each other to go faster, faster, faster! (where possible and in a safe and responsible manner, of course - I want to get home in one piece).

Saw him on the way to work this morning too - as I blew past him drafting this crazy guy wearing way too many clothes on an old hybrid who was cycling way faster than I could ever have imagined an older guy on an old hybrid wearing Arctic conditions training gear could go... I guess I ought to learn that pretty much all older Norwegian guys are machines like this... 

This morning I had a altercation with a pedestrian of all things! I was coming up to a four way crossing with the intention to turn right (therefore I was breaking and being super observant - you can't see traffic from the left until you are nearly on the crossing) and saw her in plenty time - I decided that I don't need to brake more - she has good time to clear the crossing (or at least the side of the road I was on) and I could safely pass behind her and there was no traffic coming either. I really mean it - in my opinion she had a lot of time to cross. Instead she stops and stares at me while standing in the middle of the road. I decided to go around her (in front of her because she has stopped in the middle of my lane) when she then proceeds to shout at me calling me all sorts of names because I didn't come to a complete stop and let her cross... I just shook my head and pedalled round her.

I know, I know - in hind sight I could have waved her across - I could have just stopped (she did have right of way). Just one of those things I guess and next time I will be sure to communicate better & make a better judgement call.

We live and learn, huh?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Rustedthrough said:


> The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.


, Tom Waits



BrianMc said:


> Nice short ride. A bit cool and windy. New Garmin 510 and it looks like I need some gel at these temps and in this wind as I estimate it read 10-20 low and maybe more.


Huh? Gel? 10-20 (what) low. MPH? Degrees? I could not decipher this post at all. 

So, I fitted my rain bike with gatorskins with ultra-super-duper-extra...flat protection. Then, because I hate changing tires in the rain, I put in a heavy self sealing tube too. Rode to work, fine. Took the long way home and had to stop and pump up the tire 5 times. I was hoping the it might self seal itself. Nope. My last $12 no-flat-protection tires had about 1500 miles on them with nary a flat.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got a new pair of shoes for the commute, some Teva Pinner IIs off Amazon for less than $30. I've been shopping for shoes for a few months and couldn't find anything cheap enough. When the bottom of your foot gets wet from water leaking through the sole, it's time for a change.  It was nice actually having some grip again. The Tevas are actually pretty awesome.

This week is my last week of commuting before I head overseas for some time off. I'll try to get in some bike riding when I'm away.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

6 c shorts tee shirt and a light sweater.

Might snow on the weekend.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Yesterday was a spectacular day so I just had to take the long way home. Rather than go north around Lake Washington I went South and crossed the Lake on the I-90 floating bridge. You can see the bike path on the left side of the bridge in the photo below.










While city riding is not nearly as fun as getting out and riding on the dirt, views like this make up for it.










My detour added 14 miles and 1600 feet of climbing but it was so worth it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this AM. A bit sprinkly in the valley. Dry in town. Warm - in the low 40s. Getting almost to where I will start wearing shorts in the mornings as well as the afternoons. For some reason 42 in the AM feels colder than it does in the PM. Lack of sun and the humidity in the air, I guess. Legs still feel a touch dead, but it's okay. 

Yesterday afternoon was a good ride. Sunny and warm. But no wind in the valley, which is a rarity. I like it. As of today I am on pace to hit 530 miles for the month. I'm not sure that I'll be able to go much beyond that, but I'm happy with it. If I do, I'll be at 1663 miles for the year. I'll have to bump up the mileage a bit to hit 8K this year, but that shouldn't be too hard with the summer riding season fast approaching - Heck, I know I'll be starting May with a 45 mile or more day, so there's that.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great pics woodway!! I would take that route as well for some views like that.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I got a new pair of shoes for the commute, some Teva Pinner IIs off Amazon for less than $30. I've been shopping for shoes for a few months and couldn't find anything cheap enough. When the bottom of your foot gets wet from water leaking through the sole, it's time for a change.  It was nice actually having some grip again. The Tevas are actually pretty awesome.
> QUOTE]
> 
> Nice! If I could score those in an 11, I would...
> ...


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The bridge into downtown is down to one lane in both directions and the cones force cars and bikes into the same lane with not enough room to pass. I sprinted over the bridge in the morning yesterday but just wasn't feeling it on the way home so I took the detour down into the valley and then the short steep climb back out instead. I don't mind some climbing and it avoided some potential issues on the bridge. 

Hurt my knee during my Monday roller hockey game last night. I'm still trying to skate (and stop) as though I'm on ice and I think I strained my LCL. Or perhaps its just good old fashion soreness and I'm being a huge wimp. I'll give it a few days to heal up and ease back in. Unfortunately that means I'll come up short on my mileage goal for this month. I'll have to make up for it next month.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Huh? Gel? 10-20 (what) low. MPH? Degrees? I could not decipher this post at all.


Sorry I got a bit brief. The HR seemed 10-20 low for how much effort I felt. The Gamin heart straps apparently can be a bit finicky compared to the ones I have used before. Lack of sweat could be part of it, but a good amount of tap water always worked to get other brands started before. I had no measurable pulse and decided I was not quite dead yet so re-wet and repositioned the strap. It then said I had a pulse of ___ or 60 or 72. I wet it again and shifted it but the best it gave was 130 just to 60% when it felt more like 75+%. Also the grade report was crap. Also when it ran out of power it did not save the current file. I can work with it but it is not wowing me any.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woodway, great pics! 

I had a big ol' diesel truck peek out from a driveway in front of me this morning...I swear the lady driving made eye contact with me, but apparently misjudged my speed and went ahead and pulled out (turning right, so jumping on the road going the same direction as me). She would have made it with just slightly brake-checking me, but then out from behind the bushes appears the big double axle car hauler flatbed trailer she was pulling. I had to grab a fist full of brakes...she realized what she had done and got all over the gas to get out of the way faster, which produced a nice giant cloud of black diesel smoke, which basically hid the trailer from my view, so I had to slow way down to make sure I didn't clip the rear of it. That made me a little grumpy for the rest of the commute. Probably an honest mistake though.... 

Around here, a lady like that in a big diesel who's that comfortable pulling a trailer...she's probably got a weapon. Better just to let it go :lol: 

I actually caught up to her at the only stop light on my commute, maybe 1/2 mile later. She was going straight and I was going left. I pulled up next to her window and didn't even look. I was hoping for an apology, and was ready to turn and accept it, but she didn't acknowledge my presence.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

AthleticAL said:


> Nice! If I could score those in an 11, I would...


If you wear an 11, you might want a 11.5. Amazon didn't have a 10, but the reviews all said order a half size up, and suddenly I was in business. I see Amazon has more in stock now. I'm tempted to snag another pair, but I'll probably end up waiting to see what kind of deal I can get next time.


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

blockphi said:


> A good ride this AM. A bit sprinkly in the valley. Dry in town. Warm - in the low 40s. Getting almost to where I will start wearing shorts in the mornings as well as the afternoons. For some reason 42 in the AM feels colder than it does in the PM. Lack of sun and the humidity in the air, I guess. Legs still feel a touch dead, but it's okay.
> 
> Yesterday afternoon was a good ride. Sunny and warm. But no wind in the valley, which is a rarity. I like it. As of today I am on pace to hit 530 miles for the month. I'm not sure that I'll be able to go much beyond that, but I'm happy with it. If I do, I'll be at 1663 miles for the year. I'll have to bump up the mileage a bit to hit 8K this year, but that shouldn't be too hard with the summer riding season fast approaching - Heck, I know I'll be starting May with a 45 mile or more day, so there's that.


Geez anything under 65 is cold for me. And you are talking of shorts. Here I am lamenting the fact that this is probably the last day of cool riding (mid 80s) Tomorrow brings on the 90s and next week we are looking at triple digits. I'll take this over snow anyday though. And since it rains only twice a year I can be a fair-weather commuter and still be hardcore.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ 38F here this morning, I was in shorts. As long as the core is warm.



BrianMc said:


> Sorry I got a bit brief. The HR seemed 10-20 low for how much effort I felt. The Gamin heart straps apparently can be a bit finicky compared to the ones I have used before. Lack of sweat could be part of it, but a good amount of tap water always worked to get other brands started before. I had no measurable pulse and decided I was not quite dead yet so re-wet and repositioned the strap. It then said I had a pulse of ___ or 60 or 72. I wet it again and shifted it but the best it gave was 130 just to 60% when it felt more like 75+%. Also the grade report was crap. Also when it ran out of power it did not save the current file. I can work with it but it is not wowing me any.


Oh, heart-rate, it all makes sense now. I don't have much luck with the garmin style straps so I never use them. They slip down and record wrong. I don't have any issues with displayed grade or battery life on my 500. I did a 8 1/2 hour ride last weekend with no issues saving.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ 38F here this morning, I was in shorts. As long as the core is warm.


Generally I agree. However, due to the wait for the bus after the first leg of the bike, I've found that I generally need to dress a touch warmer than I normally prefer. I suppose I could bring pants to slip on while I wait...

My cut off is normally 35F, but only in the sun.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Afternoon commute was cancelled. Our car broke down while my wife was driving it. I usually don't mind only having one car, but things get tricky at times like these. I had to hitch a ride with a co-worker, who drove my wife to the appointment she was going to. Then I had to call a tow truck, get towed to the mechanic, and walk home. When I got home, I hitched a ride with the person watching our kid to get my bike and stuff. I just threw it into her van. Tomorrow will hopefully be a little better day, although I'm bracing for the repair estimate on our car. The mechanic suspects the timing belt, which isn't such great news for my wallet.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Afternoon commute was cancelled. Our car broke down while my wife was driving it. I usually don't mind only having one car, but things get tricky at times like these. I had to hitch a ride with a co-worker, who drove my wife to the appointment she was going to. Then I had to call a tow truck, get towed to the mechanic, and walk home. When I got home, I hitched a ride with the person watching our kid to get my bike and stuff. I just threw it into her van. Tomorrow will hopefully be a little better day, although I'm bracing for the repair estimate on our car. The mechanic suspects the timing belt, which isn't such great news for my wallet.


Oof! Sorry to hear that. Hopefully, if it's a broken timing belt, it's not a so-called "interference" engine where the pistons bend the valves if the belt snaps.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Yesterday was a spectacular day so I just had to take the long way home. Rather than go north around Lake Washington I went South and crossed the Lake on the I-90 floating bridge. You can see the bike path on the left side of the bridge in the photo below.


That's not a floating bridge - this is a floating bridge!
Vermont replaces state's only floating bridge


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in. Sunny and upper 50's and 0 complaints. Back on MapMyRide and it works flawlessly. Not sure what is up with Strava so I am not using it. Had a pedestrian at the light tell me "nice bike......did you steal it?" I replied back "HELL NO!!!!" I don't know if she was joking or serious but I found it to be rather strange. Ride home was brisk but pleasant. Hit the main road all the way down to the store to pick up a few things. Makes me nervous as the speed limit gradually increases on that road the further east you go. From 25mph in increments of 5 up to 45mph. This late at night the traffic on it is sparse so I am alright with taking the right lane and putting myself out there. From work to the store is just a hair over 6 miles. I averaged 19.7mph for that portion of the ride. I am not mad about that at all.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

More nice weather on the way. We`ve gotten a few yuck days in the pat few weeks, but somehow they continue to fall during the week, leaving weekends very nice.

It isn`t easy to come up with a picture of an interstate that makes you think "Boy, what a nice place to take a ride", but I think Woodway and Seattle managed to pull it off!

Sucks about your car, sOck. Sure hope it doesn`t kill off your vacation plans.



CommuterBoy said:


> I was hoping for an apology, and was ready to turn and accept it, but she didn't acknowledge my presence.


That`s allright. Since circumstances suggest she was "packing", better off to be ignored!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sucks about your car, sOck. Sure hope it doesn`t kill off your vacation plans.


Nope. We're flying out one way or another. The good news is that my wife's appointment confirmed there was nothing wrong with her, which is way more important than our car.

We've had great weather all week. It has been in the mid-40s with clear skies in the morning, mid-60s in the afternoon. There is a chance of rain tomorrow, but it should be spotty. I took the singlespeed in today because it fits in my car a little better (bike rack was at home when the car broke down). I am planning on riding to the mechanic and driving the car home.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Perfect morning ride in. Had to stop and get a picture of this farm - its one of my favorite things to see but I have never felt compelled to take a picture of it before.

Need to help some new wheels settle in before a long ride Saturday so I got to ride my dream bike in too


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> That's not a floating bridge - this is a floating bridge!


Looks like a semi-floating bridge to me.

Weather has been pretty blah here lately. It's looking real nice for next week but I'll be in the DR for some R&R so I don't care.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Knee felt better this morning so I rode in. Mid 40s and sunny with no wind made an outstanding ride to work. Supposed to push 60 for the ride home. I will probably add a few miles to help make up for yesterday.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Interesting ride home last night. Sunny and 52 in Anchorage. Get to the valley and? Rain with lightning and thunder (rare in this part of AK) and...sleet, snow, and a few bits of hail. Good times. I could feel when I passed through masses of cold air - the temps would drop instantly from the 50s down to the upper 30s then jump back up a quarter mile later.

This AM was fine. A bit rainy in Anchorage, but looks like it will clear off here real soon.

Anyone tried the ISM Adamo (Peak - ISM) saddles? Thinking it might be a good choice for me, but not sure. Kinda expensive if I end up not liking it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Anyone seen this?






As much as this might be related to neuroplasticity and musclememory, I think the fact that you have to countersteer bikes (even if you don't realize you're doing it) would make this doubly hard. And there's also that twitchy super-short stem.

Almost 80F for the ride home yesterday, but back down in the 50s today with a threat of rain.

And since Kleebs was mentioning knee pain, I put one of those newfangled oval chainrings on one of my bikes a month ago, and I've noticed that I'm starting to really feel my right knee. It's not actual pain, but it's something I'll need to pay attention to. It could certainly just be coincidence, and what I'm feeling might just be caused by the switch from winter to summer riding. (since theoretically the new rings have fixed the issues that biopace had)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> And since Kleebs was mentioning knee pain, I put one of those newfangled oval chainrings on one of my bikes a month ago, and I've noticed that I'm starting to really feel my right knee. It's not actual pain, but it's something I'll need to pay attention to. It could certainly just be coincidence, and what I'm feeling might just be caused by the switch from winter to summer riding. (since theoretically the new rings have fixed the issues that biopace had)


Check you seat height it might have slipped down.

Never noticed anything switching to or from oval or biopace rings....except you can pedal a higher gear.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

I was listening to that story of the backward bike on NPR when driving home from a conference in Vail last week. I'd be pissed if I spent 8 months learning to ride it and then couldn't ride a "normal" bike, lol. I think it is amazing that a child can learn in 2 weeks what it took an adult 8 months to accomplish!

That said, because I've been on the road the better part of two weeks I only managed one ride (in Vail) during that time. 

Finally rode in to work today and though my legs felt like cold silly putty I was rewarded by the shout of "great pace" as I was passed (slowly) by a guy this morning.

Having been down the biopace road before, I am content with round rings. I have heard some folks complain about their oval rings. Beyond that, I can't comment except to say, listen to your body.

With regards to knees, I'd been experiencing some mild discomfort for lack of better explanation (not really pain). So, about 2 months ago I bought a huge bottle of glucosamine tablets from Costco. I take one or two a day and my knees have been feeling much better.

Anyway, it was great to be back on the bike enjoying the sights and sounds along the river.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Anyone here know anything about transporting a bike on Greyhound buses? That's the most cost effective way for me to get from stl to Vermont come June. And I won't have access to a vehicle to drive me and my bike up. I guess I could just walk everywhere up there. Really would like to have the bike for transport though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

This is a floating bridge:


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

My wife lent out her pickup and borrowed my car today, I still don't understand the mechanics of this trade. So I drove in with the Unit on the rack and rode it home. Single speed and knobbies, with all the usual stuff in the trunk bag, just to see if I could.

I didn't set any speed records, not that I'm ever in much danger of that, but it was a pleasant ride and I didn't have to walk any of the sections I was expecting to. 16 miles in 1 hour 47 minutes, with a stiff headwind. Going to need some different handlebars if I make a habit of riding that one to work.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was good. A little wet from rain last night, but nothing bad. No commute home tonight. My wife had a bad allergic reaction to something, we don't know what. Drove my work truck home and immediately jumped in the van to take her to the hospital. After some steroids, she's doing much better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Scary, Texan. All's well that end's well I hope.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

NDD said:


> Anyone here know anything about transporting a bike on Greyhound buses? That's the most cost effective way for me to get from stl to Vermont come June. And I won't have access to a vehicle to drive me and my bike up. I guess I could just walk everywhere up there. Really would like to have the bike for transport though.


You will want a bike, there aren't too many places where walking is enough, even in VT's biggest city it will be handy. Last time I took a bike on Greyhound, they let you roll it loose into the luggage compartment if there is enough room, at your own risk of course, mine was fine, but that was long ago! Check their website or call, but you might be able to do that or maybe box it for the bus (or ship it). Or you could buy, beg, or borrow one when you get here. PM your location and height/size and ETA if you want me to sniff around.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, milder, 40's and 50's F, and best of all, the bike rack at work was FULL when I got there (about 6 bikes). I doubled up with a co-worker's bike to share a station. On the was home some drunken dope on the side of the road (waiting for the bus??) yelled BEEP BEEP continuously and made honking motions as I passed, and a Toyota pickup floored it for make-you-jump sound effects as he passed. Sigh.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> That's not a floating bridge - this is a floating bridge!


I don't know if that's such a good example mtbx! 

The predecessor to this bridge did not float so well. When the current one was under construction the original one (which was being refurbished) broke up in a storm and sank. This state has had it's problems with bridges over the years...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

We ought to put up some floating bridges around here. The only problem is that we don`t have anything to float them on. At least they wouldn`t sink :lol:

Bedwards, I take it DR is Dominican Republic? Going back to the same place you went to last time?



s0ckeyeus said:


> Nope. We're flying out one way or another. The good news is that my wife's appointment confirmed there was nothing wrong with her, which is way more important than our car.


Yeah, more important for sure. I don`t remember you mentioning there might have been something wrong, but glad she`s okay. Glad Texan`s wife is doing better, too.



z1r said:


> I was listening to that story of the backward bike on NPR when driving home from a conference in Vail last week.


Science Friday! I heard that interview too! Then had to dig up the guy`s videos. Some were really dumb, but others were killer. I really liked the cat flipping one and the helium balloon in the van experiment. Mosquito V Penis was a disappointment.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bedwards, I take it DR is Dominican Republic? Going back to the same place you went to last time?


Nope, last time was Puerto Plata, this time it is Punta Cana. Pretty much the same result though, beaches and booze. My sore shoulder and ribs may keep my activity level down. I was able to find some bikes there last time. So far my searches have come up with "It's Complicated" here.

Commutes have been good. Weather is in a rut here. 40F mornings, 50F afternoons with a chance of showers. Not much else to report.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yeah, more important for sure. I don`t remember you mentioning there might have been something wrong, but glad she`s okay.


Maybe I didn't mention it. She was on her way to a doctor's appointment when the car broke down. The appointment was just a precaution. Luckily, she's fine.

Last night our electricity went out in one part of the house (again). These problems keep piling up. I'll flip the breaker and not worry about the electricity until we get back. We replaced a GFCI plug last time, and that worked for a while. I think there is some funky stuff going on in one of our junction boxes. Anyway...life stuff.

I'm enjoying riding the singlespeed again. I had given it up because of some back muscle issues, but now that those are mostly resolved, I need to ride the SS more. I feel like I have gotten weaker on the geared bike.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Went for a nice on-roader with my wife yesterday (she doesn't do off-roaders), and we enjoyed a really nice ride, albeit just a little cool when going into the wind or down a good hill since we were dressed maybe a tad optimistically. AND I found some beckoning off-road trails as we journeyed. Nothing to get too amped up about, but any new (to me) trail that winds around down by the river is fun for me to explore.

The early morning commute had an unusual twist today: a co-worker came upon me as I was semi-leisurely making my way. I just about jumped off my bike when he called my name in the pitch darkness! I'm trying to ride and recover my legs at the same time, but every day something comes up that indicates to me just how difficult that can be. I had to pick up the pace when my co-worker came upon me. HAD to. There was only a mile left at that point anyways.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Getting lighter and lighter in the mornings. I like it. Almost to the point where I won't need a headlight any more. Though this morning it served me well by causing a moose's eyes to shine, alerting me to his presence. Wouldn't have noticed him otherwise. Just standing on the side of the road. Could've pet him as I passed. Fun times. 

As of this AM's commute: 92.2 miles for the week, 538.4 miles for the month, and 1673.15 miles for the year. 

I'll put a minimum of ten more on tonight for the ride home, so a good month overall. May should be even better.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yesterday I was complaining about niggling knee issues. Today I got out the foam roller, and I would swear that thing it is like having a magic reset button. I'd put it away a few months ago and fallen out of the habit of using it, but it is so amazing.

Stupid annoying bb creak on my ride in this morning. I've removed and regreased everything else over the last week, so I guess it's finally time to pull the bb.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> On the was home some drunken dope on the side of the road (waiting for the bus??) yelled BEEP BEEP continuously and made honking motions as I passed, and a Toyota pickup floored it for make-you-jump sound effects as he passed. Sigh.


I am passed by a lifted white Dodge diesel pickup once or twice a week on the commute home. He loves to hammer it and blow black diesel exhaust on me when he passes. Asshat. Sigh.



blockphi said:


> A decent ride in this AM. Getting lighter and lighter in the mornings. I like it. Almost to the point where I won't need a headlight any more. Though this morning it served me well by causing a moose's eyes to shine, alerting me to his presence. Wouldn't have noticed him otherwise. Just standing on the side of the road. Could've pet him as I passed. Fun times.


I switched from my white headlight to my amber daytime running light this past Tuesday. Four months of riding both ways in the daylight! Of course I don't have to worry about running into a moose on my commute...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

blockphi said:


> A decent ride in this AM. Getting lighter and lighter in the mornings. I like it. Almost to the point where I won't need a headlight any more. Though this morning it served me well by causing a moose's eyes to shine, alerting me to his presence. Wouldn't have noticed him otherwise. Just standing on the side of the road. Could've pet him as I passed. Fun times.


Moose: "A human on one of the things they ride, shone light in my eyes this morning. He looked like he might try to pet me, so I looked at him like I might stomp him. Fun times." :thumbsup:


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

Had a good ride on Tuesday. My average speed was up to 11Mph. Yesterday morning was a little rough. The trail was really chunky. It rained all weekend then the horse riders came out to play and left loads of hoof holes everywhere. The ride home I heard some creaking and popping from my rear. Got the bike home and realized most of my spokes were so loose you could just wiggle them around with fingertips. Disappointing I could not ride today. Guess the big box store bike wasn't cut out for 220+ lb me and 20lbs of gear in panniers for 16 miles a day on a trail. 

Good news is as of Tuesday, I am officially no longer a clyde. Gonna read up on truing/wheelbuilding while waiting for my truing stand to arrive.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A few jerks today and one oblivious guy who cut me off as he left a gas station, a classic "I didn't see her in that heinous fluorescent green jacket and helmet and blinking lights" situation. But with about 4 hours in the car for fieldwork today, I was glad to ride before and after.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Great commute today. Last exam of the semester, so I met up with a few peers from the program for a pint on the way home. Beat them there by a few minutes, there really is a first time for everything.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

woodway said:


> I am passed by a lifted white Dodge diesel pickup once or twice a week on the commute home. He loves to hammer it and blow black diesel exhaust on me when he passes. Asshat. Sigh.


It is called rolling coal and it is one the dumbest things I have ever heard of or seen. Cyclists, Prius owners and pedestrians are the biggest targets. Then when they can't find any of those, they target white cars. I had a guy try to roll on me in my Mustang. I simply was not having it. Not at all.

Commutes today were absolutely wonderful. Played leap frog with the bus and every time I get in this situation, I get pissed off. They pass me as I enter the bike lane at a fork in the road. Two lanes headed west bound, one really nice bike lane. There are 4 bus stops within a mile period or less, with 2 lights. The bus stops in the right lane, and then the sea of people enter and exit the bus, causing all sorts of uncertainty. I always take the lane and pass causing me to do a double lane change essentially. I am traveling at traffics speed so that is a non issue. Then the bus blows by me as we pass the second light and the speed limit increases. Almost every day. I need to see if I can time it just right to where I am either ahead of the bus or behind it, not leap frogging it.

Somehow finagled a three day weekend on one of the nicest days of the year. Still not sure how I managed that today but I got Friday off. Big group ride for a picnic and just fun because the forecast is for 71F and sunny. Going to try to ride with the group at a slow city pace, as they call it. 11-12mph and a casual demeanor. It's hard for me, hard because the bike wants to go fast. That sounds cheesy as hell, but it really does. I have a hard time just putting along at those speeds. I usually ride up front and cork for the group, then after they all pass, blast back up to the front for the next intersection. This is like a critical mass style ride, without so many people, and without cyclist/driver altercations.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

No commute for me this morning. I hit the sack last night around 8, just not feeling well. Woke up this morning, and thought nothing of it, got out of the shower, and started getting ready when it all came back. Stomach pains, headache, dizziness. Nothing I can't tough through for a work day, but definitely not something I want to experience while pedaling.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

foxtrot7 said:


> Good news is as of Tuesday, I am officially no longer a clyde. Gonna read up on truing/wheelbuilding while waiting for my truing stand to arrive.


Congrats on that! Is that under 220 or under 200? I think the definition is a little loose.

I had somebody turn directly in front of me yesterday. I just held my course in the most threatening way that you can on a 20lb bike. I bet he was scared that I was going to hit him! Probably not.

Last commuting day before VACA! Pretty much a duplicate of the day before and the day before that and the day before that and the day before that.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

This happened.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I've had the same. It makes your tube look like a woodpecker attacked it on both sides.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Official numbers for April: 
Month - 550.9
Year to date: 1685.65

Not too shabby. Though my legs were feeling it a bit this morning. 

Other than that, standard commute. Good times.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Official numbers for April:
> Month - 550.9
> Year to date: 1685.65
> 
> ...


Dang, I'm at just over 800 for the year. A bit behind where I'd like to be but dang have I been busy. It'll be ok. I'll make up for it after I graduate next week and can't have busy as my excuse.


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Congrats on that! Is that under 220 or under 200? I think the definition is a little loose.


Thanks. Under 200. I was 230 beginning January.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

foxtrot7 said:


> Thanks. Under 200. I was 230 beginning January.


Congrats. I am 188 down from 235 in December of 2013. You build heavier muscle riding and so dropping 6" in waist band is maybe more indicative.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

biker_soldier101 said:


> This happened.


Yeah. I've been nailed, screwed, sliced, and bored (but no goat heads here, TG). Almost makes you want a magnetic bar suspended just in front of the front wheel to clear the way.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I've had the same. It makes your tube look like a woodpecker attacked it on both sides.


I was going to patch it but it has 3 holes in the tube and I heard air coming out of the area around the stem. We will see when I put air in it without it being in the tire.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

NDD said:


> Dang, I'm at just over 800 for the year. A bit behind where I'd like to be but dang have I been busy. It'll be ok. I'll make up for it after I graduate next week and can't have busy as my excuse.


I'm only at 995 miles for the year. Will tip over 1000 on the way home. Better than last year but well short of where I wanted to be this year. Kinda disappointing considering I was riding even in the snow. Just seems like I haven't been able to get very many weekend rides in due to other obligations! Damn, I hate responsibility!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> Yeah. I've been nailed, screwed, sliced, and bored (but no goat heads here, TG). Almost makes you want a magnetic bar suspended just in front of the front wheel to clear the way.


For some strange reason I kept seeing (thankfully) lots of sharp pointy objects on my way to work this morning. Other than broken glass, I don't usually see many screws, nails, etc. Goatheads, never see them until I'm prying them out of my tires.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Goatheads? Excuse my noobness.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ A thorny plant that is designed to puncture bike tires. Not unlike the sand spurs in Florida but stouter.
Tribulus terrestris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luckily, we have neither here in Maine.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I lost my cool yesterday. Riding home about an hour later than normal (around 7 - 7:30ish) and got cutoff by a driver turning left across the westbound lanes onto a side street. He clearly saw me because he cut the intersection to try to turn before I got there, despite the fact there were no cars in front or behind me in any of the three westbound lanes. I had to slam on the brakes to not hit him. I lost my temper. 

I turned into the church parking lot at the corner and cut across it to the sidestreet that the asshat had turned onto. He was stuck at the next light with a no turn on red sign so I charged up next to him to have a chat. I'm yelling at the guy and waving at him from his passenger window but he's completely pre-occupied...and not by a cell phone. While waiting for the light, this numb nuts is literally playing with his nuts. At times even mixing it up with the off-hand. I couldn't ****ing believe it! 

Eventually he did look up to see me gesticulating wildly and yelling at him and he just stares at me blankly. I ask him why he didn't just wait back there and he had no answer. Then the light changed and he pulled away. He had absolutely nothing to say. If you're going to drive like an idiot, be prepared for someone to call you on it. Maybe he was feeling for his balls because he didn't seem to have any.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dude, Kleebs. That is some nonsense. Who diddles themselves while driving? 

z1r, that is the sentiment exactly. I never stopped, but I'm behind my goal. Catching up to do.

Bedwards, I had heard of goat heads but not looked then up. Never seen that plant family before... Probably because it's a non native invasive species. Is it just too prevalent to really eradicate like honeysuckle is over in the mid Midwest? People should be all about tearing that up.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Forgot to mention that on my way in this morning I was a mere few feet from a wild Turkey, no, not the bottled kind. I'm used to seeing geese everyday so it took a second to register that the coloring and shape were wrong. A big beautiful, female! Made me glad to be on my bike and not in my steel cage!

Have a stellar weekend everybody!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, Kleebs, talk about distracted driving! Glad you came out safe from that disaster area.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

I was feeling kinda down about no biking today on the first day of Bike Month, but while hanging out after dinner, I decided it was time for a nightcap. But, I was running low on bourbon, having only enough for one weak drink. I saddled up and headed to the liquor store a few miles away. Everything went without a hitch on the way there, but as I was on my way home, I pulled up to a car at a stop sign who didn't have their lights on at 9 at night. I tapped the window and informed them, to which I was met with "Whuuu?". I repeated myself, they stared at their dashboard for a second, and then told me that everything was working fine. I flagged down a cop in a nearby parking lot (with a bottle of whiskey in my backpack, just for irony's sake), and waved at the officer as I passed them on the side of the road a block later. Good times.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Clearly, seeking bourbon is good for society. Bicycling to get bourbon improves highway safety. Well done Texan.

Had a great ride in, no wind, no foolishness, etc. except where I have to cross over the interstate and the surrounding exits are closed for construction season. Even that mess was as painless as it has ever been. 

Got to work and found out that I could have my car back, and that three of my coworkers are planning to start commuting from a nearby farm, park and ride style. Bike month is off to a good start here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Help tomorrow's bikecommuters learn to ride...



velomom said:


> The non-profit, Axel Project, my husband and I started after the loss of our son is up for a $10,00 grant. We'd use it to get kids 2-5 started cycling in PreK.
> 
> We are so close but need a few more votes. It's an easy one, 3 seconds with no logins.
> 
> ...


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Festive. Not really a commute, but my standard university commute plus a few miles and a few friends. Graduation day at WMU, Prom night for several local schools, and an earthquake that shook everyone up but seems to have hurt nothing.

I met up with a few of my colleagues on campus, and we rode out to the bowing alley to celebrate their achievements and the glorious weather. The return ride was slow with all the revelers out downtown, but it seemed like everyone had a smile on.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

We felt that earthquake a bit over here as well. Kind of surprised me to be honest. Not something that happens here on a daily basis.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A powerful and moving ride today with about 500 other people to remember Richard Tom, killed.on his bike last weekend. We.started at the high school the deceased driver attended, passed the crash site, continued through Richard's condo and pedaled back to the high school.

About 400 ride to remember Hinesburg crash victims

Local author Chris Bohjalian (love his books!) also wrote about it today in the paper..
Let's learn from this spring's bike tragedies


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Had to stop for a little 'Merica moment yesterday.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Had to stop for a little 'Merica moment yesterday.
> 
> View attachment 985998


Hey, look. It's an Alaskan pigeon! 

Good ride in this AM. A bit chilly, but shaping up to be a glorious day.

Yesterday I took a brief ride after doing some repairs to the bike on Saturday - broke the rear der on Friday night and decided to swap to a different rear tire. On the way home blew the tire off the bead. Just rolling along climbing a small incline on grass. Slow and low and then...BOOM! Stan's is some messy stuff! More annoyance than anything. So, swapped back to the tire I was using and will call it good for now.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

How was my commute? Crap. Spent Sunday evening hovering over the toilet... Sorry, but with the stomach thing I had going on I couldnt tell which end was going to erupt...

So I had very little energy this morning. Plus a full backpack (clean towel, toiletries for the week office clothes and so on...) made for a slow spin into the office. Left my bag at work for the return ride. Felt better and so was up for hammering. Big mistake. Hadnt eaten properly all day. Managed to bonk on a 11km ride. And it was raining.  

Tomorrow will be better ... I hope...


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Really nice commute in this morning. As gas prices go back up (nearly $3.00/gallon now), its actually a good thing for me, because, that means that I'm saving more money by commuting!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, if you had gotten any closer to that "AK Pigeon", you`d have needed an umbrella! Was that around Susanville?

Feeling a little icky since Friday. Not as bad as Ghost wrote about, but low energy, stuffy nose, sinus headache. Had a quincañera Sat, road trip with my wife and my mom and dad yesterday, sloooowly working in the yard today on drip irrigation problems and weeding. Only three days this week, which is going to suck come payday, but I`ll take the four day weekend.



mtbxplorer said:


> A powerful and moving ride today with about 500 other people to remember Richard Tom, killed.on his bike last weekend. We.started at the high school the deceased driver attended, passed the crash site, continued through Richard's condo and pedaled back to the high school.


Quite a turn out for a weekday. It`s nice that the mouners/celebrants haven`t gotten into any finger pointing or "Us V Them" crap.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB, if you had gotten any closer to that "AK Pigeon", you`d have needed an umbrella! Was that around Susanville?


Yeah, about 3/4 of a mile into my commute route. There are a few nesting at the lakes that we frequent in the summer, to it's not a total shock to see one around, but I understand that bald eagles are to Alaska what deer are to us around here. I still can't get over the size of them when you're close. You can sort of see in the pic that it had half of a rabbit or something up there, and was having a little snack. After a minute of me staring at it, it took off...jumped off the post and sort of swooped down over the road, and I swear the wingspan took up almost a whole lane. It almost dropped some rabbit parts on me. Just awesome. I don't care how many they have in Alaska, they're freaking cool! :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My ride in this morning was ok. The ride back home was awesome, first withoutbjacket, just a shirt, this year.

Nice bird btw. I wonder what kind of wildlife you all see along the way? I see roe deers a lot, sometimes 15 of them. Furthermore I ve seen a boar 2 times and regularly birds of prey. And of course lots of predators in rolling steel cages. From now on I will always ride in daylight. Although safer I will miss the colourful sunrises I see in february and march.

For tomorrow morning rain is expected. And for the way home, thunderstorms are expected. Summer is fighting its way in. Will still take the bike though, the train drivers are on strike for the entire week so buses and roads are gonna be overfilled for sure. Luckily I have separated bikepaths for most of the way. Am looking forward to see those grumpy people in their cars :d


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice bird btw. I wonder what kind of wildlife you all see along the way?


That's a great idea for a thread... I'm gonna start one!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^CB, great idea, but some of them have to be alive! Nice LIVE eagle shot!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Picked up one of those really basic little speed computers for my bike on Saturday. Cateye Padrone. It does what I need it to. I like it, because I can see when I start to slow down and force myself to start pedaling harder/faster. That's pretty nice and my average speed was up today. Woo? I dunno, it's entertaining. I also can make sure I'm not passing too quick by people with two dogs and a baby and a toddler rolling on his own...

CB, all I saw was a dumb old broad-winged hawk (I think, definitely not a red-tailed). I'm too lazy to stop to take pictures. Sometimes I see barred owls and skunks. Maybe I'll have to actually take photos of wildlife. Probably not. Too lazy.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Took the "long way home" tonight. LBS does a slower Monday night ride, and I decided to jump in on that before heading home. 

While out on the ride, my right knee started burning, shooting pain down my calf and into my ankle. I have no idea what to do about it, other than trying a few other seat height methods and see if that does anything. I'm grasping at straws. 

In good news, I'll be headed to Texas next month for interviews, and hopefully moving in 2 months. Can't wait for a change of scenery, some single track in my backyard, and actual elevation change.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I assume you passed the line of cars on the left which means there was room. I would have stopped behind the 2 cars that were turning right and then turned beside the first car that was turning left at the same time.


Completely forgot I posted this! I passed on the right. I'm starting to think I'll change how I handle those situations in the future. I'll either start waiting in line, or if the line is REALLY long and I don't want to wait, I'll pass the cars but turn right then loop back around to reverse directions.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

BANG goes the tube. After ordering a new puncture resistant tire while I waited for my Schwalbe warranty replacement because I kept getting puncture flats, my tube failed at the seam in spectacular fashion. On the plus side I did finally get my replacement tire, took well over a month and I had already bought a replacement but at least they came through eventually.

Also got to test my new Lezyne mini-pump in the real world and I have to say I wish I bought this thing sooner. Having the hose on the mini-pump is so much nicer, got my 700x35 up to a bit over 40psi with little effort and rode the last couple miles home. I'm sure I could've gotten to my usual 65psi riding pressure if I needed to, but the floor pump wasn't far away.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent commute this AM. Still a bit chilly in the mornings, but overall, getting nicer and nicer.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Supposed to have a high of about 70F, but there's snow in the forecast for tonight...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

this morning was quite nice. It rained all night but this morning it was dry already. Due to the rain everything smelled just lovely. I had light headwinds but you can't have it all 

Today I kept an eye on the weather radar all day and left a bit early at 4.15pm when the thunderstorms were approaching. At least it was the first day that I could ride in T-Shirt and shorts. Shouldn't have left a minute later, caught the first drops just before home and before I was well in the house, literally all hell broke loose. Gusts up to 50mph, 2cm of water on the streets and hail stones upto 7-8 mm. Went out in this apocalypse to drive the car under the carport. 

And because it was so warm, I forgot to take my windjacket, so no idea what to wear tomorrow. Probably my rain jacket with the underarm zips wide open, but will still be pretty steamy I gues...


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Purrrrfect riding conditions lately. My legs are rebounding a little, too, but still not 100%. I've been working on those pedestrian bridges, especially the transitions, and I'm happy to say it's paying dividends... I carry 5-10 mph (8-16kph) to the hop-off point at the foot of the steps, mindful not to grab too much front brake on the dismount! And shoulder the bike for sprinting up the steps two-at-a-time, having already set the proper bridge gear prior to dismount, set the pedal, sprint across the bridge, kill the speed carefully before the opposite end steps and then quick-foot it down to street level.

It's not much, but working on the little stuff keeps it fun


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

^Cyclocross training


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Not so great today, bad drivers were out in droves. Got buzzed close enough to feel it, then cut off for an apparent convenience store "emergency" (had any pedestrians been in the lot they would have been run over). 

The ride home was ok until I was in downtown Barre and heard a car coming up way too fast from behind and to my left - I was concerned at that speed that it would rearend the car stopped the light I was approaching. 

But no, just as he was about to pass me he hit the ear splitting siren. I nearly jumped out of my skin as the local PD went by. Had he hit the siren a half block back both the motorists and I could responded better. I almost forgave him 2 blocks later when I saw him in a side street and apparently dealing with a domestic situation. I heard someone called a MOFO as I pedaled by, and I don't think it was the cop.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Not so great today, bad drivers were out in droves. Got buzzed close enough to feel it, then cut off for an apparent convenience store "emergency" (had any pedestrians been in the lot they would have been run over).


Man, fuel and pork rinds is a real-life emergency.

I woke up an hour late today. Had to quick throw on some fresh rags and hop in the car. Sadness. Threw my bike in the car so I could go on the shop ride after my final exam, though. It was a really good ride. Rocked the single speed. Some dudes were rather impressed that I could hold my own on a single speed, but I bet they wouldn't be if they tried it. Life is just so much simpler with one gear (most of the time). Plus I ride that thing most days. I'm considering getting the mtb out to ride tomorrow and hitting the off-road trails on the way home after my LAST FINAL OF UNDERGRAD!!!.

Sorry for all caps, but it was crucial.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

And now for a short interlude on Canadian politics...

Alberta is kindof like Canada's Texas. Now that's obviously not being fair to either place, but it works okay as shorthand. Basically: Oil, Cowboys, Conservative.

For my entire life there has been 1 government - the conservatives, who have been in power since 1971. In my parents' lives there have been 2 governments, with the SoCreds in power from 1935 to 1971. And in the 110 year history of the province there have been just 4 governments (or 3 different changes in power).

So last night there was an election, and the latest 44-year dynasty ended. And Canada's Texas elected a new government of recumbent-riding communist hippies.

And finally that brings me to my commuting-related punchline:


__
https://flic.kr/p/suKXD4

Evidently hell really has frozen over. (I would have gotten pictures of flying pigs for commuterboy's wildlife thread, but they were too quick for me.)


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this morning. Nothing exciting. No snow (thank goodness?) and Alaska is still Alaska as usual - crackpots and wingnuts.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NDD said:


> LAST FINAL OF UNDERGRAD!!!


:band:


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Short ride yesterday because I woke up late. Nice ride in today. I love May in my neighborhood because the whole month is the Bike to School Challenge and holy cow do the kids get into it. The fence surrounding the football field at the middle school becomes a gigantic bike rack and it is packed to the gills. I'll swing by and snap a picture of it tomorrow. It's quite a site to see.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was nice. No close calls, nothing thrown, no one being an idiot or out to get me. Just good weather, nice music, and the sound of my tires on the black top. When I got to the office, no one was there and I don't have a key, so I pedaled a few blocks down and rode along the river, watching the dark blue sky break into morning over some huge clouds and chase away the night. First time in a long time that I had done something like that, and I'm not sure why I don't do it more often. Seems to always set my day off on the right track.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> And now for a short interlude on Canadian politics...
> 
> Alberta is kindof like Canada's Texas. Now that's obviously not being fair to either place, but it works okay as shorthand. Basically: Oil, Cowboys, Conservative.
> 
> ...


^^That entire post is hilarious :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yesterday I was luckier than I thought. Just after I came home, all hell broke loose and we had 2cm of water on the terrace, almost seeping through the door. Luckily the seal held up. This morning I heard on the news that there was a lot of damage to buildings in town, 1 person got killed in his car when an entire roof (!) and 2 others were injured by falling trees. In a neighbouring town (approx 50miles away) a tornado formed that devastated an entire neighbourhood. So after reading that on the news I was not so proud of my very precise interpretation of the weather radar anymore and decided to be more careful next time.

On the way in this morning I had to get from the bike twice to somehow get around a fallen tree. A third one was already moved out of the way. On the way back home the wind had picked up, 20 kts and gusting 30 kts headwind, so I was on the drops most of the time. Although I set up my bike mostly for riding on the tops and the hoods, this was exactly the kind of thing that made me switch from flatbar to dropbar. Hence I still enjoyed the ride


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Short ride yesterday because I woke up late. Nice ride in today. I love May in my neighborhood because the whole month is the Bike to School Challenge and holy cow do the kids get into it. The fence surrounding the football field at the middle school becomes a gigantic bike rack and it is packed to the gills. I'll swing by and snap a picture of it tomorrow. It's quite a site to see.


If I remember, I'll swing by the middle school on my way to work. Three (3) lots dedicated to bike parking. Shame the adults don't get into as much as the kids.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Kleebs said:


> It's quite a site to see.


Nice pun.


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## Sgraffite (Oct 6, 2014)

Got a lot of rain yesterday and the construction near REI flooded, as well as Confluence Park:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ Denver?


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## Sgraffite (Oct 6, 2014)

newfangled said:


> ^ Denver?


Yup


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Sgraffite said:


> Yup


I miss living in Denver. Used to rent an apt at Colfax and Adams, right down the street from the Bluebird.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> :band:


That's me right now.

Biked up to the uni. Bit of a tailwind and quick as Hell. Took the mtb today and clipped in for the first time in a while.

After my final I hit the the off-road trail before heading home. So stoked, I broke four of my own records. Then I headed home and it was slow going since I had the headwind coming back.

it got hot quick around here. Friggin 84 degrees today. Oh well. Got home and cracked open a Mickey's, so that'll solve that problem.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^That entire post is hilarious :lol:


+1!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sgraffite said:


>


What kind of fenders are these?


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> Nice pun.


I'm glad someone caught it


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute yesterday was great. 57F on the way in, and strangely, 64F 9.5 hours later which was a pleasant surprise. No complaints other than I did not do proper maintenance on my bike and stopped at the shop for air in both tires, to raise the saddle and adjust chain tension. Never grab a bike off the rack and just ride it. Seatpost started creaking last night right when I got home so I removed it and thoroughly greased it up. Should be good to go. 

Todays ride already shows 70F and a high of 82F. That is alright with me. Think I will try out my new Felt jersey that I picked up over the weekend from the LBS where I bought my Felt last year.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The commute in today was excellent; must have warmed up 15 degrees during the 50 minutes it takes to go from home to work. I had to take off my jacket and stuff it in my backpack at a stoplight.

As promised yesterday, here are some pics of our local middle school and the turnout for the start of the bike to school challenge. These pictures don't really capture the racks that are closest to the school entrance or the bikes on the far side of the football field, but it's probably 60-70% of them. I tried to take a rolling video of them but it didn't come out very well. 
















I love seeing kids on bikes. It just makes me smile. If only the high school could get a turn out like this


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. First morning of wearing shorts. Not the warmest day this spring so far, but I just decided I was done carrying the extra clothing items. Of course, shorts make me much more vulnerable to the mosquitos as I wait for the bus.


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

This morning was a beast. I swear that it was a headwind no matter what direction I turned. Nothing makes you humble like working your ass off and barely tipping 14 mph average. 

Finally tried out this Runnur shoulder sling thing I was gifted at Christmas. I really like it, and since I don't carry much on my commute, it works well for carrying the necessities.


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## Guest (May 7, 2015)

Another day in a week of suck. 3-7" of rain around our place last night. No way I'm wading to work if I can't see the roadway. I was able to drive on the interstate hwy, but it appears to be one-directional as the other entrance and both exits at our exchange are under water and coned off. Supposed to thunderstorm all week either before work, after work or all day.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

All the snow from yesterday is slowly melting. There's a short little pedestrian bridge that I have to cross on the way to work, and it was crazily treacherous. Ended up having to get off and walk because the combination of melt, a thin layer of ice, and big chunky ice was way worse than actual winter conditions.

Lets see if this flickr video works...



__
https://flic.kr/p/sdXaX4

(edited to add: apparently not. But anyway, it's a link to a video where you'd swear my dog's back legs are broken, which is totally not the case)


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## Sgraffite (Oct 6, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> What kind of fenders are these?


They are from old trials motorcycles and the plastic they are made from is very strong. They cost from $5 to $10 at a local motorcycle junkyard here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Lets see if this flickr video works...


With a little persistence, it does. I had to turn it on a couple of times.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Fantastic day today. 38 and clear in the morning. Watched Mt. Rainier light up as the sun rose.  69 and sunny for the ride home.

I'm taking tomorrow off work and plan to ride over to the property my wife and I own on the other side of the Cascades. I installed some beefier tires onto my commuter because I'm going to be doing some gravel-grinding to get there. It's going to be epic! I'll post some pics over the weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely here as well, 60'sF and sunny this morning made for a glorious ride with a work-related detour to drop off some files. Only downside was fighting with a coil lock at my destination. those things are the worst invention ever, a straight cable (mine was at work) is way easier to use and more flexible to pack (note, cables for low theft areas only!). Detour again to ORS LBS before hours (sorry!) and rewarded with a freebie drop bar replacement plug that had gone missing. Only an extra mile and a half for the errands, but it was so beautiful I felt like going ad going. Went to work instead, and the ride home was crazy, still 83F at about 6:30 pm, in VT in early May.


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

My last 3 commutes have not been very fun. First of on all 3 days I get a brutal head wind on my way to work. That should mean I get a nice tail wind for home. NOPE wind is going to make a 180 so you get to slog through it all over again. 

Yesterday I had to crash into a Palo Verde and other assortment of bushes and cacti because 2 joggers and their toy rat dog refused to let me have 3 feet of a 6-8 foot wide trail. My arms and face were scraped up pretty bad and I was dripping blood. One of them had the nerve to chuckle and call me an idiot. I asked her "How long do you thing a dead body would go unnoticed in all this brush?" Her smirk disappeared rather quickly.

I know, I know. Probably not the most classy response. But the joggers on this trail are all incredibly rude. Other bikes, old people walking, even the horsebackers are all polite. I am done risking my neck taking lines too damn close to the brush and scraping myself up. From now on if you don't move over and let me have just 1/4 of the trail, I am making my line obvious, up shifting and getting out the saddle and making it very obvious I have no intention of moving. Hopefully once it breaks 100F there will be less idiots. Still, it is far less annoying than driving. 

On the upside tomorrow will mark 4/5 days commuting this week. Will be my record.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Dare I say that it was hot today? Commute in was 81F, in Michigan, the first week of May. Not complaining at all that is for sure. Broke out a jersey and shorts for the ride just to see how this new jersey was. I hate it, I mean I like it, but I hate how it makes me look. Accentuates every damn Oreo I have ever eaten in my life. Time to lose the weight. Classes on campus are finishing up, and people are everywhere. Was moving along nicely in the bike lane approaching a small intersection and a crosswalk for pedestrians. Girl on a bike is approaching to cross the road. She looks, she sees me traveling at a nice rate of speed. No way she would dare pull out and try to cross.......ah, yeah she did. Not only did she cross, she crossed and attempted to angle her way into the bike lane. She was on a Townie style bike, seat way too low and in flip flops. She saw me, you know how I know? After grabbing a bunch of front brake, and as I pass her in the lane, she said "sorry." I looked back at her and said "really?" and kept moving. I had to shake my head at that. 

Ride home was amazing, 72F and a light breeze. You can just smell the blossoms and flowers in the air. What a great night to ride home. A bit on the humid side though and I was sweating pretty bad as I left the neighborhood and was back onto the bike lane headed towards the MUP about 5.5 miles into an 8.5 mile commute. Yep, that is when it happened. Flat tire. These damn Vittorria Rubino's just suck. Fast tire, if you are on a track, but for city riding they suck. I hit something, a rock or glass or whatever. Second flat on this specific tire in a month. Damnit. I didn't feel like changing it so I walked it home. I know how to change it, just makes no sense since the wheel is going into the shop tomorrow for work, and a new tire. Ordered the mid range Gatorskins and they are in, along with my replacement spokes and nipples. So I had a nice walk home down the entire MUP in silence except for the frogs, bugs, and whatever else is out there in the swamp area. Did some real soul searching, wasn't pissed off, just enjoyed the time that I had pushing a super light fixed gear bike down a pitch black path with my 320 lumens lighting the way. The sound of cleats clicking on the cement and sweat running into my eyes as I walked along. It was pretty amazing honestly.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Nice post TenSpeed. The first part idiotic and the second part idyllic. Kinda a yin yang thing. Other cyclists can be a major PITA 

The way in today was lovely! I dropped off our little one at kindergarten (barnehagen for those of you with a drop of Scandinavian in you) with no tears at all!

The ride in was in lovely sunshine with (I estimate) 15 degrees C or so. Shorts and t-shirt weather for sure! Average of 27 kph/250W with a max speed of 57 kph. I am happy with that even if they are Strava watts 

Had a idiot in an Audi SUV blast his horn at me this morning though. 

I was in the bike lane and coming up to a roundabout - to get into the correct lane to go straight ahead I had to cross the inside lane (goes to right only) and take the outer lane. I did a shoulder check, saw him (and I mean really saw him - the driver - older guy with grey hair and a green baseball cap with a black puffer jacket; I really looked) he saw me, I signalled and he slowed to allow me out (the bike lane ends for the roundabout anyway) I pull out, wave thanks and give him the thumbs up. He then waits until I am in the middle of the lane and about 3 foot in front of his hood when he blasts the horn at me and starts gesticulating for me to get out the way! I cross to the outer lane and he roars off full gas - only to slam on the brakes because the round about is less than 100m ahead. 

It was strange... I just had to flip him off after that...


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Good morning! I've been so lazy lately. Between vacation, bad weather, and starting a relationship after being single for a few years, I haven't been commuting much. It's hard to get out of bed early when there's someone else in it.  Thankfully I'm dating a fellow cyclist, so he's going to start biking me to work some mornings, as he works from home and can make his own schedule. 

Really nice ride in this morning, although a bit humid. I was dripping sweat by the time I rolled into work. My bike miles for the year finally passed my running miles for the year yesterday (approximately 500.) I'm behind on both. Yikes!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Welcome back, congrats on the relationship! As a single guy, heh, I know that getting out of bed when you are alone is pretty easy. Not so much when you have a reason to stay in it. At least he rides so that will help you get your miles back up.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Chilly and foggy morning, but good attendance for Friday morning coffee



__
https://flic.kr/p/sxWQBc


__
https://flic.kr/p/sgnEEW

My newly-minted elected representative is in there somewhere. Finishing the rest of the ride to work, I totally lost count of the huge number of cyclists I saw (including one guy, on a tandem, with panniers, hauling a trailer)


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Rained last night

Sunny 0C ride in...

Shorts, summer boots tee, and a sweater...

Dont care it is summer for now until Sept.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Weather was incredible here yesterday as well. 60F on the way in and 83F on the way home. The ride along lake erie is beautiful this time of year, and yesterday evening the lake was particularly calm and beautiful. Today looks to be an exact clone of yesterday's weather, so I'm hoping to take off early and get some extra miles in.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Welcome back, congrats on the relationship! As a single guy, heh, I know that getting out of bed when you are alone is pretty easy. Not so much when you have a reason to stay in it. At least he rides so that will help you get your miles back up.


I know, right? I was single for about 3 years, so this is new territory for me lately.

Oh, he's planning a week long bike tour across part of Wisconsin for us later this summer, so I'm going to be getting more miles than I know what to do with. LOL. He's ridden across the U.S. before. Not sure what I'm getting myself into...


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

foxtrot7 said:


> My last 3 commutes have not been very fun. First of on all 3 days I get a brutal head wind on my way to work. That should mean I get a nice tail wind for home. NOPE wind is going to make a 180 so you get to slog through it all over again.
> 
> Yesterday I had to crash... My arms and face were scraped up pretty bad and I was dripping blood. One of them had the nerve to chuckle and call me an idiot. I asked her "How long do you thing a dead body would go unnoticed in all this brush?" Her smirk disappeared quickly.


Polite, maybe not... yet perhaps quite fitting 

I never think of those perfect responses until after the fact...

Rain came down forcefully yesterday. I was wise, I think, to skip that commute and opt for 4 wheels and rain protection instead 

Today it's been gray skies and coolish, but not bad for commuting. I took a different strategy today- left myself ample time. It was nice to take a "toolsy" pace in for a change, rather than my usual door-to-door sprint. Novel.


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

Commute in this morning was great. Even a little chilly (68F). Today was a milestone for me. 4 commutes in a week. And 4 days in a row at that. Had a bit of a head wind going in to work but barely noticeable. Stepped outside around 3pm for a little walk around the office (I get antsy at work waiting for my commute home) and it started to rain. Bummed me out a bit as I do not like the mud that rains in the desert bring. I did notice that the wind really picked up and was heading west. NICE! I might get a tail wind going home. 

No the storm moved west and the wind started blowing east. The commute home was slow and felt like I was trying to plow my bike through pudding. F-U foxtrot wind flavored pudding. Add to this my body decided to say "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME" 2.5 miles in and my legs went to slush. Spent the entire ride in my "You sissy!" chainring. 

I made it home though. Took my shower and felt good about my little milestone. Got 2 days of recovery till I shoot for 5 days next week


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Love that foggy bridge photo, Newf. Sounds like fun, WItrail!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

foxtrot7 said:


> Commute in this morning was great. Even a little chilly (68F). Today was a milestone for me. 4 commutes in a week. And 4 days in a row at that. Had a bit of a head wind going in to work but barely noticeable. Stepped outside around 3pm for a little walk around the office (I get antsy at work waiting for my commute home) and it started to rain. Bummed me out a bit as I do not like the mud that rains in the desert bring. I did notice that the wind really picked up and was heading west. NICE! I might get a tail wind going home.
> 
> No the storm moved west and the wind started blowing east. The commute home was slow and felt like I was trying to plow my bike through pudding. F-U foxtrot wind flavored pudding. Add to this my body decided to say "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME" 2.5 miles in and my legs went to slush. Spent the entire ride in my "You sissy!" chainring.
> 
> I made it home though. Took my shower and felt good about my little milestone. Got 2 days of recovery till I shoot for 5 days next week


I like this. Congrats on the achievement. Feels damn good to make it home in weather like that, sissy ring or not, at least you rode it home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had an amazing bike "commute" on Friday. Instead of riding to the office, I rode from my house northeast of Seattle to property that my wife and I own located 100 miles east over the Cascade Mountains.

I rode my daily commuter (drop-bar cross bike) and the only change I made was to fit the bike with with 700x28 gatorskins.

I set out around 8:30 in the morning on suburban roads with a fair amount of morning commute traffic.










After about 15 miles of riding I left most of the traffic behind and rode on quiet country roads.










Soon I could see in the distance the mountains that I was about to cross.










Eventually I jumped onto a gravel rail-trail and rode that for a good long way. Nice trail with a very rideable and smooth surface. I generally had it to myself. Rodar, this trail might look familiar to you 










Now it was time for the only really unpleasant part of the ride. I had to ride on I-90 for about 15 miles. It's legal and there really is no alternative to the interstate for the route that I wanted to take. So I sucked it up and rode down the on-ramp onto the freeway.










The shoulder was wide and fairly clear of debris and after a couple of minutes I got (somewhat) used to the traffic flying by at 70MPH+. Not soon enough the I-90 portion of the ride was over and I was able to exit onto a dirt road that was potholed but pleasant to ride.










The dirt road eventually became paved and as I ground up to the top of the pass the views kept getting better.










Once over the top, I had to ride a gravel rail trail for about 10 miles. Rough, but manageable. The scenery made it worthwhile.










I had one more quick stint on I-90 and then was back onto the gravel rail trail for a bit. After exiting the rail trail I was back onto quiet country roads. It's quite a bit drier on the east side of the Cascades.










After passing through a small town I finally made it to the Teanaway Valley, only a few miles from my final destination.










I pulled into our property 109 miles and 8.5 hours later were my wife was waiting for me. I was tired but happy! A couple of days off the bike and I'll be ready for my regular boring ride to work Monday morning. 

You can see my ride here:

https://www.strava.com/activities/300739549


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

109 miles and you rode on the interstate? Bada**!!!!!!!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

woodway - I am jealous as hell! that's an epic ride and that is a Science Fact!


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

Epic ride Woodway. Great pictures too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

foxtrot7 said:


> Epic ride Woodway. Great pictures too.


+ 1 Words fail me!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Warm and humid. Pretty uneventful, but I did pass 1,000 miles for the year finally.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

High threat of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and into this evening so I am going to drive, again, for the third day in a row. Arm still hurts from the crash Friday night, and I still have not fixed the flat on the front but I am sort of ready to get back on the bike and ride again.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Woodway that's a badass ride! I would be shitting myself riding on the interstate. Thanks for the pictures along the way. Really brought your ride to life for me.

I generally get the same weather as TenSpeed, just a few hours later. That means we also have the threat of severe t-storms this evening so I opted to drive. I'll be back on the bike soon after. 

formula4speed, I also just rolled over 1000 miles for the year. I'm at 1,010.3 commuting miles, 1,197.1 total miles. I think I need to get more fun rides in...


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

It's amazing how smooth the bike can be when I spend 2 hours cleaning and lubing because I couldn't get the project car into the garage before the thunderstorm arrived.

I'm having the opposite issue as it seems most have with drivers. They're too nice and treat me like a pedestrian more than a vehicle, stopping to allow me to go even when I have clearly yielded right of way to them, as I should. They wouldn't think twice if I did the same thing in a car or on a motorcycle. My only options seem to be to just go or to obstinately stop and insist that they drive normally. The former seems to reinforce the notion, the latter rude. Is there a third option to let them know they don't need to wait, without being rude about it?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I've gone both ways... I finally decided that it is my job to make people drive normal. Too many people stopping in the middle of the road when they don't have a stop sign, insisting that I ride out into traffic even though I'm happily waiting at a stop sign waiting for a gap in traffic. I just unclip, put a foot down, and stare at them. They can think whatever they want, I'm not going. 


Woodway wins! Nice one. I've really been itching for a big long day in the saddle like that. The self-imposed century is better than the organized century in my experience  It's the best feeling in the world having nothing to do for an entire day except turn those pedals over and watch the world go by. I'm jealous.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

About an inch of snow fluffy big flakes...didnt stick on the roads though.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Of course my first flat of the year would be on the first day of bike to work week


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I spent the majority of a long weekend camping and exploring in NorCal, just got back last night. One memorable moment was hunkering down late Fri afternoon in the midst of a sudden downpour. It had been sprinkling on and off for a few hours, then suddenly let lose on me and my adventure parnter when we were on an exposed ridge in territory unfamiliar to both of us. I quickly set up my tent in the middle of the road, and the other guy threw tarp over himself with rain, then hail falling in buckets, lightning flashing all around us (the scary part). A half hour later, it stopped just as suddenly as it had started and we decided to turn around and drop back into the canyon, call it a day. Found a postcard campsite right next to the Middle Fork of the Feather River and ended up having a great evening followed by a dry night. Memory that will last forever.



Kleebs said:


> As promised yesterday, here are some pics of our local middle school and the turnout for the start of the bike to school challenge.


By gum, that IS quiet a cite to sea! Brings vary hopeful thoughts 



foxtrot7 said:


> Yesterday I had to crash into a Palo Verde and other assortment of bushes and cacti because 2 joggers and their toy rat dog refused to let me have 3 feet of a 6-8 foot wide trail.


Yikes! Blood does kind of take the fun out of a ride. I know it`s always easier to make split second decisions when hearing the story told than when you`re in the thick of it yourself, but why couldn`t you just stop when the joggers and rat-dog were getting close and apparently not giving way? Let them figure out how to avoid you instead of diving into the cactus? Still sucks, but it seems to me it would have been better than drawing your own blood. Congrats on the new record!



Ghost_HTX said:


> I did a shoulder check, saw him (and I mean really saw him - the driver - older guy with grey hair and a green baseball cap with a black puffer jacket; I really looked) he saw me, I signalled and he slowed to allow me out (the bike lane ends for the roundabout anyway) I pull out, wave thanks and give him the thumbs up. He then waits until I am in the middle of the lane and about 3 foot in front of his hood when he blasts the horn at me and starts gesticulating for me to get out the way! I cross to the outer lane and he roars off full gas - only to slam on the brakes because the round about is less than 100m ahead.


:lol: I love it!
Was that your little one`s first day of school? In NA, they usually start in late Aug.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Chilly and foggy morning, but good attendance for Friday morning coffee


Great shots, both of `em :thumbsup:



woodway said:


> I had an amazing bike "commute" on Friday. Instead of riding to the office, I rode from my house northeast of Seattle to property that my wife and I own located 100 miles east over the Cascade Mountains.


Jeez, nice way to start a weekend! Is the part I might recognize the Snoqualmie Trail? Beautiful, for sure. I`ve ridden a stretch of I-80 a few times. Actually not too bad (might help that my longest interstate stint was in the middle of the night). Thanks for another great ride report


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I spent the majority of a long weekend camping and exploring in NorCal, just got back last night. One memorable moment was hunkering down late Fri afternoon in the midst of a sudden downpour. It had been sprinkling on and off for a few hours, then suddenly let lose on me and my adventure parnter when we were on an exposed ridge in territory unfamiliar to both of us. I quickly set up my tent in the middle of the road, and the other guy threw tarp over himself with rain, then hail falling in buckets, lightning flashing all around us (the scary part). A half hour later, it stopped just as suddenly as it had started and we decided to turn around and drop back into the canyon, call it a day. Found a postcard campsite right next to the Middle Fork of the Feather River and ended up having a great evening followed by a dry night. Memory that will last forever.


Nice! Now I'm jealous of you too. We got a heck of a downpour on Friday at my place, but no hail. It was dumping hail in random places all around here though. Love the Feather River! Did you take pics?!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Nice! Now I'm jealous of you too.


Just got back from Punta Cana. If you are going to be jealous it might as well be a trifecta.

Nice ride woodway.

Aside from one spin class at the resort I've been off the bike for a full week. That only happens when I'm in the Caribbean or have a broken bone. 

My ride in was damp with a headwind, welcome home. On the plus side, when I left it felt like a winter that would never end and now it feels like mid spring.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Lame :madman:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

TenSpeed said:


> 109 miles and you rode on the interstate? Bada**!!!!!!!


Thanks everyone for the kudos and especially those who called me a badass. That does not happen often 



CommuterBoy said:


> The self-imposed century is better than the organized century in my experience  It's the best feeling in the world having nothing to do for an entire day except turn those pedals over and watch the world go by.


Agree with you 100%. I pedaled when I felt like pedaling and stopped when I felt like stopping. It was awesome. I told my wife I thought I would finish in 8-9 hours so my only time limit was not going too far over where she would start to get worried.



rodar y rodar said:


> Is the part I might recognize the Snoqualmie Trail? Beautiful, for sure. I`ve ridden a stretch of I-80 a few times. Actually not too bad (might help that my longest interstate stint was in the middle of the night).


That's the trail rodar. I rode it from Carnation out to North Bend and it was sweet.

Riding on the interstate was not as bad as I thought it might be. The shoulder was wide enough that I never felt like I was going to get hit. The noise was probably the worst part. And dodging debris on the shoulder.

Todays commute was so boring in comparison. I'm already thinking about my next adventure. I'm eyeing a 90 mile route that is 70% gravel, 30% road and almost 7000 feet of climbing...not sure if I am quite badass enough to take that one on.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ My most epic of epic rides ever was 124 miles, just over 7k feet of climbing, and about 40 miles of it was gravel. That was definitely at the edge of enjoyable and beginning to enter survival mode as I fought off the cramps for the last 10 or 15 miles. I didn't prepare well or watch nutrition throughout the day, so I'm sure I could do it better. I pushed too hard on the first big climb and paid for it 10 hours later :lol: You've got me looking at maps over here now...


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

Little tiny spittin' rain today and a loss of about 25 ° F from last week's typical highs.

Headwinds to boot.

But Spring has sprung and the rain is needed. Successful commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy on the way home, the unseasonably hot humid weather has spawned thunderstorms the last couple days. Yesterday driving back from the Cape I had to stop on the interstate due to blinding pouring rain; the temp dropped from 94F in the Boston area to 60 in the T-storm in VT. Today my bike blew over on the bike rack before I started, so that was a preview. Riding was not bad, less wind and lightning than yesterday, but I definitely had to spit out some water en route.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

We got the nasty thunderstorms yesterday as predicted so I'm glad I drove. Tail wind on the way in this morning that is forecasted to get up to 30mph for the way home. it will be a grinder.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This garbage weather is really hindering my riding, especially for National Bike to Work Week. 0 miles so far this week. Hoping for Thursday and Friday if possible.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, my on-topic to off-topic ratio is getting pretty flaky, so I`m trying to get back on track. Some are on photobucket, though:
Plumas Discovery Trail Photos by brianylupita | Photobucket
If Bedwards posts Caribean pics, JeffScott posts up his sailing trip, and sOck shows off wherever his "overseas" vacation was, I`ll probably feel better about putting up more OT here at home :lol:
ALMOST on topic, have you heard about the new Plumas Discovery Trail and the connecting Lassen Discovery Trail recently signed and marked by the USFS? PDF guides to both available through their individual websites. We were checking out the Plumas version until we got tired of following instructions and looking for hidden marker signs, then decided to just explore.



woodway said:


> Thanks everyone for the kudos and especially those who called me a badass.


It goes without saying!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> 109 miles and you rode on the interstate? Bada**!!!!!!!


Totally! Great story and great inspiration!

I have a hard time finding half that time to do a ride. Just too many things to do with the kids on weekends. Oh well, they are fun too!!!

Way to go!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> CB, my on-topic to off-topic ratio is getting pretty flaky, so I`m trying to get back on track. Some are on photobucket, though:
> Plumas Discovery Trail Photos by brianylupita | Photobucket


Sweet! There's so much to explore around here...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was pretty bad, thanks for asking!
1. On car segment, check engine light was on and cruise blinking (PSA: apparently Subies disable the cruise whenever check engine light comes on).
2. On bike segment, got a flat tire (walked the remaining 15-20 minutes to make a meeting)
3. At lunch, forgot to use time to repair flat
4. Got stuck at work 45 minutes late, so decided to take bus instead. Walked back the 15 minutes to a bus stop.
5. Bus broke down, had to wait for another.


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## AthleticAL (Feb 9, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was pretty bad, thanks for asking!
> 1. On car segment, check engine light was on and cruise blinking (PSA: apparently Subies disable the cruise whenever check engine light comes on).
> 2. On bike segment, got a flat tire (walked the remaining 15-20 minutes to make a meeting)
> 3. At lunch, forgot to use time to repair flat
> ...


WINNER!! MISADVENTURE OF THE WEEK  (so far, and hope for their sake that nobody tops you)

Sorry to hear! But just think how much better the next commute will have to be in comparison, right?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was pretty bad, thanks for asking!
> 1. On car segment, check engine light was on and cruise blinking (PSA: apparently Subies disable the cruise whenever check engine light comes on).
> 2. On bike segment, got a flat tire (walked the remaining 15-20 minutes to make a meeting)
> 3. At lunch, forgot to use time to repair flat
> ...


WOW! did you take the bike on the bus for the return trip? You could have fixed the flat and rode home instead of waiting for the other bus.

I took advantage of my rested legs and did a 42 mile commute home around Sebago Lake. My legs are no longer rested. Commute in was draggy.


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## Guest (May 13, 2015)

It's official, I think May sucks. After a week of storms and floods I spent last weekend trying to fix leaks, kill ants and repair my fridge all of which led to a back issue (X-rays today) which kept me off the bike this week. All I want to do is crank out a few miles. Am I asking too much?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Some are on photobucket, though:
> Plumas Discovery Trail Photos by brianylupita | Photobucket


Beautiful country Rodar. But what kind of bicycle was that you were riding


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^A noisy bicycle, Woodway!



mtbxplorer said:


> It was pretty bad, thanks for asking!
> 1.
> 2.
> 3.
> ...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ahhh.. good rides this week so far. Legs are a bit tight, but not terrible. Saw a baby and momma moose this AM. No chance for a pic, though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> WOW! did you take the bike on the bus for the return trip? You could have fixed the flat and rode home instead of waiting for the other bus.


I did take the bike on the bus, and when we were told to get off I debated fixing the flat&#8230;but I was sure the bus would arrive as soon as I had the tire off. I forgot to add to my list of woes that it was also raining.

Today I was humbled by pedaling the BMX cruiser 8 miles to work, that was a workout! When I got it I figured it would make me a stronger standing pedaler on the trails, and holy cow, I guess it would. My quads were in near cramp mode almost continuously. I got more used to it as I went along, and my technique for conserving energy got better.


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

Monday my ride was great. A bit hot and had a headwind but made amazing time home. Even saw my first polite jogger. Cute jogger wearing a black sports bra and shorty shorts. Unfortunately it was on my favorite segment and I was flying. Too fast to really admire the desert scenery. 

Yesterday had good times too. Saw a coperhead rattler stretched out across the trail having just bulged his midsection with prairie dog. Some hikers were standing on the other side wondering what to do. It was a tight section with brush all around so no way of going around safely. Found a 5 foot fallen tree branch I was able to cautiously make scratchy noises on the ground inches from him. He coiled up and stared at me like 'I will cut you. . . with my teeth' Then moved into the brush. 

I wimped out this morning though. Woke up the sorest I have been since I started. Decided 5/5 commutes this week wasn't happening but if I rest today I can still get 4/5.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Worked from home yesterday and drove today. I start a new job on Monday, so I had to drive to take all of my stuff home before my last day tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a very short "work" day so I'm planning to ride and will add 30-40 miles to my commute home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Decent ride home last night. I think I do need to get some more dirt under my tires though. Need to start doing a weekly night ride, I think. Yeah, that's the ticket.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Finally a break in the weather, bike is back together, and it is Bike To Work Week - let's make it happen at least 2 days this week OK?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You ever see something and then find yourself thinking about it nonstop and realizing that it's probably going to consume at least a little bit of you until you do it? I can't shake this bad boy from the back of my mind: Trans North California.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Don't walk, but RUN to your computer and sign up. Do it now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Fixed that flat with a new tube on the cross bike this morning before leaving, but it was flat again after I walked the dog and changed into biking stuff - FAIL! I had looked for the cause, turning the tire inside out even, but only found a slice, not the slicer. Apparently I missed it. Have to drive again tomorrow, as I have to be in court for work 50 miles away by 9 a.m. Ugh!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It's too bad about the short runtime, but maybe in a generation or two this could be useful for commuting:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> ^^^ Don't walk, but RUN to your computer and sign up. Do it now.


 Looks cool CB, good luck!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Trans NorCal: Whoa, gnarly! I wish they had a zoomable map up there. Looks like basically Henness Pass route as far as the valley, then I don`t know well enough to guess. It`s kind of confusing, though- says "innaugural" event, but also posts 2014 results? Also says no awards, and no support given, (though no entry fee) so what would be the reason to go with the event rather than at your own convenience? Any way you slice it though, it`s quite a race.

Lily Camera: Hey, almost home! The arched concret bridge that shows up starting about 0:35 is near Donner Lake, about 50 miles W-SW west of me. I`ve pedalled it a few times 

Better luck next week, MtbX.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I know that bridge.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful day for a ride in at 62F and partly sunny with a light breeze. Campus is getting to be more like a ghost town now that finals are over and a lot of students have left. This is the time of year riding near campus is the best. Was figuring that the single rack at work would be pretty packed since there was a break in the rain we have had all week. Boy was I wrong. See picture below. The only one? Bike to work week? Seriously? There are almost always other bikes on the rack when I get there but not today. On the way in, I stopped to take a picture of the hole that I hit last Friday night that I did not see in the dark. It is pretty deep at about 4-5" at the deepest part. Ride home had very little traffic, maybe 6 or 7 cars total for the entire ride. I can get used to that!!!! Steered clear of the hole as I passed that area. Hands were cold as the temp dropped to about 50F and I only had my lightweight summer gloves. Thought I had better ones in the bag with my sleeves but I was wrong.

So now Friday calls for rain just about all day mixed with thunderstorms. I will see what it is like before I decide my means of transportation to work. If it is dry when it is time to leave, I will ride and hope for the best for the ride home.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I went a few miles out of my way to meet up to an organized bike to work "event". Mostly just a lot of cyclists standing around, some breakfast pastries and bananas and a table with free t-shirts.

Didn't get any real sense of camaraderie out of it, but I got a t-shirt.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I didn't really have to "work" today, so I rode downtown to help set things up for the big event in town, and help run the local advocacy group's booth.

It was a good event this year. The ride in was beautiful. I left early, so I was riding in the dark the whole way. Very little wind, temps just perfect for shorts, yet not too warm or too humid. The birds were all out singing, though, which was cool.

The official event did get a bit damp, though, around 8-8:30 or so. Pretty much all it did was send most of the riders who had been hanging out and socializing, scurrying to work to get out of the rain. The sun came out so we could at least do teardown at 9 under spotty sunshine. I took the scenic route home. It's not fast at all. It's too curvy and the bike path has a couple spots where you have to dump onto bike lanes or sidewalks to make a connection to the next segment. But it follows a quiet creek the whole way, so it's very pleasant except when you're detouring around the Superfund former industrial site that's getting cleaned up.


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

Had an OK commute yesterday. Cooler for may, but dang I was facing some strong winds. Was going to commute this morning but <insert excuse here>. Glad I didn't though, supposed to be a wicked thunderstorm with some hail in a couple hours.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

Today's commute featured a strong tailwind that fueled a fast ride. Temps were perfect. That said as usual I was witness to stupid behavior.

About a mile in I spotted a woman running with her two dogs, a leash in each hand, which means that one of the dogs was running in the middle of the lane. As I approached I saw the dog (on the left) lunge at another dog on the opposite side of the trail. I thought, "this is going to be a problem," Sure enough as I closed in a biker attempted a pass and the dog lunged at him snapping. He veered left and got around. I yelled "Oh my," which is about 80 shades more polite than I should have been. She stopped, got off the trail and reined in the dog, not forgetting to glare at me as if my exclamation was unwarranted.

I don't understand the mindset, I guess keeping the dog to the right with the other dog interferes with her run because it lunges across her path. But how is it reasonable to bring a dog that seems to have serious socialization issues onto a bike trail? Much less one of the main commuting arteries at 7:45 AM, when it is as busy as it ever is. What kind of consequence does there need to be to prevent this stuff from happening?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. 32F at the house, 40 at the bus stop, between 32 and 46 along my route in town. Clear and bright today. Love it.

I will officially break 2K miles for the year this afternoon. I'm happy about that.

Bike to work day in Anchorage is Wednesday. I'm thinking I should take the day off just so I don't have to deal with all the newbie commuters. 

Had a great ride on Saturday - 24 miles with 12 of those being single track and the other 12 being the route to the woods and back. It was a perfect day for it - sunny, no wind, 67F. Just wonderful.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

nbwallace said:


> I don't understand the mindset, I guess keeping the dog to the right with the other dog interferes with her run because it lunges across her path. But how is it reasonable to bring a dog that seems to have serious socialization issues onto a bike trail? Much less one of the main commuting arteries at 7:45 AM, when it is as busy as it ever is. What kind of consequence does there need to be to prevent this stuff from happening?


I think a Cincinnati by-law allows no forgiveness. Once a dog bites/attacks it is put down. That consequence may get some owners to think about how their animal acts in public and control that access.

But common sense is very uncommon. Sunday, noon: I stopped on the vertical of a 3 way stop T intersection in the car and with no traffic began to turn left. A Maroon PT cruiser hove into view at my right as I began my left turn. The vehicle was well over the 30 mph speed limit by how far it came since coming into view. Still far enough away that the driver could stop and was not 'imminent on entering the intersection', besides I was already in the intersection and all traffic in the intersection has right of way. Now, when I see someone pull out like I was not there, I look for a stop sign I missed, or a traffic light, but obviously slow and let the driver proceed, but this young lady in a big flowery straw hat barely slowed so I laid on the horn and sped through the rest of my turn to feed her my bumper. When she rolled the intersection at speed to tailgate me, I gave her the finger (I don't usually, but such an egregious ignoring of a stop sign, failing to yield right of way, speeding, nearly rear ending me, really ticked me off. It was noon on a Sunday, not like rush hour! Geez. If she was flying to an emergency, she needed to have her horns on full approaching the intersection to warn she was running the stop sign. She then tailgated me with her horns full on and the Italian salute through a half mile of 30 mile an hour zone, only backing off when we came to another 30 mph sign. At the next stop sign I, there were cars ahead, one to the right going right, and one ahead going left. She rolled along side with the horn and finger again then made a right turn without looking left well enough (it is a hard intersection to see when you stop, impossible on the fly) onto busy Main Street just lucky there was no one coming as she could not see well enough.

I concluded that it is likely she was driving and texting on the phone or similar and missed both the speed limit sign thinking I was driving 20-25 under rhe speed limit and she missed the stop sign entirely.

Sobering to think she is out there somewhere when I ride my bike. What are the chances that she won't see me when she misses big Red Octagons that are placed where she is supposed to be looking?

Ride safe, my friends and beware the maroon PT Cruisers out there!


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## foxtrot7 (Apr 13, 2015)

BrianMc said:


> Ride safe, my friends and beware the moron in PT Cruisers out there!


Fixed it for ya!

So no commute for me today. Have to take son o DR to get his cast off hopefully. Good news is I will have no excuse the rest of the week and next. Wife had a fender bender and she is putting her car in the shop. Her insurance does not cover rentals so I am letting her have my car since I don't need it. I will have full discipline by circumstance starting tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good ride in, (fixed that flat tire right this time) and it would have been a beautiful ride home, lovely weather, but I ended up accepting a ride because my car was getting worked on in a downscale neighborhood and I forgot my spare key which would have allowed them to lock up the car at closing. I realized that not only the car key but my wallet -doh!- and binoculars were in the unlocked car, so I opted to get there ASAP. The car and my stuff was still there, but the car stalled out about 4 times on the way home (it wasn't doing that this morning), so it will be going back tomorrow. 

A NJ visitor overshot the entrance at work and pulled a u-turn in the middle of the street right in front of me. I veered right to go around and avoid him backing into me, and at that moment he decided that forward was a better idea, so he nearly hit me both coming and going, pretty impressive really.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I was on a commute hiatus last week due to a business trip - I'm back in the saddle now, though.

Yesterdays trip into work was all good - sunny and (relatively) warm  The only downer was having to carry my laptop into work on my back (complete with a pile of MoMs, paperwork and the laptop bag too, all stuffed into my backpack). I managed 70kph on one of the downhill parts on the way, though - so it was worth it.

The trip home; sunny too and after carrying the weight into work, my bike felt super light! I elected to leave my clothes at work (I got another day out of them - it seems that I won't get much more, though- I just spilled my lunch in my lap) and go home packless... 

It was great! All the way until an old guy (must have been at least 80) decided to just walk right out into traffic at the bottom of a fairly quick downhill (I was pushing in excess of 1000Strava Watts and doing a little under 50kph)... He didn't even check left then right - just walked straight out! There is no crossing where he tried to cross and since it is at the bottom of a hill the traffic can go quite fast (despite the 50kph limit). I'm thinking he was from a nearby care home because he looked as if he shouldn't be out by himself. He didn't even react when I yelled at him as I screeched by with a locked up back wheel... Completely oblivious...

My trip in this morning was wet. Very wet. I happily wrung out my socks, leg tubes and bib shorts when I got to work. Lucky me we have a drying room 

Trip home looks to be the same.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commuting this week as I have the entire week off. I rode 30 miles on Sunday for a local hospice charity ride, and 33 Monday night. Tomorrow is our Ride Of Silence, and that will end up being at least another 30 after it is done, and Friday our group ride will have me at least 40-50 more. That is how you spend a week off.


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## Guest (May 19, 2015)

Doing our Ride of Silence tommorrow too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ride of Silence? Forgive me, there is no culture here.... :lol: 


Not sure how to count today... I had kid transportation issues and a meeting this evening, so for the first time in forever I drove to work........ but with the bike on the rack. Going to ride home after work, then ride back in for the meeting. So it's like bizarro commute day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> (I was pushing in excess of 1000Strava Watts...


That's about what a TDF rider can sustain for <15 seconds. Imagine what you could do with some training!:skep:



CommuterBoy said:


> Not sure how to count today... I had kid transportation issues and a meeting this evening, so for the first time in forever I drove to work........


I'm sorry for your loss. 

Commutes are good. Summerish weather is here with some chilly mornings. I'm thinking it's time to try the trails out again, mud season is over. I haven't done a trail commute since the ice went out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Beautiful May weather in Alaska. Can't complain. Tomorrow is Bike to Work day, so lots of newbies out on the trails. Oh well. I'll just roll over them with my fattie.

Shi%%y news from my city yesterday: Police: Anchorage cyclist attacked by teenagers on popular bike trail | Alaska Dispatch News

Makes me sick.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Was a little light on the commuting last week because it was my last week at my old employer and had a lot of stuff to bring home. I'm getting settled in here at the new job and used a hybrid commute today for my first ride in. I was spoiled before because we had relatively secure bike parking and showers. No showers at the new place so I'm trying out options on how to ride and not be a gross sweaty mess when I get here. How do you folks do it when you don't have the option to shower? My ride is 16 miles each way.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Was a little light on the commuting last week because it was my last week at my old employer and had a lot of stuff to bring home. I'm getting settled in here at the new job and used a hybrid commute today for my first ride in. I was spoiled before because we had relatively secure bike parking and showers. No showers at the new place so I'm trying out options on how to ride and not be a gross sweaty mess when I get here. How do you folks do it when you don't have the option to shower? My ride is 16 miles each way.


My ride isn't quite as far, but I just try to get into the office a bit before everyone else so that I have a chance to cool off before I have to meet with people. Other than that - I wear a decent deodorant, I guess, because I've never showered or used baby wipes or anything and have never had any complaints. I do also ride slower in the mornings than I do in the afternoons, so I sweat a bit less on the way in to work.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Clean up in the bathroom, paper towels, soap and water. Wash the important bits + your pits, deodorant and matching body spray. I use Old Spice and it works very well. Also allow extra cool down time to get your body temperature regulated once you get there. Nothing like cleaning up and 45 seconds later you are sweating like a pig outside a slaughterhouse.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sketchy this morning when a tractor trailer put the squeeze on me after a red light. The tractor part was not too bad but the tail end kept coming toward me as he veered right again away from oncoming traffic. A guard rail (and the river) were on my right, and a deep accumulation of road spooge/sediment between me and the guard rail made me reluctant to go any further right and risk losing control and falling into the truck's path. Held my line on the white line where the pavement was clear, and held my breath until the trailer squeaked by.

Kleebs, upon arrival I did a cool down at my desk with some iced coffee - it was muggy so I was hot - then used a few wipes in the stall while changing. If an extreme bad hair day, I dunk my head in the sink afterwards, but it is usually not necessary.

Bypassed a couple of road-find caps today, 1 bucket style and 1 fishing-joke baseball cap.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to see that awful news, Blockphi.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ +1

Wishing him a speedy recovery.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> That's about what a TDF rider can sustain for <15 seconds. Imagine what you could do with some training!:skep:


That's Strava Watts. Remove about 15-20% YMMV 
















I was at 1329 Strava Watts (not actual Watts - for actual watts lets say we take off 20% so still 1063W...) for about 1 second or so. So no - I don't think I'll be joining Bradley and Chris as the third ever British GC winner...
If I could get those values on an actual power meter I would be very happy. Imagine indeed...

But enough of this foolishness - why would you just hit a guy with a branch for no reason? What is wrong with folks these days?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Impressive even for "Strava Watts", as is the average power which is usually closer to reality. 

Sorry to hear about the attack. "Normal" people will never understand what makes people act like a-holes for fun. I don't see that allure to being hated.

I was awake way too early so I sneaked in a long ride before work. I'm thinking of trying a before and after work century on one of these long summer days. IDK, 100 miles may be a lot to add to a 9 hour work day.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Clean up in the bathroom, paper towels, soap and water. Wash the important bits + your pits, deodorant and matching body spray. I use Old Spice and it works very well. Also allow extra cool down time to get your body temperature regulated once you get there. Nothing like cleaning up and 45 seconds later you are sweating like a pig outside a slaughterhouse.


So far I've been cooling down a bit once I get here then wipe the sweat off with a towel and apply deodorant and a bit of cologne. I was given use of an empty office to store my bike and to use as a changing room, which is nice because the bathroom is really small and has 1 stall and 1 sink for pretty much the entire office. I'd feel a bit uncomfortable taking up the bathroom for my morning "shower".



mtbxplorer said:


> Kleebs, upon arrival I did a cool down at my desk with some iced coffee - it was muggy so I was hot - then used a few wipes in the stall while changing. If an extreme bad hair day, I dunk my head in the sink afterwards, but it is usually not necessary.


The hair thing is a concern as well. I have long hair for a guy, and my goodness, I have a LOT of it. It doesn't really grow down as much as it grows out. I'd rather not cut it, but depending on the circumstances I might have to.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I went rubber-side-up this morning, gave two drivers a good show. I was toodling along the desolate stretch of my commute, just enjoying a pleasantly gloomy morning from my own private bike path when I caught a glimpse of another roofing tack on the road (have been picking them up for weeks now, but it seems to be a self rejuvenating suply). One car was comming at me in the other lane, and I heard another comming up behind. A quick glance over my shoulder said I had plenty of time to make a quick U-turn and be out of the way before the car in my lane got to me, so I initiated the turn...
...and THEN I remembered I had taken a trailer load of scrap cardboard to work last night and was now dragging an empty trailer along. My friend Bob doesn`t like quick turns; he protested. Everything after that happened so fast that I don`t know exactly what kind of dance I did, but I eventually ended up jack knifed half in and half out of the bike lane and sort of toppled over, pretty much like a clip-in newb. When I finally lost the battle with gravity, the "commin at me" car was just across from me, and the overtaking car was close enough that he needed to take some ipressive evasive action to avoid running over the break-dancing dork on the ground without swerving the oncomming guy. Glad he managed it. I ended up with a little trickle of blood from the pavement on the outside of my knee and a nice gash from my pedal on thte inside of the same knee. Good times 



CommuterBoy said:


> Forgive me, there is no culture here....


Whaa...? Don`t forget about the Sierra Valey Tour De Manure- you`ve still got a month to get in on this year`s festivities! :thumbsup:



blockphi said:


> Shi%%y news from my city yesterday:


Damn, that`s just out there. Even worse being the second mystery attack within two months.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

AWESOME recount of your crash rodar! No more damage than some bloody knees? No broken collar bones? (one of my favorite). More importantly, how is the bike?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Sorry Rodar! Great story though! :lol: Glad you didn't land on another tack.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride today even though it is bike to work day so lots of traffic.

Ran across a picture I took a few days ago on my commute home and thought it was fun. Only in Anchorage?


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice ride in this morning. Its a bit chilly for May 20th though. I was thinking it would be warmer by now.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I'm off this week so no commuting for me either this week. But I managed to make at least a nice 3hr ride today and I'll cheat on my bike tomorrow and Friday: I am going paddling with my 4year old son.

Managed to take this shot today before I was :nono: by the pilot:









Finally something that comes close to the value of a commuter bike


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rodar, glad your wounds were sorta self-inflicted instead of car-inflicted, and hope you are not discovering new bumps, bruises and tweaks now that the adrenaline has worn off. I think motorists also often forget they have a trailer, and that is even more scarey. The rejuvenating roofing tacks are sucky! VT's stage race had tacks thrown on the route on purpose at least one year.

I took the BMX today again, trying for once a week during nice weather. It was way easier than last week, because:
a) I put on the extra long seatpost this morning, so I was not standing-coasting or standing-pedaling 100% of the time - I could actually coast seated and pedal seated on flat ground.
b) I was running late, and had a meeting right at punch-in time, and there were terrible gusty headwinds, so I parked about halfway and only rode 8 miles round trip.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So it's the time of year when all of the roadies are out, and they're sloooooow. I'm on an ss mountainbike so I can't actually _pass_ them without risking looking like a total tool, so I just stay behind them falling asleep. But then yesterday as I'm not-really-drafting and struggling to keep my eyes open, a second roadie passes me and then actually cuts me off for some reason (to the point that I had to grab a handful of brake)?!? I thought maybe she knew the first slow roadie, but nope - she just really needed to pull a right-hook _between_ two other cyclists. Bizarre.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me since I am still off. Did our local Ride Of Silence which had an amazing turn out. I think that there were upwards of 280 people or so? The convoy was about a mile long with full police escort blocking traffic for us. It was quite the sight to see. On our way back, as a buddy and myself are working our way back east, through small packs of returning riders, we come up on a police officer on a bike, a woman, and a gentleman on a trike (my buddy was on a Catrike - massive leg injury in a motorcycle accident a couple years back) and we are riding with them, got what some would call a right hook by a passing car turning right ahead of us. Not too bad, but then someone went after him. Saw us, and still turned right in front of us. Cop had a yellow shirt on it with POLICE across the back. Apparently, it doesn't matter who you are, you are invisible. The thing is that he was to the far left of the group, so he was the most visible. It was still light out and we all had rear blinkers on. We all just shook our heads. The cop was out of his jurisdiction or he would have pursued the driver he said. We were about 1/4 of a mile from his jurisdiction. Bummer!!!


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## Guest (May 21, 2015)

Tenspeed, I did the Ride of Silence as well. No police escort but no jerk drivers either. One neat thing was a local rider who was killed last year had his entire office show up along the route. Pretty cool for us and them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ride of Silence sounds like a cool deal. I looked into what it was since no one here would explain it to me :lol: Bummer that it's needed, but definitely good exposure. 


I had a super frustrating stand-off with a car on the way home. You know the kind where a car stops in the middle of he road even though they don't have a stop sign and tries to force you to cross the road in front of them, regardless of any other cars that may or may not kill you? 
My town has this big hill at one end...so if you're driving into town from that way, there's big blinking lights, huge signs warning trucks about the 6% grade... "use low gears"..."slow down" "steep downgrade" "20mph corner residential area 2 miles ahead"... it's an overkill of signs because over the past few years 3 or 4 semis have flipped over at this corner at the top of town (bottom of the hill), running into houses or businesses...they finally built a retaining wall to catch them, to go with all the signs. They also made the first intersection you come to as you're coming down the hill a "no left turn" situation, right at the end of this retaining wall, so you have to keep going down main street, lest ye stop to make a turn and get smashed by a runaway semi. 
So I'm on my bike and I'm wanting to cross main street at this first cross street, which I do regularly. I'm coming from the 'no left turn' side. So I stop at the stop sign and start waiting for a gap in traffic, and this MORON coming down the hill comes to a complete stop, right next to this retaining wall, blocking the only lane of downhill traffic behind him. It's a blind corner and there's no way to know how many seconds are going to pass before this guy gets killed by the next semi that comes around that corner with smoking brakes. 
There was still plenty of traffic in the close lanes, so they sat there for 5 or 10 seconds until there was a gap in traffic, and then of course I'm faced with a delimma: I NEVER go in these situations. I mean, follow the law. There's no stop sign, you're not doing anyone any favors, I'm not going. So I stare at them for a second.... both the driver and passenger windows go down, and two happy arms come out, waving me across main street. So basically either I'm going to let these guys get killed trying to make my point, or I'm going to make them feel like they're actually helping me out. There was no way to prove my point without having to stick around for the police report, so I finally went. I shook my head in shame as I accepted their kind offer to cross the road while they ignored every traffic law known to man, completely ignorant of the fact that they could be killed at any second. My disappointment in myself for accepting their stupid "help" is only slightly outweighed by the knowledge that I probably saved their lives :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> More importantly, how is the bike?


Rubber side AND derailler side up. All good


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Saw a guy in a (what I would guess you guys call) mini van come "this" close to running over a small kid this morning.

He was taking a left into a junction. At the junction there is a pedestrian crossing (you know, the black and white stripes where cars give way to pedestrians). There is a bus stop on the left just before the crossing and if a bus comes when there is already a bus at the stop, the junction can be blocked - this was the case this morning; a bus was in the stop and another was coming.
The guy in the mini van clearly didn't want to wait for the bus to clear the junction so he decided to put his foot down and take the left turn (far too) fast to get through before the bus came.

There was a little boy (about 7 or so) just setting foot on the crossing. 

The driver never even saw him - he was looking over his shoulder at the bus he just missed. How he missed the kid I'll never know! I was yelling and waving and pointing (riding no hands) trying to get the drivers attention before he did it because I saw what was happening - the driver (completely oblivious to the whole thing) then stops abruptly right after the crossing and sticks his head out the window to swear at me before driving off...

The kid was fine, at least - he looked a little shaken when I talked to him after and he went off on his way to school. 

So - my morning was dramatic! 

Glad that the bike survived the crash, Rodar. I too have experienced the bike trailer jack knife thing... Luckily I managed to stay upright (my kid was in the trailer). So no shame in that - everyone falls off now and then!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I put on the extra long seatpost this morning, so I was not standing-coasting or standing-pedaling 100% of the time - I could actually coast seated and pedal seated on flat ground.


They're going to take away your BMX card. The seat has to be shoved down to the top tube, no exceptions.

Wow, lots of drama in peoples commutes! My legs were a little tired.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I must admit it looked better that way.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Working from home. Tomorrow I'm taking the day off as well, so no commute tomorrow either. Looking to put in some good miles this afternoon/evening, though and some good trail miles tomorrow. Hopefully it stays nice out.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I just want to say thank-you to the europeans on here for sharing their traffic horror stories. It's reassuring to know that it's not just us dumb new-worlders.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I did not dress appropriately for today's weather. Rode in to work in shorts and tee shirt, now it's 50 degrees and raining pretty steady. Forecast was 60 and sunny.

This will be slightly unpleasant.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, and really needed, before and after a rough day at work. Darn cold this morning though, 33F, should have put the warmer shoes back on.

My new employee is riding to work now that it is nice out; people ask if I twisted his arm, but I prefer to think it is leading by example. In my "cubie pod" with 9 other coworkers, 1 bikes to the bus regularly, 1 bikes from home regularly, one biked during the recent local challenge, plus the new guy, so with me that is half bikecommuting!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ I thought we had a Commuting News thread for that sort of report, Mtbxplorer!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

newfangled said:


> I just want to say thank-you to the europeans on here for sharing their traffic horror stories. It's reassuring to know that it's not just us dumb new-worlders.


Oh we get our fair share of jerks here in Norway too 

I think because Norway has such a bike culture, though that drivers by and large (though not, by any means, all of them) tend to be a bit more patient; chances are that the driver is a biker too and they know how it feels to get buzzed by a 2 ton SUV going by 5 cm from you at 50KPH.

Commute home yesterday was quite the social gathering. I ended up in a pace line with four other riders (strangers) and we shared the load a bit, then I left them (they took a right and I went straight ahead) and ended up drafting / pulling alternately with another guy most of the way home. It was nice to have a social ride home.

The ride in this morning was heavy. I'm only doing a 12 mile (22K ish) round trip each day, but I go hard and by the end of the week my legs are most definitely starting to feel it. Plus it rained heavily earlier this morning (my better half got a shower whilst cycling to work this morning) so there was a lot of standing water around + wet asphalt + no splash guards on the bike + wet ass... It just felt like it was sucking my tyres down into the ground and killing my motivation to live...

Should be sunny and dry for the home leg, though! Plus we have a long weekend (Monday off) Happy Days! 

Have a great weekend all you crazy commuters!


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Legs felt super hollow today for the first time in a while, both morning and evening commute I was wiped out - no real idea why. 

I think I worked too long hours this week, only getting about 5 hours sleep and not eating 100% properly. It's really took it out of me, and for the first time in about 6 months I am really considering a weekend off the bike... typical as I was meant to be heading to a bike park opening weekend tomorrow! ><


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ah ok let's see what I can offer from the last three years in Hamburg / Germany.....

Ok 2 really dangerous / awkward situations:

1. Me driving towards a crossing, I'm on the line between the "straight ahead" and "turn right" lane. A car coming from my opposite direction apparently did not see anything, wanted to turn left, so crossing my lane. Hits the brake because a car was coming from behind me going straight ahead, but he came to a stop about halfway across the lane already. So the car overtaking me is veering the right to avoid him and I still do not know how he missed me. I swear between his rear bumper and my front tyre was less than a mm space. Next day I bought myself a helmet. ( I already had a yellow hi-vis vest on, reflectors on every spoke and several extra reflecting tape on the frame + pedals. Besides that, it was already broad daylight). 

2. Not dangerous for me but for someone else: On the way home there were a mom and daughter riding further in front of me. Daughter on the pedestrian walkway, mom on the street next to her on her left. A mini-van comes up from behind and brakes because there is opposite traffic. On the other side there is no bikelane/walkway/whatever, just grass and going down about 45° for 1 yard, so no way to veer out anywhere. The minivan brakes to wait for the opposite traffic. After the first car coming from the opposite passed, he suddenly needs to overtake mommy and squeezes himself through between mom and the other car. And it was the last car coming from the opposite side, so absolutely unnecessary. 

Again I thank God that I have a relatively safe route to work. I talked to people that do not want to commute because of too much danger. Not only from cars but also from other byclists and pedestrians: Riding / walking while looking at the smartphone, suddenly stopping or changing direction because smartphone rings due to Whatsapp, Ebay app, SMS, incoming call, etc etc... 

And in Germany they should have a speedlimit EVERYWHERE ANYTIME on EVERY Autobahn. Driving over 150 mph is often legal on a three way highway. If you need to overtake a truck, you need to look into your mirror very long to see "the movie". It is not enough to see "the picture" because it is not showing the speed of the cars coming from behind. And it could be that it is a very fast one.

In general, I have the impression that things get dangerous, as soon as a difference in speed comes into play. No matter being car/bike, bike/pedestrian or slow car / fast car or bus/car etc. 

What is dangerous here in Germany too, is that bikelanes are often hidden behind car parklanes. So a car turning right can often miss a bike, when a bigger car is parked, like a mini-van or something. They are "solving" this by putting up signs "bike on drivelane allowed". But the drive lanes are often too narrow to overtake safely, people do it anyway, I do not know what is worse....


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Been if the forum for a while. Took me a while to catch up. Be safe out there, guys.

Anyhow, my summer has landing in the Porter, Indiana area working at INDU through mid June, July, and August before I come back to Illinois for grad school. 

Anyone familiar with that area around Lake Michigan? How bike friendly is it? I notice there are paved and unpaved cycling trails between towns.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Rode in this morning with about 20 lbs of cordless power tools and hand tools in my panniers. I got lucky, had a tailwind and some of the nicest Spring weather we have yet seen. A beautiful commute.

I left the tools in the shop, since I don't expect to do much more strenuous than drinking beer this weekend. Turned out of the driveway and caught a 30 mile an hour headwind for most of the ride home. Some queasy seconds of crosswinds as I raced traffic through the interchange with I- 94, then back to headwinds.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Here is my week breakdown (6 days):

Days worked: 0
Commutes: 0
Rides: 4
Charity ride/ride for cause: 2 @ 51 miles
Fun rides: 2 @ 84
Total miles: 135
Geared miles: 0
Fixed gear miles: 135

I go back to work Saturday and plan on riding which will get me just over 1400 for the year so far. I am unsure of reaching my goal at this point. It is just too early to make that call.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> I go back to work Saturday and plan on riding which will get me just over 1400 for the year so far. I am unsure of reaching my goal at this point.


20 weeks into the year (1400/20)*52 = 3640
The 20 weeks gone include most of the winter conditions, just now getting to the easy miles. You still have a decent shot.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, Friday and today. Had to clear room on the laptop to do the movie of Friday's ride. A bit boring compared to ST and no mountain vistas, moose, or eagles.






Not bad for a ride hours after a heart stress test.

That is one of the first times I have seen a Deputy here make a full stop! Wow! I waved at him.

Today, I did not pump up the rear and I guess it had a slow leak. I snake bit it as far as I can tell, over the tracks and got about a quarter mile before it was obviously flat by seat feel and drew my attention. As I was at the point of remounting the wheel, an IHP cruiser pulls up and the officer asked if I was alright. He was amazed how fast the wheel went back in and this one is a tight, slow fit with the tight front fender. Guess he did not have a bike with QR hubs when he grew up.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful day for a commute here with 74 degrees and full sun on the ride in. Windy of course, because it wouldn't be a commute without the wind. Bike shop was closed today so there was no stopping. I got out onto the main road, and drafted a huge delivery truck and honestly, that was amazing. We made all of the green lights and it seemed like we were flying. I made sure that he saw me when we first started going, was hanging out to the left a bit and made eye contact with him in his mirror. 

The ride home was 65 and breezy but really nice. Decked out the rear lights with a 3 light setup and I think that this is my new go to. Cygolite Hotshot micro mounted on the bike just under the seatpost clamp on blink. Planet Bike Super Flash Micro on my bag on blink. They both blink at different rates and amounts of blinks. It really should draw some attention to me. The third? Well, that is a Knog Blinder that is meant for a seatpost. That is fine, but I have an aero post on my bike, so that doesn't fit. What it does fit however, is the rear hub. I put in the wheel on the hub, it snaps in and is tight and does not move. I put it on blink, and it actually does a good job of lighting up a little to the sides of me as well as draw attention to the rear wheel. I tested this out Friday night and had a friend of mine ride it out and I could see it from all angles. It looks really cool and is actually fairly functional. So the ride home, did some extra miles since it was so nice out. Saddle needs to be leveled out. Was nose down last night, now it is nose up. Almost have it in the middle heh. Rode through downtown near campus and then rode through campus on the deserted bike lane. Had the whole thing to myself. Only saw 2 pedestrians out near the path. Did not want to come home but was getting hungry so I cut it short and headed home. 

Storms are forecasted for Sunday so not sure what I will do. If it is clear when I leave I will ride and worry about the return trip home later.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Decked out the rear lights with a 3 light setup and I think that this is my new go to. Cygolite Hotshot micro mounted on the bike just under the seatpost clamp on blink. Planet Bike Super Flash Micro on my bag on blink. They both blink at different rates and amounts of blinks. It really should draw some attention to me. The third? Well, that is a Knog Blinder that is meant for a seatpost. That is fine, but I have an aero post on my bike, so that doesn't fit. What it does fit however, is the rear hub. I put in the wheel on the hub, it snaps in and is tight and does not move. I put it on blink, and it actually does a good job of lighting up a little to the sides of me as well as draw attention to the rear wheel. I tested this out Friday night and had a friend of mine ride it out and I could see it from all angles. It looks really cool and is actually fairly functional.


Yes, I also like this synergy of different flashing with two PB Flashes, a PB flash and PDW Radbot 1000, or two Radbot 1000's. No two lights remain perfectly in sync so even pairs of the same light set up a discordant flashing that is very eye catching. And stands out against urban light distractions. Two different lights are a bit to a lot better at this depending on the pairing and flash mode chosen. I posted videos of this with the light I mentioned, maybe 5 years ago in this forum.

The Knog Blinder on the rear hub is a neat twist. Even with 36 spokes I can reach in and turn it on. The usb-lithium is a big step up from coin cells, too. I wonder if you have fenders, how much a Front Knog Blinder on the front hub would damage night vision?


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## Spatialized (Aug 23, 2012)

Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer madness up here in the mountains (everyone escapes the oven that is Phoenix and comes here) which means commuting becomes a bit more perilous due to idiots driving campers (poorly), tourists amazed by trees (have seen people driving taking pictures of trees with their phones) and the requisite elderly (who scare me more than most) who come here to live for the summer. It's not all bad though, weather turns really nice about now so extra ridng is nice.

Since Wednesday had 3 too close passes and 2 near right hooks so on Friday I avoided the highway coming home and stuck to the beat up forest roads - at least if I crash there it's my fault! Been a hermit all weekend and not going out of the bike until the holiday tourists are gone. Then it will be back to it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ On Saturday's ride I actually had a mini van hold back then turn right behind me and not pass then hook me. The baseball field crowd can be difficult. Nice to know some safe drivers exist.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> I wonder if you have fenders, how much a Front Knog Blinder on the front hub would damage night vision?


Without fenders, it is not too bad. I have done this in the past just for fun social rides. I would imagine that with fenders, you should be alright.

I took a chance on the weather today, and it really paid off. As soon as I got on the MUP, the sprinkles started. Thought I might be screwed but that is all that I got for the entire ride in. Traffic was fairly light as to be expected on a Sunday during a holiday weekend. The wind was my enemy today however, and it rode against me the entire ride. Rain was forecasted all day and into the evening. Nothing. Woohoo!! The ride home was wonderful at 72F with wind....at my back right? WRONG!! Damn that sucked. Hardly any traffic which was really nice. Took the long way home and for those of you not living in the midwest, you will not know Meijer. I stopped in there to pick up a few things, apples, some snacks, something to take to work for dinner etc. I cannot believe how much I can fit in this Chrome Yalta bag. It is actually smaller than my Metropolis messenger bag but it feels like it holds 2-3 times more. I brought home a bunch of stuff, with my work clothes and other things still in the bag. It was heavy but honestly, it felt really solid on the last couple of miles before I got home.

The storms are coming so a ride in on Monday is more than likely not going to happen. We will see though......


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

New shoes on the Mukluk  I need to go find a beach to ride.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

[email protected]#$%g roadies.

Y'know, it _should_ be possible to Cat-6 someone without cutting them off, but twice in the last week those bozos have waited until the last second before a turn to right-hook me.

And this morning the bozo then v e r y s l o w l y climbed a little hill, and was actually recovering at the top. I was going to turn off in 50' and had no intention of passing him, but he was going so slowly that I cat-6ed his dumb ass and took off.

Total SCR score: +10pts for me, -10 for bozo.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> [email protected]#$%g roadies.
> 
> Y'know, it _should_ be possible to Cat-6 someone without cutting them off, but twice in the last week those bozos have waited until the last second before a turn to right-hook me.
> 
> ...


Perfect

So now he will remember you.....on a pass say hi and ask him where he works....when he asks you where you work tell him where you turn off so he knows....then whip his ass everyday.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ the problem is that I'm on a singlespeed mountain bike. It is not a fast bike, and there's a very really limit to my top speed, so I don't really mind being passed. But being actually cutoff all so that the guy can toodle along at 15kph is really annoying.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ the problem is that I'm on a singlespeed mountain bike. It is not a fast bike, and there's a very really limit to my top speed, so I don't really mind being passed. But being actually cutoff all so that the guy can toodle along at 15kph is really annoying.


Same fix say hi


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I need to go find a beach to ride.


Oh, that`s easy. Just go to any CA reservoir and ride the quarter mile of dry sand between the water line and the bottom of the boat ramps!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Pretty much. ha. I have started the spending snowball rolling down the hill with these tires though, because now I'm getting a little chain rub, so of course I have to go to a 1x set up... and it's only 9 speed out back, so 1x10 is probably in oder... but then I gotta get a shifter...

Rode to work in shorts today. Woohoo!

It was a long weekend off of the bike...felt good to ride today. Did some backcountry scouting for bike adventures to come Rodar... I can get to this place from my driveway without ever touching pavement... and I'm pretty sure my little pack rod fishing pole will fit in the frame bag on the fatty...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Ohhh, CB, your getting my juices flowing. What the heck am I doing sitting at work when there is so much 'sploring to do?

Do you have to take those tires to a tire shop to have them mounted and balanced? 

My ride this morning was pretty sluggish. I rode a charity ride yesterday, 125 miles and 8100' of climbing. My legs were pissed at me this morning and showing it. I hope they have calmed down by this afternoon.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First commute after 3 weeks of being away. Not bad. I forgot how long and boring work can be though. I don't really have a lot to do yet. Still getting over jet lag a little too.

I was able to do a little biking on my vacation in France, but I didn't get to rent a bike and go for a "real" mountain bike ride. Maybe next time. I rode a few mini-DH tracks on a Kona Splice, which is more suitable for dirt paths than serious mountainbiking. It was a little sketchy at times but still fun. The whole trip was great other than failing to bike in the Pyrenees. Next time.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Well, I took the hybrid drive/bike commute the last 5 work days to the new office. So far the weather in the morning has been cool enough to allow me to cool off relatively quickly before I change at the office. I'm certainly a novelty here. I don't think anyone has ever chosen to commute by bike here. My officemate lives less than 2 miles from the office and she "would love to be able to commute by bike"...I told her I would stop by to ride in with her if she really wants to get started. I'm not going to hold my breath though . 

For the most part my commutes have been uneventful which is great. Most of the drivers are patient and wait for room to pass and give plenty of space. I have had 2 or 3 too-close-passes, 2 "get off the road"s, and 1 car that tried to pass, saw that they didn't have enough time, hit the brakes to get back behind me and then honk at me because they misjudged the oncoming traffic. It's certainly more common than it was when I was working downtown, but my route is now 100% 2 lane country roads with no shoulder. I think it just comes with the territory.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today - first work commute back after the holiday. Good rides over the long weekend. Also did some running and hiking, so active times.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Not a commute, but hey, I rode to another state over the weekend and I don't know any other bike people to share this with.  We did a little overnight over the holiday weekend in preparation for a longer tour later in the summer. 70 mile ride down to Illinois, camped, 60 miles back home. The first day was beautiful -- sunshine, 70 degrees, and rolling countryside. When we got to the state park, we swam, ate dinner, built a campfire and were in bed shortly after dark. Thankfully the night stayed dry, but it started to rain just as we were rolling out at 7:30am the next day. I learned that I can ride 60 miles in the pouring rain and figured out how to shift my bike while my hands were wadded up in the middle of thin gloves while clutching hand warmers (stupid Raynaud's.) After 40 miles of cold rain, we stopped at a tiny small town diner and I had the most amazing blueberry pancakes and eggs and hashbrowns. Totally worth it. My commutes are going to seem a lot shorter now!

A few photos:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Cool story, trip and pix! I like the firewood haul. Hot here today, supposedly a high of 88F. I lucked out on the ride in and followed some rain, which reduced the mugginess. Stuck at work until 6:30pm, so it had cooled to the high 70's. Saw 3 police SUVs in town, they were from L.A. County, Cal-i-for-ni-a! I'm guessing a local PD bought them used, but I dunno, they still had CA plates - so if you see a story on a few that went AWOL, let me know.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Riding home, and felt a clunk on my helmet. For probably for the first time ever I thought "hmmm, maybe I should take my helmet off." So still riding up hill I unclipped the chinstrap and pulled my helmet off, and yup - a hornet squirming around between the shell and the retension bits. Close call.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Is a hornet in your helmet like a bee in your bonnet? Honey of a move doffing the helmet and I suppose you made a bee line home from there? 

Hornet? I don't got no hornet, I don't need no stinging hornet! 

Nice bit of luck there!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

WiTrailRunner said:


> Not a commute, but hey, I rode to another state over the weekend and I don't know any other bike people to share this with.  We did a little overnight over the holiday weekend in preparation for a longer tour later in the summer. 70 mile ride down to Illinois, camped, 60 miles back home. The first day was beautiful -- sunshine, 70 degrees, and rolling countryside. When we got to the state park, we swam, ate dinner, built a campfire and were in bed shortly after dark. Thankfully the night stayed dry, but it started to rain just as we were rolling out at 7:30am the next day. I learned that I can ride 60 miles in the pouring rain and figured out how to shift my bike while my hands were wadded up in the middle of thin gloves while clutching hand warmers (stupid Raynaud's.) After 40 miles of cold rain, we stopped at a tiny small town diner and I had the most amazing blueberry pancakes and eggs and hashbrowns. Totally worth it. My commutes are going to seem a lot shorter now!


Sounds like you had a great time, and bummer about the rain and that damn Raynaud's which I know all about. Thanks for posting the story and pics, they were both enjoyed.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Warm ride in today with storms on the way. Stopped at the shop for some lube and to adjust my seatpost. Now it is creaking, of course, since it probably needs to be lubed. Big storms rolled through on 3 separate occasions before I finally left work and rode home on wet roads but no rain. Put my clip on rear fender on so at least my back and bag didn't get wet. Only one close call and I knew it was going to happen. Lady was sitting on a side street waiting to turn out, guessed that she couldn't see me, and I was right. 320 lumens on blink is just not enough I guess. She got the look as I entered the other lane to go around her as she slammed on her brakes, blocking the lane I was in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I saw something yesterday I've never seen before and will probably never see again. A dump truck passed through the intersection with the truck bed partially extended. I was standing waiting for the light to change, when POOF. The green light went flying through the air and landed about 15 feet away from me on the side of the road. Somehow the light right next to it was not affected. I was thankful the truck hadn't been oncoming or else there would have at least been a possibility part of the light would have hit me.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Pretty normal ride into work this morning. Little bit more humid than I would have preferred, but it's going to be beautiful outside for the ride home. I saw probably a dozen other commuters in the first 5 miles and then it was a ghost town for the rest of the ride. Weird. Hoping to crack 500 miles this month.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Gonna have to focus a little bit more...

Switching from knobbies to slicks Monday....I put the front wheel on backwards ie disk on the wrong side so no front brake???

Caught it before I rode down the hill right in front of my house.

Been having shifting issues nothing big but it just wouldn't dial in...

Finally noticed a bent link....took about 5 days.

Not sure ten speed chains are quite as robust as 9 speed chains, we will see.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I'm kind of impressed that you admitted that on the internet jeffscott :lol: 
I *might* have done something similar at some point...... 

s0ck, that's crazy!! That dump truck driver was having a bad day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, I miss a day and there are a zillion posts I want to comment on!

Hornet hair = not good. Glad you somehow escaped a sting or three.

TrailRunner, what a cool trip! It looks like some rail trail in there. Have you done anything like that before? Wishing you drier (or at least warmer wet) weather for the big one comming up.

Dump truck taking out a signal definitely makes for a memorable commute.

Was half expecting Jeff Scott to explain that his shifting was out of whack because the cassete was on the wrong side.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute today. Nothing new under the sun, but there is sun and that is enough for me. Today will see me break 500 mile for the month. Nice. Still need to bump it up a bit more to hit my goal for this year, though I might back off on that a bit as I've been running a bit more lately and think that it would do me well to do more of that for a while - maybe one ride on the weekend instead of two? The little bit of running I have been doing has had a good effect on my riding. Even with tired and sore legs I feel stronger on climbs and my breathing seems much more controlled. 

On Saturday I did a few hill sprints with my son. He did 29. I did five. I was destroyed. He was ready to do more. I wish I were 13 still. He just never runs out of energy. Dang.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> That dump truck driver was having a bad day.


Worse when he got to the first overpass and stuck!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

So I lost a water bottle off the back of my bike last night on the way home. I run a Specialized Zee RH cage mounted to a XLab Delta 1000 saddle rail mount. I have not even had it come loose in the past 1000 miles or whatever since mounting it since it fits perfectly and the design of the cage holds the bottle in. Rode to the shop today to see about getting a replacement bar end cap since mine got fubared on my wreck. Half way to the shop I reach back to get my water, and that bottle is gone as well. Seriously? Less than 12 hours and I dropped two bottles that are the exact same kind. Never even heard it hit the ground. Rode home after hanging for a bit, and I found the second one not even half a mile from my place. I am a bit dumbfounded as to why these are coming off. I am going to take the mounts off for now and just put a bottle in my bag.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The weather for the ride home yesterday warmed up way past what was predicted, reaching nearly 90! It was also very windy, but lucky for me it was a tailwind for the northerly stretches of my route. Another bit of luck - both Strava segments on my ride home run from south to north. Needless to say I PR'd them both, reaching #2 all time on a 1.3 mile stretch by averaging 24.4 mph, and #6 all time on a 1.6 mile stretch by averaging 26.8 mph. Speeds like that make me feel like a boss . Even with the wind giving me a push, I don't know how the hell the guys above me could maintain their speeds.

Took today off because there are thunderstorms forecasted for this afternoon.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> TrailRunner, what a cool trip! It looks like some rail trail in there. Have you done anything like that before? Wishing you drier (or at least warmer wet) weather for the big one comming up.


Thanks, Rodar! My first time combining biking and camping. We did have a section of rail to trail that we promptly bailed on after about 15 miles. It was way more exhausting than pavement riding and both of us didn't care for it on road bikes during the middle of such a long ride.

TenSpeed, that's pretty crazy. I've lost my fair share of tail lights, but never a water bottle yet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> A dump truck passed through the intersection with the truck bed partially extended. I was standing waiting for the light to change, when POOF. The green light went flying through the air and landed about 15 feet away from me on the side of the road.


Wow, I've heard of cyclists running a traffic light, but never having to RUN from a traffic light.

No excitement here compared to recent posts! Thanks to all the contributors.

I escaped the threat of severe thunderstorms by riding anyhow. Apparently I was fortunate not to be in Georgia VT where a boat on dry land caught fire from lightning Lightning strike ignites fishing boat in Vermont | Local News - WPTZ Home


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I had an interesting commute today; I was riding behind an older gentleman this morning, maybe a meter or so behind. I then decide to go past and when I'm almost along side he starts signalling wildly that he will turn left (there is no left turn to take).

He wanted to stop me going by! All he did was pull out into the middle of the road! Anyway - we were coming up to a level crossing (tram tracks) and I'm thinking - maybe he was warning me about the crossing (the lights were red). That was nice of him. 

No - he then rides AROUND the lowered gates and crosses IN FRONT of the coming tram! I wait for the gates to raise up and set off after him. I caught him again and he pulled the same ****! I went to pass him on the left and he pulled out in front of me again! This time I expected it and just jinked around him on the right and kicked like hell - a**hole move, I know but I HAD to get past... He was a liability and likely to cause a crash!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^That is pretty absurd, it almost sounds like a dream, maybe there is some symbolism there, in real life...cue dream analysis posters. Glad you did not have to see him get smushed by the train though.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ghost_HTX, I am beginning to think that very old people on bikes are a liability in general. Tuesday I was coming back home on some bike paths and this old fella is riding real slow with his dog running along the right side of him on a leash. I called out that I was passing, he didn't seem to notice as he was kinda swerving between the two lanes. Called out again. Finally decide I'd pass him real slow so I'm going by him at about 10 mph because I don't wanna buzz by him. As I'm passing he looks over at me and shouts "announce yourself, young man". I just held my tongue. Dude needed a hearing aid.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Ghost_HTX said:


> I had an interesting commute today; I was riding behind an older gentleman this morning, maybe a meter or so behind. I then decide to go past and when I'm almost along side he starts signalling wildly that he will turn left (there is no left turn to take).
> 
> He wanted to stop me going by! All he did was pull out into the middle of the road! Anyway - we were coming up to a level crossing (tram tracks) and I'm thinking - maybe he was warning me about the crossing (the lights were red). That was nice of him.
> 
> No - he then rides AROUND the lowered gates and crosses IN FRONT of the coming tram! I wait for the gates to raise up and set off after him. I caught him again and he pulled the same ****! I went to pass him on the left and he pulled out in front of me again! This time I expected it and just jinked around him on the right and kicked like hell - a**hole move, I know but I HAD to get past... He was a liability and likely to cause a crash!


I'm with mtbx. You sure you weren't still sleeping? That's some crazy stuff there.

I had a similar experience with a scooter this morning, only the scooter had its right turn signal on and kept swerving to the right side of the road. Oh, and the rider was a teen, not an old man. And there were no train tracks. I guess that's not really similar at all, but I needed a segue.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Not really an interesting story but it's humid here, really humid.

72 degrees when I left sounds nice, but 93% humidity had me dripping sweat.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Scouts honour guys - this actually factually happened. 

Looking out the window it looks like I'm going to experience 100% humidity on my ride home. Big hulking drops of humidity falling from the sky!

It must be a bit*h to stay hydrated in those sort of conditions, formula4speed:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We believe you, Ghost. We really do. Don't we, guys? 

No, really. Seriously. We believe you. Honest.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Look! It happened, OK! Right after the pink elephant driving the day glow orange Prius pulled out in front of me. Jimmy Hoffa was in the passenger seat.

Science Fact.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Look... Let's just not talk about Jimmy Hoffa...:skep:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today as it is a rest day for this weekend. Heading to Chicago with a friend tomorrow for Critical Mass and then to ride the city Saturday. Short trip but will be well worth it. Going through my bike stuff I realized that I have a lot of lights and gloves. I would like to see 100+ miles but I am not sure that it will happen.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Worse when he got to the first overpass and stuck!


Just a heads up, when a passing dump truck catches an overhead phone cable, the cable doesn't break. The poles break.

Something I learned a few years back...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit of a slog today. Last night went and ran/hiked a short trail with my son after work. 2.75 miles - 3500 feet of elevation gain. It's a killer. My son is preparing for the annual race that they hold on this trail. Read about it and the other Alaska Mountain Running Grand Prix races here. So, figured I'd head out with him and get in some extra exercise.

It's funny, for all the riding I do, I really realize how over-specialization in training is just about as bad as not exercising at all. Whew.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ghost_HTX said:


> I had an interesting commute today; I was riding behind an older gentleman this morning, maybe a meter or so behind. I then decide to go past and when I'm almost along side he starts signalling wildly that he will turn left (there is no left turn to take).
> 
> He wanted to stop me going by! All he did was pull out into the middle of the road! Anyway - we were coming up to a level crossing (tram tracks) and I'm thinking - maybe he was warning me about the crossing (the lights were red). That was nice of him.
> 
> No - he then rides AROUND the lowered gates and crosses IN FRONT of the coming tram! I wait for the gates to raise up and set off after him. I caught him again and he pulled the same ****! I went to pass him on the left and he pulled out in front of me again! This time I expected it and just jinked around him on the right and kicked like hell - a**hole move, I know but I HAD to get past... He was a liability and likely to cause a crash!


^^ Heck of a story!



formula4speed said:


> Not really an interesting story but it's humid here, really humid.


^^ Not so much. :lol:

Hilarious. :lol: :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had a meeting after work today, then had a few loose strings to take care of before I could go, so ended up leaving about 8:00 instead of seven. That extra hour made it warm enough to ride in complete summer commute uniform (no gloves, no jacket, no `clava) for the first time. Actually, I probably could have been pretty comfortable that way on several homebound trips lately, but it hasn`t tempted me until today. Also, noticeably less traffic in the residential zone I go through leaving the plant. Not like my standard morning traffic jams are really anything to complain about, but still...


s0ckeyeus said:


> I guess that's not really similar at all, but I needed a segue.


So, which side was the Segue swerving to?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Me too, Rodar! Today was my first day in shorts AND short sleeves... arm warmers the past few mornings, but they were too warm yesterday. So nice to be in the summer uniform. And all that room in the backpack on the way home... 

It's supposed to be up to 89 for our big local XC race on Saturday. I'm in for 18 miles and 2500 feet or so of climbing... That's going to feel hot...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

89* for Sat? Wow! I guess the weather has flipped over again- crazy May. I cranked up my swamp cooler about 3 weeks ago, enjoyed it for one day, then closed the louvers and didn`t even consider turning it on again until yesterday afternoon. Looks like we`re back to SpringGoingOnSummer.

Good luck in the race.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah I haven't uncovered the cooler yet... Will probably wish I had this weekend. 

Thanks... I usually hang just off of the podium in the sport class...but this year they introduced a clydesdale class for 200+LBS, and I tip the scales at about 215, so I jumped in there. Hoping I can hang with the sport guys and outrun the big boys.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yeah I haven't uncovered the cooler yet... Will probably wish I had this weekend.
> 
> Thanks... I usually hang just off of the podium in the sport class...but this year they introduced a clydesdale class for 200+LBS, and I tip the scales at about 215, so I jumped in there. Hoping I can hang with the sport guys and outrun the big boys.


Really, I never pictured you as a clyde! I usually sit right in the middle of the sport class if real racers show up.

Commutes have been awesome, full summer garb. I'll wear shorts down to freezing but I've just started ditching the windbreaker layer this week.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Weird day today - about 14C, sunny, so thought I'd take the road bike I've not ridden in about 3 months.

Half way to work a truck in front of me stops suddenly, but didn't have brake lights. I couldn't go around, so did an emergency stop from about 35km/h. Got everything crossed up, skidded, and reminded myself why I never ride on the road any more! I decided to sell the road bike as I just can't afford to be injured and don't enjoy it.

I get to work and post on our buy/sell boards... The bike was sold an hour later for only 50$ less than I paid for it.

Weird to be taking the train home for the first time in about 15 months!

Back on the mtb tomorrow!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

My commute home was wet and uneventful. I can feel a mild cold coming on. Nothing more to report.


Oh, I saw my first 29+ bike in person, though. Looks kinda like a skinny fat bike...


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Nothing to report from my commute this morning, but my wife had an interesting story. Kind of a bizarro bike commute story. She was on her way to class this morning (in her car) and was stopped at a stop light, and a cyclist ran full speed into the back of her car. Supposedly no damage to the car, but the cyclist went down hard. Sounds painful! Just a reminder that I need to pay attention on my ride home.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Really, I never pictured you as a clyde! I usually sit right in the middle of the sport class if real racers show up.
> 
> Commutes have been awesome, full summer garb. I'll wear shorts down to freezing but I've just started ditching the windbreaker layer this week.


Yeah with "real racers" it's a little further off of the podium. ha. We have over 60 guys pre-registered and quite a few sponsored dudes and dudettes (got USA cycling points race approved this year), so it might be ugly :lol:

You're not alone... most of the local guys have been heckling me about my Clyde status and don't believe it either...there may very well be a scale at check-in, just for me. I've been joking about 'making weight' like a boxer or wrestler or something :lol:

I'm almost 6'3", and I guess I hide it well... (its' all muscle, I swear) but I'm a legit 215. I've been 215 since 8th grade :lol: This is the first time it's been an advantage :idea:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Comedy of errors to start with, but improved from there. Decided I should drive to work today as I had a noon deadline and also promised to bring a coworker some boxes this week for moving...loaded said boxes, prepared to leave...remembered car has to go to shop today, and no way I can carry the boxes on the bike or bus...unload said boxes, load bike, and go to shop. Pull in and realize I don't have my pack with phone, money, underwear, etc...return home, grab pack...return car to shop, now thinking I will be 20 minutes late instead of early to work on my deadline project...pedal the BMX like mad and I am not early, but I am on time!

I also missed the scattered thunderstorms for the second day in a row, which was nice since I was fenderless.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I just completed my first ever perfect month, biked to work every day. Riding 5 days in a week isn't uncommon for me, but I've never managed a full month before.

Not as impressive as the guys here who ride all the time no matter what, but since I don't think anyone else cares that I did it I'm sharing with you guys.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> I just completed my first ever perfect month, biked to work every day. Riding 5 days in a week isn't uncommon for me, but I've never managed a full month before.
> 
> Not as impressive as the guys here who ride all the time no matter what, but since I don't think anyone else cares that I did it I'm sharing with you guys.


I'd rep ya if I could, but it won't let me. Regardless, good job!

I haven't been able to ride much the past two weeks. People keep needing me to drive them around or run errands (for work, which I have to use my own car for and they won't let me bike to do). Yesterday I had to run around for hours after work getting a terrarium and then buying a gecko from my buddy. Today I'm driving said gecko down to southern Missouri because I got it as a gift for my girlfriend and she's working down there for a few months.

There's hope for the future though that I'll join you in the feat, though. Starting in the middle of June I won't even have a car. I'll be living a mile and a half from work though, shop I can still cheat by walking, not much of a commute. Oh well. Sorry for being long winded.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

formula4speed said:


> I just completed my first ever perfect month, biked to work every day. Riding 5 days in a week isn't uncommon for me, but I've never managed a full month before.
> 
> Not as impressive as the guys here who ride all the time no matter what, but since I don't think anyone else cares that I did it I'm sharing with you guys.


Nicely done!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Covered the Rep for you, NDD! 

215 is pretty lean for 6' 3", CB! Now I am below 190, people think I am lighter than that. No skinny 'old guy' legs because of the cycling, I guess! 

Just passed a stress test (first I have taken in 8 years), so I suspect the chest pain cycling was related to Hydro Cortisone which just before the test I weaned off of. My temps are back up. In fact, my wife tells me I'm hot! Unfortunately, literally and not figuratively hot. 

I have pictures in my mind of Mtbxplorer cutting across lots, riding up and down stairs like many MBX riders to get the shortest possible route and be on time. I know she is too law-abiding, but the Dr. Jeckyl and Ms. Hyde transformation from sedate Subie driver to urban cycling guerilla, made me smile and though it is entirely fictitious I'm sure, I had to share it.  Hope it makes you all smile.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice work Formula4Speed! 5 days a week can be hard to achieve because of life demands.



CommuterBoy said:


> Yeah with "real racers" it's a little further off of the podium. ha. We have over 60 guys pre-registered and quite a few sponsored dudes and dudettes (got USA cycling points race approved this year), so it might be ugly :lol:
> 
> You're not alone... most of the local guys have been heckling me about my Clyde status and don't believe it either...there may very well be a scale at check-in, just for me. I've been joking about 'making weight' like a boxer or wrestler or something :lol:
> 
> I'm almost 6'3", and I guess I hide it well... (its' all muscle, I swear) but I'm a legit 215. I've been 215 since 8th grade :lol: This is the first time it's been an advantage :idea:


Yeah, at 6'3" that's not that hard to carry. I'm 6' 0-1" and topped out at 220 in about 8th grade. I bottomed out in the 168 range and now I'm creeping back toward 180. I just got the Fitbit Charge HR as an incentive to get back to the 168 number. It's an impressive little gadget.

RollingRunner and I took the long way in, stellar morning. I needed steel toes for a site I was visiting so I wore them with bike shorts and took a flat peddle bike, it was a sight.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

So I just made it back home today. That makes 100% cycling this week. Next week I will probably have to drive on Wednesday, would make 4 out of 5, still not too bad.

This morning I noticed that my tail light is not working, will have to do some troubleshouting there over the weekend. Not that I need it, but I simply want it to work.

@formula4speed: Congrats on a whole month riding! Somehow I always have to drive 2-3 times a month...but will keep striving for a 100% month of course.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks all, I got pretty lucky with the weather this month. Dodged quite a few thunderstorms. Don't think I'll be able to get 2 months in a row just yet, but it's something to aim for.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> I have pictures in my mind of Mtbxplorer cutting across lots, riding up and down stairs like many MBX riders to get the shortest possible route and be on time. I know she is too law-abiding, but the Dr. Jeckyl and Ms. Hyde transformation from sedate Subie driver to urban cycling guerilla, made me smile and though it is entirely fictitious I'm sure, I had to share it.  Hope it makes you all smile.


Well, you have the fictitious part right, my skilz are substandard and yesterday I thought to myself that people must be "WTF??? a BMX'r signalling a turn?!?"  I'm sure the gray hair sticking out of the helmet and the woman thing throw some for a loop as well, but now that is just part of the fun. I had to drive today, but took the BMX downtown to sign some legal papers this afternoon for work, way faster than the bus and the car too, given the parking/walking on both ends.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I needed steel toes for a site I was visiting so I wore them with bike shorts and took a flat peddle bike, it was a sight.


:thumbsup: :lol: What, no pix of that!?!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, N4S :thumbsup:



bedwards1000 said:


> RollingRunner and I took the long way in, stellar morning. I needed steel toes for a site I was visiting so I wore them with bike shorts and took a flat peddle bike, it was a sight.


I second the request for a picture.



mtbxplorer said:


> I thought to myself that people must be "WTF??? a BMX'r signalling a turn?!?"  I'm sure the gray hair sticking out of the helmet and the woman thing throw some for a loop as well, but now that is just part of the fun.


:lol:
As far as peoples` thoughts about a BMXer signaling for a turn, I`m reminded of my own thoughts about a month ago. Waiting (in my truck ) at a red light and saw a helmetless guy on a clunky BSO shuffle up to the line in the lane next to me, apparently watching for a gap in the 4 or 5 lanes of fast moving cross traffic to run the light. The silent words I said about him weren`t very kind. But the gaps came and went, and the guy hung in, waited for his green, and crossed legally. Shame on me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> :thumbsup: :lol: What, no pix of that!?!


I almost snapped one. Think "bicycle cop" except with spandex shorts. Your right, I should have taken a picture.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ The 6 Million Monopoly Dollar man. You could re-create him. The technology exists to put cycle-construction-man into pixeled existence better than he would have been captured before! 

Long before cell phones and their cameras, I rode a coaster bike to my first paying job off the farm wearing steel toed work boots pushing on rubber pedals. Blue jeans though. Too bad about cell phones. I was far more photogenic then!  Five summers later, I had a decent 10-speed. Seems I'm addicted.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was the best of times, and the worst of times.......

Friday 5/29 - friend and I drove to Chicago to ride the city and do Critical Mass (he had never done one). Temp - 82F and extremely humid. Sprinkled early on, but remained dry for the rest of the evening. Was amazing. 60 mile total bike ride including the Critical Mass.

Saturday 5/30 - friend and I rode the city some more even though we were spent from the previous night. Temp - started at 67F and ended at 45F (felt like 38F) and raining with heavy winds. Rained the entire time we rode. Wind gusts so strong we almost both got knocked off of our bikes several times. Was absolutely terrible. 15 mile total ride that was harder than the 60 miles the previous night.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

The wife and the little one and I went out for a nice bike ride yesterday (17km to my wife's parents and 17km back again) - it was lovely, except that I am like a terrier dog chasing a ball when I see other cyclists riding by... I was unintentionally speeding up every time someone went past... I think my wife needed to put me on a leash... This was with the little one in the Nordic Cab bike trailer too so you can bet that my legs are feeling it a little today. The bike felt completely weightless by comparison today 

Disclaimer: I would never ride irresponsibly with my 1 year old daughter in the trailer!

I got a little bike mechanic help from my father in law whilst we were there - my aluminium seat post has welded itself to my carbon frame... The two of us working together could not get the thing to move an inch! I guess this means that (A) I can never sell the bike (unless the buyer is 5'7'' and kinda short in the legs) which is fine with me; I love my bike! and (B) I can spare a few grams by ditching the seat post clamp - it's clamped itself very nicely already!

The commute this morning was windy. Mostly head wind. I managed to push myself to the point where I nearly threw up when I pulled up at work. I guess this "mild cold" has teeth after all...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A bit chilly compared to the weather I've grown used to with light rain the whole way. If I were doing it over again, I'd probably wear long sleeves. Oh well.

I went on a short ride with my wife and almost-2-year-old on Saturday. We were going to drive to the park to ride the MUP, but my son didn't understand what we were doing, so he started throwing a little tantrum and crying, "I want to go on bike ride." I can't complain too much about that.


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## 73pinz (Dec 11, 2012)

*Wet, very wet.*

It was pouring, even with head to toe GoreTex my feet got wet enough to get cold. Still, it wasn't boring.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

June 1st right? High of 65, low of 39. Just wondering where summer is. Not forecasted to get above 79 this week or into next week. Lows in the 40's. Gonna be tricky dressing correctly for both rides.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Post race legs this morning...

I forgot to start my Garimin until about 3 miles in, so I stole this elevation profile from a friend's Strava:








19.5 miles, 2900 feet of elevation gain. It was a burner.

A major boost for our local club... over 100 riders, big success. 
I wound up taking the top spot in the clydesdale class...my time would have put me at 4th in sport in my age group. I did have some cramping issues and should have been faster, but you have to call it a good day overall.

Here's a pic from the race, topping out at the high point... just so you can picture me in all my Clydesdale splendor :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Just found out the company I work for is moving this Fall, which could suck for me depending on what location they come up with. If the company moves too far away, I might start looking harder for a new job.


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## 73pinz (Dec 11, 2012)

Here in Maine I have been using two outfits, one for the ride in (high 30's- low 40's) and one for the ride home (high 70's- low 90's).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

CB - you are not exactly a "clyde" by that picture. I fall into that category even though I am barely in. When I think clyde, I think BIG, like 260+


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Snapped a chain this morning 
It's been 22 years since the last one.

CB: Those are some wiiiiiide bars in the pic.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I haven't snapped a chain since I've been carrying spare links. It's like magic. 
The bars are 780's. I loooove the wide bars. More leverage going up, more control coming down. You just have to watch the narrow tree-lined trails :lol:

I told my boys organizing things... if you want a 250lb class, make it 250. If it's 200+, I'm in! If you got it, flaunt it. :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

73pinz said:


> Here in Maine I have been using two outfits, one for the ride in (high 30's- low 40's) and one for the ride home (high 70's- low 90's).


Maine! Nobody else here's from Maine. Where you at? I'm in Raymond/Gray. I concur, very wet. I took the extra step to add gators so the water wouldn't run into my shoes.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Working from home. Good weekend of not much riding. Instead I did some trail running and some hiking - helping my son get ready for a mountain race next week. The trail - 3500 elevation gain in 2.75 miles. Going up is rough. Coming down is worse. Ouch. 

Starting Sprockidz tonight - summer mtb bike coaching for kids between 6 and 18. This is my second year of coaching. Hopefully it is as fun as last year. 

Tomorrow will be a bit commuting day. Lots of running to do around the city. Good times. Hopefully the rain in the forecast decides to hold off until the evening.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kickin butt, CB! What`s the clyde cutoff point for TransNorcal?

Sprockidz sounds like a cool plan  Is your son involved?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Kickin butt, CB! What`s the clyde cutoff point for TransNorcal?
> 
> Sprockidz sounds like a cool plan  Is your son involved?


Yup, my son rides and both my daughters help coach the youngest age groups. It's a great time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Even cooler :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Super soggy both ways, mid 40'sF in and 50F rolling home. Flood watch and massive puddles, but no road closures etc. on my route. The rivers are full, and there are flood watches, but I only saw minor roadside erosion, not flooding. I think we have enough rain though.

A couple pix from the ride home, and a sunrise from last Thursday...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Plain jane commute. Wasn't as cold coming home as I thought so I was alright. Weird, because it is currently 48F out and it felt pretty good. Took arm warmers with me at least and my wind proof gloves so that helped. Once I rewrap these bars, the bike is done. New stem is working out really nicely and finishes off the cockpit.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

How was my commute? Truncated. I was just cooling off at my desk when the wife called to say our little one has fallen down at kindergarten and landed on her face. I was immediately back on the bike and pedalng so hard I swear I laid a black streak on the tarmac... Shes ok. A little sore. Poor thing.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yesterday awesome. Rode my bike up to volunteer in the morning, then rode to work. Between all that and getting home I put in a total of 40 miles. Might do the same amount of miles today.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Awkward right hook this morning. I thought the SUV was going to stop at the intersection (red light), but the driver just kept rolling. He bypassed the right turn lane and looped around the little island thing that separates the right turn lane from the intersection to make the right turn. I was in the bike lane and turning right too, but I took the turning lane as I always do. I ended up having to brake in the turning to lane to avoid getting plowed over. The driver didn't pass me until I was already heading for the turn lane and didn't turn on his turn signal until he was in the intersection.


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## Guest (Jun 2, 2015)

First commute since April. I rode less in May than January and I had bronchitis then. Good ride but I felt like the weather was trying to Cat 6 me all the way in with a few rain drops here and there and a storm threatening. Not usually an issue, but with no jacket and no seat cover (brooks don't like wet), it was a push.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Awkward right hook this morning. I thought the SUV was going to stop at the intersection (red light), but the driver just kept rolling. He bypassed the right turn lane and looped around the little island thing that separates the right turn lane from the intersection to make the right turn. I was in the bike lane and turning right too, but I took the turning lane as I always do. I ended up having to brake in the turning to lane to avoid getting plowed over. The driver didn't pass me until I was already heading for the turn lane and didn't turn on his turn signal until he was in the intersection.


That is just a big pile of dookie right there. People driving tend to just do everything wrong if they make one little mistake. In the wrong lane at a turn? Swing across traffic and almost hit a cyclist. Beats having to turn around and make a left turn.

I blame individualism for this.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Rainy day, of course the bike with fenders is getting handlebar surgery (the midge experiment hasn't worked out, need to try the WTB bars I got originally but they need to be reamed out to accomodate bar ends). Hopefully the fancy bike will forgive me, I had to ride today.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good, if a bit damp this AM. Looking forward to it clearing off this afternoon, but that might just be wishful thinking. Hard to say. 

Ended up May with 537 miles, bringing my year to date to 2223.25. And...my Garmin took a bit of a dive yesterday - Was loading the bikes into the burban and had taken the GPS off and set it on the bumper. The wife had to leave and I left it on the bumper. She found it on the way home - on the road. Screen's broken. Bit PO'ed at myself over that one. I am currently using one of my daughters' wrist-top GPS units, but I really don't like it all that much.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yesterday was uneventful, which is good. Today I made a detour to the hardware store and was right hooked first, then 5 minutes later somebody left me very little space when overtaking. And then tha 4$$h0!3 turned on the windscreen cleaners so that I got showered in anti-freeze stuff. Put all my clothes in the washing machine when I got home and had to take a shower directly. Yuck.

Last sunday I rode with my 4y old son son a few rounds on a skatepark that is not finished yet. He liked it so much that we came home way too late for dinner  His helmet got some beating which was a good lesson to him. Everytime I said "what if you wouldn't have a helmet on?" I think he got it. Will go back again next week though


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I'm not sure I'm sold on bike commuting in the rain. It's raining and 50 degrees today and I biked in, not as bad as 90 and humid at least.

My bike is set up for it, full fenders, disc brakes, belt drive...my heart just wasn't completely in it today. I'll get plenty more chances to try it out I'm sure.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well I've done about 80 miles in the last two days on a single speed with full saddlebags. First sixty miles was pretty great, next twenty were just pretty dang slow. Spent four hours today cutting brush so I think that whooped me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Took Supertramp's advice and took the long way home. Way too nice of a night not to ride. 60F and calm and it was perfect. Ran through campus on the bike path and on the deserted roads. Turned the music up and put the pedals down. This week looks really nice for commuting so I am in a great mood.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Commute this morning was nice - sunny but with a little bit of a head wind.
Got pulled out in front of at two roundabouts today. 
First one was an older lady - totally saw me coming and misjudged my speed (why would I be going fast, right? I'm only a cyclist?). When I pulled up along side her at the level crossing just after (the gates were down for the tram to pass) she just stares straight ahead like I'm not there. No apology no nothing...
Second one was worse - a taxi just drove straight out onto the roundabout - the driver not only didn't see me, but he didn't see the car behind me either...
No accidents though so all in all another good day 
In other news me and the wife bought our first house yesterday! It is a little further away from work than our apartment (but in the opposite direction, if you get me?). 
My commute is going up from 11 km to 15km! More bike time


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

Winter gear. In June. 
At least I'm getting some more use out of the stuff, eh?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

formula4speed said:


> I'm not sure I'm sold on bike commuting in the rain. It's raining and 50 degrees today and I biked in, not as bad as 90 and humid at least.
> 
> My bike is set up for it, full fenders, disc brakes, belt drive...my heart just wasn't completely in it today. I'll get plenty more chances to try it out I'm sure.


It's all about keeping warm and state of mind. If you just commit to yourself that you are going to get wet it is better.



TenSpeed said:


> Took Supertramp's advice and took the long way home. ...


#showingyourage I love eating Breakfast In America. When i take the long way home I do it Enter The Haggis style. 

Anyway, the commute in was good. I took the long way in, actually. Peeks of sunshine after 3 days of solid rain.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ You're bloody well right.

Last week of school around here. I'm splitting my work time between getting paperwork wrapped up and google mapping potential fatbike rides... I'll be getting a little more scarce around here for a while. Good luck. We're all counting on you.

Here's a better look at those wide bars from the race last weekend if you're interested:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit damp again this AM, but drying up, I think. Ended up taking the short way home last night as I didn't want to get too soaked before the bus ride and then when I got to the Valley, got a call from the wife that a neighbor was just at our house accusing one of our dogs of biting his kid. Not good. So, had to hustle home to put her mind at ease. 

Got in a nice trail run with my middle child in the evening in the rain. Good times until she decided she wanted to run on the track. Ever run on a track? Boring!

Second night of MTB coaching tonight. The kids are all broken into their groups so now we can start working on skills. Hopefully the weather clears out by then.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> Ever run on a track? Boring!


It really is the worst. Counting laps until you feel the run was sufficient. Stationary bikes are just as bad though. It's just a lot of dang effort to see the same track or wall the whole time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ You're bloody well right.


That's logical.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Peeks of sunshine after 3 days of solid rain.


Finally some sun here in VT also, glorious, even though it was down in the 30'sF for the ride in. Mid 60's and sunny on the ride home!

Almost had a roadside find, a new Thule strap at the car wash exit, but the buckle was destroyed!

Usually my bike is the last one at work, but today I met 2 cyclists at the rack. One was heading the other way, and one was local, but we chatted a bit and rode down to the light together. He recognized me as the "winter biker" from my Dinotte taillight.

Have a great summer CB, congrats on the race!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in and home again. Minimal excitement as I passed what looked to be another commuter possibly less than a half a mile after leaving work. The rest of the ride home was pretty boring which is good.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

No real excitement to report here in sunny Oslo...

The good weather has brought out cyclists of all types, sizes genders, ages and abilities - it really is a great sight to be at the bottom of a climb and see cyclist after cyclist on the hill in front of you. Of course, the local council have partially closed the main ring road to the east of Oslo so most of these guys would normally be in their cars...

The trip home was sunny and crowded and my Cyclometer (crappy Strava type app for Windowsphone) only recorded half my ride (I want to see how many km I can put in this year) so it was a mixed bag. The trip in this morning was blustery and sunny with +15 deg C. 20deg C is reported for the trip home! Summer is here (kinda...).


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

My kids are out of school, so the "end of the year" craziness that was keeping me off my bike is no longer a distraction. If every morning the weather was this perfect, I would be thrilled. Halfway through the ride I just realized how much I enjoy NOT riding in high humidity. I've been taking weekend rides later in the morning/afternoon and it's like riding in a scullery. 

Got to work in reasonable time (14.35 miles in just over an hour) and now looking forward to the day. I have a planned stop at a LBS to check out the Brooks Cambium saddle(s).


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this morning, if a little bit sore. Had Sprockidz last night and, after breaking my chain, I ended up powering through a 4 mile round about route to finally catch up with my group who went on a head with the other coach. Good times. Got to ride a bit of single track with a good and excited group of kids. It's going to be an awesome summer of coaching. 

I'll be taking it somewhat easy on the bike over the weekend. No commute tomorrow, but an evening group ride, then Saturday I'll be hiking to the top of a mountain to do timing for a mountain running race. Sunday I want to go for a long-ish run, but we'll have to see how my legs feel. Right now I have some real tightness in my hips.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The thought of training for a 10k crossed my mind this morning... Not sure what happened there, I'm going to ignore that little thought for now :lol: 


Jelako, the Brooks Cambium belongs on my Ogre... just so hard to spend that kind of money on a seat...


I'm looking at 2 or 3 more commute mornings (teacher) depending on how productive I am... Looking forward to the summer slowdown.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Just got back from a quick 5 day vacation last night and opted to drive this morning to give me a chance to ease my way back into the work routine. My legs are also sore from hiking on our trip. Planning to ride tomorrow and my wife is on night shift so I don't have to hurry home to let the dog out. That means I can put in an extra 20-30 miles.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Today was cycle2work day at work. The worst thing is, that I did not notice until lunchtime. In the restaurant all meals had a name somethimg to do with bikes (noodles: wobbly spokes etc) No present at the entrance, no tents in front of the restaurant, no group picture, bikeshow, nothing.

And even the weather was finally nice today, no 30knot wind, no clouds....just very calm, sunny and warm enough to ride in shorts and T-shirt. Tomorrow it's gonna be hot and humid, will take my sandals for the ride home with me.


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## 73pinz (Dec 11, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Maine! Nobody else here's from Maine. Where you at? I'm in Raymond/Gray. I concur, very wet. I took the extra step to add gators so the water wouldn't run into my shoes.


Poland, and commute to LRHS. I think 
my parents live very near to you. (5 brown rd.)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Bait shop? Yeah, we're within a few houses.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BMX Thursday! Not quite sure how it can only be 2 minutes slower over 8 miles than my cross bike...traffic lights and speedy acceleration off the mark? Faster up the final 1 mile hill because I'm mostly standing? Magic 24" tires? Slow no matter what machine? Lightest bike I own? It's still a mystery, but it keeps it interesting.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Very pleasant today with the normal headwind from the west. Kept up with traffic, passed a few cars, rode the bike lane. Same as every other day. Ride home was just beautiful and I didn't want to stop so I did a few extra miles through campus which was truly deserted. I didn't see a pedestrian, a car, a bike, nothing. It was a complete ghost town and that is fine with me. Got a friendly wave from a city cop on a bike which was pretty cool, although he was riding blacked out on the sidewalk. Now I am home, showered and had a snack, browse a little, then hit the sack. All in all a good days ride ruined by 8.5 hours of work


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

The ride home was all wind in the face & high humidity. Woke up sore, so I know I got my work in.

Stopped at two LBS. The one with Brooks saddles and no Cambians in stock (just the tester). The loaner/tester is not the "Carved" version. After speaking with a couple of the mechanics, I am even more conflicted whether to get the "carved" or not.

Stopped at the other dealer that sells "Breezer". The Breezer Beltway Elite has been sold out since March. He said the 2016s won't be announced until July/Aug and probably available October.

I would love a "Spot Brand" Wazee, but the Beltway just has so much value at it's price point.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Jelako said:


> The ride home was all wind in the face & high humidity. Woke up sore, so I know I got my work in.
> 
> Stopped at two LBS. The one with Brooks saddles and no Cambians in stock (just the tester). The loaner/tester is not the "Carved" version. After speaking with a couple of the mechanics, I am even more conflicted whether to get the "carved" or not.
> 
> ...


I really like my Beltway, but if you have a Scott dealer maybe look at the Sub Speed 10. Looks like a nice belt drive/IGH bike.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

The local dealer that sells Scott is also a Specialized dealer. And they *REALLY* like Specialized. One of my pet peeves in this day and age is: "We can order that in for you". I get that LBS have to be selective about how much inventory they have on hand, but when the ENTIRE FLOOR is FILLED with $2000-$5000 Specialized Road and Mountain Bikes, you couldn't allow ONE Scott Commuter?

/Rant

I love the Green on the Sub Speed 10. That being said, the Breezer really has a lot of value: Racks, Fenders, Lights, Kickstand, & Bell (hehe). 

Regardless, I really want to commit to getting up to 4 days a week and stay with it. Right now I have invested in Big Apples and a Seat Post rack w/ Trunk Bag. If I can stay with it 2-3 months, I would like to move to a Belt Drive with Internal Geared hub. Having commuted After/During Rain a few...I am looking forward to eventually getting fenders.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

You can get up to 4 days a week on any bike, doesn't need to be commuter specific. It helps, but it is totally doable on just about anything on 2 wheels. BMX to fixed gear to fancy road bike, we all do it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wheeew...the local club does a time trial once a month, and it was last night. After two commutes yesterday I realized I was going to be able to make it (schedule opened up). 12 mile out and back with the headwind coming on the way back... oh man that hurt. This morning I had a bit of the jelly legs going on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I am satisfied that I rode 5 of 5 days this week. This morning was quite cold with barely 10C, but the temp went up to over 30C late in the afternoon. First time this year I could ride in shirt, shorts and sandals. Temps will fall rapidly again the next days, somehow pretty unstable weather so far.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jelako said:


> One of my pet peeves in this day and age is: "We can order that in for you".


That one always drives me nuts too. If it has to be ordered, why would I have YOU order it for me when I could just order it myself for a better price and have it show up right to my door? I came to the shop so I could hopefully get it right now!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Especially when you called and they said they had one, so your drove 25 miles to discover they were mistaken! Wrong model, wrong size, wrong color, or it was sold that morning and the sales person did not check…

Shipping is cheaper than the vehicle use and I save an hour+ out of my life going to and from the LBS. Usually I combine it with several other stops. If the trip was primarily for the bike part, and the rest could have waited a couple of weeks, you still feel like it was bait and switch time and you return bike-part-less.

If they only have one, I ask them to put my name on it now. I am investing time and vehicle use and am primed to buy, so they can invest in a little customer service. My phone call is in line ahead of a later walk-in.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I passed my heart stress test. So it looks like my chest pain is from inadequate NO production to open the heart arteries under exercise. Treatable and not life threatening. Pass the nitro glycerin!

Was feeling good on this ride and one of my faster recent climbs out of the valley both outbound and returning. This is a section of road going through the golf course about a half mile north of where I live.






The Garmin read 33 mph briefly on the one downhill. I di not remember doing it much faster or holding above 30 as long either. Cross wind. Not as fast A I once was but still crankin'! :thumbsup:

June is busting out all over. The clematis, day lilies, roses, prickly pear, and sweet pea are in flower.











The sweet pea smells very nice!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ nice pictures!!! What did you take them with? The color is really sharp.

Friday night I did my group ride. It was decent out, mid 60's with this strange mist in the air. It wasn't raining, but it wasn't dry out either. Almost like when a sprinkler is going and the wind picks up and you ride by and just that mist gets you, that is what it was like out. The group split off and did random things, me, I set a new record for speed. Raced another fixed gear rider off a light and we hit 32.6 mph according to my Cateye GPS based computer. That is the fastest I have ever gone on a bike, let alone a fixed gear. I meant to take a picture of it, and of course ended up accidentally resetting it. OOPS. Kept riding, raced another rider this time on a geared bike off a light. I did not get a good jump but managed to eek out 31.4 mph as a top speed. This was on a deserted road on campus that is really smooth. All in all, it was a good night. Temps dropped to the low 50's by the time we were done but there was no rain. My 100mm stem has to come off because it is just too long and stretches me out and my hands are painful from resting on the bars. I figured that the reach would be too much but couldn't pass up the stem. I learned. Total miles ridden was 55.6. Took Saturday off to rest my legs and Sunday there are storms in the forecast. If it holds off before work I will ride in.


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## Ska (Jan 12, 2004)

Dry, but, wind in my face. Good ride though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


>


Oooh! I don`t suppose there`s a rose growing in the middle of that cactus is there? I`ve seen a lot of nopal blossoms, but never one with such a "designer" multicoloed look to it like that. Very pretty!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ nice pictures!!! What did you take them with? The color is really sharp.


Those were done with an iPhone 4. I should reshoot with the HTC android.



TenSpeed said:


> My 100mm stem has to come off because it is just too long and stretches me out and my hands are painful from resting on the bars. I figured that the reach would be too much but couldn't pass up the stem. I learned.


It took me a lot of time to get rid of hand and foot pain when I resumed riding frequently for an hour or more at a time. I have a 50 mm stem set very high. Kind of twitchy but it works. I have lost a lot of the spare tire (>65 lbs) so maybe it is time to se if I can go more aero.



rodar y rodar said:


> Oooh! I don`t suppose there`s a rose growing in the middle of that cactus is there? I`ve seen a lot of nopal blossoms, but never one with such a "designer" multicoloed look to it like that. Very pretty!


Obviously selected for its blooms. The fruit are unusable. We can get them in season in the stores here. An acquired taste, it seems to me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Really? I`ve always found the fruit very tasty. The paddles, on the other hand...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ I was brought up on home grown raspberries, strawberries, cherries, peaches apricots, pears, and a wide variety of apples. Home made maple syrup, too. 

Of course, maybe the ones they ship are not the good ones or too green to show what they can be. Delicious apples are like that. Fantastic right off the tree. Mediocre to mealy, if stored. Jaded palate or unrepresentative prickly pears? I know these little red ones I grow aren't quite mature by frost here and aren't worth the effort to try and get rid of the prickles. The ones I tried from the store suggest I leave mine to rot.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> I know these little red ones I grow aren't quite mature by frost here and aren't worth the effort to try and get rid of the prickles. The ones I tried from the store suggest I leave mine to rot.


The ones I`ve seen in supermarkets look so unappetizing that I`ve never bothered. In devious sort of way, I`m glad you mentioned frost cutting your growing season short. I was surprised to even see them in Indiana the first time you posted pics of them- they won`t grow at all around here, though I don`t know if it`s because of arid climate, altitude, or what. For what its worth, to get rid of the prickles, they usually cut the whole outer layer off with a knife in Mexico. For the fruit, that is- for the slimey part, they just scrape with a knife.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ The fruit are so small that there would not be much left after peeling them.They are about 1/4-1/3 as long or wide as the ones in the stores and just changing color about Halloween. 

The plant is a cutting from one at the street corner diagonal to my wife's office. The house burned, was razed, and the cactus was being discarded when Kathryn asked for a chunk of it. Only one I have seen in town. She had admired its flowering for several years. It is in our succulent bed and though that is drier than other beds, it still gets more rain than I thought it would stand. No idea of its origin.I assume higher elevations a lot further south.

The yuccas are poised to flower any day now too. If the sun shines I will test the color saturation of the android phone.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Surprisingly good ride in this AM. Saturday was the Government Peak Hill Climb race and I volunteered to do timing at the top - 3500 vert gain in 2.75 miles. Good times. A bit sore yesterday so I didn't go for a run yesterday as planned, but did mow my yard - .57 acres with a push mower, so a bit of a workout anyway. A couple of hills on the ride this morning reminded me that I still need to train better for climbing back down mountains, but the weather was great and overall the ride was nice. 

Have a guy coming to look at my Farley today. Might work out that I'll be able to sell it and if I do, I think I might just go with a 29er if I can get a deal on one from somewhere. Then start riding the Pugs in the winters. My son might be a bit peeved, but probably not that much as it is usually a bit of a struggle to get him out on the bike in the winter with me. Another option: 650b+. Not quite full fat, but fat enough to ride most of what I ride in the winter. Hmmm... decisions, decisions.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

70F this morning. I realize that this is what most the world deals with on a daily basis, but I prefer to keep that sort of thing for my ride home.

Not bike-related (and I have no particular love of motorcycles), but here's a local video of a student driver:










When I see a driver doing something stupid, I often think "They couldn't be _that_ stupid, could they?" But occasionally they really are. And giving people the benefit of the doubt affects my reaction time - I'm not sure I would have gotten out of the way as fast as this rider does.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

77F this morning on the way in and humid. Bleh. It's kind of a crapshoot whether or not I'll get rained on on my ride home. I guess I'll have to wait and see. I just hope I don't get stormed on.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Surprisingly good ride in this AM. Saturday was the Government Peak Hill Climb race and I volunteered to do timing at the top - 3500 vert gain in 2.75 miles. Good times. A bit sore yesterday so I didn't go for a run yesterday as planned, but did mow my yard - .57 acres with a push mower, so a bit of a workout anyway. A couple of hills on the ride this morning reminded me that I still need to train better for climbing back down mountains, but the weather was great and overall the ride was nice.
> 
> Have a guy coming to look at my Farley today. Might work out that I'll be able to sell it and if I do, I think I might just go with a 29er if I can get a deal on one from somewhere. Then start riding the Pugs in the winters. My son might be a bit peeved, but probably not that much as it is usually a bit of a struggle to get him out on the bike in the winter with me. Another option: 650b+. Not quite full fat, but fat enough to ride most of what I ride in the winter. Hmmm... decisions, decisions.


Sounds like you are a candidate for a 29+. Best of both worlds from what I understand.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> Another option: 650b+. Not quite full fat, but fat enough to ride most of what I ride in the winter. Hmmm... decisions, decisions.





TenSpeed said:


> Sounds like you are a candidate for a 29+. Best of both worlds from what I understand.


The big question for me is when will someone announce a +size studded tire? The way the marketing machines are moving I figure studded 650b+ might actually happen before 29+. (although my 29er should fit 650b+ quite nicely, while it might struggle a bit with 29+)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> When I see a driver doing something stupid, I often think "They couldn't be _that_ stupid, could they?" But occasionally they really are. And giving people the benefit of the doubt affects my reaction time - I'm not sure I would have gotten out of the way as fast as this rider does.


A driver completely ignored a stop sign (he was far enough away that he was not immanent on entering the intersection and totaled our car. He shifted the whole front end 5" to the right and nearly ripped off his left front wheel. Too much damage for even slowing for the stop sign or braking before he hit. A recent widower and and octogenarian, I suspect he was not aware of where he was at all.

You wound think the bump up over the front wheel of the motorcycle would be a clue. Now you know why I avoid riding right after the high school lets out.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Warm and windy on the way in today. The wind just sucks the life out of me. I don't mind the heat or the cold honestly. The wind? No thanks. Lots of severe weather across the state that just missed us to the south. We got a little rain early in the evening and a few sprinkles on the way home but it was nice out and the ride home was fast!!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

This morning was by turns sunny, frustrating, baffling and confrontational. Oh, and irritating... In no particular order.

I had a confrontation with a random middle aged lady not ten metres from my front door this morning. 

According to her it is not allowed to cycle through our housing complex, past a locked car gate (designed to prevent motor vehicles accessing our complex but allowing peds, strollers, bikes etc through) through the adjacent supermarket car park to get to the road... I should cycle instead through said busy housing complex past a sandbox/play ground and go through an identical gate, cross the side walk then onto the road instead!

So in essence I should ride through the busy pedestrian area, past the play area, through a closed car gate (on a down hill) and onto the road rather then taking the direct route uphill (therefore slower) avoiding the pedestrians and kids.

The baffling thing? When I asked her if we were neighbours (i.e. did she even live there?) she said NO! She was just walking through! And when further pushed to tell me why I should not cycle where I was cycling all she could come up with was that there was no bike path indicated! 

IT IS A SUPERMARKET CAR PARK!! I asked her why there is a bike rack in front of the shop if bikes were not allowed in here?? She couldn't answer. I then asked her to show me in writing where the rule was that dictates no cycling here (she was playing with her smart phone as I rode past her) and she refused (i.e. couldn't).

At that point I had wasted enough time on her and rode off... 

Then at my favorite roundabout (I'm sure I mentioned it before) I get this guy in a heavy truck (7ton plus) pulling out in front of me - I had to go around him as there was no way I was coming to a stop on an busy roundabout and as I am passing on the left I get a face full of cigarette ash... 

Oh, and it turns out that moving to our new house will in all likelihood kill my bike commuting - child care is going to be a challenge (finding a kindergarten place) so it looks like we need to keep the place we have. That's 45 minutes on the train to drop off the little one and then another 30 mins to get to work. Taking the bike and stroller on the train is just not possible...

FML, ladies and gents, FML.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Only a few days commuting since january as I have been constantly working away. managed 3000 miles last year, be lucky to manage 1000 this year the way things are going.
The good news is that they have finally opened up a new bike path that crosses the river connecting two parks together, it extends my commute by about 3 miles each way but it is a great alternative to the very busy main roads at the rush hour. I only need to cycle the final 3 miles on roads which are busy in the opposite direction.
Much more relaxed, the bike paths are also deserted in the early mornings, just a few joggers about.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> Sounds like you are a candidate for a 29+. Best of both worlds from what I understand.


Light like a 700 X 54 and still maneuverable like a 26 X 4.0?


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## 73pinz (Dec 11, 2012)

T storms predicted today, so no ride.


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## Guest (Jun 9, 2015)

No ride yesterday but lots of sun and mild temps this morning. My last trail section was a sea of mudpits (think trucks on a mud race course with water filled holes two feet deep and 6-15 feet long) connected with a thin strip of ridably dry dirt (didn't sink into the abyss). Sporty but totally worth it after missing yesterday for a CT Scan.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

73pinz said:


> T storms predicted today, so no ride.


Bah, rode anyway. You must have quite a ride from Poland to LRHS

My legs haven't been into it for the last few mornings.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Left 10 minutes early (which was later than I hoped). Took my super-slow singlespeed. Hit some of the singletrack on the way to work. Drivetrain was noisy - added lube. Rear wheel was a little squirrely - added air. Rear disc was noisy - starred at it, but did nothing. Still got to work 10 minutes early. Very confused.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> Left 10 minutes early (which was later than I hoped). Took my super-slow singlespeed. Hit some of the singletrack on the way to work. Drivetrain was noisy - added lube. Rear wheel was a little squirrely - added air. Rear disc was noisy - starred at it, but did nothing. Still got to work 10 minutes early. Very confused.


Probably got up an hour early.....lucky it isnt a Saturday.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

It looks like I'll be taking a new job starting in July. My daily commute will go from 40 miles RT to walking down the hallway from my bedroom to my office. I started riding to work on 2009 and since then have ridden over 46,000 miles. Not sure how I am going to handle this. It's going to take some discipline.

Well, a few more weeks of commutting at least...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Just plain wow. I wonder if I`ve put on 46,000 miles combined pedalling and driving since 2009? Hey, maybe you can find somebody with a home office like 20 miles from you who misses commuting too, and work out a day-use exchange 

As for new jobs, tomorrow I`ll hit 20 years at mine. There aren`t 20 more to comethere- the way things are going lately, every time we leave for a weekend we have to wonder if the door will be locked when we try to get back in on Monday. the most common theory/rumor says they`ll probably shut it down in December, after what remains of our busy season. Not looking forward to comming up with a PDF version of my old typed resume and figuring out how to make my computer move it around to prospective employers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woodway, that would be a shock to the system. wow. Mileage king, you are. 

Rodar, are you the high man on that totem pole? 20 years... I'm assuming you'll be the last to go, yeah?


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Nice day, tail wind... and and commute sucked.

Every long-cycle traffic light was turning red as I got there, every stop sign had a line-up of cars that had just ripped past me pressed against the curb, every driveway had a delivery truck backing out of it, and every straightaway had a pedestrian look both ways then stride in front of me.

And there was at least one driver shouting at me in a language I did not recognize. 

So hopefully we got all of that out of the way for the rest of the day/week/month?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Almost ate it today. The MUP has a relatively short but steep hill with a 90 degree, mostly blind, turn at the bottom. There must have been a thin film of mud or something over the surface of the MUP because my front tire started skidding when I hit the turn. Although the pavement was dry, the one section immediately after the turn was wet and slippery. I heard my front wheel sliding and had a brief "Oh $#@#" moment but was able to pull off. Other than that, it was business as usual.

Wow, woodway. 46,000 is quite an accomplishment. I hope you still manage to get some riding in with your new job. If anything, you could put your bike and trainer in the hall and pedal for a half hour or so before getting to work. It won't be like the old commute, but we'll still say it counts.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> It looks like I'll be taking a new job starting in July. My daily commute will go from 40 miles RT to walking down the hallway from my bedroom to my office. I started riding to work on 2009 and since then have ridden over 46,000 miles. Not sure how I am going to handle this. It's going to take some discipline.
> 
> Well, a few more weeks of commutting at least...


 This will give you more time for that recreational riding that you were looking for last year.  Sounds like the commute won't take much out of your schedule. 46,000 is a ****-ton of miles. I started riding a lot again in 2009 and am only in the 27K range. 46K is probably approaching my lifetime miles.


ghettocruiser said:


> Nice day, tail wind... and and commute sucked.
> 
> Every long-cycle traffic light was turning red as I got there, every stop sign had a line-up of cars that had just ripped past me pressed against the curb, every driveway had a delivery truck backing out of it, and every straightaway had a pedestrian look both ways then stride in front of me.
> 
> ...


No right-hooks? No Flats (in the rain)? No dump trucks snatching telephone poles into your path? ...That doesn't sound too bad. 

My commute? My legs are tired. I'm tired of my legs being tired. A solution might be to stop chasing Strava segments and riding on the weekends. Nah!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Standard commute today. Nothing to report good or bad. I guess that's a good thing. 

Woodway... dang, man, you make my mileage look weak.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yeah I also already thought about stopping posting here. 46,000 miles ?!! :8 40 RT??!!

My commute is about 14 miles RT....and I enjoyed every piece of it today and yesterday. Calm weather, sunny and not to warm, perfect for shirt and windjacket in the morning, and only the shirt on the way back. I even kept up with somebody on a roadbike for 10 minutes on the way home today, and I think I set a new record for my roundtrip average speed today: >14 mph!! So for me it was a good day, and since the weather seems to hold up and get even warmer the next days, I am looking forward to the rest of the week. On the other hand it is getting boring by now, no wildlife anymore to see, since it is now way too much daylight already at 6.30am. By then all animals are already hiding between the trees. Besides that, the grass has grown almost a yard, so everything below that can not be seen anyway.


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## ashes_mtb (Aug 5, 2007)

40F and clear star filled skies this morning, plus didn't see a single car for the short bit of on-road.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> It looks like I'll be taking a new job starting in July. My daily commute will go from 40 miles RT to walking down the hallway from my bedroom to my office. I started riding to work on 2009 and since then have ridden over 46,000 miles. Not sure how I am going to handle this. It's going to take some discipline.


I've bypassed applying for a couple home-office opportunities, partly due to concern with lack of discipline for un-commuting - but I also miss some of the pluses I could have gained. I hope you enjoy it!



bedwards1000 said:


> Bah, rode anyway.


Me too...the morning was wetter than forecast (solid rain but no thunder), and the afternoon version mostly passed through before I left, there were even some peaks of sun. Forgot my helmet too, I was pretty much a drowned rat upon arrival.



CommuterBoy said:


> Woodway, that would be a shock to the system. wow. Mileage king, you are. :thumbsup:
> 
> Rodar, are you the high man on that totem pole? 20 years... I'm assuming you'll be the last to go, yeah?


Sounds like it will be equal opportunity unemployment - sorry to hear, rodar, and best of luck with new prospects.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Warm and windy on the way in, the kind of wind where you feel like you are pedaling 100mph and you look at your computer and you are barely in the double digits. It was pretty relentless only letting up when I turned for a short time and headed south. Caught myself drifting right in the lane, and sure enough, got buzzed by a Chevy pickup who took up the rest of the lane. It felt pretty close and I let him know how many inches he missed me by holding up one of my fingers.

Ride home was uneventful, nice and slightly breezy. Campus is great right now with it being almost a ghost town. Got flipped off by a guy riding towards me on the sidewalk with a very dim headlight on, he was shielding his eyes from my blinking headlight and gave me the finger. I guess it was too bright. Oh well. If you were riding in the bike lane on the other side of the road, you wouldn't have been so close to see how bright. Just sayin.....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar, are you the high man on that totem pole? 20 years... I'm assuming you'll be the last to go, yeah?


I guess I`m about 3/4 up the plant-wide totem pole, but still the newbie in the Maint Dept.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Me too...the morning was wetter than forecast (solid rain but no thunder), and the afternoon version mostly passed through before I left, there were even some peaks of sun. Forgot my helmet too, I was pretty much a drowned rat upon arrival.


I missed all forms of rain and thunder.

It's been a while since I stopped to take some commuting pics so I present to you: My cross bike leaning on things in front of lakes. (because I know you get bored at work)
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> I've bypassed applying for a couple home-office opportunities, partly due to concern with lack of discipline for un-commuting - but I also miss some of the pluses I could have gained. I hope you enjoy it!


My biggest concern is that with a big commute everyday I've gotten used to eating with impunity. That will have to stop. I'm going to try and get up at the same time I usually do in the morning and going for a ride.

Rodar, good luck with the job prospects. Hope that it works out well for you.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's been a while since I stopped to take some commuting pics so I present to you: My cross bike leaning on things in front of lakes. (because I know you get bored at work)
> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


Nice pics bedwards. Those early morning rides are just the best this time of year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely day. Everyone is talking about the escapees from Dannemora prison in NY, 20 miles from Canada and across the lake from VT. So far about the only theory I have not heard includes bicycles, so that is probably what they are doing. New York too 'hot,' prisoners planned to flee to VT


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today. Instead I did a ride with a few friends that I normally ride with on Friday nights. My friend that I bought my fat bike from committed suicide Tuesday night. I don't know why or any of the details. JP - those 50 miles were all for you my friend. That sprint that saw 31.6 mph on the computer, yeah, on a fixed gear, that was for you. Wherever you are, I hope that you are doing alright.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

My commute was train / bus - based today. I had a meeting in town with our estate agent and got a hair cut so the bike slept in the office last night.

I missed the first train, got a second that had a final stop at the stop BEFORE my stop and had to run to catch a bus...

Arrived at the office late and just a little less sweaty than if I had cycled... 

Moral of the story? 

Bike to work, people. Bike to work.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your friend TenSpeed, a terrible shock and sad loss for you and all his friends/family.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> No commute for me today. Instead I did a ride with a few friends that I normally ride with on Friday nights. My friend that I bought my fat bike from committed suicide Tuesday night. I don't know why or any of the details. JP - those 50 miles were all for you my friend. That sprint that saw 31.6 mph on the computer, yeah, on a fixed gear, that was for you. Wherever you are, I hope that you are doing alright.


Sorry to hear about your friend. It's got to be tough. I have only lost acquaintances that way, but I know the sadness hits you deep and sticks with you a while. It sucks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry 10Speed. Rough one! Suicide is so hard on everyone.

Nice leisurely commute with RollingRunner who is tapering for an Olympic triathlon this weekend. I'm not participating, only volunteering as a safety kayaker.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very sorry to hear that news, TenSpeed. I`ve been there and know how it is.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, first day back on the Pugs. Sold the Farley and wonder if I made the right decision. Can't seem to get comfortable on the Pugs just now, even with a new, long stem and wide bars and saddle. I feel slower, though time-wise it took me the same time to get to work. Moreover, I think I'm really going to miss riding in the winter with my son. We had some good adventures together. Then again, maybe by the fall I'll be able to get a second fatty again. 

Ten - sorry for your loss.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks everybody. Taking the day off from commuting since my legs are pretty spent from last night and the chance of storms keeps going up. Friday I will ride in, and then meet my friends after work for some two wheel therapy.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I've barely ridden the last two weeks for all kinds of reasons. Mondays I don't have enough time to ride home to get my car and make it to my Monday evening hockey league games. The next 3 Thursdays (today included) I have a MTB time trial series that again is too far from work and home to ride home and then drive in time. Several days of bad weather as well. Then all of the late nights to watch the NBA finals (I'm in Cleveland) and I have had a few days that I just plain woke up too late.

The one day I did ride this week, I had to park my bike in one of the HR offices because the empty one I usually park in is being used to store a bunch of boxes. Well, wouldn't you know that the HR offices are keyed differently than every other office, and both HR people left the office before me, leaving my bike securely locked in an office that no one had a key to. So I had to wait around until 8:30 for my neighbor to have time to pick me up. My wife had already started her night shift at the hospital. I've started scouting alternate bike parking locations. The nice part about the office was I could close the door and change there. I'll have to use the bathroom stall if I can't find another empty office, which is fine, but there is only 1.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Drove to work (ended up with the company car last night) for the first time in 2015.

It seriously took almost twice as long as riding.

Just sayin'.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa tenspeed, that sounds terrible. I was in the same situation years ago and it really simply suxx. 

Nice rides again today. Quite refreshing this morning while still in the shade, later ok when I was out in the open in the sun. Rode back home in shorts, t-shirt and sandals today. Will be the same tomorrow, after that temps will go down again next week.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Rode the SS 29er Genesis today. Bit low geared for road work really but the boss is bike hunting so wants to try it out having never ridden SS.

I'll hit some trails on the way home and all should be good.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good rides yesterday and this morning. Ended up taking two of the kids for a trail run when I got home as well. 

Starting to get the Pugs dialed back in. It's always hard moving from one bike to another for me. I have to have it set up just right to feel comfortable. 

Right now I am torn between picking up a used 9er wheelset and a front fork or just getting some 26X3 Knards for summer use with the Large Marge wheelset. The 9er set would be nice to have so that I could run studs on icy days in the winter, but it is a non-offset, 100MM spaced front, so I wouldn't be able to just swap out wheels, but would have to swap out the front fork as well. And I have a suspicion that fat studs will get a bit cheaper this year as there are more companies with them now. We'll see. 

Busy weekend shaping up. My oldest has her first triathalon on Saturday and my son is probably running a 5K on Sunday. I need to get some trail time in over the weekend as well. Additionally, I have to get my son's bike tuned up a bit. Busy, busy.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No ride for me today unfortunately.

510 AM EDT FRI JUN 12 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST LOWER
MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL THIS MORNING MAY LEAD TO PONDING OF WATER IN
POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND RISES ON SMALLER CREEKS AND STREAMS.

A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE
HAIL EXISTS TODAY BETWEEN 11 AM AND 5 PM SOUTH OF A LINE FROM
KALAMAZOO TO LANSING.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's kind of hot here. 70s in the mornings, 90s in the evenings. I actually saw another guy riding the bike lane yesterday, which is rare. I have been riding my SS every day now like I used to before my back got screwed up. My commute is quite a bit faster on the SS, and I felt gears were making me weak. This morning, I tried to see how little I could stand on my ride in. I did pretty well, and it felt great to keep really good speed up all the hills I would normally have to stand on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same rides as yesterday, nothing new. Somebody put a big pile of horsepoop in the middle of the bikelane, plenty of room to move around it though. Saw baby ducks and swans this morning, but I had forgotten to put an SD card in the camera, so no pics. Temps were in the high 70's on the way home. And that makes 5 days cycling for this week again, I am improving on that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lucked out on the BMX today, dry both ways, and had fun doing it. Around here, if you did not ride every time there was a chance of rain or even thunderstorms/heavy rain like today's forecast, you would not be riding much during warm weather. 

There is one annoying area on rte 302 that has been wet even on dry days, apparently due to a blocked or deteriorated culvert. SO far the only evident work over the last couple weeks has been the placement of a HIGH WATER sign.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

No work today, so no commute. I have a lousy record for the week. I went to a buffet Mon evening, didn`t feel like riding an hour later, so I drove. Rode Tues, raining hard Wed so I drove (I don`t want to ride in the rain any more), sinus issues and headache last night, so I drove again. Today I still feel like crap. My wife and I were going to do a desert camping trip to a state park about 3 hours away, but I downgraded that to a day trip for tomorrow- can`t bring our sofa in the car, and I can`t sleep lying down or I back up with phlegm almost instantly.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Somebody put a big pile of horsepoop in the middle of the bikelane, plenty of room to move around it though...
> 
> ...but I had forgotten to put an SD card in the camera, so no pics.


Aw, man! The poop would have been a nice addition to the Roadside Treasures thread!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Aw, man! The poop would have been a nice addition to the Roadside Treasures thread!


Mabe it is still there on monday despite the thunderstorms that came through today. Do you want me to post a closeup of the remains? :8


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today, just a fun ride with some people to get ice cream for someones birthday. I ended up doing 42 miles and as a group we did just under 34 or so. Coming back home, on the MUP, and I see a woman up ahead walking towards me with two dogs, both off leash. I knew it was going to happen....one of them saw me, and charged. Slammed the brake getting stopped, got the bike between me and the dog, chain side out. I don't know if the dog was dangerous or would lick me to death. Wasn't going to find out either. He lunged a few times, and each time, the bike was used as a barrier, and the front wheel got his nose. She finally got them under control, and started to leash them as I maneuvered past. She said nothing, no apology, nothing. As I am climbing on my bike, I look back, and I said something to her. "You mean you have the leashes, but you aren't using them?" "I cannot believe that you have the leash, but it is not on the dog. What the hell is the point?" I shook my head and continued riding. 

I know that dogs love to be off leash. The fact is that as an owner, you are responsible for the dog at all times. I know, I am a dog owner. If I am walking my dog, and it bites someone, that is on me. I keep my dog on leash at all times in public. I have a huge 4.5 lb Chihuahua but that doesn't matter. He is a dog, and dogs bite and his sharp little teeth will break skin just like any other dog. Utterly annoyed at the whole thing. I got on the brake so hard because it was around a bend for the most part. I was traveling at a decent rate of speed but nothing excessive. This is a multi use path that has quite a bit of traffic on it in the summer, from cyclists to walkers, runners and bladers. Why would any sane person take two dogs off leash on a heavily traveled path like this?


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## pseudomugil (Mar 23, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> No ride for me today unfortunately.
> 
> 510 AM EDT FRI JUN 12 2015
> 
> ...


me too, same stuff today too


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I've been doing 20km round-trip commutes a few days a week now for the past 3 months and it sure makes a difference when I get on the bike for longer rides now. About to leave for work, another sunny day to commute 10km in the city !


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Heavy wind in the Valley, but warm and sunny. There was a wildfire burning yesterday just north and east of where I live, but the wind seems to have pushed the smoke well away from my ride route, which is good. Last year's smoke inhalation due to the Kenai fires was horrid and hard on the body. Don't want to go through that again. 

Had a bikeless weekend, which was nice in a way. Saturday was my oldest daughter's first triathlon, so we spend the day doing that and then went and watched some roller ski races and ended the day with a trail run. Yesterday I ended up wrenching on my son's bike and my daughter's bike and the car. Didn't feel like biking after getting all that done.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It's kind of hot here. 70s in the mornings, 90s in the evenings.


I'm just going to quote myself to avoid typing the same thing. In some ways, the ride home feels a bit more comfortable, probably due to the dew point being so close to the morning temp.


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

My commuting has been a bit sporadic over the last few months. I'll start to get back in to a groove and then some injury will occur that will take me out of it for a few days, which then makes it harder to get back in to the groove. In February it was getting hit by a car, in April it was hitting a chunk of aluminum after trying to avoid it and cutting a deep gash in my shin right above the ankle, and this morning I took a spill coming around a wet/oily corner which shredded my bar tape and my right arm. Bike commuting is painful, and I don't think it's any less expensive than driving my car.

But, that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Ow! Sorry, Texico. Road racers brag of their scars. Explains a lot in their case.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute today was killed by weather. Prepared to ride, checked the sky and the weather and though I better not. Currently raining right now and storms are on the radar for the next hour or so. High chance of rain all afternoon and into this evening. Forecast says storms may become severe at times. I don't mind the rain, but to start off riding in it and then attempt to have my clothes halfway dry at work while sitting on a chair.....ehhhhh. Pass.


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> Commute today was killed by weather. Prepared to ride, checked the sky and the weather and though I better not. Currently raining right now and storms are on the radar for the next hour or so. High chance of rain all afternoon and into this evening. Forecast says storms may become severe at times. I don't mind the rain, but to start off riding in it and then attempt to have my clothes halfway dry at work while sitting on a chair.....ehhhhh. Pass.


 I hear that. The whole midswest apparently now has a Monsoon season. I wouldn't mind, but it's seriously cutting into my ride time just when I need it to cope with the leaks in my basement. Something about riding in severe T-storms with lightening and going over a long overpass without a shoulder in near dark conditions during periods of reduced visibility doesn't hack it with me.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Rode today because if I keep waiting for dry weather I'll never ride this month. Sweat my ass off this morning because of the humidity but it felt good to get back on two wheels. It's currently pouring, but I have a decent shot of hitting the gap between this storm and the severe stuff that is supposed to hit later this evening.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> June is busting out all over. The clematis, day lilies, roses, prickly pear, and sweet pea are in flower.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Above photos iPhone 4. Photos with HTC One M8 Android:











Some of the differences are time of day angle of the sun, slight overcast. The rose blossoms had wilted and the new ones were not blooming yet.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

HTC cameras are not that great, it is quite apparent in the quality of the pictures. They have had several issues from what I have read and from what people tell me. Some of them have a purple tint to them.

Glad I did not ride. Yes, monsoon season here. It just rains, and rains and rains, then stops for a short period, then starts again. I don't purposely ride in the rain. If I get caught on the ride home or whatever, so be it, but when it is pouring when I leave for work, nope. I don't have and don't want all the extra gear associated with riding in the rain. 2 of the 3 bikes don't take bolt on fenders. Of the two, only one will even take a seatpost clipped on rear fender. That leaves me on the fat bike, in the pouring rain, yeah, with fenders, but soaking clothes and shoes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nevertheless, nice pics BrianMc!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

No commute yesterday - I was home with a killer migraine. This morning I rode in with what felt like a hangover (trust me - it WASN'T). Yesterday saw temperatures in the mid 20s and a light breeze and bright sunshine - all in all a perfect day for curling up in a ball in a darkened room...

Today's temperature is the same so at least the ride in was comfort... just fitted 110mm stem to the bike (replacing a 70mm stem) at the weekend too so I was just dying to try it out. The new position is more comfortable so I am pleased.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Had yesterday off, and it was too nasty to ride. Rode to work today to make up for it, took down most of the signs I put up last week when I found someone's wedding ring on the trail. I met up with the guy on Saturday, felt really good to get the ring back to him cause I lost my wedding ring on a trail about 5 years ago. Gave me a four leaf clover, said he found 3 while he was looking for the ring, just before his neighbor walked up and handed him one of my signs.

Today's ride was good, very humid but no storms. Hopefully this doesn't turn out like the last time I saw a "good enough" forecast and rode in, only to ride in an absolute downpour on the way home.

Keep dry and safe everyone!



blockphi said:


> Right now I am torn between picking up a used 9er wheelset and a front fork or just getting some 26X3 Knards for summer use with the Large Marge wheelset. The 9er set would be nice to have so that I could run studs on icy days in the winter, but it is a non-offset, 100MM spaced front, so I wouldn't be able to just swap out wheels, but would have to swap out the front fork as well. And I have a suspicion that fat studs will get a bit cheaper this year as there are more companies with them now. We'll see.


Be very interested to hear if the 26x3's work - I ended up going with 3.8 knards on my marge lites for summer riding but I notice a good deal of self steer on pavement, wonder if the narrower tires would be a little better in that regard. If not I can always just stick with nates I guess.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Must have been invisible today, the amount of folk who didn't see or just plain didn't give a damn. Four folk coming the opposite direction turning in front of me and one little car that overtook me, then proceeded to start reversing into her drive. She was very pretty, said sorry and gave me a winning smile which made it all better


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Managed to hit the gaps in the storms yesterday for both rides. It was raining this morning when I left for work so I opted to drive. My wife and I are training for a half marathon right now so I am more likely to skip a ride when I know I have a 6 mile run ahead of me when I get home tonight. I'll be back on the bike tomorrow as it is the only dry day in the 10 day forecast at the moment.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM, though there are two wildfires burning in the area right now, so the smoke is getting bad. Not fun. 

Had a great time riding with the Sprockidz last night. First time back on the trails with the Pugs. It is going to take me some time to get used to how it handles again and rebuild my legs a bit for the heavier bike, but other than that, it was great fun. I do think I will look at upgrading to hydro brakes, though. I like the control and power they provide over the mechanicals. I'll have to see, though. I know I need to dial in the brakes a bit, so that might help me feel a bit more confident in my stopping power. I'll also have to be careful for a while until I get used to the new, wide bars I put on - 780mm. The things are massive and I know there are trees I couldn't fit through with 720s, so...Could get interesting.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> HTC cameras are not that great, it is quite apparent in the quality of the pictures. They have had several issues from what I have read and from what people tell me. Some of them have a purple tint to them.


The iPhone4 is red shifted and looks like the old Kodachrome. The Red Rose was between blooms, it would be more telling. I figure if anyone wants to really get picky about picture quality they ante up for a digital SLR. That said, this will likely be my last HTC.

1. They upgraded the OS now it will no longer download pictures to my Mac. I spent hours trying to fix this (worse than useless on-line support, debating calling them and wasting more time) and may still request a warranty replacement.

2. Has blue tooth but will not pick up the blue tooth bike monitors.

3. The screen will show I selected something and nothing happens, next time an accidental brush selects something I did not intend to select. I think they are trying to get me to smash it into bits so they can sell me another phone. Nice try guys.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Nevertheless, nice pics BrianMc!


Thanks. Yes, it is a decent camera for snapshots. Whether it is the best camera in any smart phone is only one of several factors that should be considered when buying a phone. Though it is one I wil put more weight on from here in. We were so happy to get a camera, then more pixels, now we can get picky about macro mode and color saturation! The iPhone recorded the rose as too red and the clematis as too blue from what they look like in life. A Kodachrome look. Some really like that. I tend to too. The HTC was closer to the real color of the clematis and the lack of color in the sweet pea is at least in part time of day/overcast and also they seem to color up more in another month.



SlipSpace said:


> Must have been invisible today.


We always are. We always are. Some days it doesn't matter because they aren't turning in front of you.

What we are up against: a friend riding with a member of his squadron, commented on the man's right turn at a 4-way stop without even slowing for a what might be called a rolling stop. The driver claimed that was legal! Or the dolt who blew a stop sign he had to drive through most days leaving his place so he had to know it was there and totaled two cars. That would have killed or seriously maimed me on my bike.

Assume they are blind and ignorant. Much the safer assumption.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The ride in yesterday was fun. Light tailwind, dry, sunny, warm enough. After lunch though I started to feel sick and went home early. I managed to ride home but I was much slower than usual. Luckily after a night of long sleep I felt way better this morning, although still tired. I slept late, so my son commuted to Kindergarten as well on his 16" bike. After that I rode into the office and was almost hit by an ambulance (!!) that overtook way too close without reason (Siren was on but that is still no reason). After overtaking they braked and I had to stop because they were backing into a driveway. Oh well. On the last mile I also had some light rain so it took a while before my jeans had dried in the office. And I *don't" like wet clothes on me when I am not on the bike. The way back this afternoon was ok with tailwind and I broke the 3000K barrier :wohoo since September last year, makes also exactly 2000K this year so far.

I will be off the rest of the week, will drive 300miles tomorrow, attend a family party on Thursday and drive back on Friday. For that I am planning an extra ride on Sunday afternoon. We'll see how the plan works out


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My commutes yesterday were like HTX`s "hangover" ride, except instead of migrane I have sinus craziness, seemingly enternal runny nose, and shortness of breath. The weather has been so beautiful that I`d have to try awfully hard to complain about that. I wonder how many quarts of snot I`ve blown onto the road, into paper, and over my shirt in the past few days.



AlexCuse said:


> Rode to work today to make up for it, took down most of the signs I put up last week when I found someone's wedding ring on the trail. I met up with the guy on Saturday, felt really good to get the ring back to him cause I lost my wedding ring on a trail about 5 years ago. Gave me a four leaf clover, said he found 3 while he was looking for the ring, just before his neighbor walked up and handed him one of my signs.


How cool!

I`m pretty frustrated by the whole photo quality dilema these days, and have pretty much decided to just post and not worry about it. Often I`ll get one looking great here at home, then post up to find that it went to hell somehow when I attatched it, even viewing on the same computer and same monitor, with the exact same edit. And then to think that other people are all viewing on different monitors... Screw it- compose and snap, maybe crop or a few quick edits, then post. Have fun while doing those activities, and I`m not going to give myself any headaches trying to chase technical perfection. Convenience is the real benefit of digital.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> The iPhone4 is red shifted and looks like the old Kodachrome. The Red Rose was between blooms, it would be more telling. I figure if anyone wants to really get picky about picture quality they ante up for a digital SLR. That said, this will likely be my last HTC.
> 
> 1. They upgraded the OS now it will no longer download pictures to my Mac. I spent hours trying to fix this (worse than useless on-line support, debating calling them and wasting more time) and may still request a warranty replacement.
> 
> ...


Have you tried this for your Mac? Has worked for me with every Android device I have owned, from a Note 3 to an LG G3 to a Galaxy S3 and S4.

https://www.android.com/intl/en_us/filetransfer/

My commute was uneventful today. Stopped at the shop and bought something that I swore that I would never ever buy or put on my bike. A saddle bag. A dingle bag. A dangling sack. Ugh, with not many options for me on my bike, I broke down and bought one. I won't use it all the time, just on casual rides so I can put my small pump, tube, lever, etc. somewhere safe. I have been doing some casual rides without any type of bag and it is really nice especially when it is warm. The last ride was in a jersey with everything in the three back pockets. That wasn't too bad, but made the jersey sit funny on my already odd shaped body so I kept futzing with it. This should alleviate that. I will lose my water bottle now but I think I will survive. Usually never too far from a fountain or a store to buy a bottle of cold water. Anyway, ride in was nice, fairly warm and windy. Ride home was really nice because it cooled off a little but was still warm enough for shorts and a short sleeve shirt. Rain in the forecast the next couple of days, and I am off until Saturday, so there will be some fun rides mixed in if possible. Oh, the bag is an Axiom that is reflective, has a nice spot for a blinker, and is water resistant.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A rough week for bikecommuting so far, had to drive a work car home Monday to leave at 4:20 a.m. for fieldwork yesterday, and after a long day in the field I just drove it home rather than back to the office to ride home. So this morning I have to get it back to work. My bike is there to ride home though.

Rodar, your sinusickiness sounds terrible, hope you can breathe easier soon.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had to bring some boxes to work yesterday, so I drove. We awoke to thunderstorms this morning, so it was back into the car for me. My body isn't liking it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Have you tried this for your Mac? Has worked for me with every Android device I have owned, from a Note 3 to an LG G3 to a Galaxy S3 and S4.
> 
> https://www.android.com/intl/en_us/filetransfer//QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

My dyno headlight systems have been nearly flawless since I started using them five or six years ago. I had a strange problem with it last night- kept dropping from full beam down to "stand" light, then back to full again. Every single issue I have experienced has been solved by wiggling the plug on the hub until tonight. Fortunately, I can see well enough just by the stand light, so kept riding in to work. When I arrived, I pried the contacts up a bit with the tip of a knife blade and shot both sides with contact cleaner. Couldn`t tell this morning whether or not that did the trick, but I sure hope so.

Finished my dimly lit commute with a 20 second drop down a footpath (pseudo singletrack) and a tiny bit of extra excitement. I`m used to suicide rabbits on the home end of my commute, but last night I had a suicide rodent (large mouse or small rat) dart out and try to sqoosh itself under my tire. I think we missed each other, but it was weird none the less.



mtbxplorer said:


> Rodar, your sinusickiness sounds terrible, hope you can breathe easier soon.


Thanks. It`s been gradually improving since Sat, just taking its time about it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Thanks for that link. HTC provided an application that imported photos directly into the Photos program on the Mac (and also sync sound files/calendar etc.). Unfortunately, they did not upgrade it after the OS changes. It would lock up the shut down on the Mac after attempting to run it. Deleting the ineffective program still did not have the phone "drive" coming up in Finder as their support topic said would occur. My first work around was to e-mail the two pictures I needed (no time to figure it out). The second work around was to import on my Windows 8 desktop, transfer to a thumb drive and cart that back to the Mac.
> 
> The program you provided substitutes in for the PC/thumb drive step. Good thing I don't need to sync my calendar.


Do you not sync your contacts through Google? They can be edited on your Mac by signing into Gmail and selecting Contacts. I gave up on using any of the Mac stuff like iCal and the such after I stopped using an iPhone and moved to Android. If I can be of assistance, feel free to PM me. Don't want to clog this thread up any more with our nerdy phone/computer stuff. 

ETA: just re-read your post. Your calendar. You don't use Google Calendar? That is one work around for you.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Stopped at the shop and bought something that I swore that I would never ever buy or put on my bike. A saddle bag. A dingle bag. A dangling sack. Ugh, with not many options for me on my bike, I broke down and bought one.


Its just the beginning. Soon you'll be trying to McGuiver a rack and panniers on your track bike. It's easier if you just accept it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Its just the beginning. Soon you'll be trying to McGuiver a rack and panniers on your track bike. It's easier if you just accept it.


Guaranteed, this will not happen. No mounts, no way to mount anything other than the saddle bag. Promise.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

June 16 marks 10 years of commuting some 53000 km...

Cant ever remember driving in...

Surgurys and sickness excluded.

I commutted for three years in the nineties.

took the bus for another 2 years..

That makes 15 years of "green commutes"

I have been working for 35 years.

So that is 43% green.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Guaranteed, this will not happen. No mounts, no way to mount anything other than the saddle bag. Promise.


Frame bag? 

Finished taking down all my signs last night. Took a longer route than expected due to a long turn I always seem to make (intersection looks almost exactly like another, and I always get the two confused). It adds a nice little bonus loop though. Weather was kind of interesting, and I always wonder about how these horses feel about living between two subdivisions and under high voltage lines.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

AlexCuse said:


> I always wonder about how these horses feel about living between two subdivisions and under high voltage lines?


Maybe they get a charge out of it? Wild horses couldn't drag them away? Maybe as good as anywhere to horse around? They decided to run with it? They like to hoof it back and forth between the subdivisions? Oh, I see! It was a rhetorical question.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> June 16 marks 10 years of commuting some 53000 km...
> 
> Cant ever remember driving in...
> 
> ...


To quote Kermit, It's Not Easy Being Green! Nice going and ride on - over 50% is in your sights.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

JeffScott, that rocks!



jeffscott said:


> Cant ever remember driving in...


The best part, says me


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2015)

Had a two new experiences today. First another guy from the local bike club rode part of my commute (didn't even know he lived in the area). Probably the most social I've been on my commute in 30 years. Next, I'm crossing a street and some guy has rolled into the pedestrian lane. He rolls down the window and says "Dude, sorry about that. The light caught me off guard." Never had a driver apologize before. Weird.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m used to suicide rabbits on the home end of my commute, but last night I had a suicide rodent (large mouse or small rat) dart out and try to sqoosh itself under my tire. I think we missed each other, but it was weird none the less.


A squirrel ran between my front and rear tire today on my way in.



jeffscott said:


> June 16 marks 10 years of commuting some 53000 km...
> Cant ever remember driving in...


Impressive!

I took the long way in, I was a little too tired to take the long way in.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2015)

No ride today. Only slept about 2 hours last night and now I'm headed out of town to dig 6 30"x36" footings for a display I'm helping with at a local museum. I say rent a bobcat, but the museum is not well funded and that's apparently a deal breaker. Ugh.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> June 16 marks 10 years of commuting some 53000 km...
> 
> Cant ever remember driving in...
> 
> ...


You rock! :band: great achievement

Yesterday broke two spokes on the home run, perhaps this wheel has seen better days. Didn't get it all sorted last night so had to use the SS 29er. Not really geared for road but was a change.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> To quote Kermit, It's Not Easy Being Green! Nice going and ride on - over 50% is in your sights.


Probably not started winding down the hours....riding should go up though


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me yesterday. Work from home day. So I took an hour and went for a run in the AM. Took the dogs and one of my kids. One of my dogs can run off leash with no problems as long as there are not many other users on the trails. My other dog, the sled dog, she's not quite there yet for being off leash. It seems insane to me that a 40 pound dog can pull my 240+ pound butt all over the place. Wow. My arms ache from holding her leash. 

Good ride today. I think I just about have the Pugs setup 100% spot on. I went with a saddle that I've never used before - it has a similar width to the Pure V's I've been using. My butt has been having a time getting the feel right. It's a Terry Fly saddle. I keep getting it set just about perfect and then something changes - the seat post height (too much lube there) or the saddle bolts work loose and it moves a bit and then it is just painful and a pain to get back to perfection. I am now in the process of making the tiniest of tweaks to get it just right. Almost there, but think I may have to get a set-back post to get it to be back as far as I need it on the bike. That, and I'm used to a more spoon shape on the back of the saddle, which the Fly doesn't have. I might give it one more week then try something else if I can't get it to be comfortable for longer rides. Right now twelve miles is about all I can do before it really starts feeling like an arse hatchet. 

Have some vacation time coming up in a week or so and am trying to figure out a day or two bike-packing trip to do with my son. I'm excited about that.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Getting a saddle dialed in can be a nightmare. It took me the better part of 3 weeks to finally get this Phenom set up on my newer Felt.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Drove today because I needed to be able to get to a mtb race right after work. Of course, the race has now been canceled because of sloppy trail conditions so I drove for no reason.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Getting a saddle dialed in can be a nightmare. It took me the better part of 3 weeks to finally get this Phenom set up on my newer Felt.


I know. This is why I am a one bike type of guy. It takes me so long to get everything feeling just like it should that if I switch to another bike, I feel like I am just learning to ride again for a week or so. Then again, maybe that is because I only ride one bike?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great commute today all the way around. Courteous drivers, no pedestrian issues, even passed a few cyclists on my way in. The ride home was absolutely gorgeous out, 72F and humid. Buddy of mine asked me to go check on his bike so I made my way over to the road to get to his bike, and I feel a presence near me. Look over as I am riding in the bike lane, cruising along 17mph or so, and this guy is on a motorized fat bike, in the lane just pacing me. He starts to pass me, and I pretty much said hell no, and dropped the hammer on him. Sorry guy on that fat bike, but you had to get going behind me. 

Did some extra miles after checking on my buddies bike for him. Didn't really want to come home since it was so nice out. Actually rode by my apartment and did another loop that added some extra miles to my total. Lots of rabbits on the MUP, must have seen 10 of them or so. They are suicidal because they dart out and see how close they can come to my wheels. Always on my toes on the MUP at night for this reason.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well, it's a change of pace for me from now on. Over the past few weeks I've not been riding nearly as much as I'd like because I've been working and packing and getting ready for my new job. Now I'm up in Indiana for my new job that starts tomorrow and I only have a bike, so suck on that having to drive almost everywhere for about a month. Gawd that was so lame.

Granted, I only live about a mile from work, but after work there's the beach and hiking trails, because I also live a mile away from the state park, so I'm not at a shortage of places to bike to.

Today's experience: exploring. Unfortunately I can get most places except to the only large grocery store around on a bike pretty easily. That said, it's about 4 miles, so I might bike a little bit and just walk on the sidewalk the rest of the way. I have a big backpacking pack I can use to haul stuff (I have no clue what that would be like to bike with). They have quite a few bike trails around here. The paved ones are nice and minimalist and but they have big bridges that go over the highway that (for whatever reason) make you go up a ramp with turns and then over and then down another ramp with turns, which really slows things down. The unpaved gravel trail closest to my house is pretty much completely under water right now. Rode part of it anyway, which was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. 

The only part about my commute that I'm worried about right now is the 300-400 feet of rural highway that I have to take initially. There are no shoulders and at times it is very busy with big trucks. But it's only 300 ft, so... we'll see. Shouldn't be too bad. 

It should be a good experience, because the next two months the only way I have to get around is to take the singlespeed or walk. I'm excited, though I regret not taking the mountain bike.

Edit: Sorry, I know it's not really a commute, but I'm excited and I might be posting more again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Welcome to Indiana. No sidewalk on that rural highway, I bet. Time of day may be critical to safety. 

Had a great ride today. About 14-15 mph slightly downhill. Back at 18.5 to 22.5 slightly uphill. Saw 34.5 on a descent (no wind with me, so this is great!) and was about halfway to the next rise hoping to roller coaster it as I was still over 30 when the rear went flat. Elected not to change the tube and just take a half mile walk home through the Golf Course.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Very warm today and that damn headwind kept me company the whole way in. Took my TK3 today since I haven't been giving it any love, and it needs love. The last time I rode it is when I crashed. Bar tape is jacked as well as the bar end caps. Needs a rewrap in a bad way after finally getting my TK2 wrapped properly. Ride home was alright, got honked at from a car behind me. Not sure what the deal was. They had a whole other lane to pass me in. They turned shortly after the honk. Might have been someone I know?

Riding this week will be hit or miss. Big chance for severe weather across the state Monday so I am just going to drive. Not sure about Tuesday or later in the week.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Today kinda sucked. Humid, warm, heavy, grey, drizzly, thundery weather. It really saps my will to bike when it's like this. Plus it seems that my hay-fever is playing up too - coughing, blocking up, itchy eyes & ears... The ride in this morning was not all that much fun... And of course the anti-histamine I get from the doctor works like a dream on all of the symptoms except that it leaves me super lethargic (so much so the wife has "banned" me from taking them)...

Ordered my carbon wheel set on Friday, though! Just need to pick up a Shimano XT 10 speed cassette, a pair of 180mm 6 bolt rotors and a couple of tubes and I am ready to roll!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Todays commute has definitely been cancelled. Spoke with a co-worker who is an amateur meteorologist. He said drive today.

From the NOAA:

AN ENHANCED RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS THIS AFTERNOON
THROUGH THE EVENING FOR SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN. THERE IS AN
INCREASED RISK FOR SIGNIFICANT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WHICH WOULD
LEAD TO HIGHER IMPACTS.

SEVERAL ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS LOOK LIKELY. THIS FIRST ARRIVES
DURING THE EARLY TO MIDDLE PART OF THE AFTERNOON WITH THE SECOND
ROUND OF STORMS EXPECTED IN THE EVENING.

THE PRIMARY RISKS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL WITH AN
ISOLATED TORNADO POSSIBLE. AN INCREASED POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD
DAMAGING WINDS IS FORECASTED. FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND LOCALLY HEAVY
RAIN ARE EXPECTED. THE PRIMARY STORM MOTION WILL BE EAST WITH
SPEEDS OVER 50 MPH POSSIBLE.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^*****! (Edit: that was slang word for cat, I was using it to imply being timid, I was not using it as a slang word for a part of a woman's body  It's OK because I was just being an ***hole)

JK, I ride when we have T-storm warnings but we don't get those mid-west, tornado spawning ones. And if I see a bad one on the radar I just wait at work for 1/2 hour until it passes.

I was up around 5:00 and it was POURING! Went back to bed until 6:30 and it was a nice dry ride in. I still opted for the fendered bike since there were still lots of puddles.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Just another boring, sunny 75 degree day on tap here.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^*****! (Edit: that was slang word for cat, I was using it to imply being timid, I was not using it as a slang word for a part of a woman's body  It's OK because I was just being an ***hole)
> 
> JK, I ride when we have T-storm warnings but we don't get those mid-west, tornado spawning ones. And if I see a bad one on the radar I just wait at work for 1/2 hour until it passes.
> 
> I was up around 5:00 and it was POURING! Went back to bed until 6:30 and it was a nice dry ride in. I still opted for the fendered bike since there were still lots of puddles.


Normally I would agree with you, however, the first line of storms is currently bigger than the entire state of Michigan. There are more to follow. The conditions here are perfect right now for this storm apparently.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh Yeah, it might be a while to wait that one out!!


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2015)

Awesome ride today. Headwinds, warm and humid (at 0620), ugh. Thankfully, the winds are shifting so I'll get headwinds, hot and humid for the ride home. On the plus side, the new tires on my fargo (Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Roads) are close to perfect for commuting and gravel riding. Always a silver lining.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice ride this morning - light headwinds but nice temps and dry. On the way home it was raining all the time, but I had all of my raingear on, so I actually liked it :8

Yesterday I participated in the Sternfahrt here in Hamburg. This is an organised tour, similar to a critical mass. Just that the tour starts at several points around town and all routes lead to the city center. On the map, the routes form a star, that is why they call it "star ride". Officials stated that they had approx. 30,000 participants.

waiting for people on two other routes to join us for the rest of the ride








start of the ride from the south








Then onto the largest bridge of Hamburg (~400ft high)








And then, on the Autobahn!!








My son during a short break before an motorway junction, waiting for the other highway to be closed by the police:








Cyclingdutchman with dutch truck & flag in the background:








Needless to say, I enjoyed the ride a lot, although it was only 20miles at a slow pace. Looking forward to next year!


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

TenSpeed said:


> The conditions here are perfect right now for this storm apparently.


Pssshhh.
I was road racing in Milwaukee when those red/purple bands were rolling through.
You could commute


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Another warm and humid day.

Today marks 2 months since I have driven to work, pretty happy about that. Also it's bike commute number 88 for the year so far, my original goal was to hit 100 for the year, so I'm way ahead in that regard.

Having a dedicated "all weather" commuter has helped a lot.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

On a one and a half mile commute:

Pro- not too sweaty, can easily forget something and turn back, can walk if mechanical problems, can race home before bad weather, how bad is riding in bad weather for less than ten minutes?

Con- not too sweaty, not enough miles, still sucks to ride on 300 ft of rural highway. Not enough miles.

Killer winds on the way back, but somehow in my favor. Coasting at 30 mph on a very slight decline. I was going the speed limit.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wasn't it Vegascruiser who had a 4 mile commute? Just remembered that. Well I've got him beat right now. Should I be IndianaSnoozer for the next two months?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Raining this morning, giving me motivation to change the flat on the fendered cross bike, instead of BMX'g it as lazily planned. The previous self sticky patch had failed. Only wet roads by the time I left, and steamy by the arrival at work. Thankful for my kleenkanteen of iced coffee and an ice machine at work. 79F on the way home 6 p.m. Must take a swim soon, I have not been in yet.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Very very very glad that I did not ride. Left for work a bit early in the car when the skies opened up. Lots of wind, lightning and thunder of course. Tornado warnings went up to the west of us. The storm hit and pretty much died down. Supposed to be a second wave. Not much materialized until now. The drive home was in torrential downpour on flooded streets. Several cloud to ground lightning strikes near me and the wind was just blasting through. Not a chance in hell I could have, would have, or would have been allowed to ride home. No coworker would have let me take off on two wheels. No sense in inconveniencing someone to take me home so the decision to drive was wise. Skies should be all set for riding in tomorrow, lets just hope that the MUP doesn't flood. There are a few low level areas near my apartment.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It`s starting to get hot here, had the first few afternoons of this year to edge beyond the comfort range. And it looks like our fire season has now started in my neck of the woods. The wet spring we enjoyed kept the blazes away for a while, but it finally dried out and we had the first fire start Saturday about 30 miles south of Carson City, up to nearly 10,000 acres as of the last report I read.



bedwards1000 said:


> (Edit: that was slang word for cat, I was using it to imply being timid, I was not using it as a slang word for a part of a woman's body  It's OK because I was just being an ***hole)


:lol:



cyclingdutchman said:


> And then, on the Autobahn!!


Cool! Did anybody hit 200KPM? 30,000 participants is a VERY impressive turnout for a cycling event. For any event, for that matter.



mtbxplorer said:


> Raining this morning, giving me motivation to change the flat on the fendered cross bike, instead of BMX'g it as lazily planned.


It`s amazing how much water those little 20'' wheels can sling. I`m not surprised about the self adhesive patches- I carry them on my bike for emergencies (ever since I used up all my tubes on a ride and had to bum patches from a passing rider), and have stuck them to a few tubes from time to time, but they don`t seem to last.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Welcome to Indiana.


So are people here just nicer than other places? I haven't met anyone who's a total d**k and car drivers seem to not be up in my business. Maybe the St. Louis area is just jacked up.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm suffering through another sunny, 75 degree day here in the Seattle area 

Last week of bike commuting for me. Next week I start walking down the hallway to my home office. Need to establish a new routine.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Splendid commute this AM after a few days off from commuting. Legs felt a bit tired after yesterday's trail run and Sprockidz coaching night, but all in all a good time. 

Starting to love the Pugs again. Had a great couple of rides over the weekend with the boy and was reminded of all the good things about the Pugs and about steel. First and foremost being able to ride for three hours and not have my back be in such a state that I cannot walk the next day as happened on the Farley. The harshness of aluminum is real. Steal is real - real comfortable for me. I don't know that I'll ever go back to aluminum unless it is full sus. My back just can't take it. 

Looks to be some beautiful weather shaping up around here today. It's been cool and overcast for the past three days, but right now it is bluebird skies and we are on our way to 78F. Can't wait.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

What a difference here. Currently 69F and sunny. Looking outside you would never know all hell broke loose here last night. Everything should be dry for the ride in and I am looking forward to it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> :lol:
> 
> Cool! Did anybody hit 200KPM? 30,000 participants is a VERY impressive turnout for a cycling event. For any event, for that matter.


Well I wanted to, but the police allowed me only 20 kph at the time. Last week I had to make a long drive, I shortly hit 190 kph there, but the RPM Meter was also approaching the red line :8 So I decided not to torture my old Toyota any longer (might need it some day....) and drove around 80 mph where possible.

The police said there were in total about 16,000 cyclists, but for me, that is still a lot.

Quite wet this morning, rode in the rain for the entire ride. I'm glad that I have my own place to hang up wet clothes etc. I even saw several roe deers and even a boarhead sticking out above the grass. I think because it was quite early this morning, left home at 06.30am.
Nice and sunny ride home today. Tailwind at first, from the right later but everything ok. At home I noticed that my taillight was not working again, I fixed it for now by wrapping the copper cable directly around the plug at the light, but will need to get new cable shoes and plugs this week to fix it decently.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

We got the same storms that rolled through TenSpeed's area last night. First downpour hit just as I was leaving work yesterday and then all was calm until about 3AM when all hell broke loose. I'm usually a very sound sleeper but I was up as were my wife and dog at 3 because it was like a damn special effects show outside with nearly constant lightening and thunder and more rain than I have ever seen. Was woken up again by wave 3 at 4:30 and wave 4 at 5:30. Needless to say, I ended up oversleeping this morning when I finally fell back asleep, and opted to drive because I was running late. I found out this morning that we are one of the lucky few in my neighborhood to have a dry basement. Even I-90 was flooded for the morning commute.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> So are people here just nicer than other places? I haven't met anyone who's a total d**k and car drivers seem to not be up in my business. Maybe the St. Louis area is just jacked up.


Depends. Meth has made too many less than polite here. I am also a decent size, older, and white so get respect. This is the whitest county (I think) in one of the whitest states. I would hope that most would be as nice to all, but I have met some here who remind me by their actions and statements that the KKK was once strong here. Smoky diesel pickups being rude could be a lot less frequent, I think. Overall, not too bad except for idiots who top blind hills in the middle of the road, cut blind corners like they are in NASCAR. Likely they will wave Hi as they do it though!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Depends. Meth has made too many less than polite here. I am also a decent size, older, and white so get respect. This is the whitest county (I think) in one of the whitest states. I would hope that most would be as nice to all, but I have met some here who remind me by their actions and statements that the KKK was once strong here. Smoky diesel pickups being rude could be a lot less frequent, I think. Overall, not too bad except for idiots who top blind hills in the middle of the road, cut blind corners like they are in NASCAR. Likely they will wave Hi as they do it though!


Well that's nothing compared to the STL metro area. In surrounding areas the KKK is apparently still active. As long as they wave Hi as they hit me, that's better than getting called names. I'm in Porter county. People seem pretty mellow and they're actually building lots of bike infrastructure.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

That moment when you realize you locked both your key and your bike helmet on your workplace...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Uh,oh, hope you got it sorted!



rodar y rodar said:


> It`s amazing how much water those little 20'' wheels can sling. I`m not surprised about the self adhesive patches- I carry them on my bike for emergencies (ever since I used up all my tubes on a ride and had to bum patches from a passing rider), and have stuck them to a few tubes from time to time, but they don`t seem to last.


That's 24" wheels, rodar ...it's a BMX cruiser, a little easier on the knees, I think the old folks race on them. I really dislike being wasteful, but I am losing my patience with patches...I just don't get that many flats, so a new tube changeout seems worth it, especially in bad weather. I guess I should try the "real" patches again.

Had to drive today and while out on the road picked up an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-shiny-MTBchainringy! 26 tooth for my 1x11 trail bike. Looking forward to trying it out if the trails ever dry out.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

After being caught in the rain a few times recently decided to bail on my commute yesterday and do a quick road ride before driving to work. Turned out to be the right choice, we got some pretty fierce thunderstorms starting right at 5. This cleared out the humidity for a beautiful ride in this morning. Made a few wrong turns on purpose, was rewarded when I came to a park I hadn't been to that has some nice white gravel walking/biking paths. Even got to take the nice bike.



Turns out everyone was out enjoying the weather. Spooked these deer on the way through, couldn't get my camera out in time to get them crossing the trail but did catch them running through the baseball field as I rode past.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Bike To Work Day here in Colorado, and saw dozens of new faces on the roads and trails. Hopefully some of them will keep it up when the free breakfast and swag is gone. That said, I couldn't say no to a breakfast burrito.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Huge change in the weather here in the Seattle area today. Instead of sunny and 75 it's going to be sunny and 78. I hope I'll be OK for the ride home tonight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...I guess I should try the "real" patches again.


Only the "real" patches last. The stickers work long enough to get you home. I avoid them. I've got tubes with a half a dozen glue type patches. New tube in the rain for sure and patch it when you get home. Actually, new tube for any roadside repair and only patch on the road if you get more than 1 flat.

I'm going for my workday century today. 100 mile ride with a 9 hour rest stop and some programming in the middle. I started at 4:30 this AM and got 58 miles in through 11 towns. I'll see if I can pick up at least 9 more for an even 20 on the way home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Had to swap out pedals as my Egg Beaters blew up on me last night. Bearing on the right side completely shelled out. The spindle is still good, so I think I'll try to get a rebuild kit instead of all new pedals. 

Should be a fun time tonight. Sprockidz is meeting at a a different location to do some single track, flow trail, skills trail, and pump track riding. Good times.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Only the "real" patches last. The stickers work long enough to get you home. I avoid them. I've got tubes with a half a dozen glue type patches. New tube in the rain for sure and patch it when you get home. Actually, new tube for any roadside repair and only patch on the road if you get more than 1 flat.


`xactly.
Good luck with part II of the 20 town century commute. You sure come up with some interresting challenges for yourself!

I saw this "funny" on the net recently, though you guys might appreciate it:


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

^ Very nice. Drivers around here don't follow instructions well though, might confuse the order.

An excellent ride today. Rabbits and groundhogs everywhere, but none running in front of me. The 1x10 setup got me moving a little faster, or at least feeling faster. Paid some penalty on the last hill.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> `xactly.
> Good luck with part II of the 20 town century commute. You sure come up with some interresting challenges for yourself!


Challenge complete. I only ended up with 19 unique towns. Full Details Here:
The Candid Cyclist: Workday Century

My legs were surprisingly perky this morning considering how dead they were last night.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Passed a police officer who was randomly standing on one of the bridges this morning, which was weird, but I didn't think too much of it. But apparently there's a black bear wandering around the University area, which is a little unusual.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Got out the door a little late. Rode about 1.5 miles where I cross a railroad and there is a train stopped on the tracks. Had to backtrack all the way home to get around it. It's hard to make up time on the single speed. At least it's nice outside.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM after a hellava bike day yesterday. Just niggling problem after niggling problem. Started on Tuesday when the bearings on my egg beaters blew up. So yesterday I get the rebuild kit and head home early, knowing I'll need to leave my house by 5 to get to Sprockidz in time. I rebuild the pedals, but have some issues with the dust caps. Can't get them to screw on. So they strip out and the pedal body on both sides is moving all over the place. I run to the bike shop and they don't have any Crankbrother pedals at all, nor any caps in the parts bin. I was lucky in that I was able to borrow a pair of SPDs from a fellow coach who was in the shop at the same time. Get to the bike park, swap pedals and cleats and am good to go. Nope, the seat post has slipped down again. Adjust that and ride. First group of kids out on the single track and I notice my brakes feel weird. Take a look and the caliper mount bolts are loose. Really? Tighten those up and ride on. Hit the flow trail and the first jump - feet come out of the pedals mid-air and I hit the saddle hard. 

Writing it down, it looks really lame, but yesterday it felt like the bike gods were toying with me. 

Looks like June is going to be a light month for miles. The running I've been doing has cut into some of my extra-curricular riding. I'm only at 402.88 for the month as of this morning. I'm really going to have to up my game if I think I'm going to hit 8K total miles for the year given that I'm only at 2626.13 for the year and we're half over.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rode across a sidewalk in a busy intersection right in front of a cop though illegal seems to be allowed...certainly the safer option at this intersection for cars bikers and peds.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

3 hours ago my commute wasn't going to happen. It has since dried up and is clearing up. Temps in the upper 60's. Is this really nearing the end of June?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Passed a police officer who was randomly standing on one of the bridges this morning, which was weird, but I didn't think too much of it. But apparently there's a black bear wandering around the University area, which is a little unusual.


Maybe it was this guy. A CB slang bear? As in Smokey, as in police officer? Maybe he was looking for some Bear Necessities. 



blockphi said:


> A decent ride in this AM after a hellava bike day yesterday. Just niggling problem after niggling problem.


My momma done tol' me there'd be days lik'at. Didn't mention how dang many they'd be, though!  Staying with the above theme: Some days the bear gets you.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well I didn't ride 100 miles today, but other than that it was mostly good. I considered taking that demo solar e-cargo bike home, but was not sure it would make it up my hill, and didn't want to push (pedaling that beast up the hill would be out of the question), and I also wanted to use real pedal power tomorrow. Had a nice joyride on it though, it was definitely the fastest I've gotten up the hill to work on a bike. Weirdly, when I put it back and got on my own bike, it felt powered somehow, like a mental imprint from the e-bike.

Near the end of my ride home I was buzzed and yelled at by a pickup from a small local company. I really hope it wasn't my neighbor who drives such a truck - and whose shepherd I returned after finding him out on the snowmo trails while walking my dog a month or so ago...the truck with 3 guys pulled into Domino's, but I opted not to engage.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Tried to do a metric century commute in honor of bedwards, rain limited me to 58 miles though.  Most I've ridden my road bike in a while, felt good now that i got a longer stem.

Still a good day, though I had to jury rig some rain protection after the forecast changed from the morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Boring. Had a few sprinkles on the way in but it was pretty nice out. Ride home was pretty fast.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Was ok but the rear wheel sliped in the dropouts so the tyre hit the stay for some reason. I know folk say single speed and quick release is a nono but it's worked well thus far. Hopefully be ok for the return leg.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Can you get it tight enough with the QR in the dropouts?


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

TenSpeed said:


> Can you get it tight enough with the QR in the dropouts?


Yes. A real (Shimano, Campy, Suntour...) quick release skewer can be tightened enough to crush the hub bearings. No worries about slipping there.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

AlexCuse said:


> Tried to do a metric century commute in honor of bedwards, rain limited me to 58 miles though. Most I've ridden my road bike in a while, felt good now that i got a longer stem.
> 
> Still a good day, though I had to jury rig some rain protection after the forecast changed from the morning.


I feel honored:thumbsup: My ride was in extremely pleasant weather. Much like today's. I'm riding the old steel steed for a classic Friday Commute. TGIF!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

These days I very seldomly get the chance to make a detour on the way home. I honor every one who has the opportunity and makes use of it 

At least I managed to ride every day this week. Nothing to say about it actually, just nice weather and little wind. Next week temps are expected to rise to almost 100F. Not nice anymore, will probably bring some nasty thunderstorms as well.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Ok, so not so much today but Wednesday. It was bike to work day so I took my youngest boy with me. We left the house at about 6:20 and arrived about an hour later. Along the way I showed him where, in the past week, three cars had been dumped into the river. Water was up to the driver's window. He was pretty amazed. We had an otherwise uneventful ride in and then had a nice breakfast before his mom picked him up and took him home. He wanted to stay and ride home with me as well. For one, I'm glad my job has a no kids policy.

I left for home at just past 5pm. The skies had opened up and it was pouring. Undaunted, I figured it would pass in a few minutes so I set out for home. The rain didn't slow and in fact it increased. A couple of the trails that go under overpasses were flooded. The cars that I pointed out to my son that morning in the river, were completely submerged. The worst part was the detour down Jason Street. It was fine at first and then suddenly I found myself riding in a river. A rapidly rising river. When the water got to my Cantilever brakes, I knew it was time to pull over. Getting out of the street was almost worse. You couldn't tell where the sidewalk was and the parking lots beyond the sidewalk were DEEP. You forget that most roads are crowned and also somewhat elevated. I found myself in waist deep water and shouldered my bike. Sorta like a River Cyclocross.
One of the businesses had a loading dock and let my into their shop to escape the rain and hail as well as the torrent running down the street. Took this pic after waiting for the water to subside for about 30 minutes.









The truck and the cyclist in the pic are on the highest point of the road. Just to the right of the cyclist the road takes a dip and the water was almost up to the top of my tires. All you could see was top tube, seat, and handle bars. Gonna need to repack some bearings soon!

It was a ride I won't soon forget! Makes winter seem like a cake walk!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^WOW! Did the water recede enough for you to ride home?


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Barely! I didn't want my wife trying to drive on those streets. I saw too many cars getting stuck and submerged. The worst part was for maybe a mile after that pic. The water in the street was almost up to the top of m tires! After that it got better. Thankfully, I live at the top of a hill!

Riding in today was eye opening. There was debris stuck on handrails that ware three feet high. Some of this in areas where I didn't encounter any water. So, it must have risen After I made it through!

Really scary how fast the water can rise!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s wild, Z1r! Almost need to look for the commuting section on a kayaking forum.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

I felt really bad for all the bike to work day participants that got caught up in that mess. Most probably weren't very familiar with the route.

I'm glad I rode the single speed. Only four bearings and the BB to repack or replace.

I guess I'm going to have to start packing a life vest in my backpack!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another decent ride in for me, headwinds both ways which I still cannot figure out. Hoping to take part in a metric century Saturday morning, but unsure of the weather. Supposed to rain but we will see. I did get a compliment on my Bluetooth speaker which was nice. This is what I am using.

https://store.boombotix.com/collections/boombot-rex-wireless-speakers/products/boombot-rex-black


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

z1r, so glad you stopped and stayed safe, that's scarey!

Nothing exciting on my commute, though one spot with water on the road for the last month is getting tiresome. It looks like a culvert has failed or is clogged, but not sure why it is taking so long to fix. They added a big light-up sign to the little orange tripod high water sign, but no actual repairs yet, and of course the road surface is deterirating rapidly. Usually I ride through the puddle in the middle to try to avoid spray from cars, but yesterday I didn't and got a dirty shower and even water in my ear, ick. Annoying to get wet on a beautiful day.

Friday was also another Random Rewards day for bikecommuters, I got some $10 gift cards at the localbike/outdoors shop and gave them to people that biked or walked to work. I only had 6 takers, Fridays seem to have fewer riders and I think a couple people did not come collect their rewards.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No century ride for me today. Currently 56 and raining and I don't warrant that as good riding weather, not for that distance.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Can you get it tight enough with the QR in the dropouts?


Hi, yep pretty much a Shayne said, it can be very tight. I had no issue on the way home and that has the harder climbs!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well. I went to the grocery store 8.5 miles away as opposed to the one 4 miles away because it's safer to bike to that one. Unfortunately I had to get a 2.5 gallon jug of filtered water because the stuff that comes outta the faucet where I moved to smells like eggs. That adds a lot of weight and in preparation I flipped to my slow 18t gear before heading out. Good choice.

Coming out of the store I see my tire is flat. I had already used my spare tube earlier this week. Damn, and I didn't have a pump with me. So I had to walk 2.5 miles down to the Wal-Mart and get a tube and a cheapo frame pump because the closest bike shop was 6 miles away. Doesn't help that I only had spd cleats, which makes a 5 mile walk rather painful. 

Got my new tube in, tire on. The valve from the tube on my front tire had come out of where it was in the tube. Dunno what to do about that. Guess I'll pitch it. The ride back was way slow, but I saved my energy for the last 100 meters and managed to get up to 22 mph, which is good because that's the worst part of my commute. 

I also don't know how good I am at packing heavy loads but I'm very glad that I've had experience doing off road stuff, because that came in handy when every time I hit a bump in the road my whole back end would wiggle like I was trying to pin it in a wrestling match.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Excellent commute today. Picked up an extra shift for a guy I work with who is leaving. Beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's and mostly sunny. Figured out my camera mount so I went ahead and recorded the ride in and home. I need to get some editing done to it and I will post it. I figured that since I cleared 2000 miles for the year on this ride, I would finally record it. The ride in was awesome, and the camera worked really well. Did a little extra jump through campus to show you all the dedicated bike lane. I should have it done probably Monday maybe Tuesday and I will post it up. Ride home did not record so well in the pitch black which is too bad because that is when the fun started.

Leaving the campus area, got into what I later realized was a race. Me on the fixed gear, and the sidewalk ninja on a road bike of some sort. I passed him, of course, because the road is buttery smooth and straight, and the sidewalk is garbage and crosses streets. Well, I guess that motivated him. I get to the main road and wait for the light to turn left. Finally get the light and get going right after another sidewalk rider with really dim lights crosses. I pass him rather quickly as he is messing with his phone (smh) and riding on the sidewalk in a poorly lit area. Wow. That is when I see his silhouette, up ahead, this time in the road. He sees me, he checks behind because he recognizes the flashing light and can probably hear my music. The race is on!! Same ninja it turns out, because as I caught him, I recognized that he had a bag on from before. He makes the turn, and he is ahead of me, and I make the turn about 10 seconds later. The road is an immediate hill right after the turn. I am gaining on him, and I think he just gives up because I pass him rather quickly. That was the fastest that I have ever caught someone. It felt good to to that, on a hill on a fixed gear bike vs a guy on a road bike. He wasn't messing around because I had to really get on it to keep up and pass him. Figured out that he took one of the many shortcuts that are possible to cut that long light which I never thought about doing honestly. Wanted to say something to him badly about getting some lights or something but kept my mouth shut and my legs pedaling.

Turns out that it was my fastest ride home as well, just over 25 minutes. I don't know how really. Had I not had to mess around at the light and stop a few times for other lights, it could have possibly been closer to a 20 minute ride I think. 8.5 miles is the ride home and by the time I got home I felt like I could puke. Absolutely tore down the MUP when I realized how fast the ride had been. Saw absolutely nothing out there, no deer, rabbits, skunks, possums, nothing.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well, so much for my QR skewers being ok, the ferrule end sheared off this morning :-( Locked the rear wheel, wound the mudguard round and broke some of the mounting brackets. Had to carry it the last mile to work. Off to source a replacement at lunch, I'm just going to go for a solid axle with nuts now I think, it's not so much hassle to carry a spanner with me really.


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## Guest (Jun 30, 2015)

Perfect ride today. Skipped yesterday because I rode a 1/2 century (off-road) on Sunday and wanted a rest day. Got two miles from work and was caught off guard and cat 6'd by a woman on a cross bike. Tried to keep up but she was clearly in better shape than I this morning. Right before I get to work I take a half-mile access road (dirt) that's usually rutted and occasionally muddy, but apparently over the weekend some 4-wheelers were playing and the whole stretch was a Mud-Clod Garden. Nothing like a bouncy technical section on your commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Quiet around here lately. Nice work on the dirt 1/2 century. 

I've been using my commutes as some daily time trials. This morning was my fastest commute, ever. I got a fitbit a month ago and have been using it to trim off an extra 10lbs or so that have snuck on with age and cookies. I'm about 1/2 way there and it seems to show. 22.9 MPH on my Home to Work segment. (I was NOT carrying a 2.5 gallon jug of water, 19ish lb unencumbered road bike only)


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Working from home today, so my commute was sneaking in a trail ride before I started (weather looks crappy for the rest of the week, may take it off to let my hands recover a bit). Checked out some new to me trails, and an old to me trail that recently reopened with a hybrid grass/gravel surface (grazzle™). Good times.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bedwards, you`re really flying. Better be careful or you`ll have to bump up a class in all your various race events!

We had quite a couldburst in my area Saturday afternoon, which usually results in dirt flows washed over all the roads. While there was some of that going on here and there, it wasn`t as bad as anticipated, and one particular stretch of road which as been pretty full of debris lately somehow got washed almost clean by the mimi floods. Welcome surprise there.



NDD said:


> Coming out of the store I see my tire is flat. I had already used my spare tube earlier this week. Damn, and I didn't have a pump with me. So I had to walk 2.5 miles down to the Wal-Mart and get a tube and a cheapo frame pump because the closest bike shop was 6 miles away. Doesn't help that I only had spd cleats, which makes a 5 mile walk rather painful.


Doh!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> These days I very seldomly get the chance to make a detour on the way home.


Well, never say never. Uneventful commute yesterday, eventful today. Made a detour on the way home for a checkup at the dentist, everything ok. I rewarded myself with a stop at the lbs and got a new roadbar and tape. When I wanted to leave I noticed my rear tyre was suddenly flat and they didnt let me use their repairstand. Had to patch the tube out on the parkinglot. At least they let me use their pump. All in all it was about double the distance I ride normally with nice weather , around 75F. Temps are forecasted to climb to almost 100F the next days. Perfect weather to do some handlebar tuning in the cool basement  and to drink a cool beer afterwards while looking at the bike.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

No riding for me so far this week. Ive been bed ridden with a fever and a killer sore throat. At first I thought it was just my allergies (grass, trees, fungus, cats, dogs, house dust... The usual...) but then the fever and aching joints kicked in. Feeling a bit better today so Im thinking of taking an easy spin into work tomorrow. Its meant to be nice out too...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> 22.9 MPH on my Home to Work segment. (I was NOT carrying a 2.5 gallon jug of water, 19ish lb unencumbered road bike only)


Ha! If I had to do it for more than 100 meters I'd probably die. Fear of huge semi trucks from the steel mill on country highways is a real motivational tool. Anyways, keep up the good work bud!

I walked to work the last two days. Dunno why. Taking things slow, but I hike a lot at work anyway, benefits of being a botanist. Definitely biking tomorrow, probably.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Should also note I have a weird bug bite that I'm paranoid about. Apparently Lyme disease is even more common around here than where I'm from. I've got a spreading circular rash around a bite but not a bulls eye yet. Does biking cure Lyme?


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

stupid question but this the third time I have hurt myself in the privates when commuting by it rubbing on the pants am wearing. has this happen to anyone else also I wear boxers would regular underwear help prevent this or should I waer riding shorts under neath my pants. any help would be nice.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

sepulvd said:


> stupid question but this the third time I have hurt myself in the privates when commuting by it rubbing on the pants am wearing. has this happen to anyone else also I wear boxers would regular underwear help prevent this or should I waer riding shorts under neath my pants. any help would be nice.


I often wear jeans but I wear boxer briefs. Dunno if that's a difference maker. Hell I've even biked in Carhart work pants and not had that issue. Must be a boxers thing, or maybe your seat?


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

yea I have no idea been commuting for a year never had a problem intill recently.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Monday night - ride home was fast - leave work at 11:30 pm - hit the shower and hit the bed by 1 am
Tuesday am - up at 4:55 am - get stuff ready - leave apartment by 5:35 am - cleaned up and working by 6:30 am
Tuesday pm - leave work at 11:30 pm and ride home on wet pavement.

Exhausted. That doesn't even begin to explain it. Eating a snack, hitting the shower, and then bed again. I could do it all over again on Wednesday but my dog would then proceed to suck my soul right out of my body in my sleep Wednesday night like that little monster in Stephen King's short story the Cat's Eye.

Good night.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Enjoying the Europe heatwave wave - 24C already at 8am. Should hit 34C for the ride home!

Changed the tires on my new 29er to something more suitable for gravel and light singletrack, so out went the Nobby Nics and in came a Bontrager XR3 and XR2, both mounted tubeless. 

Sadly for the second day in a row I had a sudden loss of tire pressure in the rear and ended up walking the last 6km to work  

I 'fixed' it last night when I found out that the valve was leaking air, pumped up to 50PSI and did a 10km ride last night without problem, only to have the same again this morning! Using a public drinking fountain where I could submerge the wheel, I found out that the leak is from one of the spoke holes.

Digging further, it seems that the DT Swiss wheelset is tubeless ready and comes with the right tape/rim strips, but as the company who made the bike set it up with tubes, none of it was installed. They just put on standard rim tape. Looks like my job for tonight is to find some yellow tape and redo the both!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

NDD said:


> Should also note I have a weird bug bite that I'm paranoid about. Apparently Lyme disease is even more common around here than where I'm from. I've got a spreading circular rash around a bite but not a bulls eye yet. Does biking cure Lyme?


That is concerning, not necessarily paranoid, as the classic bullseye is not always present. Have you seen the gaiters with tick repellent in them? Outdoor Research BugOut Gaiters | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean

Tenspeed, that's a ridiculously long workday, hope you got some rest.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Monday night - ride home was fast - leave work at 11:30 pm - hit the shower and hit the bed by 1 am
> Tuesday am - up at 4:55 am - get stuff ready - leave apartment by 5:35 am - cleaned up and working by 6:30 am
> Tuesday pm - leave work at 11:30 pm and ride home on wet pavement.
> 
> ...


Ouch - I feel your pain on this - take care on the rides!

I frequently do similar(ish) hours when we have deadlines or I am 'on call' twice a month or so. For me commuting in this state is the hardest thing, as by the end of the cycle I am fit to drop and on 'autopilot'.

I was riding when exhausted one morning last year (I was on call for a 4 week stretch and we had a big deadline) when out of sheer fatigue, I misjudged the actions/distance away of a car and swerved from a non-existent danger, crashing and breaking my wrist.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> That is concerning, not necessarily paranoid, as the classic bullseye is not always present. Have you seen the gaiters with tick repellent in them?


We use that exact type of gaiter at work. Also wear long sleeves everyday and this kinda popped up on my arm over the weekend. Haven't caught a tick on me yet, doesn't mean one was never there. I'm keeping an eye on it. Hopefully just a spider bite or an unreasonably wicked mosquito bite.

TenSpeed wins the workweek. Hopefully you get to spend time with your dog now.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks everyone. Slept like a rock last night. Hanging with the little guy right now. Mostly cloudy and low 70's today so I will ride in. I never thought that on July 1st, I would be wearing a sweatshirt to go pay my rent at my complex. Currently 56° right now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Marc2211 said:


> Sadly for the second day in a row I had a sudden loss of tire pressure in the rear and ended up walking the last 6km to work


Bummer. I had a similar experience riding in my wife`s car last week, but after that second sudden loss of pressure from the rear I somehow convinced her not to make me get out and walk. Must have been my lucky day


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Didn't ride hardly at all last week and took Friday and Monday off as travel days. Made the 11 hour drive to Boston over the weekend for the Cape Cod Getaway Bike MS ride with a buddy that lives in the area. It was one of those everything that can go wrong will go wrong kind of weekends, although still a very fun weekend. 

On Thursday before leaving I wake up with a wicked sore throat that quickly morphed into a nasty head cold by Friday morning. Once I am 3 hours into the drive I realized I left my cycling shoes at home, so I had to buy some at the outdoor store near his house. Once we arrive in Boston, I am freezing while everyone else is complaining of how hot the room is...turns out I had a fever of 100.2. The next morning I'm feeling a little better and we drive out to the start line for the MS 150 ride ready for our 75 mile day. As I go to install SPD cleats on my new shoes, I discover that the right shoe is defective - missing the threaded holes the cleats attach to. Luckily I managed to rig something up with the packaging from the cleats underneath the insole of the shoe. 

60 miles into the ride my chain got caught while shifting to the small front ring, sucking into the front derailleur and bending the cage such that it rubbed on the crankarm every revolution. Not sure what caused the chainsuck because I cleaned and lubed the chain Thursday night before packing the car.

The weather forecast for Day 2 of the ride from Bourne to Provincetown was particularly nasty with 25-35mph sustained winds and rain all day. The event originally planned to use the ferry to get all the participants back to Boston, but the ferry operators cancelled all trips that day because of the 10 foot swells. Hence, Day 2 of the ride (and the part I was really excited about) was cancelled.

Luckily I was able to return the shoes without an issue because of the defective sole. Feeling a bit more normal now and was back to commuting yesterday.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ that beats my story. Glad you are feeling better.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bummer. I had a similar experience riding in my wife`s car last week, but after that second sudden loss of pressure from the rear I somehow convinced her not to make me get out and walk. Must have been my lucky day


LOL! Lucky it wasn't a full rear blowout I had, or I dread what the response would have been!

/sorry couldn't help it!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoe some of you really having a bad time...glad you are doing better. 

I had an uneventful ride in this morning. Left my bike at work for a team event, walked 5 miles for a gps rally that our team won! Even although I suggested to go to the nearest bar and have beer instead. But we could not google the info we needed so had to walk....

Will take the bus tomorrowmorning, then ride home in the afternoon. Forecast is almost 100F so I will take a bottle of water with me. Normally I do not need anything during the ride but tomorrow, I probably will....


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD if the bite swells and is hard and hot get to a doctor for a 3 week antibiotic course. Could be a tick. Could be an assassin bug bite. I had three exactly 2 years ago. The anitbiotic fixed it up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've been using my commutes as some daily time trials. This morning was my fastest commute, ever. I got a fitbit a month ago and have been using it to trim off an extra 10lbs or so that have snuck on with age and cookies. I'm about 1/2 way there and it seems to show. 22.9 MPH on my Home to Work segment. (I was NOT carrying a 2.5 gallon jug of water, 19ish lb unencumbered road bike only)


Wicked fast! Egad, I can't even drive to work averaging 22.9 mph (12 miles and 35 minutes to drive/park)!


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## Guest (Jul 2, 2015)

Cool commute (for the most part) took a longer route (woke up earlier than normal) and saw a couple deer on the trail just outside town. In town I road within 4 meters of a Northern Goshawk (guessing a female based on size). With 8 miles to go I helped a small Garter Snake off the trail. The at 5 miles to go I see a woman laying across the trail and start thinking about ambulance response times and how I'll give directions. She was banged up, knee was pretty swollen and her helmet was trash, but she was content to call her husband for a ride. Apparently her handlebar clipped the safety fence along the trail (no bar ends involved). Helped her get her bike up to a parking lot and continued the ride. Glad she was okay. Don't really need to do the 911 thing again, ever.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I rode in with rollingrunner on this gorgeous morning, the first of many in a long weekend. Yeah summer! I'm hoping for some trafficsfaction on the ride home. 4th of July weekend is usually good for a line of cars 5 miles long waiting to get to the lakes that I get to ride by on my way home. 

Took the classic bike today too. Viva la Sport!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> Didn't ride hardly at all last week and took Friday and Monday off as travel days. Made the 11 hour drive to Boston over the weekend for the Cape Cod Getaway Bike MS ride with a buddy that lives in the area. It was one of those everything that can go wrong will go wrong kind of weekends, although still a very fun weekend.
> 
> On Thursday before leaving I wake up with a wicked sore throat that quickly morphed into a nasty head cold by Friday morning. Once I am 3 hours into the drive I realized I left my cycling shoes at home, so I had to buy some at the outdoor store near his house. Once we arrive in Boston, I am freezing while everyone else is complaining of how hot the room is...turns out I had a fever of 100.2. The next morning I'm feeling a little better and we drive out to the start line for the MS 150 ride ready for our 75 mile day. As I go to install SPD cleats on my new shoes, I discover that the right shoe is defective - missing the threaded holes the cleats attach to. Luckily I managed to rig something up with the packaging from the cleats underneath the insole of the shoe.
> 
> ...


I forgot one incident from this weekend. 9 hours into my drive to Boston my rear passenger wheel started making a nasty squealing sound. I drove all the way home to Cleveland with it as well. Took the car to the shop today and found out my rear caliper went bad and seized up. Need new calipers, rotors, and pads on the rear as well as pads and rotors on the front because the front was doing all of the work to stop. $1000 icing on the cake.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks like I will be riding all the way until Tuesday. Friday I am off and have some really nice plans, I mean really nice. Pics to follow. Working today and the weekend and it is supposed to be clear!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Your plans sound intriguing TenSpeed, look forward to the pics!

Had to ride the trusty old 1998 Trek 810 in today, I forgot just how damn heavy that thing is! I need to show it some love though, did the job with no issues after being abandoned for a while.

Given up on the SS Roadie till the weekend, after my wheel slip issue I changed the spindle for a solid nutted version (diamond pattern on back of nuts) thinking all would be hunky dorey; still slips despite being torqued up to FT. I either need to get a tug or maybe scuff the frame up a little bit to give some grip to the nut I thinkl

Still, it's very warm and dry (upto 30°C, good for the UK!!) and I can't wait to go home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I took the bus this morning and temps went up to about 90F this afternoon. When I wanted to leave,my rear tyre was flat -again-. I patched it and the leak was on the edge of the previous patch, so I guess it has the same cause. Furthermore I noticed that the leak was on the inside of the tube, so I suspect it has something to do with moving rim tape or something like that. I will take the bus tomorrow and check the bike on saturday. Hope I get this sorted out, patching 2-3 times a week is annoying. Tomorrow and saturday temps are going up to almost 100F so riding is no fun anyway.


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## Guest (Jul 2, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hope I get this sorted out, patching 2-3 times a week is annoying. Tomorrow and saturday temps are going up to almost 100F so riding is no fun anyway.


 The rim-tape leak is pretty common, especially in new bikes. We had a new bike on the 1/2 century ride last week with one. Properly sized velox tape is one solution, I prefer deburring the spoke holes and wrapping with Stans tape or two layers of duct tape (torn to fit). I've got a pair of wheels that are 30 years old that were duct taped when new and still work fine.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A lovely day here, great for pedaling, not so great for working. My legs were a bit tired, but BMX'd it anyway, we have tomorrow off, after all. A coworker who has enjoyed pedaling it around for fun a few times borrowed it to go pick up her car at the shop, I was psyched she had a blast. Had to adjust my helmet back to pinhead size after work 

Another demo e-cargo bike arrived at work, but both left to be ridden in 4th of July parades this weekend.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First time in a long while that I opted to drive instead of ride. Legs were feeling tired, it was the last day of 5 in a row with a double shift mixed in, and I plan on riding all weekend so I wussed out and took the car to work. I feel the shame.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I feel you TenSpeed - I drove to work twice this week (been at home sick the other three days). 

This virus is seriously kicking my ass!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey guys driving is fully ok when you are not feeling good. So no shame on you, no worries.

Thanks also for the tip concerning rim tape. I browsed around a while and the Schwalbe High Pressure seems to get good reviews. If I happen to be around a shop tomorrow I will hop in and see what they got. Otherwise I'll just tape it with two layers of ducttape ("bike hack"  )


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today as it is my normal day off. Going for a ride though. 

2015 Felt Z5 full carbon, Shimano 105 STI shifters and drivetrain.

I replaced the saddle with a Specialized Phenom that I have, added the SPD pedals, the bag, a light, Specialized Zee cage and adjusted the cockpit.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

Had to run out to the farm, and two others to check on the livestock since everyone else is out of town. The weather is stunning and I had just swapped out the Woodchippers on my Unit, so I took it out to play on my fifty mile loop of city and farm paths.

It got interesting when I trusted Google to map the shortest route home from the third farm. 7 miles of 45 and 55 mph roads with no shoulder. Next time, I will look at the whole route before I am riding it.

Tenspeed, that new Felt is a beauty.

Happy 4th everyone.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> No commute for me today as it is my normal day off. Going for a ride though.
> 
> 2015 Felt Z5 full carbon, Shimano 105 STI shifters and drivetrain.
> 
> ...


So...gears are a thing for you now?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rustedthrough said:


> Tenspeed, that new Felt is a beauty.
> 
> Happy 4th everyone.





NDD said:


> So...gears are a thing for you now?


Well......I wanted to try everything, and now I have. BMX, mountain bike, CX bike, fixed gear/single speed bike, road bike and fat bike. I have sold off most of them, still have the fat and two fixed gear track bikes (soon to be 1) and now this road bike. Took it on its maiden commute to work today for the holiday. Getting a slight creak from the seatpost area. I swapped the saddle out and slightly lowered the post and I think it is coming from there. I need to break down and buy a torque wrench now I guess. I hope it is just the saddle bolt on the post but it might be the post clamp itself. I am not going to ride it until I get that squared away. Fixed gear to work tomorrow because it is being neglected. Still adjusting to this whole gearing/braking/coasting thing you fellers and ladies are doing. Feels really weird to just not pedal while I am riding. The shifts are crisp and direct and I love the 105 stuff so far. Claris, Tiagra and Sora, while improved, simply were not an option. 105 or better, or SRAM Force/Rival, etc would have sufficed. Stem will be swapped out tomorrow and bars need to be dialed in. Other than that, it is a great bike and rides really nicely.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday. That double time and a half I made will come in handy.


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2015)

Rusted, I'm pretty happy with the bike route feature of google maps, but it will send you down some odd roads from time to time. It also seems to have a hard time taking the obvious route when there's a nearby bike trail.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ have found the same thing with Google Maps. Only used it once but it sent me on kind of a wild goose chase when there was a marked bike path right there.


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## Rustedthrough (Aug 19, 2014)

I guess I was mostly surprised because it has usually worked well, and those were the least bike friendly roads I have yet ridden. I was following the voice navigation prompts and didn't bother to look at the map first. As much my poor planning as any fault of GPS.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Warm and breezy but a really nice ride in. Slow weekend at work so that was nice as well. Ride home was alright, until the mosquitos caught me. I was riding fairly fast, and they were keeping up, and getting me!!!! The MUP runs along a heavily wooded and swampy area so they just swarm there. I am like a meal on wheels for them. I might have to start sticking to the main roads to avoid the MUP late at night.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Meals on wheels! That's rich. Thumbs up for that one.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Bad news; still sick so no bike time.
Bad news; my 2 year old has stomach flu so no bike time.
Good news; just ordered a pair of Schwalbe Kojak 26 x 1.35s for my new wheels.
Good news; said wheels are shipped and winging their way to me


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^You're supposed to alternate the good news and the bad news, it's a rule. 



TenSpeed said:


> View attachment 999553


Ohhh, brand new Felt, Nice! I love my Felt.

Great long weekend, rides every day and lots lots more. Weather today is beautiful, I'd take another day off. 
Patriotic stuff:
The Candid Cyclist: Forty On The Forth


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Uneventful ride today. Thunderstorms killed three trees this weekend but all had been moved out of the way already so the roads were not blocked anywhere.

Thanks to Forster for the tip: I checked the rear wheel and I think the rim tape is too narrow so it moves around. I let it in but put two layers of ducttape on top. We'll see how it holds up. And I also put the midge back on and it felt better than the woodchipper immediately.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The only excitement today was before the commute. While walking the dogs on the snowmachine trail I finally saw the black bear I knew was out there. Sorry, no pix, I was busy corralling the dogs! Luckily it was the side of the bear you want to see when out with dogs, the hind end disappearing into the forest.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2015)

Cyclingdutchman, Rim tape too thin or too narrow is a really common issue around my neck of the woods. Don't know why it's so hard to put decent tape on a rim, but apparently that's the difference between profit and bankruptcy. Add a few spoke hole burrs and your changing tubes.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in today. Warmest day of the year so far I think, clearing 80F easily. One close call, totally my fault. I froze as I was coming out of the bike shop into the alley....forgetting how to stop the bike. Very used to just adjusting my speed with the pedals on the fixed gear. Quickly figured it out on the new bike and got stopped before I ran into a car. Found a new place to park my bike at work because some of the jackholes that park there simply don't know how a bike rack works. They installed new gates to pay as you leave the inner part of the parking ramp. Everything is bolted to the cement, and the backside is mostly hidden by poles but has a really nice spot for one bike to lock to. Been using it since I discovered it the other day.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hoping the Ghost household gets over their bugs.

Man, more rain + serious flash flooding going on! I don`t know what`s up with the weather this year. We just finished the driest winter I can remember, then rain all spring (very unusual), now isolated afternoon T-storms for ever. The temps go up, then down, more or less as expected for this time of year, but I bet we`ve had afternoon rains an average of three times per week for a month now- really heavy ones Sat and today. We had a hard cloudburst around 3PM, then it stopped for about 90 minutes (more likely moved over a mile or so), and THEN it opened up like a waterfall for two to three hours, including wildly swinging wind gusts, that steady rolling thunder and lightning flashing all around, and a switching back and forth between rain and hail. My whole yard was a river, with rapids running across my driveway. I took a nap and got up a half hour before time to leave for work, expecting to sprint through the mud to my truck and drive in, but it had completely stopped, and was actually very nice out. I rode in, hopping puddles the whole way (thank you fenders), and found the streets littered with debris- sticks and branches, bunches of dead weeds, rocks, mud, many places with mud flows several inches thick out into the road. When I got in I heard numerous reports from my co-workers involving flooded roads. But some of the guys who drive in from afar said they had little or no rain at their homes.



Rustedthrough said:


> It got interesting when I trusted Google to map the shortest route home from the third farm. 7 miles of 45 and 55 mph roads with no shoulder.


The few time I`ve asked Google for a bicycle route, they`ve given me such stupid ideas that I never even bothered trying them. But in my area, it`s the opposite problem- in order to avoid a highway, which may actually be decent to good riding, they will route through miles of god forsaken sand traps or rocky mountain roads. Most of the directions say something like "slight left" or "bear right at intersection" with no road names given because they`re unnamed tracks through the middle of the wild west. Seriously, trying to following those instructions could kill somebody just as easily as could routing a cyclist onto a no-shoulder heavily trafficked road.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Damn Rodar, I have the opposite issue here in Norway - summer finally arrived and it is B.E.A.utiful here. High twenties (Celsius), sunshine and light breezes with the odd light shower thrown in.

The down side? My kid is still pooping with astounding regularity and so cannot attend kindergarten so no bike commuting for me. No riding at all lately, really on account of my virus + allergies...

On the plus side I did get some new allergy pills to try and they do seem to be doing the trick... I'm also getting much better over all, so all we need is for the little one to get over her bug before the good weather goes away and we are golden. 

What? It might happen...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I was late this morning, so I brought my son to Kindergarten as well:








From 140 kids, only three commute by bike and they all have the same Puky 20" bike in red and yellow. But my son is the only one having nice cork bartape, a custom made pannier (PVC so waterproof) and a reflective flag 

After that I had a lovely ride into the office and back home today, pretty uneventful. Finally a day with nice temps, not too low, not too high, not too humid, simply NICE


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ THAT ROCKS!

Day 2 of my new work commute. 25 feet from my bedroom to the office. This working from home is going to take getting used to.

I did get our for a 55 mile ride yesterday and a 38 mile ride today, so there is that.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Nice pic, dutchman! My kid has a three wheel Puky - they really are very good quality.

We are on day 7 of the poopergate saga here in Norway. 

Daiper changes this morning (before leaving for work) - 3
Number of km cycled this week - 0

I'm loosing my mind over here! Time for the doctor, I think...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

SlipSpace said:


> Given up on the SS Roadie till the weekend, after my wheel slip issue I changed the spindle for a solid nutted version (diamond pattern on back of nuts) thinking all would be hunky dorey; still slips despite being torqued up to FT. I either need to get a tug or maybe scuff the frame up a little bit to give some grip to the nut I think


Good news, back on the SS Roadie. Knocked up a chain tug from some scrap laying around at work. Bit on the hefty side! Had I realised I had the correct size tap it all could have been a bit shorter and I need to get some smaller cap heads, but seems to do the job. In all honesty it'll probably stay like that for the forseeable..

Oh, and despite the full compliment of sprockets it is technically an SS. Freewheel as opposed to cassette hinders removal.

Nice ride even though it was raining.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I should label my morning commute today as Lawn Maintenance obstacle course day. Leaf blowers-Check! Weed Wackers-Check! Zero Turns-Check! They all wear ear protection on top of their already loud equipment, I don't mean to startle them, but I just don't think they're accustomed to seeing that many bike commuters. The commute started out very, very comfortable but that Florida humidity was in full force by the end. The morning commutes in, have not been that bad but the evening rides home are just a bear.

In other news, today was my first day commuting in "bibs". I get the no "crack" showing and no waistband digging in--but I still felt like a huge stuffed sausage. 

I've already consumed 128 oz of water trying to ready myself for the evening ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Speaking of that Florida humidity, what ever happened to Texan-in-fla. He was supposed to be doing his trans Florida ride.

Good commute today. I've been pushing hard the last few days and was trying for an easy spin. I thought my wife agreed but she seemed to be pushing, so I drafted her. At least I got my rest(ish). Hot and humid this morning but it's supposed to dry up this afternoon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Weather turned here. Temp dropped from 37C on saturday to only 18C today with 20kt wind and regular showers. Will be the same the next days so will have to bring full rain gear again the next days, for just in case. Took the merino shirt out already again as well. Lots of debris from the thunderstorms around as well. A small twig was bumped up by my front wheel, hit the spokes and flew away. Will have to pay attention to that the next days. Hopefully the strong wind will blow most of it aside the next days.

Ghost htx, how old is your son? When mine was 1.5 yrs old, I think he was sick for almost 3 months again and again. Just changing between cold, flu, diarrhea and allergy. So 1 week is nothing. But I feel with you and hope your son gets better quickly.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Looks like I'll be getting rained on for the second time this week riding home. I've decided it's not worth wearing rain gear for the summer, I'd rather be drenched than wear stuffy clothes when it's hot outside.

I need to re-arrange my rear blinky situation, I've got a HotShot on the seatpost and a cheap Cateye blinky on my rack. Now I'm using a trunk bag that blocks the HotShot which is the brighter light, so I ordered the rack mount for the HotShot this morning. I could clip my Blackburn Central to the bag as well, the clip on that light seems really secure. It's not very directional so aiming isn't critical, which is the weak spot of the HotShot.

Rear lights shouldn't require this much planning...


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## Texico (Feb 23, 2009)

My commute this morning was very nice. It was a bit windy on the way home (it's always a headwind, there's just no getting around it), but I got to try out a new toy on my bike. I picked up an Outdoor Tech Buckshot speaker (Outdoor Tech Buckshot Portable Speaker - REI.com) for my girlfriend last weekend and liked it so much that I got one for myself as well. It's nice to be able to listen to music on my rides now, since there's no way I'm going to put headphones in my ears while riding on the road. Another plus is that my ~6 mile commute only used 4% of my phones battery while listening to music the whole way.


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## sepulvd (Aug 18, 2014)

shitty commute super windy was fighting it all the way to work then gotta ride tonight at midnight hopefully the wind calms down


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today but I did ride. Man o man did I ride. Did a B ride with the local group that my manager at work rides with. Wasn't sure what to expect. Almost took the fixed gear. Almost. So glad that I didn't. Group of about 10 people pulls out, with a couple on a tandem leading us out. Nice pace of 16-17 mph and everything was great!! Fresh air out on the country roads, mid 60's and it was overcast. Wake up. That was the warm up. Speed steadily increasing. I am with the lead pack. Cannot drop off or I will be done for the night. Wind was brutal out there and we stuck together, up and down the hills, and I kept up. First 20 miles in 1 hour, 1 second. I haven't ever gone that fast. Good thing I knocked back a Clif bar before we left. It's getting real out here. 21 miles in, about 3.5 or so to go. I dropped off. I had no choice. Could not keep that pace for that distance. The rest of the ride was solo and I could see at least one other guy who dropped off up ahead of me. Peanut butter GU in my jersey pocket. Good thing I had that because I needed it! Rolled into the parking lot before my manager and wasn't last, so I consider that a victory.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today was commute #100 for the year for me. My original goal was to ride in at least 100 times this year, I guess I should have picked a harder goal.

Nice report TenSpeed. I've never ridden in a group before, do you feel like the group aerodynamics help you increase your average speed? I'm sure it must to some extent, but I have no idea how much it helps.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> Today was commute #100 for the year for me. My original goal was to ride in at least 100 times this year, I guess I should have picked a harder goal.
> 
> Nice report TenSpeed. I've never ridden in a group before, do you feel like the group aerodynamics help you increase your average speed? I'm sure it must to some extent, but I have no idea how much it helps.


Riding in the group at least out on country roads is a necessity. It did increase the speed because I was sucking so much wheel it wasn't funny. No way that I wanted to be left behind so I quickly realized that is what needed to be done.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice job on the chain tug, SlipSpace :thumbsup:



formula4speed said:


> Today was commute #100 for the year for me. My original goal was to ride in at least 100 times this year, I guess I should have picked a harder goal.


Whoohoo!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Good job formula4speed!

TenSpeed... does this mean that you're a... *gasp*... roadie now? 

I got back on the bike today after 14 days off due to me / my wife / my kid being sick one after the other. We are all well now, to varying degrees. I have never been so happy to see solid dookie before 

It was... interesting... The legs are still there but the airways are tender, sore and producing mucus like a motherf**ker. For a while it felt like someone had coated my trachea in tabasco...

Lost count of the number of snot rockets I let loose on the way in today. Now I am coughing like a 500 a day smoker. However...

*Words cannot describe how much I needed that bike ride. *

Oh, and my new china carbon commuter wheels are here! Just need to mount up the cassette, rotors, rim tape, tubes and tyres and I am good to roll (assuming they don't need too much fettling and adjustment and such...)

Today is a good day! (so far)


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Glad you're all on the mend Ghost, and you're back on the bike. Nothing like a good ride to clear the tubes! :thumbsup:

Good ride home yesterday despite the headwind. Then the front brake cable let go, the ferrule on the lever end detached from the cable. Just using the rear caliper is scary. My inability to slow down caused me to slow down. :skep: so was later home than expected.

No spare cable with the right end :madman: so back on the Trek this morning. Great ride in though, lovely sunny 17°C.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Finally a bit of nice weather!

I've been taking long ways to work and exploring a township to the east that I haven't spent a ton of time in.

Found a sweet new bike on one of the trails



And this cool spot in a park I'm not sure I was supposed to be riding in


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Terrible, just terrible.


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## Sanath (Jul 20, 2012)

First ride in maybe 2 months and not 2 miles from my house some old guy does a close pass and then pulls over to yell at me when I shake my fist and then flip him off. Tried to insist I should be in the shoulder and then just started ranting about cyclists not stopping at stop signs and learn the laws and the usual.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Annoying (and expensive) commutes the last few days/week. Glad the week is over. 

Was riding my 29er for the last month or so, and due to some tubeless setup issues (mentioned last week) I had to buy new tires front and back, tape and milk - all was fine for a few days, but yesterday the seat post connection to the saddle failed (I was always a bit non-trusting of this) - leaving the saddle hanging off. I ended up adding a new Bontrager (my fav) saddle and having a Raceface seatpost overnighted to me. KEEEEERRRRChing - not a nice bill for the week.

Clearly as I had neglected my ever faithful the Slash for a month or so - it decided to get it's revenge yesterday and develop brake issues (Shimano Zee's only installed for about 5 months). No power or bite unless they were wet! When dry they were worse than v-brakes. Not fun. 

Rather than try new pads first (doh) I decided to pick up a bleed kit and bleed them at work today. Didn't seem to be any air in the lines, which got me thinking that the pads were somehow glazed. Pondering the point, I lost concentration and the syringe of fluid came off the bleed nipple and sprayed the rear rotor, caliper and pads. :grrrrrrrr:

Trip to the bike shop on the way home to have the job done right, re-bleed front and back, rotor clean and new pads  The owner of my LBS (I have seen him about 5 times this week!) said that he sees the issue a lot on gravity bikes as the conditions here are dry and dusty, so in the summer, very hard riding and braking on the local DH tracks glazes pads all the time... Oh well. 

At least next week is my last before a month vacation!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Lots of wind today and yesterday: 25kts with gusts up to 35kts made for an exciting ride, especially when the wind was coming sideways. And: no flat for an entire week! "Duck"tape rulez


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Took the single speed. Wind was in my face the entire way. At least I *should* have an easy ride home unless the wind switches directions....


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Five rides on the fixie this week:



__
https://flic.kr/p/vQ4pad

No particular reason for that, except that my wife's been out of town so I have to head straight home to the dog, and even if I had time for extra-curricular trail rides the weather's been pretty warm - a lowly 93F yesterday, but that's pretty close to the highest temperature ever recorded here.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Sweet bike newfangled.

What tires are you running on that thing? (Nevermind, those are Big Apples, duh).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yup, BAs. They're getting long-in-the-tooth though (I just pealed the reflective stripe off of them a few weeks ago since it was barely holding on). As a replacement I'd love to get a gumwall/skinwall version, but surprisingly no one makes anything like that. And I think the white BAs would just annoy me since they'd always be dirty.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

My ride home was lovely. I felt like I was breathing in chilli powder for the most of it. Oh, and I was coughing up crap all day too...

Plus side? My China carbon commuting wheels are built up and fitted 
26x25mm from Carbonzone with Schwalbe Kojak 26x1.35 tyres. My Ghost now looks like some sort of kids bike with monster clearences... Im now pondering if 650b wheels wouldnt have made more sense if I was thinking of using skinny rubber... Shaved off 700g from my bike, though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Riding in the group at least out on country roads is a necessity.


I assume you mean to keep up it was a necessity. I ride all the time on country roads with no peloton.



AlexCuse said:


> Found a sweet new bike on one of the trails


A modern art masterpiece. Mount to a suitable piece of plywood with paint treatment of your choice.



Sanath said:


> First ride in maybe 2 months and not 2 miles from my house some old guy does a close pass and then pulls over to yell at me when I shake my fist and then flip him off. Tried to insist I should be in the shoulder and then just started ranting about cyclists not stopping at stop signs and learn the laws and the usual.


Sounds like the time to pull out the cell phone to record the rant.



newfangled said:


> Five rides on the fixie this week:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So that's why you are cooling off the rear BA in the drink? When you're hot, you're hot!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Reinstating my Freedom Friday trailriding tradition from last year, took a few hours off (and drove in) to take advantage of the $15 lift riding 3-7pm Fridays at Burke Mtn by Kingdom Trails. I'm not a downhiller really, I stick to the easy stuff, but it sure is fun to go downhill without pedaling up occasionally.

I literally paid for my freedom though - since I did not replace my boss for a full 40 hours this week, I will not get the bonus "acting capacity" pay that was proffered when she left on vacation. Oh well, I would rather have a life than a dollar.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Solid ride in today. Solid ride home. Took the only fixed gear I own. Sold the grey TK3 to a friend and now I am down to 3, which is where I will stay. Fat, fixed and road and I am all set. Felt amazing to be out on the fixed gear which I really love. The connection to the bike and the road cannot be matched. That road bike has a really nice ride, but it feels different and since I am still dialing in the cockpit, decided to ride without coasting.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The annual 4-H fair is on and the first day without a large rain chance. So my main route either way out of my subdivision has increased traffic. Too many of the drivers appear to have had lobotomies. :madman: Discretion is the better part of valor. 

So it was explore the county roads south of home to avoid being roadkill. They may be paved, but they scream for a gravel bike or a heavy cross bike (room for 45 mm tires). 28 mm at 95 pounds was not ideal. Some surfaces kept me checking the rear to see if it was flat or not. Some were activating my hand vibration sensitivity in spite of two layers of padded bar tape and padded bike gloves. I picked up 3-4 mph on the repaved and smoother sections! Good thing my butt had had enough mileage, or this would have been a painful experience on that end, too.

Anyway, this was a therapy ride. Tuesday I pulled both hamstrings sprinting for the car in a downpour, tripping or slipping and heroically avoiding a face plant/broken arm/clavicle/wrist by yanking my legs forward and back under my CoG. The left leg was fine by Wednesday afternoon, but the left one was still screaming at me, so I figured a ride might be the right therapy. First time I have had to use the granny locally without a high headwind sweeping down the steepest hills. It screamed to lift me out of the saddle, but knocked that crap off about a half hour in, and the leg loosened up so I sped up a lot.

Amazing, I never exceeded a pulse rate of 120, And I saw 23 mph with the wind behind me and I was not pushing at all (if I was the pulse would be up in the 150-160 range. 

Still learning about cycling, after all these years. I also need to set up my FD again. shifting up and down from the granny is not right.

BrianMc


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in was great and warm with the sun peeking out from the clouds. Ride home was good. I stopped for a few needed items at the store. Loving this OnGuard lock that I bought at the LBS. Perfect for my bag and for a lock up at a well lit and big traffic 24 hour store. Ride home after that got hairy. My front light died on me. I thought I had charged it but I guess I didn't. I was about 2 miles from home luckily and the streets were deserted for the most part. For some reason I threw my Serfas Thunderbolt on the rear today for a change of pace and luckily it was lighting up so much on the sides that I think the few cars that were oncoming actually saw me. I feel pretty dumb for letting that slip and not having a backup light in my bag. I usually keep a set of Thunderbolts in there just in case. I forgot the front one. That won't happen again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Made a 4 X video of the first half of the county roads I rode today (the camera ran out of memory). Still it is longish and mostly me riding toward the vanishing point. You can tell the grades by my changes in speed. The camera flattens out the view.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Looks like some nice country roads, BrianMc, although I see there were some obstacles as well.

TenSpeed, I know that sinking feeling when a headlight dies, glad you made it home OK.

Yesterday while driving I saw what looked to be a bike crash on a super sharp corner at a bridge, although I didn't see a bike. The ambulance was already there and the guy was sitting up but had an arm slinged and some other bandages. A couple cars were pulled over, but I'm hoping those were the guys doing impromptu traffic control over what had become a 1 lane bridge, rather than involved in the crash. It was also 50 yards from a bike shop, so perhaps someone had already taken the bike there for safekeeping.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Glad you liked the video, mtbxplorer! I debated whether it would be of interest but it does show how mountain-less it is here! At 4 X the speed a Honda Civic flies by at a perceived speed of >250 mph! If you get one of those behind you to pass on a grade with one approaching it is not going to be pretty! There was a Jeep that passed me going >60 maybe 70 who did not slow a whit passing me, though he did not stint the space much. He then proceeded down the middle of the road only to then have a pickup pull out of a farm lane (without stopping) coming towards him and he had to slow and get over in a big hurry. So the idiots were not all at the fair!

There is a guilty sort of "glad it wasn't me" aspect to coming on such an accident. After witnessing one, walking away from a bike accident is as good as it gets, though.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Well, I tried out my new CCCCWs (*C*heap *C*hinese *C*arbon *C*ommuter *W*heels) today.
As my first ride on skinnies (35mm Scwalbe Kojaks) I must admit that it felt strange. Very twitchy and snappy. I liked it... Pedalling is a lot lighter and it feels like the bike accelerates more cleanly and easily than before.

Just FYI - here's a pic...









Just need to get my lungs back and then I can see how much quicker they actually make the commute...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

First day back after a good two week vacation. Didn't go anywhere, but did a bit of riding and running and hiking and generally just enjoying a low-key time. 

The ride was good this morning. A bit damp and a bit slow as I'm rolling on Surly Nate tires right now - not the best for paved riding, but I decided I didn't want to swap tires before tonight's trail ride, so left 'em. 

Saturday my son ran the Pioneer Ridge Mountain Race in Palmer, so one of my daughters and I headed to the top to watch him run it. A vertical mile in either 4.5 or 5.25 miles, depending on who's measuring. According to the race directors it is 4.5, but according to my GPS it was 5.25. Either way, it is a good, tough hike and a harder running race. Good times. I was a bit sore from that yesterday and my knees are giving me some fits, but today I'm feeling okay. Might even run some hill repeats tomorrow night!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> View attachment 1001690


That's a pretty interesting looking bike. It looks like it would be pretty light.

My ride in this morning was quicker than expected considering that Rolling Runner and I logged about 109 miles yesterday. 
The Candid Cyclist: Epic or Not, You be the Judge


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Really light rain this morning. We also got a nice little downpour yesterday, which everyone is happy about since this is the year of no rain. And the air is finally clear of forestfire smoke for the first time in a week, which is nice.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2015)

Hot and humid (85F and 70% humidity) with a chance of freaking miserable tonight (105 Heat index for the ride home). On the plus side, Fargo. :0


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Working in our fabrication yard in Indonesia at the moment, the commute from the hotel is crazy. 6km of motor bikes, a few cars and a lot of trucks on narrow, potholed and collapsing roads with zero enforcement or care about vehicle road worthiness and driving laws. Have started leaving the bike in my office at the yard after nearly being wiped out by a 40ft trailer unit that was at least 20 ton above its weight limit, 100% different to Singapore which is only A 30minute ferry ride away. The good thing is that I do about 30km per day between the worksites I am managing in the yard. The rohloff is now completely broken in


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good ride today despite the 106F on the ride home. Better than last week. Hot and muggy.


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2015)

vegascruiser said:


> Good ride today despite the 106F on the ride home. Better than last week. Hot and muggy.


 Funny, we had a 107 heat index forecast but it was only 96F (100 heat index), not much cooler but it felt great (relatively).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I opted to drive since storms were in the forecast. I was only off by about an hour. Lightning right now and I think I heard the faint rumble of thunder. My bedroom window in the apartment faces mostly west, so watching this one roll in is amazing. The light show.....yeah, it's summer, finally.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No ride yesterday as my daughter was off on a school trip for a few days so drove her to school with the wife and waved her off.

Still on the Trek MTB. The Roadie I bought might be a bit of a lemon. I either need a cassette hub or SS specific rear wheel as I keep bending the axle on the screw on freewheel wheel I'm running at present, to the point I bend the dropouts! Running a 42:15 combo at present. Therein starts the dilemma, new wheel, freehub and SS kit is probably £60 or so, as is a SS specific, I could really do with a new tire and some other bits. By the time I've spent £100 or so on this that's a ways towards another steed. I'll ponder that a bit more before deciding I think.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> That's a pretty interesting looking bike. It looks like it would be pretty light.
> 
> My ride in this morning was quicker than expected considering that Rolling Runner and I logged about 109 miles yesterday.
> The Candid Cyclist: Epic or Not, You be the Judge


Thanks bedwards! It's a touch under 9kg (i.e. 8.99999999999kg  )
As I'm slowly but surely getting over this bug I had I am yet to see the real benefit of the wheels although three rides in I most definitely can feel that the bike accelerates and climbs more easily.

I love that candid cyclist post - reminds me of the sort of thing me and the wife used to do before the little one came along (once she is big enough we will go back to doing that sort of thing but she is only 1-and-a-bit now so a little small to be expected to sit through a century 

We had what I think of as an Epic Ride in the Alps around Livigno a few years back... Nina rode straight into a marsh and I had to wade in and rescue her and the rental bike... This was after I saw the marsh, rode around it first and said to her "I think it is a bit soft here, go around...:madman...

The running short of fluids thing totally reminds me of this one time me and the wife hiked the Hanakapiai Trail in the Na Pali Coast State Park on Kauai, Hawaii on our honey moon.

We were both in good shape (we both biked a hell of a lot back then so cardio and legs were both strong like Donkey Kong!) and though "huh - 10 miles round trip Hanakapiai Falls - easy!" Only... we are both hard wired to think in Km... Plus we come from a temperate climate. Also the difficulty factor of the trail did not register at all...

We set out with 1 litre of water each and some (i.e. not enough) trail food (nuts, dried berries and chocolate that subsequently became mushy in the heat)... Plus a camera and light rain jackets (this was October) all being carried by me in a day pack.

The walk in was epic! Beautiful jungle, epic views and Lilikoi passion fruit everywhere! It was the most fragrant jungle I ever smelled!

We made it to the beach no problems, hung around for a bit, drank some and ate some mushy chocolate. We then headed for the falls. On the way to the falls I went empty for water. Then Nina went empty for water. No biggy - the air in the valley heading up to the falls was humid and misty from what is the highest falls in Hawaii so we didn't notice much...

Anyway to cut a long story short, on the way back I went straight down into the cellar. Started seeing stars and everything... I guess the moral of the story is;

1 - ALWAYS bring enough water
2 - ALWAYS read up on the trail in detail (especially if it is in a climate / area you are not familiar with) the Hanakapiai trail is classified as challenging due to the topography (steep climbs and descents)
3 - 10 miles IS MORE than 10Km. (duh!)

I drank my body weight in Mountain Dew shortly after... IIRC we actually ate a drive through Macdonalds on the way home too... :eekster:

We were both OK, though, and did the Nualolo Cliffs trail a couple days later... Now THAT is another story...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Apparently this is monsoon season. I think we've only had one completely dry day in the last two weeks. Just about every day we've been getting storms that drop 1, 2, 3, sometimes 4+ inches of rain in places. The water table is so high that flash flooding is inevitable just about every time it rains. My commute passes by several areas that have been submerged in the past couple days. The creek by my house was about 4-5 feet above normal on Sunday. Water was about a foot below the arches of a bridge there and the road was underwater. Luckily our house is up a hill about 200 yards away, but our sump pump has been working overtime. A little water and mud has come up from the one side of the French drain, but no catastrophes (yet).

I didn't ride yesterday, since I was having random back spasms and severe weather was on its way. We had another strong storm early this morning. It was clear by the time I left the house, but the public works was still clearing parts of a road from debris. The road has been flooded at least a couple times this week. Water was still trickling over the MUP. Not a bad commute overall. This weather pattern just sucks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Thanks bedwards! It's a touch under 9kg (i.e. 8.99999999999kg  )
> As I'm slowly but surely getting over this bug I had I am yet to see the real benefit of the wheels although three rides in I most definitely can feel that the bike accelerates and climbs more easily.
> 
> I love that candid cyclist post - reminds me of the sort of thing me and the wife used to do before the little one came along (once she is big enough we will go back to doing that sort of thing but she is only 1-and-a-bit now so a little small to be expected to sit through a century
> ...


Our "little ones" are grown and in college or married. You too will enjoy epic rides again.

Those both sound like they have the makings for being epic.:thumbsup: Thanks for sharing.

Today was maybe my first trail commute since there was snow. Maybe I've had one but I don't think so. It was good!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride again this AM. Nothing to report other than that. Just another good ride. Which, really, is the best kind of ride, right?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I had a day off yesterday and we had friends over with two kids. So my friend and I rode to the bakery to get fresh bread with the kids. Two grown-ups and three kids, two on a bikle, the third one in the back of my friend's bike. After that breakfast was great, so bread-mission accomplished!

This morning it was raining pretty strong so I rode in full rain gear: Rainjacket, rainpants and shoecovers. The bike stand was pretty empty this morning and one collegue did not say "Hi" but started like "DID YOU RIDE YOUR BIKE IN THIS WEATHER!?!?!?" Luckily I have my own wardrobe to hang my dripping stuff in to dry....

On the way home it was dry and I the ride was simply nice. My brakes were feeling a bit spongy so at every traffic light I turned a knob 1-2 clicks until everything felt fine again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Apparently this is monsoon season. I think we've only had one completely dry day in the last two weeks. Just about every day we've been getting storms that drop 1, 2, 3, sometimes 4+ inches of rain in places. The water table is so high that flash flooding is inevitable just about every time it rains. My commute passes by several areas that have been submerged in the past couple days. The creek by my house was about 4-5 feet above normal on Sunday. Water was about a foot below the arches of a bridge there and the road was underwater. Luckily our house is up a hill about 200 yards away, but our sump pump has been working overtime. A little water and mud has come up from the one side of the French drain, but no catastrophes (yet).
> 
> I didn't ride yesterday, since I was having random back spasms and severe weather was on its way. We had another strong storm early this morning. It was clear by the time I left the house, but the public works was still clearing parts of a road from debris. The road has been flooded at least a couple times this week. Water was still trickling over the MUP. Not a bad commute overall. This weather pattern just sucks.


Wow, sock stay safe and hope you back gets better!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A riddle from my ride home:

What is worse than a driver that blows through red lights?

One that passes a cyclist who has already stopped for that red light - in the pouring rain!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> A riddle from my ride home:
> 
> What is worse than a driver that blows through red lights?
> 
> ...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Ha, could well be!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Light warm rain this morning. Probably about my ideal riding weather strangely enough. Nothing like the Dutchman above had.

Put the rain cover on my pack but no other wet weather gear. Was no wetter from the rain than I would have been from sweating in the end.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Mine was sh*t today. Bad driver interaction. Read about it here. Warning - there is a bit of foul language in the post.

Other than that, it was a beautiful morning for a commute. The sunlight on the Alaska range was amazing.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Mine was sh*t today. Bad driver interaction. Read about it here. Warning - there is a bit of foul language in the post.
> 
> Other than that, it was a beautiful morning for a commute. The sunlight on the Alaska range was amazing.


Sorry to hear about your driver confrontation. I had a semi pull a similar pass last week. Two lane road with no shoulder and traffic coming in the opposite direction and I hear the roar of a huge diesel truck coming behind me. I expected a landscaping truck or something, not a semi. Those damn things can barely fit in those lanes on their own, so I don't understand how he thought it was a good plan to try and pass me with a car coming in the opposite direction. The cab of the truck was about a foot and a half from my left elbow, but he started cutting back over immediately and the rear wheels of the trailer came within 10 inches. Getting clipped by one of those would be the end for a cyclist. Scary.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides today. But on the way back I crashed almost twice. At first I rang my bell to overtake some people, they moved aside but apparently they thought that another cyclist coming from the opposite side rang the bell. After he passed them I wanted to overtake them but one moved to the left again so I had to had to brake hard. My skidding rear wheel scared the **** out of them, so I explained I used my bell. 1 mile further I hit a pothole just when I was reaching for my shifter, so I had only one hand on the bar. Luckily I stayed on the bike but need the entire lane to stay balanced. Oh yeah and I had to stop along the way, because my stem was loose. I have an adjustable stem and the bolts that keep it angled upwards were a bit loose. So I took out my topeak ratchet tool and ratch-ratch-ratch everything fixed again


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Geared bike went to work with me today. Beautiful day for a ride with the sun out and not a cloud in the sky. Was cut off in the roundabout by a lady in a Toyota who blatantly did not look. Ride home was much cooler in the upper 50's. Good ride until I got buzzed by a guy in a Honda. I don't understand why you would do that on a road with two lanes heading east, and I am in the right 1/3 of the right lane. Why try to pass me when there is no other traffic, and keep that lane. He never turned, just wanted that lane I guess.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Still on the Trek. Very grey and overcast yesterday, this is supposed to be summer here, right? Got passed on a descent by a smug looking roadie last night, good for him. Passed said roadie on the following climb but he wasn't looking so smug. All the gear and no idea I wonder? Not intentional really, I'm just a stand and grind kind of rider, was quite satisfying though.

Sun has reappeared this morning so all is well. Oh, and I'm hungry, all the time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Mine was sh*t today. Bad driver interaction. Read about it here. Warning - there is a bit of foul language in the post.
> 
> Other than that, it was a beautiful morning for a commute. The sunlight on the Alaska range was amazing.


Bummer, blockphi! Glad you lived to tell the tale. This line from your blog is very true "I've found that the more close one comes to being killed by a driver, the less rational the response to the situation."


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Amen to that - adrenaline is one hell of a drug...

My ride in today was nice - my lungs feel better, my new allergy pills work a dream, no one tried to run me off the road (damn, blockphi) and my new commuter wheels are settling in nicely.

Although it wasn't windy at all, it was only 13*C this morning, though... highs of 19*C promised, but I ain't so sure... Summer, where are you?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

block - bash his mirror in with the U lock. I like that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Mine was sh*t today. Bad driver interaction. Read about it here. Warning - there is a bit of foul language in the post.
> 
> Other than that, it was a beautiful morning for a commute. The sunlight on the Alaska range was amazing.


Yes best check the license plate before bashing off his mirror. (Or re-torquing all his lug nuts to 0.5 ft-lbs , unclipping his wiper blades so they flip off as soon as they turn on?) I think the cap head nails could backfire.

Good commutes. The mornings are darn chilly for what is allegedly summer. I took it easy today after a few days of chasing KOMs


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Happy to have a somewhat cool morning with minimal humidity. Took my road bike to honor America's great legacy of tour de france champions (and because its pretty much all that is operational right now). Was embarassingly slow on it, shouldn't have done lunges last night


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No drama today. Just a nice, cool ride in. Mid 50s with a light breeze and a few drops of rain off and on. 

Last night's ride home was okay, but the long trail ride with the SprocKidz was awesome! We had a small group of riders (four) between eight and ten and were able to take them for about an eight mile ride through some great terrain. It was a blast. The kids loved it. The coaches loved it. The parents probably loved not having the kids around for a while. And we all got good and dirty! Up in the Valley we have this super-fine glacial silt that collects both from the fact that the are we ride was all formed by glaciation as well as being blown in from the two glaciers just outside of town all winter long. We call this stuff moon-dust. It is so light and airy that where it accumulates it doesn't seem to actually sit on the ground. You'll put your foot into it and can feel the air between the granules compress. The stuff gets on everything. Love blasting through it with a troupe of kids, though. Instant dust storm. Good times.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The weather was beautiful last night and there was no way I was going to get home before my wife left for night shift, so I opted to take the long way home and take a detour through a beautiful metropark and then ride the rest of the way hugging the shores of Lake Erie.

With about 6 miles to go, I was just zoned out and cruising along when two roadies in a pace line came up from behind me to pass. We exchanged greetings and I asked if they minded if I hopped on their wheel since we were going the same direction. They had no trouble with it so I got a great boost for the last stretch of my commute. We were moving pretty well, averaging 23 mph.

When we stopped at a stoplight they were asking about where I commuted to and from and if I did it in the rain. When I mentioned that I have a beater bike for when the weather gets really nasty and especially for when the streets start getting salty, they both looked at my entry level road bike and asked what the better bike was. Their faces said it all. They didn't say it but they were thinking "wait, _that_ isn't the beater bike?" It made me giggle a little.

My bike isn't bad, though pretty basic in roadie terms. In comparison to the rigs they were pushing though, I'm not surprised they considered my bike a beater. They both had full carbon frames, and the one guy was rolling carbon rims with a full Di2 groupo. Their bikes were each worth more than my car most likely haha. Regardless, I kept up with them just fine on my "beater".


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice ride in incident free. Caught some light showers and sprinkles on the way home. Just took it easy in the corners and made it home safely. Got yelled at by some drunk college kids, one ran out towards me in the road screaming some sort of ghetto slang at me. Ignored and did not engage.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

You're a better man than I, TenSpeed. I HATE it when guys act tough like that. You know they are banking on you ignoring them so that they can go back to their friends and say "see - that guy was scared of me - look how tough I am".

My ride home yesterday was nice - sunny, around 20*C and no one trying to perpetrate vehicular manslaughter on me. Which is nice.

This morning I felt great! My legs and lungs and other components named with an "l" are finally back to normal (ish)


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Our weird monsoon spree seems to have left us. This week has been just plain afternoon winds (light, at that) with mostly blue skies and highs in upper 80s, low 90s. We have absolutely no right to experience such nice weather in the middle of July!

Remnants of those recent monsoons are still a minor hassle on my route. Even though I know dang well that a certain intersection has a big sand drift over it, I was spaced out on my way in tonight, forgot to slow down for my turn. No big deal, though- when I did finally register all the sand in the road, I just kept going straight and gently braked to a stop, then came back and made my turn from the other direction.

One more shift after tonight and it`s my turn for vacation. Two weeks of car camping and sight seeing commin up!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice one kleebs, it's not what you got it's how you use it! (there's a song in there somewhere...)

Many thunder and lightnings overnight so it was humid this morning. Surprisingly light traffic though so not a bad ride.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Weather was nice, ride uneventful.

I just found out the new frame I ordered is backordered until "sometime in August". Aside from being frustratingly non-specific, I sold my CX bike to pay for this frame and I'm currently without a good road option. Trails are just soup lately so I've been relying on my CX bike to get my legs moving. Patience is the most boring virtue.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm trying to complete the Alpe d'Huez climbing challenge in 1 day. As many hills are there are around here it is hard to find 1860 meters of them available before work. I started at 5:00 and ended at 8:00 AM with 1200 meters. I'll pick up the rest tonight.

I posted this in the "Found Any Roadside Treasure" thread but I'm going to re-post it here. Just try and stop me.
The Candid Cyclist: Funny Story


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Nice cool ride in this morning, ride home will be a different story with a projected heat index of 107.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

OT but important:
When I visit the commuting forum, I often get a Norton Message: Blocked a Web Attack, Malicious site nr 12 or something. I suspect an infected Advertisement?

OT (on topic):
Nice ride yesterday. At first we made a father-son commute to Kindergarten. On the way in I got into a conversation with another cyclist who is in the same company but different building. He had seen me a couple of times already and was wondering about my handlebar. The on one midge is pretty rare around here.
We rode together the last miles, exchanged names and made an appointment to go have lunch together next week. So riding your bike is not only good for the environment and your health, it is also good for networking! Uneventful ride home.
Today was very warm, otherwise also uneventful. 

Going camping with the canoe this weekend, so the bike is having 2 days off.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm trying to complete the
> I posted this in the "Found Any Roadside Treasure" thread but I'm going to re-post it here. Just try and stop me.
> [url=http://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2015/07/funny-story.html]The Candid Cyclist: Funny Story


Great story! Good luck finishing the climbing challenge.



cyclingdutchman said:


> OT but important:
> When I visit the commuting forum, I often get a Norton Message: Blocked a Web Attack, Malicious site nr 12 or something. I suspect an infected Advertisement?


You should post this over in the Site Issues/feedback forum. The site dev hangs out there and is pretty good about checking into this kind of stuff.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bedwards your account of Ma is hilarious!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me yesterday. Worked from home due to a late night on Thursday. I was trolling Craigslist, as I am wont to do, and found a 2012 GT Sensor 4.0 XL for sale for a ridiculous price. Emailed the guy and got set up to take a look. Ended up buying the bike - against the wife's wishes probably, but the frame is a good one and while the components are the bottom tier they are in working order so I can bash the heck out of it and replace/upgrade as things break. My initial thoughts were to use the GT for summer commuting with a backpack and the pugs in the winter. I may do some summer commutes on the GT, but after riding it yesterday, probably not many. It is a fun bike and rides really well on the pavement, but it is a trail bike - short cockpit and such. I'm excited to take it out to some of my favorite rooty, techy trails and see how much different the riding experience is. I did notice yesterday that I have to be much more aware of the front end - even with a 2.4 tire up front it doesn't want to roll through tight, soft turns the way the fat tires do. For the money I spent on it, though, I can't complain at all.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today as a nasty storm rolled through shortly before I was set to leave. Thought about chancing it but then after I got to work a tornado watch was issued until midnight, which was then cancelled by 10pm. Oh well. Took the car, and did my grocery shopping after work. Now I can ride all week!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot and windy!!! Sweating up a storm when I got to work. Stood in front of a huge very cold fridge to cool off. That felt really good. Ride home was fast and almost 20° cooler. Weather is shaping up nicely for the week, should be able to ride the entire week.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

The schools are about shut for the holidays so less traffic. To counter that a lot of roads around my route are closed for resurfacing and junction additions for a new supermarket build. We'll see how that goes.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

All you people with your "cool" rides in make me sick. ;-)

Another ride in a "scullery". It is sunny but the Florida humidity is in full swing. I am still getting over the mental block that is "Fat guy in bibs out for a ride", but i feel a lot lighter now that I only have the bibs and a dri-fit shirt to soak through. Got to work a slimy mess, took the coolest setting in the shower completely toweled off and then used the gold bond powder spray. By the time I dressed and walked to my office, the sweat glands opened up in the air conditioning of the office. I"m just sitting here nearly drenched again.

Envy you guys with your cool mornings, but thankful I'm able to commute to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Great story! Good luck finishing the climbing challenge.


Got 'er Done in a day.

Took Sat off from riding and then went fatbiking (mudbiking) on a trail system that was new to me. 
The Candid Cyclist: Jugtown Forest Is Made For Fatbikeing in Maine Then went and tried out some fast kayaks that we bought for The Great Adventure Challenge. Topped it off with a surprise 50th b-day party for RR that went 'till almost 10:00. Not too bad for some getting older farts.

This morning's commute was muggy and slow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ that looks like quite the ride. :thumbsup:

Noisy ride in today, since I think my fixie's bottom bracket is toast. Was out in the rain on friday (only about the 2~3rd rainy day all year) and today it's grinding and clicking like crazy.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Getting hit with the hot and humid mid-atlantic weather, surprised it took this long to show up. Ride home is forecast to be 91 with 90% humidity. Fun.

Nice job with the climbing challenge bedwards. I have to ride over 20 miles around here to hit 1,000 feet of climbing, so I've never attempted any climbing challenges.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM, but slower than my normal pace. Had a heck of a Sunday - Speed hiked the Lazy Mountain trail - 2.5 miles and 3k+ elevation gain - then ran back down on a new, longer trail - Lazy Moose at 3.8 miles with the same elevation drop. Not too shabby. My son is thinking about doing a mountain race that goes up and over Lazy Mountain and, if he does, he has to be able to make the LM peak in 60 minutes, so that was our goal yesterday. We made it pretty easily. We kept a steady, if not horribly fast pace and only two brief stops along the way. 

Later in the afternoon we headed over to the single track and rode 7 miles of trail so I could acclimate to the new to me GT Sensor bike in prep for tonight's SprocKidz session. Wanted to make sure I won't get myself killed tonight. Good fun. Hot out, though, for AK - 77F when we were riding. Had some fun on the bike. It is definitely different than the Pugs in terms of finding a line, taking jumps, and climbing - surprisingly, I was able to climb most everything I do on the Pugs, even with a fairly crap rear tire (Maxis Sphinx), but the jumps just don't feel right - the front end seems like it doesn't even leave the ground while the rear seems to catapult off the ground. Fun, though I don't know that I'll keep it. Might put a little work into cleaning it and tuning it really well then try to sell it off in favor of an HT I can stud up for the winter days when the fatty isn't the right bike or for a set of studded fat tires.


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## Guest (Jul 20, 2015)

Humid ride in (75F 70% Humidity), gonna be warmish going home (mid-90s). Peaceful commute today (except for my seat pack which was banging against the seatpost for some reason) until I was about 2 miles from work. This older guy (I'm 52 for reference) on a Mountain Bike stops briefly at the highway crossing I'm at (waiting for a light or at least less traffic) and then he bolts into the intersection. The nearside was fine but I was watching the far lane and there was a pick-up truck I knew I couldn't beat so I'm getting ready for the "splat". This guy was completely oblivious until the truck hit the horn and brakes at the same time. What an @$$hat! So now my 4-day weekend/summer vacation is all for naught. I'm less relaxed than I was last week and I'm headed into a 17 day stretch with no time off. On the plus side, I'm breaking in some PI X-Project 3 shoes which look promising.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Storm clouds for morning commute kept it cool. Bit of sun for ride home, but temp not even in 90s. Finally an enjoyable commute home. Hadn't had one of those since late May.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A mess! 4-6" of rain overnight caused a bunch of flooding in a few towns here. Roads, houses, and bridges were damaged, some evacuations required, and a couple people had to be pulled from their cars by swiftwater rescue, but nobody badly hurt or killed. By morning, the water was out of the streets of Barre, but cleanup of the mud continued.

At this intersection, I had to take a detour right, it added about 2 miles








mud in the pizza place lot at the same corner








the hill required on the detour (zoom for stopsign at the bottom)








the river at rte 2








the rock train was running back to the quarry for a refill








the road was reopened on the way home, but the dust was terrible, especially with all the yahoos peeling out on the dirt. You can see the water was a couple feet up the lampost from the mud marks


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Those pictures are crazy!!! All that mud.....and dirt, and grime...... eckkkkk.

Ride in was warm and windy again. Headwind making me sweaty as I work harder to pedal. Geared bike feels really good right now. Stem might need a degree or two less of rise but I will have to wait on that. Ride home was really nice with the temps cooling off a bit. Took the really long way home via a detour on the deserted campus. Got a little turned around and finally got my bearings back. Headed out towards the north east but as I made the turn onto an east bound road, the rain started. There was a chance of it, and I dilly dallied enough that I got it. Just a light shower. Bike is dirty however and I will need to attend to that in the morning. Saw several ninjas and a few people on skateboards trying out a freshly paved road on campus which in my opinion is fairly dangerous. There is limited sight there due to a small hill and an intersection.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

No commute for me yesterday - migraine (again!) headache made sure that I missed what was a lovely sunny warm (24*C!!) day, perfect for riding!.

Since the kindergarten (barnehagen in Norwegian) is closed for the summer (two weeks) my freshly retired in laws are looking after the little one - so no commuting today either as I had to drive her to her grandparents on the way to work. 

If the heavy rain we have forecast today holds off I might just manage a short gravel / road ride this evening. My ass misses my saddle, as it were... 

Damn mtbX - that is some wild weather you got there. Is it weird that when I saw the mud on the second picture you posted there all I could think of was chocolate fudge frosting?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thats some flash flooding there mtbx. I assume that all makes it way into the properties too?

Good for me yesterday and today, weather was about right. My saddle bag gave up the ghost though and the strap that fits on the seat rails parted company with the bag part. Fortunately it has a seatpost strap too so didn't go bouncing down the road. Went the rest of the journey in my backpack. Don't suppose I can complain too much really, that bag must be at least 15 years old!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> Thats some flash flooding there mtbx. I assume that all makes it way into the properties too?


Yes, it not only makes a mess, your furnace and other stuff will never run again. "Officials say seven Barre homes are uninhabitable, about 80 damaged and about 30 people were forced from their homes by flooding in an area that has been hit repeatedly by high water."



Ghost_HTX said:


> Damn mtbX - that is some wild weather you got there. Is it weird that when I saw the mud on the second picture you posted there all I could think of was chocolate fudge frosting?


Not really weird, as the actual mud is just as surreal as frosting.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Sunny and warm yesterday. Tried an alternate route through a big outdoor shopping center to avoid the interstate on ramps. At 8am it was great, but at 6pm on a beautiful summer evening it was a total cluster. I have a better chance of staying safe on the roads than through the shopping area where cars are constantly stopping to drop people off, searching for parking, distracted by people watching, etc. 

I opted not to ride to work today. My wife is back on nights again tonight and tomorrow so I'm taking the opportunity to hit the mountain bike trails after work. The trails have been unrideable since mid May because of all the rain we had, but they have finally dried out. I'm excited to get back in the dirt.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> A mess! 4-6" of rain overnight caused a bunch of flooding in a few towns here.


WOW, we got a little of that but not nearly that much. But that added to the stuff on the flooded trails I posted in my fatbike ride makes a lot of water over the weekend.

Souper foggy this morning. (see what I did there) I was going to come straight to work and stretch out my tight legs, back, hips..... But I road 21 miles instead, whoops.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Wow, that's crazy mtbxplorer. After basically no rain at all for May/June/earlyJuly (a couple of nearby counties have just declared a state of agricultural disaster) we're finally getting the typical showers every night or two. But nothing like that.

So my horrible clicking turned out not to be the bottom bracket, but just a couple of loose~ish chainrings bolts. That's good because it's an easy fix, but bad because I didn't notice until I'd already torn apart and regreased the bb, but good because the bb needed it anyway.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good, uneventful ride in this AM. I am, however, starting to notice signs of fall in the northern climes - the sun is no longer above the mountains when I leave the house at 4:40 and the fireweed blooms are creeping ever closer to the top of the stalk and leaves are starting to turn and fall already (partially due to a low moisture summer, I am sure). Far too soon I'll have to serious start thinking about winter and lights and layers again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> far too soon i'll have to serious start thinking about winter and lights and layers again.


shut-up!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Good, uneventful ride in this AM. I am, however, starting to notice signs of fall in the northern climes - the sun is no longer above the mountains when I leave the house at 4:40 and the fireweed blooms are creeping ever closer to the top of the stalk and leaves are starting to turn and fall already (partially due to a low moisture summer, I am sure). Far too soon I'll have to serious start thinking about winter and lights and layers again.


hasn't snowed yet this month


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The people towing RVs who have no idea where the sides of their vehicle are...are really starting to make me mad. A blue and white pickup passed to close today, but then his big taupe RV passed even closer. Otherwise it was fine.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in again. Had a right of way issue at the roundabout with an SUV towing a trailer but other than that it was good. Warm and windy like the previous rides in. Ride home was pretty smooth as well. Cannot complain about this weather at all.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Warm and sunny ride in. I added a ZAP to my bike now.
https://www.derozap.com/zaptwincities/?s=login&a=logout


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> The people towing RVs who have no idea where the sides of their vehicle are...are really starting to make me mad. A blue and white pickup passed to close today, but then his big taupe RV passed even closer. Otherwise it was fine.


forget that people in smart cars that donot know where the right hand side of the car is on a straight and level road......

Glasses cellphone coffee


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I had my 2nd Schwalbe Marathon fail at the bead last night. Tire comes off rim, tube goes BOOM. Not cool, I mounted the warranty replacement I got from the last one, but don't entirely trust it at this point.

Girlfriend rode with me today and she got her first flat tire. She changed it mostly by herself with my supervision. Had 1 bike commuter and 2 cars stop and ask if we needed help, second car had awesome hand wipes that cleaned grease up really well.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

After the second tire has failed, I would walk away and try something else.


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

good commute this AM, nice and brisk... no drivers trying to kill me.... took a preworkout regimen 30 mins b4 ride... hit 11 miles in 45 minutes, on a fatbike, on the road whole time lol... beat my usual time by about 7-10 minutes!!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

F4s, At what pressure were you running those marathons? They should be run close to max. Pressure. If the pressure is too low, the sidewalls bend too much and get cracks that causes them to rip. Schwalbe used to have issues with that but that seemed to be solved afaik.

Nice rides the last three days. Mostly sunny and nice temps most of the time. Yesterdaymorning the weather radar was wrong, rain was supposed to hit at 7.45 but it started to rain ar 7.33 already and I clocked in at 7.40 ..... Luckily I was wearing a softshell endura pants so nobods noticed and I was dry again quickly. Rode back home with a collegue, was nice not to be alone for a change.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Working from home. Instead rode bike two miles to the local single track, ran 5 miles on a variety of trails (single track, double track, a bit of moose trail), then rode back home. Nice little workout there.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride. Not frying hot. Not the monsoons. I was at a decent speed, but better, a low pulse rate (maybe because I need to get leg power back enough to tax the heart?)

You wonder why we have problems with some drivers? Well on today's ride, I saw a Ford Ranger Pickup with cap completely ignore a full light and sound show Ambulance until the Ambulance that had been coming up on him in plain view for over a mile and blasted horns at the light only a quarter mile before. It slowed from about 80 to about 60 and tailgated him for about 10 seconds. I was expecting the "cross the intersection" blast any second. Maybe the driver figured with the right lane open (yes the guy was hogging the pass only lane with no one within a mile or more in front of him) that was OK? Now by law, he is supposed to head for the shoulder where I was (hence my self interest), and stop. Nope. The pickup meanders over into the right lane and keeps on keeping on. Where is a Cruiser when you really need one?  Such adherence to the rules of the road, fine observation skills, and yes, just plain share-the-road courtesy! I wonder if drivers should be randomly made to write the beginners tests again on some frequency to keep their licenses? At best I assume the driver is deaf and rarely uses his mirrors. No loud stereo. 

Not many drivers are actually out to get us, but with examples like this guy, we that is not overly comforting. We appear to have good reason to be paranoid!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> F4s, At what pressure were you running those marathons? They should be run close to max. Pressure. If the pressure is too low, the sidewalls bend too much and get cracks that causes them to rip. Schwalbe used to have issues with that but that seemed to be solved afaik.


I run them at 65 psi, honestly not sure what the max is without looking at them. If older models are the issue that could be the problem, my bike is a 2013 model that I got as new old stock. The sidewalls ripping does seem to be the exact issue I'm having.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I took advantage of the recent dry weather and opted to drive to work with my mtb on the car instead of bike commuting the last two days. It was only the third and fourth times I have hit the singletrack this season because it has been so wet. Back to bike commuting today and presumably tomorrow. The weather looks excellent for next week as well. I'll need to ride every day next week if I want to hit my goal for the month.


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

BrianMc said:


> Nice ride. Not frying hot. Not the monsoons. I was at a decent speed, but better, a low pulse rate (maybe because I need to get leg power back enough to tax the heart?)
> 
> You wonder why we have problems with some drivers? Well on today's ride, I saw a Ford Ranger Pickup with cap completely ignore a full light and sound show Ambulance until the Ambulance that had been coming up on him in plain view for over a mile and blasted horns at the light only a quarter mile before. It slowed from about 80 to about 60 and tailgated him for about 10 seconds. I was expecting the "cross the intersection" blast any second. Maybe the driver figured with the right lane open (yes the guy was hogging the pass only lane with no one within a mile or more in front of him) that was OK? Now by law, he is supposed to head for the shoulder where I was (hence my self interest), and stop. Nope. The pickup meanders over into the right lane and keeps on keeping on. Where is a Cruiser when you really need one?  Such adherence to the rules of the road, fine observation skills, and yes, just plain share-the-road courtesy! I wonder if drivers should be randomly made to write the beginners tests again on some frequency to keep their licenses? At best I assume the driver is deaf and rarely uses his mirrors. No loud stereo.
> 
> Not many drivers are actually out to get us, but with examples like this guy, we that is not overly comforting. We appear to have good reason to be paranoid!


I FEEL YA

was at a red light waiting (patiently i might add) in the bike lane, my light turns green i wait a second and start pedaling, and all of a sudden a new challenger spins his wheels and guns it from the opposite side, he was 6 ft from hitting me and didnt even slow at all... luckily i was in a higher gear and didnt just JUMP out like i normally do in a lower gear... angels got my back today, he would of hit me HARD from the side....


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice ride again today. Set a new personal average speed record on the way home. I like my new spd Click'r pedals, but will need new shoes. My current ones are over 10 years old and start to fall apart.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

F4S: Newer Marathons have a new so-called anti-aging sidewall, that should prevent the issues you have. Nevertheless at that pressure things should work out better than they apparently do. In addition, at least your 2nd tyre should have been allright. The right pressure is depending on the load and width of the tyre, that is why the pressure range is usually on the sidewall.

Which Marathons do you have exactly? There are many varieties of them and in very different widths. Maybe you want to switch to a continental with snakeskin? I used to ride those in my mtb below 30 psi and they held up well. You could try something like the TravelContact or TopContact II.

Either way -- stay safe.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another fun BMX commute, I have really enjoyed the once/week alternate programming! Plus, not one but 2 women coworkers borrowed it for a spin today on their afternoon breaks!

p.s., the 2014 I bought for $8_ _ is now down to $699.99 from $1349.99, worth every penny if your commute is not too far - it is my lightest bike, and with an extra long seatpost it manages 16 mi RT just fine. 2014 GT Speed Series Pro 24" BMX Bike


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Last night a few fire departments were out helping to wash down the streets from the flood for this weekend's Barre Heritage festival. I have noticed though, that the mud mark on some phone poles is over my head :crazy:, due in part to the waves on north Main Street, as posted here to the Fire Dept page


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am gonna start with my ride home. It was really nice out tonight. Took the long way home and stopped at the store for a few things that I needed. Low 70's and slightly breezy but on the humid side as well. I could get used to riding in weather like this. Very light traffic which I will never complain about. Poor road conditions are unavoidable for the most part leaving the store unless I go completely out of my way to get home or ride the sidewalk which I hate doing now.

The ride in was pretty good, warm and breezy again this afternoon. Carefully I made my way down the main street by campus riding with traffic at their speed. The road branches off and immediately there is a bike lane after the branch and intersection. I take the middle lane of the three lane road once I get close to the branch so I can continue on and hit that bike lane. I heard it right next to me as I took the middle lane. Kaboom!! I quickly look to the left, and the young woman driving next to me was coming back off of the curb she ran up onto because she was more than likely texting and had her phone in her hand still. She swerved to the right, more than I was comfortable with, and I had to slam my brakes in case she came all the way over. The light was red, and as I pulled up, I hit her passenger window harder than I should have. I looked in the car, and she was laughing and was still texting or posting the lulzies to Facebook or tweeting the OMG's on Twitter. I don't know what she was doing, but it created a really dangerous situation. The sunroof was open, and I let her have it about either driving or texting, and I might have called her a dumbass. Might have. OK, I did call her that, but she deserved it, and I know that she heard me because she did not look over after she initially saw me. I might have been screaming at her as well. Probably scared her to death. Oh well. She scared the hell out of me with her 4x4 off road maneuver that she pulled.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> I looked in the car, and she was laughing and was still texting or posting the lulzies to Facebook or tweeting the OMG's on Twitter.


It's all fun and games when your encased in a steel box.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Another beautiful summer day yesterday for both commutes. On my way home I had a really cool conversation with a biker on a Harley that was next to me at a long stoplight. I said hello when we pulled up next to each other and he asked me how my ride was. It didn't take long for the conversation to turn to how dangerous it is to be on any kind of two wheel vehicle with all of the distracted and stupid drivers out there. Turns out he used to be a mountain biker and BMXer but was hit by a car on his motorcycle and now has several steel plates and screws in his left leg and can no longer pedal. When the light turned green we wished each other a safe ride and took off. 

I always wonder why there isn't more partnership between motorcyclists and cyclists when it comes to advocacy work. We face very similar and real dangers every time we ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@Kleebs: You are right, if two-wheelers form one lobby against four-wheelers, we might achieve more than we do now.

My wife could not bring our oldest to the kindergarten so we started with a father-son commute this morning. First my son commuted 1mile to Kindergarten, then I rode to work. The last part a collegue of mine caught up with me so we rode the last part together. We also made an appointment for lunch today and so we did. Lunch was nice and we come along pretty good so we made a new appointment for in 2-3 weeks.
The ride home was pretty nice and uneventful. I set a new personal average speed record again, this time for the round trip. Weather and wind were favourable in addition to my new SPD pedals. Will need new shoes though, the inlay sole of the right shoe has literally a hole under my big toe. So the hunt is on for new shoes. I guess I will buy something more suitable for winter, so that I can wear these in summer.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today, however, there was some riding. Friend of mine bought my Felt TK3 fixed gear and we have ridden a little. We had planned for today to do some riding. Last night we decided on a 50 mile trip and then lunch. Off we set both on fixed gear bikes on a beautiful warm sunny day at 9am. I was feeling completely optimistic and minimalist, so I left my pump, tube, levers and main multi tool at home. I opted to put the saddle rail bottle cage on and use a bottle since it was supposed to be hot. I run Gatorskins so I am not that worried about flats. He runs the same since it is my old bike, but carries a really nice hip pouch that fits a bunch of stuff. OK, we set off and get some miles in, burning through water like it just evaporates. We stop for coffee for him and more water for me, keep riding, and then.......over the railroad tracks......I get a flat.

Motherefferareyouserious????? Rear tire pressure vanishes in 0.1 seconds. Almost wipe out because the thing slides all around. Get to the gas station and get some shade and evaluate. No problem because he has a spare tube and pump and levers. Says don't worry about it. I will get him back, always do with my friends. Get my small multi tool out, and guess what? No 8mm allen to get the nut off. This wheelset runs 8mm front and rear (thanks American Classic you sons of b------) OK, he gets his out. Same. 6mm is the highest. Wut? He rides a mile up to Home Depot - they have allen key sets. I will pay for lunch I tell him and get him a huge water when he gets back. Sun is blazing now, 86° and not a cloud in sight. He gets back with a whole key set - who cares, it has an 8mm on it. Flip the bike, put it in, wait wut? It doesn't fit. Sonofaareyouseriousrightnow #cursing. HOWWWW???? Total disbelief on both of our faces. Aliens could have landed and we wouldn't have cared. How? OK, make a decision. He can ride back and get the car and come back and get me, or we start walking back to Home Depot to see what is up. Mile out in the sun pushing my bike in the grass under an overpass in traffic sweat just pouring off me. Get to a U-Haul place first. Might as well see if they have an 8mm since they are open. Guy goes in the back to see, brings one back. My face says it all. SAME ONE FROM HOME DEPOT!!

Sonofa.... OK, try it at least. Looks worn and might fit. Back in the shade, flip the bike, say a small prayer and put it in......fits. OK. Get to work. Chain off, drops off the front, gets all tangled. Nevermind, just change the tube and lets get going. Fudge with this thing for a hot minute - step back take a mental break. Tube will not fit in the tire. Wut? Peeking out like it wants to say hi to me. Get in there you damn tube!! Finally get it all in there, tire on the wheel. Now for the chain. Kinked like Russian porn. HOWW?????? Get hands dirtier than dirty trying to figure this chain out. Friend gets in there, gets just as dirty as we mess with this thing. Finally, back on there. My hands looked like I had been working on a car for 15 hours straight. This was in like 45 seconds they got like this. My chain needs a cleaning soon I guess. They let us use the bathroom to wash our hands. Return the tool to the desk. Now to pump it up and hope it holds air. Get it mostly pumped up. His pump is a complete pos. This is like the three stooges at this point. Finally get it pumped up enough to ride. Feels low, I know it is low but the more we mess with it the bigger the chance of effing it up. Let's go.

The ride to the lunch place was pretty slow. I was afraid of getting a pinch flat to be honest. Took it easy and we made it. Kept my word and paid for lunch. Even took care of his Oberon that he ordered. He deserved it big time. Saved my dumb a$$ this time. We leave after filling my belly with a bacon cheeseburger and he had a briscuit sandwich. Meat. - Southern B.B.Q. & Carnivore Cuisine

Head to his house for a real floor pump. Every bike shop between where we were and where we were going was closed. I still had another 10 miles to get home, so the minor detour was worth the peace of mind. Get it pumped up to the 110 psi that it normally is and am set. He ended up riding all the way back to my apartment with me and after I fixed his bar tape wrap job, left for home. I came in at 64.17 miles. Total time? Not applicable at this time. Max speed was 31.3mph and the average was 14.7mph. He ended up with 70.3 miles total but his average was way off. He was running Strava and I have a Cateye Stealth 10 GPS computer. Mileage is nearly spot on between the two. Average is way off but it includes the walk that we did I think.

Thanks for reading my adventure for Sunday. I hope that you enjoyed it. Oh, I just ordered a small hip bag similar to his so that I won't ever be dumb and be without a spare tube, pump and levers, and the proper mini tool. That was totally my bad.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

What a day TenSpeed! 

Didn't ride friday. Had a docs appointment first thing. Glad I didn't as it turned out as it was really heavy rain from about lunch onwards.

This morning; hmmmm, did I sleep for a few months and no-one noticed? It is still July right? It is almost autumnal; damp, overcast and only just shorts and t-shirt weather. Hope it gets back on track soon.

First ride out on the SS Specific wheels I bought though. Really happy, 36H flip flop rear and 36H front, stainless spokes and silky smooth bearings. I'll post some pics when I get to it.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

After riding home from work Friday my wife wanted to ride out to the summer market in the neighboring town, so I jump on my fat bike for the fun easy ride out and she is on her townie. it's only a 4 mile trip so I , like TenSpeed, decide not to bother grabbing the saddle bag from my roadie. On the way home, she of course gets a flat and I have nothing to fix it with. She didn't want me to ride ahead to get the car because it was getting dark, so we walked together the 4 miles home together. It was actually kind of nice to walk together because we had lots of time to talk without the distractions that are so common at home, but I was very frustrated at not being prepared to fix her tire. Of course, if I had the spare tube she probably wouldn't have gotten a flat in the first place.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That will be the last time I ride without the proper stuff. Guaranteed. Glad that you could spend some time with her however.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes I have learned the same thing by now - A bikeride is nice together, but if you really want to relax and have a good talk, walking is better.

after the nice weather of last week, we now have autumn weather this week. Last weekend some severe thunderstorms passed through that caused some flooding here and there and again brought down some trees. My ride in this morning was easy goin', light tailwind and I enjoyed the ride. When I wanted to ride home, a tremendous downpour started and everybody who wanted to leave the building were waiting downstairs in the lobby until it would stop. So in front of everybody I put on my rainjacket, rainpants and shoecovers at which most of them glanced quite jealously. But after half a mile the rain stopped already again, so I took everything off and stuffed under the clamp of my rack. After 15 minutes or so it started raining again, so I put everything back on. Rode for 10 more minutes, then it stopped raining again and a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky. Unfortunately I was between trees, so I could not get a nice picture. Would have been a nice avatar pic. For the last few minutes I did not bother of taking off my raingear again, but when I got home, I wished I had. I was sweating so much I was completely soaked....

Weather is forecasted to stay like this for the rest of the week, so the raingear on/off every 5 minutes will probably hunt me for the rest of the week.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> That will be the last time I ride without the proper stuff. Guaranteed.


If only that were true.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

For the first time I rode my bike to a wedding Saturday, 14 miles RT on the BMX, about 1/3 on dirt. A "bike guy" was the groom, so I felt it is was not only OK, but practically mandatory.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> If only that were true.


No joke. I will from now on at all times have a pump, spare tube, levers and whatever else I need to change a flat. Probably a small patch kit in there as well for extra good measure.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> For the first time I rode my bike to a wedding Saturday, 14 miles RT on the BMX, about 1/3 on dirt. A "bike guy" was the groom, so I felt it is was not only OK, but practically mandatory.


That's pretty cool! I assume you weren't part of the 'Wedding Party' as such but I have this image of a guy in Top, Tails and Vans doing a manual across the photos


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Lost opportunity, I should have photobombed some wedding shots!


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2015)

A little wet this morning. We went from clear skys to thunderstorms back to clear. Just wet enough to soak the shoes and shorts (good luck having dry clothes to ride home in). On the plus side, cyclists always seem friendlier when the weather goes to crap. Noticed that last winter too, guys who wouldn't nod or lift a finger to wave were all "Hey, how are you today, some weather..." I guess misery really does love company.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I ended up "commuting" 79 miles yesterday. Couldn't sleep in the AM so I added a few to my commute in, 32 miles. Then a friend really wanted me to try a route that he rides, 36 miles. Then I still had to get to his house and then back home (with lights), 79 miles total. Today's ride in was a little slow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Lost opportunity, I should have photobombed some wedding shots!


Especially if they did some post wedding shots on a bicycle built for two with you rolling by with a wave in the background!


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

SUCKED.... had to air up fatty 3 times on the way to work, soo.... much.... pumping....

more of a workout than the actual ride LOL

nice weather though!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Took a few off last week and early this week - fishing and working from home. This morning's ride in was a wet one and dark. So dark I ended up breaking out the lights to make sure that I was seen on the road. Last night at SprocKidz I was shocked to see the trails covered with fallen leaves. It's not even August for cripes sake! WTH? While I'll be just fine with winter coming around again, I'm not a big fan of fall. It always reminds me of all the things I didn't get done and all the things I have yet to do before winter: Fill the freezer with fish, can fish, fill up the other freezer with berries and crab-apples, make jams and jellies and generally get ready for the cold and dark. I suppose, though, I shouldn't be surprised that fall is about here as I have been reaping the rewards of ripe berries on many of my runs lately: salmon berries on Mt. Marathon, huckleberries on the Winner Creek trail, blue berries on Lazy Mountain. If nothing else, my recent trail/mountain running adventures with my son have shown me some good places to forage. Still not ready to commit to actually running any mountain races, such as Mt. Marathon, but getting closer. And getting closer to my weight loss goals. I've dropped 20 lbs over the last two months. One thing that I've found that really helps is using a heart rate monitor and tracking just how many calories I burn per work out. If I'm not burning enough, I just up the intensity a bit to get the heart rate up and watch the calories just go up in a puff of smoke. It's nice seeing those 3600 calorie burn days and knowing you can eat nearly anything you want that day... just not every day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same rides as yesterday afternoon. Left this morning in rain, rode in sunshine after a while, then raining again. The same this afternoon, had to put on the rain gear after 10 minutes and took it off 20 minutes later, only 5 minutes before home. But when it stops raining, I start sweating directly.

At least tomorrow morning seems to stay dry and the longterm forecast says that summer is coming back next week. We'll see.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hard going this morning, gusting headwind and cooler than I thought. Should have put another layer on I think. Cars seemed more courteous than usual for some reason, maybe the gusts had me weaving more than I thought


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Took the long way home yesterday along the river to the lake. Managed to hit 38.9 mph on a short steep downhill. That might be a new record for me. The ride was great and pretty uneventful. Only one driver passed too close and it was a local police SUV which really ticked me off. Other drivers see the cops passing close and assume its OK. Unfortunately, I've noticed cops tend to pass too close at a higher rate than everyone else.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I got buzzed last night by an old Ford pickup hauling junk in the back. I saw him pull into a gas station and decided to ask him about it. He said he never saw me and that wasn't him coming down the road. When I called him out on it and named the road, he just looked flabbergasted. No matter how much reflective stuff we have on or how many bright lights we run, we are still invisible. 

Aside from that, it was a sweltering day. Wore a long sleeve shirt that is made as a cooling layer along with just a pair of chamois riding shorts. Surprisingly was not that much of a mess when I got to work. I guess the stuff actually works. It hit 90, and then the ride home was much cooler in the lower 70's. Storms for today but I might be able to sneak it in to work either before or after they come.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good, damp ride in this morning, again. Legs are feeling pretty good, overall, considering my son and I did a 5 mile trail run last night and for the last half he tried to blow my doors off and I tried to keep up with him. I gave it an admirable shot, but my fat nearly 40 year old body is no match for a 13 year old who has been training hard for the last year. 

Tonight is our final SprocKidz ride of the season. Hopefully it doesn't get rained out. That would be a bummer as we are riding some trails the kids haven't ridden before.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

There was a man asleep out along my commute today on the sloped backside of a baseball field. He had a backpack with him and looked like he might be on drugs. His body positioning was a bit awkward and the location and positioning of his backpack made it seem like he just kind of passed out there. Maybe not. Whatever the case, it was pretty unusual to see someone sleeping in the open like that. I saw a woman who had camped out in the park once, but she had slept under a staircase near a football field concession stand.

I was out of town all last week and didn't have a bike. I'm a little slower this week, but it feels good to be riding again, although it's been pretty warm. To make things worse, the AC at my workplace is out and won't be repaired until next week. At least I can take a shower when I get here so I don't start off sweaty in the morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> I got buzzed last night by an old Ford pickup hauling junk in the back.


I'm starting to think it's a pick-up driver thing. I had a pick-up nearly pull out in front of me today. It seems that most of my negative experiences with drivers are with pick-up truck drivers. Red pick-ups seem the most dangerous.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm starting to think it's a pick-up driver thing. I had a pick-up nearly pull out in front of me today. It seems that most of my negative experiences with drivers are with pick-up truck drivers. Red pick-ups seem the most dangerous.


Well my impression here in Europe/Germany is that it is a general item for drivers of BIG cars, like SUVs etc. We call it a "built-in right of way" .

I managed to stay dry on both rides today. This morning I was late, I left after breakfast since some friends stayed over last night. On the way in I caught up on another cyclist on a loaded touring bike, we chatted a bit and I arranged a spontaneous scenic tour through town on the way to work. On the way home it was sunny but the second half I was battling against a 25kt headwind with gusts up to 35kt. At some points I came almost to a standstill. And there was a big rainshower passing through in front of me with a very impressive dark sky. 
Oh well, I managed to stay dry so no complaints ;-)


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rain forecasted for the commute in, just a 40% chance. It rained about 15 minutes before I was supposed to leave, but since it was so warm, it started drying up a little by the time I actually left. Hit the MUP, and it started sprinkling. Felt pretty good to be honest since it was so warm out. As I left the MUP and entered the road, it started actually raining again. Pulled into an apartment complex and sat under a car port for a few minutes. Radar on my phone looked decent, just a small shower shouldn't last too long. And I was right and back on the road a few minutes later. 3/4 a mile down the road the skies absolutely open up and dump on me. Alright, no worried, my work clothes are stowed away in my waterproof backpack with my lunch, wallet, ID card, etc. and just keep going. I pass 2 bikes shops on the way to work. I stopped at the first one because as luck would have it, I did not pack extra socks. My shoes were absolutely soaked. I know that they sell accessories there, and my buddies shop is a hit or miss kind of thing. They have a few jerseys, helmets, shorts, etc. but not sure on socks. Got socks and rolled out.

Hit my buddies shop really quickly just to see. I was right and was glad I picked them up at the other spot. Suggested to him that they carry socks. Leave the shop and head out to work. By this time, the rain had stopped, the sun was out and started to bake everything a nice shade of dry. My wet cold clothes actually felt pretty good on me at this point. Grateful that I wore cycling specific stuff vs. normal shorts and a t shirt. Half way dry by the time I got to work.

Change to go home, clothes are still for the most part wet. Shirt is dry, shoes are soaked and shorts are half dry. Nice cool and enjoyable ride home that barely had me breaking a sweat even though I was pushing 20mph on the desolate MUP. Clothes were almost dry by the time I pulled into the complex.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good ride home last night. Slight route change as I fancied doing the long (mile or so) incline rather than the short sharp hills of my normal route. Pulled up beside a full roadie at some lights just before the incline who gave me a grunting nod. We set off, he got in front as I had to wind up the big gear on the SS. Passed him and kept going. Got to the top and he thanked me for the tow. 

Can't get the bottom bracket to stay tight for some reason, I have to adjust it every night. It's a cone and cup type one, The lock nut is still tight so the cup must be unwinding slightly. Might be as easy to replace with a cartridge. 

No ride this morning, in the car as I need to pick up a bulky purchase (not bike related unfortunately) at lunch. Day off tomorrow so may try and hit the trails on the Genesis MTB.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hot for VT Wednesday, 91F. Had a flat before I left, turned out to be a leak at the base of the valve. It was on the bike where I recently mounted those Axiom rainrunner fenders, so it was a good test of whether the QR attachment for the fenders would make a tube change tougher. Nope, just required removal of the skewer, and then remembering to thread it back through the fender tabs, easy-peasy.

One a** in a pickup buzzed me wicked at 50mph +, got the WTF arm wave, and gave me the finger in return, classy, he will go far.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm starting to think it's a pick-up driver thing. I had a pick-up nearly pull out in front of me today. It seems that most of my negative experiences with drivers are with pick-up truck drivers. Red pick-ups seem the most dangerous.





mtbxplorer said:


> One a** in a pickup buzzed me wicked at 50mph +, got the WTF arm wave, and gave me the finger in return, classy, he will go far.


A friend and I got the classic "Get off the F--king Road" from some Rhodes scholar in a red pickup truck. Back country road, you could see for a mile, nobody else in sight. I kind of felt sorry for the guy. He's got to live with that a-hole (himself) every single day. Poor guy. Then I thought about smacking him in the face with a bike lock, I'm conflicted.

Good commute today, I took the light road bike. It IS faster then all my other bikes.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm starting to think it's a pick-up driver thing. I had a pick-up nearly pull out in front of me today. It seems that most of my negative experiences with drivers are with pick-up truck drivers. Red pick-ups seem the most dangerous.


I always thought that would be the case, but around here at least the pick-up drivers usually give me the most space. Most of my issues are cops and luxury cars.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. No rain! Happy about that. 

Last night's SprocKidz session was awesome! Got the kids out on some trails that are unlike any others in the Valley - flowy with a good bit of climbing and decent regardless of which way you attack them. Some great jumps and berms and all around awesomeness. They were a bit wet and slick in spots and I was not on the fatty. I didn't realize how much traction the fat tires give. Of course, the full squish was super nice on the jumps and bumps. Only crashed once, but had a few close calls. It was a great night for riding. 

Looking at my commuting miles, I think that I won't hit 8K this year. I just topped 2618 this morning. Running has definitely cut into biking somewhat, as did the long vacation at the beginning of the month. I'm okay with it, though. The bigger, more important goal was to get a lot healthier this year and thus far I am doing that - losing weight, diversifying my activities, and spending even more time with my kids doing things we enjoy. Life is good.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

I've been enjoying being able to commute as many days a week as my old legs will allow. Only a few more weeks of that before I have to start schlepping the kids to school a few days a week.

So, speaking of drivers passing closely, I had a guy swerve completely into the other lane to pass me, then cut back in front of me only to have to jam on the brakes for the stop sign at the intersection. This is on a downhill less than 1/2 mile form my house. There are two more stop sign in quick succession since is a residential neighborhood. the last stop sign is right at the entrance to a High School. Well, at the approach to that last stop I notice as he is passing me that he just turned his signal light on. There is an entrance to a parking lot half a block before that last stop sign and he has decided he has to turn into it in front of me. I though for a second that I could sprint ahead out of his way and he sped up! So, I barely had time to grab a handful of brakes and sharply turn left as he proceeded to turn in front of me. The old me, when I lived and commuted in San Francisco, would have made him eat my U-Lock. Fortunately, I have mellowed and don't actually have a U-Lock. So instead, I gave him the one finger salute and decided not to let this a$$hat ruin my day.

About ten miles later I got passed by a roadie who complimented my on my crossbike, saying it was a great commuter. Yes indeed, and I am glad it has disc brakes. My real commuter still has cantilevers and may not have slowed me enough this morning. I didn't ride it because I'm waiting on a bunch of parts to come in so I can upgrade from 7 to 10 speed and I'm replacing the trusty and possibly rusty cantilevers with mini-V's. Who knows, maintenance may have saved my life!

So, one more tangent, as I ducked in behind this roadie I noticed as I followed him, that he shifted a lot. It got me to thinking, I rarely shift, perhaps that is why the littlest cog on my cassette was badly worn after only 2500 miles? I tend to ride my 36/12 gear combo most of the time. I still have bar cons on my commuter which may be why. So, how do the rest of you shift? Frequently or not so?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I shift like an automatic. Do you have another option up front other than 36? Your goal is to have the chain around the gears with the most teeth. When you are in the small cog in the back, those 12 teeth have to do all the work so they wear faster, more teeth and they share the load. The chain has to bend more too which results in a slight loss of efficiency, not much. 36/12 sounds like it is pretty well cross chained if it is a double up front. I use the big ring for everything but the 3 largest rear cogs.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

z1r said:


> So, how do the rest of you shift? Frequently or not so?


Frequently, unless riding the track bike 

I prefer to ride at a high cadence so the in town portions of my commute find me constantly shifting to get up to speed or slow down.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

z1r;12111203 I ducked in behind this roadie I noticed as I followed him said:


> Depends on my bike = gearing. The errand bike is 1 x 9, 42 x 11-34. The spacing is relatively wide (about 20% between gears) so I change infrequently I have to be cranking too slow or too fast forcing the shift. The Duchess has a 13-14-15-16-17 19-21-23-26-29 cassette so about a 7% difference in the small sprockets and about a 10% in the large ones. I tend to hold to a 75 to 85 cadence so I shift a lot on that bike. I'm hauling the weight around and I like that cadence so why not? Riding a flat campus when it was new, it was geared 48/42 x 14-15-17-19-21. I used 48 and 14-15-17 mostly, shifting to maintain cadence.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, I'm kinda pissed at myself. I just ordered up a new chain ring and cassette for my commuter and THEN discovered that larger cogs are more efficient.

I started noticing that something might be up with my gearing when I started riding a SS. It is a SSCX and is geared 38/16. While my top speeds are slower my average times are often faster. I started thinking about it and concluded that on the many small hills I encounter, I don't bleed off as much speed due to my higher cadence on the SS.

Hmm, so my commuter is currently a triple 24/36/48. The only time I use the small chain ring is if I am off roading on some steep rocky climbs. So, I figured I would replace the worn 36 with a 34, ditch the 24, replace the BB with a narrower one, and then install an 11-36 cassette. That would cover all my commute needs and still allow me to ride gravel and tackle all but the steepest hills.

So, now I am wondering???

Sounds like I should be using my big ring more, and some of the larger cogs? And, shifting a lot more. Shoulda gotten brifters instead of Dura-Ace bar-cons.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I shift a fair amount as my cadence dictates, but it's pretty flat around here so I am always in my big ring and only use 3 rear cogs for 90% of my riding.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

z1r said:


> Yeah, I'm kinda pissed at myself. I just ordered up a new chain ring and cassette for my commuter and THEN discovered that larger cogs are more efficient.
> 
> I started noticing that something might be up with my gearing when I started riding a SS. It is a SSCX and is geared 38/16. While my top speeds are slower my average times are often faster. I started thinking about it and concluded that on the many small hills I encounter, I don't bleed off as much speed due to my higher cadence on the SS.
> 
> ...


Yup I have a 46 32 22 and 11 36 on the back....keep the cadence up use the most teeth to reduce wear.

Finally getting close to riding 46 11 (26 inch slick) on the flats without wind.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I didn't like thinking about shifting so much so I started buying single speeds. I'm never in the right gear now, but I'm never in the wrong gear either.

I've also gotten lazy about checking the weather lately, and it's storming pretty good outside. Hopefully it lets up, but I've got my lights charging just in case.


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## svender (Jul 30, 2015)

Not bad. My commute is just under 2 miles and it takes me around 12 minutes moving time and 16 minutes travel time (Android My Tracks). The 4 minute difference is for red lights. But the commute home will be messy due to the rain.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> I didn't like thinking about shifting so much so I started buying single speeds. I'm never in the right gear now, but I'm never in the wrong gear either.
> 
> I've also gotten lazy about checking the weather lately, and it's storming pretty good outside. Hopefully it lets up, but I've got my lights charging just in case.


I love the simplicity of my single speed, only thing I don't like is how cheaply made the freewheels are and how they make a lot of noise (not the ratcheting). I think a White Industries Eno is in my future!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

z1r said:


> So, how do the rest of you shift? Frequently or not so?


I am shifting all the time. Side to side as I take off from a light to get to speed. Damn fixed gear.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice, missed the forecast possible thunderstorms, hail, and severe gusty winds! Tried out my new daytime running light (quad amber from Dinotte) - B-R-I-G-H-T!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice, missed the forecast possible thunderstorms, hail, and severe gusty winds! Tried out my new daytime running light (quad amber from Dinotte) - B-R-I-G-H-T!


Could you get a shot of it in sunlight? Maybe from a distance? I was curious about this light in that role. Please? (That is supposed to help!  )


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2015)

No commute today, resting for a century this weekend. It's the double whammy of age, my legs aren't as fast as they used to be and my neck only has a 6-7 hour saddle time limit. After that I'm so sore in the lower neck/upper back that I can't ride. Adding to the discomfort, I'm riding a road bike this year rather than the Fargo.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Nice, missed the forecast possible thunderstorms, hail, and severe gusty winds! Tried out my new daytime running light (quad amber from Dinotte) - B-R-I-G-H-T!


I saw that wall of water pass over you. It looked like it was over pretty early. I somehow managed to dance around them too even thought they were around here around 5:00.

Good commute in this AM, Beautiful day so I took the long way. 28 miles under bright blue skys with no wind, a cyclist's dream! This is my last commuting day before a week long camping trip. Try not to miss me too much.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I opted to take today off to give my legs a rest. I'm planning an awful lot of mountain biking this weekend and needed some recovery time.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Pretty good, I'd say.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Kleebs said:


> I always thought that would be the case, but around here at least the pick-up drivers usually give me the most space. Most of my issues are cops and luxury cars.


It might be a regional thing. Some pick-up drivers are courteous here, but it's hard to remember them with all the other run-ins with jerks. I feel like it has gotten worse in the last few years. #ThanksObama


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Forster said:


> No commute today, resting for a century this weekend. It's the double whammy of age, my legs aren't as fast as they used to be and my neck only has a 6-7 hour saddle time limit. After that I'm so sore in the lower neck/upper back that I can't ride. Adding to the discomfort, I'm riding a road bike this year rather than the Fargo.


Well, at least the road bike will be faster and lighter, and you will be done quicker. Good luck!


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

good commute, after 2 day rest.... having withdrawals LOL

nice and brisk, till halfway and i stopped and realized it was EXTREMELY humid due to some rain yesterday...

but other than that... great commute, going the long way home today, gotta stop and get my new origin8 captiv8or rear tire, and go to my second job also... so an extra 10ish miles than normal...


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

GRAVELBIKE said:


> Pretty good, I'd say.


I am super jealous of this. There is nothing remotely similar to that on my commute. Come to think of it, I don't know of anything similar to that in my state.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Could you get a shot of it in sunlight? Maybe from a distance? I was curious about this light in that role. Please? (That is supposed to help!  )


Hereyago


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wet and windy rides yesterday and this morning. Finally the weather improves again, it was more like late autumn here. The ride home today was the first one this week without rain gear. Next week temps are going up again to around 95F in the afternoon.....we always say that nothing changes so fast as the weather in Hamburg, but July was truly a strange month - it had everything from storm to hot summer.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hereyago


Do you find the amber to be more visible than a white light during the day? I've got an XML-3 and they make nice lights, but that's a lot of money for a light that puts out a stated 150 lumens. My $25 Cateye puts out that much light.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wet and windy rides yesterday and this morning. Finally the weather improves again, it was more like late autumn here. The ride home today was the first one this week without rain gear. Next week temps are going up again to around 95F in the afternoon.....we always say that nothing changes so fast as the weather in Hamburg, but July was truly a strange month - it had everything from storm to hot summer.


35 Grad, das ist aber sehr heiss! Especially with AC!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

formula4speed said:


> Do you find the amber to be more visible than a white light during the day? I've got an XML-3 and they make nice lights, but that's a lot of money for a light that puts out a stated 150 lumens. My $25 Cateye puts out that much light.


Well, I don't know if the amber is more visible or not, I do know I have had another Dinotte running reliably for years. Which Cateye are you talking about?
These people Light'm Up - advice about lights for cycling - Velo Girl Rides prefer your XML-3, but of course that is apples to oranges since it needs the external battery pack instead of being self-contained like the quad amber.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hereyago


Thanks. So sun on Hi-Vis will show better but on cloudy days/in shade and under other lower light conditions it will well, shine. My 800 lumen lights set at 45 degrees do get drivers to turn their heads in bright daylight so, the excess has success. I had a Xenon Strobe light that worked well, but the EMF messed up my pulsimeter. A pair might make a great side visibility boost for night riding.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot and extremely windy ride in. Felt good though, until the wind almost knocked me over a few times. One more day of commuting before my vacation. Will be going through the DT's while I am in Florida visiting my Dad. Gonna try to sneak a long ride in on Sunday but since there is rain in the forecast not sure it will happen.

One thing that absolutely boggles my mind is the pass and turn. I am riding home tonight in a neighborhood with my rear light going and it is pretty bright (Cygolite Hotshot SL). I have reflective shorts, my bag is partially reflective and the backs of my shoes are as well. I have a 320 lumen light on full blink up front that lights stuff up nicely. I get passed by a car who then proceeds to turn less than a 100 feet in front of me. Are drivers just not able to estimate my speed or do they simply not see me? They can't not see me, because when they pass, they give me plenty of room and are half into the oncoming lane. This is what I don't understand. When I am doing close to the speed limit, a driver shouldn't pass me to slow down and then turn. Hang back a few seconds and let me continue on and then you can turn and there will be less stress and less chance of an incident.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

GRAVELBIKE said:


> Pretty good, I'd say.


I could think of some routes through the forest but not on my commute - would be exactly the opposite direction.

It looks like it is going downhill a bit, am I correct? And just to be sure, that is your REGULAR commute EVERY DAY?? *JEALOUS*


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

z1r said:


> 35 Grad, das ist aber sehr heiss! Especially with AC!


Kannste wohl sagen  Wird aber nicht ganz so schlimm vermutlich. Wir werden sehen.

What do you mean with AC? Airconditioning? We have no Airconditioning in the office
 Luckily, we are on the north side of the building, so the office does not heat up too much. And some rep given for your German 

The guys up at Wacken are sinking down in mud - they will be glad it stopped raining. Worst mudbath ever at the biggest Metal Festival on Earth:
Besuch beim Wacken Open Air: Eine Metal-Schlammpackung, bitte - n-tv.de

Wacken-Chef über Unwetter und möglichen Abbruch - Musik - Bild.de


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well, I don't know if the amber is more visible or not, I do know I have had another Dinotte running reliably for years. Which Cateye are you talking about?
> These people Light'm Up - advice about lights for cycling - Velo Girl Rides prefer your XML-3, but of course that is apples to oranges since it needs the external battery pack instead of being self-contained like the quad amber.


My Cateye Volt 100 runs around 150 lumens on high, it's entirely possible that lumen measurements come out different with different color lights, so it may not be a fair comparison. I don't typically use my XML-3 on the road because it feels like over kill, typically I'm running a Cygolite 420 on the bars with the Cateye Volt on my helmet.

I have considered picking up one of Dinottes rear red blinkies, they look very impressive. Not that I've had any problems with my HotShot.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Just dragged my butt back into town last night after two weeks living like a bum. I see the front tire on my bike went flat- still plenty of time to fix it before work tomorrow. I went back to western WA again (loved it when I went up there two years ago and wanted more). No bikes this time, but we did rent kayaks for a couple hours worth of close-up jellyfish watching and barnacle busting. Kept an eye out for Woodway, would have invited him to a coffee if he had wandered by. I guess we were on the wrong side of the Seattle metro area for him, though.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

6 of us went on a ride today. I think I had the most miles.










Took the geared bike today because I had a plan in my mind to do it. The original plan was about 60 miles or so. I rode 10 miles to meet them and had another 10 back so I figured I might be able to get that Century. It was a lot of work, but it happened. Ended the day at 90° just before 6:30 or so.

Food consumed today so far:

Pre ride - 3 egg omelette with cheddar cheese & sriracha 
Ride - 1 White Chocolate Macadamia Clif Bar
Ride - 1 Jet Blackberry GU
Ride - 1 bacon cheeseburger w/fries
Ride - 2 glasses Diet Coke
Ride - 1 small bowl of vanilla ice cream
Ride - 1 snack size Oreo Flurry @ McDonald's
Ride - 1 White Chocolate Macadamia Clif Bar
Ride - lost track of how many bottles of water were consumed. If I had to guess it would be in the double digits at least.
Post ride - ???? Gotta get some dinner going.

My legs feel good. Wrists hurt a bit, and I have some tan lines the Velominati would be proud of.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Day off friday, no ride but did a 13 mile run. Today was a lovely commute, I could quite happily have kept going and missed work but needs must.


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2015)

Day off Sunday but rode a century finishing in 104F heat indexes. Happy with the ride, but I'm loosing my last non-Brooks saddle asap. I thought I would keep the one non-Brooks on my road bike, but weight savings isn't worth the discomfort. Maybe a Cambiam.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good to great ride in this morning. I was surprised as all get out that the ride was not painful given the weekend's activities. My son ran the Mat Peak Challenge so I ran my own challenge, getting to various points along the trail in time to watch him pass and finally finish the race. He ran 14 miles of wilderness trail with three summits while I hiked/ran 13 miles with one summit. Good times were had by all. Details and pics here.

I also realized that my commuting spreadsheet had a bad calculation for the month of July, so the 2.6K miles I reported last week for the year to date is actually, as of today, 3095.05. Still not quite on target to hit 8K for the year, but oh well.

My son and I are thinking of riding the Hatcher Pass Epic this weekend, which would add a nice 90+ miles to the log. Of course, the wife thinks I should do the Epic Epic - it's cheaper than the regular epic, but I don't know that I have 140-ish miles in me after a full week of commuting and a group ride Friday night with some serious climbs included.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

TenSpeed said:


> Food consumed today so far:
> 
> Pre ride - 3 egg omelette with cheddar cheese & sriracha
> Ride - 1 White Chocolate Macadamia Clif Bar
> ...


Nice work.
That's a lot of food!
I'd never be able to ride with that sloshing around inside me. The last century I rode/raced I ate 2 Powerbars and 2 chocolate chip cookies.


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2015)

Shayne said:


> Nice work.
> That's a lot of food!
> I'd never be able to ride with that sloshing around inside me. The last century I rode/raced I ate 2 Powerbars and 2 chocolate chip cookies.


 Our SAG was pretty sparse (especially in the beginning) so for 100 miles I started with a cliffbar, had an apple, bagel, salted nut roll, 2oz of salted almonds, two bananas and 8 bottles of water. Post ride was a summer sausage sandwich and yogurt. Dinner was chicken enchiladas, rice and beans and two beers. We had lots of heat issues because folks didn't plan on SAGs not having something with sodium in it (usually see gatoraide, pickles, pickle juice, and salted peanuts). I toured between gas stations for so long I could probably live a month and never stop anyplace bigger than a regular Cenex station.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Food consumed today so far:
> 
> Pre ride - 3 egg omelette with cheddar cheese & sriracha
> Ride - 1 White Chocolate Macadamia Clif Bar
> ...


Rub it in. I could eat the burger patty and bacon and drink the water. No idea How I am going to ride metric 100's. I can't have anything normally served but water at the SAGs. I guess I will have to haul salad and pears and eat a lot of meat at breakfast.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Nothing much going here. I mean with such a short commute there's little room for error. I still walk half the time and just ride after work or for errands and bumming around on Saturdays.

Speaking of food, I'm starting to realize I should carry food in my pack or something because there have been a number of times lately I don't plan on riding long and then just decide to keep going. Usually the mileage doubles. I'll plan just Michigan and back, about thirty miles. Nope, closer to 70 because I just didn't stop. I had eaten a spoonful of peanut butter and liter of water that day until I turned around after my half way mark. Fortunately I stopped for a polish and some ice cream but I was feeling really energy deprived before that. 

Put a new chain on the single speed today... Only fudged it a little bit when I accidentally took a half link off of what I meant to and bent a piece. Then I used my chain tool to put links from the excess in its place. We'll see how long that lasts! Probably will break on my next grocery run.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Commute in was good, I'd fixed the guard rattles so all was quieter than usual.

Must have punctured just before work as when I went to leave I had a flat in the front. Thought I'd see if I could get an idea of where the leak was before removing so pumped the tyre. It wouldn't take any air at all, no pressure. Had a look around the tyre but nothing. I couldn't understand how I got such a flat with seeming no damage to the tyre.

Duly removed the wheel and tube and pumped it again. Found the hole, on the rim side of the tube?!?!?!? Seems the rim tape had given up and the tube had tried to file the spoke hole in the v-rims and left a kind of half hole punched hole. Never carry a spare tube so patched the holed one and went in search of insulation tape. Found some, green and yellow stripe, sweet......
Put it all back together. Tyre was poorer, and older, than I thought, to the point that some of the rubber peeled off the sidewall leaving just the threads!!??!! Got home ok.

In the car today hoping the Schwalbe Marathon plus I ordered turns up soon. Probably be back on the mtb tomorrow.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today was bike commute number 118 for the year. Not that important of a number except that I've driven 18 times this year putting the bike 100 commutes ahead of the car.

It wasn't a conscious decision but I think I'm a full time bike commuter at this point. Haven't driven since sometime in April and it's not because the weather has been nice...


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

formula4speed said:


> Today was bike commute number 118 for the year. Not that important of a number except that I've driven 18 times this year putting the bike 100 commutes ahead of the car.
> 
> It wasn't a conscious decision but I think I'm a full time bike commuter at this point. Haven't driven since sometime in April and it's not because the weather has been nice...


VERY NICE!

i myself have had my fatbike since three days after fathers day, and i have ridden to to work 6 days a week (11 miles each way) ever since... i think i have only driven 10 of those days due to flats and etc LOL

i guess i can call myself a commuter too haha, i get people in random stores saying "arent you that guy with the black and green HUGE tire bike?" lol.... i have also started a movement here at the VW/audi/porsche dealer where i work, started out with one dude riding a cruiser to work, NOW we have 6 or 7 people riding to work!!!

good stuff...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

wagonguy1989 said:


> VERY NICE!
> 
> ......started out with one dude riding a cruiser to work, NOW we have 6 or 7 people riding to work!!!


VERY NICE! ;o)) That is leading by example. In my office, it is the same. When I came into the team last year I was the only one out of 7, now two more commute regularly by bike. That makes 3 out of 7.

I set a new personal record -again- for the round trip but I do not know if it is worth anything, since the wind turned and I had a tailwind on both ways.

This morning I set off in shorts and t-shirt, since it was quite warm already. Although thunderstorms were forecasted I did not bring any raingear. So the ride home I got quite wet in the rain but it was so warm that it was allright. About halfway some guy overtaking me honked and showed me a thumbs up. So I gave him a thumbs up too, since I appreciated his gesture.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

cyclingdutchman said:


> the wind turned and I had a tailwind on both ways.


Living the dream!
I love when that happens. Unfortunately around here it is usually the opposite...double head/cross wind.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Is very rare here too, first time in 2 years I guess. Headwind on both ways happens more often!! *bash*

BTW, am I the only one here who is just riding his bike to work? After weekends, everybody seems to have ridden at least half a century...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool reports today on coworkers catching bikecommuter fever, nice to hear! My rides were uneventful (other than a couple rude dump trucks, one on the jakes brakes just to be a jerk). I was lucky with the weather, cool and dry both ways, and missed a huge midday downpour with hail.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMC, I should mention that people here still have never been jerks to me while commuting or just riding around. In fact I've told co-workers stories about incidents and they usually respond inn horror like "that happened here?" and are more than relieved to find it didn't. Maybe it's a great lakes thing because Michigan coast was the same way, except one driver in some beach resort type area who was from some southern state.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> BTW, am I the only one here who is just riding his bike to work? After weekends, everybody seems to have ridden at least half a century...


I`m with you, Dutchman 

Up until about two years ago, I was a dedicated cyclist, logging several thousand miles per year worth of day rides, tours, and long trips to and from the supermarket with panniers stuffed with groceries on top of my commutes. For some reason I lost the urge, then I lost all conditioning, and am not willing to put in the time and effort to build myself back up again. I seriously doubt I`ll ever pedal 100 KMs in a single day again, so now I just ride to work and back. And only when it`s nice out and I feel good!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Is very rare here too, first time in 2 years I guess. Headwind on both ways happens more often!! *bash*
> 
> BTW, am I the only one here who is just riding his bike to work? After weekends, everybody seems to have ridden at least half a century...


 I am lucky to fit a ride in twice a week (no job to go to). The errand bike needs some major adjustments so has not turned a wheel this year. I tore up my left shoulder then the right hamstrings, so there was a hiatus. I plan on riding the local rides that are not in conflict with vacation just because they are worthy causes and I want them to thrive (I may do less than the maximum distance depending what I feel like.)



NDD said:


> BrianMC, I should mention that people here still have never been jerks to me while commuting or just riding around.


Last ride, I had a dolt (16-ish, and first day back at school?) in a late 50-s early 60's Jeep pickup (neat old vehicle but hardly comfy) pass me turning right and cutting the corner where I was turning. Later in the evening, with me on the way to a meeting in the Lincoln MKZ, he was oncoming and he did a double take (the handlebar mustache is fairly unique here). Maybe he realized I was not some person without a valid driver's license or a car. Whether he will not almost run me off the road if presented with the same situation remains to be seen. The guy who was behind him allowed me to turn showing that some people here are considerate even if it is to avoid scratching their paint.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

After a week in the mountains at the family cabin without internet, cell coverage or plumbing I am back in the saddle!

Well, kinda - I managed to get in a couple of short rides on vacation (even scored myself a KOM  - but it isn't commuting so it doesn't count  Doing a hilly 35km at 1100m+ altitude really does leave you short of breath! Especially the short steeeeeep punchy climbs. It was beautiful up there, though.









Yesterday was nice - funnily enough. The forecast was predicting doom, gloom, rain and thunder but it held off all day (my wife was pissed at this on account of being a fair weather cyclist and taking the bus yesterday)... On the way home I had to stop for minor mech failures a couple times - mis aligned rear mech threw my chain off the cassette into the drop out / chain stay and locked my crank - that was a good one! Then my handle bars pivoted around like 5* or so in the stem which is a little frightening... Time for a minor overhaul, methinks...

This morning was wet. So much so that a local underpass on my route was flooded. The funny thing with standing water is that it looks deceptively shallow... I rode through slowly to find myself up to my cranks in water. 

But at least no one was trying to kill me with their car. So thats ok at least.

Rodar & Dutchman - I'm with you guys too; before becoming a father I was doing 100+km of a weekend then riding to work in the week. Racing XC too. Now? Now the commute is my main ride. The same for the wife too. Just the odd trip out when it is nice weather with the little one in the bike trailer.

I suppose I'll get back to it one day - lets face it, my form was never great so it should be easy enough to get back there!


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Is very rare here too, first time in 2 years I guess. Headwind on both ways happens more often!! *bash*
> 
> BTW, am I the only one here who is just riding his bike to work? After weekends, everybody seems to have ridden at least half a century...


 I do about four group rides a year, otherwise if it's not on the way to/from work it doesn't happen. I do have some nice riding areas on the way, which helps break up the ride.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this morning. Took yesterday off and worked from home. Got a good run in yesterday and followed that up with two hours of trail work on the trails we've (VMBaH) have been building at Government Peak for the last two years. Good times. 

Noticing a lot of maintenance needing to be done on my bike: 
Front wheel bearings (15K+ miles on them)
Bottom Bracket bearings (1500 miles on them, maybe, but factory RaceFace bearings that generally die quickly - need to update with Enduro anyway)
Brake pads, front and rear
Freehub body - I have the part, just need to actually do the replacing. It still works, but has seized a couple of times on me, so is getting ready to take a bit ol dump, I'm sure. 
Chain and Cassette - I'm at the point where I can't change one without changing the other - third chain on this cassette. 
Front shifter - been running on a borrowed and crappy Alivio shifter circa 2005 for the last six months and dealing with bad shifting because I haven't wanted to buy a new shifter. 

I just know when I show the list and the cost to the wife she is going to freak out since I just bought a new to me bike off CL a couple weeks ago somewhat with the idea that it would help reduce maintenance costs... Of course, that bike needs some work, too. 

Still cheaper than maintaining two cars. Maybe.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> BTW, am I the only one here who is just riding his bike to work? After weekends, everybody seems to have ridden at least half a century...


I always assumed, due to the nature of MTBR, at least most people would ride trails. Maybe not. No centuries for me, but I like to ride dirt whenever I can.


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

BEAUTIFUL COMMUTE TODAY

first time in 3 months it wasnt 80+ on my morning commute... perfect riding weather, no problems, no one tried to kill me.... always a good thing LOL

same as blockphi, notice my 100mm fatrim was BENT?!?! i guess im too hardcore for it LOL, should prolly stop doing staircase drops and whatnot on a sears bike, she just cant handle me hahahahaaa.....

and i need to grease everything again, been about 1k on mine


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I always assumed, due to the nature of MTBR, at least most people would ride trails. Maybe not. No centuries for me, but I like to ride dirt whenever I can.


Since I started commuting my trail time has decreased significantly. A lot of my singletrack rides would be after work when my wife is working, but now by the time I get home I don't have time (or energy) to pack back up and take out the mtb. Part of that is also due to the fact the closest singletrack to work or home is at least 35 minutes. I don't ride recreationally as much as I'd like to but I get at least one fun ride in each week.

Speaking of which, sprinted home last night so I could eat dinner with my wife before riding out again. A friend and I rode downtown to meet up with our local advocacy group for a "Random Acts of Brightness" event. We set out as the sun was setting loaded with bags full of bike lights in search of people riding the streets at night with no lights. We provided each ninja we came across with a front and rear light for no charge. All they had to do was fill out a simple survey regarding how and why they ride to help with infrastructure planning. It was a fun night of urban riding and the reactions of the recipients was really fun to witness. Many of them couldn't afford to buy lights on their own.

It was an extra 40 miles after my 30 mile commute for the day and I didn't get home until midnight, so I took today off to rest and sleep in this morning. I'll be back at it tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides today. Less traffic due to vacation period, nice temps and little wind. Simply a perfect day for cycling. Too bad I had to work 9 hrs today. 

Well thanks for all your feedback. I used to be a mountainbiker too, but then came the house, the wife and the kids. In the end I sold the mtb after it was stuck in the basement collecting spiderwebs and dust for two years. Later in 2013 I got seriously sick most of the year which made me rethink my life and so I started cycling again. Time constraints hadn't gotten any better so commuting was the only option. My youngest one will be able to sit in a bike trailer soon so then I hope to slowly get back into dirt and touring. 

And Kleebs: very good initiative handing out free lights AND getting valuable feedback.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I ride a lot of trail on the weekends still, but don't ride as much during the week as I used to. When I lived in Anchorage it was super easy to pop off the commute route and onto some single track to mix it up a bit before finishing the ride home. Where I'm at now I could head over and ride single track on the way home, but the logistics of it don't work as well and riding with rack and pannier on ST isn't so much fun - always worried about the pannier breaking and falling off. During a good portion of the summer I hit the trails one to two nights a week coaching little ones and at least once a month I have a Friday night group ride that I lead, so I still have more trail time than some. I still consider myself a mountain biker first and a commuter second. Let's face it, commuting is fun, but riding trail is funnerer.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

Lookit all of these pedallin muckers!!
Ain't been in in a dog's age and yall discussing SAGs and such... 

Commuting's gone as usual for months. Been on a 26/700 cdale bad boy.
Been diagnosed with CTCL. So I'm accepting being tired more often than not, but never let it stop me. Rode my mukluk in a couple times for kicks.
They're moving my office in September (either right before I go on this year's tour, or right afterwards) and my commute's about to double in length. Functionally all uphill in the mornings, with mandatory kid pick-up/haul home in the evenings.
Looking like life's gotten twice as hard this year.
Been working on the motorcycle bit by bit, thinking it'll be necessary more than I'd ever hoped it would be.

Take it easy out there, friends.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Let's face it, commuting is fun, but riding trail is funnerer.


Quoted for truth.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good ride today, more humid than anticipated though. 

After my puncture debacle earlier in the week I was glad my new rubber arrived yesterday. New rim tape, tube and Marathon Plus in 28mm size. Had to adjust the guards to suit as was previously on a 23mm. So my hope is that with the Marathon Plus on the rear (32mm) that punctures will be a thing of the past. I'll still be carrying a tube, levers and pump though! Tyres look fairly fat but I'm a big ol' unit and the roads are not great so I thought this the better option.


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2015)

Catching up on the thread at 4:13 am because I needed to get up at 4:30 to ride in for an early meeting so of course I woke up 45 minutes early for no reason. Riding the road bike today with the new Brooks C17 saddle today. Not a big fan so far, seems hard as plywood. Did meet a guy last night on the ride home who I helped about a year ago with a flat. He had a puncture on the inside of his tube from a burr wearing through the factory rim tape. I suggested two wraps of duct tape (in lieu of rim tape) which he installed as a stop gap until he could get some rim tape. A year later he was surprised that it was still working. I've got a pair of wheels I build over 30 years ago with duct tape. Pretty sure they're on their first application of duct tape still.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

blockphi said:


> Let's face it, commuting is fun, but riding trail is funnerer.


Worth a second quote.

And ties into my commute home yesterday. I had to take a different route due to some road construction and on my way in passed a new but tiny trail network that opened this spring that I had not heard of.
On the way home I stopped to ride it and had a blast exploring on my road race bike...700x21 tires at 140psi. There's nothing like navigating roots and rocks and super loose dirt on those. It brought me back to my childhood and the first trail riding I did which was also just messing around on hiking trails with road bikes


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM even though I am destroyed! Yesterday the wife and kids came into town for a team night at the local running shop - discounts on shoes? We're in! So I rode over and met them. Then we drove down the road an hour to Girdwood so my son and I could run the Northface trail in preparation for an upcoming race on that course. 2.2 miles and 2000 feet of elevation gain. No biggie at all... Fun run, though it did take us a touch longer than we had planned. As the trail is at a ski resort they have a mountain top restaurant and gondola that serves it and, if you hike up the mountain you can ride down for free, so we took advantage of that. Got home at 11:00PM, in bed and asleep by midnight. Up at 3:55AM to make the bus on time. Going to be a long day!


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

20 Miles this morning! feels great, took me 1hr20mins.... and yes, on my fatty, got my second captiv8or installed, and OMG..... its as smooth as a roadbike,but with 3.5in wides lol.... 

i still think i need a bigger front chainring, i could use the extra 3-4 mph haha...

weather wasnt too bad too, nice a crisp (for once), when i get home, it will be 31 miles for the day! figured id get some conditioning in for my 38 mile fondo next month!

i told the guys at work how long it took and they were all like............:eekster::eekster::skep: you crazy man! lol


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Phew warm again today - almost 90F on the way home. Nothing else to report ;o))

Tomorrow temps will go down a bit, "only" 85F is forecasted :-/ And in addition, some thunderstorms again. We'll see.

My new right pedal has developed a clicking sound during riding. I read about it in the reviews already, I think that is why Shimano gave them the name "Click'r". I will check cranks and pedals next weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I had one of those rides where the wind is decent (behind) outbound but then a front comes in and the ride back always seems to be in the teeth of more wind than you had outbound as treed lots, buildings and landscape shift the wind over about 90 degrees so no matter how the road bends (except one fast climb) the wind is in our teeth . Averaged over 19 mph outbound (slightly downhill, too) rarely over 120 pulse rate. Had a hard time breaking 14 on the way back except the one big downhill (hit 30 mph). Beat my recent average by 0.3 mph. 

Pet Peeve: Being passed just before the crest of a blind hill where neither I nor the overtaking driver can see if anyone is oncoming. (Last 2 rides). I figure I will be broadsided into the next county if there is, one of these days. Schmucks can't wait about 15 seconds? They don't understand that their actions put our lives on the line so they can save a few seconds. Be funny if would be a Deputy oncoming and there wasn't time for them to shift right. But maybe not. My luck I would get charged for impeding traffic or something stupid.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Pet Peeve: Being passed just before the crest of a blind hill where neither I nor the overtaking driver can see if anyone is oncoming. (Last 2 rides). I figure I will be broadsided into the next county if there is, one of these days. Schmucks can't wait about 15 seconds? They don't understand that their actions put our lives on the line so they can save a few seconds. Be funny if would be a Deputy oncoming and there wasn't time for them to shift right. But maybe not. My luck I would get charged for impeding traffic or something stupid.


I tell people about this on a frequent basis. I'm even a pretty slow driver since having found out the hard way that I'd rather not pay for speeding tickets. It's not only annoying and dangerous, but it's also senseless. Anyone can think of 15 seconds they totally wasted sometime on any given day. So they don't need it that bad. Besides, 15 seconds is nothing in the grand scheme of things. It's about cognitive limitations I think. People can how little this changes their life.

Tl;dr: 15 seconds is definitely not a big deal. People will never realize that and so they will continue to put lives in danger in the name of having no time.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I can vouch for the tape thing, Forester - as complete noob mistake I only bought one roll of rim tape for my new commuter wheels. I didn't realise that one roll = one rim.

So the back wheel is nicely taped up with rime tape (don't ask which brand - I wasn't really paying attention). The front rim is taped up with doubled up painters masking tape. 

So far so good...

No ride for me today - we are staying at the in-laws (about a five minute walk from the office) as we are selling our apartment and it is impossible to keep the place clean and tidy for the prospective buyers to view with our 2 year old tornado of destruction (aka our daughter) running around...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I had rim tape issues as well, causing me several flats. I wrote about it earlier here. After I got the tip, I ducttaped the rear rim (all flats were on the rear wheel) and since then it is holding up so far. Based on what I read here, I believe it will hold for a long time. 

OT ("on-topic"): nice ride in this morning, nice temp and no wind. Forecasted thunderstorms are most likely gone when I go home. First one ist approaching now, I can see the dark side approaching.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

You're most likely being hit with the same horrible weather we are getting here in Oslo... One minute clear with a light overcast - next minute BOOM! Thunder! Lightning! A brief cold shower with your clothes on! Then clear again for an hour or so, rinse, repeat...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Damn this bike is fighting me all the way. Bottom bracket came loose again this morning despite adjustment last night. Looks like the drive side thread may be fubared as the cup is working it's way out :-( Maybe a cartridge will sort it, might have to try a threadless one. I'll try and leave on time to get to the LBS on the way home and see what they say.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

It might not be a permanent solution, but maybe try loctite next time you tighten it down?
It might do until you get around to figuring out a more permanent fix??


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

byknuts said:


> Lookit all of these pedallin muckers!!
> Ain't been in in a dog's age and yall discussing SAGs and such...
> 
> Commuting's gone as usual for months. Been on a 26/700 cdale bad boy.
> ...


Damn, Byknuts. That really sucks 
I had to look up CTCL. Wiki only mentions skin issues, but I guess it saps your energy like most other cancers? What kind of treatments are you looking at? Cheers to you for continuing with your Thunder Bay ride (guessing that`s the tour you mentioned).

Animo, friend.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> Maybe a cartridge will sort it, might have to try a threadless one.


Maybe. But it won`t look as COOL without those beautiful lockings!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost_HTX said:


> It might not be a permanent solution, but maybe try loctite next time you tighten it down?
> It might do until you get around to figuring out a more permanent fix??


Thanks for that Ghost, I think I'll give it a go, nothing to lose really.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

SlipSpace said:


> Thanks for that Ghost, I think I'll give it a go, nothing to lose really.


A local shop in town recommended teflon tape that plumbers use for the threads on bottom brackets as the best way to avoid developing a click in the bottom bracket and to keep it from backing out of the threads.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Also, commute in this morning was great. Weather was comfortable with no wind and I actually had another cyclist on my route today! That's very rare for me. He was clearly on a recreational ride because he had very little gear. We chatted for a bit and then I passed to continue to work. Big pet peeve of mine: I was stopped at a stoplight a half mile or so from where I caught and passed the other cyclist and he comes rolling through, sees the intersection is clear (though the light is still red) and runs the light. Now I have to pass the guy again when the light turns red.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> Damn this bike is fighting me all the way. Bottom bracket came loose again this morning despite adjustment last night. Looks like the drive side thread may be fubared as the cup is working it's way out :-( Maybe a cartridge will sort it, might have to try a threadless one. I'll try and leave on time to get to the LBS on the way home and see what they say.


I eventually epoxied my bottom bracket cups in....I just pull the bearings know...

I had the very first press fit bearing standard....


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

byknuts said:


> Been diagnosed with CTCL. So I'm accepting being tired more often than not, but never let it stop me.
> Take it easy out there, friends.


Take care of yourself.....I hope aerobic exercise is a positive thing for your disease.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> You're most likely being hit with the same horrible weather we are getting here in Oslo... One minute clear with a light overcast - next minute BOOM! Thunder! Lightning! A brief cold shower with your clothes on! Then clear again for an hour or so, rinse, repeat...


Yes the radar showed a narrow but long band of clouds, slowly lengthwise creeping over the city...but I was lucky, on the way home they had passed and the weather turned out to be pretty good.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> A local shop in town recommended teflon tape that plumbers use for the threads on bottom brackets as the best way to avoid developing a click in the bottom bracket and to keep it from backing out of the threads.


This is actually a better idea. The tape will pull out of the bb threads more easily than it would be to go digging out errant loctite, when it comes to making a permanent fix. Good call, Kleebs! Back when I was a car & truck mechanic we used this stuff on the threads of brake pipe fixings, banjo bolts and leaky injectors to make sure they didnt back off (loosen) due to vibration etc. It should be available in motor factors \ hardware shops.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> This is actually a better idea. The tape will pull out of the bb threads more easily than it would be to go digging out errant loctite, when it comes to making a permanent fix. Good call, Kleebs! Back when I was a car & truck mechanic we used this stuff on the threads of brake pipe fixings, banjo bolts and leaky injectors to make sure they didnt back off (loosen) due to vibration etc. It should be available in motor factors \ hardware shops.


Been there done that.....ended up glued in.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good commute today. Went out of the way coming home to drop by the bike shop. Got a Nite Rider USB rechargable light for my rear. I'm so done with disposable batteries. 

It hasn't been very hot and it's been sunny. This is just perfect outdoor weather.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Damn, Byknuts. That really sucks
> I had to look up CTCL. Wiki only mentions skin issues, but I guess it saps your energy like most other cancers? What kind of treatments are you looking at? Cheers to you for continuing with your Thunder Bay ride (guessing that`s the tour you mentioned).
> 
> Animo, friend.


Can't say it any better than Rodar did. Hang tough Byknuts, sorry you are going through this.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A non-bike report after a tough day here in Barre... a social worker was gunned down when leaving work. The shooter was reportedly a woman whose kid was taken away after a child welfare investigation and hearing. Just terrible. VT is so small that one of my neighbors was with the victim when she died, another is on call to counsel coworkers, and my former boss was friends with the victim. I was still at work when it happened and was unaware until later. So sad and mad. Vt. DCF worker shot and killed in Barre - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Can't say it any better than Rodar did. Hang tough Byknuts, sorry you are going through this.


You guys are awesome. thanks!
Caught it early, treatment's not half bad, but it'll never go away apparently, so right now I'm looking at dying with it, not of it. It zaps my energy quite a bit, here I thought I was just getting old! Anyways, I just gotta keep on keeping on, not much else to it.

The tour this year's a bit over 900km. Way shorter than Thunder Bay to Toronto, but still a decent distance.

Anyways, back to business, anyone successfully studded a slick, like a schwalbe supermoto/big apple, for winter commuting?
I'm aiming at running my cargobike for kid-picking up duties, and thinking about my options. Can buy new studded tires (my old ones are getting pretty close to toast) but I'm having a tough time reconciling the costs this year.
I'm also tempted to stud up the Michelin Hot S simply because they're bright red and that helps with visibility on the roads.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Quarter after 7 on a Saturday morning and there were cars on the road :skep:
I had to come to a complete stop at one stop sign and a near stop at another, both of which I`m supposed to be able to blow right through in the middle of the night or on weekend mornings.
Kind of chilly to boot, but I`ll glady take chilly mornings in lieu of the roasting afternoons that are usually to be expected in mid August. Global warming, hah! More like Global Throw All Your Weather Expectations Out The Window by my book.



byknuts said:


> Caught it early, treatment's not half bad, but it'll never go away apparently, so right now I'm looking at dying with it, not of it. It zaps my energy quite a bit, here I thought I was just getting old! Anyways, I just gotta keep on keeping on, not much else to it.


Is that energy zapping expected to come and go in phases, or more or less static? Wishing up all the famous "best case scenarios" for you. And what`s the motorcycle project you`re working on? I think you said something once about a project that you and your dad had started together and that he liked to give you a hard time about your "push bike" habit. Same motorcycle?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Kept an eye out for Woodway, would have invited him to a coffee if he had wandered by. I guess we were on the wrong side of the Seattle metro area for him, though.


What, rodar, you were back in my neck of the woods and we did not get together again? Darn! I could have even supplied you with a bike for a quick ride! Oh well, glad that you had a good time...

(I'm here less often since my commute now is a walk down the hall from my bedroom to my home office...)


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I'm back. Left early Monday am to head to Florida to see my dad and celebrate his 75th birthday. Had the opportunity to rent a bike while I was there but declined because that century I did before I left kicked my butt. Got in last night, got some stuff done and then today, how about a repeat? Wait, how about more miles today than a week ago? Did it!

The obligatory sign picture.










The ride for me to Hell was about 56 miles or so, 50 from our takeoff location which I rode to. This is a pretty cool destination since it is not that far and the trip takes us on some really nice back country roads. Wind was in our face of course! 36 miles in, while we were in a nice paceline doing 20mph or so, a fawn ran out in front of the lead rider, and took her out. She went down hard, cracking her helmet and wrecking the front wheel. Fawn got up after screaming a bit and ran off of course. Luckily a man and his daughter stopped right after it happened, and she had just graduated from paramedic school. They took her to the gas station and a friend came to get her and one of the guys riding with us. 7 riders started, 5 of us finished.










We ended up riding a bit further into a town called Pinckney to get some lunch. There is a really nice mountain bike trail there that is pretty epic in it's own right. We opted to avoid that. Then the journey home began. We took mostly less busy roads home but part of our route had us on a busy road. We got buzzed a few times, mostly by pick up trucks. One guy in a diesel decided to try to roll a little coal on us but it didn't really work for some reason.

My buddy Bruce and I taking the obligatory selfie. I am in the red jersey with the long flowing locks of beautiful hair.  Oh yeah, he is the one that bought my Felt TK3 track bike from me, and that crazy SOB rode it today, completing his first century with a total of 105 miles.










I opted to cut off instead of heading further west once we got back for a celebratory drink. I cleared the century right as we were getting back to civilization. I peeled off and headed east back home. The last miles were just brutal. My hands hurt, my feet hurt, my butt hurt, I was sick of the glasses, the helmet, the gloves (those came off) and after what seemed like an eternity, the ride was over.










Working tomorrow but taking the day off of riding. Need to get some recovery time in now.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks for the pointers on the BBs guys. I managed to get it home and stripped it out. Bits of bearing cage were in there. Basically it was worn out. drive side cup had worn through and had cracked about 2/3 way round, I was lucky to get it out I think, Spindle had worn through the case hardening and had pitted.. Threads looked ok but just didn't feel right.

Took it to the LBS first thing saturday to see what they had to say and we decided I'd leave it with them, they'd clear the threads and fit a new BB. Got a call to collect at lunchtime. New cartridge bearing, super smooth and only £25 for the whole supply, thread chase and fit.

Ended up just shooting the **** with the guy (owner) for about an hour since they weren't busy. Shame really, it's a brilliant LBS but more a traditional style one, very knowledgeable and helpful but won't appeal to Joe Average since the shop front is a little shabby and there's no glitzy bikes to look at. They are a Brompton dealer but that's it. Bespoke builds and "boutique" bikes and wheels and workshop etc are their forte really. They just know so much about bikes. Purchase of parts from the internet has seen his sales reduce year on year. He has money from previous endeavours but said most weeks they probably run at a small loss :-(

Hope they stick around. Hate to see any business fail but if a bike shop has to go I'd rather it was a glitzy shop than these dudes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> A non-bike report after a tough day here in Barre... a social worker was gunned down when leaving work. The shooter was reportedly a woman whose kid was taken away after a child welfare investigation and hearing. Just terrible. VT is so small that one of my neighbors was with the victim when she died, another is on call to counsel coworkers, and my former boss was friends with the victim. I was still at work when it happened and was unaware until later. So sad and mad. Vt. DCF worker shot and killed in Barre - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


Wow for a town in the supposedly tranquil Vermont, Barre sure has more than it's share of shocking stories!

I'm back from vacation. Lots of good riding, hiking and kayaking was done! I'll see if I can get some pics posted after I pay some attention to work. 

The commute in was awesome, crisp, clear, windless, awesome.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

blockphi said:


> Let's face it, commuting is fun, but riding trail is funnerer.


Amen to that. I had too much fun this weekend. I went camping and riding this weekend in Brown County State Park in IN. Around mile 20 of almost 27, my legs started to cramp up. This was bad news, since I was heading into an "Expert" trail and had a few big climbs left, including a fire road climb straight uphill (coming out of Bobcat Bowl, for anyone familiar with the park) and the long climb up to Hesitation Point. I was supposed to ride about 6 more miles, but I called my wife and had her pick me up. I bit off a bit more than I could chew. I probably should have paced myself better and taken more conservative lines, but it's hard when you're having so much fun.

All this to say, I was a little stiff on my commute this morning, but it felt good to get my muscles going again, even thought I was a little slower than normal.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Had a busy weekend - Friday night we did a dig night on our GPRA trails and then had a nice little trail ride. August in Alaska is a hard time to get people together for this type of stuff, though, so a small turn out, but fun none-the-less. Saturday was a combo hike/trailrun/blue berry picking session. We were out for 7 hours on the mountain. I found this great little hollow between two hummocks that worked almost like a hammock, so I laid down and napped in the mountain breeze. Yep, rough life! Yesterday we made the drive from the Valley down to Girdwood so that my son could do another training run on the Northface Trail in preparation for the Alyeska classic race this weekend. While he did that I ran the Winner Creek trail. Good times. Not much biking though. I think that as fall comes on more, I'll definitely refocus on riding and getting in more trail time, but the break from the bike has been good overall. I can feel that the running has helped a lot when I am riding the trails. More stamina and speed. 

The commute today was uneventful. Fortunately no rain, which is good, though it looks like heavy rain is falling on the mountains right now, so that might make its way into town this afternoon.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Amen to that. I had too much fun this weekend. I went camping and riding this weekend in Brown County State Park in IN. Around mile 20 of almost 27, my legs started to cramp up. This was bad news, since I was heading into an "Expert" trail and had a few big climbs left, including a fire road climb straight uphill (coming out of Bobcat Bowl, for anyone familiar with the park) and the long climb up to Hesitation Point. I was supposed to ride about 6 more miles, but I called my wife and had her pick me up. I bit off a bit more than I could chew. I probably should have paced myself better and taken more conservative lines, but it's hard when you're having so much fun.
> 
> All this to say, I was a little stiff on my commute this morning, but it felt good to get my muscles going again, even thought I was a little slower than normal.


I have ridden BC before, and it is no joke. Did you dare attempt Schooner Trace? That would have definitely put you over the top. My favorite one there is Limekiln.


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

commuted with my fixed gear today.... first time EVER riding fixed.........................................................................
it was interesting... especially going from fatbike to fixed roadbike LOL

nice workout though....i think i pinchflatted though, ill find out later when i get back on bike LOL


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> I have ridden BC before, and it is no joke. Did you dare attempt Schooner Trace? That would have definitely put you over the top. My favorite one there is Limekiln.


Not this time around. That was the only trail I skipped. I rode Schooner a couple years back though. It is definitely an experience.

Bobcat is like Schooner but not quite as technical or difficult. Like Schooner, the trail is super skinny in spots with a steep banks and opportunity for injury. There is one series of switchbacks near the beginning that is fantastic. I managed to clear everything except maybe one or two logs that had fallen over the trail. I don't see myself ever being able to ride Schooner end to end (if anyone can, I'd like to see it). The trail isn't 100% done yet, hence the wicked fire road climb. After that hill, I had to just keep pedaling or else my legs would cramp any time I'd straighten them. Good times.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow for a town in the supposedly tranquil Vermont, Barre sure has more than it's share of shocking stories!
> 
> I'm back from vacation. Lots of good riding, hiking and kayaking was done!


Yes, it got worse too. Saturday morning they found 3 of the shooter's family members shot dead in their Berlin VT home 4 miles away, so she apparently killed them first then went downtown to shoot the child welfare case worker.

Please share those vacation pix, sounds fun.

I just picked up 2 beautiful Belgian girls today, they will be staying with me for about a week.

Belgian sheepdogs that is! So bikecommuting will be on the backburner since I also have my dog and another friend's moose-a-doodle right now. I did leave the BMX at work today though for lunch rides.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

rodar y rodar said:


> Is that energy zapping expected to come and go in phases, or more or less static? Wishing up all the famous "best case scenarios" for you. And what`s the motorcycle project you`re working on? I think you said something once about a project that you and your dad had started together and that he liked to give you a hard time about your "push bike" habit. Same motorcycle?


It's permanent. I figured I was just feeling my age, but nope. But the doc told me I've been fighting it for years, so I have no excuses to start changing things now. Last couple years I've done serious multi-day tours, I've pounded through the snow to work day after day. I don't know, I may pull the sympathy card if it'll get me a free beer... but so far I've been buying. 

I tried a heavy-weight/low-distance day yesterday! Hauling my kid on a half road-hills/half gravel grinder route (with just a 12-25cogset on a 46) to bring him to a Highland Games festival in another town. As long as I keep sugared and hydrated I seem to be ok on the bike. It's downtime when it seems to hit me hardest. (lucky me!)

I'm still finding my game, I'll modify diet and routine until I find a good fit that keeps me upright. Right now I'm working on how to use this as an excuse to fund an all-carbon fleet of bikes. Wife hasn't bit. Ah well!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

wagonguy1989 said:


> commuted with my fixed gear today.... first time EVER riding fixed.........................................................................
> it was interesting... especially going from fatbike to fixed roadbike LOL
> 
> nice workout though....i think i pinchflatted though, ill find out later when i get back on bike LOL


Fixed is an absolute blast. Congrats on the workout.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Welp, I stacked my bike this morning. First time this year.
I hit a patch of oil/diesel on an already rain soaked roundabout and slid for what felt like forever. It happened just as I was standing to put down some power to accelerate out of the roundabout so at the worst possible time (no way was I going to hold the slide and correct it when I was already up out of the saddle and leaning forward to sprint out of the roundabout).

Landed on my left hip/thigh/shoulder/hand.
Im ok, though - just a small hole over my hip bone (at the waist) where I impacted the road hardest, a couple small grazes on my left knee (they've seen so much punishment over the years that my knees are more or less one big callous so no biggy there) and some minor road rash on my left hip/ass.

Put a small (like 5mm) hole in my new bib shorts (bloody surprised they are not completely ruined) and a couple holes in the palm of my left glove.
The bike has a slightly scuffed saddle, the rear QR has been sanded down a wee bit by the slide and the left brake lever is scuffed as is the left pedal. 

And thank the big man there was no traffic on the roundabout at the time...

All in all a well executed crash


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Ouch Ghost_HTX! Glad you were not hurt worse but that slide sounds terrible.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Thanks mtbx! To be honest I think the road was so slippery from the oil spill that it helped prevent worse road rash. Plus I got a fair bit of padding (put it this way at 5'7 and 150lbs I'm not a climber) in the hip/ass area so all in all it could have been worse.

My own fault for not paying attention to the road conditions.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. Getting cooler and darker every day, though. 48F when I left the house today.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Works been nuts lately so I haven't ridden in much, but yesterday I caught feelings about my car squealing on cold starts and decided to ride in till I get it fixed. If course it rained 

Good news is I felt good on the ride despite riding more than I have in a week all year between Thursday and Sunday, including some seriously tough back country stuff (we saw 2 bears, each from about 10ft away). Hopefully I have some gas left for the weekend if I ride in the rest of the week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ever since tenspeeds pics I have chris rea in my head "the road to hell"  but they are very nice pics!!

Hey ghost, you be careful out there ok? Glad that you are allright.

Ok for me no ride yesterday, instead a 400m drive and will be the same next monday. Nice rides today, went home early at 3pm and found a nice package with brakepads, bungees for the rear rack and a new front 200mm rotor. There will be some work to do this week


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

After work I practiced a pack test with some co-workers (hike three miles with a 45 lb pack in less than 45 minutes) even though I'm not even officially gonna take it. I was just walking briskly and woulda made it in 40 flat if my co-workers hadn't said they wanted to do two because I lost two minutes waiting for them at the end of the second mile. 

Riding to get my hair cut after that, I had the first car related incident since being in Indiana (and just a week before I leave). I can hear a car behind me but I need to turn left, I use my turn signal and slow down a bit and glance out of the corner of my eye as the person speeds up along side of me to pass. Now I know they teach those hand signals in drivers ed so I let her pass and made my turn shaking my head and muttering choice words. 

What made up for it was when I was riding back some random chick waved at me as I was biking and proceeded to dance and otherwise rock out at a stop light.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great commute in today! New wheels on the fixed gear and they are really nice. Perfect fit for the frame, enough tuck for some street cred and the chain tension is absolutely perfect. Swapped tubes and tires last night and had 0 issues. I am pleased as poop with that!!

Only one incident. Guy in a black truck turning left onto the road, I am in the lane, and he sees me, hesitates, and pretty much says f it and goes. Damnit. He saw me, misjudged my speed apparently and put both of us at risk. He received at no extra charge, some bonus choice words.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Ride was good yesterday. My only incident was a driver moving to pass me without checking the oncoming lane and nearly driving head on into a car coming in the opposite direction. I hate that stuff, because in that situation, you know what direction the shitty driver is going to swerve... I made it home safe, thinking the whole way about why drivers do what they do.

No ride today. Need to get home quickly tonight to host volunteer orientation at our local co-op. The normal host needed someone to fill in for the next month or so. I'll be back on the bike tomorrow.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

busted my seatpost last night at the start of a mountain ride...

it got stuck in the seat tube several years ago, and to get it out I used CLR to break the winters salt build-up.

Guess I didn't rinse the CLR well enough.

A small green pit developed on the inside of the seatpost. (green = chlorine). Anyway 

The pit develpoed a crack and the crack fatigued and the seat post broke about 2 inchs up from the seat tube....

9 years life.

Epoxied a 3/4 inch copper tube into the post till the replacement comes.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

NDD said:


> Riding to get my hair cut after that, I had the first car related incident since being in Indiana (and just a week before I leave). I can hear a car behind me but I need to turn left, I use my turn signal and slow down a bit and glance out of the corner of my eye as the person speeds up along side of me to pass. Now I know they teach those hand signals in drivers ed so I let her pass and made my turn shaking my head and muttering choice words..


I had someone do the same to me right outside my office. I made a right turn, then took the lane and signal my left turn which is less than 100 feet away. Naturally the SUV behind me has to gun their engine to pass on the left, otherwise they would have to wait 10 seconds longer. It's the first time I was tempted to follow someone and give them a talking to, that road ends after a quarter mile so they didn't go far.


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> Fixed is an absolute blast. Congrats on the workout.


rode it again yesterday, almost didnt make it home, the front chainring came apart! almost killed me... luckily i was able to handtighten it to get home, and of course 1of5 bolts holding it in went awol so..... needless to say, that was an interesting ride home for the last 4 miles...

got back on the fatty this am... it was like getting into an suv after driving a honda....

BUT it was a smooth ride, no problems, and i bulked out a few extra leg muscles riding that fixed gear for two days, made it a lil less challenging to ride fat haha, now i feel like ive missed upperbody day, cuz my legs are STACKED lol.... i miss that


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today since I am off. Decided to ride my bike this morning to the allergy center for my appointment. Quickly realized that without taking the sidewalk, there is no easy way to get there. The two choices of roads are both undesirable. One is a two lane 35mph hilly road with almost no shoulder. The other is a 4 lane 40mph high traffic road that is not accustomed to seeing cycle traffic on it. Without going 5 miles out of my way those are my options. I took the two lane today and that was nerve wracking. Cars want to pass, and since the road is so narrow, I took almost the middle of the lane. No room for a squeeze out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good 'work' night on the trails last night. Worked a bit on a muddy section that will need some more work when it dries out, then did trail recon by riding the trails a few loops just to make sure the lines were nice and tight and all. You know, important trail work!

The ride in this AM was nice. The legs were feeling good even after the riding last night. A bit chilly, though. 42F when I left the house. There is most definitely a fall chill in the air. I'm always surprised how fall in Alaska really does start in August.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> I had someone do the same to me right outside my office. I made a right turn, then took the lane and signal my left turn which is less than 100 feet away. Naturally the SUV behind me has to gun their engine to pass on the left, otherwise they would have to wait 10 seconds longer. It's the first time I was tempted to follow someone and give them a talking to, that road ends after a quarter mile so they didn't go far.


If people get onto me about being slowed down for ten seconds (in any case) I usually try to make them think of any ten seconds they waste on any given day. Most people don't give a damn, it's their time to waste when they want it apparently.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

blockphi said:


> A bit chilly, though. 42F when I left the house. There is most definitely a fall chill in the air. I'm always surprised how fall in Alaska really does start in August.


That's a stinker, summer is all too fleeting over here in the UK too. That said it was probably 20F warmer here this morning.

No ride for me the last couple of days, an old shoulder rotator cuff injury I did 15 years ago, yes 15, is playing up and there is no choice but to rest it. I hope it goes soon but it can linger around sometimes. Sucks getting older, I'm 40 in a couple of weeks and recovery times seem longer than I remember them being when I was 20. Maybe it's beer that aids recovery, I was definitely taking more on board when I was that age


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Chilly here this morning too, probably in the 50s. Felt nice. Hoping it won't be too warm on the way home.

Made the mistake of riding past my house to the gym last night, doing my weight lifting and then riding the 8 miles or so back home. Was really feeling it this morning, had to take a more efficient bike than my commute/errand bike. Its amazing how much faster a 700c wheel feels (the tire was .3" smaller also, but knobbier so I assume thats a wash). I guess the commuter does have a rack, fenders and a bunch more gear strapped to it. I dropped my car off last night after work hopefully I will have it back in time to get me to the trails on Sunday


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I was on schedule to get to work on time, but my wife was up early and was having a bit of a panic about the upcoming semester of grad school, so I opted to be late in exchange for calming her down. But I still wanted to ride today, so she drove me and my bike to work and I will take an extended route home. She is on night shift the next two nights so I won't see her until she gets home Saturday morning. Gotta love completely opposite schedules.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. A bit tired, but not too bad. Working from home tomorrow, so I'll get to sleep in a bit. Need to go for a run tonight as it's been a few days now - done on purpose to give the legs a bit of a rest after pushing a bit over last weekend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi guys, been a while!

This is how the Ogre feels about going back to work after summer:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Holy macaroni CB! How did that happen? Just blew out or did you hit anything sharp? 

For me nice rides the last days. Calm winds, sunny, nice temps and bike running smoothly. Tomorrow temps will go up to about 90F for the way back. I have started to take a bottle with me so that I have something to drink on the way home. I never thought it was necessary but today I drank almost 1 liter so I guess I need it. After tomorrow thunderstorms will set in and weather goes back to more normal again: windy, cloudy and occasional rainshowers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Holy macaroni CB! How did that happen? Just blew out or did you hit anything sharp?


Weird one... my hunch is that it all goes back to my floor pump quitting on me the other day... it's been making some funny sounds while pushing air for a while, and finally quit pushing any air and switched to just making funny sounds exclusively :lol:

So I hit the tires with my compressor, which doesn't currently have a gauge on it.... I was doing the squeeze test, and I think I overinflated. No big deal, I just let some out and rode it with no issues for a couple days (in hindsight I think I probably weakened the bead by overinflating).

Fastforward to yesterday, I rode it to work and parked it behind the shed, where the rear tire gets direct sunlight in the afternoon....some chemistry and physics happened, bada bing, bada BOOM. The tire was completely blown off of the rim when I went out to ride home.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Felt surprisingly strong on the way home yesterday, even took some PRs that belonged to my roadbike despite the 42c knobbies. The center ridge on the tires really works I guess.

Still, I had myself worked up to need an "easier" ride today so I took my roadbike. Not sure how much easier it actually is (the small ring is a 42) but its always nice to ride 

Going to pick up my car after work, need to figure out how to get there. I think it'll end up being around 20-25 miles.


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2015)

Took turns with the CAT 6 racing today. First I got passed (climbing a hill) by a guy on a cyclocross bike (has to weigh less than 1/2 the 50# Fargo {with tools, tubes, etc}), then we hit the highway crossing. He rode to the light, I merged and moved to the left turn lane. I probably could have held him off until our paths diverge, but just to make sure I take some air off a railroad crossing and into a little grass covered rock garden short cut. When you have nothing left in the tank, there's always "carelessness" to fall back on.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Took an extended route home yesterday. Had no reason to rush home since it was just me and dog last night, so opted to enjoy the beautiful late summer weather. Had a bit of a tail wind for most of the way and my legs were feeling great. I couldn't resist pushing the pace and managed to pick up 3 new PRs. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had a training run scheduled for last night, so I inadvertently set myself up for quite a brick workout, riding 21 miles and then running 4 when I got home. Needless to say, my ride to work this morning was very slow.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Two close passes in the rain, one of which was a guy with an extra-wide trailer and one of which was a minivan going at least twice the speed limit.

A rager in a luxury SUV then went off when I pulled out to take the lane after the trailer mishap.

A passing lane was available the entire time, of course. And then....


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

ghettocruiser said:


>


Ha! Perfect.


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

especially when your on a bike and their in a car/truck, and you still end up at the same red light... just look at them like "yep...." lol aahahhhaha, then it happens at every red light for miles, you can just feel them getting more angry as each light passes


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@ghettocruiser: Very nice pic 

nothing special today. Tailwind this morning, so fast ride in. 90F and very humid on the way home, drank an entire bottle in 30min. on the way home. 

Still, I notice that the sun is lower in the morning and is not as warm as it was a few weeks ago. At least over here we do not have a "real" winter, more like autumn 3 seasons in a row. First thunderstorm is approaching, I can hear it already. Next days will be cooler and with occasional rainshowers.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That Kermit pic is spot on :lol: 

Been riding the Nashbike 'cross/gravel/disc/road bike while my new tires for the Ogre are shipping. REI dividend... got some Geax Saguaro's for 12 bucks each...anyone used them? we'll see how they do... 

The big news around here is I'm moving... gonna be living on one of those modern paved roadways. May actually take to washing my vehicles, etc...we'll see. It looks like I'll have about a 10 mile logging/fireroad option for the commute though...I still need to scout it out. Might be a monster climb in there that will make it pretty time consuming. The shortest route will be about 6.7 miles of pavement, with significantly more elevation gain on the way home. 
The biggest downside is I'll lose the singletrack option that I have now. I may be able to make up for that with some potential trails off of the logging road route, assuming that works. 
The biggest plus in terms of the bike addiction is the basement laboratory... definitely an upgrade for the commuterboy bike shop.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ It's not easy being green with bicycle envy. 

Congrats on the New CB Skunk Works, CB! Hope the ST works out.

Hauled 30 pounds of garden produce home from the farmer's market. 

BrianMc


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> The biggest plus in terms of the bike addiction is the basement laboratory... definitely an upgrade for the commuterboy bike shop.


:lol: Darn, no evil laugh emoticon available!!!

Hope you enjoy the new digs & la-bor-a-tor-y!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> The big news around here is I'm moving...


Attacked another wasp nest?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Saturday : hot. Good ride in, got an approval honk and thumbs up from a guy in a Honda Accord. Not sure why, but I will take it. Ride home was nice. Stopped there, emptied my bag, let my dog out for a minute, and then rode up to the grocery store for some late night shopping. I can fit quite a bit in the bag which is nice. Rode home at about a quarter to one in the morning with more traffic than I had encountered all night on the ride home. Not sure what was up with that.

Leaving here for work in a few minutes. Hotter today than yesterday. I love it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode a charity ride yesterday.

First covered bridge (the walk across recommendation was valid any bike tire under 45 mm would jam in the spaces in the boards.



The second one I have provided a dark photo of here once before and though they warmed about riding across, only tires under 25 mm would be at risk:



New route with more and longer grades than last year. I knew it would be a bit long for my conditioning, but I wanted the twin bridges. While we don't have many hills that show above the horizon, we have some nice valleys that dip below it, usually with a T-intersection at the bottom. So much for roller coastering up the other side of the valley. The organizers had a habit of putting the white painted slow warning sign at the bottom. If you were still at 45 mph at that point, you were likely not going to make the turn. I assume someone has a nasty sense of humor.

I was pressing on a bit faster than I often do, but my pulse rate was good. So I attacked a nice climb out of a valley at the 30 mile mark and the lactic acid did my quads in. I was only about 8 miles from home so bowed out of the last bit of the ride. I also set off the pulse alarm on a three climbs (above 160), but the one on bumpy pavement at a pulse rate of 230 was interesting! Since I did not die, I have to assume that the chest strap was recording the vibrations sent through me as pulses.

I was chelating mercury and that might not be too good for power output and oxygenation, based on prior riding experience both on the meds and not.

A connection to the front helmet light went bad and the battery for the front lights tripped a safety and the battery for the lights on the stays died. So I called in my backup and rode/staggered to the orchard and restaurant to wait.

Several comments on The Duchess, too. So it was good, but with room for improvement.

BrianMc


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fast and windy, along with a side of hot. Mid 80's but my weather app said felt like 92. Have decided that even riding to work in anything but cycling clothes is just uncomfortable. Today was a jersey and cycling shorts and it felt really good not to have a top layer over the shorts. I need to find more full coverage spandex padded shorts like these for the warmer days. I hate to say that it feels like freedom but damn, it does kind of feel like freedom!

Monday will be a storm dodging kind of day, and the rest of the week is pretty much shot with thunderstorms and rain. Hoping to at least make it in to work without getting drenched.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> :lol: Darn, no evil laugh emoticon available!!!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the new digs & la-bor-a-tor-y!





rodar y rodar said:


> Attacked another wasp nest?


How did you guess Rodar? No other options. haha. Burning the old house down this weekend. :lol:

Can't wait to break ground on the new basement laboratory. I think I'm going to call it "The Situation Room." I've just always wanted a room called that. It should be pretty slick if I'm able to make my vision a reality. There's a slight chance the wife is expecting me to take on some other projects before I get to work on it though :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Wet and chilly, though - 56F and rain. That nasty combo where it is just cold enough that rain gear is a good idea, but warm enough that it makes you wet on the inside. Oh well, such is life. Legs felt good today as I took yesterday off completely - first day without a ride or run since July 31. Really, I could have used two days off, but had to get to work somehow. 

Saturday I did a nice 31 miler from my house up to our new GPRA single track trails, gave those a quick ride and then back home. Good times, good times. Friday I did a 17 mile trail ride on the FS bike, trying to get a better feel for it and it just ain't happening. I think the big issue is that I can't, currently, get the bars high enough for me so I am always super hunched over. Ideally I'd have a few more mms to raise the stem, but the steerer has been cut a bit short. So I think I'd need to get a stem with a bit more rise to it and a set of riser bars. That said, I think that instead I will just get it set up for my son as last night we had to replace two spokes on his old, old hardtail that he was handed down from his sister. In doing so I realized that the wheel needs to be rebuilt completely from any number of times the previous owner ran the chain over the cassette and into the spokes (properly setting the limit screws was task one when I bought the bike) - all of them on the drive side are chewed to shiz and I'm afraid that with the two new spokes in the added tension is going to start pinging them left and right. 

The more I try to be a multi-bike guy, the more I realize that I can't do it. Well, I probably could if I were to have them all set up with the same bars, grips, controls, seat, pedals, and other bits and bobs...but that gets spendy and since the wife doesn't ride, she doesn't understand how personal and intimate a bike's set up is. She's all "Just get on it and ride..." 

Time to find a new wife?  J/K!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Hectic day.

First day of back to school for my kids and I had to take my son's medicine as a stop on the way. Then in the middle of my ride received 3 work phone calls. Of course I get calls the day I let them all know I was coming in late. #GoodTimes

It wasn't as brutally humid as I had anticipated, but by mile 10, I was feeling it pretty good, so that last 3 miles I earned it.

In other news, I ordered a Brooks Cambium C17 saddle. One - I wanted to reward myself for staying pretty consistent this summer. Two - I had a wipe out on the trails last fall/winter and I think the increased time in the saddle with my svelte figure I **REALLY** bent, already bent rails. A new saddle had to be ordered. I wavered spending **THAT** much money, but figured if I do buy a dedicated commuter in the future, I could move the saddle over.

I also took that opportunity, to pickup another pair of Bibs and tech shirt. I never thought I'd see the day I'd not only purchase bibs but actually wear them in public, but they are more comfortable. However, now that I don't have pockets I had no place to put my phone, so the tech shirts with pockets will be a big assist.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I really need a Cambium saddle on my Ogre. Like really really.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wet ride this morning. Very warm and damp, light drizzle at first, heavy rain at the second half so I put on my raingear. Had a scary moment, I was riding towards an crossing and a car came up at my left with the right turn indicator on. For a moment I was thinking she was going to hit me but she braked and then went onto the right exit lane behind me. I had the same moment 2 years ago on the same spot, but then the guy sneaked up in front of me and I still do not understand that he did not hit me. And I hit the 4000km marker for my bike today, which makes exactly 3000km this year (~2480m / ~1800m). I rather think in km since it is common here and the numbers are more impressive, too ;o))

The ride home was nice and easy going. Nice temps, little clouds and a short but nice detour of 10min. extra.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I really need a Cambium saddle on my Ogre. Like really really.


Then click this link and ye will be rewarded (maybe): CAMBIUM C13 || BROOKS ENGLAND

Good commute, my legs are still sore from a weekend race that had 2.5 miles of kayak, 16 miles of MTB and a run with about 1000ft of elevation gain in 1/2 mile and then 1000ft of elevation loss in the other 1/2 mile. I got 3rd, my quads are still angry. Got to ad that to my blog too but I'm getting backlogged.

Good commute, perfect weather. I was supposed to take a recovery day but instead I did a 30 mile loop and pushed to get a KOM. Maybe it's time for Stravaholics Anonymous. Passive Aggressive Recovery Ride


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Extremely foggy here, perhaps due to the temp going from 90F to 62F overnight. You could not see the traffic lights unless you knew they were there. I had to drive an hour for a meeting (on our state holiday Bennington Battle Day, no less!), but here is a vid from another VT bikecommuter; there is supposedly a "fog ninja" cyclist in it (wearing white, no lights) at the 30 second mark.
Scary!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks Bedwards! I'm gonna be selected, I know it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot ride in for the most part. Stopped at the shop just because I left early and had nothing better to do. Shot the BS with my mechanic buddy and headed to work. Wore a jersey and have been since it has been so warm. Really makes a difference with my big pack on my back. My back is a bit sweaty but nowhere near as much as if I was in a regular shirt like I was before. The right gear can make all the difference.

Ride home was humid and I was actually sweating more when I rolled up into the complex than before. Temp dropped almost 18 degrees between rides, but the humidity might have actually increased. Patiently awaiting a package that contains 2 jerseys and a Garmin Edge 810 that I ordered, along with a Barfly mount for it. Cannot. Wait.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

No ride for me yesterday because I needed to drive out to get a new cell phone during lunch. It's too far to ride in the time I have allotted for a lunch break. My wife accidentally dropped my old phone in the pool over the weekend.

Today, I don't really have an excuse. Just woke up late because I set the alarm on my new phone for PM instead of AM.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another damp ride this AM, mixed with thick fog. Good times. Ride felt good, overall. Last night I went for a 4.8 mile run at 7:30, so figured that this AM I would be feeling it, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the legs felt really good.

Oh, and I saw something so awesome yesterday on some newly redone trail here in Anchorage -









Now if only that had been there when this section of trail was my daily route - there were a number of times when I could have used the tools but instead limped either home or to work.

I hope that the rest of the trail improvements see additional work stands. Provided the yahoos don't vandalize them.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

1.5" of rain during my ride home yesterday.
Wheeeeee

Also that bike hasn't been that clean since 2011


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

air quality extremely dangerous today..... we have like 6 fires going on around us, and ALL the smoke is headed into me valley.... couldn't ride=bummed out....

oh well, hopefully tomorrow is better!!!! 

RIDE FAT,GET FIT! <my new moto


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Here is a vid from another VT bikecommuter; there is supposedly a "fog ninja" cyclist in it (wearing white, no lights) at the 30 second mark.


So that was the brief blur I could only see on full screen. I likley would not have seen that cyclist in time in the car or on the bike. Cameras are not as sensitive as our eyes under those conditions, but still...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Shayne said:


> Also that bike hasn't been that clean since 2011


There are really two types of clean. There's Clean, in which case rain will make it dirty. But if your bike is already dirty then rain will make it "clean."

Haven't posted much recently, because things have been boring: no rain at all, warm or really-warm weather, my no-traffic route is bliss, the bikes are all dialed-in, upgraditis is mostly cured. Bring on winter, I guess?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

wagonguy1989 said:


> air quality extremely dangerous today..... we have like 6 fires going on around us, and ALL the smoke is headed into me valley.... couldn't ride=bummed out....


Hope that clears up for you. We had several days of medium-heavy smoke here in Reno, but nowhere near what I would espect with so many big fires going on in neighboring states. I sure hope the rest of the west gets a series of wet systems like we had in the Tahoe-Almanor area this spring. Their dampening is STILL keeping fires to a minimum while the rest of the west is in flames.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Drove today expecting storms and torrential downpours. It sprinkled for about 5 minutes around 7 pm or so? Damnit.


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hope that clears up for you. We had several days of medium-heavy smoke here in Reno, but nowhere near what I would espect with so many big fires going on in neighboring states. I sure hope the rest of the west gets a series of wet systems like we had in the Tahoe-Almanor area this spring. Their dampening is STILL keeping fires to a minimum while the rest of the west is in flames.


ya, im in bakersfield ca, and ALL the smoke (and smog) billows into our valley... at least was able to ride today, air quality was in orange... so as long as i dont push it for too long ill be alright....


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Although they promised us summer for today, we got only autumn. This morning it rained until lunchtime or so. Still I started with a father-son commute to Kindergarten this morning, after that I rode to work through the rain. Got splashed by a truck, too. At work, I always park my bike next to the smoker's shed. A collegue of mine was in there and said "I believe smoking is healthier".

Ride home was better, wearing only longsleeve and windvest and calm winds. Took a small detour to avoid the last unpaved mile to avoid getting stuck in the mud.

Pic from this morning:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^OK, that's a cute li'l bikecommuter!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Agreed, that is a great picture. I love how he is giving the thumbs up!!! + rep added to you sir!

Day off for me, 90% chance of rain all day. We got some sprinkles around 1 pm or so and then it cleared up. Talked to my buddy who bought my bike, and we set the plans in motion. Set out around 7:30 to meet him at 8. Not a mile from my complex I ran into one of the mechanics from the shop I always go to. He is riding FGFS which is pretty boss. Redline of some sort that can do bar spins and he is running a disc brake front fork with a fat rotor. He joins me and we head off. Meet my friend and off we go just the three of us on a really nice night, humid, but really nice. Head into downtown and then onto this road that leads us out past the airport and into another town. Super smooth road, 2 lane, but there is a really nice bike lane 99% of the way out. Halfway out, the mechanic heads back as he is going out for the night and just wanted to chill with us. We carried on into the town, stopped, I might have had ice cream and we rode back. Storms are coming, but we had one hell of a window of opportunity and we took it. All in all it was a really nice 30 mile ride that let both of us clear our minds and just be calm and happy. There was some racing like there always is. 50/50 he wins/I win. He is pretty damn fast that is all I know.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I saw a train loaded with military tanks this morning. That was a surprise. I had a pretty decent crash my mountain bike the other night and have a nice knot/scrape/bruise on the outside of my left quad. It's kind of affecting the range of motion of my knee. I just recovered from another set of crashes from couple weeks back. I don't know what my deal is recently.

My commutes have been pretty routine. Last week a lady on the road perpendicular to mine made a lazy right turn into my lane. I skidded my tires a bit trying to stop in time. She had her cell phone in one hand and was supposedly driving with the other. I called out, but I don't think she heard me. I'm pretty sure I've had at least one other scare with this same driver at the same intersection.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Didn't ride yesterday - Work from home day so I took an hour and went for a nice trail run. That was fun. Kicked my but a bit, but had a good time. 

Today's ride was uneventful. Felt a bit chilly at 48F even though that's not that cool. I suppose I will need to start seriously getting my winter gear rounded up and in order here soon. By the end of September I'll be needing warmer gloves and tights at least in the mornings. Argh. 

Probably won't be riding tomorrow as we are heading down to the Kenai to watch the kids run XC. Trying to decide if I am going to run the community race that follows the high school race. Probably will. 

Since I've started running I've lost close to 20 pounds (2.5 months or so). I'm happy about that! 35 more to go to hit my goal weight of 200. It's funny to me that I can ride a 20 mile hard trail ride and burn about the same calories I burn running a mid-pace, 6 mile trail run. Then again, I really like those days when I get both a run and bike in and burn 2K plus - makes it easier to justify drinking a beer and having a bowl of ice cream!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

blockphi said:


> makes it easier to justify drinking a beer and having a bowl of ice cream!


I'd be lying if I said that wasn't one of the primary reasons I bike commute. Hoping to get a 4 mile run in tonight when I get home before I bike downtown to meet some friends for some beers. Again, something about burning calories...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for all the friendly comments and rep points! The best thing is, that I do not even "force" him - he simply likes riding and when I get home, he often runs to me and does not say "HI" but "Are we going for a bikeride??". He is also talking about a kid's mtb already. And he has a younger brother, so with everything we buy, we have long-term use in our mind. This might become expensive....

So summer broke through again. Yesterdaymorning I was almost swimming to work, the ride back home today was in shorts and t-shirt again. We made a father-son commute again this morning, the ride to work was very foggy, I had to take off my sunglasses after 1 mile. Very nice ride home, calm winds and nice temps. Forecast is very similar for the next few days, so very good bikeweather.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

We've been pretty lucky with the wildfire smoke, but it descended on this little valley overnight. We have a couple of fires in nearby counties, but the wind has been good to us. Today it's pretty nasty. 

Preparations for the big move are still underway... I packed up all the bike tools, which is a little scary... left those toolboxes accessible. The garage is filling up with boxes to the point where I can't access my workstand. Really hoping for no mechanical issues for the next week or so. haha.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Blasted by wind on the way in but it was unseasonably cool at 72F! The ride home was dare I say, chilly? 64F with a slight wind. The temps are forecasted to warm up again and this was just a cold front after a big storm made its way across the midwest. Looking to commute Friday if possible. We will see.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks for all the friendly comments and rep points! The best thing is, that I do not even "force" him - he simply likes riding and when I get home, he often runs to me and does not say "HI" but "Are we going for a bikeride??". He is also talking about a kid's mtb already. And he has a younger brother, so with everything we buy, we have long-term use in our mind. This might become expensive....


My son is only two, but when we are at the store he will get on a tricycle in the toy department and claim he's going to work. He also loves to go for rides in his iBert seat. I'm not pushing him to like bikes, but I'm not exactly complaining about his interest. Maybe he'll ride his bike to work one day. :thumbsup:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My son is always imitating my dropbar: when he holds directly next to the stem, he is on the "tops" and when he holds the grips and bends over the bar, he is on the "drops". And then he tells me, I also have to put my hands on my "racebar" (drops) to make us go faster ;o))

Very nice commute today. First father-son commute to Kindergarten. Fast Ride to work in T-shirt and tailwind. Nice ride home in shorts and t-shirt. Simply a lovely day 

Next sunday there is a roadbike race around town here, we are going to watch it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok no real commute today, but today we went to see the cyclassics. AND: My youngest son is now able to ride in the trailer, first ride today!! Was not very impressed, he fell asleep after 5 minutes and slept all the time the roadies were passing by.

The firemen apparently were quite bored, they managed to get even an interview on TV.

My youngest:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...AAAAAAAhMY/1ElFBe2vHnQ/s800-Ic42/DSCN9786.JPG

The Fireman being interviewed by local TV:
(The other one is shouting things like (Bikewash 3€ etc)


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today as there are storms on the approach, some look to be somewhat severe. That is really unfortunate because I got my Garmin 810 and I have not had a chance to use it yet. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a nice day so maybe it will happen then.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Was not very impressed, he fell asleep after 5 minutes and slept all the time the roadies were passing by.


:lol: Probably because the roadies weren`t pulling him along! Well, even if he slept through the main event, it sounds like Pops had a good time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Checking in, busy at home, busy at work. I've got 2 blog entries to get to before the statute of limitations expires.

I just rolled over 4000 miles for the year so far and 299 hours and 9 minutes. 

I've had a pretty good stretch of being able to commute every day. I took the long hilly way in today. The view from the top of this one was amazing! 







Same View Yesterday


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2015)

Interesting commute. Rode my 29er HT (which is almost a relic of my past now, too much fun on the Salsa) through cool temps (mid-40s) and light traffic. Shoulder is giving me fits, there's so much wrong with it that I'm probably done riding after September ends until it gets fixed (sucks). Thinking about putting flats on the 29er and using it around the house and on dog rides (clipping in and being tethered to a Husky could be darwinistic).


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I have been clipped in and tethered to a Husky! She was a really good dog, but it was still frightening. Super short lead so the dog can't hack in front of the front tire, no loop in the lead so you can let go quick if necessary, and never...NEVER put the leash hand on the bars. It's a one handed affair, so your whole body can absorb all that lurching dog power. If a squirrel or a deer enters the scene, just pray it is straight ahead and not off to the side.


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## Guest (Aug 24, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I have been clipped in and tethered to a Husky! She was a really good dog, but it was still frightening. Super short lead so the dog can't hack in front of the front tire, no loop in the lead so you can let go quick if necessary, and never...NEVER put the leash hand on the bars. It's a one handed affair, so your whole body can absorb all that lurching dog power. If a squirrel or a deer enters the scene, just pray it is straight ahead and not off to the side.


 I use a 20' retracting leash and that works okay, never on the bar. Mine is really good an staying on the bike's right and not crossing the front wheel and has settled into a pretty constant gait but when she stops to answer the call of nature it's abrupt. We've not seen a deer yet, but she's okay with rabbits (the harness is a signal of sorts that we're not chasing things today).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

And again, very plain and simple for me today, nice rides in and out. Easy days at work too, so very relaxing towards my vacation, starting on friday.

Tonight we again tested the youngest one, in the kid seat on the back today. We made only a short tour of 10-15 minutes and he looked a bit, lets say, sceptical and he did not fall asleep today. We'll have to make some adjustments to helmet and seat but I am sure we will get it right. We are going to try to make a bit longer ride on friday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back in the saddle today as my temporarily 4 dog household shrunk down to a more manageable 2. Good rides, still a bit warmer and more humid than I prefer though. Made good time this a.m. but likely due more to lucky lights than speediness - even the last left arrow was green, and that has only happened a handful of times.

Nice doggies Bedwards!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I ride past this sign every day now, and it always makes me laugh:









It _looks_ like someone messed with a city sign, but nope, that's serious.

Also snapped an accidental avant-garde selfie while I was changing a tire or messing with my handlebars or something last week:


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## Crankyone (Dec 8, 2014)

Interesting photo! I try hard and mine aren't that interesting! It has an "Atlas Shrugged" sort of feeling.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It nearly happened today. The wind nearly blew me off my bike. Huge cross wind came out of nowhere and after a wobbly recovery I managed to not fall. Getting tired of fighting the wind on the way in almost every day. Finally used my new Garmin 810 and it is pretty awesome. Need to make an adjustment to the Barfly bar mount so that it does not block my headlight but aside from that, a pretty good ride. The whole week looks good in fact so that will be nice.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Yes. Unexpected cross winds funneled by buildings and trees can be the worst kind of surprise. I was leaning over into a 90 degree right turn only to suddenly be fighting to not fall over to my left! I had to take half the oncoming lane to get it done, and was lucky the railroad track slowed the single oncoming car! Got it hauled back to my side of the road, and did not wipe out or need a change in shorts. The wind has to be out of just the right angle to do that at that spot and in seven years it has happened once.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Forster said:


> I use a 20' retracting leash and that works okay, never on the bar. Mine is really good an staying on the bike's right and not crossing the front wheel and has settled into a pretty constant gait but when she stops to answer the call of nature it's abrupt. We've not seen a deer yet, but she's okay with rabbits (the harness is a signal of sorts that we're not chasing things today).


Daisy is trained to pull with skiis...

So I use the ski harness and a leash just long enough to allow the dogs tail enough room in front of the tire...leash is attached to a waist strap....you can really lean into the dog when you have to, and both hands on the bars.

She pulled me up about 600 vert ft at about 20 kph...even hit the brakes a couple of times.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I'm just over 4 months in with my every day bike commute. Hasn't been a bad transition, a handful of really hot days, got rained on a couple times but overall it's going well. Feels pretty routine at this point, don't even really consider the car when the weather is less than ideal.

On a somewhat related note I'm very happy with the Gates Belt Drive. I've got over 1500 miles on it this year so far and it's required nothing, that includes rain, mud, snow, sleet and road salt. I just hop on and go, and I really like that.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BrianMC, Tenspeed: I have had a similar experience last year. There was a storm passing through and I thought it would not be that bad. So on the way home I had to avoid several treebranches, some of them upto 5" thick, which made me doubt if I should be on the bike. I was sheltered most of the time but two times when I came around a corner and suddenly had the wind in my face, it felt like I hit a wall. I came to a standstill instantly and if that wind would have caught me from the side, I am sure it would have blown me off the street. Since then I prefer to take the bus when it is that bad...

Today uneventful rides again, a bit more wind than yesterday but nothing to worry about. Tomorrowmorning there might be some rain but I will sleep a night over it and then we will see what nature throws at me.

After this week I have vacation for two weeks with little biking. After that, my "agent orange" commuter is exactly 1 year old and I have put around 2700m on it. So I guess that will be my every year's avarage. Not much compared to others here. I have great respect for everybody hitting 3000 or more miles and/or living way up north!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some rain both ways today, but not enough to really get wet. Drivers were pretty well behaved. Most kids were back to school already today, saw some waiting for their bus; we never used to start until after Labor day. Not psyched to have go in early tomorrow for a meeting, but on the plus side it as at a parking-poor location, so bikes will rule!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Chilly ride in with the temps barely breaking the low 60's and of course, windy. Long sleeve jersey that I picked up from Steep & Cheap was pretty nice. Ever have one of those commutes where no matter where you were, there was a car right where you wanted to be? Any time I wanted to leave the bike lane to turn or merge or whatever, there was a car there. They hang back just enough that you are unsure if they are waiting for you or if they see you or what. Ride home was nice but really cool in the low 50's. Supposed to warm back up later this week. Cold weather gloves might have to make an appearance as my hands were already cold on the ride home. Damn you Reynaud's!!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was windy tonight. I almost drove in, but since we only got three days this week and I already drove yesterday, thought I had better not do it again.


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2015)

Ride was stupid today. It must be drive like the British day in my little town. First I see a bike riding straight toward me on a one-way street (on my right). Next a car trys to take me out turning the corner like a racer trying to do apex turns (Karma will catch up with him in the form of a police report of reckless driving - Note to the reckless, don't do stupid crap in front of a bus stop full of witnesses). Almost immediately after that another bike is riding up the street on my side of the road and at the last minute he swerves into traffic (very lucky the driver was paying close attention). Makes the goat mini-stampede from yesterday seem like a calm day (6 goats decided to run out in front of the Fargo on the ride home yesterday). Riding to lunch and home. Can't wait to see how that goes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice pic Newfangled. It's always interesting to see what people look like after interacting with them for a few years on forums. 


jeffscott said:


> She pulled me up about 600 vert ft at about 20 kph...even hit the brakes a couple of times.


Cool!

Stupid Strava Climbing Challenge. The goal is 11,000 meters this month. I signed up and now feel compelled to complete it. 36,000 feet in a month is "lofty". Knocked off 2800ft this morning on the way to work.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Just about got taken out by a High Schooler opening his car door on the passenger side. I was riding in the bike lane next to the curb and since school just recently started and since I was working late today, I must have arrived right at peak drop off time. There were cars lined up for more than a block. Luckily I was going slow and had room to swerve.

I rode my cross bike today and some roadie on a very light weight looking bike complimented me on "working that bike!" I'm sure compared to his mine is a porker.

Earlier this week the temps were in the upper 40's as I left for work and mid 80's to 90's on the way home. Soon I'll have to break out a jacket. I'm not ready for winter yet!


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

no ride today (woke up too late lol)

but yesterday took out the new 75 varsity.... (new to me at least) i dont know how long its been since this thing has been greased or lubed, so took her as she stood, and for an old lady she did well to my amazement... besides the extremely bent rear rim missing a spoke or two the ride was smooth, the gum walls are about to explode too... need new tires bad... 

and a first for me.... i actually rode about 2-3 miles with two other fellow bikers, normally its just me in this 100f weather... they were looking at me like "his fata** musta bent that rim" untill i smoked both of them at three different lights and lost them completely on the bike path... love the gearing on this thing...

only complaint would be the seat... wayy to small for my big butt LOL... all in all good commute day, just need to tune up the "old lady"


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had a pretty close call the other day. My long route home takes me for a short time onto a 2 lane highway, which ends in a T and a big stoplight (the other part of the T is another 2 lane highway) but there' a right-hand "exit" situation before the stoplight, so that cars can make the right turn without stopping at the light...they merge with traffic on the other part of the T and skip the light... so I have to cross this exit lane to get to the light, which is always a little weird if there is traffic behind me. I shoot straight through the light onto a little road (that would actually make the T into an X I guess, wouldn't it). It's an insignificant road and not a full on highway like the roads that T, so very little traffic actually goes up to this light and straight across. Just about everybody takes the exit, and a few get over into the left turn lane to turn left at the light. So as I'm approaching this exit before the light, I always look back before I cross it... there isn't a ton of traffic, but sometimes I have to slow down and wait for a gap in traffic so I don't get right-hooked at 50mph. I stay over on the shoulder because of the speed of traffic on the highway. This time, I looked back and there was a car coming, and they slowed way down (I could hear the buzz of the tires slow down), so I started to cross the exit, realizing that they were going to turn right behind me. But then they got back on the gas thinking they could get around me before the exit... and then they realized that they had misjudged my speed and couldn't make it, so as they started to exit they hammered the brakes and turned back into the lane they were in, so they were missing their exit because of the idiot on the bike who was crossing the exit lane, while I crossed the exit lane to continue straight. I don't know if that makes any sense as I describe it, but it was scary. Lady was crazy mad at me for existing, flailing her arms and what-not. After I rode on she was able to turn onto the exit by crossing the little dirt patch that separated the exit from the main road.

Every situation I get in like that, I realize the answer would have been to just take the lane and irritate the driver earlier. No mistaking my intentions when I already made you get on the brakes.

Edit: Here's a pic. I'm coming down from the top of this picture and continuing straight through the light and out of the bottom of the picture.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Rather than cross the right turn lane by riding straight....another way is to ride along the right turn lane until you are approx halfway....then turn and cross the road at right angles.

more like a pedestrian


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Yeah, I have hung on the right shoulder until I am well along the 'exit', just making people think I'm turning right and taking the exit when there are lots of cars, then crossing that when the traffic clears and bushwhacking back over to the stoplight. There are goatheads in that island though, so I don't like doing that. 

This was a weird one because she clearly got on the brakes, realizing that I was going straight and waiting for me, and then deciding at the last minute that no, she was going to go ahead and try to kill me instead.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^That is a scary driver. I do love how she missed the exit due to her impatience, though.

Rode to an alternate location for a most of day training today. There was one really steep block that had me a little concerned about the possibility of rolling backwards, even though I was in low gear on the cross bike and standing up. I wasn't sure if I should feel strong or wimpy when I made it. 

I did make one error; after I changed into work clothes, I shoved my riding stuff in my pack, and it was nice and soggy at 2:30 for the ride back to the office. I should have hung a few items on the bike as it was a nice day. But since it was so nice, it was not as bad as anticipated and I opted to keep on the dry bra, so that helped.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Yeah, I have hung on the right shoulder until I am well along the 'exit', just making people think I'm turning right and taking the exit when there are lots of cars, then crossing that when the traffic clears and bushwhacking back over to the stoplight. There are goatheads in that island though, so I don't like doing that.
> 
> This was a weird one because she clearly got on the brakes, realizing that I was going straight and waiting for me, and then deciding at the last minute that no, she was going to go ahead and try to kill me instead.


All she had to do was slow or even stop and let you roll by. I vote for taking the lane with a signal and a look over the shoulder. Still, it sounds like this obvious declaration of your intent might have confused this driver.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Why do I keep forgetting that mtbxplorer is a female? Every once in a while she throws something out that makes me do a double read, like her post above. I keep forgetting. There was another woman that used to post here as well, some sort of Wisconsin trail runner if my memory serves me right. Keep on keeping on!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Yes, and don`t forget Rollingrunner. There have been a few others too, but all short-lived on this board.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I can attest to the fact that RollingRunner is still riding the 20+ mile RT commute daily with one car trip/week for supplies and to leave a car at work for work related stuff. Not sure why she doesn't post more. She likes to stalk...and play on Strava.

And now I present to you:The Candid Cyclist: Random Bike Pictures


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ceremonial final trail route commute from my house for the past 10 years this morning. Picking up the keys to the new place after a short work day and riding there. Kinda strange.

Also, I'm a dude. Just throwing that out there.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

Well, won't that give a girl a reason to pipe up! I mostly never got the logistics to using the forum. I would want to make comments, but being a bit slow to catch on I couldn't figure out the quote box, only just make a comment as a new entry. So, I had a great commute today! Dogs have daycare on Thursdays so it's a good day to ride long. I extended my commute to 25 miles into beautiful country roads with rolling hills. I'll try to be more present...maybe Bedwards1000 will teach me how to be more effective in my responses.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Just had to poke her. 



CommuterGirl said:


> ...Also, I'm a dude. Just throwing that out there.


:lol: 
I assume you will be pretty busy this weekend.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today is the most glorious of all days. It is new bike day!

I finally got my custom Soma Wolverine. 2 speed internal crankset, single speed wheelset, Brooks Cambium Saddle, BB7 brakes, 700x41 Knards, sweet orange bar tape. It is glorious. Won't be my every day commuter, but so far it's awesome.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa F4S!! That is one sweeeeet bike. Is that a crankset with the Schlumpfdrive? :
Schlumpf Innovations Gearing Systems - Speed Drive, Mountain Drive, High Speed Drive

Nothing to report about yesterday, and except for some drizzle, nothing to say about today either. Was such a day where it is too dry to put raingear on and too wet to leave it off. This morning I left it off, on the way home I put it on. Was wet in- and outside either way.

Will be off for the next two weeks but figured out some rides for tomorrow and Monday. Tomorrow I will "commute" with my son to Kindergarten by bike, after that a ride to the next LBS to pick up two bottle holders and a thermal bottle (If they have one). Next Monday I'll have to think of something. Tuesday we are flying to the mediterranean sea for some sun, snorkling and paddling.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

It's a FSA Patterson Metropolis Crankset, same basic idea the Schlumpf, but less spendy. 28 tooth actual ring with a 45 tooth "virtual" big ring. It's pretty cool.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

On and off the bike lately. Well, more like working from home a bit more lately. Not sure why, but I am finding it hard to motivate myself to go into the office. Maybe it is because the project I am working on doesn't require me to be in the office - the project team is spread across the US, so it's not like I have ever actually seen any of them anyway. Even the other team members in Anchorage prefer to meet via phone, so what's the point of going to the office other than for the ride there and back? Except that if I skip the commute, I have an extra three hours in the day to use for other things - riding or running. 

The rides have been, generally, good though. Yesterday's ride home was a bit of a bear. I felt dead overall. Maybe a bit of illness going around. Or held over tiredness from running my first XC 5K on Saturday. Ended up running it in 26.09. Not stellar, but a good improvement over my flat, paved 5k time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> Why do I keep forgetting that mtbxplorer is a female? Every once in a while she throws something out that makes me do a double read, like her post above. I keep forgetting.


Tragic! 

The owner/mechanic at the LBS and I once got talking once about women and bikes, and why more women weren't riding, and how we could get more women on MTBs... My response: I dunno, I don't understand women either! :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ It's good to know that the sharper minds here did manage to pick up on the word "bra" as not being a typically male piece of apparel and figured this out.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Then again, stretchy lycra isn`t typically a male piece of apparel. You know how those weirdo cyclist peoples are! Wanna share my Nair bottle?

Good luck or congratulation, or what-ever is called for with the new place, CB. Or CG, or whatever. Now chill out with the wasp nests this time so you don`t have to ever go through this again!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

OK, this is gonna be one of those stories that might seem stretched for the internet, embellished perhaps? Nope. This. Happened.

Ride in was good. End of that. The ride home...... Gather round and pull up a chair, this is gonna get good.

Mid 50's when I left work and headed out on my ride home. It was a nice night, semi humid, some fog in low lying areas but nothing too bad. As I approach the campus area, I notice the presence of police lights flashing up ahead. Simply a car pulled over by a city police officer. I don't pay much attention to it other than to give them plenty of room as I roll by. They eventually pass me as they must have just been finishing up, the car and the cop both pass me. I continue on not far behind the cop. I decide at a yellow light to stop and not run it. They continue on and get a ways up ahead of me. I continue on and pass by the campus. On the east side of the campus, there are several student oriented apartment complexes and buildings. I am riding in the right lane, minimal traffic, speed limit is 35 and I am doing about 21-22 or so just cruising along with my little speaker pumping out some good riding tunes. As I approach a light, I see a small group of people getting ready to cross the street. I think they have to see me, my light is on super bright flash and they checked to see if there was traffic. I saw them do this. One guy walks into the road, and lays down. Lays down. In the street. I assumed he dropped something, and that they were drunk so I check over my shoulder and move left. I don't have the time nor the patience for this type of shenanigans. He laid in the road as a bicycle approached him. The light turned yellow, gave it a split second though and ran it. I don't want to be on my bike when there are drunk people who are obviously wreckless in their actions already, and be at a stop light with them. They yell and cross the road. The cop who stopped at the light coming at us lit them up. I kept going because I thought I might be in trouble for running that red light. 

At the next light, I get guilty. I turn back and ride to see if there is anything going on. Sure enough the cop is still there with the lights on, and a kid is sitting in the grass in hand cuffs. I stopped and the cop and I talked for a minute. Turns out that this was the cop that passed me. He told me that he loved my light and that he could see me coming when I passed him and before this incident took place as he obviously flipped a U turn at some point. I immediately apologize for running the light. He asks me if this was the kid that laid in the street. I confirm this, and the cop asks me if I have any ID on me. He was very nice, and since he saw the entire thing go down, already knew what was up. Another officer pulls up and gets out, cop is like 6'4" or so. They get the kid up on his feet, he is unbalanced, said he didn't drink much, thought he knew me, yadda yadda yadda. I am just holding my bag in my hand waiting to get my ID out. See, it is dark out, and honestly, I want the cop to see me reach in my bag. Finally he comes over and I then reach in my bag to get it out. I waited patiently because the last thing I want to do is end up in cuffs in the back of a cruiser. They get my info, get the kid in the back of the cruiser, and then they talk to me. They were cool as hell. Said that this was their first incident involving a cyclist where the cyclist didn't get a ticket and wasn't at fault. I play it cool, not telling them that sometimes I run red lights when there is no traffic which is 100% the truth. Turns out the tall cop is a cyclist, well, he says he isn't but I say otherwise. He rides 3 miles to work. That counts in my book since he rides into the Michigan cold months all the way until December or so and the ice usually puts him back in a car. They both shook my hand and thanked me for coming back. I took off, and rode home. 

I am still sitting her reliving it, like did that really happen? It did. I can't believe it. Welcome back students. This year is gonna be good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I had a very similar thing happen on the way in...Some baby turkeys were in the road and I had to stop and wait for them to get out. OK, it's not that similar but I was doing about 21-22 at the time.

There is a crisp fall feel in the air. The lake says it's loosing it's heat.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Traffic played nice the last two days so I have little to complain about. The weather is starting to cool off here as well. Getting to that weird transition time where you need two completely different sets of clothing for the morning ride and the afternoon ride because the temperature swings are so drastic.

For some reason my left knee started bothering me on my way home last night, but not in the typical cycling knee pain manner. More of a crunchiness inside the cartilage. It acted up again on my way in this morning. I swear I must have the worst 27 year old knees in the world. I've had issues with them off and on since junior high school. I'll be out of town this weekend so that should give them some time to rest.


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## RollingRunner (Sep 20, 2013)

I had a little drama on my commute today too! I got to ride through the trails to work, a special opportunity Friday's on late shift offers me, about 3/4 of the way through I meet up with a friend to do a trail run mid commute. We hit the ATV trails on foot and I take him on a route I know that he hasn't been on. Somewhere mid run I realize that the logging in the area has obscured the trail markers and we go all rogue in the woods. Finally after trying a few different directions I decide that I'm going to be late for work and we need to backtrack our steps to get back to the bikes. Not far from our backtracking we see where the real trail goes (phew) and pick up our step. We found our way back to the bikes, and I had 15 minutes to ride the last two miles, wash the bike, hit the shower and be at my desk. I was only 5 minutes late! Ok, not as dramatic as the cop story, but it's all I got. Oh, and I also saw turkeys. A mom and 4 babies.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Howdy from Illinois again.

Commuting has been nice since being back. MUP is somewhat nicer than rural highways, I'll admit. I've been riding the mtb all this week and last enjoying the gears and having to push the bike harder to get the same speed. Took the single speed to work today and it was fast! 12.5 miles in 40 minutes, about 18.5 mph average. Pretty good for me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

My "commute" had me on some single track. Since it was my day off, there was no commute. 










This an official unofficial trail about an hour from here. I have ridden it before. It is the quirkiest trail I have ever ridden. This is the creepiest shed just smack dab in the middle of the trail.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

You can't fix stupid. Trouble is, it can kill us! 

Charity ride: 

1. An attempt to pass on a blind corner with three cars just past (passed?) us and unfortunately 2 more oncoming just entering the corner and unseen. Driver got it back in behind me. Just. Maybe they could save 15 seconds and they risk it? 

2. An attempt to pass too close to a stop sign. Driver ended up at the intersection in the left lane with a car to their left with right of way trying to turn right. SNAFU. "That was illegal!" as I rolled the stop sign. Yeah, the irony is not lost on me, but getting away from this person who was turning left, ASAP, was healthier for me I'm sure.

Both are reckless driving charges. 

Unfortunately my backup power for the camera failed, so no video of these.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

My nice quiet night rides home after work are gone. Students are back in full force. So many crossing right in front of me while I am clearly in the lane, super bright flasher going. No way you can't see me. It might be time to find an alternate route until this madness settles down a bit.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Damn, TenSpeed - I remember my experiences of freshmen at university (I got to experience it twice - once as the boyfriend of a girl who had just started uni and a second time as a mature (well, 24 y/o) student...

I seem to remember (both times) thinking that it would be doing our over burdened school system / society a favour by culling some of them (only some, mind you)... 

Back on topic, though; I am back in the saddle and commuting! After a small (ish) crash that was literally a pain in the ass and 19 days vacation (not one iota of exercise and lots of relaxing + English ales ) I am riding again! 

This morning was special in a lot of ways... My lungs have atrophied and my legs have shrivelled up... Or at least that's how I felt this morning... But I'm sure it will pass after a couple days and I find some kind of form again.

I finally went back to a flat bar and bar ends again too. 600mm flat bar with C4 stubby ends. Feels weird after riding drops for so long...


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Legs were dead this morning after a 7 mile run yesterday. I've been pretty slow lately so I'm hoping my legs wake up a bit soon.


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> My nice quiet night rides home after work are gone. Students are back in full force. So many crossing right in front of me while I am clearly in the lane, super bright flasher going. No way you can't see me. It might be time to find an alternate route until this madness settles down a bit.


 Don't know about the students, but I got hit by a administrative aide at the university I was attending in 1984. Pretty interesting deal, she copped to the whole thing (so I wouldn't call the police) then her insurance company called me to tell me that the accident was my fault (since she had honked her horn and exited the alley way at less than 3 mph when I somehow threw my bike sideways at her car and then magically flew on to the adjacent roadway - 16' away). I knew I had my case won when I entered the legal aid office on campus and the attorney was wearing birkenstocks and had a Schwinn Le Tour leaning on his desk. I outlined the incident and he called the insurance representative. The conversation went something like "I've reviewed my clients case and I'm prepared to litigate longer than it makes fiscal sense for you to continue fighting. Write the check or plan on a lot of court time." Traded in my crumpled Nisiki for a Cannondale SM 500.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Forster said:


> "I've reviewed my clients case and I'm prepared to litigate longer than it makes fiscal sense for you to continue fighting. Write the check or plan on a lot of court time." Traded in my crumpled Nisiki for a Cannondale SM 500.


I like.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

formula4speed said:


> View attachment 1011374


Oh man, that is super sweet. Love it. I have the knards on my fatty... they're 4.8" wide, but basically the same :lol:

Big move weekend for me... I'm sore, and ready to sell or give away most of my possessions. Where did this stuff come from? :lol: 
First ride in from the new place today. My shortest possible route went from about 5.8 miles to 6.7 miles...I'll get to exploring the forest options in the next couple weeks. Drawing mental plans for the basement laboratory... it's low on the (wife's) priority list, but it should be pretty cool eventually. Also I saw a fox this morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Pretty excited for today. Been neglecting the geared bike a lot lately so I cleaned it up, aired the tires up and will be riding that in.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A chilly ride in this AM - 32F at the house when I left. A bit warmer in town at 45F, but breezy. At least no precip. Legs were a bit heavy this morning, especially on the hills. Been trying to get used to some new running shoes with a low heel drop and I think the change in running form is causing my quads to work a bit harder. At least I'm hoping that's what the deal is. 

Planning on a nice long ride on Thursday or Friday to celebrate my 40th (Friday). Took some time off of work, so I better use it...


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Had a foggy, soggy ride into work. The fog was so thick that I had to remove my eyeglasses in order to see. Other than that the ride was great.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Earlier this year a friend showed me those climbing challenges on strava, and I've been doing them when I'm able. I mostly ride to climb so it happens pretty naturally usually, but this month I got it in my head that I was going to sign up for my first mountain bike race so I kind of focused on that and neglected the climbing goals. So I did the race Saturday, and there ended up being enough climbing in it to get me to 90% so I thought what the hell, I have 2 more days. Sunday morning I went mountain biking with one of my friends (geared fatbike this time) and realized on the ride that there is only 2 more weekends left before a big gravel century and I had to get my "road" bike ready. So I got home, changed the tires and went for another ride. Then rode to work today on the same bike, since I'm going to be at the beach for a week between now and the time I need it and not able to ride it much. Added in one hill to my commute that I thought would be enough to get me to the goal, then my legs sort of took over and took a longer, climbier, more wandering route. All in all a pretty great ride. 

My legs are still absolutely cooked from the race but I still managed to ride almost 60 miles / 4500 feet of climbing since then. These couple days have taught me more about using gears than the last 20 years hahahaha. Usually I just charge up stuff like a dumbass


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

AlexCuse said:


> My legs are still absolutely cooked from the race but I still managed to ride almost 60 miles / 4500 feet of climbing since then. These couple days have taught me more about using gears than the last 20 years hahahaha. Usually I just charge up stuff like a dumbass


Not using gears most of the time for about half a year at least now has taught me a lot about charging up stuff like a dumbass! It's pretty awesome and I'm finally getting a fixed gear set up on my flip flop hub. I'm pretty stoked.

That said, since I need a new front der for my mtb I'm basically using that as a single speed in a slightly uncomfortably high gear anyway. Gotta get that fixed...

TenSpeed, college campuses are among the worst places to bike and for some reason I've committed myself to being at one for two more years. And it's not even like I'm gonna have enough time to hit the off-road trails right on campus. I'll make the time.

#gradschool #gradschoolmorelikeradschool #radschool.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Fast ride in today on the geared bike. Felt so different to actually be more relaxed on the bike, and this coasting thing.....hehe what the heck is that???? Small incident in a neighborhood had me kind of fuming. Was riding along, looked over my left shoulder and signaled to make a left turn. Saw a car approaching from behind, figured that they saw me make the signal, and proceeded to start into the turn. Something told me to double check over my shoulder, and sure enough, they were there, passing me. Lady jabbing away on her phone. Probably never even saw me. I guess that is just how it goes.

Ride home was amazing. Almost set a new commute record for myself. GPS had me at the shortest route I have ever ridden to work at 7.93 miles. I did get a tiny bit of a late button push as I rolled out of the parking lot. I usually start it right at the rack. Average speed of 17.05mph and a max of 27.34mph. This includes the several lights that I got stuck at. Total time had me at 27:54 which is about 30 seconds slower than my record ride. I am shooting for a sub 27 minute commute at some point. Even hitting all green lights and blowing a few dark neighborhood stop signs I still only managed a mid 27 minute ride. New goal for the year I guess.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

TenSpeed, for me, that phone fixated fool would have been a prime candidate for a wing mirror removal... Lucky for her I'm me and not you... 

Glad your spider senses were tingling 

My ride home yesterday was nice - I'm still way below par, form - wise (too much ale / gin/good food & not enough training on holiday), but it was sunny and there were no incidents what so ever. Getting used to the flat bar too.
My ride in this morning was a complete wash out. I would have had better luck with a dinghy and a paddle. Plus I was really super wary of my Schwalbe Kojaks on the wet tarmac now after my fall a couple of weeks ago. 
I have a scar on my hip bone and a lump on my thigh that won't go away to remind me of it too...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> This is the creepiest shed just smack dab in the middle of the trail.


That is a creepy shed. Kind of reminds me of an ice house (pre-refrigerator ice block storage), which seems nicer than the alternatives.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Ride home last night was great. About halfway home, my legs all of a sudden loosened up and I could really open it up the rest of the way. Monday night is game night for my rec hockey league and we had a double header last night so I'm completely beat. Drove today because I need to pick up 40 lbs of dog food on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I almost got sideswiped by a motorcycle on my way home yesterday. Traffic is backed up for 2 miles because of an accident. I was feeling pretty happy passing them in the 8'wide breakdown lane. As I'm passing a motorcycle he decides to cut out of line (no look, no signal) and cut through a parking lot. I used my "bike horn" (YELLED "Hey, Hey, Hey!), took evasive maneuvers and missed him by a foot.








*Hypocrites *​


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> I knew I had my case won when I entered the legal aid office on campus and the attorney was wearing birkenstocks and had a Schwinn Le Tour leaning on his desk. I outlined the incident and he called the insurance representative. The conversation went something like "I've reviewed my clients case and I'm prepared to litigate longer than it makes fiscal sense for you to continue fighting. Write the check or plan on a lot of court time." Traded in my crumpled Nisiki for a Cannondale SM 500.


I suspect that at least some insurance adjusters' bonuses depend on getting cheap settlements and that they are willing to cross over into the unethical (from our point of view) under the guise of being a hard bargainer, if they can get away with it.

I once had an insurance adjuster at my kitchen table telling me that the fact that an exact replacement Raleigh frame cost would allow me to buy the better Mercian (on sale) frame meant that I would have to take a lower settlement because i would end up with a better bike than I had before the accident. I pointed out that it was not my fault that the replacement frame was so expensive, their client had to pay whatever it took to return me to the state I was in before the accident, but how I spent the money once I was paid, was my business. He was still stuck on the idea that the payment would give me a better bike and clearly was thinking of refusing. Then I pointed out that my father was President of a Mutual insurance company, and on principle we both did not like filing for some kinds of personal injury in most cases. For example, I told him that I was not planning on claiming anything for emotional trauma if he settled. I was not seeking compensation for my time at the hospital, the emotional stress on my wife called to the scene only to find a destroyed bike and her husband having been taken on a back board to emergency, or the impact the accident had on my functioning over the next week. What I was telling him was I was well aware that I was leaving a 10's of thousands on the table. He was here nit picking a few hundred? He saw the wisdom in settling while the settling was good and wrote the check on the spot. The car repair likely cost more as I left quite a dent.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I almost got sideswiped by a motorcycle on my way home yesterday. Traffic is backed up for 2 miles because of an accident. I was feeling pretty happy passing them in the 8'wide breakdown lane. As I'm passing a motorcycle he decides to cut out of line (no look, no signal) and cut through a parking lot. I used my "bike horn" (YELLED "Hey, Hey, Hey!), took evasive maneuvers and missed him by a foot.


Yeah. I feel that.

Well we have met cyclists like this, too. Some of them do to pedestrians what the motorcyclist did to you. Impatience can also make complete idiots of any of us if we are not careful. Still, it is very hard not to take this sort of thing personally when it is our life on the line. The adrenalin flare-up can be hard to deal with. We can't fix stupid. We can only hope to have a way to avoid the accident.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> That is a creepy shed. Kind of reminds me of an ice house (pre-refrigerator ice block storage), which seems nicer than the alternatives.


That is so much creepier in person even in the full day light. A few years ago, we rode this trail in the late afternoon, and honestly, there was this unsettling feeling in the air. I wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. Too bad that I did not get a full shot of it and the surrounding area. The door behind my bike is "new" since the last time we were there. People have done night rides on this trail but there is no way in hell you would get me out there at night, near that shed.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I almost got sideswiped by a motorcycle on my way home yesterday. Traffic is backed up for 2 miles because of an accident. I was feeling pretty happy passing them in the 8'wide breakdown lane. As I'm passing a motorcycle he decides to cut out of line (no look, no signal) and cut through a parking lot. I used my "bike horn" (YELLED "Hey, Hey, Hey!), took evasive maneuvers and missed him by a foot.
> View attachment 1012409
> 
> 
> *Hypocrites *​


That seems pretty typical from what I see of people on motorcycles. They don't care about the safety of road users they care about their ability to completely unpredictable and random bs completely unhindered.

I was walking once and had the little crosswalk guy telling me I had right of way. Just as I'm walking out in the crosswalk this group of about a dozen motorcyclists throws of their turn signal and they're coming. So I'm walking briskly but these jack wagons cut right by me flipping me off and talking about turn signals. You can use turn signals all damn day but without right of way you oughtta just shut up.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

NDD said:


> That seems pretty typical from what I see of people on motorcycles. They don't care about the safety of road users they care about their ability to completely unpredictable and random bs completely unhindered.
> 
> I was walking once and had the little crosswalk guy telling me I had right of way. Just as I'm walking out in the crosswalk this group of about a dozen motorcyclists throws of their turn signal and they're coming. So I'm walking briskly but these jack wagons cut right by me flipping me off and talking about turn signals. You can use turn signals all damn day but without right of way you oughtta just shut up.


This sounds a lot like the kind of arguments people use against cyclists.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Kleebs said:


> This sounds a lot like the kind of arguments people use against cyclists.


To be honest I know people who I wish didn't ride their bike on the road. They break every traffic law they can and are aggressive towards drivers who, given the way they bike, probably had no good way to see them. These are the people that make day to day commuting harder for me and most of them are just out for sport anyway.

So, while driver aggression towards cyclists is often unwarranted, there's a clear reason why people think what they do, even if it's a bad one. The best any cyclists can do is to lead by example. This is why I don't go on shop rides very often. I'll call out the ride leader for cutting off a truck or something, and every other person just hates that. They'll also be rude and buzz pedestrians.

Tl;dr: perhaps but many cyclists make a bad example out of us, so even if we lead by example we're fighting a battle against other cyclists too. You should make an example out of cyclists that suck. Motorcyclists should self regulate likewise.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

NDD said:


> Tl;dr: perhaps but many cyclists make a bad example out of us, so even if we lead by example we're fighting a battle against other cyclists too. You should make an example out of cyclists that suck. Motorcyclists should self regulate likewise.


I agree with you that it is important to self regulate; cyclists, motorcyclists, and motorists included.

I found it ironic that you used the same formula against people on motorcycles as we so often complain about people doing against cyclists:

Step 1: Make a broad blanket statement about your choice of road user.



NDD said:


> They don't care about the safety of road users they care about their ability to completely unpredictable and random bs completely unhindered.


Step 2: Use a personal anecdote about your negative experience with a few individuals to support the overgeneralization from Step 1.



NDD said:


> I was walking once and had the little crosswalk guy telling me I had right of way. Just as I'm walking out in the crosswalk this group of about a dozen motorcyclists throws of their turn signal and they're coming. So I'm walking briskly but these jack wagons cut right by me flipping me off and talking about turn signals.


I don't mean to come across as attacking you NDD. I just found it ironic to see the same formula that we all see time and time again against cyclists being subconsciously used in a cycling forum against another road user. It just goes to show how easy it is to fall into that trap, which is exactly why we need to self regulate as you stated in your response. Cheers.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Since I started this whole debate, I'll point out that I did it a little tongue in cheek. I just thought it was ironic that one of a group that is vulnerable to larger vehicles took the same role against bikes. 

And I agrees with the both of ya! I cringe when I go on group rides and others do things that make drivers hate us.

On a semi/quasi related note. I saw a driver roll through 2 stop signs and about the average travel speed of a bike or about 15-20mph. Motorists complain that bikes don't stop and then blow through them way faster than we do. Hypocrites!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I get it, Kleebs, and I don't take it personally. It's an easy trap and I've fallen into it. Unfortunately I need to self regulate my arguments better 

But really, we seek division by pointing out bad examples. Bad examples are so memorable, and so when groups we're not familiar with do things that bother us we make the error of attribution. I think this is a serious cognitive limitation responsible for, among other things, racism.

Bedwards, sorry. I take life too seriously sometimes. Most the time... Nah. Certain things grind my gears, though. Hypocrisy is one of them, unfortunately I've been hypocritical and sensational in arguing against a group I consider hypocritical. Dang.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Good commute today. Got a little lazy in July but just tallied up my August milage and it is much better. Only have an 8.8 mile roundtrip commute so the milage doesn't add up quickly even riding every day.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That ride in was HOT!!! We are having summer here, part II. Unreal humidity tied in with some warmer than average temps made it a hotter than a son of a ride in. Traffic by campus is plain stupid. Rode the fixed gear in today and pretty much passed 17 cars going slower than 25mph. Stopped at the shop to adjust my front brake and was just drenched and that is about a 5 mile ride from the apartment. Got to work and locked it up. Bulldog U lock through the frame and rear wheel to a heavy duty contraption that would take some work to get through. Front wheel locked to the frame and U lock with an old cable lock that I have. I leave my locks on the rack at work so I don't have to carry them. Undid the cable lock, and pulled, and the lock snapped up at me, hitting me square in the knuckle of my left hand. I screamed in pain because hell, it hurt like hell!! I let go and it flew a bit of a distance, came down, and that was it. It no longer locks. The one side will not go into the lock itself. Done. Kaput. Oh well, I hated that lock but wasn't gonna buy another just because, well I wanted to, but now I have an excuse!!! So the front wheel just sat there. I guess I could have taken it off and locked it to the frame through the U lock. 

The ride home? Uneventful. Why? Because it didn't happen. Guess who left their front light at home right next to where their bag was sitting and even though they left it on the bag, it must have fallen off when they grabbed their bag to head out. Guess. It wasn't my dog. He and I are the only residents in this apartment currently. Co worker would NOT allow me to even attempt to ride home. She said it was too dangerous to be without a light anywhere near that campus and on the MUP that I ride (she is familiar with it) so she gave me a ride home. Bike wouldn't fit in her car so I drove back to work to get it. No way in hell that it would sit out even locked and under surveillance.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Been on holidays for a couple of weeks so no commute. Good to see you guys have kept the wheels turning!

Got some great rides in on the time off, all on the Genesis SS MTB. Damn I love that bike, can just ride it all day. Turned 40 while I was off so the missus bought me a Unicycle. They are really hard and work the quads more than you might think. Thats just with me being at the point of being on it and holding onto something, not managed a ride on it yet.

Back to normality with a thump this morning. Second layer required this morning but otherwise uneventful, felt pretty good though.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Super short. Took my car to the dealership for some warranty work. Still had the bike in it from last night. Rode home instead of taking a ride from their courtesy van. Service writer said I was the third person this morning to do that. That was before 8 am and they had a lot of appointments for the day. It rained this morning so the roads were a bit damp half way there. I think I dodged the storm because I am home and it looks like it is going to rain again. It was a grueling 2.5 mile trip home. I tried to take the roads mostly but had to avoid a rough patch of road so I jumped on the deserted sidewalk. Almost got hit by a car turning into a parking lot. Back on the street after that. The sidewalk is so much more dangerous than the road now that I have been riding.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Last night I actually talked with another bike commuter on that way home. We started griping because we were both going the same way at the same stop sign and someone ran it going perpendicular to us I. their cell phone. Talked for a bit while riding but turns out the dude's nutso, because eventually he started talking about how he just joined the military specifically to go into combat and how awesome it's going to be when the US goes to war with Russia.

The inner pacifist in me and my general lack of nationalism meant I was happy he had to turn off. I thought that part was weird, around here I hardly ever see dedicated commuters. They exist but are rare enough that detection probability is very low. You kinda hope meeting another one isn't going to bee awkward.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> Last night I actually talked with another bike commuter on that way home. We started griping because we were both going the same way at the same stop sign and someone ran it going perpendicular to us I. their cell phone. Talked for a bit while riding but turns out the dude's nutso, because eventually he started talking about how he just joined the military specifically to go into combat and how awesome it's going to be when the US goes to war with Russia.
> 
> The inner pacifist in me and my general lack of nationalism meant I was happy he had to turn off. I thought that part was weird, around here I hardly ever see dedicated commuters. They exist but are rare enough that detection probability is very low. You kinda hope meeting another one isn't going to bee awkward.


Just tell him your recruiting for a secret bike platoon....you have the officer corp complete but are still looking for some nco's and pvts...

Probably get a few days of trail mantainence happening.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Just topped 3500 miles for the year, so there's that. I also recently looked at my activity history for August since I got my new Fenix 2 watch and have, between cycling and running, logged just a smidge over 29K of climbing. Not too shabby.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoo, groovin 
Back when I was JPS (Just Plain Slow) my median commute time in the summer was right around 13 minutes even. Now that I`ve gone from JPS to RFS (Even Slower), I rarely even break 14. This morning I somehow made it up my now loose and rutted piece of ST without stalling for only the second or third time since our spring monsoon, AND had a slight tail wind, made it home in 13:08

NDD, that guy`s conversation would have thrown a wet blanket over my happy little social moment too. I don`t think I`d care to hang around him for any coerced trail maintenance- bet you don`t either.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> Just tell him your recruiting for a secret bike platoon....you have the officer corp complete but are still looking for some nco's and pvts...
> 
> Probably get a few days of trail mantainence happening.


Secret bike platoon! Ha! That's rich. You also reminded me to go check out when the next big trail maintenance day is.

Rodar, it was such a wet blanket. I actually don't want to put any kinda heavy metal tool in the hands of a person like that. It's like if you were trying to date some chick and then she said she hates camping and botany. Some things are inexcusable.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Good ride in this AM. Just topped 3500 miles for the year, so there's that. I also recently looked at my activity history for August since I got my new Fenix 2 watch and have, between cycling and running, logged just a smidge over 29K of climbing. Not too shabby.


I got you beat. I was chasing a silly line in the sand with last month's Strava climbing challenge of 11,000m. I ended up with 39,750 on the bike. I climbed 3 mountains in August that were all in the 1200'+ range so I'm in the 45K range. I climbed to the stratosphere! Definitely above my norm, had to boast.

Took the trails in this morning. They were lovely.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I set out exploring my new dirt option commute on the way home yesterday... dirt road turned to logging road, turned to old skidder trail, turned to quad trail, turned to non-existant. Missed a critical turn there somewhere, and I was deep enough in the woods that my phone wouldn't load a map . Eventually I popped out on a bald mountain with no trees, and I could see the valley where my new house is, so I bushwhacked it for about a mile and wound up coming down into someone's backyard. Memorable commute.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Riding in my neighborhood about a block from my house and I see an SUV coming down a perpendicular street coming towards where I am riding. They have stop sign, but my mind went straight to "this person isn't going to stop". Sure enough, they blow the stop sign and turn left, now coming towards me. Bad enough the blew the stop without slowing, she cut the turn so hard she is coming at me in my lane.

This was sadly not a surprise at all, so I had my hands full of brakes before she got anywhere near me. The middle age woman driving eventually realizes I am there, swerves back in to her lane and accelerates off as she mouths "sorry".

This is literally a block away from an elementary school that has young kids walking all over the place. Drives me nuts that this is "normal" for people driving in my neighborhood.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Today was a one way commute. I left the bike at work last night as I had a few errands after work. The ride sucked. Head wind all the way and I blew up completely trying to keep up with a guy on an e-fatty. Moral of the story? Three weeks vacation plus beer every day does nothing for ones fitness...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

So I got a guy at work who keeps telling me he's going to ride his new bike to work. Realize now he's just a talker. His "ideal riding conditions" criteria is so fine tuned to be laughable. I told him that working with his criteria that he might only come across two or three ideal riding days a year. . .and then those might even fall on the weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

formula4speed said:


> This is literally a block away from an elementary school that has young kids walking all over the place. Drives me nuts that this is "normal" for people driving in my neighborhood.


An Indianapolis Middle School Student was hit by a driver who executed a right turn at a stop light without stopping for the red light, today. So makes your point. A friend rode with his boss who was surprised to learn you have to stop if turning right on a red light. Morons. I wonder how many would fail a written driving test let alone a driving test?

Speed concerns raised as 12-year-old cyclists recovers from cras - 13 WTHR Indianapolis


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First commute with gears since about March 10, apparently. And it was not the heinous abomination I'd remembered it to be. My "slow" singlespeed really is just too slow for bare pavement, so this was a good switch.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hate hearing about all the bad news and close calls. Dang. 

Only rode up to the university. Once I got done teaching labs, my brother and I hit the gym and I was not feeling the ride back. Been getting back into running and doing gym exercising again. Sucks but worth it overall I guess. 

That said, ride up was very quick. 18.5 mph average. Hot and humid as Hell so I was still wiping off sweat when getting into the lab. We were working with bacteria today. Boo microscopy is boooorrriing.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Ride yesterday was pretty good. Warm and a mild headwind on the way in. The way home was hot but with a slight tailwind. The squirrels around here have apparently gotten more aggressive in their collection of nuts for winter. I had two dart out in front of me in a bid to get to an acorn that had just fallen from a tree into the middle of the street. Had to slam on my breaks and swerve to not run them over.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

4 C this morning

Put on the long tights....

Last spring I would have ridden shorts for sure.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today due to thunderstorms. Pretty bummed because I wanted to ride in. At least I can set my locks back up on the rack now and not have to carry them in my bag on my bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

vegascruiser said:


> So I got a guy at work who keeps telling me he's going to ride his new bike to work. Realize now he's just a talker. His "ideal riding conditions" criteria is so fine tuned to be laughable. I told him that working with his criteria that he might only come across two or three ideal riding days a year. . .and then those might even fall on the weekend.


I only ride to work on days that end in "y". So I road in yesterda*y* and toda*y* but won't be riding in tomorrow. But by then it will be today so I'll be all set.

Speaking of yesterday, it was a beauty! Nice trail ride home, dry trails, warm summer night, NICE! Today was the same but on the road. We've had a week of perfect weather.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Went down at lunch to monkey with my bike, and the front tire was flat?Turns out it was a tear at the valvestem, which is annoying because the tube was maybe a month old.

And it's funny, because just last week someone was asking me about a valvestem leak, and they were worried that it would happen again. And my advice was don't worry (but you could take a rattail file to the rim if you really want to). But now that it's happened to _me_ I'm totally worried.

Looks like the weather has finally turned - nice enough today, but the high tomorrow is only 50F.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Speaking of yesterday, it was a beauty! Nice trail ride home, dry trails, warm summer night, NICE! Today was the same but on the road. We've had a week of perfect weather.


I`m glad you`re enjoying it while you can! On a different note, I haven`t seen your Dempsey plug yet. Are you doing it again this year?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh yeah, I'm doing it. I just haven't pulled together my fundraising campaign yet. There's always somebody new getting diagnosed. This year my mother had a re-occurance and my sister-in-law (rollingrunner's sister) had a mastectomy. Both doing well.

If you can't wait, you can donate here: Dempsey Challenge 2015 - Personal Donation Page for Brian Edwards Thanks for asking.

In the meantime, the awesome continues. Nice ride this AM





​


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> I got you beat. I was chasing a silly line in the sand with last month's Strava climbing challenge of 11,000m. I ended up with 39,750 on the bike. I climbed 3 mountains in August that were all in the 1200'+ range so I'm in the 45K range. I climbed to the stratosphere! Definitely above my norm, had to boast.
> 
> Took the trails in this morning. They were lovely.


Nice work. 11000 meters was a tough one.

I've been working this week on getting my fat bike turned into a beach cruiser for vacation next week. Basically just put some flat pedals on and the b17 saddle off my commuter so I can ride in a swimsuit. Oh and strapped the pump to the downtube, but its easy enough to fit that in the bag. Mostly just wanted to be able to do without camelback / bike shoes. Did a test run with it to work today, seems good. My body on the other hand is still pretty broken from wrecking in that race - my right shoulder and knee especially. Luckily they took the impact and not my already gimpy wrist


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

^Great picture Alex


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

2nd or maybe 3rd rain commute of the summer. Weird year.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

68 F, with a tail wind, that never happens, North of Boston. Light traffic ,both cars and bikes, hammering the pedals all the way into work. And got to pet some dogs, sweet.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Waiting behind an SUV to make a right hand turn. I am off to the left so the driver can see me in the side view mirror. He starts backing up a little because he is too far into the crosswalk. Slowly creeping...he is gonna hit me. I hit the rear quarter glass really hard three times. Then he saw me. His window was down. He looked in the mirror, he said nothing. 

Fast ride home with a few extra miles. Friday night down by campus is bad. I got hooted and hollered at and called names. I just ignore them and look straight forward at the lights.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Almost have the basement laboratory all sorted out. Labor Day project


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ jealous of the lab. Looks like a cool place to hang out, work on bikes, and shoot the bs!

My ride today? The humidity level in Michigan right now is off the charts. Ride in was blazing hot, sun just beating down on me and of course, a nasty headwind that made me feel like I had cement wheels. Luck was on my side today with a 30% chance of storms late in the afternoon. Shortly after I got to work, the skies opened up, and in some places a few inches an hour fell. Several people are without power right now and have flooded basements, my buddy included. 

The ride home? Soaking wet, not from rain, that stopped a few hours before I left, but from the humidity. 96% right now, 71° and the dew point is 70°. It is like a Turkish sauna out there. The roads are still wet because it is so wet out. The air stinks, it feels heavy, and everything is just soaking wet. Stopped at the store on the way home and had to wring my shirt out. Not really but I felt like I could have. So glad that I no longer wear cotton shirts in the summer because that would have weighed 50 lbs.

No ride Tuesday since more severe storms are forecasted along with heavy rain. That is no good for me, the guy with three bikes, 0 fenders and not an ideal commuter in sight.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great man cave there CommuterBoy!!

Mine was cooler today, 12°C / 53°F with light rain the whole way. Kinda suits me tbh, I generate a lot of heat. Using panniers rather than rucksack now, much more comfortable.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Almost have the basement laboratory all sorted out. Labor Day project
> 
> View attachment 1013992


LOL, I picture the rest of the house still in boxes. I can't quite find the sound system in that picture. I find that to be an important part.

I took the whole weekend off from biking to finish a chicken coop project. Somehow my legs still don't feel rested. I'm thinking that they never will be. Soooo, no more weekends off. The nice weather continues.


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2015)

Cool, wet and muddy. Which is always the perfect recipe for finding a Neighbor's Livestock outside the fence. 2.5 miles from the house I spotted a horse a quartermile from it's pen. Being in cycling garb I initially elected to try and contact the homeowner directly (knocking on the door and calling the number of their construction company - a guy with a van, not a big company), no luck. Plan B (grab an ear of corn and try coaxing) worked well but slowly. By the time the horse was in the pen one of the owners was up (as indicated by the little white dog barking at me) and apparently not expecting company as evidenced by her bathrobe and surprised look seeing a guy in lycra trapsing through her yard. It will be hard for me to best that morning the rest of this year.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL, I picture the rest of the house still in boxes. I can't quite find the sound system in that picture. I find that to be an important part.


:lol: it's not ALL in boxes...

One of those little black things on the workbench is an Oontz Angle Plus: OontZ Angle PLUS by Cambridge SoundWorks - Top Reviewed Portable, Wireless, Bluetooth Speakers and Amazon best selling

impressive sound from that little thing... Pandora on the phone or laptop and I'm good to go.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Acceptable! I love CSW speakers. I have 3 pair of the Model Six, 2 subwoofers and a few smaller sets and a radio too. Unfortunately, it looks like they don't make speakers anymore.
(oh, and 2 sets of outdoor speakers, almost forgot about those)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Another rough day for VT cyclists. Yesterday a young woman reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and took out a veterinarian from a nearby NY town who was bicycling. That makes 4 cyclists killed by cars this season plus one apparently killed in a single bike accident. For such a small state, mileage and population-wise, this has just been devastating.


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2015)

Yep, we lost another cyclist in Council Bluffs (just down the road) too. Driver initially drove off making me wonder if the cyclist would have survived with some quick first aid. I was #2 on the scene of a very serious car v car and had the first person not been an EMT and cleared a blot clot from the victims mouth, they wouldn't have survived.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

So sad to hear all the bad cycling news.

My commutes have been boring. Borrowed a bmx bike from someone so I'm going to try an 11 mile commute on that this week. It'll be fun!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow Foster, that's some excitement you don't need.

As promised, some cycling related pictures from our camping adventures.
The Candid Cyclist: Better Late Than Never - Camping Week

I had my fastest commute home ever last night. Managed 23mph for the 11.5 miles. My mileage has been really low this week. If you can't go long, go hard. This morning I wasn't so fast. Not at all.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That is so fast. Nice one.

I couldn't go hard, so I went long yesterday :lol: Well, long for a logging road extended dirt route commute. 
I've been wanting to scout out the potential 99% dirt route from my new place, but the logging roads are a maze at the house end, so I had potentially enough time to figure it out from the work end on the way home yesterday. The hard thing is figuring out which roads go THROUGH the mountains, rather than OVER the mountains. Lots of climbing, especially on the home end.

All went well with the exception of climbing moon dust and chunk logging roads with a laptop and change of clothes in the backpack. And the fact that I didn't bring any water.

...and the fear of getting eaten.

I followed a very fresh set of tracks for quite a while... I wanted to convince myself that it was a dog or two, but if you know your tracks, you know that cats walk with their claws retracted, and therefore don't leave claw marks. They are fatter tracks than a dog, more round and less oval... I didn't see a claw mark for the half mile I was hanging with these guys... pretty confident it was a mama mountain lion with a cub or two. That will keep you alert :skep:

Wound up at 13 miles, 1458ft of elevation gain.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow Foster, that's some excitement you don't need.
> 
> As promised, some cycling related pictures from our camping adventures.
> The Candid Cyclist: Better Late Than Never - Camping Week
> ...


I passed on the commute to do a pre-work ride with some of the younger guys at work. 20.3 miles in 1:05. I need the speed-work, but I was pretty blown-up at the midpoint and during the finish sprint. To your point, that's exactly how I was feeling this morning too. Since I'm seriously thinking 150 mile gravel race next year, I know my training will have to get more deliberate, especially those relaxing winter rides in below freezing temps.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That commute looks like it might be pretty fun in reverse. Start with one miserable climb and then it's mostly downhill the rest of the way to work. The moondust looks fatbike friendly. Your starting elevation of 4200 feet is higher than almost all the mountains around here. I start at about 300 feet.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Sad to hear about all the nastiness.

Around here, on september 1 it's like a switch was flipped and we went from dry and warm to this:



__
https://flic.kr/p/y8bojS


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CB, you just leave them cats alone! If stirring up wasp nests make you move across the valley, who knows what traffic infested hellhole you`ll end up in if you have to escape from the cats- probably downtown Rocklin or something!



Forster said:


> By the time the horse was in the pen one of the owners was up (as indicated by the little white dog barking at me) and apparently not expecting company as evidenced by her bathrobe and surprised look seeing a guy in lycra trapsing through her yard.


:lol:



Candidcyclist said:


> I hate to be the one posting too many pictures of my dogs but she is so friggin cute


That picture really needed to be posted!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah the way to work is the goal... hard to figure out how much time to give myself. It's very desolate back there. It's, like, pack two spare tubes remote. But the second half of the route parallels some super sweet singletrack and a rail trail that I could get to with maybe a mile of bushwacking. Rodar will know where this is. My blue line shows where I'd have to find a deer trail or something... awesome trail all the way to town along the river. There is a road sort of going that way on this map... kinda exists in real life, but not really.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

MUP was lonely, until I had company. In my helmet. Stinging my damn head. 

Second time this year I believe. I got my helmet off as I was riding but it was too late. Nailed me on the back of the top of my head. The rest of the ride was nice at least as was the ride home. Took the geared bike today for a change.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hard ride home into a headwind last night. Realised the elastic isnt anymore on my pannier covers and they were acting like drogue 'chutes. Wasn't wet so packed them away which improved things.

Ride this morning was chilly to start, could have done with gloves for the first couple of miles, but otherwise sunny and clear.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow CB, that looks like a pretty rugged "commute". I guess a cyclist would make an easy training session for the cubs' hunting skills, even though you're probably not that tasty.

Forster, love your horse/bathrobe story, that was a good deed for sure.

Bedwards, great pix from camping, that dog sure knows how to relax. I'll be camping up in Nahmakanta public lands (just south of Baxter state park) next week. Pretty sure there will be zero cell service, so I'll check in here after.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow CB, that looks like a pretty rugged "commute". I guess a cyclist would make an easy training session for the cubs' hunting skills, even though you're probably not that tasty.


I just need to figure out if I should mount the GoPro facing forward or backward... I'm assuming the attack would come from behind? Hopefully it will get a big bite of backpack and realize that I'm not edible.


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## CyNil_Rider (May 21, 2014)

*a good commute day*

Yesterday was a good commute day. 
Not too hot; headwinds 10-15mph.
1100+' of climbing, and cleaned a nice little drop at the top.


























Feel free to not be impressed


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I just need to figure out if I should mount the GoPro facing forward or backward... I'm assuming the attack would come from behind? Hopefully it will get a big bite of backpack and realize that I'm not edible.


Hmm, probably backwards, although when my Dad saw one hiking in CO it was on a big boulder trailside, so it may attack from above! Luckily it slunk off after he froze and took out his pocketknife.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Expensive! I dropped the car off for an oil change and asked them to check if anything was about to fall off, since I'm heading to parts unknown for a week, where towtrucks just don't go. Then took my trail bike to work to loan to a friend, as I am taking the old Litespeed MTB equipped for dogjoring on the camping trip. 8 hours and $$$$ later I had new oil, new front brakes, a new wheel bearing, and a new coffee cup from the shop! This is the first year the '05 Subie has been costing me, may have to consider a new to me car soon.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^Don`t replace your car now, Xplorer. It has a brand new coffee cup!

Looks like you get some nice views from up there, CyNil.

Is it just my browser, or did everybody just loose about 2.5 inches of text on this board to new and improved ad space?


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^Don`t replace your car now, Xplorer. It
> brand new coffee cup!
> 
> Looks like you get some nice views from up there, CyNil.
> ...


 What's that about the scre
you were cut off.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No ride today, missus is unwell so I had to do the school run. 

Hoping to go see the Tour of Britain race come through my City tomorrow so I'll be riding to that as several roads will be closed. Gonna try and get on the hill so it's not all over in a few seconds.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2015)

Deja vu all over again. Same horse, same spot as two days ago. This time someone else had stopped to contact the neighbors. (Once people realize how fun being a good neighbor is, they all want in on the action.) I suspect they'll have to reinforce the fence or add an electronic top wire now that their horse has discovered limitless ears of corn 100 feet from the pen. Another reason that bikes are better than horses.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Forster said:


> What's that about the scre
> you were cut off.


:skep:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

CyNil_Rider said:


> Y
> 
> Feel free to not be impressed


Anyone commuting up and down the hills of that city gets some respect. The drop...did you jump it, or roll it?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Expensive! I dropped the car off for an oil change and asked them to check if anything was about to fall off, since I'm heading to parts unknown for a week, where towtrucks just don't go. Then took my trail bike to work to loan to a friend, as I am taking the old Litespeed MTB equipped for dogjoring on the camping trip. 8 hours and $$$$ later I had new oil, new front brakes, a new wheel bearing, and a new coffee cup from the shop! This is the first year the '05 Subie has been costing me, may have to consider a new to me car soon.


Subie maintaince cost definately go up at the 10 year mark and in excess of 160,000 km.

If you look at the manual they recommend alot of routine parts replacements around that time frame.

be sure you replace the timing belts if they break it is a rebuild motor.


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## CyNil_Rider (May 21, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> Anyone commuting up and down the hills of that city gets some respect. The drop...did you jump it, or roll it?


Thanks there C-Boy. But you know I'm hailing from the town just south of our slightly more famous, slightly flatter namesake- haha (used to live in the City tho).
And I pretty much rolled it. The runout goes across the trail, maybe 10' or so, then drops down into the bush. So I was feeling pretty sharp when I flatten out, did a short track stand and pedaled away!

To rodar^2 way back there; You are correct! After the climb, the view and the breeze are well worth the effort.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Major news: I have made cycling famous, and can be seen on the cover of a major publication "taking the lane" in a highly artistic self-portrait. Available now down at the Ace Hardware, and in hotel lobbies throughout the tri-counties region. :lol:

ISSUU - Lassenmapbook2015web by Michael Condon


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^OMG, you are immortalized wearing THOSE boots!!! Sorry.

MTBX, sounds like you got out of it for 1-2 car payments. That's how i always look at it. You could be paying every month or just occasionally. 

Nice rainy commute this morning. We haven't had rain for a while so it was a nice change. I took the camp roads just to listen without the hiss of traffic in the rain.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^OMG, you are immortalized wearing THOSE boots!!! Sorry.


:lol: I make the hooker boots look good.

I finally admitted to myself that those were too small and sold them. Not sure what I'm going to do this winter....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I finally admitted to myself that those were too small and sold them. Not sure what I'm going to do this winter....


...Lake MXZ 303X Wide Winter Cycling Shoes I like mine.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Expensive! This is the first year the '05 Subie has been costing me, may have to consider a new to me car soon.


Sounds like normal wear and tear.

My wife and I took an '85 Honda Civic Si to over 225,000 in 10 years, an '86 VW Jetta GLI to over 220,000 in 8 years, a '95 Ford Contour V-6 SE to 260,000 in seven years, a '96 Honda Accord LE to over 250,000 in 10 years, (all 5 speed standards) and a 2005 Mercury Montego to 237,000 after 10 years. Three were lost to accidents (two by strangers, one by my son) before I could see if they would make it over 300,000. The Civic and the Jetta had issues arise aborting their run before 250,000 miles. Four older cars were lost to rust, one to accident at 55,000 miles, and one was traded for the Jetta for a backseat when we were expecting. Cost of repairs in a year never approached the cost of car payments. It is when oddball issues arise (like being totaled!) or things begin to break unpredictably that threaten safety or leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard that say it is time for another car. Good maintenance is key to catch things early.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, that photo definitely looks to be the highlight of the publication!

Thanks for the Subie support, jeffscott, bedwards & brian. It's at 175000 miles and has been good to me so I can't complain. It did get one new timing belt but may be due for another. It also has an airbag recall appointment coming up, but at least that is free. 

I signed up for a 7 week bike mechanic class (2hrs/week) at BikeRecycleVT (co-op-like place) and today was the 6th class. Some stuff I knew, but I have definitely learned a bunch from the pro, who also works at the "Old Spokes Home", pretty much the best name for a bike shop/museum.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

How cool CB! 
As much as I admire your awesome photo and sexy foot, I really want to know about the Lassen County Map Book. Your link works, but Google doesn`t show me any more about it 
it. Does "Tri-counties" include Sierra and Plumas? Have you heard of a Plumas version of that critter? Right at this moment, I`m missing out on a dual-sport meet up at the Taylorsville Park, or I would make a pilgramage to your Ace Hardware and get my own.


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## j_wynn (Sep 11, 2015)

Took the long way to the store, making sure to find some hills along the way. I went up a looong (by nebraska standards) hill, and my legs were feeling it. Practiced a few wheelies and bunnyhops, cut through a school to jump a few speed bumps, and finally got to the store to pick up some eggs. I love riding this new bike- i need to grab a spare tube, small pump, and some tire spoons so I can commute to work a couple times this week.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cooler and windy for the ride in. Much cooler on the ride home to include my first ride of fall in a jacket. Got buzzed by a car after leaving a light and I might have accidentally run a stop sign in front of a cop. Oops.


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2015)

No commute today, I had a life insurance physical. It's a little annoying that during my last physical I was two pounds too heavy (212# @ 6'1"), this time they're worried that I may be too skinny (192#) or may have lost weight too quickly to indicate "normal dieting weight loss". Really? You think I may have cancer because I cut the carbs and beer and you think that dropping a dozen pounds in a month is unusual? Riding a mountain bike 600 miles a month is unusual. Dropping weight quickly when you cut your calories by 20% (carbs/sugars/beer) and keeping your activity up is not that unusual.:madman:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Smoky. The fires have moved back down into CA and they`re just raging all over the place. This time the smoke we`re getting in Reno has a personal flavor to it because I have an aunt and uncle and some more distant relatives evacuated and all wondering whether or not they still have homes to go back to. That fire (Valley fire in Lake County) just popped up and exploded so quickly that they haven`t even been able to tally up the dammages yet, just trying to get people out. Also have friends evacuated or packing and trying to corral their animals for possible evac for the giant Butte fire further south and for a smaller fire between the fingers of Lake Oroville. Still windy today, but cooler, and (maybe?) a little rain. Waiting it out.


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Smoky. The fires have moved back down into CA and they`re just raging all over the place. This time the smoke we`re getting in Reno has a personal flavor to it because I have an aunt and uncle and some more distant relatives evacuated and all wondering whether or not they still have homes to go back to. That fire (Valley fire in Lake County) just popped up and exploded so quickly that they haven`t even been able to tally up the dammages yet, just trying to get people out. Also have friends evacuated or packing and trying to corral their animals for possible evac for the giant Butte fire further south and for a smaller fire between the fingers of Lake Oroville. Still windy today, but cooler, and (maybe?) a little rain. Waiting it out.


 It's a sucky deal for sure. At some point all forrest will either be managed by clearing or manage itself (by fire). Hard to watch all these homes and communities torn-up by wildfire.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The NorCal forum is pretty depressing right now. Crazy amounts of homes lost in the Valley Fire. Smoke fest for me also. No sun today. Hope your friends and fam are safe Rodar. 

As far as the Map Book goes, it's hardly worth the drive :lol: It has street maps for all the local communities, and a whole bunch of ad space. I'm not sure if there's a plumas county one. I submitted some pictures for the "lassen county visitors guide" (there is a plumas county version of that also) and they used a couple of my pics in there, but then they also published this map book at the same time, using my pic on the cover. I didn't know it existed. I found one in the lobby at the realtors office when I was moving. Looked down, and was like "hey that's me." I assume there's maybe a Plumas one?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Forster said:


> No commute today, I had a life insurance physical. It's a little annoying that during my last physical I was two pounds too heavy (212# @ 6'1"), this time they're worried that I may be too skinny (192#) or may have lost weight too quickly to indicate "normal dieting weight loss". Really? You think I may have cancer because I cut the carbs and beer and you think that dropping a dozen pounds in a month is unusual? Riding a mountain bike 600 miles a month is unusual. Dropping weight quickly when you cut your calories by 20% (carbs/sugars/beer) and keeping your activity up is not that unusual.:madman:


Dropping twelve pounds in a month, though, isn't healthy or sustainable. Most of those pounds are not fat pounds lost, but rather muscle breakdown and water weight. Usually when dropping that kind of weight that quick it'll all come right back in a few months. But, then again, I'm struggling to get down to 200 and have only dropped 32 pounds in five months. Sitting at 233 right now. Cutting beer and carbs does certainly help. That is something I should do more of, but I love my carbs and find that if I have a big exercise day (1800 or more kCals burned) that two beers feels like a good reward and doesn't put too much of a dent in my in/out balance.

I've been pretty much off the bike for the last week and a half. I decided to take the week off of work and spent a bit of time running and only did two or three rides, none of any consequence. I did use the bike to do some trail work though - Love the pic, even though it was taken at the end of the day so I was down to one post out of the original ten.









Today's commute back was one that nearly made me think of working from home - 40F and rainy. Out in the valley the rain wasn't bad, but in town it was p*ssing down and windy. My least favorite riding situation. Oh well. I made it and didn't melt, so all's good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

All the fires sound pretty awful. It's really amazing how fast they can spread. Thankfully I don't have any first hand experience with it.

Commute was _*AWESOME*_. Why? Because it was new (to me) bike day. Not only new bike day but new best bike I've ever bought myself that I didn't even know I was getting a week ago day.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

4 c and rain for the ride in the s word has been mentioned again

tomatoes still havn't had a frost

Ever had ice tomatos...kinda like ice grapes for ice wine...really really sweet.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

After the week off from climbing I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it, but felt pretty strong on the way in this morning. I guess it takes a lot of hill to slow you down as much as 4" tires and soft sand 

Gonna try to take the long way home but I only have one water bottle. Luckily a coworker gave me an empty soda bottle that should work.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> It's a sucky deal for sure. At some point all forrest will either be managed by clearing or manage itself (by fire). Hard to watch all these homes and communities torn-up by wildfire.


The really crumby part is that if things were allowed to burn normally this wouldn't be so bad. Forest fires are normal but the level of fuel accumulation is not. Way to go Smoky.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

NDD said:


> The really crumby part is that if things were allowed to burn normally this wouldn't be so bad. Forest fires are normal but the level of fuel accumulation is not. Way to go Smoky.


I love (loath?) watching the results of human hubris. We like to think that we can "manage" things better than ma nature can and it seems to inevitably backfire on us. Let's kill off the predators so that they don't eat the cows and sheep and the deer we want to hunt and then watch as the deer populations face huge die offs from disease and lack of forage. Manage the forests in such a way that all we do is built huge stores of burnable fuel and then watch as it all burns away. Manage the fisheries so only X number of salmon make it up stream to spawn - the optimal escapement- and then try to figure out why the number of Kings returning from the ocean is tanking. For being the smartest animals on the planet, we are sure stoopid most the time...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

blockphi said:


> I love (loath?) watching the results of human hubris. We like to think that we can "manage" things better than ma nature can and it seems to inevitably backfire on us. Let's kill off the predators so that they don't eat the cows and sheep and the deer we want to hunt and then watch as the deer populations face huge die offs from disease and lack of forage. Manage the forests in such a way that all we do is built huge stores of burnable fuel and then watch as it all burns away. Manage the fisheries so only X number of salmon make it up stream to spawn - the optimal escapement- and then try to figure out why the number of Kings returning from the ocean is tanking. For being the smartest animals on the planet, we are sure stoopid most the time...


It's pretty tragic sometimes. As a student of ecology, I feel the pain. I feel the pain hard. This could be avoided, yet I hear constantly that ecologists and conservationists are of little to no value to society. Changing any of those three things affects industry and we live in a society that favors industry over sustainability.

Also understanding either of those issues requires one to understand basic ecology, genetics, and evolutionary theory - things people deem as difficult or taboo because they'd rather not think about it. This is also why you can't talk about overpopulation.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> All the fires sound pretty awful. It's really amazing how fast they can spread. Thankfully I don't have any first hand experience with it.
> 
> Commute was _*AWESOME*_. Why? Because it was new (to me) bike day. Not only new bike day but new best bike I've ever bought myself that I didn't even know I was getting a week ago day.
> View attachment 1015352


Approve. Which model is it? NBD is always good, used, new, whatever. Congrats on the new ride. Details????

Ride was good for me. Windy as all hell on the ride in which had me sweating more than I should have. Ride home was awesome!! New PR for me (not Strava). Just shy of 8 miles with a time of 27:12 door to door. That included 3 stoplights and a slight detour. Took a slightly different route home that put me at the top of the small hill that I usually avoid. 30.1mph on the fixed gear for a short blast that had me pumping like crazy.

All week is supposed to be clear, sunny and fairly warm. I love it!!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Wet yesterday. It went from a light sprinkle to absolutely soaked through on the way in. Fortunately full clothes change and a towel are at work. I stopped to put on my rain coat. Kudos to the dude on the bike going the other way that stopped to ask if I was ok and if I needed any assistance. 

Similar situation when I went for a run at lunch, light rain followed by heavy rain, except the rain killed my phone also. Windy on the way home but felt pretty good.

Today is windy but mostly dry.


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## j_wynn (Sep 11, 2015)

Gonna be super windy today on my maiden voyage to work. Should be an easy ride in but a tough ride home. Cant wait! Going this weekend to pick up some tools to carry on my commute.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yesterday evening was weird. Coming home around dark and these the kids have this plywood board set up like a wall across the mup. As I'm approaching I just started riding on the grass beside the trail because honestly I wanted to get home. One of those kids really ticked me off though because as I'm getting into the grass he says "go around us". No please, not asking a favor, just telling me what to do. 

Let me clarify something here. I hate kids. So I slowed down more and asked what they were up to. They were building a ramp apparently but they had this plywood leaning up on two scooters and I figured they ended up hurting themselves eventually So I should just keep going, which I did. Then one of the kids said "hey nice helmet" in some snarky little kid way and that's the point in time at which I became the kinda guy that tells little kids to "f*** off".

I'm a bad person.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Approve. Which model is it? NBD is always good, used, new, whatever. Congrats on the new ride. Details????


2015 Felt F2X. I got it from my usual bike rep who gets a new bike every year and turns it over at what is almost always 1/2 retail. He also takes meticulous care of his bikes - there's no way you could distinguish this from a new bike by looks, and it looks good.

Details: I started typing this here but I might as well type it into the blog - 
The Candid Cyclist: 2015 Felt F2X - Mini Review


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I cannot find that bike on their website at all. I see the F1X, F3X, F4X but not the 2. Weird.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, every year they skip over one of the models it seems. 2016 doesn't have the F2X. Most of the cross bikes have a single chainring (not a fan).

It's this bike. I paid less than 1/2 that price (which I am fully justifying by selling my current bike) 
Felt Bicycles F2X - Woodcock Cycle Works Winnipeg


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## wagonguy1989 (Jun 19, 2015)

Rain.....finally! Nice ride after months and months of 100+ weather


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

42F and rainy - had to dig out my jacket for the first time since spring. Part of me was saying "In two months, you'll think this was a really nice day." But the other, smarter part of me responded "No way. I'll take snow over cold rain any day."


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> Yesterday evening was weird. Coming home around dark and these the kids have this plywood board set up like a wall across the mup. As I'm approaching I just started riding on the grass beside the trail because honestly I wanted to get home. One of those kids really ticked me off though because as I'm getting into the grass he says "go around us". No please, not asking a favor, just telling me what to do.
> 
> Let me clarify something here. I hate kids. So I slowed down more and asked what they were up to. They were building a ramp apparently but they had this plywood leaning up on two scooters and I figured they ended up hurting themselves eventually So I should just keep going, which I did. Then one of the kids said "hey nice helmet" in some snarky little kid way and that's the point in time at which I became the kinda guy that tells little kids to "f*** off".
> 
> I'm a bad person.


\

Although building a ramp in the middle of the path is "wrong" from a kids perspective it was the perfect place and no one told them they shouldn't.....well kids have been known to repeat bad behavior...

The rest of it sounds like the kid was direct and accurate....just didn't give you the respect you have not yet earned.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> 42F and rainy - had to dig out my jacket for the first time since spring. Part of me was saying "In two months, you'll think this was a really nice day." But the other, smarter part of me responded "No way. I'll take snow over cold rain any day."


Dang skippy! Give me -17 and snow over 43 and rain, like what we have in Anchorage this AM and I'll be happy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jeffscott said:


> \
> 
> The rest of it sounds like the kid was direct and accurate....just didn't give you the respect you have not yet earned.


I've been a jr high/high school teacher for 16 years. That last part is what gets to me. Somehow we have imparted on the youth of today the general attitude that they don't have to give an adult any respect until they have "earned" it. Bullcrap. Every adult on the planet has earned it simply because they are that much older than you. Learn how to respect someone simply because they are an adult. If they do something to become undeserving of that respect, fine. But you absolutely owe them that respect up front.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Get what you're saying CB but EVERYONE is entitled to a base level of respect upon initially encountering them; whether they be older, younger, richer, poorer etc. It's what happens during the following interactions that alters respect levels.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've been a jr high/high school teacher for 16 years. That last part is what gets to me. Somehow we have imparted on the youth of today the general attitude that they don't have to give an adult any respect until they have "earned" it. Bullcrap. Every adult on the planet has earned it simply because they are that much older than you. Learn how to respect someone simply because they are an adult. If they do something to become undeserving of that respect, fine. But you absolutely owe them that respect up front.


Nope the golden rule applies...young people do not owe anymore to old people than old people owe to young people....the custom of the local area must be followed.

Although obvious impediments, demand a courtesy....for example people with obvious walking problems may need more room or help....

noticed there is no need to specifiy young or old here.

For example on St Lucia...every kid will respond with thank you or your welcome or some other polite response if spoken to by an adult politely...Consquently adults are expected to elicite these reponses from the kids.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Totally agree, (EDIT: My "totally agree" was for the comment above this :lol:...but I think we're saying the same thing two different ways jeffscott) and I treat my students (and everyone else) as such. But I also see where NDD feels justified in his anger, when a 15 year old kid feels just fine essentially acting like the big man on the prison yard to whoever, whenever, because our society has implied that that's an OK way to act.


EDIT again: the bottom line is that the initial exchange is respect/respect. I believe that we have somehow as a society justified to our kids that it's ok to show nothing but disrespect until we are satisfied with the level of respect we are given. This is scary when viewed from the perspective of a 14 or 15 year old Kanye fan.


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2015)

No one to ride with/against this morning so I'm looking for a Winter Nemesis.

Job Title:	Winter Cycling Nemesis
Opening Date/Time: Fall 2015
Closing Date/Time: On-going
Salary:	Volunteer Basis
Job Type:	Part Time
Location:	Trails, roads and bike paths in eastern Nebraska

This is responsible complex and specialized training support position for me. Work involves cycling slightly faster than I ride, passing me, leering after you pass, not being winded at stop lights and sprinting away at every opportunity. There is no minimum bike requirement and wearing obnoxious non-cycling apparel is preferred. This may be the best job for a racer wannabe who’s rude, loud and reckless, but not quite fast enough to race for real. 

Qualifications: Must own your own bike, living in your mom’s basement is preferred. Winter conditions riding a must.

Mission Statement "I may be older and slower, but with your help I can still get pissed off for no good reason and pull together a decent sprint once and a while."


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

First ride after almost 3 weeks today. Its good to be back on the bike, I made a lot of firewood for the winter and some tabletennistraining, since competition is starting again. 

By now something has changed: at 6.30am it is still dark. And I wore a wool l/s for the first time today. Now comes the time of enjoying sunrises and large temp. spreads that require winterclothing early in the morning, shorts and t-shirt in the afternoon.

I was lucky with the weather today: sunshine during the rides, cloudy and short but heavy showers during the day. I wonder if winter is going to be mild here this year. "Mild" would be above freezinglevel. We'll see. When first subzero temps are predicted, I will put the conti wintercontact back on the bike.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> \
> 
> Although building a ramp in the middle of the path is "wrong" from a kids perspective it was the perfect place and no one told them they shouldn't.....well kids have been known to repeat bad behavior...
> 
> The rest of it sounds like the kid was direct and accurate....just didn't give you the respect you have not yet earned.


Don't get me wrong, I think respect Isn't inherent, but that does not necessitate being inconsiderate. In other words it's not binary, and there is a certain degree of neutrality that is preferable which I was originally shooting for.


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2015)

Weird commute home today. I (as a joke) posted the help wanted ad (for a Nemesis) and sure as heck, I had a creepy follow me most of the way home. I tried to shake him but at every light there he was, creeping me out. At some point he got tired of Nemesising me and dropped off. Then I got home and installed my new Hard Eddie carbon fork on the Paragon. Pretty simple going. Pulled the crown race with a putty knife and reinstalled it with the cardboard tube from a roll of duct tape. Probably released a million little carbon fibers into the air, but that's how my shop is anyway.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Warm and windy for the ride in. No complaints honestly other than the traffic around campus. The ride home might have been a slight bit of a race compared to the night before. I will break it down and you can tell me what you think.

Monday - 9/14
Bike : Felt TK2
Weight: 17.8 lbs (approximately)
Tires: Continental Gatorskin 700x23
Gearing: 49:15 fixed
Miles: 7.78
Time: 27:12
Max speed: 30.10 mph
Average speed: 17.16 mph

Tuesday - 9/15
Bike: Felt Z5
Weight: 21.5 lbs (approximately)
Tires: Felt all weather puncture resistant 700x25
Gearing: 50/34 11-32t 
Miles: 7.87
Time: 24:35
Max speed: 28.06 mph
Average speed: 19.21 mph

Monday felt like there was absolutely no way that I could go any faster on my commute. Tuesday was a slightly different route, less lights, slightly longer, and more climbing to include every possible hill for my ride home. It isn't exactly a fair comparison either based on the two different bikes.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Bit tricky to compare properly but dependent on the stop times for lights you're overall faster on the geared bike. Be good to compare on the same route.

BTW, respect; that's a big arse gear you're pushing on that SS.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Warm and windy for the ride in. No complaints honestly other than the traffic around campus. The ride home might have been a slight bit of a race compared to the night before. I will break it down and you can tell me what you think.
> 
> Monday - 9/14
> Bike : Felt TK2
> ...


Slightly longer is right. 0.09 miles (475 ft). In my book those lengths are identical.
I always blame the wind for all the differences in average speed. A few mph breeze in generally the right direction vs one in generally the wrong direction could easily account for that difference. Either that or single speeds suck, cause a bike that light with thinner tires should cruise.

Early ride in to do a trail run with my wife before work. The hyper expensive Di2 has dropped the chain more than all my other bikes. Got to get that dialed in before I get pissed. (Ten Speed,I know, I know, geared bikes suck too.)


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Be honest. All bikes suck.

The lights too, I think are crucial to the slower time. So much time spent accelerating.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

TenSpeed said:


> Warm and windy for the ride in. No complaints honestly other than the traffic around campus. The ride home might have been a slight bit of a race compared to the night before. I will break it down and you can tell me what you think.
> 
> Monday - 9/14
> Bike : Felt TK2
> ...


When I read the stats I thought the purpose was to compare the 2 different bikes.

I did that 2 summers ago. Its 4 miles from my house to the highway so it makes a nice out and back for a 8 mile TT. Rides done on 3 consecutive days with ideal conditions.

My track bike (49-19)
Time 20:21 so Ave ~ 23.6mph
Road race bike (53/39, 11-25)
Time 18:59 so Ave ~ 25.3mph
Crit race bike (48, 12-26)
Time 19:30 so Ave ~ 24.6mph

While the track bike is unquestionably faster on the 2 "climbs" the ability to push a bigger gear on the downs and flats more than makes up for it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I can push harder for shorter distances on that track bike. I can ride faster for a longer distance on the geared bike as shown by the average mph. The acceleration on the track bike is hands down much faster than the geared bike. Mash mash mash and I am gone. I cannot keep that pace though due to the fixed gear and no coasting. Legs never get a break really so I end up slowing down.

And yeah, that distance is pretty much the same. The route however was completely different in the sense of hills and lights.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have only 1 bike and my average speed is ~12-13 mph. But I do not look at the clock every time. For me I rather enjoy the sunrise, we had a lovely one this morning. On the way home unfortunately I had a headwind and it rained all the time. Tomorrow is expected to stay dray, for that gusts upto 35 kts are expected on the way home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today I will take it easy on the fixed gear. Legs are definitely feeling the last two nights competition so today will just be a more leisurely ride in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I did the SS thing for a while... I was surprised that it wasn't THAT much slower. I'm all rural 2-lane though, so you really start to want to be able to just grab a higher gear and avoid the "pedal pedal pedal spin out the gear coast coast coast pedal pedal pedal spin out the gear coast coast coast..."

Snapped some pics on my new commute from the new casa. Basically added 3 miles of this to my old commute:









Things could be worse.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

And I act like I wonder why it feels like I'm biking through mud. I know what I'm doing tomorrow morning. I'm cleaning my chain, pulling the wheel back a bit to tighten the chain, and putting more air in the tires. Also going to tighten bolts and raise my seat a bit.

I want to bump up my single speed game. Right now I'm at 39:16 because the chain rings from the old type tenspeed setup were 39/52 and 52 seemed way to big to start on single speed. I'm also going to get a new freewheel, fixed cog, and maybe chain ring, but don't know what's really appropriate for letting loose and also an every day commute. Right now I have the spinning too fast problem when I really get going.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Humid. It was hot going in this morning, hot going to class, then was raining when I left class with hot wind blowing everywhere.

At least all my stuff stayed dry in my new banjo brothers pannier/backpack.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> I want to bump up my single speed game. Right now I'm at 39:16 because the chain rings from the old type tenspeed setup were 39/52 and 52 seemed way to big to start on single speed. I'm also going to get a new freewheel, fixed cog, and maybe chain ring, but don't know what's really appropriate for letting loose and also an every day commute. Right now I have the spinning too fast problem when I really get going.


46:16 is a good all around setup that most people run.

My commute was alright. Took it easy like I said I would. Headlight ran out of juice 1 mile from home. Walked it home taking the super shortcut that I just happened to be by when it died. Shortcut takes about a mile off of my commute. Over the tracks, about 500 feet from the complex.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

NDD I had the same issue when I set up my SS for commute. I kept the 52 and used an 18 cog. 51:18 and 46:16 suggested by Tenspeed are both about the same (78GI)

Very wet last night. Weather forecast said no let up expected so resigned myself to the fact I was gonna be wet. Mostly about as wet as I could get before I left the works car park. Oh well. Not raining but everywhere wet this morning, and a few degrees cooler too I think.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I thought about that because I'd save dough by keeping the 52t chain ring. I need dough right now because the water pump blew up in my car. Fuuuuuuuun.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides yesterday and today. Yesterday was quite windy on the way back. They opened a construction site along the way and even created a way for cyclists to pass. Not easy, but manageable.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today.  Heavy storms predicted for tonight through tomorrow. I don't feel like dealing with torrential downpours and cloud to ground lightning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Solid commute for a Sunday. Beautiful day with a nice breeze, sunny and upper 60's. Ride home was really nice. A little overzealous with my jacket. I got a new one and while part of me really wants to wear it, the other part says the cold weather can hold off. Would have been fine in my jersey and sleeves. 

The whole week is supposed to be like this, temps during the day in the low 70's, clear, and then low 50's for the ride home. Dare I say that I cannot wait to work this week?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Passing Too Close?*

Ohio's Committee recently passed a 3' Rule for safe passing of cyclists by motorists. Maybe it will become law this time.

I was on vacation in Geneva-On-The-Lake (Ohio) last week. No 3' Rule when I rode to the shorter and nearer bike trail on Tuesday, but a "safe distance" has been defined in 26 states as 3'. So 2' seems to qualify as an unsafe distance, don't you think? I have had pickup mirrors miss by mere inches, still 2' feels too damn close.

Wisconsin defines the term "as close to the right as practicable" for cyclists as a maximum of 3' from the curb or edge of the lane, with the usual exceptions. No idea if any other state does that. Seems like a prudent space. Safety guys say a few feet.

There was loose sand and broken glass on the road in spots that cars had cleared in the right traffic track so I rode the center of the right track in case there were more, which also placed me outside the door zone another safety recommendation and part of the safety implied by the word "practicable", (though there were few parked cars). So I was not over as far right as I could go, but I was not taking the center of the lane, either. About where I have ridden for decades. My right shoulder was 3', tires were 4', and my left shoulder 5' from the parking lane leaving 7' of the 12' lane. Allowing another 3' means that Overtaking cars needed to take some of the oncoming lane which two drivers did quite admirably.

Safety advocates say we are to be as predictable as is reasonable so weaving in and out of the parking lane is not wise. It is also not a legal travel lane for vehicles. If traffic was heavy, pulling over to allow cars to pass might be wise and considerate, but with no oncoming traffic and a whole oncoming lane to use, that seems just plain ridiculous. If he had sirens and lights, fine. Otherwise? No.

I was surprised that the forward video had so much curvature and the angle of viewing is so poor, that it was not obvious that the third car crowded me at about 2' from the right mirror. It felt too close. I have been passed closer in traffic with oncoming cars. Here there was nothing making if necessary for the driver to be close to me at all. He was on vacation as I was. I wasn't even holding him up in any sense.






A bit further up he was turning around in a parking lot and the MUP started there. So I waited at the start of the path to see what he would do, never having had someone come that close and return to me before. He elected to stop there and engage in conversation. It did not go too well. Though it was a learning experience for me and I hope for you too, so i wrote it up. I made my point that I thought he did not leave enough room. The rest was a complete waste of time.

He said he was a "cyclist" too, who rode "40 miles at a time" (so if true, his whole attitude was inexcusable) and that I was "in the middle of the road" (so he knows little of cycling safety suggestions, he was blind, or is some narcissist who thinks that any other cyclist must make way for him), that he had to see my "fat ass" (an insult to get me to do something stupid like hit him with a witness, since I am comparatively svelte for most American men of my age, 70 pounds lighter than I once was, and did not have the fat face and neck he had, the hypocrite, I realized the hope of an intelligent debate was lost), that he was driving slow (it was a 25 zone so no big kudos there, buddy, and your speed has nothing to do with being too close, actually it is scarier because you are alongside for so long), and gave me "ample room" and "went into the oncoming lane" (when in fact he was in the bottom 5% of everyone who has ever passed me, so maybe I am lucky I have so few, but one is too many, and it looks like he moved over a foot to two maximum, not what I call "moving into the other lane" as he drove his left wheels down the double line as a habit while I could see him). In short, my "moron alert" went off, and I recognized him to be a complete self-absorbed a$$ who can't drive properly. So I cut my losses and suggested he allow a bit more room for cyclists in future.

I learned from his moronic counter arguments, that he purposefully crowded me because he thought I was over too far to the left. Just a little crowding mind you, not enough for me to kick his car as he went by. He did not like me confronting him about it though. Typical bully. Poor baby.

The new Go Pros allow selection of a narrower field of view maybe that will help. You can see that a vehicle is 1' or less easily enough, but the 2' to 3' thing is not as obvious. I had to go back and measure where the markings on the lane were to be sure he was about 2' away and I was not being overly sensitive after the wider allowances of the other two. Unless the group here think that the video looks like 2', I don't see it working in a courtroom. So the 3' Rule's value is in defining what is an "unsafe distance" for passing a cyclist. It will not be easy to prosecute unless a cyclist or better, a cop is behind you to witness it.

Sorry for the rant, but this wasn't everyone racing to work to make a living, so it was just so pointless it was a real pisser. We can't fix stupid and we can't fix sociopathic tendencies. This was just bullying a cyclist because he could. We can only hope he screws up without hurting anyone and an officer chews him a new one. Probably won't stick, but we can hope.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I haven't really been checking in here much, but I have a couple new head-scratchers for you. After 8 years of bike commuting just about every day, I have discovered the possibilities for weird incidents with cars are endless. Here are a couple new ones for me:

1) A couple weeks ago a car ran a red arrow. I was coming the opposite way and turning right, meaning we were both turning onto the same road. The right turn lane I was in veers further to the right than most turning lanes and there is a bit of a median in between the turning lane and the road it turns off of. Anyway, I have a green light and am making my turn when the car flies through the red turning arrow. As soon as he clears the road we were both turning off of, he hits the brakes, comes to a dead stop, and waits for me to complete my turn. I would have rather he just kept going. I mean what do you do when this happens? Wave and say thanks? I pulled out in front of him reluctantly, since I knew he would have to pass me eventually. 

2) Today I was arriving at intersection and a car to my left looks to be turning onto my road. However, instead of making a turn, the driver merely swerves off his road and comes to a stop directly in front of me. So I'm standing there like 3 feet away from his driver side window, and he is just blocking my lane completely. I called out a few times, but the guy never even acknowledged I was there, despite my headlight shining on the side of his head. I had to ride my bike around the back of his car and stop awkwardly in the bike lane until it was safe to make my left turn, while he fidgeted with his GPS.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

BriamMc - you have the patience of a saint, man. I would have most certainly have lost my cool there. 

s0ckeyeus - I've seen my fair share of idiocy too... The sad thing is that those drivers probably thought that YOU were in the wrong... You don't pay "road tax", do you? 

I had a persistent wheel sucker this morning. Not normally a problem - I do it from time to time myself (I usually sit and rest a bit on a wheel then cruise by with a thanks, a smile and a wave - or DIE trying) - but he wasn't sitting on my six - more like my 7 o'clock and overlapping slightly. You NEVER overlap. I swear he could have opened my backpack if the mood took him, he was so close.
I had to check over my left shoulder every ten seconds to make sure he wasn't going to go into my back wheel.
Eventually he took a slightly different route from me and finally emerged onto my route about 20 meters ahead. I though it best to just let him get on with it so I didn't chase.

So, yeah - idiot drivers aren't the only things to consider out there... Stay safe folks!

P.S. My first ride today in almost a week! Damn it felt good!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Motorists must have some sort of special day for it I reckon, shame they don't all have the same day, but anyways.

There are long term road works not far from me at the moment, maybe 500 metres or so. Lane width is ok, but definitely no room for a car passing a bike, so I take prime position and ride my way through. So, today as I approach the works I heard a car gunning up behind me but I was already 20 metres or so into them before he got close. He sat on my wheel pretty much and revved and tried to intimidate me I guess. No dice. As we exit the works there are some temporary lights, which were red. Motorist seemed to blank that in his eagerness to pass me and gunned about 3 lengths through them before realising his mistake. He is then stopped in the middle of oncoming traffic, lucky not to crash imo. Sheepishly has to reverse up next to me at the light line. He must have something wrong with his neck as not once did he look my direction.....


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I assume that your best grin was firmly affixed in case he DID look your way?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMC - last car was too close. I like the distance that the second car passed you at. That is about perfect for me. Closer than that is too close on that type of road. 

Today is my Mom's birthday. She passed away in 2008. The ride today will be in her honor. She had a bike when she was younger, didn't ride it much, just an old 3 speed ladies Schwinn I believe. She would think that my commuting on bike was pretty cool.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. A bit chilly, though. 31F at my house this morning. Not quite beardcicle weather, but getting there.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost_HTX said:


> I assume that your best grin was firmly affixed in case he DID look your way?


certainly was :thumbsup: a different day I might have given him a slow clap.....

The °F temp scale always tricks me. blockphi stating 31°F doesn't sound too bad, until I convert to °C and realise that it's just above freezing!


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2015)

No ride today but had a top ten day on Sunday (minus one crackpot). I'm reading about these near-misses and crazy drivers and feel very first world with my last interaction. Had a guy sunday slow to allow me to left turn in front of him at a stop light that had just changed but I waved him through the intersection (using all my fingers). Apparently I hurt his feelings so he flipped me off and honked the entire time he was driving by. I gotta learn to be more approachable.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> certainly was :thumbsup: a different day I might have given him a slow clap.....
> 
> The °F temp scale always tricks me. blockphi stating 31°F doesn't sound too bad, until I convert to °C and realise that it's just above freezing!


Same for me. You guys saying it is 16° C and I am thinking that is freezing. Turns out it is right about 60° F which is really nice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This was the first really chilly morning around here too. AT 38F (3C) it was a full glove day for sure but shorts were still OK. I need to find a windbreaker that isn't also a parachute. Also one that doesn't leave 3" (7.62 CM  ) of wrist showing. It was also a recovery day from a hilly century this weekend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Dude, that last big hill at the 70 mile mark looks like you could have jumped at the top and cleared the whole backside :lol: Fred woo-hoo-hoo speed must have been achieved on that downhill. Kudos on the century, I missed that on Strava. 

I'm in arm warmers and shorts at this point... today I was wishing for a full long-sleeve top about half way to work... my new house is about 400 feet higher than the valley floor, so I leave home and start dropping into the valley... I swear when I get to the low point and cross the bridge over the creek, it's 5 or 7 degrees colder than it was when I left...serious pocket of cold air hanging out down there.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Actually, I was just shy by 0.6 MPH. It's steep but has some S-turns and it is a narrow road so in an attempt not to be a hood ornament; I failed.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: nice. 

Just short on two accounts... who rides 98.5 miles and doesn't circle the block a few times to get that extra 1.5???


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took a wrong turn and did 112 on that route last year. I figured screw it, I paid my dues. I was one of the first ones done. Almost 5000 miles of commuting in a year will get you in shape.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I think 98.5 miles is kind of a stick-it-to-the-man distance. It says "I don't care what you think" ... I respect the 98.5 :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

That's a kick-ass ride bedwards. Nicely done.

But I am with CB, I'd be laying in bed awake if I did not grab that extra 1.5 miles. 

[On Edit: That average speed is damn impressive too!]


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well I'm basically taking it easy. Twisted my ankle or sprained it. I dunno but I was doing some volunteer work in heavy work boots and when I jumped to grab something I landed on a very uneven surface and heard a pop. 

I would've taken time off last week but my car's water pump decided to explode so I rode pretty easily on flat pedals. After a few days my ankle didn't really hurt so I put the spd pedals back. All was well until I heard a rattle when going home and when clipping out totally jacked up my ankle again. Even worse, the rattling was because my arm that holds my rear rack to the brake bolt on the back of the frame rusted in half ( this is not the original aluminum one that matches the rack but one from a rack that came with a bike I bought). C'mon. 

Then I've field work to do for an ichthyology class and when there are only a few good weeks to get seine nets out in the river you gotta go out. 

Anyway car's fixed and I'm just going to sit here and be jealous all week.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful ride in with it just about right, sunny and in the low 70's. Traffic has been pretty cooperative and easy going, until today. 3 lane wide road. Pull up at a stop light, car in the middle gets behind me. I figure that they are turning at the light. Take off normally, get up to speed, and.......she passes me, half the car in each lane. It was pretty close, and honestly, unnecessary. She stopped at the next light, and turned right. 1 block and she had to get in front of me. C'mon lady, get the hell out of here with that. 

Aside from that bonehead lady, all else was nice. Did a few extra miles on the ride home on campus. Found a new route to take home that adds on a little extra for when I am feeling it. Multiple routes are always nice.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

NDD said:


> Then I've field work to do for an ichthyology class and when there are only a few good weeks to get seine nets out in the river you gotta go out..


Hmmm, sounds a bit fishy to me... I hope the ankle recovers soon.

Wet ride home last night although it did ease fairly soon after I left. I think I probably got as wet from my sweatsuit waterproof as I would have from the rain tbh. Got to get a more breathable one.

This morning bright and clear. Don't know the temp but it's the first time I've been able to see my breath this end of the year. Politely asked a fellow cyclist if he would move over so I could pass on his right on the MUP. You can ride 3 abreast here but he was all over the show. He complied but with the comment 'It's not a race!' 'I know dude, I'm not racing'. He then tagged on til we hit the incline. Not sure if he turned off or just slowed.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Nice ride in today - around 14°C and dry. Had to take the quick way (9-and-a-bit KM) instead of my 11KM usual as my work are being super inflexible at the moment regarding working hours... 

They accept that is is tough for me to be in the office for the full 37.5 hour week at the moment (small kid plus moving house) and although generally they allow working from home (after agreement from the management), they are not willing for me to work from home for now. At all.
This means that I will probably have a short fall in my working hours this month which I can only make up by being in the office. As I am not allowed to work from home. At all.
Its quite silly, as my job is qualitative, not quantitative (I don't produce x number of contracts per hour or make x number of sales offer evaluations per day) plus we have a secure VPN which allows access to everything we need to work from home...
Flexitime is screwed too - before you could decide yourself when you would start and finish - so long as you were in between 9am and 2pm. It is now 9am and 3pm and every deviation has to be agreed beforehand...

In the "good old days" before the Germans took over the company completely everything was very informal and life was great. Now we have an electronic swipe system that manages your time down to the second. They also screwed up the expense system for travelling so we no longer get per diem rates for travelling, only expense reimbursement on receipt of actual documented expenses. Travelling is now no longer so attractive. 

Sorry for *****ing - I need to get a new job...

Oh well, at least I can commute to work on my bike and can park it in my office... That's worth something, huh?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I would love to be able to bike to work and park it inside at my office. That would be more than ideal.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Its nice - but you gotta be able to live with the job you're doing whilst your enjoying the free indoor bike parking... 

Happy trails folks


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> I would love to be able to bike to work and park it inside at my office. That would be more than ideal.


 When I started my new position the building I moved to had posts outside for bikes. Not wanting to keep my bike in the elements all day I started using the stairwell. That raised some ire and the building manager (who runs) challenged my use of the stairwell. Our discussion turned into a "I'll park my bike out there when you leave your running shoes out there." pissing contest. Over time the bike became a tolerated deviation. The current building manager noted that we were violating fire code, but offered the solution pictured below. (Note: it's right next to our locker room and showers.) I love this job.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Felt a bit tired, though. Haven't been sleeping so well lately.

Cool this morning. 28F at the house. Fall is in full swing. In fact on Saturday I got some running in on snow. Good times. Ran up to Reed Lakes in Hatcher pass. A nice climb and boulder scramble before I got to the snow. Then some nice snow running before getting to the lake, turning around and heading back down the mountain. Only a 1.3K elevation gain or so over 3 miles, so not too difficult, though 400 or so of that elevation gain is in about a mile...
















The pics are after I started back down. Next time I will ride my bike the first 1.5 miles - the amount of trail open to bikes - so that I can get a bit higher into the mountains in the same amount of time and hopefully get up on a glacier that is back in one of the valleys.

I love living in Alaska!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ amazing places you get to go to out your back door up there. Not sure I could deal with the loooooooong winter for too many years, but maybe... 


I took the short way this morning, and was wishing I hadn't... felt fast for some reason. I averaged 21mph without thinking about it until I hit town and traffic. Probably a tailwind, and would have been a headwind on the long route :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Beautiful Blockphi!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Blockphi, you're not helping my jealousy about not being able to ride right now.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another great ride. Had some friendly competition in the bike lane for about a mile or so with another guy on a fixed gear. Ride home was long tonight. Simply was too nice to go directly home so I took the long way home tacking about 5 extra miles on through campus and some fairly deserted smooth roads.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Blockphi, that looks great! Good place to run for sure.

Nice and clear again today, the first official day of Autumn too. For some reason I was in full on militant cyclist mode this morning. I had a word with myself about 4 miles in and chilled for the remaining journey.


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2015)

Sadly, only riding every other day until the shoulder gets fixed, then nothing for a few weeks.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Ashtabula County OH Rail to Trail*

The trail parallels SR45 for the most part, but the last section to the lake is yet to be completed. I rode south out of Austinburg to Rock Creek, then back up to the end of the trail and back to Austinburg, covering 42 miles according to my Garmin.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/A...2!3m1!1s0x88318e43f02c5a91:0xf1443efde3f81d2a

The MidWest is topographically challenged compared to Alaska, plus the old rail bed is likely at worst a 5% grade. You can tell uphill from downhill mainly by your speed. it all looks pretty much the same perspective to the vanishing point.









This one was at my fastest and with the camera exposure near maximum (most shadowed by trees, and I like the impressionistic effect:



This was the best one of sunbeams filtering through the canopy:



Met one trike outbound and passed him coming back, met four other cyclists, and was overtaken by a sixth who appeared to be a commuter but who did not linger to say much other than he was not sure what I was (with all the lights). Only the couple were in a shot though I was set at 1 second intervals. I suspect the full sun setting dropped out a lot of darker situations, but the sky was burned out in others. I need a new camera. Also did not get the flock of about 15 turkeys, (a couple of hens and their broods) that crossed just ahead of me with two of the young ones (about 3/4 grown) almost bolting back to the right in front of me.

It would be a very pretty and safe commute, if a bit boring. There are five historical placards outlining the local underground railroad activity that the county was known for that add a lot to a first time visit.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ amazing places you get to go to out your back door up there. Not sure I could deal with the loooooooong winter for too many years, but maybe...
> 
> I took the short way this morning, and was wishing I hadn't... felt fast for some reason. I averaged 21mph without thinking about it until I hit town and traffic. Probably a tailwind, and would have been a headwind on the long route :lol:


You know, the funny thing for me is that I really enjoy the long winters. Coming from South Dakota where the winters were not quite as long, but generally quite brutal, may have affected my perception of winter here. The summers are harder in that it is really difficult to get a decent night's sleep for five and a half months or so as the body loses all track of time. I don't think there was a night this summer where we sat down for dinner before 9:00PM.

Of course, the long days allow us to do a lot of exploring, but when you have to get up and out the door by 4:30 AM to catch the bus... short nights suck...

Good ride this AM. 27F at the house again. Legs a bit tired as I did a three mile hilly tempo run last night. Good times. Tonight I'll be riding bike and setting course for a 5 and 10 K race the the Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers are putting on. I'll be running the 10K race - I think. It is a challenging course - two laps of our new single track and the first half of each lap is all up hill.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I would just trip out with days that long. I always think about the winter months, but I bet summer gets seriously awesome with all that daylight. 

Brian, sweet pics! Looks like fun. 

Yesterday's ride home was funny... I took the longer route, and about 2 miles in I started to realize that about 80% of it was going to be riding into a pretty brutal headwind. I was resigning myself to a slow cruise home into the wind. About that time, I heard a voice behind me. It startled me, and then I quickly had to resign myself to the upcoming sufferfest, as I realized that I'd been chased down by 3 of my local friends out on their carbon wonderbikes for a hard charging road ride around the valley. Paceline, echelon action beating it into the head/cross wind. They slowed just enough for me to 'get on', and then I was basically in the red for the next 12 miles, trying not to loose the super skinny wheel in front of me. 2.2" tires and fenders, hauling the laptop and change of clothes...it was comical. The Ogre was definitely the outcast. I took a couple of fairly short turns at the front, trying to pull my weight, but basically they escorted me all the way to what is usually the hard part of my commute, where my road turns off of the main road and really starts climbing. Their route took them past my turn, so I peeled off, and crawled up my hill trying to get the burn out of my lungs. Waaaay harder than I wanted to work on that commute.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ So CB, they burned you all out before the hard part of the commute? Nice friends.  Or maybe you need to learn a polite "No"?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah, you can't just not jump on the draft if you have the chance :lol: And once you're on, there's no good excuse for not staying on. "My lungs are on fire, my backpack is heavy, and I'm on a giant steel mountian bike" is not good enough for these people. They're heartless.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had a great camping vacation in the Nahmakanta Lands of Maine last week. I did some MTB'g/bikejoring (dog in harness up front), but less than expected because it was 75-80F most days, resulting in more lake activities than I had planned. Basically I did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted! Enjoyed every sunset and moonrise, listening to the loons.

We had the lake to ourselves.








Bikejor (action shots at speed would be more interesting but dangerous)








Hike with view north to Katahdin (northen end of Appalachian trail)








The red carpet








Granite pillow








These mats are to make the bridge ATV friendly, but work for dogs and bikes too. I only saw one ATV and one logging truck all week.








Not too good at paddling, but he keeps an eye out for wildlife.








Sunset on Wadleigh Pond, I tented just uphill from this spot.


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## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

While I was off on tour, my office moved.
New commute is about an hour each way (20km). Lots of hills in all directions, and crap roads as the new office is close to on/off-ramps for a major highway at the very north end of the city.

So I built a Ridley Xbow with flat bars, 1x9, and hydros.
Ran it on monday with 25mm gatorskins. EFF ME this frame is so frigging stiff!! Between that and the roads, I hurt my back bad enough that I can still barely bend over today.
So for tuesday I threw on some giant Continental City Contacts, 42 or 47mm, not sure, came off my Kona Ute.

Rode in today, and someone mentioned a hydro cut just north of my office. So I tried that going home. Only shaves 5, maybe 10 minutes off, but gets me to my kid's daycare that much earlier.

World ain't perfect but once I figure out how to get in and out of the cut easily, It'll get better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*The Geneva-on-the Lake MUP*

On Thursday last I rode to the MUP then out and checked out the campground as that is an option we might try. This was two days after the moron drove too close when I rode out to it the first time. Thought you might like to see the route in a compressed version.

This is a 4 X video of the trip back for just over 4 minutes. The campground parking lot has this nice access onto/off of the last 1/10 mile or so of the MUP. Coming in, you are dumped in a bit too far to the right of the one-way arrow in the parking lot to see it, and there is no way to leave by that same entry/exit, without riding against the marked direction of travel or snaking your way back and forth across the parking lot which is a non-obvious option. There was no traffic to make it a problem, but it shows just how much intelligent planning went into the bicycle infrastructure at this point. It just makes you all warm a fuzzy being so well cared for. 

The whole campground is set at 10 mph, which I had a great delight in exceeding, but so did drivers with 15-18 mph the popular interpretation. It made for very pleasant riding with traffic.

The sped-up version of the trip back to accommodation (no, we did not set it alight, unlike the Swiss Hotel at Lake Geneva (another connection) where Frank Zappa played in the song). Still, with Lake Erie and the pace it seems to work with "Smoke on the Water" which was released by Deep Purple in 1972 on the album Machine Head. That year I bought the Raleigh Super Course:

https://www.kurtkaminer.com/1972raleighcat_us_05_lg.jpg

The Duchess I am riding now, replaced it after I T-boned the Super Course into a Chrysler in 1981. I am still rollin'. Still rockin'. 

Enjoy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`m all messed this week. Four days vacation last week, back for my regular 11 to 7 Mon night, off Tues, covering somebody else`s vacation with 7PM to 7AM OT the rest of this week. My circuitous rhythm is doing the Cha-cha-cha, it`s still hot at 6:30 PM, and I have the sun right in my eyes in both directions.  And my nose is peeling. Sheesh.



CommuterBoy said:


> Yesterday's ride home was funny...


How do you find yourself in so many situations? Keep writing them up! Maybe even move to Miami and take over the spot that Dave Barry seems to have vacated.



byknuts said:


> While I was off on tour, my office moved.


Hoping you go against your grain and post a report. What`s a hydro cut?

Going against my own grain, I like your video better than the stills, Brian- the soundtrack works well with it. That you in the Raleigh ad?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I had a great camping vacation in the Nahmakanta Lands of Maine last week. I did some MTB'g/bikejoring (dog in harness up front), but less than expected because it was 75-80F most days, resulting in more lake activities than I had planned. Basically I did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted! Enjoyed every sunset and moonrise, listening to the loons.


Mmmmm. Great pictures all the way around! You sure manage to squeeze a lot of activities into a vacation.


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2015)

Bad week for riding (apparently), I skipped yesterday, which turned out to be a good thing due to the weather. Don't mind rain, but severe thunderstorms present a challenge. Same crap today. Not wimping out (well a little) but my workplace (govt) has a policy that prevents outdoor activity in lightning (not that I'm seriously thinking about riding in this). So in summary, I'm wimping out.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I've been slacking all month. My wife is in grad school with a heavy course-load this semester while still working part time, so I've been doing my best to pick up the slack at home. I also volunteered to host our local coop's volunteer orientation nights for a little over a month while the usual host settled into the new school year. On top of that, cyclocross season started up and I have a half marathon this weekend. When I don't have to get home quickly because of the first few excuses, the training for the half and cross make it hard to jump on the bike in the morning. It's a shame because the weather has been great this month. Rode in this morning but will be driving tomorrow because I have to pick up a friend from the airport at lunch. Next week I hope to get back in the groove.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good, if slow and cold ride this AM. 23F at the house when I left. 

Ended up with a 40 mile day yesterday and I am feeling it a bit today, though not as much as I had figured I would after not doing any big cycling days in quite some time. Legs are a bit tender on the uphills. 

I think I'll work from home tomorrow as I had a short night on Tuesday, last night, and will again tonight and will be running either a 5 or 10K tonight. Not sure which, yet. 

Explorer - love the pic of pooch with the granite pillow. Precious!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`m all messed this week.


Sounds normal to me.



rodar y rodar said:


> What`s a hydro cut?


In Ontario, hydro = hydroelectricity even if generated by coal or nuclear plants. Cut means a power line corridor where all the trees have been removed. If the land is not rented to local farmers, it is often single tracked/ATV/dirt bike tracked.



rodar y rodar said:


> Going against my own grain, I like your video better than the stills, Brian- the soundtrack works well with it.


I knew I did not have enough camera battery to video the longer MUP so I elected to do 1 second photos.The fast video of the shorter MUP was easier to deal with than 4500 photos.

The curves and short steeper grades here and there plus more users to deal with made the Lake Shore path a much more fun and interesting route recreationally. Commuting the low grade straight rail trail would be hard to beat compared to dodging big trucks and busses. Although I came across a high school track team practice on the way back, I suspect it is very low traffic at commuting times and with the sight distance of a half mile you could ignore usual MUP speed limitations.



rodar y rodar said:


> That you in the Raleigh ad?


That was a rhetorical question? If not, no. Same sex and skin color. I never had my saddle at that angle. Hurts just looking at it!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> How do you find yourself in so many situations?


:lol: What can I say, it's always something...

So today on the way in I think I cat-6ed a guy. Not sure if I've been the aggressor in that situation before, but it was definitely unintentional. I rarely see anyone on a bike on the commute... but occasionally, especially now that I'm going in to work a little later. I was having a fairly fast morning, feeling good and realizing that if I pushed just a little I could keep the average over 20mph, at least until I hit the city limits.

So this dude appears way up ahead, and I'm catching up... not sure if he had a mirror or what, but I swear he picked up the pace a little. he was on a steel road bike, maybe early 90's vintage. Jeans, work shirt, etc.... dressed like he's riding to work, not like me (dressed like I'm out for a bike ride, with work clothes in the backpack).

So I cruise by, say hello, and try not to really put the hammer down like I'm attempting to race, because I'm really not, I've just got a good cadence going, so I carry on.

I don't really look back, but I assume the gap is growing back there.... maybe a mile later, I hit the stop light at the edge of town, and there's no cars, so I have to sit in the road to trigger the light. I sat there for a good chunk of time before the light tripped, and then I took off... a little ways past the light I have to turn left across the road to catch the bike path, and when I look back for traffic, there's dude... must have seen me sitting at the light and put the hammer down... He didn't jump on the bike path, but I had to chuckle. I swear I wasn't racing. :lol:


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## Adroit Rider (Oct 26, 2004)

Not really a commute, more of a lunchtime spin:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> :lol: What can I say, it's always something...
> 
> So today on the way in I think I cat-6ed a guy. Not sure if I've been the aggressor in that situation before, but it was definitely unintentional. I rarely see anyone on a bike on the commute... but occasionally, especially now that I'm going in to work a little later. I was having a fairly fast morning, feeling good and realizing that if I pushed just a little I could keep the average over 20mph, at least until I hit the city limits.
> 
> ...


Had a cat 6 race this morning...I go down a ramp on to the MUP...buddy saw me and accelerated to my wheel....I had no idea he was there....I think he rested up....then passed me...so I light up and get on his wheel....wham he hits it and we both go....anyway he is way faster than me, but I hang on till I have turn off...

I was in 46 11 spinning pretty fast so over 40 kph....I finally let him go I was kinda scared of the mess if we would have screwed up going through an underpass.

Got to work and hacked a lung for 1/2 an hour or so.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

didn't have time to check in here the last days. Been reading through the thread and I have to say, some of you really have tough times sometimes on the bike. COmpared to what I read here, my commute is pretty boring. But its also nice to see mtbexplorer's pics, BrianMc's video (great soundtrack btw) and read the other funny things.

So I have been riding every day this week and plan to do so tomorrow as well. Weather is pretty much the same here everyday: ~10C/50F and calm in the morning, ~17C/63F in the afternoon with moderate headwind. I am still riding without buff and gloves in the morning. My bikeshoes are very well vented so I put on my shoecovers already in the morning. In the afternoon it is sometimes difficult to stuff my jacket and shoecovers in my bag, in addition to what is already in there.

And two weeks ago I bought a Contigo Westloop thermal mug, which I really *love* by now. It fits perfectly in my SKS topcage and everyone is looking really jealous when I take a sip while waiting for the green light.

Next week Monday and Tuesday I will commute on an Airbus A319, and the week after that even 3 days as it is seems now. I am thinking to get a folding bike that I can take with me, so I can commute between the hotel and the company. I just do not think I will get one so quickly...


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Adroit Rider said:


> Not really a commute, more of a lunchtime spin:


Thumbs up for LSD


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

LSD = Lakeside Drive, Chicago?


cyclingdutchman said:


> Next week Monday and Tuesday I will commute on an Airbus A319, and the week after that even 3 days as it is seems now. I am thinking to get a folding bike that I can take with me, so I can commute between the hotel and the company. I just do not think I will get one so quickly...


Dutchman, it sounds like you chose flights based on the aircraft model! Folding bike might be a good idea. If you were closer, I`d give you a killer deal on mine, but I think the shipping fees would be a bit crazy. Despite your screen name, it seems to me you`re in Belgium? Anyway, maybe you`ll get lucky with a bike when you get to wherever you`re going. Woodway had to commute to Barcelona a few years ago and the hotel had a loaner bike they let him take out to cruise around town on!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Adroit Rider said:


> Not really a commute, more of a lunchtime spin:


LOVE!!! Hoping to be down there for October Critical Mass and some serious riding before and after. I have ridden the Lakefront Path from Irving Park to just south of Shedd's.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Chicago shoreline looks impressive!

Fast ride last night, was feeling good. Some guy was on the MUP, I was on the road, not chasing but catching. We both went the same way at the end with me in front. Didn't check but I think drafted me for the next 1/2 mile or so till we hit a red light and traffic queue. I waited in line, he jumped it and the light. Naughty!! Slowly clawed him back on the long incline that followed but he turned off before I could get to him.

No ride today. Must have slept funny as back has a kink in it this morning. Experience says its best to take it easy when this happens.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My adrenaline is still kicking. I was cut off by a police cruiser this morning. I was going down a hill near my house and the cop was stopped at a stop sign to my left. As I approached the intersection, I could hear the cop's engine start up a bit. I thought he was going to pull out behind me, but he gunned it instead. I slammed on my brakes, skidded my tires, and stopped a few feet behind his rear bumper. I yelled at the dude, but I was careful not to go too far. I have already had a shouting match with a cop before, and it wasn't much fun. I don't know if he just didn't see me or was being a douche. I have a fairly bright headlight in front, but maybe I need to add my blinking light. It wasn't all that dark out, so he should have seen me without any lights.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Dang! The problem there is that you are in the wrong no matter what :lol: Did he say anything?



jeffscott said:


> Got to work and hacked a lung for 1/2 an hour or so.


:lol: exactly


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2015)

The Fargo is in full winter combat mode (wider tires, fenders, seat cover for the Brooks) and feels great in the cool fall weather. Love a hard frost to kill some skeeters, but otherwise I'm really enjoying the weather. Major kudos to the construction guys who stopped their truck to wave me through an intersection where they had right of way (so I could get past the line of cars with no break). It's those random people who give a crap that restore my faith in drivers (until the next one runs a stop sign).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I think the picture sums it up. Riding hard through the trails and dropped the chain which wrapped around what was formerly my rear derailleur. 
1st attempt - put the chain back on. Nope, noticed that one of the links was bent at 90deg.
2nd attempt - cut out the broken link and pressed it back together with the chain tool. Nope, broke the chain at the repaired link going up the first hill.
3rd attempt - repaired the chain with a power link from the wrong size chain. Nope, it was getting dark and I was getting grumpy and I routed the chain through the derailleur the wrong way.
4th attempt - Almost, forward motion with limited shift functionality and some skipping. Limp home mode was enabled.

The RD might be OK, could be just a bent hanger but the cage is about 20 degrees from parallel to the cassette. Some investigation will be necessary.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's good drama Bedwards. Impressive tweak in that chain!

I carry an 8 speed SRAM powerlink as a spare... assuming that the fatter size will at least work to get me home with an 8, 9, or 10 speed (I have them all on different bikes :lol. I haven't been as lucky as you where I actually get to try it on a commute though.

I got off early yesterday and got in 27 miles and just under 2k of climbing... Nothing too crazy, but I was sore today for sure. One biiiiiig hill. It's a paved climb, with a dirt road descent from the top... I caught it on a good day as a lot of it was washboard-free, so the Ogre was unleashed on the way down (just under a 6 mile Strava segment). I pulled off the KOM by 37 seconds. WooHoo. Bone-shaking sections of washboard while hammering downhill in the big ring...definitely risking a chain/derailleur implosion myself, but everything stayed where it should be :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I have you beat. I have 6,7,8,9,10 & 11 speed bikes. Got to stock a lot of chains. I think I used a 9 speed power link on the 10 speed chain, no problems with that. Once I replace this chain I'll be carrying a 9-speed and 10-speed power link.  

That descent sounds like it might be good on the fatbike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The fatty would eat up those washboards...that or launch you to the moon if you had the pressure wrong :lol: 

I gave the Ogre a cleaning/tune-up last night after beating on it yesterday, and the chain-checker revealed that it's well beyond new chain/cassette time. I swear it was OK last time I checked... how long ago was that? Oh shoot, that was a long time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I started tracking the mileage on my chains in Strava. What than means is, if I remember it it, I enter the date I installed a new chain and then I ignore it until it is too late, just like you.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Rodar, no when we need to travel to the other plant the company always book us on the same airline and they have only A319s. Besides that I made my seat reservation already and there you can see the type of airplane too. So no preference or choice possible from my side. And thanks for the offer on the folding bike but besides shipping I would have to pay import tax and VAT too, as soon as the total price is over 40Euros. If anyone in germany or surroundings has a great offer I will be glad to hear it 

Bedward: looks like a stressful ride. Glad you could ride home. I once broke a chain and rear derailer on a nightride, could fix it into ss ti get home. The rest of the group continued and suddenly I was alone in the dark :8 so glad you made it home before dark. 

Same ride today as the rest of the week. Now comes the time that it is foggy in the morning, when we are lucky. When not lucky, its foggy all day. Ah well, as long as it is not getting too windy I'll be allright.

Blockphi: everytime I see one of your posts, I start thinking of getting another signature. I must spread some reputation around before giving it to you again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedward: looks like a stressful ride. Glad you could ride home. I once broke a chain and rear derailer on a nightride, could fix it into ss ti get home. The rest of the group continued and suddenly I was alone in the dark :8 so glad you made it home before dark.


Who said anything about before dark?  It was light when I took the first pic but not by the time I got home. It's all good, I had lights. It was my first real night ride of the season.:thumbsup:


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It was nice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BMX'd it today and then rolled downhill 1 mile or so after work for a bike/vulnerable road user safety rally at the statehouse. The coolest part was some horses also showed up and were munching the grass in front of the capitol. A good turnout and speakers, if a little on the mild mannered side. The family of one of the riders killed this summer donated light sets for the first 50 to arrive by bike, that was pretty cool, even though I was not one of them. I also tried the temporary protected bike lane (mums/cones), a cool idea, but the pavement was horrific. I should have taken some pix but spaced. The Lt. Gov (R) spoke (he races cars, rides motorcycles and bicycles) and I saw he has a custom painted bike and jersey with his name on it, I think he did his door to door campaigning on it.

A rally for safe roads at Statehouse


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

It's that time:


__
https://flic.kr/p/z38s5b


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sorry Newf, but what time?



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I have you beat. I have 6,7,8,9,10 & 11 speed bikes. Got to stock a lot of chains.


Hold one there, Champ- half those use the same chains! Quite an episode the other day, though. Hope youre able to straighten (replace?) the hanger and don`t have to shell out for a new RD.

I didn`t know master links could be used for a narrower chain than designed for- good tip to remember. But I thought that 10 and up didn`t have clip-style masters.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today. Smoked my legs last night on a Fixed Friday 50 mile ride with a Friend on Felt bikes. Going to use today as a rest day and then be back at it again tomorrow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sorry Newf, but what time?


Middle of last week it was like someone flipped the switch to "autumn." (at least around here). Although honestly, these temperatures are much more my thing.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I thought that 10 and up didn`t have clip-style masters.


My 10 does. KMC has 11 spd chain QLs:

wiggle.com | KMC 11 Speed Chain Links | Chains.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Buzzed by a local pizza delivery guy, not once, but twice. Passed him as he was waiting for a car to turn left after he buzzed me the second time. I moved over a little more to the left in the lane after going by him to ensure that he would have to move over to pass. Nope. Was closer the second time. Thought about giving chase and trying to talk to him but decided against the confrontation. I find myself drifting right in the lane towards the curb. Not sure why. I need to concentrate on not doing that and opening the door for people to pass in my lane.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Heavy ride today. I had the panniers loaded up with my usual gear for the week (running shoes/clothing, towel, Office attire, Water proof jacket, tools and puncture kit, lunch, phone, keys etc plus a couple litre of neat squash (for my desk) and new pack of wet wipes. Friday afternoon is similar but the rides in between maybe fill half a pannier.

Bedward: good chain mangle that. I think my toys would have well and truly been thrown out the pram before the point you got rolling again.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> But I thought that 10 and up didn`t have clip-style masters.


Ten and up the SRAM master link cannot be removed by hand....a special set of pliers is required.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sorry Newf, but what time?
> 
> Hold one there, Champ- half those use the same chains! Quite an episode the other day, though. Hope youre able to straighten (replace?) the hanger and don`t have to shell out for a new RD.
> 
> I didn`t know master links could be used for a narrower chain than designed for- good tip to remember. But I thought that 10 and up didn`t have clip-style masters.


Yeah, but I have a few X speed chains in stock, then they decide that X+1 is the new standard, the X-speed bike doesn't get as many miles and the newer chains are backward compatible but the X-speed chains aren't forward compatible, repeat, repeat, repeat.


jeffscott said:


> Ten and up the SRAM master link cannot be removed by hand....a special set of pliers is required.


Maybe that's why I had to get these:
Amazon.com : Park Tool Master Link Pliers : Bike Hand Tools : Sports & Outdoors
I'd taken dozens of chains apart but had one that wouldn't budge. Even using needlenose pliers they would slip out. The park chain pliers make it simple.

The derailleur hanger was wicked stove up but I don't think it's FUBAR. I bent it back with a hanger tool. The derailleur cage was a little mangled and is currently in pieces on my workbench awaiting further attention. I'll attempt straightening.

I did a 60 mile charity ride this weekend at a good clip despite being sick. 3 of us put the hammer down, didn't stop and averaged 19.3MPH with some stiff wind and 4400 ft of climbing. I was hoping it burned the cold out but it didn't. Speaking of that:

How was my commute today? CAUTION GRAPHIC MATERIAL (Read at your own risk) : I attempted to blow a huge snot rocket that had a failure to launch and hung on like a handlebar streamer on a banana seat bike from your childhood as I was going downhill at 20mph. (Couldn't help but read it, could you?). My commute was pretty slow & tired.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I have pulled it off with needle nose pliers... just the right angle and pop!

So I checked the trail camera this weekend... it's mounted about 100 feet from the basement laboratory door, just down the hill. Got 6 pictures of this dude...cruised through early last week. I'm feeling a bit more alert than usual heading out in the early morning now :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Good idea, maybe put a playing card in your spokes to scare it away. Just in case, read up: How to Fend off a Mountain Lion: 5 Steps (with Pictures)


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I have pulled it off with needle nose pliers... just the right angle and pop!
> 
> So I checked the trail camera this weekend... it's mounted about 100 feet from the basement laboratory door, just down the hill. Got 6 pictures of this dude...cruised through early last week. I'm feeling a bit more alert than usual heading out in the early morning now :lol:
> 
> View attachment 1018447


When I lived in South Dakota I often saw lions around. Freaky stuff. I once saw a mama with three or four yearling kits with her while I was out camping and it made it real hard to sleep that night.

Good ride in this AM. A bit damp, but not horrible. Temps in the low 50s, so that crappy place where the rain gear is needed because it is raining hard enough, but temps are high enough that you end up sweating and getting just as wet as if you weren't wearing the gear.

We are supposed to be getting an arctic cold front from Siberia tomorrow that is supposed to change the rain to snow by the afternoon. Might be interesting given the amount of moisture this system is pushing ahead of itself. The one day snow fall record for Anchorage is 6 inches on September 24th of 2006, I believe. I don't know that we'll hit that mark, but anything is possible. At any rate, I left the Nate tires on the bike after this weekend's sweep duty for the region cross country running championships. Threw the Nates on because it was wet and muddy and I knew I'd be having a hard time climbing the hills without them.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> How to Fend off a Mountain Lion: 5 Steps (with Pictures)


"If the mountain lion does however gain advantage remember it has four sets of five razor sharp claws and a neck and jaw made for killing mammals and dragging heavy carcasses."

That part was especially helpful, thank you :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeffscott said:


> Ten and up the SRAM master link cannot be removed by hand....a special set of pliers is required.


Not required in every case. Just not easy to pull off without them. Some may be impossible without them. I have done so with my 10 speed chain. Now I have the Park tool. Like changing from a rock to a hammer to drive small nails.



bedwards1000 said:


> Maybe that's why I had to get these:
> Amazon.com : Park Tool Master Link Pliers : Bike Hand Tools : Sports & Outdoors
> I'd taken dozens of chains apart but had one that wouldn't budge. Even using needlenose pliers they would slip out. The park chain pliers make it simple.


Simple and less likely to rip open a finger in the process. That alone is worth the price let alone the frustration until you get it just right.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> So I checked the trail camera this weekend... it's mounted about 100 feet from the basement laboratory door, just down the hill. Got 6 pictures of this dude...cruised through early last week. I'm feeling a bit more alert than usual heading out in the early morning now :lol:
> 
> View attachment 1018447


Whoa! I want one of those trail cameras, even though I won't get a mountain lion on it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> The derailleur hanger was wicked stove up but I don't think it's FUBAR.


Wicked stove up!?! That sounds bad! Non-replaceable steel hanger? Bent cage doesn`t sound very good either. I`ve never had need to straighten one, but I wish you luck with it.
EDIT: your MPH for distance reports are getting wicked stove crazy. If you don`t back off you`re really going to scar my self esteem for life.



CommuterBoy said:


> That part was especially helpful, thank you :lol:


No kidding! The article didn`t mention attempting to hang snot rockets from Kitty`s nose. Maybe you could gross it away like that. For sure, don`t ride to work in predawn hours with a jersey that reads "Purina Cougar Chow".


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Took the chance on the rain missing us and ended up with a great ride in and home. Tired of college idiots that do not understand what a bike lane is and how it should be used. Kid coming right at me in the bike lane on the wrong side. I just shook my head. Saddle slammed on his bso, white ear buds in. I didn't even bother. Ride home was really enjoyable. Took the geared bike today and after some saddle adjustment I think it is getting dialed in. Going to drop a spacer out and see how that works for me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> "If the mountain lion does however gain advantage remember it has four sets of five razor sharp claws and a neck and jaw made for killing mammals and dragging heavy carcasses."
> 
> That part was especially helpful, thank you :lol:


 That did make me chuckle.

Fast ride home last night. Got a call during the day from a roofing guy who was coming to look at my place, be there about six. Never turned up  that's him off the list then.

Coldest day so far this morning (still not that cold really 11C / 51F)


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Good ride yesterday. Legs were tired in the morning and I had a headwind to boot but overall it was nice. The morning ride worked the lactic acid out of my legs left over from the weekend's half marathon, so the ride home was much faster. Didn't really get the tail wind, but didn't have a headwind either so I was happy. 

My boss found a bike rack in her garage that she had never opened and offered it to me. I accepted, even though I have a roof system. Now I can fit 6 bikes on the car (2 up top and 4 on the new to me hitch rack) with room for 4 and gear inside. Time to round up my riding buddies and go somewhere epic.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Freaking wet here. When you wake up to the sound of water cascading down your roof, you know the ride is going to be a wet one. At least it wasn't too cold - 49F. In town the creek I ride by is flooding in spots so the underpasses on the bike trail are flooding. I started to go through one, only to find the water up and over my BB quite quickly and my lack of momentum caused me to almost dump the bike. Stepped off and was submerged in icy water from the mountains up to mid shin instantly. Fun times. Ended up detouring on roads, which were not too much better in terms of standing water - the prevalence of studded tires here causes the roads to have quite pronounced grooves that work great to catch 6 to 8 inches of standing water. 

Needless to say, I'm still a bit damp an hour an 15 minutes after getting here and changed. Good times.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Send some of that water to NorCal!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You can have some or ours. This forecast seems to say we are going to get up to 8" tomorrow. Should be some good drown rat fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

As promised! CB, I've got a few buckets under the eaves if you want to come get them. We've got over 3" so far and it's supposed to rain all day. I did not stay dry on my commute, no I did not.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I only got rained on for a couple minutes on my ride in. Weather is supposed to drop 20 degrees tomorrow, so I guess fall is really here.

Today was bike commute #150 for the year, and I was originally only aiming for 100 bike commutes so pretty stoked about that. My mileage in general is about on course to hit my 3,000 mile goal for the year but I should try to get some buffer miles in while the weather is decent.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Rain and snow mix on the way home yesterday. Rain and snow mix this AM. No way to stay dry or warm. These are the days when it really sux to be a bike commuter. The worst part is that this shot of snow will be gone again real soon and we won't even have a good base to build the rest of the season's snow on. Assuming there is going to be more snow this season.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Seems you guys are getting all the bad stuff at the moment. Here in Germany we have an airpressure of almost 1040 millibar at the moment, which means very quiet and nice sunny weather. 

After my short business trip it was very good to be back on the bike this morning. At first I commuted with my son to kindergarten, then rode to work. It was a bit foggy, blue sky and the sun was peaking through already. Around 5C/40F when I left, so this morning I rode buff'd and glove'd for the first time this season. I had to take my laptop also, so I was more loaded than normally. I have a pretty old one and it feels like it weighs a ton with the size of a fridge. With the bag around it, it just fit in the Ortlieb backroller pannier.
In the afternoon it was again sunny and 17C/63F. At least I had enough space for my jacket, gloves, buff and shoe covers, in addition to the usual stuff. When winter would get really tough, I might need the second pannier every day - but I still hope for the best.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Ride in today was great. Came across a good friend who was riding to the gym this morning, so I slowed and had a nice little chat with him until I had to turn off. There was a nice little tailwind this morning. I'm crossing my fingers that it changes directions for my ride home. The forecast is calling for 20mph winds the next three days. I really don't want to take that to the face...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Lots of dew about today. Ground, trees, cars etc loaded with water. Otherwise sunny.

Can't quite believe this myself but I hit a squirrel this morning!! Riding my usual route along one of the MUPs past a wood and golf course. The squirrel, which was otherwise concealed and unseen in the undergrowth decided to dart across the track in front of me. Didn't miss it by much. It would have been fine, but just short of the edge it decided it liked where it came from better and started back. This is where it went under my wheel. It continued to the undergrowth and disappeared, but I don't fancy its chances.

About a mile later a car pulled out from a side road, clearly didn't see me but I had to anchor up pretty swiftly. Caught him at the lights and he had no idea, advised that he should clean the dew from the side windows and he might stand more chance, as might I. All very polite and he apologised profusely.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> It would have been fine, but just short of the edge it decided it liked where it came from better and started back. This is where it went under my wheel.


Sounds like rabbit and deer behavior! I ran over a squirrel once with the front wheel of a tandem. It was very hard and dense, felt like running over a baseball.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Not sure where I caught it but didn't seem that big. Maybe just my amazement at the event, they're speedy little critters! 

As an aside, they had a grey squirrel cull in a nearby forest and were selling them for eating. I tried one but there's really not much to them once they're peeled; bones are really small, almost bird like.

Another aside, I read that creatures like that with eyes on the side for 360ish vision quite often crash into stuff when being chased as they concentrate too much on what's behind them.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> As an aside, they had a grey squirrel cull in a nearby forest and were selling them for eating. I tried one but there's really not much to them once they're peeled; bones are really small, almost bird like.


Not to mention that it's almost impossible to get rid of all the fur.

Super soaker commute in the AM was followed by a super headwind commute last night. Full power to go 12MPH in spots. It looks like we get to keep the wind for a few days.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride home last night - 45F and sunny. Clear and 23F this morning, so a bit chilly, but not too bad. 

The biggest problem is that my front der and rear brake (I have my brakes set up moto - so rear on the left instead of right) cables must be full of water because they are sticking and just generally not working well at all. I dropped some lube in the brake line two nights ago and yesterday it worked well, but this AM by the time I got about halfway done with the ride it was sticking really badly again. I figure it's because the bike was out in the rain for hours on Saturday and was laying on the ground, non-driveside down, so both the shifter and brake lever would have filled with water. I really need to just run new cables anyway, but will probably just hit them both with some Deep Creep to drive the water out.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

SlipSpace said:


> As an aside, they had a grey squirrel cull in a nearby forest and were selling them for eating. I tried one but there's really not much to them once they're peeled; bones are really small, almost bird like.


I went to Ecuador this summer and tried "Cuy". We call it guinea pig. It was strange eating one of those cute little critters, but it was basically like rabbit, or...I assume... squirrel.

In the spirit of Rodar's accusation that I'm always getting into situations... 
I got attacked/bitten by a dog yesterday. That was a first for me. I've been chased before... I've yelled "NO" and had them back off, I've kicked one in the chops and had it back off... but I lost yesterday. It was at a ranch just down the road from my house. They've had a ton of sheep there for the last few days. Turns out they're "open range" sheep that they keep way the heck out in the woods all summer (Peruvian sheep hearder guys come and do the full-on shepherd thing all summer, how cool is that?), and they bring them back down to this ranch just prior to winter to sell them off/ship them out to wherever they go in the winter. I've been getting barked at as I cruise by (downhill at about 25mph) in the mornings, and I've seen the dogs run across the field towards me, but thought nothing of it... apparently I've been getting lucky in the afternoons. Yesterday, not so much. 
Two of them came charging up to me, going nuts... I tried to talk nicely at first, no dice. I yelled a big "NO"...no dice. When it became obvious they were there to eat and not to chase, I started unclipping to get a kick in. I was a tad slow. One of them latched on to my leg and I got a solid punch in, and it let go. I kept yelling and they backed off after that.

If your dogs are basically trained to attack anything that gets close to the sheep, why not lock the stupid things up when the sheep are safe in a pasture? Irritating.

They came running across the field this morning again. I'm told they're supposed to be shipping out today, but I'm taking suggestions for weapons for the way home...









OH, and it's raining today!! WOOHOO!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

WHOA!! CB you really got it today. I would recommend Pepperspray or even better a gun and shoot them yourself. Or move to Germany. Over here, such a dog would be shot by the police on the spot and the owner would be charged. Do you have a tetanus vaccination?? Otherwise you should go see a doctor to get one.

Hm thought I could impress you with my foggy pics from today but CB beat me. Anyway, same as yesterday today. 2C/37F when I left with no wind. Still no wind on the way home with 17C/60F again.

Foggy pics:








Roe deers:








looking ahead:








looking to the right:








looking closer:








Kids and wife are all sick, so I took the day off tomorrow. Makes only 2 days of riding this week :-/ Hopefully will make 5 out of 5 again next week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

cyclingdutchman said:


> looking ahead:
> View attachment 1019378


That looks like an amazing commute! Much better than getting eaten by a dog!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> In the spirit of Rodar's accusation that I'm always getting into situations... I got attacked/bitten by a dog yesterday.


Well:

Quote Originally Posted by CommuterBoy View Post
"If the mountain lion does however gain advantage remember it has four sets of five razor sharp claws and a neck and jaw made for killing mammals and dragging heavy carcasses."

Well there is a bright side: at least they rarely break your neck and haul you off to feed their young.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Hm thought I could impress you with my foggy pics from today but CB beat me. Anyway, same as yesterday today. 2C/37F when I left with no wind. Still no wind on the way home with 17C/60F again.


Worked for me!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That is one nasty bite. I would have gone with a stronger word than "Irritating." Gotta admit though, I was actually expecting a crazy fight-for-survival mountain lion story.

A question for all: has anyone used black rim-brake rims that didn't look terrible as the anodizing gradually wore off? I've got a hankering for a truly skinny wheelset (or at least cx-skinny), and a bunch of the options involve non-silver braking surfaces. I think I would regret that, but that's just based on one brief experience with anodized rims.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Damn CB, that dog got you good! A weapon o use against your bad puppies? BrianMC`s quote of CB`s quote of Bedwards` quote of some hillbilly on the internet made me think...
maybe if you could just find some sort of "razor sharp claws and a neck and jaw made for killing mammals", you should come out ahead next time. So, just carry a mountain lion with you.

Very nice countryside, Dutchman. Bricked walking/biking trail is unimmaginable in my world!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> I got attacked/bitten by a dog yesterday...
> 
> If your dogs are basically trained to attack anything that gets close to the sheep, why not lock the stupid things up when the sheep are safe in a pasture?


Ouch!
Clearly they kept you from eating the sheep, so I would expect a repeat tomorrow.

Windy but the rain stopped today. Squeezed out by a tractor trailer on Main St, had to slow up and move toward parked cars to ensure survival. I usually don't take the lane there unless I can move traffic-speed, but the rude people like that make you regret it.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> They came running across the field this morning again. I'm told they're supposed to be shipping out today, but I'm taking


I think you should be good with a rolled up newspaper.

I'm out for probably at least another week. Ankle sprain is progressing slowly. I've been off the bike for about two weeks now, it's been about three since I sprained it. My doctor told me to expect about two to three more weeks.

Of course I slow things down, because I get bored and impatient and end up overextending myself, like last weekend I went on a hike and twisted it good again by falling into a ditch (it was dark).

*** Edit: the quote from CB was supposed to be the part about a suggestion for weapons against a crazy ass dog, but apparently something happened when I actually posted it, something happened. Too lazy to really fix it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

newfangled said:


> That is one nasty bite. I would have gone with a stronger word than "Irritating." Gotta admit though, I was actually expecting a crazy fight-for-survival mountain lion story.
> 
> A question for all: has anyone used black rim-brake rims that didn't look terrible as the anodizing gradually wore off? I've got a hankering for a truly skinny wheelset (or at least cx-skinny), and a bunch of the options involve non-silver braking surfaces. I think I would regret that, but that's just based on one brief experience with anodized rims.


Disc brakes. The black anodizing will eventually wear off. One exception is carbon rims, but you would need special pads for those. Not sure what you would like to do or what bike it is going on. I have a set on my Felt that are technically not made to be used as a braking surface on my fixed gear, but I do anyway. When I apply the brake, only about half the pad touches the track since it is layered. I would need to take a picture to explain further.

My commute was cool and windy on the way in, and cold and windy on the way home. Had an incident with a drunk female passenger in a Jeep screaming out an open window that I get on the sidewalk while they were behind me on the way home. When they stopped at a red light after passing me, the window was magically up, and she was turned looking at the driver and wouldn't even budge to look my way. I motioned for the driver to put the window down. He declined. I guess he thought that I might be a threat to them. Perhaps he should have told her to keep her big mouth shut. As I pulled away, I said rather loudly, "that's what I thought" and got back in my lane to finish waiting for the light to turn green. They passed me, and she shot me a dirty look, but she was met with a dirtier look from me. The window was up, and she didn't say a word.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Wow CB - that sucks! I would go down the pepper spray route myself rather then any lethal weapon. But then again I don't like killing things if I don't have to. Even Insects.
Except wasps. F**k those guys. And Hornets. But even then only if they were persistent little sods and don't leave when waved at with something.

No commute for me for the foreseeable future. We have sold and moved out of our apartment and our house isn't finished for another month or so (bathroom renovation). So we are living with the in-laws.

Good news - its a ten minute or so walk to work
Bad news - our little one is still registered in the kindergarten on the other side of town until the 15th... Looooong car commute...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

blockphi said:


> The biggest problem is that my front der and rear brake (I have my brakes set up moto - so rear on the left instead of right) .


Interesting, standard UK setup is the Moto style you mention (rear left). I did ride a hire bike setup rear right one time and it was a definite mind game. All of your natural muscle memory goes to pot! You have to think about braking rather than just doing it.


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## scbison (Aug 21, 2015)

My wife and kids had the day off today due to flooding. I actually made it in during a break in the rain and I believe the major part of the hurricane should be well north of Charleston by now. I still think it will be a wet ride home. I had to drive my boy to school yesterday since he busted off the drivers mirror of his car on our garbage can and doesn't feel comfortable driving so I didn't ride in the all day rain yesterday but on Wednesday I got a full on soaking on the way home. I was 15 minutes from home when it started dumping down and it was still 80* so I opted to just take a shower instead of putting on the rain gear. It was 65* this morning and just a hint of mist in the air so I wore my rain gear on the way in. I hate that transition period where you have the gear on, even with all the vents open, and breathing fabric and you still are overheating from not enough heat able to escape.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Wish me luck today. Heading out on a commute to work on homecoming evening. College football team is ranked number #2 in the country currently, so that will give away my location. Not worried about the ride in, it is the ride home that concerns me. Sunny and 55° right now so passing this day up is not possible.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This was the first day where I was like, ooh my face feels the cold a bit today. 30F this morning, should be mid 40s for the ride home. I put the warmer clipless shoes on, but then saw a guy riding in sandals with no socks – but I assured myself he was only going a short way through Town. The realization is also sinking in that neither new paving projects nor the promised road diet will actually be happening before winter, although I did see some surveyors out the last couple days.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold and windy, and that wind was hitting me in all directions no matter where I went. Figured the ride home would be windy as well, and I was right. Added a few extra miles in because why not get used to the cold and wind right? No issues on campus, cops were out in droves on the main road which I figured would be pretty safe.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

This morning I made my first clothing concession for the season- put on the rain shell and gloves that I had somehow (now way, Dude!) remembered to throw in my tail bag before leaving for work yesterday. I would have needed the rain shell Weds night for falling water from the sky, but I didn`t want to get my tires all yucky, just drove in that night. Any of that lovely rain this week in CB land?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Warmer ride in than expected this morning. Looked cold out but wasn't. I was earlier than usual and it was a weird kind of half light outside. I thought it was due to the time but still like it now an hour or so later. I suspect it will rain, hard, at some point.

Decided it was time to break out the hi-vis vest so that was on, hopefully my new USB recharge front light will arrive today or tomorrow, I should have ordered it earlier, but I need it now.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Yes Rodar, we got dumped on on Saturday! Big rain! been a looooong time. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come. Super D race at the local trails this coming weekend, so the rain couldn't have been more timely...would have been loose and scary. I still have scars from last year, so I'm hoping to keep it rubber side down this year. 

Dog update: 
Ride home on Thursday was what I was worried about... I stopped before the ranch and picked up 4 nice big rocks. I was scanning the shoulder for a good stick, but had to settle for the rocks. There are 4 of these dogs... one of them was standing in the road waiting for me when I got up there, so I started talking nice to it and slowed way down, ready to jump off and go to battle. It was OK with me once I slowed way down, stopped barking, and I rode past. Then I saw a car pulled off near the sheep, and the other 3 dogs were hanging right there. Lady at the car was connected to the ranch/sheep operation, and basically flagged me down asking if I was the guy the dogs had bitten (I had told the neighbors). I showed her my rocks :lol: She was super nice and apologetic, said everyone felt bad...the dogs had supposedly never done anything but bark at people before. Dog owner guy wanted to know if I needed his insurance info, etc, etc. Best case scenario, hard to be too angry.... she explained that the whole operation was shipping out the next day. We talked for a minute, and I started to pedal away...and the dogs went nuts! She had to yell them down... What can you do but shake your head. 

I saw the big cattle trucks coming for the sheep on Friday. Back to normal today.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Yes Rodar, we got dumped on on Saturday! Big rain! been a looooong time. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come. Super D race at the local trails this coming weekend, so the rain couldn't have been more timely...would have been loose and scary. I still have scars from last year, so I'm hoping to keep it rubber side down this year.
> 
> Dog update:
> Ride home on Thursday was what I was worried about... I stopped before the ranch and picked up 4 nice big rocks. I was scanning the shoulder for a good stick, but had to settle for the rocks. There are 4 of these dogs... one of them was standing in the road waiting for me when I got up there, so I started talking nice to it and slowed way down, ready to jump off and go to battle. It was OK with me once I slowed way down, stopped barking, and I rode past. Then I saw a car pulled off near the sheep, and the other 3 dogs were hanging right there. Lady at the car was connected to the ranch/sheep operation, and basically flagged me down asking if I was the guy the dogs had bitten (I had told the neighbors). I showed her my rocks :lol: She was super nice and apologetic, said everyone felt bad...the dogs had supposedly never done anything but bark at people before. Dog owner guy wanted to know if I needed his insurance info, etc, etc. Best case scenario, hard to be too angry.... she explained that the whole operation was shipping out the next day. We talked for a minute, and I started to pedal away...and the dogs went nuts! She had to yell them down... What can you do but shake your head.
> ...


I've read that animals (dogs, horses) don't recognize people on bikes as being people. Sometimes when you dismount they figure it out and they don't freak out as much. Won't work every time, but something to keep in mind.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Some nice weather finally. Left the commute rig at home and rode in on a new to me cyclocross bike (actually a 11 year old frame) thats been sitting in my closet for 5 months and was finally finished enough to ride on Friday. Psyched to have a SS commute option again, and to save the hours involved in taking my orange bike apart and setting it up SS for the winter.



Frame feels pretty good so far, odds are I'll spend the dough on an eccentric axle so I can try a different gearing (39x17 is almost magic, but a touch short). All this talk of dogs reminds me that this frame doesn't have a peg for a pump, making me question whether its actually a viable commute option


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Sweet bike! Funny you mention the pump. I just got a new pump, and it's tiny and lame for a weapon! My old pump would have been great. I totally had that thought :lol: 

**disclaimer: I have a dog, I love dogs, I think dogs are great. I just don't like getting eaten by them.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> **disclaimer: I have a dog, I love dogs, I think dogs are great. I just don't like getting eaten by them.


 Love it!

I know you are all concerned: My mountain bike that ate my chain is fine. New chain, straightened the hanger, disassembled and straightened both sides of the derailleur cage and now it shifts pretty darn good.

OK commute today, my head cold almost cleared and is now going for round 2. Blah. Temps near freezing (in both F and C) this morning.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Time again to mention that bridge decks will become very slippery with frost in the morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^And wet leaves aren't that much different.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Temps near freezing (in both F and C) this morning.


Ain`t that weird how near freezing on a C thermometer is also near freezing on an F thermometer? :lol:
Thanks for the drivetrain update- I was wondering how it went.



CommuterBoy said:


> Best case scenario, hard to be too angry.... she explained that the whole operation was shipping out the next day.


Yeah, hard to get too upset with somebody who is genuinely sorry for having wronged you. Glad it worked out that way. And good luck with the race.

Sweet, Alex!

Also, I just realized that I mentioned "lovely rain" over the weekend. No offense to those of you on the other end of the wet/dry scale. I`m sure lovely isn`t the first adjective that comes to your mind when rain is involved these days! Stay dry over there!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

...and pine needles Bedwards.

Thanks Rodar. Finishing without blood is the goal...so I probably won't be competitive. haha. They changed the classes up enough so that a few of the fast guys I ride with are out of my age group though, so it's just enough to make me really want to push. ugh.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Tons of debris on the roads this morning after the high winds we experienced this weekend. Kinda glad I caught up on a TV show this morning and went to work after it got light out.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The ride in was almost perfect had it not been for a slight head wind. Ride home was interesting. Not raining, kind of a really light mist/fog that just hung in the air. The roads were dry but the brake levers on my bike and my helmet along with my arm warmers were wet. Rode the geared bike again today. Really loving this bike so far and am happy that I picked it up. New stem ordered, directly from Felt. Same stem that I have, just in a 90mm.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ that sounds like my ride this morning too. It's what my Nan would call 'smeary'. 
Back to just a tee and hi-vis for today


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A beautiful ride in this AM. 26F at the house and clear with the northern lights dancing in the sky. Got to the bus stop and it was foggy, the waxing moon was riding low and the northern lights were still bright. Get to town and it's 40F and foggy. A good ride all in all.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Solid day everywhere! We're still in that post-rain crispness that we haven't felt in way too long. Beautiful morning here too. I went out after work and pre-rode this weekend's race course... it will be shuttled on Saturday, but we had to slog our way up 2k feet to the top... still managed to put in my 2nd best time on the course because of the hero dirt after the rain. Rubber side down...good sign. The legs were heavy this morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today. Still "smeary" but with a touch of miserable drizzle thrown in. Just not feeling it today and will be on my feet for my entire shift at work.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice day yesterday, quite cold in the morning and nicely warm in the afternoon. Today was the opposite: cloudy and windy all day with occasional drizzle. Managed to stay dray both rides.


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## Endless Soul (Oct 1, 2015)

Pretty decent ride in today. I travel through an unavoidable industrial area with lots of tractor-trailer truck traffic, but at 5am there aren't that many.

It's clear skies today, but it rained yesterday so there were still some puddles to navigate around. No complaints though as we really needs that rain. (I live in Southern California)


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Well...I was planning to ride today but I injured my shoulder last night in the ol' Monday hockey league. It's a "no contact" league so I opt out of shoulder pads...so of course I went down with all my force on my shoulder. Direct hit. Felt a wee pop at the time. It's tender, slightly limited motion, and just don't have the strength in the joint right now. Hoping its just a really nasty bruise or something. 

I think I can ride tomorrow. After all, I still have two good legs and one perfectly good arm.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pretty sure i got the finger from a motorist this morning - while I was driving to work! He'd been tailgating for a while as I drove with regard to the speed limit, and gestured when he came alongside to turn. A good reminder that some people are jerks no matter what mode of transport you choose.

Yesterday it was 25F warmer on the way home. I knew I would be warm if I didn't shed something. but stubbornly put on the same outfit, probably so I would be cozy on the first 1 mile downhill. Yes, I was too warm.

Kleebs, hope you heal up soon.

CB, the downhill part looks fun.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> A good reminder that some people are jerks no matter what mode of transport you choose.


All too true.

Wet and breezy this morning but temperature still up around 15C / 59F. Slower than usual, ankles seem to be taking a beating at the moment, not sure why...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yesterday it was 25F warmer on the way home. I knew I would be warm if I didn't shed something. but stubbornly put on the same outfit, probably so I would be cozy on the first 1 mile downhill. Yes, I was too warm.


Oh, at least. It was 35F in the AM and 65F+ in the PM. I did the same thing and also pushed hard on the way home. My clothes were still wet this morning.

Commuter Boy: This might sound a little weird....But I had a dream that you found a baby giraffe and posted some pics here. The first pic was a closeup with the caption "wait for it" and then next showed the giraffe. So, obviously, not really knowing you, I decided to fly from Maine to California to see it. The rest of the dream was about the details of the trip. Including arguing with the van driver about the round trip fare from the airport. ($39 each way vs $49) There were a lot of other specific details that I remember that I wont bore y'all with. Analyze that Carl Jung!

Commute was good! I took the woodsy route and the fall colors with the morning fog/steam were spectacular. I would have stopped to snap a pic but I was wicked late, not being to get my s--t together to get out of the house on time.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)




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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@mtbxplorer: It shows that motorists are not holding together as much as we cyclists do. Still, they have a better lobby though.

bedwards/CB: *ROFL* What did you drink? I want some!! 

Rainy all day today. Just some sprinkling this morning, could ride without raingear on. The ride home was very wet and I have given up on the unpaved section, will now make a detour of half a mile to stay on pavement. This also means that my bike is now cleaner than ever. 

Somehow I am feeling my knees a bit the last weeks. In the beginning I thought it would just pass by, adjusted my saddle and bar position a bit but it did not help. I am beginning to realise that I might have bought a frame that does not fit me....I am very reluctant to buy another frame but on at some point I will have to face it. Will now start to look for more infos on geometry and so on. I purchased this one mainly based on ETT length, which is about the same as on the previous bike that seemed to fit me well. This frame needed a straight seatpost to get an acceptable saddle position, but now I am not so sure anymore. Could be coincidence as well...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Somehow I am feeling my knees a bit the last weeks...I am very reluctant to buy another frame


I always like to go back to Sheldon's advice:



> Something the doctors don't seem to think of suggesting, but which really helped me a lot, is to make a concious effort to avoid lateral knee movement during the pedal stroke. Watch your knees as you ride (in a low-traffic setting!) They should move up and down as you pedal, with no sideward motion. Many cyclists have a sideways hitch in their pedaling motion, which I believe is a major contributor to chondromalacia. If you pay occasional attention to this, it doesn't take long to train yourself to keep the knees in line.


Obviously there are a million possible reasons for knee pain, but this has always helped me. And it's cheap.

Just personally, I can have a tendency to flail my knees around, especially riding ss or fixed. So if my knees start to bug me, I'll spend a couple of days consciously brushing my knees on the toptube with each pedalstroke.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

OK, Bedwards, that giraffe bit is hilarious and crazy!

cyclingdutchman, have you done that "plumb bob from the forward knee over the pedal spindle (KOPS) check"? I swore by it when I had knee issues from more road miles/overdoing the mileage. Googling it now it seems more questioned physiologically, but yet it seems to help.

Pleasant riding both ways today, and nothing exciting.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Uneventful ride last night although I did try my new light, NiteRider 220. Seems pretty good, USB rechargeable and quite small. Flash setting is crazy fast though, won't be using that, it's fit inducing!


This morning was a bit of a shock, the bright clear sky should have warned me, but it was 10C cooler than yesterday at 5C / 41F. Did consider putting the buff on but then just decided to man up and get on with it


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have found NiteRider's flash mode to be unusable. I have the Lumina 350 and 700 and cannot use it on either light as it makes me almost have a seizure due to the flash rate. My Cygolite has a much friendlier flash mode and I use that all the time.

My ride yesterday was uneventful. Found out that there is possibly a guy in the area targeting cyclists. Buddy of mine was purposely hit and intimidated by a guy in a car. I am highly on the lookout for this car. I pass right through the area that he rides in - he bike delivers for Jimmy John's. I stopped in to my buddies shop and let the guys there know about it as well since they almost always ride to work. 

I may start carrying some fishing line with a sinker on it all tied to a ring stuffed in my phone pouch that I can hold if there is an encounter with this guy. I will not be messed with on the road while I am on my bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> I may start carrying some fishing line with a sinker on it all tied to a ring stuffed in my phone pouch that I can hold if there is an encounter with this guy. I will not be messed with on the road while I am on my bike.


Trying to picture how that would work.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

MTBExplorer: Yes I did, that is where the straight seatpost comes in. 
Newfangled: I started to pay attention to my lateral knee movements as well and will do so during the next time. 
Thanks to both of you for your tips!

Ride in was uneventful this morning. It drizzled for 3 minutes or so just after I left, just enough to make the glasses unusable. I stayed dry after that. On the way home it drizzled almost all the way, too wet to ride without raingear, too dry to put it on. Yesterday at least it rained so much, that there was no doubt about it. Today I opted to ride without raingear and it worked out pretty well. Some water seeped through my jacket on my forearm and also some though my pants on my knees. No problem since I could change at home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sinker attached to the fishing line then attached to a ring that will be peeking out of my the small front part of my phone pouch. Pull the ring out, the line and sinker comes out. Kind of like an extremely crude version of this:










Mostly invisible since the fishing line is pretty much invisible yet will still be effective at some distance.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Rode yesterday for the first time since last Thursday. I rode in a 55 mile Gravel Ride the Saturday before that and was really looking forward to riding in a Metric Century last Saturday. I was supposed to leave Friday to get to Grand Junction but woke up sick as a dog and had to bail. Finally felt well enough yesterday to saddle up. I was a bit slower than normal but felt great riding. The worst part was riding home through the swarms of little black flies. I got home with tons stuck in my teeth and eyes Yes, I am a mouth breather! 

Just prior to my Gravel Ride I updated the bike from a 7 speed rear (21 sp) to a 10 speed (30 sp), replaced the barcons with 10 speed Dura-Ace, and the fork from a 1" threaded to threadless affording me more options in stems. I also mounted a set of Origin 8 Gary bars. I love them. Riding in the drops is SOOOO much nicer, especially off road!

So looking forward to riding in tomorrow. Today was my day to drive the kids to school.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely gorgeous ride in, probably one of the nicest days I have ridden my bike all year long. I saw several people out on their bikes, and not just on the sidewalk, but actual cyclists. The ride home was slow and deliberate. Rain storm had just run through the area and the roads were wet and strewn with leaves. I usually fly home, but tonight, I took it mostly slow. I just enjoyed the nice night. The roads were wet still and the leaves slippery as hell, but the ride home, it was really nice.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Cold this morning 3C / 37F. Gloves were damp for some reason so their benefit was limited. otherwise, bright and clear.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I rode yesterday for the first time since injuring my shoulder on Monday. The pain had gone down to the point that I figured I could just deal with it, and it only hurts when doing certain motions against resistance. Riding a bike should be easy right?

Overall it was a nice day to commute. 54F when I left was about the perfect temp, though my legs aren't used to the temps that low yet so they got a little chilly at first. Ride home was a wonderful 74F and sunny with absolutely no wind. Had a passenger in an SUV flick me off on my way home, but the driver left plenty of space so I'll take it. It was probably a teenager getting a ride with their parent. Later in the ride I was just plugging along and was buzzed really close by a douche in an old model BMW. Isn't it amazing how getting buzzed can give your legs a huge boost you didn't know you had? I was cruising at 20mph when I was buzzed, and then jumped to 25mph after. I was hoping to catch the guy at the next light but he got the green. 

Anyway, I think I pushed it a little with the shoulder yesterday. It was quite sore when I got home and I didn't sleep well because of it. Going to give it today to rest up before cyclocross on Sunday. I'm hoping it will feel better tomorrow because a friend and I have a bike brewery route planned out. 40 miles, 7 local breweries, priceless memories.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Kleebs, make sure you let your injury heal before it gets even worse.

Today I have seen 50 shades of grey. Damp and foggy all day, little wind and 11C/52F all day. 

So for this week that made 5h30min on the bike, riding 5 out of 5 days.


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Kleebs, make sure you let your injury heal before it gets even worse.
> 
> Today I have seen 50 shades of grey. Damp and foggy all day, little wind and 11C/52F all day.
> 
> So for this week that made 5h30min on the bike, riding 5 out of 5 days.


Ditto that. I returned to riding too soon and managed to seize my shoulder (frozen shoulder syndrome). That required another surgery and more PT. Life's getting better now, but it sucked for a while.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

i did !!

had to drop my wife's car off at the shop. put the CX bike in the back and wandered home exploring paved trails. it was pretty damn fun. not 100% sure i could find the same way back to pick up the car..but whatever...i have time.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely gorgeous warm fall day to ride to work. Mid 60's and sunny with a fairly heavy westerly breeze. The ride home was nice as well, cool and in the mid 50's. Got onto the MUP and blam. Flat. Damnit. Of course, it is the rear. It is always the rear. I was on the fixed gear and didn't really feel like messing with it in the dark so I walked the last 2 miles home. Very nice evening for a brisk stroll on a pitch black MUP.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Absolutely gorgeous warm fall day to ride to just ride. Mid 60's and sunny with a fairly heavy south-westerly breeze. The ride home was mostly into that wind. Got onto the not yet opened MUP and even rode a packed gravel not yet paved section. Gravel Bike! Of course, it came to an abrupt end. I am guessing how the ends will be connected to roads with wide shoulders and residential areas. The nice thing is it appears to give me a safe stop sign reduced way to my favorite riding route with some of the smoothest pavement in the county. 

I have a video to make now.


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## Guest (Oct 12, 2015)

Well the Doctor's appointment tomorrow will certainly yield more delay in riding, but that's why my insurance plan pays him minimum wage. On the plus side, my dog loved the week off after surgery and the dozen miles of walks too. On a related topic, the 
US government is famous for always going with the lowest bidder. That's (apparently) the direction our healthcare system is headed. I'm not bagging on my doctors, but the number of surgeons that are accepting "new patients" is declining. One would think that surgeons are always taking new patients.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Developing MUP*

Currently from nowhere to nowhere but suspect a connection using the power line right of way on one end, an extension into a development and along the highway to a road with wide shoulders. We will see.

Nice not too heavily traveled no shoulder road to one with a shoulder to low traffic streets (3 stop signs) and I can connect to it. It will take me a block from an interstate access road with great pavement and little traffic that I rode a lot from 2008 to 2011 or so.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Amazing day for a commute. 72°F and sunny along with a decent westerly breeze as usual. Did a few extra miles before work along the campus and the bike path that is adjacent to the really wide sidewalk. It is amazing how many white cord zombies just walk and do not pay attention to what they are walking on. I posted this last fall I believe it was, and this is where I was. HUGE no pedestrian signs. What do I see? Pedestrians. Huge sidewalk for them and they are in the dedicated bike path.










Ride home was unbelievable. 65°F and really windy. Did some more extra miles shooting down to the capital and the abandoned streets down there. It is all government buildings and one ways so on a Sunday night at midnight, it is a ghost town. 4 lane wide one way road, pick your choice of lane because there is no traffic. I should shoot a video of it the next time I ride down there.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Definitely felt cooler this morning. Got up late so a different dynamic to the traffic. Several drivers so desperate to get past; that I could have elbowed their car; only to join the queue of traffic maybe 10 car lengths in front. 

^ white cord zombies, I like that. Few of those too, why is it that they randomnly change direction while on a straight path?!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Amazing day for a commute. 72°F and sunny along with a decent westerly breeze as usual. Did a few extra miles before work along the campus and the bike path that is adjacent to the really wide sidewalk. It is amazing how many white cord zombies just walk and do not pay attention to what they are walking on. I posted this last fall I believe it was, and this is where I was. HUGE no pedestrian signs. What do I see? Pedestrians. Huge sidewalk for them and they are in the dedicated bike path.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's one reason I installed a bell. The Zombies cannot hear my "On yer left" warnings. They hear the incredibell though!

Not sure what's worse, the staggering drunks that like to congregate under the bridges or the herds of Moms pushing strollers two or three abreast or stopped on the path chit chatting whilst their children abuse the playground equipment.

It was cold this morning, 42 degrees. Glad I got a set of leg warmers. Great for days like today where it will be in the upper 70's on the commute home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> HUGE no pedestrian signs. What do I see? Pedestrians. Huge sidewalk for them and they are in the dedicated bike path.


You are right, people must be blind, retarded or both not to understand that.

Had to go quite early this morning, left at 6am and arrived at work at 6.45am. Very refreshing this morning with an easterly breeze and 1C/31F. Tested my new swisseye slide glasses, found a good deal at the German amazon, 30€ instead of 70€. For that price, who cares that the frame is gold colored? A first test yesterday made me doubt, but this morning I had no fog on the glasses, despite my Buff covering my face including my nose. A nice dark, clear and starry sky, very quiet on the street and now and then a sip of warm tea from my Contigo Westloop. 
Ride home was nice too. The wind turned a bit to the north so it was a tailwind again for about half of the way, clear sunny sky and temps of around 9C/48F. I put on my winter softshell jacket for the first time today, had to open the underarm zips on both rides after a while.

so in short, just another good day on the bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

SlipSpace said:


> Several drivers so desperate to get past; that I could have elbowed their car; only to join the queue of traffic maybe 10 car lengths in front.


Had a pickup pass me less than 100' from a stop sign. Good no one was trying to turn left into our road (Blind hill and corn field would have hid them). He save 3 seconds, and would have been less but he rolled the stop.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Z1r`s repost of TenSpeed`s bikepath is at the top of a new page for me. For the next week or so, I`ll be hearing Abbey Road songs every time I open the page. Could be much worse.

Back to my regular start time at work tonight (better commute on that end), but I strongly suspect they`re going to ask me to work until 11AM tomorrow. Yuck- 11P to 11A is the worst shift ever invented. 
(humming "Something")


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yuck- 11P to 11A is the worst shift ever invented.
> (humming "Something")


Did that in college...Gotta agree!

Commuting home would be ok, not so sure about the ride to work though. Have you done it?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, 11 PM is my normal start time. It`s actually pretty nice- I always have like riding late at night.


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## Ericmopar (Aug 23, 2003)

My commute was wonderful today. I made it to the local gas station and successfully brought back two cupcakes (orange flavor) and a Dr. Pepper.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Awesome commute Monday. Weather looked like rain but was in the low 70's and breezy. Ran into a buddy down at the shop. Did my 8 hour shift. Made one stop on the way home from work. Let's just say that my mileage is looking to increase big time. More details to follow.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Not a bad commute today. Had someone tag onto my wheel for maybe a couple miles into the headwind. I wouldn't mind but when we stopped at the lights and parted ways he didn't even acknowledge my presence, let alone anything else.

Rodar, is that all the time or do you alternate? I did a 10pm til 6am shift for a while and absolutely hated it, really screwed with my circadian rhythm. 3-4 am was the worst bit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I think my shift is still officially a bump system, but I haven`t had anybody to bump for the last few years, so pretty much have to stay on graveyard for the time being. Some people thrive on it, some hate it, most just figure out ways to make it as comfortable as possible and eat it. Everything has a good side and a bad side, but it`s starting to get old for me. Nice ride in tonight. Warm and dry, no wind, very quiet.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So far fall has still been mild but that's about to change. The forecast is for 26F for this weekend which also happens to be my last century ride of the year. I'm guessing I'll have the commuters edge over the other 1000s of people in the ride when it comes to temps like that.

It's almost time for some fall foliage shots but this will have to do for now.






​


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> I strongly suspect they`re going to ask me to work until 11AM tomorrow. Yuck- 11P to 11A is the worst shift ever invented.
> (humming "Something")


A college summer job had me normally 3 PM to 11:30 but occasionally, on a double shift (overtime pay!) until 7 AM. Nice when that was a Saturday (double time) and Sunday to recover. Not too bad at 19 and 20. Normally by your time in, there would be younger guys to bump. The fact the doors are still open has to be some consolation.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Race on Saturday went good... 4.1 mile descent, 2 shuttled/timed runs, lowest combined time wins. Super fun race day. Kept the rubber side down this year (bad crash last year with a shoulder injury that sounds like one I'm reading about on here). I was sitting in second after the first run to a friend of mine. He was having a great day and I was hoping to maybe hang on to 2nd... but he had a crash on his second run. I backed way off after I saw him (staggered start, he was 1 minute ahead, so when I saw him walking, I knew he'd gone down). It was super loose and a bit scary. I finished run #2 much slower than run #1, and was worried when the #3 guy had a super fast second run. When the dust settled I had won it by 19 seconds. Felt super good after last year's crash-out...bit of a weight lifted there. Super bummed for my buddy but he's undamaged (flat front tire in the crash was why he was walking). 

**this is all in my middle-aged sport class age group. Don't go thinking I'm hanging with the open/pro guys. I would have been 3rd or 4th in Sport if all the age groups were combined. 

Super glad to walk away from race day with full use of all my limbs. Rode the fatbike in today just for the heck of it, because I could. pushed it just for fun, and averaged 17.6mph over 12.6 miles.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Rodar and Rodar, 23-11 sounds tough. I have done some 23-7 long time ago, and that was bad enough for me. The only advantage it had, is that you somehow have more days off. Back then (20 years ago....) I used to have night shift once a month for a whole week, then have a whole week off. But the first nights always s*cked.

At work we have an internal questionnaire, where everybody can raise questions. If the question gets enough employee votes in a certain amount of time, it is answered by the CEO. So last Friday, somebody raised the question why our company is not participating in the "Jobrad" programme that we have here in Germany. It is something similar to the UK's "bike4work" scheme. So I voted for it of course and sent the link to every cyclist I know in the company. Today the question is already at #1, although it is not even on 25% of the timeframe yet. This is what I expected, cycling is a real issue in the company. Every question related to cycling is voted sky-high every time and it has brought a lot already, for example more and better bikestands. 

Nice rides again today. Temps about the same as yesterday, 3C/35F in the morning and 8C/47F in the afternoon, little wind and dry. The Conti wintercontacts that I put on seem to be just as fast as the Marathon Racer, although they weigh almost double that of the Racer. They also build fairly wide, they are rated 42mm, I measured 43mm at 5 bar (almost max. pressure) on the contrary of other Conti tires. Usually they build 1 size smaller than expected, like my Conti Travelcontacts did.

Tomorrow it will get windy and it will start to rain, with temps around 8C/46F again. Will have to get used to that nasty kind of weather from now on.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Been quiet for a while. Nothing interesting about the commutes lately, though still doing them everyday as always. Also bumping up the running by taking my lunch break, which I've not really done for years, and using that to go run and then shower up afterwards. A nice break in the day. 

I haven't gone in and consolidated my manually recorded numbers with my numbers from my Garmin Fenix2, but I think I have topped 4K for bike miles for the year. A drastic reduction over last year, but much needed. Much, much needed.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice ride in this morning. Its getting chillier in the morning but it should be 80 degrees this afternoon. Fall weather is so unpredictable.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I don't know what I did on my lunch ride, but 3/4 of the way through my shifting got all weird. I monkeyed around with cable tension a bit after I got back, with no success. So I probably bent the hanger, somewhere, I guess? I've actually been enjoying this bike a lot since swapping it back to gears a few weeks ago, but still, stupid gears. Will have to monkey some more before heading home.


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## Guest (Oct 13, 2015)

newfangled said:


> I don't know what I did on my lunch ride, but 3/4 of the way through my shifting got all weird. I monkeyed around with cable tension a bit after I got back, with no success. So I probably bent the hanger, somewhere, I guess? I've actually been enjoying this bike a lot since swapping it back to gears a few weeks ago, but still, stupid gears. Will have to monkey some more before heading home.


 Here's my prediction (assuming you don't recall hitting anything) when shifting goes to crap and it appears to be properly adjusted, I usually find contamination in the housing nearest the derailleur. If you shift into the highest gear, then pull the housing while down shifting all the way (to release the cable tension). Pull the housing clear of the frame and clean the cable (a little chain lube perhaps) and reinstall the cable spun 180 degrees (so the surface that was on the inside is on the outside). Of course, if you have full length housing, your one-speeding it home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats on the race Commuterboy, and glad you did not crash! 

First commute this fall with a real headlight, not just a flasher. Uneventful, though I wondered if it would aggravate the pesky poison ivy I got on my long weekend on Cape Cod. I helped with tree trimming etc., and knew we got into it, but so it goes. They have crazy Tarzan vines (bittersweet?) there too, you saw off a limb and it just sits there held by the vines. Even the little 1/16-1/8" ones support your body weight.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

First in class race weekend, followed up by sustained supersonic fat speeds. CommuterBoy, you`re getting to be like Bedwards of The West!



cyclingdutchman said:


> So last Friday, somebody raised the question why our company is not participating in the "Jobrad" programme that we have here in Germany. It is something similar to the UK's "bike4work" scheme. So I voted for it of course and sent the link to every cyclist I know in the company. Today the question is already at #1, although it is not even on 25% of the timeframe yet. This is what I expected, cycling is a real issue in the company. Every question related to cycling is voted sky-high every time and it has brought a lot already, for example more and better bikestands.


It sounds like you have quite a lot of support for cycling related stuff at your workplace. Good luck with the incentive program! There`s something like that in the US also, but due to the paperwork involved for the sponsoring employers, very little usage. Every now and then somebody reads about it and posts a thread here about this "new" program that we`re missing out on.



Forster said:


> I usually find contamination in the housing nearest the derailleur.


 That`s where mine gets gunked up most often. I wonder sometimes about full length housing. It seems like on one hand it would get less crap inside, but if it did get gummed up, you`d have to undo the cable in order to clean it out.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Fairly bright today but just a pervading cold damp in the air. I was on a relatively slow one today, it took me a while to warm up.

Cycle to work scheme here is generally easy to access. Payments come from pretax earning. As always, those in the higher pay/tax brackets end up with the most saving....


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## Guest (Oct 14, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s where mine gets gunked up most often. I wonder sometimes about full length housing. It seems like on one hand it would get less crap inside, but if it did get gummed up, you`d have to undo the cable in order to clean it out.


That is a problem on my bike that runs full length housing for sure. The two issues I see (keeping in mind that I run Jagwire with all the little protective bits in place) are the sharp bend that section of cable makes on some ders and the placement of a housing junction low on the bike where crap can spray up on to it. I think the solution is probably either a redesign of the der (moving the cable inside or up higher and losing the last length of housing so the cable is not housed below the mid-seat stay) or hydraulic ders (not a big hydraulic fan in general, but it's one solution). As things are now, I solder (silver solder) the end of that cable from the tip to the attachment point. That keeps the cable from fraying or smashing flat and makes it easier to remove and reinstall.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks Rodar!!! $60 to go.


CommuterBoy said:


> **this is all in my middle-aged sport class age group. Don't go thinking I'm hanging with the open/pro guys. I would have been 3rd or 4th in Sport if all the age groups were combined.


Podium is Podium! Nobody can compete with the pros.


mtbxplorer said:


> First commute this fall with a real headlight, not just a flasher. Uneventful, though I wondered if it would aggravate the pesky poison ivy I got on my long weekend on Cape Cod. I helped with tree trimming etc., and knew we got into it, but so it goes. They have crazy Tarzan vines (bittersweet?) there too, you saw off a limb and it just sits there held by the vines. Even the little 1/16-1/8" ones support your body weight.


Yup, me too. By the time I got home last night and looked out from inside it was pitch black out. And that will be an hour earlier soon.

FYI, if you know you get into poison ivy, scrub the area with a soapy washcloth. Even though the oils are invisible, assume you are scrubbing off the black grime from a dirty chain because that's what it takes to get if off. If it doesn't stay on your skin for more than a few hours you will avoid the rash.

I somehow bent the crap out of the FD on the trip home last night. Dropped it from big to small and there was crunching and discontent (through absolutely no fault of my own). Shifted back to big just fine but this morning when I went for the small again it as a no-go. The cage is all bent.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Cool, but dry-ish. The trails are all covered with wet leaves, so still got a bit damp, but not like yesterday afternoon. Had to ride over to Kinkaid park to meet the fam as the kids were running a race there. Leave the office and it is overcast and lightly spritzing. Not heavy enough to need a rain jacket, so I just had on a lightweight jacket, shorts, etc. No rain protection at all. Get to about the half way point and the clouds are all stuck over the city itself and I am in the glorious sunshine. Sunshine. Wonderful stuff. Until it starts down pouring on me without a cloud above me to be seen. The final 6 miles of the ride I am soaked to the bone and rapidly losing heat (48F air temp, light breeze). Fun times. 

Made it to the park, changed into my running gear and hit the trails for a nice easy run. Muddy. Moose-y. Fun.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Commute in was COLD. Stoopid weatherman said it was in the mid-50's. Like a fool, I didn't verify and set out in short sleeves and shorts. Luckily I was riding my single speed today and pedaling like a mad fool. That warmed me up real quick!

So, I rode my just completed New Albion Privateer. Instead of drop bars I went with some Origin 8 Space Off road bars. They look like these except I mounted them upside down.








I wish I could go just a tad taller on my gearing as I top out on the flats but I have a 1 mile hill to climb to get to my house and any taller and I'd be pushing. As it is, I stand and pedal for half the hill and huff and puff.

That said, I topped out this morning at 29.5 mph. I really like the Privateer. Still haven't decided if I will keep it a SS or add gears to the rear and run a 1x10. It would make a real sweet 1x commuter.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Podium is Podium! Nobody can compete with the pros.


It's crazy riding the same exact loose, sketchy trail and then looking at the times that some of those dudes are throwing down. Where in the world are you finding that kind of traction?! Just crazy. This is me looking at Strava times after the race:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Commute was as expected today. 5C/41F this morning and dry, 6C/43F on the way home in rain. At least it was not as windy as forecasted, so at least I came home in the usual time.

At home, the day turned into New Bike Day! I found a cheap Dahon Cadenza folding bike last weekend and it was delivered today. I just had a good look at the bike and it seems to be in working order, although I believe they took off all good parts and swapped them with older/worn parts. Furthermore there is a 1x8 gearing on the bike, although it has the excentric bottom bracket, which means it should be the Alfine 8 version. The bottom bracket, brakes & levers, shifter, rear derailer and front tire are crap. Also the bike came with two different rims, and the saddle is bent. Yes, BENT!! 
But the joints in the frame are in good shape, that is the main part. A BB is swapped quickly and the chainrings and chain look good, so the bike is in working order. And it does have the seatpost with integrated pump! I love it!! McGyver would be jealous!!
Some Pics here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117566477555111042242/DahonCadenza?authkey=Gv1sRgCKm3_dHi8vXoqAE#

So lucky that I still have new brake levers, BB7 calipers and housings/cables in my parts bin. And I will put a new saddle on, and some day also a new wheelset with a dynamo hub in the front and an IGH in the back. Does not have to be a Rohloff, an Alfine or Nexus will do fine for me (although I will take the Rohloff, when I fid a relative cheap one). The only thing is that it has a somewhat special stem and steerer tube. I hoped to mount my variable stem with the woodchipper on the bike, but that will not fit just like that. Will have to think of something, probably the dremel will have to fix it.

The worst thing is: I am still in the market for a folding bike - actually I wanted a 18/20" bike, but this one was on my list too and for the price, I could not resist. I am still happy with the bike, although it is in somewhat less good shape than I hoped for.

All in all this is going to be a nice winter project to turn it into a rigid allround bike, that does everything from road to offroad quite well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> FYI, if you know you get into poison ivy, scrub the area with a soapy washcloth. Even though the oils are invisible, assume you are scrubbing off the black grime from a dirty chain because that's what it takes to get if off. If it doesn't stay on your skin for more than a few hours you will avoid the rash.


Thanks for the advice. I did some of that and thus avoided the rash on the most exposed areas (forearms and lower leg), but I should have been more enthusiastic in scrubbing what I thought were covered areas, and probably the pole saw/loppers as well.

Mild ride today, about 50F both ways, overcast and breezy. The skiers are talking 6" of snow at higher elevations this weekend, they are excited to hike up to get in an October ski.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was my day off, or was it? Commute to my new "second" job, bike delivery for Jimmy John's which is on my way to my main job. I picked up 2 days a week of 3 hour shifts to do lunch delivery. I had no idea what I was getting myself into here. It is an absolute blast, and horrifying at the same time. I think I know where I am going and I have no idea. It is a whole new ballgame out there for me. The deliveries are mostly short blasts out onto the campus and maybe the surrounding neighborhoods. I think my longest delivery was a mile and a half from the store. Since I am new, and pretty dang slow, my tips were not that great but that should change as I familiarize myself with the campus and get my delivery times down to a normal time. 

So 2 days a week, 6 hours total, and I can pick up hours pretty much whenever I want. I have every other Wednesday off as it is, so Mondays I will deliver and then go to the hospital for the rest of the night. I was sitting in my apartment waiting to go to work as it is. Might as well ride and get paid to do so. Oh, and I already got a cool Jimmy John's cycling cap, and a jersey will be on order for me.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First ride in weeks. Ankle feels alright, so I decided to ride out this morning. Nice clear skies and warm for autumn. 

Yeah.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cool job, Tenspeed! We have Jimmy Johns here too, and they also deliver, but I can`t imagine them doing it by bicycle. Are there other bike delivery folks already working for them, or are you a guinea pig?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> It's crazy riding the same exact loose, sketchy trail and then looking at the times that some of those dudes are throwing down. Where in the world are you finding that kind of traction?! Just crazy.


There are definitely some skillful / crazy / lucky guys out there on bikes, it's like an innate ability.

Tired today, got up later than planned, really wasn't sure I was gonna ride in, even to the point of having mounted up and riding down my street and considering turning back. Found my groove after a few minutes and was glad I ignored myself. Was the same for my lunch time workout. Just had hot tea and cake. I will need to mtfu for the ride home I think.


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2015)

Still no riding, but my physical therapist has my shoulder feeling like I could co-star in "Faith of my Fathers" during McCain's hanging on his injured arm scene.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Couldn't ride today, knee was hurting. I rode in on the Privateer yesterday but was having issues with the seat post binder not holding. The seat kept slowly sinking and I'd have to stop, raise it, and cinch it back down. Woke up this morning with my knee bothering me. 

SlipSpace, I find half the battle is actually getting suited up and out the door. Its all downhill from there.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Cool job, Tenspeed! We have Jimmy Johns here too, and they also deliver, but I can`t imagine them doing it by bicycle. Are there other bike delivery folks already working for them, or are you a guinea pig?


Oh no, I am definitely not the first. My buddy has been there now about a year or so, and just yesterday for lunch, there were three of us riding for deliveries along with who knows how many cars. They do a crazy business for lunch with the campus literally across the street and several businesses within a short distance. Jimmy John's has embraced the bike delivery offering cycling caps and their own jerseys along with Timbuk2 delivery bags. The bigger cities obviously utilize this more than the small, but for our location, I guess the bike delivery is pretty big. My buddy does on average about 35-40 deliveries or so in a 3 hour period I think. He knows where everything is and all the shortcuts. Me? I have a lot to learn. Going in on Saturday to work lunch again. Football Saturday in a college town means they will be busy even though there is no home game.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> There are definitely some skillful / crazy / lucky guys out there on bikes, it's like an innate ability.
> 
> Tired today, got up later than planned, really wasn't sure I was gonna ride in, even to the point of having mounted up and riding down my street and considering turning back. Found my groove after a few minutes and was glad I ignored myself. Was the same for my lunch time workout. Just had hot tea and cake. I will need to mtfu for the ride home I think.


These can be some of the best commutes you will ever have. Been there a few times, and after a mile or so, the waves of happiness come over you, and you are happy that you thew a leg over the bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Exercise endorphins are great and you boost your immune system, boost brain function, digestion, and live life more in the moment. Looking back on the resistance to rolling out the drive, you ask yourself "What was I thinking?" And smile.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I wish I had those right now. Mid 50's and it is currently raining. I really don't want to ride to work today.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

My shoulder is slowly feeling better, and I was getting grumpy driving in everyday, so I rode to work today. I'm not back to 100% yet but getting there. Managed 4th in my cross race on sunday without much discomfort from the bum shoulder, so definitely some improvement. This morning was cool, 42F, and I had to bust out some of my winter gear. After a few miles I was nice and toasty without being overheated. Outstanding. Had to hunt down my powerful headlight for the ride home though as my flasher will not cut it on the back roads. 

I should ask the Jimmy Johns that I plan to go to for lunch today if they have bike delivery. I highly doubt. This town is the land of automobiles and fat people. I wonder if there's a connection between the two?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

:lol: bedwards of the west :lol: Just saw that Rodar. How long before I can put that in my signature? 

Just a perfect fall morning around here. I go in a bit later on Thursdays, and caught that absolutely perfect hour of temperatures where the chill has passed and the warmth hasn't arrived. 15 miles of smiles.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

same ride as yesterday. Dry on the way in, wet on the way home. Mostly drizzle alternated with rain. At least it is cold enough to put my hardshell on even when dry, so at least I do not have to carry an additional rainjacket in my pannier.
Tomorrow will be different: probably it will rain both rides. 

Slipspace: I know how you feel. I feel the same when I step out the door in the morning and think "Why am I doing this to myself?" But it disappears usually as soon as I am on my way for a while and by the time I arrive, I usually feel a bit proud of myself. Not that I feel such a big tough guy, but simply doing it instead of locking myself in a tin can and watch the traffic jam. So keep going!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Good day to be on the bike in more ways than one. Weather is that nice crisp fall weather that I love to ride in. Traffic was crazy for some reason this morning, cars backed up in every direction even in places where there is usual none while I cruised on by. I also chatted with a fellow bike commuter I haven't met before, he commented he sees me every day but I never noticed him for some reason.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks MTBX!!!!!



CommuterBoy said:


> :lol: bedwards of the west :lol: Just saw that Rodar. How long before I can put that in my signature?


You can put it in right now if you want. My guess it that we're pretty closely matched smack in the middle of the middle age, CAT4 pack. If I lived closer I'd come and snipe some of your KOMS :lol:

The dark is closing in on both ends of the day now. Cold too! Got to remember the hat when it's 30F. My ears were frickin freezing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I'll use it, but I'm pretty confident you'd be crossing the line with the leaders if I were mid-pack.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> The dark is closing in on both ends of the day now. Cold too! Got to remember the hat when it's 30F. My ears were frickin freezing.


Yep, same here, nearly wiped out on the newly stained and frozen deck this a.m. @ 29F. You need some fleece cat ears for your helmet Ear-Covers, they are great for around freezing and add extra warmth later when you add a hat. BMX'd today as the cx bike is skipping mid-cassette, plus it is fun. Only the BMX cruiser and fatbike get borrowed by coworkers for joyrides.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Sunday morning we are looking at high 20's. Hasn't been below 40 F yet so that will change the leaf colors fast.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well it cleared up enough for me to ride to work. Was a pretty nice day for a jersey, shorts and arm warmers. No complaints other than the wind. Ride home was rather nice given the cooler temps in the mid 40's. Eyes were watering like crazy behind my clear glasses. Not sure what that was all about but it was really annoying.

Quick edit:

Not sure the exact date that my Felt TK2 was built up (will have to check) but since I started tracking miles this year, January 1, I just cleared 2000 overall miles, split half and half on fun rides and commutes on that fixed gear bike. I want to say it was in late April maybe early May. In fact, 2807 miles of my total has been ridden fixed gear. Pretty dang cool!

Edit part deux:

End of April after some forum searching.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah, 30F is ear covering temp, but the only morning I`ve seen down in that range was not a work day. Still no covered ear commutes for me yet, but I`ve gotten to wearing gloves and shell on a daily basis. It`s already become habit (so fast!), so I put them on every morning even if it isn`t really cold enough to warrant it.



Kleebs said:


> My shoulder is slowly feeling better, and I was getting grumpy driving in everyday, so I rode to work today. I'm not back to 100% yet but getting there. Managed 4th in my cross race on sunday without much discomfort from the bum shoulder, so definitely some improvement.


Happy to hear it. That sounds like improvement to me. If you have any to spare, maybe pass some Forster`s way!



BrianMc said:


> ^ Sunday morning we are looking at high 20's. Hasn't been below 40 F yet so that will change the leaf colors fast.


I hope your leaves do better than ours. Drove up to South Tahoe with my wife and her brother last Sunday to check out the salmon run. Not only was the creek entirely devoid of salmon (and nearly devoid of water), but the aspen show that we usually get up there this time of year was crap. Last years decomposing leaves still litter the ground, and the leaves on the trees have all either dried out while still a dusty, ugly grey-green or are wilted yellow that never were green in the first place. I noticed in my various Sierra wanderings this year that most of the trees never really leafed out like they should, and a lot of them were yellow all summer through. Not the blazing yellow of autumn, but more of a wilted lettuce yellow. Yet another symptom of drought, like we needed any more.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

you're all right of course, riding cures many a thing that sitting in a car just compounds. 

Not today though, strained hip flexor or satorial muscle on the way home yesterday, was set to ride this morning til I went back up the stairs and decided perhaps a day off would be better. The jibes for wimping out on what is a wet windy day from (non-cycling) colleagues don't help.

No ice or frosts here yet but they will come. The bushes and trees are very heavy with berries which often signals a hard winter is on it's way. Those ear covers look like a good idea MTB, my shiny bonce may well need an under helmet hat anyway though.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Found out about an alumni meeting at the university across town at lunch yesterday, so instead of riding home, I detoured 20 miles in the rain to get to my alma mater. It was my first rainy commute in quite some time, but I had a nice tailwind so it wasn't bad. My cheap-ass amazon headlight crapped out with 5 miles to go, but luckily I was in the city and still had my blinker. I have a new Blackburn 700 on order, but it is on backorder until november. Might need to pick up something else in the meantime. My normal route is mostly backroads with very few street lights and the darkness is closing in fast here as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yep, same here, nearly wiped out on the newly stained and frozen deck this a.m. @ 29F. You need some fleece cat ears for your helmet Ear-Covers, they are great for around freezing and add extra warmth later when you add a hat. BMX'd today as the cx bike is skipping mid-cassette, plus it is fun. Only the BMX cruiser and fatbike get borrowed by coworkers for joyrides.


My head is usually fine with a hat. Once I need more ear coverage I've got the balaclava (hate to even type the word).

I had another chain-suck event that re-bent my FD back out of working condition. I guess it's time for a drive train overhaul on the road bike.

I took it real easy this morning, conserving power for this weekend's century. I'm going to attempt a PR which is under 6 hours total time for this one. My fundraising goal has been met!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

-1C/30F is definately ear covering time. I put my Buff over my ears already at 7C/47F or so. When I get too warm, I pull the Buff down until I feel ok. I admit it, I am weak.

Wet rides today as expected. 50shades of black this morning in the dark, 50 shades of grey on the way home. Drizzle and rain both rides. I have gotten used to it already this week, the worst part is to get into the house without soaking everything. I usually take off my raingear already in front of the house, then hang it in the shower to dry. Unfortunately we have no shed, garage or something similar, that would be better.

My wife got sick during the morning, so I went home early today at 1pm already. This is something going through the entire family: Mo+Tue kid #1, Wed+Thu kid #2, today and tomorrow the wife, Sunday and Monday?? Hopefully not me. 

I glued a piece of fender early this year on my front fender, so that it got so long, that the muck that is coming out at the front is going down rather than flying forward, then turning around and landing on my pants and lamp. Yesterday one of my collegues asked for the other fender piece, he is going to glue it on his fender. Probably I have set a trend there  since a third collegue also asked already. But sorry, no fenders left anymore in the parts bin :-/


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yesterday was my first hat day (still tshirt though) at -1C/30F. This morning was on the happier side of freezing, so I didn't need it.

A question for anyone running cross tires:

I keep debating building a basic skinny wheelset to mix things up on the trails/commute. But then I think "People always seem to complain about flats - will I get flats?" Running my various ~2.4s I get less than a flat per year, and I am not a gentle rider.

I know it's a silly question, but how do cross tires compare to mtb tires for flats? I've got absolutely zero experience with tires in the 32~38mm range, and would really have no idea what to expect. I'm just worried I'd be flatting every few weeks, and would get annoyed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Don't worry, be happy, with Panaracer T-Servshttps://www.biketiresdirect.com/pro...7tLGgDHLIv5_VhYgYB7ORXjR9B9z5M03ZQaArxF8P8HAQ


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This week I donated a few bucks to Bedwards' charity ride, a few bucks to a coworkers' kid's band trip oranges fundraiser, $5 to VT mountain bike association for a chance on a new bike, and $5 to the foodbank for a chance on a new car. Am I a bikecommuter hypocrite if I would rather win the new car? If it matters, my car is at 175K, and my trailbike is only a year old.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Don't worry, be happy, with Panaracer T-Servshttps://www.biketiresdirect.com/pro...7tLGgDHLIv5_VhYgYB7ORXjR9B9z5M03ZQaArxF8P8HAQ


I would really want something with some knobs, because the goal would be to see some dirt - at this point I've ridden my lunchtime and hometime trails like a million times, and skinny tires might spice things up a bit. But yeah, from my limited research the slicks are offered with protection layers but the knobbies aren't. But as a total newb I don't even know if that's an issue.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in was glorious. Cool, windy, and a quick drizzle that stopped as fast as it started. I was dressed perfectly as it was in the mid 50's. Ride home? I was not dressed perfectly. It is now in the mid 30's with frost advisories for the rest of tonight and tomorrow night as well. My hands did alright once they warmed up near the end of my commute. Decided to not mess around and opened the geared bike up to get home quickly. Will be going through and organizing my winter riding stuff this weekend, although Tuesday they are saying upper 60's and the rest of the week looks to be nice as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> A question for anyone running cross tires:
> 
> I keep debating building a basic skinny wheelset to mix things up on the trails/commute. But then I think "People always seem to complain about flats - will I get flats?" Running my various ~2.4s I get less than a flat per year, and I am not a gentle rider.
> 
> I know it's a silly question, but how do cross tires compare to mtb tires for flats? I've got absolutely zero experience with tires in the 32~38mm range, and would really have no idea what to expect. I'm just worried I'd be flatting every few weeks, and would get annoyed.


I don't notice any appreciable difference between the # of flats I get with road/cross/MTB. For any of them, sometimes I'll go for 6 months without a flat and then get 3 in a row. Cross are the best of both worlds for speed and traction. Almost as good as road tires on the road. Decent on the trails. These have "Iron Cloak" protection Whooooa. https://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/kenda-k1065-kommando-cyclocross-tire. I bought some but they aren't installed yet.



mtbxplorer said:


> This week I donated a few bucks to Bedwards' charity ride, a few bucks to a coworkers' kid's band trip oranges fundraiser, $5 to VT mountain bike association for a chance on a new bike, and $5 to the foodbank for a chance on a new car. Am I a bikecommuter hypocrite if I would rather win the new car? If it matters, my car is at 175K, and my trailbike is only a year old.


You donated more to me than you did to win the cars and didn't get nothin. If you were closer I would have given you a dozen backyard fresh eggs. Sounds like you need the car more than the bike. Good luck on winning the bike!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Unbelievably brisk!!! Upper 30's when I left. Did bike delivery again today. Odd weather. Sun, then clouds, then a touch of rain, then sun, then snow flurries, then clear, but the wind, that was the constant. Great day to be out and riding however, because any day you can ride and get paid, that is a hell of a good day. It was an away college football game which helped keep the flow constant, but not overwhelming. 

Need a good day off tomorrow to rest the legs because I definitely pushed it today. Monday looks to be halfway normal with highs in the mid 60's!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Reality check! It looks chilly for Monday's ride, a low of 18F forecast for 7.a.m, and we got snow this weekend off and on. I might need the MTB & pogies.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Strava says you had a heck of a ride this weekend Bedwards. Nice work. 

I broke out the 'level 1' jacket today... been OK with just the jersey top and arm warmers, but it was right about 40*F this morning and the threat of hitting the 30's made me go to the light jacket. Somehow the earth sped up on it's trip to winter this weekend also, and it was much darker than it has been when I left the house. Heavy cloud cover combined with a later sunrise had me scrambling for batteries for my taillight today. Still in shorts though.. holding out as long as I can there...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Meh, pretty standard commute today. Damp. A bit chilly. Nothing to see or write home about. Well, except for maybe the large number of seemingly transients in the underpasses today. I assume the police must have shooed them out of there normal camps. Or maybe we just have an influx of newly homeless who haven't gotten their camping situations figured out yet. Who knows?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Strava says you had a heck of a ride this weekend Bedwards. Nice work.
> 
> I broke out the 'level 1' jacket today... been OK with just the jersey top and arm warmers, but it was right about 40*F this morning and the threat of hitting the 30's made me go to the light jacket. Somehow the earth sped up on it's trip to winter this weekend also, and it was much darker than it has been when I left the house. Heavy cloud cover combined with a later sunrise had me scrambling for batteries for my taillight today. Still in shorts though.. holding out as long as I can there...


Sure did, 133 miles. The long winded version is coming soon. I was wearing the 'level 1' jacket because winter showed up for it. 26F to start and some snow on the ride.

This morning's commute was about the same minus the snow. Not my fastest commute after yesterday's 8 hour ride.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sure did, 133 miles. The long winded version is coming soon. I was wearing the 'level 1' jacket because winter showed up for it. 26F to start and some snow on the ride.
> 
> This morning's commute was about the same minus the snow. Not my fastest commute after yesterday's 8 hour ride.


Kudos dude!

I hate to admit it but I doubt I could ride in after a ride like yours.

My goal for this year is to complete a Century. I have a couple of months left to do it in. Hard to find 7 hours of time not already allocated to the kids and their activities.

I'll see if I can squeeze in an extra 10 miles on my way home tonight. That'll put me 50 miles short of 3,000 for this year. Goal was (IS) to hit 4 grand this year.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Warm enough to sweat, cold enough to have a drippy nose. 

Been good being back in the saddle, though I feel like since I couldn't really run either for three weeks after doing the first 5 miles at 18.5 mph I'm really sucking for air.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Killer ride Bedwards! And I know you don't have 133 miles of flat terrain, or 8 hours of calm/warm weather this weekend.

15F at my house this morning, it was entertaining to see the pogies on the BMX (the MTB commuter still has knobbies on from vacation). Warmed up to about 45F for the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks, yeah, over 9000' of climbing, a PR.

Long Winded Version: The Candid Cyclist: The Dempsey Challenge, 2015 - Giving 133%

Thanks All for the support, monetary or just being here on this blog hashing out the day-by-day. It's commuting that conditions me for these kinds of rides. Fun hanging out with ya'll.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Quite awesome bedwards.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Got in 23.6 miles on the way home. Only 46 more to hit 3K for this year. Weather was great, nice and cool.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Holy wind!!! Blasted heading west to deliver. Blasted most of the time I was out delivering. Blasted on my ride to the hospital, and blasted sideways on the ride home. Twice I was nearly knocked off the bike, once heading into a turn. Hands never left the bars. Warmed up nicely here today, hitting 66° and was very sunny. Not a bad day at all to be on the bike. Miles are adding up now with about 2.5 months left to go. The goal is 5000 miles. Still unsure if it will happen.

To z1r - if you do get the time, try to plan a 50+ mile out and back if you can instead of riding around town. Have a destination, possibly for lunch or coffee or donuts or whatever, then ride home. So much better to clear the 100 mile mark before you get home, then to realize that you still have 6 miles to just ride around your neighborhood or up and down the street.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> The goal is 5000 miles. Still unsure if it will happen.


How close are you?


TenSpeed said:


> To z1r - if you do get the time, try to plan a 50+ mile out and back if you can instead of riding around town. Have a destination, possibly for lunch or coffee or donuts or whatever, then ride home. So much better to clear the 100 mile mark before you get home, then to realize that you still have 6 miles to just ride around your neighborhood or up and down the street.


And look at the weather forecast. Plan the out in the morning when the wind is usually light and ride out into the wind so the ride back is easy.

Forgot my helmet today. I was rushing to get out the door, remembered my hat and that satisfied the feeling that something was on my head. Got to work and went to take the helmet off to find it wasn't there. Oops.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> How close are you?


Keeping a running ticker right in my signature. It is motivation for me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Duh, I knew that. I don't read past "The pedals turn", I've seen it so many times now. 1200 miles could be a challenge not that it's cold and dark. From this date to the end of the year I had 985 miles last year.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Usually I prefer to share my bike talk with you guys than my non-cycling friends, but when it comes to mileage goals my friends are way easier to impress.

I'm shooting for 3,000 miles this year, currently a little over 2,600 so I should make it. Non-cycling people think that's a herculean feat, when I read about you guys I feel like a wimp.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Flatted just 3 miles shy of work today.

It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow and get cold. I may go for a spin at lunch today since I only have an hour top ride home in tonight.

Only 33 miles to go to 3K.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Fantastic commute this morning. The plan was to reverse a route I had taken home a few week ago through the woods... hopefully altering it a bit with a mile or so of bushwacking down a canyon to connect with a great piece of singletrack that would take me all the way into town. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but I had no idea how long it would take, I'd have to leave in the pre-dawn light, and the last time I was back there I saw mountain lion tracks (you may recall)... 
So here's my new submission for "best commute route ever":

Monster climb to start out. Taking a few pictures was a great excuse to stop.









After cresting the top of the mountain and starting down, I started seeing frost everywhere... cold last night on the backside of the hill. I was in shorts and a long sleeve shirt... not enough. Climbing the hill I was just about right, but the toes got numb pretty quick on the descent. Over the river and through the woods...









Made all the right logging road turns, and was feeling pretty confident. No lions either. Then I left the beaten path and started the bushwack section. I was happy to find a lot of it rideable.









Not sure if you can see that all of that grass is thick with frost. Somewhere in that meadow I hit a dip, put a foot down, and went ankle deep in wet muck. Thankfully most of my foot was already numb by that point. 
Some hike-a-bike, crossed the creek at the bottom of the canyon about 4 times trying to find the best route, and eventually popped out exactly where I thought I would. Route unlocked. The rest of the way was singletrack celebration. My iPhone apparently got too cold... total phone freakout, so I had to switch to the backup GoPro for pictures 

















Good stuff. Except That first climb.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Duh, I knew that. I don't read past "The pedals turn", I've seen it so many times now. 1200 miles could be a challenge not that it's cold and dark. From this date to the end of the year I had 985 miles last year.


The dark I am not worried about. The cold, yeah that might be an issue. It is the cold and rain/sleet that will get me. That type of weather gets me down. So far, knock on wood, the forecast for the rest of the month looks to be decent. Heck, it is 67° and sunny right now and I am leaving for work here in a few minutes on the bike. Between delivering and commuting, and a huge Chicago ride at the end of October, I should be alright. If November holds out until at least halfway through the month, I will make it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nasty ride home last night. Well, not nasty, just not ideal. I get a mile from the office, middle of a busy roadway and my peddle breaks. Eggbeater. The body comes off the spindle. Body attached to shoe. Spindle attached to bike. I can still peddle by sliding the body back onto the spindle, but no fun; the body wants to slide off with any pressure whatsoever. A bit dangerous. So I head back towards the closest bike shop to pick up a new pair quickly. They throw them on and I am able to make it to the bus in time. No worries. I really don't like the idea of spending 60 bucks on peddles, though. However, I figure I'll pick up a rebuild kit and rebuild the old one and slap them on the second bike so I don't have to keep swapping them back and forth. 

Beyond that, the ride was good. Decent temps. Sunny skies. Good riding. 

This morning's ride was good as well. Legs a bit sore. Did a 5 mile run with one of the dogs last night with an average pace of 8.42 with my fifth mile being run in 7:52. Not too shabby for a fat old guy who just started running again five months ago and was well over the 11 minute/mile mark when I started. 

I've also just topped 4K for the year on the bike. 4060.6 as of this morning, to be precise. Not shabby, but no way I'll get my goal of 8K for the year. No way that I'll even try. I'm still feeling a bit ambivalent about the bike and biking in general. Burnt out a bit. And, really, what does it prove to hit 8K miles on the bike? Not too much, really. There are no prizes for racking up the most numbers. Instead, I'd like to ease back and get my head in the right place again. A good dose of snow this winter should help in that regard. So bring on the snow!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I am going through the same thought process with Strava a bit lately... I've been missing out on just cruising the trails and seeing the world around me because I have to get that PR or put up better numbers... There's a time and a place for that, but I've definitely been dialing it back a bit. 

Also, another broken egg beater story... man I feel like I hear about those things breaking at least a couple times a month. When is the last time you heard of someone having a shimano SPD just fall apart mid ride? It just doesn't happen.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Great pics CB!!

No ride for me today and tomorrow - caught a flue and called in sick  I hope to be back on the bike on thursday. Meanwhile I am lurking bike vids at youtube. Maybe some more nice pics here too.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Had a nice easy ride in today. Shoulder was feeling so much better...until I bunny hopped a speed bump on my way in. Its been just a bit sore since then. Should be fine for the way home, and I'll reassess tomorrow. I'll be taking it easy on the way home too, partly because of the shoulder, and partly because I donated blood during lunch time. That always sucks my energy for the ride home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Also, another broken egg beater story... man I feel like I hear about those things breaking at least a couple times a month. When is the last time you heard of someone having a shimano SPD just fall apart mid ride? It just doesn't happen.


I hear ya, but every time I try to go back to SPD I just can't do it. Whether mud or sand or snow or just finicky entry and exits, I can't get myself used to the clip in and out process with them. That's what I really like about the egg beaters is just being able to clip in no matter what without ever needing to look or feel around. They just go.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I've always wanted to try them, but I don't want to convert 4 bikes...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

CommuterBoy said:


> Good stuff. Except That first climb.
> 
> View attachment 1023326


Super sweet CB. Nice post.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dang, Bedwards. 133 miles in itself is nothing to sneeze at, but your speed just blows my mind. Even in nice conditions, 17+ average for over a hundred miles is nothing I even hoped for. In my brief period of training, I did a roughly 10 mile TT around my valley once a week with like 400 ft elevation. I think the best I ever did for that was 18-point-something, and that was perfect conditions. Felt like hell and I decided to never do that again!

Yet another outstanding CB route 
It looks like you have at least a little bit of aspen show going on up there. I`ve gone out two weekends in a row looking for it, haven`t found much. In fact, I noticed all summer that most of them never even leafed out to begin with. Now half leaves they do have are dry and still green/grey, hanging dead on the branches until the nest wind storm.



formula4speed said:


> Usually I prefer to share my bike talk with you guys than my non-cycling friends, but when it comes to mileage goals my friends are way easier to impress.


Ain`t that the truth! Sounds like a sig line to me.



blockphi said:


> The body comes off the spindle. Body attached to shoe. Spindle attached to bike. I can still peddle by sliding the body back onto the spindle, but no fun; the body wants to slide off with any pressure whatsoever.


Wow, weird. (Unlike CB, I haven`t heard of that one)

Good luck with yoru mileage goal, TenSpeed- it won`t be easy, but it sounds like you have a plan. Rooting for you.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> So here's my new submission for "best commute route ever":


OK, that's a winner, especially since you survived. Looks great! What technique did you use for navigating the bushwack part...keep heading downhill along easiest route or GPS or ???


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> I get a mile from the office, middle of a busy roadway and my peddle breaks. Eggbeater. The body comes off the spindle. Body attached to shoe. Spindle attached to bike. I can still peddle by sliding the body back onto the spindle, but no fun; the body wants to slide off with any pressure whatsoever.


I had that happen once on a minor trail crash. At first I did not realize the body came off, and did not understand why it would not engage until I looked down and saw the sad bare spindle. Since I was miles out, I tried a trailside repair. They were Time ATACs (never happened before or since in 20 years of ATACs), supposed to be held on by a circlip that no cyclist carries the nifty pin tool for. I eventually managed it with a multitool and a rock, and pedaled out.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, I missed that average speed. That's cranking. I'm an 8 to 10 hour century guy... Were you in a group/drafting/working together, or is that solo? Either way, impressive.



mtbxplorer said:


> OK, that's a winner, especially since you survived. Looks great! What technique did you use for navigating the bushwack part...keep heading downhill along easiest route or GPS or ???


It was basically down a canyon... small creek in the middle and I knew the spot where there's a little log bridge over that creek on the trail I was familiar with at the bottom of the canyon. So keep tabs on the creek bed, and don't go uphill much was the basic plan.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, The Bizz is it's usual awesome show if you're desperate for some fall foliage. First frost last night, so be quick. 

I have a couple aspen at home... they freaked out and dropped like half of their leaves sometime in August... maybe drought related? I dunno, but that seems to be the case with a lot of them around here also. The ones along the river seem to be doing just fine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> I hear ya, but every time I try to go back to SPD I just can't do it. Whether mud or sand or snow or just finicky entry and exits, I can't get myself used to the clip in and out process with them. That's what I really like about the egg beaters is just being able to clip in no matter what without ever needing to look or feel around. They just go.


TIME to try a new pedal? I've got 7 pair of TIME pedals, haven't broken one yet. (I'm not as rough as MTXB)



CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, I missed that average speed. That's cranking. I'm an 8 to 10 hour century guy... Were you in a group/drafting/working together, or is that solo? Either way, impressive.


 There were 2 of us. I was trying for a 5 hour century in a fast group but there were no fast groups to be found.



CommuterBoy said:


> It was basically down a canyon... small creek in the middle and I knew the spot where there's a little log bridge over that creek on the trail I was familiar with at the bottom of the canyon. So keep tabs on the creek bed, and don't go uphill much was the basic plan.


Sweet! I wish I had more trail options without 6ish miles of road to get to them.

The Gatorskins and self sealing tube were no match for a tiny piece of glass on the ride home. About 20 minutes in the dark to get the glass out of the tire and back on the road.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> The Gatorskins and self sealing tube were no match for a tiny piece of glass on the ride home. About 20 minutes in the dark to get the glass out of the tire and back on the road.


I had to go to the Post Office today and it's a nice day so I decided to take the long (35 mile) way. About ten miles in I hit a pot hole HARD. I remember thinking "that's going to leave a mark" and right about them I felt that familiar backend shimmy of a tire going flat.

Here is the good part, I'm off the side of the road changing the tire and a gal in a pickup pulls up, gets out and asks if I need a ride anywhere! I told her that I had things well in hand but thanked her for stopping to ask. Helps to restore your faith in humanity.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I had somebody stop the last time I got a flat an offer to bring me home. This time a cop was sitting in the same parking lot and never asked if I was OK. I must have looked like I had it handled.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

woodway said:


> I had to go to the Post Office today and it's a nice day so I decided to take the long (35 mile) way.


Ah-ha! So that`s how you`re keeping the mileage up! Half related, how are you liking the new commute-free work situation?



mtbxplorer said:


> ...supposed to be held on by a circlip that no cyclist carries the nifty pin tool for. I eventually managed it with a multitool and a rock, and pedaled out.


Macgyverous Maximous right there :thumbsup:

I guess I should have gone north for leaves, CB. Went to check out the Taylor Creek salmon run first and it was absolutely depressing. Last weekend took mostly the Henness Pass route to Jackson Reservoir, then cut over to the buttes, home by a different route and didn`t see much better. I won`t have any more days off until late Nov, so I guess I just don`t get in on the fall color stuff this year. Typical aspen stand, a I`ve seen them this fall VVV


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I am going through the same thought process with Strava a bit lately... I've been missing out on just cruising the trails and seeing the world around me because I have to get that PR or put up better numbers... There's a time and a place for that, but I've definitely been dialing it back a bit.


This is the exact reason why I dropped Strava. It was no longer fun. Every ride had to be faster than the last. Opted for a nice Garmin Edge 810 to track my mileage and everything is good now. Strava is good and bad at the same time.

Commute today was amazing when I left. Windier than all get out, but by the time I got to work, sunny and 74° in Michigan, in mid to late October? No complaints. Ride home was alright, still 59° but it had rained to the roads were still a bit damp in some places. Sprinkled a few times as well, but nothing to even get me wet, just a few drops here and there.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who dropped strava. It really is a drag when it comes down to it. For a while it was probably a good thing because it offered extrinsic motivation to be faster and that requires being a better cyclist.

The other night something weird happened. This guy was walking on the MUP after dark with his flashlight backwards obviously to be seen. It was super bright though and I thought he was actually walking toward me for a minute so I think it was not the best strategy. 

Speaking of weird, don't you guys like biking because there's a strong two-way man-machine interaction? Was talking to some noncyclists and they thought that was odd of me to say.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

NDD said:


> Speaking of weird, don't you guys like biking because there's a strong two-way man-machine interaction? Was talking to some noncyclists and they thought that was odd of me to say.


Yes.

I can't get on with SPD pedals either. On a snow ride last year it seemed like we had to take a stick to one of our crew's pedals every 15 minutes to clear the ice so he could clip back in. I like the side to side motion the crank bros allow also. I think if I had one just come off the spindle on me I might reconsider though - so far I've ripped the cleat plate out of a shoe and had one screw break in such a way that I couldn't clip out. Oh and smashed the cage once on a rock (that was nice, cause I could still clip in on one side of the pedal).

New cassette, chain and freehub body today. Was expensive but my bike is shifting well again, so I don't have to worry about replacing my shifters. I was thinking about going to 11 speed if they were broken, but if I'm gonna spend the money I want to try the campy hoods and that means SO MUCH MONEY.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> Speaking of weird, don't you guys like biking because there's a strong two-way man-machine interaction? Was talking to some noncyclists and they thought that was odd of me to say.


This is why I love riding fixed. Ultimate connection between me and the bike, especially since I clip in on SPD's. Hard to explain to some cyclists, let alone non cyclists.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> This is the exact reason why I dropped Strava. It was no longer fun. Every ride had to be faster than the last. Opted for a nice Garmin Edge 810 to track my mileage and everything is good now. Strava is good and bad at the same time.


I've had friends drop Strava because they felt that way.

I like it because I alternate between several bikes and it allows me to track my mileage without having to buy more equipment.

There are some days when I do want to know how fast I was going, and it allows me to compare efforts.

I don't go chasing KOM's but sometimes seeing people I follow do 2x or 3x the mileage I did in the same time period is great motivation.

As with everything. use it in moderation.

Yeah, I too like the symbiotic relationship between man and bike. Especially on days like yesterday when was feeling particularly strong. I was sprinting away at the light changes and bunny hopping over obstacles.

Had to drive my Mom to the airport at 5 am today and it was/is pouring. Got to work 2 hours early so I spent 45 minutes running the stairs. Maybe I can get in a few miles on the bike when I get home.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

got paid to ride the bike for thursday Friday and Monday Tuesday....back to the commute today


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ are they hiring?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ are they hiring?


Dont think they have a need for teachers


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Strava? I can quit any time, really. I don't have a problem.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Strava? I can quit any time, really. I don't have a problem.


Sure...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I get it Jeffscott... ain't nobody got a need for teachers. It's cool. 

Sorry to have started the Strava debate :lol: 
I have no intention of not Strava-ing every ride I take... Love me some data. I'm just learning slowly that every ride doesn't have to be a suffer-fest just because the Garmin is running. It really will be OK if that segment time isn't close to a PR every single time I ride it :lol:


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> It really will be OK if that segment time isn't close to a PR every single time I ride it :lol:


Yeah, 90% of the time is more than enough.:lol:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CB, I honestly get tired of data. All day of most days is just data for me. Biking is turning into my no data time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Today would be a good example of not trying to get a PR, so was last night and yesterday morning. Taking tomorrow off to take the dog to the vet. Maybe Friday I will suffer.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

Passed by a full on (not pedal assist) e-bike today on the Southwest Commuter Trail. Just blew by me, why would what is essentially an electric moped be legal on the MUP? Actually I doubt it is.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great commute in to get paid to ride my bike on campus. Rained early in the morning, but ended up clearing out by the time I left. Roads were a little damp, and by the time I got there, the sun was actually out. Hit the low 70's which made for a really nice day to get blasted by wind again. Lots of deliveries, lots of nice tips. Really enjoying this job so far. Working another lunch rush tomorrow and it is supposed to be in the upper 50's and sunny so another nice day. Ride home was nice, skies starting to cloud up, and we just had an actual small thunderstorm roll through here. Wasn't expecting that at all.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Had some guy on a bike with a baby stroller straight up cut left in front of me to get on a sidewalk as I'm crossing the street. Don't you even care about your kid, guy? Coulda used a turn signal at least. 

Wonderful weather, except that I forgot to drink water between 8 this morning and 4:30 this evening, so I couldn't exactly make the best of it. Who woulda thought coffee can't replace water...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Mild overnight and today. I woke up and it was over 60 inside, and thought I had left the propane "stove" on by mistake. Nope, just 45F instead of 15F outside. Got the gears working a lot better on the CX and rode that. Uneventful. Headlight points up too much though due to cheater brake/cable position and light's rubber strap. Maybe I'll try it on a fork instead or rotate the cheaters down a bit. Bike rack at work is looking pretty empty.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ah-ha! So that`s how you`re keeping the mileage up! Half related, how are you liking the new commute-free work situation?


Jury is still out. The flexibility of working from home is nice. And my rides now are recreation rides and I am still getting decent miles in. But honestly, I'm a routine guy and I really liked the routine of riding my bike to/from work everyday. I miss it.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Not much to report from this week. Had to drive yesterday, my missus needed dropping at and collecting from a 4 hour job interview at a school (didnt get it) and the city was rammed. The Royal Anglican troop were back from Afghanistan and exercising their 'Freedom of the City' to parade through. I would have liked to stop and show my support for those guys but couldnt.

I gave up on Strava about a year ago. I just couldnt break from the gotta beat yesterday mentality and was spending the 1st 15 mins of my day reviewing data, getting cross if the phone died etc.... MTB has an old school computer (time, trip, odo and speed) Commuter has no computer. Riding is much more enjoyable now.

Warm ride today, had to remove a layer part way along.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. A bit chilly - 24F at my house and 26 or 27F in town. Felt a bit underdressed, though I know that at the end of winter what I wore today will be what I would wear for temps in the teens rather than the 20s. Funny how that works.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

First day in long pants for me today... mid 30's. Cold legs yesterday.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> First day in long pants for me today... mid 30's. Cold legs yesterday.


been riding long pants for maybe 4 weeks....anything less than 6C for me...by spring it will be shorts at 0 C.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ pretty much :lol: Summer makes me weak.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

You folks have it completely backwards. In fall you're supposed to hold out as long as possible before layering up - so t-shirts until _at least_ a few degrees below freezing. And then in spring you cling to the jacket and gloves long past the point that they're necessary.

It's still really nice here - no jacket for me yet, and just one day with a hat last week. And tomorrow I should be getting a wheelset to turn my 26er into a true frankenbike, and that should give me at least a week or two to play around before the snow falls.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Oh I'm all about the hold-out... waited as long as I could for the arm warmers, and just went to the tights. A few days of numb legs and feet before I go to the tights. There comes a time when you just question why you're letting yourself be that miserable, and you make the jump. I'm feeling good about my transition time this year... so far no overloaded backpack full of warm clothes on the balmy ride home :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> First day in long pants for me today... mid 30's. Cold legs yesterday.


Me too! Well, long johns under my shorts. Knees have been chilled on the way home lately.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Was about 80 F here today. Gonna hate layering up and it is coming soon!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Was getting ready to pass a couple skateboarders when a skunk ran straight across the trail. It was the biggest dang skunk I've ever seen, with a huge white stripe. Skater kids hopped off their boards and were freaking out about the fact that they saw a real life skunk and I was like "man those things are all over the place". It was kinda funny because they were convinced they were gonna get sprayed. After dusk this time of year, the air off the bike trail just kinda smells like skunk around here.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in to deliver. That riding was great as well. Left a little early and headed to the bike shop to bs before work. Left the shop, made it 4 blocks down the road, and that was it. Catastrophic failure of the rear hub. The drive side bolt came loose and the tire immediately rubbed the frame. Pulled over, inspected it, tried to tighten it, and that was it. Nothing. Walked it back to the shop for further advice. Confirmed. Bolt threads on the hub are completely stripped. Not sure how in the hell that happened. I left the bike as is because I had to get to work, with my buddy who manages the shop calling American Classic. Hopped on the bus which is a first for me in at least 25 years or more. He called me when I got to work and I ordered a rebuild kit. Looks like I will be rolling geared for a bit until that comes in. I love these wheels, and I hate them at the same time. Have had to drop way more money, time and labor into them than I ever wanted to. They are so dang light though!!

Caught a ride home from a coworker since the busses here stop running at 10pm.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ That's an unusual failure TS. Done it while (over) tightening the nuts but never heard of it while riding.

No ride for me today, must have hit off rather than snooze on the alarm. Woke up about the time I would leave if I was driving, so had to drive and was late. First day of frosty windscreens. I'm now on leave for the next week so no commute to do. Gotta get some miles in though.
Stay safe all.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Ride in was great. About 40 degrees. First time I had to put on a base layer (long sleeve shirt) on. It has rained the last two days solid and there was an awesome layer of fog/mist this morning. The kind you see in a horror movie only it was beautiful instead!

Best part is, I'm 7 miles away from 3K for the year. Will do that and more on my ride home tonight! WooHoo! Only 1K more to hit my goal of 4K for the year. Gonna have to really work hard to make that.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Tenspeed: At least you were lucky to be close to a shop. Wouldn't want that to happen in the middle of nowhere...

Back on the bike today after being sick for 2 days and I took the bus yesterday. So I rode only 2 days this week :-/ At least the weather played along today. Calm winds, 8C/46F this morning, 14C/57F on the way home. Autumn is spraying its colors around here at the moment, trees are mixed in green, yellow, red and brown at the moment. No wildlife to be seen anymore though, because it is still dark in the morning.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Broke the 3K barrier on my way home. Very excited yet also disappointed. Far too many RAIN days and I do mean RAIN this year, as well as too many nites that I had to be home faster than I can peddle so I had to drive. Kids gotta go to basketball and the boys often have to be driven to two different locations.

Still, feel pretty good that I managed 2K last year and 3K so far this year.

The gas I saved alone this year paid for my Nature Boy!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats, ZLR!

I find this a tough time of year to be on time to work. It is windy and getting colder, so the getting dressed and the ride take longer. And I still want the dog to get his woods walk before work, and we don't leave for that until it is getting light, which is later and later. Oh well, the time change is coming to speed up the dawn.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Currently damp and mid 50's with thunderstorms today. Delivering for lunch since there is a home football game today and it will be busy. Then off to the hospital. Quickly realizing that my rain gear is next to nothing. Taking extra clothes with me for the ride home tonight just in case.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

z1r said:


> Broke the 3K barrier on my way home...
> 
> ...Still, feel pretty good that I managed 2K last year and 3K so far this year.
> The gas I saved alone this year paid for my Nature Boy!


 :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, that was pretty brutal. Took the mountain bike and trying to ride fast on that bike on the street just isn't possible in its current state. 34:17 gearing and with the tires on there, it just doesn't want to go fast. I am maxing it out at like 16.5mph, legs pumping furiously, me bouncing around like it is a Wally World "full suspension" bike. I have some plans for it, and I hope it all comes together like I have it in my mind.

Commute was alright, delivering was alright but slow considering it was a home football game. Missed a huge downpour by an hour, and the ride home had the streets covered in wet leaves and it was lightly drizzling. Thankful for the mid 50's for the ride home because colder and it would have been pretty miserable.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good commute minus that dang wind. The rides home are getting progressively colder. Jersey and arm warmers along with shorts for the ride home, and by the time I got here, it was 41°. Hands were just warming up since I was riding pretty hard to get home.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Ride in was nice. Warmer than I expected at 51F. It will be getting colder the remainder of the week.

Rode my CX bike on the local MTB trails yesterday and climbed some decent hills, beating a few MTBers up them. Then played basketball with my 10 YO who thoroughly trounced me!

The ride in today was on the slower side. My knees are always sore after playing BBall.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First ride this fall with the magicshineclone. Being able to put it away last spring felt like a milestone, so this is a little sad. Still no jacket, but that will probably have to change this week.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Could have used the headlight this morning for the first 10 or 15 minutes until I got out of the trees and into the valley. New batteries in the Superflash, so I felt pretty safe though. Probably as a result of not having the headlight blaring, I got super close to a fox this morning. That was cool. Crossed the road in front of me, and basically ran parallel to me on the opposite shoulder for a little bit before it darted into the bushes on the other side. 

The forecast for this morning was for 38 degrees, and I dressed appropriately.... except it was actually 32 out there. Seriously cold by the time I got to work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here you go Rodar. A couple from the Bizz for ya...

I have a buddy in Mammoth who has been serving up some amazing fall pictures of the aspen, etc... no shortage of color down there. It seems like our area got the short end of the stick this year. It is really nice in the canyon though... there are better places than these for pictures, but I was in a bit of a hurry...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^CB, how is your dog bite healing up? I guess you did not get rabies, huh?


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Took a little detour on my way home, actually kept going past my street and towards the mountains. Got into the park and saw several Coyotes. It got cold real quick once the sun went down. Managed about 26 miles on the way home. Gotta take advantage before both the light and mild temps disappear!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rain. I think maybe my 4th rain commute since spring, but it was dark out, and just a bit above freezing, and at this point it might as well have been snow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Thanks, CB. Your pines look healthy too.

I`ve left my bike parked and commuted by pickup since Friday. Looks nice out tonight, will probably ride. Full or nearly ful moon just came up- purdy orange color.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Things are just peachy with this cool sunny weather. I won't lie, though, we could use some rain _very_ badly. I broke out the jacket tonight (my cold weather jacket) despite the fact that it was like 55 degrees still after dark, because it is very visible and I knew I would be on more busy roads than usual on my commute home after dark. On a whim I just tried riding side streets, and that pretty much got me to the MUP, so super bright jacket probably wasn't worth the extra warmth.

I desperately need to get some work done on both of my bikes. Been neglecting things for a while, partially from when I sprained my ankle (which actually would have been a good time to work on the bike) and also because grad school is just busy. Soon enough, I will adjust the brakes on both bikes and get a new chain/freewheel/fixed gear for the single speed. I'm kinda craving the off-road rig now that fall is here, though. Dunno why, I just want to ride it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Started super cold but quickly warmed up. Did delivery today which was great. I am suffering since it takes so long to get a jersey from them. Riding in a cotton t shirt just flat out sucks. Temps have been warm enough to wear just that and arm warmers (no visible tattoo policy - and I have a half sleeve) so I got some summer arm "coolers" from Pearl Izumi. Not bad at all. Not sure how they will be on a hot summer day, but for now they work.

Ride home was fairly ideal minus the wind. This time of year the wind seems to pick up and just be constantly blowing no matter what direction I head. Taking Tuesday off, my legs need a rest. Wednesday I am delivering again and then I am off to Chicago for a Devil's Night Critical Mass and to see family. Mileage has increased exponentially since I started delivering. Pretty much doing the equivalent of two commutes when I work both jobs.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Well if your commute is only doubling your daily miles it must be a pretty small exponent. I think 10x2 is a bit easier than 10^1.301.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> ^ Well if your commute is only doubling your daily miles it must be a pretty small exponent. I think 10x2 is a bit easier than 10^1.301.


Commute on average is about 17 miles round trip. On days that I deliver that is changing to averaging about 33-34 miles.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That would be an exponent of about 1.24. 

It is quickly approaching balaclava weather, mid 20s this morning. The supermoon rise was pretty cool last night but I didn't stop to get a pic. In an attempt at partial redemption I stopped to get a sunrise pic this morning.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The shoulder has not yet healed up, so I admitted defeat and went to the doctor this morning. He diagnosed me with a strained rotator cuff and recommended 4-6 weeks of rest and a regimen of anti-inflamatories... so I guess I won't be commuting much for the next month and a half. I still have some cyclocross races that I am already signed up for, which he reluctantly said I could still compete in, though it might make my recovery a week or two longer. 

I'm bummed. No way I'm going to hit my mileage goal for the year now and by the time I'm back it will be awfully cold. It's going to be hard to get back in the groove in December.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Commute on average is about 17 miles round trip. On days that I deliver that is changing to averaging about 33-34 miles.


Have it your way, the exponent gets smaller. 34 = 17^1.245.

But really, I'm glad you're able to incorporate getting extra riding time into a job. That's pretty rad.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am glad as well. We will see how that fairs after tomorrow. Mid 50's and 100% chance of showers and storms. Should be interesting.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Pics on the ride*

I had to get a pic of the sunset and the super moon with clouds. It is this sort of connection with the worlds as a whole that separates us from cagers.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

How does a picture of the moon separate cyclists from those who drive to work? I fail to see the connection here.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ because he actually stopped to take a picture of it.... that's my take anyway...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^CB, how is your dog bite healing up? I guess you did not get rabies, huh?


Pretty good... no rabies yet (that I know of...) :lol:

Feels like a nice deep bruise. The worst of it is basically a puncture wound kind of injury... there was some shallow scratching and stuff that's basically healed, but at least one of those canine teeth went pretty deep. Still tender to the touch...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

(Edit: Geeze CB, you cut right in front of me in line  )

Same answer (ish)
^^I'd go with were outside surrounded by air and it's easier to appreciate the sunset or the moon-rise Vs being "caged".

Nasty looking wound.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kleebs said:


> The shoulder has not yet healed up, so I admitted defeat and went to the doctor this morning. He diagnosed me with a strained rotator cuff and recommended 4-6 weeks of rest and a regimen of anti-inflamatories... so I guess I won't be commuting much for the next month and a half. I still have some cyclocross races that I am already signed up for, which he reluctantly said I could still compete in, though it might make my recovery a week or two longer.
> 
> I'm bummed. No way I'm going to hit my mileage goal for the year now and by the time I'm back it will be awfully cold. It's going to be hard to get back in the groove in December.


:bluefrown: When and how did you hurt it, Kleebs? I remember you mentioning the injury a week or two ago, but don`t remember the initial story. Sure hope you`re able to get 2016 started off on the right foot.



bedwards1000 said:


> Nasty looking wound.


I don`t think that was a dog bite at all. I bet it was one of the ewes that bit him...

...in self defense.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Half good, I rode in at 25F and pretty calm, but had to take a work car home for fieldwork tomorrow. When I'm done and ride home tomorrow, it should be in the 40's, with 20 mph headwind and occasional gusts over 40mph, and 90% chance of rain. If needed, I can take the bailout bus.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2015)

Kleebs said:


> The shoulder has not yet healed up, so I admitted defeat and went to the doctor this morning. He diagnosed me with a strained rotator cuff and recommended 4-6 weeks of rest and a regimen of anti-inflamatories... so I guess I won't be commuting much for the next month and a half. I still have some cyclocross races that I am already signed up for, which he reluctantly said I could still compete in, though it might make my recovery a week or two longer.
> 
> I'm bummed. No way I'm going to hit my mileage goal for the year now and by the time I'm back it will be awfully cold. It's going to be hard to get back in the groove in December.


Man, I'm feeling your pain. I'm off for the third week following surgery on my shoulder. PT is going well, but I don't even get to ask about the bike until the 30 day post surgery visit. I had some cuff damage, but the main issue was frozen shoulder. 
Both sides have significant arthritis too, which in the long run is the biggest issue.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Cold and moist. On the bright side I got to test out my shoe covers. They kept me feet dry. On the other hand, I got home to find out that the touchscreen on my cell just stopped working (it was in the pocket of my waterproof jacket).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> How does a picture of the moon separate cyclists from those who drive to work? I fail to see the connection here.


Because we see the world around us and care enough to stop and shoot the pictures. Click and enlarge it, and the cloud laid on top looks a bit like a ghost. Pretty cool. Something a cager can't spend any time looking at or they wreck.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A Jeep blew through a stop slowing from about 80 mph to maybe 40 mph and took the left turn lane and part of the left lane to make a right turn. This happened about 10 seconds ahead of me. A nice headwind kept me from riding faster and maybe being in harm's way. It is indeed an ill wind that blows nobody any good.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Something a cager can't spend any time looking at or they wreck.


Not so worried about the wrecking part as distracting their thumbs from the text they`re in the middle of writing.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Hey guys - just popping in to say I'm still alive! 

No real commuting (or riding) for me since the October 4th, though. We have moved out of our apartment and are currently living with the in laws until such time as the bathroom renovation in our new house is finished. My legs have atrophied!

So I am a cager for the moment... I guess by the time I am free to cycle again it will already be studded tyre weather here in the frozen north... Which is always fun 

I also got a new job - my commute will go from 20km round trip to 30km round trip. More miles = more fun!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Currently raining and a very cold 51° out there. Leaving to go deliver shortly. Not looking forward to it even though I know about rule #9.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First really hard frost of the year. 23F, so I wore my jacket, and had planned to wear my beanie but totally forgot, and I didn't even think about stepping up to level 1 gloves but I really should have. Anyway, cold.

The modern world is amazing, so I don't really like complaining about it, but an international parcel arrived in town for me last thurday, and I'm pretty sure it still won't be delivered today, and I have doubts about tomorrow. Stupid canada post.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

It was below freezing this morning. Got my beanie, leg warmers, gloves, long sleeve base layer, and Lake MX145's. Wasn't bad but my legs hurt. I think the cold will require me to warm up some before pedaling? I was pretty slow this morning. It'll be 60 on the way home so, I had to bring lighter gloves as well. We'll see if I am any faster.

After today, I'll only have 900 more mile to go.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Started to rain right as I was walking out the door for my commute. Since i've started commuting this summer i've yet to deal with rain. I'm not really prepared yet for riding in the rain due to not having fenders. Kinda been procrastinating. Anyway not even a minute in and it stopped raining and had a nice ride in under the full moon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> I don`t think that was a dog bite at all. I bet it was one of the ewes that bit him...
> 
> ...in self defense.


Heeeey :skep:

Real live rain for me this morning. Almost forgot how to dress for this stuff. Another chance to love the waterproof performance of my newish Timbuk2 backpack.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Here's a question... I've had a weird number of people overtaking me just before wanting to make a right-hand turn lately... classic cases of misjudging the cyclist's speed, and then realizing as you pass the cyclist that you're not going to be able to complete the pass before your right hand turn... so they get on the brakes...

and then there's this awkward moment where I don't know if I should jump in the lane behind them so they can make their turn without right hooking me, or if I should continue straight and pass them on the right, because they are (usually) waiting for me to blow by them before they then make their turn, like they would do for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. 

I tend to lean towards jumping in the lane right behind them, to sort of reinforce the point that I'm following the rules of the road and they shouldn't have passed me in the first place if there wasn't enough time before their turn...

What's the consensus here? Maybe it sort of depends on how far ahead they actually are when they realize they can't make the turn in front of you...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I just had somebody do that to me except once he made eye contact he just continued to make the turn in front of me. Love the disk brakes on the cross bike. So in that case the choice was made for me. 

It depends on how far I am from the intersection. If I'm almost entering it I continue on and make them wait being ready to turn in with them if they decide to go anyway. If they get in front of me and their intention to turn is clear I pull in behind them and just assume that they suck at driving and couldn't estimate how fast I was going to get to the intersection. 

In my mind I pull in behind them and drag them out of their car screaming "What the F--- did you think was going to happen" over and over again. But I'm generally more of a pacifist at heart; so I don't.

I've noticed people ignoring stop signs completely. I swear the person I saw the other day didn't touch the breaks and made the turn at 30MPH. I'm assuming he glanced in the direction of traffic enough to know that he could make it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> What's the consensus here?


An Ogre is pretty tough. Have you thought about hopping off and letting it ghostride into them?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> What's the consensus here? Maybe it sort of depends on how far ahead they actually are when they realize they can't make the turn in front of you...


To me it depends on your speed lets say you are doing 35 km/h in a 50 km/h zone I am gonna take the left side route around them, cause I can easily "compete" with the traffic..

If I am going less than 20 km/h then I am probably gonna slow down and either wait them out, or pass on the right...

In between depends a lot on the exact geometry etc.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ good point. I'm getting this a lot in a school zone on my way home from work, where parents are slowing down, watching for kids everywhere, and then trying to beat me to the turn into the school :lol: Speed limit is 25mph and it's a slight downhill so I'm basically cruising at about the speed limit. It usually feels safer to take the lane behind them and shoot around them on the left while they check 3 mirrors trying to figure out where I went.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's a question... I've had a weird number of people overtaking me just before wanting to make a right-hand turn lately... classic cases of misjudging the cyclist's speed, and then realizing as you pass the cyclist that you're not going to be able to complete the pass before your right hand turn... so they get on the brakes...
> 
> and then there's this awkward moment where I don't know if I should jump in the lane behind them so they can make their turn without right hooking me, or if I should continue straight and pass them on the right, because they are (usually) waiting for me to blow by them before they then make their turn, like they would do for a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
> 
> ...


 Admittedly, I'm going to be in the minority here. I brake in anticipation of them turning and the scream like I was just hit. Usually causes them to lock their brakes up and me to bail to the curb or sidewalk. Here's the thing, I've never had the same driver cut me off twice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

z1r said:


> It was below freezing this morning. Got my beanie, leg warmers, gloves, long sleeve base layer, and Lake MX145's. Wasn't bad but my legs hurt.


Your legs were probably cold due to the lack of a shorts layer, highly recommended in addition to the leg warmers! 
Seriously, though, no windbreaker or softshell layer on top at below freezing?? My core needs more than that, and a warmer core will help your extremities out as well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's a question... I've had a weird number of people overtaking me just before wanting to make a right-hand turn lately... classic cases of misjudging the cyclist's speed, and then realizing as you pass the cyclist that you're not going to be able to complete the pass before your right hand turn... so they get on the brakes...
> 
> and then there's this awkward moment where I don't know if I should jump in the lane behind them so they can make their turn without right hooking me, or if I should continue straight and pass them on the right, because they are (usually) waiting for me to blow by them before they then make their turn, like they would do for a pedestrian in the crosswalk.
> 
> ...


Safety is Job 1. Job 2 is shaking of the head to reinforce the need to correct their mistake in the future.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Have been riding but haven't been posting. Three kids playing soccer year round with two practices a week and games all day Saturday has killed my mt. biking but luckily not my commuting. And Sunday mornings have been church since February. Wife had been wanting to get kids in church for two years and my stalling finally came to an end last February. Sunday mornings were my mt. biking slot. Probably haven't driven car to work more than 15 days so far this year, so it is going well.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

CB - I jump in the lane and pass them on the left. I have to do this with busses that drop off in the bike lane, UPS/FedEX trucks that park in the bike lane, and of course, cars that insist on passing you, only to turn in front of you just ahead, causing a slow down by everyone. Had they hung back just enough and let you go, everything would have been smooth.

Today flat out sucked. Rode for 3 hours in a mist, rain, then downpour, then more mist, and it was a humid mid 50's. Going to need to invest in some proper wet weather gear. Jacket was alright, pants, shoes and socks were not. Also forgot my clip on fender when I left home. Dangit.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I agree mostly with Xplorer`s sentiment that safety is first (and depends on the situation), followed by whatever antics are most likely make the driver feel like an ass. That`s your payback for the inconvenience 



newfangled said:


> An Ogre is pretty tough. Have you thought about hopping off and letting it ghostride into them?


Sounds pretty good also!


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Coldest morning of commuting yet for me at 44 deg. Just shorts, tshirt, and some gloves to keep the fingers warm. Wasn't bad but any colder and i'll have to start layering up. Not looking forward to mornings in the 30s or even high 20s but i'm determined to ride as much this winter as I can. I know that's not even close to cold for alot of you guys.

My work just installed new street lighting on the road up the hill into the back entrance which is nice. It's dark and slightly wooded through that area and we usually have several Mt lion sightings on site every year. The extra light is nice to have.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Wind WNW 13 mph 
Gusts 20 mph
Temp 44F

This is the direction I bike in to work, so when I go home I will simply turn the pedals once and coast the whole way.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ good point. I'm getting this a lot in a school zone on my way home from work, where parents are slowing down, watching for kids everywhere, and then trying to beat me to the turn into the school :lol: Speed limit is 25mph and it's a slight downhill so I'm basically cruising at about the speed limit. It usually feels safer to take the lane behind them and shoot around them on the left while they check 3 mirrors trying to figure out where I went.


A second thought

In a school zone normally passing is not allowed....

You are a vehicle and travelling close enough to the speed limit....those people are breaking the law, by passing you...

Might be a chance for educating the public.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's a question... I've had a weird number of people overtaking me just before wanting to make a right-hand turn lately... classic cases of misjudging the cyclist's speed, and then realizing as you pass the cyclist that you're not going to be able to complete the pass before your right hand turn... so they get on the brakes...What's the consensus here? Maybe it sort of depends on how far ahead they actually are when they realize they can't make the turn in front of you...





TenSpeed said:


> CB - I jump in the lane and pass them on the left.





bedwards1000 said:


> It depends on how far I am from the intersection.





CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ good point. I'm getting this a lot in a school zone on my way home from work, where parents are slowing down, watching for kids everywhere, and then trying to beat me to the turn into the school :lol: Speed limit is 25mph and it's a slight downhill so I'm basically cruising at about the speed limit. It usually feels safer to take the lane behind them and shoot around them on the left while they check 3 mirrors trying to figure out where I went.


I agree it is situational and time available is a big factor. In the case of a school zone, likely hooks being a known issue, and rolling at speed, I'd use a landmark before it as a cue to check over the shoulder and take the lane. Return to the right once past the danger zone.



bedwards1000 said:


> In my mind I pull in behind them and drag them out of their car screaming "What the F--- did you think was going to happen" over and over again. But I'm generally more of a pacifist at heart; so I don't.


More like the inner berzerker covered by the thin coating of civility. Same here. It is so tough to remember that this is not a personal slight but just idiotic driving. We need to remember it is so hard to text and anticipate drivers and cyclsits. 



bedwards1000 said:


> I've noticed people ignoring stop signs completely. I swear the person I saw the other day didn't touch the breaks and made the turn at 30MPH. I'm assuming he glanced in the direction of traffic enough to know that he could make it.


Yeah, posted on one blowing it so bad I thought they would roll the jeep. I suspect they were on a run to the hospital with the following full out sprint off the light. No reason to kill themselves or others, though. Still, we depend on people at least being able to stop at a stop sign and being aware enough to jump on the brakes as we don't get a little ding if hit.

So here may be a reason why we see cagers as maniacs and they see us as idiots:

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/george-carlin-was-right-other-drivers-are-174719254.html


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> , I'd use a landmark before it as a cue to check over the shoulder and take the lane. Return to the right once past the danger zone.


This is probably the answer. I have a few 'trouble spots' where I ALWAYS wind up thinking "I could have avoided that whole situation by just taking the lane earlier." A couple of stop sign places right after a corner, where you wind up stuck on the side of the road because someone passed you right before the stop sign, or where you find yourself hopelessly cut off from the turn lane you wished you were in...

As far as antics to enhance the guilt... I admit to slapping the trunk of a Honda once when the lady ripped past me at the last moment, turned right into the school, and basically stopped half way into the parking lot with the car sticking out into the road. I could see her jump ...pretty sure she thought she'd killed me. This is a small town though, it doesn't pay to react like that.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar, I noticed when I got home the other day that the "chimney aspens" are doing pretty good also. These are basically like Brian's courthouse cottonwood or whatever it is :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Something pretty close to snow this morning, although not in any volume. And last night there were still some frozen puddles on the trails on the way home. Gonna have to start the winterization process soon, but not quite yet.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ It's coming! 


I came *this* close to hitting a squirrel this morning. No ideal how I didn't at least get his tail. He was coming at me up the road, and he was carrying a pine cone that was at least as heavy as he was.... it was funny and awkward and I couldn't tell what kind of an animal it was for a minute :lol: 

He got a glimpse of me over his massive cargo and jumped to his left (my right) off of the shoulder of the road.... 

Then in typical squirrel fashion, for no reason at all, he dropped the pine cone and darted back onto the street directly in front of my front tire. I didn't even have time to grab any brake, since I had already realized that he was off the road and safe. I must have at least taken a few hairs off of the end of his tail. There's just no way he made that.


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## Crankyone (Dec 8, 2014)

It would be fascinating for sure to be able to experience the decision making dialogue a squirrel has with itself in moments like these!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Had one see the 36 spokes whirling and dodge just behind the front wheel rather than through it. He might have tried a low spoke count wheel.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Crankyone said:


> It would be fascinating for sure to be able to experience the decision making dialogue a squirrel has with itself in moments like these!


I don't think the decision makes it past the spinal column. I think I'm up to 2 squirrel squishes and witness to a chipmunk crushing. Which seems high given their small size.

Last night I rode home the long way and got home after dark. The sunset through the fall colors was *absolutely amazing*! The whole world was orange. Probably the best I have seen.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Rub it in, Bedwards!

Chilly this morning, but better than yesterday. I had driven the night before because I didn`t want to get rained on- payback came when I got off and had to do scraper penance chipping my windshield off before I could go home 

Quail seem to be an interresting exception to those suicidal critters that dart in front of your wheels. They do it too, but always get away with it, very rare to see one as road kill. What separates them from rtabbits, squirrels and deer is that once they get across they keep on going, don`t turn around to tempt fate multiple times.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Walking my dog onleash, I've seen some grounded squirrels make _incredibly_ poor decisions, and the only reason they haven't been lunch was because I was there to hold the dog back. Offleash though, I don't think she's ever gotten particularly close to one.

In honor of halloween, I finished my latest frankenbike - 26 frame, 29er fork, 700c wheels with cross tires, woodchipper, cobbled-together shifting, huge rotors:


__
https://flic.kr/p/ArCRRK

First ride this morning, and I believe this is the first time in my entire life that I've been on anything smaller than a 2" tire (in this case 35s). Left early to hit some singletrack in the dark. Didn't kill myself.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Rub it in, Bedwards!


If you insist. I didn't stop to get a picture last night which was orange-er than this. The morning picture from a few days ago will have to do.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whooo!
(but I meant for the trees)


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

My ride was nice, cold but not overly so. I must be getting old, on these cold mornings my legs hurt when I push hard (which is the only way I know how).

That squirrel bit isn't funny. I came upon a guy last year that had a squirrel run through his front wheel. The guy did a face plant and was pretty messed up. He was barely aware of where he was. He had somehow managed to call someone to pick him up but was barely coherent when I came upon him. I waited with him til his ride showed up.

I think of that situation every morning I ride in as there are two sections in particular that have a TON of bunnies. Bunnies I don't think are as smart as squirrels and tend to want to zig zag in front you you.

I ran over a prairie dog one on my 29'er. The rear wheel flung it way up in the air. It just hit the ground and ran off. I'm glad in went in front of the front wheel and not into it!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Squirrels into front wheels of carbon fork bikes make for the worst sort of dismount. One in Columbus Indiana, sheared the fork, the guy broke his jaw, collar bone and messed up one arm. I saw the bike in the shop. Ugly way for a squirrel to go. Likely a low spoke count front wheel so the squirrel tried to go through instead of around. It would bounce off the spokes of my 36 spoke wheels.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The should rename it from a bunny-hop to a squirrel-hop.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> It would bounce off the spokes of my 36 spoke wheels.


Makes me glad I opted for 36 spokes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> @Somehow I am feeling my knees a bit the last weeks. In the beginning I thought it would just pass by, adjusted my saddle and bar position a bit but it did not help....


About 3 weeks ago I posted this and got some helpful tips. I have been paying attention to the lateral knee movement and it seems getting better now. Thanks a lot again for all your tips!

I've been riding 5 out of 5 days this week so it is a good week. Temps around 7C/45F in the morning, 12C/52F in the afternoon. Calm winds all week but lots of foggy damp weather, especially in the morning. By now I am riding at least partly in the dark morning and afternoon.

Concerning your squirrel stories: I almost ran over an hedgehog this morning. Didn't see him between all the leafs on the ground but luckily he started moving and I could swerve around him. Probably it would not have tried to jump through the spokes but could have gotten nasty anyway. I did not think of squirrels or anything when I build my front wheel, I took 36 spokes for stability. Nice to see it has more advantages than I thought


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

In search of a stuff-around-the-house 80's Halloween costume, I put a milk crate on the BMX, turned a paper bag into E..T, put on blue jeans and a hoody, and rode the last mile to the gathering. It felt like I was flying.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

MtbX, don`t even think about laying something like that on us without a picture! You aren`t going to leave us hanging like that, are you?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> MtbX, don`t even think about laying something like that on us without a picture! You aren`t going to leave us hanging like that, are you?


 Pics pleeeaaase!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^^


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Yeah we all felt like we were flying at that age. Nice recreation.


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## deerkiller (Aug 5, 2015)

i rode my bike to church. it's only 5 miles, but there's a solid 2 mile climb in there. i try to take it easy so i don't walk in huffing and puffing and sweatty, but it is what it is. i packed some deodorant and cologne to try to make myself presentable. i guess it worked out ok. 

the weather is great, anyways, probly high 60's when i left at 9. i wish i could commute for real, but i have to have a van full of tools everywhere i go, and just can't work that out on a bike. :/


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Maybe a Chritiania Sykkel?

models

Available with electrical pedal assist!

My commute? On the train today... STILL moving into the new house. Bikes are in storage for now. Cycling gear packed away in a bag... somewhere...

I am hoping and praying that I can get a couple weeks biking in before winter really announces itself (although I have studded tyres for that  ).

Been really mild around here lately - plus ten - fifteen degrees and sunny. Not really autumnal at all (except for the leaves everywhere) - some of the bushes in the garden have actually started sprouting again - poor, confused plants...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Go, Elliot, go! :thumbsup:

I drove again tonight. Raining outside, raining inside. I have my work bench covered by a plastic tent, mopping up the puddle in the middle of the floor every 20 minutes or so. As long as the storm doesn`t move another 30 or 40 feet to the south, it won`t rain on the Bridgeport mill I`m working on for most of tonight`s projects so at least I`m staying dry.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whooo!
> (but I meant for the trees)


I did some leaf peeping for you Friday afternoon and this morning. 
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## deerkiller (Aug 5, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I did some leaf peeping for you Friday afternoon and this morning.
> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


great pics! love the trees.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My bike hit the 5000km/~3100m barrier today. It's the only detail I know about today since it was foggy all day. It is supposed to stay like that for the entire week...quite boring.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@mtbx: you made my day!! :thumbsup:

@bedwards: very nice pics!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, that is awesome. Reason enough to buy a cruiser BMX right there.

Sloppy November morning around here. Not sure how this gloop can be wetter than rain, but it is :lol:

























Turned to just normal rain as I dropped into the valley. Some welcomed moisture for this little corner of NorCal. A few of the Tahoe resorts are looking at a predicted 2 feet of snow from this little storm, and are claiming opening days for midweek. Wooooohooooo.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Studs on

Wet heavy snow ala commuter boy....

Bridge Decks covered starting to accumulate on the roads...

If it keeps up its gonna be a dump.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

One of the guys in town had the same costume idea as mtbxplorer.

Little flakes of snow today, but the ground is still warm enough to melt anything. Friday will be my big winterization day, so hopefully it can hold out until then.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I've been on the winterization rampage this past week/weekend. Moved into a new house a few months ago so I know I'm gonna screw something up and have damage to deal with in the spring. I had it so dialed in at the other place...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*At the end of a perfect ride*

No appreciable wind, temps in the mid 60's and it was All Saint's Day:







A bit late for the best of the sunset, and finding the right exposure to have the bike and the sunset was not possible so three exposures.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Kind of cold ride in by my standards. 55f. Ride home was a mild 85f, which is actually warm by Vegas standards. Supposed to be in low 60s for high later in the week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sounds/looks icky, jeffscott and CB, safe travels! Looks a lot nicer at your place, Brian. Nice pix.

It was mild here today (40'sF for my rides), and tomorrow it should be around 50F. E.T. is still sitting in my BMX basket, made me smile when I got home, but I rode the cx bike today. I'm happy with the time change, because I can take the dog on his woods walk earlier.

That TOMTOM multisport GPS watch is working great. I had to update it's software to pair it with the phone/app, but after that it transferred the walk and ride via bluetooth just fine. It finds the satellite quickly too.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Slime...so, so, so much slime on the trails on the way home. We've been having pretty nice weather, so I haven't really been wishing for snow. But now that it's pitchblack at 5pm, bring it on.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Michigan
November 2nd
Sunny and 72°

I am not going to complain about the wind. Not at all. Almost got crushed by a bus who decided to let passengers out while halfway in the bike lane which curves with the road. Long story. Couldn't believe how close it was.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Back after a week off during which the clocks went back so it's now dark when I leave work. Really foggy yesterday too, glad of the high vis and the Niterider. Gloomy but suprisingly warm today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I like this one out of the 3. You don't need to know the details of the bike, just that it was there.


BrianMc said:


>


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Great pics, guys! Since it looks like it`s picture day I brought a camera with me in hopes of a nice white carpet of snow this morning. We had precip all day yesterday back and forth between rain, slush, and snow. But it stopped before midnight 
Well, here are my contributions anyway. One escaping through the hole in the fence to leave work, one from the road home.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ love picture days :thumbsup: Looks like a peaceful road if you catch it at the right time.

I agree with Bedwards on the best of the 3 Brian... I applied my weak editing skills to bring out the color and boost the shadows up a bit, because I'm bored  :


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Closer to what the eyes saw sky wise anyway. Sorry I missed the blaze it was about 10 minutes before. I had been riding away from it so did not get to the pond on time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Great pics, guys! Since it looks like it`s picture day I brought a camera with me in hopes of a nice white carpet of snow this morning. We had precip all day yesterday back and forth between rain, slush, and snow. But it stopped before midnight
> Well, here are my contributions anyway. One escaping through the hole in the fence to leave work, one from the road home.


Nice pix Rodar, thanks for sharing, and glad you escaped! I don't recall many from your commute route, and the ones I do recall were more intown.

Good rides today, really mild, and some sun for November is a plus. A Fedex tractor trailer "had" to honk rather than pull over into the empty suicide lane to pass.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Michigan
November 3rd
Sunny and 74°

What the heck is going on? This has been absolutely amazing weather to ride in. Been delivering for JJ the last two days and will be on Wednesday as well. Riding in a cotton t shirt has been miserable. Jersey is on order and should be here shortly. Have had a few close calls including almost getting doored today as I entered the bike lane - the passenger of the car got out while they were waiting in traffic. That was pretty damn scary. I was completely paying attention and it is a good thing that I was. 

Ride to work was warm, ride home was in the upper 50's. Forecast for tomorrow looks to be the same.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Continuing with the fall color theme







(Click Me)​
Fullish sized version in the blog: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Warm with a wind but it was still warm and its November. I went in in just a T Shirt with knickers.









Also the locking area in our parking ramp was full so I brought the bike in today.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Beautiful ride this a.m. Managed 23 miles on the way to work. It was cold but with a warm wind. A little too much wind at times. By the time I got to work it was nice. It may rain on my way home and snow is forecast for tomorrow.

811 Miles to go.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Woke up late, left late, went the long way anyway, felt slow because it was cold, made it just in time. Not relaxing this morning. I have to take the short way home because of time so I knew I wanted to sneak in a longer route, but I hate that time crunch feeling.

Sweet Surly up there ^^ and did you say knickers?


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Rode to work in a drizzle. Peddled home into a cold wind and felt very slow. Sailed home on Monday at 85f and struggled home today at 52f. Got to love the Mojave Desert mood swings.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Ride home was wet, it decided to rain. Luckily, it didn't feel as cold as they said it was. 46F on the way home, same as on the way in, thankfully it felt warmer!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Drove in on an unseasonably warm day today to leave early for a trail ride with some fellow trailcrew. Harder trails than expected for a night ride, some walking required to avoid injury and see the new bridgework, but fun stuff. Had I been able to keep up, my bar light would have illuminated the trail for all.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Mentally and physically exhausted. Today was my last commute for the week. I am driving in tomorrow to give my legs a much needed rest. On days that I deliver, I am averaging about 32 miles per day. The delivery miles are mostly hard ridden, fast, aggressive, and exhausting. Today was also my last delivery day in a t-shirt. Jersey should be here Friday which will help me big time. Cotton is absolutely rotten to ride in. Been lacking sleep this past month due to my neighbors dog barking at 6:30 every morning for about an hour so after she leaves for work. Averaging about 4.5 hours a night of sleep. So there is that.

Michigan
November 4th
74° and sunny

We are on a roll here and I am loving it. 870 miles to go.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

not much to report, been damp/wet and surprisingly warm. Fed up with inconsiderate/clueless motorists, pedestians and even other cyclists. Is road etiquette that difficult?!

Been looking at my pedal strokes. My right leg does more work and around more of the stroke than the left; it seems by quite a margin... Now trying to train my left leg to do the same as the right and just generally even things up. It's difficult and may take some time. Should be as easy as riding a bike, right?


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

My commute? On the train. My legs are atrophying and I am forgetting how to even ride a bike...

New house is nice, though...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm still here. Still commuting. Just quiet on the boards. Not a whole lot of action. The only excitement this morning was seeing a rat run across the road.

Our downtown is getting green painted bike lanes in places. A local advocacy group posted this pic, which is hilarious on the one hand but frustrating on the other: https://www.facebook.com/BicyclingF...195262516006/1671524669749729/?type=3&theater.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

That "yield to bikes" sign should follow it's own advice...


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Cold this morning at 5:30am and 40deg. Wore pants for the first time, along with thicker gloves, windbreaker and longsleeve shirt. I have a 800ft climb to work so stopped about halfway in to shed the windbreaker. Tomorrow will be a good test for me though as it's supposed to get down to around 37deg. That should start to give me an idea of what to expect throughout winter as typically 32 deg is the lowest except for the odd cold dip below that into the high 20s.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Rain last night, and lots of icy patches this morning. Whatever residual heat the ground was holding onto earlier this week is all gone.

Took my fixie for it's final ride before studding and fendering it tomorrow. Not necessarily the best choice, with it's big apples - tried a little trackstand at a stopsign and had the frontwheel flopping back and forth uncontrollably on some ice, and had a few rearwheel spinouts.

Next week should be pretty warm again, but I need to have at least one studded bike ready to go.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We hit 76 F a near record for the date in November. Rode over to the new, not-quite done MUP. Sections of brand new and nearly new road that connect to it are exceptional pavement and had me at over 20 in both directions. Very nice . The last layer of pavement is yet to be laid on the new road so every spot where a fire hydrant/fire truck access cut the MUP there was a 2-3" curb lip as before. I was pre-BMX and am not going to try my first bunny hops at 63 this far from home. So my average speed sucked. It will go from nowhere to nowhere until they tie in the ends in the spring. Next time, I riding the street. I was too late for the sun on stilts sun ray effects though clouds but took more shots at the same spot:





On the Louisville "Yield to Bikes" sign:
Parking meters and a big ol' traffic sign. A for effort and a kind D- in execution.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> On the Louisville "Yield to Bikes" sign:
> Parking meters and a big ol' traffic sign. A for effort and a kind D- in execution.


I believe they are taking out those meters, but still...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's classic :lol: 

Cool pics again Brian... 

27 degrees (F) for me this morning. First opportunity to dodge frozen puddles. Went the long way and got in just under 18 miles. Feet were completely freezing, everything else was good. Time to dig out the shoe covers.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

One of the other local riders took this this morning.

It's stupid season.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A friend reported on Facebook yesterday that a cyclist somehow plowed into the rear window of her Jeep while it was legally parked in Portland ME. He was bloodied, but OK, and she called for the ambulance. You can imagine how all the anti's came out of the woodwork in response to her post. Today she reported that the cyclist dropped off the $360 and the window has been repaired. Kudos to the errant pedaler!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Just started commuting this week  all downhill going to work 7 miles, almost as fast as driving. The ride home though all uphill, makes a cold beer after work taste that much better!

Using my bikepacking gear for the commute. Lunchbox on the handlebar harness (Oveja Negra), and work clothes in the seat bag (Rogue Panda), and a small gas tank for the phone, wallet, keys etc.

Here's a view of where I'd sit in bumper to bumper traffic in the morning haha!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice one Eugene. Pedalling is definitely the solution.

Slow amble from me this morning, legs are sore. Warm and wet again (14°C / 57°F). 

My panniers have waterproof covers that pull on. Recently re waterproofed them with Nikwax and replaced the elastic. Not sure what I did wrong last night but the cover was on and the bottom of the bag was soaked. Seems like the water sprays off the wheel, goes in the exposed rear and collects in the bottom. Never had that issue before when they were on the MTB, maybe they don't like the road wheels.....


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Just started commuting this week  all downhill going to work 7 miles, almost as fast as driving. The ride home though all uphill, makes a cold beer after work taste that much better!
> 
> Using my bikepacking gear for the commute. Lunchbox on the handlebar harness (Oveja Negra), and work clothes in the seat bag (Rogue Panda), and a small gas tank for the phone, wallet, keys etc.
> 
> Here's a view of where I'd sit in bumper to bumper traffic in the morning haha!


Sweet! Welcome, glad you could join us.

My ride in was cold. It was below freezing this morning. It was beautiful though, everything was frosted and the light off the rising sun just glimmered off everything. It was a shame to see much of it melt off as the sun rose further.

775 to go!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

SlipSpace, could it be that the bottom parts of your covers were intentionally porous in order to drain a bit and now you`ve sealed in the water like a bucket? Just thinking out loud.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Rodar, there is that possibility........ 

I looked at it a little while ago and there is a kind of popper type thing (but with a hole rather than a pip) fitted to the bottom which is probably to drain the water as you suggest but I've never been that careful in it's positioning before. I'll pay attention tonight and see what happens.

Maybe they always did that when they were originally waterproof but I forgot, they're knocking on for 13-15 years old now. Probably just me being a div. It's wet still outside so we'll see.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Super warm today, roads were damp. With the wet roads maybe I shouldn't have, but decided to take my road bike to work since it might be my last chance to ride it this year


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Forecast was 42F but with wind was 35f it felt more like 25F. I cross a pedestrian bridge every morning/evening and no matter what there is always a strong wind across it. Those of you in Minneapolis would know it as the stone arch bridge.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Nice one Eugene. Pedalling is definitely the solution.
> 
> .





z1r said:


> Sweet! Welcome, glad you could join us.


Thanks! I'm finding the uphill ride home after work more enjoyable than I thought I would, especially after a crappy day, just jump on the bike and pedal the problems away! :thumbsup:


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## Ze_Zaskar (Jan 3, 2008)

It was great as always


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ze_Zaskar said:


> It was great as always


Nice bike Ze_Zaskar!

Rode 4 out of 5 days this week. Weather changed from calm and foggy to cloudy and rainshowers. Temps went up to 15C/60F the last day and its supposed to stay like that a few days. Will just have to get used to hauling the raingear with me and putting it on/off along the way....


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ze_Zaskar said:


> It was great as always


Is that a swift, or one of the new blue roosters?


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## Ze_Zaskar (Jan 3, 2008)

It's a size L Rooster. My first proper steel bike was a gen1 Swift with the exact same color. This thing is like an evolution of it in every single way, I'm loving it. The long reach with short stem and slack angles is amazing, not only downhill but nearly in every situation, loaded commuting included.

Cyclingdutchman, we are having lots of rain here (PT).
I need to get something waterproof for my legs, the Endura Stealth tights are tempting


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely brutal with the wind today. Was a little cooler than I expected when I left work but I was alright. Same temp Sunday in the forecast, will try to remember how to dial in the colder weather gear.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice day for a ride to work. Breezy and mid 50's with the sun in full force. 3 different close calls, all different in nature. The worst was being passed by a pos moped that was smoking because he had it maxed out and the guy HAD to get in front of me, and then right hooked me causing me to climb all over my brake. He knew he did it, he passed me to do it!! I yelled some profanities at him unfortunately. I also yelled at the guy who carelessly nearly hit me on his bike while riding on the sidewalk crossing the street I was on. He never looked and I narrowly avoided hitting him. He might have gotten an earful as well. And to the lady in the neighborhood who was pulling away from the curb straight towards me.....you can go to hell. Pick a side of the road, preferably the side you are supposed to be on, and just drive.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

The skies decided to unleash on my about halfway through my commute today. Came down hard enough I couldn't see from all the rain hitting my face as well as glare coming off the light. At one point I had to take cover for a few minutes under the eve of a fire station until it let off some. Had I left 15 minutes earlier I would have made it in dry.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

1 inch of wet heavy snow....sleeting very little accumulation on the roads..


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First day on the studs for me. Not actually needed this morning - just lots of rain - but things are supposed to get worse as the day goes on. In the middle of winter riding the fixie will feel like freedrom, but right now it feels like a tank.



Ze_Zaskar said:


> It's a size L Rooster. My first proper steel bike was a gen1 Swift with the exact same color. This thing is like an evolution of it in every single way, I'm loving it. The long reach with short stem and slack angles is amazing, not only downhill but nearly in every situation, loaded commuting included.


Sam does good work.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Windy, cold and dry this morning. Looks like being cold wet and windy for the journey home


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I earned some positive karma for bike commuters on my way in. There was a large trashcan in the middle of the right lane of a busy 50mph road causing quite a bit of swerving and almost caused an accident while I was watching. When there was a break in traffic I parked my bike and ran out and pulled it off the road earning me several thumbs ups from passing motorists. The owner of the trash can showed up soon after, he left the tailgate of his truck down and it just slid out. He thanked me, put it in his truck and closed his tailgate that time.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good going, F4S!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Some rain/snow overnight, and my first "shoulda-put-the-studs-on" sketchy commute of the year. Mounted the studs on the spare wheels last night, but didn't put them on because it didn't look like it was bad out there. Some obvious icy sections that were manageable, But I almost went down hard when the rear wheel slipped out on an off-camber shoulder over a little drainage ditch/bridge. I had a slow leak in the rear tire (ongoing tubeless drama with the valve stem) and it was getting squishy...I was maybe 2 miles from work so I was just pushing it to get there...didn't want to stop to air up. I was getting frustrated, and then whoooop! if the tire hadn't been low it probably wouldn't have grabbed.

Here's the ride home Thursday... Hard freeze predicted for tonight/tomorrow night, so these leaves will all be on the ground this week.









And here's a new one for me... anyone else ever wear down a jockey wheel in a rear derailleur to the point where it resembled a ninja throwing star and made you bleed when you were swapping the chain? 
I was shocked to find it like this. Pictured next to an almost new one that I swapped in for reference. New chain, cassette, (and jockey wheels :lol for the Ogre had it shifting like a dream this morning.

Apparently I've let a few chains go a bit to long on that derailleur...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yup. You were lucky to find replacements, since Shimano makes like 40 million different versions of things. (for anyone having the same problem I did, I recommend the fancy-and-cheap alloy ones on ebay)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah I had to cobble together a couple from the old dead parts drawer. One from a singlespeed tensioner and one from a dead derailleur. But the middle parts from the ones I was pulling out wouldn't work with either of the replacements... 3 different designs, so I had to scrounge bolts also, and widen the cage ever so slightly to make it work. Why not universal sizes for that weird cupped washer thing? I'll look at the alloy ones...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, I wore out a plain-vanilla 5-year-old deore. I actually had a spare set of replacement shimano pulleys that I'd bought years before, but one of them didn't fit. So I checked out jenson and crc, and they didn't seem to have the right ones either. You'd think if you match the teeth count you'd be good, but the bushing sizes are different, or that cupped washer seal, or the pulley width, or the bolt length or diameter. So bizarre.

So I spent $5 on ebay, and they popped right in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Looks like they all ship from Hong Kong or China... but free shipping... those ones? How long did it take to get them?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Those are the ones, and I dunno...couple weeks to canada? I made do with the throwing star version while I waited.

And here was my grumpy post at the time: http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/what-have-you-done-your-commuter-today-892708-46.html#post11865835



> I can understand that cycling is cursed with British/Italian/French standards, because of course they were never going to get along. But what's your problem Shimano? How can you make something as simple as pulleys so complicated?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pic CB, looks.inviting. I've made some pulley weapons also. It seemed like my old sloppy derailleur with a lot of play may have accelerated the wear more so than a worn chain.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ninja throwing stars! lol

Love the colours in that pic CB. As you say though, shame they'll be gone in a week or so.

Nature is doing the autumn clean up here too at the moment. High, gusting winds are stripping the trees and doing it's best to blow me into the curb. It's like the wind blows at you, it eases as it takes a deep breath, and then blows again. Hard ride on the single this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice Pic, we've had a cold snap so most of the leaves are coming down.


CommuterBoy said:


> And here's a new one for me... anyone else ever wear down a jockey wheel in a rear derailleur to the point where it resembled a ninja throwing star and made you bleed when you were swapping the chain?


Yup, been there, done that. My solution as of late is to trash the derailleur early therefore bypassing the whole wear issue. My repaired RD was working great until 3/4 the way through a MTB race this weekend when I was pushing hard up an hill and apparently I bent it again with brute strength. (poor attempt at a humble brag). From then I only had 1 gear that worked but only under low power so I was running up hills. I still managed to be first on the bike leg only to have my azz handed to me in the run by 3 people.

Found a new exact replacement derailleur for $35 so I have spare parts now.

Commutes are coldish and darkish but still goodish. Had to do a round trip in the car for work reasons.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards they should have counted your hill running as part of the run portion. Sounds like you still killed it.

Did some guesstimation on the mileage on that pully... roughy 9k miles probably... and some very delayed chain replacements when I knew I was replacing the cassette anyway so I let it get really bad.

From this morning... Same road as the purdy pic from the other day...


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ is that more snow than you got all of last year?

Still no snow here, and nothing really in the longterm forecast. I've got 6 years' worth of commute photos with bottombracket deep snow on Nov 6~10, but not today.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> ^ is that more snow than you got all of last year?


Yes. :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I almost dont dare say it but last winter it snowed 1 (one) day here. It had melted after 3 (three) days, that was it. More often we had temps just below freezing in the morning, just above in the afternoon making nice puddles, that made iceplates in the morning. Not worth buying spiketires for it, would ruin them in the afternoon.

Will have to think of another signature. What about "When the going gets tough, CommuterBoy gets going" ?

Checked the weather in ANC today on the internet, even there it is still above freezing level. Just less daylight. That said, I am on the same level as the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

No sign of winter here yet. Temps go up during the day to 16C/60F, usually around 12C/55F during the rides in the morning and afternoon. In addition it is very windy, currently a steady 20kts with gusts up to 30kts. It was dry until this afternoon, had to battle against the wind and light rain (or heavy drizzle). 

Weather is supposed to stay like this for the rest of the week. Or for the rest of winter, could very well be here.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Just from lunch.









There really ought to be plenty of ice on the river by this point.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Looks like it's NorCal's year...what can we say? We definitely are due for a good winter.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> From then I only had 1 gear that worked but only under low power so I was running up hills. I still managed to be first on the bike leg only to have my azz handed to me in the run by 3 people.


I was all set to laud your achievement there, but...


CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards they should have counted your hill running as part of the run portion. Sounds like you still killed it.


We had wet, sloppy, heavy snow from about 3PM yesterday until like 6AM. It got to about 3 inches, then was melting as fast as it was falling. Streets not bad, but lots of broken tree branches. My commute, er...

YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE FOR DRIVING WORK
UNLESS YOU`RE ME AND YOU JUST DON`T FEEL LIKE PEDALING.

Don`t want to chip off my windshield, so I guess I feel like pedaling tonight.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Haven't been posting, but have been riding. I presume that's the most important part. 

Now I expect to see more deer on the bike trail at night around this time of year, which I have so all is normal on that front. The odd thing is that I've been seeing a lot of cyclists commuting after dark with a full set of lights and everything. For the past few years when it's dark or below 55 degrees I'm the only one on the trail. Honestly it's a change I like to see, because I like to see more people choosing to commute by bike for whatever reason suits them. 

I'm honestly not even going to try to catch up on the forum. Sorry guys, but you put up like 5 pages worth of stuff in a little over a week. I see CB got some snow this year. Good news!

That thing that happens every year happened to me this year again. I set out to ride at least x number of miles and then diligently recorded my miles for the first quarter of the year (probably actually the first half this time) and then I just stopped. Been riding the slow bike and just not even worrying about time or miles. I know I go about 100 miles a week commuting and I know I don't get anywhere late, typically.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

similar weather to cyclingdutchman here. Looking at the long range forecast for the area I doubt we'll see much frost even. 

Wind going in opposite direction to whichever way I'm going meant two hard rides yesterday. Tht with and a very hilly wooded 5 mile run at lunch saw me get up late and reach for the car keys this morning. Could have biked but would have had to blast it, just didn't have the get up and go required.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Dark and a cold (for me) 34deg on the way to work this morning. Between my first commutes this week in a downpour and near freezing temps i'm starting to understand what will work for me as far as winter commute equipment goes. Definately need to get some gloves without holes worn in the thumbs. They were quite numb when I got to work lol.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Brrr! Dipped into single digits for a while before for the first time this year, but up to 10 by the time I left work. Cars were all frosted over in the parking lot, so the ride was worth it.



Big Fil said:


> Definately need to get some gloves without holes worn in the thumbs.


Good plan!
Especially in a downpour :eekster:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't get this. 

Currently 61° 
November 11
Michigan

I don't envy any of you with the snow or whatever you all have going on. It was 43° and sunny when I left to head to the shop before delivering. The sleeves came off and gloves went to fingerless. What an absolutely gorgeous day to be out riding, and making money. These are the days that I really cherish as it is not too hot, not too cold, not too windy and not too calm. Just perfect. People were all over campus today and the tips were really good. And then, I got to ride home. Short sleeve jersey and shorts and no gloves. 

Also a huge thank you to every veteran that has served this country, especially those that have lost their lives defending this country. As a fellow veteran, we never do it for the recognition, we do it because that is what we do.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

49°F
Feels Like 44°
Rain Shower
Wind NNE 11 mph 
Humidity 78% 
Dew Point 42°F 
Pressure 29.47 in Visibility 7.0 mi UV Index 0 out of 10

I know how going home is going to be.....


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## Endless Soul (Oct 1, 2015)

I'll be heading home in about 30 minutes.

Currently 73°F and just a few clouds in the sky. Looking forward to it.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Better than yesterday where everywhere I was pointing was a headwind! And only saw one homeless person.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Better than yesterday where everywhere I was pointing was a headwind! And only saw one homeless person.


There was a homeless guy who was usually somewhere off the MUP on my commute last winter. I usually felt bad because I kept waking him up with my lights and such.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Brrr! Dipped into single digits for a while before for the first time this year, but up to 10 by the time I left work. Cars were all frosted over in the parking lot, so the ride was worth it.


Wow, it appears that you will not be missing winter out there this year. Ours is delayed, it has mostly been above freezing since that one 15F morning.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

40F this morning. A little slow this morning after a spectacular MTB session yesterday. Lots of runners out this morning on the final 1/2 mile stretch of road. About 6-7 total. All of them had lights so it was like a bunch of fireflies coming down the road at me. One group of them was three wide in the oncoming lane and had to split in between them. Not close and we all said our hellos but first time i've seen runners claim a whole lane. Co-worker says they claimed the whole lane even though he was in a vehicle. There's a good sized bike lane and nice separated curvy sidewalk so not as if they were doing it for safety reasons.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar you guys got more out of that storm than we did... still a decent dusting and some serious follow-up cold for us also. 

I had Veteran's Day off... I hear ya Big Fil... I had a great mtb ride with the local guys. Frozen trails turned to mud-fest while we were out... a bunch of full grown men hooting and hollering and playing in the mud is what it amounted to. 15 miles and over 2k of climbing with seriously slippery descents...good times, good times. 

Coldest commute of the winter so far this morning I think... maybe high teens? I was a little slow and sore anyway, and the cold didn't help.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Well i ended up driving to work today. Took the long way home from work yesterday which adds a few miles. Right when I got home I realized I forgot my keys at work (doh!) so had to ride the whole round trip again. The day before I had commuted and then charged an MTB ride after work so my legs were feeling the extra round trip. I could've rode but figured the recovery day would make this weekends rides better.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Was in NYC to see fam and friends Sat-Tue, did not ride, but brought the push scooter on the train with me and cruised up to 9.5 miles each a.m. on the bike paths along the rivers. Crazy amount of bike infrastructure compared to VT, kinda sad that almost no bikes stop (or even slow)for all the fancy bike-specific traffic lights where streets/drives cross the paths. I did do one impressive superman over-the-scooter-bars while avoiding a window washing lift and negotiating a double-angled accessible sidewall to street ramp. Thankfully the flight was more impressive than the injuries, just pain that made me sit for a few and a few scrapes. A nice NY'r behind me asked if I was OK and also said "I skateboard, and I hate when that sh*t happens", which somehow made it all better. I also picked up a bad cold, so I did not ride to work Thursday or Friday either.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I did do one impressive superman over-the-scooter-bars ...


Amazing! Also altered your gender momentarily! Or maybe it wasn't quite impressive enough to qualify as Superwoman?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another really nice fall day in Michigan. It was pretty cool this morning heading out but the sun was out and it helped with the cold wind in my face. Lunch delivery during a college football game is interesting. Pedestrian traffic is increased while road traffic is almost non existent in places. They say it hit 50° today but I am not sure of that. I know I was in just a jersey and shorts and was fairly comfortable. Ride home was really nice but had to put arm warmers back on as the temps were starting to drop.


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## indigo_falconm40 (Jan 18, 2012)

Sunday I did a practice ride on my future commuting route to work. Going there i was fighting a headwind/crosswind. My route is about 20 miles on local rail trail and 10 miles on road. I arrived to work around 1hr for 14.6 miles. Later today I will visit lbs for getting rear rack options w/ panniers for mtb. The new maxxis tread lite exo 26x2.10 tires worked marvelous being fast on gravel and road.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Friday night I didn't leave work till nearly 8pm as I had a deadline to meet and send off to foreign shores. When I did go the wind was high and the temperature low. Apparently the remnants of Hurricane Kate. Fortunately I carry a buff and hat hats fits under my helmet with me. Was a very hard ride home. Kinda needed to stand for some of the open bits but try to hunker down to reduce my profile at the same time. Still what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right.

So properly windy all weekend till last night when it was quite still. Wind was up again this morning and cooler again. Nice and bright though.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Thunderstorm in the middle of November, next will be the locust....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> And here's a new one for me... anyone else ever wear down a jockey wheel in a rear derailleur to the point where it resembled a ninja throwing star and made you bleed when you were swapping the chain?
> I was shocked to find it like this. Pictured next to an almost new one that I swapped in for reference. New chain, cassette, (and jockey wheels :lol for the Ogre had it shifting like a dream this morning.
> 
> Apparently I've let a few chains go a bit to long on that derailleur...
> ...


So what you are saying is that this isn't the pinnacle of bike maintenance? I think my Cross Check (rain bike) might need a little drivetrain attention. 














Getting cold here, time to level up on the gloves. The ones I have right now seem to switch off at freezing. Above 32F they are fine, below 32F and the seem almost non-existent.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's beautiful work man :lol: 


Mid 20's for me this morning. I was dragging anyway, and there was a nice stiff cold headwind...that's rare for me. 


In other news, I hit 3k for the year on a ride over the weekend. That was a nice woohoo moment.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another nice day here in Michigan. Still bewildered about this late warm fall we are having. Temp of 62°F at about 2PM as I was finishing up delivering. Rode in a jersey and shorts to work with no gloves on. Sun was out in full force and it felt really nice. The ride home tonight was wonderful at 50°F. I forgot my clear glasses at home so my eyes were a bit watery but nothing too horrible.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was good. Decided to drive today. Have an errand that needs the car one day this week anyway but the weather forecast is showing gale force winds of upto 70mph for leaving off time so I thought today is errand day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides yesterday, 30'sF and clear. Today's off topic contribution is this ermine I saw Sunday. He was already in his winter white coat and quite curious. He dove into the brush pile once when the dog got too close, but came out again for another look.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cute little weasel you've got there. And snow on the ground too.

Commutes have been pretty chilly. I know it gets colder from here but 26 feels like 16 these days.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ermine = wow!

24 and sunny this morning.


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## ladljon (Nov 30, 2011)

Rode to work...barely snowing, ride home was fun, 4"s, even made a side trip to get groceries...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Last minute decision to ride to work today. Leaving in a few minutes. Sunny and 61°F currently. Supposed to rain later. Will take my chances to not miss out on this nice day to ride in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

TenSpeed, you're getting NorCal's winter from last year... maybe it's moving east. MTBX and Bedwards, next year it will be you basking in the 60's at Thanksgiving. Brace yourselves. :lol: 

Back UP to the high 20's here this morning... 27 or so... first time sub freezing has felt like a warm-up for me this year. 

Never seen a white winter weasel. Wonderful.


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## nefariousvw (Jan 29, 2015)

My commute was freaking cold (by socal standards)... 39°F when I headed out @ 5:15AM


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Been quiet a while. Taking a break from the interwebz. Commuting's been fairly standard overall. A few icy days and a few minor wrecks. Nothing bothersome or too painful. However, winter seems like it is here to stay now. 15 below 0 F when I left the house this morning. I forgot how much harder it is to ride when it gets that cold. Had my front shifter freeze up and all the grease in my bearings seemed like Karo syrup or something. Riding the same route as normal. Last Thursday, with temps in the low 20's and 3 or so inches of crusty, crappy snowplow overthrow on 1.5 miles of my route it took me 50.48 minutes to ride my commute and I burned 514 calories. This morning at -15 with the 1.5 miles of trail cleared to bare pavement and the rest of the ride the same conditions as last Thursday I mad it in 51.18 minutes, but burnt 597 calories and my average heart rate was 120 vs 111. As I was well rested and such, I can only attribute the difference to the cold. 

I think I might be about to the point where I declare that anytime it is below 0 when I wake up that I work from home. 

Supposed to get even colder tonight.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Forecast is calling for our first inch-or-so of snow tonight, with temperatures finally settling into the solidly-below-freezing range. Up to this point I've been enjoying my new fake cross frankenbike, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

So glad I rode in. It was windy but really nice out. Sun disappeared behind the clouds by the time I got to work. It did end up raining but just for a little while and was dry when I left for home. 59°F for the ride home. Jersey, sleeves and shorts again and it was great, except for the wind. SE winds with several really strong gusts that nearly blew me over. I am a clyde, and this wind was really messing with me. 4 times I almost went down from strong side gusts. I slowed my pace down a bit and just enjoyed the evening.

Tomorrow looks to be a different story with mid 60's and rain, and by Saturday, they are calling for some of the white stuff with some possible accumulation.


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

I grossly underestimated what riding 30miles in 19°f feels like when I got dressed. 
That sucked right out loud.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Chippertheripper said:


> I grossly underestimated what riding 30miles in 19°f feels like when I got dressed.
> That sucked right out loud.


I bet it sucked! Is that your regular commute? 60 miles Rt is a loooong bike commute!


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

Yeah, but I work a 24hr shift, so I don't go home till tomorrow morning. I've been slacking and not really commuting by bike for a long time. Had I dressed better I'd have been fine.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another cold morning. -14F. Wasn't horrible, but last night was a killer - The temps were in the mid single digits when I left the office. Got on the bus and out to the valley and it was 1 degree there. Rode 8 miles to go to a VMBaH board meeting. Two hours later rode home in -12F. Temps not terrible, but the inactive times made for some chilly riding with damp layers. The second part of my commute is always a bit more challenging, but last night it was doubly so. Forecast calls for warming temps and snow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Snow missed us, but first even vaguely coldish day at 16F. First day with a little bit of ice on the river, first day with my winter shoes, headscarf/balaclava, and tights, but didn't upgrade the gloves.

Digging through some old threads recently, I discovered that back in 2010 (which was my second winter of commuting), we had a really late first snow on Nov 15, but then January dumped 3'. So we'll see what this year brings.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Considering it snowed yesterday, the weather was great this morning. Low to mid 40's but the wind was gusty between 20 and 50 MPH. Funny, though the news kept saying it was windy, looking out my window this morning, I didn't see anything to indicate it was actually windy. There were a couple of white knuckle moments with some of the stronger gusts!

612 miles to go!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm reading this for a little winter pick-me-up. Great read, and an unbelievable journey. I wish there was more 'cycling perspective' though... he doesn't go into gear, maintenance, equipment, or bike stuff hardly at all. As a rider I want all the gory details of the biking part and the logistics. It leaves you wondering about a lot of that. But it's certainly giving me the tour bug...

http://www.amazon.com/Cycling-Home-Siberia-miles-bicycle/dp/1451607865


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I wish there was more 'cycling perspective' though... he doesn't go into gear, maintenance, equipment, or bike stuff hardly at all. As a rider I want all the gory details of the biking part and the logistics. It leaves you wondering about a lot of that.


"Day 156: Derailleur pulleys have turned into throwing stars. Only compatible replacements are made from mammoth tusk and must be blessed by a druid wizard? WTF shimano?"


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Another cold morning. -14F. Wasn't horrible, but last night was a killer - The temps were in the mid single digits when I left the office. Got on the bus and out to the valley and it was 1 degree there. Rode 8 miles to go to a VMBaH board meeting. Two hours later rode home in -12F. Temps not terrible, but the inactive times made for some chilly riding with damp layers. The second part of my commute is always a bit more challenging, but last night it was doubly so. Forecast calls for warming temps and snow.


It's way too early in the season to be considering double digit negative temps.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's way too early in the season to be considering double digit negative temps.


Tell me about it! A bit of a shock to the system going from upper and mid 20s to 15 below. Ouch.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> "Day 156: Derailleur pulleys have turned into throwing stars. Only compatible replacements are made from mammoth tusk and must be blessed by a druid wizard? WTF shimano?"


:lol: :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Is there ever a good time for double digit negative temps?

I don`t know any more what`s "early in the season". Weather patterns are so screwed up, that I try not to have seasonal weather-related expectations. We used to have our coldest time in Dec or Jan, but a few recent years have had the coldest of cold spells in November, then warmed up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's way too early in the season to be considering double digit negative temps.


+1, tried to rep you for that blockphi, but the interwebs must be frozen!

I think I will drive tomorrow, up to an inch of rain and gusts over 40mph forecast. Good excuse to pick up part of a local pig from a friends freezer and some oranges/grapefruit from a coworkers' kid's team fundraiser.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Was nice, had an awesome sunset to stare at on the way home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

What a weird day. Forecast called for a 90% chance of rain after noon, and a slight chance before. Was totally dry out when I left to head to JJ's to deliver. Before I got to the railroad tracks, it started raining. 58°F and I had a jersey and sleeves on. Sleeves off, new Novara vented jacket on. Drizzled most of the way there, nothing too exciting. Been meeting a co worker at the LBS which is a block away before we go deliver and just shoot the BS. It pours once we are in the shop. On and off until we leave. Then it all but disappears. Sun comes out, and it actually starts to dry up. Clouds roll in and it just hung around, drizzling on and off, misting, just enough to leave the roads damp. Temps got up to 61°F by the time I left to head to work. Forgot one small detail. WIND!!!!!! Gusts were anywhere from 26 to 40 mph at points through the day. Power outages, downed trees, debris all over the bike lanes and roads. It was nuts. Few white knuckle moments while delivering and then riding to work. On the ride to work, the skies opened up and I got pretty wet. Shoes soaked, shorts soaked, but my new jacket kept me dry as rice. 

Ride home was 59°F and extremely windy. Almost went down taking a turn to head south to an bike path that I found that runs through the campus. Huge gust of wind grabbed me and almost rode off with me. More wind in the forecast for Thursday but should be dry and the temps reasonable so I will be back on the bike again.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Commute in today was a bit warmer today than the last week. Stars were out and not a single car on my favorite downhill section.

On yesterday's commute I saw something i'd never considered seeing. I was climbing up a hill when I see a small light coming down in the distance. Initial thought was this was obviously a bike coming down the hill. Then whoosh and as it passed me I realized it was a guy in a wheelchair holding a flashlight bombing down the hill. Gave him a "hell yeah!" and continued on.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ wow. :eekster:

First tiny little bit of snow for me. Took the studded fixie, although I really didn't need to. We're supposed to be back above freezing on the weekend, so this might disappear, but I think I should finally give in and put studs on the big bike.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Last night's ride home was cold. The weatherman said it would be in the 50s for my commute home. Wrong, it was colder on the way home than on the way in. Brrr! To top it off the winds were still crazy and, I got a light dusting of snow. But that wasn't the half of it. About 3 miles from my house, I came upon a Police car blocking the trail. Seems there was a ban robbery and the bad guys shot at least one person. I had to back track and try to find a surface street that went in my general direction. I'm not too familiar with the streets adjacent to the bike trails so it was an adventure. On the plus side, I got in a few extra miles. 

Today's ride in was great. Cold but little wind. My legs were tired but my average speed was faster than I expected.

583 Miles to go!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Getting pretty sick of the Thanksgiving holiday traffic around here.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi guys, nice pics you have there. Here in Germany we do not get any sun at the moment. Monday I had to drive, at least I could combine several pick-ups/drop-offs, so I could ride as from Tuesday. This week had 10C/50F, very windy, Tuesdaymorning it rained, combined with 20kts wind with gusts up to 35kts. It stayed like that until today, it seems to calm down a bit during the night. And, I still do not believe it, temps will drop below freezing level early next week. But what is -2C/28F compared to Blockphi?? Big respect man!! will rep you after this post.

edit: must spread some rep around before giving it to Blockphi again.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It has been raining for 3 days almost straight. It stopped raining and the temp dropped to 20F this morning. Also last night I broke a pawl in my Nuvinci hub, luckily my Ogre is 135mm spaced front/rear so I swapped to my SS wheel out back until the parts come in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ What fork do you have on your Ogre?


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> :bluefrown: When and how did you hurt it, Kleebs? I remember you mentioning the injury a week or two ago, but don`t remember the initial story. Sure hope you`re able to get 2016 started off on the right foot.


Oh boy I totally missed this message. Once I found out I couldn't ride I was bummed out and stopped checking the forum. I initially hurt the shoulder in early October. I was playing in an adult roller hockey rec league and got tripped, landing squarely on my left shoulder. After two and a half weeks of ice, hot pads, and ibuprofen with no change in status, I headed to the doctor. It has now been 3 weeks of no commuting and I'm shocked at how much gas I burn through when driving everyday. I've also gotten a little bigger around the middle.

Started running more often which is going well. I also tried a spin class last night as a test for how the shoulder is coming along. Good news, there was very little discomfort during the class. I think one more week of rest and i should be clear by the time december rolls around.

TenSpeed, those reflective Giro Republic's finally shipped out yesterday. I should be receiving them by Monday at the latest. I'll get a quick ride with them when they come in, shoulder be damned.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ What fork do you have on your Ogre?


Enabler.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Getting pretty sick of the Thanksgiving holiday traffic around here.
> 
> View attachment 1029957


:lol: All you need now is a cranberry bog.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It sucked. Wind was screaming at me from every direction. Took the geared bike just because. Traffic wasn't too bad although I had someone try to squeeze by me because the wind had me drifting towards the curb. After that I took the entire lane. Right behind the hospital the wind almost took me off the bike. I stopped and waited for it to die down before continuing on. That was the closest I have been to being taken off the bike by wind. 

Ride home was guess what? Windy. Saw a few random flurries here and there. Forecast is calling for snow this weekend. They are still unsure of an amount as of now. Picking up a set of studded tires from a friend for the SS MTB. Looks like that will be getting some use shortly.

ETA - looks like I have about 70 miles to go more than z1r. I hope we both make it.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I like your traffic jam, CB :thumbsup:



Kleebs said:


> It has now been 3 weeks of no commuting and I'm shocked at how much gas I burn through when driving everyday.


 Yeah, winter driving eats up even more gas than summer. I`ve been driving to work a couple times each week, plus a few other trips, and I`m also surprised how fast the gas gauge drops. Well, it sounds like your shoulder is coming along- hang in there!

Good luck with the mileage goals, Z1R and TenSpeed.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Commute was much warmer this morning than the last couple of weeks. A balmy 47F made for tshirt weather. Other than that pretty uneventful. 

On another note my mother got me a new pump for my B-day. It'll be nice to be able to leave the pump on my commuter instead of switching back and forth between my pack for MTB. There's been a few times i forgot to switch it one way or another. Just fortunate I didn't get caught out either way with a flat tire.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in to deliver was brutal. The ride wasn't, the wind was. Gusts in the 30's and some sustained winds in the mid 20's straight in my face from the west. Temps are definitely lower than they were, it was only 34°F when I left this morning. Jersey, shorts and arm warmers still although I think that they might be done for a while. Tights are all out and ready to go. Not sure if I will commute Saturday with this storm. Did get the studded tires from my friend but I have not mounted them yet.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No bike commute for me in 3 DAYS! For reference, this is the longest skipped the bike commute in about 2-3 years, other than major blizzards. I picked up a tick on a race the Sunday before last that stayed attached for 4 days, crap. About 8 days after the race I've got fever, aches, headache & major fatigue. Even the thought of riding makes me tired. Being treated for Lyme or Anaplasmosis. Feeling slightly better today, I might be able to stay up past 8:00, we'll see.

Check yourself for ticks! I started being less diligent once the temps started getting cold and that was a mistake.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, I would not have thought ticks were still out! Hope you feel better soon and recover 100%. Glad you got in for treatment. Rest up and be a good patient Bedwards.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Ride to pick up car*

A run up through back streets to the dealership on Monday. Some snow small snow pellets then a light sprinkling of rain as I pulled into the lot on Monday. I used some Sunday themed music. The last is a practice recording from a year ago of my chorus. We sound better now.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Getting ready to throw the studded tires on the SS MTB for a commute today. We got quite a bit of snow but some has melted already. Not sure what pressure to run but I will figure it out. Going to be very cold today with the temp not breaking 30°F and a low of 19°F. I will be able to park my bike inside the building tonight although it is not allowed. That is part of my problem with cold hands is that the bike sits outside for almost 9 hours and the bars get really cold.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Lonely bike racks, Columbus Indiana, on a Sunday morn:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, that really sucked. Sunny and 29°F when I left and the temp was actually pretty nice. The sun was causing a partial melt/freeze on almost all of the MUP. There were a few dry spots but huge patches of ice/slush. First ride with a studded tire ever and I was leery of how it would react. Still adjusting tire pressure for now. It was alright but I was really sketched out. Bike lane for 90% of the commute was unusable. Frozen mess and ice pretty much all along my route. Neighborhood was so bad that I came back out and just rode on the main road instead. Got honked at twice.

Ride home was cold but manageable. Really helped that my bike sat inside instead of at the rack. Hands were not as cold as they usually are. Sketchy conditions most of the way home with what appeared to be ice. Sound of the studded tire on the pavement messed with me because it sounded like I was rolling on ice the whole time.

Seriously considering making the move back to standard bars and back to the Shimano hydraulic brakes. The bullhorns are nice but the reach to the brake is a bit much. Here it is after the Nokian Gazza Extreme 294 and Schwalbe Nobby Nic were put on. I struggled with that Nokian for 45 minutes and ruined one tube in the process.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bike FTW, woot! Narrow street was blocked on my way in tonight. Backhoe and dump truck taking up the whole roadway for what looked like emergency utility work. I just hopped the curb and kept rollin on the opposite shoulder. Yeah, yeah- not a huge deal, but it made me happy.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Bedwards - Take care bud, hope you recover soon.

Brian Mc - Can't access that at work unfortunately I'll try and catch it later

Ten Speed - Nice looking rig that

First Ice day today. Was cold, obviously. Under helmet hat, buff, gloves (which are rubbish it seems) jacket...... and shorts  . Black ice patches to contend with, very full/heavy panniers as I brought the Laptop and files home friday (when I was in the car :madman: ) plus my usual clothes running gear etc. Basically slow and sketchy, my first ride on a road bike clipped in, on ice for a while, possibly ever. Temp should be back up to well into plus numbers before I go home again.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Nice bike, TenSpeed! If you aren't a fan of the bullhorns, you could always shift to a drop bar? But to be honest, the bike looks awesome as it is (ergonomics aside). 
I have also struggled to get Nokian tyres to mount before - but these were Hakapaalitas with a wire bead - pure hell to get on, pure hell to get off again...
Riding ice tyres is strange, I agree - but as someone who has ridden them in winter for a few years now I can say that they give you really a lot of grip - just try not to lean the bike too much; in my experience when at the limit, the grip just goes so quickly (when compared to running regular slicks on asphalt; you can feel when enough is enough - but on spikes, I find that it's gripgripgripSLIP...). This is on ice, though. On snow you can ride it however you want - it is ridiculous how much grip you have - also try to run as low a pressure as you can - to get as many studs engaged as possible. Rolling resistance will suffer, though. As will your legs 

You get well soon, Bedwards! :thumbsup:

My first commute (and time on bike) for around 7 weeks today.

The whole family is still getting used to the new house, kindergarten, routine and so on, so I didn't actually get my leg over the bike until 0850!! Lucky me I'm just working out my notice so it doesn't matter if I piss off the boss too much... And by the time I start in my new job (February 2nd) I should be more organised in the morning - the new commute will be 5km longer...

This new commute is different - much flatter and along the coast of Oslo Fjord - not the inland route I had to take from our old place.

It was -5degC out and icy (its been above and below zero a lot here lately with light snow and rain now and then but mostly sunny) with a lot of gravel strewn over the paths / road to aid traction for the cars... Not so good for the bikes though (think ball bearings on polished concrete and you will see what I mean)...

I'm back on the OEM Alexrims alloy wheels for the winter (about 300/400g heavier than my carbon ones) and running Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tyres (300 spikes but around 900g each :eekster: so at least 800g gained on the tyres alone) meaning that my once svelte rig now weighs well over 10kg... Add this to my 7 weeks brake from biking and the poor rolling performance of a 900 gram 300 spike ice tyre and what do you get? 

One very tired cyclist... That's what!! I actually thought for a split second "maybe I should stop for a breather?"...

There was two guys about 200m in front of me for most of the ride (one looked fit and was on a CX bike, the other was a classic wheel sucker - slightly over weight, on an older 26er and not taking a turn in front) and could I catch them? No.

Other than that it was nice - I caught the sunrise and it was really quiet on the roads. :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> This new commute is different - much flatter and along the coast of Oslo Fjord - not the inland route I had to take from our old place.


Good. Fux has been slacking lately, so you`ll have to post up some fjord commute porn in his absence :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, commuter porn! :eekster:


TenSpeed said:


> I struggled with that Nokian for 45 minutes and ruined one tube in the process.


That's weird, I have 2 pair of those Nokian tires and they fall onto the rims better than anything else. Gatorskins are the ones that give me fits!

Back on the bike today. Not at 100%. Maybe 75%. Which is pretty good because Wed-Friday I couldn't imagine riding in or even wanting to again.

We got a little snow overnight but luckily the roads were just wet because I haven't got the studs out.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Set my alarm to 1hr later this weekend and forgot to turn it back. Not a big deal as far as work goes but I like going in when it's dark since there's less cars on the road. Went to REI this weekend and scored a set of fenders for 25% off and installed them yesterday. Haha what a fiddly PITA fenders are to install. Also, bought a set of FiveTen Freerider Elements shoes at the SF Bike Expo so between those and the fenders i'm starting to get dialed in for more rainy commutes. No rain, or even a puddle to try em out this morning but it's supposed to rain tomorrow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Still no winter - but maybe today it'll finally arrive? Supposed to get an inch or two of snow, with temperatures falling from 0C to around 0F.

First ride on the big bike in wintermode, with studs and gears. New chain + last year's cassette = so much skipping. I'll give it a few rides to hopefully sort itself out. It's a little weird to think that in only 3~3 1/2 months I'll probably be switching back to ss, and a few weeks after that the studs will be off again.

Edited to add:

Oooh, now a snowfall warning. The puppy should be happy tonight.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TenSpeed, I have a set of Nokian W240’s and a set of A10’s. Both go on an of the rim real easy, even on my Tubeless rims. The A10’s are great on ice sheet ice but suck in ruts and in snow deeper than 2 cm. The 240’s are great but heavy! At over 900 grams each, they are twice the weight of my normal commute tires. Last year I tried to run mostly the A10’s and then swap when there was supposed to be snow. This year I think I will mount the A10’s on my commuter and the 240’s on my Fantom Cross. Gotta love the noise they make!

Bedwards, glad to hear you are on the mend!


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

Left the house at 4:10am, carrying a 45lbs pack for what I need throughout the day. Rode 8.2 miles to work in a Trek Marlin 29er. 38 minutes. Weather was a chilly 36 degrees here in San Antonio, TX.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

36 is cold for San Antonio!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice bike tenspeed! If the reach is a bit long, why dont you install extra inline /inbetween levers / froglegs or whatever they are called? I have them onbmy midge and couldnt miss them anymore!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Finally dropped below freezing here, was beginning to wonder if it was going to happen.

Hit my 3,000 mile goal for the year over the weekend, so pretty happy about that.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, commuter porn! :eekster:
> 
> That's weird, I have 2 pair of those Nokian tires and they fall onto the rims better than anything else. Gatorskins are the ones that give me fits!
> 
> ...


I find the exact opposite!!! Gatorskins go on faster than any tire that I have messed with so far. How weird is that???



cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice bike tenspeed! If the reach is a bit long, why dont you install extra inline /inbetween levers / froglegs or whatever they are called? I have them onbmy midge and couldnt miss them anymore!


Thanks!!

I considered adding those, or just swapping to those instead of the bar end levers. Also considering drops (already have those) so I would just need the levers.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold today. Rode to JJ to deliver and really was not feeling it at all today. Got pepped up by my buddy at the bike shop and the guy I deliver with. Did some miles and got warmed up and into the groove and by 12:30PM, the jacket came off and I was in a jersey and base layer. Made good money in tips because it was so cold. People find out that you are biking and I think that they feel sorry for you. No worries, I will play that card every time. Roads were for the most part melted but still had a few pucker moments where the back tire sort of started to slide out on me. Studs are weird to ride on but definitely make a huge difference.

Ride home after my main job was actually the same temperature as earlier in the day. Light traffic and mostly dry roads had me home rather quickly. Tuesday more melting and I am going to drive to work I think.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

No bike for me today - got a few errands to run in my lunch break that require the car, so for today I am a cager. Back on the bike tomorrow, though!

Yesterday was a real eye opener - I totally underestimated how much form you can lose with a long break off the bike... That plus the extra weight and rolling resistance and I was on the edge of blowing up all the way home! 

Felt good! 

We have had snow going over to rain in the night and then freezing temperatures again - the car had a 10mm thick ice layer all over; I had to hit the ice on the windows to smash it! We live on a steep hill (well, this morning it was more of an inclined skating rink) and I have no idea how I managed to drive down it - or how I will get back up again...

Life is so much easier when you bike to work...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I drove tonight too. There`s a small storm system rolling in, but not particularly threatening. Mostly I was just feeling lazy. Lazy is good just about now- read today`s updated schedule at work, and it looks like I`ve worked my last weekend for this year. About time! The fat paychecks are very nice, but I`m ready to chill now.



DavidM310 said:


> Left the house at 4:10am, carrying a 45lbs pack for what I need throughout the day.


Wow, that`s a lot for a bicycle ported backpack!



formula4speed said:


> Hit my 3,000 mile goal for the year over the weekend, so pretty happy about that.


:band:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Congrats on the milestone Formula4!!

Ghost...eeeek, 10mm ice, that sounds seriously chilly.

Ride home was maybe 4-5°C actual temp but felt lots colder with the wind chill. Took me a good 15mins of my 30min journey to get over it.

This morning was different, not raining but very wet and about 7°C. Pannier bottom still getting wet even with the covers on. I think that the guards run close to the tyres that the water gets flung out the side and gets in from the back...


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

SlipSpace said:


> Ghost...eeeek, 10mm ice, that sounds seriously chilly.


It was bloody horrible! Imagine having to break into your own car because the doors are iced shut...

You could maybe try some wax dubbing (you get it for mountain boots) on your bags - it usually repels water really well and it shouldn't be too messy, since the leaky bit is on the inside next to the wheel?

Just like a Barbour Jacket!


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, that`s a lot for a bicycle ported backpack!
> 
> :band:


I agree with you on that, to top it off today is even heavier. About 53lbs weighing my self on the scale with/without backpack. It should go down to 35lbs next week. It is crazy how much you can really feel the weight dragging you down.

One thing I enjoy is getting back on the trails without any excess weight.

Today I left the house at 5:25am. A good 47 degrees in San Antonio, TX. I didn't get to work until 6:20am. 55 minutes for 8.2 miles. Again that heavy pack feels like an anchor.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

DavidM310 said:


> I agree with you on that, to top it off today is even heavier. About 53lbs weighing my self on the scale with/without backpack. It should go down to 35lbs next week. It is crazy how much you can really feel the weight dragging you down.
> 
> One thing I enjoy is getting back on the trails without any excess weight.
> 
> Today I left the house at 5:25am. A good 47 degrees in San Antonio, TX. I didn't get to work until 6:20am. 55 minutes for 8.2 miles. Again that heavy pack feels like an anchor.


That pack has to be slowing you down quite a bit. I don't know what your regular commute time is, but mine is of a similar distance. My fastest time home from work was 7.9 miles in 24 and a half minutes. Now, this is at night, summer, with little to no traffic and mostly green lights. I tend to ride a bit faster when it is warmer out especially on a nice summer night. Oh, and I would definitely take 47° right now!! Might actually see that tomorrow.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

47F here this morning as well. Very pleasant this morning but the rain is supposed to roll in about an hour or two for now. Pretty straight forward commute this morning, but have to say I was a bit disappointing it wasn't raining this morning. I was looking forward to seeing how well my fender setup works. Oh well, careful what you wish for right lol?! 

Yesterday's commute home greeted me with a flat tire. The leak was slow enough that I was able to pump up the tire and get halfway home before pumping up again. Figured i'd rather do that and change a tire at home with a bike stand and TV going then sitting on a sidewalk changing a tube.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

DavidM310 said:


> I agree with you on that, to top it off today is even heavier. About 53lbs weighing my self on the scale with/without backpack. It should go down to 35lbs next week. It is crazy how much you can really feel the weight dragging you down.
> 
> One thing I enjoy is getting back on the trails without any excess weight.
> 
> Today I left the house at 5:25am. A good 47 degrees in San Antonio, TX. I didn't get to work until 6:20am. 55 minutes for 8.2 miles. Again that heavy pack feels like an anchor.


What the heck do you have to transport back and forth to work? Gold Bars?



TenSpeed said:


> I tend to ride a bit faster when it is warmer out especially on a nice summer night. Oh, and I would definitely take 47° right now!! Might actually see that tomorrow.


 Oh yeah! Bulky heavy clothes, cold thick air cold weather riding is never as fast as warm weather riding, all other things considered.

First day with the balaclava and double gloves. 19F this morning. So close to being able to post my milestone mileage.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

ARGH! Last week it was well below zero. Over the weekend we got between 6 and 18 inches of snow. Today? Today is rain and temps in the 40s. I'm so over it. Maybe we'll get lucky and the rain won't do anything more than turn the trails and snow into awesomely packed trails to everywhere, but I doubt it. 

Decided to check my mileage for the year to date, as I haven't been paying much attention to it lately. 4803.69. Not too shabby. I'll easily break 5K, but won't come close to my stated goal of 8K.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So much snow. Well, not really. 4~6" maybe. But so. much. work.

On the plus side, I did pass a floundering fatbike.

I took the hilly mup route because I didn't feel like dealing with drivers, but it was in really bad shape, and I spent a ton of time riding in the deep snow on the grass because it was easier. Roads were much better once I finally got to the point where I had them as an option.

Dropping down to 0F today, but supposed to be around the 40s on the weekend. So who knows what's going on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Last Sunday it snowed here, unfortunately everything melted already overnight.

Sunday I made a short but heavy ride. The Conti Wintercontact held up well with the load on snow:




After that my eldest made a short tour on his own bike as well, but he slipped, fell and wanted to go home after that. He now wants "winterconnect" tires on his bike (he means Winter Contact from Conti, that I have) 
Commute on Mondaymorning was the first one with temps below freezing level, but I put my insulated pants on and added a shirt, no probs at all. This morning was nice but the way back home was already nasty again with rain, 20kts headwind and temps of around 3C/37F.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> Pannier bottom still getting wet even with the covers on. I think that the guards run close to the tyres that the water gets flung out the side and gets in from the back...


You may want to consider ditching the covers and using a drybag inside the panniers instead. I used that method successfully for bikepacking, including heavy rains and fording a high lake outlet after rains. Plus you can grab the drybag to take it with you without messing with the pannier mounts.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> You may want to consider ditching the covers and using a drybag inside the panniers instead. I used that method successfully for bikepacking, including heavy rains and fording a high lake outlet after rains. Plus you can grab the drybag to take it with you without messing with the pannier mounts.


Or a drybag pannier like ortlieb backroller. They are also widely copied by now, especially the roll-up closure.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

New commute today. My company changed locations. Fortunately for me, they only moved a few miles away. The ride in was a bit harder than my previous commute. There are a few new hills and the road that looks flat when we drive it in a car is actually a long incline. Overall, not bad. I have one hill that looks to be a nice one on the way home, but maybe it will be mostly downhill from there. Not sure about afternoon traffic. We'll see...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Outsmarted my Thanksgiving company and took today off to prepare for them, since last time they arrived by 11 a.m. Wednesday and I was not ready :lol:
I am working tomorrow and told them to make themselves at home if they get here first.

I know you don't live here, but if you can spare even a few bucks to support my friend's Kickstarter to make his very own local bike shop a success, I would appreciate it. Think of it as my all year, all weather bikecommuting fundraising ride for local bike humanity. He has secured a cool location in an old bank downtown (it even has a vault) and is planning to open this spring. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1040874614/vermont-bicycle-shop/posts/1415508


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Was out sick with a cold for a few days so lost some commute time. I also took my regular commuter out of service when I feel on top of it while trying to mount. Was leaving work and somehow stumbled while getting on. In falling on top of the bike I took the handlebars to the chest and my knee punched out three spokes on the front rim. Luckily a buddy drove me home that day. Knee turned black and blue and chest hurt for a week. I tend to be a lot less nimble wearing heavy steel toed boots and work jeans. Been riding my Redline Monocog until I get other bike fixed.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> You may want to consider ditching the covers and using a drybag inside the panniers instead. I used that method successfully for bikepacking, including heavy rains and fording a high lake outlet after rains. Plus you can grab the drybag to take it with you without messing with the pannier mounts.


I tend to put things in plastic bags inside anyway just to make it easier to sort out but thanks for the suggestion, I'll have a look at them.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Or a drybag pannier like ortlieb backroller. They are also widely copied by now, especially the roll-up closure.


Just had a look at new panniers and I'm surprised how much they've come down in price. Mine were like £90 for the pair back in the day but the new waterproof ones are much less.

Time to ponder the way forward.

My commute today. A very pretty lady smiled at me  That is all.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Motorized commute for me today. We got more snow today, whoohoo! With the last sloppy (good water content) snow, then a few rains, now some more sloppy snow, it`s getting harder to keep my hopes in check.

Great video, Dutchman! Very nice of your passengers to help brake for you 



vegascruiser said:


> Was leaving work and somehow stumbled while getting on. In falling on top of the bike I took the handlebars to the chest and my knee punched out three spokes on the front rim.


:skep: Now how the heck did you manage that? Hope you`re past the painful part now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Ride home was pretty much as expected: mostly downhill with a couple decent climbs. Traffic wasn't bad I made it home pretty fast. The long incline I mentioned in my previous post is a long decline on the way back, which would normally be great but I have to pedal like the dickens on my singlespeed. Not a bad commute. A bonus for the way in is that I'm facing the sunrise for about a mile, and the sunrises have been brilliant the past couple days.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rodar y Rodar: Thanks!  Yes my eldest is trying to stop me, but no success. I promised him, when it snows again, I bring him to the Kindergarten in the sled like in the vid. He is now hoping for snow or course 

Slipspace:
I shortly checked the Aldi and Lidl websites in the UK but did not find any budget PVC panniers with roll-up closure. However I did find a site where you could buy a single Vaude Aqua Back for 55 GBP. Here in Germany, Ortlieb and Vaude rear panniers can only be bought in pairs.
Round Up: Waterproof panniers - Cyclescheme

Vegascruiser: Boah tough luck on you there. Get well soon and make sure you fix the bike.

Commute was uneventful today. A little drizzle in the morning, dry in the afternoon. Dark as always, damp as always, 5C/40F as always...little wind today, that was good.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Ride in today was lonely. Only saw two other bikes in 13 miles. Not particularly cold, low 30's so I guess it must be the Holiday.

Tomorrow is the Annual Turkey Cross Race. Been looking for ward to riding my Nature Boy disc in it but it is forecast to be the coldest day of the season thus far. lows overnight in the low teens, and a high of 24 with snow. I hope the Clement MXP's hook up well.

I suspect I will be the only on eon the road on tonight's ride home.

Only 523 Miles to go!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First day into the negative Fs at -4F. Day 2 1/2 after the first dump of snow, so road and path conditions have started to settle down. Forecast is still calling for a whole week around the 40s, so we'll see.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

newfangled said:


> First day into the negative Fs at -4F. Day 2 1/2 after the first dump of snow, so road and path conditions have started to settle down. Forecast is still calling for a whole week around the 40s, so we'll see.


Wow, makes it seems downright balmy here!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

z1r said:


> Tomorrow is the Annual Turkey Cross Race. Been looking for ward to riding my Nature Boy disc in it but it is forecast to be the coldest day of the season thus far. lows overnight in the low teens, and a high of 24 with snow. I hope the Clement MXP's hook up well.


Sounds fun! As long as it's not too much snow I'd imagine the Clement's would be great.

Another chilly commute today. I think the road bike days are starting to be numbered. Really looking forward to 4 days off from work. I'm still not feeling 100%.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> First day into the negative Fs at -4F. Day 2 1/2 after the first dump of snow, so road and path conditions have started to settle down. Forecast is still calling for a whole week around the 40s, so we'll see.


And what's a Canadian doing talking about temperature in F? You're just doing it so we Americans can understand you, right?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ online I also tend to write "color", "favorite" and "neighbor", even though those are obviously inferior spellings...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL I don't even know what the northern spelling for neighbor or favorite are. What Tyres are you using? Or is that just for those people across the pond.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ "Tyres" is totally wrong. We can agree on that, at least. Canadians just like to add "u" to soume wourds.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

No work today but I do have class so I went to the earlier time class vs. my late night class. Weather is fine is slightly warm here, there is hardly anyone on the road too so that was nice.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Off from my regular job, but it was delivery day!! Oh man, weather turned out to be beautiful here with a high of 49°F and a slight breeze. Ride in this morning was a little sketch in some areas in the shade because the melt had slightly frozen over in some spots. Rode the slick fix today because I figured that it would be nice out and it was. Not too many people out, had one issue with a truck invading the bike lane but everything else was good.

I am working Thursday and I figure that the roads will be mostly empty for my ride in. 

About 50 miles behind z1r and I think that both of us are going to make our goals. Crossing fingers!!!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Slipspace:
> I shortly checked the Aldi and Lidl websites in the UK but did not find any budget PVC panniers with roll-up closure. However I did find a site where you could buy a single Vaude Aqua Back for 55 GBP. Here in Germany, Ortlieb and Vaude rear panniers can only be bought in pairs.
> Round Up: Waterproof panniers - Cyclescheme


Very much appreciate that, Thanks!! I'll have a look around the shops and see whats what too. We have some big chains (Halfords, Evans) and a lot of LBS. Like to support the LBS where possible though



newfangled said:


> First day into the negative Fs at -4F. Day 2 1/2 after the first dump of snow, so road and path conditions have started to settle down. Forecast is still calling for a whole week around the 40s, so we'll see.


-20°C !!!!! :eekster::eekster: I can't really moan about a bit of frost and some windchill anymore can I


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Wow. -10°C is the cut off for me. -20°C cycling deserves respect. 

We are still in the freezing / thawing / freezing / thawing stage here. It was -4°C this morning and icy - set to get warmer throughout the day and go to +8°C (!!!) tomorrow.
Then sit at around +2°C ish for the next week.

Until the weather decides what it wants to do, I think I will swap to my regular MTB tyres - for a bit of respite from the crappy rolling resistance on the Ice Spikers...


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

Quiet on a holiday morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ that is a very cool picture!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ that is a very cool picture!


:thumbsup: X2 so peaceful!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Often I see a homeless person in this tunnel on my commute sleeping in a cardboard box or on a blanket. She seams to be setting up house now, there's a couch, a Green Bay Packers comforter, a shopping cart set up as makeshift coffee table,and box with her stuff in it. :eekster: Not sure if I should try to help her in some way or not.... might encourage bad behavior :???:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

SlipSpace said:


> -20°C !!!!! :eekster::eekster: I can't really moan about a bit of frost and some windchill anymore can I


Just yesterday I was thinking that this is winter #7 for me. And in the previous 6 years of riding essentially every day (I think I skipped two days in year 1) my maximum-minimum temperature was -31.6C(-25F). And that's not for lack of trying - I would go colder if I could. All told, that's not too bad for one of the coldest cities on the planet (alaska excepted).

Anyway, a little warmer today at -14C/7F.

Riding across the bridge a fatbike infront of me stopped, and I realized he was going to take a picture. And I decided that was a good idea, so I stopped a little further down to do the same thing. And then a 3rd bike stopped between us. And by the time I had my gloves back on, the sunrise was basically over.



__
https://flic.kr/p/BuVVgm


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Just come home and had two great rides today. This morning there was a layer of fog across the fields, lit by the big full moon in the west. On the eastern horizon, first signs of a new day. I stopped to take a picture but the battery was flat  . On the way home there was a magnificent sunset, the best of the last months so far.

OT: At work my collegues and I discussed the "word of the year" in Germany: Smombie. It is short for Smartphone Zombie, that is used for people looking at there phone walking around without knowing where they are or where they are going. So I met two of them today within 1 hour:
The first one was in the elevator coming from the ground floor to the top floor. So I get in, elevator goes down to the ground floor, I get out, doors close. I stay to watch what happens: Nothing. Elevator stays put with closed doors. I wonder how often that guy went up and down already.
Second one suddenly took a left hook from the pavement onto the street in front of me. I had to brake hard, car behind me too and he honked. Guy was totally scared and I told him it would be healthier to look where he is going. He stared at me, said nothing, crossed the street without looking to the other side. I still wonder if he noticed, that I said something to him (no earphones).


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Ah yes. . .the smart phone users who don't always seem so smart. Glad to have four days off. Last two days commuting were rough with pounding winds against me. Basically doubled commute time home. Plus my 32x16 has me spinning a lot more to cover distance than my regular 40x16 commuter.

Still not sure how I tripped over my bike other than being in a hurry. Had a thorn stuck in my tire--thorn the size of a small nail actually--and figured I could beat the leak home if I rushed. Being rushed equalled falling on bike while trying to quickly mount. Meanwhile the tire is still holding air and the bike has been out of service for two weeks. Probably gonna take it to shop this weekend. Don't like mt. bike geometry for daily commuting. Cruiser is much more comfortable and geared right.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Turkey day ride to work. Not much traffic at all, and was eerily quiet. I saw almost no one on the streets, not a single person a bike, and very few cars. The rain stopped in the morning, and at one point, the sun was peeking out of the clouds. Temps got up to 62°F at one point, and for the ride home, it was 57°F. Not a single complaint about the temps, just the damn wind. Nearly knocked me off the bike twice. The rain jacket I had was total overkill. On the ride home I actually stopped and took it off, riding home only in a tech t shirt and shorts and gloves. Unreal for almost the end of November.


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## Guest (Nov 27, 2015)

We're at 19F and had a nice coating of ice pellets overnight. Think I'll wimp out and drive to Physical Therapy. My insurance would probably can me if I fell on my shoulder less than 8 weeks post surgery.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

newfangled said:


> Just yesterday I was thinking that this is winter #7 for me. And in the previous 6 years of riding essentially every day (I think I skipped two days in year 1) my maximum-minimum temperature was -31.6C(-25F). And that's not for lack of trying - I would go colder if I could. All told, that's not too bad for one of the coldest cities on the planet (alaska excepted).


I have the utmost respect for everyone on here who commutes and rides on a daily basis, whatever the weather, wherever you may be, you all rock!

However, Newfangled, that is properly hardcore! Whereabouts are you?

Hope the physio goes well forster!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'm in Edmonton, Canada, a couple hours north of Jeffscott, but way south of Alaska.

This morning we're at 25F, and supposed to be above freezing for the next week.

And edited to add:

Not sure anyone else has had this experience, but in my memory my first two winters were really tough - lots of snow, but also long stretches of really cold temperatures. And every winter since then has been "easy" to one degree or another. I'm not sure how much of that is true and how much is subjective (first two years I was on a walmart bike and didn't have great gear), but I'm constantly worried that _this_ year will be a real winter, like back in ol' aught-nine.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> And I decided that was a good idea...
> 
> 
> __
> https://flic.kr/p/BuVVgm


A DAMNED good idea!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rode to JJ in the pouring rain to deliver. Had the mindset that it was going to be miserable and it was. Blowing wind and cold rain on the face sucks. Gear was alright except for the shoes which were soaking. Novara rain jacket was a great purchase. They ended up not needing us today since the campus was pretty much shut down for the holiday. Ended up at the bike shop with my other riding buddy while he swapped out a new chain and cassette and chainring on his carbon Giant. Good times.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

The Turkey Cross was a blast though I nearly killed myself just trying to load the bike into the truck. The driveway was a sheet of ice. Got to the event at 9 am. The parking lot was slick, well, as ice because it was ICE. Luckily by 10 snow had started to fall and it provided some much needed traction. On my second lap, my glasses were covered in a layer of ice. So much that I missed a marker and ended up in my very own one man race. As luck would have it, I eventually found my way back to the exact spot I departed course at just as the three riders I'd been riding with came around on their third lap. It was a hoot and I really enjoyed riding the Nature Boy.

Today, in place of a commute and in tribute to all those foolish enough to actually go shopping, we did a White Friday ride. 35 miles of gravel goodness. Well, they tell me that under all the snow and ice there was gravel, somewhere. Temps were in the low teens. Kinda wish I'd have swapped the commuter tires for the studs. Woulda made staying upright a lot easier. It was exciting to say the least!









I'm the one furthest to the left.

I'm starting to think TenSpeed and I will make our mileage goals!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

z1r said:


> The Turkey Cross was a blast though I nearly killed myself just trying to load the bike into the truck. The driveway was a sheet of ice. Got to the event at 9 am. The parking lot was slick, well, as ice because it was ICE. Luckily by 10 snow had started to fall and it provided some much needed traction. On my second lap, my glasses were covered in a layer of ice. So much that I missed a marker and ended up in my very own one man race. As luck would have it, I eventually found my way back to the exact spot I departed course at just as the three riders I'd been riding with came around on their third lap. It was a hoot and I really enjoyed riding the Nature Boy.
> 
> Today, in place of a commute and in tribute to all those foolish enough to actually go shopping, we did a White Friday ride. 35 miles of gravel goodness. Well, they tell me that under all the snow and ice there was gravel, somewhere. Temps were in the low teens. Kinda wish I'd have swapped the commuter tires for the studs. Woulda made staying upright a lot easier. It was exciting to say the least!
> 
> ...


Well, you and I will motivate each other. I ended up driving to work after getting about 10 miles in. Will be working tomorrow as it is the last college home game. Also picked up a shift on Sunday for a driver who had to go out of town on an emergency. Weather should be nice but cold.

Congrats on the race and the Friday ride. Sounds like a lot of fun in the snow!


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

How are you guys keeping track of your mileage?


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

Today is my day off but I still rode on my usual route to work and back. 16.8 miles round trip. A bit wet here in San Antonio, TX. It is 43 degrees out currently.

Felt great not having to lug around a 40lbs backpack. Only a camelback with essentials.

Here is my hardtail 2016 Trek Marlin 6 29er. I have Schwalbe Big Apples 29 x 2.35 coming next week. Should help my commute a bit. Still waiting on my Lezyne 1500 lumen light to arrive at my LBS for those early mornings. Will sport my Serfas 155 until then.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

DavidM310 said:


> Today is my day off but I still rode on my usual route to work and back. 16.8 miles round trip. A bit wet here in San Antonio, TX. It is 43 degrees out currently.
> 
> Felt great not having to lug around a 40lbs backpack. Only a camelback with essentials.
> 
> Here is my hardtail 2016 Trek Marlin 6 29er. I have Schwalbe Big Apples 29 x 2.35 coming next week. Should help my commute a bit. Still waiting on my Lezyne 1500 lumen light to arrive at my LBS for those early mornings. Will sport my Serfas 155 until then.


Did the same thing today. Rode my commute route but instead of turning North where the two trails meet, I headed south. Turned it into a nice 33 mile loop with 1300 feet of elevation. The ice & snow coupled with the studded tires made for some slow riding. I'm beat today and the low teen temps didn't help.

However, I only have 448 miles to go.

I track my mileage with Strava. Makes it real easy to track mileage by bike too and it was FREE! Lol.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

DavidM310 said:


> How are you guys keeping track of your mileage?


I use my Garmin EDGE 810 to track my miles. I figure that it is about as accurate as Strava. I don't want to use Strava because it was sucking the fun out of my rides trying to compete for KOM's or whatever.

Super brisk morning ride to deliver. Ended up warming up a little but it was still pretty cold. Managed to ride a nice 27 miles total today, and with that, I am still trailing z1r. Picked up another extra shift for Sunday so hoping for some more miles. Weather is supposed to remain decent for the upcoming future so my goal should be met.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TS, yeah, but your goal is 1000 more than mine. My goal for next year will be the same as yours is for this year.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

z1r said:


> TS, yeah, but your goal is 1000 more than mine. My goal for next year will be the same as yours is for this year.


My goal last year was 2500. I surpassed that with a decent showing of 3120 miles. I didn't start seriously commuting until like halfway into the year. I also didn't track my miles quite like I have this year. On a side note, 3318 of my miles this year so far are on a fixed gear track bike of some sort (not all the same bike but all the same gearing). I surpassed my total miles last year just on a fixed gear bike.

I have no doubts that you will easily meet your goal. Best of luck to both us!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mileage tracking with a bike-mounted odo/speedo. When I rode multiple bikes I just put cheap computers on all of them and tallied them together. New batteries and reset the odometer to zero every New Years.

Yeah, I bet you felt good riding without that heavy backpack! Since you have a hardtail, you could very easily mount a rear rack and tote some or all of that weight in panniers or a tail bag. You would still have to lug the load, but wouldn`t be supporting it with your body. IMO, an empty rack on my hardtail didn`t get in my way much when mt-bing. You`ll feel headwinds more with panniers though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I use a Garmin Edge 500 and a mount on every bike. I use to do the separate computer thing but they are constantly getting broken, dead batteries, misaligned wheel sensor...Now it's just lost satellite, totally out of my control. Logged on Strava which I still enjoy. (3 KOMs over the weekend  )And speaking of logging mileage. *I just crossed 6000mi for the year*. Which makes it my biggest biking year ever. Not that it's all about the miles.

16F here this morning so I took the frozen trails. No snow in sight which is OK with me.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

We are getting a snownami here in MN, at least that is what the weather man says. So far about an inch on the ground, was an easy ride in the snow parted like the red sea. I lowered the PSI in my marathon winters to about 35psi, I also got out the safety vest and pogies.

During winter I use a safety vest since it is dark when I get in and when I leave, plus people get crazy during the winter when we actually have snow.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good distances guys! I don't track mine so much, more of a ready reckoner, but don't really deviate my route much. I've just crept over 1000 commute miles since September. 

I agree with Rodar on the load carrying thing. I used a backpack for a bit when I first started back commuting, had intended to stay that way but went back to rack mounted panniers. Much nicer, except for the drag area on occasion.

Wet, wet and wet this morning with a gusty wind. Temperature was about 8°C I think so ididn't bother with the waterproof layer. Clothes were dry by lunch. 

Lunch run was also wet. Ran past a bloke with his dog. They saw me coming and moved over, fair play. Dog lunged and nipped my arse as I went past. Man I rounded on that mutt and yelled at it. Owner was like wtf?!? but didnt really believe me when I told him. Ah well, no harm done I guess.

Looks like the ride home will be wet and windy.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Commuted in the car today - needed to run some errands that necessitated me being a cager.

Hoping to ride tomorrow - the weather forecast is +2°C and sun, so I might get away without running my speed and strength sapping winter tyres...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Go get`em, Bedwards!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

14 brutal degrees this morning. I spent the week in SoCal and came home to some crazy cold. Shock to the system. This was the Turkey ride... a little winter inspiration:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I want to do that! Sounds like our temps were pretty similar this AM.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

'twas my first "real" beach ride(s). Pretty cool stuff. I did one 22 miler and one 15 miler... I think all of my elevation gain was from putting the bike up on the hitch rack before I took the Garmin off of the bars :lol: Shorts...short sleeves... even at an 8mph average I was able to outrun the strange beach dogs... it was like a fairy tale :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Started the day a little rough. I was already running late, when I discovered the one side of my V-brakes had stiffened up over the holiday weekend and wouldn't retract. I lubed it and freed it up enough to ride to work, but I got a late start. Then I got to experience my first headwind on my new commute. It was not super fun, but I still made decent time. It just felt slow. I clocked in 13 minutes late, which I guess isn't terrible all things considered.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SUDDENLY SINGLE digits (9F) this morning after hitting close to 60F on Friday. A little bit of a harsh transition, but I was able to stay warm. Still on the cross bike, trying Conti Top Contact Winters (37) for the first time, hoping to delay/reduce the real studded tire riding. They were not needed today, but rain and low temps and ice pellets in the forecast. As others have mentioned, they are real hairy tires, I found them comfy but of course slower than the smooth 32s I had on. I did find the rear brake works better if you reconnect the QR straddle cable after remounting the wheel!

Cool beach dog and ride, CB.
Massive mileage Bedwards


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Was a chilly 33F when I left the house this morning. Quite cold for Las Vegas! I don't know how y'all do it when it's some of those single digits or lower temps, I'd wimp out and drive for sure. 

vegascruiser are you in Las Vegas? I'm in the NW part of town.


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

Today was a snow ride in Denver. 








And I love looking at the traffic on google maps during rush hour on a snowy morning. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Yes. SW part of town. Rainbow and Robindale area. 

Okay commute today for a Monday following a four day eat-feast weekend. 31F for my ride in today. Can't say I was cold as I always over dress and get to work soaked in sweat. I wear basically the same thing from 55-25F. If it goes under 25F (maybe six or seven times in the three years I've been commuting) I will wear a pair of sweat pants over my regular pants. The ride home was about 50F and the cold air really slowed me down. Just felt like I was peddling into a wall of cold. I'm used to the 60F+ winter rides home. Today's peddle home was my second worst time ever, with the first being only two minutes longer in blasting wind.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

50F and cold? Would love some 50's right now. Ride in to deliver was cold at 29°F and eventually it warmed up to about 41°F. Windy but nice out, sun was out and people were happy to be outside and smiling. Ride home was brutal with this constant east headwind. Still in the upper 30's but it just seemed a lot colder than that. Temps forecasted to remain in the 40's for at least the next 10 days. 

Making great tips delivering before work, and getting paid to ride my bike? Where does this go wrong?


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

We had + 4C last night and this morning - so very little ice today! I changed back to my Conti Speed King II s today (on my carbon wheels) and OMG the bike is transformed! It actually accelerates now... This was good. 

The bad? I think I'm getting ANOTHER cold...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Love the beach dog picture CB.

Ride last night was what gets referred to here as "blustery". Basically strong wind in seemingly random direction and strength. Imagine a rough sea, the troughs are almost no wind, the peaks are very strong and batter you.

This morning was wet again. Rain not heavy as such but was very wet rain, if you know what I mean. No wind tho' so too warm (maybe 6C/42F)for wet weather gear so was soaked when I got in.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Abnormally warm for Switzerland at this time of year - nearly 12C for the ride into work - and here was I pumping up the spiked wheel set ready for winter last week!

Been commuting with my CX bike (and 29er now and again) for the last 6 months, so thought I'd give the Trek Slash a run out, if only to circulate the Stan's milk in the tyres a little! After 5 months of not riding it, it was super weird to be back on the 26" monster truck - felt like I was a super quick steering magic carpet!

May hit some single track on the way home if it stays warm.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Simonns said:


> And I love looking at the traffic on google maps during rush hour on a snowy morning. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.


:lol: Are you able to avoid it (or some of it) by riding on bikepaths, or is it just that you can pedal past the backed up traffic?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

vegascruiser said:


> Yes. SW part of town. Rainbow and Robindale area.


Awesome you're alot closer to my favorite trails around Blue Diamond than I am, I'm close to Lake Mead/Rampart. It's 34 outside right now I need to go find my warmer gloves for the ride to work!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Great ride in. Brisk but nice. Only thing I didn't care much for was the ice. We had some melt yesterday and it refroze as sheets of ice along the path. Time to bust out the Nokians.

It is expected to get above freezing for the first time since last Thursday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

All these snow pics are tripping me out. It was around 50 with a heavy mist this morning. I got a little soaked, but at least it wasn't all that cold. We've dipped below freezing a number of times, but it's been relatively mild around here.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Crap ride in today. Over the holiday weekend we were in the 50's and windy. Our 6 to 18 inches of awesome snow? Gone. Melted down to ice three inches thick on the bike paths in town. Out in the valley the wind dried everything up, so not as bad there, but even with studded fat tires it is a bit slow going over the ice. Part of that may be that I'm not used to the handling of studded fat - still feel like I could have the wheels slip out from under at any time. 

I want my snow back!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Teens again for me this morning. I'm missing the beach dogs this week :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Last weekend a storm passed through and didn't calm down until yesterday afternoon. With a steady wind of 35kts and gusts upto 50kts I opted to take the bus. Today it was good to be back on the bike again but had to be careful since branches up to 10cm/4" thick were lying around. The way home was very nice, no wind and a nice clear, starry sky. Temps are hanging around 5-10C/mid 40ishF and no sign of winter yet on the 2week forecast, just rain on most days.

Wow blockphi, 3" of ice that really sux big time.

MTBxplorer: My Conti WinterContact IIs were very hairy at the beginning too. I thought the hairs would disappear after a while, but nope. Just in the middle they got a bit shorter. So after 500km/260m I took a sharp nailcutter and cut them off one at a time. Took me about 2hrs in total and after that, the floor looked like after "kojak-ing" a neanderthaler.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Well, much more eventful ride home - got to test out my tubeless setup - first real puncture in 3 years. Looks like my comment from this morning (above) was oddly precipitous!

Rode home with a friend and just as I was about to get to my apartment I heard a hissing sound - looked own to see Stan's sealant spraying out of a hole in the middle of my back tyre. Small puncture about 3-4mm across and 2mm wide - didn't seem to be anything in the hole. I spun the wheel a little and it seemed to seal up. Did a tour of the block for a mile or so and although a *very* small amount of air is still bubbling through the sealant, it looks like it'll hold. 

I think I'll deflate the tyre tomorrow and add in a bit more fluid through the valve, and hope it holds. 

Oh well - at least I know the effort I always put into tubeless setup on all my bikes is worth it - and I maybe have latent psychic ability!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

cyclingdutchman said:


> MTBxplorer: My Conti WinterContact IIs were very hairy at the beginning too. I thought the hairs would disappear after a while, but nope. Just in the middle they got a bit shorter. So after 500km/260m I took a sharp nailcutter and cut them off one at a time. Took me about 2hrs in total and after that, the floor looked like after "kojak-ing" a neanderthaler.


That would be an awesome chunkulatory additive for my homebrew tubeless goo.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Glad to have fenders today.

Lots of slushy snow all over the paths and roads.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

It's been raining pretty steady all day. Rain and temps in the 40s is just awkward, too warm for rain gear, slightly cold in anything else.

I'm going on record as saying I love the belt drive system, been riding it for over a year in all kinds of weather and I've done nothing to it. I don't even think about it anymore, I just check my tire pressure and ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was a good day to ride, rain/freezing rain caused many accidents and both interstates to close for a while. At lunch a poor lady I saw fell twice on the sidewalk/parking lot. By 5:30 when I left work at least some salt had been laid down, and I did not have any trouble once I got from the bike rack to the roadway. To get into the house, I had to go hand over hand up the icy ramp to my front door.

Stayed cozy in some Isis pants and the Showers Pass heavy jacket that is too warm in most rain but perfect around freezing. Stopped for pizza and to sit in "Daddy's Chair" sculpted in "Barre gray" granite by Giuliani Cecchineili, II. Sorry the chair does not show up very well.

And below is a TV news photo of some of the devastation from today's freezing rain...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Awesome you're alot closer to my favorite trails around Blue Diamond than I am, I'm close to Lake Mead/Rampart. It's 34 outside right now I need to go find my warmer gloves for the ride to work!


I love Blue Diamond as well. 9 miles from my front door to bike shop parking lot. Unfortunately I haven't been there since around January. Was going sometimes twice a weekend (and getting pretty proficient on navigating the trails as well) for two years prior to January. Too many family things keeping me away. The older my kids get the more things they get into which takes away my free time. . .

Warmer ride home today. And yes, Tenspeed, 50F for my 3:00 afternoon ride home is pretty dang cold by my standards. 41 years old and born and raised in Vegas. I would ride to work even if it was substantially colder (26F my personal best) than my coldest commute. I'd be buying gear though.

Now I do regularly commute in the summer time in 111-117F (probably hotter measured from street, etc.) without blinking an eye. Do it in long sleeves, heavy Dickies pants, and steeltoed boots.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Stayed cozy in some Isis pants...


I had no idea that brand existed, but I bet they've had a crummy year or two. :skep:

It's been warm here, but thankfully not warm enough to turn everything to slop. On the way home the buckle on my battery holder for my magicshine tore off on some singletrack. Luckily I had a backup light to go searching for it again, and I think with a needle and some fishing line I should be able to put it all back together.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Still cold. And now somewhat distressed by images of nail clippers and Kojak Neanderthalers :skep:



Marc2211 said:


> Small puncture about 3-4mm across and 2mm wide


Yowza! A "small puncture" for me is a thorn or a little piece of sharp wire. What constitutes a big puncture in your opinion?



mtbxplorer said:


> rain/freezing rain...
> fell twice on the sidewalk/parking lot...
> hand over hand up the icy ramp...
> 
> ...


The ice situation sounds punishing! Glad you had a nice filp side to your day to make up for it. No, can`t see the Isis Pants, SP Jacket, or Daddy`s Chair well, but the colors and reflections look neat- I love low light pics


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Yet another day as a cager for me... I was all set to go - had on my ride gear and everything! But... my two year old didn't wake up until 0745!! (We don't like to wake her up yet - we figure she's still young so she sleeps as long as she needs) That doesn't give me enough time to deliver her to kindergarten and bike to work. So off in the diesel pollution machine I go...

We had temps around zero and its snowing with around 2cm on the ground. It'll go over to rain later today, though... 

No biking tomorrow either (taking the day off to do some home improvements) or Friday (dropping the little one at her grandparents - right next to the office - so no time to bike)... Looks like Monday will be my next bike commute...

Great pics, folks! I love to see others and their commuting escapades! Even if it kinda bums me out a bit...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Bright warm (11C / 52F !!) and clear today; and I'm in the car. Overdid the sprint drills yesterday lunchtime and legs are really sore, fast twitch muscles I guess. Either way I wussed out. Guess I could get some xmas shopping at lunch.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

SlipSpace said:


> Bright warm (11C / 52F !!) and clear today; and I'm in the car. Overdid the sprint drills yesterday lunchtime and legs are really sore, fast twitch muscles I guess. Either way I wussed out. Guess I could get some xmas shopping at lunch.


As they say here in Norway; PYSE!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sissy? Yeah thanks Ghost.... :smilewinkgrin:


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Oh I gots more, but that one was the least insulting...

To be honest I feel the motivation draining away from me too, now that the ride to work and home again are both in the dark.

I am of the belief that each and every one of the guys here that commute through the winter on bike are badass.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Either badass or really dumb. Luckily we have not seen winter yet and it looks to be holding off for some time. I commend you guys and gals that ride in the cold rain. That might be the worst scenario for me.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Marc2211 said:


> Small puncture about 3-4mm across and 2mm wide - didn't seem to be anything in the hole.


I'm with rodar. That's kind of a big puncture. You might want to take the tire off and glue a patch from the inside. I've had punctures like this seal up, but eventually they would open up again.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Was fine. I had to get in my car and remove it from my parking lot so they could plow it, once I found parking I got on the bike and left.

The ground is quite icy here in my part of Minneapolis. The ped bridge I cross is got plenty on it especially in the center, the rear studded tire got a little sloppy on the ice but nothing crazy. I have to bike to class after work today so I will see how the roads are more then but I can take a bike road only across the entire city. The problem with this road (Nicollet Mall) is pedestrians cross it at all points and never look up from their phones.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yowza! A "small puncture" for me is a thorn or a little piece of sharp wire. What constitutes a big puncture in your opinion?


My thoughts exactly. That sounded more like a hole. Need some of MTXBs tire hair clippings to seal that baby up.

Winter is officially here because it was 34F with occasional rain this morning and it seemed warm compared to yesterday. I made the call to hold off on the studs and luckily I was right.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Well we had quite the warm up this morning. 50F on the way in so it was just a t-shirt and shorts for me. It's been in the low 30s for the last few days so this was a nice change. It's amazing how much faster I felt like riding when I wasn't trying to keep the extremities warm lol. Last week I ran over some crap in the road and got a flat front tire. Noticed over the weekend that I lost air in the rear tire as well through a slow leak and losing about 20lbs of pressure a day. Been just airing up at the beginning of the day but gonna have fix it soon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Uneventful rides today but had a really sh!itty day at work so I left early. Will have to drive tomorrow and maybe also on friday. 

BTW I track my mileage with a speedometer on the bike. That is not much of a hassle since I have onl 1 bike. Besides that I do not track mileage for me but rather for the bike, to know what could need maintenance next. So in the times that I have multiple bimkes, they all get their own speedometer.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Quite cold riding in this morning, with a lot of ice and snow on the trail. But, it was great to be on the bike. My fingers slowly defrosted and regained their feeling once I got onto the train.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

It was another cold morning but unlike yesterday, I actually saw some other bikers. Three in fact.

It is supposed to be a bit warmer this evening on the way home.

Less than 400 miles to go!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Either badass or really dumb.


I'll vote really dumb for me...

Ride in this AM was decent. A light snow came through last night, so a good 1/4 inch of powder over top of a mix of rutted and glare ice. Even with studs I had a couple of close calls.

Temps were good, though. 24F and calm. Hasn't warmed up at all today, though. Odd.

Went for a run over lunch today and took a good spill on some ice that I wasn't expecting (Duh...there's ice everywhere, why wasn't I expecting it?). I think it's going to make the ride home a bit less than pleasant. Lower back is quite stiff and sore and my booty is a bit tender as well.

4854.08 miles for the year to date.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Cool enough to want a jacket. Warm enough to get seaty. Windy. 

Commutes have been pretty standard here. I've gotten really used to riding the same route over and over and riding more than 12 miles at a time feels weird now, so I've been trying to mix it up by taking a longer way every now and then. 

Saw someone I used to work with yesterday as I was biking home. He insisted I should let him give me a ride. No dice. I've been cooped up enough since starting grad school.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Brisk ride to deliver, then a repeat of the other day where it was nice out. Shorts, jersey and arm warmers is so ideal for me!!! Ride to the second job was alright, windy and cooler. Rain came through with the threat of some flurries but only the rain prevailed. Wet roads for the ride home. Looking forward to the next few days as the highs are to be in the upper 40's with clear skies and lots of sun. The miles are coming along nicely and I should be able to clear my goal hopefully. On days I work both jobs, my total mileage is in the 30 range or so.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Yowza! A "small puncture" for me is a thorn or a little piece of sharp wire. What constitutes a big puncture in your opinion?





s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm with rodar. That's kind of a big puncture. You might want to take the tire off and glue a patch from the inside. I've had punctures like this seal up, but eventually they would open up again.





bedwards1000 said:


> My thoughts exactly. That sounded more like a hole. Need some of MTXBs tire hair clippings to seal that baby up.


Thanks for the insight and benefit of experience everyone - yep, in hindsight I guess it is a bit more than a small puncture! I think I was just being over optimistic as I am thankfully 'out of practice' on the puncture front since I converted everything to tubeless 

I re-pumped up the tyre just after and added some more Stan's, but it's not 100% sealed and I am still seeing some leakage ~15psi per day, with Stan's also still leaking from the hole. I am picking up a patch kit from by LBS on Saturday morning, and I'll get it sealed up properly.

Going to try one of the 'push through' fixes first (Sahmurai Sword), and if this doesn't work, put on a real patch inside the tyre - if I can avoid taking off the tyre completely and having to reseat, this would be ideal as they were a pain to put on!

Thanks again!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

The first day in a week that the temps haven't been in the teens and I couldn't ride in. Had to drive because I have to take my boys to basketball practice.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Another warm(er) commute this morning at 46F but you could feel the storm brewing in the air. Looks like it'll be a wet ride home today. Should be a good test of my current rain setup and the first water the new fenders will see. For you guys experienced with fenders do they tend to keep your feet dry/drier, or do you still tend to get some water blowing out around the edge of the fenders at speed? I've read some accounts that the water can blow out the edges right at your feet which would seem to defeat one of the advantages of fenders.

Edit - My fenders are SKS longboards which go almost all the way to the ground with the mudguards. If that makes any difference.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have the longboards as well, 28" in 52mm but they dont go all the way to rhe ground. I still get water on the bb area. Besides that the rubber flap is still too narrow so water spray around it on my feet. But for me the ral pita is, that the front one is too short at the top. In the dark I with my frontlamp on, I could see the water flying out horizontally forward, turning around after approx. 20cm/8" and then flying backwards onto y bike, light and pants upto my knees. I glued a 2nd piece on it, that solved the issue. Will post a pic on the weekwnd, no time before that.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Anyone have something like this happen locally?









These folks have no authority to do anything.

But I really don't relish the thought of all the noob fatbikers telling me that I'm breaking the "rules".


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yes, if they own it or groom it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Yeah, these folks do not. It's all public park space, and they just "speak" for cyclists...until they decide they want to start excluding certain cyclists. They're going to get an earful from me, because this goes way beyond whatever advocacy role they think they play.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

This afternoons commute only brought a little rain for about a mile. Warm enough that I wish I didn't have a windbreaker on. Ground was wet enough to see the effects of the having the fenders on but not enough to really see if it'll keep more or less of the water off my feet.

Today at work one of the ladies stopped me in the hall asking if that was me she sees riding in the morning. She went on to say that I was not only an inspiration to her but to others at work. Gotta say that was a pretty nice compliment to hear.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That section in red is only a strong suggestion. It does not appear that it is a rule set in stone.

Good commute in. Rode the carbon geared bike today just to show it some love. The bike handles and rides really well on the 25's. It seems like a tank compared to the much lighter fixed gear though. Working a lot the next week and the weather looks to be absolutely amazing for December. Poor car, sitting in the carport, filthy and neglected.....as I wipe my bikes down with Pedro's Bike Lust....


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> Yeah, these folks do not. It's all public park space, and they just "speak" for cyclists...until they decide they want to start excluding certain cyclists. They're going to get an earful from me, because this goes way beyond whatever advocacy role they think they play.


I say let 'em have it. Seems like BS to me. If they really wanted to do anything with advocacy they'd do something useful, not crab about stuff.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Big Fil said:


> Today at work one of the ladies stopped me in the hall asking if that was me she sees riding in the morning. She went on to say that I was not only an inspiration to her but to others at work. Gotta say that was a pretty nice compliment to hear.


Consider yourself lucky. Most people think that I only do it because I can't drive. Or sometimes I get to have weird interactions like:

"Aren't you that guy who bikes/walks down that road to work everyday?"

"Yep"

"Huh"

And that's about it. I'm just glad that probably the vast majority of people probably don't give two hoots about how I get myself around.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Apart from the days i'm being a pyse I often get people tell me I'm mad. Then I tell them about some of you guys and they're incredulous!

stupid question maybe, we don't ever get enough to worry about it, but what is groomed snow? We have a similar issue over here with opposing groups but usually it's the Ramblers/Walkers vs anyone else who wants to use the trails and paths.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

newfangled said:


> These folks have no authority to do anything.
> 
> But I really don't relish the thought of all the noob fatbikers telling me that I'm breaking the "rules".


Well... it doesn`t look that bad to me. Like TenSpeed says, They`re just sort of wishing, hoping, and requesting, not really threatening with any imaginary authority.



SlipSpace said:


> stupid question maybe, we don't ever get enough to worry about it, but what is groomed snow?


Smoothed and packed snow, usually done by machine. In this case it mentions ski trails at the top, but I guess some kind of bike trails could also be groomed.
Are you in England? I`ve been wondering that and finally have a good excuse to ask.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> Smoothed and packed snow, usually done by machine. In this case it mentions ski trails at the top, but I guess some kind of bike trails could also be groomed.
> Are you in England? I`ve been wondering that and finally have a good excuse to ask.


Thanks for that rodar. Don't need an excuse, I'm happy to share but yes I'm in England. A City called Norwich about 20 mile inland from the East Coast.









We don't get a lot of snow, last time we had maybe half an inch before the evening rush hour it was taking people 4 hours to do a 20 min journey! Country gets maybe a few days of settled snow a year. Don't anticipate any this year.

It is a relatively sheltered, albeit flat area, in this part of UK. I think our highest point is only like 300ft above sea level. North and west of the country is getting absolutely battered by rain at present, floods and flood warnings abound.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Well... it doesn`t look that bad to me. Like TenSpeed says, They`re just sort of wishing, hoping, and requesting, not really threatening with any imaginary authority.


Sorry, but I've have more than enough dogwalkers tell me that I'm "not allowed here" even though I am (and I say that as a dogwalker)

Not to mention the frequent "bikes don't belong on the roads!" of commuting.

The fact that a couple of racerdudes with connections to bikeshops are now trying to pretend that it's not "polite" to not have a fatbike is garbage. It's the complete opposite of what they should be doing, and I'm pretty sure restricting public trail access is the exact opposite of what the actual IMBA would actually want.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Anyone have something like this happen locally?
> 
> View attachment 1033375
> 
> ...


I think that message is for people that just don't know any better. If that happens to be you then stop it!  My guess is that it isn't because you have an interest in keeping the trails passable. There are a lot of people with no common sense that might go out on a warm day before a hard freeze and ruin the trails for everyone until the next snow. I generally call those people 4-wheelers but that's a different problem.

I'm on the board of a local trails system. We don't allow bikes on the ski trails we groom but haven't tried to enforce anything on the singletrack that gets naturally packed. Usually if it's soft enough to make ruts it's not fun to ride anyway.

Being cautious of some occasional icy spots on my non-studded bike this AM.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Its considered a poor show to ride the groomed ski tracks here in Norway in my experience. It ruins them and makes XC skiers unhappy. Whether its on a fat bike or regular bike.

Bedwards is right, too - if the snow is soft enough to rut up then it isn't any fun to ride on anyways.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Today's commute was a mild 46f and pleasant. Some moisture still on the ground from some rains last night. Didn't bring a jacket in today so glad I made it to work when I did. Just went to the cafeteria for breakfast and it's pouring outside. None of my 3 weather apps were calling for rain this morning. LOL weather apps seem to not work well around the Bay Area. I've always seen rave reviews about the Dark Sky app and it never seems to get it right.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Its considered a poor show to ride the groomed ski tracks here in Norway in my experience. It ruins them and makes XC skiers unhappy. Whether its on a fat bike or regular bike.
> 
> Bedwards is right, too - if the snow is soft enough to rut up then it isn't any fun to ride on anyways.


It seems to me that these people are considering themselves exceptional because they have fat bikes though. That's why it's bull. So if you ought not to do it even on a fat bike then you can't be on a high horse about others doing it on another type of bike.

Don't get me wrong, I think the average citizen should take responsibility for preventing others from doing destructive things on public property but if you're doing it too then you have no grounds for complaint.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> Anyone have something like this happen locally?
> 
> View attachment 1033375
> 
> ...


It's a challenge that we all face as winter cyclists. Locally, we have ski only trails that are groomed by an organization that is user-funded. While they cannot absolutely prohibit other users from using the groomed ski trails, it is considered about as rude as dropping a steaming pile of dookie on someone's dinner table during the holiday feast.

In addition to that, we have some trails that have only recently opened to any bike use at all in a state park and those bikes must have 3.5 inch or bigger tires and, if not, you can be cited. As a former skinny winter rider, it is rude to ride freshly groomed trail on any bike, but especially on a skinny. On single track... if it is packed enough to allow me to ride skinny, then as far as I am concerned it is fair game. However, if the organization is grooming it is wise to give it time to firm up, which is what the above states, so that the trails don't get grooved out, which is no fun for anyone. It's all just about being considerate since it seems like they are actually grooming these trails. If the trails were just being punched in by riders in a social setting, then it's a different story.

Good commute today. Fresh snow. Love fresh snow. Also rode a circuit of the lagoon - a nice addition to the normal route. Some fast, easy rolling on ice and snow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

blockphi said:


> In addition to that, we have some trails that have only recently opened to any bike use at all in a state park and those bikes must have 3.5 inch or bigger tires and, if not, you can be cited.


And that's what I was wondering. It's interesting to know that it is happening other places.

But just to be clear:

This is not a ski organization - it's a bike organization.
They don't do any grooming.
They have no authority to make policy.
And singletrack is not the same as groomed trails.

We have a few x-country ski areas with groomed trails, totaling maybe a few dozen kms of trails. NO bikes should be riding those trails, and a cycling organization has no authority to say "it's cool as long as you've got a fatbike."

We have hundreds of kms of singletrack. And this cycling organization is explicitly stating "It's strongly suggested that only fatbikes...be used on singletrack."

Their response was "There was some controversy over this but it is an IMBA rule so included." And that is garbage. So now I have to email the IMBA, and tell them that this bunch of bozos is invoking their organization to sell more fatbikes.

For anyone who's interested, here is IMBA's best-practice link:

https://www.imba.com/resources/land-protection/fat-bikes

Nothing about singletrack. And for ski trails it's "Only ride at ski areas that allow and encourage biking" which ours don't, because why would they? The local folks took this, and totally misinterpreted it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> It seems to me that these people are considering themselves exceptional because they have fat bikes though. That's why it's bull. So if you ought not to do it even on a fat bike then you can't be on a high horse about others doing it on another type of bike.


I was wondering about this. I grew up in Southern Ontario and lived in Ottawa 2 years then in a snow belt off Lake Erie for 16 years, so have some decent experience with snow. I am finding it hard to see how conditions along a whole trail would let a fat bike always ride on top with no ruts anywhere along the trial and a standard mountain bike tire always leaving ruts. And no, it would not be fun to ride while cutting ruts, but if it is the safest commute route, should a commuter risk life and limb in traffic to leave the trail to fat bikes only, if they are willing to cut those ruts? That seems to be an excessive request to me. Just my 2 cents.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

newfangled said:


> And that's what I was wondering. It's interesting to know that it is happening other places.
> 
> But just to be clear:
> 
> ...


In that case, if you feel comfortable riding the single track on your skinny, tell any fat-fooker (said as a 100% fat rider) to suck it if they have a problem with your riding. Not the best way to make friends, but if they are simply punching in the trail by riding it, not grooming and spending money to do so, then they have no cause to try to dictate who rides what on the trails.

That said, common sense and courtesy does go a long way. It's punchy snow try to stay off it. As the fat bikers should as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I think they need to have a tire pressure table that takes the outside temperature, tire width, and snow depth into account and then lets you set an optimum tire pressure to ride. There should be a cutoff for all bikes with the fatbikes being able to ride into slightly warmer temps/deeper snow. The gods with the 5" tires mounted on 100mm rims will be able to ride damn near into the summer at 2.8 PSI. BUT, if the trails are well packed and it's 0F I see no problem riding it with a 28C cross bike tire running 64.6 PSI. (Somebody might want to check my calculations.):skep:

Agree with blockphi. If you feel comfortable riding it then go for it. I still think they are just trying to keep the boneheads off the trail even if the delivery wasn't that PC.

It's about 45F here and I'm on my cross bike so I'm going to take the road. With yesterday's rain I'd rut up the trails too much.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Interesting topic but nothing to do with "How was your commute today?"

In the interest of not derailing this thread you may want to start a new one.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I commute on singletrack.

We really should have to roll a 20-sided die to determine powerups before anyone is allowed to ride.

But yeah, melting is actually what we're dealing with here right now too.

It was weird though, because late last winter a guy took a crossbike on the singletrack, and there was much grumbling from the fatbike community about the 1"x1" ruts he was leaving in the snow everywhere. But the truth is, it was super easy to ride over the stuff left by a crossbike. What really sucks is dealing with the 4" wide fatbike washouts that subsequently refreeze. Once that happens, there's no room for other lines. But from that entitled noob grumbling comes this.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Big Fil said:


> Interesting topic but nothing to do with "How was your commute today?"
> 
> In the interest of not derailing this thread you may want to start a new one.


Umm...If you go back through this thread for a couple of years you'll see that we often go off topic or discuss things that are tangentially related to commuting. Kinda the way this community rolls.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

OK my bad, i'll take your word for that only if you promise not to make me read all of the past 753 pages.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well...we'll let you off the hook this time...


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> Thanks for that rodar. Don't need an excuse, I'm happy to share but yes I'm in England. A City called Norwich about 20 mile inland from the East Coast.
> 
> View attachment 1033471
> 
> ...


Congrats to your city getting into England's top tier and holding their own.


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## my40thz (Nov 6, 2015)

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Glad this commuting week is done. First five day work week for me in some time and thus my first five day commute week as well in some time. Lots of huffing and puffing with a bike geared too low 32x16 for flat street riding. Gotta get my daily commuter (40x16) back up and running.

As for snow. It might snow in Blue Diamond (where I ride my singletrack) a few times a winter. And even then it starts melting off by day break. Very, very, very rarely 32F or below when the sun is out in these parts. Even rarer for it to rain during this occasion.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely loving this weather for commuting/delivering. Shorts, jersey and arm warmers that eventually come off. LBS ordered me in a Smartwool buff/gaiter and I gave it a test run tonight on the way home. I am gonna like this, a lot. Never had one before and this one, be it thin, is going to get some usage in this weather. 

After dodging busses, cars, white cord zombies while delivering, and then leashless dogs on the MUP and the occasional suicidal rabbit, my commutes have been pretty boring.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Pretty meh as usual. Rode to the bike shop after classes and working on things. My brother had another bike incident. Inn July he got hit by a car, no injuries, did a long road trip hours after. Today he had his bike parked outside of his work and someone hit it with a truck. Both times the people overwhelmingly wanted to pay for his bike to get fixed. This time it's no dice on fixing it. Bent the frame. Shame. It's a nice bike. Jamis Nova Sport or something.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wet ride in yesterday morning, drizzle all the way and a 10kt headwind wasn't any kind of ideal circumstances, although temps hit almost 10C/50F. Ride home was similar except it was dry.



cyclingdutchman said:


> ......Will post a pic on the weekend, ......


first of all I have to amend my previous post about this: I do not have the longboards but the regular ones, on which I mounted the rubber spoilers myself later on. Actually I thought the longboards were the same ones, on which the spoilers were installed factoryside already. 
Since somebody wrote that they end just above the ground, I might have been wrong about this.

Ok here is the evolution of my front fender:

1st one with original fender without modifications:








I then glued on a 2nd piece without any further support struts. Unfortunately, this rubbed the wheel when on uneven 








close-up of the double fender layer:








Later I mounted a lowrider on the front fork and the fender was just 5cm/2" short to reach it. Therefore I improvised a 2nd piece of fender on it, simply ducktaped it to try it out. I wanted to glue it on if it works, but it is already holding up 6 weeks and I am not going to touch it until necessary:








ducktape in closeup after 6 weeks:








attached to the lowrider with a simple tie-wrap. The holes were already in there, it was the part of the fender where the mounting bracket was riveted on. So I drilled out the rivets and done:








The coverage is more than fine for me now. There is still plenty of clearance between the tire and the fender, so sometimes some is flying out to the sides but it is marginal and for me, acceptable.

The rear one is fine for me as it is. I might glue a second part on it as well but only because there is now too much water spraying on the kids trailer. Somebody behind you will not be sprayed on.

I wonder if some manufacturer is going to pick up the idea with the lowrider mount.

And I also wonder about the fender evolution. I remember days where they were just as long as I made them now and they had a 3rd mounting strut. They are now shorter but more unpractible. Before I modified my fenders, I had muck on my legs upto my knees. This is now much better, I still get dirty shoe covers but that is no issue for me. That is why I wear them. And water tight is impossible. --however, the Dutch invented the socalled "coat protector" a long time ago already, but that kind of thing is not available for the front wheel... (I took a VERY typical Dutch example  ) :


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## Guest (Dec 5, 2015)

To your last point the rear "coat protector" is probably pretty easily duplicated, the issue on the front wheel is somewhat more complex because of the spray pattern difference (i.e. the rear wheel throws a wide splash rearward away from the rider while the front wheel throws the wide splash rearward toward the wider. Honestly, rather than "casing" the wheel on both sides, the better solution appears to be (limited experience here) using a lower and wider front fender that tapers narrower as you approach the fork crown. Because we're riding knobbed tires (for the most part), I don't think it would make sense to narrow the fender to a smaller width than the tire, but a little experimentation is always (as you have proven) a valuable thing.


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## my40thz (Nov 6, 2015)

Crashed after a big jump. Nailed it!!!
The bike is facing the opposite direction of travel I nose manualed about 4 feet before flipping over the bars.

Also wore my dogs down in a fast pace seven miler. 









If I ever find myself lost, I just change where I'm going.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ended up being a beautiful day to ride in. Traffic was fairly heavy due to a college basketball game just getting out as I hit the campus area. Bumper to bumper traffic in a few spots let me practice a pitiful attempt at trying to track stand. Getting really good at extremely slow riding and keeping my balance. Ride home had a freezing fog and black ice warning. The fog was starting to show up and there was no black ice that I could see. Drunk college kids roaming the streets off campus after the college football team clinched the B1G Ten Championship. Caught the end of the game at work (clocked out and watched the end). Avoided the near campus area by cutting through campus which was all but dead.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, the ride in was absolutely amazing. 49°F and sunny with little to no wind. Stopped at the local skate park and watched some kids tear it up on their boards and BMX bikes for a little bit before heading west the rest of the way. The ride home was freezing. Going to have to start wearing tights for the commute home now I think. Hands were doing alright but eventually got cold even in the warmest gloves I have. This is going to be a long winter once it starts for me. Seriously considering getting heated gloves that were mentioned on MTBR I think it was. They are on the expensive side but if they would keep my hands warm, it is a cost that I would be willing to pay.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I was late getting up and that rattled through everything this morning. It was 12C/54F so very warm for december!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Freezing fog advisory right now and the visibility is very low. Should make for an interesting late morning commute to go deliver. Will probably throw the front light on and run it on super blink to be seen.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

... In an ambulance...

Drove in to work today - well, I say drove...

I managed to drive straight into the back of another car this morning.

Wasn't doing more than 45 - 50 kph (he was doing 10 or so) so the damage is repairable to both cars and we (me and the other driver) walked away without injury & on good terms.

We both had to take a trip to ER just to be safe...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

my40thz said:


> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Wins the random ride post on the commuter forum that is not a commute with no description by somebody that doesn't usually hang out here seemingly posted 3 weeks after the fact award. :thumbsup:

Frost had accumulated on the road in a thick enough layer to be ice on a steep shaded downhill. I was riding my road bike with skinny little tires. Thoughts of the correct way to crash were going through my head. It all worked out alright. I think I may hang the road bike up for the season.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Playing catch-up here reading the last couple pages... We have a network of local snowmobile trails that are groomed, and I'll be the first person to ever ride them on a fatbike this winter... I'm assuming I'll be enough of a novelty that it won't be an issue, but this is good to glimpse the potential future...

I gambled and ordered some of these last week: http://www.amazon.com/4ucycling-Win...=1449505656&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=4ucycling

Total win. They fit awesome... I had to read a bunch of reviews for size guidance and wound up ordering the XXXL size :lol: bizzare Chinese sizing weirdness... but if these had a Pearl Izumi logo on them they'd be $200. Do yourself a favor...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Report back on fit and warmth. I've used a similar from Aero Tech Designs which have been great but list for $120 now. I got them for about 1/2 that 2 years ago. They are good down to the teens with a pair of cycling shorts under them.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> ... In an ambulance...
> 
> We both had to take a trip to ER just to be safe...


Yikes! That wins the exciting commute award for sure! So, no real injuries involved?



CommuterBoy said:


> We have a network of local snowmobile trails that are groomed, and I'll be the first person to ever ride them on a fatbike this winter... I'm assuming I'll be enough of a novelty that it won't be an issue, but this is good to glimpse the potential future...


Nice honor, there. Have fun! I`m reminded of the internet (mostly tall?) tales by early mtb-ers who rode PCT sections way back before there were enough mtbs for anybody to consider banning them.



CommuterBoy said:


> I gambled and ordered some of these last week: Amazon.com : 4ucycling Mens Windstopper Casual Outdoor and Multi Sporting Pants Fleeced : Athletic Pants : Sports & Outdoors
> 
> Total win. They fit awesome... I had to read a bunch of reviews for size guidance and wound up ordering the XXXL size :lol: bizzare Chinese sizing weirdness... but if these had a Pearl Izumi logo on them they'd be $200. Do yourself a favor...


Hmmm... tempting. Looks to be sold out in the middle sizes, but I might be able to fit okay in the minis. No joke about the weird sizing! Height and weight instead of waist and inseem? Funky.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm 6'2" and my normal pants size is a 34x34... I was worried these would be MC Hammer style baggy going with that big size, but they fit really good. I was also worried they'd be short after reading reviews, but they're not. Not tight, not baggy. My legs are, of course, chiseled and manly, so you'll have to take that into consideration. They may be Hammer pants on all of you :lol: 

Low 40's this morning for the first ride in them, and it was a sweat fest...overdressed by a long shot. Shouldn't have worn them. The windstopper stuff really works well. Freezing temps in the forecast for later in the week, so I'll keep you posted. I'm confident that these with the winter tights under them will be a warmer combo than anything I've ever worn on the bike.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Well after soo much fun riding the AM bike this weekend the commute was rather unexciting. Ground was wet and it appears to have misted long. Temps were in the low 50s so pretty pleasant ride in this morning. My bluetooth speaker ran out of batteries so looks like no tunes for the ride home. Guess it helps if I charge it more than once a week lol. Didn't have the right USB connector at work to charge it .


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm 6'2" and my normal pants size is a 34x34... I was worried these would be MC Hammer style baggy going with that big size, but they fit really good. I was also worried they'd be short after reading reviews, but they're not. Not tight, not baggy. My legs are, of course, chiseled and manly, so you'll have to take that into consideration. They may be Hammer pants on all of you :lol:
> 
> Low 40's this morning for the first ride in them, and it was a sweat fest...overdressed by a long shot. Shouldn't have worn them. The windstopper stuff really works well. Freezing temps in the forecast for later in the week, so I'll keep you posted. I'm confident that these with the winter tights under them will be a warmer combo than anything I've ever worn on the bike.


Thanks, I'm 6'0-1" 168 & wear 32x34. Not sure if I should go for XL or 2XL. Length is probably more important than fit as long as they don't fall down. How's the waist? Have no worries, my legs are plenty chiseled. I'm glad to hear they are not tight or I'd worry that my tree trunk quads wouldn't fit. They look worth a try.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Waist is sort of a non-issue because they have a drawstring in addition to the elastic. Mine fit me great with just the elastic but I'm glad the drawstring is there. I almost wonder if all the XX's are waist related, and the S, M, L is length related? or vice versa? There has to be a system to the sizing. If you look at their weight/height thing, it's like as the X's go up, you just have to be somewhere near 6'1 and weigh more and more to go with more X's in the size...but being 6'1 is a given :lol: I'd guess that they use the same length for all the bigger sizes, and just make them bigger in the waist.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Look for other vendors on Amazon also... mine were Prime eligible and came in 2 days... others ship from China.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Just a regular Monday commute. About 41f for ride in and 61f for ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, a beautiful undercast this morning (clouds down low, just the higher peaks in the clear), with freezing fog, and a dusting of snow at 24 F. Above freezing for the ride home, way above normal for 12/7.


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

Great commute this morning, 42 degrees with no wind at 5:50am. I rode on my new Schwalbe Big Apple 29x2.35 today and they rode amazing. I was able to use the gears to its maximum range with higher speeds. Cut my commute down by 10 minutes over mtn tires. I also locked out my new fork as well as the weight savings from it. 

Commute home was also great. Minimial winds with temperature in the low 60s. Cut my commute by 12 minutes. 

Very suprised and pleased swapping tires and losing 2lbs on the fork could improve my time by so much.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ghost - glad to hear that you are both doing alright. 

Fog never really lifted today. It was eerily impressive and kind of depressing at the same time. Lunch delivery was really busy and with 3 of us on bikes, in 3 hours we managed to nail down 56 deliveries. Apparently we are one of the top 5 busiest corporate stores across the country. Tips were really good for the day and no complaints at all.

Ride home was pretty sketchy. Super fine mist was falling, or wait, was that still the fog? Visibility was really low and got worse the farther east I travelled. MUP was pretty creepy and visibility was no more than 25 feet or so. Cygolite Metro 400 up front and I couldn't find a happy medium. Flash was useless. Lowest solid setting was useless. Brightest solid setting was more than useless. Middle solid was still too bright but left me no option. There is a dense fog advisory now until 11AM Tuesday.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Thanks guys, Im ok. A little sore in my back is all.
Biggest injury is to my pride...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

DavidM310 said:


> Cut my commute down by 10 minutes over mtn tires. I also locked out my new fork as well as the weight savings from it.
> 
> Commute home was also great. Minimial winds with temperature in the low 60s. Cut my commute by 12 minutes.


That's some difference there! Worth the effort for sure.

Rain here today. Too warm for the waterproofs tho' so was soaked when I got to work. Rung out my gloves and socks and put on the tube heater with my shoes. Should be dry by hometime ready to get soaked again.....

Rain is forecast most of the week, we are saturated for sure. In the north of the country, the Lake District, they had three months worth of rain in 38 hours!! Not a happy place to be, 1000s of homes flooded, 10s of 1000s without power; river and roads washed away although amazingly "only" 3 fatalities so far.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Freezing fog with very low visibility this morning - so I took the CX bike! Uneventful ride other than leaving a few mins too late and hitting 'professional' dog-walker hour. It was quite amusing to see a pack of 20+ dogs being chased by their 'keeper' emerge out of the fog in front of me! Leaving work early tonight, so hopefully it won't be too cold for the ride back.

Sadly my puncture from a few days back looks like it is worse than first thought - when I cleaned out the 'small hole' with the tool provided, it looks like there's a decent sized tear under the initial puncture mark - I'd guess at ~1.5 cm . I bought a 'sahmurai sword' type bung/filler kit at the weekend and put a large patch in, but due to the shape of the tear it really wasn't very snug. It failed this morning - the bung has come out of the hole overnight, with sealant sprayed all over my basement... I'll probably just buy a new tyre at this point. I love the Bontrager XR2 on all fronts, but now I really wonder about durability (despite it being my 3rd, and never having had previous problems).

A very boring video from last month showing some of the route I took this morning:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> Rain is forecast most of the week, we are saturated for sure. In the north of the country, the Lake District, they had three months worth of rain in 38 hours!! Not a happy place to be, 1000s of homes flooded, 10s of 1000s without power; river and roads washed away although amazingly "only" 3 fatalities so far.


Sorry to hear, Slipspace, hope nobody else is found missing or gets hurt in the aftermath. I know it will be a long slog for some of those people.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I heard about that flooding on BBC. Best wishes to you and yours, SlipSpace.

Beautiful night tonight weatherwise, but pitch black. I was looking forward to the ride in, fell asleep listening to the radio for "just a minute" before leaving and woke up 15 minutes before I was supposed to punch in. Drove instead (didn`t have to scrape my windshield) and clocked in 2 minutes late. Aaaalmost pulled it off!!!



DavidM310 said:


> I rode on my new Schwalbe Big Apple 29x2.35 today and they rode amazing.
> 
> Very suprised and pleased swapping tires and losing 2lbs on the fork could improve my time by so much.


Nice. What tires did they replace?



Ghost_HTX said:


> Thanks guys, Im ok. A little sore in my back is all.
> Biggest injury is to my pride...


Good to hear!



Marc2211 said:


> A very boring video from last month showing some of the route I took this morning:


No, not particularly exciting, but it sure looks like a pleasant ride 

For a hole that big, I`m not surprised the plug didn`t take. If you can clean out whatever tubless slime you`re using, maybe a boot glued to the inside of the tire could save it? Worth a try.


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice. What tires did they replace?


They replaced Bontrager XR2s.

Another great commute this morning. 29 minutes for 7.74 miles.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Back in saddle finally!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sorry to hear about the flooding and car accidents! No good! 

Super calm and warmer than usual this morning... the calm before... "winter storm watch" for tomorrow and Thursday... the wind part is a little intimidating:

* WINDS: STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY
MORNING. SOUTHWEST 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 65 MPH. RIDGE
GUSTS UP TO 90 MPH. DAMAGE TO TREES IS POSSIBLE.


Time to see what Strava segments that wind might cooperate with :lol:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> Back in saddle finally!


Yay!!! :thumbsup:

^ CB good luck with that!! The haters will moan that you used a motorbike or something. 
Remember you're gonna have to grind it out one way though


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Like CB my commute was calm and warmer than usual at 54f. Tonight the rain is supposed to start and go off and on thru Thursday. One of the guys at work said he saw me this morning going down the hill and thought I was a motorcycle. Good to know the light and tail lights are doing their jobs.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute today after a bummer one yesterday - write up on that here.

Temps in the mid-single digits this morning, so I decided to swap back to clipless after yesterday's attempt to ride flats with boots due to the -5F in the morning. Glad I did, I think. Feet were fine - a bit chilled by the time I got to work, but not bad at all.

I feel like this winter I have been able to wear a lot fewer/lighter clothes than in past years, particularly on my hands and feet and I wonder if running has had any effect on that directly (both my feet and hands have become a lot more vein-y than they were before I started running and we know that running, specifically, promotes capillary growth and expansion) or indirectly just through being lower in weight, thus more efficient or less constricted in overall blood flow. At any rate, I like that even in the single digits I am able to wear a light liner glove and my uninsulated overmits and my fingers are almost too warm. I am still amazed at how much less clothing I can wear while running in cold temps when compared to biking, though. Cra-cra. Went out for a run at 3 degrees last night wearing a single light layer top and bottom and super thin liner gloves and was perfectly warm the whole time - to the point I had to roll up my sleeves to keep from over heating. If I could just bottle that for the bike ride!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Wind chill, man. Can't duplicate those speeds when you're running. I have a friend I see out running sometimes when I'm riding to work, and he's always commenting on how much I'm wearing, when he's out there being hardcore in a single layer or whatever... I'm always telling him if I was that slow I'd be dumping layers too.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Wind chill, man. Can't duplicate those speeds when you're running. I have a friend I see out running sometimes when I'm riding to work, and he's always commenting on how much I'm wearing, when he's out there being hardcore in a single layer or whatever... I'm always telling him if I was that slow I'd be dumping layers too.


Who you callin' slow? I'm fast as a gazelle when I'm running ...in my head

There is certainly the wind-chill factor, but there is also the overall higher level of physical work - full body rather than primarily lower body - so the furnace burns a lot hotter.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Kleebs: very good!
Blockphi: .......
Ghost_htx: get well.soon!
Slipspace: ooff sounds tough....

Nice day here too. Sunny, little wind and too warm on the way home. Was completely sweatsoaked althoigh I opened my jacket along the way.....


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Thanks guys, Im ok. A little sore in my back is all.
> Biggest injury is to my pride...


Glad you're doing OK Ghost! Might be worth going back to the Dr. And have your back checked out. I've heard people don't know they've injured their back until well after an accident. Just a thought I'm no expert 

Sent from my LT28at using Tapatalk


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Amazing ride in. It was in the 40's. I wore shorts, a long sleeve jersey, and my wind shell. It of course was a trade off; nice warm temps but windy as heck!

Just 330 miles to go, lol.


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

z1r said:


> Amazing ride in. It was in the 40's. I wore shorts, a long sleeve jersey, and my wind shell. It of course was a trade off; nice warm temps but windy as heck!
> 
> Just 330 miles to go, lol.


I feel I received the same fair treatment today on the ride home. In the lower 70s with a bit of wind. Most of my commute is exposed road and not many buildings to break up the wind. 
In all fairness it just makes me stronger. I remember struggling on the last hill before my home. The first few times I got off the bike and had to walk/jog. Now I am able to push through at a somewhat moderate pace.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great day to ride in. Temps from the ride in and home only varied by 2 degrees. That made me really happy. Temps forecasted to be near 60 by the weekend, and guess who is working the rest of the week?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

second coldest ride of the year so far, 3C/37F, actually bright and clear for a change. Just how I like it.

Regards the floods in the North, thanks for the thoughts, worst is over, for now....

Blockphi, interesting comment about the running and overall body temp, I agree. I'm a runner too and wear only shorts and vest whether its 0C/32F or 27C/80F. Currently on the bike I wear a tee, padded top and sometimes a hat under my helmet, still shorts though. The windchill and work rate is definitely a factor though. Running, couple of minutes and I'm up to temp, biking can take 10min or more depending on terrain.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

First case of frost-beard this morning for the year. This is the latest I remember this ever happening. Other than that it was an uneventful ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Waist is sort of a non-issue because they have a drawstring in addition to the elastic. Mine fit me great with just the elastic but I'm glad the drawstring is there. I almost wonder if all the XX's are waist related, and the S, M, L is length related? or vice versa? There has to be a system to the sizing. If you look at their weight/height thing, it's like as the X's go up, you just have to be somewhere near 6'1 and weigh more and more to go with more X's in the size...but being 6'1 is a given :lol: I'd guess that they use the same length for all the bigger sizes, and just make them bigger in the waist.


Nevermind. My wife reminded me that she bought me that exact pair for X-mas last year and they fit like a sack. We returned them and got a smaller pair and they didn't reach my feet. She kept those for herself. I'm glad somebody remembers these things. I'll agree that they were very nice pants and wish they fit. She loves them. (thought I posted this yesterday)

MTB commute in this AM on my 29er with new wheels that shed 1.5lbs. Despite some less than fresh legs I clocked my fastest Home To Work MTB commute.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Big thaw/freeze last night, and chance of freezing rain today, but I figured I'd risk it and take the one unstudded bike. And I had a fine ride, until the very last hairpin turn into my parking lot, when the bike went down. And tore my magicshineclone batteryholder again.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well you're missing out on the hammer pants bedwards. 

Bummer newf... I hate the studded/unstudded gamble... seems like I always get it wrong :lol: 

Nice tailwind and KOM for me this morning :lol: 
It will be a ripping headwind with stinging rain for the ride home.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> .....
> MTB commute in this AM on my 29er with new wheels that shed 1.5lbs. Despite some less than fresh legs I clocked my fastest Home To Work MTB commute.


Road my "road bike" (Ridley Cross fire with 25's) in yesterday because my commuter had a flat. I got a KOM on my way home last night on the hill leading to my house.

Rode it again today because my kids had basketball last night and I didn't have time to fix the flat. My ride in was 42 minutes versus 48 on my commuter. Amazing what a difference skinny, light tires (or rims) makes.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I want Hammer pants! 

Good ride in this AM, but one of those ones where it is impossible to really dress right. It was 26 in the valley and 10 in town. I didn't want to wear a second layer on the legs, knowing that I'd be way too hot and sweaty on the bus and then would absolutely freeze once in town. I don't think my fellow bus riders would be too happy with me if I whipped off my pants to throw on a second layer. I think maybe I need to look at investing in some tights that I can throw my looser bike pants over for days like today. I'm just a bit loath to wear tights. Lycra at all, really. But that might be the only way to really accommodate the need for different levels of layers at the two ends of my commutes. 

Beyond that, the riding was good. The lagoon is proving to be some good riding right now. Lots of fresh hoarfrost each morning and evening right now to refresh the surface. Good times. 

Down to less than 60 miles to go to hit 5K for the year. A touch less than half of my total 2014 mileage, but I'm happy with it. I think I may try to shoot for 5200 just to say I averaged 100 miles a week, which is pretty good given the amount of time I worked from home this year and the reduction in biking in favor of running.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Let's be fair... who doesn't want hammer pants? 

I have the Sugoi "subzero" tights (basically a light fleece inner lining) and they are great under a second layer... no one has to know. 

and that's big miles. Absolutely crazy that anyone (much less someone in Alaska) could hit 10K in a year. 5k is huge.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Let's be fair... who doesn't want hammer pants?


Apparently I didn't.....Recalculating.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ride on/rock on Blockphi, pix please.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Disappointing this morning. At the roundabout at 302/2 (bedwards), I entered with decent speed as I did not have to yield. Two "spokes" later, got cut off by an entering car who did not even look, and had to brake to let it in. Hoped the unmarked state police SUV parked/hovering at the adjacent rotary exit for scofflaws would pull out and pull over the car for such rude driving, but no, it remained in place. I shoulder checked twice, one to see if the cop would pull the over, and once to glare for them not getting pulled over. Sigh, almost wish I had just plowed into the side of the car as I had the ROW.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy but really nice. Cannot complain about the weather at all. Delivered in a jersey and shorts and was breaking a sweat. Ride to both jobs and home was really nice. Jacket and lightweight gloves for the ride home. Miles are coming along nicely and I might have passed z1r now.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. A bit tired with dead legs. Temps in the mid-20s on both ends of the ride, so that was nice. Other than that, nothing to report. 

I'll try to get some pix on tonight's ride before the light goes away for the day


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bummer MTBX! Insult to injury. That's frustrating. 

So we're now officially under a 'winter storm warning'... which sometimes means absolutely nothing, but occasionally means we get actual weather. It dumped rain all night, and it's supposed to get cold and snow some tonight. Got some epic wind for the commute yesterday, and today a double bonus... strange break in the storm right as I left my house, no rain for my 50 minute commute, and a ripping tailwind (and another KOM :lol for me... first 7 miles of the ride were glorious, the final 5 were trying to keep it in the double digits with a howling headwind.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Windy today, 15-20 kts blasting me in this morning and blasting in my face on the way home. Although we had 5-6CC/40-44F, it felt darn cold. I guess it was the wind in combination with high humidity. 

At home an early Xmas present was waiting for me: A bikestand that I so desperately needed already the entire year. Since I converted to dropbar in January, I was unable to put it upside down on the ground and ever since when I had to take out a wheel or something, I had to lay it flat down on the ground or garden table. Not very practible. I tried it out after diner and the whole thing looks and feels stable. It weighs pretty much too - I guess at least 10kg/20lbs and it is pretty bulky even when folded. But it is just sitting in the basement, those last thing will be no issue. Now the problem is, there is nothing to do on the bike at the moment....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Heavier load than usual in the backpack today due to offsite training, necessitating clothes, lunch, shoes, notepad, bikelock, workphone, etc. in addition to my usual pint of coffee and thermos of ostmeal (ctually I ran out and had grits today). Other than that and having to leave about 45 minutes earlier than usual, it was fine. Still mild, showers and about 35 in the a.m., cleared and 42 in the afternoon. Still no snow, other than an inch or less here and there, highly unusual and not good for VT's ski driven economy. Luckily the multitude of microbreweries are taking up the tourism slack.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ It's all out west! It's our turn. Wooot!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ The snow tires on on both cars, so it will likely be a brown Christmas here.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ It's all out west! It's our turn. Wooot!


Yep some kind of super el nino on the way this year they say! :thumbsup:

Had a rare uphill tailwind on the way home tonight which was nice, been commuting on the bike usually 4 out of 5 days for the past few weeks, feeling good! Wind picking up, supposed to rain tomorrow, going to drive, need some stuff at the store anyway.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ It's all out west! It's our turn. Wooot!


Viva el Niño!

Woke up to a white carpet this evening, still falling a little. More than we`ve had for a few years, but still not THAT much compared to what I`ve gotten used to as an average over my lifetime.

I drove in last night as was really glad to have intermnal combustion when I left work this morning. After twelve fairly brutal hours I was bushed, and it was wet and rainy. Twelve more comming tonight, and several inches of sloppy snow- if I had my studs on I would probably ride in and enjoy it, but they`re still out in the shed and I`m not about to screw with them. Looks like the drive of (psye?) shame for me again.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Warm commute today with the ride in topping 60°F on my Garmin. Unreal for near mid December in Michigan. This whole el Nino thing, yeah, this can stick around. Ride home was really windy. Wanted to do some extra miles since it was only 48°F but I need to save my legs for Friday and the weekend. This is the last weekend on campus before finals. We get really busy apparently, and I want in on the action. We are less than a mile from the campus library, and even during the regular week we are there quite a bit. From what the manager said, it is non stop back and forth with three, four and even five orders at a time. There is very little car parking so the drivers don't usually go. This is going to be awesome!!!

Friday marks 12 days in a row at the hospital. I am pretty sure that I rode to work every single day of that stretch. I may have driven the first day and honestly it is a complete blur to me. Going out like a boss by delivering before work and then 8 hours at work. Weekend is my off time but I will be on that bike again. Good times my friends, good times!!


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

My commutes have always been uneventful...

Had a flat on Tuesday. No big deal, but in five years, this is the first flat I've had, anywhere, anytime, period. For commuting I use Geax Evolutions, and they have been bulletproof. Alas, a very small, very pointy piece of glass said ENOUGH!

If only it had ended there. I was pumping the new tube and got to a point where it didn't seem like the pressure was increasing. I set about to reseat the pump, and double-checked that the valve lock was fully open. It spun right off and into the dark oblivion that was the grass I was standing in. Huh.

A few more minutes into pumping air into this new tube and I now hear air leaking out the valve. I again set about to reseat the pump and woosh, the whole core shot out, off into that same black oblivion. Thank you quality control, in 31 years I've never had a Presta core issue, I guess a core tool is going into my tool kit now.

Then came Wednesday. I've only ever had one previous commuting crash, and that was when I was commuting to high school (really commuting, 10 miles) and was doing a track stand at a light to impress a car full of girls that went to my school. Yeah, that was fun. For them.

My commute home is a joyous affair in exercise and solitude at 4am. I routinely hit up a park along my route that has a nice, wide paved path that is great for riding by moonlight alone. At the end I approach from it has a maintenance access gate with a gravel walk around. The park has a single main entrance, but I don't want to go to the far end then do an out and back. Once through is enough and I the main entrance has some benches, making a nice stop after I ride through the park.

I've been dismounting for the gravel walk-around for years, but recently found the confidence to ride it. It's not an easy maneuver. The road banks to the left and the gate comes up on the right. The park is about 10 feet below the road, so the edge of the road goes from an incline to a decline in the space of about 1/2 foot.

The gate is set back 8 feet from the road, with the walk-around on the right side. One can't enter the walk-around directly from the road due to bad road condition and some bushes, so I ride past and turn around.

To make it interesting, there is an 18 foot rail that divides the access road from the walk-around, and it extends 3-4 feet past the gate, so while you've got plenty of room turning in at the gate, you've only got 4 foot between the end of the rail and the road, and the walk-around is about 2.5 ft wide.

Gratuitous sketch for reference:









I usually make the large loop across both lanes as you can see in the image above, but that night, there happened to be a car passing in the opposite direction as I reached the gate. I compensated by staying in my lane, which forced me to make that sharp transition from incline to decline while in the middle of the turn, which pushed me closer to the gate. I was not able to recover, had too much angle entering the walk-around, went wide, and a few small trees whacked my right hand, then a larger one stopped the bar cold, and the front end did what it is always want to do in that situation .

The walk-around consists of medium gravel with a few embedded rocks sticking up a few inches, and is shaped like a lazy half-pipe, so the bike goes right and up, and as my fragile parts are nearing the top tube, I've still got about a 6 inches left between my left foot and the ground. I'm not moving all that fast so my brain is scrambling for the safest out, but I'm running out of options quick. I reach for the divider, my targeting system skewed by carrying more momentum than I was expecting, and miss the rail. The bike keeps rotating, so I don't shatter my delicate parts on the tube, but my left foot comes down hard, and I don't have the strength or angle to keep myself upright. I end up pole-vaulting off the leg and coming down on the same knee, sliding a bit on it and the other one to ensure a proper crash. What glorious pleasure.

While my brain was successfully failing to handle my downward spiral, it decided to ignore my right foot and leg, which were successful in hooking the bike and tossed it up so I could be surprised when it bounced off my back and landed in front of me. It came to a stop with the bar light pushing all of it's glorious 2200 lumens right to to the back of my brain case. If there had been someone behind me, I'm fairly certain they would have seen a glow pushing through the hair on the back of my head.

I know what it feels like when a chunk of hard aluminum hits you in the eyeball while blasting a trillion billion photons right through your soul, and I can't say I ever want to experience it again. I'm fairly certain God was laughing while I fumbled around for a minute or two before I figured out it would be a bit before my vision returned. With that realization, I reluctantly lay at an odd angle against the divider, my bike laying half on me, photons fighting for entry into my soul, unable to extricate myself from an immensely embarrassing situation, not knowing who might drive by and shake their head at the idiot just off the side of the road?

Alas, there was no real damage. Not even my pride, as I lost that decades ago. The bar was rotated a bit to the right, an easy fix. I'm sure a pedal was scratched, haven't check yet. Paint is still there, including on components. Helmet looks new, no cuts in my clothing. Beyond the hilarity of my condition, I think God wanted me to ride on. He knows I get bummed out if I can't get in at least an hour during my commute home. I rode gingerly for a minute while checking derailleur functionality, noted the bar was askew, and rode on to the benches at the other end of the park. Replaced the batteries in my helmet lamp as they were about dead, then stared at the stars and drank water as I always do.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice story, I especially enjoyed the part about your light. That's a rough couple days, be careful tomorrow!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

flamingtaco I was right there with you dude, except I lol'ed you probably didnt.  Bike landing on you, a trillion billion photons in the eye.... Hope you're not too sore this morning!

No bike yesterday, Works doo at knocking off time so got a lift. Awoke this morning feeling a cold coming, sore throat, blocked nose etc. Rode in and feel a damn sight better for it.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

With it being dark on the evening commutes, I can now can that see everyone is driving while staring at a mysterious glow coming from their lap.

Mysterious, I say.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Great story, Flamingtaco.

My commute yesterday was 7 hours on a bus, which was fun (although it is a nice bus).

This morning light snow started falling just before I headed out. Second snowfall of the year, but we're right around freezing so I didn't expect it to amount to much, but as I got to work it was doing a decent enough job of coverage.

With the warm weather that we've had, the trails have been threatening to turn into sheet ice. So a little snow, plus cooler temperatures next week should keep things in good shape.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Had to take my car to the DMV to renew my registration, was actually fast and painless at the new facility they put in near me. I'm pretty loathed to spend any money on my car at this point, at 7 years old and 25k miles I just don't use it very often and my driving habits are still going down. Think I might sell it next year and buy a cargo bike like the Bullitt.

After the DMV I drove home, past my office, got on my bike and rode back to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Flamingtaco said:


> My commutes have always been uneventful...


I was thinking that your story was way too long to read but it got good reviews, so I did. . Funny stuff. Amazing nothing was damaged. I think I need a picture to visualize the crash site. A picture is worth 1000 words, you were close. :lol:

The weather here is whacky warm for December in Maine. Not much more to report.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Viva el Niño!


Nah I am not so sure. After a strong el nino we always seem to get a wet spring here in europe, so I am not so sure whether I like it or not.

Flamingtaco: sorry to hear about your crash but the way you describe it made me laugh! Sounds hilarious how you describe it. Glad that you and the gear are allright.

Drizzle all the way in this morning. At least less windy than yesterday. Made a 7km/4m detour on the way home to stop by the next lcs*. Wind had picked up again but the route was mostly sheltered but the route I picked was very muddy, so bike got all dirty again. 1km/0.5m before home I hit a pothole in the dark that made my rearwheel shift in the dropouts and rub the fender a bit. Instead of messing around in the dark, I rode home after checking that it did not rub the frame. Will fix it tomorrow - finally a reason to build up the new bikestand.

*local cheese shop


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Uneventful ride in this morning. Ground was still wet from last nights rain and it quite a bit colder than most o the week. I'm guessing it was in the low 40s compared to the low 50s we've been having. I did get a chance to use the new light I purchased. It's mainly a helmet light for trail riding, but with more rain in the forecast over the next week I figured i'd test it out on a commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Drove today so I could pick up my old Litespeed MTB winter commuter (at the not-so-local bike shop) that I have not needed so far this "winter" (hit over 50F today). It looks shiny and has new bars and new BB7s with stainless hardware, and a bunch of maintenance done! Despite driving I got plenty of exercise anyway lugging boxes up stairs and pawing through papers the rest of the day.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> After the DMV I drove home, past my office, got on my bike and rode back to work.


Respect.

Another great day to ride. Windy as all get out this morning but it died down to a tolerable level by noon. It hit 60°F at one point today. Jersey, shorts, fingerless gloves.....seriously??? No complaints at all. Will be back at it in the morning again.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Commuted in the hire car today. Was working in Ghana last week and seem to have eaten something that didn't agree with me... Cue stomach pain, lack of appetite and, well, other "un-pleasantnesses"...

I can feel my legs atrophying...

Cool story Flamingtaco!

As to my back - it seems to have gone over now, no more soreness or stiffness... 

I also found out that the car is a total wreck - the insurance company aren't going to repair it - they want to pay out instead. This is actually OK, as they want to give me very close to what I paid for the car (not the real value; I got family discount on the car when I bought it) so I guess this (along with the fact that the other guy I crashed into isnt hurt) is the silver lining in this bloody mess I find myself in...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Raining and just about 60°F this morning. Leaving to deliver and then ride to work. Should be an interesting and wet day. Students are taking finals this week so the library runs should be plentiful. When classes are in, I shortcut on the sidewalks due to several one way streets and these new grates they put in at the entrances are slickerier than snot when wet. Gotta mind those more than the painted lines on the road.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

This mornings commute was quite a bit colder than last week. Temp was 37F which I could feel on my thumbs due to holes in my gloves lol. On the creekside bike path there is one arched wooden bridge that I have to cross. That bridge was glistening with frost so I definitely need to be careful making the immediate 90 right hand turn onto the path otherwise it'd be easy to slip out. 

Changed the optics on one of my new lights to give it more of a spot beam this weekend. This mornings ride was mainly spent evaluating how it looked compared to the stock optics. Overall i'm happy with the change.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Light snow most of the weekend, which didn't really amount to very much, but which really did make things feel a lot more wintery. And temperatures look like they're going to be solidly below freezing for the next while.

Got out on the weekend and did an impromtu splits on one ride. I'm still feeling it, but not nearly to the extent that I thought I would.

Fatbikes were really slow to be adopted around here - last year was the first time I'd ever seen more than a handful. But since then they've really taken off:


> Edmonton's 1st ever Fat-bike Chariot Race!
> 
> Think Roman Gladiator chariots, meets chuckwagon racing meets dog sled racing! As part of the Flying Canoe Festival, MADE is hosting a call for entries for the first ever "Winterus Maximus" event: 2 Fat-bikes pulling a custom-designed Chariot and pilot in races against other chariots!. The race will be held on a course on the Flying Canoe Festival grounds in the Mill Creek area on February 6th, 2016. Teams will be responsible for designing the Chariots and the harnesses connecting to the fat-bikes.


I have a feeling that this will not work very well at all, but we'll see.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That sounds like a riot! :lol: 

Wouldn't go over well around here... I think I have the only fatbike in town (except for walmart)


Love a good crash story! That was fantastic. 


I got to use the studs this morning... first time since 2013. Keep it comin' El Nino. WooHoo!


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

Thanks for the support, everyone!

I definitely laughed about the event ...eventually... hence the light-hearted story. It could have turned out a lot worse, belly-flopping onto the cold gravel, hitting one of the pointy rocks with my chest... so I couldn't help but relay my failed attempt. Anytime one conducts an expected maneuver, complete with flailing arms and an expression that we've all seen in those roller-coaster photographs, it's only right to spread it around.

I am perfectly fine. I commuted on Friday, and made a point to re-conquer that dragon. There were no cars, I rode slower, set the fork dampening to a minimum, leaned way the hell back, and cleared it without issue. There's a rock halfway through that I can roll only the front wheel around, and it's got an angle to it that pushes the wheel to the right about 3-4 inches. Was a bit spooky hitting it with all the weight pushed back and moving slowly, so I'll need to work on that, but otherwise I'm good.

I'll try to get some images on my way home tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Still mild here, opted for knickers and kneesocks this morning, and by the time I got to work, the kneesocks were pushed down to my ankles as I was too hot. 

This evening I worked late, and decided try to get home earlier by taking the bus after riding a couple miles. The bus did come on time, and proceeded to blow right past me as I gesticulated wildly. I am pretty sure that at least 1/2 of bus-driver 101 is stopping for passengers - otherwise you are just a vehicle driving back and forth between 2 towns. I called it in, but even the dispatcher was gone, so I left a message of complaint. I pedaled some more but stopped at another bus stop after a bus on the opposite loop passed. This part was my fault and made me madder. That bus did not come back around, it went home, as the schedule changes from every 30 minutes to 1 hour on the last bus. Left my taillight blinking to discourage blow-bys, and finally the bus arrived - and stopped. I nearly could have walked home faster. I asked the driver what the discount was for the bus blowing by, and he offered no apologies, just told me to leave the lights on if I wanted to get picked up. I suggested that it IS a bus STOP and that perhaps if the bus was not going 45 mph by the stop that it might help. He suggested that it was dark. Egad, I wish I had just kept pedaling home, I would have got here about 45 minutes earlier.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I got drenched. Soaked to the bone. Windy, raining, blowing mist...horrible. Got caught without my rain jacket on as well so that sucked. Shoes are still really wet. Temps were nice until the wind picked up and the rain came. They quickly dropped 10° within 30 minutes. Made good tip money so it was alright. Ride home was windy but starting to dry up. First commute with the drops on and it was alright. Wrap job needs to be redone. I feel like I short sheeted the bed with how much exposed bar I have. Will rectify that tomorrow hopefully.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

In the car yesterday as my good lady was unwell and I had to drop the kids at school. I know driving them sounds bad but it's 3 miles of unlit country roads. I wouldnt send them walking or riding along them. Thought I'd get some xmas parcel distribution done since I had the space.

Back on the bike today. The university cut the hedges at some point over the last few days with a tractor mounted flail and not cleared up yet. I get that its quicker etc to use machines but when it's a Hawthorne hedge next to a cycle path they need to do that immediately. Good test for the Marathon Pluses I guess. 

Further along I got caught in traffic; oh the horror! Roads up and they're filtering traffic each way with lights. been there for a week or two, I usually wait my turn and it's not so bad. Lights were failed today showing constant red both directions. Once I realised the issue I jumped the queue and went past. Lots of frustrated motorists in both directions.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Another crap day. Windy cold and rainy, now I know what you guys feel like in the PNW here we get snow which isn't really that bad since you do not really get wet.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Tenspeed - Just curious. What do you deliver? You've probably said in the past but I didn't see or catch it

This mornings commute was brisk at 34F. I knew it was gonna drop down in temps yesterday so dropped by the store and picked up some new Mechanix gloves. Not cycling gloves but needed something cheap to get by to keep my digits warm. My old gloves have holes in the thumbs which can get uncomfortably numb when the temps get down into the 30s.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Big Fil said:


> Tenspeed - Just curious. What do you deliver? You've probably said in the past but I didn't see or catch it
> 
> This mornings commute was brisk at 34F. I knew it was gonna drop down in temps yesterday so dropped by the store and picked up some new Mechanix gloves. Not cycling gloves but needed something cheap to get by to keep my digits warm. My old gloves have holes in the thumbs which can get uncomfortably numb when the temps get down into the 30s.


Lunch time delivery for Jimmy John's. We do a heck of a business, especially on bike. There are 4 of us, now down to 3 as one guy simply can't do the whole rule #9 thing. From what I understand, we are one of the top 5 busiest corporate stores in the country. Last week in a 3 hour period, there were 115 deliveries from 11 am to 2 pm. 56 of those were done by 3 of us on bike. The rest was split between 6 drivers I believe.

No commute for me today. Gonna take the car to work. Filled up Sunday night for the first time since November 2nd. I think I drove it once to work if I remember correctly. Legs are really feeling these miles lately and could use a break.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...I am pretty sure that at least 1/2 of bus-driver 101 is stopping for passengers - otherwise you are just a vehicle driving back and forth between 2 towns.


 :lol: Nice!

Rainy commute in today. I got to tryout a recent roadside find. Waterproof gloves that work. Turns out they were $50 gloves! More here if interested. 
The Candid Cyclist: Eurika: Waterproof Gloves That Work It's supposed to clear off nicely this afternoon. Crazy December weather.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yesterday morning we had a glimpse of winter: -05C/31F :8 Luckily temps went up to 4C/40F today and are supposed to rise further to 10C/50F on Friday. On the way home yesterday I picked up a new battery for my speedometer. Today pretty uneventful commute. Unfortunately it was very cloudy the last days, no sign of meteorites although a lot of them should be visible these days. 

I will have to drive tomorrow, will hopefully ride on Thursday and Friday. The last weeks somehow I have been a bit sloppy, the last three weeks I rode only 3 out of five days....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, you should teach bus driver school. The way you explain it, I totally understand. Way to put the cookies on the bottom shelf. :lol:

Internet issues yesterday, so I couldn't upload pics. A couple of GoPro gems from the commute yesterday:

















First flat tire in a long time on the commute today. Back to the unstudded wheelset for the ride this morning, and something that had been plugging its own hole worked its way out.. too big for the sealant to catch it. I had to break out the pump and air it up a bit, then do the finger plug thing to help the sealant out. Rushed it... when I aired back up it started leaking again, but slower... I rolled the dice and started riding. It leaked down some more but then plugged itself and I just tolerated the bouncy ride the rest of the way in. Can't remember the last time I had to do that in sub-freezing temps. Not very fun.


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## mtrac (Dec 13, 2015)

Got passed by what I assume was an e-bike doing mid-20+ in a stiff wind with a 60-70 cadence. Barely slowed down ascending a steep overpass and was eventually out of sight.

I'm guessing the guy is out there often but I hadn't seen him before today, probably because I was running late.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Lunch time delivery for Jimmy John's. We do a heck of a business, especially on bike. There are 4 of us, now down to 3 as one guy simply can't do the whole rule #9 thing. From what I understand, we are one of the top 5 busiest corporate stores in the country. Last week in a 3 hour period, there were 115 deliveries from 11 am to 2 pm. 56 of those were done by 3 of us on bike. The rest was split between 6 drivers I believe.
> 
> No commute for me today. Gonna take the car to work. Filled up Sunday night for the first time since November 2nd. I think I drove it once to work if I remember correctly. Legs are really feeling these miles lately and could use a break.


Cool, i had to look it up as I'd never heard of Jimmy John's before. LOL apparently there is one in my city. Must be new to our area so i'm gonna have to check it out now. Somehow I have a feeling they don't do bike deliveries though.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Big Fil said:


> Cool, i had to look it up as I'd never heard of Jimmy John's before. LOL apparently there is one in my city. Must be new to our area so i'm gonna have to check it out now. Somehow I have a feeling they don't do bike deliveries though.


Get the "gargantuan" with bacon if you're feeling froggy! I usually take a nap after one of those. 

Sent from my LT28at using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix CB, we are still mild and missing the snow here in VT. Rain off and on all day. Bedwards, those gloves look bada**, like you're a commercial fisherman or sardine packer, that should keep drivers in line! No response yet to my bus complaint I called in after the bus blew by last night. Thanks for the responses, I will definitely use the busdriver 101 line when I get ahold of them (I am pretty sure that at least 1/2 of bus-driver 101 is stopping for passengers - otherwise you are just a vehicle driving back and forth between 2 towns).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> I suggested that it IS a bus STOP and that perhaps if the bus was not going 45 mph by the stop that it might help.






mtbxplorer said:


> Still mild here, opted for knickers and kneesocks this morning, and by the time I got to work, the kneesocks were pushed down to my ankles as I was too hot.


Did you find knickers as such, or make "extended cuttoffs"?



SlipSpace said:


> The university cut the hedges at some point over the last few days with a tractor mounted flail and not cleared up yet. I get that its quicker etc to use machines but when it's a Hawthorne hedge next to a cycle path they need to do that immediately. Good test for the Marathon Pluses I guess.


No report of flats, must have gotten off okay?



CommuterBoy said:


> Internet issues yesterday, so I couldn't upload pics. A couple of GoPro gems from the commute yesterday:
> 
> View attachment 1035796


:thumbsup: Sweet!



CommuterBoy said:


> Back to the unstudded wheelset for the ride this morning, and something that had been plugging its own hole worked its way out.. too big for the sealant to catch it.


"Too big" = "exceeds 1cm x 3 cm". Keep it in mind!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Just plain gloomy, grey day. I finally did mount up my studs last night. They came in handy for a few blocks worth of shaded streets, but most of my route is sun melted. Not sure if I`ll leave them on or switch back. Can`t say for sure, but I don`t think I ever studded myself up last year. A few pics, mis-set camera makes me look fast  
Also might as well throw in a shot of my new-this-year polyester lawn. Never needs mowing (or ironing), equally at home with snow and ice as Blokphi`s beard is.




















Got a new home computer about a month ago. Surfing the internet is an absolute joy- doesn`t choke on videos, works on every page right away, never tells me "Don`t feel like it, try again tomorrow". Unfortunately, everything picture related is mega frustrating. No, GIGA frustrating and approaching TERA frustration. Had a heck of a time geting pictrues uploaded from my camera, finally found a way to resize, then could never get the resized file to copy, having zero luck in moving images from my old computer. I have to keep the old computer set up in the back room for pictures and teh new one gets spread out or stacked up on the kitchen table depending on whether we`re eating or surfing. Sigh... I`m about ready to break down and pay a professional geek from CL to come out and "learn" me a bit.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Big Fil said:


> Cool, i had to look it up as I'd never heard of Jimmy John's before. LOL apparently there is one in my city. Must be new to our area so i'm gonna have to check it out now. Somehow I have a feeling they don't do bike deliveries though.


I would like to suggest the #5 with the hot peppers. They make good sandwiches and they are freaky fast, even if you stop in shop. They try to get you out in under 4 minutes.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> No report of flats, must have gotten off okay?


I believe I have, thanks for asking 

I know we're only a week away from the winter solstice (get ready for the naked druids dancing around the standing stones) but there was a really odd half light this morning where nothing quite has it's true colour. Other than that it was wet and warm 13C/55F


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Also might as well throw in a shot of my new-this-year polyester lawn. Never needs mowing (or ironing), equally at home with snow and ice as Blokphi`s beard is.
> 
> Unfortunately, everything picture related is mega frustrating. No, GIGA frustrating and approaching TERA frustration. Had a heck of a time geting pictrues uploaded from my camera, finally found a way to resize, then could never get the resized file to copy, having zero luck in moving images from my old computer. I have to keep the old computer set up in the back room for pictures and teh new one gets spread out or stacked up on the kitchen table depending on whether we`re eating or surfing. Sigh... I`m about ready to break down and pay a professional geek from CL to come out and "learn" me a bit.


You could try youtube first, this clip is how I do it (though I don't know for sure if windows live photo gallery is still something they put on newer computers than mine). 




Great to see your snow and your lawn, both helpful to the water situation out there!

My knickers came short, kind of like these Prana Nemesis Knicker - Men's - Hiking Pants - Men's Pants - Men's :: CampSaver.com, but the cutoffs would work as well.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Interesting cultural difference; those knickers, we Brits would call 3/4 length shorts, Knickers are ladies underwear :ihih: 

But then you call trousers, pants; to us pants are mens underwear


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ah. That helps to explain "got your knickers in a wad" and "Boy you`ve been a naughty girl you, let your knickers down". I suppose it would also make MtbX`s ride to work in knickers and knee socks quite risque!

Thanks, Xplorer. I`ve been through quite a few Googled solutions but had not yet tried any YouTube lessons- will watch that and try when I get a chance.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today was bike commute number 200 for the year. My original goal was anything over 100. Seriously considering selling my car sometime early in the new year.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

I would call today lucky. As I got in to work the sky started to fall with rain along with thunder/lightening, then it turned to ice pellets.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I don't even know the last time I rode to work (definitely skipped some nice days that I *should* have), but I did today. Felt good. My drop bar 26er conversion is starting to feel a bit sluggish though. Wonder if I could make a road triple work on it? (Currently running a 104bcd crank with shimano hybrid chainrings - think the big is a 48). I've been thinking about converting it to 9 speed over christmas break, I just switched my fat bike to 10 speed so I could have a clutch, got some parts kicking around.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

By the beard of blockphi! 

I think that should be the new rallying call for winter cyclists everywhere...

Topped 5K miles this AM. Nice, nice. Feeling pretty good on the ride today. Legs a bit sore, but after three days straight of 16 hours each spent in an office chair staring at a computer screen grading final projects for my three classes, it felt really good to be back in the saddle and commuting to the full time job.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol: 

and congrats.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

First full on winter ride

6 inches fresh snow on top of shitty ice....salt, gravel, carsnot...pissy drivers...

-10C no wind..

Cleaned it no dabs.

El Nino can only hold off winter for so long.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in minus the wind.

Great deliveries right out of the gate.

Then the Honda CRV pulled out in front of me in the alley. I managed to stop the bike, but not my body. Bike went down after I unclipped, and I did a full barrel roll over the hood. My shoulder came down on the hood, and in one swift motion, I flipped over and landed on my feet. I walked away with no scratches, no bumps, no dings, all my limbs and not a pain in my body. His hood is jacked. The driver tried to extort money from me saying I would have to pay to fix it. I hit his car, but only because he pulled out blindly and never saw me. Cops came, police report filed, and neither of us were found to be at fault. There was a secondary witness and he was smack dab right there. He was a soft drink delivery guy and was motioning for me to veer right, because as I saw, he was blocking the side of the alley and there was no room for me to go around. In reality, he was motioning that there was a car coming out. The driver didn't see him I don't think. The cop was super cool and I think the he knew exactly what happened and cut the driver a break since I was perfectly fine and the only thing wrong with my bike is a minor tear in the bar tape that I just rewrapped last night. 

The rest of the day was fine. Got back to the store and immediately got back on the bike and rode hard. Managers checked with me, made sure I was alright. I never hit my head or any other part of my body except my shoulder on that hood. Manager gave me a sweet run with a huge tip to get me back in the game. Gotta get right back on and ride and not think about what happened or could have happened. Just have to ride. I will be avoiding that alley from now on. It is a nice short cut back to the store but it poses risks and I found out what those were today.

TL;DR - car pulled out in front of me, I hit the car and walked away like a boss.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dang! Glad you're OK.

So it was sorta like this?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ nailed it!!!!!!!


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

Ten Speed,

Looks like you have some cat like reflexes. Glad it all worked out at the end and you were able to continue.

As for me I rode 5 of the 8 miles to work this morning at 5am before this happened.










This was on the rear tire. Managed to apply the brakes and pull over. Tried to put another tube in and blew out within 0.5miles then I noticed the gash on the tire. 2nd tube probably blew as the tube herniated out the tire? I ended up calling the wife and she picked me up. Didn't want to leave the bike and walk to work. Sketchy area.

What would be the cause of this. Too much PSI? Tire is rated 30-55psi and I was at 53psi as I checked it the night before with digital gauge.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Day before yesterday at work I got called to one of the windows to look outside as someone excitedly explained that they saw a tow truck driver smack the crap outta some bike dude who was now seated in the median with his bike. Another coworker said they saw the tow truck driver but weren't sure if he was helping the guy or smacking him around. A third co-worker went out to assist the messenger and I called 911.

The messenger initially told my coworker that someone cut him off then two guys beat him up. His memory faded after that because when the cops came moments later, he couldn't recall exactly what happened. He complained of being dizzy and almost fell over. Whoever, whatever hit him did a number on the side of his head as he was bleeding from a pretty nasty gash. My coworker called his service to let them know what his situation was.

Glad he was at least somewhat ambulatory.

No clue what really happened but it is never cool seeing a biker injured.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> Interesting cultural difference; those knickers, we Brits would call 3/4 length shorts, Knickers are ladies underwear
> 
> But then you call trousers, pants; to us pants are mens underwear


:blush:  I don't believe I have ever had the occasion to use this: :ciappa:


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The sidewall let go on the back tire Tuesday night. 

It was at about 85 PSI, so everyone within a 500 m radius got audible notice of my flat.

GP4000s that started life on my road bike, and at 12,000 km+ didn't owe me a thing. Being 2km from home I just rode the flat out.


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## stingray (Mar 12, 2014)

Don't you hate it when drivers slow down behind you as you approach a parked car? Then at the last moment they speed up and force you to stop at the bumper of the parked car. Today I had that situation on a dark rainy morning with a giant, open-wheel, double trailer, tanker truck. I blinked first, he won, I'm alive.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Glad you ninja'd out of that OK tenspeed.

Commute this morning was warmer than expected at 41f and calm. Saw a lot more people out walking, running, and riding at 5:30am than usual.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

TenSpeed, you're a legend. Good work!



DavidM310 said:


> Ten Speed,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's pretty terminal. I'b be surprised if it was a pressure issue. Probably some prior damage there somewhere



mtbxplorer said:


> :blush:  I don't believe I have ever had the occasion to use this: :ciappa:


:lol: you're so pretty 



ghettocruiser said:


> The sidewall let go on the back tire Tuesday night.
> 
> It was at about 85 PSI, so everyone within a 500 m radius got audible notice of my flat.
> 
> GP4000s that started life on my road bike, and at 12,000 km+ didn't owe me a thing. Being 2km from home I just rode the flat out.


There's a bit of that going round ^^ Thats damn good distance though!



stingray said:


> Don't you hate it when drivers slow down behind you as you approach a parked car? Then at the last moment they speed up and force you to stop at the bumper of the parked car. Today I had that situation on a dark rainy morning with a giant, open-wheel, double trailer, tanker truck. I blinked first, he won, I'm alive.


Absolutely. Some fights you can win but discretion is always the better part of valour in these circumstances. You'll show him next time!

13C or so again this am, great cloud colours from the rising sun, couldnt find anywhere suitable to get a pic tho'


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wild, TenSpeed! Hmmm... and it seems like you`re looking good to meet your 5K goal (no jinx intended).



DavidM310 said:


> What would be the cause of this. Too much PSI? Tire is rated 30-55psi and I was at 53psi as I checked it the night before with digital gauge.


I agree with SlipSpace. Doubt it was from too much pressure, though high pressure might have contributed to turning an already bad thing worse. "Bad thing" being a hard impact with a sharp piece of steel. Cattle guard or storm grating, maybe?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Oh it was a fun one this AM. At least for the first mile. Winds from the NE at 32mph with gusts to 48. The final two miles were dang quick, though, with the wind to my back. Well past spun out on 44X11. Good times. 

Beyond that, it was uneventful and downright boring, which, judging by the recents posts, is a bit of a rarity, but one I'll gladly take.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I need to up the obnoxiousness level of my lighting. I'm starting to see problem spots on my new commute, most notably people not stopping when making a right turn on red when I cross the intersection. I had a person cut me off yesterday and another person almost cut me off today at the same spot. My commute doesn't see such heavy traffic, but drivers are a bit more chaotic than on my old commute.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rode home in the dark last night... some ******* decided to roll down the window and scream the N word at me. Bizarre. I was waiting for a beer can or something to come flying out of the window, but I just got the audio treatment. Way more traffic than a normal night ride for some reason. It's usually so peaceful out there. 
Another dude pulled down to the end of a driveway and left me plenty of room to pass by the front of the truck in the small bike lane... but then at the last possible moment he gunned it out into the road to make his left turn. So weird. He must have misjudged my speed/been confused by my headlight...something. It was like he was trying to make me hit him. I got on the brakes hard and avoided contact, but it was close. I had a slight tailwind and was doing better than 20, so it was probably a misjudged-the-cyclist-speed issue. 
By the time I hit my quiet backroad, I was ready for those last 3 miles of peace. Then I almost hit a deer. 
Just a weird ride home altogether. :lol: 


We got a dusting of snow last night, but it didn't rain first, so it was a blowing film of powdered sugar on the roads. Looked like wind on the tundra when a car would go by. I made a good choice with no studs, and had no traction issues.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa what you guys all seem to experience along the way.....glad that you landed safely TenSpeed!

My rides today were pretty boring. No ripped tires, no crashes, no deers or whatever... and 12C/55F the entire day!! This morning I stopped twice, took the gloves off first, later the helmet cover too and opened the jacket a bit. Like this the heat was bearable.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks for the words everyone they are appreciated. Everything feeling good here, in fact, never felt better. Cold ride in to deliver today but it was fine. A few flurries in fact, but other than that, fairly uneventful. I rode a little more safe than I usually do just because of the incident yesterday. Great tips and a very cold ride home with the temperature dropping 7° from start to end. Snow is in the forecast for tomorrow, and I am on the schedule to deliver. We will see what happens.

And no jinx intended, but I will be making those miles this year.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

The ride home today was my first fixed gear ride. The parts came into the shop and I went there after getting done with some business at the university early and meeting a friend for lunch. It's weird, but I still have my brakes on, so it went well. It's somewhat too easy to get ahead of yourself when you _have to_ pedal. Upped the gear ratio from 39/16 to 52/20 fixed and 52/18 free. I'm pretty happy with it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> The ride home today was my first fixed gear ride. The parts came into the shop and I went there after getting done with some business at the university early and meeting a friend for lunch. It's weird, but I still have my brakes on, so it went well. It's somewhat too easy to get ahead of yourself when you _have to_ pedal. Upped the gear ratio from 39/16 to 52/20 fixed and 52/18 free. I'm pretty happy with it.


What bike is this on? It's quite alright to have brakes on it, heck I have a front one on my track bike. How did you like the connection with the bike?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> What bike is this on? It's quite alright to have brakes on it, heck I have a front one on my track bike. How did you like the connection with the bike?


It's on a 1977 Schiwnn Super Le Tour that I converted from 27" wheels with a geared freewheel to 700c with a flip flop rear wheel for fixed/free, but have only had freewheels on it. All city track cog gets the job done.

I like it alright and I have no intention of taking the brakes off ever, because I need them now and there's never a good reason to not have a fail safe. I'd like to try fixed and clipped in, though. Just had my usual hiking boots on today. I feel like the ride is real smooth and acceleration is good. I'm into that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thankfully, mine was not as weird as some of yours', but I did notice the additional traffic, a combined effect of Xmas shoppers and attending a training that was an hour earlier than my usual 9-5:30 schedule. If you have any flexibility to shift your hours out of the max traffic rush hour, I highly recommend it. Still mild, around freezing this a.m., and raining this p.m.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Dang TenSpeed glad you're ok, the only thing that would have made that any cooler is if you slid across the hood Dukes of Hazzard style


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Was below freezing in Vegas this morning BRRRR happens just a few times every year.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

First truly cold ride today. Was 38ºF heading in to work, expecting 25ºF for the ride home. Testing out my new windblock pants from ATD. Wore them with only my shorts underneath, they did a good job. Only complaint is the cut is TALL even though I purchased them from the BIG link.

Had a car start to pull out on me at a 4-way when I was about halfway through the intersection. Must have missed the 2200lm I was putting down on the road in front of her and the 1200lm from my helmet light when I looked at her approaching vehicle. Twice.

As promised, I took pictures Wednesday morning of the adventurous gate bypass I take.

Approach:








Meant to get an image of the road dropping off, forgot. Here's most of the bypass:








And the offending tree. Combination of fence post to the left, followed immediately by a tall rock smack in the middle right where that tree is to the right. I roll the wheel to the right of the rock which leaning left to clear the tree, and must immediately turn left and lean right to clear another rock. Not a hard maneuver, just takes due diligence, apparently.








This will be my first time riding it since the 'incident', as I stopped to take pictures the other day.

Or not. My fork seems to be failing. 100mm RST that came with the bike. It's been a great fork considering what it is (a cheap oem fork that came with an $800 bike). It has five good seasons on it, and I have done nothing except oil the stanchions. No measurable dampening in the first several inches of travel, and sitting lower than normal, as if the spring broke. Looks like I'll be getting a Manitou Minute sooner than I expected.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> It's on a 1977 Schiwnn Super Le Tour that I converted from 27" wheels with a geared freewheel to 700c with a flip flop rear wheel for fixed/free, but have only had freewheels on it. All city track cog gets the job done.
> 
> I like it alright and I have no intention of taking the brakes off ever, because I need them now and there's never a good reason to not have a fail safe. I'd like to try fixed and clipped in, though. Just had my usual hiking boots on today. I feel like the ride is real smooth and acceleration is good. I'm into that.


Sounds cool. Are you running any type of foot retention at all? I ride fixed and clipless and I love it. Never tried straps before and have no intentions of doing so.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Great ride in minus the wind.
> 
> Great deliveries right out of the gate.
> 
> ...


Glad you landed right side up!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Sounds cool. Are you running any type of foot retention at all? I ride fixed and clipless and I love it. Never tried straps before and have no intentions of doing so.


I'd usually ride with SPD cleats and mountain bike type cycling shoes. Some fancy schmoozy Pearl Izumi stuff I got for 1/2 the price because of an ordering error at the shop I go to. Lately though it's just been hiking boots on any bike. Probably will avoid that on the fixed because trying to stop I can tell if my shoe was kinda went it'd slip off the pedals.

flamingtaco, that tree there looks like it was made to hook handlebars. Be safe!


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

t looks a lot worse in the picture then in person, but then, I am viewing from three or so feet above the bars, and it's night, so I probably just don't recognize the danger 

Well, I made it through. It's a bit difficult moving slow because if I don't maneuver properly, the first and second rocks have the same separation as my wheels, and can stop me dead in my tracks. 

First truly cold ride, and I had the pleasure of falling snow. Mostly a light fall, but when I pulled out from my break at the park, had a good minute of heavy volume, albeit small flakes. 

I finished off a nice commute by ordering a Manitou Minute Expert. CRC is clearing then out for $229. I suspect it will be a fair bit better than the RST Deuce.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

ghettocruiser said:


> It was at about 85 PSI, so everyone within a 500 m radius got audible notice of my flat.


Don't you love when this happens! This happened to me about 6 weeks ago. Changed a flat, filled her up to the recommended max PSI, and went along with my normal daily activities at home. About 30 minutes later I hear this huge explosion followed by a crash in the basement where I store my bikes.

The tube must have been defective because it gave way. Ripped my tire off one side of the rim and tipped my bike over. I had to change the tire again as well as my shorts.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

It was 14F (-10C) this morning. Way more ice than I expected. Worst was the areas with snow on top of the ice, the pucker factor riding those sections was extreme!

8/10's of a mile from my house at the bottom of the hill, my rear brake decided to freeze up. That was fun as I approached the intersection and started to apply the rear brake only to find there was none! A short while later the rear derailleur started auto shifting up and down one gear. Made for a much slower commute than expected.

The worst was a section of trail that runs parallel to the interstate. At a few point all that separates the two are Jersey Barriers and a chain link fence. Well, the snow plows cleaning the interstate plowed all the snow onto the trail. It was like riding through a mine field. No fun.

Still, I made it 12.5 miles without falling! My geriatric hips still intact! 

the ride home promises to be equally exciting since I forgot to mount my front light. Luckily I carry a Blackburn flea in my bag. Won't be much light but at least someone can see me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Drizzle again this morning all the way in. After 10am it became dry and stayed dry. Nice tailwind on most of the way home and 11C/55F again all day. Most probably it will remain warm like that until Christmas. 

I hoped to make at least a metric 5k this year but will probably will end up with 4800km this year. At least it is more than I was expecting in September, I figured around 4200km back then. 

Congrats to all that make the 5k and more in miles!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Freezing ride in to deliver. Last week of finals and we were pretty busy. 3 of us on bikes all over the place. Forecast called for an inch of snow and I said oh yeah? I took the fixed gear and rode like a boss. We got light flurries and that was it. 

Officially into the home stretch now. It seemed to take forever to get here but finally made it. Sometimes it seemed like no matter how many miles I rode, the numbers never changed. Stuck at certain numbers for what seemed like weeks. 4 more days to work until the holiday and over the holiday I will be riding as much as possible in Chicago. After that, it will be the last week of the year and I will be working pretty much every day. Delivery will be down to 1 day a week since winter break is starting now that finals are over.

LBS ordered a sandwich for delivery today. They are a block and a half down from us. This is the shop that I always go to and buy just about all of my stuff through now. I took the order and delivered it. Our tip? A tube. That is one hell of a tip to be honest if you think about how much a tube costs. My buddy who manages the shop always requests bike delivery, you know, since it is a bike shop and it is so close. I had never delivered there and finally got to! He knows how fast we are. It was there in less than 4 minutes after he hung the phone up. The look on peoples face when we get there so fast is priceless, and then they see that we are on bikes. That makes it so worth while! OK - enough about that. Let's talk about some more commutes!!

I enjoy reading about everyone's rides and experiences out there. Everyone that frequents this section is really great. It is an extremely supportive and knowledgeable group and I am grateful to be a part of it. Huge congrats to all of us that choose to ride over driving. No matter how many miles we rack up in a year or how long our commute is, the simple fact that we commute is something that we can celebrate. 

Ride hard, and don't fall over - Paul, a friend that I used to ride with


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

z1r said:


> It was 14F (-10C) this morning. Way more ice than I expected. Worst was the areas with snow on top of the ice, the pucker factor riding those sections was extreme!
> 
> 8/10's of a mile from my house at the bottom of the hill, my rear brake decided to freeze up. That was fun as I approached the intersection and started to apply the rear brake only to find there was none! A short while later the rear derailleur started auto shifting up and down one gear. Made for a much slower commute than expected.
> 
> ...


Woohoo, nice riding, zlr! Hope your ride home was safe as well. Were those rim brakes that froze up, or what?

Tenspeed, I agree, a supportive and knowledgeable bunch here. I followed at least part of your friend's advice today, and didn't fall over!

I did have one incident where a car squeezed by me way too close in the double lane after a light. As luck would have it (time wounds all heels), he also blew by a local police car shortly thereafter, passing it in the right lane to cut over as 2 lanes went back to one. Blue lights ensued, and surenuf, they had him pulled over and a cop on either side of his car. I'm sure they couldn't do anything with my "report", not having witnessed it, but I yelled "he brushed by me too" as I pedaled by.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

SPAM is not appreciated in this thread. Did you get approval before posting?


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

z1r said:


> my rear brake decided to freeze up.


My front mech did that a few years back, it prompted me to jump on a good deal on used hydraulics. I wasn't going fast and didn't have any steep hills to descend. Didn't affect how much the hair stood up on the back of my neck when I squeezed the lever and nothing happened. Hell, knowing you're not going to be able to stop before an intersection, at 3am on an empty road is scary.

Glad you made it out alive!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Flamingtaco said:


> Glad you made it out alive!


Me too! Glad you did too!

Mechanical discs. I chose to ride this bike just because of the discs because the rim brakes on my commuter are next to useless on snowy/icy days. Gotta remember to install the salmon pads soon, lol.

Definitely makes me want to save up for hydraulics for the Macho Man! I think it was the piston that somehow froze. I couldn't move the arm at all. 10 minutes in my office and it was working fine.

No problems on my way home. The brakes worked perfectly but I was still having a little trouble with the rear mech. Gonna adjust it tomorrow morning.

Riding home with the Flea instead of my Cygolite was exciting. Note to self: DO NOT buy clearance lights!!! The batteries are usually on their last legs. My normally 45 minute ride home took about 30 minutes more due to the road conditions. The light was barely glowing as I pulled into my driveway. Oh well, without it, I would have been hating life!

Thanks to everyone's support I'm at 6070 km's for the year with my goal being 6437. With two weeks left, I think I will "just" make it. Due to the holidays coming up, I'm gonna do the unthinkable and go in to work to make sure everything is done before the break. Gives me an excuse to ride in.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ I had the Flea set both rear and front. I found that it was less than desirable as a main light. Gave them to a fellow rider who is using them as second back up blinkies. Glad you made it back alright. Congrats on your km's  that is a great accomplishment!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely brutal. The ride in was probably the most miserable 8 miles I have done all year, and I have ridden in some crappy conditions. Clear, cold, and just horribly windy. Bone chilling, cut right through the windproof clothing, knock you off your bike if you aren't careful kind of wind. No matter how hard I pedaled, it was like I had square tires and was stuck in cement. 25°F and with the wind you would have thought you were in the frozen tundra of Alaska. The ride home was colder, but since the wind had died down a bit was actually nicer than the ride in. Did a short joust through the now dead campus and it was nice. I saw NOBODY on campus. Not a car, not a pedestrian, not another cyclist. At one point, I took the road. Not the lane, I took the whole damn road. Two lane one way road and here I am riding right down the middle of it. 

Sunday is forecasted for mid 40's and sunny which will feel like 100 after today. The low for Sunday is still 12° higher than the high for Saturday. Will be testing out some new shoes and I think I have the cleat placement pretty close to where I want them. Eyeballing it and comparing to other shoes to get them close.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TS,

Wow, you are 50% closer to your mileage goal than I am. No need to drive the kids to school this week so I can commute Monday through Thursday. I might just make it. I still have right at 200 miles to go. Holiday parties required me to drive two days last week. (To bring in food!)

I hate installing/replacing cleats.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Zir, how did you come up with such a seemingly arbitrary goal of 6437 KM? It`s gonna be tough- good luck.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

That's 4000 miles, lol. I'm right at 200 miles shy. More snow is forecast for tomorrow. I'm thinking real hard of selling off a bike or two to buy me a fatbike for next winter. I just can't stand not riding for more than a day or two. The cold doesn't bother me (much) it's the sliding around that I don't like.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

z1r said:


> That's 4000 miles, lol.


Doh! Well, hope for a few nice days and cross your fingers. The last time I found myself closing in on the end of the year and JUST about to hit a big milepost (which also happened to be 4000 miles) we had a warm-ish and wind free day on Dec 29th or 30th so I hit it and knocked out 80-some miles.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Looks to be decent weather the next three or four days. My commute nets me about 26 miles a day. If I leave a little early I can sneak in a few more miles I should be able to get in just a bit more than 100 miles by Thursday. Oh so close.

Oh well, its about 1000 miles more than I logged last year. I hope to hit 5K next year.

Opposite happened here last year, during the break the temps plummeted to near zero and we got snow. Took me an hour to go ten miles.

Anyway, here's to all that forsake their cars for at least some of the times they commute. If we keep it up, maybe the powers to be will start building more dedicated bike routes!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Merry Christmas you all...

2 weeks off here. Starting it off right:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Battled the wind on the ride in and home. Ended up being just as forecasted and warmer than the previous day. Shorts and a jacket and I was perfect. Rain is now forecasted for the rest of the week so I don't know how many miles I will get in the next few days. 10 days to go, and it is so close!!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Merry Christmas you all...
> 
> 2 weeks off here. Starting it off right:
> 
> View attachment 1036950


Nice! Enjoy!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Rode in on my newly finished commuter with a pannier for my lunch and clothes and a backpack full of gifts for my coworkers at the office. I felt like a hip urban santa.

The bike worked great. The rear derailleur could use some tuning but it was nothing to worry about. The whole transformation with this bike took at least 9 months, which is 8 months and 2 weeks longer than it should have taken. Despite the bike working well, the ride was pretty miserable. 42F, raining the whole time, and sustained 20mph headwinds. I would have preferred 20 and snowy. Oh well, going to be nice to have that tailwind on the way home.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Ride in was a mixed bag. The kids don't have school this week so I let my wife sleep in. Didn't want to turn on the TV for the weather report so I went online. They said it was 33. Wow, first time in a week it wasn't in the teens! High was to be in the 40's so I pulled on my Knickers and jet out the door. As soon as I was headed down the street I started thinking, this sure feels a lot colder than 33! A mile later when my rear caliper froze solid again, my suspicions were confirmed! I was greeted at the office by my one of my Work Studies who was like, "dude, yer beard is frozen", I knew for sure the virtual weatherman was way off.

All of yesterday's melt refroze into nice flat sheets of ice which scary as it seems is actually lots easier to ride on than the refrozen rutted stuff!

I ran into one other hearty fool at a light who commented on my Festina Jersey, "old school dude!" Yup, that's me!


Made it in, on time, hips intact, can't ask for much more.

Kleebs, 42 and rain, yeah, I'd take the snow too!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, miss a few days, miss a lot. 

TenSpeed - Amazing! Especially that nothing was damaged on you or the bike. Any traffic or security cams in the area? That would have been fun to see.

Commuter Boy - I think I'd rather run into a deer than have a run in with a *******. For one, the deer can be smarter.

MTXB - liked the blue-light karma story. 

I have nothing to report.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

+ 1 on Bedwards. 

Except I was back in the saddle yesterday. 

Nothing much to report other than an H3 Hummer passing me at the same corner I had the blow-out at three years ago (that long?), by driving so wide he almost clipped the left edge of the road and was lucky there was no oncoming cresting the RR crossing (it is blind). a "WTF was that" moment. Better that, than running me over. I am guessing the driver was being inattentive (texting?).


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

No work today. I went on a leisurely ride. First ride in months that wasn't a point A to point B deal.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Having fun back on the MTB commuter. It may be slower than the cross bike sometimes, but the flat bars (actually risers), tighter gearing, better shifting and lower gears "feel" more powerful to me. We got a couple inches of snow over the weekend but with a high in the 40's F forecast, I kept on the newly mounted 26 x1 and 3/4 inch Panaracer T-servs, which I had liked in the 700x32's. Since Thursday is forecast to be an insanely searing high of 64F, they will be on a while longer before I need studded tires. The ride home was a dreary 38F and raining; the layers I wore at 28F and dry this morning were needed. Working late to "enjoy" the rain, was not!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Having fun back on the MTB commuter. It may be slower than the cross bike sometimes, but the flat bars (actually risers), tighter gearing, better shifting and lower gears "feel" more powerful to me. We got a couple inches of snow over the weekend but with a high in the 40's F forecast, I kept on the newly mounted 26 x1 and 3/4 inch Panaracer T-servs, which I had liked in the 700x32's. Since Thursday is forecast to be an insanely searing high of 64F, they will be on a while longer before I need studded tires. The ride home was a dreary 38F and raining; the layers I wore at 28F and dry this morning were needed. Working late to "enjoy" the rain, was not!


Hey if it feels more powerful, then it is. Biking is basically all about the feels.

And I'm jealous of all y'all getting snow. I just wish it would get cold here.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Well, it doesn't look like there will be much more riding for me this year - prep for the holidays, family visits, errands by the dozen and a hacking chesty cough (an early Christmas present from my loving mother) means most likely no more bike time until January.

Which is actually ok with me - my One True Bike needs a bit of tlc and cleaning. Plus Im going back to my home brew drop bar set up so I need to do some stripping, assembly, tweaking and so on.

Bought some orange bar tape to match the accents on the frame on e-bay. I thought it was almost too cheap to be true until it arrived and I found out it had no sticky backing... Should be fun to wrap...

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays everyone!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I think I'd rather run into a deer than have a run in with a *******. For one, the deer can be smarter.


I`m not sure whether it`s better to have a run in with the more smarter adversary or the less smarter one 

Hope you and BrianMc enjoyed your vacations. CommuterBoy, I dunno what to hope for your 14th vacation of the year. Ah, have a good one! I`m just cranky because my wife (also a school worker) is on her own 14th or so vacation this year and she decided not to go anywhere and get out of my hair this time round :lol:

Low 30s and raining sideways tonight. I drove my truck.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Had a couple days off so no commuting, did get some leisure rides in which was cool. Warm and windy this am. Winter solstice today so slowly the sun will creep back into our lives. I should get tomorrow and maybe wednesday on the bike but then that'll be it for commutes till the the 4th.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Weather warmed up to the low 50s for the ride home last night and that nasty headwind from the morning was a very welcome tailwind on the way home. I think it was karma rewarding me for carting a pannier full of xmas gifts to the office in the rain that morning. All in all, it was a very enjoyable commute home.

This morning was 52F and drizzly. Really nice temperature, though I overdressed just a hair. I challenged myself to ride everyday for the rest of the year. The temperature looks like it will be very cooperative, but I'll be battling rain just about every day. Now that I finished the fendered commuter though, rain is not such a big deal.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

It was warmer this morning. I stuck my bike in the stand last night and tilted it so the front wheel was pointing straight up. That got some water to drain out of the rear brake cable housing. Wasn't cold enough to day to freeze so I can't tell if the draining is enough to resolve my rear brake lock up issue.

The ride was great until I hit the detour. I hate the Jason Street detour. As I get to the first intersection after exiting the bike path I rounded the corner and find myself in the middle of a huge ice patch, the kind that is refrozen slush. It looked like a million little icebergs. I saw a clear patch off to the left in the opposite lane, and no cars in sight so I slowly try to make my way over to it. But those darn icebergs don't play nice. One knocked my front tire out and I began the longest slide fall in history. It seems like I was angled over at about 45 degrees to my left for 15 seconds at least. all the while sliding til finally the tires ended up in the air. Came down right on my left hip and the ice peaks abraded it pretty good. Luckily none of my lycra got torn. My taillight flew off in three pieces from the impact. I gathered them up and stuffed them in my backpack. Don't know yet if it is salvageable. No broken bones, just a bruised ego, and hip. Bike seems fine.

I'm really thinking hard now about a fat bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Much like Kleebs, the weather here is the same. I opted to drive yesterday giving the legs a break, and it was pouring rain and in the low 40's. Wet conditions today and the possibility of a dry up before I leave. If it does, I will ride. If not, another day of driving. Fixed gear bike is currently hanging since the chain tension is absolutely perfect and I will be taking that to Chicago. Need to slide the saddle forward on the geared bike just a bit because I am feeling kind of stretched out. Tomorrow they are forecasting temps near 60°F but with some rain mixed in. I am off of work after tonight until Monday. No delivery scheduled so if it holds off, I may take a nice long road ride Wednesday


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Bought some orange bar tape to match the accents on the frame on e-bay. I thought it was almost too cheap to be true until it arrived and I found out it had no sticky backing... Should be fun to wrap...
> 
> Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays everyone!


Double sided adhesive tape worked like a charm for me in that situation.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Bought some orange bar tape to match the accents on the frame on e-bay. I thought it was almost too cheap to be true until it arrived and I found out it had no sticky backing... Should be fun to wrap...


I find it is easier to wrap bars without tape/adhesive on them.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Bought some orange bar tape to match the accents on the frame on e-bay. I thought it was almost too cheap to be true until it arrived and I found out it had no sticky backing... Should be fun to wrap...
> 
> Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays everyone!


I have found that when you start the wrap, use a small piece of electrical tape to hold it in place when you start. If you wrap it tightly enough, and use the electrical tape again to finish it off, you shouldn't have to worry about that adhesive on the back. It might take you a few tries to get it just right but you should be able to tackle this.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

z1r said:


> It looked like a million little icebergs. I saw a clear patch off to the left in the opposite lane, and no cars in sight so I slowly try to make my way over to it. But those darn icebergs don't play nice. One knocked my front tire out and I began the longest slide fall in history. It seems like I was angled over at about 45 degrees to my left for 15 seconds at least. all the while sliding til finally the tires ended up in the air.
> 
> I'm really thinking hard now about a fat bike.


:eekster:
Although it sounds like you didn`t sink into the surface, would fat tires have helped in that situation? I guess maybe they would have soaked up the bumpiness. You had studs?


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, studs. Problem is the slush get ruts in it then freezes resulting it lots of hills and valleys. If you get caught in one it can be a bear to get out. I switched to Nokian W240's last year just for this reason, they have more studs towards the outside of the tires and knobs which get a better grip (usually) on the sides of the rut so they climb out better. Today's ice field also just had a lot of frozen slush which was horribly uneven and caused the tires to bounce around a lot.

Having ridden in the snow and ice with friends on their fat bikes, they seems to have better traction that me on my cross bike. I'm thinking the wider footprint would have allowed a fat bike to glide over the terrain rather than bouncing off like my tires did. I purposely deflated them some too just so they would be a little more compliant.

Oh well, likely I was just going too fast for the conditions and should have been a little more cautious.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Warm, windy and drizzle monday and tuesday. Fiddled around with the rear wheel before I left yesterday morning and wondered why I was so slow. Turns out the brake was rubbing. Fixed it yesterday night and will now head to work to test it. Its now dry and very windy, will be a tailwind on the first half and a diagonal headwind on the second half of the ride. 
As it seems I will have logged 4800km/3000m this year, which is 600km more than I expected. Still now I had hoped to clear the 5000km marker this year. 

I wish all of you merry christmas, happy new year and a nice time with your families and loved ones. And most important: stay safe in 2016.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thankyou sir, hope you have a happy Christmas and a great new year too.

Much the same weather here. Strong gusty winds last night that make you vere around a bit. Lean into the cross wind then it dies and you shoot across the road. This morning was bright, clear and cold still with a strong wind. Plugged the light in this morning to charge and it no worky :-( The female part of the mini USB has come adrift and is not making contact. It actually comes out with the lead. Hopefully enough charge left if I run it on low to get me home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Merry Christmas bikecommuters! Hope everyone is having a flat-free and enjoyable holiday season.


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## Chippertheripper (Sep 10, 2014)

Pea soup fog, unable to wear glasses, total darkness, a real challenge. A fun challenge.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

First day with the studs. Rain last night and then the temps dipped below freezing. It was a good choice. 

6350 miles and counting with about one week to go. This has been a huge mileage year for me. Right now the weather looks like it is going to hold for a nice Boxing Day ride.

Merry Christmas All.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Probably me signing off for the year so hope you all have a great Christmas and a prosperous new year. Best wishes all!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I can't believe that it is December 23 and I wore shorts this morning. Crazy. Going to warm up to the mid SIXTIES for my ride home. And on top of the incredible temperature, I'm forecasted to get a 25mph tailwind for the ride home. Merry Christmas indeed!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

ghettocruiser said:


> GP4000s that started life on my road bike, and at 12,000 km+ didn't owe me a thing.


So the replacement tire, a GP4000s-II, got a sidewall tear from a rock on the road last night and blew on the second-ever ride.

Some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you....


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> I can't believe that it is December 23 and I wore shorts this morning. Crazy. Going to warm up to the mid SIXTIES for my ride home. And on top of the incredible temperature, I'm forecasted to get a 25mph tailwind for the ride home. Merry Christmas indeed!


Right now I'm not liking you so much. It was below freezing again this morning, foggy, and a bit gusty. At least I didn't fall! It felt like I was going slow as heck with all the slowing down I did as I approached ice. Still, it only took me about 8 minutes longer than a typical nice day. guess I was sprinting between ice patches?

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all! I do enjoy reading the posts here and occasionally posing as well. Lots of great inspiration here!

Bedwards, that is impressive indeed! I'm about 2350 short of that. I'm 125 short of 4K. Will get 25 tomorrow leaving me 100 to try to fit in next week. With all the family obligations it will be a challenge. I'd hate to come up 100 miles short!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-16C

on a bike at 25 kph that is about -21C windchill

Was warm for 20 minutes with the summer shoes and plain socks.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> I can't believe that it is December 23 and I wore shorts this morning. Crazy. Going to warm up to the mid SIXTIES for my ride home. And on top of the incredible temperature, I'm forecasted to get a 25mph tailwind for the ride home. Merry Christmas indeed!


Same weather here - raining and upper 50's and low 60's with thunderstorms and a high wind advisory. Sadly, no work today so probably won't ride much. Would love to clear my goal while in Chicago, and the weather may hold off long enough to allow this.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> First day with the studs. Rain last night and then the temps dipped below freezing. It was a good choice.
> 
> 6350 miles and counting with about one week to go. This has been a huge mileage year for me. Right now the weather looks like it is going to hold for a nice Boxing Day ride.
> 
> Merry Christmas All.


Awesome job there Bedwards! I certainly won't catch you this year. Though I am tempted to take a look at my total human powered mileage for the year. It'd be interesting to see how many miles combined running and biking I put in. Probably as many as some people put on their cars in a year.

I think anyone who puts in the kind of miles you do deserves some kind or reward. Have a beer on me!

I have not been riding this week. Working from home and enjoying it. Had an awesome, but slow trail ride Saturday night and that's the last time I've been on the bike. Hit the trails for a run yesterday, though. Today it is snowing, so I might just take the opportunity to go ride the trails tonight when I'm done working. Still gunning for a bit over 5200 miles for the year.

As of today I am at 5063.10. Another 140 miles shouldn't be any problem at all. Particularly as I'm going to be in Homer AK for Christmas and will have the bike with to ride me some beach and trail down there. I'm excited.

Merry Christmas all


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Last commute this year for me today. Logged now 4784km, will probably make it to 4800, but that will be it for 2015. Very windy ride today. Drizzle in the morning and 10C/50F but it felt good. On the way home it was dry with an almost clear sky. 

Still the same temp but suddenly felt darn cold?? I have witnessed this for years already, the same temp can feel very differently and I haven't figured out yet, what it could be. Any weather specialists here, that might have an answer?

Next year I will be off for January and February, which means I will not commute until 1st of March from now on. I really hope to squeeze in some recreational rides just to be on the bike. And I have a project for February in the basement, my Dahon Cadenza needs to be changed from those crappy disc brakes to AVID SD7 and will swap the current 1x9 gearing to a rear wheel with an IGH. Have not figured out yet which IGH - will see what I can score on Ebay the next week. Front wheel will probably be changed to accomodate a dynohub, not for light but for powering smartphone, GPS, camera, whatever.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

I have spent the last 85days offshore and a total of 5 months this year, I have only managed 950 miles after 3k plus in 2014.
Whilst this years offshore stint has been a big financial success, it has been a biking and overall fitness disaster I have put on 6kg, got a bit of belly on me and yesterday's commute was a real struggle. I have 60 days accrued leave to take and am heading to NZ South Island in the new year for a month of bike packing so hopefully will be fit and trim again soon


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Awesome job there Bedwards! I certainly won't catch you this year. Though I am tempted to take a look at my total human powered mileage for the year. It'd be interesting to see how many miles combined running and biking I put in. Probably as many as some people put on their cars in a year.
> 
> I think anyone who puts in the kind of miles you do deserves some kind or reward. Have a beer on me!


Crap, I thought you were going to say a Fatboy Carbon . I'll start with the beer. Have one yourself, 5200 is no slouch.

Last night was super foggy so I took a partial trail route to avoid the main roads. I haven't been on that trail for about a month but am (was) very familiar with it. The fog is so dense that the visibility on the trail is even limited especially with the helmet light reflecting off it. So I get to a section with some water covering the trail, that's odd, there has never been water here before. I decide to ride through because that will at least keep my feet up. About half way through it is up over the BB. So I wrote this poem about it.

"Working" today. (not that much though)


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Last nite's ride home was fun until about the halfway point when the wind suddenly picks up to about 25 mph and snow starts falling. Not flakes, but little spheres. The kind as my kids say, hurts! Luckily it only lasted about five minutes but pedaling into that stiff headwind all the while being pelted in my eyes kinda sucked.

This morning was much better but really cold, 12 F /-11 C. Thankfully most of the ice has melted off the trails meaning no more hit the brakes then sprint to the next ice patch. Good thing too because my legs were kinda tired and my hip still sore.

Got to work and they notified us that we are closing at 3. Woo Hoo, I can sneak in a few extra miles on my way home and will be at less than 100 miles to go.

Nice Poem Bedwards!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, & Happy New Year to all.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great ride in at 45F, shorts!!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today but I did get in a 30 mile city ride in Chicago. Did Critical Mass which had a small turn out, and then did some nice solo night time exploring on some fairly dead streets in a huge city on a Friday night. If there was no rain in the forecast, I would just go ahead and finish off my miles here on Saturday. Probably will wait until I get home to get that completed this week.

Hope that everyone had a really nice holiday and enjoyed the time off work if you had it, had good food, and spent some quality time with loved ones. I got to experience my little nephew who is 2 and a half play with his new train set/table that we built up Thursday night.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bedwards and Block BOTH deserve beers for their sky high mileage! Maybe carbon fatbikes next time around :lol: Actually, I think we all have a beer (or a coffee for those of us who don`t do alchohol) coming to us. I`ll take one even though I`m way under 1000 miles.



SimpleJon said:


> I have 60 days accrued leave to take and am heading to NZ South Island in the new year for a month of bike packing so hopefully will be fit and trim again soon


Whoa, SUPER cool! We need a green "envy" smilie for that.

Happy holidays, everybody


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bedwards and Block BOTH deserve beers for their sky high mileage! Maybe carbon fatbikes next time around :lol:


Funny you should mention that, Mrs Rolling Runner had a Carbon Fatboy under the tree for me. Totally unexpected. It is AMAZING. I've already used it to smash my face into the ground! Read all about it here. My writing ability seems to improve when I'm in pain so this is a pretty good post. 
The Candid Cyclist: Does This Bike Make Me Feel Overconfident?

Despite being somewhat broken I still rode in today. That wore me out so much that I'm already ready to go home :lol:

One XL Surly Pigsley for sale. (Probably shouldn't post it that way)


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Funny you should mention that, Mrs Rolling Runner had a Carbon Fatboy under the tree for me. Totally unexpected. It is AMAZING. I've already used it to smash my face into the ground! Read all about it here. My writing ability seems to improve when I'm in pain so this is a pretty good post.
> The Candid Cyclist: Does This Bike Make Me Feel Overconfident?
> 
> Despite being somewhat broken I still rode in today. That wore me out so much that I'm already ready to go home :lol:
> ...


Now that's an entertaining story for a Monday. Way to be a trooper. Sorry to hear you fell off your bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Whoohoo! Fat carbon! Whoopwhoopwhoop!!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. Forecast is a winter weather advisory with freezing rain and some ice accumulation. The smart part of me says "dude, you have a car for a reason, like this, drive it." The cyclist in me says "dude, it isn't raining right now, and you have a bike with at least a studded front tire and you have wet weather gear, ride." All I know is that it is really cold out right now, and dry. If it stays that way, the bike will get the duty.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

not a nice way to spend your holidays bedwards! Man that looks awful, hope you get allright soon. But man what a bike!! Just ride on the ground only next time.

Had an appointment toeay that I usually drive to. But today I took the.train with my bikeband rode back, just 18km/11m but it counts and put me over the 4800km mark this year. Put my bike in the basement when I got home, we.drive away tomorrow and will be back in 4 weeks. Probably no riding although I hope I can ride my brother in law's roadbike a few times. 

I wish you all a happy and healthy new year with big mileage. And: stay safe.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ouch Bed. Dang. 

I didn't get down to Homer as planned as my Christmas was likewise painful, but in another way. Christmas eve go to the store to pick up provisions. Store is busy, parking lot a mess. Come out from the store to find my front tire on the passenger side had been slashed. Three times. My parking job was bad, but really? So no place to get new tires before Christmas morning, thus we canceled the trip. Probably for the best as the weather took a turn and there were some road closures anyway. But still. Who slashes someone's tires on Christmas eve? Did a small bit of riding on Saturday, but it was full of problems. Shifting is shifty. Need to put new cleats on my shoes as they are now worn enough that they randomly pop out of the peddles. Pinch flatted at the top of the climb loop I was on. My brand new pump broke when trying to pump back up. Argh! My daughter was out doing a 2.5 hour ski workout, so I had an hour and 15 yet to kill by the time I got limped back to the parking lot. Luckily I had my running gear and got in a nice easy 4 mile trail run.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez, Bedwards, now I am not sure whether to pity or envy you! Good thing 2015 is almost over.

Nice job rollingrunner, you rock!

Sorry to hear of your slashes as well, Blockphi, they certainly got coal in their stocking.

After a balmy xmas in the 50's, and a rainy Sunday, today's return to commuting brought 9F and a headwind. Felt like pedaling through molasses. Tomorrow is a forecaster's nightmare, 1-8" mix of snow and freezing rain. Temps somewhere between 9 and 30F, and winds somewhere between 5 and 35mph.


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## native29er (Oct 23, 2014)

Yah, that snow is coming for you! I'm guessing you're in Wisconsin/Minnesota. Iowa City got 1 inch of ice followed by 4 inches of snow today. 

It was my first time on snow with 35mm tires. I lowered the pressure to about 20psi (risking a pinch flat). Snow split well and my tires found ground on the trails and undriven snow, did pretty well on the main roads too, but the deep ruts in unplowed residential areas got me bad and I had to walk a couple blocks.

I got through it, but I'm looking forward to my 40mm wtb nano TCS tires showing up and running these wtb frequency i23 rims tubeless. Then again I hope they just get the roads cleared better for tomorrow and I'm sure it will be fine!

Spent 30mins toweling off my steel frame when I got home, don't want it to rust melting off in the garage. I wonder how people's steel frames do with repeated exposure to this crap, I've always rode aluminum with minimal troubles besides components.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Further east - in VT. Glad you made it, native 29r!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Wow bedwards you need to stop "falling off your bike" lol :yikes:

Commute has been cold here! Not used to this but it sure gets the blood pumping first thing in the morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.......

Bike: Specialized Carve SL 29er SS
Tires: Nokian Gazza Extreme 294 front - Schwalbe Nobby Nic rear
Weather: No easy way to describe
Temp: Hovering around freezing and dipping and raising above freezing

The ride in was alright. We got this icy sleet rain mix that left a crunchy layer on the ground but it wasn't frozen as it was above freezing. Rain had stopped so I headed out. Immediately after I left the parking lot, it started raining/sleet/misting ice/whatever. I was prepared with my gear for the most part, even threw a clamp on rear fender on the bike. MUP and roads were actually fun to ride on. It was like the sand right at the waters edge on the beach. Firm and fast with no slipping at all. Had a fun ride in.

The ride home? Ehhhh, it flat out sucked and was fun at the same time. The city said f you and didn't plow the roads of the slushy ice whatever the heck it was that accumulated. There was some cursing, some walking, one wipe out and one close call where I caught myself. Once I left the city and hit the next one, the roads were much clearer and just wet with a thin film of I dunno what it was, not ice, but not slush either. Hard to describe. That was the fun part. I got the thumbs up from a private plow driver in a pickup truck at a light. Saw another cyclist who was a dangerous ninja heading the other way and we both shouted out "hell yeah" as we passed. I had a mile on a pretty crappy road and once I got to the complex it was a struggle. Avoided the MUP since I knew it would be in garbage condition. 

Super impressed with my gear so far. Novara brand from REI waterproof gloves, hat and cycling rain jacket worked flawlessly. Specialized Defroster boots kept the feets warm and dry. Smartwool gaiter kept the neck and face protected. Tights from Pricepoint worked well enough, they were wet but it was raining/sleet/whatever so I expected that.

One more commute to go and I will make my miles for the year. Super excited to reach that goal and maybe get a few extra.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Blockphi that is a crappy thing. Actually a lot of crappy things. We seem to have a lot of stuff going wrong now but nothing is as bad as somebody intentionally causing pain to others. 

Ten Speed, nice job on the mileage goal. Mine is at 6416 and we're mid blizzard so no riding today and probably none tomorrow. The 6500 milestone is left for another year which is fine by me. I already beat my goal for this year by a lot.

The ride home last night was bone chilling cold. Meaning I didn't dress for it. It was about 19F but had a nasty cold wind.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Finally getting back on the commuting horse after having last week off. Thought I would get a ton of riding during the break but it decided to rain for most of the week. Still got in 3 fun rides but with the trails wet and muddy it's hard to get the motivation to spend a 30 to 35 minutes cleaning off the bike every day. Plus I had done something weird to my elbow getting out of bed early last week and irritated the hell out of it on my next ride. Decided to not ride at all until Sunday to let it heal. Temps have been really cold (for the bay area). This mornings commute was 30f with lots of frost on everything. Could see the pavement sparkling off the beam of my light which had me wondering about black ice on the fast descent part of my ride. None encountered though so it was a good ride.

Tomorrows commute will be the last final one for the year, but will end up spending New Years weekend in Santa Cruz riding out 2015. Overall looks like i'll end up with 1000 mi worth of commuting for the last 6 months and 1700 mi worth of mtb rides for the year.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

For the last three days I didn't work and it's been raining. Needless to say the ride in today was a nice change of pace from playing internet chess and working on programming.

It was dang cold though. Not really, above 32 degrees but the wind was killer. Weird mix of sweating and having very cold hands. Gotta get my winter gear sorted out again. Didn't have it in mind because it's been in the 50's until yesterday or so.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dang Bedwards that's brutal. Worth it for the bike though :lol: Nice. 

I rode in today... Last commute of the year for me. Still have the rest of the week off so I may get a ride in here or there. Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house after work today, so that's a bonus 18 miles or so... I'll probably come up just a pinch under 3500 miles for the year. sitting at 3431 after this morning's commute. Lows approaching single digits through the weekend, so I'm not as gung ho about hitting 3500 as I could be :lol: 

The big news for me is that Santa brought me and the Ogre a Brooks Cambium saddle... oh sweet plushness. I have already ordered bar tape to match the natural khaki/tan color, and the Schwalbe Fat Franks in creme are the obvious next tire. The Ogre is beginning the transition away from the camo/backwoods Ogre to a more stately, formal, refined Ogre. :lol:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy crap, I didn`t read Bedward`s blog post before I cheered his present! Never expected he`d shoot his eye out with it :eekster:



Big Fil said:


> Temps have been really cold (for the bay area). This mornings commute was 30f with lots of frost on everything.


You never know the temperature in the bay area because all the thermometers there lie. Seriously, whenever I get down there the thermometers all say it`s like 30 degrees warmer than home, but after a weekend I`m chilled right through to the bone.



CommuterBoy said:


> I rode in today... Last commute of the year for me.
> 
> Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house after work today...
> 
> Lows approaching single digits through the weekend, so I'm not as gung ho about hitting 3500 as I could be :lol:


Your Teachers Rights are being violated- Washoe County is off until the 11th.

Over the mountains and down 395 to my own grandmother`s house I go, but not until Thursday for me.

I saw those lows in the forecast. I`ll send you lots of warm thoughts from Grammy`s place in PALM SPRINGS :thumbsup:

Double commute yesterday due to an odd scheduling hiccup. I had to work 7-11 AM, then back in at 11 last night. Both the dark commutes were nice, but the 11 AM ones sucked. Ice got mushy, feeling tired, and I overdressed and got hot both times. Think I might just park my bike for the remainder of the year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

With the first decent snow last night of 4-5", and freezing rain forecast, I opted to ski the back 40 with the dogs this a.m. rather than bikecommute. After work it took 20 minutes to scrape my car windows. 

I was hoping to get by with the summer bike tires tomorrow, but the freezing rain continues now and while temps should rise to 36 tomorrow, overnight it will only be 23F. So I will probably have to either brave the winter Conti's on the cross bike or mount the studded tires on the MTB if I want to ride. There is a nasty crust on the snow now, so skiing will not be a good excuse tomorrow!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The slush didn't go anywhere for the ride in. It was still prevalent on the MUP that is for sure. I had to make a few detours to get to some rideable terrain. The wind was blasting me head on but the temps didn't dictate a balaclava or even a scarf. With rosy cheeks I made it in to work, soaked from the spray of the wet roads and remnants of slush on the main roads. The ride home was nice, steady wind at my back, and dry pavement in places. Speaking of dry, my tights and chamois were dry when I left. The MUP had been freshly plowed and there wasn't a soul in sight. The whirring sound of the studded front tire easily drowned out the beautiful sound of that Chris King rear hub. I pulled into the complex with a huge smile on my face. I made it. 

Some interesting facts that I have compiled for the year so far - 

6 bikes used in total, 2 sold, 1 cannibalized to create another.

Fixed gear miles - 3693 (3 bikes)
Geared miles - 773 (1 bike)
SS miles - 213 (1 bike)
Fattie miles - 325 (1 bike)

Thank you to everyone for reading through what might be some of the most annoying posts on this forum, and especially this section. Thanks for the support and kind words, and the stories of your commutes because that often helps motivate me. Looking forward to the new goal for 2016!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Yay, 5000!

I drove in tonight, will probably ride tomorrow since I get off at my regular time Thurs morning. I looked at my YTD mileage today also and was surprised to see it over 900. Considering how short my commute is and how many times I drove this year, it really adds up.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

5000 miles.
Much respect.

Congratulations TenSpeed!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> 5000 miles.
> Much respect.
> 
> Congratulations TenSpeed!


+1 !!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats Tenspeed! And lookit those fixie miles, 3693!!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Congrats on all the miles everyone, I think I've put up maybe 800 or so in the last few months. Today will be my last commute of the year, will start keeping track of the miles next week.

Here's a crappy pic of the sunrise next to the Stratosphere Casino yesterday morning.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Final commute of the year today. 32F on the way in but it felt warmer than yesterday and no frost. All around peaceful ride in this morning and hardly any cars on the road.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good gawd, those miles on the fixed gear, TenSpeed.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks for the kind words everyone!!! Still feeling very elated today, and even with the day off, I may head out for a few miles on the fixed gear since everything seems to have cleared up nicely. This fixed gear, especially the one I am riding now, is my favorite bike. I have the cockpit of that bike dialed in completely. It is super comfortable and the gearing is perfect for this terrain. I recently swapped the seat post out so today might be a good shake down ride to see if I truly got it to where it was before.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Congrats on the 5000 milestone, TenSpeed. Ironic most were on a fixie. The terrain suits that though. 

I struggled to ride enough. Few men my age are able to ride at all. I also do not have a job to ride to to force me and the car sits a lot too. So I count it as a successful year to be still riding. I have about a year to go to get the rest of the mercury out. It really messes up mitochondria and muscle strength. Maybe I can break 1000 next year.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Last commute of the year for me, looks like the rain is holding out for me.

206 commutes on the bike and 19 in the car this year. Pretty happy with that ratio.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

As expected, this will be the last commute of the year. It's pretty cold out, and there is a chance for some super light snow showers. Honey badger don't care, he is gonna ride his bike to work today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pretty much like the rest of 2015's bikecommute days, fantastic! Around freezing, rain to sleet, sloppy roads. Happy New Year, all!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First of all, Happy New Year to all of my fellow commuters. We all rock!!!

It was pretty cold today for that last ride in. 3 women totally blocking the path right outside my complex, all 3 with dogs, all 3 off leash. They didn't like it when I told them that the dogs should be on a leash. Pedestrian crossed the street with a dog and never looked to see if anything was coming. I was watching him. Truck backed out in front of me from a driveway. I saw him. My seatpost is a tad too high but it feels really good. Might leave it and see how it goes. Made it a mile from home before midnight struck. Stopped the computer and reset it for the next goal.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Last one here to commute in 2015, first to commute in 2016? AWESOME!!! Today was an interesting day. Woke up to a little snow and some blowing. Heavy winds from the west.....ahhhh I have to head west to get to both jobs. Froze my rear end off!!! Wind cut through every layer including my skin. Took the mountain bike with the regular bar back on and hydraulic brake installed. Yes, brake. Front one. Didn't get around to doing the rear. It's not bad at all. Feels weird on the bar but I kind of like it. Anyway, cold for delivery and we were slow. Rode to the second job and froze again in that wind. Ride home was a bit sketchy. Every road had a shine to it, some of it was ice, some was still a bit wet. MUP is covered in a thin layer of snow. Would love to take the road bike tomorrow to work however I am not sure that is a good idea.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

No commute today.

Yesterday I had to go pick up my car from the hotel we had our NY's party at so I biked there it was about 14 miles. Just glad I had the studs on the Ogre it was icy, what I noticed though is all the sketchy ice was on the MUPS and none on the road. Weather was great, little windy.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Clear enough to take the road bike to work today. Some slightly sketchy parts on cutting out of the complex, MUP was still snowy so that was completely avoided. Wind. I hate it!!! I had streams of snot just running down my face and my lungs felt like they were just frozen solid. We have had a lot of wind so far this "winter" season. Still sunny and clear though so it wasn't too bad. Ride home was interesting. Road appeared to be dry, but I look down at my tire, and it is wet. Not soaking, but not dry either. Had me kind of on edge since I wasn't sure what the roads would be like.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Happy new year everybody! I wont commute the next weeks but on new years day I started with a 1hr ride on a roadbike. Quite a new experience, unfortunately the bike is too small so longer rides will be uncomfortable. Especially the saddle is too low, since the seatpost is too short....Longer beach walks with the youngest in my kiddy backpack will hopefully keep me fit.

Good luck to you all for 2016 and keep rollin'


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Finished my year at 1553 with about a 9 mile roundtrip commute each day. So it doesn't add up quick. Doubt I drove my Jeep to work more than 25 times this year, so that's 1553 with a pretty good record of riding. 

Bought a new commuter for 2016. A beach cruiser by phat cycles. My Walmart cruiser bit the dust after I tripped and fell on top of it while trying to get on it. Bent the stem, a crank arm, and put my knee through the front wheel spokes. As I took it apart and started tallying up the parts to fix this $100 bike I realized the bike was toast. Well over 3,000 miles on the bike so I got my money's worth.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ how is it commuting on a beach style cruiser?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Famous!!!*

Happy new Year!

I started the year off with my own personal press release.  Leg Work: Getting to work in the winter under your own steam may not be for the faint of heart - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Add to that my year end review:
The Candid Cyclist: Year End Review 2015

So far I've ridden 11.0 miles in 2016. At that rate I'll top 1000 miles this year. OK, it's been a slow start.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

After an epic New Years weekend spent in Santa Cruz and Aptos on my favorite trails it's back to work time. First commute of the year was rainy and 44F. We are supposed to get rain all week. Hopefully it doesn't rain hard enough to make me drive in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's awesome Bedwards!! Good press. The local paper did a write-up on me once... a way for the local club to get some press for upcoming events, and I was the media pawn. You are big-time though!

Back to the normal routine for me today... about 20* out there and I couldn't find my 'clava!! I was in panic mode and was about to go without, but I found it on the way out the door. Fatbike rides over the vacation left my commute gear scattered... hate being out of the routine :lol:

Summary of the past couple weeks:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

First commute of the new year this AM and it was... interesting. Winds in the upper teens in the valley and an ice-slick in Anchorage. Photos: Freezing rain turns Anchorage streets into ice rinks | Alaska Dispatch News

Beyond that, not too much riding yet this new year. Had two nice rides on Saturday, though. Out at a place I haven't ridden in a couple of years. Moose Range in the valley. Awesome snow conditions even with the warm temps and some great riding all around. Got a night ride in with a buddy of mine who I've never ridden with with just the two of us - always coaching kids or other slower group rides. He worked me over good. It was fun.

It's my first day back at the office as well and I'm having a hard time getting motivated to actually do anything. I'll call it the Monday blahs. Part of it may be that I was planning to go for the first run of the year today, but realized once I got here that I didn't bring a towel with me for the showers afterwards, so will be foregoing that today. Guess I'll have to try to sneak out early and get some extra bike miles in.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Two weeks off, rode almost every day, and I think I only took the studded bike once. Not that it wasn't wintery (because it totally was) but the roads were bare, the paths were clear, and the singletrack was beautifully hardpacked. On the weekend I was out twice on my cx tires.

So this morning I'm deciding which bike to take, and I figure I'll take the studded bike just because I miss it. And then the last 10 blocks of my ride to work is all icy, washboard, moguls. It wasn't quite as extreme as blockphi's newsstory, but studs were definitely a good choice.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

newfangled said:


> Two weeks off, rode almost every day, and I think I only took the studded bike once. Not that it wasn't wintery (because it totally was) but the roads were bare, the paths were clear, and the singletrack was beautifully hardpacked. On the weekend I was out twice on my cx tires.
> 
> So this morning I'm deciding which bike to take, and I figure I'll take the studded bike just because I miss it. And then the last 10 blocks of my ride to work is all icy, washboard, moguls. It wasn't quite as extreme as blockphi's newsstory, but studs were definitely a good choice.


I was the exact opposite. the roads here still had lots of ice as did the trails. I suppose after my spill in the middle of the road I wasn't too motivated to ride on the ice. I only snuck in one ride of 24 miles. I fell short of my goal by 76 miles. In the end, I can live with it because miles just for the sake of miles seems foolish. Instead I enjoyed hanging with my sons, playing video games and other frivolous things.

Rode in today after swapping out the Nokian A10's for Clement USH's. I figured that with the afternoon highs we've had the last couple of days the ice would have melted off the trails. Not so, for the most part, it looked exactly like it did on December 24th. Glad I left the studded tires on my Motobecane. I will likely ride it in the remainder of the week. Guess I'm getting to be a wuss!

Anyway, ended up at 3976 miles for 2015. Will shoot for 5k this year. Goal is to average 100 miles a week.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Cruiser bike commuting is the best, if your commute is short and the weather is pretty decent year round. I started commuting about three years ago after peering in at this forum for a few months. Had a Walmart cruiser (40x16 gearing) for neighborhood rides with family and a Haro mt. bike at time. Because fitness was part of it, decided to go with the single speed Walmart cruiser. Kept this bike running for over 4000 miles until it met its end by me falling on top of it with a rushed mount. I really like the geometry and simplicity of the cruisers. . .and a lot less than hybrids.

My commute today was wet and rainy and tiresome. Spent most of December off the bike and gaining five pounds. Lost a good deal of fitness and paid today. Also didn't pay too much attention to the gearing of my new cruiser when I bought it but today found out it is geared too low for my liking. So on top of diminished fitness, I had to deal with much more spinning than accustomed too. Suspect this will get me right back into shape though. I may or may not switch out the ring for less teeth. Depends on whether I get used to it or not. I am a creature of habit and after 4k on my old bike this bike today felt like a complete stranger.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Happy new Year!
> 
> I started the year off with my own personal press release.  Leg Work: Getting to work in the winter under your own steam may not be for the faint of heart - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram


Happy New Year, nice article, photos, and blog bite Bedwards!

Impressive street skating up there, blockphi!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Suddenly chilly, 0F on the ride in, -5F by the time I got home. Stayed pretty comfy, although the facemask was bugging me. On the way home I velcroed it too snug and got a stiff neck. Stopped at about the 4 mile mark and switched to a wool buff I had packed - aah, comfy, and cozily dry (for a while) for the next 4. Squeaked out another ride with the summer tires.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

vegascruiser said:


> My commute today was wet and rainy and tiresome.


Yep supposed to be rainy all week in the LV valley, I got a little wet today as well for this year's first commute.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Happy new Year!
> 
> I started the year off with my own personal press release.  Leg Work: Getting to work in the winter under your own steam may not be for the faint of heart - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
> 
> ...


Famous AND a "rough-toughie" the author says! :rockon:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Related to my daily commute, I will effectively no longer be able to cheat in the winter. Nobody I know goes to university anymore though the bus may be an option. Grad school is cool.

I need to figure out what to do so I can travel 11 miles each way in any winter conditions. I'm debating getting the widest knobby tires I can on my 29er or trying to find a used fat bike. A fat bike would be very excessive most of the year, though. Maybe I'll put studded tires on the fixed gear... 

That'll be my task this year when the commute starts back up. I've been in a lull since school got out. Nothing to do, nowhere to go...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Going back to work in a couple hours, and I sure am glad to be DONE with the holidays. Weird shifts and parties are never my favorites, and I`ve had more than enough of both lately, thank you. I migrated way south over the weekend and skipped a major cold spell, so now it`s back to "moderately cold" and the same ice I had last week. Supposed to get a few days of piddly snow, will just leave the studs on for a while.

Wonderful write-up, Bedwards! How did you come to the author`s attention?



CommuterBoy said:


> Summary of the past couple weeks:
> View attachment 1040078


Boy am I glad to see some snow again! Looks great, CB. Is that down at Tahoe, or one of your own lakes?



vegascruiser said:


> Also didn't pay too much attention to the gearing of my new cruiser when I bought it but today found out it is geared too low for my liking. So on top of diminished fitness, I had to deal with much more spinning than accustomed too. Suspect this will get me right back into shape though. I may or may not switch out the ring for less teeth.


Congrats on the new bike- gearing aside, I`m sure it`ll become familiar to you. But if you liked the higher gears, won`t less teeth on the ring drop your gearing even lower? I think you have it backwards.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

That's Walker Lake Rodar. Backside of Fredoneyer. Right out the back door. Woohoo!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

z1r said:


> I was the exact opposite. the roads here still had lots of ice as did the trails. I suppose after my spill in the middle of the road I wasn't too motivated to ride on the ice. I only snuck in one ride of 24 miles. I fell short of my goal by 76 miles. In the end, I can live with it because miles just for the sake of miles seems foolish. Instead I enjoyed hanging with my sons, playing video games and other frivolous things.
> 
> Rode in today after swapping out the Nokian A10's for Clement USH's. I figured that with the afternoon highs we've had the last couple of days the ice would have melted off the trails. Not so, for the most part, it looked exactly like it did on December 24th. Glad I left the studded tires on my Motobecane. I will likely ride it in the remainder of the week. Guess I'm getting to be a wuss!
> 
> Anyway, ended up at 3976 miles for 2015. Will shoot for 5k this year. Goal is to average 100 miles a week.


Congrats on the miles!! I am not sure if your goal was 4k or not, but 3976 is nothing to look down your nose at. Best of luck in 2016! We both know you can do it!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Looks like winter is here now. Ride in was sunny and pretty nice. Ride home was frigid. Currently 13°F and my hands can feel it. Ride was not bad, was able to keep the SS moving at a nice pace since the roads are for the most part clear. That helps get the warm blood to your extremities. Found out that I just rode the shortest commute in my history. 14.05 miles. It all has to do with how I leave my complex and if I take the shortcut to the MUP over the tracks. That cuts out at least a mile and a half if not more if I do it on both trips, like I did today.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Happy New Year folks. 

Glad you've all been keeping it going. First day back working and commuting today and I've just gone way over my break catching up (shhh). You lot are awesome!! :thumbsup:

Cooler over here but not freezing. We had maybe the second frost of the winter over the break. That's pretty much unprecedented. Not raining but wet this and I'm down to only my blinky light waiting for the Niterider replacement to turn up.

I'm gonna try and monitor my mileage a bit more this year, I reckon I managed about 900-1000 miles from mid september so I'll see what I can do for 2016


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Winter decided to show up today out of nowhere, 13F when I left but it's sunny and dry and I think I actually wore the correct layers for once. I'm always tempted to overdress when it drops below 20F.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wonderful write-up, Bedwards! How did you come to the author`s attention?


I think she contacted the organizer of the bike-ped group I sat on for a while. She learned of my unique commute over the lake and wanted to do a piece on winter commuting.

My commute home last night was one of the hardest ones ever. My legs are still dead after my crash. A week an a half later I still have a foot long bruise on one of my quads in the shape of a parking divider. So, that along with cold, wind, many layers.. .. .. Let's put it this way. I have the KOM on a segment on my commute with a time of 56 seconds. Last night: 2 minutes 24 seconds and I was putting some effort in. WOW. I was sure the brakes were dragging and the tires were flat.

0F this morning. Winter has arrived! Now let's get that lake frozen!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been back in the saddle the last two days after spending the holidays in FL. I managed to get in two mtb at Santos in 80+ degree weather. Temps here were in the low 20s this morning with a light wind. It felt like I had a headwind the whole way. Even though it's not that cold, my body hasn't quite adjusted to colder weather yet. I felt really sluggish.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Back to commuting for the first of 2016 and winter has finally arrived here as well. 13F this morning. Since it is the first sub 25F commute of the season for me I opted to be conservative and drive halfway. I'm not confident yet in my clothing/layering choices at this point. I couldn't put my bar mitts on my drop bar commuter because I changed to bar end shifters this year and the cables interfere. Anyone here make that work?

The real drama of my time off around New Year's came on our New Year's Day Poker Ride, a fundraiser for our local mountain bike club. It was a chilly day, about 23F, with a lot of wind and a lot of whisky. Just a casual cruise around downtown with lots of stair riding and urban dirt exploring. It was really quite fun. UNTIL...









Luckily, it is covered under warranty and the manufacturer has been very responsive with regards to the warranty claim. Sigh...there's a first for everything I guess.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs - glad you are alright after that happened. You have a Framed correct? Glad to hear that they are working with you to get you covered. Keep us posted as to what happens. Hope you can get a new frame and stuffs swapped over.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Yep it's a Framed. It was really the gentlest frame failure in history haha. There was no big crash or anything. I was riding up a short steep incline and stood up to get over the last little bit when all of a sudden the rear wheel just stopped turning so I stepped off the bike. I thought I bent my axle somehow. So I flipped the bike over and inspected the wheel. It was fine. I was baffled until my buddy noticed the crack. I bent whole rear triangle and the chainstay gave way where you see in the picture above. 

Framed has been cool so far with the warranty process. I'll keep you guys updated as it goes.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride home last night and a decent ride in this AM. The ice is still coating everything in Anchorage this morning, but yesterday afternoon, with the scrim of water on top of it, it was must more slick than this morning. Wind's still blowing in the Valley. I guess this is the new normal and I think that the Dillinger studs aren't going to cut it and think I should get some Kold Kutters to self-stud up a pair of tires as I have heard that those are the best option when there is lots of glare ice.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> Yep it's a Framed. It was really the gentlest frame failure in history haha. There was no big crash or anything. I was riding up a short steep incline and stood up to get over the last little bit when all of a sudden the rear wheel just stopped turning so I stepped off the bike. I thought I bent my axle somehow. So I flipped the bike over and inspected the wheel. It was fine. I was baffled until my buddy noticed the crack. I bent whole rear triangle and the chainstay gave way where you see in the picture above.
> 
> Framed has been cool so far with the warranty process. I'll keep you guys updated as it goes.


Glad to hear it was a "gentle" failure, that's the best kind! Hope you are up and running quickly!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Dang Kleebs, that's a bummer!

Powder day for me! WooHoo! The studs are on and it's still coming down out there. A little less in the valley than there was at home, but a fun, bleak, snowy 8 miles this morning.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Congrats on the miles!! I am not sure if your goal was 4k or not, but 3976 is nothing to look down your nose at. Best of luck in 2016! We both know you can do it!


Thanks!

Yeah, my goal was 4K. I mistyped my actual which ended up at 3926. Only 74 miles short but twice my 2014 actual. Not too bad considering I only got back into riding last year after nearly 15 years off.

Here's to a safe and high mileage New Year for us all!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Great Pics CB!

Reminds me of the day after Thanksgiving, we rode 30 miles of trails with the snow coming down. I hadn't put my studs on yet so it was "fun" to say the least. I only took one spill conveniently into a nice soft snow drift.

Do you wear goggles? Did a CX race on Thanksgiving and my glasses got a layer of ice on them, couldn't see anything. It was a wet snow, pretty rare around here.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Sign says "*Bike Path Will Not Be Cleared of Snow by the City of Toronto*".

Sign does _not_ say "*Bike Path Will be Blocked with Snow by the City of Toronto*".

These are not the same thing. I don't even know where the hell they got the snow to make that little frozen wall, all the stuff on the ground is otherwise gone.

Normally something I'd hop over, but I'm not supposed to be straining the gimp knee. i.e. I'm not really supposed to be riding at all, but it's not like I'm gonna drive to work. Ever.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Well the forecast is saying El Nino is actually doing it's thing this week. I think I heard 10 in of rain by the end of the week. This morning's commute was a warm 50f and had no rain falling but the roads were wet. I think I just snuck in during a break really. Should be interesting commute home and tomorrow morning as I think it's supposed to unload.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

z1r said:


> Great Pics CB!
> 
> Do you wear goggles? Did a CX race on Thanksgiving and my glasses got a layer of ice on them, couldn't see anything. It was a wet snow, pretty rare around here.


I do have goggles... really should have worn them today :lol: I resorted to licking my glasses every once in a while. It works in a pinch.


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

First few commutes of the year have been off to a good start.

Left the house at 6am and rode 9 miles to work. Hit a muddy area where both tires were fighting for traction. Managed to save it and kept riding.

On the way home a Mastiff jumped out of a parked pickup and chased me for a bit until he got tired.

I am on Strava if anyone wants to follow.
[email protected]

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Yeah I better get my understanding of gearing figured out before I do any swaps. 

Rain commute home today. Got soaked with no fenders, but I can suffer the two rain day commutes I face a year without fenders. Supposed to rain most of the week.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Yeah I better get my understanding of gearing figured out before I do any swaps.


Big chainring (front ring) = harder to push

Big freewheel/cog (back ring) = easier to push

To figure out how much harder, divide the number of teeth on the front chainring by the number of teeth on the rear cog. So 40/20 = 2 means that for every rotation of the crank the back wheel spins twice.

On my fixed/free bike I use 52/20 and 52/18. Used to do 39/16 but found out I was spinning a little fast most the time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-6F in the a.m., 5F for the ride home. OK, but kinda slow. Now Queen and sole occupant of the bike rack at work. Paused for a pic of the golden dome in VT's capital this morning...


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Not much snow there in VT yet this year?

Lots of rain here today, this is the only real major intersection on my commute it was funny watching all the drivers that can't drive in the rain spinning out (oil in the road makes it slick, doesn't rain much here).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nope, maybe 6" at my house now, if that, dust over crust. Nice pic!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I drove.


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## Stumpjumper808 (Dec 27, 2004)

I've been off for a few weeks so today's commute was ....what it should be, exciting, relaxing, a good start, and social. The start is a 500 ft descent so who doesn't wanna see how fast they can do it? Then it's a relaxing bike path, and many greetings to other bikers, joggers and the scattered homeless. Then a 1/2 mile 3 lane Blvd and I'm at work. Love it!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^Love the snow pictures! I wouldnt mind a good dumping here tbh, make a change from rain..

Ride home last night was interesting. I'm waiting for my Niterider to be replaced so am on the aged backup blinky light. It's a mediocre here I am light that does not light up the road or way ahead at all! There's a section of mup that I use that's unlit. Once the cars had gone I couldnt see the edge of the mup or the verge so was down to walking pace. There is a white line after a bit on the road edge of the mup that helped but was reliant on passing cars. I need a better backup light!

Other than that it felt good to be back on the bike after the break.

This morning was cold, damp, gloomy and still. No foggy but the sound was really deadened as if it was. I'll still be on the blinky for the ride home but at least i'm prepared this time.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Good commute home last night and a nice commute in this morning. Had my first experience with studs yesterday. Not much to report about it yet though except that they are noisy and slow. Is it ok to run them all winter even if the roads are dry?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^If they are carbide yes. If they are steel they wear down fairly fast. 


mtbxplorer said:


> -6F in the a.m., 5F for the ride home. OK, but kinda slow. Now Queen and sole occupant of the bike rack at work. Paused for a pic of the golden dome in VT's capital this morning...


I'm frustratingly slow! It was a toasty 0F here both yesterday and today but it has warmed up to 22F now.

The lake has skimmed! With luck I'll be able to ride it starting next Monday or so. Will do a skating recon this weekend to check the thickness.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> Good commute home last night and a nice commute in this morning. Had my first experience with studs yesterday. Not much to report about it yet though except that they are noisy and slow. Is it ok to run them all winter even if the roads are dry?


Yup, carbide will be absolutely fine. Just avoid the temptation to get real aggressive on those warm, dry days, you can dislodge a stud. Wear will be negligible.

I was plum wore out yesterday when I got home. Two days of pushing those heavy slow rolling tires and my legs were dead! Had to take a day off today since the kids started back at school. Will ride in Thursday and Friday with snow predicted both days. Viva la studded tires!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^As long as the pocket doesn't tear it's easy enough to replace them.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Thanks for the knowledge fellas. They are carbide. Eventually I'd like to get a second wheelset so I can swap the studs on and off quickly. At one point I had planned to use the slim wheel set for my fat bike to mount the studs so I would have the options of studs, fat, or semi slick 38s all on their own wheelset that I could swap depending on the weather conditions. But alas...I have to wait for the replacement frame for that. I'd like to get some full fenders for the fat bike to do that as well. Those fat tires kick up A LOT of moisture and salt crud from the road.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Thanks for the knowledge fellas. They are carbide. Eventually I'd like to get a second wheelset so I can swap the studs on and off quickly. At one point I had planned to use the slim wheel set for my fat bike to mount the studs so I would have the options of studs, fat, or semi slick 38s all on their own wheelset that I could swap depending on the weather conditions. But alas...I have to wait for the replacement frame for that. I'd like to get some full fenders for the fat bike to do that as well. Those fat tires kick up A LOT of moisture and salt crud from the road.


Framed Minnesota 1.0+ 2.0 - Big O Manufacturing had a set of these on mine. Amazing coverage. I agree with you about the sluggishness of the studded tires. Sounds like I am dragging a chain behind my bike when you hit a spot of clear road.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Been waiting for this week for at least 3 years :thumbsup:

NorCal is rejoicing.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Framed Minnesota 1.0+ 2.0 - Big O Manufacturing had a set of these on mine. Amazing coverage. I agree with you about the sluggishness of the studded tires. Sounds like I am dragging a chain behind my bike when you hit a spot of clear road.


Yeah those are the ones I'm looking at. How hard were they to install? You don't happen to still have them laying around by chance do you? Also, I ordered your goodies yesterday. Sorry for the delay in doing that.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very nice pics CB! Im a bit jealous.....

Back home in hamburg winter seems.to have arrived for a short period. Snow and temps of -6C but forecasted to go up above freezinglevel tomorrownight. Im a bit annoyed that i took my parental leave just now. Here in the netherlands just 550km/350m away, we have 50.shades of grey only:, cloudy with regular showers and drizzle. No chance to ride the roadbike either, it has no fenders.

Bedwards: how far do you ride over the lake and do you have some means of orientation in bad visibility?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

There is about 1/2 to 1 mile over the ice depending on the route. It's a long skinny lake so in most places you aren't more than 1000' off shore. Worst case you could get turned around and end up on the wrong shore. I have ridden across in a blizzard at night and you can definitely get out there an not see any shore. It wasn't fun.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> Yeah those are the ones I'm looking at. How hard were they to install? You don't happen to still have them laying around by chance do you? Also, I ordered your goodies yesterday. Sorry for the delay in doing that.


I don't still have them unfortunately. Was all part of the trade for this SS Carve. The installation was involved. You get to decide where they sit, like how much coverage you get front and rear. They leave the last mount up to you, so you would have to drill the mounting point to the crown of the fork and the rear bridge. As for coverage, they were really good. Took some time to get them perfectly aligned but I imagine that it is like that with any full fender set. I ended up mounting the front one pretty far back to maximize coverage. This did ultimately affect some ground clearance like curbs and the such, just keep that in mind.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^As long as the pocket doesn't tear it's easy enough to replace them.


Where have you found that you can get replacement studs? I came up blank.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Pretty relaxed commute today. Ride in was about 27 degrees. Not too shabby, but I was glad to have to balaclava around covering my ears. Only going to volunteer at the local watershed restoration. Last week their visitor's center got flooded. They had as much as 2 ft of water inside, so we cleaned that. They also had me check all of the small engines to make sure they work. The Gator was a-ok, but when I pulled the cord on the lawnmower, water spewed out of the engine. 

Then I basically went home and piddled with my bikes. Good rise in temperature but also a pretty steady headwind on the way back. Got racks put on both bikes and new-barely used tires put on the mtb after getting home. Yay productivity!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Man, a flu has just rolled over me today. This morning was a bit of a sore throat, and some fluid in my lungs. But now I'm just bagged - shivery, can barely sit up at my computer, and everything aches. I'm sure the ride home will be fine, but the evening is going to be brutal. 

(and I'm sure tomorrow I'll be fine, but my wife will inevitably suffer with this for weeks)


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

One of the dropouts on the new bike bent. Gap big enough to make the nut useless. Slow peddled two miles to work with essentially one bolt holding back wheel on. I tell bike shop this is unacceptable and he starts acting like I must've had an impact accident to do that. Then acts like cause I put new tubes in bike that I voided out potential warranty by working on bike myself. . .I will sort this out tomorrow with him when I bring bike back down to him. He wants to see it and said we'll figure something out.

Meanwhile, spent an hour getting my geared mt. bike ready for tomorrow commute cause I seems like this bike might be down a bit.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm frustratingly slow! It was a toasty 0F here both yesterday and today but it has warmed up to 22F now.
> 
> The lake has skimmed! With luck I'll be able to ride it starting next Monday or so. Will do a skating recon this weekend to check the thickness.


On the plus side of pokiness, today my boss was like, "was that you at the light at about 7 last night?" Me: Oh yes, that's about right." I did work a little late, but it also took about 50 minutes to travel to that spot from work, <8 miles away.

Stay safe on that lake!

Great pix CB!

And I hope everyone's bikes and bodies recover!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Get well soon mtb!

Ride home was ok. Ride this morning was wet! First time this winter I decided that I do need to put the waterproof jacket on, and I'm glad I did. Heavy rain, cold gusty wind and crappy visibility. Still in shorts though as they're the only suitable biking gear I've got. socks gloves and shoes currently drying on the heater.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Parked a little closer to work than normal to shorten my commute because I couldn't get my ass moving this morning and was running late. Commute was good, about 23F. Supposed to warm up to the mid 40s this afternoon and my wife is staying at her parent's tonight, so I might tack on a couple pleasure miles before looping back to the car. 

Saw another bike commuter today for the first time since I changed jobs in May. The guy was riding a fat bike with full face mask and goggles. I felt bad for him on the pavement with the fat bike (there are no trails around here) but it was nice to see that I'm not the only one that doesn't want to spend every moment in a temperature controlled box.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A full week of studs... Glorious.


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## Lars_D (May 24, 2011)

Things did not go well today. The commute is about 3 miles. After about a mile the front end started feeling twitchy. I stopped several times to examine the fork, the frame, and the headset. Everything checked out, but the twitchiness kept getting worse. By the time I got to work the bike was unrideable and I had to walk the last quarter mile. WtF. 

It turns out that when I rebuilt the REAR wheel last weekend (I wanted to upgrade the hub), I didn't tighten the spokes evenly enough. Most of the spokes on the right side had loosened up and the wheel was in the process of coming apart--a half hour with the spoke wrench and all was well. It was a good reminder to take my time when I work on the bike and to double check everything.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Lars_D said:


> Things did not go well today. The commute is about 3 miles. After about a mile the front end started feeling twitchy. I stopped several times to examine the fork, the frame, and the headset. Everything checked out, but the twitchiness kept getting worse. By the time I got to work the bike was unrideable and I had to walk the last quarter mile. WtF.
> 
> It turns out that when I rebuilt the REAR wheel last weekend (I wanted to upgrade the hub), I didn't tighten the spokes evenly enough. Most of the spokes on the right side had loosened up and the wheel was in the process of coming apart--a half hour with the spoke wrench and all was well. It was a good reminder to take my time when I work on the bike and to double check everything.


I had that happen the first time I ever built a wheelset, except I was 10 miles into a 24 mile singletrack loop and I didn't pack a spoke wrench. It was a long walk back to my car.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

First week back to work after 3 weeks off - been tough going! Made worse by another bad puncture with my previously trusty Bontrager XR2s :/

Back in December I posted in this thread about my 26" bike getting a large cut in the center tread of the Bontrager XR2 tubeless tire I was using, and how the repair didn't work. I've not got around to replacing the tyre, so have ridden my 29er recently - again with a Bontrager XR2 rear. 

The *exact* same thing happened to me on the commute home today! Large puncture/cut, in the *exact* same part of the tire (dead center between 2 tread blocks)! As luck would have it, the moment sealant started to spew out everywhere, it started to snow for the first time this winter! So it was a nice time trying to get enough air in to ride out of the woods. 

Now I need to replace 2 tyres. My trust in the XR2s is really diminished, especially as they are pretty expensive here (~80CHF/80USD per tyre). I am very tempted to go back to Maxxis, and use Exo Dual Tubeless Ikons instead... for half the price. 

Bummed out, but well, at least the 10PSI left in the tyre got me home!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Slow, but not cold. The new tires offer quite a bit more rolling resistance. I guess I was spoiled by the low profile knobs on the rear tire before, though. That said I did opt for a little off-road side trip on the not- too- muddy bits of trail. I must say I appreciated them at that point. 

On the way home I noticed orange spray paint marking a couple trees in front of a trail, which I always presumed was a private walking path to someone's house. I stopped to look at it for a minute. Someone is definitely doing some bicycling there. A little ways in and I could see tire tracks and a few log obstacles. I'll have to investigate this and if nobody is trying to keep anyone out, then it just might be a pretty good find.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Kleebs said:


> I had that happen the first time I ever built a wheelset, except I was 10 miles into a 24 mile singletrack loop and I didn't pack a spoke wrench. It was a long walk back to my car.


Note to self: Start packing a spoke wrench!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Commuted on a geared bike for the third time in three years. Starting to wonder why I've only used it three times. Sort of nice having options.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great day here for riding. It hit 41°F and was sunny while I was delivering. Ride to work was uneventful as was the ride home. Felt great to be back on the fixed gear again.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good ride home. My gear had dried out and the wind had moreorless done a 180 and was a good 3/4 tail wind for most of the way.

Coldest morning yet this winter today at 1°C, but it was dry. 

Spoke to the bike shop yesterday, they have no more Lumina 220s in stock and Niterider cant supply a replacement until about 2 weeks (wtf!? due to xmas apparently). I can wait, chose a different one or get a refund. I might just go for a bigger output Lumina as I really like the light but am open to suggestions for a USB rechargeable unit.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It was nice. Felt rather warm almost hot to me today, for the top half of me I wore a wool T-Shirt and a Woolrich jacket over it. It snowed about an inch last night but it was all wet when I left this morning (thanks fenders).


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-20c Starting to get cold.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

14F at the house this morning. Had to work from home on Wednesday and Thursday which was a bummer and even without the riding those days my legs still felt dead this AM. I did do some riding on Wednesday, though. Our one vehicle broke down with my wife and one of the dogs in it. So I rode over to where she was broken down to check into what the possible cause was. Then, once we got a tow truck on its way I sprinted to the Uhaul store to rent a pickup (Only place even remotely close to rent a vehicle) so I could round up parts and get the burban fixed. By midnight I had it all repaired and running like a champ again - bad fuel pump. Decided there was no way I was getting up at 4 to go work at the office on Thursday...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

-20°c :eekster:

Good save Blockphi. Cars dont like the cold any better than we do and resent being out in in I reckon. That's why they make us grub about underneath when the weather is worst.


Someone at the office accused me of being an 80's throwback today when they saw my jacket. To be fair they're not far off; I can't remember if I got this in the late 80's or early 90's, I was still in school. Admittedly I didn't wear it until about 8 years ago (to embarrassed) but don't give a hoot now. Good jacket, does the job nicely and what do you mean SMIDSY?!?!?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

How was my commute?

Took the trails

The trails hadn't been packed

I did some walking

There was a good sunrise.

The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

It took 1 hour & 45 minutes to get to work

I'm carpooling home tonight.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

@ SlipSpace: I am super jealous of that jacket. I wear safety yellow all winter because it's visible and the jacket is the only light and warm thing I have. That jacket, pretty slick though.

No commute. Long drive after work today. Going to SoMo to see my girlfriend. Definitely bringing the bike though


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Drove today cause I headed to a couple of bike shops straight from work. I hate having three bikes and only one operating. Was down to zero of three operational. Took new bike back to LBS after work and they said they can fix the dropout. Had to go to another bike shop to find a locknut for a Monocog. So after this weekend I should be back up to three operational bikes and no charge. Locknut given to me free and repairs on new bike are free as well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

j


SlipSpace said:


> Someone at the office accused me of being an 80's throwback today when they saw my jacket. To be fair they're not far off; I can't remember if I got this in the late 80's or early 90's, I was still in school. Admittedly I didn't wear it until about 8 years ago (to embarrassed) but don't give a hoot now. Good jacket, does the job nicely and what do you mean SMIDSY?!?!?


That jacket is now a classic! I had to look up SMIDSY, got a pic of a Kangaroo, and the desired SORRY MATE I DIDN'T SEE YOU!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> -20c Starting to get cold.


Stay warm up there!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Started out absolutely wonderful. Nice ride to the LBS before delivery to just shoot the BS with my buddy. 41°F and sunny. Started delivering, and everything was alright weather wise until about noon or so. Started to drizzle/mist a little bit. Not bad at all. Still halfway decent out. Then it started to sprinkle, and then a bit more, then the temp started to slightly drop and the wind pick up. Then it started to actually rain. At 2PM, I was done and standing in the shop with soaking wet shoes and socks. Still had another 5 mile ride up to the hospital to go to work. 35°F and steadily raining. No time like the present to just go so off I went. By the time I was at the hospital, I was cold. Feet were cold, hands were alright in the Showers Pass gloves. Body was dry and halfway warm with the rain jacket on. Tights actually kept my legs somewhat dry. 

The ride home flat out sucked. Steady rain, poor visibility, huge puddles, and of course I started the ride in wet socks and shoes because they didn't dry. Didn't matter because 4.2 seconds into the ride they were completely drenched all over again. Feet are still cold right now as I type this with them in front of the space heater. My dog is blocking a lot of it but I am getting some. Need to find a waterproof commuter SPD shoe, not boot, for days like this.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today was the coldest ride of the season by about 15 degrees. It was 7F on the way in with snow on the ground and ice on the roads. I wasn't counting on such crappy conditions on the roads. I made it though on my SS with a knobby on the front and a slick on the back. 

The bike I usually ride in the winter is on the trainer in my basement and the brakes don't work. I swapped out the front tire to ride in today and discovered that the reason my brakes might not work is that the rim is really narrow and the V-brakes have a hard time contacting the rim. I had to cinch up the cable on my SS just to get any braking. I am considering swapping rims between the two bikes since it seems like the one set of V-brakes can compensate for the skinny rims, while the other can't (especially with fenders).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, this is gonna suck. Couple of inches of snow on top of a hard packed snow and ice combo, and it is currently 12°F out and I leave in about an hour to go deliver then to my other job. Decided not to mess with swapping out my rear studded tire and I am headed to the shop with my tire to let someone competent in tires do it. Don't feel like battling it for an hour.


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## Sven7 (Dec 16, 2014)

Metro Detroit... glare ice everywhere. Rolling up to the bike rack, I barely grazed the brake and ended up getting some R4D Y0 drifty slide action with one foot on the ground. It's like a skating rink. Probably should have lowered my tire pressure.


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## nefariousvw (Jan 29, 2015)

First commute on my new bike and it was great. Picked up a lightly used cross bike and traded my 10.5miles of muddly & sloppy dirt road/single track for 10.5miles of pavement and shaved 12 minutes.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

It was cold (for Charleston...where did my 70 degree winter go?).


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Commuted in the vehicle today:-( . After being sick all weekend I decided it'd probably give myself a day of rest out of the cold to try and get over this bug. Hopefully i'll be back on the bike tomorrow. Didn't do much of anything all weekend except watch TV. Only thing remotely productive I was able to do was changed out the brake pads on my commuter. They were pretty much down to nothing and the last couple of days there was not enough pad to be able to lock up the rear in the wet even if I tried. With my commute consisting of a couple of fast descents figured it was about to become a safety issue.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. 36F at the house with winds 10 to 15 out of the north. 34F in town. The bike trails have gone back to being super slick as the thin layer of ice chips that had been made by the studded tires and runners with shoe spikes have mostly melted back into the ice, creating some nice glare ice - generally on corners. Good times. Forecast calls for ice pellets today. Also good times. I'm sick of Alaska winters. I need to move somewhere where there is actually snow!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A bit frosty this morning :skep:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I was completely flattened at home with a cold on thursday and friday, started to feel humanish on saturday, and mostly recovered yesterday. 

I'll still be coughing for a few days, but today was the first ride back. I always wonder if riding in the cold with a cough makes things worse, but don't have an empirical way to test it, so whatever.

There aren't many celebrities I have much fondness for, but awww man, Bowie.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> I was completely flattened at home with a cold on thursday and friday, started to feel humanish on saturday, and mostly recovered yesterday.
> 
> I'll still be coughing for a few days, but today was the first ride back. I always wonder if riding in the cold with a cough makes things worse, but don't have an empirical way to test it, so whatever.
> 
> There aren't many celebrities I have much fondness for, but awww man, Bowie.


Ashes to ashes, funk to funky.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

My commute is only a mile and I had full ice beard when I got in. I think the weather human said it was -6F today.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Fixed drop outs on my new bike and rode it today. Nine miles on it and fresh from the bike shop and the back hub already has a bit of play. Cold by Vegas standards. 34f in and 50f for ride home.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

vegascruiser said:


> Cold by Vegas standards. 34f in and 50f for ride home.


Sure was! Felt like below freezing this morning, probably the humidity from the rains lately.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Pretty chilly but not too bad. About 24F when I left the house today. About 30F on the return, but much more windy. Actually a pretty beautiful winter day to be on the bike.

I tried to stop and take photos of the icicles hanging on top of tunnels where the bike path goes under the roads, but it was dark and my phone camera sucks. One was almost touching the ground.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Most of it sucked. The ride to the shop wasn't too bad but was super cold at a balmy 12°F. By the time we went to deliver an hour later, the sun had come out and the temp dropped to 10°F. The roads sucked, we were busy as hell since today was the first day of class and we were severely understaffed with drivers. I had an ice beard big time by the time I got to work. Was frozen solid as I was blasted by the dang wind. Side roads were not too bad. Ride home was pretty fun since we got about 2" of fresh powder. Made the time go by fast concentrating on what was underneath. For the first time in a long time, my hands were not cold. These REI gloves are the ticket I think. As long as I put them on inside and do not touch anything cold I was good to go. It was 11°F and snowing when I left work tonight. Hands were actually warm which surprised me big time.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Been a colder couple of days so far this week, still above freezing though, but with a wind. It's been dry though so that's better.

Bought a new light over the weekend to replace the Niterider 220. Got a Smart 700. Never heard of the brand before but supposed to have a 700 lumen output. Smart 700 Lumen USB Front Light | Planet X
Less focused than the Niterider so gets a little lost where it's bright but certainly chucks out a lot of light for the unlit areas. Hopefully running at 220 will give me a weeks worth of charge rather than needing to do it every day like the Niterider. Mount isn't as good either, needed some padding for a secure fit but for the price point it's a good deal. I'm keen to try some night exploration on the MTB now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Pleasant commute this morning. It was 34F with snow on the way. The sun is thinking about coming up around when I bike in, and light was poking through a few holes in the clouds and accentuating dark bands in the sky. 

I saw four deer. Two ran in front of me. I am not going to say I would have hit one of them if I hadn't slowed down, but I needed to slow down for one who was wanting to dart across the road in front of me. She was about 10-15 feet away. Just last week I had seen my first deer on a commute in almost 9 years of commuting by bike. The old commutes just didn't lend themselves to seeing much wildlife.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^At least your deer don't stand in the middle of the bike path/road and refuse to move out of your way. There are four deer around the same spot that do that a couple times a week recently. It's kind of an awkward process because I don't want to get kicked, but I've found just dismounting and standing there freaks then out because they must only then realize a human is present.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow, you've got some brazen deer. Even the big herds of them I go through in the winter don't stick around as soon as they see me. 

Sold the Pigsley! Wooo Hooo! It weighed out at 38lbs. I don't think I'll miss it.

No commute (or ride at all) for the last few days due to appointments and stuff. Snow coming in tonight so the AM is uncertain too. Possibly a fatbike ride across the lake and through the trails if they don't get buried.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

@NDD: There is a trail system about an hour east of here where the deer are thick and do what you just described. I was riding with a group once, and we came around a corner and were blocked by a huge buck just standing there. We all slammed on the brakes and had to wait for him to clear the trail.

@bedwards1000: These are urban deer, enamored by headlights and not afraid to take one for the team.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

This is up by the university. In essence, these deer are smart and know you can't do anything because they can't be hunted on campus the surrounding suburban are due to city ordinances about discharging firearms. 

More so, they're very over populated and have been decimating the vegetation around campus so they have to get brave and venture out to eat. They have simply lost the fear response towards people because we can't touch them and they have to eat what little is left in more and more public areas.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Pssh.. deer. Try getting a moose to move out the way! There's a challenge. 

Good ride in this AM. Freezing rain in Anchorage. At first I was thinking I just needed to stay on the bus and go home - didn't want to deal. But rather than make things slick it is coming down such that it is turning to ice just before hitting the ground, so the crystals made for an awesome grippy riding surface. Fun times. Just hope it doesn't change to straight rain before the ride home. That would suck.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've got some pretty bold, conditioned deer also. I make a game of it though... I don't brake when they're in the road, and I see how close I can get. They always move eventually... after staring at you for a minute to figure out if you're real or something. When they finally spring into action, they sometimes peel out for a couple steps on the pavement like a cartoon. It's awesome. I posted on here once about actually touching one with a tire... felt like I won an epic game of tag. 

One scary moment was when one that I didn't see behind a bush swung it's head up from the shoulder of the road to see what that sound was (me). Almost hit me with it's head. I literally smelled it's breath. If it was a buck I might have lost an eye :lol: 

Moose... no thanks.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

My bike bell works way better on deer than it does on people.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The snow started falling an hour or so before the morning commute and we got about 3". Finally some snow!! Unfortunately I am fat-less at the moment so I got my first taste of 35mm studs on fresh snow. It worked fine, but was definitely different than on the fat bike. The only crappy part of the ride was the nasty head wind. It was a steady 25 mph. The forecast warned of gusts up to 50mph, but I don't think it was nearly that bad.

Riding on snow is always a bit of a rush. I often wuss out when it's raining, but snow is actually a motivator for me. Plus, it's my birthday and nothing will stop me from riding on my birthday!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Birthday fellow Capricorn. Mine was a few days ago. I also rode on my birthday. Not a whole lot since though


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Feel like I might be getting into a grove with the new bike. Getting used to the feel and slowly working the kinks out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Finally put on the Ice Spikers this a.m., and rode home on a lovely white carpet. Still some honking from self-righteous motorists, but lovely overall. 

This morning it had not snowed yet, about 7F, so I opted for some Bowie on the Ipod - but he kept repeating 1 song instead of playing the whole album or artist, not sure why. I would stop after 3 repeats or so and change songs.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

19F going out and coming back. Little less windy on the return, which was appreciated. No bullheaded deer, but did catch an opossum, a skunk, and a pack of our resident non migrating geese. 

It's getting to that part of the year that I won't run into people after dark. Kinda nice having the paths to myself for now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Cold and dry. No wind, no deer, no moose. On my way in tonight I saw a car parked off the road with parking lights lit, stopped to make sure everything was okay. Answer was "Yes, just talking". "Okie dokie, have a nice evening." Exciting commute.



NDD said:


> This is up by the university. In essence, these deer are smart...


Makes sense. They learn through osmosis or are they permitted to enroll?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Makes sense. They learn through osmosis or are they permitted to enroll?


Now, I reckon I've met a dear or two in class over the years.


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## VegasSingleSpeed (May 5, 2005)

Tried to talk myself out of commuting this morning, but decided to pedal. I need a cookie.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ I hear you. 

I could easily have not cycled this morning. Got up late, kit wasn't quite ready (needed to find a clean shirt for work), missed breakfast, on my bike ready to go, forgot my phone. So off the bike, cover off and open pannier for keys, into the house, grab phone, back out, lock door, keys in the pannier, on the bike, 100 yards out got a clonking from the rear wheel, damn, forgot to close the pannier or put the cover on so it was rattling in the wheel, sort that out and finally I'm off.

Not sure if it was skipping breakfast or just the generally disorganised start but felt short of energy for all but the last mile of the ride where I steamed it up the hill in recompense.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A great commute this morning. 27 and dense fog in the valley. 28 and fresh snow in town - maybe an inch or inch and a half. Nice to ride without having to squeeze my bum cheeks together in fear of falling on the ice.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I had an agonizing debate with myself about throwing the studs on this morning... I had them going all last week, and just switched back as the roads were clear. We had a "winter weather advisory" for last night, and I woke up just after the alarm should have gone off to find that the power had gone out... so I was already a bit frazzled trying to get ready in a hurry in the dark, and I kept trying to take glances outside...so hard to tell what was going on out there. Was it rain? Snow? The road looked dark like it was probably just rain.... eventually I decided to go without the studs (should always go with studs if you're having this kind of a conversation with yourself, by the way). My decision was largely based on not wanting to take the time to swap the wheels.

So I get out there, and it was... gloop? If you've had kids, and one of them has ever worn a regular diaper into a pool instead of a swim diaper, and then when they got out you've had that diaper burst open...that's the stuff that was covering the world this morning. So strange. I still don't know if not having studs was an OK decision. I was cutting down to pavement and throwing up a monster wake as I cut through the mush...I think the traction was fine. What was hitting me in the face felt like rain, but what was on the ground was more like a slurpee. Just weird. If I didn't have fenders I probably would have drowned.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Was on the fence about riding in today. I was sick this past weekend and took my vehicle into work to give my body some rest so that I could be back on the bike ASAP. I've still had a cough going so wasn't sure about riding and possibly making it worse. Left the house and it was lightly raining and 52F. Didn't get out of my complex before realizing I had the light on that had modified optics which is now not completely waterproof. I don't want to ruin it finding out so I turned around to grab my other light and it stopped raining so decided to make the dash for work without dealing with the light change. Overall it was a nice ride with just a bit of mist but man I could feel my lungs a bit after a few days off and after affects of being sick. Glad to be back on the bike. Being inactive for 4 days straight drives me crazy!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold, windy, snowy, poor traction. All the things I hate about commuting.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Had to be home on time last night so obviously that's the day I get a puncture... Knowing what an absolute git the Marathon Plus' were to get on or off I thought I'd see how far I got on an inflation. So pumped it up and it held for a mile or so, rinse and repeat for the next 4 miles. 4 months of use has made the tyre a bit more manageable so that was good. Nothing obvious in the tyre, inside or out, and a small hole in the tube that would have been directly on the tread centre. Took the opportunity to put new rim tape and reassemble. All ok today.

We have snow forecast for today, just a dusting I think, but could be interesting.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

About halfway into my commute today it got pretty foggy. Had to aim my light down lower to cut back on the reflection off the fog. Temp was 38F which is cooler than lately due the break in rain. We are supposed to get more again this afternoon so i'm sure it'll be a wet ride home. Threw my googles in my bag just in case it starts coming down hard.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yesterday's slush-fest turned to today's ice nightmare... you could laugh as all of those big globs exploded while you rode through them without feeling them yesterday... today, every lump could potentially take you out. It got better closer to town, but I was pretty tired of having to concentrate so hard by the time i got to work. Not a relaxing ride in.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yesterday's slush-fest turned to today's ice nightmare... you could laugh as all of those big globs exploded while you rode through them without feeling them yesterday... today, every lump could potentially take you out. It got better closer to town, but I was pretty tired of having to concentrate so hard by the time i got to work. Not a relaxing ride in.


Similar, but car snot was brown with salt and gravel yesterday at 8 C, with zero resistance....today lumpy and ready to take you out.....more snow coming.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Ugh, no thanks. 

Spring in the air around here. It's going to get up to 52F today. Made for a nice ride in, but I teach labs all day so I get the torture of looking out the window.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good riding conditions today. Light snow cover on both parts of my commute. I just wasn't so much feeling it. Dead legs and a swimming head. Just super tired. Hope I'm not getting sick. Will probably take the direct route to the bus this afternoon and work from home tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, CB & JeffScott! Stay safe out there. 

Today I dropped my car at the shop and took the bus/walked to early offsite training. R.I.P. 2005 Subaru Outback Impreza sport!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was rain/sleet/snow with a stiff gusty wind on the way home. It was ok apart from my hands which became painfully cold, mostly as they got wet, in the thin woolen gloves I wear.

We had our sprinkle of snow last night which melted a bit and the the freeze set in. Fortunately not too much on the roads and I didnt feel any slip at all. I had on a buff and under helmet hat but riding against the wind it was pretty penetrating. I was about 6 miles or so into my 8 mile commute before I realised I hadnt put my helmet on...how the hell did that happen?!?!?! Felt naked for the rest of the journey.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2016)

CommuterBoy said:


> Yesterday's slush-fest turned to today's ice nightmare... you could laugh as all of those big globs exploded while you rode through them without feeling them yesterday... today, every lump could potentially take you out. It got better closer to town, but I was pretty tired of having to concentrate so hard by the time i got to work. Not a relaxing ride in.


 Ditto. I ride a mup that's covered in a sea of frozen slush footprints. It's like riding inverted cobblestones.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> R.I.P. 2005 Subaru Outback Impreza sport!


Dead and gone?

First time on the bike in a week. I got dressed for the ride in, it was supposed to be in the teens. Listened to the news. 1 degree F. Got dressed again. Grabbed the studded commuter to find that the freewheel was not free wheeling. Took the wheel off and gave it a soak in WD-40 to get it spinning again. Opted for the around the lake route even though the lake is (assumed) frozen. I was skating last weekend but then we got 2" of rain and 50F. The roads are still messy but not CB & Jeffsott messy. I've decided that my commute is too long to attempt riding in that type of condition if I have to take the main roads. Less traveled roads, no problem.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Haven't commuted since Monday, been sick all week, last 2 days stayed home from work. Monday I had so much snot running down my beard I looked like the frozen guys from Dumb and Dumber on the moped haha! 

Good news is I picked up my new commuter bike earlier this week and just finished up accessorizing her last night. Will post up some pics later, a 2016 GT Traffic.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

*Surprise!*

Wearing the wrong tires to the party seems to be all the rage this week, so I thought I`d join the club. Slow and easy all the way home- slipped many times, a couple dabs, but the only time I went down was when I originally mounted my beast, didn`t hurt anything. Caught a top notch sunrise over the valley, then got to make an anaconda down my virgin driveway.




















RIP, Impreza. Sorry for your loss, former Impreza owner.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

New bike! a 2016 GT Traffic 3.0 (the cheap one) before and after I put a bunch of cool new stuff and cool old stuff from the old GT that was way too small for me.

:drumroll:

Before: you can see Mr Cuddles is not impressed.



Ready to roll!


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Commuted five days this week for the first time in a while. . .holiday time off, bike issues, etc. Felt good.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice ride Eugene! Looks like you should fly on that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Dead and gone?


Not gone yet, but will not be legal after February. $1600 mechanical plus body work would be needed to pass inspection. Not worth it for a car I got for 7K over 5 years ago and with 179K miles now. I did have them fix the exhaust, so at least I can hear myself think while car shopping.

Great pix Rodar, your trees look beauteous in the snow! Glad you got there in one piece.

I like the new bike, Eugene, enjoy!

My morning ride was good, switched back to the cx bike since the roads are pretty clear. Tested out the furry winter conti's on an ice floe across the lane and they did fine, although I expect some road grit helped as well. I meant to try them on a snowy sidestreet but forgot.

The trip home was literally insane, because I took the bus, having worked late; wow, there are some interesting characters out there. One loud talker, a seemingly bright guy but with zero social filters asked a woman if her boyfriend had raped her (we had been hearing from her, also loudly, about his arrests, jail time, domestic violence, and heroin, and also her arrest/hearing on resisting arrest). I guess this crossed the line, because she replied that she was not going to talk about that on the bus.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Nice ride Eugene! Looks like you should fly on that.





mtbxplorer said:


> I like the new bike, Eugene, enjoy!


Thanks! I took it for a spin around the neighborhood yesterday and it's quite a bit faster than my Ghost with the big fat knobbie tires lol! Will have to get used to taking it easy over bumps and curbs and such.


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

Haven't commuted work in quite sometime. My daughters were up earlier then normal this am so I figured, what the heck? Its wasn't raining to bad out. But with no fenders and a mile of dirt road, I got a little muddy. Even made it to work with plenty of time to spare cleaning up. I need to do this more.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Horrible. Rode in feeling less than ideal for work. MUP was a sheet of ice that had to be walked in some spots. Wind was just blasting me in the face. Got to work and changed and just didn't feel that good. Grabbed a Diet Vernor's (ginger ale for those of you not in the immediate mid west) and worked on that. At 4:45, I punched out and left after getting sick twice in the bathroom. I felt a bit better but I feel as though if you get sick at work, it is common courtesy to not subject your coworkers to it. They were kind of pissed that I felt good enough to ride my bike home. Uh, yeah, that is how I got to work. Would be the same as driving. I would have had to have driven home in traffic. Would have been worse if I had to get sick again to be honest. And that feeling hasn't quite disappeared yet. Came home, let the dog out, and grabbed him and jumped in bed and slept a good 5 more hours. Just got up a little while ago and went and got some Gatorade and am working on that and some chicken noodle soup. Feeling better but not all there yet. Will be driving Sunday just because I could save the energy. Blisteringly cold temps coming for Monday, and I am scheduled to deliver.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I don't really know how they could get mad at you. I mean you rode there feeling fine, started feeling like crap, and had to ride back, because that was your transport. I think this boils down to the idea that people think bikes are all about leisure. Obviously for us that's not true. 

Bogus.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

7F this morning with a wind chill of about -15F and yet I managed to overdress. I wore an extra thermal long sleeve under my fleece and was sweating when I got to work. Everything else was pretty good, though I miss my bar mitts. Gloves just don't work quite as well. My fingers were the only thing that was cold and it wasn't too bad.

Got a lot of questions and comments when I rolled in this morning. One guy asked where I was from, as if I grew up in Siberia or something and that is how I can handle these temperatures. His next question was "don't you have a car?" I started going into all the reasons that I prefer to ride my bike, but I needed to get to a meeting so I only got through about half of them. Sometimes it feels good to be the resident "badass" at work.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-3 up from -18C last night...

Ground temp was still quite cold...

Hit a bit of stiffer???? than most car snot at 25 kph and lost the front wheel, bike went right and I dabbed and damn near went down...

Note if I had gone left with a car coming I could easily have been killed....

Always ride far left to help force the oncoming further left....then as they get close swing right to ensure a car snot skid will be to the right and safety....


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

8° and west winds as I headed to deliver. That was horrible. Started snowing about an hour before I finished. Came home to get the car to drive to work. Still feeling the effects of this stomach bug. Barely ate anything this morning and had half a banana at the bike shop before delivering. Working on a yogurt right now. Just no appetite at all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Funny bus story MTXB.



TenSpeed said:


> They were kind of pissed that I felt good enough to ride my bike home. Uh, yeah, that is how I got to work. Would be the same as driving. I would have had to have driven home in traffic. Would have been worse if I had to get sick again to be honest.


I've had the same thought about riding the bike home early. You ARE well enough to ride your bike.... Hope you are feeling better.



jeffscott said:


> Note if I had gone left with a car coming I could easily have been killed....


Glad to have you hear posting about it.

My commute in sucked. It was my first lake crossing of the season so that was good(ish). There was some slush on top that should be frozen by now. But now there is 2 inches of snow on top of it.

The suck part comes from the failed tubeless conversion that seemed fine when I left home and somehow lost all it's air by the time I got to the lake. Ultimately resulting in me calling my wife to come get me for the first time in about 6 years of near daily commuting. Got to work and in the comfort of my office the tire sealed up like there was never a problem. Yeah, not a big fan of tubeless right now.

So far I've had 3 rides on my totally f-in awesome new bike and 1) smashed my face in. 2) walked/pushed it through deep snow. 3) Got a flat and had to call for a ride. This just ain't right.

But it is a pretty bike porn red.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ But didn't riding that bike make you feel like a badass while falling on your face, pushing through snow, and calling a ride? I mean. It had to.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> Note if I had gone left with a car coming I could easily have been killed....


Glad you weren't bud, reflex and instinct saved you.



TenSpeed said:


> 8° and west winds as I headed to deliver. That was horrible. Started snowing about an hour before I finished. Came home to get the car to drive to work. Still feeling the effects of this stomach bug. Barely ate anything this morning and had half a banana at the bike shop before delivering. Working on a yogurt right now. Just no appetite at all.


That's all pretty sucky TS, rest up, fuel up and look after yourself



bedwards1000 said:


> But it is a pretty bike porn red.
> View attachment 1043723


Yes it is! Great looking machine

Finished early for a doctors appointment yesterday, nice to ride in the daylight. Caught the school run which I think is worse than rushhour. A lot of those Mums are mental/incompetent/completely unaware.

This morning was colder -3C/26F but minimal ice as it is dry. I was warm enough except for my gentlemans area. How do you guys with proper cold keep your plums warm?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was beautiful and sunny out this afternoon. Even now in the wee hours it`s still pretty warm. Roads completely dry, and the mud in my yard is getting manageable- time for a new batch of wet.

It has to get better, Bedwards. On the bright side... after your ill fated Danny M impersonation left you with a couple grams less in the dental department, your entire rider+carbon bike package is now even lighter than it was on Christmas morning! That`s worth something ain`t it? Glad you got in a lake crossing, even though the commute as a whole didn`t go as planned.

SlipSpace, maybe my winters aren`t "proper cold", but I`ve never had frozen plum syndrome while riding. Maybe because I wear Jockey shorts? But even after they stretch and wear out and don`t keep all the stock in the barn any more I don`t have that problem. Sorry, not much help, eh?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

@ SlipSpace, I've never had that problem except at lower temps when I was underdressed. I wear normal pants though when I ride so usually long underwear and jeans/cargo pants does the trick. Also, boxer briefs under that. You would be hard pressed to freeze your plums art that rate. 

No commute yesterday. Federal holiday meant no class so I worked from home. Gonna be a cold one today and snowing on my way back. Should be fun.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Gents. I don't think my weather counts as proper cold either Rodar but some of the folk on here have it really bloody cold in the minus Fahrenheit scale and I was pondering the situation.

Underdressed is probably the issue to be honest.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Slipspace: When it gets below 20F I put some Goretex snow/rain paints over my normal bib tights and that keeps me plenty warm down to 0F. My Goretex paints are also pretty windproof. I have a friend that runs in all temperatures and he recommends thermal briefs for the issue you describe. 

Today marks two days of sub 10F rides. I've been driving part of the way to shorten the distance.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

14F (-1F wind chill) and a 20mph steady headwind gusting to 35mph. At least it's dry.

How cold until you guys start wearing eye protection/ski goggles? I got a pair for Christmas, haven't used them yet.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I wear them for pretty much anything below 18-20F. I could get away with regular glasses, but I prefer the goggles when it gets that cold.

This is what I wore yesterday for my commute home in 8F:


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

I start wearing goggles in the mid teens F
It's a pain when its 10F in the morning and then 25-30F in the afternoon because I have to bring glasses and goggles.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> It has to get better, Bedwards. On the bright side... after your ill fated Danny M impersonation left you with a couple grams less in the dental department, your entire rider+carbon bike package is now even lighter than it was on Christmas morning! That`s worth something ain`t it? Glad you got in a lake crossing, even though the commute as a whole didn`t go as planned.


I'm still waiting. The ride home was without incident. This morning at 10F I started across the lake and this happened. 







Assuming the tire is not an expensive piece of trash now the tubes are going back in. It was a long walk back home with the bike on my shoulders. One minute it was holding air and the next it was flopping off the rim.
The Sub-zero sealant appeared to freeze but who knows.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> Glad you weren't bud, reflex and instinct saved you.
> 
> This morning was colder -3C/26F but minimal ice as it is dry. I was warm enough except for my gentlemans area. How do you guys with proper cold keep your plums warm?


I think some of the members slightly missed my point....

There was no car coming IF a car was coming and i fell left then death may have ensued...

I posted this for all bikers pedalling in car snot...

A good strategy to avoid that situation is to always stay left then veer to the right as the car passes...that will ensure a fall right rather than left...

Of course going slower massively helps the car snot situation....

However over the years a small random piece of car snot as jumped up and got me too many times.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm still waiting. The ride home was without incident. This morning at 10F I started across the lake and this happened.
> View attachment 1043935


Not sure could it be the reduction in air pressure from shop temp to 10 F coupled with the aluminium shrinking more than rubber that drop the air pressure enough to allow a burp????

The drop in air temp to pressure is about 12%.....the differential shrinkage couold account for another 10% easily?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was running it at a relatively high pressure for a fatty. Maybe 10PSI. Much firmer than I would have preferred but I didn't trust it at lower pressures. Riding on the road just before the lake it still had pressure. 

Aluminum shrinkage vs rubber shrinkage? If it's that great I don't know how any tubeless system work. In fact, I don't know how any tubeless system works given my experience. I'm really hoping the tire is not toast. I couldn't even keep it on the rim for the way home but everything was stiff.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I was running it at a relatively high pressure for a fatty. Maybe 10PSI. Much firmer than I would have preferred but I didn't trust it at lower pressures. Riding on the road just before the lake it still had pressure.
> 
> Aluminum shrinkage vs rubber shrinkage? If it's that great I don't know how any tubeless system work. In fact, I don't know how any tubeless system works given my experience. I'm really hoping the tire is not toast. I couldn't even keep it on the rim for the way home but everything was stiff.


if you filled a 70 F I would estimate your cold operating pressure at not more than 7.5 psi


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That sounds reasonable. Probably closer to 60F for the high temp. It definitely wasn't riding like the pressure was too low. I was keeping a pretty watchful eye on both tires. I will mention that both failures happened while riding through heavy slush on top of the lake. Maybe it applies different forces to the tires.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

What the heck bedwards. That sucks. I'm tubeless on the fatty with no issues. I did have gorilla tape issues (seepage at the rim holes), and switched to split tubes and haven't had an issue since. At least a couple 2+ hour rides in teen temps without a hint of drama from the tubeless setup. Sorry for the bad experience on behalf of the tubeless community :lol: 

34 degrees and raining hard this morning. My rain gear is old and horrible. Even so, it was enough rain that my 'waterproof' Timbuk2 backpack seeped a bit and I have a couple wet spots on my shirt. The laptop is fine :lol: I'd much rather have ice out there.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Wasn't supposed to rain today said the weather reports, they were wrong. Got a little wet on the way home yay!  (rain in southern NV is an exciting event)


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Great. A little dusting of snow on the way back. No real accumulation, yet. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes. 

When I got up to the university, I went to put my glasses back on and one of the lenses had fell out in my pocket. Got the frames and lenses out. Found the screw in my pocket and then dropped it. What do you know, I couldn't find it without my glasses. Had to make it home before I could get a new screw for them. 

I really need to go ahead and get ski goggles so I can wear my specs while wearing my balaclava. Anything specific I should look for in a pair of goggles?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> Great. A little dusting of snow on the way back. No real accumulation, yet. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes.
> 
> When I got up to the university, I went to put my glasses back on and one of the lenses had fell out in my pocket. Got the frames and lenses out. Found the screw in my pocket and then dropped it. What do you know, I couldn't find it without my glasses. Had to make it home before I could get a new screw for them.
> 
> I really need to go ahead and get ski goggles so I can wear my specs while wearing my balaclava. *Anything specific I should look for in a pair of goggles?*


For me, ventilation and anti fogging was the biggest thing. I overspent on a nice pair of Oakley's to match my Giro snowboard helmet. There are cheaper options, but these fit so nicely and the lens is kind of a do all day and night since I commute in both.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I stole my goggles from my wife. They are just an old set of Scott snowboard goggles. Most decent ski goggles will work fine. Not sure you will be able to wear your glasses under them though.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in to deliver earlier. We got a dusting of snow that made some spots a bit sketch, but aside from that, the temps broke the 20's and it was really sunny. Jacket came off and the bike delivery guys were just in jerseys and base layers. Felt pretty good to be honest. The cold snap for us is forecasted to be over, for the winter. Temps are supposed to rise back into the 30's and then remain there for quite a bit. Lets hope that it is really like that because I could use that warm up. If it breaks 35°, I will break out the shorts to deliver in. More than likely won't get a second look in Michigan.

Kleebs - I highly approve of the signature. Best of luck to you.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well I'll keep that in mind if I ever actually decide to get goggles.

The ride in was pleasant. A couple inches of snow and I was basically one of the first on it. The ride back... Not so much. Everyone must have walked on the mup this afternoon because it was 11 miles of frozen footprints on the way back. I was grateful that somebody apparently drove an atv on the trail at some point if only because it gave me a more homogenous riding surface. But boo they broke the rules.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Your MUP is 11 miles long? Oh man, I am jealous of that!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Your MUP is 11 miles long? Oh man, I am jealous of that!


MCT Trails Map

Throughout the county and even just around the university there is much more than that. It's pretty cushy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NDD said:


> The ride in was pleasant. A couple inches of snow and I was basically one of the first on it. The ride back... Not so much. Everyone must have walked on the mup this afternoon because it was 11 miles of frozen footprints on the way back.


Doh, sounds like a heaven to hell story! I don`t suppose those frozen footprints are going to somehow smooth themselves out before they all melt off.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Doh, sounds like a heaven to hell story! I don`t suppose those frozen footprints are going to somehow smooth themselves out before they all melt off.


I've asked nicely.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> What the heck bedwards. That sucks. I'm tubeless on the fatty with no issues. I did have gorilla tape issues (seepage at the rim holes), and switched to split tubes and haven't had an issue since. At least a couple 2+ hour rides in teen temps without a hint of drama from the tubeless setup. Sorry for the bad experience on behalf of the tubeless community :lol:


Found my problem. A: I'm an idiot and B: Orange Seal marketing leaves a lot to be desired.

Everybody talks about Orange Seal and Sub-Zero sealant interchangeable. It's not. When I bought Orange seal there was no obvious indication that there was another product and I ended up with the one that freezes pretty darn well at 20F. Tested it. I may try it again if I can get over my tubeless PTSD.

The ride in was good with tubes. Although, I was too ascared to drop the pressure to the level I wanted because of my trust issues with my tires right now.:madmax:


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> For me, ventilation and anti fogging was the biggest thing. I overspent on a nice pair of Oakley's to match my Giro snowboard helmet. There are cheaper options, but these fit so nicely and the lens is kind of a do all day and night since I commute in both.


I actually just got a new pair of crowbars this week on close-out (still expensive). I'll probably preserve them for snowboarding only at first, because once I start using goggles for commuting their... aesthetics... tends to drop pretty quick.

My previous crowbars I got in 2006 or so... I somehow got zero scratches on the outer lens in all that time (winter commuting/snowboarding and summer downhilling), but eventually the INNER lens got all these little radial cracks coming out from the nosepiece.

The same thing happened to my (even older) mirrored Wisdoms. After debating whether or not it was really starting to impede my vision (it was) I ripped the inner lens off and tossed it, and kept them as single-lens options.. for non-fogging conditions (i.e. summer DH, I guess?).

Oh, and of course, the face foam on 10+ year old goggles is in a constant state of disintegration, but I keep gluing it back together.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Everybody talks about Orange Seal and Sub-Zero sealant interchangeable. It's not. When I bought Orange seal there was no obvious indication that there was another product and I ended up with the one that freezes pretty darn well at 20F.


I am fat-bike-ignorant, but how does frozen sealant unseat the bead? My stans is completely dried up for half the winter and other than very slow air loss, nothing happens when running a 2.35 tire at like, 10PSI.

Did the tire lose that much air through the sidewalls as soon as the sealant solidified?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Good question. That is still a little weird. 

I've never actually used a name-brand sealant.. I pack a little stan's bottle that I got as a race party favor as a back-up, but I've been using homebrew sealant since day 1 several years ago. My mix has antifreeze in it, and I've never had a problem with low temps. 

My fatbike tires (Surly Knards) set up and held air for a couple days before I got around to adding sealant, when I went to split tubes. I couldn't get the Gorilla Tape to not seep (rode it for a while, but was always losing a little air) with the holy rims. When I put the split tubes in I aired up and didn't add sealant until after the first short ride. What's in there now is probably dried up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

ghettocruiser said:


> I am fat-bike-ignorant, but how does frozen sealant unseat the bead?


Just like this:







All I know is that at room temp everything was great. On a ride around 32F everything was great. On 2 rides at 10F the tires went from normal inflation to total shite nearly instantly. It wasn't like they started loosing air over the ride. It was like any sealant that was sealing sheared. The tires are stiff as hell at those temps so once the seal broke and pressure dropped there was nothing holding he bead against the rim. These are hookless rims (apparently most fat & MTB rims going forward will be hookless because it is cheaper to make. you're been warned) so the ONLY thing holding the tire to the rim is pressure.

I still don't see how tubeless can be reliable.

CommuterBoy, what kind of antifreeze? Polypropylene glycol or ethylene glycol? I didn't notice anything leaking around the holy rims (through the tape) Just the bead. Bead Bead Bead. I still have the nightmares!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol: what a horrible 1st experience. I thew tubeless together like 6 years ago and I'm still waiting for my first catastrophic failure. :lol: My spare tube is rotting in my backpack, not sure why I carry it. 

Anyway... I've used both types of Antifreeze. No drama with either one. I think the EG is the easiest to find/cheapest? I get green seepage on the sidewalls of non-tubeless specific mtb tires sometimes, but it doesn't seem to affect performance. No seepage at all on the fat tires. 

On my fatbike with rolling darryl rims, I can't get the bead to break with my forearm strength alone with the tire completely deflated. I have to put it on the ground and stand on the tire to peel it away from the bead...even with split tube method, where there's that little extra layer of rubber in there between the tire and the rim.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

My beads also snap in decisively, and will not come out even if I ride the tire flat....which is something I've only had to do while using a tube 

The hookless rims has to be a factor here, but I know there are a lot of people running them tubeless, so I am at a loss.

I think the fatbike subforum might shed some light on this.


Also: 

Q: How was my commute today.

A: A Honda Odyssey with it's back-up lights on... and no driver, sitting diagonally across the bike path entrance. 

That is how my commute was today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Not worth it bedwards, tubes hold air.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Got my first flat commuting today, I wanted to give the tires that came on the new bike a chance before replacing them with something better but now I know! Found a tiny shard of glass poking in the inside. Will be tire shopping this weekend.  I like tubes, patch or replace tada!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Not worth it bedwards, tubes hold air.


I would totally give you rep for that, but I can't.

My problem with tubeless was it got worse the longer I did it. At first it was great, but after 2 years I'd get random bead leaks if I wasn't super-duper-careful about scraping all the old sealant off, and my stems started gunking up. For 3 bikes the maintenance was just too much. (That was gorilla tape though, and I've always thought I should give split-tube a try)

We're finally back around freezing, after what feels like an eternity around the 5F mark. It's been a weird winter: not super cold (I haven't had a ride at -20C yet, let alone -25C or -30C) but not warm either (the last few Januarys we've had plenty of exposed grass, but not this year). Probably going to take the fixie tomorrow, so I'll have used all three bikes in one week for the first time in awhile.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

When commuting, there's something to be said for simplicity. Tubes are easy and can be fixed on the fly. I'd try tubeless but all of my bikes are commuters and I'd rather not risk. 

Another slow bumpy ride today. I actually slipped and fell on a patch of ice right in the parking lot today. Rides 11 miles on bumpy snow/ice patches, falls in front of the building.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Take the fixed gear. That is what I thought. Complex roads were clear, snow was lightly falling but the forecast called for flurries. I got onto the MUP that leads to the park that is my current cut through. It was alright, light dusting of snow. Well, the parking lot of the park was the only place in town that got the snow. There was easily an inch or so just in the lot, so I carefully trudged through. Well, I have as much tire clearance as a bagged Honda Civic. Snow was flying everywhere!!! Sketchy didn't even begin to describe the rest of the ride in. Roads had snow on them, not much, but just enough to get that pucker factor in full effect. Main roads were just wet. Ride home was actually nice at 25°F and slight wind at my back.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

It was nice out again today. Roads are 100% dry and my yard is dry enough now that I`m not tracking mud into the house every time I go outside. The damp dirt is JUST the right consistancy that when I drive or ride over it it packs down the high spots without making new ruts. Oh, and for Wed night I switched from mittens to gloves and from boots to shoes. Might have to break out the recently ditched warm stuff for a few more rides, but shouldn`t be many.



mtbxplorer said:


> Not worth it bedwards, tubes hold air.


Except when they don`t :skep:

Bummer, Eugene. What kind of tires came with your bike? I take it you were wary of them right from the start?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Interesting read regards tubless, split tube tubless (had to google that) but I can't help with your woes unfortunately Bedwards. Hope you resolve it soon.

FIrst ride in three days today. Felt good! Temperature is up 10deg since my last ride which does mean rain too generally... Supposed to hit the teens °C here at the weekend though.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bummer, Eugene. What kind of tires came with your bike? I take it you were wary of them right from the start?


700x35c Innova LandTracker, I couldn't find much info online about them so I figured GT just put whatever the cheapest tire option was at the time and I'd have to upgrade anyway. Looks like they use that tire for alot of their cheaper city bikes. I wanted to give them a chance and did, time to upgrade, I don't want to get a flat in some of the sketchy parts of my commute! :eekster:


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Good ride in this morning. The temp has risen quite a bit so we are back in the mid 20s F. I was glad to be able to ditch the ultra heavy snow boots and goretex pants in favor of tights and my mxz303s. I probably wasn't actually that much faster, but I felt faster and that's what matters. 

Found a short gravel loop at the park near where I leave my car when I decide to go multi-modal. I think I will be doing some "hot" laps after work today. It's never too early to start training for the spring.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> My problem with tubeless was it got worse the longer I did it. At first it was great, but after 2 years I'd get random bead leaks if I wasn't super-duper-careful about scraping all the old sealant off, and my stems started gunking up. For 3 bikes the maintenance was just too much. (That was gorilla tape though, and I've always thought I should give split-tube a try)


So you have now abandon it? Good to know.

Tubes hold air. Also good to know.  I think that's why I haven't tried it sooner than I did. I just got some new rims for my 9er that are tubeless ready. I may try it on that. Orange seal did offer to send me some actual sub-zero. I still don't trust it on the fatty. Split tube seems to be getting a lot of love for fatbikes. I might try that. Might not. Tubes for the race this weekend for sure.

Commute was good. The winter trails are ripening. The lake is still a PITA. There is a thin crust, a 6" layer of slush and then real ice. The crust is intermittently supportive. I can't figure out why the slush doesn't freeze with temps below freezing 95% of the time for weeks with overnight temps in the low teens. Annoying.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

NDD said:


> Well I'll keep that in mind if I ever actually decide to get goggles.
> 
> The ride in was pleasant. A couple inches of snow and I was basically one of the first on it. The ride back... Not so much. Everyone must have walked on the mup this afternoon because it was 11 miles of frozen footprints on the way back. I was grateful that somebody apparently drove an atv on the trail at some point if only because it gave me a more homogenous riding surface. But boo they broke the rules.


I am all for breaking the rules in the wintertime. The north section of the MUP by my house (I won't say how long it is, don't want to make TenSpeed any more jealous) has a guy that goes out on his snowmobile to "groom" it for his wife (an avid XC skier I believe) and it makes for some amazing riding.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> So you have now abandon it? Good to know.


Did it for 2 years (with the same homebrew commuterboy uses), but gave it up maybe 3 years ago and haven't looked back.

There are a million tubes v. tubeless threads around here, but for me:


We don't have goatheads: with tubes I get maybe 1 flat per year
Low pressures: with tubes my 29er is already at 18~20psi in the summer. With tubeless I was just beating up my rims
I'm in a condo: no compressor, and using a footpump can be a ton of work
Time: if I do get a flat, replacing a tube takes 10 minutes. Tubeless was cool, but half the time I had to add sealant, and then shake the tire to make sure no new leaks had opened at the bead, and blah blah blah. And winter switchover took hours, vs maybe 45 minutes for tubes

Anyway, splittube would probably have solved some of that. But for me the bottom line is that there's really no benefit.

Threat of freezing rain today, which is something I don't goof around with, so I took the studded bike instead of the cx'ed-fixie.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Good ride into work this morning with light rains. Temps have been really warm and around 50f all week because of the clouds and rain. One thing that i'd like to find a solution for is water spitting out of the front of the fender and blowing back into me when i'm on the downhill sections anywhere above 25-30mph. It's not enough to soak me but just a slight annoyance.


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## Guest (Jan 22, 2016)

newfangled said:


> I would totally give you rep for that, but I can't.
> 
> My problem with tubeless was it got worse the longer I did it. At first it was great, but after 2 years I'd get random bead leaks if I wasn't super-duper-careful about scraping all the old sealant off, and my stems started gunking up. For 3 bikes the maintenance was just too much. (That was gorilla tape though, and I've always thought I should give split-tube a try)
> 
> We're finally back around freezing, after what feels like an eternity around the 5F mark. It's been a weird winter: not super cold (I haven't had a ride at -20C yet, let alone -25C or -30C) but not warm either (the last few Januarys we've had plenty of exposed grass, but not this year). Probably going to take the fixie tomorrow, so I'll have used all three bikes in one week for the first time in awhile.


 Right there with you. Especially on commuters where reliability and repairability trump performance.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I used to actually carry a spare tire with my spare tube. I'd always seem to get get my flat tires at night in the rain, with heavy truck traffic, etc. Thus, I always had immense trouble finding and extracting the sharp that caused the flat, and then flat the replacement tube right away. That's what caused most of the long walks home.

Replacing the tire and the tube at the same time prevented this, although the spared took up a lot of room in my backpack. 

Tubeless these days, I carry a tube usually, but if I forget it I don't go back for it.

My road bike is still tubed, and represented 100% of the flat tires I had last year, I think 5 in total. 

Granted, the last 2 flats were sidewall rips that would have flatted tubeless tires just as easily. Minus the $7 to replace the shredded tubes, which wouldn't have been there to shred...

but I should add this is all with at least two of (1) tubeless rims (2) tubeless tires and (3) a compressor at home....I concede that when I tried to improvise without at least 2 of these things, failures were frequent.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot.

Q: How was your commute today.

A: How do I get squeezed against the curb by a car going the _opposite direction_ on the road. How is that even possible.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards, are you doing the Moose Brook fatbike race on Sunday? Conditions look primo, good luck with that new bike if you signed up in time - no flats and no injuries allowed! I won't be there this year, but want to go do the trails some other time.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold but good. Delivery was good as well. Tired of the mountain bike already even though it rides nicely. Feels like I am pedaling a damn tank.


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2016)

TenSpeed said:


> Cold but good. Delivery was good as well. Tired of the mountain bike already even though it rides nicely. Feels like I am pedaling a damn tank.


 I was thinking the same thing last year about this time, I realized that (for me) it was the combination of 27tpi Sagaro tires and cold (making them even less responsive). This winter I stuck with high tpi Race Kings and the bike feels livelier.


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## carthief (Aug 11, 2014)

First commute since Christmas. The MUP trail was awful. 5+ miles of frozen footprints. However, I really enjoyed it, hate driving to work. (Chicago burbs btw, little chilly but not too bad.)


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Saturday so not a commute as such, but it will be my future commute once my work moves premises. Different direction to current and all on 50/60 mph limit roads and 3-4 miles further each way. Distance not a problem, open fields so nothing to break the headwind was harder than expected on the single. Soon get used to it but I'll have to see what the traffic situation is like at rush hours. Couple other routes to try but all are unlit country roads except one which has a mup where I'd have to cross every junction. Got a couple months to figure it yet.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute to a job where I ride my bike.  I love that. Cold, windy, some icy spots. Thankful that the storm that is pounding the eastern half of the country missed us. Feeling sorry for those not able to ride because of the snow.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

__
https://flic.kr/p/CtPEsk

Not a commute, obviously (although it's all my normal trails for commuting home). Only the second time I've taken her for a ride this winter, since it was a pleasant 20F instead of the more typical 5F we've been seeing.

This week is supposed to be well above freezing, which will be kindof nice, but will probably make a mess of things. We've had 2 months of mostly chilly temperatures, but that's meant 2 months of fantastic trail conditions and zero ice - I'm going to miss that.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

AlexCuse said:


> I am all for breaking the rules in the wintertime. The north section of the MUP by my house (I won't say how long it is, don't want to make TenSpeed any more jealous) has a guy that goes out on his snowmobile to "groom" it for his wife (an avid XC skier I believe) and it makes for some amazing riding.


That actually sounds pretty superb. You lucky dog. Now I'm jealous 



newfangled said:


> __
> https://flic.kr/p/CtPEsk


Is your dog always so well behaved or just worn out? Seems to know the drill for photographs (or maybe just looking at it because you're there).


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ this was right at the halfway point, where we turn around and head back. So she was genuinely tired, and was cooling off her belly. But she also gets plenty of treats when we ride, so she's pretty attentive.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome to the 2016 commute year, Carthief.

Great picture, Newf! It looks like a river except that it`s a bit too lumpy. Is that trail over some kind of empty field?



ghettocruiser said:


> A: How do I get squeezed against the curb by a car going the _opposite direction_ on the road. How is that even possible.


Maybe the car was somewhere in the UK at the time?


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> It looks like a river except that it`s a bit too lumpy. Is that trail over some kind of empty field?


The trail we use is up on the bank on the right side of the photo. We just headed down to the river for a break, because the snow there is apparently tastier.

And the river ice is definitely lumpy. It's giant sheets that are always kindof moving, so it creates all sorts of little faults. There's lots of this stuff, especially around the banks where things are smooshing together:


__
https://flic.kr/p/pYDxND


__
https://flic.kr/p/b2UGtv

That's why bedwards stories about the lake always impress me. I'll occasionally ride along the river, but I'll never get more than 100' before I'd need to be Danny Macaskill.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^The lake doesn't have that problem. Deep snow or snow/slush are the biggest problems with the lake but it is riding real good right now. 

I had a fatbike race yesterday. 2 hours and 4 minutes of racing. BUT, I was still ready for the trail commute this morning. The conditions are pretty good around here. Can't let that go to waste.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Whoop! Good fun on the new bike? Tubeless?????? Doubt it :lol:



There's a big lake near me that gets that ice mash-up thing going on when the conditions are right, because of the prevailing winds smashing everything up onto one shore. Haven't seen it do that in a few years, but I don't get up to that end of the lake much. Super cool stuff. 

Raining when I went to bed... snowy when I woke up. I was figuring it would be snow over ice, so I went with the studs. It was a dusting over just wet pavement, and the snow was pretty much gone after about 2 miles into the valley. Lugging the studs around for nothing today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Whoop! Good fun on the new bike? Tubeless?????? Doubt it :lol:


Ha, no. There were plenty of people walking their bikes around in the woods that were running tubeless though. I think that nearly solidified my opinion that tubeless isn't a great option on this particular bike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't get the advantage to the hookless rim design. Weight savings, or???


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Been quiet recently. Working from home and a brief trip to Homer for ski races for my kid.

The view from the outhouses at the racing venue...









Got to do some beach riding, which was fun, but had my crankset bolt come loose and the crank come loose on a ride while there. Not sure why it suddenly come loose, which worries me a bit. So, after getting home at 8:30 last night I spend a good hour and a half cleaning salt, sand, and surface rust off of all the drivetrain parts, lubed everything and put it all back together. I hope it is not a sign that the crank's going bad - I've had this happen with cranks in the past - the retainer bolt stops seating properly even at correct torque.

Anyway, good ride in overall this AM. A bit breezy in the Valley, but not terrible. Excellent conditions in Anchorage. Just could have used a bit more sleep. In my old age 5 hours just isn't enough.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

They are cheaper to manufacture because they don't have to do a machining operation to create the hook. They seem to be the polar opposite of tubeless ready which creates a seal with the hook and the bead. My advice would be to avoid them if you have a choice.
Trail Tech: Off the hook - BikeRadar USA



mtbxplorer said:


> bedwards, are you doing the Moose Brook fatbike race on Sunday? Conditions look primo, good luck with that new bike if you signed up in time - no flats and no injuries allowed! I won't be there this year, but want to go do the trails some other time.


Didn't see this. Yes, the course was amazing to start but after 4 laps of 60 people you might want to wait until it gets packed again. We left them in rough shape. The trails that the course wasn't on also looked good.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Pix of the race from rollingrunner?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful day to ride to deliver. It actually hit 40° and the sun was out. Might have actually broken a sweat! The ride home this evening? Oof. 37° and raining, and wind, and blowing rain right in my face. At least I had the clip on rear fender so my bag and shorts stayed mostly dry. Sitting in front of the space heater right now warming up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Pix of the race from rollingrunner?


Rollingrunner was Racing. How about: Pix of the race of rollingrunner.

There might be one of me somewhere.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Great pic! Woohoo Rollingrunner!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Looks like she might have been enjoying herself just a tiny bit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I think she was glad to be finished. It was a weee bit technical for her tastes.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The ride started great. It was 45F when I left this morning so I opted to take my road bike instead of the studded commuter. It felt incredible to be rolling so smooth. However, within 4 miles the wind picked up and the temperature started to drop. It turned into a brutal headwind for the next 11 miles, forcing me to tuck into the drops as much as possible to try to shield myself. By the time I got to work it was 36F and I was dead tired. 

I'm really hoping the wind sticks for the ride home. If I slog through that crap in the morning, I better get a friendly tailwind in the evening.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

A little sketchy in the aftermath of the blizzard. Most shoulders are blocked on the main roads, secondary roads aren't cleared very well. I really wished I had studded tires this morning, but managed to stay upright the whole way.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in for me this AM. Icy in the valley - rained quite a bit last night over bare pavement over frozen ground. Ice skating. Yeah. In town was still some great riding conditions. Good snow cover over most everything. Good times


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

Warm ride in today at 48f. Was nice to be able to go sans jacket and gloves. Some fog coming in but nothing really plus the roads have pretty much dried up. I have a feeling tomorrow might be a little more socked in. My knee is still a bit soar from an OTB to gnarly rock section this weekend on the trails. All just surface bruising but can feel it every time I pedal.


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

Yesterday's ride home. Approx 35f with snow flurries.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute but i am back from touring along 4 family and friends for 4 weeks. For the next weeks my oldest and me will commute to kindergarten and back. Furthermore i connected two appointments today and rode 45km/30m in nice weather.

Nice pic of rolling runner - too bad we can not see the bike  is it the red carbon fatbike we saw before?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No the red carbon one is mine. She's on a Framed Minnesota with white One Floaters. 

I brought the road bike because it is 43 here today! The trails would be way too soft to ride.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got pretty soaked on the way home, in what was I think the first rain of the winter for me. It's not supposed to get too cold tonight, so hopefully things won't be too big a mess tomorrow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yesterday got warm and melted all of my snow/ice off of the MUP. Today, I used that as an opportunity to ride the fixed gear. I will tell you, on days when I feel so physically underwhelmed and just in general disgruntled with everything, hammering uphill on the fixed gear will just make my day.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Rides yesterday were ok, nothing to report.
Today I over dressed; shorts, base and 80's Jacket and I cooked. Despite the 25mph + winds buffeting me around it was 13°C / 55°F today. No sun though, all grey and overcast.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Talking the dog for a walk was brutal this morning, but the ride in was pretty uneventful...until the parking lot at work, which was terrifying. I've been running a new studded tire upfront this year (45nrth nicotine), but it hasn't really been tested yet, so I have no faith in it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It seems like I'm swapping wheelsets every morning lately... today the studs came off and the normal tires went back on. I'm quick at the BB7 brake adjustments required for the slight differences, but it's making me wonder about some tiny washers to space out the bake rotor on one wheelset to get them exactly the same. Probably talking less than a millimeter, but it would be sweet to get them exact. On second thought, I wonder if you could put a little spacer washer on the hub and achieve the same thing, since the hub width determines how far from the centerline the brake caliper sits when you crank down on the quick release axle. I bet the hubs are like a MM different in width, and it causes the brake to line up just a tiny bit off.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

About 0.5cm of snow overnight, but with yesterdays rainfall de-salting the roads, everything I rode on the way in was white.

It kind of gave... the appearance of winter cycling?


Left unstudded tires on, and nothing was slippery.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> It seems like I'm swapping wheelsets every morning lately... today the studs came off and the normal tires went back on. I'm quick at the BB7 brake adjustments required for the slight differences, but it's making me wonder about some tiny washers to space out the bake rotor on one wheelset to get them exactly the same. Probably talking less than a millimeter, but it would be sweet to get them exact. On second thought, I wonder if you could put a little spacer washer on the hub and achieve the same thing, since the hub width determines how far from the centerline the brake caliper sits when you crank down on the quick release axle. I bet the hubs are like a MM different in width, and it causes the brake to line up just a tiny bit off.


N+1. Leave the studs on.

I'm on the road bike with slicks on today. It's very spring like out there. I don't trust it though. We haven't really had winter yet.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> It seems like I'm swapping wheelsets every morning lately... today the studs came off and the normal tires went back on.


Question: Is there a specific reason to swap between studs/non-studs? Just ask as up here in Ak we tend to throw on the winter tires in September and leave them on until May. So there are stretches where the studs are being ridden on bare pavement regularly. I realize studs roll slower than regular, but is there a reason other than speed that you are swapping so often?

My ride in this AM was brutal - 17mph headwinds for the first half of the first leg of the ride with gusts into the 30s turning to a broadside wind on the second half of the first leg of the ride with glare ice on the path, which also happens to be all downhill. Needless to say I had a few close calls when the gusts would hit. I swear I heard the studs screeching against the ice/pavement as the entire bike slid sideways.

In town wasn't bad. A bit breezy, but good trails and such. Even so, I was just not feeling it today. Dead legs and some achy joints. Need to get over to the shop to pick up some of the nice Crankbros cleats - replaced my worn ones with the standard cleats that come with the peddles and there is not side to side adjustment with them and little float. I think that is why my knees are feeling a bit wonky.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm on the road bike with slicks on today. It's very spring like out there. I don't trust it though. We haven't really had winter yet.


Sounds like the last 3 years around here... :lol: nice to actually get a winter this year.



blockphi said:


> Question: Is there a specific reason to swap between studs/non-studs? Just ask as up here in Ak we tend to throw on the winter tires in September and leave them on until May. So there are stretches where the studs are being ridden on bare pavement regularly. I realize studs roll slower than regular, but is there a reason other than speed that you are swapping so often?


No. just "because I can"... speed, and eeking as much life as possible out of the expensive studded tires. I have the ridiculously knobby Nokian Extremes, so the speed difference is pretty big. They are obnoxious on bare pavement. I think in 10 years when these things wear out I'm going to go with some slightly less aggressive studded tires :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I hear ya. When I was commuting on a standard mtb, I used some less aggressive studded tires - can't remember which, but loved them. Then I went to Kenda Klondikes and had the same reaction on bare pavement - these suck! I didn't have the option of swapping out wheelsets, though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nokian Mount & Ground. They roll smooth on pavement and take the pucker factor out of ice. Leave them on all winter. But they're not good for icy mountain biking. You'll need another bike for that with the Extremes on it. N+2 Yeah, the Extremes are a bear on the road.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Those look like the ticket for the commute. I do love the crazy confidence of the extremes, but I shy away from "the long way" when I have them on. 

The extra wheelset gets robbed from another bike for the winter and stands at the ready with the nokians, cassette, and rotors all mounted up. It's a 3 minute operation, but two of those minutes are brake adjustments lately... 

N+2, I like that... since It's N-1 when I steal the wheels from the other bike... but I could get by with N+1.5: one new bike, a new set of wheels, and a set of Mount and Grounds. Check.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Uneventful commutes here the last few weeks. Most mornings in the high 30s. Most rides home in high 50s.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Side trip on the way home to get a haircut and shoot the breeze at the bike shop. Other than being relatively annoyed and angry about work stuff, my day was awesome because I rode my bike. I'm a winner!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Growing tired of my mountain bike on the road, and with that Nokian Gazza Extreme up front.....I hate it. I mean I like the studded tire in the snow and on the ice, but on the road, I loathe it with everything in my soul. Tired of the wind, the slush, the salt, the chapped lips, the cold hands....this winter, which we are finally having, is taking its toll on me. Sort of breaking down here and not sure how to recover. I am pretty much only riding now on days that I deliver unless the roads are clear enough to take a skinny tire bike. 

Going to try a bar swap on the mountain bike in the morning to see if that helps.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> It seems like I'm swapping wheelsets every morning lately... today the studs came off and the normal tires went back on.


Really? It seems like a long time since I`ve felt the need for studs (probably only a couple weeks). We`ve either been dry or above freezing for quite a spell now. Guess you`re still getting ice up there?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was hard, strong gusty wind. got shouted by a car driver, shouted back and he pulled over. Thought I better see what he had to say. Just a whinge really about how I crossed the road and the pedestrian/cycle path was red. It was to be fair but I use those junctions everyday and am familiar with the sequence. His was red too but I was in front of him when his way went green and he must have been on launch control as he lurched forward. I reckon intentionally but anyways. I acknowledged that perhaps I had misjudged, thanks for not running me over which seemed to insense him more. Told him I didnt have time to listen to him ***** so if there was nothing else I'd be on my way.

So today was a turnaround, bright, clear, cold wind and a 11deg drop from yesterday to 2C. Slightly underdressed this time.



cyclingdutchman said:


> No commute but i am back from touring along 4 family and friends for 4 weeks. For the next weeks my oldest and me will commute to kindergarten and back. Furthermore i connected two appointments today and rode 45km/30m in nice weather.


Sorry Dutchman, missed this first time. 4 weeks cycle touring? How was it? 
Also, I could never bike between clients, I get too hot!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

^^^ So they added a pedestrian/cycle cross on my way in, at a location where I used to sort-of-easily cross a major road at what was then an uncontrolled intersection. A few observations after 2 years of use:

1) Drivers who get the red signal often completely don't see it, as there is a "real intersection" about 100 yards further up the road, and that's the light they are looking at. This resulted in, 1.5 years ago, the closest I've ever come to getting hit by a car at a probably-fatal rate of speed.

2) Drivers that do see it tend to challenge it, the timing of their red signal is the same as the green with the aforementioned intersection, so stopping for the red at the bike crossing means missing the next green. I had a bizarre episode of a contracting van playing chicken with me Monday... as, at low speed, he rolled through a red light, and I rolled through a green. Of course, they know full well there is no red light camera at a non-intersection like this one.

3) Drivers that do stop are often audibly cursing, as in the winter I tend to be the only one crossing, representing maybe 3 seconds in a 30-second red cycle they had.

4) If I press the button, I also have to wait of course, usually 55-70 seconds staring at a empty road, only to have my light turn just as a group of cars arrives from both directions, resulting in #3.

So I usually leave the driver-tormenting button unpressed, and do a right-turn-U-turn-right-turn during the aforementioned gap in traffic and am on my way in the span of 10 seconds.


How was the Commute Today?

2C and dry roads.

Cervelo weather.

In late January.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Growing tired of my mountain bike on the road, and with that Nokian Gazza Extreme up front.....I hate it. I mean I like the studded tire in the snow and on the ice, but on the road, I loathe it with everything in my soul. Tired of the wind, the slush, the salt, the chapped lips, the cold hands....this winter, which we are finally having, is taking its toll on me. Sort of breaking down here and not sure how to recover. I am pretty much only riding now on days that I deliver unless the roads are clear enough to take a skinny tire bike.
> 
> Going to try a bar swap on the mountain bike in the morning to see if that helps.


This is my sixth winter as a 100% commuter. We all go through that sense of dread at riding another day in craptastic conditions.

Try the new bar. Maybe try getting yourself some other little bike treat you've wanted for a while - a new headlight or something. That sometimes helps. Otherwise rule 5. And rule 9. I live by both. In fact my business cards even say BA. Yup, that's me. BA.

Also keep in mind that winter will be over...eventually.

My ride was odd today. 40 and not much more than a breeze at my house, but 32 in town, so I dressed for town and ended up being way too warm for both legs of the ride.

Trying to decide if I should go for a run today or ride over to the local big box outdoor retailer and get some different cleats for my pedals. First world problems, right?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Really? It seems like a long time since I`ve felt the need for studs (probably only a couple weeks). We`ve either been dry or above freezing for quite a spell now. Guess you`re still getting ice up there?


Combination of lingering ice from the last storm in the higher elevation area of my house (valley is dry roads), some freezing fog/sprinkling snow overnights, and timing of my days off has meant the studs are on the bike in the basement for a couple of bluebird days when I don't have to ride it, and then I get a day or two in on the non-studded tires before it's getting icy again. Several mornings of staring out the window at the bad conditions, knowing that it's going to be much nicer down in the valley, but not wanting the regret of not using the studs when that first mile or two is really going to suck without them. My (new this year) house is way up in the shadows of the mountains... still snow at my house from that last storm, but the valley conditions are more like Reno probably. Some freezing fog on the road this morning for the first mile or two, then dry as a bone... no studs today.

Sloppy storm supposedly on the way for both of us this weekend...


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

24 F and a slight breeze. Switched over to the Karate Monkey with slicks due to our non winter here in the Boston, MA area. 29 studs on bare pave is sloooow. Great except for the flock of turkeys scared up in front of me. 20' in front of me at speed. They are really big. Close, but not scary close.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

A group of Turkeys is called a "rafter" or a "gang". The more you know... :lol:

They are big dudes.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> A group of Turkeys is called a "rafter" or a "gang". The more you know... :lol:
> 
> I though a bunch of turkeys was called a bike forum...huh learn something everyday


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Arse end of storm Gertrude blowing through this morning. 45mph head/cross winds on the way in made for interesting riding. Dry and not cold (10-11C) so ok.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

ghettocruiser said:


> 2C and dry roads.
> 
> Cervelo weather.


AND... we got the heaviest snowfall of the year during the evening rush hour.

Aero road bikes do interesting things when ridden in 2 inches of snow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I missed the comment about a tour too, Dutchman. You pulled your kids in the trailer? Sounds like and adventure! (need pics)



SlipSpace said:


> I acknowledged that perhaps I had misjudged, thanks for not running me over which seemed to insense him more. Told him I didnt have time to listen to him ***** so if there was nothing else I'd be on my way.


Well, win a few and lose a few.



jeffscott said:


> I though a bunch of turkeys was called a bike forum...huh learn something everyday


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Snowllercoaster*



CommuterBoy said:


> A group of Turkeys is called a "rafter" or a "gang". The more you know... :lol:


Were they domesticated? The wild ones are still a flock.

I haven't seen any sort of wildlife in the trails this winter. I did see lots of deer prints and a blood trail. Coyote attack, deer in heat, stubbed hoof???

Trails have been awesome.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> This is my sixth winter as a 100% commuter. We all go through that sense of dread at riding another day in craptastic conditions.
> 
> Try the new bar. Maybe try getting yourself some other little bike treat you've wanted for a while - a new headlight or something. That sometimes helps. Otherwise rule 5. And rule 9. I live by both. In fact my business cards even say BA. Yup, that's me. BA.
> 
> ...


Taking your advice today. Have a gift card sitting here from REI, gonna put that to use. Taking a drive to the store to check stuff out.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> View attachment 1046197


I love the look of that bike!



blockphi said:


> View attachment 1046026


I take it that's ice you're on, but it could almost be desert. Great pic!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> I love the look of that bike!
> I take it that's ice you're on, but it could almost be desert. Great pic!


I love the ride of that bike. 

blockphi's bike looks like it is leaning on a giant tortuous.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hmm... Ice desert, giant tortoise. Is he in space?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

We're in a freeze thaw cycle. Above freezing during the day, freezing overnight.

My ice covered spots aren't cool looking, just sketchy and slippery. I'll probably suck it up for the rest of this winter, but I should really get studded tires before next winter.


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## Big Fil (Nov 5, 2014)

I'd like to get a new set of bars as well. When I got my bike last summer it came with a smaller 25.4mm (i think) diameter handlbar and stem. I've never liked the width of these bars which are too narrow for my liking. Plan is to buy a new set of carbon bars for my MTB and possibly move my existing Renthal fatbar lites (740mm) to my commuter. Unfortunately that'll mean buying a new stem as well to fit the 31.8mm diameter.

My commute in today was both foggy and rainy. It started to rain pretty good about a minute into my ride and fortunately let up some about half way into the ride. The mix of heavy fog combined with rain caused quite a bit bounce back from my light. Other than that uneventful and rather warm today at 53F.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I love the ride of that bike.
> 
> blockphi's bike looks like it is leaning on a giant tortuous.


Or a Horta without the orange network:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Commutes all week were just fine, nice weather and no flat tires, bought some Specialized Nimbus sports last weekend and they feel 3x as thick as the original crappy tires that came on the new bike, they roll smooth and fast! :thumbsup: Also today beat my uphill ride home time, 31 minutes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Slipspace & Rodar y rodar: Oooff I think I expressed myself wrong there  Yes we have been visiting relatives and friends in the Netherlands, but we have been driving only. I only made 1 ride of about 1,5 hrs on the roadbike of my brother in law and 2 short errand rides in Haarlem. But in general I have been really drooling over the infrastructure they have over there. Parking houses for bikes 5!! stocks high, green lights ONLY for bikes on the separated cycle paths etc etc... 

Yesterday morning I commuted with my oldes son to kindergarten and I made an errand tour with my youngest son in the trailer - all together 20km/13m. This makes almost a regular commute for me.

This morning my oldest and I commuted to the hairdresser, 10min. only but in pouring rain. But he still wanted to go by bike and raced through every puddle along the way


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> This morning my oldest and I commuted to the hairdresser, 10min. only but in pouring rain. But he still wanted to go by bike and raced through every puddle along the way


Trust me, this will be a great memory. A kid, his bike, and the conquering of puddles. Made me smile.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi BrianMc, in another forum there is somebody with the correct signature: "create experiences". That is exactly what you mean and what I intend to do. 

Today we went to the basement and hammered nails in a piece of wood. And we agreed to drill some holes in it tomorrow. Can't wait until he wants to try the superglue: Now don't put your fingers against --- oh too late. 

Can't wait until spring. He wants to go biketouring and camping etc.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Can't wait until spring. He wants to go biketouring and camping etc.


And THEN you`ll post pics, yes?

And after you post and I forget to congratulate you for them, hopefully SS will remind me.


SlipSpace said:


> (Bedwards` bike)
> (Blockphi`s bike)


Thanks to both of you for the treats- they`re both much sweller when "clicked in". Block, that looks like a miniature granite iceberg.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Were they domesticated? The wild ones are still a flock.
> 
> I haven't seen any sort of wildlife in the trails this winter. I did see lots of deer prints and a blood trail. Coyote attack, deer in heat, stubbed hoof???


Turkeys:
I thought that CA turkeys were domestic until a NPR report recently taught me that they were imported. Recently, too (late 50s I think). New England turkeys are probably more domesticated than importicated, so that`s maybe the source of the confusion. Or possibly CB has been imaginating new words.

Blood trail:
Did you happen to see that trail between your house and the parking block you used for trials practice the week after Christmas?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. I thought it would be a good idea to commute to work in jeans. Let me tell you, it isn't. I will never ever do that again. It was 46°F and sunny today. Would have been better off in just shorts. Tights are annoying and today I wanted a break from them. Absolutely miserable. The ride, aside from my comfort was pretty nice. Windy of course, snotting up still (not sure how) and the roads were dry. Ride home was 38°F which still isn't bad. Made it home in a jersey and long sleeve base layer without freezing. Roads? Wet. Damnit. Just cleaned my bike this morning. Oh, and icy in some spots due to a melt and somewhat of a freeze I guess. Not sure how, but my rear tire sliding out on me on the MUP was a clue.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Can't wait until spring. He wants to go biketouring and camping etc.


You never know what will make the big impact or create the indelible memory or help them find themselves and change their life course. All too often it is the cheapest silliest thing. Infrequently, it is the flashier stuff, but it can be. Mostly, it is being father and son. It is a gift that son only really "gets" after about age 25. Seeing the world anew through their take on it keeps us young at heart. A sage once recommended that adults need to hang around 5 year olds more to recharge their sense of wonder.

I didn't get it all right, (does anyone? I don't think so) and no one should beat themselves up over imperfection (being human), as there is no obvious best way to be seen to go except with 20-20 hindsight. So we muddle along and accept 80% as being pretty darn good. Every stage of their growth is the best one. Even the difficult teen years as they spread their wings.

Enjoy. Be baffled. And awed.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh its awesome, no doubt. Will post news if there is something interesting (superglue etc).

Back OT: (on-topic): no ride for me today unfortunately


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Turkeys: I just googled it :lol:

I know they were re-introduced in this area in the 90's... it apparently worked very well. These guys are not domestic, but they do love unpopped popcorn :lol:

Put the finishing touches on a slide show of my favorite 1000 or so GoPro pics this weekend :lol: Most of these are on the commute... hopefully you can forgive me for posting it here. Some Monday inspiration for the crowd tomorrow morning:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Love it, CommuterBoy! Can I share?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Awesome vid CommuterBoy! Cool slomo at the end. :thumbsup:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice vid CB!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great video CB. That's a lot of go pro footage and a lot of time to put it together. Loved the ending too. How many takes? Did you run over any camera's? <<<<I updated my user title to match yours my brother from another mother.



rodar y rodar said:


> Turkeys:
> I thought that CA turkeys were domestic until a NPR report recently taught me that they were imported. Recently, too (late 50s I think). New England turkeys are probably more domesticated than importicated, so that`s maybe the source of the confusion. Or possibly CB has been imaginating new words.
> 
> Blood trail:
> Did you happen to see that trail between your house and the parking block you used for trials practice the week after Christmas?


Turkeys: They were re-introduced in the east but we call them "wild" turkeys so we have flocks of them.

Blood Trail: Hey Hey Hey. It was leaking at about the same rate. We did have a severed deer leg in the parking lot at work on the same day. Not sure if they were related since the blood trail was a few miles away.

Road commute today. Temps near 50 so the trails are shite. If this keeps up too long I'm going to loose my lake passage about a month early.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks guys! It was fun to do... I realized the last time I was uploading photos and they were blasting on the screen really fast that it could create a cool timelapse effect if I had enough of them... this goes back to early 2013. 

The end was shot a couple years ago...don't even have that bike anymore. The GoPro was new and I was scared, not gonna lie :lol:. I was going to practice on a pine cone, but I was afraid I'd hit it and lose my confidence, so I just went for it. First attempt I clipped the camera and sent it spinning, but didn't hit it hard. Then I had to do it twice to get the 'coming' and 'going' shots... can't afford 2 cameras :lol: 

Share away MTBX, no worries. 

CB of the East, I'm honored


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was pretty sure it was a cleverly edited 2 shot piece at the end. I wasn't sure how many outtakes there were. Could have added the spinning camera to the blooper reel. CB, if you find yourself traveling to Maine we should take a ride. My bikes should fit you. I've got a few.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That is a great vid, cb. How long has Special Ed been gone?

We just had a warmspell, so things are now super-icy here. I took the big bike out on the singletrack on the weekend, and it was rideable with studs, but ice everywhere is just about my least favorite conditions. Finally decided that I had to pull the cross wheels off my fixie, and flip it over to studs too.

With that warmspell, this is feeling like another "easy" winter to me. But I like to try to actually quantify that, so I threw together a list of historic temperatures for as long as I've been commuting:

(temps are in celsius, but all you really need to know is 0C=32F, -15C=5F, -25C=-13F)
















It helps to put things in perspective.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A bit of a killer ride in this AM for some reason. Legs like lead. Cooler than it has been and I overdressed a bit as well. Had some awesome times over the weekend, though. Saturday night was the monthly ride I put on - normally an hour and a half ride, tops. This week everything was so perfect we ended up riding for 2.5 hours. Awesome times! Even rode for a bit with no headlights across a swamp with the stars lighting our way. Pretty dang cool. Though that, coupled with three fairly challenging runs probably is what is leading to my dead feeling legs today.


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## HoustonCX (Jan 28, 2016)

I don't commute that often. My goal will be two round trips per week. My commute is 13.5 miles with 6.5 miles of pavement (small streets or paved walking path mostly), 3 miles of grass along the bayous, and 4 miles through the woods.

I rode home from work on Friday. I usually ride through about 4 miles of the woods in a reservoir, which is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. They do allow non-motorized use of the trails, but they are doing a bunch of construction work. They just started. I asked a guy at the beginning of the trail if I could ride though. He said "no" and that I had to stay away from their job site. He was polite about it, and I agree that I shouldn't ride around where they are working. So I went a few hundred yards down to the next trail. After riding about 1/2 mile down that trail, I ran into another construction area where they are clearing trees to dig out some dirt. A worker there told me that they will be rebuilding the dam and that it will be a 1.5 year project. BUMMER! The section I was at is pretty far from the dam, but it will be a lake when they are done, and it will be smack in the middle of the normal trail. I turned around and went back to the busy highway and rode about a mile in the loose gravel and dirt on the outside of the guardrail (I don't like riding near cars) until I got to a non-busy street. I was able to get back on my normal trail after bypassing about 2 miles of trail. My average speed was still 10.4 mph (fastest average yet, but I ended up going about .7 miles extra).

I rode into work today in 60 degree weather (from 05:00 to 06:21) and was able to stay on my normal trail for all but about 1 mile. I still had to ride on the gravel on the outside of the guardrail for about 3/4 of a mile. I made it to work in 81 minutes, which is the fastest I have commuted so far.

That was my commute.

Once I lose about 20 pounds and get my endurance up, I think I will be able to commute in less than 1 hour. I'll let you know.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Those "high" temps are scary :lol: 

I sold Special Ed to a local guy about a year and a half ago... So I can still visit it when I'm feeling nostalgic. 

Bedwards... dibs on the carbon fatty. :lol:


Welcome to the party HoustonCX :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^You'd look pretty funny on it if we're doing a road ride.  But yeah, trails are an option too.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

The seeds of a cross country tour have been germinating for a while... may be several years from now, but at some point I may just roll into Maine on my own bike.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Those "high" temps are scary :lol:


It's funny, because I would have thought of 2014 as an "easy" year too. But apparently that was a pretty crappy February.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ride in was great. 50F and not too windy. Made 18mph up to the university. About to ride home but taking my time because the lab is quiet right now and I have carpet removal to do at home.

Riding the fixed gear clipped in and just going as fast as I can has been the best outlet for my anxiousness lately. So I know I'll feel better at home but right now this quiet lab is heaven.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I totally forgot I was on the fixie today. Foolishly went to level my pedals to hop something and WHOOP. Obviously haven't been riding that one enough recently.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Cold, windy headwind all the way home 35 mph gusts, and I had to pee bad! Note to self, always take a leak before leaving work lol. :idea:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was going to complain about the headwinds on the ride this morning, and even on the last uphill mile, but then I saw that Mt. Washington (about halfway to bedwards territory) had gusts of 125 mph today - yikes! 40F-ish this a.m. had me sweating, gloveless, and rolling up the knickers into shorts this morning but 27F for the ride home and glad I had not worn actual shorts. Someone (not a dog) barked at me really loud on the way home, [email protected]#$%^&! Only my orange CX and a green Pugs in the rack today, nice color combo, but no pix.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, I'll complain about the headwind then. It sucked. My legs felt like tired, sore cement. But nobody barked at me. Actually, a dog did this morning. 50F tonight, I'd actually prefer winter since the trails have been fun and I have a new fat toy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> ^ I totally forgot I was on the fixie today. Foolishly went to level my pedals to hop something and WHOOP. Obviously haven't been riding that one enough recently.


Don't worry, I've been riding it quite a bit and do it all the time still. It's been very warm here. I make whatever I can of it I guess.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Black ice. Everywhere. Temps got up to near 40° or so. Delivered in just a jersey, sleeves came off. That was a glorious feeling. Windy, but manageable for the rest of the ride. 28°F for the ride home, and the ice made its return. Back roads were sketch. MUP was effed. Walked part of the way because it was just too sketchy and I was on the fixed gear on 23's.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I had to go back to my full cold uniform for the ride in tonight. It was down into single digits again for the first time since... late November? Anyway, much colder than it`s been of late. We had our share of howling winds Sat night, but I just hung out in my cave and didn`t do anything silly like riding my bike in them :lol:

Welcome aboard, Houston! 81 minutes down to 60 will be quite a jump- good luck with the goal. Yeah, riding high traffic roads is scary at first. Depending on exactly what the situation is, you might get half used to it and not have to ride outside the guardrail. Or it might still seem like the best way- you`ll have to decide that one on your own.

Interesting graph, Newf. Did you plot the lows also?

Congrats on another great video, CB :thumbsup: My favorite of yours (probably have not seen them all) is still one of the early ones you did for some kind of GoPro promotion thing:




Something about your body swinging like a pendulum from your nose is the key to that one, I think.

Semi-hijack on the time lapse theme... I stumbled into some really mind blowing examples of it over the weekend. To keep out of total hijack mode, I won`t link to it, but will recommend searching for Dustin Farrell`s "Landscape 4" for anybody with a few spare minutes.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Just managed to watch the video CB, love it! Good work and a nice selection of bikes terrains and weather. As an aside, I see you have bar end shifters on your drops, how'd you get on with them?

Car for me today :-( alarm clock failed so had to use the car. Got stuck in a jam on the dual carriageway due to an accident (no Uturns, central barrier) . Would've got here earlier on the bike.


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## HoustonCX (Jan 28, 2016)

rodar y rodar said:


> Welcome aboard, Houston! 81 minutes down to 60 will be quite a jump- good luck with the goal. Yeah, riding high traffic roads is scary at first. Depending on exactly what the situation is, you might get half used to it and not have to ride outside the guardrail. Or it might still seem like the best way- you`ll have to decide that one on your own.


Rodar,

Yes, it is quite a jump, but my average speed right now is only about 10 mph, since I go a lot slower in the woods and the grass than on the pavement. I just need to build up my endurance and push myself harder. If I can bring it to under an hour, that would give me more time with my family in the evenings.

As far as riding along the gravel, it is only about 3/4 of a mile, and I averaged 7.3 mph. For now, I'll stay off the shoulder. I do have to get on the shoulder for a few hundred feet to cross a bridge, but that is all I am willing to risk right now. My wife is already worried enough, and that is the only busy road I ride on.

Thanks,

HoustonCX


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

Cold & icy. Multi-use paths are all frozen over so had to take the main road for a bit. Supposed to be rainy and 60 tomorrow, hopefully that clears all the remaining crap out. The whole way in I was thinking about the studded tires sitting on my workbench, and how much crap I'd catch if I wiped out on the ice. Tires were a little low from temp falling, kept em that way and they seemed to hold alright.

Really hoping the weather stabilizes at some point so I can stop getting sick.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. 15F both at my place and in town. Pumped up the tires a bit last night as things are firm and fast and it made for a much nicer ride.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I've been doing the multi-modal commute thing lately, sometimes because of temperatures and sometimes because I wake up too late to ride the whole way. The park that I used to park at changed their hours for the winter. They now lock the gate at 4:30 so I had to find an alternative. I've been parking on a dead end gravel road that was long ago abandoned (part of it was actually demolished to install a drainage ditch for a new development. There is literally nothing on the road. Not a single driveway. There is also a lack of "No Parking" signs. I figured it would be a good alternative since it literally couldn't inconvenience anyone.

Got a voicemail from the police department today regarding my car that is parked on said road "for several days". If I didn't call back, they were going to tow it. I guess the small farm that is adjacent to the gravel road called saying that my car was suspicious. I guess I can understand...sorta. I explained why I parked there and the police department was pretty understanding. They suggested I park at the police station. Unfortunately, that would make the first mile on a busy road that I do just about whatever I can to avoid. I could make it work, but I'd rather find a new park or something.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

SlipSpace said:


> Just managed to watch the video CB, love it! Good work and a nice selection of bikes terrains and weather. As an aside, I see you have bar end shifters on your drops, how'd you get on with them?


I love the bar end shifters. It's a traditional road bar, rotated up so the hoods are pretty flat... this gets the shifters well out of the way of my knees when I stand and move the bike around on something like a trail switchback, etc... The rear is selectable... it can be friction or indexed... this comes in handy sometimes when swapping wheelsets to the studded tires, or throwing a 9 speed wheel on there (the indexed shifting is 8 speed). They make for super clean under-the-bar-tape cable routing also. Totally happy with them.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Going in there was zero snow due to the warm weather. And this is now, we estimate with the wind it is probably about 6 inches of snow on the ground.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Snogre! Looks like my commute today:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kleebs, are you parking in exactly the same spot each day? Maybe you would be better off to be sure and park in a noticeably different position or facing in a different direction every day. Or if you`re pretty sure that it was the people from that far who got antsy and called you in, maybe go up and knock on their door to explain why that suspicious looking car is always out there. As long as they aren`t totally wacko, they would probably get it and stop worrying.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice video CB! I know a little about the time that took!

BrianMc


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Ugh. Hometime trails are so, so icy. Guess it'll be the fixie and pavement for the foreseeable future.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Still crazy warm. In the 60's today. Wild stuff. Cool and wet on the way in, warm and moist on the way out. Which reminds me I should get fenders for the fixie. Dunno if I want something showy and obvious or kinda sleek.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A decent ride in, but felt slow, partly due to more wind, and partly due to falling asleep in front of the propane "woodstove" last night without any supper, and sleeping right through to 4:30 a.m.-ish right there on the living room carpet.

A lot of overtime on a deadline lately, and did not finish (give) up till 7:30pm, so I decided to leave my bike in my cubie and take a work car home since I was 2 hours late already.

I hope the work Prius is up to the wintry mix in the a.m., it should be rain by the time I pedal home tomorrow.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Mr Pink57 said:


> Going in there was zero snow due to the warm weather. And this is now, we estimate with the wind it is probably about 6 inches of snow on the ground.


That's quite a turnaround in weather for a day!



CommuterBoy said:


> I love the bar end shifters. ....... Totally happy with them.


Thanks CB, interesting to know. I'm weighing up options on a newer bike and never used them.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Currently foggy and 45°F this morning. Will be delivering and then coming home, only one job today. 40% chance of rain, and it poured yesterday so the roads are still wet. Was hoping for the warmer temps and some sun to dry stuff up but that is unlikely. Planning on wearing shorts because it is February 3rd and in the mid 40's. Why not?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Thanks CB, interesting to know. I'm weighing up options on a newer bike and never used them.


He did make them sounds pretty good. I wasn't' a fan. Sometimes hitting them with my knees in standing climbs. They aren't in a position on the bar where your hands ever are naturally. I changed them out to STI on my crosscheck. I prefer my downtube shifters to bar ends because I can shift both with one hand at the same time.

It's all about the bike! I've had my share of anti-fatbike posts. Now that I have a nice trail geometry fatty I'm more pro-fat. Yesterday and today had nearly identical rides. The trail is a rutted mess of ice, snow, bare ground, frost heaves... Yesterday on the fatbike with studs felt much more secure than today on the FS trail bike with studs. It kept me from breaking through the crust (of the snow and the earth) more too. The speeds were almost identical but I felt a lot more confident on the fatty yesterday.

That's all going to change today. We're supposed to get 1" of warm rain today. I'm guessing that the snow will be almost gone tomorrow.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Lots of snow everywhere, I take side streets to work and non are plowed or got one pass last night so tons of loose snow. I probably should've rode my Pugsley in but stuck it out on my Ogre, so it was a bit of a balancing act until I got to the MUP which was plowed.

Apparently our office had a late start (10am) unknown to me....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Mr Pink57 said:


> Apparently our office had a late start (10am) unknown to me....


:lol:



CommuterBoy said:


> It's a traditional road bar, rotated up so the hoods are pretty flat... this gets the shifters well out of the way of my knees when I stand and move the bike around on something like a trail switchback, etc... The rear is selectable... it can be friction or indexed... this comes in handy sometimes when swapping wheelsets to the studded tires, or throwing a 9 speed wheel on there (the indexed shifting is 8 speed). They make for super clean under-the-bar-tape cable routing also.





bedwards1000 said:


> Sometimes hitting them with my knees in standing climbs. They aren't in a position on the bar where your hands ever are naturally. I changed them out to STI on my crosscheck. I prefer my downtube shifters to bar ends because I can shift both with one hand at the same time.


Bar end fanboy #2 chiming in here...
Though I never hit mine with my knees, I read it enough that it might be true for some folks (or those people might just be liars). I do however have problems with them bumping things while parked, which irks me. Sometimes I won`t notice and will give the cranks a quarter turn backwards to position them and jam the chain in the process.

I think that whether the position is natural or not depends on how you have your bike set up. I keep my bars high and my two most used positions are both on the drops- either way up front near the brake levers or all the way back with my palms cupping the shifter body. I can shift both at the same time also and don`t even have to move my hands to do it! In fact, I seldom shift the front WITHOUT shifting the rear. Pull both and I`ve effectively upshifted one "gear", push both and I`ve downshifted one "gear".

Selectable friction mode for the rear is sweet for the reasons that CB mentioned, but he forgot to say that it`s also very nice for the front- doesn`t care what rings you want to use, adjustment is next to nothing, and trimming is a piece of cake.

The secret advantage to bar end shifters that nobody else ever seems to mention is that you can always tell what gear you`re in without looking, even when it`s pitch dark.

All in all, I think that cockpit setup, position, and ergo preferences are the main deciding factors as to whether or not a certain rider likes bar ends.

Oh, and the correct way to route a shifter cable is through the hoods and right out the same hole as the brake cable, follow as far as necessary (fact, no opinion involved here) :thumbsup:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> I prefer my downtube shifters to bar ends because I can shift both with one hand at the same time.


Lack of skill. I can shift my bar ends both with one hand at the same time. :lol:



rodar y rodar said:


> Oh, and the correct way to route a shifter cable is through the hoods and right out the same hole as the brake cable, follow as far as necessary (fact, no opinion involved here) :thumbsup:


I went a step further and got brake levers with under-the-tape routing also... you gotta admit, it's pretty clean. Apologies for the rusty stem bolts :lol:


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Lack of skill. I can shift my bar ends both with one hand at the same time. :lol:


I used to shift mine with my knees sometimes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Decent but cautious drive in to return the work car, rain was freezing on the windshield, thankfully the wiper fluid was working.

Way home by bike was decent, not as rainy as expected. I forgot my gloves since I drove in, but at 40, my hands were OK. I was out of dog food and made it to store 5 minutes before closing. Several comments like "are you going to carry that (30 lb bag) on your bike", which I had "parked" just inside the door? "Oh yes, no problem", but I left it outside the back door and picked it up after pedaling the last 5-10 minutes to my car at my park-n-pedal lot. Good thing, because by the time I got back to the store with my car, it was closed and dark. Dog food was still where I left it!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Woof

The commute home across the lake was interesting. There was up to 2" of standing water over the ice with mini whitecaps. I got a really wet butt. On the road today.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

So we're a bit divided on bar ends then  I'll see if I can get a ride on one before I decide anything. Sorry Rodar, I prefer CBs under tape route but then that's where the brakes run anyway on my current ride (i remember buying those levers back in '89  )

Bedwards, water over ice, ON A LAKE!, would scare me wet I reckon, never mind the spray!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> Kleebs, are you parking in exactly the same spot each day? Maybe you would be better off to be sure and park in a noticeably different position or facing in a different direction every day. Or if you`re pretty sure that it was the people from that far who got antsy and called you in, maybe go up and knock on their door to explain why that suspicious looking car is always out there. As long as they aren`t totally wacko, they would probably get it and stop worrying.


I suppose I could do that, but the cops are now on the lookout for a black honda element that is parked in "suspicious" places. I changed my route so that now I park at the local community college. I can't imagine anyone A) caring or B) noticing that I park there during the day and GASP do not stay for class . It adds a few miles but not a big deal. Soon enough the weather will be warm enough that I'll be riding all the way from home anyway.



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Woof
> 
> The commute home across the lake was interesting. There was up to 2" of standing water over the ice with mini whitecaps. I got a really wet butt. On the road today.


If that were me, I would welcome the water on my butt to help conceal the other liquid soaking through my pants


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Great cat6 this morning.

Was following a guy through an intersection (he was riding a lovely, orange, debadged, mid-80s ss mtb of some sort) and he said "You might as well go infront of me down this hill, since I'm on a singlespeed." And I said "Meh, I'm on a fixie" but I took the invite anyway.

And then I worked my butt off. 

I did manage to put a 1/2 block or so between us by the time I turned off for work. (and I'd had to wait a redlight, and then again at a stopsign which had let him catch up twice, which, y'know, means I totally won). 

I never have people behind me, but if I did I'd be in better shape.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Bedwards, water over ice, ON A LAKE!, would scare me wet I reckon, never mind the spray!


In the dark. This warm weather better stop or I'm not going to be able to trust the ice anymore.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Need GoPro footage of that action. I would be leaning back just waiting for that icy plunge. How thick does the ice need to be for you to enter into a trust relationship? :lol: 
My experience is limited but I think I'm wanting at least 3 or 4 inches....I know that's overkill but I don't think I care...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^3-4" is about the min for me. The lake had 3" then it snowed, then rained so it had another 3" of snow ice on top of the black ice. Took forever to freeze even though it was cold. Lately it's been so warm it could be melting from below. I'll try to get out there this weekend and measure it again. Temps are mostly supposed to stay below freezing after today but it's 50 again today...in February.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^3-4" is about the min for me. The lake had 3" then it snowed, then rained so it had another 3" of snow ice on top of the black ice. Took forever to freeze even though it was cold. Lately it's been so warm it could be melting from below. I'll try to get out there this weekend and measure it again. Temps are mostly supposed to stay below freezing after today but it's 50 again today...in February.


Any discussion of safe ice thickness requires and evaluation of the type of ice....old rotten ice can easily be unsafe at 12 inches thick....

New hard ice without snow in it can easily be safe for a person at 2 inches...

Ice that was safe can easily become unsafe as conditions change.

Ice that is safe can in a matter of a few feet become unsafe.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

All true, hence my lack of trust going forward. It was good and firm yesterday morning so I wasn't worried that it would be unsafe 10 hours later. After 48 hours of above freezing, a little more worried. I mostly want to get out and make sure it's still solid and not rotten. I wouldn't be as trusting on a body of water that I don't know.

Didn't cross it today, won't cross it tomorrow.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Yikes bedwards! Be careful out there!

Just spent the last 8 minutes watching people fall through ice and other stuff


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

So yesterday morning on the way to work about halfway, heard what sounded like a rock being tossed around in a few spokes, I stopped and everything looked ok, but then later down the road back tire was flat. Had a huge screw in it, right through the thickest part of my new tire! 
Changed the tube and went on my way, then this morning went out to get the bike, same tire, flat again! :madman:

Turns out that screw went all the way to the rim and put a nice gouge in the metal and lots of burrs were sticking up. So a few minutes of sandpaper and a smidge of duct tape ready to go. We'll see tomorrow morning. The Jeep was happy for a drive today anyways haha.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Ah man, that sucks!! Never had anything go in and damage the rim. It does always amaze me how something that length manages to get more or less square on into the tyre.

My first cycle commute this week today  and it felt great to be back on two wheels. Even the usual selection of nobheads couldn't dent my mood this morning.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Bar end shifters ARE divisive. That seems to be their nature :lol:

Bedwards, have you actually had a nice crossing yet this year?

Stay away from the keno runners, Eugene- your luck seems to be out at the moment.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

That sucks Eugene. Had a similar issue once with a 2nd flat through the patch of the 1st one - rim tape replaced with ducktape, oh ehhh, I mean ducttape and all good.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

LOL yeah no keno for me for a while! Tire still has air this morning yay, guess I need to pay better attention to the ground in front of me, maybe stay on the concrete a little more where it's easier to see stuff.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Bedwards, have you actually had a nice crossing yet this year?


It was actually getting very good before the rain. We're getting snow today so that may set it back some.

I've got the drywall screw through the tire too. It will get your attention.

Snow today so I took the camp roads where I could. I turned onto the dirt one and it was super slow and soft. Then I realized I had picked up a stick from the trail. Once I got that out...It was super slow and soft.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

For the second time in 2016, I had an SUV partly blocking the entrance to the bike path with *backup lights on and no one in the drivers seat*. Location and vehicle completely different from the January incident.

Later on, I had a car passed me close me in the opposite direction with a snarling German Sheppard hanging out the window. Why is this noteworthy, you ask?

BECAUSE I WAS STILL ON THE BIKE PATH.

This path follows a river valley, and there are no roads anywhere near it.

This town is the automotive version of Gotham without Batman.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> So yesterday morning on the way to work about halfway, heard what sounded like a rock being tossed around in a few spokes, I stopped and everything looked ok, but then later down the road back tire was flat. Had a huge screw in it, right through the thickest part of my new tire!


I really hate this kind of stuff. I used to get nails sometimes on my commute to my old job. Not fun, and especially not fun if the tires are new.



ghettocruiser said:


> Later on, I had a car passed me close me in the opposite direction with a snarling German Sheppard hanging out the window. Why is this noteworthy, you ask?
> 
> BECAUSE I WAS STILL ON THE BIKE PATH.


I've been on the bike path and had people driving a truck behind me. It wasn't a marked construction company truck and there wasn't any construction going on along that stretch of the bike path. I decided that my best bet was to just ride in the middle of the trail at whatever speed I was riding anyway.

My commutes have not been shabby. Commuted to the pub last night after teaching labs and grading. Caught a ride home, though. Thank goodness my buddy had a truck.

responsibility: 1/2 (because I could have been more responsible)
commuter badassery: -5


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

One of the local guys has a portable pizza oven, so he hauled it on the back of his fatbike to morning coffee. Unfortunately I couldn't hang around this morning, and had to head to work before it was done.









And the local fatbike race that's planned for this weekend has been cancelled due to ice. The final race last year was super-icy too, but I think this year is worse, and might be the worst I've ever seen. I haven't even been hitting the trails on the way home, because even with studs it's just stupid.

For me, I think this weekend's just going to be the fixie on the mups. I'm really hoping we get some snow, because otherwise it's going to be a long wait for spring.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Our trails were getting a little sketchy even with studs but that's over now. We had 1 to 3" forecast. I think we've got 6-8" on the ground. Winter has re-arrived.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

A portable pizza oven? Awesome!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

eugenethejeep said:


> a portable pizza oven? Awesome!


+1 !!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Friday I drove, but brought with me my Bianchi Veloce road bike that has been sitting unridden for nearly 15 years in my basement. Dropped it off for an overhaul, and when it's done the shop will call the intended recipient and just tell her that "your bike is ready" (I have not mentioned it to her). This should be fun. 

She's a really strong rider but had her road bike stolen a few years ago and has not been able to replace it. It has a triple ring, and I know she has been eyeing the insane 6 gap (mountain pass) ride, about 11.7K climbing. Paying it forward, as my cross bike I commute on a lot was gifted to me by my brother-in-law when I asked how much he was selling it for.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> A portable pizza oven? Awesome!


Looking around online, it's apparently this one: Uuni 2 - The portable and affordable wood-fired oven for pizza and beyond

The guy also has a cargo bike, and I think that's his typical plan. But with all the ice he strapped it to the back of his studded pugsley instead.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> Friday I drove, but brought with me my Bianchi Veloce road bike that has been sitting unridden for nearly 15 years in my basement. Dropped it off for an overhaul, and when it's done the shop will call the intended recipient and just tell her that "your bike is ready" (I have not mentioned it to her). This should be fun.
> 
> She's a really strong rider but had her road bike stolen a few years ago and has not been able to replace it. It has a triple ring, and I know she has been eyeing the insane 6 gap (mountain pass) ride, about 11.7K climbing. Paying it forward, as my cross bike I commute on a lot was gifted to me by my brother-in-law when I asked how much he was selling it for.


Says I have to spread reputation around before giving you more, so I will just do it here. Very nice of you!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Says I have to spread reputation around before giving you more, so I will just do it here. Very nice of you!


I have the same problem. Doing it here as well. That is just saintly!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thanks fellow commuters, the shop called a few times today, it is shiny and ready, and they emailed for her to come pick up her bike. This was even better because all I have is her work phone, so more mysterious! I told them to make sure she knows it is no mistake, but do not mention my name, she will have a better bike story that way. I hope I can keep a straight face if she mentions it on Monday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Very cool, Xplorer. But I`m betting she`ll be able to guess anyway. Unless ALL New Englanders share your penchant for generosity, in which case I`d be tempted to move. Except that I have already seen your winter pics and weather reports :lol:

I found out Thursday night that Friday was going to be a plant holiday. The weather report was for chilly though sunny all weekend, woohoo! So yesterday I bundled up my wife and we gave my moto its first workout of the year (all paved  ), met up with a crazy lady on her moto for lunch in the next town south, then all rode together for ANOTHER lunch in yet another town. Back to the pedals tomorrow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The plan for Monday is to commute to one job, ride, then ride home and get the car for the second. Snow in the forecast with accumulation for the evening and I just don't feel like riding in it. Luckily I have enough time to do this.


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## rogbie (Jun 20, 2011)

A two motorist crash ruptured a natural gas pipeline resulting in the closure of my usual commute route. Took the long way. Passed >500 motorist stuck in traffic. Smiled the entire way up the protected-bike-lane-of-broken-glass-and-goat-heads that I usually avoid. Made it to work without a puncture.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> I have the same problem. Doing it here as well. That is just saintly!


Yep. I guess I don't spread it often )or deep) enough! Nice brother-in-law and nice act of kindness.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Me too. How much rep do you have to spread before you can give to somebody the 2nd time again??? I mean I am spreading around like mad and dont even get something back so far :-/

Nevertheless thumbs up for mtbxplorer!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Supposedly 7C outside today but down to about 1C with the windchill. 20mph head/cross wind gusting to about 35mph. Had the works laptop and files to return so along with my weeks kit the panniers were well loaded.

Fitted some ebay special (£15 pair delivered) double pivot brakes at the weekend to replace the 25+ year old Weinmann side pulls. Can't say they stop me massively better but at least the arms don't flex and put the blocks into the tyre now.... Aside from the inconvenience, the potential for scrubbing the side out of a £30 tyre sucks, hence the 'upgrade' ..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rogbie said:


> A two motorist crash ruptured a natural gas pipeline resulting in the closure of my usual commute route. Took the long way. Passed >500 motorist stuck in traffic. Smiled the entire way up the protected-bike-lane-of-broken-glass-and-goat-heads that I usually avoid. Made it to work without a puncture.


I call that "Trafficsfaction"



cyclingdutchman said:


> Me too. How much rep do you have to spread before you can give to somebody the 2nd time again??? I mean I am spreading around like mad and dont even get something back so far :-/
> 
> Nevertheless thumbs up for mtbxplorer!


Lots! You can spread some to me.  Probably not.

MTXB, I can't wait to hear how that played out. Giving bikes is fun!

My commute was not fun. I thought the trails would be in much better shape than they were. It was like riding through partially set concrete. (I do that all the time so I know). At least the lake was good. Unfortunately we're supposed to get up to 6" of new snow so...

I did get the doggies out on the lake this weekend. The ice had enough grip so they could really get up a head of speed. They just love being able to run 1/2 mile on the open lake.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanx bedwards and NDD!Not much cycling for me lately but I hope to ride on wednesday morning and a short overnight touring trip next weekend.Until then - keep riding!PS I have a new avatar: its my latest birthday cake that my wife made for me early january


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

The trails are so icy that on my weekend rides I took along shoe-spikes, and between those and the studded tires I had a decent ride. But this whole week will be on the fixie, I think.

And on the weekend was the first Winter Fatbike Chariot race:



> Saturday's Festival saw the debut of Winterus Maximus, a sport the creators explain as one where "Roman Gladiator chariots meets chuckwagon racing meets dog sledding."
> 
> Winterus Maximus features homemade chariots designed by the competitors, pulled by fat bikes that race around a circular track.
> 
> In its first year, the event had six teams competing for a variety of prizes, with first place being a $500 cash prize.












I wasn't there, and they did it an night, so photo/video is pretty scarce. I can't find anything that's embeddable, but there's a short video of the start here:

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/696190655542857728


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

That's awesome mtbx! I'm sure some good karma will follow you around for a while! :thumbsup:

Commute was good today, hungover from super bowl beer! Sweat it out first thing in the morning did the trick lol.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Good stuff, Newf!!

Love the dog pix,bedwards! My dog + guest went down to reservoir by backyard trails, but I hesitated to go on the ice, as did the dogs. Did see some coyote tracks across it though ( and neighbor saw one today at noon). 

Rogbie, that is an insane amount of car passes, high fiive!

I learned today that the intended bike recipient was in Boston this weekend, so I am sure it is still at the shop. I will check in with them on status later in the week, in case she has not seen the email. Probably means I have time to bring them the road shoes, in case they fit. 

Good rides today on the cross bike, snowing on the way home, Winter Contis held their own.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

It was dang windy. We got a very light dusting of snow all day, but I'm pretty sure most of it was old stuff blowing around. Good thing I had my balaclava. Accidentally left without putting on my neoprene shoe covers. I noticed it about halfway home when my feet were feeling _very_ cold.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Really good today. Ended up delivering in a jersey and sleeves. Love doing that because I hate wearing a jacket to ride. Windy but nothing too bad. It isn't the ice, the snow, the cold temps, the grey skies or the slush that annoys me about winter riding. It is the snot. I think I have it worse than others. I am constantly sniffling and doing all kinds of expelling of, well you know what of. I hate that!!!!

Rode home after and got the car. I would have been alright as it was only starting to snow as I left the hospital. Roads were just wet and it was in the mid 30's.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Wind had increased even more for the ride home and I had the addition of the works laptop (a big old Dell unit) in my pannier. What would have been light rain was really driven by the wind. Had to adjust my usual stance while stopped at some lights as the cross wind was threatening to blow me over.

This morning it's all calm again, still feels colder than the actual temp of 3C/37F.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> ...It is the snot. I think I have it worse than others. I am constantly sniffling and doing all kinds of expelling of, well you know what of. I hate that!!!!


Oh, don't you go thinking you are all kinds of special with your snot producing qualities. Sometimes I have enough snot rockets that I don't even have to peddle. :lol:

Snowy ride home last night. Roads, trails & lake were all unknowns this morning so I plowed the driveway and drove in.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Says I have to spread reputation around before giving you more, so I will just do it here. Very nice of you!


Haha I had the same issue. That is a gift that means more than just a bike. You are giving freedom.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Just enough snow to cover the ground, and at the halfway point I got on salty enough roads that I lost the frozen white part at the edge of the road and had to ride in some nasty brown slush.

Supposed to be some actual winter weather this week, for the first time in.. like a year.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Long weekend for me... lots of catching up on here... MTBX, rep given... that's just awesome. 

Found out I'm a finalist in a photo contest and I might win a killer winter wardrobe... see my other thread...trying not to get excited because it's only Tuesday, but I'm winning at the moment. Ends Friday. 

Ride today was nice... actually stopped to take off the 'clava, which I never do. Started out at about 25 degrees, and was probably mid 30's by the time I got to work. Just lovely.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

71F on the way home today! Need to bring an extra bungee cord for the shedded clothing.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Long weekend for me... lots of catching up on here... MTBX, rep given... that's just awesome.


Thanks, CB, I overheard at closing time that said pedaler was headed to the shop before closing for a bike someone dropped off for her there. Others, unware, were like, wait, someone left a bike for you there??? Heehee. I buried myself in my open office and deadlines, and just said goodnight as said rider left. Hopefully she went home with it and is none the wiser.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rough travels this a.m. Only an inch or 2 of snow, 13F, but the plows glazed and caked it, making only the travel lane safe. Much honking, arm waving and swearing. It only takes a few to ruin the party, I was passed too close while trying to cross slushy diagonal RR tracks, and passed by 53' tractor trailer with the rear end inching ever closer - end result I hog the lane more than necessary for the rest of the ride than if all were respectful. Also tailed by a big wing plow and unsafe to escape right... maneuvered left to center/suicide lane until plow passed...of course it pulled off the rod some 200 yards after I merged right again. Arrived alive and the lone bikecommuter, the ride home was better, a relief after a tough workaday!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Colder today, but not as windy on the return. I realized while riding home that I totally forgot to go to my office hours for my lab students today, because I was working on thesis material and preliminary results for a conference I hope to attend. I'm hoping that the lack of emails is from the fact that nobody tried to go. 

So I guess it wasn't a very good ride, because I felt stupid the whole time.:madman:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Sucky, Xplorer! It was butt-puckering enough with the trailer passing at a diagonal track crossing, but the plow thing sounds like above and beyond gnarly. Not sure I understood, but you mean the plow was on your butt until you moved out into the suicide lane so it could pass you on the right? Big cheers to you for "hogging" as much of the road as you felt you needed to keep the boneheads honest, but if I understood correctly about the plow, why didn`t you let the b*stid wait it out behind you? Any rate... SHEESH! It sounds like a commute from hell for you today. Very glad you arrived in one three-dimensional piece!



mtbxplorer said:


> Also tailed by a big wing plow and unsafe to escape right... maneuvered left to center/suicide lane until plow passed...of course it pulled off the rod some 200 yards after I merged right again.


My commute last night and this morning were nothing to write home about ("home" being How Was Your Commute Today ). Re-ditched the extra clothing I started wearing again last week, and will probably loose another half step worth of cold weather stuff within the next week or so. Going by whatever used to be normal weather trends, we should be smack in the middle of snow season right now, but well past the lowest temps and on the way back up.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Left work on time yesterday (at 5) and it wasn't dark. The nights are really pulling out now, Yay!

This morning was bright and clear, bit chilly but really enjoyable. I even stopped to take a pic from the mup.









Was raining by the time I reached the office...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Sucky, Xplorer! It was butt-puckering enough with the trailer passing at a diagonal track crossing, but the plow thing sounds like above and beyond gnarly. Not sure I understood, but you mean the plow was on your butt until you moved out into the suicide lane so it could pass you on the right? Big cheers to you for "hogging" as much of the road as you felt you needed to keep the boneheads honest, but if I understood correctly about the plow, why didn`t you let the b*stid wait it out behind you?


Yes, you understood correctly! Being in front of a working plow is kind of like being on the tracks with a train coming - you get the heck out of the way if at all possible. Plus I was pretty sure it would not go around me, since that would leave an unplowed patch of snow. With about another mile to the roundabout, I did not want that behemoth right behind me for the duration, nor to hold up the plow and everyone behind it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Rough travels this a.m. Only an inch or 2 of snow, 13F, but the plows glazed and caked it, making only the travel lane safe. Much honking, arm waving and swearing. It only takes a few to ruin the party, I was passed too close while trying to cross slushy diagonal RR tracks, and passed by 53' tractor trailer with the rear end inching ever closer - end result I hog the lane more than necessary for the rest of the ride than if all were respectful. Also tailed by a big wing plow and unsafe to escape right... maneuvered left to center/suicide lane until plow passed...of course it pulled off the rod some 200 yards after I merged right again. Arrived alive and the lone bikecommuter, the ride home was better, a relief after a tough workaday!


Those unexpectedly snowy rides are stressful. I've given up riding the main roads when it snows if at all possible. The back roads with only a handful of cars for the whole ride and a nice quiet few inches of snow are, on the other hand, quite nice.

This trails this morning were not quite nice. 2 snowmobiles had "packed" it enough to lure me down a 1/2 mile downhill section, washing out quite a few times then taking a quick trip over the bars when the front wheel disappeared through the ice on the trail. Improvement was unlikely so I turned back and took the road. 

winter gives promise
reality takes it back
sad fatbike on roads​


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Had to drop off my car at the auto shop yesterday morning to deal with a rubbing brake. I thought the caliper had seized again, as I have had that problem several times on this car. Rode in from the auto shop and it was pretty uneventful. Roads were clear so I had debated taking the road bike to minimize how late I was going to be getting to the office. Ended up taking the studded commuter instead (foreboding).

The ride home was unexpected but near bliss. I left work late, around 6pm. Winter finally decided to make an appearance and I was on my way home in the middle of only the second snow "storm" of the season. It wasn't much of a storm, kind of in the middle between storm and flurry. It was enough to stick on the roads though and the plows were nowhere to be seen. I was so glad to have the studs and the wider tires. I also had a positively wonderful tail wind the entire way home. There is something about riding on snow that is so calming to me. Every sound is muffled and many of the truly bad drivers are too scared to get on the road. 

I did have two truly terrible passes on the way home though. The first was on a country road with a blind 90 corner with a stop sign just a few hundred yards after said corner. SUV decides to gun it to pass me as we enter the corner. Remember that the corner is blind and there is snow on the road. He ends up on the brakes in the middle of the corner and has not completely passed me yet but decides to get back into his lane (AKA where I am riding). I had to get on the brakes to avoid being sideswiped. Gave his rear window a good smack as well. I planned to have a stern conversation with the driver at the stop sign but he barely stopped.

The second encounter was much closer to home and was not an issue of someone being stupid, but rather intentionally dangerous. ******** in a Mercedes SUV floors it behind me and does not move over an inch despite no oncoming traffic. Buzzed just inches from my left elbow going 45mph+. I had an incident at this same spot over the summer from a guy in a BMW convertible. I wonder if it was the same guy.

Thankfully, neither of these incidents could mess with my mood last night. It was a comfortable 30F with tailwind and snow, and I was dressed perfectly. I added an extra 5 miles to my trip home just to enjoy the conditions. It was one of those rides that you just don't want to stop when you get to your destination.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've been horrible. I actually drove yesterday - first time in almost exactly 1 year. Beyond that, I've been working from home and haven't even been on the bike since last Tuesday. Ouch! I have been a bit ill recently, so the break might be good for me overall.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Kleebs said:


> The ride home was unexpected but near bliss. I left work late, around 6pm. Winter finally decided to make an appearance and I was on my way home in the middle of only the second snow "storm" of the season. It wasn't much of a storm, kind of in the middle between storm and flurry. It was enough to stick on the roads though and the plows were nowhere to be seen. I was so glad to have the studs and the wider tires. I also had a positively wonderful tail wind the entire way home. There is something about riding on snow that is so calming to me. Every sound is muffled and many of the truly bad drivers are too scared to get on the road.


There is something supremely relaxing about riding a bike through snow when very few other people are to be seen. I think it is the quiet of it. I experienced this tonight on my ride home and found myself purposefully riding slow on the MUP just because I was relaxed. I did see a coyote running through a farm field. Good thing, it was running away.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

So after snowy 10km on the MUP, I pulled onto Sheppard Ave and lined up in the right hand lane at the red light at Leslie Street. The MUP resumes on the right, immediately after the intersection.

There were some more cars approaching from the rear but I didn't think much of it, since the road was barely wet and the snow in the air wasn't enough to reduce visibility. The light tuned green, but there was pedestrian traffic delaying the cars from turning right and thus delaying me as well. 

So I started creeping up, slowly passing stopped cars on the right. 

After I passed about three cars, I heard a heavy impact behind me. The car I had been lined up behind ~10 seconds earlier had been rear-ended by a van, hard enough that I could see the hood crumpled and a cloud of radiator steam rising. 

I dropped back into the dark, snowy MUP on the other side of Leslie Street and cruised on home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Freezing cold today for my commute to deliver. We got a light dusting of snow so I took the SS MTB with the new bar. WOW!!! What a difference this made for the bike. It feels really good, like really good. Even my buddy at the bike shop commented on it after taking it for a test spin. Well, it was really cold, like 16° F with a strong northwest wind. Right out of the gate on delivery we are busy, really busy, like busier than I have ever been. Roads are wet and semi slushy, just enough to spray. Bought a new clip on rear fender but it still manages to come up. So I am delivering and I come out of a building, and all hell breaks loose. Wind picks up with huge gusts, and the snow comes out of nowhere. Full blown white out. Smart me at least had my Cygolite HotShot on the rear so I turn that on and continue riding. By the time I get to the next office, I am covered in snow. Had it stayed at that rate, we would have easily had a foot and a half in an hour. The shift went by in a blur, and before I knew it, I was clocking out and counting out some serious tip money!

Rode home quickly to warm up, clean up, change, and drive to the next job. Forecast for tonight was just going to be cold and windy, and after my 4 hours out today, I had enough. Left work tonight, 12° F but felt like -3° F with that wind. Glad to have heated seats and a heater that you have to turn down after 10 minutes in my car.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^^^^Kleebs, some drivers are incompetent, some are just arseholes, some unfortunately are both. Sounds like you got more than your share of the latter on that journey.

^^Close call Ghetto! 

Still appreciating the lighter nights, ride home was uneventful. 

This morning, maybe third or fourth actual frost of the winter. A lovely dry, bright, blue sky sunny -1C/30F. Light wind made it feel cooler I think but a good day to be on the bike. I could happily still be out there.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, close one, GhettoCruiser!
Kleebs, I`m glad you enjoyed your ride overall. I think the incidents you encountered would have put it into the "bad day" category for me, though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

ghettocruiser said:


> After I passed about three cars, I heard a heavy impact behind me. The car I had been lined up behind ~10 seconds earlier had been rear-ended by a van, hard enough that I could see the hood crumpled and a cloud of radiator steam rising.


Whoa! Glad you got out of there!

I've been stuck on the roads because the trails still haven't been packed. Otherwise, not much to report.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That sucks, GhettoCruiser. 

I've been using my slightly-longer, much-hillier route that has basically 0 cars for maybe two years now, and every day I'm thankful that I have the option of not being anywhere near idiots.

Inch of snow on the ground today, for what is I think only the second actual snowfall of the year. We got a big dump at the end of November, but since then it's just been a dusting here or there.

It should be great for the trails. They have been super icy, but the last few days things have been warm, so this new snow should hopefully stick and sandpaper-up everything.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ahhh...crappy this AM. Bus almost gets into an accident on icy roads on the way in to town. Then I get to town and realize something just doesn't feel right on the bike. The crank bolt has come loose. For the second time in two weeks. Figure I'll have to replace it, but right now funds are tight - two kids going to Greenland for Arctic Winter Games and a fairly hefty tax bill coming due as well - Don't let anyone tell you that you are given money for living in AK. You are, but with a federal tax equal to the rate paid on gifts, bonuses, and other 'free' money. Given the size of the PFD this year, I have to pay income on five of those. Anyway... beside the point. The point being that I will likely have to limp along for the next two and a half months with a crank that will get worse and worse each time it comes loose. Top that off with the fact that no one seems to stock a triple set up for 135mm rear-end fat bikes anymore. Unless I want to go with a super crap SRAM or a Surly Mr. Whirly. Got 99 problems and today the bike is one...


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Impatience is a virtue.

But consider: I used to have a 40 km commute that was all on main roads. A job change and refinements the route have reduced the number of cars I interact with to maybe quarter of what I was dealing with in 2001-2007. And the number of incidents of this type seems to have stayed the same.

So are people driving four times worse that in 2001?

It doesn't seem so far fetched.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> That sucks, GhettoCruiser.
> 
> I've been using my slightly-longer, much-hillier route that has basically 0 cars for maybe two years now, and every day I'm thankful that I have the option of not being anywhere near idiots.


Amen to that....I have been picking routes based on maximizing bike paths....maximizing residential streets and maximizing playground zones for about 10 years now.....just makes sense.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

ghettocruiser said:


> So are people driving four times worse that in 2001?
> 
> It doesn't seem so far fetched.


^ not just you.









But Edmonton's council adopted VisionZero, which includes absolutely nothing but platitudes, but if we pretend we're doing something, that's good enough, right?

And Calgary's drivers seem to have specifically declared war on pedestrians this year. I'm not sure how many fatalities, but a ridiculous number of collisions.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> ^ not just you.
> 
> View attachment 1049338
> 
> ...


And I am sure hit and runs have sky rocketed in Calgary.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Scary stuff. And frustrating stuff. On the flip side, today was fantastic around here... no shoe covers, no 'clava, no studded tires... climbing through the mid 30's on my way in. Fresh tune-up on the Ogre last night in the basement lab. Glorious. I start work a little later on Thursday, so I got a good 17 miles of the iPod and the open road. No drama, and one of the few cars I saw passed me just in time to trip the one stop light I see on this route, so I got to blow through on the green. Averaged just under 18mph.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Another (relatively) cold one today, -3C/27F, but bright and dry so no ice dramas. Pic from same spot as the otherday


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Blank screen on Garmin cold = -5F.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, -5 still? It seems to me from past years reports that your cold just keeps on going and going. When is it usually coldest up on the Maine coast? We get our coldest spell in like December.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

-5 is my low temp record... that's cold stuff. -20C for the non-Americans. Nice work Bedwards. 

After my delightful much warmer rides yesterday, I severely underdressed this morning (forgetting I was leaving the house 1.5 hours earlier) and I suffered mightily with numbness in all sorts of places. Probably upper 20's... felt like -5 :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM, though riding on borrowed time, for sure. Ended up JB-Welding the crank retainer bolt in yesterday to try to eek out a few more rides before I try to figure out what to do for a new crank. So far, so good. Figure I can get maybe another week out of it, tops. We'll see. What I hate most about this whole deal is the pain it is trying to figure out what parts will work on the Pugs. Thinking the RaceFace Turbine Cinch in a 2X config, but then need to make sure that my BB will work and that I can limit out the front der for 2X rather than the current 3X. Argh


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-10F here (VT) this morning, but I was running late after putting booties on the dog for our woods walk, finding ride attire, etc., so I shortened my ride to 4 miles each way. It was bluebird beautiful, glad I was able to ride some. A coworker rode too!

Yesterday I did a Superman while skijoring (dog pulling me on skis), went from 17mph to 0 mph instantly, really thankful and lucky I was not hurt, just a little bang to one elbow and one knee, there was ice under about 3" snow.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yesterday I did a Superman while skijoring (dog pulling me on skis), went from 17mph to 0 mph instantly, really thankful and lucky I was not hurt, just a little bang to one elbow and one knee, there was ice under about 3" snow.


Glad you're not hurt, and funny you mention that because riding my way home I saw a dude do the superman while his pit-bull was pulling him on a kick scooter lol! :smilewinkgrin: funny stuff!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Biff! I'm sure the video would have been entertaining. Especially how my "sled dog" mutt does not care one bit when I crash, just waits at the end of the tow line for me to get up and get moving already!


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## DavidM310 (Nov 11, 2015)

Good commute today. Was 48F on the way to work and 82F on the way home here in San Antonio, Texas.

I am at 395 miles so far with a goal of 2,500 miles for 2016.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The ride in was torture. 12°F with a strong headwind. The sun was out but wasn't doing anything. I partially overdressed but am glad that I wore what I did. Hands managed to actually sweat in the gloves which as gross as it sounds, I absolutely love. The ride home? Oof. 2°F and mostly calm, slight breeze on my back. New bike is a pretty good commuter so far. Still need to get the cockpit dialed in. 38's are so nice...can't wait to go to a slick on this bike. Should be pretty dang fast. Still getting the hand of this SRAM Double Tap business. Managed to get down in the little ring and got stuck in it. Finally figured out how to get back out, sort of.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't mind the cold, really, I don't. I do mind the wind. Cannot remember wind like this. Might be the shortest commute on record today. Barely cleared 14 miles, and it is usually in the mid 17's to 18 mile range. I did take a shortcut that knocks a mile each way off so that explains a lot. I also lied about the tires. They are only 32's not 38. Warmer temps are coming with a high of 49 on Friday. Minor snow showers forecasted for tonight and tomorrow, maybe an inch they are saying. Should make delivering interesting.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Wind is an absolute killer, especially with those temps! We have some rest from the wind at the moment. I run a 32 on the rear and a 28 on the front. Can't imagine going down to 25s or 23s, particularly on a loaded up commute.

Though I'd sort the slight kink out in my rear wheel yesterday. Turned out to be a broken spoke (right where the thread starts in the nipple so the spoke was still in place and why I hadn't noticed) :-( Quick run to the LBS got me there 10 mins before closing to source a new one, and a few spares. What I thought would be a few minutes task took a lot longer. Glad I did do it though.

Temp is staying either side of freezing point so the dusting of snow that came overnight is melted and gone in some places, melted and frozen in others while still snowlike but frozen on the rest. Lovely morning but a little tentative due to the conditions.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM, though with reduced bus service, my routine was a bit off. So, ended up putting in some extra miles on the way to the bus this morning. 

Saturday I ended up getting a new crankset for the Pugs given that the repair I did on the old one lasted exactly one day. Which is what I had figured. I ended up going with a bit of blingy RaceFace Turbine Cinch cranks set up 2X with a 38 and 24 rings. I think I like it. Shift less and shifts easier. I'm now wondering if I should convert the rear to 10 speed for a bit better range. I don't think I can get a bigger big cog on back than what I have already in a standard cassette though, so probably doesn't make much sense. Guess I'll just ride it a bit and see how it feels.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice start, DavidM310! Why does your tracking program show biggest climb as 0 Ft even though it registers almost 8000 ft total? That`s got to be irritating!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Strong headwind all the home but at least it was 76F


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I played out in the frigid cold a lot this weekend. The trails had achieved awesomeness, the big lake froze with no snow. Skating was excellent... Then it snowed. Back to square 1.

The commute was a drag.

I did take one of the coolest pictures I've ever taken this weekend. Check it out.
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Fairly standard commute in today, except no wind. Not even a puff. Odd. 23F at the house, 26F in town. Good riding overall.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

That is a really amazing photo bedwards1000.

Unstudded for me today, and I might actually put the crosswheels on this week.

I actually ran into a bunch of mud on the trails yesterday, which is about a month too early. It sucks because most of the trails really are still a month away, so right now there's basically no point in riding, since things are a random mix of mud, slush, ice, and little bits of genuine snow.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Stunning picture Bedwards! 

Also not what I expected the lake to look like, I was thinking more like Ice Road Truckers style rather than being able to look down into the abyss.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The clear black ice is a rare occurrence. You only get it between the initial freeze and the first snow. It only happened for 3 days this year. It was really cold this weekend and I went out 3 days in a row. <2" of ice the first day, then 4" then 6". We stuck close to shore on the 2" day. Skating across the shallow parts with the clear ice is really cool with the bottom flying by.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yesterday was awesome, albeit slushy. Kinda warm and a scrotum tightening combination of water, crusty snow, and black ice all over the MUP. If anything it makes for a very focused ride which is fun when you're not dealing with cars at the same time.

Stopped by a biology department shindig at a professors house on the way home. Ate so much food I took a few extra miles on the way home from there. This morning was rainy so me and the bike carpooled with somebody up to the university. I hope to take a slightly longer way if time allows.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Very hard (-25C) freeze over the weekend and a few inches of rush-hour snow this morning.

Compared to the muddy mess earlier in the month, life is good.

Also: that's a crazy photo.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Amazing pic Bedwards!! Like a giant golden nugget. I want to ride some clear black ice with the bottom flying by. 

Similar effect probably...I had a cool experience wakeboarding on Tahoe one time. There's a pretty shallow (5-8 feet) shelf on the south end of the lake, and we caught a completely glassy morning. When you would cut out away from the boat you could look straight down at your shadow blasting along the bottom...couldn't see the water at all, it was just like you were flying 8 feet off of the ground. Then we went out over the edge of that shelf and it drops from 8 feet deep to like 300 feet, and I got a crazy vertigo/fear of heights thing for a minute before I re-adjusted to the reality that I was safe on top of the water :lol: 

Later that day I crashed hard and got a concussion and a torn abdominal muscle. Woke up on the way to the hospital. Nice to have a good memory to go with that lame one.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

My current path is about 13km or so one way. Right now its about -15C And while I don't mind the cold either. I actually like it. But when going downhill at full speed my face, well its gets soooo damn coooold. I feel like that terminator that they froze in liquid nitro and smashed to peices. Goes away after a few minuted though, but damn!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

ghettocruiser said:


> Very hard (-25C) freeze over the weekend and a few inches of rush-hour snow this morning.
> 
> Compared to the muddy mess earlier in the month, life is good.
> 
> Also: that's a crazy photo.


Those are just about the temps we had this weekend. And now it is 47F. About 60 degrees difference in temp from yesterday morning until now.



CommuterBoy said:


> Amazing pic Bedwards!! Like a giant golden nugget. I want to ride some clear black ice with the bottom flying by.


It was actually less than a sq foot. Too late on the black ice this year. I had the thought that I should go back and get the POV cam and rig up a right foot/ice cam because I want to win some Gore-Tex next year. That and it would have been a cool video of the ice flying by. But, my house is about a mile from that lake... #toolazy

The ice was actually a little hard for comfort. Up near 20MPH you started to get a squirrely feeling like you just barely had enough friction to keep you upright.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, that first picture is beyond wild, Bedwards! I was going to ask how big the "piece of Sebago Lake" was, but you already told CB. The rest of the set pretty danged schnazzy, too.

Another seasonal clothing landmark last night. I rode in a shorts+long johns combo. Sunrise and sunsets are getting noticeably further apart- won`t be long until I get the sun right in my eyes on the way home and start my annual wishing war against CB, waiting for the time change to move that damned sun back an hour in the mornings while he wishes time change away. I always win, eventually


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Love the pix, bedwards! Challenging commute today, 3-4" snow + crust = 12 miles of brown spooge on the way in. Rode the whole way instead of bimodal, as I trusted the ice-spikers more than the donut spare currently on my car. Good grip but a bit scary.

Bussed partway home after 1 mile in downpour, then had 3.5 miles and 1000' uphill in (lessening) downpour. The elevation gain kept me warm, so a better ride than expected. Insane rivers coming down the street and over the curbs, culverts full-up, plenty of "winter" flood damage I'm sure.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Awesome picture bedwards! I too was having trouble deciding how big the nugget was lol. It looks like one of those fancy pants pictures from National Geographic. :thumbsup:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

So, Bedwards, what's the confidence level like when gliding over the slippery black abyss? How certain does one have to be to just up and go over it?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Warmer than expected this morning. over dressed.

Nearly hit a dog on the that emerged from a gap in the hedge to the woods. Told the lady it should be on a lead. Bloke coming towards us walking his dog decided to weigh in and tell me I should slow down. I was already doing about walking pace as His dog was not on a lead either and not responding to his commands to heel way before I got there. It wanted another lap of the meadow I think and I was unsure where it might go..

I pointed out that technically this part is a road as there are parking space further along my route (right where his dog was). He then asked me what my problem was and if I was trying to start something?! Why do people want to fight when they've got uppity about others supposed flaws and then shown to be in the wrong? Trouble is, that riled me somewhat and I responded in kind (should have rode away) so told him my problem is uncontrolled dogs but mostly their owners and no I'm not starting but if he'd like to, feel free. Fortunately he decided to recover his dog at that point. Lady said nothing and had kept walking.

Probably get whacked with a big stick tomorrow


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Dog walkers can be a pain. I've had the classic leash across the entire trail issue quite a bit. Also this couple with two dogs and no leashes. One dog ran me off the MUP because I didn't want to hit or kick it in front of the owners.

Most are pretty alright though and you just have to remember that when you get in a scuffle.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

So they salted a section of the MUP before the 10cm snowfall yesterday. Resulting in a trough of mush.

My average speed on the salted section: 13kph

My average speed on the section where they did nothing: 26kph.

There is far more foot traffic on the salted section which packed it down hard within hours last year, but with the salt it just won't pack. It's even hard to walk uphills with the brine layer under the snow. 

It's like they're actively trying to make it as hard as possible.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for all the photo praise. That was a test piece of ice that I hacked out when we started skating. When we were wrapping up and watching the sun set I went back to find it because I thought it would be a cool picture.



NDD said:


> So, Bedwards, what's the confidence level like when gliding over the slippery black abyss? How certain does one have to be to just up and go over it?


It increases with experience. I like to skate it first because even with studs, rapid changes to direction and velocity aren't' possible. If you saw a trouble spot you might slide right in. We went out when there was only about 1-3/4" of ice which is about the minimum but stopped to check the thickness often. There are still spots in the middle of the lake that are open water with ice all around them which freaks me out a little, like how is that possible. I also ran into some other friends who had ventured a lot farther than my friend and I. He was wet. He jumped a pressure ridge and it wasn't solid on the other side.

I think it rained enough that there will be some skating again but not the black ice/abyss kind.

I took the roads around the lake today to let things firm up again. I'm glad I took a bike with studs because there was plenty of ice freezing on the road.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> There are still spots in the middle of the lake that are open water with ice all around them which freaks me out a little, like how is that possible.


Remember bottom water is at 40 F (highest density for liquid water)....top water is at 32 F (Fresh Lake). All it takes is a little bit of solar heating through the ice to cause the cold stuff to sink and the warm stuff to rise. This causes a convection current to set up...same thing happens when the spring thaws start...most lakes will have a process like this going on.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Luckily it typically happens in the same spots every year the same with pressure ridges.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Luckily it typically happens in the same spots every year the same with pressure ridges.


Yup that and the contour of the bottom. usually very predictable. Rivers in and out are another source that can cause circulation of the bottom water.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The rivers are much easier to understand than some weird thermocline that happens in a deep section of lake. We have one river that feeds the lake with relatively low flow yet there is a 1/2 mile or longer section of lake that almost never freezes. Most of the open water sections are also near shallow sections. Those don't bother me either.

So, what kind of engineer are you?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> The rivers are much easier to understand than some weird thermocline that happens in a deep section of lake. We have one river that feeds the lake with relatively low flow yet there is a 1/2 mile or longer section of lake that almost never freezes. Most of the open water sections are also near shallow sections. Those don't bother me either.
> 
> So, what kind of engineer are you?


Process Engineer...

I have been skiing and skating frozen lakes and creeks since I was very young.

I also have a boat access only cabin on Shuswap lake...it freezes most years and our cabin is at the edge of the freezing zone....so studying the ice is a pet project of mine.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

*how dumb I am...*



newfangled said:


> ^ I'm in Edmonton, Canada, a couple hours north of Jeffscott, but way south of Alaska.


Sorry to drag up an old post but this just occurred to me the other day. When Newfangled originally posted this in November I couldn't find Jeffscott on the Google map and assumed it was a small place and not listed for some reason. Only recently made the connection that Jeffscott is a dude and not a place! :arf:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Process Engineer...
> 
> I have been skiing and skating frozen lakes and creeks since I was very young.
> 
> I also have a boat access only cabin on Shuswap lake...it freezes most years and our cabin is at the edge of the freezing zone....so studying the ice is a pet project of mine.


Electrical / Professional Engineer..

Same here with the skating. I understand 95% but every lake is different. For the 5% I have a rope and these: Amazon.com : Frabill Deluxe Retractable Ice Picks : Fishing Equipment : Sports & Outdoors

Jeffscott isn't a dude...He's a legend.:lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I've been to Jeffscott. Cold and unforgiving place :lol: 


I kid, I kid.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

As I left work in the car last night, it was snowing. In an hour, we got at least an inch if not more. This morning I left to go deliver and things were not good. MUP was a mess. Partially packed down from pedestrian traffic and then it looks like a 4 wheeler may have gone through. We got about 2.5" of snow or so and it didn't seem like a lot. Back roads were absolute garbage. Mix of half melt and left over snow leaving something resembling mashed potatoes. I was all over the place. Places had started to melt so there was a bit of ice underneath this layer of mashed potatoes. Decided to use the new do all bike with fenders. Wanted to stop at the shop after work and do a bar swap and mid line brake lever removal.

The sun came out, and the roads melted for the most part and almost completely dried up. Temps hit about 30°F so the jacket came off and lighter weight gloves went on. It was pretty nice I have to say. This might be it for us. Friday is forecasted for mid 50's and rain so the snow will all be gone, and then we are to be in the low 40's high 30's for at least the next 10 days. Crossing my fingers!!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I thought another moron barked at me today, but then I saw the plates were HUGPUGS or similar, so I think it actually was dogs. Plenty of ice floes after the killer rain/melt yesterday, Ice Spikers for the win. Some sketchiness but managed fine, wondered if the guy with the guide dog (that works where I park) did as well. Not sure if guide dogs are ice-trained or not.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s understandable, SlipSpace. But it`s still funny!

Delightful weather here since the middle of last week looks like it`s about to change. It was windy on my way home this morning (tailwind), picked up a lot more throughout the day. I don`t feel like fighting it, so will probably drive tonight unless it calms down before I leave. What was that word... psye?

EDIT:
Almost!


Ghost_HTX said:


> As they say here in Norway; PYSE!


+++


SlipSpace said:


> Sissy? Yeah thanks Ghost.... :smilewinkgrin:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well I didn't get whacked today so that was a good start. 

Temps were similar to yesterday where I overdressed so I went for the shorts today. Not sure it was the right choice as the rain made it colder, chilly legs. Feet were warm and dry in my new sealskins though. Rear guard got itself on the skew somehow and kept rubbing the tyre, couldn't get it pushed to a place where it didn't rub. Annoying more than a problem. It can wait till saturday.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I got a sweet lupine light yesterday, both for night MTB rides and also so I could have a helmet mounted light that I can use to commute on different bikes (my commuter has a handlebar mounted light that stays installed). Got it all set up this morning, then spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how the detachable blinker I got with it works. Of course the sun came up while I did that. Should get to try it tonight though.

The MUP I take for a few miles (crucial miles that allow me to stay off main roads) is finally 90% clear. A couple flooded icy spots I had to walk but not too bad at all. Felt good to ride my singlespeed instead of the heavy bike with rack/fenders/etc... bogging it down.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Back to the trails today. They're pretty icy but it's not a bad ice, if you have studs. I still had to slow down in some spots.


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## Jeff_G (Oct 22, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> I thought another moron barked at me today, but then I saw the plates were HUGPUGS or similar, so I think it actually was dogs. Plenty of ice floes after the killer rain/melt yesterday, Ice Spikers for the win. Some sketchiness but managed fine, wondered if the guy with the guide dog (that works where I park) did as well. Not sure if guide dogs are ice-trained or not.


Could have been a Surly fattie fan.


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## Jeff_G (Oct 22, 2015)

Nice ride this morning. 

It's warming up here and the paths are almost clear. Finally able to air up the fat tires to low teens. Felt like I was driving a Porsche compared to the single digit psi's I've been running for a few months.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Sold my car last night, I'm all in on the bike now. Going to take a chunk of the money I got and put it towards some bike awesomeness 

Today's ride was wonderfully uneventful, just below freezing but dry and only light wind.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> Sold my car last night, I'm all in on the bike now. Going to take a chunk of the money I got and put it towards some bike awesomeness
> 
> Today's ride was wonderfully uneventful, just below freezing but dry and only light wind.


Good luck with the no car thing.

My commute was warm and windy. As is becoming the Thursday custom I was in a definite calorie deficit when headed home. It felt cruddy then it felt really good.

Oh yeah.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Warm and windy here too! And another good luck to you formula going without a car :eekster: I could never do it!

On my way home tonight I learned my MTX fold-out panniers fit a six-pack of beer perfectly per side! :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy doesn't begin to describe that ride home tonight. 34°F currently, and Friday it is supposed to warm up to 54°F with a lot of wind, like 25-30mph winds. Not sure if I will ride to work or not. Rain is in the forecast as well. Swapped on the NiteRider Lumina 700 that I have. It is alright. I like the Cygolite Metro 400 a bit more to be honest since it has a usable flash mode that I like to use in the well lit areas like around the campus. The NR flashing mode is non usable for me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I was a couple of hours late leaving work last night, deadlines and all that. I was feeling really grotty by the time I left, sore eyes and nausea from too long at a screen. Few minutes on the bike and that was all gone. I know this, and you all know this, but cycling is great therapy!

Had a Dominoes Pizza guy coming the other way shout either tights, light or fight....?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute this AM. Though I do have to say that it is a clear sign of a crap winter when 15F feels cold. Normally around this time of year 15 should feel to be about perfect riding temps. Then again, this time of year I should be riding in feet of snow, not millimeters. 

While so many of our tribe are going car free, I bucked the trend and bought a second car for the family just a few weeks ago. I feel so dirty... Good on you formula.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> ...I was feeling really grotty...


New word for me.


blockphi said:


> A good commute this AM. Though I do have to say that it is a clear sign of a crap winter when 15F feels cold. Normally around this time of year 15 should feel to be about perfect riding temps. Then again, this time of year I should be riding in feet of snow, not millimeters.
> 
> While so many of our tribe are going car free, I bucked the trend and bought a second car for the family just a few weeks ago. I feel so dirty... Good on you formula.


Sure sign of an Alaskan when they are complaining that 15F is too warm. I hear you though. We've got a fraction of the snow we usually get in the other corner of the US. We've maybe got 20" total this year and most of that is long gone.

We have 3 vehicles for 2 people but don't drive them much. The new car just turned 3 and it has 12K miles on it.

Same picture as yesterday with a different subject.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

blockphi said:


> While so many of our tribe are going car free, I bucked the trend and bought a second car for the family just a few weeks ago. I feel so dirty... Good on you formula.


You still crush me with miles ridden per year, so we can call it a draw.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> You still crush me with miles ridden per year, so we can call it a draw.


A draw it is...

Though this year I haven't even topped 500 miles yet. I am most definitely slacking.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Warm and windy here too! And another good luck to you formula going without a car :eekster: I could never do it!
> 
> On my way home tonight I learned my MTX fold-out panniers fit a six-pack of beer perfectly per side! :thumbsup:


The important things. Does it hold beer? Check.

My commute today was stupid warm. 60's and 70's today. Too warm for right now, really. But I'll take it in stride and wear my shorts and a T-shirt.

I almost hit a cat and an opossum. The cat was just laying in the trail and I had to swerve with about two yards to spare. It just looked at me like "what the heck are you doing?". The opossum was running down the middle of the trail and then ran right in front of me. I had to slam on the brakes and lose all my momentum up a hill. It's a conspiracy.

The other thing about it being warm. I now have people in my way again. I've been riding the trails every night for two months and now I have people nagging about my light and taking up the entire trail with their dogs and unruly children. I like winter and the quiet solitude that comes with it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Friday we had some unbelievable winds. I didn't work so I didn't ride in them. Today I picked up a 6 hour delivery shift at Jimmy John's since the forecast was supposed to be beautiful. I woke up and it was sunny and 43°F already. Dressed really well for the ride in. Shorts, jersey, light sleeves and a really thin Pearl Izumi windbreaker I picked up on major sale. I knew I would end up in a jersey and shorts so I was good to go. By the time I left at 4:30, it was 52°F and full sun. What a beautiful day. The wind is still there, had some serious gusts that almost took me down a few times. It felt good to not have to wear tights or to snot up every 3 seconds. It felt really good to have the sun out and just not be freezing cold. It felt good to be on the fixed gear on dry roads. It felt good to ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The doctor OK'd me to resume normal activities tomorrow, but it hit 72 here and the wind dropped in the late afternoon. I meant to abide by my Doc today, but a brown bird sang in the apple tree, and all the roads were calling me&#8230; (apologies to Sir Elton John paraphrased from I Meant To Do My Work Today: 



).

So I rode. Only 20+ minutes on the 0.95 mile loop in the subdivision. I could have ridden longer but I did not want to push it too hard or too long.

I was wanting to test whether the exercise angina continued that has plagued me since I reported it in July:

http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/how-your-commute-today-569221-
post10525091.html#post10525091

I was angina-free today. Not conclusive, but strong evidence that I had a low grade appendicitis for some time (can exist for months and years and there are other things that have changed that suggest it was present before but was worse starting last summer).

While I have not ridden for more than 2 months, I was riding higher gears at higher speeds with lower heart rate. A little early to be sure of the gains, but it appears that the appendix was affecting me and lowering my power and fun.

Looks like I am back. A lot of strength to gain back, but this looks very good.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Good news, BrianMc, hope you continue to improve and enjoy!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Glad to hear it Brian MC! I bet those 20 minutes were wonderful!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thumbs up BrianMC!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Welcome back BrianMc glad you're feeling better! :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good news BrianMC. Welcome back!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Apendicitis? Dang, I missed that story. Well, glad you were able to get back on your bike after so long, Brian. Hope you make it to 30 angina-free minutes on the next 72* day


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Process Engineer...
> 
> I have been skiing and skating frozen lakes and creeks since I was very young.
> 
> I also have a boat access only cabin on Shuswap lake...it freezes most years and our cabin is at the edge of the freezing zone....so studying the ice is a pet project of mine.


Here's an interesting one. We had a rain and a warm spell. This video wasn't taken near any outlet of the lake. The wind was blowing the water across the lake where it was draining back below the ice. This was shot about 10' off the coast of an island. 





Random dogs on lake video.





The temps have dropped back below freezing, the lake has all firmed back up. The trails are a mix of snow, ice & frozen dirt. The commute was Awesome! It would be a great day for an epic spring fatbike ride. Alas.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Looks like I am back. A lot of strength to gain back, but this looks very good.


Great news!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Good stuff BrianMc! That has got to feel good. 

I realized during my arrival/change at work today that it was super nice to not have a bunch of soaking wet gear to deal with during that process... it's been a sloppy few weeks here off and on. It's almost becoming normal to deal with the wet stuff. Looking at a clear week with highs around 50 this week! Luxurious. Still in the 20's in the morning, but whatever... Nice to be dry.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Forgot to bring underwear today.  First time that's ever happened, but I've been storing a (clean) emergency pair in my desk in years, for just this occasion.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ 1st time ever? That's impressive. Has happened to me a few times over the years.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I've forgotten all my clothes once or twice. And possibly socks once before (also have a spare pair of those in the desk). But this is the first time briefly going commando.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was pretty awesome. Only had my delivery job today so of course I rode in for that. Been leaving early to head down to the LBS to bs with my buddy before I deliver since they are a block away. He has been so dead in there we just shoot the sh and hang out. He is grateful for the company and I am grateful for the friendship and relationship I have built with him and the shop. Dressed perfectly for it, the sun was out, and it managed to hit 40°F and not too windy. Made some serious tip monies today, the most I have made in a short shift. Picked up tomorrow since they are super short, and gave away my Wednesday shift. See, Wednesday, the snow is coming or is forecasted to. 2-8" is what they are saying and honestly, delivering on my bike voluntarily in that, uhhhhh, no thanks. So I owe a guy at work a sandwich for picking it up for me. Tomorrow is supposed to be a repeat of today for the weather. Cannot complain about that at all.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Today was pretty crap for the morning ride - Yesterday starting around midnight and all the way through until 8 when I went to bed it was raining. Water + frozen ground = holy shizz! I was tempted to work from home today, but the air temps were high enough that I thought the roads wouldn't be too bad. They weren't. At least I stayed up, though I had to ride like an old man to do so. The bike path to the bus stop though... a mirror. Downhill. Good times. 

In town things weren't nearly as bad as there was some snow that fell on top of the rain and froze down nicely. My fear is that the roads will be crazy slick this afternoon with the traffic all day polishing the ice to a nice gloss. Fun times.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Well nothing too interesting with Vegas commutes. Low to mid 50s in and mid 70s to low 80s for peddle home. This sums up the last two weeks.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

vegascruiser said:


> Well nothing too interesting with Vegas commutes. Low to mid 50s in and mid 70s to low 80s for peddle home. This sums up the last two weeks.


As someone who is sitting here dreading some upcoming snow and colder temps, in the nicest way possible, I hate you right now LOL.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ 1st time ever? That's impressive. Has happened to me a few times over the years.


+1, Dang, I believe it was just last week I was on commando (commandette?) patrol.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today on the MTB/ice spikers...teens F and plenty of iced over puddles! Must admit I daydreamed of putting the BMX cruiser back on the road, though!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

newfangled said:


> Forgot to bring underwear today.


Sure, that's what we all tell everyone who asks. We know you didn't really forget.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I forgot em once. Now when I roll my clothes, that is what I start with. Socks are rolled into those, then that into the t-shirt, then that bundle into a scrub top, then that into the pants. If I forget my underwear, that means I forgot all of my clothes. 

Looks to be another fairly nice day today. Sun is out and the frost is already melting. Winds are a brutal 1mph currently.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I bring a weeks worth of clothes in at a time, underwear included.



mtbxplorer said:


> Good rides today on the MTB/ice spikers...teens F and plenty of iced over puddles! Must admit I daydreamed of putting the BMX cruiser back on the road, though!


Yes, lots of good solid trails. About to change again tomorrow with rain.

The full moon has been spectacular.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Two spring milestones for me:

1) Don't need the magicshine clone anymore. Hooray. Two-part lights are annoying.

2) Wearing sunglasses again. I wear them religiously all summer but ditch them in the winter because they fog and whatever.

Yesterday on the way home a wad of mud nailed me at high speed right in the eye. Luckily I was close to home, but I basically had to limp the bike home for a few blocks.

I don't know if anyone else has ever gotten dirt wedged in behind their eyeball, but it sucks. I've never thought of my eye as a bearing-seal before, but once dirt get behind where it's supposed to be, it's really hard to get it out again. I was picking and flushing stuff out of there for 15 minutes.

Had to switch contacts this morning, because the one from yesterday was trashed. Moral of the story - wear eye protection.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

37F and raining, basically the most annoying weather possible.

I need to find some sort of contest where I can win a bunch of Goretex.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was really nice. Ended up being 42°F and sunny, some wind out of the east. Delivery was really good, not too busy, not too slow, just enough to keep everything moving nicely. Rode to the hospital to check my work schedule for the rest of the week. This week as far as riding goes is more than likely done for me. Forecast for tomorrow is calling for heavy winds in the 40mph range with snow anywhere from 6-10" of the wet heavy stuff. Don't really feel like being out on a bike in that so the car is going to see some duty.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

formula4speed said:


> 37F and raining, basically the most annoying weather possible.
> 
> I need to find some sort of contest where I can win a bunch of Goretex.


Could happen...


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

Now that the storm is over and I'm not pushing through snow I feel so fast.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Saw 2 other bikecommuters today, awesome! Both were also women - awesomer! One I know from a FB commuter group, and the other I know from work - and who may or may not have a new to her bike - that one kicked my a** up the hill.

A rough day at work made the return trip all the more valuable. You simply cannot swallow humble pie in car.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

NDD said:


> Sure, that's what we all tell everyone who asks. We know you didn't really forget.


:lol:


newfangled said:


> ^ I've forgotten all my clothes once or twice.


And if we`re suspicious about somebody "forgetting" underware once, it really raises questions about one who forgets ALL his clothes a second time!

I drove last night and I`m glad. Big job going on (replacing bearings in a giant fan) that needed all hands on deck, or at least as many as possible. Swing shift guy stayed over until 3AM, I started at 3 and worked 12. Doing the same again tonight (this morning?), and I`ll be happily driving again. Hopefully we`ll have it wrapped up today and be done with it, back to our regular schedules.

Good luck with the gritty eyeball, Newf.

MtbX, have you seen the co-worker whom you gifted your ex-Bianchi to since the change of hands? I bet she`s excited.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> Saw 2 other bikecommuters today, awesome! Both were also women - awesomer! One I know from a FB commuter group, and *the other I know from work - and who may or may not have a new to her bike - that one kicked my a** up the hill.*
> 
> A rough day at work made the return trip all the more valuable. You simply cannot swallow humble pie in car.





rodar y rodar said:


> :lol:
> And if we`re suspicious about somebody "forgetting" underware once, it really raises questions about one who forgets ALL his clothes a second time!
> 
> I drove last night and I`m glad. Big job going on (replacing bearings in a giant fan) that needed all hands on deck, or at least as many as possible. Swing shift guy stayed over until 3AM, I started at 3 and worked 12. Doing the same again tonight (this morning?), and I`ll be happily driving again. Hopefully we`ll have it wrapped up today and be done with it, back to our regular schedules.
> ...


I think that she has seen her, and got her butt kicked by her.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Weather is still pretty miserable, 40F, raining and 25-30mph winds. Amazing how this weather coincides with selling my car.

I did however put a deposit down on a new ride, and you should all prepare yourselves to be jealous when it arrives.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I keep wearing not enough clothes for the upper 20's in the morning, because of the lower 50's that I know are coming in the afternoon. Cold cold ride in, will feel like spring on the way home. :lol: 

Still no email from Gore-Tex... suspense builds.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I bring a weeks worth of clothes in at a time, underwear included.
> 
> Yes, lots of good solid trails. About to change again tomorrow with rain.
> 
> ...


Underwear whats that????

Still havn't had a chance to check out your lake video cant do it at work.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

University closed today because of a little snow. Snow coming down and 25-30 mph winds. I guess I'll just stay home and work on things I can do here. Conference abstracts don't write themselves after all.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Just firmed up plans to attend the NAHBS this weekend... super excited.

NAHBS | North American Handmade Bicycle Show


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

Today was about -5C and to me thats about as optimal as it gets temperature wise for the winter season. No slush, no rain, and no overheating.
I noticed there is only about 3 people or so that i meet on my commute. And during the summer its like 30. A few years ago I was completely alone during the winter.

Only real downside today is that a few days ago it was a lot of snow and - degrees, and then suddenly it melted for a short while and people walked around in the slush, and now that "texturized" slush is frozen. I wish I had a front shox in some places. Its that bad. its like brrrrrrdonkbrrrrrdonkdonkbrrrrrr.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Although my parental leave is going towards the end (will start working again in March 1st) I am still not commuting - but I did manage to connect some errands today to a 2hr ride of 36km/~20m. During the first minutes it was only 1C/31F and I was surprised by a real snowshower ( see rule #9  ). Later on temps went up to 5C/41F, sunny and a slight tailwind. Picked up some of my special cheese and later new bartape and inner cables for cockpit overhaul. Cables are by now already installed. Right lever needs to be readjusted, after that I can wrap the bar and my "agent orange" is ready for another 6000km. Oh yes my agent orange hit the 6000km/~3750m marker. 

Since I hardly rode these first two months of the year I will probably not manage to reach my mileage of last year but spending two months with my kids is definately worth it to me  Just my oldest is slacking a bit lately when it comes to cycling :8 I hope it gets better when the weather turns better again.

My speedometer (Sigma 14.12 alti) had condensed water under the display so I had to write down all info, took out the battery and let it dry. When I put it back together, I noticed that all information was still in there so no manually entering of all previous data. Just put it back on, ready to go. So riding and cockpit overhaul today. Today is a good day


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

how cold does it get in holland usually?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Where I am from, at the coast and in hamburg / germany where I Iive now it is about the same. Usually just above freezing level with wind and rainshowers. Sometimes sunny and below freezing level in the morning, but that is rare. This applies mostly to fall,.winter and spring. Summer can also be wet, just a bit warmer.

We profit from the warm gulfstream that is bringing warm seawater even in winter. 

Basically exactly what F4S described above. Rule nr 9 applies, as nr 5.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Still havn't had a chance to check out your lake video cant do it at work.


Don't get your hopes up too high.

The ice is moving around a lot on the lake now. Last year I crossed the lake on April 9th. This year I'm wondering if I'll make March 9th.

Fresh Powder Over Ice
Cyclist Meets Ground Twice
Play the Game and Pay the Price

Tonight's commute looks to be 33F rain - nice!


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Usually just above freezing level with wind and rainshowers.


we call that summer here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> I think that she has seen her, and got her butt kicked by her.


Haha, yes, but not on the Bianchi, that will put her into overdrive come spring! A mystery gifter left me a sixpack in the fridge last week with a kidnapper type note cut from mags, so I figured the jig was up and we discussed this evening. Everyone is happy with the trade. She is adjusting some bits like the stem, but it will work and she is psyched for that piece of steel, and I am psyched for it to be ridden!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The winter that wasn't continues it's romp through VT - today was 1" snow, then freezing rain, then rain, then icy spots, now rain again. Currently 32.7F, then a low of 29F, with rain and up to 47F tomorrow. Ugh!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> The winter that wasn't continues it's romp through VT - today was 1" snow, then freezing rain, then rain, then icy spots, now rain again. Currently 32.7F, then a low of 39F, with rain and up to 47F tomorrow. Ugh!


I fear the bugs are going to be _very_ bad this year. This weekend was about 70+F in So Ill, and I was getting bit by mosquitoes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I think so too. I was thinking bout how cozy the ticks must be in this mild winter.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The winter that is just hit Michigan. We have about 7" so far of really heavy wet snow/slush. Temps are still in the upper 20's and we are forecasted for another possible 5" tonight, and another 1" or so tomorrow. I drove, but honestly, wasn't sure if I was going to make it home. High horsepower, rear wheel drive and summer tires that are almost bald. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. They plowed the roads at least a few times over the course of the day. I was only worried about the entrance to the complex, and the entrance to my parking lot. Made it through both and into my car port. Whew. Oh, there were 25+ mph gusts and it should continue through the night like this. Sunday? Rain and the upper 40's. WTH?


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Snowstorms are not even on my radar at this time. Yesterday afternoon I was working on the roof and found myself wishing for either a cool breeze or for that pesky sun to go behind the clouds. CRAZY shifts so far this week- hope to finish the nasty project we`ve been working on by noon today so we can all get back to our normal routine. I have been driving all week.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

So today will be another non riding commute. We have at least a foot of snow now, and it is still snowing. Shoveled my car out of my car port and they are cleaning up the complex nicely. They said possibly another couple of inches today, and then it should be done. State and city is closed down so I know that the MUP is not going to get plowed so not even considering riding to work. There would really be no safe way for me to get there.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I've been not commuting much this week. The plan was to go work from the office today, but 39F, 15mph steady winds with gusts into the mid-30s, and intermittent rain made me question my motivations for going into the office. So instead, I am working from home again. I seem to be on a quest to get fewer than 1000 miles this year or something! Tomorrow is a sure commute, though, as my daughters are both racing at the state XC skiing championship and I'll want to go see them do that.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ I think so too. I was thinking bout how cozy the ticks must be in this mild winter.


Saw a bunch of mosquitos when I was out skiing...they need I think two nights above freezing to hatch.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, mosquitoes in February in Jeffscott, Canada! 

Our snow is all but gone with another 50F rainy day. I think our biggest storm so far has been 6" of snow.

The trails last night were quite a puddlefest. I was leaving a wake like a boat going across the lake. We're got a hard freeze tomorrow night and then mostly below freezing in the forecast, more or less.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So I assume I'm not alone in this: if I see someone else on a bike I will check out their ride. Normally it's a quick "Meh, walmart bike" or "Meh, norco/giant/trek".

Last year I got a surprisingly friendly smile from a woman that I must have been staring at (but honestly I was mostly interested in her vintage fixie, and I actually kindof wanted to yell that out to her, but figured that would have just made it worse).

This morning I had an oncoming commuter absolutely ogling my dropbar 26+ frankenbike. It must look really weird when approaching head-on, but eyes up _here_ mister.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol:

It feels so good here in NorCal to have had enough of a winter to really enjoy late February mornings like this. Still seeing clumps of snow just up the road from the house in the shaded areas, still chilly in the mornings, but you all know this feeling...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice picture CB!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, this "winter" continues to s*ck. Rain all day, road flooding/closures, then back to 20F tonight. Ice is still insane on my back 40/snowmachine trails (which never opened once this winter, one kinda sad attempt to groom). I have had to wear microspikes for the last week, and today the dog I am taking care of slipped while running downhill, slid on his tummy about 25' at speed, went into a 180,with back legs splayed like a frog, got up, and was fine. Bikecommuting delayed due to another pup I was supposed to pick up -and his unreliable mom/friend - but now I have to drive again tomorrow to get him.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ :lol:
> 
> It feels so good here in NorCal to have had enough of a winter to really enjoy late February mornings like this. Still seeing clumps of snow just up the road from the house in the shaded areas, still chilly in the mornings, but you all know this feeling...
> 
> View attachment 1052415


Trying to win another photo contest CB?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Wow! go away for a couple of days with works and there's quite a few pages to catch up on! Seems to be a lot of crazy changeable weather about for some of you. Mine has settled a bit now here in the UK and is supposed to for the forseeable future in my little patch. Days 4to8C, nights -3 to +2C and generally dry. 

Good to be back on the bike this morning after the trip, fortunately the colleague I traveled with brought my laptop and files and other client meet clutter with him in his car.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, this "winter" continues to s*ck. Rain all day, road flooding/closures, then back to 20F tonight. Ice is still insane on my back 40/snowmachine trails (which never opened once this winter, one kinda sad attempt to groom). I have had to wear microspikes for the last week, and today the dog I am taking care of slipped while running downhill, slid on his tummy about 25' at speed, went into a 180,with back legs splayed like a frog, got up, and was fine. Bikecommuting delayed due to another pup I was supposed to pick up -and his unreliable mom/friend - but now I have to drive again tomorrow to get him.


I know, right! Exactly the same around here. Blame me, I got the fun new fatbike which I was supposed to race on Sunday but they may call it due to ice. I think it might still go on but on dirt because even most of the ice is gone.


EugeneTheJeep said:


> Trying to win another photo contest CB?


Nah, that's his ugly left foot.

Haven't been on the bike for 2 days due to vehicle needs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nah, that's his ugly left foot.


Other than accidently taking the left one too I think I nailed it at the first attempt: TWO left feet on this pic :lol: Who's in for more than two?? :eekster:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I'll have to learn how to take these foot photos one day lol!

How was my commute? Better than this guy's. :cryin:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This is by far the windiest winter I can remember. I use the term winter lightly, as we got about a foot of snow this past Wednesday, and it is gone now. Today it was 56°F and sunny, oh, and windy as well. Winds out of the NW kicked my butt on the ride in. Still a bit wet out with this huge melt so the fendered bike got some duty. Ride home was pretty bad. It had rained, and the temp quickly dropped from 54°F to 35°F in a matter of an hour or so. Was sprinkling for the ride home, which quickly turned to snow. Here I am in shorts, rain jacket, gloves etc. riding in a light blizzard. It came out of nowhere and left in 10 minutes. Wind was smacking me around from the SE, and then boom, hits me from the NW almost knocking me off my bike. It was like riding inside a dang tornado at some points.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Shameful confession...
I drove to work FIVE days in a row last week. The first time I`d done that since recuperating from a knee blowout in the fall of 2009 or 2010. I sort of had an excuse (a lame one) that I won`t even bother with. Though it doesn`t make up for the ugly truth, I did commute by bike last night and tonight since we ended up working this weekend.


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## Jeff_G (Oct 22, 2015)

The wind is gusting to 40 mph outside my rattling window. I've only missed about three days commuting in the last 10 months. 

Hmm......decision time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Shameful confession...
> I drove to work FIVE days in a row last week. The first time I`d done that since recuperating from a knee blowout in the fall of 2009 or 2010. I sort of had an excuse (a lame one) that I won`t even bother with. Though it doesn`t make up for the ugly truth, I did commute by bike last night and tonight since we ended up working this weekend.


Forgiven.

Now get on your bike.  Are you still at the same place? I thought they were going to shut you down 6 months ago.

Road commute for me. The lake has it's spring face on. Warm weekend means that the edges are all open and I didn't' want to ride with a plank.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> Shameful confession...
> I drove to work FIVE days in a row last week. The first time I`d done that since recuperating from a knee blowout in the fall of 2009 or 2010. I sort of had an excuse (a lame one) that I won`t even bother with. Though it doesn`t make up for the ugly truth, I did commute by bike last night and tonight since we ended up working this weekend.


Hey Rodar, don't beat yourself up over it......that's what we're here for. That's just a poor show! :devil:

Just hard work this morning and I have a stiff back. Spent yesterday morning shifting furniture and white goods (fridges/washers etc) back into place after having new floor laid in the kitchen and dining rooms. The afternoon lying mostly under the car. Need to change out the gearbox (not quite out yet) and despite laying on carpet the cold ground just got to me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Five Hail Sheldons and sin no more :lol:

Still at the same place and my employee ID number will be of legal drinking age in June. There has never an official announcement that we`re shutting down, just speculation by the masses. In fact, the official word from local management up is that things are rosy (the quarterly pep rallies are an awful lot like listening to the Bagdhad Bob, the Iraqui information minister). Still no telling how many months or years or weeks we have left, but the industry as a whole is in an unstoppable downslide.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Five Hail Sheldons and sin no more :lol:


LOL.

I had 2 days off last week and need to drive tomorrow for a dentist appointment. It happens.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

A bit of a drizzle this morning, but warm enough in the mid 40s.

Plus, we get whole extra day of biking this year and I finally crossed 500 miles for the year.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A return to winter today, with an inch of snow on the ground and the temperature dropping to 5F. I actually had to go searching for my standard-level gloves, because they'd gotten put away a few weeks ago.

The end of February has me thinking of weather nerdery again.

I'm tempting fate because March can occasionally be nasty, but so far I have had no rides below -30C(-22F) this year. And this has been my winter ever without a ride below -25C(-13). And amazingly, I haven't even had a ride below -20C(-4F)

And for the non-canadians/alaskans out there, if those seem like weird things to be cheering, here's what my winters normally look like:








(I must have had the two -20 days off this year)

This is my 10th winter not driving to work: 3 walking, and now 7 riding.

2010-2011 was my second year riding, and it apparently sucked. Fully 25% of the rides were below -20C/-4F (44 out of 190ish). And it set some sort of mental baseline, because any year that doesn't have weeks and weeks of really cold days seems easy.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sweet foot shot Dutchman!! haha.

Fantastic weekend. Went to the NAHBS in Sacramento, took a million pics, shook some hands... Zap, Steve Potts, Brent Foes, the new owner of Moots (forgot his name), Tom Ritchey... So many outstanding bikes. My personal "best in show" was this Moots drop bar 29er bike packing gravel destroying monster. Gorgeous Ti and a carbon Salsa fork. They had it all loaded up with bikepacking bags later in the day... probably to cover up my drool marks.









OK that or this Black Sheep:









I have a million more pics. So many showstoppers.

Got a couple stickers for the basement lab too:









AND I've been trading emails with Gore-Tex. I do indeed get to pick my own items and create my own Gore-Tex prize package. So I'm having fun spending $800 on the Gore Bike Wear website.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

newfangled said:


> A return to winter today, with an inch of snow on the ground and the temperature dropping to 5F. I actually had to go searching for my standard-level gloves, because they'd gotten put away a few weeks ago.
> 
> The end of February has me thinking of weather nerdery again.
> 
> ...


Pretty sure my record low was -21C this year....not at all like the -36C a three or four years ago...

Look out for a long cool spring....common with El Nino years.


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## Jeff_G (Oct 22, 2015)

Worked from home for two hours and the wind died down A LOT. Nice ride but after our warm weather lately 25f felt a bit cool.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolutely blasted by wind riding to deliver. Got blasted the whole time I delivered. And of course blasted on the ride home. Decided to drive today since they are forecasting more snow and it was dry enough to ride the fixed gear to deliver but didn't want to possibly get wrecked with snow for the ride home tonight. Ended up in shorts and a jersey halfway into my shift even though it was only in the upper 30's and sunny. It is funny how quickly you get warmed up doing these blasts onto campus and the surrounding areas. 

Will more than likely drive Tuesday and I deliver Wednesday so the SS MTB might see some duty, just depends on the amount of that F*($!N white stuff we get. Damnit.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ Interesting graph Newfangled. Different temp ranges but I can imagine it being a similar story here. I think we have had maybe 5 or 6 frost days this winter so far. We don't often get much snow but usually get a lot more frosty nights.

Not sure Jeffscotts prediction of a long cool spring is very appealing.. 


Hadn't been feeling too well in the afternoon yesterday and don't remember the ride home, I guess it went ok.

Late start today due to unrelated docs appointment. Had I of started on time it would have been dry. 10am start saw me in waterproof jacket and battling the driving rain. Felt like I had a smile on my face the whole way for some reason though.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I`d be happy to take some of that F*($!N white stuff off your hands for you, 10 Speed. The nino sort of abandoned us this year before we were done with him. Better than it`s been, at least.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I've been working as much as I can from home lately. There is a new grad student in our lab who is disruptive and appears to have some kind of attachment issues. He's always in there and always wants to talk. Even the undergrads in lab don't pull that, so I've taken to avoiding going into the lab space unless I absolutely need the computing power of our highest powered computer. Even then I stick to setting the program to run, making sure it's going smoothly, and then splitting. 

It's kind of messing up my commutes. Like I'm about to commute up there now for an hour of class and go home right away. Having been in the same lab since my undergrad, I am feeling very angry and defensive about my space and the fact that this guy is ruining my commuting schedule too.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Temps in the mid 30s with some wind in the Valley. The trails in Anchorage are a bit treacherous - mix of glare ice, textured ice, black ice, dry pavement, and limited snow... not fun.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ I'm going to take my usual trails afterwork tonight...for probably the first time since January I think? I'm hoping the bit of snow we got yesterday means they'll be decent. 

Normally I have to stay off them for most of march, but this february was nothing but either ice or slop. I've still had some decent rides on the weekends, but afterwork in the dark even with a decent light and studs I'm just not a fan of glareice.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Not sure Jeffscotts prediction of a long cool spring is very appealing.....


Over here in the Netherlands and Germany, after an El Nino year, a wet spring can be expected normally. I guess this will be the same for the UK as well...

My "daddy-leave" is now over and I started working again today. Ride in was pretty cold for our standards, -5C/23F with almost no wind. I had a new experience after 35years of cycling: This morning was the first time my shift cables were frozen and I could not shift. Luckily I was in an acceptable gear for riding singlespeed, which did not bother me much. Maybe I can ditch the Rohloff and go for ss. Save 1kg/2 lbs and 600€/650$. We'll see. Bike was heavy, besides the usual stuff I also had some sweeties for my collegues to make up for a 10week leave, my laptop and an extra cheapish softshell jacket, so that I do not have to go to the canteen with my bikejacket on.

Ride home was a slight headwind with about 1C/34F and I have seen 2 wild pigs again in broad daylight. Made a cellphone pic but on the distance that did not really work. Will need to take the camera with me again. Met my wife and kids on the playground, which is along the way, and walked home all together.

CB: Nice to hear that you are shopping on the GTX site. Let us know what you have chosen, and why. AND of course a pic of your right gtx'ed foot!! :lol:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Hello again everyone! It has been a long long time and I am back to commuting on a bike soon too! I am very excited about it. 

My life had gotten so random that I couldn't afford the time to bike everywhere so I had to stop. I still lurked for the pics though. I have a free to me bike with a few parts thrown at it for fixing stuff and weatherproofing. I am commuting in southern michigan now and currently the snow is 4-5" and still going. 

Going to be a few days or maybe a week till I can get around to fixing and building the bike but it's happening. 



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So the trails were actually in terrible shape today, even though it was only a little bit above freezing.

Earlier this winter I was saying I envied bedwards' lake commute, since my river is too lumpy. _Except_ at this time of year when there's been a bunch of melting so things are smooth, and add on yesterday's new snow for some traction, and it was in prime condition:



__
https://flic.kr/p/Eyiqms


__
https://flic.kr/p/EhD5mm

Did about 3mi on that, and the only issue was ducking a few low trees.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> I`d be happy to take some of that F*($!N white stuff off your hands for you, 10 Speed. The nino sort of abandoned us this year before we were done with him. Better than it`s been, at least.


You can have all 8" of it. The snow. 8" of snow.

Forecast for Tuesday is rain and 64°F. Good times.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Dry ride today, well, water wasnt falling from the sky. Supposedly 3C with a real feel of -3C. Seemed about right.

There was an old dude riding the MUP this morning, tacking from side to side. He was riding that sooo slow meandering style that only old dudes can do without falling off. Gave him plenty of space (IMO i guess) but he still yelled at me to get a bell when I went past. I rang my bell and just smiled.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, all said and done, it is just shy of 9". 100 school closings here, blustery winds still, and it is 17F° but feels like 5F°. Apartment complex looks plowed, however I am unsure of the MUP and side path to get out the back way that I always go. No other way to go by bike unless it is on a really busy road, or the sidewalk and that will put me about 4-5 miles out of my way. Will hope for the best and make my way through and see what it is like. Attempted to get a sub driver for delivery but I got no answers back. Probably better off on the bike than taking the bike in the car and then paying to park. High horsepower + rwd + balding tires is not ideal in this. The drive home last night was white knuckle enough.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Did about 3mi on that, and the only issue was ducking a few low trees.


Looks nice!

The lake ice is looking tired. Black, mottled, starting to weaken. I rode across last night but there were lots of complications with water.

We've got exactly the same weather as the last 3-4 Wednesdays. Snow in the morning with heavy rain and warm temps in the afternoon. We do have some cold temps forecast that should heal the lake for the short term if it makes it though today.

34F rain with wet heavy snow plowed into the biking section of the road and a lake that might get me wetter....I drove in.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

The wind felt bitter and angry. 30mph stready with gusts to 40mph. I was struggling and probably only going 8mph.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

It rained this morning during the entire ride. For that it was not so cold, 1C/34F and a light tailwind. The ride home was dry but with a stronger, steady headwind of about 20knots and nice temps of 5C/41F. I have a new jacket that I am currently testing, so far it is holding up really good: 
Wiggle | Altura Night Vision Evo Waterproof Jacket | Cycling Waterproof Jackets

On the way back I noticed an issue with my right brakelever. When using the topmounted brakelever, the brakelever is pulled into the rubber hood and is jammed in there. I noticed that the rubber of the hood is already totally worn out so the pin always fits in there. I have them less than a year so I sent a picture to the shop and hope I get any kind of warranty. Still annoying, I just overhauled everything last weekend and I hope that a new hood cover will solve the problem. We#ll see what the shop comes up with.

On the pic you can clearly see that the pin has worn out the rubber and is wedged in there:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ forgive the very dumb question, but is that pin stuck at the halfway point?

I've got 3 sets of those levers and I think there should be a lot more of the pin showing. (I also can't imagine how mine would actually wear the hoods out)

On the other side it should be totally recessed:









And on this side you're showing, it should be sticking almost to the width of the hood.

(again, sorry for the dumb question)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hello Newf,

you are right, the pin SHOULD be sticking out further. And it does not wear out the hood when just sitting there, but when I apply the top mounted levers, the force on the cable pulls that pin into the rubber and wears it out. When this pin is sticking out as far as the outside of the rubber hood, it is not in the inside hole anymore and loose. So I guess I have a pin that is a tad too short. I have never noticed until today. I braked and the topmounted lever suddenly went all the way to the bar and stayed there. Luckily there was no critical situation.

And as I said, I think this only arises in combination with top mounted levers, the inside ones with the red knob (Tektro RL720 for V-brake pull):


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That sucked so much. Nothing was plowed as I had suspected. Crossed the tracks hoping that the MUP would be in half way decent shape. HORRIBLE. Tracked back across the tracks and started pushing it. Snow was wet underneath and powder on top. You would sink right in and get no traction at all if you tried to ride. It was almost a mile to the parking lot. Once you come out of the forest, it is a wide open area. Drifts had it over a foot deep. Huffing and puffing just pushing the bike trying to keep my footing as even I was slipping. Got into the back neighborhood and it was unplowed as well. Like riding through a foot of mashed potatoes. Combination of riding, cursing, swerving and more pushing. Really slow going, so slow in fact that it took me an hour to get to the bike shop which is about 4 miles from my complex. Gave myself plenty of time just in case and this is exactly why I did.

In town it was a little better but not much. A combo of slush, mashed potatoes, ice, and hard packed snow on the streets. A very poor showing by the road crews here all around. They knew this was coming. Usually the city is in great shape and the roads are often already dry after a snow like this.

Get to work, and it is on. Busy doesn't begin to describe it. Figured that it would be like this because of the weather, but we had no idea. I am pretty fast on the bike to deliver, and today it was slow going. Lots of traffic, pedestrians, half cleared roads, bike lanes and sidewalks. I did as many deliveries today as I usually do which is pretty impressive given the conditions.

The ride home was decent until I got to the back neighborhood again. Still in garbage condition. MUP finally got plowed. Snapped this one as I crossed the tracks back to the complex.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> And it does not wear out the hood when just sitting there, but when I apply the top mounted levers, the force on the cable pulls that pin into the rubber and wears it out.


Ah, got it. Would have never thought about that being a problem.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

the hoods of my Tektro levers are so horrible... wearing into oblivion and all curled up and gapped out everywhere... hideous. May have to spring for some new ones... thanks for the reminder. 


Well good news from Gore-Tex... I did get to pick my own prize package for that little contest... can't remember if I mentioned that on here... but they pulled all of my goods together and it should ship in the next day or two. Super nice few days of email exchanges getting everything just right. Looking forward to ceremonially removing the tattered Pearl Izumi shoe covers for the last time. 

I'll be getting a Gore-Tex cycling cap (who knew they made those?) for under the helmet, Gore Bike Wear top-o-the-line jacket and pants, gloves, socks, and shoe covers... grand total of just over $800 worth of gear (adds up quick when socks cost $70). Black and red to match the fat bike. I'm thinking about moving to Seattle just for more opportunity to ride in the rain. 

Bring on the long cool spring I say.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Woke up to 1" of sleet changing to rain, and then back to snow as I drove to the park-n-pedal. Had swapped the lights over to the MTB in anticipation of the skating rink on the way home in the teens F. With the crazy amount of water and slush in the street, and gusts of 40 mph forecast, I opted to keep driving, as each passing car would have swamped me...it was only about a mile later that I realized I had never put the bike in the car! Arrived at work in bike togs but dry...the best of days to forget the ummm bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Well good news from Gore-Tex... I did get to pick my own prize package for that little contest... can't remember if I mentioned that on here... but they pulled all of my goods together and it should ship in the next day or two. Super nice few days of email exchanges getting everything just right. Looking forward to ceremonially removing the tattered Pearl Izumi shoe covers for the last time.
> 
> I'll be getting a Gore-Tex cycling cap (who knew they made those?) for under the helmet, Gore Bike Wear top-o-the-line jacket and pants, gloves, socks, and shoe covers... grand total of just over $800 worth of gear (adds up quick when socks cost $70). Black and red to match the fat bike. I'm thinking about moving to Seattle just for more opportunity to ride in the rain.


Whooo!
Yeah, I was wondering about the PI shoe covers. Glad they didn`t immediately disqualify you for sporting them in a Gore ad!

Seattle/Puget Sound is pretty danged groovy. If you gotta go somewhere wet, that`s not a bad choice.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> . I have a new jacket that I am currently testing, so far it is holding up really good:
> Wiggle | Altura Night Vision Evo Waterproof Jacket | Cycling Waterproof Jackets


I was looking at those very jackets yesterday! How are they for the breathability? I guess I should just try one but are they a long fit? A lot of my height is in my torso.

Tenspeed - That does sound pretty rough

CB - looking forward to seeing the goodies!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I am 183cm/98 kg and 82cm inseam length. I got the xl which is long enough and fits ok with room for thicker clothes in winter, so I would call it a "comfort cut" They got even cheaper now, I got mine for 83E, now they are 72E.

Breathability is ok, also waterproof. Pitzips are a bit weird, lower than usual and a bit more exposed than I would like but the ventilation does work and 2 rides in the rain did not show major leaks. The pitzips are on the height of the side pockets, just further on the sides. The taillight is a bit of a weak point, it falls out into the jacket easily (cant loose it though), when it is out there is hole in the jacket, and it turns itself on/off easily when you stuff it in a pannier or so. It is not very well impragnated so water does not run off as easy as other jackets, but no leakage so far. I wore it only a few times so far so no long termm experience. Reflective stripes all over do the job, no extra high viz vest needed.

I would.say grab yours while.you can and send it back if it doesnt fit.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Yesterday sucked due to head wind in both directions. I knew I was going to fight head winds on my way into work, but thought I would have an easy ride home with the wind to my back, so I made plans to meet my wife and son for dinner after work. Big mistake! In late afternoon a front came through and the wind switched direction so instead of an easy 12 mile ride back home with the wind to my back I was treated with a cold head wind most of my way back. At least I got a good workout and I didn't bring the single speed.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ Thanks for the review Dutchman, really helpful (system won't let me rep you at the moment unfortunately)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Woke up to 1" of sleet changing to rain, and then back to snow as I drove to the park-n-pedal. Had swapped the lights over to the MTB in anticipation of the skating rink on the way home in the teens F. With the crazy amount of water and slush in the street, and gusts of 40 mph forecast, I opted to keep driving, as each passing car would have swamped me...it was only about a mile later that I realized I had never put the bike in the car! Arrived at work in bike togs but dry...the best of days to forget the ummm bike.


LOL, subliminal self preservation. We're been having trouble keeping track of where our cars and bikes are with 2 of us riding or driving one way or the other depending on weather & appointments. I drove yesterday and parked next my own car in the lot. I noticed that the back door was ajar from when i got the bike out so I pushed it shut which set off the car alarm. My keys were at home so I just walked away.

Took the lake today. There is a big open section where 2 bays meet now. I had to find an overland bypass. Most years at this point I'm comforted in knowing that there are 2' of ice. This year maybe 8", if that. Obviously less in the open spots.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Winds basically disappeared after 40mph winds yesterday. I think we are at 5mph winds today. I felt like a rocket ship.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> The ice is moving around a lot on the lake now. Last year I crossed the lake on April 9th. This year I'm wondering if I'll make March 9th.


Finally checked out your ice video...

Never seen anything like that...Probably set up by differential melting???

Local hot spot at the drain hole melted surface ice...made the water.....but all around the ice was thicker and floated higher???

I have seen that on a roof...they make the roofs drain to the center...but sometimes a lake builds cause the drain ices up...

Then it melts on top forms a hole and the heavier water has to get below the lighter ice...so it uses a worm hole.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Although we have dreary skies this morning, it was warm enough that I packed my long johns, gloves, and `clava home in my trunk bag, rode with knaked gnees, hands, and ears. Needless to say, no sleet, ice, or cold headwinds.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I left the house in a drizzle, and actually stopped to take off the sweaty (not gore-tex) rain jacket after a few miles. Drizzle stopped and I was comfy in just a base layer. Spring is springing... supposedly a few wet days on the way though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whooo!
> Yeah, I was wondering about the PI shoe covers. Glad they didn`t immediately disqualify you for sporting them in a Gore ad!


Yeah I missed that logo... there was a rule about that. No prominent display of a brand logo not owned or partnered with Gore-Tex... I did some photo retouching to get rid of a North Face logo in another photo that I had submitted, and I submitted the foot photo without really checking it, and assuming that other photos I had submitted had a better shot of being selected anyway... but that's the one they grabbed. I didn't point out to them that anyone who rides will instantly recognize that half of a PI Logo that you can clearly see...

You can actually see a tattered piece of the sole of the shoe cover dangling there in the pic :lol:









Looking forward to the Gore-Tex ones... hopefully they're big enough. The PI ones were always too small even in the big size.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Looking forward to the Gore-Tex ones... hopefully they're big enough. The PI ones were always too small even in the big size.


Never met a shoe cover that was big enough and they all suck! You can walk exactly 28 steps before something starts to rip. #lake302


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Well I have Gore-Tex socks coming too.. haha. 

Debated long and hard about some killer winter riding shoes. Could have gotten some since Gore-Tex is in on a few co-branded ones... but couldn't have done the shoes, pants, and jacket for under $800.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Never met a shoe cover that was big enough and they all suck! You can walk exactly 28 steps before something starts to rip. #lake302


You know, I've been using the Endura MT 500 boot covers since last winter - probably around January and have been wearing them for all but 1 week this winter so far and, surprisingly they have held up fairly well. I'll get another two months out of them and then have to retire them, but I'm fairly happy with that. The bottoms are a bit torn right around the cleat and heel opening, but they have a nice rubberized toe area and the rest of the foot is made with a kevlar like material. They've stopped me from buying a 200+ dollar pair of cycling specific boots for winter use and that's good enough for me. Though I might try to pick up the Giro cool weather boot at the end of the season on clearance somewhere. I figure that boot, in a large enough size for some thick wool socks and maybe a vapor barrier might be the ticket. Even down to -25 my feet get cold because of overheating first, it seems.

Decent rides the last few days. Things are still generally quite icy, but the city has brought in snow to cover part of the trail system for the Iditarod start this weekend, so I was riding on snow that they brought down by freight train from Fairbanks. Who'da thunk that someday Anchorage would be importing snow from Fairbanks. I guess we should be glad that it's American made snow and not that cheap stuff from China.  I'd hate to see Chinese snow taking work away from good, God-fearing American snow...Build a wall to keep that foreign snow out. Funny thing is, if the weather doesn't cooperate and it keeps getting up into the 40s during the day and then freezing at night, the snow they brought in will turn into the same icy crust that they brought it in to cover.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> You can actually see a tattered piece of the sole of the shoe cover dangling there in the pic


Oh. So that isn`t the end of your leather toe strap?



blockphi said:


> I'd hate to see Chinese snow taking work away from good, God-fearing American snow...Build a wall to keep that foreign snow out.


Haha, yeah, domestic made snow is SO much better than slave labor snow :lol:
Tempted to go on an OT rant about the snow wall, but I`d better just enjoy the humorous comparison as posted and leave it at that. Keeping peace at the dinner table, ya know


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

shipping snow in!?!? You lot are ut: 

Hard this morning. Legs felt dead and heavy when I got up, Wind was cold and penetrating. The car is currently without gearbox so that temptation was removed. Fuelling up (my favourite part) for the ride home later :thumbsup:


Edit: just looked up the Iditarod. Now that's ut: and :cornut::rockon: all at the same time. Hope it's a good event!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ice is getting mighty thin. I've really got to get up some speed to get over this like a snowmobile. I don't think I could do it on a non-fat bike. :skep:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Never met a shoe cover that was big enough and they all suck! You can walk exactly 28 steps before something starts to rip. #lake302


You got ripped off! I got at least 56 paces.  It only tore a little making the toe able to flip up an over when walking with them. They are getting near the end ot their useful like with about 2 winters of regular riding on them.



rodar y rodar said:


> Oh. So that isn`t the end of your leather toe strap?


That's what I took it for until it was pointed out. I like the white on black againet the snow and dark tree effect.  True art has its costs.



bedwards1000 said:


> Ice is getting mighty thin. I've really got to get up some speed to get over this like a snowmobile. I don't think I could do it on a non-fat bike. :skep:


And they float!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> shipping snow in!?!? You lot are ut:


Thats what I like about those americans 

@bedwards: I have VauDe shoe covers: 
VAUDE | Shoecover Capital Plus - black
They hold pretty good 2 winters already, although I do walk a few steps on them every day too. I normally have size 45 shoes, got these in 47-49 and they even cover my size 45 hiking boots ( I believe that would be US size 12). I had neoprene shoe covers from them before, they lasted several years. Then I got the new Vaude Pallas, they were misdesigned, then I got the capital plus since they are for city bikers and should fit over "normal" shoes, not only over roadbike shoes. 
However I do not think they will keep your feet warm. They do have some isolation but I use extra thick merino socks already below freezing point. I doubt they will keep you warm at -17C/0F . They also have several models in neoprene, maybe you can combine two covers in two sizes?

@SlipSpace: You are welcome. I believe you need to give rep to around 30 people before you can give it to somebody again. And did you get the jacket? I have seen they have only S, XL and XXL by now.

Oh almost forgot: Nice commutes today. Very calm ride in, have seen 9 roe deers along the way, a new record for 1 ride! Calm winds and -1C/30F. Made a detour along my favorite LCS along the way and took the MUP along the busy 4lane road to take shelter for the headwind AND to watch the complete traffic jam that had build up due to a burning house along the street. Emergency services needed the entire road to get the fire out. When I got there they were just making 2 of 4 lanes available for traffic.

This weekend is hopefully going to be an extraordinary good one. Saturdaymorning I am participating a Specialized Testival in my area, I want to test at least a fatbike and a CX bike. Maybe a normal MTB too, when time, energy and weather permit it. And Sunday I am going to the a Biketouring fair with lots of manufacturers, testbikes, the biketourer's alley (Where you can talk to biketourers about their trips) and some nice presentations (I hope the link works
https://translate.google.de/transla...it/veranstaltungen/radreise-messe/&edit-text=


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No, didn't go for the jacket in the end, kinda got caught up in discount fever tbh, and don't really need one. Shoes may have to be next, strap has started to tear. Still I did buy them in 1999...

Have fun with Specialised, sounds like it should be a good day.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

4 weeks in a row now I pedaled every day to work (that's a record for me) might change come Monday supposed to be cold/windy/rainy. Yeah I'm a wimp haha!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A cold start at 0F, but nice to ride in after a few days of conflicts. Teens on the way home. Yesterday I drove to help a friend whose car was at the shop, and due to that also did a good deed for fellow bikecommuter while driving home. He was pushing uphill, no low gears working, so I gave him and bike a lift maybe 5 miles past my house. Good times, good karma. Stay off the ice, bedwards!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for all the shoecover advice but I've made up my mind.  

We're had overnight temps in the teens which has keep the ice for now but this afternoon will most likely be my last trip over it this year.  I should be happier about the spring like temps but I prefer the trails over the road. Temps after today are forecast into the 50s most days and the relatively thin layer of ice left isn't going to be safe. 

I did go out for a skate this weekend and there was still more ice than I was willing to try to hack through. Should be good enough for 1 more trip....


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A surprisingly good ride in this AM. I was expecting it to be a slow, painful slug fest after ending up doing a 10 mile run yesterday afternoon. Well, 10.15 to be exact...  Wasn't planning on it being that far of a run and really hadn't eaten properly for it. And was wearing different shoes than what I'm used to, so that causes some issues with my ankles and shins. Woke up a bit stiff, but the ride felt really good.

Saturday I had a chance to get out for a longish ride on the Iditarod trail from the restart at Willow and nearly to where the gateway trail connects up with the Susitina river trail and on to the actual Iditarod trail.









Took one of my dogs - she is a sled dog from a sprint racer's kennel, but she is the type of dog that would have never made it on the team. She is super skittish and generally does not like having anything behind her. Being a sprint dog, by mile 20 she was ready to call it a day.









It was an awesome day of riding though. Well 3.5 hours of riding. Temps in the upper 30s, good snow pack. A fast trail this year.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I just saw the guy that won the bike-ditarod or whatever it's called finished in just under 2 days... like 1 day, 23.75 hours or something. Nut job. That sounds awesome, I'd love to ride that in a more reasonable time frame :lol:

Bedwards, that ice pic is freaking me out.

Leather toe straps? How old are you guys :lol: 
I did pull some sweet leather clip/straps off of that old Raleigh project...they were tattered beyond repair. That's the only pair I've ever owned. Clipless since '98, baby.

Bedwards, would you wear $100 shoe covers if they were free? I just have to give the Gore-Tex ones a shot... I'm gonna take so many pictures of those things you're going to want a pair real bad :lol:

Back to winter around here. ...and there was much rejoicing in NorCal... Mammoth Mountain just reported crossing over 300" for the season this weekend. That's more like it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, would you wear $100 shoe covers if they were free?


No.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> Edit: just looked up the Iditarod. Now that's ut: and :cornut::rockon: all at the same time. Hope it's a good event!


Want to see something real crazy check out the Iditarod Invitational - bike, foot, or ski race along the same trail that the dog mushers use for their race. That's crazy.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ I just saw the guy that won the bike-ditarod or whatever it's called finished in just under 2 days... like 1 day, 23.75 hours or something. Nut job. That sounds awesome, I'd love to ride that in a more reasonable time frame :lol:
> 
> View attachment 1055018


That was just for the 350 mile version of the race - to McGrath. There are still folks doing the full 1000 miles to Nome who are out on the trail.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

I haven't been on here in a few weeks and had several pages to read through. Winter here never really showed up. We got an inch or so on the grass last but the roads didn't get covered. My commutes were pretty uneventful.

Spring has sprung here in Northeast Ohio this week. The forecast is calling for 60s all week. I'm happy to be back on the road bike now, though my legs were feeling mighty heavy this morning. I think I burned them out a bit this weekend thrashing my new (to me) cross bike. My first carbon framed bike and she is oh so sweet


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A good one-way ride today, allowing me to go 37 mph in a 25 on the ice-spikers and into the wind, also avoided the rottie that nearly biffed me a few years go, he/she is not as fast as he/she used to be!

Drove home in my new-to- me 2011 Subie, so far so good.

Guy dropped through the ice this weekend on a small pond at night alone on his snowmobile and his body was recovered the next day.

So far my fave Iditarod trail invitational pic this year is a guy with a fatbike in bare feet on snow preparing to cross an icy - but liquid - river. Yikes!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I beat the rain home, just barely!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> I beat the rain home, just barely!


Lucky you!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Let the melt happen!!!! It hit 60°F here today, and the melt is on. Almost a foot of snow is more than half gone after today. Oh, tomorrow is the same, and tomorrow evening really late it should rain so that will finish it off. Ride to deliver was alright. I left before it really started to melt so the roads were not that wet. By the time I came back home it was pretty wet. Very disappointed in the cities lack of plowing some of the neighborhood roads. I know they can't get every road, but what they left behind is like a half frozen war zone. Deep ruts, pools of slush and half frozen chunks. What a dang mess. Shorts and a jersey to deliver and it felt really good in the sun. Spring break for the campus so they assumed it would be dead. They were oh so wrong. You wouldn't have known based on the amount of deliveries we had.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> 4 weeks in a row now I pedaled every day to work (that's a record for me) might change come Monday supposed to be cold/windy/rainy.


Go, Eugene, go!



blockphi said:


> Took one of my dogs - she is a sled dog from a sprint racer's kennel, but she is the type of dog that would have never made it on the team. She is super skittish and generally does not like having anything behind her. Being a sprint dog, by mile 20 she was ready to call it a day.


Not liking anything behind her I can see as being a not-very-good trait for a sled dog :lol:
20 miles is a hell of a sprint, though. I remember reading an article on endurance for various animals and it seems sled dogs were something of an enigma.



CommuterBoy said:


> Back to winter around here. ...and there was much rejoicing in NorCal... Mammoth Mountain just reported crossing over 300" for the season this weekend. That's more like it.


Gimme wet! Yeah, we got some solid rain and a little snow. Not as wintery looking as you, though. Is 300 inches good for Mammoth? According to the news, most of the metering stations in CA were back down to a little below average snowpack for the March 1 survey. Looking pretty damp for the rest of the month though, so hopefully get back at least to average.



mtbxplorer said:


> A good one-way ride today, allowing me to go 37 mph in a 25 on the ice-spikers and into the wind, also avoided the rottie that nearly biffed me a few years go, he/she is not as fast as he/she used to be!


37 into the wind on studs !?! Wow, how did you manage that? Maybe that ol rottie is not slowing down after all- just has a faster "rabbit" than he/she used to have


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> 37 into the wind on studs !?! Wow, how did you manage that? Maybe that ol rottie is not slowing down after all- just has a faster "rabbit" than he/she used to have


All the credit goes to gravity, they don't call it Hill St. for nothing!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'm giving gravity some credit in my ride but it wasn't quite as positive. Guess what happened here.





​I think this morning was my last lake crossing unless we get a cold snap, and soon. Tomorrow's supposed to be near 60F.





​


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2016)

Were you listening to the surfing song "Wipeout"??


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> Were you listening to the surfing song "Wipeout"??


No I think he was preparing his bike for a photo and his kickstand gave out on that ice. That's why his bike fell.

No commute today. Officially on spring "break", and I can do most everything I need to do from home, since I have only about 150 journal articles unread in my stack.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Not even doing the last 15 miles of the ride on a flat front tire could take the joy out of the first 60 degree afternoon of the season.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I'm giving gravity some credit in my ride but it wasn't quite as positive. Guess what happened here.
> View attachment 1055282​I think this morning was my last lake crossing unless we get a cold snap, and soon. Tomorrow's supposed to be near 60F.
> View attachment 1055283​


Looks like you tried to make a snow angel where your body landed lol!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Looks like you tried to make a snow angel where your body landed lol!


Exactly! That's what I captioned the picture in Strava.

It's amazing how unforgiving that powder over ice is. Sneaky too.

I'm taking a car home today. Got the trail bike but the trails are undoubtedly muddy and at 50F I don't trust the lake any more. And I feel kinda like crap...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix, bedwards, hope you are feeling better, and none too worse for the wear. 

Today I was told by a fellow biker that I had exceeded the maximum bike allowance of our work landlord, lol; I left one bike by my cube last night when I drove that new-to-me car home, and rode another in today to DMV for car reg and then to work. Also, psyched when a DMV'r asked me if I rode there and said she wants to get a bike! Good stuff.

A honker later revealed himself as a coworker sassing me.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Exactly! That's what I captioned the picture in Strava.
> 
> It's amazing how unforgiving that powder over ice is. Sneaky too.
> 
> I'm taking a car home today. Got the trail bike but the trails are undoubtedly muddy and at 50F I don't trust the lake any more. And I feel kinda like crap...


:thumbsup: Yep I remember the good old days living in a cold climate, had plenty of sore tailbones from slipping on what I "thought" was snow haha!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Unbelievable!!!! I have to keep reminding myself that I live in Michigan, and that this could only be temporary weather we are having. 68°F and full sun for the ride in. Did I actually break a sweat riding???? I did, because the constant headwind, yeah, that was there. The snow here is relentless. Even after the warm day and full sun, there is still snow hanging on for dear life. Figured that the roads were going to be messy and still wet and I was for the most part right.

This is my latest acquisition. 58cm Specialized TriCross Elite. It is a brushed silver finish with really subdued grey Specialized graphics which looks really clean. So far I have swapped out the bar for an FSA Energy, FSA SL-K stem, wrapped it in my standard go to Lizard Skin DSP tape, added the SKS fenders, Cinelli seatpost, grey and red Selle San Marco Ponza saddle (needs to be angled nose up slightly) and some cool little minor things like alternating spacers under the stem. Volcano is matte, then I added gloss, then matte, then gloss again. The bike is pretty cool, BB5's (soon to be BB7's), SRAM Apex Double Tap, 2x10, it isn't that heavy. Rides really nicely and will roll even quicker when I go to a Continental CityRide tire after my first dirt/gravel road race in April.










Click to make it bigger!!

https://i.imgur.com/dl0vHUP.jpg


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sharp looking machine. I just looked up that bar tape. :eekster: I don't usually pay that for bars.

The winter trail commuting is officially over. I brought the road bike in today. Short short season if you ask me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Sharp looking machine. I just looked up that bar tape. :eekster: I don't usually pay that for bars.
> 
> The winter trail commuting is officially over. I brought the road bike in today. Short short season if you ask me.


Thanks. Yep, the tape is not the cheapest stuff out there but I love the feel and comfort it adds. Both of my drop bar bikes have it and I have it on the bullhorns on the fixed gear.

Unsure if I will ride today. Rain forecasted for most of the day and definitely tonight. I have fenders, but the thought of riding in the rain doesn't appeal to me today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate good bar tape. The stuff on my F2X is beautiful. Like high end imitation Italian leather. 

Sometimes riding in the rain is bad-ass. Sometimes riding in the rain is just a pain in the ass.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

took the studs off Monday...last vestige of ice has melted off my route...Even if it snows again it should be manageable...

about a month earlier than normal.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

It starts.

Dropped my bike off at the office so I can pick my way home. Didn't want to try to get to work via bike since I could get lost and be late. Figured going home to learn the way is more responsible.










Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute in today. Yesterday I ... gasp... drove. Granted, I did have to go pick up one of my children from the airport, but it still felt really odd to be driving. Twice in a year. I haven't done that since 2011. I did, however, get a chance to get out yesterday and have a nice run in an area I wouldn't be able to get to in a timely manner without the car, so I guess it was all for the good. 

I keep thinking I should remove my studs - the ride in the valley is dry, dry, dry. In Anchorage, though, it is a mixed bag. The roads are clear right now, but the trails are snow, ice, and bare pavement. And it is still early enough that we could get a few more shots of snow or even freezing rain.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Decided to give me some rest the last two days, was simply tired from the weekend. Last Saturday I tested a Specialized fatbike and the Crux CX bike. I decided I want hydro brakes on my bike too but hydro brakes for drop bar are still way too expensive I think. I can not believe that the technical stuff behind it is so different to MTB brakes that it justifies the price. I guess they are just topping off the market at the moment, so I will stick to mechanicals for a while. Weather was nasty too, just above freezing level and rain, no fenders on the bike so I was completely soaked after every ride.
Sunday I was on the bike fair, rode some demo bikes as well: A Rohloff bike with the SRAM brifters, 2 cargo bikes, a trike and a bike with a Pinion IGH. 
-
Nice rides today. -1C/30F this morning and 8C/45F on the way home. Had to avoid some icy puddles this morning, used them to test the braking of the continental wintercontacts. I concluded that you can brake on ice with those tires but better not use the front brake 

As it seems a period of nice weather is approaching the next days. Calm, sunny, 3C736F in the morning and 9C/50F in the afternoon. Ok I know its just Hamburg, not Michigan.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Decided to give it a go and ride today. Still cannot believe the amount of snow hanging on by a thread given the extremely warm weather we have had. Last night the low was 58F, and it hit 67F today when the sun was out. Headwinds were kicking my butt again. Getting to be a regular ritual. Something about the fit isn't right with the TriCross yet. Might be the saddle. Going to switch it out when I get up for a Specialized Phenom and see how that goes. Rain for the ride home but it was still 58F when I left work in shorts and a jersey. 100% humidity so I was wet. Fenders are dang nice, no lie. I hate them though. They keep me mostly dry which I am happy about. Getting some toe overlap on that front one and I keep knocking it crooked. Still getting used to road debris and rocks pinging off of them.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> and a bike with a Pinion IGH.


I had no idea what that was so googled it. I assume this? News | PINION | DRIVE TECHNOLOGY | Really interesting tech. How was it?

First ride this week. Monday I had off to fix the car (gearbox swap). Tuesday was car shakedown day. Wednesday, rain, and the animals were pairing up so I drove (shame on me). Today was great!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Shorts! Great rides yesterday in shorts at 45F and 65F (after dark!).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@SlipSpace: Good that you are back on the bike again. We europeans have to keep up and now that Ghost_HTX fell silent, its up to us.
The link that you provided is correct-its the Pinion Gearbox. THere are some threads on the Pinion in the IGH forum:
http://forums.mtbr.com/internal-gear-hubs/pinion-gearbox-advancement-930006.html
http://forums.mtbr.com/drivetrain-s...you-have-pinion-gearbox-bike-come-926559.html

I put some air on the tires and lube on the chain yesterday. Today I had a 3kmh/2mph higher average. I guess it was due :lol:

Similar rides as yesterday today, just a tad faster. Good times.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Found a new way to clean brake pads...

After the winter my pads are pretty fouled up with oil salt and dirt....rotors squeak when stopping.

tossed them in the ultrasound cleaner for an hour and bingo no squeaking and great braking.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> ...Rides really nicely and will roll even quicker when I go to a Continental CityRide tire after my first dirt/gravel road race in April.


New bike day is always exciting. I finally decided to get the right tool for CX season and picked up a used 2014 Ridley X Fire a few weeks ago. I'm going to be using it for gravel race season in April as well. I'll be in your neck of the woods for Barry Roubaix.

Back on topic, commutes have been fabulous this week. 50s in the morning and we actually hit 73 Tuesday afternoon. It has been raining all day today so I bailed on the commute and drove, but it appears Ohio has made a swift transition to spring and is not looking back. Not complaining at this point.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

What ultrasound cleaner do you have Jeffscott? Got a link?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

"Miracle March" continues here in NorCal. Reservoirs are filling, farmers are rejoicing, rain is relentlessly falling. El Nino is our hombre. SuperSoaker of a commute this morning... no GoreTex yet, so it was extra lame getting soaked through my cheap rain gear while feeling somehow entitled to be wrapped in expensive stuff. :lol:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> What ultrasound cleaner do you have Jeffscott? Got a link?


https://www.riogrande.com/Product/elmasonic-e-60h-6-quart-ultrasonic-cleaner/336112

It looks like this one except it is branded Ikone (I think).....I got it used from an old Chinese couple that run a lapidary shop....Big warehouse probably 25000 Ft2 filled to the roof with stuff....neat place.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Daaaaaang $$$$$

I need to find me an old Chinese couple. 
I would use the heck out of one of those though...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> New bike day is always exciting. I finally decided to get the right tool for CX season and picked up a used 2014 Ridley X Fire a few weeks ago. I'm going to be using it for gravel race season in April as well. I'll be in your neck of the woods for Barry Roubaix.
> 
> Back on topic, commutes have been fabulous this week. 50s in the morning and we actually hit 73 Tuesday afternoon. It has been raining all day today so I bailed on the commute and drove, but it appears Ohio has made a swift transition to spring and is not looking back. Not complaining at this point.


Which course are you doing? I am signing up tonight. Did it a few years ago and was ill prepared on a FS 26er.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Getting some press over on the Gore-Tex facebook page 
Not sure why they didn't use that picture for the contest... better than the foot one in my humble opinion :lol:


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Which course are you doing? I am signing up tonight. Did it a few years ago and was ill prepared on a FS 26er.


I'm doing the 36 miler. Wasn't sure what to expect and at the time I signed up I was supposed to be doing a "cobbles" ride the next day back in CLE (has now been moved to another weekend of course).


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

88 km/h headwind for the ride home ouch


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> "Miracle March" continues here in NorCal.
> 
> View attachment 1055906


Wow, around here, we call that illegal discharge to waters of the state, no good for water critters, where is all that muddy water from?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

About 50F both ways, but super soggy and foggy on the way home. "Light rain mist" was a boldfaced lie, pouring rain with puddles over potholes more accurate.

VT's mud season is early; not on my route, but not good...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, around here, we call that illegal discharge to waters of the state, no good for water critters, where is all that muddy water from?


That's the side of a mountain washing down a gully and into the creek grain by grain. Just that much rain. No ugly source, just sediment from the deluge.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> I'm doing the 36 miler. Wasn't sure what to expect and at the time I signed up I was supposed to be doing a "cobbles" ride the next day back in CLE (has now been moved to another weekend of course).


Sent you a PM, not sure if you got it. I am doing the same route. Not sure if we could ride together due to our age differences.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Dutchman - thanks for the links to the IGH. I really must use more of this forum.



CommuterBoy said:


> Getting some press over on the Gore-Tex facebook page
> Not sure why they didn't use that picture for the contest... better than the foot one in my humble opinion :lol:
> 
> View attachment 1055958


I agree. Great pic, very atmospheric



mtbxplorer said:


> VT's mud season is early; not on my route, but not good...


Eeeek! That's pretty bad! Does the bike sink through that or can you float over the top?

About 3C out this morning but quite still and dry. Well I say dry, while it has not rained for a couple of days the meadows are pretty flooded


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> VT's mud season is early; not on my route, but not good...


Yuck! Not your route, but it that your work car? If so, I hope you managed to get it out okay!

Nice to see all that flowing water (muddy or not) and hear that your river and creeks are running high, CB. A member of another forum I visit lives next to the south fork of the Feather down in Feather Falls, says it`s really raging and Oroville has come up dramatically in the past few weeks. I haven`t even been down to look at the Truckee lately, need to do that over the weekend.
PS: Yeah, that`s a nice pic too, but I really do like your winning foot shot better.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thankfully that pic was not my car or a work car stuck in the mud! I dislike riding muddy roads, it feels like someone is holding onto your tires and preventing forward motion - too much work!

The other morning I panicked a student driver by taking the lane behind him/her. We were moving along nicely through the few "downtown" blocks, but when they noticed me they kept slowing down, until they finally came to a complete stop right in the lane with their right blinker on. I passed on the left and not sure what happened next.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> About 50F both ways, but super soggy and foggy on the way home. "Light rain mist" was a boldfaced lie, pouring rain with puddles over potholes more accurate.
> 
> VT's mud season is early; not on my route, but not good...


Wow... I guess you would need a super + fat + bike to get through that...

I'm back, guys! I've been slowly settling into my new job, so that means no commuting on the bike (no riding at all, actually thanks to recurring ill health - nothing major, just a really really long cold then the flu, then sinusitis, then the cold again) since December... Plus, all that rain you guys are having? Well - we are getting the same precipitation, but snow... Yep - there has been a lot of snow this year - which makes riding time hard to come by for the average dad of small child + full time job holding +++ type guy... I'm even considering buying one of those Tackx indoor roller thingies... Seriously, my legs are like toothpicks and my cardio... don't get me started on my cardio... I'm planning on getting back on the bike after the Easter break...

Anyways - great to see all the regulars still rolling along. I have a lot of respect for you guys!


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I can't believe how nice the weather has been for early March. I've been messing around with my GoPro and made some time lapse videos of my 2 commutes.

This first one is from work, then out to eat with the family, then home:





This one is a round trip to and from my second office building:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

^^That`s quite a bike path system in the first video. Bummer there are so many on-grade crossings for the next one. What city?


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> ^^That`s quite a bike path system in the first video. Bummer there are so many on-grade crossings for the next one. What city?


This is in Omaha, Nebraska. I rather enjoy the first ride much better than the second one. I'm very lucky that this trail system goes right by where I work, otherwise I probably wouldn't commute to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Daaaaaang $$$$$
> 
> I need to find me an old Chinese couple.
> I would use the heck out of one of those though...


I have this one but you do get what you pay for. Something in the middle of the road would probably be best. I've always thought it should work a little better than it does.
Amazon.com - Generic Sonic Wave CD-2800 Ultrasonic Jewelry & Eyeglass Cleaner (White/Gray) - Electronics Cleaning Products

Good news on the rain out west! Mud season here too. I'm avoiding all trails and dirt roads. Unfortunately that includes the upper part of my driveway.

I almost T-boned a pickup yesterday. I was going through an intersection with lots of stopped traffic, keeping close attention to the intersection. Just past the intersection cars had stopped to let a pickup into the gas station but due to a tall vehicle I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me. In a "Premium Rush"esqe display of skidding and bike handling I steered clear of his rear bumper by a foot and continued on.

This weekend has more late spring like temps forecast and it's still technically winter.


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## Jeff_G (Oct 22, 2015)

Absolutely glorious to go from 20 degrees, hard rolling studded tires, hats, jackets, pants, boots, gloves etc. to summer tires and shorts! 

I feel like I lost 100 pounds.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I have this one but you do get what you pay for. Something in the middle of the road would probably be best. I've always thought it should work a little better than it does.
> Amazon.com - Generic Sonic Wave CD-2800 Ultrasonic Jewelry & Eyeglass Cleaner (White/Gray) - Electronics Cleaning Products
> 
> Good news on the rain out west! Mud season here too. I'm avoiding all trails and dirt roads. Unfortunately that includes the upper part of my driveway.
> ...


looks good

They rate US cleaners by watts....but I am pretty sure that the largest wattage is the heating coil not the transducers....so you get quick heat up time to 80C....

Mine has two transducers.....I think one transducer would be just fine.

Obivously transducer power matters....but the really hot 80C is a big help too.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I had one similar to Bedward's link, and it lasted 3 years. Not heated. This one is not heated either but the separate tank is nice for cleanup. I use it with an ice bath to make liposomal Vitamin C:

http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-IVUC96S-Ultrasonic-Adjustable-Removable/dp/B00E5PCX1A


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Went to the doctors yesterday.

Went home the back way, across a side hill I ran into an ice patch...made it with the slicks on. Pretty rotten ice though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

_________________________


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> _________________________
> 
> View attachment 1056154


Damn that's a bunch of Gortex! Congrats!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

They work down to 32.1F and then turn off like a switch. 32.2F is comfy. 31.9F and my hands freeze like I'm not wearing anything. Strangest thing.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

But look at what they're replacing :lol:









Actually, cool story there. I have good "Level 3" super cold weather gloves, and I knew I wanted new "level 2" gloves... I was told I could basically pick whatever gear I wanted, up to $800 from the Gore-Tex website. Gloves were last, and the "winstopper" version of the gloves I wanted would have put me right at $800. But I really wanted the Gore-Tex version rather than the windstopper ones. I sent them both options, and they came back and said "oh don't worry, we're putting you in all Gore-Tex. So I wound up at a bit over $800 with the Gore-Tex version of the gloves. Curious to see what temp range they are comfortable in, but I'm counting on the "level 2" status. Hoping for mid 20's, but that could be a bit ambitious if they shut off like a switch :lol:.

But a definite improvement over what I've been using.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats CB! Now you dont have to fear the weather anymore. And your gloves look even worse than mine when I replaced them :eekster:

Rides: same as the last 2 days.

I just noticed the first tick on our cat. Spring is coming.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> But I really wanted the Gore-Tex version rather than the windstopper ones.


I've got some windstopper shell gloves, and they are remarkably useless on a bike. I'm not sure what the technology is actually supposed to do, but above 5mph it doesn't seem to do anything.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold starting out, temp only 35°F and a slight breeze. After making a few deliveries, the windbreaker came off. A few more later and the sleeves came off. Just right in shorts and a jersey. 48°F and I am breaking a sweat. What in the hell am I going to do when it is 95°F out?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice goretex collection, CB, awesome!

The biking has been fine, but the ice fishermen and snowmobilers have been dropping like flies this winter. Yesterday a game warden fell through while checking out what looked like some boots sticking up out on the ice. The game warden was rescued - after 25 minutes in the water - the other guy not good. Body pulled from Shelburne Pond, warden rescued


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Dang, bummer. Be safe Bedwards.

Celebratory Gore-Tex ride in the rain this afternoon


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

You know the ride home is gonna be tough when you set a record top speed on the first decent grade outbound. I tried to beat up into the wind before the butt-head in the tradesman's van passed me on the blind hill and cut back in about 30 feet from the stop sign. I was tempted to throw my water bottle at the back of the van.

Nice to bask in the glow of all that Gore-Tex haul, CB!

Came across this and if MTBXplorer feels she warrante the label there is a women's version, too!

https://fabrily.com/oldman-bicycle


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Enough Gore in ShoeBoy`s house to film a NorCal Chainsaw Massacre movie!

Stay off the ice, MtbX.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cool pic CB! Wish you lots of rain during your commutes! (never thought I would say that to.anyone..... :lol: )


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful day for a commute and delivery. Picked up a few hours for a buddy and rolled in 31 miles for the day. 55°F and mostly sunny. Forgot to post this from yesterdays delivery run.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> Celebratory Gore-Tex ride in the rain this afternoon
> 
> View attachment 1056216


Lookin' good - and dry!



BrianMc said:


> You know the ride home is gonna be tough when you set a record top speed on the first decent grade outbound. I tried to beat up into the wind before the butt-head in the tradesman's van passed me on the blind hill and cut back in about 30 feet from the stop sign. I was tempted to throw my water bottle at the back of the van.
> 
> Nice to bask in the glow of all that Gore-Tex haul, CB!
> 
> ...


Glad you are getting out! I like the T, funny and true!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Dang, bummer. Be safe Bedwards.
> 
> Celebratory Gore-Tex ride in the rain this afternoon


No Worries, I shan't be riding across the ice any more this year. Exhibit A:







Fastest ice-out ever. I crossed it Tuesday morning. Temps well below freezing. Didn't trust it by Tuesday afternoon and by Sunday the ice was gone.

CB, you be careful too. If I tried that I'd be on my azz.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's crazy.

"Winter storm warning" through this morning, and I was supposed to be facing snowy rain and crazy winds... it was going to be a perfect morning to really test drive the Gore-Tex super suit, but it sorta petered out over night... everything was wet and there was a little grainy snow spitting here and there, but basically just a ripping tailwind for about half of the ride. Still took full advantage of the uncanny magic ability of that stuff to let sweat evaporate while still being totally wind and water proof. Everything I got is the Gore-Tex "active" fabric...which is the latest greatest "high intensity" sweat-friendly stuff. 

Granted, I'm comparing to my $16 pricepoint.com rain jacket here... but my base layer stuff was shockingly dry when I got to work this morning. 

One thing I'm not thrilled about is the liner glove design within the gloves... it felt like the gore-tex liner part of the glove was sliding around a bit in there, taking away from your grip a little. You notice that with the windstopper ones Bedwards? I could see it wearing your hands out on a long ride, because with just a light grip on the bars you slide around a little inside the gloves. 


And I think I finally killed my PB Superflash tail light. 5 bucks at an REI garage sale probably 10 years ago, so it's served me well :lol: but at the end of last week I thought the batteries had died. That became important this morning on the first post-time-change commute. I put new batteries in, and it wouldn't come on. Whacked it on the counter a few times, and I finally got it to come on in solid mode, but it wouldn't go blinky. And it wouldn't shut off. So I threw it on the bike and pulled the batteries back out when I got to work. May be time to replace it finally.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Today was slow with lots of dense fog. It also didn't help that we set our clocks back. You can't ride very fast when you can only see 10 feet in front of yourself.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

p08757 said:


> Today was slow with lots of dense fog. It also didn't help that we set our clocks back. You can't ride very fast when you can only see 10 feet in front of yourself.


Same here!

The last 10 miles were brutally slow 
I spent most of the time coasting. I couldn't see anything past the front tire.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

No ride for me today. I'm quite sore from riding this weekend. My wife had a bridal shower in the finger lakes on Sunday and wanted a chauffeur. I had 3 hours to kill once we got there so I brought my road bike and went for a 45 mile ride around the lake. It was quite an adventure.

I had mapped everything out beforehand, but I forgot to check the elevation profile. I made the poor assumption that a straight road on the map was probably not going to be too steep. "The crazy climbing sections would probably have some switchbacks", I thought to myself...around mile 13 the road tilted upward...and upward...and upward. 3.8 mile climb of 1,200 ft with grades up to *37%* and it turned to gravel halfway up. I made it most of the way but I am not ashamed to admit there was some hike a bike. That is approximately 10 commutes worth of climbing for me. I'm a flatlander. The decent down the otherside was 1,000 ft in 1.7 miles, average grade of -12% with a stretch at -28%, all gravel on my 25mm road tires with rim brakes. There was much clenching.

I spent the rest of the ride hoping there were no more surprises around the next bend. Several large climbs and descents but they were all paved and civilized. While I cursed it at the time, now I want to go back with my disc cross bike and try it without walking.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> One thing I'm not thrilled about is the liner glove design within the gloves... it felt like the gore-tex liner part of the glove was sliding around a bit in there, taking away from your grip a little. You notice that with the windstopper ones Bedwards? I could see it wearing your hands out on a long ride, because with just a light grip on the bars you slide around a little inside the gloves.
> 
> And I think I finally killed my PB Superflash tail light. 5 bucks at an REI garage sale probably 10 years ago, so it's served me well :lol: but at the end of last week I thought the batteries had died. That became important this morning on the first post-time-change commute. I put new batteries in, and it wouldn't come on. Whacked it on the counter a few times, and I finally got it to come on in solid mode, but it wouldn't go blinky. And it wouldn't shut off. So I threw it on the bike and pulled the batteries back out when I got to work. May be time to replace it finally.


I've got no complaints with the liner. My biggest gripe with some glove liners is when they turn inside out when you pull a sweaty hand out and it takes 10 minutes to get the fingers back in place. I went out on a limb and wore them at 27 degrees today. Not too bad. The windstopper ones have no waterproof qualities at all.

Good report on the GoreTex. So far I haven't found anything that is truly waterproof and lets sweat escape.

I had a NiteRider tail light that had the same problem. I took it apart and replaced the switch. (The perks of working in electronics)



Kleebs said:


> 3.8 mile climb of 1,200 ft with grades up to *37%* and it turned to gravel halfway up. I made it most of the way but I am not ashamed to admit there was some hike a bike. That is approximately 10 commutes worth of climbing for me. I'm a flatlander. The decent down the otherside was 1,000 ft in 1.7 miles, average grade of -12% with a stretch at -28%, all gravel on my 25mm road tires with rim brakes. There was much clenching.


That is crazy steep. We've got a climb around here that is 1200 feet in 2.2 miles and the max grade on that is in the 25% range. I've got the honorable position of 60th.
https://www.strava.com/segments/663973


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That is steep enough that I thought it was a typo. Holy moly.



bedwards1000 said:


> I've got no complaints with the liner. My biggest gripe with some glove liners is when they turn inside out when you pull a sweaty hand out and it takes 10 minutes to get the fingers back in place. I went out on a limb and wore them at 27 degrees today. Not too bad. The windstopper ones have no waterproof qualities at all.
> 
> Good report on the GoreTex. So far I haven't found anything that is truly waterproof and lets sweat escape.


Having a tailwind, I pushed the long 6.5 mile Strava segment portion of my commute pretty hard (my 2nd best, dang so close)... so I was working up some heat in there. My guts were burning (you know the feeling). I would really be a mess in my other gear after an effort like that. I had another 7 miles or so to "cruise" into work with a pretty heavy headwind, so I was trying to cool down but couldn't really. On arrival I had the big sweat spot under the backpack on my base layer, but everything that wasn't covered by backpack was (honestly) totally dry. It was about 35 degrees and I had a wicking t-shirt and arm warmers on under the jacket. You get what you pay for I guess (unless you get it for free).

I learned some stuff about gore-tex during my shopping on their website... there are basically 3 different levels of the stuff now, based on how well it evaporates...they're all waterproof/windproof, but the "active" stuff allows more evaporation. I had my doubts, but it's legit. I can see wearing this stuff in a waaaaaay bigger range of temps than anything else I've had.

The gloves I don't think would bug me on a mountain bike bar, but I was feeling the inner glove slippage on the hoods of my road bar. I've had snowboard gloves that do the inside-out thing when you pull them off...nothing worse than that horrible experience of putting them back in... these do NOT do that. They are attached somehow in there at the fingertips, but you can just feel the play between the relatively slippery gore-tex layer as it slides around on the outer shell part. I mean I'm not gonna send them back or anything :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

TenSpeed said:


> . Forgot to post this from yesterdays delivery run.


That thing would seriously match my Gore-Tex stuff TenSpeed. Just sayin'. Looking good.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

todays commute: FAST. And i wasn't even trying. All that snow must have made me stronger.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ That is steep enough that I thought it was a typo. Holy moly.


I couldn't believe it when I turned the corner and saw that staring me in the face. To prove it: https://www.strava.com/activities/516318235


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ top 10. You owned that thing. :lol: 

Nevermind how long the leaderboard is, that's not important right now.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Shhhhhhhh :thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Damn, Kleebs! I`ve ridden what I believe to be 20%, and it`s WAY steeper than it sounds. 37 is noteworthy on a world wide scale:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Avenue
https://www.google.com/search?q=bal...HGMKHYQxDFkQ_AUICCgC&biw=1164&bih=817#imgrc=_



CommuterBoy said:


> I learned some stuff about gore-tex during my shopping on their website... there are basically 3 different levels of the stuff now, based on how well it evaporates...they're all waterproof/windproof, but the "active" stuff allows more evaporation. I had my doubts, but it's legit. I can see wearing this stuff in a waaaaaay bigger range of temps than anything else I've had.


They`re making good on their $800 investment :thumbsup:
Hey, when do you go on break? My wife takes off Wed, leaving me a bachelor for three weekends in a row. Ready to dust off my tent!!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm not off till the week after Easter. I think I'm headed south though... I'm itching for some high country rides this summer to see what comes of all this moisture! Multi-day trips around here would all have to be east at this point... Smoke Creek/Black Rock.. I wouldn't be surprised if it's even muddy out there though.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

p08757 said:


> Today was slow with lots of dense fog. It also didn't help that we set our clocks back. You can't ride very fast when you can only see 10 feet in front of yourself.


I hate daylight saving time, but it was fun riding in the sorta dark to work this morning for a change!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> I hate daylight saving time, but it was fun riding in the sorta dark to work this morning for a change!


I was glad to have light on the way home, actually!

Stupid was out in full force today. Had some lady almost hit me because she ran a stop. A block away, I signaled a left turn and the person oncoming just stopped. I stood there waving them on and yelling "what are you doing? you have right of way" until they went.

I'm definitely thinking about skipping out on voting in this primary so I can look for wildflowers tomorrow morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rough. Only 17 miles total today, and every muscle in my legs feels it. First day back from spring break for the students. Deliveries were unbelievable. Decided to ride home and get the car to drive to the second job. Was not feeling it at all. Saddle has to come off and my trusty Specialized Phenom has to go on. 

You know those days where it is ever so slightly misting, just enough to get on your glasses, and it is humid, and the temps are in the upper 40's/low 50's.....and you are warm, but you are cold, and everything seems wet even though it isn't? That was today. It flat out sucked.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm not off till the week after Easter. I think I'm headed south though... I'm itching for some high country rides this summer to see what comes of all this moisture! Multi-day trips around here would all have to be east at this point... Smoke Creek/Black Rock.. I wouldn't be surprised if it's even muddy out there though.


I`ll be through Smoke Creek to Black Rock this weekend! Definitely muddy on the playas, no way I`d get on them after the weather we`ve had in the past few weeks. That`s okay though- the playa is fun for a couple hours, then you`ve seen it. The best stuff is further north. Have you ever been out that way?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Awesomeness as usual from all you guys. Kleebs, that grade!!

Mentioned in passing back a few days that I was in the market for some new shoes. My Lake ones are due for retirement but have served me well in all weathers since 1999 but the strap is tearing.














Well, a shed cleanout resulted in me finding some Scott ones. I bought them (and pedals) second hand from an ex-colleague who used them once and hated them.

I thought I'd thrown them out as the sole had detached from the body after almost no use but when I found them again I remembered i'd tried some "no more Nails" type stuff on them. Didn't seem to take so they got left. Some time (years?) later they now appear stuck. Used them this morning. Really comfy. The new cleats make me realise just how worn the old ones were.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Welp, its official; Spring has sprung in my neck of the woods!

Its time to get out the old faithful drop bar mtb commuter thingy and give it a once over before I start my season.

Oh, and also time to get my finger out and finish my new #1 bike... Yes, it has skinny tyres...















I can also detach the home made helmet light thingy - I'll get my light direct from the Sun now, baby!





















Keep on rolling!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good to see you back Ghost! Good looking rides, I like your digs too!


Edit: not sure how multicultural 'digs' is but I mean home, lodgings, living quarters.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Having a tailwind, I pushed the long 6.5 mile Strava segment portion of my commute pretty hard (my 2nd best, dang so close)... so I was working up some heat in there. My guts were burning (you know the feeling). I would really be a mess in my other gear after an effort like that. I had another 7 miles or so to "cruise" into work with a pretty heavy headwind, so I was trying to cool down but couldn't really. On arrival I had the big sweat spot under the backpack on my base layer, but everything that wasn't covered by backpack was (honestly) totally dry.


Oh, so you don't end up with a silhouette of an eagle on your clothes after your ride? Too Bad. (Showers Pass Club Pro Jacket - very waterproof, not very breathable. 








Slipspace. If that doesn't' hold try Shoe Goo.

Cold drizzle on the way in on the heavy bike. It was awesome. Maybe not awesome but it got me to work.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah, no more of that for me ^^. This stuff is seriously impressive. 

And mid 20's this morning for the gloves. The digits were toasty, so that's a good sign. May not get a chance to push them lower than that until next winter...

Rodar, I've been all over the Warner Mountains, but not really anywhere between there and Gerlach. Cool country up there.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. Trails are about 70% clear now. The rest are mixed ice and snow. This afternoon will be a sopping mess if it warms up as expected, but soon I should be able to ditch the studs. Though we did just get a squall of snow blow through and they are predicting 2 to 4 inches on Thursday, but I'll believe it when I see it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

My adrenals did not come out of the operation too well. So when I pushed two grades because of traffic I got an adrenalin shot instead of some cortisol to cope. Well, it is the default. I will have to up the HC dose. Had to take a break. It was and is 73 F and sunny with 20 mph winds gusting in time and places to 30+. Nice day for it.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I ordered myself a little something since I sold my car a little while back, it finally came in today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ooooh...
is it a Bullit? Far out!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> I ordered myself a little something since I sold my car a little while back, it finally came in today.
> 
> View attachment 1057070


How is the handling on something like that? I imagine it might be somewhat wonky?


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Nice bike formula4speed! Those are not cheap, either. Excellent commitment to the commuter spirit, that is.

Backpack? nah.
Panniers? nah.
Cargo rack? nah.
Flat Bed - oh yes!

Is it pedal assist or all natural?

@SlipSpace - thanks man! I dig the digs thing - I'm as British as I imagine you to be (i.e. I think you're British and I am too - albeit a discrete celtic subset; aka "Scottish").

My first foray into bike building and my first foray into road bikes which by happy coincidence is my first foray into Campagnolo stuff... 

I don't like making things easy for myself...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good that you're back on the bike Brian. 

Formula4 - Interesting looking machine! I've seen similar around here with a couple of kids in front. They're big ol units.

Nice ride this morning, not much to report other than I thinks it's about time to replace the freewheel. Probably drop a tooth too, go from 18 to 17.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm still commuting regularly, just not checking in here as much. I switched jobs for the company I've worked for a long time and like it a lot better (but have less down time to do stuff like mtbr). My commute to the new building we're in is that no matter which way I go, I seem to have a headwind at least somewhere along the way. One stretch on the way home can be brutal when the wind is ripping, even though it is slightly downhill. There are a few jerks on the roads, but mostly my commutes are non-confrontational. Not bad.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today is shaping up to be difficult. Flat on my TriCross so I am going fixed gear. Line of storms went through here last night and the wind is forecasted to pick up. When I say pick up, they are saying gusts up to 50mph. I only work one job today, and it is on the bike, so wish me luck. I should fix the flat but don't really feel like dealing with it right now. Will get a spare tube or two from the shop today and do it later. Hoping that the heavy winds dry the roads up a bit.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost_HTX said:


> @SlipSpace - thanks man! I dig the digs thing - I'm as British as I imagine you to be (i.e. I think you're British and I am too - albeit a discrete celtic subset; aka "Scottish").


oop, never got that, sorry, but yes, I'm a Brit too, I reside in the relative flatlands of Norfolk, just outside Norwich.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Hey all, it is indeed a Bullitt and yes they are a little spendy, but it was less than I sold my car for so it's a net positive in my book.

It has a short learning curve for the handling, took me a couple minutes to get comfortable, but after maybe a mile or so of riding it felt completely normal.

No pedal assist on mine, it is available on them but it's relatively flat here so I didn't go that route. The drivetrain is a belt drive with an alfine 8 IGH.

Last night I put my fiance and my 70 lb pitbull up front and cruised the neighborhood, a lot of fun and lots of curious neighbors. I've never seen another bakfiet around here, we'll see how many people I can convert.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Gonna need pics of the pitty riding shotgun (fiance optional).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, man! Broke my front fender this morning. I picked a more or less thin spot through a tangle of sticks in the road (pruning that fell out of somebody`s truck?), but not quite thin enough. One flipped up and caught, snapped the fender right between my fork legs.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Good stuff happening around here! (except you Rodar, bummer)

That Cargo machine is cool. I would imagine it gets the looks...especially with the lady and the dog up front :lol:

Ghost, I'm digging that orange drop bar machine (and yes, the house too).

26 degrees this morning and a hint of tingly fingers in the gore-tex gloves... totally tolerable but I'd guess by 24 I'd be wanting the level 3 gloves.

Yesterday's ride home was memorable... 
Went the long way, and at a point fairly early along the rural 2-lane headed home, I heard the mighty rumble of a big county road grader overtaking me... I was rolling at about 15 into a slight headwind, and it turns out the grader tops out at about 27... It's a long vehicle, so I had a second or two as it passed to consider trying to draft it... glance behind, nobody back there... so I went full Cavendish and launched the attack...brutally hard to get on the draft as that thing motored ahead, but finally I felt the pull.. the next 4 miles or so were glorious :lol: 
I had the whole lane to work with as cars would come up behind and pass us both. A couple of tough uphill pulls and one Strava KOM later, I see a friend pulled off of the road just before my turn home (about 100 feet before the end of another Strava segment that I'm sure I would have KOM'd too...but I stopped to talk :lol 
Turns out he was one of the cars that passed me and he was cracking up...snapped a few pics and gave me major kudos.

**for the Strava nazis, I already was the KOM on the segment I KOM'd... beat myself by something like 4 seconds. The other effort was a big tailwind. The local guys are allowing it :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> **for the Strava nazis, I already was the KOM on the segment I KOM'd... beat myself by something like 4 seconds. The other effort was a big tailwind. The local guys are allowing it :lol:
> View attachment 1057179


I'll admit I've beat myself before with a logging truck. (Did that sound right?)

I'll admit that drafting a house is the best but quick to max out cross bike gearing.

Rodar, at least you didn't go OTB like Bike Snob.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Rodar, at least you didn't go OTB like Bike Snob.


I was surprised when I read that. My last set of fenders had those dumb break-away things, and I broke them apart and took them off because I couldn't handle the tiny rattle they produced. There's a normal mount under all that plastic. For as much as I ride the Ogre on trails, I should be a victim of this... I've bent a fender by getting a stick in there, but never even worried about it actually stopping the bike. I would assume it would just break like Rodar's rather than actually cause me to get ejected.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Winds steady at about 15mph currently gusting to 36mph, with the forecast now saying gusts tonight anywhere from the upper 40 to 60mph range. The ride in to deliver was actually nice. Rain stopped this morning and the sun started to peek out from the clouds in spots. Roads were drying up nicely from the wind. Went to the LBS to BS with my buddy before starting work. They asked me to come in 30 minutes early since Monday was an old fashioned beat down. I get there, and the computer system is down. Doors to the store are wide open, and there are fans going. WTF? Apparently it hit 83°F in there overnight and they were trying to cool it off. Computers remained down for a good portion of the shift. Took my first delivery and it started to sprinkle a bit, not too much, but quickly turned to rain. I didn't get drenched. Sun came back out and really started drying stuff out nicely.

I leave for another delivery, get halfway there, and the skies opened up on me. By the time I get to the building, I am drenched. Shoes, socks, gloves, face, helmet, but not the Pearl Izumi windbreaker I had on. Man that thing worked nicely!!! Stayed cool enough but dry and very comfortable. We got one more break of sun, and then it rained again. I see what you did there Mother Nature, trying to fool us. I didn't buy it the last time. Temps remained in the low 50's and I started to get cold since my feet and hands were wet.

All in all, a good delivery day. Pulled in $46 in tips in 2.5 hours. Really cannot complain about that, even with the rain and wind. Earned a #9 for today no doubt about it. The ride home was dry and partly sunny which had me suspicious. Wind picked up and nearly took me down a few times. I make a u turn to get into my complex and start heading west again, and boom! wind just hits me square. Dropped from doing about 14mph to struggling to maintain 8mph. 

Picked up an extra shift tomorrow for St. Patty's Day. Apparently we get extremely busy. They posted all kinds of extra shifts to handle the deliveries. Delivering sandwiches to drunk students before noon. How does that saying go? Good times.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Finally on the bike again. Was sent to the other plant again yesterday, so commuted on an A319 again monday and yesterday evening. Everytime they send me there I think how nice it would be to have a neat folding bike over there. But those 2-3 times a year is not worth it to me.

This morning I commuted with my oldest son to kindergarten and even made a detour that extended the ride to 2km/1.3m. After that I rode to work with.another minor detour, just to enjoy riding and the sun. Counted 6 roe deers.along the way. On the way home it was still sunny and almost 10C, simply a lovely day. And tomorrow seems to be even better 

Rodar: I once went otb due to a broken fender too. So I would really love to have those safety connectors....glad to see that you are ok.

Ghost htx: I like your digs AND your rigs ;-) what bar do you have on the ghost? Looks like you have flatbar brake levers on the dropbar?? A diy project?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Gonna need pics of the pitty riding shotgun (fiance optional).


+1!

BMX out of the basement for the first time this "spring" - mostly because I spaced and left the cx at work by mistake (drove home), and didn't want to ride studded tires on a warm day. Nice ride in, spaced again on the way home and worked late - just until it started to rain. Still enjoyable, but dirty fenderless ride on the BMX cruiser.

This a.m. a tractor trailer filled with cheese cut me off at the roundabout; I had the ROW but slowed for him so I wouldn't be shredded cheese.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wonderful weather. Windy though. 

I don't know why but I've developed some kind of knee pain again so I'm trying to focus on being very precise with my pedal strokes. Maybe I'll start stretching again, but there could be another issue because I feel weak overall. 

Maybe I have a virus?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Foggy this morning, really foggy. Way too many cars without lights on.

Kind of the end of an era too, my workplace changes location over the weekend so my last ride to this place (Need the car tomorrow to move all my personal gear). Not all with the same company but been working on this estate for 16 years now! 

Next week will see me heading mostly sou'south east rather than north east on my rides to work, and a bit further. 10 miles out of the city rather than 6-7 around the city. All country roads rather than lit suburb roads too. Rather looking forward to the commutes tbh.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

View attachment 1057179

^^And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street!!!

Tractor full of cheese???

Hope you like the new route, SlipSpace. Rural is way more pleasant than traffic.

I guess I should be thankful for those plastic safety things since I fared much better than BikeSnob or the Dutchman. Might even be able to splint and rivet the damage back together, just removed the remnant for the time being.



NDD said:


> I don't know why but I've developed some kind of knee pain again so I'm trying to focus on being very precise with my pedal strokes.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Craptastic ride in today. So, we finally got some winter yesterday - maybe 4 inches of snow, but overnight it melted and compacted down to about a quarter inch of hard crusty. Which is cool and all. However, while it was snowing I decided to go for a run on my hilly course in the woods. Felt okay, but noticed some lung heaviness. This morning, legs were dead, lungs chunky, and overall feeling of poo. Given the road report I could have easily justified going back to bed and working from home again, but... for some reason I decided I better head into the office. Could be the stash of chocolate in my desk drawer. Don't know. What I do know is that the ride was just painful and completely not fun. And I'm sure this afternoon's ride will be wet and miserable. Could be worse, I suppose.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Could be worse, I suppose.


Yeah, you could be out of chocolate.

How do you know it was full of cheese? Was it like a pulp truck filled with shredded cheese? Oh, Vermont. I'll bet it said CABOT in big red letters.

Not much to report. The DOT "Repaired" a bunch of potholes along my route. I'm fairly certain that there is more loose chick pea sized tar balls on the side of the road than in the holes.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Rodar I've got a couple dead fenders laying around you could cut up for a splint if you do happen to come this way in the next couple weeks.

Absolutely glorious ride and weather this morning. Check out this weather graph. Red is the temperature and green is the dew point. My ride started at 30 degrees and ended at 42 degrees. It just kept getting better. So tempting to just ride past work as the temp soars to mid 60's for the first time today. And another mention for total comfort and no condensation forming in the Gore-Tex jacket. I take it off and feel the dry inside and I'm like... "what sorcery is this?!"


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Unexpected frosty start this morning: -3C/20F made for a refreshing start of the day. However it was a nice ride with the sun just rising above the horizon. Ride home was beautiful, 11C/50F and a nice tailwind. 

Wife and kids are commuting to Kindergarten etc as well, since our car broke down 2 days ago. Will not hurry with the repair...


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

First commute about to happen for me. Chose to pick my way home. Instead of risking tardiness trying to find the best way to work. 


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

WOW!! piece of cake. gonna ride to work tomorrow. it should be mostly a downhill.. it was just 9 miles. and that was with me getting lost once.

need to get my front rack installed so i dont crash when my lunch box flops around. sadly, i put all my tools in storage. hopefully pick some essential tools up this weekend.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Boomchakabowwow said:


> WOW!! piece of cake. gonna ride to work tomorrow. it should be mostly a downhill.. it was just 9 miles. and that was with me getting lost once.


Sounds alot like my commute (except for the getting lost part lol), congrats!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well done boomchakawowwow!

NDD: did you change bike or cranks? I had the same issue a while ago and it turned out that my new cranks were too long. Switched back to 170mm and it is almost.gone now. I would describe it mostly as "pain behind the kneecaps".

In generaI I would advise to be careful. New knees can be bought nowadays but it is still very expensive. And nothing here can replace a doctor's visit.

Good luck!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was alright. Very windy still even though they said it should die down before sunrise. Delivery was busy but we had about 12 drivers or so. Tips were not that great, too many drunk kids I guess. Rode to the second job and almost got blown off the bike 3 times as it is slightly northwest of the campus. Temps only in the 40's tomorrow, and the low tomorrow night is in the 20's!! Tights might make a come back for the ride home tomorrow night. Picked up a third shift in a row delivering on Friday since they fired 4 people today for not showing up.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Well done boomchakawowwow!
> 
> NDD: did you change bike or cranks? I had the same issue a while ago and it turned out that my new cranks were too long. Switched back to 170mm and it is almost.gone now. I would describe it mostly as "pain behind the kneecaps".
> 
> ...


I'd been riding the mtb mostly for my commute. I'm going to try adjusting my saddle height and position. Took the single speed yesterday. No issues really, and I went on a shop ride on the way home - felt especially good to ride without the saddlebags. Set a personal record up a hill even. I'd day when it's there, the pain is more so at the top of my kneecap.

A note about the shop ride. I can't do those anymore. The way people ride goes directly against my commuter sensibilities. I think they ran every stop sign. I was just irritated the whole time and it wasn't very fun.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, Boomchacabowwow!



TenSpeed said:


> Picked up a third shift in a row delivering on Friday since they fired 4 people today for not showing up.


Four people missing on the same day? Wow! just coincidence, or was it some kind of strike?

CB, thank you for the generous offer, but I would hate to miss this wonderful opportunity to rid myself of some of broken fender bits I`ve been hoarding in my own shed!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

rodar y rodar said:


> Way to go, Boomchacabowwow!
> 
> Four people missing on the same day? Wow! just coincidence, or was it some kind of strike?
> 
> CB, thank you for the generous offer, but I would hate to miss this wonderful opportunity to rid myself of some of broken fender bits I`ve been hoarding in my own shed!


I guess getting drunk on St. Patty's Day was more important. Oh well, more money in my pocket. I work mostly with college kids, some of them are mature, some are very immature. Makes me feel really old some days.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice one Boom!

Rodar, CB. I obviously don't do enough miles, I have no broken fender bits... yet.

TS, sounds like the weather is still giving you a beating. Way to show the kids how to do it though.

Ride home was pretty uneventful other than being my last on that route. There's a section of MUP that got scattered with road chippings soon after they resurfaced it in early january. Riding it has been ok but I've seen a lot of people with punctures on or near that section. Been emailing the highways dept about getting it swept since late jan. They finally did it yesterday.. :madmax:


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

While it's probably not the best for safety, I love foggy mornings. Wish I left a little earlier to snap more photos, everything just looks cool in the fog.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Way to go, Boomchacabowwow!
> 
> Four people missing on the same day? Wow! just coincidence, or was it some kind of strike?
> 
> CB, thank you for the generous offer, but I would hate to miss this wonderful opportunity to rid myself of some of broken fender bits I`ve been hoarding in my own shed!





TenSpeed said:


> I guess getting drunk on St. Patty's Day was more important. Oh well, more money in my pocket. I work mostly with college kids, some of them are mature, some are very immature. Makes me feel really old some days.


Stop trying to minimize their collective bargaining rights TenSpeed.

Realistically they could deliver with a hangover and they'd probably get over it quicker by sweating it out. Or are these not the delivery cyclists?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Huge difference to yesterday. 5C/42F, headwind, cloudy and typical Hamburg rain this morning: You dont see or feel it, but you suddenly realise after 15min. that you are already halfway soaked. The ride home was better, same wind but pushing and at least it was dry. Counted only 4 roe deers this morning. For that I also spotted 3 on the way home, which is rare.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Have to take pictures while it's still cleanish.



__
https://flic.kr/p/Fg3Laj


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was 4 people who decided not to show up for work. They chose to participate in other activities and not work when they were scheduled. JJ's has a very strict policy about that. Oh well.

I am exhausted. 4 days at the hospital, 4 days delivering on bike. Haven't driven the car hardly at all this week, just to the store for my weekly groceries. My deliveries are usually short, but I ride hard and fast to get there quick. At the end of the day, I am tired, and my legs hurt like hell right now. Saturdays forecast is for me sitting my ass on the couch and watching college basketball for most of the day and dozing off with my dog. Oh, and a pizza and maybe some Oreo's.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

newfangled said:


> Have to take pictures while it's still cleanish.


is that pic straigth from the cam?? If yes I think it has very nice saturation and color balance. looks like a bit high on noise, but still very nice. Is it a stitched panorama??


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ stitched panaroma run through snapseed on android, which does a really good job with hdr/shadow/highlight stuff. But on the phone I can never tell if I'm overdoing things or not, and occasionally go too far. It was probably over-sharpening, more than anything else.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed, dawg, I'm horsin'.

I got a pair of non breathable rain pants recently. Came in handy today. Three times cheaper than breathable but I can already tell they won't come in handy when it gets warm. 40 and cold drizzle on the commute home and I was cozy. 

Newf, that's a good pic regardless, though it has the feel of one of those days that's so dang bright you're squinting the entire ride.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

newfangled said:


> ^ stitched panaroma run through snapseed on android, which does a really good job with hdr/shadow/highlight stuff. But on the phone I can never tell if I'm overdoing things or not, and occasionally go too far. It was probably over-sharpening, more than anything else.


Now when you say it i can see the hdr in there! Its not overcooked though. I think I can at least.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I finally managed to get in my first ride of the year today! According to my Strava (which is more reliable than my memory these days) I've been off the bike for 15 weeks! 

Status report goes something like;

Legs - knackered
Lungs - on fire
Vision - blurry
Breath - ragged
Heart rate - rhumba
Bike - position not quite right (bars need some small adjustment)

All that and I could NOT be in better spirits! Seriously - it's like I'm a heroin addict that just got his first hit for three months!

It was nice and non confrontational too - apart from one other cyclist who just obliviously cycled right out in from of me and didn't even let on when I called him a "jævlig idiot"...

The best news is that the new commute only took 36 minutes to cover 15,8km - so I can probably bike to work more than I had planned!!!

Good times, folks!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I think I'm going to have to skip my commute today and carpool with someone. I sprained my neck and shoulder over the weekend but don't know how. Didn't do anything strenuous. 

I don't know how I'd be affected on the bike. Don't really want to find out on a Monday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Good stuff Ghost. 

Sweet pic Newf! 


Windy this morning! Averaged 22mph for the first 8 miles, then made that dreaded left turn and rolled at about 13 for the final 6 miles, working harder than I was for the first part. 

Jumped in on the first real group mtb ride of the year on Saturday with the local guys... I'm reminded why I commute at the start of the season :lol: I'm peaking right now, and some of the guys are just coming out of hibernation. I enjoy being one of the front runners until mid summer, when I spend more time at the lake than on the bike, and I become one of the slow guys... circle of life :lol:


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Actual snow this morning, and I think only my second or third snowy ride of the winter. We're supposed to get two inches, which would make it the second biggest snowfall of the year.

The trails are garbage, and have been garbage since the first week of february. I'm used to taking march off, but this year is annoying, and a bit of snow could honestly only improve things. All my studs are off though, which kindof sucks.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Ok... 15 weeks off the bike has effed with my general fitness something awful...
The aching legs and burning lungs I can handle - that passes after a bit but it seems like my position on the bike was off somewhat. After a total of 30km my back is just flat out sore! My sides too. I had to stop on the way home to adjust my bars - I literally couldnt handle the discomfort any longer.

Growing older suck a big fat one.

Screw you, time!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

So after riding my cargo bike all last week, I got on my regular commuter this morning and had to re-learn how to steer a regular bike. For the first block I probably looked like I needed training wheels.

It was bizarre. I'm hoping I'll get better and transitioning from one to the other.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Growing older suck a big fat one.
> 
> Screw you, time!


How old are we talking here?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

formula4speed said:


> So after riding my cargo bike all last week, I got on my regular commuter this morning and had to re-learn how to steer a regular bike. For the first block I probably looked like I needed training wheels.
> 
> It was bizarre. I'm hoping I'll get better and transitioning from one to the other.


:lol:

I remember after lugging a super loaded Bob trailer around for a week, when I finally took it off and took off like a rocket ship... it was terrifying. I was so unbelievably fast and had absolutely no say over where the bike was going... like when the little Ewok dude gets on the speederbike in Return of the Jedi :lol:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Welcome back Ghost, you'll be back in riding shape in no time  BTW so far as I've seen we're the only ones on this site that ride Ghosts! I did see one on the trail the other day and stopped and chatted for a while haha. :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice day to commute and deliver. Windy as usual. Decent temps in the low 40's with sun. Actually passed what looked to be like a legit commuter on a bike. Had a pannier and he was in regular clothes. I don't see this often.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Spent the weekend camping in the desert. Wind came up yesterday afternoon is is just roaring today. Snow flurries here, and chains required on some of the regional mountain passes. Internal combustion commute tonight.



NDD said:


> I think I'm going to have to skip my commute today and carpool with someone. I sprained my neck and shoulder over the weekend but don't know how.


Aw, jeez! Your luck just ain`t in these days 



EugeneTheJeep said:


> BTW so far as I've seen we're the only ones on this site that ride Ghosts! I did see one on the trail the other day and stopped and chatted for a while haha. :thumbsup:


Really? I didn`t think they were available in the US.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sounds chilly to have been camping Rodar.

First proper commute to the new place today. Bright and sunny with a hint of frost and a persistent headwind. New KMC chain and Shimano 17tooth freewheel fitted over the weekend. Would have been perfect had the sole of my shoe not parted ways with the top. Didn't yet order the shoegloo that was recommended so I'll have to see what I can find today.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> I remember after lugging a super loaded Bob trailer around for a week, when I finally took it off and took off like a rocket ship... it was terrifying. I was so unbelievably fast and had absolutely no say over where the bike was going... like when the little Ewok dude gets on the speederbike in Return of the Jedi


I experienced the exact same feeling on a Monday morning commute after spending the weekend lugging around the little one in the trailer. I felt like I suddenly had an extra 250W in my legs. Funny thing - I was like a rocket on the straights but on the turns I was so used to taking it easy and running wide to avoid clipping the trailer... An odd sensation to say the least.



bedwards1000 said:


> How old are we talking here?


I'm a little embarrassed to say; I'm an '81 model - so 34 (not exactly old - but not a spry 20 year old any more). To be honest its probably more the mileage than the age. Plus I've never experienced back issues due to positioning before... I don't know... I've always had a strong flexible back, at least when cycling comes into it...



EugeneTheJeep said:


> Welcome back Ghost, you'll be back in riding shape in no time  BTW so far as I've seen we're the only ones on this site that ride Ghosts! I did see one on the trail the other day and stopped and chatted for a while haha. :thumbsup:


I saw one other guy on RBR that has a Nivolet (at least I think it's a Nivolet - the newer Ghost roadie) but other than you and me I think that's it for mtbs. Even here in Norway I only see the odd one here and there - I think in the last five years I've seen 2 road bikes and 4 mtbs (three of which were mine...)



rodar y rodar said:


> Really? I didn`t think they were available in the US.


I thought they were sold in the US and Canada by MEC? Or is that just Canada?

Little update on my (mis)adventures in bike building - I'm up to the point where I only need to finish the internal gear cables, set up my position on the bike, fit the carbon rim specific brake pads and wrap the bars... I started with running the FD cable through the down tube - it went OK until I saw that every time I had initiated a shift from the inner ring to the outer the frame insert (cheap plastic crap) was getting chewed up by the ferrule and both were migrating into the frame... by the time I realized it was too late! Both the crappy plastic insert and the ferrule were beyond the event horizon and exploring the inside of my frame!

Luckily I picked Campagnolo for the group and it has the Ultra Torque cranks - they split in two and are held together with a bolt through the center of the spindle. I removed the NDS crank and the ferrule (after holding the frame upside down and shaking vigorously) fell out...

Crap.

So, I looked at the fitting kit that came with the frame and there are a collection of inserts - I picked a more substantial harder plastic one and set about it. IT worked fine and now front shifts are reasonable - adjustment on the front derailleur should take care of it. The RD cable? Fitting it went fine and the shifts (after some small adjustment) are OK ish......... 
But I have cut the cable outer that runs from the bars (also internal routing:madman to the down tube entry port too short! I can turn the bars *almost* all the way but not quite and it doesn't affect the shifting at the extreme of its movement...

It is, however, imperfect and shall require fixing. Off to the shop for more gear cable outer I go... :nonod: Unless... is it possible to splice together gear cable outer?

I'll tell you something, though - I am learning a hell of a lot about bike maintenance here.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

rodar y rodar said:


> Really? I didn`t think they were available in the US.





Ghost_HTX said:


> I thought they were sold in the US and Canada by MEC? Or is that just Canada?


They are only available here in the states at REI, they started selling them last year. The 2016 are out I was drooling over a fs bike in there last weekend  https://www.rei.com/b/ghost/c/mount...ikes;b&pagesize=90&ir=category:mountain-bikes


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Aw, jeez! Your luck just ain`t in these days


It appears not. Ha! Another couple days and I think I'll be ok. I can actually turn my head today, so that's a step up.



Ghost_HTX said:


> I'll tell you something, though - I am learning a hell of a lot about bike maintenance here.


See you have to look at the positives. There's so much that goes into building a bike that even if I had the money to do it I'd be a bit skeptical about my ability to actually do it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ghost_HTX said:


> I'm a little embarrassed to say; I'm an '81 model - so 34 (not exactly old - but not a spry 20 year old any more). To be honest its probably more the mileage than the age. Plus I've never experienced back issues due to positioning before... I don't know... I've always had a strong flexible back, at least when cycling comes into it....


Well my bike's frame is older than you and in October I will have 30 years on you. It does not get any better!


----------



## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I have to play chicken with the weather for a few days. We got a couple of inches of snow yesterday, with a little bit more today and tomorrow. It's supposed to stay below freezing though, so as long as it stays as snow that's okay. The trick will be on the weekend when it warms up to the 40s, I need all of this stuff to melt off and not turn into iceflows, because I have no intention of putting the studs back on.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, REI carries Ghost? Did not know that. By the way, MEC is strictly a Canadian thing.

Hey, look what I dug up:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/bike-commuter-age-819214.html


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> Sounds chilly to have been camping Rodar.


I hate to blow my bad4ss image, but it was actually pretty nice where we camped. And a bit cloudy, which makes the desert just gorgeous. View from our campsite Mon morning:


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rodar y rodar said:


> Wow, REI carries Ghost? Did not know that. By the way, MEC is strictly a Canadian thing.
> 
> Hey, look what I dug up:
> http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/bike-commuter-age-819214.html


Shipping to the USA

Orders sent to the USA are shipped by Xpresspost. Bikes cannot be shipped to the USA. Orders shipped to the USA are not charged Canadian taxes; however, all orders pass through customs and are subject to import duties, taxes, and custom processing fees. A customs invoice will arrive with your parcel or may follow in the mail. Recipients are responsible for paying these additional fees.

MEC is unable to provide estimates for customs fees. Check with your local customs office for more information.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> I hate to blow my bad4ss image, but it was actually pretty nice where we camped. And a bit cloudy, which makes the desert just gorgeous. View from our campsite Mon morning:
> View attachment 1058646


Bad4ssery maintained Rodar , that is a great pic and looks like a fab place to go. We just don't have that kind of landscape here in the UK. It looks huge! Thanks for sharing.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Where is that Rodar? 

Sorry if you said already. Looks like there's plenty opportunity to botanize.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Had no time to check in last night, due to the long ride  I rode double the distance I normally do, since I rode to an appointment I had after work. Tough rides too, lots of wind and drizzle or rain. Actually I planned to take the subway home but I took the bike because after the tough rides I wanted to enjoy the tailwind.

No change today either. Headwind and rain on the way to work, tailwind on the way home. At least on the way home, it was dry. 

Ghost_HTX: I know how it feels to be back on the bike after such a long leave. I was off in January and February too. And I believe you havent answered my questions 1-2 pages back, or I overlooked it: What bar do you have on your Ghost? It looked like you have a dropbar with MTB levers attached to it? How does that work??


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> To be honest its probably more the mileage than the age.


Nice!



BrianMc said:


> Well my bike's frame is older than you and in October I will have 30 years on you. It does not get any better!


Ha, I almost have a frame older than Ghost.

I'll partially disagree that it does not get any better. I'm a 1967 model and yes, everything is sore and tired more than it was. On the other hand, I could kick my 34 year old version's ass in a bike race on or off road.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I have a frame older than ME!!

Rodar, sweet pic!

I'm guessing that's either the Black Rock or Smoke Creek desert (think Burning Man) in Northern Nevada NDD

Spring Surprise for me this morning. Went studless and regretted it immediately. It was nice and grippy in the powder, but it was just cold enough that the cars compacted it into ice rather than slush. Slow going for most the commute. I was so scared to crash in my Gore-Tex! :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> View attachment 1058672


Hey!! Where is your left foot??


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

So been back on the bike the last several days after about 2.5 weeks off with a rolled ankle. My kids said I was showing off in their soccer practice. Went to back heel the ball and stepped on it. Ball went one way and my ankle the other way. Doctor told me it wasn't broken even though he didn't take an xray. Still not 100% but I'm back to riding and back to playing soccer. . .


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm guessing that's either the Black Rock or Smoke Creek desert (think Burning Man) in Northern Nevada NDD


Yeah I was thinking northern NV or SE Oregon, the sagebrush looks different though maybe rabbit brush?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

vegascruiser said:


> So been back on the bike the last several days after about 2.5 weeks off with a rolled ankle. My kids said I was showing off in their soccer practice. Went to back heel the ball and stepped on it. Ball went one way and my ankle the other way. Doctor told me it wasn't broken even though he didn't take an xray. Still not 100% but I'm back to riding and back to playing soccer. . .


Did you like the wind today? Wow I even had a plastic grocery bag hit me in the face! :eekster:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have a frame older than ME!!
> 
> Rodar, sweet pic!
> 
> I'm guessing that's either the Black Rock or Smoke Creek desert (think Burning Man) in Northern Nevada NDD


I could see that. I'm totally jealous, though. I'm hoping to take a short bikepacking trip through a section of the Missouri Ozarks this year. Maybe a 2-3 day thing.

Funny thing, I had to look up what Burning Man was. I guess that's like some real hip New Age thingy?



CommuterBoy said:


> Spring Surprise for me this morning. Went studless and regretted it immediately. It was nice and grippy in the powder, but it was just cold enough that the cars compacted it into ice rather than slush. Slow going for most the commute. I was so scared to crash in my Gore-Tex! :lol:
> 
> View attachment 1058672


How much did they pay you to post that? :skep:


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## DrewPowell (Mar 22, 2016)

Today I enjoy the spring sun.Although not to the summer, the weather is not hot, but the sun is already drying up.Today is only 18 degrees but still sweating


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

You guys are guessing well! The pic was looking south from right outside Gerlach, sort of a merging point between the Black Rock and the Smoke Creek Deserts. Predominantly rabbit brush and greasewood, a little too alkaline for sage in the valley bottoms.



bedwards1000 said:


> Ha, I almost have a frame older than Ghost.


??? IIRC, you have a frame (Colombia?) older than BrianMc



cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey!! Where is your left foot??


Send back the Goretex!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good ride in this morning. Sun was hiding and that headwind was persisting again but not too cold. Tried a slightly longer route at the work end which added a mile, mile and a half, but saved me ducking and diving through the housing estate. I think that might be my route now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix Rodar and CB! Got lucky on a late ride home 2 nights ago. I had left my bike combo-locked at the shop before it opened, hoping they might be able to ship it to GA for me where I will be for almost 2 weeks of training (work). It turned out to be more $$ I wanted to spend, so it was still there after work. But the shop got worried at closing time about my lights, helmet, etc., that I had left on it...Unable to reach me, they decided to bring those items inside. Thankfully they left me a taillight, and I had another blinkie on my pack that I clipped to the front for visibility. The real lucky part was a lovely full moon so that I could mostly see where I was going riding without headlight (or helmet, not a great combination), and avoided most of the potholes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I think you could be jailed for riding like that in Australia, for your own protection. 

Tired commute into the wind last night, still tired this morning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NDD said:


> How much did they pay you to post that? :skep:


I keep telling them they owe me for raving about this stuff everywhere, but they won't pony up :lol:

Should have expected it after the snow yesterday (which was all gone by mid afternoon...aah spring), but it was unexpectedly cold this morning... 24 when I left the house according to the weather graph that I checked after I got to work... first time not doing arm warmers under the new gore-tex shell... 100% windproof is nice. The fabric gets cold but not miserably cold, and it's comfortable against the skin (never had a rain jacket I could say that about). No condensation build-up on the arms where there was no base layer. And good to go with the gloves still Bedwards... switch has not been flipped yet at 24...

Rodar... nailed it... what do I win? Is the prize gore-tex?

EDIT: just realized I haven't raved about the shoe covers yet (bedwards)! First, they FIT!! I never met a shoe cover that wasn't stretched to the bursting point just to make the velcro meet around my size 12's... I got the biggest size they made...forget the range, but I think it's 12-14 or something like that. They fit without being stretched, they go on and off without feeling like you're going to tear something, and they work... rode home in a super-soaker rain storm on Monday before the snow hit that night, and when I got home I took the shoe covers off and shook the water off of them, looked at the bone dry shoes, and didn't even bother bringing the shoes out of the basement to sit by the fire. Not even damp. That is a luxury I've never known. With all the water pouring down off of the waterproof pants, those things are working overtime... It may be time to stop hauling that spare pair of socks around in my backpack.


----------



## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I've had luck with Endura shoe covers, they are extremely tough to get on. Apparently they just don't get easier over time.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pic rodar! I hope to go camping again soon too.

Regular ride today again - headwind on the way in, tailwind on the way home. At least it was dry today so I could put the softshell jacket on.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> ??? IIRC, you have a frame (Colombia?) older than BrianMc.


Pre-1952 and ridden as a main ride? Someone has a wood rimmed 28" tired bike hanging from the rafters of their garage. Much older than me but not a regular ride.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc said:


> Someone has a wood rimmed 28" tired bike hanging from the rafters of their garage.


That would be Bedwards. I think the other bike he alluded to was his Univega, which isn`t a daily ride either. Although he does roll it from time to time- pretty sure the wooden rimmed bike is mostly a non-functional decoration.



CommuterBoy said:


> Rodar... nailed it... what do I win? Is the prize gore-tex?


How about a 26-20 SWB recumbent? Whovever suggested rabbit brush gets first dibs, though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, the Viva Sport comes out more than occasionally. Great bike. I had thoughts of getting the old one on the road for fun but nobody makes tires for it. So it's just decorative for now.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Overcast today, don't know what temp but it was good, strongest headwind this week. 

Can definitely feel the difference in my new route. Rather than 6 miles of dodging round the burbs that I was doing it's now 3 miles of burb, then a 7 mile section on a single road, and a pretty constant mile through the town to work. Good training for sure on that mid section, but I can feel it!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Sorry Cyclingdutchman, I didnt see the question!

The recipie is as follows;

1. Take a carbon flat bar and trim it to the desired width (480mm in this case)
2. Fit your bar top (regular) shifters to the trimmed flat bar
3. Fit your Origin8 drop bar ends (a really nice but niche product)
4. Fit your regular mtb brake levers to the bar ends
5. Fit your bar end strength plugs (look like small fork steerer expansion plugs, as your bar ends will be done up TIGHT. Otherwide you might splinter the ends of the bar.
6. Use carbon assembly paste (or swarfega) during assembly to ensure nothng moves
7. Adjust everything to the desired position (brake levers are reachable, shifters are usable with the thumb from the drops and you have full movement of the bars left to right) then tighten up. A lot.
8. Double wrap with bar tape (the narrower mtb bars require a double layer of tape in my experience to make them comfy. 

Thats how I did it, anyway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> Hey, look what I dug up:
> http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/bike-commuter-age-819214.html


Oh SNAP, we've all aged almost 4 years since then!:eekster:

I was thinking I was slacking this year but it turns out I'm ahead. It must be those weekend Ironman training rides with RollingRunner. For you data junkies that use Strava, I'll plug Welcome to VeloViewer! again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, the Viva Sport comes out more than occasionally. Great bike. I had thoughts of getting the old one on the road for fun but nobody makes tires for it. So it's just decorative for now.


Nice write up on becoming addicted to cycling and a nice bike here:

The Candid Cyclist: Univega Viva Sport

The Viva Sport was new circa 1987. My Mercian is a 1980 frame, and the Schwinn errand bike a 1984 frame as far as I can tell. I have a 1975 Nishiki (wife's, then son's ride and hope to get wife to ride it again) and a circa 1975 Peugeot.

"No helmet of course, I'm pretty sure bike helmets hadn't even been invented in the early 80s"

BTW I bought a Bell Biker cycling helmet in 1982. The third picture in this site:

Bicycle Helmet History

It came out in the mid 1970's. Pretty dorky looking and so an accident made me buy one.

So it appears no one is riding a pre-1952 bike here regularly and that a 1980 frame is one if not the oldest frame being ridden by members here on a regular basis.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Aaahh just got home from work. Around freezing this morning and 7C/44F on the way home. Calm winds and a detour along the river made for a lovely ride home. Now enjoying a 4day weekend over the Easter holidays.

Happy Easter everyone!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If anyone wants to go pre-1980, the '70 Super Course is about to hit eBay... no love from Craigslist yet...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'll give you 25 bucks for it if you throw in some Gortex shoe covers.



BrianMc said:


> "No helmet of course, I'm pretty sure bike helmets hadn't even been invented in the early 80s"
> 
> BTW I bought a Bell Biker cycling helmet in 1982. The third picture in this site:
> 
> ...


I have a V1-Pro similar to the second to the last picture. I started wearing one when I had a minor fall off a mountain bike an my skull was a few inches from a large hard chunk of granite.

I also have a "vintage" Takara bike that is currently a decoration but I intend to make rideable. No idea what the age of that frame is. It's a 6 speed so it's probably the mid 80s.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I'll give you 25 bucks for it if you throw in some Gortex shoe covers.


:lol:

I'm in no hurry... someone out there needs this bike and will pay a premium, just you wait.

I'm marketing to a select group of individuals, blinded by their own obsession with anything slightly noteworthy from the annals of steel bike lore.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Not the best photo, but since it was nice out we took a break from work, ate some ice cream and then I was giving rides around the parking lot on the front of my Bullitt. This is my fiance and pitbull riding shotgun, which I owed you guys a picture of. This bike is too much fun.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Boom! :lol: 
Fantastic. 

Is that like a steering linkage running under the platform? Trying to wrap my mind around how that works.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Exactly, steering linkage runs under the platform and connects to the front fork, which is basically a steel bmx fork which the attachment point welded on.

The other thing you can see under the platform is the double kickstand, which is crazy stable.

On the ride into work I carried a Costco pack of Vitamin Water and 3 large boxes of protein/granola bars, plus all my usually commuting gear and got clocked by a radar sign going 20mph on a flat road. Can't believe how easy it is to carry stuff on this.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I have a V1-Pro similar to the second to the last picture. I started wearing one when I had a minor fall off a mountain bike an my skull was a few inches from a large hard chunk of granite.


Yes. Mine was coming face to face with a concrete topped utility tunnel vent on a campus bike path after the front brake fell into the front wheel on the Mercian the second day I had it. Too close. Nerdy or not it was helmet time!



bedwards1000 said:


> I also have a "vintage" Takara bike that is currently a decoration but I intend to make rideable. No idea what the age of that frame is. It's a 6 speed so it's probably the mid 80s.


I had the option (more $$) to go 6 speed when I built up the Mercian the first time. Fall of 1981 and top line bikes were 2 x 12. Since I rode flat with a few minor grades, Champaign-Urbana in mostly 48 x 14, more speeds did not seem worth the cost. So that Takara is top of the line could be a 6 speed in the early 80's. My mid line 1984 Schwinn was 2 x 6 speed, so it moved down the range quickly.



CommuterBoy said:


> :lol:
> 
> I'm in no hurry... someone out there needs this bike and will pay a premium, just you wait.
> 
> I'm marketing to a select group of individuals, blinded by their own obsession with anything slightly noteworthy from the annals of steel bike lore.


Well it is too small for me or I'd have saved you your sweat equity.  I need another like I need a third foot, but Super Course Nostalgia would have won if it were bigger.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

formula4speed said:


> View attachment 1059183


Great picture, F4S! it looks like a lot more fun for the pilot than for the poor passengers scrunched in there :lol:
Well, they look happy enough. I guess the trick is to just keep it short.



CommuterBoy said:


> :lol:
> 
> I'm in no hurry... someone out there needs this bike and will pay a premium, just you wait.
> 
> I'm marketing to a select group of individuals, blinded by their own obsession with anything slightly noteworthy from the annals of steel bike lore.


Man, skip the anal lore in Reno and go straight to Sac- the sucker base is at least four times greater, and for some reason your ad doesn`t even pop up under "nearby areas" from a search on the Sac bike section. And add an image or three of the pierced stem for Pete`s sake!

For the benefit of commute junkies everywhere:
https://reno.craigslist.org/bik/5497000140.html
Hope you don`t mind, CB.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Last commute for a couple of weeks as I'm on holiday now. Was a good ride home. Don't often use strava but been using it this week to track routes etc. Turns out I got a kom 10th place on a 7 mile segment that I didn't know was there. Average of 18.2mph not bad for a single speed with two full panniers on I think.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> Last commute for a couple of weeks as I'm on holiday now. Was a good ride home. Don't often use strava but been using it this week to track routes etc. Turns out I got a kom 10th place on a 7 mile segment that I didn't know was there. Average of 18.2mph not bad for a single speed with two full panniers on I think.


Sometimes I think taking the single speed is just like that. You end up way faster than you ought to be. I've had similar commutes in the last few months, and I have to say it's always a relatively good feeling.

I like the straight chain line of single speeds so much that I'm thinking up my next commuter for when I actually have dough again, and it'll have to have an internal gear hub so I can get both that and gears.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> For the benefit of commute junkies everywhere:
> https://reno.craigslist.org/bik/5497000140.html
> Hope you don`t mind, CB.


*$425 are you out of your mind? *Err, I mean, that's more than I expected. I spent a whole $25 on the Takara.

Winter's making a last stand here. We've had an icy mist that coated any untreated surfaces with ice. Studs were an absolute must. I got off the bike at work and almost went down. I looked like a glazed doughnut when I arrived.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SWEET bike!!



formula4speed said:


> Not the best photo, but since it was nice out we took a break from work, ate some ice cream and then I was giving rides around the parking lot on the front of my Bullitt. This is my fiance and pitbull riding shotgun, which I owed you guys a picture of. This bike is too much fun.
> 
> View attachment 1059183


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa bedwards! That must have been a tough ride. Would have loved to see.a complete pic of you and bike like that :thumbsup:



bedwards1000 said:


> *$425 are you out of your mind? *Err, I mean, that's more than I expected. I spent a whole $25 on the Takara.
> 
> Winter's making a last stand here. We've had an icy mist that coated any untreated surfaces with ice. Studs were an absolute must. I got off the bike at work and almost went down. I looked like a glazed doughnut when I arrived.
> View attachment 1059340


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ +1, great illustration of the commute conditions Bedwards!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been off the bike since Wednesday morning due to something that is going around and just knocking people on their butts. Every muscle in my body was screaming, including my gums and fingernails! Haven't worked since Wednesday. Only left my apartment for the first time yesterday to go to the store for more food and OJ, where I proceeded to almost vomit from a coughing attack that I had in the dairy aisle. Decided that I would finally finish something I started and post up a video of my commute from last year (summer).

Shot with a Contour Roam 2 HD - no editing other than removing camera sound and adding background music, finished on iMovie.
Ridden on a 2011 Felt TK2 fixed gear 49:15 gearing, very common for me to hit 20-25 mph easily on my commute.
I did run some stop signs only where I felt it was safe, mostly 3 or 4 way stops only.
I did take a long cut onto campus to show off some of the bike path that they have set up that runs alongside a walking path.
Probably a boring ride for some of you, and the music might not suit your taste, but flip it to HD and take a little look if you would like to.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey would love to see the vid but cant see it, it says its private? Probably a setting to be changed?

And get well soon TS!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Oops. I think I fixed it. Also not that happy with YouTube's compression. Will be looking into Vimeo for sure.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, I've found that you can take a perfectly good looking video from a Contour and turn it into a grainy mess on youtube. What was the music?

Dry (other than sweating under my non-Gortex rain gear) commute in. Should be a soaker on the way home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Holy cow, what a surprise when I poked my head out of the cave today. It`s snowing! We already have a couple inches (hard to tell because it`s drifting a lot) and still falling just fine. Was beautiful Sat and most of yesterday. Good thing I did my playing while it was nice- today will be a good day for texturing the sheet rock repair I started and then put off :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Got on the bike today for the first time in almost a week. Lungs are wrecked from coughing so I took it easy heading out. Had rained so the roads were still damp so that helped keep me slow. It felt good and horrible at the same time. Figured that the deliveries today would be off the chain right after Easter and everyone back to work. It was dead. I did 9 deliveries in 2 hours and made like $14 in tips. Worse than my first day there. I got stiffed once and a few .50 tips. No one could figure out why we were so slow. The rush never came that we always get on a Monday. 

I keep losing air in the rear tire, so did the tube last week thinking I just had a super slow leak. LBS recommended that I swap the rear Gatorskin out as it is nearing the end of life. Pumped it up to 110 before I left today. Had to stop at the LBS to get air since it felt low and it was down to 90. Did that last week as well. Took a look at the tire, and it is finished. I have a bulge in the sidewall, there are a few gashes and the wear indicators are all but gone. Made it home safely after topping it off again. Might swap out the wheelset and run the OEM wheels since I have to undo the rear anyway. Think I got about 8-9k miles on that tire, not too bad.


----------



## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Back on today after a week off. The neck and shoulder feel much better and I haven't felt either extremely hungry or totally out of energy in the last week. I need to reassess my diet, though, because that stopped when I started taking a multivitamin. 

That said, it felt great to be back on two wheels. The weather was perfect so I wore a t-shirt and no gloves. Only downside is that I have to try too hard to avoid all of the families walking on the MUP. It is a multi use path after all...

I've been using Strava again lately, for what it's worth. I get to try to beat my own records, so I'll admit that is fun. I like how they added a "commute" button to tag on to your rides.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Wind sucks! Weather report this morning said up to 70 mph gusts today and I believe they were right, one funnel tunnel on the way home had so much wind coming through it I had to get off the bike and walk! :eekster:


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

I got hailed on!!! And I need fenders. 


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

On the bright side. My wife wants to try to commute to work as well. 


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> *$425 are you out of your mind? *Err, I mean, that's more than I expected. I spent a whole $25 on the Takara.


Target audience man, target audience. I'll get over $350, mark my words :lol: 
I'm a patient man.

Spring break here... Drove to reno today. I bet Rodar had a crazy one... Over a foot of snow in places over night, cars abandoned on the side of the highway, slushy mess to clean up everywhere... El Niño strikes again. Madness.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Wind sucks! Weather report this morning said up to 70 mph gusts today and I believe they were right, one funnel tunnel on the way home had so much wind coming through it I had to get off the bike and walk! :eekster:


That's nuts, I was getting pushed around on my ride home last night by 40 mph winds. Don't think I could stay upright at 70 mph.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Boomchakabowwow said:


> On the bright side. My wife wants to try to commute to work as well.


Mine caught the bug and now we fight on who does the supply run in the car.



CommuterBoy said:


> Target audience man, target audience. I'll get over $350, mark my words :lol:
> I'm a patient man.


If you get your price you will almost have enough to buy the new SRAM 12 speed cassette.almost Just the cassette.:eekster:

Breezy commute. Not 70MPH breezy but 20 with gusts to 35. 70 is just crazy!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Target audience man, target audience. I'll get over $350, mark my words :lol:
> I'm a patient man.


I am guessing that when new, it sold for about $180 (about half of your expectations, but those were 1970 dollars. (Mine was $200 in 1973.)That is about $1100 in today's money. So you may get that from someone with a real hankering for it.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Solid commute this today. A beautiful mid 40s and sunny day and I dressed perfectly and rarely got caught at the stoplights on the way in. Hoping the rest of the week is sunny like this. Cold weather is easier to handle when it's not depressingly gray. 

My wife and I talked about potentially selling one of our cars in the future. While that's not that out of the ordinary, this time she was the one that brought it up. In order to make it work I would be the one committing to riding my bike to work everyday. I could ride my motorcycle (that currently does not work and hasn't run since 1992) on days that are warm enough and I am running late but I would essentially be going car free. Sounds like a nice challenge, but I admit I have a lot of work to do to not be running late everyday. We won't be seriously doing this at least until my wife is done with grad school and knows where she will be working, but it sounds like I should get the motorcycle up and running and get into the groove of riding everyday without exception. Car Lite here I come.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Boomchakabowwow said:


> I got hailed on!!! ......


Me too. Hail on me, I have fenders 

Had to put on the rainpants twice during my 30-minute ride home today. Wanted to keep them on but it got too warm and sweaty after the first shower. Had to put them back on 10min. later....then kept them on when it got dry until I got home.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> If you get your price you will almost have enough to buy the new SRAM 12 speed cassette.


I had to Google it and see whether or not you were serious about that. None of my business, but I have to say the lengths that people are driven to by phobia of front deraillers is really getting crazy.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

formula4speed said:


> That's nuts, I was getting pushed around on my ride home last night by 40 mph winds. Don't think I could stay upright at 70 mph.





bedwards1000 said:


> Breezy commute. Not 70MPH breezy but 20 with gusts to 35. 70 is just crazy!


Still windy today but nowhere near as bad as yesterday. The state park up the road had 78 mph gusts, hurricane grade! Tuesday to be chilly, with possible rain; wind shuts Red Rock visitors center | Las Vegas Review-Journal


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Cooler at 31F but the sun was out and the wind died down for today.

There was another guy on what looked to be an early 90s MTB with a 2 stroke motor on it, so more moped than bike. As I notice him coming up behind me I got the sudden urge to outrun him, I don't know why, I don't really care about getting passed in general. The cargo bike had a light load today, so I hit the shifter twice and put some effort into it. I put some distance between us on the flats, but alas I was overcome on a climb, though not by much. He preceded to ride his moped on the center line of the road for some reason, luckily not much traffic or else that could have ended poorly for him.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

5C/41F this morning and a nice tailwind. Luckily it was dry but ít rained a lot during the night, so the unpaved section was a mess and had to be avoided today. 8C/48F during the ride home, wind was quite calm so I made a nice average speed of 21.15kmh/13.2mph for the round trip. I wonder if lubing my chain last week has something to do with it??


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

First jacketless day at 45F. Think I've finally gotten frankenbike #3 really nicely dialed in.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Looking forward to my ride home. It has warmed up to the mid 60s and I theoretically should have a tailwind for much of the ride.

Damnit. I think I jinxed it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> 8C/48F during the ride home, wind was quite calm so I made a nice average speed of 21.15kmh/13.2mph for the round trip. I wonder if lubing my chain last week has something to do with it??


Nope, here's a study showing that an unlubed chain is just as efficient as a lubed one. It's all you brother.
[email protected]: Johns Hopkins University News Releases

The winds were entertainingly strong last night. In the right direction I was cruising along at 25mph on the flats with minimal effort. In the wrong direction I was hammering in the flats to maintain 10mph in the gusts which were around 35-40.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I'm off the bike and on the push scooter (kickped) for a couple weeks, as I am at training in southern climes, and was able to carry-on the scooter on my flights. Not as fast as a bike, and 1 leg gets tired, but still fun to be on wheels, and it can go into classrooms too. I'm now "the woman on a scooter" to everyone here, as apparently it has not been seen before. My accommodations are nearly a mile from classes, and I know I am the only one not to wait for the shuttle bus since arrival. 70's and sunny felt great today!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I might be in the contest for shortest commute but I live 2 miles from my school and about 3 from work. Easy commutes but some of the hills slow me down a bit. I built my commuter from a junk bike with a good frame. Trek 4300 xl. First bike I've fixed/built but she rides like a dream.










My rides into school are a little sketch as I have my backpack on the rack strapped down and it definitely has a laptop in it.

One question though. For work I need to start changing at work from my ride in because I need to wear casual....but I'm in michigan and it's going to get hot....and muggy. My panniers are big enough to fit a change in there with me but anyone else do this? Just looking for tips or pointers.

Beautiful weather right now. About 34 on the ride in, 60ish on the mid day rides, and I got rained on a little coming home but not soaked.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> I'm off the bike and on the push scooter (kickped) for a couple weeks, as I am at training in southern climes, and was able to carry-on the scooter on my flights. Not as fast as a bike, and 1 leg gets tired, but still fun to be on wheels, and it can go into classrooms too. I'm now "the woman on a scooter" to everyone here, as apparently it has not been seen before. My accommodations are nearly a mile from classes, and I know I am the only one not to wait for the shuttle bus since arrival. 70's and sunny felt great today!


That's too awesome. Way to be a scooter lady!



Kryptoroxx said:


> I might be in the contest for shortest commute but I live 2 miles from my school and about 3 from work. Easy commutes but some of the hills slow me down a bit.


You'd be surprised. There's a thread about that somewhere.

No commute today. Took my dog to the vet. Boo. He's alright, just arthritic.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Kryptoroxx said:


> One question though. For work I need to start changing at work from my ride in because I need to wear casual....but I'm in michigan and it's going to get hot....and muggy. My panniers are big enough to fit a change in there with me but anyone else do this? Just looking for tips or pointers.


If it's only 2 or 3 miles you would probably be fine just wearing your work clothes. If you are sure you want to change, lots of people here do that too and like NDD said, browse through the commuting forum because there are lots of threads that discuss that. I carry a full change of clothes in a backpack on my commute and change in the bathroom when I get here.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I bring a change of clothes everyday, year round. I am a biggish guy and I sweat a lot. Also, I just really don't like the feeling of wearing "regular" clothes while on a bike. But that's just me. 

One pro-tip: Keep an extra set of undergarments in your desk drawer just in case. You will forget your tighty-whiteys some day. If you have the room, keep a whole extra set of clothes for the day in your desk. That way you're covered if anything should happen. A guy I work with, not a regular bike commuter, once got to work and realized he forgot his pants. Had to spend the day in his bike shorts. Wasn't a huge deal, but we were working on a client's site so a bit less comfortable than if he was at the home office where we pretty much get away with whatever...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Kryptoroxx said:


> One question though. For work I need to start changing at work from my ride in because I need to wear casual....but I'm in michigan and it's going to get hot....and muggy. My panniers are big enough to fit a change in there with me but anyone else do this? Just looking for tips or pointers.


Depending on circumstances you can keep two full sets of work clothes at work....and get them cleaned or wash them yourself downtown....they never need to come home.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2016)

Kryptoroxx said:


> One question though. For work I need to start changing at work from my ride in because I need to wear casual....but I'm in michigan and it's going to get hot....and muggy. My panniers are big enough to fit a change in there with me but anyone else do this? Just looking for tips or pointers.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


 So, two thoughts. First if you have a place to hang your clothes at work (which I do) I generally drive in once a week and hang my stuff for the next week (because wadding them up is okay once they're headed to the laundry anyway). I'm pretty lucky (until September) because I have a shower and locker room at work. Second, not sure how "casual" your casual is, but there are lots of newer materials containing micro-fiber that are wrinkle resistant. My generic slacks (dockers-like) look like crap when I'm wearing them standing up, so they're no bueno in the pannier. On the other hand, I just bought a suit (made from merino wool and microfiber) that you can wad up and shake out and it looks fine. Perhaps a little strategizing would take you a long ways. If it's jeans and a polo, they usually survive rolled up okay.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nope, here's a study showing that an unlubed chain is just as efficient as a lubed one. It's all you brother.
> [email protected]: Johns Hopkins University News Releases


Thanks I'll take that for granted 

Way to go MTBX!!

Kryptoroxx: searching the forum for "clothes" brought out this:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/how-not-stinky-person-work-1004105.html
and this:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/clothing-pack-leave-work-dont-change-964354.html
and this:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/how-do-you-haul-clothes-883624.html
and this:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/commuter-clothes-860885.html
and this:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/do-you-wear-your-work-clothes-commute-705144.html

stopped looking after the last one, I guess there is more. Have fun reading 

Nice rides today. Unpaved section was dry enough to ride and when I came around the corner, there was a roe deer that I scared the sh!t out of. Luckily it decided to run away instead of attacking me. Unfortunately there was no way to go for the deer, fence on the left and wide ditch full of water on the right. Me behind and a road further ahead. So when she stopped, I stopped to and made sure to look away, which calmed her down. She then took a big jump over the ditch and off she was. I was on a slight adrenaline rush afterwards so I got to work quickly. Ride home was normal without adventures.

After tomorrow, temps are going up to approx. 18C/63F and sunny weather yippie!! Tomorrow it will be sunny already so I guess it is going to be -very- nice on the way home. Will probably make a detour to the LCS and to bring a borrowed machine back to a friend.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good ride today. I took the long way in. 

So sunny, so warm.





Tomorrow I can't ride. I have to go to a friend's wedding.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides today. Sunny but just below freezing this morning. It turned into a beautiful day, warm and sunny. Made a detour to the next LCS and rode in total 33km/21m. 

Weather over the weekend is getting better and warmer, we are planning the first family ride on Sunday morning.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I would love a position like that where I had a place to store clothes. What I figure on doing is carrying shorts to ride in 

I am looking at several options for those. One thing I am looking at is making my rear rack a little wider. I have a bookbag I carry on the back with all my books and a laptop in it. It just needs another inch and a half for me to feel comfy with it. 

My ride today was pretty good. It's a little chilly still but that will change soon. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kryptoroxx said:


> II am looking at several options for those. One thing I am looking at is making my rear rack a little wider. I have a bookbag I carry on the back with all my books and a laptop in it. It just needs another inch and a half for me to feel comfy with it.


Have heard that laptops don`t do well with the bumps and jolts associated with riding on a bicycle rack, better off in a backpack or messenger bag. No first hand experience with either option though, just hearsay from the forums. You`re down in Palm Springs though, aren`t you? The thought of wearing any kind of big heavy sweat bag on my body down there doesn`t exactly sound appealing either.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Have heard that laptops don`t do well with the bumps and jolts associated with riding on a bicycle rack, better off in a backpack or messenger bag. No first hand experience with either option though, just hearsay from the forums. You`re down in Palm Springs though, aren`t you? The thought of wearing any kind of big heavy sweat bag on my body down there doesn`t exactly sound appealing either.


Oh man I kinda wish I was still in Palm Springs at times. I got out of the service and I'm a full time college student in southern michigan lol.

The laptop is well protected. I have a padded and waterproof sleeve for it and it sits inside the backpack which is also padded. Since I do most of my studying on campus I carry all my books at once. It's not too bad but I don't like wearing that weight on my back while riding.

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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Had a pretty good inaugural one day before yesterday, incorporating some light trail riding for some additional exercise.


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

Nice ride to work this am. Saturdays seem to be the day I get my act together to make the ride into work. Leaving work in about 30 minutes and I am thinking a detour to ride 10 miles of flowy single track may be in order.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

sunvalleylaw said:


> Had a pretty good inaugural one day before yesterday, incorporating some light trail riding for some additional exercise.


Whatcha riding there, SVL?


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whatcha riding there, SVL?


That is a 1989 Fisher Paragon, my first ever mountain bike, which has since been converted to 700c.  it is a really nice ride. I may swap out the bar for a Jones, or back to sort of a Mary type bar rather than this old school bar. But I can get two positions out of this bar, one more upright and hanging out, two, grabbing the center area to get more aero if there is a head wind on a commute. No brakes there, but that generally does not matter on my multi-user path commute.

Here is a thread I made a couple years ago when I got inspired after a trip to Holland and started converting my old friend.

http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/my-commuter-build-conversion-thread-89-fisher-paragon-908426-2.html


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

The ride in today was wet. Dirty and wet. Gravely and dirty and wet.
Its been dry here for a while but the heavens opened over the weekend which means that for one, the last remnants of ice and snow here in Oslo are gone (good), the dust that has collected in the last dry spell (especially noticeable if you get passed by a truck or bus) is gone (good), said dust has collected into a foul smelling fine grinding paste that sticks you your clothes, your frame and all of your mechanical bits (bad). After a 15km ride in this morning, I look like I did a tour round my 60km loop in the woods...

Damn, it's good to be on the bike, though!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Mmmm a foul smelling grinding paste, nice!

After a fairly hard 42 miler this weekend my legs were toast today. We're back to mid-winter temps in the teens. I pulled the balaclava back out of storage.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Our trails miraculously dried up on the weekend (as of last Thursday it was looking pretty iffy), so I had a great weekend. Kindof strange to be on my first actual singlespeed ride of the year, and to be easily clearing everything that I'm supposed to clear (and then there's some stuff I will never, ever clear, without dropping 4teeth)

34F and a t-shirt this morning, which wasn't too bad. 4 new bikes in the rack at work - 2 are semi-regulars from previous years, but 2 I've never seen before.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Enjoy that newly dry dirt, Newf. Kind of in that same spot here, but it`s just the latest of several dampening and drying cycles. Soon mud will not be any issue at all and we`ll be choking on dust.



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Mmmm a foul smelling grinding paste, nice!


Haha! That one stood out for me too!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yeah, my trail report to other locals is that it's "August-level dry" out there, with loose dirt-over-hardpack and dustclouds aplenty. But I'm sure we'll get rains soon.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

76F at 6pm last night
25F durring my commute at 6am

Weirdest weather ever this "winter"


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Hmmm, speaking of weird winter weather, here's my nerdy end-of-winter scorecard:



__
https://flic.kr/p/FM4Mvy


__
https://flic.kr/p/FPnNrT

Obviously _super_ local information (and in cursed metric). But subjectively I knew this was a warm winter, and it's nice to see what that actually meant. We had a very warm February and March, and basically no snow all winter, so that's why the trails were so nice this weekend.

6 days total below -20C (-4F), and none of them were commutes. So first year for me without a -20C, and also first one without a -25C (-13F).


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Was nicer today then it was yesterday and less windy. I also swapped out the studded tires for the big apples now however they're saying snow on Thursday so we will see.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

On my ride home on Friday evening, I was riding down a MUP that passes in front of a Mechanic/Tow company who likes to use the MUP as part of their parking lot. This time they had 4 cars parked on the MUP I could barely get around even after dismounting my bike. I stopped and took a picture and emailed it to the bike coordinator at the local Department of Transportation. I wasn't necessarily expecting anything but before 9:30 this morning I had two replies letting me know the district would be checking it out.

I'll be interested to see if this changes anything about their blocking of the pathway.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Warm and sunny 4C for the morning ride 17 C for the ride home...

Mountain Trails pretty nice as well for the first ride of the year....shady parts are like skating rinks though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

After hauling the trailer with my youngest yesterday, and partly also with my oldest and his bike strapped onto the back of the trailer, I had the feeling I went off like a rocket this morning. It rained a bit so I put on the rainjacket. This afternoon temps hit 20C/69F so no jacket necessary. 

Unfortunately the spring weather ends here for the next days. Tomorrow temps drop to 13C and rain :-/


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Shayne said:


> 76F at 6pm last night
> 25F durring my commute at 6am


We get some pretty big temperature swings here, but 49* in 12 hours is wild.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> We get some pretty big temperature swings here, but 49* in 12 hours is wild.


Might want to check your subtraction there... Lol

Very good commute today. Warm, sunny, and I had time to botanize.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

It was cold for me this morning. Luckily I had some neoprene gloves to help keep feeling in my digits. Tailwind in.....headwind out. First day of trying my modified backpack laying flat on the back. It's stable but I'm not shot in the head about it. I'm going to cut some scrap up and see if I can't stabilize it. 

Plus I hate derailleurs....especially front ones....and the chainrings that go along with them. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

NDD said:


> Might want to check your subtraction there... Lol


What? I come up with 53* haha 

Commute is getting warm here, down to just wearing biking shorts and shirt. Bring on the summer and its 115 degrees! No wait maybe not.........


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

my commute was fine. i dont even put on cycling shorts anymore. just put on my shoes and ride home. easy.

you know what i dont like or havent gotten used to? having a load on my front rack. the weight up front makes the bike so twitchy. i think i'm gonna put a rack on the rear.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> What? I come up with 53* haha
> 
> Commute is getting warm here, down to just wearing biking shorts and shirt. Bring on the summer and its 115 degrees! No wait maybe not.........


Riding in that kind of weather sucks. I got heat stroke once doing that and I was drinking enough water and electrolytes. It was doing the commute 4x a day that got me. Gotta watch yourself in that stuff.

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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Have heard that laptops don`t do well with the bumps and jolts associated with riding on a bicycle rack, better off in a backpack or messenger bag. No first hand experience with either option though, just hearsay from the forums. You`re down in Palm Springs though, aren`t you? The thought of wearing any kind of big heavy sweat bag on my body down there doesn`t exactly sound appealing either.


Here's the load strapped down btw. Crossing the bungee improves the stability a lot and while it's tight enough to hold it all in one spot it's not so tight that I'm worried about crushing anything.










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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Colder than a witches nipple. Broke out the tights for the ride to deliver. Froze my a-- off!!! It was like 25°F and windy, no sun, just drab clouds. Michigan really sucks right now, it just sucks. The wind makes it feel so much colder than the actual temp. Blew my calf muscle up today, hurts like hell. Not sure what happened, it just "popped" when I went to take off from a light. Limped it back, nursed it a bit today and hope it feels better for tomorrow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Hope your leg straightens out okay, 10Speed.



NDD said:


> Might want to check your subtraction there... Lol


Whoops. Please don`t tell my wife the next time I razz her about what she`s done to the check register!



Boomchakabowwow said:


> you know what i dont like or havent gotten used to? having a load on my front rack. the weight up front makes the bike so twitchy. i think i'm gonna put a rack on the rear.


You can get used to it to a degree, but IMO, they really don`t like heavy loads. Probably better with some front geometries than others, but the easy fix is a rear rack.

Speaking of... 
...good luck with your rack endeavors, Kryptorox.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Whoops. Please don`t tell my wife the next time I razz her about what she`s done to the check register!


But me and your wife have a relationship built on honesty.

TenSpeed, mind that leg of yours. It's not worth over exerting it until it is better.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Colder than a witches nipple. Broke out the tights for the ride to deliver. Froze my a-- off!!! It was like 25°F and windy, no sun, just drab clouds. Michigan really sucks right now, it just sucks. The wind makes it feel so much colder than the actual temp. Blew my calf muscle up today, hurts like hell. Not sure what happened, it just "popped" when I went to take off from a light. Limped it back, nursed it a bit today and hope it feels better for tomorrow.


I hear ya! I broke out all the winter gear again including the second layer of pants & balaclava. 15F yesterday with a high of 23F with snow and similar temps this morning. The coves of the lake are starting to freeze over again. I'll be riding across in no time. I broke out the studs again this morning because it seemed like all that melted and frozen snow might be a problem. Nope.

Sometimes those "popped" muscles feel better almost as fast as they feel bad. Others take a while to heal. I wouldn't use the "Shut Up Legs" motto for a few days.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It is funny because the only thing that doesn't hurt is to ride. My car is a manual so using that clutch yesterday on the way to the second job, oof. That had my leg talking a little. Going to take it easy and just ride a nice pace to work today. Forecast is supposed to go to hell the next couple of days and it is supposed to be sunny and 40°F later. Motrin on board and that seems to help quite a bit.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Careful Tenspeed you need that leg later. Replacement Legs can not be just bought yet.

Flat day today, no change of weather/temp whatsoever over the entire day. Calm winds, 10C/50F and overcast with slight rain. Just another good day on the bike.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Kinda cold today but my gloves at least keep the warmth in. Only bad part is the gloves don't wick sweat away so when I get where I'm going washing my hands is a good idea as well as finding a place to flip my gloves inside out.

Other than that it's pretty out. 








That was from Sunday but still that spring weather is making everything grow.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi guys... playing catch-up. I had last week off for Spring Break. Only rode the bike once last week... but it looked like this, so it's all good:









Spent most of the week digging... putting in a garden, so leveling ground for raised beds, and digging post holes for the obligatory deer fence... turns out the house I moved into is sitting on the rockiest piece of land this side of anywhere. Basically I've been prying giant rocks out of the ground with a 30 pound steel bar for the past week. The commute this morning was a nice break :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Bah, I can dig a 1 sq foot hole and get 2 sq ft of rocks out of it on my property. The garden is mostly free after about 16 (18, 20?) years there. But some rocks still appear every year when I till.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I'm getting 2 square feet of rock in one single rock! It would be like trying to till a parking lot :lol: I've been complaining all week to my wife about how she HAD to buy a house on the side of a mountain... not getting a lot of sympathy...

In other news, the GPS thing I won with the Gore-Tex contest made a quick eBay turn-around, and I just spent a portion of the winnings on a frame bag for the Ogre (LBS had ordered the wrong size for someone's Ice Cream Truck, and it fit the Ogre perfectly... dealer cost ) So I've joined the dark side... carrying things strapped to the bike. Never thought I'd go there. But I love it on the fat bike, so I'm looking forward to distributing the load and taking some looooong rides on the Ogre this summer with no camelbak.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Dag-nabbit, NDD- see if I buy you an ice cream cone next time you pass through my neighborhood! Maybe my wife will treat you to a tofu sandwich.



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Bah, I can dig a 1 sq foot hole and get 2 sq ft of rocks out of it on my property.


...and the split it into a 4 foot fence post!!!

Welcome to the world of enLIGHTened backs, CB. GPS thing?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Riding in that kind of weather sucks. I got heat stroke once doing that and I was drinking enough water and electrolytes. It was doing the commute 4x a day that got me. Gotta watch yourself in that stuff.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


Will be studying prevention of that for sure in the near future, can't imagine doing it 4x a day!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Welcome to the world of enLIGHTened backs, CB. GPS thing?


The prize was head-to-toe Gore-Tex, AND a DeLorme InReach Explorer... which would be awesome on my next arctic expedition, but who am I kidding? It's like a combo GPS/Spot Tracker/Emergency beacon/text message/email device. Awesome for communications in emergency situations when you're off the grid, but my most epic adventures are generally gonna be pretty close to on the grid, at least until my kids are older. This thing has a monthly subscription fee if you want to use it (Sat phone technology) and I just couldn't justify it. Turns out it's worth $379, so I cashed out.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> Hi guys... playing catch-up. I had last week off for Spring Break. Only rode the bike once last week... but it looked like this, so it's all good:
> 
> View attachment 1062071
> 
> ...


Nice pic! Where were you there??


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Dag-nabbit, NDD- see if I buy you an ice cream cone next time you pass through my neighborhood! Maybe my wife will treat you to a tofu sandwich.


Aw man, tofu is just some funky stuff. Dug myself a hole there but I couldn't resist.

Commute today was weird. Running a little late (not that I had a deadline, I just wanted to be there at a certain time to work on things) so I took what I thought would be a shortcut and ended up riding an extra mile and a half. Don't really know what I was thinking when I decided that...

Commute home was a battle against a headwind that was, if anything, persistent. One of those rides that make me wonder why my main commuter is set up as a fixed gear with a 52/20 gear ratio and loaded with bags and all that. Don't really know what I was thinking when I decided that...


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Riding home in the dark sure is difficult at times. Very glad I don't ride a road bike home. I hit a lot of bumps I can't necessarily see in the dark even with a headlight. 

All in all not a bad ride. I had forgotten how much I can think on the way home vs. when I drive. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

How can there be a headwind both ways? HOW???? Cold but sunny. Leg felt really good on the bike today so that was good. Raced the rain/sleet/snow mix that was coming on the way home. I won, this time. Was on the fixed gear with Gatorskin 23's. Not exactly what I like to get caught out on for inclement weather. 

Got the SS ready for delivery Wednesday. It started raining and is hovering around freezing. Studded/Nobby Nic came off with a fight, and the Continental CityRide's are back on. Forgot how light this bike was. Forgot I had the narrow Cinelli bar on there. Forgot how much fun this is going to be to ride again. Forgot how good the Chris King hub sounds!!! Forgot I got a huge SKS clip on XL fender on there. Forgot how much I love this bike!!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> How can there be a headwind both ways? HOW???? Cold but sunny. Leg felt really good on the bike today so that was good. Raced the rain/sleet/snow mix that was coming on the way home. I won, this time. Was on the fixed gear with Gatorskin 23's. Not exactly what I like to get caught out on for inclement weather.
> 
> Got the SS ready for delivery Wednesday. It started raining and is hovering around freezing. Studded/Nobby Nic came off with a fight, and the Continental CityRide's are back on. Forgot how light this bike was. Forgot I had the narrow Cinelli bar on there. Forgot how much fun this is going to be to ride again. Forgot how good the Chris King hub sounds!!! Forgot I got a huge SKS clip on XL fender on there. Forgot how much I love this bike!!


I was just about to comment on gale force winds. Of course I had no warning at all. It started when I wheeled outside and was turning my lights on. It dropped a lot off my speed but I gritted and bore it. Biking wakes me up and gives me a little time to think before everything hots for the day.

Temp was about 50ish if it were still.

I am also really happy about the weight in my bike. Granted it's still around 20 lbs the rigid fork helps a lot. Especially when I toss 30lbs of books on the back and start riding everywhere. When it's empty I can really cruise.

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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Hope the calf is in better condition, TenSpeed?

My ride in today was great! Grey, blustery winds and damp roads with a balmy 6 Celsius...

I think I've found my legs again after a looooong winter lay up. Made it to work (15 and a bit km) in 32 minutes. It did help that I sat behind a big diesel of a gentleman for a good few of those km. This guy was seriously trucking - which was nothing but an advantage for me - when he lifted the pace to go past slower cyclists I had to sprint out of the saddle to keep with him - a real Hardman he was.

In other news I had to remove my Cinelli Ram from my roadie build project - I just completely miscalculated the stem length and reach of the bars (the reach is effing long). There was no way in hell I was riding that any distance without getting a prolapse! I'm sticking it on Finn.no (think Ebay for Norwegians) so I should get something back for it. It now has a Deda Elementi Superleggero stem and a 3T Ergosum 400mm bar with ergo drops. Very comfy and the bike now actually fits me...

Just the gear and brakes to adjust and the bar tape to fit before I await a dry day for her maiden voyage!

Which better be soon - I just signed up to do a 145km sportive on 5th June...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Shorts light sweater and a Tee.....pretty much standard except for the dog days of summer.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

sunvalleylaw said:


> Nice pic! Where were you there??


Quincy, CA


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

my commute in this morning was BADASS!!

why? my wife came along! she rode to work. i drop her off and went on my way. my distance is double hers. i'll do the reverse this evening. i'll pick her up and go home.

her road awareness is very suspect at this point and i just want to bring her up to speed. she thinks more "sidewalk/crosswalk" than "bike-lane". safety first.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Cool!

I ride part way with a guy sometimes who rides to work occasionally, and he's totally in the pedestrian mindset...except where riding on the wrong side of the street might be more convenient, etc... it's awkward :lol: I've tried to explain "be a car"... it's weird how people default to not using the road like a vehicle after so many years of it just feeling normal. Train your lady in the ways of the cyclist :lol:

Here's the Ogre with the new frame bag:


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Boomchakabowwow said:


> my commute in this morning was BADASS!!
> 
> why? my wife came along! she rode to work. i drop her off and went on my way. my distance is double hers. i'll do the reverse this evening. i'll pick her up and go home.
> 
> her road awareness is very suspect at this point and i just want to bring her up to speed. she thinks more "sidewalk/crosswalk" than "bike-lane". safety first.


What worked for me was letting my fiance ride in front of me, this let's her set the pace and I can give her instructions as we ride.

Sometimes it would be to announce an upcoming turn, other times it's reminding her of things that I take for granted like using the road instead of the sidewalk. I think it's part just reassurance that she was doing the right thing.

In my case she got pretty comfortable with it pretty quickly and when it's nice outside she'll try to ride a couple days a week with me. It's totally worth the learning curve.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

Thanks for the riding lesson tips!!!


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey very good boomchakabowow! Way to go and make sure she keeps on riding!

My commute is going back to normal. 5C/41F this morning and 12C/54F on the way home. It will be like that for the next days as well, in addition winds are going to be around 20mph gusts up to 30mph. That will make for a few tough rides home the next days.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Here's the Ogre with the new frame bag:
> 
> View attachment 1062198


Now that's sexy, but I still can't believe that you'd even post this. You ought to have a frame bag in secret, since you've been so adamant against weight on the frame. Ha!

But really, that's probably the best spot for it (but I can only imagine, I've never had a frame bag). Having weight over the rear wheel gets old fast.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, it started out alright. Roads were wet from an overnight rain but the rain had stopped. Halfway into my shift, it started again, just light rain. Wind picked up a bit and made riding kind of miserable. Temps started to rise, so I am stuck. Take the windbreaker off and get wet, or keep it on and sweat. Kept it on and just went with it. Rain picked up enough that they let me leave early. Made awesome money today so no complaints. By the time I got home, the shoes were wet, but not totally soaked. Socks were semi dry so my feet didn't get cold. 

Drove the car to the second job because the forecast said that the rains would increase, and they were right. By the time I drove to the second job, it was steadily raining and 36°F. No way.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Unexpectedly seemed to be first day of spring yesterday... and I managed to wear my full winter kit as it was raining in the morning! So nice to ride in the sunshine, giving me hope that I'll be able to ditch the wet weather gear properly next week!

Had a virus for the last few weeks that's really drained my energy - it's been a few weeks of super slow 'scenery rides' just getting to and from work - hopefully I'll be back on form soon.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I rode home in the rain last night. Just needed a jacket but staying kind of dry was my inspiration to lay down some power and push it up the hills. Sadly I don't really. I gain 100ft. riding in even though I have only 2 or 3 miles but it's all up and down so it's almost the same going home. 

Good commutes yesterday. Took the car today. Big statistics exam today so every minute counts. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I gain 1000ft. riding in even though I have only 2 or 3 miles but it's all up and down so it's almost the same going home.


:eekster:
1000 feet in 2-3 miles is like...riding up a mountain.

Winter is hanging on way too late, woke up to a coating of snow. Supposed to rain cats and dogs this afternoon. I ordered some Gore-Tex gloves when I got to work because I want to be more like Commuterboy. That and I still haven't found the right pair of waterproof gloves.

Seriously, I probably own 50 pair of gloves and they all suck. What is wrong with me?
These will fix it: http://smile.amazon.com/Seirus-Inno...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
*- Guaranteed to keep your hands dry*
Guaranteed!!!!! Wheeeeee!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> I ordered some Gore-Tex gloves when I got to work because I want to be more like Commuterboy.


 You know you`ll have to sell off the Viva Sport, don`t you? Five years worth of vacation every year wouldn`t be too bad, though!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> :eekster:
> 1000 feet in 2-3 miles is like...riding up a mountain.
> 
> Winter is hanging on way too late, woke up to a coating of snow. Supposed to rain cats and dogs this afternoon. I ordered some Gore-Tex gloves when I got to work because I want to be more like Commuterboy. That and I still haven't found the right pair of waterproof gloves.
> ...


Eek myself. Damn my fat fingers. I added an extra zero without seeing it. Yes 1000 feet in 2 or 3 miles would be way worse. It's 100.



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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

rodar y rodar said:


> You know you`ll have to sell off the Viva Sport, don`t you? Five years worth of vacation every year wouldn`t be too bad, though!


Sell it for $450 :lol: :lol: :lol: That would be going too far.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Winter is still hanging on here in Michigan. Currently snow flurries mixed with light rain, and hovering just above freezing. I think I am going to drive today.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sell it for $450 :lol: :lol: :lol: That would be going too far.


Damn, both of `em too big for me.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey I'm gettin' offers over here :lol: it's all about finding the one guy that can't live without it....

Way to go on the Gore-Tex bedwards. That's a great price compared to the Gore-Tex website also... they sure are proud of that stuff.



NDD said:


> Now that's sexy, but I still can't believe that you'd even post this. You ought to have a frame bag in secret, since you've been so adamant against weight on the frame. Ha!


I'm expanding my horizons :lol:
I'm all in with the frame bag, we'll see how it feels after an extended trial period. At least I'll be able to say I gave it a full blown effort. I'm even thinking about a complementary 'gas tank' bag to go with it because they look so cool.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> :eekster:
> 1000 feet in 2-3 miles is like...riding up a mountain.


We've got one of those. It's all logging roads. Did it on the commute home once... nice once in a while when you have the choice, but I'd quit riding to work if this was between me and the desk :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very windy again today but at least it was dry and sunny. Temps are creeping up to 15C/60F again in the afternoon - slowly but steadily spring is arriving.

There was an accident on my route this morning. On the way in I was overtaken by police cars racing towards it and when I got there they had blocked the entire crossing already. Big chaos and a lot of angry people, that turned into angry AND jealous people when they noticed the traffic jam hardly slowed me down


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> We've got one of those. It's all logging roads. Did it on the commute home once... nice once in a while when you have the choice, but I'd quit riding to work if this was between me and the desk :lol:
> 
> View attachment 1062430
> 
> ...


How can you stand to be last on the leaderboard? By 1 second out of over an hour.

I'd love to try that but not every day.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You'll note that my ride happened first. :lol: I was KOM with that time. Then all those punks came along and improved their times and bumped me down. Having been on the top of the giant leaderboard of 5 guys, I'm cool with giving them their moment in the sun.... one day I'll hit that thing as hard as I can... and probably wind up with a time lower than my PR to retain last place :lol:


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Been off this site for awhile. Got back on the bike after a nasty turned ankle. Got back too soon and had to take last week off after it swelled up again. Back on bike again this week and the universe feels back in order. And ankle still feels fine. I really hate driving to work. Especially cause it's only about 4.5 miles from home.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

vegascruiser said:


> Been off this site for awhile. Got back on the bike after a nasty turned ankle. Got back too soon and had to take last week off after it swelled up again. Back on bike again this week and the universe feels back in order. And ankle still feels fine. I really hate driving to work. Especially cause it's only about 4.5 miles from home.


I'm right there with you man!

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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I don't think anyone will ever top bedwards glowing-snowball picture from a few months ago, but I thought this giant snowball was cool.



__
https://flic.kr/p/F9xz2o


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice picture newfangled!

And which do bar you have on the bike today? ))


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

(Had to install ad-blocker to use the site today - doubleclick intercepted all clicks)


newfangled said:


> I don't think anyone will ever top bedwards glowing-snowball picture from a few months ago, but I thought this giant snowball was cool.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice ice cube. I wouldn't want it in my drink though. (Indecently, the one I posted would have been fine in a cocktail. Sebago lake is the water supply for the area. We use it untreated at the family camp)

CB, I expect you to address that little leaderboard problem by the end of the weekend. I'm not expecting first but last is unacceptable. :lol:

Commute was slow, my back is inexplicably strained. #HelloOldAge


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Some good rides lately. Cool mornings, decent afternoons. Dry. Slightly breezy, but not windy. And... I just topped 1k miles for the year this morning. A bit of a slow start, but no worries. I really don't have a mileage goal this year. Just enjoying the riding.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

blockphi said:


> .... Just enjoying the riding.


Full ack - should be just like that.

Rode with my son to Kindergarten first this morning, then to work after I dropped him off. Nice tailwind on the way in and a little rain but not worth putting on the rain gear. The wind died during the day and so I hardly had any wind on the way home.

Been tweaking with my handlebar position the last two weeks and I think I have it now back in about the same position as it was before. I guess I'll leave it at that point. For now. Until I start experimenting again.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> And which do bar you have on the bike today? ))


I'm not actually _that_ bad. That's my Gryphon, and it's had the same Gary Sweep on it for about a year now, because that bar is amazing. And my fixie has had a midge for 2~3 years now.

It's just the woodchipper that I have a love/hate relationship with. Currently in "hate" mode, because I'm actually really digging a normal dropbar on bike #3.


__
https://flic.kr/p/G69HY8

No commute for me. Dentist, and then ride with the dog.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> (Had to install ad-blocker to use the site today - doubleclick intercepted all clicks)


Another guy and I reported it to MTBR on their Facebook page. That was the first they knew of it. Every link fed the same ad.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me, full day off from work. Breakfast with a friend, then had my taxes done. Came home, and the sun was out which is a rare thing these days. Got on the bike and rode down to the shop and the bank to cash a few checks. Hung out with my buds at the shop, hit up Jimmy John's for a sub for dinner and headed home. 2 miles from home, just near the beginning of the MUP I ran into a buddy I have ridden with. He is heading to the shop so I turn around and ride back with him. It started snowing on the way there, just a few light flurries. I was dressed just right in shorts, windbreaker, jersey with warmers, and of course my hands got cold. We hung out there and then rode back. Started to snow a little heavier, nothing accumulating just flurries. Felt really good to be on the fixed gear heck, both of us were on fixed and just riding along. Most of my commute on that route is solo and I hardly ever see another bike, let alone someone I know. Was really nice to just pedal and shoot the bs with him. Good day all in all.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

So I gotta do some work on the bike this weekend. Loose hub on back wheel and chain is slack as can be. I am so incredibly lazy during the week that I rode to and from work this week with bike in that condition. Slow rides. Only dropped the chain about 10 times this week and rode with a horrid wobble. Hopefully I didn't do any permanent damage. Oh and the crank is a tad loose. And this is a LBS bike with under 300 miles on it. Sure miss my Walmart Street Cruiser that had well over 3000 miles on it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> It started snowing on the way there, just a few light _*flurries*_. I was dressed just right in shorts, windbreaker, jersey with warmers, and of course my hands got cold. We hung out there and then rode back. Started to snow a little heavier, nothing accumulating just _*flurries*_.


Randomly, just recently I'd been wondering if "flurries" was a madeup canadian word like "parkade", or if it was more widely used than that. And now I know. :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Another guy and I reported it to MTBR on their Facebook page. That was the first they knew of it. Every link fed the same ad.


They did look like nice wheels...


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

newfangled said:


> Randomly, just recently I'd been wondering if "flurries" was a madeup canadian word like "parkade", or if it was more widely used than that. And now I know. :thumbsup:


Wow, never thought of that before. That is a word I have known since childhood in WA state, and used in Idaho also. Not just a Canadian thing AFAIK.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Michigan weather terminology consists of ice, snow, flurries, humidity, negative wind chill and frost freeze advisory, not in that order.

And I know I am from Michigan when I have shorts on, it's above freezing, and there are flurries. This is a Michigan thing.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Michigan weather terminology consists of ice, snow, flurries, humidity, negative wind chill and frost freeze advisory, not in that order.
> 
> And I know I am from Michigan when I have shorts on, it's above freezing, and there are flurries. This is a Michigan thing.


Yeah this is a fact. Crazy weather right now. Didn't ride today. Cars are doing all kinds of stupid.

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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Yeah this is a fact. Crazy weather right now. Didn't ride today. Cars are doing all kinds of stupid.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


Not sure where you are, but it is snowing here, and it is starting to stick. Grass now has 2" and there is about an inch or so on the sidewalk. It is currently still snowing, April 8th, 2016.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Not sure where you are, but it is snowing here, and it is starting to stick. Grass now has 2" and there is about an inch or so on the sidewalk. It is currently still snowing, April 8th, 2016.


I live around hillsdale down in the southwest but right now I'm up by battle creek. Haven't looked outside in a little bit but it covered the grass mostly.

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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Now there's 3" on the ground....wtf. 

Welcome to Michigan

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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Welcome to Michigan...


...while dreaming of 29 Palms!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Yesterday's commute was a let down. It was supposed to rain so i got all excited! No rain on the way to work. Then it rained off and on all day while I was inside. Time to leave and ride home, guess what, it stopped and dried up. I was really looking forward to getting soaking wet! I get tired of sunny skies all the time, so boring.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Yep, we got about 3" here as well. I already took the mtb tires off the mtb, so I am not sure what I will be riding on Monday. Hope that it melts on the roads here by Monday.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Yep, we got about 3" here as well. I already took the mtb tires off the mtb, so I am not sure what I will be riding on Monday. Hope that it melts on the roads here by Monday.


I ride Knobbies anyway so it doesn't bother me lol. 


rodar y rodar said:


> ...while dreaming of 29 Palms!


Believe it or not yes.....never thought I'd say that either.

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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another wonderful spring day in now the second week of April in Michigan. It is currently snowing that is supposed to turn to sleet and then rain, and SUPPOSED to warm up to 37°F later on. I am not riding to work in that. Most of the 4" that we got Saturday am had melted, but it is currently being replaced by new snow. Had seriously considered going car free at some point, but that just won't happen. Public transportation here shuts down too early for me to utilize it after work. Will not depend on coworkers for rides home, can't put myself in that situation. 

Sorry, I am just pissed off right now and kind of venting.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> CB, I expect you to address that little leaderboard problem by the end of the weekend. I'm not expecting first but last is unacceptable. :lol:


Dumping rain for the second half of both days this weekend... It had crossed my mind though :lol:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

2016 just isn't my year. Officially off the bike for a while. Smashed my finger something fierce. I'm actually lucky they didn't have to remove down to the first knuckle from the tip. This is somewhat upsetting, but I'm thankful they didn't. 

Smashed it in between a very large wooden poll and a tractor. Split the bone and everything. Beyond not being able to grab brakes with the right hand the pain meds won't allow me to bike. It's a shame because I was set up to get some good millage this year.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

NDD said:


> 2016 just isn't my year. Officially off the bike for a while. Smashed my finger something fierce. I'm actually lucky they didn't have to remove down to the first knuckle from the tip. This is somewhat upsetting, but I'm thankful they didn't.
> 
> Smashed it in between a very large wooden poll and a tractor. Split the bone and everything. Beyond not being able to grab brakes with the right hand the pain meds won't allow me to bike. It's a shame because I was set up to get some good millage this year.


cringing with imaginary pain over here dude..ouch!!! heal fast..which finger? dominant hand?


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

NO!!! didnt commute.

major fail trying to install my SKS fenders on my bike last night..in the kitchen of my POS apartment. i brought limited tools with me. none of my taps to clean out the painted threaded holes. (bought one). and major fail with my cutting tools needed to cut the fender brace rods. snatching the bolt cutters from my work truck today.

no riding due to the partially installed fenders. i was not gonna take them off for anything. my Nitto front rack was a *****.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Gah. Good luck NDD.

Swing season here, with mornings below freezing, and afternoons in the mid-60s. At least once every spring I end up riding through a blizzard in a tee shirt because I refused to take a jacket in the morning, and dagnabbit I aim to continue that trend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Ain't no pain like smashed finger pain. That sounds horrible!! I've had my share of black fingernails, but never potential amputation and bone splitting. I can feel that from here! wow. 

It absolutely D U M P E D rain and hail here for about 45 minutes in the early evening yesterday. Inches and inches of water. Crazy stuff. This morning at the end of the dirt road, where the dirt meets pavement, there was a field of rocks across the paved road that had washed down where the dirt road's gutter had overflowed... hundreds of rocks from golf ball size up to tennis ball size just scattered all over the first hundred feet or so of pavement, along with an inch of mud/dirt. There were piles of leftover hail in the ditches where the temporary rivers had piled it up. Not sure I've seen it rain that hard. Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening... it was pretty awesome. (from inside my house). This morning's commute was brilliant green, bluebird skies, and everything was just saturated. Shorts and a gore-tex jacket  Love me some spring.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Standard ride in this AM. Felt a bit chilly. Bummed that I just put on a new shifter and shift cable, yet still have really bad shifting - If I get it to shift up with one click, it won't shift down and if I get it to shift down it takes two clicks to go up - on some gears. I suppose I should check all the adjustment screws and see where those are at. It's just annoying. However, I should have waited to do the work until I was feeling in the right mood instead of doing it as a way to avoid other work I needed to get done. Such is life, I guess.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The finger thing turned my stomach. I think I'd rather break a big bone (like a clavicle) than a finger.



CommuterBoy said:


> Dumping rain for the second half of both days this weekend... It had crossed my mind though :lol:


OK, you get a pass.

First commute with the Gor-tex gloves. They're more a winter than a spring glove but it's supposed to rain this afternoon and I really wanted to test them. Legs are tired from some KOM hunting this weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Standard ride in this AM. Felt a bit chilly. Bummed that I just put on a new shifter and shift cable, yet still have really bad shifting - If I get it to shift up with one click, it won't shift down and if I get it to shift down it takes two clicks to go up - on some gears. I suppose I should check all the adjustment screws and see where those are at. It's just annoying. However, I should have waited to do the work until I was feeling in the right mood instead of doing it as a way to avoid other work I needed to get done. Such is life, I guess.


You're sure the shifter matches the derailleur? That happens when you use a Shimano 10 speed mountain derailleur with a 10 speed road shifter (or other mis-matches). It works pretty well for one half of the cassette but not the other end getting progressively worse. (guess how I know)


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Thanks for the good vibes, y'all. Ring finger on my dominant hand. If I could I'd just ride the fixed gear... Lol. 

I'll probably check in now and then. Be safe, now!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Yikes NDD that sucks! Maybe you could fashion some kind of cast thing where you can still hang on to the grips? Or the bouncing around probably wouldn't feel to good. 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ahh ndd that hurts just reading about it :eekster: careful with that now and let it heal properly.

Nice detour on the way home to connect some pickups and the car is away for repair, so no excuse possible. But it were lovely rides today, rode twice the normal distance today, in total 44km/30m in 2h4m. For me, that is a good start of the week.


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Sorry to hear about finger. . .

So I reserved a large bit of time yesterday to wrench on bike but didn't need it. The massive wobble turned out to be a few very loose spokes and not a loose hub. And aside from that just tightened up the chain. Nice that it worked in my favor for once. More than a few times I've gone to do something really quickly and end up being in the garage for hours as one thing leads to another. . .

Uneventful and enjoyable commute today.


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## KentheKona (Jul 6, 2013)

I haven't posted in a while, but needed to come for the sympathetic audience. For the first time in 4 years of commuting and thousands of miles, someone threw something at me. I don't know what it was, an ice pack or something contained, but they hit me in the back as they drove by. Farging azzholes. Luckily it didn't burst or anything so it was just an annoyance, but man what jerks.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> You're sure the shifter matches the derailleur? That happens when you use a Shimano 10 speed mountain derailleur with a 10 speed road shifter (or other mis-matches). It works pretty well for one half of the cassette but not the other end getting progressively worse. (guess how I know)


That sounds like my problem but I have a shifter that matches my derailleur?? Oh well I have a 9spd that is sitting on a shelf with an indicator so I am installing it this weekend provided I have time after fixing my other bike and my truck. My front chainring is gripping the chain and pulling it up on one tooth. I'm going to see if a Dremel will fix that. It looks like the tooth got bashed on the tip and mushroomed a little.

My afternoon commute was wonderful. Nice breeze, good temp, no buttheads on the roads. Sadly I have one of the shortest commutes lol.

The night commute was a little cold but that's michigan. I'm glad I commute on a mountain bike though. All kinds of mud and stuff. I have considered going to a big apple or something like that for summer but I'm not sold on the idea yet.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Roads still wet this am from the snowstorm we got yesterday mixed with rain. By the time I started delivering, the sun had come out, and everything pretty much dried up. 51°F and a nice breeze. Now this is what I am talking about!!!! 22mph winds from the West really had me battling the bike on the way to the second job. Ride home was nice as I kept up with a co worker down through campus and actually passed her and might have exceeded the posted speed limit. Fixed gear + 49:15 + 25mph speed limit can be hard to keep it under 25 sometimes.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I'm back after my leave. Great break, lots of walking and hiking, no biking (you can hire bikes but there's only about 7 miles of road on the island and you cant ride the trails).

Read through all you trials and tribulations but damn! NDD takes the prize. Hope you heal fast dude.

Good rides in and back yesterday, great to be back on the bike. This morning was strangely difficult with a light rain. Bought new spd shoes while I was off too, Shimano M088, nice wide fit and a cool ratchet (ski-boot) type fastening.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jeez, NDD. A broken finger is one thing, but smashed so much as to splinter the bone... downright nasty. I`m still not buying you an ice cream though! But do heal up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back after almost 2 weeks away at training. The scooter worked out great as it was flat and about 1.5 miles to class/cafeteria. Earned a new nickname and converted a few skeptical trainees as they were left behind walking or waiting for the bus.

Had the cx bike worked on while I was gone, it is now shifting more easily than it ever has since I have owned it. Also replaced 1 worn out chainring and 2 wheels. Promptly rode its shinyness in the rain yesterday and 1/4 inch expected today.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> Read through all you trials and tribulations but damn! NDD takes the prize. Hope you heal fast dude.





rodar y rodar said:


> Jeez, NDD. A broken finger is one thing, but smashed so much as to splinter the bone... downright nasty. I`m still not buying you an ice cream though! But do heal up.


Haha, I won the prize, but still don't get ice cream? The poster said the prize was an ice cream with rodar... Otherwise why bother entering.

Healing up will be a thing but it won't be quick. Once I'm good to go, the finger will be extremely sensitive to cold, so I'll be in the market for a very good pair of gloves this coming winter. It'll also be a touch shorter.

Kenthekona, did you at least yell incomprehensible gibberish at them while they drove away? Doesn't do much, but is quite the stress reliever.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Missed this one.


KentheKona said:


> For the first time in 4 years of commuting and thousands of miles, someone threw something at me. I don't know what it was, an ice pack or something contained, but they hit me in the back as they drove by. Farging azzholes. Luckily it didn't burst or anything so it was just an annoyance, but man what jerks.


Aw man, that really blows. I had my first (hopefully only) drive by throwing incident about two years ago. Quite a shock to the system and totally nerve wracking. Sorry you`ve joined the club.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

I need to find a blood pressure measuring thing. My commutes are fantastic. No more honking horns, middle fingers, cussing, spitting, brake checking...... And tgt just from me!! Jk

I bet my BP is way down. I'm all zen- like on my ride in. I love it!!! Been here a month and maybe 500 miles riding. Grocery runs as well. 


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Boomchakabowwow said:


> I need to find a blood pressure measuring thing. My commutes are fantastic. No more honking horns, middle fingers, cussing, spitting, brake checking...... And tgt just from me!! Jk
> 
> I bet my BP is way down. I'm all zen- like on my ride in. I love it!!! Been here a month and maybe 500 miles riding. Grocery runs as well.
> 
> Sent via Jedi mind trick.


I'm looking at the Garmin vivoactive hr personally. It comes out in may and I need a watch anyway lol. Seems to be legit? Plus it will supposedly work with my cadence sensor.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

We have a chronic lack of parking at my office during our peak season, to the point that we lease 10 additional parking spaces from the car dealership across the street. Today we had a bunch of execs from corporate coming in so I knew there would be absolutely no driving for me. However, I had a big 100k gravel race on Sunday and aggravated my knee (bad cleat positioning) so I didn't want to ride the full 15 miles in the morning and deal the healing in the knee before Barry-Roubaix this weekend. A dilemma. I ended up driving most of the way and riding the last 6 miles very easy. It worked out pretty well. 

We are finally having some sun here. 38F with little wind this morning. Supposed to hover right around 40 all day. Good weather to ride in.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Crazy one yesterday. A pitbull I've seen once before was out of its yard, standing in the middle of the road (rural 2 lane). As I approached, a car was coming the other way, so it went into the ditch on the opposite side, but came back out on the road and started charging at me when I got almost up to even with it. 

Then out of nowhere this car comes flying up between me and the dog (almost hit the dog), horn blazing, and a lady screaming at the dog out of her window. She stayed between me and the dog while cussing the dog out, as I kept motoring up the road to get away from the thing. she was drifting into the other lane to sort of shove the dog into the ditch and stop it from chasing. The dog eventually backed off, she comes up to me, rolls down the passenger window (kid about 12 sitting in the passenger seat wide-eyed) and lets me know in no uncertain terms that that particular dog was an a** hole and that I should be carrying pepper spray :lol: 

I thanked her several times, she motored away, and I spent the next mile or so thinking "did that really just happen?" 

Saved by an angry foul mouthed mom. Awesome.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good to see you back, SS & MTBX! 

CB, nice story. So there are good motorists too 

Bit of a downer today. Car needs repairs for almost 600€ - dont like to spend so much money on it but seems necessary because they are safety relevant. F it.

Besides that it were nice rides today. 5C/41F this morning and real 16C/63F on the way home. First commute this year to ride without the jacket on. Still wondering if I am going to mount summer tires or to keep the Wintercontacts on. Last year I had the Marathon Racer but they are not faster than the Wintercontacts. Was thinking of trying to squeeze in the 50mm Travelcontacts or else maybe the new Marathon Cross or Conti Speedride. Oh well I have some time to think it over.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

NDD said:


> 2016 just isn't my year. Officially off the bike for a while. Smashed my finger something fierce. I'm actually lucky they didn't have to remove down to the first knuckle from the tip. This is somewhat upsetting, but I'm thankful they didn't.
> 
> Smashed it in between a very large wooden poll and a tractor. Split the bone and everything. Beyond not being able to grab brakes with the right hand the pain meds won't allow me to bike. It's a shame because I was set up to get some good millage this year.


Jeez NDD! That sounds horrific! I hope the tractor had the decency to at least be dented? Did you have choice words with the driver?

My commute today (and yesterday) was epic! I finally got my first road bike (first self - build too) finished!

What a blast! She zips along very nicely. It was fortuitous timing, too as my franken drop MTB thing ate its brake pads on the way home on Friday.









After reading in several places that carbon clinchers (especially Chinese ones) will absolutely 100% without doubt explode and kill me as soon as I touch the brakes I was happily surprised that they, well, didn't. In fact, they stopped the bike very well.

Its a hell of a thing to get used to, though; turning a 50 tooth big ring with a 12-15 cassette...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> You're sure the shifter matches the derailleur? That happens when you use a Shimano 10 speed mountain derailleur with a 10 speed road shifter (or other mis-matches). It works pretty well for one half of the cassette but not the other end getting progressively worse. (guess how I know)


Yup - 9 speed deore shifter with 9 speed XT der. The more I look at it the more I think it is my fault - being in a hurry and such. The shift cable looks to have one strand that came loose from the rest, so is probably getting caught in the housing, thus causing overall crappiness. Going to grab another new cable and give it a go when I'm completely focused. And will doubled check all my set screws as well.

Good ride in this AM. Cool, though. Trails are all clear and dry, but quite a bit of loose gravel in places from the winter still.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Jeez NDD! That sounds horrific! I hope the tractor had the decency to at least be dented? Did you have choice words with the driver?
> 
> My commute today (and yesterday) was epic! I finally got my first road bike (first self - build too) finished!
> 
> ...


Sometimes it is the second time you touch the brakes.  Nice looking bike. Gavia, never heard of it. It is absolutely amazing to me that there are seemingly thousands of bike frame makers and about 6 component (drive-train) manufacturers. And other than Campagnolo they all start with S


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ghost - that bike is sweet!! What are the specs?

Today I got to experience a first. I picked up a wheel sucker. Passed him in the bike lane doing about 19 mph or so, and I guess he thought it would be alright to jump on my wheel and let me eat that wind. I thought I heard him back there, and I glanced over my shoulder and there he was, less than 2 feet off my rear. Thought about saying something because jumping on the wheel of a complete stranger is not only dangerous, but stupid. He has no idea what my skills or intentions are. Just kept on going into the wind and he just stayed back there, sucking.  

Good lord, that sounds awful.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> ...Then out of nowhere this car comes flying up between me and the dog (almost hit the dog), horn blazing, and a lady screaming at the dog out of her window. She stayed between me and the dog while cussing the dog out, as I kept motoring up the road to get away from the thing. she was drifting into the other lane to sort of shove the dog into the ditch and stop it from chasing.


:eekster:
Whoa!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sometimes it is the second time you touch the brakes.  Nice looking bike. Gavia, never heard of it. It is absolutely amazing to me that there are seemingly thousands of bike frame makers and about 6 component (drive-train) manufacturers. And other than Campagnolo they all start with S


Thanks bedwards!

Norway has a couple of companies that are comparable to Planet X or Ribble - the biggest are Bikeshop.no and Sykkelkomponenter.no
Gavia is the in house brand of Bikeshop.no. They have a few models, all with Italian names that seem to be related to famous places, climbs or passes in Italy. They have the Zoncolan (top of the range bike), the Modena (endurance / comfort, I think), the Verona (light weight) and a few others including MTBs and crossers - mine is the Imperiale (the aero road model).

Because they have a good price point, you tend to see a good few of them here, but since they are sold through a Norwegian site ion Norway, you don't see so many other places (if at all). One of the local elite level road teams actually uses the Zoncolan - despite being from a small distributor, the frames aren't the usual re-badged China Carbon - I think they come from Taiwan (although the postage marks on my frame box actually said Japan...) and they have a good reputation, as far as I can see.

I actually sourced most of the parts through Bikeshop.no.



TenSpeed said:


> Ghost - that bike is sweet!! What are the specs?
> 
> Today I got to experience a first. I picked up a wheel sucker ... Just kept on going into the wind and he just stayed back there, sucking.
> 
> Good lord, that sounds awful.


It does indeed!

You know, in Norway, wheel sucking isn't considered a hanging offence - especially in the more congested bike paths. You get a lot of folks commuting by bike and if you're all going in the same direction at around the same speed then drafting becomes inevitable. In my experience the ones who have no bike experience tend to be the slower riders that (a) can't hang and so get ridden off your wheel or (b) aren't worth sitting in behind because they are slower than your resting / cruising speed - so you blow past them.

And the specs for my bike!

Gavia Imperiale aero road frame - size small (520mm seat tube, 530mm top tube)
38mm deep carbon wheel set (China Carbon) with Chosen Hubs (Taiwan)
Vittoria Open Pavé 25mm Clincher tyres
Gruppo - All purchased from Ebay used and a mixture of; 
Campag Athena 11 speed FD and RD, 
Centaur carbon cranks
Centaur Carbon Ergopower shifters, 
Centaur 10 speed 12-25 cassette. 
50/36 compact rings.
Centaur Single pivot brakes
Deda Elementi Supperleggero stem (90mm)
3T Ergosum bars (ergonomic compact drops and 400mm wide)
Ritchey Paradigm Pro SPD compatible pedals
Elite bottle cages
C4 (Norwegian brand) carbon saddle - same type as I have on the MTB so I know it fits my wide ass)

All in it weighs around 7,3kg.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice machine Ghost! :thumbsup:

Tailwind ride home yesterday so that was nice. Today was sunny, with a cool, mostly headwind. Just kinda cruised it today, even stopped to take a picture. Phone didn't cope with taking it into the sun really but it was the better side of the road.









Caught up with a colleague along the way. Chatted for a minute then he waved me on, said he'd see me at work. I'll have to figure the ettiquette on that one for future, seems rude to blast past people you know but I think he'd be ok with it. I take a longer route so he ended up getting there first.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy - What is the Gore Tex Jacket that you have? If it's as magical as you say, I might be ready. I did a 25 mile ride in this morning starting at 28F wearing a light softshell and I was both sweaty and cold for most of the ride. It seems there is room for improvement there.



TenSpeed said:


> Just kept on going into the wind and he just stayed back there, sucking.
> 
> Good lord, that sounds awful.


You should have blown him off. Did that sound any better?



Ghost_HTX said:


> All in it weighs around 7,3kg.


Very nice!

In support of my comment about the plethora of bike frame makers I found this: Directory Of Custom American Handmade Road Bike Frame Builders | 
Which is far from a complete list. It doesn't even include We didn't follow the book on Carbon Fiber. We wrote it. which are made here in Maine. And those are just the custom frames.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

My rides stopped for a day or so. All this riding in the cold plus drill weekend standing in the snow teaching soldiers how to shoot has given me a snivvle. I'm still breaking back into riding every day. My speed is increasing though which is good. Feels good when I can speed along in the flat. 

Does dropping a couple of teeth on your main chain ring make a huge difference? It looks like I can limp my big ring for a little while longer but it is a 44t. I was thinking a 42t might be a better idea because of usable gearing. It is a mountain bike. The middle is a 36. Never use the small ring. 

Ride last night was nice. A day ago I interrupted a couple in a car sitting near the bike path which might have been a little awkward for them but I quickly passed. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

my commute is getting pretty regular. i need to figure logistics with gear. i keep forgetting crap. today, it's my phone. 

i cant wait to buy a house so i can just open the garage door and ride out, instead of gathering crap and leaving my apartment complex. wah!! serious first world issue here..i'm dying.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> Caught up with a colleague along the way. Chatted for a minute then he waved me on, said he'd see me at work. I'll have to figure the ettiquette on that one for future, seems rude to blast past people you know but I think he'd be ok with it. I take a longer route so he ended up getting there first.


Always at least say high and wait for a response....have a quick discussion about drafting, once or twice

Then every time as you start to ride ahead....take it easy and see if he takes you up on the draft....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> CommuterBoy - What is the Gore Tex Jacket that you have? If it's as magical as you say, I might be ready. I did a 25 mile ride in this morning starting at 28F wearing a light softshell and I was both sweaty and cold for most of the ride. It seems there is room for improvement there.


GORE BIKE WEAR® Alp-X 2.0 GORE-TEX® Jacket - GORE-TEX® products

I've been wearing it this spring at the same temps I'd wear a heavier softshell or fleece, temps in the 30's to 40's. It's comfortable against the skin on the arms, unlike other rain gear I've had. You really don't get the sauna thing going and the Gore-Tex is a softer fabric than most sticky rain gear. I'm curious how it will work and what to layer it with in the super cold temps... absolutely windproof, so that's huge. I can see it being very warm with a fleece layer underneath. At 28 like you describe, I've worn it with a long sleeve or jersey and arm warmers and been comfortable, with the post ride sweat spot only under the backpack.

A few of the reviews on that link are helpful. I was sold after the one that started with "I wore this jacket during this year's Tour Divide race..."

I will say that the reviews are correct on sizing...very euro/small fitting stuff. I went XXL, which felt comical because I'm L/XL on most stuff. Fits perfect.

It also has a flip-down drop tail extension thing to completely cover the butt/skunk stripe when it's sloppy. I haven't used this yet but it's a pretty cool feature. The hood doesn't stow, but it zips off really easily. I keep it stashed in the rear pocket.

I also got the matching Alp-X 2.0 pants.

Edit: My bad, reviews are on the gore bike wear site, not the gore apparel site... kinda confusing websites: 
Men's ALP-X 2.0 GORE-TEX® Active Jacket | GORE BIKE WEAR®


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

So they paying a penny a word?



CommuterBoy said:


> GORE BIKE WEAR® Alp-X 2.0 GORE-TEX® Jacket - GORE-TEX® products
> 
> I've been wearing it this spring at the same temps I'd wear a heavier softshell or fleece, temps in the 30's to 40's. It's comfortable against the skin on the arms, unlike other rain gear I've had. You really don't get the sauna thing going and the Gore-Tex is a softer fabric than most sticky rain gear. I'm curious how it will work and what to layer it with in the super cold temps... absolutely windproof, so that's huge. I can see it being very warm with a fleece layer underneath. At 28 like you describe, I've worn it with a long sleeve or jersey and arm warmers and been comfortable, with the post ride sweat spot only under the backpack.
> 
> ...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Pre-paid in the form of a $280 jacket.

I looked at this one that uses the same Gore Active fabric. Looks like an extra $100 for a pocket.
Gore Bike Wear Power Gore-Tex Active Jacket - Men's | Competitive Cyclist
It has the same "Active" fabric. Some reviews say it traps sweat. 
Meh, I guess I'll deal with sweat for a while and look for the Gore Active stuff on the clearance racks.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

No hood on that one either. Or flip-down butt cover. I don't know if the "active" stuff all uses the same other layers in the overall build or not... like if some "active" jackets could trap more sweat than others becuase of whatever other layers are there or not. But the "active" stuff is supposed to be the best in terms of breatheability. 

Jeffscott, yep... prepaid :lol: I've almost paid off the jacket with my gushing praises, just getting started with the gloves. I figure I'll wrap it up with the cycling cap in about 2020 :lol:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was a great day to be on two wheels. Delivered and then had lunch down at the bike shop with my mechanic buddies and even the owner was there. The shop is totally a hangout now, and they love it. Couple of other people ended up showing up so a lot of bs was thrown around, good music, and just good conversation. I would be crushed if they closed or moved to a different location. Sunny and 50°F for the ride back home and now it is definitely time to relax on my day off.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

This tinkering with bikes lark is dangerous... In my (very few) spare minutes I find myself on Planet X looking at Tomac CX frames or on Ebay thinking 'hmmm if I went for a Record 11 speed cassette and Athena Carbon 11 speed shifters I could set up my road bike as an 11 speed and I would have a set of ten speed shifters and a cassette for my next build... 

Help me, I think I have a problem...


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2016)

Ghost_HTX said:


> This tinkering with bikes lark is dangerous... In my (very few) spare minutes I find myself on Planet X looking at Tomac CX frames or on Ebay thinking 'hmmm if I went for a Record 11 speed cassette and Athena Carbon 11 speed shifters I could set up my road bike as an 11 speed and I would have a set of ten speed shifters and a cassette for my next build...
> 
> Help me, I think I have a problem...


 Better that than trying to figure out how to figure out how to defeat the safety measures in prescription drugs. I mean, they're both addictions, but one's a lot healthier than the other.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost, you have a problem...You will never want to create a build with 10 speed if you are running 11.  That said, 11 speed is overrated, stick with what you got.

On a related note of not wanting to go backwards. My Ksyrium Elite rear wheel cracked. I had some brake rub and went to tighten the spoke. It got close to true then popped. Closer inspections showed a crack in the rim. The spoke nipples thread into the rim on these wheels. I'm sure the crack was why it went out of true in the first place.

Soooo... Any good recommendations for road wheels that are equivalent or better in the $500 or less range?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> Always at least say high and wait for a response....have a quick discussion about drafting, once or twice
> 
> Then every time as you start to ride ahead....take it easy and see if he takes you up on the draft....


Thanks jeffscott, I'll give it a go, caught him again just as he turned off today.

Very misty this morning, been sunny for the day, 2 hours till leaving off time and it's thunder and lightning.......


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Winter's desperate attempt to hang on in spite of all the green budding growing things everywhere this morning. Probably the last I'll see of the white stuff for a while. Surprised to wake up to a dusting today.









Also had a My Little Pony sighting the other day. Thought this pic came out particularly good:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ I took 2 pics of my bike with half a rainbow today but my pics got nowhere as nice as that one gtx-CB! Really good one but why is the bike not under the rainbow?


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I was wishing the bike was handy. 

Believe it or not that's right outside my house. I live in a fairy tale cottage just out of the right side of the pic :lol: . Nice to have a giant ranch for a next door neighbor. That log is just off of my property, otherwise I would have cut it up for firewood by now. I considered dashing to the basement lab to grab a bike, but I wouldn't have made it... the sun was peeking in and out of clouds and was only that intense for a few seconds.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in with no issues. Ride home had me getting buzzed, and not in the good way. Van decided that the lane was big enough for him to pass me while I was in it. Too close for comfort. If I can touch your vehicle while on my bike, you are way too close. Couldn't catch up to him and got caught at a red light. Probably better that way.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ Great rainbow CB

^ As you say Tenspeed, sometimes it's better that they get away.

Had been thunder and lightning during the afternoon yesterday but was finished by home time. Light rain shower but the sun was out so I didnt suit up. Should have done, soaked through by the time I was home despite being bathed in sunlight the whole ride.

Properly wet this morning. First one to this locale. The country roads retain a lot of muddy surface water. Not a bad ride otherwise.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Well its official, I have a problem 
Igot outbid by 1 pound (gpb) (!) on a nice used Campy Record group last night... A groupset for a frame that I havent bought yet for a bike build I hadnt even realised I was planning... 
This might end in divorce or a larger shed. Maybe both.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL, welcome to the club! It might end up with you supplying bikes for your wife. I've temporally lost count of how many bikes we own together. I saw a 2011 Scott CR1 Pro which is one year newer and one model up from my 2010 Scott CR1 Comp. It was listed for $1300 an I considered just picking it up for a spare.

Speaking of my 2010 CR1 Comp, I ordered new wheels for it to replace the now busted Ksyriums. Shimano Ultegra WH-6800 Wheelset had great reviews, a decent price and gives the option for road tubeless.

We've got an amazing weather pattern going on here. About 25F in the morning and about 55F in the afternoon for days. I busted out the Viva Sport in celebration. (That, and the wheels aren't cracked)

Nice rainbow CB. Do you have unicorns around those parts?


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

wow. not to poke a stick at the guys still crushed with Winter..but it was colder than i like this AM. brr...42 maybe? my hoodie was not enough..so just cranked it fast.

knees got chilled.  on the bright side i was really early for work.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

and the Joe Rodota trail..is getting nasty. transients with hoarder mentalities. it's bad. crap everywhere. the park cops have been doing daily runs at them in the afternoon. handing out garbage bags. but it's not helping at all.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> Winter's desperate attempt to hang on in spite of all the green budding growing things everywhere this morning. Probably the last I'll see of the white stuff for a while. Surprised to wake up to a dusting today.
> 
> View attachment 1063912
> 
> ...


CB is dropping 'bows in this thread.

Look out.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I had a good week this week. Started with an XL ride on monday and rode 5 of 5 days. Wet yesterday and today, lots of short showers passing through and I had to keep the raingear ready. Had it under the bungees on my rack instead of in my pannier. Temps pretty constant around 5C in the morning and 12C on the way home. 

AND I finally figured out why I had lever return issues the past months: the bartape kinks the cable on the place where the outer cable goes into the top mounted lever. Unwrapped the bartape and wrapped it way too loose, but the problem was solved. Will think of a better solution this weekend.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Things will all work out, Ghost. If your wife kicks you out of the house, you can live in that extra large shed with all the extra bike parts you have stashed :thumbsup:


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## jmctav23 (Oct 16, 2010)

getting a little lost on the way to work yesterday...northern AZ has lots to explore, I've figured out so many different ways to work I'm sometimes puzzled as I ride away from home as to which way I'll go.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Wasn't feeling the commute today - slight headache and heavy legs do not make for a good ride - but hey, at least I was on the bike 



rodar y rodar said:


> Things will all work out, Ghost. If your wife kicks you out of the house, you can live in that extra large shed with all the extra bike parts you have stashed :thumbsup:


Thanks for the support guys - I think maybe we should start a bike parts hoarders support group?

This weekend I pulled the trigger on a pair of used Campy Super Record 11 speed shifters, a new in box Campy Athena Carbon 11 speed crank, a new KMC campy 11 speed chain (the titanium one) and a Campy Chorus 12-27 11 speed block... 
Gonna convert the Gavia to an 11 speed (then keep it for racing / fair weather) and keep the 10 speed Centaur / Athena stuff on the bike now to build up a cheap winter / poor weather / #9 bike - probably China Carbon, unless I can find a nice CX disk frame at a discount. 
THEN I'm gonna change the MTB back to a standard flat bar (I have a nice C4 components carbon one lying around) and change the triple chain set to a double (11-36 on the back with maybe a CX orientated 46/32 on the front - that should climb more or less anything - I just gotta pedal harder)...

Hello, my name is Ghost_HTX and I have a problem... 



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^LOL, welcome to the club! It might end up with you supplying bikes for your wife.


This isn't so crazy - we are more or less the same height - I'm 171cm, shes 168cm - but she has longer limbs so I would think the bike that fits me would fit her - not a bad idea; "but honey I KNOW Campy Super Record is expensive - but I'm building it for US!"... LOL.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I was knackered by Friday. First full week of singlespeed 22-23 miles a day on open country road rather than 12-13 miles a day stop start through the burbs. Didn't seem like a huge step up or difference in theory so I'm a little disappointed in myself tbh. Noticing that I use my hamstrings a lot more so all in all it should make me a better stronger rider.

Late getting moving this morning and a good headwind all the way. Took the shorter route to get in on time.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> I was knackered by Friday. First full week of singlespeed 22-23 miles a day on open country road rather than 12-13 miles a day stop start through the burbs. Didn't seem like a huge step up or difference in theory so I'm a little disappointed in myself tbh. Noticing that I use my hamstrings a lot more so all in all it should make me a better stronger rider.
> 
> Late getting moving this morning and a good headwind all the way. Took the shorter route to get in on time.


Disappointed? Such severity! That is about double.

22+ miles is the total commute distance I usually do on a fixed gear, so I'd say that is a situation where if you're not feeling it then it turns into one very long ride, especially if your not pedaling strong and your pedal stroke gets out off whack.

Now if being fully capable you just quit commuting, then we'd be disappointed.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Fixed the oil pump, screen door, and a couple of other things this weekend with working graveyard and studying for 3 exams. 

No commute....but I do have a 4x4 back in my life lol. I will ride tomorrow after I get another nights rest. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks for that NDD. I guess when you look at it that way it doesn't seem so bad. Unless circumstances drastically change I'll not be quitting so fear not.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Saturday was my best commute, I'd say, ever. I needed to get in a ride in the 50-60mi neighborhood for my century buildup this week, so I'd been planning to get some commute rides in over the weekend with the gorgeous weather. Inlaws decided to show up and use our house as a hotel, so I had an excuse to not be present.

So on Saturday, I departed for work early to log some extra miles. Lots of riders like the area around Eagle Creek Park, in part because there are some hills, but also because of the wooded roads and beautiful scenery, so I decided to include that area in my commute. I don't have a lot of "good" options to get to work from my house. Fall Creek and White River directly north of where I am muck up the road network, so cars get funneled into few corridors that get rather congested. Getting north is less of an issue than turning back to the west again after I cross Fall Creek. So heading west to loop around the back side of Fall Creek was simpler from a planning standpoint. Lots of riders on the NW side of town have constructed a loop incorporating the climbs on Fishback road to build rides with some serious climbing for this area.

The morning route was the best part about it. Nearly empty roads. As I rode through the IUPUI campus, traffic was bad because of a Komen 5k, though. And I got buzzed by a city bus. I was in the bike lane, but to the leftmost edge of it to avoid some nasty debris or pothole or something. After that, though, light traffic, considerate drivers, absolutely PERFECT temps and humidity level, just enough past sunrise to avoid the worst of the glare.

The ride home was more business than pleasure. Inlaws wanted to go out to dinner, so I couldn't dally around on a new route.

Here's the full commute, each leg spliced together:

58.3mi all told.

https://www.strava.com/activities/547582206


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

The only commute I made this weekend was a 4 hour drive to Hastings, Michigan for Barry Roubaix. Did a little racing with Mr. TenSpeed (on the left).









The weather couldn't have been any nicer. If you are close enough to get to that race, I highly recommend it. Super fun course and extremely well organized.

Usually races with 3,000+ cyclists have lines everywhere - parking, packet pickup, bathrooms, beer, results, etc - but that was not the case. The only part of the race where lines were common were pace lines out on the course and a line to check results at the end. Big party after with tons of beer. I had to head home after this one, but I plan to spend the night in Hastings next year to enjoy the party.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I know several folks who did Barry Roubaix. It does sound fun. Maybe another year.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

3000 riders. Daaaaaang. 

I had a hard time braking this morning... spent a good part of the weekend snipping wire fencing with a pair of side cutters :lol: The forearms are cooked.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kleebs said:


> The only commute I made this weekend was a 4 hour drive to Hastings, Michigan for Barry Roubaix. Did a little racing with Mr. TenSpeed (on the left).


Cool, always fun to put faces with who we are chatting with here.



Ghost_HTX said:


> This isn't so crazy - we are more or less the same height - I'm 171cm, shes 168cm - but she has longer limbs so I would think the bike that fits me would fit her - not a bad idea; "but honey I KNOW Campy Super Record is expensive - but I'm building it for US!"... LOL.


Oh, I was thinking of buying her her own bikes. My wire's not small but whenever I test ride one of her bikes I feel like a bear in a circus.

Speaking of bike buying. I can't help but think I might want to look at this one. 
Scott CR1 Pro Carbon Road Bike
It's a few models up and a year newer than the road bike I ride. I could probably sell mine and be into this one for minimal $$. I should probably just go "try" it.



Harold said:


> ... Lots of riders on the NW side of town have constructed a loop incorporating the climbs on Fishback road to build rides with some serious climbing for this area.https://www.strava.com/activities/547582206


I didn't mean to snicker out loud when I saw what "serious climbing for this area" was. But that around here is known as a flat ride.  I get almost that much in my 10 mile morning commute.
We did this yesterday. It included some serious climbing for this area. 
https://www.strava.com/activities/548678246
(I'm really not giving you a hard time. It's just interesting to to see how different it is. CommuterBoy can head out and do that much in 2 climbs.)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Dang Bedwards, that's a big one. 

58 miles is no joke either, but yeah, I am hard-pressed to figure out a way to ride 58 miles around here and come in at under 1000ft of climbing :lol: Could be impossible? Maybe I could find a short loop and ride it 300 times... 

I get right at 500ft on my shortest route commuting home (8 miles).


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Getting warmer here, supposed to hit 90 by mid-week! People keep asking me at work "are you going to ride your bike all summer?" umm yeah I hope so......... :madmax:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> The only commute I made this weekend was a 4 hour drive to Hastings, Michigan for Barry Roubaix. Did a little racing with Mr. TenSpeed (on the left).
> 
> View attachment 1064663
> 
> ...


Was really good to meet you sir. Had a good time. Don't let him fool anyone, he is an absolute beast!!! Started a few waves ahead of me and made it sound like I might have had a chance to catch up. Uh, not a chance in hell. I would have needed a 250cc motor attached to my bike to even catch him let alone ride with him. This was the dustiest and sandiest ride I have ever done. 700x32 Specialized Houffalize tires were the suck in that gravel/sand mixture. I learned that I am not a climber. I learned that 2119 feet of climbing is too much for me. I learned that you can make up for the climbs on the flats and the downhills. GPS clocked me at 37.4 mph somewhere on the course. On the flats and downhill, I was never passed once by anyone. The rest of it? Booooooo. I was passed more than I care to admit.

Did 36 miles Saturday, and then 31 miles on the fixed gear Sunday as a "recovery" ride with some other fixed riders. Felt like I could do another 50 the legs felt perfect and the weather was amazing. Clocked 29 miles Monday between commuting and delivering. Need to make a cleat adjustment on new shoes I am breaking in.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

*@bedwards1000* - the CR1 is a nice bike. From what I've read of it, it is a "sportive" bike, so a tall head tube, comfy geometry and nice predictable handling. The "Pro" is second from top in the line up so it should have some nice kit on it too.

That link to Craigslist is dead, though...

My ride home yesterday was a penance... Started out sunny but windy (in all directions) - I found out just how squirrely 38mm aero rims can be in a cross wind... Then it rained. I was on my "fair weather" bike... Then came the HAILSTONES! Yepp - I was pelted with pea sized lumps of ice for a good 10 minutes. Not fun.

Then the sun came back.

Then I dropped my chain off the inside of my inner ring.

THEN I dropped my bike walking it in to the garden.

NOT a good ride - on top of which I have noticed a certain unwillingness to downshift at the rear. This was due to an issue with the angle in which the gear cable entered the frame at the head tube. It was causing the cable to act like a saw and cut through the ferrule (luckily not the frame!) I managed to fix it by using a Token ferrule with built in cable guide (Wiggle | Token TK680 Alloy Gear Nose | Gear Cables) - These are genius! They guide the cable safely into the stop on the frame and cut out friction. My bike now shifts nicely and isn't in danger of cutting itself in two...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Started a few waves ahead of me and made it sound like I might have had a chance to catch up. Uh, not a chance in hell. I would have needed a 250cc motor attached to my bike to even catch him let alone ride with him. This was the dustiest and sandiest ride I have ever done.


From what I read of your riding TS that's some accolade! looks like a good event. I googled the pictures yesterday, and the cover picture from the Barry website look pretty dusty.



Ghost_HTX said:


> *@bedwards1000*
> My ride home yesterday was a penance... Started out sunny but windy (in all directions) - I found out just how squirrely 38mm aero rims can be in a cross wind... Then it rained. I was on my "fair weather" bike... Then came the HAILSTONES! Yepp - I was pelted with pea sized lumps of ice for a good 10 minutes. Not fun.
> 
> Then the sun came back.
> ...


Unlucky Ghost! Glad you didn't cheesewire your frame, that would be bad! You should be good for while now though. Those Token thingys look pretty good.

Ride home was ok, mainly tailwind but cold. This morning headwind but blue sky and sunshine. Weather is supposed to get colder as the week works through with northwinds and maybe frost again by friday.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> From what I read of your riding TS that's some accolade! looks like a good event. I googled the pictures yesterday, and the cover picture from the Barry website look pretty dusty.


I wish that my riding was anywhere near his. He is pretty quiet on the board here, doesn't talk much about himself, but this guy is no joke. I thought that my time would be a lot closer to his, and his time is kind of where I was aiming. I just missed. By a lot. And yes, the dust was absolute insane in some places. It depended on how many people were just in front of you kicking it up.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

A new one for me today - a homeless guy riding a beater fatbike and hauling a giant trailer. I didn't want to stare too much, but I didn't recognize the frame. It was turquoise, and probably one of the cheapies, but it wasn't one of the supercheap ss beachcruisers.

Really warm yesterday at 80F, and supposed to continue to today.

Have had two spandexed-up roadies pass me on mups (on my ss on sunday, and yesterday on my fixie) only to crawl up the hill once it gets a little steep. Yes, that's me audibly sighing behind you the whole time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> *@bedwards1000* - the CR1 is a nice bike. From what I've read of it, it is a "sportive" bike, so a tall head tube, comfy geometry and nice predictable handling. The "Pro" is second from top in the line up so it should have some nice kit on it too.
> 
> That link to Craigslist is dead, though...


Yeah, that's my fault, cause I bought the bike. I was actually trading a 60CM 2010 CR1 Comp for a 58CM 2011 CR1 Pro. It rides like a different bike. Much stiffer and more responsive. I really couldn't tell you why. The weight difference is <1lb and I had identical wheels on the Comp ('till one cracked). It's just that magic stuff they do in the carbon that makes it cost way more than it should. I got it for $900 and should be able to sell my old one for a good portion of that. Woo Hoo

Averaged over 20mph on the climby way in, on tired legs, no less.
https://www.strava.com/activities/550084340


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Yeah, the guys I know who did Barry Roubaix were talking about the dust. LOTS of dust. Been pretty dry out here for the past week or so.

That era of CR1 frames were super nice. They stopped making that "era" of CR1 in 2014 or so, then brought it back in 2015 with the same geometry, but lower end carbon. So it's a little heavier and doesn't ride quite as nice. The Solace that replaced the earlier CR1 as the top end is a nice bike, for sure, but it's different.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've only been on it for 10 miles but it feels less "sportive" and more racy to me. Of course I've never noticed a degree or 2 of head tube angle making much of a difference. I think it is a lot more where you put the seat and the bars.

It was 38F and raining, my legs were freezing but I was smiling none the less.

I forgot the obligatory picture of the new steed.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sweet bike bedwards! And kleebs/ts: nice to "see" you too here and very good that you had some fun. I think they invented "eat my dust" for barry roubaix? 

Windy here but other than that nothing special. 20kts wind with gusting to 30kts. For the rest, just riding my 22km/14m everyday.

Ghost I know how you feel. I have 2 brand new brake calipers on order, the gunsha cx r1. Similar to the hy/rd but without an extra reservoir. They seem to be pretty new on the market but 95euros for both calipers (no adapters, rotors, cables) was an offer I could not resist.

" I promise honey I am done buying bikeparts "  . At least I could explain to my wife that brakes are relevant and that I need strong brakes for hauling the trailer with both kids.....phew made it this time.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've only been on it for 10 miles but it feels less "sportive" and more racy to me. Of course I've never noticed a degree or 2 of head tube angle making much of a difference. I think it is a lot more where you put the seat and the bars.
> 
> It was 38F and raining, my legs were freezing but I was smiling none the less.
> 
> ...


Sorry bedwards, I wasnt trying to talk the CR 1 down, its a great bike, I just meant that its Scotts 'comfort' model. The Trek Domane is a comfort model too, and Cancelara is no slouch!

I feel completely nailed this evening! Very strong head wind made it hard to keep up any sort of cruising speed. Thought I had it sorted when I managed to establish a partnership with a quick guy who went past, but I had to give up when he started drafting passing cars... Crazy guy!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Sorry bedwards, I wasnt trying to talk the CR 1 down, its a great bike, I just meant that its Scotts 'comfort' model. The Trek Domane is a comfort model too, and Cancelara is no slouch!


COMFORT MODEL?? Now I feel even worse!!:skep:

Actually the guy I bought it from stepped up to a Felt F2 with Di2 which has been on my short list. He also has a sweet hookup for bikes and will probably be trading it. (If you know what I mean.)


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> COMFORT MODEL?? Now I feel even worse!!:skep:
> 
> Actually the guy I bought it from stepped up to a *Felt F2 with Di2* which has been on my short list. He also has a sweet hookup for bikes and will probably be trading it. (If you know what I mean.)


Where is that drooling emoticon?

Yesterday was 81°F and sunny. Today I walked out the door to do an extra delivery shift and it is 44°F and drizzling. WTF is wrong with Michigan? It never really rained, just drizzled on and off but was light enough that I never got soaking wet. Lots of idiots on campus for some reason so some evasive maneuvers had to be taken. Hate to weave around cars but when you block the intersection and the bike lane that is what happens.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Don't let him fool anyone, he is an absolute beast!!! Started a few waves ahead of me and made it sound like I might have had a chance to catch up. Uh, not a chance in hell. I would have needed a 250cc motor attached to my bike to even catch him let alone ride with him. This was the dustiest and sandiest ride I have ever done. 700x32 Specialized Houffalize tires were the suck in that gravel/sand mixture. I learned that I am not a climber. I learned that 2119 feet of climbing is too much for me. I learned that you can make up for the climbs on the flats and the downhills. GPS clocked me at 37.4 mph somewhere on the course. On the flats and downhill, I was never passed once by anyone. The rest of it? Booooooo. I was passed more than I care to admit.


Shucks. You're making me blush! I have to admit that I had a much better race than I expected. Ended up finishing 19th out of 60 in my age group, which was good for 246 out of 1,475 in the overall 36 miler. Averaged over 18 mph. I'll tell you my secret....I get my strength from my hair. Samson style. Can't cut it now.

I did a 100k gravel ride with twice the amount of climbing the week before Barry and I think that really helped me prepare mentally for the 36 mile Barry. My cyclocross and mtb racing experience helped A LOT in the loose sand on this course. I agree that it was wicked dusty.

I took Sunday off then rode in yesterday to enjoy the weather and stretch the legs. Pretty uneventful commute. Got home and my wife wanted to go for a run. Which meant I had to go for a run. Ran 2 miles after jumping off the bike and my legs felt like Jello. To top it off I went with my brother to a session of drop in hockey and played goalie for an hour and half. Needless to say, I was pretty beat this morning so I drove today. Tuesday is the local crit training series anyway, so I may be doing the B race this evening.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kleebs said:


> I'll tell you my secret....I get my strength from my hair. Samson style. Can't cut it now.


I almost asked to clarify who was who in the picture (stage left or screen left). Now I know. Strength from your hair, eh. Whoops, this is from last weekend's facebook post.
.
.








246 out of 1475 is impressive.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Smiling a lot bigger with the hair...just saying


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Well finally back at it for the year. Now that things are starting to really warm up and I have the option to actually ride I have been doing a couple days a week (still have random meetings that I have to drive too). 

Of course, now that I am back at it all of downtown Carson is in upheaval from all the construction. Makes for interesting changes in routes on a weekly basis, if not daily. Inbred has had a few changes;
- added Axiom rear rack
- added Axiom rear pannier
- added Blitzu rear light (actually pretty nice for $10 on amazon, and made in NV)
- added Origin8 alt bars, flipped down
- flipped stem over for negative rise
- removed one 5mm spacer from the bottom of stem, definitely better feel
- swapped old Shimano trail spd pedals for some old flats

Since my buddy moved back out of town the Inbred is now doing strictly gravel grinder/commuter duty so looking at trading in the old Manitou Tower Pro for a rigid fork. Just haven't had the funds/time to deal with that quite yet, but will be coming shortly. Riding season is here so putting 5+ miles a day on this then switching to the trail bike for long rides. Currently running my worn down Schwalbe Rocket Ron's and debating if I want to throw my GEAX Evolutions on yet or not. Problem I had with those was they are SO DAMN TIGHT on the old Stan's Flow rims that once they are on I REALLY don't want to have to take them off. And they will not setup tubeless because they are so tight.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I gotta get the mad scientist hair going. 

Strange things happening here... I ordered a gas tank bag to compliment my frame bag. I'm justifying it by saying that even though I don't like stuff strapped to the bike, I want to be ready for a potential bike-packing trip :lol:


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

gregnash said:


> Well finally back at it for the year. Now that things are starting to really warm up and I have the option to actually ride I have been doing a couple days a week (still have random meetings that I have to drive too).
> 
> Of course, now that I am back at it all of downtown Carson is in upheaval from all the construction. Makes for interesting changes in routes on a weekly basis, if not daily. Inbred has had a few changes;
> - added Axiom rear rack
> ...


I have had pretty good luck with the ebay carbon forks.










So far no creaks or crashes. They feel pretty smooth and solid too. I haven't bombed down a trail but the roads in michigan are rough enough to be trails lol.

75 bucks iirc. Vaya is the brand.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Finger update:

It is healing well enough (though I'll say not quick enough). I hope to be back riding in 2-3 weeks once the stitches are out and the wounds stop oozing. 

Sorry, not gonna post pics of that mess for you guys. 

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

NDD said:


> Finger update:
> 
> It is healing well enough (though I'll say not quick enough). I hope to be back riding in 2-3 weeks once the stitches are out and the wounds stop oozing.
> 
> ...


My that was a tasty image! Little smokie sausages anyone? Lol.

Hope it heals up quick for ya man.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kleebs said:


> I'll tell you my secret....I get my strength from my hair. Samson style. Can't cut it now.


This explains a lot. I shaved mine with a 5 blade razor Friday night before I hit the sack. This is why I sucked so bad!!!


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I have had pretty good luck with the ebay carbon forks.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah this is the one I am looking at. Don't care much for carbon. 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/mr-ride-MO...547753?hash=item4d25f8dae9:g:WIsAAOSwDk5ULQ6O


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

gregnash said:


> Yeah this is the one I am looking at. Don't care much for carbon.
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/mr-ride-MOS...547753?hash=item4d25f8dae9:g:WIsAAOSwDk5ULQ6O


I went out on a limb to try it. I actually like the feel a little better than aluminum but I do not have extensive experience in bikes either. I know what I own lol...and that's not much.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Kryptoroxx said:


> I went out on a limb to try it. I actually like the feel a little better than aluminum but I do not have extensive experience in bikes either. I know what I own lol...and that's not much.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


I've had a china carbon (from Amazon, no less!) fork on my 26er commuter mtb for over a year now, using it for light XC riding, gravel riding and of course, commuting. No issues here either.

I did check out the seller first and did my research but at the end of the day you are taking risk - it could be made of paper and snot, it could be just fine. Mine was just fine.

I would say that you need to stick to the established brands (Flyxii, Deng Fu, Hong Fu, ICan and so on) that actually want to establish themselves rather than the counterfeiters that want to turn a quick buck by pushing rubbish / fake parts. My fork and stem on the 26er are Flyxii and the wheels are Hong-Fu. No issues with any of it in over a year of (almost) daily riding.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

wasn't expecting frost this morning but it was there none the less. Otherwise not a cloud in the sky (should have been a clue; maybe ~) and a light but fresh NorthEasterly. Still the same out there at lunch but slightly higher temps. Was good running weather.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I had a slightly chilly commute in for a hoodie and jeans but the weather is promising to be beautiful today. Great ride. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Awesome. Weather is awesome, 50 in the morning, 70 for the ride home. Almost no wind. Fiance riding with me. Rocking the cargo bike and hauling all of our stuff.

It's just awesome.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Been very nice here too lately. I`m tempted to ride in for the first time with no sleeves or gloves whatsoever, but just a wee bit skeert of what the next morning might be like. Soon.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

formula4speed said:


> Awesome. Weather is awesome, 50 in the morning, 70 for the ride home. Almost no wind. Fiance riding with me. Rocking the cargo bike and hauling all of our stuff.
> 
> It's just awesome.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I'm with Rodar... looks so nice out there at 7:00am, but it's on the chilly side still... mid 70's for the ride home which is ...awesome... but this morning I went with just arm warmers, short sleeves and shorts, and I'm still typing slower than normal and hugging my coffee cup.... was a bit underdressed out there... it'll be nice not lugging the extra layer home, but brrrrrrr.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Me three. I've been in shorts for the last few days but the morning temps have been about 37F. Short sleeves with a softshell jacket over it. I'm good down to freezing in shorts as long as my top is warm. It's not like the afternoons are that warm anyway, mid 50s.

But I have a new bike so Everything Is Awesome!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Records and almost records here, but also zero rain this spring, which means grassfires aplenty. It's cooled off a bit today and maybe maybe maybe we'll see some rain by the weekend.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Crit training series last night was FAST so my legs were a bit tuckered out this morning. Weather was beautiful as it seems it was for a lot of people here today. 47 on the way in and 72 at lunch. Nearly no wind. 

The street that my work is on dead ends, but just beyond the dead end is the back of a Walmart. If this connected, I could use the quieter backroads there and have a nicer commute, but there is a big field between the two with a small drainage ditch. Today I decided to take the backroads and explore the field to see if there was a good way through it. 

It went terribly. I was on my road bike with 25c tires. The ground was full of holes and rocks and random heaves. Also, it was anything but dry, despite the fact it has not rained here in over a week. Had to jump the drainage ditch with my bike on my shoulder, cross style. Came up short. I walked into the office with one wet shoe and my feet covered in mud. Lesson learned. Only take the short cut if riding the fat bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kleebs said:


> It went terribly. I was on my road bike with 25c tires. The ground was full of holes and rocks and random heaves. Also, it was anything but dry, despite the fact it has not rained here in over a week. Had to jump the drainage ditch with my bike on my shoulder, *cross style.* Came up short. I walked into the office with one wet shoe and my feet covered in mud. Lesson learned. Only take the short cut if riding the fat bike.


I thought the lesson was that you need a *cross bike* with 32C tires.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> I thought the lesson was that you need a *cross bike* with 32C tires.


Two ways to skin a cat I guess. Cross bike = jump over the ditch. Fatbike = ride through it (or just throw the damn thing over and then jump bike-free). I think the real issue is my lack of jumping ability.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Got yelled at by a.cycling collegue this morning when I was moving a roadblockfence. I was moving it to ensure bikes can get through and he thought I was doing the opposite. I even know him, he is in my company too so I called him later to explain things. Probably did not recognize me in my cycling gear. 

The roadblock is totally useless too. It is to prevent frogs being killed by cars but I have never seen a frog there in years. I do think that we should take care of the environment, animals etc but this is totally rediculous. However, roads are quiet so I.dont complain.

Another windy day today but at least it was dry.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Everything is awesome. Cycling is awesome. running is awesome. The creak in my bottom bracket---not so awesome, but still awesome because when I needed a new crankset and BB the local shop had it. And now I have an excuse to get the swank enduro cups and bearing in blingy blue. In a few weeks when my soreness at meeting the tax-man has abated. It's like going to the doc when you know you have to have that one check and still you just never prepare yourself for it...


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Almost got killed by a car today. Dumbshit doesn't even pass my bike and turns right. 

There may or may not be a dent in their bumper from where I kicked it in. 

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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Almost got killed by a car today. Dumbshit doesn't even pass my bike and turns right.
> 
> There may or may not be a dent in their bumper from where I kicked it in.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


That sucks! I was tempted to kick in a tail light the other day for a right hook, it was a big expensive one too lol!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> That sucks! I was tempted to kick in a tail light the other day for a right hook, it was a big expensive one too lol!


The thing that kills me I am a pretty happy go lucky person while riding. People driving like idiots don't bother me at all. I ride fairly fast for a mountain bike on flat and I wear at least one item that makes me easy to see.

This chick did it on purpose. I had half a mind to chew on her for a bit but then I'm sure the police would be called and then......well I'd rather not be late for work.

The ride back tonight was nice. No issues with traffic on the way home at 9pm. 
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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Since Saturday, I have accumulated 144 miles of riding between a race, commutes and delivery. One more day to go before my legs get a rest. Earlier in the month my manager asked if I could deliver for a few hours on the 21st of April. I said yes. Well, come to find out that it is customer appreciation day and some of the subs will be $1 if you come to the store. We are gonna be. Busy. So dang busy. And the forecast sucks. 75% of rain mixed with thunderstorms. Wet weather gear for delivery will be useless as I will be drenched if I wear it or don't. Hoping that the tips are decent!!

Today was pretty awesome, 60's and kind of cool. Ride to work was in the wind. Ride home was in the same wind but headed a different direction. Started to sprinkle as I crossed the tracks kleebs style with my bike over my shoulder and headed into my complex. Before I cross the tracks, I aim my light in both directions. I don't know what I expect to see, maybe a train? Should be able to hear it that late at night, and of course see the lights. Still do it though, just a weird habit I guess.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Kryptoroxx said:


> This chick did it on purpose. I had half a mind to chew on her for a bit but then I'm sure the police would be called and then......well I'd rather not be late for work.


I'm sure they do sometimes, mostly I just think people have no idea. Doesn't stop the red mist dropping when it happens though. Always gotta keep your guard up on two wheels.



TenSpeed said:


> Before I cross the tracks, I aim my light in both directions. I don't know what I expect to see, maybe a train? Should be able to hear it that late at night, and of course see the lights. Still do it though, just a weird habit I guess.


The time you don't do it someone on one of those pump cart things will be there cursing at you. 

Good ride this am, tailwind except the last mile where I loop round and it was head on. Probably still be there tonight to.

My boss has started riding a day or two a week. Good on him. Unusual one for him today, he lost a screw from his cleat. Not sure where he'll find one of those today (except my shoes...)


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Since Saturday, I have accumulated 144 miles of riding between a race, commutes and delivery. One more day to go before my legs get a rest. Earlier in the month my manager asked if I could deliver for a few hours on the 21st of April. I said yes. Well, come to find out that it is customer appreciation day and some of the subs will be $1 if you come to the store. We are gonna be. Busy. So dang busy. And the forecast sucks. 75% of rain mixed with thunderstorms. Wet weather gear for delivery will be useless as I will be drenched if I wear it or don't. Hoping that the tips are decent!!
> 
> Today was pretty awesome, 60's and kind of cool. Ride to work was in the wind. Ride home was in the same wind but headed a different direction. Started to sprinkle as I crossed the tracks kleebs style with my bike over my shoulder and headed into my complex. Before I cross the tracks, I aim my light in both directions. I don't know what I expect to see, maybe a train? Should be able to hear it that late at night, and of course see the lights. Still do it though, just a weird habit I guess.


Wear no wet weather gear....and look pathetic. Tips will be good lol.

Just make sure you don't chafe.....that will bring real misery.

I used to deliver pizza in michigan with no heavy coat because it made me shiver when I just wore a hoodie. It works.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Where is that crazy scooter lady lately?



Kryptoroxx said:


> This chick did it on purpose. I had half a mind to chew on her for a bit but then I'm sure the police would be called and then......well I'd rather not be late for work.


That's the worst. It's easier to forgive mistakes. But when they pass you and turn into you or just 2 feet ahead of you, you want to scream "What Did You Think Would Happen?" I hope your foot is OK after its introduction to the bumper. (Go for mirrors, they tear off easier)

30F this morning but still rockin' the shorts. Summer's on the way and I'm not turning back now! It's also supposed to be almost 70 here this afternoon. I'm still riding my "new" bike which is really 4 years older and technically inferior to my Felt but I am really liking the way it rides.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> Before I cross the tracks, I aim my light in both directions. I don't know what I expect to see, maybe a train? Should be able to hear it that late at night, and of course see the lights. Still do it though, just a weird habit I guess.


Believe it or not....people also run into the side of trains at night....there are no light no reflectors....and in a car with the radio on they are very hard to hear....almost happened to me one night...

So if you are wearing ear buds etc...at it is night...be very careful.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ One foggy morning (fog about 8' above the road) I was thinking it was time to see the cross bucks for the tracks (unprotected crossing on my route to work). Something eclipsed the lights from a farm on the other side of the track, and I got stopped with about 3 feet to spare. Black train cars, fog, cross buck sign up in the fog, and I came very close to being no more.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Kryptoroxx said:


> Almost got killed by a car today. Dumbshit doesn't even pass my bike and turns right. There may or may not be a dent in their bumper from where I kicked it in.


My brother had a driver do that but stop only just starting into the turn so he slid his bike under her car. She did not notice until he was hammering on her trunk lid! The police were called and no charges were filed.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BrianMc said:


> My brother had a driver do that but stop only just starting into the turn so he slid his bike under her car. She did not notice until he was hammering on her trunk lid! The police were called and no charges were filed.


"I didn't see him, officer!" = get out of jail free card


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thursday was horrible. Rode to the bike shop and it was drizzling and 51°F. Nothing soaking, but annoying none the less. Delivery shift to start at 11. Get to Jimmy Johns about 10:50, and the line is already out the store and down 3 stores. They were doing $1 subs until 3PM not for delivery, but only if you came in to the store. I expected delivery to be fairly busy since the weather was not that nice. First delivery out and it starts to rain. Second delivery out and it is now pouring. Everything on me is wet. Shoes and socks are totally drenched, gloves are sopping wet, jersey is halfway wet through the jacket. Still riding fast like if it was dry because people expect fast delivery. Did a solid 16 deliveries in just over 2 hours which is pretty good. I made $15 in tips. 3 deliveries stiffed me, and most were under $1.50. I left completely disappointed because when I ride, I put it out there, all of it. No lolly gagging along because I am busy flying down the street. I hustle up the steps to the buildings. I often skip the elevator and take 4 or 5 flights of stairs with my bike on my shoulder because it is faster. High school kids are the absolute worst. They never tip, but they sure do order a lot. 

Ride to work was on mostly dry pavement because the rain stopped, but my feet were squishing along in my shoes. Ride home was alright but shoes were still soaking wet, temp was in the mid 50's.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Why one would stiff a guy on a tip who had to bike on the rain is beyond me. People are so impolite, especially considering they didn't even drive their butts down there on $1 sub day. 

The rest of y'all. Stay safe and try not to kick things :/


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Doesn't sound like a good day Tenspeed 

Overhere we had a nice day today. Blue sky and sunny all day. I'm off for a long weekend and I'm going camping with my oldest son. Weather is getting worse and I hope it is not going to be as bad as the forecast is saying...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ That sounds pretty grim TS

^ Fingers crossed for good weather Rodar

Ride home yesterday was hard. Strong NE wind in my face. Peril of SS riding but was out of the saddle for about 3 miles straight to keep the cadence up in my legs. Nearly wimped out this morning as legs were/are tired but just had a gentle cruise in.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Man that sucks tenspeed. When I delivered pizza I averaged around 100 bucks a night and around 3 bucks per. 

I agree with high school kids. They suck on tipping. Once they start earning money though it gets better usually. 

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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Felt a slight sniffle coming on, but still rode in anyway yesterday - took it easy on the way home and still made it in at 31 minutes and 20 seconds - not too far off my PB... So much for taking it easy...

Paid for it on the way home... The sniffle developed into a full on head cold... That plus head wind made for a hellish ride where I averaged 200+ Watts but couldn't get my average speed over 26kph... not fun. Got home and was ready to die... Still am, but at least I have good old paracetamol to keep me going...

No ride today because I'm collecting from barnehagen (nursery) - but the trip in was interesting none the less. 

The nursery is a little way away in the wrong direction from work - so we drive her in. Normally I drive home again and bike to work, but today I parked and took the train, but anyway... as I was turning into the side street where the nursery is I was met by a 9(ish) year old coming right toward me popping a wheelie in the middle of the street! Luckily I know that there are normally school kids all over at that time of the morning so I was extra observant... 

Right after this I had to emergency brake for an older kid on a step through who shot right out of her driveway and across the road without looking... Not cool...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I think that I am going to head down to the LBS today and hang out and actually buy something today. Need new gloves, a new pair of shorts possibly and then look into bibs. Thew the shoes in front of the fan last night that I use for background noise so they are now dry.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

If we had bike delivery, I'd totally tip the guy if he got out to my place in less than 45 minutes from town :lol: Increasing exponentially with weather and lower time obviously. Rural bike delivery would be sweet. Man you could rack up the miles.

Took a gamble and tried the backwoods route home yesterday. 6 miles of singletrack, 1 mile of hike-a-bike bushwhacking up a canyon bottom with a creek, and then 7 miles of logging roads (1300 feet of climbing). Some soft mud spots still on the logging roads, but you could get around then on the forest floor pine needles. Second half with wet feet because this was way over BB depth:









I didn't have a water bottle, so I stuck my face in that creek and drank like a horse. No better feeling in the world. Pretty close to the snowmelt/spring source, so not too worried about giardia. You could probably bottle this stuff and sell it.

I'm off Fridays, and I woke up this morning to a crazy downpour. Would have been an epic day to deliver food by bicycle, or to have a full wardrobe of Gore-Tex. :lol: Looks like I picked the right day off.

I'm headed to the basement lab to build a bike for a friend. I had 85% of a rigid 29er in the form of a parts hanger downstairs, and he's been commuting on a pretty rough excuse for a very early Schwinn mountain bike. So I told him I'd donate my parts bike and filled an online shopping cart for him to buy the rest. He'll wind up with a sweet ride for under $250.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

+1 drinking from a mountain stream. You know it could possibly have bad results but the water is just SO cold and delicious.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Man I wish I had a route like that on my way home. Well I "kinda" do but would seriously take me out of my way to get home, but could be fun some days. 

Rode Monday and Tuesday this week and the continuing construction to the downtown area definitely makes the ride interesting every morning as you get to play a guessing game as to which streets are closed today. 

Monday got home in enough time to swap out some gear then went for a 10mile ride with my buddy up I n the hills. First time we have been able to ride together since the beginning of the year so was fun and interesting. Tuesday was a nice day and was planning to go ride after work again but on the way home I felt funky and congested. Figured it was just the allergies kicking in with all the rain we have been getting lately and stuff finally blooming. Woke up at 3:30am on Wednesday with a 100.8 fever and completely congested. Sinus cold trying to get into full effect but was able to somewhat knock it down but still felt like crap so stayed home Wednesday and Thursday. 

Thursday definitely felt better but still a bit congested. Decided to look at the weather for today and said 100% chance of rain today?! Decided not to tempt the gods so drove in this morning, plus had a few lunchtime errands to run that would not have worked well on the bike, and sure enough about 11:30 we start getting hit with rain. Hasn't stopped yet.

Next week starts the conversion back to my 4x10s schedule so Monday's off and then 6am to 4:30pm rest of the week minus a few flex hours in there for mandatory Monday meeting. Commuting at 6am again, or slightly beforehand atleast, will be interesting. Actually been in the mid to low 30s last two weeks when I have been leaving a little after 7am so still pretty cold. Guess the heavier stuff needs to stay out for the commute. If I could only get my Weatherneck to stay up and on and not fog my glasses that would be awesome.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm coming down with something, or at least fighting it. Still rode today, but I felt a lot better going in than coming home.

On the topic of drivers not caring, I semi-regularly get people wanting to squeak in a right turn on red in front of me before I get across the intersection. Sometimes it's not that close, but sometimes I'm grabbing the brakes and staring into their side windows.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

3 Zika candidates in a row, you guys just keep it to yourselves! As far as the "I`m off Fridays" and the 4 x 10, Mondays off goes, feel free to share 

+ Rep to the 9YO riding a wheelie down the middle of the street (even though he cut off Ghost).

Not much rain here, but windy. I came in by internal combustion tonight. Going to tempt fate and head out moto-camping this weekend, will be sure to pack the Visa card in case my tent suddenly does not appeal to me.

And yeah, where the heck is that mad scooter woman lately???


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

NDD said:


> Why one would stiff a guy on a tip who had to bike on the rain is beyond me. People are so impolite, especially considering they didn't even drive their butts down there on $1 sub day.
> 
> The rest of y'all. Stay safe and try not to kick things :/


Yeah, but if they all drove down there, they would further pollute our atmosphere, and likely turn into one of us due to abject negligence and unawareness. Sucks to be stiffed. But it doesn't mean I want them out driving.

Regarding tipping, I used to park cars for a living in the city. Ran my ass off each time to show how much I cared. They usually did not care. some tipped, some didn't. I teach skiing now as one of my occupations. I put it out there too. Most people are pretty good, but some are pretty clueless. Sucks, but it is the way it is. Stay safe out there.


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## jmctav23 (Oct 16, 2010)

awesome...









regarding tips...as a chef I spend more time cooking awesome food than any server does discussing it with the patron, don't see a dime and they have a way better hourly rate thanks to the quality I deliver...it's an effed up system that needs to go bye bye.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jmctav23 said:


> ...it's an effed up system that needs to go bye bye.


I have never had a job that counted much on tips as part of the pay, but I agree completely. Just plain effed up. I ain`t holding my breath, though.

Nice pic there. Almost looks like fall! Are we there already???


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## jmctav23 (Oct 16, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Nice pic there. Almost looks like fall! Are we there already???


It's an area that recently had a controlled burn which I'm guessing is what changed the color of the lower pine needles. A little rain and it will all start greening up again.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The delivery job pays $5.15 an hour while we are out of the shop, and something like $8.35 or whatever while we are in. Luckily this is just extra money for me and a chance to ride my bike and get paid. I don't complain to the customers about the weather or my job, just deliver like I am supposed to. They don't want to hear it, they want their food. Just hard to believe that in a downpour, you would stiff a guy on a bike who got you the food really fast.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

jmctav23 said:


> It's an area that recently had a controlled burn which I'm guessing is what changed the color of the lower pine needles. A little rain and it will all start greening up again.


Aaah that makes sense. I was thinking a major case of bark beetles and those trees were soon to be firewood.

Speaking of firewood... I have a power line that runs through my property, and the power company sends crews out to trim trees and maintain the integrity of the line...like if you have a dead tree that's close enough to fall on the line, they'll cut it down and leave the log there...so you can harvest the wood, and they chip all of the branches and haul them away. It's usually a sweet deal. But the tree service guys came by the other day and cut down a totally green tree that wasn't dead, and wasn't close enough to the line to hit it if it did magically fall down. I'm pretty grumpy about it, but it's like a 3rd party thing... can't really blame the power company, and not sure why the tree service did it. Not sure who to complain to.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Not sure who to complain to.


Seems like you are complaining to us. :lol: I'd go with the power company. They hired the people that cut down your tree.

Seriously, December, January, February, March, April...take your pick, the mornings are about 27F. Alright, maybe they were a little cooler mid winter but my short term memory is all but gone. It was a little cool in the shorts this morning. But it's up to 63F now so, cool. But then there is this :skep::


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sounds familiar :lol:









And yes I was complaining to you. I mean who does that? You can't just cut down someone's tree.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I guess we are in a similar weather pattern. I like how they show you that you are supposed to drive a car when it is snowing. 

Did they at least leave you the firewood? What kind of a tree was it? Did they cut any trees that actually could reach the power lines? Did they do it on earth day?

I had a tree branch fall and take out our internet cable last year. I thought it was a general outage for over a day until I was outside in the light an noticed the cable on the ground. We also had one of the high voltage lines (the ones on the top of the poles) come down in front of our house and burn a hole right through the pavement. Wicked plasma ball and a big hole! Wicked cool but not the best thing for not having your power out in the middle of the winter. So, in general, I approve of them clearing the branches from the lines. Sorry about the tree dude.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yeah it's a good thing to keep it maintained for sure. I usually totally appreciate those guys... no issues with them cutting the dead ones, but I'm always keeping an eye out for dead wood because I cut it and burn it, and this tree was a healthy green tree... makes no sense. They didn't cut anything else on my property. Yeah they left me the wood at least, so there's that... And yes! Earth Day. insult to injury :lol: It was your typical Jeffery Pine. I have 7 or 9 hundred more , so not a major loss, but still...


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Good beautiful rides with a little breeze and a bike that works 95% of the way it should now.

I fixed my chainring this weekend with a Dremel. Some of the teeth had gotten mushroomed on the third ring and now they work great after a grinding. Then I also had a messed up rear shifter so I replaced that. Now I just have to tune the stupid front derailleur. It still wants to pop the chain over the 3rd ring. Very annoying.

It's going to take some getting used to changing at work. I ride in shorts but I have to wear pants at work. Maybe if I ask nicely I can either purchase my own locker and put it in the restroom or beg for one from work. It would be nice just to go in on the weekend and put a few outfits in there for the week and then bring them home every day on my way back.

Getting a little muggy for this week but it's all good. At least it isn't snowing.

Feeling better and starting to shed the baggage off my body again










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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Kryptoroxx said:


> It's going to take some getting used to changing at work. I ride in shorts but I have to wear pants at work.


Lots of good clothes/logistics info in here -- http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/how-not-stinky-person-work-1004105.html -- I learned alot and have a pretty good routine now :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was supposed to be rain and thunderstorms. It was sunny and 77°F by the time I left to head home to get the car after delivering. Storms were supposed to roll in later in the evening, and they did. I picked a good day to drive to the second job. Currently rumbles of thunder in the distance, lots of lightning, and hail reported to the southwest of us. It already rained and we had a lot of standing water on the streets.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No ride yesterday as my daughter was at a club and needed collecting on my way home. Today when I woke it was raining. Kitted up and headed out not expecting to see maybe half inch of wet snow left on the cars. Everywhere else was clear. Waterproof jacket and shorts and my sealskin socks made for not a bad ride in. Cross wind was a bit unstabling at times.

Since we moved to the new place there is a bike shed (yay) but no smoker shed, so guess where they gather. Mostly not a problem, we all know each other anyway, but I did have to tell them to shift their arses out the way so I could get my bike in and lock up. Few light hearted grumbles and reluctance to shift but they're ok really.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

this morning was a chore.

i got lost a bit. duh. missed a bridge turn off. coming off of nightshift back to dayshift, my mind is working half speed.
i mountain biked yesterday so my legs were tired.
first commute with the new 35mm gravel tires. while way more plush on the potholes, it did take more pedaling.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Been quiet lately. I've been commuting, just nothing worth note to note. Spring in Alaska. What more is there to say? Cool mornings, warm-ish afternoons. Some good dirt on the weekends. 

Figured out my shifting issues - kinda. Swapped to a different der and have taken care of it mostly, though still a bit sluggish. Low and behold it is probably a badly worn chain. I can't remember for certain, but this chain has been on since last fall at least - well past my once a quarter normal schedule. The chain stretch is so great that I can watch the der move down and the chain just deflects while maintaining the same sprocket. Good times. Best get that changed. 

Bike miles:1426.66 as of this AM. Not too shabby. Now that it's warming up, the daily milage is creeping up as well. 

Running miles: 255.6. Not as impressive, nor related to commuting or biking. Though I have thought about doing a run commute once a week. Not sure that my fellow bus riders would appreciate that, though. I sweat and stink a lot when I run.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

My bike commuting is way down this year. Part of that is because I changed jobs halfway through last year and the commute to my new job is much less bike friendly and I lost my shower at work as well. However, my overall miles are up over last year. I am riding more on the weekends and racing during the week more often. Just a weird little thing I noticed today. 

Commuter bike is at the shop getting powdercoated this week. Looking forward to getting it back and reassembled. Took the ninja ape out for its maiden voyage this weekend for our annual (un)official cobbles ride. Managed to handle all the hills on the single speed, but I think the gearing will be too heavy for singletrack.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Don't have to be in at work until 9:30 on Tuesday... finally on the back side of this cold/rain/snow..mid 30's and rising for the ride in. No wind, felt fast. Got an early start and put in 20 miles. Spring magic. Just fantastic this morning.

Have we posted this yet this year?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> The tree service guys came by the other day and cut down a totally green tree that wasn't dead, and wasn't close enough to the line to hit it if it did magically fall down. I'm pretty grumpy about it, but it's like a 3rd party thing... can't really blame the power company, and not sure why the tree service did it. Not sure who to complain to.


Complain to both. If the tree was out of the right of way, they are both at fault. Criminal trespass for starters, maybe vandalism and theft. Contact local police as a formal complaint? You might send them the bill for the cost of a replacement tree. A neighbor got compensation for a tree the utility took out that did not need to come down. They likely have insurance (bonded) for such screw ups.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> finally on the back side of this cold/rain/snow..


Well... we were supposed to get a coating to an inch and it was supposed to melt. I'm 1-1/2 hours from hitting the road on my slick tired road bike and there are 3" of snow on the ground. I keep telling myself it will melt but I'm starting to think I'm lying.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Nice one today. Everything was working and rolling well.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

sunvalleylaw said:


> Nice one today. Everything was working and rolling well.


Feeling so jelly right now.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

That`s an inviting picture, SVL. I wish I were there!



Kleebs said:


> My bike commuting is way down this year. Part of that is because I changed jobs halfway through last year and the commute to my new job is much less bike friendly and I lost my shower at work as well. However, my overall miles are up over last year. I am riding more on the weekends and racing during the week more often.


That`s a worthwhile trade off if you ask me.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Did half the commute today. It snapped pretty cold on me after the rain and I was pretty tired. Days that begin at 0530 and end at 2200 with no rest makes for a long day. Drove to work after I got back from school. Can't afford to get sick. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

NDD said:


> Feeling so jelly right now.





rodar y rodar said:


> That`s an inviting picture, SVL. I wish I were there!


Thanks guys. Yeah, it is a nice commute. As I have not posted much in a long time, I will re-state that it is about 11 miles one way, with a little over 500 feet gain heading north into work, opposite home of course. This was the old union pacific line into Sun Valley, Idaho, which was opened by the UP long ago. It makes a really nice bike path now.

And I agree that that is a decent trade off for Kleebs.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

sunvalleylaw said:


> Nice one today. Everything was working and rolling well.


Super jelly! Reminds me of when I lived in WY. If I was you I'd be packing my flyrod, commutes would get slower and slower as the summer went on and slow to a crawl in the fall! Pack that pannier full of trout


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Super jelly! Reminds me of when I lived in WY. If I was you I'd be packing my flyrod, commutes would get slower and slower as the summer went on and slow to a crawl in the fall! Pack that pannier full of trout


LOL! Yeah, though I am not a fly fisherman (I like to mountain bike and cycle too much), that is a good spot. The river undercut the railroad there years ago, and the hillside was re-contoured, and rocks placed in the river to slow it down and create eddies. The river had gotten fast in that section due to homeowners putting in rock and stuff to protect their banks further upstream. Now, the eddies provide one of the favorite fishing spots in the valley. Running a little brown and high right now though.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good trade Kleebs!

SunValley, that does look like a good route, no cars I assume?

Would have been a bad day to drive yesterday (I didnt) two accidents on the dual carriageway less than half a mile apart on the opposite sides of the road. Second caused by rubberneckers? who knows, but with 5 mile tailbacks it took a while for some colleagues to get to work. Home time there was a broken down lorry on a busy junction heading into the city and we could see the queue on the carriageway from our office. We're 6-7 miles away from said lorry I guess.

Not that it would have made much difference to me as I was late leaving work last night. Once I cleared the town and got to the country roads the wind was cold! Had to stop and don the waterproof as a windbreaker.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Michigan weather all over the place again. Monday was sunny and 77, today the high is only 60 and it is currently 36. At least the sun is out today which will make for a nice ride in to deliver. Finals week is coming up so I will be working as much as humanly possible. This weekend is the last one before finals, and multiple runs to the library on campus are very common. We become a lifesaver for some of these kids.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LONGEST - SPRING - EVER

First the ice went out a month earlier than ever in March and now 4 days from May we have 4"-5" of snow on the ground, black ice everywhere. I'm getting tired of it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's impressive extended winter. I underdressed for a chilly ride this morning, but ice was not a concern:eekster: Mid 30's for me. Lows approaching 40 are on the radar 

Had a little time on each end of the day yesterday, and got in 20 miles in the morning and another 20 in the afternoon. Don't remember the last time I did that. I usually get a longer route in the morning (15 miles maybe) and then a short 8 home, because I usually need to get myself or a kid somewhere else as soon as I get home. Yesterday was a perfect storm of schedule and weather, making for tired legs this morning. Hit 1k of climbing on the after work 20.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very wet rides today. Rode 20min in rain this morning and 30min on the way home. Temps were around 4C. Probably my.punishment for.not riding yesterday


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> Complain to both. If the tree was out of the right of way, they are both at fault. Criminal trespass for starters, maybe vandalism and theft. Contact local police as a formal complaint? You might send them the bill for the cost of a replacement tree. A neighbor got compensation for a tree the utility took out that did not need to come down. They likely have insurance (bonded) for such screw ups.


I got a call back from the power company... guy wants to come take a look. We'll see where it goes. I mean if they have a legit reason for taking it down, I'm fine with that. But I can't imagine that there is a legit reason...

Wow, digging back for this post I just saw SunValley's bike path commute pic. That's pretty primo. 11 miles one way on a no-thinking-required bike path next to a river.... yes please.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Michigan weather all over the place again. Monday was sunny and 77, today the high is only 60 and it is currently 36. At least the sun is out today which will make for a nice ride in to deliver. Finals week is coming up so I will be working as much as humanly possible. This weekend is the last one before finals, and multiple runs to the library on campus are very common. We become a lifesaver for some of these kids.


Definitely wierd weather. I had just packed away all of the winter stuff so I skipped on the ride today. Beautiful once the sun finally warmed up but odd morning.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> If we had bike delivery, I'd totally tip the guy if he got out to my place in less than 45 minutes from town :lol: Increasing exponentially with weather and lower time obviously. Rural bike delivery would be sweet. Man you could rack up the miles.
> 
> Took a gamble and tried the backwoods route home yesterday. 6 miles of singletrack, 1 mile of hike-a-bike bushwhacking up a canyon bottom with a creek, and then 7 miles of logging roads (1300 feet of climbing). Some soft mud spots still on the logging roads, but you could get around then on the forest floor pine needles. Second half with wet feet because this was way over BB depth:
> 
> ...


I like your backwoods route! Where is that? Though we do have the nice bike path, we don't have a good backwoods route.

@SlipSpace, yes, no cars. No motorized at all on that path. Old rails to trails. Goes from south of me in Bellevue Idaho, past my house in Hailey (we live right on the path. Used to be considered undesirable due to the tracks being there, the old Union Pacific line up to Sun Valley), up to and past Ketchum and Sun Valley. Then further north, there is a gravel/dirt bike path north up to Galena lodge. I rarely ride that. Not on my commute, and I like the backroads a little better usually for gravel grinding. On our bike path, you do have to watch for dogs, kids, strollers, etc. on the busy stretches near Bellevue, Hailey and Ketchum. Voice control of your animal? Yeah right. Better to just slow down. Still, very, very nice.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Very wet rides today. Rode 20min in rain this morning and 30min on the way home. Temps were around 4C. Probably my.punishment for.not riding yesterday


This would be for me the some of the worst weather possible to ride in. Would rather ride in the snow and colder temps than rain and 39°F for those of us not on the metric scale. Kudos for riding in that.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> That`s a worthwhile trade off if you ask me.


Yeah it's kind of a weird feeling for me. While it has been great doing more recreational miles, I kind of feel guilty for driving so often this year. As the weather warms up I'll find more of a balance.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Very wet rides today. Rode 20min in rain this morning and 30min on the way home. Temps were around 4C. Probably my.punishment for.not riding yesterday


Good work Dutchman. "The force is strong in this one"



TenSpeed said:


> This would be for me the some of the worst weather possible to ride in. Would rather ride in the snow and colder temps than rain and 39°F for those of us not on the metric scale. Kudos for riding in that.


That is pretty much a Northern European winter unfortunately. I would have said British but it seems we all get it. 

As to why that sort of weather is still here at the end of April is another matter.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> This would be for me the some of the worst weather possible to ride in. Would rather ride in the snow and colder temps than rain and 39°F for those of us not on the metric scale. Kudos for riding in that.


To be fair of you do it right you're getting minimally wet in the snow. It's why plants in the boreal forests are adapted to dry conditions even though they're surrounded by water. It's totally inaccessible until it melts. Being in the snow is basically like being dry and surrounded by water.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well all I know is that we are having the same weather here, currently 36°F and raining. Commute will be in the car today because I just don't feel like being cold and wet like that. Ended up doing 32 miles yesterday between commute and delivering and then some errands.


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## sasquatch2 (Jun 28, 2004)

99% awesome commute, forecast called for some rain but it was only cloudy and a little chilly which is always better than swamp-hot! A driver decided to be an a-wad and floor it to pass me on the left about 50' from a red light that he was going to turn right at, while I was signaling a left turn and pulling into the lane to stop at the light. Of course flew past on the other side of the yellow lines and yelled some stupidity... can't get me down though!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi all, I have not caught up on the news here, crazy hectic at work and otherwise. On the bike, major issue has been construction season startup. Repaving and "road diet" to add bike lanes is good, but the process is frustrating. Early this week I was 3rd in line at the flagger (1 lane traffic), and he told me I would have to wait and ride behind the (+/- 40) cars behind me - WHAT!?!?! He said there was big milling machine ahead.,,but I ws riding center lane, further from machine than the cars. The last few days this edict was not enforced, but tonight instead the Sheriff monitoring the construction zone went nutzoid because I had the nerve to take the lane before the diagonal RR tracks so that I could cross them at a better angle and not wipe out and get run over. He gesticulated as of I were a nutcase as I passed and yelled something unintelligible...I just said RAILROAD TRACKS as I passed...not sure if he got it, probably not, but he did not come after me either.

I am in the market for a 16" kids bike, as my 24" wheeled BMX cruiser has been determined ineligible for an upcoming local ride - 4 miles downhill, at night, adults on 16" max bikes - what could go wrong?? One friend is bringing a Big Wheel (certain death?), and someone suggested I ride the scooter, but it the "brakes" are lacking. Do you think cheap coaster brakes will burn up in 4 miles, maybe 1000'+ drop?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> I am in the market for a 16" kids bike, as my 24" wheeled BMX cruiser has been determined ineligible for an upcoming local ride - 4 miles downhill, at night, adults on 16" max bikes - what could go wrong?? One friend is bringing a Big Wheel (certain death?), and someone suggested I ride the scooter, but it the "brakes" are lacking. Do you think cheap coaster brakes will burn up in 4 miles, maybe 1000'+ drop?


Welcome back! That sucks about the construction frustration! I vote getting a barbie Jeep, probably won't make it 4 miles though lol


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I got thoroughly drenched on the way home today for the first time, it was fun, no really it was! Good thing my speaker is waterproof


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Nice to hear from you, Xplorer! Sorry you were "second classified" by the pilot car crew. Maybe those 16 inch wheels will be nice for crossing RR tracks :lol:

Hmmm... Barbie Jeep racing looks like fun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ha, thanks for the rad Barbie vid, Eugene!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

The barbie jeep racing was awesome.....you win the interwebs!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

LOLZ I know right looks like fun! I'm going to keep my eye out on yard sales for a barbie jeep!


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Not a bad ride today. Little on the chilly side but the birds were singing and stuff....very relaxing. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

New ride this am. Won a 2016 Trek FX 7.0 at a vendor show a few weeks back. It was delivered last Thursday. Got a chance to take her out on her maiden voyage today. Much better commute then my XC 29er mountain bike. The headwind on the way in was almost enjoyable........almost!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BMX cruiser Friday was good, despite a couple miles of milled pavement (like riding a dinosaur's back or the cobbles) in the construction zone.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Busy busy delivery day for me. Ride in was awesome, bit chilly but still nice. Rain didn't start until about 3 and I worked until 4. Ride home was wet as expected. Stuff is drying out now and will be washed and cleaned tomorrow.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey I have one of those barbie jeeps.....



Kryptoroxx said:


> Not a bad ride today. Little on the chilly side but the birds were singing and stuff....very relaxing.


That about sums it up for me also.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> BMX cruiser Friday was good, despite a couple miles of milled pavement (like riding a dinosaur's back or the cobbles) in the construction zone.


Where did you get to ride a dinosaur's back? Why did we not hear about it 'till now?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Riding on a dinosaur's back is not something I would like to try :eekster:

Really nice day today. Sunny, quiet and temps 20C on the way y home. Tomorrow will be windy and rain again. From wednesday on,nice weather is predicted for about a week. Seeing is believing ;-)

My speedometer gave up after 11tkm / 3yrs last week. I happened to have a 2nd one lying around that was ment for another project but is now used on bike #1. And I finally made up my mind concerning summer tires: I ordered a pair of conti speedrides in the 42-622 wire bead/reflex stripe version. AND I have new brakes and levers on order. Its been an expensive month and there are 29 days to go to the next payday....


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I lived to tell the tale:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Gettintheretoy said:


> New ride this am. Won a 2016 Trek FX 7.0 at a vendor show a few weeks back.


Now that is a nice result!

Public holidays here so first ride this week. Not a cloud in the sky this morning, determined headwind but a nice ride.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Yesterday's ride home was interrupted by a crazy logging truck rollover accident. Highway Patrol had stopped traffic both ways while they were pulling the truck back right side up. I sat up at the front of the line and talked to the cop a bit. He said the driver had reported that there was a bee in the cab of the truck that caused him to drift onto the shoulder and off of the embankment. Oops! He was fine, no other vehicles involved. As soon as it was on it's wheels, the cop let me sneak around the front of the tow truck and go on my way... had the whole road to myself for a few miles before I started getting passed by cars again when they finally opened it up to traffic.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> I am in the market for a 16" kids bike, as my 24" wheeled BMX cruiser has been determined ineligible for an upcoming local ride - 4 miles downhill, at night, adults on 16" max bikes - what could go wrong?? One friend is bringing a Big Wheel (certain death?), and someone suggested I ride the scooter, but it the "brakes" are lacking. Do you think cheap coaster brakes will burn up in 4 miles, maybe 1000'+ drop?


Oooo this sounds so fun. I am on the board at my local coop and every time I am there I seem to be the one that "safety checks" all the kids bikes. Riding those tiny bikes makes me want to organize some kind of goofy adults on kids bike event. I just need to consider how to get around the liability issues and come up with a handful of feats of strength...

On the coaster brake issue - I think the coaster brake might be ok, but I would suggest some thick soled work boots just in case


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Will be a half commute today at the end of the work day. Riding home, then riding up in the morning. didn't have time for both legs in one day this week. will add on some side excursions on the way home though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Was lucky to stay dry both rides today. A big rain area came through today during the day, but by the time I went home the sun was shining again and I had a nice tailwind pushing me home for most of the ride today. Really a nice ride.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. Weather is going to be nice, workload will be low (I guesstimate/hope) and a lot of sailboats will sail right by office on the river Elbe because next weekend will be Hafengeburtstag (Harbour's birtday / see https://translate.google.de/translate?hl=de&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.hamburg.de/hafengeburtstag/).

Will finish the day with a nice detour home. Yay! I hope you all can also enjoy some summertime finally!


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Breaking records up here at 85F.

And no rain all spring means wildfires a few hours north of us in Ft McMurray (home of the relatively infamous oilsands?):















They were worried yesterday, but just in the last few hours it's apparently gotten a lot worse. :eekster:


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

^^^
Be safe! that looks gnarly! We have had wild fires locally in 2007, and again in 2013. It can get scary. Seems anymore that we get regional smoke every year in August.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow Newf, that looks bad, stay safe! Commuterboy, you dinosaur ride looks way more ipressive than mine! Kleebs, I think the crazy rides have to be unsponsored stuff that "just happens", although I have seen tamer "races" on kids bikes as part of organized events. This one is super-secret as you can tell. It is early in the riding season so I will do it for fun, but nothing insanely risky, even if I have to walk partway. One advantage of aging, you have a better idea of your limits/risk-benefit ratio, even for us funlovers.

Today's commutes were good, MTB front suspension helps on the milled pavement, which is quickly turning into massive potholes, which are actually harder to avoid for cars. Hope they bring out the paver soon. I left early this a.m. and consequently had a few extra friendly waves/honks from friends who don't always see me. Not even sure who they all were, but I'll take it.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

No danger to me, it's 500km (converting to imperial that's like 3 states) north of me. But still crazy.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Wow, ganrly fire Gnewf! And 85F already is just plain weird too! But 3 states in 500 KM? That would be pretty small states.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Looks like a bike commuting apocalypse Newfangled! :eekster:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Normal ride in, busy as hell delivery shift, rode back to the apartment to get the car to go to work. Rain was forecasted tonight but so far it has held off. Delivery again Wednesday on a normal shift for me......and...... 100% chance of rain and a high of 52°F. Dang that is gonna be a bit chilly. Had one incident with a kid on a moped on campus illegally riding off the sidewalk to cross the road at an angle on a one way.....going the wrong way. He saw me coming out of the parking lot and making the right turn WITH the flow of traffic. He went anyway. Looked at me like he was right and I was wrong. I just shook my head and mouthed to him, "really".


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

We're sharing your sunshine Dutchman, absolutely glorious out there today! Those waterways look mega busy, looks like a great event!

Been watching the wildfires on the BBC news, those are some big flames!! Scary as hell (literally I guess)


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rain has already started this morning and there is a line of storms that covers the state. It did break 50°F already but that is the high. Too warm for tights and more than likely too cold for shorts. Already prepared to be soaked and just roll with it. Not even going to attempt a bike with fenders. 

Hope they get the fires under control. Looks pretty nasty and while I seem to be complaining about rain, we could always have it much worse.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hate fires! That looks like a bad one. 

Club Time Trial tonight (supposed to rain so we'll see). I found a 42 tooth front ring and slapped it on the Fatbike. I'm creating a new time trial fatbike class :lol:


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## hamsterspam (Sep 28, 2014)

managed to turn 6 miles of errands into a nice 30 mile ride today...and was heading in the right direction when the winds kicked up so a nice tailwind home...


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Just read about that Gnewf!!! Was reading something like 25K acres burned already and 2200 homes are gone. Pics were showing a neighborhood that was literally LEVELED by the fires. Lots and Lots of videos of people trying to get out of dodge....

Commute was meant to be this morning apparently. Normal normal rout through all the construction has been open the last two days and about halfway through I pass a presbetyrian (sp?) church and in the just starting morning light of 5:45am I saw a random object in the gutter next to a pen and business card. As I rode by I realized it was an iPhone. Since I was running a bit late I quickly turned around, grabbed all the objects and shoved them in my jersey, took a quick glance at the house in nearest the location to see no vehicles and no lights on. So I headed to work. 

About an hour later after trying to find some sort of contact info in the phone, could tell it was owned by an older person as it had not passcode nor had it been updated since iOS 7.1!!! one of the most recent texts got a response. I responded with my name and number and got a call from the phones owner (on my office line) within an hour. Nice pastor dropped by my office later in the morning thanking for me finding it and handed me a $20. Free lunch for me today!!!

Weather has been nice, not too hot or humid or windy so back at commuting regularly. Unfortunately, my trail bike is down for the moment (Fork is DEAD) so this is about the only riding I will be getting for a bit.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

^Last week on my ride home I rode past what I thought was a phone case. Half a mile up the road is a woman is stopped on the shoulder looking in the grass, I ask if she lost something "Yea, my phone". Apparently she left it on her roof and was talking on bluetooth until it fell off her car and lost the call. I managed to put two and two together, rode my bike back and grabbed her now smashed phone. No reward, but she was quite grateful that she could at least download her stuff off the phone. No way she would have found it based on where she stopped her car.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Good karma for you guys!

This morning on my commute I saw the aftermath of a motorcycle/Jeep crash on the side of the freeway, check this out wow! I guess they're not dead but in the hospital, the news said.

Summerlin Parkway crash sends 2 to hospital | Las Vegas Review-Journal

i zoomed in and took this picture


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

I did a different commute the other day. I am attempting to turn biking into my main transport, time permitting at least. 

I went to a party. Panniers are surprisingly great for holding beer. I thought they would clink and make a racket but I had fun at the party and rode back later. It was only a couple of miles even so but just an example of how biking can help. In my town everything is fairly close by. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Light sprinkles as I rode to the LBS to hang with my buddy before delivery. Rain eventually stopped and it actually started to dry up. Did a few runs and it started sprinkling again, 52°F and breezy. Wasn't bad. A few runs later I come out of a building and it is raining. Then it started really raining. Then it stopped. Then it started drizzling. At this point, I was soaked to the bone. Showers Pass gloves helped a bit but my hands ended up wet and cold anyway. Made pretty good tips and rode back home to get cleaned up and get the car to head to the second job. I was wet, cold and dirty from the road grime and working another 8 hours at the hospital like that didn't sound appealing. 

Thursday is day 4 of 4 in a row of working both jobs. My legs feel alright but I am overall plain old tired. Going to ride all day tomorrow so no car which is fine with me. Supposed to be sunny and in the 60's!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

gregnash said:


> ...could tell it was owned by an older person as it had not passcode nor had it been updated since iOS 7.1!!!


Whaaaaa? Barbaric!!! :lol:
Well, cool that you helped the guy out and made yourself $20 to boot!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Did a partial commute tuesday so I could get home in time for the weekly Tuesday night crit. Found myself following the right wheel on the bunch sprint and took 3rd for my first road podium. Also picked up a cash prem earlier in the race so I effectively got paid for riding my bike. Love that. 

Was supposed to be cool but dry today so I planned to ride. I have been slacking lately in the commute department as I mentioned last week. Woke up this morning to 47F and drizzly rain. My commuter with full fenders is still disassembled while the frame awaits powdercoating, so I was going to get wet no matter what. On another day I would have used this as an excuse to drive, but damn it I was riding no matter what this morning! Glad I did. Feet got soaked mostly from puddles and road spray from my road bike, but damn it felt good to be on my bike. I need to find someway to remind myself of that feeling whenever I get tempted to drive.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ WooHoo! Nice work


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Crazy T-storms and lightning around here the last couple days. The club Time Trial was cancelled last night, which was a bummer because I was actually finally going to be able to make it. 
I came the closest I’ve ever been to a lightning strike yesterday on the ride home. There was no sign of impending doom… no previous strikes or anything to make me re-think riding. I left town and it was dry, but going to rain at any moment, so I was trying to get home before it unloaded. It went from bone dry to hail, which is weird, usually there’s some rain in there, but it was pounding hail out of nowhere, and then C R A C K!! The light and sound were crazy. I honestly questioned if what I was feeling was adrenaline or if it was electricity for the next few moments. I was looking for shelter, but I was pretty far from any cover, so I just kept the hammer down, waiting for the next one and hoping it wasn’t closer. Then the hail shut off like someone closed the valve, the road was bone dry, and the rest of the ride was completely uneventful. Not a feeling I’ll forget anytime soon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

OMG you guys stay safe out there!! Thunderstorms, bushfires....man we dont have anything similar here at the moment. Simple and plain nice summer weather.

I do remember once riding in a thunderstorm though, at night in the dark. There was a lightning flash and apparently struck the ground pretty close and the light from the flash was actually beaming horizontally through between the trees. Man I still shiver when I think about it and seldomly I have been so happy to come home.

Because of the bank holiday no commute today for me but we made a family ride of 18km/11m in which I hauled the trailer with my 1-year old. I expected my almost 5 year old to move into the trailer as well at some point but he rode the entire tour himself on his ss 18" bike :8 He got a big icecream as a reward and he was pretty flattened, he just went to bed 1 hr earlier as usual. I dont know if I should be proud of him or feel bad - maybe we overreacted a bit today, although I havent been really pushing him. And he knows the bail out option with the trailer with putting his own bike on the top of the trailer etc. We have done it before....but still....man havent seen him so tired before I think. 

You guys stay safe out there.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ That's a heck of a ride for an almost 5 year old! Sounds like he knew he had the option of bailing out and wanted to do the whole thing. I think that's awesome. He should be proud of himself. And maybe now he'll understand a little bit of how you feel when you get home from a burner of a ride and don't want to immediately start playing with him :lol: 

My little man turns 4 today. Looking forward to prying him off of his strider bike that he rips on and forcing him to ride the sweet little specialized pedal bike he's been avoiding :lol: 


I have no desire to be that close to lightning ever again. Spooky stuff. Hard to predict when there hadn't been another strike to let me know it was brewing. If there's any sign of it around, I'm waiting it out for sure.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> I have no desire to be that close to lightning ever again. Spooky stuff. Hard to predict when there hadn't been another strike to let me know it was brewing.


I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago. Just riding along in the trees, and then flash-BOOOOOM. And then there was no more lightning for the rest of the terrifying ride home. That prompted me to dig up: "In a forest, seek shelter in a low-lying area under a thick growth of small trees or bushes."

Heat wave is taking a break here, with temperatures in the 50s instead of the 80s. Should be good for the fires up north, but they've evacuated the entire city of 80,000 people. The most amazing thing about that, is that Ft. Mac is 500km from here,but it's 300km from _anywhere_. It's just about the literal end of the road.

In much more trivial news, went for a ride at lunch and forgot my gloves and glasses upstairs, but was too lazy to get them. I was feeling a little naked, but did the usual lunch singletrack without issue. And then riding back to the office I got a piece of mud flung in my eye (second time this year!). There's still stuff in there, and it sucks.


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

Made the work commute the last couple of days. Yesterday evening just as I was turning into my neighborhood some jackwagon threw his 32 oz soda at me. Luckily for me he missed! This morning's ride in was more enjoyable. The honeysuckle along the bike path made for a nice fragrance on the way in.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Way to go, Kleebs and Dutchie Junior!

Not so fun for the jackwagon with the quart-sized missile. Sorry that happened, Getintheretoy 

Rain, rain, rain. Homey don`t ride in that stuff any more, so Toyota for me tonight, probably tomorrow too. I didn`t see any lightning, but we had some awesome rolling thunder a few times today. Sounded close, so I don`t know why no flashes.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Two college girls in a Mercedes pulled out on a left turn right in front of me as I was coming from the right. Driver never even glanced my way. Really glad I was paying attention. Exhausted here, and my manager talked me into working Friday for a 5th day in a row. Sunny and 71°F in the forecast so it is hard to say no.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great result Kleebs! 

Bloody hell CB! That sounds both terrifying and awesome all in one. I bet the feeling after was the electricity though.

Thats a great effort from your littlun there Dutchman. Glad you're showing him the way  

Been a nice week here so far. T-shirt and shorts all week. Low 50sF in, hi 60sF nudging 70 on the rides home. Was dog tired and stiff when I got up this morning but looked at the weather and couldnt not ride. Nice steady roll in worked nicely to loosen everything up.

Been getting back into lunch time running (3-5 miles maybe with some bodyweight stuff on the shorter ones) which results in me eating lots. I seem to have stumbled on Granola as a snack and have developed somewhat of an addiction I think 

I speak to every single cyclist I see on my commute, some reply, some just smile, some maybe think I'm a madman  However, the nicer weather has brought out the "serious" but fairweather riders on my commute home (usually going the opposite way). You know the ones I mean. Those guys don't even look in my direction bit I still make a point of speaking.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

join bike to work team challenge, so i have to keep it up.

the rain is a buzzkill, but whatever. havent been rained on going TO work yet..so that is a blessing. getting home wet is a non issue.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear." - Jim Phillips

Rule #9


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Got pretty well soaked on the ride in, but the rain might be giving me a break on the ride home. Somehow we went from sunny and 80 degrees to a week of rain and temps in the 50s.

I thought people would stop calling me crazy for biking in the rain after I sold my car, but it's not the case. I guess I should be staying home from work every time it rains.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First day this year where I wore a jersey and short finger gloves when I left this morning. It was gorgeous out!!! Sunny and upper 50's and it is currently 69°F and really clear skies. 5th day in a row of delivery in the books, new record for me. Had some really good runs and didn't get stiffed so it was a great day. Taking a few days off the bike now as storms are forecasted to hit tomorrow in the afternoon and I don't feel like messing with that.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

All 5 brave Barre Bombers survived the 4.5 mile/1100' descent on kid's 16" wheel bikes - fun and hilarious! I rode a Schwinn with a coaster brake (center). This is the start at a radio tower.


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## Guest (May 7, 2016)

mtbxplorer said:


> All 5 brave Barre Bombers survived the 4.5 mile/1100' descent on kid's 16" wheel bikes - fun and hilarious! I rode a Schwinn with a coaster brake (center). This is the start at a radio tower.
> 
> View attachment 1068692


 That's good stuff. Probably deserves it's own thread, maybe it's own forum (i.e. Crazy $#it I did on a Bike.)


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> All 5 brave Barre Bombers survived the 4.5 mile/1100' descent on kid's 16" wheel bikes - fun and hilarious! I rode a Schwinn with a coaster brake (center). This is the start at a radio tower.
> 
> View attachment 1068692


Take any video? That sounds like a blast!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Someone did, hope to see and share it soon! Also awesome is that all 5 bikes fit inside that subie wagon!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Forster said:


> That's good stuff. Probably deserves it's own thread, maybe it's own forum (i.e. Crazy $#it I did on a Bike.)


He, Francois, we need a 16er forum!



mtbxplorer said:


> Also awesome is that all 5 bikes fit inside that subie wagon!


:lol:
Sure hope that video ends up on a public site, I`d love to see it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa I was so impressed by the fire and accident pics that I totally forgot to express my respect to kleebs for his result: big kudos to you kleebs, well done!!

Mtbexplorer: 5 bikes AND 5 persons? Glad you did not run into an overactive police officer! Would have loved to see a pic of his face hen he sees all thos bikes stacked in the back though....and I personally think it is worth posting this in the "passion" subforum. I guess there is already a thread there for this kind of psssionate stuff.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Not quite that good, cycling dutchman...my car held 5 bikes, the other held the other 4 riders. I already cross-posted at my other hangout, the women's forum, so I think it ends there. Thankfully the commuterforum has always been tolerant of diversions from the straight and narrow!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Diversions? Here? No way, dude!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I have my final checkup on my finger on Tuesday this week. If I can't get back to commuting by the end of this week, then I hope to by the beginning of next week. Though, I did buy a bus pass for the month...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was an interesting ride to work. So far this year on my two Felt bikes:

TK2 fixed gear- 1144 miles
Z5 geared - 45 miles

Almost 1100 miles more on one bike than the other. It felt really weird to be on the road bike again. Geometry is a lot different between a track bike and an endurance carbon bike. The ride is pretty smooth I must say and the 25's make a difference over the 23's on the fixed gear. Handling was so much different that it felt almost foreign. Last year I managed to put 773 miles on that bike and I thought that I had it dialed in. Today was an eye opener I think. Need to ride it more and possibly make some small adjustments.

The ride was nice, sunny and mid 60's but a headwind. Had an incident at a traffic circle where the driver of a diesel F150 style truck figured that he had the right of way when I was already in the circle. There was a small verbal confrontation from me and I heard his wife in the truck say "he is right" when I said I had the right of way. Their windows were down. He passed at normal speed giving me a lot of room after the circle and didn't try to roll coal on me. I think that she defused the situation inside the cab. Aside from that, it was nice. Ride home was a bit chilly but the sleeves I packed in my bag helped. College graduation was the 7th so the town is fairly empty. I had the roads to myself for almost the entire ride home.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Quick commute. Kinda cold at 0545 but getting better. Feels good and it's a great way to wake up. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Thanks for all the kudos. I drove to a dentist appointment this morning so I could get to work quickly afterwards. Turns out I was early....by a week. Now I'm just annoyed that I drove for no reason on a beautiful spring day. 

mtbx - can't wait to see video of that event!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

MTBX, that's awesome. We need to do that around here. Looks like our last couple weeks of amazing rains (we need it so bad, so hard to hate) are over for a bit... 70's and clear in the forecast for a while.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Strong easterly winds here but other than that simply beautiful. 13C/55F this morning and 25C/77F on the way home. Forecast is the same for the entire week, then a sharp temp drop is expected. Changed the position of the new levers a bit along the way, still refining everything.

I discovered a swan's nest along the way this morning, will hopefully give nice pics for the wildlife thread.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy Moly Batman! Miss a week, miss a lot. Just back from vaca.

Summing up some of the headlines: Logging truck crash, lightning strike, jeep crash, wild fire, adults on tiny bikes, PODIUM. Just to name a few. Too much to comment on.

OK, just one.


cyclingdutchman said:


> I discovered a swan's nest along the way this morning, will hopefully give nice pics for the wildlife thread.


Be careful. Swans are vicious! (Not a lot of people know that)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No, really! I'm serious! 
Who, What, Why: How dangerous are swans? - BBC News


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ :lol: dang! and welcome back.

I'm famous again. No foot shot, but the guys who put my foot on the map(book) last year came looking for pictures for this year's publications, and I scored the cover of the annual county Visitors Guide. I'm in hotel lobbies, magazine racks, and restaurants all over the tri-counties area :lol: Come on over to our lovely county and ride some bikes


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Welcome back bedwards and congrats CB! Youll be able to start your own publication soon


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool pic CB, and all over the county, good stuff!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> I'm famous again. No foot shot, but the guys who put my foot on the map(book) last year came looking for pictures for this year's publications, and I scored the cover of the annual county Visitors Guide. I'm in hotel lobbies, magazine racks, and restaurants all over the tri-counties area :lol: Come on over to our lovely county and ride some bikes


Maybe you can see if they will pay you even ten bucks to "model" and then you could write your bikes off as a business expense. 

Hey, It's Strava "Global Bike To Work Day". I forgot but got my credit anyway.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats CB! You seem to be a true ambassador of the sport. Very good!

Thanks bedwards for the warning, I know they can be dangerous. Especially in spring when they have offspring to defend. In general that is the case for most animals in spring I think. Their nest is not directly next to the road, but a bit away, lower and also floating on water. I dont see the danger of getting too close or surprising them. The road is fairly busy too so that will keep them away I guess. 

Ride in was nice this morning. Commuted to kindergarten with my son first, then rode to work. By that time it was around 15C already nd I had a strong tailwind most of the way. The way back was a headwind and 24C, so a bit slower but who cares


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

1 C ride in

Shorts and the winter jacket....

Although we have had a very hot spring...I still believe this is going to be a relatively cool spring early summer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That's the usual model for me in the spring. Except yesterday. I was returning from 85F Mexico and needed a day to acclimate to Maine before wearing shorts around freezing. Today was slightly warmer and the shorts are back.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I forgot it was strava-to-work-day also, but somehow I still pulled it off :lol: 

Arm warmers were my only addition to the summer wardrobe this morning. pushing 50 for my later-than-usual ride in this morning. 

Thanks for the props on the publication... pretty stoked about it. The write-up was really good and included info on our local races and club, so hopefully it will actually draw some people into our little world. Only photo credit for payment... but dang, business expense...that's a great idea bedwards! 

What part of Mexico?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Riviera Maya just below Playa Del Carmen. Didn't sling a leg over a bike all week...weird.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

jeffscott said:


> 1 C ride in
> 
> Shorts .....


1C in shorts?? Brrrr makes me shiver just thinking of it. Kudos tough guy!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The Barre Bombers video (us big people on little bikes)





Good BMX commutes yesterday, they are making some progress on repaving and there is now about 1/2 mile more of new pavement and 1/2 mile less of that grooved dinosaur back pavement.

As evidenced by this police report from my route, though, road conditions continue to be challenging: The Department of Public Works was called out for a large pot hole in the travel portion of the Northfield Street. A traffic cone was placed into the hole.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

COOOOl video mtbx!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Yeah nice vid mtbx! Looks like the little wheels get a little wobbly at speed :eekster: fun times!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> 1C in shorts?? Brrrr makes me shiver just thinking of it. Kudos tough guy!


not so tough couldn't find my long winter tights.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

16 inches from death :lol: 
looks like a blast.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rides were the same as yesterday, I just made some short breaks to take some pics.

The appletrees are blossoming at the moment, looks really good and unfortunately I could not take a pic of the sweet smell :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ It's lilac-fest around here. Can't ride through town without smelling lilacs. It's like spring injected straight up your nose. 

Bedwards, sounds like a sweet spot to spend a week. I'm 3 weeks from the end of the school year so it's a bad time to think about a week off :lol: 

A couple weeks ago I pulled a thorn out of the front tire (tubeless) and it became clear that there was very little to no sealant left in there that wasn't dried up... so I added a shot. Yesterday I saw a goathead in there as I was riding home... I stopped and pulled it out about a mile from the house (so the sealant could hopefully catch and patch with the wheel rotating for the rest of the ride. Worked like a charm and it sealed up after a few rotations of spewing a little bit of sealant. 
I wanted to make sure it was holding up so went down to the basement lab last night to give the tires a squeeze... front was fine... rear was flat :lol: I guess I Never added sealant to the rear when I did the front. 

Glad I caught it now... I'm considering a big one way ride this Friday. Should be around 80 miles with a couple of pretty good climbs. Haven't gone that big in a while...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First day back at commuting today. The finger is a little ugly and misshapen but I'm ok to ride so life is good. 

Took it slow but just barely made it to the university before the sky opened up. It was sunny when I'll left. When I went to the meeting I was going to ten minutes after arriving the sky was black. Then on the way back I got to chase birds and rabbits and do a little botanizing.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

I rebuilt my commuter for the spring, hoping to have some fun on it this year. Took the rack off, switched from a 24-36-48 triple to a 30-44 double, 7 speed to 9 speed rear, and some compass 1.75" tires that will take some getting used to (dropped the BB noticeably). I didn't account for the 26" wheels so it was delightfully slow yesterday - I can pretty much ride anything on the road with the 44, then switch to the 30 for offroading. I did want it to be slower to make it easier to match pace with my wife and a couple other people I ride with when I can - may want a 46 eventually but it should work OK for the year.

Then took my road bike to work today. What a contrast. The friction shifter stopped frictioning at some point (not sure if derailleur problem or just some grease leaked out into the shifter) - I was stuck in 52x16 or so after that. Luckily it is exceptionally hard to shift into the smallest cog on that bike, or I would have really been hurting


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Damn CB - you're famous!

We have had 20 + Celsius here in Norway all week! Unfortunately my little one contracted some sort of bug and gleefully passed it on to my wife and I. I had a mild irritating fever and a sore throat - my wife skipped the fever but is blocked up like you won't believe... The little one? She had a fever for most of the week, a rash, sore eyes, ears, throat and snot coming out of everywhere...

Poor thing.

I managed a ride into work and home again on Monday, just as my fever was starting... The way in was great! sunny, warm and no discernible breeze! Perfect!
The way home was not so great... Still sunny and warm, but jeez the hot weather brings out the fair weather cyclists... I was cycling in traffic - except it was the cycle path and the traffic was made up of a mix of all sorts of cyclists. It was nice, except it was really slow!

*Then it happened. *

An eejit on a Cannondale CAAD something or other... Might have been a super six... Definitely wasn't a Synapse. Anyway - he (it might have been a she - it was a very close call) pushed past a line of cyclists I was in (there was really no room to go past - there was on coming bikes and the bike path was coming up to a junction with the road and a roundabout).* This was ******** move 1. *

After we got past the round about I was able to put down the hammer a little - I passed a few other cyclists and finally I caught up to the Cannondale rider - *just in time to get doused in snot. *

That's right - the ******* fired off a snot rocket into traffic without doing a shoulder check. *This was ******** move number 2.*

I then came along side this eejit and made it clear in my best English that next time they blow their nose they would be well served by doing a cursory shoulder check, you know, just in case there is someone behind them that might take issue with catching a big old greener plus spray right in the face. Double especially since they are riding a heavily used path and there is a lot of others riding today... Did they apologize? *Did they f*"k.* *This was ******** move number 3.*

So - after setting snot rocket boy right I headed off at full speed - only to get stuck in a slow line again - the Cannonsnotriderguy then pushes past again! Into oncoming bikers forcing them to go tight to the rail on the other side. *This was ******** move number 4.*

I just waited until it was clear then went past the line. I was then in the awkward situation that the Cannonsnotter was riding at roughly my cruising speed and going my direction... We were destined to be stuck with each other until one of us either put the foot down or turned off to another road...

I was buggered if I was going to sit on their wheel - what was coming next? Another snot rocket? A little wee? A turd, perhaps? Vomit?

So I sat a good few lengths back and let them go.

After a bit I came up behind a pace line that was moving at a reasonable speed - I went by them and pulled into second place - guess who was in the front? Yep - the Cannonsnotter. (s)he looked back, saw it was me and immediately stopped pedaling. I assume (S)he didn't want to pull for me. But get this - as I went by they spat on my front wheel! ON MY FRONT WHEEL! *ON MY FRONT EFFING WHEEL!*

At this point I just unleashed and sprinted away - made it home in record time too (29.38).

The moral of the story? If you want to ride faster don't waste time and money on bike upgrades. Don't even waste time training. Just get someone to spit at you.

Oh, and one last thing - I have a quandary. I am doing a sportive in three weeks or so. I am in reasonable shape (ha ha ha) and am completely ready except one thing. What kit to wear? I have it narrowed down to two;

Top - Bonk Schleppers
Milltag

or

Road.cc 
road.cc Men's Evo jersey / road.cc

What do you guys think?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ dang ghost, maybe sometimes it's best to let goobers be goobers and keep doing what your doing. I know how you feel because that type of thing makes others have a negative view of cyclists. For instance, I was describing getting cut off by a phone occupied driver to a lab mate and they asked me why I thought it was ok to run stop signs... I very not politely informed him that I know how right of way works and the fact that I had been stopped and had started going before the driver reached the sign. 

I blame this mentality on every idiot cyclist that I know, which is quite a lot.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Todays BTWD here..*

This morning I was reminded of why i haven't ridden into work in the last 5 years of Bike To Work Days. It's that one day a year when everyone's a champion of riding a bicycle and deems themselves..with the term i love to hate a..."biker". So far ive encountered people riding on the sidewalk..some rookie who i guess thought i was stealing his bike as i took mine off the bus rack and some princess who wouldnt let anyone else bike touch hers so 4 people had to take about 5 minutes and rearrange their bikes so that she got her way..

Only good thing to come of today is the free beer on the way home..and yeah hopefully the sun will make a appearance.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*Todays BTWD here..*

This morning I was reminded of why i haven't ridden into work in the last 5 years of Bike To Work Days. It's that one day a year when everyone's a champion of riding a bicycle and deems themselves..with the term i love to hate a..."biker". So far ive encountered people riding on the sidewalk..some rookie who i guess thought i was stealing his bike as i took mine off the bus rack and some princess who wouldnt let anyone else bike touch hers so 4 people had to take about 5 minutes and rearrange their bikes so that she got her way..

Only good thing to come of today is the free beer on the way home..and yeah hopefully the sun will make a appearance.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-2C Sleet downtown wet heavy snow up at my place 3500 ft.

Found the winter tights. Left the knobbies on from last nights mountain ride.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Did a bit of riding around today. Using the bike as part of a training schedule for cardio along with running. Rode the rigid down one of the local trails and found it mostly pleasant. Great fun and much different than riding a squishe bike lol.









Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> *Then it happened. *...
> 
> Top - Bonk Schleppers
> Milltag
> ...


Hell of a story Ghost! The guy was a douche.

Now, about your wardrobe. I can honestly say I've never given much advanced thought about how my kit will look on a ride. The one that is on top or a jersey from the previous years event decided the morning of. I think you're on your own there.

We have a day of summer here! Getting darn close to 80F(26C)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Eeek ghost, sounds horrible!

Our nice weather period here with temps of around 25C everyday is coming to an end. Wind was colder today but it was still a nice ride home in t shirt, shorts and sandals. Tomorrow seems to be going the same, so I am going too make an extra cheese run on the way home,.so I will end up with around 30km/20m or so. Not much compared to some of you beasts here but I guess we can not all be champions.

So far my conti speedrides make a good impression. I am glad that I invested those 30 euros in them and can keep my expensive wintercontacts for winter (I paid 50 euros EACH for those + shipping :eekster: )


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## vegascruiser (Mar 22, 2013)

Getting warm in the 90s today for ride home. This might be the first full week of commuting I've had a in a long while. . .


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Wow Ghost I must say I would have a really hard time not knocking that person's teeth out after that! :madmax:

Glad the finger is doing better NDD, I've been keeping my eyes out for cool plants but there is a limited selection here in the desert haha!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

vegascruiser said:


> Getting warm in the 90s today for ride home. This might be the first full week of commuting I've had a in a long while. . .


 Yep they say upper 90s tomorrow afternoon!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ghost, it`s too bad you didn`t know ahead of time what was going to happen yesterday. You could have saved up a nice bottle of your daughter`s snot to toss back at the C-dale guy. As for what clothes to wear, I guess the jersey with the most spit on it will give you the fastest time.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Damn ghost. I would have had a tough time not reacting to that Cannonsnot guy. It probably wouldn't have ended well. 

As for which jersey, I like the road.cc jersey.

Spring has sprung here which means it is now construction season. My ride Wednesday was the start of construction on my favorite route to work, so I got to experience MTBX's dinosaur pavement. It was bone numbing on my aluminum road bike with 25mm tires. I tried a different route today, which was also down to one lane for construction, but they hadn't started tearing anything up yet so it was fine - except for the wind. Relentless headwind the whole way today really tired me out this morning. Hoping the wind keeps up so I can get home quickly.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Weather has been messing with my commute this week. Rain yesterday and more rain forecasted for today, specifically later tonight when it is supposed to be in the low 50's/upper 40's. When the temps are that low and it is raining, the car gets the duty. Warm rain is fine but cold rain just makes me miserable and is probably the one condition that I won't ride in unless I absolutely have to. Possibly can ride to work Saturday and then Sunday there is a 30 mile ride for the local Hospice that I have been doing every year. Might ride out to that, do the 30 miles, then ride home. Should be a 50+ mile day if my math is close.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

This is my first post. I just got back into riding and it was because of this thread in this forum. I have read every comment on every page over the last couple of months. Its because of guys and gals like MTBX, Sizzler, Gary The No Trash Cougar, Commuterboy, Rodar, that I decided to bike. I live about 7.5 miles away from work so I am scared about commuting there yet( plus my bike set up is not so hot) but I will one day. Thank you guys and I am excited to be apart of the fun!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Huskerbiker said:


> This is my first post. I just got back into riding and it was because of this thread in this forum. I have read every comment on every page over the last couple of months. Its because of guys and gals like MTBX, Sizzler, Gary The No Trash Cougar, Commuterboy, Rodar, that I decided to bike. I live about 7.5 miles away from work so I am scared about commuting there yet( plus my bike set up is not so hot) but I will one day. Thank you guys and I am excited to be apart of the fun!


I hope you can work it out! If you don't mind my prodding, why are you wary about committing to commuting by bicycle?

And I'll say the people in this thread are a good support group. They definitely make it easier to choose the bike instead of the car. I mean, when some of us are getting struck by lightning (almost) commuting in a slight downpour and headwind seems downright gentle


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## jmctav23 (Oct 16, 2010)

took the long way to work yesterday...twas just lovely.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

NDD said:


> I hope you can work it out! If you don't mind my prodding, why are you wary about committing to commuting by bicycle?
> 
> And I'll say the people in this thread are a good support group. They definitely make it easier to choose the bike instead of the car. I mean, when some of us are getting struck by lightning (almost) commuting in a slight downpour and headwind seems downright gentle


Mainly because I haven't been riding in about 5 years. I feel like I need to build up my legs. The other reason would be my equipment, lets say its less than desirable. It is a WM cheapo that I got about 8 years ago.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Huskerbiker, welcome in the community. Good luck with your commutes. There are a lot of handy threads here of what to wear, how to carry gear, which bike is best for commuting, on handy equipment such as phone cases, tracking apps for security, which thermal mug works best, etc etc etc..just scroll down the page in this forum.

What kind of route do you have on your way to work? Dirt, pavement, rural or busy routes? Hybrid in combiation with bus or train? And do you have a bike already?

My own route was as expected. Last nice warm day for the upcoming time. Took the 30km/20m detour to get to my special cheeseshop, got my cheese and rode home. After more than a week of having 25+C, 21C felt cold today :eekster:


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi Huskerbiker, welcome in the community. Good luck with your commutes. There are a lot of handy threads here of what to wear, how to carry gear, which bike is best for commuting, on handy equipment such as phone cases, tracking apps for security, which thermal mug works best, etc etc etc..just scroll down the page in this forum.
> 
> What kind of route do you have on your way to work? Dirt, pavement, rural or busy routes? Hybrid in combiation with bus or train? And do you have a bike already?
> 
> My own route was as expected. Last nice warm day for the upcoming time. Took the 30km/20m detour to get to my special cheeseshop, got my cheese and rode home. After more than a week of having 25+C, 21C felt cold today :eekster:


I live in Lincoln Nebraska, this town is very bike friendly. There are two pavement trails that would get me to my work. My bike is a 2008 Schwinn sidewinder Fs. Yeah not very nice. One other concern is my work does not have any shower facilities, I don't really sweat a ton but I am sure there are ways around not showering after you get to work.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Huskerbiker said:


> I live in Lincoln Nebraska, this town is very bike friendly. There are two pavement trails that would get me to my work. My bike is a 2008 Schwinn sidewinder Fs. Yeah not very nice. One other concern is my work does not have any shower facilities, I don't really sweat a ton but I am sure there are ways around not showering after you get to work.


The FS is not ideal but I have seen people commute on much worse. It certainly would work. There are some great threads on not being the "stinky" person at work that should answer your question regarding shower facilities. I moved jobs about a year ago from a place with showers to one without. My route is about 15 miles each way and with the right preparation it works just fine. So far no one has complained . Welcome to the group.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Was heavy rain this morning. I am so glad I invested in a nice rain gear setup and full fenders.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Huskerbiker said:


> I live in Lincoln Nebraska, this town is very bike friendly. There are two pavement trails that would get me to my work. My bike is a 2008 Schwinn sidewinder Fs. Yeah not very nice. One other concern is my work does not have any shower facilities, I don't really sweat a ton but I am sure there are ways around not showering after you get to work.


Oh you can do 7.5 miles on that thing 

You might have to work up to feeling like you can do it as often as you want to but you'll be ok.

I stopped to look at some sedges growing up off the bike path today. People give you weird looks when you have your face on the ground and your butt in the air looking at plants. But some of them are so small, you just to get that close. Really a dream of a day for biking here. Warm, sunny. I'm drooling.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

First day on my new, shorter commute (1/10 the distance of the old one). Really nice ride. I'm able to spend most of my time in neighborhoods, with only one intersection on more major streets. Super quiet. The weather today was awesome. Clear, sunny, and cool.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Huskerbiker said:


> One other concern is my work does not have any shower facilities, I don't really sweat a ton but I am sure there are ways around not showering after you get to work.





Kleebs said:


> There are some great threads on not being the "stinky" person at work that should answer your question regarding shower facilities. I moved jobs about a year ago from a place with showers to one without. My route is about 15 miles each way and with the right preparation it works just fine. So far no one has complained . Welcome to the group.


Welcome Husker! I've been following alot of everyones advise in this thread http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/how-not-stinky-person-work-1004105.html since I started commuting and it's worked great, and I do sweat quite a bit lol.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I've added an extra 2 miles for my ride home to make it more challenging and also to have a little bit of downhill coast time before I hit the house. It's getting hot here already (96 on the way home today) and I've picked out several places to stop in the shade and get a cold drink of water for when the summer hits. A few tunnels and a huge mesquite tree with grass under it will be my good friends this summer when it's 115 out!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not really a commute, but I will post anyway. Every year, the local hospice here does some sort of fundraising memorial for those who have left us. The last 2 years they have offered a bike route to ride along with a 5K hike. Both times in the past that I have done it, I have ridden my fixed gear, but I have driven there to ride. This year I decided to ride there, do the 30 mile route, and then head home. It was 33°F when I left the complex this morning. Cold doesn't even begin to describe how it felt out. It had rained the night before so the streets were a bit wet still. Hands immediately went numb even with thicker gloves on. The headwind was strong, and then the snow started. I was like no way, not in the middle of May, but yep there were flurries. Made it to the start of the ride, and ran into a coworker who was doing the ride with her husband so I rode with them. The pace was slower than I would normally ride, so my core temp started to drop. Smart me brought a change of clothing though in my messenger bag. I got layered up properly and at least my body was warm. Near mile 25, it started to snow much harder than before and had it continued on like that we would have easily gotten some accumulation. Hands and feet were absolutely numb. By the time I got home I was honestly worried about frost bite on my feet. Hands warmed up because as soon we got back I left and opened it up to a pace that would get me warmer. 

All in all, it was still a good day. My mom passed away in 2008 in a not so common way and we utilized hospice down in Florida for her end of life care. Ever since then, my entire family has been sure to donate to hospice whenever we can. My dad took care of my entry fee, and I went ahead and matched it, and then my best friend matched it as well. The first time we did the hike it just so happened that my sister was in town from Chicago, my dad was in town from Florida, and it happened to fall on my mom's birthday. Going to try to not miss one now from here on out.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Welcome aboard, Huskerbiker. You read this whole thread from the beginning??? Wow, you deserve a drink AND a donut! Sure, FS is a bit of overkill for potholes, but on the bright side, it`s got a Schwinn headbadge :thumbsup:
Anyway, good luck out in the wilds of Lincoln.



EugeneTheJeep said:


> A few tunnels and a huge mesquite tree with grass under it will be my good friends this summer when it's 115 out!


I shudder at the thought :crazy:


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## jupiter58 (Jan 13, 2016)

I had some ******* on a mtb come flying off a downhill side road, nearly missed a few cars getting across the 2 lane road and proceeded to cut in front of me by about 5 yards. I was in a bike lane on a main paved city road, then the idiot slows down in front of me since he is a weak rider. I passed him silently and left him behind, the guy looks at me as I am passing him, he looked pissed off. Thing that gets me is the wuss was obviously not able to take me on in a fight, I mean I was pretty steamed about the rude dangerous thing he did, so why did he do it? so many challenges out there on the road it saddens me when people can not get along, I mean I put up with the usual threats from cars and other bikes. This one idiot was exceptional. A road bike rider was mowed down by a car a few years ago on this route,the driver was convicted, I ride past the ghost bike every commute.


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## Guest (May 16, 2016)

Huskerbiker said:


> This is my first post. I just got back into riding and it was because of this thread in this forum. I have read every comment on every page over the last couple of months. Its because of guys and gals like MTBX, Sizzler, Gary The No Trash Cougar, Commuterboy, Rodar, that I decided to bike. I live about 7.5 miles away from work so I am scared about commuting there yet( plus my bike set up is not so hot) but I will one day. Thank you guys and I am excited to be apart of the fun!


 First, Welcome to the Forum. Second, Nebraska (especially Lincoln) can be less than friendly to cyclists, but it's all doable. I've been commuting for more than 30 years. Let me know if I can help you get started. 7.5 is a great distance, especially when you first start. I look forward to seeing your posts as you become a daily commuter.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

First commute today. It wasn't as scary as I thought, I feel awake for once when I got to work! The bike path I take really only crosses one major street but that has a tunnel under it, so unless it rains like it has been then I don't have to worry about it. The ride out will not be so much fun! Looks like we are expecting to get rain all day, what a way to start a first commute hahah!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Welcome to commuting Huskerbiker!!


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Bike to Work Life - Bike to Work Week 2016 Day #1. Rainy and perfect.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Huskerbiker said:


> This is my first post. I just got back into riding and it was because of this thread in this forum. I have read every comment on every page over the last couple of months. Its because of guys and gals like MTBX, Sizzler, Gary The No Trash Cougar, Commuterboy, Rodar, that I decided to bike. I live about 7.5 miles away from work so I am scared about commuting there yet( plus my bike set up is not so hot) but I will one day. Thank you guys and I am excited to be apart of the fun!


What! No honorable mention for me? I'm going to have to up my game! It's all good, I won't hold much of a grudge. You read every post? All 20,206!!! I think you may have too much time on your hands. WELCOME TO THE FOURM!

CB, I checked out the Gore Active jackets at LL Bean. They were a little heavier than what I am looking for but I still might have got one if they had my size. I'm usually a M but those were a little snug. L was the only size they didn't have. The search continues.

RollingRunner and I set out for an 80 mile training ride this weekend for her Ironman. 75 miles in we decided F-it let's go for the whole century. That's the earliest century of the year for me. We hit the coast.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

It is bike week this week so everyone is out. There was even a slight bike traffic jam on the MUP due to some construction on the bridge. I signed up to be a bike buddy which is someone you can contact if it's your first time commuting and have questions, or if you need someone to ride with to work in the morning or going home. I like to volunteer my time, I missed volunteering today, today is fix-it day and would've like to volunteer my wrenching to those who need it.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Huskerbiker... fantastic man. Good job.

Good one Bedwards! And that giant boot is amazing! And Iron(wo)man goals... that's a massive undertaking. Nice. 
When I was trading emails with the Gore-Tex people getting my stuff together, they told me to size up on everything because their sizing was very "euro" whatever that means, and that everything ran small. I went a size up on both the jacket and pants.

I did a big one this weekend too... was figuring 80 miles, and when I hit 80 and wasn't there yet, I said "screw it, let's do the whole 86".. so basically the same thing :lol: I got right at 4000 feet of climbing on that one... ouchy.

So I'm halfway between here and nowhere... 40 miles from anything, and I get to the highway rest stop where I was counting on filling up my bottles... as I roll up, I hear "hey is that an Ogre?" This dude Shane was on a little ride on his Ogre also... central CA coast to Mt. Shasta... to Alaska... back down the coast to Mexico.... then Arizona...now headed back to Shasta. 3+ years on the road hauling a massive Bob trailer converted to a 29er wheel with it's own disc brake... with his cat in a critter container on the trailer. All kinds of awesome.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

I work a desk job and we get things done very fast. so I do have large chucks of time where it gets boring lol. I missed a lot of people that's for sure!


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

Awful. Just awful. Went to a wedding Saturday and bosses kept buying. 

Oh..... I was so slow this morning. Still dragging ass. 


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Boomchakabowwow said:


> Awful. Just awful. Went to a wedding Saturday and bosses kept buying.
> 
> Oh..... I was so slow this morning. Still dragging ass.
> 
> Sent via Jedi mind trick.


Wow two days after the fact,. I think a nice sweaty bike ride is the prescription for you then. Lolol, and many pints of water.

See Husker I knew you could do it . You're fortunate to have bike paths to rely on. I'm in the same club right now and it's pretty nice.

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Huskerbiker... fantastic man. Good job.
> 
> Good one Bedwards! And that giant boot is amazing! And Iron(wo)man goals... that's a massive undertaking. Nice.
> When I was trading emails with the Gore-Tex people getting my stuff together, they told me to size up on everything because their sizing was very "euro" whatever that means, and that everything ran small. I went a size up on both the jacket and pants.
> ...


Nice ride. Tires look like them might provide a little more rolling resistance than the 28c gatorskins I was running so 86 miles might have been more like 120.

I actually just ordered this. http://smile.amazon.com/ELEMENT-WIN...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 It has the Gore Active fabric and had the features I wanted. Ordered a large. Free returns if it ain't fit.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sweeeet. Yay Gore-Tex. Hope it works for ya. 


Those tires are Geax Saguaros, and they're no road tire, but they do roll impressively fast for a 2.2 knobby. I really like them for the commute/adventure. In road bike terms I'd maybe call it 100, but I can't claim 120 :lol: I hit 42.5 mph apparently, so between those tires and the water bottles up front, I want to also claim 50mph in road bike speed.


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## Guest (May 16, 2016)

Huskerbiker said:


> First commute today. It wasn't as scary as I thought, I feel awake for once when I got to work! The bike path I take really only crosses one major street but that has a tunnel under it, so unless it rains like it has been then I don't have to worry about it. The ride out will not be so much fun! Looks like we are expecting to get rain all day, what a way to start a first commute hahah!


 You'll want to watch that tunnel after it has been wet for a while. Most get mossy/slippery after a while. The trail system in Lincoln is pretty good with a few notable exceptions. Do you have a place out of the weather/off street to park your bike?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

What a difference a day makes. It was beautiful this morning on the commute to deliver. Mid 50's and sunny by time I left and then it was in the mid 60's for the ride home. Slow day, a few deliveries, and some good tips. Hung out at the LBS. Only had to work one job today. Solid day to be on the bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Good going, huskerbiker, CBs of the east and west + RollingRunner! When is RR`s big event? Will she get in to Boston again, or will the IM take up all available training time?

MrPink, the bike buddy program sounds pretty cool. I signed up for something like that a few years ago, but have not had any takers. Is yours a permanent offer, or just during BTWW?



CommuterBoy said:


> This dude Shane was on a little ride on his Ogre also... central CA coast to Mt. Shasta... to Alaska... back down the coast to Mexico.... then Arizona...now headed back to Shasta. 3+ years on the road hauling a massive Bob trailer converted to a 29er wheel with it's own disc brake... with his cat in a critter container on the trailer.


:eekster:
Rodar`s Rule: If your packing list for an intercontinental bike tour includes a live cat, you`re a bad ass.
And imagine how that must affect getting through immigration and customs for a dozen or so borders!

EDIT: Whoops- I thought is was down to SA and back after Alaska. Still...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow rollingrunner, kudos! Big accomplishment here was nephew graduating college Saturday and 8 relatives visiting from all over and surviving! Back to work this afternoon, did not pedal today.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

CB no pictures of the cat? Or a cat's paw cruisin' down the road? 

I have to drive the Mrs car tomorrow to have a check engine light looked at. No commute for me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

You guys have been busy. Good to see some new faces too.

No ride for me last week. Was feeling rough the monday so drove. Got worse, left early and then whatever bug I had hit me; hard! Barely left my bed for 2 days straight, mostly sleeping only getting up to pee or get fresh water. Thursday was better but trying to rehydrate and eat something. Back to work but driving friday.

Went for a gentle spin into the city Saturday and came across a couple riding this. Stupidly didn't get the manufacturer but really nice people, happy to chat. Apparently a pretty heavy machine and uses a different/additional set of muscles to a conventional bike but once accustomed to it, very easy to ride a long way.









So this week back on the bike was great. The greenery seems to have exploded in the week I was off my cycle route. Almost like a different set of roads. Cooler than of late here this morning.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

Forster said:


> You'll want to watch that tunnel after it has been wet for a while. Most get mossy/slippery after a while. The trail system in Lincoln is pretty good with a few notable exceptions. Do you have a place out of the weather/off street to park your bike?


Yeah I watched someone go down last night in the tunnel, it looked slick so I stayed on the path. Right now I do not have a set place to keep my bike out of the weather. My wife and our soon to be 1 Year old live in an apartment. I keep it on the balcony and watch the weather reports, if it looks like its going to rain I bring it in the apartment.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

I did not ride into work today. I realized I had a problem on my way home last night. I have yet to put a light on my bike. It was an adventure missing branches of trees and busted concrete. ( I wonder about all the things I couldn't see at all) So after work today I will head down to my LBS and look for a light to add to my bike.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Hey all this time I thought that was Nacho Libre...I didn't know it was a selfie. 



rodar y rodar said:


> Good going, huskerbiker, CBs of the east and west + RollingRunner! When is RR`s big event? Will she get in to Boston again, or will the IM take up all available training time?


 July 24th, Lake Placid. She qualified for Boston but didn't get in. (It already happened). The Ironman training is :eekster:crazy:eekster:. I tag along on the long weekend rides for company and because I'd never see her otherwise.



rodar y rodar said:


> :eekster:
> Rodar`s Rule: If your packing list for an intercontinental bike tour includes a live cat, you`re a bad ass.
> And imagine how that must affect getting through immigration and customs for a dozen or so borders!


 LOL I second that.

Late May and it was 34 in my back yard when I left. Luckily it is warming up fast.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good work RR, bedwards and huskerbiker!

Monday was a bank holiday here, today I am flying to the other plant and come back tomorrow, so probably only 2 commutes by bike this week. For that, commuting on an A319 is awesome too if it doesnt happen too often. 2-3 times a year is manageable. Last weekend the weather wasnt really nice and we had some family obligations so couldnt ride either. So it will be 5 days without riding for me... I miss it already. 

Met another collegue and bike commuter this morning. I noticed his bag and it appeared to be a diy modified backpack with the hooks of the ortlieb system. Looked neat. 

BikeColorado: nice pic and nice to "see" you


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Dry. Looking at the forecast I should have been rained on coming in (and going home), rain held off until I got to work. Felt like a small victory.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wet commute this morning. Glad I invested in rain gear. Perfect weather for wearing just tights and what is basically a leg tarp. When they said not breathable, they meant it. 

Got home tonight and learned that an old friend passed away from cancer yesterday. Kinda happened fast, and it's really not fair that someone so nice and overwhelmingly positive got so little time.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

NDD said:


> Wet commute this morning. Glad I invested in rain gear. Perfect weather for wearing just tights and what is basically a leg tarp. When they said not breathable, they meant it.
> 
> Got home tonight and learned that an old friend passed away from cancer yesterday. Kinda happened fast, and it's really not fair that someone so nice and overwhelmingly positive got so little time.


I am sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts are with you and your friend in this difficult time. 
I am glad to hear you got some rain gear that worked for you. Do you think it will be to warm to wear that in the summer?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sorry to hear that NDD.

Wet weather gear can certianly be a mixed blessing on the rain wet or sweat wet front, unless you happen to win a load of Gore gear... 

Good ride home yesterday. Tried racing a proper roadie. He was on a very nice looking Specialised bike, aero drops, perfect socks etc. I didn't have a hope but did make him shoulder check more than he would have liked I think, I caught him a couple of times at lights but pretty much got treated with the contempt I deserved,  but I had fun, got the heart pumping


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A windy ride in but still made it in time. The ride home was complicated by catching up with a friend over Heady Toppers (a VT double IPA 8% alcohol) before the ride. My favorite part is the label, "don't be a dbag, recycle this can".

******
Very sorry to hear about your friend NDD.


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## Guest (May 18, 2016)

NDD said:


> Wet commute this morning. Glad I invested in rain gear. Perfect weather for wearing just tights and what is basically a leg tarp. When they said not breathable, they meant it.
> 
> Got home tonight and learned that an old friend passed away from cancer yesterday. Kinda happened fast, and it's really not fair that someone so nice and overwhelmingly positive got so little time.


 Sorry to hear about your friend. Cancer Sucks.

Good clothing for bad weather is usually a better investment than a lot of what we usually spend money upgrading. To date, I've never been riding in the rain and thought "Man, those new der pulleys are slick." but I've thanked myself many times for buying good clothing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD, sorry to hear it. With all the advances in medicine Cancer just seems to be more and more common. 


SlipSpace said:


> Good ride home yesterday. Tried racing a proper roadie. He was on a very nice looking Specialised bike, aero drops, perfect socks etc. I didn't have a hope but did make him shoulder check more than he would have liked I think, I caught him a couple of times at lights but pretty much got treated with the contempt I deserved,  but I had fun, got the heart pumping


Congrats on 2nd place in your CAT6 race! 

I'm hoping for a break from the wind we've been having. At least this should be my last day in my parachute cut wind breaker. Otherwise there's not much to report. The weather's been nice with cold mornings and warm afternoons all week.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Thanks y'all. 

Also, the rain gear is going to be totally wrong for the summer. Perfect for spring/winter. I've never had anything that wasn't too breathable that didn't let a little rain in or not breathable enough that caused equal soakage in sweat. It's a lot harder to stay dry in warm weather if you ask me. 55 and rainy, A OK. 75 and rainy, well...

For now I'll just enjoy the fact that it is working for this weather.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Bike to Work Week Sunrise Crew https://www.strava.com/activities/579987323

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

So last night I was riding past the lake by my apartment and as I crossed the dam and got to the steep down hill portion of the path I was a jogger at the bottom of the hill. As I started down the hill I noticed they stayed to the right " I thought that's how they would continue" as I got closer I let them know I was coming on their left as you should. I get about 10 yards away and them move to the middle of the path and by this time I am doing about 22 MPH again I say on your left and this time they move all the way to the left lane of the path. I locked up my breaks and got to the right. The jogger precedes to yell at me and tells me that I should have gotten off the path when I saw her at the top of the hill. I want to get your thoughts on this and if I should have taken the grass rather than the path?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Huskerbiker said:


> So last night I was riding past the lake by my apartment and as I crossed the dam and got to the steep down hill portion of the path I was a jogger at the bottom of the hill. As I started down the hill I noticed they stayed to the right " I thought that's how they would continue" as I got closer I let them know I was coming on their left as you should. I get about 10 yards away and them move to the middle of the path and by this time I am doing about 22 MPH again I say on your left and this time they move all the way to the left lane of the path. I locked up my breaks and got to the right. The jogger precedes to yell at me and tells me that I should have gotten off the path when I saw her at the top of the hill. I want to get your thoughts on this and if I should have taken the grass rather than the path?


No you were right. She's not entitled to the entire trail. You announced yourself and she didn't choose to listen. That's not your fault. Was she wearing earphones?

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Congrats on 2nd place in your CAT6 race!


Thanks! Had to look up Cat6 but I understand now.



Huskerbiker said:


> snip --- jogger at the bottom of the hill. ----snip


Always a tricky one ime and needs a judgement call at the time. I know there should be a right answer but people can be dumb so I don't think there is. Sometimes calling or ringing works, others just blow past as far from them as you can get.

Peds upon hearing a cyclist can do anything from swerve all over in mild panic before deciding on a side and/or rebuff whilst others will sensibly move straight to the correct side.

Generally I find they will fill the available space. A single person will walk the middle, two will walk at thirds, four at quarter etc. Ring your bell at four abreast, three will eventually end up one side with one on the otherside.

In short, stick to the path if you're allowed on it, but the grass can be easier.

I know, no help at all.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

NDD said:


> No you were right. She's not entitled to the entire trail. You announced yourself and she didn't choose to listen. That's not your fault. Was she wearing earphones?
> 
> Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


Yes I let her know that if she was going to be on a BIKE path that she needed to turn her music down. I would not have been able to forgive myself if I would have it her.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

SlipSpace said:


> Thanks! Had to look up Cat6 but I understand now.
> 
> Always a tricky one ime and needs a judgement call at the time. I know there should be a right answer but people can be dumb so I don't think there is. Sometimes calling or ringing works, others just blow past as far from them as you can get.
> 
> ...


A bell may be what I need. Going 20+ I was nervous about dropping off the path into thick wet grass. I was worried it may be very greasy and kick the bike out from under me.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Huskerbiker said:


> A bell may be what I need. Going 20+ I was nervous about dropping off the path into thick wet grass. I was worried it may be very greasy and kick the bike out from under me.


If you don't have a bail out option...then you have to slow down....learn to ride thick wet grass


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> No you were right. She's not entitled to the entire trail. You announced yourself and she didn't choose to listen. That's not your fault. Was she wearing earphones?
> 
> Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


On multi use paths the real answer is no one ever gets hurt.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

jeffscott said:


> On multi use paths the real answer is no one ever gets hurt.


I would agree with that. I should have been more defensive and slowed way down rather than count on her to make the right move.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sad but true...announcing "On your left." seems like it makes sense to a rider, but for some reason people often JUMP TO THE LEFT in response to your kind "On your left." If approaching hikers/runners from behind, announce, ring your bell, slow WAY down and plan for the worst.

Smile! "Have a nice day!" and move along.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> On multi use paths the real answer is no one ever gets hurt.


I understand that and if I were in the same situation, I'd have slowed down and been ready to get in the grass. I do it all the time with families and dog walkers, etc. I don't mind because I'm not driving so I'm relatively happy. The trouble is we've established this is a person who chooses to be removed from her surroundings and make herself a liability to others by using earphones in a capacity that doesn't allow her to notice what is happening. So yes, slow down because one should assume all runners will do the exact same, but that doesn't mean they get a free pass to be irresponsible trail users. That doesn't mean they get to scold people who did their darnedest to alert them of their presence.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NDD, sorry to hear that. It never makes sense... 

I got he the final pieces of the donor bike I threw together for a friend the other day, and got him rolling on a bike about 30 years newer than what he was riding… fun hearing stories about how amazingly fast and efficient this bike-of-the-future is for him :lol: Converting him to tubeless this weekend for the full futuristic experience. It’s the frame and fork I rode the Oregon coast on a few years ago… nice to see it back on the road getting used. Another friend kicked in a seat, another a derailleur… I had most of the rest except for wheels and tires laying around, so for the price of a cheap wheelset, tires, and a pair of grips, my friend got a pretty decent ride.


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

CommuterBoy said:


> NDD, sorry to hear that. It never makes sense...
> 
> I got he the final pieces of the donor bike I threw together for a friend the other day, and got him rolling on a bike about 30 years newer than what he was riding&#8230; fun hearing stories about how amazingly fast and efficient this bike-of-the-future is for him :lol: Converting him to tubeless this weekend for the full futuristic experience. It's the frame and fork I rode the Oregon coast on a few years ago&#8230; nice to see it back on the road getting used. Another friend kicked in a seat, another a derailleur&#8230; I had most of the rest except for wheels and tires laying around, so for the price of a cheap wheelset, tires, and a pair of grips, my friend got a pretty decent ride.


If only we all had friends like you CommuterBoy!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well done so far huskerbiker, and keep going!

Nice day today. Saw a roe deer very close today, it chose to freeze and blend into the surrounding bushes but it didnt work. Swan is still on its nest, eggs havent hatched apparently. 11C in the morning, 22C on the way home. Simply a nice day and it was good to be back on the bike after 5 days without cycling!


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## Huskerbiker (May 13, 2016)

I know I may catch flack for asking this in this thread, but I want your opinion. I am looking and test rode a new bike today. It is not the top of the market but it was a Giant escape 2. What do you guys know and think about it?


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

Been trying out different routes into work the last few commutes. Today was slightly longer but through the country. Very relaxing having the empty roads to myself.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

After two weeks of giant fires up north, this is the first day we've really had any smoke.



__
https://flic.kr/p/HjBa5n

And then it started pouring for the first time this year, which was fantastic (although short-lived)


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> NDD, sorry to hear that. It never makes sense...


Never, but I'm of the type I guess that would be surprised if anything did make sense.

Way to go on the donor bike thing. When I got a new bike a few years back I donated my old one. It needed a lot of work, so I gave it to he shop, they fixed it up, and then they donated it to a guy who couldn't drive but whose bike was destroyed when he got hit by a car. I learned a couple years later that the guy loves the bike and rides it every day, so that made me happy.

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

After a while without incidents, yesterday I had two. Leaving town the road narrows at a traffic island, and is also terribly potholed, so I always take the center of the lane there to avoid getting squeezed out. The island is only 20' long and it is in a 25 mph zone, so no one gets held up, and I move right again after the island. If someone needs to turn left after the island, that definitely holds people up. 

Yesterday as soon as I took the lane before the island, the car behind me leaned on the horn, and kept leaning on it. Well, I'll be damned if I'm going to move over because you are honking at me, so I kept the lane even after I would normally have moved over. The honking continued, I did not look to see what else they were doing. Someone going the other way joined in and yelled get out of the road, but I soldiered on. I invited him to pass with a sweep of the left arm and he finally did. I'm pretty sure he didn't learn anything but sometimes you just can't give in to a bully.

In the evening a big repainted black truck went by and I'm pretty sure he was rolling coal, as the terrible choking and visible blast of exhaust seemed too perfectly timed to be anything else, and the exhaust did not continue billowing as he went on down the road.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Don't Believe the Hype*



bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, so you don't end up with a silhouette of an eagle on your clothes after your ride? Too Bad. (Showers Pass Club Pro Jacket - very waterproof, not very breathable.
> View attachment 1056963





CommuterBoy said:


> Yeah, no more of that for me ^^. This stuff is seriously impressive.


Despite what our resident "Gore Whore" says. I didn't find the magic in the Gore Active fabric. I just just be a really heavy sweater. It's all good CB I didn't really expect it. I still like the new jacket way better than the old one.





​


mtbxplorer said:


> In the evening a big repainted black truck went by and I'm pretty sure he was rolling coal, as the terrible choking and visible blast of exhaust seemed too perfectly timed to be anything else, and the exhaust did not continue billowing as he went on down the road.


What's funny is when some ******* tries to roll coal and fails because they even suck at being a *******. I've had the peckers get right next to me and stand on it only to have to brake in 50 feet.

Beautiful morning for a ride! Even if I did have to change bikes after I headed out the door because my Di2 thought I should just use my 3 highest gears. Do you have to charge those things?








Happy Bike To Work Day​


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Beautiful morning for a ride! Even if I did have to change bikes after I headed out the door because my Di2 thought I should just use my 3 highest gears. Do you have to charge those things?


Don`t ask me. I`m waiting for the friction version Di3 to come out before I invest. I think it`s out now, but only goes down to 9s and I want the improved 3 X 8 version.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL. 2x9 with a compact is worth a look if you don't want to jump all at once! 2x10 is the pinnacle of drivetrains and they should just stop there.

Di2 is fantastic when it works. But when it's dead - it's dead. I also had the front derailleur tear itself apart so I'm not 100% sold either.


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

*Happy National Bike to Work Day!*

I'm not typically a commuter these days since it's 30 miles one way, but in honor of National Bike to Work Day I saddled up at 5:30am with my headlight and a blinky on my pack.








Few cars and rural scenes make it a fairly relaxing ride.
















I'm pretty sure this is a trap.







(that's a breakfast burrito - untouched)









And in typical commuter fashion - at least for me - I got stopped by an unleashed mastiff that was standing on MY side of the "Beware of Dog" sign. That was one big dog.

Have a great ride everybody!

-F


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^So how was the burrito? 30 miles seems like a good candidate for throwing the bike in the car and doing a few 1-way commutes in the week. Drive in, ride home then ride in, drive home. No need to carry extra stuff then either.

I'm surprised you needed the light. We're got full daylight from 5:00AM - 8:00PM these days. 

Speaking of that, where are the Alaskan crew lately? They must have full daylight pretty much all the time by now.


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^So how was the burrito? 30 miles seems like a good candidate for throwing the bike in the car and doing a few 1-way commutes in the week. Drive in, ride home then ride in, drive home. No need to carry extra stuff then either.
> 
> I'm surprised you needed the light. We're got full daylight from 5:00AM - 8:00PM these days.
> 
> Speaking of that, where are the Alaskan crew lately? They must have full daylight pretty much all the time by now.


That burrito was probably wired to a snare of some sort. 

The light was so no one made a left turn on me. People are not used to seeing bikes out in the morning around here. If they see you, they are not bad, but the "if" can get you mangled.

The 1-way commute idea has been turning over in my mind for years - or even the 1/2-way commute, but I often have to get home to make sure our daughter gets to practice on time. Only 8 more years of that. 

-F


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

Got absolutely drenched this morning, which is okay. Haven't actually taken my fixie much recently, since the trails have been in prime mountain biking shape, but it looks like this long weekend is going to be wet enough to stay on the pavement.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Hi! :waves enthusiastically:

I've been MIA for quite some time now, I know. Last year didn't wind up being good for commuting, since I was stuck in an air boot for bursitis in my foot for half the summer. I was also splitting a lot of time between my house and my boyfriend's house, which makes things difficult as well. I think I only rode to work a small handful of times in 2015.

Anyway, I'm back again! The boyfriend and I are living together now and moving next week to new place that will drop my commute from 15.6 miles to 13.5! I am excited about those 2 less miles and extra 10 minutes in the morning. Haha. I'll even actually be able to make it to work in under an hour!

We've had a beautiful stretch of weather here in Wisconsin lately and so I've managed to ride in a few times now. I'm trying to figure out how to balance running 30-40 miles per week AND still be able to ride to work occasionally. It's a work in progress.

Picture from this morning:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Discovered my heart issues relate to low potassium and got a short ride in on a former 3 x 10 reduced to 3 x 1 status. The right shifter seems to have gone south. Short rides until I get parts.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^You can at least crank up the High Limit screw on the rear derailleur so it is in the middle of the cassette and have a decent range on your 3-speed.

Good to see you back TrailRunner.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Take care of yourself BrianMC!

Strange day today. Father-Son commute to Kindergarten first. After dropping off my son, I swapped the jacket for the windvest since it was already 17C. Got to work and temps dropped about 2-3C so wore my jacket when I was going for my lunchbreak walk and had to wear the jacket again when I went home. Against the forecast, it rained during lunchtime today and it there was a light drizzle for about 10 minutes during the ride home. I didnt bring any raingear but luckily I had my Endura softshell pants on, so everything dried before I got home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good stuff everybody! BMX cruiser Friday for me made for fun rides, especially since it was T-shirt and shorts weather for the way home. One close pass by a stinky liquid manure tanker/spreader, but we both held our lines so all was OK. Left earlier than usual to come home and take care of the dogs before Barre Bomber ride #2 (16" and under kids' bikes downhill run) tonight. Trailwork bright and early at 8 tomorrow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was bike to work day so I rode over to the store to deliver sandwiches on my bike (no way, right?) Had the day off from the main job and it was beautiful out today. Low 70's by noon with full sun. So I am riding on campus, and honestly, it was really depressing. 2 school busses, 1 car, and 1 delivery truck all parked in the bike lane in a stretch less than a little over a 1/4 of a mile. This is really discouraging to anyone even considering riding to work anywhere but on the sidewalk. 

I also got into a small argument the other day with a delivery co-worker regarding where bikes belong. He drives, I bike. He says I belong on the sidewalk. I let him say his piece, then responded with the whole regardless of what you think - I belong in the road and will continue to ride in the road shpiel. He didn't like that at all. There is a lot of animosity between some of the drivers and the bikers. As we return from a run, we are put to the bottom of the list, and everyone moves up. Well, the manager really likes to use the few bikers for campus (literally across the street) and super short runs where it makes no sense to drive. So sometimes we get moved up per the manager and the list gets manipulated by the manager to assign us those deliveries. I can understand that they get upset about it because that is potential tip money and mileage that they are missing out on. That really is not my fault. Any of them are more than welcome to bring a bike and join us out there and see what it is like. We have had 2 drivers do such, and they have a whole new outlook on delivery. 

Sorry for the off topic - just had to get that off my chest. 

WTR - welcome back - was wondering what happened to you.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Had a long day at work today. I was sweeper on the shop's BTWD bike train downtown this morning at 7am. Got a solid 13mi of riding in by the time the shop opened, and I worked there till 7, and got just under 3mi more on the way home (took a slightly longer route). I like how I can mix up my commute routes by quite a lot. My way home today was about 2/3 greenway MUP (a VERY empty stretch, too), and then about a mile of streets w/bike lane.

The bike train went well. Had a nice group of folks. Even had a dad and his kid on a tandem, and he dropped his son off at school at one point or another. Get the kid started commuting early! Picked up a few people on the way downtown. I think we had a group of close to a dozen at one point. Big group downtown at the Bike Hub for free coffee (Hubbard & Cravens, a local roaster) and breakfast (fruit and bagels from Whole Foods, who will be putting in a store right next door to the bike hub within the year). Plus speeches from the mayor, who rode, and some other bike advocacy folks. Plus the always humorous interfaith blessing of the bikes.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Tenspeed, I have to say if your co-worker doesn't understand the rules of the road then I fear for the people on your streets. Zoinks! As for the campus delivery on bikes thing, that's totally reasonable. It's probably as fast or quicker since you don't have to park anywhere. 



Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Well no commuting to work for me for a couple weeks, vacation time! I'm planning on doing a little commuting between camp spots.....


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

And since y'all are in the giving bikes away spirit, I did as well, gave my old Timberline away to a co-worker. I got it for free about 10 years ago (from a co-worker ) and it's just been collecting dust since I got the new bikes. Besides it's waaay to small for me.

C-ya you've been a good bike!


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

My current commute is short, 8 miles direct but the route I take is about 10. I leave at 5:30 or so, so I don't see any other riders in the morning. Since it was bike to work day, I decided to take the longer way home and made it 18. My bike was the only one in the rack (but I do work at a factory with union labor...). I didn't see a single commuter on my way home, pretty sad.

I'm definitely missing my 30 mile (each way) San Diego commute on days like this.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful day for a commute. Sunny and 70°F. Ride home was pretty amazing as well still in the low 60's just before midnight. Repeat on Sunday? Yes please.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Well no commuting to work for me for a couple weeks, vacation time! I'm planning on doing a little commuting between camp spots.....


Looks good, have fun!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A busy weekend of bombing with the 16'rs Friday night (one bomber hit 44 mph and lived), trailwork Sat a.m., and trail ride Sun a.m.. Trail dog in training did well, actually watched a coyote pass only 50' away at a T trail junction without chasing it.


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

Fleas said:


> I'm not typically a commuter these days since it's 30 miles one way, but in honor of National Bike to Work Day I saddled up at 5:30am with my headlight and a blinky on my pack....
> 
> And in typical commuter fashion - at least for me - I got stopped by an unleashed mastiff that was standing on MY side of the "Beware of Dog" sign. That was one big dog.
> 
> ...


Well, I made it home Friday in good shape with a stop for some juice in the last 10 mi. I'd say I was 250 cal. short of not stopping. It is uphill almost all the way home - 30 mile, gradual uphill - and, of course, the wind swung around for the trip home so I had a head wind out of the East. The giant dog was nowhere to be seen, though.
Oh, and I found an extended reach flat blade screwdriver, too.

-F


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Despite what our resident "Gore Whore" says. I didn't find the magic in the Gore Active fabric. I just just be a really heavy sweater. It's all good CB I didn't really expect it. I still like the new jacket way better than the old one.
> View attachment 1071360​


Holy crap was it like 80 degrees?! :lol: You're not supposed to wear it in the summer.

Scouted out the local high country for sloppy spring fatbiking options this weekend... Just me or does this look like a Tim Burton movie?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Were you playing Oingo Boingo in the jeep? How high is high country? Do you have to acclimate? I'm guessing I'd have a problem riding at those elevations since I'm normally at sea-level. 

It was like, 35F. It's only a windbreaker. But it was about a 26 mile ride. 

My legs are wicked sore today because I thought it was a good idea to run a 5K over the weekend.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

No Oingo on that particular flash drive, but U2's "Elevation" did come on, which felt appropriate.

Not that high though... this is around 7k. The mountains behind the house top out at about 7600. My house is at 4500.

It is pretty sloppy in places. Screen grab from cell-phone-propped-on-a-stump video of me getting in over my bottom bracket:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Mt Washington is our tallest peak around at 6200' so it all seems tall to me. That landscape is pretty cool. Everything above around 4200 feet in this area is above treeline.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Mt Washington is our tallest peak around at 6200' so it all seems tall to me. That landscape is pretty cool. Everything above around 4200 feet in this area is above treeline.


The highest point here in Delaware is 447 feet above sea level. No, I didn't forget any zeros at the end. Only state lower is Florida.


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## hamsterspam (Sep 28, 2014)

lol,treeline starts at around 7000 feet here in the desert,town is at 4000 so theres a good bit of "up" here...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

My brother and I did Mt. Whitney a few years ago... I'd been living at 4500 and he had moved to sea level about a year prior... he's always been the stronger, faster one...but he was pretty miserable on that trip :lol: one night at 8500 was not enough before heading up to 14k. I was feeling great, but he was loopy. Some people do better than others, but time at altitude makes a huge difference. I think I may be a little lucky in that department... I've done Shasta a couple times, Whitney, a couple 14ers in Colorado... and I've never had any altitude symptoms. I mean I slow down, get tired, suck wind... but no headache or weirdness. I was freaking out on Whitney listening to my bro breathe when he was asleep. He was panting like a dog...sounded like he was running a marathon while completely asleep at 12,500 feet. Weirdest thing. 

Tree line around here is 8 to 10k, depending on where you're at. This cool landscape is the result of a big fire a few years ago.


Edit: Bedwards, maybe GoreTex breathes better at altitude :lol:


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

Only captured one idiot today:








formula4speed said:


> The highest point here in Delaware is 447 feet above sea level. No, I didn't forget any zeros at the end. Only state lower is Florida.


Dela, ware?

My wife is from Wilmington.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Love this picture, I'm a 4x4 fan too, used to run a jacked up Range Rover Classic.


CommuterBoy said:


> View attachment 1071966





formula4speed said:


> The highest point here in Delaware is 447 feet above sea level. No, I didn't forget any zeros at the end. Only state lower is Florida.


I know the feeling, highest point here in Norfolk UK is 338 feet, and that's 20 miles from me.

Not much to report on the commuting front other than it's been dry, weather has cooled a bit (boooo) and the GCC (Global Corporate Challenge) starts tomorrow. Anyone else playing?


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

In a downpour on the commute home yesterday...got to play Crossing Guard for a family of Geese.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Musings on being a pedestrian recently in Chicago. The ceding of right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks was impressive, both downtown and in western burbs. I assume there is a substantial penalty for hitting a pedestrian in a legal crosswalk. Here, the guy who was 20 mph over the speed limit (25 mph) would have blown through running over toes if he had to, instead of coming to a tire-burming halt when he could see me halfway across. For the most part, pedestrians adhered to the laws well (life threatening to do otherwise). I also saw a number of rental bikes in use. Maybe most drivers also walk a fair bit so identify better? I did not get enough impression of cyclists in traffic to have an opinion of whether traffic treated them well.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Musings on being a pedestrian recently in Chicago. The ceding of right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks was impressive, both downtown and in western burbs. I assume there is a substantial penalty for hitting a pedestrian in a legal crosswalk. Here, the guy who was 20 mph over the speed limit (25 mph) would have blown through running over toes if he had to, instead of coming to a tire-burming halt when he could see me halfway across. For the most part, pedestrians adhered to the laws well (life threatening to do otherwise). I also saw a number of rental bikes in use. Maybe most drivers also walk a fair bit so identify better? I did not get enough impression of cyclists in traffic to have an opinion of whether traffic treated them well.


I had similarly good experiences in northern IN last year. Generally people were respectable and mostly obeyed traffic laws. Must be a Lake Michigan thang.

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sidewalk said:


> Only captured one idiot today:


Yeah, that is par for the course here for about 75% of drivers. I have almost been hit walking in the crosswalk (the light was red long enough that I was about 2/3 of the way across) because they are too intent on trying not to stop instead of stopping long enough to look properly. Also they get in the mode of looking for cars and trucks so miss motorcycles and cyclists.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

XL ride yesterday. Yesterday morning I rode in the rain, stopped halfway to take the raingear off, then had to stop again to put it back on again. Made a long tour on the way home and although there were showers passing through, I missed all of them. Entire tour made for a 45km/30m ride.

Today pretty much the same. Rain when I woke up, dry when I was gearing up and raining again as soon as I stepped out of the door. At least it rained the entire way to work so I could ride without changing. I fear that my rainpants are getting old, the front of my normal pants was a bit wet when I came to work....will have to start looking for something new. Ride home today was ok, tailwind and dry.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides but a little tired/muscle tired from riding, trail work and yard work. Maybe a little protein short too. A wet ride home but over 60F so comfy just getting wet in shorts, undershirt and T (synthetic). Not impressed with the new Axiom clip on fenders for the MTB although their full fenders on cx bike are great...I felt pretty dry in the rear but my backpack is spewed with spooge. Rainbows and thunder/lightning (in that strange order) after the ride home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm thinking about dropping from 52/20 fixed gear back to 39/18 single speed for commuting purposes. When I've got saddlebags full of books/papers/raingear/food and it's windy that gear ratio is not my jam. When the bags are off it's totally rad, though. That said 39/20 fixed gear would basically never be awesome, unless I was really climbing a lot. To keep up with current conversation Illinois ranges between 200 and 1200 ft across the state and what we call hills y'all probably call a slight incline. The only other option is dropping to the 39 t chainring and only using fixed for light off-road stuff, which likely isn't worth it, but I would try it. 

Or maybe I'll just keep doing the same thing I'm doing. That's always easier. I'm just thinking about this now because it was windy today and I lugged around extra gear I never needed in case of rain.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BrianMc said:


> Musings on being a pedestrian recently in Chicago. The ceding of right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks was impressive, both downtown and in western burbs. I assume there is a substantial penalty for hitting a pedestrian in a legal crosswalk. Here, the guy who was 20 mph over the speed limit (25 mph) would have blown through running over toes if he had to, instead of coming to a tire-burming halt when he could see me halfway across. For the most part, pedestrians adhered to the laws well (life threatening to do otherwise). I also saw a number of rental bikes in use. Maybe most drivers also walk a fair bit so identify better? I did not get enough impression of cyclists in traffic to have an opinion of whether traffic treated them well.


Those blue Divy bikes get a work out. I see them all over the place. I will be there Friday through the weekend. Did you ride at all while you were there?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

NDD said:


> I'm thinking about dropping from 52/20 fixed gear back to 39/18 single speed for commuting purposes. When I've got saddlebags full of books/papers/raingear/food and it's windy that gear ratio is not my jam. When the bags are off it's totally rad, though.


I understand completely. There are days when I'm having to pedal hard all the way round (i realise thats good technique anyway....) to keep going, I have the same thought process, even thinking an extra gear or two might be handy.... If my route was more stop start I'd have to drop down for sure. That's about a 20% drop in GI your're considering there though, too far maybe?

Today was one of those days to be honest. Had to stop for a sec as I got cramp in my bum cheek, which is new. Someone hasn't been paying the bill as the temperature has dropped as the sun has been taken away and replaced with thick grey cloud.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> I understand completely. There are days when I'm having to pedal hard all the way round (i realise thats good technique anyway....) to keep going, I have the same thought process, even thinking an extra gear or two might be handy.... If my route was more stop start I'd have to drop down for sure. That's about a 20% drop in GI your're considering there though, too far maybe?


Yeah it's hard to say. I had it that way for a while, and it was great for commuting with supplies/groceries. But when I took the bags off I was spinning so fast my speed was maxed out by pedal speed alone. Now I'm much faster with nothing on the bike but that's not usually how I ride anyway. It'd be nice to be able to coast, too I guess.

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Those blue Divy bikes get a work out. I see them all over the place. I will be there Friday through the weekend. Did you ride at all while you were there?


We walked. We were doing about 1.5 miles at a go. That is close to where riding would start to make sense. I don't think I'd get my wife on a bike in Chicago traffic, though.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NDD said:


> ... not my jam ... totally rad...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

CommuterBoy said:


> View attachment 1072346


You're just lucky I didn't throw in a wiggity there just for the heck of it.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

Nice and cool!! New pedals shipped to office do that scraping whining sound, I won't miss it on the way home. 


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

I keep wanting to go SS, but then I remember that my bike weighs 30 pounds and I have hills.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Sidewalk said:


> I keep wanting to go SS, but then I remember that my bike weighs 30 pounds and I have hills.


Those are important to remember.

My commute was good today. Got rained on in the late morning. Early evening was warm and sunny. Did a few extra miles but it was so windy I felt like I did more. Whew!


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

Great weather out here today. Had to take full advantage. After getting home on my commute, I rode 30 miles to my wife's work to drive her home.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sidewalk said:


> I keep wanting to go SS, but then I remember that my bike weighs 30 pounds and I have hills.


That does make a difference. Doable but you've really got to want to do it



Sidewalk said:


> Great weather out here today. Had to take full advantage. After getting home on my commute, I rode 30 miles to my wife's work to drive her home.


That's pretty cool, good work.

Wet ride home with some wind but it was warm enough. I had the choice of get wet but suffer the wind chill or suit up and boil. I decided wet and warm was the better option.

This morning was 8°C / 46°F. WTH! we're nearly in June. Double pinged a couple of joggers and their dog and they immediately moved over. One smiled and said it's nice to hear someone using a bell. I thanked her and said it was nice to have people know what to do when they hear one. Very refreshing.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Good if slightly windy commute in today on my newly completed road bike with the 2x11 speed Campag group (well, it's a mix of 2010 Super Record Ergopower shifters, Centaur brakes, Athena FD/RD, Athena standard cranks, Chorus chain and cassette)...

My first trip out with the 53/39 - 12/27 gear ratios too - my oh my that 53 is hard to turn over... 

Something funny is going on with Strava too... 

On Monday I rode my usual commute on the 9,5 kg mtb;
15,4km @ avg of 28.9km/h, taking 32mins... Average power? 402W!!!

Today, I rode the road bike - 7,2 kg
15,4km @ avg of 30,2km/h, taking 30 mins... Average power? 188W...

Now I know I'm in no way ready to ride a grand tour - 402W for 30 mins is 5,66W/kg (for a 71kg rider) - which is high, but then again, 188W for 30 mins is 2,6W/kg... And qualitatively the effort I was putting in was no less today than on Monday - so what gives? Is the lighter bike screwing with the power estimate? I like to have my ego massaged like everyone else, but I'm not sure the 400+W estimate is correct either...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hitched a ride on the Barre & Chelsea #14 on the way home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today as there are supposed to be some severe storms rolling through this afternoon and tonight. Getting packed up for a trip to Chicago to see my sister/nephew/brother in law, and to ride of course. Tomorrow night is Critical Mass, and then Sunday is Bike The Drive, where they close down the Outer Drive along the lake for about 5 hours and you can ride your bike on it. This is the only day of the year where bikes are allowed and I have always wanted to do it so I registered. Should be a decent weekend if the weather can hold off a bit. Storms and showers forecasted pretty much all weekend but we will see.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Only did a half commute today. Had work done on the mtb, so I got a ride to pick it up. Then to the university and home. I have to say it was fun to ride this bike again.









I rode back later than usual. I thought it was about to rain but the radar was apparently wrong as it had just rained and was clearing up. There are no windows in that lab otherwise I would have known. I'm ok with it since I forgot my rain gear anyway. Since it was late and had just rained, nobody was out except a whole bunch of raccoons.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

And Ghost, ghost strava power estimates are always erroneous. It must be some assumptions they make when calculating estimated power based on parameters set for a road vs. a mountain bike. 

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ What's the dinosaur? A light, or horn?

Good riding weather this am, just about warm enough for a T-shirt once I got rolling and hazy sunshine; and I was ahead of time. 

I got humbled and inspired on the way in too. You may recall me mentioning an old boy who I see most days. He rides pretty slow on an old mountain bike with a kiddie trailer loaded with stuff. Seen him whatever the weather. Being that bit earlier I slowed for a chat. Really nice bloke. Turns out he delivers stuff (didn’t get what, newspapers or dairy maybe) and does 34 miles a day, been doing it for 40 years, oh yeah, and he’s 84! Legend!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

NDD said:


> And Ghost, ghost strava power estimates are always erroneous. It must be some assumptions they make when calculating estimated power based on parameters set for a road vs. a mountain bike.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


Yeah - Strava Watts do not = actual real world Watts... The deviation in this case was so big as to warrant mention, I thought. Maybe Strava assume that all mtbs have sky high rolling resistance, as they all ride knobblies (I have dry trail specific semi slicks on mine).

I would like to think that the truth lies somewhere in between (i.e. not 400+W, but not 180W - somewhere like 200 - 250W) But this is just a bit of fun - a distraction and not really that important, I guess.

The main thing is that we are all out on our bikes! Plus the only way to find out is to drop major coin on a power meter and I'm not doing that any time soon 

The ride in today was sunny and windy - the drawback of living by the fjord, I suppose, is that the wind comes right off the water - especially on the coastal cycle paths.

Nice trip in, though, with no drama, no near misses, no technical issues, its all good


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Mother nature is not with me today. 88F with 87% humidity is just gross.

Oh and there was this small little road block on the closed down road that is usually the best part of my ride.








Not sure if this will get cleared or not.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^If only you were on a "normal: bike you could have hopped that and been on your way. 



Ghost_HTX said:


> Yeah - Strava Watts do not = actual real world Watts... The deviation in this case was so big as to warrant mention, I thought. Maybe Strava assume that all mtbs have sky high rolling resistance, as they all ride knobblies (I have dry trail specific semi slicks on mine).


I'm sure that's it. If you were doing 28.9KM/hour and Strava thought you were on knobbies that would probably do it. The riding position also has a lot more wind resistance.

Ride was good, fast! (216 Strava Watts  ) Which seems about right.

I am SO ready for a long weekend!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> Mother nature is not with me today. 88F with 87% humidity is just gross.
> 
> Oh and there was this small little road block on the closed down road that is usually the best part of my ride.
> View attachment 1072653
> ...


I thought you'd just pop a little bunny hop over that :devil:


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Who said I didn't?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> ^^ What's the dinosaur? A light, or horn?


A squeaky horn. Mostly for show and stirring up people's dogs when I'm on the singletrack. I get a surprising amount of compliments on it, I guess because it's so goofy.

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Like the dinosaur too 

Rode every day of the week but wasnt always nice. Especially the last three days were very damp and around 15C/60F with occasional drizzle. Somehow I was always sweating or freezing. At least all rides were uneventful - good thing.

Nice weekend all of you!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

It's getting warm. Mid 80's temps pretty consistently right now for highs. On my way home, using a short stretch of MUP, a guy on an ATV was zipping the other direction. I don't really care about ebikes on MUPs, but a gasoline-powered ATV is just crossing the line. called in a report to the police on it. I doubt they sent anyone out to check on it, but the local PD needs to patrol ALL of the greenway paths in town (I have only ever seen one of the greenways in town with a patrol of any sort, and it wasn't the one I was on today).

The dispatcher had NO IDEA of my location. He's asking me for an address, and I'm like, "I'm on a bicycle on a paved greenway trail - there ARE no addresses here." I'm giving him pretty good directions, and honestly, if you google the directions I gave him, it points you to exactly the spot I was standing. ATV guy was probably long gone in one of the adjacent neighborhoods by the time a police cruiser rolled by. But still, I called, and if they at least rolled down the trail, that's a step in the right direction.


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

The wind was a killer this morning. Took a rather direct route in this am rather then side tracking thru the country as I was running a few minutes late. Maybe I will plan a different route home just to keep it mixed up.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Harold said:


> It's getting warm. Mid 80's temps pretty consistently right now for highs. On my way home, using a short stretch of MUP, a guy on an ATV was zipping the other direction. I don't really care about ebikes on MUPs, but a gasoline-powered ATV is just crossing the line. called in a report to the police on it. I doubt they sent anyone out to check on it, but the local PD needs to patrol ALL of the greenway paths in town (I have only ever seen one of the greenways in town with a patrol of any sort, and it wasn't the one I was on today).
> 
> The dispatcher had NO IDEA of my location. He's asking me for an address, and I'm like, "I'm on a bicycle on a paved greenway trail - there ARE no addresses here." I'm giving him pretty good directions, and honestly, if you google the directions I gave him, it points you to exactly the spot I was standing. ATV guy was probably long gone in one of the adjacent neighborhoods by the time a police cruiser rolled by. But still, I called, and if they at least rolled down the trail, that's a step in the right direction.


You know, I find that dispatchers don't always have a clue as to where anything's at. Me and my brother were driving one day and saw this guy, maybe 18, and another guy in a blazer and jeans, maybe late 40s, fighting in the grass. A third guy flagged us down and asked us to call the cops. My brother called and the three started walking away, the old dude was really whooping the younger guy. We told the dispatcher where they were walking and they had no idea what the road was. They kept asking for and address and he told them the road and it's relative location to another road. They just basically told him for us to drive away and not call without an address. We drove away and just didn't worry about it. Saw a cop car on the road. 


Gettintheretoy said:


> The wind was a killer this morning. Took a rather direct route in this am rather then side tracking thru the country as I was running a few minutes late. Maybe I will plan a different route home just to keep it mixed up.


You know, until just now I thought your username was GetinthereROY...

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

NDD said:


> You know, until just now I thought your username was GetinthereROY...
> 
> Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


Lol. Call me what you want. Just don't call me late to dinner!


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> I thought you'd just pop a little bunny hop over that :devil:


Or just plow right thru.

Those bikes hold a special place in my heart, I just looked out my window about an hour ago and saw a guy with his two kids going down the hill and the kids were screaming with excitement. I see a big dummy or a lot of other longtails on daily basis, but when I see a bakfeits or bullitt I smile.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hot today. 18C already in the morning and 25C on the way home and I had to hurry to get home between two thunderstorms. Made it dry and safe. These guys are having a hard time: 



and it was only 400km away... :eekster:

Thunderstorms are forecasted for the entire week now so will consult my weather apps before every ride and will keep all options open: Go home earlier, later or take the bus and would leave my bike at work.

Bit OT but I always read here from people taking the bus, how do you take your bike on the bus? Does the bus have a trailer or large cargo bay?


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## Guest (May 31, 2016)

Our buses all have racks on front (quick release type).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Had the last 4 days off of work, and didn't ride last Thursday. Managed to log in 73 miles while I was in Chicago over the weekend. Critical Mass and a once a year event that shuts down one of the major roads in the city for 5 hours to let us ride. Back to the grind today and it is a beautiful day and should hit the low 80's later on.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Commutes have been a little slower than normal because I was training for a 5K. I guess training isn't the right word, since I found out about the race 2 weeks prior to the event and was pretty much just trying to get my legs more accustomed to running. The good news is my cardio is good, and I was able to win my age bracket (10th overall). It was a smaller race, but I'm still happy with my result, especially since I ran about 1:30 per mile faster than my initial target. My legs were still a bit tired riding in this morning.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Local race this weekend... we had over a hundred riders, total success. I was in the 'sport' class... 19.6 miles, 2600 feet of elevation gain. Pain train. I carried the GoPro and threw together a vid for the local club. 
The dude that blows by me at the end is finishing the additional loop for the open/pro class... 24 miles, 3500 feet of elevation gain. Makes you feel weak :lol:

I bumped up to the 40+ class this year, which is full of some serious dudes. I was 5th, would have been on the podium in third in the 35-39 age group. Something in the water here, guys get faster as they get older.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

CommuterBoy said:


> I bumped up to the 40+ class this year, which is full of some serious dudes. I was 5th, would have been on the podium in third in the 35-39 age group. Something in the water here, guys get faster as they get older.


Around here, the 50+ age groups are the fastest and most competitive. Road, cross, and mtn. Those guys are animals.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same rides as yesterday, but no thunderstorms in the area on the way home. Had a tough day at work, 1 on vacation, 2nd sick at home, and me trying to hold everything upright. The adrenalin rush was probably the reason that I came close to a new average speed record on the round trip. 

Got honked this morning and to be honest, she was fully right. I ran a red light and misjudged the speed of the car. Situation did not get really dangerous but is was close enough to make me realize I should simply take more care of myself.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I strapped a trash can to my cargo bike filled with yard waste (mostly branches and grass from mowing the lawn) and swung by the yard waste dump on my way in. I haven't gotten over the amusement of strapping things to my bike and rolling around town, don't know if I ever will. Double awesome when everyone else is in a pickup truck or dump truck.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Crappy. Broken chain, 2 flats. Threw my bike in anger from a bridge into a river. Walked the rest of the way to work. 1 hour late.

Got a raise though and I will put it towards a new bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Suddenly I feel better about my day. Hope yours is better tomorrow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> I strapped a trash can to my cargo bike filled with yard waste (mostly branches and grass from mowing the lawn) and swung by the yard waste dump on my way in.


That's really awesome. Can you not just burn yard waste where you're at? Why even mow your lawn, when you can have your own private prairie!

But really, I'm glad you're getting your use out of that thing. I shouldn't care any way, but I can use this as leverage for when/if I ever want something similar.



Buster Bluth said:


> Crappy. Broken chain, 2 flats. Threw my bike in anger from a bridge into a river. Walked the rest of the way to work. 1 hour late.
> 
> Got a raise though and I will put it towards a new bike.


w... wut



cyclingdutchman said:


> Got honked this morning and to be honest, she was fully right. I ran a red light and misjudged the speed of the car. Situation did not get really dangerous but is was close enough to make me realize I should simply take more care of myself.


Tisk tisk. It's good that the worst of it is that you only got honked at! Now you're barred from giving other law-breaking cyclists mean glares, and now have to give them an empathetic look that says "don't be like me, man. I got honked at".

My commute was pretty solid. Got rained on a little unexpectedly in the morning. I was actually pretty refreshing. Put in a few extra miles in the evening on my way back. I am very very happy with the new gearing on my mtb - larger chainrings, smaller cogs - and have been having a blast on my commutes, even if I'm going slow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

After riding the streets in Chicago, my commute is so boring. I kind of like riding in traffic to be honest. It was warm and sunny and no complaints. No issues, no close calls really. Like I said, boring.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Back from a week vacation. The only thing bike related was sharing a campsite with an Israeli tourist on a LHT next to the road near Escalante UT. He was carrying more crap on that baby than I had on my moto! Summer seems to have hit full scale since I left. I rode in naked tonight (shorts and SS shirt, no weather gear at all) and might ride home naked too. Packed gloves and jacket in the trunk bag just in case.



SlipSpace said:


> I thought you'd just pop a little bunny hop over that :devil:


...reminds me of the time I tried to wheelie and hop a curb on a tandem. It don`t work well, but probably good entertainment for any bystanders.



CommuterBoy said:


> I bumped up to the 40+ class this year, which is full of some serious dudes. I was 5th, would have been on the podium in third in the 35-39 age group. Something in the water here, guys get faster as they get older.


Hang in for another year- CB of the East will jump another group, so you won`t have him to worry about any more. Good going on the race. Haven`t watched the vid yet, but will probably have a chance at lunch.

You sound repentant, Dutchman. Glad it didn`t end in a catastrophe.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Buster Bluth said:


> Crappy. Broken chain, 2 flats. Threw my bike in anger from a bridge into a river. Walked the rest of the way to work. 1 hour late.
> 
> Got a raise though and I will put it towards a new bike.


OMG. I don't even know if I should believe that story or not. I hope it was a good raise!

The 40-50 age group is one of the strongest around here too.

We've been enjoying some full on summer weather here too. Sooo glad to be riding in shorts & jersey again. Not much more to report.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the credits guys. I noticed I am more careful now on my bike - maybe a wake-up call was needed. Glad it turned out well.

Again 18C on the way in and 25C on the way home including very strong wind and dark clouds on the horizon. But so far, I wasnt caught, or nearly caught, in a thunderstorm. Same game again tomorrow afternoon....


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

The MUP I use on the way to work doesn't seem to get much if any maintenance and a few areas are getting overgrown with plants and trees. Tossed a set of loppers on the cargo bike today with a small load of my own yard waste that I needed to dump and did some "trail maintenance" on the way in.

Now I feel like I need some pruning shears and a decent size broom. Anyone else feel like they need to clear their own way?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Ours actually get mowed and cleared often. Sometimes it irritates my sniffer but I'd rather that than to clear it myself TBH.


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## nbwallace (Oct 8, 2007)

We're really lucky in Madison, most of the trails are well maintained. That said, I have been encountering a lot of junk in the bike lanes. I've had about three flats over the last two weeks, lots of glass in the tires.


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## JoeyCapps (Sep 30, 2012)

Pretty uneventful until I hit a crack and my phone grew wings!

Finding a mount that holds my phone has proven to be difficult.

Thanks to the otterbox case it shrugged off the 30+mph flight and the subsequent bounce and stop. lol


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

So, summer officially started here in the UK yesterday. Someone forgot to tell the weather though. 11C / 52F with a northerly wind, total cloud cover, and rain 

Missed a few days of the thread and it's difficult to keep up but in brief,

s0ckeyeus - Good job on the run, 5k is a tough distance. Some people seem to do it at a sprint (you may well be one of them)

CB - Sorry I can't view the videos at work and never seem to get online at home. Don't know about bike racing but the 40+ runners around here are pretty damn hardcore too, and there seem to be more. I thought when I went into the 40-44 group for the local Parkrun (free timed weekly 5k) I'd end up higher in my age bracket; not so. I guess it's just more years/miles that count. Although I find as I'm getting older I have a stronger mental fortitude for exercise, maybe that's it too 

Dutchman - glad you survived your misjudgement and clench, easily done though.

Tenspeed - I'll take 'warm and sunny and no complaints. No issues, no close calls really.' over rushhour traffic any day!

Rodar - naked! and wheeling (or not) a tandem :arf:

Buster - that sucks, but throwing the bike in the river, hmmm, go rescue it!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Rode my wife's pink cruiser in today. Lots of my stuff fit in the basket but I wore a small pack too. Got lots of honks and waves. Possibly one proposition from an interesting looking gent outside a coffee shop. Strange but fairly uneventful.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

JoeyCapps said:


> Pretty uneventful until I hit a crack and my phone grew wings!
> 
> Finding a mount that holds my phone has proven to be difficult.
> 
> Thanks to the otterbox case it shrugged off the 30+mph flight and the subsequent bounce and stop. lol


LifeProof Bike Mount (not the case), just the bike mount. I've been using one for about 2 years. Solid and secure. Freaking spendy though.

https://www.rei.com/product/892310/...-8923100001&CAWELAID=120217890000807753&lsft=


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## hamsterspam (Sep 28, 2014)

i dont know what brand they are but the sort of rubbery smart phone holders at walmart stood up to mountain biking just fine on a rigid frame bike...

yup,around here the 40-50 yr olds are the total sandbaggers,i had my first race last year at 50 and smoked the catIII racers,not just my age group but i beat everyone..on a rigid frame steel singlespeed dressed up with hello kitty stuff...and i was the only racer to ride my bike to the event,race,and get back on the bike and ride home...

just made a store run,filled the panniers with groceries...and even better,the stupid %$#@*& squeaking bottom bracket is finally silent...ok,the bottom bracket was fine,the mechanic who installed it screwed up...namely me...but in my defense there was complicated math involved since you apparently need 5mm of spacers on a 68mm bb shell to equal 73mm....


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I've been loving the new commute. I've biked all but one day over the past few weeks, when I had to do some errands farther afield after work.

I've only got 1 traffic light on my short route, and mostly neighborhood streets.

My legs felt a bit dead on my commute yesterday. On Monday, I did my longest road ride to date, an 86mi loop around the city.

https://www.strava.com/activities/593151749

I'll be doing a century this Saturday, so that loop around the city was nice to gauge my pace and nutrition and whatnot. I learned that I need to be a bit more diligent about refilling my bottles when I pass a convenience store or fast food joint. On Monday, I got to a part of the ride where I went about 15mi without passing any of those sorts of services, and it was getting quite hot by then. There was a well-placed city park with shelters to get out of the sun...but not a single water fountain. I did well food-wise. I had more than enough for the ride.

Weather for the century looks like it'll be pretty good. Highs topping out around 77F, though it looks like humidity will be pretty high. Looks like rain/storms will probably be part of it, too. I'm hoping it won't be so much in the way of storms. Spotty rain might actually make it a little more comfortable. I don't think I'll be pulling my fenders off at this point. I'll be soaked if it rains (too warm for rain jackets), but I'd rather block most of the road grime. I'm also glad I opted for tires with a little more versatility/tread. I pulled off the heavy @$$ Specialized wire bead hybrid tires and installed some Clement X'plor USH 120tpi folding tires. Cut 2lbs of rotating weight, which is immediately noticeable. They've still got good tread so I shouldn't have to be too sketched out on wet pavement.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

formula4speed said:


> The MUP I use on the way to work doesn't seem to get much if any maintenance and a few areas are getting overgrown with plants and trees. Anyone else feel like they need to clear their own way?


I trimmed the trees/bushes along a sidewalk I used as they were about my eye level. Technically the home owner or city should have, but I cherished my face free of scratches so I lopped off some limbs. and left them on the lawn. (Hint, hint!)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Another warm and humid day here. Commuted to Kindergarten first with my son, then rode to work. Had some rainshowers during the day, after that it temps went up to 25C when I went home.
@Brian: Sometimes I.also have to clear my own way, I have a SAK with a saw for it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today on the BMX, but yesterday it was "snowing" bugs on the way home and it was dark and I only had dark shades so I did not have them on, and they were really bugging my eyes. The headwind and dust borne thereon did not help either. I asked my friend about it today, as we left at the same time, but he didn't notice anything..."probably because you have a windshield" said I. 

Yesterday started poorly, I managed to leave my pack (wallet, 2 phones, etc etc.) next to my car at my park-n-pedal, and did not notice for over 5 miles - yes my mind was elsewhere! I opted to continue the 3 miles to work, worried sick but unable to call anyone and not wanting to waste any more time. Grabbed a car at work, zoomed back, and my pack was still there! I was expecying either that, the bomb squad, or gone forever. All's well that ends well.


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## JoeyCapps (Sep 30, 2012)

oops


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## JoeyCapps (Sep 30, 2012)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> LifeProof Bike Mount (not the case), just the bike mount. I've been using one for about 2 years. Solid and secure. Freaking spendy though.
> 
> https://www.rei.com/product/892310/...-8923100001&CAWELAID=120217890000807753&lsft=





hamsterspam said:


> i dont know what brand they are but the sort of rubbery smart phone holders at walmart stood up to mountain biking just fine on a rigid frame bike...
> 
> yup,around here the 40-50 yr olds are the total sandbaggers,i had my first race last year at 50 and smoked the catIII racers,not just my age group but i beat everyone..on a rigid frame steel singlespeed dressed up with hello kitty stuff...and i was the only racer to ride my bike to the event,race,and get back on the bike and ride home...
> 
> just made a store run,filled the panniers with groceries...and even better,the stupid %$#@*& squeaking bottom bracket is finally silent...ok,the bottom bracket was fine,the mechanic who installed it screwed up...namely me...but in my defense there was complicated math involved since you apparently need 5mm of spacers on a 68mm bb shell to equal 73mm....


They don't make a case for my phone and I don't see how it would work otherwise. I've seriously considered switching to an iPhone for the mounting options.

Most of the holders at Walmart, Fry's, and Amazon either don't fit my phone or press against the volume buttons.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Took the geared carbon bike today and about a mile in, I regretted it. Don't get me wrong, the bike is really nice but I just love riding that dang fixed gear. Felt like I was dragging my car behind me with the headwind but I looked back and there was nothing there. Ride home was my second fastest commute home ever. Had I made the green light I think it would have been my fastest and the only dang light I got stuck at. No chance to turn left on it either because there was a city police vehicle right in front of me heh.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

JoeyCapps said:


> They don't make a case for my phone and I don't see how it would work otherwise. I've seriously considered switching to an iPhone for the mounting options.
> 
> Most of the holders at Walmart, Fry's, and Amazon either don't fit my phone or press against the volume buttons.


You don't need to use a Lifeproof case, it comes with a small square low profile piece that attaches to the back of your current case. They don't make a case for my phone either.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Windy ride last night, pretty much 3/4 headwind most of the way. It was ok but noisey!

Today was cool still although the wind dropped a little. Saw a Roe Deer buck stood on the edge of a copse and long grass not far from the road. I stopped and we eyed each other for a few seconds. I guess I managed to sneak up on him, we were 30ft or so apart. I slowly tried to get my phone for a snap but he was camera shy and bounced of into the copse.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Wet

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Harold said:


> I've been loving the new commute. I've biked all but one day over the past few weeks, when I had to do some errands farther afield after work.
> 
> I've only got 1 traffic light on my short route, and mostly neighborhood streets.
> 
> ...


Nice Job! Is the century organized or self supported? I always get a kick out of the contrast. Organized rides have food and water every 10-15 miles. But if you head out on your own you can make it with 2 water bottles and a refill somewhere in the middle. A few granola bars in your pocket and you're good to go. My wife and I are going to do the latter this weekend.

Commute had a little drizzle. We haven't had rain in a while. As odd as it sounds for a bike commuter to say this, I hope we get more. I put the garden in last weekend and it's looking a little stressed from being planted in dust.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice Job! Is the century organized or self supported? I always get a kick out of the contrast. Organized rides have food and water every 10-15 miles. But if you head out on your own you can make it with 2 water bottles and a refill somewhere in the middle. A few granola bars in your pocket and you're good to go. My wife and I are going to do the latter this weekend.
> 
> Commute had a little drizzle. We haven't had rain in a while. As odd as it sounds for a bike commuter to say this, I hope we get more. I put the garden in last weekend and it's looking a little stressed from being planted in dust.


It's a totally self-supported century. That 85 miler on Monday was a nice shakedown. Got to test my water consumption, food consumption, pace, all that stuff. Most everything was reasonably good. Only thing I think I'll change is that somewhere around the halfway point, I think I'll probably pick up a couple bottles of water at a convenience store just in case, though it looks like there will be about 9-13mi between towns. I'll probably top my bottles off at every opportunity I get, too.

On Monday, I didn't need to stop and refill my first bottle until the 3/4 mark, but my water use increased substantially after that as it got hot pretty quick. At least it won't be as warm tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I find a stop for ice cream around the 75 mile mark is good too.  Just don't stop too long or your legs decide that you are done and it takes a while to get back into the groove.

We're headed to world famous OOB. Well, the folks up in Quebec like it.
https://www.strava.com/routes/5222243


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

bedwards1000 said:


> Just don't stop too long or your legs decide that you are done and it takes a while to get back into the groove.


Agree 100%

If I'm riding 100 miles I'm riding 100 miles in one swoop. Get on bike. Pedal. Get off bike 4.5-5 hours later.
I always blow by any rest stops.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Shayne said:


> Agree 100%
> 
> If I'm riding 100 miles I'm riding 100 miles in one swoop. Get on bike. Pedal. Get off bike 4.5-5 hours later.
> I always blow by any rest stops.


100 miles in 4.5 hours? What kind of animal are you?

I got stuck behind a group of old folks taking up both lanes on the MUP who couldn't hear my squeaky dino or me calling "on your left", probably because they were jabbering but they were having fun so I didn't want to disrupt. They finally realized I was there and I apologized for not being loud enough.

I feel like I'm finally starting to get my legs and pedal cadence back after my involuntary month long hiatus. It feels good. It'd feel better if I could leave the bags at home but I still need rain gear and all that. Or do I? I'm becoming a rain gear skeptic. Either wet with rain or sweat.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

NDD said:


> 100 miles in 4.5 hours? What kind of animal are you?


Hardly an animal! That's only ~22mph average.

I grew up riding with(er chasing to keep up with) fast people. If I'm riding by myself the default speed is as fast as I can go without pushing it.
My 22.5 mile commute is regularly less than an hour.
Over the weekend I did a 45 mile point to point ride and allotted 2.5 hours to meet some people at the other end but ended up getting there in 1:50. It's just how I'm wired.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I'm thinking if I bothered to do it I'd be looking at 6.5-7 hours. More probably. We all go at our own speed, I guess.

I've got work to do!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Shayne said:


> Hardly an animal! That's only ~22mph average.
> 
> I grew up riding with(er chasing to keep up with) fast people. If I'm riding by myself the default speed is as fast as I can go without pushing it.
> My 22.5 mile commute is regularly less than an hour.
> Over the weekend I did a 45 mile point to point ride and allotted 2.5 hours to meet some people at the other end but ended up getting there in 1:50. It's just how I'm wired.


ONLY 22MPH?!?! That's almost 250W for 100 miles. Throw in some hills and wind and it's more. That is animal territory. 45 miles in 1:50. Welcome to the TDF son, that's more like 300W. A little EPO and you have a future in cycling! 

I'm figuring on 6 hours for our 100 mile ride.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Yep, i am figuring on an avg no more that 14mph. 22mph is animal territory


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful morning to ride to deliver. Left the high school after dropping an order off, the car saw me, I saw the driver, and she cut right in front of me even when I pointed where I was going. Threw my hands up like we all do. Other than that, what a nice day to break a sweat riding fast.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

As Centuries go...I try to eat about 200 calories an hour. And of course hydrate. If I don't have to get off the bike to pee after 2 hours I'm not hydrating enough. That's my 2 cents and it took me some trial and error to figure these things out. I have 5 down this year and plan to try for a Century a month until I can no longer pedal a bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Jeez, ONLY! I`ve put in a dozen or two 100+ mile days, might have gotten one in under 7 hours. 14 MPH rolling average or 12.5 total time avg is really good for me. I know I ate too much when I puke down the front of my jacket. That only happened once- usually have time to turn my head to the side first :lol:

Bedwards, is that ginger ice cream on your mid century shopping list? I think it only lives in Maine, but it sure is good!

Well, Friday and I continue to ride naked. Not going to be a full week though cause I had no commute Monday and drove Wed. Maybe next week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I have had the ginger mid century. Good stuff. The only time I have puked was in the hot 100K MTB race. Pickles are not an ideal salt replacement for me.


bikeCOLORADO said:


> As Centuries go...I try to eat about 200 calories an hour. And of course hydrate. If I don't have to get off the bike to pee after 2 hours I'm not hydrating enough. That's my 2 cents and it took me some trial and error to figure these things out. I have 5 down this year and plan to try for a Century a month until I can no longer pedal a bike.


A century/month is a great goal.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> Pickles are not an ideal salt replacement for me.
> 
> A century/month is a great goal.


+1 on the C/month kudos, bikeCO. I would guess it gets very challenging to motivate yourself for the winter ones, but it sounds like you already pulled off a few of them.

Yeah, pickles sound a bit strong for me. My jacket puke was actually Martinellis sparkling cider, so more a drinking issue than food. I think that was the last long one I did that had me downing anything other than water, chocolate milk, and bananas.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

A century a month until you can no longer ride? That is impressive!!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Century didn't happen today. Still got a great ride, but the forecast kept getting worse and worse and started calling for severe weather earlier and earlier in the day. About a dozen folks showed up for the ride, and NOBODY did the century distance. A few started on the 75mi route, but the forecast convinced them to even do the 43ish one. That's the distance I wound up doing today. Took a very relaxed pace, and was glad I did.

The weather coming from the west started sucking the warm air up into it, so I got a much-stiffer-than-forecast wind out of the east (the loop was clockwise, so the headwind was at the end of the ride), which was pretty tough out in the open farm country. Shelter opportunities were also pretty slim, and I didn't want to mess with lightning.

Wife and I did the same loop together. We passed by a cool place in Eaton, OH on our ride called Taffy's. It's a really strange mix of a bar, coffee shop, restaurant, and live music venue. We went back for lunch after our ride to experience the place. The place sells bottled wine, and sells all kinds of beer by the bottle (and also u-pick 6ers). I got a beer from Russia, which I'd never seen anywhere else before. A Baltiko porter, which was pretty tasty. For lunch, they make a tasty chicken salad sandwich. Dinner is cool, though. They sell locally raised steaks, and they let you grill them yourself on the back patio. They have an indoor stage up front, and another stage on their patio, sometimes with acts going on in both spots.

The place is run by a SUPER CHEERFUL German guy named Manfred. Such a totally unique spot in a small town. Very cool.

https://www.strava.com/activities/598558682
I'm not sure why my Instagram photos won't sync with my Strava ride. They usually do.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

2 week vaca is over, back to the bike commute tomorrow morning! Excited to see how I do in the heat after work. Yeah but it's a dry heat :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I would seriously like to ride to work in that dry heat in that temperature. I have been to Vegas when it was 100 right at noon. Walked out the door of the hotel and it was like you opened up the oven door. Hot, but from what I remember, you don't really sweat that much. Curious to see how it compares to a cooler temp like 85, but add in the humidity of the midwest or south.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Deja vu.









This is about 100 feet from where the last tree came down. That one did get cleared quickly though.

Also passed some people walking in the complex across from where I work and I hear from behind me "That's the guy! The one with the crazy bike!"


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

109 is hot even if it is dry!



Harold said:


> Century didn't happen today...
> ...https://www.strava.com/activities/598558682
> I'm not sure why my Instagram photos won't sync with my Strava ride. They usually do.


Boo for bad weather. Sorry you didn't get your ride in. The coffee beer shop sounds fun.

My instagram photos didn't sync either. Must be a problem on their side. I got around it by sticking them in my blog: The Candid Cyclist: 100 Miles Isn't as Long as it Used To Be. I didn't quite make it in 4 1/2 hours. 

Ride in today was at a relaxed pace.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Dang lots of long rides around here lately. I have been commuting just not posting much here as work has been crazy. This past weekend I busted out the race shoes and rolled down to Loudonville, OH to race the Mohican 100K. It was my first time doing this race and will not be my last. Well organized and a fun course. The climbing was really brutal for me, with roughly 7,000 ft of elevation gain and it was the first time I have wished for a bigger gear range than my 1x9 could offer. I spun out the 32x11 too quickly to take full advantage of the gravel downhills and a smaller climbing gear than the 32x34 would have been appreciated on a few of the climbs. Overall though, I didn't get hurt, didn't break my bike, and finished in less than 6.5 hours so I accomplished all of my goals for the day. Also got to "recover" at the finish line with the bottomless pint glass and beer provided by Great Lakes Brewery which is always delicious. A good day.

Back to commuting tomorrow. Took today off to rest.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

bedwards1000 said:


> 109 is hot even if it is dry!
> 
> Boo for bad weather. Sorry you didn't get your ride in. The coffee beer shop sounds fun.
> 
> ...


Yeah, a small tornado touched down a bit NW of where the ride went. Definitely wouldn't have wanted to get caught in that.

The coffee/beer/music place was super cool. Got a coffee to go for the drive home, and it was pretty outstanding. My lunch was served in a bowl that was made from an old vinyl record, too. I just hope that it was destroyed/worn out before it was turned into a bowl.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

Put my bike back into summer mode. Lighter wheels (road wheels instead of 29er), lighter tires (23mm vs 38mm), and no discs. Also made a switch and I am playing with single speed. I'm going to play with it for a few weeks then decide whether to put it back to 1x10 for a big climb I'm planning next month or try and climb in SS.


__
http://instagr.am/p/BGUJ7e5rgtS/



TenSpeed said:


> I would seriously like to ride to work in that dry heat in that temperature. I have been to Vegas when it was 100 right at noon. Walked out the door of the hotel and it was like you opened up the oven door. Hot, but from what I remember, you don't really sweat that much. Curious to see how it compares to a cooler temp like 85, but add in the humidity of the midwest or south.


At those temps when exerting yourself, it doesn't matter that there is no humidity. You sweat like crazy because your body is struggling to cool itself. Not taking away from the humidity found back in those areas, since I have been there. Triple digits is just intense.

It was 102 when I got home on Friday.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> I would seriously like to ride to work in that dry heat in that temperature. I have been to Vegas when it was 100 right at noon. Walked out the door of the hotel and it was like you opened up the oven door. Hot, but from what I remember, you don't really sweat that much. Curious to see how it compares to a cooler temp like 85, but add in the humidity of the midwest or south.





bedwards1000 said:


> 109 is hot even if it is dry!





Sidewalk said:


> At those temps when exerting yourself, it doesn't matter that there is no humidity. You sweat like crazy because your body is struggling to cool itself. Not taking away from the humidity found back in those areas, since I have been there. Triple digits is just intense.
> 
> It was 102 when I got home on Friday.


104 for the way home today, I think I can do this. I just fill the 24oz bottle with cold cold water before I leave and it's almost gone when I get home. I already sweat alot and yep you're right the dry heat still makes me sweat like a pig! Especially into my eyes, I hate that :madmax:

I turned off the heat in the hot tub a while back, so maybe after work rides I'll take a quick dip into the "cold" tub, that sounds groovy. Well it's sorta cold I guess luke warm maybe lol.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Oh and I signed up for strava a few days ago and have logged a few rides, I thought I might have been one of the slowest ones out there but it turns out I'm about in the middle yay! Any tips or pointers for the commute? I already set up safe zones around my house and work. And is that "premium" worth it?


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Premium is not worth it.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Add me. You have your privacy zones set. Star some segments. Get faster. https://www.strava.com/activities/600383578

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

I think you can do a free trial of the premium. I've never used it. Tempted to many times, but I have other things I need to spend money on.

I set up the "Safe Zones" for places I don't want people to see. Like Keith said, find segments to push yourself on and see what you can do. You can look at the segments and see who has been fastest that day, this year, all time, people you follow, and groups you join.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/1257073


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great day to ride the bike to both jobs. After the first, the ride to the second had me hauling ass because there was a storm brewing. Got a few sprinkles but I managed to get there dry. Ride home had me trying out the most lights I have ever had on my bike on at one time. Front Serfas Thunderbolt on the headtube on solid bright. Niterider Lumina 700 on the bar. Lezyne Strip Drive Pro and Cygolite Hotshot Micro on the seatpost. 2 rear Serfas Thunderbolts mounted facing down on full bright on the chain stays on both sides. It looked pretty crazy because the 2 Thunderbolts facing down created this cool looking glow under the bike and since my rear wheel is red it really showed up. Don't ask why, just wanted to mess around with lights.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Those are some crazy hot temperatures some of you guys are getting, 40°C!

Nice work Kleebs!

Some good weather has finally arrived here in England Land maybe hit 21°C/70°F yesterday. Might be warmer today, certainly feels warmer as the wind has swung around a bit.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Add me. You have your privacy zones set. Star some segments. Get faster. https://www.strava.com/activities/600383578
> 
> Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk





Sidewalk said:


> I think you can do a free trial of the premium. I've never used it. Tempted to many times, but I have other things I need to spend money on.
> 
> I set up the "Safe Zones" for places I don't want people to see. Like Keith said, find segments to push yourself on and see what you can do. You can look at the segments and see who has been fastest that day, this year, all time, people you follow, and groups you join.
> 
> https://www.strava.com/athletes/1257073


Thanks! I added you both I think I did it right lol

I'm going to figure out how to start new segments on my commute, as there's only 3 lame short ones.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Oh and I signed up for strava a few days ago and have logged a few rides, I thought I might have been one of the slowest ones out there but it turns out I'm about in the middle yay! Any tips or pointers for the commute? I already set up safe zones around my house and work. And is that "premium" worth it?





bikeCOLORADO said:


> Premium is not worth it.
> 
> Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


Depends on what you're doing with Strava. If you have a device that does live segments, you've gotta have premium to use them. Training plans, goals, "suffer score", detailed HR analysis, power analysis, etc all require a premium account.

I'd rather get a premium account with RideWithGPS for more detailed route planning options.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Finally the last day of this weather. Always around 28C, very humid and always a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Ride home today was towards a big dark sky and thunder growling far away. I am glad I made it home without being caught. As from tomorrow the temps are gradually falling to 20C at the weekend. Finally a nice cooldown after more than a week of hot weather - whereas "hot" depends on your local standards. I really wonder how the guys in Vegas etc are managing....Kudos to those guys.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Harold said:


> Depends on what you're doing with Strava. If you have a device that does live segments, you've gotta have premium to use them. Training plans, goals, "suffer score", detailed HR analysis, power analysis, etc all require a premium account.
> 
> I'd rather get a premium account with RideWithGPS for more detailed route planning options.


I found that premium didn't offer much without a power meter. If you wanted live segments that might be worth it. Suffer score is "cute" but you can pretty much figure out if you suffered based on distance & average speed.

I've found Welcome to VeloViewer! to be a fun addition for data junkeis at < $20/year it gives you TONS of ways to look at your rides with the ability to sort and filter on just about anything.

Commute was good. I couldn't sleep past 4:30 so I got up and hit some hills and topped it off with some trail riding.











​All before breakfast


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice ride home last night, warm, bright, gentle wind, lovely.

Good CAT6 too. About a mile out I ended up at the front of the queue at a set of lights at some roadworks and the cars start to join behind me. All well and good. This "serious" looking roadie pulls in beside me. I look over and say 'hi, how's it going?'. He looks at me as if he had just narrowly avoided standing in me. That kind of attitude really doesn't sit well with me. Lights change, off we go. He moves quicker than me, I'm a slow starter, takes a while to get the gear rolling on the SS, he does a quick shoulder check, see's I'm a few lengths behind already and all is well with his world. I'm still building speed but catching and end up edging beside him, he goes up a gear or three and starts pulling away slightly. I'm in my zone by then, catching, he goes up some more gears but I manage to get beside him, probably spinning at 120+rpm, can't go much faster tbh but he's done! He eases off and falls behind as I sprint up the hill, we've probably only covered 4-500m. I take my turn off maybe another 500m later and he's way back. Smugness and neener neener on my part.

Now, if you've read many of my recent posts it seems like I have an issue with "serious" roadies. I really don't (do I?), I just don't get why so many of them are so rude and aloof. Of all the riders out there they are the ones most likely to ignore everyone else.

That said, a "serious" roadie with Tri bars eased up for brief but pleasant exchange later on the way home and renewed my faith in the cycling community. He really powered away when he went.

My Commuter


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I get the impression that you don't have a serious roadie problem, but rather one with serious douche bags.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Taking the CX bike out for the first time since I meet Kleebs at the race back in May. Will be getting some Continental CityRides installed down at the shop more for road duties. It was absolutely filthy and I neglected to clean it until yesterday. Hubs and wheels are still a bit dirty so I will get those cleaned up today while I am there. Hoping to join a group on Saturday for a nice century and I think I will take this bike.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

4200 vertical before breakfast? Pff! I do that before I even get out of bed 

Good story, Slipspace. You didn`t steal that bike from BrianMc, did you?

EDIT: Work until 11 AM this morning (yay) so it`s gonna be nasty hot for my ride home. Not Eugene hot, but hot enough that I already wish I had driven.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks NDD, that makes me feel better  It does appear that the distinction is a fine one around here at the moment though 

BrianMc must be a man of simple needs and exceptional tastes  but nope no stealing Rodar. Cost me a whole £20/$30 (Although I have spent a bit on wheels/tyres). Careful in the heat.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I hope Rustedthorugh isn't involved. He's from that area. The comments made me sick. What is wrong with people? Only read them at the risk of hating people.
Five killed as pickup driver plows into bicyclists in Michigan | Fox News

Commute was good, headway speed only.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

BrianMc is a man of very large old Raleighs!

Never read the comments on ANY bicycle related story. You`re just asking for an upset stomach.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

A lot of riding lately for me;

In addition to the commuting (more and more on the road bike now), last Saturday I did a 93km training ride up the three highest hills I know of here in Oslo;

https://www.strava.com/activities/590400149

Ended up doing over 200km for the week, which for me is a lot!

Did a 143km Sportive on Sunday too!

https://www.strava.com/activities/599178491

Took me 4:50 to complete the course - but I'm more than happy with that - it was my longest ride to date (by a good 50km).
Met some good folks and had a nice ride in the sunshine!

But...

Monday morning I woke up to... well... Let's just say the little fella was completely numb... I guess the aggressive aero position my road bike puts me in (it's an "aero" frame) puts a bit too much pressure on the blood vessels "down there"... He is 100% back to normal now (after a couple of VERY nervous days for me) - I have made some adjustments to my set up to get more weight over the sit bones and a Specialized Toupe Team Issue (titanium rails, carbon shell with cut out) is now in the post


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow, a wee bit of climbing there eh! Glad to here things are back to normal.:thumbsup: Can't imagine spending that much on a saddle. I go with the WTB Pure V ones for $30


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Wow, a wee bit of climbing there eh! Glad to here things are back to normal.:thumbsup: Can't imagine spending that much on a saddle. I go with the WTB Pure V ones for $30


Cheers buddy!

I bought it used off Ebay for 500NOK (about 45 USD or so?).

I have no qualms using another mans saddle if that other mans saddle can save my little chap from falling off.

I thought about a Selle SMP carbon drop nose job until I saw the price (300USD+). 
I am not rich as astronauts.

Oh! and Fabric bar tape (no, not fabric the material, but Fabric the bike parts manufacturer)! It is 100% re usable thanks to it having a silicone strip on the back side rather than that crappy adhesive strip a lot of other bar tapes have. It allowed me to move my hoods up higher and adjust my bar angle without binning the tape and starting with fresh stuff:thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Alright, $45 isn't bad. Probably hasn't been used more than a few times anyway. I have a whole box of "taint hammer" saddles that are 43.5 grams lighter than the "heavy" ones I trade them out for. . I just swap them back on when I sell a bike.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Taint hammer! Love it! I tend to think of poor fitting saddles as "ass hatchets"...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

rodar y rodar said:


> BrianMc is a man of very large old Raleighs!


The frame design and geometry is certainly different to newer bikes and yes, it is a biggun, 25". A 23" might be better but this one works for me, not much (any) standover but my long torso appreciates the length. Great for standing and climbing too.

Bedwards - That's horrendous, I read it earlier on the 'Bike News' thread, Just awful...

Ghost - great routes and as said, some serious climbing. My route profiles look like that if I knock a couple of zeros off the height scale... Glad your chap is feeling better. Probably getting your significant other to... er ...massage some life into might help. ymmv


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## Terranaut (Jun 9, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> I hope Rustedthorugh isn't involved. He's from that area. The comments made me sick. What is wrong with people? Only read them at the risk of hating people.
> Five killed as pickup driver plows into bicyclists in Michigan | Fox News
> 
> Commute was good, headway speed only.


Wow the comments are brutal. People are stupid as wood :-(


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Terranaut said:


> Wow the comments are brutal. People are stupid as wood :-(


Wow you're nice to only call it stupid as wood. I'm hoping that those are 95% trolls. Otherwise it's worse than we thought and they should drop "the bomb".

I felt terribly slow but I looked at my average after my way in, about 16mph, so average. Not bad with under inflated knobby tires and bags full of stuff I don't need actually. This is why I can't trust the feels on speed, because I wanted to do 18mph, thought I was going like 12 mph.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Good story, Slipspace. You didn`t steal that bike from BrianMc, did you?


It was a good story. So I'd guess not. 



SlipSpace said:


> BrianMc must be a man of simple needs and exceptional tastes


You know me too well.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Kalamazoo isn't that far away from me. Very sad to hear about those cyclists losing their lives. I hope that the families and community can find some sort of inner peace.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

In light of the Kalamazoo tragedy, I was especially furious when a pickup truck passed me within the city's 3ft passing distance on my evening commute. I was within sight of my house, no less. I am still livid about it. I almost stomped on it to catch him and explain to him that 5 cyclists were killed last night, but he got a green at the next stoplight and was uncatchable.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Kalamazoo. What a terrible thing to happen. Hope the survivors pull through. Agree that the comments section of the msn news site is just a typical cross section of the brown sludgy stuff at the bottom of the internet barrel...

Im commuting right now! On the train! Got a few things to do today; down side - no bike time today. Up side - my work day is over at 1200! Wheeeeeee!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Finish at 12:00 sounds good Ghost. Enjoy your afternoon.

Good ride home last night although an hour & half later than normal due to work commitments.

Colder this morning with 100% cloud cover. Not jacket cold but I could have done with a long sleeve tee or arm warmers maybe. Took it easy, tired.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back at it after a couple days off work. Good rides but had to scramble to gather stuff and get out the door. Cooler temps (about 50F, actually great for riding) and some showers scared away all the other bikecommuters at work.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Long day at the university yesterday. 9 in the morning until 11 at night. That's preparing for a conference for ya though... Since I left so late I got to see more of the wildlife. Smell the skunks, stare down a deer, the usual. But then a bat flew into me. I couldn't see it in my periphery and it wasn't in sight of my light until it was ten feet from me. I could tell it was going towards a bug and never realized I'd be there because it started to try to lift at the last half second. Then I felt the soft, fuzzy bump of a bat on my collar bone and we both went our way thinking "aw heck".


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Going to commute today on the fixed gear. It is just sitting there near the door, with a sad look on its face.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Harold said:


> In light of the Kalamazoo tragedy, I was especially furious when a pickup truck passed me within the city's 3ft passing distance on my evening commute. I was within sight of my house, no less. I am still livid about it. I almost stomped on it to catch him and explain to him that 5 cyclists were killed last night, but he got a green at the next stoplight and was uncatchable.


I always indicate when some one is too close for comfort....most often the drivers behind are more curtious

Kalmazoo is really not the same thing though.

A stupid drunk on Vancouver island killed a rcmp who was also a mother some months after he killed a young man.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Yeah it is definitely one of those things that you need to be very aware of the drivers around you as they usually aren't. I know that my brother rides with earbuds on his road rides but he usually leaves the street side out. I just don't think I could do that, while I would enjoy the music, the fact that it may impede my hearing a vehicle approaching (I have had people rocket past me to then cut me off to make a turn) is more important. 

Yesterday was the first time I had been cut off in quite a few months. Came up to a 4-way stop and was the only person there. Then about 3 seconds later I see this older couple coming up from my right as I start off from the stop sign. Guy didn't even hesitate, just went right through the stop sign as I was halfway through the intersection and made his right hand turn in front of me. He got the bird, but I could see in his rearview that he just looked at me like "What?".... Most people around town are pretty nice and there are quite a few riders in town so people know to give the 3ft but stuff like this blows me away. Another reason why I normally take less used backroads.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I.read the news about the accident in the dutch news, it reached out even there. I sincerely hope that the guy at least gets a decent sentence and not like 3 months on parole or something.

Dont feel like writing about the commute today....doesnt seem important now.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I was rolling up to the university around the same time as another commuter cyclist, which was odd. Unfortunately he was one of those run every stop sign cut in front of cars to get on and off the shoulder types. Thought about giving him a piece of my mind every time I passed him, but decided I had too much work to do to squabble. 

Beautiful day feeling thankful that I have an almost road free route and there are very few people at university during summer semester.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

https://drive.google.com/viewerng/v...s/news/kalamazoo/pickett_complaint_felony.pdf

Just found that online. They are not taking this lightly at all. I hope that the families can get the help that they need to get through this.

I didn't feel like riding much today when I left. Once I got on the road that disappeared. And then tonight on the ride home, I was really glad that I rode. Nice night, bit humid, but really nice. My Niterider Lumina 700 is a really nice light. I dropped it a few times, and the rails that it locks into the mount with are broken so it no longer locks in. The charging port is underneath, so supergluing it to the mount won't work. Sadly, I think that it is time to retire this light to possibly a flashlight if needed. It fell out tonight as I crossed the road and that is when I realized that they were so broken. The fall broke more off I think so it is done. Off to go do some online shopping.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> A stupid drunk on Vancouver island killed a rcmp who was also a mother some months after he killed a young man.


Is this ANOTHER cyclist fatality? Or an old case? Either way tragic, but two high profile cyclist related deaths caused by DUIs in the same week? Not cool.

My ride in today was ok - a bit chilly (had on a neck warmer and loose arms) but it's ok - fighting the head wind kept me warm 

A guy in a concrete truck (a truck delivering concrete - not a truck made out of concrete, silly!) pulled out in front of me, which was a PITA. He then proceeded to squeeze me out of my lane. That made me a little angry... But what you gonna do? He is about 100 times bigger than me and can (eventually) accelerate faster than me, so I can't catch up to him to request he stop driving like a tool.

Had a cyclist pull out into me this morning too... At one point in my commute there is a choice - one can stay on the road and go around a big round-about, go under the motor way, then continue or you can cut right, cross a foot bridge (over the motor way), go through a chicane (to stop cars taking the short cut) onto a short stretch of MUP which then exits onto the road, after the big-round about.

I usually take the round-about as it is all down hill and you can maintain your average speed easier than if you slow down, turn right, over the bridge, go through the chicane, down the MUP (with 30kph speed limit) then check left and wait for room to pull back out onto the road.

Now, note that last part, about checking left BEFORE pulling out onto the road. A guy I had passed just before the right turn onto the foot bridge did NOT do that last part and pulled out into me - NOT in front of me, but actually into me. I had to swerve out of the cycle lane and into the road to avoid him! And not even a wave or apology either!

I HATE these guys that treat their commute as if it is a life or death race to the finish , as if it is the final sprint finish on the Champs Elysees after three weeks of hard racing... D*cks!

Had an automatic parking lot boom descend on me this morning too - that was fun. It was at the entrance to the underground parking at work - a car had literally *just* gone through the boom - I was so close that I was even track standing behind him - but for some reason the boom decided to drop on me... Right across my arms; effectively pinning my hands to the hoods (I couldn't grab the boom to steady myself). Don't ask how I managed it, but I "double clipped out" and got my feet down so I didn't fall...

So a fun filled commute this morning...

The kid really enjoyed her trip to the new kindergarten yesterday too  (one of the things I had to do yesterday was to take her for a visit to the new place she is starting after summer - it all good).


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

TenSpeed said:


> https://drive.google.com/viewerng/v...s/news/kalamazoo/pickett_complaint_felony.pdf
> 
> Just found that online. They are not taking this lightly at all. I hope that the families can get the help that they need to get through this.
> 
> I didn't feel like riding much today when I left. Once I got on the road that disappeared. And then tonight on the ride home, I was really glad that I rode. Nice night, bit humid, but really nice. My Niterider Lumina 700 is a really nice light. I dropped it a few times, and the rails that it locks into the mount with are broken so it no longer locks in. The charging port is underneath, so supergluing it to the mount won't work. Sadly, I think that it is time to retire this light to possibly a flashlight if needed. It fell out tonight as I crossed the road and that is when I realized that they were so broken. The fall broke more off I think so it is done. Off to go do some online shopping.


I am sure you can rig it up so it'll attach to some kind of mount. I bet you could epoxy a gopro style adapter onto it so you could still remove it for charging.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That is a pretty rough ride there Ghost. I thought the Scandinavians were supposed to be polite and considerate (hope I remembered your loc'n correctly)

Tenspeed, I didn't feel much like riding home yesterday either. Unfortunately my mind/body didn't react the same way as yours this time and it was a really sloooowwww journey. Just couldn't draw on the energy this morning so used the car


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Harold said:


> I am sure you can rig it up so it'll attach to some kind of mount. I bet you could epoxy a gopro style adapter onto it so you could still remove it for charging.


I took another look at this just a bit ago, while my brain was fresh from a nice 8.5 hours of sleep. I can access the charging port still if I decide to permanently affix it to the mount. I have a Lumina 350 and 700, and the mounts are exactly the same. It locks into the other mount, but it rattles, almost like it is too big for the mount. The 350 locks securely into the other mount and the mount it came with. I may go ahead and superglue it in because it is a really nice light to commute down a pitch black MUP at night with.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> That is a pretty rough ride there Ghost. I thought the Scandinavians were supposed to be polite and considerate (hope I remembered your loc'n correctly)
> 
> Tenspeed, I didn't feel much like riding home yesterday either. Unfortunately my mind/body didn't react the same way as yours this time and it was a really sloooowwww journey. Just couldn't draw on the energy this morning so used the car


That happens to all of us. There are going to be days where if you have a car, you use it. Your body needs the rest, and your brain does as well. Personally I like to change it up a bit, swap bikes out, or drive. The same routine gets boring and can push you away from it if you don't change it up. No shame in driving to work. Ride some this weekend on fresh legs!!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

No commute today but this week has been fun! I think I'll stick with the free Strava it's suiting me just fine, I can see how it's a good motivator there are several spots on the commute I've been trying harder and getting faster. I'm even #10 all time out of 120 something in one and that's pretty good for a slow poke like me lol  

Don't worry Ghost I'm not racing or riding reckless  

Going shopping for some new tires this weekend, mine look like the tread is separating already, or dry rot or something.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That was a really warm commute. Oddly enough, it seemed hotter when I left work than when I got there. Ride there was cautious to say the least. One of those days where it seemed like everyone on the road just didn't see me. Nothing happened but I got the feeling that it could. Return trip was really warm, humid, lots of bugs, the sounds of a nice summer night. 

Was going to deliver a 6 hour shift Saturday and it is forecasted to hit the 90's. Manager just hit me up on a text saying that I could have the day off. Was kind of looking forward to riding in that heat. Would make me forget about how it was snowing here like 3 weeks ago.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Still had that Kalamazoo thing in my head and on the way home, I was overtaken by a bus although there was oncoming traffic on the other side of the road. Scared the sh!t out of me, even when there still was enough clearance. Less then 1m/3ft but more than enough, 50cm I guess. But still....brrrr.

For the rest, rides were good actually and I rode 5 out of 5 days this week.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ Yes 50 cm or about 2' feels too close, but when there is no oncoming traffic to justify the close clearance, it is a real pisser.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

BrianMc said:


> ^ Yes 50 cm or about 2' feels too close, but when there is no oncoming traffic to justify the close clearance, it is a real pisser.


It feels worse the bigger the vehicle, too, for sure. City buses have no business passing bicycles that close.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I never realized how much of a draft they create until one passed me closely doing about 35mph or so. Nearly took me right into the lane with it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^ First the wake from the front blows you towards car doors or the sewer grates and broken glass then the suction of the low pressure zone behind yanks you toward whatever is following the bus or delivery truck (especially the rental ones are driven too close: novices who don't know where the right side of their vehicle is). Semis passing me when I am on the shoulder and that don't shift some to the left while in the right lane and doing 55-60 are only about 20" away and even worse.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot. Windy, like wind from every direction. Not sure how that works. Covered a 4 hour delivery shift for a co-worker. Was fairly slow, but the 7 I took had my legs pumping. Made great tips considering. Shocked the guys at the leasing office of an apartment complex by how fast the entire process was. Ride home had the MUP fairly crowded so there was a bit of waiting to pass. Going to do it all over again, but both jobs instead of one.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> That happens to all of us. There are going to be days where if you have a car, you use it. Your body needs the rest, and your brain does as well. Personally I like to change it up a bit, swap bikes out, or drive. The same routine gets boring and can push you away from it if you don't change it up. No shame in driving to work. Ride some this weekend on fresh legs!!


Thanks man. Switching bikes would be good, I keep debating on using the MTB but it's set up SS too. 32:18 on 11.5 mile commute would likely take me an hour! Have to look for some cross country routes I think.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Still had that Kalamazoo thing in my head and on the way home, I was overtaken by a bus although there was oncoming traffic on the other side of the road. Scared the sh!t out of me, even when there still was enough clearance. Less then 1m/3ft but more than enough, 50cm I guess. But still....brrrr.


That's touching distance! Waaaay too close so definitely brrr



TenSpeed said:


> I never realized how much of a draft they create until one passed me closely doing about 35mph or so. Nearly took me right into the lane with it.


Yeah gotta be careful of that. Once it's past you the draft can give you a nice tug along after them though.

It rained last night, a lot. Plenty of standing water and quite humid out there today.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today was my first commute in a little while. I was out most of last week because my wife gave birth to a little boy! It felt good to be getting a little exercise, but I don't know if I'm quite ready to get back to work.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

NDD said:


> I was rolling up to the university around the same time as another commuter cyclist, which was odd. Unfortunately he was one of those run every stop sign cut in front of cars to get on and off the shoulder types. Thought about giving him a piece of my mind every time I passed him, but decided I had too much work to do to squabble.


Right descision...no need to be a Nazi about everything


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Today was my first commute in a little while. I was out most of last week because my wife gave birth to a little boy! It felt good to be getting a little exercise, but I don't know if I'm quite ready to get back to work.


Hey, that's great news, congrats on the new arrival s0ckeyeus!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

SlipSpace said:


> Hey, that's great news, congrats on the new arrival s0ckeyeus!


+1 on that!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

It was really nice this morning, managed to get out the door 10 minutes early. Got a new pair of pruning shears and I did a little more maintenance along the MUP, cleared out a pretty decent section that was overgrown with various weeds. Still more work to be done but I feel like I'm making progress.

Congratulations s0ckeyeus :thumbsup:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats S0ckeyeus! New Kid day is even better than new bike day!

Back to "normal" summer weather here. 13C and rain this morning, 19C and windy on the way home. Basically I have the choice between being cooked in my raingear or get very wet and cold without it. Crappy either way but thats the way it is here.

Little OT question here: Anyone following the TransAm at the moment?
2016 Live Tracker | Trans Am Bike Race 2016


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Congrats, sOck!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Back to "normal" summer weather here. 13C and rain this morning, 19C and windy on the way home. Basically I have the choice between being cooked in my raingear or get very wet and cold without it. Crappy either way but thats the way it is here.
> 
> Little OT question here: Anyone following the TransAm at the moment?
> 2016 Live Tracker | Trans Am Bike Race 2016


Same here, I went with the wet option as the wind was not so bad. Lots of standing water. A flood across the road, that has more of a dip than I realised, ended up being axle deep in the middle; wet!


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Congrats on the little one Sockeyeus!!!

Commutes have been pretty decent as of late. Nice and cool in the morning with some slight breeze. Sucky part is that it is officially NV summer which means that once you hit about 1pm you have 10-25mph winds until about 7pm (Rodar can confirm). And honestly this is the only place that it feels like you can have wind coming from every directions no matter what direction you ride, always seems like you have a headwind. 

Now that the Inbred has gone almost full commuter (still running Schwalbe Rocket Rons) I have increased speed considerably. Used to be that with good lights I could make it to work/home in right about 10 minutes, maybe a little close to 9 1/2, but now I am consistently making 9s and actually hit a day last week were I hit EVERY green on the way home plus had no other vehicles at stop signs so I could roll through at a decent clip AND had not wind.. Time home was 6:55!!!

Really in love with this setup now, can definitely feel that the Inbred was made to have 100mm of travel (sagged) and the new rigid just fits it. Haven't had a chance to do any gravel grinding on it lately but have done a couple other errands on it with bank runs and grocery getting at the local farmers market. Gonna need another bag for those larger trips.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

gregnash said:


> And honestly this is the only place that it feels like you can have wind coming from every directions no matter what direction you ride, always seems like you have a headwind.


No, not the only place. Here, weather changes, valleys, wooded areas, and buildings all conspire to have places on the same ride riding the same direction is a headwind both times. The reverse is also likely true, but we all like to think we are more speedy today!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Hmmm... been a while. Still commuting by bike and bus. Just not as often as in the past. Have a contract in the Valley, so I get to do much more of my work from home now. Which is nice, but it is seriously hitting my total mileage. 

Last night started this summer's season of SprocKidz mountain biking coaching for kids in the Valley. I have a suspicion that I'll be riding a bit more now just because coaching reminds me of how much fun biking can be. 

It's a bit odd that I tend to skip more commutes during the summer than in the winter. I think something might be wrong with me.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Is bike your dog to work day a thing?

First time commuting with my dog riding shotgun on the Bullitt, she did great. Forgive the video orientation, might try to borrow a GoPro in the future.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

gregnash said:


> Sucky part is that it is officially NV summer which means that once you hit about 1pm you have 10-25mph winds until about 7pm (Rodar can confirm).


Confirmed, summer in the Great Basin means daily strong gusts each and every afternoon.

I believe Brian is right though about fickle headwind problem being something other than a local phenomenon. I`m sure its a problem throughout the Americas and continental Europe. We`ll have to ask our resident English riders, but I suspect the wind itself is English (or British in some manner), always wanting to flow on the left side of the road. That`s the only way I can imagine how we always end up with a headwind while the people riding against us are battling the same headwind! Damned English salmon wind :madman:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> Is bike your dog to work day a thing?
> 
> First time commuting with my dog riding shotgun on the Bullitt, she did great.


bike you dog to work day, its a thing now. She looks like she is loving it!



rodar y rodar said:


> I believe Brian is right though about fickle headwind problem being something other than a local phenomenon. I`m sure its a problem throughout the Americas and continental Europe. We`ll have to ask our resident English riders, but I suspect the wind itself is English (or British in some manner), always wanting to flow on the left side of the road. That`s the only way I can imagine how we always end up with a headwind while the people riding against us are battling the same headwind! Damned English salmon wind :madman:


Hey! Don't go blaming us, we don't get it any better here generally. Usually cold Atlantic, Cold Siberian or Scorching Saharan winds blow through here. Occasionally a nice warm one from continental Europe. Whatever the source, it's usually in your face.

I think it's a much more localised phenomenon centred around each cyclist


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> I think it's a much more localised phenomenon centred around each cyclist


I can buy that :thumbsup:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

yeah the wind is the same here in southern Nevada, when I have a headwind on the way to work in the morning I'm thinking "wow this is going to be a great ride home!" you know the rest :madman:


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

SlipSpace said:


> I think it's a much more localised phenomenon centred around each cyclist





rodar y rodar said:


> I can buy that :thumbsup:


Same here I guess...... Always funny when I am riding home to check different things for windage and direction. Then coming across car lots or something that have flags posted every 20 feet and you see the flags competing against one another directionally and speed-wise.

I remember one day recently leaving the office heading directly east and checking the flag in front of the office as I rode by. It was flapping pretty good with an East to West wind (head wind for me at that point). So go the 1/4 mile down the road and make my right hand turn and feel like I am still going into a head wind. Get to the next flag about 3/4 a mile down and yup, flapping right at me. So go around a couple other turns and hit my next marker/flag and now heading west and literal words that came out of my mouth.... HOW IN THE EVERLIVING #$^* DO I STILL HAVE A HEADWIND!! Unbenounce to me I startled the woman that was on the sidewalk (swear I was saying it in my head) and she says.... I know right!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today or yesterday. Severe weather forecasted and I made it home before the rain. Tonight probably not though so I am going to drive. Getting to the point where I am kind of growing sick of riding to work and getting there and feeling gross and not clean. I shower right before I leave and use hospital strength bath wipes when I get there but I cannot shake the feeling of stinking at work. Working at a hospital can make you self conscious because odors tend to stand out more since hospitals usually don't have any type of smell like an office with carpet would.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yesterday and this morning were quite ok. Ride home wasnt. Checked the weather radar and there were thunderstorms approaching, so I went home earlier as planned. Was riding towards a big dark sky and 3km from home I noticed a flash far away on the horizon. Heard thunder 3 times behind me during the last 5 minutes of my ride. Phew this one was close. Tomorrow and Friday I am less flexible at work so will make sure to keep the option open to take the bus.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Here's a cool site showing wind real time world over. Doesn't have quite the resolution to show wind at the city level, but, still cool to watch. https://earth.nullschool.net/#curre...raphic=-139.57,64.92,2655/loc=-149.133,61.478


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

My worst days are when you are just getting absolutely beaten down by a headwind, but when then you pass a flag that is showing no evidence of the wind.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Kleebs said:


> My worst days are when you are just getting absolutely beaten down by a headwind, but when then you pass a flag that is showing no evidence of the wind.


Sure that isn't one of your best days?


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

the other assistant scout master/also and engineer, and his take on the signage on our local MUP. 

But really, it was a nice cool day, with moisture in our normally dry Idaho air. Very nice commute. Took the long way and climbed an extra little hill to this view.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

sunvalleylaw said:


> View attachment 1076545


That tunnel looks painted on a la Wile E Coyote


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> That tunnel looks painted on a la Wile E Coyote


LOL! Nope, it's legit.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

sunvalleylaw said:


> View attachment 1076545


:thumbsup:


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

The tunnel shot is funny!

So much for my naked summer. Cold wind blowing tonight, had to break out the jacket and gloves.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Congrats S0ck! 

No commutes this week, conferencing. 

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Third day in a row of no riding for me. More weather today, scattered showers mixed in with some thunderstorms. I would have been OK riding yesterday but they were saying that it was going to be pretty severe. Made it home in the car as the lightning started.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM. Warm and sunny. A bit tired after coaching SprocKidz last night, but still enjoyed the ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides today. Commuted to kindergarten first, then rode to work. Ride home was ok, despite thunderstorms in the forecast I came home dry.

Depending on the weather radar tomorrow afternoon I will decide whether I make a detour or not, or maybe even take the bus.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

Had some toe contact with front fender and a slow tight corner. It caused the fender to bend and get sucked up by the tire. The noise was epic. As was the rapid slow down. 

I need to be careful. Warped the SKS a bit. I might dump them for the summer 


Sent via Jedi mind trick.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Depending on which section of weather.com I am on, there is either a 0% or 100% chance of rain. Looking out the window I'm leaning towards the 100%, but hoping I'm wrong.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

LMAO at your pic Sunvalley!

Been threatening rain for most commutes since my last post. When I left last night it was warm and rain was just sprinkling, thought I'd forgoe the waterproof. Got about a 1/3 mile out and the tap opened. Felt like someone was playing a hose pipe and heavy sprinkler on me. Instant soaking almost. I pysed out at that point and stopped under a tree and put the waterproof jacket on. I was already wet but it felt better. Rained all the way home with lots of standing water and that same flooded spot again, not so deep this time. Shoes gloves and helmet were still wet for the ride in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Loving the dog video formul4speed, and the tunnel pic sunvalley! I've been enjoying a couple miles of new pavement and the trial road diet with new bike lanes. Article about the roadwork here Barre-Montpelier Road changes now put to the test : Times Argus Online
My 85 year old Dad is having some serious surgery this a.m., with outlook uncertain after that even if it goes well. The ride to work will be good for me.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Best wishes to you and your dad, Xplorer.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I'll second rodar. Often the ride to work is more than just a commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hope all goes well MTXB!

Commutes are all good. Weather has been perfect.

My wife and I are planning another century this weekend. This time through Pinkham Notch at the base of Mt Washington and then back through Evans Notch


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Had some nasty weather roll through on Wed (my last work day) so I opted to drive. Turns out I would have technically missed it (it all came down while I was at work and was at least clear by the time I left), but it was close so I opted not to risk it.

Today's clear and beautiful. I'll definitely be riding in.

I've got myself booked for a mtb instructor's clinic at Mulberry Gap in GA next month. And it looks like I'll have an opportunity to teach in a clinic at least in October. Hoping I can line up enough coaching and guiding for 2017 that I can really start dialing back my time working in the shop. It'll make for a serious reduction in bike commutes, but it'll be work I enjoy.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

SlipSpace said:


> LMAO at your pic Sunvalley!
> 
> Been threatening rain for most commutes since my last post. When I left last night it was warm and rain was just sprinkling, thought I'd forgoe the waterproof. Got about a 1/3 mile out and the tap opened. Felt like someone was playing a hose pipe and heavy sprinkler on me. Instant soaking almost. I pysed out at that point and stopped under a tree and put the waterproof jacket on. I was already wet but it felt better. Rained all the way home with lots of standing water and that same flooded spot again, not so deep this time. Shoes gloves and helmet were still wet for the ride in.


Nice use of Norwegian there, SlipSpace!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Finally able to get on the bike today. No commute but I will be riding with the Friday night group that I used to ride with. Supposed to really warm up here into the 80's and be sunny and warm all weekend. I work the weekend so I will definitely be riding in.


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2016)

mtbxplorer said:


> Loving the dog video formul4speed, and the tunnel pic sunvalley! I've been enjoying a couple miles of new pavement and the trial road diet with new bike lanes. Article about the roadwork here Barre-Montpelier Road changes now put to the test *:*Times Argus Online
> My 85 year old Dad is having some serious surgery this a.m., with outlook uncertain after that even if it goes well. The ride to work will be good for me.


 Best wishes for your father and his surgery. I couldn't agree more about your last comment. I get asked all the time if I ride to save gas or money or the environment. I ride to save me, my mental and physical health, my ability to be present at work and with my family, the calmness and reflection riding creates. Hoping for the best outcome for you and your family.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Working from home. However, I just have to share the commute home last night: 

I can now cross an item off my bucket list: Getting hit by a car. 
I was a half mile from my office on this sketchy part of the route that cuts through four interconnected parking lots before connecting with the roadside multiuse path. This section has me riding against traffic and, as the main road is separated by a median, all traffic coming out of the lots must turn right. One of the parking lots is separated from the others by a 6 foot fence with those lame plastic strips threaded through the chain link so that you cannot see through it. 

Car pulls into the driveway to pull into the road. She stops. I slow. I look at her. She appears to look at and acknowledge me. She doesn't, however, give the wave to go. I'm not 100% in the moment, thinking about the route I'm going to take to the bus. It's a beautiful day, I missed my mid-day run, and I was able to leave a touch early, so I'm going to go long - So, with my head on other matters I continue riding. The driver sees the gap in traffic and takes off. I'm directly in front of her when she starts to pull out. She hits me. Slow speed. I remain on the bike and upright instead of pushed out into 45mph traffic. 

We're both shaken. My knee and ankle are sore. The bike seems fine. We exchange numbers. I test the bike and the leg in the parking lot. Things are okay. I assure her that I'm okay. We go our separate ways. 

I'm riding. It's a glorious day. The adrenaline is wearing off. Things feel fine. So I put in 11 more miles. I can feel on hills that my knee has a twinge in it. I get to the bus stop and feel my ankle burning. Take a look and nothing visible. A bit of swelling. I've been dealing with some off and on tendonitis in both Achilles' for a while and this burning is a fairly regular sensation. 

Ride the bus for an hour and when I get to the Valley, I'm a bit sore, a bit stiff, but no worse for the wear, overall. I do, get a lift home instead of riding. As I walk up the stairs to shower and such I notice that my knee wants to give out with lateral movement. I shower, ice, and ibuprofen. 

I wake up this morning and feel pretty darn good overall. There's still a bit of twinge in the knee and overall general stiffness. I've got a small bruise on my shin and one on my butt. Beyond that... nothing. 

I've long said that it is not a matter of if I get hit by a car, but when. And when it happens, what will be the outcome? I got damned lucky. Damned, damned lucky. Had she floored it coming out of the parking lot or if I'd been further ahead or behind when she hit me I would have been thrown into the path of highway traffic, which I realized after the fact included a semitruck. 

I have a strong feeling that I'll change my afternoon route to remove that section of riding against traffic. I had often thought about how dangerous that section is, particularly as people use it as a cut through all the time. It is poorly engineered and basically just a mess. 

Planning to get out for an easy run this afternoon to see how things feel. Then tomorrow night I'm leading a group ride on a hilly course (hopefully...), so I'm glad that I'm not more banged up than I am.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

^Glad you made it out of there intact, hopefully there aren't any lingering effects.

I almost watched my fiance get hit in a similar fashion, MUP goes against traffic, cars aren't watching for you. I knew what was coming but couldn't do anything to stop it, freaked me out, luckily he noticed her at the last second and stopped just short of hitting her. I typically won't pass cars like that unless they wave me through or they can't physically go anywhere at this point.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks all, appreciated! Dad survived surgery, he is minus vertebrae tumors and plus 2 rods and 6 screws. Orlando weighs heavy as well. Day by day is the only way. Rides were good, nothing crazy, and 79F by the ride home. Trail crew on Sunday, fixing a bridge.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi - glad you are alright.

mtbxplorer - glad your dad is alright.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh crap blockphi, that sounds like you have been VERY lucky....

Ride in was ok for me, ride home I was hunted by a rainshower. At some points I could see the rain on the horizon not even a km away. Luckily the last stretch was with a tailwind so I made it under my carport when the first drops fell....2nd time that close this week, just that there was no thunder this time.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Mtbxplorer, I'm glad your day came through ok, stressful times!

blockphi, that was a close one! As you say it does sound like you do need to work around that stretch if you can.

Tenspeed, your earlier comment about feeling grimy at work, I'm sure youre as aware of the cleaning up options as anyone but I agree nothing quite feels like a shower. Maybe a wash with flannel and hand basin in would help? Just water and soap can help, especially the pit area.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

blockphi, you're very fortunate. Glad it wasn't worse. A local guy was hit in a VERY similar type of crash last week and it turned out very different for him. His scenario involved a cross-street with a stop sign, not a parking lot driveway. The vehicle involved was an F-350. And the driver of that truck accelerated THROUGH him, to the point that he was found behind the truck. His only internal injury was thankfully only one broken bone, his fibula, but he was pretty torn up with a lot of major lacerations and road rash. His bike is a heap of plastic and metal. I think his frame wound up in over a dozen pieces.

He is home now recovering, but his PT is limited somewhat by the need to keep his lacerations from blowing open.

My commute yesterday was nice. Took a longer route home so I could ride around a nearby park. There was a tree down in the neighborhood, left over from some storms a few days ago. I'm surprised it's still there, as it was completely blocking the road. I guess since it didn't take down any power lines, the priority is low.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

That's awesome mtbx and wow blockphi that sucks! I have a sketchy section also on my mup commute that I'm going the wrong way in the bike lane for a few hundred yards. I should probably take the sidewalk and go behind cars entering the road from now on I guess.

btw I've been checking that wind website you posted a while back every day before I ride home from work, it's really neat! It's interesting to see where the wind is going in relation to mountains and lakes and stuff as well.

The strava thing is going well, I created a bunch of segments for the commute and actually got 2 koms! Thanks to a huge tailwind lol 

The heat is on here starting tomorrow and next week, should be fun!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks all, appreciated! Dad survived surgery, he is minus vertebrae tumors and plus 2 rods and 6 screws. Orlando weighs heavy as well. Day by day is the only way. Rides were good, nothing crazy, and 79F by the ride home. Trail crew on Sunday, fixing a bridge.


Good to hear. You and your dad crossed my mind several times yesterday.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Pilots quip that any landing you walk away from is a good one. Seems that applies to bike-car incidents, too.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> Tenspeed, your earlier comment about feeling grimy at work, I'm sure youre as aware of the cleaning up options as anyone but I agree nothing quite feels like a shower. Maybe a wash with flannel and hand basin in would help? Just water and soap can help, especially the pit area.


Unfortunately that just isn't an option for me at work. The no water bath wipes are actually pretty good at clean up so I will continue to use those.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Third day in a row of no riding for me. More weather today, scattered showers mixed in with some thunderstorms. I would have been OK riding yesterday but they were saying that it was going to be pretty severe. Made it home in the car as the lightning started.


this is was separates the badasses from the casuals


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

about how you feel at work: I simply shower BEFORE i ride to work and NEVER wear the same clothes riding 2 days in a row unless they are wool (that last for about 4 days). If you do this you never smell bad. I also shower after I come home from work. shower twice a day keeps the smell away. and cotton/synthetics just cant be used several days ina row since the bacteria starts smelling the second day when they get warm. I dont know why but wool does not smell. you can use that for several days in a row. Aslo you need to use a special wool detergent for it. Otherwise you ruin the effects of the wool. you wash it away.

Even if you get sweaty as hell during the ride to work it will never ever small bad if you use fresh clothes everday while riding and have showered before. It takes at least 12 h for the bacteria to start smelling. at least!

I use helly hansen "warm" wool stuff, and its killer. not cheap though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@tenspeed: you're always smarter afterwards. IMHO you took the right decisions there.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Yep, the sky was lit up like the 4th of July with several close hits to my complex. The travel time would have been about the same, give or take about 12 minutes. Rather be safe than sorry, and co-workers wouldn't have let me ride anyway. Would have been forced a ride.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> blockphi - glad you are alright.
> 
> mtbxplorer - glad your dad is alright.


This. Stay safe out there people!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today will be a record commute for me I think. Currently 90°F and no wind. That is going to be a hot one. Got my TriCross all ready and it's sitting by the door. Forecasted later to only be 80°F when I leave work at 11:30. Water bottle sitting in the fridge ready to go. Will be wearing long sleeves to see if it is a myth or really helps you stay cooler.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute on Friday - work from home. But I did do a "nice" 7 mile trail run. I could definitely feel it in my knee and ankle afterwards. I think there must be some pulled something or other or bruised whosits. Saturday evening I got back on the bike for some single track and apart from some twinges in the knee with lateral motion and some pain in the ankle when landing jumps I think it's safe to say I am the luckiest guy in the world. Heck. Today I even got out and did a 3400 foot elevation gain in 2.75 mile hike to cheer two of my kids at the finish line of a mountain running race and then ran the whole trail back down without any pain. Did I mention just how lucky I feel? 

@harold - it seems like the situation you describe is what usually happens up here. Except that the drivers rarely stop after they run over the cyclists. Lots of big red-neck trucks with the types of drivers that come along with them. Moral of the story - if you're going to get hit, get hit by an expensive European wagon driven by a late 40's mom with her teen daughter in the passenger seat. Less testosterone pushing the accelerator peddle to make the brap-brap sounds.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

92° for the ride in and it was hot!!! Headwind pretty much the entire way and it every pedal stroke reminded me of it. Took me a while to cool down at work. Ride home was really nice, still warm in the upper 70's. Did a few extra miles on the MUP on the way back. NiteRider Lumina 700 was really nice for the pitch black MUP. Back at again Monday for both jobs, and it is supposed to be a high of 87° and warm.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

MTBX - glad to hear your old man is doing well!
Blockphi - also glad to hear that you and your bike survived getting hit! 

Well, my Specialized Toupe saddle has arrived for the road bike & I must admit, I am a little disappointed with the condition it is in. I knew it was used and I knew it had some small signs of use on the saddle upper. I just wasn't prepared for the degree of "used", if you get my meaning? It looks like the previous owner had a couple of crashes with this saddle over the 100,000,000 km I'm sure he used it for... But the shell is in one piece and the rails are straight and unworn, so I guess we'll just see how it pans out. 1/3 of the price of a new one too, so I guess I can't complain too much... I can buy a new one if this one proves to be comfortable and not leave me with lasting "numbness in the gentleman's area".

Rain forecast here today so I used the old franken-drop MTB. She needs some TLC soon - there are all kinds of interesting noises coming from the drive train. I'm formulating a plan to strip her down and make a proper drop bar gravel bike out of her at some point. I got a box of Campagnolo bits lying around (Centaur compact carbon cranks, Centaur 10 speed shifters, 10 speed chain, cables etc) so all I need to invest in is the mechanically actuated calipers (I'm thinking TRP Spyre), an Ambrosio Shimano/Campag conversion cassette (to run Campag on a Shimano free hub) and a proper drop bar... Oh, I love the feeling when a new project starts to form  

The legs were a bit sore after hauling my little one in her trailer over the weekend too, so sore legs + wide tyres + head wind = heavy ride in.

The forecast foresees a killer head wind on the way home too - so it ain't gonna get easier 

Managed to negotiate a road bike ride this coming weekend with the missus, so I get to try the new saddle, plus I need another 1500m or so of climbing to get my June Climbing badge on Strava...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL, One Hundred MILLION kilometers!

Blockphi, glad you were "Lucky" when you got hit by a car.

Yesterday was a perfect day for a ride:
The Candid Cyclist: Third Century of the Year: Pinkham & Evens Notchs

My commute today was surprisingly good for some tired legs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good rides today. Nice and sunny this morning with 15C, bit cloudy and 21C on the way home. Little winds so lots of mosquitos and other flying bugs around. Had to make sure to keep my mouth closed. This is why I almost always wear glasses - in summer against dust, wind and flies, when it is colder as a protection against cold wind.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

No problem! :madmax:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ would love to ride in that. How was it????

Today was warm but not that warm. Hit 90 I think before the small storm came in. Dropped to 78, then it passed, little rain, and when the sun came out, ooooh boy, it's like someone turned the oven on. Got really hot and the sweat was pouring. Delivered and rode to work today with some good tips, one close call (that was my fault) and a nice ride home this evening.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

The ride home yesterday was wet. How wet? Biblical wet. Noah ain't seen nothin' like this wet. Cycling along the bottom of your local swimming pool wet. Pacific Ocean in a rain storm whilst some jerk turns a garden hose on you whilst you're in the shower wet. 

Made it home in around 29 minutes, though - nothing like torrential rain to stoke the boilers, huh?

I also got around to giving the mtb the TLC she deserves too. The excessive drive train noise I mentioned? That I had been experiencing ever since I changed the chain last? 

Weeeeeeellllllll...

Turns out that I had made an error when I routed the chain through the rear derailleur cage. I went in front of the tab that runs between the inner and outer plates of the cage rather than behind. This led to a dunkdunkdunkdunkdunk sound as, bit by bit, the steel chain cut its way through the soft aluminium alloy cage. Yes, I am embarrassed to this schoolboy error. 

The tab is now broken off - it was just not worth breaking the chain to save - I was able to snap it loose with my finger. It does seem like a spurious part anyway - who needs a super stiff RD cage, anyway? Plus I saved like half a gram of weight! 

As I sit here writing this the sun is finally shining - it looks like the ride home will be quiet, well indexed and dry


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Little winds so lots of mosquitos and other flying bugs around. Had to make sure to keep my mouth closed. .


Same here Dutchman. I feel like a whale scooping up krill sometimes. It's extra protein I guess  Definitely sultry here at the moment tho'

Eugene, that is damn hot! How the hell do you sleep in those night temps?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> ^ would love to ride in that. How was it????





SlipSpace said:


> Eugene, that is damn hot! How the hell do you sleep in those night temps?


Wasn't too bad actually, just kept drinking water all the way home, emptied my 24oz bottle in the 6 mile ride. People in cars sure give you some funny looks when riding in this heat, (you guys probably get the same when it's freezing cold) you can read their lips haha "look at that idiot on his bike he's craaazy!" 

And thank God for air conditioning in the house I sleep at night just fine :thumbsup:


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Local business owner Tom Billionis of The Coffee Ethic recently died at 44 of a heart attack running on some local trails (Sac River Mountain Bike Trails). This sculpture called The Tumbler sits in the city square in front of his shop. He would have been 45 today, the city "tumbled" The Tumbler this morning in remembrance.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Same here Dutchman. I feel like a whale scooping up krill sometimes. It's extra protein I guess


:lol:

@Eugene I think that that would exceed my limits, but we are going to hit over 30C thursday and friday, thats tough enough for me. Kudos for you for mastering that!

What do you wear? I think thin, long white clothing and some kind of sombrero is the best?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> The ride home yesterday was wet. How wet? Biblical wet. Noah ain't seen nothin' like this wet. Cycling along the bottom of your local swimming pool wet. Pacific Ocean in a rain storm whilst some jerk turns a garden hose on you whilst you're in the shower wet.
> 
> Made it home in around 29 minutes, though - nothing like torrential rain to stoke the boilers, huh?
> 
> ...


LOL wet!

That must have been some serious drivetrain noise. I did that once, not paying attention but fixed it as soon as I spun the pedals.

BikeCOLORADO, how did you get that veloviewer signature? Is that something you can embed that updates live? Nice mileage this year!

I had a moose sighting on my way home last night. We hardly ever get moose this far south but there it was just standing in somebody's yard. MTB commute in this morning but I only saw a porcupine.

It was the first day of summer and it was the first MORNING that felt like summer. Go figure.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me again today. I'm starting to think I may have done a bit of minor damage to the knee in the wreck. Had SprocKidz last night and throughout the entire riding portion of the session my knee would shoot pain anytime I moved it laterally at all. I figure it is just some inflammation from suddenly pulling something in there with the car hit. But, at times it feels like a torn cartilage issue. On Sunday when I was running down the mountain it was fine - I suppose because my foot was not locked into place as on the bike so the lateral movement was different? Who knows. Or maybe my quads being fatigued from Sunday is leading to instability in the knee? I'll have to watch it, I guess. 

That said, I probably won't be commuting tomorrow either. Maybe Thursday. We'll see.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Blockphi, I know it is not a popular thing to hear/say/do on your continent, but maybe you should go see a doctor?

No commute for me today, had a tight schedule this afternoon, had to leave early and because traffic is low, I took the bus to win 15 minutes compared to riding.

Now that I sorted out my memory card, I participated in the "Sternfahrt" again last Sunday. (Pics of last year are on page 703 of this thread).

This year I took another route/starting point that allowed me to leave later and the route went close by my house so we just joined when they passed.

waiting for people on two other routes to join us on the Autobahn:








Today: Cyclists first!








Heading onto the bridge:








On the wide wide Autobahn:








According to the organisation, we were in total 26,000 cyclists, of which about 13,000 took the same route as I did over the bridge and Autobahn. Unfortunately, I have seen three crashes too. The first one was probably somebody who overestimated himself racing down the bridge. The second one was on the Autobahn and the third one was in a quite dark tunnel, I guess she hit the curb on the left that was hard to see. Luckily there were enough medics and helpful people around, besides that it did not look too serious, probably the worst dent is in their self-confidence on the bike.

Looking forward to next year's ride already, I hope my son will then be able to ride himself, when he is big enough for a 20" geared bike.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First commute after getting back from the conference today. Felt good. Pretty hot (it was cooler in Brazil, but it's winter there), but I managed a few off-road miles on the commute home


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> What do you wear? I think thin, long white clothing and some kind of sombrero is the best?


Ooo a sombrero would be awesome! I wonder if I can find one that would fit over/under my helmet  I just wear my normal stuff, bike shorts and a thin shirt, and sunscreen, and more sunscreen. And I go pretty slow, don't want to overexert myself in this heat, this is an average ride home when it's hot. https://www.strava.com/activities/616719552


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Welcome back NDD, I bet you got some cool pics in Brazil for your botany thread?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

And that looks like alot of fun Dutchman, that's a whole lot of bikes!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

You don't need to worry about the heat, Eugene - you ride a Ghost.
That makes you super cool already 

Ride in today was dry - so I used the roadie - the new saddle is ok, I guess. I need to adjust the angle slightly; it's a little too nose down at the moment. No discernible taint issues to report at this juncture.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^taint a problem. 

Second MTB commute in a row, Wheee. Snapped a chain and a crappy GPS signal robbed me of a hard earned KOM but I still got to ride in the trails. Chain breaker and master link to the rescue! I'll try for the KOM again next time...Maybe Friday. Beautiful day.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Pulled it out of the river. Surprisingly good shape. Thank god it's fresh water. Got a pretty wet arse riding it tho. Chain was super noisy. Even after I lubed it with slug entrails.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Buster, What did you pull out of the river? A Bike? I never find bikes on my route 

Nice rides today. Tomorrow and Friday its gonna hit 30C/86F with very high humidity and almost no winds. Gotta get though somehow with a low pace and lots of water.

And my supervisor told me today, they "allow" me to work on the other plant 4!! days next week, that is 4!! days that I will not be able to ride. That is going to be tough....ouch.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^taint a problem.
> 
> Second MTB commute in a row, Wheee. Snapped a chain and a crappy GPS signal robbed me of a hard earned KOM but I still got to ride in the trails. Chain breaker and master link to the rescue! I'll try for the KOM again next time...Maybe Friday. Beautiful day.
> View attachment 1077762


Baboom tsh!

Wow, your guns must be more howitzer than .22, huh?



Buster Bluth said:


> Pulled it out of the river. Surprisingly good shape. Thank god it's fresh water. Got a pretty wet arse riding it tho. Chain was super noisy. Even after I lubed it with slug entrails.


I can't help bug hope you're referring to a bicycle here and that there was supposed to be a picture in this post?

Oh, @ Eugene; you guessed it was me on Strava, huh?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Somebody got lost and thought they were in the OC... Lol! Odd to see that level of trolling here. 

How well do slug innards work as chain lube?


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Blockphi, I know it is not a popular thing to hear/say/do on your continent, but maybe you should go see a doctor?
> 
> No commute for me today, had a tight schedule this afternoon, had to leave early and because traffic is low, I took the bus to win 15 minutes compared to riding.
> 
> ...


Interesting to see that 3-wheeler in the high speed lane..


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rode hard today for delivery, hot, windy, but a huge smile on my face. Feels like I am one with the fixed gear. Saddle height is perfect and it is level. Bars are just right. Chain tension is perfect. Feels like an extension of my body some of the time, almost like I forget I am pedaling a bike that doesn't coast. Get a lot of compliments on the bike and I appreciate those from complete strangers. Mostly about the weight because I have it slung over my shoulder or am holding it up with one hand in the elevator making a delivery. Feels just right.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Oh, @ Eugene; you guessed it was me on Strava, huh?


LOL yep you're the only person from Norway I know of except for a couple distant cousins I haven't seen in 30 years!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Buster Bluth said:


> Crappy. Broken chain, 2 flats. Threw my bike in anger from a bridge into a river. Walked the rest of the way to work. 1 hour late.
> 
> Got a raise though and I will put it towards a new bike.


P
Perspeperspective baby!!😊


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Buster Bluth said:


> Rode my wife's pink cruiser in today. Lots of my stuff fit in the basket but I wore a small pack too. Got lots of honks and waves. Possibly one proposition from an interesting looking gent outside a coffee shop. Strange but fairly uneventful.


My wife wanted her cruiserbak


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@buster: :thumbsup:


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Buster Bluth said:


> My wife wanted her cruiserbak


Double posting whilst quoting yourself. If that's not the internet version of masturbation then I don't know what is...



TenSpeed said:


> Rode hard today for delivery, hot, windy, but a huge smile on my face. Feels like I am one with the fixed gear. Saddle height is perfect and it is level. Bars are just right. Chain tension is perfect. Feels like an extension of my body some of the time, almost like I forget I am pedaling a bike that doesn't coast. Get a lot of compliments on the bike and I appreciate those from complete strangers. Mostly about the weight because I have it slung over my shoulder or am holding it up with one hand in the elevator making a delivery. Feels just right.


Yep - nothing like the feeling that you've got your bike dialed in. I haven't felt that for a while - but then again I'm a born tinkerer...

The ride in today was fun. Started out a bit overcast and humid but the sun is shining now! There is a stretch of road that runs along the fjord, by the finance district and on that road is a segment called "Tour de Finance" - mainly because there are a lot of rich finance guys bombing along there on their super light super aero super bikes. Today I was fastest. This makes me happy. Tomorrow? Who knows? But today - I won 

I have a theory (I might have shared this before) that white cycling shorts are good for an extra 200 Watts. My thinking is that you don't want anyone seeing you (and most definitely recognizing you, should you see anyone you know) and so you have an involuntary reaction to push the pedals harder. I think today shows that theory holds water.

Yes. I was wearing white Lycra. Don't judge me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That event looks great Dutchman! :thumbsup:



Ghost_HTX said:


> There is a stretch of road that runs along the fjord, by the finance district and on that road is a segment called "Tour de Finance" - mainly because there are a lot of rich finance guys bombing along there on their super light super aero super bikes. Today I was fastest. This makes me happy. Tomorrow? Who knows? But today - I won
> 
> I have a theory (I might have shared this before) that white cycling shorts are good for an extra 200 Watts. My thinking is that you don't want anyone seeing you (and most definitely recognizing you, should you see anyone you know) and so you have an involuntary reaction to push the pedals harder. I think today shows that theory holds water.
> 
> Yes. I was wearing white Lycra. Don't judge me.


Always nice to beat the posers Ghost :thumbsup: Let me know how that white shorts thing works out, oh and pics, or is didn't happen :devil:

Really wet today, stared out in the waterproof but just too warm! About 2 miles out I took it off and just rode in my tee. Turns out it felt like a perfect day for riding. Could easily have skived off and put some miles in but employers don't seem to take kindly to that sort of thing.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

SlipSpace said:


> That event looks great Dutchman! :thumbsup:
> 
> Always nice to beat the posers Ghost :thumbsup: Let me know how that white shorts thing works out, oh and pics, or is didn't happen :devil:
> 
> Really wet today, stared out in the waterproof but just too warm! About 2 miles out I took it off and just rode in my tee. Turns out it felt like a perfect day for riding. Could easily have skived off and put some miles in but employers don't seem to take kindly to that sort of thing.


You know, I was actually contemplating the same thing - ducking out early and taking a quick trip up to Holmenkollen on the roadie. Then the HR Director came into my office and asked me to review the agreement for outsourcing of our payroll function and the new company pension scheme by tomorrow...

Yeah - that sounds way more fun; I think I'll do that... -_-

As for the Posers - my bike is an aero frame and weighs around 7.2kg. Plus I was wearing white Lycra today...

So, who's the poser? The Poser or the Poser overtaking him?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost_HTX said:


> So, who's the poser? The Poser or the Poser overtaking him?


   ok, so foot removed from mouth

:skep: You don't come across as a poser though Ghost, far from it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Baboom tsh!
> Wow, your guns must be more howitzer than .22, huh?


Somewhere between spring action 0.177 to 0.38 special depending on the day.
The chain had <500 miles on it. I did just do a hard push but it it broke after. No jams or mis-shifts. Just broken.


NDD said:


> How well do slug innards work as chain lube?


I was using slug innards when my chain broke.  Can not recommend.



Ghost_HTX said:


> Double posting whilst quoting yourself. If that's not the internet version of masturbation then I don't know what is...


He was just explaining why the bike was in the river and why he dug it out.

New chain on the fatty but I took the road bike today. Maybe I'll play in the woods again tomorrow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm a bad skimmer. Sorry to hear about your crash blockphi but glad to hear you seem to have made it out ok. 

Bedwards... Noted. 

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

@Bedwards,
Ah, ok then I don't know what the internet version of masturbation is. This requires some research. I hear there are web sites for that sort of thing...
Oh, and I would say that you went at least .50 cal on that particular day, though. Possibly even 20mm... Either way powerful.

@SlipSpace,
Its fine ! I wasnt being grouchy. Sorry if it came across that way. Im certainly not one of those guys, they drop more money on wheels than I did on my whole bike. I don't think its possible to wear all white kit and not look like a poser, though... Bit of a head scratcher, that one too... Maybe I'm a little bit of a poser? Im a nice (ish) guy, though! I promise!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> @Bedwards,
> Ah, ok then I don't know what the internet version of masturbation is. This requires some research. I hear there are web sites for that sort of thing...


I would not recommend an image search at work.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Started off really well, and it only goes down after it goes up right? Delivery. Rain. Wet roads. Gatorskin 23's on a fixed gear. The right turn had me coming in too hot. Painted pedestrian crossing. You know where this went. Almost came out of it unscathed. Almost. And by that I mean I had somehow managed to keep the bike upright even through most of the turn across the painted pedestrian crossing. Still not turning enough, so I turn more after the painted section. Ended up going down on my right side, hitting my cheek, wrist and shoulder all at the same time. Knees ended up coming down as well and the bike slid out from under me after I miraculously managed to unclip. 

I crawled to the curb extremely dazed and not really sure what happened or where I was leaving the bike right in the street. Two women rushed over to see if I was OK. I was like I need a minute, and just half sat/laid there for a minute. Got up and got the bike which wasn't far from me. Apparently the impact popped one of the lenses of my sunglasses right out. One of the women brought it to me. Kept asking me if I was OK. Got up and kind of walked it off a second. Quick inspection of the bike and I had to get going because I was on a delivery. Finished the shift and made it to the hospital to work another 8 hours. 

I looked alright earlier, but now I am starting to really show signs that something happened. Helmet left a mark on the right side of my head. Glasses left a half circle by my right eye. Cheek is swollen and has light road rash along with bruising. It is currently throbbing. Right wrist is really sore and I have lost a lot of grip strength in it. Left knee was bloody. Left shin was also bloody from the pedal I imagine. Right knee is bloody. Right shoulder lost at least a layer of skin. Not sure how I did not rip the jersey although it shows a huge wear mark on the shoulder. Various scrapes on my hands and right arm. It pretty much looks like I got into a bar fight or was jumped.

I know better when the roads are wet. I know that any painted surface becomes like a skating rink when it is wet. Came in a little too fast on that turn and paid the price. Found out that there have been a lot of complaints not only from cyclists but from pedestrians at that intersection as well. Some reports of pedestrians losing traction when that crosswalk is wet. 

Tomorrow I am back on the bike. Have to get back on the horse right?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost_HTX said:


> @SlipSpace,
> Its fine ! I wasnt being grouchy. Sorry if it came across that way. Im certainly not one of those guys, they drop more money on wheels than I did on my whole bike. I don't think its possible to wear all white kit and not look like a poser, though... Bit of a head scratcher, that one too... Maybe I'm a little bit of a poser? Im a nice (ish) guy, though! I promise!!


No sweat Ghost, I didn't think you were being a grouch  maybe a bit of a poser now though  ((manhugs and beers)



TenSpeed said:


> Tomorrow I am back on the bike. Have to get back on the horse right?


Wow Tenspeed. Bad off, no doubt hurt, but as you say, could have gone far worse. As for riding tomorrow, that may well be an act of defiance against a body that feels it more by then. Stay safe dude.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Damn TenSpeed - not a good situation to find yourself in at all!

Glad that there was no other traffic involved and that you are (comparatively) unscathed.
Painted lines on wet tarmac are a nightmare for everyone - I wonder what it will take for someone to come up with a cost effective solution to this?

Did the bike come out of it ok? I'm guessing scuffed QR, scratched pedals and slightly beaten up looking bar tape / saddle? At least with it being a fixie there isn't any derailleur to get bent / damaged. Probably time for a new helmet too now huh?

One plus about hitting the deck in the wet is that it's slippery as hell - that applies to our clothing and the bike too - things don't get as scuffed I find.

I find that I'm STILL careful with high speed turns in the wet after hitting that diesel patch last summer... You're doing the right thing, though - get back on the horse! Just don't push yourself too far too early. 

As Zapp Brannigan said;

"The mind is willing; but the flesh is bruised and spongy"

Words to live by... 

My ride today was nice - a stiff head wind and humid as hell, but no rain and warm.
Finally passed 6000m climbing for June! Got the badge to prove it and everything!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Slug innards might be good lube for internet masturbation. Will have to investigate.

Still here. Though I didn`t think it possible, I`ve gotten even MORE lazier lately. Have only been working 4 days most weeks, and still end up driving 2 of those more often than not.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Started off really well, and it only goes down after it goes up right?...
> ...Tomorrow I am back on the bike. Have to get back on the horse right?


Tough one! It sounds similar to my wet railroad track crash. One seconds you think "these could be slippery" and the next second your helmet bounces off the ground.

Considering the helmet made a mark it's a good thing you were wearing it. I think of that crash every time I consider taking an easy ride without a helmet.

I've never been able to stay off the horse for long even with broken bones.



rodar y rodar said:


> Slug innards might be good lube for internet masturbation. Will have to investigate.
> 
> Still here. Though I didn`t think it possible, I`ve gotten even MORE lazier lately. Have only been working 4 days most weeks, and still end up driving 2 of those more often than not.


LOL. The big problem with slugs is that it is hard to wash the lube off when you want it off. Sticky stuff.

Biking ebbs and flows.

OK, today the GPS let me get my hard earned KOM and my chain didn't break and it's a beautiful day and it's Friday.

Gearing up to do another century tomorrow. This Ironman training is crazy!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks guys. Face is looking kind of rough today. Knee is sore along with the shoulder. Wrist is the worst thing right now. Just feels like I pulled it. Motrin on board and I am gonna suck it up. Heading out in a bit to the LBS before I go to work....to work.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ stay safe, guy. 

My commutes have been uneventful all week. Just how I like it when it's this hot.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Ghost_HTX said:


> One plus about hitting the deck in the wet is that it's slippery as hell - that applies to our clothing and the bike too - things don't get as scuffed I find.


This!

I went down on a corner in a rain soaked criterium ~4 years ago. We were doing 25mph at the time and I slid (hydroplaned) about 100 feet on my hip until a lovely metal barricade fence halted my progress. The only damage was scrapes to my shoe buckles a scuff on my saddle and my pride.



bedwards1000 said:


> This Ironman training is crazy!


Haha, tell me about it. I live on an Ironman route and the weekend congestion is crazy with people pre-riding/practicing the course.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

"Tour de Finance" LOL!

is this from aker brygge and away from the city centre? Next to the water?

Btw did you win the tour today?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Boah Tenspeed, that sounds terrible. Glad you came out with just some bruises etc. Better take it easy the next days.

Yesterday was a hot day. 22C/72F in the morning and 32C/90F in the afternoon. At least the sky was clear and there were no thunderstorms. 
But last night at around 2pm it hit our town hard. Pouring rain for 2 hrs, almost contineous thunder and constant lightning flashes, sometimes lighting up the sky for seconds. I had to get out in the rain to hectically put down the sunsail. It is supported by a 3m/10ft steel pole in one corner, I did not want to have that one standing in the middle of my garden. Kids woke up and got scared. Youngest one sleeps in the attic, which is directly under the roof with the satellite disc, better not leave him there. So we made a nice time on the couch for 2 hrs. 

This morning there were still thunderstorms passing through, I caught a 1hr opening between two thunderstorm areas to ride to work. It did rain though so I got a proper soaking but I was prepared: Sandals, shorts and polyester T-Shirt only - I was singing in the rain  During the day everything cleared up an my wife met me halfway on the way home with the youngest in the Thule backseat and we pedaled home together. Now again thunderstorms are approaching, the last ones. Tomorrow it is going to cool down to 17C/63F and it is going to rain all day. Tomorrow afternoon I am going puddle-racing with the kids on the bike and bobbycar. Rain without lightning rulez :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> . Helmet left a mark on the right side of my head. Glasses left a half circle by my right eye. Cheek is swollen and has light road rash along with bruising. It is currently throbbing. Right wrist is really sore and I have lost a lot of grip strength in it. Left knee was bloody. Left shin was also bloody from the pedal I imagine. Right knee is bloody. Right shoulder lost at least a layer of skin. Not sure how I did not rip the jersey although it shows a huge wear mark on the shoulder. Various scrapes on my hands and right arm. It pretty much looks like I got into a bar fight or was jumped.


I went down at 19 mph leaned into a turn in the dry when the front tire blew. Wet is better! My face and helmet were the first to hit no sliding to lose energy. Knocked me out displaced but did not break my cheek bone. Your helmet is now suspect BTW. Inspect very closely for compressed foam, if any: it is new helmet time. As bad as it was I can attest to it possible to be much worse! I have these tar tattoos now.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

My shop got its parking lot sealed with fresh tar this spring. Holy shite is it treacherous in the wet. I was walking to/from lunch the other day and it was treacherous enough then. For folks out on test rides? Yikes!

I overslept this morning, but at least still had time to get ready and get to work on time. I just had to hammer on my way in. Only drawback was being so sweaty. I took it easy on the way home. Ended up being WAY easier than I wanted. Got caught at a traffic light that WOULD.NOT.CHANGE for a bike. I was starting to think about taking advantage of the ability to run the red after I'd been sitting at it for 2min, but the cross traffic never cleared enough for that. The light eventually changed after a car pulled up behind me, but geez! My normally 10min commute took almost 18 to get home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Close call on the ride home tonight. Left the light, and the bike lane just merges with traffic although the lane is wider than normal. I heard him coming, could see the lights right behind me, and then he passed me. I could have touched his mirror easily. It was too close. I yelled hey at him, and he looked at me as he passed me, like I was doing something wrong. I really want to carry a handful of bb's with me for situations like this. That really pisses me off. You would never pass another car that close, why would you pass a dude on a bike out in the open with no protection????

I think that from now on, I am taking the full lane, especially at night. Current position is in the passenger side tire line. That's too much room I guess, so for my safety the entire lane is going to be used.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

car bone said:


> "Tour de Finance" LOL!
> 
> is this from aker brygge and away from the city centre? Next to the water?
> 
> Btw did you win the tour today?


Almost. I work at Aker Brygge so its the opposite direction. Came 4th on Friday, FYI


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

TenSpeed said:


> Close call on the ride home tonight. Left the light, and the bike lane just merges with traffic although the lane is wider than normal. I heard him coming, could see the lights right behind me, and then he passed me. I could have touched his mirror easily. It was too close. I yelled hey at him, and he looked at me as he passed me, like I was doing something wrong. I really want to carry a handful of bb's with me for situations like this. That really pisses me off. You would never pass another car that close, why would you pass a dude on a bike out in the open with no protection????
> 
> I think that from now on, I am taking the full lane, especially at night. Current position is in the passenger side tire line. That's too much room I guess, so for my safety the entire lane is going to be used.


There are a couple stretches where unsafe passes could be a problem, so I'm in the driver's side tire line. Just after one intersection, it's only one lane wide, and each side is hemmed by concrete curb or the median. The lane itself is also a bit on the narrow side, so I own that stretch.

And another stretch a little bit after that. Bike lane going down a gradual hill goes away right before a narrow-ish bridge. Then right after that bridge, a left turn lane begins, which I use to turn into the neighborhood. After I leave the bike lane, I own the lane as I move into that turn lane.

Otherwise I'm usually in the passenger tire line (riding on top of the middle of the sharrows if present, which in both of the above situations, there are sharrows - however the rest of the lane structure makes the sharrow position inadequate and lets aggressive drives attempt to pass unsafely) or in the bike lane.


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## Gettintheretoy (Apr 16, 2011)

Enjoyable and cool this morning on the way in. The temperature now is pushing 100. Thinking I will take country route home through the almond orchards as it will be cooler then heading through town. Less traffic too!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commuted today to the bike shop, to work. Been working some part time hours there for the summer since they need the help. Having a blast so far because the owner and manager are both cool and have taught me so much already. Laced up a set of wooden rims today, single speed, and they turned out really nice. Not sure what they will be used for, but we all decided that none of us would ride them for fear of breaking. Owner will tension them this week, but they were laced by me. Already assembled a dirt jumper and steel SS, both inspected by the manager. I guess I did a pretty good job on both. Asked a lot of questions, and am learning with every turn of the wrench. They are getting the help, and I am getting the education. Win win in my book.

Sunday is a metric century with some guys. Taking the geared cx bike for comfort. Just swapped out the bar and wrapped it tonight which is not a good idea to do before a longish ride lol. Couldn't pass up the bars though, picked them up from the LBS that sold Felt that closed its doors. 3T Ergosum drops that were a take off, had a few small scratches on them. $20. They are really nice and I like the drop on them so far, although that may change after tomorrow.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Commuted today to the bike shop, to work. Been working some part time hours there for the summer since they need the help. Having a blast so far because the owner and manager are both cool and have taught me so much already. Laced up a set of wooden rims today, single speed, and they turned out really nice. Not sure what they will be used for, but we all decided that none of us would ride them for fear of breaking. Owner will tension them this week, but they were laced by me. Already assembled a dirt jumper and steel SS, both inspected by the manager. I guess I did a pretty good job on both. Asked a lot of questions, and am learning with every turn of the wrench. They are getting the help, and I am getting the education. Win win in my book.


That sounds like a sweet deal - you get to hang out with some cool guys, working on bikes, learning important skills AND you get paid (you get paid, right?).

Hows the war wounds? Hope there isn't any lasting damage to you or the bike?



TenSpeed said:


> Sunday is a metric century with some guys. Taking the geared cx bike for comfort. Just swapped out the bar and wrapped it tonight which is not a good idea to do before a longish ride lol. Couldn't pass up the bars though, picked them up from the LBS that sold Felt that closed its doors. 3T Ergosum drops that were a take off, had a few small scratches on them. $20. They are really nice and I like the drop on them so far, although that may change after tomorrow.


I have those on my roadie - The shape of the drop isn't for everyone - especially those with smallish hands (It can be a bit of a stretch to the brake levers) - but they are super comfortable to ride on the hoods (the marketing spiel from 3T is that they were designed to allow for more comfort on the hoods, you see, since most riders sit on the hoods for 99% of their ride anyway).

One thing I would mention is that they have slightly longer reach than most other bars - 96mm IIRC. I ended up running these with a 90mm stem, otherwise the reach was a wee bit too much for me. My knees can interfere with the bars now, if I get sloppy with pedaling technique out of the saddle. Otherwise they are a great bar - I find that riding right down in the drops is also very comfortable.

My ride in today was good. I was starting to feel a bit tired after commuting every day last week (only 31km per day, so I think I'm either getting old, getting soft or getting sick...) so I didn't do anything bike related over the weekend.

One small incident today - I was pushing hard (sprinting at around 90% max) up a small incline and managed to get an unintentional clip out on my right foot - my foot then went into my front wheel! I have no idea how I managed it, but I pulled my foot away at the last moment and only got a glancing strike on the spokes, rather than a full on "foot through wheel" moment.

I stopped and checked the shoe, rim and spokes for damage but it's all good. No idea how I managed that - for a split second I was ready to go OTB.

Time to check the pedal tension, methinks...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute for me this WEEK. Had to stay home today, wife and 1 kiddo are sick and the grandparents are on vacation. Wife will drive me to work tomorrow, will fly to the other plant in the evening and come back friday evening. Told my wife already that I definitely have to get on the bike next weekend or my legs will explode.

How do you guys cope when you can not commute for some days or a whole week?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The Candid Cyclist: I've Been Everywhere; I've been to: Raymond, Windham, Sebago, Standish, Steep Falls, Limington, Hollis, Waterboro, Alfred, Lyman, Arundel, Biddeford, Saco, Scarboro, South Portland, Portland, Falmouth...

Legs felt surprisingly good this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute in this AM even though I hadn't planned on commuting. Was going to work from home, but meetings...

Nothing of note. Sunny. Warm. Calm. All in all a nice ride. Can't complain. But I will. Creaking bottom bracket. Still not shifting 100% spot on. And I need to swap out my small ring up front - should have just replaced both at the same time. 

I'm regretting going with the Race Face Cinch Turbine with 2X spider - I really can't find rings from other vendors with their odd-ish BCDs and the tooth counts that I want for a decent price. The 38 tooth ring I chewed through in three months. The 26 in four. I may try flipping the 26 backwards and see if I can get another four out of it... 

I have an old FSA 44 tooth that has over 5K on it and it still looks nearly new and no skipping. And it was cheap. 

Should have gone with the less sexy Surly crank. Heavier, uglier, and probably would last forever and a day.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Great commute this morning. Sunny and 18-degrees Celsius. I work in a mental ward and some of the patients like to play tricks on me and hide my bike. So assuming I can find it reasonably quickly I should have a great ride home too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Buster Bluth said:


> Great commute this morning. Sunny and 18-degrees Celsius. I work in a mental ward and some of the patients like to play tricks on me and hide my bike. So assuming I can find it reasonably quickly I should have a great ride home too.


Make sure to check the bottom of the river.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

LOL. Unfortunately I'm the only person in the building wacky enough to throw my bike in the river.

One of the patients once rode it around the grounds though and crashed it into an ambulance.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Buster Bluth said:


> Great commute this morning. Sunny and 18-degrees Celsius. I work in a mental ward and some of the patients like to play tricks on me and hide my bike. So assuming I can find it reasonably quickly I should have a great ride home too.


I bet Chief took it for a joyride


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

i'm done commuting by bike for the time being.

with the long days, i just want to get home and run out the door with my mtn bike and hit the hills. it's a better workout, and much more fun.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot one today. Worked all three jobs, and I am exhausted. Having a snack, posting, sitting with my lil dog and then I am hitting the sack. Built my 3rd bike today, and started my 4th, which I will finish Tuesday, and am going to post a picture of. 25 miles ridden, lots of sweat, and a nasty headwind. Would do it all again.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> No commute for me this WEEK. Had to stay home today, wife and 1 kiddo are sick and the grandparents are on vacation. Wife will drive me to work tomorrow, will fly to the other plant in the evening and come back friday evening. Told my wife already that I definitely have to get on the bike next weekend or my legs will explode.
> 
> How do you guys cope when you can not commute for some days or a whole week?


I don't. I am a complete nightmare to be around if I don't get to ride my bike.
I remember during my paternity leave that I didn't get to ride for a good 8 weeks or so - too much to do around the house, plus the little one was too small for the trailer.

It almost ended in murder / divorce


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good weather here mostly, we're overdue for bad thunderstorms, today may be the day, "a few storms may be severe". Saw 7 bikes the other morning on the 8 miles to work, a new record, perhaps the new pavement/bike lanes on 2 miles is getting people out.

A pickup crashed into 3 cyclists and then another car here over the weekend, all the cyclists were hospitalized. Truck strikes, injures 3 Connecticut cyclists in Vermont | FOX 61 Another bikecommuter had the car behind him roll over his foot while waiting to cross a major road; he had to yell "BACK UP" before the driver noticed. He'll be OK, but come on!

Got out for a trail ride Saturday, but as we passed a 2 story boulder the dog took off after something and returned limping with torn pads. I was able to use the scissors on a mini leatherman to cut off the flap, which at least kept it from ripping further. A gauze pad and some tape helped him get back to the parking lot. Even a minimalist first aid kit can make a difference. That vet wrap (self stick bandage) is great stuff for dogs and people, it can be used to brace an ankle or hold a bandage in place. Toss a roll in your pack and you may be glad someday.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Poor dog!

Hope he is ok? Any idea how he tore up his paw?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good weather here mostly, we're overdue for bad thunderstorms, today may be the day, "a few storms may be severe". Saw 7 bikes the other morning on the 8 miles to work, a new record, perhaps the new pavement/bike lanes on 2 miles is getting people out.
> 
> A pickup crashed into 3 cyclists and then another car here over the weekend, all the cyclists were hospitalized. Truck strikes, injures 3 Connecticut cyclists in Vermont | FOX 61 Another bikecommuter had the car behind him roll over his foot while waiting to cross a major road; he had to yell "BACK UP" before the driver noticed. He'll be OK, but come on!
> 
> Got out for a trail ride Saturday, but as we passed a 2 story boulder the dog took off after something and returned limping with torn pads. I was able to use the scissors on a mini leatherman to cut off the flap, which at least kept it from ripping further. A gauze pad and some tape helped him get back to the parking lot. Even a minimalist first aid kit can make a difference. That vet wrap (self stick bandage) is great stuff for dogs and people, it can be used to brace an ankle or hold a bandage in place. Toss a roll in your pack and you may be glad someday.


We're due for some T-boomers too but I'm hoping they wait 'till overnight as forecast.

Geeze, Vermont is getting rough! It's not all green fields granite and cheese.

Our dog cut her pad a few weeks ago. Bloody mess! We used that self stick wrap & gauze too. All healed up in <1 week. Thank Dog! She was a terror with the Elizabethan Cone.

Good commutes! They re-paved a long section of road on one of my primary routes INCLUDING THE SHOULDERS. Which is nice because the current policy is to pave them every other paving cycle even if they look like the surface of the moon on a bad day and the road hasn't been paved in 20 years.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ Nothing worse than nice new pavement for the cars, and crappy shoulders. They do that around here too. 

Checking in from summer mode... the miles are down and the smiles are up... spent most of the days yesterday helping my kids dam up the creek to make a swimming hole, because that's what you do :lol: 

I've done a couple nice long mtb rides and a commute or two a week... I always joke with the local guys that I peak around May, and then get slower until the fall. Opposite of most folks. We've got a little club enduro thing this Wednesday...a good opportunity to see how much I've lost already. 

I got to spend a few days in Seattle a couple weeks ago. Cool city! We stumbled on a Chrome store AND a Timbuk2 store. Definitely needed everything in both of those shops.

Hope you all are enjoying the heat...


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

First trip on the new Schwalbe Marathons. Nice tires. 26x1.5. I like them a lot. First wire bead tire I've had in a long time, was pretty hard to get them installed.

Next step is replacing fox f100 fork with a rigid fork. Oh and I need a bigger chainring as my gearing was for mountain biking and I am way undergeared. My 3 hour commute could probably get knocked down to 2 hours.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

CommuterBoy said:


> I've done a couple nice long mtb rides and a commute or two a week... I always joke with the local guys that I peak around May, and then get slower until the fall. Opposite of most folks. We've got a little club enduro thing this Wednesday...a good opportunity to see how much I've lost already.


I totally get that. In the springtime, I was doing about 2 mtb rides per week plus commutes. With the summer heat setting in, I'm down to 1 mtb ride per week plus commutes. The stormy weather patterns have dropped my commutes by roughly 1 day per week on average (some weeks it's more, some less). I'll be getting more mtb rides when fall hits. Glorious fall. That's my favorite time of year to be in the woods in this part of the world.

Wife has been wanting to race the Iceman Cometh for a couple of years. We missed registration last year, but had no problem this year. Wife was a little concerned she might not be ready fitness-wise, but I told her not to worry. Our rides are typically much more difficult (terrain-wise) than the Iceman course. She was concerned mostly about distance. Sure enough, yesterday we did a 30+mi ride with about twice as much climbing as is on the Iceman course, with a 90F high temp and humidity as high as 99% in the morning. Now she's not so concerned.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Got some of our notorious humidity this morning, 98%. You could see the moisture in the air like a haze.

Found a second cell phone within about a month on the side of the road. Screen was inoperable but dropped it off to a local T-Mobile store and they said they could return it using the SIM card. Pro tip: don't leave your cell phone on the roof of your car.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> ^^ Nothing worse than nice new pavement for the cars, and crappy shoulders. They do that around here too.
> 
> Checking in from summer mode... the miles are down and the smiles are up... spent most of the days yesterday helping my kids dam up the creek to make a swimming hole, because that's what you do :lol:
> 
> ...


Ahh, you hit up the Chrome Hub in Seattle. Very cool store, haven't been to that one, but it is probably similar to the one in Chicago. They make custom bags on site if it is like the one in Chicago. If you are local, and order something before noon, they will deliver to you in a certain range via a local bike messenger company. That is one of the coolest things about the store/brand. They know they are a cycling based company and don't forget it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Poor dog!
> 
> Hope he is ok? Any idea how he tore up his paw?


Thanks, he is improving faster than I expected. Sunday a.m. he barely put any weight on it. Today he is already running around fine but I am not playing frisbee, biking or doing our morning 1.5 mile woods walk. Our trails are all around old granite quarries, so it could have been the granite itself, old equipment or old bottles/cans etc. Especially if he is chasing something he will make dumb blind jumps to uncertain landings and go up to about 28 mph per his gps collar.

Here he is looking pitiful.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Now THERE'S a look that says "Mommy, can I have a cookie?"...
What is he? part Whippet part something else? Or some breed I probably haven't heard of? Damn fine looking young man, regardless - what's his name?

My ride in today was great! I'm going out to dinner tonight to send off a colleague who's leaving us - so I took the mtb (it's insured unlike the roadie so I don't mind leaving it locked up at work all night).

The plan is to ride in today - go out, eat, drink and be merry tonight, crawl into work by train tomorrow and ride home, after the hangover has abated.

It's strange - the mtb is on 2.2 inch semi slicks and weighs pretty much 2kgs more than the roadie, but I just feel faster on it. The Strava data holds up too - this morning I averaged 31,9 km/h, finished 15.4km in 29:08 and managed 11 top three times (for me, not overall) on segments. This is more of less what I do on the roadie - ok, I manage maybe 1 - 2 km/h more average speed, but it doesn't FEEL faster...

Maybe the gearing suits me (53/39 + 12-27 vs 42/32/24 + 11-36)? Maybe the riding position is more dialed in? I know that after hammering for a week on the roadie my knees complain a little more than if I had been on the mtb...

Maybe time to stick the compact cranks back on...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I've got the rest of the week off, so I printed off a very large stack of papers to read and am headed off on Thursday to go camping, so no official commuting for me until next Tuesday. Probably will be my last couple of days off this summer, but I've been making the most of this year while teaching and getting quite a fair amount of research done, so I'm actually pretty happy at this point in time. In a couple of weeks I hope to have a new batch of code to run simulations and start working on what may become a paper I'll try to get published.

Stopped by the bike shop today on the way home to pick up an extra water bottle and cage for my mtb. Going to be riding with the gf down in Arkansas and am anticipating her not having water... Wouldn't be the first time. Also got some spray degreaser because I need to really blast some crud loose from my drive train on both bikes. I'm inspired to stop being neglectful because I just got my whole drive replaced on the mtb and it's really working out for me. 

Stay safe everyone!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Harold said:


> Glorious fall. That's my favorite time of year to be in the woods in this part of the world.


Come on, October!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Those thunderstorms did come through and I'm glad I accepted a lift home, because the ground/house shook for at least 30 seconds straight on one of the rumbles. I'll drive in, bike home, and get the car back home another day.

The new bike shop in Barre seems to be very busy, which is great to see.



Ghost_HTX said:


> Now THERE'S a look that says "Mommy, can I have a cookie?"....


Yes, cookies were eaten! That is "Keeper" or "Keep" for short, he is a mystery mutt, about 40 lbs, but I call him a border folly, though I'm guessing some terrier too for the scruffy face and waxy/wiry coat.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, it's the end of June, and it is currently 53°F out. Was in the 90's a few days ago. Supposed to hit 78°F by later on. Feels really cold out in comparison. Taking a big package in my bag to the post office on the way to work at the bike shop, then deliver, then work a few more hours at the bike shop. Should be a nice clear sunny day out. Looking forward to it!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Really had to go to the can on the ride in. I mean REALLY had to go. A night of mexican food and craft beer will do that to you. Anyway, thankfully, I found a porta-potty at the bottom of the final hill climb. Thank goodness, I don't know how I would have climbed that kind of grade and distance under the stomach duress I was suffering.


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## roma258 (Apr 20, 2012)

Just moved to a different neighborhood in Philly. My new commute is *killer*! Basically a couple blocks of surface streets, to MTB trail to gravel road dedicated to walkers and bikers, to a path along the river right into downtown. Just a bit over 10 miles total. Best commute eva!! Ofcourse now I'm shopping for a CX bike


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great rides today all around. Every pedal stroke had me grinning for some odd reason. Deliveries were plentiful although the tips did not reflect that. Impressed the manager with a really fast overall delivery from the time the order came in to the time I came back to the store - 6 minutes. The delivery was a fairly decent distance away. His eyes were huge when I walked back in the store and he found out where I went. Worked a few hours at the bike shop after that, and had a great day building up a nice 48cm road bike.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Glorious weather today for riding. Went to dinner (ate outside) after work with the wife, then biked home. I tried to race her using the bike path. I was in great shape - traffic was wide open at the road crossings, and I even hit a VERY long traffic light right when it turned green so I didn't even have to slow down for it. She beat me by less than a minute and I nabbed a top 10 on a Strava segment along the route. I might have been able to come out ahead if I didn't have a surprisingly stiff headwind for the last mile. My legs were also burning a bit from our long mtb ride on Monday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Buster Bluth, did you just now add that "seeker of toilets" signature in honor of today`s story? That`s funny!

I`m 3 for 3 with bike commutes this week, and have two more nights to work. If I hang in there it might be the first 5-commute week I`ve done this year. Smoky today. I don`t know whether it was coming from that monster fire down at the southern end of the Sierra or from one of the smaller ones not so far away.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commuting week is done for me until Monday. Heading to Chicago tomorrow to see family, probably taking the bike with me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Buster Bluth said:


> . Anyway, thankfully, I found a porta-potty at the bottom of the final hill climb. .


An answer to your fervent prayer! I had this thought of a guy delivering these having to off load one to get at a jack or tire, or tool box or whatever, and driving off, then returning later to retrieve it, only to find it had been used. If so, apparently you were blessed that day!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BMX cruiser both ways, a beverage and fish taco on the deck of a local establishment with coworkers before pedaling home. No worries about parking. Good times. Got a wave from an electric wheelchair towing a garden cart behind, and from a Harley this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SUPERGOOD commute today!! Not because the rides were so good or special, but simply because it was the first commute after a whole week. Felt so good to be back on the bike. Looking forward to 3 more days - made so much overtime last week that I can take a day off on Friday.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

SUPERGOOD to hear, Dutchman.
I doubt there will be many commutes from the US today, on account of Independence Day. In my neighborhood, it`s SUPERSMOKY on account of a big fire burning in the canyons east of Lake Tahoe, not sure I want to deal with that come tomorrow. Hot too, but yesterday I went downwind of the fires and got up into some very high elevations to beat both the smoke and the temperatures. Wish I had just stayed up there!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Yesterday was weird. No commute, but temps topped in the mid-60's and it never really stopped raining. It's a bit warmer today, with thunderstorms later today. Yippee.

Thank goodness I got my holiday riding in on Saturday before the rain. It was just a fairly short mtb ride in the evening, but it was something, at least. Commuting on Saturday was nice, too. Cool and comfortable weather. Overcast, though.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Not much to report, been dodging downpours, struggling to get on the bike but loving it when I do. Legs are heavy when not riding. Eating too much and getting fatter.

I know there's a wheel forum but I'm gonna try you guys first: I bought new wheels maybe september/october last year, can't remember exactly tbh. SS specific rear but otherwise nothing fancy Shimano hubs, Rigida rims and who knows what spokes. They have been really good though and covered close to 2000 miles. Only issue being a broken rear spoke earlier in the year which changed no problem. 
So, to the question. At what point do spokes need re-tensioning? The wheels run true, the spokes don't sound dull, maybe not as bright as they did, but it just feels like there is more flex in the rear than there used to be. I'm kinda tempted to go round and give them all a quarter turn but don't know that it needs it. Breaking spokes would be worse.

Any rules of thumb or guidance for this sort of thing?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This weekend's activities. Those aren't mountain bikes in that picture.
The Candid Cyclist: Don't Always Trust Route Builder

I'm getting spoiled with this weather!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> So, to the question. At what point do spokes need re-tensioning? The wheels run true, the spokes don't sound dull, maybe not as bright as they did, but it just feels like there is more flex in the rear than there used to be. I'm kinda tempted to go round and give them all a quarter turn but don't know that it needs it. Breaking spokes would be worse.
> 
> Any rules of thumb or guidance for this sort of thing?


I`ve never heard any rule of thumb for when it`s time to tune a wheel other than when you start having problems. If they have never been tuned by a real person though, it sure wouldn`t hurt. To get a general idea if they`re too loose, try a "squeeze test" (grab a pair of parallel spokes with each hand on opposite sides of the wheels) and compare to a few good wheels of similar construction- same spoke count, same dish.

If you decide to tighten, you can put an equal amount on each spoke in small increments for the front (assuming symetrical) but for the rear, go side by side. To check how even the tension is, pluck each like a harp string- go around a full turn to see how they all sound before you start trying to tune any in, then go slow. Again, go side by side at least on the rear because the drive side will be way tighter than the non-drive. It`s more art than science, but nothing to really be scared of. Personally, I enjoy wheel tuning- the next best thing to lacing


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I have had a few wheelsets built for me, and have been told that after a fresh wheel build, you should ride them a bit, and get them trued/tensioned after a bit because they'll sorta settle in. I don't really mess with wheels (it's one of the few things I don't do myself), but there's a shop owner here in town that's exceptionally good with them, so even though I started working for him a couple months ago, I have taken wheels to him for many years.

If you never had that done in 2,000mi, I'd say it's time. I've noticed that it tends to need doing after a couple hundred miles, usually. And after that, the wheels tend to be solid.

My commuter wheels have been bang-on perfect for about 6yrs now. They're the oldest wheels in my fleet since I sold the bike with the Mavic CrossTrails I got in 05 (which were some flexy SOB's, fwiw).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I've been doing well in "dodging downpours" until today. Got showered the last 5 minutes and was totally soaked when I came home. Had to happen 1 day. I guess I misjudged the weather radar this afternoon but I knew that when I left, I had a small window only. Well, it got me. So I changed whwn I came home and everything was good again. Furthermore it was one of those rare days that the ride in was faster than the ride home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First flat in forever. Had my patch kit out and was looking for my hand pump in my bag... It's not there. Got back from a camping trip last night and forgot to switch the pump between bags. Walked 3-4 miles before a friend picked me up and got me the remaining 2 miles. Now I owe her a beer. 

I missed my office hours today because of it... I'll wait and see if the students even notice. Last time I apologized and everyone said it didn't matter because they didn't try to go...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Harold said:


> If you never had that done in 2,000mi, I'd say it's time. I've noticed that it tends to need doing after a couple hundred miles, usually. And after that, the wheels tend to be solid.


I have never had a wheel re-tensioned. If it runs true and feels solid; good enough.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Depends very much on the wheelbuilder. When I got my MTB 10 years ago my rear wheel pretty soon felt like the rear tire was almost empty. Turned out that the rear spokes almost all were way too loose. Had it trued and retensioned, after that, it was fine.

Now für my current bike I laced the rearwheel myself according to the Rohloff requirements and I have never needed to true/tension it again since 8000km/4800m. For the front wheel it is the same, except that I bought that complete.

So it much depends on the manufacturer. In general, after that mileage, it cant be bad if it is necessary for now. So as you wrote, give them all a quarter or half a turn and see how it works out. Too low spoke tension is very bad for spokes, causes a lot of fatigue to the spokes and they will all break sooner or later. When it starts, better relace the whole wheel at once. I think that too low spoke tension is worse than when it is a bit too high.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Well I've been doing well in "dodging downpours" until today. Got showered the last 5 minutes and was totally soaked when I came home. Had to happen 1 day. I guess I misjudged the weather radar this afternoon but I knew that when I left, I had a small window only. Well, it got me.


I got so wet in Friday's thunderstorms that it actually felt good when cars sped through puddles and sprayed me - because the rain was a little chilly and the puddles were warmed from the day's heat of the pavement.

It rained so hard so fast that water was spouting out of the stormdrains instead of into them.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was a hot one. Really hate having a messenger bag some days. It wouldn't stay put where I wanted it even with a full load. Wednesday is supposed to be hotter, 90's are forecasted with the heat index in the upper 90's. Delivering and then finishing the day at the bike shop hopefully. Only rode one day on the holiday weekend and that was a short 15 mile ride to Lake Michigan with my sister while visiting her in Chicago. Haven't ridden a bike with her in 35 year or so. We had an absolute blast. She is trying to get back into it and I am fully encouraging her.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks for the thoughts on the wheels folks. I'll ride it for a few more weeks until I'm on leave and then take a closer look. Probably time the whole bike had a strip and service tbh


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

People give me weird looks for riding through the winter, but I think the summer is worse.

Mid to high 90s with plenty of humidity for the foreseeable future. Gross.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Windy day today, 30kph/20mph winds with gusts to 70kph/45mph. Was glad that it was not a headwind on the way home but tailwind most of the ride  for the rest everything ok, nice temps and dry.

Wow mtbx, your ride in the rain sounds even worse than mine oO. You are one tough lady!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

F4S I think mid/upper 90s is tough. Did it twice but its approachig my upper limit. Dont know if I would get used to it when I would do it everyday.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

HOT!! Storms forecasted for tomorrow so I think I will be in the car. Friday will be a bike day and I am excited about that. Also will be working at the shop again. Had a really busy day and had the chance to ride most of the way home with a friend of mine so that was pretty nice.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides again today. Rode home today with a collegue, first time ever I commute with somebody else. Could even show him a new route. I will be off tomorrow, so no ride but a lot of work in and around the house to do.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride yesterday was good. No wind on the way in and mostly tail on the way home. As I head back into the city there were lots of jams due to temporary road works. Felt nice, and somewhat smug, to roll by everyone.

Damp this morning, must have rained a lot overnight but it was still drizzly. We all woke late wife and kids were scrambling to get ready for the school run. I took a sod it attitude and decided I'd let them get sorted and ride in any way, knowing I'd be late. Leaving 40 minutes before my start time with a 45 minute commute kinda set the scene really. By the time I was changed and sorted I was about 15-20 minutes late to my desk. Apart from a 'nice of you to join us' comment no one cares. Having your boss work from home is good sometimes.

Last one for a week. My lad is coming to my work to do work experience here next week. I told him he'd have to bike in with me but he's really not up for it so I'll be driving. To be fair his cheap full susp MTB that weighs as much as a small moon is not ideal for it either.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The ride in was a burner, hit 92°F by the time I got to work. Left the bike shop and rode to my job and it is about 3.5 to almost 4 miles. I was absolutely drenched. At around 4:30 they were talking about a severe thunderstorm warning. By 4:45 it was dark and the wind and rain were just blowing. Lots of cloud to ground lightning, heavy downpours, hail, dangerous tornado like winds. By 5:15, the sun was out. The aftermath that it left though....

Half the city is without power right now. The hospital runs massive generators so we would never go down. Our lights flickered several times while this rolled through. The ride home was mostly in the pitch black. Most of the streets were dark, houses were dark, businesses were also dark. Knock on wood, my apartment complex has power. I am grateful for that because I hit the shower as soon as I walked in the door. The ride home had me all over the place from dodging tree branches and debris to completely rerouting due to downed trees and power lines.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

My commute in yesterday was pleasant. A red-shouldered hawk flew overhead along part of my route, calling away. Very humid, though.

My commute home was not so much. A bunch of stuff I'd ordered had come in, and I figured I'd strap most of it to my rack. I also had a stainless growler and a Blackburn cargo cage so I could get my weekly growler fill from the brewery near the shop. That went fine, but the stuff I strapped to the rack didn't make it a mile on the rough neighborhood streets. So I had to stuff the small items in my pockets and carry a bag from my handlebars on the way home. It was way sketch and took me 3x as long to get home. But I made it. Next time I have an order that arrives, I'll have to remember to take one of my panniers.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I was at new microbrewpub last night until the wee hours with a group of friends I hadn't seen for a while when I received a text to come into work to help handle an emergency. One of the inmates had climbed up to the top of a water-tower and was threatening to jump. I've always been able to reach the guy for some reason so they thought I should come in and try to literally "talk him down." Well, I was half cut but decided since it was only 3 miles from the pub I might as well jump on my new cruiser and book it.

I don't know if it was because it was 3 in the morning (and dark and rainy) or if it was the beer talking but I rode that basic single speed electra like I was Lance Freeeking Armstrong and made it in killer time. Talked to Ricky and calmed him down. Eventually he came down and now he's under full-time monitoring by the security workers.

I slept a couple hours in a cot and then rode home in time to catch some of the tour de france on tv.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute in was interesting. Still lots of trees down and most places without power. The bike shop magically had power so my buddy and I worked our butts off today. Saw lots of workers out working on power lines and removing trees on the way home. Lost hot water at my apartment but that is OK because I have power at least.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Trees and lines were still down across one of the roads that I ride on so I had to detour again. Hot and windy of course. Bike lane had debris strewn all over it from the storm. Hit the city up on Twitter and they replied that it would be taken care of. We will see tomorrow if they get to it. Still people without power here which is just unbelievable. Some people are saying that it was a small tornado but there were no physical reports of one. Ride home was warm and nice until I got buzzed where the bike lane ends and the lane is wide enough to have one yet doesn't. I have been just taking that lane at night since it is a prime buzzing spot. Apparently I gave too much room and got buzzed. It was too close for comfort and pissed me off.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow Buster literally talking somebody down while a little tipsy!

An that sounds like a hell of a storm TenSpeed, glad you have power.

Well, my wife didn't need to ride 100 miles this weekend but I figured I'd see if I could keep up the streak. 4th weekend in a row with a 100+ mile day, 6th this year! Pushed it at my speed for 100 miles too, Ouch.
The Candid Cyclist: Random Thoughts in 100+ Miles

My commute was quite slow in comparison.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

5.5 hours- pretty good, Bedwards! Rain the whole way?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I was trying for < 5 but the hills and headwinds got the best of me. It only rained a few times. If it was raining the whole way I would have turned for home for sure.

Oh, and I found a nice pair of craftsman pliers on my commute today. Not too runned over or nuthin.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh man I think I would fall off my bike before reaching 100m, probably even before 100km. 

Typical summer day here. Calm in the morning, windy in the afternoon, partly cloudy. 

My hebie chainglider somehow got loose this morning and got caught in the right crank but luckily nothing broke. Clicked everything back together and i fine since then. Had to take it off yesterday and probably did not put it back on properly, although it is pretty idiotproof.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Had to take it off yesterday and probably did not put it back on properly, although it is pretty idiotproof.


Even a fork is not idiot proof


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

jeffscott said:


> Even a fork is not idiot proof


Correct

Redirect Notice


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Correct
> 
> Redirect Notice


I was thinking more like this

https://www.filmsite.org/filmfotos/dirtyrottens.jpg


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Sounds like commuter apocalypse there TenSpeed! Where do you live again? And way to go Buster, I hit the sauce Friday night too, one of my co-workers is prego so she gave me a bunch of beers that have been sitting in their fridge for a while, filled up my panniers quite well!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Smack dab in the middle of Michigan. 

Commute today was hot!! Storms were in the forecast but all we got were a few sprinkles here and there. Delivery was good but the traffic seemed heavier than usual. Not that I keep constant track of my commute times but tonight I was about 1 minute off of my record time for this year. This included a few stop lights so I think that I could have had a new record. Sunday nights are the best time to attempt a land speed record simply due to the almost non existent traffic.

No commute for me Tuesday as it is forecasted for the 90's and storms in the afternoon and evening. Just not feeling that at all so I will get the car going.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Pouring rain so I got rain prepared. In that 10 minutes the sky cleared and it got perfectly hot and humid for the commute. Yay. 

Felt like I was dragging @$$, realized after my arrival that back wheel was only tenuously in the dropout... Hope everything is ok.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

You're certainly getting all the weather at the moment TenSpeed. 

My lad is coming to work with me for work experience this week. Day two of car commute for me, not loving it. Having the option to ride and not is one thing, wanting to and can't is worse.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same here as yesterday. Some showers passed through in the afternoon but the ride home was nice and dry. Wife and kids met me shortly before home and we rode home the last 2km/1.3m. Nice to have company and nice to see my son going puddle racing. Unfortunately his rear fender is so short, that he back gets dirty....will have to think of something there.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

*It made me ****ing HATE Oakland that's how it was today*

Arm out to signal a left turn rolling up to a red light i was tailgated by a driver revving his engine and inches off my rear wheel. When we reach the red light. i look over at the guy and say "hey man i was making a left turn and signaling. Then this guy unloads on me...mother****er..dont mess with me ill cut you up..mother****er go eat your mommas *****..***** dont **** with me ..*****..get the **** out of my way..mother****ing stupid white mother****er...then about a minute later im figuring on passing this hipster chick on her "vintage" road bike and shes like "figure it out"..i tell her to go **** herself.

Im getting pretty ****ing tired of this god dam town. I think its time to begin riding with a go pro so i can document some of this ****...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jrm said:


> Arm out to signal a left turn rolling up to a red light i was tailgated by a driver revving his engine and inches off my rear wheel. When we reach the red light. i look over at the guy and say "hey man i was making a left turn and signaling. Then this guy unloads on me...mother****er..dont mess with me ill cut you up..mother****er go eat your mommas *****..***** dont **** with me ..*****..get the **** out of my way..mother****ing stupid white mother****er...then about a minute later im figuring on passing this hipster chick on her "vintage" road bike and shes like "figure it out"..i tell her to go **** herself.
> 
> Im getting pretty ****ing tired of this god dam town. I think its time to begin riding with a go pro so i can document some of this ****...


Dang, road raging. That sucks man.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

jrm said:


> Im getting pretty ****ing tired of this god dam town. I think its time to begin riding with a go pro so i can document some of this ****...


Even just pulling out the phone to click the face and then the lic plate has a real sobering effect.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

100% humidity for the ride in, 94F temps for the ride home (heat index well over 100). I'm not a "summer person" and this weather is just gross.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa bikecolorado-looks like you have some cleaning to do....

I agree with f4s. 100% air humidity suxx big time. Had the same yesterday morning, all of a sudden it got so humid I had to put the raingear on :lol: for that, the ride home and the rides today were dry, although I had to stay in the office for about 30min longer than planned to let a shower pass through.

JRM: yes a gopro might help, at least to keep calm.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bikeCOLORADO said:


>


Mmmmm Chocolate!

Is that veloviewer signature something you can link from their site? I haven't found it yet. (Nevermind, I found it)


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Well I just quit the job at the institution. It was just pure insanity, all the time. Pun intended.

Back with the Accounting firm I worked with years ago. (Yeah, my educational background is varied.)

So the new commute is by car temporarily as it's 20 Miles each way and I don't have the right bike for the whole route. Might drive part way, park at a mall and then ride the rest of the way (including toll bridge.) Mapping the route, I've got some decent options.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It's been hot, really hot. I won't bore everyone with the details, but it has been really good. Wednesday I worked 3 jobs and rode to all of them. I was absolutely spent by the end of the night when I left. Nail fastest commute home this year. I only got stopped at two red lights luckily. I think I could have shaved almost another minute off. 7.24 miles in 27:28 on the fixed gear. Not bad for being mentally and physically exhausted. Today I was riding to the shop to work when this SUV went to pass me as I was slowing down for a 4 way stop. I was like no way this person is gonna oh yeah, she just blew that stop sign. Happened really fast. I couldn't believe it. 

Gotta keep your eyes open and your mind focused at all times.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

jrm said:


> Arm out to signal a left turn rolling up to a red light i was tailgated by a driver revving his engine and inches off my rear wheel. When we reach the red light. i look over at the guy and say "hey man i was making a left turn and signaling. Then this guy unloads on me...mother****er..dont mess with me ill cut you up..mother****er go eat your mommas *****..***** dont **** with me ..*****..get the **** out of my way..mother****ing stupid white mother****er...then about a minute later im figuring on passing this hipster chick on her "vintage" road bike and shes like "figure it out"..i tell her to go **** herself.
> 
> Im getting pretty ****ing tired of this god dam town. I think its time to begin riding with a go pro so i can document some of this ****...


Might be time to put a holster on your bike. :thumbsup:


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


My bike would have looked like that if I hadn't found that porta-toilet a couple of weeks ago.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL poop humor.

Quiet around here these days.

Commute was good, went the classic route:








I'll rollover the 4000 mile mark for the year on my trip home! Easily my biggest year ever.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^LOL poop humor.


Do not judge he who throws bike from bridge ;-)

Very humid this morning. Dont know whether it was fog or drizzle, but its both H2O anyway so I rode in the raingear this morning. After it dried up it became windy but it was a tailwind so everything was fine. Rode this week 5 of 5 days again, so slowly but steadily gaining my mileage.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Slight chance of rain today. Slight. We have been in a drought save for a few small showers that rolled through. Rode my bike to work at the bike shop. As I roll up, it starts to mist ever so slightly. Then, on and off showers and downpours for the rest of the day. Roads were still a bit wet when I left but quickly drying. Humidity levels are off the charts it feels like. 

Rode my bike to work, spent 8 hours working in a bike shop, and then rode home. Does it get better than this?


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ride in this morning was pleasant, but then the way home it turned into a 109 degree blast furnace of a headwind. Also thought I was going to get right hooked by a lady, but she stopped and turned to look at me then winked lol must have been the lycra :smilewinkgrin:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Buster Bluth said:


> Might be time to put a holster on your bike. :thumbsup:


Or at least one of these, I've only had to "almost" use it once so far.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Had a few weird passes last week:
- Took the lane in a bad section where there is whole another lane to pass, and got buzzed. That is, there was no reason but nastiness for the buzz.
- A black van was passing me and slowed to match my speed, I thought oh no, but it was just a "fan" informing me that he is driving a different car now, no more friendly beeps and waves from the old white car. 
- A tractor trailer failed the new right turn only/bike lane setup and ended up to my left in the straightaway lane. Realizing his error, he came to a stop until I got through, so he could turn right after I was through the intersection. Unnerving, but he gets credit for not just squishing me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Back on two wheels today. Glorious!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Pleasant summer commute this morning. Summer thunderstorms forecast for this evening. I'll probably have to adjust my departure time to dodge them.

7th Century ride for the year. I must say, not much is getting done on the weekends.
The Candid Cyclist: Gravel & Grit...and Singletrack and Loose Stones and Sand and Some Hiking


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## Martin.au (Jan 1, 2006)

I felt rather good because I racked up 65km over the last couple of days. Then tonight Fredrika joined my family for dinner. She rode her bike..............from Sweden.

Home - The Bike Ramble
^^^ her blog.

Suddenly I feel like I haven't achieved very much. The blog is a great read. Very inspiring.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Amazing, just amazing! OK, I feel like my silly little weekend rides aren't much either. Thanks for sharing.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Great blog, amazing trip!! Thanks for sharing Martin!

dry and windy ride today, nothing special that is worth mentioning. Exactly as it should be


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I might have to accept a ride home from work for the first time. It looks like the end of the world outside, black clouds, thunder and lightning, high winds, sideways rain. I guess the severe storm watch wasn't for nothing...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^We had severe storm watches all over. One report I read said hail up to 2 inches - what? That makes golf ball sized hail look minor! The storm that hit this area was a bit of a flop. It looks like I'll have plenty of time to get home before round 2 in about 2 hours from now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^We had the "some may be severe" thunderstorm warnings as well. I worked 1 hour late to avoid the deluge, stayed dry, saw a rainbow and some puddles.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not even a mile and half into the MUP from my apartment, and boom. 18 mph right into a bee. Hit me right in the throat and stung me instantly. Almost took me right off the bike. By the time I got to Jimmy John's it had swollen up quite a bit and was burning like crazy. Couldn't find the stinger so it must have come out. Second time this has happened to me with the first going into a vent on my helmet and it stung me on my shaved head.

The rest of the ride in and home was uneventful.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Bedwards, You live in a great part of the world to have so many century options available in such beautiful country. Very jealous.

Really warm yesterday (for the UK anyways) at 27C / 80F yesterday. (It hit 30C/ 86F) in our NOT air conned office.

Today supposed to hit 30 outside. It was already that in the office when I got in at 0830. Decided screw the workwear rules today and am wearing shorts and casual shirt rather than the more formal wear usually required. Other than some banter no one has told me not to yet, which would be interesting if they do. I may not run at lunch, see how the morning goes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Bedwards, You live in a great part of the world to have so many century options available in such beautiful country. Very jealous.


??? A quick peak around Norwich shows it surrounded by national reserves. I would think the Holkham National Nature Reserve would be a great destination for a century.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well, you've found me out.  There is an element of I must try harder. I will!

You're right to a point though, Norfolk is a lovely county, and perhaps one of the lesser populated regions of the UK but it is flat. Highest point is 330 ft or so above sea level. Holkham would get me about a century round trip but nice days see's a lot of traffic heading that direction. (UK is about the size of Michigan but with a popn of ~65Million). Bobblehat Brigade have also had a very strong influence on where you can ride, which is generally not the really scenic bits.

If you're ever this way I'll take you to Holkham. :thumbsup:

All in all, the grass is always greener I guess


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^When I look at it on google earth it looks like a countryside of patchwork fields and county roads that you could explore for days.  That area to the east of you by the River Yare looks like a cross bike adventure. 

I've been to England twice but never north of London.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

The Norfolk Broads, a National Park + some other linked reserves. Some of that you can ride and I do, most of it you'd struggle to walk and the walkers are quite aggressive about where you shouldnt be. Tidal waters and at most a foot or two above the water table. Some of it is managed very well by the Reserves, other is grazed, a lot of it is private and off limits.

2k from my door although it's a footpath and I shouldn't ride here










The white bit is the river (not sure why it came out like that) I shouldn't ride here either. 10k from my door.









My glass is half empty. Realising it is half full and refillable :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Does look a bit mucky. The footpath looks nice though.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Why can't you ride that unpaved foot path? Seems pretty ideal to me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

The county, and the country, is riddled with footpaths just like that, but they are designated as that, public footpaths. In theory you can't legally ride them. It's a grey area, the precedent is yet to be set, but I would hope the law has better things to worry about.

Encounter any ramblers or dog walkers and it's 50:50 whether you get a smile and a hello or abuse for being on, and "ruining the footpaths" etc, regardless of how polite or courteous you are. That said, pick your day and you can, and I have, ridden for hours without encountering a soul.

Solitude on the roads not so easy to find. All roads unlit or without speed limit signs are subject to the national speed limit of 60mph, be that a nice A road or a single track country lane. Let's just say people are often not clever enough to realise it's a limit rather than instruction.

Mostly I'm just grumpy today 'cause it's hot in here and I'm driving a desk in a 34C / 93F office with another 14 sweaty men. Ripe! 

I'd rather be on my bike!


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ha! New speed record day here: 24,1km/h for the round trip. I know that that is slow for a lot of you but I think its not that bad for me, considering I am on a fully equipped touring bike with 3 extra drag sources: the rohloff, hebie chainglider and dynamohub. Wasnt even giving everything, so maybe could have been a tad more, but I am happy with it nonetheless.

Reading about your discussion about each others home territory I think I can be happy too. Going north I can go into town and the industrial harbour area, going south I hit a hilly nature reservate with lots of trails. On a 60km trip you can hit the 1000m vertical, but its nerve wrecking sometimes because it is going up and down constantly, so you dont get into a rythm.

Besides that, looking at the pics of you, I also think it would be nice to ride there, a change of scenery has never done an harm to anybody so far. And I would definitely LOVE to commute on a frozen lake in winter like bedwards does!! Over here, most water does not even freeze in winter and it must be several years ago, that you could go onto the ice here. So if the grass is not greener somewhere else, it might at least taste better. And how do you know, if you dont try?

Ok enough philosofical stuff. Back to reality now - kid #2 needs new diaper :-/


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Well done on the new PB Dutchman! Amazing how stuff works like that sometimes, where you get a PB but feel you probably weren't quite maxed out.

Wise words there too!

I'n in a better frame of mind today.  Hotter than yesterday. No bike commute as places to be post work but I did stick the MTB in the back of the car for a lunch ride


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^No bike for me today either due to complications with appointment scheduling. This is the first time since April 12th. Before that it was early March!

It's also not a bad day for a rest day because I have some lofty plans for this weekend (literally). https://www.strava.com/routes/5783720


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ride in was nice this morning, 18C, sunny and little winds. On the way home it was about 30C and full sun so when I came home I was a total mess and had to go the basement a while to cool down. By now its 9pm and a nice breeze so that its nice outside now. Rides are uncertain the next days since thunderstorms are coming in and I might have take bail out and hop on the bus. I will keep an eye on the weather radar and just take it as it comes.
.


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## jubbs71 (Jul 20, 2016)

Good afternoon!

I'm generally a lurker here but I do commute daily. It's about 7 miles one way so a 14 mile round trip.

I'm a different breed (I suppose) from the typical commuter. While I live in Wisconsin I experience harsh winter conditions and humid summer conditions. For example this winter we had times where it was below -40°f with the wind chill and tomorrow it's supposed be 96°f with 100%humidity making a ridiculous heat index of 110°f.

I'm on a small budget and so I chose to commute 14 miles each day on a fat bike all year round. That way I could handle all the conditions Wisconsin brings my way with one bike. Someday I may buy a light mountain bike, or even a road bike but financially that's not anytime soon.

This morning was a sweltering commute but I loved every minute of it anyway.

Here's a picture of Agnes, or Ag' for short!










Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ Welcome!! Fellow midwesterner here over in Michigan. Similar weather, especially right now. Heat advisory through Friday with heat indices in 100+° range. I can fully appreciate your desire to have a fat bike as I had one last year. They make for a great all around bike that is for sure.

My commute today? You guys and gals wouldn't believe this if I told you, but I will. 12 seconds into riding the MUP, hit in the same spot by another bee. Didn't sting me luckily but seriously, the same spot on my neck? Trying to figure out what the attraction is to me because I haven't changed soap, shaving cream, lotion or detergent and I don't wear cologne when I ride. It was getting warm this morning and by the time I left the bike shop and delivered for lunch, it was hot. Back to the shop for 4 more hours and then the ride home had me dripping. Currently 90° and a warm breeze which was at my back. 

Experienced a total jack wagon behind me at one point. Neighborhood road, 25 mph posted speed limit, and I am cruising along. I get the honk, and the fly by pass. I look down, I am doing 24 mph according to my Garmin. The light at the next block is clearly red. MGIF. Right? Must. Get. In. Front. Apparently my 1 mph speed difference was just too much for the person, and had they stayed behind me, they would have timed the light perfectly as I rolled right up and it went green. Cannot give them the one finger salute because I have a company jersey on, but I really wanted to as I hit the left turn and they went straight.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Maybe you pass by a hive and you're lucky to only get hit by one bee a day 

Opted to work from home today as it was raining all morning. Yesterday was HOT, and as I was riding home there was a storm brewing and lots of lightning. Took the fixed gear for the first time in a while. It felt good. Real good.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sweet bike Jubbs, nice to have you chime in. Beautiful day today, sunny mid to upper 70'sF. I was either in the work car or outside for fieldwork for the workday, and rode the CX on either end for my 16 mi RT. Good stuff.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi Jubbs, Nice ride!

Tenspeed, that bee probably went back to the hive with a similar story about some dude in his flight path at that same spot again.

Was awake early today, sun was shining so thought I'd head out and do some extra miles on the commute, 18 miles all in and it felt great.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Tenspeed, under the idea that things come in three's, if the helmet sting counts you are done for a while, if not….

Also most cars are 1-3 mph off so a true 25 may appear as 26-28 mph on the speedometer. Here the police won't bother writing you up for less than 10 over unless you are caught in a speed trap town. As for noticing that if they had cooled it, that they'd have caught the light green, Good luck with that. In a car, I ease up to lights whose sequence I know and they are about to change and the guy behind tailgates me …for three consecutive lights like this. Different days different drivers, About 1 in 3 figures it out. Too many drivers are not as observant as they should be, but that is not news to cyclists like us with the unobservant driver's "cloaking device".


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi agnes, nice to meet you. May you always bring jubbs safely to work and back  jubbs, welcome to.you too

20C on the ride in already, ride home 29C without any shade ... Wife and kids waited for me and we rode the last 2km together. Always nice to the little ones waving when I am.coming around the corner.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

For a solid two minutes of my commute I was some grouchy guy cussing under my breath. It happens I guess. But it started when I was at a stop sign where cross traffic doesn't stop. Twice people stopped and made me miss the gap in traffic because they were trying to wave me on. Argh! It's not that hard. Then part of the bike path was closed without announcement so I had to back track and ride an extra three miles (don't mind that so much but a warning would have been optimal). 

All in all I was feeling very fast today. Averaged about 18 mph conning in. I doubt I'll live up to it going home!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was ok. 

Story time. There's a point where I use a footbridge to cross the dual carriageway. I say footbridge but I think only cyclist use it as it's a way from anywhere anyone would walk from. Any way I digress. The access to the bridge is down a track that is now somewhat encroached by the the weeds and brambles growing across, been good growing weather, so there is a single person/bike corridor down the middle. Last night, just as I started onto the path I saw a lady cyclist come down off the bridge, so being the gentleman, I backed up to let her through. We pass and acknowledge each other on a daily basis. I had a single heavy pannier last night and as I cleared the path it got the better of me prompting me to do one of those huge side step splits things with the bike virtually lying on the ground under me. I must have looked so cool! A smile and bless you from said lady and we were on our way again.

This morning, thought about driving, slow start turned into one of those days I was really on it. Did about a 2 mile sustained effort as fast as I could. Got me breathing hard and heart pumping.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice ride in this morning, but very damp already. Along the way at some points it was even foggy. Ride home was tough with 30C and 98% humidity. Worst of all: almost no wind. Its gonna stay like that a few more days so I will have an excuse to take it easy :lol:


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Flat tire pit stop at Queen City Cycles. Perfect.










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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Flat tire pit stop at Queen City Cycles. Perfect.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I mean, that's way better than my last flat tire.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Split commute this morning. 4 miles to the bike shop where I worked for 4 hours, then another 3.5 to the hospital. 73°F when I left my apartment at 9:35. 95°F according to my Garmin when I left for the hospital at 2:25. That 3.5 miles had me absolutely drenched. Headwind and crosswind from the northwest had me battling to stay in the bike lane. You would think that wind would be a bit cooler. Nope, it's like someone put a fan in front of an open oven on 400. Ride home this evening was "cooler" but I was still drenched when I got home. 75°F right now with 86% humidity. It sure beats the snow and ice that we got earlier this year. Oh, and my hands aren't cold.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Question for all you Niterider Lumina fans out there - do you have a trick to keep it from rotating in the bars on bumpy downhills, or do you just yarn on the rubber strap really hard? 

Nearly continuous lightning show last night on the late ride home, but the heat lightning variety, not the close scary kind. Made it home before the wind and rain and brief power outage arrived. The threatened hail (of the car, roof and siding damaging variety) never materialized, luckily.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Which Lumina do you have? Both of mine have actual bar mounts.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Have any of you fixed gear riders had your lock ring stop lock ringing? I went to brake by backpedaling and my cog simply spun off. Looked and and was like "What the Hell?". Pedaled forward and the cog spun back onto the base... Just pedaled forward until I got home.

So I want to know... What the Hell?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Never had that happen on my fixed gear bike. Not sure how that happened either?

Ride in was warm. Busy day at the shop, and we were there after the doors were locked finishing up. Ride home was like riding on the face of the sun. 94° at 5pm. Humidity took the day off so I had that going for me. MUP was a ghost town which was fine with me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Scorcher of a weekend. No riding unfortunately but plenty of vitamin D tackling the brambles that were rampant behind the garage and shed.

Cooler today, circa 20C / 68F with a good headwind on the way in but otherwise sunny.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

TenSpeed said:


> Which Lumina do you have? Both of mine have actual bar mounts.


 The 750, it can be removed from the bar mount, but the bar mount uses a rubber strap with holes and a peg to secure it.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> The 750, it can be removed from the bar mount, but the bar mount uses a rubber strap with holes and a peg to secure it.


I have the 750 with the same strap. Mine moved around too, so I cleaned the strap and bar with rubbing alcohol really good and tightened it as much as I could after it sat out in the sun to loosen it up, now it still moves, just a little though.

Be careful with that tab you press to release the light from the mount, I broke mine (finger too strong lol) luckily REI warrantied it. :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> The 750, it can be removed from the bar mount, but the bar mount uses a rubber strap with holes and a peg to secure it.


I am guessing yours is like this?










Both of mine are like this.










And yeah you have to be careful with that tab to release as eventually they will break. Looks like the mount I use is available if you want to give it a go. It tightens down enough that the light doesn't move on my commute home and I have taken it on some late night singletrack on my mountain bike and it was fine on that as well.

https://www.niterider.com/product/lumina-handlebar-clamp-mount/


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

It's actually cooler than the original forecast, it's only 92F with a heat index of 104. When I left for work they were calling for 98F with a heat index of 115 or something similarly awful.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> I have the 750 with the same strap. Mine moved around too, so I cleaned the strap and bar with rubbing alcohol really good and tightened it as much as I could after it sat out in the sun to loosen it up, now it still moves, just a little though.
> 
> Be careful with that tab you press to release the light from the mount, I broke mine (finger too strong lol) luckily REI warrantied it.


I have a Cygolite and the tab broke on mine. Piece of pink tree flagging wrapped around the unit is currently holding the light firmly in the mount. Actually works well for general commuting purposes.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

NDD said:


> I have a Cygolite and the tab broke on mine. Piece of pink tree flagging wrapped around the unit is currently holding the light firmly in the mount. Actually works well for general commuting purposes.


TenSpeed yep that's the one, heck $10 aint bad for the screw on type.

lol NDD I'll have to remember to keep some of that in case of emergency!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I can get the screw on one pretty dang tight so that it doesn't move at all. My Cygolite has a similar mount but it extends quite a bit down and annoys me because the light will work itself loose, not the mount, but where the mount mounts to the mount....heh. Where you can move the light side to side if you need to, that always works it way so loose that a bump will knock it sideways. Time to super glue it straight on there.

Ride in was hot. Delivering was hot. Ride to the hospital was hot. Ride home was hot. And I officially hate the paint on the road where there are crossings, etc. High humidity adds a whole new pucker factor to taking a turn across these.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for all the Lumina mount tips and alternative mount info, great stuff! Good rides yesterday, I thought I might have to drive because the dog took off on the morning walk. Rather than be deerfly bait, I went home, and luckily after getting 900+ yards way according to his GPS collar, he showed up 15 minutes later.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Lazy me today. Got up really late so had to use the car. Be in the car tomorrow too as I have an appointment in the city. Should be back on thursday in time for the forecast rain.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I can get the screw on one pretty dang tight so that it doesn't move at all. My Cygolite has a similar mount but it extends quite a bit down and annoys me because the light will work itself loose, not the mount, but where the mount mounts to the mount....heh. Where you can move the light side to side if you need to, that always works it way so loose that a bump will knock it sideways. Time to super glue it straight on there.
> 
> Ride in was hot. Delivering was hot. Ride to the hospital was hot. Ride home was hot. And I officially hate the paint on the road where there are crossings, etc. High humidity adds a whole new pucker factor to taking a turn across these.


Yes it's that screw on the top of the little swiveling piece. Such a pain. I really like the quality of the light but i haven't liked the mount.

Although the pink tree flagging is currently helping with that as well. Eugene, pink tree flagging comes in handy quite a bit. Wearing long pants (but really right now I can't even consider that idea)? Tie a piece around your ankle and your pants won't catch your chain.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That screw mount is just terrible. One of the worst mounting designs I have come across. Lezyne is getting up there with their ridiculous strap mounts as well. I love that Cygolite that I have but the mount just gives me fits. 

Taking the day off of riding today and getting in the car. Will be back on the bike for the rest of the week however. Rain forecasted later this week, and just for once, I would like to get to work not feeling like I need another shower. A combination of a fairly high humidity level mixed in with a higher dew point has made riding pretty miserable this last week or so.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, back from Lake Placid. RollingRunner is officially an Ironman.

I did a little ride to. Read about it here if you like.
The Candid Cyclist: Lake Placid: The Land of Ironmen, Thunderstorms & Mountains



TenSpeed said:


>


I have that one too and it doesn't bounce around. I have the ratcheting type on a few bikes (not shown here yet) and those are hard to get tight. Niterider was very good about sending me the clamp style for free because the other style moved on the bars. Between the 2 of us we have 9 Niterider lights on 12 bikes, front and rear, so I'm pretty committed to their mounts. I bought some of the rubber strap type for the tail lights and they work well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, congrats RollingRunner, amazing! Love the pic and smile in the high 5 shot! Bedwards, sounds like an epic day as well. Can't believe you went through VT without stopping, you're welcome anytime.


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## Martin.au (Jan 1, 2006)

SlipSpace said:


> Lazy me today. Got up really late so had to use the car. Be in the car tomorrow too as I have an appointment in the city. Should be back on thursday in time for the forecast rain.


I'm lucky. My commute is into the CBD, downhill (only 70m in 7km). I can get in to my work faster on the bike than I can by car or public transport. It's about 20 mins by bike, 30 by car (because parking) or bus.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, congrats RollingRunner, amazing! Love the pic and smile in the high 5 shot! Bedwards, sounds like an epic day as well. Can't believe you went through VT without stopping, you're welcome anytime.


I'm not sure if we ever went through Barre but we got close and I was thinking of it. Took the Essex ferry. It would have been about 2:00 on a Monday so you'd have been working like a normal person.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Stopped by the bike shop after teaching labs today. I had bought a new freewheel for the single speed a long time ago and they didn't have the correct removal tool at the time. They got it in like a week later and I always forgot to bring the freewheel with me until today.Somehow, the metal on the freewheel was warped and the tool didn't fit. My mechanic buddy was the only one working and a bunch of people walked in, so he sat me behind the counter, gave me a file, and said "see what you can do with this". 

It's funny, because people kept thinking I worked there. This lady walked in and telling me about her tire and I said "this might seem weird because I'm behind the mechanic's counter... but I don't actually work here", but I did help her get her bike in the store and fill out a work order - and said if my buddy would give me the OK to do it I would, except that it'd really be a liability to the business. Then this kid, maybe 9 - 11 age, was telling me about his bike and saying "wow, that must be a real pain" about me filing these notches to fit the tool again. Yeah, no joke, it took me a while, because I was trying to be careful. Finally got it, old freewheel off, threads lubed up, new freewheel on. Kicked up my gearing to 52/18. Not a large step up from 52/20, but noticable, and I felt "stuck" going about 19 mph on the way home. It's amazing how good a brand new freewheel feels!

Figured out that the issue with the fixed cog was just that the lockring had somehow worked its way loose. I just need to get a tool and tighten it maybe every week (or go to the bike shop, they'll do it for free). I thought maybe the threads would end up being trashed, but everything was fine. Bonus!

Other than that, it was dang hot and humid, but fortunately I caught a small rain shower on the way home


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> Stopped by the bike shop after teaching labs today. I had bought a new freewheel for the single speed a long time ago and they didn't have the correct removal tool at the time. They got it in like a week later and I always forgot to bring the freewheel with me until today.Somehow, the metal on the freewheel was warped and the tool didn't fit. My mechanic buddy was the only one working and a bunch of people walked in, so he sat me behind the counter, gave me a file, and said "see what you can do with this".
> 
> *It's funny, because people kept thinking I worked there. This lady walked in and telling me about her tire and I said "this might seem weird because I'm behind the mechanic's counter... but I don't actually work here", but I did help her get her bike in the store and fill out a work order - and said if my buddy would give me the OK to do it I would, except that it'd really be a liability to the business.* Then this kid, maybe 9 - 11 age, was telling me about his bike and saying "wow, that must be a real pain" about me filing these notches to fit the tool again. Yeah, no joke, it took me a while, because I was trying to be careful. Finally got it, old freewheel off, threads lubed up, new freewheel on. Kicked up my gearing to 52/18. Not a large step up from 52/20, but noticable, and I felt "stuck" going about 19 mph on the way home. It's amazing how good a brand new freewheel feels!
> 
> ...


This is how it starts. Trust me. It happened to me. And now I am working there, and sometimes it scares me that I am working on someone else's bike.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey, back from Lake Placid. RollingRunner is officially an Ironman.
> 
> I did a little ride to. Read about it here if you like.
> The Candid Cyclist: Lake Placid: The Land of Ironmen, Thunderstorms & Mountains


Great achievement RollingRunner!

Epic ride for you too Bedwards!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey, back from Lake Placid. RollingRunner is officially an Ironman.
> 
> I did a little ride to. Read about it here if you like.
> The Candid Cyclist: Lake Placid: The Land of Ironmen, Thunderstorms & Mountains





SlipSpace said:


> Great achievement RollingRunner!
> 
> Epic ride for you too Bedwards!


I concur! I just looked at this. Did that say... 152 miles? I'm pretty sure I'd spend the next two days in the infirmary if I tried that!



TenSpeed said:


> This is how it starts. Trust me. It happened to me. And now I am working there, and sometimes it scares me that I am working on someone else's bike.


Honestly if I wasn't in grad school, I'd probably embrace that. On the other hand I really don't want to mess up anybody else's bike...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We're both actually feeling pretty good. I will say with 12 hours of riding time, some on rough gravel, it was my first time with saddle sores. We were both back to commuting on the bike on Tuesday.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Big congrats for that performance bedwards and RR! Must have been one hell of a weekend. RESPECT!!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Wow.thats incredible congrats to bedwards and the Mrs! 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot. Sweaty. And I can tell that the campus is going to be full again soon. Almost got a right hook from someone that passed me. We were waiting at the light, she was right behind me. I was in the lead spot heading out to make a delivery. No way that she couldn't have seen me. She followed me on campus, passed me, then attempted to turn right into a parking spot. I had this feeling, and I dropped back out of her blind spot as she passed me and sure enough it gave me enough time to whip to the left and go around her. Luckily she used her turn signal. I don't understand the logic and I probably never will. 

I got hot enough that I think that I might have suffered a little heat exhaustion towards the end of my shift. I blanked out on where I was going and had to stop to think about it. I knew where the building was, and I just flat out forgot how to get there. Got back and my breathing was kind of shallow. Might not have had enough water so I chugged some. Luckily the shift was over and I could leave. 

The ride to work after that and then back home was uneventful. Did a few extra miles since it was only in the upper 60's. Only. Was drenched when I got home because it is currently 90% humidity and the dew point is 63°.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Almost got a right hook from someone that passed me.


I thought that was going to lead on to a story about a fight! Good job you had your wits about you and it wasn't later in the day where you were the worse for wear. Gotta watch that dehydration man. I'm amazed you recovered enough to do a few extra miles though, that would have been me done for the day, excellent effort!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Oh the extra miles were later on that night, after working another 8 hours, but I did manage to cool my body down, eat food and get a lot of fluids back in me. Felt pretty good on the ride home to be honest.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Took the geared carbon bike today. What a different feel that has with 25's, drop bars, and 10 speed 105 vs my fixed gear track bike. Felt weird at first, and I definitely have a creak in the carbon post area, either the post or the saddle. Found myself barely coasting because I am just not used to it. Ordered a new rear taillight that will be in on Friday at the LBS and I will just happen to be there working when it comes in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Almost got a right hook from someone that passed me. We were waiting at the light, she was right behind me.


I didn't get right hooked but it was about as dramatic. I had the type of driver that sees you, just barely passes you then stops in the middle of their lane to let you ride by on the right. Her sudden stop didn't make the cars behind her that happy. Um, thanks?

We're in a stretch of wonderful weather around 80-85 most days.

I've got another century planned for the weekend for 7 in a row and 9 so far this summer. I might be able to keep the streak up until my next event in mid August, no way I'm doing a century that weekend.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)




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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

For some reason today, I kept checking behind me. Not sure why, but it kept happening. Twelfth person in Michigan was hit and killed by a vehicle this past Tuesday. Been weighing on my mind a lot after reading that the other day. Older gentleman, was the assistant dean at the local community college I believe the article said. 6:45 am, and it was light out. 24 year old female driver in a pick up truck was the guilty party. 

The ride in was alright, much cooler today than the last few weeks and not even sure that it cleared 80°F today. Short run only to the bike shop to work, then back home during normal commuting hours just after 6:30pm. MUP was almost empty which really surprised me with the really nice weather. Picked up my taillight once we closed the shop, and I just so happened to charge it up while we were open so I could run it on the ride home. My buddy said that it makes the Cygolite Hotshot that I had on there look pretty sad. It is really bright and I love the patterns that it offers, allowing you two different at the same time since there are 2 lines of LED's.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry for the close calls and bad drivers everyone- glad you're OK! I didn't ride 2 days this week due to other commitments, and I really did not sleep well those nights. I switch to iced coffee for my arrival at work drink in summer, I highly recommend it. After having one hot cup at home, I put the coffee pot and pint thermal KleenKanteen in the freezer while I walk the dog, and then pour it over ice at work to help cool down. Occasionally I add some chocolate syrup.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Picked up my taillight once we closed the shop, and I just so happened to charge it up while we were open so I could run it on the ride home. My buddy said that it makes the Cygolite Hotshot that I had on there look pretty sad. It is really bright and I love the patterns that it offers, allowing you two different at the same time since there are 2 lines of LED's.


Brand and model?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ TL-LD720-R | CATEYE

Today was wet, between the rain and the humidity it is like a jungle. Delivered for an extra shift in a light drizzle that was just enough to get the roads wet. Took the SS MTB converted to an all around fun machine. Uneventful rides all the way around. Left the hospital at 11:45PM. 95% humidity, 66°F and the dew point was 64°F. It just feels gross out there, and the dampness in the air had me dripping wet when I got home. Oh, and there was a damn headwind for the ride home that did not cool me down at all.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Downhill stretch there Colorado, sweet. I bet it's a grind the other way tho'!

That sounds pretty sticky Tenspeed. I doubt I'd ever dry out.

Some of the roads on my route had been dressed during friday. Not sure if you all get this but basically they spray the road with hot bitumen and then sprinkle road stone over the top. Idea is that it sticks and creates a new road surface. It's cheap and kind of a band-aid but is ok after it's swept. Problem with my ride home was it was still kinda fresh. They always overdo the stone so it was like gravel grinding I guess. It had been swept over the weekend so was not bad this morning but much fresher, 15C maybe, high for the day expected at 19C.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...I switch to iced coffee for my arrival at work drink in summer, I highly recommend it. After having one hot cup at home, I put the coffee pot and pint thermal KleenKanteen in the freezer while I walk the dog, and then pour it over ice at work to help cool down. Occasionally I add some chocolate syrup.


I've been doing one bottle of ice coffee usually with a scoop of chocolate whey protein for my long rides this summer. When that's gone I stop at a Cumbies or Big Apple and refill with another heavy on the milk and sugar to fuel the ride. I'm getting over 100MPG out of my ice coffee 
Speaking of that: The Candid Cyclist: 4NaaP (4 Notches and a Pass)

Commute in was nice. We've had a threat of rain for a few days but nothing substantial, unfortunately. I found a bathing suit top. I'm guessing the person that lost it wasn't wearing it at the time but I've got a fun image of somebody on the back of a motorcycle....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Excellent mpg! I like the extra protein idea. Today's commutes were soggy but satisfying, I guess I just enjoy weather. Low 60's F, steady rain this morning, more of a mist this evening. Most items dried out with my in-cubicle cabinet closet, thanks to the fan. I wore my work socks home as dry spares, as socks never dry. When I left this evening I got a "Stay dry" and good humored "evil laugh" from a coworker.

Read your blogpost, Bedwards, killer hills and killer fast! I put 3 of those passes/notches in a century years ago, but thankfully I don't recall my average speed.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> Read your blogpost, Bedwards, killer hills and killer fast!


Me too and hell yeah.

Raining here this morning, light but persistent and very good at getting you wet through. Nice riding weather really.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Excellent mpg! I like the extra protein idea. Today's commutes were soggy but satisfying, I guess I just enjoy weather. Low 60's F, steady rain this morning, more of a mist this evening. Most items dried out with my in-cubicle cabinet closet, thanks to the fan. I wore my work socks home as dry spares, as socks never dry. When I left this evening I got a "Stay dry" and good humored "evil laugh" from a coworker.
> 
> Read your blogpost, Bedwards, killer hills and killer fast! I put 3 of those passes/notches in a century years ago, but thankfully I don't recall my average speed.


Unfortunately all of that rain missed us. We could use some!

I remember doing one of those notches with you. I was thinking of you as we passed the parking area. Unfortunately the ice cream place closed. They still have another location but you "have" to ride Hurricane Mountain Rd. to stop there. Or hike Mt Washington. Those were the 2 times I've been there anyway.

Commute was good. I'm showing the Viva Sport some love and it's lovin' me back. Nice morning for a ride!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi guys, been a while...

Almost put my foot on this guy the other day when the guy in front of me started freaking out and told me to stop... he had rolled ahead about 20 feet and when I came to a stop (not knowing why he was freaking out yet) I put my foot about 8 inches from this dude. Took a minute to figure out why the freakout intensified from the guy in front, and the sound of the guys behind on a rocky section was enough that I didn't hear the trademark rattle. I finally figured it out and picked my foot up slowly and rolled away. Went back for pics. I was really expecting a flat rear tire as I rolled away :lol: Scary stuff.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

That is a pic for the "cool wildlife" thread. Although I am not sure if this is still cool... I guess it is, it made a nice pic and nobody got hurt right?.

Not so much biking for me the last days. Was sick last week up to Wednesday, Thursday my wife got sick so had to stay home again to look after the kids. Hope to make a full week again this week, yesterday and today was nice.

Bedwards: You are a real blast.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ It was cool afterwards when I was headed down the trail instead of down the road to the hospital :lol:

OOOOH, Brian, Rodar, whoever else... I got something in my basement that might make you excited... A friend said "Hey I got this old bike that was my dad's, can you help me get it going? The tires are weird like they're glued on or something..."









I'm getting it rolling/trying to talk him out of it... It's too small for me but it's way cool.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice. Campy components and likely a double butted Reynolds 531 or Columbus frame. State of the art. I wonder what it weighs compared to todays carbon fiber framed bike with indexed 2 x 10? 

Is it a 2 x 5, 6, or 7 (maybe 8). That would date it. 2 X 6 was the high end and moving down in 1981. Not sure when 2 x 7 came in and there was ill fated 2 x 8 that broke axles. The bottom of the BB may have a year marking. 

If it is an early 1970's it may have cost $400 to $600 new. Over $2000-3000 in todays money.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

2x5 and a "patent-70" Record gruppo (is the rear D the only place with that date code?). It has the remnants of 531 stickers, and it's in really good shape. The headset feels pitted, but the rest of the bearings are in surprisingly good shape. I need to find a pair of sew-ups for it... not even sure where to look?? I've never glued a tubular tire in my life...I didn't know presta valves existed in 1970??


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## Surly in OZ (Aug 2, 2011)

*Never try to beat the rain...*

Hi guy's a little tale of never trying to beat the rain home.

Coming home I can see the rain pushing up from the South across the Lake. Did not have wet weather gear with me, have tomorrow off so don't need to push, but I could not help myself.

Approaching a small bend thats tight on road room I can here a car approaching from behind, I have been squeezed into the gutter here before so I take a look back to make sure thats not the case today.

No plenty of time to get round today, swing my eyes front and just notice as I come around the corner, a fist size piece of smashed concrete right in my path. Cannot swing wide as the car is now coming up beside me, try to cut inside just miss it with my front wheel. Then a nice pinging sound as the back tire runs along the edge of it and spits out across the road.

Running brand new Schwalbe Marathon Mondials so I hope for the best.

Not to be as the backend goes soft straight away. Roll a little further down the hill hoping for the tyre to magically re inflate.

Roll to a stop, one very flat tube but no visible damage to the tyre itself. Thats a plus as it thought for sure I had ripped the sidewall.

The rain will be on me by the time I get the tube changed out. My mums house is close and has a nice dry garage, might be time to pop in for a visit 

Change tube find no signs of damage on the tire, stoked about that. A cup of tea with Mum and by then the rain has passed and I ride home dry.

Moral of the story I don't know, don't rush a little water won't hurt, stop by your Moms house and be a good son. Or buy good tires, take your pick.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ instant modern classic - no moralizing. I love it!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Close call on the Rattler there CB and that bike looks new! Amazing that it is 45 years old.

Close call Surly but you're right, always visit your mum.

Really struggled to get moving this morning, thought it would subside once on the road. Nope. Result was just a gentle roll in against a headwind.

Bedwards - I'm your new Strava stalker, hope you don't mind the follow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

`nother sweet one, CB! I couldn`t even begin to give you the kind of info that BrianMC did- I just like to look at them, don`t really know much beyond the obvious. Did you ever sell that Super Course?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CB, that was a lucky break! Thanks for risking your life to go back for a photo for us.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Bedwards - I'm your new Strava stalker, hope you don't mind the follow.


No problem. I was just confused until I recognized the area you were from.


rodar y rodar said:


> `nother sweet one, CB! I couldn`t even begin to give you the kind of info that BrianMC did- I just like to look at them, don`t really know much beyond the obvious. Did you ever sell that Super Course?


I was wondering the same thing about the Super Course.

Took the MTB route into work today.:thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CommuterBoy said:


> 2x5 and a "patent-70" Record gruppo (is the rear D the only place with that date code?).


If memory serves, I think the hub cones are year dated, maybe the pedal cones, too. But likely bought as a group. The patent and 1970, i think and not patented in 1970.



CommuterBoy said:


> It has the remnants of 531 stickers, and it's in really good shape. The headset feels pitted, but the rest of the bearings are in surprisingly good shape. I need to find a pair of sew-ups for it... not even sure where to look?? I've never glued a tubular tire in my life...I didn't know presta valves existed in 1970??


Andrew (Andy) Muzi (a m @ yel low jers ey.org) Leave out the spaces.

Yellow Jersey, Ltd., Arlington WI USA Everything Cycling Since 1 April, 1971!

Good source for tubular tires and a likely spot for vintage Campy parts like the crown races.

People part out bikes that are not so salvageable so e-bay can be a source but finding exactly what you need may be time consuming:

Campagnolo Bicycle Headsets | eBay


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

CB - I bought many parts (a lot of Campy stuff) from Andy, his shop built the wheels on the Mercian, and he did the frame mods on the Mercian before the powder coating. A very good bike guy and his shop could have sold that bike in 1971.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sweet, thanks Brian. 

Still have the Super Course. Gonna get $400 for it though...


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## rmac (Oct 26, 2004)

Fulfilling a commuting dream for myself last Friday and today...

Lakewood to downtown Denver, Colorado commute for me. On bike paths it's just under 20 miles each way and I do it 3x per week when the weather is manageable. I really don't like road/bike path riding and although always push the pace to get a good work out don't look forward to it very much. I much prefer mountain biking and mostly get 2 MTB rides in each week that I commute. 

Two out of the last three commutes I have taken a different route and fulfilled a long held commuting dream of including trails into the commute. From my house it's about 1 mile to a local trail head (Green Mountain) and even taking the most direct route up and down the trails, I am getting 7-8 miles of trails (~11-12 miles of path/road) with almost 1,200 feet of climbing (1,800 ft on the way back). The first attempt at this was on my fatbike with my (road commuter) panniers attached. Great dirt climbing, horrible bike path drudgery and worried about the panniers flying off and some strap going into my back wheel on the downhills. It is 4 hours of riding for the day - made manageable by a half hour earlier start. Today I went with my full suspension mountain bike (Turner 5Spot) and it was AWESOME. Backpack for the computer, tablet, clothes and lunch. The downhill off Green Mountain is about 3 miles of single track (going NE off the top) and it just put such a smile on my face. The higher pressure, narrower tires on this bike made the path/road sections much more bearable (big ol' coil fork notwithstanding). I may have to try this all 3 commuting days in a week before winter...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sweet bike CB!

Unexpected, the ride in was dry this morning. Rain was forecasted but apparently the rain was elsewhere. Ride home was horrible. I was totally hungry, bike felt heavy and legs totally useless. Slight headwind felt like a storm. In the end I wasnt much slower, just the sugar level dropped below zero I guess....wife and kids met me 1 mile from home and we rode the last stretch together. Some winegums and chocolate at home got me back to normal again.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rmac said:


> Fulfilling a commuting dream for myself last Friday and today...
> 
> Lakewood to downtown Denver, Colorado commute for me. On bike paths it's just under 20 miles each way and I do it 3x per week when the weather is manageable. I really don't like road/bike path riding and although always push the pace to get a good work out don't look forward to it very much. I much prefer mountain biking and mostly get 2 MTB rides in each week that I commute.
> 
> Two out of the last three commutes I have taken a different route and fulfilled a long held commuting dream of including trails into the commute. From my house it's about 1 mile to a local trail head (Green Mountain) and even taking the most direct route up and down the trails, I am getting 7-8 miles of trails (~11-12 miles of path/road) with almost 1,200 feet of climbing (1,800 ft on the way back). The first attempt at this was on my fatbike with my (road commuter) panniers attached. Great dirt climbing, horrible bike path drudgery and worried about the panniers flying off and some strap going into my back wheel on the downhills. It is 4 hours of riding for the day - made manageable by a half hour earlier start. Today I went with my full suspension mountain bike (Turner 5Spot) and it was AWESOME. Backpack for the computer, tablet, clothes and lunch. The downhill off Green Mountain is about 3 miles of single track (going NE off the top) and it just put such a smile on my face. The higher pressure, narrower tires on this bike made the path/road sections much more bearable (big ol' coil fork notwithstanding). I may have to try this all 3 commuting days in a week before winter...


Good stuff, rmac.

Just got some essential work done on both bikes. Got a troublesome track nut off tree single speed and new rim tape and tube on the mtb.

Now I'm taking the mtb on a late commute to the uni, I'll go the long way in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Sweet, thanks Brian.
> 
> Still have the Super Course. Gonna get $400 for it though...


What year is it? 2008? That's about what those are going for.
2008 Raleigh Supercourse - New and Used Bike Value

What? It's older and heavier? I guess if you're paying by the pound it would be worth more.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

My buyer is out there man. You just don't own enough wool jerseys to appreciate it for what it is.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ahem, I own 4 wool jerseys. But they are the modern merino type not the retro itchy type. 

Speaking of that, I very highly recommend this shirt. I pretty much wear one every day commuting, no stink.
Giro CA Ride Jersey - Short Sleeve - Men's | Backcountry.com
I've got the other Giro one that pops up as a suggestion too. Also very good. I don't have the grey one yet. Yet.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute was hot and sweaty. The students are making their way back to the campus slowly but surely. Very busy day delivering and it was 90°F according to my Garmin in the shade. Several close calls with right hooks and parents not looking where they are going but for a street or building. City police patrolling on bikes and they were watching.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Since Bedwards comment to me on Strava  I thought I would actually run it on the way home. I was on one too. On the SS, I'm not sure I could have got much more out of it tbh. 

Ended up with 12 PRs one of which got me a 9th place segment (it is a slightly sketchy segment tbh involving a narrow bridge and a couple sets of lights and getting the planets to align, but i'll take it). 

Car today as I have to bail early.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> Still have the Super Course. Gonna get $400 for it though...


Single speed it and add a new component. Any component as long as its Ti and has an integrated bottle opener. Four and a quarter, no problem.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Oh, hey there. Been a while. How's everyone doing? Good, i hope.

Been commuting, as usual, but my commute has changed a bit. I'm working for a new client whose office is much closer to the bus stop, so my standard daily commute has dropped from 17 bike miles to 10 bike miles. Of course, I'm still adding miles when I can to make for 25 to 30 miles of riding most days, though some days I'm sticking to 10 to 12 and adding a 4 to 6 mile run once I get home in the evening. The other bummer about my new project - apart from being so much busier with the new work, is they have no wifi and a super-tight internet policy - so no checking up on the forums during the work day. Bummer.

The riding has been good. No accidents or close calls recently. No broken parts in a while. And I just spent about half the cost of a decent new bike on a new drivetrain for the Pugs. Back in March I put on a new BB/Crankset - a RaceFace turbine cinch with a 2X spider and 38/26 rings. In less than 500 miles I had to put on a new 38 tooth ring (80 bucks) and in another 500 miles I was getting ready to put on a new 26 tooth ring (60 bucks). Now, I am cheap. Needing to replace 140 dollars worth of rings every five to six months isn't going to fly with me...nope.

I was going to swap over to a 1X10 setup as I had a serviceable, though with a broken cage, 10 speed der. Only needed a cassette, chain, and shifter along with the front ring. I kept hesitating, though, as I couldn't ever quite figure out the best combo of ring and cassette to get the range I wanted. Then I found that the Shimano 1X11 setup works on a standard 8/9/10 speed freehub. And someone on the local CL had the shifter, der, and cassette with ~100 miles on them for cheap. Awesome... Until I buy it, not realizing right away that the shifter is iSpec and that, while I can get a clamp for it from Shimano, the clamp is out of stock and probably about 3/4 of the price of a new shifter from the interwebs.

Anywho... the wife for some reason decides that she is going to go to the bike shop for me to get the rest of my needed parts and comes home 350+ dollars lighter. She gets me a Wolftooth 32 tooth drop-stop chain ring, a 70 dollar SRAM chain, and... an XTR level shifter. I've never gone anywhere above XT level because I break stuff. All the time.

I was going to swap the XTR for an XT or even SLX shifter, but, alas, no one in town has them in stock and I don't feel like making the drive to Anchorage. So, XTR it is. Like butter.

I love the 1X setup! The overall range is close to the 2X9 I was running, and just how quite it all is is worth it. Shifting is amazing and with the single ring up front I should be able to get quite a bit longer life out of it as the teeth are quite a bit beefier than the teeth on the RF 2X rings since there are no shift zones or anything.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

blockphi - your wife is real keeper! :thumbsup:

Lots of good changes in my commuting world lately.

1. I moved slightly closer to work.
2. Work is letting me use a shower on a different floor, thus drastically encouraging me to commute more.
3. I have a new bike path to take later in my route, which eliminates one particularly nasty stretch of road for me. It's hillier and slightly longer via the new path, but see point #1. I'm down to 13.7 miles one way now.

So since I can shower upon arriving, it was fun to hammer into work this morning. There was a mist hanging over the soybean field that the sun illuminated. Hot and steamy morning, even at 6:30am.

The new bike path thinks we're Le Tour riders:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Blockphi, how the hell do you wear out a big ring in 500 miles? I had to change the small ring on my pugs once. It was steel and about $16 with maybe 1200 miles on it.

Welcome back WiTrailRunner. Watch out for that 7% grade! 

I rode my old, currently for sale, road bike today in hopes to sell it to a co-worker. He held strong that he had blown his wad on a fatbike and his wife wouldn't let him buy another bike. Harumph. The bike still rides good. Anybody looking for an XL carbon road bike? No, didn't think so. Only about twice the cost of an old steel SuperSport and in showroom condition.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Blockphi, how the hell do you wear out a big ring in 500 miles? I had to change the small ring on my pugs once. It was steel and about $16 with maybe 1200 miles on it.
> .


That is the question I've been asking myself. Granted - when I put on the new rings I didn't change the chain, which had less than 200 miles on it at the time. That's what the shop mechanic thinks was the issue - though I don't know that I buy it. The new big ring that I put on about 500 miles ago is also showing a lot of wear and sharktoothing and that was put on at the same time as a new chain and cassette. It's been dry around here as well, so not a lot of grit sticking to the drivetrain. I think the teeth on the RF rings are just so engineered and sculpted that they don't have the strength that we see on other rings. I have an old 44t FSA cheap-o ring with well over 2K on it and never had a single issue of skipping and the teeth look nearly new.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

My commute today was a solid 7.9 out of 10. I've only ever had one 10 but that story would be better in Penthouse Letters.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Well I had to check in today, did something I refused to do in the past. Ride during a thunderstorm. I live in the upper Midwest, rural area, not a great idea especially when you have to cross a bridge over the Mississippi river.

But got a new road bike, 2016 trek 1.2. was playing the odds that we would get storms. I lost. So was raining pretty good and helluva light show only a couple miles past me. Thankfully the worst of it was over by the time I got off work.

Even getting soaked in 30 seconds, nerves on edge with lightning strikes around 2 miles away and so much in the sky I almost didn't need lights, was the most fun commute I've ever had. And the fastest I've ever cleared crossing that bridge by far lol.

Was wishing I had one of my camera's in me to have recorded the ride. The light show was really freaking cool!!! Till I got on the bridge then I was just scared ****less.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Cool stories guys. WiTrailRunner - that commute looks awesome! Really pretty landscape to ride through.

I haven't been around much lately either.
Been on vacation all of July, with only a couple of rides here and there.

Starting to get back into the commuting rhythm now, though.

How was my commute today? 

Wellllll...

Since I am a migraine sufferer, I am pretty dependent on routine to keep them away. The last month has been one big gigantic break from routine. So guess what happened yesterday evening? Yep - big ass migraine.

Started with the Scintillating Scotoma - partial loss of vision and seeing stars. At this point I did what I always do - take a Sumatriptan and go lay down. But this migraine was not taking no for an answer... Plus the pill I took might have been out of date...

Sooooo - after 20 mins of the light show, the headache kinda starts than fades out. Good old Sumatriptan, I think... Then the Scotoma comes back! I have never experienced a recurring scotoma. Kinda scary... And then the headache comes back too. Double Migraine Thursday!

So today I took it easy - I left late after an easy start for a gentle spin into work on the mtb, since it was raining. A lot. Like biblical sh*t. Added to which is my currently altered mental state, which can be a side effect of a big ass migraine. Which is what made my commute kinda trippy. But at least I can see now. 

I like that.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> So today I took it easy - I left late after an easy start for a gentle spin into work on the mtb, since it was raining. A lot. Like biblical sh*t.


That made me LOL. Really sorry to hear about your migraines though!

Pretty nice ride in for me this morning until I killed a chipmunk. My first murder. He just ran right into my wheel and THUNK. I looked back and he was very dead. Then again, maybe it was a suicide attempt.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Lots of good stories here indeed, except for your migraines ghost!

Good rides yesterday and today, nothing special. 

Currently preparing for the weekend and sorting out the camping gear. Planning an overnighter with my 5y old son, his best friend and his father. They both are a bit unexperienced with camping so have to bring a lot of my spare stuff for them and Ibam really wondering if they are going to like it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Geared CX bike for the commute to the bike shop and then the hospital. Hot doesn't even begin to describe today. And the headwind. It felt like I was towing my car behind me. Wheels made out of lead and tires of cement. Legs felt like they were both broken. Still beats driving though. 

So I have decided that I hate having stuff mounted to a bike other than the absolute necessities like lights and a computer. On this bike I have a dingle dangle Axiom saddle bag and an OnGuard lock mounted to the frame. The amount of noise that those two items made over every little bump about dang near gave me an anxiety attack. The lock is coming off for sure, not sure about the bag.

And after using my new Cateye X3 or Lezyne Strip Drive Pro rear lights, anything else I have is just not cutting it. What I used to think was sufficient is now going to be retired, like my Cygolite HotShots and Serfas Thunderbolts. They don't even come close to comparing to my new lights. A few times tonight on the ride home I had to stop and make sure that the HotShot was even on. Couldn't tell while riding.

Oh and on a positive note, my new messenger bag that I ordered is finished and is ready to be shipped out. Should have it by Tuesday. Pretty excited for this big bad boy to get here. Will post pictures.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

May have been followed by a police patrol in the mup tonight coming from a friend's. Two lights followed me about 6 miles. Didn't get stopped though.

They may have been looking for two kids. I hit a tunnel at one point and I hear bikes hit the ground. As my light shines through the tunnel I can see two guys running like Hell away from me. I just kept going because they must've thought I cared what they were doing... They were wrong. They ditched into a cornfield. Thinking what must have been a patrol was looking for them I peeked back.n still a couple hundred feet behind me... What? 

I'm now starting to think this was two riders with insane cadence and spacing... Like immaculate.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

No commutes until tomorrow, been on vaca a couple days on a bikepacking trip. Funny story from last week when I took the Jeep to work to pick up some stuff for the trip, I drove my usual route I've done thousands of times, something felt weird as I went through an intersection. I glanced into the rear view and OOPS! There's a stoplight there now! I blew right through a red light :eekster:. Thankfully there was no traffic or cops. Will have to pay more attention when driving for new construction lol.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Crikey, that was lucky, Eugene! had you been less lucky you might not be here to type that - I think someone was looking out for you then!

Almost t-boned a Porsche 911 on my way home on Friday... Pulled out in front of me, close enough that I could clearly and loudly tell the driver EXACTLY what I thought of him (I won't insult the gentler of you here by typing it, but there were some "colorful" words mixed in with the best Norwegian swearing I could manage). I KNOW he saw me because he looked my way before putting the boot down. I guess whilst I was thinking "well, I have right of way - it's OK - he won't pull out" he was thinking "it's only a cyclist - it's OK - he'll brake"... Well he was right - I did brake - slid all over the place, I did, on account of it raining. The cheeky basta*d didn't even have the guts to look my way once he knew he was pulling out in front of me, either...

We had an almighty downpour this weekend - crazy rain and probably the biggest thunderstorm I have experienced since moving to Norway. Proper Africa weather as I say. The thunder was so loud that it was rattling the windows and turning on the hall light (it was actually tripping the automatic sensor!). Lots of road closures, standing water and stuck motorists, so no riding this weekend... I have a 123km sportive this weekend, so it was maybe good that mother nature got that sh*t out of her system beforehand, hey?

The ride in today was wet. No surprise there. Used the faithful franken-drop-mtb (saving the roadie for the weekend). Other than that it was pretty unremarkable. Which means no one was actively trying to run me over. One of the good days, I guess.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^"The best Norwegian swearing I could manage" I kind of want to hear that!



WiTrailRunner said:


> Pretty nice ride in for me this morning until I killed a chipmunk. My first murder. He just ran right into my wheel and THUNK. I looked back and he was very dead. Then again, maybe it was a suicide attempt.


You would think that the odds of hitting a tiny animal with a skinny tire would be pretty low but I've taken out 2 chipmunks and a squirrel. Their nervous systems seem to be wired wrong to avoid moving vehicles. Last minute decisions to run directly under a tire seem to get them all the time.

This week's century:
The Candid Cyclist: Around About 40 Lakes and a Visit With Grandmother

Also, I rode every one of my bikes over the last 9 days. Well, except the old Takara that I'll probably never fix up.
The Candid Cyclist: 9 Bikes in 9 Days
My commute was still pretty fresh feeling.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

On chipmunks: yes they seem to run to safety only to turn back when you get closer and end up under your wheel. Only killed one but nearly many more. Actually one squirrel yesterday seemed downright suicidal. Running straight towards me so I hit the brakes and it just sat there...didn't know they liked to play chicken.

Commutes to and from the university the last two days were splendid. Was not very hot and since it's a weekend in summer nobody else was there to bug me. No commute today, promised to help family with some stuff...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Didnt this thread have over 800 pages until recently?

Was very tired today. Went on a small touring/camping trip with my 5y old son and his friend as planned, but didnt know I had to push the loaded bikes through sand to reach our camping spot. For that, you need other muscles that I dont train so much apparently....anyway, the boys had a great time and so did I.

Rides today were ok, weather was nice and it was quite windy, but dry.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ The missing portions of threads thing happens from time to time. Don't know why.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was hot and annoying. Cars and pedestrians everywhere I wanted to be while delivering. Countless people just step out in the road completely oblivious to me coming down the middle of the lane. I guess they figure it's a bike, it is not going that fast and that I will stop for them. Well, guess what? I won't and I don't. I had to yell at a guy who just started crossing a one way street without looking right in front of me. Ride home was uneventful for the most part. Had some words with a total jackhole that decided that he could ride the street and then pass stopped cars at a red light on the right and then get back on the sidewalk. He screamed something unrecognizable and I think he gave chase to me when I rode by and told him that he needed to learn how to ride his damn bike. I was already clipping along at a nice pace and he stood very little chance on his old mountain bike vs me passing a car doing about 25 mph or so on my fixed gear.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Some people just ride like that regardless. You can't cure stupid, sometimes you can train it, but I suspect not in that case.

Windy yesterday and today, strong and gusty. Probably slowed me a bit but makes me cross as much as anything. Had a bit of a moment, turning hard into a side road I hit something with my front wheel, a stone on small piece of twig maybe, and I swear the front wheel jumped about sideways! Kept upright but had a little detour along the verge. Fortunately I was the only one there to see it.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

^ Heh, yeah - it's the guys on the beaten up old 26ers you need to look out for. Usually high and always riding without due consideration for everyone else... Funny - I wonder if others see me on my beaten up old 26er and think that about me...

My ride home yesterday was nice - got into a pace line with a couple of guys on road bikes - pulled me along nicely (don't worry - I took my turn)... Killer head wind on parts of the road home, though. One gust took me off the path and into the gravel ditch - managed to stay upright though. 

Managed to establish a nice collaboration with a guy on another 26er this morning on the way in too - even got a "takk for turen" (thanks for the trip) from him as he peeled off from my wheel to go on his way. Classy guy - even if he was top to toe in bright yellow Castelli lycra...

Finally decided what I am going to do with my "Project Graveur", too.

1. Replace the home made drop bar with a proper alloy drop bar
2. Fit the Campag Centaur 10 speed road levers I have lying around
3. Replace the Shimano non- series hydro brakes with TRP Spyres or BB7s (whilst keeping the 180m discs - plenty stopping power from those)
4. Slap on a J-Tek shift mate
5. Fit a 9 speed XTR rear mech
6. New Chain
7. Ride!

I will not have enough throw in the left lever to make all three chain rings, but I never use the granny anyways. Plus, once finances and time allow, I can replace the XT cranks and BB with the 50/34 Campag Centaur cranks I have laying around (need to buy the tool for removing press fit BB and also the correct Campag UT BB cups. The shift mate should allow me to use Shimano free hubs and keep the XT 11 - 36 cassette. A ratio of 34-36 should climb pretty much anything, right? 

So long as the narrow Q factor on the Centaur cranks clears my drive side chain stay I'm good to go... Should look interesting, anyways...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost_HTX said:


> ^ Heh, yeah - it's the guys on the beaten up old 26ers you need to look out for. Usually high and always riding without due consideration for everyone else... Funny - I wonder if others see me on my beaten up old 26er and think that about me...


Do now 

It's nice when you can drop into a nice pairing or group and hammer out a few miles. Amazing how quickly you can cover the ground.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Pretty ho-hum commute for me this morning. No terrible drivers, no suicidal chipmunks.

My Brooks saddle, however, has a creak that's driving me crazy. I've lubed stuff, tightened stuff, but yet it remains. Tick-tick-tick-tick. I'm about to break down and take it to the shop.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

dcc1234 said:


> My commute is about 8 miles each way.
> 
> I'm now at day 12 since swine flu infection and still have lingering cough. Around day 5, when fever went away, I resumed bike commute. Co-workers of course think I'm crazy for biking in when 'sick'.
> 
> ...


Hey man. Have you kicked the swine flu yet? I hear bacon is the cure.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Well no bike commuting for me for quite some time now... Had been doing it intermittently and finally felt like I was hitting a nice groove with it and feeling good back on both bikes.
7/16 went out for the Wherewolf Memorial ride (for those NorCal people who know) and ended up crashing about 5 miles into the ride. Luckily was only about a mile from the nearest road when I crashed but ended up breaking my fibula and destroying my ankle. Bike was fine though except for somehow I broke one of the seat rails out of the bottom of the saddle???? 

Had surgery to repair damage to ankle on the 27th so at best I am looking at possibly being back on the bike for road only duty by early/mid October. Doc says 6wks no weight bearing and then slowly progress from there. That puts me at starting weight bearing right before my birthday in September so gonna ask the missus for a trainer to throw the commuter on and hopefully start my own PT and pedal some. But effectively my 2016 biking season is DONE. Bummer as I had just put a new fork on the trail sled and was in the process of getting that dialed in..BLEH, first break and all.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Gregnash, that sound terrible. Get well soon!

Commute today was good, temps are a bit low for summer, 12C in the morning, 17C in the afternoon with a fresh breeze, but I like it like it is. Next week is going to be warmer again.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

gregnash said:


> breaking my fibula and destroying my ankle.


Dang, that's rough! take it easy and get back to it when you can. Just remember if you don't follow the plan it'll probably end up being longer.

My commutes were good. I was feeling beat on my ride home, because I rode 8-9 miles on the singletrack on campus after lunch today to break up time spent working in lab. I also decided to go slower than usual because it was dark and one of the arms fell off of my glasses, so I really couldn't see much. Not ideal when you're riding home in the dark.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Gregnash, hope some theater person did not with yo luck with "Break a leg!" Still better a leg than the skull. Take care. At your age yo heal faster than I do now.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Best wishes for your recovery Gregnash - which one is the fibula again?

My commute today was really relaxing - like REALLY relaxing. In fact, I might have dosed off... Yep - I took the train. Massive amounts of rain again all night and this morning. 

Plus I have a 124km ride planned on Sunday so I am taking it easy. 

That and I just couldn't be bothered - it really is raining quite heavily.

Gonna take the roadie out tomorrow for a shake down prior to the event on Sunday as it is meant to be dry - to make up for my wuss like actions today...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

wow Gregnash, just wow. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

drove today, just damn tired, not done anything extra but I just can't shake it out. I actually fell asleep at my desk yesterday, a colleague phoned me to wake me up!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

greg that sucks! Heal up soon :yesnod:


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Ouch, tough luck gregnash. I hope you heal up as quickly as you can considering the circumstances. Makes me feel not so bad about getting crapped on by an owl on yesterday's commute home. Yes...an owl.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

LOL... an owl huh! That is pretty spectacular, pigeon is ho-hum but an owl... that has to be some sort of good omen or luck or something!!

Thanks for the well wishes guys. Yeah pretty bummed that my summer is done with as I crutch around my office. Definitely going to be a pretty lengthy recovery for this but good thing is that with the surgery for the ankle, they have no hardware to remove in a few months, so that will help shorten things. Now just have to let bones heal. Doc says 6wks before any weight bearing and I do have some flexion and extension in the ankle so I am hoping by that time I will be able to do some pedaling on a stationary bike as "recovery". Right leg hasn't been used for the last 3, almost 4 weeks so the quad muscles have already atrophied like crazy. 

Part of me is hoping for a somewhat mild winter so I can use it to commute to work and build the strength back up in the leg but we need water around here so badly that I am also hoping for a nasty, snowy and wet winter..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Owls are cool!

Good luck on the recovery Greg! Foot problems take SO long to heal.

Commutes have been good. We're getting our first real rain in a long time today. I'll be OK with riding home in if if it lasts. I'd rather it clear out before our camping week but it only looks like more starting Saturday.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I didnt even know that owls fly during the day?

10C this morning and it actually felt cold in my shortsleeve and windjacket. 16C on the way home was ok. Will put on a longsleeve tomorrow.

Commutes in general are om except for 1 crossing where there is chaos the entire day currently, due to a road closure in the center of town and causing all traffic to squeeze through the narrow side streets. Will have to live with it for.3 more weeks :-/


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Needed new tubes, and shorts (late summer sales) so dropped into the LBS. They had this chique er chick outfit and had to share&#8230;



Made me smile.

If it is a must buy for someone, I imagine they will ship. (THE BICYCLE STATION - COLUMBUS, IN 47201 - TREK ELECTRA SHIMANO BONTRAGER SMARTWOOL)


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ ex wife had that jersey and hated it. Well, she hated pretty much everything. Ex. You see what I did there? 

Hotter than the 4 corners of hell today for the short ride in from the bike shop to the hospital. 3.3 miles to be exact and I was drenched head to toe by the time I got there. Saw a lot of ninjas riding on the sidewalks tonight on the ride home, with just a hint of a rear reflector shining in my headlight. I just shake my head in disbelief.

Driving Thursday as the heat index is supposed to be 96 and honestly, I am just tired of getting to work not feeling that fresh. If it was a dry heat I would be alright, but the humidity and dew point here lately has been unreal.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Sorry to hear, Greg. Hope you heal up quickly! I spent the summer of 2014 recovering from surgery and the summer of 2015 in an air boot, so I really feel your pain. It sucks.

I'm getting lucky with the weather so far today. Steamy and sunny coming in, now it just down poured for a while, looks like I'll be getting steamy and sunny on the way home too. My farmer's tan is coming along nicely.

I've also been spending way too much time looking at other bikes lately. While I love my bike, we ride a lot of hills around here and the gearing is killing me. (Yes, yes, I know I could replace the cassette and derailleur on my current bike, but n+1...) I need some lower gears for my poor knees. I've owned the bike for over 2 years and I'm tired of having to HTFU. I'm getting old. LOL. Plus there's more touring my future.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ If your current bike isn't very good for touring then you don't even need to implement gearing as an excuse because you already have another reason to get a new bike 

Well somehow or another the jam nut on my rear wheel, drive side, broke while I was pedaling uphill. For the last 1.5 miles I had to hike it. Dang. This after my mtb tire went flat on a trail ride yesterday. Oh well, just gotta get to the bike shop.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Aw, mala honda, GregNash- that sucks about your ankle. Hope it heals up well when all is said and done. 

Wherewolf Memorial ride? Wow, even worse. You mean Wherewolf the mtbr member from down in the valley (Modesto-ish)? I had not heard- will get over to the NorCal section and see.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

This is all I gotta say, left from bottom left of the map (Camanche Iowa bottom left) for the roughly 9 mile ride home to fulton Illinois (upper right) This is a screen shot of the radar after I got home.










Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That is some heavy sh1t right there! We're supposed to be getting something similar starting this afternoon through the weekend.

"Sweet" find on my commute in:
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Hey neighbor, quit sending your crappy rainy weather up here! 

I didn't ride today because of what tigris posted above, but I, ummm, accidentally bought a bike last night. 2016 Vaya X9. Now I have two blue Salsas. Oops. I will post pics when it arrives and I have it assembled.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow, it look less to push you over the edge than it usually does me when I get the itch to buy a new bike. One comment that you should buy the bike and Boom! You really needed a bike with lower gearing! I'm not sure you get to play the "old" card around here though.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ now you're sounding old, Bedwards.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yes and no. I'm 49. My grandmother is 101 so I'm not even middle aged by that standard. I'm stronger now than I was at 30 (but I don't bend over or see as well, that's for sure).


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Ha! I certainly don't recover as fast these days. Ugh.

Actually, I'd been looking at and researching a new bike for a while, but just vocalized it recently. We did an 8 day tour last summer that just about killed me with my gearing, so it's been on my mind since then. Almost pulled the trigger on a Niner RLT, but glad I didn't after finding last year's Vaya in my size. I test rode one a few years ago and liked it, but wasn't looking for something like that back then. I don't feel the need for a super beefy touring bike like a LHT or Marrakesh - we're never planning on being in the middle of Mongolia and we travel pretty ultralight these days.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

NDD said:


> ^ now you're sounding old, Bedwards.


And coming from a man with 9 bikes...LOL.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

This crap isn't done either, scattered lines all over the place....grr. my work commute is less than a 10 minute ride, that ride was I had to drop my van off at friends shop after work last night so he can fix the transmission (only thing I can't do and don't want to do, rather pay him). So instead of a quick ride home, had bike in the back, went from work to his shop then rode home. Crossing my fingers I can skip between storms to get to work, too the second half off then I'll ride out to the shop to fix a couple other things while he's taking care of the transmission. 

Time to pray things hold out while I'm on the bike.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> Aw, mala honda, GregNash- that sucks about your ankle. Hope it heals up well when all is said and done.
> 
> Wherewolf Memorial ride? Wow, even worse. You mean Wherewolf the mtbr member from down in the valley (Modesto-ish)? I had not heard- will get over to the NorCal section and see.


Yup same one Rodar.... if you didn't know he passed suddenly in March (think it was). Crashed his car into a river, not sure of what the "final" cause of death was. Definitely a loss to the community as he was an incredible photographer. Ride was originally supposed to be that day but up in Tahoe (one of his favorite rides) however it was the same day as the big trail running event, so it got moved to Auburn (apparently he had just moved to Cool, Ca). Anyways, was still great to get out with the group of forum members, give Steve (Wherewolf) his send off and ride for a bit.

There is another set of memorial rides coming up next month if you are interested. Lots of info in the NorCal forum and yes he was actually from Turlock (Modesto-ish) and a professor at Stanislaus State.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

WiTrailRunner said:


> And coming from a man with 9 bikes...LOL.


You just wait young missy; when you're my age you'll have 9 bikes too!

We're currently between storms.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Currently between storms as well over here. Dodged two bullets today luckily. Absolute downpour after I got to the bike shop, and then it poured and got pitch black later on in the day. Roads were still damp when I left, and I was soaked by the time I got home. Why? 78°F, 98% humidity, and the dew point was 75°F. Felt wetter than a Louisiana swamp in July. More storms forecasted for tonight, with a good chance for severe weather judging by the radar. I have the NOAA streaming and a radar app on my phone. Home now for the evening but will be watching the weather.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

I lucked out completely. Trip to work was fine (except humid), same when I left at lunch time since taking half a day vacation. All the way to friends shop hit a very light rain and that was it. Way back no a drop but apparently it poured at home, I just happened to come in behind the rain.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

tigris99 said:


> I lucked out completely. Trip to work was fine (except humid), same when I left at lunch time since taking half a day vacation. All the way to friends shop hit a very light rain and that was it. Way back no a drop but apparently it poured at home, I just happened to come in behind the rain.
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


What good luck!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides this week, but hotter and more humid than I like. Got wet a few times, but missed the worst tropical style downpours and the threatened flash floods. The rear V brake on the Litespeed was rubbing and the arm is quite frozen, so I unhooked it and rode with just the front discs all week, being too lazy to investigate further with the front working so well. In other news, they replaced the bike rack at work with this nifty covered one. Pic courtesy of my co-worker's Behind the Handlebars podcast/FB page.


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2016)

^^Jealous^^ Proofed my new commute route today. The new workplace has showers and offers a $20 reimbursement for expenses every month you ride more than 1/2 the days. The route is 19.5 miles each way (3.5 miles of gravel, 8 miles of crushed limestone trail and the rest is paved MUP). The only thing I'd add is a locker room near the showers and a place to park under cover. Otherwise, it's great that I can continue riding to work. After 30 years of commuting, I'd probably pass on a job that doesn't offer some way to do that.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ double jealous of the two above posts.

Today was wet. Dodged an absolute downpour while I was working at the bike shop before the hospital. 3.3 mile ride to the hospital from the shop, and I was soaked. Humidity and dew point were just ridiculous. Was buzzed by a jerkwad on a moped doing at least 30+ mph. Really? C'mon man!!!! Ride home was alright, soaking wet again, and had an oh crap moment on the MUP. Suicidal rabbit might have been successful. Fixed gear has bladed spokes. I was doing about 25 mph or so. I saw it and I felt it. There was blood and fur on the spokes and the rear wheel when I got home. Hopefully he/she didn't suffer too much. Thought about going back but really didn't want to see the carnage.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Grumblegrumble. Haven't commuted in a couple days and it's bugging me. On Wed, my light mount broke, so I didn't ride Friday while I dealt with it. Got it fixed by Saturday, but rain has kept me off the bike. I could have ridden yesterday without issue, because all the rain came down during midday and I'd have only been sprinkled on. That's probably the most frustrating part. It's just raining pretty hard today. On the way home, I care less. But it's too warm to gear up in rain gear (maybe I should invest in a rain cape?), and it's too short of a commute to haul a complete change of clothes.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

The commute in today was nice - sunny, not too much wind and not a single psychotic motorist. Did a 123km (1400m climbing) sportive on Sunday so I was hoping for a nice gentle spin into work this morning. 

Nah. Had a 9.00 am meeting to make, so it was racing bike out and balls to the wall...
I feel way better today that I thought I would had you asked me yesterday - seriously, after the event yesterday I was just about capable of blinking and swallowing. No more than that.

God I love riding bikes!


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Poor bunny, Tenspeed! I worry so much about hitting all those damn rabbits on the MUP. RIP, little guy, and the chipmunk I murdered the other week.

Speaking of animals, my new bike path is filled with them. Today I almost ran into a massive turkey coming around a corner, and I scared a fawn hanging out by the side of the path. She ran next to me for a few seconds before darting back into the woods. 

Tomorrow my new bike arrives via UPS!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

It sounds like you commute through a Disney movie.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I didnt kill anyone or anything today.

Instead I just rode early. It was foggy and the sun was just above the horizon, so I was riding in orange gog. Quite a sight I have to say. Had a long day at work and made a detour on the way home, making 28km in total instead of the usual 22. Weather was finally nice, 10C in the morning, 20C and sunny on the way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A coworker rushed up and asked "is your BMX red and gold?" after she saw a guy pedal away on one today. Thankfully, no, mine is black and white, and still at the bike rack when I got out. And it had a note rolled up through the stem...from said red and gold BMX guy whose bike I have seen but have not met. He works in the same building, he is hoping to get some local BMX racing going. Cool, even though I am not a racer. 

Good rides on it today, grabbed it because rain/thunderstorms forecast the rest of the week. No commute Tuesday - what, you don't have Bennington Battle day off?!?! - tsk tsk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in this morning to deliver, and while the temperature never really got up there, the humidity was on the rise so I was drenched. Decided to skip riding to the second job so I rushed home to let the dog out and get a quick shower and the car. Rain was in the forecast. It started raining around 10pm or so and hasn't stopped yet. They were warning us of potential flooding. I hope it lets up soon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

What is Bennington Battle day  I want a day off too....

Nice ride through the orange fog again this morning. Even fresher today, only 8C. Could be winter here as well :eekster:

Ride home was nice with a big load. Had to haul my laptop and workstuff since I have to go to the other plant tomorrow for 2 days, commute will be on an A319. Not as nice as riding and have to get up at 04:30 :eekster: But having breakfast going 450mph is something special too... 

BTW I think I figured out why this thread suddenly has "only" 430 pages left: It seems they doubled the number of posts that are displayed per page, thus cutting the number of pages in half. Smart way to confuse people.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The Battle of Bennington occured in this date in 1777 - in NY, not VT! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bennington

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ghost_HTX said:


> It sounds like you commute through a Disney movie.


Maybe "Toonland" from Roger Rabbit?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Definitely cooler this morning, could have done with a jacket for the first couple of miles, the sun suddenly seems much lower in the sky, although I was my usual sweaty steaming mess by the time I reached work. 

The folk who started biking over the summer at work are already thinning out. The enthusiasm and eagerness have waned and I guess the new machinery purchased will start gathering dust and rust  shame.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2016)

SlipSpace said:


> The folk who started biking over the summer at work are already thinning out. The enthusiasm and eagerness have waned and I guess the new machinery purchased will start gathering dust and rust  shame.


 Trying to off-set that trend myself. After a summer waiting for my wrist to heal, I'm back on the bike and commuting to the new job for the first time. Pretty boring for the last 7 miles, but it's still a decent ride and I should get nearly 40 miles round trip. Love riding in the late summer and early fall, don't get why anyone wouldn't.


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## jbandt (Apr 8, 2016)

This happened a mile into my 13 mile ride home yesterday. Don't know what I hit but it went clean through the tire and completely through the tube. Had to get a ride. I had a spare tube with me didn't think it would make 12 miles with a gouge in the tire. Sucks because tires only have about 150 miles on them.









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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice ride in for some delivery. Shift is almost over, one delivery left for a good tip. I take it. The skies open up on me and I get absolutely drenched. Storm passes as fast as it came in. Continued to rain on and off the rest of the afternoon. Finished the day at the bike shop and rode home. Sunny skies, warm, and you could hardly tell that it rained for most of the afternoon.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Smoke from the California fires filled the valley this morning. And I found a tire iron on the ride home, you can never have too many tire irons! lol


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> A coworker rushed up and asked "is your BMX red and gold?" after she saw a guy pedal away on one today. Thankfully, no, mine is black and white, and still at the bike rack when I got out. And it had a note rolled up through the stem...from said red and gold BMX guy whose bike I have seen but have not met. He works in the same building, he is hoping to get some local BMX racing going. Cool, even though I am not a racer.
> 
> Good rides on it today, grabbed it because rain/thunderstorms forecast the rest of the week. No commute Tuesday - what, you don't have Bennington Battle day off?!?! - tsk tsk


You ride your BMX to work? I used to race back in the day, and I still have my old bike, some of the components are super rare apparently :eekster: I was going to take some pictures and put them up in the rare parts thread here but I keep forgetting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yes, usually I ride the BMX 1 day/week in non-winter, it is fun, and surprisingly fast on the 16 mi RT. Good rides today on the cross bike. The overnight thunderstorms really took a toll on some roads. The last mile uphill was just littered with chunks of asphalt, with potholes/washouts to match. Someone said it was 2" in 1/2 hour.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jbandt said:


> This happened
> View attachment 1088660


Dang that sucks. At least you had a backup and a ride?

Some routes are just like that. I've had to dodge glass, pieces of aluminum siding, nails, etc but I ultimately decided that wasn't worth saving 3 miles each way and take a more cushiony route.

Today was good. Mostly just cruising easy. First day it hasn't rained in a while.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

On my way home today, I stopped at the local brewery for a growler fill. An order of stuff also came in at the shop, so I had my 2nd kitty litter tub pannier on for my merch. My other kitty litter tub had my work shoes and u-lock in them. So I was loaded. I took the MUP home, and saw about half a dozen bikes using the short 1.5mi stretch that I used. That's more than I've seen at one time in awhile.

I rolled onto the path behind a roadie in his kit who was headed my direction. I followed him for a bit at about 18mph and noticed he started slowing when the path tilted up just a hair. So I passed him and we greeted each other as I rode by. I was going somewhere in the 18-19mph range (loaded down, mind you) and noticed that this guy was drafting me for about a mile before we reached the end of the path and headed opposite directions. Made me chuckle. 

When I got home, I realized that I've got this Sunday off, which happens to be the same day as a big cancer charity ride that happens on a day that I've always had to work for the past few years. So I decided sorta last minute to sign up for the century. I raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year for a century in June that I had to shorten for severe weather. So I'm going to do my century this weekend. This one is fully supported, unlike the one in June, at least. I've got the route plotted out for my Garmin and ready to go.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

jbandt said:


> I had a spare tube with me didn't think it would make 12 miles with a gouge in the tire. Sucks because tires only have about 150 miles on them.
> View attachment 1088660


That makes me think "tire boot", though I have only carried them around for just in case, never actually used one. I hope somebody with boot experience speaks up. Are they reliable as a permanent fix for a small slice like that, or mostly just an emergency escape plan? Maybe a good booting could save that tire for the rest of its natural life?

EDIT TO ADD: It rained at my house for a few minutes this afternoon for the first time since May. Smelled good


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

jbandt said:


> This happened a mile into my 13 mile ride home yesterday. Don't know what I hit but it went clean through the tire and completely through the tube. Had to get a ride. I had a spare tube with me didn't think it would make 12 miles with a gouge in the tire. Sucks because tires only have about 150 miles on them.


That's a downer. My guess would be a broken bottle but who knows. Following on from Rodars suggestion maybe a boot and some patch glue might work that...

Ride home yesterday was just plain hardwork, headwind city. Pissed me off tbh.

This morning was pleasant despite me not getting up until shortly before I needed to leave (becoming a habit unfortunately) but I organise in the evening so up, dress, pint of water and on the road.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

rodar y rodar said:


> That makes me think "tire boot", though I have only carried them around for just in case, never actually used one.


Didn't CB report using a dollar bill to reinforce a tire to get home?


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

Good luck on the century, Harold!

More woodland creatures on my commute today: sandhill cranes. I'm not sure Disney has ever used them in a movie before though. Maybe I should give them a call.


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## jbandt (Apr 8, 2016)

rodar y rodar said:


> That makes me think "tire boot", though I have only carried them around for just in case, never actually used one. I hope somebody with boot experience speaks up. Are they reliable as a permanent fix for a small slice like that, or mostly just an emergency escape plan? Maybe a good booting could save that tire for the rest of its natural life?
> 
> EDIT TO ADD: It rained at my house for a few minutes this afternoon for the first time since May. Smelled good


I had never even heard of a tire boot til yesterday when I went to LBS to get more tubes and told the story. The guy explained that a boot will work temporarily but it's not meant to be a long term fix. I picked up a 3 pack and I now carry one with me JIC.

New tires are in the way!!
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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

No commute for me today. Early meeting to get to plus my turn to deliver the little one to kindergarten... Took the train.
Biking tomorrow though.
Just pulled the trigger on a pair of Vittoria Open Corsa G+ in 28mm for the roadie. Managed to kill my rear Vittoria Open Pave in 1100km. No issues with the tyre as such yet, but the tread is completely gone and whats left is starting to look a bit ropey.

Note to self; racing clinchers are no good as commuting tyres...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Didn't CB report using a dollar bill to reinforce a tire to get home?


Did he? That's golden. Makes sense as long as you can fold it enough times.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Had to google what a tire boot is - looks neat as an emergency solution for this kind of thing. Will probably order a few to add to my emergency kit. Can not imagine that a dollar bill would do the same trick, especially when it gets wet. But hey, CB apparently tried, he should know. And speaking of CB, where is he actually??

Commute was nice again today. Refreshing in the morning, nice in the afternoon. Last commute this month, I am off now until early September. Will try to make some rides when I am off.

Harold, good luck for your century this weekend :thumbsup:


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Nice this morning, and a cool rain for the evening ride home. Glad I had a waterproof pannier for my wallet, phone, and keys.


20160819_191517 by Nate, on Flickr


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It was a pretty crappy ride in. I don't know why, just wasn't feeling it today. Same for the ride home. One of those days where no matter which direction you were headed there was a dang head wind. Hate hate hate those days. Taking the car in tomorrow as the forecast for the day gets progressively worse.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Started with a new commuting setup. Waterproof panniers for carrying gear instead of backpack with important stuff in plastic bags or saddlebags with plastic bags.

Axion Typhoon. Pretty cool and sturdy, no bouncing around on the rails and banging against the back wheel. I've been practicing increasing the weight and finding a good cadence. I've got text books, extra clothes, two bike locks, tubes, hand pump, etc in there and did a comfy 14.5 mph on the way home tonight. Probably could have pushed it but I'm wanting to work up to doing long distance, multi-day rides, so busting hump doesn't make too much sense I guess.


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## AvroraUsa (Aug 21, 2016)

Great weather out here today. Had to take full advantage. After getting home on my commute, I rode 30 miles to my wife's work to drive her home.
Dbol Trenbolone Cycle: Dosage for best cycle results, Advice for success speeds up your metabolism, increases blood flow, and helps in burning your fat. As a result, you get a ripped and super-shredded body. Fat Burning Stack is able to mimic the effects of anabolic steroids. Yet organic components used for Crazy Bulk products are safe for your body.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Amazing weather today for my century. Completed it, and it was tough. Really stiff west wind, and I had one long stretch of about 6 miles heading straight into it through corn tunnels. It was HOWLING.

https://www.strava.com/activities/684337662

Didn't get a pic, but it also belongs in the roadside treasure thread. On the outbound leg, I found a HUGE old-fashioned lollipop still in the wrapper. No way I could have hauled it out in a jersey pocket, even.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice work, Harold, congrats!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Harold said:


> Amazing weather today for my century. Completed it, and it was tough. Really stiff west wind, and I had one long stretch of about 6 miles heading straight into it through corn tunnels. It was HOWLING.
> 
> https://www.strava.com/activities/684337662
> 
> Didn't get a pic, but it also belongs in the roadside treasure thread. On the outbound leg, I found a HUGE old-fashioned lollipop still in the wrapper. No way I could have hauled it out in a jersey pocket, even.


Still in the wrapper you say? What road was this on, I've got time to kill on my commute. Think I can make it there from sw IL in about three hours?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

I only ride one bike, it has some 60000 km and eleven years on it. I ride it in the mountains and for the commute.

On a mountain ride the upper jockey wheel came loose, wrapped the RD around the chainstay.

Got home got it all fixed up, but the chainstay dropout holder is getting weaker and weaker, after many straightenings.

So time to get a new bike.

I bought a Santa Cruz Tallboy CC, it is set up for 29 or 27.5 inch up to 3 inch wide, for winter semi fats. I will ride this trails only.

I will continue to commute winter summer on the old bike, it should have at least 3 more years doing that in it. I have pitting on the downtube bottom bracket area from worn out paint and winter salt, the frame doesn't have long.

End of an ERA.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Major bummer jeffscott. I'm glad you still get to use the old rig for a while anyway. 

It's...Autumn like today. Borderline chilly riding home last night and this morning. I love it!


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

NDD said:


> Still in the wrapper you say? What road was this on, I've got time to kill on my commute. Think I can make it there from sw IL in about three hours?


I provided my route. Just ride it and go find it. 

IIRC, it was on E. CR 1025N in Hendricks County, IN, between CR 75E and CR 275E, but I may be wrong. It may have also been on CR 75S.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> Did he? That's golden. Makes sense as long as you can fold it enough times.


I've used the dollar bill method. No folding necessary, just wrap the tube in the area of the cut. I replaced it with fiberglass tape and continued to ride the tire even though it isn't recommended. I've never bought "real" boots.

Congrats on the Century Harold.

I'm just back from a week of camping. I'll post some pics in the blog when I dig out. The commute in was good despite having sore stumps for legs after a race this weekend that involved running down a mountain.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Yes, usually I ride the BMX 1 day/week in non-winter, it is fun, and surprisingly fast on the 16 mi RT.


Here's a crappy pic of my old trophy winner, check out all the chrome!


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2016)

Good ride in, head on a swivel on the ride home. At least 30 cars that ran red light right turns with out looking. I'm gonna get a paint ball gun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Here's a crappy pic of my old trophy winner, check out all the chrome!


Nice, chrome rules! And a shock fork, haven't seen many of those.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Enjoy the Tallboy, Jeffscott!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> Good ride in, head on a swivel on the ride home. At least 30 cars that ran red light right turns with out looking. I'm gonna get a paint ball gun.


Yeah, the semester started today. Been biking to campus all summer, no problems. Today I need to get into the left turn lane. Someone's behind me, I make my hand signal and right as I start get over this guy gets into the oncoming lane to pass me and cuts across the turn lane to keep going straight. It'd have been a lot easier to let me get over and just keep going straight past me, but your average college attendee doesn't understand logic or the mathematics that explain why doing what he did saves no time.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've used the dollar bill method. No folding necessary, just wrap the tube in the area of the cut. I replaced it with fiberglass tape and continued to ride the tire even though it isn't recommended. I've never bought "real" boots.
> 
> Congrats on the Century Harold.
> 
> I'm just back from a week of camping. I'll post some pics in the blog when I dig out. The commute in was good despite having sore stumps for legs after a race this weekend that involved running down a mountain.


Good to know!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I think it maybe hit 75°F today if that. Was nice and cool this morning for delivery. College students are filtering their way back into town so vehicular and foot traffic is increasing. So many people riding on the sidewalk when there is a nice bike lane right there makes me sad. Ride home was cool but nice.


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## kevin267 (Mar 9, 2011)

Commute is about 5 minutes, might time it tomorrow I'm curious. 
Quiet street most of the way. Very chill.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Commuting has been good lately - the rain has mainly stayed away, just the odd shower here and there - so I've mostly been on the road bike.

Have had to yell at a couple of drivers lately for the usual crap - passing too closely, pulling out in front of me and that crap. but it's been good fun pretty much all the way lately.

Even had the time to add some extra distance to my commute, nothing like cycling just for fun, not because you need to get somewhere...

I have also decided to reinstate my drop bar mtb back to a regular flat bar / hard tail. I figure that it would be a better proposition to build up a china carbon CX disc frame from scratch, it would ride better, I have a lot of bits laying around and I would also have three (yes THREE) bikes instead of two! Wheeeeeee!

Got my eye on this one;

N603 Toray Carbon Frameset Full Carbon Cyclocross Bike Disc Brake Frame Fork | eBay

I figure that it will be a more relaxed ride than my twitchy racer, more comfortable and with discs I don't need to curse myself every time I brake in the rain (the sound of tortured carbon rim is forever etched in my mind...)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

BrianMc said:


> Didn't CB report using a dollar bill to reinforce a tire to get home?





NDD said:


> Did he? That's golden. Makes sense as long as you can fold it enough times.


Works like a charm. I just folded it in half once. Friend just used a Nature Valley Fig Bar wrapper a week or two ago, and that worked well too. It doesn't take much. Dollar Bills are tough suckers.

Hi guys. Long time...long summer. I'm sort of back. Big developments in my little world. A couple years ago I went from teaching full time to teaching part time and working part time on staff at my church. Didn't really advertise the church job around here much because religion and the internet are like oil and water :lol:

This summer the opportunity came up to go down to one employer, so I bailed from the part time teaching gig... This will be great for time, family, etc... everything except the 0-dark-30 winter bike commute. My mileage will suffer, but I'm going to try to establish some routine Brian-style commutes to and from my own house. Hopefully I can keep it in the 80-90 mile/week range still. We'll see. Anyway, major shake-up and that's why I've been scarce. I'll try to keep checking in. I miss getting to the job I don't really like and jumping on the internet to distract myself :lol:.

OH, I'm doing a cool triathlon this weekend... 3 mile Run/7 mile Bike/4 mile Kayak. Should be sufficiently painful.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Gotta be the fig bar though. 

Raining late this morning so no singletrack on the ride home today.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

CommuterBoy said:


> Hi guys. Long time...long summer. I'm sort of back. Big developments in my little world. A couple years ago I went from teaching full time to teaching part time and working part time on staff at my church. Didn't really advertise the church job around here much because religion and the internet are like oil and water :lol:


I know what you mean - but I would have thought the guys here (especially in this thread - it does seem the this is where the sane ones hang out) would have been cool with it - each to their own and so forth.



CommuterBoy said:


> This summer the opportunity came up to go down to one employer, so I bailed from the part time teaching gig... This will be great for time, family, etc... everything except the 0-dark-30 winter bike commute. My mileage will suffer, but I'm going to try to establish some routine Brian-style commutes to and from my own house. Hopefully I can keep it in the 80-90 mile/week range still. We'll see. Anyway, major shake-up and that's why I've been scarce. I'll try to keep checking in. I miss getting to the job I don't really like and jumping on the internet to distract myself :lol:.


O snap! I do the same thing - first thing in the morning; coffee, net for 20 mins or so then down to work - kinda like a warm up for the soul.



CommuterBoy said:


> OH, I'm doing a cool triathlon this weekend... 3 mile Run/7 mile Bike/4 mile Kayak. Should be sufficiently painful.


That sounds great fun - especially the part where you don't have to swim (intentionally, at least, if the kayak goes over... well... yeah... I hate swimming - not the sport in of itself, just me swimming.

My commutes have been great lately - have any of you guys tried relive.cc? As far as I can tell it is a service offered by Strava (or in cooperation with Strava) - it takes your Strava data and pops out a nice little movie of your ride. Well, more of a visualization of your ride than an actual movie.

Not a great deal of use but fun none the less... It gives you an indication of where your top speed was reached and other little bits too.


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Back from the dead although I feel like death. No rest for the wicked.

Man what a summer.......Hardly any commutes or bike riding period although I did some kayaking lol.

Got forced out of a rental due to the property changing hands. Probably a good thing. I didn't like the mobile home park much anyway. Theft and drama everywhere and that's no good with the wife and kiddos spending a lot of time by themselves there.

Got a much better place albeit more expensive. Interior walls need work so the landlord cuts me deals on the rent while I work and he pays for materials.

Picked up a new piece of gear. The wife said no more bikes inside the house so I ended up buying this thing. Pretty nifty and it's handy. Weatherproof but we shall see how it does during the winter.

Some pics of my summertime activities lol.

New digs. A little bigger and a lot more quiet. 









The view....I see a hammock in my future.









Kayaking up by Grayling michigan









Wall destructor repair. 









My bike garage is in the background









Here's a link to the item. Seems fairly sturdy and my bikes haven't self destruct ed yet. Only holds two bikes though.

The YardStash III: Space Saving Outdoor Bike Storage, Garden Storage and Pool Storage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAD3FCY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_MWuVxbEM7XSXK

School is starting again and although now I'm farther out biking during the day is still fairly safe. Biking at night is mostly out of the question due to how narrow the roads are....and how prevalent the beer cans are on the side of the road....

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ghost_HTX said:


> I know what you mean - but I would have thought the guys here (especially in this thread - it does seem the this is where the sane ones hang out) would have been cool with it - each to their own and so forth.


Sane!?! Speak for yourself.

As long as he's not working for Joel Osteen I won't joke about it! For real though it's always good to find a full time job you like. Good on you, CB.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commutes for me lately since I am off for 2 weeks but today I managed to make a 40k/25m ride which connected some minor errands. So 1 hr after I got home, the water tap worked again, the waterpump in the garden as well and I hid in the "cool" living room painting the walls, to avoid being out in 30C/86F. Its going to hit that temp every day now until Sunday. Perfect weather to wrench around in the bike lab in the basement.

Kudos on the new job decision CB! As long as you feel ok, it is ok.

Your Dollar-Bill-Tire-Repair-Tip made it also on Max' Blog in the bikehacks as #30:
https://maxthecyclist.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/ninety-nine-bike-touring-lifehacks/


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

NDD said:


> As long as he's not working for Joel Osteen I won't joke about it!


:lol: Beautiful.

Thanks guys... definitely bringing the sanity level of my schedule into a more normal range.

Looking forward to the Triathlon with no swimming for sure! RollingRunner of the west talked me into it. If I can hang with her through the running portion I should be able to finish fairly strong.

The local boys have instituted 'Shuttle Tuesdays' around here this summer. Good times for a bunch of non-shuttle types. Dude driving the van is fresh off of a national championship XC win at Mammoth last month. Thought you guys would enjoy the vid I threw together for the club:


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

No commute today, and good I didn't. Storms rolled through and dropped at least 3 tornadoes in the city, one of which came within a couple miles of the shop and got us to lock the doors so we could go into the basement.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ saw that while I was on break at work. I am usually peeled to the Weather Channel on my breaks if no one else minds. Indiana was like a war zone today!

Up here in Michigan we had these strange little pocket storms just pop up and dump an inch or so of rain and disappear. I got caught out in that today delivering and got drenched. Standing water on the streets at one point an inch or so deep. Great tips today so I am not mad at all. Decided that I am going to public shame delivery trucks and what not that park in the bike lane, even if "just for a second while I run in" on my Twitter page. Nailed a good pic of the FedEX truck with its hazards on, in the bike lane, right in front of City Hall. The police station is at the end of the block. I was pretty perturbed with the whole situation. 

Ended up riding home to get a quick shower to wash the road grime off of me and grab the car. More weather was forecasted for the rest of the day but nothing materialized from it.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

We are definitely coming to the end of Summer here in Oslo - the weather from here on out looks really grey.

The rain held off today, though, so I got to test out my freshly greased BB on the roadie - the bearings on the NDS were super creaky and dry as a stick. A good clean up and a re packing with Shimano green bearing grease had them nice and quiet. I also removed, cleaned and lubed the pedal threads, just in case it was that making a noise too... The whole set up is nice and quiet now...

So quiet, in fact, that I can now hear the irritating pop/creak/pop/creak/pop/creak of the DS bearing...

Note to self - if you're gonna strip the NDS cranks, you might as well do the DS cranks too, right? But as anyone who has worked on it will probably agree - that retaining spring clip that holds in the DS axle half on Campy Ultra Torque is a real PITA to remove and even worse to replace... Oh well - I know what I'm doing tonight, at least...

Had a really irritating wheel sucker this morning - he would sit behind you for a while before passing, only to sit in in front of you again and go ever so slightly slower than you... At one point on a straight part of road with no reason he just stopped pedaling... I had to re pass him and eventually got a wee bit peed off with him trying to half wheel me that just had to give it full gas to get some separation from him.

Funny thing is that there is this cool lady cyclist with a really sweet Specialized Roubaix that I see every now and then - she got into the garage just after me and said "did you see the idiot with the beard and t-shirt... he was wheel sucking me, passing me then slowing down..." 

It was the SAME GUY!  I guess he must have sat on with her after he lost my wheel...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ oh how barbaric, a beard and a t-shirt. Unimaginable that anyone wouldn't commute wearing full kit these days...


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

NDD said:


> ^ oh how barbaric, a beard and a t-shirt. Unimaginable that anyone wouldn't commute wearing full kit these days...


Nothing to do with his kit - everything to do with his behavior. 
He had quite a nice bike, as it happens. He just couldn't ride it.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Nothing to do with his kit - everything to do with his behavior.
> He had quite a nice bike, as it happens. He just couldn't ride it.


Ah yes. You see that a lot. It's like having a Ferrari you only take in the neighborhood. A nice bike is only as good as its rider.


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2016)

Commute yesterday had the added value of a light shower on the ride home. The guys I work with were all asking if I needed a ride. I got worried and asked if someone had stolen my bike. Noticed the light showers and said "is it getting worse than this?" They'll get used to the idea, but in my building of more than 200 employees, there are only two of us who bike in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> :lol: Beautiful.
> 
> Thanks guys... definitely bringing the sanity level of my schedule into a more normal range.
> 
> ...


They let you in church with the music that you listen to? :lol:

I loved the video. Especially how the music stops in the middle, nice touch. Who's the artist? Did you get the song I posted to one of your Strava rides?

RollingRunner of the west, I like it. Speaking of THAT and triathlons that you don't have to swim in... RollingRunner & CB of the east swept The Great Adventure Challenge (2.5 Mile Kayak, 16 mile MTB and 2 mile run with 1300' of gain then loss). My quads still hurt. I took first overall, she took first woman overall. Woot!
2016 Race Results | The Great Adventure Challenge

Commute was good as always. It has been a perfect summer to be in Maine!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Training with weight now to get ready for bikepacking. Two ten pound weights added to my bags this morning. All in all bags come in around 30-35lbs I think. 

Still managed about 15.4 mph for 11.2 mile commute. I'll take it.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

Quite ****ty weather on my way home. rained like hell. I didnt care though. since my bike has golden fenders! I was wearing swimming shorts  I got just as wet as if i had taken a swim. People were loading up their bikes on a trailer at work today. apparantly some competition this weekend.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Weights on the bike has a double effect, I find. On the one hand you are slower to get up to speed/climb but faster on the descents and hold speed easier on the flat. Swings and roundabouts, as they say.

Speaking of roundabouts, I had my second off of the season today... Driver blocked the round about and I decided to go around. It had one of those slippery decorative kerb things in the middle. I came at it at an oblique angle and the front wheel tracked up and over the kerb ok, the back not so much... It slid along the kerb edge and ended up throwing me off the bike. It was peeing down rain you see... Left knee, right thigh are a bit bruised but my bike is a-ok. My pride took the biggest hit, though...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

car bone said:


> Quite ****ty weather on my way home. rained like hell. I didnt care though. since my bike has golden fenders! I was wearing swimming shorts  I got just as wet as if i had taken a swim. People were loading up their bikes on a trailer at work today. apparantly some competition this weekend.


I thought I was the only one around these parts to wear swim shorts when it rains. 


Ghost_HTX said:


> Weights on the bike has a double effect, I find. On the one hand you are slower to get up to speed/climb but faster on the descents and hold speed easier on the flat. Swings and roundabouts, as they say.
> 
> Speaking of roundabouts, I had my second off of the season today... Driver blocked the round about and I decided to go around. It had one of those slippery decorative kerb things in the middle. I came at it at an oblique angle and the front wheel tracked up and over the kerb ok, the back not so much... It slid along the kerb edge and ended up throwing me off the bike. It was peeing down rain you see... Left knee, right thigh are a bit bruised but my bike is a-ok. My pride took the biggest hit, though...


Take care of yourself now!

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice vid CB!

I dont wear swimshorts on the bike but similar quick drying stuff, like outdoor zip-off pants etc. When it rains and it is warm enough I just get wet and let it dry again or changebat the end.of the ride. This way I am not hauling around my raingear all summer and I get wet only 1-2 times a year (rain radars rule).


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

I get wet a lot. But i dont care. its only water. I like the winter though. it can't rain when its below 0C  then it snows.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Congrats on the 1st place Bedwards! Cool video CB, and good thing the bike is Ok Ghost! That sucks on the crash, I nearly wiped out the other day on one of those slipery metal utility covers on a sidewalk today.  Local police on dual sport motorcycles have been cracking down on the tweakers living on the trail and in the tunnels/bridges. Bout time! It was getting bad. One on a bridge today was in cuffs and the cop was rummaging through his shopping cart full of crap. They are making a mess of everything leaving mattresses and furniture and garbage and human waste all over the place, it's really gross.

NDD what are your plans for the bikepacking? I think it's a blast. :thumbsup:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Eugene, I'm thinking about taking a couple days to bike around the Missouri Ozarks this autumn. Got a new pannier setup, tent, and hammock.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

Don't think I'm going to bike in this morning. Real gully washer of a storm with pretty vigorous lightning, and yet another tornado.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> They let you in church with the music that you listen to? :lol:
> 
> I loved the video. Especially how the music stops in the middle, nice touch. Who's the artist? Did you get the song I posted to one of your Strava rides?
> 
> ...


Video music: NEEDTOBREATHE, "Don't Bring that Trouble" off the new album HARDLOVE. Great band.

Totally dug that song you linked on Strava... that backbeat stomp kind of stuff just works for me. I could almost enjoy running if I had that song on the iPod. :lol:

Major result on the adventure tri thing! Dang! Don't go expecting that on this side of the country this weekend...haha.

Question: What do you do about shoes/pedals? Changing shoes sounds like a drag... I'm thinking about putting flats on for the relatively short bike (7 miles).... is that stupid? The bike leg of this is on a twisty bike-path kind of thing.... not going to be fast or even really road bike friendly. I'm riding the 'cross bike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

car bone said:


> I get wet a lot. But i dont care. its only water. I like the winter though. it can't rain when its below 0C  then it snows.


Just out of curiosity: 
I guesstimate you are located somewhere pretty far up north? No need to be very specific, but I have the impression that you are in a pretty harsh climate: Lots of rain in summer, very cold in winter. Would let me guess somewhere like Norwegian or Alaska coastal area.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats on the first place Bedwards and RR!

In my kayaking club we have the same thing every year but as many people got kids the last years, it turned more into some kind of family gathering. Some pics are here of the last time I could join (I am the only one bringing a kid this time)
Wassersport-Verein Süderelbe - Kanusport in Hamburg-Harburg und Wilhelmsburg - Paddler-Triathlon 2014 | Berichte Leistungssport

Who organised it? Did you have to bring your own gear?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Video music: NEEDTOBREATHE, "Don't Bring that Trouble" off the new album HARDLOVE. Great band.


Thanks, I typed in the lyrics and found them on my own and realized that they were a Christian rock band which made my comment even funnier. I like the song, I like it even more with your video.



CommuterBoy said:


> Totally dug that song you linked on Strava... that backbeat stomp kind of stuff just works for me. I could almost enjoy running if I had that song on the iPod. :lol:


You should appreciate this too. I listened to it without the intro and just couldn't place it even though I knew all the words. This is a fun version. All their stuff is worth a listen.







CommuterBoy said:


> Major result on the adventure tri thing! Dang! Don't go expecting that on this side of the country this weekend...haha.
> 
> Question: What do you do about shoes/pedals? Changing shoes sounds like a drag... I'm thinking about putting flats on for the relatively short bike (7 miles).... is that stupid? The bike leg of this is on a twisty bike-path kind of thing.... not going to be fast or even really road bike friendly. I'm riding the 'cross bike.


Nobody faster than me showed up. The field varies so much. People finishing in the 4+ hour range look at the people in the front of the pack like they are Gods.

I've thought of switching to flats but this year I just did the hike in my MTB shoes and that was great. I've got a pair of Shimano shoes that are good off the bike. The bike course in my race varies from tared road to a rocky descent that a lot of people walk. I like to stay clipped to keep me and the bike together. (RollingRunner knows this from embedding a chainring in her calf this morning on her MTB, her left calf) In your case I would think flats would be the best way to go. I recently road my road bike that is up for sale with pegged flats and turned out one of my fastest commutes ever. I think being clipped is over-rated.

Good Luck Man! Same to RR of the West.


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## JNKER (Feb 19, 2016)

Commuted for the first time ever today to work, though, I'm a long time mountain biker. I had "I don't think you're ready for this jelly" stuck in my head but I was smiling and laughing all the way to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Smiling & Laughing on the way to work, imagine how happy you will be on the way home!


cyclingdutchman said:


> Congrats on the first place Bedwards and RR!
> 
> In my kayaking club we have the same thing every year but as many people got kids the last years, it turned more into some kind of family gathering. Some pics are here of the last time I could join (I am the only one bringing a kid this time)
> Wassersport-Verein Süderelbe - Kanusport in Hamburg-Harburg und Wilhelmsburg - Paddler-Triathlon 2014 | Berichte Leistungssport
> ...


Couldn't read a word of that but the pics looked good.

This race is a fundraiser for adults with learning disabilities. The race director is great and devotes his summer to putting on the race. Yes, you have to bring all your own gear. People in the Epic Surfski kayaks have a huge advantage in the kayak leg. I'll post some links when they are done.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I didn't mean for it to happen like this. I left the house today to ride to the bike shop to work all day. Somehow I guess I kitted myself up pretty well because when I got there, the manager (my friend) said I looked absolutely "pro af". I felt pretty good on the ride in, even gave a little chase to a guy who was really hauling in the bike lane. He ended up running a red light and I stopped so I never caught back up to him. The ride home was really good and when I left the shop I looked at myself in the window and you know, I did look pretty pro. Not sure how it happened, just grabbed a jersey, shorts and socks and it just all happened to match colorwise and brand as well. 

I really wish that I could deliver in just spandex shorts for Jimmy John's but there is no way that is happening. Dress code says black athletic or khaki shorts are to be worn over spandex if you wear those. If they made JJ bibs I would wear those if I could. Feels so much cooler in just one pair of shorts instead of two.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I loved the video. Especially how the music stops in the middle, nice touch.
> 
> Speaking of THAT and triathlons that you don't have to swim in... RollingRunner & CB of the east swept The Great Adventure Challenge (2.5 Mile Kayak, 16 mile MTB and 2 mile run with 1300' of gain then loss). My quads still hurt. I took first overall, she took first woman overall. Woot!


+1 on your video, CB, great idea on stopping the music!
Wow, that is super-impressive bedwards & rollingrunner, you 2 are crazy fit.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some good rides this week, but bikecommuting was complicated by:
a) Friend's truck lost brakes so I gave him a lift
b) Took Wednesday off to go paddling and swimming and loonwatching on a beautiful day
c) No running water. I found a leak in the basement (pressure tank) and had to turn off the water pump until it is fixed.
d) Court for work on Friday

A couple pix my friend took at Green River Reservoir


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Some pictures from our camping weekend. There were a ton of pictures taken at the event but they aren't posted yet.

The Candid Cyclist: Camping Century, Mount Chocorua & The Great Adventure Challenge


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

my reading comprehesion sucks apparantly.....


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Just out of curiosity:
> I guesstimate you are located somewhere pretty far up north? No need to be very specific, but I have the impression that you are in a pretty harsh climate: Lots of rain in summer, very cold in winter. Would let me guess somewhere like Norwegian or Alaska coastal area.


We're on the same continent.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Hey Car Bone, if youre from the same place as me (Norway) then the competition could be Birkebeinerittet? 94 km gravel/xc race? If not, then probably something else...

I just pulled the trigger on my china carbon disc cx frameset (to build up a winter commuter) today. May god, the bank manager and my wife forgive me!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

car bone said:


> We're on the same continent.


Thanks - thats enough ;o))


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Missed a huge huge huge storm by about 45 minutes. Weather looked horrible on the radar but outside, nothing. Leave to ride to the bike shop, and of course, you know what happens next. It starts to rain. OK, knew the possibility was there. Not more than a heavier sprinkle I would say. Get to the shop still dry enough. Sky starts to clear up, and then it gets dark, and unloads on us again. Manager walks to go get some pizza, and he comes back in the worst of it, downpour with lightning and thunder. He opens the door and walks in as a crack of thunder goes off. It was like out of a movie. We turn to look and he is just there, in a dark rain coat, head down, with the hood up. The only thing not scary about it is he is carrying a pizza box and stopped to get some ice cream on the way back. It was absolutely comical.

Stopped raining early enough so that the humidity was the only thing that caused me to be drenched as I got home. Reminiscent of a Louisiana swamp out there right now. Half expecting to see some gators out in the pond behind my building.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks - thats enough ;o))


Me and HTX are almost neighbours


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

bedwards1000 said:


> Thanks, I typed in the lyrics and found them on my own and realized that they were a Christian rock band which made my comment even funnier. I like the song, I like it even more with your video.


:lol: I'd call them more of a rock band that has Christians in it and that sneaks out from time to time... they get with it and then they also get it, if you get me.



bedwards1000 said:


> You should appreciate this too. I listened to it without the intro and just couldn't place it even though I knew all the words. This is a fun version. All their stuff is worth a listen.


OK that was pretty awesome. That one naughty word or that would make my facebook wall... :lol: That transports me straight back to college in SoCal.



bedwards1000 said:


> Good Luck Man! Same to RR of the West.


Thanks... survived. I think I was 7th in my age group? something like 43rd overall (including 3 person teams, so better among individuals). Somewhere around 200 entries. So a solid upper mid-pack finish. haha. I could have been faster on the bike and the kayak... wasn't sure how kayaking would feel after biking, and never really biked after running before... after a few minutes on the kayak I realized I could have completely destroyed myself on the bike and not really been any slower on the kayak. Need some better equipment there also... I borrowed a not-so-fast kayak. That's a fairly important piece of equipment, turns out.

RR of the West was 2nd in her age group among the ladies. I think 7th female finisher overall? I married up...

Super fun event though. I'll be back...


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Missed a huge huge huge storm by about 45 minutes. Weather looked horrible on the radar but outside, nothing. Leave to ride to the bike shop, and of course, you know what happens next. It starts to rain. OK, knew the possibility was there. Not more than a heavier sprinkle I would say. Get to the shop still dry enough. Sky starts to clear up, and then it gets dark, and unloads on us again. Manager walks to go get some pizza, and he comes back in the worst of it, downpour with lightning and thunder. He opens the door and walks in as a crack of thunder goes off. It was like out of a movie. We turn to look and he is just there, in a dark rain coat, head down, with the hood up. The only thing not scary about it is he is carrying a pizza box and stopped to get some ice cream on the way back. It was absolutely comical.
> 
> Stopped raining early enough so that the humidity was the only thing that caused me to be drenched as I got home. Reminiscent of a Louisiana swamp out there right now. Half expecting to see some gators out in the pond behind my building.


I was fortunate enough to have the day off yesterday so I was trying to skim coat some walls inside the house. I thought the rain was done and then it just dumped everywhere. Glad you weren't trying to deliver dry sandwiches at that moment.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was hot and sticky humid. Extra delivery shift since this is the last weekend before the college starts up and it is welcome weekend. The forum doesn't have enough bandwidth for me to list the near misses and stupid actions by drivers and pedestrians alike that I experienced in a 4 hour shift. Ride home this evening was nothing to write home about. Drunk people everywhere and lots of drivers simply not paying attention.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Thanks... survived. I think I was 7th in my age group? something like 43rd overall (including 3 person teams, so better among individuals).


Teams are "cheaters"!

Upper mid pack is where I usually finish. I think there are a lot of events going on the same weekend that poach a lot of the faster riders away from this event.

Way to go RR of the west!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I love you guys.

There. I said it.
:blush:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Getting really tired of this humidity. Tired of feeling like I am in a swamp. It is supposed to let up by Wednesday but who knows with this crazy weather. So the students are all back, and most of the freshmen have their parents with them. This means so many inattentive drivers and pedestrians. Have to be extra careful while riding anywhere near the campus. Our JJ store is directly across the street from the campus on the main drag. The back streets are full as is the main drag. Had far too many close calls while delivering. Had a bs close call on the way to the second job. Lady turns right from a side street while giving me some room, not sure if she saw me or not. She is far below the speed limit, probably on her phone or preoccupied. I easily catch her as I am riding at about 25 mph or so. She starts to come into the bike lane right in front of me, and I yell "HEY"!! Nothing. I swerve to the left and while still somewhat in the bike lane, I hit her drivers window hard with my hand a few times. I probably shouldn't have done that, but c'mon, either you saw me and you deserve it, or you didn't see me and you need to pay attention more.

Ride home had me up against several ninjas. I saw 5 in total, fully blacked out, no lights, no reflective anything. This was just in the neighborhood near the hospital. I took the long way across campus to avoid the bars and frats/sororities/downtown scene. Getting tired of the heckling and "Hey Lance" comments. I usually ignore them but tonight I don't think I would have so I avoided it.

Gonna give the bike a rest and get behind the wheel tomorrow. Still need to avoid the campus area as classes don't start until Wednesday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This was last weekend:
The Candid Cyclist: I've Never Been To Harpswell Before

This morning's commute was chilly enough to wear the windbreaker, 50F. The sun was noticeably later than it has been.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Probably nobody will see this since the site is being goofy.

Commute home was somewhat crappy. It had just rained which cooled everything off delightfully. The was even a little humid mist coming off of the road still. I was biking and went to turn onto the bike path from the road, and must have not realized that there was a pedestrian crosswalk right where I initiated the turn. The bike slid out and I skinned my left knee. Not too bad, just cleaned it up when I got home. The really unfortunate part is that the bike sliding on the ground caused a tear in one of my new waterproof panniers. So it's not waterproof anymore. 

I ordered some heavy waterproof ripstop fabric to sew a small square of in front of and behind each of the two tiny holes in the pannier from the crash. I hope that will do the trick. If it seems to work out, I might set to bolstering up the sides of both bags with it for future crashes.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Commutes of late have been pretty uneventful but this morning I'm just cruising in on the single speed. I was sort of in my own world and I hear a soft "on your left", not sure why but it surprised the bejeezus out of me. I'm not used to seeing anyone else, much less getting passed on that section of road.

Probably doesn't count as an event, but it's the only thing I have to report.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD, we see it! Wet paint crash - not good.

Somebody tried to holler at me to scare me from a car window today. I wondered if that made him feel happy inside. Just once I want to catch back up to one of them and scare them back at a stoplight. 

Commute was good. I was still feeling a little drained from the weekend 110 miles but pulled out the stops and won a KOM back that I lost last year. It made me feel happy inside.

Where the hell is everybody?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cleared my halfway point for mileage for the year. Not sure if I will make it. Not sure that I care. Made excellent tips today delivering and then worked at the bike shop. Shop owner, the two mechanics and myself went a few doors down and sat outside enjoying the weather and had a great burger and just bs'ed. Owner insisted that we go, he paid. We had a great day at the shop. Then I rode home. Today was pretty damn great.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Haven't been riding all this week, I jacked up my knee last weekend on the mountain bike, not sure what happened, but it's starting to feel better now. I had just put on some fresh brake cables and detailed the GT too and I haven't gotten to ride it! :madman:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> NDD, we see it! Wet paint crash - not good.
> 
> Somebody tried to holler at me to scare me from a car window today. I wondered if that made him feel happy inside. Just once I want to catch back up to one of them and scare them back at a stoplight.
> 
> ...


Good. The site was all sorts of danged up yesterday. Don't let the bastards get you down! Keep chasing cars!

Eugene, take care of that knee.


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## WiTrailRunner (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm with Eugene over here on the IR list. I seem to have tweaked my elbow from riding too much, sleeping funny, who knows, and when the pain started radiating down to my wrist and biking make it worse, well, I had to stop riding. Sigh. I seem to be prone to tendonitis or something.

Anyway, to make up for my lack of riding, here's some photos of the new bike. (That I've only been able to take out for a few rides due the timing of this stupid injury. C'est la vie.)


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

NDD said:


> Eugene, take care of that knee.


It's getting better, still can't bend all the way without a weird pain. Hopefully will be able to do some riding this weekend, will start out small.



WiTrailRunner said:


> I'm with Eugene over here on the IR list. I seem to have tweaked my elbow from riding too much, sleeping funny, who knows, and when the pain started radiating down to my wrist and biking make it worse, well, I had to stop riding. Sigh. I seem to be prone to tendonitis or something.
> 
> Anyway, to make up for my lack of riding, here's some photos of the new bike. (That I've only been able to take out for a few rides due the timing of this stupid injury. C'est la vie.)
> View attachment 1091500


Nice bike! I like that blue :thumbsup:


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## Martin.au (Jan 1, 2006)

I rode my lol-bike today rather than my hardtail. It's a lightweight AM rig with 5.5" front and back. Requires completely no subtlety when banging around kerbs and medium strips. Was rather fun.


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## Flamingtaco (Mar 12, 2012)

A lady slowed down as I was entering a turning lane to thank me for using hand signals on my way in to work. I don't know how good my after work commute will be, but I'm in a good mood.

A few days ago a fellow scout leader and friend waited until he passed me to give a light honk to say hello. I certainly enjoyed not being blasted by a horn that day. Life is just peaches on my commute these days. Except for that guy to my right that tried to push through an intersection after I entered it to make a left. Not sure if he thought we both would fit in the lane at the same time or what. That dookus was crazy.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

^Lol-bike! I like that term - can I use it too?

Commuting lately has been ok - I started setting myself a weekly goal of 100km and have been reaching that pretty consistently. I also thought it would be a good idea to set a mileage goal for the year. I tried a conservative 2000km and managed that by mid August. My roadie has been seeing the bulk of the action lately too - dry weather and the knowledge that I am not going to ride it in the winter make it hard to leave it hanging on the wall. 

The Campag press fit BB is making a hell of a lot of popping / clicking / clunking though. Soon time to strip it and re seat the bearing cups with Loctite, I guess... The Ritchey Paradigm Pro pedals ain't really impressing me, either. They are lightweight, but they MTB pedals, so I would have thought they would have stood up to a bit of road riding and commuting, no? No. The left hand pedal has developed lateral play (i.e. it can move a little up and down the spindle)... Seems like the whole bike is gonna need a bit of tlc soon... Oh, and I think a trip to the LBS with my wheels for tensioning and truing is on the cards soon too... An inadvertent clip-out the other day saw me basically kicking my front wheel as hard as I could, you see. I might have slightly bent a spoke or two...

All this after approx 1400 km... And I can't complain to anyone because I built it...

On the plus side; my pile of parts for my winter China Carbon CX commuter is growing by the day and the frame should arrive in the next couple of weeks! With an English thread BSA BB too! Hopefully creak free!

Had to yell at a guy in a Nissan Leaf today - pulled a right hook on me with no indicators whilst coming off of a roundabout. Flipped off another guy in a Volvo that pulled out of a junction right in front of me too. Since these two incidents came within 2 minutes of each other, I kinda - semi - lost it a little bit and chased the Volvo down (he was in traffic, so I don't know what he planned to gain by making me do an emergency stop). He didn't even know who / what I was or where I came from or even remembered seeing me.


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## Martin.au (Jan 1, 2006)

Sure.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

I made a breakfast stop on my way to the shop this morning, because both the wife and I have been working too much and haven't been to the grocery store enough to keep our food supplies up, and I needed food!

I was crouched down, locking my bike to the metal fence around the seating area of the Starbucks just near the shop, when I heard a couple of low barks behind me. I turned to look and saw a short, but heavy woman with a BIG St. Bernard-ish looking dog. I figured I'd lock up quick and get a move on, since the dog didn't look happy to see me.

Well, by the time I finished and stood up, the dog had slipped its collar and was running the opposite direction down the street. I'm a little concerned that it'd run into traffic, but I wasn't about to go running after it in clipless bike shoes and with fewer than 10min to grab food and get to work. I did see her shortly afterwards with the dog back on the leash, so she got it without too much trouble.

Two other guys at work had noticed her having trouble with that dog when THEY were biking into the shop, too.

Wonder if she was just a hired dog walker or something.

Ride home was pretty uneventful. I took the greenway path, and it was surprisingly lightly traveled. The weather the past couple days has been purely AMAZING! Temps absolutely perfect for getting outside. 

I'm thrilled that I just finished a big project yesterday for my 2nd job (the one where I own the company and make maps). Hopefully my client doesn't need many edits to the final draft I sent him yesterday, so I can get paid and give him what he's paid me to make for him. I can't wait to see it printed and professionally folded and everything. Once I get paid for that project, I'll REALLY be able to get out and ride more.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Heal up fellow commuters! Rides are starting to feel fall-like, some fifties in the morning and evening. One feel I like for some reason is coolness on bare arms but warm enough core. I'd rather wear an undershirt a t-shirt than switch to longsleeves, it feels great as you pedal along.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Getting the same weather here. 50's at night and in the am. You can feel autumn/fall in the air already although by Wednesday we are supposed to be near 90 again. Ride in for me today was good. I often give chase to other riders on the MUP if it is empty and today was no different. Guy was moving along nicely and I had to really pedal to catch him but I did. Ride home was really nice. One of those rides where you kind of take it easy and maybe sit up and ride no handed because the sun is at your back on the MUP and it is pretty empty and you just kind of go back to your childhood.

Will be doing an all time first for me tonight. Midnight to 2:30 am drunk rush delivery for Jimmy John's. Tonight it is supposed to be beautiful and in the upper 50's later. They are desperate for drivers and the manager is really cool so I am doing him a favor. He gave me Monday off for the holiday since we will be slow. Always wanted to deliver at night but am a little apprehensive as the neighborhood behind the store is almost all college housing and the amount of drunk people that like to harass cyclists seems to be increasing. The one thing I have going for me is that they think I am a cop for some reason. Yeah, a cop riding a fixed gear track bike with bullhorns. Seems legit. I will post up how it went when I get home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I won't be doing that again. The ride in was actually chilly dare I say? I threw some lightweight sleeves on under the jersey and as I got to JJ's it was just about right temp wise. Drunk college kids and cycling just don't mix. Received several negative comments and then there are the dumb drunks that just walk out in the street because they are three sheets to wasted. Tips started off well and then got downright annoying. 10 deliveries and I was stiffed 4 times. Was gonna stay until close but decided that it was enough. Ride home was desolate aside from the city cop who blasted by me in the other lane. Also was asked three different times if I was a cop throughout the shift.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Well, glad you survived that TenSpeed, sounds super sketchy! Doing a little overnight today with Vermont Bicycle Shop, camping at a lake with a few friends, new and old. The second half of the route is off road, so I'm bringing the dog and doing that part. Put the rack and the dog tether back on the Litespeed for the trip.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed, that sucks since you were looking forward to it so much. In general college students are terrible and most people are worse when drunk. You should carry around a spare sandwich that you spit on, fake like you gave them the wrong one after they stiff you on the tip, and stick them with the spitball sammage. 

Mtbx, I don't think that liking cool arms is weird. When it's down into the 50's I like short sleeve t's and shorts. I'll even wear that with a base layer down to the upper 30's once I'm acclimated. Also that sounds like a great trip, have fun!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi folks, I'm back after two weeks leave, glad you're all still mostly intact and keeping going. I didn't get to ride much over the break, probably gained several pounds, so it was soo nice to be back riding again this morning. Definitely cooler than it was, and a little darker, felt I needed the front and rear flashers on the country roads.

I did manage to service the bikes though so it was super smooth. Missus bought me a workshop stand for my birthday so it was out to good use. What a brilliant tool, how have I managed without it before, it makes things so much easier. Also go a wireless computer (basic type, no GPS) and a set of Lizard Skins North Shore grips for the MTB



mtbxplorer said:


> Put the rack and the dog tether back on the Litespeed for the trip.


 SO the dog is tethered to the bike? No way could I have done that with my old dog, she was pretty random and a bit dim. Miss that old dog....


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

University (college) students are generally OK (well, apart from the odd one or two who really deserve a good slapping around) - it's just when you get them all together plus drink that they turn into a bunch of bloody little hooligans. At least in my experience. The rule is something like this;

The probability of having an unpleasant experience with students increases proportionately with a)how late it is, b)how many of them there are, c) how much they have been drinking. This is science. Science Fact.

*I'm just gonna vent a little now, so you can stop reading...*

Commute in today was awesome - took a longer route in to work as the wife is dropping the little one off a day care.

But...................

Some stupid stupid uncaring incompetent sour faced fat bi*ch on a e-bike caused me a hell of a lot of agro today.

There is this part of my commute where we have a two lane cycle path set back from the road, with a segregated (with a kerb) footpath beside - the whole thing is separated from E18 (Euro-Road - so a big highway ,I guess you could call it - 6 lanes all going at 80kph) by barriers and fences for the most part.

Anyway - there is a bit of this lovely cycle road where we have;
1) a pedestrian crossing, 
2) a round about/junction of the E18
3) a junction/entrance into the marina that crosses over the cycle road

All within 2 - 3 meters of each other. From my direction of travel, the entrance to the marina comes first, then the pedestrian crossing. It can be really very confusing, as it is a place where cars, trailers (with boats on), bikes and pedestrians all share the same space. Not good planning at all!

What happened I hear you cry? Well no cars were involved! Really! Today's rant is car free! No - what happened is that this idiotic woman comes cruising serenely out of the marina without checking left or right, around a meter ahead of me. 
Me who is slowing down for the cluster f**k junction, but it still doing around 20kph or so (slowing from 40 ish). I had two choices - go around her or go through her, as little things like physics were not going to make it possible to stop in time. Stupid cow.

So, I yell "hey" (no, really, "hey" - I didn't swear until after my testicles had descended again - I clenched THAT hard) and she swerves to her right at the last second, we don't collide she sets off cycling along the foot path instead... This in itself is an irritating little tale, but it isn't the end - no sir.

You see, my new trajectory had set me on a collision course with a big (I'm going to go with Turkish) guy out walking his little dog. He is on the crossing, as is his right, and he looks up to see 70kgs of yelling cyclist hurtling straight towards him. Did I mention he was a big guy? He was not happy. He was scared, his little dog was yapping and growling and all he had to go on was that this idiot cyclist came straight at him whilst he was on the CROSSING!

He was actually really well spoken and yelled "slow down, idiot, this isn't the Tour de France" - which was quite mild considering the foul mouthed tirade I just hurled at the bloody woman. I had to stop and apologise - I felt so bad for the guy; it wasn't his fault. It ended OK, we had a laugh about it in the end and bid each other good day - nice guy, really. Just got a fright because of me - which I accept completely. I maybe could have come into the junction a little slower and I will do so from now on. What p*sses me off the most is that had she been in a car and shown that amount of negligence, I would have been just another statistic. Well, my bike would have gotten broken, at least...

The stupid cow bi*ch devil woman? She buggered off in a big hurry - didn't even stick around to say sorry or anything.Absolutely no responsibility and no remorse either. She must have turned off the road at some point too - as I set off at warp 9 to try to catch her to no avail...

Jævlig dame!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I can see why you'd be upset with that Ghost. Amazing how people like the stupid cow bi*ch devil woman go through life oblivious to the carnage they leave behind them but never quite make the Darwin Awards.

Was a warm wet night last night. This morning saw 21C / 68F and 96% Humidity at 8am this morning with total cloud cover. I was glad of a shower when I got to work.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry Ghost. I have learned that some people don't really engage with their environment. They aren't purposefully troublesome, just oblivious, maybe too self absorbed, and maybe ignorant of traffic issues (no defensive riding/driving skills). Usually they don't get their comeuppance. One driver who caused a multi-car pileup (my car was hit but not damaged, but the ones behind were) did get cited for "illegal parking" for coming to a screaming halt in the left lane of a 40 mph zone just after the lights, so he could get directions. He was stuck in a left turn lane of the next intersection at the point that two of us got out of our cars and told him not to leave as we had his plates and he would be charged with leaving the scene. Lady behind me got her van the day before, and was she pissed! Sometimes Karma works.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> SO the dog is tethered to the bike? No way could I have done that with my old dog, she was pretty random and a bit dim. Miss that old dog....


Yes, and more pix from our overnight...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^Good stuff!

Had to do an extra stop at the electronics store tonight, which meant I had to bike in the dark after work and class to the strip mallingest most suburban blight section of town. I made it out alive though. Wouldn't have bothered except I arranged a meeting over Skype for tomorrow and forgot I have no camera since I have no laptop any more.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes, and more pix from our overnight...



What year is your Litespeed? Getting on towards vintage, I would think.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes, and more pix from our overnight...


Thanks, I see, I think. Great pics and I gotta say, when you guys overnight, you dine in style, that looks yummy!

Zero sun, hot but not quite so humid this morning. Weather report said good visibility but was definitely a lights on day imo. Looks to be very fine rain out there at the moment.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> What year is your Litespeed? Getting on towards vintage, I would think.


1998!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx: seems you are dining outdoors better than me at home :lol: looks like a great trip.

After almost 3 weeks off I will be back on the bike tomorrow. Weather is nice so I am looking forward toriding but not looking forward to the alarmclock buzzing at 6am. At least the kids let me sleep late until 7am....


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot and miserable and I ended up going home to shower and get the car after delivering. Lots of storms rolled through and I am glad that I did.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hope you enjoy your ride today Dutchman.

not as humid this morning but still 18C/65C when I left the house. Nice morning for a ride. Strapped on the new computer last night so had stuff to play with this morning. As on an SS I just kept it on cadence, with speed always showing, seems my sweet spot is 70-75 cruising on the flat to give about 18mph.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Carmageddon (sp?).

I-95 got shut down, pretty sure tens of thousands of people use it to commute every day. Traffic is backed up for miles on every road it seems like. I never saw an end to it.

Cruised right in on my bike, first one to the office today.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

formula4speed said:


> Carmageddon (sp?).
> 
> I-95 got shut down, pretty sure tens of thousands of people use it to commute every day. Traffic is backed up for miles on every road it seems like. I never saw an end to it.
> 
> Cruised right in on my bike, first one to the office today.


Maybe "Karmageddon"?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

It's all because a truck carrying unimprinted pennies flipped on the highway taking them to the mint. Driver is okay, truck is demolished, blank pennies everywhere. I kind of wished I could have biked there and grabbed a blank penny as a souvenir.

Felt bad for some of the commuters, my co-workers husband took over 2 hours for his usually 20 minute commute.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ha, back on the bike! Liked it a lot today. Sunny and warm, summer is coming to an end but itbis still supposed to stay warm during the next days. 

Rides were uneventful and I took a scenic route on the way home. Shortly before home I noticed several lines sprayed on the tarmac, I am.afraid they will tear everything up to renew the road. I hope I will be able to find a way though the carnage since the alternatives are not really appealing. We'll see how.it.goes.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

First rainy morning commute of the season for me. Used my new rear light...exposure red eye, pretty bright! Got held up by a draw bridge so I sipped my coffee and read the news. Kind of nice to chill mid-commute.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> First rainy morning commute of the season for me. Used my new rear light...exposure red eye, pretty bright! Got held up by a draw bridge so I sipped my coffee and read the news. Kind of nice to chill mid-commute.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Narrowly avoided the rain this morning. Changed and looked out the window. Total downpour. Lucky me.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Ghost_HTX said:


> University (college) students are generally OK (well, apart from the odd one or two who really deserve a good slapping around) - it's just when you get them all together plus drink that they turn into a bunch of bloody little hooligans. At least in my experience. The rule is something like this;
> 
> The probability of having an unpleasant experience with students increases proportionately with a)how late it is, b)how many of them there are, c) how much they have been drinking. This is science. Science Fact.
> 
> ...


Sounds like you were going too fast for the conditions. You have to be prepared for idiocy on all forms of transport.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Yes, and more pix from our overnight...


Looks like a great ride. I did a "Semi-Epic" ride from Portland to Casco on almost all trails with 4 others last weekend. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures to speak of. It ended up being about 55 miles and took 10 hours.

With the long weekend and some work commitments I had a bunch of days off. I did do 2 days of commuting like some people have to in regular work clothes with a backpack to get to a training class I had to take. I had to be extra cautious not to sweat. Not a fan.

I'm back to work today so I get to ride in the stretchy clothes and shower when I get here, much better. I'm planning on one more self supported century this weekend and then the charity rides start! Riding is going to be so easy with people handing out food at every turn.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

LOVELY rides today. Weather was perfect, sunny and hardly any wind. Ride to work was humid though with 95%. Work was easy going today too. Made a 8km/5m detour on the way home to enjoy the weather. As said, it was a lovely day.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Humid ride to work at the bike shop. Bomb scare just outside our building a few hours after we opened, which turned out to not be a bomb. Humid ride home. Beat the forecasted rain by a few hours.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No ride friday, lazy. No riding over the weekend although I did get a couple of half hour sessions on the unicycle. I can now ride it for upto 30 metres or so if I start from seated, hanging onto something. Need to practice the freestarts now.

This morning was bright and sunny but cooler than it has been, maybe 14C/57F. Supposed to be a rapid climb maybe upto 30C/86F today though.


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## nbritton (Jul 26, 2016)

How was my commute today? Well I got a flat tire while I was taking the fork from my other bike to the bike store to have it overhauled because it broke. I have two bikes and apparently I can't even keep one of them functional for long enough till the other one is fixed. Of course I left my flat repair kit on my other bike. You can't write **** this good.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

SlipSpace! A unicycle? That is awesome! 

Me? Oh, I'm chugging Lemsip by the liter here... Popping ibuprofen and vitamin C tabs like they were candy and sneezing every two damn seconds... Yes - I have a cold...

Rode into work today, though - just an easy spin to keep the legs turning over. I fitted a pair of Vittoria Open Corsa G+ in 28 mm to the roadie on Sunday, you see, and I wasn't going to let a stupid virus stop me from trying them out. it was cold when I started out. only 6 Celsius. Should be around 20 or so for the return trip, though. 

They are way more compliant than the 25 mm Open Pavés that they replaced. The bike feels more stable too - with a noticeably smoother ride thanks to the lower pressures.

I was two minutes slower to work today, though - but I'm going to blame that on my poor infected upper respiratory tract and my lack of trust in the box fresh rubber. Once my lungs start playing nice and I get used to the different feel of the tyres, then I can make a better comparison.

Who would have thought that 3 mm would make so much of a difference, feel wise?

The Pavés are still in good condition too - they will be pressed into duty on my poor weather China carbon commuter. 

Managed to hit 2600km so far this year too - aiming to hit 3000 by the end of the year...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Unicycle! I own a unicycle. Can't ride it though. Not 30 meters. Not 30cm. I'm guessing it is one of those things that you just "get" like riding a bike. I haven't gotten it yet.

nbritton, you obviously need a 3rd bike.

I did my 13th century of the year on Saturday. It should have been a pretty easy one but was one of the hardest this year. Maybe some kind of subconscious Triskaidekaphobia. The Candid Cyclist: Escaping From The Pumpkin Man Via ET

The commute was good. Coldest yet this season at about 42F. I'm glad I went for the full fingered gloves.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

1 C this morning 

Gave up long tights sweater and a jacket.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Fire report, CB?

And has anybody seen my gloves? I just had them a few months ago...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

rodar y rodar said:


> Fire report, CB?
> 
> And has anybody seen my gloves? I just had them a few months ago...


No but I saw a pair of white and pink pinstripe boxer shorts laying on the MUP this morning. Thought about calling you but I forgot until just now.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Punctured on the way home yesterday. Tiny little metal splinter straight through the top of the tread. Almost 2000 km on Open Pavé = 0 punctures. 40 km on Open Corsas = 1 puncture... They roll soooooooo nicely, though and comfort? You bet! Who would have thought that 3mm extra would make such a difference .

I guess it was about time, too. I hadn't punctured all year up to now. But I am borderline OCD on tyre pressures and on checking for flints / glass bits / general road crap regularly. Plus the puncture was slow enough that I made it to the child care to pick up my kid.

Had a really good trip in this morning - even if I am coughing like a rusty buzz saw... Set a whole bunch of PBs and managed to get into work in 35:05 - a whole two minutes faster than my previous!  

No one tried to vehicular manslaughter me today either!


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Sounds like I'm not the only one still pushing to commute while sick. Wasn't bad going in but headed home was "wtf was I thinking?!?!! gotta climb the bridge then that crappy hill to my house"

Still wasn't bad though. Not sure what new bug this is going around but I've honestly been sick more in the last 12 months than probably the last 5 years prior.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost_HTX said:


> SlipSpace! A unicycle? That is awesome!





bedwards1000 said:


> Unicycle! I own a unicycle. Can't ride it though. Not 30 meters. Not 30cm. I'm guessing it is one of those things that you just "get" like riding a bike. I haven't gotten it yet.


I guess it is like riding a bike, can't remember when I couldn't do that though. I could barely stay upright when holding onto stuff when I started unicycling, and for a long time, but then it just works. Really hard on the legs, and the core, as you're constantly adjusting pressure on the pedals and trying to micro adjust for balance (and/or waving arms around like a loon). Good allround workout tbh.

Hope you folks with the lurgee recover soon. Sounds like you may want to try for a few more KOMs Ghost before you do though  .

Rodar, I think you'll find you put your gloves on top of the fridge, probably under that pile of junk mail. 

Jeffscott, 1C! bad. We've got an Indian summer here at the moment. It was 18C on my ride in, highs of 28C plus expected today and for most of this week. Mid September!! Probably change overnight at some point and bite me in the arse.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I would give you unicycle rep, SlipSpace, if I could. Also to JeffScott for the early 1C, it was upper 40's by the time I rode in yesterday. Nothing like a Monday where I roll in 10 minutes before start time and realize I have a meeting first thing - ugh!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I bunny hopped over what appeared to be a box of donuts.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

rodar y rodar said:


> Fire report, CB?


Scary... I'm currently under mandatory evacuation and staying at my parent's house out in the valley (they're out of town so that works nicely...haha). My house is in one of the two neighborhoods that are "threatened," and my road has become one of the main access roads for equipment and crews in and out. The helicopters are literally sprinkling my house with spillover from their buckets on the way to drop. Crazy air show yesterday when I was able to get in past the closure and snag a few things (including the commuter bike).

Looking at the glow and the map, it got to within about 3/4 of a mile from my house, on the backside of the foothill across the street, before the winds shifted a bit and helped out.

They're saying 15% contained, and 2500+ acres. It really seems now like my neighborhood is safe, unless there's crazy winds again and a spot fire jumps the lines...they've got good fire line protecting us on this little part of the fire.

Some sections of the Bizz and the Southside look like they've been burned on the heat maps I've seen.

Major bummer. 
The family, important paperwork, pictures, hard drives, etc are out... homeowners insurance would cover the rest (including the Santa Cruz and the Mukluk...haha). But I really think we're gonna be OK at this point. Hoping the evacuation is lifted in the next day or two. It's been a heck of a week so far....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^WOW CB! That is crazy! Welcome to the new neighborhood!

And what kind of person schedules a meeting first thing on Monday. Don't they know that we try to erase the work week over the weekend?



SlipSpace said:


> ... I could barely stay upright when holding onto stuff when I started unicycling, and for a long time,


That is the stage I remain in. Although I've only really tried maybe...twice? I don't get to the "I think I'll go practice my unicycle skills" stage that often.

Trail commute for me. I only wish it could be more trail and less riding to the road to get to the trail. I got to check out some new singletrack that just got cut through one of our local trail system.:thumbsup:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh crap CB that sounds horrible.

Same for me SS. Would rep you but I cant. As well as bedwards, who rides in 13 days a distance for which I need about half a year :thumbsup:

Very warm today. 18C this morning, 31C on the way home. A road on my route is now under construction but open for cyclists and only open for cars in one direction. So for the next months, I have a lane for myself on that road on the way home 

This morning a guy parked his big expensive mercedes on the mup and I was already preparing a speech, but when I came closer the guy was exchanging a wheel. His right front tire blew out apparently and the road has no shoulder at all there so he had to park on the mup. I offered help but he declined, he apologized for blocking the mup but I told him that I fully understand and that his reason was more than acceptable. So after some more friendly words we both continued.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry about the fires CB, that sounds super stressful, despite the fact that the fam is safe. Hope things improve.

Riding home tonight, near camo-girl's store, and I slowed for a critter that was running and halfway across the road...squirrel - no, too big...cat - no, not quite...skunk - yes, FULL STOP. He stopped and ran back the other way, disaster averted! If you are skunked, I don't think you can just ask your friend to come help, you have to suffer through. Thoughts?


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2016)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sorry about the fires CB, that sounds super stressful, despite the fact that the fam is safe. Hope things improve.
> 
> Riding home tonight, near camo-girl's store, and I slowed for a critter that was running and halfway across the road...squirrel - no, too big...cat - no, not quite...skunk - yes, FULL STOP. He stopped and ran back the other way, disaster averted! If you are skunked, I don't think you can just ask your friend to come help, you have to suffer through. Thoughts?


 I've had shoes and dogs skunked before but I've gotten really lucky. Your best friend might bring you some pet deskunker, tomato juice and a kiddy pool. If you have a really good friend they might set-up a tarp you can hide behind while you shower outside with a hose. They'll still sit there and laugh from a distance, but that's to be expected.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Glad to hear y'all are safe, CB. That's most important. And fortunately you have homeowner's insurance!


mtbxplorer said:


> Sorry about the fires CB, that sounds super stressful, despite the fact that the fam is safe. Hope things improve.
> 
> Riding home tonight, near camo-girl's store, and I slowed for a critter that was running and halfway across the road...squirrel - no, too big...cat - no, not quite...skunk - yes, FULL STOP. He stopped and ran back the other way, disaster averted! If you are skunked, I don't think you can just ask your friend to come help, you have to suffer through. Thoughts?


Same thing tonight for me, except in a different state . I was riding and I smelled a skunk or two a few miles back but wasn't ruling out the homeless guy or the dude looked like he was stumbling around. Anyway I was alert. Suddenly I see this animal, an imposter! Black and white cat. A mile later I see another critter waddling down the trail and a white stripe on its back. I hit the brakes and sure enough it was a skunk. Sorta just mosying across the path without a care. 


Forster said:


> I've had shoes and dogs skunked before but I've gotten really lucky. Your best friend might bring you some pet deskunker, tomato juice and a kiddy pool. If you have a really good friend they might set-up a tarp you can hide behind while you shower outside with a hose. They'll still sit there and laugh from a distance, but that's to be expected.


I think a really great friend would even spray you off with the hose! It'd be ideal to have a friend with an old concrete basement with a basic shower/spigot with drain.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for the skunk advice, NDD & Forster - hopefully I won't need it, but you never know.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Averaged 24.2 on the way to work today. Go home Strava...you're DRUNK! What was about 5.5 miles Strava says "NO. 17.5 miles!"


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ouch stay safe CB!

Was a bit chilly this morning 64F  I love this time of year here. Will have to dig out the arm warmers and tights soon, and put the lights back on the bike too. I didn't think I'd be able to bike commute every day and all summer here in the Vegas heat but I did it. And I liked it! Going to start extending the length of my ride home now that I don't have to worry about having a heat stroke


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thinking of you CD. 

A friend (na engineer) with two Golden Labrador retrievers swore by Massengill Douche to get them de-skunked. She was pregnant and buying a case, and the clerk told her she was much too far along for it to work! Good she had a sense of humor, though with two stinky Goldens, she must have.

I gave a skunk hunting grubs in a neighbor's lawn a wide berth.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hope the wind stays in your favour CB.



bikeCOLORADO said:


> Averaged 24.2 on the way to work today. Go home Strava...you're DRUNK! What was about 5.5 miles Strava says "NO. 17.5 miles!"


 gotta love when Strava does that.

29C on the way home yesterday. 17C on the way in. It's gonna be another scorcher. Found a ladys thong on a secluded part of the MUP this morning. Certainly small enough to lose.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

SlipSpace said:


> Hope the wind stays in your favour CB.
> 
> gotta love when Strava does that.
> 
> 29C on the way home yesterday. 17C on the way in. It's gonna be another scorcher. Found a ladys thong on a secluded part of the MUP this morning. Certainly small enough to lose.


Forgot to mention my top speed was 115.4mph. Hard to breath at that speed.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I am riding an older aluminum hardtail with schwalbe marathon 26x1.5 tires. Between the skinny tires with 60 psi in them and a saddle that my arse does not like (wtb speed v) I am not having an overly comfortable ride. Think I'm going to get some wider balloon tires and put them on my ztr flow wheels instead these skinny tires on skinny bontrager rims. DEFINITELY going to move a more comfortable seat onto the commuter. Might even use my chromag trailmaster from my mtb.

So the commute has been...painful. In an effort to speed up my old hardtail I've made it too uncomfortable. Might go for some swept back bars and a chromo fork to replace my locked out fork and straight bar. They're not doing me any good either.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ maybe start with the seat and see how you go as you will notice the difference in effort required with bigger tyres, even slicks, IME.

First wet ride in ages this morning, was dry when I got up but started raining shortly after. Still 17C or thereabouts so not an unpleasant ride. Still raining at lunch when I went running. An hour or so to go to clocking off time and it seems to be raining even harder. ah well


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Sorry to leave you guys hanging... thanks for worrying about me. 

Back home now, looks like we're in the clear. They reported something like 60% containment yesterday. 
the smoke is way better. 

Across the road from my house is a pretty good sized foothill...the fire got just on the other side of that ridge. So less than 3/4 of a mile away, but when all is said and done you won't even be able to see it from home. Best case, I guess...if you're going to have a forest fire 3/4 of a mile from your door...


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Jumped in line with these guys for a few minutes on the commute this morning, #97 Kevin Naser from Nebraska on his 1916 Indian (according to the web site).

Cannonball Coast to Coast


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ good to hear CB!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good that you're safe CB!

Summer's gone now. Today we had the first rain in 2 weeks. Yesterday was still a hot day with 32C in the afternoon, today we got stuck at 20C and heavy clouds. After lunch we also heard some thunder but no rain, no lightning. Rain started now in the evening, finally. 

And the stretch of road that is being reconstructed is now completely closed for cars, but remains open for bikes, although caution is necessary when heavy machinery is being used. Have a nice weekend everybody.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Soggy and miserable today. It's hard to bike both ways in the pouring rain when you didn't feel like waking up in the first place. But I did it!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Almost got hit on the way home last night...separated bike lane on left of the one-way road had a green light with a red for left turning cars, but a sedan ran the light and cut across the bike lane. This is on Second ave in Seattle which I gather has seen a lot of these types of accidents, including a fatality a couple years ago at this very intersection. Even with the new separated bike lane it's dangerous and I'll often ride in the road instead.

A cop car happened to be right there last night, and pulled over the guy who nearly hit me. For once.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh crap squeak - that doesnt sound good. At least the guy got instant karma.

Didnt ride today but have been sorting my gear for fall and winter. Put the short sleeves in the back and the wool longsleeves in front, sorted thin / medium. Thin nylon office pants (partly zip-off) to the back and softshell pants front. Dont need gloves and helmet cover yet, but sorted the gloves anyway, couldnt find the helmet cover. Raingear is not necessary the coming week, so will sort that stuff out later.

I'm expecting the "long cold winter 16/17 support" thread to be opened any day now. (Since we do not have "real" winter over here, I won't)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride. New bib shorts (bought on clearance). New tubes (tired of the old ones failing). 

BrianMc


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

First ride in the longsleeve and windjacket this morning. Calm weather but only 6C and foggy, felt quite refreshing after the long hot period that we had over here the last 3 weeks. Sun just peeked over the horizon, turning the fog into orange clouds. It was quite a sight, will take the camera the next days. Made visit on the way home and rode home in the dark. Rode about 44km today, which is twice the distance of my normal commute. Also I hit the 9000km marker with my current bike. I think I can complete the 10tkm this year.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2016)

Good ride, but I was deep in thought and passed my turn adding about two miles to the ride. Seemed oddly funny at the time. Guess I have to get cue sheets for all four turns on the route.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

What a hoot, Forster. I can relate in that I am usually thinking about something while riding. 

Decent riding today. Waiting for a cool down next week! Been in the upper 80's daytime and low 60's in the evening. No rain this week means I can probably squeeze some singletrack into a commute or two later in the week


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No ride yesterday as ferrying the kids about was required too soon after work finish to allow me to bike. Back on it today, drizzle all the way and cooler. Goldilocks journey, put THAT jacket on but was a bit too warm, without was too cold, unzipped was almost just right. I could do with a gilette/body warmer thing I think.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I haven't logged on in a while. Still biking to work, except one day a week when I need to get home faster to spend time with my family before heading off to a class I'm taking. A co-worker of mine started biking to work a week ago. So far, he's kept it up.

Yesterday I could have gotten clocked at an intersection. Two cars in front of me had already turned left when I started across the intersection and heard a horn blasting. Some dude on the road to my right was in the process of running the red light. Luckily both of us stopped. It wasn't a super close call, but it's still scary when something crazy like that happens. I scowled at the guy and pointed up at his red light. I pedaled around the front of his car, and afterwards the guy started back up through the intersection.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Forster said:


> Good ride, but I was deep in thought and passed my turn adding about two miles to the ride. Seemed oddly funny at the time. Guess I have to get cue sheets for all four turns on the route.


"I was deep in thought" - yeah, you were thinking "would I rather keep riding my bike or go to work"!

chaz


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well Forster, if that happens it is time for a change of route, instead of riding it on autopilot...can you vary your route? I myself can not really, just minor variations possible.

Calm weather again today, cloudy this morning and halfway milky sunshine this afternoon. But dry and low winds -- nice.


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## fleboz (Apr 22, 2015)

commute was the same as always, just a little rain today. and by that i mean awesome. feel very fortunate to be able to ride to work everyday!! everyone be safe.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Probably been over this before but here I go. 

Do any of you consistently put in enough hours between commuting and work to go through lunchtime and get home on the verge of being too late for dinner? Probably a grad school problem. I usually eat a good breakfast and bring a big ish lunch and snack. Get in at 9:00am eat around 1:00pm and often don't leave until 8:30-9:30 pm, which means I'm home 35-45 minutes after that. 

How much dang food are y'all eating because I always feel tired and energy depleted, especially coming home.


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2016)

I don't feel "depleted" during the day unless I ride too hard on the way in or back. Anytime I ride for a decent amount of time above 80% MHR I spend the day hungry.


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## sasquatch2 (Jun 28, 2004)

well if I can do it on a veggy diet, it can be done! 1 super-technical high tech life hack is eat some fruit in the afternoon and that should give you all the boost you need. Lunch is important too obvs, high in protein and carbs works for me. Good luck NDD!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Too late for dinner? sorry, don't follow...

I generally exercise at lunch too but I stuff my face all the time. Considering I am carrying a reasonable covering (could probably drop 14 pounds without looking unwell, maybe) I guess I don't need it al,l but it's a mental thing. I try to put it off by drinking water or squash but , you know, that just doesn't do it for me. Neither does fruit often, has to be something bad for me like biscuit, chocolate or crisps.

I still suffer for energy and dead days. Maybe I need more! :thumbsup:


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I punched a guy in the throat. Besides that same old same old.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ need more info on the throat punch. Sometimes, that just needs to happen.

My commute in was great. Coolish and the sky was darkening. Woke up this am to a 20% chance of rain. One look at the radar and I laughed. Storm coming across Lake Michigan about the size of Lake Michigan. 100% chance for sure. Cleaned up the bike shop like I do in the am and then went to deliver. Made it back from the first delivery and the skies opened up on me. Then it drizzled and rained for about half an hour more. Soaked to the bone and then some after that. Still managed to set a personal record for deliveries in a 2.5 hour period somehow. Finished the day off at the bike shop. Ride home was mostly dry and I had some fun with a guy that proceeded to pass me on the MUP. I wasn't going to pass him but he passed and then was going too slow for my pace. He must have crossed the street right after I did at speed because he caught me quickly. Found myself on cruise control at like 25 mph just barreling along the MUP. Right at the end there is a decent hill for how flat this city is and the speed never dropped below 15.5 mph on that hill. Pretty proud of myself for that.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Was coming up on parked cars so I moved left to take the lane. Guy punish passes me. I give him a big old faux-friendly wave. Of course, he gets stuck behind a light. So when I catch up and he has his window down I shout "how's your night going?" He picks up a holstered pistol and gives a cute little wiggle, which maybe he thought would be intimidating. Of course, being the emotionally stable person I am, I ran my mouth like a deathwish personified until his light turned. Now I'm wishing I'd taken his plate number and called the cops.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2016)

So you know, that's a felony he committed. You can report that and if they catch him in the car without proper certification, it's another charge. I used to teach CCW Classes and telling the class "I'm still gonna wave my pistol when someone pisses me off" after I told them it was unlawful, got the student their check back and an escort off premises. It's not defensible either. Your only reason for presenting the firearm is with the intention of using it for a lawful purpose. Pretty hard to say "I was in fear for my life, so I wagged the pistol at him" when in reality if you were in fear, you'd point the thing right at the threat.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> I don't feel "depleted" during the day unless I ride too hard on the way in or back. Anytime I ride for a decent amount of time above 80% MHR I spend the day hungry.





sasquatch2 said:


> well if I can do it on a veggy diet, it can be done! 1 super-technical high tech life hack is eat some fruit in the afternoon and that should give you all the boost you need. Lunch is important too obvs, high in protein and carbs works for me. Good luck NDD!





SlipSpace said:


> Too late for dinner? sorry, don't follow...
> 
> I generally exercise at lunch too but I stuff my face all the time. Considering I am carrying a reasonable covering (could probably drop 14 pounds without looking unwell, maybe) I guess I don't need it al,l but it's a mental thing. I try to put it off by drinking water or squash but , you know, that just doesn't do it for me. Neither does fruit often, has to be something bad for me like biscuit, chocolate or crisps.
> 
> I still suffer for energy and dead days. Maybe I need more!


I'll say I definitely try harder on the way into work. For instance, my average for the commute in yesterday was 17.7mph. Not shabby on a mtb with two bulging panniers, but it's probably overkill and maybe I could start by dialing it back a notch. Should also bring more food, I think. SlipSpace has a good idea with eating junk food, I think!

Corn chips have ridiculous calories.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Buster Bluth said:


> I punched a guy in the throat. Besides that same old same old.


You can't leave that there and then bugger off, c'mon, spill.

Started with jacket but had to pack it about 3-4 miles out. The ride out of the gravity well from the river felt harder today, not sure why as I was no slower than usual. Thinking about food probably!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I normally have breakfast before I leave in the morning, a light lunch around noon and normally I eat an energy bar or something before I leave for the ride home. Normally that does the job during the day for me, but I have an office job and sit around a lot.

Somehow Ive got some bad luck the last days. Started off yesterday morning with a pretty close call. Again at an intersection where my previous two close calls were, and a second time for the exact situation: Opposite traffic turning left across my lane just in front of me. Had to slam the brakes, rear wheel went up in the air, let go off the front brake, fell back, toppled on my right foot a few times, managed to stay upright and said very loud and clear, that she should look better. When I approach that spot I am always alert and look for eyecontact with drivers, but things are different now because of the construction site. There is a roadblock on her lane, forcing everybody to turn left. She was standing behind a parket excavator when she suddenly decided to turn left. I wonder about that, because there is not really another option...took me some hours to loose the adrenalin rush. Ride home was at least uneventful yesterday. 
I already planned to drive today but regretted it already 3 minutes after I left. Traffic jams everywhere and felt horrible at work the entire day. There's nothing like cycling to work...

Buster: I would like to hear the story about the throat punch too....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geez, several scary reports here, glad everyone is OK. Safe travels and don't let them get to you. The "road diet" on my commute is apparently unpopular with many motorists, but staying. Berlin survey reflects anti-bicycle bias *:*Times Argus Online That's Berlin, VT, USA if you were wondering.


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2016)

Funny commute today. Riding Rail-to-Trail outside the town I work in a the trail is blocked by a fawn. It can't (apparently) see me waiving my arms because it's staring at my headlight and I'm in a hurry so in a classic "what now" moment, I barked at it like a dog. Cleared the trail like a charm. Learn something new everyday.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Woof woof! Way to think with your brain! I used to stop and buck my bike back and forth at them until a young buck let out a rather steamy grunt in my direction. Yikes. 

Not bad today. Felt good and ate an unreasonable amount of food and took multivitamins. Don't like that because it means my diet sucks but I'm entertaining the idea of a stress induced vitamin deficiency. Probably not that stressed but I shouldn't feel tired and hungry most of the time. Beat a personal record on one section today. Tied with my twin bro there now...so I have to beat him tomorrow.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Worst headwind yet on the way home today. Had to duck out of the way of a flying piece of spinning thick paper that was headed for my jugular, oh the horror of death by papercut! 

Had a weird sound rattling on the bike on the way into work this morning, couldn't find the noise, thought my bike was falling apart. Finally found it after stopping 3 times. It was my fork and spoon rattling in my lunchbox on the front rack. :madman:

Thanks for the headlight reminder Forster, I need to dig mine out it's getting darker in the mornings! And yeah Buster give us the story on the throat punch! :rockon:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

NDD have you tried just kind of grazing throughout the day? Alot of my family has blood sugar problems and have to eat a little here and there all day to keep from crashing. Just a thought I'm no expert by any means!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> NDD have you tried just kind of grazing throughout the day? Alot of my family has blood sugar problems and have to eat a little here and there all day to keep from crashing. Just a thought I'm no expert by any means!


The problem would be that I'm often in labs/situations where I actually can't eat. Almost never any chemicals or hazardous materials but policy says blah blah blah. I cram food down my gullet usually all at once a couple times a day. I did space out my lunch today. Was better.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rode to work. Passed a few cyclists on the sidewalk and one guy hugging the curb on a clapped out Wally World bike that was too small for him and he had headphones in. Wanted to say something but didn't bother. Rode home.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Commute was great. Finally cooling off just a bit here in the south. I've got a question for the group. I live in central Louisiana. People Do Not Commute by bike. I get treated like a superhero or a moron with a death wish. Not much in between at all. So here goes...I generally get a wide berth when on a road with no shoulder or when riding before daylight (the lights). Having a shoulder during the day usually presents me with the most danger. In the other scenarios I am almost always treated like an equal user of the road...all bets are off on the shoulder including oncoming traffic expecting me to stop and allow them to turn whenever they feel like it....what am I doing wrong?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

honez1414 said:


> Commute was great. Finally cooling off just a bit here in the south. I've got a question for the group. I live in central Louisiana. People Do Not Commute by bike. I get treated like a superhero or a moron with a death wish. Not much in between at all. So here goes...I generally get a wide berth when on a road with no shoulder or when riding before daylight (the lights). Having a shoulder during the day usually presents me with the most danger. In the other scenarios I am almost always treated like an equal user of the road...all bets are off on the shoulder including oncoming traffic expecting me to stop and allow them to turn whenever they feel like it....what am I doing wrong?
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


Take the lane and don't ride on the shoulder unless absolutely necessary. Drivers are unsure what to do if you are sort of on the road and sort of not. Act like traffic and you should get treated like traffic. Now, I say that with some honesty and some sarcasm. Let's face it, sometimes we don't get treated as traffic for some reason.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Take the lane and don't ride on the shoulder unless absolutely necessary. Drivers are unsure what to do if you are sort of on the road and sort of not. Act like traffic and you should get treated like traffic. Now, I say that with some honesty and some sarcasm. Let's face it, sometimes we don't get treated as traffic for some reason.


I would lose the decent treatment of the 95% if I took a lane when there is ample shoulder. I'll just keep alert like always. I do tell everyone that asks about my approach to "treat every vehicle like they're out to get you".

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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

honez1414 said:


> I've got a question for the group.all bets are off on the shoulder including oncoming traffic expecting me to stop and allow them to turn whenever they feel like it....what am I doing wrong?


Fortunately, most of the intersections like I have where I am riding the shoulder have right turn lanes with no arrows (I can legally go straight and catch the shoulder on the other side of the intersection) so I move off the shoulder into that lane to be seen better. I am less likely to get either right or left hooked. I could confuse drivers stopped to my right, but they either get their turn before it is obvious I am straight through, or figure it out fast enough. I do have a few crossroads with no right turn lane. I can take the lane briefly if I have no overtaking traffic that would block a left hook then return to the shoulder. In the years riding that route I had only one driver stop a right hook to avoid hitting me as I crossed a drive into a business. I stay on the shoulder if i have overtaking traffic as that will hold the left hooks at bay. I suppose a driver at the crossroad to my right could ease forward waiting for a break and block my path, but none have. I also ride just inside the rumble strip about 2' form the fog line so I am not ignored as much.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

honez1414 said:


> I would lose the decent treatment of the 95% if I took a lane when there is ample shoulder. I'll just keep alert like always. I do tell everyone that asks about my approach to "treat every vehicle like they're out to get you".
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


I disagree wholeheartedly. Bikes belong on the road, not the shoulder, not the sidewalk, not the grass. The shoulder collects a lot of debris and is often not maintained well. Would avoid at all costs.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> I disagree wholeheartedly. Bikes belong on the road, not the shoulder, not the sidewalk, not the grass. The shoulder collects a lot of debris and is often not maintained well. Would avoid at all costs.


I agree with you...the problem is that 99.999% of Louisiana drivers don't.

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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

By riding in the far right portion of the lane, or even the shoulder, you are giving cars enough room to try to sneak by in your lane. This puts everyone in a bad position, mostly you as you are not protected by a steel frame. Get some good blinking lights front and back and run them on blink especially during the day. Find alternative routes that will take you through neighborhoods if the roads you are riding on are not quite bike friendly. Sometimes a route adjustment is needed, and often times a longer route is actually faster if you are avoiding high congestion or sketchy areas.

As cyclists, we want to be treated as traffic. We need to act like traffic for that to happen. We need to stop confusing drivers by riding on shoulders, sidewalks, the wrong way on roads, etc. Don't worry about getting honked at. Ride safely but take the lane where needed and put yourself in a better position on the road. Don't give drivers the option to pass you closely or in your lane. Make them go around just as they would go around a slower moving car.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I disagree wholeheartedly. Bikes belong on the road, not the shoulder, not the sidewalk, not the grass. The shoulder collects a lot of debris and is often not maintained well. Would avoid at all costs.


On a road posted at 55 and driven often at 65-70, with some blind grades and corners and an 8' shoulder that is usually clear of crap in the 2 feet just inside the rumble strip, I disagree. I would be dead trying to ride the lane.

OTOH I have avoided a 12-18" shoulder on another road that is completely useless. The traffic is lower volumes and not as frenetic so though it too is posted at 55, I do not ride that shoulder. So there are rideable shoulders and ones that are ridiculous.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I wouldn't be riding a road like that. Speeds are too high and drivers just don't pay enough attention.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I wouldn't be riding a road like that. Speeds are too high and drivers just don't pay enough attention.


Then you would not be riding here at all except in town as the narrow county roads are even worse! The duallie pickups take their share out of the middle on blond hills and corners!) There have been more bikes on those shoulders in recent years so the general awareness has gone up in the last 8 years. About 1% of drivers are still a problem, but I suspect that is as good as it gets. This is also why I am lit up like a Christmas tree even in daylight. It tends to get the needed attention.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

There is an ideal most of us hold in which we ride in traffic. Then there is a reality some of us must partake in, in which we are forced to take shoulders and such. It's not great. I'm fortunate that the only roads I take on a regular basis are about 25 mph speed limit. In the winter when the mup is too snow covered to ride 11 miles in reasonable time I take busy roads that are 45 mph speed limit, so drivers do 50-60 mph. I ride the shoulder and also stay lit up and have never had issues with people not yielding right of way when I had it. I see it as a trade off because people know I can take the lane but I think people actually appreciate that I don't there and mostly act like it.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

this morning was FANTASTIC.

we picked up my wife's custom bike this weekend. so she woke up early to commute to work. motivated me to get off my ass and strap on my shoes and helmet. it was a damn pleasure to watch her enjoy her new ride so much. she was going at a pretty good clip as well.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Weather is looking better and better here with each passing day...sorry to derail the thread with my shoulder question. Only complaint with today's events was that I've been told that I'm no longer allowed to use the "drying" hook in the showers at work. The powers that be have no idea how much this motivates me nor any idea as to how petty I can really be. Challenge accepted.

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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

honez1414 said:


> I've been told that I'm no longer allowed to use the "drying" hook in the showers at work. The powers that be have no idea how much this motivates me nor any idea as to how petty I can really be. Challenge accepted.


Sorry I am not 'getting' this. The only picture I get is your riding clothes hanging up all day in a common shower area so there is no room for other people's wet towels? You sound like you have an alternative in mind that will be liked less but legal like from a coat rack in a cubicle.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

It's a shower area that no one uses but me...it's awesome to have. But the site administrator decided that if all 500 employees did the same thing...we'd have a problem. I know take my riding clothes and towel out to my bike (front and center to entrance) and hang everything out to dry. My long term goal is to make it look like I'm homeless so that the plant manager asks about the riff raff outside.

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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

So I will ask the site admin daily where his bike is and how disappointed I am that he decided not to join in. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

honez1414 said:


> ...The powers that be have no idea how much this motivates me nor any idea as to how petty I can really be. Challenge accepted.


LOL

Checking in. I've been off the bike for a week with a nasty infected tooth. Last week I was too run-down to make it through the day, never-mind ride a bike in. I hope to be back at it tomorrow.

I did manage a ride this weekend: The Candid Cyclist: Bad Luck?

And one the weekend before:The Candid Cyclist: Loon..Loon....Loon.....Loon.......Loon........Loon....


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Almost got hooked today, and by almost, I mean inches. I yelled so loud that she heard me and straightened out and kept going. I caught her at the next light, and I shot her the nastiest glare as I rode by the drivers side window ever so slowly. I was delivering so there is nothing that I could have done. The look of terror and disbelief on her face was enough. I swear that I stared into her eyes for minutes even though it was merely seconds. I made sure that she knew that I knew what she almost did. 

There is a road on campus that comes to a T. Left turn, then the bike lane, then the right turn. She was in the left, and at the stop sign, decided that she was gonna try to go right. Well, I rolled up in the bike lane where I should have been, and she used no signal, didn't even look. How do I know? I was that close to the car. I saw that she never even swiveled her head.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It sounds like you almost turned her to stone.

I picked one of the first rainy days all summer to pick up bike commuting again. I must say I continue to be disappointed in what biking gear makers call "waterproof". Here are some definitions:
Water Resistant: Garment will not dissolve
Water Repellent: Water will be repelled to the inside of the garment. 
Waterproof: Garment will not soak through in less than 15 minutes
Extremely Waterproof: Garment will not soak through in less than 16 minutes
Rain Gear: Garment will become wetter on the inside than the rain on the outside.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

honez1414 said:


> It's a shower area that no one uses but me...it's awesome to have. But the site administrator decided that if all 500 employees did the same thing...we'd have a problem. I know take my riding clothes and towel out to my bike (front and center to entrance) and hang everything out to dry. My long term goal is to make it look like I'm homeless so that the plant manager asks about the riff raff outside.


Ah! The solution looking for a problem! Someone messing up his nice neat shower facility by actually using it. Made me wonder if there was room for you to place your own personal rack in there. Your solution is nice. Does the plant get visited by anyone higher up than the plant manager who will see your "drying rack"? If so, and the plant manager does not see the error of the decision, he likely will have it pointed out.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Ah! The solution looking for a problem! Someone messing up his nice neat shower facility by actually using it. Made me wonder if there was room for you to place your own personal rack in there. Your solution is nice. Does the plant get visited by anyone higher up than the plant manager who will see your "drying rack"? If so, and the plant manager does not see the error of the decision, he likely will have it pointed out.


You're definitely wise to my plan.

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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Came super close to hitting a little Bambi this morning... two fawns and mom were grazing on the shoulder (between the road and a big wall-o-bushes that they couldn't get through) ...mom and one baby just hugged up against the bushes as I came up to them, but baby #2 took off paralleling me along the shoulder, then SCREAMED LIKE A GOAT I KID YOU NOT WHO KNEW DEER COULD MAKE GOAT NOISES!!! ...and it almost veered into my front tire while in goat mode. I locked up the rear and I think the sound scared it back down toward the bushes...it slowed, I passed, and peace returned to the commute.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

CommuterBoy said:


> Came super close to hitting a little Bambi this morning... two fawns and mom were grazing on the shoulder (between the road and a big wall-o-bushes that they couldn't get through) ...mom and one baby just hugged up against the bushes as I came up to them, but baby #2 took off paralleling me along the shoulder, then SCREAMED LIKE A GOAT I KID YOU NOT WHO KNEW DEER COULD MAKE GOAT NOISES!!! ...and it almost veered into my front tire while in goat mode. I locked up the rear and I think the sound scared it back down toward the bushes...it slowed, I passed, and peace returned to the commute.


I was mountain biking years ago when I came across a baby deer and there was no sign of it's momma anywhere. I spoke sweetly to it and it seemed to really like the attention. Pretty sure I didn't pet him/her or anything. Anyway, I get going on my ride and about a half kilometer away I sense something behind me. It's the fawn! I keep going...it keeps following. When I got back to my car it had followed me all the way to the parking lot. I felt terrible as I loaded up my bike and drove away. Knowing that either it was orphaned and alone or that somehow it had followed me quite some distance and perhaps become lost from its mother. There's a lot of cougars where I live so I'm guessing things didn't end well for the cute little fella.

For those wondering about the "throat punch" incident it was actually an accidental collision with a tourist who wandered into the bike path (while staring at his phone) where several of us were going quite quickly. I ended up colliding with them but fortunately had scrubbed off most of my speed that injuries on both of our parts were minor. I did, somehow, get him in the throat though and it took him a couple of minutes to be able to talk and breathe normally. He didn't speak much English but we shared a somewhat embarrased few minutes ensuring each other was ok. Eventually I went on my way and yelled "go back to where you came from, ya daft twat!" Just kidding, I just gave him a friendly wave.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Does anyone try to incorporate interval training into their commute? My ride is 15 miles one way and I was thinking of adding some "time crunched cyclist" intervals to help out the xc racing.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Like this? Where are you commuting from/to.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Uff Bedwards, I had the same tooth issue once - that suxx big time. Good luck with that.

CB: Speaking of Bambi's, I saw a roe deer this morning for the first time after a long time. Haven't seen any boars for a long time too.

Commutes are quite ok. Weather was fairly calm so far, quite sunny und little or no winds. Tomorrow however its gonna get cloudy, chance of rain and quite windy, forecast says gusts upto 70kmh / 35mph. Had to happen some day....but I will miss those easy sunny commutes that scream for a detour.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Like this? Where are you commuting from/to.


Commuting to and from work. Thinking of adding the intervals to the morning ride. Usually on the bike before 5 am with very little traffic. I wouldn't try it during the afternoon ride home because volume of traffic. I do the commute just to stay in riding shape for weekend trail rides. Commuting via singletrack would be heaven.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

honez1414 said:


> Does anyone try to incorporate interval training into their commute? My ride is 15 miles one way and I was thinking of adding some "time crunched cyclist" intervals to help out the xc racing.
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


Sure, why not. Is hammering out Strava segments considered interval training? If so then yes. Don't believe the crap that you can't train on a commute. 90% of my riding is commuting and 0% of my riding is "training" but I can hold my own against a lot of the local racers. The most important thing is to mix it up. Ride hard one day, ride really easy another, do some intervals on another.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Commuting has been ok lately - no throat punches, screaming goat children or anything of the sort, really. Monday saw me get my second puncture of the year. I was on the mtb and came out at the end of the working day to a completely flat front tyre. Must have picked up something on the way in. I had a spare tube with me. A 700c x 19 - 28mm one. My mtb is a 26er.

I just used my trusty mini pump to get some air in it - it held - and I rode like heck to get back before the thing went soft again. By the end of the 20 km ride there was considerable slop in the handling and way more rolling resistance than normal...

The little one had a fever yesterday so I stayed home - it was nice - just chilling out watching Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Dora the Explorer, Winnie the Pooh (Ole Brum to us Scandinavian types), reading books, playing with kids toys... Good times.

Had a storm last night - crazy wind and rain, but this morning was nice and sunny. Took the roadie (still haven't mended my mtb puncture) and played "jump the fallen branch - avoid the wet slippy leaves"" on the way to work - went ok, too.

I also ordered the last parts for my China Carbon Craplet commuter. All I need now its bar tape and time to build the thing - then I can put the roadie to bed for the winter. 

One more thing - is white and black tiger stripe bar tape a cool thing? Or a wee bit too "Mario Cippolini"?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I picked one of the first rainy days all summer to pick up bike commuting again. I must say I continue to be disappointed in what biking gear makers call "waterproof". Here are some definitions:
> Water Resistant: Garment will not dissolve
> Water Repellent: Water will be repelled to the inside of the garment.
> Waterproof: Garment will not soak through in less than 15 minutes
> ...


Too funny! So true. I will say my new panniers have lived up to waterproof, meaning that after a solid 45 minutes of getting rained on during the commute, I was relieved to find everything in the bags was dry. Me in my rain gear...not so much.

Today purdy dang windy. I'm guessing the wind will shift before tonight and set me up for a headwind both ways. Always feels that way.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ghost_HTX said:


> One more thing - is white and black tiger stripe bar tape a cool thing? Or a wee bit too "Mario Cippolini"?


I am using this on a gloss black carbon bike with some white accents on it. Is it cool? Absolutely!!!!! Lizard Skins DSP 2.5mm btw (not my picture)










Commute in was good. Delivery was good - tips were good. Worked at the bike shop until 6. Light rain and mist for the ride home. Getting darker earlier and much cooler. Could have used some sleeves for the ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ghost_HTX said:


> playing with kids toys... Good times.
> 
> All I need now its bar tape and time to build the thing - then I can put the roadie to bed for the winter.
> 
> One more thing - is white and black tiger stripe bar tape a cool thing? Or a wee bit too "Mario Cippolini"?


For whoever is old enough to remember the fuzzy "tiger tail" things you could get at an Esso station to hang on your bike handlebars, I think those were much cooler, but tigers never go out of style!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> For whoever is old enough to remember the fuzzy "tiger tail" things you could get at an Esso station to hang on your bike handlebars, I think those were much cooler, but tigers never go out of style!


Saw one of those "Put a Tiger in Your Tank" at a gas station this summer in Ohio.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Ok! Black and white tiger (zebra, if you will) stripe bar tape it is, then!
This is going on a raw carbon (so basically black) finish bike, with a white saddle. 
Probably not the best color combination for a winter commuter bike, but that's why we have lights, right?

No riding for me today - took the bus. I have a Contract, Procurement, Purchasing, Legal, Risk Management seminar type thing this afternoon.

It's raining quite a bit outside anyway, so no big loss...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Post a pic when you are done Ghost!

Change of weather here. Still fairly warm, 16C in the morning, ~20C in the afternoon. But we got 20kts wind by now with gusts up to 35kts. Had to ride against that a while on the way home today and yesterday, but most of the route is more or less sheltered, so it didnt bother me too much. And this evening, it even RAINED for 5 minutes. 

I am seeing progress on the construction site I am riding through every day at the moment. They teared out the small MUP already and start to rebuild it. If I interprete everything correctly, it will get about 30cm/1ft wider than before. I hope it is finished and rideable in about 2-3 weeks.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

First commute in about a week for me, had a terrible cold, I didn't know my body was capable of producing so much snot. Now time for a 3 day weekend and some playtime on the mtb!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First day in 6 weeks I didn't ride home. Feeling sick and exhausted. It was raining and I got a ride. Did get a flat on my ride in. Put in a new tube and made it with only minutes to spare.


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2016)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> First commute in about a week for me, had a terrible cold, I didn't know my body was capable of producing so much snot. Now time for a 3 day weekend and some playtime on the mtb!


 I hear that. My sinuses usually bust loose during a long ride with no Kleenex in sight. Yuk.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> I didn't know my body was capable of producing so much snot.


This time around I don`t think I`ll play the "Pics or it didn`t happen" card.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I concur.

Friday! Woo Hoo. 
Last day of my antibiotic (which has been dragging me down, didn't ride all last week) Woo Hoo. 
The Dempsey Challenge is this weekend. Woo Hoo. 

This could be the last century of the season, we'll see. It will be #15 this year. 

Things are cooling down around here. It seems like 2 weeks ago it was like mid summer and now the mornings are in the 30s and the days don't get warm. Winter is coming....


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I returned from my honeymoon in the Seattle area where it was dry and beautiful. Now that I'm home it's rainy and kind of miserable. Good to be back on the bike though.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

lolz I'll spare you the pics! My cold's last hurrah is usually in the shower when what feels like a placenta falls out of each nostril! :eekster:


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

It was a rough commute home for me. I discovered this after my bike started to feel like a wet noodle when standing up to pedal. 








The bike is a Salsa Vaya I got in 2010 with roughly 30,000 commuter miles on it. It was on it 6th drive train, 4th bottom brackets, 3rd rear wheels, many brake pads and tires, and the right side handlebar tape. Everything else was stock down to the cables. I live in denver and commute year round 22 miles each way to work so it saw a lot of sloppy riding conditions. 
The most memorable moment on it was riding into work on an October morning, kinda dark, foggy, misty out and the bike path goes under a bridge where it's pretty much pitch black and there is a person sleeping right across the path in the shadows and I didn't even have a chance to see him. I hit him and flew over the handlebars, somehow not hitting the underside of the bridge (it was a low bridge) and landing right on my back about 15 feet down the path. I got up and checked myself, the guy got up and started yelling at me cause he thought I had punched him. I told him he was sleeping in the middle of the trail, got my busted ass bike and tried to ride away not realizing my phone flew out of my pocket. Anyway, the guy ended up finding my phone and stealing it. I know this because when I got to work I logged in and tracked my phone moving across the 8th st bridge. I remotely wiped the phone and called it good. 
So, anyway, I'm borrowing a friends bike while I shop for a new one. Didn't mean for this to be a long post. Thanks for reading


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^30,000 awesome! Any idea when it cracked? That's not where I'd expect a bike to break first. I wonder if this would do it while you shop/wear out the remaining components. https://www.fiberfix.com
Apparently it works well but I don't have any first hand experience.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: Good luck on your century! That makes about half of my yearly distance in just 15 rides :eekster:

F4S: Congrats on getting married!

Eugene: Sorry, but really TMI....

Simmonns: A Vaya is steel right? Cant you get it welded somehow? And might as well take the opportunity to have it freshly powdercoated. Not sure if that would be cheaper, but a Vaya in a custom color makes you really stand out.

Nice rides again today. Wind calmed down to about 10 kts which is acceptable and normal for the time of year. There was some debris on the road though and I did see one small broken tree, so yesterdays gusts were not exactly kindergarten. Took a detour again today to get cheese and a collegue caught up from behind about halfway. At first I thought he was always so fast but he said that he saw me ahead and put in a decent sprint. Got my cheese and a new front skewer from the LBS for my wife's bike. Then rode again for 20min, met my wife and put in the new skewer, then we rode home together. Rode 5 of 5 days this week with an extra ride today: All is good  :thumbsup:


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## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Simmonns: A Vaya is steel right? Cant you get it welded somehow? And might as well take the opportunity to have it freshly powdercoated. Not sure if that would be cheaper, but a Vaya in a custom color makes you really stand out.


Yes, and it's something I'm considering. Fresh paint job is a good idea....


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2016)

Tale of two rides today. On the way in I saw a huge buck in someone's yard (more than a mile inside the city limits). On the way home I stopped short of crossing the road (due to a plumbers truck that wasn't planning on stopping at the light before a right turn). He saw me and locked up his brakes, stopping short. I was never in danger, but it scared him. Later a guy (in another repair truck) was blocking the bike crossing so I squirted his windshield with water (that's my new passive aggressive fu). Almost every other car either gave me space or backed to allow me to pass. That part was awesome.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wait do you have a squirt gun on your bars or a little water squirting flower lapel?


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2016)

Water bottle only. Works on dogs and people without needing an awesome strap.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

R.I.P. for your trusty Vaya, Simonns! Good rides this week on the CX and BMX, dry and cool but not cold. Of course it's raining now that it's the weekend . A few road finds, one very heavy wallet that I am still curious about; a cruiser went by as I went to put it in my pack, so I flagged her down to save a trip to the cop shop, and never learned what made it so heavy. Also a value pack of raw chicken legs, with some of the legs already scattered - not sure how that happens.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I just had to catch up on the last week or so, interesting reading folks!

So back today after a week off the bike and autumn is here. 4C/39F when I left. Wasn't quite ready for that as it is bright and sunny. Had to stop and pull out and put my buff on over my lugs. I expect more tomorrow but mine was the only bike in the rack this morning.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Autumn is well and truly here in Oslo! a chilly 3 Celsius this morning - but not a spot of frost or ice on the roads.

It that sort of clear, crisp, sunny but chilly autumn weather that makes you wish the winter bike jacket you ordered direct from Cannondale - Drapac (Slipstreamsports) website because they have it cheaper than everywhere else (yes, I'm Scottish, we don't like spending money) could hurry up and arrive because you don't actually have a bike jacket... 

I know - I could wear one of my regular training / xc skiing jackets, but it's not the same thing, its it? So I layered up with under shirts and wore one of my larger cycling shirts today. Its as good as having a jacket, so long as it is dry - but it takes me ages to get dressed / undressed... Yes, a first world problem, I know.

I took everyone's advice and bought the zebra stripe bar tape too! I just need to wait for the brake rotors, seat post and seat post shim to arrive before I can build it up fully - oh, and my head set came with a star nut... So I need to go get an expander plug too.... Then my #1 can hibernate for the winter.

The ride home is looking promising too - nothing but sun, sun, sun forecast all week, in fact!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

While putting on new tires last night I noticed one of my spokes was broke at the hub, behind the cassette of course and I have no tool to remove it. Rode the bike to work anyway with help from duct tape, and took the wheel to lbs after work, should have it fixed tomorrow $15 + $1 for spoke. Now to shop for bike tools so I can fix it myself next time.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First commute today since last Thursday morning. Feeling good and no more fever, chills, or headache. Still not all there and riding slow, but being slow is better than not being on the bike!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, today pretty much sucked. The ride in to deliver was alright, windy, but a nice temp and the sun was trying to come out. Once I started delivering, all hell broke loose for me. I was: passed in the same lane by a moped, honked at for several seconds while approaching a *RED* light from the driver directly behind me, almost hit head on by a kid on a bike not paying attention, almost hit by a moped, had several pedestrians just step out in front of me, almost doored in the bike lane, and nearly merged into by a driver not paying attention. This all happened within a 2 hour period. I had to shake my head once it was all over.

As I came out of work tonight at the hospital and unlock my bike, I notice that there are 6 other bikes at the rack. 2 are not even locked up, the other 4 are locked to the rack through the front wheel only. Now, mind you, these were all BSO pieces of junk but obviously they are someones transportation to the hospital at night. Here I am locked up away from the rack with a heavy duty U lock and cable through the front wheel and these people are using thin cable locks through just the front wheel. Still shaking my head about that.

On a side note, I did publicly shame the DHL driver today on Twitter that had their van parked in the bike lane on campus. They quickly got back to me and wanted some details to investigate this. The woman said they are not cool with this at all. Hopefully they get their drivers educated as to what a bike lane is, and what a parking spot is.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

The ride home yesterday was great - sunny, dry and relatively mild. Had an old guy pull out right in front of me at a around about, I yelled at him and he slammed on the brakes. I tend to think of yelling loudly as the cyclists alternative to the horn - because I would have laid on the horn pretty thickly had he done that to me in my car, that's for sure.

This morning was cold; +2C and dark when I got on the bike. Had on two base layers under my cycling shirt, long legs, arm warmers, skull cap and throat warmer too. Got to see the sunrise as I rode into work, so that was cool and once I was up to speed I warmed up a little. Glad I got a set of neoprene full finger gloves for my birthday - they keep the digits nice and toasty - have touch screen compatibility too.

I don't know what it is, but I feel like i just go so much slower in the cold. Is this a thing, or am I imagining it?

Too bad about your crappy ride experiences, *TenSpeed *- who knows? Tomorrow could be better, huh?

*Eugene*, too bad about your spoke. But hey, if you're Strava is correct, you averaged over 25km/h and maxed at over 50km/h. With broken spokes. Wildman!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I think being slower in the cold is a real thing...for me anyway.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> *Eugene*, too bad about your spoke. But hey, if you're Strava is correct, you averaged over 25km/h and maxed at over 50km/h. With broken spokes. Wildman!


Yep and I have the wobbly rim now to prove it, lolz.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Well, today pretty much sucked. ,,,. I had to shake my head once it was all over.
> 
> On a side note, I did publicly shame the DHL driver today on Twitter that had their van parked in the bike lane on campus. &#8230;. Hopefully they get their drivers educated as to what a bike lane is, and what a parking spot is.


Glad you aren't an accident statistic. Have had that horn from behind sitting at a red light. The driver was a complete a$$. They exist. How they get past their teens with all their teeth, is puzzling. Amazing that DHL picked up on that. When we add things like bike lanes or the infamous "Sharrows", driver education is a key to the full success of these improvements. Expecting the average driver to go out of their way to educate themselves about them seems optimistic to the point of idiocy.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Eugene, give yourself the power of a cassette tool, chain breaker and a chain whip. I made my own chain whip with an old chain and a metal bar I had lying around. The cassette tool probably cost less than they charged to pull it for you.



Ghost_HTX said:


> I don't know what it is, but I feel like i just go so much slower in the cold. Is this a thing, or am I imagining it?


Definitely slower in the cold. It's a combination of air density, increased wind resistance from more clothes and reduced mobility from constricting clothes.

With just the air density change this site calculates 226W to maintain 20MPH at 32F vs 209 to maintain the same speed at 80F for me.
Bike Calculator

Commute was pretty good but it's getting cold so I was slow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am definitely slower when it is cold out. Not sure if it is a thing or not but it is for me. Taking the car today just because I need a day off the bike.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

I will be so sad if/when my Ogre cracks. Feeling for ya Simmons. And awesome story! Heck of a way to crash. And a heck of a way to wake up! 

My chainwhip before I bought a proper one was a pair of vice grips and an old length of chain. Worked like a charm. 

I found a broken spoke the day before the local Super D race last year... my MTB is all black, spokes are all black, everything is black. All the LBS had was a sliver spoke in the right length. So I picked up a couple, and threw one on. Looks pretty cool actually, and I won my age group the next day. Moral of the story: order a handful of spokes in a cool color that is different from what's on there. Looks cool. Makes you fast. 

I actually just broke another spoke last Thursday. Weird. Replaced it with black and left the single silver spoke. Maybe it's the temperature changes this time of year? ...maybe not because it never happens on the commuter, just on the MTB. Strange. 

Every time I replace a spoke I get the bug to get a good truing stand and build a set of wheels.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The last spoke I broke turned out to be a cracked rim on my Ksyrium Elite wheels. Now I have plenty of spare spokes and a hub and a spare front wheel.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I made a chainwhip once with an old piece of chain, nailed onto a piece of wood. Worked perfectly.

I am also much slower when it is cold. In summer (>20C) I average about 21,x kph. In winter when it is windy and cold, below 0C, I average only 18,x on the round trip. I have wondered a few winters already about this and really wonder why that is.

No ride for me yesterday because 3 Oct is a holiday in Germany -> day on which east- and west germany reunited to become only 1 germany. But it was New Bike Day for my son! He moved from a ss 16" bike to a 3gear 18" one. His cruising speed went up from about 8kph to 12kph, a great improvement, also for the parents.

Rides today were sunny but also windy. At least it was 10C this morning and 15C on the way back. Tomorrow will be 5C less - just put my buff, gloves and helmet cover in my bag so I dont have to look for them tomorrow morning.....


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Eugene, give yourself the power of a cassette tool, chain breaker and a chain whip. I made my own chain whip with an old chain and a metal bar I had lying around. The cassette tool probably cost less than they charged to pull it for you.


Done and done  added to my list of stuff to order on amazon. Bike is back together wheel trued with a new spoke yay! Bought a few extra spokes for next time, and I'll have the tools.

My pile of bike tools/stuff is growing. My garage has always been my man cave for Jeep stuff, need a bigger work bench! :thumbsup:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I aired up the tyres, no bulge at the bottom now. I reckon it's given me a speed increase of about 15%. Different to you lot I find the cooler weather has made me faster. I get hot when I exercise (although still need a jacket at the moment) so the cooling helps and the denser air is easier to breathe. Good job i'm not near any mountains I guess.. Could just all be placebo and related to a changed mental attitude. Maybe they drive each other. I dunno, but i'm on it at the moment. 

Drive side spoke was the one which broke on me a while back too, snapped at the nipple end surprisingly. I put the freewheel tool in the vice and locate the wheel on top. Rotate the wheel and off it spins.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> With just the air density change this site calculates 226W to maintain 20MPH at 32F vs 209 to maintain the same speed at 80F for me.
> Bike Calculator


Thanks Bedwards, that is cool. Always nice to have these tidbits from our engineer-type-geek, bike-geek friend so we can repeat this stuff, sound smarter, and feel better about going slower!


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2016)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Done and done  added to my list of stuff to order on amazon. Bike is back together wheel trued with a new spoke yay! Bought a few extra spokes for next time, and I'll have the tools.
> 
> My pile of bike tools/stuff is growing. My garage has always been my man cave for Jeep stuff, need a bigger work bench! :thumbsup:


 The beauty of cycling tools is that they're generally small and inexpensive.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> The beauty of cycling tools is that they're generally small and inexpensive.


And if you own them and your friends don't you might get a 6-pack for swapping a freewheel on your bud's bike.



mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks Bedwards, that is cool. Always nice to have these tidbits from our engineer-type-geek, bike-geek friend so we can repeat this stuff, sound smarter, and feel better about going slower!


Thanks? 



SlipSpace said:


> Different to you lot I find the cooler weather has made me faster. I get hot when I exercise (although still need a jacket at the moment) so the cooling helps and the denser air is easier to breathe...


 I think that would be true if you were a race car. Dense air has more oxygen for combustion. I'm not sure how that translates to people.

Winter is coming: Level up on the gloves, long sleeve baselayer, hat under the helmet. Pretty soon I'll need to trade the shorts for tights but not yet.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Been playing around with the bikecalculater. Given that all data I put in is correct, I have an output of only 71W :eekster: Thats next to nothing 

Commute was sunny but cold today. 7C on the way in, 12C on the way home but dang those 15kts wind was somehow very cold. Put on my gloves even on the way home and took them off about halfway when I was warmed up.

And although the construction site on my route is officially closed for cars, there are still some coming through. Always have to be very careful, since there is only 1 lane available for both directions and there is also a lot of heavy machinery riding around that I have to avoid. Although it is mostly daylight already when I ride, I still put all my blinkies and High-Viz stuff on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Thanks?


You're welcome! Darn, still can't rep you, what is up with that algorithm?



bedwards1000 said:


> Winter is coming: Level up on the gloves, long sleeve baselayer, hat under the helmet. Pretty soon I'll need to trade the shorts for tights but not yet.


 Not there yet either, stay warm!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Been playing around with the bikecalculater. Given that all data I put in is correct, I have an output of only 71W :eekster: Thats next to nothing


Doubtful. Are you sure you have the units set right?

Still having a hard time dialing in the right combination of clothes for 35 degree mornings and 65 degree afternoons. I was chilly this morning.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Strong mostly headwind last night but was still feeling on it so powered home. A day later and at the moment the upcoming ride home (in an hour) in not as strong winds is not welcoming. Head slowly blocked during the day is the root cause. Maybe it'll clear on the way home. If the wind wasn't so cold it would otherwise be nice out there.

I was quite impressed by my colleague today, he has only been biking a few days a week for maybe 3 weeks and had to tackle the same wind as me yesterday but still rocked up on his bike this morning. Not bad for a heavily overweight dude who seems to have done nothing strenuous for ten years.

Dutchman - I had to play around for some time with the calcs before I got sensible figures from it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Doubtful. Are you sure you have the units set right?


Yes it is all in metric and correct. I did it again for the round trip today and get around 83W without headwind.

And I did have some headwind on both rides. I didnt expect 10C to feel so cold but the wind is coming from the Northeast, which makes for cold and dry polar air.

On the way home I also had a light drizzle. It was the no-see-um kind that makes you wonder why you get wet. Forecast is similar for the next days :cryin:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Almost hit some kid on a skateboard tonight coming home. I came home about an hour earlier, thinking it'd be cool to actually eat dinner before 9:00 pm and maybe relax a little. I was coming up the MUP and there is this little ramp that actually leads down to the MUP from the road. I saw a bunch of high school age looking kids sort of standing there, and I thought "well that's weird". I decide my best option is to ride like normal. As I'm passing the point where the trail meets the ramp, this kid on a skateboard that I guess they were all watching came out of nowhere and I almost hit him - even felt the breeze of the dude.

Then they were yelling at _me_, saying "hey man use your brakes". The fact that the kid came from way out of my field of view and none of them bothered to warn the guy I was coming or signal to me that there was somebody coming really irked me. I called out "I'm not the one with a f*cking yield sign you dumb sh*ts".

Stupid kids. I should have known something ignorant would happen when I saw more than two people that looked to be under 20 together.


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## Capt.Ogg (Jun 5, 2015)

It's getting chilly in the mornings (+3 C / sub 40F) and the darkness in creeping in here at the 60th latitude.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pic captain! Is that your regular commute route??

10C, partly headwind and drizzle today on both rides. Glad it is weekend now, although no change is expected the next days. At least I am apparently getting used to lower temps, didnt feel as cold as beginning of the week.


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## Capt.Ogg (Jun 5, 2015)

Yes, I can include a bit of single track to my commute. It's actually shorter that way. Highlight of my day :-D


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Damp this morning, still 10C or so but felt colder. Hoping to be lucky with the rain on the way home and miss the heavy showers. Either way I have to go on time to be able to get back and get out to the out this evening. Pub meet of the local Triumph car club.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Fixed the roof of the shed on saturday but caught a tough cold. Nose is blocked since yesterday but still rode today. 4C and foggy this morning, covered my mouth and nose with the buff to protect myself a bit. Had a tough long day at work too and on the way home it was 9C but headwind and occasional drizzle. Yuck. At least my wife and kids ket me along the way and we rode the last 2kms together, that made up for everything.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Gonna have to figure out what this "buff" is. The dictionary was no help:


> noun: buff
> 1. a yellowish-beige color.
> 2. a stout, dull yellow leather with a velvety surface.
> a stick, wheel, or pad used for polishing or smoothing.
> ...


LOL. Actually I figured it out when you used it in a sentence. I previously thought it might be a hat, like a toque. 

Nice fall riding around here. Good colors! 10 miles to work, 18 miles at lunch, at least 12 on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I didn't actually take any pictures on the ride but a friend snapped this one today and posted it to Strava. When I say good colors, I mean GOOD colors.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I am not in favor of making commercial for anything but here in Europe, "buff" is by now the synonym for any kind of tubed scarf => better see for yourself:
BUFF® USA Official Store | Multifunctional Headwear

I have several of those by now. Not so wild about the merino one. The ones from polyester fabric are good to have over your mouth and nose when it is cold, the wool one gets wet from your breath and gets even colder then. My favorite one is the high-viz version for in the dark 

EDIT: Nice pic bedwards. My color scheme for the day would be best described as "50 shades of grey"


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been slacking on my commutes and have pretty much come to terms with the fact that I will more than likely not meet my mileage goal for the year. Rode today to deliver and then the hospital. Somber news came in that a 13 year old boy was hit and killed by a train right next to the MUP that I ride at about 3:30pm today. Not sure if it was an accident, horseplay or suicide. The ride home on the MUP was eery. Kept thinking about that boy and what I might find when I got closer. There were still vehicles on the tracks at almost midnight where I assume it happened. Thought about the family of the boy, as well as the conductor because his/her life will be forever changed. 

Temps were in the upper 40's for both rides and it felt good to wear sleeves under my jersey.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow, it's surprising that you are behind on your miles. It seemed like you were riding a lot this year. Terrible news about the boy. We had a fatal car accident around here recently and it is hard to ride through that intersection without thinking about how it changed so many lives forever.

First sub freezing commute. It's still OK with shorts as long as the core is warm. I'm holding off on tights because temps are still rebounding into the 60s in the afternoon.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Wow, it's surprising that you are behind on your miles. It seemed like you were riding a lot this year. Terrible news about the boy. We had a fatal car accident around here recently and it is hard to ride through that intersection without thinking about how it changed so many lives forever.
> 
> First sub freezing commute. It's still OK with shorts as long as the core is warm. I'm holding off on tights because temps are still rebounding into the 60s in the afternoon.


If my maths serve me right, it would be about 32.6 miles a day for the rest of the year to just meet the goal. Pretty confident that it will not happen.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Tenspeed, you can still go for the same mileage as last year - that would still be very good. I am pretty much on the same level as last year, and the year before that, and the year before that...which is about 4500km/2850m a year. So you are not doing that bad I would say.

10C and drizzle on both rides today but I am getting used to it.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Sunny -3 C not too bad yet

Still riding slicks but care and attention is required, on bridges and snowy places hiding ice.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

I apparently never feel like talking about my boring summer commutes, but last weekend put an abrupt end to fall.



__
https://flic.kr/p/N4bqD9


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Wow it has been a long time since I have been on here! I have been slacking a lot this year on my commuting for all kinds of lame excuses. This summer I did a 202 mile charity ride so I opted to skip commuting and instead focus on long training rides for that. I apparently didn't do enough of the training rides because I developed some tendonitis in my achilles from ramping up my distances too quickly. That led to me taking pretty much the entire month of August off from riding. I'm now trying to fight my way back into the routine of bike commuting, though I still drive occasionally when I have to be home for contractors working at the house or other things. I have a lot of reading to do to catch up on what has been happening with all of you.

I do have an incident to report. Had my closest near miss ever last week. I was at a 4 way stop with the bulk of the traffic on the road that runs perpendicular to my route. I was holding a track stand to let the cross traffic go. As I head across the intersection, I hear an engine rev coming from my right side. I turn my head to see an elderly woman heading directly for me and she is seemingly unaware that I am there despite bright clothing, flashing lights, and being DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HER. I started yelling whatever I could muster (pretty sure it was some combination of "woah, what, watch, going, yo, f#$*, the-hell-is-wrong-with-you"). She hit the brakes just in time to allow me to get out of her path by a mere 4-6 inches. I considered turning around to have a chat, because she was immediately stuck waiting for a train to pass, but decided against it. I'm not keen on yelling at old women, and I think I would have been the one that came off looking bad. She wasn't on a phone or being malicious, simply wasn't paying attention. I just was glad to be safe and continued on my way home. I started wearing a heart rate monitor last week as well, and the data was interesting on that commute. There is a very definitive spike at that intersection, and it took quite some time before my heart rate returned to normal. I kissed my wife a little extra when I got home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good story Kleebs, glad it had a happy ending. How many days was the 202 miles in?


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

202 over 2 days. 114 on Saturday and 88 on Sunday.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow Bedwards, that's some COLOR. Nice.

I took the 'adventure route' this morning because it wasn't critical when I got to work... good thing because it's crazy how an old fire road can just peter out into nothing at the top of a strange hill in the woods. :lol: 
I was trying to link up to the trail commute I've posted about before without having to do the bushwhack part down a little canyon with no trail. Eventually I did it, but there were some surprise climbs and roads to nowhere in there. Popped out right where I was trying to get to on the trail though...

I stopped at the most scenic overlook on the trail for a minute, and realized I had coffee with me.... I don't think I've ever busted out the coffee on the ride before, but I may have to start having more of these moments. Haha. I think it was Bedwards who confessed to enjoying some hot coffee on the ride? Totally worth digging in the backpack.

Strange warm spell is supposed to end later this week... Actual fall on the way I guess. We had one blast of cold (got a dusting of snow at my house), and then it went back to late summer for a bit. Upper 40's this morning.... I'll take it.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Coffee during the commute?!? Craziness. I feel silly for drinking two cups of coffee before my commute every day. I'm sure that's not good for my heart rate/stamina.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/coffee-commute-836545.html
I guess some know that thread already and if you search the forum, there are a lot of coffee threads.

Hey CB nice pic and nice to hear from you. Do I spot a contigo thermal mug there?

I admit I also always carry one in the morning, although I "just" have tea in it. Fits perfectly in the SKS topcage too so always at hand. When its hot outside on the way home, I put cold water in it


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I was not a good boy today and I will admit it. Leaving the complex to go deliver, and it starts to drizzle which puts me in a bit of a foul mood. Just cleaned the bike in hopes of avoiding the wet. Just a light drizzle enough to make the MUP damp and somewhat slippery with freshly fallen leaves. Get into the back neighborhood and I am cruising at just under the 25mph speed limit. Well, she had to do it. MGIF!! Cannot possibly ride behind a bicycle, no way. She passes me, crossing a double yellow line which is illegal. Why does she pass me? Oh yeah, the light ahead....it's already red. Lady, you are not going anywhere. I saw that it was turning red before she went to pass me and I know how long it will be red for. Sure enough she is sitting a red light. I calmly go around her and get right back in front of her. I turn around and give her a long glare. Probably shouldn't have done that, but you know what? Screw her. It was totally unnecessary. Time the light perfectly and I am off. One block before I turn left. She passes me again, crossing a double yellow line to do it. Contemplated giving chase and giving her a piece of my mind at the 4 way stop sign she was rushing to but decided against it. 

Always try to be as courteous as possible on the road, especially if I am on a road where I am not able to do the speed limit. Back roads through this neighborhood are 25mph which is not a problem. I take the lane because this is a college town, and the sides near the curb are littered with broken glass all over the place. The lane is also not wide enough for both, so no way I am gonna give you enough room to even think about passing in the lane. 

Made some good tips today so that was good. Dodged a few small showers on the way back. Storms are supposedly going to roll through later this afternoon/evening with the possibility of severe storms mixed in. Looking forward to that as I have nowhere to go.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Forster said:


> The beauty of cycling tools is that they're generally small and inexpensive.


* Unless you ride Campagnolo. In which case the tools can cost as much / if not more than the parts you are installing. Thank god for Parktool.



Capt.Ogg said:


> Yes, I can include a bit of single track to my commute. It's actually shorter that way. Highlight of my day :-D


To quote Monty Python; "you lucky, lucky, lucky bast*rd" 



newfangled said:


> I apparently never feel like talking about my boring summer commutes, but last weekend put an abrupt end to fall.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow - that's snow, right there. Respect for riding out in the white stuff.

*TenSpeed*; I have found that you're attitude is usually the best one - be nice up until you are forced to be nasty. I smile, wave, give a thumb up to drivers who actually follow the rules, hang back, don't pass like idiots, don't pull out in front of me and so on. But the ones who cross me? Oh, you don't want to know about the ones who cross me... If I wasn't a family man, I would have quite the collection of wing mirrors at home...

My Castelli Gabba finally arrived from Slipstream Sports (company behind Pro Team Cannondale - Drapac) and it fits like a dream! 
Everyone says you need to size up for the Gabba - I'm 171cm (5 foot 7 to those of you who like that sort of thing) and 69kg or so (150lbs, I guess you could say?) so normally an S on the top half, M on the bottom (due to the size of my bottom). But I found the short sleeve Gabba in S in high viz Sprint green for a very good price on the Cannondale - Drapac site. Seriously, I shopped around everywhere and it was either out of stock in my size / colour (I originally wanted Yellow and long sleeve) or way more than I was willing to pay for a bloody jacket. So I took a punt on an S and it fits like a second skin. No - not like a sausage skin... The M would have been way too big...

In good time, too - things are getting decidedly winter-like here in the frozen north. Mornings are dark enough to justify high viz and lights, and the temperature is in single digits (Celsius, of course  ) all day. At least the sleet / rain / snow is staying away for now, though...

My new winter / crap weather commuting bike project is on a slight hold - I have been awaiting bits I have ordered from a (seemingly) reputable Norwegian net based bike store for a month now. Apparently my head set compression plug & brake rotors of choice and the Campagnolo BSA BB cups are on back order... Funny how this only comes up after you click "order" and pay up, huh?

Seriously, my beloved Gabba was ordered after these bits and arrived all the way from Boulder Colorado quicker...

Oh, and the seat tube was off spec. As in it isn't bloody round and has "steps" inside - I needed to shim it so it will accept a 27.2mm seat post as there was more chance of me making it as a prima-ballerina at the Bolshoi than there was a 31.6mm post would fit... This activity involved me violently knocking the alloy shim down into the carbon seat post with a bloody big hammer... Yes - I was irritated. No - I didn't break anything (but oh, how I wanted to).
Plus I need to go buy more brake cable outer, as the "standard" lengths in the Campagnolo cable pack don't take into account the extra length needed to get all the way down to the caliper...

#firstworldproblems


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Gotta agree with you guys. You can take this crap upto a point but then you just have to let it fly. Sometimes it's better that you can't catch people..

Ghost, hammer and carbon frame; brave

Mostly single digits here too, and wet, I did break out the sealskin socks from monday. I think we had more than this months average rainfall already. Rained so hard last night that about 4am it set off a couple of car alarms! Missus finally decreed that the heating had to go on at home so at least stuff will dry out now.

Didn't ride yesterday, sick, not sick enough to stay home but I couldn't have biked. I know it can help clear things out of your system but it didn't manage to monday or tuesday so caved. Car again today as parent teacher meetings after work.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Apparently my head set compression plug & brake rotors of choice and the Campagnolo BSA BB cups are on back order... Funny how this only comes up after you click "order" and pay up, huh?


Yeah, hilarious how it only comes up after you click :madman:
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/unavailability-rant-830861.html


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ice remmants hiding under leaves...-6C.

No studs till novemeber.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bike is inoperative until further notice :cryin:

While lubing my chain this evening I noticed the rear tire slightly rubbed the fender. I checked the spokes (suspected loosened spokes and the wheel would need truing), found 1 very loose spoke (thought it was broken first) and it turned out it was broken out of the flange of my Rohloff IGH. F4CK!!! Will probably need a new Rohloff housing. Sent them a mail tonight and hoping to make some arrangements tomorrow but I am afraid it is not gonna be cheap. Probably have to send in the wheel or just the hub, get a new housing and get the wheel built up again. Can use the same rim but will probably use new spokes. No idea what it is gonna cost me. Feel really crappy for not having checked the spoke tension the last time. I broke the 9500km/6000m barrier today and did not check the last months. I thought that after so much time, things wouldnt change anymore, since the Wheel didn't need to be trued so far. Well I could not have been more wrong :madman: , Rohloff states that a broken flange is a typical sign of too-low/uneven spoke tension. We'll see what they come up with.

So I am basically grounded since I do not have 2nd bike ready. Will take the bus tomorrow, see what I can do over the weekend. I have a 2nd bike laying around in parts in the basement, maybe I have the time to build it up over the weekend and use that one, when the weather permits. No lights, no fenders on it...

Lessons learned: 
-even after 6000m you still need to check your wheels
-always have a 2nd bike ready as replacement


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Well that sucks dutchman! I've been checking my spokes alot more since I broke one of mine, the mountain bike tends to loosen up the spokes alot more.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Not good, *cyclingdutchman*! Sorry to hear that. In bike speak there are fewer things sadder than a broken bike.

Is the hub flange itself repairable? I guess it is alloy, so welding and machining is out of the question... Back in the day when I was a mechanic we had a couple of very talented engineering workshops that we used from time to time that could repair just about anything steel, but alloy was always a bugger to weld without cracks, stress fractures, cavities and so on cropping up in the machining process after.

If it makes you feel any better, I think I'm getting a saddle sore - at least you don't have that to worry about?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That is bad news Dutchman! What is it about Rohlof hubs that make them prone to cracking the flange that they consider it necessary to mention it in their literature? I guess it breaks at the remaining tight spoke rather than the loose one? Good luck with it and hope they look after you.

Look after the contact point Ghost, you don't want an infection!

Car for me again today to my shame/disappointment. Still not feeling upto the ride. Thought I was on the mend yesterday but feel worse again today :-(


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Bad news about the bike Dutchman. I hope everything gets sorted out soon for you or maybe a temporary replacement. 

Considering not biking today, because my knee hurts. Might stretch and see where that gets me. Otherwise I'll scrounge for quarters for the bus, ha.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Car for me again today to my shame/disappointment. Still not feeling upto the ride. Thought I was on the mend yesterday but feel worse again today :-(


Must be in the air. I took a car home last night...But I had excuses. I was tired, I left late, it was raining, it was dark, I needed to take some supplies home. Mostly I didn't feel like it, the shame! I'll ride home tonight.


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2016)

Bike Rage Explained: Why Drivers and Cyclists Don't Get Along | Huffington Post No commute today, but had a blast getting lost on an unfamiliar trail and managed a gravity assisted dismount (spun out my XC tires climbing a pebble garden on the Fargo). Sadly, only a Coyote could observe my mad dismount skills (hang on and fall like you mean it).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Interesting article, thanks forster! Why not in the "post bike commuter news" thread?

Thanks all for the comments. I brought the wheel to the bike shop today after several phonecalls with them and rohloff yesterday. So the new housing will be 180E, 45 for lacing, +36 new spokes that probably will cost 50. Sums up to almost 300 euros  and it will take two weeks as well.

Had to do other things but I am going in the basement later to collect all parts for the other bike. I hope I can get it rideable over the week.


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## Guest (Oct 15, 2016)

Haven't been in or read that thread yet. I thought the article was pretty good too, probably some things to consider on my next commute.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ouch Dutchman, that's an unwelcome hit for you.

My ride started so well this morning. Bright and clear, felt good, enjoying the ride.

Then the left pedal feels a little funny, almost like i'm not clipped in properly. In and out a few times until the last time and this happens :-(









So, 3 miles back, grab the car, get a replacement and then drive to work or 7 miles further and get collected later.
I went with the first option. Interesting riding with only 1 crank, had to put the left leg on the chainstay. Thought my effort wwas reasonably circular, not so, good training maybe but would need a platform for my spare leg. Flats and slight inclines were ok but had to walk the hills. 78GI (iirc) too much for 1 leg since it's stand an crank with two.

Grabbed the car and went to my favourite LBS to find they have closed down. :sad: Not been for 5-6 weeks I guess. They always have been running on a very small profit, maybe even only break even, so I don't blame them, times have been hard, but sad news none the less.

Ended up at the 2nd favourite LBS. Asked for a BB and showed them the broken one. "Singlespeed?" he says. yep. New one aquired. Thought it would be too much time to expect from work to go fit it and then bike in so car it was.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wow dang! I've never seen that before. 

I'm going to try riding again today and hope the knee pain doesn't start back in. I'm working on stretching and walking a couple miles yesterday I felt ok.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace, you animal! I hope I never do that because it would probably happen mid sprint and end up in a twisted mess if carbon and road rash. I'm surprised it happened gradually. 

We're in indian summer mode here. My last morning commute was around 28F and this morning was closer to 55F.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> SlipSpace, you animal! I hope I never do that because it would probably happen mid sprint and end up in a twisted mess if carbon and road rash. *I'm surprised it happened gradually.*


Me too! It looks like it may have sheared part way and the bolt took the load. The rest just peeled over the next few revolutions. It could definitely have gone worse that is for sure! I'll be paranoid for a while I think.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The only broken bb axle I have seen was in a bike movie in which somebody jumped from a 2meter high roof and broke the axle upon landing. So what did you do slipspace??

I discovered today that I wont be able to get my 2nd bike rideable this week because of some missing parts. So I confiscated my wife's bike. Hers is skyblue with silver parts and has a white bell with red dots on it :madmax: :devil:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hers is skyblue with silver parts and has a white bell with red dots on it :madmax: :devil:


Post Pics! 

Speaking of pics: Meanwhile Back In Maine








When you see a huge pile of potatoes (compost heap) and you are riding a fatbike... To be honest, even the traction of the fatbike didn't overcome the slipperiness of old potatoes and I only made it 3/4 the way to the top. Should have got a better running start.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Passed a guy who usually rides a cargo bike to campus (ok ok a mountain bike with what looks like a home made cargo rack) and complimented his rig. I guess he was interested in chatting because he caught up with me a mile on. Cool guy, professor at the uni, beekeeper, bike commuter, and could power it up a hill with the cargo loaded too. 

But then we got onto the road and I very purposefully split off. He rode on the shoulder coming the opposite way of traffic and ran two stop signs. Aw c'mon. Thought about nagging at him but I had to make a turn anyway. Smh.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Indian summer here for sure!! Broke 70° once the clouds lifted. Wet leaves and a soaking wet MUP from the previous days rain had me leaving the fixed gear with its brand spanking new drivetrain at home, and the SS MTB on slick 37's got the duty. It really is geared too low to go fast on the road but I make do. 36:13 ratio and I can get into the low to mid 20mph range but that's about it. What I did miss was the sound of that dang Chris King hub. Wow that thing just buzzes and had me smiling the whole ride in to deliver. 

The ride home was just short of magical. Mid 60's, stiff tailwind at my back the entire way. It was really nice, so I cut through campus and rode the bike path then the bike lane and was just enjoying the nice night. MUP is still a wet mess because a good portion remains in the shade. Supposed to be even nicer tomorrow so the fixed gear will be coming out and I will have to take my secondary route. Checked it out when I got home and I will have to walk it part of the way due to the wet leaves. Really going to make a conscious effort to keep the drivetrain clean(er) than it previously was. I took a picture when I changed it out. That is not pretty.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Dutchman: I bet you look a sweetheart on your wifes bike :ihih::ihih: Whatever keeps you mobile though! :thumbsup:

Bedwards: nice pic, another KOM to add to the list :thumbsup:

Successful ride for me this morning. Little tentative if I'm honest. I replaced the broken BB and refitted and fettled the drive train last night so I know all is good but just had the slight edge of nervousness to the ride. 

Constant drizzle rain and headwind, seemed to be really quite dark too. Things to come...


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Forecast is calling for rain this afternoon so I took the bad weather bike, or more accurately, I took my actual commuter instead of cheating and riding my road bike. Dang that thing is heavy. Stiff headwind the whole way as well. I'm hoping the wind remains the same for the ride home.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Kleebs: why does that never work out????

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

0C Freezing ice mist, that is heavy enough to wet my glasses and the pavement...

Supposed to get back to 10 C sooner or later...

Gotta make 13 days for studs in November...

Getting taxed for global warming so now I want what I am paying for.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Here is an older pic of the bike without the bell:
https://goo.gl/photos/VPdaeExi5KsYeppM9

This is the bell
Liix Ding Dong Fahrradklingel Polka Big Dots Red - LIIX der Beachcruiser und Fahrradteile Großhandel mit Beach Life Zubehör und tollen Geschenkartikeln

Looks good right?

Anyway, nice ride today. Work on the construction site is progressing, new tarmac on the first stretch. Veeeery smooth! 10C in the morning, 14C on the way home and dry.

Have to get used to the bike. Its too short and the behind doesnt like the soft saddle. But for a while, it will do.


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

honez1414 said:


> Kleebs: why does that never work out????
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


Just once I want to be rewarded for battling the headwinds with a nice tailwind home! Just once! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeffscott said:


> Getting taxed for global warming so now I want what I am paying for.


Dang, at least we seem to be getting our money's worth here. Last winter was mild mild mild. This October has been unusually warm. Maybe it'll continue on? Who knows, the temp swings seem wider, too. Can anyone ever really guess what happens when a bunch of primates dig the carbon left from dead stuff out of the ground and burn a whole bunch of it really quickly?

Kleebs: It's gotta be a headwind both ways.

Tomorrow is supposed to be rain and a cool down. I can't wait.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Grab a drink and gather round the screen folks, this is gonna be one for you to enjoy.

Temp: 78°F
Wind: strong out of the West, gusts to 20mph or so
Direction of travel: West

1. Came to the merge of the road I was on with the MUP that I normally take. Guy on a mountain bike comes shooting off the MUP just ahead of me, and immediately crosses the street and gets on the sidewalk. 50 feet or so before the merge, the bike lane starts. The road I am on is already wide enough and there should be a marked bike lane but is not for some reason until that merge. Manage to catch him rather quickly as I was clipping along. Feeling somewhat confrontational and confused by his actions, I yell across the road, "why aren't you in the bike lane?" He replies back with a half smile and an odd laugh, " I don't know." Bewildered at his response, I continue on, not really sure what just happened.

2. Cruising in the bike lane, and come upon a carpet cleaning van that has the hoses out and is being used for an adjacent apartment complex. No driver, no staff, just the van blocking the entire bike lane. I have to wait to safely pass due to the traffic. While I was waiting, I snapped a picture to later post to Twitter where I happily publicly shame businesses and vehicles who violate the bike lane. 

3. Just up from the van is a stop light. I come to a complete stop and proceed to wait for a green still in the bike lane. Guy blows right past me on his bike, never looked, right through the light. It is not a busy street that crosses, more of a place to do a U turn from the next light up. I catch this guy just past the second light, and yeah, I confront him as well. He gives me the once up and down while we rode and I think he might have been sizing me up? Well, I am not that small of a guy. 6'0" and about 220 or so, tattoos, shaved head, etc. I am a nice guy, ask Kleebs. Well, I dunno if I intimidated him or what, but he tells me to mind my own business. I politely inform him that blowing a light is an offense and that you can get a ticket. Guy didn't look like a seasoned cyclist, so it was more for him. Didn't care and ignored me. I shook my head and proceeded to just absolutely open the door on him.

4. Half a mile from where that happened, still cruising along in the bike lane, I can feel it. There is a car just to my left pacing me. I give a quick look over, and they have their turn signal on. They are no more than a few feet from me, they have to see me since they are pacing me. I put my left hand out to motion to slow down. No reason to get all up on me like that. I don't need to know if you are behind me and are going to turn, that is fine. No need to crowd me and try to push your way over. There is plenty of room and plenty of time. I am doing like 25mph so I am not crawling along. 

What a weird day. Usually there are no bikers to deal with, but today there were two. Ride home was much nicer, cooler, and the wind had all but died down. Trying to get this Cygolite Metro 400 to be my main light, but honestly, I don't like it much. Mount sucks, light output is alright but nothing to get excited about.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Commuter is really my gravel adventure bike... Fargo...even though the majority of the miles seen by the bike are road commutes. I'm a dreamer. Anyway, I prefer a tubeless setup with some low profile knobs but I'm ruining tires on the road. Tried the Thickslick but couldn't set it up tubeless. Actually blew it off the rim trying to test it out. It rolls really well but i flatted on my third ride with it. Screw got into the sidewall. I've got several hundred miles of no flats running tubeless. Anybody know of a tubeless slick option that is around 2.0 wide?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Here is an older pic of the bike without the bell:
> https://goo.gl/photos/VPdaeExi5KsYeppM9


 I meant pics of you on the bike but this will have to do 

My commute was awesome! Today is the peak of Indian summer, a warm 55 degrees this morning with the promise of 70s this afternoon. Shorts and short sleeves on the way in.

I left in the dark but by mid ride it was bright enough to take pictures of the misty magic. The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> I am a nice guy, ask Kleebs.


I can confirm, TenSpeed is in fact a nice guy. I didn't find him all that intimidating honestly.



NDD said:


> Kleebs: It's gotta be a headwind both ways.


It finally happened. The wind stayed true to its morning course and gave me a stiff tailwind all the way home last night. It was glorious. My wife actually noted that I got home way faster than normal.

However, so as not to be seen as going soft, Mother Nature decided to open the rain clouds on me for the last 6 miles. I'll take it. 70F and raining with a nice tailwind isn't so bad. Once you are wet it's kind of fun.

No commute today. Gotta get across town quickly after work for cyclocross skills practice/training race. Big race coming up this weekend.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Take a breath and calm down



TenSpeed said:


> Grab a drink and gather round the screen folks, this is gonna be one for you to enjoy.
> 
> Temp: 78°F
> Wind: strong out of the West, gusts to 20mph or so
> ...


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

On Monday I flatted in a thunderstorm.
Right
Outside
A
Bar

I texted my wife to pick me up and was like "take your time. No rush. Seriously."


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Volsung said:


> On Monday I flatted in a thunderstorm.
> Right
> Outside
> A
> ...


Haha nice!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Got a KOM this morning on the way in thanks to a healthy tailwind and I was feeling frisky so that was awesome!

But then on the way home saw this. Yes that's a bike crushed underneath the front wheel of the SUV. No sign of a rider hope he/she is ok!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was a much better day on the bike. Couple of boneheaded driver moves but nothing to get cranky about. Decided to go home after delivering as the forecast had rain in it and I really wanted to ride the fixed gear. Good thing I did because as I was leaving work tonight, the rain started. 

Oh, and jeffscott, this is my calm.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Car yesterday as missus was unwell, had to drop the sprouts off at school. This morning was set to be awesome. Up early, just light. Bike felt wrong as soon as I got on it, couldn't clip in. Stopped, pedal is ok. Looked at the bottom of my shoe and cleat is missing a bolt and moved.. :madmax: :madman: Must have worked loose over a while but held inplace by the other one. Tried to get one out of my old shoes but no dice. I'll try again tonight

So car today, and possibly tomorrow..


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Gotta have a backup pair of flats!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ You're right! Sad thing is I have and use them so rarely it never occurred to me. Idiot! :madman:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> Car yesterday as missus was unwell, had to drop the sprouts off at school. This morning was set to be awesome. Up early, just light. Bike felt wrong as soon as I got on it, couldn't clip in. Stopped, pedal is ok. Looked at the bottom of my shoe and cleat is missing a bolt and moved.. :madmax: :madman: Must have worked loose over a while but held inplace by the other one. Tried to get one out of my old shoes but no dice. I'll try again tonight
> 
> So car today, and possibly tomorrow..


I have had this happen with cleats. Trying to remind myself to check them regularly. Luckily I noticed when I was at the bike shop, with my shoe off, still attached to the pedal because I couldn't unclip lol.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Oh, and jeffscott, this is my calm.


LOL



NDD said:


> Gotta have a backup pair of flats!


Or a backup pair of shoes.

I have nothing to report.(Edit, actually, my wife and I did ride in together well before the sun came up, that is probably report-able. )


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> Oh, and jeffscott, this is my calm.


 I see, maybe go with an open carry then?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Or a backup pair of shoes.


If you have that kinda money I guess. My backup flats are some I got for a dollar in a used parts bin. They do the deed. Actually those and a good pair of boots do well for the winter.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

jeffscott said:


> I see, maybe go with an open carry then?


That isn't for me.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> That isn't for me.


Perhaps you are more of a pool noodle kind of guy. Would surely look sweet on the fixed gear :skep:

A Pool Noodle Isn't the Worst Way For Cyclists to Keep a Safe Distance From Cars


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> If you have that kinda money I guess. My backup flats are some I got for a dollar in a used parts bin. They do the deed. Actually those and a good pair of boots do well for the winter.


LOL, I'm up to 5 pair of shoes. All with Time ATAC MTB cleats, accumulated over years.
1. Light well ventilated summer - mostly for road biking
2. MTB/Trail, good for walking
3. Spring/fall/waterproofish
4. Old pair of spring/fall/waterproofish (mostly worn out but used when #3 are wet, cause nothing is actually waterproof)
5. Real winter


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL, I'm up to 5 pair of shoes. All with Time ATAC MTB cleats, accumulated over years.
> 1. Light well ventilated summer - mostly for road biking
> 2. MTB/Trail, good for walking
> 3. Spring/fall/waterproofish
> ...


I have one pair of Pearl Izumi shoes I got for about half off because the shop ordered one pair of them on accident. I have a pair of Endura shoe covers that are neoprene and got for about 30% off because I bought them in the dead of summer. Those are actually amazingly waterproof. I've gotten rained on for 30-40 minutes pretty steady and the only dry clothing I had was socks.

Other than that, it's flats and whatever other shoes I'm wearing. I can average 16mph on the mtb with flats and flip flops if I feel spunky.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I have old shoes that the straps broke on, and newer old shoes where the upper and the sole parted company and my current shoes. I could have worn flats if i'd thought about it and changed pedals.

Managed to get a bolt out of the old shoes cleat last night. The cleats and bolts were well worn/ground down, took a while to dig the compacted dirt and stuff from the Allen hole and then a while longer to make the opening the right shape to get the Allen key in. It got me going for today. Tightened the other bolts too on the new shoes while I was at it and will make it part of maintenance from now on.

8C today. Bathed in sunlight from the not long risen sun and rained on from the cloud overhead all while chasing a full rainbow most of the way. Not a bad day to be on the bike


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

So I managed to ride 4 days on my wife's bike but I now really need a break. Shoulder muscles and knees hurt. I guess I am sitting too cramped on the bike. Will probably have to think of alternatives for 1-2 days next week.

Commutes itself are uneventful. First ride in the rain this morning with full raingear on. Construction site is progressing, but it seems that they are not going to do the full stretch, just the worst part. MUP is looking good already, smooth and about 30-40cm wider than before. Hope they finish soon.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Long time no post. Still commuting by bike 3 to 5 days a week. Just thought I'd drop in and scream: SNOW! First snow ride of the season today. About two inches of heavy, wet stuff. It'll be gone by this afternoon and the ride home will be rather damp, but this morning was glorious. We might just have a real winter in Anchorage this year.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today, but I did manage to get out for the second time this year with the Friday night group that I did a lot of miles with last year. We only did 25 tonight as it was more of a casual ride sightseeing around town checking out the changing foliage. By the time I got home, it was a brisk 42°F. Was dressed almost perfectly for it, hands were a little bothersome but that is the norm for me. It was a fun and casual ride, and one guy brought out his Penny Farthing so I chatted him up while we were riding. His gear inches were off the chart.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi commuters, good to see you. Rough stretch here in VT, did 11 days in NYC on subways and sidewalks and car service for eldercare duty. Dad re-broke his femur while I was there, and his wife had serious back surgery. Everyone is hanging in, but that is "tough sledding" as we say. Was not able to get out on the push scooter I brought down on the train. Pedaling again next week hopefully.


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## Guest (Oct 22, 2016)

With my work temporarily 1.2 miles away, not really worth cycling to/from, but I've been able to get lots of after work riding done. Hiking tomorrow, but planning on a 35 mile ride Sunday so that should be fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hi commuters, good to see you. Rough stretch here in VT, did 11 days in NYC on subways and sidewalks and car service for eldercare duty. Dad re-broke his femur while I was there, and his wife had serious back surgery. Everyone is hanging in, but that is "tough sledding" as we say. Was not able to get out on the push scooter I brought down on the train. Pedaling again next week hopefully.


I wondered where you'd been. Eldercare is one of the worst parts of growing up. I'm glad everybody is hanging in there, you included.

I got a new mountain bike this weekend. It is amazing. More on that later.

My commute in, not on the new bike, was good. I should get to work.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

My commute was awesome. 50 degrees and sunshine with a bit of wind to boot. Ahhh! 

Then it was rage inducing. Pulling up to a stop sign and I hear a car come up behind me. Ok surely they realize they can't pass me right now. Nope, the next thing I know she's right along side of me trying to squeeze back into my lane but I won't let her. I'm sitting there right along side of her shaking my head. She had to stop in the incoming traffic lane, then took a right turn in front of me. I couldn't resist flipping the bird but thought about Forster's squirting water on the car trick. 

I get why Tenspeed seems so angry now, because commuting to campus by bike every day for the last year and a half has slowly worn down my patience. If anyone still doesn't get it, commute on a college campus. Or maybe I'm just a jerk.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I got a new mountain bike this weekend. It is amazing. More on that later.


Pics pics!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I pissed off a homeless dude today, just by riding by him apparently. He was stabbing a stuffed animal on the ground with a long piece of rebar. When I rode by he yelled BOOO! Then started yelling about Metro (police) then started having a sword fight with his piece of rebar against a metal light pole, bam bam bam! It had to hurt his hands because he was really swinging for the fences. He ran after me after that and threw his chunk of rebar at me, but I was quite a ways away. Crazy batchit dude. I had my hand on the collapsible baton the whole time. 

Oh and it rained cats and dogs on the way in this morning. Found out my rear bag is not waterproof, my pants inside got soaked, it looked like I wet myself! :eekster: Thank God for heat guns!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> My commute was awesome. 50 degrees and sunshine with a bit of wind to boot. Ahhh!
> 
> Then it was rage inducing. Pulling up to a stop sign and I hear a car come up behind me. Ok surely they realize they can't pass me right now. Nope, the next thing I know she's right along side of me trying to squeeze back into my lane but I won't let her. I'm sitting there right along side of her shaking my head. She had to stop in the incoming traffic lane, then took a right turn in front of me. I couldn't resist flipping the bird but thought about Forster's squirting water on the car trick.
> 
> I get why Tenspeed seems so angry now, because commuting to campus by bike every day for the last year and a half has slowly worn down my patience. If anyone still doesn't get it, commute on a college campus. Or maybe I'm just a jerk.


Nah man, I get it. Something about being near a campus just wears you down. I got passed again over a double yellow taking off from a light, same place as last time yesterday. She couldn't wait, had to get in front. The sad thing is that if she had hung back for a second, I was turning left at the next light which is like a block and some change. I have started taking the full lane now because you give an inch and some drivers will take a foot and my life is more important than that. I ride confidently in the lane and take ownership of it, and honestly, I think that the outcome has been much better. I now see people hugging that curb and I cringe. I want to tell everyone that I see that they should move out, but sometimes, you know, people don't want the advice. That's fine, you do you. My experience with that has been bad so I made the move.

Froze last night on that ride home. Mid 30's by the time I got home. Was in a jersey and sleeves and shorts. Might be time to get the cold weather gear out again. Tomorrow is shaping up to be miserable for me. High of 44°F and an 80% chance of rain and snow. I have to deliver for 2.5 hours. After that I can go home and take a hot shower to warm up and dry out. Not looking forward to this at all. Waterproof or not, I am gonna be soaked and cold.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A cold one today. 7F at my house. 5F at the bus stop. 16F in downtown Anchorage. Cooler than that for most of the ride which just so happens to follow a creek through a valley formed in large part by the earthquake of '64. 

I certainly wasn't ready for the sudden dip. Prior to today, the coldest it's been this fall has been 20F and that seemed cold enough. That said, the only thing that really got cold were my toes after the bus ride, which usually seems to happen, regardless of shoes. Thinking of picking up a pair of Lake 303s to see how those work. Still not keen on spending that much on a single-function item, though. 

Awesome aurora the last two mornings. 

More snow forecast for this week. Bring it on, I say!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Bedwards, I came here to hear about 27.5+.....

Been a while again...hi guys. Snow in Alaska, Broken BB spindles, mountains of potatoes.... MTBX, sounds tough... RE-broke his femur? Dang! Once sounds like enough. 
And question... I just got the November BIKE magazine... article in there on the mountain bike scene in Barre, VT... you know those peeps?

I broke out the free GoreTex this morning for this season's first really wet commute.... I've been putting off installing the fenders and now I hate myself. :lol:

I had a tubeless tape issue (like 6 year old Gorilla Tape, so I can't complain) on the Ogre, so I pulled the wheels apart and re-taped...then I threw the tires that were on standby on there with tubes, just to seat the tape really good before I re-did the tubeless with the tires that were on it (lots of life left). But then I needed to ride it and didn't have time, so I threw the new tires with tubes on there, and I've been riding it that way... I'm digging the look. I have cream bar tape that I was going to put on at the same time, and the Brooks should clean up to about the same color... I think the camo hard-core days are coming to an end for the Ogre, for now. Going for a more refined, dignified look :lol:

Although I did read that my Ogre would clear 27.5+, so I'm leaning that way for the future... if only someone here had one and could chime in on why it's so awesome.....


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Sweet color combo there. 
Im back in the saddle after week or so of taking the bus. A chest cold plus near freezing rain every day last week made riding pretty uninviting. 

Im almost finished with the build up of Craplet (thats my name for my cheap China carbon disc cx bike for winter commuting) so it should be new bike day soon  Its Craplet because of the hell of a time Ive had building the thing due to crappy Chinese QC on the frame. 

Which is good because Frank (my name for my franken dropbar mtb - yeah, I started naming my bikes) has a recurring puncture and I cant find anything in the tyre plus Im not too keen on riding Gav (yes the name I gave my roadie) in this damp crappy weather we have had lately. 

Not to gross you guys out, but Ive been suffering from bike related ass ache lately. Not saddle sores, I did have one but it cleared up in no time, this is more of a sharp discomfort in the area of my right sit bone. I can kinda feel it when sitting in a hard chair too. Its a real zinger and almost makes me shoot up out the saddle when the tender bit gets sat on, on the bike... Any ideas? As I said, no sore or redness is visible... Just masses of pain if I happen to sit on the sore bit.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Not to gross you guys out, but Ive been suffering from bike related ass ache lately. Not saddle sores, I did have one but it cleared up in no time, this is more of a sharp discomfort in the area of my right sit bone. I can kinda feel it when sitting in a hard chair too. Its a real zinger and almost makes me shoot up out the saddle when the tender bit gets sat on, on the bike... Any ideas? As I said, no sore or redness is visible... Just masses of pain if I happen to sit on the sore bit.


Get checked out for a rectal abcess right away


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

CommuterBoy said:


> Bedwards, I came here to hear about 27.5+.....
> 
> ...Although I did read that my Ogre would clear 27.5+, so I'm leaning that way for the future... if only someone here had one and could chime in on why it's so awesome.....


Hey, you gave away the secret! Sorry, work's been busy. Between that and the dark I've only ridden it once. You saw the first ride. I got 3 KOMs that I didn't even know were there. I was just having fun on the new toy. This is as close to one bike fits all as I have had. I'll keep the fatbike for winter and I'll probably keep my 26" because I like it with the ice spikers and to have a spare but I'm thinking that it won't come out much.

Scott Genius 720 plus - Purchased with 100% credit card rewards:thumbsup: It was a FREE bike. Kinda.

Sorry about the goofy grin on my face, couldn't' wipe it off.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

CommuterBoy said:


> And question... I just got the November BIKE magazine... article in there on the mountain bike scene in Barre, VT... you know those peeps?


Oh yeah, that was a nice write up with my trail crew chief Kevin and his brother Jason featured! Kevin's dog Summit squeezed into the top of the shot on the bridges over the rock ("grout") pile, and sadly Summit passed just a few days go. But their fun vid from when the Angry Gnome trail opened is worth a look...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice ride this AM. 17F at my house. 24F in town. We need some more snow, though. The single tracks that only really appear in the winter are starting to show up and once the swamps and lakes freeze it's on! The beauty of winter riding in Alaska? You can go so many places you normally can't go. 

Just checked my mileage for the year and I am way down this year - only 2840.79 as of this morning's ride. I'll easily break 3.2K for the year, but probably not much more that that. This year has really been more focused on splitting my time between biking and running, so it's all good. I decided to take a look at how many active calories I've supposedly burned this year... 301,090. So, my question... why do I still have as much gut as I have? Oh, I know. Beer.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

jeffscott said:


> Get checked out for a rectal abcess right away


Oh my... that sounds effing awful! I certainly hope it aint that. Going to get me bum checked out ASAP!


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Don't Google rectal abscess.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Definitely getting a taste of an early winter here. Temps hovering just above freezing and it is still raining. Huge storm over the midwest that dipped all the way down to Oklahoma at one point. Uncomfortably cold, like bone chilling with the rain. Paid a guy to deliver for me today because after seeing the forecast yesterday, rule #5 and rule #9 somehow didn't matter.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I've got the opposite problem. Annoyingly warm tonight at 65 F. Wish it was cooler but that's a first world problem I guess. 

Anywhere between 0F and 100F is ok at least.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

honez1414 said:


> Don't Google rectal abscess.
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


Too late!

*Bad news;* What has seen cannot be unseen...

*Good news;* I don't think that is my issue. I think it is more like too narrow a saddle on my road bike pushing on some soft squishy bits and trapping them between the saddle and sit bone.

Funnily enough, the ride in today was actually pain free... Without changing the saddle, the saddle position or my position on the bike...

Craplet is almost finished too! Everything is fitted and adjusted and ready to roll - even the zebra print bar tape! Well... except the bloody seat post. It's gonna take some time and care with my metal file to open out the shim in the seat tube enough to allow for the fact that it is being squeezed shut by the "un-round-ness" of the seat tube...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

honez1414 said:


> Don't Google rectal abscess.
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


Searching for "Plus Tubes" on Amazon without unchecking "Women's Tops" also didn't achieve the results I was looking for. Speaking of which.

I was thinking how hard it must be to pinch flat a 27.5+ bike only moments before it happened. Odd because I wasn't riding hard and the terrain wasn't that rough. At least I don't think so. It's hard to tell with that bike, oh-man does it roll over stuff. Anyway, I was pretty sweaty from 10 miles of riding and had to stop and patch the tube. Then was a 2 mile downhill at about 35F, I was friggin freezing by the time I got home!

Chilly road ride on the way in but no snow yet.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

So I shared a free weeks ago how the powers that be had asked me to discontinue hanging my riding clothes on the drying hook in the shower. I was pissed...furious even. But I cooled down and decided to purchase travel hangers and hang my clothes and towel from my bike outside on the bike rack. I thought it looked quite tidy. And it works excellent. Well I was told today to stop that as well. I've officially filed a complaint with HR stating that I am being targeted and treated unfairly as the lone bike commuter among 500+ employees. For those that don't know my situation, I'm in Louisiana. Still sweating buckets on the commutes down here.

My statement with HR went something like this....There are motorcycles in the parking lot that routinely have helmets and jackets/chaps hanging from them. There are trucks with testicles hanging from the rear bumper. Bumper stickers that read "I love crack whores". Yet I am being singled out and told how to make my "mode of transportation" presentable.









Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Too late!
> 
> *Bad news;* What has seen cannot be unseen...
> 
> ...


Lucky you....move the seat forward and/or purchase a wider seat....what you describe can certainly cause a rectal access.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Damn straight, honez. This sounds like someone at you place of work has a dislike of cycling and cyclists. Fight the power, brother!

JeffScott, Its strange, the ride home today was pain free too. But I did notice that because Im getting back my fitness after riding while sick for a few weeks that Im on the rivet much more than I have been. It could well be that I wasnt pressing as hard on the pedals, so putting more weight on my ass and my saddle has been an ass hatchet from day one. I was just distributing my weight more away from my butt by pedaling like a damn sexy hero guy when I was healthy.
My subsequent feeble soft pedaling thanks to being sick with a chest cold put more pressure on my rear as my legs were not taking the weight as much? 

Im going for a saddle fitat a nearby bike shop soon, they have a digital gizmo that measures sit bone width, pelvis rotation, differential pressure over the whole ass and many other wonderful things. Could be a real ass saver!

Oh, and my cheap crap chinese carbon cx bike is finally finished! After much filing, sweating and swearing the seat post fitted! Cant wait to swing a leg over it tomorrow to see if it rides as poorly as it was manufactured! Hopefully I dont end up in the ER...


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## Guest (Oct 27, 2016)

Ghost, hope you're ride goes better than the build.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

jeffscott said:


> rectal access.


Oh my that might be even worse! :blush: j/k


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Nice bike bedwards! That's what I'm in the market for next year, a 27.5+ fs bike. I was looking at the Salsa Pony Rustler but I heard people have been snatching them all up quick! Maybe they will build more next year.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Oh my that might be even worse! :blush: j/k


Hahahaha. Hoooo doggy!

Same old same old lately. Everything is going peachy. The bike commute has been my sanity time more than ever this week. 4 straight 12 hour days, a slightly shorter day tomorrow and then probably at least 6-8 hours in on Saturday and Sunday.

It's cool, I'll just save weight by losing all of my hair.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides in bad weather. Rain at 35F then 2" of heavy wet snow by the time I got home - and windy- and the power is blinking. Planning on losing some branches overnight, but home safe. Wait, is it still October?


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Sorry Bedwards - I totally forgot to congratulate you on your #newbikeday! With those + tyres and full sus it must tackle pretty much everything you can throw at it, huh?

My home yesterday was fraught with danger, excitement and other things that aren't boring... Had a front tyre blow out going round a downhill bend in the road. Managed to keep the bike upright and pulled into the side of the road no problem. Kinda crapped myself a little bit, though... 

After close inspection a small flint (half a mm thick and about 5 mm long) had somehow managed to go straight through the center of the tread and spear in to the tube. POOF! it said. Lucky for me I never leave home without a spare toob.

I can't imagine that there is any sort of puncture protection at all in these Vittoria Corsas - I ran Open Pavés for a few months and had not one puncture. Less than two months on Corsas and I've had three... 

Craplet actually rides really very nicely. Surprisingly nicely. It proceeds in a forwardly direction when I pedal, shifts gears on demand and stops when I pull the brakes. Even though I (silly me) bought mtb BB7s and not the road version with shorter pull. The levers feel is a little mushy, but the wheels lock up before I run out of pull.

This is what Craplet looks like;


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Nice bike bedwards! That's what I'm in the market for next year, a 27.5+ fs bike. I was looking at the Salsa Pony Rustler but I heard people have been snatching them all up quick! Maybe they will build more next year.


Be careful! A 27.5+ was on my one year horizon and one really good deal later it is in my basement! I couldn't be happier about that. 


mtbxplorer said:


> Good rides in bad weather. Rain at 35F then 2" of heavy wet snow by the time I got home - and windy- and the power is blinking. Planning on losing some branches overnight, but home safe. Wait, is it still October?


The real wind is supposed to come in tomorrow, at least here closer to the coast.

I had a chance to catch a ride home last night, nah, it's not raining yet. 10 minutes into the ride it started pouring. By the time I got home I was pouring; Pouring out my shoes, poring out my gloves. No rain gear, just soaked to the bone.

This morning I planned for the rain and it was much better.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh man oh man just a week and two new bikes here. Probably it will take one more week before I get my Rohloff back.

But nice looking bikes, Bedwards and Ghost! Ghost, I think that it is riding pretty good is mostly because of your wrenching skills. Craplets frame only must be straight and within certain tolerances at some points. So I hope it wont fall apart on you anytime soon...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Sorry Bedwards - I totally forgot to congratulate you on your #newbikeday! With those + tyres and full sus it must tackle pretty much everything you can throw at it, huh?
> 
> My home yesterday was fraught with danger, excitement and other things that aren't boring... Had a front tyre blow out going round a downhill bend in the road. Managed to keep the bike upright and pulled into the side of the road no problem. Kinda crapped myself a little bit, though...
> 
> ...


Looks really good!! What kind of bar tape is that? I have a mostly black with white accent bike that might need this tape.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Sorry Bedwards - I totally forgot to congratulate you on your #newbikeday! With those + tyres and full sus it must tackle pretty much everything you can throw at it, huh?


Yes, Like you tire said: Poof - I am a better mountain biker.


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## Surly in OZ (Aug 2, 2011)

*Softer...*

Hi everyone, just added a Fabric Cell to my Troll last week.

















The Brooks B17 changed my ideas about saddles a few years ago, I found them very comfortable. However my Troll is my car and it gets ridden to work rain, hail or shine. So in the wet I was always worried about it.

When I changed to a Jones bar awhile back I found it hard to get the saddle setback right. I had a Brooks Cambium and found a good setup with it.

When I first viewed the Fabric Cell the outline of the saddle looked right for me, and the air spring idea seemed promising. A LBS had one and for a small outlay it was worth a try.

Well it does everything it said on the tin, I find the Cell very comfortable, it has the feel of a worn in Brooks. Its moves a little as you ride but still fells firm.

My longest ride so far was about 35KM and over that distance it was more comfortable than the Cambium.

The top of the saddle is very grippy, which I like some might find it too sticky.

I now have a spare Brooks B17 and Cambium that won't be back on the Troll anytime soon.

The Fabric is well worth a look if you liked this shape and width of saddle.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was a beautiful day for a commute and I have been trying to dial my road bike in so I took that. Decided to go all out and match the bike wearing all black and white. Since I was doing that, I made sure to have a visible front and rear blinker. Don't always run the front but decided that it would be a good idea today. Went to the bike shop because it was one of those days where when the sun came out, it was blazing hot. Once it disappeared behind the clouds, it was immediately freezing. Decided that the sleeves would come off and I would talk to my buddy more about dialing in the cockpit of this bike. The shop is exactly half way between my apartment and the hospital. 

Left the shop and headed west into a fairly strong headwind. Lights are both blinking, Cygolite Metro 320 up front and Cateye Rapid X3 (100 lumens) on the back both in daytime mode. They are both bright so I felt like cars were giving me plenty of room. The bike lane ends, you go under the overpass and then continue on. I used to turn off into the neighborhood because the main street was like a pot hole ridden war zone. It has since been repaved and it really makes the ride in nice. This is where my last incident took place, and I was told that I need to chill out and that I was too angry. Well.......

The road is two lanes each way, center turn lane, and then street parking on both sides. No bike lane was put in even though there is room. Visually, it appears like the right lane is super wide because the parking doesn't get used everywhere up and down the street. I ride in the right lane, just right of the center of the lane to prevent a same lane pass. The speed limit is 30mph. I am moving along just in the mid 20's or so riding properly, not swerving or acting up. Most cars gave me plenty of room and I noticed that a few even dropped wheels into that turn lane to make sure I had room. Not sure if I drifted a bit to the right, but I got passed in my lane by a car. Well, not just a car, but a Sears Driving School car. No passenger, so I assume it was an instructor. There is a Sears that I pass right before the highway underpass and I assume it was from there. This is absolute bullsheet in my opinion. There is no way that a driving instructor should be passing a bike like that. That rear light is very visible and the flash mode that I use draws attention to it as it has two different flashes. I throw my arms up in disbelief, you know the move, we all do it. Like really? You really just did that????

Car passing me in the left lane doesn't like what I did apparently, and the passenger let me know as they passed me with his window down telling me to get off the road. That isn't gonna fly. Catch them at the light and decide to confront since the window was down. I tell him that bikes don't belong on the sidewalk, right as a guy on a bike goes by on the sidewalk. Horrible horrible timing but whatever. They are sure to point that out to me, and I tell them that the guy is in the wrong. He should be in the road. Guy tells me that is what I get for riding in the road. Like it is my fault that a car almost hit me as it passed. This continue on and the light goes green. They are still harassing me from the car and I am ignoring them. As we approach the hospital, I see a city cop waiting to pull out heading west. I re-engage them, and the yelling goes back and forth, and I am getting angry now. Hoping to draw the attention of the cop. As we get to the hospital, they try to speed off. Sure enough, cop passes me, but the light up ahead is red. I decide this is it, gonna end this. Pull up on the passenger side of the cop, and he drops the window. He already knew, but I told him that two cars up, they were harassing me about riding in the road. He nods and pulls in front of me and pulls up along side of them. The conversation starts....light turns green. They pull in front of him, and they both turn off on a side road. Now, I don't know what happened after that as I hopped onto the sidewalk and walked into the hospital parking lot to lock up. Hopefully some education was handed out to these guys. 

Not sure what pisses me off more, the pass or the harassment. Now, you can all tell me to calm down, and I am pretty calm right now, but I wasn't earlier when I was locking up at work. I did nothing wrong at all, had my helmet on, was riding responsibly, had proper lighting, obeying speed and traffic laws, etc. Am I wrong here?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I speak for myself when I say I'm usually just kidding about it Tenspeed. 

You were right, you tried to reason with those that were wrong. Not saying you should or shouldn't have but it's futile. They'll never get it.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Nah TenSpeed, in my opinion you are not in the wrong here. Close passes are ilegal and gesturing / yelling is the cyclists only communication option. We dont tend to have a loud electrical horn. If the guy didnt like your reaction then he shouldnt have given you reason to react. Simple. I would have (and have regularly) avted as you did. Some guys just beg to be yelled at. 

As for the bar tape; I cant say the brand exactly, I think it was called "Bike Components" or some such. It was cheap and feels it. It even had manfacturing faults (thin and holed sections in the tape). Pretty nasty cheap chinese stuff. The bar end plugs are some SRAM ones I had laying around too, as the ones from the kit didnt hold in the bars at all, they just dropped out straight away. Were I you I would go for the Cinelli Zebra stripe stuff. I could only find it on line and it aint exactly cheap, but the quality will be a million times better.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was unbelievable. Huge home college football rivalry game at noon. Started delivering at 11 and worked until 4. Busy doesn't even begin to describe where we were today. Just inside the store was jam packed pretty much all afternoon with college students. The deliveries were pouring in. The store was doing really really well even when I left. Reached absolute exhaustion by 3:50 and that was it. Thought about staying until 6 or so but that just wasn't going to happen. Set a new personal record for deliveries, speed of a single delivery off campus and tips. Led all drivers with the most deliveries at the end of my shift. 

Almost got hit 3 times by cars not paying attention. 15 people throughout the shift walked out in front of me from the sidewalk. 7 cars blocking the bike lane in various spots on campus. 1 person puked outside the store. Broken glass on almost every street. Temp reached 68°F at one point. 

Texted a guy I work with, and he said it is still going strong. Manager was hoping to set a new single store record for sales in one day. I think it might happen. We are in the top 5 busiest corporate stores in the country as of last year. A mix of dedicated regular customers and drunk college kids living in the neighborhood behind the store really helps us.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Anyone want their area to be colder? Yesterday I biked about 40 miles of commuting because I did a family favor and then had to bike to university to get work done. It was 80 degrees, which is just too warm for the end of October. It's projected to stay about 70 to 80 through this first week of November. Man I hope they're wrong.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi Folks, back from a week off. Looks like I missed a bit!

- Nice ride Ghost, that looks pretty stealth! Glad you haven't got bot rot....
- Tenspeed, man you do seem to attract them
- Honez, Like your style, that's some cool content in your complaint, their response will be interesting for sure.
- Bedwards, Nice ride there too, Scott make some sweet looking rides.

Been warm here for the last week, I've been in T-shirt most days. Today is the same although the ride in was foggy. Had my jacket on which I think was a good choice. I was literally steaming when I was locking my bike. 

Clocks went back Saturday night so it'll be dark when I leave work. Be my first rural commute in the dark so we'll see how that goes and if my lights are up to the job.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> Anyone want their area to be colder? Yesterday I biked about 40 miles of commuting because I did a family favor and then had to bike to university to get work done. It was 80 degrees, which is just too warm for the end of October. It's projected to stay about 70 to 80 through this first week of November. Man I hope they're wrong.


I will trade you. It is currently 31°F right now. I will be leaving in about an hour and a half. Only supposed to hit low 50's today and be mostly cloudy. Really love riding in shorts and a short sleeve jersey vs what I will have on today to deliver.


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## Guest (Oct 31, 2016)

I'll take anything above 30 and be happy. I ride down to 10F, but it's not my preferred temp range. As I get older I find my tolerance for sub-zero conditions (and the associated ice) to be less each year. Honestly, what I'd prefer is to keep the afternoon temp within 10 degrees of the morning commute (whatever it is/was) so I don't have to pack my stuff home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I will trade you. It is currently 31°F right now. I will be leaving in about an hour and a half. Only supposed to hit low 50's today and be mostly cloudy. Really love riding in shorts and a short sleeve jersey vs what I will have on today to deliver.


Sold. Get ready for the St. Louis area to send you some weather.

I'm ok between 0 and 100F, so I can't really complain but I'm just thinking it's usually a bit cooler by now.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

0C misty rainy....snow in the mountains


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Heatwave. 42F at my house. 36 in town. A little bit icy in spots, but nothing much in the way of excitement or adventure. Just another day of riding.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

You should try some of my commutes as we get closer to winter. I will have entirely different outfits sometimes for the ride home. Leaving in the afternoon sounds like it would be good, but really it causes some issues because the temp change can often be almost 30° or more depending on the day/weather.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Temperatures hit 18C / 65F here yesterday. When I left at 6pm in the dark it was still 12C / 54F. I already know I'm in the car tomorrow but it is supposed to be down to 2C / 36F in the morning and the following days. 

Light does the job, could do with a little more focus but was plenty good enough for the unlit roads.


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## sasquatch2 (Jun 28, 2004)

weather was so nice this morning in New Jersey but I need to find my skullcap! I also traded in my fatbike for the road bike today to change it up a little (and go 2x as fast!)


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Meh. Temps were decent, but windy in the Valley. 

Worse - my quads are a bit blown-up still after a 10K run on Sunday night with the first 5K all uphill (just under 1k feet of climb) followed by 5K of descent. I find that when it's been a while since I've done sustained downhill running that it takes my quads a few days to recover. The last time was a bit more extreme - 3k feet of climb in about 3 miles followed by the same back down) it took me a good week and a half to recover completely. So the ride has been less enjoyable than it should be. Oh well. Quite icy in spots and even with studs almost went down this morning on a tight curve on my route. Good times.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

No ice here in Oslo yet. It has been greasy and wet - the sort of weather that turns road crud into a fine grinding paste that gets into all your mechanical bits...

We are set to drop below zero tonight for the first time this year (in this area). Lucky me that my delivery of wood for the oven in the kitchen / fire in the lounge comes this evening - I was running out!

Been commuting on my beloved carbon Craplet lately - I just couldn't bring my self to torture my road bike with the soggy conditions. Plus I curse myself every time I brake in the wet on my carbon rims (the sound is horrible - much like the stopping power).

Slightly soggy ride in this morning, but the ride home should be clear and slightly warmer (well, 5C to 6C or so which beats 2C this morning).

But tomorrow shall be below zero and looks set to stay that way! Snow is forecast over the weekend too. Almost time for the studs to come out!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Meh. Temps were decent, but windy in the Valley.
> 
> Worse - my quads are a bit blown-up still after a 10K run on Sunday night with the first 5K all uphill (just under 1k feet of climb) followed by 5K of descent. I find that when it's been a while since I've done sustained downhill running that it takes my quads a few days to recover. The last time was a bit more extreme - 3k feet of climb in about 3 miles followed by the same back down) it took me a good week and a half to recover completely. So the ride has been less enjoyable than it should be. Oh well. Quite icy in spots and even with studs almost went down this morning on a tight curve on my route. Good times.


Running downhill sucks, especially for us non-runners. That sounds similar to the "run" up the mountain at the end of the tri I do every year. The quads scream for a while after that.

How was my commute today? More painful than I hoped for because of this:
The Candid Cyclist: Got the Crash on the New Bike Out of the Way Early


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me. Rain and storms this afternoon and into the evening. Getting soft over here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry about the rib(s) and the race, Bedwards. Could have been worse. No face plant into a tree trunk.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, today was a great day to skip a commute and drive in. As I got about half way to work, the skies opened up and dumped inches of rain. The streets started to flood with how much rain we got. Lightning and thunder and the wind picked up. Visibility in the car was down to about a block if that. There is no way that I would feel safe on a bike. Rained pretty much all day, and then when I got out of work, yeah, it was still raining.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Trees make pretty tough crash mats Bedwards, kudos for still commuting in the next day.

Sounds like that was a good call Tenspeed

First properly cold (for UK) commute this year. 1C / 33F. I could really do with sorting some longs/tights if this continues which seems likely for the immediate future. 

Also the rear brake cable broke about a mile out. Not too bad, I can work with that. When the front one broke a while back the bike was pretty unstoppable on just the rear brake, although I have swapped out components since then. Still, it'll have to do till the weekend, no bike shop in this reasonable size town where I work that I've been able to find yet...


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Sounds biblical, TenSpeed. The thing with riding in that sort of weather is that you need to concentrate on avoiding the slippy as eff road markings AND the eejit drivers who can't see but won't slow down because they are drivers, dammit! 

Had two round-about related incidents lately. Yesterday on the way home and today on the way in. 

Yesterdays round about fun was just dumb - there is one road on the way home where these is a nicely demarcated cycle lane. 
But... it pops in and out of existence - it stops at junctions only to start again after and completely disappears just before the round about at the end of the road... 
So - I was in the cycle lane, just coming up to the round about - I was going right, 1st exit, so I kept myself over to the right and signaled. I looked over my left shoulder, as I could hear a car coming up on me. Fast. Yes - it was indicating right and was edging closer and closer - it was obvious that they had planned to try to squeeze past me on the round about. 
A dic*head move that would have squeezed me into the kerb. I ducked down and looked into the driver window and yelled "you can f*king well wait your turn". The middle aged woman driving didn't look too happy at that, but she bloody well waited to go by me until after we had cleared the round about. Yes - she roared past me (fair enough giving me a wide berth) only to be cycled past again when she met the traffic that always forms at rush hour on that road... 

This morning was pretty much the same - big round about with two lanes + cycle lane. I was in the cycle lane (which is over on the right) and planning on going straight ahead. I move out on the the round about, because the traffic on 1st exit has stopped, only for an idiot in a black BMW X5 to come roaring round me in the inside lane (for going left, last exit) and then decide that he wants to go right. Completely cut me up and then had to brake hard because the traffic on the 1st exit was standing still (i.e. stopping right in front of me). I had to brake hard to avoid t-boning him and go around, whilst cursing him out in two languages... 

Other than that it's all good. My back aches from carrying 21 40kg bags of wood last night (I ordered 20 bags, received 21 bags and paid for 24.5 bags - these wood delivery guys are really very special people) took the roadie today because it is dry and sunny and only -3C. Set to warm up a little later in the day then drop like a stone until spring...
Snow is forecast this evening... Time for the studs to come out, me thinks!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Also the rear brake cable broke about a mile out. Not too bad, I can work with that. When the front one broke a while back the bike was pretty unstoppable on just the rear brake, although I have swapped out components since then. Still, it'll have to do till the weekend, no bike shop in this reasonable size town where I work that I've been able to find yet...


I can honestly say I've never let a brake cable go till the point that it breaks. Usually they get so much friction ahead of that point that they get replaced. That's some impressive neglect.

Hey Ghost, must have been the day for it. Somebody passed me and immediately took a right in front of me into a gas (petrol) station. I followed him in and asked if those 2 seconds were that important to him. By the end he admitted he was wrong, probably just trying to get rid of me.

Didn't ride today. I'm going to give the ribs a rest day and then determine if I can race on Sunday.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

I feel you bedwards - I actually get the urge to do bodily damage, to actually beat on these people with my mini pump. I'm not a violent guy, but when someone nearly breaks one of my beloved bikes just because they are inattentive / stupid / in a hurry and really think that saving two seconds by cutting me up in their 1500kg steel box is gonna make a big difference then all bets are off. Everybody out of the pool. I'm going to loose my sh*t.



SlipSpace said:


> Also the rear brake cable broke about a mile out. Not too bad, I can work with that. When the front one broke a while back the bike was pretty unstoppable on just the rear brake, although I have swapped out components since then. Still, it'll have to do till the weekend, no bike shop in this reasonable size town where I work that I've been able to find yet...


Didn't see this - lucky break for you, huh? *Baboom tsh!*


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ghost - traffic circles there sound like a nightmare. I only encounter one of those on my commute luckily. Not sure if it is the driver education or the layout of how the circle works that is just dumb.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Last night I checked the forecast. Small chance of rain. I can deal with that. I rode out, lots of lightning and very little spitting rain. Got to about 3.5 miles from home when the sky opened up. Totally soaked, no visibility, lightning everywhere. It was a trip.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

On the trip home today I get passed by a black Audi station wagon on a flipping 
round-about!!! He is weaving around and coming into my lane. I take a good look at the driver and guess what? Yepp, driving one handed with his cell glued to his earhole. Twunt that he is.

Caught a few snowflakes too, and quite a pretty sunset, so not all bad...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I think the predictive text on my phone is starting to get to know me.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ oh you and your clean mouthed predictive text. Mine isn't smart, otherwise it'd be a botanical glossary with cuss words in it. 

Great rides today. Tonight coming home was a bit chilly. Just right for me.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great commute all around. No incidents with cars. Ride home was a bit chilly for me as well. Supposed to be nice now for the next week. Time to get some miles in.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Rode part of the way home with a colleague, he was commenting on the brightness of my light compared to his on the unlit country roads. Not sure what exactly but he's running two little Cateye rechargeable things. I said they must be reasonable so covered mine with my hand. OMG, it was dreadful! I think the torch on my smartphone puts out more light. Like trying to drive your car on sidelights only rather than main beam. I told him he was brave and bid him good luck as our ways parted soon after.

A little warmer than yesterday this morning, rain set to move in through the day.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Chilly ride home this evening. Arm warmers that I absolutely loved when I got them went in the trash when I got home. They lost their elasticity and were pretty much garbage after the first day I used them. 20° temperature difference from the time I rode in to the time I rode home. Mid 60's in November in Michigan? OK, I will take that.


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2016)

TenSpeed said:


> Chilly ride home this evening. Arm warmers that I absolutely loved when I got them went in the trash when I got home. They lost their elasticity and were pretty much garbage after the first day I used them. 20° temperature difference from the time I rode in to the time I rode home. Mid 60's in November in Michigan? OK, I will take that.


I've never had much luck with arm warmers either. I did see that Bontrager just came out with a jacket with removable arms and a removable back panel. I haven't seen one in person yet, but it could be feasible.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Chilly ride home this evening. Arm warmers that I absolutely loved when I got them went in the trash when I got home. They lost their elasticity and were pretty much garbage after the first day I used them. 20° temperature difference from the time I rode in to the time I rode home. Mid 60's in November in Michigan? OK, I will take that.


Same here. 45F on the way in and closer to 25F on the way home with an icy headwind.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides here, but it's been a wet stretch. I don't think I've ever used the heavier Showers Pass jacket as much as this year. It's perfect for wet weather if the temp is around freezing, but too hot much above that. 

Roundabouts have been problematic lately here too. Drivers stopping mid-roundabout when they have the right of way, etc. etc.

I put some alpaca insoles in the 5.10's, and they are noticeably cozier, at least when new.

Put a little Infini Lava USB rechargeable blinkie on the helmet, it is really nice. Never heard of them, but the LBS recommended it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I rode only last Thursday, 1 day in the whole week. My bike is still not back. The Rohloff Hub was back in the LBS on Thursday and they suddenly realized that they need to order the correct spokes for me. They could have done that during the last 3 weeks already but they didn't. With that kind of German efficiency I always wonder how those big shops survive. So I guess my bike will be ready to go by the end of next week. Could very well be that I have no time to pick it up during the evening this week and have to wait until Saturday morning. We'll see. Anyway it is 3 weeks without bike now and I really feel pretty crappy. Feel less awake when I get to work and last week I started to wake up during the night several times without any reason. 
Today I got the 2nd bike rideable but it is still missing rack and lights. Especially lights are an issue by now. At least some day it will be ready, if my main bike is breaking down again I will have a spare and will not be grounded. 
How do you guys cope when you have no bike available??

At least I am still reading here.

Bedwards: At least you didn't loose another tooth....get well soon!

Tenspeed: Not nice to hear that. I just got a pair of neon yellow Gore Armwarmers for 50% off. Hope they last longer than one ride. Did you not have any warranty on them anymore?

Slipspace: I see more and more roadies here that have a front wheel with a dynamohub and corresponding lights. I have a B&M Cyo something with 80lux that does the job very well. B&M even has a 100+ lux lamp now, apparently the first one to go through the 100lux barrier. Might want to advise that to your collegue. A good battery light with the same light output can not be that much cheaper and you dont have to worry about charging the light anymore.

Last but not least: 

QUESTION TO EVERYONE:
I am looking for a helmet with following features:
-Bug netting at the front ventilation holes
-Blinking light on the back of the helmet
-MIPS system.

My current helmet ticks first 2 boxes but I havent found a helmet that has all features.

Suggestions are welcome.

Keep riding and stay safe everyone!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was another great commute. 65°F by the time I got to work and I broke a sweat pedaling in the headwind. Decided for the ride home to take a longer route which was much more out of the way but on roads less travelled which is always nice. Got a little lost but then back on track. 7 miles in I had to stop and take the windbreaker off. I was drenched in sweat. Temp on my Garmin said 40°F. Here I am, in all black but with silver reflective on everything, riding in shorts and a short sleeve jersey sweating like crazy. Trip home was just shy of what my normal commute in a day would be. Sunday I am taking the cross bike just to change it up. Haven't ridden that one in a while, actually more like a month and a half!! Yep, that's gonna see some road duty.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> They could have done that during the last 3 weeks already but they didn't. With that kind of German efficiency I always wonder how those big shops survive.
> 
> How do you guys cope when you have no bike available??


I find that amazing....of the four nearest bike shops all of them have spoke cutting and threading machines.

You can just go to the mechanic area and order them usually ready in fifteen minutes (well maybe not during spring rush).

Maybe time to check out some other shops.

My old bike had an up time of just of over 99%. I did have multiple wheels, to work with though.

I also have an 90's bike that I used to ride, available....I think I used it once in ten years because the other newer one was down.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have a main bike, and then 3 back ups lol. One is down currently due to a bar swap and I need to get to the shop to have the housing and cable cut down and run again with the internal routing. In all the years of riding, a spoke issue has come up only once. I am not a light guy, nor am I a light rider.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice day to commute. Took the cross bike. Took the long way home. Bike decides that all of the sudden, it wants to start skipping like crazy in almost all gears. 15 mile ride from hell. I hate gears.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I have a main bike, and then 3 back ups lol. One is down currently due to a bar swap and I need to get to the shop to have the housing and cable cut down and run again with the internal routing. In all the years of riding, a spoke issue has come up only once. I am not a light guy, nor am I a light rider.


I have two bikes, and the number is fine but I wish I had slightly different bikes. Instead of a standard mountain bike with rigid fork and a single speed road bike, I wish I had both road and mountain touring rigs.

Now, if I actually get accepted into a PhD program I won't be able to afford either 
But really worth four bikes how would you even dream of keeping up with maintenance? There has to be a point where you have enough bikes that some just become unimportant.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> I have two bikes, and the number is fine but I wish I had slightly different bikes. Instead of a standard mountain bike with rigid fork and a single speed road bike, I wish I had both road and mountain touring rigs.
> 
> Now, if I actually get accepted into a PhD program I won't be able to afford either
> But really worth four bikes how would you even dream of keeping up with maintenance? There has to be a point where you have enough bikes that some just become unimportant.


1. Aluminum fixed gear track bike - super low maintenance
2. Aluminum full rigid SS MTB converted to commuter - super low maintenance
3. Aluminum disc brake CX bike converted to commuter - medium maintenance
4. Carbon endurance road bike that gets commuter duty when it is nice out - not much maintenance


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Crisp -2C Blue sky


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> How do you guys cope when you have no bike available??


I don't understand the question.

I had a race yesterday and pinch flatted again on the 27.5+. This was the 3rd time so I pumped it up to road bike pressure to make sure I didn't do it twice in the race. The bike went from magic handling, best bike in the world to pure crap handling. Bouncing off everything like a basket ball. It appears that tubeless ready means tubeless mandatory.

Legs were sore for the AM commute because the race had some running in it. I don't run.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I would like a +1 but the funding committee queries the need when I've got 2 bikes anyway. An SS Road 52:17, rack, guards lights etc and a bare SS MTB 32:18, not setup to crossover duties really. Well technically I've still got the old geared 26er MTB but the elastomer forks are toast and the front rim is very, very thin on braking surfaces. 

Not getting on well with those + tyres are you Bedwards. 

About 4C this morning with a stiff cold northerly tail/sideish wind, had lots of rain overnight so it was wet. Thankfully only sprinkles on my journey. Not sure on the wind direction now, could be a hard ride home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok bedwards I get the point :lol:

So the LBS I went to does have spokes in all sizes but Rohloff insists on getting spokes from one certain company in Germany, since other spoke manufacturers are apparently not delivering quality that is good enough for Rohloff. The spokehead must have a radius of at least 2,9mm and even DT/Sapim seem to have too big tolerances. When you search for "Rohloff broken flange forum" you notice that this is not a new issue and instead of fixing it, Rohloff is raising more and more requirements to how the wheel is laced and which spokes to use etc. I am beginning to believe that this is a serious weakness of the "undestructable" Rohloff hub. It just needs 9500km of commuting by a 220lbs guy. When this story has ended I intend to do a full write-up in the IGH forum. I keep you posted.

So I got the Dahon Cadenza folder rideable and rode it today. Riding with a backpack was easier than I thought, I expected to sweat much more under it but it wasnt that bad. It is a Deuter backpack with a netting back that ventilates very well, that might have helped as well. It rained this morning with 2C and dressed up completely in rain gear. Still 2C but at least dry on the way home. Tomorrow the same and after that we are expecting to go below freezing level for the first time this season. We'll see....


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ok bedwards I get the point :lol:
> 
> So the LBS I went to does have spokes in all sizes but Rohloff insists on getting spokes from one certain company in Germany, since other spoke manufacturers are apparently not delivering quality that is good enough for Rohloff. The spokehead must have a radius of at least 2,9mm and even DT/Sapim seem to have too big tolerances. When you search for "Rohloff broken flange forum" you notice that this is not a new issue and instead of fixing it, Rohloff is raising more and more requirements to how the wheel is laced and which spokes to use etc. I am beginning to believe that this is a serious weakness of the "undestructable" Rohloff hub. It just needs 9500km of commuting by a 220lbs guy. When this story has ended I intend to do a full write-up in the IGH forum. I keep you posted.


Seems more like Rohloff has a QC problem or and engineering problem...

Rather than all other spoke suppliers????


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> I would like a +1 but the funding committee queries the need when I've got 2 bikes anyway. An SS Road 52:17, rack, guards lights etc and a bare SS MTB 32:18, not setup to crossover duties really. Well technically I've still got the old geared 26er MTB but the elastomer forks are toast and the front rim is very, very thin on braking surfaces.
> 
> Not getting on well with those + tyres are you Bedwards.


The co-chair on the funding committee is quite the enabler when it comes to bike purchases.

I don't know what it is about that bike and pinch flats. It will be tubeless by next weekend.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Ok bedwards I get the point :lol:


To answer your original question. When my mountain bike was getting a shock rebuild and out of service for a month I bought a 29er. And now it's for sale.
2012 GT Sensor 9r Expert 29er Size: XL Fox Float Shock. Because I have too many bikes, really.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Awesome day to commute and deliver. Sunny, currently 66°F and not a cloud in the sky. November, you can stay like this and December can take a lesson from you.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Noticed a weird grinding noise on the way home...I'll check it out tomorrow morning. 

Finally getting early autumn weather. 60F or so.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I got really wet on the way home.Still in my shorts but waterproof on. My gloves that had been on the heater all day got dropped in a puddle while I was mounting the lights :madman: :madmax: subsequently cold hands most of the way home.

Rained a lot last night again so lots of standing water around this am, no rain but wet, 0C and freezing fog.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

1C this morning and wet snow. Rode with all raingear I have AND I LIKED IT :cornut: 

4pm a call: My Rohloff rear wheel is laced and ready to be picked up. So I raced home, drove to the shop (its 10k/7m from my house) to pick it up. Total costs for new hub shell, new spokes and lacing the whole bunch correctly together: 290€ :eekster: My trust in Rohloff has a big dent now....

Put on the Conti Wintercontacts at home and bike is now ready to go again, and hopefully also ready for winter.

For tomorrow morning -4C is forecasted. Might get slippery, will have to take care.

Keep riding and stay safe!


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ what bike is that, it looks pretty sweet!

Still water laying around but the air was cold and dry last night. Somewhere around freezing.

This morning is up to about 7C but wet wet wet. Set to stay for the next day or so.

Ordered some new panniers yesterday. My 15 year old Alturas have started coming apart at the bottom seam and have no waterproof capability anymore. I plumbed for Ortlieb back roller classics but they won't be here till maybe monday, could have done with them today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Had to stay home today so I could not test my "new" rear wheel.

But as promised I posted the whole story in the IGH subforum:
http://forums.mtbr.com/internal-gear-hubs/rohloff-broken-flange-1027586.html


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

My first time to commute to the Poll....got a few odd looks standing sweaty patiently waiting my turn. I love those moments more than I should. Something about making people uncomfortable....

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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Bummer commute today... disbelief. Eh, it is what it is. 

The ride itself was fine, but too much time in my head questioning how our political machine has turned into what it has here in the US. I mean, wow, right? I just spent too much time wondering who the real winners are in this election. Anyway... no politics here. 

Temps in the low 30's. A bit of snow on the ground. Good riding conditions overall. The roads are a bit slick even with the studs on. Normally by this time of year the temps would be much lower in the mornings - teens to twenties would be warm. Looks like another cruddy winter on the way. 

Question for winter commuters - what does everyone use for shoes in the cold? I'm currently wearing some regular Giro shoes - vented and all that for summer riding - with neoprene covers and those work fairly well into the mid-teens, but they don't really breath at all, which is a problem. I'm looking to get winter-specific shoes and wonder what others are having good luck with. My top three choices are: 
Bontrager Old Man Winter boot (I like the removable liner)
Lake 303
45N Wolvhammer

I've heard some people say the 303's aren't terribly warm. My biggest concern is something that breaths well and moves moisture away from the foot because of the bus ride. My feet are generally fine until after riding the bus for 45 minutes. They sweat and then get cold from moisture.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

blockphi said:


> Question for winter commuters - what does everyone use for shoes in the cold? I'm currently wearing some regular Giro shoes - vented and all that for summer riding - with neoprene covers and those work fairly well into the mid-teens, but they don't really breath at all, which is a problem. I'm looking to get winter-specific shoes and wonder what others are having good luck with. My top three choices are:
> Bontrager Old Man Winter boot (I like the removable liner)
> Lake 303
> 45N Wolvhammer
> ...


As with all cold weather gear, thermal management is very important, too hot is not good too cold is not good...

I use the Shimano MW 80 boots, With good thermal socks I can get 45 mins at -35C.

With thin socks I can ride them at 10C with out too much sweat.

To increase warmth use gaiters to maintain the calf and blood to the foot warmer.

Over buying the "fixed" warmth is the last thing you want to do.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ I'm in the same boat today. Wonderful weather, brilliant blue autumn sky, 50 degrees, leaves on the mup, but I can't fully appreciate it today (honestly may have been the case either way, and I had suspected this outcome anyway not going there). 

I typically wear wool socks, vented Pearl Izumi shoes, and neoprene shoe covers when it's below 30. Either that or thick wool socks and my insulated work boots, which works pretty well after putting flats on. I can usually stay more comfortable at colder temps with the work boots.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I have the Lakes (Could be 302). They aren't particularity warm but decent. From what I remember they are pretty good down to 0F with 2 pair of socks but below that my feet get cold. I got them for <$180 and Nashbar which compared to the price of the others was the deciding factor. They are pretty well made with real leather. I don't really like the closure system because it seems like something complicated to break. I got mud in it once and had to clean it all out. I lusted after the Wolvhammers before buying them but could never accept the price tag. I have a cheap pair of other winter shoes for temps between 20-50F so overheating isn't an issue for me.

Commute in was good, right around freezing.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

SlipSpace said:


> ^ what bike is that, it looks pretty sweet!


Thanks...it's a work horse, a 2012 Orbea Carpe


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Had a google, amazingly there is a dealer around here but certainly not a common sight.

3C and wet last night. I was rolling up to a red light when some douche gunned past me slammed on his brakes and pulled right in to the curb. Normally I wait at those lights but decided I'd hop off, walk round the pavement and then carry on riding. Not so long after he passes me again as I grind up a steep section, far too close, tucks into the curb as he has to stop for a queue. I join the shared bus/taxi/cycle lane (yep really, what could go wrong) just there so ride past again. Not surprisingly he passes me with the traffic flow on the next section of road although it is queuing again further up in the car lane as we head into town. At the next set of lights he has to stop and is at the front. Some cycle routes here have an extra box at the front of the lights to allow cyclists to cross the traffic into their required lane going forward. I do this so I'm in front of him again. Same close pass again ( I was expecting this) and then blocks me out at the roundabout too. We both go right and I catch him at the next set of lights. He's taken the outer lane, so I go to the inner one, he sees me an glowers. Since his window is cracked open I query what his problem is. Apparently I'm too slow and hold him up. I point out that he first passed me about 2.1/2 miles ago yet despite his best efforts here I am. Rest of his comments are not worth printing. Didn't see him anymore.

Today, 1C, quite bright but hazy sunshine but with cold wind and just general damp from the recent rains.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ That's rich. Fool doesn't realize there is no difference between starting and stopping to wait or otherwise just going a little slower. 

Some people could really use a math lesson.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Rain/freezing rain in the forecast. Just can't face dealing with rain and temps in the mid-30s. 

Got my first lake-top ride yesterday. Fun times. A thin scrim of snow on top of the ice, unbonded. Had some fun locking up the rear tire and skidding the studs across the ice surface. A bit nervous, though, as the test hold the city drills to check ice thickness were all still wet and pumping water as I rode by, showing the ice flexing with my weight. Ice was 2 to 3 inches thick, so probably not a worry, but...


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

Finally some cooler temps. I have the toughest time around this part of the year trying to convince myself that if I'll just be uncomfortable for 5 mins, the other 55 will be perfect. 

Failed today. 5 mins in i was stopping to remove the jacket.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace, nice job Queering him. What a D-bag.



blockphi said:


> No commute for me today. Rain/freezing rain in the forecast. Just can't face dealing with rain and temps in the mid-30s.
> 
> Got my first lake-top ride yesterday. Fun times. A thin scrim of snow on top of the ice, unbonded. Had some fun locking up the rear tire and skidding the studs across the ice surface. A bit nervous, though, as the test hold the city drills to check ice thickness were all still wet and pumping water as I rode by, showing the ice flexing with my weight. Ice was 2 to 3 inches thick, so probably not a worry, but...


Yeah, 2-3" is fine. It's when it unexpectedly thins to 1" that it becomes a problem.  We've got months before our lakes freeze although I did notice a very shallow pool in a quarry I ride by was frozen....and the hose I tried to use this morning.

The commute in felt cold and slow. Strava says it wasn't that slow but it felt it. Strava says it wasn't that cold either but that's because my Garmin lives on top of my computer while it's charging. I'm pretty sure about the cold part.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> ^ That's rich. Fool doesn't realize there is no difference between starting and stopping to wait or otherwise just going a little slower. Some people could really use a math lesson.


Most don't get my slowing (in the car) for a red light that is about to change either in spite of witnessing 2 or three in a row. They just don't think that way.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I feel you guys. The shock can be felt here too. Similar people are getting more and more followers here in Europe too  In 4 years we'll see.

1C and wet snow again this morning and afternoon. For the rest, we had 50 shades of grey fog all day and somehow it did not get really bright today.

Rear wheel seems to work well. Was glad to be back on bike #1, felt right at home from the beginning. Tomorrow they are forecasting it to be sunny, but seeing is believing


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I forgot to mention that BC does not only have a nice bike, but also has an eye for making very nice pics of it


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Loving the commutes since the time change, ride home at dusk, nice and chilly. Almost hit a fence leaving work, I was starting to record strava, since the app updated the record button was in a different spot, was riding and trying to find the record button lol. 

My suspicions were confirmed of the panhandlers on a corner near work. Someone left a nice sized box full of food, fruits and veggies on the bridge trail. This was almost 2 weeks ago. No one took anything, other than a few tomatoes thrown about. Now it's all rotted and onion skins all over the place. Yet their cardboard signs say "hungry, God bless" I've had it with these tweakers.

Y'all be careful on the ice this winter, yeah I know just had to say it!

Dang the conflicts with drivers suck. They just don't get it, I don't think it will change unless everyone was forced to ride a bike around town for a few days a year.

I'm trying to convince 2 maybe 3 people at work to bike commute, they want to but won't take the plunge. Any ideas to help convince??


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Tell your co-workers to harden the **** up.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

NDD said:


> Tell your co-workers to harden the **** up.


Haven't tried that angle yet  one's a part time roadie and the other a part time downhill mtbr dood and the other a walmart bike guy . I think the biggest hurdle is riding on the streets here in Vegas. They don't want to do it, I don't either. Will have to look for trails closer to their homes for motivation.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Haven't tried that angle yet  one's a part time roadie and the other a part time downhill mtbr dood and the other a walmart bike guy . I think the biggest hurdle is riding on the streets here in Vegas. They don't want to do it, I don't either. Will have to look for trails closer to their homes for motivation.


Ha, I'm just kidding anyway. I'd say it's stress relieving but probably not on the streets of Vegas! I'm in an anomalous situation, so I'm biased about the pleasure of bike commuting.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

NDD said:


> Ha, I'm just kidding anyway. I'd say it's stress relieving but probably not on the streets of Vegas! I'm in an anomalous situation, so I'm biased about the pleasure of bike commuting.


Stress relieving yes good point, we're usually busy as F all day. Go home and be happy.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Eugene, how about the benefits of their improved fitness when they get to do Road riding or downhilling? Although in theory I save some time by driving my commute I would still need to do heading on for 1.1/2 hr of cardio a day to keep up with where I am now. Not gonna happen. Yeah I know you can do more intense stuff but I miles in the legs count.

No ride today as I have somewhere to be too soon after work to allow for biking, washing, collecting family and getting there.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

SlipSpace said it...I don't consider myself a roadie at all. I would never ride roads without a clear destination in mind like work. But that 8-10 hrs of cardio on the bike makes me a beast on the trails come weekend.

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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ex mtb'er turned roadie. One too many severe crashes completely my fault. Gave it up for the most part. Going to be a cool commute in, and a cold one home. Supposed to be under 30°F for the first time tonight.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Good points I'll try those. I'll look into the trail system better and maybe talk them into riding them on the weekend, showing them in person. My ride has very little road riding, mostly MUP, it's great.

No ride today, I'm off work. Also get to go to the eye Dr for the first time, I think I need glasses.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Riding home I turn left from a side street onto a somewhat busier street.

Construction makes it difficult to see the traffic coming form the right, so you have to sneak out slowly til you get a look.

Often the side street is blocked off.

So buddy driving from my left puts his right signal on to turn right, could be he is going to park or turn right onto my side street.

So I begin the to sneak out for my left turn.

Then buddy notices that the side street is blocked... so now he wants to go straight thru.

But of course I am in the way now... so I complete my turn.

He sends me the bird.... So I send it back.

Well he looses it puts it in reverse and starts backing up on his side of the road to give me the last piece of his mind.

He is doing about 30 kph by now... So I am getting ready to jump onto the sidewalk.

Well it is rush hour so traffic forces him to stop, and continue forward on his way...

Two drivers pass me and basically apologize for this idiot....

Who will unfortunately complete his commute home, with no brain left at all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Hey Jeff, I'd say that was somebody that escaped our country to yours based on the election results but (talking about moving to Canada is all the rage) but by your account, it sounds more like somebody that was happy with the results. I'm saying this all based on traffic interactions and bumper stickers over the last few months.

The commute in was a fabulous warm fall morning. The wind has kicked up now and the temperature has started to drop so I think I've had my best ride of the day. 

My legs are tired.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa JC that sounds pretty bad. Luckily he didnt get you.

Ride in this morning was difficult. Temps just below zero and freezing fog. At the very first turn I braked a bit and my rear wheel locked up immediately, it was slippery as hell. So the ride in was my slowest ever I guess. At one point my front wheel slipped a very bit, just enough to feel it and to keep me awake. I have seen several cars driving very slowly along the way so I guess my Conti Wintercontacts did their job. Lovely detour through the countryside in a wonderful sunset. Rode the first part with a collegue, got some cheese (Proud to be Dutch) and then rode home in the dark. When I came home it was freezing again and getting slippery again. Glad I dont have to ride tomorrow.

You guys stay safe out there!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Hey Jeff, I'd say that was somebody that escaped our country to yours based on the election results but (talking about moving to Canada is all the rage) but by your account, it sounds more like somebody that was happy with the results. I'm saying this all based on traffic interactions and bumper stickers over the last few months.


Having a hard time following the Political end of your post....

Basically I have only every voted once...

Politicians for all of their grandiose posturing, unless they go for a revolution, really don't have a lot of leeway, to change society.

Dial up recent Alberta politics....basically the government needs cash.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Politicians for all of their grandiose posturing, unless they go for a revolution, really don't have a lot of leeway, to change society.


Agreed.

I was just saying that the people with Trump bumper stickers were the most likely to drive like A-holes. But they're the ones sticking around. That is as political as I'll get.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I jinxed myself. CX bike has a creaky bottom bracket, and here I am bragging that there is little to no maintenance. Stopped in at the shop because I assumed that it was just the seatpost so I greased that and adjusted the saddle. Nope, still there. The ride in was pretty miserable in the wind, but the temp was pretty nice just under 50°F and sunny. Ride home was pretty cold at 28°F and breezy. Listening to that creaking bottom bracket the whole ride home pretty much wiped out the enjoyment of the ride. Ran double lights up front and back and got a compliment or two from drivers at the light.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute - just getting ready to ride down to the shop to do a bar swap, wrap the bars, and pick up some stuff I ordered. Manager called me, he is getting ready to face the headset/bottom bracket of a freshly powdercoated frame and wanted to let me know so I can watch. If you have not watched stuff like this, I highly recommend it if possible. Watched him do my Jamis Sonik frame and it was mesmerizing.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I lied about the commute. Ended up going into the hospital to cover for 3.5 hours. First time that I have done both rides in the dark. Left here about 7 pm or so and stayed at work until the normal 11:30. It was a really nice night to ride so I cut through campus to get to work and it ended up being just about my normal mileage so it added a nice option for me to change it up. Unless there is a night game of some sort, the weekends are usually dead on campus to traffic so it is an ideal route. Ride home had me keeping a nice consistent pace, so much so that I ended up catching up to a coworker in her car who was in absolute disbelief as she pulled out of the hospital just before me. Ended up catching her at a light where she was waiting, and I was approaching it at full speed. The timing was spot on as I blasted the T intersection at full speed right as the light turned green. She said that I flew by like a bolt of lightning as she did eventually catch me a few lights up from that. Was a nice night.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> I jinxed myself. CX bike has a creaky bottom bracket, and here I am bragging that there is little to no maintenance. Stopped in at the shop because I assumed that it was just the seatpost so I greased that and adjusted the saddle. Nope, still there. The ride in was pretty miserable in the wind, but the temp was pretty nice just under 50°F and sunny. Ride home was pretty cold at 28°F and breezy. Listening to that creaking bottom bracket the whole ride home pretty much wiped out the enjoyment of the ride. Ran double lights up front and back and got a compliment or two from drivers at the light.


Well that's not good! I just replaced my bottom bracket today. Gonna try to start servicing that part regularly because it made a big difference. Not having any play helps.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Hey guys! Not too much riding for me lately. I have a suspected herniated disc in my lower neck. Came on when I was changing to winter tyres on the cars. Doc thinks that my position on the bike will make things worse so im going to have to take a break from riding...


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2016)

^^Ghost, is your doctor recommending any corrective action? It doesn't take long for a herniated disc to become a ruptured or flat (empty disc). I speak from experience with a fusion, a mostly degenerated disc in my lower and a bulged disc in my neck.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Not yet, Forster. I was given a 'kind of' diagnosis on Friday and some light joint manipulation to try and free up my neck / right shoulder. I was pretty stiff with upper right back / shoulder pain. Also had shooting pain / pins and needles in my right elbow. Told to take it easy, rest up and have a follow up on Wednesday. 
Its actually less painful now and the motion seems to be better, so hopefuly it is just suspected and not confirmed... 
I actually tripped on the stairs yesterday because my back twinged and fell hard (was carrying my thee year old at the time and used my body to break her fall) she is a-ok as I managed to land on my elbows and knees. The pain im my shoulder after was a real killer. I used a good five minutes to get up again. Kinda dramatic, but it was fine in the end. She got a fright, but was completely uninjured, thank God. 
I doped myself up on Ibuprofen and got a whole nights sleep (after a good while tossing and turning considering what could have happened). Im actually not bad today, considering.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Oh man Ghost that sucks! I was wondering why I haven't seen your commutes on strava lately. I can see how changing tires can do that, they are heavy and awkward to maneuver. Get some rest and heal up soon!


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2016)

Ghost, sounds like you may have some adhesions in your shoulders too. (Been there as well). You might google PT techniques for shoulder adhesions, maintaining flexibility is a lot easier than the surgery they use to correct the issue once you get a "frozen" shoulder.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh man ghost...I hope that it turns out better then suspected.

I guess your wife will have to carry the kid from now on :lol: or do like me: I put some metal hookscrews dont know a better word) in the wall on kids height and pulled a 2cm thick rope through it. That way the kids have their own handrail and can go up&down themselves. Even my almost-2-year-old can get up & down himself. If they slip, the reflex is to squeeze the hand so they automatically hold the rope and dont fall. It works very well, but REGARDLESS I always walk just underneath them so I can catch them. And should I miss them, they still get stopped into my legs instead of rolling down. At least you dont have to carry them all the time.

But as always, all experience you learn just after you needed it :-/ You are always smarter after, not before.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Heh, thanks guys! I like the hand rail idea. I guess we might need it, you see the reason the guy with the bad back was doing the heavy lifting is that the wife is currently 12 weeks on the way to our second, so she isnt much better for the heavy lifting that I am. Our three year old is going to have to get used to stairs, I guess...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi, time for your 3 year old to grow up 

Here two pics I just took:

how it works:
https://goo.gl/photos/76i5KCr1wZdcVdsc9

close up:
https://goo.gl/photos/Z2uNjikHEs6kZSaDA

Make sure to use a rope that feels soft in your hands.

Good luck!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another great day to commute. Stupid headwind had me cursing something fierce but aside from that, it was a nice ride in. Commute is now shorter due to the city repaving the main road which is cutting almost 3/4 of a mile off of my ride. Making up for it by taking the longer way home and it has been nice. Had a MGIFer tonight "race" me, to a stop sign. Couldn't wait, and then pass. Went through the stop sign in the other lane after doing a rolling stop which included his wheels never stopping. Apparently me doing 24mph in a 25mph zone is atrocious and I must be passed because I am too slow.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sounds painful Ghost! I hope the prognosis turns out well and you recover soon. Good save with the littlun, amazing how instinct cuts in to protect them like that. Also congratulations on the news of another on the way! That's excellent!

This morning was wet, again, and about 6C. Only 3 of us committing to the cycle commute now. The new guy is sticking with it and investing in the gear despite his protestations a couple of weeks ago.

Ride this morning also saw me roll over my commute mileage target for the year, 3003 miles as of my arrival today. 5 weeks to spare.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well done SS!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Refreshing ride in this morning at -5C. Weather turned during the day, 3C on the way home and is forecasted to rise up to 10C with wind and rain tomorrow and Wednesday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to hear Ghost, hope you are on the improve soon! Good rides here today, supermoon for the ride home is nice. A few bad potholes on my route were being patched this morning - not super smooth, but better than a bottomless pit!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang ghost, take care of yourself, now. Hopefully the fix is as easy as rest, for however long. 

Good to see some of us hit our millage goals early. Me? I stopped having goals, but figuring at riding 100 - 140 commuter miles a week, if I take the conservative estimate at 100 miles a week and don't include non commutes to correct for the few times I cheated and the three weeks after splitting my finger open, and I'm at about 4,500. That's up from the past few years, but I've been more consistent. Not shabby!

Today was a great autumn commute. Left early to take the long way and get in some singletrack that lets out behind campus. Will try to get out early enough tomorrow to do the same.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Beautiful fall day here, a bit cool to start out with but warmed up nicely. Had a verbal encounter with a USPS delivery man not once, not twice, but three separate times as he was parked in the bike lane on various parts of the campus. He told me that as a postal worker, he could park wherever he wanted because there is no parking available. I told him that he was delusional. The first incident really had me annoyed because not only was he parked in the bike lane and partially blocking the actual car lane, he was also blocking a fire hydrant. Unfortunately the bike lanes on campus see very little use because most of the kids just ride on the sidewalk. That really is too bad because it is nice that they put in miles of bike lanes on campus. 

Cleared 3000 miles tonight on the fixed gear in comparison to the rest of the miles split between three other bikes. It's a bit lopsided I would say.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Well, I'm officially going nuts here. No riding since Monday last week and I can feel my legs atrophying, my chin doubling and my gut growing...

I'm climbing the walls here!!

My back / neck / shoulder seems to be better around lunch time, but worse in the morning (I read that the discs re-hydrate ans swell at night) and in the evening (my muscles are getting tired from me holding myself like I'm going to break at any second...)

Must have slept funny last night because it took me a good couple minutes to get out of bed this morning. Fixing my hair and getting dressed was also fun.

At least I hit my target for km this year (I had planned a rather conservative 2000 km, but According to Strava I have at least 3646 km (2260 miles or so) in the bank - not all rides get logged, though...). I hoped to hit at least 3500 km after I saw I was going past 2000 km by July / August time, so I can be happy with that, at least...

Welp, I have an appointment with the Naprapath tomorrow - lets see what happens after that...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Yep the miles are certainly racking up for all of this year, targets hit or not. That's a great effort on a fixed gear Tenspeed!

Not come across the term Naprapath before Ghost, so had to google it. Sounds almost pleasant, hopefully they can help.

You've had it colder than we have Dutchman. Not really dropped below freezing here yet. Was over 10 deg with no rain this morning! I was back in a t-shirt only. Chucking it down out there now though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Well, I'm officially going nuts here. No riding since Monday last week and I can feel my legs atrophying, my chin doubling and my gut growing...


I'm not a doctor and I don't play on on TV but I'd recommend that you take an easy ride as long as it doesn't aggravate your condition. Repeat as necessary. I've rarely heeded a doctors advice to stay off the bike. So far, so good. You'll know if you are damaging yourself better than your doc.

Yes, racking up the miles! I've already ridden more miles this year than any other year in my life. I have been winding down to just the commutes. The colder weather has taken the drive to ride a century right out of my legs.

I was back in shorts for the commute this morning but I fear it's not for much longer. Quite a bit of rain forecast for the ride home.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Well, I'm officially going nuts here. No riding since Monday last week and I can feel my legs atrophying, my chin doubling and my gut growing...
> 
> I'm climbing the walls here!!
> 
> ...


Find a good physio ASAP right now you are learning how to compensate and that can be a real problem.

A good physio will do a work-up, question about your current and past exercise programs, habits...

provide diagnosis, provide prognosis, alter current exercise program, teach new exercises...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This weather has me excited to be out and riding. Thursday is supposed to be 64 and sunny, and then Friday is forecasted to be 66!!! USPS has contacted me via Twitter after I posted regarding the incidents with the driver. We will see what is resolved through this. Oh, and I am going to be riding again to work today on a beautiful upper 50° day.

Hope that all that are injured or recovering are doing alright. Hate to see anyone off the bike for reasons like this.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> Find a good physio ASAP right now you are learning how to compensate and that can be a real problem.


I second the learning to compensate problem. Sometimes the compensation can cause more problems than the injury.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghost I was off the bike for.3 weeks too and.I.agree, it is totally horrible. Since I can ride again now I notice that I feel much more alert and I have more energy than when I do not ride.

I am pretty much p!ssed off by the shop that handled my rohloff issue. In the end I had 3(!) issues that could have been better handled with better communication. By now I found lots of bad reviews about the shop too. Tonight I put the spoke reflectors back on and I could swear those spokes are too loose. 

I.am going to.tighten them myself tomorrow, really see no use in driving to the shop twice again. Really wonder how they survive. 

Today I rode in drizzle both rides, 3C in the morning and 9C on the way home. A 15C increase compared to yesterday morning.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in through campus on the longer route, and then a similar ride home. I am pretty lucky to have a good route with multiple options depending on what is going on in the city.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That doesn't sound too good on the wheel rebuild Dutchman  

Quite warm this morning, double figures C, really windy this too.. Dry ride in but everywhere is constantly wet at the moment, bike is an absolute state, country roads don't help. Must give it a clean at the weekend.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Great news guys! The prolapse has moved itself back into place (more or less).
I was feeling better and better out over the day yesterday - less pain in the neck / back and less pins and needles in the arm / completely back to normal in the wrist / hand.

My treatment this morning pretty much confirmed it - I have regained pretty much 100% neck, back and shoulder movement. And the pain is concentrating itself back to where the disc is - i.e.the prolapsed part is retreating back into its place.¨

As I write this I am still a wee bit sore - mainly from the treatment and running for the train (which I didn't manage to catch). But things are definitely looking up!

*I can cycle again too!!* Although I might leave off a little longer until my last check on Monday - just to be sure that I am not going to set myself back again.

The Naprapath also gave me strengthening exercises for my back, to help with the bad posture. I am beginning to feel cautiously optimistic... 

Thanks for the concern, folks


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Super soggy ride home last night, but a couple of bright spots... One of those curtains of water from a passing car going through a giant puddle landed just short of me. My new Marmot Pingora pants from SierraTradingPost were comfy (not hot/sweaty) and dry in the 40F rain. I do need to use an ankle thingy to secure them away from the chain. 

In the morning I was pretty sure that a box truck that blew by me was going to rear-end line of stopped traffic, but it stopped in time. Unnecessarily dumb driving though.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

happy days Ghost :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ghost_HTX said:


> *I can cycle again too!!* Although I might leave off a little longer until my last check on Monday - just to be sure that I am not going to set myself back again.


 So you didn't take my advice, maybe it's for the best. Glad you are on the mend.



mtbxplorer said:


> Super soggy ride home last night, but a couple of bright spots... One of those curtains of water from a passing car going through a giant puddle landed just short of me. My new Marmot Pingora pants from SierraTradingPost were comfy (not hot/sweaty) and dry in the 40F rain. I do need to use an ankle thingy to secure them away from the chain.


 Ditto, Nothing like a soggy day to prompt me to order another pair of shoe covers to try. I'm determined to fix the soggy feet problem. I went for Castelli Diluvio 16 Shoe Covers. I sent the last pair back because the water just ran down my leg and soaked my sock.



mtbxplorer said:


> In the morning I was pretty sure that a box truck that blew by me was going to rear-end line of stopped traffic, but it stopped in time. Unnecessarily dumb driving though.


I didn't' see it happen but I did see the aftermath of a rear-ending this morning. Nothing too bad, just a few thousand in damage to each car.

The commute today was soggy. My shoe covers will be hear tomorrow when the sun is back out. Unseasonably warm today too.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Heh... Please dont take it personally, Bedwards! He actually said the same as you this morning; my wanting to wait is actually more to do with the weather. You see, its going to hover around 0C here over the next days and wiping out pn black ice doesnt sound so tempting with a bad back... 

I am sorely tempted to go out on the bike tomorrow, though...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-4C all the puddles are now ice puddles....still on the slicks..

The canceled the FIS ski races for lack of snow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. 15F at my house, 28F and 98% humidity in town and icy as sin. Getting closer and closer to pulling the trigger on winter cycling boots. I think I'm going to go with the Lakes and just make sure that they are large enough to accommodate extra sock layers as needed. I think even for the coldest temps (-25F) I ride in these will be more than sufficient with the proper layers as I ride in the negatives with my current set up.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very smart ghost,.dont overreact now. But I am glad that everything worked out so well for you.so.far.

6C and drizzle this morning, 10C.and dry.on the way home so no complains. I think I caught a cold today, nose is clogged up and my throat hurts. Time to start drinking tea with honey at work. Weather is expected to get windy with gusts up to 30kts. Its about time, its mid-november already.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

36°F for the ride home tonight. Forget my head cover so my head got pretty cold. Nothing major happened other than a dumbass walking nose deep on his phone on the actual bike path crossing a blind bridge. Had I been 15 seconds earlier, I might have hit him. Temps to warm up Thursday and Friday, and then the bottom drops out. Rain and snow possible this weekend, and then the cold temps look like they are here to stay.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

NPD! New pannier day today. My Ortliebs turned up yesterday, Back Roller Classics in ORANGE. They certainly seem like quality items and they should be considering the price! Fit easily and no rattling around on the journey in and more importantly, dry inside.

5c this morning apparently, felt much colder due to the wind.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The last 3 commutes before this morning were wet but the last was the worst. It wasn't really raining, just a heavy mist but I had a layer of road grit and grime covering everything when I was done. Should have opted for tights over shorts just to keep my legs clean.

Shorts again today, we've got some beautiful fall weather on tap for the next few days.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> NPD! New pannier day today. My Ortliebs turned up yesterday, Back Roller Classics in ORANGE. They certainly seem like quality items and they should be considering the price! Fit easily and no rattling around on the journey in and more importantly, dry inside.
> .


I am hard on stuff. And I can say, confidently that the back rollers have held up to my abuse for three, almost four years now. I have had to replace the buckles on them, but the bags themselves, and, more important, the hardware that attaches them to the rack, have been bomber. I'd like to see a bit more organization within them - pockets and dividers or something, but they are great.

Decent ride in this AM. Mid-20s with light snow in town. The ride took forever, though as light, dry snow over ice... yeah, fun times. If I get lucky the snow will bond to the ice over the day so I can get some decent miles in this afternoon before getting on the bus. I wish it would just snow about three inches and actually stick around for the rest of the winter rather than this snow, melt, rain, freeze, melt, freeze, rain cycle we've been having for the past few years.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have Ortlieb back-rollers as well, in asphalt-grey from spring 2003 when I recall correctly. Not only used for touring but also used for getting groceries/errands incl. heavy stuff like waterbottles etc. If yours are the same quality, you have done a great buy Slipspace!

Germany's biggest outdoorshop offers a bikebag organiser that "magically" perfectly fits the backroller:
https://www.globetrotter.de/shop/bikebag-organizer-220601/
They do ship throughout Europe.

Decent rides today. Although grey and damp, it remains dry on both rides. 6C on the way in, 9C on the way home. Rain is now coming in, when I'm lucky, it is dry again tomorrow.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Cold here this morning had to put on the arm warmers and vest. Might have to wear the long tights tomorrow, supposed to be 38f tonight brrr!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

It's all coming to an end. Tonight was 61°F for the ride home and I wore shorts, a jersey and fingerless gloves. High of 68°F tomorrow, and then it falls off the shelf according to the NWS. Rain mixed with snow for the weekend and then into next week highs in the 40's. Can't complain but it doesn't make me happy. Ride was really good tonight, wind at my back, and the traffic was really light.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I have Ortlieb back-rollers as well, in asphalt-grey from spring 2003 when I recall correctly. Not only used for touring but also used for getting groceries/errands incl. heavy stuff like waterbottles etc. If yours are the same quality, you have done a great buy Slipspace!
> 
> Germany's biggest outdoorshop offers a bikebag organiser that "magically" perfectly fits the backroller:
> https://www.globetrotter.de/shop/bikebag-organizer-220601/
> They do ship throughout Europe.


Thanks Dutchman. Not seen that organiser before. Not something I need for commuting but I can see how that would be perfect for touring!

Cold here today, 2C/34F with a cold wind (still). I'm in shorts still as that's all I have at the moment, legs were too cold to be efficient really. Tomorrow I have to collect my new spectacles in the city so I'll drop in the LBSs and see what tights or knee warmers they have.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Im back!

Did a commute yesterday on studs, temps hovering around 0C / -1C. I took it easy and it went really well! Only a little stiffness to deal with this morning too, so all is good

Changed back to 700c wheels and slicks last night for the ride in this morning, as we are forecast mild and wet until Thursday, then it is back to -+-+-+-+ freezing again for a bit... Wish the weather would make its mind up! It is really night and day - Open Pave 25mm clinchers vs Ice Spiker Pro front / Nokian Haakapaaleitaa rear (not sure I used enough "a's" there) ...seriously studded jobs (actually meant for icy single track, so maybe a bit overkill for a commute, even in Norway...). But I had them to hand and it costs me nothing more than a disc / cassette swap over...

My rear light gave up this morning too - I guess sitting on the seat post (on a bike without fenders) is going to test the most water resistant lights, huh?
Rushed out at lunch to buy a cheap n cheerful battery operated thing to get me home this evening.

As I am typing this now, the sky is grey, it is raining, +3C and the sun is inexplicably shining...


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

First snow ride in the mountains....crisp -3C zero muddy.

Still no snow in town


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. It's crazy how easy it gets to be lazy. Woke up this AM and the wind was howling, there had been no new snow, and I had a headache, so decided to drive. That's three drives this week and only two bike commutes. Weak. Yesterday afternoon's commute was crappy. The dusting of snow hadn't bonded to the ice layer on the MUP, so slick and slow and dangerous. Couple that with a really strange feeling of no energy, shakes, and vertigo - and it made for a really unpleasant first leg of the commute. After the bus ride wasn't too bad, windy, but physically I was feeling better. 

Ended up adding in three miles of treadmill running when I got home to try to help even out my mood after the crappy first half of the bike commute. I think it all lead into my not riding in this AM. 

Planning to head up to the mountains tonight for some snow riding. Next week, being a short week, my goal is to hit all three days commuting. Then back to minimum of four days every week. Driving just brings me down.


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

It had been quiet for awhile but the work situation just got interesting again. I was asked to sign this today which of course I refused...wanted to say that the only thing unprofessional here was the amount of misspellings and grammatical errors.










Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Jesus, honez! Not even grammar, but syntax, punctuation and logic fails abound! 
I feel, sorry, fill, stupider for reading that... Did HR type it with their foreheads? 

But; iirc, the issue was you leaving your gear out to dry in the locker room? So you started hanging it on your bike? Now they are giving you a second locker for drying purposes? Is that a win, but they are trying to wrap it up as a wrist slap from the bosses?

I would accept it, but make them first of all get it written by someone who speaks basic English, and secondly make them phrase it as a solution to a problem they created, not as some sort of unofficial reprimand. 

Just my thoughts... You can choice to go with it or not


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

honez1414 said:


> It had been quiet for awhile but the work situation just got interesting again. I was asked to sign this today which of course I refused...wanted to say that the only thing unprofessional here was the amount of misspellings and grammatical errors.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wait what's wrong with the locker setup?

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## honez1414 (Jan 11, 2011)

My gear is still wet by the time I'm ready to ride home. The lockers offer zero ventilation. I was hanging my stuff from hangers on the "drying hooks" in the shower area that no one uses but that was frowned upon. I resorted to hanging a shirt shorts and towel using travel hanger from my handlebars. That has now been deemed unprofessional. The second locker does nothing because my stuff still wouldn't dry. They won't speak to me directly so they've yet to realize my real issue.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

My man parts turned into little raisins this morning. :lol:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> My man parts turned into little raisins this morning. :lol:


Best post so far in this thread. :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> Best post so far in this thread. :lol:


I agree but honez' letter is a close second.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> My man parts turned into little raisins this morning.


Well at least it takes being cold for you...

Anyway. 60 degrees this morning, 40 degrees tonight. Cold front blew in. I love cold weather, really, until below teens Fahrenheit.

Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I will be driving today. Yesterday was 70°F and sunny. It is currently 34°F with a mix of rain and snow. The more I ride, the less I want to ride in garbage weather like this.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Oof. Brutal ride in today in the wind and cold. Garmin said that it was 29°F by the time I got to work during the warmest part of the day. Headwind kicked my ass the whole way. Nearly blown over by a cross wind 3 separate times. 2 people blocking the bike lane on campus. Ride home was alright, cold at a balmy 31°F with a slight wind at my back. Felt like a rookie with my clothing choice as I am still digging my winter stuff all out.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Honez, that letter is laughable 'for a Fortune 500' company. Agree that lockers are rubbish for getting stuff dry, no chance. I guess they are trying to make an effort but without really understanding the issues. I have stuff hanging all over. Have been known to use the boiler room when it's really wet.

That sounds like a killer ride Tenspeed!

I went shopping Saturday and bought some running tights/leggings for my rides, last week had some too cold days for bare legs. Similar to cycle gear but unpadded and way cheaper. I only use padded stuff on long journeys anyways. Looks like the temps will be up around 10C or so for the next week now though 

Planned for, and used, the car this morning as I have to collect my daughter on the way home tonight. Absolutely chucking it down, I would have been wet, but a good test for the panniers. Of course I roll into work to comments of 'oo, too wet this morning Steve', 'call yourself an allweather cyclist' etc etc. Sod off..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

honez1414 said:


> My gear is still wet by the time I'm ready to ride home. The lockers offer zero ventilation. I was hanging my stuff from hangers on the "drying hooks" in the shower area that no one uses but that was frowned upon. I resorted to hanging a shirt shorts and towel using travel hanger from my handlebars. That has now been deemed unprofessional. The second locker does nothing because my stuff still wouldn't dry. They won't speak to me directly so they've yet to realize my real issue.
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


I'm assuming you have no office space to call your own? Merino wool clothes (so they don't reak) and a small fan in the office space under a desk work pretty well. Or maybe the extra locker and one of these: Rechargeable Fan

Today was the first day of winter here. I put the studs on the winter beater. I probably didn't need them but slicks weren't the answer. Better safe than a red spot on the road, that's what I always say.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

honez1414 said:


> I was asked to sign this today which of course I refused...wanted to say that the only thing unprofessional here was the amount of misspellings and grammatical errors.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I would not sign such a poor excuse for the English language either!

That said, have you tried the two sets of clothes method to see if things dry enough over another day? If not, mildew would be expected and the suggestion is unworkable, second locker or no. The rechargeable fan idea may help if the lockers are vented. The lack of personal contact suggested by the letter does not say much for the HR department, above and beyond the poor English used. I wonder if it was dictated to a program and not checked.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> I will be driving today. Yesterday was 70°F and sunny. It is currently 34°F with a mix of rain and snow. The more I ride, the less I want to ride in garbage weather like this.


Ten, I am getting to be the same way. I'm not quite to the point of finding any excuse to not ride, but am much, much less inclined to wear my adherence to Rule 9 as a badge of honor anymore. Too old and tired for that.

A decent ride in this AM, though... given the weather almost didn't happen. 10MPH winds out of the east/north east this AM with gusts to 22, so the first half of my ride to the bus stop was less than fun.

In town the MUPs were in surprisingly good shape. I was expecting an icy mess, but over the weekend things cleared up in a lot of places, so a bit faster going than the last few days.

Had some good rides over the weekend. Took a couple of hours to ride part of the route to Knik glacier. I knew I wouldn't make the glacier as I decided last minute to head over there and it is about an 8 to 8.5 hour round trip ride. Leaving at 12:30PM gave me just under four hours of day light. Riding in the dark doesn't bother me, but riding in the dark in a new area that isn't a well-marked or defined trail and that has the possibility of deep and icy water crossings... not so much. It was a great fun ride, though. I think I was out for just under 2.5 hours. By the time I was about back to the car fog had rolled in turning the whole world flat gray, making for some interesting riding. Took one spill on some ice coming back. Shoulder's a bit sore, but not bad.

























Yesterday got a bit of single track riding in. More just an excuse to get outside. Nothing hard or fast. Variable conditions of dirt, ice, and hollowed earth where ice formation under the trails have lifted the trail surface, which then breaks through as you ride over it.

Good times.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow blockphi that first picture looks pretty tough :thumbsup:

Good rides today. 9C in the morning, 12!!C on the way home. Rode with the thinnest longsleeve I have and without gloves. Tomorrow will be similar. After that, temps are going down again. But at least, pobably dry for the rest of the week.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

blockphi said:


> Ten, I am getting to be the same way. I'm not quite to the point of finding any excuse to not ride, but am much, much less inclined to wear my adherence to Rule 9 as a badge of honor anymore. Too old and tired for that.
> 
> A decent ride in this AM, though... given the weather almost didn't happen. 10MPH winds out of the east/north east this AM with gusts to 22, so the first half of my ride to the bus stop was less than fun.
> 
> ...


That beardcicle is pretty epic. Not sure how you do it the way you do it, snow and ice already?

The older I get, the less Rule #9 applies. Todays ride was sponsored by the letters A & K, and those are for the ass kicking I got from the wind. Absolutely was miserable even though the sun was out. Hands were frozen, face and legs were numb. Almost knocked over 3 different times while delivering. Ride home tonight had the wind at my back at least, but it was 23°F and just cold. The colder it gets, the more I notice the wind and the more I hate it.

Taking the day off of riding and driving to work Tuesday. My body needs it.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Strange weather here in Norway - I was on studs for a bit but have now gone back to slicks, on account of the mild wet weather. Its been constantly over 0C here, so most of the ice is gone. I found a patch yesterday and did a sweet two wheel drift - that was fun - especially since I *-1-* didn't mean to and *-2-* somehow kept the bloody thing upright.

The mild wet weather has turned most roads around here into something resembling the Somme too. When I got to work today I, my kit and my beloved CheapChineseCarbonCXCrapper seriously looked like we had been riding some single track out in the woods, or had been parked at the bottom of a pond for a while... I still have grit in my teeth and possibly "other" places, even after a nice hot shower...

On the health front, my back is getting better - I still wake up a wee bit stiff, but I have one more check on Wednesday and then if I do the strength training I should be a-OK.

@Blockphi - You and your beardcicle have my respect - riding offroad in snow is pretty hard core, regardless of the speed!

@TenSpeed - I feel you (metaphorically, of course) I have started to have moments during #9 rides where I suddenly question my own wisdom and decision making processes - it's dark/wet/slippy/cold and here I am riding around on a bike with 25c tyres, wearing lycra... BUT it goes over quickly when I remember how friggin awesome cycling is!


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## kevin267 (Mar 9, 2011)

Flat tire on the way in, tried a new method of flat repair and it worked fine! Actually commuted for two days like that before I got around to replacing the tube


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

45+mph winds here this morning, mostly would be front or side, saw me choose the car for my journey. It is in double digit C temps though.

Blockphi, nice beard pic, that's pretty tough.

Kevin, not tried that one before but logged for future emergency use.


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## Ace. (Jun 3, 2012)

:thumbsup: if i knew how to i would rep Kevin267

Only recently found this commuting zone, enjoyable.


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2016)

Ace. said:


> :thumbsup: if i knew how to i would rep Kevin267
> 
> Only recently found this commuting zone, enjoyable.


 Did that for you (it's great idea for the unpatchable tube. To Rep, you hit the six pointed star in the left lower corner. Pretty straight forward from there.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Epic commuter beard Blockphi! :thumbsup: And Kevin thanks good idea, and I'm going to have to build a tool wall like that for my bike tools, my cardboard box overfloweth........


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Yesterday got a bit of single track riding in. More just an excuse to get outside. Nothing hard or fast. Variable conditions of dirt, ice, and hollowed earth where ice formation under the trails have lifted the trail surface, which then breaks through as you ride over it.


I was getting a lot of that this morning. At first I didn't' realize what it was, the trails or bike just felt "weird". There was a disconcerting lack of traction on off camber trails.



kevin267 said:


> Flat tire on the way in, tried a new method of flat repair and it worked fine! Actually commuted for two days like that before I got around to replacing the tube


Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump

Pretty ride in this morning through the woods, see: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. 14F at my house with some decent aurora out. 17F in town at the bus stop. Closer to 10F along the creek where the MUP runs. No wind, though. Which is nice. 

I tell ya, winter gets harder and harder each year - mostly the dark. Leave for work and work for three hours before I see the sun. Leave work at 3:30 and already the sun is setting. Get to the bus stop by 4:15 and it is well past twilight. Pitch dark by the time I get back to the valley. I've always thought I wanted to experience polar night sometime, but don't think I could handle it anymore. Two years ago I was working on the North Slope in the oil fields in October - not quite polar night, but if I remember correctly it was like two hours of daylight, but at least some. I need me some sun from time to time.


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## Ace. (Jun 3, 2012)

Rep added now


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ok let's all go get on our city commuter bikes and do this haha fuuuuun! Uhh no not really, but it looks good watching someone else do it!


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great video Eugene. Dude got skills. So basically, run what you brung. Love the flex in the rear wheel at about 4:50 ish....

Lots of water still around from the recent rains but otherwise cold (1C) and dry this morning. Wore black running tights/leggings under my baggies shorts. First thing one of my colleagues says when he sees me on the way to change, 'Ha, Mickey Mouse legs!'.  :lol: I see what he means......


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was odd. I left on time just after 5 but it seemed really dark, the traffic was very light in town and I saw one car on the country roads part. More like when I leave off at 7. Not a complaint btw, just an observation. it'd be great if it was like that all the time!

No drama this morning other than a couple of dog walking smombies..


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Happy Thanksgiving, intrepid bikecommuters!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Didnt have time to check in this week so far. Ive been riding though. Beginning of the week was unusual warm with around 12C/55F and it is going down to freezing level again now. At least it is dry and calm, so pretty nice actually to ride in. Tuesday morning I rode to work and had to go into town after work, so I left the bike at work. Took the bus on Wednesdaymorning and rode home in the evening. Monday and Tuesdaymorning had beautiful sunrises too. 

Tenspeed: What are you wearing nowadays on the bike? Sounds like you are still riding in shorts and shortsleeve T-shirt. Apart that being cold simply suxx big time, I can not imagine that it is good for your joints (especially knees) to be so cold. For me I can say that I am riding with much warmer clothing already. That said, I admit I have a route that allows me to just cruise along instead of zippíng through traffic.

Kevin: I have heard of the trick before but actually havent seen anyone really doing it so far. I also heard that to avoid the thump-thump-thump thing, you could stuff the tire with grass or anything similar.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Yeah, hope you had a happy thanksgiving folks. Sorry that mostly bypasses us in the UK...

Headwind ride home yesterday but was ok. Glorious sunshine this morning, about 3C. Great day to be on the bike! 

Met a Truck (semi) coming the other way on the lanes this morning, collecting sugar beet from one of the farms. Kudos to him, he saw me coming and pulled in and stopped to let me pass.


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## Guest (Nov 25, 2016)

SlipSpace said:


> Yeah, hope you had a happy thanksgiving folks. Sorry that mostly bypasses us in the UK...


 You don't need to celebrate a holiday to feel thankful, just a bike ride. Preferably with a beer on the backside.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Not what I meant, more it's not a national celebration like Xmas or Easter etc, but I hear ya.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

3rd day in a row off the bike for me. Working today but no commute ride in. Upper 30's and rain and it just isn't worth it for me to ride to work and be soaked and cold, and then put on wet clothes to ride home when it is colder out. Might get a ride in on Sunday since it will be in the upper 40's and sunny.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Awesome. Creepy Mirror Selfie Level Expert Unlocked.










Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Both rides the same today: dark, 1C, foggy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Didn't commute all last week. Was fixing up a Lincoln Town Car for myself so I have it when I do need a car. Then I was driving it a bit, and with the holiday and all... You're right, I should have rode the 180 miles to my Thanksgiving destination on my bicycle.

Getting back to it tomorrow. Supposed to rain all day for it, too. So...I just got a new pair of "waterproof" gloves. Now to find where I stashed them.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Didn't ride last Friday, had to haul n.a. beers to work for a potluck lunch, not going to ride tomorrow either, have to get stuff done after work, driving around. Family has been in town for a few days on the holiday, had to do fun holiday family stuff  Should be back to normal Tuesday.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Cold dry sunny 2C this morning. Overnight frost but roads were fine. Just kind of went through the motions, not feeling especially peppy this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Awesome. Creepy Mirror Selfie Level Expert Unlocked.


 LOL



NDD said:


> So...I just got a new pair of "waterproof" gloves. Now to find where I stashed them.


 No such thing.

Where did that 4 days go? The ride in was pretty good considering I'm fighting off a cold and my energy was pretty low.

We picked up a bad habit for my wife this weekend. :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today either, rain and low 40's. Gave away my delivery shift because I am just not feeling this weather. Yesterday I did get out and did a memorial ride for a fallen police officer in Detroit who was fatally shot in the head while investigating a break in. He was a cyclist and was active in the Police Unity Tour so a quick memorial ride was set up for Sunday from the local Sheriff's office. They expected 5-10 riders. There were about 138 riders, some police, some civilian. So I rode 13 miles to the ride, did the almost 16 mile ride, then rode home. Decided that I absolutely despise back country roads for the lack of shoulder, higher vehicle speeds and lower quality of road. I much prefer riding within the city. That being said, riding with that many police officers, some in uniform, and a full on police escort blocking all roads....I have never felt safer on my bike than on that ride. 

Hoping to be on the commute again tomorrow since the weather should clear up and be in the low 50's!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> Decided that I absolutely despise back country roads for the lack of shoulder, higher vehicle speeds and lower quality of road. I much prefer riding within the city. That being said, riding with that many police officers, some in uniform, and a full on police escort blocking all roads....I have never felt safer on my bike than on that ride.


Yes, organized rides make those roads much nicer. Welcome to my world of lousy cycling roads. We have two MUP's now that go from nowhere to nowhere which hopefully will be better integrated with future additions. Those did not exist 3 years ago.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

-4C this morning. Woke up early somehow and was on my bike at 6.12am. Pitchblack, very calm and clear sky full of stars. It turned into a sunny and calm day with a magnificant sunset during the way home. Totally awesome rides today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL
> 
> We picked up a bad habit for my wife this weekend. :thumbsup:


Not familiar with that model - pix?

Good rides today, chilled down to 22F by the time I got home. Freezing rain forecast for the a.m. - hope those furry winter Conti's are enough, no studs mounted yet.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL
> We picked up a bad habit for my wife this weekend. :thumbsup:





mtbxplorer said:


> Not familiar with that model - pix?


I assumed that it was an actual bad habit like a car, or crystal meth or something. 

Got my light charging routine out of sync as on the way home it dropped from a full on 700 Lumen (they say) to about 150 Lumen (maybe). Okish to see by I guess but suddenly the dark felt very heavy and the country roads suddenly unfamiliar.

-2C this morning, bright, sunny and dry. Felt my face tightening at some point and realised it was my beard freezing. Not as impressive as the one posted the other day (sorry can't find who it was to give credit) but a new one for me. First year with a big beard.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> Not familiar with that model - pix?
> 
> Good rides today, chilled down to 22F by the time I got home. Freezing rain forecast for the a.m. - hope those furry winter Conti's are enough, no studs mounted yet.


I think bedwards is speaking in secrets  he probably means something like chocolate or another bike.

I think you mean the conti wintercontacts? After the second winter I sat down and cut off all those hairs, took me 45min. On blank ice I think they have limited use but on anything else I am very happy with them. A little less pressure is good to increase the contact area when you get into that. Ride and brake carefully, no sharp corners and you'll make it.

Besides that, I have them on for the 4th winter now and they show very little wear. They are the most expensive tires I ever bought (50euros each) and so far I am the opinion that they are worth every cent.

Let me know how it was. I am curious to any experiences with them.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

-4C this morning - beautiful pink / purple sun rise and very little frost and ice here in Oslo. As I write this now we have -2 or so and clear blue skies...

So chilly and dry as a stick is the summary. 

I would have ridden my road bike, but there is a lot of small gravel and flints on the roads these days - I'm not exposing my Vittoria Corsas to that. I would need to pull a bike trailer filled with spare tubes... I've started carrying double as it is.

I had one go right through the top tread of my back wheel the other day there - sharp little effer it was. Made a nice 3mm long cut in the top of my nice Open Pave tyre... I guess I maybe need to switch to something a little more puncture resistant. 

I also have a fully operational quiver for the first time in ages. The roadie is clean and pristine and sleeping the winter away, the MTB is fitted with studs for when the snow eventually comes and the CX is being used as the daily commuter. I actually just stood in the doorway to my workshop last night after fettling them a little (by that I mean mechanical maintenance and cleaning, you dirty lot  ) and gazed at them for a while... 

I almost feel like maintaining them is as much fun as riding them... Kinda like therapy...

Yeah - I'm a wee bit strange... 

Had a guy on an e-bike on studs blast past me this morning - really fast (40+kph) "No f**king way" I said to myself. Nearly bust a gut catching onto his wheel, but it was soooo worth it to be motor paced into work, then pull out and sprint past him at the end. 

I had quick look at the law here in vikingland and apparently it states 250 w max output and 25 kph cut off for assistance. Would 40+kph on studs be possible on the flat with that set up? I am a little skeptical...


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2016)

First winter(ish) commute of the year. I'm pretty dang happy about 32F. Probably the warmest morning between here and March.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I think you mean the conti wintercontacts? After the second winter I sat down and cut off all those hairs, took me 45min. On blank ice I think they have limited use but on anything else I am very happy with them. A little less pressure is good to increase the contact area when you get into that. Ride and brake carefully, no sharp corners and you'll make it.
> 
> Besides that, I have them on for the 4th winter now and they show very little wear. They are the most expensive tires I ever bought (50euros each) and so far I am the opinion that they are worth every cent.
> 
> Let me know how it was. I am curious to any experiences with them.


Yes, mine say Conti Top Contact Winter on them, but I think we're talking about the same ones - how many furry tires can there be?? I left the furry bits on, thinking maybe they help on ice. Got them last winter and am happy with them. I prefer the MTB for deeper snow, but they did well on the lighter snow and ice patches I rode them through on the cross bike, and they still look brand new.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I think bedwards is speaking in secrets  he probably means something like chocolate or another bike.


Yeah, I was testing y'all. I'd never heard of it either but it is a 2016 Cannondale Bad Habit. I found it lightly used on craigslist. I tell you, these 27.5+ bikes give you instant ability. (I now have an XL 29er and a Med 26" for sale) I would have put it under the tree but we needed to see if it fit.








Fighting off a cold, we have some 33F rain happening today.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, I was testing y'all. I'd never heard of it either but it is a 2016 Cannondale Bad Habit. I found it lightly used on craigslist. I tell you, these 27.5+ bikes give you instant ability. (I now have an XL 29er and a Med 26" for sale) I would have put it under the tree but we needed to see if it fit.
> View attachment 1107769
> 
> 
> Fighting off a cold, we have some 33F rain happening today.


Immediate + rep for matching jacket to bike. Always a win in my book. Sweet bike!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Jacket was matched to riding through the woods on the last day of hunting season. Thanks for the rep. I'm sure I need to spread some around....


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Bedwards!! Nice bike!! Your wife is very lucky. Rep earned!

MTBX: You are right, I checked when I got home and they are the Conti Top Contact Winter. I have an older version without the "premium" extra, which is basically an kevlar antiflat layer in the tire. I am using a separate polymer antiflat between tire and tube instead, works fine in several bikes for me during the last 10 years.

I set a new temp record this morning: -8C/~18F this morning. Wore the same clothing as usual except for my pants and headcover. Normally I wear a thin Gore Windstopper pants over my normal pants, this time I wore a cheapo padded Craghoppers pants and a Mountain Hardware balaclava instead of the usual Buff. Everything fine.

Strange day at work today. All was calm until after lunch when all hell broke loose: Problems here and there and everywhere. So managed to solve everything, then rode home again. Only -2C on the way home, almost feels like summer 

Today and yesterday was so nice, although cold. As from tomorrow, temps are going up to ~8C and rain. Yikes.

Edit: I must spread reputation around before giving it to Bedwards again.

Edit 2: I have given out too much reputation today and must wait 24hrs.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey there commuters. Happy Thanksgiving and all that! All good around here... a round of the stomach flu, some back issues, turning 40 in a few weeks... new job deal cutting my commuting days down to 2 or 3 a week... and way more time with the kids and family... no complaints! Other than the back pain... hate the back pain.

Cut down like a 15 foot Christmas tree last week and somehow got it on top of the car and set up at home...that didn't help the back :lol:

Today's commute started in the high teens... in addition to the mileage being way down, I'm discovering that I'm a pansy when it comes to cold now also... being out there every day hardens a person... and now I am soft. Studs and fatbikes are imminent... I'm hoping to cling to some fitness and carve out some play time a few days a week once the snowmobiles pack down the logging roads.... the good snow is still a few hundred feet up the mountain from where those guys like to park their trucks...

I also got a killer new camera... and this guy has been hanging out on the commute route (taken out of the Jeep window... haven't worked out carrying the DSLR on the bike yet):


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ You have to strengthen your core! Well, that's what they always tell me. Nice eagle.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Whoa Bedwards!! Nice bike!! Your wife is very lucky. Rep earned!


 It's amazing how much money you can free up to buy bikes when you drive 10 year old cars. (And don't put that many miles on them because you commute by bike every day)


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

You know what's good "core" exercise?? Throwing heavy things at people who give you advice on how to deal with your back issues!! :lol: 
I've actually only had issues a couple times, and I've found stretching to be HUGE in helping it to go away... then it goes away and I stop stretching, and then complain in a year when I get a hint of back pain again...


...can't wait to master the creepy mirror selfie with the new camera!! That's a goal for sure...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghost htx: I have very good experience during the last 10years with this proline antiflat stuff. Comes in several sizes to fit your road tires as well.
https://www.bike24.com/p216437.html
(took me ages to find an english shop that has it). 
That allows you to ride any tire you like instead of those heavy marathon plus models that roll like a bag of potatoes.

CB, nice to hear from you again. Take care.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Back at it today. A brisk -2F when I left the house. A bit warmer in town with temps in the single digits. I've also bitten the bullet and dropped a wad of cash on winter cycling boots. I ended up going with the Wolvhammers as I was able to get them at REI locally so that if something were to go wrong with them in the next year I can easily return them. Just tucking in for lunch right now, then will take them on their virgin excursion as I take the long way from my office to my client site for an afternoon meeting. We'll see how they do. This AM my feet were ice by the time I got to the office, so I'm hopeful. Of course most rides it's not until a hour or so has past that I start to get cold feet, so today won't be the best test. 

Bit sore the past few days. Took a nice spill on Friday and bruised some ribs, possibly dislocated one - at least the pop the next night from the rib area leads me to believe that is what happened... Nice scrapes all along my left side as well. Got a bit over confident while riding some trails and went down hard. Ouch.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I received my new HotShot Pro 150 tail light yesterday, and yep it's pretty bright. Beam pattern is a bit wider than my original HotShot which isn't a bad thing. Putting it to good use today with it being dark and raining.

Also got a new headlight, 1500 lumens is probably too much for the road, but the lower setting give me a lot more run time. Always fun getting new gear.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost - chasing e-bikes at 40km/hr, glad you're fighting fit again!

Bedwards - great looking bike, lucky lady! Nice snow covering too

CB - Yes stretching and mobility are your friends. I have similar issue in my shoulder from a torn rotator cuff years ago. Have to lightly work it a couple times a week or it plays up. Great Eagle pic too!

Dutchman - minus 8C. That's pretty chilly, is that a regular low for Germany?

Blockphi - minus 2F. That's really bloody chilly!! Kudos for riding still, and while battered.


-1C here this morning, beard didn't freeze but it felt colder due to the headwind.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ghost htx: I have very good experience during the last 10years with this proline antiflat stuff. Comes in several sizes to fit your road tires as well.
> https://www.bike24.com/p216437.html
> (took me ages to find an english shop that has it).
> That allows you to ride any tire you like instead of those heavy marathon plus models that roll like a bag of potatoes.
> ...


Oh! This looks like something I need! I've used Bike24 before too - not a bad web shop by any means.

Purchased!

Many thanks!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First commute in over a week for me. This is pretty sad.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Crap ride this AM. -6F at my house. Cold enough that it reminds me of all of the moving parts that I haven't re-lubed with winter-weight grease. Sluggish. 

Add to that that my ribs hurt worse and worse instead of getting better. On every bump I hit I hear a pop or crack, as if I were cracking my back, but coming from the ribs. Hmmm, Dr. may be in order. Or at least a rib girdle to keep things in check for a bit. 

On the positive side, my feet stayed warm on both sides of the bus commute and were even warm on the bus. I am thinking of exchanging for a smaller size though. I went with a 50 when the 48 fit with room for layers of socks. My initial thoughts were that having the extra room would be good on those coldest of cold days, but now I'm not sure that it is needed and the extra large boots do make for some odd feeling on the bike. It's almost like I can't feel the peddles at all. Definitely different than the shoes I'm used to.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Crap ride this AM. -6F at my house. Cold enough that it reminds me of all of the moving parts that I haven't re-lubed with winter-weight grease. Sluggish.
> 
> Add to that that my ribs hurt worse and worse instead of getting better. On every bump I hit I hear a pop or crack, as if I were cracking my back, but coming from the ribs. Hmmm, Dr. may be in order. Or at least a rib girdle to keep things in check for a bit.
> 
> On the positive side, my feet stayed warm on both sides of the bus commute and were even warm on the bus. I am thinking of exchanging for a smaller size though. I went with a 50 when the 48 fit with room for layers of socks. My initial thoughts were that having the extra room would be good on those coldest of cold days, but now I'm not sure that it is needed and the extra large boots do make for some odd feeling on the bike. It's almost like I can't feel the peddles at all. Definitely different than the shoes I'm used to.


Wow, we won't see temps like that for 2 more months here in tropical Maine! Is that low for this time of year? Report in on the Wolvhammers once you get a few more cold rides in. The extra $100+ over the Lakes was too much for me. The other thing I have noticed about boots that are too big (my lakes are one size too large for socks) is that sometimes clicking out quickly sometimes doesn't' happen. Your foot twists inside the boot instead of your boot twisting in the cleat. I'd probably drop down a size if I had it to do again.

I feel sorry for you when you sneeze. My rib is just feeling close to normal from my crash a month ago.

The ride in was OK even though I'm fending off a cold. Based on the car off in the ditch I just missed the black ice. Good thing because I wasn't even considering it.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, we won't see temps like that for 2 more months here in tropical Maine! Is that low for this time of year? Report in on the Wolvhammers once you get a few more cold rides in. The extra $100+ over the Lakes was too much for me. The other thing I have noticed about boots that are too big (my lakes are one size too large for socks) is that sometimes clicking out quickly sometimes doesn't' happen. Your foot twists inside the boot instead of your boot twisting in the cleat. I'd probably drop down a size if I had it to do again.


Yup, these are close to normal temps for this time of year here. In the next couple of weeks we'll start seeing lows in the negative teens to negative twenties - at least we should - then after the solstice we will start to slowly warm up again. Generally. The problem now is that we haven't had any real snow yet. Supposed to get some today and tomorrow, but less than three inches. We won't see any snow until after the new year, then, I'd wager, if the temps stay low.

I can already see where clipping out may be an issue. My first ride on them yesterday I didn't cinch down the laces as tight as I could and almost was unable to unclip at a stop light. Plan to exchange tomorrow and then see what's what. I was so close to going with the Lake's, but figured I'd need a bit more insulation than they offer and with the Wolvehammer's being leather and nylon I figured they'd last just as long.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Abnormal temps here, it hit 60 today. Of course the rain came with the warm weather but it looks like the rain shifted just west of us for my ride home. Jackpot.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

We have had a little warm period here (well, +3C) and then cold again and a little dusting on snow.

This is all irrelevant to me as I have used the train the last two days - massive head ache yesterday added to staying up to watch Magnus Carlsen win last night...

As I write this I am tucking into a large piece of marzipan cake (colleagues 25 year work anniversary) - so I need to get back on the bike tomorrow!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Car today. Probably the warmest day so far this week but as the night started above 0C and damp the freeze later on meant it was more slippery. Not why I drove though, just tired and quads hurt for some reason. I'll see what tomorrow brings.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

first real snow of the year...maybe 0.5 inch....

will put studs on the rear....just cause I haven't mounted the studs on a suitable rim yet.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm feeling bummed today. There's 2.5 or so inches of fresh snow and a heatwave with 18F temps in Anchorage this AM and I am not on my bike out in it. The combination of the ribs and the fact that I need to run a number of errands today made me opt for the car route. And not even the all wheel drive car, meaning that the drive home could be interesting... Hopefully I can get out of town before the rest of the yahoos get on the highway. Of course, the question becomes do I come into town tomorrow for 4 hours of work and then 3 to 4 of sitting around waiting for the bus or do I just work from home and then go get me some single track in the afternoon? I guess a lot depends on the ribs. I'm going crazy wanting to run and bike, but then when I get on the bike it is just horrible, very bad, no fun. #frustration.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Got a cold. 33 F and sunny though so I biked it today hacking up phlegm and such. Worth it I guess, but I'm definitely not feeling top notch.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

a balmy 5C this morning and relatively bright. Legs feel ok.

Not so for my cycling colleague. Apparently he took a tumble on the way home down the unlit country roads on weds night. He phoned in but is off so I don't know if it was wet leaves, ice or another vehicle involved. A passing off duty Policeman attended to him apparently.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2016)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, we won't see temps like that for 2 more months here in tropical Maine! Is that low for this time of year? Report in on the Wolvhammers once you get a few more cold rides in. The extra $100+ over the Lakes was too much for me. The other thing I have noticed about boots that are too big (my lakes are one size too large for socks) is that sometimes clicking out quickly sometimes doesn't' happen. Your foot twists inside the boot instead of your boot twisting in the cleat. I'd probably drop down a size if I had it to do again.
> 
> I feel sorry for you when you sneeze. My rib is just feeling close to normal from my crash a month ago.
> 
> The ride in was OK even though I'm fending off a cold. Based on the car off in the ditch I just missed the black ice. Good thing because I wasn't even considering it.


 I bought the Lake 145 in 50 (which is a size and a half too large), because the 48s were too small with regular socks (even though I'm a 48). I added a wool felt insole (designed to insulate other hiking boots) below the regular insole to take up space and haven't had issues unclipping. I run eggbeaters though so it may just be differences in pedals. The Lakes work well down to 15F by themselves and with toe covers down to 10F. I can keep my glasses clear and eyes from getting windburn below that, so I didn't buy the 345s.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Deleted (double post)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Oh! This looks like something I need!
> 
> Purchased!
> 
> ...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hm Ghost, can not rep you back yet.

Secondly, do you folks see the smileys just as big as I do? They are as wide as the entire text pane.

And last but not least: Somehow the Quote function is not working (not taking all text) and the advanced editor throws away more than half of the text when previewing a post...

#firstworldproblems

#keepsmiling

#keepriding!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Those smileys are distracting.



Forster said:


> ...I added a wool felt insole (designed to insulate other hiking boots) below the regular insole to take up space and haven't had issues unclipping....


Good advice, I'll try that. I run Time ATAC which unclip well without oversize shoes.

Still sick but not quite as worn down as yesterday. And it IS Friday!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride in this AM. Lots of fresh snow - about six inches of powder. Set first tracks for the first half of the commute. Took about fifty minutes to make the 5.5 miles from the bus stop to the office. Good times. 

Swapped down to size 48 on the Wolvhammers and I think that was the right move. Toes stayed plenty warm and didn't have issues with feet sliding around or heel strikes.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Good ride in today. Stopped at the bike shop to attempt a fix for this creaking. Started with the pedals and saddle. Thought it might be those. Test ride in the parking lot was silent. Installed new 3T stem on my 3T bars. Looks pretty epic. Tightening the face plate down, wanted to make sure it was good. One last quarter turn......snap. Right in between the 3 and the T it snaps. It's structurally fine, but I think it looks like garbage. Searching for an eBay replacement. Ride to work was fine. Creaking is still there. Has to be the bottom bracket. That's next on the agenda, just ran out of time today. Ride home was actually pretty nice minus the creaking and a squeak that has now developed that I think might be a cleat issue. 

Decided that I really don't like riding a bike with gears. Feels like I putz around with the shifting constantly which is funny because I prefer a manual for a car and have one. No commute Sunday I don't think - haven't decided yet.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Decided that I really don't like riding a bike with gears. Feels like I putz around with the shifting constantly which is funny because I prefer a manual for a car and have one.


Yep, I hear ya, much the same here. Free not fixed for me though.

-3C, dry and bright this morning. Beard froze again. I know it's a common thing for a lot of you guys but it still amuses me.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well, looks like I'm last man standing at my work. My colleague who had the off last week is in. Spoke to him earlier. He's ok. Black ice was to blame. He remembers riding, and then picking himself up. Big wound on his cheek which produced much blood, bruised leg and shoulder and a swollen wrist but otherwise pretty lucky. Mangled pedal too. He reckons he was probably only doing 12mph tops. Passing police van took him to A&E. Probably be the new year before he's (allowed by his missus) to be back on the bike, temperature dependent....


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Dont talk about creaking bottom brackets  Something down there started creaking on my bike too on the way home....

SS, how do you have year beard freeze up at only -3C? I have been riding in -8C two times now and the buff I wear to cover my mouth, nose and cheeks only gets wet but doesnt freeze. Always wanted to have frozen selfie. Maybe I should grow a beard too.

Again -8C and foggy on the way in this morning. Streets white and crisp with hoar frost but not slippery, at least not at the straight stretches where I tested it. Only -2C on the way home, sweated a lot. I am getting used to it but they are forecasting rain and +9C for the end of the week. Really going up and down the last weeks.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> SS, how do you have year beard freeze up at only -3C? I have been riding in -8C two times now and the buff I wear to cover my mouth, nose and cheeks only gets wet but doesnt freeze. Always wanted to have frozen selfie. Maybe I should grow a beard too.
> 
> Again -8C and foggy on the way in this morning. Streets white and crisp with hoar frost but not slippery, at least not at the straight stretches where I tested it. Only -2C on the way home, sweated a lot. I am getting used to it but they are forecasting rain and +9C for the end of the week. Really going up and down the last weeks.


Don't know to be honest, it's longer than I've had it before, sides are trimmed but goat is maybe 3", I don't wear a buff. Perhaps I don't ride fast enough..... -8C would definitely do it though

Looks set to rise in temp similarly here too, be just shorts by the end of week.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A chilly ride in this AM. -4F at my house. -8F at the office. Massive beardcicles. The feet stayed absolutely warm, though. I do think, though, that I am going to make an executive decision that any day that is colder than 12 below zero is a driving day. I've actually got some cracked and bleeding bits on the inside of my nose from the cold. Not fun and a bit gross.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bluebird day at -14C biting northwest wind.

Back to trying to get the studs to go tubeless....that way the work with the summer set-ups with no tube changes.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Hey Everyone, rode in today after essentially taking the summer off due to "frozen shoulder". I started having shoulder issues in the Spring and my last ride until about two weeks ago was a Metric Century on June 05.

Shoulder is mostly better so I rode last Monday, Friday and this morning. My legs felt like rubber on Friday's ride home. This morning was a nice ride, just above freezing. I felt as if I had some legs again. The wind is picking up as a front moves in. I will be riding into a headwind most of the way home. How's that for a welcome back?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Welcome back!

We had a last minute forecast for snow today so I rode the heavy snow bike this morning even though it hadn't started. Now we're got 3-5" and the shoulders are likely impassable so I'm catching a ride home with my wife.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2016)

z1r said:


> Hey Everyone, rode in today after essentially taking the summer off due to "frozen shoulder". I started having shoulder issues in the Spring and my last ride until about two weeks ago was a Metric Century on June 05.
> 
> Shoulder is mostly better so I rode last Monday, Friday and this morning. My legs felt like rubber on Friday's ride home. This morning was a nice ride, just above freezing. I felt as if I had some legs again. The wind is picking up as a front moves in. I will be riding into a headwind most of the way home. How's that for a welcome back?


 Don't know if you had manipulation surgery, but you'll want to keep doing PT (at home) on both shoulders. You don't want to go through that again.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sunday night we got about 3-4" of snow/slush. Today was 41°F at the warmest part of the day. Wet roads dirty with leaves and grime. Broke out the SS today, and yep, the BB is creaking a bit. Will need to get the bikes into the shop at some point to do some maintenance, maybe Saturday if I can. Went home to get the car after delivering as I needed to get cleaned up after the messy ride.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Have you got your groove back now Ten?

No snow here, or forecast, opposite in fact, still predicting double digit Centigrade temps by the weekend.

Last night was foggy. On the unlit country roads I had to point the front light right down almost at the front wheel so as not to blind myself with the glare. This morning was foggy and just around freezing. got a layer of ice/slush on my gloves and helmet peak but the roads were just wet. Except the foot bridge over the dual carriageway, that was black ice all the way. I guess because the air gets round it and has small thermal inertia. Either way, I probably looked quite funny to the motorists as I slipped and flailed my way across.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, using a helmet mounted light in those conditions is useless.

Even though I was too tired to do it...I took the fatbike through the trails this morning because the roads were questionable. The results were positive: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

Oh, and it was 10F, coldest yet.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

blockphi said:


> A chilly ride in this AM. -4F at my house. -8F at the office. Massive beardcicles. The feet stayed absolutely warm, though. I do think, though, that I am going to make an executive decision that any day that is colder than 12 below zero is a driving day. I've actually got some cracked and bleeding bits on the inside of my nose from the cold. Not fun and a bit gross.


I have the same nose issue and I use this against it:
All About Bepanthen™ - Bayer
Works good for me upto -8C. This is nothing compared to -24C as you described, but I guess you could find something similar that works. I also use a skin cream for my face when temps get below freezing point.

Z1r, welcome back!

Nothing special today. 2C, windstill and very dark because of clouds and quarter moon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: red bike is looking good in the snow!

And I count 3 deers.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

To protect the nose both inside and outside...

You need a pair of googles with a nose protector. Keeps the wind off and partially warms the air you breathe in. 

Google snowmobile googles, lots of nose protector googles out there.

No more frosty face syndrome either.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards: red bike is looking good in the snow!
> 
> And I count 3 deers.


I couldn't get close enough to get a better pic.







There were probably a dozen around.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Quite a bizarre ride home last night. It was really thick fog. I was living in my little bubble of light. I totally lost track of time, space and speed. Other than what fell in the scope of my light I could make out no land marks, the sign posts that are usually lit up from a good distance away were nowhere to be seen until I was on top of them, riding by following the edge of the road. Which is fine until you come to a field entrance that you know is there, you've ridden this route 120 times or so, but because the edge is your guide you're nearly in said field before you know it. Felt like my eyes were like saucers struggling to see the way. Was ok once I hit the streetlit areas.

Car today, errands to run.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

35 F of rain to sleet to drizzle. And a too short rear fender that will be fixed today.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A heatwave this morning: 17F in the valley and 19F in town. Though the first 1.5 miles of my ride was into a 20+mph headwind. Great fun there. 

The bike trails in town are awesome right now with the nicely packed single track down the center and some soft snow on the edges. Makes for a bit more of a biking adventure for the ride in. Hopefully it sticks around this year. And has some refreshes on top. Otherwise in another few days it'll basically just be white asphalt...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

blockphi said:


> A heatwave this morning: 17F in the valley and 19F in town ..


:eekster: you call that heatwave? Its approx. my lowest temp record!

Just above freezing point today on the way in and a magnificent.sunrise. Have seen 4!! other cyclists this morning. Heatwave here too, 6C and windy on the way home. 9C expected tomorrow but I will take the bus tomorrow and Im off.on.friday. hopefully I will have the chance to ride some on the weekend.

And I booked a flight to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura today, for a week of biketouring in May next year. Yay! My first real tour in years.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold start this am and a lot of wind. Lips are starting to get a bit chapped and had some issues getting a good breath in that wasn't ice cold. Warmed up to the mid 30's and the sun came out for a bit. Good money for tips today, enjoying the rest of the day off. Doing some social media bike lane shaming this week, DHL, USPS and UPS all caught on camera parking their trucks in the bike lane. Not good at all.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Holiday plans sound good Dutchman! Do you hire when you're out there or take your own steed?

Started in jacket and shorts this morning but had to remove the jacket a couple of miles out, 8C with a light wind but complete cloud cover.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Holiday plans sound good Dutchman! Do you hire when you're out there or take your own steed?


Ive decided to take my own bike. I will fly to lanzarote, take the ferry to fuerteventura some day and flying back.from there. I didnt want to take the risk that a strange bike wouldnt fit me or the bags, and it would be difficult to.return since I am going one way. Starting in lanzarote I am going north to south so I will have a tailwind most of the way, since the islands are near the equator in the trade winds.

I am not sure about the exact route yet. I want to partly ride some unpaved hiking routes but will have to.see on the spot if it is rideable or not. A fatbike would definitely be of advantage, but I dont have one. So even in the gps era I will have to find my own way. We'll see how it goes. Currently I have just booked the flights and the rest will follow.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2016)

Too cold for this old man today (10F with a -2 Windchill). Still sorting out how to protect my nose without fogging my goggles.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> Too cold for this old man today (10F with a -2 Windchill). Still sorting out how to protect my nose without fogging my goggles.


This is contradictory to winter bike to work week. A balaclava with breathing holes like this works well. https://www.amazon.com/Seirus-Innov...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=G8GQJBGC8KXSMJXBX9Z6

I put the crappy old wheels and crappy old 32C city tires on my commuter to ride the sandy/snowy shoulders we've got these days. They worked pretty well.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ I have that balaclava and paired with ski goggles it is perfect.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Forster said:


> Too cold for this old man today (10F with a -2 Windchill). Still sorting out how to protect my nose without fogging my goggles.


Check out snowmobile googles with the nose shield

DRAGON MDX POLARIZED SNOW GOGGLE

It works way all the way to -40.

I wear a open face balaclava with a nose protector googles...I can easy do more than 1 hour at -35C.... no frost...no frostbite. This is a picture of me at -30C (have forgotten the temp but it was very cold)...after a 40 min commute. pretty good wind as well.

I tried all sorts of jury rigs to put on other googles put the store bought is well worth it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ive been looking at that kind of googles a long time already. I only find ones with coloured glasses and I think they are no good in the dark?

For me normal sports glasses (swisseye f16) work ok as long as I ride. When I have to stop I have to take them off otherwise they fog up and once they do, it is hard to get them clear again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^These don't provide the coverage or full protection that the snowmobile ones do but they are very fog free to -20C or so. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B006WPSDXS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ive been looking at that kind of googles a long time already. I only find ones with coloured glasses and I think they are no good in the dark?


Yellow is not too bad at night....

They have special night skiing lenses.

I put googles on somewhere below 15 C


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2016)

I'll have to revisit that balaclava. I own one but I think I need to open up the nose a little and maybe the breathing ports. It's always been a little hit and miss with the goggles, but that could be a fit adjustment thing. After 33 winters of commuting, I've learned that my limits are what they are. At 54, I still feel pretty lucky to be able to ride the 38 mile loop at all, regardless of temp.


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## BikeBro (Nov 13, 2012)

Had to stop and get a photo with this guy on my commute home this afternoon. Mid 60's here in SoCal and feelin great


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2016)

jeffscott said:


> Check out snowmobile googles with the nose shield
> 
> DRAGON MDX POLARIZED SNOW GOGGLE
> 
> ...


 Link says they're sold out. I'll look around though, that looks like the ticket.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Coldest commute in a while tonight at just a hair under 20 F. Hey it was windy! Warm enough to keep riding. Tomorrow morning the commute is supposed to be around 17 F so -8 C. 

We did an exercise in my biology labs where we had to go outside this morning. It was about 25 F and there was a bit of a wind but they also had been warned. Some students were griping and I said "please, I rode my bike 11.5 miles to get here this morning, so it's not too cold if you're prepared". In other news I've taken on the role of resident grumpus in the biology department here. It's a shame this will be my last semester ever at this school in the spring.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The amber lenses on my goggles are not bad at all at night and actually reduce some of the headlight glare. Opted for Oakley since they are supposed to be one of the best? Those will be making an appearance soon as the nighttime lows are supposed to be getting into the single digits towards the end of the month. Hoping to ride Friday to work just because I am feeling it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sweet dinosaur!



Forster said:


> I'll have to revisit that balaclava. I own one but I think I need to open up the nose a little and maybe the breathing ports...


I've got some cheaper balaclavas that are guaranteed to fog glasses because the breathing holes are too small. I took some scissors to them and they are better.

I did the dismount and walk around a school bus technique this morning. The bus had just stopped and the kids were SLOWLY getting out of their warm cars that had shuttled them 1/8 mile down to the bus stop. (insert when I was a kid story here) It looked like the boarding process was going to take a minute so I hopped off, walked by the kids and the bus and hopped back on ahead of it. Didn't see the bus again until the school 2 miles away.


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## Guest (Dec 9, 2016)

Not a big fan of driving kids to the bus stop. We live in the country and my son (from kindergarten until football started in the 9th grade) walked to the curb (1000 ft) and waited either outside or in the hut we build for rainy days and days when the wind-chill was dangerous. I think parents take too much struggle away from their children, to their detriment.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ooo when I was a kid bus stories! Nah I won't bore you with them haha.

Wussed out 2 days this week commuting because cold. Relative cold for me anyway not you guys. Supposed to get super cold next week right? Polar vortex thing again?? Going to dig out some warmer clothes to get ready!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was pretty cold but still nice. Headwind from the west proceeded to kick my ass the entire way in. Icy in some spots but manageable. Getting out of my complex is often the struggle with 2 good ways and 1 non ideal way. This often limits my commute unfortunately. Took the CX bike and it feels really good. Dropped an 80mm stem on there from the 90 it came with and it feels great!! BB is not creaking so I dunno what the hell is going on. Ride home was really nice even though it was 22°F and felt like 12°F with the wind chill. Storm is coming Saturday night into Sunday and then some more on Sunday night. Forecast is for several inches of snow but it's still unknown if it will get us like they are saying. I hope not.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A bunch of snow and cold and ice this week. Rides were good, but taking longer, making it tougher to get in the dog walk in the woods after the later and later sunrise and still get out the door on time. Thursday night it was icy, and those Winter Contis did great, though I still avoided the black ice where possible, and was conservative on the downhill. Rode the 8 miles without incident, then leaned the bike against my car, put my stuff in the passenger seat, and wiped out on a little ice river as I walked around the car. My feet went out sideways and my right arm caught the back bumper, which kept me from going all the way down but it is still sore.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

New commuter bike day. Pics coming shortly. Eating lunch first then I need to start dialing it in, swapping the saddle/pedals out.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2016)

mtbxplorer said:


> My feet went out sideways and my right arm caught the back bumper, which kept me from going all the way down but it is still sore.


 I hate falling when you think you're in the clear. I spent about a month off the bike two years ago after falling on ice when I thought I'd cleared the threat.

Should have ridden today, was running chores and picked up a speeding ticket.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> A bunch of snow and cold and ice this week. Rides were good, but taking longer, making it tougher to get in the dog walk in the woods after the later and later sunrise and still get out the door on time. Thursday night it was icy, and those Winter Contis did great, though I still avoided the black ice where possible, and was conservative on the downhill. Rode the 8 miles without incident, then leaned the bike against my car, put my stuff in the passenger seat, and wiped out on a little ice river as I walked around the car. My feet went out sideways and my right arm caught the back bumper, which kept me from going all the way down but it is still sore.


Officially more stable on two wheels than two feet? Becoming one with the bike...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yes! Although the metal cleats and not super grippy bike shoes probably didn't help either. My arm feels better already, yay!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ There is the slippery shoe problem. Good about feeling better.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Wish me luck everyone. Heading out to deliver and then to work. We got about 8.5" of snow over the weekend. Cleanup has started but I am currently unsure of the conditions leaving my complex. NBD came and no pictures came. Stock photo:










Carbon fork, thru axle front and rear, 26x4.8 fattie tires, hydraulic disc brakes, 1x10 Shimano SLX


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Nice looking ride. You didn't say if you were riding or driving in the new snow. Even a pretty fatbike isn't a match for 8.5" of snow.


mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Yes! Although the metal cleats and not super grippy bike shoes probably didn't help either. My arm feels better already, yay!


Yup, I've crashed going down wet hardwood stairs in my bike shoes.

We're mid-storm so I'm in my truck. Probably tomorrow too until it gets cleared up.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice bike tenspeed! Are you going to deliver on it too?

Good that your arm is getting better mtbx!

Nothing much to add for today. 5C, dry and little winds on both rides. Cloudy and thus dark despite almost full moon.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Put some miles in today, 25 in all between commutes and delivering, and yeah, I rode that fatty. Mix of hard pack, ice, snow, slush and dry pavement. My clothes, the bike, and my bag are an absolute mess. Salt stains everywhere. Bike is drip drying now and I will clean it up in the am. Roads were mostly plowed which was surprising. The ice was the kicker. So much had frozen over, and by the time I came home tonight it was a rink on most of the back roads. MUP was a mix of dry pavement, icy spots and hard pack. The bike rides really nicely. Unsure of the wide bars, and they will probably get cut down a bit.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Looks like the Fattie arrived just in time TenSpeed!

Not sure on temps this morning but it was warm enough for shorts and jacket, comfortably so, so at least 7C I would say. Wet though. Not anticipating snow here anytime soon.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Quite a workout yesterday in the snow. Road conditions were iffy, but I decided to take it block by block and mile by mile, and bail for the bus if necessary. Some parts were great, where only an inch or so of fresh snow had accumulated on the shoulder since plowing. Other parts where it was brown churn were not so good. I walked about 100 yards to the roundabout, knowing a sidewalk plow had likely been through after that. Yes! Proceeded on that with caution.

Stopped at one point to check on a motorist. He came down a steep sidestreet hill and could not stop, then slid across route 302 (busy road that goes all the way to Bedwards'), somehow without getting hit or hitting someone, and landed in a ditch on the other side. I didn't see it happen, but nobody had stopped to help. One wheel was spinning uselessly about a foot above the snow. He was fine and decided to call a wrecker when I told him the tire was in the air.


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## Guest (Dec 13, 2016)

TenSpeed said:


> Put some miles in today, 25 in all between commutes and delivering, and yeah, I rode that fatty. Mix of hard pack, ice, snow, slush and dry pavement. My clothes, the bike, and my bag are an absolute mess. Salt stains everywhere. Bike is drip drying now and I will clean it up in the am. Roads were mostly plowed which was surprising. The ice was the kicker. So much had frozen over, and by the time I came home tonight it was a rink on most of the back roads. MUP was a mix of dry pavement, icy spots and hard pack. The bike rides really nicely. Unsure of the wide bars, and they will probably get cut down a bit.


 I've done that at some point with almost all my bars. I find the most comfortable position riding, move the grips to confirm, then out comes the pipe cutter. Even my Woodchippers are cut (wasn't using the last 1.5" and I was clipping stuff while riding).


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

That's a sexy bike TenSpeed! :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thank you everyone!! The bar is a stout 740mm wide and that is just too wide for me. I know this is the new fad with a 50/60mm stem and the super wide bars. I prefer to go a bit narrower so that will be happening soon. Bike shop has a vice and a cutter so at some point, I will be in there cutting. Today the car is going to see some duty. Temps are about 40° colder this week than last year. Wind chill later will be just under 0F. I will be riding tomorrow and delivering for my last day before a planned leave of absence. It is currently finals week and there are a metric ton of orders to the library which I usually take since I can get there in about a minute and it takes a car almost 7 due to one way streets. The ski helmet and goggles might be making an appearance before 2017.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Spent Sunday having x-rays and treatment after a big fall while DH'ing on Saturday... but I was not to be deterred! -2C, fog, bruised ribs and sore wrist... but got there in the end!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bonjour Marc,

that doesnt sound very good. Sounds tough that you rode today. Take care and get well soon!

Dry ride again in the morning, but damp and a bit foggy. 5C all day and slight rain on the way home.

My Altura Night Vision Jacket that I bought early this year seems to do the job although it could use a new repellant treatment. Same for my Windstopper pants, so I ordered Grangers 2in1 wash/repellent today. I hope it works since all repellents have to be activated in the dryer, which we dont have :-/ So I will try ironing everything with a towel between iron and textile.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Anyone else experiencing really cold temps right now? The wind chill here is making things unbearable. Going to do an all time first on Wednesday. Drive down to the bike shop with my bike in the car, park the car, ride my bike to deliver, put the bike in the car, drive to work, then home. Wind chill forecasted for -8°F Wednesday night and that is just too cold for me. Wind combined with a good chance of a bit of accumulation and that will make for a miserable ride home. Monday night took me almost an hour on the fat bike, partially due to back road conditions, partially the gearing on the bike. 

Kudos to those of you beating these cold temps.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I don't blame you Tenspeed, that's cold.

Similar here Dutchman, damp, misty, grey and grimy this morning, about 8C.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Anyone else experiencing really cold temps right now? The wind chill here is making things unbearable. Going to do an all time first on Wednesday. Drive down to the bike shop with my bike in the car, park the car, ride my bike to deliver, put the bike in the car, drive to work, then home. Wind chill forecasted for -8°F Wednesday night and that is just too cold for me. Wind combined with a good chance of a bit of accumulation and that will make for a miserable ride home. Monday night took me almost an hour on the fat bike, partially due to back road conditions, partially the gearing on the bike.
> 
> Kudos to those of you beating these cold temps.


Not yet but it is coming. We have -1F last weekend but I wasn't' riding. We have -1F forecast again for Friday morning with winds that will push the windchill to about -25. I may bail because the roads are still shite...

Dropped off my vehicle for service and rode 8 miles in. The roads were mostly clear with some ass puckering stretches of deep slushy slop covering the entire shoulder. Not a fan.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> Anyone else experiencing really cold temps right now? The wind chill here is making things unbearable.
> 
> 
> > We went through 2 weeks below -20C (no wind chill)...Just add -10C to wind chill cause that is about 30 kph.
> ...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

5C and I am riding with a Buff over my nose, cheeks and ears....AND I always wear my swisseye F16 sportsglasses.

This morning I misjudged the rain and put on the windstopper pants. Big mistake, when I got to work, my pants underneath were soaked on the knees and on the inside of my thighs. Looked like I p'd in my pants....fortunately it dried within an hour or so. Time to get out the real rainpants I guess. It turned into a foggy and damp day, dull outside and dull in the office :-/ The ride home was dry enough to stay dry, at least.


My water repellent will arrive tomorrow, will try it out over the weekend.


AND I got my forumcharger from somebody from a german forum today, who builds them semi-professional. Pretty excited to try it out over the weekend to see if it keeps my phone charged when riding with navigation apps running.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It hasn't been super cold here, but we're getting down around 10F tomorrow. It will be 60F on Saturday and maybe snowy on Sunday. Riding the roller coaster...


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## pedaling pyrate (Nov 30, 2004)

Mine went okay except my shoes finally fell apart.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2016)

^^little shoe goo and they're good as new^^


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## pedaling pyrate (Nov 30, 2004)

Forster said:


> ^^little shoe goo and they're good as new^^


Haha. Unfortunate it was brittle and ended up in pieces all over the place. I guess it's time for some new ones.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Forster said:


> ^^little shoe goo and they're good as new^^


Dang I haven't heard of shoe goo since my skater punk days lol, stuff worked wonders.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Something wacky happened on my way into work this morning, I was riding through this medical clinic place that's part of the mup and a lady jumps out of her car waving her arms frantically towards me so I stop.

Are you a police officer?

What? Nope just riding my bike to work.

Oh I thought you were a cop patrolling the grounds. Sorry!

Well are you ok? Do you need help?

No I was just wondering what time clinic opened, I figured you would know. Thanks anyway.

ffs really? I guess I kinda look like a renta cop guy. Black bike and bags and bright yellow bits here and there. And are cops like walmart greeters or something to some people wow! :madman:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Tried to skimp on the gloves on the ride in. Not groovy. The doctor said my finger that got smashed earlier this year would be sensitive to cold...he was right. About three miles in it was painful and its good I brought my other warm gloves. Funny, I don't feel anything in that finger except pain apparently. 

On the ride home I think I passed a group run. About 20 people in reflective vests with flashing headlamps. Kinda fun.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Well, today mistakes were made. I took the cx bike in the car down to the shop to deliver. Mistake 1. Snow started and I am on Continental City Rides. Super slick, snow covered ice and slushy roads. Mistake 2. Forgot a pen. Delivery guys/girls need pens and a lot of them. I always have at least 4 just in case. Mistake 3. Should have worn snowboard helmet/goggles. Wind nearly knocked me off the bike several times. Face was numb from the wind even though I had a wool buff on. Hands were surprisingly alright. 

So today was my last day delivering until winter passes. I took a leave of absence which we are allowed to do. Having some work done on my leg in January so I will be off the bike but would like to keep the job. Finals week is now and then there is a huge lull until after the first of the year. If I am cleared, and the weather breaks early, will definitely be back at it. Until then, just commutes and recreational rides. 

Drove the car to work and I am glad that I did. We got another 2" or so and the wind is just blowing snow everywhere. Weather app shows 10°F feels like -9°F with 14mph winds.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

22F when I left the house, wind chill said 2F, didn't think much of the big gap in temps until I started riding into the wind. Apparently we are getting 35mph sustained winds, gusting into the 40mph range. More unusual is the heavy wind in the morning, we get windy in the winter, but usually is the ride home that gets me.

Short version: Slightly uphill, 35mph on an upright single speed. Closest I've come to getting off the bike and walking in a long time.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

car again today (seem to be writing that more and more at the moment) as a long day planned in the office. Deadlines  Won't get to see much of the family today or tomorrow anyway so the cycle had to lose out. 

Why didn't I plan for deadlines? I did.

Why didn't I plan for contingency in my deadlines? I did, been and gone!!

Why can the customer change their requirement at the last minute and still expect to meet the original deadline? Coz they're the customer and my management said yes :madmax:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sounds like a typical work day: an unrelenting stream of problems that need immediate attention.

TenSpeed, congrats on getting some time off. <where is that jealous emoji (not so much on the leg work) >

formula4speed, reason #58 why I own 8 bikes and no single speeds. 

THE LAKE IS FROZEN! Not only that but it froze before the snow last weekend, it has cold and it is getting colder tomorrow. It should be plenty safe for crossing any time. We are getting more snow over the weekend so I'm not sure if it will be passable but it will be safe.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No one will be jealous of what I get done to my leg. Saphenous vein in my right light is being removed. SOB stopped working. Been having all kinds of pain and swelling associated with excess blood in my leg since the vein that is supposed to pump it back out pretty much stopped working. It throbs, itches, swells, causes overheating in my legs, looks very unsightly, makes my leg restless at night.... you get the picture here.

Seriously considering a bike commute on the fatty for Friday. Supposed to be bitter cold and snowing with accumulation of almost 4". This is almost ideal for that bike.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> Tried to skimp on the gloves on the ride in. Not groovy. The doctor said my finger that got smashed earlier this year would be sensitive to cold...he was right. About three miles in it was painful and its good I brought my other warm gloves. Funny, I don't feel anything in that finger except pain apparently.


What did you do to your finger? I botched a wall ride in October and got my index finger caught in between the boards (it was a lot of fun riding down the rest of the DH type trail with a very sore and swollen braking finger). The cold still makes my knuckle stiff and decreases the range of motion.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> What did you do to your finger? I botched a wall ride in October and got my index finger caught in between the boards (it was a lot of fun riding down the rest of the DH type trail with a very sore and swollen braking finger). The cold still makes my knuckle stiff and decreases the range of motion.


I smashed it between a wooden pile and a tractor back in April. I won't share pics but there's a scar thread in the OC forum if you want it. My fingertip was basically like a busted grape, but they saved most of it (though after having gotten hospital bills I'd rather have taken the whiskey and machete option).

Basically if I touch anything with it, I only feel pressure towards the base of the finger. If it gets cold or accidentally smack it on something it hurts.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

TenSpeed said:


> Put some miles in today, 25 in all between commutes and delivering, and yeah, I rode that fatty. Mix of hard pack, ice, snow, slush and dry pavement. My clothes, the bike, and my bag are an absolute mess. Salt stains everywhere. Bike is drip drying now and I will clean it up in the am. Roads were mostly plowed which was surprising. The ice was the kicker. So much had frozen over, and by the time I came home tonight it was a rink on most of the back roads. MUP was a mix of dry pavement, icy spots and hard pack. The bike rides really nicely. Unsure of the wide bars, and they will probably get cut down a bit.


The wide bars take some getting used to, but I can promise you when you get some deep snow and are rolling slow that the wider they are, the better. I'm running a set of 780mm wide bars and may step up to 800 if I can find one.

Decent ride in this AM after some time away again. 8F at the house and 13F in town. Legs felt a bit dead - likely from the run I did yesterday afternoon with the dog.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> No one will be jealous of what I get done to my leg. Saphenous vein in my right light is being removed. SOB stopped working. Been having all kinds of pain and swelling associated with excess blood in my leg since the vein that is supposed to pump it back out pretty much stopped working. It throbs, itches, swells, causes overheating in my legs, looks very unsightly, makes my leg restless at night.... you get the picture here.
> 
> Seriously considering a bike commute on the fatty for Friday. Supposed to be bitter cold and snowing with accumulation of almost 4". This is almost ideal for that bike.


The leg sounds awful, glad you are getting it fixed.

You have an odd definition of ideal. Nice packed trails on a sunny 20 degree day fits my definition better.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

the new bike had 780mm bars....I liked them fine once I got used to it...

But the damn trees are tighter around here....I got hung up pretty good, and bashed the bars more than a few times...

Cut them back to 755mm didn't really notice much difference except I fit through the trees way better.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> I smashed it between a wooden pile and a tractor back in April. I won't share pics but there's a scar thread in the OC forum if you want it. My fingertip was basically like a busted grape, but they saved most of it (though after having gotten hospital bills I'd rather have taken the whiskey and machete option).
> 
> Basically if I touch anything with it, I only feel pressure towards the base of the finger. If it gets cold or accidentally smack it on something it hurts.


Ouch! Way worse than my mishap. That sound horrendous. Heal up!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

2C, foggy and windy today on both rides. Somehow -8C last week felt better than this. 

Broke the 10,000km barrier today with the bike, that is since september 2014.

Tenspeed, good luck with your fatty commute. Got it just in time!

NDD, wish you good healing. When I was 3 I had an accident with my left little finger. They saved it but it is still sensitive and gets cold sooner than the rest. I hope that you will not have any longterm effects from this..n


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2016)

formula4speed said:


> 22F when I left the house, wind chill said 2F, didn't think much of the big gap in temps until I started riding into the wind. Apparently we are getting 35mph sustained winds, gusting into the 40mph range. More unusual is the heavy wind in the morning, we get windy in the winter, but usually is the ride home that gets me.
> 
> Short version: Slightly uphill, 35mph on an upright single speed. Closest I've come to getting off the bike and walking in a long time.


 That's on the margin for me. I can take a lot lower wind chill than ambient, but I would probably call for a ride with a 35mph headwind (plus bike speed).


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> NDD, wish you good healing. When I was 3 I had an accident with my left little finger. They saved it but it is still sensitive and gets cold sooner than the rest. I hope that you will not have any longterm effects from this..n


Oh I mean it's as healed as it will be since it happened a few months ago. I think I'm going to have that exact same problem with cold though. Thank science for modern textiles and warm gloves 

Keep on truckin' y'all! While you still can. Come my graduation this coming April, my bike commuting future will become sketchy at best. Old news but new to you all, I'm getting hitched in June so for a while at least I'll be living in rural southern Missouri...not bike friendly. It's a food desert too, no grocery within 30 miles. With good luck and sustained hard work, I may get into a PhD program in which case it's hello Ohio. Should be not too bad near the uni, though it's in an otherwise rural area.

We'll see. I'm hoping for at least some bike commuting ability.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> The leg sounds awful, glad you are getting it fixed.
> 
> You have an odd definition of ideal. Nice packed trails on a sunny 20 degree day fits my definition better.


Your definition sounds pretty good. This is the MUP outside the complex, fairly straight and a couple of miles long. If it is snowing, it will be deserted. 4" of snow....5" wide tires... and 17mph just blazing through it. What an absolute blast. It's almost like you shouldn't be having that much fun on a bike. Actually hoping that it does snow like it is forecasted to for the afternoon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cold this morning but not as cold as Mount Washington:







I am signed up for a fatbike race up the auto road in March: Ski, Shoe & Fatbike to the Clouds | North America's Toughest 10K
This morning was practice but it was only -7F (windchill was a little less but I didn't have much exposed skin.) My bike felt like it was greased with glue. Possibly one of the slowest road commutes I've ever done and I wasn't slacking.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Cold this morning but not as cold as Mount Washington:
> View attachment 1110666
> 
> I am signed up for a fatbike race up the auto road in March: Ski, Shoe & Fatbike to the Clouds | North America's Toughest 10K
> This morning was practice but it was only -7F (windchill was a little less but I didn't have much exposed skin.) My bike felt like it was greased with glue. Possibly one of the slowest road commutes I've ever done and I wasn't slacking.


Amazing how hard it gets to peddle below 0, eh?

Got a good ride in this AM. mid 20s and fresh snow for the ride. My only complaint is the plow overthrow made it so that I had to ride a stretch of road I generally don't even feel comfortable riding on the MUP next to - narrow, one-way road with 4 lanes that should really only be 3 and speed limit of 45mph. Hairy.

Beyond that, though? All good.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Again pretty foggy, windy and barely above freezing today. Ride home was earlier as expected, we had a total IT chrash in the company this afternoon around 4pm so I 
could leave early :lol: Will have to catch up on Monday though.... :-/

Anyway after a longer period I finally managed to ride on all 5 working days this week - no complains at all.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

-35°F wow that is brutal.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

-35? Yikes! Dunno if I'd drive in that either. Car probably wouldn't start. 

Block, I'd probably avoid that road as well. Harrowing! At least you made it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> -35? Yikes! Dunno if I'd drive in that either. Car probably wouldn't start.


There are no cars up there this time of year. It's interesting to watch the weather up there. Right now, mid day, not quite winter it is -20F with a 72MPH wind and a windchill of -64! 
https://www.mountwashington.org/experience-the-weather/current-summit-conditions.aspx


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I drove, -12F this morning and the overnight winds and whiteouts were kind of scary. The wind was not as bad by morning, but I had already decided not to ride by then. The dog wore 2 coats and booties on our woods walk. I thought the deer would be all yarded up in the cold, but one jumped across the trail only 50' away and thankfully the dog did not go after it. My weather station with a wind thingy read -38F wind chill.

Bedwards, the fatbike race in March on Mt Washington sounds um, insane!


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## Guest (Dec 17, 2016)

Freezing rain and sheets of ice, more than 200 accidents (in a city less than 250,000), not even on a bike with Ice Spikes. Don't need any of that drama on the commute.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

17°F felt like 6°F for the ride in, and the sun was out. Fun ride but slow since the gearing on this bike is not made for the road. Ride home? 14°F felt like 3°F with a SE wind. It started snowing around 7 or so and is still snowing. We got probably about 4-5" of fresh powder so far. The ride home was pretty interesting. The bike goes pretty well even in unplowed snow, hard work, but it wants to go with the lower gearing. These 4.8 Schwalbe Jumbo Jims want to grab at everything when you are riding in the car tracks and it seems like they are as wide as a car tire so there is not much wiggle room. Winds were kicking my ass right from the start. Tights got wet from the snow quickly and the cold wind just froze my legs. Hands were surprisingly decent given the conditions. The gloves can't come off once I walk out the door of work no matter what. Swapped over to clip on lights even though they are not as bright as my others but with gloves on they go right on the bike.

Forecast calls for temps near 30°F on Saturday with a mix of rain and snow but little to no ice accumulation. This should get interesting. Have not decided if I will ride or take the car to work yet.


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## ray.vermette (Jul 16, 2008)

*My Friday Commute*

-23 degrees Celsius. Time to put on the Santa suit. Got some waves, got some smiles, got a few (appreciative) horn honks.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh man ray!! I wanted to post a pic of me in santa suit next friday. I will be santa that day in the schoolclass of my oldest son (5).l but you beat me by a week :-/


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Wow that's some weather you guys deal with! Kudos all round for that I reckon. Well above freezing here in the uk.

10k km on the bike Dutchman. Nice number to hit, good work.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been 14F the past two mornings. Both commutes felt really slow. I assumed, at first, that I was just not used to the cold yet and that my pogies were slowing me down a bit. All that might have been true, but it was also true that one of the springs on my V-brakes had popped out and brake pad was rubbing on the rim. Doh!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*First Lake Crossing! Woot!*

Well I skipped my commute yesterday just because I was being a whimp and didn't want to ride at -7F both ways. I put on my big boy pants and rode today. My Garmin bottomed out at -6F which means it must have been at lest -10F because it's 5 degrees high across the board.

I'd done a recon on the lake last week and it was all frozen. Saturday I went out on skates with a friend to give it a closer look. Since then it's been right around 0F with a few hours in the 40s so everything is pretty solid.

Unfortunately I didn't find any trails that were passable. 5-8" of crusty snow for miles, nope.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

18F here this morning, fairly cold for these parts but it probably seems like a summer breeze to some of the other guys on here. Commutes have been wonderfully uneventful lately.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

18F and freezing fog this morning in Anchorage. A nice dusting of snow over the weekend left the bike paths in great riding condition. 

On Friday I took a long ride after work along the bike path from the north part of town to a Kinkaid Park on the south side of town. The further south I went, the less packed in the trail was. About four inches of puffy snow on top of not fully consolidated snow underneath. Ended up taking me just over 2 hours to go just under 17 miles. The temps that day were in the 20s but by the time I got done with the ride my feet were freezing in the Wolvhammers - sweated out and then got chilled. There are things I like about the boots, but there are other things that I really don't like. I think the biggest thing is how tall they are. Seems that I am having some Achilles issues again since starting to wear them. The last time I had similar issue was when wearing a really tall boot with flat peddles.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi kids. Looks like it's winter everywhere... We're hanging out in the mid teens in the mornings...supposed to warm up a bit in the next few days. I rode the fatty today on dry pavement...that's always a little weird. haha. I think it might be new wheelset time for the Ogre... rear hub is getting scary and I didn't want to push my luck without at least stripping it down to see what's going on. I've been thinking the brakes were dragging but I ruled that out and it still doesn't wanna roll. When the fatty has less rolling resistance, you know you've got issues :lol: 

There's an old rail line that goes out across the valley...railroad tracks and ties have been long removed, but I think it's rideable on the fatty... it looks like gravel but the gravel is like the size of potatoes... I have to go out that way after work today anyway, gonna try it. 

Got a good fat ride in the other day... 2k feet of climbing in the first 8 miles, on snow. I'm still hurting a bit from that one. 

Block, I hear you on the frozen toes... on that ride I just had my mtb shoes with the Gore-Tex socks that were a part of my prize package last year  ...wool socks underneath. I told myself I would turn around and head down when it got to hike-a-bike depth...I kept that promise, but I wasn't counting on the temp being THAT much colder 2k feet higher than the house. Fingers (Gore-Tex gloves) and toes were worthless numb stumps by the time I got back down the mountain to temps in the 20's... miserable. I do the flat pedals and big boots when I know I'm going deep usually...should have done it this time.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards, congrats on your first lake crossing!

CB, nice to hear from you again and good to see that you are still riding.

Not much winter here for 1st NB2WiWW. 1C and calm this morning, chilly headwind on the way home. 

For Xmas next weekend lots of wind are forecasted with winds upto 50mph. I am dreaming of a white christmas.....will not come true I reckon


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

A nice cool morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Some douchebag driver swerved around me on the left while I was stopped at an intersection for an emergency vehicle, a fire department pick-up with its lights and sirens on. The driver had to swerve again in the intersection to miss the pickup. Fortunately, the truck stopped briefly or there would have likely been an accident. Merry Christmass...


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I admire you guys for riding in such cold weather! The last 2 days I wimped out 29f yesterday morning and 28f this morning. Supposed to start warming up and I should be on the bike tomorrow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A rough one in this AM. Just wasn't feeling it. 4F at my house and 14F in town. The in town portion wasn't bad, really. The muni has groomed the MUP for XC skiing, so the trail was actually quite fast overall. Last year there never got to be enough snow to groom. The skiers are happy. 

Had a decent 14 miler yesterday afternoon. 18 degrees and I was a bit under dressed, but it was okay. Got some good snowy single track in along with the MUP riding. That's probably part of the reason this AM wasn't so spot on.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally here comes the SUN.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Seven *thousand* miles so far this year. My biggest year yet.

I've been riding roads with a lake crossing in between because the trails aren't passable yet. I'm a little worried about the lake crossing this evening because there are about 2" of fresh powder over the glare ice.

On the plus side we're in a relative heatwave at 30F.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats on the miles bw!! Man I think I need two years for that. That 10 centuries in a row really paid off right? 

Yesterday was nothing special, the usual.2-3C, grey and dark. Caught a cold with a swollen throat and slept vey bad so I bailed out and took the bus today. 2 weeks Xmas leave starting now whoohoo!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was 15 but if you are keeping track.  I've had a cold now for weeks. I'm just getting use to it as the new normal.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No way I couldn't not ride today, partly sunny and in the mid to upper 30's. Took the fendered CX bike on Continental City Ride's because I knew there would be some melting. Getting out of my complex is my only worry. 2 easy ways out, 1 super easy way out but it means riding roads that are not meant to be cycled on during the day (45mph speed limit - fairly high amount of traffic). The shortest way is out the back of the complex and into the township park into a back neighborhood and everything is usually good. I can cross the railroad tracks and take the straight MUP and they both end up meeting a few miles down. Figured the MUP might be a mess so I took the park route. Half frozen, half slush, all slippery. Get going into the lot and all is good, minus the headwind. 4 miles into the commute (halfway) and just cresting the only hill....I realize that I forgot my cellphone. I debated on what to do for a minute, and since I always leave early just in case, I had time to go back and grab it. Now, I only did this because I was expecting an important call, was hoping for money to be transferred to my PayPal, and was hoping for a specific email to come in. Back to the park and slipped all over the place. Made it home. Back to the park to slide all over the bloody place again. The rest of the commute was a mix of the road and a half ass plowed bike lane that kept forcing me to move out into the lane. 

Ride home? Temp was hovering right under freezing. Roads were of course, wet. 100% sketch. Stuck to only well travelled main roads which I try to avoid due to the higher speeds and normally higher amount of traffic. Tonight was alright because there was hardly any traffic. The closer I got to the complex, the less the roads had been driven on. I could see the ice crystals forming and heard a bit of crunching as I pulled into the complex. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit warmer, and I will do it all over again. Except the phone part.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Merry Christmas everyone! 

I'm in the office for the last day before Christmas and thought I would check in.

Not a great deal of cycling for me lately - work / family / holidays / a chest cold have kept me off the bike... Besides which the weather has been horrible here. +-+-+-+-+- freezing the whole time - so wet, slushy, slippery and very, very dirty. My CX bike has a brown drive train and the frame is no longer visible under the crap. Thank god I spared my beloved road bike from this...

I'm currently sitting at 3956 km for the year with one more day where I can potentially get some additional kilometers in. The 4000 km goal is not looking so likely now... 

Ah well, there's always next year...

Happy holidays everyone!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Seven *thousand* miles so far this year. My biggest year yet.


Whoa! Respect.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Thanks!

Last night's lake crossing was so foggy that I couldn't see more than 20 feet. Luckily I know the lake because it was very disorienting. There was still quite a bit of fog this morning. Some pictures here: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Congrats on the 7k miles, that is a hell of a good job man. Considering the conditions that you ride in that is truly amazing. 

No commute for me today. Temps hovering around freezing, a bit of ice out there already, and then rain turning into snow later in the forecast. Just not worth it right now. The car will get some action instead.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Foggy on the way to work this morning, weird for here, it rained all day yesterday. 

Dang Bedwards that's alot of miles! Congrats! 

Merry Christmas my fellow bike commuters! :rockon:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Merry Christmas my fellow bike commuters! :rockon:


+1 All the best and health for the coming new year too!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

OK santa was here and brought a 50Euro gift card for my favorite local bike shop, among other things.

Check here when santa is coming your way: Official NORAD Santa Tracker


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Glorious. Little traffic, not much of a headwind....it was really nice. Getting used to the fenders even though I still despise them. Ride home saw almost no traffic. Mostly dry roads, temps in the low 30's....perfect night to ride.


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## Guest (Dec 25, 2016)

Fenders are a love/hate thing for me too. I love that they block crap from my bike, but I hate that I lose foot clearance, that they make noise, the way they look on a bike, mounting them for commuting, taking them off for trail riding......... So in summary, until they invent perfectly invisible/silent/mud shedding/ zero clearance fenders, I want for something more. C'mon Planet Bike, you named yourself "Planet Bike" rise to greatness and invent fenders fit for Superman's Bike (then please bring the price point down so old, slow, grumpy guys like me can afford them).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in was alright, 35°F and overcast. Traffic was very light due to the holiday. The ride home? Sitting here shaking my head as to how exactly I made it home. Rain was in the forecast, but like a 25% chance. Sprinkling as I walked out to my bike to unlock it. Strong wind out of the east and of course that is where I am heading. Get moving, and not 500 feet out of the hospital on the main road, it opened up on me. This rain and blasting wind came out of nowhere. Instantly, my feet were soaking wet, like I could feel the water sloshing around in my shoe. Kept pedaling. No choice really because I got cold, and I mean freezing cold. Upper half of me was alright with the Novara Headwind jacket. That damn jacket, I recommend it for everyone that rides. I am buying another one. Best single piece of cycling clothing that I own. Halfway I decided to stop to change gloves. This time of year I carry 2 pair, one lighter and of course one heavier. Hands were starting to go numb, lost the feeling in my ring finger on my left hand. Kept pedaling. Wind was just slamming me all over the place. One point I had to slow down because these little bursts of crosswind were catching me off guard. Luckily there was almost no traffic. Stop lights? More like slow down and see if anything is coming and keep moving lights. 

By the time I hit the park, I was in full panic mode. Not my hands, but my feet. I lost all feeling in my feet. They were cold, they were wet, they were throbbing, and then nothing. Had to walk part of the way in the park because there is ice on the path still and I didn't want to chance trying to ride that and take a spill. Got to my building....and then my feet started really hurting, like no pain I have ever felt. I was almost in tears it hurt so bad. The Reynaud's has to play some part of this, and in a huge rush I pretty much stripped down in the hallway of my building and made a mad dash for the shower. Left the bike and all of the clothes in the hallway of the building. I have cool neighbors and everyone is usually asleep by the time I get home. The hot shower took about 10 minutes and my feet started feeling normal again. They were a crazy purple color and all I could think of was losing one in an amputation. 

Temp for the ride home? 33°F - felt like 19°F with the wind, gusting to 15-20 mph. 

Forecast for Monday? 51F and rain. Low of 29. Winds out of the west 15-20 mph with gusts in the 30 mph range. 

Is this winter?


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> They were a crazy purple color and all I could think of was losing one in an amputation.


Wont lose anything till it goes completely numb no pain no real coordinated movement waxy hard surface....pain only comes when it is thawing.

Probably won't have any long term damage...daughter has reynauds....she always carries a powdered iron heater packet.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good job on the millage for the year, y'all. I, again, didn't record my millage consistently. I figure with putting in 23 miles commuting 4-6 days a week and not including any fun biking I'm doing alright. 

Last week and this week are going to be exceptional for their low mileage.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Damn, TenSpeed - that sounds horrific - you doing ok no?

I had to use my Google-Fu to translate, but 35F is around 1.5C... That with rain is the worst of both worlds. It's cold AND damp. I have had a couple of those days this winter... The kind of days that make you wish you didn't have a km goal for the year. The kind of days that make yo wish you had stayed in bed...

*Mucho respectos on the miles, Bedwards. * Very impressive.

I'm currently on 3984 km for the year. Today is the last chance saloon for my 2017 mileage - I'm off to the cabin with the family for NY tomorrow AM and there is no room for a bike on or in the car. Just need to find those last 16 km on the way home from work today and hole I don't puncture...

As I did this morning...









Luckily it was sunny, +5C and dry - all in all not the worst place to puncture...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow TenSpeed, that sounds bad indeed. Dont you have any shoe covers?

Hey Ghost! Didnt you purchase that proline anti-puncture stuff a while ago??

I'll be heading for the Netherlands to visit family and friends for a week so I wont be on the bike anymore this year either...and I dont think the weather will be much inviting as well (~20-30mph SW winds are standard there at this time of year).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed, those defrosting pins and needles are the worst. Hopefully everything is defrosted and working normally.

Ghost, Nice pic, although no place is a good place to get a flat.



Forster said:


> Fenders are a love/hate thing for me too. I love that they block crap from my bike, but I hate that I lose foot clearance, that they make noise, the way they look on a bike, mounting them for commuting, taking them off for trail riding......... So in summary, until they invent perfectly invisible/silent/mud shedding/ zero clearance fenders, I want for something more. C'mon Planet Bike, you named yourself "Planet Bike" rise to greatness and invent fenders fit for Superman's Bike (then please bring the price point down so old, slow, grumpy guys like me can afford them).


Planet Bike fenders are pretty darn good. I've got a set on both foul weather bikes (CrossCheck & old MTB) and they've been solid for years. I was just rinsing off my old MTB this morning and was thinking that they still looked new.

Crazy weather today. The roads were a glaze of ice but the temperature was varying by 10+ degrees within a few feet in a bunch of spots. I took the "road" studded bike across the lake because this afternoon it is supposed to be in the 40s and the lake may be too soft. Here was an interesting find on the lake. The number of tracks around it were incredible. I've seen eagles flying around it in the past few days. Pretty much animals have made off with anything not frozen into the ice.







So, did anybody get any new bikes for Christmas? I didn't but I'm not at all wanting for a bike right now. My stable if pretty full of fun rides.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I've given myself a new rule on the commutes, 34F and colder I'm going to drive, it doesn't happen often here. I always feel like I'm catching a cold after riding in that weather and I can't miss any work because short staffed.



Ghost_HTX said:


> *Mucho respectos on the miles, Bedwards. *
> .


Is that a Scotsman living in Norway using Spanglish slang? haha 



bedwards1000 said:


> So, did anybody get any new bikes for Christmas?


 '17 Giant Trance 2, my first fs bike, I can't believe I waited this long....


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> I've given myself a new rule on the commutes, 34F and colder I'm going to drive, it doesn't happen often here. I always feel like I'm catching a cold after riding in that weather and I can't miss any work because short staffed.
> 
> Is that a Scotsman living in Norway using Spanglish slang? haha
> 
> '17 Giant Trance 2, my first fs bike, I can't believe I waited this long....


34F! Really? 

LOL

Nice bike! Welcome to the world of full squish. I'm on my third. (actually I still own them all)


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> 34F! Really?
> 
> LOL
> 
> Nice bike! Welcome to the world of full squish. I'm on my third. (actually I still own them all)


Haha yep we're wussies here, our bodies are more acclimated to the 118 summer Temps than the cold! 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Adapting to the cold is a funny thing. Just one month ago 34F felt friggin freezin. Now 34F is a warm day. It was 38F today and I still had my bar mits on from when it was -7F last week. My hands were getting mighty sweaty!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Doing alright here. Crazy weather we have had. Yesterday hit 55°F and rain, then this morning the temp had dropped 27° and was still dropping. Light snow possibly today. If there is no accumulation, and it appears that the roads have completely dried up, I will be getting the fixed gear out and riding that tomorrow. Thursday is calling for snow mixed with rain so I will probably pass, and Friday looks alright. My goal won't be met this year which I am OK with. I slacked a lot and chose to drive on some days where I could have ridden.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sounds like our weather but a day earlier. Yesterday AM was 2F. This AM was 38F and it has warmed to 50F now! Thursday they are calling for a foot of snow.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Got my first puncture in my Schwalbe Marathons...
while it's 34F and raining 

In their defense, it was an impressive piece of glass and it mounted back up fairly easily considering I couldn't feel my hands.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Yesterday was great. Took the fixed gear out finally and it felt kind of strange. Been a bit since I was on that bike. Only incident I had was with a car full of high college/high school students who passed me and the passenger screamed out for me to get on the sidewalk. Was hard to hear him over the smell of weed pouring out of the car. I politely told him to f off in a low voice while I waved.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A fine ride in, it was not snowing yet, and figured I could take the bus bailout to my car at the parknpedal if it got too greasy. Got out and changed by 5:40, a sketchy ride 1 mile downhill to the bus stop, then wait... If the 6pm bus was not there till 6:40, why didn't I catch the 5:30 at 6??? Anyhow, then had to clear off the car (8" or so) and get the remaining 4 miles uphill, got home at 7:30. So 2 hours for 8 miles, not so hot, but home safe.

Yesterday I had a state plow buzz me when they could have passed safely in the empty center lane. It wasn't plowing at the time but those wing plows still go by at head level. I retold on VTRANs facebook with specific time/place and got an apology and promise to inform the district supers of the problem and need for training/caution. About as much as can be hoped for I guess.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Friday will round out the year for me as far as commutes go. Hoping that it is just flurries and the temps hold up. There is already a group ride planned for the 1st as it is forecasted to be sunny and in the mid 30's which sounds miserable, unless you live in Michigan and it is January.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I guess my commuting year is rounded out already. We got over 2 feet of snow overnight so I'm in the truck. There will be plenty of snow out there for them to groom the trails now but they'll probably still be too soft tomorrow so my 2017 (edit) 2016 biking is likely complete. 

Happy New Year All!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> so my 2017 biking is likely complete.
> 
> Happy New Year All!


Wow you're taking a whole year off of biking? That's unpresidented!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Details, details.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2016)

Finished on a relatively warm day (25F going in and 44F on the way home). Next ride is a club ride on New Year's Day.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

2317 commuter miles for the year for me, plus about a hundred on the Ghost mtb before I got this bike & computer mid-January so let's say 2417 . Want to go for more next year, will extend my rides home more often and take some sidetrips on the way home for things here and there. Happy New Year folks!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy, cold, and I was a little overconfident in how warm I would get by the time I got to work. Not sure it broke 30°F today but like a crazy man, I wore a jersey and thermal sleeves. Ride home had the wind at my back for most of the trip. Lots of traffic which always has me on edge. Fell way short of my goal but am overall pretty happy with my total. 

Sunday it starts all over again.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

So Industrial.










Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I'm at 1825 commuter miles on the computer for 2016. Gonna call it 2000 though as I couldn't bear to put a computer on the BMX, which I rode once a week throughout good weather.

Thanks for the reminder to reset the history in it for 2017, it will start 2017 off right. Yours may be smarter, but mine only does a Total, or history by day or week, not year.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I keep track on my Garmin but also keep a rolling document in my Dropbox that I update every night when I get home. I have all of my bikes listed with individual miles, notable temps like warmest/coldest commute, fastest, etc. I like to see where my mileage for each bike ends up and even though this sweet Garmin can do all of that, I will often forget to change the bike I am riding on there. For 2017 I am going to try to split the data up to keep commute miles completely separate. 

Was using Strava earlier on in the year but grew tired of the games it would play with me by not logging commutes correctly and often times not even registering that I was riding. Walked away from that app and probably will never look back.

My miles are very lopsided with 3246 being on the fixed gear and the rest a mix of my other bikes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Its 2017 minus 3 hrs here. Happy and healthy new (commute) year!!

And stay safe out there!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Happy New Year fellow commuters. Monday looks like a wash for me, with rain and snow in the forecast turning into possible thunderstorms and low 30's. I did that once, back in '16. Never again. Made up for it today by getting out for a nice ride with some of the Friday night people that I ride with. It was 41°F and not a cloud in the sky, just that beautiful sun. It felt so good beating down on me!!!

I will be tracking my mileage much closer this year, hence the .1 in my sig. I would either round up or down depending on where the daily miles ended up. Figured it would all even out. Will be interesting to see how that affects my record keeping.


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2017)

We're tracking on freezing rain for Monday too. I don't work Monday so It's not a miss unless it hangs around until Tuesday. Did manage a club breakfast ride with some 16 miles total in 25F temps. Pretty balmy for a Jan 1 ride.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Back to minus 20C....

working in the field for the week so no rides.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

First commute of '17 was great. I picked a new long way home route that's still all mup, so I'm going to try and take that at least 2 times a week. The last section before home is called "soccer mom slalom"


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Happy New Year all! Good to see everyone keen to get going for 2017. 

I finished 2016 on 3357 based on a target of 3000. The last couple of weeks to work were a bust. That and the longer commute for the full year ahead made me decide to aim for 4000 this year.

First time on a bike in two weeks today, the morning was cold. Quite a haw frost, not sure on actual temp, wind in my face with a big chill to it, wore a buff over my face for the first time this winter.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

56F this morning and rainy. It was misty when I rode in, but the road was super wet. I was quickly reminded that I need to get my bike with fenders out. It's been on the trainer since last year. I just bought a new mtb a couple weeks ago, which means my old mtb will probably get relegated to the basement. I'm definitely looking forward to colder temps. It's been too warm here to get more than one trail ride in. Lows will be in the teens this weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Squeaked out the bikecommute without the forecast 1/3" of freezing rain, yay! It was wet and just above freezing, but not icy. I was more concerned about the drive up my hill with AWD than I was about pedaling with the Ice Spikers. A pic from tonight:


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2017)

Tough day only because I underdressed for the wind chill. 25-30 mile-per-hour winds in the face on a 15F day. Yuk.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That's a pretty awesome rear light you have there MTBEx, what is it?



Forster said:


> Tough day only because I underdressed for the wind chill. 25-30 mile-per-hour winds in the face on a 15F day. Yuk.


Tough day indeed! Well done!

Mine was about 5C/40F with maybe a 15mph headwind and light rain. Seems the cleaning etc I did over the break is now undone by the wet muddy roads.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Squeaked out the bikecommute without the forecast 1/3" of freezing rain, yay! It was wet and just above freezing, but not icy. I was more concerned about the drive up my hill with AWD than I was about pedaling with the Ice Spikers. A pic from tonight:


Yeah, studded bike tires work better than cars on ice. Based on that it would have been a good day to ride but I've been sick enough that bike commuting seems like too much of an effort. I'm still up to zero miles this year. I better get well if I want to approach last years efforts: The Candid Cyclist: Year End Review 2016 (I was too sick to come up with much of a year end review too)

Maybe tomorrow I'll ride my bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> That's a pretty awesome rear light you have there MTBEx, what is it?


That's a Dinotte, as is the yellow front blinkie. Pricey but super bright and super reliable. A NH company, and I know they back up what they sell. Red Taillights & Amber Headlights - DiNotte Lighting USA Online Store


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today. 

New hazard observed this morning: Just riding along and suddenly a hubcap was rolling at high speed across the lanes, over a snowbank, curb, and sidewalk, before disappearing from view. The van ahead of me pulled into a tire shop, and sure enough I saw it was missing a hubcap. Yelled but he didn't hear. Called the shop from work and asked them to tell the driver where to hunt for it. They said they would. 

On the way home, just the reassuring hum of studs on ice. And 2 slices of pizza.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I haven't had much reason to commute lately. I've been working from home, but starting tomorrow I have meetings at uni but won't be even going up there every day. I'll be writing my thesis this semester and would much prefer working from home where possible. 

Tomorrow I'm riding though and we're supposed to be getting snow. I' looking forward to it.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Look out for hub caps and ufo's y'all!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> That's a Dinotte, as is the yellow front blinkie. Pricey but super bright and super reliable. A NH company, and I know they back up what they sell. Red Taillights & Amber Headlights - DiNotte Lighting USA Online Store


Thanks for the link. Look great but beyond my budget tbh. I didn't clock the amber front, what's the thinking on that one? Most lights seem to be bright white these days.

Ride home yesterday was uneventful but cold. Didn't eat enough during the day (must mark that one on the calendar!) so struggled a bit towards the end.

This morning was about 2C, bright and damp. I cut across a supermarket car park to avoid some lights on my route. Said car park was a skating rink this morning, really unexpected, just looked wet like everywhere else. It was that unexpected that when the front end felt wrong I assumed it was a problem with the bike rather than ice. My first slide along the asphalt in years. A woman exiting her car shouted to ask if I was alright, when I responded positively she said she was glad as she really didn't want to walk over as the whole place was treacherous. She was right too. Slowly walked it to the road and rode on, feeling ok after my off.

About a mile and a half further I was off again, saw it coming this time, although too late to stop it, down on the same side. Picked myself up and walked a bit then rode on. The country lane was ok for the most part but the last mile or so to work was lethal. I bottled it and walked the grass verge. Getting to the verge my legs and bike all wanted to go separate ways. Even the cars were crawling past on this bit. Got to work 20 mins later than usual. My normal 40 minute commute took 60 minutes.

The worst part of the whole thing, my new Ortliebs have road rash 

Hope it clears before hometime!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Slip - glad you are alright after that ride home - and yeah, I agree with you on the lights. I never knew they were that expensive. Not sure I would get those just based on the price.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Ten, couple of sore spots but otherwise ok.

Ride back was tentative to say the least. Dark, it had been warm enough to melt the ice during the day (just) but was just at that turning point. Is the sparkle wet or ice? Got home with no drama fortunately. Bike feels weird but nothing seems untoward, i'll have a better look at the weekend.

Conditions today were similar to yesterday so I used the car.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've gotten cut off twice this week, once by an older man who was trying to turn left into me and once this morning by someone who squeezed out a right on red directly in front of me like I wasn't there and the bright lights flashing around him were just a random occurrence. Both had the same stiff neck, refusing to acknowledge the guy on a bike yelling at them. I try to be gracious to people who honestly make a mistake, but it was clear by the way these guys drove that they were just not wanting to stop for me. Pretty frustrating.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I try to be gracious to people who honestly make a mistake, but it was clear by the way these guys drove that they were just not wanting to stop for me. Pretty frustrating.


Some do not see us because they are not looking for cyclists. They filter us out. Bright flashing lights do cut through some of that, but not for everyone. Startling them with a shouting angry cyclist may help them see the error of their ways. Some who drive less than 3,000 miles a year as just so out of practice that they can't help but screw it up. Motorcyclists get this kind of unsafe driving response too. The realization that they did not see you because they were not looking for you doesn't make it any better, but helps to realize they are not all psychopaths.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Some do not see us because they are not looking for cyclists. They filter us out. Bright flashing lights do cut through some of that, but not for everyone. Startling them with a shouting angry cyclist may help them see the error of their ways. Some who drive less than 3,000 miles a year as just so out of practice that they can't help but screw it up. Motorcyclists get this kind of unsafe driving response too. The realization that they did not see you because they were not looking for you doesn't make it any better, but helps to realize they are not all psychopaths.


I get that, but people who angle the corner unnaturally or speed up and roll through a red light are typically people who aren't completely innocent. Also, people who didn't see you tend to react when a person shouts at them, or at least react in some fashion other than tensing up and pretending not to notice the person in their rear view mirror. Plus, if you don't stop at a stop sign or red light and don't look before turning, your driving habits deserve to be questioned and you probably deserve to get yelled at by a guy trying to make it work or back home in one piece.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Back on the bike yesterday and today after some weather and sick related days off. Blah. The trails are riding really well now, so that's good. Here is a picture of my wife commuting into work behind me. Snowmobile trails the whole way. (Ride in in the dark, ride home in the dark, winter is here.)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I get that, but people who angle the corner unnaturally or speed up and roll through a red light are typically people who aren't completely innocent. Also, people who didn't see you tend to react when a person shouts at them, or at least react in some fashion other than tensing up and pretending not to notice the person in their rear view mirror. Plus, if you don't stop at a stop sign or red light and don't look before turning, your driving habits deserve to be questioned and you probably deserve to get yelled at by a guy trying to make it work or back home in one piece.


Yes, well those idiots piss me off when driving in the car and on the bike I yell a lot at them, too. They are an "accident" waiting to happen.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well today was really quite mild, 6C/43F, not raining but wet, moderate feeling head/cross wind. I was a bit overdressed for it tbh. I think I really lost a lot of allround fitness over december, biking, running and body type stuff. Time to get that back on track.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Supah Cold This Morning.*

This fatbike seems to suffer from cold related slowness more than any other bike I've owned. I literally stopped and spun the wheels to see if they still spun 3 times this ride because it seemed like they wheels were barely turning. They don't spin as long but it hardly seems like they should be offering as much drag as they are.

I may investigate pulling the "sealed" bearings apart and putting in some low temp grease.

Opinions?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Around 17F this morning, lingering snow and ice from the weekend on non-studded 700x35s. Surprisingly not much trouble getting in, took my time, walked through one snow drift.

Found my limit for Bar Mitts, honestly I think my mittens are warmer than Bar Mitts with gloves.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

First commute of the new year for me today. And it was... fun. 

-5F (-20.5C - so much colder in C...) at the house and between 3 and -3F in town. Legs were sore from a cold ride on Saturday and a hilly run yesterday, but the trails in town were in awesome shape, so I can't complain. 

Good to be back at it after a bit of a break.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Been working in the field so no commutes very cold...

First commute -23C 3 inches new snow on top of hardpack...

6.5 km of slippery car snot. 1,25 km of plowed.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> This fatbike seems to suffer from cold related slowness more than any other bike I've owned. I literally stopped and spun the wheels to see if they still spun 3 times this ride because it seemed like they wheels were barely turning. They don't spin as long but it hardly seems like they should be offering as much drag as they are.
> 
> I may investigate pulling the "sealed" bearings apart and putting in some low temp grease.
> 
> ...


I've experienced the same thing and, while the lube does make a difference, I think it is more to do with the snow itself. As the snow gets colder it seems to almost become velcro - the big wheels just stick and stick and stick to it. Awesome for railing single-track corners, but not so much for other riding.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> This fatbike seems to suffer from cold related slowness more than any other bike I've owned. I literally stopped and spun the wheels to see if they still spun 3 times this ride because it seemed like they wheels were barely turning. They don't spin as long but it hardly seems like they should be offering as much drag as they are.
> 
> I may investigate pulling the "sealed" bearings apart and putting in some low temp grease.
> 
> Opinions?


Cold as many effects has you suggest the sealed bearings are not a big one.

First the tire must flex a little when rolling when it is cold this sucks up a lot more energy.

Second the air is heavier so any speed starts to suck energy

Third the extra clothes cause a lot more friction and sucks energy.

Fourth you wont tend to push as hard because the snot flows and the throat can feel it in the cold.

On the other had suspension freezes up so does not suck energy but that just increases tire flex that does.

I could go on but you get the picture.

I would leave the bearings alone, or pack with grease, or phil's tenacious oil, more to protect form corrosion than to reduce friction.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for the replies.


blockphi said:


> I've experienced the same thing and, while the lube does make a difference, I think it is more to do with the snow itself. As the snow gets colder it seems to almost become velcro - the big wheels just stick and stick and stick to it. Awesome for railing single-track corners, but not so much for other riding.


I was thinking that until I hit a short section of road and it still felt like riding through peanut butter.



jeffscott said:


> Cold as many effects has you suggest the sealed bearings are not a big one.


I don't know, that is the only thing I can't rationalize.



jeffscott said:


> First the tire must flex a little when rolling when it is cold this sucks up a lot more energy.


 Could be some tire flex but I went with relatively high pressure knowing they would loose a lot in the cold. But you're right, the tires are probably one of the biggest variables.



jeffscott said:


> Second the air is heavier so any speed starts to suck energy


I was not able to attain any speed. Grinding away on a flat where I would usually go 10 I was going 6. 



jeffscott said:


> Third the extra clothes cause a lot more friction and sucks energy.


 Same wardrobe as +15F.



jeffscott said:


> Fourth you wont tend to push as hard because the snot flows and the throat can feel it in the cold.


Possibly. It's my legs that feel it the most.



jeffscott said:


> On the other had suspension freezes up so does not suck energy but that just increases tire flex that does.


Ridged.



jeffscott said:


> I could go on but you get the picture.


Yup, probably a combination of all. But, it seems to get exponentially worse below about 5F. I'd swear it took twice as much effort to ride the same distance today as it did last week at 15F



jeffscott said:


> I would leave the bearings alone, or pack with grease, or phil's tenacious oil, more to protect form corrosion than to reduce friction.


I'm sure they have grease in them, the rears have less that 50 miles on them. If I do repack them I was going to use Finish Line Extreme Flouro Teflon grease.

Then again, it is supposed to be 40F in 2 days and I'll forget all about it until it gets cold again. Repeat as necessary.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Yup I would agree expontially worse at -5F (-20C )....and by -35C about twice as worse again.

Really no solutions, just partial fixes....other than waiting for summer.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

I design build in the oil biz...

We reduce productivity by half at -20C and really don't work much below -30C....except in emergencies...

Which of course happen more when it is cold.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

First commute this year for me and also first real ride in over two weeks. 



It was about 2C but felt cold and especially this morning, the bike felt very sluggish and slow. In my case though, I think it was more being out of training AND enjoy a lot of good food over the Christmas period. I gained around 2kg :eekster:


Ride home was the same. Forgot my buff in the office and didnt bother to go back. Well, froze almost my ears off. At 3C I figured it couldnt be that dangerous, I'm just not used to it. 


Again I would like to express my respect for people that regularly commute at -10C or even much lower...but I always thought that friction decreases when approaching absolute zero :cornut:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks. Now I'm interested in trying the grease to see if it helps. The teflon stuff says it is excellent to -30C and rated to -51C from what I have found. I've certainly ridden in temps this low before but today seemed to be the biggest drag. -28C is my record so far and -35C may never happen...waiting for summer. Actually, the snow biking is pretty good right now. I'd love to do some at a nice moderate temperature a few degrees below freezing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Again I would like to express my respect for people that regularly commute at -10C or even much lower...but I always thought that friction decreases when approaching absolute zero :cornut:


Yes, I need to get a set of those Shimano superconducting magnetic bearings.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> This fatbike seems to suffer from cold related slowness more than any other bike I've owned. I literally stopped and spun the wheels to see if they still spun 3 times this ride because it seemed like they wheels were barely turning. They don't spin as long but it hardly seems like they should be offering as much drag as they are.
> 
> I may investigate pulling the "sealed" bearings apart and putting in some low temp grease.
> 
> ...


OPINION #1 Leave early and don't look at a clock or timer. Be one with the slowness. 
OPINION #2 Also, does the BB spin OK with the chain off? That one crept up on me super slowly (more resistance, why m I so slow/this feel so hard) until pedaling just locked up mid-ride.

How much slower than "normal"? Almost double would not surprise me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Skipped the bikecommute for a fast fatbike ride this afternoon on the snowmo trails. Glad to get it in before the forecast warmup. 3 people, 1 crash, 1 broken chain/bent hanger, 1 bent handlebar. Great conditions except for that icy spot after the fast downhill. I am less daredevilish and did not crash but I also had the benefit of watching him go down first.

Protip - he always puts 2 quicklinks in the chain instead of 1, so 1 is handy if the chain breaks. Despite the 5F, he was able to fix it quickly and ride back home.


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> This fatbike seems to suffer from cold related slowness more than any other bike I've owned. I literally stopped and spun the wheels to see if they still spun 3 times this ride because it seemed like they wheels were barely turning. They don't spin as long but it hardly seems like they should be offering as much drag as they are.
> 
> I may investigate pulling the "sealed" bearings apart and putting in some low temp grease.
> 
> Opinions?


 Low temp grease might do the trick. There's not much grease there, but you might check the seals too. A little goopy grease there could slow things a lot. My last cold friction issue turned out to be bad bearings in the rear wheel and BB.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

0 commutes so far in 2017 and we are 9 days in. This is pretty sad. Temps hovering around freezing with snow/rain mix for the rest of the week. I don't know if I will ride yet or not.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Again I would like to express my respect for people that regularly commute at -10C or even much lower.


Yep, same here too.

It was a wet ride home last night. Stepped outside to unlock etc and it was light rain. 60:40 in favour of not wearing waterproofs, just too warm. Ride was ok but I was wet through by the time I got home. Still the reight decision though as I would have been wet either way.

Ride in started chilly as my gear didn't fully dry overnight, despite being on the radiator. Otherwise ok. Since my off last week I've been seriously considering going to flats bars with ends rather than the drops I'm on at the moment. As I think about the handling it seems that a 100mm stem then riding the hoods on relatively narrow bars makes my steering input sluggish. I'll see what I have kicking around and ponder some more.


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2017)

No Bueno today. Pulled the new fatbike off the hook for it's inaugural commute and noticed that it was raining lightly right at 32F. I can overlook the lack of traction if it's dry and the rain if it's not slick (hard to warm up riding carefully), but the combination of both with reduced visibility at 5 am was more than I was willing to risk.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

The ice finally got me. Was turning out of my neighborhood, apparently on some black ice and went down.

Ripped my jacket, broke my light mount into a half dozen pieces, sheared the bolt holding my rack to the seat stay.  

Walked back home and my wife drove me in to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed - Bummer, I didn't get on the bike until Jan 5th and I felt like I was slacking, LOL!



mtbxplorer said:


> OPINION #1 Leave early and don't look at a clock or timer. Be one with the slowness.
> OPINION #2 Also, does the BB spin OK with the chain off? That one crept up on me super slowly (more resistance, why m I so slow/this feel so hard) until pedaling just locked up mid-ride.
> 
> How much slower than "normal"? Almost double would not surprise me.


Option 1, not an option. If it was leaving late; that might be do-able. 
Option 2, haven't' checked the BB but the bike seems like it is dragging on downhills with no peddling.

How much slower? Today was slightly warmer (-4F vs -8F when I left) and I took my 27.5+ bike. 9.2MPH vs 7.3MPH. That might not sounds like a lot but I would call today's slowness normal. Compared to yesterday it felt like I was flying. I think there is something going on with the fatty when it gets cold.



Forster said:


> Low temp grease might do the trick. There's not much grease there, but you might check the seals too. A little goopy grease there could slow things a lot. My last cold friction issue turned out to be bad bearings in the rear wheel and BB.


The rear wheel bearing are new...which makes them suspect. The whole bike only has about 600 miles on it.

I'll check it out this weekend. In the meantime:






*Good Morning!*







*18.5lbs of Clothes and gear!*​


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

formula4speed said:


> The ice finally got me. Was turning out of my neighborhood, apparently on some black ice and went down.
> 
> Ripped my jacket, broke my light mount into a half dozen pieces, sheared the bolt holding my rack to the seat stay.
> 
> Walked back home and my wife drove me in to work.


I have some very nice Nokian Gazza Extreme 29er tires for sale.  It sounds like you might be in the market. I home nothing else was hurt but your pride. Black ice is sneaky sneaky sneaky. Never underestimate the sneakiness.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I've had studded tires on my Amazon wish list for a couple winters now, and I keep putting them off 

I think I'm pretty okay, right knee is a little stiff. Studied martial arts for a while, don't know if I can fight but they did a good job teaching us how to fall. My head never touched the ground, so that's a win. New mount for the light is on the way, working on finding a replacement spacer for my rack, hoping I can patch my jacket and life will go on.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Honestly, I have not been too keen on commuting at this point. Was put on a work restriction due to my legs. Appointment on the 30th for the right leg to have the sapphenous vein removed. I am only off that day and back to work the rest of the week. They do not want me laying around the house, that is when you are the most prone to throwing a clot or DVT. Off the bike at that point for a week and then they specifically want me back on riding again. My restriction says I cannot stand in one place for more than 30 minutes. My job is 90% on your feet, but there is a lot of walking involved except for one certain slot, which I have been removed from. People are already asking questions and murmuring about me riding and still being able to walk and that I only need one day off. They don't seem to understand how this works, and I am in the medical field. They of all people should understand. They just see restriction, oh, but he can ride his bike. Uh, yeah, constant movement is helpful in preventing a DVT.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Rode in on the Tallboy this morning..3 inch x 27.5 tires pumped up hard...

Partially to test Bedward's comments, partially to help out with the car snot....

I only ever planned to ride this bike to work when snow became a problem.

Anyway, bike road through car snot like it wasn't there. due to the width of the tire and I think the round profile of the tire. I have some Nokians 2.5 inch wide but they have a very flat profile....

But on the hardpack or black top the tire rolling resistance was very noticeable....again near that doubling of work.

Overall ride much faster cause car snot dominated the ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

F4S glad that you are ok and look after that knee. Maybe give it a bit of rest?

Tenspeed, dont make an issue of it. No one except you knows what is going on in your body.

Rides today again uneventful but enjoying the renewed MUP every day. Lots of rain is forecasted for tomorrow, we'll see. Been wearing the rainjacket already 2 days and the rainpants are at hand.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I think there is something going on with the fatty when it gets cold.
> The rear wheel bearing are new...which makes them suspect. The whole bike only has about 600 miles on it. [end of bedwards' quote]
> 
> This was posted locally in reference to Mukluks and Norcos, but this hub problem is surely not limited to their bikes: The problem you may have experienced has been happening with a lot of manufacturers mid level wheels. Some hubs manufactured by Novatec. Sometimes they have the Novatec logo, sometimes they were made to be a house brand hub for other companies.
> ...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Pleasant ride home last night, still water left from the rain but generally dry. Sky was clear and a bright full moon (or nearly) was lighting things up nicely. Could have run without lights if I had to.

This morning, bright, clear and dry again, about 9-10C with a 5C feel.

Bedwards, I see you changed your sig and reminded me; your distance for last year was impressive but the climbing, wow, legs of steel!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Hi guys! I am back in the saddle after a wee weather induced break...

I also fitted a new pair of tyres to my China CX; Challenge Strada Biancha (30mm wide "gravel tyres"). Perfect for poor asphalt / gravel etc in Norway, I thought... 

No. 

I managed 5 km before puncturing with a stone straight through the top of the tread.

Since they are so effing difficult to fit, they were equally difficult to remove again. In the rain. With a temp of +3C. From which one must deduct wind chill... So difficult to remove and subsequently replace were they that I snapped a tyre lever. In the rain.

Oh, and after fixing the puncture I managed another 5 km or so before the same thing happened on to the other tyre... With no spare tubes left I had no option but to run. In the rain. I was effing freezing...

When I got to work, I had a look at the tyres. Check the state of these, after only 10 km or so riding...

I regret not fitting the "Anti Platt" things now... I thought the ones I had would be too narrow, so I ordered the wider ones today...

Happy days...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> Honestly, I have not been too keen on commuting at this point. Was put on a work restriction due to my legs. Appointment on the 30th for the right leg to have the sapphenous vein removed. I am only off that day and back to work the rest of the week. They do not want me laying around the house, that is when you are the most prone to throwing a clot or DVT. Off the bike at that point for a week and then they specifically want me back on riding again. My restriction says I cannot stand in one place for more than 30 minutes. My job is 90% on your feet, but there is a lot of walking involved except for one certain slot, which I have been removed from. People are already asking questions and murmuring about me riding and still being able to walk and that I only need one day off. They don't seem to understand how this works, and I am in the medical field. They of all people should understand. They just see restriction, oh, but he can ride his bike. Uh, yeah, constant movement is helpful in preventing a DVT.


Honestly if your medically trained co-workers cannot understand the restriction, then they're just dang clueless.

Did not bike yesterday, wind sustained around 25 - 30 mph but gusting as high as 59 mph (quite often, too).


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

TenSpeed said:


> Honestly, I have not been too keen on commuting at this point. Was put on a work restriction due to my legs. Appointment on the 30th for the right leg to have the sapphenous vein removed. I am only off that day and back to work the rest of the week. They do not want me laying around the house, that is when you are the most prone to throwing a clot or DVT. Off the bike at that point for a week and then they specifically want me back on riding again. My restriction says I cannot stand in one place for more than 30 minutes. My job is 90% on your feet, but there is a lot of walking involved except for one certain slot, which I have been removed from. People are already asking questions and murmuring about me riding and still being able to walk and that I only need one day off. They don't seem to understand how this works, and I am in the medical field. They of all people should understand. They just see restriction, oh, but he can ride his bike. Uh, yeah, constant movement is helpful in preventing a DVT.


Sh*t TenSpeed - sorry I didn't see this and respond; I just scanned the thread and plowed on with my own story...

I wish all the best for you, man - it is good that you can ride still! Best of luck with your operation, man, and good health from then onward!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Windy here too. I avoided the worst of it but got slammed with a few nice gusts on my way home. I also dodged the rain so far this week. We'll see if that luck continues. Temps are mild though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks Ghost, I'll put those tires on the never buy list. I vote for Gatorskins. They are a little heavy but pretty darn tough. I've got a wire bead set that I have worn square. There is a nice fresh set of folding bead ones waiting to go on for next season. Last summer I finished a 100 mile ride and noticed a huge staple had gone through the tread and out the sidewall and I never knew it. I'm not sure if the puncture protection re-routed it or if I was just lucky.


mtbxplorer said:


> The longer axles are a part of the problem (fat bike hubs).


Yup, I've read a few threads about that. The fantastic new wide format is just plain weaker. The Pigsley went 3 years without a problem. 


mtbxplorer said:


> I've had amazing luck with the DT Swiss fatbike hub as a replacement, the Hope hub is good too.


You probably dress out little lighter than 190.5


SlipSpace said:


> Bedwards, I see you changed your sig and reminded me; your distance for last year was impressive but the climbing, wow, legs of steel!


Oh stop it, it's going to go to my head! I get about 1000'/day on my commute weather I want it or not. Veloviewer updates the signature for me whenever I log in.

No ride for me today. It want from -4F yesterday to +40F today! The trails and lake are too soft. I could have gone on the very sloppy road but I chose sleep. I'm slacking! I turned 50 over the weekend so I'm blaming everything on that.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent commute in today. -6F at the house and -3 in town. Freezing fog in town, so the -3 felt a lot colder with the dampness.

Edit: Just went out to feel the temps to see about taking a ride over lunch and found my bike looking like:

















A bit damp and cold.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

H0ly cr4p Ghost, that is really incredible for such new tires. Didnt you find any reviews about the quality? Or are the norwegian roads that bad??

Dry rides both way for me today against expectations. Rainfront came in 1 hr later as predicted and had passed around 5pm already. Temps around 2C in the morning and 6C on the way home. Today it was windy but it was a tailwind this morning. During the day we have had 17kts wind with gusts 25. By the time I went home winds had calmed down to around steady 10kts. At 5pm the last signs of sunset were in the west and a full moon was rising on the east - simply wonderful. 

On a small road I scared off a roe deer, it jumped over the ditch and went away between the trees.

Edit: blockphi, rep added 2u for that picture!! And to the guy on the other bike!!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

That has to be frustrating Ghost. I found I need heavy, puncture resistant tires or else I will flat every 5-10 miles on my commute. So much glass on the side of the roads here it's ridiculous. Hope you find something that works for you.

Got back on the bike after yesterdays spill, temps are above freezing so not as bad but still a few sections of ice. Walked a couple times and rode through some grass to stay off a long stretch of glare ice. Luckily bike seems to be fine and my injuries seem to have amounted to just a skinned knee and elbow.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Yeah, Im astounded about the durability. I have fired off a refund request to Wiggle and complained to Challenge too, for good measure. This was on wet asphalt with some small shingle/gravel coverage here and there. My Vittoria Corsa G+ have a very similar construction, but are a-ok after a few hundred kms on the same roads, so god knows what the issue is with these tyres. I had read that these were a bit weak on puncture protection, but garbage after 10km? Not acceptable...

I was so pissed that I decided to take the bike into the LBS. I am not willing to take this chance again, so Im going for WTC Crosswolfs in32c set up tubeless.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Just me riding to work.


__
http://instagr.am/p/BPIHL6OhU-j/

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Guest (Jan 12, 2017)

Overdressed for the ride in and underdressed for the ride home. Amazing how much 12 degrees and a little wind can change things.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Wow Ghost that sucks especially when it's hard to get the stupid tires off. There's always alot of glass on my trail it is everywhere, I've had great luck with the Spesh Nimbus, only 1 flat in over a year and that was from a freak drywall screw that even gouged my rim. When I'm not paying attention I occasionally heard a crunch of glass. 

blockphi nice pic! How do you ride after that? Just take off or get the ice scraper out from under the seat? 

Good luck on the surg Tenspeed keep moving! :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> Just me riding to work.
> 
> 
> __
> ...


I hate to be too critical...but that could be one of the dullest videos I've ever seen. :lol: It might be worth some free Gore-Tex.

January thaw going on here. I took the roads in. Boo!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very windy ride this morning. 2C and a steady 20kts headwind on the 2nd half this morning. Had a lower average as usual but who cares - for me its not a race, its the way to work.

On the way home wind calmed down a bit and the rising full moon was visible too. Tailwind was nice on the first half and did not bother much on the last half of the ride.

During the night and the morning there is some snow predicted. Usually, 10mm of snow brings everything to a total standstill here, so I am looking forward to ride and having the bikepaths totally deserted as usual.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

I have ridden by this spot at least 50 times and only noticed this morning a faded graffiti cyclists tribute. Cyclists are people too!
#cyclistsarepeopletoo #lifebehindbars #bicyclecommute










Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Almost 2 weeks into the new year and I still have not commuted. We had warmer (lol like 36) temps and rain Wednesday night, and then the temp dropped, and the ice pellets fell. Roads were still sketch when I drove to work Thursday. Off for the 13th and hoping to get a commute in on Saturday. Supposed to be clear and no precipitation until next week now. I am sure that the MUP is wrecked so just getting out of my complex might be an issue.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That sucks Ten, hope you get some miles in soon...

Ride in yesterday was dry, about 6C with a cold headwind. The snowpocalypse (about 2cm) was predicted for the afternoon. Turned out to be just rain. Ride home was about 1-2C, wet and still windy. It moved a bit from the morning but was at worst a crosswind.. Actually glad of the waterproof.

So the prediction for last night was freezing, which it was. I had planned for the car as the forecast had said to expect strong winds as the day progresses, 45mph with gusts to 65mph! Left my house in the car and it was cold and surprisingly dry considering the rain last night. By the time I got to work it was snowing. Barely any wind at the moment and I wish I'd biked. We'll see if the wind turns up and if that sentiment stands.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

bedwards1000 said:


> I hate to be too critical...but that could be one of the dullest videos I've ever seen.  It might be worth some free Gore-Tex.
> 
> January thaw going on here. I took the roads in. Boo!


Keep it real. I'll take the Gore-Tex.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Guest (Jan 13, 2017)

Decent ride in today, but I over dressed and had a horrible calf cramp when I got to work. Hoping the ride home is better.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

It.snowed here overnight and this morning, but it was 1C and it.was quite slushy. Rode anyway and it went surprisingly well. Needed a few minutes more but thst was it. Most of it melted during the day but the leftover chunks started to freeze when I left work. Roads were mostly free but still had icy/chunky spots which made it quite tricky. The first time I braked the rear wheel locked up immediately so I was alarmed right away and in some spots I even thought it would have been better to take the bus. 

But I made it home again in one piece and without scratches. That makes 5 commuting days this week.

Next week is going to be colder apparently. Forecast is going down to -9C so that would be a new record for me. And temps are supposed to.stay below 0C even during the day for s week or so, really very unusual for here. 

Tenspeed sounds like your weather is similar, so I can fully understand you. Hope you are back on the bike soon!


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

I nearly froze to death riding home from class the other night. It was -4F when I got home. My record is -22F so I wasn't concerned beforehand, but this ride was 2 hours long, not 45 like my record.

I climbed a hill that I should have walked and overheated. My googles iced up immediately and soon after my core got too sweaty. It was all downhill from there. My forearms sweat too much in that jacket for long cold exposure too, so my hands got cold in gloves in Revelate Designs pogies.

I regret not taking my temp when I got home. My stomach and chest were cold to the touch. I ordered a (hopefully) more breathable jacket though! When I rode to class I didn't zip it up, which was another mistake.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That's a long time for that cold. I hear you on the goggles icing after a big effort. Once they ice there's no fixing them until you get in a warm place.

No jackets breath enough for riding hard in the cold. If you find one, let me know. Everything I've tried leaves me clammy underneath.


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

I ordered a 45nrth Naughtvind. Sounds like the softshell fabric is of higher quality. There are vents too to extend the temp range, so hopefully I can sell off my two Pearl Izumi jackets to help pay for it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Tell me more about the PI jackets? Size? Interested. 

Well, my first commute of the year is under the belt. It kind of sucked. Getting out of the complex was the issue. First mile of my ride? I walked it. Ice everywhere in the park. Once out, the ride was pretty good on the fixed gear. Had a girl try to squeeze me out entering a roundabout but I firmly stood my ground and put my hand up to hold her back. Ride home? Well, that got interesting. 19°F which isn't too bad, however, while the roads were not completely wet, they were not completely dry either. Bike lanes had various spots of visible ice so I took the lane which was fine since the traffic that late at night was almost none. There was a super light mist in the air, and it was sketching me out big time. Did get a compliment waiting at the light. Cute couple in a car was just blown away that I was riding. They gave me kudos which made the rest of the ride home seem like nothing. The further into the back streets I got, the slicker it got. The roads were starting to frost. Debated on taking a longer way and hoping for dry roads, but in the end decided to hoof it through the park. Shortest commute I think I have ever done from this apartment. Weather to be the exact same on Sunday so I am undecided as to my mode of transportation to work. Supposed to warm up a bit and some rain in the forecast so hopefully the ice disappears. They are saying 48°F and mild by next Sunday!!!


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2017)

Volsung said:


> I nearly froze to death riding home from class the other night. It was -4F when I got home. My record is -22F so I wasn't concerned beforehand, but this ride was 2 hours long, not 45 like my record.
> 
> I climbed a hill that I should have walked and overheated. My googles iced up immediately and soon after my core got too sweaty. It was all downhill from there. My forearms sweat too much in that jacket for long cold exposure too, so my hands got cold in gloves in Revelate Designs pogies.
> 
> I regret not taking my temp when I got home. My stomach and chest were cold to the touch. I ordered a (hopefully) more breathable jacket though! When I rode to class I didn't zip it up, which was another mistake.


 My jacket does the same, but I under line it with a wind vest (back is all mesh). Keeps my chest and stomach warmer without making the rest of the jacket too warm. Plus I can unzip the jacket to vent and still protect my chest while riding.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A couple tough rides this week. One morning was 5F and when I stopped at a light at about mile 3, the freehub froze up and put the drivetrain into neutral; the pedals turn, the cassette turns, but the wheel wouldn't turn. Bummer! I started to "scooter" it to the next bus stop, but I tried pedaling again and got it to catch. A few brief slips on the remaining 5 miles, but I tried to keep the pressure even, held my breath at the lights, and it kept going.

The next morning it warmed up and I decided to ride the CX bike. Had to drop the car off for a recall repair, and the 3 mile ride down the hill on a busy road from the dealer to town was a white knuckler. Gusty winds, black ice, and packed slush made it uncomfortably scary. I was also missing the disc brakes, the cantis just did not make the grade. I was wondering if I would be able to stop at the light at the bottom, but luckily I just got through on the yellow.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2017)

mtbxplorer said:


> A couple tough rides this week. One morning was 5F and when I stopped at a light at about mile 3, the freehub froze up and put the drivetrain into neutral; the pedals turn, the cassette turns, but the wheel wouldn't turn. Bummer! I started to "scooter" it to the next bus stop, but I tried pedaling again and got it to catch. A few brief slips on the remaining 5 miles, but I tried to keep the pressure even, held my breath at the lights, and it kept going.
> 
> The next morning it warmed up and I decided to ride the CX bike. Had to drop the car off for a recall repair, and the 3 mile ride down the hill on a busy road from the dealer to town was a white knuckler. Gusty winds, black ice, and packed slush made it uncomfortably scary. I was also missing the disc brakes, the cantis just did not make the grade. I was wondering if I would be able to stop at the light at the bottom, but luckily I just got through on the yellow.


 Kinda makes the first Gen Pugsly look even better.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Forster said:


> My jacket does the same, but I under line it with a wind vest (back is all mesh). Keeps my chest and stomach warmer without making the rest of the jacket too warm. Plus I can unzip the jacket to vent and still protect my chest while riding.


^^super tip!! I have a similar vest (Craft high-viz) and tomorrow will be -6C - will test that combination right away.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> A couple tough rides this week. One morning was 5F and when I stopped at a light at about mile 3, the freehub froze up and put the drivetrain into neutral; the pedals turn, the cassette turns, but the wheel wouldn't turn. Bummer! I started to "scooter" it to the next bus stop, but I tried pedaling again and got it to catch. A few brief slips on the remaining 5 miles, but I tried to keep the pressure even, held my breath at the lights, and it kept going.
> 
> The next morning it warmed up and I decided to ride the CX bike. Had to drop the car off for a recall repair, and the 3 mile ride down the hill on a busy road from the dealer to town was a white knuckler. Gusty winds, black ice, and packed slush made it uncomfortably scary. I was also missing the disc brakes, the cantis just did not make the grade. I was wondering if I would be able to stop at the light at the bottom, but luckily I just got through on the yellow.


Glad you made it MTBX!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Volsung said:


> I nearly froze to death riding home from class the other night. It was -4F when I got home. My record is -22F so I wasn't concerned beforehand, but this ride was 2 hours long, not 45 like my record.
> 
> I climbed a hill that I should have walked and overheated. My googles iced up immediately and soon after my core got too sweaty. It was all downhill from there. My forearms sweat too much in that jacket for long cold exposure too, so my hands got cold in gloves in Revelate Designs pogies.
> 
> I regret not taking my temp when I got home. My stomach and chest were cold to the touch. I ordered a (hopefully) more breathable jacket though! When I rode to class I didn't zip it up, which was another mistake.


Thermal management is critical


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^super tip!! I have a similar vest (Craft high-viz) and tomorrow will be -6C - will test that combination right away.


 Yup, and I only had to commute 25 years to figure it out  This year I actually replaced my large PI vest with an XL to extend the protection further down the torso. I also find that I have to keep from working too hard on climbs in really cold conditions. The combination of that much cold air in my chest, and getting my body overheated means I pay hell on the descent. Typically I spin a low gear early in the ride to warm things up, then I try to keep my heart rate at 80% VO2Mx during the ride to stay warm but not hot. I've come up on my minimum riding temp, now riding no colder than 8F with minimal wind chill. Apparently I'm not the hellion at 54 I was at 24.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

You guys and your low temps. Sometimes I feel a little jealous that We don't get that weather to need spiked tyres and have to consider all layering stuff here in the UK. Mostly though I think I'm just grateful! I would however like some snow to play in for maybe a week or so.

I was late this morning, probably should have come in the car to be on time for work but thought screw it, i'm biking, work'll be ok. They were; tbh no-one even noticed... We had a lot of rain yesterday so the roads were wet, and muddy on the lanes. Overall quite pleasant, no idea on temps but minimum of 5C I would say.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Well, I just picked up my tubeless set up CX bike from the shop. Looking forward massively to the ride home. -3C and sunny here tody, so reasonably nice conditions.

About the vest thing; I've been riding all winter (nothing less than -10C) with the following set up;

1. Wool base layer (long sleeve for anything below -3C or so, otherwise a regular short sleeve base layer)
2. Castelli Gabba short sleeve 
3. Castelli Nanoflex arm warmers
4. Castelli Perfetto vest (only if it's really cold or even mildly humid)
5. Endura Windchill 2 vest
6. Wool long underwear
7. Craft fleece lined leg warmers
8. Regular Bib shorts
9. Regular thick tube socks
10. Belgian Booties over the shoes
11. Craft neoprene overshoes
12. Buff (around the throat / over the ears)
13. Skull cap under the helmet

This layering system has three effects; 

1. I can swap in or out parts of the outfit to tailor my clothing to the conditions - if it's warm, I can drop the Perfetto / swap out the Gabba with a regular cycling shirt. If it's wet, I can add my Specialized Goretex rain jacket on top and so on...

2. It takes me at least ten times longer to dress and undress than in summer.

3. I do a heck of a lot more laundry...

I cannot recommend the Endura Windchill vest enough - it is really very good. The best way to describe it would be a good quality cycling jacket without the sleeves. It fits nicely, it is toasty warm, but not so that you overheat, it has three good sized back pockets and a zipper chest pocket with a glass cleaning swab. It won't pack away (I have the Perfetto for days where I might need to strip down a layer) so you need to have it on the whole trip, but this is a first world problem.

Designed by Edinburgh, Scotland too


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

-6C in driving snow this morning. Should be dropping to ~ -12C for the rest of the week apparently 

I ducked out of bike commuting last week and used the train as there was 30+cm of snow - guess I might do the same if it gets really icy and cold. Still recovering from my DH inspired broken wrist at the end of last year - the cold really seems to cause it to ache.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another couple of days of no commuting here. Sunday was exactly as I thought, really nice on the way in, and the roads were damp and slick on the way home with a freezing mist. Opted to drive and was glad. Today? Freezing rain advisory until tomorrow morning now I think it is. Not really feeling that so I will drive again. Thursday and Friday really look ideal and then the weekend will be just shy of 50 and sunny. Hoping to get some serious miles in on at least Saturday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> Kinda makes the first Gen Pugsly look even better.


MTXB has never had a Pugsley. But yes, the 1st gen pugs was a tank. It still wasn't nearly as fun to ride as the fatboy and that's what really counts. Speaking of that. I took everything apart and all the bearings seem fine. I rode it this weekend in the 20Fs and all was good. This morning at 10F it was seeming slow but not as bad as it was at -8F. When I stopped both wheels spun unloaded but not as long as they do when warm. The bike just doesn't' like the cold.

Other than that it was still a great ride. I got in about 20+ miles of trails this weekend on the fatbike and 9 miles of ice skating. Life is good.

Good tip on the vest with the mesh back under the jacket.


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Tell me more about the PI jackets? Size? Interested.


They're both L but probably not a good fit for you. The heavier duty (pro something) one keeps me plenty warm with just a Tshirt down to 0F. The other (pro 180) I haven't decided if I'll sell or not. That one actually sort of breathes.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Well, I just picked up my tubeless set up CX bike from the shop. Looking forward massively to the ride home.
> 
> 
> > Wow that is a lot of clothes for -10C...
> ...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I had actually considered going car free when my lease was up, but I bought the car because I love it. Public transportation stops here at 11, and I get out of work at 11:30. This is why I own a car. Drive, yes, drive home, was terrible. Steady rain with sleet and slush building up steadily on the roads. It was slippery as all get out in some spots with the temps hovering right at freezing. The parking lot of my complex is a skating rink right now, and even walking could be deadly. There is no way that I would have ridden home in that even on studded tires. Tuesday calls for a 100% chance of rain again and similar temps.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Car free is a big step however committed you are to cycling, sometimes you just need a motor, as your recent weather shows.

Got buzzed by a Barn Owl on the way home last night. Riding along the lanes, just me, no cars, not even near one of the occasional farms. Suddenly spotted a white shape appear over my visor, damn that made me jump. It flew ahead a bit, at just over head height, must have been there for 10 seconds or so before it peeled off over the field. Wonderful, a real privilege!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Another day off the bike. Woke up to fog, freezing rain, and the faint sound of thunder. Rain to continue through the day with temps slightly above freezing but ground temps are still enough to cause ice. Several school closings here and cautions thrown up on social media. I'm not sure that this is January still.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Train again for me too - woke to another day of blizzards, 40cm standing snow and -8C. Late meetings that would mean I couldn't ride home until 9pm when it is meant to hit -12C.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Owls are cool!



TenSpeed said:


> Another day off the bike. Woke up to fog, freezing rain, and the faint sound of thunder. Rain to continue through the day with temps slightly above freezing but ground temps are still enough to cause ice. Several school closings here and cautions thrown up on social media. I'm not sure that this is January still.


You need some studs to open up all these icy days as possibilities!

Last nights ride was awesome! I shed some layers and rode hard through the trails. It was fast and fun. I rode the "skinny" bike today. Some pics from this morning. (Babbling brook video too.)
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Owls are cool!
> 
> You need some studs to open up all these icy days as possibilities!
> 
> ...


I have a set sitting here, but I refuse to ride in ice and freezing rain. My body cannot take that kind of punishment. They helped a little bit when I rode them but still the bike felt very loose and like it would come out on me at any moment.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I don't blame you for not wanting to ride in rain around freezing. 

As for the loose ride I'd recommend trying a lower pressure. Enough so the studs don't push into the tire but low enough so the tire doesn't' bounce off imperfections in the ice. That momentary loss of traction when the stud doesn't have enough force to grip the ice can be very disconcerting. I wouldn't ride across a frozen lake every day if the bike could come out on me at any moment.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Cyclist claims assault after driver pushed him into intersection | CTV News


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> As for the loose ride I'd recommend trying a lower pressure. Enough so the studs don't push into the tire but low enough so the tire doesn't' bounce off imperfections in the ice. That momentary loss of traction when the stud doesn't have enough force to grip the ice can be very disconcerting. I wouldn't ride across a frozen lake every day if the bike could come out on me at any moment.


I takes more than a little practice to get fully comfortable with how well studs work...

A few years back I was riding up some hard glare ice, as I got further up the hill the risk increased, finally I said time to get off and push just to be safe....

As soon as I stepped off the bike I slipped fell and slid all the way to the bottom of the hill, into a snow bank.....After that I trust studs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cant blaim you Tenspeed, that sounds dangerous. Overhere there are lots of slippery spots that I have to avoid. 
Yesterday and today were 2 days of -8C in the morning and -2C on the way home. Beautiful days actually, no wind and clear sky. Just cold in the morning but the correct clothing does the job.
and for me that is at -8C:
heavy merinowool longsleeve (~260gr)
Windstopper jacket with fleece liner inside
normal socks + warm merinosocks, normal shoes and shoecovers
normal pants + warm padded pants (I believe it is Craghoppers
winter lined pants)
Helmet with blinkie and self sewn cover
Buff over Nose, Mouth and ears
Glasses 
padded goretex mitts (used Army stuff 8€).

Compared to Jeffscott that is a lot. I wonder the difference but I think that the body adapts when living in Alaska or so. Over here, we seldomly have those temps so one can not really get used to it. End of next week it is predicted to be +8C again....

Forumsoftware is going nuts again. When typing, the entire text is moving up and down like somebody is putting in / deleting empty lines all the time..


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Compared to Jeffscott that is a lot. I wonder the difference but I think that the body adapts when living in Alaska or so. Over here, we seldomly have those temps so one can not really get used to it. End of next week it is predicted to be +8C again....


For sure you get acclimated over the winter.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I guess so. I admit though that I was sweating this morning, will try a thinner longsleeve tomorrow. And the padded pants are only for -8C, for the way home at -1C I brought my thin windstopper pants. And maybe I am sensible to cold. My collegue rides the same stretch in lycra shorts with rainpants and NO helmet/hat :eekster: for that his hands are always cold in thick.gloves where I still have the thin windstopper gloves on. So might be me or a bit of both 

Jeff, I.wonder though that you are wearing a cotton tee, doesnt that get wet and cold after a while?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

SlipSpace said:


> Got buzzed by a Barn Owl on the way home last night. Riding along the lanes, just me, no cars, not even near one of the occasional farms. Suddenly spotted a white shape appear over my visor, damn that made me jump. It flew ahead a bit, at just over head height, must have been there for 10 seconds or so before it peeled off over the field. Wonderful, a real privilege!


Cool sighting!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> Got buzzed by a Barn Owl on the way home last night. Riding along the lanes, just me, no cars, not even near one of the occasional farms. Suddenly spotted a white shape appear over my visor, damn that made me jump. It flew ahead a bit, at just over head height, must have been there for 10 seconds or so before it peeled off over the field. Wonderful, a real privilege!


Reminds me of the time I was hit by a bat while biking home. It flew right into my shoulder.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

SlipSpace said:


> Got buzzed by a Barn Owl on the way home last night. Riding along the lanes, just me, no cars, not even near one of the occasional farms. Suddenly spotted a white shape appear over my visor, damn that made me jump. It flew ahead a bit, at just over head height, must have been there for 10 seconds or so before it peeled off over the field. Wonderful, a real privilege!


That's awesome. I had to brake for a Great Horned Owl on the trail one night. I thought it was a cat at first because it was all hunched over. Then it turned it's head around, looked at me, and flew straight up in the air with whatever it was eating. Just a few weeks ago on a hike, my wife and I were within 10 feet of a Barred Owl. I caught it all on camera. Encounters with owls are special.

After a cold streak and rides in the single digits a week or so ago, we haven't dipped below freezing. I think we're at 8 straight days above freezing and might not get down below until February. I've never commuted in shorts so much in January or been hot in a short-sleeved shirt at 7AM. Yesterday morning was 62. I had to skip the bike ride this morning because my youngest son woke up right as I was getting ready to walk out the door. I took the car instead of being hopelessly late.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Peace and quiet foggy morning.


__
http://instagr.am/p/BPaMVN2B1ba/

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

There is a local mtb trail here that has a well known owl that watches over the trail. I was riding this trail one day with my now ex wife who was following me a ways back. I made the turn, and I hear this whoosh whoosh and then bam! my helmet is trying to jump off my head. Well, not really, it was just the owl swooping down and trying to pick me up off the bike. Had the talon marks on the helmet to prove it. It realized that it couldn't pick me up and took off, right over my head. Had a huge wingspan and no joke, it scared the hell out of me. I stopped, and she came up and was like whats wrong? I was shaking a bit, really was not expecting that at all. Not sure she believed me until I showed her the back/top of the helmet. That and the goosebumps on my arm and the look in my eyes apparently was enough.

BTW - rain has stopped, and temps are on the rise. Supposed to be mostly sunny and in the mid to upper 40's Thursday, so I get to commute again!!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That is one of the strongest arguments for wearing a helmet that I have heard! Those talons are sharp. Having an owl try to tear your head off could certainly leave you rattled. 

No ride for me today. Fresh snow over icy trails with now hidden ruts, no thanks.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, looks like my commuting may be a limited for some time. A number of factors leading to this:
1) My oldest is a freshman in college and lives at home. She is on the running team and now has to be at practice at 7:00 in the morning twice a week and the bus doesn't really allow for this without a huge wait time. Also, her last classes of the day but right up to the last bus of the day, so if she misses her connection... Thus I am driving her. 
2) Injured my knee on Sunday on a run. I actually think that the injury is more of a repetitive use injury spurred by a change to pedals I made three weeks back when I destroyed yet another set of egg beaters. Swapped to some Shimano that move my feet out about a half inch on each side and have no float. The run was just the straw that broke the camel's back. 
3) It's da*ned cold here - 24 below 0 F at my house this AM. Supposed to remain arctic cold for the foreseeable future. Nope. I'll not be riding in that this year...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Temps are going up here too. Only -4C this morning and -2C on the way back home. Tomorrow will be the last day of freezing for a while and its about time that all those black ice spots and thick chunks melt away.

Saw a mouse running crossing the path this morning just in front of my wheel. It missed me luckily, I wouldnt have tried to swerve around it on that part of the road, still white and frosty there. Lucky for him, there was no owl around.

I once read a book of a touring cyclist which wrote that the kids in Australia paint big eyes on the back of their helmet to avoid birds attacking them. Maybe that would help you Tenspeed! And good that you can start your hunt for the 5000 this year!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^Nobody except me on the world commuted today?

Well temps dropped below freezing again tonight but will be definitely above freezing as of tomorrow afternoon. I wont ride tomorrow since I have to go into town after work. Wife will drive me to work and will take bus and subway in the evening.

Forster: I tried the vest-jacket combination twice this week but somehow it didnt work very well for me. Maybe not cold enough - temps around -4C. The vest is a very thin one, do you have a thicker one with a thin jacket or the other way around?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I did but it was via truck. How was it? Plowed the driveway on the way out but the roads were mostly clear.  I might not have another commute for over a week because I am on V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N next week and the trails for a commute tomorrow are probably not clear.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

It was 39 below 0 at my house this AM. That is in F. I can't remember any time in the recent past when I've been more happy to be not bike commuting for a while. Brrrr.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2017)

blockphi said:


> It was 39 below 0 at my house this AM. That is in F. I can't remember any time in the recent past when I've been more happy to be not bike commuting for a while. Brrrr.


 That's 7 degrees colder than I've ever even been in, Yikes.


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^Nobody except me on the world commuted today?
> 
> Well temps dropped below freezing again tonight but will be definitely above freezing as of tomorrow afternoon. I wont ride tomorrow since I have to go into town after work. Wife will drive me to work and will take bus and subway in the evening.
> 
> Forster: I tried the vest-jacket combination twice this week but somehow it didnt work very well for me. Maybe not cold enough - temps around -4C. The vest is a very thin one, do you have a thicker one with a thin jacket or the other way around?


 I typically run a light cycling jacket (with breathable back) over a thermal liner or heavy jersey down to 25F and add the vest down to 15F at which point I go to an uninsulated parka over the thermal liner. Since the parka doesn't breath at all, I don't need the vest. The advantage of the vest over the liner (but under the riding jacket) is that my chest stays warm while my arms don't overheat and I can change temps with a couple zipper pulls.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Got the fixed gear out for a commute finally. Roads were pretty dried up by the time I went in. Saw this bright thing in the sky for a bit today. Was weird, have not seen that in a long while now. They said that it produces heat of some sort. Dunno. Was in the mid 30's but felt much colder. New coworker also rides in, much shorter distance and comes from the other side of work. We walked out together to the bike rack tonight. He runs no lights, wears dark clothes, no helmet, and darts out into the road off the grass and hops the curb. Yeah, that's not a good idea, not at all.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I missed a bit over the last coupla days by the looks of it. Thanks for sharing the owl stories, as said above, owls are cool. However, Tenspeed, that is one scary arse owl!! ....and NDD, how the hell did you get hit by a bat?! They're pretty nimble little critters.

Nothing much to report apart from some glorious sunrises. Days have been bright clear and cold. My cheapo chinese cycle computer seemed to object to the -3C this morning, (it also objected to the water that got in it last week too). Maybe a bit more investment next time I think. At least it was dry cold so the roads were ok.


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2017)

TenSpeed said:


> He runs no lights, wears dark clothes, no helmet, and darts out into the road off the grass and hops the curb. Yeah, that's not a good idea, not at all.


Bike Ninja. We've got a few here too. Knew one who was killed crossing against the light early morning two years ago. Pretty upsetting when it costs very little to be seen and nothing to stop at a major intersection. I suppose Team Darwin needs a few cyclists too.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

SlipSpace said:


> I missed a bit over the last coupla days by the looks of it. Thanks for sharing the owl stories, as said above, owls are cool. However, Tenspeed, that is one scary arse owl!! ....and NDD, how the hell did you get hit by a bat?! They're pretty nimble little critters.


I was riding and it flew into me head on. This was around dusk and my light was on. He flew just outside of the periphery of my light so I only saw him at the last second. I'm guessing I probably impaired his vision with my light.

Yesterday rained sheets all morning. I skipped out if anything to save maintenance on my bike.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

TenSpeed said:


> There is a local mtb trail here that has a well known owl that watches over the trail. I was riding this trail one day with my now ex wife who was following me a ways back. I made the turn, and I hear this whoosh whoosh and then bam! my helmet is trying to jump off my head. Well, not really, it was just the owl swooping down and trying to pick me up off the bike. Had the talon marks on the helmet to prove it. It realized that it couldn't pick me up and took off, right over my head. Had a huge wingspan and no joke, it scared the hell out of me. I stopped, and she came up and was like whats wrong? I was shaking a bit, really was not expecting that at all. Not sure she believed me until I showed her the back/top of the helmet. That and the goosebumps on my arm and the look in my eyes apparently was enough.
> 
> BTW - rain has stopped, and temps are on the rise. Supposed to be mostly sunny and in the mid to upper 40's Thursday, so I get to commute again!!!


When I lived in Japan, I was riding along the road and suddenly felt something grab my head (wasn't wearing a helmet). I turned around and found a raven flying right on top of me. Ducked down and sped up and he/she gave up the chase, or decided I was successfully chased off.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Jeff, I.wonder though that you are wearing a cotton tee, doesnt that get wet and cold after a while?


Sorry for the lack of response. I have been retiring and skiing.

Cold weather is all about thermal management, so basically don't sweat or sweat just a bit.

I can open hemet vents, open jacket, open pit vents, open sweater neck, take off helmet ear muffs, take off mitts, take of tights, take off jacket....

Or I can just go a little faster or slower, to reduce heating.

When I get it just right, I am on the verge of sweating at about 75% to 80% of full power.

All the stuff I remove can fit in my jacket pockets....and I can wrap the jacket around the handlebars in a figure of eight and tie off.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

45+ mph wind gusts make things interesting, like a game of trying to stay upright, ride a straight line and moving forward in general.

At least I'm riding a singlespeed


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

jefscott: Thanks. I will reevaluate my clothing layers. Started already with a thinner jacket this morning.

F4S: 45+ mph winds is pretty severy. My route would not be suitable for that I guess, risk of being blown onto the street is too big in my judgement....I can imagine you had a hard time moving forward.

My commute was pretty much as usual. Rode in in dusk but it was quite foggy and -2C. Ride home was the same in dawn...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good rides today. Windy, but not too bad. Far too warm. In the upper 40's F today, tomorrow will be closer to 60. I think we've only had a handful of days totally below freezing. 

Gotta say, I like the cold.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

NDD said:


> Gotta say, I like the cold.


+1. Today was just above 0C and fog/drizzle rft:

made a detour to a big bikeshop and rode with two other collegues. I had to spend 65€ for my collegue who is retiring. This was a leftover from a collection from which we bought him already a voucher for a long weekend of MTBing. Got him 3 megapackages of bikecleaning/degreaser/oil stuff includingbrushes. Had a tough time putting it all my bag but I got it all home.

On the way home I had a true near-miss. I was on an unpaved road with deep tractor tracks in it. My frontwheel got in a deep track and started slipping along the edge. Put my right foot on the ground and hopped a few times and nearly fell in some deep waterhole :eekster: scared the crap out of me. I would have been able to get out but still...
The rest of the day was uneventful.

Collegue will get his presents tomorrow evening. Probably will not be surprised and expecting bikestuff. But pretty sad for us and him, the guy was wonderful to work with and he's been in the company for (hold your breath :drumroll: ) 48!! years. Even for Europe/Germany, that is very unusual...


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Forgot my helmet, didn't notice until I was wondering why my head was so cold! Oh well, made it back after work without a broken skull. Then at lunch saw my back tire was flat, dug 2 sharp glass shards out of the outside of the tire, it's been raining here all day the last few days and that always brings out the crap in the roads. Might freeze overnight here this week.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

#CyclingTreasures!










Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

4th dreary and grey day in a row here and it is depressing. Started taking Vitamin D because I know I have SAD, I can feel it. Sunday I had to get out for a ride just because I was going stir crazy. Monday was another rainy and foggy day, but Tuesday let up a little. Decided that I am going all out and created another Strava account since I think I deleted the other one. Took the fendered cross bike today because I am not going to clean a bike if I don't have to. Set 7 PR's compared to the ride I did Sunday. Welcomed myself into the 21st century by finally syncing my Garmin EDGE 810, the Garmin Connect app, and my iPhone. Works flawlessly. The great thing about that is that you do not need to run the Strava app itself on the phone if you don't want. You can upload the ride from the Garmin via the phone and a Bluetooth connection. What? 

Ride home tonight was cold but the rain held off all day and it put a bit of a smile on my face. Almost, and I mean almost took a KOM tonight as well. On my cross bike. With fenders. On a cold night. Oh boy, I cannot wait for spring and either my fixed gear or the carbon roadie that is sitting here just waiting.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good to see you fired up again Tenspeed :thumbsup:

Close one Dutchman, never nice to land in the water, best take a life preserver next time 

48 years is impressive. When I was an apprentice (20 yrs ago) there were a few lifers who managed that sort of time period, retirement was mandatory at 65 then. I doubt anyone will achieve that now, seems a few years is significant for some people

First commute this week for me  been bright and sunny so far but today I'm sharing the Dutchmans weather, right around 0C with wet fog. First proper ride on the reconfigured bike too. Took the dropped 'racer' bars off and put on some flats with stubby ends. Been thinking on it for a while but my off the other week made me realise just how limited my manoeuvrability was on the drops, feels a bit odd but I'll give it some time. Also realised over the winter how much harder it seemed to be getting pushing the 17 tooth gear, cadence seemed low. Mental thing maybe but dropped to the 18. We'll see how it all goes.


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

First commute of the week for me as -10C is just too cold these days, but today was meant to be a bit warmer.

Started to snow as I set off. Showed -12C on my Garmin. Took me 30 mins to defrost when I got to work.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Decided to ride the Bullitt today for no real reason, reminded me it's a lot of fun to ride despite the weight.

Wind and the rain have passed at this point. Sunny and with a high of 52F today.

This is winter?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well my take on the new flatbar setup is ‘damn!’ The bars flex, the stem flexs, the frame and for flex. I guess where my weight was previously on the hood of the drops it wasn’t so apparent. (bear in mind this is a 1990 steel frame 'racer' 25" frame, 1" steerer, 1" bar diameter even at the clamp and it all starts to make sense) The flex is all fine for most things I guess it’s the higher speed uneven corners where it feels a bit unnerving. I’ll get used to it but certainly strange for now. I suppose mountain bikes used to feel like that. 

Ride home was ok. Ride in was about 0C with wind to -5C and gloomy.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Around 0C again yesterdaymorning. On the way to the farewell party I tried the navigation app "komoot", worked pretty well but it didnt recalculate the route when I wanted to another, quieter, parallel road. Maybe just a matter of practice, we will see. It was a nice ride, river view and a nice orange sunset from behind.

Today both rides were the same except for the direction :lol: -1C and light wind. Tomorrow morning is forecasted to be -4C and from there it is expected to go up to +8C and rain on monday :eekster: lets hope they are wrong....


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ We have a similar forecast, maybe not so much with the rain though. We'll see.

Last night had me don the waterproof to act as a windstopper, glad I did as it was piercing, that said I did have to drop the zip to halfway halfway home to get some air...

This morning was lightly overcast and frosty, just below freezing. Roads were clear but everything else was white.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Forecast looks better here now too.

-3C on the way in today with a slight tailwind. Exactly 0.0C on my speedometer when I came home. Horrible day somehow, I think I am getting sick. Had a day off planned for Monday, will need it probably as a recovery day rather than the planned activity day.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I am thinking one more commute before the procedure on my leg possibly Saturday. Will need to drive Sunday so I can stop on the way home and get groceries for the week. Still grey here, and I think the sun was out for 15 minutes about a week ago. Snow mixed with rain and cold temps forecasted.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hope the surgery went well Tenspeed and you have a good and speedy recovery!

Ride this morning saw me in shorts for the first time in months as the temp was about 6C! Wet, muddy and grimy even with guards though.

Quiet on here of late, are most of the North American contingent still struggling with temps? Hope everyone is ok.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Man it IS quiet around here. My excuse is I've been on vacation last week but back now. Struggling with temps? Nah. I did miss a week of warm weather and it's supposed to be 4F tomorrow but I guess that's what I get for spending a week where it was 80F.

The trails are awesome right now but better than that is the crust that lets you ride anywhere. I did a few extra loops on the way into work. No reason to rush back to the grind.  That's the news from here. Almost time to go for another ride....


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I've been commuting on the single speed lately. Haven't much since switching to 52/18 gearing. I kinda regret it. Sometimes I want to get from point A to B without feeling like I'm doing apart my wimp legs. It's also been too warm. Mid 40's to low 60's. In January!?!

Here's to a good recovery Tenspeed.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks for all the well wishes. Procedure went pretty well yesterday. Obviously no commute as I am off the bike now for a week. They had to do quite a bit more to my leg than initially thought as it has progressed much faster than they thought it would. Everything is alright minus the sore feeling and the start of the bruising. Glad it is not summer so wearing waist high compression stuff is "in" right now. Will be reading more and probably posting less while this heals up. A couple inches of snow here last night, would be ideal for the fat bike which has seen 2 rides now I think.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Weird I just posted something and nothing happened oh well. I haven't rode to work in 4 days, last week because cold and I didn't feel like it, now I woke yesterday with the flu! Taking a day or 2 of sick days then I hope will be rolling again.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Get well soon TenSpeed!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Howdy guys and gals.... checking in from the north pole. TenSpeed, heal up man! That doesn't sound fun. Heck of a winter around here on the east slope of the northern sierras..... The fatbike is seeing some great action. I live up a sort of a canyon.... the road turns to dirt about a half mile above my house and becomes forest roads/logging roads, which (on a good snow year) are all a part of a snowmobile park network that starts off of a highway maybe 6 miles in a straight line away from here... enough snow on my road that the neighbors don't have to drive to the trailhead... just blasting up the road on the snow machines. The groomer came down to the edge of the woods, so I literally have groomed fatbike terrain a half mile from the house. It climbs 1500 feet in about 4 miles, but it's somethin'! :lol: Here's a 'find the fatbike' pic on the road up above the house from Friday, and today's sunrise pic from my new fancy camera.

Hope you all are fighting the good fight through the winter :thumbsup: Freezing fog and lower teens for me this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Get well Tenspeed and Eugene!

Great Pics CB! And nice to see you're still riding!

Well I know why I felt so horrible last Friday: I was simply sick. Took it easy over the weekend, had a day off yesterday anyway, and everything ok today. 

Yesterday it had snowed quite a bit but at +1C everything turned to slush that was still partly there this morning. Had to plow my way through in some places but it worked. Everything melted away during the day so ride home was noticeably faster. For the rest it was very uneventful and grey.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

CommuterBoy said:


> Howdy guys and gals.... checking in from the north pole. TenSpeed, heal up man! That doesn't sound fun. Heck of a winter around here on the east slope of the northern sierras..... The fatbike is seeing some great action. I live up a sort of a canyon.... the road turns to dirt about a half mile above my house and becomes forest roads/logging roads, which (on a good snow year) are all a part of a snowmobile park network that starts off of a highway maybe 6 miles in a straight line away from here... enough snow on my road that the neighbors don't have to drive to the trailhead... just blasting up the road on the snow machines. The groomer came down to the edge of the woods, so I literally have groomed fatbike terrain a half mile from the house. It climbs 1500 feet in about 4 miles, but it's somethin'! :lol: Here's a 'find the fatbike' pic on the road up above the house from Friday, and today's sunrise pic from my new fancy camera.
> 
> Hope you all are fighting the good fight through the winter :thumbsup: Freezing fog and lower teens for me this morning.
> 
> ...


Amazing pictures. Jealous of that scenery!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Here's to healing up fast 10-speed.

Commuter Boy, what's up? You bought a fatbike AND you get snow too, amazing!

We haven't had a particularly snowy winter but what we have had has been great. Right now there are a few trails that haven't had any snowmobile traffic since a coating of snow then ice. I'd say they are the fastest trails I have ever ridden and seem to roll faster than pavement. Snow is due tomorrow which will bring us back to just very good conditions. 

Fatbike yesterday, skinny(er) bike today they are both rolling just fine on the trails.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

CB those pictures look like a pretty damn fine place to be!

We must have a had a lot of rain overnight; the back roads had a lot of water laying on them, and the mud. Warm enough for shorts though at 7C but even with mudguards the resulting tidemark on my legs when I got changed was funny.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Shorts at 7C :eekster: 

had around 0C this morning and a little breeze. 2C on the way home but a tough headwind on the first half, from the side on the last stretch. Thats the downside of the mild winter here, as soon as we are above freezing, its windy.

I know, no politics here but I think the Americans are so quiet because that new guy in the white house is overtrumpeting everything :lol:

And what also came to my mind: Are Shimanoparts getting more expensive than SRAM/AVID parts??

I would say, dont be impressed too much, life rides on.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> And what also came to my mind: Are Shimanoparts getting more expensive than SRAM/AVID parts??


Haven't they always been? It seems like I'm always replacing parts with SRAM because Shimano costs more.

Snapped this on the ride home. Actually it was a long 60 seconds exposure (not quite as quick as a "Snap") Anyway, I was trying to get the moon with the planet beside it but the shutter was open so long that it caught a shooting star too.







Shamefully I drove today because my legs were tired from playing hard on the awesome trails Monday & Tuesday. I was going to use the snow as an excuse but we got < 1 inch.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Finally got dinged yesterday

Making a right hand corner into an alley at slow speed...

A car was coming at slow speed and I could see she was not looking at me...

Tried to bale further right on to thick glare ice...didn't want to push it cause if the bike slides out I am going under the wheels....

She hit my front tire with her left front....I was four feet from he curb...

Taco the wheel and disc....I hurt my knee when I hit the ground...

Solution take the side walk, half a block earlier....I do this sometimes but not often enough.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Weather update - sun came out here for the first time in 10 days. Would have been a nice day to ride, was 30°F this morning and stayed there most of the day. A few light flurries and that is it. Was nice to see the grey disappear even if it was only for a little while.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang jeffscott. Glad you presumably made it out in one piece. I hope the driver at least stopped and helped you up.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ow jeffscott that sounds terrible! Hope you are ok..did she at least help you?

Wow bedwards, nice pic!! 

I am driving thursday and friday, so only 2 days of riding this week :-/


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great photos, Bedwards & CB! Sorry to hear about the collision Jeffscott, hope your knee injury is not too bad. Must have been scary to see it coming.

Rode at 0F earlier in the week. Was pleased with my gear and the sunshine. Hub overhaul fixed that problem I had where the drivetrain was in "neutral".


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jeffscott, hopefully you got her insurance info to fix the wheel. Heal up!

Howdy MTXB stranger. I'm assuming the trails around you are as prime as they are here!

This morning's commute had an inch of fresh powder over a very firm base. So Quiet.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Thanks to everyone

Got insurance, got quotes, got police report...

Left knee hurt pretty good from landing on a sharp projection of glare ice, but that will heal up.

Gonna turn right on to the sidewalk early from now on.

Rode in today.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great pic Bedwards! 

Jeffscott, I like the resigned inevitability of your opener 'finally got dinged', not so much the occurrence. Glad you're ok.

4-5C and sunny this morning, shorts again Dutchman ;-) I could do with a long sleeve tee as I had sweated to much in the jacket. Probably won't coz I'm cheap but my operating temperature is generally pretty warm.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Howdy MTXB stranger. I'm assuming the trails around you are as prime as they are here!


Yes, trails are nice. Nursing a sore tailbone from a skijor crash with only a few inches of snow over ice, though.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Cooled down again, 3C this morning. Nice and bright and dry though, and I left early enough to get in a few extra miles which is the first time this year. Taking into account holidays etc I need to do that some more as I'm behind on where I need to be already to get the years commute target by about 25%. This week won't help as I probably need to car twice..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You can't fix stupid. I think the pictures say it all: The Candid Cyclist: You Can't Fix Stupid


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ never understood why anyone would ever want to drive a car out on a frozen lake. When I was a high school kid, my buddy drove his '79 Monte Carlo out on the lake and we did some donuts. Every turn of the tire had my brain thinking that we would end up at the bottom of the lake. Was so glad when we got back off the ice and onto solid ground.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa bedwards, hope nobody got hurt. Didnt they see the bad spot? I guess they emptied those little bottles before they drove onto the ice?

Shorts SS? Extra windstopper pants for me as usual. 

Finally had a normal they at work today. Could go home after 8 hrs and rode home in daylight. 1C but a nasty cold wind from the east today. Forecast says dropping temps to -7C in the morning and even below freezing during the day.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Daft as it was for sure, I gotta say I thought that the lake was deeper than that Bedwards. Why does that part never freeze though? 

Tenspeed, how's the recovery doing?

Nope, sorry Dutchman, double guessed myself and wimped out on the shorts this morning. Should have gone with my gut, I was roasting when I got to work and stopped.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

This pretty much sums up my ride this morning. 10 miles or so on the road produced this tidemark. 700/28c tyres with full guards and extension on the front one. Bike is constantly crudded up, definitely benefit being SS.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Nice spray on tan.


SlipSpace said:


> Daft as it was for sure, I gotta say I thought that the lake was deeper than that Bedwards. Why does that part never freeze though?


The lake IS deeper and that is why it doesn't freeze in that spot. There is a sandbar that comes out from a point there between 2 sections of the lake. There is a small current in the lake from the inlet to the outlet. I'm guessing the warmer deep water gets churned to the surface there. A good part of the lake isn't all that deep which is why if freezes early.

The car was up on the ice but not that far away from the hole. I would have thought that they would have tried to drag it off the lake before this snow storm which will make it a royal pain in the ass to move it now. They had a another car out there yesterday to get it out. They could have easily pulled it off the ice. It is also supposed to hit 50F tomorrow and that open spot is quite dynamic with temperature. I'm pretty sure we aren't dealing with the brightest bulbs here.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

-29 C Roads plowed.

With a 25 kph bike speed that is -44 C

-47F

Didn't go with the third layer....toes were tingly.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Damn........!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Around freezing level here today and a freakin cold wind again. Glad I have to take the bus tomorrow. 

And glad I am not in jeffscott's place!

Bedwards, I think you are right. Millions of sperms and they were the fastest??


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SlipSpace,

There is no fender on the market that is long enough. I made my own set with a 2nd set of fenders: Cut it to length and glued it on the ends of the front fender. Front part attached to the lowrider.

A pic is here:
https://goo.gl/photos/61vxm44WPWj1veHU7

Before I did this, I could see the dirt coming out of the fender horizontally, turning around about 10cm in front of it and flying back onto my lamp, pants and shoes.

However, I even put a longer piece on the lower end: The end of the SKS Spoiler is now only 5cm above the ground and finally my front chainring and BB are staying clean.

Probably I will make the rear fender longer too, but only because the kid's trailer gets dirty when its not perfect dry summer weather.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

58F for my ride in, high for the day is 63F.

It's going to snow tonight, up to 6" accumulation.

What is happening?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Same here but slightly lower highs. We got 6" yesterday, now we're supposed to hit 48F today and then get 6" of snow tomorrow, then 6" over the weekend. 

Slogged my way through the snow on the way home which was quite a bit of work on the trails. I was almost home on a side street with almost no traffic (I saw 4 cars in 3 miles). I'm doing about 5mph keeping as right as I can and a car comes up behind me and follows me for what seems like forever. I keep inching right trying to encourage a pass until finally my wheel catches the shoulder making me swerve. I'm sure at that moment the all of the drivers caution was justified and I was just another stupid biker on the roads. face-palm.

In a vehicle today, maybe for the rest of the week.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> SlipSpace,
> 
> There is no fender on the market that is long enough. I made my own set with a 2nd set of fenders: Cut it to length and glued it on the ends of the front fender. Front part attached to the lowrider.
> 
> ...


That's a good solution, thanks for the info/pic! Not thought about it coming back at me from the top but it makes sense, there's usually a good deal of mud at the leading few inches at that point. I've extended the bottom with a section from a plastic milk carton, maybe need to be longer...


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice ride into the train station this morning. My wife keeps telling me that I will get hit by a car if I keep commuting. I hope she is wrong. I have a bright, flashing red light, as well as lots of reflective stickers on my helmet and bike. I love commuting because its really enjoyable to get out of a car and enjoy nature.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

Tanker Selfie










Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Bedwards that car on the lake reminded me of some crazy times in my youth and yes it involved alot of beer and whiskey too lol. 

First commute in a week and a half today. Perfect weather 53f in the morning 70f on the way home no wind, sunshine, awesome!


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2017)

Same here. Missed 11 days of riding due to a cold, but today it was 16F riding in and snowy. Decent temp and really nice snow fall to ride in. Practically a heat wave after work at 21F.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Ride in this morning around 8:30 was at about 40 degrees. Ride home about 17:00 it was about 28. Considering we've seen 55 to 65 degrees around here that almost seemed cold!

Almost thought about putting my pedals back on the mtb, but realized it has a flat tire. Thought about fixing it but got to reading about statistics and then where does the night go?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice tanker selfie. 


EugeneTheJeep said:


> Bedwards that car on the lake reminded me of some crazy times in my youth and yes it involved alot of beer and whiskey too lol.


...and being stupid? The fact that they found the only hole in the lake to drive into was dumb but not towing it off the lake once it was out and the lake was clear was dumber. The forecast here is for snow, snow, snow and snow. Every storm will make it harder to get it out of there. We're mid storm and I wasn't sure if the trails were packed so I drove again today so I've got no update on the car.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I guess you have a light on your handlebar? My light is directly over the fender so the lightbeam reflects perfectly on all the mud that is flying out.

At the back of the front wheel: Draw an imaginary line between the contact point of the wheel and the lowest part of your biggest chainring. To stay clean, the fender has to intersect that line. Put simply: Your fender should almost touch the ground. To keep your feet clean as well, you need a mudflap that is much wider than the fender.

Nice tanker selfie BC!

Bedwards, keep us posted concerning the continuing car story! Issue will be solved when spring is coming at the latest :lol:

-4C this morning and still darn windy. The way home wasnt any better, -2C and still windy. 

Tomorrow will be a bit warmer, but windgusts upto 40kph/20mph. Windchill is kicking in.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ everybody stuck in the snowstorm? Its even on the news here.

Again -4C and windy today. Checked my windchilltable and dressed for -9C and that was spot on. -2C on the way home so not much difference. 

Rode 4 out of 5 days this week and did some indoor sport on the day I didnt ride. I actually likd the break, will maybe do it again next week. We'll see then.

Good luck for everyone in the storm. Hope you get through ok.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not stuck but the storms have been too frequent to pack the trails or clear the roads enough to bike. We had a storm Wednesday, Friday and have them predicted for Saturday, Sunday into Monday (another big one) and then potentially next Wednesday.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Again -4C and windy today. Checked my windchilltable and dressed for -9C and that was spot on. -2C on the way home so not much difference.


I approach windchill a little different. On a bike the windchill is sometimes a lot lower than quoted, because if the wind speed is less than your riding speed. It is gonna be riding speed that controls...the actual windchill.

I dress for the actual temp not windchill...

I also dress to eliminate windchill...obviously at -9C not too critical to completely shield the face but you get the drift...wind tight tights with a porous rear.

As it gets colder I get more thorough hiding form the wind.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First commute in almost 2.5 weeks or so. Felt great to be back on the bike. 50% of rain for the ride home, but we will get to that in a minute. Took it fairly easy, had to really, with the dang headwind and all. 44°F and partly sunny so I couldn't complain. Was huffing and puffing when I rolled into work, and I could feel those days off of the bike in my chest. Ride home? 36°F and rain. Took the right stuff with me however, so it wasn't too bad. Feet were soaked so I still need to work that out, but hands were alright in Showers Pass gloves but a bit cold and my Novara jacket worked perfectly at keeping my upper body dry as a bone. Should be able to commute a bit more this week as we are supposed to dry out and warm up a bit.

Using Strava and my Garmin EDGE 810 along with the Garmin Connect app on my iPhone to track mileage now. This really is an ideal way to keep track of stuff.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Dutchman, understood. Looking at the streaks on the guards I think most of it leaks out the sides before it gets to the flap, they're a bit tight for the tyre I reckon. TBH I'm too lazy to do much about it until I have too.. 

We actually had some snow lay over saturday night. Amazed really, we were out til 10 pm and I would not have said it was that cold. Mostly gone by afternoon sunday, except the snowman my daughter made..

This morning was bright and clear. Cold northeasterly but it was at my back so that was ok.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Overall it's been a mild winter but this is the 2nd time I've ridden in 45+mph winds.

Not cool mother nature, not cool.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> Overall it's been a mild winter but this is the 2nd time I've ridden in 45+mph winds.
> 
> Not cool mother nature, not cool.


Yeah we've got the same thing here. We have maybe had a few days with a high below freezing. Crazy stuff. Been spring warm since January basically...hrmph.

That said the wind was in my favor today so I'm not going to complain. Felt good.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy here as well and it kicked my a55 on the way in. Seemed to be in my face on the ride home no matter which direction I went in. Leg feels great on the bike so far so that is good. Having a dry spell here so in for as many miles as I can get right now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've ridden trails twice this winter in shorts. Usually, I have to ride at night when the trails are frozen. It's rare we have warm weather and rideable trails, but this year is full of opportunity. I have a hub being replaced at the moment, so my main ride is out of commission. The rebound went out on my old mtb and has been relegated to the trainer. I'm dying here.

I drove all last week because of a bad cold. This week's rides have mostly consisted of trying not to choke on my own snot. Fun times.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice weather yesterday and today. -6C in the morning, yesterday it was -1C on the way home, today +4C. In addition the weather was so nice today that I made a 5km detour on the way home just to enjoy cycling. 

Rest of the week is looking good too. Another 2 sunny days with temps upto 8C during the day, after that still 8C but cloudy and rainy. We'll see. Time to put on the hardshells again I think, but also for the thinner longsleeves. 

It has been a strange winter so far. On average quite mild but with temp cycles going up and down between -10C and +5C within a week, and that almost all the time since December.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Glad you are back on the bike TenSpeed. At this rate it might be 2.5 weeks before I get to do a bike commute. We've got somewhere around 36" of snow in the last week with a possibility for another 12" tomorrow. After that it looks pretty clear so hopefully Friday. If no snowmobiles have packed a trail across the lake that is going to suck!

Speaking of the lake I did go out and snowshoe it last weekend and it appears that the car is gone. (either that or it is buried, didn't get that close.)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Take it easy TS, dont overreact now  45mph winds I would consider dangerous....


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Sunny and 43°F for the ride in. Not envious of anyone out east right now bedwards - you especially. Today was all about me pissing everyone off apparently. Guy in a van pulled up alongside me while I was taking the right lane of a 2 lane in each direction road with parallel parking on it. Told me I should be moving over to that where there are no cars parked. That advice is horrible if you ask me. You need to be consistent in your lane placement and not moving back and forth out of the lane. Told him that I am all set and waved him off. Further down the road, the Ford Escape behind me absolutely could not stand going 23 mph in a 25 mph zone and decided to just lay on the horn. We were about 30 feet from the entrance of the hospital parking ramp. I pulled in and proceeded to slide to the left so I could find out what the driver was so impatient about. They flew by me into the ramp not even looking my way. Thought about confronting them but decided against it.

Now, let's talk about the ride home. At 9pm, it rained which turned into an icy mix. A cold front blew in with some decent winds. It was 34°F when I left work. The roads were wet and everything was fine. My bike and clothing choices were not ideal. Carbon road bike with no fenders, and bibs. OK, lets go. Everything was alright until I came out of the neighborhood and turned right to go down the hill. As I started picking up speed, everything turned to ice. I swore in 17 different languages as I half coasted half braked the whole way down. Made it to the bottom somehow without falling. It was at this point that I realized that I had f*&ked up. Should have stayed on the main roads which had much more traffic on the roads. MUP was officially a sheet of ice. Side road that is a short cut was the same. Said screw it, and walked. Just under 2.5 miles walking my bike in bike shoes on ice/snow. Never fell even when I was walking. 

Screw this damn weather.


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Hi Guys,

Just thought I would check in - not a lot of riding for me lately for lots of random and crappy reasons.

You see, my grandfather had a stroke the first Sunday in January - he survived but apparently it was an "oh sh-t" kinda stroke.

The sort that you don't normally survive.

Thank the big man for the neurosurgery department at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. They pulled a big clot from his brain stem and re started his brain. Literally. He has almost full control of his arms and legs (just some slight coordination issues with his right hand and altered sensation in his feet) he can talk (a little slurred but improving all the time) he can understand us and seems to have all his cognitive functions in place (his sense of humor survived too) and his vision is OK too - quite frankly a miracle. He should be in hospital getting rehab until Easter, then it is slowly slowly from there.

So I've been home to the "old country" visiting.

I also picked up a hell of a chest infection when I was there, so I had to get over that too.

So, I have managed one and a half commutes this year so far.

And then this happened;















This is my China Carbon CX. The story goes like this:

I had the bike in at the LBS for a tubeless set up (which seems to be awesome) and the mechanic offered to "have a look" at the shifting - I figured that although the shifting was OK it was about time for the initial set up and check, as all the new bits were probably broken in, after doing about 300 km or so.

SO - I get the bike back and the rear shifting is more or less the same. Yesterday I tried the front shifting for the first time since the "check"...

I wish I hadn't.

The chain jumped inwards (I was shifting from inner ring to outer so I have no idea how this happened), caught up on the inside of the inner ring and tried to eat the frame. It took out a big chunk of the epoxy filler on the chain stay / BB junction.

After a close inspection, it looks like the carbon matrix is undamaged - it just de-bonded from the Epoxy filler. I'm not sure what to do, though...

Should I take the bike to the LBS and ask them to fix it / give me a refund for the "service" or should I just never ever go there again and fix it myself?

I think the fix is going to be quite easy - but I am not a happy camper that this mechanic ruined my bike. The only thing that could cause this is a poorly adjusted front mech. I know it was adjusted ok before it went into him, I did it myself.

Any ideas?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

All the best for your grandfather Ghost!
TBH that on your bike looks severe - seems to be quite a chunk broken off there. Did you check if the front derailer was wrongly adjusted? Could be a coincidence and they didnt touch it, but I admit, the thought came to my mind too. I would simply ask the LBS first if they recall what they did exactly and if it turns out they did readjust it, confront them. A new frame wont be in it since you didnt buy it there but who knows what they can offer you.
In general I have to admit that I have had several issues with multiple shops already by now that make me wonder what kind of mechanics they have nowadays. Seems to me that even big shops that sell very expensive bikes often have mechanics that apparently do not know anything about those high-end parts or anything that is not chain gearing (like my Rohloff.....) By now I do almost everything myself except for bottom bracket, a-headset, pedal axles and wheel truing. And all of it mostly because I do it so seldomly that it is not worth buying the appropriate tools for it.

Oh yeah - the rides today. Well -5C this morning but not windy anymore. Highest temp was +10C today! Made an extensive after-lunch walk. When I left work it was 7.5C but during the 35min ride it dropped to 3.5C when I got home. Very nice though and I was very fast, no idea whether the bike functions so well when it is warmer or the muscles....

And by now I am not riding in the dark anymore, but usually during sunrise/sunset. Very nice!


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Thanks, I'm sure my grandfather will be OK, it'll just take some time. Lots of time. Patience and rehabilitation and time. It's a miracle he survived, so any progress at all is fantastic. That he can function at all is just too much to hope for, but he can. We are very, very lucky.

As for the bike; I inspected it and it looks like the carbon is in fact untouched. So I sanded, cleaned with meths and put on the first layer of Epoxy last night. The first layer is hardening as we speak. 

Tonight, if it is hard enough I will rub down and put on a new layer, then repeat until the damage is filled in. Then I will sand flush and paint it black / put a protective plate on top and it should be good enough to use as a poor weather commuter (which is why I bought it in the first place).

I am never, never NEVER going anywhere near an LBS again. Ever. From now on all works will be done by these two hands.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good news on your grandfather!

My experience with LBS is about the same as yours. I did find one with a mechanic I liked that was good and they fired him. It seems to be hit or miss if you get somebody that knows their ****. That said, it could be a coincidence. Sometimes mis-shift happens. Protective plate, since you are epoxying anyway.

Still no riding for me! The foot of snow/day finished up this morning. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to wade through the snow on the lake and see about a trail commute. In the meantime...












​


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Yep - eff the LBS, that's what I say. If they can't provide the service then they don't deserve the business. 

Wow - in Norwegian we call that "Blåtime" Bluetime or the Blue hour. That's a lot of the white stuff.

I was thinking of cutting up a soda can to use as a protector plate - but if anyone can point me toward a good "universal" fit protector I would be very grateful.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I'm lucky with my LBS, the owner basically does everything himself and he knows his stuff. Really good guy, never tries to sell me anything (I do that on my own), decent prices for parts, online is cheaper but his service is great. More than once he's made adjustments for me for no charge, and when he quotes something the price never goes up after the work is done, which I appreciate and has earned him my business for as long as he's around.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have the same experience, there was one LBS with a mechanic that apparently knew his job but apparently he left and instead there is some guy that looks like an (ex-)junkie. Owner is pretty cool though. Its a small shop and its the only shop where I feel welcome. In all other shops I have the feeling they dont need me. There is one other LBS that might be good too, owners seem to be some freaks that started building trikes in the 80ies and have their own shop ever since. It is just a bit unconvenient to reach in my situation that is why I usually go somewhere else..

Nice rides today. Weird temp cycle though this morning, left with +4.5C, dropped to -1.5C halfway, 2.6C at work when I arrived. Way home was very nice, about 7C and bike felt really fast. Havent found a chain lube that works well at -10C apparently...


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> Good news on your grandfather!
> 
> My experience with LBS is about the same as yours. I did find one with a mechanic I liked that was good and they fired him. It seems to be hit or miss if you get somebody that knows their ****. That said, it could be a coincidence. Sometimes mis-shift happens. Protective plate, since you are epoxying anyway.


 Alternately, you could use some pick-up truck bed liner on the BB and chainstay.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ghost glad to hear grandpa will be ok. I saw you pop up on strava for a day, thought you might have given up the commutes.

On my MUP the city is in the process of putting new giant markers and stuff so people know where to go even though it's pretty obvious. I was tempted to put handprints in the concrete.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ride in was good. Ride home was good. Cold, but good. Clear weather, light wind on the ride home, really cannot complain for February. This weekend will be some pretty good riding, that is all I will say.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost, all the best for your family. The frame damage sucks, some sort of plate is a good idea, I guess a can could work, maybe some inner tube such as you'd do on mtb chainstays although I doubt you'll have much clearance.

Bedwards that looks pretty.

Dutchman that's some crazy odd temperature variation.

Not much to report. Lowest temp all week of riding has been about 5C I think. I'm tired though, busy at work and home. One car in my garage where I'm doing an engine rebuild otherwise I probably would have driven today. Glad I did ride, even if it was initially forced.


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2017)

Second time this month I've been fighting off the same cold during unseasonably warm temps. I don't typically ride when I'm fighting off a cold with symptoms in the chest or below the neck. I've worked myself into pneumonia and bronchitis enough times to know it's less fun than getting in another week of riding during a cold. Ugh. On the plus side (I guess) the temperatures are forecast lower next week which typically means I'll be good to ride (because the warm winter weather usually comes when I'm sick).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Forster, a doc once explained to me that your resistance is like an army: If its fighting a cold it is occupied and can not free up forces that you need for commuting. So it will drain your energy over time and eventually you might get even more sick. So very good thing to take a rest until you cured out that cold.

This morning it was 5C and raining. At least it was moderate rain that was worth putting on the raingear. In addition, the rain gives a cooling effect on the hardshell clothing that prevents from overheating (would happen if I wear the raingear in dry conditions). The ride home was the same except dry. Had the hardshell jacket on with the pitzips and collor open. Luckily I brought the windstopper pants. I only buy paclite-like stuff so everything fits in the pannier. 

Had a 20.5kph average on the round trip - almost as fast as summer. Amazing that difference to the bike at -5C and +5C. Oh yeah and the birds were singing this morning. Next week is expected to be windy, 9C and rainy. For Hamburg, I would say summer's almost there :lol:


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Forster, a doc once explained to me that your resistance is like an army: If its fighting a cold it is occupied and can not free up forces that you need for commuting. So it will drain your energy over time and eventually you might get even more sick. So very good thing to take a rest until you cured out that cold.


 Doc says it's a bacterial lung/sinus thing. Should be good to go by Monday.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Was supposed to be in Chicago today to surprise visit my nephew. Sister texted me to tell me brother in law has a nasty case of strep throat. Decided to pass, so I will miss out on the 60°F temp on Saturday. Only supposed to be sunny and 57°F here. 

Will be riding Saturday and Sunday just for fun. Thinking about trying to do a century while staying on the campus of the university possibly hitting every road on it at least once. Will post up what I come up with.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commutes this weekend but did get some good miles in. Happy that I nearly doubled this years mileage in the past week. Between my leg procedure and the weather, riding has not happened much so it felt really good to get out this weekend and put some miles on. Sunny and mid 60's all weekend with hardly a cloud in the sky. Might be paying for this later on in the month, but the forecast for the rest of the week looks to be in the upper 40's and low 50's and only one day with some rain. February. It is still February, in Michigan. I dunno what is going on, but I love it.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

a balmy 11C this morning! Windy but it was from the SW so not cold. Meant that after a mile or so I shed the jacket and was in shorts and tee for the rest. Nice!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice to see that your leg is doing good and that you are making miles again TS! 

Forster: Hope you're ok by now?

SS: We didnt quite get in the double digits but we got stuck at 9C..

and we had 5C in the morning already. I made it in just before the rain, had to lock my bike in a hurry as it just started to rain. It got windy during the day and we had some heavy drizzle or light rain. On the way home it was a difficult decision what to wear. Had the hardshell jacket on anyway, that Altura Night Vision EVO is holding up pretty well for a 70€ jacket. Put on the my rainpants and it was the wrong decision. Tailwind the first part, almost dry on the last part so by the time I got home my pants got pretty wet with sweat. Tomorrow is going to be the same, will try the windstopper pants then. And from tomorrow on a lot of wind is going to be forecasted. We'll see.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Unseasonably HOT weekend took care of all the remaining snow/ice so I threw my summer wheels on...thank goodness. Instant 6 minute time savings. 30c tires are just plain slow


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hope to get back on the bike this week after some time with too much snow, too many dogs visiting, and too much other life stuff. With the warm weather Saturday and Sunday, though, I can now use my front door again - it had about 3" of ice blocking the storm door, plus a ton of snow that slid off the roof. A short fatbike for fun today, it was pretty bumpy from the foot traffic during the warmup, so not great. I leashed the dog after he started a scuffle with a co-worker's chow, and I was glad I did because we came upon a gigantic raccoon on the last (frozen over) quarry before the parking lot. I'm sure he would have grabbed it, and it would not have been pretty.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

This morning it was raining when I got up but it stopped by the time I left the house. Calm wind in the morning and it turned into a beautiful sunny day, although windy. At least it was a tailwind on the way home.

As from tomorrow it will be very windy, Thursday a storm with gusts upto 40mph is forecasted. I am not sure if I will ride, will decide in the morning of the day depending on the forecast.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Back on the bike after a forced hiatus. It looks like I might get one of two days on the trails and then they will be too soft due to a stretch of above freezing temp punctuated by rain over the weekend. Jeeze, this winter just can't make up its mind. I'm not sure what shape the trails will be in when it is all over.

This morning is was only 11F with chunky bumpy trails and this afternoon is about 40F which should make some soft smooshy trails. But that sounds too much like I'm complaining. At least I am on the bike.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been in the 60s/70s the past 3 days of commuting. I didn't even have a head wind yesterday. Suffering.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It's been in the 60s/70s the past 3 days of commuting. I didn't even have a head wind yesterday. Suffering.


Haha same here, the struggle is real!


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2017)

Yup, missed last week and today 39F on the ride in and 77F in the afternoon. Should have worn my HTFU cap to show how dedicated I am to riding. Doubled my ride going home just for fun.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

No commute today. Training and testing for pesticide licensing and then went to an old friend's wake.

So glad I got into botany and bicycles rather than heroin. So sad. 

Actually no bike commute tomorrow either, the roads by the convention center are too crowded and the town is not cyclist friendly. Boo. It would be pretty cathartic. Might do a little work on the bikes though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow NDD that doesn't sound good for your friend. 

Heavy rain this morning but acceptable winds with around 10mph. Dry and 15mph winds on the way home. 

Tomorrow I'll take the bus. For the afternoon gusts upto 45mph are expected and from my right, so I have the risk of being blown into the lane. Nope not for me. In addition I took Friday off, thats only 3 days of riding for me this week. Bike will go to the LBS to have them have a thorough look at the BB and crankset, since the creaking is getting worse since it started 3 weeks ago. BB, cranks and A-Headset are the few things I am reluctant to do myself.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides last 2 days, except for 1 driver yelling at me at a light for no reason. He was not even going the same way, he was going right on red and I was waiting in the center lane to go straight. Just being a jerk, claimed I was not following the right of way blah blah blah. I said "try again" before he turned.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The biggest apparel decision I've had to make the past couple days is whether or not to wear my light gloves. It was 60F this morning. Tomorrow we'll get near 80F and likely set the record high temperature for February. I believe today will set the record for the most days over 70 in February. 

Other than being super warm, this month marks my 10th year riding to work. I started on an old 8-speed Schwinn mountain bike I got in 8th grade. I bought a new mountain bike later that year and started trail riding in addition to bike commuting. While it was a matter of necessity at the time, riding to work was one of the best decisions I've made, and trail riding has become what will likely be a life-long addiction.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 2017)

Snowy


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ dang. I thought that you and I had similar weather. We definitely don't have that right now. Random flurries and a chance of snow today.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 2017)

I think the bulk of that storm went north of me and south of you. I did enjoy the commuting in snow/slush/ice test with the Surly Nates. They're alright in that element. I think they're too narrow and aggressive for either groomed trails or deeper snow than you can ride through with your wheels on the ground, but in 3-6" stuff I only lost traction when I his really powdery snow over ice. I probably need to rig a mini fender to protect the front der though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The good news, I was able to bikecommute every day last week, and my rides were fine. The bad news, 4 dead after 3 motor vehicle accidents in 4 days. Friday's occurred just after I pedaled past the location, as I was close enough to hear the responding sirens. A man on foot was run over while pumping gas, by a car that left the roadway. The car had been going the same direction as me. The first 2 fatalities were twin sisters in a car hit by a truck speeding to the methadone clinic. Ran the light, no license since 2009, etc. etc. The last is still classified as missing, she was a passenger in a car that hit a guardrail; she and the driver took off when rescue called the staties, and it appears that she drowned in the river. DUI driver ran back up the bank for help, but no sign yet.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Geez, I'm thinking "LA" but then I look and see you're in small town Vermont. Be careful out there.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Forster said:


> I probably need to rig a mini fender to protect the front der though.


Try the shimano "mud flap" ; kept my front der going in muddy conditions for 10 years.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> The good news, I was able to bikecommute every day last week, and my rides were fine. The bad news, 4 dead after 3 motor vehicle accidents in 4 days. Friday's occurred just after I pedaled past the location, as I was close enough to hear the responding sirens. A man on foot was run over while pumping gas, by a car that left the roadway. The car had been going the same direction as me. The first 2 fatalities were twin sisters in a car hit by a truck speeding to the methadone clinic. Ran the light, no license since 2009, etc. etc. The last is still classified as missing, she was a passenger in a car that hit a guardrail; she and the driver took off when rescue called the staties, and it appears that she drowned in the river. DUI driver ran back up the bank for help, but no sign yet.


Wow, sad stories from the Vermont Ghetto! We could send LePage over to help with the drug problem.:skep: At least you weren't one of the ones that got taken out. Maybe tomorrow but it is 45F now.

I've been banished to the roads due to soft conditions. This morning would have been good but the lake had 3" of slush yesterday and it didn't stay cold long enough to firm it up. (I am guessing). I'm hoping winter returns for another month before we head into spring.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thats a tough week MTBex, stay safe out there!

I managed one ride last week... ferrying kids about, a day of storm Doris (95mph ish) and her aftermath had me in the car the rest of the week. Doris had the roof off the smoking shelter (recovered) and also the bike shelter (broken). Back riding today, shorts temperature, but not feeling great. Hopeful for tomorrow but off wednesday to pick up a new (to me) car.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow MTBx that doesnt sound very motivating to get on a bike in your place....

steamy rides today. Nice ride at 10C and a tailwind this morning. Against the forecast and usual weather pattern here, the wind calmed down in the afternoon so the headwind wasnt that bad as expected. In addition it was a steamy 12C on the way home. I think I can get used to it


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Punish pass 50 feet from a stop sign at a T intersection where our lane has to turn, and the driver pretty much runs it. At first I got kind of pissed, but then I thought that they might be intoxicated so I am glad they are gone. Headwind pretty much for each ride. Not sure how that happens.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home started out dry but I was soaked through by the time I got home, at least it was a tail ish wind and about 7C.

This morning was 2C clear with a stiff headwind, lots of standing water. Some drivers cutting way to close on the lanes. It's ok for me to move over into the crap but heaven forbid they get their car in it.....


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2017)

jrm said:


> which ruined the casing of my tire. Caught the bus/walked home. Replaced tire already for tomorrow.


 I'll see if I can find the pic of my buddy's bike with a screw all the way through the rim.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Headwind pretty much for each ride. Not sure how that happens.


Yeah, I've been getting that a lot too.

SO, I'm still not convinced that the lake is frozen on the top so I'm on the road today. Not only that but the roads are good enough that I decided to take a fun bike out and not the heavy steel commuter. I pulled it down from the hangers, checked the shifting and pumped up the tires. Notice I didn't say checked the brakes. The bike was working fine last year and it's only been a few months. I hopped on and headed down our very steep driveway when I figured out that I had NO brakes. These are hydraulic road so I squeezed the levers a few times but the road was approaching fast so my troubleshooting time was limited. I hopped off and the bike crashed into the drive. It looks like the only damage was some scrapes on the brake levers which were knocked out of place as well as the stem. The brakes, they work fine after a few pulls of the levers.

So, a lesson for those with hydraulic road brakes: test them after they have been in storage!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Glad you're allright bedwards! I didnt know however that hydros can fail after a while in storage? Is that a common thing or just bad luck?

Not much to say about today and yesterday. Around 3C in the morning, 6C on the way home. Acceptable winds and luckily no rain during the rides.

Will have to drive the rest of the week :-/ So only 3 days of riding this week, just as last week. I am getting sloppy - hope to catch up the next weeks.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Weather is not promising for the rest of the week here. Snow and rain mix with temps near freezing. This is the weather that I usually avoid riding in if at all possible so the car will see some duty. Last night was a severe t-storm watch from 7:45 to 4 am. Tornado warnings went up south of here. Had the night off so I was glad to not be riding home in that mess. Strangest winter I can remember that is for sure. Bikes ready to go, weather is not.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Glad you're allright bedwards! I didnt know however that hydros can fail after a while in storage? Is that a common thing or just bad luck?


 I found a blurb on it from Shimano. If they are stored inverted it is possible. I always dismissed it as lawyer speak since I've hung my bikes for, pretty much, ever. I've always thought this bike was light on brake fluid since I bought it but haven't bought the special tool to fill it yet. Maybe this is my chance. I did find the secret cover since it popped off in my driveway.

Winter if finally scheduled to return starting tomorrow with single digit F temps. Hopefully the lake firms up. Another week of those temps and the ice would have gone out.

Hopefully the race I am in this coming weekend is still on. Ski, Shoe and Fatbike to the Clouds | Great Glen Trails (603) 466-2333 I'm sure the conditions are ICY!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

3rd time this winter I've had to deal with 50mph wind gusts and sustained winds of 30+mph.

Tried to put some power down to get through a merge section in my work complex and thought my lungs might explode while I hit maybe 15mph. Nothing like a good headwind to keep you humble.


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Thank you to you northern folk. For reminding me why I am in Florida. Tomorrow the weather man said there will be a "cool down"-mid 70s for the high. Oh yeah, ummm, my ride was nice today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^What? I'm kind of hopeful for a few more weeks of some below freezing temps! Don't knock it till you try it.  You'll be reminding us why we live up north when you're got an armpit stain to your waist and we're at a nice dry 75F

Welcome aboard bike_soldier!


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

HaHa. I love the temperatures here right now. Summer time is not fun in the afternoon. The humidity is killer. I always try to hit the trails when the sun comes up then. Right now I can go any time and enjoy it without sweating much. 

So someone threw an apple at me on the way home yesterday. This was after yelling when they passed me the first time. Didn't get their license plate.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Winter has returned for a few days and it was excellent! The lake is frozen hard and so are the trails. We might only get a few days of this but I'm pretty happy with it.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Been pushing 70F on the way home lately, really nice I love this time of year here. Been taking the long way home too, work has been super busy so I like to burn off the frustration on the way home!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Not biked, or any form of exercise, for a week nearly now. Caught a cold that has really knocked me for six. It's been cold wet and windy which has not encouraged a normally 'ah well' me. Maybe be back by wednesday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Super quiet around here these days!

The weather keeps bouncing between late spring and early winter here. 2F this morning to 40F this afternoon.

My commute was pretty good considering I wore my legs out pretty good yesterday climbing a big hill.
The Candid Cyclist: Fatbike to the Clouds


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SS get well soon!

Nice story bedwards, and indeed very quiet here lately.....

Statistics now confirm my gutfeeling, winter has been very dry here. 

Now getting back to normal, full day of rain and drizzle here. Managed to ride both ways in drizzle only so stayed relatively dry.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, Bedwards, glad you made out OK when you had to dump it - I will definitely be checking the trailbike hydros this spring.

After that solid week of bikecommuting, I got a cold/cough and have not been up to riding.

The car crash/pedestrian fatality I told you about, the one where I was just blocks ahead, turned out to be caused by the driver huffing some canned air (dust off) just before the crash. Ugh!

Today, another crazy crash, this one at the shop that works on my car, cause undetermined. Minivan propels truck through repair shop window | Times Argus

Hopefully I will have more bike-oriented news soon. Tomorrow is "Town Meeting Day" in VT, where town budgets and other business are voted on, important offices such as fence-viewers are filled, and I get the day off.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Not as crazy as the van pushing the truck but I saw a car that managed to go off the road, about 20 feet into the woods (just missing the barrier to prevent drivers from doing that) and somehow spinning the car around backwards. I can't figure out how they managed it, sorry I didn't get a picture.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey guys whats going on over there? Accidents here, there, everywhere....

uneventful rides today. Grey but dry. Tomorrow afternoon some rain is expected, well I am prepared for it - bring it on :madmax:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

dry ride in this morning with 2C.

As expected rain on the way home. My shirt was pretty wet though when I got home, I dont know if it was sweat or rain coming through the jacket. It was expected to be pretty cold this morning, so I put on a warmer longsleeve than I should have. We'll see. The jacket is still within warranty so I could return it and then see what they offer me.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> dry ride in this morning with 2C.
> 
> As expected rain on the way home. My shirt was pretty wet though when I got home, I dont know if it was sweat or rain coming through the jacket.


I've always found that it's not a question of being wet but what you want to be wet with. Water or sweat, you pick.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Unbelievable ride in on the carbon road bike. Weatherbug app had 37mph winds directly out of the west when I stopped at the bike shop for a breather. Yeah, I was heading west. Those were sustained. Gusts in the 50-60mph range. A school southwest of here had its roof ripped right off. Power outages, trees down, debris, etc. Wind nearly took me down 3 times and 1 time I actually had to stop because it was swirling around me and pushing me out of the bike lane into traffic. I think my max speed was in the 12mph range which is super low.

Ride home had some of that residual wind at my back. Tied with another guy that I know for a KOM on a section that I had previously snagged. Oh, I will be taking that over solo before too long. Also managed to move up from like 27th to 4th on a long section that I had no idea how the guy who took the KOM could ride that fast. Part of me feels like he was towed in at speed by a car or truck.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Well, I had some severe pulsing while braking on my way in this morning. It felt like my wheel was way out of true, but as it turns out, my rim split down the center.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow s0ck, nice job using up those rims. I don't think they owe you anything.


TenSpeed said:


> Ride home had some of that residual wind at my back. Tied with another guy that I know for a KOM on a section that I had previously snagged. Oh, I will be taking that over solo before too long. Also managed to move up from like 27th to 4th on a long section that I had no idea how the guy who took the KOM could ride that fast. Part of me feels like he was towed in at speed by a car or truck.


Welcome back the to the world of Strava. A tie for a KOM is almost as good as owning is solo. 

I got a bonus fatbike ride today. I had decided to take the road since it has been warm and the lake has a layer of water on it. Well, the roads had a layer of ice on them so I grabbed the fatty anyway. The trails were HARD. The studded tires were sliding around on the hard packed snow it was so hard. The lake did suck a bit with a skim of ice over water over ice.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards, how do you know if the ice is still thick enough? Sounds like its melting and you're still.l riding it?

That rim does look pretty bad s0ckeyeus. How much mileage on it?

NDD, it indeed looks like I sweated more than the jacket leaked. Had the same experience today.

Rides were just as yesterday. Dry ride to work. Had to ride home in the rain again, but somehow was pretty fast so that kade up for it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> That rim does look pretty bad s0ckeyeus. How much mileage on it?


Not sure, but it's over 9 years old. It started out on a mountain bike and made its way to this commuter. I probably have at least 20,000 miles on this wheel. It didn't look or feel particularly worn, but I guess it had had enough.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards, how do you know if the ice is still thick enough? Sounds like its melting and you're still.l riding it?


Experience. We hit a high of 12F (-11C) last Saturday so we're got a little while before ice-out. Once the ice all turns black because it is waterlogged it's time to stay off. Strangely to some it doesn't really get thinner. It kind of all warms up to just below freezing (rotten ice)and then melts all at once.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Well, I had some severe pulsing while braking on my way in this morning. It felt like my wheel was way out of true, but as it turns out, my rim split down the center.
> 
> View attachment 1125705


Wow! Dang that must be a bummer. Did you ride it home though?



cyclingdutchman said:


> NDD, it indeed looks like I sweated more than the jacket leaked. Had the same experience today.


See. Now if you really wanted to get into it, you could model the cutoff point for when you would get less wet based on sweat and how hard it's raining...or just guess. I don't know.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> Wow! Dang that must be a bummer. Did you ride it home though?


I did. The rear brake pad was rubbing, so I detached it and rode home with just the front. I don't think it'd be a good idea to put extra pressure on the rim anyway.

This morning's commute sucked big time. I crashed on an mtb night ride and was feeling kind of sore and worn down physically this morning.

Due to my bum rim, I planned on riding my geared commuter to work. But when I grabbed the bike this morning, I quickly discovered the chain had rusted in the garage. Since my car is in the shop, driving wasn't really an option unless I rounded up the kids and had my wife take me in. I decided to grab my old mtb off the trainer...

As luck would have it, the sealant was dried up and the tire was flat. I put in more sealant, pumped up the tire, and headed out the door. Knobbies kind of suck on pavement anyway, but today was the one day where I had a pretty much full on headwind most of the way to work. To make things more interesting, my rear tire was not holding air and became flatter and flatter as I rode even more into the wind.

Part way through, I almost called work to have a coworker with a bike rack pick me up but I persisted. Tire squirm was pretty intense by the end of the ride but I made it to work before my rim started to hit the pavement. Needless to say, I'm getting a ride home tonight.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Yesterday was 66F and sunny, today it's snowing pretty hard.

Weather just doesn't make any sense this winter.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That wind storm that we had Wednesday was no joke. 515,000 people still without power according to DTE Power. I believe the total number was around 852,000 at one point. And I rode my bike to work in that. 

No commute today as I am off. Might brave the cold temps tomorrow and ride because it should be clear. As long as the sun is out on the way in it is not bad.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes S0ckeyeus, I have also learned the hard way already that you should always have a rideable backup bike ready. And impressive age and mileage for that rim! 

TS, still not sure if I would ride in that weather. Rode in a storm a few years back and decided to avoid that in the future. Not that I was in any real danger, but I was definitely at risk of being blown into the lane or getting a branch on my head. 

Nice rides today but it was windy already this morning, so I was a bit slower because of the headwind. But it was dry and put on the softshell jacket so I didnt sweat so much. Although windy, it turned into a nice and sunny day with about 9C on the way home. Made my usual cheese detour and got 30k/20m on the clock when I got home. Also rode 5 of 5 days this week and tested the raingear 2 times. A good week of riding


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## 816455 (Jan 17, 2017)

Heres my commute. Getting better and better when snows melting


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ interesting commute. Video is well shot.

Today it was a cold and windy reminder that winter is not over yet. One more day of clear and cold temps, then a few inches of snow is forecasted, and then another warm up to the upper 40's again. Everyone here is ready for spring/summer with all of the teasing we have had lately.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

thefinnishcrash said:


> Heres my commute. Getting better and better when snows melting


Wow, that's a lot of stopping to re-position the camera and ride out of sight. Nice result.

Tired tired tired. Time change and a late Sunday trip to the dog emergency clinic when my 2 dogs tried to eat a porcupine. It was also 5F and my bike was feeling S-L-O-W. Should have stopped to air up the tires.

At least my rides start around sunrise again and the later light is most welcome.

*Moon Over My Fatty​*




​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice vid finnish crash! Had some help for the vid or shot alone as bedwards suspects? And are you running spike tires? By the sound of you riding by it could very well be....

Weather was nice today. Freezing this morning, dry and little winds. Almost 10C on the way home. Unfortunately I didnt feel well all day so I took it easy. This meant I needed 1h17min. for the round trip which is about 7minutes more than usual - who cares. If I dont feel better tomorrow I will have to stay home tomorrow :-/


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

thefinnishcrash said:


> Heres my commute. Getting better and better when snows melting


Nice vid! Hope the doggies are ok bedwards.

It's 85f here already, what happened to spring?? Sweated my ass off on the commute home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No ride for me today :-/

But I am wondering how everybody on the east coast is doing?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

East coast reporting in. No rides here until next week. Getting tons of snow today, cleaning tons of snow tomorrow, business trip on Thursday & Friday then more potential snow over the weekend. 

Pups are fine. Nothing $1000+ in the animal emergency room couldn't handle. Holy crap! Other than a slight chance that the one quill that was embedded too deep to remove punctures a lung...they should be fine. Unfortunately they would probably do it again tomorrow. Their collective brain shuts down when they are hunting critters.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

the multi-user path will not be open up here for me to commute for probably close to a month. But am considering braving the roads if the weather holds. Has been up near 50 lately. But winter will come back for a final hurrah I am sure.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Too snowy to bike here in VT too. First time since Severe flooding in Irene that work let out early. Was I smart enough to leave at noon, no! Drove and took a friend home, squeezed by a car stuck in his complex's driveway, then stopped and helped the stuck guy on my way out. Even a mini car shovel works wonders compared to kicking snow around. A few minutes shoveling, and a push, and he was free, at least temporarily. I continued on home, Subarus are amazing, even got up my unplowed driveway. The winter storm warning continues thru 8pm tomorrow...

* Hazard types... heavy snow.

* Locations... all of Vermont east of the Champlain Valley and 
the western Adirondack Mountains of northern New York.

* Accumulations... 18 to 24 inches of snow.

* Maximum snowfall rate... greater than 2 inches per hour, mainly 
this afternoon through this evening.

* Timing... snow, heavy at times, will continue this afternoon 
and tonight. Gusty winds will produce considerable blowing and 
drifting snow this afternoon into early Wednesday morning.

* Impacts... hazardous winter driving conditions due to snow 
covered roads, low visibility, and blowing and drifting snow. 
Creating near whiteout conditions at times. Unnecessary travel 
is strongly discouraged this afternoon and evening.

* Winds... northwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, an expensive porcupine, Bedwards! I've been lucky in that department lately. 5 deer raiding the birdfeeder this morning though, the dog pretty much went insane!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hi All - woodway back in the house. After working at home for nearly two years, I've taken a job in an office which means: Bike Commute!

The direct route is short by my standards...only ten miles each way. But I've already mapped out some longer routes.

I see some of the old regulars here...bedwards, mtbx, s0ckeyeus, etc. But where is CB and rodar?

First commute to the new office is this Friday. Will check in now and then.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Stay safe all y'all out east! It's kinda chilly here. Nothing to write home about, except maybe digging that "extra" sunlight and I'm glad I've been commuting by mountain bike. I'm headed back to NW Indiana in may and have been doing my due diligence to map out commutes to work and grocery but also finding where the off-road cycling is at since I only had my road bike last time. 

Dang that is an expensive porcupine! I don't miss that about having a dog but I really do miss having a dog.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Whoa! that's some serious weather some of you are getting. It's even making the news over here (particularly the ice house bu Lake Ontario!). Stay safe every one.

Bedwards - I've seen pics of dogs that have been porcupined, not nice, wish them well

MTBX - Subarus are awesome, no snow to deal with but picked up my first one last week, a Legacy. Love it!

Some catching up to do as been ill (thanks for the well wishes Dutchman, your turn now, get well soon!) and banned by work from forums. Since I do a lot of my browsing at work (in breaks!) I kind of fell away. Anyway, got that resolved and I'm back and also back on the saddle. I'm surprised how much two weeks of inactivity has affected the ride. Pace seems slower.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That was some of the worst driving I've ever seen. Traction wasn't the issue but visibility was horrid. Whiteout snow with frozen wipers and windows that were all steamed up combined with other people having the same problem and stopping IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. 


mtbxplorer said:


> Wow, an expensive porcupine, Bedwards! I've been lucky in that department lately. 5 deer raiding the birdfeeder this morning though, the dog pretty much went insane!


At least deer don't have quills and are generally quite ab bit faster than a dog.



woodway said:


> Hi All - woodway back in the house. After working at home for nearly two years, I've taken a job in an office which means: Bike Commute!
> 
> The direct route is short by my standards...only ten miles each way. But I've already mapped out some longer routes.
> 
> ...


Hey woodway, welcome back! CB is doing what you did, mostly working at home. I'm not sure about rodar. He just faded out. I know it was likely that his plant was closing. We've picked up some new regulars now.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

East coast here and the ride was surprisingly good this morning. We were closed yesterday during the storm, but looking out this morning the roads in my neighborhood were clear and my neighborhood is usually the worst part of my commute after a snow storm.

Decided to brave it on my snow route, meaning no using MUPs because they plow the snow on to them rather than clear them. I use a route of roads that are plowed, have no shoulders, but low traffic. I only get passed by 4-5 cars typically on this route, so not bad.

Towards the end of my ride I get to a section where the roads look like an ice rink (I should really buy some studded tires). So I get off my bike and start walking on the snowy area between the sidewalk (also ice rink) and the road. I soon realize I'm not breaking through the snow at all, it's solid crust. An idea pops in my head, I walk into the field on the side of the road and jump on my bike. I'm "floating" on the snow on 700x35s! Okay, now things get fun, I'm 40-50 feet away from the ice rink road, riding up and down small snow banks and feeling like a 5 year old. After a mile or so the field ends, but the roads are clear now and I ride the rest of the way in. Arrived 5 minutes early for work.

Win.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ss thanks for the good wishes, can surely need it. Doc told me to stay home rest of the week :-/ 

Woodway: newfangled and texan n fla also went MIA in this thread. For that I think I am one of the new "regulars" as bedwards says 

Thanks for the hints on subaru. We are also looking for another stationwagon, the legacy seems to fit. Most importantly the new car should be reliable and simple, and easy to fix/maintain. We'll see.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No snow here. Just cold. It feels extra cold since February was so warm. My SS commuter is back up and running with a rear wheel from a different bike. The wheel is actually older than the one that broke, but it's not as used. The old rim actually looked to be in good shape, minus the crack in it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Not gonna rub it in, but we got less than an inch, and it is pretty much all melted. Forecast is for sun and low 40's tomorrow so I will be on the bike. Hope all the east coasters are hanging on!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I won't rub it in either but it's 14C / 58F and sunny with blue sky here  No bike though, places to be after work


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Not gonna rub it in, but we got less than an inch, and it is pretty much all melted. Forecast is for sun and low 40's tomorrow so I will be on the bike. Hope all the east coasters are hanging on!


You make it sound like a bad thing! I'm looking forward to a few more weeks of snowy trails. Then I'll welcome spring.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Commuted the mtb today for fun and it has green on it for St Pattys. Was fun jumping off curbs and such.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Bright and sunny here today, but man was it windy. Head or cross most of the way and I can feel the reduced riding and general exercise of the last few weeks.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Back on the bike after a full week. Felt great!

Very nice ride in this morning. 6C and sunny, hardly any wind. Very enjoyable. Ride home was sunny too but quite windy. It was a tail/crosswind only so not that bad. 

Was quite slow this morning but didnt push it either. Looking forward to the next days of riding


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> Bright and sunny here today, but man was it windy. Head or cross most of the way and I can feel the reduced riding and general exercise of the last few weeks.


My sentiments exactly. 10 days off the bike, and I feel like a fat pig. Diet has been horrible. Lack of exercise, and when I put my jersey on today, I got pissed at myself. Headwind both ways today, 54 and sunny for the ride in at least. Cooler for Wednesday but I am still riding, then the rain is supposed to come. Decided that I am not going to ride in freezing weather and rain so I will be back off the bike for at least a few days. This sucks.


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## Guest (Mar 22, 2017)

TenSpeed said:


> My sentiments exactly. 10 days off the bike, and I feel like a fat pig. Diet has been horrible. Lack of exercise, and when I put my jersey on today, I got pissed at myself. Headwind both ways today, 54 and sunny for the ride in at least. Cooler for Wednesday but I am still riding, then the rain is supposed to come. Decided that I am not going to ride in freezing weather and rain so I will be back off the bike for at least a few days. This sucks.


 I was right there last week so I took the Fargo out for the first non-Fat bike ride of the year. All of a sudden, I'm fast again (well slightly faster anyway).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Another nice day today, I will have to get used to it since the forecast is nice ;o))

5C this morning and a light cross/headwind. Saw 4 roe deers pretty close but didnt have a camera at hand :-/ Wind turned and was headwind again on the way home....at least it was 12C and sunny so no complaints.

Now that forster is ditching the fatbike I start thinking of putting the conti speedride summer tires back on. Well maybe 2-3 more weeks...


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2017)

Not ditching the fat bike just taking it from commuter to off-roader where it belongs.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Monday - No Bike, Dentist Apt
Tuesday - Road, Lost a blinky,found a running leash - Found my blinky on the way home which worked but it was a little crushed. (Pretty sure NiteRider has a flat rate repair of $10)
Wednesday - Fatty - Nice in (found a MP3 player), Redonculous wind on the way home and cold.
Thursday - Studless 27.5+ on the trails=FUN
Friday?


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

It was a cold commute this morning. I thought that the snow was over, and then we got hit with an early Spring snow-storm.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Pretty similar rides as the last days again, just cloudy today. Felt noticeably colder though.

Forster: ok got it  

Bedwards: hope the dentist appointment wasnt too bad...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I hope somebody is going to talk here - I dont like talking to myself only ;o))

Lovely rides today! It was -1C this morning but sunny and calm. I passed a roe deer only 5 meters/yards away!! It was hiding between some bushes and trees but I spotted it anyway, just tried to look like I wasnt seeing her. I hope this kind of close encounter wont happen when she gets babies...usually they are getting pretty aggressive to defend the kids.

Made a detour on the way home and logged 30km today. Rode the first part home with a collegue who was going the same way. Pretty nice to be not alone during the ride. Met my wife and kid shortly before home and rode home together. Rode 4 of 5 days this week, good times.

No riding next week Monday and Tuesday. I am flying to the other plant Monday evening and coming back on Tuesday. Got a hotel so close that I can walk over in like 10-15min. 

Currently the forecast shows temps up to 18!!C next week. Cant wait until its Wednesday.

Have a nice weekend y'all!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute, but I packed up my road wheels and strapped them to my bag and rode down to the shop to get them trued. Got some rain last night so the MUP was a bit wet still. Couldn't pass the day up though. Currently sunny and 72°F and it was in the low 60's when I went in. Got some lunch, hung out at the shop, and then hopped over to the campus and just rode around enjoying the day. Broke a sweat and it felt really good to not be cold. Storms are on their way, and it is supposed to rain most of the weekend. Today, today was really nice. My mom passed away 9 years ago today, and it felt really good to just get out on the bike, pedal away, and think about her. Didn't ride for any KOM's, or worry about how fast or how far I went, the only thing that mattered were that the pedals were turning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back in the saddle this week. Easing back into things and rode three times this week. I've got to re-learn all the organizational techniques I used to know. And I've got to ramp my body back up to a daily commute workload. The occasional road/mountain ride does not equal a daily commute...


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## DaveRider (Jul 14, 2014)

I slowed down for standing water & a car passed at the speed limit & douched me. I think it was on purpose. A-hole.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Clocks went forward an hour over the weekend. Kinda threw me this morning as I was effectively out an hour earlier compared to friday. It was all gloomy and chilly (5C). Supposed to hit 15C today and be nice for the week, yay!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I couldn't get any thread with more than one page to open since getting the new laptop. That problem went away today. Not sure if MTBR was changing things or my new sign in and password did not give me access until they updated the files. 

Nice day and will ride later. Colds, bad weather, being away, and the fact that I do not work had their effects on my riding of late. Time to get back into shape.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards: hope the dentist appointment wasnt too bad...


Just a cleaning.


woodway said:


> Back in the saddle this week. Easing back into things and rode three times this week. I've got to re-learn all the organizational techniques I used to know. And I've got to ramp my body back up to a daily commute workload. The occasional road/mountain ride does not equal a daily commute...


How far is the new commute? You used to have one of the longer ones around.


DaveRider said:


> I slowed down for standing water & a car passed at the speed limit & douched me. I think it was on purpose. A-hole.


 Effer!

I'm afraid my over the lake route may be closing soon. It's good for now but we've got a week of above freezing weather forecast. If we get another cold snap it will be extended but if not the ice will be too weak soon. The trails were marginal at best today with 32F rain making them soft. I may have to embrace this whole spring thing sooner than later.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove in today due to a mtb crash on Saturday. I'm OK, but my lower back/upper butt is super bruised and riding my SS didn't seem to be a great idea this morning. I'll probably drive tomorrow too and see how it goes on Wednesday.

I'm working on a ride video, but here's a video of the crash: 



.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice crash footage. Kudos for not swearing as you went down. It looks like you hit nothing. Heal up soon!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice crash footage. Kudos for not swearing as you went down. It looks like you hit nothing. Heal up soon!


Family show, right? There is actually a root there, but you can't see it from the footage. Apparently, I didn't see it when I was riding either. Here is a pic of it as I walked back up the trail:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Looks totally harmless. I've had a hidden root throw me off with a pedal strike too. It was at low speed last fall but my rib still reminds me. My response was not family appropriate but was also not being recorded.

Light rain and 35 for the ride home = not ideal.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Looks totally harmless. I've had a hidden root throw me off with a pedal strike too. It was at low speed last fall but my rib still reminds me. My response was not family appropriate but was also not being recorded.
> 
> Light rain and 35 for the ride home = not ideal.


Yeah, I've never had a pedal strike here before. I'm not sure I've even had a pedal strike on this trail system before, except for maybe slower speed root crossings. It totally took me by surprise. I almost hit a fallen log earlier that was hanging out over a berm, and had a stick jump up and get caught between my chainstays and tire. It was an unusual ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got my ride in. Man, I have a long way to come back, but I was worse in 2008 after years of not cycling.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Well, I commuted to the store and back. Used my bike bags as grocery sacks. Bike path is getting plowed so real commuting is not far off.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

That trail looks pretty dang fun. Crash sucked. Been there, same position on the ground, just doing a quick evaluation on if everything is still attached to your body and if you are alive. Looks like you were almost able to recover it before you went down?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

TenSpeed said:


> That trail looks pretty dang fun. Crash sucked. Been there, same position on the ground, just doing a quick evaluation on if everything is still attached to your body and if you are alive. Looks like you were almost able to recover it before you went down?


Yeah. I think if I were wearing clipless, I might have pulled off the save. I might have actually caught the back of my shoe on my pedal when trying to re-establish myself. There is some damage on the back of my left shoe that I hadn't noticed before. I don't tend to crash often, but I actually crashed another time about a half hour later and broke the front derailleur mount on my frame. 1x here I come... I also scuffed a tree with my bars, dodged logs hanging out over a berm, and had a stick pop up between my non-drive side chainstay and tire. Eventful ride.

In commuting news, I decided to give it a go today. The ride went fine as long as I kept the cadence at a reasonable level. I still can't spin as fast as normal, but I'm glad I rode. I get antsy when I don't ride.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sounds like mother nature was out to get you s0ckeyeus!

Was really foggy here this am, sounds silly but really wet fog too. About 2C. It's supposed to hit high teens later and is beautiful out there at the moment.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was nice, overcast but 17C!

Car again today... no idea why but it really is just a mental battle to get my backside moving, at the moment I'm losing :nonod:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Classic spring rides yesterday, meaning just above freezing, foggy from all the snow disappearing up into the air, raining, and new potholes covered by puddles. I enjoyed it nonetheless.


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## Guest (Mar 29, 2017)

SlipSpace said:


> Ride home was nice, overcast but 17C!
> 
> Car again today... no idea why but it really is just a mental battle to get my backside moving, at the moment I'm losing :nonod:


 Me too, 42F and heavy rain, not my day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Classic spring rides yesterday, meaning just above freezing, foggy from all the snow disappearing up into the air, raining, and new potholes covered by puddles. I enjoyed it nonetheless.


Yup. If I can't be on the trails I'm looking forward to getting on a summer road bike though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Back in town since yesterday evening. Felt good to be back on the bike this morning after returning from my businesstrip the last days. 

Rides were about exactly the same today. 10C and heavy drizzle / light rain. Had the hardshell jacket on. Also the hardshell pants this morning. Kept me dry but got a bit steamy when the rain got less. On the way home I had only the Windstopper pants on, but it leaked just a bit on the inside on my knees. Amazing how waterproof that stuff is today and still be much more breathable than that old VauDe rainpants.

As usual after a few days off, everything felt a bit sluggish today on the bike. Will be better tomorrow I guess.

Slip, whats up??


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Classic spring Seattle ride today...43 and pouring rain going to work, 53 and sunny going home...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Slip, whats up??


I really don't know, seems to be since I had that cold I just can't get going. Went for a run yesterday lunchtime, did about 4 miles, quite slow pace, so the ability is there (for now). Body feels fine but brain is saying 'this is hard' rather than 'this is awesome' so the effort fades out. Endorphins not firing somewhere I guess. I'll get through it I'm sure. Thanks for the ask though, I appreciate it.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute for me today, 34°F and raining and it isn't supposed to let up much today. Becoming more fairweather than hardcore.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

50s in the mornings. 70s on the way home. Hard to complain about that.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Sock, good to see you back on the bike!

10C this morning but somehow felt very warm. Yesterday it was 10C with rain, today it was dry. Made an incredible difference.

20!!C on the way home, spring is finally here. Lovely to just get up and hop onto the bike without having to put all the gear on. 

Took the day off tomorrow, so only 2 days of riding this week  Will be easy to beat that next week.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Sock, good to see you back on the bike!


Thanks. I couldn't resist this weather. I only made it one day not riding. I'm still sore, but not nearly as bad as I anticipated. The stretching and exercises I've been doing really seemed to help with recovery and not getting more injured in the first place. I'm hoping to be trail ready by Sunday, but we'll see.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Nice crash footage there s0ck!

Had an awesome ride home today, 40mph headwind with 70mph gusts! Had to put it 4 lo just like in my Jeeps lol. Hit this intersection had to look both ways twice, or four ways!

Winds down power lines, flip semitrucks and ground flights in Las Vegas ? PHOTOS | Las Vegas Review-Journal


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^70MPH gusts! That will blow you right off the bike.

Today was probably my last chance to commute across the lake.  I made the best of it and took the long way. I can still go around and take the trail route if it is frozen but it's a lot longer.

I'll leave you with a picture that will make the city bound commuters jealous. 
The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^70MPH gusts! That will blow you right off the bike.


Exactly what it did too! On an overpass over the freeway, luckily I was going so slow I just put my foot down and walked for a bit.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cool morning ride into the shop, back to work for the spring/summer. Couldn't be happier. Sold a bike today, helped build a bike today, helped customers, had a really good day. Nice ride home with temps in the 50's and sunny. MUP was packed so the going was not as fast as I was hoping for.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Out of an abundance of caution I took the studded tank. I probably could have crossed the lake just fine but the trails weren't packed. And I didn't want to trust going for a swim under the ice to "probably". I'm sure it would have been fine. At least I'll have fenders for the afternoon melt.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Ended up with a last minute commute Sunday night for a partial shift. Ride in was really nice, in fact there was a stop to take my jacket off - got way too hot. Ride home was alright, more of a race to beat the rain home. Had rained earlier but the streets were mostly dry. Started sprinkling closer to home and after looking at the radar at a stop light, quickly realized that I needed to hurry. Beat it by about 15 minutes or so. Took my SS MTB converted for the road. Decided that it will go back to full time MTB duty with a cog swap and knobbies back on it. EBB is creaking so I need to address that when I change the cog over to MTB gearing.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Fast rides today. Average was about 2kph higher than I made last week. I dont know if its the speedrides that I put on, cleaned my chain or that I have been hauling the trailer everyday the last 3 days with 1-2 kids in it. 

Anyway, it was enjoyable. Dry, relatively warm and little wind. Even sunny all the way home.

I have learned that somewhere in the future, a new motorway is going to cross my route, exactly on the quietest point where I now regularly see roe deers and even saw some boars last year. Most of all I hope they wont cut off the route entirely but have a bridge or tunnel that I can use. But in any way the peace is going to be gone on half of my route...


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi you all. Just coming out of retirement to confess that I cracked up laughing this morning during my commute when I realized that the crosswind singing in my nostrils sounded like someone dialing in a ham radio station. I've been trying to quantify that sound for years and I finally nailed it. :lol:

I've been good, thanks for asking. 
I missed a meeting and they elected me president of the local mountain bike club. Our big local race is coming up in May and we've been plugging away at fixing damage from our epic winter here in NorCal.

I've cleared some pretty technical sections on the Ogre in maintenance mode: 








Hope you all are doing well. Stop crashing, it hurts.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey CB nice to hear from you again. I know that sound  Your ogre looks very classic with those white tires, really good!

Nice rides again today. Nice sunrise this morning, fog rising over the fields and refreshing temps. Ride home with the sunglasses on for the first time.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good call Bedwards, ice "probably" being thick enough is ok for if you're being chased by a bear , or baddies, but perhaps not for the commute.

Hey CB, nice work.

Weather is still behaving but big spread of temps from 2 to 5C on the way to work, high teens C on the way home. Mostly a brisk wind one way or other but all in all good.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey slip good to see you back on the bike!

S0ckeyous are you doing allright again?

Nice ride in again this morning. Turned into a windy day with ~20kts but it was a tailwind most of the ride so no no complaints. 

Tested my dynohub charger on the way home. Put the charger and cables in the zefal gastank. Had the display on continously on the brightest level, GPS on, navigation app recording the route and still my phone was charged 15% after the 30min ride. Worked all perfectly. The only disadvantage is the position of the phone on the gastank, impossible to look on the phone without losing traffic awareness. Unfortunately, I have no space for a handlebar mount so the gastank will have to do the job.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the foul weather studded commuter again. This should be the last time this year. Temps have consistently been above freezing but we did have some snow on the ground this morning. Early next week is supposed to be exceptional!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey bewards, that sounds like a wet ride..... (I'm talking to myself here. I remember when this place this place was just all atwitter with activity)

Still damp this morning so I took the rain bike again. I'm so ready for some nice weather. my body's tired of pushing these heavy bikes around every day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I remember when this place this place was just all atwitter with activity.


I know all about it. Its not the same since BW of the west and I-cant-decide-between-woodchipper-and-Midge-Newfangled dont show up anymore here. GhostHTX turned into a ghost and Slipspace slipped away - am I the only European here at the moment?  :skep:

So the rides today and yesterday were the same. 5C in the morning and already a steady 10kt head/crosswind from the west. 10C on the way home with a gusty 20kt tail/crosswind, made buff and thin gloves necessary.

I also have a creeping flat on my front wheel. Yesterday afternoon it was a bit soft so I pumped up some air and rode home. Checked it this morning after getting up and it was still ok. This afternoon though it was soft again so I put again some air in. Brought the bike in the lab already for diagnosis and treatment tonight => Patch if I can find the leak, otherwise change the tube. A new tube wont harm anyway, the tube is 3years old by now.

This week I rode 5 out of 5 days again :thumbsup: 

Nice weekend y'all!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> S0ckeyous are you doing allright again?


Yeah, almost back to normal. I got a trail ride in last week, but I was definitely not 100%. I'm almost back to normal now with barely any soreness left.

I'm going soft. Temps this morning were in the upper 30s, and it felt cold. 30s for the lows aren't that unusual in April around here, but this year has been so warm. It will be in the 50s on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

And Rodar and blochphi and harold and Kleebs and jeffscott and gettocruiser and Bike Colorado and AlexCuse and not even much from MTXB.

Y'all have a good weekend. One more ride home for me and I'm taking a day off.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'll admit, I haven't had the opportunity to ride much. The first year and a half of my Master's, besides riding the bus for a month after busting my finger, I think I drove/got a ride maybe ten times. This last semester, I've been slacking (well...at biking). The reasons being that there are 2 days I rarely commute, and I stay home and write, I'm usually pretty mentally exhausted and feeling sapped (stress), and I've been taking the time to do a little more botany (keep in mind I never bought a parking pass for the uni, so I park 1 - 2 miles out and hike through the woods or walk the bike path to get to my building). 

I'll be headed to Indiana a few weeks after graduation for a seasonal job, and will be only commuting about 2.5 - 3.0 miles each way, so I'll probably have nothing to write home about. Then again, my commutes have never been mondo exciting, but I'll take that as a good thing.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No mention of my name, so that is good, and bad I guess. Good commute to the bike shop for me. Massive flooding has a road closed right off the park that I will cut through and today it was nice to have traffic blocked for that one block I go on that road. Lots of headwind for my super short 4.4 mile commute to the bike shop to work. Had a great day, still recovering from a nasty cold but it felt pretty good to be on the fixed gear. We had snow Wednesday but that is all but gone now. Temps to be on the rise for the upcoming week so I will be riding a lot. Will try to keep the posting up here if that is what is wanted. Ride home was nice, just a jersey and sleeves and 51°F with the sun still out at 6PM. C'mon summer, I see you just around the corner.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Hey dutchman Ghost is still out there I see on strava he's back to commuting the last week or so after a long hiatus. 

Everything's pretty boring here, I've been taking little different ways on the rides home to mix it up, sometimes I get so bored I start to zone out and not pay attention.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Up early today, working the bike shop and then the hospital. Temps will vary from 54°F and sunny to 27°F and breezy later. Hate having to take more stuff with me because it will not all fit in my messenger bag. Should be a beautiful day to ride. Swapped out my front wheel last night just for giggles. I have an Aerospoke front wheel and even though it is heavy, I love how it rolls and how it feels on the bike. Going to give that a shot today and have some fun with it. Seriously contemplating going back to narrow risers and pulling the bullhorns off again.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> Seriously contemplating going back to narrow risers and pulling the bullhorns off again.


Oh oh another bar swapper rising... 

Diagnosed my front tube with a small puncture. Strange, the tire liner should prevent it? Also a coincidence that it happened shortly after the tire change. I reckon something small got between liner and tire, or I put the liner not in the middle where it belongs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good to hear that Ghost is still riding, maybe he'll check in here again. And good that you're ok too S0ckeyeus!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Brisk ride in with a headwind. Good day overall at the shop, and then a good ride to the hospital. Headwind for the ride home but snuck in a few extra miles on campus including a parking ramp. Wasn't feeling it in my legs today so I headed home. We have a lot of flooding right now and I will get some pictures on the way in on Sunday. Supposed to hit 71°F by the time I go to work. LOVING this!!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Still lots of flooding especially on campus. Absolutely beautiful day to ride in. 73°F and lots of headwind but not many complaints. Broke a sweat on the way into work. Left work at 11:30 PM. It was still 64°F and really nice out so I headed further west to the capital and then rode around the business part of downtown which was a ghost town. Did a parking ramp and tried to get some good pics but they didn't turn out well. Blasted east and hit the campus to check out some of the flooding which is really bad. Baseball field is completely submerged and the water is up to the stands it looks like. Rode around a bit and then headed home. Ended up doing 15.5 miles on the return trip. Storms forecast to roll in on Monday specifically around the time I would leave for work so the car will see some duty. We definitely do not need the rain but we will get it anyway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> No mention of my name, so that is good, and bad I guess.


 Nah, you are a regular at this point.

We're on tap to get some of that magic weather that TenSpeed is enjoying now. It's supposed to be above 70F today and tomorrow (Up to 77F???) which should break both records. Average high temp for this time of year is about 50.

After being on the fatbike, studded commuter & rain commuter my carbon cross bike felt like a rocket today. Spring fever is starting to set in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was confronted by two geese this morning. The one came hissing at me and both took flight right at me. I had one of them directly in front of me, and the other was to my right. I didn't really know what to do, so I hissed back at them. They both backed off after that. If these geese only knew who they were messing with.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

We had a very good day yesterday, really summerlike. Warm, clear sky and little wind. Went paddling with my family and got the first sunburn of this year.

Big temp drop today. 10C, cloudy and a firm 15kt breeze in the afternoon. Even a rainshower just before I left work, sat it out in the foyer of the building for 10 minutes. Weather is going to be like that for at lrast a week, so no family rides over the long upcoming easter weekend I guess.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I'm still here in spirit. On holiday at the moment, Krakow in Poland. What a beautiful city! Brilliant cycling infrastructure too, but no chance for me to use it, my family are not cyclists despite my best efforts... Intend to be a regular when I'm back to work but that's a week away yet fortunately.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Summer hit yesterday with a crazy 76F! Sunday was nice too, about 55F, so I took the studs off for a little road ride on the MTB commuter. Did good 26 miles from E Barre to Chelsea, which includes the endless Washington hill. It felt good, especially after missing a few too many bikecommutes lately. 70 again today, but chance of thunderstorms. 

I've been considering a new CX bike, really wanting discs, and the components and paint are reaching end of life, so it might be time. So of course Bedwards mentions his rocket carbon one. Thoughts on the ride vs aluminum/carbon fork? The comfort of the Fort is the only reason I'm not 100% sold on the new bike vs. rehab.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I would definitely recommend a new or lightly used bike.  Most of the bike I buy are 1 year old which tends to drop the price in half. The carbon works for me. I like an ultra rigid bike which is why I ride the cross bike instead of the road bike most of the time. I also like the ruggedness of it and the 28c tires over broken pavement. If you are really on the fence, RollingRunner has a Focus cross bike that has all those features. If you wanted to come to Maine I'm sure she'd let you borrow it and we could do a ride. I think it is a 54cm.

Record breaking temps are forecast again today!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yesterday was windy as usual but at least it was dry. Last night it rained but this morning it was dry again, could rain without the raingear and the unpaved section was in a reasonable state, not as muddy as expected after several hours of rain. During the afternoon the rain started and I had to ride with full rain gear on the way home. At least it worked, I forgot to bring any rainproof gloves but the windstopper gloves didnt get too wet so fingers remained warm. Tomorrow will by mostly dry, maybe a rainshower but probably avoidable. For that the wind will increase to 20kts with gusts upto 35kts :-/

Friday and Monday are public holidays here so we have a 4day weekend. Not much riding planned but I hope to be able to get in at least a longer ride. Probably the first ride that is not a commute or errand run.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Errand ride here today as I am off of work luckily. Beautiful day to be on the bike. Traffic was minimal, partially due to my route. Bike was very minimal. Fixed gear, no brake. It was eye opening.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> Fixed gear, no brake. It was eye opening.


 :eekster: I don't think I could ride one of those.

Ride home was good, there's a farmer's market on Weds that I can easily swing by. Got some onions, avocados, potatoes and a loaf of bread. Going to try and make it a weekly thing. AND there was a dude dressed up like Darth Vader playing the drums. :drumroll:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> :eekster: I don't think I could ride one of those.
> 
> Ride home was good, there's a farmer's market on Weds that I can easily swing by. Got some onions, avocados, potatoes and a loaf of bread. Going to try and make it a weekly thing. AND there was a dude dressed up like Darth Vader playing the drums. :drumroll:


Never thought I would ever ride it either, but now that I have, I love it. Makes you ride completely different and it keeps your attention that is for sure. And the farmers market sounds good. Wish that I could find one that was open on my way home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I would definitely recommend a new or lightly used bike.  Most of the bike I buy are 1 year old which tends to drop the price in half. The carbon works for me. I like an ultra rigid bike which is why I ride the cross bike instead of the road bike most of the time. I also like the ruggedness of it and the 28c tires over broken pavement. If you are really on the fence, RollingRunner has a Focus cross bike that has all those features. If you wanted to come to Maine I'm sure she'd let you borrow it and we could do a ride. I think it is a 54cm.
> 
> Record breaking temps are forecast again today!


Thanks bedwards! I think I will take a look at the Norco Threshold at the LBS. There's a killer discount on 1/yr for trail crew. Anybody have one?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, like the Threshold Carbon with hydro disks! Looks very nice. Pump the brakes a few times after hanging it before you descend a steep driveway.

It was only 36F this morning in contrast to the summerish weather we've been having. But I'm in shorts mode and can't go back now.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

what a day. Nice ride in this morning although quite windy already. Found a pen along the way but when I picked it up, it appeared to be broken. Somebody already rode over it :-/ Since there was somebody coming my way, I stuffed the parts in my jacket and threw them in a waste bin at a crowded bus stop, so that I was not only an ambassador for cyclists, but also everybody could see that 

Made a detour on the way home which added about 5km, making the ride 28km for today. Winds were blowing with 25kt, gusts 35kt. When leaving the plant, I came around a building and had the wind blowing around a corner in my face, bringing me almost to a full stop. After leaving the plant, the wind was from the side at first, the last 7km were a tailwind that made me go really fast - which is ~30kph/20mph. Some will laugh but on that heavy beast on unpaved roads....

Rode 4 of 4 days this week - Friday and Monday I am off. Happy Easter weekend every1!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> I've been considering a new CX bike, really wanting discs, and the components and paint are reaching end of life, so it might be time.


MTBX - you might also consider a TI bike...I must have over 30K miles on my habenaro CX bike (carbon fork). The guys at Habcycles are great to deal with and will sell you a frame and fork if you want to build yourself or a prebuilt bike of you don't!

Habanero Cycles Cross / Touring frames and bikes


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I do love my old ti Litepeed Unicoi, a great commuter now winter or summer.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutch, I was pretty sure that story was going to end with ink all over!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> MTBX - you might also consider a TI bike...I must have over 30K miles on my habenaro CX bike (carbon fork). The guys at Habcycles are great to deal with and will sell you a frame and fork if you want to build yourself or a prebuilt bike of you don't!
> 
> Habanero Cycles Cross / Touring frames and bikes


I keep considering a TI bike as a commuter/all weather bike. I'd strip the parts from the Cross Check frame.

I squeezed one more trail ride in between snow season and mud season with temps around 28F. Things were mostly solid. There was one spot where my wheel broke through some thin ice to the thicker ice below so I got off my bike and promptly broke through up to my knees. There's still snow in them there woods.






​


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride into the shop to work, then the hospital. Ride home was a race against a storm. Did an extra lap in the complex when the rain started. Hoping to do the same tomorrow but not working the shop. Supposed to hit 80°F by the afternoon.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Blazing hot for April in Michigan at a face of the sun 82°F and lots of head wind. Going was slow, and I almost got put into the curb by a crosswind - it was that strong. Took the fendered cx bike today because the forecast for the ride home was uncertain. Storms are coming but they did not really amount to anything to warrant fenders. I hate fenders, with a passion. HATE them. Ride home was interesting with a huge wind at my back - part of the time. The rest had it swirling from the south, sometimes making it in front of me which would be the east. It was 70°F when I left this evening at 11:30. Took a slightly different route home and avoided the downtown area with the bars and more than likely drunk students. It was a really nice night to be on the bike.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

2nd day this week going fully car free. Grocery store run and Bed Bath & Beyond. The bag is full, and it was really heavy. Trying hard to do bike only grocery store runs now that it is nice out. Kind of limited with no racks or a trailer. Maybe this is how I will give up drinking soda?

https://i.imgur.com/OA46nRZ.jpg


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey TenSpeed, you are talking to an empty room apparently. The pic didn't make it.

Our stint of way above normal temps is over. Today is still nice but the rest of the week looks pretty drab. I found the Easter Bunny on my way to work. My dogs will have a great time ripping it to shreds!





​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No real rides for me during the last 4 days...but the easter bunny unexpectedly brought my son a 20" MTB. He already got a big present Saturday (Bunny was early ;o)) ) and in the evening the MTB popped up in the local ads. So we went for a testride and after some negociating, we got it for 30% less of the usual 2nd hand market price 
So we took it for a spin through the woods this afternoon, 10km/6m and enjoyed every second of it.

Bedwards: On the pic of your fatbike further above, there is a bag with a red taillight on it on the ground. Is that a saddlebag with a blinkie on the back? Or a backpack that you put on the ground?

And I didnt have anything to ride here so far but I did check and I have seen Tenspeed's pic (cant see it anymore now ?? ) it was his red SS, with a flat handlebar, leaning against a big black messenger bag. So where did it go?

"cold" weather expected the next days, barely above freezing tomorrow and a bit below on the next mornings. But as long as it is dry, I'll take it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^
How old is your son? 6m is a good first mountain bike.

Helmet with a blinkie being used as a kickstand. 

Can it BE 5:00 already?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

He is 5 and will be 6 in may. So I did push him here and there, we walked the steepest parts and we were not fast. It was my goal to let him discover the woods and hills and to practice with the new bike. Shifting, steering, braking, all good. Braking was a concern for me, because he is used to coaster brake and a v brake with the lever on the right. Now he has a freewheel, 2 brakelevers with the rear brake on the right. Luckily, he figured it out correctly when necessary. 

A helmet! :lol: I could and should have known....


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

For.anyone who is interested, this is a 7min vid with the highlights. Nevermind the german comments/instructions 

Its just a wacky phone vid,dont.expect anything professional when filming and riding singlehanded


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

That's awesome Dutchman! He was killing that singletrack :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I dunno what happened with my pic on here. It worked when I posted it. Changed it to a direct link instead of embedding it. Commute today was awesome. 67° and sunny which was about perfect. Traffic was cooperative so that was a bonus.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> For.anyone who is interested, this is a 7min vid with the highlights. Nevermind the german comments/instructions
> 
> Its just a wacky phone vid,dont.expect anything professional when filming and riding singlehanded


He's a natural! In 10 years you won't be able to keep up.

Good rides with little to report. I took the long way home yesterday for a total of about 33 miles. I haven't been inspired to do anything longer. Today my wife left a little ahead of me so I was in pursuit mode until I caught her.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> 2nd day this week going fully car free. Grocery store run and Bed Bath & Beyond. The bag is full, and it was really heavy. Trying hard to do bike only grocery store runs now that it is nice out. Kind of limited with no racks or a trailer. Maybe this is how I will give up drinking soda?
> 
> https://i.imgur.com/OA46nRZ.jpg


If I bike to get groceries, I always use racks and bags. I hate having that much weight on my back. Don't love the slow acceleration but coasting downhill and keeping more momentum is great! All said, it's a worthwhile investment to get at least a rear rack for a geared bike. Used to use my single speed as a grocery getter and I think it was a good challenge but not worth it.

Looking forward to returning to bike commuting after next week. It's been a little while.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NDD said:


> If I bike to get groceries, I always use racks and bags. I hate having that much weight on my back. Don't love the slow acceleration but coasting downhill and keeping more momentum is great! All said, it's a worthwhile investment to get at least a rear rack for a geared bike. Used to use my single speed as a grocery getter and I think it was a good challenge but not worth it.
> 
> Looking forward to returning to bike commuting after next week. It's been a little while.


It's only a mile to the grocery store so it wasn't too bad. Welcome back to commuting!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Back on the bike today. 2C and a stiff headwind this morning. 7C and the same cold wind from behind on the way home. It was dry today but the wind was really cold. The next days it will be below freezing level in the morning. I have "won" a customer meeting on thursday so will have to show up in a suit. Will probably take the bus that day, if the dresscode is taken strictly.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

TenSpeed said:


> It's only a mile to the grocery store so it wasn't too bad. Welcome back to commuting!!


Oh yeah that's not shabby. I used to do 9 miles each way. Purposefully low gearing - 39/18 - made it pretty easy but when I was unloaded I felt like I maxed out on spinning pretty easily.

Thanks! I've missed it, and mentally/emotionally I've probably paid the price for lack of exercise. Not good.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Took the long way in on what will probably be the nicest day of the year. Sunny and 64°F with a nice breeze. Tried out a modified route that had me cut through a good portion of the campus, but it had its drawbacks. Most of the cut through is on a sidewalk/bike path/MUP. College kids don't really give two rats behinds about traffic and who has the right of way, etc. Will reserve this route for my late night ride home. Good chance of rain and storms tomorrow, but I will be on the fendered cx bike. Working down at the shop then off to the other job. Really trying this whole car light thing as much as possible.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very nice day to ride again today. Very cold this morning, just above freezing but there were icy patches on the road. Farmers were spraying their apple trees with water over night. That packs the blossoms in ice and as long as there is fresh water coming on it, temp within the iceblock remains exactly 0°C. Anything below would ruin the blossom and thus the harvest later this spring. Unfortunately lots of water landed on the road as well and was frozen over so had to be really careful at some spots. 

Took a different route home which added only 4km but the scenery is very nice. Also scouted a small canal on the route for a place where I could drag my kayak over the street. Unfortunately everything around the canal was secured with a high strong fence, no way to get over that. So the dream of paddling to work will remain a dream. Will have to stick to pedaling.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Paddling to work, that would be fun. I've tried to think of how I could do that across the lake with the bike but there is nowhere to park the canoe. It would be a pain. Speaking of the lake. There is a new site that gives you a crows eye view of your rides. Unfortunately they stopped doing it if you check the commute box in Strava so this one is from last week. You can see the lake that I now go around when it zooms out at the end. 
https://www.relive.cc/view/937467802


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today is the 3rd day in a row of biking to work with my dog on the cargo bike. Between the extra weight of the cargo bike and the dog, I'm probably 100 pounds or more heavier than my usual ride. Legs are starting to feel it.

Going to try to do it again tomorrow


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Started my new job fulltime this week. I've been transitioning over the last month, so have been riding to the new office a couple of times/week. This week is my first week of fulltime riding. The commute is rather short at 18 miles RT. I've mapped out a nice alternate route that will get me about 34 miles RT. I've been tempted to start riding that route but want to ease into things, so I plan a couple of fulltime weeks and then will start upping the mileage.

Other than the constant rain we have been having here, it's just so awesome to be back into bike commuting. I knew I missed it, but did not realize how much...

GLTA!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> Today is the 3rd day in a row of biking to work with my dog on the cargo bike. Between the extra weight of the cargo bike and the dog, I'm probably 100 pounds or more heavier than my usual ride. Legs are starting to feel it.
> 
> Going to try to do it again tomorrow


I love this.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was windy. Missed out on the rain luckily. Fenders, even though I hate em, HATE HATE HATE them, are nice for just wet roads. Haven't decided about Thursday's commute yet, storms forecasted - some severe. Thursday would make 7 straight bike commutes. Decisions decisions.....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, that is a lot of dislike for fenders. I took the fendered bike today because it rained overnight and I didn't want a wet arse. Try not to think of it as punishment. Try to think of it as making you appreciate your lighter, funner bikes.

Found a flasher on the commute as noted in another thread.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Day 4 with cargo bike and dog. My legs are still attached, and the rain has just missed us by 10 minutes for 2 of those rides. We were the first ones to the office today, I guess she was first because I have a front loader.

I like fenders, at least more than I like road gunk covering my body.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> Day 4 with cargo bike and dog. My legs are still attached, and the rain has just missed us by 10 minutes for 2 of those rides. We were the first ones to the office today, I guess she was first because I have a front loader.
> 
> I like fenders, at least more than I like road gunk covering my body.


I'm still thinking I missed something. You get to take your dog to work?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

What does your dog do at work?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Is this not normal? How do you get through a work day without your dog and not go insane?

She mostly naps, and says hi to anyone who will look in her general direction and then sniff their pockets in case they have treats. More people carry dog treats than you would think.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I think I would go insane if I went through my work day with my dog. She can be a little curious and demanding.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

formula4 that's awesome I wish I could take my dog to work!

I broke a spoke this morning on a sharp corner on the ride into work, then realized when I got ready to head home there was actually 2 broken spokes. :madman: Rode carefully and slow home and made it, the tire was about a frog's hair from hitting the chainstays. I guess I get to practice truing a rim this weekend woo hoo!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Welcome back to bikecommuting Woodway & NDD! Formula, that dog and setup are super cute! Lucky dog and humans! Rides have been pretty good, a little windier than I'd prefer. Earlier this week I accepted a ride home as I had only brought the helmet light and it was going out as soon as it went on. Turned out the culprit was the cable between the battery in my pack and the helmet - a loose wire kept it from charging right or connecting reliably once charged. Luckily it is replaceable, so the whole thing is not trash. I also ordered an accessory that lets you charge your phone or whatever off the battery pack, great for emergencies or camping.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey F4S that picture is awesome!! Very nice that the company allows you to bring the dog. We have only a cat and cats generally prefer to stay in their own territory. Dogs instead love to be on the road and discover new things so very nice that you can bring the dog. Let him run a while until he's tired, then you wont have any problems at work either  Wanted to give you rep for the pic but have to spread it around before I can give you some. 

No ride yesterday. Had to attend a customer meeting and bringing the suit etc was too much hassle so I took the bus.

Today was windy. Ride in was fairly ok with 6C. During the day some showers passed through but it was dry when I left. For that the wind picked up to some 20-25kts and I made a slight detour, which made me go into the wind. Rode in the the drops all the time and bended over as far as I could, still got only 15kph out of it. Got better later when it became a crosswind and I was a bit sheltered. Rode some 27km in total today. 

Rode 3 out of 4 working days this week but with a detour on 2 days, so that makes at least 3,5 days


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Rode bike to bike shop. Worked at bike shop for 8 hours. Rode bike home. Now that is a great day!


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## zooey (Oct 31, 2016)

Saw a pretty car parked next to the bike parking at my workplace.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks all, yes it is really nice having her at work with me. She's also the main reason I got the cargo bike, didn't want have to choose between biking to work and having her there with me. So problem solved.


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## jupiter58 (Jan 13, 2016)

Nice ride in, empty roads at 0630, not to cold, no one tried to kill me:thumbsup: I am in the midst of working 33 days in a row my goal is to ride every day. My commute is about 14 miles round trip. I have come to the conclusion that I like riding my hardtail 29er more than my 26er or 650b.Seems like I cover more ground on the flats.
I should try taking my meezer cat out on one of those rigs


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

So far, I have been doing pretty well going car light. Great commute in today and the ride home was pretty good as well. It is that weird temperature at night here where you start off really cold, but end up being warm. I need more sleeves I think because that seems to be the perfect solution. A wind breaker had me drenched and that sucked. Commutes Monday and Tuesday and then the rain/severe weather will be back so that car may see duty depending on how it goes. Tied my KOM and was frustrated with myself because I could have easily gone one second faster. Next time!!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Rode in today :aureola: First one in a while, still not fully well but thought , sod it, maybe it'll clear out the pipes!

Bike has had a good clean and service so was running well. Weather was bright, some cloud, light sprinkle of rain, headwind...

Glad to see some of you doing well on the commutes, good luck on car free Tenspeed, that's a big commitment.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> Rode in today :aureola: First one in a while, still not fully well but thought , sod it, maybe it'll clear out the pipes!
> 
> Bike has had a good clean and service so was running well. Weather was bright, some cloud, light sprinkle of rain, headwind...
> 
> Glad to see some of you doing well on the commutes, good luck on car free Tenspeed, that's a big commitment.


Wish I could go car free to be honest, just going car lite for now. Glad you are feeling a bit better.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

jupiter58 said:


> ....., no one tried to kill me :thumbsup: ....


Now that sounds cynical....

Hey Slipspace, nice to see you back on the bike! Take it easy man, its just the way to work and back home, not a race ;o)) at least, that is how I see it. It doesnt matter how, where, what and how fast you ride - just keep RIDING! and get well soon.

Windy here today again and will be for the rest of the week. Regular showers passing through. Rain made fun of me this afternoon. Stopped to put on the rainpants, when I got back on the bike, it stopped raining again!! Kept the rainpants on for the last 5minutes anyway, just short enough not to be cooked.


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## zooey (Oct 31, 2016)

Set my fastest effort to work yesterday. 16.5 mph average over 6.5 miles. I usually go about 15.0 mph +/- 0.5 average. This morning, I happened to smash that previous record, going 17.4 mph. This on a singlespeed 29er (see blue ROS9 in pic a few posts up). I was going NW, and the wind was from the SW 0-5 MPH. Was calm yesterday. Odd thing is, I injured my left ankle a couple days ago (got run over by a heavily loaded 250+ lbs cart). I guess it's just because I was really trying to get technique down right, doing the "ankling" and trying to get power through at least half my pedal stroke and making my feet feel light on the pedals, focusing on extending the legs (focused on "pushing down" just behind the knee) and getting my heels down just before my feet reach 12 o'clock.

Also set a pretty good time, jogging around the block, 0.92 miles in 5:42. Was trying to practice good technique, leaning forward and not kicking out my stride too much, but was wheezing and unable to maintain technique, at under 160 bpm. Feels odd being full anaerobic at 160 bpm. I recall last year doing 185 up a long pavement climb, and not feeling so awful during the effort. Not my best effort, but I was pleasantly surprised that "feeling terrible" got my 3rd fastest mile pace effort around this block.

Also rode by an auto collision:























Mercedes driver said that the pickup ran the light. I have no clue how it ended up like this. Maybe someone can tell from debris left over on the road (cars are parked on the road leading to the right).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Is that 2 accidents you saw in 1 day?

I took the rain bike today because it's supposed to be pretty damp for the trip home and I just cleaned the cross bike. Actually I just cleaned the rain bike too. Oh well.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Another snow storm commute this morning - winter just keeps hanging on this year.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

zooey said:


> Also set a pretty good time, jogging around the block, 0.92 miles in 5:42.


That's not jogging!

I need to see how fast I can run a mile.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I took the rain bike today because it's supposed to be pretty damp for the trip home and I just cleaned the cross bike. Actually I just cleaned the rain bike too. Oh well.


I know all about it 

easy ride in this morning. Only 3C but thats no issue, hardly any wind and dry - thats what counts. Ride home was dry as well and had quite some wind from behind so it was a quick ride home. Nothing special for the rest - good times.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

BCTJ said:


> Another snow storm commute this morning - winter just keeps hanging on this year.


This is no good, no good at all.

Rode to a doctor's appointment and then home, lunch, shower, then to work. Good rides all day honestly. 66°F for the ride home at 11:30PM in April? Absolutely. Short commute tomorrow to the bike shop for 8 hours then home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Last night: Flat.
http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/never-gonna-use-slime-tubes-ever-again-1043705.html#post13140516

This morning: Wet.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Tenspeed, thanks. Your car light effort is probably harder than car free I reckon as there's always that escape route. Requires more mental discipline so I applaud the effort!

Dutchman, thanks, I feel like I'm getting my mojo back now. Appreciate the advice on pace etc but man have I lost some form!

We had snow yesterday, it was around 7C but snow fell and dusted things briefly, wtf is going on, nearly may and snowing. Similar today but only hail... I was in the car doing the school run (was a nice B-road blast from the school to work in the Scoob though!)

Zooey. Hi, interesting that the pickup seems to have escaped with a busted track rod and a light scrape while the Merc didn't fair so well. Also, I'm with Chazpat, around 6 minute mile is a good pace, not jogging!


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> This is no good, no good at all.
> 
> Rode to a doctor's appointment and then home, lunch, shower, then to work. Good rides all day honestly. 66°F for the ride home at 11:30PM in April? Absolutely. Short commute tomorrow to the bike shop for 8 hours then home.


Warmer today. Just do it winter - let go and kick the can!!

I think that next winter I will buy Bar Mitts - my hands have nearly been cold every morning for the past three months. My leather gloves aren't good enough I guess.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cold this morning, just above freezing. Appletrees were sprayed again, at least there was no ice on the road. For the rest it was amazing! Bright blue sky and little wind. Bit more wind on the way home, 10C and sunny again. Simply lovely.

No riding tomorrow, shopping for a new car. If we succeed, the car will be more expensive than the bike since years.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice bright morning today. I misjudged the temperature though. I headed out in shorts and summer gloves. about 2 miles out I dug out the winter gloves which were still fortunately in the pannier. Cold headwind all the way (I guess the chill easily dropped the temp below 0C) but I had a smile on my face


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

22C last week in ZRH, this week it's been ~2C with snow. I braved the commute all week. 

Headed in to work today in the rain, but took a huge fall when the cycle lane transitioned to a paved section from tarmac. Front tire didn't grip, I was going too fast and hit the desk head first at 30km/h. Not a great day. 

Cracked by helmet (thank god I was wearing one), ruined my kit, and the hoods now have a nice selection of scrapes and scratches. Have some decent bruises and nice case of road rash that I am sure will go soon enough! 

Colleagues at work who have first aid training are pretty convinced I have a mild concussion, so taking the train home early to rest up.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ouch! Heal soon and I hope nothing is worse than that.

It's only been a few days but it feels like it has been raining here forever. Maybe I'm just grumpy.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

H0ly sh!t marc! Good that you are ok. 

(No riding for me today and car shopping wasn't successful either...)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yeah Marc, If you cracked the helmet, chances are good you have a concussion. Mild as you did not black out. No stiches needed, which is to the good. I took mine at 30 kph afer a front tire blowout on a turn. About twice the speed or 4 X the energy, so lights out! And 18 stitches. 4.5 years ago, but such face plants are long remembered! My point is, it could have been worse. Not riding back home is a good idea showing you are not too scrambled!


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Thanks for the kind words and support everyone - really appreciate it. 

I'm definitely coming around to the fact it could have been much much worse, I got away lightly in the circumstances.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Heal fast brother.


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2017)

In a word "sucky". Riding home from picking my boots up at the shoe repair place for the 1/2 marathon ruck march in a week and a half and I endo'd. Open fracture if the right elbow, road rash and my already arthritic shoulders and wrist are killing me. So the irony of crashing while getting boots for an event I probably can't participate in now is pretty odd.


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## notso (Jan 22, 2015)

Great! Last night I turned my 4.5 mile commute home from work into about 15 miles by joining in on a weekly mtb group ride on some lesser known urban single track. Fun stuff.
The weather this morning was perfect on the ride in. I'll likely look for another "long way home" after work tonight. We're lucky in that there is a 20 mile trail that pretty much circumnavigates our whole town. My work and home are each within about a mile of it on opposite sides of town.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hope you're not too sore today Marc.

Damn Forster, you didn't fair quite so well! How did you manage to endo? Hope it doesn't ruin your plans but take it easy and heal fast!

Cold and wet last night. 4C or so, started raining as I unlocked my bike so I put the waterproof on. I'm glad I did as it would have soaked me through. As I approached a remote junction on the country roads I travel I saw an upside down bike with the wheel removed. uh-oh... I then saw the dude huddled under the nearby tree. Stopped to offer assistance and turns out it was a young lady. She had flatted, stopped to change tube and caught the new tube between tyre and rim and flatted that too. The trouble with cold and wet I guess. Poor girl was frozen but said someone was coming to collect her, due in 10 mins. She was grateful for the stop but insisted I carry on and not wait. I guess I could be a weirdo..... 

Car again today. I'm trying to sell stuff on Gumtree at present (similar to craigslist maybe..) one of which is a desk. Managed to sell it but volunteered delivery near to work to get shot of it.


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## Guest (Apr 28, 2017)

^^So, I took a short section of sidewalk to avoid a traffic jam in the burbs (folks lining up to pick-up kids from school) and the sidewalk dipped about 1.5 feet in a two square 6' area. Didn't see it and couldn't react. Plus side, I kept my head off the ground. Have to see about the 1/2 marathon. My later gravel races will depend on how long the elbow takes to heal.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Whatever happened to that rodar y rodar character? This place isn't the same without him.

My commute today was a solid B+.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Finishing up week #2 of my new commute. I've ridden all ten days and have been rained on at least one way nine of those ten days. But I don't care, I get to ride my bike to work!

Bummer Forster and Marc on your crashes. Heal fast. I hate reading about commuter crashes...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Forster that is really very, very bad luck :-/ 

Nice of you to stop and ask Slipspace. Had the same thing twice, one time the guy was repairing the tube itself and the next time the guy was carrying his bike to the busstop where somebody was coming to pick him up.

Nice and calm ride in this morning. Ride home was wet, it rained for the first 15min and it stopped just as my windstopper pants started to leak on the seams on the knee. Took it off and took the completely paved route, had a look on my turn on the unpaved section but it looked very muddy so I continued. Next Monday is Labour Day which is a public holiday so I am going for another long weekend


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Your are right Rodar^2 is MIA too. Just quickly checked his profile, seems to be active here every once and a while, so I guess he is ok.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Heal up guys.

Commutes are relatively uneventful. Another good day to have my dog on the bike, but the temperature swings are driving me a little crazy. 30 degree temperature swings over a couple days seems to be the new normal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry Foster! That's why I don't usually sign up for stuff too early. You never know what kind of messed up you might be the day of the race.  Were you going to be carrying a pack? That wouldn't work well with road rash shoulders. 

notso, that sounds like some pretty nice commuting opportunities. 

I've got a nice afternoon for a commute with temps about 75F. We've had the 30F temp swings lately too.

OK everybody, have a nice weekend and stop crashing (myself included).


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Snow again!!! This better be the last of the year!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

The worst part about being buzzed in the same lane extremely close by a driver is not the actual buzz by. It is when you confront them, and they have this look on their face, like they are replaying their drive trying to figure out where a cyclist was. That is really scary.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Forster, so sorry to hear of your crash just before your event, it sounds really rough. You too Marc, heal up guys.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Had a fun Friday bikecommute on the BMX. On the way home I picked this up. Ready for the weekend!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Hauling that up the hill to home? Cute.


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## jupiter58 (Jan 13, 2016)

considering some was hit and killed on my bike route a few years ago is not being cynical, so what is the point of your comment?


cyclingdutchman said:


> Now that sounds cynical....
> 
> Hey Slipspace, nice to see you back on the bike! Take it easy man, its just the way to work and back home, not a race ;o)) at least, that is how I see it. It doesnt matter how, where, what and how fast you ride


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey , I didnt want to make it seem harmless or something. But your comment sounded like you think they are trying to hit you on purpose. That is not the case I hope? I admit, not paying attention to the road or even texting/surfing while driving comes close to that, but still, there is a difference. Maybe "cynical" might not be the right word either. 

Ok I hope I managed to explain myself a bit here. It definitely didnt want to be offensive.


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## jupiter58 (Jan 13, 2016)

no problem...thanks the guy got creamed by an a aggressive driver, The victim? God rest his soul.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang, I hate hearing about crashes. Stay safe, y'all, and heal up fast!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Bummer about all the crashes and close calls. The most drama I've had is having to pump up my tires. I was wondering why my commutes have been feeling sluggish. My tires were about 30 PSI lower than what I usually run. It was quite a shock, but I made it through...somehow.  #suffering


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> Had a fun Friday bikecommute on the BMX. On the way home I picked this up. Ready for the weekend!


 How awesome would that be!

Long weekend here, public holiday yesterday (monday). 
Today was a beautiful day to ride in. Sunny and bright but just at that temperature where its slightly too cold for just a tee but slightly too warm for a jacket. Goldilocks syndrome I know, but I can live with it


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Your are right Rodar^2 is MIA too. Just quickly checked his profile, seems to be active here every once and a while, so I guess he is ok.


Just exchanged some emails with Rodar. He's good, just taking a break from cycling. Says he may drop in a little more often to say hello.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Bummer about all the crashes and close calls. The most drama I've had is having to pump up my tires. I was wondering why my commutes have been feeling sluggish. My tires were about 30 PSI lower than what I usually run. It was quite a shock, but I made it through...somehow.  #suffering


Sometimes when I'm feeling sluggish I'll stop and check my tires hoping that's the reason. It never is...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I've felt sluggish for a few weeks and I was blaming the heavy rain bike. Today I took the "real" road bike out for the first time. With a new tire even! Still sluggish. I think it is the extra XX lbs I put on around my middle over the winter. 

Good to hear the Rodar is still around.

Last night I got stuck in a quick but heavy downpour with a nice rainbow at the end. I also saw a porcupine rolling down a hill and thought: "That's odd".

We've got some sunny but breezy weather today.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Good to hear the Rodar is still around.
> 
> I also saw a porcupine rolling down a hill and thought: "That's odd".


Yep, good to here Rodar is not quite dead yet.

I had the antelope cyclist collision pop into my head but with the rolling ball of porcupine substituted for the racing antelope. Ouch! That would leave some marks!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been really windy on my rides home the past two days. Yesterday, I had a wicked headwind on one stick-straight stretch of road, probably a 1/2 mile or so. The road slopes down slightly on my way home, but I felt like I was climbing the whole time. Usually I ride that road right on the edge of spinning out (SS commuter) at high RPMs, but I wasn't anywhere close to that. I even stood up a couple times to catch a little more momentum.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ You know what they say Sock: "Wind is the hill that never ends".

bedwards - a porcupine? Photos or it never happened...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good rides yesterday and today. Had to ride in the rain yesterday afternoon but I had the hardshells with me so it was doable. Today was dry again but windy again. Woodway's quote "Wind is the hill that never ends" is certainly true for here.

Temps are ok with 9C in the morning and 12C in the afternoon, but still not quite the usual for this time of year. April has been the coldest Aprilmonth since 20 years and the forecast isn't much better.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

First day back delivering since last December. Sunny and brisk for the ride in with temps in the upper 40's. Finals week on campus so I picked up a random shift. No longer scheduled so I will just pick up here and there. Felt great to be back on campus hustling. Did 4 hours at the bike shop after and then rode home. Never had much of an issue with other riders or commuters, until today. 

Fred is gonna Fred I guess. Guy sneaks up on me in the bike lane and I don't see his shadow until he is right at my 8 oclock. He is lucky that I was holding my line. I said something to him as he passed like hey you could have called that out you know. So we are riding, and I am just enjoying the ride, but he is pacing himself right where I can't ride on my fixed. Too slow and not consistent so I decide that once we get to the MUP, I am going around. Right as we enter the MUP, he decided to start blowing snot rockets. Seriously? He checked to see where I was, and apparently I was close enough that he decided to share with me. I don't MUP race, ever. Too many people, and even though this is a straight MUP, I just don't do it. I go around, and drop the hammer on him. PR'ed that section on Strava lol. He caught me later on and passed me improperly because I slowed due to pedestrian traffic and a cyclist that was riding erratically. Again he is in front, and starts with the snot rockets. Had enough, because we were nearing the end, and there is a hill, and I am riding fixed. Dropped it on him again and climbed that hill the fastest I have ever done it. I look back as I make the right turn to see where he is, and the Fred waves at me, like we were best buddies and we would see each other riding again. Not a chance buddy. Not a chance.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

^^ man I'm lucky and hardly see any douches on the trail

That sucks about all the crashes, heal up soon! 

Here's some pics of this car that's been parked along the trail for about a week. 1st picture was the first day it appeared, the last is a few days later, poor thing. And where this is parked is NOT a very good hood if ya know what I mean. I gave it a segment on strava that says "don't stop go fast!"


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ that will buff right out and it can be driven away.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I hate snot rockets, especially other peoples! Don't get me wrong, I'm more of a spitter if it's going to be anything but I pick my moments and places, drains, grass verge etc. If someone started sharing with me I'd give them the benefit of the doubt first time but would highlight my presence. Second time.... You did the right thing though Ten

Sunny ride this morning, hefty tail wind which was nice. Forecast has it all day though so I guess it will be a hefty headwind going home....

So do Porcupines ball up like a Hedgehog?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> bedwards - a porcupine? Photos or it never happened...


Well, I was on strava when it happened but no photos. I guess it never happened.



TenSpeed said:


> ^ that will buff right out and it can be driven away.


LOL

I don't mind launching snot rockets but not in a group. For some reason that seems to be acceptable which I just don't get.

No, the porcupine wasn't balled up. It was more like a log roll. Maybe it just got tagged by a car and was having issues but I didn't stick around to ask (or take pictures)

I took the long way home last night. It was the first time I got the road bike out for the year. It was actually cold, windy and a little miserable. https://www.relive.cc/view/969895128

Today is a little nicer and then we are back to rain pretty much forever.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

If someone intentionally snot rockets me I take out my unlock and beat them to death on the side of the road. Fact.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Buster Bluth said:


> If someone intentionally snot rockets me I take out my unlock and beat them to death on the side of the road. Fact.


That should read u lock.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Boah Tenspeed that sound really gross. What a j3rk. And I already thought you stopped delivering, since you did not speak about it anymore. 

Also nice to hear that Rodar is still out there and doing fine 

Eugene, Stephen King's Christine looks different I think? 

Wet and windy for me today. Raining this morning, partly head/tailwind with 9C. 10C on the way home, partly head/tailwind, just some sprinkles so no rainpants necessary. Will be the same tomorrow. Somehow looking forward to the weekend already, although I had a short week, just like Slipspace.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sometimes when riding in a group, you just have to blow out your nose. Etiquette is to move to the back of the group and do your business.

Yesterday was a study in contrasts...mid 40's and drizzly on the way to the office, mid-70's and sunny on the way home. I had to bring two sets of riding clothes!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Boah Tenspeed that sound really gross. What a j3rk. And I already thought you stopped delivering, since you did not speak about it anymore.
> 
> Also nice to hear that Rodar is still out there and doing fine
> 
> ...


I stopped delivering due to a medical leave of absence from JJ's. People take them in the summer, the students at least, while they go home and enjoy their summer off. When they come back, they start working again. Mine was kind of the reverse as I had most of the winter off. The manager and I decided that I could just be on an as needed basis with no scheduled days. I will pick up some random shifts here and there for the extra cabbage.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Yep you're right Dutchman, 4 day week here too.

As expected, I had the same problem as S0ckeyeus last night, northerly headwind really kicked my arse. 

This morning, same wind, but at my back again along with warm sunshine. Assuming the forecast is correct, what the wind giveth this morning, it will taketh away on the way home again.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Wet. Although I didn't get hit with the worst of the rain, it's dumping buckets right now. They are saying there will be some local flooding.

Stubborn or rule #9 for riding today? Maybe both.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

General report. Commuting a day or two a week. Been hauling too much stuff, and have been riding with my new neighbor, me on my converted old mountain bike loaded up, and he on his titanium road bike. Makes me hoof it!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Big thunderstorms here yesterday - heavy downpours, lightening, winds. Really unusual for Seattle. Hung around at work for an hour or so later than normal waiting for a break, saw one and went for it. Unfortunately I missed the window and got downpoured on and blown around. Pretty exciting. But good news in that I dried off just fine 

Back to normal today. My 15th consecutive work day commute!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove the past two days. The weather has been miserable.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey guys, sounds tough for you in the rain. Stayed home today with a terrible headache due to lack of sleep because of my youngest son being sick and spooking around half of the night. Btw, it rains here too all day already. 

Rule #9 applies to all of you :thumbsup:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Early blast of heat for a few days here, 97F on the way home today. Sweat more drink more no problem!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Got kind of crowded by an impatient SUV while approaching a traffic circle. Left the bike lane as it ends before the circle and took an appropriate position in the lane to enter the circle. Pretty sure that the driver behind me was not pleased with me holding them up for even a second. They ended up sticking their bumper in trying to nudge me out, but I stood my ground and forced them to back off. 

Aside from that, the ride in was absolutely wonderful but chilly. The ride home was really nice, and Fred SnotRocket was nowhere to be found.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Got crowded and punish passed approaching a 4 way stop. I let them know how displeased I was with them, and then took the full lane. I am pretty much done riding to the right. It gives the false appearance of enough room to pass and too many people are taking advantage of it. Windy for both rides. Will be riding in Sunday as well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I also saw a porcupine rolling down a hill and thought: "That's odd".


:lol:
I was not able to do much bikecommuting last week, but at least the weather was terrible.

Caught this black bear on my trailcam where I walk the dog every morning


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

^ no thank you very much.

Good commute today, freezing cold on the way home. Supposed to frost again tonight and then possibly Monday night then warm up a bit. Just ready for the wind to die down a bit because it is my enemy right now. 14mph steady and gusts of 22mph or so for the ride in.


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## zooey (Oct 31, 2016)

Anyone give way for motorists trying to turn right at a 4-way intersection with lights? No specific right hand lane? Right lane wide enough for 2 cars side-by-side? Play it defensive and don't put yourself in front of a moving car, or play some right-of-way card? I know I sometimes hit the walk signal and don't trust that the cars see the white walk signal for right of way, even if I plan on walking my bike. I guess these are not gambles I'm willing to take. Sometimes I just get in lane and wait in line behind cars, even though I'm going straight, rather than stay all the way right.

I'm finding it awkward when I can't see drivers through their windows, and we're both stopped trying to yield to each other. Sometimes the cars think I'm going to break the law, thinking I'd blow straight through a stop sign, the car holding off on turning even though it's their turn to cross, when I'm actually rolling to a stop.

I think the main thing I don't follow is stop signs/lights when it's at a 3-way T-shaped intersection, and I'm on the side with the unbroken curb. That and lights that don't trigger when I'm on the inductance loop.

Just things I ponder when commuting. I commute on my mtb and try to stay the heck away from cars, even if it means riding in the sand/dirt/debris on the side of the road. Rather explain myself for riding on the sidewalk, than share a lane that can't let a car pass without crossing lines at the speed they want to go at. Technically, it's illegal to cross solid lines, especially double solid yellow lines, so a 3-feet pass clearance law can be asking for a lot.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

41 degrees this morning. I had to dig out the arm warmers and leg warmers. I couldn't find my warmer gloves. After an unseasonably warm April, May is trending cooler than normal so far with a decent amount of rain. Tis the season, I guess. I'm hoping for dryer weather this week, since my family will be out of town and I hope to get in some trail rides.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> :lol:
> I was not able to do much bikecommuting last week, but at least the weather was terrible.
> 
> Caught this black bear on my trailcam where I walk the dog every morning


If you bring doughnuts with you on your walks you she might let you pet her. I've never seen a bear around here but there is enough woods where I'm sure there are some.



zooey said:


> Anyone give way for motorists trying to turn right at a 4-way intersection with lights? No specific right hand lane? Right lane wide enough for 2 cars side-by-side? Play it defensive and don't put yourself in front of a moving car, or play some right-of-way card? I know I sometimes hit the walk signal and don't trust that the cars see the white walk signal for right of way, even if I plan on walking my bike. I guess these are not gambles I'm willing to take. Sometimes I just get in lane and wait in line behind cars, even though I'm going straight, rather than stay all the way right.


If cars are turning it is best to get in lane. If they are ahead of you they have the right of way. If they are astride of your you might not get seen. When I don't take the lane I watch their front wheels closely for signs that they are turning so i can take evasive action.


zooey said:


> Technically, it's illegal to cross solid lines, especially double solid yellow lines, so a 3-feet pass clearance law can be asking for a lot.


I know in Maine Cars CAN cross the double yellow line to pass a cyclist WHEN IT IS SAFE TO DO SO. Unfortunately that is not communicated well with the 3 foot rule. It also means they have to slow down and wait for a break in traffic which most are too impatient to do. Here is a really long article on the subject. Crossing A Double Yellow Line - i am traffic


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

zooey said:


> Anyone give way for motorists trying to turn right at a 4-way intersection with lights? No specific right hand lane? Right lane wide enough for 2 cars side-by-side? Play it defensive and don't put yourself in front of a moving car, or play some right-of-way card? I know I sometimes hit the walk signal and don't trust that the cars see the white walk signal for right of way, even if I plan on walking my bike. I guess these are not gambles I'm willing to take. Sometimes I just get in lane and wait in line behind cars, even though I'm going straight, rather than stay all the way right.


I don't know if I understand the exact scenario here, but I pretty much always take the lane at intersections. If there is a bike lane, I'll generally stay in the bike lane but come to a stop in a place where I feel I'm most visible and least likely to get hit, often just behind the first car in line at a light. I try to be defensive without being timid.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I don't know if I understand the exact scenario here, but I pretty much always take the lane at intersections. If there is a bike lane, I'll generally stay in the bike lane but come to a stop in a place where I feel I'm most visible and least likely to get hit, often just behind the first car in line at a light. *I try to be defensive without being timid.*


This is huge. It is a fine line that you ride, but if you can do it, I think that it nets the most success.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cars always have the right-of-way, even when the law says they don't. That's how I think about it. 

Intersections area places where extra vigilance is required. If there is no bike lane, I get out in the lane with the rest of the cars and claim my space. If there is a bike lane I'll stay in it if I feel safe but I always try to position myself "between" cars...that is I try to never ride next to a car, always behind the one in front of me and in front of the one behind me. I'll move out into the lane if I have to. I watch the car in front of me closely to see if they are going to pull a sudden right turn. It's the cars that surge in front of you and then pull a right you have to watch out for. Always be ready to give way and bail.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

First commute yesterday on this new to me vintage custom tourer by Bill Davidson. Overall it felt great! Nice riding frame.

Need to fiddle with the bar and stem for fit, clean up or replace cable and housing, clean and lubricate throughout, replace tires, fix a fender, and replace the saddle. But this will be a fun bike!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Unexpected drizzle on the way in. Arms and shoulders were wet when I arrived but windstopper pants kept the legs dry. Ride home was dry, sunny and with a tailwind so very nice all in all. 

My wife repaired my favorite bikejacket, has a new zip sewn into it now. The zip broke after just 20 years already. A real scandal :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice bike SVL!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I arrived a few minutes late due to MONDAY and headwinds and cold. Went to the meeting room on my calendar to find someone else's meeting in progress. Found the actual location in email, and learned the actual start time was not for 25 minutes, yay! Temps did not get out of the 30's F today, and currently: "Expect occasional snow to continue for the next several hours."


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice bike SVL!


Thanks! I still have my converted 26 to 700c old Fisher Paragon, but this one is a little more elegant, and a little lighter and faster feeling. That Davidson frame really wants to roll along on those old Belgian Weinmann rims. Very early 80's! The bike has a pretty cool history that I am learning from the original owner, now in her 90's.


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## zooey (Oct 31, 2016)

Thanks for the sensible replies on the intersection question.

On my commute home today, I was practicing my cornering with the saddle up, pointing my knees/legs into the turn. At one point, I was in the left hand turn lane waiting for green with cars ahead and behind me. I sprinted out and decided to turn onto the sidewalk at the crosswalk where the curb ramps down. Problem with this plan is that there's a huge utility pole there, and on the right side is a narrow space but a steep slope that leads 3+ feet down into thick weeds, and going around to the left requires either hopping the curb or going slow... I went off the drop into all the weeds, since I was going in way too hot. As I pushed myself back up the steep bank of loose dirt and rock, the cars that were waiting to go straight, slowed to give me looks.

Kinda looks like this:

View attachment 1136199


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Great ride in for a Monday even though the forecast was to be warmer and less windy, it was the opposite. Had an issue with a landscaping company who was parked in the bike lane directly in front of a no stopping, standing or parking sign. The guy argued with me as to where to park it, like I am supposed to have an answer for him? He reluctantly moved it, around the block after me asking, and then put it right back where it was. I stopped a little ways up to see if they would do this, and they did, so I called the company and let them know. Receptionist was super apologetic and said she would call them to have it moved. The house had a long driveway, and there were side streets on either side of it a few houses down. Will be interesting to see if it is there again. I also posted to their social media although I never took a picture, but will not hesitate if it is there again today.


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## zooey (Oct 31, 2016)

Ran into this guy and stopped to take a pic, and chat for a while. Apparently he's walked 17k miles with that cross (has a wheel on the bottom) over the past 7 years, and was out for 5 hours already by the time I came by him. Forgot his name, but he said he's not Arthur Blessitt. He said "hallelujah" a lot in between his statements. The one in the pic is just someone who also stopped and got out their car to meet/greet the guy. I learned a fair bit from the encounter.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Gotta love the old school bikes SVL, nice find!

beautiful sunny day out there today, close to freezing last night so was cool but set to get warm for the day. My first close call in a while this morning. The road I was on finishes at a dead end, but then becomes a cycle lane, which is where I was headed. Maybe ten metres before this is a side road. As I approached the side road and was maybe a third of the way across a car passed me and then just turned left in front of me! (don't forget we ride on the left here). Obviously I heard the car coming but no way was I expecting that. The dope in a Fiat 500 handbag got a mouthful but was most likely oblivious...

On a lighter note, this came up on a non-cycling forum yesterday and I thought it might be of some use... I'm assuming it's genuine, Boots are a big pharmicist type chain over here.

BELOW THE BELT GROOMING FOR MEN Instant Clean Balls Active 75ml - Boots









Product details
BELOW THE BELT GROOMING FOR MEN Instant Clean Balls Active 75ml
Spray over groin area to refresh when a shower isn't possible. Perfect before a night out or at a festival - it refreshes and cleanses instantly
Key features
Uniquely formulated to cater for the specific needs of men 'Below the Belt'
Achieves gentle, yet highly effective results
Dries within 30 seconds of application
Instantly cleans and refreshes balls when a shower isn't possible
Dermatologically tested
A burst of sharp citrus fragrance

Read more at BELOW THE BELT GROOMING FOR MEN Instant Clean Balls Active 75ml - Boots


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Umm, Lemon scented balls for 5.95/75ml. "Instantly cleans" ??? Where does the unclean part go? I think I'll pass. 

The forecast was for a rainy week but so far I have mostly missed getting wet. Darn cold for May though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rode only Monday and Tuesday, today it rained and I already took off the fenders and lights. Starting my biketour on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura next Friday. Packing the bike in the box tonight, panniers are ready to be packed tomorrow. If all goes well I will be on the bike Friday by noon in Arrecife, heading to Mirador del Rio. From there I will ride Lanzarote and Fuerteventura from north to south. Probably finish in a week, flying back end of next week on Sunday evening.

After that I will be a week off more and in a holiday center with the whole family. Transition from lone bike touring to a crowded "touristhive" will be the toughest I think.

Will think of all of you when I am watching the sunset on a volcano crater edge while sipping red wine :cornut:

CyclingDutchman, Germany, signing off :smilewinkgrin:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sounds awesome! Stay safe, have fun and enjoy your trip!!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Some interesting stuff being posted here recently...bears, ball cleaner, dude's carrying crosses, bikes riding into ditches. I'm enjoying reading it all.

We've had four whole days without rain here in Seattle. Amazing! This morning was especially pleasant so I took the long way to work and turned my 9 mile commute to the office into a 25 mile commute. It was glorious.

CyclingDutchman - be sure to post some photos so we can all live vicariously through you.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was a tee only trip. Lovely and sunny, but damn that north easterly had a bite to it. 

Adjusted one of my cleats last night, I felt like my foot was too far back. I guess I must have put it back in the wrong place after it came loose a while back. Not sure why I didn't pick up it before. Anyway made a nice difference this morning, which was also a tee only ride. Not gonna get used to it though as the weather turns again from tomorrow.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Had a really nice one yesterday. Going to go on a singletrack mountain bike ride from work today instead of commuting. Here is a pic from yesterday, on the "new" vintage steed. It holds all my stuff, when I need to haul all that much, am going to start trying to reduce what I carry around, quite well. Super comfortable ride, feels more swift and lively than my converted Fisher, and will not need too much more than a new saddle to my preference, new bar, and stem. Along with general clean up. The freewheel is a little sticky on back pedaling, the shifters feel stiff, so some cable and housing work, and friction adjustment, is in order. Oh, and will need to replace tires at some point. But these old ones seem to be working fine right now for pavement. And also should re-pack stuff, just to be thorough. But, is a really nice bike that will clean up nicely!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I got into an intense standoff on my way home yesterday...with a groundhog.

It was a nice day yesterday, so my wife rode with me and I had my dog loaded up on the cargo bike. On the way home along a section of MUP we were letting my dog walk to stretch her legs and there was a groundhog ahead on the path. I didn't think much of it, I see them pretty often and they just scurry away, but not this guy. We kept getting closer and closer, eventually we are about 6 feet away and he is just staring at us and not budging. I'm ringing my bell, honking my horn, waving my arms...my dog is really wanting to investigate whatever that thing is...still just stares at us. After a minute or so of trying to scare him off, I pull out my water bottle and squirt him and he shoots off like a rocket, he was probably 100 yards away before I lost sight of him and he was still going. Doesn't like water apparently.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Good eatin' size? How to Skin, Clean, Cook and Eat a Groundhog  That just happened to me with a red fox on a road ride. He didn't let me get quite as close but he did stand there and stare at me until I got pretty close.

This week has been awesome compared to the forecast which was for mostly rain. It has been cold and gray most of the week but I'm not getting wet and I'm not complaining.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Completed the Global Bike To Work Challenge on Strava for the 11th. Rode to the dentist office and home which was a 10 mile trip, had lunch, rode 9 miles to work on a slightly purposeful detour, and then did 12 miles for the ride home doing some late night exploring.


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## Mr Pink57 (Jul 30, 2009)

Wore long socks and a vest to work with short sleeves, will probably just need shorts to get home. We have 30 degree swings happening around here.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Today is "trail maintenance" day.

Brought a shovel with me so on the way in I could fill in a rut on my path that get's super muddy when it rains. On the way home there is a section of shoulder that is so covered in gravel and debris it's pretty sketchy to ride through, so I'm going to clear a path there as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Riding around lakes for my commute.
https://www.relive.cc/view/982655942

Happy Friday All! I'm bringing the car home for the weekend and resting my legs for a long ride tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Cool video of your route. I miss all those lakes.

Formula4speed, haha, groundhog day!

Nothing too exciting this week. A dusting of snow one day, and 70F another. Missing my "virtually unbreakable" Axiom rear fender; it broke. No reinforcement at forward attachment hole in the plastic, it broke there first (where it attached to the FD cable pulley), and then ziptie fix resulted in full fender destruction a few rides later. If I get another, I would consider some rubber washers on either side of the attachment hole - if they fit. Too bad, I really liked that nifty attachment to the quick release for eyelet-less bikes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Hmm, my rear planet bike fender broke at the front attachment hole. I considered a zip tie fix but it seemed to be happy where it was so it's just sitting there. This seems like an argument to be lazy and just leave it.

The temps this week are forecast to be way above normal as opposed to last week where they were way below normal. I'm looking forward to the heat!

I think it is bike to work week. Where is everybody?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Every week is bike to work week! Nothing fun going on here, although every time I post I seem to have some sort of "adventure" happen soon after. Weather is hot and looking to be undramatic for the week ahead.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Not quite dead yet. So reading but not posting. Here!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Back on the commuter today after a weeks vacation and another coming up soon. This has to be the windiest spring on record, it's never going to stop! Saw a couple other commuters on the trail today (I usually see none) maybe they were inspired by the ride your bike to work or school whatever it was, yay!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First day back at commuting. Ride to new seasonal job is about 3 miles each way. Racking up the miles! On the bright side headed to work is a good sized hill and headed home I get to coast down it.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Back on the commuter today after a weeks vacation and another coming up soon. *This has to be the windiest spring on record, it's never going to stop*! Saw a couple other commuters on the trail today (I usually see none) maybe they were inspired by the ride your bike to work or school whatever it was, yay!


Do you know, I had that same thought this morning! It seems like the wind has been right around the low teens for months!

That said I think it was quite welcome this morning, 17C and humid, still mostly overcast though the sun is now starting to appear.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Do you know, I had that same thought this morning! It seems like the wind has been right around the low teens for months!


It sure seems like it right? For at least 2 months everyone's allergies have been going nuts, mine included. All the pollen and dust blowing around. :madman:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Hot ride in with a head wind. Sweet ride home with a side of Strava KOM.  Had one that was shared with a guy I know. Gapped that time by 6 seconds!!! The funny thing is that it felt kind of slow even though I was pushing hard. Still have a few more to take back.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey guys, just chiming in here in the middle of my biketour. All well, lots of climbing and sweet descents. I take the offroad routes where possible, but also drivers are really extremely nice, leaving a lot of space when they overtake. Body and mind are good but bike is reaching its limits on the lava gravel.roads. had a snakebite on saturday and.forgot the spare tubes so.sunday I was pumping air.every 20min and the patches held up only a few hours somehow. Got new tubes mondaymorning and I am rolling again, but the front dynamo hub bearing has some play now. Sun is really dangerous here, longsleeves and uv buff are necessary. Will probably ride 2more days and check into a hotel.friday evening cor cleaning and packing up.for the flight homr on sunday. 

I can definitely recommend the canarian islands for touring, but make.sure to bring an mtb or fatbike. My.conti speedrides are really doing a hell of s job but 41mm often just isnt enough to go where I want. A new project is on the horizon ;o))

Best greetings to all of you from tuineje, fuerteventura.

CD


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

PS: at least navigating with phone and charging via dynamo hub is working beyond expectations. Considering the climate, I think a solar panel would do.the job as well.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Mexican food + beer + commuting the next day = scary moments


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Hot ride in with a head wind. Sweet ride home with a side of Strava KOM.  Had one that was shared with a guy I know. Gapped that time by 6 seconds!!! The funny thing is that it felt kind of slow even though I was pushing hard. Still have a few more to take back.


Strava KOMS are always an added bonus on the commute.

I've done 66 miles of "commuting" in the last 2 rides. Managed a KOM on one of them too even though it wasn't the one I was trying for. I got 2nd on that one and I don't imagine I'll ever dethrone the current king. 
Last night:
https://www.relive.cc/view/990767245
This morning around a lot of lakes with a bonus sunrise picture.
https://www.relive.cc/view/992049026


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

Well since it is "Bike to Work Week" for the state challenge I decided it was as good a time as ever to get back into it. Mind you I just started riding consistently again, let alone period, about 6wks ago after having broken my leg/ankle in July last year while mtbing in NorCal. 

Of course this week had to be the week that I also started a new 5-day a week bootcamp, plus softball, plus suddenly having to go into scramble time for the wife's new salon construction. Needless to say it is only Wednesday and I am sore like no tomorrow and still have to commute home. Oh did I mention it has been about 30* in the morning when I have been leaving yet in the 60s when I head home?! Seriously Mother Nature, you're drunk and need to go home!!

Feels great to be back on the bike and pedaling again... So far this week for commuting along I have racked up 19.3 miles and will be swapping one day of bootcamp for a minimum of a 10 mile ride. Go big or go home right?!


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## deerkiller (Aug 5, 2015)

Picked up a ride to i can commute now. Commuting is awesome, but getting up an hour earlier is not.









here's the pic. sorry it didn't upload earlier. it's a specialized sirrus pro, before internal routing and disc brakes. has ksyrium sl wheels. the bike appears to be unridden, but i know it's a few years old.

does anyone know about ksyrium sl wheels? what kind of a beating can they take? there's a bit of gravel here and there, and a lot of dirt roads in the area, was hoping they were up to the task.


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## Guest (May 18, 2017)

Yup, I get up at 0420 on the short ride days and 0320 on the long ride days. As much as I dislike the time I get up, I'd start at midnight if I could ride anytime in May. Stupid broken elbow.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy af.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sounds like a good time Dutchman! Not at all jealous, not one bit.. rft: :lol: glad you're enjoying it. You'll have to let me know how you managed a week in the Canaries, on your own!

Wow, that's early starts guys, I'm not sure I could do that to be honest. Kudos

Gregnash, you'll be ripped AF if you make it through the week.

Forster, how's the recovery doing?

Tenspeed. They're just trying to go the wrong way is all.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Oh yeah, my rides. Humid, light wind and humid as anything yesterday. Sweating just standing around. I was a sweating dribbly mess when I got to work (more so than usual). Shower worked while I was in it but sweats started as soon as I was out. Too me a while to find my equilibrium again.

Today, brighter, windier and cooler. Good riding.


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## Guest (May 18, 2017)

SlipSpace said:


> Forster, how's the recovery doing?


 Okay, the cut is healing quickly, the swelling is better, the olecranon (elbow protrusion of the arm) is still pretty big (don't know how much of that is temporary). I'm working the joint pretty aggressively to get the full range of motion back without a second surgery but there seems to be a lot of adhesion going on now. I see the doc in two weeks and I'm expecting to be able to ride again after that visit.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Long process but i'm glad it's going the right direction. All the best for the Docs visit!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Pics, dutchman, pics.

Love that wind video tenspeed, agree those guys need to hop on and head the other way...KOMs to be had!

My commute streak is up to 25 days in a row. We are expecting at least eight days without rain here in Seattle, and it's supposed to climb up into the 80's next week. Whoo-hoo.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Windy af.


LOL, that's why all my road bikes have MTB pedals, more traction. That, and no duck walking.

Yes, pics dutchman! Here's one from my commute yesterday. Y'all can pretend that it is from a fun vacation. 








I took the Viva Sport today. First time it's been out this year. It's also the first time it has been warm enough in the morning not to wear some kind of jacket. Supposed to hit near 90F this afternoon. I'm not complaining. In other words Whoo-hoo!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

^Since you aren't complaining about it, I will.

It's going to hit 91F today, and it's making me miss winter. I do not like the heat.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Slipspace, woodway: will try to post some pics over the weekend. Packed.up the bike already at the local bikerental and checked into a hotel here now for 1 night. Flying home tomorrw evening.

I rode approx 370km in 6 days with approx. 5000m of climbing. Its not much I think but I am the only one doing it without a hotel and rental car. And I think I still have seen much more of lanzarote and fuerteventura as most tourists. 

Still I am glad that I can go back home to wife n kids. Miss them really by now #papaholic


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sounds like a great trip! Safe travels.

Today's commute for National Bike to Work Day was fantastic. Nice warm temps with a gentle breeze blowing in the right direction.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^Sounds like a nice ride, and great photo upthread.

Safe travels home dutchman!

Sunshine and 70 in the Seattle area today. Feeling good.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

National Bike To Work Day right? Rode to the shop for a shift. 2 days ago it felt like the face of the sun it was so dang hot here. Today? 44°F and a huge headwind on the way in. Had sleeves and my cold weather gloves on. Is this for real right now? Got into an argument with a guy who parked his truck and trailer in the bike lane to mow a few yards. Obviously that is far more important than blocking the bike lane. Gave up when he started cursing at me and telling me to go copulate myself. Accidentally left there with my middle finger up. Ride home amazingly had that same headwind, although it did warm up slightly into the 50's, it was raining. Booooooo.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

No commute today but I am up early to head out to a local yearly Hospice ride that I haven't missed in a long while. 8 miles to the ride, 30 mile ride, then back home. My Mom was in Hospice (Florida) but that the location is irrelevant. Their services to a comfortable end of life are invaluable. They take just as much care of the family as they do the patient. In silent remembrance.


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## Guest (May 21, 2017)

TenSpeed said:


> No commute today but I am up early to head out to a local yearly Hospice ride that I haven't missed in a long while. 8 miles to the ride, 30 mile ride, then back home. My Mom was in Hospice (Florida) but that the location is irrelevant. Their services to a comfortable end of life are invaluable. They take just as much care of the family as they do the patient. In silent remembrance.


 Amen to that. My father-in-law passed on March 3rd and the hospice care he received the last week of his life is what kept my our family from being completely drained that week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Slipspace, woodway: will try to post some pics over the weekend.


Promise kept. For those who think they can handle it:

https://goo.gl/photos/7vPXtDnpHsE2xj828

The comments are in Dutch, maybe Google Photos translates them automatically?

Keep ridin and stay safe!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

50.2 miles done before 11:30 am, and I am spent. It was exactly 10 miles to the start of the ride. Took the fixed gear because it's my favorite bike and the rain was looking to hold off. Got a nice warm up in on the way out, so when the actual ride started, old boy here was totally warmed up. It isn't a race, and it is not timed, there are SAG vehicles and it is on the open country roads. I left with a couple of older women on nice road bikes and they set a great pace for the first 4 miles or so. She asked me if I wanted a pull on the lead so I took it, and she said she would drop back. Not a mile later, I had dropped them. Now, I was not flying, just a nice pace at 17mph which is exactly what she was leading with, so I kept it going. It was one of those rides where you just felt good, even with the bumpy country roads and the headwind, I was moving right along. The rest stop was just 19 miles in, and I made it there about an hour and 9 minutes in. Took my water and ate a Clif bar with a 10 minute pit stop and I was back out on the road.

Ended up doing the ride in about 1 hour 50 minutes or so. Pretty good pace for a solo fixed ride I would say. Ended up being the first rider back and they were a little surprised that I was back so soon. Then the rain came a little, and the temp dropped, and I got cold. Too warm for a windbreaker or sleeves, but too cold for just a jersey. Decided that it was time to go so off I went. Wore the Jimmy John's jersey today because why not? 

My Mom received the most amazing end of life care in 2008, and actually, we did as a whole family. She was in Florida, where my parents moved and even though this is local, all of the money goes back to the amazing patient care that they offer. Never in my life have I met a nurse that was as compassionate as the wonderful woman who made sure that my Mom had her nails done, and that her hair was looking just right. She took care of my Dad when he spent a few nights there. She hugged my sister and I when she saw us. She was someone who you almost cannot believe exists because no one is that caring and loving. Well, she was, and while I ride for my Mom, I also ride for those nurses who manage to hold it together every day and night while there is nothing but death around them.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks for sharing, that looks like quite an adventure there Dutchman! I was kind of expecting more green until I remembered where they are. Nice application of rule #7 on the arms too 

Great respect for nurses so well done on the support guys. Nice ride Ten, that's a good lick for a fixie.

No commute friday as I had to take the car to the shop. Still got the miles in as the dealership is the other side of the city so I chucked the bike in the back, drove there, biked home with the reverse to collect. Took the SS MTB. It's quite a laugh to ride through the town, traffic was rammed but I was in and out of side roads and cycle path so made good progress. Only problem was the sporadic rain and no guards.

Warm today, set to be here for the next week or so I believe


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

A little commuting Friday, as I had to drop the car off, and then use my time for exercise and getting to and from home so I could work while I waited for the car. Just out to a local mountain bike trail, rode there, then back into Hailey to check on progress on the car, then up to the house and back in town.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Promise kept. For those who think they can handle it:
> 
> https://goo.gl/photos/7vPXtDnpHsE2xj828
> 
> ...


Wow, that looks pretty barren but interesting. It looks like it might be windy too.

Nice job TenSpeed. Unfortunately I've got to experience how important hospice care is with my dad. I'm not sure how they do it. Thanks for supporting it.

Well, gone are the summer days we had last week replaced with 40s and rain this morning. The rest of the week looks rainy but warmer at least.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I was racing the rain to get to the office and a couple miles into my ride the road is shut down by what looked like every fire truck and ambulance in the state. I was told there was no way for me to go around and I had to turn back.

Turns out a pickup truck decided to take on a building. Haven't gotten anymore detail than that yet, but they shut down a major commuting corridor in both directions at rush hour so it can't be good.

I made it to work 10 minutes early and beat the rain.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks SS and bedwards. Indeed it was VERY windy. It is normal for the zone just above the equator, but locals told me that the last 3 weeks were exceptional. Most mountain tops that are in the clouds are usually well free of clouds. There go hiking trails up there that I wanted to explore too but I skipped that. Sometimes I.was pushed uphill by the wind without pedaling and sometimes I had to WALK downhill :8 So no red wine on a volcano crater edge as I had hoped for. Nevertheless it were 8 incredible days and I could talk ages about it but it is too off-topic here and I am not sure if it is.on topic enough for a trip report: too much road, partly gravel, no mtbiking. And most here will probably not go there anyway. I guess its quite similar to the south of the usa and mexico.Keep riding and take care ya all


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Promise kept. For those who think they can handle it:
> 
> https://goo.gl/photos/7vPXtDnpHsE2xj828
> 
> ...


Awesome! Looks alot like southern Nevada except we have no ocean or water :thumbsup:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Instead of the usual trail I took the roads and bike lanes on the way home today. I don't think I'll do that anymore. You roadies are loco! Got my left elbow shaved a couple times.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

It was a pretty day today, and I felt like taking pics on the commute home. Kinda showing off, I know. So, here you go.

Heading out toward Sun Valley from Ketchum to add on a little hill and some scenery over the Elkhorn area.









The big bad bald one. (Bald Mountain as seen from Dollar)









Remains of the half-pipe still hanging out on Dollar. Takes a lot of snow to make that thing.









At the top.









Cruising down through Elkhorn. You can see "The Bowls" of Bald mountain peeking through.









The Big Wood River is running high and muddy! It will be a bit before fly fishing starts. This about mid-valley, mid-commute.









A little detour through the Valley Club north of Hailey. Breaks up the ride nicely, and gets me out of the headwind when there is one.









Nearing Hailey. Often a big headwind here. You can see how this used to be the railroad.









Nearly home. The northern outskirts of Hailey. 









11-ish miles one way. About 500 feet elevation gain in the morning and descent in the evening. Pretty nice commuting!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice pics and spectacular commute. I've done some mountain biking in your area. Super beautiful.

Tenspeed, great job supporting the hospice. Had a close friend pass from cancer a couple years ago and hospice really helped him out. Condolences on your mom.

Thanks for the pics, dutchman. Looks like a great trip. I really like those barren terrains. So different than what we have around here. Appreciate you sharing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

PSA: A 10-speed chain does not work on an 11-speed bike.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

woodway said:


> ^^ Nice pics and spectacular commute. I've done some mountain biking in your area. Super beautiful.
> 
> Tenspeed, great job supporting the hospice. Had a close friend pass from cancer a couple years ago and hospice really helped him out. Condolences on your mom.
> 
> Thanks for the pics, dutchman. Looks like a great trip. I really like those barren terrains. So different than what we have around here. Appreciate you sharing.


Thanks Woodway. Yeah, the mountain biking is more spectacular, IMHO. But not bad for a bike path commute.

@cyclingdutchman, awesome trip!

@Tenspeed, good on ya. Both my own father, and my mother-in-law, benefitted greatly from hospice, not to mention all the family members. And sorry about your Mom.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great looking commute route SunValley! Dodging through the golfist park too lol

Nice day yesterday, warm and sunny but still with the wind. There are some roadworks on the city end of my route, normally it's busy but oh boy was the traffic backed up. Good day to be biking. Due there for 3 weeks so I imagine folk will find alternative routes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

sunvalleylaw said:


> It was a pretty day today, and I felt like taking pics on the commute home. Kinda showing off, I know. So, here you go.


You win. That is some pretty country!



woodway said:


> PSA: A 10-speed chain does not work on an 11-speed bike.


And a 9-speed chain won't work on a 9 speed bike with 10 speed chainrings either. I replaced a drivetrain for a friend but 9 speed rings weren't available. Shifted like crap so I changed to a 10 speed chain and all was well.

The commute was wet last night, cold and clammy this morning but looking good for the afternoon.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Thank you for the kind words. This ride is something that I have done a few times now and will continue to support. It was back in 2008 but some days it feels like yesterday. 

sunvalleylaw - that is your commute? So jealous!!!!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Actually caught a tailwind last night which was nice. Got to the foot bridge over the main road and it was rammed and barely moving. Still don't know what the cause was, anything from a breakdown to a serious crash seem to have the same result. People were diverting through the city so it was pretty much gridlocked to. Good day to be on the bike.

This morning is sunny and 21C at 8am but still with a strong wind, the same one that helped me home last night.


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> sunvalleylaw - that is your commute? So jealous!!!!


Yep. 45 degrees this morning and a mountain headwind, so uphill and upwind. But a nice, sunny day! Gonna take the converted Fisher to test out the Jones loop bar I put on there today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wet and Windy


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## Joe_Re (Jan 10, 2011)

It was great! 48.3 miles round trip. The rain held off. I didn't feel fast this morning but eeked out a 19.5mph average over 24 miles. Worked 8+ hours on my feet and the ride home was a little slower. With a 2 1/2 yo I don't get many opportunities to commute so I'm stoked.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@joe: I know. I have 2 kids at home and have only time to commute by bike, not much more. But it gets better when the kids get older, dont worry!

@sunvalleylaw: indeed your.commute looks very nice !

@tenspeed: I know too, C took some of my relatives as well....


Came back from my vacation yesterday and had no time to work on the bike. Hence I had to ride without fenders today. Murphy ordered rain this morning so I had to ride on wet roads. In addition he ordered 30minutes of rain in the afternoon, exactly during the 30minutes that I rode home. It.was so warm that it didnt matter much. Caught up with a collegue about halfway and we chatted the rest of the way.

It has gotten really warm since 2 weeks. When I unpacked my commuting pannier all winter kit came out: buff, gloves, shoecovers, etc etc....

Why is it so quiet here?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

In case anyone is interested in the exact routes I rode last week on my bike tour incl gps tracks etc, here you go:

Https://www.komoot.com/user/370602732000


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## Joe_Re (Jan 10, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> In case anyone is interested in the exact routes I rode last week on my bike tour incl gps tracks etc, here you go:
> 
> Https://www.komoot.com/user/370602732000


Cool, thanks for sharing.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Dutchman. Looks like some good riding. I like how the map shows contour lines to give a better idea of terrain. Still not sure how you got a week in the canaries on your own though...

Really warm and sunny so far this week and humid (pronounced hoomid around here) but no rides for me. Various reasons and running about, the main one being that I'm replacing the boundary fence to my neighbour. Technically it's his fence but as he's in his 90s I volunteered to erect it for him to save him a few quid. Fence itself is easy to remove but the maybe 18" cube of concrete on the bottom not so much. Basically I need the time in the evenings and the work makes me realise I'm not as young as I was; knackered!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Thanks Dutchman. Looks like some good riding. I like how the map shows contour lines to give a better idea of terrain.


Thanks. Komoot is an online routing planner especially for outdoor activities. Together with the app you can also use it on your smartphone. I have planned the routes for every day but had to deviate from that the last days, but you can also use it just to record your route. It worked flawlessly although it was the first time that I have really used it seriously. I just made 2 short testrides. The same applies to the charger that was connected to the dynamohub. When the display of my phone was off, it even charged when I was walking up a steep hill or something. All in all, it worked flawlessly. I had a map with me but the app has way better maps, since the map is mostly for driving and doesnt show all unpaved roads / hiking trails. Regardless, the old fashioned paper map was nice to have a complete view and make plans for the next days. The online maps (you can download them for offline navigation) are based on OSM I believe but edited to add more information. When you register, 1 map region is free, the others have a price. I bought the complete world package for 20 Euros - for that, data is protected by German law which is way different than Google, Facebook etc whereas they basically own everything you write or post as soon as you press <enter>.



SlipSpace said:


> Still not sure how you got a week in the canaries on your own though...


You mean how to get permission from the Control Center? Well I admit that it took some time and discussions. In the end my wife and kids managed pretty well without me ( ..... ) and I missed them after a few days. Couldnt stop thinking "wish they were here to see all this stuff" .

*

Nice rides today. It was windy but this morning it wasnt that bad and in the afternoon it was a nice tailwind 

Need to drive tomorrow, have to pick up a new fridge on the way home. Friday on the bike again. Friday is forecasted to be 4C in the morning and 26C in the afternoon. I am really wondering if that is going to happen, such a big spread I havent seen before.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

A beautiful commute this morning. So nice to have the warm weather after freezing all winter and spring during the commute.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been very windy here. Did a bit of riding over the holiday weekend. Riding today and taking the carbon road bike for a change.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Need to drive tomorrow, have to pick up a new fridge on the way home. Friday on the bike again. Friday is forecasted to be 4C in the morning and 26C in the afternoon. I am really wondering if that is going to happen, such a big spread I havent seen before.


Driving just because you need to pickup a new fridge. What a snowflake. Sheesh.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> Driving just because you need to pickup a new fridge. What a snowflake. Sheesh.


Hey it is a big one! :lol:

Hopping on the bike now in 5 minutes. Its going to be a nice summerday so a detour on the way home is mandatory :thumbsup:


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Carbon road bike and a beautiful and sunny day with a headwind. Can't really complain. Friday will be interesting. Made a "slight" modification to one of my bikes. Will post some pictures.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I found this on YouTube Dutchman...try this next time:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Unfortunately I do not have such a nice trailer 

Scenic tour was cancelled due to several reasons today but I did ride 32k instead of the usual 22. It was nice out today. Sunny all day with light winds. 8C this morning, 23C on the way home. But because of being off on Monday and driving yesterday, I rode only 3/5 days this week. Yesterday was a bit of a shame because it was cycle to work day at work....but they didnt give away any goodies this year. Previous years we got a saddle cover, spoke reflector or something. Profit optimisation isnt making a halt for C2W day apparently.

Long weekend now since Monday is a public holiday here. So next week hopefully 4 days of riding and then holiday season is over and it is going to 5 days every week again.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> Carbon road bike and a beautiful and sunny day with a headwind. Can't really complain. Friday will be interesting. Made a "slight" modification to one of my bikes. Will post some pictures.


Cant wait Tenspeed! What is it ?? Bullbar on an MTB? Jones Bar on roadbike? Square wheels?? full sus roadbike?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Cant wait Tenspeed! What is it ?? Bullbar on an MTB? Jones Bar on roadbike? Square wheels?? full sus roadbike?


Not quite, you almost had it though.










Drop bars on a mtb, fixed gear, 700x43 tires, super small ratio. It's all wrong, but it is so right. 
Still figuring out the brakes and can't decide if I want to do hoods and maybe some TRP Hylex or just go with Avid BB7's that I already have. 
Rode it to work at the bike shop today and it is interesting to say the least. 36:15 ratio is super easy to ride, but gets ridiculous at 16.5mph +.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Form follows function 10S 

I cant see the picture, am I the only one having that issue?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode the bike to the market and back when my last ride was over a month ago. I had a bit of an adrenal crash after the ride and my temperature dropped to 98 F. Need to schedule more regular riding. I was having issues with BP that I think I have fixed that was keeping me from riding.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Good to see you back on the bike BrianMC.

I took a long weekend and did a metric century on Friday. https://www.relive.cc/view/1017985636

The rain is back for the commuting week but I don't mind because I got the garden all planted and it needs a good soak. The week from Wednesday on looks very summery.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I cant see the picture, am I the only one having that issue?


I don't see the picture either.

Been off the bike for almost a week as we moved our stuff to a new weekend house on the other side of the mountains.

Rode to work this morning (from our regular place)...beautiful morning...set a new world record into the office.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ World Champions need to celebrate:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very nice ride in this morning. Sunny and a light tailwind at ~13C.

The ride home was different. First of all, I think that my favorite weather radar website has changed the software because for the 2nd time in a few days, the forecast was way off. When I checked the radar it looked like some showers had passed through and there would be a 1hr gap. When I came out of the building 10 minutes later, the dark sky ahead already made me question that and it started raining when I unlocked my bike. I rode through the tunnel, then at the bus stop I checked the weather radar again on my phone and in that 15 minutes, the next shower had grown to 3x the size. So I went for it and rode in the rain. I had just a T-shirt, shorts and sandals on. It was 18C but being wet combined with a 15kt headwind made it quite unpleasant. After 20 minutes it stopped raining and I was home 5 minutes later. 

I know there are not many Europeans around here, but still:
Does anyone have a suggestion for a good weather site for Europe / Germany?


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I don't understand why the picture is not showing. Uploaded to Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet and copied the BB code like I always do. Seems like it has been a constant thing with my pictures. Will try to load it again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ World Champions need to celebrate:


Unlike Chris Froome, I am a legend only in my own mind.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

First commute in about a week and a half have been on vaca, was having fun just zoning out. It's getting hot, 103f today on the way home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> Unlike Chris Froome, I am a legend only in my own mind.


I may be heavy, old, and slow, but I am way faster than most of the lard-butt cagers! My feats are also legendary not only in my own mind but also in the minds of some I have talked to.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> I may be heavy, old, and slow, but I am way faster than most of the lard-butt cagers! My feats are also legendary not only in my own mind but also in the minds of some I have talked to.


LOL. Yes, I am faster than than everybody that is slower than me! I too hold the KOM on both my home-to-work segment and my work-to-home segments. Of course they are private so that's not too surprising.

Today is a beautiful day after a few days of cold wet weather. Yes!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Like BikeColorado's signature: I may be old and fat but at least I am slow  In addition I would say: And at least I ride a bike. 

Could hold up with a guy on a 25kph e-bike this morning. He was looking behind him every minute and I could see him thinking "he's still there" . dry, windy, 14C.

Ride home was less pleasant but at least I was prepared. Had full rainkit on and it was raining all the way. 12C only and the last part was straight into a 15kt headwind. 

Cycling to work is gaining popularity in my office. One collegue changed from motorcycle to bicycle after he moved closer to work, 3km one way. We have a new supervisor who moved from the other plant in France to Hamburg in winter, he is coming by bike now too. And I have another collegue who started to ride in summer. At first he wanted to ride on nice days only, but I told him directly that once you get used to it, you dont want to get stopped by bad weather. And I got it right: He came on the bike this morning, despite a tough wind and predicted rain :thumbsup:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

None for me this week. Stupid long hours and winds upto 40 mph mon, tues, weds, have put me off. The weather is calmer today but in early and will be out late. For some reason the family seem to want me around so losing another hour or so from them in addition to the extra time at work is not popular...


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## sunvalleylaw (Jun 21, 2010)

Still commuting on the slowly being modified Davidson. One or two times per week right now. Conditions are generally good. Not much to report really!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

For me the same as yesterday. Dry ride in, wet ride home....


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

TenSpeed said:


> I don't understand why the picture is not showing. Uploaded to Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet and copied the BB code like I always do. Seems like it has been a constant thing with my pictures. Will try to load it again.


You can try the Go advanced button and then use the picture button and paste the URL.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Mountain Bike Friday!!!*

I hadn't commuted on the MTB lately so...

My legs are tired as hell from last nights ride but I got the job done. And it's FRIDAY!!!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Trying this again. Needs a bigger front ring that is for sure.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ah now I can see your "new" bike 10Sp! Looks awesome!

Father-son commute this morning, brought my eldest son to school and since we were early, we made a few rounds on the skating ring near school. Had to raise his saddle approx. 2 cm. Dang is he growing fast lately. Very nice ride to work after that too. Sunny, light winds and 16C made it really enjoyable.

Ride home again was wet. It rained about 2 hrs in the afternoon and I had to go through it. Rode in shorts, sandals, t-shirt and a new windstopper jacket that repelled the water really well, I was barely wet inside and probably it was more sweat than rain. Shorts and underwear was really soaked though. Had Teva Kimtah sandals on, they are more closed like Keens are. So at some points I hat so much water in the front of my shoe that I had to take them off the pedal and hold them up in the air to drain water out of it. Must have been a funny sight. Currently I have "just" the standard fenders on my bike, really have to glue some extra parts on this weekend. Front light, BB etc was completely sprayed with water. I dont understand how SKS became market leader because those fenders should be like 30% longer to work properly....


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another week, another farmer's market, and I am getting faster with less adrenal stress. 

I may have discovered the food item that was doing a number on by blood pressure. The local ride in sin 2 weeks so more time in the saddle! I will ba able to eat the support food! Yay!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Another week, another farmer's market, and I am getting faster with less adrenal stress.
> 
> I may have discovered the food item that was doing a number on by blood pressure. The local ride in sin 2 weeks so more time in the saddle! I will ba able to eat the support food! Yay!


Glad to hear you're doing better.

I sat out on the ride Wednesday and Thursday this week because I sprained my ankle on Tuesday night while kicking a soccer ball around the yard. Friday I jogged/ran to work, which was not too shabby. It's about 2.5 miles, so a good run in to get PUMPED for the work day.

I did ride my bike about 5 miles each way to the trailhead of the local MTB trails today. Northwest Indiana has a surprising amount to offer in the way of trail diversity within one trail system. Hardened clay, roots, sand, flat sections by the Little Calumet River, hilly terrain. All in 12 or so miles. I have not been disappointed.

On the other end of the stick, I helped a buddy move today, and somehow got recruited to drive the moving truck he rented to a storage unit. Now, driving a monstrously sized truck full of other people's stuff through a construction zone is somewhat nerve racking, considering I've never driven anything that big. I'll take biking over that nonsense any day.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Overcast and windy this morning. Temps have dropped to high teens which is ok. 

Good to hear things are improving Brian!

That's pretty minimalist Ten, I'm not sure I could commute on that unless I was on trails though, or though the city.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

SEXY looking bike Tenspeed!

Good you are feeling better Brian.

I set a NEW WORLD RECORD riding to work this morning. Crushed my old record by 1:40. Feeling good this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes Brian, good that you can ride again. Stay healthy!

Congrats on the new WR Brian!

Father-sons commute this morning. Brought the eldest to school, then the youngest to Kindergarten. Then rode to work in nice sunny weather. The weather turned over the day. Ride home I managed to stay dry between the showers and it was very windy again. 18C only and the rest of the week will be like that....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I set a NEW WORLD RECORD riding to work this morning. Crushed my old record by 1:40. Feeling good this morning.


Another world record! Amazing, truly amazing! 

Hot humid summer weather has finally hit! So nice to ride in without a jacket. We'll see if I am as happy with the ride home.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Well I thought it was going great when a pedestrian said "nice @$$" as I rode by but when I looked over my shoulder to smile at this gal with a pony tail I realized it was a dude with a pony tail. Explains the deep voice. Not that there's anything wrong with that....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well I told my wife about my world record and her response was "World Record?". I had to explain that since I am the only one in the whole world who rides from our house to the office this qualifies as a WORLD RECORD. In fact, I told her, it's also a GALACTIC RECORD. She rolled her eyes and said something like "whatever you think honey". What a buzzkill. 

Cool and misty this morning. I took it easy since I think I'll ride the long way home tonight.

Dutchman, very cool on riding with your sons. Wish I could have done that with my boys when they were younger.

I think I'll take cool and misty over hot and humid bedwards...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Why limit it to the Milky Way? It is a Cosmic Record!


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## Kleebs (Mar 18, 2014)

Checking in after a long absence. I hope everyone is doing well.

I got lazy with commuting over the winter, opting for structured training on the turbo inside instead. got back into it this spring, but have been off and on for the last month due to my mtb race schedule. Had 4 races of 100km or 6hrs in 5 weeks, so I generally didn't have any legs left for commuting. Past the gauntlet now so trying to get back in the habit. 

Commute today was hot and annoying. Took a detour thanks to a train across my route, but it backfired because I got caught in a 1 lane construction zone for 20 minutes waiting for my turn to go.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

woodway said:


> Well I told my wife about my world record and her response was "World Record?". I had to explain that since I am the only one in the whole world who rides from our house to the office this qualifies as a WORLD RECORD. In fact, I told her, it's also a GALACTIC RECORD. She rolled her eyes and said something like "whatever you think honey". What a buzzkill.
> 
> Cool and misty this morning. I took it easy since I think I'll ride the long way home tonight.
> 
> ...


I think it would be funny if your wife destroyed your galactic record. Just to show who's boss.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been super lazy here because it has been really hot. Like 91°F when I would leave for work. Better than winter, but holy hell, I would be a really sweaty mess when I got there. Instead I have been riding at night after I get home or on days off. Friday was a solo 30 mile ride that started at 11 pm. Monday was a 41 mile ride, 23 miles with a Monday night local group and it was a decent pace. 91°F at 6:05 pm when we started. The rest of the miles that day were me riding to the ride and then back home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2017)

My "People drive more aggressively on the way home from work than they do on the way to work" theory got another data point yesterday. I was approaching an intersection where the bike bath (really a triple wide sidewalk) crosses an intersection that's under construction. The on coming (nearside) traffic is single lane for the moment and appeared to be going straight (no one had turn signals on for the right turn). Just as I entered the intersection I notice the wheels on a car turn toward the right and realize that the guy sees me and thinks he can beat me through the turn. Really fortunate I'd just adjusted the brakes or I wouldn't have been able to lock up both tires. He too locked up his tires and we came inches from collision. I thought he was gonna give me some opinion about my riding, but instead I just get this FU look and "Oops". Rest of the ride was just hot, windy and dusty. I'm lovin' the new route, 4 miles of pavement followed by15 miles of gravel road and crushed rock trail.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^Good reactions Forster. Always have to be on guard.

Going home last night I pulled up behind another cyclist at an intersection. He was riding a clunker hybrid but then I noticed he had attached one of those electric conversion kits. 

The light turned green and predictably, he pushed his button and pulled away from me. But then we got to a long downhill and with my taller gearing I passed him and put some distance on him. The stupid commuter race was on - how long could I stay in front of him? For the next five miles I found that I could slowly pull away from him on the flats, really pull away on a downhill, but he gained on me uphill. I managed to keep in front until our routes diverged. It was fun.

The end result: A NEW WORLD RECORD riding home last night. Crushed my old record by almost two minutes. But I did not tell my wife about it 

Enjoy your rides everyone!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice race Woodway!

Been warm this week. Set to hit maybe 30C by the weekend! Warm weather predicted for the next 3 months on the long range forecast, so that's like an actual summer! We'll see.

Only thing to report was a near miss with a motorcycle. I take a turn across traffic right after a ped crossing. Not allowed to overtake on those; in theory. Truck coming up the incline toward me. I need to wait for him to pass to turn. Motorbike decides that's a good place to pass the lorry obviously unaware of me. I saw him a ways back and guessed what he was gonna do but cars were coming from behind also. So I'm in the middle of the road, waiting to turn as he comes round the truck, sees me, freezes for an instant ( I could see it in his eyes), poo'd, regained his senses and passed close by enough to undoubtedly hear me calling him a dick followed by a honk from the truck.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

woodway said:


> ^^Good reactions Forster. Always have to be on guard.
> 
> Going home last night I pulled up behind another cyclist at an intersection. He was riding a clunker hybrid but then I noticed he had attached one of those electric conversion kits.
> 
> ...


I enjoyed reading this. Was trying to picture it in my head.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

TenSpeed said:


> I enjoyed reading this. Was trying to picture it in my head.


Me too 

No ride for me today and for the rest of the week :-/

@Buster: you mean iohan georgiyev from bikewanderer.com? I am following his channel too 

@Olmarin: like your signature


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

no commute today have 3 day weekend! Then a short 2 day commute next week for some more vacation camping with the fam for 5 days.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Forgot to mention this homeless guy blocking the entire trail a few days ago, had to turn around and go back over the bridge. I've talked to him a few times since and he makes a path to get by now. He's a regular in the hood. :rant:


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2017)

Eight miles away from making the whole commute (33 miles both ways) to work. Funny, you ride all winter (17 mile loop to/from work from the midpoint trail head) and one little accident, suddenly you're all out of shape after a month. Dang.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> @Buster: you mean iohan georgiyev from bikewanderer.com? I am following his channel too


Yes. So inspiring. What an amazing adventure.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow Forster, 33m is indeed quite a stretch - is about double the distance that I ride per day. So keep training, keep riding but most of all: Stay safe and be careful!

Buster: Yes Iohan is not the only one riding around the world or the Panamericana - but one of the very few making such extensive videos of it. He changed bikes a few times and every time he gets fatter tires. I believe he started with a Surly Troll with 2" spiketires on the ice roads in the north and now he is riding a fatbike with 4" tires...

Yesterday we participated in the annual Star Ride again and rode the bridge and Autobahn again. Unfortunately about halfway the kids started arguing in the trailer so we had to leave. We went to the river and let the kids play a while. After that we rode home through the harbour area and all in all we made about the same distance that we had originally planned, about 40km.

A short vid is here. Unfortunately it focuses more on the politicians - the bold guy talking is the city mayor who participated as well.
Fahrradsternfahrt in Hamburg | NDR.de - Fernsehen - Sendungen A-Z - Hamburg Journal

Today back into commute riding. Nice this morning, 18C but then it turned hot. 29C on the way home, big blue sky and no shade anywhere. Took a 0.8L bottle of water with me and it was almost finished when I came home after 35minutes. It will stay warm during the night, tomorrowmorning again 20C probably but temp is forecasted at ~25C for the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> Eight miles away from making the whole commute (33 miles both ways) to work. Funny, you ride all winter (17 mile loop to/from work from the midpoint trail head) and one little accident, suddenly you're all out of shape after a month. Dang.


Does 33 miles "both ways" mean if you go both ways it is 33 miles or is that 33 miles each way? 66 miles round trip would be quite a commitment more than a few times/week.

I found another locking knife today on my way in. This makes 3 in about a year. This one has been runned over quite a few time but the blade is still in good shape.

It's been MUGGY here. Today we are dodging thunderstorms. I think my wife got a clear shot home. It looks touch and go for the time I usually leave.


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> Does 33 miles "both ways" mean if you go both ways it is 33 miles or is that 33 miles each way? 66 miles round trip would be quite a commitment more than a few times/week.
> 
> I found another locking knife today on my way in. This makes 3 in about a year. This one has been runned over quite a few time but the blade is still in good shape.
> 
> It's been MUGGY here. Today we are dodging thunderstorms. I think my wife got a clear shot home. It looks touch and go for the time I usually leave.


 I just reread that, not super clear. 33 miles is the round trip distance. Between here and Gravel worlds (I'm planning on riding the half, don't have the shoulders for 150 miles at that pace) I'll add another 17 mile loop on the ride home to get to 3-50 milers during the week.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

Been triple digits after work here for the past week. I left work early today to go to a medical appointment, so it was probably only 90 on my ride home.

Then I rode 20 miles to my appointment when it was 100+ into the wind.

Then another 10 to my wife's work to carpool home.



My bike commute is roughly 9 miles one way (nice distance). But two years ago I was leaving home at 2:15am to ride 32 miles to work, then I would ride another 20 or so miles combined with the commuter train home. Oh, plus running at my lunch break and long runs (4+ hours) on the weekends and swimming when I could. Fantastic ironman distance training!

But I didn't get hit by a car or attacked today!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well I actually managed a full five days on the bike last week. Mostly kinda warm. Off work yesterday but back on it today. Tensioned the rear wheel over the weekend which seems to have made a nice difference. 1/4 turn on the spokes all the way round.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today will be an interesting commute. The race will be on, not with another cyclist, but with the weather. Will post results later tonight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ I lost my race with the weather last night but it wasn't a thunderstorm so that was good. It was raining hard for some of it and I was soaked. It was a blast. Nice warm rain.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I lost that race last night as well. I was actually kind of enjoying it since it was warm, but the wind, rain and occasional thunder and lightning my wife got in the car and tracked me down without me asking.

Told me to wipe the smile off my face and load my bike in the car...

Weather is perfect today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

5/5 days is very good SlipSpace! Last week I had only 2/5, this week probably 4/5.

No need to dodge the weather over here lately, just seeking for shadow. 

Long time ago that I could ride in warm rain...

Today was a nice day again. Brought my youngest to Kindergarten, then rode to work with a collegue whose kid is in the same Kindergarten, we met there accidently and rode together. 18C already and sunny this morning.

Temps got stuck at 22C today, in addition the wind picked up but it was a nice ride home again. Met wife and kids on the playground near home. This always follows the same procedure: When I notice that they are there, I ring my bell continuously. Then the kids come running to the entrance shouting Daddy, daddy, daddy... etc. Then I put them both on my bike (one on the saddle, one on the toptube) and walk to my wife. Good times.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I missed the rain. I don't want to talk about how many close calls I had with drivers. It put my normally good mood into a bad mood by the time I got to work. After the fifth one, I stopped counting.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

It's great when kids are that age Dutchman, always so pleased to see you. Mine are older, still pleased to see me think but tend to get 'aight' or 'sup' as a greeting 

Ten, maybe the longer nights and heat bring them out?

I got knocked of by a jogger on my way home last night. He just ran straight out of a blind side path onto the mup, I kinda hit him at the same time I saw him. I seem to remember trying to brake, then I was on the floor. He was very apologetic. It was quite amicable really, no proper damage, he scuffed his knees a bit, I got my shin and another set of scuffs on the Ortlieb (why do I always fall that side!). Not long and we were both on our way.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

My first commute in nearly 2 years, but this time with upgrades: New Saddle; new wheel set; road cassette; new grips; and I purchased a Cygolite Metro 850 so that I could depart earlier.

Still Slow, but I'm glad I got the first one done.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No other routes possible Tenspeed?

Thanks Slipspace. Sometimes I am secretly looking forward to the age that they only want to look at their phone and don't want to know that crazy old guy on the bike .... ;o)) But I am enjoying it until then. And I hope you're doing alright and the jogger too!

Nice rides for me again today. 9C this morning, nice 21C again on the way home. Tomorrow is expected to have thunderstorms in the morning, will have to leave extra early to avoid them. After that it will get hot, up to 30C is forecasted. Never had thunderstorms in the morning and getting hot after that. Normally, the storms come after the heat.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> I got knocked of by a jogger on my way home last night. He just ran straight out of a blind side path onto the mup, I kinda hit him at the same time I saw him. I seem to remember trying to brake, then I was on the floor. He was very apologetic. It was quite amicable really, no proper damage, he scuffed his knees a bit, I got my shin and another set of scuffs on the Ortlieb (why do I always fall that side!). Not long and we were both on our way.


Damn, glad you were alright.

Way to go Jelako!

The weather has been wonderful here. I took the long way home to visit granny. She was very happy to see me. Glad I brought the lights because she didn't want to let our visit end too soon.
https://www.relive.cc/view/1046612682


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2017)

Careless trail Ninja and life threatening motorists? Sound's pretty familiar. I'm pretty adept at finding the best route but I've never been able to avoid either entirely. My tactic, be as polite as possible until that fails then get loud and threaten to call the police. I can also quote the law as well as any high school dropout, which seems to help. Trail Ninja get the "condescending father" speech until I achieve eye-roll. Usually I've got a fake news story about a runner killed by a biker to throw in for good measure.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I was lucky today. Nice ride to work, 16C, light wind and sunshine. Around lunchtime a stormfront rolled over and it was short but scary. It appeared to be a socalled supercell and in the north of town even a small tornado was sighted. It got really very dark and we just got the edge of it, so not much lightning but heavy wind and powerful rain. Next to my building a 10m high tree fell over. Further up north in town roofs were damaged, 1 person died when a tree fell on the car and a cyclist was heavily injured by another tree. Airport was temporarily closed and flightradar24.com showed a big gap in air traffic where the supercell was. After that temps quickly rose to 26C and some sun and we are supposed to get more around midnight. Humid air on the ride home and no wind at all...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning I had to pull off the road in order for a truck carrying a construction trailer down the street. That's a first.

Yesterday, I scared some guy who ran a red light. He turned out right in front of me, and I yelled out "Hey, man! You have a red light" through his open window. The guy paused for a second in the middle of the intersection and then kept rolling. I knew the guy wasn't going to stop and made sure to keep a safe distance.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Temps dropped around 10C compared to yesterday. Drove first this morning to register the new car, picking it up tomorrow. Then drove home and hopped on the bike at 7.45 with 15C and drizzle. Put on the new windstopper jacket, water repellant worked perfectly! Put on a hardshell pants as well which was a bit sweaty in the end. Included a nice detour on the way home, made for 30k today and rode 5/5 days this week. Will be shopping for a bike carrier tomorrow, finally having a car that I can put one on.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi all! Been riding but everything else has been hectic. I got the new bike on Thursday and she had her christening yesterday in crazy rain on both trips (1.25" total). In one puddle I had to look down to check that the bottom bracket was not submerged. On the plus side, she handles very well in high seas! I did not stop for a wet picture, but here it is after pickup, it's an Orbea Terra:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice bike mtbx! Those hoods look very comfy, which ones are those?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thanks cyclingdutch! The hoods are Shimano 105.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hi all! Been riding but everything else has been hectic. I got the new bike on Thursday and she had her christening yesterday in crazy rain on both trips (1.25" total). In one puddle I had to look down to check that the bottom bracket was not submerged. On the plus side, she handles very well in high seas! I did not stop for a wet picture, but here it is after pickup, it's an Orbea Terra:


I was just noticing that you hadn't popped in for a while. Nice looking commuter. The best of both worlds. Light and fast with places to put fenders. It must make riding the rain bike feel less like punishment.

Nothing to report other than beautiful summer weather.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nothing to report other than beautiful summer weather.


Here either. The weather has been fantastic, and drivers have been alright too. I'm hoping to claim a KOM or two on my commute. It's going to be a challenge on my SS, since I'm mostly going up against road bikes, but I have a shot on a couple climbs.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Happily took 3rd overall on a segment riding home Saturday night from work. This is a segment that I never thought I would ever break into the top 10 fastest riders of. I am officially 5 seconds back of 2nd place and 15 seconds of a KOM. Not sure that will ever happen but I am shooting for it. Nice weather here, but cool at night, like the 50's. Not much to report other than just normal riding. Had a few bike lane offender issues but aside from that, pretty normal.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Glad you guys are having nice weather, the summer blast furnace is in full effect here now. Today was the first commute in about a week and a half due to it being above 110F for 10 days straight. And I went out of town for a few days too, so that's a better excuse . 106 on the way home today felt nice.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I finally broke the 1000 commute miles for the year, that makes me about 1000 behind my target at the start of the year... 

Rode monday but the heat of a couple of weeks ago is well gone. Yesterday and today have been heavy rain, all the time, with no let up. Lots of standing water/floods. Really not nice to be out in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Man. I missed a KOM by 4 seconds last night (one I thought would be really tough to beat on my commuter), but I did manage to bag one. I don't usually track my rides, but I like trying to get faster times every once in a while to keep things interesting.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> I finally broke the 1000 commute miles for the year, that makes me about 1000 behind my target at the start of the year...
> 
> Rode monday but the heat of a couple of weeks ago is well gone. Yesterday and today have been heavy rain, all the time, with no let up. Lots of standing water/floods. Really not nice to be out in.


Congrats. I am like you, way behind for the year. Miles don't seem to be racking up like I thought they would. Last 3 Monday nights I have done a group ride that total miles ends up around 43. Seems like my number just sticks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Man. I missed a KOM by 4 seconds last night (one I thought would be really tough to beat on my commuter), but I did manage to bag one. I don't usually track my rides, but I like trying to get faster times every once in a while to keep things interesting.


It's amazing how long a second is in the world of KOMs. I went out for a hard ride this weekend and missed a KOM on an 11 mile segment by 10 seconds and it was the difference between 1st and 5th. That's less than 1 second/mile difference! I did win the KOM for the 40 mile segment I was gunning for so it's all good.

If you can get the KOM on your "commuter" bike the bar isn't set high enough.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Amazing how fanatically you guys are tracking your mileage, set goals and are trying to achieve KOMs. I am actually doing nothing of that ... 

Rode every day of the week so far. Pretty weather, light rain on the way home today but at 24C no problem. Will probably have to drive tomorrow and ride again on Friday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> If you can get the KOM on your "commuter" bike the bar isn't set high enough.


I might not be not going up against the best at their best, but I'm impressed with myself for averaging nearly 22mph on these segments. On my SS, that means I'm spinning at over 120 rpms average.

I bagged to 8th place finishes over the weekend on a couple MUP climbs that get a ton of bike traffic. I'm pretty proud of those. I wish I could get better results on mtb trails, but there is a lot of good competition for those, although I do have one 6th place and one 7th place finish on trails.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Amazing how fanatically you guys are tracking your mileage, set goals and are trying to achieve KOMs. I am actually doing nothing of that ...


I'm not very fanatical about it. I've tracked fewer than 10 commutes in the last 10 years, although I'm starting to track more of them in the past year (maybe 4-5). I just started Strava-ing a few months ago. It's kind of fun in moderation.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Anyone else commute by unicycle?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm not very fanatical about it. I've tracked fewer than 10 commutes in the last 10 years, although I'm starting to track more of them in the past year (maybe 4-5). I just started Strava-ing a few months ago. It's kind of fun in moderation.


Moderation?

I'm fairly fanatical. All my "training" is from my commutes and I don't own a trainer but I can hold my own with most (not all) of the local racers. I see them all retreat to zwift when the weather turns bad. #commuterpride.

I caught a ride home last night and left my bike at work. Now I have 2 bikes here and no car . I'm out of sync. But I do have my choice of bikes for the ride home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Buster Bluth said:


> Anyone else commute by unicycle?


Do you?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok maybe I would like to mention that "passionate" or enthusiastic" might have been better than "fanatically". In any way, I support everything that brings people on the bike rather than in the car. 

And now that I think about it, I do hope to keep my yearly distance to around 4500km / 3000m so I do have a goal after all. But I didnt check yet if I am on track. Would be a good time now since we are now pretty much exactly halfway in the year.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

#commuterpride >> like that one


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Do you?


Is that a dare?


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2017)

SlipSpace said:


> I finally broke the 1000 commute miles for the year, that makes me about 1000 behind my target at the start of the year.


 I'm pretty far behind too. I lost a month to the elbow and a week to a vacation in the mountains. (Had to choose between taking the dog hiking or bringing the bikes.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Very windy commute in. Had me going all kinds of sideways and what not. Ride home was dodging the raindrops. Got wet but not soaked. It pretty much held off, but it is coming, in fact severe storms forecasted for the next few days. I was mumbling stuff under my breath until I came upon this, which I ride every day.















I really hope that these show correctly. For some reason they disabled linking from sites like Imgur which I have always used. It is too bad because this shrinks them down so much. 

Anyway, the mural is dedicated to the city I guess, as it represents the capital where I live. Very cool because some days as I was riding to work, I saw a guy out there with paint, not a city worker, just a guy, and he must be the guy that they got to do this. I said hi to him a few times, he gave me the thumbs up on the bike thing with me blasting some house music at the light from my little speaker. He did a great job.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Buster Bluth said:


> Anyone else commute by unicycle?


I can ride one, not well, but I can put it on my CV/Resume  ; but 10 miles each way commute; no I don't think so..

Tenspeed, that mural and bridge look great, really brightens up what could otherwise be quite an intimidating place :thumbsup:


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Well it was the first morning in a LONG time I had to punch somebody in the throat.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No work on the KOM chasing Sock and bedwards. I'm usually in the top quarter of most segments on my commute but too many really fast roadies around here for me to ever take a KOM. I look at some of the times and think "how the h3ll...?".

Great photos tenspeed. Took something ugly and made is easy to look at!

Pretty boring around here..mid 50's in the morning, mid 70's in the afternoon. Just keep turning the pedals...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

woodway said:


> No work on the KOM chasing Sock and bedwards. I'm usually in the top quarter of most segments on my commute but too many really fast roadies around here for me to ever take a KOM. I look at some of the times and think "how the h3ll...?".
> 
> Great photos tenspeed. Took something ugly and made is easy to look at!
> 
> Pretty boring around here..mid 50's in the morning, mid 70's in the afternoon. Just keep turning the pedals...


I used to think the same thing on a segment that I ride daily. No way I would ever catch the KOM. He is a fast guy, I know him, and I know how much he rides. Year to date he has 4,100 miles. Lifetime on Strava? 42,396 miles and 100,000 feet of climbing. He currently holds 130 KOM's in various places that he rides. 7 pages of KOM's on his profile. You know what? I was in 27th place on that segment. Then I moved up, and moved up, and moved up, and I had a good night and took a solid 3rd place. 15 seconds behind him. I was minutes behind him before. Keep trying and don't say that you can't.

Drove to work today due to weather and went under the overpass. Nowhere near the same in a car as it is on a bike. You completely miss the open feeling of the lights and the mural. I guess that the three others are in the works and will be finished soon. Will definitely post pictures.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I hear what you are saying tenspeed but many of the KOMS are just out of reach to me (at my age anyway). A good example is a popular segment I ride to work every morning...it's an uphill segment and I am 352/5103 with an average speed of 21.2MPH. The KOM is held by a pro racer - his average speed is 29.7MPH. Ain't no way I am ever touching that one 

My goal is to (1) push my PR's and (2) enjoy my commute!

Have a great holiday everyone.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> No work on the KOM chasing Sock and bedwards. I'm usually in the top quarter of most segments on my commute but too many really fast roadies around here for me to ever take a KOM. I look at some of the times and think "how the h3ll...?".


Strava is sometimes jacked. There's a series of switchbacks on a local trail where the KOM is 30s faster than I am...on a 0.1 mile downhill segment. Now I'm not claiming to be the world's fastest DH-er, but there's no way these people are that much faster than I am. Sure enough, all the fastest times have incomplete/funky GPS tracks. The fastest one that looked normal was 7s faster than me, which is likely legit.

Anyway, road segments are probably a little more accurate.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

oh man what a day. A big rain area is slowly moving over the north of Germany. Berlin is flooded in some places upto 1m/3ft high. Overhere its not that bad, it just rains since last night. Been riding in the rain both rides but I had full rain gear on and my XXXXL fenders kept me and the bike as cleas as it can be in such weather. It is not supposed to dry up before tomorrow afternoon which will make almost 48hrs of continuous rain. Very unusual here. I managed to ride 4 of 5 days this week. 

I checked my speedometer today for the total distance this year so far, it seems I am pretty much on track for another 4500km/3000m this year. Steady as she goes


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TenSpeed said:


> Lifetime on Strava? 42,396 miles and 100,000 feet of climbing.


 Amateur, I have more feet of climbing this year just riding to work.  There are a few riders who I know I can't touch. If they are at the top I'm happy with the top 10.

Nice bridge pics.

I'm looking forward to tonight's commute because I live in the lakes region so people will be showing up for the long weekend in droves which means I'll be significantly faster than traffic for the last 5-6 miles. Not to mention the 4 day weekend!!! :band: Even if I do get rained on:


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

My commute puts me at 140,000' a year, if I only work 5 days a week and take two weeks off. My year to date climbing is much, much more. 

I've annoyingly gotten two thorns and a shard of glass on my way to work this week. Plus a bad patch (maybe two, haven't checked the other), and one other tube that got a puncture from an unknown source. I managed to get clocked in on time, barely, every time. 

Finally got my commuter bike back on the road so I can give my roadie a rest. Hopefully the thicker tires will give my pit stop breaks.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It won't stop raining.

local news Vermonters urged to be safe around rising rivers - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

woodway said:


> I hear what you are saying tenspeed but many of the KOMS are just out of reach to me (at my age anyway). A good example is a popular segment I ride to work every morning...it's an uphill segment and I am 352/5103 with an average speed of 21.2MPH. The KOM is held by a pro racer - his average speed is 29.7MPH. Ain't no way I am ever touching that one
> 
> My goal is to (1) push my PR's and (2) enjoy my commute!
> 
> Have a great holiday everyone.


Just wondering what your age is?


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## Guest (Jul 1, 2017)

Okay ride. Added a couple of miles on the way home to give an even 20. Ran into one of the nut jobs riding a gas powered bike on the trail. Couldn't find a stick to help him with that front wheel spinning problem. Later I found a farm dog who wanted to help me climb faster by tying to bite me. Again, no stick.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Farm dogs? Glad I didnt have that problem so far....be careful Forster!

Rides were fine today. Dry, sunny and 14C on the way to work. 20C when I left, but a small shower passed through. I could see the sky brighten up again before it started to rain, so I sat in a shelteres bus stop for 5 minutes and continued after that.

Tension is rising in the city. First signs of G20 are showing, more police, lots of helicopters swirring around and the first demonstration was yesterday already, but it was mostly peaceful. Somewhere the next days a demonstration is planned with the official event name "welcome to hell". It is expected to be, let me say, "less peaceful".... Gladly, I live away from the city center so all that isnt really on my route.


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## Guest (Jul 4, 2017)

Slowish ride in and drenched ride home. Got about 3 miles into a 9 mile route and it started raining, and it didn't quit until I got to my truck. I went through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, I even got semi-truck creating a tidal wave by driving through big puddle rain.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

We had the rain last week, a months worth in 36 hours. Been fine so far since. Overcast but warm enough today. I even got let out into traffic by a van through some road works, I was impressed. Normally people nip up so I can't get in thinking I'll slow them up before the temporary lights change. I don't, the traffic doesn't move that fast.

Impressive climbing numbers folks, it's pretty flat where I live, I can't remember the elevation change exactly but I think if I rode my route every day I work I would not even reach 30k feet of climb. 

Good man Dutchman, keep plugging away on those miles.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some rough rides there, we have some rugged bikecommuters here!

Yesterday was the first dry day in forever, people really enjoyed it - if they weren't still cleaning up from flooding. Parade and fireworks in Montpelier where I work yesterday. I ziptied a couple of flags to the fenders of the new red and blue bike, chose a red T and blue shorts, one red and one blue glove, and I was ready to celebrate the ride to work.

My favorite flooding quote was from across Lake Champlain in NY: "One of the previous owners told me he was done when he saw there were beavers in the basement," said Allen. 

Roads are still being fixed, my commute had a small gully in the middle of the paved road, and the interstate had a scenic sinkhole:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks Slipspace, make sure you keep riding but don't force yourself - its gotta be fun.

I guess the long weekend has to do with Independance Day today? We don't celebrate that here but I am glad that you guys finally have a holiday too.

Looks like you are having a tough time too in your area MTBx! Now THAT'S what I call a "pothole" ... :yikes:

Nice rides again today. Nice and sunny in the morning. Saw 2 roe deers along the way, which is unusual in summer. Usually in summer they hide further from the road when they find food there too. I was early though, was on the bike at 6.20 and could ride home early too. Nice temps, a bit cloudy but dry so what else would I want.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides again today, despite the rain this morning. Dried up just as I got off the bike at work. Made a slight but scenic detour on the way home. Added only 4km but nice. 

My sighting yesterday was confirmed by a newspaper headline today: Trumpet's helicopter is already in town and hovering around. His cars apparently also already arrived. And in general there are helicopters swirring around all day and night at the moment and there is heavily armed police everywhere and I still dont feel safe - first small riots were yesterday night already.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commutes have come to a slow for me. Last night after work, I left at 12:21 am and rode 30 miles. Was an absolutely beautiful night to head out and just enjoy the evening. Headed down to the capital and then north out into the less populated areas. Decided that I didn't want to go too far as I was unsure how much of a charge my light still had. Found a new route to ride on the way home which was a welcome change. Will probably be heading out again tonight if possible. Light and back up light are on the charger so I will be good to go!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> There are helicopters swirring around all day and night at the moment and there is heavily armed police everywhere and I still dont feel safe - first small riots were yesterday night already.


The safest commutes are boring. Sound like yours are going to be too exciting for a bit.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

56° on my way to work, 106° on my way home yesterday. 

61° this morning. We'll see how hot it gets.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

July 3rd bikecommute.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

0 commutes so far this week. 100.7 miles ridden however.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looking good mtbx!

Trumpet has landet and apparently made it safe to his hotel. When I left work, sky was scattered with helicopters. Didnt bother about it much though. My collegue is travelling through the city center to/from work and he took a day off as a precaution. Traffic is totally jamming in and around the city and it will not be better before Sunday. Luckily I live pretty far away from the action.

Rides were very good today. Finally a day with nice weather all day. Blue sky with scattered clouds, 22C and calm winds. Simply lovely.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Looks like an interesting weekend there Dutchman! Was watching some videos of the protesters earlier, looks like fun.... not.

111 on the way home today and getting humid, looks like monsoons are on the way. Can't wait!


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## rockhopper97 (Jul 30, 2014)

been riding to work all week on my new commuter......finally made it the steep hill by my house without getting off the bike


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> July 3rd bikecommute.
> View attachment 1145044


I like how you lined up with the gap I the bush/tree so it looks like you have a big multi lens light or camera on the helmet. Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice weather and nice rides again today. Was at a summerparty in my son's kindergarten with my family afterwards. Incredible videos coming from the city center though, only 11 km away heavy rioting the entire day. 

And it seems they have a new tactic. Instead of rioting in a large protest group, smaller groups are operating simultaneously in several spots in town and are gone before the police arrives. I am so glad I live tucked far away in a far edge of town so little chances something will happen here. Nevertheless I will be glad when all this will be over in 2-3 days.

Company was pretty empty today too. Many people took a day off or worked from home. City center is a ghost town now, nobody is going outside anymore.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Everything calmed down during the night. After heavy riots the police send in a special squad with machine guns and all of a sudden everyone was very nice  Oh wonder...

GOOD news: There was a demonstration by bicycle yesterday and it went totally PEACEFUL: :thumbsup: CLICK >> 




Cyclists vs Anarchists: 1 : 0


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice hillclimbing rockhopper97, well done!

Cyclingdutchman, the bike protest does look pretty great compared to some of the videos that come up adjacent to that one. Green smoke in the street is pretty out of the ordinary.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Cyclists vs Anarchists: 1 : 0


I'm glad to see that the cyclists were being civil. Hopefully things are getting back to normal there.

Nothing to report here but great summer weather. I took it easy on the way in to rest a little from yesterday's ride with Rolling Runner. https://www.relive.cc/view/1075781152


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm glad to see that the cyclists were being civil. Hopefully things are getting back to normal there.
> 
> Nothing to report here but great summer weather. I took it easy on the way in to rest a little from yesterday's ride with Rolling Runner. https://www.relive.cc/view/1075781152


Yes me too! A great achievemen for the cyclist community, though it will probably not get so much attention as the sh!tty part, but that's life. Bad news always does better somehow.

Oh yeah the rides. Dry ride in and after 10hrs of work I rode home in light rain...


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been a week now with 0 commutes. Still managed to drop in 100 miles last week with after work night rides. Picked up a new to me wheelset for my road bike so that is definitely seeing more action. New crank for the fixed gear but I am liking to ride fixed less and less, especially for distance. For a commute, it is about damn near perfect.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I saw the protests on the news Dutch, glad that you're away from it.

Nice pic MTBX, the buildings in the background is exactly how I imagine America to be. 

On / off for me again for variuos reasons but mostly sunny and warm apart from one horrendous thunder storm during the day friday. Flash floods and puddles everywhere. All gone by the time I left.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey SlipSpace good to see you re still around. Didnt it rain a while in your place? Is supposed to rain here tomorrow and noticed a large rainarea over the south of the UK, heading our way.

Had to put on / take off the rainpants twice this morning. Several short showers on the way to work and was being boiled as soon as the rain stopped. At least I could sneak through a 45min gap on the way home and made it home dry.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yesterday it rained for 11 hours straight. Even here very unusual in summer. Rode in complete raingear in the morning but there was enough cool rain to keep me from being boiled. Dried at at 5pm sharp just before I rode home. Tool the longer paved route, the unpaved section was totally soaked ..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It's been a while since I posted any pictures and it is quiet around here. So here you go: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

No commute for me this morning. I'm taking it easy for a 100K mountain bike race on Saturday. Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge (CBCC) | Carrabassett NEMBA

I'm taking an easy ride tonight and leaving tomorrow. DAY OFF!!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pics bedwards, your new nick now is tarzan on a bike :lol: and good luck for your race on saturday!

Nice rides today, it was dry passed 2 roe deers relatively close today and they didnt even look.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

2 full work weeks with no commutes. I still have more miles so far than if I were to commute every day. Been hot and humid here and the cool down period at work is difficult to get because as soon as I clock in, it is pretty much full tilt and the hospital is hot. Sometimes takes me upwards of an hour and half to two hours to fully cool down. Worried about stinking and just tired of being so hot has kept my commutes away.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's been a while since I posted any pictures and it is quiet around here. So here you go: The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration
> 
> No commute for me this morning. I'm taking it easy for a 100K mountain bike race on Saturday. Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge (CBCC) | Carrabassett NEMBA
> 
> I'm taking an easy ride tonight and leaving tomorrow. DAY OFF!!!


Nice pix, summer in New England! Nice find as well.


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## kcdude (Jul 3, 2017)

It was awesome! Big thunderstorm last night -- a welcome change from the last few days which were very hot and humid. I left early and took the Krampus so I could have a little (extra) fun on the way in to work.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Welcome in the commuter club kcdude! Make sure to post your rig in the photo thread and to put your mark on the map 

I can understand you 10speed. We very seldomly have that weather here but its simply horrible when you arrive at work and just cant stop sweating. Very good that you keep adding miles!

Had an awesome day too. Beautiful weather with some scattered clouds, nice temps and hardly any wind. Took a scenic route on the way home to add in a few extra k. Also rode every day this week #commuterpride

Good luck to bedwards for the 100k race tomorrow!


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## kcdude (Jul 3, 2017)

Thank you cyclingdutchman!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Hot and humid here as well, doing my best to suffer through it. Temps and humidity levels both in the mid 90s is gross. Been going through full a bottle of water in 6 miles.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

87.3 miles yesterday riding to pick up a friend, then we rode to a charity ride and did 50 miles, then a few extra miles, then back home. I am not upset about the 16.6 mph average for the entire trip either. Beautiful day in the low 80's with lower than usual humidity which was really nice. Still no commutes in the last two weeks. Will be heading out tonight when I get home from work for another 25-30 miles I think. Mapped out a nice route on some country roads here and I think my legs will be alright for that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sounds like a great ride TenSpeed

Hi all, I had a great race on Saturday. Thanks for asking. Read all about it (or at least look at some pictures) here: The Candid Cyclist: CBCC 100K 2017: Here's Mud In Your Eye

I made it the whole race with no flat or other mechanicals and then on my way to work I hit something hard and had a blowout. I walked the last 2ish miles which is too bad because it is a downhill section that usually takes about 3 minutes, not 20+. Better than walking out of the race.







RIP Gatorskin​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well bedwards that sounds like a pretty tough ride on saturday. I remember those leg cramps from my long rides years ago. After several hours I couldnt stand up on the pedals anymore....and I wasnt even racing...

Nice rides again today, took a scenic route on the way home. Added only 7-8 minutes but its really nice to have change once and a while.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats on the killer race, bedwards. My legs were tired on the commute home today from a little 18 mile hilly gravel ride in the heat on Sunday. I got just a little wet riding, but got drenched walking 100 feet from an office trailer to my car after a meeting - a little hail and lightning for good measure too.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great race Bedwards, well done!

Glad the hardcore of commuters are still putting in the miles. First ride for a week for me today, felt good.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday was my first day back in the saddle after a little over a week of vacation. I was hoping to rent a bike and ride some trails during my time off, but I ended up not having the time. It is nice to be on the bike again.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey slipspace and sockeyeus, good to see that you are riding again. Keep going! 

Lovely day today. Rode with my wife and to school and kindergarten this morning and went to work late. To compensate my late start I went home extra early today :lol: lovely day to ride too: sunny, nice temps and hardly any wind. Finally some nice days. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be 28C in the afternoon, thunderstorms during the night and thursday, then back to normal friday and on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: apparently those gatorskins are not up to the task of commuting?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Roadwork is becoming a PITA. 3/4 mile added to the commute this morning due to detours; not crazy far, but not great when you need to punch in. Last night I got 1/2 mile down a hill before a sign said road closed, local traffic only (translation, go back up the hill). I ignored the sign but paid for it in flagger delays. We have a very short construction season here, so I get it, but still...


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## Guest (Jul 19, 2017)

Today gets my second lowest grade "NB" for No Bueno. The rain on way in and heat and humidity were their normal PITA. On the other hand, the guy who tried to come from behind and cut me off in the intersection followed by a full 30 second horn salute got me yelling and off the bike. Then on the way home some woman videoed me crossing and intersection with the light. Safety concern aside (really prefer drivers not video while driving) I have a hard time imagining what she's gonna use that video for.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards: apparently those gatorskins are not up to the task of commuting?


I didn't even see what I hit but it was hard enough that any tire probably would have been toast. I wore my last set of Gatorskins square after about 3000 miles. Just bad luck. I ordered new tires that day. They should be here tomorrow. I even dropped back on protection in trade for performance. These



mtbxplorer said:


> Roadwork is becoming a PITA. 3/4 mile added to the commute this morning due to detours; not crazy far, but not great when you need to punch in. Last night I got 1/2 mile down a hill before a sign said road closed, local traffic only (translation, go back up the hill). I ignored the sign but paid for it in flagger delays. We have a very short construction season here, so I get it, but still...


Same here. Both direct routes home have construction and square sided chunks milled out of the shoulder in places. I've been planning for and detouring a few miles to get around it most days. That is where I had my blowout though. One of the roads that is being repaved hasn't had the shoulders paved since somewhere around 1927 of overall I'm very happy about it. The milled square sections are because the pavement is SO bad that they can't just pave over it or it would still stick up.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Today was another nice day. It didnt get as hot as forecasted, max temp was around 26C and a nice breeze. Met my wife and sons on a bbq party and rode home all together.

Thunderstorms are forecasted though for the night and the morning so its uncertain if I can ride tomorrow. Will check the weather radar in the morning and then decide to ride or take the bus.

Bedwards: not repaved since 1927?? And you had paved roads already back then?? 2 incredible facts in 1 sentence....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice race bedwards! I got tired just watching the relive video 

I switched from Gatorskins to Conti GP4000s II a few years ago and have never looked back. Much better rolling resistance, wet road handling and good durability.

Not much to report here in the Seattle area. I've been riding to work every day. We've now gone 30 days without rain and the locals are getting jumpy. It's pretty much been 50-55 in the mornings and 75-80 in the afternoons with mostly clear skies. Commuting glory days. The worm will turn soon enough...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Weather turned out much better than forecasted. Had to hurry a bit to get to work before some showers and not much after that anymore. It was 22C only but very damp and sticky so took it easy on the way home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

PS nice to hear from you woodway


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## Skaughtto (Jun 7, 2017)

*Beginner MTB Commuter*

I hadn't ridden my bike in about 20 years, but I recently started working on it and did a few short test rides around a local park. Monday was the first day I rode to work. My commute is a little over 5 miles, but I was beat on that first day. Today was my second day riding and I feel much better after.

No problems with cars or other riders. The route I take has a well defined bike lane. I have a front and rear light on my bike to improve visibility.

I definitely need to get my strength up, but I'm making it happen so far - 35 minutes door to door. I'm a little sore above my kneecaps. Sunscreen and a pair of glasses may be nice. When the weather gets bad I'll probably need some different cycling gear to wear, but I feel like I could keep this bike commute going for a long while :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Congrats Skaughtto! Keep it up and it will get easier!

Thanks Dutchman. I'm envious you get to ride with your wife and kids. My sons are grown and gone...when they were younger I was not cycling and I'm wishing I would have been.

Well after bragging on Conti GP4000s, I went and hit a rock while descending a hill today and tore out the sidewall on my front tire. In defense of the tire, it did have at least 10,000 miles on it  I'm not sure if a Gatorskin would have survived that rock hit either but it is a reminder that when you go with a lighter, faster tire, you are making a tradeoff. Still, even after trashing my front tire tonight I happily mounted up a new GP4000.


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## kcdude (Jul 3, 2017)

Congratulations Skaughtto! As woodway mentioned, it will get easier.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Again a very nice ride today. Just didnt have the time for my usual friday detour. And I rode all 5 days this week


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Cool beans Cycling Dutchman! Its always satisfying to get the full house.

Hi guys! Been totally innactive here for a good while, mainly due to work and becoming a father for the second time. A boy this time!

Been covering a few more miles than last year, though, as Ive been delivering and collecting our oldest at kindergarten - making it 40km per day, five days a week (more or less)! 

Oh and the Anti-Platt strips are working like a dream!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghost_HTX said:


> Cool beans Cycling Dutchman! Its always satisfying to get the full house.
> 
> Hi guys! Been totally innactive here for a good while, mainly due to work and becoming a father for the second time. A boy this time!
> 
> ...


Congrats ghost! Glad to hear such good news and keep riding! Most people ride less when kids enter the equation. I myself started commuting when I became a father, no time for long mtb rides in the weekend and evenings anymore....but 40kms a day is remarkable and about double the distance I ride everyday. Must be long days too.

And glad my advise about the antiplatt stuff worked out.

Keep going and good luck with the new family member!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Congrats on the new son, Ghost, and on pedaling your oldest to kindergarten!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Congrats Ghost! Have you got him a balance bike yet?

I may or may not have bought a new bike over the weekend. OK, I did but the wheels and frame were separated by about an hours drive. Both great deals. (which is good because in the process of dialing it in it seems a little small and I may have to flip it.






) I'm not sure I would call it a "commuter" and I may get kicked out of the mountain biking forum for posting a picture of it on principal. I will use it for commuting but probably not as a mountain bike, that would be hard.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congrats Ghost!

bedwards, since the wheels and frame were separated by an hour it's officially not a new bike, rather you upgraded the wheels and then the frame of your existing bike  Very sweet looking ride. To make up for posting the roadie pic on MTBR you need to post a pic of it on a trail...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL, I like your thinking.

On the trail, um, no. I'm going to fall back on the fact that I just finished 43rd overall out of 108 in a 100K full on mountain bike race. That should get me some cred as a mountain biker. (6:39:20.8) At least enough to pull me through this little wrinkle.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards looks like the perfect bike to ride the lake in winter :lol:

Was off yesterday so no commute, but made a 2hr walk with my son on my back in the kid carrier. Does that count too?

A tunnel shortly before work is being reconstructed and is forbidden for bikes for the next weeks. Pedestrians are allowed so I walked it but its adding 6-7 minutes travelling time and even worse, is screwing up my average speed for the round trip. Oh and it rained this morning so I rode in full hardshell kit. Way home was dry though and luckily it didnt rain so much as in some other places where they had all the rain in 10minutey, causing floods etc.

Over here it rained moderately but for 10hrs straight. This year, summer is when the rain is warm.


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## kcdude (Jul 3, 2017)

^^^ cyclingdutchman, I love that you're pulling the trailer on foot!!!

Good ride into work today. I took the Krampus again because the Cross Check is in the shop (bent spoke, etc) after my 100-mile weekend on the Rock Island Spur. Tons of fun! Some of the trail is still under construction, so I got to test the Cross Check's handling in rough gravel and even sand. I posted a photo from the trip in the photo thread.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi KCdude, nono I wasnt pulling the trailer, we have a very old version of this one here:

Kid Comfort 3 - Kidsbackpack - Deuter

The disadvantage is, when you are tired, the kid is still full of energy :-/ so we make sure he walks enough himself too


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## kcdude (Jul 3, 2017)

^^^ Ah I understand! HAHA


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Again some rain in the morning but it turned into a nice day. Made a detour on the way home. Couldnt resist at 23C, sunny and a light tailwind


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was feeling good yesterday, so I decided to go for a Strava segment I have my sights set on. I pedaled the crap out of that stretch of road but missed the KOM by 1 second. I guess I'll just have to pedal faster on the flat section. I got up to 155 rpms and averaged 131 overall, but it still wasn't enough with my SS gearing. I grabbed a few top 10s though on a trail ride later in the day, so I guess that makes up for it...sorta.


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## Swerny (Apr 1, 2004)

My office moved, my old 10 KM commute is now 25 KM. 

I picked up a Haanjo Trail Carbon and have been using it to commute (4 days out of 12 so far).

Lots of traffic unfortunately.


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## Skaughtto (Jun 7, 2017)

Almost the entire route I take has a bike lane, but recently a stretch was repaved and hasn't been striped yet. I called up the city to ask about what was happening and someone quickly called me back to give a timetable for when to expect the striping to be completed. Right now drivers are getting confused, which is no good for cyclists. The city engineer told me the bike lanes would be restored in a week or two. Just a reminder that you can give your city a call if you are having trouble with the design of a road or intersection.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Congrats Ghost I still see ya pop up once in a while on strava!

Speaking of, I got a kom on the ride home the other day on a segment called soccer mom slalom. Trick was to pick a super hot and humid day late in the afternoon where only lizards and idiots went outside, ha. There were no soccer moms to avoid, nailed it!


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Speaking of, I got a kom on the ride home the other day on a segment called soccer mom slalom. Trick was to pick a super hot&#8230;


You got me all excited&#8230;



EugeneTheJeep said:


> &#8230;and humid day late in the afternoon where only lizards and idiots went outside, ha.


&#8230;only to be let down.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

chazpat said:


> You got me all excited&#8230;
> 
> &#8230;only to be let down.


Lol sorry! Early in the morning is when all the "active wear" is on the trails 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was just thinking this morning how uneventful my commutes have been since moving offices a couple years ago, then I got buzzed by a car...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Descending a hill this morning at around 30MPH when a bee flew into, and got caught in, my helmet. Picture me desperately trying to stop with one hand and get him out of there with the other. He was pissed. Ultimately my efforts were in vain as the bee delivered a painful sting to my forehead. It's swollen and sore this morning as I type this. Hoping for a better ride this afternoon...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

18C already this morning, 20C on the way home. But it was dry, what else can I want this summer?

Heal up fast woodway!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

So I tried for my KOM last night. I had to pedal like mad, but I got it by 1 second. I'm sure the previous KOM wasn't trying as hard to get it as I was, but whatever. It's an interesting little segment on a singlespeed because it demands a variety of skills in a short period of time (sprint from a stop into a steep 0.1 mile climb, followed by a 0.3 mile flat stretch to another stop). It's easier to climb on the SS, but harder to pedal fast enough on the flat.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nice! A friend of mine just swiped a bunch of "my" KOMs on my commuter route. He set the bar pretty high. We're talking 300W for 3 miles kind of effort, maybe more for me since I'm heavier. https://www.strava.com/segments/13198352?filter=overall It gives me something to shoot for in my commutes. The new TT bike will help. He's on a TT bike.

But today I just peddled in nice and easy like.

FRIDAY!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats s0cky on your kom. I bet you will get m back bedwards!

nice rides today. Stayed 15min longer at work to avoid a shower and rode home easypeasy. Unfortunately the planned family biketour is cancelled. Tomorrow it will rain continuously until 4pm and after that, regular thunderstorms are forecasted to pass through all night and sunday. I am now hoping for the next weekend. 

I was off on monday and commuted 4 days this week. And I actually filled up the car last night, cant remember the last time I did that 

Have a nice weekend ya all!


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## kcdude (Jul 3, 2017)

Great ride today. I was finally able to borrow a car to pick up the Cross Check from the shop. It's good to be a little faster on the pavement again ...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OK, I got one of "my" KOMs back! Not a lot else to report. The weather has been perfect.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hiya KOM hunters! I dont know if I own a KOM somewhere.

But I certainly liked the rides today. Dry, sunny, nice temps, easy day at work. One idiot coming around a Corner way too fast and making me slam the Brakes to avoid a frontal Crash couldnt even ruin it. It's been a lovely day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Dead kitten on the road today. Other than that, standard stuff.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hiya KOM hunters! I dont know if I own a KOM somewhere.


If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?
If you have a faster time on a stretch of road and you're not on Strava, is it still a KOM?

That reminds me, I went on a group ride on Saturday with all the local racers. Holy Smokin! We averaged almost 26MPH for 26 Miles. If you ever start to think you might be fast... I never took a turn at the front because I wasn't sure what I needed in reserve being my first time. It turns out that drafting at that speed isn't all that hard.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

How about averaging 27 MPH over 120+ miles?

See #3 in this link:

Tour de France 2017

Whenever I start to think I am fast I just think of the peleton holding 35+ MPH on the flats. I have trouble going that fast downhill...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, that too. Or climbing mountains at 18MPH. That level of output is almost beyond comprehension. The funny thing is that my friends that don't ride think that I ride at that level, LOL.


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## rockhopper97 (Jul 30, 2014)

transmission went out in my van, so I am commuting every day.... 2.5 miles to work


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

All this Strava talk reminds me of this artcile: Ex-pro targets Strava KOMs with funky bike and world-class power - BikeRadar. 47 pages of KOMs, as of the time the article was written. Strava certainly isn't everything, but it gets me riding to work and back with a little more drive. Most of my commutes aren't on Strava though, mostly just the really really fast ones.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Brought my kid to kindergarten this morning so I was a little late at work. Had a good day at work and since I came in late, I left extra early. I could avoid a big shower that I saw coming on the rain radar and once home, I immediately drove to a shop to pick up a new trailer. That crap thing we had simply wasnt well designed. We are now proud owner of a croozer 2 plus. Includes suspension and an automatic led lighting from busch & muller. Hopefully we can make a testride later this week and a more extensive testride during the weekend. 

Weather is predictably unpredictable this week. Thunderstorms forecasted for every day but it seldomly actually happens. Nevertheless its impossible to plan a nice family ride more than 3 hrs ahead...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Part way around the world we have the same thunderstorm forecast.








Speaking of thunderstorms I beat the one home last night. It would have been a soaker too. But, I didn't just beat it, I crushed it. It was my fastest commute home ever on the new TT bike. 24.6MPH for the 11 mile segment I have for my commute. Not bad for an old guy.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

My commute was great today. 36 mile round trip, about 12 of it on a trail that had some interesting ruts and mud because of all the rain we've been having, full of beautiful trees, river and mountain views, and wildlife. I ride from downtown Colorado Springs to the northern end of town on the Greenway and the Santa Fe trails.

It's a great ride I made once a week last fall, and am planning on making twice a week this fall. A summer of riding every day has made it much easier, as has the 2017 Rockhopper I bought in January, which is much smoother than my circa 1996 Fuji on the trails.

Getting rid of the backpack soon in favor of panniers. We'll see which I prefer, but lugging 10-15 pounds both ways on my back is, at 48, a bit painful.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sounds like a great ride! Post a pic of those views when you get a chance. (Like this)

I've got to take a car to an appointment this afternoon so today was a great day to take the trails to work. Nice, very nice.







Beam Me Up Scotty (Genius)​


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Yeah, that too. Or climbing mountains at 18MPH. That level of output is almost beyond comprehension. The funny thing is that my friends that don't ride think that I ride at that level, LOL.


Some of us that ride think that too 

Good numbers chasing anyways folks ^^^^^^

Many congrats to Ghost on the new arrival 

On leave last week but managed all 3 days this week so far. Car tomorrow as I'm giving a colleague a lift after he drops his car at a garage near my gaff.

No much to report, work is crazy busy. Cyclists seem more friendly at the moment, nodding, waving, even speaking, none of that snootyness that I complained about last year, so that's nice.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa nice Pic Bedwards! 

And keep riding slipspace. Cant you convince your collegue to ride the bike as well?
Time for me to make some pics as well again I guess. But nothing much to see lately. If I do see any, the roe deers stay far away from the road and no boars at all this year. I guess they moved because they didnt like that one two legged animal looking and pointing things at them (me pointing the camera...)

Damp and quiet this morning. Rode home just after a shower so the roads were wet but everyhting was fine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Some of us that ride think that too


Awe Gee, thanks. I'm only faster than the people slower than me. I did pass a guy on a road bike this morning who appeared like he should have been faster than me (on my FS Plus bike).

I saw some deer today too but none of them stopped to pose. Which reminds me that I saw a coyote over the weekend. I didn't get a picture of him either because I was pretty focused on getting the dogs the hell out of there ASAP. He was giving us some warning bays to stay away from whatever he was protecting.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

A few weeks ago I managed to overtake 2 People on e-bikes :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> It was my fastest commute home ever on the new TT bike. 24.6MPH for the 11 mile segment I have for my commute. Not bad for an old guy.


I'm afraid this speed disqualifies you from the commuter forum :lol: :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rides here have been pretty routine, but good. I keep forgetting to account for the construction detour time. In wildlife stories, work at a site I was at today was held up for 1/2 day when an excavator found an underground hive. There were so many bees they had to call in a beekeeper, who wrangled them and determined they were honeybees.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> I'm afraid this speed disqualifies you from the commuter forum :lol: :lol:


Ya that's not a commute that's a race! :lol:

Broke another spoke on the way to work this morning, I guess I should stop jumping off curbs and such on a rigid! The sound is unmistakable..... praaang! Been seeing alot of fellow commuters here lately even though the temps have been hot and humid, maybe it's catching on.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Got soaked on the way home last night, too warm for waterproofs which would make me as wet anyways..



cyclingdutchman said:


> And keep riding slipspace. Cant you convince your collegue to ride the bike as well?


Touchy subject that one, he would dearly love to ride and was a cycle commuter at our old unit. However, his wife is at home with a very boisterous 1 year old and is at her wits end by the end of the day and wants him home as soon as possible.

You know how it goes, happy wife = happy life


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Ya that's not a commute that's a race! :lol:


But, but, but, I was racing a thunderstorm. That is the plight of a bike commuter, right?

When you break a spoke do you buy 3 to have a few on hand for next time? I always do since there pretty cheap. I've probably got 10 different lengths at this point.

Still some perfect summer weather here. I've been able to miss all the thunderstorms...so far.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> But, but, but, I was racing a thunderstorm. That is the plight of a bike commuter, right?
> 
> When you break a spoke do you buy 3 to have a few on hand for next time? I always do since there pretty cheap. I've probably got 10 different lengths at this point.
> 
> Still some perfect summer weather here. I've been able to miss all the thunderstorms...so far.


Yep I have a few extras now but it just took the wheel to the bike shop this time they do it for cheap and true the rim up nice. Needed a break anyway after riding every day for a couple weeks  my legs feel tired.....

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Oh and the thunderstorm is a legit excuse! Been there!

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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Uneventful commuting lately, I did win the thunderstorm race on my way home yesterday at a pace nowhere near 25 mph...

Could use some good vibes today, my wife is currently being interviewed (like at this exact moment) for a new position that would be huge for us if she gets it. Haven't been telling our friends and family because she doesn't want to get psyched up for nothing if it doesn't pan out. So I'm leaving it to you guys, send good thoughts our way 

To make it somewhat relevant she would be able to walk / bike to work every day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You got it Formula, good thoughts for your and your wife to get a dream job that she can bike to!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good luck for your wife f4s!

Brought my son to kindergarten this morning before I rode to work. It rained all the time and it was 18C already. Way too warm for the rain kit. Had only shorts, t-shirt and sandals on. Ride home was better. 21C, dry and sunny. The wind has picked up though, will be windy the next days.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Vibes sent! 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Thanks guys, the interview went great and they just invited her to come back for a "final interview". This interview was her third step in applying for this job, so lots of time and energy invested and a good heaping of excitement and nervousness. One of the interviewers told her he was really impressed with her after it was over, so I'm super proud of her right now.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
I have more thunderstorms to avoid today, but that's just summer here like 50% of the time.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

More good vibes for the final interview...

Not such good vibes on my commute home last night. My chain over-shifted and dropped between the cassette and spokes. The bike was shifting a little funny leading up to this which makes me think my derailleur took a whack and bent the hanger which allowed the chain to over-shift.

Anyway, I dragged the bike onto the sidewalk and spent about ten minutes in the hot sun (temp was 90+ degrees) trying to get the chain loose. I've never had one so bound up before. I was sweating so profusely that I picked up the bike, pannier and all, and walked about 100 yards up the hill into some shade. I still could not get the chain loose and finally had to pull out the chain tool and break the chain so I could pull the wheel and get better leverage/angle to pull the chain out of the spokes. My chain has a master link that I could have opened but as luck would have it the master link was caught down in the spokes...

Finally got it loose, re-threaded the chain and pushed the pin back in. I had to re-index the deraileur on the side of the road because my hanger is *really* bent now. But I made it home with no issues (and to work this morning as well).

I hate roadside mechanical's.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> I hate roadside mechanical's.


This.

That quote is worthy enough for a signature.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Positive thinking heading your missus way Formula4speed. Best of luck to her.

Woodway, I've had that issue before now with the chain but never to that extent, good work! 

Stong wind today, in ya face or at best across. Hopeful for a speedy ride home though. That said, I appear to have developed pop-eye elbow overnight or perhaps on the ride in. Didnt notice til I sat at my desk and it felt funny. It's all swollen and red hot now so made an appointment at the Docs this pm to see what's what :???:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Can confirm strong wind. Luckily I was early today and it wasnt that bad at 7 this morning. It was 15C this morning and rode in t shirt but somehow it seemed colder as normal. Probably the lower sun and damp air. Wind picked up to about 22knots from the west this afternoon, which was a tailwind first and crosswind later. 

Rode 5 of 5 working days this week. Have a nice weekend fellow commuters!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I pulled out in front of a car today. I guess it wasn't that close, but I threaded the needle more than I typically like to do. I looked and didn't see a car until I was already out into the street. There was a pedestrian walking by and a tree blocks a bit of the view from the street I was on, so maybe that was it. Still, it took me by surprise.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sending positive final interview energy!


woodway said:


> More good vibes for the final interview...
> 
> Not such good vibes on my commute home last night. My chain over-shifted and dropped between the cassette and spokes. The bike was shifting a little funny leading up to this which makes me think my derailleur took a whack and bent the hanger which allowed the chain to over-shift.
> 
> ...


Yet people still make fun of pie plates.  They don't really stop it from happening but they do keep the spokes from getting cut when it does.

A friend brought me his bike in similar shape. He had the chain jammed in there so tight it wouldn't come out. I had to pull the cassette which I could barely get off with the load on it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

last post 3 days ago ^^ nobody commuted the last 3 days?

This morning on the unpaved section I heard a noise from my rear wheel and it felt like I hit a Stone or something. Later on the Asphalt I felt the rear wheel was untrue. Checked the spokes but found nothing. It was still there on the way home and at home I noticed that over a length of 6-7cm the top layer has come off of the tire bead. Looks like it will blow out sooner or later. I quickly ordered 2 new tires, for 11€ each I think a warranty Claim would take longer. I did send a mail to Conti later to ask about warranty. After all, the tire itself is ok for the rest, still Profile on it, did not run it even Close to the max pressure of 5 bar (4 at the most) and hardly any touring with a heavy load - 95% commuting and I got them early May last year. I am now debating whether to take the rideable-but-not-finished-back-up bike, take the bus for a Change or ride it and hope for the best.

Other than the tire Problem, it was a nice day for riding.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sure, I'm here. What you don't have dozens (and dozens) of tires lying around that you can put on in the meantime like me. Or do you have them around but have an idea of exactly which tire you want on the bike and don't want to change it twice, like me. I asked for a warranty claim from Conti for the tire at the top of this thread but they said no way, I hit something. They were right but it never hurts to ask for a tire that you think did you wrong.

Yup, I commuted twice in the last 3 days. And did 2 other rides because 20+ miles each week day isn't enough.  
Friday PM: commute home, all good.
Sunday AM: Trail ride with dogs. picked and ate lots of blueberries trailside. The dogs were chomping off mouthfulls too. I also found a few chanterelles by the trail.
Sunday PM: Took the TT bike out KOM hunting. Bagged 3 but one was my own.
Monday AM: Took the TT bike but my legs were lifeless.
Monday PM: I'm hoping for a rest ride.







Breakfast







Dinner​


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I got rained on walking my dog this morning. Riding to work actually dried my clothes out for the most part. I think that's a first for me, getting dry instead of wet.

Swapped out my handlebar light.

Had an Ituo Wiz20 on there, great light on paper. Least reliable thing I've ever used, seems to be a known power drain issue where the light just goes dead on you. Two thumbs down for commuter usage if you're not sure if your light is going to work or not.


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## Guest (Aug 7, 2017)

Pretty uneventful today. Friday I found a billfold. Called information for the guys number but he didn't have a listing. Called the police non-emergency line, they apparently don't do that sort of thing either. Finally a friend suggested throwing it in a post box. Not happy with that answer so I went to the post office and they suggested I put it in a mailer and send it to him. It cost me more to get that billfold back than the billfold, two dollars in the thing and atm card were worth. I just hope he got it before he replaced his drivers license, otherwise it wasn't worth the effort. As an aside, what 30-year-old has only $2 in their billfold? As a second aside, it might be a good idea to have your cellphone number in your billfold if you're gonna leave it on the sidewalk.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I'm sure your bike is better maintained than mine Dutch but you not had brake block rub on the tyre have you?

Looks like I'm almost done for the month commuting, maybe 3 more commute rides possible :-( Financial advice appointment tomorrow, leaves me thurs/fri. Next week my son has a weeks trial at a firm looking to take on a couple of apprentices, he can't get there easily so I'll be dropping him off on a very circuitous route on my way to work. His motorcycle test isnt until the following week. Then the last two weeks of August I'm on leave again. I WILL be getting in some leisure cycling though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BMX commute yesterday. It is fun and surprisingly fast, but the hill on the construction detour is tougher than the regular one, which is tough enough. Parked it next to another BMX, belonging to a guy in another Department who races BMX, which I think is a pretty cool thing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> Pretty uneventful today. Friday I found a billfold. Called information for the guys number but he didn't have a listing. Called the police non-emergency line, they apparently don't do that sort of thing either. Finally a friend suggested throwing it in a post box. Not happy with that answer so I went to the post office and they suggested I put it in a mailer and send it to him. It cost me more to get that billfold back than the billfold, two dollars in the thing and atm card were worth. I just hope he got it before he replaced his drivers license, otherwise it wasn't worth the effort. As an aside, what 30-year-old has only $2 in their billfold? As a second aside, it might be a good idea to have your cellphone number in your billfold if you're gonna leave it on the sidewalk.


Should have paid for the postage with the ATM card assuming it was a debit. Or sent it postage due. Or put an invalid address for the TO and used his address as the return. I found a purse last year. It had been stripped of its cash but i was able to track down where the person worked and got it back to her. She was quite grateful.

I didn't rest on the way home as I had hoped but I did take it very easy on the way it. There was a very pleasant light rain. I did over 10 miles with some hills and kept my average heart rate below 109 (Fitbit). I think some people run higher than that sitting on the couch. I think this commuting may just have some health benefits.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@Slipspace: No no brake pad rub, I am running disc brakes so that one rules out. When it happened it sounded and felt like a broken spoke.

Anyway, new tires are probably here tomorrow. Took off the rear wheel already and cleaned the drivetrain. It is in surprisingly good shape, the KMC X1 chain is now paying off by much less wear than the previous Deore (XT) 9sp chains I used before.

Ordered a new chain along with the tires, but it will not be necessary yet. Even according to the Rohloff measurement tool the chain is still ok, despite it being very conservative.

So no rides for me and tomorrow. Drove today and will probably ride the bus tomorrow.

So keep riding and stay safe people!

CU CD


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## Skaughtto (Jun 7, 2017)

I'm going to dial back the bike commuting for a while. After 3 weeks my knees and my doctor are trying to tell me that I should have eased into it. Apparently it's hard to go from years of biking 0 miles to 20 miles per week - who wouldah thunk it?

I bet I'm in too high of a gear most of the time, which probably isn't helping. Knees have been hurting above the knee cap. Doc sent me this link: http://kpdoc.org/kneepainprogram


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Too bad, Skaughtto, but that makes sense. Hope you are back at it soon. If walking is not painful, that may help in the meanwhile to keep joints and muscles tuned up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

mtbxplorer said:


> July 3rd bikecommute.
> View attachment 1145044





SlipSpace said:


> Nice pic MTBX, the buildings in the background is exactly how I imagine America to be.


Thnks SlipSpace, somehow just happened across your comment. Left to right, the buildings are the Unitarian church, the Post Office, and City Hall/Opera House.


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## demondan (Jul 25, 2008)

Just started bicycle commuting again! Spent a bunch of years working a two hour one way drive to jobsite. It is so nice to hop on the trail by my house and ten minutes later be at work. A mountain lion has been lurking on the trail so my pre dawn ride in is a little sketchy and in the fall the bears like to use the bike path too. I am hoping to keep going into my snow plow season. At work at 3am keeping our city streets free of snow. Feels great to cycle commute! Stay safe out there everyone.


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## Guest (Aug 9, 2017)

demondan said:


> Just started bicycle commuting again! Spent a bunch of years working a two hour one way drive to jobsite. It is so nice to hop on the trail by my house and ten minutes later be at work. A mountain lion has been lurking on the trail so my pre dawn ride in is a little sketchy and in the fall the bears like to use the bike path too. I am hoping to keep going into my snow plow season. At work at 3am keeping our city streets free of snow. Feels great to cycle commute! Stay safe out there everyone.


 Interesting challenges. I ride with all sorts of dangerous drivers, but I don't think any of those would drag me off and eat me later if they hit me. Perhaps when winter hits you can use a fatbike with studded tires, I can't imagine an animal (two or four legged) wanting to get closer to anything that noisy.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Skaughtto said:


> I'm going to dial back the bike commuting for a while. After 3 weeks my knees and my doctor are trying to tell me that I should have eased into it. Apparently it's hard to go from years of biking 0 miles to 20 miles per week - who wouldah thunk it?
> 
> I bet I'm in too high of a gear most of the time, which probably isn't helping. Knees have been hurting above the knee cap. Doc sent me this link: http://kpdoc.org/kneepainprogram


Here's a cycling specific link:
Cycling Knee Pain: Causes and Solutions
Here's another.:
Common Causes of Cycling Knee Pain | Bicycling
Other than ramping up slowly and not mashing big gears (which you already pointed out) they basically say to make sure your saddle is the right height.



demondan said:


> Just started bicycle commuting again! Spent a bunch of years working a two hour one way drive to jobsite. It is so nice to hop on the trail by my house and ten minutes later be at work. A mountain lion has been lurking on the trail so my pre dawn ride in is a little sketchy and in the fall the bears like to use the bike path too. I am hoping to keep going into my snow plow season. At work at 3am keeping our city streets free of snow. Feels great to cycle commute! Stay safe out there everyone.


That sounds slightly less dangerous than sharing the road with ******** in pickup trucks that try to see how close they can pass you for fun.

Back to perfect weather hear today. I'm pretty sure my tires were flat this morning because the bike felt too slow. I was going to carefully put the pump on to see what pressure they actually were...I ham fisted it. I think the rim bounced off the ground I lost so much air putting the pump on. Hopefully it rolls better tonight.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I have commuted to work once in the last month or so. I am riding in today finally.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

All ok Ten? Are you still racking up the after hours miles?

So my pop-eye/student elbow had gone away until I was about a mile into the ride this morning and then it was back. Don't know what the issue is, no pain, just like having a big warm gel pad flopping around on my elbow. hmmm. Well it'll have to get me home whatever.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Weather has been surprisingly nice as of late. Commutes have been pretty enjoyable for this time of year.

My wife has her "final" interview today, which is a half day involving 8 separate meetings with a total of 11 different people  This is like her 5th or 6th time meeting/interviewing, so they are really making her work for it...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

GOOD LUCK going to your wife from me F4S! *keepfingerscrossed*


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Got the spare bike going and could ride again today. Felt really good. Weather played along too, simply a nice day to be out on the bike.

I notice that summer is on its return though. Sun is lower in the morning and has less power, and it is getting more damp again...and its gonna rain again tomorrow too :-/ Oh well. Here in Hamburg, summer is when the rain is warm.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

FREAKIN" squirrels are going to do me in. That and those Canadian geese, and the poop as well. Never mind the Boston drivers. This critter flies out of a bush and over my front wheel at speed on the bike path. Scared the hell out of me, recovered my swerve before a bad chain reaction got set off. On a better note, got a mid ride swim in on the commute home yesterday.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Sounds like a great ride! Post a pic of those views when you get a chance. (Like this)


Here you go, bedwards... Got caught in thunderstorms going and coming today. This is from the ride home. I'm not a great photographer. It's much more awe-inspiring in person.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I agree Dutch, it looks like it's getting back to the cooler mornings. I could have done with a long sleeve tee for today. Otherwise pleasant enough.

 leeboh. Gotta watch for the local fauna that's for sure, and their slippy poo!


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

*Hints welcome, I'm going to be new to this -*

I think I'm going to start biking to work very soon.

Been wanting to do the bike commute for a long time but have had strong reservations about night time riding and mostly having to do so in/along traffic, then the morning commute with the wake-challenged drivers at early morning dusk. Just wasn't feeling safe enough to consider it worthy.

The new wrinkle is a completed section or path / greenway that all but makes the ride safe and 95 % traffic free. 
I'm really excited to not have any excuses any longer but with that is the new-to-me realities of longer prep-commuter time and iffy weather issues.
Any hints and all tips and advice is welcome and I promise to peruse the threads / posts to absorb what's been covered. My commute test today in daylight hours was just under 5 miles 'up' and approx 32 minutes as I wanted to take it at an easy and conservative pace. Getting home was more like 17 - 19 minutes.

I'm packing rain-wear in dry bags, have my work uniform/boots at the job site and will keep tools and tire repair/pump on the bike. Figured if I get a bit damp coming in, I'll have my dry work clothes and boots here.

I've been doing this commute by car or motorcycle for about 10 years and it's a 10 to 12 minute drive under the able conditions of horsepower. 

Currently riding a steel bikepacker/trail h/t 27.5 plus, has been 100% trails thus far and feels like a willing commuter for this piddly short ride. Can also try out the 26'r Kona h/t on 2.35 or the Spec 26 on 2.2. I'm guessing within a few weeks or 6 - 10 rides, I'll have tried them a few times each just to get a feel for how they go.

On the test run yesterday, I got a bit rained on and was fortunate to get under a roof at the baseball park not far from my house. That makes me realize I should pay attention and scout some other protective areas per heavy rains or lightning along the route. I know of at least one school I pass on the other end of the route.

Happy commuting.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Like Nike says, Just Do It. Maybe pick one of the bikes and put road tires on it. If you've been commuting by motorcycle you are use to some of the weather issues. Having a change of clothes at work is key!



36Miles said:


> Here you go, bedwards... Got caught in thunderstorms going and coming today. This is from the ride home. I'm not a great photographer. It's much more awe-inspiring in person.
> 
> View attachment 1151534


Look pretty awe-inspiring to me.

Easy peddling for me today, I'm trying my first road race tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good luck on the road race tomorrow bedwards. We will expect a full race report. If you podium you might be banned from MTBR 

Good start bachman1961. You'll figure out what you need as you go. If you are going to be riding in the rain, a good set of full coverage fenders should be the first thing you look at. Then look at a good rain jacket, something to keep your feet dry and your hands warm. You'll get wet no matter what so as bedwards says having dry clothes to change into at work is key.

Came out this morning and my back tire was flat. Found a piece of tire radial wire embedded. Easy fix. Uneventful pedal to work.

So we have now gone something like 54 days without measurable rain here in the Seattle area, breaking the all-time record. The media is in their usual hyperbole uproar over it. I think it's fantastic. The rain will return soon enough.

Happy weekend everyone.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Finally we are not on the page with my popped tire staring me in the face every time I come here.


woodway said:


> Good luck on the road race tomorrow bedwards. We will expect a full race report. If you podium you might be banned from MTBR


Will do, probably not a chance of that.


woodway said:


> something to keep your feet dry


In my experience that is simply not possible.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Got up early and after checking the weather radar I made a panic start to stay ahead of the rain. In the end I cleared it by about half an hour so the rush wouldnt have been necessary. Ride home was wet, I dont know whether it was heavy drizzle or light rain. The water repellant stuff on my jacket held up though so it was not an issue. Must have looked strange: Bright neon yellow jacket, rain pants and bare feet in sandals :lol:

Good luck for your race bedwards! And you are still welcome here, at least in my eyes.

F4S: Did all the good vibes sent to your wife help?

Next week my son is joining a circus camp during the day, will have to drive every day for dropping off / picking up. An entire week of no riding :yikes: Any tipps on how to survive that ??


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@Bachman: 
Welcome! Missed your post at first.
Before we can give you a hint - in what climate do you live? Mostly dry, wet, in winter cold or wet? Work in field, mech shop or office?
Some general hints: Simply start riding and soon you will start to think "hmmm it would be nice to have ..... " and there you go 

36Miles: 
Welcome here too! Pic looks pretty good, especially the mountains in the background are looking good. Over here it is so flat that it is common to say, that when you leave home in the morning you can see your destination for the evening already.

We went puddle racing with the Kids today since it rained a while.
Some pics:
https://goo.gl/photos/M96wNhPzez2Zcg8WA
I urgently need to fix some fenders to the stryder bike :lol:


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> F4S: Did all the good vibes sent to your wife help?


She thinks everything went really well, but we won't really know until sometime next week probably if they are going to offer her the position. I'm cautiously optimistic, she is very good at what she does.

I also told the universe I'd like to cash in any karma I've accumulated from returning a half dozen cell phones, plus some other items like credit cards and drivers licenses to their rightful owners that I've found on my commute. 

I'll certainly let you guys know when I know, it's just a waiting game now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Good luck on the road race tomorrow bedwards. We will expect a full race report. If you podium you might be banned from MTBR


No worries. 4th! Read all about it here. The Candid Cyclist: Tour De Lovell 2017
Great way to start my vacation! No commuting for me this week!


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

cyclingdutchman said:


> 36Miles:
> Welcome here too! Pic looks pretty good, especially the mountains in the background are looking good. Over here it is so flat that it is common to say, that when you leave home in the morning you can see your destination for the evening already.
> 
> We went puddle racing with the Kids today since it rained a while.
> ...


Thanks cyclingdutchman. I commuted a little last year, once a week. This year I'm hoping to do twice, and also to do it a bit further into the winter. Just got to find cold weather shoes... stupid cold feet. Nothing stays warm after the first hour of my commute once it gets below 30 F. It's nice to come here and see everyone's commuting stories.

PS. That puddle racing looks fun. I generally try to ride around them when on my commute in the rain. ;-)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> No worries. 4th! Read all about it here. The Candid Cyclist: Tour De Lovell 2017
> Great way to start my vacation! No commuting for me this week!


Nice race report, congrats! Have a great vacation.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Like Nike says, Just Do It. Maybe pick one of the bikes and put road tires on it. If you've been commuting by motorcycle you are use to some of the weather issues. Having a change of clothes at work is key!


Thank you. Yes, the motorbike rides have not been bad at all. I won't start a ride in the rain and my exposure (ride time) is about 10 - 12 minutes. Will have almost 3 times that travel time on the bicycle but I'm good with watching weather and tracking the radar images/direction.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice report bedwards. 4th place is a very respectable result, thumbs up!!

I hope the racers were friendly to each other during the race?

Today I watched the iron man triathlon here in hamburg and in 45min of watching I have seen several cases of athletes bullying at each other. Not very sportive but I guess it happens when there is much at stake..nn


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Today I watched the iron man triathlon here in hamburg and in 45min of watching I have seen several cases of athletes bullying at each other. Not very sportive but I guess it happens when there is much at stake..nn


 I used to shoot competitively and always thought it was odd that the matches where there were prizes to be won (the Bianchi Cup, Camp Perry...) always seemed more cordial than matches where first place was a belt buckle.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> In my experience that is simply not possible.


These actually do a decent job for me. And I ride in the rain a lot 

https://www.showerspass.com/collect...products/club-shoe-covers?variant=27453845701


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> No worries. 4th! Read all about it here. The Candid Cyclist: Tour De Lovell 2017
> Great way to start my vacation! No commuting for me this week!


Well done! Your off-road skills helpful in avoiding the crash?


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## biker_soldier101 (Mar 15, 2014)

Road the cruiser in today. Interesting, slow, but fun.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Not sure if this has made the rounds, but I found it pretty amusing.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Commutes have been great lately, especially today. Was only 93 degrees on the way home, in August, the middle of summer, in Vegas, crazy! Went for an extra couple miles after work it felt so good.

That video is funny and it worked, I don't see that many people on my commute all year! :lol:


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Uh oh now I have to watch a bunch of bike lane videos!


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2017)

No commute today, but I knocked out a quick 17 miles of gravel after work to knock the cobwebs out. Missed yesterday too. Got up at 4am to ride the whole way in 17.5 miles, but thunderstorms were rolling through. I'll trade 35 miles of riding to avoid being killed by lightening.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

No go last night but had two nights/mornings back to back.

I'm easing into it since my norm for riding is typically a few days between rides and my neck / shoulders need to get warmed in (probably) over a few rides. I required a bit more sleep yesterday as well and cut short my commute time accordingly.

Excuses Excuses

Pics:
-Bike at work
-Almost home; Morning commute 6:50 am
-With trailer; Testing the route/ride a few days earlier and hauling in some extra work clothes and stuff.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Uh oh now I have to watch a bunch of bike lane videos!


Cool, that video shows the apartment building where I grew up. In the 70's you could walk or bike across the Brooklyn Bridge and only see a handful of people.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm on my 3rd rear wheel for the year. The first one had a rim split in the middle. The second was warped terribly. The third wheel has a super quiet rear hub, which is kind of weird. If this wheel goes out, I'll have to take the one to the shop to get trued (I couldn't get it straight) or rob the wheel from my wife's bike. After that, I'll have no other wheels that will fit. This whole pumping flat ground thing and turning drills I've been doing on my lunch breaks might be to blame. Part of me just wants to buy another cheap SS.


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## bmf032 (Sep 8, 2010)

Great photos Cyclingdutchman! I love watching my children riding through puddles. It's always a good reminder to quit worrying about the grime and just enjoy the ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Change of plans for this week and I could ride today. Thunderstorms with rain passed through during the night, so it was quite warm and wet this morning. High humitiy too, some haze and wet grass. 

The way home was full of chatter. Met a collegue at the plant gate who was waiting for another collegue to go roadbiking. During chatting the 2nd collegue joined and chatted along. Once they left, I met a 3rd collegue on her cute pink road bike and we rode the first half together. Showed her an alternative quieter route while we chatted and I had to pedal like mad to keep up with her. The 2nd half of my commute I rode alone but had the usual conversations on the way home on the unpaved section:
*
me: ping ping
.....
me: PING PING
......
me: slowing down to not run him over
he: oh why dont you ring a bell young man?!
me: I did! twice!
he: Oh sorry, I dont hear very well anymore
me: Yeah I noticed. No problem I am not in a hurry!
he: thanks for your understanding! Bye!
me: No problem at all! Have a nice evening sir, bye!
*
Around the corner:
me: Ping ping
she: (jumping aside scared as sh!t)
me: hey no worries its just me
she: oh you scared me anyway
me: not necessary! I dont bark, bite or whatever. I just would like to pass without accidents and without scaring you.
she: oh (laughing). Bye!
me: bye and have an ice evening!

At least nobody is chatting my ears off in the mornings... ;o))


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Here in Germany a biker like in the video wouldnt get far before getting punched in the face...I am glad I live on the edge of town and have more quiet route. I really doubt if I would ride there..


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thank you BMF! Yeah I love to see those faces, they always look so happy. I myself always feel like a little boy too when it rains and I dont avoid puddles, but ride through them myself ( but I have made 5XL fenders on my bike....like here:
https://goo.gl/photos/Zd6SZm37qks9mTu87 )


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> @Bachman:
> Welcome! Missed your post at first.
> Before we can give you a hint - in what climate do you live? Mostly dry, wet, in winter cold or wet? Work in field, mech shop or office?
> Some general hints: Simply start riding and soon you will start to think "hmmm it would be nice to have ..... " and there you go.


Sorry, missed this too, lol. Thanks and here in Colorado, we get wide variations sometimes within hours. I do pretty well at tabs on the forecast. I'm in engineering / power plant, blue uniforms. Not dress shirt or tie required. This is our moisture season and cooling nights.... I go in at 2200 and done at 0630.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I guess you have locker rooms available? That would be a big plus.

I myself have settled on riding in casual office clothes below the waist and mostly bike clothing above the waist. That means polyester or merino shirt with windstopper jacket. Extra layers when its cold, shoecovers and hardshells when it rains. 

I only have my own wardrobe in the office where I have 3 clothes hangers. Thats enough for me to dry t shirt, jacket and pants when necessary. 

My bike is fully equipped for everything, dynamo hub with lights, fenders and racks with a waterproof pannier. Others swear on roadbikes with a backpack, an mtb with slicks, pick what you have/like.

Last but not least: stop studying, start riding. You will get there and will settle on a personal favorite setup.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Last ride of the week today. Ride in was nice and easy. Ride home was the same just that it rained. Just a few drops at first but gradually turned into pouring rain. At 22C I decided to be wet rather than being boiled in the hardshells. 

A bad week for me when it comes to cycling. Rode only 2 of 5 working days. From another point of view, that are 2 days more as originally planned so not bad at all


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@bachman: just see your steed, looks good! Like especially the color


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Anytime I start to feel delusional enough to think I'm a strong rider, I only need a hill to climb on my loaded cargo bike to remind me I am a mere mortal.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2017)

Weirdest find of the season, a brand new toilet rebuild kit still in the package (with a big crack right in the middle of it) - Dang.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Absolute minimal commuting for the last month. I think I rode to work a total of 5 times, maybe less. Still cranking out miles when I can. Switched Jimmy John's to the downtown one which is a 9 mile ride door to door. Average about 28 miles on days that I deliver but am only working on my days off. The tips are well worth it because I traded the student ghetto and campus for government and law offices. Will be working at the bike shop a lot because the students are coming back so the commuting will commence again because it will be a 2 job day and paying to park doesn't work for me.

Doing an organized urban century with a buddy on Saturday over in Detroit. Should be a good time.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> @bachman: just see your steed, looks good! Like especially the color


Thank you. 
So-called adventure / trail bike via steel frame and 650b+ . The old man in me is loving the mellow tires and ride, came from 26 x 2.2 alum Kona. Not normally a jazzy look-at-me-color guy but the bike was the bike I wanted after doing some digging and I'm getting used to the color just fine. 
* Found some ladies nail polish to use as touch-up paint too !



cyclingdutchman said:


> I guess you have locker rooms available? That would be a big plus.
> 
> I myself have settled on riding in casual office clothes below the waist and mostly bike clothing above the waist. That means polyester or merino shirt with windstopper jacket. Extra layers when its cold, shoecovers and hardshells when it rains.
> 
> ...


Yes, I'm happy to have a few rides down now. No problem with storing uniforms and changing here as necessary. Really looking forward to the cooler fall weather that will be here soon too. Not sure if I'll participate in the commute if it's really warm to hot temps but the plus side is I come in at night. 
Thanks for the tips. Got two dry bags set up with wind pants and jacket or wet weather gear, pants-jacket. Figure I need to be adaptable and enjoy the adventures as they come.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

formula4speed said:


> Anytime I start to feel delusional enough to think I'm a strong rider, I only need a hill to climb on my loaded cargo bike to remind me I am a mere mortal.


Do I know that-

I recently added a kiddo trailer to my collection of things that fill the garage so only one car fits. When I hook the grandkid up to tow around, the rolling momentum actually feels good, yet the slightest incline tugs at me as if I were hauling a modular home. :eekster:


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

bachman1961 said:


> Do I know that-
> 
> I recently added a kiddo trailer to my collection of things that fill the garage so only one car fits. When I hook the grandkid up to tow around, the rolling momentum actually feels good, yet the slightest incline tugs at me as if I were hauling a modular home. :eekster:


My story exactly right now. Replaced my backpack with panniers and the bike feels like a pig going up hill.

Updated: but, of course, I feel like I can fly when the panniers are off, and my legs seem stronger after just two long rides with the extra weight. ;-)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soaking wet on the way in - downpours, ginormous puddles, and cascades from passing cars. Good times! Most of my stuff did not dry out, so I was glad I had some spare stuff in my file drawer for the ride home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Century complete - that was difficult. Have ridden a few centuries already, but those were on back country roads with minimal traffic and almost no stop lights. This was an organized century, in the city of Detroit. Started early as we headed out of the city, the police had roads blocked off because 200+ cyclists tearing down the street. The pack quickly thinned out as we headed over near Canada onto Belle Isle and watched a really nice sunrise over the lake. Some really beautiful scenery for the first 50 miles as we went along the lake in some of the richest neighborhoods in Michigan. We also saw some of the most burned down and destroyed parts of Detroit, the part that everyone thinks of when they hear "Detroit." It is not all like that as we found out yesterday. The further along we went, the worse the roads became. The markings and signage for most of it were alright, but some were absolutely terrible, causing several people to get lost, my friend and I included.

Leaving the rest stop at mile 82 for us, I flatted. No worries, I can change one pretty quickly. My hand pump sucks, and it felt like I could only get it to about 80-85 psi. This was very sketchy as the roads were not the greatest and a pinch flat had me worried. Last rest stop had us limping up as they were closing up, luckily a bike repair truck was there, and they got me up to 115. The rest of the ride back to the finish line was absolutely miserable. Huge headwinds, and nothing but red lights as far as the eye could see. My friend rode his fixed gear track bike, and I know he was miserable with the stopping and starting. As the last red light turned green, he almost fell over trying to start, legs were just spent. We made it back, exhausted and mentally shut down, both of us. We had a quiet lunch and just reflected on how much the first 50 was a blast, and the last 58 sucked the life out of us.

Moving time: 6:36:12
Miles: 108.5
Average: 16.4 mph
Elevation: *679* feet. It is flat here, really flat

We completed the 100 miles at just under 6 hours moving time according to my Garmin EDGE 810. I had reminders set at 50 miles and at 3 hour increments. The first 50 miles had us at an average of nearly 18.5 mph or so. It really fell apart when we got lost at mile 62 and had to back track just throwing us off.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2017)

No commute today or tomorrow. Recovering from the Gravel Worlds Privateer race yesterday. First Gravel race ever, not in shape, hilly course and hot. I have all the excuses lined up. Still, finishing a 75 mile ride on the Fargo in hills and gravel in 6:22 (6:01 on the bike) isn't my worst ride ever.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

My wife didn't get the job. They didn't pick someone else, they just said they were going to keep looking. Pretty bummed, and kind of annoyed they put her through so much effort. Slight silver lining is I think she made a couple good contacts over there, so that may help in the future. Thanks to all for the good vibes, hopefully something else comes along soon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats on the long rides TS and forster!

Too bad f4s  they must be very picky....

Big breakthrough here: first commute ever for #2! Rode 2km/1.3m to kindergarten on the balance bike. Not bad for 2.5y old I guess. Let him ride only because the route is very safe, quiet mup only with 1 road crossing.

No commute for me the next weeks, on leave until early september. We will be in the netherlands for 12 days and we are taking the bikes and trailer with us, so maybe some nice bikepath pics to drool over when I am back. 

Oh and we made a nice family ride yesterday. had #2 in the kiddyseat on the back of my bike and #1 rode the entire 16km/10m himself on his 20" converted mtb: with fenders, rear rack and 55mm schwalbe big apples. He was going off like a rocket and after the ride he had enough energy left to go to the playground for an hour or so. Didnt take long to fall asleep in the evening though...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good job TenSpeed and Forster!

Bummer F4S. She will find something.

Have a good vacation dutchman, post up come pics.

No commute for me today, I am at my place east of the Cascades in Central Washington watching the eclipse (happening right now). We are not in the totality path but should get about 95% coverage. We are at about 50% right now and it's noticably dimmer outside...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OK, back to the grind 

Tenspeed, that sounds like a rough one. I've had some centuries end like that. Not the traffic but the exhaustion. 


cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice report bedwards. 4th place is a very respectable result, thumbs up!!
> 
> I hope the racers were friendly to each other during the race?
> 
> Today I watched the iron man triathlon here in hamburg and in 45min of watching I have seen several cases of athletes bullying at each other. Not very sportive but I guess it happens when there is much at stake..nn


Yes, appropriately supportive and cutthroat at the same time. I talked with one of the 3 in the lead for a while after the race. I'm surprised that there was bullying at the Ironman. At the lower levels of Ironman competitiveness they are a very supportive bunch.



woodway said:


> These actually do a decent job for me. And I ride in the rain a lot
> 
> https://www.showerspass.com/collect...products/club-shoe-covers?variant=27453845701


Good to know. The next time I decide to try something I'll try them. I have some Castelli ones now that are neoprene and got great ratings but they seem to be more like a sponge than a barrier.


woodway said:


> Well done! Your off-road skills helpful in avoiding the crash?


I knew that riding over the road island would be easier than riding over people!

Cool on the eclipse viewing! We were 65% or so which was noticeably not as bright but you almost couldn't tell. I did make a pinhole camera to check it out. Looked like a crescent moon.



mtbxplorer said:


> Soaking wet on the way in - downpours, ginormous puddles, and cascades from passing cars. Good times! Most of my stuff did not dry out, so I was glad I had some spare stuff in my file drawer for the ride home.


Oh Yeah! We were camping in that. It was pouring buckets at times but that was only 1 day. Otherwise camping was great. I even got in some biking. (Surprise!) This was a fun ride.

https://www.relive.cc/view/1144841580














​


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Finally managed a commute to 2 jobs yesterday. First short commute was good, no incidents. Second was during the eclipse. Was very worried about drivers not paying attention to the road and fellow users. Sky was weird looking, felt very eery out. Commute home was slow going on wet roads in a few patches of sprinkles. Worked at the LBS before the hospital, and will do a repeat tomorrow. We are very busy, which is always good. Sold 2 bikes in less than half an hour. Students are back in town, and we are the closest shop to campus.


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## NesquikNinja (May 7, 2013)

Glad I found this thread.

I'll be making my first ever bicycle commute to work this week. I found out I can ride 1 mile of road to a trail, and then take the trail 10 miles and be a few hundred feet from my work. It's mostly gravel, some grass, lots of mud, one brief single track section with a creek crossing.

The interesting part will be trying to keep up with it with my schedule! Some days I work 4a-12p, some days 12p-8p, and of course 8p-4a....

I test rode it the other day, took about 40 minutes. It was my first ride in....probably a year. And I'm in terrible shape. I suspect it will get quicker.

If I get tired coming up there's a few campsites, haha.


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2017)

NesquikNinja said:


> Glad I found this thread.
> 
> I'll be making my first ever bicycle commute to work this week. I found out I can ride 1 mile of road to a trail, and then take the trail 10 miles and be a few hundred feet from my work. It's mostly gravel, some grass, lots of mud, one brief single track section with a creek crossing.
> 
> ...


 First day of riding is always the toughest (regardless of the length of the commute, but if you're cranking out an 11 mile ride in 40 minutes, you're already well on your way. I'm more used to friends saying "It was 10 miles and I only had to walk up one hill, took me an hour and fifteen minutes." Schedule is always challenging especially when you're in transitional seasons. I'm in the Midwest and we'll see huge temperature swings sometimes in the winter. Carrying the extra kit you needed at 9F but don't need at 50F is always challenging. Best of luck.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

11m in 40min?? In winter I need so much time for my 7m commute. And thats all flat and on the road. So I am not worried about you at all.....


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## NesquikNinja (May 7, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> 11m in 40min?? In winter I need so much time for my 7m commute. And thats all flat and on the road. So I am not worried about you at all.....





Forster said:


> First day of riding is always the toughest (regardless of the length of the commute, but if you're cranking out an 11 mile ride in 40 minutes, you're already well on your way. I'm more used to friends saying "It was 10 miles and I only had to walk up one hill, took me an hour and fifteen minutes." Schedule is always challenging especially when you're in transitional seasons. I'm in the Midwest and we'll see huge temperature swings sometimes in the winter. Carrying the extra kit you needed at 9F but don't need at 50F is always challenging. Best of luck.


Thanks for the encouragement guys!

It's really not an impressive speed, there are no stoplights/stopsigns/traffic. And not a hill in sight.

I here you on the temp swings. I'm up by Chicago. I commutes by motorcycle a lot in St. Louis, and by Jeep with no roof- I know the feeling of 45 degrees on the way in and 70 on the way home. Sucks!


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## NesquikNinja (May 7, 2013)

Well had my first commute. Probably my last.

The ride in the afternoon was fantastic.

At 4am ride home through 10 miles of woods? I must've caught at least 100 spider webs with my face. I don't have a phobia, but I've been bitten before, and it took months to heal.

For a trail ride on the dirtbike or MTB I'm sure to hit a few, but this would just be far too many, too often.

I'm bummed, I didn't even consider this before.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Huh, that is a problem that I never considered. You said your schedule changes, any way to do bike/car trips and leave the bike at work so you are only riding in the day? Or consider that when it gets colder that they may not be out. I'm the first one on the trails if I commute through the woods, sometimes pre-dawn, and I've never had that problem. 

My commute was good. I grabbed the cross bike but the front tire was squishy so I grabbed another bike out of the quiver. Good to have options. It was cool...like fall cool.


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## NesquikNinja (May 7, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Huh, that is a problem that I never considered. You said your schedule changes, any way to do bike/car trips and leave the bike at work so you are only riding in the day? Or consider that when it gets colder that they may not be out. I'm the first one on the trails if I commute through the woods, sometimes pre-dawn, and I've never had that problem.
> 
> My commute was good. I grabbed the cross bike but the front tire was squishy so I grabbed another bike out of the quiver. Good to have options. It was cool...like fall cool.


I wish that was an option, but it won't work.

Looking forward to trying again after it gets cold enough, I suppose


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^hm doesnt sound very pleasant NN. Is on-road routing possible?


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## NesquikNinja (May 7, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^hm doesnt sound very pleasant NN. Is on-road routing possible?


It's possible, but it would mean somewhat twisty two-lane 55 MPH black top at night.

Not much traffic, a car here and there, but I'd be afraid to get clipped


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

NesquikNinja said:


> It's possible, but it would mean somewhat twisty two-lane 55 MPH black top at night.
> 
> Not much traffic, a car here and there, but I'd be afraid to get clipped


4am on the road? Ideal. Get some good lights and roll. Shouldn't be much in the way of traffic I wouldn't think. Late night riding is amazing, however, as the temps drop, that is probably right near the coldest part of the night so be prepared.

Yesterday was a commute day, bike shop then to the hospital. Ride home was alright, not bad, not good, just usual. Students are back now so my concerns of drunk drivers increases and my route will more than likely change.


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2017)

I'm pretty sure yesterday was "Roll through the stop sign/stop light and become indignant when you realize you cut off a biker" Day. Had more knuckleheads than usual yesterday and two of them decided to lecture me on how "although they were 'sorry' they cut me off, it was really my fault for being so difficult to see" (cause my strobing light is only visible if you look before you enter the intersection). The guy in the Range Rover seemed to want me to explain my actions (riding within inches of his car) so I had to ask when they moved the 9' wide MUP trail, because the law requires you to stop before crossing the trail and (by the way) that's coincidently where the Stop Sign is. Not sure, but I may have hurt his feelings.


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2017)

Fast (for me). I've got a 16.5 mile commute into and out from work. Got in in 1:16 and home in 1:10, mostly gravel, some MUP. Haven't covered that much ground that fast since I broke my arm.


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## NesquikNinja (May 7, 2013)

Forster said:


> Fast (for me). I've got a 16.5 mile commute into and out from work. Got in in 1:16 and home in 1:10, mostly gravel, some MUP. Haven't covered that much ground that fast since I broke my arm.


Kick ass, man.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Forster said:


> Fast (for me). I've got a 16.5 mile commute into and out from work. Got in in 1:16 and home in 1:10, mostly gravel, some MUP. Haven't covered that much ground that fast since I broke my arm.


NICE!!!! That is impressive!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Forster said:


> Fast (for me). I've got a 16.5 mile commute
> ...... mostly gravel, some MUP.....


you call that a commute? Nowadays that is a day out for me.....

Congrats!


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

My preferred commuting route from office takes me through jungle trails... it's nice to be able to commute on a mountain bike!






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

joeadnan said:


> My preferred commuting route from office takes me through jungle trails... it's nice to be able to commute on a mountain bike!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Very cool! And nice video, probably wouldn't want to take that trail after dark right? 

Regular boring commutes here lately, I'm ready for summer to be over. 108 today and a big ole headwind for the uphill ride home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Passed an as$h*le cyclist who had just been pretty rude to me at the previous intersection. Turns out I climb a lot faster than he does. I was very smug with myself in a childish kind of way all the way home


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## Guest (Aug 29, 2017)

woodway said:


> Passed an as$h*le cyclist who had just been pretty rude to me at the previous intersection. Turns out I climb a lot faster than he does. I was very smug with myself in a childish kind of way all the way home


Karma, pretty inevitable.


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## NesquikNinja (May 7, 2013)

woodway said:


> Passed an as$h*le cyclist who had just been pretty rude to me at the previous intersection. Turns out I climb a lot faster than he does. I was very smug with myself in a childish kind of way all the way home


Should've stuck a rake in his front wheel

That'd show him


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had a look at my ride using the Strava flyby thing this morning. After I passed him our routes diverged but came back together again a couple miles down the road. He ended up just behind me (I saw a cyclist but did not realize it was the same guy), and when we got to another hill I dropped him a 2nd time. Now I'm feeling smug again today, in a childish sort of way, but he was a prick at that intersection so I'll revel in it for a while longer 

Uneventful commute this morning. Just enjoying summer while it lasts.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

woodway said:


> I had a look at my ride using the Strava flyby thing this morning. After I passed him our routes diverged but came back together again a couple miles down the road. He ended up just behind me (I saw a cyclist but did not realize it was the same guy), and when we got to another hill I dropped him a 2nd time. Now I'm feeling smug again today, in a childish sort of way, but he was a prick at that intersection so I'll revel in it for a while longer
> 
> Uneventful commute this morning. Just enjoying summer while it lasts.


What constitutes being "a prick at that intersection?" Just curious. Did he give you the stink eye? Spit on your leg? Or grab yer butt?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, was wondering those exact same 3 things. 

42F here this morning. Starting to feel like fall.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Buster Bluth said:


> What constitutes being "a prick at that intersection?" Just curious. Did he give you the stink eye? Spit on your leg? Or grab yer butt?


I was in the left turn lane in front of about five cars waiting for the green arrow. He lane split between the cars in the thru lane and the left turn lane, which I don't care about, but rather than rolling up next to me, he proceeds to wedge himself in front of me, kind of at an angle so he's not sticking out into the intersection. Never said a word or even looked at me, just wedged his bike in inches from mine like I was not even there. He had a shiny Specialized carbon road bike and I was on my dirty commuter cross bike with full fenders, so I can see why he thought I would be slow. But it was just rude. So dropping him twice was right justice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, so he was just a fairly standard rodie.  Dropping him twice should be crushing enough. Check craigslist. He might be selling his bike in shame.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Check craigslist. He might be selling his bike in shame.


Nah. He'll tell himself it was a recovery ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Forster said:


> I'm pretty sure yesterday was "Roll through the stop sign/stop light and become indignant when you realize you cut off a biker" Day.


:lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

NesquikNinja said:


> At 4am ride home through 10 miles of woods? I must've caught at least 100 spider webs with my face. I don't have a phobia, but I've been bitten before, and it took months to heal.
> 
> For a trail ride on the dirtbike or MTB I'm sure to hit a few, but this would just be far too many, too often.
> 
> I'm bummed, I didn't even consider this before.


Yikes! I've run into a few, sure, but that's crazy. Time for a full face helmet with goggles.


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2017)

Well, it's the end of summer in the Midwest, which apparently signals the end of bright clothing and lights/reflective gear season for runners. I sorta get the whole "I think dressing like a Ninja is cool" thing if you're 8-years-old have a turtle mask and a plastic sword. On the trail I'd rather see lights and bright colors. Although, if I see an adult wearing the turtle mask and carrying a sword I'll be sure to tell the cops how cool I thought it was before I realized they were nuts.


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## DaveRider (Jul 14, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> Not sure if this has made the rounds, but I found it pretty amusing.


That's awesome.

Then I went down a rabbit hole of cyclist road rage videos & had to turn it off. Made me too angry. And wow...England B scary for cyclists!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Time to leave for work this morning, went to grab my bike and the rear tire is flat. Managed to flat the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme twice now. Didn't have time to deal with it, rode in on the cargo bike instead.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

"Wow has my commute time improved since I removed the Kenda Nevegals and put on some fat slicks."

- heard at the water cooler this morn.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Well, my commute time has improved since switching from 26 to 29, but I've also ridden about 5x as often and as far, which has a little to do with it. I must sound like a kid when I talk to people about it, and I'm sure similar things come out of my mouth at the water cooler. ;-)

I believe I am the only one at my workplace bike commuting at the moment, though. It's a bit sad.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

This week has been the absolute opposite of the last month or so. Haven't driven the car since Sunday. Did a 45 mile ride Monday, rode to the bike shop to work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday am and then the hospital - repeat on Friday. Working at the bike shop again Saturday and maybe I will drive on Sunday again? Have gone full on taking the lane now if I am in the road with no bike lane. Same lane squeeze passes have all but disappeared, as has the honking. Riding confidently in the lane and making drivers spatially aware has really helped. Currently using a Cygolite HotShot Pro 150 rear taillight and this has helped me, with several drivers commenting to me how visible it is even during the day.

Commute home tonight was me vs drunk college students, with the typical comments. Completely ignored and moved on.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi to the newbs, and the oldies. 

Back after three weeks off. Insignificant bike time, or running time, while off as I twisted my knee somehow on day 2 of the hol. Has been ok for walking but not much more. Seemd to be mended a couple of days ago so it was really good to get on the bike again this morning. Overcast and warmer than I thought but a nice return.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Overcast this am but warm enough and no drama. Wife bought me an action cam at the weekend, for safety apparently, and I fitted it to my lid last night. Will see what the footage is like tonight.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I have apparently upset the bike gods in some way as they have smited me with a series of flats.

Got one at the end of last week, guess I missed whatever knicked the tube because after patching it the tube held air over the weekend but I get to work today and a couple hours later it's flat again.

No problem, go back over the tire and find the suspected culprit. Remove small tube stabbing object, apply new patch, reinstall tire.

Pump up freshly patched tube...BOOM. Tube fails at the seam.

I hope the bike god anger has subsided, because I'm running out of ways to fix any flats for the ride home.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I think summer might be finally over here, supposed to drop to 89f later this week, woo hoo!

Do you guys carry lunch boxes on your commute? Throw some lunch in your backpack? My little lunch box is on it's last leg, thinking of a new bigger cooler to bungee to the front rack. Any thoughts? Was looking at a Stanley but it might be a little too humungus :lol:


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2017)

Carry my lunch in a ziplock bag, in my Camelbak Hawg.

Fast ride today, but I locked up both tires heading toward a 4 lane highway at 28mph. I might have made the light before anyone jumped, but there was a police car right there and you can't outrun the radio.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Locking up the front tire usually doesn't end up will.

My wife and I work at the same place so between the 2 of us we usually do 1-2 supply runs/week with food and clothes. I'm very lucky to get to ride unburdened. 

I actually decided to take the car today. Usually if riding is possible, I will. But today's forecast was thunderstorms - all day. Not to mention that I have a few errands I can run with the car.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Windy as hell on the ride in. Overheated on the way home - still too warm for arm warmers.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Lunchbox in the pannier for me. Have to pack it right so the sarnies don't get squashed by the fruit though. 

Locking both wheels does usually result in finishing the stop with at least a foot, if not your arse on the deck. Good effort!

I assumed you were a solo commuter Bedwards, didnt realise your wife rode with you. Nice!

A neighbour down the road always flies a flag of some description (reason unknown). Today it was completely consumed by gravity, not a flutter. Looked forward to an easy ride. Not so, headwind once I left the city limits. Still a good ride, maybe needed long sleeves but not jacket weather


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> I assumed you were a solo commuter Bedwards, didnt realise your wife rode with you. Nice!


 She sometimes posts here as rollingrunner. We usually don't ride together because of different schedules and speeds but some mornings I'll ride with her.

I took the rain bike. Even though the the rain had stopped the roads were still soaked so I wanted the fenders. Besides, I hadn't ridden it for weeks. It should clear for the ride home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Still enjoying the driest summer on record here in Seattle. We had about 0.1" of rain a couple of weeks ago, but otherwise it has not rained here since mid-June. It's been shorts and short-sleeve shirt to work and back home since late June. Glory days. But they will like come to an end soon, typically mid- to late September the jet stream moves south and starts bringing rain back to the area.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Had a spoke break about 2-3 miles from home last night. Went with a bang, I wondered what the hell it was. Stopped as it was clearly near me but couldn't work out what it was. Didn't register until I was riding off again and the rear brake was rubbing as the wheel had gone out of true. Don't like it much. Have spare spokes at home but no time to fix so used the car today. No suitable spare bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Descending a winding hill in the dark this morning, moving at around 25 MPH, came around a corner, deer in the road, frozen, staring right at me. Both wheels locked up, braced for impact, at the last second the deer starts to move, I can hear her hooves sliding on the pavement looking for traction. Missed her by about two feet. Woke me up for sure.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Slipspace, was that an old wheel or what happened? Spokes rarely break just like that right? And how did the footage on your action cam turn out? Good enough to identify a licence plate if necessary?

Woodway: good to hear that you had some summer so far we didnt have any long periods of nice summer weather this year, and autumn doesnt seem to going to be as nice normal either. And I guess you are lucky the deer didnt attach you I guess! Might as well happen when you scare them.

OK so I am back from vacation. at least we had good weather there! Came back last weekend already but turned sick directly when I got home and couldnt ride so far. Vacation did good, made about 5 nice family rides of which my oldest son rode himself on 2 of them. We got a new croozer trailer before and it was perfect, lots of room for both kids and cargo for a day out to a museum and beach. 

And cycling in the Netherlands, wow what can I say. We were in a pretty rural and agricultural part in the southwest. Still there were separate bikelanes next to the big roads, or even there were wide parallel roads for tractors etc, very quiet, very comfortable. Quieter roads were also good to ride, little traffic and traffic also is very careful - they are used to cyclists. I was also impressed by the number of e-bikes I have seen, during a visit of Rotterdam I guess at least 20% of the cyclists were on e-assisted bikes of some kind (cargobike, MTB, etc)

So I am still on my own opinion of "have your own road" instead of "share the road". The latter is just a phrase to get away with a bad solution.

Was on the bike first time this week. Was a 1m/1.6km puddle race with #2


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^nobody got stuck in florida I hope?? Ive been following irma a while already, since st martin is partly dutch its all over the dutch news already for 3 days. Footage from there is beyond imagination.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Back to commuting now after 3 weeks off. Early start this morning at 6.15am and I was surprised to find out it was still pretty dark. And when I set off a light drizzle started so it was all autumn-like. Luckily I didnt need any rainstuff and arrived pretty dry. 

Tunnel shortly before work is finished so itis allowed to ride again instead of walking. A real improvement of 2 minutes, yay! 

During the ride home I had to take shelter in a bus stop for a short but heavy downpour. I was riding on a **** so I could see it coming. When I was there there even came a bus going in my direction but bikes are not allowed on the bus between 4-6pm so no way to cheat ;o))


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey dutchman, I'll chime in so you aren't just talking to yourself! Welcome back from Vacation. I got caught in a short heavy downpour on the way home on Friday. It only rained for a few minutes but I swear it rained 1/2 inch. Rural area, no bus stops in sight to hide in. And yes, it's starting to feel like lights are going to be a necessity very soon!

The commute in was lovely. We've got a set of typical fall weather lined up. Crisp cool mornings and warm sunny days...OK


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Can't wait to use the lights in the dark! I'm hoping I can get an earlier shift soon also so it will be really dark in the morning, would be fun.

Needed to air up my back tire this morning, attached the floor pump and nothing happens, I think it's broke, the handle just sticks up and won't pump, Topeak Joe Blow. After several tries alot more air escaped from the tire, and eventually had to plug in the portable compressor into the car and pump it up. So adding a new floor pump to my list of bike stuff to buy


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Been great for me. I think I have driven 2 twice in the last week and a half. Got caught in a downpour on my way to work but it was alright. The rest of this week looks to be beautiful so the car will continue to sit. Hoping to do a 70ish mile rail trail on Sunday for my birthday, crushed limestone/dirt, on my fat bike with some people. Should be fun.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hey, welcome back Dutch. Sounds like a good break

So the camera is not really great, won't let me read reg plates. It's a 720p one but I thought that would do. ah well. Ride looks mostly boring watching it back 

Do spokes break just like that? I don't know. That is the second one on that wheel to have gone since I had it. Maybe 6k miles covered. They are stainless so that probably makes a difference.

Eugene, don't be in too much of a rush to want to use the lights, i'd like the longer days for a while yet.

Cool this morning, definite jacket weather, although with shorts. Quite bright but a hell of a headwind. Passed a dude gringing away on a MTB and said morning. he said morning back followed by 'I've got the wrong bike!'. Could be, maybe he just had the wrong legs?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Can't wait to use the lights in the dark! I'm hoping I can get an earlier shift soon also so it will be really dark in the morning, would be fun.
> 
> Needed to air up my back tire this morning, attached the floor pump and nothing happens, I think it's broke, the handle just sticks up and won't pump, Topeak Joe Blow. After several tries alot more air escaped from the tire, and eventually had to plug in the portable compressor into the car and pump it up. So adding a new floor pump to my list of bike stuff to buy


Whoa, slow down there you'll get your chance! We're loosing 3 minutes of light every day right now. It won't be long.

I've had great luck with the Nashbar Earl Grey pump. They're cheap and the heads seems to last longer than most. When they do wear out you can get a replacement hose and end for $7. I've had 2 for years, still on the first head for both. One for the shop and one for the garage.

Commutes = All Good


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ok ok I suppose I can be patient for the darkness to arrive lol. That pump looks like a good deal, thanks!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

SlipSpace said:


> Do spokes break just like that? I don't know. That is the second one on that wheel to have gone since I had it. Maybe 6k miles covered. They are stainless so that probably makes a difference.


Could be a fluke, but when you have spokes consistently breaking it usually means that the wheel is not tensioned properly. Get a spoke tensiometer and check the wheel - the spokes tensions on each side should be relatively even (and they need to be in the proper range). Or take the wheel to a competent bike shop and they can check it out for you.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

slipspace, I think woodway is right, that wheel should be checked for spoke tension etc. also to be checked if it is laced correctly. If the spoke angle to the rim is too large it is a disaster waiting to happen (had that once myself).

Commutes were good. 12C this morning, sunny and 17C on the way home. Its getty windy though, some debris was already on the road, threw 2 bigger twigs aside. For tomorrow strong wind with gusts up to 55kts is forecasted. Will check the weather tomorrowmorning and maybe take the bus. If I ride I might take the bus home if it turns out too bad. Its nothing compared to hurricane but enough to blow over trees, especially now that the leafs are still on and the ground is soft due to lots of rain lately.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Respectable commutes today, great average mph for both rides. 19.0 on the way in and 18.6 on the way home. Ride in was a short blast from the bike shop so it was much easier. Gonna take my dog with me to the bike shop tomorrow so that should be a good time. He doesn't mind riding in my bag which I thought would bother him since he can't see anything.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Woodway, Dutchman - thanks for the pointer i'll try and check out the spoke tension, they all make the same noise when you tap them though.

Tenspeed, sounds like an interesting doggy bag  

Same situation here as Dutch, not hurricane but gale force winds had me in the car this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

TS you have a dog?? From just reading I thought you are always out riding/working somewhere and only come home to sleep....

SS: car is good. After checking this morning, I took the bus. If the forecast is right ptobably on the bike again tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Minor run-in with a driver last night...she was in a line of cars waiting for a light and was shifted over and blocking most of the bike lane (she was looking at her phone). I yelled "HEY!" at her before I squeezed by so she would know I was there. We ended up next to each other at the light and she let me know she did not appreciate me yelling at her. I explained that since there were two of us in the bike lane and only one of us was on a bike I needed a way to get her attention. This little piece of logic had no effect...

Looks like first real rains since early June are coming next week. Good thing I never took my fenders off...


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2017)

Similar run in twice this week. First guy pulls into the bike lane without stopping for the light and gets pissed when I don't want to stick around and listen to him explain how hard it is to see cyclists on the bike path (even though it's been there, 9' wide for 20 years). Guy today is turning left off an arterial street and pulls in front of me, noticing that I'm in the lane he brakes to a complete stop right in front. I presume he stopped there so I could hear him tell me that he didn't see me, but I went around and ignored the conversation. Honestly, by that point the only thing I wanted to hear was my wife pouring an IPA. Rough day at work. Makes me wonder why I'm still working in retirement (I get the oxymoronic nature of that statement).


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Do I have a dog?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

TS :lol: *sweet* 

Rode today. Windforecast was down to max gusts of 50kph today which is acceptable and it turned out to be even less. Did have to clear the way twice though, there was 1 thick branch of around 6-7cm hanging over the way at first and later a heap of smaller branches/twigs. Those last ones I could have gone around it but I thought it would be better to put them aside instead of swerving around it the next days (or even weeks...)

In general I had the impression that the storm yesterday wasnt so bad but in the news it appeared that somebody died in town at a construction site where something was blown over. So nothing to joke with, glad I took the bus.

Local outdoorshop has big sale currently, bought two Endura Cycling Jeans last week and have been wearing one this week. Good fit, stretchy and seam-free in the saddle area. Although not a requirement for me, hideable reflectors are on the jeans as well. Bought a Vaude Yaki zipoff pants (padded innerpants included) and 2 marmot longsleeves as well, all 50% off #bargain


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> ...Honestly, by that point the only thing I wanted to hear was my wife pouring an IPA. Rough day at work.


:thumbsup:

Still some amazingly nice days around here. I offered to shuttle the car in this morning so my wife could ride but brought a mountain bike for the trip home.

This weekend is an organized century ride. By this time last year I had done 10 or so self supported centuries. So far this year - zero.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Don't feel bad bedwards, I've done 0 centuries ever. And if you've taken all the elevation you climbed and then subtract 0 from that, that's about how much I've climbed, because it's really flat here.

I keep telling myself I'll ride a century one day, either organized or solo, just to check it off the list.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Local outdoorshop has big sale currently, bought two Endura Cycling Jeans last week and have been wearing one this week. Good fit, stretchy and seam-free in the saddle area. Although not a requirement for me, hideable reflectors are on the jeans as well. Bought a Vaude Yaki zipoff pants (padded innerpants included) and 2 marmot longsleeves as well, all 50% off #bargain


Good finds Dutchman. You can never have enough cycling clothes in my book.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> This weekend is an organized century ride. By this time last year I had done 10 or so self supported centuries. So far this year - zero.


Somehow I think you'll survive... :thumbsup:

After doing some self-supported centuries over the past few years, I cannot bring myself to do organized ones anymore. There is just something so sweet about being out on your own for a long ride with nothing to do all day but turn the pedals over at whatever pace you choose...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good purchases Dutchman. Never heard of Cycling jeans before. Had to google to see what they were like :thumbsup:

All the best for the Century Bedwards. I suspect you'll breeze it. 

Ended up biking yesterday. Went out to the garage to ride in and my 16yr old lad was still there trying to get his motorbike started. I had a go, dropped some easy start in it but still not running. Ended up giving him a lift to work and then onto mine. Couldn't sort it last night (bloomin 2 strokes) so ran him in this morning. Would've liked to bike, it was glorious, but poor kid was in a snafu otherwise. I know what I'll be doing this weekend though...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks all, I'm not too worried. I took the heavy rain bike so I wouldn't be tempted to ride fast today . That and it may rain. I saw a decent rainbow through the trees on the way in.

I like the self supported type but the camaraderie of a big group ride with a bunch of people that may be pushing their limits is fun. The next Century I have in about a month is The Dempsey Challenge. Since Patrick Dempsey is involved around his hometown it gets a lot of press. People come out and line the streets to cheer you on. Or try to get a glimpse of PD when he rides by. He often stops to talk to people.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the compliments guys. To be exactly, those Endura pants are called "urban jeans". I also have already 3 of their "urban stretch pants" those look no different than the pants that come with a suit. Should have the pants thing covered by now. Hopefully no new purchases necessary the next years. Oh before I forget I bought their Illuminite rain pants as well, my old VauDe started to come apart after 9 years...

Nice rides today, early start when it was still pretty much dark and made the cheese-detour so made 30km today.

Bedwards: Good luck for your century. I am sure you'll make it!


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## DaveRider (Jul 14, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> I have apparently upset the bike gods in some way as they have smited me with a series of flats.
> 
> Got one at the end of last week, guess I missed whatever knicked the tube because after patching it the tube held air over the weekend but I get to work today and a couple hours later it's flat again.
> 
> ...


They burned some car tires in a protest here recently & I've been getting flats from the tiny pieces of steel belt wire. At least they're slow leakers.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice sunny ride in today, It has been a wet weekend though so lots of standing water. I ordered a Bontrager Recharger track pump ( https://www.evanscycles.com/bontrager-recharger-track-pump-EV199462 ) which arrived friday. Seems like a good bit of kit alhough it is my first track pump so have no benchmark for comparison. Pumped the Marathon pluses to 100 psi for the commuter, I doubt I ever get that high with the hand pump, and felt really fast this morning.

How went the 100 Bedwars? Good average speed on the strava :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Is a track pump a floor pump? And if so, you've never had one? You might add 1-2 MPH to hour commutes, LOL.

The ride was "Wicked Good"! We had a group of 6 and did most of the ride at a nice conversational pace. I did blast off with another guy to see if I could PR a climb up Evens Notch. I managed 10th (or 11th depending on which particular segment you are looking at) out of 430 on Strava. My overall average was 17.3MPH. The race course was stocked with fresh baked cookies, sweet breads and chocolate milk. Not to mention beer and tacos at the end. I'm pretty sure I gained weight after riding 100 miles.

This mornings ride was through the misty woods. 

__
http://instagr.am/p/BZLjkRxnIrq/


__
http://instagr.am/p/BZLlBF6n5nH/


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

ha, yeah, track / floor pump, same thing; and yep, I've never had one. Hand pumps and foot pumps only.

I reckon I could be encouraged to go on organised centuries if that's what feeding stations are like these days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Most of the ones that I have been on have some kind of home-made-goodness. There is a Farm to Fork Fondo which I have never done because it is pricey but they have amazing food at the stops. I actually happened onto one of the rest stops just as they were closing while I was doing my own ride last year. They encouraged me to take whatever I wanted even after I told them I wasn't part of the event.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looks good ss! And congrats on the ride bedwards! Sounds like my type of event ;o))

Foggy this morning and 7C. Nice ride durung the sunrise. Took another way home just for variation and it is only 6-7minutes more. Mostly sunny, calm winds and 16C this afternoon.

I sorted out my winter stuff yesterday: gloves, buffs, merino longsleeves etc. And I wore a merino shirt today for the first time today. Autumn is coming.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

No commuting all this week, the Mrs is out of town and I have to drive home for lunch to check on the animals. That's funny you mention gaining weight after a ride Bedwards, sometimes I'll hit a sandwich shop and get the biggest sandwich on the menu after a ride, totally worth it!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice job on the century bedwards.

Duthchman: New commuter forum rule - no talk of winter clothing until October. Let's try to revel in summer for a couple more weeks 

Rode in the rain for the first time since June (not because I have not been riding since June, but because it has not rained since June). Roads were super slick with all the accumulated oil and gunk from the summer. Need a couple more good rains to clean them off. Good thing I never took my fenders off!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Roger woodway  you are totally right. Longterm forecast is looking good and dry, maybe some summer after all? And two years ago I remember kayakcamping with my son with summerlike weather, in NOVEMBER!! OK it got dark early but thats good for campingfire with bbq etc. So never say never.

Nice rides today. Started while it was still dark and watched the sunrise along the way. Left early too and went to madke some firewood, at the kayakingclub a tree had fallen over, my luck.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sick yesterday, migraine, sucked!

Back on today. It was a clear night sky so temperature was well down this morning. Still bright and sunny although it's now somewhat overcast. I did stop a mile or two out and put my hat on under the helmet. My sparsely populated pate was cold! Forecast is good for the next few days though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Fun commute last night. I was taking a side road planning to harvest an oyster mushroom that I saw the day before. I grabbed that and put it in my pack and 500 feet up the road was a 5 lb hen of the woods (maitake, Grifola frondosa, ram's head, sheep's head). A friend pointed out that the retail value would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $100. Maybe I should have posted this in the roadside treasure thread.








Today's commute in was great because it was supposed to be raining and it wasn't.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good that you are better ss, and nice find bedwards!

it rained this morning, just enough to have to put on the raingear. Ride home was nice.

Overall slow ride, a bit sore because of sawing and hauling firewood around yesterday. But I rode and that's what counts right!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Those are definitely the days that count DM. :thumbsup:

Not sure about that fungus thing Bedwards, something about that looks unsettling... still if it's worth a few quid then good work 

Much warmer today, might be back in just a tee for the ride home later.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^You just have to know which ones you can eat and which ones will kill you in a slow painful death. It was delicious. It's not going to earn me any quid but it will be good for a few dinners.

We almost got rain yesterday but not much at all. Today we've got some winds from the outer bands of what's left of Hurricane Jose. Overall it's very pleasant.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good find bedwards. I love mushrooms with a good sauce. Yum.

Got rained on again today. Transition from summer to fall was sure abrupt this year.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

WW: one shower does not make fall yet 

Nice rides today again. Made a detour of 5km/15min. which made for a 95% different route. Weather was very nice on the way home, very quiet, sunny and 19C. What else can you want :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^Around here (Seattle) it does. We get blocking high pressure in the summer that makes it very dry around here. Seattle is associated with rain but our lawns all turn brown in the summer. This year from June 15 through yesterday we received 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) of rain. And most of that came in the last couple of days.

Every year, in mid to late September, the front weakens allowing a good storm in. That's the signal that fall is here . I don't mind. I've got good rain gear. I just need to find it


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

WW thanks for the explanations. interesting weather systems you have there.

Long day today. 10pm and I just got home. Commuted with my son to school this morning. Rode to work after that, was very pleasant. It was 12C but foggy so it felt refreshing on hands and face. Low fog turned orange in the sunrise, simply beautiful. Stayed at work until 6.30pm, then went to the tabletennis match which was near work today. After that I rode home, first ride in complete darkness since march or so. Was very nice, very quiet roads late at night.

Edit: bedwards, you finished that giant mushroom already?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, Hi! No, not quite. I've been finding some others and that one stores well while others don't. I did find some "Chicken of the Woods" on my way home last night. About 6lbs. I'll be giving some of that away. The picture is the one I found. Article below for those that don't know what the hell I am talking about.







https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laetiporus​
The weather has been unseasonable hot here. It has been a wonderful extension of summer which started late. Highs near 90F! I'll take it.

Quiet around here.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

This paragraph kinda stood out:

"In some cases eating the mushroom "causes mild reactions . . . for example, "swollen lips" or in rare cases "nausea, vomiting, dizziness and disorientation" to those who are sensitive.[5] This is believed to be due to a number of factors that range from very bad allergies to the mushroom's protein, to toxins absorbed by the mushroom from the wood it grows on (for example, eucalyptus or cedar or yew) to simply eating specimens that have decayed past their prime. As such, many field guides request that those who eat Laetiporus exercise caution by only eating fresh, young brackets and begin with small quantities to see how well it sits in their stomach."

Don't be munching on your way home, the disorientation might kill you


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yup, don't munch and ride. I think that disclaimer falls into the same category as the one for peanuts. In some people it can cause an allergic reaction and possibly death. But I love them. Hmm, maybe some chicken of the woods Pad Thai!

Other wild mushrooms are pretty good at removing your kidneys. I try to avoid them.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looks good bedwards.

Yes quiet here. Rode yesterday and this morning. Left bike at work, will ride home tomorrow afternoon.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My company is moving to a new office next week. The direct route from home to the office is only 8 miles. I'm not even warmed up in 8 miles. I need to find some longer routes. The new place has a dedicated bike lockup, but no showers. There is a LA fitness next door, $25/month and the company will pay for it, so not all bad.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Still not digging the mushrooms (man) but I hope you enjoy them Bedwards.

Woodway - Free gym membership is a good perk! You could arrive at the gym all warmed up after your 8 miles and go straight into some sets. Or go the longer route and just use their showers....

Been warm this week here too. Uneventful rides but been pushing it harder, can feel it in my legs already.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

How far was your previous commute woodway? Mine is 7m and I am fine with that. Can you use the showers and changing room at the gym?

Took the bus to work this morning, horrible. Finally felt awake when I came home and hopped off the bike. 2 double espressos didnt help this morning. After half an hour on the bike, everything fine :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

From 2007 to 2013 I did a 36 mile RT daily commute. From 2013 to 2015 I did a 40 mile RT daily commute. Currently I am between 23-26 mile RT commute, depending on the route I take. Ideally, I would like to find some routes where I can do 30 miles RT. That's the sweet spot for me.

Bad news on the way into work today. One of the racks mounts broke off my frame. I was able to jury-rig it with tie wraps, but that's not a long-term solution. This is a TI frame I bought several years ago and I have over 40,000 miles on it, so I cannot complain. Thinking about retiring this frame to a gravel-grinder and getting another one of the same model, but need to give it some thought...


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2017)

First commute (and second ride) on the new commuter today. Built a Lynskey Urbano last week. I'm very happy with the ride, especially on gravel. Probably the only thing I'd change is I'd have ordered the Cooper for the cable routing. But at the time Lynskey didn't have the 2017s listed as available. No real issues though, folks have been riding bikes on dirt with BB routed cables for years, don't see an issue.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Bad news on the way into work today. One of the racks mounts broke off my frame. I was able to jury-rig it with tie wraps, but that's not a long-term solution. This is a TI frame I bought several years ago and I have over 40,000 miles on it, so I cannot complain. Thinking about retiring this frame to a gravel-grinder and getting another one of the same model, but need to give it some thought...


Throw a P-Clamp on it and ride it another 40,000. I thought Ti frames didn't break if they weren't fatigued beyond their limit which is high. - Of course I'm not one to argue about getting another bike. 40,000 is a lot. I remember when you got that bike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway, that is indeed a respectable mileage on your bike. Are P clamps indeed a solution?

Forster, dont think anybody didnt notice! Congrats on the new bike. The site doesnt show it specifically but it is a Ti frame I presume? I assuke.you will post up some pics soon?!

14C here all day. So damp this morning that my glasses fogged and I had to take them off. Ride home was better but still bad overall visibility.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congrats on the bike Forster! Pics!

I thought Ti bikes did not break either 

The frame itself is fine, it's the brazed on mount point that cracked at the weld that broke off. I always ride with one pannier and it's always on that side of the rack. And, well, that pannier has been somewhat overloaded more than once. Actually I have worn pretty deep grooves in the rack itself to the point that I might just go ahead and replace it now before it fails...that metal is getting thin.

Still considering what to do. Will tie-wrap/p-clamp in the meantime and keep an eye on it.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Not sure what day I last posted but I drove on friday. Ended being recovered home as the front suspension strut collapsed, fortunately in the works car park so no high speed drama. It'll be a few days before the new parts arrive but at least it forces me to ride, even on really windy/gale days like today.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Finally starting to feel like fall, broke out the arm warmers for the first time this morning as the temps were around 45F. Felt really nice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, Closer to 38 here. I had a light long sleeved top and a windbreaker but still shorts of course. 

My wife and I set out for a 7o mile ride yesterday but 8 miles in: "Twang" broken spoke. I'm not sure why. It was on glass smooth new pavement soft peddling on a bike that is 2 years old. Straight pull DT Swiss bladed spoke, top of the line. It broke inside the nipple and blew the nipple apart.

This morning's commute was much less eventful. Just chilly.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Not sure what day I last posted but I drove on friday. Ended being recovered home as the front suspension strut collapsed, fortunately in the works car park so no high speed drama. It'll be a few days before the new parts arrive but at least it forces me to ride, even on really windy/gale days like today.


I saw suspension strut collapsed and I immediately though you were talking about your bike. Glad it was "just" the car.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Best thing that can happen Slipspace ;o)) No just kidding, car repairs are always expensive, money would be better spent on bike parts/clothing.

No rides for me Monday and Tuesday, since Tuesday is a public holiday here (merge of former east&west Germany) and I took a day off Monday. However I am in the middle of the process of impregnating 2 bike jackets as a test. Rubbed it in 30min ago and will iron them now (with a towel in between) since we dont have a tumble dryer.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Dutch. I have two bikes, commuter and MTB, both a rigid SSers so no danger of suspension failure there; unless my legs give out.

Impregnating jackets :ihih: a glitch in your otherwise impeccable English or just my dirty mind :devil: how'd it go anyways?

Wind was cold this morning, well 9C but the wind was cold and in my face. Glad I ventured out pre-ride and put leggings on


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Actually I even looked it up on leo.org on how to translate aand it looked good... So no other intention than trying to explain, that I put on new water repellant stuff on the jackets. 

I dont know yet how/if it worked, had to let the jackets dry overnight and have to iron them to activate the water repellant. Will let you know how it went.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Actually I even looked it up on leo.org on how to translate aand it looked good... So no other intention than trying to explain, that I put on new water repellant stuff on the jackets.


 SO that just leaves his dirty mind. That was a perfectly appropriate use of that word. 

Chilly here. I wore the level 2 gloves but should have gone for level 3. And my feet are still chilly.


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

*My new commuter build, all season bike.*

Here is the summer configuration:








And here is the winter configuration:








It is all titanium (for corrosion resistance more than weight), and has a Pinion 18 speed gearbox and Gates carbon belt drive. I can leave all of my lights, 3 foot flag, cameras and bags mounted and make a quick wheel change for when the snow comes. This thing rides great, I love the super close ratios of the Pinion, 636% gearing range for the diameter and drag difference of the setups.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That is quite a rig. What's the brand?

No word from EugeneTheJeep since the Vegas shooting. I'm pretty sure he is in the area. I hope all is well Eugene!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^That is quite a rig. What's the brand?
> 
> No word from EugeneTheJeep since the Vegas shooting. I'm pretty sure he is in the area. I hope all is well Eugene!


I'm here and ok, thanks bedwards, been a crappy couple days here in Vegas. Commutes have been good though. Temps are getting colder!

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa mr.fixie what a bike!! Ti, pinion, ortlieb, quite an investment but probably worth it compared to a car over the lifespan. Really interested on how that pinion does over the years, might be considering that someday although my rohloff will probably survive me. 

Not sure about the belt drive. Here in german forums and with a collegue, lifespans of 3-4 years with ~15tkm/10tm are being reported, after that, teeth start to fall out and a replacement is necessary. That is way different than advertised and reported on cyclingabout.com (30tkm on a single belt on a tandem from netherlands to melbourne). 
Probably the same argument as with rohloff: not necessarily paying off over time but much less hassle with wear and tear, replacing parts etc


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

Bedwards10, the frame and fork were built by #Carver_Bikes, who also supplied the majority of the components. Hubs are Hope Fatsno on both wheelsets and rotors are identical too, for consistency in wheel swapping.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> I'm here and ok, thanks bedwards, been a crappy couple days here in Vegas. Commutes have been good though. Temps are getting colder!


Good to hear! Crappy doesn't begin to describe it! And that is from viewing it from the other side or the country.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh almost forgot. After ironing on lowest setting the first test under the water tap shows perfect results.

If anyone wants an advise on how to do it or which repellent I used, ask me in a month or so for more longterm results  would hate to give out advise before I know more.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mrfixie said:


> Bedwards10, the frame and fork were built by #Carver_Bikes, who also supplied the majority of the components. Hubs are Hope Fatsno on both wheelsets and rotors are identical too, for consistency in wheel swapping.


I thought that said Carver but the fork threw me off. They aren't far from me. Great company to work with from what I hear.


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Whoa mr.fixie what a bike!! Ti, pinion, ortlieb, quite an investment but probably worth it compared to a car over the lifespan. Really interested on how that pinion does over the years, might be considering that someday although my rohloff will probably survive me.
> 
> Not sure about the belt drive. Here in german forums and with a collegue, lifespans of 3-4 years with ~15tkm/10tm are being reported, after that, teeth start to fall out and a replacement is necessary. That is way different than advertised and reported on cyclingabout.com (30tkm on a single belt on a tandem from netherlands to melbourne).
> Probably the same argument as with rohloff: not necessarily paying off over time but much less hassle with wear and tear, replacing parts etc


Hmmm, I will see what life I get out of those Gates belts, at $85 a pop I hope they last closer to advertised! I ride all seasons (last missed work commute now over 4 years ago) and log ~6,500 miles a year. So that translates to only 18 months or so..! I was replacing chains pretty regularly on my two previous rides (Surly Moonlander and Charge Mixer) and bottom brackets were getting killed by the road salt (plus my prodigious sweat) too. I wonder if the poor lifespan experiences were related to improper belt tension? I would venture to guess that would be a life related issue... I'll do some more research on that.
Cheers!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh everyone posting at the same time around the world now I see.

Where did you get the bike? Local bikeshop, cyclemonkey, ..... ?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Sweet Carver, I've been thinking about a similar setup with the Pinion and belt drive, but it will take quite a bit of savings to get there.

I've got 2 belt drive bikes, my single speed sees 2-3K miles a year in whatever the weather throws at me (including road salt). I'd guess I have somewhere around 7k miles on the original belt/drivetrain and no issues thus far.

The "Centertrack" design may live longer than the original version, but don't quote me on that. I actually ran across a different brand other than Gates with a belt drive that runs even lower tension than the Gates system.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

My apologies for the offence Dutchman, it was not my intent. :nonod: Nothing wrong with your word usage at all.

Nice ride Mr Fixie. Interesting setup too. So does that fork offer a small amount of suspension or is it more of a vibration dampener?

Cold wind still here this morning. Stupid situation where I was generally cold but sweating. Been at my desk an hour now and still not warmed through.


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> Sweet Carver, I've been thinking about a similar setup with the Pinion and belt drive, but it will take quite a bit of savings to get there.
> 
> I've got 2 belt drive bikes, my single speed sees 2-3K miles a year in whatever the weather throws at me (including road salt). I'd guess I have somewhere around 7k miles on the original belt/drivetrain and no issues thus far.
> 
> The "Centertrack" design may live longer than the original version, but don't quote me on that. I actually ran across a different brand other than Gates with a belt drive that runs even lower tension than the Gates system.


It's good to gear your mileage experience formula4spe! I think that the centertrack design will perform better in expelling (rather than choking on) snow and mud. I'll be monitoring that closely when the snow comes!

On cost, yes this was not a cheap build, but I 'justified' it by the fact that I never drive to work, and therefore rarely drive other than weekends. This also becomes an investment in my health, which is hard to put a monetary value on. This bike evolved during many hours of commuting in my head, imagining how much easier it would be to go 'thin to fat'. This of course reduces risk, because I've crashed a few times on the snow and ice, when I was surprised by sudden weather change, and didn't want to spend a lot of time changing bikes - with computer/lights/cameras/bags etc to swap over.


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

SlipSpace said:


> My apologies for the offence Dutchman, it was not my intent. :nonod: Nothing wrong with your word usage at all.
> 
> Nice ride Mr Fixie. Interesting setup too. So does that fork offer a small amount of suspension or is it more of a vibration dampener?
> 
> Cold wind still here this morning. Stupid situation where I was generally cold but sweating. Been at my desk an hour now and still not warmed through.


SlipSpace, my previous commuting rig was so different (steel frame/fork, heavier, panniers on the front to offset heft of NuVinci hub in the rear) that it's tough to assess the 'actual effect' of that truss fork. What I do know is, as a lighter rider (155 pounds) and now having the panniers on the back, the front end now feels very light - even with the Lou's. I imagine the Jones truss fork, which is made with smaller diameter tubing as well as a greater 'span' spacing the tubes would be more compliant than this one. I';ll admit to speccing this fork more for the aesthetic than function... ?

On the sweating in the cold, I know the feeling.. One of the primary reasons I ride Schwalbe's AND slime tubes, the fear of trying to fix a flat in sb-freezing temps, while the sweat freezes me... Not a great feeling, and possibly very dangerous...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey slipspace, no worries mate! I did not feel offended, more like kind of embarrassed because I thought I wrote something funny or even stupid there *blush* so if that was not it, case closed 

Windy today on both rides with light sprinkles. No need for the raingear yet. Tomorrow will be different though. Storm will pass through early afternoon with windgusts up to 60knots. Additionally approx 15hrs of continuous rain. Will probably ride in and keep the option open to take the bus home, if the wind hasnt calmed down later in the afternoon. Bike should be relatively safe in the plant complex. Rain jacket has new repellant on so that will be a good test :d


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice looking ride mrfixie!

Dutchman, your english is great, nothing to worry about with your post.

After several #fail route experiments, I finally found a 15 mile route to work that I like. Now I need to find one home.

My new office has a dedicated bike lockup cage two levels down in the parking garage. From there I walk up the stairs, over to the the health club to change/shower then back over to the building and go up the elevator to our office (it's 30 story building). I quickly tired of carrying my pannier full of my gear. Two days ago I walked over to the nearby REI and was browsing the panniers when I saw one of these:

https://www.rei.com/product/115450/...SRXivpvOANbKdv99mCzIYLm4gztap27QaApdjEALw_wcB

The pannier box had been opened and REI was offering it for 30% off so I grabbed it.

Two full commutes using the new pannier and here are my impressions:

- It's lighter than my current Ortlieb classic rolltop pannier
- It's smaller than my Ortlieb classic pannier (narrower and taller), but I can still get all my clothes/gear into it.
- It rides lower than my existing pannier and I am experiencing more heel strike.
- The bottom rack clip that comes with it does not work on my rack. I just use the two top rack mounts and let the bottom move around. It has not been a problem so far and I can always bungie it if needed.
- I LOVE that it converts into a backpack, very comfortable to walk around while wearing.
- The backpack kit comes on and off very easily, and it stores in it's pocket with little fuss.

The main issues that keep me from calling it perfect are the slightly smaller size and the heel strike issue. Will give it more time/rides before making a final decision.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks Dutchman :thumbsup:

You soon got that all sorted Woodway. Backpack looks great! I find my Ortliebs don't quite fit my pannier either but the bottom hook does at least go behind a stay even if it doesn't fix it solid. I have mis-fitted them on occasion and missed the hook and they dont go anywhere.

I think perhaps we have part of the same weather system Dutchman. Went out early to help my lad do something on his motorbike and it was chucking it down with rain and windy / squally. By the time I left the rain had stopped but it was still windy. Side and head on mostly. It was not too bad through the city and first few lanes with hedges but the last 4-5 miles are mostly just open and I was battered. Glad I was forced to ride though with the car still being out of action.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rode today. Rain this morning, tested the new rainpants and jacket with new water repellant on it. Both performed very well. During the day the storm passed through. Although it was just 3hrs it was enough to stop train traffic in and around town because of blownover trees on the tracks. During lunchbreak a leaf was blown into my face and that actually hurt. It was dry and calm again at 5pm so I rode home. On the way home, I had to climb over/around 4 downed trees. Will take the folding saw tomorrow to take care of the smaller ones.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice backpack woodway. Have been looking at that one myself already but dont need a backpack so no need to buy another pannier. 

Slipspace, may very well be that the storm passed through your place earlier. It came from the west-southwest where you are.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sounds like you may have had it worse than us if it was downing so many trees! The evening here ended up being quite still with a cloudless sky. Consequently the temperature dropped overnight so it was chilly this morning. Just the right kind of chilly for me though, where I could reach working temp but not sweat too much.

Some guy blasted past me on his bike as I was coming up to the footbridge this morning. I don't mind that but not a word from him. We exited the footbridge steps, I walk a little faster I guess as I was just behind him, and headed down hill under the railway a few hundred metres further on. He was messing about with his gears on the incline out the otherside so I passed him. He caught me again and sat on my wheel for the next mile and a half until I slowed for a junction which he just blew through. I think he tried to make more space and I tried to catch him, neither were successful. He then turned off a mile or so later. Not seen him before. And that is the most exciting my ride has been this week


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^So he was riding in your SlipSpace for a while...

Wow, where are all the people gone. This use to be a bustling community and now it is a little more like a ghost town. Maybe the trials of winter commuting will lure people back.

Good commute today. I'm taking it easy today because I have a century on Saturday and am attempting to "get 'er done" in under 5 hours. It is a pretty hilly course and there is a pretty stiff wind forecast so I don't know. I've never done a sub 5 century.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ indeed he was :lol:

I think you and the Dutchman have been the stalwarts of the thread over the summer. Good on you both for keeping it going :thumbsup: My own contributions have been somewhat sporadic and certainly a lot of the folk who were here a year ago are seldom seen or are gone :sad:

wishing you strong legs and fair weather for the century tomorrow!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sub five hour century on a hilly course would be quite an achievement.

Gotta love "stupid commuter races" SlipSpace. I've participated in a few over the years myself. They break up the monotony of the daily commute.

I took the day off today (from commuting and work). Going mountain biking later when it warms up a bit! Have a good weekend everybody.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I plan on getting help. I did it with a group in 5.25 hours last year. There's about 6000' of climbing. Did I say Saturday, I meant Sunday. One full rest day in between. Forecast is up to 80F which is almost unheard of this time of year.

A day off for mountain biking, sounds great!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I went back some pages to see who was there regularly. Somehow, since CB and Newf left, its not the same here. Sockeyeus, Texan n Fla, NDD, Blockphi, Rodar Ghost Kleebs MTBx TenSpeed BrianMC jeffscott Harold ... you name it I miss it. 

And Forster didnt even post pics of his new Ti bike yet!!! :madmax: :incazzato:

Again lots of rain this morning. Was debating with myself whether to put on the windstopper or rain jacket, decided on windstopper, then sky opened up and put on the raingear. Rained pretty hard at some times and all the way. Halfway I met a collegue coming from the other side on a T intersection. He was riding in a softshell jacket and shorts!! And completely soaked of course. Rode the last stretch together and had a good chat before work. Ride home was better, stiff tailwind and sunny. Made a detour and picked up wife and son shortly before home. Rode home together, picked up 2nd son at his friend's place, then home :thumbsup: 

The storm yesterday was short but more severe than expected. Here in northern Germany at least 7 people died including a local politician from the Berlin city senate. Still lots of train interruptions today. Second storm already in which people die here. So far, Somehow the weather is going berserk this year.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I am still reading here, but not riding much. So not much to post. I have a variable hours part time job that does not involve commuting as home is the base. It requires a car.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:thumbsup: BrianMC


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> And Forster didnt even post pics of his new Ti bike yet!!! :madmax: :incazzato:
> 
> QUOTE] Yup, sorry about that. Couldn't post it with the white brake hoods, just looked to goofy. I'll take a couple as soon as our rain quits.
> 
> Didn't commute once last week. We had thunderstorms with lightening every day but Wednesday and that morning my rear blinky had fallen off my camelback so I had to skip. There's no way to get to work without at least two miles of road and we just had a fatal crash (drunk driver during the day) but I knew my wife would be pissed if she found out that I even took the chance so I let better judgement overtake the need to ride.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2017)

Pretty straight forward build. The Lynskey folks had everything prepped and ready to go. Not a thread that needed cleaning although the bottom bracket was a little shy of 68mm. A 1.5mm spacer between the frame and bearing had everything in order. Added a pick of the sticker from last weekend's memorial ride. It was designed by one of Randy Gibson's graphics students. It's a keeper.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@forster: now that you posted those pics I wish you hadnt. I want one too!!


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> @forster: now that you posted those pics I wish you hadnt. I want one too!!


Just got back from Menards where I snagged some stainless set screws. Perfect for filling those unused fender and rack mount holes. Should keep the crud out of the frame. I'll tell you, if I didn't have the parts to build it already, I'd have just bought one of their complete bikes on closeout. I'm not sure you could internet save your way to a cheaper comparable build.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> I am still reading here, but not riding much. So not much to post. I have a variable hours part time job that does not involve commuting as home is the base. It requires a car.


Sorry to hear that you aren't getting to ride much but glad you are still lurking! 



cyclingdutchman said:


> @forster: now that you posted those pics I wish you hadnt. I want one too!!


Ditto. I'd love to replace my Cross Check with something like that.:thumbsup:

The century ride was a success. I set out to do a sub-5 hour century and met my goal! We'll have to go with moving time since the ride was plagued with flats, myself included. (https://www.strava.com/activities/1221752720). The drafting sucked in the rain but it could have been much worse.

100 miles yesterday didn't keep me from commuting today. The bike was already disgusting and it was raining again this morning so what the heck. This is the first real rain we've had in about a month so I'm not complaining.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats on your sub 5 century bedwards! I would probably fall off my bike before half the distance....

Chilly 3C this morning. First time this fall with buff and thin gloves but still without windstopper pants. Ride home was between two showers but managed to come home dry. Took the road both ways since I scouted the unpaved section yesterday, its still totally soaked and 2 trees still blocking the way.

Again two days of rain coming...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Impressive bedwards. At 5600+ ascent, that is not a flat century. I won't tell anyone about elapsed time if you don't. Well done.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Thanks, we don't have a lot of flat. I'm sure you don't either.

I bummed a ride last night from an office mate that was leaving at the same time as me, with a pickup truck that passes my driveway. It was pouring.

Today's ride in had some unintended cyclocross. Squeezed off the bike lane by a truck, I decided to ride across the "grass". Or fresh loam recently soaked by rain. Instantly muddy.




​


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Forster, that is a nice looking machine, i'll join the list for 'I want one' too!

Bedwards, Great work on the century!

Dutchman, sounds like you're getting some bad weather over there, sunny and fine over this way.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I actually headed over to the Lanskey site to see what they had. There are a lot of very good closeouts there if they have something you like in your size. Very Good! Like this: https://lynskeyperformance.com/r240-frameset-di2-ready-size-large/ If they has something like this with fender mounts I might be buying it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have been looking at the light touring frame which is apparently a cooper cx with fender/rack mounts....

Unexpected dry on both rides today. Put the hardshell jacket on and had the rainpants strapped on the rack for immediate access but it wasnt necessary. Quick rides too today, averaged 21.6 kph which I normally do only in summer. (please dont laugh I know you guys are mostly faster....and it looks like kindergarten compared to bedwards sub5hr century....)

Slipspace: good weather from you apparently coming this way, seems to be really good this weekend. Hoping for a nice family ride already.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

OK everyone, it's time for the frozen toe commutes! This morning (as I pulled into the lot in my car) the thermometer read 25 degrees (that's Fahrenheit). That's quite cold, but I have the gear to handle it except for my toes.

I'm looking around and thinking these may do the trick: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S9D1FU4/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1LJNURTBFSV5N&colid=3R3BUPBP16YAW. Anyone with any experience commuting with these things in your boots? Frozen toes are the only thing I'm scared of, even with my new insulated biking shoes.

...and to include a commuting story. I rode in on Friday expecting cold and it was unseasonably warm. I must have looked like a stripper peeling off layers every time I stopped. I was, frankly, tempted to strip off my biking pants and put on the shorts I packed in my bag, but for the potential embarrassment of standing there at the side of the trail changing as someone walked up.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Those toe warmers can work but do you have enough space in your shoe for that? They look quite thick to me.

Managed to dodge the rain on both rides today. Its getting windy but dry the next days. Finally all the fallen trees are taken.away so all routes are available again. Unpaved part of my commute is very muddy though. Will get better now that we have more sun coming the next days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've used the chemical toe warmers for really cold weather, below 0F. The do help some but I don't like the cost. (coming from a man that bought Lake 303 boots) They are pretty thin so they fit in your shoes as long as they aren't too tight. Which of course they aren't since you bought winter shoes and sized up for extra socks, right?  They are also activated by air which they don't get a lot of inside your shoes so they don't heat up as much as the hand warmers. Pro-Tip, put them in zip lock bags with the air squeezed out to use them a few times.

I got a pinch flat on the way home last night, not sure why because I was riding easy. Patched the first hole. Nope. New tube got me home. Patched both holes and put the repaired tube back in. Nope. This morning it was flat again. As a co-worker put it to me...F the old tube. I totally agree. Took a different bike this morning and found what I think is the third life jacket along my route.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Yes, I did size up when I bought the boots and there is plenty of room in the toe box for the warmers. ;-) I'm going to give them a shot when it drops to freezing and I'll report back. I can tell, based on rides, that the insulated boots won't be quite enough.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

36Miles said:


> Yes, I did size up when I bought the boots and there is plenty of room in the toe box for the warmers. ;-) I'm going to give them a shot when it drops to freezing and I'll report back. I can tell, based on rides, that the insulated boots won't be quite enough.


Are you running flat pedals or clips? With flats I usually don't need insulated shoes until around 20F, just nice wool socks around 25F with regular shoes. Of course everyone reacts differently to the weather, my body doesn't like the heat.


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2017)

So, I'm loving the Lynskey Urbano. I did manage to CAT 6 myself this morning because I'm not used to the silhouette yet. I was riding along and the shadow of an unfamiliar bike was closing fast. I was already standing and shifting when I realized it was just another shadow cast by a car in the oncoming left turn lane. Sometimes I amuse myself.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

formula4speed said:


> Are you running flat pedals or clips? With flats I usually don't need insulated shoes until around 20F, just nice wool socks around 25F with regular shoes. Of course everyone reacts differently to the weather, my body doesn't like the heat.


I ride with flats, but I have some foot issues that make it hard for me to tell when my feet are getting cold, so I tend to err on the side of caution. I put on the insulated boots in pretty much any weather colder than 40F, and struggle with cold feet around 30F. Of course, the key problem is that my commute is 90 minutes. I'm fine for 60 minutes, but that last 30 minutes is often touch and go when it's cold, hence the need for warmers.


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## kyle_vk (Jul 25, 2011)

It was....dark. Car broke down so it was take your fat bike to work day! Averaged 14mph on the way home (10.2 miles) which is pretty good for me, especially since I couldnt get into my highest gear









Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Been a beautiful week so far here and I have biked zero times. No sleeping properly so just damn tired all the time.

Maybe save the life jacket for sketchy lake crossings later in the year Bedwards....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Somebody mentioned that the last time I found one. 


kyle_vk said:


> It was....dark. Car broke down so it was take your fat bike to work day! Averaged 14mph on the way home (10.2 miles) which is pretty good for me, especially since I couldnt get into my highest gear


 14MPH is flying on a fatbike!

Not much to report on the commute. The temps are heading down towards freezing.

My wife and I are taking tomorrow off to go to Kingdom Trails. It's rated one of the top 10 mountain biking trail networks on a lot of lists and I have never been.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards, I think that I said that and you answered that you rather rely on the flotation of your fatbike tires ;o))

So, dry but windy today with gusts of 35kts. Ride in took longer, ride home was faster and the round trip average was ... average so nothing special. 


Slipspace is sending nice weather over here, 3 warm and sunny days as from sunday. Hope to make the most.of it - could be the last nice days of the year...


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Was a good week on the commuter, started taking a street instead of the trail on the downhill way to work. They've been repaving and restriping the street so it now has a defined bike lane and side parking instead of a crazy 4 lane free for all. Shaves a good 6-8 minutes off the ride in. Is it ok to talk about it being dark yet? :lol: I started work a little earlier lately and I love it, less cars, less noise, less peoples, less light. makes me mo happy in the morning!


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## bmf032 (Sep 8, 2010)

^^^It's good to hear that you're doing well. I've really been enjoying the dark morning solitude lately also.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

This upcoming week looks like a good one for commuting. Temps in the high 30s/low 40s, dry. I just upgraded my bike to 1x10: 34t + 11-36. Since I was just riding in the 36t for all my commuting anyway, I decided to change. Eager to take it on the long ride. We'll see Monday.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

So despite the North West of the country getting the tail end of hurricane Ophelia (now storm class I believe) and 100+mph winds here on the east it bright, sunny, not really windy and we're anticipating highs of 23C!! Shorts and tee only required


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Was feeling really good this morning, legs felt fresh and I was just cruising along. Nice crisp fall morning, temps in the high 50s, low wind.

Then something clunked hard on the ground, took me a few seconds to figure out what happened. The mount for my bar mounted light decided to disassemble itself, sending my light flying onto the concrete. :madman:

At least it will still be light for my ride home and I don't have to rely on my helmet light alone.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Late start today and rode with wife and kids to kindergarten. 13C already and very nice overall. Incredible 20C on the way home. Tshirt, helmet and go. 2 more.days of that are.coming apparently, yay!


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2017)

Okay ride in minus the driver who gave me crap because I "cut her off" (after she parked in the middle of the pedestrian crossing at a stop sign). Best motorist quote ever after I said you have to stop at the stop sign, not in front of the sidewalk "Where does it say that?" reply "You mean stop? or at the sidewalk?. It says stop on that big red sign, it says before crossing the sidewalk in the law, the drivers manual, probably on the internet." On the ride home? Broke another spoke climbing. I don't think I've ever broken a spoke doing anything gut climbing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Some motorists are so clueless. I hate the ones that try to be overly polite and wave you through intersections, etc. Appreciate the gesture but things would be more predictable if they would treat us like another vehicle on the road.

Bummer about the spoke. Repeated broken spokes are a sign of a bigger problem with how the wheel is put together.

Rain here today. Pretty much going to be the drill until next May


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Too much power on the pedals forster. Spokes cant handle the torque ;o))

Red sun and sky here today due to sahara sand blown overhere by storm ophelia. Maybe slipspace had the same, at least from the UK I heard some news about it.

Again a near perfect day today. 14C this morning and a nice tailwind. Easy day at work and nice ride home again. Dust in the sky blocked the sun so temps stayed at 16C so sunglasses stayed in the pannier.


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2017)

Spoke issue is likely more an issue with the way I'm put together than the way the wheel was built. There is a torque issue at play though, they always break in a climb. Typically I break spokes that aren't DT and aren't natural stainless. The last one broke at the nipple, but every prior wheel broke at the j-bend. This wheelset is a low count/low budget set I'll put on a bike with a lighter rider. I've got a Blunt SL/XT wheelset I'll use, but that needs the rear wheel respoked (Handmade Wheels wheelset, but with those dang black spokes). Never had any issues when I weighted 165# in the early eighties and I had a lot more torque.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

I hear ya Forster, I've been breaking a spoke every couple months, always on a climb where I get up out of the saddle and rock the bike. I try not to do that anymore, I just keep the bike straight up now. I also check my spokes every over day to make sure they are tight. I'd like to get a heavier duty rear wheel to support my 220# dad bod so I don't have to worry about it so much. But on the positive side I'm getting better at replacing spokes and truing wheels lol.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nothing special yesterday and today. Nice days are over now, tomorrow afternoon rain is coming and from then on it will most likely rain a lot every day. So nothing special for this time of year either.

Kudos to the people having frost and snow already!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Red sun and sky here today due to sahara sand blown overhere by storm ophelia. Maybe slipspace had the same, at least from the UK I heard some news about it.


Yes we did have that! Orange/red sky, really low light level. Not like dark though more like a solar eclipse. Was very weird.

Managed monday to wednesday, car today and tomorrow


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Forster, I bow down to your superior power output 

Nothing special here either, 40MPH wind gusts yesterday, pouring rain today. Fall has finally come to the Pacific Northwest of the US...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Dry rides today. Rain played tricks on me on the.way home. Rain when I left my office. Came outside, dry ??? Strapped the rainpants on the rear rack for quick access but I didnt need it. Made a short stop along the.way to take a nice pic along the way: sun between the yellow/red coloured trees, dark sky with rainbow in the background. A lovely sight to.start the weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey all! Checking in. I was busy with truck selling and buying last week and didn't ride as much as usual.:eekster:

I missed some of the perfect weather last week and have some rain coming in tomorrow. We really need it so OK. I can't remember the last time we had a soaking rain. Today was nice.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Drizzle and 11C all day. At least the new water repellant seems to be holding. Not as good as new anymore but still working very well. If lasts until in.december I will be completely satisfied. Test ongoing...

And took the road all day. Unpaved section is partly totally muddy and partly repacked, but now its rattling my teeth out :madmax:


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2017)

Nice on the ride in, windy as hell on the ride home. 35 gusting to 50 tailwinds, crosswinds and head winds.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

Mine could have been very frustrating.

I had to get to a place to sign a document by 5 PM and knew it would be hammer time against 15-25 MPH headwinds. I arrived at the place 4:54 and the door was locked. A light came on and a guy opened the door apologizing just about the time I could have been quite frustrated by their locking up early. We were both impressed considering the distance, traffic, and for me knowing the wind.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Started late today. Commuted with my youngest son on the balance bike to kindergartenin a beautiful sunrise. Rode to work from there. No wind, fog and the typical autumn smell in the air.

Ride home was wet. It rained and somehow that makes people feeling invincible somehow. Suddenly people run across the street without looking when t rains. Had to hit the brakes when a cyclist that I was about to overtake suddenly took a left turn. Yelled at her to watch out while I was skidding across the street with my rear wheel locked up but she didnt even react. I guess she was earplugged and a typical darwin award nominee.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Lucky escape bitflogger!

50mph gusts? Phew I think I would skip the ride forster. Might be the case thirsday here, I have the bus option at hand...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Was I the only one on the bike yesterday?

Wet ride this morning, enough drizzle to have the raingear on. Took the unpaved route and it was very muddy. Had some leafs caught in the fender strut, when I wanted to take it away it turned out to be dog sh!t and I ended up rubbing my hands with a (real!!) leaf and washing my hand in the ditch. Yuck! It got dry halfway and took off the rainpants.

Ride home was good. Good pace, dry, 13C, stiff tailwind and a nice sunset. What else would a bikecommuter want?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

dutchman are you talking to yourself? That's Dogsh!t! 

I've been able to ride every day this week. The rain missed us yesterday but we've got off and on POURING rain today. It's some of the only rain we've had in months so it's fine. Pretty windy too.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I almost dodged the rain on the ride in yesterday, was raining right before I left, but it let up just as I was getting ready to head out. Rode as fast as I could hoping to beat the coming showers, was doing really well until I was maybe 5 minutes from the office and the rain came down hard.

Sometimes you win the race with the weather, sometimes you lose. The ride home was actually gorgeous though and we have mostly sunny and cooler weather for the rest of this week.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Dutchman that sucks I usually get dog poop on my shoes not my hands, yuk!

Commutes are over for the week. Headed out of town, maybe I'll rent a e-bike on the beach lol. 

And man my mup trail to work is getting bad, is stinks soooo bad in some places. poo piss homeless peoples dog whatevers, have been avoiding it and taking streets home. Feel like I could catch some ecoli from just breathing, exaggerating but that's the way it smells. Pray for rain to wash it all away!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I've ridden every day this week to. Got rained on today during the ride home. Nothing out of the ordinary. I took an alternate route home, I knew the route had a big hill but I did not realize the hill was 700' of climbing in a mile. WOOF. My pannier was extra heavy today with stuff I was bringing home from the office - I was gassed at the top!

Supposed to be sunny the rest of the week - yay!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sounds like a hell of a hill! Sounds like it must be a 20% grade in spots.

Today is my third day this week on the rain bike. Also the third time this month on the rain bike. And only the 8th day on it since the beginning of July. We needed the rain! It feels heavier every time I ride it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Was it Merkx who said "it doesnt get lighter you just go faster" ? :lol:

Nice rides again today, since it was dry, little wind and sh!t around. 

I start to think about gloves though....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Not sure if it ever got to 20% but there was one stretch where I was in my granny gear, standing, and working so hard that I was wondering if I was going to have to get off and push 

I've ridden my rain bike every day this week. Come to think of it, I have ridden my rain bike every day this year. I've ridden my summer bike every day this year too! 

You ride with no gloves Dutchman?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi woodway, yes without gloves asong as its not too cold. And I am thinking of putting on the thin windstopper gloves now that temps are dropping. They hold until freezing, below freezing I use thicker gloves and so far that has helped.

I do have a pair of fingerless gloves but rarely wear them. Sometimes in summer as UV protection.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

9C this morning and I was thinking about the gloves again on the way in...
Rode with a collegue home and it was a nice change to have a chat during a ride. Overall it was a nice day although it turned windy during the day. Apparently a storm is passing through tomorrow evening and during the night. 

I have a long weekend ahead since Tuesday is a public holiday here and Monday I took a day off. 4 days of time to wrench on the bike: Put on the Conti wintercontacts, clean and grease the creaking dropouts and clean, lube and tension the chain when putting the rear wheel back in. Brakepads need to be checked, brakes may need some cleaning, rotors as well.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I had to use padded gloves in addition to the foam bar tape and larger softer riding tires to reduce neuropathy and numbness in hands and arms to the point of not being able to write. That appears to be part of my (now almost fixed) heavy metal toxicity. In the spring it will be nice to trial no gloves in nicer weather. I have double thickness bar tape and the non-belted Panasonic 28s ride well. I just need to get on the bike more.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

so so.

it was raining like hell, and it started just after about 2 mins into the ride. my glasses fogged up and I just didnt care. I just kept on going. 
Wearing non rain clothes I got wet as fuk. 

And then about half way to work I passed some c*unt blipping on a phone, I was going fast, then suddenly I feel a wire getting tensioned over my left arm. And I'm like muddafukkah, has some fukr put up a wire across the bike lane??
then it snapped.

turened out it was that c*unts dog leash getting tensioned to the breaking point, the fukn dog was out in the ditches about 10m out and the c*unt didnt know where the fukn dog was obviously. because she was on her phone.

then she came running, saying i'm so sorry, I'm so sorry...

i stopped and asked her "are you fuked in the head"??
then I asked her again "are you fuked in the head" in my language of course

there and then I conteplated to either
1: spit here in the face;
2: knock her out for crimes against humanity
3: take the phone and fuking smash it right there. hard and repeatedly
4: calling the cops and go through the process. I mean she was dangerous and neglegant to the extreme.

I ended up just leaving, but in retrospect I should have smashed her fuking phone right there, and taken whatever punishement that would have come from it (likely nothing).
sometimes you have to teach people a lesson, and I failed to do this today. I will regret this for the rest of my life.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No rides at all last week, while we had unseasonably high temperatures in the mid to high teens Centigrade.... 

Rode this morning, 5C, so glad of the leggings and thicker gloves. The hour changed at the weekend so it'll be my first dark ride on the way home since March I guess.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ride home was ok. Had a look at the action cam footage and the unlit roads show nothing except the distant house lights 

This morning was ok again.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

My office is experimenting with letting everyone work from home, so this whole week is a test week with potential for it becoming permanent. So while I don't have my usual commute, I can just jump on the bike and do a loop to wherever I want before coming home to work. My morning miles are slightly up so far, and the scenery is better.

Hope I don't get kicked out of the forum...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy Sh!t car bone take a deep breath and try not so start swinging at people.  Good to see you back here! 

I had to take the day off from biking yesterday. We had near hurricane force winds and trees coming down everywhere. It wasn't an actual hurricane but about 1/2 the state is without power, myself included. I was going to take the bike home but had to rush home to fight with the generator. They are saying it could be up to a week for some people to get their power back. I'd guess a few days for me. 

Anyway, I got to take the bike in today. There is debris all over the roads and the gentle hum of generators from the houses that have them.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

formula4speed said:


> So while I don't have my usual commute, I can just jump on the bike and do a loop to wherever I want before coming home to work. My morning miles are slightly up so far, and the scenery is better.


I worked from home for two years formula and it was nice just being able to go out and ride a loop. But over time it was harder and harder to continue riding the same loops. I was very happy to take an office job where I ride to work every day - I found that I really missed having a purpose to my rides. Good luck with it, I hope it works out for you.



formula4speed said:


> Hope I don't get kicked out of the forum...


Not going to happen!

bedwards - whew, sounds like quite a mess! Good luck with the cleanup.

Nothing much to report here except uneventful rides. Just the way I like them.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Day 3 without power. I took the camp road home yesterday to see the damage. Trees down everywhere. They are predicting that people will have power on Saturday but I think a lot of people will be out a lot longer than that. 








The ride in was good, cold. I may have to skip the afternoon ride to get home and fire up the generator to keep the house warm and the food cold.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ We get big fall windstorms here in the Pacific Northwest too. I've been out of power for as long as two weeks. It really sucks (but a generator takes some of the sting off). Hope your power comes back soon.

Rain here today. Winter is coming fast.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

2 weeks is quite a while. I've used more gas in my generator in 3 days than I have commuting in 3 months!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^That sucks about the power Bedwards! It's good that you were prepared for it though with the generator. Is that a common thing in your area? 

Formula4speed. I quite like the idea of that setup with home working. Not sure I have the discipline not to get distracted by other stuff though tbh.

Feeling it in my legs today. Third day riding but also ran 4 miles at lunch on monday and tuesday. Time sucks, I used to be quite a lot quicker, another couple of minutes on my 4 mile time would have seen me doing 5 and a bit 2 years ago, on a hillier course too.

Ride was good though


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Common enough. This time of year it's no big deal, maybe you loose your food but if it happens mid winter and all your heating and plumbing pipes freeze you're pretty screwed. 

I coudn't be disciplined enough to work at home, hell, I'm not disciplined enough not to get distracted working from work seeing that I am posting here and all.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Working from home sounds alluring and all, but it comes with it's own set of issues:

- distractions, which you have all brought up. You really have to be organized about what you want to accomplish each day and stick to it.

- Lack of social interaction.

- Communication with your colleagues is more difficult. You need to get off slack/email and commit to spending a lot of time on skype/phone.

- Putting a wall between personal/work. Easy to do when you leave the office and head home. Harder to do when your office is home.

- Having the discipline to keep up your riding when the weather is crummy or some other distraction seems to be a priority.

I did it for two years and managed to find a balance. I'd do it again if I had to but for now I am glad to be back in a office environment. I hope it works out for you, formula.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Dang that sucks about the power bedwards, good thing you're prepared, I've been through the frozen pipes thing in cold country before, nothing like a basement full of water and guitars floating around! 

Commutes have been kinda fun lately, been avoiding the trails because they smell so bad in places, so I've been riding through some residential areas, just wandering my way home. A little white fluffy dog chased me for about 300 yards last night, fast little booger. A few nights before a German Shep was pacing back and forth in his front yard, I thought for sure he was going to jump the fence and come at me, but nope.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I'd bet maybe 1 in a 1000 houses has any kind of generator around here but then it's a different environment. Most people wouldn't know what to do with it anyway.

Thanks for the reflections there Woodway, interesting stuff.

Sounds like it's a good job the dogs were that way around Eugene  Cycling is an excellent way to go urban exploring though! :thumbsup:

Not much to report here. Around the 5C marker and overcast mostly with reasonable winds.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, it rained pretty good today. Guess all the snowflakes decided to drive  Usually the bike room at the office is packed. Today my bike was kind of lonely...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Nice facility. Glad it normally gets more use so is not threatened by elimination.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cool bike room. I park mine in the front hallway at work. I've done it so long that nobody seems to mind. The fact that my wife and I are the only ones that bike to work and we're both been here over 25 years probably doesn't hurt. 

POWER is on! We were out for 3 days. Hopefully internet will be soon, that's been out for 5 at home now. 

Today's commute was crazy warm for this time of year. I went back in and changed twice before I ended up in just shorts and a short sleeve shirt. ON A NOVEMBER MORNING! 

I'm so glad it is Friday!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

That bike room is sweet woodway.

I actually biked into the office today with the cargo bike to grab some stuff. There was some construction on the way in where they dug up the MUP, leaving a couple large gaps in the pavement I had to carry the cargo bike over. Bakfiets are good for a lot of things, carrying them over gaps in the pavement is not one of them.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards got the power back on now?

Nice Bikeroom F4S!! I am in a big company and the bike has to stay outside..after long discussions with the workforce reps they finally built some roofs over some bikestands, but when its windy, rain is blown right through.

And you can be glad that you have a modern bakfiets. The old original "bakfiets" (Cargobikes) from NL look more like this one: 

__
https://flic.kr/p/3843995808

Finally on the bike today. Was off Monday and Tuesday and got sick on Tuesday. Had to stay home Wednesday, took the bus yesterday since I was still not feeling 100% ok but today, yes today I rode!!

And it was good. Quiet, clear dark sky with stars when leaving the city and slight fog above the ground. First ride with gloves and buff though..it was 4C. Visited the LBS on the way home got get breakcleaner and bearinggrease. Also got advice on how to try to eliminate the bearing play on my dynamohub and what they can do to change/fix parts before a new hub (economically seen, a new wheel) is necessary.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Today was crazy. I went outside to get my bike out of the closet and it was snowing! About 1" on the roads. We live at about 600 feet and I know from experience that if I can just get a couple hundred feet lower the snow will turn to rain. Traction was not too bad and as I nursed my bike into the transition from snow to rain zone, I flatted!

So now I'm getting poured on with rain/wet snow, my gloves off, changing the tube out. I got soaked and cold. Made it to work and a hot shower never felt so good.

Bike room is a nice amenity. It's got a tool stand and lockers. It's heavily used in the summer...there could be 50 bikes in there (it's a large office building and there is actually a 2nd room just like the one I took a photo of), but in winter not so much. My only criticism is that the pump on the tool stand ONLY fits schrader valves, despite 95% of the bikes sporting presta valves. Might need to talk to the management


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> My only criticism is that the pump on the tool stand ONLY fits schrader valves, despite 95% of the bikes sporting presta valves. Might need to talk to the management


Aluminum adaptors are light and cheap and using one adds only a few seconds to the occasional top-off. small price to pay for such a facility!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Glad you're fighting fit again Dutchman. That is a beast of a cargo bike you linked to!

As said already, that is a good facility there Woodway!

0C this morning. car windscreens were frozen but roads seemed ok for the bike. Mostly they were but the country road near work was a bit sketchy in places, I could feel the rear end squirming on the iced over uneven road surface. I felt cold though, didn't sweat much was was handy as I was too late to shower, just a quick wipe over. Consequently I've been here nearly an hour now and still feel cold. More hot coffee required.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Bedwards got the power back on now?


Power is on but still no internet, now over a week. Some friends just got power last night.

Woodway, that's enough of the S word. 

It is crazy warm here again, 65F but is forecast to be 22F by the end of the week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards is your lake freezing already? (Mind: No S word  :lol Good to hear you have power again. No internet is annoying but survivable (I hope at least, nowadays you never know...)

Woodway: Sheez a flat in the rain, that suxx big time. Do you repair the old tube or only replace it? 

I started late this morning and rode via Kindergarten again. It was 2C but it must have frozen last night, since most car roof tops were frozen over. Blue sky, no wind so first time I remember to have the gloves, Buff AND sunglasses on  Also first time this winter wearing the padded jacket. 
Ride home was at 3-4C in the dark and slightly foggy already. Glasses fogged up so stuffed those in my pocket after a while. Despite the light fog the stars were very visible in the sky. Very nice rides today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My wife was swimming in the lake not much more than a week ago. Usually that is over by the end of September but this year it was almost October. That can all change in a few days.

This will be the first ride home since we set the clocks back. It will be dark before I leave work. Hello Winter.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Yep, the hour changed here last weekend. Night riding home makes it all harder.

Kudos to your wife, I reckon I'd want a heated drysuit for open water swimming in Oct!

Ride home was cold. Although the actual temp was a few C above the ride in no sun to warm my poor old bones made it feel much colder! Hat, buff, gloves and jacket etc but I still felt cold. Got home cold but sweating... I'm doing something wrong somewhere.

This morning was back up to around 6 or 8C I think.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I wimped out and took the car home yesterday. It was pouring and dark. It just felt safer. That meant that I had to bring the car back this morning because my wife didn't want to miss her ride in. I wonder how many households battle for who gets to get to work under their own power. Most people you can't talk into riding a bike to work.

The temperature this morning was about 35F cooler than yesterday.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yep the hour changed here too last weekend. Now suddenly dark very early in the afternoon. 

Cold and foggy this morning. We had below freezing last night but it was just above 0C when I left. 5C on the way home but with a nasty south-eastern headwind it could have been better. Tomorrow temps are going to rise again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Bedwards is your lake freezing already? ...


Maybe soon. 







That's -8C for all you folks everywhere else in the world but the United States of Fahrenheit. We've gone from seasonably warm to seasonably cold in 3 days.


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## Stupendous Man (Jan 12, 2004)

commuting every day like....








:thumbsup:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thats quite a temp drop bedwards. How many nights with that temp does it take before you can ride on the lake? I still remember that one picture of that ice chunk in the low sun you posted last winter.... :thumbsup:

Stupendous man I know gas is cheap in the US but that cheap? Nice bike btw!

Foggy again this morning, but a bit warmer. 4C in the morning, 7C on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^A Lot! The average temperature has to stay below freezing and the lake has to "catch". If it is windy the water gets stirred and the layer of ice can't form. Even when it forms if we get some warm days it will break up and disappear. It's a science.  I remember that last year I was crossing earlier than normal. A quick check on Strava shows that it was Dec 20th and it was -6F. The rides before that were a similar temp. We have a long way to go. I can wait.

The ride last night was good but chilly because I forgot a hat. I did ride to the polls to vote. I didn't get a ride in today because of vehicle complications. Hopefully tomorrow. Low riding week for me.


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## Stupendous Man (Jan 12, 2004)

woodway said:


> Today was crazy. I went outside to get my bike out of the closet and it was snowing! About 1" on the roads. We live at about 600 feet and I know from experience that if I can just get a couple hundred feet lower the snow will turn to rain. Traction was not too bad and as I nursed my bike into the transition from snow to rain zone, I flatted!
> 
> So now I'm getting poured on with rain/wet snow, my gloves off, changing the tube out. I got soaked and cold. Made it to work and a hot shower never felt so good.
> 
> Bike room is a nice amenity. It's got a tool stand and lockers. It's heavily used in the summer...there could be 50 bikes in there (it's a large office building and there is actually a 2nd room just like the one I took a photo of), but in winter not so much. My only criticism is that the pump on the tool stand ONLY fits schrader valves, despite 95% of the bikes sporting presta valves. Might need to talk to the management


That is AWESOME! Where do you work? I need to work there.


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

Flatting in rain or snow sucks. So bad in fact that I add quite a bit of weight to my bike to prevent it. A guy could be in serious exposure risk in extreme cold, so I use Schwalbe Marathon tires AND Slime inner tubes, belt plus suspenders. My rear tire usually lasts 12,000 miles and the front I have on right now has over 21,000 miles, and I’m gonna say it - ZERO punctures. When I have changed tires due to wear I will sometimes find Slime residue, proving that it has worked. 
In extreme snow I put my fat tires (Surly Lou’s) on, and don’t bother with the Slime, the tires are so gnarly so far I haven’t needed it... Touch wood!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Did you say 12,000 miles on a rear tire?:eekster: Holy Moly! I might get 3000 miles on a decent tire like a gatorskin but that's about the max. Flats too. I use to have self sealing tubes on my rain bike but I flatted and couldn't get it patched. I didn't have any new ones in stock so it just has a regular tube. I may need to look at your combo because you're right. Flats in the cold suck at best. 

Speaking of cold, it was about 20F here this morning but otherwise very nice. I rode in with my wife. It was all good!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Stupendous Man said:


> That is AWESOME! Where do you work? I need to work there.


Key Building in downtown Bellevue.



mrfixie said:


> Flatting in rain or snow sucks. So bad in fact that I add quite a bit of weight to my bike to prevent it. A guy could be in serious exposure risk in extreme cold, so I use Schwalbe Marathon tires AND Slime inner tubes, belt plus suspenders.


I've heard good things about those tires and may give them a try this winter.



bedwards1000 said:


> Did you say 12,000 miles on a rear tire?:eekster: Holy Moly! I might get 3000 miles on a decent tire like a gatorskin but that's about the max. Flats too.


I'm running Conti GP4000s. Pretty lightweight tire but generally they serve me well. I typically push them to about 4000 miles.

Rain again today. Typical.


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Did you say 12,000 miles on a rear tire?:eekster: Holy Moly!


Yes I did say 12K on the back, and 21K on the front! As far as I have been able to determine, there are no other tires that come anywhere close to these Schwalbes, but o be fair I will disclose that they are heavy, still and not the best in the wet (though far from terrible). Oh, and again, ZERO punctures! HAHA, I don't even worry about jinxing myself any more with these buggers! See the attached pic for the 21K tire, damn thing just won't wear out!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh ok Bedwards, that is almost Christmas before the lake freezes. So a few weeks before we can get those nice pics again.

MrFixie: Which Marathons are you running exactly? There is a whole range of Marathons from Racer to +Tour. A while ago I came across a test in which the "classic" one (with the 3mm green guard antipuncture belt) came out surprisingly good with rolling resistance. And in addition to the marathon tire and slime tubes, you could also add a tire liner like Mr. Tuffy. I myself use Proline anti-platt but I am not sure if it is available somewhere outside Europe.

Slow rides today. 8C all day but the unpaved section is very muddy and its sticky too. I just spend 10 minutes pooling out the mud from between the fender and rear tire with a spoon. At least, it was all just mud  . Taking the longer paved route tomorrow, since it is supposed to rain the next days again too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^At least a few. We have a few days of the unseasonably cold and then it is back to mostly above freezing even at night starting next week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I hear you bedwards, temps are going up and down here as well all year already. 

Was lucky today, rode in before the rain, went home after :lol:

Met a collegue on the way home, he managed to flat his thick fat marathon plus tour on the way home. Wanted to give him my spare tube, but mine has a car valve on it and his rim takes roadbike valves only (the thin ones). So I had to leave him behind in the dark. At least there was enough light and he had a very extensive repair kit, so I know he'll be allright.

Finally I rode 5 of 5 days this week again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, this news of Marathons flatting just a few posts down from the one that said that they go a combined 33,000 miles without a flat. The world is a confusing place!  

5 out of 5, you beat me. I'm at 2 and 2 halves. Good commute this morning but I'm going to shuttle a car home tonight. Which is fine because there is a freezing 20MPH headwind.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ooff 20mph ist nice at all.... I believe I havent had so much for a while. I managed to avoid the storm we had already this fall and for the rest it was relatively quiet.

And I managed to get that Marathon Plus Tour flat once as well. Technically even twice, but it had the same cause: Some glass shard was hidden in the puncture belt and came out only when there was weight on the tire during the ride. I found it after the second puncture, it was THROUGH the patch of the first puncture. That made me have a better look. 

On the Schwalbe Website there is always a disclaimer. First it says big UNFLATTABLE, in small it says "Every tire can be destructed even this one" etc.... :lol:

My collegue is in another office building but probably I will give him a call to see what the cause was.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> 5 out of 5, you beat me. .


I beat you?? Wow... You beat me on the total distance a year, number of bikes, centuries ( I rode 1 century in my life 20 years ago. In jeans, on a pink specialized rockhopper with green writing and knobbed tires. Didnt know better back then)


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I beat you?? Wow... You beat me on the total distance a year, number of bikes, centuries ( I rode 1 century in my life 20 years ago. In jeans, on a pink specialized rockhopper with green writing and knobbed tires. Didnt know better back then)


Ouch!  Yeah I got a Raleigh Super Course (2 x 5) in 1972 and rode it 35 miles two weeks later in blue jeans and T-shirt. I was lucky it was not worse!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey there good people of commute land. Been too long. I'm still out here riding way less than I used to, working one job instead of two and thus riding about half the mileage of the past few years. It's glorious. :lol: 

It's gettin' cold and when i broke out the "level 2" gloves I thought of you all. Whoop whoop. Keep it rolling.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey CB good to hear from you! I am still on the L1 gloves but they are sufficient for almost complete winter here :lol:


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## mrfixie (Jan 4, 2012)

Not sure why I couldn't post this yesterday, but for those interested this is the 21,000 mile Schwalbe Marathon. I believe it is the older 'standard' Marathon, unsure if they are still available. I now use the Marathon Plus (35C) on my new machine. Only 700 miles on those so far, it'll be a while but I do have about 12,000 on one of those on the old mule. It's getting low on tread though!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I.dont know how it was built back then but it looks like the classic marathon with the 3mm green guard puncture belt. Its also the one that came out with surprisingly good rolling resistance in a test a while ago.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I beat you?? Wow... You beat me on the total distance a year, number of bikes, centuries ( I rode 1 century in my life 20 years ago. In jeans, on a pink specialized rockhopper with green writing and knobbed tires. Didnt know better back then)


Not that it is a competition.  Wow, in jeans on a mountain bike. I considered doing it on my fatbike just to try to get attention and raise money for the cause. But it wouldn't be in jeans.



CommuterBoy said:


> Hey there good people of commute land. Been too long. I'm still out here riding way less than I used to, working one job instead of two and thus riding about half the mileage of the past few years. It's glorious. :lol:
> 
> It's gettin' cold and when i broke out the "level 2" gloves I thought of you all. Whoop whoop. Keep it rolling.


Good to hear from you CB. I broke out the "level 4" gloves but I think I have more levels than you. (Fingerless, full, windproof, *cold weather*, really cold weather, double layer, mittens, barmitts. It was about 20F. My decision was good. I'm not sure about my decision to ride the road bike since there is snow in the forecast today.:eekster: What? Probably should have looked at the forecast before I left for work.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Actually it was more than a century, must have been over 200km, just for the heck of it  No wonder we did it only once...

Close encounter this morning with a lorry. Started to overtake me then noticed there was opposite traffic. Stopped pedaling and put the right pedal up so that it was over the curb to get as close to the edge as I could. Yelled some not-so-nice words at the guy. My throat hurt for 10 minutes. For the rest it was ok. Windstill and solid -1C, clear sky with some early light on the horizon. Ride home was the same but 3C and the last light was in the west


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wet and rainy this morning. Will be wet and rainy this afternoon. It's that time of year.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same here woodway. 1C yesterday, 9C today and rain this morning. Dry enough this afternoon to ride without the hardshells on. 

Masscage (bus) for me tomorrow since I am heading into town in the evening. Hopefully back on the bike on Friday.

FWIW: My Anti-virus program is going mad at mtbr.com at the moment. I read that the admins are already on it.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Rough commute this morning. First, I had to carry my bike through about 1/2 mile of "death mud." Then, I ran into a sleet storm before I made it to my train. Oh well - its still better to stay active.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not the dreaded "death mud"! 

My legs are unreasonably tired for the measly 72 miles I have ridden this week vs the 120 if I commuted both ways each day. I get the afternoon off for some more running around and then a break for the weekend.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Not the dreaded "death mud"!
> 
> My legs are unreasonably tired for the measly 72 miles I have ridden this week vs the 120 if I commuted both ways each day. I get the afternoon off for some more running around and then a break for the weekend.


Yep - I hate that stuff. Not only can you not ride through it, but, even if you try to push your bike through it, it clogs up the wheel and then, when you try to carry your bike, the bike is 5 to 10 pounds heavier because of the mud.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

The cold temps and dark have been making the commutes more fun for me, also found a cool little park to do figure 8s for some more miles, half concrete half sandy dirt. Awesome sunrises and sunsets this time of year!

3 days without a post in this thread, has to be a record!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Not a record but it isn't as active as it use to be. Sunrises do seem better in the cold weather. 

I dropped the car at the shop and started to ride the rest of the way in. Flatted a few miles from work and wasn't excited about changing it at 22F. Called my wife for a pickup. She had already ridden in and was there a few miles away with a car. I jogged about a mile toward work with the bike where she met me. I hate flats in the cold more than I hate flats in general.


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## commuterbik (Oct 12, 2017)

woodway said:


> Today was crazy. I went outside to get my bike out of the closet and it was snowing! About 1" on the roads. We live at about 600 feet and I know from experience that if I can just get a couple hundred feet lower the snow will turn to rain. Traction was not too bad and as I nursed my bike into the transition from snow to rain zone, I flatted!
> 
> So now I'm getting poured on with rain/wet snow, my gloves off, changing the tube out. I got soaked and cold. Made it to work and a hot shower never felt so good.
> 
> Bike room is a nice amenity. It's got a tool stand and lockers. It's heavily used in the summer...there could be 50 bikes in there (it's a large office building and there is actually a 2nd room just like the one I took a photo of), but in winter not so much. My only criticism is that the pump on the tool stand ONLY fits schrader valves, despite 95% of the bikes sporting presta valves. Might need to talk to the management


Wow, that's commuter heaven!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> 3 days without a post in this thread, has to be a record!


Activity in this thread (and many MTBR threads) is down. Is Facebook slowly killing MTBR?



bedwards1000 said:


> Called my wife for a pickup.


The shame of it. <shaking head> 

Rode in the rain again yesterday, which is to be expected this time of year. From a climatology point of view, this is the wettest week of the year in Seattle. I have nothing to complain about, it's water, not snow and we had a fantastic summer.

I'm off today and the rest of the week. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the US.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> Activity in this thread (and many MTBR threads) is down. Is Facebook slowly killing MTBR?


Nope. MTBR had a cryptomining virus which caused several Antivirus programs (inbcluding mine) blocking this site. I continued nevertheless after the first warning but was constantly redirected suddenly to all kinds of prize winning sites so I stayed away until now.

Nothing much to say here. Had first freezing temps last week, rain and wind this week with temps going up to 14C tomorrow and back down to around freezing next week.

Managed to almost get hit 3x yesterday within 5 minutes. First time I was almost righthooked, slammed the brakes, so did he. When I continued, had to slam the brakes immediately since somebody from the other side almost "lefthooked" me, then after 3 minutes I was crossing a pedestrian crossing where somebody managed to oversee me completely despite reflective pants, jacket, helmetcover, spokereflectors and reflective sidewalls....this doubled my nearmisses of the last 4 years within 5 minutes. Congrats German drivers.

I hope you did better the last days. Wish you happy thanksgiving. Looking forward to the new black Friday fights videos at youtube


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

http://forums.mtbr.com/site-feedback-issues/mtbr-has-virus-1060572.html


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Huh, I haven't seen any signs of a virus but maybe it's because I run an ad blocker and this is one of the few sites left that doesn't force me to turn it off.

Black Friday youtube fights. Thanks for reminding me that there is something to look forward to in black Friday. Other than the obvious day off.

No flats on the way home last night!!!! I had to take a car today which is OK since it is raining. 

Have a good T-Day all those who celebrate it and all that don't too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi all, and Happy Thanksgiving hope you have been well, no way I can catch up! Not much to report, I did have my haircutter pull out in front of me, there was not a crash, but a close call, and I could see she recognized both her mistake and me. At my next haircut, right off she said "Oh my god, Barb, I almost killed you" and apologized. A coworker also admitted that when she passes me she is extra careful because "everyone at work would be really mad t me if I ran you over". I guess it is all about her, but I'll take it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Happy Thanksgiving to all whether you are celebrating it today, or not. Keep the rubber side down and may all pass you at a safe distance.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

I'm not pleased to be taking care of a work emergency but pleased that I could get here via bike at around 41 degrees in sunshine. Going home will be mostly downhill with slight tail wind.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Incredible 14C here today but with a 25mph headwind :-/

Similar sticky mud here too bctj on my unpaved part. Fenders are clogged up and had to poke it out with a stick. Will take the paved route the next days/weeks.

Happy thanksgiving all of you. Trend is swapping over to europe too, at least for online.shopping so I might hunt some bikestuff too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hi all, and Happy Thanksgiving hope you have been well, no way I can catch up! Not much to report, I did have my haircutter pull out in front of me, there was not a crash, but a close call, and I could see she recognized both her mistake and me. At my next haircut, right off she said "Oh my god, Barb, I almost killed you" and apologized. A coworker also admitted that when she passes me she is extra careful because "everyone at work would be really mad t me if I ran you over". I guess it is all about her, but I'll take it.


Just where the heck have you been young lady?

Not much to report here but I still do. Today was cold, tomorrow will be colder, Wednesday is supposed to be warmer. Repeat as necessary.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I haven't checked in here recently either. Not much going on, although this morning I had an interesting situation. I was preparing to turn left onto a side street where there was a car stopped at the stop sign that was creeping out into the intersection a bit. I was signalling my turn, and pulled directly in front of the car where the driver could see me to stake claim to my spot. While I was waiting for an oncoming car to pass, the car to my left crept out into the middle of lane. The oncoming car laid on the horn, and the other car looped behind me awkwardly and into the right turning lane. The driver of the oncoming car, who come to a full stop, and I were both like "What the crap just happened?"


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hope everyone had a good holiday and is surviving cyber monday.

I took the whole week off the bike last week, first time in months. It was good but I was happy to be back on the bike again today. Pretty uneventful ride. Wet roads but not raining. Temp in the lower 40's. Standard late fall/early winter fare...

Nice to see mtbx, brianmc and s0ckeyeus check back in.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same here. Usual mix of 10-15kts wind and rain every 2nd-3rd ride, with temps hovering between 3-7C. Repeat every day.

Nice to see lots of people posting again!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Brrrrrr 9F all of a sudden.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^14F here. Darn cold on a road bike. At least it was pretty calm.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rain and 45F here today.

One of the intersections I go through does not detect my bike wheels to change the light. I either wait for a car to come along or sneak through against the light. 

This morning I was happy to get passed by a car just before the intersection but was dismayed when the car stopped before the road sensor that triggers the light. I rolled up next to the woman driving and said and motioned: "pull forward so that the light will change". She just stared at me like I was a raving lunatic. 

Anyway, I gave up trying to get her to move and just crossed at the next break in traffic. She might still be sitting there for all I know.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, I've had mixed results with trying to command cars too. How can they not know this? Luckily, I think most of the road sensors around here are getting replaced by cameras. At least that is my guess. Lights that didn't sense me before now do even on a carbon bike which doesn't offer much of a target to sense. This morning there were 2 cars in the left turn lane about 1000' ahead of me when the light turned green. SPRINT TIME. I made it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway you always ride on such busy roads? ^^ I always try to avoid roads that have traffic lights, simply because there is too much traffic there. 

9F that is cold indeed suddenly mtbx! 

7C/45F here today, 15kts winds again and rain on the way home. Had the windstopper pants on but it held the rain off luckily.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

All the sensors on my various routes detect my bike except that particular one. this reminds me to send another note to the city to adjust it.

Dutchman, the roads that I ride on for the most part are not too busy, but it's unavoidable that I have to cross some busy streets.

My commute for my last job included 18 miles each way of bike path with only a mile of road on either side to/from the bikepath. The bike path flat and not too crowded and I would crank up to 20MPH and cruise without worrying about cars. It was heaven and I miss it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have an annoying light on my way home. I got the city to paint a stop bar and turning lane arrows on the road, but they put the stop bar too far back. If drivers don't pull all the way up to the stop bar, the light never changes. I don't know how many times I've been sitting in that line of traffic waiting and waiting. 

Since I can't trip that particular sensor with my bike, I pull way up past it to allow the car behind me to trip the sensor for me. When drivers don't pull up far enough, I have to turn around and signal for them to come forward. Inexplicably, a couple drivers seem to have misinterpreted my hand motions and thought I was just being weird or threatening or whatever. I don't know how to make it any more obvious without holding up a sign.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, wave them up and point at the ground. Some people just don't like being told what to do by a lowly cyclist. Because we are obviously inferior because we aren't in a car (at that moment).

We've got a 1 day warm up which was nice. My legs feel like dead stumps for no apparent reason which is not nice.

I just noticed that I'm a little over 5000 miles for the year. Respectable but quite a bit lower than last year and the one before. I might get a few hundred more in before the end of the year but that's about it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^Nice mileage bedwards!

Grabbed my bike this morning only to see that the back tire was flat. Grrr. While checking it for whatever caused the flat, I noticed that while the tire only had about 3000 miles on it, there were quite a few cuts and pits in the tread. So I just mounted up a new tire. I like to get at least 4000 miles out of a tire, but this was my 3rd flat in as many weeks and that's always a sign to swap out for new rubber.

Dry ride today. Low 40's.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Just looked and I will cross 3000 miles for the year on my way home tonight. It's a long way from the 7000 to 8000 miles/year I used to do commuting to my last job, but an improvement from last year when I was working from home fulltime.

If my current situation holds next year, I'll probably do between 5000 and 6000 next year. At least that will be my goal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is down from your recent years. 

I was looking at all the cuts on my tire after my flat last week. When it was flat the cuts seemed bigger an more ominous than when it was holding air again. The flat was from a fine metal shard so I can't blame the cuts. It's only got 1000-1500 miles on it but it's getting a little square and it is a more performance oriented tire so that's about all I expect from the rear tire. The front probably has 6000 miles or more on it. It's the same tire that was on the bike when I bought it used.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Tbh I dont even try to communicate with drivers other than signalling a turn by stretching out my whole arm.

IIRC I was at 9500kms last year, now approaching 15tkm so that would make 5500km for the year which is ~1tkm more than usual. Except for the 350km of touring we probably made more small family tours during the weekends. Its nice to keep track but its still a hobby. But.commuting by bike every day becomes more and more a way of life for me where the fun of riding counts most.

Good day today, 5C calm AND dry. Seldom for this time of year. Probably freezing tonight, might be slippery in the morning. Time for the conti wintercontacts to payback the investment!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Which tires Dutchman? When I google winter contacts I get automotive tires.

I've been running 25c Conti GP4000s II's year-round for years, but this site has convinced me to move to 28c tires for better comfort and lower rolling resistance (using up my stock of 25c tires first):

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/conti-gp4000s-ii-23-25-28

A colleague has been raving about Schwalbe Marathon Supremes. Again looking at the tire test on the site above, it appears that the Marathon Supreme only gives up about 3-4 watts compared to the Conti tire, but provides much better puncture resistance:

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/schwalbe-marathon-supreme-2016

I might need to consider this tire for winter riding. Anyone have experience with it?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

These I'd guess: https://www.biketiresdirect.com/pro...NFf1osTcMVDsuQzAI33YNB0--eSiRc98aAqaLEALw_wcB

You're getting 3000-4000 miles out of a lightweight, low rolling resistance tire? My tire that is about done at about 1000+ miles is a Pro4 Service Course. i seem to square them off pretty quickly. I think weight has a lot to do with it. I'm 170lbs. Not big but not small.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

2c and raining...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Lucky you, you get to test Rule #9.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

to be honest rule 9 is pretty much 80% of the days here. today it rained so much I almost shat myself just looking at it. then it was kinda headwindy 5m/s for 70% of the ride, and kinda cold too. i wore top to toe gore tex. but i used to live in northern norway where it was raining 10 times as much, 10 times as intense and was fukn freezing even when it was warm so this is like "actually quite good summer weather" for me now.

NO ONE ELSE RODE today. I saw no one! but I did.  i guess the posers stayed home today. it wasnt that bad really, as soon as you get over that mental thing that its raining like you were ina swimming pool and windy and justy get on the bike, then it goes almost as fast a regular. 

Even though I wear sievi gore tex boots, swix gore tex mittens, diadora gore tex jacket and gore tex pants, my hands still get wet as fuk, but not rain wet it seems. but wet. I'm still wet when I get to work. But not from the rain. And I'm not cold. so i guess this stuff works semi good at least.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, I don't mind riding in the rain if I'm not cold but I hate dealing with all the wet crap and the much longer dressing and undressing process. I still haven't found shoe covers that keep my shoes dry for more than 15-20 minutes so they are damp for days. I'd much rather ride a few degrees colder in the snow. 

But today it is 42F and the rain has stopped.:thumbsup:


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2017)

30F on the ride in and 53 on the ride home. Always love the combination of heavy tights and lobster claw gloves followed by fingerless gloves and shorts. It makes dressing for conditions the crap shoot we all know and love. Still, I expect some 10F winter days where I'll wear layers of tights and gloves in the morning with the winter boots only to swelter on the ride home with temps in the mid to upper 40Fs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I meant these: 
https://www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/tyres/city-trekking-tyres/top-contact-winter2-premium

They come in 37/42 mm only I notice so I am not sure if they will fit your needs....since you are talking 28mm? IIRC mtbxplorer is running those as well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rude-level right hook yesterday, causing me to slow nearly to zero. He he must have been really low on gas. 

I've had Marathons, but I don't think they were Supremes. Mine were rugged but felt klunky.

Accepted a lift home after a beer with a friend - diet AND exercise fail!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> You're getting 3000-4000 miles out of a lightweight, low rolling resistance tire? My tire that is about done at about 1000+ miles is a Pro4 Service Course. i seem to square them off pretty quickly. I think weight has a lot to do with it. I'm 170lbs. Not big but not small.


I weigh 185, so bigger than you  Yes the tires square off, but I tend to push them until the wear indicators or increasing flats tell me that it's time for a change.



bedwards1000 said:


> I still haven't found shoe covers that keep my shoes dry for more than 15-20 minutes so they are damp for days.


I ride in the rain as much as anyone, and can recommend these:

https://www.showerspass.com/products/club-shoe-covers?variant=27453845701

If you ride with cleats (I do) it's easy to cut a hole in the bottom for the cleat.



cyclingdutchman said:


> I meant these:
> https://www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/tyres/city-trekking-tyres/top-contact-winter2-premium


You riding an e-bike Dutchman? These would be too big and heavy for me.



mtbxplorer said:


> I've had Marathons, but I don't think they were Supremes. Mine were rugged but felt klunky.


I tried Marathon Plus's a few years ago and hated them. I felt like I was riding in sand. Sold them after one ride on them.

The Bicycle Tire rolling resistance site has me tempted to try the Marathon Supremes, although I see the skinniest they come in a 32's.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

42 and cloudy here this morning.

Went down on some wet leaves. Rolled onto them at a slow speed and was on the ground faster than I could react. Hurt like a SOB. I seem to be OK although my forearm is still hurting.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good luck with your arm woodway! Were the leaves frozen or just wet?

No e-bike, I am riding an 18kg touringbike with the 42mm version of the wintercontacts. On a 19mm inner width rim, they measure even 43mm wide and very high so they have quite some volume. Probably to be able to ride with lower pressure when necessary.

I use vaude capital plus shoecovers every day. Keep my shoes dry after 35min of riding in rain, havent tried longer but I doubt they will suddenly leak after half an hour. Using them for 3rd winter in a row now. The seam at the bottom lossened up last winter, sewed it myself and reinforced it with cordura. Is holding since then. 

3C and foggy today. Maybe some freezing rain during the night so might take the bus if it is too slippery. Will decide tomorrow morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks woodway. I think you recommended those before but it was right after I bought a pair of Castelli Diluvio that had great reviews for being waterproof and i wasn't ready for another failure. I hope the arm is feeling better. 

On my way home last night there was a broken down car in the bike/breakdown lane. It was after dark so I had to stop to wait for a break in traffic to take the lane. Instead, the driver flagged me down to help push them more out of the road. The owner of a nearby house was also out helping too. He had one of the thicker Maine accents I've heard in the southern part of the state. The car owner was smoking a cigarette while trying to put some gas in the car. She looked like she might only have a small heroin problem. Gotta love Maine! 

This morning's ride was much less eventful.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Leaves were just wet and they were covering some painted lines in a parking lot. I always try to avoid the painted bits when wet because they are slippery. As I was so harshly reminded...

I took some ibuprofen and the arm is feeling better. I suspect I'll have a nice raspberry on my hip. Have not gone down in several years and I hope it's several more years before it happens again.

Smoking while gassing up the car? I would have politely gotten onto my bike and ridden away


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I use vaude capital plus shoecovers every day. Keep my shoes dry after 35min of riding in rain, havent tried longer but I doubt they will suddenly leak after half an hour. Using them for 3rd winter in a row now. The seam at the bottom lossened up last winter, sewed it myself and reinforced it with cordura. Is holding since then.


I just saw this. Those look really good too. It looks like I'd have to order them from your side of the pond. I had a similar pair that was too big and the smaller size was $80+ I like the full Velcro back because it looks like they would be quick to get on and off.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards, doesnt sound like someone you'd like to meet after dark....

Take care woodway. At least no damaged clothes?


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Nice to see all the activity here and that most of you are staying upright on your bikes...

I'm mostly working from home, but haven't skipped riding at all. Temps in the mornings have been hovering around 40F which is fine by me. Had a random thought this morning and wondered if any of the other regular commuters I would see almost every day have noticed my absence. There were 4 or 5 other commuters I could usually count on for a friendly wave on my way to work.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well done keeping up your riding formula.

Dutchman, I was initially worried that I had ripped my jacket, but I checked it over when I got to work and all is fine. I had a good ride home (no falls!) but I found I was skittish anytime I was near leaves. I'm sure I'll get over that as the pain fades


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I can ride, no snow or rain and above freezing so all looking good.

Those vaude shoe covers are quite an investment in the US I see. They are approx 50€ here, with transport and the current exchange rate it could be justified, but still there could be cheaper alternatives.. that said, the complete opening at the back with velcro closure is very convenient indeed. I have had some half zipper models and dont want those anymore.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> 42 and cloudy here this morning.
> 
> Went down on some wet leaves. Rolled onto them at a slow speed and was on the ground faster than I could react. Hurt like a SOB. I seem to be OK although my forearm is still hurting.


Ouch, hope there is no serious damage and you heal up soon.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First ice of the season after a little rain yesterday. It was a bit slick crossing a bridge and taking the turn immediately after, but that's it. No biggie.

I'm in the process of converting my older hardtail into a rigid all-purpose bike and part-time commuter. I transferred the crown race and cut the steerer tube last night. All I need is a star nut, and I'll be in business. I'll probably keep the existing knobbies on for now just so I don't have to buy another set of tires, but it will be kind of nice to have a more playful bike to fool around with.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

38F and spitting rain here this morning. Rode to work and managed to stay upright today. Still sore from yesterdays fall, but it appears there is no lasting damage.

Have a good weekend everyone.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sucked.

I took the fatbike out for my first trail commute in a while. A few miles into the trails I dropped the wheel between 2 rocks and double pinch flatted with 4 HUGE slits in the tires. Evey though they were big they were hard to find because I couldn't get the tire to hold enough air to figure out where it was escaping. At first I thought there were only 2. I would get them sealed up and get the tire pumped up enough to start to set the bead and one of them would let go. I used glue type patches the first time which I usually have very good luck with. They I tried some of the self adhesive patches. Same answer for all. After the 4th attempt at pumping the huge tire up with the tiny pump I gave up, called for a ride and hiked to the nearest road with my bike on my shoulder. With no pressure that combination of tire and rim doesn't seat enough to roll. It just becomes a rim, a tire and a tire flopping around separately on the bike.

It was enough to put me in a bad mood for the day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sounds indeed sh!tty bedwards....sorry to hear that and at least you have the weekend to fix it properly now! Monday its game on again.

Glad you are ok woodway!

Good to hear from you s0ckeyeus.

Nothing to say about today. Calm, dry and above freezing. No snow, freezing rain, ice whatever. Forecast just tried to fool me, didnt work


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Checking in for the first time in a hot minute. Commutes have been alright, today and Tuesday will be one of the last nice commutes for the year I think. Currently 50° F and sunny here for the ride in and a low near 40° F later tonight. After Tuesday, the temps drop, the snow is forecasted to start and my bike commuting will definitely slow way down. Probably will not risk as much this winter as it just isn't worth it. Reynaud's has gotten worse it seems and it just makes riding miserable. Just shy of 3000 miles for the year which is a bit lower than I wanted. Did a few centuries over the summer, commuted a bunch, did a few fun rides including late night solo rides on back country woods in the middle of summer.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Picked a great day to ride. Sunny and 52°F in Michigan first week of December!! Ride in was uneventful minus a constant and annoying slight head wind. Ride home was 38°F and a bit windy as well. Decided to cut through campus to see what was going on. Came across a total a**hat delivery driver parked in the bike lane outside of the library. Asked him to move. He wanted to argue with me. Never moved.

Got a new computer and light mount for my road bike. K-Edge mount for my Garmin EDGE 810 and a Light & Motion Urban 900. Pic - Click me! and it is pretty awesome. Been wanting to try out their lights and heard good things about the K-Edge mounts. Both are really nice made and the finish on that mount is really nice. Really impressed with the light so far and the fact that it lights up yellow on the sides and it is very visible at night.

One more decent day left this week on the bike I think. Cold is coming, and the snow mixed with rain. No thanks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back TenSpeed! Things have been quiet around here. "Click Me" didn't work but I'm sure it looks cool.

The commute in was about 20F but clear. It's amazing how slow riding in the cold is. The temperature is supposed to double for the afternoon although it will already be cooling off for the ride home.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Welcome back TenSpeed! Things have been quiet around here. "Click Me" didn't work but I'm sure it looks cool.
> 
> The commute in was about 20F but clear. It's amazing how slow riding in the cold is. The temperature is supposed to double for the afternoon although it will already be cooling off for the ride home.


This forum hates me for some reason when I go to post a picture. Cannot link it because it doesn't show, or shows and then disappears. So I put up a direct link, and that doesn't work either. K, let me try this. https://i.imgur.com/8TpHXc3.jpg < ------ that should work. I don't know what is wrong but it is super annoying. Debating on a commute today. Rain is in the forecast although most of it missed us ever so slightly on the radar. Within 10 miles or so. Still bone dry out as of now. We shall see.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nope. I just use the insert picture tool under the advanced post.

You guys are due for some early season cold weather soon aren't you?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My initial click on your link did not work TenSpeed, but I refreshed the page and was able to see the photo. Pretty cool setup!

Bedwards, bummer about your tire last week. Hope that this week goes better.

No commute for me today, but will be back on the bike tomorrow and for the rest of the week.


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## Guest (Dec 4, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's amazing how slow riding in the cold is. The temperature is supposed to double for the afternoon although it will already be cooling off for the ride home.


 I find my biggest issue in the cold (assuming that traction isn't a factor) is warming up and keeping from overheating. When you're coasting after a long climb, if you get sweaty climbing, you pay the price for both evaporative cooling and wind chill. As far as warmer afternoons go, in the winter I'd take the same temp both way thanks. I hate having to pack lighter gear for the ride home or packing my heavier layers on the ride home. I switch jobs on Jan 2nd so I'm not sure what facilities I'll have available for parking the bike or changing. Guess I'll find out soon enough.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey tenspeed nice to hear from you.

Very slow ride this morning and I have no idea why. It wasnt colder, wetter or windier as usual. Made it up on the way home again a bit but averaged 18.5 kph on the round tdip which is the slowest ride ever, when leaving out the 6 times I was plowing through snow or slush...will oil the chain a bit later this evening to see if that helps.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, a hot core with cold clammy skin. It makes me glad we have good hot showers at work.


woodway said:


> Bedwards, bummer about your tire last week. Hope that this week goes better.


I actually took it off and patched all4 snakebites in the laboratory (warm, clean) conditions of my house. AND added a saddle pack with the spare tube in it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey tenspeed nice to hear from you.
> 
> Very slow ride this morning and I have no idea why. It wasnt colder, wetter or windier as usual. Made it up on the way home again a bit but averaged 18.5 kph on the round tdip which is the slowest ride ever, when leaving out the 6 times I was plowing through snow or slush...will oil the chain a bit later this evening to see if that helps.


I always blame it on air density if all else fails.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I always blame it on air density if all else fails.


Cool we had slushy air.here today :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A late season BMX commute today. I usually take it off the road in winter, but it was dry and in the 20'sF, and I was jonesing for a flat pedal commute. It was fun. Construction on my last mile to work is finally done, so I save a half mile detour and have fresh pavement. The newly added bike lane (well, shoulder, uphill only) is minimal but an improvement. The bike rack at work is already empty, except for a couple of perma-bikes.

A pedestrian was killed by a hit and run up in the Kingdom here this weekend, she was seen walking on vid about 11 pm and not found on the side of the road until after 8 a.m. Ugh. The driver and passenger have already been found and charged.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Nope. I just use the insert picture tool under the advanced post.
> 
> You guys are due for some early season cold weather soon aren't you?


We are unfortunately. It has been so nice here that I don't want to see it go. Was 59° F here today and almost had me commuting on bike. Rain was in the forecast but held off almost all night. Was raining and the temp was dropping when I left so the car was a good choice.

Was hoping to avoid uploading directly to the forum as it kills any quality of the original photo. So you still cannot see that link or what?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

30F and foggy here this morning. Took it real slow as I was worried abut black ice.

Bike room at my office has also emptied out MTBX. There was a perma-bike and two other bikes in there this morning when I arrived.

The perma-bike has me wondering why the owner left it? It's a decent commuter bike, and it still has a light and bike computer attached. It's been there so long that both tires are flat. I guess it's a credit to the honesty of the other commuters that it has not been stripped yet


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice too see this thread slowly coming back to life again. 

Not much to report here. Lubed my chain but still slushy air today. Have to drive tomorrow anyway, will hopefully ride thursday and friday and then check the bike during the weekend. Might be just the grease stiffening up due to lower temps. I am always slower in winter, but the transistion is smooth and not so suddenly. 

At work there are still.some hardcore commuters that are riding all.year round but the racks are significantly emptier as in summer. Easier to find a parking spot :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Everything stiffens up in colder weather Dutchman! 

27F and clear this morning. Black Ice everywhere. I took is slow and stayed upright. I can't wait for the usual 45F and raining to return.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

My hands got really cold this morning and I don't know why. Temps in the low 40s, nothing new, so I put on the same gloves I always do for those temps but after about 5 miles my hands were numb. Luckily I happened to have some heavier gloves in my bag so I just threw those on and all was well. Maybe it's the dampness in the air?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Look at all the chatter here! 

Tenspeed. I get the link but the page says there is an error for both of the links you posted. A refresh didn't work for me.

Apparently my back stiffens up in cold weather too. It has been twingy since this weekend. I can ride my bike better than I can tie my shoes but it takes me a minute or 2 to straighten up when I get off. Other than that, the ride was good. The forecast was for rain but it had stopped by the time I got home.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Didn't commute for about 3 days til today, pretty chilly this morning about 40f I think. Had the bike in the shop to tru up the rear wheel. Was beyond repair this time, I stripped out some nipples I guess I'm not the spoke repair guy I thought I was lol! So just bought a new rear wheel, way more heavy duty than the cheap factory one that came on the $600 msrp bike. Can totally feel the difference, solid. New rubber on the rear too. 

Keep the rubber side down for all you ice commuters!  

btw I saw Ghost on strava the other day took a spill on the ice so don't feel bad!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Another cold, clear commute this morning. 28F when I left the house. I was on black ice patrol all the way into the office.

bedwards: hope your back loosens up!

F4S: My hands always get really cold when I first start out. It does not matter how heavy of a glove I put on. Once I climb the first hill and my core warms up, my hands warm up too. I've just learned to live with it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Doesnt sound good bedwards. Is this the first season or do you have it every winter?

Tenspeed, when I click your link I get 403 forbidden.

Eugene: Spoketensioning and wheel truing is something I do not do myself either. For that and things like bottom bracket, aheadset etc I always go the LBS and let them do it.

Woodway, I usually wear relative thin gloves too that keep warm as long as I keep pedalling. Since I live in a flat area I dont have the issue with cold hands too much...

Strong wind here today, 15mph gusts upto 45mph. It can be worse: Just add water. It rained all the way home while it was a headwind. At least I was prepared and I have learned to accept that I wont break my speed record. I just pedal a lower gear and need 3minutes longer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It's not necessarily seasonal. My back is the weakest link. I moved some heavy tires around last weekend and even though it wasn't immediately apparent I'm sure that is what set it off. It's slowly getting better.

What is this "Spoke Tensioning" you speak of. If the wheel's true I leave it alone.

I was curious about my seasonal change of speed so I pulled in my speeds from a specific segment that I ride the most and plotted it against the date. The red line is a moving average. There is definitely a slowing starting in October. It probably isn't a fair test since the mid winter rides are on a fatibike. The gaps in time are when I am crossing the lake. It is a short 2% climb. I haven't pushed particularly hard on is since I set my PR with a wicked wind advantage. Data geeks enjoy.








https://www.strava.com/segments/8052631?filter=overall


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I ride the same bike all year.so.should be.comparable. I dont have any statistics but I would say I average around 18kph in winter to 22kph on nice warm summerdays on the roumd trip commute. The only thing that I could think of is more drag due to more / thicker clothes and more wind in winter. Maybe also thicker grease or thicker air :lol:

Hope your back heals fast. Sometimes when I have that, I stretch it 3x a day: sitting on a chair, legs wide and bending over with head between the knees, stay like that for 30sec. Repeat 2-3 times. Or better: ask wife for a massage


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good to see most everyone who used to post in this thread a while back is still at it and doing mostly well, stiff backs and minor crashes aside. 

I haven't commuted in a while. Commutes were too short to be worth it or too long on unsafe country highways to be feasible. Maybe one day, but for now, I envy you all. I hope to get back to it someday. 

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Data geeks enjoy.
> View attachment 1171070
> 
> 
> https://www.strava.com/segments/8052631?filter=overall


Looking at that segment I was wondering, Suckerville? Who lives there? :lol:

NDD you can always pretend commute, just ride around for a while with a bag of stuff!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Looking at that segment I was wondering, Suckerville? Who lives there?
> 
> NDD you can always pretend commute, just ride around for a while with a bag of stuff!


That's true! It'll be good training. I recently got a bike for gravel riding and hopefully touring. A Trek 920, drop bar mtb kinda thing. I ride after work and most of it is climbing up steep hills (for me) on gravel roads of varying quality.

This is new for me, so I'm working some things out. Like Pedro's Syn Lube always worked well but since they started working on the gravel roads around me the actual material is very loose and dusty so the chain pretty well gums up in about 20 miles of riding. Anyone commuting on gravel have any recommendations?

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Cold commute today with the wind just penetrating every seam of my clothing. Cleared 3000 miles for the year which is a good number, but well below where I was hoping to be. Had an interesting short conversation with a UPS driver blocking the bike lane. He gave in and actually moved the truck after I had a statement that he had no response for. It was like a drop the mic and walk away moment. He knew he was in the wrong.


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## Guest (Dec 8, 2017)

TenSpeed said:


> Had an interesting short conversation with a UPS driver blocking the bike lane. He gave in and actually moved the truck after I had a statement that he had no response for.


 There's the one place where the comment "I pay your salary" fits well. Don't think the number of cyclists ordering parts and clothing online is significant? Pretty sure UPS would issue an apology if there was a nationwide boycott of their service by any group of athletes based on that type of incident.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NDD - seems like in dry and dusty conditions most people switch to wax based or dry lubes. I don't have much experience in those, so cannot make any recommendations, sorry.

Come-on Tenspeed, don't keep us in suspense, what did you say to him?

Coldest morning yet this week - about 25F and clear when I left the house. It was really slick and I picked my way to the office at a much slower speed than usual. I ready for it to warm up and rain, but the weatherman says we have another week of clear and cold on the way.

Have a good weekend all.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Today was my lucky day. Dry rides but it snowed heavily for 4 hrs. during the day. Everything turned white except the roads. Temps dropped to just above freezing so it didnt get slippery. More snow and sleet is forecasted for the weekend and we will see how next week turns out wheatherwise.

Rode 4 of 5 days this week. 

Have a nice weekend all of you!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Below freezing but dry this morning.

Yesterday was more of a fun day, my brother is visiting from out of town so I took my cargo bike over to give my nephew a ride around the neighborhood. I guess he liked it because he didn't want to stop. 

Only downside was riding into the valley where my parents live, steep climbs to get in and out. The bike was probably 70 pounds and I have no granny gear with the 8 speed IGH and a 50 tooth ring up front, but I got my exercise in at least.


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## Classy (Sep 30, 2015)

First snow yesterday! Had to walk a little bit, need to swap on my winter rubber yet.









Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Minimal commuting for me this week more than likely. All of the snow melted into a sheet of ice through the complex and the trails leading out. Rode my fat bike on Saturday through the single track behind the complex. Ended up hitting a half hidden wet root and went down hard. Landed awkwardly on my back and for some reason my boot didn't unclip from my pedal and I tweaked my ankle a bit. It feels alright but I stayed off the bike today. Weather is supposed to be in the low 30's during the day and then freezing at night. That cycle of thaw/freeze will make the MUP unrideable for sure.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Looking at that segment I was wondering, Suckerville? Who lives there? :lol:


The only place I have ever heard it called that is on Google Maps. There is really nothing there but a handful of houses.



Classy said:


> First snow yesterday! Had to walk a little bit, need to swap on my winter rubber yet.


WOW, I think you need to swap to more than winter rubber like a fatbike. That looks like a no-go for a road bike.

I had my first trip in with the studded tires this year. The shoulders were a mix of snow, frozen solid slush and ice. For the most part I took the lane but the studded bike was a good choice. We're scheduled for a mid-day storm tomorrow so I'll likely drive.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been in the 20s here most mornings. Not bad commuting weather but we've been trending colder than normal for this time of year.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

First snow here too but not as bad as in classy's pic. I did almost fall though when I hit a chunk of slush that fell from a car's wheelbay or something. I was much slower than usual too but who cares. 

It started to snow again at 4pm and will probably continue for 24hrs. The strange thing is that temps are staying just above freezing so it will remain slushy the next days.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Short vid from this morning:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^When I first watched that I thought you were in a tunnel and the top of your fender was the light at the end of the tunnel. Then you looked up. My version was more exciting.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Actually I tried to show that there was snow flying around :lol:

Will try to make a more interesting video next time!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, no pressure. I've kind of given up on making videos. Even when it feels like you are doing something cool the POV bike video can be a little dull. But hey, I'll try too.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

Bar Mitts - what a lifesaver. The last few weeks, I had to stop and warm my hands because they were so cold. But, today, using the Bar Mitts for the first time, my hands were warm and toasty. What a great invention. I always think though - why didn't I think of that. I could have been a multi-millionaire. Doh!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Maybe we can start a contest on who makes the most boring bike video :lol: with mine making a good start.

No riding anymore for me this week. Fighting the toughest cold I have had in years. Called in sick for yesterday and today. Will go back to work tomorrow and Friday but will take the bus despite the snow thawed already away again and temps staying a bit above freezing day and night.

Ordered a christmas present for myself: A Gore Bike Wear Windstopper pants for 40% off. Currently I am often wearing such pants from Gorer RUNNING Wear but you notice its not made for cycling. No adjustable legs and no reinforcements in the saddle area. I hope it will fit just as good, normally I wear it over my normal office pants.

Keep going guys.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's salty out there. Our public works department seems to go overboard every year. My lips are chapped. I have a salty post-nasal drip and my mouth tastes like I just ate beef jerky. I should almost use a mask to avoid breathing in the stuff.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman - hope you feel better soon man. Good call taking it easy for a while.

S0ck - yuck...does the salt take a toll on your bike too?

FINALLY, a ride above freezing this morning...around 35F when I left the house. It was so nice not having to worry about black ice this morning. Ride was uneventful, clear skies and no wind to speak of. Rain is supposed to return over the weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> S0ck - yuck...does the salt take a toll on your bike too?


Yeah. It's even worse when wet. Luckily I ride a singlespeed most of the time. I lost a new chain on another bike last year after commuting in slush and forgetting to rinse it off. I didn't use the bike for a bit, and when I tried, I found the chain completely rusted over. I don't know why they spread so much salt around here.


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## Guest (Dec 13, 2017)

Weird ride today. Eastern Nebraska in December with 45F temps at 6 am and 53F temps at 4 pm but my hands (in the same gloves) were colder riding into the wind on the way home than they were into the wind on the way in. Traffic wasn't bad either, only one jackass running a red light to make a right turn. He didn't seem to hear or at least didn't react to the water bottle hitting his truck bed. Those Camelbak water bottles can take a beating.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Commute in - 18°F with falling snow at rates near an inch an hour, accumulation of 2+" on the ground. It wasn't bad, proper attire ensured that I remained warm for the ride. Roads were plowed but not salted so there was almost no slush. Fat bike on Schwalbe Jumbo Jim 4.8's handled it like a boss.

Commute out - 20°F with blowing snow, accumulation of at least 7+" in most places. Roads were plowed, and again, not salted which was awesome. 0 slush meant that I could ride without getting sprayed all over my back and legs. Stopped once in a neighborhood to let some air out of the tires which was a HUGE help. The further east I got, the less and less the roads were maintained. It is a common occurrence when we get snow late evening/night like that. My foot deep commute on my old fat bike started like this. 1 mile cut through the park that I had walked because the MUP was completely impassable. Tonight I rode most of it and only had to walk the last 1/4 mile or so. The blowing snow and drifts made it just about impossible to pedal through so I gave up. By the time I got home, it was almost an hour of travel time, and there was some sweating being done. Hands were surprisingly warm, and almost too hot if that is even possible.


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2017)

TenSpeed said:


> Hands were surprisingly warm, and almost too hot if that is even possible.


 Get that all the time. It's why I carry three pairs of gloves all winter and frequently change mid-ride. Hate being too cold, but don't like sweating up my gloves either.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Forster said:


> Get that all the time. It's why I carry three pairs of gloves all winter and frequently change mid-ride. Hate being too cold, but don't like sweating up my gloves either.


As a Reynaud's sufferer, this rarely happens. Mostly in 50°F weather where I have worn gloves that are total overkill for the temps. No commute today, way too cold this am, and I am opening at the bike shop in an hour and a half. Hope the car starts. -3°F currently.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sounds rough TenSpeed! At least you made it all but 1/4 mile.

The roads are still unpredictable lumpy frozen mounds of ice so I was going to drive or... see what the trails were like. I took the fatty through the back roads and made a gamble that I could get through the trails. If the trails are impassable it is a 3 mile RT to get back to the road that goes through. Hallelujah! Somebody had gone through with a 4-wheeler and packed it down.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

We barely got any snow, maybe an inch, but I also used it as a reason to pull out the fat bike. Since I'm working from home I just romped around some dirt/farm roads nearby and brought my camera to take some pictures before it all melts away.

Somewhat related: I hate road salt.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Awesome fatbike rides TenSpeed, bedwards and F4S!

Forster: You threw your bottle at a truck? Ballsy move! I flipped a truck off that buzzed me once and the guy pulled over got out and came at me. I decided then and there that I was never going to react to bad drivers with more than a fist shake.

37F and clear this morning. Warm enough to not worry about black ice. Our two week dry and clear spell is supposed to be over starting tomorrow when rain returns. Hallelujah.


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2017)

woodway said:


> Awesome fatbike rides TenSpeed, bedwards and F4S!
> 
> Forster: You threw your bottle at a truck? Ballsy move! I flipped a truck off that buzzed me once and the guy pulled over got out and came at me. I decided then and there that I was never going to react to bad drivers with more than a fist shake.
> 
> 37F and clear this morning. Warm enough to not worry about black ice. Our two week dry and clear spell is supposed to be over starting tomorrow when rain returns. Hallelujah.


My son says I have premature grumpiness but I've been forced off the road before so I'm about done with the crap drivers. I had a guy in a PT Cruiser get a little huffy one time but I had about 3" and 40# on him so there wasn't much of a confrontation.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

-0.7F this morning - our first below zero, I believe, but I did not ride. We got about a foot of snow a couple days go, and I preferred to use the time on a longer snowshoe with the dog before work. 

The poor pup got caught in a leghold trap on Sunday on this fatbike ride a couple miles from home. Amazingly his leg is OK, but he broke 3 teeth in the 10 minutes before he was freed, and they are bothering him. He also screamed bloody murder, pretty scary, but I have some pride that I did not totally lose it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Ouch! Amazing how the need to do something keeps things from being overwhelming. Hope that he avoids traps from here on.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This forum is bad luck. Every time I start posting on here, things start happening on my commute. Last night, I had two interesting events happen on the same stretch of road and less than a minute apart. First, a guy on the phone driving a pick-up was supposed to stop at a stop sign but instead rolled way out into the road while I was going by. I swerved into the other lane, calmly put out my hand as if to signal "Stop!" Then about 30 seconds later as I was approaching a stop sign at the top of the hill, a car decided to pass me. There really wasn't enough time, but the car went around me anyway and moved back into the lane like I wasn't there. Of course, I was there and had to hit the brakes hard to avoid ricocheting off the passenger door. While I was braking, I looked over and saw a little girl in the back seat watching me. I decided not to make much of a fuss about her mom's terrible driving.

Last night, I watched Bikes vs. Cars on Netflix. It was pretty interesting and confirmed that commuting around here really isn't too bad compared to some cities around the world.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Bikes vs Cars has been on my queue for a year but I've never felt the urge to watch it.


mtbxplorer said:


> -0.7F this morning - our first below zero, I believe, but I did not ride. We got about a foot of snow a couple days go, and I preferred to use the time on a longer snowshoe with the dog before work.
> 
> The poor pup got caught in a leghold trap on Sunday on this fatbike ride a couple miles from home. Amazingly his leg is OK, but he broke 3 teeth in the 10 minutes before he was freed, and they are bothering him. He also screamed bloody murder, pretty scary, but I have some pride that I did not totally lose it.


I'm glad the pup is OK. I've worried about ours finding a trap in the woods. Heck, I've worried about me finding a trap in the woods. I'm surprised they are still allowed.

Well Hello Winter! My bike felt like I was riding though glue. I really do think something happens to my fatbike below about 5 degrees. The effort goes up exponentially. It simply will not coast in these temps. On a flat if I stop peddling it will go about 20feet before stopping. Looking into low temp grease.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Following up, I took my wheel and set it outside over the weekend at 5F. When I brought it in I could barely turn the bearings by hand. I would call them almost finger tight. I've got some low temp grease on order. Whatever is in there is the wrong stuff for a bike that is supposed to be used in the winter.

I decided to give the lake another day to freeze up but I was out on a recon mission on Sunday and there is enough ice to hold. It needs another day until it is enough ice to be comfortable. Although given the poorly plowed roads with the cars on them I think the lake was probably the safer option of the two.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok already a few days old but the pics are nice!! And I hope the dog is allright now MTBX?

Still coughing sometimes so I took the bus today and will do so tomorrow. Dont know when I will ride again, cough has to be gone first.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Last night, I watched Bikes vs. Cars on Netflix. It was pretty interesting and confirmed that commuting around here really isn't too bad compared to some cities around the world.


Looks good going to watch that soon.

First commute in a few work days, been sick. Tip: don't eat a whole bag of those Walmart frozen onion rings!

The new rear wheel is still straight as an arrow, feels so solid, love it. Got a close shave from a city bus this morning while I was cruising at 20mph plus, I was right in the middle of the bike lane, this isn't the first time in the same spot, I think the driver is pissed about the new big beautiful bike lane that just got created.


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## consa (Dec 16, 2017)

Today is sunny, but I am going to work.I ride my bike only in sunny days, because of myopia, the rain will make my eyes more blurred


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Fatbike through the trails. Man that was tough. We were supposed to get a dusting but got 3" of powder. That on top of 1" Friday & 1" Sunday really buried the marginal tracks I was riding last week. Not t mention that my fatbike seems to be consuming about 80 extra watts of power for no reason. New wheel bearings should be in my mailbox!!!

I unscrewed my valve stem to lower the pressure for the super soft conditions and the whole core came out and blew into the powder. Crap! I managed to find it.

At least I got to see a nice sunrise out in the trails.





​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Lucky you bedwards. So, do you carry a pump as well to put some pressure back on when you leave the trails? Or ride on soft tires until you get back home?

I know lezyne has pumps that you can screw on the valve and have a pressure release button to let air off. Maybe that would be a solution for you?

And let us know how your low temp grease works out. I myself dont have the opportunity, the rohloff already is running on winter oil alp year and the.front dynamohub can not be serviced, or at least is not made to be serviced like normal axle bearings.

Eugene are you ok again?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I carry a pump and I own one of those lezyne pumps that I have to rotate back into my pack now that I am riding mostly low pressure. I definitely needed the pump after the valve core incident. Normally I can't be bothered to stop and add pressure when I exit the trails unless it is really low. I just grunted along at 10MPH today until I got to work.

My sealed axle bearings aren't made to be serviced but I'm going to give it a shot. I'll pry the caps off the old ones and see if I can wash whatever is in there out. If I ruin them I bought an extra set. The old ones feel smooth but stiff. Who knows, maybe they are just installed too tight and when they get cold the tolerances shrink.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Eugene are you ok again?


All fine just was sick a bit, I guess that's what you mean?

Supposed to drop to at least freezing in the coming 2-3 days, I'll ride to work tomorrow, then enjoy a few days off work and hit the mtb trails all weekend! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ok already a few days old but the pics are nice!! And I hope the dog is allright now MTBX?


It's looking like a few teeth will have to come out, they are still bothering him despite the painkiller. Overall he is in good spirits, but it is very sad to see him unable to even hold a frisbee (a favorite thing) or eat a greenie bone. Thanks!

Great pic bedwards! We got an unexpected amount of snow yesterday too, which chnged to rain at lower elevations. I was not unhappy that a friend haad asked for a car ride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, bedwards, between the low temps, sticky bearings and wayward valve stems you have having some great times! I also occasionally have those valve cores come out on me. I had one for a while that would come loose when I unscrewed the plastic dust cap - no matter how hard I tightened it down. Finally swapped out that tube.

I have serviced "sealed" bearing on my mountain bikes after really wet/muddy winter rides and found them packed with grit that made it past the seals. As long as you are careful with the seals, should be no problem.

dutchman, hope your cold is getting better.

MTBX, I feel bad for your pup. What a crappy experience for him. Hope he is better soon.

We are back to rain and mid-30's to mid-40's here. I got absolutely poured on yesterday. today was just some light drizzle.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi woodway, yes i am better but probably in the bus tomorrow, but plan to ride friday. 

Mtbx, hope the dog gets well soon. must be quite a trauma.for him when I read correctly. My parents also always had a dog with which we had some accidents so I know what its like..basically as with a relative..

Bedwards: good luck with those bearings.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for the kind words for the pup, luckily they live in the moment, and he does not seem traumatized by those terrible moments in the trap.

I've been off the bike this week, hope to be back to it after Xmas travels.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks, Everything is ready to install and just waiting for the time to do it. Tis the season to be busy. I did order 2 new ceramic ones for the rear which I stuck in the freezer as soon as I got them. They spin when cold just fine.

Today was my first lake crossing of the year. Coincidentally(?) it is also the first day of winter. The lake was good but the trails on that side hadn't been packed so I just took the roads. I'd pumped up the tires real good on the fatbike and it wasn't that cold (15F, funny how that changed to the warm temperature) so the bike was rolling OK.

Happy Yule everybody.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

25F and clear this morning. I was on black ice patrol but only saw one small patch.

Happy Solstice everyone...tomorrow will be longer than today!

I'm curious how much daylight all of you have where you live today? Here in the Seattle area, we get 8 hours, 25 minutes and 30 seconds (time between sunrise and sunset). Tomorrow will be four seconds longer!

You can easily lookup your location here:

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We have way longer days than you. But tomorrow will only be 2 seconds longer.
21	7:13 am ↑ (123°)	4:07 pm ↑ (237°)	*8:54:20*
But it doesn't seem that long. Maybe because I am at work all of those hours. Even though the day is getting longer the sunrise is still getting later until Jan 6 so my effective time out in the light is still getting shorter.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is a pretty cool site. I was just playing around with it a little more and realized that at "High Noon" toady the sun is at a whopping 23 degrees.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

9:23:40 and 2 seconds longer tomorrow here. Where I was born and lived until 1980 it is 8:59:40 and 3 seconds longer tomorrow, and where I lived for two years and my wife was born and raised, 8:42:56 and two seconds longer the next day. The extra 20 minutes either end of the day are quite noticeable when we visited her folks at Christmas.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi Folks, thought I'd pop in and say hi, this is my last working day for this year. I wish you all a very merry xmas and a happy new year. See you in 2018 :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> We have way longer days than you. But tomorrow will only be 2 seconds longer.


Yeah, Maine seems so far North until you look at the map and realize that Seattle is even further north!

I'll remind you of that at the Summer Solstice when we are enjoying longer days! 

(when Duthchman shows up, he'll put us both to shame...)

Merry Christmas to you slipspace!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> when Dutchman shows up, he'll put us both to shame...


Tadaa and here I am :lol: but not putting to shame anyone, why should I?

Wait until Blockphi chimes in 

That is a cool site. I also checked that map and :yikes: Hamburg is around the same height above the equator as the Hudson Bay southern shore! So we have only *7h:27m:38s*of daylight today and 2!! seconds more tomorrow. But still !!going in the right direction!! And I am surprised that I am so far up north, probably because it is not that cold here. Around 8C here and staying above freezing for the next week. So a "white Christmas" is seldom here. And that is because we are in the warm gulfstream that is coming up along Great Britain, then cooling down and turning left around Iceland and going back cold along the Canadian and US Coast. Never looked closer at that kind of thing until now. So this commuter forum is also good for general knowledge and education

No commutes this year anymore. Bus tomorrow and then break until January 4. Driving over to the Netherlands after Christmas for a week, maybe I will ride around on my mom's e-bike. They build some nice new bicycle paths along the north sea that I would like to try out.

Slipspace: Nice to hear from you. Wish you and all merry christmas and a prosperous new year (with lots of biking time!).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

PS A nice pic of the world ocean currents is here:

http://www.esys.org/wetter/golfstrom-alle_Meeresstroemungen_mit_Namen(wiki)-hq.jpg


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Yeah, Maine seems so far North until you look at the map and realize that Seattle is even further north!


I think the difference is that even though Maine is a little further south it doesn't have the wind that generally blows somewhat West to East blowing "warm" ocean air into it. Same argument for Hamburg.

We are all set for a white Christmas with snow tomorrow, freezing rain on Saturday and snow on Christmas day.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Wait until Blockphi chimes in


I almost chimed in for him since he never posts here anymore. OK, I will
10:14 am ↑ (143°)	3:41 pm ↑ (217°)	*5:27:50*


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I almost chimed in for him since he never posts here anymore. OK, I will
> 10:14 am ↑ (143°)	3:41 pm ↑ (217°)	*5:27:50*


Blockphi for the win!

I'm riding again tomorrow and may work one day next week and will most likely ride.

I hope you all enjoy your holiday and look forward to all the fun we will have here in 2018


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> We have way longer days than you. But tomorrow will only be 2 seconds longer.
> 21	7:13 am ↑ (123°)	4:07 pm ↑ (237°)	*8:54:20*
> But it doesn't seem that long. Maybe because I am at work all of those hours. Even though the day is getting longer the sunrise is still getting later until Jan 6 so my effective time out in the light is still getting shorter.


I hate that lag of sunrise time as the days get longer. It looks like our sunrise does not get any earlier until Jan 10. Dayight in Montpelier VT is 8hrs 51 minutes.

We have a winter storm warning through Saturday, it doesn't look good for traveling. I may enjoy a white Christmas at home. Have a safe and happy holiday bikecommuters!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took the lake route today. It may be my last chance since we are due to be buried under some kind of snow/ice/sleet/grapuel and maybe even ooblek over the next few days. Hopefully it there will be enough on the ground to get the snowmobiles interested so they get out and pack it down. So far it is just too deep bike but not deep enough to sled. About 6"


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

ooblek: Had to look that one up. Nice one bedwards.

Hope you and MTBX stay safe in the coming storm.

37F and rain this morning. Not a heavy downpour but that thick soaking rain that seems to displace all the air.

I'm planning to leave work early today and take the long way home: The State Department of Transportation opened a new ped/bike path over the SR520 bridge on Tuesday. The SR520 bridge happens to be the longest floating bridge in the world and the opening of the path has long been anticipated in the Seattle area. So I am going to ride out over the new SR520 bridge and then back over the I-90 floating bridge (the second longest floating bridge in the world).

https://wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/humansof520-connecting-communities.html

Merry Christmas everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway, maybe we need a picture of the longest floating bike path in the world. you know, when you get a chance.

Hellooooo.... Everybody must be on vacation.

Not me. I skipped the ride yesterday because Christmas was a long day of everything including a snow storm and things were still getting cleaned up yesterday morning. I finally got back on the bike this morning, the first time since Friday. And damn it was cold. I took the lake route and had high hopes for the trails but they were too soft to be any fun at all.

I did re-pack my rear hub with some low temp grease and it was rolling really well until I deflated the tires to attempt the trails. The lower pressure really slows it down on the road. I was only a few miles from work by then so I just grunted through it. No way I was going to stop longer to re-inflate at zero degrees.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 11F on the way in with a decent amount of wind. It felt pretty cold out there. I need to get used to it fast because it's going to get colder the next few days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That was about as cold as I need it to be. -5F to -15F depending on which thermometer you happen to be looking at. My wife said it the car was reading -15F when she pulled into work.

Speaking of my wife, she really liked the carbon fatbike I got her for Christmas. https://www.canyon.com/en-us/mtb/dude/dude-cf-8-0-us. It is an impressive bike for the price and weighed in at under 25lbs.

This was the first day I took the snowmobile trails. They were passable but not really that fun. The snow is powder that is too cold to pack.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thats impressive bedwards. Both on temp and bike!! That canyon bike looks good aond its probably partly made in germany.

As far as I know canyon could always be very competitive on the price because they only sell via the internet and in the concept store in southern germany which is basically a showroom in the corner of the factory. Everything is bought in asia and assembled in germany. At least in the beginning those guys must have been very visionary, otherwise they couldnt have registered the address canyon.com 

And my wifes first mtb was a canyon too  

So good luck with the bike and let us know how she thinks about it after a few rides!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> woodway, maybe we need a picture of the longest floating bike path in the world. you know, when you get a chance.


Well I did not stop to take any pictures, but I found one on the interwebs that was taken a couple days before I rode. It was a good ride.

520 Trail: Capitol Hill Eastside commuters can now walk, skate, and bike to work | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sydney has started already, we are now in the afternoon and although others are still in bed, 

I'll say it first: HAPPY HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR fellow commuters and loved ones. Free your mind and your legs will follow 

I am looking forward to another year of commuting!


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## Guest (Dec 31, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Free your mind and your legs will follow


 That should be a sign in every bike store. It is so true. Happy New Year cyclingdutchman!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Happy New Year everybody. Great phrase Dutchman! Sweet ride for Missus Bedwards, that looks good.

First ride of the year for me and first commute in ages. I have gotten so fat!


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## JBarn (Jan 7, 2010)

Too darn cold for me today. -2 in Columbus Ohio....Crap

36mile round trip commute.

Last week rode 4 days
12deg
2deg
4deg
14deg

I give - bring back global warming!!


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## JBarn (Jan 7, 2010)

Too darn cold for me today ! -2 deg here in Columbus, Ohio...

Rode 4 days last week ( 36m round trip )

12deg
2deg
4deg
14deg

I'm bagging it today...no way my toes would make it.

I want global warming back!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Coldest commute of the year! I guess since it was also my first commute of the year, that doesn't necessarily mean much. But it was 1F.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Happy New Year everyone.

First ride of 2018 in the books - 29F, clear and I was on ice patrol but luckily the roads were in good shape.

Bedwards, nice bike, you are a good husband :thumbsup:

I'm looking forward to 2018 too, Dutchman!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Coldest commute of the year! I guess since it was also my first commute of the year, that doesn't necessarily mean much. But it was 1F.


Mad props to you for riding in those temps, s0ck...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Well I did not stop to take any pictures, but I found one on the interwebs that was taken a couple days before I rode. It was a good ride.


Good enough.  


woodway said:


> Happy New Year everyone.
> 
> First ride of 2018 in the books - 29F, clear and I was on ice patrol but luckily the roads were in good shape.
> 
> ...


Yes, happy new year. woodway, if you adjust your temperature report to remove the space between the "-" and the "29" that is about what it is here (-22F actually). I threw the bike in the car and carpooled in. I'll ride home when it has warmed up to a nice enjoyable 6F.

Thanks for the props on the bike. If anybody is in the market for a fatbike I think this is the best deal out there. She's got a few rides in and loves it. We already sold her old Framed Minnesota 2.0 and maintained n+0 bikes. Between us we only have 20.

My Year End Review: The Candid Cyclist: 2017 Year End Review


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yes, happy new year. woodway, if you adjust your temperature report to remove the space between the "-" and the "29" that is about what it is here (-22F actually). I threw the bike in the car and carpooled in. I'll ride home when it has warmed up to a nice enjoyable 6F.


Wow. I rode in at 15F once and thought I was going to die. You guys who ride in single digits and below are badasses!



bedwards1000 said:


> My Year End Review: The Candid Cyclist: 2017 Year End Review


Nice write-up and a good year. I especially liked the fatbike race report, and I can understand why the X-country guys beat you to the top...but you did not catch the snowshoe'rs? Did they just start too far in front?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Only an handful of snowshoe'rs beat me to the top. Most were behind.RESULTS

OK, almost time to hit the trail. It's 8F out. I'm sad that I'm excited that it will feel warm.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Damn, you guys get some cold!

You've had a good year Bedwards, interesting reading.

Windy this morning. Maybe about 6C or so but the wind was at about 45+ mph apparently. ranged from cross to head on. First 3 miles were ok, I was in the burbs so lots to disrupt the wind. Next 2 miles were gusty but the verges, hedges and trees are high. Last 5 were really hard. Mostly flat open fields. Thankfully the farmer considers the wildlife so there are some hedges. Definitely a day to make sure my pedalling was efficient, pedal all the way around, quads, calfs and hamstrings. Wind will drop by home time but I could probably just coast home if i left now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Riding in the cold sucks worse after doing strength training the night before. Riding a singlespeed makes it even more fun. It was a bit warmer this morning, but still a chilly 5F. We might actually get near freezing this afternoon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Slip, those winds sounds brutal! Can you even ride in a 45MPH crosswind? We're supposed to get up to 65MPH gusts in tomorrow's blizzard.

I'm getting used to these cold temps. By the time I got home last night it was 0F and this morning's ride ranged from 0F-8F and was pretty comfortable. There's no way I'd want to do it on a single speed. I use that low gear baby! The trails are getting pretty good. Too bad it will all be buried by Friday.





​


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

the wind speed was only from the forecast so who knows really but I was sitting at a funny angle. One stretch had the nose of the seat hitting the back of my thigh where I was out of the saddle leaning into the wind... It has calmed down a lot out there thankfully.

It's just clicked in my brain again that you guys are talking about near or sub zero Fahrenheit temps, so around Minus 20 centigrade or so!! That would be some record low around my way that's for sure.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, 45MPH crosswind, hard to ride in a straight line.

29F and clear here. Ice Patrol. I thought it was cold but bedwards probably would have been riding in shorts and no shirt.

^^ Nice pic!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It's been too cold for me to be interested in riding, record lows and record extended cold snap here in VT. Tomorrow 5-6" snow plus 35mph wind, so that is a no go. Then back to the deep freeze, HIGHS Saturday
5 to 12 below (zero F). I get some exercise snowshoeing with the dog every morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> It's just clicked in my brain again that you guys are talking about near or sub zero Fahrenheit temps, so around Minus 20 centigrade or so!! That would be some record low around my way that's for sure.


 LOL, yeah. Let me put it another way. It was -30C here the other morning.  It is amazing what you get use to. It was 3F when I got home last night and I thought it was still warm out. It was 8F when I left this morning and I was super overheated when I got to work.

MTXB, we're got the same forecast with a little more snow, a lot more wind but the high will be 1F on Saturday. I think it will be an inside kind of day. We try to get the dogs out on the weekends but it will be too cold for them.

I test rode my wife's new fatbike in today. Nice bike but too small for me. Carpooling home mid-blizzard.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Speaking of the weather. Here is my favorite forecaster. MTBX, Vermont gets a special mention on this storm.

This is NOT safe for work, kids strictly religious or anybody else that is likely to be offended. But OMG is it funny. It also pretty accurately describes the weather we have had lately.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^Noreasta - is that how you pronounce it back there? Love it. 

Stay safe and warm bedwards and MTBX!

Warmer today, 37F when I left the house. Partly cloudy, no wind. Pretty nice riding conditions. bedwards you would have been riding in shorts and no shirt for sure


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

M.I.L. has a balmy -22 F feeling like -41 now. Was -31 F Jan 2. I lived there 2 years which may explain brain issues:


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Nice forecast  We would not be prepared for that! 

-30C  that's gotta be arctic weather. I'd quite like to experience it, but not here, the general populace goes into doomsday prepper mode if there's a couple of inches of snow, or the shops are closed for the holidays tbh.

Stay safe folks.

Drizzle on the way in this morning. Pulled a muscle in my neck somehow, ride home might be interesting not being able to shoulder check.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Every morning commute this week will have been single digits. We haven't hit the freezing mark in like 10 days, which is extremely rare around here. Next week is looking to be much warmer.


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## Classy (Sep 30, 2015)

My first blizzard commute, and it was awesome!!









Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

^^ nice Classy! 

Hope you guys in the NE stay warm, def some crazy stuff going on out there. I can't believe you're still riding, big balls and big ovaries! Or frozen ones anyway haha!

Commutes are over this week for me, have to take the Jeep in for a collision estimate tomorrow, someone put a big ole bash in it last weekend while I was parked at the trailhead. 

Weather just fine here.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ looks like fun Classy!

By the time I left last night the wind had picked up again, mid 40s mph again, I was not expecting that! Fortunately for my neck it was more or less coming in from a 120deg arc from my rear. Considering my lack of mobility and complete lack of form I really had no business being able to go fast enough to spin the SS at the high RPMs i felt I was managing, but I'll take it.

Rough night last night due to neck pain so drove this morning. It's much improved though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice pic Classy! Enjoyed the forecast Bedwards. Hoping the neck continues to improve SlipSpace. Wicked wind is drifting the snow terrible today. The official snow totals are unimpressive, but the wind puts it everywhere you don't want it and packs it really dense. Windchill warning through Saturday. Next week looks better, supposed to hit the 20'sF.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> ^^Noreasta - is that how you pronounce it back there? Love it.


 Well, that's not how I pronounce it unless I am Meanin t' talk like a Mainah. There are others though (and I'm related to some of them) that sound like that all the time. I'm surprised that some people that don't have English as a first language could under stand some of it. Although if you can make out one word that starts with F you could get half of what he said in that video.

Classy, Fun color combination with those On-One floaters. Although those riding conditions look like they are approaching really really slow to stopped especially going up hills. Awesome might be a stretch.

The storm's come and gone. I couldn't ride today because the trails are buried as is the view from my office window.




​


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Quite a view bedwards!

Nice pic Classy!

Slip, hope the neck heals fast.

It was a balmy 45F and raining when I left the house this morning. Uneventful ride to work.

Have a good weekend everyone.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Wind chill was at -11F (40mph winds today) when I woke up, so I pulled up the covers and went back to sleep. Working from home isn't helping with my overall bike miles at all...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Heya!

Forster, Slipspace, thanks for the credits on my remark how to expand your mind. Actually, its rule #6 

You guys in northeast of the USA and Canada have quite something to endure currently. Those temps are really horrible and it seems no end in sight yet? Fatbiking not possible Bedwards :lol: Can imagine people not being able/wanting to ride there currently...

First commute in 4 weeks for me today. Long time ago since was off the bike for so long. My severe cold lasted two weeks in December in the end, then was Christmas break and yesterday I took the bus because of the wind and a birthday cake I had to take along to the office for my collegues.

So the rides were good. Dry, nice tailwind on the way in and the wind calmed down so I didnt need to push it too hard on the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

formula4speed, sounds like a good plan.


cyclingdutchman said:


> You guys in northeast of the USA and Canada have quite something to endure currently. Those temps are really horrible and it seems no end in sight yet? Fatbiking not possible Bedwards :lol: Can imagine people not being able/wanting to ride there currently...


The end is in sight but it falls after this weekend. Fatbiking isn't possible until the trails get packed. With the amount of snow we got there should be plenty of snowmobile activity over the weekend (if the cold does't keep them inside) and the trails should be good to go on Monday. By then we should be back to normal winter temps with lows in the toasty single digits and highs in the 20s.

I've never heard the birthday cake excuse before. Maybe I'll use that one on Monday. Nah, I'll ask my wife to bring it in.

Happy Friday!


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone is well. Been absent from the commutes due to the weather. It has been just too cold here to ride for me. We got at least 8" of snow almost 2 weeks ago, and it is still covering some side streets, MUP, my complex parking lot etc. Temps have been in the single digits for the high now for almost as long. Windchills are consistently in the negative. Last night when I drove home from work, my car said -8°F as the actual temp. Windchill put it at -14°F and it was very windy. There is a break coming starting Sunday where we will see some temps in the 30's and maybe even 40! 

Meeting a guy Saturday to buy a used indoor trainer because I feel like a sloth because there are no miles being put on any bike. Set a goal of 5000 miles again this year, and damnit, this is gonna happen!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Gave myself a destination this morning, wanted to ride to a bridge over a river to see if the river has frozen over because I've never seen it freeze. 17F temps, unknown conditions for riding with the snow and cold so I grabbed the fat bike (right choice). Conditions were mixed, the MUP was actually mostly cleared, but the last 2 miles or so were a few inches of snow that were chunky from being walked on and frozen over.

Made it to the bridge, water was 90% frozen over and it was beautiful in the morning light. Should have packed a camera. Still it was nice to just enjoy it for a few moments before turning around.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

How was my commute? Slow. The trails have had some traffic but it's been so cold that it doesn't pack hard. And the lake was even worse. Most snowmobiles take different tracks across the lake so none get very packed. There was some walking. In the end I left home at 6:30 and got to work a little past 8:00 after a heck of a workout. Average speed: 6.0MPH. On a positive note we are headed to a stretch much warmer weather. Too warm actually. Thursday through Friday will be well above freezing and the trails will be too soft for another reason. Oh well.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

30s and raining = no bike commute for me. My sister was in town and borrowing the car last week, but she flew out yesterday, meaning I had a car to drive and avoid the nasty weather. Even though it's above freezin, some of the rain is freezing on the roads due to below-freezing pavement temps. It's kind of weird, really. I'm willing to brave single digits, but cold rain is miserable.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

It was, hm, let me say "refreshing" here this morning: -6C. Not exactly cold as you guys have had it. And it was beautiful. FINALLY no clouds and almost no wind. Ride home was around 0C but a nasty wind picked up, so it felt worse in the end. 

Higher up in this thread, somebody wanted global warming back. So I read an interesting article today in which it was explained, that global warming changes global wind patterns, which leads to more arctic air being blown to the northeast of the north american continent. So the local climate there gets the opposite of warming: it is expected that such periods of extreme cold will occur often as global warming continues.

I wrote this as an explanation not as a political statement or judgement or whatever. People can decide for themselves if they believe it or not anyway


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> 30s and raining = no bike commute for me. My sister was in town and borrowing the car last week, but she flew out yesterday, meaning I had a car to drive and avoid the nasty weather. Even though it's above freezin, some of the rain is freezing on the roads due to below-freezing pavement temps. It's kind of weird, really. I'm willing to brave single digits, but cold rain is miserable.


No weird at all. Cold rain soaks through and makes you much colder than snow! I'll ride in 30F snow any day over 35F rain.

Yes dutchman, it's pretty obvious to everybody (but our "Genius" president) that we have had more Arctic Vortex weather patterns which pull the cold air down from the poles in the past few years.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> No weird at all. Cold rain soaks through and makes you much colder than snow! I'll ride in 30F snow any day over 35F rain.


To clarify, the weird part was the way the pavement/ground cause the rain to freeze, not the outdoor temps like with traditional freezing rain. I agree though that rain in the 30s is one the most miserable conditions.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh, that is just weird weather stuff. We had the ice storm of 1998 exactly 20 years ago. The temp stayed below freezing but it just kept raining. The ice just kept getting thicker and thicker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1998_North_American_ice_storm


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey riding in 30 degree rain is the majority of my commutes this time of year 

The three best things you can do for 30's and rain:

1. Invest in a really good rain jacket and shoe covers (gloves are gonna get wet no matter what, so always carry an extra pair for the ride home).

2. Don't over dress.

3. Keep moving.

I worked from my place in central washington today (long weekend basically). Will be riding tomorrow morning in 30's and rain


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Today was the first day we have had above freezing in 23 days. We got freezing sleet last night followed by another 1-2" of snow. Still no commutes for the year yet. Did do a trainer ride on Sunday and Monday to get my legs going again. I never believed anyone when they said they would sweat on a trainer. It was a 55 minute training ride on YouTube from a group in Australia. It was 35°F and sunny outside. Opened the window, put the fan on high aimed right at the bike, and let the room cool down. Wore clip in shoes, socks, gloves, and bibs with no jersey. Figured I would see what this is all about. At the end of the ride, the puddle of sweat on the mat below the bike was impressive. Felt like I was sweating more on that ride than a mid summer ride in the 90's. Absolutely shocked at how hard it was to do that long of a trainer ride. 

The trainer I bought is kind of a crappy one, used from Facebook. It is a fluid trainer at least, but a lot of the comments on YouTube videos complain of the whole thing feeling like it leans to the left. Mine is no exception. The fact that it is on a mat, and then on top of carpet probably doesn't help. Will look into some sort of shim possibly, and check the feet to see if there an adjustment to make.

Sorry for the lack of commute talk.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Rain freezing as it hits the ground :yikes:

cold rain definitely sucks. We've been quite well above freezing here in the UK, well my bit certainly. relatively dry at commute times but there is still a lot of water around, the ground is pretty water logged. No commute yesterday, school run, but on today. Dark and gloomy but otherwise pleasant enough. I've now done more miles this year already, 70, than I managed in the last 6 weeks of 2017 I reckon, maybe longer than that. 

Hope to keep it up and see my belly reduce.


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2018)

39F and no wind today but I'm stuck driving. On the other hand, tomorrow with freezing rain predicted in the afternoon I'm probably riding. That's the breaks I guess.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

38F and rain today. Pretty uneventful commute. Hoping you east coasters get some relief this week. For those in Florida, Don't pick up the Frozen Iguanas...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Long time, no post. Been biking, but not as often as usual and it's a bit of a saga, but I'll provide the Cliff's notes version here: 

In January or February of 17 I injured my left knee while running and feel into the cycle of rest it, let it heal up a bit, and then go out and injure it again. Dealt with that through August when I went for a ride on the road bike. One of those rides where I went out in a bad mood and angry having just argued with the wife - so it was supposed to be a brief ride just to cool off, but ended up going much longer than planned. While riding a hairy stretch in town I had to crank down super hard to avoid being plowed over by a jacked up, black smoke spewing truck and felt it pop again. By this time I was 12.5 miles from my house. I could have called for a ride, but... 

So - I get home and the knee is swollen up quite a bit. I rest it until the first week of September and the swelling doesn't go down at all. I get in to the ortho just after Labor day and they tell me to keep resting and icing and we get an MRI ordered. 

By this time it is mid September and the MRI shows two potential meniscus tears. 

We schedule surgery, which I have on October 16. Lateral and medial tears - really more like shredded. Also, the bone surface had to be smoothed out as the layer of cartilage there was torn and bunched as well.

So, that takes us to November when I'm able to get back on the trainer and ride indoors. That goes well so I do some outside riding. 

December I do two bike commutes. Nothing to write about. Today is my first day back after a long Christmas break of lots of riding both indoors and out and... 

It SUCKED!

15 degrees at my house with winds from the east at 23mph gusting to 39. 

On the downhill section towards the bus stop, wind at my back, brakes applied to keep me from going too fast on the icy multiuse path, I hit a drift that was much deeper than it appeared and went down. Hard. On my left knee. 

Get to town and it's not bad. 8 degrees F. No wind. The knee is a bit stiff, but not too bad. In fact, I really didn't even think about it. Until I got to the office and tried to walk from the bike rack to my office and... no bueno. It's nicely swollen and stiff and sore. 

I kinda knew I shouldn't have ridden today because it was a bit stiff to begin with, but thought it would help it to get some miles in. And it probably would have if I hadn't of crashed. 

Anyway. I'm back? Maybe. We'll see. Lord knows I need to re-lose the weight I gained during the time off the bike


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Blockphi good to hear from you but bad news....all the best for you!!

Woodways description of the weather sums it up for me too. Hardshell clothing almost always needs to be at hand. I have GoreTex gloves which are waterproof but I dont really like those. I also have waterproof Mitts but those are unpractible too - too long and too wide cuffs. So mostly I ride with my windstopper gloves and when they get wet, I dry them on the heating at work ( I wash them regularly too ).
I am also often wearing Gore Windstopper clothing (mostly old, got it cheap) which works pretty well in light rain, because:

I started an experiment by putting new water repellent on 2 of my jackets on October 1. Now is 3 months later and the effect has gone down a bit but it still works very well and I would call it a success. It keeps off light rain / drizzle for a while. Not for hours, but for my 35min. commute it works. 

Oh yeah the rides. Just above freezing with a nasty cold eastern wind of around 20mph. 

Mental note to myself: Lock bike when arriving at work. I kneeled down at my rear wheel this afternoon with the key in my hand and wondered my lock wasnt there. Found it in my bag that stood next to my desk all day....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi blockphi, thanks for the report, but sorry to hear about the troubles. The temps were fine today, but the snow squalls were rough, making the roads a mess quickly - and I was driving (trying to kill this cough). Offered a ride to the bikecommuter I know. He declined and as I crept down the hill I think he was better off. Tonight at home my snowshoe trails are all drifted in (invisible), which makes walking the dog pretty comical. Choose wisely, and your boot hits the packed trail after a couple inches; miss the trail and you suddenly sink in several feet while the dog simultaneously pulls the leash.

Here is a nice coyote from my trailcam in the -9F


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back blockphi! Sorry about he "mechanical difficulties. "

^^Whoa that's a big looking coyote! Pretty one too.

No bike commute for me to day. Last night was a 1:40 sufferfest through soft snow and a deep windblown lake. I really didn't have the will to do it again today. Too many rides like that and I might not like biking any more. Recharging...


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## ray.vermette (Jul 16, 2008)

That's a big coyote. Perhaps a coywolf?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I hit the pavement pretty hard yesterday. Leaving the office, there's a roundabout that has recently been sealed. The pavement was wet and apparently slicker than I thought (or I possibly hit an oily patch). As I turned on to the roundabout, my rear wheel swung around and both tires slid out sideways. I caught my keys that were in my pocket right on my hip. Both elbows are scraped up and bruised as well as the inside of one knee and my ankle on the other leg. My bike slid another 4 feet or so, but the chain tensioner didn't appear to take any impact. After I took a moment to compose myself again, I started back home again.

To add insult to injury, the rest of the ride kind of sucked. There was more traffic than usual. I had to sit in a long line of cars waiting for a light a couple times. Then I got stuck behind a tentative driver who kept missing chances to get out on another road at a stop sign. I got home late and banged up, but at least my new bike trainer was there waiting for me to check out. Oh, wait. That didn't happen. The package seems to be lost in UPS purgatory and hasn't been delivered despite sitting in town since Saturday. At least my kids were happy to see me. Oh, wait. They were both kind of whiny the second I walked through the door. Great afternoon! :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ wow, what a crappy day s0ck. It will get better.

Welcome back blockphi. Good luck with your recovery.

Sending warm thoughts your way, MTBX and bedwards.

Dutchman, I use this stuff to wash my breathable jackets and it cleans + revives water resistance. Not sure if you can get it where you live:

Hardshell DuoPack

39F and light rain this morning. Another uneventful commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow s0ck that's a tough day. I've had a similar experience with new sealant. Hey, look at the bright side, at least you didn't get run over by a truck while you were down.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Temps in the mid single digits and winds in the valley only gusting to 16 today. I'm still feeling my time off the bike, but it's getting better. 

Got lucky myself this AM and avoided another crash. The winds yesterday scoured the ice and the packed snow on the roads, turning it all to a nice ice skating rink. Almost went down pulling my standard U-turn from the bus stop. Thankful I didn't. It seems like any time one crashes it kinda turns the rest of the ride sucky, as sOckjeyeus notes...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rides were good today. Temps above freezing, dry and just breeze.

I know nikwax too but the reviews on fibertec were better so I took that one. That doesnt necessarily need to apply to outside europe. Because of difgerent regulations it can very well be that there are differences in ingredients across the world.

Sockeyous you stay upright now ok ?!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

38F and pouring rain. I remembered Rule #9, geared up and pedaled to work.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Rule 9 is the only rule that matters!

Pretty boring around here: 12F at the house with a light breeze. 10F in town with a light breeze.

I did see an interesting ride yesterday parked next to me. Not sure yet how I feel about it - the whole eBike thing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is pretty rad! I'm generally against the whole e-bike thing for myself anyway. But maybe it would power through this snow from hell we have here. We got lots of fluffy snow that has been compacted but not consolidated. The tire pushes through and breaks it apart. 50/50 chance of making it up a hill without spinning out. It's like riding through peanut butter. An e-bike probably would just make that worse or let me go fast enough to crash harder when the wheel washes out. 

I have to stop complaining, LOL. We have a January thaw and lots of rain coming in the next few days and then another hard freeze so that will change everything.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

Nicest day of the year so far, huge temperature increase here. Currently 58°F and everything is wet from a light mist in the air. No commute today as I am off. Snow and cold temps are back in the forecast starting tomorrow. Last week it was in the negative actual temps, and now it is almost 60. Mother nature, you cray.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

1st commute this week today, it rained for 2 days straight and was cold yesterday so I feeling "meh" and drove instead, you guys are hardcore . It was a record here for days without any rain, 130 days or something like that. Good news now the trail I used to ride and quit because of the stank is all washed and clean!

That e-trike is pretty cool, I don't have any problems with the ebike commuter crowd, out on the singletrack trails is another story!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was near 70F yesterday. As of right now, it's 35F and raining with temps expected to dive into the teens and the rain turning to ice and then snow. Needless to say, I drove in today. People here generally suck at driving, but it's even worse when snow and ice are added to the mix. With any luck, I'll be able to get in a snowy mtb ride this weekend.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Warm this morning - 45F and a little light rain now and then. Might be close to 50F when I ride home tonight.

Eugene, see rule #9 - the proper term is "badass".

Have a good weekend everyone.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute yesterday, wife drove me to work and picked up a used 26" wheel with Dynamo Hub in town yesterday evening for bike #2.

People still riding in the NE are even "hardcore badasses" :lol:

That trike looks pretty cool but I wonder how practical that thing is apart from riding. Takes a lot of space, heavy, needs a plug regularly...would like to try it once though.

Today it was 2C dark, windy, misty with drizzle. Not my favorite, but challenge accepted 

have a nice weekend all of you!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Bunch of errands to run during the day and want to get back to the valley at a decent time rather than waiting around for the bus. Hoping the wind dies down so I can get a good night ride in tonight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> People still riding in the NE are even "hardcore badasses" :lol:


I hate to disappoint but I had to run the truck to the shop today so I'm in a vehicle. It's pouring rain so I'm fine with that. It's supposed to rain more and then mix then freeze hard so the trails should be like highways.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

woodway said:


> Eugene, see rule #9 - the proper term is "badass".





cyclingdutchman said:


> People still riding in the NE are even "hardcore badasses" :lol:


:thumbsup: hardcore badasses, I like it! I guess I can be a rule #9 badass in the "inordinately hot" Vegas summer days here, but a wimp in the winter. haha!

I think I'm going to start stopping at this park about mid-way through my commute and do some exercises, there is all the usual stationary exercise equipment. Try to do some core type stuff, I need to start doing it but I loath the gym.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

my commute was good. a bit wet. last week it was almost 0F and blizzards, today 60deg and rain. goodbye snow, for now. i see the freeze coming.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> I guess I can be a rule #9 badass in the "inordinately hot" Vegas summer days here


THAT is a statement! Since I live in a mild climate I am not used to extremes, no matter cold or hot. I think somewhere around 35C would definitely be my limit in summer. So you are a HOT BADASS :lol:


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## Guest (Jan 13, 2018)

I skipped Friday because the temps were below my self-imposed limits (10F, 0F wind chill, no freezing rain, no lightening) at 1F with a -5F wind chill. As I was walking to work from the car I was feeling pretty good about that decision until I saw a guy on a cross bike riding without a hat or face mask on. For a moment I thought "man have I become soft" which then turned into "I'll bet that moron is only riding two blocks to work." The hardest part with the current workplace remains calculating the amount of clothes pretty exactly since I'm wearing suits now and don't have a shower. Far less forgiving of getting to work all pitted out than business casual clothes and a shower. That, and I don't have any sick or vacation days yet.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

Forster I've thought about this and would probably go ebike in that scenario. I have a locker room and scrubs to change into so no big deal showing up soaked in sweat or covered in dirt and salt. I couldn't imagine my rides in a suit though.


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## Guest (Jan 13, 2018)

dundundata said:


> Forster I've thought about this and would probably go ebike in that scenario. I have a locker room and scrubs to change into so no big deal showing up soaked in sweat or covered in dirt and salt. I couldn't imagine my rides in a suit though.


I still ride in cycling clothes, I just change at work. Rule #1: never blog before coffee, between midnight and 0500 or during dinner.


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

Crisp -4C commute on the fattie today. I'm lucky enough to have a 20 km route (one way) of which 80+% is gravel though the forest and I can add on some single track if time and light allows.

Still no snow in Franconia though...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We got over an inch of rain in VT Friday, leading to some ice jams, flooding, and evacuations. My area was OK, but I did not ride. Luckily the rain changed to freezing rain and then snow, so now we have a nice fresh 3" or so over a hard crust, allowing you to ride or ski nearly anywhere. Now if we could get above 0F, but not above freezing, that would be really nice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

J_Westy said:


> View attachment 1178104


Cool pic. I bet it was better in person.

What a difference 4 days makes. Thursday the trails were soft and the lake was unrideable. Today the trails are rock hard and the lake is all ice. We're back down to 0F with a good breeze to make it feel colder.

For some dumb reason I took a side trip on some single track that started off good but became nothing but postholes after it was too far to turn back. I think I'll avoid that on the way home. Otherwise the trails were awesome.








Today's commute














Yesterday's ride to the lake with the pups.​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Not much improvement in the weather in vermont I see.... :-/

But nice pics westy and bedwards. And how is your low temp grease doing bedwards?

-2C this morning with a nasty wind. It would get warmer today so put on 2 thin layers instead of a thicker one. Proved right, on the way home it was +4C but the wind got even stronger. At one point I had the 25mph/40kph wind full from the front and I was creeping along at 10mph/16kph.

Forecast is not good either. Rain, sleet and wind for the rest of the week. Time to earn my rule #9 title.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Good I think. I haven't taken the wheel off and tried to spin the axle when it is cold to see if it is really improved or just a placebo. I think a lot of the drag is from the tires when it is cold. If they are 6PSI at 60F and get moved to -10F the pressure would drop to 5.2PSI (if I did the math right). So lower PSI along with cold rubber makes for a huge rolling resistance. I found this site: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/fat-bike-tubeless-vs-tubes
OMG!!! 54W rolling resistance per tire at 6PSI That's 110W.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sweet pix bedwards! Apres fatbike silly selfie. Still coughing occasionally, but hope to commute tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics bedwards.

First Rule #5 Dutchman, then Rule #9 follows.

Great pic MTBX! Hope you are feeling better.

47F and raining this morning. Uneventful commute.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I haven't ridden my bike to work yet this week. The roads are dicey and I don't want to get hit by a car.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the reminder woodway 

sweeet pic mtbx!

Lots of showers here today but managed to ride between them so stayed mostly dry. Got a few drops on the way in but nothing the clothing couldnt handle. Less wind than forecasted, very good.

Tomorrow looks acceptable. Thursday storm with winds up to 50kts/100 kph is rolling in. Might annoy slipspace tomorrow already. Will probably not be able to ride anyway thursday, but friday doesnt look any better either..


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## Guest (Jan 17, 2018)

Today definitely set my record for cold rides for the last 20 years or so. -2F with -17F wind chill was sporty for sure. Seems I can't get the jacket combination right as I had frost covering the front of the jacket and sweat on the inside.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, Forster. Stay safe in those temps.

Rig a sail for Thursday Dutchman!

47F and light rain this morning. Pretty basic.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

None of us have anything on this guy. -48C, at least I'm assuming it's Celsius. -48F and -48C are pretty close anyway.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Absolute crap ride today! 40 degrees in the Valley and 35 in town. It's January for chris' sake. I shouldn't be wishing I'd worn shorts.

In all sincerity just another ride. Warmer than it should be this time of year, but the trails are still in pretty good shape and the roadways have been pretty well cleared to the pavement, so not a lot of pooling water or anything. This afternoon the roads will be a bit more of a mess with traffic, but still, can't complain, other than I think that I have built the perfect footwear solution to get me down to -48 and now can't try them out.

Over on the fatbike forums someone in one of the many, many boot threads asked about pogies for the feet, which got me thinking about overshoes and how well they worked with my regular cycling shoes last year and wondering if there is something out there for even more extreme conditions.

Turns out there is: supergaiters. Or, mountaineering overboots. The problem is that I've already spent way too much on a pair of cycling specific boots (Lake 303) - I'd have a hard time justifying another hundred or more to the accountant for an overboot that I'd have to immediately modify (read: cut). We have a really great outdoor consignment shop here in Anchorage and I found an old pair of mountaineering overboots there that were in great shape and only 20 bucks. This I can deal with.

On my shakeout ride they worked great. It was 20 degrees with a 20 mph wind, so not cold at all, but not a lick of wind got through. I use the toe spikes to help keep them in place, though I don't think this is necessary. They are quick on and off of the boot and can roll up and store easily in my frame bag. They do rub the cranks, but given that the are fabric, I'm not too concerned.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice vid sockeyeus. The guy is now famous and probably doesnt even know it!!

Congrats on the new low temp record forster. Do I understand correctly that you managed quite well? 

Had a slow ride in despite reasonable weather. Just felt tired. Had the opportunity to leave work early and made a detour. At one point I met a roe deer that wanted to flea but panicked and it ran into a fence and bounced back. I slammed brakes and watched it running into and bouncing back from the fence. Then I told her to calm down, got off the bike and walked backwards while looking away. She did calm down, walked down the road a few meters and jumped through a hole in the fence that she probably came through. Glad she didnt attack me.

So tomorrow I am still not sure. Probably my wife will drive me to work so that I can go into town and take a ride back in the evening. On the other hand they are expecting some snow and that usually leads to total standstill on the road so I would be better off on the bike...will decide tomorrow morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks for all the pics, everyone!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good pics all, and video. Dude is rocking an SS too

It's amazing how we all end up in a battle the weather wherever it is. 

I've been down with manflu since friday so not ridden this week. Today would have been the day but the severe gale force winds 70mph + stopped that idea pretty sharpish. Shame really as the worst of it is gone and it's bright out there now and should be ok come hometime.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

The ride home last night was soaking wet. Even the puddles had puddles. This morning was only marginally better, 41F raining hard and throw in some 30MPH gusts of wind. At least the wind was at my back 

I like those supergaitoes, blockphi.

A day off the bike will recharge you Dutchman!

Hope you feel better Slip...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Quiet in here all of a sudden...

36F when I left the house this morning, but I did not get rained on today! Otherwise uneventful ride.

Happy Friday everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Quiet in here all of a sudden...


I've been traveling for business and haven't been able to contribute. We got snow and I've got no idea what the trails are like so I drove today too (shudder).

I'll second the TGIF sentiment. Fatbike race this weekend.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> Quiet in here all of a sudden...


Probably it has to do with the antivirus programs that are going nuts again, because some ads seem to be infected with cryptominers.



SlipSpace said:


> I've been down with manflu since friday


Hey get well soon Slipspace!



cyclingdutchman said:


> So tomorrow I am still not sure. Probably my wife will drive me to work so that I can go into town and take a ride back in the evening. On the other hand they are expecting some snow and that usually leads to total standstill on the road so I would be better off on the bike...will decide tomorrow morning.


So yes my wife drove me yesterday and yes we got stuck in traffic as expected...up ahead there was an accident with a motorcycle and it even turned out to be a collegue. He is in hospital and probably will need surgery...ouch. So most people will say, "what is he doing out there on a motorcycle in that weather" but as a commuter I can understand him.

I rode today and the ride in was crap. Lots of partly frozen snow slush with bike tracks in it, sometimes 5cm/2" deep. Was in the hooks/drops most of the time because they deliver best control. Made it to work though without sketchy moments. A lot had melted during the day so the ride home was much better. Hopefully the rest will melt again before Monday.

Happy weekend everyone!


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## Guest (Jan 20, 2018)

Week of extremes. -4F with -17F wind chill on Tuesday morning, 49F this afternoon.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Only rode once this week and against my better judgement. Been super sick, some real horrible colds going around here lately, I was sick last month too! Had to have Mrs Jeep roll me over a few times a day so I didn't get bedsores :lol:

Hope I feel better come Monday cuz my tags are expired on the old truck and my little Jeep is till in the body shop. :madman:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides Friday but super slow on the way home, an hour to go 8 miles. Slowed by headwinds, studded tires, pogies, low energy and beer, lol. Dropped the chain near the end and just walked the last bit. 

Good luck at the fatbike race bedwards, hope it does not warm up too much and trail conditions are good.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^ Did the beer slow you down as it had been, or was being consumed, or was it just heavy? 

Back on today. Not seen the sun for a few days but at least it was a warm 5C/41F this morning. I bought a new helmet, a Specialized Tactic 2 in orange to replace my probably 12+ year old Giro. Really comfy and one of the few that fit over my big ol head with room for a hat

https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/1...q5Aoc8ulL1-mxH-QTFd-bghNZPlG02-waAoh_EALw_wcB


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^Fair question. The beer had been consumed before I started home. Nice helmet, I like the color fade.

A little snow expected on the way home today, but the overnight sounds icky with a wintry mix changing to rain tomorrow. It was above freezing this weekend, so I'm hoping the shoulders lost some snow and ice, leaving me more room.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ never drink and ride :nono: 

Agree with MTBX, nice helmet Slipspace! does it have any features like bugnet, blinkie, reflectors etc? Seems a good deal too....

Eugene you take care and heal up before riding if you can! Still no car available?

Forster, same here. -6C last weekend, +12C expected on Wednesday! :eekster:

easy rides today. Temps just above freezing, light winds, light snow during the ride in this morning but no problem with that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

37F and dry this morning. Supposed to be pouring tonight.

I'm in the market for a new helmet slipspace - thanks for the heads-up on the specialized helmet, will add it to my list!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent ride in this AM. 18F and snow at my place and 15F and snow in town. I've been down with what I suspect is the flu since Thursday, so I wasn't expecting much from today's ride. Deadweight legs and heavy breathing, but the exercise was sorely needed.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was off yesterday, but I'm pretty sore today from a LeeLikesBikes clinic over the weekend. Luckily, most of the muscles were sore from pumping/jumping and not pedaling, so pedaling didn't feel too bad.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Had to look up that leelikesbikes thing but looks like a lot of fun!

Dry and warm today. 4C on the way in, 7C on the way home! Had the thinner windstopper jacket on and was still sweating.. Tomorrow 12C is expected, seriously thinking about shorts...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I could use a new helmet but I would have to commit to getting rid of one of the other 4 I own and that is always the problem.

Hey, man is it Wednesday already? We had a pretty good ice storm yesterday but I didn't ride since the trails were soft. This morning was hovering around 32 and most of the trails had firmed. I took the roads for part of the ride so I wouldn't rut up the trails. I'm hoping that tonight's ride is fantastic. If not tomorrow morning when the temps are supposed to get down in the single digits.

Speaking of soft snow...The fatbike race went on despite the 45F temps. I managed to keep in the top 1/3 of the pack which is good for me. Racers were out there from 1:06 for the fastest rider to over 3 hours for the less skilled, WOW!
The Candid Cyclist: Moose Brook Fatbike Run 2018


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good write-up and pics bedwards. I used to do some MTB racing and always had the same problem with not going out hard enough at the start. I lacked the confidence to really mix it up at the front, so I would lay back and then pay the price during the race. I suppose with experience comes confidence, but I gave up racing before I got there.

Hope you are feeling better soon blockphi

S0ck, did you actually attend a clinic or do something online?

Last night riding home was a rain-fest as expected. This morning there were only light sprinkles and wet roads. But I had a very weird experience - I remember leaving the house and pedaling away and the next thing I remember I "woke up" as I was nearing work...and I could not remember anything in between. It's like I was asleep while pedaling to work. Very strange feeling.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> S0ck, did you actually attend a clinic or do something online?


I did an actual 6 hour clinic at the MegaCavern with Lee McCormack's counterpart, Kevin Stiffler. It was pretty awesome. I got to try out the RipRow (https://riprow.com/), which did help immediately on the pump track but is unfortunately out of my budget, and got a lot out of the in person instruction. Lee McCormack's online stuff is really good too though. I subscribed to his mountain bike school last year, and it had a drastic effect on the way I ride. Hopefully with the stuff I learned during the clinic, I'll be able to brush up my technique even more and kill it on the trails this year. :thumbsup:

No real commuting news, although I've learned to activate my glutes more when standing and have discovered more power on my singlespeed. That's always a good thing.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too bad of a ride in this AM. 14F and snowing in the valley. 9F and calm and clear in town. We got about 5 to 6 inches of fresh snow yesterday so things were a bit slower than normal. The snow, thankfully, was not heavy or dense, but on the trails it was a bit difficult pushing through the stuff, particularly where it had been piled up by skiers and walkers. Feeling a bit better overall, though by the time I got to the office I was definitely quite tired.


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## Guest (Jan 25, 2018)

22F and Icy on the way in (7 miles) but I had a pop-up appointment on the ride home and stretched 45F weather for 17 miles. Not bad for a winter fatbike commute.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The weather is getting old, it is 10F now, but yesterday it was pouring rain all day here in VT, so the whole mess (remaining "snow") is froze up good, ruts and all. 10F is also the high for tomorrow, but I need to drive to get to dog class after work. 

I was recently complaining about having to shovel out my bike-parking space at work, while the cars get over 3 acres plowed plus a 5 level garage. I don't know if someone was listening, but something made the snowblower operator detour from the sidewalk and attempt to clear the bikerack area. Maybe he saw my lame little shoveled area, or maybe he took a wrong turn, but either way I'll take it!

Congrats bedwards on the fatbike race, too bad about the conditions, pretty unusual for that part of New Hampster. I guess if you wanted to "live freeze or die" like the motto you coulda stayed an extra couple days for the temps to drop.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^We had the same weather.  I plowed my driveway and the next day it froze into an Olympic quality luge run. This morning was only about 5F. But the trails are freaking amazing in the areas that haven't been chewed up by snowmobiles when it was warm. The lake is riding mighty fine too and it has pretty sunrises.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Frozen, rutted, ice - ouch MTBX. Just remember, everyday we get closer to spring. Can already tell the days are getting longer.

I got poured on again last night. That makes eight days in a row that I've been rained on in one direction of the other.

35F and sprinkles this morning. Uneventful commute.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet pic bedwards!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

That RipRow thing is fascinating Sock, I'm making a note of that in case I find myself with some discretionary funding in the future. Price might be a little high for an impulse purchase, but my technical skills are definitely lacking and I wonder if that would make for good practice.

Weather here has been mild compared to the rest of you guys, I think I did 3 rides this week in shorts and t-shirt. Today has a high of 39F, so I'll dress warmer, but still above freezing at least.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No ride for me today. I'm not sure if I am bummed about missing my first chance to ride in negative temps this winter or not... Um... nope. 

Not sure if I'll be back at it tomorrow or not. Start work for a new client, so usually I try to wait a day or two before starting to ride in that situation to give them a chance to meet me without the sweat and explosion of damp cycling gear around my work space.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

formula4speed said:


> That RipRow thing is fascinating Sock, I'm making a note of that in case I find myself with some discretionary funding in the future. Price might be a little high for an impulse purchase, but my technical skills are definitely lacking and I wonder if that would make for good practice.


Yeah, it's a great tool, but it isn't cheap. Part of the reason for that is that it's made in the USA on a small scale. The coolest part about the RipRow is that it can be used for strength training, but it also encourages proper patterning that translates onto the bike. Once you get the patterning down, riding trails feels a lot easier. Lee's other off the bike stuff is pretty cool and can be learned without the RipRow, but the RipRow definitely makes learning easier and is essentially a pump track in your living room. I wish I could afford one. Maybe one day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^We had the same weather. I plowed my driveway and the next day it froze into an Olympic quality luge run. This morning was only about 5F. But the trails are freaking amazing in the areas that haven't been chewed up by snowmobiles when it was warm. The lake is riding mighty fine too and it has pretty sunrises.
> View attachment 1179740


That's a beauty, bedwards!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, my string of days with rain is intact, that's now nine in a row. 35F and light rain this morning. Something has happened to my shift indexing, it's all bollixed up, I suspect my derailleur hanger is bent, but will check that out over the weekend.

Happy Friday everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Bedwards THAT is indeed a nice pic. Makes me want a fatbike too but still cant find a valid reason. Should maybe do it just for the heck of it. But I also cant stop thinking about a nice quick nimble commuter-cx-bike like the Ti one that Forster bought a while ago....#1stworldproblems

Good luck with your shifting woodway! Had that issue once too and didnt figure it out: Always if shifting up was ok, downwards was wack or vice versa. Cleaned everything, changed cables, nothing worked. Went to a shop and they fixed it in 5seconds. Didnt even want some money so I put 1€ in the tipcan. 

Only 2 commutes for me this week. Got sick with stomach flu (or how you call it) Tuesdaynight and stayed home Wed and Thu. Went back to work today but still felt bad this morning so hopped on the bus instead of the bike. Havent managed a full week of commuting this year yet... :-/

Got new original BB7 organic pads and a 180mm disc rotor for my Rohloff cheap off Ebay early this week, so I have some wrenching to to on the bike this weekend


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks guys. The benefits of being out on the lake as sunrise. I've been seeing a lot of deer lately but they have been camera shy.

I use to borrow the hanger alignment tool from a riding buddy down the street but he just moved to Boston so I made one out of a piece of angle iron, a short bushing and a screw with the right thread. Park tool can have their $72 tool. Mine cost about $2.50.

Stomach flu, yeah, we know what you mean. Often also refereed to as food poisoning. 

I'm planning on a lake adventure tomorrow morning with a friend. Not much elevation but he wind will make up for it. There aren't a lot of places to hide from it on a lake. I hope there is as much ice as I expect there is. Something like this: https://www.strava.com/routes/11768689


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My digital thermometer at home said 28F this morning. Everything else said 10 degrees warmer. I am not sure what to believe. Our thermometer is usually pretty spot on unless the sun is shining on it just right. I dressed for mid-30s and was fine. It's super nice right now. Probably near 60.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey! I made it without going through the ice. Actually in some spots there was no ice to go through. It was still a great day on the lake.







Read all about it here: The Candid Cyclist: Sebago Lake Adventure Dreams Vs Reality

Woodway, are you shifting smooth again? Bent hanger or funky cables? It's usually cable drag for me.

We had a nice warm weekend and now the temps are back below freeing. It has an excellent year for trail commuting (despite my bitching about slow snow). Not too many days of deep lake snow and plenty of good days. The trails aren't slow now. They aren't as smooth as they were before there was any traffic but they are still hard as concrete. I think I'll try a non-fat bike tomorrow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No ride for me today. Too danged windy. I recorded a wind gust of 55MPH at my house over night and steady 20MPH. The actual wind speed is likely a bit higher as my gauge is somewhat blocked from straight northerly winds, which is what we are getting right now. 

Here's hoping the wind is back down to manageable levels by tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice write-up Bedwards. Your bikecolor really stands out on that picture above too.

Woodway, got a 9th day of rain in a row today? 

WWW weather her: Warm, wet n windy. 9C this morning, 20kt wind with gusts upto 35kts made the drizzle fly by horizontally. The second half was full head-on and it wasnt the fastest ride. Was tired anyway, made a tour with the trailer and kids yesterday. The way home wasnt any better, wind turned in my disadvantage so the 2nd half was again full against the wind. Drizzle had stopped, it rained. Still windy as h3ll too. Gloves were soaked after 5min and my hands got cold, but at 7C I could still feel them. Dont know whether I pedaled or paddled today. Not much change expected the next days either :-/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice write-up Bedwards. Your bikecolor really stands out on that picture above too.


 I guess they don't call it blaze for nothing.

I'm feeling lucky with some of the weather we are having around here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My commute was good except for inexplicable honking, another person yelling "f'g a**hole" from his car (going the other way), and a trial of an ergon saddle that I don't think I like.

Wow, windy blockphi, good call!

Nice lake trek report bedwards, surprised you found open water - but the best way to find it, at least, without getting wet!

I took a short icebike on the reservoir below my house yesterday, it was mostly wet on top, and snowy in a few areas. I used the commuter with icespikers. That surface layer clinked while breaking. It was also cool because you are not allowed to paddle on it in summer, so it feels a bit forbidden.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

I love how you guys embrace the snow and ice. It always seems so exotic. Perhaps not exotic as that conjures up images of sunny beaches and palm trees but hopefully you get what I mean.

Woodway that is a run of bad weather for sure, maybe you'll stay dry on the commutes for the rest of the year!

Dutchman, I'm much more familiar with that type of weather and it sucks, although it's not been too bad over here. Glad you're well enough to get back in the saddle.

Last week had me riding Monday only, just one of those weeks. Yesterday was nice, sun was out on the way in, almost full moon on the way home. That did mean ice this morning but not too bad. Had my routine disrupted by my son leaving at the same time and was 3 miles out before I realised I forgot my helmet.... probably as I had my beanie on I just thought yep, all present and correct.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow MTBX I didn't even know you were a f'g a**hole. How could he even tell from across the street? :lol: I got to ride on an area of the lake that is forbidden to body contact but OK for big stinky gas powered boats. I guess that was unique too. 

Exotic, yeah, we'll go with that. This winter thing happens if you embrace it or not so you might as well have fun. The trail riding has been fantastic, just fantastic. I'm looking forward to another 1-2 months of it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey! I made it without going through the ice. Actually in some spots there was no ice to go through. It was still a great day on the lake.


Nice write-up bedwards! Always enjoy reading them.



bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, are you shifting smooth again? Bent hanger or funky cables? It's usually cable drag for me.


Bent hanger. I've got one of those park hanger tools, so it was easy to fix. Shifting like "butta" again 



cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway, got a 9th day of rain in a row today?


Yup. A real soaker. But this morning was dry...however rain supposed to come through this afternoon so it might be ten in a row. Glad you are back on your bike, and I sympathize with you on your ride yesterday. I know the "soaked glove" feeling (or lack of).



mtbxplorer said:


> I took a short icebike on the reservoir below my house yesterday, it was mostly wet on top, and snowy in a few areas. I used the commuter with icespikers. That surface layer clinked while breaking. It was also cool because you are not allowed to paddle on it in summer, so it feels a bit forbidden.


I'm with SlipSpace, love the ice rides you all get to make.



SlipSpace said:


> Woodway that is a run of bad weather for sure, maybe you'll stay dry on the commutes for the rest of the year!


I can only dream  Did you go back for your helmet or just ride on?

42F and dry this morning! Uneventful ride...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I'm with SlipSpace, love the ice rides you all get to make.


Well, if you find yourself in the northeast in the winter we've got bikes ranging from M to XL with studs in the household. It does require the cooperation of mother nature. We only post the rides when the conditions are right.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Well, if you find yourself in the northeast in the winter we've got bikes ranging from M to XL with studs in the household. It does require the cooperation of mother nature. We only post the rides when the conditions are right.


I'll keep that in mind in case I'm in the neighbourhood :lol:

Woodway, you are the candidate with the best chances for the #9 B.A. cup this month  And is there no lake east of you high up in the rockies somewhere? Oh oh now I start thinking of going to ride a frozen lake in Sweden or Finland or something....

Windy but at least dry rides today. Legs felt better and made my usual average. Caught up with a collegue on the way home and rode the last 10min chatting together.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another day of no commute for me. Still windy AF. I did, however, bring the bike into town with me today so I can hopefully get a ride in before I head back home this afternoon. Tomorrow I should be able to commute again, but we'll see.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sure thing dutchman if you make it across the pond we'll go for a ride. Although as "Exotic" as it is there may be better places to go in winter. For me that place is going to be Peurto Plata this spring.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway, you are the candidate with the best chances for the #9 B.A. cup this month  And is there no lake east of you high up in the rockies somewhere?


I may be in the running for the #9 B.A. cup, but everyone I have been reading about who was riding in single digit (F) or below zero (C) temps get the #9 Crazy B.A. award!

Immediately east of me is the Cascade Mountain Range - about a 30 minute drive (the Rockies would be another 6-7 hours east).

Plenty of frozen lakes in the Cascades but they are all under about ten feet of snow!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks bedwards will keep that in mind. And be assured you are welcome here too!

Woodway oh ok so much snow does not make for a good ride :-/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I may be in the running for the #9 B.A. cup, but everyone I have been reading about who was riding in single digit (F) or below zero (C) temps get the #9 Crazy B.A. award!


I'll take 0F over steady rain just above freezing every time. I guess you deal with what you are use to.


cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks bedwards will keep that in mind. And be assured you are welcome here too!
> 
> Woodway oh ok so much snow does not make for a good ride :-/


OK dutchman, what part of Germany are you in.  I've been through once so far in my life via train. We spent the night in Landstuhl starting in Paris and ending in Vienna.

And would I have to ride the cargo bike?


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

some snow and wet this morning, all gone by afternoon. so far besides 1 freak storm this has been a mild winter here.


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## Guest (Jan 31, 2018)

I'm all ready for another exotic ride tomorrow, not ridiculous temps, but certainly not balmy either. Hoping I get noticed by a motorist with an opinion. Always love those days.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ Bedwards, 'The winter thing happens whether you embrace it or not so you might as well have fun'. I like that!

^Woodway, no I didn't go back for my helmet. I managed not to die and everything so was quite happy really 

Motorist with an opinion lol. Had one of those last night. Passenger yelled something out the window on the way past. I assumed abuse. Caught him at the lights and was in the lane next to him. Convo went something like this

'I didn't catch what you yelled back there'
'Speedy Gonzales'
'Speedy Gonzales?'
'Yeah, Speedy Gonzales!'
'Ok, I'm not sure if you're complimenting me or taking the piss'
'errrr, oooh, no, no, you were going really fast'
'hmmmm'
Light changed and off we go. Still not sure.

Wet and windy this morning


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow MTBX I didn't even know you were a f'g a**hole. How could he even tell from across the street? :lol:


Very funny bedwards! :lol:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a guy in a white pickup holler at me yesterday at a stop light. He was stopped directly behind me. I didn't understand what he was saying at first, and I was thinking, "Oh, great! Another douchebag truck driver." I turned my head around, and the guy was practically hanging out the window. It turns out he was like, "Watch out. People run this red light all the time." And it's true. I saw three people in a row run the light this morning. Sometimes I'm too cynical about people around me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good story S0ck. Not everybody is bad, sometimes it just seems like it. 

I'm remembering that the daily snow bike commute makes me tired...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Broke my days-in-a-row-riding-in-the-rain-string. Dry rides both ways yesterday and it was even dry again this morning. But the weatherman says more rain on the way, so I'll get to start counting again.

speedy gonzales, that's pretty funny SlipSpace 

Agree, good story S0ck.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> speedy gonzales, that's pretty funny SlipSpace


And being called Speedy Gonzalas is never "taking the piss" (?) Arriba! Andale!! Speedy Gonzalas is the fastest mouse in Mexico, you know.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

16F and I forgot to put on my boots before I left. So wool socks and sandals for my morning romp on the fatbike. Feet were surprising comfortable, but I wasn't out for very long. Hooray for wool socks.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice stories here. The thing is you should always believe in humanity, but not rely on it.

So still windy here, but made it in just before the rain started. 4C, rain and wind on the way home but with the hardshells on it was no problem. Concerning gloves I was prepared today: I put on my winter gloves with Gore-Tex and it worked. Hands were still warm and dry when I came home. It was good that it rained though, it provided some cooling to my hands because the gloves are actually way too warm for this weather. I had them on once with 2C but dry and my hands actually got cold because they were wet from sweating inside. After that I only wore them at -5C or below, which was maybe just 5 times or something..


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

Where i live people run every red light i come across, always. There must be an infrared signal i can't see...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

dundundata said:


> Where i live people run every red light i come across, always. There must be an infrared signal i can't see...


People are bad around here, but not quite every light bad. At the intersection I'm talking about, I once had to brake for a guy running the light. The light was so red, the car in front of me had already cleared the intersection. People are crazy.

People here don't use their turn signals either, which also drives me crazy.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

formula4speed said:


> 16F and I forgot to put on my boots before I left. So wool socks and sandals for my morning romp on the fatbike. Feet were surprising comfortable, but I wasn't out for very long. Hooray for wool socks.


Hooray! 

Not often people run the lights here. Queue across them as they haven't thought any further than the bumper in front and then block the cross traffic, yes, but not actually jumping them.

Spoke to my inspiration again this morning, dude is 86 now, rides 34 miles a day with a trailer delivering newspapers, and dairy I think, to the country folk. 
Some black ice about this morning, unclipped and had my foot down going through the spot where I had an off before, glad I did, so slippery!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well, I took a car today. After 3 round trips this week my legs are pretty drained. I could have rode but I wouldn't have been draggin'. I wanted to reserve some for any weekend adventures. It's snowing!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

A few raindrops going home last night, but I really cannot count it as a rainy day (don't want to risk my badass designation). 38F and dry this morning. Forgot to mention that the clouds parted long enough yesterday for me to get a look at the super blood blue moon. Pretty cool!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I put myself out on the lake to see the Super Blue Moonrise but it was cloudy.  We didn't get the blood part on the east coast. Not that it would have mattered.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have seen the big bad moon yesterday morning.

B.A. Woodway, sounds good! 

Ride in was sketchy. There were frozen spots and I felt my rear wheel slightly slip twice, but managed to get to work without problems. Ride home was interesting. When took off I rode free-handed to get my gloves on right and when I came from behind the building in the open I was nearly blown over but managed to stay on top of things. Then I spontaneously went to the LBS to get 2 new inner brake cables and ended up talking about bikes for 30minutes until closing time. So I was late for diner tonight...

And again no full week of riding for me. Blue Collars in the plant are on strike tomorrow and want to lock up the gates. So they decided to close the plant completely to avoid 5000 people striking and 5000 others trying to get through to go to work. I admit I understand the decision. So I am on unpaid leave tomorrow - wrenching time!


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

A commute through the forest is better for the soul than a drive on the autobahn!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That's a big plant you work at there Dutchman! Who is it? 

Can't argue with that Westy!

Bad ride home for me yesterday. To start with it was wet. Not that that is really a problem in itself. BB has been cracking away all week but it was all the time, the SS freewheel must have ingested too much water and grit during the week as it was trying to freewheel in both directions. That made me kind of nervous of standing on the hills and applying too much torque resulting in an unpleasant coming together with the headset. Lastly, just as I got into the city the front brake broke. I thought it can't be the cable as it's relatively new, maybe it's pulled through the fixing. Nope, the fixing is broken, the release lever on the front broke and the whole thing stayed with the cable.
Not sure what I'm gonna do about that yet, fix it, or, get a new bike on the cycletowork scheme is very tempting. Time to sweet talk the missus.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Slipspace: I am on southwest regional airport in Hamburg. And the number of employees adds up rapidly when you consider that most of them are working in 2 or 3 shifts a day including all the companies around the airport.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Big place. Happy and successful wrenching for today Dutchman


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow SlipSpace. It sounded like you avoided the headset with your, er, sensitive areas? New bike, definitely new bike.  


J_Westy said:


> A commute through the forest is better for the soul than a drive on the autobahn!


Agreed.





​3" of new snow over very firm and now invisible ruts. I met with the ground once but overall it wasn't bad. 





​Better than the autobahn I'm told.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Bad ride home for me yesterday. To start with it was wet. Not that that is really a problem in itself. BB has been cracking away all week but it was all the time, the SS freewheel must have ingested too much water and grit during the week as it was trying to freewheel in both directions. That made me kind of nervous of standing on the hills and applying too much torque resulting in an unpleasant coming together with the headset. Lastly, just as I got into the city the front brake broke. I thought it can't be the cable as it's relatively new, maybe it's pulled through the fixing. Nope, the fixing is broken, the release lever on the front broke and the whole thing stayed with the cable.
> Not sure what I'm gonna do about that yet, fix it, or, get a new bike on the cycletowork scheme is very tempting. Time to sweet talk the missus.


Whoa Slipspace I now just stumble about this. I hope you are allright?! Never heard of a brake actuator arm breaking....

You have a cycletowork scheme at work? We dont, and that is something I would consider worth striking for  At work a lot of people are talking about it in the company forum and some even started talking with the management, but no result yet, just lots of warm words.

And yes I wrenched today: took off the Midge and successfully mounted a 46cm Ritchey Venturemax Comp. I have a thread in the Ritchey forum for that bar, to anyone who is interested.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pics bedwards!!


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

After mostly commuting by fattie this year, on the frozen gravel this morning, the old hardtail felt like a Porsche GT3 compared to a Unimog 


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Well me and the missus had a chat over the weekend and a cycle2work scheme purchase is on the cards! :ihih:

This is looking like my favourite at the moment, just need to wait for the L to come back in stock. Wiggle | Charge Plug Grinduro (Single Speed) Adventure Road Bike | Single Speeds Would be fitted with guards and rack.

I'm open to other options for sure so link away. Just bare in mind I'n in the UK.

As for today I'm on four wheels, Very icy with a cake dusting of snow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

-6F at my place. -11F at the bus stop. -11 in town. Good times. Forgot how hard it can be to ride in those temps. Strangely, I was warm or even a slight bit overwarm. My set up was (top down)
Buff as tok 
buff on neck
Smart Wool long sleeve mid weight 3/4 zip (unzipped)
Patagonia R1 hoodie, hood up
REI revelcloud vest
cheap ragwool gloves
Outdoor Research versaliner overgloves
Pogies

Lightweight poly longjohns
Smartwool midweight longjohns
4ucycling cycling pants (from China, 29.99 on Amazon. Seem to be pretty awesome)
super light merino base sock
Darn Tough hiking weight merino sock
Lake boots with my supergater overboots.









-21 and -23 for the C folks.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, like riding through glue. Those 4ucycling products are great as long as you can find sizes that fit.

We had the opposite problem here. Rain last night and temps around 40F. I decided to stay off the trials so I wouldn't dig them all up. I decided to stay off the roads because they couldn't be grimier with sand and salt. And I stayed up too late. And I rode twice yesterday. Should I keep going with the excuses or is that good?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ Damn Blockphi, I assumed you had a buff or something over your face till I got down to the picture. That's pretty cool though.

You're all good Bedwards


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No prob bedwards :lol:

That is one rad picture Blockphi. They're expecting -8C/18F Wednesdaymorning and that is also my lowest temp record. So I might even break my record and for you that is almost shorts weather...for that it will be above freezing during the day everyday, so in the morning there is always the risk of icy spots :-/

Today was not spectacular. Somehow again very slow ride in the morning, normal on the way home. Apparently I have problems to get going on Monday morning, but who doesnt?  Ride home was good and it was even very bright outside when I left. During the day there was also this big bright yellow thing in the air, is it dangerous?


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I want to be a bike commuter. I keep trying to be a bike commuter. I've been at my current position for almost 4 years and I have the optimum setup to be a bike commuter (my own locker, shower facilities, the safest facility in all of the county to store ANY bike).

I'm 45 (but my head wants me to be 25). 14 miles to work and 14 miles home, has "wrecked" me every time I've tried. Last spring, trained and finally made my first commute of 2017 on June 21. I commuted home that same evening...and didn't do another commute all of 2017 because I was wrecked.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1047142875

I continued to be completely lazy about cycling all fall. I've put on at least 20 lbs through football season and the holidays.

Last week, I got an alert about Trek eBike Demo in my area. I had nothing to do last Saturday and took the Trek Super Commuter for a test demo. Absolutely loved it.

I coordinated with my local bike shop and arranged a "Full" demo for today:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1394161256

I'm 20 lbs. heavier, it's Febuaray, it was DARKER, it was COLDER and I still shaved nearly 30 minutes off the ride.

I don't know how I'm going to financially pull it off, but I think an eBike might be the best way to get me to commit to commuting. I'm in my offfice right now, and I'm not "wrecked". The next test will be when I go to make my commute home. The real test wil be tomorrow, when I wake up.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Jelako said:


> I want to be a bike commuter. I keep trying to be a bike commuter. I've been at my current position for almost 4 years and I have the optimum setup to be a bike commuter (my own locker, shower facilities, the safest facility in all of the county to store ANY bike).
> 
> I'm 45 (but my head wants me to be 25). 14 miles to work and 14 miles home, has "wrecked" me every time I've tried. Last spring, trained and finally made my first commute of 2017 on June 21. I commuted home that same evening...and didn't do another commute all of 2017 because I was wrecked.
> 
> ...


How much other cycling do you do? 28 miles round trip is probably unsustainable for someone who already isn't in good riding shape. Bike commuting is great, but maybe the best option for you is to start riding more frequently at distances where you won't feel "wrecked." I say forget about commuting for now and ride more. Start small and work your way up to your goal. I don't think throwing money at the situation is going to be the answer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako where there's a will there's a way. An e-bike may be a good choice for you but I do agree with s0ck that throwing that kind of money at it in hopes that it works may not be the answer. 28 miles round trip is enough to "wreck" somebody that isn't in shape. But doing it a few times a week after a little conditioning will be a piece of cake.
- Do a few 8-10-12-16 mile rides on the weekends for a few weeks before you start.
- Have somebody drop you at work for a 1-way trip once/week. 
- Drive the bike to work, ride home, ride in, drive home once/week.
- Plan your commutes for days with lower wind. 
- Maybe consider the $2300 Verve and not the $5000 Super Commuter (I know, shiny!  )

And REALLY, you are using COLDER in February as an excuse in Ocala? I would think that would be a benefit over the armpit stain to your waist temps you get in the summer, LOL!

Whatever you do, report in on your progress and have fun!

I took the "skinny" tired bike on the trails today. We've had some rain and then it was about 12F this morning so everything was solid. Those tires seem so tiny and fragile! Otherwise it went along just fine. I think "free range" might have been possible with the fatbike...tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

blockphi, you get the super badass award. -11F, wow. The clothes must have weighed almost as much as the bike 

42F and rain for me this morning. Otherwise an uneventful ride.


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

Jelako said:


> Last spring, trained and finally made my first commute of 2017 on June 21. I commuted home that same evening...and didn't do another commute all of 2017 because I was wrecked.
> 
> I'm 20 lbs. heavier, it's Febuaray, it was DARKER, it was COLDER and I still shaved nearly 30 minutes off the ride.
> 
> ...but I think an eBike might be the best way to get me to commit to commuting.


I'm not sure what "trained" in 2017 means, but

If an eBike gets you where you want to be (and you can afford it) cool, but I think if you really got into steady-state shape instead of just one ride, I think you'll find a non-ebike is just fine and will keep you fitter.

I always tell my buddies you need to ride a few days a week for a month to get yourself, your butt, in reasonable condition.

Maybe start by driving half-way to work and riding from there for a couple weeks, then extend your ride as you get fitter?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Jelako where there's a will there's a way. An e-bike may be a good choice for you but I do agree with s0ck that throwing that kind of money at it in hopes that it works may not be the answer. 28 miles round trip is enough to "wreck" somebody that isn't in shape. But doing it a few times a week after a little conditioning will be a piece of cake.
> - Do a few 8-10-12-16 mile rides on the weekends for a few weeks before you start.
> - Have somebody drop you at work for a 1-way trip once/week.
> - Drive the bike to work, ride home, ride in, drive home once/week.
> ...


Some practical suggestions here. Another is screw commuting, buy a mountain bike (if you don't have one), and ride Santos after work. 

About the "cold." One time I was visiting family in Dunnellon, FL and saw a dude wearing a balaclava riding down the road. It was like 50 some degrees out. :lol:


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> ride Santos after work.


if you look at the map, you see i'm pretty close to the 49th avenue trailhead and I ride Nayles and Shang-ri-la.

I struggle on parts of Nayles, and the idea of commuting was (1) get out of a car (2) get lighter for Nayles.

I got a 2nd set of wheels with schwalbe big apples but 28 miles took me out of commission.

It's not bad suggestions. It's now 1 o clock and I still feel good and actually anxious for the ride home.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

J_Westy said:


> I'm not sure what "trained" in 2017 means,


I started in March by just going for "20 minutes" - 10 out / 10 back. Then I worked up to "30 minutes" - 15 out /15 back. I did this on a Tues/Thur/Sat/Sun schedule giving me Mon/Wed/Fri off. I thought March>June would have been enough to prepare me, but there is an overpass over I-75 and two different "points of elevation" (it's hard to call anything in Florida a "hill". The increased saddle time, the "points of elevation", the fact that I did both "there and back" was too much.

I thought i prepared, but I needed more and then got lazy...then it got hot...then it got hotter...


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> And REALLY, you are using COLDER in February as an excuse in Ocala? I would think that would be a benefit over the armpit stain to your waist temps you get in the summer, LOL!


too be fair, if it's "78" during the day and "44" when I wake up, that's 34 degree swing.

You are correct though, the summer is what really wrecked me. I wasn't properly hydrated.

I like the idea of driving the bike in, riding home, and then riding into work driving home. That might be a good Wed/Thr for me.

I'm not sure I can pull together the funding of an eBike, so I'll be back on my 29er.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ha Ha, I actually had to look up the temp in Ocala today after I gave you a hard time. 44F is chilly for that area but I'd take it over the muggy summers there.

You could also check out the Copenhagen Wheel option. https://content.superpedestrian.com/
There are cheaper e-bike retro kits out there but I think this might be one of the more reputable ones.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

J_Westy said:


> Maybe start by driving half-way to work and riding from there for a couple weeks, then extend your ride as you get fitter?


This exactly. Biking is just like anything else, right? If you try run a marathon directly out the gate, you'll end up just hurting yourself and hating running.

Start slow, build slowly, then you'll be all good


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Jelako said:


> if you look at the map, you see i'm pretty close to the 49th avenue trailhead and I ride Nayles and Shang-ri-la.
> 
> I struggle on parts of Nayles, and the idea of commuting was (1) get out of a car (2) get lighter for Nayles.


I've never ridden Nayles. It looks like it'd be closer to my inlaws' place. I have mostly stuck with John Brown and Vortex while I'm down there. I was kind of disappointed last year when I didn't bring a bike. I always enjoy riding in FL as long as I stay away from the spiders and don't end up puking because of the humidity.



Jelako said:


> too be fair, if it's "78" during the day and "44" when I wake up, that's 34 degree swing.


We get temp swings like that here too, although those temps are more like our Spring. Preparing for that type of swing can be tricky. Arm/knee warmers are great for that kind of weather. Wear them on the way in with mid-weight gloves. Ditch them on the way back and wear regular gloves.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Jelako,

+1 on the "start easy" start  Just start off easy and build it up over time. This way you also get to know which kit is good for certain weather.

-6C here this morning and it was absolutely gorgeous. No wind, clear sky and dry as a bone, so no icy spots at all. We had a sunny bright day and the ride home was basically the same. And 2 more days of that coming, yay!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We didn't get above freezing here, so we got snow instead of rain, and 5-8" forecast for tomorrow at a 1-2" per hour rate. Good thing I save on some gas when I ride because my plow bill is killing me this year. 

I have to agree, 1-way or part-way (park and ride or bus if available) bikecommuting is a great way to break into it without killing yourself. Also, if you can minimize what you carry that will help too.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Jelako, I think you already have the ideas from those wise on the subject so good luck with it. It does get easier.

Dutchman, Cold and dry is good! I like riding in that sort of weather.

I rode yesterday, right around freezing, dry and snowing, Ground wasn't frozen so it didn't lay but all in all a nice day for it. Today I looked out the window, it had snowed overnight leaving an inch at most but was raining. I just really didn't fancy riding in the slop and getting soaked tbh.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Freezing rain 
this morning-- 
I drove


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Warm and dry this morning, 45F when I left for the office. Good ride in but my bike has developed a squeak that is driving me batty. I'm going to do my best to ignore it till the weekend when I plan to strip the bike, clean and lube. I've been riding in wet, gritty conditions all winter and it's time.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

13F (-11C) at my house this morning. Working at a client in the valley, so there were ups and downs in temps as I made my way up hill and down dale(?) - the entire route crosses from west to east an ancient glacial moraine that goes north to south, so lots of up and down. In the downs the cold air just sits and waits for a fat sweaty guy on a bike to come barreling through - then it pounces and freezes the sweat soaked clothing solid. Good times. 

45F - Can't wait for 45 so I can bust out the shorts!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

So I broke my lowest temp record this morning. It was -8C from last winter, this morning my speedometer showed -9,2C / 16F. It was calm and sunny. I was sweating and warm when I got to work, so the clothing has some reserve in it  The bikerack was quite empty though today. The speedometer is quite accurate since I can compare it to the airport weather report where I work. On the way home I ditched a layer which was quite good, it was -2C only.

The next days will be a little less cold it seems. I now understand people rather have it this cold than above freezing and rain. I really liked it. 

I do have an odd issue though. My shifting cables freeze when I start going. This itself is not strange when there is water in the cables which can freeze. My bike is outside all night though and when I leave, it works. After 5 minutes, everything solid ?? WTF??
Will bring a 8mm wrench tomorrow. When it happens, I take off the Rohloff gearbox to see if it is really the cables or if the shifting mechanism is frozen - without the gearbox you can change gears with the 8mm wrech, a multitool pliers or something. Very curious.

Slipspace, your bike is ok again? or still on 1 brake and creaking BB?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Freezing rain
> this morning--
> I drove


That reminds me of a Haiku, but it isn't. 


blockphi said:


> 45F - Can't wait for 45 so I can bust out the shorts!


 Word! 45 is definitely shorts weather.

It's not quite shorts weather here. I headed out without checking the temperature. At lunch somebody mentioned that it was single digits this morning. I must be getting immune to it because I would have guessed closer to 18F. Sorry dutchman, I beat your record and didn't notice .

I was seeing deer all over the place this morning which is normal but pretty close to work one came out of the woods just in front of me and took off down the trail just ahead of me. 20 feet closer and it would have been a tackle! Oh, and the trails were very nice but that's over now since they are already under 4-5" of snow with up to 12" total.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I really did appreciate the replies and advice. The end cost of an eBike is a huge hang up in my house, but man do the following rides really have me focused on getting the super commuter:

My ride home on Tuesday:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1395185621

After not being on a my bike for months, riding into work (14 miles), working a full day, I still rode home and only dropped a "minute" from my morning commute, but over 45 minutes from last summer:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1048012832

The big difference was that, I was not completely "wrecked" yesterday. I was sore, but I wasn't completely useless. I took yesterday off and then rode to work today:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1397441186

I shaved off 11 minutes from Tuesday, in the "rain" (it's more of a mist).

...

There is no question if I lost weight and trained, that I could do this on my X-Cal, but man does having access to an eBike and the ability to commute both directions twice in the same week inspire me.

It really is a lot of fun to ride the ebike, but also the ability to maintain cadence for the overpass over I-75 and the two "points of elevation" on the other side, is what I think makes the biggest impact.

Someone mentioned something to the degree of not throwing money at the situation, and by and large I really agree with that, but man...it's going to be in the back of my mind. The Trek Super Commuter met and exceeded every expectation I had.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^I can understand the siren song of an ebike Jelako, but if you stick with riding and it grows into a habit (as it has with many of us), you'll gain a lifetime of fitness that you won't get with an ebike. Can't put a price on that.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> you'll gain a lifetime of fitness that you won't get with an ebike.


It's only 4 rides in the span of 2 separate days, and in no way do I intend to be confrontational at all. That stated, "fitness" in terms of health and heart rate, even though I was on an eBike and had pedal assist, I still maintained my heart rate at 134 BPM average with a max of 156 BPM. I am not running a cadence meter, but I kept from my studio cycling days, I was able to do the old put your hand on your leg count. ;-) On the climb over I-75 and the two "points of elevation" - I never dropped below 65 RPM, which last summer I had to actually walk my bike to the crest of the I-75 overpass. On both "points of elevation" I didn't drop below 70 RPM. Even on the "downhill" portions, I still never exceeded 110 RPM (I don't like the freespin/wild spin feel). By and large across the entire trip, my goal was to attempt to maintain 90 RPM.

The eBike was fascinating to me because of the 4 modes: ECO|Tour|Sport|Sprint. On my ride to work Tuesday, I kept it in ECO with the exception of the I-75 overpass and the two points of elevation--then I went up to Sport. "Fresh" I never went into "Turbo". On my ride home Tuesday, I was "fatigued" and started out in ECO but very early moved to "Tour" to maintain cadence. On both "points of elevation" and the I-75 cross over, I did in fact go into "Turbo" so that I wouldn't fall below 65 RPM.

Now admittedly, on the long stretch home and knowing I wouldn't have battery issues, I did play with "Turbo", but I tried to maintain that "90" rpm without going over "100" rpm.

Same for this morning, I knew my legs were not as fresh as Tuesday so I started and maintained "tour" but if I found myself going over "90" rpm, I did push a higher gear. When I hit the bridge and points of elevation, I did go into Turbo.

My Battery is still in good shape, so my ride home tonight my goal is to stay in Tour, but have Sport/Turbo available to use.

My point is though, in terms of "Fitness" (again, this is the 3rd ride "ever"), my heart rate and cadence are stabilized. The eBike, no question is assisting, but because I have a knowledge of heart rate and RPM, the eBIke isn't a "pedal scooter" that I'm getting zero/minimum fitness benefits from. Additionally, as my level of fitness grows...the eBike would just be as good or arguably "better" for long term fitness in that you have both the pedal assist AND your gears as resources to assist in RPM and Heart Rate.

In no way do I want that to come off as confrontational. At the same time, I think "eBike" in and of themselves have a stigma. Right now, I couldn't do round trip 28 miles on my X-cal. I could do it on an eBike, twice in one week and easily could do three times in a week (unfortunately, I have to turn it back in tomorrow). Once my level of fitness grew, there is no doubt in my mind I could do the full trip on "eco" and still get as good of a workout (Heart Rate and RPM) as "any" other form of cycling, because in the end you're still moving the pedals. It's on the rider to ensure that their heart rate is in the proper zone and pushing the biggest gear possible while maintaining the appropriate RPMs.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm not a big fan of e-bikes, but commuting is one area where I think e-bikes are fine, for the most part. Still, there's no reason why you couldn't duplicate those Strava numbers, after a little bit of training, on a regular bike while pedaling 80-90+ rpm.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The ride in was nice. 19F with a very light fog. The trees are still covered in ice. With the sun peaking out, everything looked like a dream world.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> (unfortunately, I have to turn it back in tomorrow)


But you already made it your Strava Profile picture!

Did you check out the Copenhagen wheel link I posted? There's a dealer in Floral City so you could potentially try one out. You already updated your existing bike for commuting so all you need is the motor. The battery is a little smaller so you may need to recharge it at work. It has different levels of assist too. https://www.superpedestrian.com/support/article/What-are-the-different-assistance-modes. I also noticed that they have a 30 day satisfaction guaranteed return period. I've never actually seen one of these. I'm just trying to find some middle ground between $5000 and not bike commuting.

No bike commute for me today, snowstorm cleanup.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards and all, I know some of you guys are beating me by far on the low temp record. I was just trying to explain that it is a new low temp record FOR ME. I think you guys understand and I bow full of respect for you guys that ride in -20C or even -30C :thumbsup: 

So this morning temp dropped to -9.5 on the speedometer along the way so that is again a record FOR ME  but just barely compared to yesterday. Again only -2C on the way home...

Took an 8mm wrench with me today but of course, shifting didnt freeze up today...

Tomorrow will be the last glorious day. Saturday its getting cloudy, Sunday wind and rain with temps above freezing will kick in :-/ and we are going back to the dull grey windy wet usual winter weather here. Bah.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ha ha, I'm just giving you crap.  I know plenty of people that won't go out below 60F. After that cycling season is over. 

-9.5C!! Woot Woot!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Ha ha, I'm just giving you crap.  I know plenty of people that won't go out below 60F. After that cycling season is over.
> 
> -9.5C!! Woot Woot!


This morning my teamleader and a collegue from 2 offices away came to check up on me and to ask if I rode. I said that I did and that I LOVED it  :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too bad this morning. 7F/-13C at my place. No wind. Working in the valley again today, so fairly steady temps the whole ride in. 

It's taking me about 41 minutes to do the 6.93 miles from my house to the client's site on the fat bike with little to no snow cover. Granted there are a handful of traffic lights, but it feels like I am taking longer than I should be... That's an average of 10.24 mph. Maybe it is more the fact that I am riding a route that I used to only ride as a for fun ride and never rode with loaded panniers before. 

Probably best not to think on it too much.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

You guys posting about your temperatures sure do make us Florida residents look like *HUGE* sissies.

I wore short sleeves in "mist" but when the sun came out it was in the 60s.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I bet you guys get the high temp record in summer!! Everything over 25C in summer is seldom here and over 30C ist just as seldom as the low temps we have now. So dont worry, your time will come


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I bet you guys get the high temp record in summer!! Everything over 25C in summer is seldom here and over 30C ist just as seldom as the low temps we have now. So dont worry, your time will come


I don't know about anyone else, but I'd much rather ride in the cold generally speaking, than in extreme heat. There are only so many clothes one can take off in public and stay out of jail...


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## minimusprime (May 26, 2009)

It was glorious... can't wait for the ride home.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

^^ Happy guy there! :thumbsup:

First commute today in over 2 weeks for me. Caught a real bad cold that knocked me out of work a few days and it just lingered and lingered. We had a record month for people being off sick. Went for a couple mtb rides but couldn't ride 100 ft or so without blowing a slimey stringy snot rocket 

Feeling much better now, temps are nice, I think it's springtime in Vegas already! And as far as riding in the cold, I'll take the heat any day. Lots of water and sunscreen!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Slipspace, your bike is ok again? or still on 1 brake and creaking BB?


It is mobile pending deciding on a new ride hopefully. Took the freewheel off and apart to clean it out. Then I realised how worn the teeth were and decided it was just fit for scrap really. Did well for a Dicta really, must have done 4-5k miles with only 1 rebuild to clean and grease. No spare 18 tooth so put on the 17 tooth Shimano one I have. Was intending to work up to that for summer but keep me mobile. Means I'm now SS on something like a low 80s GI (52/17 on 622/28 tyres). Nothing doing with the crank, it still cracks. Jury rigged the front brake, not pretty but it works. Even long term I doubt I'd change it tbh.








I've been much more of a wuss with the ice than you, there has been plenty of black ice on the country lanes, even had my AWD Subaru skidding about which convinced me driving was the right thing

Rode today which was a good choice despite the rain as the main roads were rammed due to multiple accidents (mainly as people are stupid) and failed traffic lights.

Nice pic minusprime


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> I don't know about anyone else, but I'd much rather ride in the cold generally speaking, than in extreme heat. There are only so many clothes one can take off in public and stay out of jail...


I agree, the heat is rough! Although here in VT public nudity is not illegal, just disrobing in public.:lol::blush::eekster: Hence the annual naked bike ride, and occasional story like this Sunscreen, VT law protect naked man in Burlington


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Looks good minimusprime! What part of the world is that?


blockphi said:


> I don't know about anyone else, but I'd much rather ride in the cold generally speaking, than in extreme heat. There are only so many clothes one can take off in public and stay out of jail...


As a guy you can get pretty close to zero, LOL.

OK, this is for you dutchman (and Jelako)







I was hoping that somebody had blazed a trail across the lake. I might as well have hoped for a magic unicorn. So I walked it. Trying to make the walk as short as possible I cut through a summer camp to the road. Unfortunately that road didn't connect to the road I though it did... I did make it to some snowmobile trails that I don't usually take and they were semi-packed and at least passable. Things got better from there. Everything was slow but ride-able. It was cold but a beautiful day.
vvvvv





​


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

Fantastic conditions this week for 187 km of commuting!
Dry. Temps around freezing for fast forest roads.

I can't remember the last time I didn't have a cm of mud caking my downtube!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Great pic as usual bedwards. -11F? Wow. You and blockphi are animals.

Glad to see you back in the saddle Eugene.

Jelako, it's all good. Choose something you'll like/use and then ride, that's what really matters. :thumbsup:

I'm working from my house in central washington today. I brought my commuter with me to strip and clean but before I do that I went out on a 32 mile jaunt up into the Wenatchee National Forest.

Teanaway River, running full:








Nice country road, I saw five cars the whole ride:








Views keep getting better:








Made it up to the snow:








End of the road, need a fatbike to go any further:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

J_Westy said:


> View attachment 1182216


Time for a little chain lube there Westy! (The pot calls the kettles chain dry  )

We don't have JeffScott here anymore with his -30F rides so -11F looks cold! It was actually about 15 degrees lower than they had forecast. It's almost up to freezing now. Those look like some good roads. Where is all the salt and sand on them? I'm almost ready for a road ride again, almost. Other than the temp this morning winter has been mild here lately. I'm thinking that it will make a comeback before it leaves.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pics in here guys! 

Woodway, is that your new Ti commuter?

So I rode today. Again quite refreshing for my standards at -7C this morning, but I wore a thinner jacket and I was fine with that, so apparently I am already getting used to it. Shifting cables were frozen in again from the beginning and after I took off the gearbox, it appeared to be really the cables and not the shifting mechanism itself. So I'll just flush the outer cables with oil and put everything back together. Or not - it wont freeze anymore according to the forecast, so no pressure there...

Made a detour home to get my favourite cheese in the neigbouring village and clocked 30km/20m for today. The last stretch home was good, unpaved but just as hard as concrete :d

So this has been a good week. A new low temp record FOR ME  and the first week this year, in which I rode 5 of 5 days.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Indeed that's my Ti commuter. But it's not new, I've been riding it for years and it has ~35K miles/~56k Kilometers on it. It's a great bike, comfortable, light and durable.

Maybe you need new cable housing Dutchman, with hooded ferrules to keep the elements out? Something like this:

https://www.sram.com/sram/road/products/hooded-ferrules

And good job riding this week!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway. So its the commuter on which you broke a rack mount a while ago? I remember you were debating to buy a new one. Thats why I thought you have a new one already. But glad to see its still working!

Good that you mention those ferrules. Will have to dig deep in the parts bin but there should be something there. Just not sure if they are for brake- or shifting outer cables. If not I have the possibility to hop in the lbs here. I know I have new inner cables when needed too. I think I'll be able to get it.done  Keeping stuff in the parts bin might seem odd since selling brings money, but having it when.you need it >> priceless.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^And I'm sure a couple spare ferrules wouldn't fetch a huge price. 

Well, the lake was a slush pit today and the trails were too soft to ride so I took the camp roads. This one was impressively icy! I wouldn't want to be going up that hill in a 2WD car.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks woodway. So its the commuter on which you broke a rack mount a while ago? I remember you were debating to buy a new one. Thats why I thought you have a new one already. But glad to see its still working!


That is the same frame. I have been riding with rack kludged on with some cable ties while I decided what to do. But that decision was forced this weekend. Through a mis-communication between my wife and I, my bike was run over by our truck this weekend, breaking the frame beyond repair.

The details are too painful to relate 

So I am making arrangements to have a new frame sent to me by the weekend. This week I am riding to work on my full-squish 6" travel mountain bike. I feel a little over-gunned and I am sure my bike will stand out in the bike room 



bedwards1000 said:


> Well, the lake was a slush pit today and the trails were too soft to ride so I took the camp roads. This one was impressively icy! I wouldn't want to be going up that hill in a 2WD car.
> View attachment 1182614


When I first saw the picture I thought it was running water. Wow, slick!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> *Through a mis-communication between my wife and I, my bike was run over by our truck this weekend, breaking the frame beyond repair. *
> 
> The details are too painful to relate


Dude! I know you wanted a new bike but...WOW!

Are you going for another Habanero? It sounds like you need more than a frame!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Dude! I know you wanted a new bike but...WOW!
> 
> Are you going for another Habanero? It sounds like you need more than a frame!


Yeah. Trashed my bike rack too. It was ugly.

I stripped the frame this weekend and surprisingly, all the other major components were fine. Fender broke but I needed new fenders anyway.

I'm getting a new Habernaro frame. I want to give a shout out to Mark at habcycles.com who is helping me out with a crash replacement. GREAT support. If anyone is thinking about a quality Ti frame at less than half the price of the name brand Ti frames, give Mark a call. I've been nothing but happy with my Habernaro frame and the support I have received.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too bad this morning. 38F/3C at my place with a light breeze. Appears it is raining there now. The bus ride was a bit interesting. We were sliding around a bit as the whole route to town was beset with rain...landing on pavement with below freezing temps. Good times. In town it is 33F/1C with light breezes and the trails are in pretty good shape after a dusting of snow over the weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Every time Habanero comes up I consider replacing my Cross Check frame with one of their cyclocross/touring frames. All the bits and pieces on it are good but the frame is heavy and lifeless. But then I don't.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:yikes: woodway that sounds tough!! :eekster:

Fat tires work on that blank ice bedwards^^? 

Mainframe got a virus over the weekend so I had to bring the kids to school. After that I got caught in +1C, a 15kt headwind with wet snow. Yuck. On the way home I managed to dodge the showers but it was close. The good days are over....one more sunny day tomorrow and then we are back on the dark side.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My fat tires are studded so yes. Non-studded are a little better on ice than skinny tires because of the large contact patch but ice is ice. Your weather sounds a little crumby.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Oh man woodway that sucks about the bike! And bedwards that road looks like it's ready for luge or a bobsled run 

Saw this in the middle of the trail on my ride home today.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Shame about the bike Woodway, like losing an old friend I imagine. New friend on the way though!

Bedwards, I understand the picture is but I'm not quite sure I comprehend what I see. That looks scary for a bike; or a car; or anything.

Eugenethejeep, is that Eugeniethejeep? Did she make it home?

Day off yesterday. Rode today, I would have anyway but no choice, car is sat in the garage with the gearbox sat next to it, mid clutch change waiting for the flywheel to be ground. Cold wind but otherwise bright and sunny. No lights required for getting here, first time this year.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

SlipSpace said:


> Eugenethejeep, is that Eugeniethejeep? Did she make it home?


:lol: Nah maybe I would have tried to drag it home if I had a rope, but I still had about 5 miles to go. Would have been tough sledding for sure!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ha, that would be one of the more difficult things to get home. 


EugeneTheJeep said:


> Oh man woodway that sucks about the bike! And bedwards that road looks like it's ready for luge or a bobsled run


Except it is convex and not concave. It hadn't changed much by the ride home but it isn't a problem with the studs and a little caution.

We got some cold weather so I'm back on the trails, Woot!








Pre-sunrise








Sunrise about 15 minutes later.​


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

New frame scheduled for delivery on Thursday. I'm taking the opportunity to replace a few bits that need replacing, so I'll have parts trickling in all week. My wife will be so happy 

Since I was riding my mountain bike home last night, I decided to take advantage of some local singletrack. Managed to get about 5 miles of a 17 mile ride off road. I'm going to try to get a few more off road miles tonight.

















This morning was clear and 25F when I left the house. Supposed to rain tonight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Aw man! I was thinking our winter riding was going nice but I like the look or your trails!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No ride for me today. Laziness I think more than anything. Have to go to a client's site and then back to the main office so it was just easier to drive. Maybe. We've been having freezing rain and just plain old rain here, so the roads are shite. The bike trails seem pretty good, though. I brought the bike in and, if time permits, I'll hit some trails before I head for home. If not, I'll either try to get some trails in the valley or just hit the trainer. Definitely plan to ride tomorrow... unless it is raining in the valley again. Rain at just above freezing is beyond my ability to endure anymore.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Blockphi, couldn't agree more, rain at 1 or 2C is the worst.

Temps was around 3C this morning but the wind was cold.full grey cloud cover, the sun must be up as it's not dark but it's real gloomy.


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

woodway said:


> Since I was riding my mountain bike home last night, I decided to take advantage of some local singletrack. Managed to get about 5 miles of a 17 mile ride off road. I'm going to try to get a few more off road miles tonight.


Dang, it looks like you should go that way more often :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Long way in! I was up early so I took a southern route across the lake that I don't usually take. Good thing I was up early since it took 1:40! Trails ranged from packed and fast to chunky and slow. I did stop for a pic since all posts are better with a pic.







Good Morning Woods​


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice bedwards.

35F/1.6C this morning with some light rain. It's been fun on the mountain bike this week hitting trails on the way home. I squeezed another couple miles of trail in on the way home last night. But riding a full-suspension mountain bike 30 miles RT with almost 2200 feet of climbing is way more work than riding my Habenaro. I'm going to be tired by the end of the week!

New parts for the bike have been tricking in. My wife rolls her eyes everytime I gleefully open a box. She just does not understand, but I know all of you do


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow that is a hilly commute each day. Yeah, you'll be tired. I get a little extra tired during these winter trail commutes. I might be looking for a carpool one for some of the legs this week since my wife is filling in on a compatible shift.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Indeed very nice pics again bedwards.

Things get hectic here. Mainframe got a virus so monday and tuesday I worked only 9-15 to keep the homenetwork up and running without the 2 demolitioners getting on the loose. Had to take the next 3 days off to keep everything together at home, so no real commutes for me this week. Kids and I did commute to school and kindergarten yesterdaymorning and will do so tomorrow hopefully. #1 held up very well on the 2km/1.3m commute to school while riding on frozen slush :thumbsup: 




I have a slow start on the commute miles this year but I will hopefully catch up later in the year.

Stay safe guys.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^screaming everytime you open a box woodway? :lol:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Rough one this morning. Temps in the upper 20s/low 30s. The snow and overthrow from the plows on the bike path along with the temps made for horrid riding. Thus I rode the shoulder of the highway. Plenty wide, but no street lights, 7 am, icy, 60 to 70 mph traffic not use to seeing bikers on the road. Nerve wracking. 

This afternoon should be better, hopefully. Probably will still need to ride the shoulder, but it will at least be light out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Awesome video Dutchman! Love to see your little one all decked out for winter riding and just cruising along like a pro. Assume you both have studded tires?

Sorry about the crappy commute blockphi. Spring will arrive soon!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway. So he has schwalbe little joe studded tires, I have continental wintercontacts. Works pretty well so far. Also priceless to see the other parents coming from their freezing cold cars because the engine does not warm up on that short stretch and making that :eekster: face 

Good luck with your build. Are you doing the build next weekend?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks woodway. So he has schwalbe little joe studded tires, I have continental wintercontacts. Works pretty well so far. Also priceless to see the other parents coming from their freezing cold cars because the engine does not warm up on that short stretch and making that :eekster: face


Ha, you need to make a video of that!



cyclingdutchman said:


> Good luck with your build. Are you doing the build next weekend?


The plan is to rebuild this coming weekend. Pedal rebuild kit, new cable/housing, headset, bottom bracket, chain, bar wrap all have arrived. New fenders and the replacement frame are due tomorrow. Going to be a fun day on Saturday!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Cool video dutchman, he's already got a rear rack on his little commuter! :thumbsup:

No commute today had to stop off at the store for some Valentine's taco stuff.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Snow storm kicked up on the way home today. Nice times. Made for a good ride. About an inch so far and it started snowing just a touch over an hour ago.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

35F and spotty showers this morning. Uneventfull commute.

Detoured onto singletrack on the way home last night. Fun stuff to ride. I'd love to try taking my Habenaro back in there once it's on the road, but I think I would be courting disaster.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It is so GREEN! So far the pictures you posted look flat enough for a road bike. But I've found that they always look flatter until you take the cross bike and then it is bumpy as hell.

Great video Dutchman! 

Good commute home last night. The trails had softened some but they were still firm underneath so it was all good. I needed a rest break so I shuttled the car in today so my wife could ride the trails. It was reportedly good too!

There's a fatbike race coming up this weekend so I've got to rest a little bit.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^It is so GREEN! So far the pictures you posted look flat enough for a road bike. But I've found that they always look flatter until you take the cross bike and then it is bumpy as hell.


It's not called the Evergreen State for nothing 

That photo is looking down fairly steep downhill section. It's not the steepness I would be worried about with my crossbike, it's the rocky and rooty sections that are not pictured. When things dry out a bit, I'll give it a go.

Good luck on the fatbike race, I'll look forward to a blog post!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ha my 1000th posting 

Nice trails indeed woodway. You must be a lucky man with such trails on the way to work!!

Thanks bedwards and good luck with your fatbike race! Show m who's in charge there!!

So I repeated the school commute today and riding the round trip twice adds up to 8km/5m. Including a detour it added up to about the same distance as the one way ride to work. Doing it again tomorrow


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Working from home this AM and then have a client meeting on site, so'll end up driving to that. Will probably head out for a ride after that, but depends. We ended up with two or three inches of really fluffy snow last night, so some of the trails close to home might be good riding as they didn't have much of a base left underneath after the last warming event. 

The trails I've been riding up towards the mountains are going to be a mess right now as they got much more snow and it appears it may be snowing up there right now. 

Maybe I'll just hit the trainer and watch something on Amazon or Netflix instead...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Great pics folks, I really should post more of mine.

Love the video Dutchman, your littlun is so confident! Good to see.

Wednesday ride home was grim, I was an hour late leaving, it was around 2C, dark, a cold wind got up to 40mph according to the forecast, maybe just the gusts, fortunately it wasn't a head wind, most other direction at some point though, oh and it was raining. Mostly I was ok with it tbh but glad to get in a hot shower.

No ride yesterday. Today bright, sunny, 0C, some ice (not much as yesterday was dry).

Good luck with the Fatrace Bedwards.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well I had a little wreck on the trail going home last night. It happened in the exact spot where I took the photo I that I posted yesterday.

The trail is benched into the wall of a ravine and it drops about 100 feet from the top down to the creek at the bottom. It's steep in places, narrow and twisty. As I was riding down, I came around the corner to the stretch in the photo and a woman was hiking up towards me with an unleashed dog. The trail is narrow and drops off steeply to the left and I was considering options to stop and let the woman pass when the dog comes running at me (friendly) and ends up right down at my feet. I was so worried about the dog I forgot about that tree you see in the photo, clipped the tree with my handle bar and went over the edge still clipped in!

Lucky it's the Pacific Northwest and most landings are soft. I rolled once, and came to a stop about ten feet below trail level, still clipped in. By the time I un-clipped, gathered my wits, and hauled myself and my bike back up to the trail, the woman was long gone. She did not even stop to ask if I was OK (I was).

I even caught my tumble on Strava...see that little notch in my route? That's me going over the edge 









This morning was less exciting. 38F, raining and gusty winds. Kind of a crappy morning to ride actually. So I remembered rule #5, jumped on my bike and pedaled to work.

Have a good weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Glad you made it out with all your parts intact! It can go either way in a crash. And what the heck not even stopping after you didn't run over her dog. Most importantly, how's the bike! Have fun building this weekend.

Last night's commute was unexpectedly good. It was about 40F and I figured the trails would be mashed potatoes but they were mostly firm. The lake did have a lot of water on top so I got a really wet butt. We got rain overnight which did soften things up so I brought "The Tank" with fenders and studs across the lake and stuck to the roads. No wet butt this morning! I'm going to throw the bike in the car for the ride home.

The forecast is for cold weather tonight with some snow into Sunday which should set things up for a good race! Oh, and it is a long weekend too!!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^Bike is fine. Pride, not so much. 

Hope you crush it this weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The conditions are shaping up to be a drag race. So far there are a bunch of local racers signed up so the pace will be up there. I'll settle making it through with my pride and no damages. Mrs bedwards AKA rollingrunner signed up for the short race. It should be fun and there is beer at the end. :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No ride today as it's a company holiday.

But I did finish my bike build, ready to rumble tomorrow:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice bike woodway! :thumbsup:

And congrats to bedwards and RR!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm suffering over here. 60s in the morning. 70s on the way home. It's tough.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> No ride today as it's a company holiday.
> 
> But I did finish my bike build, ready to rumble tomorrow:
> 
> View attachment 1183706


It looks just like the last one but with fewer tire tracks...(too soon?)

The race was great on some tricky fresh snow. Read all about it here: The Candid Cyclist: Amundsen Fat Bike Dash 2018

We're in a warm spell. I actually road around the lake today not over it. 60F forecast for tomorrow. S0ckeyeus I will feel your pain!


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

Wasn't meant to be today...

-8C. Flat at 8km. Broke the tire lever. 1km walk out of the forest so my wife could pick me up.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

J_Westy said:


> Wasn't meant to be today...
> 
> -8C. Flat at 8km. Broke the tire lever. 1km walk out of the forest so my wife could pick me up.
> 
> View attachment 1183829


Bummer. Get some Pedros levers. I've broken every other type I've tried. So far, Pedros have lasted.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Agreed. Pedro's levers are nice. I have yet to break the blue Park levers either. The one in the picture above looks like a Nashbar tire lever that snaps like a dry twig. I just throw those out when they come with the Nashbar bags.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congrats bedwards! And double-congrats to rollingrunner for the win! Looks like a fun race on a great day.

I'll joke about the tire tracks on my frame soon, but not yet. The sound of breaking titanium is still too fresh in my mind 

I use those Pedros levers too and the seem pretty indestructible.

25F and dry for the ride today. This is considered damn cold around here. So much so that when I went into the fitness club next door to the office to take my morning shower, guys were asking me "did you really ride your bike today?". I mean come on, it's not like it's -11F outside. Now THAT would be crazy 

Bike was great this morning. Shifting was crisp and no rattles or creaks. Got to the office about five minutes faster than last week when I was on my mountain bike, with less pedaling effort...


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Agreed. Pedro's levers are nice. I have yet to break the blue Park levers either.


I was looking at the Park TL-6.2 (at least for cold weather) since they are steel core. Are these the blue ones you're referring to?

https://www.parktool.com/product/steel-core-tire-levers-tl-6-2


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No I was talking about the cheap ones. https://www.parktool.com/product/tire-lever-set-tl-1-2?category=Tube & Tire


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

J_Westy said:


> I was looking at the Park TL-6.2 (at least for cold weather) since they are steel core. Are these the blue ones you're referring to?
> 
> https://www.parktool.com/product/steel-core-tire-levers-tl-6-2


Just get the Pedro's. They are way cheaper than the steel core Park levers and have a lifetime warranty. I used them on a tire I eventually had to cut off the rim, and while they didn't get the tire off (metal motorcycle levers couldn't either), they didn't break. Plus, they will be lighter than steel core ones, and you won't have to worry about the metal tip. They are pretty awesome.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good results for the pair of you there Bedwards, well done!

Sweet ride Woodway, I'll bet that was faster too!

No rides for me so far this week....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

18F, clear and dry this morning. Uneventful ride. Still smiling about being back on my regular commuter. It seems so easy compared to riding my mountain bike!


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## Guest (Feb 22, 2018)

Nice ride, cold as hell in the morning and warmer in the afternoon at 25F. Couple of slick spots but not much traffic. Overall, not a bad 15 miles.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me the past few days as I've been working from home, but today was so nice out I just had to get out and get some miles at the end of the day. Bright, sunny, fairly warm, and some decent conditions overall.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Those conditions look mighty soft to me. 

Last nights commute had temps ranging from 45F to 65F depending if you were in a valley or on a hill. It was amazing how different the temperature could be just a few hundred feet away. I was on a drop bar bike and riding around the lake, crazy!

Today I was back on the trails. I was worried that it would be too soft but NOPE! The opposite in fact! The trails were a ribbon of ice through the woods. I laid it down on the lake like my studs didn't exist. When I got unclipped my bike was blowing away from me. Super slippery ice, weird.


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## BCTJ (Aug 22, 2011)

I tried the commute yesterday but the snow eventually came up to my knees and I had to bail out. Yep - I'm excited for Spring.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

A rare commuter bailout for me today. It started to rain last night when I was raiding home and that rain turned to snow overnight. While the amount of snow was light (maybe an inch) the initial rain had turned to ice underneath and it was just too sketchy to ride. I think this is only the 2nd or 3rd time in ten years of bike commuting that I had to bail. Got chauffeured to work by my wife this morning, so it's not all bad!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^But did you bring your bike to work to ride home?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^But did you bring your bike to work to ride home?


Unfortunately no. I wanted to, but she had to go to a doctor appointment and was in a hurry to leave which left me no time to get my bike loaded into the car. Bummer because it is turning into a nice sunny day and the temps are going to climb above freezing so it would have been a great ride home.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

No commutes at all this week, been super cold (for here anyway) was actually 28f this morning. They said it was going to snow but it didn't darnit! I'm becoming a fair weather commuter and I don't like it. Need to HTFU I guess! Springtime is right around the corner I hope.


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2018)

Freezing rain today mixed with snow and freezing rain forecast for tomorrow so no riding for me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back on the bike today. 19F when I left the house. I was on black ice patrol but the roads were dry. Supposed to start snowing this afternoon, I'll have to keep an eye on it and maybe bail early to beat it home. 

I'm off next week, heading to central Oregon for a week of downhill/cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

angel white new snow
trails are too squishy to ride
road grime soils my coat


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice Haiku Bed. 

Didn't commute at all last week. Monday was work from home. Tuesday was three different meetings in three different locations in Anchorage. Wednesday was ... I don't remember. Thursday was fresh snow over the heavy, wet stuff that was still covering the bike path and shoulders from the prior snow and Friday was more of the same. 

Today I was planning to work from home anyway, so no commute planned. Which is a good thing. Another 7 inches of snow at my place. Some parts of the valley must have gotten a lot more as school is canceled for the day - an oddity unless it is freezing rain. 

Tomorrow looks like a drive day, but I'm hoping to get back on the bike for the commute for the rest of the week. We'll see. All I know is I'm getting tired of riding the trainer. Tried to get a trail ride in yesterday... spent 35 minutes going just a touch under 2 miles. Most of it hike-a-bike. Couldn't even really ride the downhill sections as the bit of packed stuff hadn't consolidated so the wheels would just sluff off the sides and into three+ feet of powder.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sounding pretty grim all round

In the car again today and possibly all week. Temps arent supposed to get above freezing much, day or night. I don't mind the cold as such but the icy roads and purported -10C wind chill I shall chicken out. TBH I just don't have the gear for it, and probably the inclination too. 

I went for a run at lunch. Generally I get really hot running so I'm usually in short sleeve tee and shorts, sometimes track bottoms. Today I did about 3 miles or so in track bottoms, tee, sweatshirt, hat and gloves. Not cold for sure but not much of a sweat on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Similar here bedwards...

First commute today since tuesday almost 2 weeks ago. Had to take care of eife and kids at first, then got sick myself and took the bus because of a cold last week.

But back today and it was very mixed. Started in a snowshower this morning, after that the sun came out and turned everything in orange. I stopped two times for pics along the way.

It was a sunny day but I managed to catch another snowshower when leaving work. After it stopped snowing I was fine, although there are icy patches around now. And for the.first time this winter, we are now having continuous freezing, even during the day so it wont let away. I expect the snow to turn into blank polished ice.....forecast is for -12C combined with a gusting wind upto 25kts. I am afraid I have to seriously consider plan B(us) this week, but we will see after tomottow's ride. I want those #9 B.A. bonus points!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

SlipSpace said:


> Sounding pretty grim all round


Not terribly grim. At least I got to ride my bike.  Funny, you're wishing for temps above freezing and I'm wishing they would stay below. Running, yuch! 

It is near 50F here now and supposed to be that warm for the next 10 days. I'm going to start questioning the lake's integrity if this weather holds which is unheard of for this time of year. Last year I was crossing it for another full month.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Some pics of the way in this morning:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sE8vglaEEUO6U51J2

CU CD


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Snow Ride :band: take it easy! (In the tune of Foghat)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ended up commuting on the fatbike yesterday despite the temps in the 30's and pretty clear roads. The front wheel on the cross bike wasn't turning. I thought it was the dsic brake but it turned out the hub failed! I was going to blame riding in the rain etc., but the shop says a shim is missing and that probably caused it, so I will get a warranty replacement.

I am trying to lose a few pounds, so I rode the whole way home instead of doing the park-n-pedal. That last 3.5 miles up 1000' is definitely tougher. Had a nice ride Sunday on the back roads in the snow. It changed over to sleety stuff, so only about an inch was left.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

That is quite a snow commute Dutchman. I have a feeling winters not done with you yet bedwards...

I'm enjoying my week of vacation. I've gotten out for a couple of XC ski workouts around my house. Heading down to central Oregon to meet up with friends tomorrow. Safe commuting everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I don't know, it has been pretty warm. Enjoy your vacation.

I took the trails in this morning and most of them were a 1st gear slog through crunchy snow. I did find a small section that was packed but I had this guy blocking the WHOLE road. Things commuters have to deal with, sheesh.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've been pretty warm here. Today was the coldest in a while, and it was only like 33F. We had a ton of rain last week and there's substantial flooding. Nothing to speak of where I live, but I'm happy for the sunshine so far this week. More rain in the forecast...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hm the road in your movie looks even worse than mine bedwards.

So the roads were partly clean and partly crap today. On the way home I lowered the airpressure a bit and it turned out to be a very good thing, grip and braking performance got better.

Tomorrow the coldest temps so far are forecasted: -13C/9F. I dont know if I can ride, will probably have to bring the kids to school and my wife to the dentist directly after. Depending on how bad it is, I might have to stay home tomorrow. Would be a shame though, I have everything ready to go.

I have a question to you guys riding in similar temps: Do you wear ski goggles or more normal glasses? I was tempted to buy some simple goggles with an uncolored lens. In the end I didnt and I am still wearing the Swisseye F16 with the yellow lenses:
https://www.swisseye.com/en/sports-glasses/details/product/f-16
The thing with the swisseye is that they dont keep off the wind enough in freezing temps. Also they fog up when I stop somewhere and when they fog up, they stay like that. So once they fogged up, I might as well take m off and stow them in my pocket...

Would that be better with cheap ski goggles?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hm the road in your movie looks even worse than mine bedwards.


 No, that was the best part of the trail. I was glad to have it packed after slogging through the rest at 4mph.

I wear these. They are cheap and very fog free. They only fog at temps well below 0F with lots of steamy effort. They don't' seal perfectly on my face but they are a goggle style. 
https://smile.amazon.com/Pyramex-I-...pID=41CzFHRvoLL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks bedwards. I ve been looking at the swisseye sandstorm already, that one looks similar: Details - Swiss Eye International GmbH

I think the problem is that my breath is comng from behind the buff and then fogging the lens on the inside. So I need glasses that have foam to keep my breath on the outside. I will order them and when they arrive, it is probably not so cold anymore :lol: but I'll keep them for later.

Anyone has other ideas?

Woodway: nice picture, makes me a bit jealous...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I swear by this style face mask with mouth and nose vents. If I use a turtle neck style buff over my mouth I will get fogging. 
https://smile.amazon.com/Gator-Spor...pID=414W0sh402L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

So I just ordered both the sandstorm and some cheapo ski goggles off ebay for comparison. 

I have a balaclava with an opening for my mouth but still I have somw fogging. I am probably a difficult case ( as usual :lol: )


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice skiddah bedwards, I was hoping for a moose though! I think my glasses with foam are from Wiley X, clear lens. You could also browse the motorcycle section. I get a bit claustrophobic in goggles and don't like the loss in visibility either.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've only seen one moose around here and I was on my road bike at the time. There are TONs of deer around this year though. There must be 50+ along my route. Lots of little ones. I think the mild winter is boosting their population.

Here are a few more pictures from the last 2 days. Some already posted here, some new. The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

We've got another 50F day forecast. I wish it would go back down to 0F like March 1st is supposed to do. At this rate I will be riding around the lake with plenty of winter left.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh man what a day. My wife got an inflammation in her jaw under a wisdom tooth the last days and it got so bad, that she is in the hospitel for surgery now :'-( Luckily I have a flexible job so I can work from home the next days and friends are taking care of the kids during the day.

So I am getting used to -10C in the morning. Snow is hardpacked now, but on almost the complete route has at least a track available so it is pretty rideable. On the way home it was -5C but with a nasty 20mph easterly wind.

Chain started to rattle today. Will probably need thorough cleaning and lubing after a week of salted snow...

Oh yeah and I was listed for a Specialized Testival on Saturday around here but cancelled my appointment today...sure somebody else will be happy about it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pics bedwards! Those first 2 are the best :lol: Ride here...etc :lol:

and the second one looks like somebody forgot a frameset in the woods.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh man what a day. My wife got an inflammation in her jaw under a wisdom tooth the last days and it got so bad, that she is in the hospitel for surgery now :'-( Luckily I have a flexible job so I can work from home the next days and friends are taking care of the kids during the day.


Oh, I just went through that with another tooth fall 2016. The pain got so bad on Sunday that I was looking for painkillers that we had around for a previous dog surgery or something. I had just ridden a century the day before. I went in to have it checked out on Monday and they sent me to the oral surgeon immediately to get it pulled. 3 months later it started again and they had to pull the one next to it. So tell her I sympathize!

Thanks on the pics.

Make this nice weather stop! I'm enjoying my frozen lake.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I have to agree, tooth pain is the worst! I hope she feels better soon, cyclingdutchman! 

bedwards, great pix and that is a lot of deer to see!

No ride for me today, had to leave early for dog class. I did get to pick up my Terra already with the replacement hub, awesome! Sounds like a fluke, Mavic reported it was the first one that had to be warranteed, but we'll keep an eye on it. Mechanic did not think it was due to riding in all weather. If it goes again, I will of course HAVE to upgrade it.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Liking the pics Bedwards

Dutchman, I hope your wife is on the mend!

First ride today for a couple of weeks. Last week everything stopped for snow. Other areas of the country still have it bad, they're on about helicoptering supplies in to some places.

ROads are clear around here in general, temps have been well into the positive Cs. That said there were several sketchy patches on the backroads I use. I got held up by cars slowing and waiting for others to pass etc but had no safe way round them so the journey was longer than anticipated. One stretch was still very snowy. I thought I'd ride what I could and walk the rest. As I walked a section I was not sinking in too far but then it got mid thigh deep suddenly. Decided not to walk the rest of this and go around. I was already late...

The handle bar looks high because I sunk, the bike didnt


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow Slip, that is some deep snow for your area! How much did you get? We're expecting a foot on Wednesday.

I did the fatbike race up Mt Washington yesterday. Commuter Strong here. I took 8th overall in the fatbike division. 
The Candid Cyclist: I Don't Think I Need To Do That Again...

Of course it didn't stop me from riding in this morning. I tentatively took the lake which was holding well but I think once it gets buried in snow in a few days it will be over. The trails this morning were fantastic!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm glad to see i'm not the only one whose ride is affected by snow. We've gotten maybe a foot an a half all told from the recent bouts of snow. This isn't in and of itself enough to stop my riding generally. In town things get back to ridable quite quickly and even on the first day or two after a snow event there are side roads and alternate routes. However, I'm finding that it is the situation in the valley that's making me chump out and drive - The multiuse paths are all parallel to the highways in the valley. These generally do not get plowed or groomed. Moreover, they get blasted by all the overthrow from the plows so, while the road may have gotten a total of 1.5 feet through these events, the bike paths are packed with at minimum 2 feet and most of it is heavy, wet, salty crud that is impossible to ride through regardless of bike. Heck, people don't even try to walk through it. 

I could ride the shoulder, but that does make me nervous, particularly directly after a snow event when the shoulder is quite snowed in. 

Anyway, I hope to get back on the commute train tomorrow. I'm getting a bit wimpy in my old age...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ You're right, that's the most snow we've had for a long time, at least 10 years but probably more like 25-30 for the depth. I guess we got about 18-24" here in Norfolk. The North East and South west of the UK got it worse after us, mostly due to the drifting, and are still suffering. 

Don't remember seeing snow like it before, basically the temps were cold and the flakes just didn't stick together, I guess you guys would call it powder? That's essentially what is in the pic, the field is almost bare after being blown by the wind, which hit 40mph or so, and just blowing it into the sheltered spots, generally the roads, that's what really caused the problem even now, 5 days after it fell. Normally when we get snow it's just around freezing and is wet and sticky.

Great race report too, aside from the pain and cold etc they seem like fun! Congrats on the PB and to the missus for the Podium

Blockphi, the overthrow on the MUP sounds delightful! Don't blame you for opting out.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Quite an adventure bedwards! Nice pics too on your blog.

Snow will disappear soon enough slipspace. Temps are upto 10C here too all of a sudden.

Missus came home again and is getting better and better. Thanks for the good wishes everyone, I am sure it helped.

I didnt ride today and probably will not for the rest of the week. Have to drive the kids around and in between trying to work in the plant or homeoffice. Roads were clear but without spikes it was not doable anyway on the sidewalk or MUPs.

Concerning commute miles I never had such a bad start in the year ever. As far as I know I managed only 1 full week of riding and had already 2-3 weeks of no riding at all. Some day it will get better - it cant get worse


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I did the fatbike race up Mt Washington yesterday. Commuter Strong here. I took 8th overall in the fatbike division.
> The Candid Cyclist: I Don't Think I Need To Do That Again...


Awesome job, team bedwards! Please congratulate rollingrunner for me!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Uneventful journey on the way home and this morning. I did stop last night to snap a pic of the drifts though. Road has been cleared, it's right by the city highways dept  It's just these accumulations that are left now really


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## Guest (Mar 6, 2018)

1/4" of fresh snow, 29F, winds constant at 25 with gusts to 43 right in my face. Hmm...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Those are some impressive drifts Slip!



mtbxplorer said:


> Awesome job, team bedwards! Please congratulate rollingrunner for me!


Will Do! Speaking of RR I left early to do the ride in with her this morning. She was hesitant (not going to) cross the lake on her own but I convinced her to take the trails. The lake was fine this morning but I'm getting more tentative every day. The snow ice on top softens during the day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^We had an ice fisherman fall through today. He made it to shore, but it took hours to get his scared buddies off the ice.

No work today, town meeting day, where Vermont townsfolk get together and discuss the issues, budget, etc. in an open forum, and still vote by the ayes and nays. I took a nice 18 mile road ride with some hills and nice views of the White Mountains; the dirt roads are terrible right now, my car almost ended up in a ditch a mile from my house while I was going 10-15 mph - the ruts are horrendous and there is still frost underneath the mud. One town held their town meeting at the Long Trail brewery


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Dang y'all winter commutes are are exciting! I've been slacking lately but rode today and had a little action at the end. :eekster:


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Last night I had a really pleasant ride home, other than my ass hurting my my calves cramping up. I know it's just par for the course for having not ridden in so long. I did take a great pic over the Brazos pointed toward downtown, though. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to pick up a small camera that can do a better job than my cell phone to get some better pics. There's so much cool stuff to see, I'd hate to not take the opportunity.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was 60F on the ride home yesterday. This morning, it was around freezing and snowing. Go figure.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^We had an ice fisherman fall through today. He made it to shore, but it took hours to get his scared buddies off the ice.


I think there is a message in there somewhere. I looked up the story. That is some dark rotten ice they were out on. I could tell that ice wasn't safe by the low res picture.

Burning cars and lit up bridges!

I only saw a few deer as usual. They don't show up too well on the video. My SD card was full before I made ti to work too.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looks nice TNF!

Eugene, was that an accident or did the car get on fire by some mechanical failure?

Nice video bedwards. Looks like a roe deer running across the trail in front of you, right? And what camera did you use for the recording? A GoPro?

And MTBX: Wow a town hall meeting in a brewery - must be relaxed people in that town hall :lol:

Thanks everyone for the tips on the glasses with foam padding. Both the cheapo ski goggles and the swisseye sandstorm arrived last weekend and today I got to the test. Temps are back to normal, just above freezing, light rain, foggy and cloudy. Snow is gone already so it is grey and dull and boring outside again...last night with the full moon, it was brighter outside during the night than it is now during the day :-/

Anyway, the swisseye sandstorm is a winner! No fogging at all, not even when standing still in front of a light. When I changed it for the usual swisseye f16, it was totally fogged up after 3 breaths. So a clear winner there and a new favorite for me for colder temps. It doesnt have changeable lenses though so I will have to be pretty careful with them - for 27€ I dont expect any wonders on resistance to scratches...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It is a Contour camera. Yes, one deer crossing and then a group of them a little later. White tail deer around here. The camera has a wide angle lens so unless they are really close they are hard to spot. I figured out that it is cutting off at 1 hours because I only had a 4GB SD card. That's why it stopped just short of the race finish. I found a 8GB one kicking around this morning. 

If I remember I'll check out the sandstorm goggle when I need to replace mine. Although I could get about 3 pair of my goofy looking ones.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I didnt know that brand. 

I'll be wearing them regularly from now on and I will be happy to share my experiences later this year. But when you get such cheap ones, why not? I did not really find anything very much cheaper and the stuff from the DIY store around here is usually junk, so I didnt even try there.

I dont know if I will ever wear the skigoggles. They look bulky and they smell. Have it hanging outside at the moment to let it air out. Maybe next time when temps dip to -10C again. Probably in another 10 years...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BTW slipspace, finally a pic of your complete bike. Looks like it has seen a lot already and is still going strong. Like that front fender too! The longer the fenders, the tougher the cyclist I have concluded over the years. So.I build extra long fenders on my bike too


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Pretty nice ride in this morning. Had to ride the highway a good portion of the ride, but no biggie. Now that the light is coming back in the mornings (for the rest of this week, anyway) I'm not as nervous. Tomorrow will probably be working from home, but planning to bike on Friday as well. Time to start ramping the riding back up as the weather should be improving, more light, and a car that needs a lot of work that I can't afford right now (wheel bearing, timing belt, accessory belts, and, ideally, head gasket.)


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Eugene, was that an accident or did the car get on fire by some mechanical failure?


Accident, the car rear-ended another little car. I couldn't believe the drivers were just standing there at first, right next to the fire wow! I was going to ride over and tell them to get the f away but they walked away and took cover, geez!

mtbx I bet we'd all be better off if all gov't officials hashed it out at a brewery instead of a fancy congressional hall! :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No word yet on the results from the town meeting held at the brewery, maybe they are still there!

No commute today, eye doctor appointment this morning, so I will give my public service announcement to wear your sunglasses for any outdoor activities, to reduce the risk of early cataracts. 

The nor'easter was supposed to be in full swing this afternoon, but the snow is behind schedule and I think less than forecasted. Maybe 6" overnight/tomorrow is my guess. Looks like more by bedwards.

Morning update: some parts of VT really got dumped on:


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

EugeneTheJeep said:


> Dang y'all winter commutes are are exciting! I've been slacking lately but rode today and had a little action at the end. :eekster:
> 
> View attachment 1186271


Holy crap! Action indeed... I note the lack of snow in your picture and want to register my envy at your geographical location...

I've been away from the commuting for quite some time - not so much slacking, as sick, super duper busy, sick again, then sick kids, then more sick...

Besides which, this winter has been a rear hum-dinger with snow like you would not believe. Plus the multiple freeze / thaw / refreeze cycles we have had make cycling a real adrenaline sport...

It is now mid march and we still have snow on the ground - my garden is reduced to a series of trenches between the mounds of the white stuff. Cool for skiing, but not so for the cycling.

My commute in today was with my power meter on - I just wanted to see how far I've fallen off the wagon after six months of poor sleep (thanks to the little guy teething and generally being a little guy - he is nine months old now!), all that rich Christmas food, two rounds with the cold, one bronchial / throat infection, one round of winter vomiting bug and one sinus infection... The news, well, it isn't so good.... Where before I was holding 250+watts for 30 mins easy, I am now struggling to hold 150... But each pedal stroke is a joy! Today I was cold, tired and loving every minute of it. Even on studded tyres!

Which is good, since I need something to cheer me up - I got made redundant on Monday... Luckily I negotiate deals for a living so my severance package is ok - I get paid more or less out the rest of 2018 - so now I just need to dust off the old CV...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

MTBX - At least your politicians (and voters) are honest enough to acknowledge how things really are done by working out of a brewery.  Most of ours seem like they couldn't organise a pissup in one though tbh..

Dutchman - the bike has seen a lot, probably 5-6k of riding by me over the last couple of years in it's current guise, although on drops for the first year. No doubt it was someones pride and joy at some point but it got badly mistreated somewhere over the previous 25 years, certainly before I picked it up for £20. Glad you like the mudguard extension, it's a section of plastic milk carton zip tied onto the mudguard 
It will be retired soon though, it has had enough. I'm waiting on the approvals to come through, but a new bike will be on the way soon. Not the one I linked to a few pages back.

Bedwards - Love the commute!

Car yesterday, waaay overslept somehow. Bike this morning, stiff souwesterly in my face most of the way. My normal route is still blocked with drifts but most places are just left with the water.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Ghost!!! Good to hear from you man!  We must have posted at the same time  Sounds like it's been a rough winter for many reasons. Way to go on the redundancy pay though, that's quite some cushion. Good luck with getting back to fit again. Look forward to your progress. :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to hear from you Ghost! Spring is coming and those legs will come back.


mtbxplorer said:


> The nor'easter was supposed to be in full swing this afternoon, but the snow is behind schedule and I think less than forecasted. Maybe 6" overnight/tomorrow is my guess. Looks like more by bedwards.
> 
> Morning update: some parts of VT really got dumped on:


We only got about 6" so far. The southern part of the state got hit a lot harder. I'm glad to not have 32" but that could have been a fun way t end winter.

Still enough snow that I am in the truck.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from my vacation in Central Oregon. Did some downhill and xc skiing and showshoeing. Nice time. But I picked up the crud towards the end and it got progressively worse. I took monday and tuesday off the bike and then rode yesterday. Big mistake as I nearly coughed up both lungs. So I'm taking the rest of the week off. Will hit it again next week.

Hope you all back east are OK in the Noreasta!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Ghost good to here from ya! See you on strava once in a rare while lately welcome back!

Drove the truck today and will drive the truck tomorrow too. Because stuff. :madman:


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## Ghost_HTX (Sep 19, 2014)

Thanks guys! Im only working at this place one more week, so I need to get all the bike commutting in that I can manage. I wont have a commute to ride!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Mostly over my illness and back in the saddle this morning. 43F and clear, easy ride in this morning. Supposed to be close to 70F for the ride home tonight! Then back to the typical low 40's and rain for the rest of the week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow 70F! 

We are due to get another nor'easter tomorrow but the winter trail commute is over until next year.  It turns out that I still like riding on the road so that's good. I headed out today thinking it was in the mid 20Fs but was thinking damn it is cold. I got to work to find it was 18F. I'm about 20 minutes faster on the road which helped the first day back after the time change.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Was overcast with occasional spots of rain this am. Everywhere is clear of snow although there is still some hanging around. Since we've been at probably 6C+ for the last week it's taken it's time. Went my usual route which had been block, it's clear apart from one patch that was still shin deep.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow Slip, it is taking it's time getting out of there. Our last 12" storm has melted down pretty well but have no fear, the forecast is for 12-24" today. This will be our 3rd "Noreaster" in the last 12 days. 

The snow was supposed to have shown up by the morning commute but it was perfectly clear so I took my bike when I was planning on carpooling in the truck. 

It has started now and the bike is loaded for the trip home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

As advertised it was 70F+ for the ride home last night. Sun was out and it felt like summer. First shorts ride since last fall.

Clouds moved in overnight which held the warmth in so it was still around 60F this morning when I rode into the office. But the temps will be dropping all day and rain in moving in so we will be back to more seasonal weather soon.

bedwards I seem to remember you predicting that winter was over for you a couple weeks ago...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

These are more spring storms. We often get storms like this in early April. It snows like crazy and then melts away. My winter commute is over. That's the most disappointing thing.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm slacking but had a great ride after work yesterday - 40F and sunny as can be. Was overdressed in my riding pants and hoodie. Needed shorts!

ooppps, that was the wrong image. Here is the actual image from yesterday:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pics Blockphi. Did you actually see a bear or are they still in their winter rest?

Sunday afternoon it was +15C, where it was -15C not even 2 weeks ago. Next Sunday morning is expected to be -5C again. No further comment to that....

Was off yesterday but with 3 kiddycommutes I made more than the distance of a one-way commute. Today was the first commute again in a week. 4C all day, foggy and damp but no rain and little winds. Snow has melted away completely already and lots of rain washed the salt off the roads. Strange to see everything in natural colours again instead of snow white. Looked better in snow actually, way brighter than it is now. 3 weeks ago, we had everything covered in snow and with a clear sky and a full moon, it looked brighter during the night than it does now in broad daylight...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice pics Blockphi. Did you actually see a bear or are they still in their winter rest?


Still sleeping for a few more weeks.


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## Classy (Sep 30, 2015)

Got slammed by 16" today, and another 3 expected. I was still able to ride and fortunately, since I had first tracks, I was able to ride through this very deep snow since there were no footsteps to throw off my momentum and bounce me around. 
It was very fun, and I am enjoying every snow day since the snow days are numbered!









Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Classy said:


> Got slammed by 16" today, and another 3 expected. I was still able to ride and fortunately, since I had first tracks, I was able to ride through this very deep snow since there were no footsteps to throw off my momentum and bounce me around.
> It was very fun, and I am enjoying every snow day since the snow days are numbered!
> 
> 
> ...


First tracks!!!!! Always fun. Moreso when you are able to make those even on a skinny. Love that puffy, fluffy snow that is like riding through a cloud. So awesome.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Cool pics everybody! 73F on the way home today, with the time change have to remember to put on some sunscreen! Only 3 months 'til 100+

Bedwards I read in the news the northern US should get some northern lights action tonight due to solar storms, lucky you!


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## Skaughtto (Jun 7, 2017)

It's hard for me to imagine all that's required to ride in snow - that looks rough!

Monday I got caught in a downpour during my 5 mile commute. I had thought that I could dodge the rain, but by the end I got soaked to the point where my shoes were full of water. Luckily all my stuff was in a waterproof Topeak 10L Backloader bag that also worked as a rear mudguard. Not having a front fender sucked. My front tire kicked up a bunch of water right into my face.

I was looking at the Topeak XC1 front fender, but the reviews aren't stellar. Durability is questionable and it may not actually keep water from spraying me. I'd hate to spend money without solving the problem. Then I was looking at buying SPD sandals and all kinds of dumb rain gear. I'm not sure I really want to invest in riding in inclimate weather. Things will probably be dry by the time the stuff would arrive anyway... 

then I can potentially waste money on thinner, high psi, 26" slicks... or maybe a rigid carbon fork... or...


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Love the photos Blockphi and Classy. Way to take on the elements Classy!

Uneventful rides here. The snow I mentioned from my ride in was totally gone on the way home. So different it actually made me question if I imagined it in the morning. Hardly shifted in 8 days and then goes in 8 hours. Thermal inertia thing maybe? Bright and sunny and about 4C this morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rained hard on the way home last night and I flatted and had to change my tire in the rain - sucks.

42F and very light rain this morning, a nice uneventful ride.

Classy - Kudos to you for riding in that stuff. It does look nice and fluffy. Where are you located?

Skaughtto - A good front fender will not only keep water out of your face but will extend down the back of the wheel and keep water off your feet and out of your drivetrain.

Slip - with the sun getting higher in the sky its harder for the snow to stick around, even when it's cloudy (solar radiation).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Classy that looks nice indeed 

Skaughtto, you should really mount some fenders. Good fenders usually are very long, especially the front one. Check the front fender of Slipspace in his picture further above on this page. Mine looks about the same and the rear fender too, since I am pulling a trailer every once and a while and I dont want the rear wheel to shovel it full with mud (not to mention onto the kids that are in there....)

Eugene, sunscreen now already? Next week is supposed to be -7C again here...

Slipspace, you are right. Seeing that picture above which is just a week ago, it is hard to imagine that it is all gone already.

Nice rides today. Uneventful with dry, calm weather and ~3C. Liked it. Got a compliment from my manager this morning that I looked so "refreshed". After a month in which I could hardly ride, apparently you see the difference after 2 days of riding.

And speaking of riding, I made 800km / 500m so far this year...which could have been 1200km/ 800m already. Maybe I will be able to catch up later in the year. And if not, no problem


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ nice work Dutchman. I like how you incorporate your kid duties into your riding!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> First tracks!!!!! Always fun. Moreso when you are able to make those even on a skinny. Love that puffy, fluffy snow that is like riding through a cloud. So awesome.


Skinny or fat, pushing through 16" of snow has never been possible for me and I'm not a 98lb weakling. There just isn't enough traction to get up hills with all that extra drag. And on the roads slipping into cars is problematic. 


EugeneTheJeep said:


> Bedwards I read in the news the northern US should get some northern lights action tonight due to solar storms, lucky you!


It's funny, I don't give credit to all the "Fake News" comments that get thrown around but apparently that was some. No, a Massive Geomagnetic Storm Will Not Hit Earth on March 18

Speaking of 16" of snow. I didn't ride yesterday or today. Not tomorrow either. Maybe, maybe Friday. Winter cold is supposed to return over the weekend so maybe, maybe the lake will lock up again. IDK, it's all up in the air now.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's funny, I don't give credit to all the "Fake News" comments that get thrown around but apparently that was some. No, a Massive Geomagnetic Storm Will Not Hit Earth on March 18


Oh I didn't get to see that fake news  I was referring to today the 14th Huge solar storm set to slam Earth tomorrow | Daily Mail Online They mentioned northern Michigan and Maine. I've only seen the northern lights once and that was when I lived in Wyoming, didn't even know what it was at the time. Saw it in the news the next day, pretty rare that far south.

Tomorrow's my Friday I hope to ride to work, been feeling super tired lately for some reason.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

And yeah sunscreen already, will have to get some extra to stash at work for the ride home!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Northern lights are cool. We get to see them every once in a while here in Washington State.

29F and clear this morning. Nice ride into the office. My legs are a little tired from basically being off the bike for two weeks.

Enjoy your ride Eugene before the real heat sets in!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Eugene, I am still stashing cold cream at work :blush:

Thanks woodway. Actually the kids really like being underway with bike or trailer. We dont push them to ride, to go faster or further. And we always combine it with an icecream at the end if possible  I think it also has to do with the fact, that a bike expands their radius and speed compared to walking. Furthermore they see more along the way than from the car while driving.

Dry today again but a nasty cold 20kts wind from the east, which was full head on on the first half on the way home. Today was one of the rare days, where I was faster on the way in than on the way home.


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

Finally a dry day. Plus enough light to add a little single track.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No northern lights. It was snowing. 

I did throw the bike in this morning and carpooled to work so I get to ride home.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

^ bummer on the northern lights!

Wood this is about my favorite time of year in Vegas, it actually rains once in a while and the temps are perfect.

Dutch what is cold cream? Is that like the opposite of sunscreen? :lol:

3 days off now time to hit the dirt!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Too busy shoveling to bikecommute. Measured 25" avg yesterday a.m. in my yard, and have gotten another foot since, although it consolidated some with warmer temps yesterday and is still about 25". Powder, but really dense. Of course that also meant snow slid off my roof onto my front entry and back deck, resulting in more shoveling just to be able to get in and out of the house. The local fatbike trails aren't groomed yet because it is too deep for the snowmachine - they are looking for snowshoers and skiers to help pack it a bit first.


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## Guest (Mar 16, 2018)

Good commute but I kept having phantom shifting. Of course I just changed cables so it was the old "derailleur cable is almost a full shift too loose" deal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MTXB you're going to need a taller dog or shorter snowbanks.

I'm not sure I like these road speeds in winter temperatures. My feet are still cold an hour after my ride.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I only get flats when it's cold outside. 32F (actually not that bad) and about 2.3 miles in something slashed right through my Schwalbe Marathon. Don't know what it was, but close a half inch wide and it went through the tread and the puncture protection. At least the Marathons mount easily enough even with cold hands.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB you're going to need a taller dog or shorter snowbanks.


Or one of those orange flags on a fiberglass pole.

I'm sure you all have had enough of winter about now 

30F and clear on the ride in this morning. No wind and light traffic made it a nice morning to ride.

I'm going to try to get some MTB miles in this weekend. Have a good weekend all.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

F4S you managed to slice a marathon?? Not many people manage that...

Still caught in snowmageddon mtbx?

Temps around freezing yesterday and even more wind, about 20kts with gusts upto 35kts all day. Was leaning into the wind at some stretches. Temps will go down to -7C early next week but the wind will calm down. Windchill temp was down to -15C today. At least, the swisseye sandstorm is doing a good job. Love to have clear sight and feeling hardl any wind in my eyes. Makes riding much more comfortable.

Rode 4 of 5 days this week. Wife is healthy again, kids go back to school next week. Life is turning normal again after 5-6 weeks.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Dutch what is cold cream? Is that like the opposite of sunscreen? :lol:

That is indeed something like that. Keeps your skin in shape instead of getting to.dry in cold temps. Mostly based on beewax.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB you're going to need a taller dog or shorter snowbanks.
> 
> I'm not sure I like these road speeds in winter temperatures. My feet are still cold an hour after my ride.


Toe warmers are a luxury worth the $.99. I put them on top of my socktoes, it seems more comfy.

:lol: True! It is still snowing and yesterday you could tell he was rethinking the "lead dog" thing. We were packing our trails on snowshoes and he did a u-turn.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ LOL

I'm cheap. Toe warmers are a luxury for temps only below 0F. Today's 11 degrees didn't cut it. 

But the last few days of it did freeze in the shores of the lake and give the main body of ice new life!!! I've probably got another bonus week of trail commuting!:band: The trails were in good shape. All the wet spots were frozen back up and all the ice was buried under packed snow. Woot!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Craptastic for me today. 35 (1.6C) and light rain in the valley. 39 (3.9) and heavier rain in town. I've said how much I hate riding in the rain at near freezing temps right? If not let me say it right here. I hate riding in the rain at near freezing temps. There's just no good way to do it. Moreover, the rain is turning the groomed ski trails to mush meaning that I had to jump to street sooner and got to deal with standing water... 

I did, however, pick up a Patagonia Rainshadow jacket this weekend and, surprisingly, it works pretty well. I didn't wet out today, even on the back with tire spray. 

That said, yesterday I did go for a ride in the rain in it and did wet out after just under 3 miles - most likely due to sweating heavily due to higher levels of output than today. 

Other than that, I guess I'd say it was a good ride... because it was a ride when it would have been so easy to say "Naw, I'mma drive today..."


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## J_Westy (Jan 7, 2009)

44km's of Fattie commuting is always a good day ?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well Blockphi with fenders and good hardshell clothing it can even be fun ;o))

Lucky you bedwards!

Sickness here all over again. Wife and #1 have stomach flue so I brought #2 to Kindergarten on the bike (-3C) and then rode to work. It was sunny and finally the wind had calmed down, so it was very nice on both rides. Could have brought the sunglasses!! But I forgot...4C on the way home, all well.

There was an Endura Ad here where you could win some stuff. I entered my email and I got an email with a discount code to save 20% if the total order exceeds 50$. If anyone is interested: The code is mtbr20 - a generic one for everyone who participates  I can recommend the urban stretch pants (3x), the luminite rain (1x) pants and the urban jeans (2x). I just didnt figure out how to order from Germany, the German site only refers to dealers, you cant buy directly. Sent them an email, we'll see how it works out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

2F this a.m. and I did add the toewarmers, even with boots! Warmed up to 20F by the ride home, shed the knickers (that sounds wrong!) from under the shell pants, and removed 1 layer on top.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Sucks for all of you still caught in the deep cold. Lowest temps for me recently have been in the 30s. We've had some weather in the 60s, but it's a bit of a roller coaster. Yesterday was warm, but today I'm hoping the precipitation holds off until I get home. The forecast make it look like we might be straddling the line between rain and snow right when I'm set to ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Does this look like it sucks? No, it was awesome!  







*Happy First Day Of Spring!*​
I'm enjoying the last days of winter riding. I go on vacation in a few weeks and when I return I expect summer. Skipping mud season would be fine by me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice fattie J_Westy!

Bummer about your family Dutchman. Hope they are better soon. I don't need any biking stuff or I would try the discount code. Thx for posting.

I'm happy spring is here. It was cold this morning, 29F when I left the house, but clear and no wind. Nice morning for a ride actually. Will probably be in the mid-50's this afternoon. Rain later this week.

Enjoy your time off the the remaining snow bedwards.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Colder one for me this AM. 20F at the house, 28F in town. I'm actually hoping this trend continues as I have a group ride planned for this weekend to ride to a glacier and if it doesn't freeze back down, we can't make the trip. 

A bit slick in town. And a fair number of temporary ponds with a thin scrim of ice on top.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Does this look like it sucks? No, it was awesome!


Awesome in a wintery sort of way. I rode trails this weekend in summer gear. I'm over winter (unfortunately, winter isn't through with us yet).


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

30F and clear this morning. No wind. Nice morning for a ride. Supposed to be mid-50's again today for the ride home, then rain is moving back in.

Looks awesome bedwards!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The rain transitioned to ice/snow yesterday just before my ride home. I haven't been running fenders recently and kind of regretted that last night. My feet/butt were soaked. The sleet nailing me in the face wasn't super pleasant either. It snowed all night. If it had been colder, we would probably be looking at a foot or so, but much of the snow fell before temps dipped below freezing. We have somewhere between 4-8" on the ground depending on where you look. The roads weren't too bad, but they are soupy. I drove in this morning.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

You and Your brood are not having a good year so far Dutchman.  Good to get the littlun out again though.

Yes Bedwards that does look awesome. 

No ride for a few days, First today since thursday I think. Sunny and just above freezing which was made especially nice by the fact it was NEW BIKE DAY! :cornut: :cornut: Actually picked it up saturday but work schedule meant I couldn't ride til today. Guards still being fettled when this was taken but only daylight pic I have. Rack to go on when it arrives









One of https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-dolomite-singlespeed-2018-road-bike-EV306255 for anyone interested


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats slipspace!!! Looks very clean and stealthy. Many happy miles on it!

And where on earth did you get that effin long front fender?? I made one that long myself by gluing on a part of a 2nd fender.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sweet looking bike slipspace. Single Speed! What kind of gear ratio are you running?

I'm guessing that the fenders are these:

https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-...21659535&sr=8-2&keywords=planet+bike+cascadia

I have them on my bike and they are great.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

Wind to my back riding in, twas glorious. Ride home was the opposite.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Usually the wind at the end of the day is stronger too.

NEW BIKE DAY! Enjoy.



SlipSpace said:


> Yes Bedwards that does look awesome.


The last 3 mornings have been similar. Let's hope the ride home today is awesome. It's been above freezing and my wife reported that it was more mushy than fun yesterday in the afternoon.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks folks 

Dutchman, Woodway - Guards are SKS Longboard LONGBOARD - SKS-Germany I got them from Evans with the bike. Not sure what size ranges they do though, maybe only 700s.

As I changed the tyres over from my old bike, I asked for them supplied not fitted. Didnt want the shop to fit them and then not be able to get the wheels in with the bigger tyres on. Stock were Kenda 700-26 (odd size right?) whereas I had 700-28 Marathon +. It is a tight fit under there in terms of diameter with the 28 tyres. bottom rear guard fixing has a very skinny bolt head.

Woodway - Yep single speed. With discs that severely limited my choice of bike, been looking a while but this ticked the boxes. Currently 68ish GI. I thought it might be a little spinny but not too bad so far, (old bike was around 77GI) but i'm gonna stick with this for the short to medium term. I think I will benefit from the higher cadence.

Today was probably double figure degC, first ride this year in shorts. Wind was cool, roads were wet from overnight but otherwise quite bright


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Slipspace - It's a sweet looking ride! Will be interested to hear about how you like that gear ratio. I've been thinking about building up a singlespeed for a change-up in my commute. But my commute is really hilly and I have been debating with myself on what the proper ratio would be. I think i'll have to run some trials with my regular commuter by dropping into a gear and not changing all the way home.

Speaking of commutes - 40F and light rain this morning. Supposed to be heavier on the way home tonight. Uggh.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I checked those SKS Longboards and now I know why I dont have them: They are available in 32 and 45mm width only. I have the 53mm Bluemels on them. I didnt realise though that they are really that long. But good for you, it will keep your drivetrain and bottom bracket clean.

Commuted my son to Kindergarten today. He wanted to ride in the kiddy seat on the back, despite the drizzle and temps around 2C. So we rode and he didnt complain. The ride is only 6-7 minutes so not much time to get cold anyway. Drizzle on the way in, during the lunchwalk and during the way home. Spring is coming...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*It's friday!*

The mornings are still pretty good, the afternoons. Not so much.








These videos all pretty much look the same but I'm posting in anyway...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pic and video bedwards! Looks like it was a beautiful morning to ride.

37F and cloudy for me this morning. Wet roads but no rain. I started getting that squirmy feeling from the rear of my bike about 0.5 miles from work. Stopped and aired up the rear tire and then jumped back on and started pedaling like hell to beat the leak. I ended up riding in the standing position to try and keep weight off the rear wheel. Did not quite make it - the rear tire went completely flat right in front of the office - ended up walking the last bit down into the parking garage to the bike storage area. Will run down at lunch to swap out the tube.

Have a good weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh, I hate that beat the flat game. I usually try it for slow leaks and I almost always lose.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^looks like a nice ride bedwards. I miss the transition from land onto the ice or is the lake unsafe by now?

Bad luck woodway. Good you made it to the office without much hassle and good that you have that nice warm dry bikeparking with bikestand in the garage! In my company it is already difficult to get a dry place for the bike outside...

Damp this morning but dry. Was up early today and started shortly after 6 this morning so enjoyed the quiet empty roads. Made the first short detour on the way home today, added only 1.5km/1m but a change of scenery is always nice.

Enjoy the weekend!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey dutchman, Damp and dry. Hmmm. Opposites do attract.

The lake is still holding well but I just did a short real time video. I might get a few more crossings and then spring is inevitable. It is well above freezing in the afternoons. My wife brought her cross bike and I'll take the fatbike home in the car. Win-win.

Happy Weekend!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey dutchman, Damp and dry. Hmmm. Opposites do attract.


:lol: you are right. I meant that it was damp, foggy, grey, cloudy or similar but no drizzle or rain. Clear enough now I hope  ?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> :lol: you are right. I meant that it was damp, foggy, grey, cloudy or similar but no drizzle or rain. Clear enough now I hope  ?


Clear to me Dutchman!

Last night on my ride home I had wind, rain, hail and sun all in under an hour! Welcome to springtime!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Bright, sunny and dry and just above freezing here this morning. Beautiful day for it. Clocks went forward saturday night so commute is starting earlier, sort of. Already loving the lighter evenings though, yesterday was lovely. There was actually another bike in the rack this morning, first one since at least November. Pinched my spot though.....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> :lol: you are right. I meant that it was damp, foggy, grey, cloudy or similar but no drizzle or rain. Clear enough now I hope  ?


Yeah, I knew what you meant too. I was just giving you a hard time.

Dentist appointment this morning so no ride but I did bring the bike with me. The last below freezing temps in the forecast are for tomorrow morning so I'm pretty sure that will be my last winter trail commute. But I've said that before.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway. No prob bedwards I get it 

Slipspace how is the new bike doing?

No commute for me on the bike but on an A319to southern france to the other plant of the company. Coming back wednesday evening. Planning to ride thursday. Friday and monday are easter public holidays here, so only 1 ride if I make it thursday.

Will read your daily adventures here though. Evenings are boring since the hotel tv shows only french tv and my french is, well, "very basic".


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## kyle_vk (Jul 25, 2011)

30° was a bit chilly this morning on the way to work but 50° on the way home called for a little detour to add a couple miles









Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Luxuriously smooth ride without the studded tires today. Still some ice patches due to the snowbanks melting, but they did not cause any problems for the cross bike. 14F this a.m,. and over 40F by the time I left. The extra light is awesome too - I forgot the battery for my helmet light (Monday!) but it did not matter.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hey Dutchman, new bike is lovely thanks, I should have done it ages ago. It is so much stiffer than the old steel Raleigh. I knew that was flexy but just not how much! Lower gear is good, i'm certainly not any slower but my legs don't ache so much as they did. Maybe some cockpit adjustments to make, maybe a shorter stem, but we'll see. I still need to final trim the guard stays though. Enjoy France, even as a business trip, but I bet your French is far from basic.

Seems every one is getting some big temp swings morning to evening, yesterday here just above freezing for the ride in and about 11C for going home.

maybe 4C and wet this morning. I decided to go with shorts which worked out ok. Roads are covered in mud from the tractors. Last night the mud was in lumps, mostly flattened by the cars but kind of like reverse potholes in places. The rain has left some of that behind but just smeared the rest across the roads. Messy!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Maybe the last winter trail ride? I got up early and shared it with rollingrunner.

The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Great pics as usual bedwards.

Nice bike kyle_vk!

That's a big swing in temps, MTBX. This time of year it's not unusual around here to see morning temps around 35F/1.6c in the morning and 65F/18C in the afternoon. You almost have to bring two sets of clothes!

43F and raining when I left this morning. Had a nice tailwind. Easy commute.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Bus driver told me to get on the cycle path last night. I had two problems with that, 
1) I had right of way on the road and was clearly visible (lights on and the jacket at the bottom of the post. I was just waiting for him to say he didn't see me.
2) THERE IS NO CYCLE LANE THERE!! Doofus!

Gloomy again this morning, 4C / 40F. Not raining but did overnight so was wet, I got lucky though, it's chucking it down out there now.

This is my last commute ride for a few days, Dr appointment tomorrow and same as Dutchman, Friday and Monday are public holidays for Easter

Altura Nightvision Evo 3 - Picture doesn't do justice to how bright this is


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Agreed, a doofus! Nice jacket, it even looks like it has convenient pockets, which can be ridiculously hard to find on bike stuff. It's like they think we never want to have keys or a wallet handy.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Thanks, jacket is good, two hand/side pockets and a chest pocket, all waterproof. None on the rear although there is a built in blinky. Full mesh inner so it keeps the inevitable (for me anyways) sweaty materials sticking to me. 15,000 whatevers for waterproofness and breathability.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2018)

Great ride albeit a little on the cool/damp side. Interesting conversation with a college student that just started riding. First words out of his mouth? "Please tell me your butt stops hurting after a while." All I can say is that opening line works better on the trail than in a bar or prison.  Got to work and realized I have neither a belt nor a tie clip in my clothes bag. Hmmm. At least I remembered pants and a shirt.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Like the jacket slip.

Agree on pockets MtBX. I have a couple jackets and seem to always wear the one with the pocket in front. Its just so handy.

41F and rain on the way into work this morning. Pretty uneventful.


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## Swerny (Apr 1, 2004)

Ride to work today was warmer than usual, +3 feels like -2 Celsius...into a 20 km/h headwind though.

Arrived to find that my building security had cut my bike lock off the bike rack. 

Not pleased. Bike is sitting by my desk as a result.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too shabby this morning. Was a bit of a last minute decision to ride and I'm glad I did. I didn't really even need to come to the office, but could tell my wife was getting a bit sick of me being around the house all day lately. So rode to my valley client's office. 30F and snowing when I left the house. A touch of breeze in Palmer at the end of my ride, not too bad, but possibly picking up throughout the day.

A couple of good rides in the last week.

Saturday went out to Knik glacier with some coworkers. Yesterday after work got in a 10 milerer out at Moose Range. Good times.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That ice formation looks like somebody parked their Gidget camper and it froze there.









Pockets are cool.

It was just barely above freezing this morning so I squeezed in another trail ride. I was not alone. 
View attachment 1189993


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

It's warm here, can't complain. After feeling slow Monday morning, I have been feeling faster and faster. The best part of my commute is when I feel like a low flying airplane or snowboarder. The worst part is waiting around at stop signs for drivers who got there first to actually trust me and take their right of way. I usually have to dismount and not practice track stands etc to convince them. That is a pretty good problem to have I suppose.

Wore shorts for the first time in months. Yesterday was the first day I wore my jersey and arm warmers instead of windstopper vest over med. weight wool base with arm warmers and long fingered gloves. The rain has ceased for a bit and back to Norcal sunny drought.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> Maybe the last winter trail ride? I got up early and shared it with rollingrunner.
> 
> The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


gorgeous pics. I was just watching this yesterday, wondering about fat biking in the snow, I never dreamed of a commute, I suppose it is business as usual in your neck of the woods:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Skeggs, My front wheel stays on the ground a lot more than the guy in that video and there was barely enough snow there to call that snow biking. I did post a video of part of my commute last week. http://forums.mtbr.com/commuting/how-your-commute-today-569221-231.html#post13594887

Today really really might have been my last day to cross the lake. :skep:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Open water, man I would be worried about falling through crossing a lake.

Blockphi, loved your pics, especially the 2nd one. Thanks for the share.

43F and dry this morning. Easy commute.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Came home from my trip yesterday and rode today, despite 6cm of fresh snow this morning. It was thawing already when I left so that made for a slow and slippery ride. Made a short detour on the way home so rode 28km in total instead of the usual 23. It was nice this afternoon. 6C and the sun really starts to get warm. Off friday and monday due to eastern bank holidays here.

Blockphi, that 2nd pic is really calendar worthy. 

Nice jacket slipspace. I have the altura night vision evo 2 jacket in red and I like that one too. It was not very well impragnated when I bought it. After I treated it with DWR myself it really got to like it. Vents are working well, nice comfort fit and enough pockets. The zips on the pockets are small though, I have size 10 gloves and barely can get my hand in the pockets. The grey area on your jacket are reflective areas right?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good ride this AM - 30 and calm. Actually broke out my summer shoes rather than the Lake MXZ's I wear in the winter - Giro Republic LX with retro reflectivity - which is really rather pointless in Alaska when I can wear these shoes ... It ain't never dark then...

Almost time to get the road bike out. If I can find some cheap 30mm studded tires I may give them a try as it is still quite icy in the mornings.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Got a real close pass by a garbage truck yesterday on the narrow hill on the last mile to work. Made mental note of the plate and emailed the company about it, suggesting they review the footage if it has a camera. But first I checked if the truck was on our permitted transporter list - nope! They came in today with the paperwork and cash for a permit. I am still waiting to hear what the driver had to say about the unsafe pass. Apparently my spidey sense kept their compliance guy up all night. People at work joked that they must be gunning for me and probably all the trash haulers have a photo of me on my bike on the dashboard.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> Got a real close pass by a garbage truck yesterday on the narrow hill on the last mile to work. Made mental note of the plate and emailed the company about it, suggesting they review the footage if it has a camera. But first I checked if the truck was on our permitted transporter list - nope! They came in today with the paperwork and cash for a permit. I am still waiting to hear what the driver had to say about the unsafe pass. Apparently my spidey sense kept their compliance guy up all night. People at work joked that they must be gunning for me and probably all the trash haulers have a photo of me on my bike on the dashboard.


That sucks. At least you're safe. I notice that the "professional" drivers are often the least able to drive around cyclists. In the last month of commuting I've almost been hit twice at intersections where I have the right of way and both times it has been by school busses.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Too bad about the close pass MTBX. But you got your revenge!

43F and dry this morning. Another uneventful commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, this one's for you. I was going to take the same picture today for comparison but I couldn't lean the bike against the tree because it was a little wet under it.


woodway said:


> ^^ Open water, man I would be worried about falling through crossing a lake.





bedwards1000 said:


> Today really really might have been my last day to cross the lake. :skep:
> View attachment 1190107


Not Really


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2018)

Thankfully, I caught the thorn in my tire last night and didn't have to play "beat the flat", I did manage to nearly run myself over though. I'm riding the "it rained and snowed yesterday so the roads are crap" route which involves a 5 mile drive on both sides of a 9 mile commute. Loading my bike and backing out I realize that the windshield still needs scraping so I get out of my truck and open the back door when it occurs to me that the car is still in reverse. A few seconds of mad ninja skills later and everything is okay, but I backed about twenty feet before I got stopped. Otherwise the ride was "crisp" at 21F but not terribly fast. Old guy with a bad back syndrome. Did chuckle at the "nightrider" Trans Am with Kit lights under the hood.


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

Second day of April here in SE PA and riding through snow, slush and frozen rain. Tires were fine though. WTB Cruz 700x37.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. At my house the wind was blowing 10 with gusts to 20 - no big deal. However, in Palmer, where my ride would end - steady 20 gusting to 40. No fun. Couple that with being sore from a 20 mile road ride (first of the year) Saturday and 24 miles to the glacier and back yesterday and I felt I had enough whine to justify not riding to work today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, this one's for you. I was going to take the same picture today for comparison but I couldn't lean the bike against the tree because it was a little wet under it.
> View attachment 1190735


Two thumbs up bedwards. You are THE man!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Forster, good reactions and good stop!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

That looks way sketchy to me Bedwards but you know what you're doing (fingers crossed!)

I'll give you that one Blockphi 

haha, good catch Forster, good recovery.

4 days off here with weekend and public holidays. As is usual with public holidays, it rained, a lot! About 10C and reasonably bright this morning, lots of water about unsurprisingly, but not a bad ride. New bike is filthy :blush: but I did clean and lube the chain yesterday :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Let's hope bedwards isn't swimming to work today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for the concern and no worries. I made it across one more time and I'm on vacation after today so the temptation will be gone. The shores are opening up a lot. The trails are still fun riding with a combination of snow, ice, running water, pooled water, mud, frozen ground and free-range snow riding.







I took one more picture to complete the set this morning.​


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

SlipSpace said:


> 4 days off here with weekend and public holidays. As is usual with public holidays, it rained, a lot!


Haha, a joke here in the Seattle area: Two tourists stop a boy and ask: It's rained the entire time we have been here, is it always like this?, the boy responds: How should I know, i'm only six.

bedwards, I was hoping for photos of your new paddle-bike so you could cross the lake year round. That last pic sure is pretty!

41F, partly cloudy and dry today. Uneventful ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^There is one spot between the bays of the lake where I might be able to wade across with my bike over my head. The only reason I haven't considered it more is because it is a private camp on one side. Of course it is the fastest moving water on the lake so it never freezes in the winter for me to explore the possibilities.

I pulled the last 3 pics together for comparison.
The Candid Cyclist: To Cross The Lake Or To Not Cross The Lake

See y'all in about a week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Forster good that you managed to stay away from under your car!

Nice pics bedwards! Still glad that you are not on the ice anymore. I trust you know what you are doing but it didnt look very safe to me....are you wearing that flotation vest that you found last year? Or do you rather rely on the flotation of the fatbike tires as you said back then?

Woodway, in hamburg we always we have the best weather of all ->> to be in the office.

So we had the first day of spring here. It rained here all night but it was dry this morning with 8C already. Incredible warm, 16C!! on the way home. Round trip average was pretty good too, did ride some during the 4 days off. Those short trips around the neighbourhood with the kids added up to about 2 round trip commutes.


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## Guest (Apr 3, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Forster good that you managed to stay away from under your car!


 Hard to believe I can still move that fast wearing Lake 145 winter boots, but adrenaline is your buddy sometimes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Agreed, that was impressive Forster! Beautiful pic bedwards, enjoy vacation! A local lake here in VT, Joe's Pond, has a big ice-out contest, you can win a few thousand dollars on a $1 ticket if you have the closest guess to when a cinder block will fall through the ice and trigger the clock. I believe the winning ticket is usually around the 3rd week of April, but I picked an early date this year, and the rain tomorrow may help my chances. I took Friday and Monday off, and did not get up in time to ride today; plus the dog took off on our woods walk, and catching up with him 1/2 mile away took time. I think that tracker collar tells him when I am getting closer.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

haha I like that Woodway.

That's warm Dutchman! Not quite got that here but it's working on it, wind is still mostly making it feel colder though.

Interesting sweepstakes there MTBX. Good luck with your guesstimate!

No idea on temp this morning but it was sunny so all is good.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I pulled the last 3 pics together for comparison.
> The Candid Cyclist: To Cross The Lake Or To Not Cross The Lake


Nice video. It seems to me that it would suck if you got onto the lake, rode across only to find too much open water on the other side where you want to get off...

38F and rain here this morning. Supposed to rain the rest of the week. Springtime I suppose...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Slowly I am getting convinced that it doesn't rain here so often as I sometimes think. At least, when I see how often Woodway is riding in the rain....and I think I actually seldomly have the hardshell stuff on. Mostly the Windstopper clothing is sufficient for some drizzle/dense fog. We do have a lot of days on which showers pass through, but mostly those are easy to avoid these days thanks to the weather radars and 5-6 showers a day make for a slim chance to get into one anyway. So thanks Woodway for making my commuter better than I thought :lol:

Nice rides again today. Wet roads but no rain anymore this morning, and dry on the way home. Again 16C today on the way home. Next weekend is apparently even warmer and sunny, hope to go biketouring or paddling.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A chilly 32F rain this morning, followed by a windy, graupel-filled (aka "styrofoam snow") return trip. 16 mph cross to rear quarter winds not too bad, but the 40 mph gusts! Got to my car at the park-n-pedal just in time, at the convenience store they were chasing down big metal signs and those heavy duty trash cans by the pumps. Power is still on at home, yay!

Enjoyed the video, bedwards.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

^^ freezing rain, great, Yay for power!

Was colder than I thought this morning. Shorts was the wrong choice. Not sure on temp since my computer died, but I guess 3 or 4C. Was raining on and off with cold head to 3/4 wind. 

It was at my back last night though. I passed a bunch of semi serious riders last, they were just bimbling along. They looked somewhat bemused as I yelled a hello and went past doing probably 100+ rpm cadence :smilewinkgrin: they did at least return the greeting.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2018)

Brisk but uneventful. Always a good ride when nothing crazy happens.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> So thanks Woodway for making my commuter better than I thought :lol:


I'm always happy to help a fellow commuter!

FWIW, our year here in Seattle is broken into three parts:

Rains a LOT: Nov, Dec, Jan
Hardly EVER rains: Jul, Aug, Sep
In between: All the other months

I think I read Seattle gets 150 days a year with measurable precipitation. But the days are heavily weighted to the winter/early spring months. Last year we went 55 straight days from mid-July to mid-September without any measurable precipitation at all.

It's been a somewhat rainy spring but as we get into May and June the rain really starts ramping down.



mtbxplorer said:


> A chilly 32F rain this morning, followed by a windy, graupel-filled (aka "styrofoam snow") return trip. 16 mph cross to rear quarter winds not too bad, but the 40 mph gusts! Got to my car at the park-n-pedal just in time, at the convenience store they were chasing down big metal signs and those heavy duty trash cans by the pumps. Power is still on at home, yay!


Ahh, a memorable riding day! Glad you made it home OK.



SlipSpace said:


> Shorts was the wrong choice. Not sure on temp since my computer died, but I guess 3 or 4C. Was raining on and off with cold head to 3/4 wind.


Shorts seems like wishful thinking slip 



Forster said:


> Brisk but uneventful. Always a good ride when nothing crazy happens.


^^ Agree 100%

43F and cloudy this morning. Roads were wet but no rain. Uneventful ride...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather has been highly variable. It rained most of last week. This week is dryer and cooler overall, but temps randomly reached 76F the other day. Then we were hit by torrential rain, sleet, and high winds. The ride in was 29F. The ride home should be in the mid 50s. We're expecting snow Friday night.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway that sounds predictable at least. I extra checked the climate diagrams and it seems that here it rains most in summer, june until end of september. The rest of the year is not much less....

I made a mistake today, I forgot to pack windstopper or hardshell pants. About halfway in this morning it started to rain but it my pants dried quickly at work. On the way home I got caught in a heavy downpour that soaked my pants. Fortunately my jacket held off most of the rain. Lesson learned: always be prepared!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This morning I got an apology from the drivers' supervisor from the garbage truck incident last week. They also discussed the incident with the driver and how it could be prevented. As an avid motorcyclist, they said the driver felt terrible to make me feel unsafe. Also, the safety meetings at all locations for April will focus on bicycle and pedestrian safety. I think it was a pretty good result.


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## ladljon (Nov 30, 2011)

My friend was killed by a garbage truck in Davis, Ca. Truck made a right turn and didn't see him....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Oh geez, how terrible. So sorry for your friend and for your loss.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commutes for me at all this week. Laziness coupled with juggling four clients sometimes makes it difficult. I did get a chance to get out this afternoon for a road ride. I'm constantly amazed by how much fun it is riding that janky-arse $75 Craigslist special. There are certainly times when riding fast on the road is a good time. I don't think I could average 17.8 MPH for 20 miles on my fatty without killing myself!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

MTBX, what an unexpected conclusion to your story. I mean how often do you actually hear about a cyclist being apologized to for crappy driver behavior? Well done.

Dutchman, my pannier always seems to be crammed full of extra stuff. I ask myself why I bother carrying it around until I end up in a situation like you did and then I am happy I have it.

It was warm this morning, 51F/10.5C. Wet roads but no rain. I wore shorts. Supposed to be 65F/18C for the ride home - shirtsleeves!

Have a good weekend everyone.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Mtbxplorer shows it is worthwhile to complain when that is possible, and ladijon's friend's death shows that it should be done whenever feasible. The life we save may be our own!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^True, Brian, I am really optimistic that the driver will change how he passes cyclists. 

Cold rides the last couple mornings, 11 and 14F. I left the bike in the car 1 night after the rainy morning ride, and the next morning it did not want to reliably downshift. Since this was cured by the evening ride, I think the cable froze up and the derailleur spring could not overcome it. This is on the Orbea Terra that has enclosed and internally routed cables. My mechanic says that even condensation can cause it. I may consider an upgrade from the 105 derailleur to one with a MTB type spring, as I have avoided this issue on my MTB commuter, but he is checking the whole settup first. It also got super tensioned on the backpedal, to the point where, at a stoplight when i would reposition the pedal for the green light, it would kind of grind the gears. A few inches of snow last night but I accepted a ride to my car after hanging with a friend.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2018)

I get that after wet rides too, usually it's little bits of gunk on cable between the cable and the housing. Unless my bike has one-piece housing, I usually shift the rear der into low, pull the cable while clicking the shift lever to high (without the wheels spinning) to slack the cable. Then I pull the housing from the ferrule and spray the cable while working it back and forth (to purge the crud). When I reassemble I rotate the housing 90 degrees so I'm using a new section of the inner liner (should have slightly less wear/more Teflon left in place.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thanks Forster!


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2018)

Things that make you go Hmmm. Riding in today I noticed the downtube bottle holder was loose. Switched bottle holders and continued riding. At work, sure enough, the screws are loose but the braze ons are still solidly in the frame. Puzzler is, they were loctited less than four months ago. Is that an issue with titanium and blue loctite or is someone screwing (literally) with my bike?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forster said:


> Things that make you go Hmmm. Riding in today I noticed the downtube bottle holder was loose. Switched bottle holders and continued riding. At work, sure enough, the screws are loose but the braze ons are still solidly in the frame. Puzzler is, they were loctited less than four months ago. Is that an issue with titanium and blue loctite or is someone screwing (literally) with my bike?


My eyeglass frame screws have about a 2-4 month hold with Loctite. One is staying longer this time. I blame it on temperature shifts.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

forster, maybe ask in the lyskeyforum if anyone knows the issue?

Nice ride today. Summer now arrived and I was out paddling over the weekend. 11C this morning and 22C on the way home with sun all day. 11 days ago I was plowing through the snow on my way to work, now I am riding in shorts, t-shirt and sandals. Both are fun


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Ahhh... a good commute for me this AM. Legs were a bit stiff after a 30 mile road ride on Saturday and a 10 mile slog in the rapidly melting snow yesterday that started out as a nice easy ride to stretch out the legs and ended up being more work than the prior day's ride. 

On the road bike but need to make some adjustments - heel strike on the panniers and as I was leaving this morning I picked the bike up by the saddle with the panniers on and the seat moved so I keep sliding off of it. 

But beyond that it was a great ride. 40. A light breeze. A little overcast, but I think it's supposed to get sunny and bright by this afternoon. Good times.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

48F and dry this morning. Started to sprinkle as I got to the office. Should be a wet one going home tonight.

I stripped and cleaned/lubed the bike over the weekend. Adjusted the front derailleur which was rubbing in certain gears and replaced the back fender which has been broken for a while and the rattling finally got to me. Riding this morning I had not realized just how loud that rattling had become...everything was so quiet and smooth!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today - five meetings at three different locations today. Good times. Had to post a quick note, though - and it probably belongs on the found any treasure on your ride thread - but... 

On the way home last night I made a turn and started getting chased by this tiny little dog - the type that thinks it's much bigger than it really is. No big deal, I easily outpaced it. But as I was looking back to see where it had gotten off to I spied something along the side of the road and bust out laughing. A big black d*ldo. I'm not sure if it was so funny to me because it was bigger than the dog chasing me, the absurdity of being chased by a dog and seeing that on the side of the road, or the fact that it was just so unexpected - how and why does something like that end up on the side of the road? 

Sorry, no pictures. I didn't stop to pick it up (ew...) though I should probably go back in my hazmat suit and get it and all the other assorted trash off the side of the road. 

But I probably won't. 

Have a good day everyone. Be on the lookout for strays


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hahaha blockphi imagine you come home with that "look honey I found this on the side of the road" who would believe that? :lol: 

Woodway I dont like it too when my bike makes noise. I can accept it for a few days but only when I know what it is and that it is no harm or anything. 

Sunny today but chilly. 20C were forecasted but we got only14C with a 20kt wind. At least it was a tailwind on the second half so it was a quick ride home.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Good find Blockphi. Could have gone differently, I can hear the tale in A&E now, '...yeah, I was being chased by this vicious dog and then this big phallus came out of nowhere and jammed the front wheel throwing me over the bars..'

No rides for me this week. Mon, Tues off and I have a client meeting for all day thursday with half a day travel either side.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a guy test his luck passing me with an SUV coming the other way. The oncoming car swerved off the road onto the shoulder. Lucky for everyone, there was a shoulder. The road up until that point is narrow and is lined with honeysuckle bushes that push right up to the road. If we'd been a little further down, things could have gotten even more interesting. 

As luck would have it, I caught back up to the car that had passed me, but I didn't feel the need to remind him what a dumb move he'd pulled.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

42F and light rain this morning. Pretty nominal commute. No swerving cars, little dogs or dildos. Just boring.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Early today and chilly again. 7C and windy both rides. Made a short detour nevertheless, wont let the wind stop me


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride today overall. Caught a flat about halfway to work, but beyond that it was uneventful. 41F and a light breeze.


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## Ltdan12a (Jun 15, 2012)

Nice ride in this morning- The bluebells are starting to pop, and I'll need to stop at the tire swing when the weather gets warmer


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

woodway said:


> 42F and light rain this morning. Pretty nominal commute. No swerving cars, little dogs or dildos. Just boring.


Sometimes boring is a good thing, though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

LtDan: Our bluebells have just leaved out. A couple of weeks to flowers, I suspect.


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2018)

It's apparently officially Bicycling spring as I noticed a large number of Bicyclist out this morning on my commute. Of course Cyclist spring happened once about 30 years ago and the Cyclist haven't put their bikes in the garage for months at a time since then.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Seeing more and more bicycles around here everyday too Forster.

Had a close call last night. Took an alternate route home that involved a long, steep hill (15% grade at the bottom). It was raining and the asphalt was slick. As I closed in on the traffic signal at the bottom of the hill I could tell that I did not have enough traction to get stopped before entering the intersection. Every time I applied sufficient braking force to stop my wheels would start to lock up on the wet asphalt. The cross street is super busy and if I went into the intersection I was going to get hit for sure.

Figuring crashing into the ground was better than being crashed into by a car, I was preparing to bail over the curb when thank goodness, the signal changed to green and I was able to coast through the intersection. Whew.

Don't think I'll go that way again when it's wet.

38F/3C and very light rain this morning. Thankfully it was a boring commute.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Meetings all over the valley. And the same for tomorrow, but in Anchorage. I do plan to take a nice long ride after work tonight, though. It is wonderful spring weather right now and it would be a shame to waste a moment.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

5C but again a cold wind this morning. At least it warmed up during the day and the sun came out before I left so it was nice on the way home. 

No flowers here yet and probably it will take some time since it seems to be dry the coming week. When it rains again everything will probably unfold in no-time. Looking forward to it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

40F/4.5C this morning, raining (again). Plenty of flowers here. Plus tree pollen.

Happy Friday everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

How things can change over night....

Yesterday, the forecast said rain this afternoon. This morning it appeared to have rained already and rain would start in the evening. So it "suddenly" rained during lunchtime, and it is supposed to start raining again in an hour. We'll see. Nobody needs a forecast that totally changes within a 4-5 hr timeframe.

Nice ride this morning, 8C and calm wind. The way home was typical for spring, in the sun and with a tailwind it was really nice, made a detour and the last part was against the wind which suddenly was quite fresh. 

At least, I finally made a full week of commuting again. 

Happy weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm back! No ride for me today. Only 5 hours of sleep and I couldn't get a grip on the weather.

Catching up here was more fun than catching up on my work emails. Good stories.

Nice BBC story blockphi. If you could get a picture of the dog sitting next to the black object that would be great!


woodway said:


> Had a close call last night. Took an alternate route home that involved a long, steep hill (15% grade at the bottom). It was raining and the asphalt was slick. As I closed in on the traffic signal at the bottom of the hill I could tell that I did not have enough traction to get stopped before entering the intersection. Every time I applied sufficient braking force to stop my wheels would start to lock up on the wet asphalt. The cross street is super busy and if I went into the intersection I was going to get hit for sure.
> 
> Figuring crashing into the ground was better than being crashed into by a car, I was preparing to bail over the curb when thank goodness, the signal changed to green and I was able to coast through the intersection. Whew.
> 
> Don't think I'll go that way again when it's wet.


I hate those moments when you realize that you have just crossed from in control to out of control.

I did get a day of mountain biking in the Dominican Republic. I'll try to pull a blog together with some pics over the weekend but here is a teaser.





​TGIF. This working stuff isn't as fun as being at the beach with a mojito at this time.


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

It was the first really nice spring day this year. I imagined all the fair weather commuters would be out. Saw some bikes locked up at the train station so people are starting to come out of their steel shells.

I was riding my usual route when I heard some noises behind me that could be bike noises. Turned around and it was a fellow commuter. Normally I don't see any bicycle commuters so I gave a nod and kept pedaling. At the slight uphill, I heard him getting closer and at the next light he went on the sidewalk and passed me. He barely seemed to be working hard at all so when I caught up to him I noticed he was on an ebike. Huge battery on the downtube. So I cat6'd him. Sorry, I just had to. The good side is that I got to work a lot quicker than I usually do.


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## bmf032 (Sep 8, 2010)

^^ That's an awesome story!:lol:


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Haha. Before pedal assist ebikes got popular I'd sometimes get passed by people not even pedaling...shouldn't have bothered me, but it did!

Haven't posted here in a while...for the last year my commute has been 2 blocks downhill on a small town road. I only have to pedal if there's a strong headwind. It's nice, but I do miss my old city commute sometimes. It was nice to ride with other commuters for a bit, and feel like I'd accomplished something just by getting to work. 

My "commute" to the grocery store has gotten longer though. Tough headwind on the way in today. Broke 35mph on flat on the way back, hauling a weeks worth of groceries and 20lbs of cat litter.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> Broke 35mph on flat on the way back, hauling a weeks worth of groceries and 20lbs of cat litter.


That is some serious wind! Did you have a sail up? Where?

The weather here is friggin' awful. I had to take the winter bike because we've had freezing rain and the road shoulders are coated in ice. The almanac for this day says the average high temp for the day is 54F and the range is 41F-86F...It started at 28F and now is 32 mid-day!!! The forecast high is 3 degrees cooler than the record low.

It is a HUGE contrast to my riding last week. As promised here are some pictures of the ride. The Candid Cyclist: Mountain Biking in Cabarete with Maximo


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Hey all! It's been a long time since I last posted. I've been commuting, just haven't had much time to tell about it.

This winter was cold but not nearly as much snow and ice as usual. Can't say that I'm super disappointed because every year it seems harder to turn those big, heavy, slow rolling Nokians!

I've set a goal for this year of 5000 miles. Sadly, I've had lots of travel so far this year that has made it hard to stick to my routine. Summer is fast approaching so I may be able to make up some of my missing miles. Still, I've managed to log 1266 miles to date.

Still riding my 1997 vintage Cyclocross bike most days and the Motobecane fitted with Nokians on snowy/icy days.










With the days getting longer I should be able to log a few extra miles on my way home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Very cool bedwards. Nice writeup, pics and adventure!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

good to see some new faces around here :thumbsup:

Nice trip Bedwards, and that bed was huge!! double double.

First ride in a week and a bit with holiday and work travel stopping me. "Spring has sprung, the grass has ris, I wonder where them birdies is" as someone said. Nice ride this am, sunny with a slight chill to the headwind but pretty damn good all in.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I planned to ride yesterday from my usual park-n-pedal lot, but it took 20 minutes to break through the ice on my car, even though I had warmed it up and blasted the defrost. Then an extra 15 minutes to creep the 4 miles downhill to town while holding my breath on the curves. By then it was too late, I only got to work 10 minutes early, driving. Used that to change out of bike clothes into work clothes. There were terrible winds in some parts of VT/NH; 3 tractor trailers blew over on the interstate, 1 onto a state police cruiser (no injuries). A few spring days would be nice.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice ride yesterday on the way in. Weather forecast was wrong again, several showers passed through in the afternoon and I decided to leave in the rain, to come home in the dry. That worked but my pants was still wet. Jacket held off the most so I didnt get cold.

So I packed my rainpants for the rest of the week although summerweather is forecasted.....it was sunny, 5C and light fog this morning, was nice and refreshing. The rest of the week is supposed to be over 20C on the way home. Time to break out the sandals :d


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa mtbx hope spring comes to you soon!

Bedwards that looks like an awesome trip and nice report. From outside, that cave certainly didnt look like you can swim in it!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I remember seeing a sign that said something like: "Winter is like an angry person who won't give up an argument and keeps storming back in to say 'and another thing...'". At least that's what it feels like this afternoon. Although not nearly as bad as MTBX (and probably bedwards when he checks in) have it. Around here we have the 4th wettest April on record and we are only half way through the month. It's been cold and wet and I am sick of it.

Ride this morning, 41F/5C and light rain. The insert on my left crankarm is coming loose so I'll have to run down a replacement crankarm (hope you can just buy one and not be forced to buy the whole thing).

Good to see z1r back and a couple new folks in the forum!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...it took 20 minutes to break through the ice on my car, even though I had warmed it up and blasted the defrost.


My wife reported that our car was exactly the same yesterday. The roads weren't as bad but that's why I took the studded bike. Well, they weren't bad until later.

Good luck finding a crank arm woodway. Square taper? I might have a few kicking around, LOL.

The temps warmed up overnight to above freezing so I just took the rain bike, not the snow bike. The lake still has ice but it isn't fit to ride and the shores have all opened up. I expect it will go out by the end of this weekend. Spring is coming, High of 62F a week from today!!!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Hi kids! Checking in from NorCal... it's January 105th today! :lol: 4 inches of snow yesterday, bone dry roads this morning for the commute in, 28 degrees. It's supposed to be 70 by the weekend... no frozen lake crossings (that's pretty awesome Bedwards) but I have been playing with the camera... not sure if any of you are in the facebook group "Look at My Bike Leaning Against Stuff" but you should be :lol:. Here's my latest creation. I also put 27.5" wheels and 3.0 "plus" tires on the Ogre. Oh man it's a monster now.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Town and meetings and have to stop and get my daughter's wheels from my other daughter - had her studded tires on the other set of wheels so that she could swap them herself. 

I am a bit sad today, though. zR1 got me thinking about my annual mileage. Last year I ended up, even with my knee surgery, at 2966.17 miles - 0 miles in September and 1.39 in October. 

So far this year I have 772.36. Last year at this time I had 785 (well... by the end of the month)... So I guess I might actually be ahead of the curve this year. However, in 2016 I booked 1300.62 miles by the end of April. I don't think I'll hit that this year. Not enough commutes in my future to do that and I doubt I'll work up to much more than maybe one 40-miler by the end of the month with a sprinkling of 20's and 30's. 

As long as I can end the year with slightly more than last year and no injuries I'll be happy. I think I might be getting to an age where a 5K year doesn't appeal to me as much as it once did. And I highly doubt I'll ever hit 10K in a year again.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey CB nice to hear from you. Nice pic how long did the complete picture take?

Went spontaneously to a bar after work with some collegues. Had a beer and a burger then rode home. About 18C now between 7-8 pm and quiet roads. Good times!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

Thanks dutchman, I miss you guys. haha. blockphi, my mileage is downright embarrassing, don't feel bad. I'm getting like 25-30 miles a week, after several years of 80-90 a week. Life is good though. 

The photo process was about an hour and a half. It's a bunch of exposures stacked though, not one long exposure. You can't get the foreground right on a super long exposure without serious risk of destroying the whole thing. Stacked exposures is way safer.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Blockphi & CB, Don't fret too much about the mileage. In 2015 I was just shy of 4000 miles. I set a goal for 2016 of 5000 miles and started out strong, then screwed up my shoulder after 1545 miles. Basically didn't ride after May of that year. I eased back into it in January 17 but didn't break 200 miles in a month until May and finished the year with 2400 miles. This year has been rough as my Dad got sick in January and died. Then Mom was hospitalized. Only thing you can do is keep on keepin on!

I was a little upset this morning that I couldn't ride to work because I have a board meeting immediately after work. Well, now that the winds have kicked up to gusts of more than 30mph, I'm happy to be driving, lol. Wednesdays and Thursdays I have to drive the kids to school so I throw my bike in the truck and ride at lunch. I'm just grateful I am still healthy enough to ride.

Nice Photography CB! Oh, nice ride as well!


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

my commute was fine, a friend of mine at work died he hit a truck and broke his neck I was there when he chocked on his own blood and couldn't breathe, in the end there was this yellow stuff coming from his nostrils not sure if it was brain matter or lung fluid etc. 

I couldn't do anything because I didn't know what to do, the police stood there aswell and did nothing and told us not to touch him because if we moved him over to his side and he died we would be responsible for murder. So I wasn't sure what to do, but in many ways it was his fault.

My friend is known to speed on his MTB, and we know pitch roads don't do well with MTB knobby tires. He was speeding down the wrong side of the highway because its easier to reach to work from there, but at the entrance to the road to work you have to make a right turn, and the shoulder lane ends so when he made the right turn on the wet road his head slammed into the windscreen of a small truck.

Still can't believe he is dead, now he has a wife with 4 kids, 1 is 1 year old and triplets on the way

My friend was 23 years old


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

john5220, I am so sorry to hear that. Hang in there, and hug your loved ones extra tight today. 

I just checked in for the first time in forever to say I'm back at commuting. New kinda thing for me, city commuting, now that I'm living in the city of St. Louis proper. Not sure if I'm out of breath after the two miles because of nerves or the fact that I spend 99% of tree ride accelerating from stop signs. Could be that I strained a hip flexor and haven't biked since February. 

Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Wow, John, that's rough, sorry to read this. Hang in there.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

John, what a terrible experience and a sad end for your friend and so tragic for his young family. Take good care, it may be hard to enjoy riding for a while. Take a break if needed and come back to it for therapy on wheels when you can.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi CB, great photo. Hi NDD, safe travels in St. Louis! Bedwards, I chose the studded tires yesterday and was glad I did. Mixed to snow to rain all day. Wow, those guys were lucky; it's tough getting 5 guys into a pickup, let alone out in an ice cold river.

Ordered a rigid fork for the old Litespeed MTB commuter. I don't really use it on the trails anymore and they fixed some potholes on the hill from work where I used to engage the suspension on the downhill for safety.


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

thanks guys it really made me sour to continue riding to work but I will continue anyways, I will just take my time and be extra careful. This is why I don't ride down the wrong side of the road, I think that is only good when walking so you can see the incoming vehicles but when it comes to bicycles I don't think it works that same way since a bike is way faster than walking


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey BE of the west! I had to use your January 104th bit in my ride names. We all feel the same way. 


CommuterBoy said:


> The photo process was about an hour and a half. It's a bunch of exposures stacked though, not one long exposure. You can't get the foreground right on a super long exposure without serious risk of destroying the whole thing. Stacked exposures is way safer.


 I wondered how you did that. I thought I was in that group but just had to join again.

Light rain and then clearing last night with temps in the low 40s. Back below freezing this morning with temps in the high 20s. The weather seems like it will be improving (except for some rain tomorrow) through next week when we will break 60!!!


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

John, what an awful thing to have happened and witnessed. Sorry for loss of your friend You're right though, wrong side of the road is not a good idea.

CB, good to see you report in, great photo too!

The weather here has turned a corner here guys. Tee and shorts for the ride in this morning and I managed to grab a couple extra miles. It's probably low 20's Centigrade out there at the moment


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, I missed a bunch of posts. Yes John, that is horrible! Hang in there and ride extra careful. It is a good reminder for all of us that life is a privilege and we need to be careful!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

john5220 said:


> my commute was fine, a friend of mine at work died he hit a truck and broke his neck I was there when he chocked on his own blood and couldn't breathe, in the end there was this yellow stuff coming from his nostrils not sure if it was brain matter or lung fluid etc.
> 
> I couldn't do anything because I didn't know what to do, the police stood there aswell and did nothing and told us not to touch him because if we moved him over to his side and he died we would be responsible for murder. So I wasn't sure what to do, but in many ways it was his fault.
> 
> ...


Wow. That is tragic. So sorry.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, a lot of action here all of a sudden.

John5220, really sorry about your friend.

NDD, good to see you back!

bedwards, thanks for the offer on the crank arm, but, well...no thank you  I searched high and low for a SRAM Force 22 crankarm and called a local bike shop with zero success. So I broke down and ordered a new crankset off Amazon, which will be here tonight. Now I have to figure how to get the pedal off the old crank since the insert is spinning the carnkarm.

The weather seems to be turning here too. It was actually dry this morning! Supposed to be in the 60's next week. Whoo-hoo.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A fairly good commute this AM. A slight breeze and just a touch under 40F - That spot where it's hard to be warm enough without being too warm. 

Wood - you should be able to use a large nail set or similar to tap the pedal and the threaded sleeve out of the crank arm. Then use a vice grip to grab the sleeve and spin it off the pedal spindle. 

I'm in the early stages of analyzing my best play - new gravel/all arounder bike or strip down the Silky and rebuild with modern parts. In the long run I don't know that I could rebuild for much less than buying new as I would basically get rid of everything but the frame and, maybe, fork. 

I'm looking at a few options for new bikes: 
Salsa Journeyman Sora
Kona Rove ST
Giant Tough Road
Surly Midnight Special (a bit more than what I want to budget, but appealing)
A few others in that sub 1250 range - steel, if possible. 

I know I really want disk brakes, 30cm or bigger tires, wider bars, and ample rack mounts. I want a ride that can haul junk to work, haul arse on evening or weekend long rides, and do some gravel and bikepacking duties as well as be able to get studded up for early and late winter riding. A Fargo is also on my list, though outside my desired budget. 

Any suggestions?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Terrible story john *shiver*

Blockphi I think you have quite a good list of bikes there. The only thing I might add could be a used fargo. If you dont want to go SS org IGH an older model without the swingplates would do the trick I think.

Slipspace is sharing some of his good weather with us. 10C and al low sun on thr fog made a nice ride in. Sun an 23C on the way home. Added some extra k and a change of scenery is always nice. Supposed to hit 25-27C tomorrow and friday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> I know I really want disk brakes, 30cm or bigger tires, wider bars, and ample rack mounts. I want a ride that can haul junk to work, haul arse on evening or weekend long rides, and do some gravel and bikepacking duties as well as be able to get studded up for early and late winter riding. A Fargo is also on my list, though outside my desired budget.
> 
> Any suggestions?


I saw a coworker building up one of these, super versatile. Monster crossy with braze-ons. He is doing a belt drive with internal hub. Wolverine v.3.0 Frame | SOMA Fabrications


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

On witnessing a terrible crash or any injury, in first aid they teach that you are protected by good samaritan laws if you try to help someone who is injured, you will not be at risk of prosecution if you inadvertently make it worse. The cops should not be telling people that. Not that it would have made any difference in this case given the severity of the injuries, but that is wrong. I checked with a lawyer and former prosecutor at work and he agreed that good samaritan laws protect people trying to give first aid, pull someone out of a car, etc.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> I saw a coworker building up one of these, super versatile. Monster crossy with braze-ons. He is doing a belt drive with internal hub. Wolverine v.3.0 Frame | SOMA Fabrications


I've got a Wolverine, rides really nice. Feels more stable like a touring bike than a CX bike. Tons of tire clearance, I'm running 700x41 Knards with a lot of spare room. Not sure if it will fit his budget though, I spent more than his budget on my build and I already had a wheelset.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too shabby. In town today, but decided to ride. 38F at my place. between 29 and 35F in town. Got about a third of the way to the office when the bike path became snow and ice covered. Being on the road bike and not being terribly skilled on those skinny tires or terribly confident that I would be able to make it through the chop without blowing a tire, I turned around and got back to the streets. And that, my friends, is the extent of my adventure for this morning. A little chilly, but not too bad at all and even with the backtrack I was still able to make the ride in under twenty minutes from bus to office. On the fattie it takes 30 in the summer and 40 in the snow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> I've got a Wolverine, rides really nice. Feels more stable like a touring bike than a CX bike. Tons of tire clearance, I'm running 700x41 Knards with a lot of spare room. Not sure if it will fit his budget though, I spent more than his budget on my build and I already had a wheelset.


Yup, that's the challenge. Basically right now the max is probably 1600. A pittance by some standards, but given how hard I am on stuff, a good amount that, at least in MTB usually gets me a good mix of quality and durability and weight be damned.


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

It might be doable for that price, but there are so many options for gravel/adventure bikes now not sure it is worth the effort.

I'd add the Jamis Renegade to your list, Reynolds steel and good tire clearance at 700x42 with rack and fender mounts. The Expat level comes in at $1200 with Tiagra level shifters.

Renegade® Expat


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

formula4speed said:


> It might be doable for that price, but there are so many options for gravel/adventure bikes now not sure it is worth the effort.
> 
> I'd add the Jamis Renegade to your list, Reynolds steel and good tire clearance at 700x42 with rack and fender mounts. The Expat level comes in at $1200 with Tiagra level shifters.
> 
> Renegade® Expat


Nice. Thanks.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

John, MTBX: I already had the same idea. Strange enough I even think that the police should have given first aid? 

Blockphi: I admit I look at the wolverine sometimes as well. Especially the orange one looked good, maybe I find a frameset somewhere on clearance since they replaced it with an upgraded frame in red. I like the slide dropouts so that it can be set up with an IGH as well if I want to.

And I forgot: Maybe a Surly Straggler? Seems to have quite some tire clearance as well.

Nice rides again today. The ride in was during sunrise through orange fog again at ~10C. On the way home it was real 25C and I varied the first half of my route. I actually wanted to vary the second half as well but I had a slight mechanical along the way: I lost the bold that keeps the pedalcage in place on my right pedal. So the outside of the cage hung downwards a bit and the spindle was pressing uncomfortably into my foot through the sandal, so I decided to head straight home from there. I will have the opportunity for an extra tour on the way home tomorrow. Luckily I found a fitting bolt and washer in the basement so I could fix it immediately. Tomorrow will be the last warm day with 25C, the weekend is getting cooler and next week we are going back to the usual spring weather: Windy, wet and max 13C... meh.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^This was in Trinidad so the laws may be quite different. 


woodway said:


> bedwards, thanks for the offer on the crank arm, but, well...no thank you  I searched high and low for a SRAM Force 22 crankarm and called a local bike shop with zero success. So I broke down and ordered a new crankset off Amazon, which will be here tonight.


Oh, I had one of those too. Just Kidding, but actually I might from a bike I bought with a power meter that came with the original arms. Anyway, you have to love Amazon for fast delivery emergency bike parts. I've tried the LBS to be supportive but it always ends up taking more days for delivery, 2 trips to the shop (when they are open, not Mondays) and more money to get the same parts. I've mostly given up. Now you have some nice new rings too. I was thinking that you could put the whole arm in the vice and crush it until the insert stopped spinning. You might need to cut a kerf to let it pinch the insert.

I have nothing to add to the bike suggestions. Cross check? Everybody always suggests a cross check. I'm on one today but I find it boring and heavy. Oh, and it doesn't have disk breaks. Which is why I haven't traded the frame for a Ti frame...because I would need new brakes...and wheels....and the crank is old and heavy...and a triple...which matches the shifters...and the front derailleur is a clamp on...and the rear derailleur is a long cage and sloppy. I think I could salvage the saddle.

Or just ride it like I am today because it is supposed to rain.

I'd probably not recommend any Surly because I have had 2 and have been meh on both of them. On the other hand they are rugged and reliable and that's why I wasn't going to offer any suggestions.


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

formula4speed said:


> It might be doable for that price, but there are so many options for gravel/adventure bikes now not sure it is worth the effort.
> 
> I'd add the Jamis Renegade to your list, Reynolds steel and good tire clearance at 700x42 with rack and fender mounts. The Expat level comes in at $1200 with Tiagra level shifters.
> 
> Renegade® Expat


But the Wolverine is made out of adamantium!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

joshhan said:


> But the Wolverine is made out of adamantium!


Does that make it so my wife doesn't spend the month following my purchase making me sleep on the couch?


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Sorry no comments on bikes suggestions, I really tend not to window shop or keep up with stuff.

Car yesterday as school run beckoned. Shame really as it was high 20s. I did run at lunch but hadn't realised just how hot it was, set out to do 4 miles, managed 3.1/2 and walked the last bit. with showering and stuff made me late for a team brief I had forgot about...

Nice today but as with the Dutchman cools over the weekend back to low teens for next week


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## Guest (Apr 20, 2018)

I'm in a car all week. Yuk.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

last day of good weather today. Ride in was nice already this morning, 11C when I left and it feld warmer when I arrived because the sun was out. Made a detour on the way home which made the 30km full for today. Picked up my wife and son along the way and rode the last 4km together. It was dry and dusty on the way home, and we hit the 27C marker according to the airport weather report this afternoon. 

This week was exceptional good for riding. Rode all 5 working days and made extra loops on the way home on 4 days.

Next week we're back at 12C max with wind and rain. Puddleracing time!

Have a nice weekend!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Hi!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hahah, hello Buster! Good to see you again.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi Buster!

^^ Good riding Dutchman

Beautiful weekend here, temps and sun stayed up. Definitely cooler today though, the wind has an edge, but still about 10C for the ride in


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Buster Bluth said:


> Hi!


Hi

Spring is finally here. It was only in the low 30s this morning but the afternoon should be in the 60s!!! First day on the road bike.

I can't wait until summer. I hope it falls on a weekend.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Short day in the office - just a meeting then back to the home office to focus. 

On Friday afternoon I took a ride and was having some serious slippage on my big ring, so decided I needed to take a look at it. Went yesterday to my local bike co-op where I was able to get a new-ish ring for 5-bucks that was in 100% better shape than the one I was dealing with. So I changed that and had also found a bit wider range freewheel that I was going to install. However, in trying to remove the old freewheel, bent the axle. I didn't have the time or inclination to find all the parts to rebuild the hub. So I did some searching and found a 700c wheel with a nice compact 9-speed cassette on it on a modern freehub - pretty true and all for only 15 bucks. Swapped that out and threw on a new chain, which I needed anyway and got a quick ride in. I'm really reconsidering my desire to buy a new bike now. I'm thinking instead that I'll piecemeal a rebuild of the bike - they have STI brake/shift levers, ders, dual pivot caliper brakes, and new, wider bars that are all at really decent prices, along with full shop use for 5 bucks an hour. I think I can build it out to use much more modern parts for under 100 bucks. Moreover, I could volunteer for a few weeks and earn dollar per hour towards parts to reduce the price even more. And it'll remain a janky-arsed ride, which is totally my aesthetic.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Did a lot of things in and around the house this weekend, including two trailer rides with the kids. So I was a bit slow this morning  15C and light wind made for an easy ride anyway. The wind picked up which was a tailwind, so the ride home was just as easy. Rain expected to set in tomorrow, we'll see how much we get. Might get lucky to be able to ride between showers.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

I've been away for a while, nice to be back on the good old MTBR forums. I've only rode to work a hand full of times this year, and hope to get back in the swing of commuting to work more than once in a wile.

I've recently decided to cut the dead weight and now I only have one bag on my bike for commuting. I've done away with clip-less shoes and ride in my sneakers. This saves just enough room in my one bag for work close, laptop, lunch/snacks, tube & tools. I was having a hard time fitting everything in to one bag with shoes. This is much easier for me than taking 2 bags.

Any way, its good to be back.


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

I still like riding clipless. I just leave a set of sneakers at the office.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

joshhan said:


> I still like riding clipless. I just leave a set of sneakers at the office.


I might do that once it gets warmer out. I have some sandals with SPD's I like to use when its hot out. Its been a looooong winter here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It was strange. The sun was out and it got warm.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> It was strange. The sun was out and it got warm.


Yeah. We had one of those days in the 70's and the next got to 34 F with snow. Hopefully we are headed to more stability.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

joshhan said:


> I still like riding clipless. I just leave a set of sneakers at the office.


still haven't gone clipless in over a decade of "adult" riding. What would you say is the biggest advantage for you?

Took my bike out today (posted in 'what have you done to your commuter today') for its maiden voyage. Pretty solid off the repair stand. Adjusted the front brake lever before heading home, tightened up the headset a bit once home. Otherwise a good ride. Some minor adjustments to seat/stem may need doing but I need to get some miles in. Felt better with more saddle time. Got to work faster than usual. XT cranks with NW 44t and 'summer' tires. Zee brakes and big rotors maybe overkill but effortless braking is nice. And you never know when you may need to stop quick.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

omg john5220 that is horrible, prayers to his family.

1st commute in 2 weeks for me. Was first feeling lazy and tired then twisted my ankle around in a circle on a mtb ride took a week to feel ok walking on uneven ground. Feels good now. In my absence some homeless dudes took to building a hobo McMansion under one of the bridges. Wanted to take a picture but I better just keep pedaling, faster lol!


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## Gravityaholic (Aug 15, 2014)

First commute in years for me, didn't go exactly as planned: The cap of my grape juice bottle unscrewed itself and generously sprayed the inside of my lunch box...hummm grape flavored ham and cheese wrap for me today !


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Yum? Congrats on getting back into commuting.

40F and clear for the ride in. Supposed to be in the mid-70's for the ride home!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

dundundata said:


> still haven't gone clipless in over a decade of "adult" riding. What would you say is the biggest advantage for you?


Well, to look cool, of course...

No, in reality there seems to be, whether in my mind or not, an increase in efficiency with clipless. I used to go to flats in the winter and it always took a week or so to get used to the fact that I couldn't "pull up" on the pedals with flats. The biggest difference for me is in climbing, I guess. Not really needed for commuting, but on the trails? A requirement anymore.

No commute again today. I got in a nice little 30 miler after work yesterday. Depending on weather today I plan to get in something of a ride. Just don't know what. We're facing high wind warnings today, so if it does get windy and rainy I'll probably skip it.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

Thanks. Exactly how a friend described it. Since I've decided against spending the money on a new trail bike this year maybe some cleats and pedals can satiate my need for consumerism. 

What's the consensus on max wind speeds for riding? There was one day this winter I had to nope out of riding. Either you're not gonna make progress or be tossed off the bike!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

dundundata said:


> What's the consensus on max wind speeds for riding? There was one day this winter I had to nope out of riding. Either you're not gonna make progress or be tossed off the bike!


My max is getting less and less each year. Generally if the sustained are 20 or less and gusts don't push too much beyond 35 I'll ride for the commute. Riding for fun and if it gusts much more than 20 and I'll call it.

I've been hit by 60mph gusts from the north while cycling up hill on ice-slicked path where it actually pushed me backwards down the hill as I was pedaling forward. Not fun at all. Took me just over an hour that night to make three miles


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

I feel like wind gusts above 40mph are bordering on a safety issue.

I've been out in 45mph wind gusts that if I wasn't paying attention would have pushed me into traffic when coming from the side. Riding into that kind of wind is mostly demoralizing, it's the cross winds that really worry me. 20mph steady with 30mph gusts is pretty annoying, and always felt like a regular occurrence in the winter.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same here. Usually I dont ride when the wind is too strong, but luckily that rarely happens here. I did have an experience where I was riding in winds with gusts reaching 100kph/45kts and that was way too dangerous. I did make it home safe but made a mental note to not do it again, and I never did so far.

Nice and uneventful rides today. After the warm weather of the past week it felt a bit chilly at 11C :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Gravityaholic said:


> First commute in years for me, didn't go exactly as planned: The cap of my grape juice bottle unscrewed itself and generously sprayed the inside of my lunch box...hummm grape flavored ham and cheese wrap for me today !


:lol: How was it? Probably not as great as that peanut butter and chocolate accident I'll guess. Hang in there and welcome back to commuting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pleasant rides with the warmer temps and sun in the sky the last couple days. I did have the worst driver in the world cut me off with a right hook in the parking lot at work. 15mph limit in the lot and you can't possibly wait for me to get through the "intersection" before turning right? Similarly, last night downtown, a cop had the blue lights on there on Main Street, so I got out toward the centerline more to go by. A ginormous tow truck decided to pass me and then stop in the middle of the street right in front of me (and the cruiser). Of course, then you're not sure if they are going to back up toward the curb and make it unsafe to pass. But then he got out of the towtruck so I was able to pass and also to comment on his inability to wait 5 seconds. Sheesh, some people.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> :lol: How was it? Probably not as great as that peanut butter and chocolate accident I'll guess.


LOL

20MPH sustained with higher gusts makes me think twice about going out. The cross winds are scary and the headwinds make me feel weak. Trail riding in those winds is usually OK because it is protected BUT getting crushed with a falling tree branch is a real concern.

Not a lot to report here except the temperatures are finally on the warm side of normal instead of 2 months behind schedule. It's supposed to rain this afternoon but we ended up with an extra car at work so I'll take that home.


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## Gravityaholic (Aug 15, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> :lol: How was it? Probably not as great as that peanut butter and chocolate accident I'll guess. Hang in there and welcome back to commuting.


Not to bad since I was really hungry. I'll try peanut butter wrap with chocolate milk next time.

:idea:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Peanut buter and chocolatemilk? Did I miss something or is that referring to something very old...I had coffeestains on my buttondown shirt once but was able to wash it off quickly.

Now that you guys mentioned wind, I almost left my bike at work because we had gusts upto 80kph/45kt. Luckily it went down to 12 kts steady before 5pm. Had some sprinkles but not really an issue.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Yes dutchman, very very old, thanks, lol.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Been rubbish for me this week. Lower back has been really stiff since the weekend so no rides at all. It's cold (or colder anyway) and windy which has made me not want to test it


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

A few days of really nice commuting here. Morning temps 45F/7C afternoon temps 75F/24C and sunshine. Reality will return soon enough.


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2018)

Decent, weather (36F and sunny) is good and the traffic was light. My low back has been bugging me all week so I'm hoping a few good rides will straighten things out.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


>


Ok I get it  Very old indeed :lol:



SlipSpace said:


> Been rubbish for me this week. Lower back has been really stiff since the weekend so no rides at all. It's cold (or colder anyway) and windy which has made me not want to test it


That doesnt sound good slipspace. Get well soon!

Today I had both sunshine and rain on both rides. It was ~10C all day so it was cold enough to wear the hardshell jacket combined with windstopper pants. Today is also my 11th day of riding in a row and my legs start to feel drained. Another easy day tomorrow and then probably some days off from riding over the weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^11 days can wear you down especially if some of those included some sparing with headwinds. 

My low back always bothers me...But I rode anyway because I always do. Stretch stretch stretch! 

Light rain this morning and some clearing this afternoon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks bedwards, I notice that now too.

Just sorted out the SD card. Here are some nice pics from last weekend's family ride:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/shWlH1Ot7KRkSGMF2 and https://photos.app.goo.gl/qrxnjYTgo85gk7Rp6

The kids love that view point 

Edit: it is exactly here: https://goo.gl/maps/twoHzHwnjev


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice photos Dutchman.

I was updating my strava activity this morning when I noticed in my all-time stats I passed a significant milestone yesterday:









50F and cloudy this morning. Uneventful ride. Have a good weekend everyone.


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## Gravityaholic (Aug 15, 2014)

Commuted again this morning. I only do when it's sunny and warm. All juices stayed put in their bottles this time but I was almost turned into roadkill by a car driving out of a driveway. The driver was more shocked than me afterwards. Be careful out there, especially those that are in spring like me, car drivers have to get used again to watch for bicycles.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow Woodway, my Strava recorded miles are just about half that. I tried to find you on Strava but didn't have enough to go on. My lifetime miles might be close to that but I've got no idea how many miles I use to do in a year back in the 80s and 90s.

But speaking of that, I did ride my bike from that time period today. 





​5 Days this week
5 Commutes this week
5 Different bikes this week
It was a good week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow Woodway, that is impressive mileage indeed. Congrats on the milestone!

Nice bike bedwards! I sometimes wish I still had the bikes from back then...

Dry and calm today. Made a very short extra loop only, maybe 2.5km/1.5m on the way home. Just as yesterday, traffic was completely jamming in all directions during the way home - long live the bike!

Rode 5 days this week which makes 12 days of riding in a row. Probably taking a break now. Tuesday May 1 is a bank holiday here (Labour Day) and I will work from home on Monday.

Have a nice weekend y'all!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice job Wood! 

Good ride yesterday - ended up with a total of just over 30 miles for the day. Chilly in the morning, nice at mid-day when running between meetings all over town. Snow/rain mix in the afternoon for the ride home. 

This morning was gloriously sunny, but 35F and a slight breeze making it that uncomfortable realm where you can't get quite warm enough but are also overdressed - 

This morning's ride took me over 100 miles for the week, which isn't too bad given the limited commuting I've done this week.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

...when your commute on a flat 700x23 tire is 22 minutes faster than the same commute 10 days ago on studded tires....


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Shayne said:


> ...when your commute on a flat 700x23 tire is 22 minutes faster than the same commute 10 days ago on studded tires....


You must have strong rims ;o))


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Shayne said:


> ...when your commute on a flat 700x23 tire is 22 minutes faster than the same commute 10 days ago on studded tires....


Word. It is crazy the difference - What's odd, in my experience is this:

Going from 4.0 inch studded tires on a 1X 11 to 42 cassette and 42 chainring to 700C X 25mm with 3X - 50/46/38 only nets me about 25 minutes of time savings. I'd think it'd be quite a bit more. Must be the winter beard slowing me down yet. Best trim it up for better aero!


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Only the rear was flat 

But that poor wheel has been ridden probably 300+ miles over its history on flats.

Tubulars so quick fix isn't an option.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Spent yesterday afternoon and all evening trying to upgrade my brakes, bars, and levers. Old bikes with second hand parts... a recipe for fun. 

Once I got everything taken apart realized that one caliper didn't have long enough arms to reach the braking surface. Go swap that and get both calipers mounted. Headed back to the Valley at that point with the plan to quickly get everything else buttoned up in an hour or so. 

Nope. When I got home and got the new bar installed and went to install the levers realize one lever has no clamp. Doh. Oh well, take the clamp off of the existing levers, right? Sure, that should work, except that the bold is too long. And the bolt in the existing lever is a different thread-pitch than the clamp nut. 

After a couple hours of trying different sets of washers and other unsuccessful attempts, i ended up cutting the bolt itself. What a pain. 

Tonight - finish wrapping the bars and go for a dang ride!

I made the decision to stick with friction down-tube shifters for now, but have updated both wheels (mis-matched), both brakes with dual pivots vs. the original single pivot (mis-matched), NOS brake levers with direct cable routing so no more big loops coming out the top of the levers, a Salsa Moto Ace bar, and I think that is it. It is suitably janky, but I don't care.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

dundundata said:


> still haven't gone clipless in over a decade of "adult" riding. What would you say is the biggest advantage for you?
> 
> Took my bike out today (posted in 'what have you done to your commuter today') for its maiden voyage. Pretty solid off the repair stand. Adjusted the front brake lever before heading home, tightened up the headset a bit once home. Otherwise a good ride. Some minor adjustments to seat/stem may need doing but I need to get some miles in. Felt better with more saddle time. Got to work faster than usual. XT cranks with NW 44t and 'summer' tires. Zee brakes and big rotors maybe overkill but effortless braking is nice. And you never know when you may need to stop quick.


For me riding clipless allows me to transfer more power to the rear wheel because I can pull and push.


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

So 2 weeks ago my friend from work died when he rode into a truck with his bike and fractured his skull, silly me also riding without a helmet and I got doored today some guy coming out of a hilux on the passenger side opened his door on me without looking back and I hit the edge of the door and the bike spin around and I flew off the bike and hit my rib cage VERY hard bruised and cut up my shoulders and elbows and the frame from the sun glasses saved most of my skull I only sustained minor head injury.

Cycling to work really is dangerous but I won't allow this to stop me. I will get a helmet for next time and I am not sure what I could get for my rib cage to protect it hmmm..

I doubt I would get compensation from the driver as he said I need to go through insurance and well that is a 20 year thing with government insurance in Trinidad so I didn't bother just hoping I will get better. I don't even know how insurance even works in this country since a bike isn't a pedestrian and a bike is an unlicensed vehicle.

My poor bike I bought this fuji for Christmas I am so sad but it has 1 month warranty remaining maybe they will fix it for me for a discount or something

Doctor said I should be fine but I do have excruciating pain in my left abdomen due to the fall I had but the doctor said it appears to just be a bad bruise I tried to get a X-Ray but the Hospital didn't have any XRay film but they said it doesn't sound serious.

As you can see the rim is bend kinda bad, but I am hoping Jerrad at the bike shop can straighten it, if not maybe I could get him to respoke and re hub a new rim for me for free and purchase the new rim which is $30 USD. since I bought it 5 months ago I never serviced it so maybe they will feel sorry for me and do me this favor and provide the labor for free who knows.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

First ride in lke a week and a half for me, maybe I rode last monday, not sure. Anyway, overcast, drizzle and windy but I was just happy to be riding.

Congrats Woodway, that's a lot of miles! What time period is that over?

Love the family pics Dutchman

Bedwards, what are those on the hubs of that bike? I thought they were disc brakes but then saw the rim squeezers. Cant see well enough on this screen.

John5220 That sounds pretty bad and maybe also quite lucky. I have no idea what Trinidad is like but maybe consider riding a bit more defensively. No getting away from a dooring but awareness is everything. If the rim is not bent that will probably straighten out. Good luck with it and stay safe!!


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

Thanks man I am in soooo much pain if I sleep on my back my lower back really feels it and so does by stomach. I am really hoping this will heal itself I am big 250 pounds aswell so I think that made my situation worse.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ouch John, that sounds really painful and quite scarey. I hope the doc is right and the bruising improves. Good luck with the bike repairs as well.

I pulled out the old orange Fort CX bike to ride yesterday, as I have 2 bikes in the shop right now. It had been rode hard and put away wet when I got the new bike. The poor thing had dirt cemented on it, front brake wouldn't release etc. After a quick lube and cleanup it ran fine. 

Monday I woke up to 8" of snow here at 1600' and did not ride. There was much less down the hill in town. Winter is not giving up easily.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

No doubt you will be sore for a while yet. Not through biking injuries but I have had a few instances over the years where I've had to sleep sitting in a chair. I say sleeping but not really, maybe dozing, but it sure beat laying down but was not at all restful. 
I'm probably around 240 pounds myself at the moment and when I go down it's usually pretty hard. In your crash your reaction time will have been zero so you just went down. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you were still fully gripping the bars as you hit the deck. :eekster:
I just reread your post, don't know your laws but would the driver not have individual insurance on his vehicle? Such sympathy from the hospital too


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## Marc2211 (Aug 6, 2013)

Back on the bike properly now that the rehab for my shoulder injuries is nearing completion (dislocated it at the end of Jan). Changed to use the eMTB for the commute for now until I get my fitness back up a bit.


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

Hi SlipSpace the police at the local station were quite terrible and refused to take a report until I bring a medical paper and inform the driver first before making the report.

Do you guys think I should go back to the doctor and get another paper to go to another hospital for an X-Ray? one that has X-Ray film? and get a medical from the doctor aswell?

My situation improves when I sleep on my right side and take the pressure off by back and left side. If I sleep on my back I get major pain when urinating in my lower back. I am guessing this will ease up by weekend etc

I wanted to gout to work by next week but now I am concerned about my job because my job involves a LOT of manual lifting of heavy stuff.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow John, it sounds like a frustrating process. You'll have to be the one that determines if you feel bad enough to get more medical attention. I'd say don't let it go through the weekend if it hasn't' improved by then. Pain urinating sounds pretty concerning and could be a bruised kidney (but what do I know). Here's to you healing soon!
!!!MTBX!!! 8" of snow! I thought spring was taking it's time here. I guess it wasn't May yet.


SlipSpace said:


> Bedwards, what are those on the hubs of that bike? I thought they were disc brakes but then saw the rim squeezers. Cant see well enough on this screen.


The front is the sensing disk for the laptop sized antique bike computer. The back is a good old fashion pie plate.  I'm on a slightly different rig today. I got some carbon wheels for my TT bike. I've probably ridden 50,000 miles in my life and this was my first ride on carbon wheels. meh.






Pretty though​
From 8" of snow nearby on Monday to 80F forecast this afternoon. I'm looking forward to testing the new wheels on the ride home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

John - hope you heal up and keep riding. Bike commuting does not have to be dangerous if you are able to choose low-traffic routes and ride really defensively (ride like everyone is out to kill you).

Slip, that 50K is over about 8 years, I would say that 90% of the miles are commute miles.

It's "Bike to work month" here in the Seattle area. The bike locker at work was PACKED yesterday. I'm really happy to see it but sadly, as the month progresses, there will be fewer and fewer bikes in there and we will be back to the regulars. I just hope it sticks for a few of the folks that give it a try.

No winter here, 45F this morning and clear. Mid-70's and sunny for the ride home tonight.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

John that does not sound good at all. Can you (or maybe your company if you are an expat) hire a lawyer to take care of things?

First day of riding this week. Worked from home on Monday and yesterday (labour day) was a public holiday here. Yesterday I did ride with son #1, I brought him to a friend who lives 6km away. With a headwind and some sprinkles that wasnt easy. I rode home myself, picked him up with the car later because it was too late to ride back.

and: Son #2 learned to ride the bike since last Saturday! We practiced every day since then and today he already rode to the playground and back, 3km round trip. Short vid of the first ride: 




Refreshing 2C this morning. Had a headwind first part of the ride. Wind turned and it was a headwind on the ride home. It was 17C and I started with longsleeve only, but put on my jacket when I left the plant. Headwind made it feel cold. Tomorrow seems to be a bit colder but after that a period of nice weather with highs around 25C is forecasted. Cant wait for it


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

Always wear a helmet
Leave some space between parked cars and you
Expect the unexpected


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM, a bit chilly though. 34 at my house and 32 at my destination. Brisk, but the first sunny morning in a long while. 

No commute yesterday as I was working from home, which was nice as it kept me from needing to decide whether to bike my commute in the pouring rain we had in the AM. 

Was able to get out for a ride in the afternoon. Got a break in the clouds, but windy, so cut it to an hour-long ride. Which was a good thing as not more than five minutes after returning home the skies opened up with rain, then snow, then back to rain, then back to snow, then the sun broke through again and it was nice again. Wouldn't have been fun to be in on the bike, though. 

I'm liking the updates I've made. The bars are much more comfortable being wider and the curve is not at far out so my position has changed a bit to be a touch more upright - like shortening the stem without shortening the stem. Still thinking about a new bike, but if I do it'll be at the end of the season on closeout, I think. My LBS owner turned my eye onto the Kona Sutra LTD. A big outside of my range, but oh so sexy.


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

woodway said:


> John - hope you heal up and keep riding. Bike commuting does not have to be dangerous if you are able to choose low-traffic routes and ride really defensively (ride like everyone is out to kill you).
> 
> Slip, that 50K is over about 8 years, I would say that 90% of the miles are commute miles.
> 
> ...


Hey man well good news I went to the Mount Hope hospital in Trinidad and got a free X ray, carried it back to my local doctor and she said everything is fine. No fracture or anything so this is great news!!!

I could go back out to work Monday but I will ask my boss to give me some light duties for the first 2 weeks. Right now its too much pain to go anywhere and do anything so I will just kick back until Monday and play some video games!!!!

Time for me to celebrate this good news!!!

In future now I know to leave a huge amount of room between a vehicle and to ride with protection and to ride very slow when cars are parked in traffic

I shall carry the bike to the bike shop tomorrow will ask my brother to transport it with his pickup. Since its still under warranty I might be able to get them to straighten the rim for free or replace the rim for the $30 USD price but maybe get the labor free to re do the spokes and the hub onto the rim I will explain my story and hope they can assist me in some discount with the repairs.

The douche bag scum of the earth who opened the door on me and promised to assist me in fixing my bike isn't answering his phone and is trying to hide from me. 
Small thing yes if I get this fixed for $30 USD it will be a small price for a hard earned lesson about riding.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Way to keep a positive attitude John. Keep riding.

45F and clear this morning heading to work. Really nice morning for a ride. My legs were a little tired as I took the "long way" home last night (27 miles). The weather is so nice I cannot resist. It's supposed to be 75F and sunny this evening, I may take a different "long way" just because.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride home last night and a good ride in this morning. Temps hovering in the mid thirties in the mornings and upper forties, low fifties in the afternoon. Got a spot of sun in the afternoon so, likewise, took the long way home, though not quite as long as your's Wood. It's crazy how the weighted down bags make the ride so much more of a slog. I guess I just need to learn how to pack lighter. The challenge is that the customer's office where I work right now is an open floor plan place with no where for me to hang my kit to dry, so I take two to have something dry to wear home at the end of the day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been warm here. Temps on the way home have been anywhere from 78 - 88F. I had a few 30 - 40F temp swings between my morning and afternoon commutes, but this morning was around 67F. I'm not used to these temps yet.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

john5220 said:


> So 2 weeks ago my friend from work died when he rode into a truck with his bike and fractured his skull, silly me also riding without a helmet and I got doored today some guy coming out of a hilux on the passenger side opened his door on me without looking back and I hit the edge of the door and the bike spin around and I flew off the bike and hit my rib cage VERY hard bruised and cut up my shoulders and elbows and the frame from the sun glasses saved most of my skull I only sustained minor head injury.
> 
> Cycling to work really is dangerous but I won't allow this to stop me. I will get a helmet for next time and I am not sure what I could get for my rib cage to protect it hmmm..
> 
> ...


I'm glad you are okay. I always use a helmet on every ride. 4 or 5 years ago my wife went over the bars into a concrete pillar head first. She wasn't going to use her helmet because it was going to mess up her hair. We are both glad I made her. She probably would have been dead or a vegetable without it.

I don't like riding in heavy traffic to avoid getting doored or worse.

Sorry about your friend, and hope you get back on the road soon.


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

Hey man thanks and I have more great news, went to the bike shop and since the bike is under warranty still they said I only have to pay $30 USD for a new rim and they will install the spoke and hub for free and give the bike a full service to make sure everything else is good. This is a big help out cause its usually expensive to rebuild a new wheel with 32 spokes.

I feel happy about this, now for the pain to go away its already easing up so there is that


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

I was riding in town one nice day and going fast, right next to parked cars. A little girl opened up the back door and I didn't have time to avoid it. Well the last thing to hit the ground was the back of my head and it cracked the bottom/back part. I was a little out of it and got banged up but was able to ride to the bike shop and grab a new helmet, to which they delighted in smashing the old. And I was able to ride home. I would have definitely ended up in the hospital without the helmet. Anyway I put the blame on myself for riding too close to those cars. You should expect people to not look and ride accordingly. One other safety concern is in traffic and cars letting people cross over in front of them right towards you!


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

I wonder how long it usually takes before I can return to normal and lift heavy stuff etc? This happened Tuesday and I have to go out to work on Monday, my job involves climbing high trucks and catching or throwing 50 pound rice and sugar bales etc.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

48F, cloudy and dry this morning. Uneventful ride.

I took the long way home again last night and I have to ask "am I the only person in Seattle who does not ride an e-bike?". They are everywhere.

Good news on your bike John.

block, I know what you mean about riding with full panniers/bag. Whenever I get an opportunity to ride my commuter without the pannier hanging from it I am always initially surprised about how light and sprightly it feels. Like a whole new bike...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great news on the bike John! Warranties don't usually guarantee that you won't get hit by a car so I think it is your shop being nice to you. It will be weeks before you feel right. Make sure you aren't hurting yourself more by working. Your body will let you know.

Not much to report here. I took the bike with the new carbon sneakers out to try for a KOM. I've been battling back and forth with my friend on this one for years now and the bar is set pretty high...Traffic complications at the start and I missed it by 1 second. https://www.strava.com/segments/10665103?filter=overall. I was not sporting panniers. 

In other commuting news, we have gone from way colder than normal to way warmer than normal to normal. I rode 4 of 5 days this week. Rode in with my wife on Thursday and and I am bringing a car home today. That gets you just about up to date.

Have a great weekend all!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey John that is indeed very nice of your bikeshop. Cant tell if it is smart to go to work on Monday, better you see a doctor. Anyway, I wish you to heal up soon!

Crap Bedwards, missed by 1 sec. that really suxx but at least you know that you can make it if traffic is easier! Good luck conquering that KOM back.

Typical Mayweather here. Cold and slightly foggy in the morning with temps just above freezing, ~2C or so. For that, sunny and warm in the afternoon. Yesterday the folding bike got its first mission: Rode to work in the morning, rode into town into town and then took it on the subway during rushhour. But man oh man am I blessed to live on the edge of town and ride through a rural area with little traffic. The ride into town yesterday was along a 4lane road, on of the busiest in town. Bikelane only where it was possible and man that smell and noise :yikes: 
Getting the bike to the subway wasnt ease too, since it is a 26" bike, its still quite big when folded but worse, you cant roll it anymore. So I had to carry it inside. I got a good place to put it in the subway but only because I hopped in at the starting point of the line, somewhere in between it would have been more difficult. So point taken: When I want to do this more often, I need a 20" folder or maybe even the creme de la creme: A 16" Brompton.

Today no detour. Going paddling and camping tomorrow so went home early from work and took the shortest route to have time to sort out my gear already.

Have a nice weekend!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Nice commute today, 85F on the way home. Supposed to be in the upper 90s next week so here we go! :madmax:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Crazy weather here today. By chance I overslept and also planned to go out with a friend for his birthday so I decided to drive. This afternoon/evening there were tornado watches and flash flood warnings, high wind warnings, severe thunderstorm warnings, and hail warnings. So far I have made out pretty well, some wind, thunder and lightning but not severe. Kingdom Trails is supposed to open part of their trail network tomorrow, we'll see. Also of interest, the ice finally went out today on Joe's Pond where that contest is. I may get both bikes back tomorrow, the Litespeed with a new rigid fork, and free freehub #2 for the Orbea; apparently there was a bad batch and the warranty replacement one was ovalized and causing drivetrain issues. Love the LBS, I would never have figured that out.


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

Hey guys I have a question how should I sleep? There is lots of pain when I sleep on my back, for some reason it hurts my rib cage. I usually sleep with my both hands behind my head under the pillow like in a stretching pose. Does sleeping like this cause it to take longer to heal? anybody had experience like this before?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I want to do this more often, I need a 20" folder or maybe even the creme de la creme: A 16" Brompton.
> \


That's really cool Dutchman. I'd love to see a pic of your bike folded and unfolded.

About five years ago I was sitting at a rural train station at Bradford-at-Avon in the UK when suddenly all these people started to show up on Moulton bikes (not "folding bikes in the truest sense, but many break down easily, have a very interesting frame design and 20" wheels). All different colors, styles and ages of bikes. Turns out a Moulton owners meet-up had just ended and many of the owners were taking their bikes onto the train. I talked to quite a few and checked out the bikes, some dating back to the 60's.

I've wanted a folder ever since but really cannot justify one.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Woodway,

here is a link to two pics, one ready to ride, the other one folded. Note that on the folded pic I did not turn the bar sideways. I also changed the bike by now: Avid SD7 Vbrakes instead of the crappy disc brakes, a 24" rear rack, a front wheel with dynamohub to power my phone etc, rear wheel with a used IGH and an extra long fender on the front to keep the drivetrain clean:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kPXnwFaU4b2c6D5E6

Summer weather here. 10C in the morning already and 25C on the ride home. In addition the apple trees are now blossoming so it smells lovely. 2 More days of this coming up!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Cool bike but you're right, it doesn't seem to fold all that small.

Wow MTXB we missed all of that. We did have some pretty good wind overnight on Friday but none of the warnings.



john5220 said:


> Hey guys I have a question how should I sleep? There is lots of pain when I sleep on my back, for some reason it hurts my rib cage. I usually sleep with my both hands behind my head under the pillow like in a stretching pose. Does sleeping like this cause it to take longer to heal? anybody had experience like this before?


I'd say do what is comfortable. If it hurts when you cough or sneeze you could have bruised or cracked a rib which is probably likely. In most cases they don't treat them and it takes a few weeks for them to start to feel right. As long as you feel a little better each day you are on the right track.

Nice temperature for this morning's ride. I've got an appointment so I can't take advantage of this beautiful weather this afternoon. But that's OK because the whole week looks pretty darn nice.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A wonderful commute in this AM. A bit damp as the roads were wet from overnight rain, but the sun was peeking through the clouds and the mountains were aglow with the light on the fresh spring snow. I didn't want it to end, but, alas, it did. Now I'm sitting here in the office watching it get cloudy again and wishing I had extended the morning ride.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Turned 54 over the weekend so today was my first being one year older. First time this year I could ride to work without leggings and a jacket. Shorts and a short sleeve jersey, woo hoo! Down side is, I'll be sweating on the way home. Warm weather brings out all the pedestrians and once a year cyclists coupled with all the newly hatched goslings, well, you better be awake!

I'll hit 1600 miles for the year on my ride home tonight!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lovely here today too. 48F this morning and 60s on the way home, nice and sunny. Remembered to drop the car for an oil change and rode from there. Bike rack was pretty full. Lots of e-bike promotions here, 1 electric company in Burlington VT area is offering rebates or subsidies, they say the 2nd in the USofA.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Weather was nice, temps were good, slightly overcast, so I took the long way home yesterday evening. Logged 37 miles on the way home. Only bad thing is due to the heat, I ran out of water. So I detoured by the golf course where I had to climb a steep hill in order to get to the ice-cold water they provide in Igloo coolers at the top. Let me tell you, it was DARN good!!!

Today, surprisingly, the legs felt pretty good. Biggest issue this a.m. was the gnats that hangout by the river. They stick to sunscreen like crazy, oh, and beards too. Better start bringing a comb with me, yuck!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman, thanks for the pics. I like the bike. Can see why you would want one with smaller wheels.

Happy b-day z1r. Nice miles for the year!

Yesterdays ride was not really a commute, but I'll share anyway. I worked from my house in central washington. Finished my work early enough to sneak out for a local ride. Starts off with a nasty fire road climb but soon enough the climb turns into a ribbon of brown:









It's a 7 mile, 1500 foot climb to the ridge, but it's worth it:









The trip back down can best be described as a roller-coaster ride through the woods on a bike. Here is the start - I was having too much fun on the way down to stop and take pics:









Arrived at the bottom with a big grin on my face!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Wood - nice pics there! I am getting itchy to get on dirt, but it'll be a few more weeks before we're dry enough up here to hit the trails. 

Yesterday afternoon's ride was pretty stellar - 51F, clear, calm. Ended up putting in 17.5 on the way home. 

This morning was crisp and wonderful as well. 38F, clear, and calm. Put in a few extra miles on the way to the office. What a way to start the day, huh?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Woodway, thanks for the compliment. I think the Dahon Cadenza is more suitable for people with a van or something, not really for city use. Well I can not justify buying a folding bike but who knows what the future brings. And nice!! pics from you there. That view on those snowy mountains is amazing. And I am jealous that you have such nice tracks that are officially marked as MTB track. Over here such tracks are for hiking only.

So in a big town it is normal that wild animals become quite tame, but this morning I had to swerve around 3 ducks that were not even moving despite me ringing the bell and making duck noises. Next time I better try barking like a dog.

Again nice ride today. 12C this morning and incredible 25C on the way home. There was quite a breeze from the southeast today but at those temps it wasnt bothering me at all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, those are some envy worthy trails. 

Block, our morning temps were about the same but we're closer to 65F and clear this afternoon. 

Dutchman, if you could get somebody to film you barking like a dog at ducks...that would be great.  

I'm looking forward to the ride home. The day is dragging.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: I already wondered how long it would take before somebody would comment on that  unfortunately I always ride alone and I usually have no camera at hand ....


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Woodway, that looks like a sweet ride! Lucky you.

Well, today being Wednesday, I have to drive the kids to school so no commute for me. To make matters worse, I discovered hat I must have lost my wallet last night while changing out of my work clothes into my cycling gear. Real Bummer!!!!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too bad of a ride in this AM. Warmish at 41 to 43F, but overcast and a slight breeze. Still extended the ride to just under 10 miles - killing time as I left the house a bit early as I can't get into the client's office until 7:30. 

The ride home last night was pretty danged awesome. 58F, sunny. Light breeze. Put in just a touch over 20 miles and wouldn't have stopped, but had to get to work on setting up the class I teach this summer. 

I think this is the first time I've bike commuted three days in a row in a while. Tomorrow I'll be off bike as I'll be in town and have to do a Craigslist meet up for my daughter, but I hope to be able to take off early enough to put in some miles after work.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Happy Birthday Z1R! I totally overlooked. Wish you lots of health, happiness and always aired up tires for the next year.

Nice ride today again. 13C this morning and 27C in the afternoon. Met my wife and son shortly before home and rode the last 1km together. 

Tomorrow is a bank holiday here and probably the last day of summer weather. Thunderstorms are supposed to roll in tomorrow evening. I have to work and plan to ride Friday again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Bank Holiday, Bank Holiday, Bank Holiday. Do you work at a bank? It seems like you just had one of those.  We get 7/year and the last one was in February (not including my vacation or course). What I'm trying to say is I'm jealous. 

Beautiful weather here too. 70F and sunny. Looking forward to the commute home.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Dang Europeans are always on holiday! :lol: So jelly! Funny though because I will be on vacation for 2 weeks here in the near future woo hoo! 

Woodway those are some neato looking trails!

103 F on the ride home today, didn't feel too bad because it was windy and I had the sweat air conditioner going. Supposed to cool back down in a couple days.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

I brought a friend to work with me today.









Trying to get into commuting one or two days a week. It's an interesting ride, a bit of everything; winding through a quiet neighborhood, single track trail through a NPS park, bike lane through a ritzy neighborhood, bike lane along a very busy 4 lane, some sidewalk where the bike lane gives out, a short multi-use path past Mercedes Benz's new HQ and a "why the hell am I doing this" hill in both directions.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Nice chazpat! Those varied commutes keep things interesting.

Let me throw in some more jealousy on Dutchman's "Bank holiday". I hope you enjoy your day off 

103F Eugene? Whew. When it gets in the 80's around here I start bitching about the heat.

48F and cloudy this morning. Probably going to rain this afternoon for the ride home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^i can understand that some are jealous. I counted and I guess we have about 10 public holidays a year, of which half of is in april and may. And now I throw in the ~23 days a year of paid vacation that are granted by law, and many people have up to 30 in big companies. Also often there are flex hours accounts in which you can save up time that you can use for extra days off. You cant be fired easily too. This leads also to the fact that some people manage to come to work only to collect the money instead of earning it and often it is difficult to fire them. They are safe and they know it. 

Sounds like paradise I guess against the other continent. I have the overall impression, on your side, you either work or die. Or you get shot.

Its deteriorating fast here though. Employers use a lot of short term contracts to be able to get rid of people more easily. On the other hand, it is more difficult to find a job once you have been laid off in a big company, because in that case there "must be something wrong with you". 

Thats in a nutshell from me. Tomorrow I have to do the work from today as well... :-/


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Chazpat that bike looks nice. Are those brakes mini V's or normal v brakes? They look like v brakes but what about cable pull with those road levers?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome to the commuter group Chazpat!



cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^i can understand that some are jealous. I counted and I guess we have about 10 public holidays a year, of which half of is in april and may. And now I throw in the ~23 days a year of paid vacation that are granted by law, and many people have up to 30 in big companies. Also often there are flex hours accounts in which you can save up time that you can use for extra days off. You cant be fired easily too. This leads also to the fact that some people manage to come to work only to collect the money instead of earning it and often it is difficult to fire them. They are safe and they know it.
> :-/


Before I thought I was jealous but now I know it. I'm maxed out at the vacation time I can earn each year. 15 days. But, at least work is flexible enough to sneak onto MTBR and say hi, they don't mind me parking my bike in the entry way and I earn enough money to buy fun bikes. So, I won't complain. But DAMN 6 weeks off!

Chilly foggy ride in this morning. Looking like a nice ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

*New Fork Day*

Replaced the suspension fork with a rigid from Origin8. The red cable guide on the fork was made at the LBS with a 3D printer.








No keys - push to start!


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Welcome Chaz! Dutchman the benefits you describe sound alot like the ones we have here, but only if you are in a public sector (gov't) union. 

No commutes for me now for quite a while. No work to go to! Not "job" work anyway :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, love that bike shops are getting into the 3D printing game. Curious why you swapped forks MTBX?

My last company had development teams stationed in China, Finland and Sweden in addition to the US. It was a fascinating study in attitudes, culture and work ethic. The European model definitely had it's pros and cons. I'm in the same boat as bedwards with only 15 days of vacation per year, but my company does let me work from my house in central washington a day a week which is a bonus.

I took the really long way home from work last night and got about 30 extra miles in. this morning was cloudy and about 48F (but dry). Looks like a nice weekend coming. Have a good weekend everyone.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^30 extra miles. Isn't your standard commute in the 20s?

I was chasing a KOM this morning. I got a PR but still had to settle for 2nd place. 21 seconds behind might as well be an eternity. Well at least I have some challenges to entertain myself with on the way to work.

Happy Friday.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Chazpat that bike looks nice. Are those brakes mini V's or normal v brakes? They look like v brakes but what about cable pull with those road levers?


Yes, they are mini Vs. The bike had cantilevers and I was looking for better braking on the single track. Maybe a little better, but I've found the best thing is to get into the drops when descending. I also added the Salsa CX in-line brake levers. They work well but then your leverage on the bars is really reduced so not too good for rough descending; I can see why they have dropped in popularity. But sometimes when riding on the tops it's nice to have them.

Thanks for all the welcomes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey guys thanks for your feedback. I always thought that you have no paid vacation at all on the your continent. From that point of view, 15 are not bad at all. As Woodway sais it all has pros and cons.

Woodway, you rode 50m today as a commute ^^ :thumbsup:

Chazpat ok thanks. I think the use of inline levers depends on the type. I had Tektro's for MTN brakes, then switched to road brakes with Procraft inline levers. Now I swapped the bar with different clamp diameter and went back to the Tektro inline levers, because the Tektro's were quite good and the Procraft ones svcked big time. The Tektros need little throw and then bite good immediately and I think I have just as much power as with the brakelevers, despite that they are shorter. A matter of design I guess. 

Tough day at work as expected, but I managed. Actually being alone in the office and almost alone in the building was tougher than the sh1tload of work itself. Man is that spooky, floors are all dark and sometimes you hear footsteps somewhere. I was pretty flat when I left work but 35min of cycling made me feel good again #cyclingrulez

Happy weekend everyone!


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

As I mentioned, there is a short multi-use path past Mercedes Benz's new HQ that is part of my route. Just past there, it would be back on the sidewalk and then there is a highway interchange where the sidewalk gives out and it is a mess of cars coming off the highway, many of which are then trying to cut across 3 or 4 lanes to turn left at a traffic light a few hundred feet away. So to avoid that, I cut up a less busy road to another less busy road that just bridges over the highway. But it is now a mess of construction and I was afraid they were adding entrance/exit ramps that would make it more difficult and with more traffic. 

So I decided to look up online to see just what the plan is, and there was a "Bike/Ped Path" tab:

The project includes planned bicycle and pedestrian improvements. Multi-use paths will be designed and constructed along the southeast portion of SR 400 and I-285. These improvements are funded, in part, by contributions from local community partners. Additional bicycle and pedestrian improvements will be made across Mount Vernon Highway bridge (the bridge I mentioned above) and along Abernathy Road (the road I cut off of to avoid the highway traffic) through the diverging diamond interchange (DDI). These enhancements are designed to help facilitate bicycle and pedestrian connections.

Cool! The bikelane/multi-user path situation is really improving around me. Now if they will just connect this to the bike lane that ends 1/2 mile shy.




Cyclingdutchman, I was actually referring to leverage of the handlebars rather than the brake levers themselves.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tough ride this morning, headwinds during the commute were 15-20 mph with gusts of 25-30 mph. There were whitecaps on the river in the opposite direction of the current, so that looked really weird. Really slow ride, about an extra 15 minutes and my legs are sore already going up the stairs. Woodway, the new fork is lighter, stiffer (no energy lost in the squish), and feels more nimble. I have a newer bike for the trails so I didn’t really need a suspension fork on the Litespeed anymore. She is 20 this year I think!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Woodway, nice commute. Monday I took the long way home bringing my total for the day to 50 miles as well! Super!

Bedwards, nice try. At least you got a PR. I scored a PR this morning that I've been chasing the last two years. Been trying to break the sub 40 minute mark on my 12.6 mile commute. Previously I managed to get to within 20 seconds but as you say it seemed like those last 20 second may as well have been an eternity. Well, this morning I crushed it. Managed it in 39:08 at 19.2 mph avg.  Not bad for a fat, bald, old man on an almost 22 year old bike!!!

I think maybe my bike was jealous that I took a test ride on an All City Cosmic Stallion last nite and wanted to prove it was just as good!

We hit 90 °F/ 32 °C degrees yesterday, but it has cooled off some today thankfully. Only problem is, the winds have picked up and I'll be fighting a headwind half way home. Still, beats the heck out of driving!

Have a great weekend everyone, happy Feierabend!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

chazpat said:


> .....
> Cyclingdutchman, I was actually referring to leverage of the handlebars rather than the brake levers themselves .....


Ah ok got it all wrong then. I know what you mean, when riding a bike with a flat bar it always feels very nimble. Nevertheless, I have never felt disturbed or something by the dropbar on my commuter/touring bike, even when riding with loaded panniers on the lowrider. But it should be mentioned, that I am riding mostly straight ahead on that bike, no curvy trails or similar on my commute :-/

No commute today but we made a nice family ride of 15km with my youngest son in the kiddieseat on the back and my oldest son on his own bike. Picked up a friend of him after 6km, went for icecream and playground, then his friend came back with us so he rode 9km all together.

And for the ones who are interested in the folding bike, here are two pics of the folded bike in the subway. I sat next to it behind the glass and held the handlebar. (and as you can see, the package would become a bit smaller when I turned the handlebar in the other direction)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RPeDwfVQeCAxLMzG8


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Perfect weather today and uneventful commute. Exactly how it should be :thumbsup:

z1r, you speak German? ^^


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## formu1fan (Jan 23, 2010)

I had my first ride into my new job this morning on my new shoes and pedals. It was terrific, I can't wait to do it again. It's nice this office has showers unlike my old job. Luckily it never got hot in my old locale, but it gets hot and humid here.
My new commute is luckily almost entirely bike paths, with one unsignalized crossing and a short portion with no bike lane. I leave early enough I don't see many cars but we'll see how the ride back goes.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I was working from my house in Central Washington over the weekend/yesterday. Of course I got out for a ride. Pictures? Well sure!

We rode through an area scored by a 36,000 acre wildfire last year








Plenty of climbing...just minutes before we were riding through the meadow you behind the tree below.








Views were fantastic throughout the ride. The forest in the first picture was burned in last years wildfire.
















this morning was a little more mundane. It was warm at 55F and coudy but dry. Will ride both ways in shorts in shirtsleeves for the first time this year today!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Formu1fan, well done and welcome here.

Woodway, I am turning green from jealousy. Really. Put a bike on those pics and they are calendarworthy.

Nice and warm this morning, uneventful ride in and uneventful ride home in summer weather with sandals, shorts and T-shirt. But with a story in between:

[STORYTIME]
11am a collegue comes in to tell me my rear tire is flat. I didnt notice anything wrong this morning. Anyway, shove in a sandwich during lunchbreak and went downstairs to patch it. Turns out that the tube has several cuts of ~10cm over a length of 30cm on the RIM side and one was so deep it started to leak. So again on the inside of the tube, as I usually have....and AGAIN that effin tiptop patch did not hold. I pumped up the tire and everything looked well, so I stuffed away my repairkit etc. When I was done, it started sishing....the patch had loosened enough to start leaking again. So I put the bike back in the rack to change the tube after clocking out at the end of the day, since lunchtime was over. Talked again to my collegue about thos effin' dirty hands when you have to take the chain, how dumb I am to want to buy surgery gloves for over a year and still not having done it, etc etc. So he opens up his drawer, takes out a bag and gives me two gardening gloves. He is a cyclist and motorcycle driver, so he was prepared. So took my time to change the tube after work, it took less than 30min. from clocking out to hopping on the bike to ride home. That includes going to a spot in the shade, cleaning up and stuffing away the repair kit. Thanks to the gloves I had clean hands afterwards!
[/STORYTIME]

Moral of the story: Put some thin gloves in your repairkit NOW and not after you need them


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good tip on the gloves but I'll never remember.


z1r said:


> Bedwards, nice try. At least you got a PR. I scored a PR this morning that I've been chasing the last two years. Been trying to break the sub 40 minute mark on my 12.6 mile commute. Previously I managed to get to within 20 seconds but as you say it seemed like those last 20 second may as well have been an eternity. Well, this morning I crushed it. Managed it in 39:08 at 19.2 mph avg. Not bad for a fat, bald, old man on an almost 22 year old bike!!!


*Nice Work! *Ahh, the commute to work time trial. I've got one of those too. 9.82 miles. Breaking 30 minutes use to be a goal. I've got it down to 25:15. I find that equipment upgrades are easier than getting younger. I should see what I can manage on my 30 year old bike. And I think being bald just means you have less wind resistance.

It's pouring right now with 10 minutes to go at work. It looks like I can stay a little late and wait for the showers to pass.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman, I have been meaning to put some surgical gloves in my pannier for years. It just never seemed to make it to the top of the list. After reading your story I went onto Amazon and ordered some.

52F and cloudy but dry this morning. Pretty easy commute.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very good woodway but I even more hope you will never need them 

It rained last night but the roads were quite dry already when I left. Just very humid air, slight haze and ~10C. It was supposed to be only 20C today but the sun came out in the afternoon and temps went up to 26C. The ride home turned quite sweaty in jeans...

...and more good news here: The hightest court in Germany has finally ruled that dashcams are allowed as proof. Until now"privacy" was more important and dashcam owners could get fined for recording other people, while people that are clearly guilty got away without punishment, because there is no legal proof. They did specifiy some restrictions, like data is not allowed to be automatically saved permanently, only for 10min or so, then it should be overwritten. Recordings only should be permanently saved when pushing a dedicated button or when the dashcam records a substantial shock like in a crash. And it remains forbidden to publish footage without blurring faces, license plates etc. Finally we are getting a world here in which drivers wont't get away with anything just because their privacy is more important.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Perfect weather today and uneventful commute. Exactly how it should be :thumbsup:
> 
> z1r, you speak German? ^^


Ein bissel. Ich kann fast alles verstehen aber nicht sprechen.

I think I will add some latex gloves to my bag. Sooner rather than later.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Facing a week plus of rainy weather. My route includes some mountain bike trails so if it rains, that's out. I figure if I ride to work and it rains before my ride home, I can hike-a-bike it but that will add a good bit of time. I'm going to try to ride Friday for Bike to Work Day; if the trails are closed I can drive part way and then ride in the rest. But that may depend on my ankle:

I considered riding yesterday but I decided I really needed to get a run in. Should have rode my bike, I ended up turning an ankle and having to limp back a mile and a half to my car. I was regretting not riding even more when I was sitting in traffic on my way home and a guy on a bike came zipping past.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ I love that zipping past feeling when overtaking long lines of cars. Bummer about your ankle.

With the nicer weather here, and it also being bike everywhere month, the roads and trails are full of cyclists which means there are proportionally more douchebags out on their bikes. On my ride home last night I saw three separate examples of douchebaggery that made me embarrassed to be a cyclist. Take a deep breath and slow down people... <sigh>

OTOH, this mornings ride was event-free. 55F, cloudy and dry.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

chazpat said:


> I was regretting not riding even more when I was sitting in traffic on my way home and a guy on a bike came zipping past.


I love when my commute takes me past a long line of stationary cars. On one section of my commute the trail is ten feet from the highway. I feel great when I fly by the long line of barely moving cars.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ I've got a section of commute that frequently backs up in the evening. I'm in a separate bike lane passing the cars. I once counted that I passed 140 cars before my path turned off the road!


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## Guest (May 17, 2018)

One ride all week due to schedule issues. Ugh. I can't wait for my actual retirement. This retired guy working full-time thing puts a hamper on my exercise agenda.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

z1r said:


> Ein bissel. Ich kann fast alles verstehen aber nicht sprechen.


Und schreiben auch! Sehr gut sogar!

Nice to read something from you forster.

I dont know if it is good or bad that I seldomly ride along slow or standing traffic. At least I have my peace with little traffic. Sometimes when it is really jamming I do enjoy it of course.

Uneventful rides today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I thought I'd seen most everything, but today security at work busted my bike lock, unbeknownst to me, while I sat at my desk. The story starts yesterday, when a coworker asked if she could use my lock overnight as she was not going to bring her bike home after picking it up at the shop. Sure. When I left yesterday, she had both bikes locked up with my Abus flat folder thingy. I unlocked mine, re-locked hers and rode home. This morning her bike was still there, but the adjacent spots were full, so I just took another one, leaving mine unlocked, which I am typically unconcerned about due to the location, the security, cameras etc. This afternoon another coworker left on his bike and called to tell me that he thought security was cutting through my lock, but he didn't think it was my bike, so he was not sure. Puzzled, I asked the first coworker, where is your bike? She said it was in her car as she was about to leave. And where is the lock? She said she put it back on my bike, next to hers. Oops, that was someone else's bike, who apparently found it locked when he went to leave and got security to cut it off. Understandable, an honest mistake, but still, I wonder how security determined that it actually was his bike? I mean can just anybody walk up and say hey, my bike was locked up by someone, can you cut it off for me please?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Seems like an honest mistake but crappy for everybody involved. I'm not sure how I could "Prove" that any of my bikes are mine if my bike were locked up with somebody else's lock. As long as they took some ID and confirmed that he belonged there I think that would be good enough. Sorry about your lock.

I get to ride past about 1 mile of stopped traffic every morning. Normally traffic moves smoothly but between 7:00-7:30 it gets backed up because of the school. I just have to be hyper aware of people pulling out of driveways or walking across the road between stopped cars and then popping out right in front of me.

Good commutes all the way around. Last time I posted I was waiting for the showers to pass. It turns out that they had more patients than me and I got wet. I took the trails yesterday for the first time since there was ice on the lake. And then this morning was bike to work day, so I did.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Bike to work day here too, so I did. 55F, cloudy and dry. Happy weekend everyone.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Bike to Work Week 2018
~250 miles
1 broken chain


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Usual uneventful commute today. 10C in, 13C on the way home and with detour I made 30k/20m today.

B2W Day is in 2 weeks on 31 May.

apropos bikelock. Forgot mine yesterday and put my bike in the rack without a lock, just as it is always park. I already intended for a long time to put a spare bikelock in my desk at work for cases like that (Wasnt there something with gloves :lol: ?) 

I am not sure how security would react to such a request in our plant. Could very well be that they wouldnt help just like that.

I have a week of vacation next week. Wife n kids are going on a 3-week health course (offered cheap via health insurence) and I will join the first week. It's in the middle of nowhere but we're taking the bikes to get around there. 

Is Pentecost Monday a public holiday on the west of the Atlantic? Here it is...that will be the last of 4 in May: 1st of May is labour day, easter Friday + Monday and Pentecost Monday. From now on there is none until October 3 (re-union Day of West and East Germany)...

Happy Weekend everyone!

Edit: almost forgot  rode 5 of 5 days this week.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman, happy weekend, enjoy the week off.

Happy weekend to all. I too managed to ride all 5 days. Though, only three days were actual commutes. Wednesday and Thursday I have to drive the kids to school so I threw my bike in the back of the truck and rode at lunch instead.

Yesterday on my lunchtime ride I saw two geese walking across the trail with 20, yes I counted, goslings in tow. Today on my way in, I saw one dead gosling on the trail. It kinda bummed me out!

My commuter bike suddenly needed a new chain this week. Hmm, wonder how that happened, I checked it at the beginning of the year and it was still good. Got a new chain last night and couldn't install it before today's commute so I had to take my "road bike". No fenders and wouldn't you know it, it is going to start raining in the next half hour. I hate when the rear tire sprays water on my bum. But at least my bike will finally get washed!


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## MRMOLE (May 31, 2011)

My commute was special since I rarely get a chance to do it. Reminded me how much more in touch you are with your surroundings when your on a bicycle. Had noticed this shop near where I work and decided to stop to investigate on the way home. He restores motorcycles, had a bunch more inside but it's been along time since I saw a Honda Dream anywhere. They're tiny compared to my Mukluk.
Mole


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## john5220 (Jan 1, 2014)

hey guys feeling much much better now

I picked up my bike from the shop today the guy said he used a double wall Aluminum rim as my replacement and he reused the spokes and hub.

Now the rim is black which is good however the clincher part is silver and naked!!! the rim also uses a disk brake, he said that particular rim was all that he had in stock. Uuhhh..... this sucks!! my back wheel doesn't have a clincher because the bike is a full disk brake bike but nevertheless it is a clincher there that will never be used since the same rim has a disk brake on it maybe I should paint the clincher black? hmm

Should I worry about this clincher part rusting? I put a magnet and it has a very WEAK stick which suggests to me maybe it is a aluminum clincher? please tell me this is the case I have no idea how these wheels are made.

In stark contrast the magnet snaps on loudly to the spokes but very weak onto the rim it also holds weak onto the back rim so I am assuming the whole rim including the clincher is aluminum?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice commute Friday with a few extra miles on a dirt road due to an offsite meeting at a grange hall. If you have not heard of them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Grange_of_the_Order_of_Patrons_of_Husbandry A beautiful week but most of the weekend looks rainy. Slim pickings at the bike rack, lots of bikes this week. Had to lean mine against a handrail behind it instead.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Not heard of a grange hall? That's like not knowing what a church is.  Our company worked out of a converted grange hall for 10 years.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...1651d9677059fc5!8m2!3d43.8884179!4d-70.332511



MRMOLE said:


> View attachment 1198740


That is pretty funny!

Good weather for commuting this week! My legs are tired from the weekend which included riding to and from a 5K. Running the 5K (I still don't run). And then a 40 mile ride yesterday. Mostly my legs are sore from running a relatively small distance.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Our house in Central Washington is in a rural area and there is a nearby Grange that we are members of.

Short week for me, working only Monday through Wednesday. Thursday I am planning to ride from my place near Seattle to Central Washington. Should be quite an adventure.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Make sure to take your cougar whistle! It sounds like quite a trip.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Nice sunrise this morning with the bonus of a hot air balloon floating over the horizon. Not a bad way to start the week.

As of yesterday, my saddle was still wet from the commutes on Thursday and Friday. We had popup showers both days with my afternoon commute getting hit both days. Popup showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast again today. I'm hoping for some better luck this afternoon


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Beautiful morning, 46F/8C, not windy, paths were clean from all the rain over the weekend. Only bad thing was I almost ran over a Gosling. I saw two geese and two goslings crossing that paths so I signaled to the rider following and slowed down until they crossed the path. Then out of no where two more goslings decided to run across the path. My tire went right between them both with only centimeters to spare. Gave me a real sick feeling in my stomach. Thankfully no animals were injured during the making of this film!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides, nothing exciting! Got a new lock, opted for a Kryptonite chain thing from the LBS with some special coating that is supposed to overheat tools like a Sawzall. Heavier than I planned on, but I rarely carry it, and I was not overly impressed at the short work security made of the folding Abus. They are convenient and compact though, if I had found another one for $39 clearance I probably would have got another, but the shop and I both came up with around $60 for the Abus, so I opted for the burlier Kryptonite for about $40. I do like the nylon sleeve it comes in, but I kind of miss the combination lock convenience. Still waiting on the freehub to come in to the LBS, I guess Mavic is notoriously slow. Luckily I have other bikes  !


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Great ride in this morning. A nice 52F degrees. No geese on the trails to swerve around. The ride home yesterday had me fighting some serious headwinds. This morning it was calm. I hope it stays that way so I can take the LONG way home.

Over the weekend I had to replace my chain and cassette. Amazing how when the parts aren't worn out they actually WORK! Note to self: Clean and lube chain weekly.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Make sure to take your cougar whistle! It sounds like quite a trip.


I'll be riding not too far from where the poor biker was killed. But I'm not too worried about being attacked by a cougar. Got my route planned and equipment together. Should be just over 100 miles with around 6000 feet of ascent.

z1r - I would feel bad if I ran over a gosling. I have run over rabbits in the past...can't say I feel bad about that...there are too many of them.

mtbx - my theory on locks is that they are only good for deterring casual theft. If someone really wants your bike no lock is going to stop them.

Took it easy on my ride this morning and will be taking the short way home tonight to save my legs for tomorrow. Weather is fine right now, lows in the mid-50's, highs in the mid-70's.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It sounds like it is a 1 in a million chance. It just sucks to be the 1. I think the take away is that if you do get attacked by a mountain lion, don't turn your back on it. Make it think that you are going to eat it! 

I've runned over a few squirrels. I'd run over more given the chance! The little F-ers are destroying our house. 

This was my first ride in without sleeves. 52Fish but with a warm sun and feel to it. It's supposed to hit near 80F today.

Damn, it feels like Friday and it is only Wednesday!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

And... I'm back! Last week I had family up from the lower 48 so only sporadic rides when I could sneak them in. The commute today was pretty darned nice. 48F and cloudy with only a light breeze. Shorts and a long sleeve tee. It was nice. 

Monday I went on my first ride on the Pugsley in months. It was... odd. Crazy how fast one acclimates to one bike over another. The trails are actually all dry and ridable, so I look forward to some good riding this long weekend.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, Never ran over a squirrel yet but I did run over a prairie dog and a rabbit before. Hit the rabbit in a turn with only my front wheel and thought for sure I was going down. Thankfully, I managed to stay upright somehow.

I saw a guy that endo'ed after a squirrel ran through the spokes of his front wheel. I sat with him until his ride showed up, clearly he had a concussion or something. Bad news.

Had a great ride home from work yesterday. Took the long route and then the winds picked up. Spent the next 30 miles fighting a vicious headwind. Somehow managed to pick up 30 PR's on Strava??? How the heck did that happen? Got home dog tired but logged just under 5o miles for the day.

Had to drive today so I can drop off the rear wheel from my Cosmic Stallion at the bike show to have it redished. I did sneak out at lunch for a nice ride. Got lucky and just barely got rained on before returning to work.


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## Fleas (Jan 19, 2006)

Fleas said:


> I'm not typically a commuter these days since it's 30 miles one way, but in honor of National Bike to Work Day I saddled up at 5:30am with my headlight and a blinky on my pack.
> Have a great ride everybody!
> 
> -F





Fleas said:


> Well, I made it home Friday in good shape with a stop for some juice in the last 10 mi. I'd say I was 250 cal. short of not stopping. It is uphill almost all the way home - 30 mile, gradual uphill - and, of course, the wind swung around for the trip home so I had a head wind out of the East. The giant dog was nowhere to be seen, though.
> Oh, and I found an extended reach flat blade screwdriver, too.
> 
> -F


Has it really been 2 yrs. since I rode to work?! Dang, I'm missing out. It was a gorgeous morning. The 29+ tires are a bit of a drag on pavement, even with the pressure jacked up, but I only lost about 10 minutes over 2 hrs.

It was a morning of strong odors - flowers/trees, skunks, dead things, fresh dirt near a pipeline install, perfume (that lady must have had a LOT on - I was 100 yds away and riding past a farm field when I noticed it), fertilizer, cows and horses - but very little exhaust.:thumbsup:

I have all night to get home after work, and it just might take me that long...

Ride safe!

-F


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I had an outstanding "commute" yesterday from my house near Seattle to my place in Central Washington. The ride was just over 100 miles with ~5500 feet of ascent. I rode my daily commuter (Ti Cross Bike). I wanted to see how many of the 100 miles I could ride on gravel vs. pavement so I swapped out my usual lightweight road tires for 38c gravel tires from Specialized (which I was pretty impressed with). Weather was perfect and the ride took about 8 hours.

Started off on suburban roads near Seattle. While there were no cars in this picture, there was plenty of commute traffic to deal with for this part of the ride.








After about 11 miles of road, I hit gravel, one of four rail-trails I would ride. 








Another rail-trail. Views are getting better.








Another rail-trail, Iron Horse State Park on which you can ride across the entire state of Washington, mostly on gravel. It features some impressive trestles.








Last time I did this ride, I did it all on pavement which included riding on I-90, seen below. This time I rode a total of 66 miles of gravel which was way more scenic but also much harder. I think it was the right call.








Rather than go all the way up and over Snoqualmie Pass, the Iron Horse trail takes you through the Snoqualmie tunnel which is 2.8 miles long. Bring a light, it's dark in there.








I stopped about a third of the way through and took this shot. See that white dot? That's the other portal of the tunnel, about 2 miles away.








Now I am in Central Washington, in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Much drier and sunnier than Seattle. I was back onto roads and ready to get home. It was a memorable day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That is awesome! I love the tunnel. I'll be right there!

The commute started out with a flat before it started. OK, fixing the flat at home is better than on the road. 2 miles in and I noticed I had a broken chain link. 







OK, I'm not too late I'll go back and throw a new chain on. I have some in stock.
View attachment 1199928

I start to push the STUPID special Shimano link pin into the chain and it snaps off before the pin gets pressed into the outer plate of the chain. After fussing around and realize that I will never get the pin started I grab another bike.

I get to work and my backup bike has a flat now too.

Happy Friday


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> I start to push the STUPID special Shimano link pin into the chain and it snaps off before the pin gets pressed into the outer plate of the chain. After fussing around and realize that I will never get the pin started I grab another bike.
> 
> I get to work and my backup bike has a flat now too.
> 
> Happy Friday


That sucks! Sorry to hear it.

My ride, in a word: Glorious!

It was the type of morning that reminds me why I choose to live here. Glorious golden sun that had been shining down since at least 4 AM. A few big puffy clouds in the sky to give it some depth. The mountains glowing and reflecting the sun off of patches of new snow. Angry looking ribbons of the weather we've been having trapped far up the Susitina valley and not going anywhere. 48F with just the slightest of breezes. The bike's feeling lively under me, which is different than normal on the commute as I normally have a rack and panniers on. Today, instead, I have a big bike packing butt bag and a Camelback with all my abbreviated gear for the day and I feel, even though my legs are a bit shredded after yesterday's trail ride, like I could just keep riding. Alas. Reality won't allow for that today. So instead it is into the office for a part day, then over to my son's events at the State track meet, then back to the office then back to the track and then, hopefully, a bit of trail riding this evening.

I feel like my lack of photographic evidence makes it harder to convey just how beautiful this morning is.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> The bike's feeling lively under me


 Because you just rode a Pugsley and every a Cross Check feels lively after that.


blockphi said:


> I feel like my lack of photographic evidence makes it harder to convey just how beautiful this morning is.


I'm picturing very deep blue skys, a few bright white clouds with large mountain ranges in the background. Very nice!

I fixed my flat at lunch. Big piece of steel wire embedded in it. It appeared to deflate very quickly so I am actually glad it let me get to work before I had to deal with it. I am soliciting praise for the incredible longevity I can get out of a tube. (Not to self, buy a new patch kit.)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Your either the man, or incredibly cheap, bedwards.  My limit is three patches after which I consider the tube to be "used up".

Sounds amazing blockphi. The scenery up your way is even more stunning then what we get around here, always like your pics.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Woodway, awesome ride, great pics.

Bedwards, I flatted twice before getting out of the garage. My legs were toast so I wanted to ride the road bike in today. Noted late last nite the rear was flat so I patched the tube and went to bed. Woke up to another flat this morning. Had to drag out the beast instead.

On the way in I crossed a bridge over the S. Platte river and saw two ridiculously large fish swimming about in one of the few deeper sections. they reminded me of the Salmon I caught in the straits of Juan De Fuca. I honestly had no idea we had fish that large in these shallow section of the river. based on their shape, I assume they were some type of trout.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It's a combination of incredibly cheap and not wanting to "use up" the new tube in case I have a worse flat. I consider a tube used up when it can no longer be patched (or when it doubles in weight  ) Mostly, I'm pretty good at installing glue on patches and it doesn't take much more time than digging out the new tube. 

Probably mostly really cheap.

2 flats before leaving the garage! Yup, I've had that happen too, and it sucks! Either I didn't get the offending prick out of the tire or I pinched something putting it back on. I'm getting more diligent at looking for both.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Incredible stories and pics here :thumbsup: I didnt commute this week but made 3 rides the last days and the total distance exceeds a week of commuting. 

Happy weekend everyone!


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## formula4speed (Mar 25, 2013)

Speaking of flats, I installed some Surly ExtraTerrestrial tires on my Karate Monkey. 29x2.5" tire with fast rolling tread, puncture protection built in and they are tubeless compatible. They set up tubeless pretty easily using a 2L soda bottle as my "air compressor".

Where have these tires been all my life? I'm really liking them so far, and they should be as flat resistant as it's going to get short of an airless tire.


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## formu1fan (Jan 23, 2010)

This was my first ever full week of commuting by bike and it was enjoyable. I'm a little crazy and like to work out at the office gym before work, so I end up leaving my place at about 0435. However, that ends up leaving the whole commute in to myself, not having to stop for cars crossing the street.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Vacations almost over  back to work in a couple days, back to commuting more often I hope! here's a new video that cracked me up!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Warm today and staying like that for the rest of the week.

This morning it was already 20C/68F on the way in. This morning the forecast said Thunderstorms for the afternoon, after lunch the forecast said only sunny and at 3pm suddenly a thunderstorm began to build up just south of town. Luckily we had only some clouds, 28C/84F was warm enough already. I could hear thunder far away but it stayed away. So lesson learnt: Thunderstorms can build up within 1-2 hrs from nothing. Hopefully I will be able to avoid them the entire week.

Our company has C2W day (Cycle to Work) next Thursday. And just as last year, I actually planned to drive on Thursday but I will probably ride, then drive from home in the evening. 

Where's Slipspace?? He should have good weather too.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

20C in the morning is warm Dutchman.

Funny video Eugene. I wathed a couple of the other ones...the first time on the Northshore one also cracked me up.

Back to my boring commute this morning. 55F/13C and partly cloudy. I still have the gravel tires on the bike from my big ride last week. I can feel the difference between them and my lightweight roadtires, but it's not as much as I thought it would be.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> I watched a couple of the other ones...the first time on the Northshore one also cracked me up.


Thanks for the suggestion. Homicide rates could soar among the mountain biking fraternity if that situation were commonplace.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes Woodway we rarely have such heat and now we are having it for the 2nd week in a row. It looks like it is going to end though after this week. 

Watched the Northshore video as well and liked especially the part where the guy tells the other one to NOT fall in the pond and then falls in himself :lol: nice touch...

So we had even 21/70FC this morning and 33C/92F on the way home. There was a strong breeze but even in the shadow the wind felt really warm. At least, still no thunderstorms in sight today, at least, not here. Further south they have had severe problems already with local floods etc. Tomorrow might be different. I always have the option of taking the bus or leave before/after the storm. We'll see.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Pretty basic commute this morning, 48F, partly cloudy, uneventful.

I'm still rolling on gravel tires, so I rode some gravel on the way home last night for a nice changeup.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Better than a kick in the eye, that's for sure. But nothing special.

I did get out for my first ever 50 miler on Monday. Here's a pic of that:

















I've ridden 50 mile days before, but never in a single ride. Wasn't planning to do it, but got to 40 and realized I'd be at least 43 by the time I got home, so best put on another 2 to get the 45. Then realized I could easily bump to 50 without any big hills or headwinds, so I went for it. Amazing how much it wiped me out. Like doing 25 miles of hard trail riding.

And a shot from the end of my Sunday trail ride at the college in front of the theater:









I swear it wasn't hazy, misty, or foggy either of those days... My awesomeness just fogs the lens


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow, you log so many miles some years it never occurred to me that you had never ridden that many in a row! 

I was busy all (long) weekend and had to travel yesterday so I've been 5 days off the bike. So I took the long way in and will take the long way home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats blockphi and pics are nice for sure!

Again a very hot day but no thunderstorms this afternoon. There is thunder southeast of here but according to the weather radar it hasnt moved for 2 hrs. Very strange, have never seen a thunderstorm stay on the spot for 2 hours...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Amazingly, MTBR let me leave blockphi some rep for that ride and pix! Usually I am denied for the "regulars". 

Survived today's commutes, but it was one of those days when every yahoo crosses your path. The first was approaching the rotary, I checked traffic and signalled, but the car way behind put the pedal to the medal and sped around me, barely missing both me and oncoming traffic. The last was a guy on the way home I had already observed 6 miles earlier was probably high or somehow out of it; I was hanging at a friend's apartment complex parking lot before rolling home, and this guy started rolling with 3 drinks on the roof. OK, anyone could do that, but what alarmed me was someone else noticed and ran over yelling and waving his arms, and the driver did not notice until the guy was practically in his lap. Driver proceeded across the lot to a non operational car that a 3rd guy had been messing with earlier...hmmm suspicious. Anyhow, 6 miles down the road the same 2-tone Subie with the same bumper stickers right-hooked me in downtown Barre. I gesticulated and yelled but he was just as oblivious as in the lot. Kinda scarey.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Bad karma day mtbx. Glad you survived.

Well, I had to drive my car to work today. Tried to ride but a quarter mile from home I put the brakes on and the rear brake pad spring disintegrated and got wedged between the pad and rotor. Made a hell of a racket. I pushed back home. Unfortunately my spare pads are at my other place, so I need to visit a local bike shop today and try to get some brake pads...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^WHAT? Woodway drove? No spare bike to pull from the quiver? 

And MTXB you are ruining the image of Vermont being a serene place of rolling green fields and dairy cows. It sounds like a bunch of yahoos just like everywhere else.  

Mighty fine weather around here this week! I went through a rotary this morning. No issues.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woa Woodway ^^ you mean, you were in a car the whole way? So you do own one.

MTBX no chance to report this one like you did the garbage truck before?

Hot again today but no thunderstorms. Rides were mostly ok but had two scary moments. On the way in I had my yearly "oh sh!t" moment when on a crossing one guy from opposite traffic turned left across my lane just in front of me. Slammed the brakes but I think he would have missed me anyway. On the way home on the lonely unpaved part I wanted to overtake an older man on a bike, and just when I want to pass he decides to turn around so I slam the brakes and come to a stop just in front of him, while he was standing perpendically across the path. Would have been a full hit when my brakes werent that good.

Is it me or are the honks out everywhere the last days??


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Is it me or are the honks out everywhere the last days??


 Full Moon, May 29th


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

The rides to and from work were uneventful if not a tad windy on the way home. I had to leave work early so I could meet the plumber at home. Our water heater burst spilling 50 gallons of water in my garage.

While the plumber was replacing the heater I put my 22 year old commuter bike in the stand to try to find where the creaking noise I kept hearing lately when I stand on the pedals was coming from. Sadly, I found it; a crack at the seat stay wishbone where it connects to the seat tube. I am seriously bummed. No other bike I have rides anywhere as nice. I just picked up an All City Cosmic Stallion and it is nice and the Disc Brakes, 11 spd, carbon fork are nice, but it just isn't the same. Granted, the CS is oriented more to the gravel but I used to ride my commuter on gravel long before the term "Gravel Bike" came to be.

To fund my Cosmic Stallion purchase I was going to sell the Macho Man frame I bought a few years ago before messing up my shoulder. Good thing I still have it since it is now destined to become my new commuter.

On the plus side, I logged my first 600 mile month of the year and just passed 2000 miles for the year. Now, if my bikes will just hold together......


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ It must be your monstrous power zlr! Sorry to hear about the cracked frame. Looks like you have a couple of nice rides left in the stable, I had to look them up. 

Opted not to ride home after 3 hours of hard labor helping someone move. I knew her old apt was on the 2nd floor with crappy stairs she fell down once, but did not realize the new place was on the 3rd floor with a curving staircase for the first fllight and a narrow attic-like stairway to the 3rd floor. Of course it was 80F and humid when the last couple nights have been 60. We did get a laugh when I rode in her rocking chair in the pickup bed like Maw Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies TV show so her dishes could ride up front.


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## formu1fan (Jan 23, 2010)

Had a nice ride in this morning, about 75. Not looking forward to the ride home, 97 with a 108 heat index and the NWS is calling for dangerous heat advisory and recommending delaying physical activity. Luckily my ride is pretty short, ~24 minutes and I'll have a nice shower waiting for me.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

This guy's commute didn't go so well! :eekster: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/cri...ie-knife-on-car-in-south-london-a3852896.html


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

z1r said:


> While the plumber was replacing the heater I put my 22 year old commuter bike in the stand to try to find where the creaking noise I kept hearing lately when I stand on the pedals was coming from. Sadly, I found it; a crack at the seat stay wishbone where it connects to the seat tube. I am seriously bummed.


Sorry, I'll be sad if my old steed ever fails. What was it?

MTXB hopefully you got to go out for Vittles after you got granny moved in.

It's been a good week for commuting by bike! I was chasing some KOMs earlier this week (with mixed success) and today was a rest day. Yesterday's commute in was about 21mph and today's was closer to 14MPH. Keeping it interesting.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^WHAT? Woodway drove? No spare bike to pull from the quiver?


I know, crazy, right? My spare bikes are all at my other place in Central Washington. Made a note to retrieve one of them.

I REALLY love Amazon same day shipping. I sat at my desk yesterday morning and ordered replacement brake parts and they were waiting for me when I got home.

Got the bike fixed up last night and rode into work this morning. All is right with the world again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

z1r said:


> Sadly, I found it; a crack at the seat stay wishbone where it connects to the seat tube. I am seriously bummed.


I would be bummed too. Maybe see if it can be welded?



mtbxplorer said:


> Opted not to ride home after 3 hours of hard labor helping someone move.


Nice MTBX. Good karma comes around.



EugeneTheJeep said:


> This guy's commute didn't go so well! :eekster: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/cri...ie-knife-on-car-in-south-london-a3852896.html


Have to admit, I have thought about doing that a time or two.



bedwards1000 said:


> It's been a good week for commuting by bike! I was chasing some KOMs earlier this week (with mixed success) and today was a rest day. Yesterday's commute in was about 21mph and today's was closer to 14MPH. Keeping it interesting.


Nice! Enjoy a well-earned weekend!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I REALLY love Amazon same day shipping. I sat at my desk yesterday morning and ordered replacement brake parts and they were waiting for me when I got home.


 Wouldn't know. It might be in 8000 cities but not one of those cities is even in our state.  I'll have to settle with 2-day which is still pretty cool. We've already established that I'm too cheap to spring for 1 day.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Bedwards, it was a custom frame I got from Jeff Lyons at Lyonsport in OR. Ostensibly a cyclocross bike but even back in 1996 when it was made it had sufficient clearance to fit 40's. I rode it everyday when I lived in San Francisco and took it into the Marin Headlands, Sausalito, etc., mostly on fire roads. You name it, we went there. Here in Colorado I rode it in a couple of CX races and a couple gravel grinders. Many good times were had.

In the last four years I logged 7,600 miles on it.



I'll call Jeff since he is still building and see if a repair is possible. Or, whether he can replicate the bike today but with discs. Something about the geometry of this bike made it fit me better than any other I have. At 5'10" (5'9.5" according to the doctor) I have size 13/50 feet and toe overlap has always been a problem for me. The Cosmic stallion, despite a longer wheel base and slacker head angle, has a fair amount of overlap. Not so with the Lyon.

Considering what I had to drop on a new water heater yesterday, a new bike is not likely in the near future. However, I can strip my winter bike, the Motobecane, and use all parts except for the front derailleur on the Macho Man frame I have. With luck, it may end up feeling much like my Lyon. (Fingers crossed)

The Cosmic stallion has some proprietary ultralite tubing, a full carbon fork, tubeless wheels & tires, yet in factory trim with pedals and two ti water bottle cages weighs 24.5 lbs. The Lyon as pictured with fenders, seat bag, lights, etc weighed the same. Funny that a 22 year old all steel bike is actually lighter than today's wonder bike.

Thanks for listening.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The pic didn't come through. But, I would think that a custom made steel frame would be easily repaired. If not by Jeff himself then my somebody else. Jeff might even do it under warranty. Lifetime frame warranties were pretty popular back in the day. (I'm not sure how I would collect it on my Univega) Good luck!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Bummer @zlr. I've got a Pugsley that is cracking in the same place. I keep riding it and keep hoping it'll hold together for one more year... From all I've heard, in most cases, if the cracks are in the join and not the tube itself, it's pretty easy to weld it without a loss in strength. I'll be needing to find a welder in the near future. 

A good ride in this AM. My legs are a bit tired and tight today. I've been really tight since Monday. I think it is likely due to the amount of trail riding I've been doing recently. 

Sunny, low 50s, and calm this morning. Nothing could be better.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB hopefully you got to go out for Vittles after you got granny moved in.


No, but a brew in the parked pickup bed was close enough - it was too hot in the apartment.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

z1r said:


> I put my 22 year old commuter bike in the stand to try to find where the creaking noise I kept hearing lately when I stand on the pedals was coming from. Sadly, I found it; a crack at the seat stay wishbone where it connects to the seat tube. I am seriously bummed. No other bike I have rides anywhere as nice.
> 
> 
> > You should be able to find a person skilled in brazing to repair it. I sent my frame to Yellow Jersey in Madison WI. To get some braze ons and a straightening. Then powder coated it locally. I am very satisfied with Andy's work.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

BrianMc said:


> z1r said:
> 
> 
> > I put my 22 year old commuter bike in the stand to try to find where the creaking noise I kept hearing lately when I stand on the pedals was coming from. Sadly, I found it; a crack at the seat stay wishbone where it connects to the seat tube. I am seriously bummed. No other bike I have rides anywhere as nice.
> ...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Good news! Why wouldn't you build the Macho Man?

No bike commute today for me. I needed the car after work and it's raining so I didn't try too hard on a workaround.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A pretty good ride in this AM. Cool, but no wind, so there's that.

After the discussion around here bout cracked frames, I decided to take a wire wheel to mine to see if the cracks were just in the powder coat as Surly had claimed was what most people were seeing or if they were really the tubing itself...

























Time to find a welder...

I did shoot an email to Surly to see if they'd do anything even though it is well outside of warranty. I don't expect much, but given the issues they had with these frames in the past I figured it was worth a shot.

Crappiest part is that this summer's SprocKidz program starts tonight and I don't have another MTB or the funds right now to go buy one.

On the other hand, I've been riding it with at least the left side crack for a year or more... It's that one on the right that worries me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good news for you Z1R - you get to love bikes after so much time and I would be sad too. Hope the repair holds long!

Good luck with that Blockphi - I hope it works out well for you too.

After 2 weeks of hot temps finally a bit cooler here. 18C only over the day and cloudy. Tomorrow apparently a new heatwave will start until the weekend, after that I hope it will cool down longer...at least we didnt have local floods that seem to come with every thunderstorm nowadays. And uneventful rides.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

This is amazing - I actually just got an email from Surly and they are going to help me out with this. How danged cool is that? Good excuse to have the shop that's helping me with this build me a new set of wheels? I think maybe so.


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## notso (Jan 22, 2015)

1st commute day this year for me...
a whopping 6 miles this morning. it was fine although I forgot my water bottle.
We've had serious rain over the last week (3 people locally died in flooding Wed night), so I didn't try the trail version.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

blockphi said:


> This is amazing - I actually just got an email from Surly and they are going to help me out with this. How danged cool is that? Good excuse to have the shop that's helping me with this build me a new set of wheels? I think maybe so.


That's awesome. Great to hear. Keep us posted.

I think I will complete the Macho Man and make it my commuter and convert my Red bike, once repaired, to a 1x drivetrain and use it for tearing up the single track. Once I stripped off all the parts and weighed the bare frame, I was astounded to see my old frame weighed 1980 grams compared to 2390 for the Macho Man. The Macho Man fork weighs 200 grams more than the old bike's fork.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. I actually got up, got ready to go and headed out on the bike. Got down the first hill and up the second (all within a quarter mile of the house) and my hip was bothering me so badly that I turned around and got my car. Not sure, but I must have tweaked it last evening at SprocKidz - which is funny as it was the first night, so very little riding, just getting the kids grouped into their riding groups for the season. 

Getting old stinks!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Blockphi, that doesnt sound good. Good luck with that! And how old is your cracked Surly frame actually?

Uneventful commutes today. Nice cool ride this morning, sunny and warm on the way home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi Blockphi, that doesnt sound good. Good luck with that! And how old is your cracked Surly frame actually?


It's a 2012 model. Purchased as a frame only in 2014 to replace a prior broken frame that was broken completely of my own fault.

Technically it is past the warranty period, but they did have some issues with a few runs of these frames from that model year - so I think that might be part of their desire to take care of it. As well the fact I'd contacted them before on the issue and they said it was just the powder coat and to keep an eye on it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> ...As well the fact I'd contacted them before on the issue and they said it was just the powder coat and to keep an eye on it.


I'm thinking that they better give you a new frame! I'm so glad I got rid of mine that was the same vintage.

It's unseasonably cold here. We broke a record yesterday for the lowest high temperature on that date. Today's slightly better and then improving every day. I'm on the rain bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Routine bikecommute but non-routine work week thus far. On Saturday there was a fire in a cubicle 3 stories up. The sprinklers and FD put it out but there is lots of water damage over several floors. I guess the alarm to the FD did not work because they were working on sprinklers elsewhere in the building; not sure how security missed the smoke and shower on their rounds. Some have to work remotely, but in my area it is optional. I guess I am more of a "my home is my castle" person and would rather not telecommute (plus I would miss my bikecommute), so I have been at my cube in a pretty empty office space. Some fan noise and tomorrow is duct cleaning 1 flight up, but mostly OK. 

Cause still undetermined, other than electrical:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ A new approach to getting your boss to allow you to work at home: set your cubicle on fire!

I worked from a home office for two years and at the end came to the conclusion that I would rather work the majority of the time from an office. Better work/life separation, and as MTBX calls out, a daily bike commute.

I stripped the commuter down last night and gave it a deep cleaning. It was pretty bad, especially after my cross-state gravel ride. It rode beautifully this morning, quiet and smooth. 52F and clear. Nice commute.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> ^^ A new approach to getting your boss to allow you to work at home: set your cubicle on fire!


:lol:

But I agree with you Woodway and MTBX: Wouldnt want to miss by bikecommute either and I work from home sometimes, but dont really like it.

Nice rides today, weather was again very good. Actually planned a longer ride home via a new route this afternoon but then I worked for 9,5 hrs straight and was so empty that I rode straight home :-/ By the time I came home I regretted it, all worries were already "gone with the headwind"


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Today was one of those rare days that I skipped the bike commute due to illness(?). I woke up at 6:00 and stayed in bed debating whether to ride or not until I couldn't even to make it to work on time in a car (around 7:45). My limbs feel a little dead and my head is in a fog. I'm hoping to get back at it tomorrow.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

blockphi said:


> Getting old stinks!


Yup! I haven't been on the commuter bike since I got back from vacation, back hurts, have had just one day off work and mistakenly went for a small mtb ride that day which made it worse, then picked up a steering gear off the floor yesterday made it worse too. Can't wait for the weekend to lay around and stretch and relax. Hopefully be on the bikes next week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hope you are feeling better soon bedwards and Eugene.

Easy commute for me this morning. 57F, partly cloudy, no wind. The bike is running butter smooth and it's a joy to ride!


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2018)

New drive train, set-up on the new bike stand (used Wrench Force, like new, $100, wish I'd had one before). Ride was great because everything was set-up right the first time.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards and Eugene, hope you guys get well soon.

Forster, Woodway, yes new parts always feel better. Now that you mention it, I think I could use new drivetrain parts too. The Rohloff is hardly broken in after 16tkm/10tm but cog and chain are on there for more than a year already. Next week wife and kids are back home again including the spare bike, I think I will order some parts and replace everything.

Anyone got hailed on in Texas? Locally they got hailstones big as a baseball :yikes: that made it even into the news here in Europe.

Hot again today. This morning was nice with 16C and some sun, ride home was 28C. Probably it will remain like that with temps up to 30C, early next week weather gets back to normal: max 20C and regular showers :-/ May was exceptional hot, normally we have ~20days a year on which max temp is 25C or more, in May we had like 12 already, and the next 5 days will be over 25C as well probably. Statistically seen, summer is almost over :-/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm not feeling quite as dead today, thanks. I did ride.

Woodway, nothing sounds as nice as a freshly cleaned drivetrain. But boy don't I hate that chore! I did one of my bikes last week. It takes almost 2 hours to get all the gunk out of the chain links and out from between the gears. 50/50 weather I pull the cassette off to wipe down each cog or try to floss it. Maybe if I cleaned each bike more than once every 4-6 months it wouldn't be as caked on.  

I had to look up that hailstorm. You'd want your bike helmet on if you went out in that.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Dang, everyone was infirmed this week. I spent the weekend replacing the sprinkler system at my Mom's. In the immortal words of Roger Murtaugh. I guess "I'm getting to old for this Scheiße." Wrenched my back so today is the first day I felt good enough to ride. Five days off the bike and I was going through some serious withdrawals.

I got my Lyon stripped down to the frame, packaged and mailed off to the builder. Fingers crossed!

Here's pic of my crack, well, ok, the bike's crack:








I was amazed at how light the frame is despite the gusseting around the head tube. Vintage with a 1" headtube or more correctly, steerer.









For now, I am proceeding to build up the Macho Man by repurposing the parts off another bike. Had to order a few parts that wouldn't fit as well as new cable housings, etc. I'm thinking that if my Lyon frame comes back I will retire it from commuter duty and build it as a 1x10, get some tubeless rim brake wheels, squeeze some 40's into it to ride the local single track. Again, fingers crossed.

The commute this morning was nice. Good temps but too many bugs. getting tired of having to wash the bugs out of my beard when I get to work. Gotta find some sort of thing to keep them from getting stuck in the beard, lol. Only thing I can think of is a bandanna but that seems too bank robberish.

Ride home is gonna suck as it is supposed to be 95f/35c this afternoon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

z1r said:


> Here's pic of my crack, well, ok, the bike's crack:


LOL



z1r said:


> I was amazed at how light the frame is despite the gusseting around the head tube. Vintage with a 1" headtube or more correctly, steerer.


Perhaps too light. A beefier frame probably wouldn't have cracked.  Although that doesn't explain the Pugsley. Those are made of lead pipe.


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## Guest (Jun 7, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Bedwards and Eugene, hope you guys get well soon.
> 
> Forster, Woodway, yes new parts always feel better. Now that you mention it, I think I could use new drivetrain parts too. The Rohloff is hardly broken in after 16tkm/10tm but cog and chain are on there for more than a year already. Next week wife and kids are back home again including the spare bike, I think I will order some parts and replace everything.
> 
> ...


 https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/08/0804_030804_largesthailstone.html My birthplace had a record setting hailstone a few years ago and the family that found it thinks it was nearly broken in half by the impact. That same storm produced stones that went through shingles and roofs. No something I want to experience. My worst hail was during a storm when we had a 9" deep covering of golf ball sized hail every where. It was so intense it removed the stain from our wooden deck. That was scary enough for me.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Forster said:


> [ My worst hail was during a storm when we had a 9" deep covering of golf ball sized hail every where. It was so intense it removed the stain from our wooden deck. That was scary enough for me.


A couple of years ago the kids and I went for a leisurely ride through the park. As we rounded a corner, we suddenly encountered an area about the size of a football field covered about 4" deep in nickle and dime sized hail. Talk about localized. It was eerie!

A couple of weeks ago there was a storm in a town not far from here where they had to use the snow plows to remove the hail from the streets.

Nature, it amazes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey z1r hope they get it fixed and that you get it painted in that color again! Looks really good.

I once rode into a hailstorm with just normal hail, maybe 2mm or so, and man that was terrible loud on the helmet already. Here is the vid on the dutch news: 
https://www.nu.nl/238094/video/enorme-hagelstenen-zorgen-voor-ravage-in-texas.html


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey z1r hope they get it fixed and that you get it painted in that color again! Looks really good.
> 
> I once rode into a hailstorm with just normal hail, maybe 2mm or so, and man that was terrible loud on the helmet already. Here is the vid on the dutch news:
> https://www.nu.nl/238094/video/enorme-hagelstenen-zorgen-voor-ravage-in-texas.html


I assume that since you're referencing Dutch news that you're Dutch? If so, have you ever asked yourself "Geef me mijn fiets"? 

You're very multilingual, that's impressive.

Yeah, I hope it does get repaired and I will definitely get it repainted in that color.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes im dutch but I live in germany for like 14 yrs or so. I have to admit thst you impress me too with dutch and german?! You are not secretly using a translator site are you?


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Definitely cheated for the Dutch. I can just tell some of the roots and other similarities to German and English, but I can't speak it. Spent several weeks in Amsterdam in 1992, then left for Prague just after New Year. New year in Amsterdam was insane.

Love the bike culture there but personally didn't find the bikes to be very comfortable.

I just love the old "Give me back my bike" story.

The guy I knew there spoke five different languages and was learning Russian which he thought was the hardest. Impressive school system to be sure.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ you guys are impressive. I have enough trouble with English.

OK, so today I had a procedure done to remove a cyst on my head. Took an hour, local painkiller, no problem, walked back to the office afterward. Have about six stitch's in my head. Now the worst part - the Dr. does not want me to ride until he take the stitch's out on JUNE 19TH. JUNE 19TH!!! That's like SIX YEARS AWAY (in bike years)!!! How the HELL am I not going to ride until JUNE 19TH? I'm in a funk right now....


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

^^^^
Ugg! That sux! My back cost me 5 days, seemed like forever.

Maybe take the bike apart, clean it, put it back together? I dunno, that's rough!

Hope you heal quickly!

Hang in there!


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## EBG 18T (Dec 31, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Routine bikecommute but non-routine work week thus far. On Saturday there was a fire in a cubicle 3 stories up. The sprinklers and FD put it out but there is lots of water damage over several floors. I guess the alarm to the FD did not work because they were working on sprinklers elsewhere in the building; not sure how security missed the smoke and shower on their rounds. Some have to work remotely, but in my area it is optional. I guess I am more of a "my home is my castle" person and would rather not telecommute (plus I would miss my bikecommute), so I have been at my cube in a pretty empty office space. Some fan noise and tomorrow is duct cleaning 1 flight up, but mostly OK.
> 
> Cause still undetermined, other than electrical:


You must be in that building on the hill. I'll be glad when session stops and summer parking gets better.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ haha, yes you are correct EBG, I take it you work in downtown Montpeculiar! Where do you bikecommute from? I live on the BarreTown/Orange line, and usually ride in from McFarland in Barre City.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry woodway that is terrible! Not to give medical advice, but that does sound overcautious! But then, no having much of my own medical experience, I always use dogs as my go to - would a dog stay still for 2 weeks after stitches? Hell no, lol. Softpedalling maybe?


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## EBG 18T (Dec 31, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ haha, yes you are correct EBG, I take it you work in downtown Montpeculiar! Where do you bikecommute from? I live on the BarreTown/Orange line, and usually ride in from McFarland in Barre City.


Yep. In Montpeculiar M-F. Too far to bike commute unfortunately (Craftsbury/Wolcott line). I just recognized that picture and was caught off guard to see it here.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That explains the parking issue! Went thru your home territory on fieldwork just this morning. It's beautiful; leaving home (in a work car) by 4 a.m. was not so beautiful.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> ^^^ you guys are impressive. I have enough trouble with English.
> 
> OK, so today I had a procedure done to remove a cyst on my head. Took an hour, local painkiller, no problem, walked back to the office afterward. Have about six stitch's in my head. Now the worst part - the Dr. does not want me to ride until he take the stitch's out on JUNE 19TH. JUNE 19TH!!! That's like SIX YEARS AWAY (in bike years)!!! How the HELL am I not going to ride until JUNE 19TH? I'm in a funk right now....


I've always found that ignoring that kind of advice works wonders. If you don't have limitations on walking around or climbing stairs how is biking different. I'd say keep your heart-rate/blood pressure in a low range and enjoy. That's my professional opinion. Of course I am a professional engineer not a medical professional so the advice may be poor. I was also riding a few weeks in or a broken collar bone so I may not be that smart. But the doctor never said I couldn't. (or maybe he did)

Speaking of riding while down. I'm still battling some kind of energy sucking, brain fogging sinus thing but decided to push it for the commute. 21MPH average. I'm going to try to burn it out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Dang - 21mph average! That's nice. I'm usually between 16 and 17 on the commute anymore. 

Good commutes yesterday and today. I needed it yesterday so badly. Still sans off-road bike so I going through withdrawal there. Need more dirt in my blood stream. Haven't heard anything back yet as to when I might expect the new frame - sure hope they're sending one as the bike shop already destroyed the frame... My plans had been to look at getting a whole new bike before this, but instead I think I'm going to get some updated parts and have a new set of wheels built - maybe even two. I'm thinking about a drop-bar mtb/gravel bike build on it for summers and fat winters. We'll see what I can talk the wife into. A new fat wheelset is absolutely on the table, though, as my current one on the old-school double-wall Large Marge rims are pretty desparate - close to 20K miles on them, they should be. The rear is more oblong than round anymore and even as I get it close to round it still has a huge dip in it where I obviously hit a rock quite nicely... Try as I might, I wasn't able to pull that dent out. I'd love to go 27.5 fat with Jackalope rims, but can pick up a set of lightly used Holy Darryls for next to nothing so will probably go that way. Tubeless is nice, but not something I have to have. We'll see. We'll see.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, 21 mph is very impressive. I average 22+ on some segments but there are enough stops, mergers, and train crossings that my overall average gets dragged down to 18-19 mph.

Bike builds are the worst, just too many options! I initially intended to build the Macho Man as a 1x11, then lost my discount at the bike shop so it looks like the 2x10 makes more sense since I already have all the parts. Gonna use the take off wheels for now but would really like to upgrade to a lighter but stout set in the not too distant future. If my Red bike frame is repairable, I have been thinking of upgrading the wheels to a set of rim brake tubeless wheels. I see Mavic now has a set of Open Pro UST rims that are wider than the old clinchers. I have had nothing but good luck with the old Open Pro's. Have them on two bikes and have racked up a good many miles without issue.

Keep us posted on your build out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This route is all right turns with only one light and it was green! 

I hear you on the bike builds. I'm pretty good at putting all the parts together when they are in front of me but figuring out what you actually need to buy is a pain with all the different standards these days.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I love bike builds. All the research on parts, reading reviews and forums and talking to people about what to buy is fun. The actual build is always a let down compared to the build-up.

z1r - I'm with you on Mavic Open Pro. Hate Mavic hubs, love Mavic rims. My commuter is rolling Mavic Open Pro's laced with DT Swiss spokes and DT Swiss hubs (love DT Swiss hubs). The wheels have over 40K miles on them and are going strong. What's not to like?

I struggle to average 15MPH on my commutes. But if I get more than a mile of flat riding, I am doing good.

OK, the doctor called me last night to check on how I was doing and I prodded him a bit more about riding. The concern is that the procedure was on my head and head wounds bleed. He's worried that the wound will open and get infected. He did say that if I waited until tuesday or wednesday and took things easy, I would probably be OK. YES!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Hate Mavic hubs, love Mavic rims....


Funny you should mention that. I needed to service my freewheel and started to pull it off. Moments after I was thinking I was putting an uncomfortable amount of force on the itty bitty 5mm bolts that hold it all together SNAP! the axle cracked to relieve the hex key pressure. I got it apart and back together with vice grips. When it is all clamped in the bike I think it will be fine. But always suspect from now on. I do have a spare Mavic rear wheel that has a cracked rim. If I can get it apart.



woodway said:


> ...OK, the doctor called me last night to check on how I was doing and I prodded him a bit more about riding. The concern is that the procedure was on my head and head wounds bleed. He's worried that the wound will open and get infected. He did say that if I waited until tuesday or wednesday and took things easy, I would probably be OK. YES!


 YES!

The commute was uneventful, nice day, fast speed, the axle held.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> The commute was uneventful, nice day, fast speed, the axle held.


I have a DT Swiss 240S hub on my commuter. Easiest thing on the planet to service - pop end end cap off (with your fingers if you are strong, I grab it with a channel lock) and all the bits are right there for cleaning/lubing. No hex wrenches needed. No tiny little springs/metal bits to lose/fuss with. No stupid washer to remember to put back inside. No hub body with a composite bearing surface that wears out after a while.

No commute for me today. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow.


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## Guest (Jun 11, 2018)

woodway said:


> OK, the doctor called me last night to check on how I was doing and I prodded him a bit more about riding. The concern is that the procedure was on my head and head wounds bleed. He's worried that the wound will open and get infected. He did say that if I waited until tuesday or wednesday and took things easy, I would probably be OK. YES!


Duct tape and Windex is all you need.


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## formu1fan (Jan 23, 2010)

I had a 38 mile ride this Saturday which was the longest I've been on, and I held a much faster pace than I anticipated. I ride to work today thinking I would be sore but I set my fastest time in. Feeling pretty good for the rest of the week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Forster said:


> Duct tape and Windex is all you need.


Haha, true! Actually a light cycling cap under my helmet did the trick. 39F and clear when I left the house. Took it easy, nice commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> No stupid washer to remember to put back inside.


 Ha Ha, I forgot to put the stupid washer back in it the first time I put it back together. It makes it a fixie.

No commute this AM due to an appointment but I've got the bike for the ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Haha, true! Actually a light cycling cap under my helmet did the trick. 39F and clear when I left the house. Took it easy, nice commute.


Great! Easy does it.

No excitement other than a car accident being cleaned up in front of the diner, cops and towtrucks on scene. Likely due to what I call a "Wayside emergency", the sudden need to get into the popular 100 -year old diner without regard to other cars, bikes, etc. You just learn that certain places on your route are prone to trouble.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good to hear you're ok with cycling woodway. Take it easy and everything will turn out allright.

Way to go Formu1fan!

Z1r, any progress on your build?

I avage a steady 21kmh/13mph on my commutes....and as time progresses I wont get faster either - maybe time to get a faster bike.

No riding for me the last 2 days, back on the bike today. Weather has finally turned back to normal, no more 30C but the usual cloudy 18C with a 15kt wind from the northwest. At least, that made for an easy way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I avage a steady 21kmh/13mph on my commutes....and as time progresses I wont get faster either...


Not with that attitude young man!

It is a lot about the bike. In the winter I top out at about 10MPH. But today it was 19.9MPH taking the long way, 30 miles with about 2000' of climbing with time to snap a shot of the covered bridge.


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2018)

formu1fan said:


> I had a 38 mile ride this Saturday which was the longest I've been on, and I held a much faster pace than I anticipated. I ride to work today thinking I would be sore but I set my fastest time in. Feeling pretty good for the rest of the week.


 Are you sure it was faster than you thought, or did someone checker flag you a lap early? You would think things like, I dunno, counting laps during the Canadian Grand Prix would have some technology back-up. I'm gonna have to use that at work today. "Oops, sorry. I started leaving an hour early and once I changed clothes, the only fair thing to do was leave early."


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Awesome pace for a ride like that bedwards!

formu1fan, yesterday riding in I was "taking it easy" due to my surgery last week...I upload my ride to Strava and - bam! - a couple of PR's. I mean, how does that happen?

Light rain today, took the ride easy but went longer than yesterday. Felt good.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

woodway said:


> ^^^ Awesome pace for a ride like that bedwards!
> 
> formu1fan, yesterday riding in I was "taking it easy" due to my surgery last week...I upload my ride to Strava and - bam! - a couple of PR's. I mean, how does that happen?
> 
> Light rain today, took the ride easy but went longer than yesterday. Felt good.


yeah, I still can't figure that out. Days when you know you're riding slow because of the previous day's hard ride, and Strava totally contradicts you!!!! And then the day's when you feel like you're pushing as hard as you can and you come in four or five minutes slower than you expected.

Well, as long as I actually get to where I intended I feel pretty good!

Cyclingdutchman, no, not yet. I did get my last package of parts today so I can start putting the pieces together. Probably not until the weekend though. I've been riding my road bike lately but hate riding it on wet paths, my Popo gets wet.

I'm hoping that if/when I get my red bike back, I can convert it to a 1x10. I'm just not sure the best way to go about it. I've been running Shimano Road bar end shifters and an MTB rear derailleur. As a 1x10 I really want to run a clutched rear derailleur. But they are not compatible with my current shifter. So, I'm thinking of switching to SRAM. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'll be building the Macho Man as a 2x10 and finally have all the parts. I'll try to take some pics and document the build.

Today was another hot day, it's 22:30 now and still 92F/33C degrees out. Mornings are 60F/15C. I'm fast nearing 2,500 miles YTD. I am hopeful I'll reach my goal of 5K Miles this year.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good luck on the build z1r!

55F and cloudy this morning but dry.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Not with that attitude young man!


Oh oh *blush* Well you are right nobody will get faster by just taking it easy  For that I mostly ride just a bit slower in winter - you seem to be double as fast as in winter? I ride the main bike all year and seldomly snow etc so not much difference there.

I am riding the spare bike at the moment and I am beginning to like it. The main bike is in the shop (basement) waiting for the mechanic (me) to put it back together. New cog on the rear, new bolts for the slide dropouts and a new KMC X1 chain is waiting to be installed. Still debating if I change the front chainring while I am at it. Maybe tomorrow, I am planning a detour on a route that would coincidentally pass by a bikeshop so I just as well might hop in.

Nothing new today here but after I got home tonight it actually rained. RAINED!! for 2 hrs!! Nothing special, just rain, but after so many weeks of dry and sunny weather...and man that smell. Just lovely.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Rain, yeah, we could really use some of that. We've had a few drizzly days but the ground is dust dry. 

But it has made the riding lovely. Shorts and a t-shirt even in the mornings. Another speedy one today.


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2018)

I'd take cooler morning temps. Not complaining about 75F degrees, but it makes getting ready for work tougher without a shower. Probably doesn't help that I carry my stuff in a camelbak.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Fun ride home. It was late, so emptier than usual, and on top of that cars were backed up from the roundabout because of flaggers/giant paving machine/one way traffic only. There was enough room to get to the front though, and I asked the flagger if the sidewalk was open. Yes! That took me as far as the rotary, and past the road work, but even after that is was strangely empty, like they must have held those cars forever. Light sprinkles both ways but nothing that got you really wet. Arounf 55F both ways.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Forster said:


> I'd take cooler morning temps. Not complaining about 75F degrees, but it makes getting ready for work tougher without a shower. Probably doesn't help that I carry my stuff in a camelbak.


I'd take warmer morning temps. Today it was about 50 but I wasn't planning in the light rain so it was cold. Not enough rain to water anything, just enough to get you wet and cold.

MTXB I call that trafficsfaction. I may get some tonight with people coming in for the nice weekend.

I need a rest. I've been doing a lot of extended commutes with some KOM chasing. I've got about 133 miles so far since Monday and my legs are tired. Just in time for the weekend!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow bedwards that an impressive distance just for commuting. Are you taking a rest this weekend or are you riding 2 centuries?

Nice rides here today. Detour on the way home to the lbs and 22C and hardly any wind.


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## pingmonster (Apr 16, 2013)

Well...it was 5c (41F) and the windchill factor was -1.1c (30F) in Aust. Canberra.
Hell, it was raining too.
But there is something about it....riding in cold rainy day....
I must be going crazy....I'm getting out there again...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'll probably get out on the mountain bike to wear out the dogs but otherwise I don't have any biking planned. Maybe some kayaking down a lazy river with an icy cold beverage.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> I need a rest. I've been doing a lot of extended commutes with some KOM chasing. I've got about 133 miles so far since Monday and my legs are tired. Just in time for the weekend!


Lol, same boat I'm in. Dog tired and at 133 miles for the week. Wow, I just realized, we're both at 133! Plan on adding an extra 5 to the ride home to bring me to 150. Hope to get in maybe a 50 mile ride on Sunday. Kinda doubt I'll be motivated to ride tomorrow especially since I have to get an oil change on my truck.

Besides, Sunday the temps are supposed to drop 15-20 degrees.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Well if you have to add 5 miles to get to 150 then both of our "normal" commutes are 12 too. I'm not feeling motivated to add any miles to the ride home...Unless I can start now.  It is 75 degrees with a light breeze blowing generally in the direction of home. I can't wait.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, 12.6 each way. It's been windy all week which has definitely sapped some of my energy.

Yesterday on the way home we got some real light showers. Not enough to soak me but enough to cool me down nicely. I had to get home by a certain time otherwise I'd have take the long way home. Despite being tired it was refreshing, and I wasn't trying to push it hard..

I rode the Cosmic Stallion in today and the fat 38's on it don't roll near as easily as those on my road bike. They are plush but they definitely added to my overall feeling of being tired.

Hope everyone has a safe ride home and a great weekend!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Just saw 86F forecast for Sunday here, might pull out the kayak too!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey pingmonster, you are from down under? Nice to see you here. For winter that weather doesnt even sound bad considered what others sometimes have. Sounds like my kind of winter too.

,^^ for the rest, can some of you read minds ? I was went paddling today with my youngest son. Would have gone camping too but tomorrow we have the annual bikeride across the harbour bridge and autobahn etc and we didnt want to leave that one out  

Enjoy the weekend everyone!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Just saw 86F forecast for Sunday here, might pull out the kayak too!


About 10% of SUV's today had a kayak atop it. Seems like it has become contagious in the 95 F temps of the last few days in Southern Indiana.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Kayaking was achieved. Not much riding over the weekend. I started out with the dogs and one of them got a face full of porcupine quills (again).

My commute was good. My legs were a little more dead than they should be for the weekend off. Temps were cool but supposed to get into the 90s with some strong T-storms this afternoon.

(non commuter related image)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been hot and humid here. Mid 90s in the forecast today with dew points in the 70s. The ride in was 74F. I yelled like crazy at someone today because they pulled out from a stop sign and cut me off. Kind of annoying to have to slam on the brakes to avoid slamming into the side of a minivan first thing in the morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Rainy and windy and generally crappy in Alaska. It's been a bit of a whirlwind week with little riding taking place.

I did get my new Pugsley frame on Friday evening and spent some time Friday and Saturday building it up. I've yet to ride it more than a little bit around the front yard as I worked to dial in the fit.

As always, bits and bobs had to be bought that I wasn't planning on... such as needing a new 32 tooth chain ring as that is the largest the frame will physically fit while maintaining chainline. In the few spins around the yard I'm not sure what I think about it. It definitely is a different geo than the previous version. I need to get it on trail before I make any grand statements, but I do fear that the changes made to make it more touring-specific are going to turn it into a plodder on the trail. We'll see though.

An out of focus and dimmly lit (maybe taken after one too many pints...) shot in progress.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2018)

Rainy. I did learn how to dig my seat cover out of my backpack and install it on the B-17 without stopping or even slowing down. So that was good. I was going to stop, but then I thought "if I stop and get off the seat, it will just get wet while I'm looking for the cover."


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

blockphi said:


> As always, bits and bobs had to be bought that I wasn't planning on...
> 
> View attachment 1204140


Hope it works out for you. I had a similar weekend building the Macho Man. Wish I drank, I could used a few pints!!!!

The bike I was stripping the majority of the parts from only has 1700 miles on it, most of it during winter use. I guess winter use is much harsher than I thought cuz the bottom bracket was trashed! No one had an FSA bottom bracket and I was getting impatient so I ended up buying a new Ultegra Crankset. The frame is bigger than I anticipated and since I haven't been able to ride it yet, I'm not certain it will work out. I also found out that I needed a shorter stem than I had so I had to buy one. Went from a 120 to a 90 and it does greatly improve the feel. I'm hoping to get the cabling sorted out and the chain and drivetrain by Wednesday so I can ride it to see if it is going to work out or not. I'd hate to have spent so much time and effort, not to mention money, only to find out it is too big. Well, I can probably get a fair amount for a complete bike vs just the frame. If I do let it go, I'll swap the Ultegra Crank out for the Apex on my road bike. Then the MMD will have a complete SRAM drivetrain.

Ride in started out great, half a mile into the ride it started misting, each successive mile it seemed to start misting harder. I had hoped to have put in about 20 miles this morning since I left an hour earlier than usual. but by the time I got to the turn off to work, I was soaked and I hadn't bagged my work clothes in a plastic bag so I stopped short. Still, it was nice, about 6 degrees and misty to light drizzle.

More rain is forecast for the ride home.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Forster said:


> Rainy. I did learn how to dig my seat cover out of my backpack and install it on the B-17 without stopping or even slowing down. So that was good. I was going to stop, but then I thought "if I stop and get off the seat, it will just get wet while I'm looking for the cover."


Good skill to have, I would have wrecked and the seat would have gotten bloodied.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> As always, bits and bobs had to be bought that I wasn't planning on...





z1r said:


> Hope it works out for you. I had a similar weekend building the Macho Man.


Which is why I don't like bike builds. Too many picky little details. At least the parts are only 2 days away. (maybe not for blockphi up in AK)

Speaking of that, did you get your pugs covered under warranty?


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Kayaking was achieved. Not much riding over the weekend. I started out with the dogs and one of them got a face full of porcupine quills (again).
> 
> My commute was good. My legs were a little more dead than they should be for the weekend off. Temps were cool but supposed to get into the 90s with some strong T-storms this afternoon.
> 
> (non commuter related image)


Looks like a fun weekend. Certainly better than the one I spent wrenching on the MMD!

My legs felt better after the weekend off but it didn't matter much due to the rain this morning. I'm scairt to go fast when its wet! I had a particularly hard fall a few years ago in the rain. Sure miss my fenders, don't think my shorts are gonna dry by the time I go home. I hate putting on wet shorts!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

That sure looks like good times bedwards. 

I was paddling saturday but the weather wasnt that nice, it even rained lightly at the end...

Yesterday we had the annual cyclist tour across the harbour bridge. #1 rode himself and set a new record: 24km/16m on the 20" mtb with studded tires. In the group of approx. 6000 people we kept him at the right curb with my wife behind him and me next to him to shield him off from the biggest idiots on fixies zipping through. Have seen only a few kids and they all did great. We left the tour after 20km to make it not too long for him. That was a good idea, the legs seemed to be great but he started to complain that the saddle contact points started to hurt.

Nice rides today. Back on the main bike already and always nice to feel the difference between 622-41 and 559-46 tires. And I admit I seem to like the flatbar with the ergon grips and large barends on the spare bike...hopefully I wont turn into a barswapper like newf...

Blockphi, like that colour! Orange looks good in the snow, makes great pictures


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No biking, bike building or kayaking for me this weekend. Instead, I went hiking with friends.

To here:








and here:








Mellow commute today. 55F and clear. Stitches from my surgery come out tomorrow. I cannot wait.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Beautiful Woodway!

Good rides today, mostly because I dodged the thunderstorms and damage like this Wind damages Waitsfield barn. I was 100% dry except for the muggy heat.

Here's a scary road hazard today between Bedwards and I, over in New Hampshire: 3 cars pulled from New Hampshire sinkhole


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, those storms were pretty intense. I was looking at the live lightning site and there were about 1000 strikes/hour and it was headed toward me. So I hitched a ride home with my officemate. It turns out that the lightning petered out before it hit Maine but I was glad to have a ride anyway.

Good commute today! The weather is beautiful.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

3 Pics of last Sunday:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nUHqGwLMdDznU4Vt8

and 1 vid:





Woodway that looks like a great hike! And good luck getting those stitches out.

Good thing to take a ride home bedwards. I once rode in a thunderstorm and at one point, the light from the lightning strikes was coming horizontally throught the trees in front of me. Decided to never do that again.

Normal commute today. Picked up my son from school and on the way home, we took a spin around the skating parcours. Good times


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice pics and vid Dutchman! I love seeing your little ones bike all decked out for commuting.

You guys can have your Thunderstorms. We rarely get them here.

Stitches came out fine, head is healing nicely, best part is I don't have to wear a bandage and skullcap under my helmet anymore.

67F/19.5C at 5:00am this morning when I left for the office! Wow, short sleeves into work. Supposed to be over 90F/32C for the ride home.


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## Guest (Jun 20, 2018)

Woodway, are you using a MIPS helmet?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks Woodway. #1's bike is basically a 20" MTB with a light rear rack and clip-on fenders that did not fit, but I made them fit. My son also wants to have a dropbar (just because I have one...) and I would love to fit my old On One Midge on it, but I guess that STIs for kids with MTB cable pull (because of the V Brakes) are simply not on the market. But after Sunday it looks like he is going to be seriously with biking, so instead of a used bike the next sizes will probably be new and with better parts on it, like a Frog bike or something. It'll be worth it.

Lovely day today. 15C and sunny this morning, 26C on the way home. On the way home I managed to keep up with a guy in lycra kit on a road bike. Between him and me there was a lady in normal clothing on a simple citybike with a Shimano Nexus 7sp IGH. And she kept up with us like a pro! :thumbsup:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Which is why I don't like bike builds. Too many picky little details. At least the parts are only 2 days away. (maybe not for blockphi up in AK)
> 
> Speaking of that, did you get your pugs covered under warranty?


Yup, they covered it under warranty, and provided both the frame and new fork. So color me impressed. More than I expected out of the deal.

I've only gotten two rides on it thus far and at first I was really worried that the new geo wouldn't work and it felt really squished for me. Now, though, I think it'll be good.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Yup, they covered it under warranty, and provided both the frame and new fork. So color me impressed. More than I expected out of the deal.
> 
> I've only gotten two rides on it thus far and at first I was really worried that the new geo wouldn't work and it felt really squished for me. Now, though, I think it'll be good.
> 
> ...


Good for you!

I'm still coming up one part short every time I think I have everything I need. Last night it was 4 ft of Derailleur housing. The kit I had didn't have enough cuz the MMD uses a full length cable, not the usual several short sections. Had to run at lunch and buy some. Fingers crossed that I finally have the last bits. Oh, and that it will fit me, lol.

Haven't heard back yet on my old frame. I'm super impressed with how fast yours was replace. Gotta remember that mine was made by a small builder though.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice looking ride blockphi.

Forster, I ride with a Fox helmet that I have had for years. Probably time for an upgrade.

Your son is going to develop the "n+1" disease if you are not careful dutchman.

Warm again this morning, 62F/16.6C. Ride in shirtsleeves. Easy commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Yup, they covered it under warranty, and provided both the frame and new fork. So color me impressed. More than I expected out of the deal.
> 
> I've only gotten two rides on it thus far and at first I was really worried that the new geo wouldn't work and it felt really squished for me. Now, though, I think it'll be good.


I used to hate the geo of my old pugs. Somehow it was worse on my back than any other bike. I added a suspension seat post to take some of the shock out. My new Fatboy doesn't have that problem at all.

Great longest day of the year commute! Speaking of that, blockphi, you must have some pretty long daylight hours. At this point it is still a little light until 9:00PM here and the birds start singing for the day at about 4:15AM.


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## Guest (Jun 21, 2018)

woodway said:


> Nice looking ride blockphi.
> 
> Forster, I ride with a Fox helmet that I have had for years. Probably time for an upgrade.


 I'm currently on the 5 year plan for the gravel bike and 1 crash plan for the fat bike. Both current helmets are MIPS and I don't profess to know a lot about the real or perceived advantages, but I like my head so I try to put a good quality helmet on it. Still have my padded leather helmet somewhere. I should probably donate that to a bike shop for their display.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> Great longest day of the year commute! Speaking of that, blockphi, you must have some pretty long daylight hours. At this point it is still a little light until 9:00PM here and the birds start singing for the day at about 4:15AM.


Yup. Lot's o light. Woke up at 4:00 this morning and it was light. I'll go to bed tonight at 9 or 10 and it'll look like noon.

SUN RISE SET
Actual Time 4:13 AM 11:46 PM
Civil Twilight - -
Nautical Twilight - -
Astronomical Twilight - -
Length of Visible Light 24 h 0 m
Length of Day 19 h 32 m
Tomorrow will be 0 minutes 8 seconds shorter



> I'm still coming up one part short every time I think I have everything I need. Last night it was 4 ft of Derailleur housing. The kit I had didn't have enough cuz the MMD uses a full length cable, not the usual several short sections. Had to run at lunch and buy some. Fingers crossed that I finally have the last bits. Oh, and that it will fit me, lol.


Hate that, too. I don't know how many trips I made to the bike shop to get all the small parts that I ended up needing - new headset bearings, cable housing... arg.

Got it out last night for a nice ride with the SprocKidz. I'm hoping my poor riding last night is due to my sore legs (Went on my first run since August of last year when I hurt my knee - being the moron I am it was down a mountain. Can you say blown out quads? I can. Four days later I can just start walking properly again).

It is nice for climbing the steep stuff - that long wheelbase gives a lot of low speed stability - though there is some body-English needed to keep enough weight on both the front and rear to prevent slipping.

I had Monkey Nuts on my past Pugs which pushed the wheel back 14mm - so I am shorter in the overall wheelbase with the new Pugs with their 12mm lengthening of the chainstays. Not that I can tell in any real way.

A good commute today. First one in two weeks. Calm and 58, though overcast so it does feel cooler. Also had a shot of light rain when I got to town.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice to hear that you are getting used to your new ride blockphi.

I am afraid so Woodway. If both he and his brother get the n+1 disease, I will have to rent an extra garage later. THe basement is already full with kids bikes: 14", 16" and 20" are in stock, another 12" and 20" are in use. In addition a 12" and 14" stryder bike in the garage, another 14" stryder bike with suspension in use. Also in use, 2 28" bikes for me and my wife, another 26" folder in the basement and a 3rd old 28" bike to park in town when necessary - the touring bikes are too expensive to park at the subway every day.

Very different weather today. 15C and serious rain this morning. Rode in fully rainkit for the first time in months. During the day some rainshowers passed through with gusts strong enough to blow over some trees in town. 16C and dry on the way home, but a steady 20kt wind with occasional 30kt gusts, so had to be a bit careful when it was coming from the side.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Our Sunrise was 5:10 am, sunset at 9:10 PM for a cool 16 hours today. Cloudy today but otherwise a good way to start the summer off.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A new granite carving for the Granite Museum on my commute. I saw it being lowered into place by crane a few weeks ago. Barre VT, grantie capital of the world:
Apologies for the sideways thing, something was lost in translation.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Rock on! :band:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Rock on! :band:


:lol:

That used to be a real profession....probably replaced with 3D printing now.

Woodway, is your head doing better without the stitches by now?

Again it was raining this morning and had to ride with the full hardshell kit on. It got windy during the day, still made my detour to the cheesemarket. When leaving the plant I had to ride between 2 buildings against the wind, and I actually came to a complete halt and had to dismount, walk the bike beyond the building, then hop on to continue again. For the rest, the wind came diagonally from behind most of the time - not bad with 20kt sustained winds and gusts upto 35!

Rode 5 of 5 working days this week.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Cyclingdutchman, yesterday's ride home was windy but not as bad as yours! It's starting to thunder and lightning here. Hope it blows over before I start my ride home. Hail is the biggest worry here, it can get big!

I had to run out at lunch yesterday for some more Derailleur housing and just made it back to work before the rain started. I hope to be riding the Macho Man to work on Monday! Wish me luck.

Have a super weekend all!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> :lol:
> 
> That used to be a real profession....probably replaced with 3D printing now.


Yes, here is a pic of the 3D printer with the work in progress: His name is Chris Miller.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Had to pick up a big box from the post office and take most of its contents over to the bike shop. Excited. New wheels should be ready in a week or so. KramPug coming up. Of course I'll have to give a go commuting on it a few times - you know, just to really put it through the paces.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cool pics MTBX.

Dutchman, head is doing great - just a scar up there now!

I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina on a business trip. It's 99F/37.2C outside right now and weather underground is telling me that it "feels like" 113F/45C (and it does). How do people live in this kind of weather? Color me a Seattle wimp


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Managed to get the Macho Man all put together over the weekend. Rode it in this morning and it was surprisingly fast.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

z1r said:


> Managed to get the Macho Man all put together over the weekend. Rode it in this morning and it was surprisingly fast.
> 
> View attachment 1205074


Nice looking bike there. Well done.

Good ride in for me this AM. A bit chilly feeling at 53F with high humidity and overcast.

Been riding the new Pugs over the weekend and am getting more comfortable on it. I'm quite excited for the new wheels. I'm already planning first rides on them and I'm strongly thinking a couple of gravel routes I've wanted to do for some time - both with high mountain passes and chunky gravel - I have a feeling that there may be a set of mountain drops in my future - A poor-man's Fargo? Maybe. Maybe.

I got a bit crafty over the weekend with the road bike. I've been really unhappy with my rack and how I have to mount it. The bike is clearly not designed to use a rack, so I'm using the fender mounts and then zip-tying the rack to the seat stays at the top. Ugly and reduces the efficacy of the rear brake as the cable gets kinked.

So... and I have to get pictures of this... I took the old brake calipers from the bike, took them apart and used the shorter one to attach to the fender eyelet and then mount the rack to those, which pushes it back and down a bit. Then using some pipe hangers I mounted the rack braces to the seat stays, as they should be. It probably looks a bit ghetto, but: 
A) I'm able to use my normal rack which is beefier than what I was using
B) the rack is closer to the tire, so better balance
C) the rack doesn't move as much as it did with zip ties
D) no worry of heel strike now.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice bike Z1R!

Blockphi, isnt that Pug getting too long when you put a dropbar on it? And for your roadbike, I know that there are racks that you can attach on the rear wheel skewer. Maybe that would even be possible with your current rack? But good that you got it working now!

Woodway, good to hear that you healed up. No need anymore to hold yourself back on the bike?

Nice rides today, nothing special. Expecting another warm, dry and sunny period starting tomorrow :thumbsup: Time to get out shorts and sandals again!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice looking bike z1r. I especially LOVE the bar tape you used. Unusual but appropriate. Well done.

Pics, blockphi, pics. 

No holding back Dutchman!

53F and rain this morning. Uggh, it was not supposed to rain and it was dry at home when I left but started to rain hard about halfway in to the office and I had no rain gear. What can you do but suck it up and get wet. I'm not made of sugar after all...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Blockphi, isnt that Pug getting too long when you put a dropbar on it? And for your roadbike, I know that there are racks that you can attach on the rear wheel skewer. Maybe that would even be possible with your current rack? But good that you got it working now!


I think with the stubby stem and the fact that is it a bit small of a frame for me that the drops would work pretty well, but I won't know for sure until I try.

As for the rack... yeah. I know there are options out there. I'm just a cheap fool who is a bit too wedded to repurposing and reusing what I have whenever I can. That, and I'm going to have to buy a new rack for the Pugs for this winter and trying to sell the wife on two new racks in a year? Not likely. She doesn't understand how I can spend hundreds of dollars a year on maintenance items as it is. Chain? Didn't you just buy a new chain? Yeah, but that was 1700 miles ago.... 

Besides, how could I do this with a new rack?

















A good ride this AM. A bit chilly and damp again, but sunny in town, so I'm not complaining.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My co-worker knocked over my bike yesterday and snapped my derailleur hanger. Luckily, my main commuter is a singlespeed, and I could make it home without the tensioner being attached, although the chain was kind of saggy. No biggie. Riding in on the geared bike this morning was interesting. I should mix it up more often, as each bike offers a different exercise experience.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Thanks all. Yeah, the bar tape, well, it was on sale! And, I kinda like it. Rode it in again today and it is nice and cool this morning in the 60's but tonight it is projected to be in the high 90's. We're supposed to hit 100 on Thursday.

Tomorrow is bike to work day. Gonna have my 13 year old ride in with me. He likes to sample the free food the sponsors give out along the way. Mom will pick him up after he has his cappuccino with me.

Three years ago, June 24, 2015, we rode to work together and it was great.








Luckily I had his mom pick him up instead of letting him stay with me for the day and riding home together. This was my ride home, all you could see of my bike at one point was the seat and handle bars!
















We got lots of rain that year, unlike this year. So much so that even the Turtles were crawling up out of the river onto the path to sun themselves.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

s0ckeyeus said:


> My co-worker knocked over my bike yesterday and snapped my derailleur hanger. Luckily, my main commuter is a singlespeed, and I could make it home without the tensioner being attached, although the chain was kind of saggy. No biggie. Riding in on the geared bike this morning was interesting. I should mix it up more often, as each bike offers a different exercise experience.


That's a bummer. Is the hanger replaceable?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

z1r said:


> That's a bummer. Is the hanger replaceable?


Yeah, fortunately. I wasn't sure at first because the bike a '92 Cannondale. I was even able to find a "like new" hanger on Amazon, which was actually pretty cheap. My co-worker insisted on paying for it, so the least I could do is get the least expensive one possible.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

That's cool. Glad to hear you'll be up and running soon. 

I rarely ride my single speed to work any more. Geared too tall to climb the hill to my house but still too low to ride to work without a ridiculously high cadence. that bike in the pics I just posted was a single speed. Cheap but I really miss it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

z1r said:


> Thanks all. Yeah, the bar tape, well, it was on sale! And, I kinda like it. Rode it in again today and it is nice and cool this morning in the 60's but tonight it is projected to be in the high 90's. We're supposed to hit 100 on Thursday.
> 
> Tomorrow is bike to work day. Gonna have my 13 year old ride in with me. He likes to sample the free food the sponsors give out along the way. Mom will pick him up after he has his cappuccino with me.
> 
> ...


Safe travels tomorrow with your son!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Bike to work day! My youngest rode in with me again. He stopped at every breakfast station and sampled the goods. Breakfast burritos, bacon, watermelon, and pastries. We finished it off with Cappuccinos. Third year in a row. He wants mom to ride in with us next year!!!! Yay!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Just barely beat the rain this morning. It's been rainy off and on all week, but somehow I've avoided everything but some spitting rain. Yesterday, we had severe storms that may have stirred up tornadoes in the area, but the rain stopped minutes before I was set to head out the door. Hopefully my streak continues.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm kicking myself as I was going to ride in, then remembered that I'd have to pick up my daughter after work. Got dressed and went to let her know I'd pick her up and was informed my wife would pick her up... so, what to do? I could have gotten redressed and biked, but... something from my lazy side spoke up and I ended up driving. Which stinks as the weather is supposed to turn to crap for the next four days. Moreover, right now it is 60F and beautiful out. Sunny, light breeze. Perfect Alaska morning.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

blockphi, the powers to be determined you needed a rest day. Don't fight it!

It was in the upper 60's this morning but by 8 when the wife picked my son up, it was starting to get hot! Supposed to hit 97 today, and 100 tomorrow!!! I moved to Colorado to avoid the heat I grew up with in Texas. The sun is so much more intense here that temps in the 90's become brutal!

s0ckeyeus, that was last week here. Dodged the rain all week. this week, I'm thinking some rain would be nice! Better start looking for fenders for the new commuter!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:thumbsup: for you z1r! I hope my sons still ride with me when they get into that age.

No rides for me today. Had some appointments and did some homeoffice in between....


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this AM. Was looking like it was going to be a crap day, but it's now nice and sunny here at my office. Getting ready to hop on the bike again and head over to the client site, so looking forward to the sun on my shoulders as I do that.

Got a nice surprise yesterday afternoon: My new wheel build was completed. So, got the wheels and got them set up in time for last night's SprocKidz session.

Talk about fun! I have a bit of adjusting to do to get used to the even bigger circumfrence and there are a couple of the old trails in the network that were built with super tight switchbacks that were barely navigable back when 26ers were the thing that should be interesting, but the bike definitely is even more of a blast to ride. Of course, not quite as much pneumatic suspension as with full fat - my back is feeling that this morning. Need to work on keeping my arms and legs even more loose than before.

Good times.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Blockphi, that bike looks really good! Still a lot of adjustments to make or is it already dialed in?

Noticed my rear rack had a loose strut yesterday. Turns out all 4 rack bolts, both fender mount bolts and 2 of 4 dropout bolts were loose! Checked all other bolts as well and everything is tightened again now.

Summer here again..today is 27C and it is expected to.stay like that for at least a week. Made a detour on the way home which made for a 31km/22m day.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Blockphi, that bike looks really good! Still a lot of adjustments to make or is it already dialed in?


About 96% dialed. I want to play with stem/handlebar height for a bit yet so I can call it good and cut the tube down a bit. I think the saddle position is about right...when the seatpost stays where I put it. I may need to get a bit beefier collar to support my fat behind as it keeps sliding down just a bit. The rest is just little maintenance things - brake pads, switching over to tubeless, etc.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Good; better than yesterday, as I forced myself to get a little more rest last night. 

I appreciate how riding every day keeps me honest about how much sleep and how much beer I am drinking. Yesterday was kind of rough at first, since I hadn't been sleeping enough, and had one too many beers the night before. I found the energy for an after work mtb ride yesterday after commuting, but I was headed towards burning the candle at both ends.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Blockphi, that bike looks really good! Still a lot of adjustments to make or is it already dialed in?
> 
> Noticed my rear rack had a loose strut yesterday. Turns out all 4 rack bolts, both fender mount bolts and 2 of 4 dropout bolts were loose! Checked all other bolts as well and everything is tightened again now.


Good thing it didn't come off.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Summer here again..today is 27C and it is expected to.stay like that for at least a week. Made a detour on the way home which made for a 31km/22m day.


Lucky you, it was 38C here yesterday it is supposed to hit 39C today. No long rides home for me today! Es ist viel zu heiß!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I once regreased my.seatpost and tightened it with exactly the same force as before. When I sat on it, it suddenly slit down all the way into the seattube. Quite a surprise there. Only thing that helped was cleaning it off again...at 6am.

I am not sure if I would ride at all z1r. Those temps are so seldom here that we are not used to those temps at all.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Skeggs1993 - keep at it, will get easier!

blockphi - good, classic looking Surly. Well done.

Cloudy but dry here. 53F headed into the office, 68F headed home.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, getting enough rest is important. I really feel it during the Summer when I don't have to drive the kids to school. So, I can ride to work 5 days a week. But by Saturday, I'm feeling kinda wiped out, more so if I miss some sleep during the week.

Today's ride home was FUN, the temp hit 105F today, 40.5C. Hope it cools off by the weekend as my oldest boy said he wanted to ride with me. If it's anywhere near as hot as it was today, no way is gonna want to ride.

Yeah, Blockphi's bike is good looking, the color sorta reminds me of my MMD.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Poured on the way in yesterday, but a good ride anyhow. One puddle sent water over the tops of my hitops, despite the full fenders. With the exception of socks and gloves, I got everything dried out for the ride home, with the help of a mini fan in my cubbie where I can hang a few things. For the shoes I used newspaper and then a small set of electric shoe dryers - a nice luxury that was only about $10 at SIerra Trading Post.

Wednesday night I rode sweep on our weekly no drop group rides. Boy there were a lot of mechanicals. One guy's chain was overshooting the large cog, one woman's headset had loosened up (she thought the noise was the fork falling apart), and one guy's quick release came loose and he was trying to just close the lever without snugging up the other side, and someone had a bent rotor. Not that everything was fixed trailside, but hopefully they learned a little more about their bikes and the value of bike maintenance.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Yeah, it rained several inches here yesterday mostly in just a few hours. I actually decided to drive the truck. And WOW mechanical on that group ride. It is always surprising how little people know about their bikes. They are generally pretty simple machines. But I have to remember how much time I have spent tinkering on them. 


z1r said:


> Bike to work day! My youngest rode in with me again. He stopped at every breakfast station and sampled the goods. Breakfast burritos, bacon, watermelon, and pastries. We finished it off with Cappuccinos. Third year in a row. He wants mom to ride in with us next year!!!! Yay!
> 
> View attachment 1205439


Wow food! Good pic of you 2. It looks like you've got about 22 Watts of wind resistance growing on your face. 



blockphi said:


> About 96% dialed. I want to play with stem/handlebar height for a bit yet so I can call it good and cut the tube down a bit. I think the saddle position is about right...when the seatpost stays where I put it. I may need to get a bit beefier collar to support my fat behind as it keeps sliding down just a bit. The rest is just little maintenance things - brake pads, switching over to tubeless, etc.


Some carbon paste should do the trick.

Wednesday I turned in my fastest average speed to work ever. 25MPH for 12 miles. A few years ago I would have told you that was impossible. Riding the TT bike helped . Today was crazy foggy to start. The early morning sun hit all that water from yesterday's rain and boom. A mile down the road away from the lake it was bright and sunny. This was just before it cleared.






​


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

60F and cloudy this morning. Dry, easy ride.

25MPH for 12 miles is impressive bedwards. Very impressive. I like the 3 feet sign. Wish there were some of those around here.

z1r - 105? Holy smokes. It reminds me of when I was in college in Arizona (Arizona State in Tempe). I lived off-campus and did not own a car. Rode my bike everywhere in all temperatures. Never through twice about it. What was I thinking?

mtbx - I know the soaking feeling. I hand my clothes in our server room. The airconditioning in there dries things out nicely.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> 25MPH for 12 miles is impressive bedwards. Very impressive. I like the 3 feet sign. Wish there were some of those around here.


 I've been working on my power to weight ratio from both directions. I do miss the cookies and donuts with coffee but I haven't touched them for a month. But DAMN the weight comes off slow. It bounces a lot but I'm probably only down 3lbs. It it's not on Strava it didn't happen. https://www.strava.com/activities/1665324309


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good thing that at least you know something about bikes MTBX! Those people otherwise all would have been lost in the woods ;o))

indeed very impressive speed bedwards. Time for me to buy a TT bike I guess...

And nice that you guys all have space for wet clothing...I only have my own cupboard of which I leave a door open if necessary. If the clothes are really soaked, it is usually not completely dry when I leave :-/ But at least it has warmed up by the time I go outside. 

But wet clothes are not an issue at the moment. Rode in sandals, shorts and shortsleeves today. 15C this morning, 28 on the way home. Rode 4 of 5 working days, but all in all the total distance of 4,5 commutes.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## Guest (Jun 29, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've been working on my power to weight ratio from both directions. I do miss the cookies and donuts with coffee but I haven't touched them for a month. But DAMN the weight comes off slow. It bounces a lot but I'm probably only down 3lbs. It it's not on Strava it didn't happen. https://www.strava.com/activities/1665324309


 I'm stuck on a weight at the moment too. I think my biggest current issue is the replacement of my beer intake with tequila and scotch. If I could cut out the alcohol I'd probably move forward.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Thanks for the moral support :thumbsup:

I know today is a good one because I got to wear shorts on my commute.

I stopped myself from going on an after work mtb ride last night because my knees didn't seem quite ready for 5 days commuting + 4 days mtb in the same week yet, at least not with 2 back 2 back commute+mtb days (even after I spent some time with the foam roller). Maybe tonight!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Weight! Yeah, I'm down to 205 but it comes off slowly. I'm kinda stuck at that weight. Commuting five days a week has helped but I can't seem to get past it. Eating less only makes me feel out of energy. My power to weight ratio can't be good. I'm not really fat but sure as heck ain't lean either.

Average today was 18.9 mph. I finally dropped the guy who was drafting off me. On a couple of my longer segments the average was close to 22 mph. But 25?? Dang bedwards, that's impressive. I may have to shave!!!

Yeah, 105 was an all time high for the area. Growing up in Texas I'd run 4 to 5 miles at lunch when the temps were north of 100 without a second thought. But you get used to the cooler temps here and getting old doesn't help!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow Bedwards, 25 mph, congrats! I love to know you could ride to my work and back in the same time it takes me to get there. :crazy::lol:I am steady but not speedy.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Yesterday I met up with my wife, by surprise pushing the kids up our hill in the double stroller, and rode my bike as slowly as possible to stay with them. It was almost like a track stand, and was pretty fun. 

I've been shooting for an "active rest" pace yesterday and today during my commute, so that I have a chance to recover after 3 straight days of mountain biking. I read in a training thread that some people have had luck with a schedule where they don't bike more than 3 days in a row, but I am going to interpret that as not biking hard more than 3 days in a row, since I do fine with biking a bit everyday, and just want to add more mountain biking days on top of that.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Skeggs that sounds nice. How old are your kids? Mine are 7 and 3 and both riding a bike already, although #2 still likes the strider bike as well.

Not much to say about the commutes. 12C in the morning, 24-27C in the afternoon, little wind and sunny. Commuter's paradise.

I almost rode over a mouse yesterday. Saw it coming but couldnt avoid it, just did not feel anything go under the rear wheel so must have missed the little fella. 

And I had to do some unplanned maintenance this evening. My wife's bike make horrible noises while braking, turns out the front brakepads were worn to the metal. Put on new Koolstop pads. Made new connectors on the cable connecting to the taillight, they kept falling off - not a big deal now that sunlight here is from 5-22 but I want it to work anyway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I just replaced the pads on my wife's bike the other day too. Not worn to metal but worn well past the grooves. She doesn't pay attention to much like that. I have to ride her bike up and down the road every once in a while to see if anything is loose.  


Forster said:


> I'm stuck on a weight at the moment too. I think my biggest current issue is the replacement of my beer intake with tequila and scotch. If I could cut out the alcohol I'd probably move forward.


HaHa, I haven't checked in here in a while. I said I gave up cookies but the alcohol is probably slowing my progress. Tequila and whiskey are yummy. As are vodka, gin and rum. One thing at a time.



z1r said:


> Weight! Yeah, I'm down to 205 but it comes off slowly. I'm kinda stuck at that weight. Commuting five days a week has helped but I can't seem to get past it. Eating less only makes me feel out of energy. My power to weight ratio can't be good. I'm not really fat but sure as heck ain't lean either.
> 
> Average today was 18.9 mph. I finally dropped the guy who was drafting off me. On a couple of my longer segments the average was close to 22 mph. But 25?? Dang bedwards, that's impressive. I may have to shave!!!
> 
> Yeah, 105 was an all time high for the area. Growing up in Texas I'd run 4 to 5 miles at lunch when the temps were north of 100 without a second thought. But you get used to the cooler temps here and getting old doesn't help!


If you shave you can't blame it on the beard anymore. I give credit to the time trial bike. It makes a huge difference. I bought a used one from a friend to try it out. It's fast but I don't enjoy riding it as much as a regular bike. 


Skeggs1993 said:


> I've been shooting for an "active rest" pace yesterday and today during my commute, so that I have a chance to recover after 3 straight days of mountain biking. I read in a training thread that some people have had luck with a schedule where they don't bike more than 3 days in a row, but I am going to interpret that as not biking hard more than 3 days in a row, since I do fine with biking a bit everyday, and just want to add more mountain biking days on top of that.


Active rest works. I read a tip to use a heartrate monitor and try to keep your heart-rate during the ride below some threshold. I usually shoot for below 130BPM which is hard if you have to climb any hills.

90F and humid around here these last few days.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Skeggs that sounds nice. How old are your kids? Mine are 7 and 3 and both riding a bike already, although #2 still likes the strider bike as well.
> 
> ... not a big deal now that sunlight here is from 5-22 but I want it to work anyway.


2: walking around on strider, 5: ripping around on 12", but moving on to 16" wheels soon 

light at 22! I was chasing the end of it at 20:45 last night.

bedwards: thanks for the heart monitor tip


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Skeggs,
Another tip from bedwards :https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/
I Am at about the same height as the hudson bay southern shore and we are just short of 17 hrs of daylight currently.
Your kids have a perfect age to learn that riding a bike is fun. Make sure to ride around a lot to the playground, how to ride down a step etc and get a lot of icecream during a ride 

Surprise this morning. 12c and sunny as usual but when I left my street it turned out to be foggy. Sun disappeared and 12C was quite fresh suddenly. Sunglasses got fogged too and took them off. It got better to the end and I had the usual 25C on the way home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Not too bad. Wasn't going to come to town, but then decided I should so took a later bus than normal which worked out well. Got into town and about a quarter of the way to work when I flatted out. Wouldn't have been a big deal, but on Sunday night, the last time I had ridden the road bike, I got two flats within five miles of each other. Then one again today... I just don't know what's going on. They are pinch flats, but I was sure I'd been running enough pressure. Frustrating.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Blockphi, are those flats in the same area? You might have something sticking in the tire that is only peeking through when the tire has contact to the ground. I had something similar once with a flat where the patch was punctured. Or do you mean snakebites?

16C already this morning. Forecast didnt hold, it remained cloudy and we got "only" 21C today. Bit so far we are spoiled, normally june, july and august are the months with the most rain of the year but by now we are closer to a drought. First news of water shortage are popping up which is unusual here, but it is like it is. Luckily I am not impacted yet but I also do hope that we will have some more rain in the near future. But so far it looks like at least one more week of sunny and dry weather.....

And it is quiet here... Everybody in alc coma because of 4th of july? :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I think everybody is sluggish from the heat.







I didn't have too much excessive intake over the 4th. I am moving a little slow because of the mid-week holiday, late bedtime and normal work arrival. It's about 94F here right now.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Blockphi, are those flats in the same area? You might have something sticking in the tire that is only peeking through when the tire has contact to the ground. I had something similar once with a flat where the patch was punctured. Or do you mean snakebites?


Yeah, snakebites. However, I think there may be something with the rim causing it to happen as they seem to happen in the same spot - just by the valve, which also happens to be where I have a spoke that keeps coming loose. I'm thinking maybe there's a bit of flex going on there that's causing these flats. I think I'll take a chance at replacing some spokes this weekend to see if I can fix the issue - the two spokes in question have bad nipples, so...

Bed, get this - We hit 78F at my place yesterday. Alaskans are melting to puddles left and right.


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2018)

blockphi said:


> Not too bad. Wasn't going to come to town, but then decided I should so took a later bus than normal which worked out well. Got into town and about a quarter of the way to work when I flatted out. Wouldn't have been a big deal, but on Sunday night, the last time I had ridden the road bike, I got two flats within five miles of each other. Then one again today... I just don't know what's going on. They are pinch flats, but I was sure I'd been running enough pressure. Frustrating.


Have you checked your rim tape? I've seen a lot of "pinch flats" that were caused by burrs in the spoke holes that weren't covered by rim tape. I've always had great luck with two layers of Stans tape or Duct tape.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Bed, get this - We hit 78F at my place yesterday. Alaskans are melting to puddles left and right.


Wow, I guess.

Weird on the pinch flats. If a rim were moving enough to make snake bites I'd be worried. Bad nipples, I once knew a... nevermind.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I just confirmed that the most recent flat occurred on the opposite side of the rim from my bad nipples... so I guess there goes that theory. I guess my thumb gauge just needs readjusting... or the universe is telling me I should give commuting on the Pugs with the new wheels a go. Yeah, that's gotta be what it is.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Or the universe is telling you to buy a cheap floor pump with an accurate gauge and pump those babies up to 110PSI. I used to get pinch flats a lot more often when I didn't have a high pressure gauge. Now almost all of my flats are earned with road debris.

I really like this pump. I have had others and the pump head always wears out. I've had one of these for years and it still seals great. 
https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/nashbar-earl-grey-floor-pump-bn-egfp-base
If it does wear out you can get a new one for $7
https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/nashbar-earl-grey-pump-hose-bn-egfph-base


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's still super hot here. Yesterday, I went to a bike park since I was off work. It was 95F with a heat index of 109F. The good news is, I ride in the heat just about every day, so I'm used to it. Definitely a little more sluggish than normal though.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Was nice and cool this morning but humid. High today of 86F and it is supposed to rain on my way home. I won't complain though since it may help to wake me up. Did a family Bar-B-Que yesterday and spent most of the afternoon grilling in the hot sun. I woke up super tired this morning.

It didn't help that I spent the majority of my ride to work trying to catch up to the flashing light I saw in the distance ahead of me. I did finally but only as a result of a red light on a detour. That guy was FAST. Set a record this a.m. of 39:38 on my MMD which isn't a light bike! Avg speed of 19.1 mph! not bad for a 25+lb bike with 700x35 tires.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hot ride (well, for here), 94F when I got out of work but I waited another hour or so and it dropped to 90. I rode the whole way home as I didn't want to leave my car with 2 kayaks on it at my usual park-n-pedal. So that meant an extra 3.5 miles and 1000' up. I just took it slow, wet my head a couple times, and drank plenty of water. I hadn't done that hill in a while so I decided to go light with just my phone and wallet, no backpack loaded with stuff. It was nice to ride that way for a change.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I have a Park Tool floor pump and really like it. They sell inexpensive rebuild kits for it which is nice as the o-rings/seals on any pump will eventually wear out (although I have had mine for four years and it's going strong).

https://www.parktool.com/product/home-mechanic-floor-pump-pfp-8?category=Pumps

Some hot rides being reported out there. It's only been in the mid-eighties here. I'm off work this week so no bike commutes for me. But I have been out on my mountain bike a couple of times:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. 57F and sunny. Since it's Friday I decided to do a fatbike Friday commute. Though, I suppose really it's a plus-size Friday ride. Actually wasn't too much slower than the commute on roadie. Though I don't have specific data on that, yet. More importantly, it was fun.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides again today. 16C but windy, cloudy and I even had a few rain drops on my glasses, but who cares. The wind picked up to a steady 17kt wind from the northwest, which makes it a tailwind for most of the ride. Made a detour this afternoon which made 20m/30km today. Rode every day this week.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Seems I spoke too soon. On my ride from my main office to the client site... wait for it... two flats within two miles of each other. WTF? 

So, in the last seven days I have six days of riding and six flats between two bikes. 

And, to top it all off... I'd tried a ghetto tubeless on the Pugs - which is what blew out on Monday and to finish the ride had just stuck a tube in the tire with the remaining sealant. So when it went this morning... a huge mess.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Well crap! Flats always seem to come in 3s so you just went through 2 complete cycles.  My batch was a few weeks ago. Three (or was it 4) in a row but good since then.

We had thunderstorms scheduled for this morning but I got my ride in done before they started. They should be all done by the time I leave for the day.:thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Nice pic, looks like a great ride!

Got caught in a downpour this morning, it rained so hard it hurt! There was a river going down the big hill, with waves, and rocks going across it. One stormdrain was backed up and had a nice standing wave, and the next one downhill had water spouting out of it over a foot high. Made my way safely but I sure was soaked.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this morning. No flats, knock on wood, so there's that. It's a bit windy and chilly today and we're supposed to have off and on rain, but so far nothing. Hoping it stays dry, particularly in the valley, so that SprocKidz doesn't get canceled. Can't believe how much I look forward to riding with those kids each week.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

Hi everybody. 

Not caught up on anything so no idea on the happenings for the past while. My apologies for the disappearing act. Got caught up and pretty overwhelmed by work and home and some other stuff. :crazy: 

Been riding on and off but certainly not consistently. Temperatures here have been amazing, not had a summer like it for many years.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Just took at look at my mileage for the year. 2030.26. Probably won't hit 5K for the year, but 4k should be in the bag.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Slipspace, thanks for chiming and and good to hear you're ok!

That is a respectable outlook for blockphi. I hope you will ride them without any flats!

I think I will end with the usual 4500-5000 kilometers or ~3000m. At least it will not be less than last year despite my slow start this year. 

Cloudy and windy today. Wind was ok this morning. A Coworker caught up with me from behind and we rode the last part to work together. A steady 20kt tailwind made for a quick ride home. 

On the way home my rear wheel suddenly felt like it has a bump in it. Checked the tire and spokes and everything seemed to ok. Have to take a better look at it tonight or at least this week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from my vacation and back in the saddle today. Finished my vacation by meeting a friend late yesterday afternoon for a local favorite hike called Mailbox Peak. Easy to see how it got it's name:









The hike is rather challenging, gaining 4000 feet/1220 meters in 3 miles/4.8 kilometers. So my legs felt a little dead on the ride into work this morning.

Light rain, 57F/14C this morning. Not enough rain to get rain gear out, enough rain to arrive pretty wet.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Red pickup trucks were doing dumb things today. First, one raced around a car in the intersection through a yellow/red light. Second, one passed me and the accelerating bus in front of me in the turning lane as I was getting ready to move into the turning lane. Still hot here.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nearly my least favorite riding conditions today. 53F and light rain. However, it had been raining steady and heavily prior to, so the roads were quite wet. I really need to get off the fence about fenders and just do it.


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## SlipSpace (Feb 3, 2014)

woodway said:


> View attachment 1207465


Is that a massive garage sized mailbox or clever positioning for perspective on the photo? Either way, looks like a great spot!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

And the mailman hikes up there every day?

that bump in my rear wheel turns out to be a partly ripped out tire bead. That is the second conti speedride that has this issue, I guess that I will have to look for another tire. Sad because I really liked the speedride. Its a fast grippy tire with a reasonable mileage possible,but not for me apparently. Dont think I will claim it, sending it in costs 6€ , a new one 11€. But the main question is, which tire now?? 

Easy rides today. Partly cloudy and dry. Tomorrow a lot of rain is forecasted, we'll see if I can avoid it or have to go through it..


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

SlipSpace said:


> Is that a massive garage sized mailbox or clever positioning for perspective on the photo? Either way, looks like a great spot!


Haha, just a standard mailbox.



cyclingdutchman said:


> And the mailman hikes up there every day?


Whew, that would be a superhuman mailman. The climb is a bruiser and the descent is not easy either. Apparently sometime around 1960 there was a youth camp nearby and the part-time camp director was a full-time mailman during the day. One day he had the idea to lug a mailbox up there and then challenge his campers to make the climb and sign the register.

The previously unnamed peak became known as mailbox peak and the tradition is to make your mark on the mailbox when you reach the top. A new mailbox is put up there every year (not sure who does that now) and as the year goes on it becomes covered with signatures and stickers, and filled with "mail" that people carry up. It's always interesting to open it up and see what's inside. Here is a photo a friend took on a different hike to the top:











cyclingdutchman said:


> But the main question is, which tire now??


When I did my 100 mile gravel ride in early June, I rode on these:

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/trigger-pro-2bliss-ready/p/129999

They look to be in the same class as the Conti tires. They were great on gravel but also rolled well on the road. I don't remember what I paid, but i remember I thought that they were reasonably priced.

Good luck avoiding the rain.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

blockphi said:


> Nearly my least favorite riding conditions today. 53F and light rain. However, it had been raining steady and heavily prior to, so the roads were quite wet. I really need to get off the fence about fenders and just do it.


I'd gladly trade you weather. Rode home the long way yesterday, 36 miles, and it was in the upper 90's and windy. Sapped all my energy. Saturday in my neighborhood it hit 102F.

My legs are dead today. Kinda disappointing because I found a 100 mile gravel ride in mid September that I want to do and after my 36 mile ride home, I was feeling it. I did put in 13 miles on the way to work so I suppose I made it half way. I'm going to have to put in some long weekend rides if I plan to tackle that gravel ride.

YTD, I hit 2,800 miles or 4500 km. Need to log some extra miles to carry me through my 10 day vacation where I won't be riding at all. :-(


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Here in the Seattle area we are now into what is typically two months of almost perfect weather. Lows will in the high 50's to low 60's (14-17C) and highs will be 75-85 (25-28C). Little to no rain and low humidity.

This morning's ride was a perfect example - 60F, sunny and 80F expected for the ride home. I'm going to enjoy it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks Woodway for the tire suggestion. I also considered the Conti Town Ride since TenSpeed seemed to be happy with them but I believe they don't make those anymore.

No luck with the rain today. It rained most of the day including both rides. It was dry when I left the house this morning but put on the hardshell jacket and had to put on the rainpants as well later on. That became quite steamy along the way, so on the way home I took off the normal pants and wore only the windstopper pants. That was a good combination. 

Rode the spare bike today. Nice to feel the difference between 50mm 26" and 40mm 28" tires.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No ride for me this morning. Woke to the sounds of my rain gutters overflowing - downpour. It's at least slacked off now, but steady rain since 4 this morning. No thank you. Bummer is that there probably won't be SprocKidz tonight, so I'll end up with a whole day off the bike. Don't think, given that I have in-laws up from the lower-48, so getting out for an evening ride is likely a no-go.


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## Guest (Jul 12, 2018)

80F and 75% Humidity at 6:30? Ugh, I'll still be sweating from this morning when I ride home. The good part is that I'll finish the day with a 17 miler in 96F heat with a 105F heat index at the house so I can go right to the shower.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Yikes Forster. Put some ice under your helmet 

Dutchman, I know that swampy feeling riding in rain gear this time of year. Depending on the length of the ride and outdoor temp, I often just get wet rather than gear up. Except show covers - I always put them on. Hope you avoid the rain today.

Great morning for me today: 61F, clear just spectacular. Supposed to be in the low 80's for the ride home tonight. Just perfect.


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## Guest (Jul 12, 2018)

woodway said:


> Yikes Forster. Put some ice under your helmet


 It's all good, I'm pretty good with heat. Do wish I'd remembered the Chamois Butt'r though.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A kinda rough one this morning. 49F, but no rain, so there's that. Get to the bus stop. Bus doesn't come. End up waiting for the next bus, 35 minutes after my normal bus. That bus was packed to near standing room only. Not too bad in town - 51F, but I can't shake the chill I got on the bus. 

First world problems there. I'm complaining about a crowded bus and a slight inconvenience of needing to wait a half hour for the next bus to come. What a privileged jerk, eh? 

Next thing I'll be complaining about my three year old poly-pro shirt always smelling like BO even though I was it after each ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway. "swampy" is the right word. In the morning I always try to avoid getting too wet but usually on the ride home I just ride ins shorts, tshirt and sandals to enjoy the awkward looks of other people. When riding in heat I also always fill up my thermal mug with cold water and icechunks so that I have cold water to drink along the way.

Blockphi, even in africa the bus is exactly on the announced time. But you never know on which day the bus comes  

Tire issue is solved! Found 2 conti topcontact on the local CL in the neighbourhood. Picked them up already and mointed them immediately. Width is exactly 42mm but they were difficult to get on the rim, had to use soap again and pumped them up to max pressure to have them sit correctly on the rim. 

No commuting for me the next 2 weeks but we are taking the bikes and trailer so I will get some family riding. Keep riding and posting, and stay safe!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks woodway. "swampy" is the right word. In the morning I always try to avoid getting too wet but usually on the ride home I just ride ins shorts, tshirt and sandals to enjoy the awkward looks of other people. When riding in heat I also always fill up my thermal mug with cold water and icechunks so that I have cold water to drink along the way.
> 
> Blockphi, even in africa the bus is exactly on the announced time. But you never know on which day the bus comes
> 
> ...


Family riding, that's the best kind! Enjoy and be safe!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Enjoy your time off Dutchman.

It's summer quiet in here!

61F and clear this morning for my ride to work.

No rides planned this weekend, but I do have a great hike planned. Have a great weekend everyone!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Working at my house in central Washington today so no commute. But I did get a nice 25 mile gravel ride in before it gets too hot:















Back to my regular commute tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ nobody is commuting?

Thanks woodway. We are now on our vacation address but I spontaneously decided to ride 2 days over here. Went kind of bikepacking style with 2 front panniers and a bag on top of the rear rack. Camped after 96km at a kayaking club and rode another 60km today. 

Planned the route with the german app komoot and it turned to be a nice route. Although 60% paved it always preferred quiet roads, bikepaths etc and since this is an area with lots of tourists, there are a lot of good bikepaths here. Part of the paved roads were still quiet bad and the unpaved parts were often just as good. 

Tomorrow will be a rain day so legs can get some rest. After that, trailer hauling starts. With the last two days I will probably ride just as much as when I am commuting the next days :lol:


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## Guest (Jul 16, 2018)

woodway said:


> Working at my house in central Washington today so no commute. But I did get a nice 25 miles gravel ride in before i gets too hot:


 Very jealous. I'm finishing the last 17.5 of my 25 mile day in the hottest part of the afternoon. Fortunately, that's only in the 80s today with heat indexes in the mid-90s. Not like last Friday when I melted in triple digit temps and heat indexes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rode in this a.m., it was still mid 60'sF here in central VT, great riding weather. Now it is 5:45 pm and still 87F. Glad I decided on the commute instead of the group trailride at 5:30 pm. Not a fan of the heat. Yesterday I took the island line bike path (former RR bed through the lake) and then the bike ferry across the 200' gap where a spin-to-open railroad bridge used to be. It was torn out in the 60's. It takes you to the Lake Champlain (almost a great lake) islands. That's me in the blue helmet. 25 miles round trip from Burlington, but you could extend it if you didn't have to catch the last ferry.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Looks like a fantastic ride MTBX!

Stay cool Forster.

Dutchman, you keep forgetting the pictures!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, it's really quiet in here.

Some fine commuting weather here in Seattle. Low's 60's this morning, supposed to be in the upper 70's for the ride home.

Hope y'all are having a fine summer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey woodway, I'm (back) here. I've been off camping for a little over a week. We've got some similar nice weather. T-storms yesterday but I avoided them all. Today was around 60F for the ride in and should be 80F for the ride home. That was pretty much the weather for the whole week of camping except there was ZERO rain.

MTXB, I just learned of that trail a few weeks ago. It looks like a very interesting ride right across the middle of the lake. I can't imagine how that ferry makes enough money shuttling people across a few hundred feet of open water to keep running.

Here are the biking highlights from camping. 
The Candid Cyclist: Camping 2018

Happy summer.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, I just learned of that trail a few weeks ago. It looks like a very interesting ride right across the middle of the lake. I can't imagine how that ferry makes enough money shuttling people across a few hundred feet of open water to keep running.
> 
> Here are the biking highlights from camping.
> The Candid Cyclist: Camping 2018
> ...


Looks like some nice riding, love the photos. The deerflies have been particularly fierce this year here too.

The bike ferry is owned by the bike/ped non-profit, Local Motion, so it may not be a profitable venture. It is a pretty popular local and tourist draw, and they ask $8 round trip so they do make some money. Local bike rental places also benefit. You can also combine it with the car ferry back from NY state to make a longer loop instead of an out and back like we did.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It is quiet around here.

I would make that causeway loop a biking destination if I was going to be in the area. I can't quite justify the 250 mile trip to do it on its own though.  Here's a satellite map. https://www.google.com/maps/@44.5735034,-73.3093537,6375m/data=!3m1!1e3

I pulled the old steel bike out for the first time this year. That is still a smooth riding beast! Not quite as quick up the hills as my modern bikes but still fun to ride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Great pics bedwards! Riding in the Cascades can get a little buggy at times but does not seem to hold a candle the deerfly encounters you are talking about.

Took the long way home last night, about 30 miles. I felt great, the temp was right around 75F, nice tailwind for most of the ride home and I bagged a few PR's along the way. Other than an odd encounter with another cyclist (he called me a "weirdo") it was a great night. 60F and cloudy this morning, but dry. Thursday already!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So, what made you a weirdo in the eyes of this other cyclist?


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## Texan-n-Fla (Sep 22, 2013)

Haven't posted here in awhile. Been back to commuting since starting work at a bike shop back in March. It's been rough the last two weeks or so, with going home temps being in the triple digits, and heading south directly into a hot oven headwind. Gonna start trying some electrolyte tabs and icing my bottles for the ride home to see if that helps curb the desire to die about halfway through.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Howdy Tex! Are you in Texas, Florida or none of the above? Oven hot sounds more dry like Texas than muggy like Florida.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Texan-n-Fla said:


> Haven't posted here in awhile. ... Gonna start trying some electrolyte tabs and icing my bottles for the ride home to see if that helps curb the desire to die about halfway through.


Hello again! :lol: :eekster: Stay


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> So, what made you a weirdo in the eyes of this other cyclist?


Well, it's hard to know.

I was waiting at a light and when it turned green he passed me without a word and accelerated away. He was younger than me, looked fit and was riding a nice bike so I assumed I would never see him again. But to my surprise I caught him on a long hill. I figured at the top he would pull away again so I rode behind him but about 3/4 way up he pulled to the right and I thought he was stopping so I passed him. I guess that pissed him off because a short time later he passed me on the right (without a word). So I ended up riding about 100 yards behind him for miles. And it turns out we were taking the same route so even after multiple turns and ups and downs I was still behind him.

I finally lost him when he went through a light and I got caught. But about a half mile down the road, there he was on the side of the road fixing a flat. As I rode by he stands up and yells at me "Have a nice ride, wierdo". Maybe he thought I was stalking him. I'm not really sure.

Anyway, mellow ride today to end the week. No rides planned this weekend, but a nice hike with friends. Have a good weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^You should have offered to help him with his flat. At least he said have a nice ride. 

Still near perfect weather here. I started with a windbreaker at about 50F but it had warmed up quite a bit in the first 5 miles so I stuffed it in a pocket. I managed to pick up a KOM I have been attempting for years this morning. I think I am still loosing ground though. People keep turning in faster times. 

Have a good weekend weirdos! And you too woodway.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

He said nice ride, but I don't think he meant it 



bedwards1000 said:


> I managed to pick up a KOM I have been attempting for years this morning. I think I am still loosing ground though. People keep turning in faster times.


Nice job on the KOM. It's a given that no matter how fast you think you are, there is someone faster...



bedwards1000 said:


> Have a good weekend weirdos! And you too woodway.


This inspired me to update my profile...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> He said nice ride, but I don't think he meant it
> 
> Nice job on the KOM. It's a given that no matter how fast you think you are, there is someone faster...
> 
> This inspired me to update my profile...


Hey, rodar y rodar use to be a weirdo too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yes, I knew there was another weirdo around here! Fieldwork a couple hours away and super early prevented a bike commute yesterday, but I was able to pedal the BMX to a surprise party; a great way to keep the surprise by not having a bunch of cars in the driveway.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey, rodar y rodar use to be a weirdo too.


Since all three of us are named Brian, all that is left is for you to become a wierdo too...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another weirdo named Brian and proud of it!



Recent picture


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2018)

Short 14 miler today that I should have skipped. I'm couch bound with a 102F temp. No commutes for a while. For the first time since 1983 I find myself unemployed without another job lined up. A little bummed, but sometimes the environment is too toxic to make it worth hanging in there.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Forster said:


> Short 14 miler today that I should have skipped. I'm couch bound with a 102F temp. No commutes for a while. For the first time since 1983 I find myself unemployed without another job lined up. A little bummed, but sometimes the environment is too toxic to make it worth hanging in there.


Yikes, sorry to hear that, but glad you got out of a toxic environment.

We just learned this week that our small company has been acquired. Fortunately, it was not by a competitor but rather by a company that we have worked with in the past and they just want to expand their capabilities. We're not even going to have to change our company's name and our positions are mostly so specialized that there is no overlap, definitely not any with what I do. They are highly ranked on "Great Place to Work"; I'm really hoping we get their benefits as they are awesome. They even have bikes to use on their campus. Not that my office is big enough for that or that I would expect the bikes to be as good as what I'm used to.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Since all three of us are named Brian, all that is left is for you to become a wierdo too...





BrianMc said:


> Another weirdo named Brian and proud of it!


That makes four of us! woodway, I didn't remember you were a Brian too. I may have to change my CB of the east moniker since he seems to have abandon us. 

I came upon this on my ride home on Friday.







It was nice to be on a bike and bypass all the traffic that backed up because of it. But mostly, I can't imagine how it happened. This is at an intersection and the speed limit is 25MPH. They must have been pulling out and somebody came blasting through the intersection. I'm guessing faster than 25MPH because SUVs don't flip downside that easily.

Rainy here this week but I missed the worst of it this morning.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

I'm back after and unplanned week off the bike. Had in-laws in from down south and, while I didn't take time off of work, found that with needing to pick up kids and such that biking was just not in the cards. They left on Wednesday, but couldn't ride Thursday as I had to head down to the Kenai peninsula to get my grocery shopping on - I now have a freezer full of salmon to keep me for the winter.









It was a wonderful weekend for it. Sunny and warm. Always nice when standing up to one's chest in cold arse Alaska water for hours on end.









I was able to fill my full permit of 55 fish on three tides - pretty good clip, that. Was able to get home and to my own bed by 3:30 AM on Saturday. Hit the trails for a nice little ~20 miler on Saturday afternoon. The trails were bone dry, but the glacial silt compacts down into stuff that is slick as can be even when dry. Hit a switchback corner with too much speed and went down. Not hard, but eye-opening. Good to know the limits.









After a might too much to drink Saturday night, I ended up punishing myself with a nice little 40-miler. The plan was to do about 25, but the weather was nice and the work of peddling ate away the last of my headache, so I just kept going.

https://www.relive.cc/view/g22940734692

This morning was a bit of a hard go with some wooden legs, but nice all the same. Though I think I had a bit of a long ride hangover today - you know that feeling you get after riding long in the sun and then not getting maybe enough fluids back in afterwards - headache, stiff, sore, and dragging.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> Another weirdo named Brian and proud of it!
> 
> 
> 
> Recent picture


:thumbsup:

I can be the wierdo of the west, BrianMc the wierdo of the center and bedwards the wierdo of the east. We have the whole US covered!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

blockphi said:


> This morning was a bit of a hard go with some wooden legs, but nice all the same. Though I think I had a bit of a long ride hangover today - you know that feeling you get after riding long in the sun and then not getting maybe enough fluids back in afterwards - headache, stiff, sore, and dragging.


That's a lot of fish blockphi! You going to freeze the fillets, smoke them, or ??. I've been fishing about a dozen time on the Kanektok River in SW Alaska and the first year I went, I brought home 50lbs of salmon and my wife was about to kill me ("what are we going to do with all this fish?"). Hope your legs feel better tomorrow.

I working remote today, got a nice 35 mile ride in near my place early this morning before it gets hot. Just beautiful (but no pics).


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Blockphi,

nice fish! I'll be taking vacation at the end of the week and have some fishing planned with my sons in the Gulf of Mexico! Wish us luck!

I logged my "recorded" 200 mile week last week. I had to put in two rides yesterday to put me over. Rode the gravel bike 25 miles in the morning, had to do some repairs around the house and BBQ, so i rode another 25 on the "road" bike in the evening. It was drizzling a little which really was a welcome relief to the high temps earlier in the day.

Gonna crack 3,100 miles on the way home tonight. Managed to put in 550 miles on the MMD since completing it. Despite its weight, its a great commuter bike and faster than it should be.

No bike for the next ten days. Gonna have to try running instead. Wish me luck!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

woodway said:


> That's a lot of fish blockphi! You going to freeze the fillets, smoke them, or ??.
> 
> .


This batch were mixed between fillets and whole fish frozen. Heading to Copper River this weekend to see what I can do on a permit for that area. If we get enough there I'd suspect some of that will be smoked and some canned. I like to can some with hot pepper in them. Make an amazing sandwich.

@z1r - good luck with your fishing. Hopefully it's not too hot in the Gulf for ya. The one time I went fishing there off South Padre in Texas it was brutal hot.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Laughing and deadly serious at the same time? The right side of my handlebars sheared off in my hands while riding. Luckily I was on an off-street paved trail, or else I might be dead or paralyzed now. The broken handlebar piece jammed into space above the front wheel. Somehow I just have some scraped knuckles. I bought the bike new 3 years and 2 months ago. It's a steel cross bike with no carbon parts, although the handlebar might be aluminum (it was never tightened beyond the recommended 5 Nm afaik). I have contacted the shop and manufacturer, but I will probably have to replace the handlebar (and stem for safety, replace them every 2-3 years!) myself... I will look into a thicker diameter at the stem if it isn't already.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

b rock said:


> View attachment 1209360
> 
> Laughing and deadly serious at the same time? The right side of my handlebars sheared off in my hands while riding. Luckily I was on an off-street paved trail, or else I might be dead or paralyzed now. The broken handlebar piece jammed into space above the front wheel. Somehow I just have some scraped knuckles. I bought the bike new 3 years and 2 months ago. It's a steel cross bike with no carbon parts, although the handlebar might be aluminum (it was never tightened beyond the recommended 5 Nm afaik). I have contacted the shop and manufacturer, but I will probably have to replace the handlebar (and stem for safety, replace them every 2-3 years!) myself... I will look into a thicker diameter at the stem if it isn't already.


Holy shizz. I've never seen that before. I mean, I've seen broken handlebars, but either as a result of a crash or a poor landing after hucking a jump. But just riding along? Nope.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

b rock said:


> View attachment 1209360
> 
> Laughing and deadly serious at the same time? The right side of my handlebars sheared off in my hands while riding. Luckily I was on an off-street paved trail, or else I might be dead or paralyzed now. The broken handlebar piece jammed into space above the front wheel. Somehow I just have some scraped knuckles. I bought the bike new 3 years and 2 months ago. It's a steel cross bike with no carbon parts, although the handlebar might be aluminum (it was never tightened beyond the recommended 5 Nm afaik). I have contacted the shop and manufacturer, but I will probably have to replace the handlebar (and stem for safety, replace them every 2-3 years!) myself... I will look into a thicker diameter at the stem if it isn't already.


Great, now I have something else to worry about.  I have handlebars and stems that are 30 years old. 2-3 years seems kind of frequent. I shudder to think of the stress I have put on my cross bike offroad.

Somebody else here reported on seeing this happen once before.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> Great, now I have something else to worry about.  I have handlebars and stems that are 30 years old. 2-3 years seems kind of frequent. I shudder to think of the stress I have put on my cross bike offroad.
> 
> Somebody else here reported on seeing this happen once before.


Yeah, the last recommendation I saw was to do a safety check on any carbon or aluminum handlebar and stem every 2 years, and replace every 3 years, due to fatigue. Also, the recommendation is to replace both stem and bar after each crash... I find these easier to swallow than the ideas about frame fatigue, since handlebars and stems can be relatively cheap.

Also, my next bar is going to be 31.8 at the stem, and steel if I can find one.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)




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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes B rock, glad you are OK, that is scarey! Bedwards, that is an impressive feat in a 25mph zone; I have seen similar head scratcher car accidents, where you think, wow, a stunt driver couldn't have done that if he tried. Nice haul blockphi, well done. Picked up my buddy at the airport in Boston yesterday, so only a short ride yesterday to leave my car at the park and ride and pick up his 3 miles away. We got back at 3 a.m. due to flight delays, so not riding in this morning either.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Easy ride this morning - 64F and clear. Supposed to be 90F on the way home tonight. Yikes, that's HOT for us.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

b rock said:


> Yeah, the last recommendation I saw was to do a safety check on any carbon or aluminum handlebar and stem every 2 years, and replace every 3 years, due to fatigue. Also, the recommendation is to replace both stem and bar after each crash... I find these easier to swallow than the ideas about frame fatigue, since handlebars and stems can be relatively cheap.
> 
> Also, my next bar is going to be 31.8 at the stem, and steel if I can find one.


Well you're the guy that just ended up with a handlebar in his spokes so it's tough to argue but that maintenance interval seems crazy. With the number of bikes I have I'd be constantly changing handlebars and stems! The only thing I found when I looked it up was this:
When should you replace your carbon handlebar? - Mountain Bike Review- Mtbr.com
Which says:


> Mtbr: Should you replace your carbon handlebars after a certain amount of time? How about aluminum?
> Renthal: Speaking only for Renthal handlebars, if the product is used as intended there is no reason why it should be periodically changed unless it has been damaged in a crash or some other abuse. This is the same for aluminum or carbon fiber handlebars.


I think I'd trust carbon not to stress crack more than aluminum or steel. I hate to think you will be riding around with 2lb handlebars for the rest of your life because you had this bad experience.

I was eyeballing my handlebar on the way home.  Rides have been good. It is muggy as hell but I've been missing the rain. I rode in with my wife today.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A rough one today. Beautiful weather in the valley and a bit rainy in town. The ride was rough, though due to taking a bit of a major crash last night while mountain biking with the kids. Hit a jump I've hit 100s of times, but was overshooting the corner that comes off the jump landing and went down hard. A couple of bruised ribs and a nicely cut and bruised knee - of course the one I had surgery on last October - so stiff, sore, and tire today as it was a bit of a challenge to sleep last night. Good times.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Some people never learn. I'm one of those people so I can say that. Hope you heal up soon. You'll be wincing every time you cough of sneeze for a few weeks. But you knew that.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

blockphi said:


> A rough one today. Beautiful weather in the valley and a bit rainy in town. The ride was rough, though due to taking a bit of a major crash last night while mountain biking with the kids. Hit a jump I've hit 100s of times, but was overshooting the corner that comes off the jump landing and went down hard. A couple of bruised ribs and a nicely cut and bruised knee - of course the one I had surgery on last October - so stiff, sore, and tire today as it was a bit of a challenge to sleep last night. Good times.


ouch. glad we're both smiling, mostly, about our recent off the bike experiences

as far as the 3 year replacement thing goes, it is the kind of manufacturer covering their ass kind of recommendation, but I think for me, some kind of timeline is good because I shrug off a lot of crashes on my mountain bike, and occasionally the road bike, so my handlebars and helmets (I'm going 5 years before helmet replacement) will have taken a few dings after a few years


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dodged the rain this morning. Decided to bikecommute despite the Wednesday group trailride I usually do, because I thought it might get rained out. Sure enough the trails were closed this afternoon after about 1/2" of rain. Looks like I may or may not get wet and see scattered thunderstorms on the way home, depending upon when I get out of here and the luck of the draw. This morning was good but crazy humid, it felt like the air had no air in it when I went up the last mile hill to the office.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Heal up blockphi.

Had an all day meeting in Redmond (home of Microsoft) today. Going in early this morning was fantastic - 63F, clear, beautiful morning.

Coming home was a different plan all together - 20 miles and ~1200 feet of climbing in 92 degree heat. I'm just not used to that kind of heat. Made it fine but I was going RREEAALL SSLLOOWW cranking up the hills. Supposed to be hot again tomorrow. No rain in sight for the next ten days.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Thanks for the well-wishes, folks. I get the strong sense that I won't be hitting the trails for a week or two as even the bumps on the road send shockwaves of pain through my ribcage. Good times. That said, I did ride in today. Not bad in the valley, but damp in town again. Supposed to be a bit grey and wet all day, though right now it's not looking terrible so I shouldn't get too much more wet when I make the ride over to the client's office.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Hang in there blockphi!

Truth in advertiising on the ride in yesterday...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

63F and clear again this morning. Supposed to be 90+ again for the ride home. I'd take some rain right now. Have a good weekend!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Semi-fat Friday ride in today. The big tires made it a bit more comfortable riding than on the road bike. Right now my plan is to catch up on sleep tomorrow and then maybe tentatively ride some trail on Sunday - maybe with a rib girdle on. We'll see.

Nice morning in the valley - clear and sunny. Gray and overcast in town.









Just came across this image from Monday night, just scant minutes before my wonderful crash.

Pride before the fall or something, right?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Of only somebody could have caught the crash action. Looking good there.

Not much to report here. I rode in some light rain yesterday morning even though I could have carpooled. It cleared up for the ride home. Then we both rode in together this morning. My mileage for the year is pretty low because I haven't done much for long rides.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I just checked yesterday and am at a bit over 1000 miles for the year, I was kinda disappointed as I feel like I've been riding more. I don't have a spreadsheet from last year to compare the months though. Doesn't include BMX (no computer mount) or trailrides (I use a different device for tracking the dog or none), but those don't add up to too much.
Yesterday there were torrential downpours midday but I missed those. 
Great pic blockphi!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

mtbxplorer said:


> I just checked yesterday and am at a bit over 1000 miles for the year, I was kinda disappointed as I feel like I've been riding more. I don't have a spreadsheet from last year to compare the months though. Doesn't include BMX (no computer mount) or trailrides (I use a different device for tracking the dog or none), but those don't add up to too much.
> Yesterday there were torrential downpours midday but I missed those.
> Great pic blockphi!


1000 miles is still a good bit of work to achieve. The important thing is getting out on the bike, right?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway asks for pics of the vacation rides so here is a link to an album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YCpVF17SSPcG2vJy6

Unfortunately I do not know how to include the pics here directly or how to add comments in the album (since Google discontinued Picase and forced me to use Google Photos it does not work anymore....) I post the stories behind here:

I started 150km before our holiday address. Started off bad, when I was ready to go I missed my sunglasses and did not find them. I had hoped that I forgot them in the car but unfortunately they went permanently missing :-/ Furthermore I've chosen a relatively light / bikepacking option with two small front panniers and a bag with a rolltop closure on the rear rack. On the rear I had tent, sleeping bag and airmattress. The rest was in the panniers (no backpack). I choose this setup because I have no bikepacking bags, but also to test if the front rack would hold up since I had to improvise while mounting them on the fork, since it does not have dedicated lowrider eyelets. I previously tried to mount a Tubus Smarti (which attaches on the V-Brake mounts instead of eyelets) but that one did not fit either since the lower eyelets were located inconveniently. I was only camping one night so I did not need much clothing, it was very warm anyway. First time also that I went camping without a stove or anything.

I had planned the route before on my phone with the option "bicycle including gravel roads". This led me on a variety of surfaces, almost all of them suitable for riding and mostly free of motorised traffic or at least with a separate bikepath along the roads. I rode along the coast of the baltic sea most of the time on the first day. It was busy, it is a popular vacation are and there were a lot of tourists along the way, pedestrians and a lot of (E-)bikes. Those tourists can be really unpredictive, some people clearly never ride a bike otherwise. I was glad to have a bell on my bike! And some of them were very slow despite being on an e-bike. That was something I have never seen before. About halfway I made break for coffee, ice and coffee. After the tourist coastal towns I came in calmer, agricultural areas. Somewhere here I felt my rear wheel slipping a bit, which happened later again. I did not think about it long, I was on unpaved roads after all. After ~96km I arrived in Stralsund at the local kayaking club. They (and the club I am in) are a member in the german kayaking association, which means they allow all members to camp on the site. So I paid 5€ for the night and could use the shower and toilets. I dropped my bags, talked to other paddlers and then went to a restaurant with a nice view on the harbour. When I locked the bike there, I noticed that I had lost the 5mm hex bold that keeps the Rohloff Torque Arm in place. That was the slipping I had noticed: First time when the bolt fell out and the axle twisted until the shifting box hit the chainstay. The second time I felt some slipping was when I was standing on the pedals and the shiftingcable adjuster screw broke :-/. Replacement costs only 6€ but it was Sunday and all shops were closed. Luckily the bike still worked and I decided to ride in a low gear with a high frequency and low power until the DIY store the next day. After a nice diner I went back to the kayaking club again to set up camp, shower and went to bed early after some more chatting with other paddlers. The club is perfectly located for a lot of seakayaking tours on the baltic sea so there were lots of paddlers coming back or preparing for their trips. 
Got up early the next morning, had some biscuits for breakfast, broke camp fast and was on my way before 8. Had located a DIY store 5km away. I was the first to buy something but it didnt make them rich: 78€cents for a bolt, washer and 2 mutters...Got some more food and drinks in the supermarket next door after fixing the bike (took 3 minutes, didnt have to remove the rear wheel) and then I was on my way. The detour added 8km to my route which made it approx. 58km for this day. Crossed the bridge to the island of Rügen and here you really had a taste of the previous architecture of former East-Germany. Also the area was hit hard when the iron curtain fell and the local economy crashed and never recovered. I've seen a lot of sheds and housed that fell apart or shortly before that. The route was quite interesting, very lonely again and the surface changed about every 5km so I was never more than 20min on the same kind of surface. Had coffee and applepie again after 10am. After that I went to the southern shore, but a certain stretch along the shore was very loose sand and I had to push the bike here and there. It was 25C, no wind and the sun was beating down (it was almost noon) so I was sweating like mad. In the next town I ate a tunafish salad and then I set off on the last 15km stretch. This stretch was so good that I rode it again with my wife and kids a few days later. We got to the starting point with the old steamtrain that is still riding there. I arrived around 2pm in the afternoon and I was glad because the saddle on that bike is clearly not suitable for me on long rides, despite the padded shorts I was wearing. It turned out the saddle was too soft, so my bones sunk in all the way and then rested directly on the frame below....
Unfortunately our apartment location appeared not really suitable for family rides. Too far from the beach, a busy road without bikepath or another route including a small ferry. We did it once (we were actually rowed across....) but the costs would add up over the days. And on the first ride we also almost got stuck with the trailer on a road that ended in a hiking trail with steps etc. On the other side there was a sign "forbidden for bikes"! But only on the other end...
While on vacation, I already ordered new sunglasses and saddle, also found a great deal on a used set of Tektro brake levers with Jagwire cables and BB7S Road calipers. Everything was here when we arrived yesterday.

Will now catch up on reading what I missed the last weeks. Many postings I see here :thumbsup:


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice pics Dutchman. Looks like fun.

A good commute today. 60F and clear. No chance of rain today.

Was a bit stiff after spending yesterday climbing some gravel. Up and over Hatcher Pass and back. Just a small snippet, though. Someday I'll just ride the whole thing - an approximately 100 mile loop up the mountain, down the mountain and back around to my house. But that'll be some time coming.

https://www.relive.cc/view/g23169873233

Taking a cue from Dutch, here's the link to a google pics album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yXXSWSpzR25aT4cD6


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway asks for pics of the vacation rides so here is a link to an album:


Nice pics, Dutchman. Looks like your kids got a taste of all-terrain riding, especially the one in the trailer  Did they catch any fish?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No commute for me today - I was planning to go for a ride but it's just getting too hot and I got moving too late this morning to beat the heat.

I did get a great 16 mile/26K hike in on saturday in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. That's me on the right. Cathedral Rock in the background.









Back to riding tomorrow!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

blockphi said:


> Taking a cue from Dutch, here's the link to a google pics album:
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/yXXSWSpzR25aT4cD6


Beautiful pics blockphi. Looks like a great ride. The Surley looks like the perfect weapon for that kind of riding.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pics all, nice vacation adventures dutchman and impressive pass blockphi! Long hike Woodway, cool rock! Here's my contribution from my ride Sunday from my dooryard. It was a bit too long (42 miles, 25 on dirt road or trail), I was glad to make it home, but the trail on an old RR bed is cool. After that, the first 5 miles uphill on pavement, not so cool, lol! Most of the RR bed trail is in pretty good shape but some parts are more MTB'y than rail-traily. This is Turtlehead Pond and the cliffs of Marshfield Mountain, the rail trail goes right by. Back in the day all these ponds/lakes were full of lumber and the railroad carried it out. Then campers started using the train and there are a bunch of state park campgrounds in Groton state forest to this day. No bikecommute today, dogsitting a 15 1/2 year old Belgian shepherd and her younger sister for a few days, so trying to keep the day short.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Looks beautiful mtbx!

Smooth commute this morning. 63F and cloudy. Got passed by a dude on a ebike but otherwise had the roads to myself. Starting to cool down with high in the low 80's today rather than the low 90's. Should be back to normal with highs in the mid to upper 70's starting tomorrow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. Cool and clear at 53F at my house and 57 in town. Yesterday, somehow, I ended up clocking 42.74 miles of commuting. I did add in some miles in the afternoon, but I think my back and forth between offices really put me over the top. Not too shabby for a start to the week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Back on the bike today. Hot here, 22C/70F already this morning and 34C/93F on the way home. The worst part is when I get off the bike, that is where I start to really sweat...

Caught up reading here. Quite some going on! 
Woodway did you find a new job already? 
Nice fish catch Blockphi. Do you store it dried, smoked of frozen? And I hope your ribs heal up soon!
B-rock I have never seen anything like that, luckily you got away unharmed!
Texan-n-Fla nice to hear from you again! I don't know if you still need a tip concerning drinking on the way home? I usually have a thermal bottle with me that I fill with juice, water and icecubes. That keeps you cool inside for while. A non-thermal bottle would not hold the low temps too long I think..


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

b rock said:


> View attachment 1209360


Today was my first commute after half my handlebars sheared off in my hand last Monday morning. The bike felt good with some cockpit adjustments and upgrades, but the fear that it would explode at any moment lingered. I am happy with some of this fear, as critical failures happen occasionally, and a couple more rides will take the edge off.

I have ridden my mtb a few times since, and the deal with the handlebars on my commuter was only on my mind much on the first mtb ride. I am happy when I am not riding near cars and cliffs.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^WOW, not only should Soma give you new bars but you should sue them for PTSD! Just remember that there are millions of miles ridden with no broken bars. I've gone somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 miles and have never broken or replaced a set of bars for maintenance. Hopefully your anxiety subsides. Although you can't controls some parts of your brain. I'm "not a fan" of needles even though in my mind I know they are fine. My body sometimes disagrees. Good luck.

Good pics and adventures all!

Not much to report here but great summer weather. Oh, EXCEPT, my commute home last Friday was wet wet wet wet wet. I was trying to wait for the storms to pass but they never did. I tried to go out in a lull but a few miles into my ride it was raining at a rate of several inches/hour. Streets were flooded. Other than my stinging eyes it was pretty fun. Summer floodwater is warm.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

hah, thanks bedwards. The sketchiest thing is, I posted about this handlebar failure in another subforum here when it happened, and someone chimed in that same day that the same kind of failure happened to their brother... same bike model, same soma branded handlebar model. But, I guess me plus stranger's brother on the Internet does not make a class action suit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not a class action suit but probably a known design flaw or manufacturing defect. It won't help your psyche but you might get a free handlebar out of the deal. If you would want it.


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## rockhopper97 (Jul 30, 2014)

my commute is a short one... 5 min by car.....15-20 on a bike, was 62 F this morning and in the low 90s on the way home.... my commute is a hilly one though


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

b rock said:


> I posted about this handlebar failure in another subforum here when it happened, and someone chimed in that same day that the same kind of failure happened to their brother... same bike model, same soma branded handlebar model.


I would contact Soma and let them know what happened and that you heard of another failure. Soma seems like a reputable manufacturer (I own a Soma frame) and would probably want to know.

Standard commute this morning. 63F and cloudy after the onshore push of marine clouds overnight. Actually a tiny bit of drizzle, not even enough to wet the roads, but still felt good after the heat we have had.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Craptastic one today. Woke up feeling tired and sore, but the forecast rain wasn't coming down, so eff-it, ride the bike. Weather underground said it was overcast, but not raining in Anchorage and gave like a 20% chance. Get half-way down the stairs and decide to grab my rain jacket, just in case. Good thing I did, too. Get half way to town and the rain starts coming down. Get to town and am glad I grabbed the jacket, but cursing that I didn't just drive as I was just not feeling it at all. No biggie, though. Until about half way to the office I hit a rock while on a corner at a decent speed, not wanting to slow down because - rain. Pffsssss... flat. Fuuuuu. Change the tube out in the rain. Get rolling again and something doesn't feel quite right. Check the wheel in the drop out and it's fine. But the brakes are rubbing really badly. I know the wheel's out of true, but not that bad. Seems the return spring isn't pushing the caliper open to the full extent. Continue on. Bump over a few other rocks. Not enough to flat, but enough to realize I need to pump up even more or else I will be flatting out again soon. Pump it up as much as I can with my frame pump - specs tell me the highest pressure that pump goes is 90psi. Should get mr to the office and back home. All in all, I was about twenty minutes later getting to the office than normal for the summer. The only lingering effects, besides the foul mood? A bit of a puddle in my right shoe that should dry by this afternoon. 

At some point I'll wise up and get the fenders I keep saying I need, eh?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^WOW, not only should Soma give you new bars but you should sue them for PTSD!


Sue them for free SOMA stuff for the rest of your life  :lol:

Blockphi that sounds rough for you today....ribs are getting better?

Nice and warm here again today. Rode home together with a collegue. He is a bit faster than I am so it was a good training.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Blockphi that sounds rough for you today....ribs are getting better?
> .


They had seemed to be, but today I woke up and they seemed worse. Must have slept on them wrong or something. Probably a bit part of the reason I was/am in such a foul mood.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Sorry about the rain flat blockphi. I mostly ignore 30% and less chance of rain around here, with similar results occasionally.

Today's commute was pretty rad. I am lucky to have shorts weather here. I rode with my new cockpit again, and was mostly not worried about it exploding in my hands.

I love when a bird spooks from a bush I am riding past and flies in front of me at my riding speed for a couple moments.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

60F and a little drizzly here this morning. Other than that, absolutely nothing to report. Maybe I'll get some excitement on the ride home tonight.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Maybe better to give it some rest blockphi...no use in forcing yourself into something that you dont want to.

Warm and sweaty again today and the end is not in sight...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Back in the saddle after a week of vacation. I can tell it's been a while. It was tough to be near the Rockies and not be able to ride. Some day...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Maybe better to give it some rest blockphi...no use in forcing yourself into something that you dont want to.
> 
> Warm and sweaty again today and the end is not in sight...


Amen. Decided to drive today. Will allow me to get out of the office by 2 so I might be able to get a trail ride in tonight. If the ribs cooperate. Heck, even if they don't.

Granted that all depends on the weather. Raining right now. Wet and glacial silt soil = accident waiting to happen.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

After a start that seemed to portent some nastiness on the ride, it ended up being pretty decent. 

I was all prepared for a semi-fat Friday as the weather-man said it was going to be clear and dry today. I wasn't really thinking it was going to suddenly clear off, but was hopeful. 

However, part of me hoped for rain as well as I ended up making a score at my local outdoor gear consignment shop. Picked up a pair of Surly Rolling Darryl rims (non-holy) for 7 bucks. Yes, that's right. 7 dollars for a pair of fat bike rims. Now, they don't have cut outs, nor are they tubeless ready, but I've been needing to rebuild my fat wheels for a while and, if 65MM is good (the large marge I'm running now), then 82MM is better, right? And I've needed an excuse to learn wheel building. May as well go all in, right? 

I also found a brand new set of Planet Bike Hardcore fenders for 25 bucks. I installed them last night and hoped to not have to test them for a while. But, alas. Of course, by this afternoon it will be clear and bright, as things are clearing up already. 

So, to the travails. I get the bike all loaded up and head out the door. Just as I get out of my driveway I start hearing massive rubbing. Argh... the rear fender is rubbing the tire. Turn around, back into the garage and readjust the height and tighten down the bolts again. 

Head out. No rubbing. Things are good until... hit the first bump in the road and my headlight goes flying off the mount and bounces all over the road. Looking back, I'm happy it did it then and not while the bike was on the front of the bus, but given the just moments prior issue with the fenders I was real close to just turning around and going back to bed. 

Got into town and it was raining a bit, but not enough to warrant putting on the rain jacket. Streets were wet with standing water in placed. Fenders worked well and kept me relatively dry. Feet still got a bit wet, but not bad at all. 

I also, while I had the bike in the stand last night, addressed the brake issue. For some reason the cable was catching and causing the brake caliper to not return fully. Pro tip - the cheap department store cable sets I get by the cart load for maintaining my kids' bikes? There's a reason why they are cheap. I don't know that I've ever gotten more than six months out of a set of them before they start sticking. But their cheap.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I almost never replace cables but when I do I always go for highish level Shimano cables. Which is probably why I almost never replace cables. 

Good rides this week. Some wet, some hot, some long. I've got to shuttle a car home for the weekend tonight but that's OK because there is an 80% chance of thunderstorms and most of my shoes still have newspapers in them.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

blockphi: After all you have been through, there will surely be good riding karma coming your way soon. I like the high end Jagwire cables. Mainly because they have this cool silver color that looks great on my bike 

I actually got to ride in the rain this morning! A light rain for sure, but enough that I put my shoe covers and rain jacket on. I've not ridden in real rain since early June. Will be dry for the ride home.

Have a good weekend all!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

hottest day so far here, 34C on the way home. Nonetheless I made 5km detour just because I wanted to. Drank a lot before I left and took a 500ml bottle with me, that was just enough for the 50minutes that I was on the road. Met my wife and kids along the way and rode home all together. Had an airshow just before home, a helicopter landed on the crossing of our street for a medical emergency.

Blockphi, apparently it can only get better....

I also always take compressionless, continuous housing, mostly from Jagwire. Especially on the kid bikes I always replace the stock ones immediately to prevent constant hassle....

Speaking of kid's bike: My son tested a 24" bike a while ago and it looked good. Yesterday I put a longer stem on his 20" bike and it is starting to look small on him. I already convinced my wife to 1) get a new bike instead of a used one and 2) to invest some more money to increase the riding experience. By now he is seriously riding the bike everyday and really likes it, so he deserves something good.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OK, I'll start. Happy Monday! Not much to report. The ride in was a nice 60F or so and the ride home is supposed to be hot and humid with temps around 95F and a heat index over 100. Those temps are usually fine on a bike until you stop.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No commute for me today. Woke up to the sound of a downpour and, well, frankly just couldn't bring myself to do it, fenders or not. Odd weather though in that it was mid 50s with rain in the valley and nearly 70 in Anchorage with no rain but super (for mid-town Anchorage) windy. 

Hope to be back at it tomorrow. 

Ended last week with 165 miles, so not too shabby for the week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice work blockphi!

I'm working at my place in Central Washington today.While I did not commute to the office, I did get out for a 32 mile gravel/road ride. Got it done early, because it's supposed to climb into the mid-90's today and that's just too toasty for me!

Stay hydrated out there bedwards!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice here in the morning. 30C on the way home. 

Blockphi 165m a week is "acceptable" considering you have bruised ribs  No seriously I logged ~120km/62m in 4 round trip commutes and 2 family rides over the weekend. Do you do anything else except working and cycling??

expecting the hottest day so far tomorrow, 37C/98F. Will take something to drink on the way home, take the shortest way, ride slowly and go into the cool basement directly when I come home. Really wonder how those people further south survive.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, 90s in both northern corners of the US and Germany. I forget who our resident Vegas commuter is but the temps must really be getting up there down there.

I just heard this news. Rain at 120F. That is like water coming from the water heater. Any hotter and it would be scalding. https://www.newsweek.com/worlds-hottest-rain-fell-california-setting-new-record-1057622


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards I have noticed more often already that we often have similar weather. I am no "climatologist"  so I can not really explain.

I am not sure but it could be eugene with the jeep in vegas?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

No bikecommute for me yesterday, I was not too sad since it hit 94F, not my cup of tea. I did do a nice ride Sunday, tried a rail trail in the woods, it was a great pick because it was almost all shady. 30 miles round trip from Danville VT to St Johnsbury, nearly all downhill on the way out and uphill (but not steep) on the way back.

Next weekend we are riding the Point to Point ride, which is a fundraiser for the VT Foodbank. If you have a couple dollars to help the hungry, here is our team donation page https://give.thepointtopoint.org/team/173898 My name on there is Barb


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> No bikecommute for me yesterday, I was not too sad since it hit 94F, not my cup of tea. I did do a nice ride Sunday, tried a rail trail in the woods, it was a great pick because it was almost all shady. 30 miles round trip from Danville VT to St Johnsbury, nearly all downhill on the way out and uphill (but not steep) on the way back.
> 
> Next weekend we are riding the Point to Point ride, which is a fundraiser for the VT Foodbank. If you have a couple dollars to help the hungry, here is our team donation page https://give.thepointtopoint.org/team/173898 My name on there is Barb


You got it girl. I gave $19.87, a bicycle themed donation. That was the year I bought the bike that got me into cycling. My only question is where is Veemomt?

Commutes have been good. The heat was waning by the time I road home and it was pretty present.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Thanks bedwards! Veemont is where we put all the hungry people. I don't know where they send the people who can't type.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Surprisingly good first part of the commute today given that A: coffee didn't brew as it was supposed to and B: rear tire was flat when I went out to the garage - I think it's probably that the last patch I put on wasn't 100% as it wasn't completely flat, but maybe about 15psi after sitting since Friday. Swapped out quickly and just made the bus. 

Last night I got home and decided to go for a ride as I was feeling particularly crap after finding out that after eight years of adjunct teaching at the local university that I would not be teaching this fall - unless something comes up. I know adjuncts work semester to semester, but it did feel a bit of a kick in the shins that no one thought to tell me before I asked. Anyway, started out as a trail ride, but I was so gun shy with that it was just no fun. The wet root - slick. The glacial till? Grease on top of slick. So, rather than ride trail and hate every moment, I ended up doing some road exploring - a nice mix of gravel and pavement. Got rained on. Saw some sandhill cranes, including a hatchling that was just learning how to fly. 

Hoping the rain holds off until I get to the client's office. Looks like it might.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Real 35C here but made it home. One more day of this and then temps are going to drop. Maybe some rain and thunderstorms tomorrow already, we'll see. 

Good Luck on your charity ride mtbx. Pic looks good!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool crane sightings blockphi! Not so cool to hear about your teaching position, hope something comes up. Thanks dutchman for the well wishes on the Foodbank ride. Special weather statement this morning for patchy dense fog, which I noticed as soon as I got up. Not sure about riding today, usually I don't on trailride nights, but there is a 50/50 chance that could get rained out. I'll have to check my schedule to see if I can get out early enough to do both if the group ride is on.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good luck on the ride MTBX!

Had to look up Sandhill Cranes. Wikipedia says they are in this area, but I cannot ever recall seeing one.

I worked remote yesterday but still got out for a ride. Was descending a long hill at >25MPH when a hornet flew into my jersey. BAM - he stung me in the chest as soon as he hit. I had one hand hanging onto the bars and the other one groping around trying to figure out where he was and smash him. BAM, BAM, he stung me twice more, the last one on my side down by my waist. At that point I lifted out the elastic bottom of the jersey and out he flew. That first sting still hurts today.

This mornings ride was boring in comparison. 65F. Supposed to be in the low 90s for the ride home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride this morning. The clouds have almost all burned away and the skies are blue for the first time in days. Can't wait until the afternoon ride. Should be a good one. 

I'm hoping to pick up some teaching at the valley branch of the university if I can. I find the teaching is a good respite from the day to day Project Management grind.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That sucks woodway. I still remember when that happened to me on a motorcycle and that was over 30 years ago.

Yesterday I checked the radar before I left and it looked like I was 90% likely to ride into a strong thunder storm. I took the route that seemed like it might go around it and it worked! I didn't see a drop of rain for 80% of my ride but I could see lots of lightening strikes not far away. I got within a few miles of my house and it looked like the skies had opened up a few minutes ago but with the exception of some big puddles on the road it was dry.

It looks like today's summer afternoon storms are going to hold off until after I get home.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A fairly good one this AM. Was generally dry at least, but in the mid 50s with high humidity made it both feel cooler and much stickier than it should. Decided at the last moment to actual come to work today. Was seriously thinking about just staying home in bed today. Not feeling 100%, but decided I had a few things I absolutely had to get done today. Argh. So, to brighten the day, I decided that mid-Fat Friday would be done on Thursday this week. Saddled up the KramPugs and headed out. Definitely worth it. A bit slower, but more relaxed, as well.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Woodway is it getting better now?

Bedwards that sounds like you were very lucky with avoiding the storm. Havent looked much at your storm dodging map that you posted, but will definitely do so now.

Hot commutes the last 2 days. Yesterday evening some thunderstorms passed through and now we are back to normal for the time of year: partly cloudy, moderate winds from the SW and max temps around 22C.

Working from home today but commuted my youngest son to Kindergarten. After a try out last night, he rode the 16" bike for the first time today instead of the 12". And instantly he rides more stable, much more in a straight line and faster too. 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute home last evening. Took off a bit early from work and rode a quick five then headed to Town Square park to watch the homeless, the druggies, and the tourists all mingle - good times. The plan was to then hit some single track on the way home once back in the valley. Alas, best laid plans. Started down pouring as I got to the entrance to the trails. Kinda out of the blue. So I just rode a bit of gravel back out and then took the normal route back home. Get home, rinse the bike and... the skies clear and it's beautiful and perfect again.

This morning it was downright chilly for some reason. 50F, so not bad, but just felt cold all morning. Decided to ride the KramPugs again today. Have the ability today to take a bit of time between the bus stop and the office and the office and the client, so why not, right? This morning I got a wild hair to check out some of the murals in the alleyways of downtown. I've noticed glimpses of them from the bus window each morning, so I started to check them out today. Most of them are quite bad up close, but I did find one that interested me given that my friends over at (Shameless plug here The Sprocket Podcast like to joke that I ride bike with a bear on my back.









Saw this friendly guy on the meanders downtown as well.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

No storms yesterday. Lovely temperatures in the mid 50s on the way to work in the morning. No one on the trail to speak of. Just a few rabbits and the sunrise. It was a nice 90 minutes.

Going home, trail crowded with running teams and at one hill a gaggle of runners just standing in the trail. I called out and they moved to the right side for me, and as I started up the hill I saw, at the top, another biker coming down. Rather than yielding me the right of way he just kept coming down the hill. I, perhaps stupidly, took the only line available to me, a part of the track along my left about a foot wide, separated from the trail by a rut no sane person would go near, and managed to hold the line all the way up the hill. Phew. That was the only real adventure. 

Perhaps I should have just pulled off the trail and glared at the downhill rider; that would have been safer. Next time, I'll probably do that. I was just so irritated... What do you guys think? I'm normally pretty good about trail etiquette. I slow down when I'm passing people on the trail. I wait for them to notice me instead of just blowing by bikers. I don't pass on blind corners. Etc. Every once in a while there is a moment like this, though...


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2018)

^Personally, I think the downhill rider should yielded.^ I probably "over-yield" but it's not in my nature to put someone at risk or leave them in a position where they lose momentum and can't finish a climb. When I'm being passed on a climb I'll usually try to pull over where I can get restarted without walking up the entire pitch or take an alternate line to allow others to pass. I do think it's incumbent on faster riders to look ahead and plan their passing where it makes things the least difficult for everyone though. On downhill sections, if I'm being passed I'll try to find someplace safe to allow others by. If there's no place for them to pass, I guess they descend at my pace.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, downhill rider should yield on a 2 way trail. Sometimes it is a judgement call if the trail seems wide enough to pass. But I'm with Forster and tend to be nice on the trail. Then again, I generally avoid all trails where I am likely to see other people. I'm really not big on crowded trails. 

My commute was pretty good. My legs were tired from doing 54 miles yesterday which was my longest ride of the year. Two years ago I was doing a century/weekend and now I just did my first half in the middle of August. I've been working more for speed and less for distance this year which is why my legs are tired. I was pushing it to the limit without a lot of luck to get a few KOMs yesterday.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A decent ride in this AM. Dry anyway. Though it doesn't look like it'll be dry the rest of the week at all. Weather forecast calls for rain through Wednesday at least. Though it is weather underground's forecast, so I'll not put too much faith in it. 

Nothing much at all to report. Pretty lame weekend. Rode 25 miles on Saturday, mostly in a 2.5K loop at a really slow pace as I swept the course for five different 5K races. Got to the point where I decided to fingle-speed it (=fake single speed - took me a long time to come up with that one!) Set it at 32X24 and rode that for 9.5 of the 10 laps I did. Not a hard gearing at all, but the course was set on a cross country ski course, not the rolling golf-course courses that are favored by XC in the lower 48, so three significant inclines to deal with each lap. Good times. Though my knee wasn't happy about it afterwards. 

Yesterday I sat around and did nothing. Wanted to get a 50 miler in early as the weather report was for dry conditions in the AM with increasing rain and wind throughout the afternoon. Instead woke up to a downpour and heavy winds. By the mid-afternoon, it was sunny, but still heavy winds so any motivation I had to get on the bike was gone. Coupled with a sore knee and it was the perfect recipe for sitting on my behind all day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

"fingle-speed" like that one Bedwards! I knew only SingleSpeed and DingleSpeed so far. I tried that once too last year by riding the Rohloff in the 10th gear, I was thinking of losing that heavy and expensive beast but after a few rides I decided that gears aren't that bad at all  although it is as good as flat here - but quite windy at times where gears good to have.

The thunderstorm last Thursday night was more severe than I thought. Rode for the first time today and it appeared that several trees went down, but all roads/bikepaths were cleared by now. Still a lot of debris lying around with the risk of getting something in the spokes and going otb. Kicked the worst aside on both ways and will probably have to be careful the rest of the week.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nothing exciting yesterday, but I did miss all the scattered thunderstorms that were forecast, so that was a plus. Here's a few pix from the ride for the foodbank Saturday, it was fun to do it with a team, and the LBS generously gave us the nifty jerseys. I raised $555. I'm not in any of the photos.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ nice job mtbx!

blockphi, sometimes you just need some time off the bike to get your motivation back. You realize how much you miss it...

My company moved to a new office over the weekend. Only a few blocks from the old one. This office also has a locked bike room (hanging bike racks this time) and even better - a locker room with showers AND they provide tools. Whoop, whoop.

Ride was great this morning as has been the general case for the last couple of months. We are well into the "best weather in the US" season, and except for a couple of hot spells, I've been enjoying nice dry 60F rides in the morning and nice dry 80F rides in the afternoon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> "fingle-speed" like that one Bedwards!


Thanks but you mean blockphi.

Looks like a fun ride mtbx. $555! Our food pantry claims they can get 4 meals/$ so that's over 2000 meals!

Wet! My commute was wet! I don't think I could have planned it to be any wetter with the weather I had to work with.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Argh! *blush* yes I meant blockphi and still like finglespeed 

Mtbx good job on the fund raising. Was that only you, your team or all riders together? 

Weather is back to normal here. Still some twig kicking this morning, everything ok now. Quite windy on the way home but it was a tailwind so that was nice.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards did you ride the fatbike for floatation in the rain?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^No, It is too hard to show up at work as a mud ball. I'd like to do some mountain bike commutes soon to do some shroom hunting but it has been too wet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Dutchman, the $555 was my own fundraising, the Team ended up somewhere over $2200. I got a little competition going at work, some people want to be #1 at whatever they do, so I took advantage of that. One coworker added another $20 to his pledge to not only knock someone out of the #1 spot, but also to knock another coworker totally off the podium by adding to 2 others’ donations.

Had a non-driver in the roundabout today, which created an unusual bicyclist- auto driver bonding moment. A car entered the rotary but them was paralyzed at every entrance, the driver thinking they had to yield to the line of rush hour cars even though they have the right of way. Of course this created more of a backup, and as I waited to exit stuck behind this pariah, and another car waited to enter, we exchanged WTF type hand gestures and head shakes about the non-driver holding everyone up and creating a dangerous situation. That part made me smile.

So muggy you could cut it with a knife, ugh!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> Dutchman, the $555 was my own fundraising, the Team ended up somewhere over $2200. I got a little competition going at work, some people want to be #1 at whatever they do, so I took advantage of that. One coworker added another $20 to his pledge to not only knock someone out of the #1 spot, but also to knock another coworker totally off the podium by adding to 2 others' donations.


*dontknowwhattosay* :thumbsup:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Some people are just Dicks 

Last night I'm in the bike lane doing about 20MPH and some guy in a 1 ton truck passes me and then immediately (not more than 1/2 second later) pulls into my lane to avoid a left turning car causing me to make an emergency stop or get squished. He realizes he made a bad choice and stops too. We both get going again and he is giving me the stink eye like this is my fault and then floors it only to have to stop 1000 feet down the road. 


Thanks for listening. 

This morning's commute was uneventful. No a-holes and no drenching rain.


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2018)

^I've been there but lately it seems like truck drivers are going out of their way to be considerate. Twice in the last month I've had trucks back out of the intersection when I approached. Neither case was due to the driver doing a rolling stop either. I'd say I've been getting one really considerate driver per ******** lately.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Foster, I know, I know. I refrained from saying that drivers are dicks because a lot of them are actually considerate. But there are that 5% that drive offensively like their superiority over others on the road will win them a prize. Then there are the 0.01% that you would love to see hit an oak tree at 80MPH only to feel bad for the tree. This guy fell into the 5% category. I don't wish him dead. He was mostly oblivious to the fact that he could have killed me and seemed to think that I should yield.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

While there are a few drivers who go out of their way to torment cyclists, I think that the majority of the 5% are just oblivious to anything/one but themselves. "Oh, I'm blocking the bike lane? Well too bad, I needed a place to stop and respond to an Instagram post".

Good ride this morning except for the smoke. Wind pattern has brought major wildfire smoke down from Canada. Almost looks foggy out.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Looks like it will be a light riding week for me this week. Yesterday I had to drive as I had meeting/lunch meeting/meeting back to back to back at three different locations. Good times. It was raining to beat the devil most of the day as well, so I'm not too sad about that. 

Today I am off the bike as I have to meet my daughter this afternoon and take her to an appointment while my wife take my son back out to the valley for practice. It was raining in the valley and has been raining off and on here in town, so, again, not too perturbed. And... my knee is still acting up. Weather related? Don't know. Getting old? Indeed I am. 

Hopefully back on the bike tomorrow. Friday's forecast looks good. So there's that.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> "Oh, I'm blocking the bike lane? Well too bad, I needed a place to stop and respond to an Instagram post".


Those are the considerate ones. The oblivious ones repond to an instagram post while driving and swerving along the road and bikelanes 



woodway said:


> Wind pattern has brought major wildfire smoke down from Canada. Almost looks foggy out.


Sounds scary..

Bedwards, with "shroom" you mean mushrooms? I remember you found a really big one last year right?

Nice rides today. 24C but overcast on the way home, strange combination that we seldomly have. Normally with those temps it is quite sunny. Made a scenic detour on the way home and rode 20m instead of the usual 14 in total.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Love those scenic detours Dutchman!

Smokey ride this morning. Given the weather patterns they are saying we will be living with this smoke for a while longer. Sigh.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Back at it this AM. Wet in the valley and cool - 51F. Damp in town and cool - 53F. Breezy, too. Felt good to be back on the bike. That is all. 

I remember the Kenai fires a couple years back and how bad the smoke in Anchorage was at that time. Made for some really bad riding to the point that the local health department encouraged people to not be exercising outside because of the smoke. Hope it doesn't get that bad for you Wood.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yes Shrooms = mushrooms. I did get out for a mountain bike commute and found a few edible varieties. That included some dinner plate sized oyster mushrooms that I'm 99% sure of but am still consulting on. 

Other than mushrooms I found that riding a tubeless mountain bike with year old sealant doesn't work. I got a sidewall leak near the end of the ride that never sealed. I was "too close" to bother putting a tube in yet still pretty far, LOL.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> ^^ Love those scenic detours Dutchman!
> 
> Smokey ride this morning. Given the weather patterns they are saying we will be living with this smoke for a while longer. Sigh.


You mean like "pics or it didnt happen" ? Sorry no pics but the pics would probably be pretty boring anyway. No nice mountains, lakes or woods here...
I hope that the smoke wont bother you too much.



bedwards1000 said:


> Yes Shrooms = mushrooms. I did get out for a mountain bike commute and found a few edible varieties. That included some dinner plate sized oyster mushrooms that I'm 99% sure of but am still consulting on.


Better be sure before you eat them 

Saw 3 roe deers this morning and realized it's been a long time since I've seen any of them. Hot on the ride home, took the shortest way today. Maybe tomorrow another detour..


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Okay... to add on to my earlier post.... 

Took off from the home office to head over to the client and about half way there I get a slow leak. No biggie - seemed that the patch on the tube gave up the ghost. pump the tube a bit to check and yes, the patch is leaking. Change it and get another 1/2 mile down the road and... another slow leak. 

End up walking back about two miles to the nearest WalMart and buy some more tubes, cuz I only had one on me today. Pull the tube out and check the tire and the tube and there are four or five holes in the tire itself - small holes. One with glass still in it. Damn it. Pull the glass out and get everything pumped up and ride back to my home office. I've canceled all of my meetings today and think I'll be just going home and crawling back into bed.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

blockphi said:


> Made for some really bad riding to the point that the local health department encouraged people to not be exercising outside because of the smoke. Hope it doesn't get that bad for you Wood.


It's too that point, unfortunately. They are encouraging people to stay inside. Somehow I am not listening.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

Had my first Ahole driver incident. Saab passed so close that I could have reached out and opened his passenger door. There was no oncoming traffic. And his pass was done at the worst time as there was a large box truck unloading to the right of me. And his pass was useless as he stopped at the following intersection to turn left and I caught right up to him. Sigh. Otherwise my commutes the past few weeks have actually been pretty pleasant.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

So I did take off a bit early yesterday, but still had some time to do some bear hunting before heading to the bus. There are a few more around town I need to get some snaps of. Well, more than a couple. There are fourteen total. Gotta catch em all! Wait, that's pokemon. Oh well, it works.








Semi-fatting it today. I am hopeful I'll be able and ready to get out on some single track this weekend. My ribs still hurt, but if I don't get back out there, I might never get back out there. And I want to get back out there.

Not too bad of a commute this AM. A bit breezy, humid, and cool, but generally dry - so that's good.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

perfect bikeweather on Friday. 19C, thin overcast and hardly any wind. Made a detour and extended the ride to 30km/21m. Rode also 5 of 5 working days this week.

Wish you all a nice weekend and happy riding!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Bit spooky. Like the Exorcist.

And damp. More than just a bit damp. Weather report calls for rain this afternoon, so there's that to look forward to. At least the morning was relatively dry. Legs felt heavy though and not sure why. Ended up doing a 28.33 mile ride on Saturday on the road and then didn't get a ride in yesterday as by the time I was done with other commitments it had started to rain quite heavily.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pic blockphi and I hope you make it home dry!

Commute was good and uneventful, good start of the week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pick blockphi!

Well despite an air quality reading of "very unhealthy" for this area due to wildfire smoke, I decided to ride to work this morning. I just could not stand being off the bike for another day. Yeah, the air was pretty bad. We will see what the afternoon brings. Marine push supposed to take place on thursday which will clear things out a bit.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

So I got lucky yesterday afternoon. It was pouring rain, but I was able to hitch a ride home with my daughter, so while I feel a bit sh*t for wussing out, I also was happy to be dry. 

This morning it was raining buckets, but I decided to say eff-it and ride anyway. It wasn't terrible - I stayed dry enough to be warm on the bus, which is always the challenge. On the Anchorage side, it had tapered off to a light drizzle, so just fine for riding. 

At this point I think I am a flat magnet. Caught another today. Another piece of glass. The issue is the tire. It is cut to heck and back. Granted it was the cheapest tire I could find at REI. Maybe I expect too much, but it seems that one should get a bit more out of a tire than about 1000 miles or so. Maybe if I weren't such a cheapskate. I think I'm going to go pick up a Conti Gator Skin for the rear, at a minimum today. While I can change a tube pretty darn quick, it really puts the damper on the joy of riding. And it seems wrong somehow to always be carrying three spares.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ sounds like Germany Blockphi. Broken glass here everywhere too. No wonder Schwalbe invented the "unflattable" tire, the Marathon Plus. Maybe something for you? Not the fastest tire, but stable and hard to break.

Coolest morning in months. 14C and some fog patches. Had the windvest on and felt fine. Lovely day, 23C, partly cloudy and windstill. Bummer I had to go home shortest way because some big packages were coming with the mail :-/


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, Craigslist came through for me today. Found a set of brand new take-off Schwalbe Kojak 700X28C tires - 2 for 50. Probably not the best tires out there, but better than what I had. I'm loath to spend a lot on new tires right now as I know this bike will be hung up before too much longer in favor of the fat tire bike, for which I need to get studded tires this year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Love the pic blockphi, and I hope the Schwalbes help the flat attacks. Good rides today, about 60F on the way in and 70 on the ride home, without the rain they forecast this morning. Tomorrow I have a vet appointment in the a.m. and the group trailride in the evening if not rained out. If vet gets done early and trailride looks unlikely I may bikecommute, but I may have to leave him for pickup later because he has priors (no bites, but very hard to handle at vet even with muzzle and drugs). Tonight I noticed my apple trees have lost a lot of leaves already, and the shrubs in the overgrown field are bright red...where did the summer go??


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another big rain morning in the Valley. So much so that I used the old-school Novarra hard rain jacket with no breathability and only some venting.

In town it wasn't bad at all. A bit of a mist, but that's about it.

The new tires are just what I needed. Knock on wood, but no flats yesterday or today and the extra volume the 28c gives makes for a bit more comfortable ride. Looking at it I think I can fit a 30 or even 32 into the rear, which I may have to try to better enable a bit of light gravel riding. My birthday is coming up and I'm planning either a one way ride to Talkeetna and have my fam come pick me up and have a pizza with me. The other option is a brief bike pack either on the Denali highway or just up and over Hatcher Pass to Talkeetna and then back. The Denali highway would be better on the road bike with some bigger tires. Hatcher pass up and over would be better on the KramPugs. We'll see. I'll probably end up doing none of it and just sitting around the house.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hope the new tires work better for you Blockphi!

hot day here today, 28C so good riding today.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

blockphi said:


> Well, Craigslist came through for me today. Found a set of brand new take-off Schwalbe Kojak 700X28C tires - 2 for 50. Probably not the best tires out there, but better than what I had. I'm loath to spend a lot on new tires right now as I know this bike will be hung up before too much longer in favor of the fat tire bike, for which I need to get studded tires this year.


When you're in the market for a new set of tires, look at the Panaracer RibMo. They have a parabola-shaped profile, so even the 32c tires roll quite quickly. The first set I ever bought lasted 6,000 miles and had one flat caused by a drywall screw. They seem to be pretty much impervious to everything else...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Pretty much perfect riding conditions MTBX, sans the rain.

Happy b-day Blockphi! Lot's of good riding choices for you to ponder...

28C is pretty nice to Dutchman. Enjoy!

Our winds FINALLY turned onshore, out of the west. So the wildfire smoke is going to clear out during the day today. Yay - I am so tired of it! Ride this morning was smokey, 57F. Supposed to cool down tomorrow which may break my streak of riding both ways in shorts and short sleeve shirt (which I have been doing since early July). As MTBX notes, fall is coming fast...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, I had to wear a windbreaker once this week. But it is pretty much the same story. We've had summer commuting weather for a few months but the mornings and evenings are noticeably cool (and dark) now. 

We got quite a bit of rain yesterday but most of it didn't effect my commute. The morning was a really heavy mist that might as well have been rain. But it all cleared out by the time I got home.

Still in shorts and short sleeves today and the next week of weather looks good as well!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Happy birthday blockphi! I also looked up talkeetna today, looks like a nice ride to there.

Woodway good that the smoke is disappearing now. You really rode through that every day?

This morning was a haze in the air and the rising sun made for very mystic light. I also have seen a black roe deer a few times already but this morning I got her on camera! 28C again on the ride home, but the next week temps will go down to around 22C max or so.

The black roe deer proof pic:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NrtvesTW13De5g8o8


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well 2 days in a row having to end rides before they really began because of angina led to two stents placed to fix a long 99% stenosis. Two 75% stenoses remain for another fun day in about a month. So off the bike for at least 2 weeks. Then maybe 2 on and two off.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^That's rough BrianMc, sorry to hear you are going through that. Hope you heal up well and the next procedure puts you back in the saddle.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sorry to hear BrianMc. Take the time to heal and you'll be back riding in no time.

Good catch Dutchman. Assume the deer is in there poaching the fruit? Yes, I rode through the smoke all week. My colleagues think I am crazy. Besides a little scratchy throat for a few days it did not bother me much.

I squeezed out another day in short sleeves today. 55F and the air was beautifully clear this morning!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry to hear BrianMC. Cycling is supposed to keep all that stuff at bay.


cyclingdutchman said:


> The black roe deer proof pic:
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/NrtvesTW13De5g8o8


I've never seen a black deer before. Cool.

Cool here this morning too. I had to resort to the wind breaker again.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ooff brian that doesnt sound good. Wish you all the best and hope that everything turns out well!

Woodway other people pay money for cigarettes to feel that way you get it for free. 

I found out by now that we have a small but stable population of black deer here in northern germany. I thought it was something coincidental like albinos but they seem to be a race of their own. 

Cooled down today. 17C this morning but windy already. Made my usual friday detour to finish the week. I also broke the 18tkm/12tm on this bike. Will probably hit 20tkm before the end of the year but no pressure there. Have nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good morning bike commuters (or at least the ones that still check in here from time to time).  Today's commute was pretty good considering I'd used myself up pretty good over the weekend. Saturday we took a road up and over the kancamagus highway. https://www.relive.cc/view/1797307983. There is just one hill but it is 22 miles long in one direction and 13 in the other. Then yesterday I did 5 miles of trail running which is long for me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice bedwards!

I'll share a relive movie as well (actually my friends because I could not get my GPS to sync). I went out with a group of friends on saturday and did the most difficult yet most awesome day hike of my life up into an area of Washington State called the Enchantments. 18 miles, 5200 ft. of climbing, just under 11 hours. The push up over Asgard Pass involved climbing 2200 ft. in less than a mile. It was hard to even stand up.

https://www.relive.cc/view/1798824741

My legs are still too trashed today to ride. Going to go for it tommorrow.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good commute this am. Dry, which was surprising as when I went to bed last night it was really coming down and didn't look like it was going to quit anytime soon. 

Did a bit of maintenance on the road bike this weekend and found some bothersome items that'll likely gnaw at me until I get them fixed. First - i've been having some issues with my rear wheel loosing tension and through multiple adjustments, the nipples got stripped, so I decided to replace the bad ones. In doing so I realized exactly why I'm loosing tension - the spoke bed is cracked around a number of the spokes. Eek. It's an old wheel so I'm not terribly surprised. I think it may have had one some cracking when I bought it and I just missed it (It was purchased used from my local bike Co-Op). So, it's possible I've been riding it this way for 6 months or so. Hmm... given that it is a double wall rim it'll take a bit to cause catastrophic failure, so I'm just going to keep riding it for now and then try to pick something up over the winter. 

I also went to replace my shift cables as after the recent bout of wet, it's not wanted to shift too well. Ha. Original shift cables from 1980-something. The cable head was fused into the shift lever. That sucks. Hmm...the heads of the cables are zinc. Zinc melts pretty easy. Hit it with a torch. Yup, zinc melted. The aluminum of the lever itself did bubble a bit, but got the cables changed and it made a huge difference. Burn it with fire!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Fire Fire Fire! How did you know they were zinc? 

Woodway that is an awesome hike. I'd love to do something like that. The PNW may have to be a bucket list item. I'm likely going to Zion NF this fall with my wife and some friends. I'll take that for now. But you whimped out on the ride this morning? Really?  I find that it helps to get back to normal sometimes. Those biking muscles are so use to doing their thing that they get the other achy ones back in line.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No flats blockphi? And I have never heard of anyone melting parts of his bike ^^

Bedwards I know how it feels. Running is somehow much harder than cycling. My oldest son has discovered soccer so I played with him a lot last weekend and I am actually a bit sore from it...

Woodway you got fresh air now?

Windy already this morning. It had rained so the roads were wet and I had the windjacket on instead of just the vest for the first time in months. 18C on the way home so I could ride without the jacket.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Fire Fire Fire! How did you know they were zinc?


Well... specific density and the refractive properties keyed me in. J/K - the color and softness did make me wonder, but really, the internets told me and I trusted them. Because everything on the internet is true.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> No flats blockphi? And I have never heard of anyone melting parts of his bike ^^


Nope. Did 35 on it Saturday and hit a couple patched of glass on the verge and not a flat to be found. None this morning. Knocking wood right now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Good morning bike commuters (or at least the ones that still check in here from time to time).  Today's commute was pretty good considering I'd used myself up pretty good over the weekend. Saturday we took a road up and over the kancamagus highway. https://www.relive.cc/view/1797307983. There is just one hill but it is 22 miles long in one direction and 13 in the other. Then yesterday I did 5 miles of trail running which is long for me.


I showed my buddy the Kanc last weekend, but we drove. Did you pass the 3 mallards across the road that refused to move, or was that special for us? Not sure if they crash landed on the wet pavement thinking it was a pond or what.

I did not bikecommute today, but here's a bear and a whitetail deer in velvet from my trailcam a few days ago. Not sure if video sharing this way works: Black Bear[video]https://www.facebook.com/mtb.xplorer/videos/pcb.2011504382214869/2011502302215077/?type=3&theater[/video]

Buck: [video]https://www.facebook.com/mtb.xplorer/videos/pcb.2011504382214869/2011503195548321/?type=3&theater[/video]


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway that is an awesome hike. I'd love to do something like that. The PNW may have to be a bucket list item


If you ever make it up this way, get in touch and I'll make sure you get to the goods.



bedwards1000 said:


> But you whimped out on the ride this morning? Really?  I find that it helps to get back to normal sometimes. Those biking muscles are so use to doing their thing that they get the other achy ones back in line.


Yup  After hiking the previous Sunday, riding every day last week, the big hike on saturday and a short 6-mile recovery hike with my wife on sunday, my legs instructed me to take a day off. :thumbsup:



cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway you got fresh air now?


Nice clean air. Rode to work this morning and my legs felt great!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A dry ride this AM, but cool. 45f - that's a touch over 7c. Fall is definitely here. I'm both looking forward to and dreading the coming winter. I guess it is going to be another El Nino year, so warmer than usual and rain instead of snow. Not what I want to deal with, but we'll see how it actually turns out. Better get my studded tires ready.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I showed my buddy the Kanc last weekend, but we drove. Did you pass the 3 mallards across the road that refused to move, or was that special for us? Not sure if they crash landed on the wet pavement thinking it was a pond or what.
> 
> I did not bikecommute today, but here's a bear and a whitetail deer in velvet from my trailcam a few days ago. Not sure if video sharing this way works: Black Bear[video]https://www.facebook.com/mtb.xplorer/videos/pcb.2011504382214869/2011502302215077/?type=3&theater[/video]
> 
> Buck: [video]https://www.facebook.com/mtb.xplorer/videos/pcb.2011504382214869/2011503195548321/?type=3&theater[/video]


I didn't see any ducks and the road wasn't wet.

What has got those animals so interested in your camera? Are you baiting it with doughnuts?



woodway said:


> Yup  After hiking the previous Sunday, riding every day last week, the big hike on saturday and a short 6-mile recovery hike with my wife on sunday, my legs instructed me to take a day off. :thumbsup:


 Woosy!  I better be careful or you will rescind your invitation :lol: I probably would have taken the day off too. Your ride is longer than mine.

Spectacular end of summer weather here this week!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice vids MTBX! I too find those animals are behaving like they are smelling something nice 

Wow blockphi that is pretty refreshing already. We have about 14C here in the morning, at least around the times that I ride.

Rode in with a collegue this morning and picked up the kids on the way home, good rides although not the fastest today - but who cares. Had coffee in the thermos this morning and tea on the way home so everything was fine


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> What has got those animals so interested in your camera? Are you baiting it with doughnuts?


I know, right? I never bait it, except maybe when I pointed it at some deer bones my dog found frozen in. I know baiting bear with donuts is still legal hunting over there, but we are more civilized over here, lol. Maybe the bear noticed human scent or just something different, and the deer noticed the bear?? I don't really get it. It was on an old apple tree but there are no apples on it. It was out for a week and they only came that night.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I know baiting bear with donuts is still legal hunting *over there*, but we are more civilized over here, lol.


LOL, not to talk politics but you have Bernie Saunders and we have Paul LaPage. Probably all I need to say.

In a totally crunchy Vermont kind of way...I took a side track shroom hunting and found some chicken of the woods on my commute home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Haha yes. You are way ahead of me on the shroom hunting, Vermonty merit badge awarded!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> In a totally crunchy Vermont kind of way...I took a side track shroom hunting and found some chicken of the woods on my commute home.
> View attachment 1214109


Next you'll be tapping the trees to make syrup? 

Slept so soundly last night that the alarm woke me this morning. That never happens. I honestly don't really remember the ride into work, I just got here somehow...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Next you'll be tapping the trees to make syrup?


Nope. The sap gathering aside, $20 of propane + a whole lot of hassle = $12 of syrup. I buy my 100% organic pure Vermont Canadian (it's a trade thing) syrup at BJs wholesale club. But these mushrooms are not available in stores.

Good ride in this morning on the tail end of summer. It is supposed to be 90F here with a heat index over 100 but the morning was very pleasant.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride home last night. 64F and sunny. Perfect riding weather. This morning - a bit chilly again. 44F when I left the house. About the same in town. That is all.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nope. The sap gathering aside, $20 of propane + a whole lot of hassle = $12 of syrup. I buy my 100% organic pure Vermont Canadian (it's a trade thing) syrup at BJs wholesale club. But these mushrooms are not available in stores.


But, for $20 and some elbow grease you get your own, bespoke Syrup! :thumbsup:

60F and cloudy this morning. Few showers in the area but I stayed dry. I've not had any significant rain, aside from some very light morning drizzle, sine June. the dry streak is sure to en soon...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

It rained this morning. Rain started around 4am and stopped around 8 when I just arrived to work. I only got wet on the outside and actually enjoyed to ride in the rain. Another weirdo here  it was dry on the way home and I had a nice tailwind.

Going bikecamping with the kids over the weekend, yay!


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

Had a wasp latch on to my lip and sting me a couple of times yesterday... I was, to say the least, displeased...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, let that be a lesson to me. Even though it dry at home does not mean it's dry all the way to work. Man did I get soaked.

Have a good bike camping weekend Dutchman!

For everyone in the US, have a good long weekend.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Chilly again. 44F in the valley and 52 in town. Breezy in town as well, which is odd for the parts of Anchorage I'm in. Just have to finish out today and then it's vaca time. I'm looking forward to it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa sage everything better now?

Woodway I hope your clothes dry during the day so you can have a pleasant ride home.

10C and slightly foggy this morning but it was a good ride. Wife brought kids and gear to a parking lot close to work and we arrived on the campingsite around 6pm. Nr1 rode.himself and did well on those 5m/7km despite a chilly headwind. Nr2 sat in the trailer and enjoyed seeing the world passing by. Its 9.40pm here now and we in the tent. Kids are asleep and I will be soon too 

I wish you all a nice long weekend. Why a long one this time?


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2018)

Sage of the Sage said:


> Had a wasp latch on to my lip and sting me a couple of times yesterday... I was, to say the least, displeased...


 Stingy things always suck. Got a wasp inside my motorcycle helmet a couple years ago. Pulled over onto an island between traffic lanes. Got the wasp out after a couple of bites then the popo stopped to write me a ticket. When he saw that I had bites on my face near my eyes, he put the ticket book away and stopped traffic so I could ride on.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I wish you all a nice long weekend. Why a long one this time?


Labor Day. It is basically a thank you day off for workers. It is usually the transition to back to school for students. Whatever the reason our company only has 7 holidays a year and this is one of them. Woot!

It is also one of the last big vacation weekends in our area so I'll expect to be riding past some traffic wit a smile on my way home.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

Of course I had two good commutes in past days because Monday was a new bike day.

We have a big first world problem in the family of parents and teens all into riding. My wife likes the Fargo so that's hers now, I picked up Sutra Ltd., and got a nice used Raleigh Roper for one of my teens.

Yeah, honeymoon is not over but so far I'm loving it. It's faster feeling than I expected and really nice for non-paved stuff I ride. I'm tempted to take it tubeless.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Friday's commute was not exciting, but in the afternoon I went to the creemee stand (soft-serve ice cream in northern New England) with coworkers for an end of summer treat and saw a road biker on a Cervelo nearly get creamed by a motorist with an ice cream "emergency". The biker stopped and went over to the car. I thought there might be words or worse, but from what I was able to hear it was something to the effect of the cyclist wanting to make sure the driver was not too shook up, which had the effect of 1) De-escalating things, handshakes and calm conversation ensued. 2) Making the cyclist a real person to the driver 3) Hopefully making the motorist consider his actions. I am really glad we did not see an actual accident. After seeing a pickup hit a dog recently when it ran out at our group ride, I don't want to see any more bloodshed.

After work I hung with a friend until dark and realized while I had my blinkies and headlight, I was missing the mount. Duct tape to the rescue, a couple narrow strips held the Nightrider perfectly. I think I will throw some in my backpack. Lots of PO PO out for the holiday weekend, saw a couple people pulled over on my way home.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Whoa sage everything better now?
> 
> Woodway I hope your clothes dry during the day so you can have a pleasant ride home.
> 
> ...


Yup. I'm doing well. I don't really react much to stings as far as swelling, etc. but I am not a fan of the pain involved...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ok I will start this week 

Kiddy touring was good last weekend, we even rode the entire 18km/11m stretch home yesterday. In addition my oldest son rode panniers fof the first time. I loaded them with light stuff only, like sleeping bag and some clothing, and he did very well. 

This morning was already 17C and unexpectedly 29C on the way home, but no complaints about that


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey sage, good to hear that you're ok again.

For the rest I guess you are all enjoying your long weekend - Labour day is on the 1st of May here in Europe. When I count correctly, we have 9 holidays a year. That is not much more, the difference is, that we have at least 4 weeks paid vacation a year by law.

Some kiddy touring pics here,

On our way along the River:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LEZKnNTaUcTwr12L9

Folded trailer, 2 bikes and empty panniers in the vestibule:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/B9UxGne1yKNuyrLF6

Big tent with big boat:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1WofjXGqBjgyZwHCA

On our way home:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ipW17Tg1x9YbJSy26

waiting for the ferry across the river:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tN7eLQtQpiNbsXTn8

The last stretch home has nice views in all directions (but can be dangerous when windy....)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/AG2Y7KtXR3uNJja86

It was a nice weekend. We have seen an exceptionable amount of container ships and cruiseships this weekend. The weather was warm enough to take a few swims too. The campingsite is also very nice for kids, with some nice play areas spread across the site.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

Good to hear, CD. 

Had a total knob in a Prius pull up next to me last night on the ride home. 

“Hey, why are you riding a bike?!?!? You should drive a car!”

“Yeah, well, my bike gets better fuel economy than your Prius...”

Her reply after that was unmentionable. Why can’t people just let folks live their own lives?


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## Guest (Sep 4, 2018)

Sage of the Sage said:


> Why can't people just let folks live their own lives?


 It's easier to tear someone down than to address why your life isn't what you'd like it to be. You never see cyclists riding by runner and yelling "Get a bike or get off the trail." That's because we're doing what we would do if we could just get around to it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Looks like a great trip, cyclingdutchman, impressive young tourer you have there! Sage, yes, we too demand to know why on earth you are riding a bike :lol:

I went bikepacking with a group from the LBS. It was great and I was glad my buddy Keeper came along.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sage of the Sage said:


> Good to hear, CD.
> 
> Had a total knob in a Prius pull up next to me last night on the ride home.
> 
> ...


^^*GET A CAR!!!*
I'm always reminded at how clever people are when they yell that.

I took the whole weekend off from riding a bike. I've got an adventure race coming up and can't decide between the cross bike or mountain bike. The biking part of the course has mostly gravel roads but short sections of more difficult trail. I've changed my mind twice now. So today I took the cross bike on the commute with 65% tar/gravel and 35% trail. Tomorrow I'll try it on the mountain bike to see if the speedy road parts make up for the less than optimal trail parts.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Since neither the MTB or Cross Bike are perfect, clearly you need to purchase a more appropriate bike before the race, bedwards...

Nice camping trip dutchman! Thanks for sharing.

Good looking bike and pup mtbx. Glad you had a good trip.

I used to let people who yell at me when biking get under my skin. Now I just smile and give them a thumbs up if I am able. It confuses them...

No biking for me either this weekend. But I got in a nice hike with my youngest son.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks MTBX. But is it really necessary to keep your dog on a leash in the woods?

Oh oh Bedwards you have to bring all the bikes and then decide depending on the bike that the majority of the other riders will have...the race looks good with paddling and running. 

Nice Pic woodway. You really seem to live in a nice area with lots of possibilities for outdoor activities!

Another summer day here. 17C this morning, 25 in the afternoon and a nice breeze from the east :thumbsup:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First day back after a week of vacation. It felt good to get a little routine biking in. I had to dodge a Chihuahua on the way in, but I made it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks MTBX. But is it really necessary to keep your dog on a leash in the woods?
> 
> :


A leash isn't required until you get to the actual state park campground, but there were a few reasons I used the bike attachment on the trail also: 2 porcupines crossed the trail in front of us and that would have ruined the trip; he has a high prey and herding drive, he has herded several deer back to me. I have been training against this but it is not 100%. There are also moose and black bear in the area, the largest state forest; and he is not kid-friendly. He does get to run loose on our walks at home, but he got plenty of exercise on the 11 mile ride in. Also, as you see I did not change back to knobbies and he helped me out of a couple sandy spot fishtails. 

Fun BMX commutes yesterday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ...2 porcupines crossed the trail in front of us and that would have ruined the trip; he has a high prey and herding drive, he has herded several deer back to me. I have been training against this but it is not 100%. There are also moose and black bear in the area, the largest state forest; and he is not kid-friendly.


 It's a good thing they are cute because they are a PITA. Our dog took off this morning when we let him out to pee and he came back with a big **** eating grin on his face (probably literally.) I couuldn't imagine riding through trails with a dog on a leash.

Woodway, I can't even decide between the bikes that I have. Let's not add another decision. How old is your youngest? Looks like 20ish. 


s0ckeyeus said:


> First day back after a week of vacation. It felt good to get a little routine biking in. I had to dodge a Chihuahua on the way in, but I made it.


I read Chihuahua but my mind turned it to chupacabra. My version was more interesting.

No chupacabras on my ride in. The air felt dense and slow but it could be me.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice Pic woodway. You really seem to live in a nice area with lots of possibilities for outdoor activities!


More possibilities than you could experience in a lifetime.



s0ckeyeus said:


> First day back after a week of vacation. It felt good to get a little routine biking in. I had to dodge a Chihuahua on the way in, but I made it.


Welcome back s0ck!



bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, I can't even decide between the bikes that I have. Let's not add another decision. How old is your youngest? Looks like 20ish.


bedwards, I'm trying to help you out here 

My son is 26. Here is a photo of the two of us. Just in case you have trouble telling us apart, I am the one on the right, LOL...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> bedwards, I'm trying to help you out here
> 
> My son is 26. Here is a photo of the two of us. Just in case you have trouble telling us apart, I am the one on the right, LOL...


Trust me, I don't really need help buying new bikes. I actually pulled out the old 29er that I "Replaced" and put it back into use as the best mountain bike I own for this race. I'd listed it on craigslist a few times but it never sold. Although...An ultra light hardtail carbon mountain bike would be ideal for this race. I think I will end up on the cross bike. I'm going to try the MTB tomorrow.

Good pic! Good to put faces with names.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx thanks, I understand, you are not secretly training the dog for the iditarod.

Woodway good to know you are the right man 

Sockeyous nice to hear from you!

Bedwards if the bike was never sold you simply belong to each other.

Nothing worth mentioning during the rides today. Nice to see all the chatter here!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Smooth ride this morning. 55F, clear, no wind.

I was inspecting my tires last night - it had been a while - and I saw that both the front and back have sustained multiple cuts, some pretty deep. I'm riding on borrowed time. New rubber ordered and will be installed this weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

As a pickup truck revved its engine behind me, later to pass a bit too close for comfort, I was reminded of the two cyclists who have been killed in hit and run accidents here in the last couple weeks. One incident involved a U-Haul that hit the man and cast him into the path of another vehicle. The driver ditched the U-Haul and took off on foot. The other incident was a pick-up that hit a man and drove about a mile with the bike stuck in its fender before the driver got out, ditched the bike, and kept going. Pretty sad. I'm not sure of the experience level of the people killed, but it really doesn't matter.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Well, decided to cut the vacation a bit short. Didn't do nearly anything I had sights on. 

I did go for a nice 71.79 mile ride on Sunday that was absolutely beautiful. I also helped my son get his truck back up and (sorta) running - an old suburban that he needed to replace the head gasket on. 

Did a few other nice rides, but nothing too out of the ordinary. 

First commute back was pretty good. 48F in the valley and 51F in town. Weather Underground said no rain today so I left all my rain kit at home. Get to town and... starts raining. Fortunately not too hard until after I made the office. It's now quite so I think I'll head over to the client site. 

Get to work today and my office is decorated for my birthday. Pretty neat. Definitely needed that right about now. Of course, it's only taken them 9 years to recognize it...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sorry to hear you got buzzed s0ck.



woodway said:


> I was inspecting my tires last night - it had been a while - and I saw that both the front and back have sustained multiple cuts, some pretty deep. I'm riding on borrowed time. New rubber ordered and will be installed this weekend.


 My rear tire developed a pretty good cut right through the casing and tube on the ride home last night. That cut is just a little long to comfortably ignore and bulges a bit. That was also the time that I realized that my rear wheel was disgustingly dirty.

Today I did the second part of my cross bike vs mountain bike test ride. Even with about 65% road and 35% trail the mountain bike was faster. Quite a bit faster actually. The time was made up on the sketchy trails. What it doesn't represent is the 5000' of climbing and 5000' of descending in 36 miles of riding. The cross bike is 18lbs and the MTB is 32. And I think you are walking/carrying your bike in one part. Hmmm


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Another semi-fat Friday here. No rain and nice temps in the low 50s. A bit breezy, though.

Looking to the weekend, I'll probably spend most of my time helping my son get his truck buttoned up so that he can stop driving our car and instead start dealing with the constant drain on the wallet that is a 7.4 liter big block Chevy 454 engine. If it were in a lighter vehicle it'd be dangerous for a 16 year old. In this case, we're going with the adage that in an accident the vehicle with the most lug nuts wins. The only thing on the road with more lug nuts that this truck is a semi.

However, if I get a large block of time to ride, I think I'm going to try to get in an out and back gravel ride somewhere. Somewhere hilly, hopefully.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Hope you get a good ride in blockphi!

57F and clear this morning. Nice morning for a ride. Almost hit a deer. that got my heart pumping...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

A deer! oh my dear... Well I can imagine that you got scared woodway. 

Again, nice pic blockphi! 

Nice ride yesterday but today was one of those days..... I left without a jacket this morning with just a short sleeve on. It was 17C already but it had rained and it was quite damp outside. About halfway the haze turned into drizzle and I had nothing to hold it off. Luckily I did not get too wet before work and my pants was dry in no time. This morning the weather forecast said it would be sunny in the afternoon, later it said cloudy, when I headed home there were showers passing through but I managed to stay dry. Phew. Skipped my usual detour though so no new parts from the LBS today and no fresh cheese from the farmer's market..


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Trying to condition myself to commuting again, I had a longer ride yesterday: Over an hour. My idea was to "drive to my bike to work" and ride home, with hopes of waking up this morning and riding back to work. Last night I started getting sore at the base of my neck between shoulder blades.

This morning I knew there was no way I could power through over an hour with the way my neck/shoulders felt.

I was very conscientious about not "gripping" my handles, but what could be a cause for the fatigue in this base of the neck/shoulder blades area?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^What bike style? I get fatigue like that from looking up from a road/tri bike position.  Maybe it was just too much all at once.

I went on the longest "mountain bike ride" of my life yesterday. My wife was doing a 1/2 Ironman 50 miles away and for some reason I thought it would be fun to see it I could make it there on mostly trails. After hours of going back and forth with Strava route builder and Strava global heatmap trying to figure out where the trails were I kind of gave up. I ended up with about 1/3 trail riding which was plenty. Between the trail riding, long ride and heavy bike I didn't need any more. It did end up being a good ride and I got there in plenty of time to meet her on the course and see her finish. I found some pretty cool trails along the way too.

https://www.relive.cc/view/1831149463.

Happy Monday

Oh, and the biggest oak tree I have ever seen. The trunk must have been 8-10' across. This is a 29er bike and isn't small.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice ride bedwards! Well done. I like those long rides into uncharted territory. But what was the back and forth at the end?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Following my wife around on the run course at the end of the triathlon. It was 2 loops but there was an old railroad bed I was using as a shortcut.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A chilly one this AM. 4 degrees. Well, 40 if you're American, but it sounds more hardcore in C! Some great aurora out this morning as well. Always cool to see, but a definite sign that summer is over and winter will be here soon. 

3279.44 miles so far this year with a big August push of over 600 miles. With only 1720.56 miles to go to get to 5K for the year, I think I'm going to see if I can get there. Should be able to. September and October are some good months for riding and since I'm not teaching this semester so my nights and weekends are free, I'll have some extra time to get out there. Starting to toy with the idea of doing a century this weekend. Hmm...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi jelako, maybe you just have to get used to the bike again. Watch some bikefitting videos on youtube to see if there is anything totally out of range. When approx ok you can start finetuning the fit. 

Bedwards, that sounds like a nice ride indeed. When is your adventure race again? Next weekend?

Blockphi you mean aurora borealis? Coooool!! I can be glad to see a nice sunrise the next months...

Nice rides today. Bike is creaking though the last days, have to start looking for the cause....


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## Guest (Sep 10, 2018)

Jelako said:


> Trying to condition myself to commuting again, I had a longer ride yesterday: Over an hour. My idea was to "drive to my bike to work" and ride home, with hopes of waking up this morning and riding back to work. Last night I started getting sore at the base of my neck between shoulder blades.
> 
> This morning I knew there was no way I could power through over an hour with the way my neck/shoulders felt.
> 
> I was very conscientious about not "gripping" my handles, but what could be a cause for the fatigue in this base of the neck/shoulder blades area?


Lot's of things unfortunately add to neck and shoulder issues. The riding position is tough on that area of your body so adding some neck stretches when you ride can be beneficial. I'll also try to stretch my entire back on most downhills. You're likely going to see some improvement just from riding as your condition improves, but initially you might try an antiinflamatory like ibuprophen until things settle down. I've got some degenerative disc disease and once things start tighening up, it seems to spread around. So I try to stay ahead of it and use a little flexall before and ice after rides. I did the 1/2 Gravel Worlds last year and that had me toasted for almost a week.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Not much to report since my commute since June has been about 2 miles each way. A couple of things though. 

Today there was a rude driver that ran a stop sign so that she could cut in front of me and wait at the red light, after which she would make a left turn, while I was going straight. I grumbled, but the important thing was that I could pass her on the right and stay completely in my lane, so it didn't really affect me. 

Now for the one that's on me. I was riding down my usual route, and I take this less busy road with stop signs, because there are fewer people driving and the speed is, in general, slower. I'm headed downhill and I notice this weird noise coming from my back wheel (found out a couple weeks later that it's that annoying plastic disc coming off of my rear wheel). I'm looking down and at my back wheel while cruising. But I was totally distracted and forgot there was a car in front of me, so I looked up and was about to hit this car. I mostly stopped, but definitely slowly hit their bumper. They looked back, I looked at their bumper and then shrugged. They just drove off like nothing ever happened. I'll take it. 

Hope y'all have been doing well.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^What bike style? I get fatigue like that from looking up from a road/tri bike position. Maybe it was just too much all at once.
> 
> I went on the longest "mountain bike ride" of my life yesterday. My wife was doing a 1/2 Ironman 50 miles away and for some reason I thought it would be fun to see it I could make it there on mostly trails. After hours of going back and forth with Strava route builder and Strava global heatmap trying to figure out where the trails were I kind of gave up. I ended up with about 1/3 trail riding which was plenty. Between the trail riding, long ride and heavy bike I didn't need any more. It did end up being a good ride and I got there in plenty of time to meet her on the course and see her finish. I found some pretty cool trails along the way too.
> 
> ...


Ok, that ride hurt me just looking at it. Seems fun, though.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2018)

Good news on the commuting front. Start a new job with Scheels All Sports on Wednesday. They have indoor bike parking, a shower, and they incentivize exercise. Not a bad start.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Sage of the Sage said:


> Good to hear, CD.
> 
> Had a total knob in a Prius pull up next to me last night on the ride home.
> 
> ...


This is especially pertinent as many people drive a Prius for the image or to feel conscientious, but actually all that lithium in the batteries causes a heck of a lot of a different type of pollution, too. DANG.


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## Guest (Sep 11, 2018)

NDD said:


> This is especially pertinent as many people drive a Prius for the image or to feel conscientious, but actually all that lithium in the batteries causes a heck of a lot of a different type of pollution, too. DANG.


 I always chuckle when someone tells me their Leaf is 100% emissions free. Really? Your electricity (midwest states) comes primarily from Coal and secondarily from 40-year-old nuclear power plants. I accept the fact that bicycles take energy to build and are less efficient (relatively) than public transportation, but they have a pretty dang low enviromental footprint.


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## NLrider (May 14, 2013)

I've recently started commuting to work on bike once a week, this week I'm going for twice. Since my fitness level is nowhere near where it should be I've been parking at my local grocery store and getting on the trail from there. It's around a 4.5km ride, not very far at all but to me it's challenging. Anyways I biked in this morning, biking home this afternoon and I'm hoping to do the same on Friday this week. I'm riding an '08 Specialized Hardrock Comp.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nice work NL rider. You are probably more likely to stick with it if you don't rush in and burn out. How many miles is it if you don't park at the store? 

These are my reasons for not riding in today. 
1. I'm still a little tired from Sunday, mostly my rear end. I didn't swap the saddle back and the one I put on that bike to sell doesn't agree with me.
2. I should rest some for next weekend. Yes, Dutchman, that is the adventure race.
3. It is raining
4. I have an appointment after work and needed a car.

I did ride yesterday that was nice.


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## NLrider (May 14, 2013)

If I go directly from my house it is 8-9km. The only issue is the terrain is incredibly hilly with narrow roads that aren't very bike friendly. Half of the commute would be on the road and the other half (what I'm doing now) is on converted railway bed. I swear people around here think that cyclists are targets for extra points on their commute. Once I can get my legs conditioned enough I will eventually risk it and start going from my home. I just need to work up the nerve and my fitness level, haha.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I had to see where you were from. North East of me! Although Newfoundland didn't narrow it down much. There is a lot of space up there. Good luck on building up the miles and welcome to the neighborhood.


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## NLrider (May 14, 2013)

Thanks man, and I'm in Paradise, NL. Just outside of St. John's.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That sounds very nice. Probably not paradise in the winter.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this AM. A bit chilly again and only a bit of the northern lights out. Coolest thing about the time I leave the house each day is when they are out I usually see them. Beyond that, nothing too exciting.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

another warm, but cloudy and windy day today. But still, it remains dry so no complaints.

Bedwards, which bike for the weekend race?  

NLrider, had to look up where NL is - NewfoundLand. I thought it was NetherLands  Newfoundland sounds good though. Why dont you post some pics of your commute?


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

This was one of my first commutes after a couple weeks. It was just chilly enough that I didn't go to short sleeves half way through. The bike feels almost new after I degreased the chain and put a dry lube on; I had also fiddled with the front derailleur a lot to reduce the cable tension so it wouldn't make a huge bang when I downshift.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Reminds me, I should clean up the bike before the race.


cyclingdutchman said:


> another warm, but cloudy and windy day today. But still, it remains dry so no complaints.
> 
> Bedwards, which bike for the weekend race?
> 
> NLrider, had to look up where NL is - NewfoundLand. I thought it was NetherLands  Newfoundland sounds good though. Why dont you post some pics of your commute?


I'm pretty sure I have settled on the cross bike. There are about 7000' of climbing in <50 miles and 5000' of them are with the bike. I think a few of them are 20% grade on trails and the cross bike is a lot lighter to carry and won't wear me out as much for the hiking portions of the race.

I second the request for Newfoundland pictures.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Forster said:


> I always chuckle when someone tells me their Leaf is 100% emissions free. Really? Your electricity (midwest states) comes primarily from Coal and secondarily from 40-year-old nuclear power plants. I accept the fact that bicycles take energy to build and are less efficient (relatively) than public transportation, but they have a pretty dang low enviromental footprint.


Dude, I'm telling you that energy just comes outta nowhere. Just put it in the electrical socket and boom it's charged up!

Really, though, this is a deep rooted phsychological problem, I believe. Like people would recognize pollution coming right out of an exhaust, but you add a couple layers of abstraction and it's like pollution doesn't exist.



NLrider said:


> I've recently started commuting to work on bike once a week, this week I'm going for twice. Since my fitness level is nowhere near where it should be I've been parking at my local grocery store and getting on the trail from there. It's around a 4.5km ride, not very far at all but to me it's challenging. Anyways I biked in this morning, biking home this afternoon and I'm hoping to do the same on Friday this week. I'm riding an '08 Specialized Hardrock Comp.


Dude that's awesome. You have to start somewhere, and the good news is that it only gets better from here.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

The afternoon commute was phenomenal. Temp was 73F, light breeze, sunshine, and an unlittered bike path.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Welcome NL rider. take it slow and the miles will soon add up.

It's going to be a BIG day bedwards. Good luck and will look forward to a report.

Light rain this morning, put my rain gear on for the first time since probably May. Otherwise uneventful ride.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Decent commute today. A bit warmer - nearly 50 at my place. Makes for a bit better time of it. I suppose, though, winter is really and truly around the corner up here in the great white north. Orion is making his nightly appearance so I'll need to start thinking about studded tires real soon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> It's going to be a BIG day bedwards. Good luck and will look forward to a report.


+1
and do you get employee discount on your new job as well?



bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Reminds me, I should clean up the bike before the race.
> 
> I'm pretty sure I have settled on the cross bike. There are about 7000' of climbing in <50 miles and 5000' of them are with the bike. I think a few of them are 20% grade on trails and the cross bike is a lot lighter to carry and won't wear me out as much for the hiking portions of the race.
> 
> I second the request for Newfoundland pictures.


Sounds reasonable. Good luck!

Drizzle again this morning. Jacket was holding up, didnt bother to put the rainpants on. Office pants got slightly wet, but dried within 10min. or so. Ride home was dry with a nice tailwind.


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## davpacjr (Sep 11, 2018)

Mine was better than yesterday. Yesterday on the last hill my rear derailleur cable snapped and I had to climb in the hardest gear my road bike has. So today I brought out the brand new Fatboy and took that in to work. The softer ride, the noise of the tires, the fact that I can climb without killing myself made it enjoyable.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

davpacjr said:


> Mine was better than yesterday. Yesterday on the last hill my rear derailleur cable snapped and I had to climb in the hardest gear my road bike has. So today I brought out the brand new Fatboy and took that in to work. The softer ride, the noise of the tires, the fact that I can climb without killing myself made it enjoyable.


Sorry about your cable. It sounds like you were up for a brutal climb. You may already know a trick to quickly get the rear deraileur into an easier gear with no cable, but in case someone else is stuck, this is what I did: Pull the deraileur lower section down (as if the cable was pulling it), wedge a tire lever into the deraileur where it pinches closed without cable tension, secure with zipties or rubber bands.

My commute felt fast and smooth this morning; I was running late after riding my local trail on my mtb and got my first flat in a while on the mtb. Two tire plugs (same thing I had to do last time...) and a hundred pumps later I was riding home.

As much as I love my mtb, I appreciate the simplicity, smoothness, efficiency and speed of my commuter road/cx bike. I don't appreciate the cars though.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

b rock said:


> Sorry about your cable. It sounds like you were up for a brutal climb. You may already know a trick to quickly get the rear deraileur into an easier gear with no cable, but in case someone else is stuck, this is what I did: Pull the deraileur lower section down (as if the cable was pulling it), wedge a tire lever into the deraileur where it pinches closed without cable tension, secure with zipties or rubber bands.


Other options:

1. Turn in your high limit screw in as far as it will go (will only get you 2-3 gears above your smallest cog.

2. If there is enough cable left - push the derailleur up to where you can feed what's left into the derailleur and tighten the capture screw.

3. Similar to above - if there is a big enough piece of broken cable, take if off the derailleur, tie a knot into it, feed the long end into the barrel adjuster, push the derailleur to position and tighten down the capture screw.

I've done #1 and #2 and they both got me home without having to push or make the call of shame.


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## davpacjr (Sep 11, 2018)

b rock said:


> Sorry about your cable. It sounds like you were up for a brutal climb. You may already know a trick to quickly get the rear deraileur into an easier gear with no cable, but in case someone else is stuck, this is what I did: Pull the deraileur lower section down (as if the cable was pulling it), wedge a tire lever into the deraileur where it pinches closed without cable tension, secure with zipties or rubber bands.
> 
> My commute felt fast and smooth this morning; I was running late after riding my local trail on my mtb and got my first flat in a while on the mtb. Two tire plugs (same thing I had to do last time...) and a hundred pumps later I was riding home.
> 
> As much as I love my mtb, I appreciate the simplicity, smoothness, efficiency and speed of my commuter road/cx bike. I don't appreciate the cars though.


I actually did not know that, but that is a good tip. Thank you. But I found a better way for that and that was I called the wife and she picked me up after work. I hear you about the cars


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

davpacjr said:


> I actually did not know that, but that is a good tip. Thank you. But I found a better way for that and that was I called the wife and she picked me up after work. I hear you about the cars


lol yes

I like your #2 and #3 tips woodway, much cleaner than my bodge.


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## davpacjr (Sep 11, 2018)

I must say that this fatbike is alot faster than I expected it to be. Going to work seems to be a lot more of a breeze. But it also looks like I am burning more calories on it (not that that is a bad thing for me). But I def. love the smoother ride on me bum. The ride in was dark, a bit humid and very lite wind. Still averaged around 14mph. of course that is only a 10 mile ride in to work.


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## BillyBicycle (Jul 4, 2016)

Well not today's commute (still working from home) but on Monday, my lunch fell out of my panniers ! With school back in session, traffic is up earlier in the morning, and volume seems to have doubled. I ride to work nearly eery day.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

davpacjr - 14mph for 10 miles on a fat bike is a pretty good pace - well done!

Anger - hope your lunch did not get run over by the increased traffic. Good job riding every day!

I got the new tires onto my bike last night - I switched from the 25c tires I have ridden for years to 28c tires. Same model, Conti GP4000SII. I should have made this switch a long time ago, they roll great and give a much better ride.

57F and light rain this morning, and a decent commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My biggest question is how does a rear derailleur cable snap? There isn't a lot of stress on them and they would shift pretty horribly before they rusted through. I rarely change cables on any of my bikes and I've never snapped a cable. I'm not doubting, just wondering. 

I can't say I notice much of a difference between 25C and 28C. But maybe it's just because I always run 25 on the road bike and 28 on the cross bike. The road/25C definitely feels faster and the cross/28C handles rough pavement better but I always attributed it to the bike. 

In any case, I have 32C knobbies on the cross bike now. I did a shakedown ride for the race this morning. I think I may ditch the camelback because running with it sucks. Otherwise it's all good. I bought a tool roll that I hung on the front handlebars so I can leave all the bike related stuff with the bike when I do the other legs of the course.


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## BillyBicycle (Jul 4, 2016)

woodway said:


> Anger - hope your lunch did not get run over by the increased traffic. Good job riding every day!
> .


it was gone when I returned home. So I had to consume protein drinks at work and now i'm out a nice soft pack. oh well ! part of the daily joy of not driving a cage. It's an adventure every single day.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Legs a bit heavy, but no biggie. Temps had lots of variation this morning - block to block it seemed they changed sufficiently enough to feel the differences. Warmer to colder. A sure sign of winter coming on when the folds hold the cold air in. https://goo.gl/maps/yPqtWggiMyQ2
"It's like a blanket that's been wrinkled up..."

Cool what glaciers can do to the terrain.


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## davpacjr (Sep 11, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> My biggest question is how does a rear derailleur cable snap? There isn't a lot of stress on them and they would shift pretty horribly before they rusted through. I rarely change cables on any of my bikes and I've never snapped a cable. I'm not doubting, just wondering.


I've been having issues for a while with shifting, but Im a jeep owner so I run it till it brakes. The cable was around 6yo now and the bike has over 9k on it so not surprising.,


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

davpacjr said:


> I've been having issues for a while with shifting, but Im a jeep owner so I run it till it brakes. The cable was around 6yo now and the bike has over 9k on it so not surprising.,


LOL, got it. Those shift cables are pricey.  Maybe you were just looking for an excuse to ride the fatboy.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards so you settled down on the bike and equipment?

Ride in was refreshing, 8C and foggy. I was thinking about gloves along the way....had a goodbye-dinner after work with a collegue that has her last day before retirement tomorrow, so I rode home in the dark first time this fall. It was still 15C so no big issue, and lights are still working.

Will work from home tomorrow, so no riding. But will check here over the weekend, waiting for Bedward's race report


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## davpacjr (Sep 11, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL, got it. Those shift cables are pricey.  Maybe you were just looking for an excuse to ride the fatboy.


Honestly I was since I got it last week. It was just luck that the cable broke.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good luck at the adventure race bedwards! The lighter bike sounds good with all that climbing.

Good rides, a lot of misty mornings. Had a pickup pass me just before the light - no big deal except that when it turned green he just sat there. As I don't have the friendly beep option on the bike, I knocked on his tailgate. Nope, still sat there. C'mon guy, wake up, you are driving!

Welcome to our new bikecommuters/forum friends.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

HUGE blowout on Friday. I left for work in the dark and light rain, was moving along around 18MPH when suddenly - BANG! - like a big firecracker going off and now I'm trying to keep my bike under control as the front wheel is riding on the rim.

Came to a mostly controlled stop and saw that whatever happened blew the front tire off the rim. I thought about trying to put a new tube in, but this was a brand new tire and I thought something might be wrong with it. So I pushed home.

After looking everything over, it looks like it was an inner tube failure. The tube has a six -inch tear in it where it blew. The force of it blowing was enough to unseat the tire. The tube is quite old - I had patched it several times - it's years old and has probably over ten thousand miles on it. I think my mistake is that when I changed the tire, I should have also changed the tube.

Anyway, no ride today, I am working at my place in Central Washington. It's a delicious day though, so I am going to go Mountain Biking later today.

bedwards, we are all still waiting for the race report!


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. Cool and dry, so that's good. Particularly as we passed through some heavy rain between the valley and Anchorage.

Got out for a nice 50Km gravel grind yesterday with 2800 feet of climbing. Fun times. And found my own magic bus... not much of a secret to anyone in the area, but cool nonetheless. Big terrain. Like Denali National Park, but without the tourists or really big mountain. Same type of scenery, though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Beywards is probably still flattened from that race  so I am not going to spread the news for him, but (hint hint) the results are online now and he can be proud!

Dang woodway that sounds really scary. It happened to me once going only 10kph and that was already scary enough. Did it damage the tire as well?

Nice rides today. 8C and foggy again this morning. Also left early, first start in the dark this fall. Summer weather in the afternoon, 24C! Made a nice detour. 

No riding tomorrow. Company organises a surprise excursion not suitable for people suffering from motion sickness, so my guess is we'll be on a sightseeing bus.

Edit: nice pics blockphi! And I repeat: really nice color on your bike!


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

blockphi said:


> A good ride in this AM. Cool and dry, so that's good. Particularly as we passed through some heavy rain between the valley and Anchorage.
> 
> Got out for a nice 50Km gravel grind yesterday with 2800 feet of climbing. Fun times. And found my own magic bus... not much of a secret to anyone in the area, but cool nonetheless. Big terrain. Like Denali National Park, but without the tourists or really big mountain. Same type of scenery, though.
> 
> ...


Beautiful scenery!

Do you carry anything for bears?


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Sage of the Sage said:


> Beautiful scenery!
> 
> Do you carry anything for bears?


Naw, not for this type of ride and in this type of scenery. Pretty good sightlines even once below treeline. Honestly, even when I'm riding in the woods where I know there are bears around I don't carry anything as often as I should. When I do, just a can of bear spray.

I do have a bear bell, though who knows if that actually has any kind of affect other than calling them to dinner!


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Yikes woodway, nice recovery from a possible crash. 
A friend of mine had told me he replaces his tubes after a couple patches or so, I had never figured out why, but the ancient tube degrading might be the answer.

Sweet photos blockphi. I keep hearing stories about epic gravel rides that almost make me want to try it. My commuter is a CX bike that can fit at least 32mm tires...

My commute was pretty interesting for me today. I had recently read about muscle engagement throughout the pedal stroke, and single leg pedaling drills to smooth out power application, so I tried it on the way to work. Wow what a difference on my climb home! I can see I was mashing, and relying on my quads too much before, even though I thought I was smooth. I hope to have my commutes be recovery rides where I focus on pedaling technique, and occasionally, weight distribution, as I up the mtb volume.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow Woodway, I have never had a blowout like that, but always worry about them on a speedy descent! I am pretty conservative (lazy) and tend to replace with a new tube.

Thanks for sharing the great photos blockphi, it looks amazing!

b rock, hope that leg is OK, I have tried 1-legged but not uphill.

Good rides today. The niterider turned on again (I held the button down for maybe 10 secs and it appeared to reset it) and I was not run over by the rude close pass by a one of those tractor trailers for heavy equipment. It was also a stupid pass as I only ended up 2 cars behind him at the next light. Not really worth it! I know flying the bird is not really advisable, and doubtful the driver saw it in the rearview, but the next couple vehicles sure got the message and passed super safely.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Beywards is probably still flattened from that race  so I am not going to spread the news for him, but (hint hint) the results are online now and he can be proud!


 Hey, thanks dutchman! Flattened? No, I rode to work yesterday like any normal day. I didn't check in because I figured I'd do it when the blog was done. It's done.
The Candid Cyclist: Metallak Race 2018

blockphi should we start calling you Chris (McCandless)? Good pics

Woodway, no it wasn't a tube failure. When you run tubeless there is nothing like that to even fail like that. When the casing fails the tube will rupture like that. My guess is that the tire was never seated correctly or you had some of the tube trapped between the bead and the rim.



blockphi;13819106I do have a bear bell said:


> Ha Ha. I saw plenty of bear scat on the race course and only had a creaky seat to warn them away. We only have the black variety around here so unless you are wearing a necklace of doughnuts they probably have no interest in you. Although I am just reminded of this story: https://www.npr.org/2017/07/08/536125076/marathon-runner-outruns-black-bear-in-maine
> 
> Oh and on my commute in I passed not one but *two *butt pugs by the side of the road. They appeared to be in fairly good shape but I didn't stop to pick them up. LOL. I think I remember blockphi reporting that he passed a dildo not too long ago. Somebody did anyway.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

3506.7 - As of this morning thems be my miles. I'm happy with that. 

Commute was a bit rough this morning. First my NiteRider headlight wouldn't work so I had to use my older Cygolight that is much more dim. Come to find out somehow the NR got locked. Unlocked it and it worked fine. Got to the office and realized... no keys. Fortunately a coworker is also an early bird and was able to get me in the building. 

Apart from those two issues, pretty good riding. Hoping this afternoon goes smoothly as I have to meet a guy from Craigslist about some pogies and will have about 45 minutes to make the bus a mere six miles away from the meetup. 

Bed - yeah, the dildo was me. But you've definitely gotten me beat. (So many bad puns there...)


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

mtbxplorer said:


> b rock, hope that leg is OK, I have tried 1-legged but not uphill.


Thanks. I did the one leg pedaling smoothness drills a mostly on the flats, and tried to just be smooth on the climbs, but the drills help me be aware of my smoothness a lot even when using both legs... makes me think about amputees.

Today was another nice commute. It's cold enough now that I don't go to short sleeves at all, but pretty warm relative to what most people deal with.

I am trying to add a couple more mtb rides to my week, so I hope the pedaling smoothness practice will help my knees deal with more volume. I'm also having fun thinking about loading both tires a little bit around the apex of turns.


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## BillyBicycle (Jul 4, 2016)

Left crank arm coming loose again on my daily ride "Cyclic". First bike in 37 years of "enthusiastic cycling" that this has happened to me on. Oh well, ordered a new one last week. $20 fix.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

blockphi said:


> Commute was a bit rough this morning. First my NiteRider headlight wouldn't work


My Niterider "died" last week. It wouldn't turn on even though it turned blue when plugged in (although it turned blue in just a couple secs). Too lazy to look up the instructions, I guessed it must have a reset and tied holding the button down for like 10 seconds, when I believe it blinked. I released the button and it has worked perfectly since.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey, thanks dutchman! Flattened? No, I rode to work yesterday like any normal day. I didn't check in because I figured I'd do it when the blog was done. It's done.
> The Candid Cyclist: Metallak Race 2018


Absolutely outstanding bedwards. Both the race and the write-up. Enjoyed reading about your adventure.



bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, no it wasn't a tube failure. When you run tubeless there is nothing like that to even fail like that. When the casing fails the tube will rupture like that. My guess is that the tire was never seated correctly or you had some of the tube trapped between the bead and the rim.


Yes, I think you are right. Funny thing is I rode nearly 100 miles on that new tire before it blew...

No commute for me the last couple of days, but yesterday I got out for a good MTB ride near my house. 14 miles, 2700 feet. Beautiful late summer day. Back to my regular commute tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I have to agree Bedwards, that was a great write up on your blog of a TOUGH race! Congrats to you and rollingrunner on your podiums! That pinnacle thing is pretty crazy looking, even for northern NH.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Regular commute today. 50F and clear - put my lightweight jacket on this morning. No blown tires.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Good commute this AM. not too chilly. Not windy. Good times. 

Got a good deal yesterday on a set of Dogwood Designs pogies for this winter's riding. New these are 120, picked them up for 50. Didn't even haggle on the price. I'm happy. My last pogies were warm, but not so good given the cockpit set up I have so I was always adjusting them - pulling them up like a pair of socks that keep falling down.


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## BillyBicycle (Jul 4, 2016)

working @ home today. No commute for me ! I'll get out to my local mtb trail and burn off some steam later this evening.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for the positive feedback all. Most of my "training" for the race is just in my daily commutes. 

I had to drop a vehicle off an the shop and had an extended 22 mile commute from a different area today. It was a little chilly so I grabbed the full fingered gloves...and left them on the table at home. I did bring a windbreaker but didn't' need to wear it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats on 3rd place for you and 1st for RR bedwards. I have read you blog entry before your posting here, must have been lucky to see it just after publication.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

nice neighborhood trails you have their woodway!

back to short sleeved commute today after a morning mtb ride. 

I probably carried too much speed down the hill from my house in the swooping paved turns, I need to chill that out. I am happy enough with my crashes in the dirt


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

No commute yesterday, just a long lovely ride on the Warbird...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

All the pix are cool! Here are mine from today's BMX cruiser commute. The newish Mr. Pickwick statue in front of the Aldrich Public Library in Barre VT (sorry, sideways), and me at my parknpedal lot. I like how it always looks so dark and lonely at night.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

So I finally had a commute that broke up the norm in a good way. I encountered another cyclist on my commute. He was stopped at a crosswalk, while I was the stop light behind a bus. The light turned green, and I (smug as I am) fully expected to blow on past him. Instead as I pulled alongside the guy, and he began to talk to me. It turns out he is a foreign exchange student from Germany. We kept chatting and rode maybe a mile before I had to turn off. It was pretty cool, especially since I'm not typically the type to chat with strangers, although after growing up overseas for most of my childhood I find it easier sometimes to talk to non-Americans.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sage of the Sage said:


> No commute yesterday, just a long lovely ride on the Warbird...


Looks like a nice ride. Who took the pictures? How long?

Normal commute today. Feels like fall.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

b rock said:


> I probably carried too much speed down the hill from my house in the swooping paved turns, I need to chill that out. I am happy enough with my crashes in the dirt


Nothing like swooping paved turns to have fun on though!



Sage of the Sage said:


> No commute yesterday, just a long lovely ride on the Warbird...


Nice pics! Where are you located?



mtbxplorer said:


> All the pix are cool! Here are mine from today's BMX cruiser commute. The newish Mr. Pickwick statue in front of the Aldrich Public Library in Barre VT (sorry, sideways), and me at my parknpedal lot. I like how it always looks so dark and lonely at night.


Nice pics mtbx!



s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm not typically the type to chat with strangers, although after growing up overseas for most of my childhood I find it easier sometimes to talk to non-Americans.


Pretty cool. My previous commute had almost 16 miles of paved MUP and I rode/chatted with quite a few interesting people over the years, one of whom ended up becoming a good friend. You just never know.



bedwards1000 said:


> Normal commute today. Feels like fall.


Me too. Light rain, 50F. Definitely feeling fall-ish.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow nice pics all! 

Dry, warm and windy here. Before I left I turned the rear inside knob of my bb7 outwards 2 clicks and tadaa average speed for the round trip was 2 kph higher, almost 22kph/15mph. I looked at the caliper before and there was a gap on both sides of the rotor, just that the inner pad was tilted and I think the upper part rubbed on the rotor a bit. Or it was just my imagination 

Looks like it could rain tomorrow afternoon. I say, bring it on


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wow nice pics all!
> 
> Dry, warm and windy here. Before I left I turned the rear inside knob of my bb7 outwards 2 clicks and tadaa average speed for the round trip was 2 kph higher, almost 22kph/15mph. I looked at the caliper before and there was a gap on both sides of the rotor, just that the inner pad was tilted and I think the upper part rubbed on the rotor a bit. Or it was just my imagination
> 
> Looks like it could rain tomorrow afternoon. I say, bring it on


I love your rain attitude Dutchman - it's the same as mine!

I used to ride BB7's. Got tired of having to continually adjust the knobs to keep decent braking action. Switched to TRP Hy/Rd brakes and never looked back.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Looks like a nice ride. Who took the pictures? How long?


One of my best friends took the pics; he is the manager of the only LBS I frequent. We frequently get together for rides when our schedules permit. This ride was 41.5 miles according to my GPS



woodway said:


> Nice pics! Where are you located?


These are all in the vicinity of Twin Falls, Idaho; this ride was 60/40 gravel/paved... there are miles of canal roads to be ridden.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thx Woodway  

You are riding Hy/RDs? I have had those a while but after a while I constantly suffered from sticky pistions, long lever travel and somehow the Shimano B01S always stopped braking after 3 weeks or a wet ride. I guess the pads are not compatible with Avid rotors that have been ridden with organic BB7 pads before. I also had the JuinTech R1 brakes (constantly sticky pistons) and the TRP Spyre (same pad problem). 

So I went back to the BB7 and they are far from perfect, but they do the job all year round without maintenance. That is also the point where I stopped wrenching on the bike. After a year of trying bars, levers and brakes I decided its finished and time to ride on it, instead of wrenching around.

I even dont have to fiddle with the BB7 knobs so often anymore as in the beginning. I only keep dreaming about the TRP HyLex. Not because they are hydraulic, but the long hoods look so comfy, hhmmmm....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Dry, warm and windy here. Before I left I turned the rear inside knob of my bb7 outwards 2 clicks and tadaa average speed for the round trip was 2 kph higher, almost 22kph/15mph. I looked at the caliper before and there was a gap on both sides of the rotor, just that the inner pad was tilted and I think the upper part rubbed on the rotor a bit. Or it was just my imagination


Or a tailwind.
I use to blame the BB7 brakes on my pigsley for all kinds of slowness. I thought they were rubbing when I put a lot of torgue on the wheel going uphill. For the most part I don't feel like my hydraulic disks slow me down even with a little pad rub. It is either imagination or crappy brakes.  But yes, sticky or leaky pistons. The AAVID elixers stick and sometimes seem to produce brake fluid. (I'll need to bleed some off to get the pistons back out enough after hanging the bike. Quirky they are) Shimanos seem to leak in the extreme cold. The Shimano hydro road brakes have been flawless for 7000 miles on my cross bike. I haven't even changed the pads but I do have a set in stock for when it is time. I thought that might have been time 1000s of miles ago.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this morning. A bit damp and it sounds like rain is coming in to the area for the next three or four days. At least it's almost the weekend.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wow nice pics all!
> 
> Dry, warm and windy here. Before I left I turned the rear inside knob of my bb7 outwards 2 clicks and tadaa average speed for the round trip was 2 kph higher, almost 22kph/15mph. I looked at the caliper before and there was a gap on both sides of the rotor, just that the inner pad was tilted and I think the upper part rubbed on the rotor a bit. Or it was just my imagination


Nothing like finding some free speed!

I broke my chain in yesterday's afternoon commute and used up my last 10 speed quick link to get home quickly. Not sure what happened there, I don't think I was in between gears, and my chain wasn't dry. I put a 12 speed quick link in my commuter bag... hopefully I won't have to use it before I buy a 10 speed link, but maybe it is fine?

This morning was short sleeves and shorts. I skipped adding a mtb ride this morning, as I had a look at how fast I was increasing my hours on the bike per week, and didn't want to go up by more than 10% per week and risk injury (something my X Country running coach told me about increasing weekly mileage long ago...). I'm looking forward to some nice weekend mtb rides though.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Thought you might be somewhere in the Northwest Sage. Nice pics.

Dutchman, I've been on Hy/Rd's for several years. The original versions had some issues, as you mentioned. TRP recognized these and made improvements and allowed owners of the original brakes to exchange them for new ones at no cost. This made me a HUGE TRP fan. The new ones are great...no sticking pads, etc. I'd love to have full hydros on my commuter, but don't want to drop the dough. I think the Hy/Rd's are a nice compromise between full hydro and full mechanical.

Happy last day of summer everyone! I was able to take advantage by riding in shirtsleeves and shorts this morning, as it was 60F out. Should be in the mid-70's for the ride home tonight.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good semi-fat Friday this morning. Decently warm and dry. Though it looks strongly like I will be getting wet on the ride home today.









Some pics from yesterday afternoon:

















Some pics from Monday or Tuesday:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi woodway, ok that might explain part of the issues I had with th hy/rd.

Nice pics blockphi! Really makes me jealous!

another fast ride in this morning, it was 20C already.. Made my usual friday detour and made 30km today. The ride home was slower, coldfront with rain and wind moved in during the day. During my ride home it was 15C only. Can not remember a day where it was warmer in the morning than in the afternoon.

Rode 4 of 5 days this week. Wish you all a nice weekend!

CU CD


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I thought I was going to get a 20mph tailwind this morning, and it was windy when I walked the dog. But as soon as I started pedaling the wind died and the rain started. I was warm enough, 50F, so not a problem other than some stuff will not be dry when I leave.


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

The ride home was good... erm, resistance training. 80% of the ride was into a 13mph headwind...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have the honour of opening the new week?

Cold today. 9C and windy this morning. Had a merino longsleeve and thin gloves on for the first time after summer. 12C and a steady 20kt wind on the way home. It was partly headwind, partly tailwind. At least I managed to avoid the rain, it rained a lot today and it wasnt even forecasted. I have the feeling that my favorite weather site is getting worse and worse.

No riding until friday, will be in the other plant in france the next days. Flying there tomorrow early, coming back on thursday morning :-/


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm hoping to get to ride in sometime this week. We are getting a ton of rain. Not fun.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Active rest day for my commute today, as I try to increase my weekly mtb volume without injury. It is weirdly difficult to hold myself back when I am on the bike. I am trying to occupy my mind with how to smooth out pedaling/use more muscles through the pedaling circles while concentrating at the same time on "pushing my feet over the top (12 o'clock) and dropping my heel" to maximize power.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^
Thinking about my pedal strokes lasts for about 30 seconds until my mind wanders off to something else. I can do one legged drills but honestly I don't notice much even if I put flats on my road bikes. I guess I am more of a masher.


cyclingdutchman said:


> I have the honour of opening the new week?
> 
> Cold today. 9C and windy this morning. Had a merino longsleeve and thin gloves on for the first time after summer. 12C and a steady 20kt wind on the way home. It was partly headwind, partly tailwind. At least I managed to avoid the rain, it rained a lot today and it wasnt even forecasted. I have the feeling that my favorite weather site is getting worse and worse.
> 
> No riding until friday, will be in the other plant in france the next days. Flying there tomorrow early, coming back on thursday morning :-/


The honor is all yours. Imagine how fresh your legs will feel when you get back.

The commute was good but a taste of what is coming. 40F/4C or so. I jumped to level 2 gloves but I should have gone for level 3.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

hah, yeah, 30 seconds of concentration every few minutes is about where I am at


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Frost the last two mornings, so a chilly commute to start the week. BMX'd it again as I am sharing the bike love by loaning my gravel bike to a friend's kid who is doing a hill race. You go downhill too, but only the uphills count toward your time. Bedwards, I know you love a good sufferfest https://www.braintree357.com/


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## BillyBicycle (Jul 4, 2016)

Wet, but after driving yesterday (was running late and had a lot of packages to deliver to USPS), I decided to ride today. Weather app told me 0% chance of rain, google said rain all day long. It was raining lightly, but so worth it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

There was a break in the rain today, so I was able to sneak in my morning commute. Still got wet from the wet roads (bike with fenders out of commission pending repairs), but it was nice to get back in my normal routine. Afternoon looks 50/50.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

No frost for my part of Alaska yet, but yesterday was windy and rainy (20-30 MPH) so I didn't ride. Today was not bad at all. 48F and dry. A bit of wind in town, but not too bad. A few trees down on the bike path from the winds yesterday, though. 

Getting geared up for winter - found a few places here in town that have Kold Kutter ice screws in stock, so going to pick up 250 of those to stud up one Surly Nate tire to go with my remaining good Dillinger for the winter. Give them a try anyway and see how they work. I have a feeling they'll give more grip, but also slow me down a bit. Given that the predictions for this winter are rainy/icy rather than snowy I think grip will be more important.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Frost the last two mornings, so a chilly commute to start the week. BMX'd it again as I am sharing the bike love by loaning my gravel bike to a friend's kid who is doing a hill race. You go downhill too, but only the uphills count toward your time. Bedwards, I know you love a good sufferfest https://www.braintree357.com/


Oh, that does look suffery. I'm doing the Dempsey Challenge next weekend and then I have to help my daughter move on the suffering weekend. Otherwise it might be interesting. Well, if it weren't 160 miles away.

We've been close to a frost but so far avoiding it. Maybe 38F this morning and I think we have a warming trend coming.

So Sunday we picked 6lbs of what we thought were honey mushrooms. But we weren't sure so we stopped there. Once we got them home and confirmed their identity and confirmed that they didn't "bother" us and that they were indeed delicious I went back out and picked another 8 or so pounds on my commute in this morning.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

woodway said:


> I love your rain attitude Dutchman - it's the same as mine!
> 
> I used to ride BB7's. Got tired of having to continually adjust the knobs to keep decent braking action. Switched to TRP Hy/Rd brakes and never looked back.


Hi all, I'm finally back. I hurt my knee running while on Vacation at the end of July, beginning of August. Finally feels normal.

I still run BB7's on my Macho Man. My problem is my front fork. The wheel sits crooked. I have to be real careful when reinstalling the wheel or the disc rubs. If it goes back in the same way it came out then things work perfectly.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

I had to drop off my wife's car at the shop today and they don't open until 7:30. I had an 8:30 meeting, 13 miles away with about 800 feet of elevation gain, long traffic lights. I wouldn't have time to shower before my meeting.

Solution: eBike. I made it with 5 minutes to spare. No sweat problem, changed my shoes and walking into the meeting.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

honkinunit said:


> Solution: eBike. I made it with 5 minutes to spare. No sweat problem, changed my shoes and walking into the meeting.


Right on honkinunit! But my solution would have been to pound out the 13 miles. Arrive to the meeting slightly late, out of breath and then sit down looking slightly smug yet pretending nothing was out of the ordinary...

50 miles/8000 feet is the real deal MTBX...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Enjoying the last gasps of summer this week. Low-to-mid 50's in the mornings, low-to-mid 70's in the afternoons. Pretty nice.


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## kdirk (Jun 20, 2012)

Got yelled at by the gate guard today twice. First on my way in, then on the way out. By the same guy. The right lane is only opened during the busy hours, so Id usually come in that way. This all happened just before midnight, to leaving at a 5am-ish, before the morning rush.

I split the lane coming in off the multi-use trail on the right. Guard tells me I can either be on the sidewalk or on the road, but not to go in and out, and not the split the lane. Ive been sticking to the right lane because I need a min a to grab my ID from my backpack, and the turn off my cameras. Not trying to hold up the one car that occasionally pops up behind me. But I guess thats what the guard wants.

And on the way out, Ive been going the red route. However, the same guard yelled at me for going in and out of the sidewalk/road. I tell him there is no easy way to get on the bike trail, and he tells to go the orange route. I dont go that way because half the time there is already a car waiting at the light. No sense in surprising a driver, or waiting for a min for no reason. So I think Im just gonna follow the yellow route from now on.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ It's the guards world, kdirk, you just get to live in it...

Really nice evening for the ride home last night, 73F and sunny, just lovely. I decided to take the long way home, and 38 miles later, I made it 

Beautiful morning today, 50F and clear. Two items of note:

1. I regularly get passed by a guy on a e-Fatbike and this morning was no exception. But after he passed me, I caught up to him a few miles down the road as he was pedaling his FatBike up a hill at a painfully slow pace. I guess that's the downside of e-bikes, when the "e" goes away, you are left with a heavy barge to manage.

2. I had the Wham song "Wake me up before you go-go" in my head all the way to work. It was awful. I tried to think of other songs but it kept coming back. I apologize if the mention of the song ruins any of your days...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

IDK Kdirk, the big problem seem be the MUP that makes you do weird things to get on it when you leave. It looks like you leave from left to right and end up traveling against the road traffic on the MUP. Arriving it seems like you could stop and do your stuff at the end of the MUP and then become a road user but I'm sure it isn't that simple.



woodway said:


> 2. I had the Wham song "Wake me up before you go-go" in my head all the way to work. It was awful. I tried to think of other songs but it kept coming back. I apologize if the mention of the song ruins any of your days...


I'm so sorry! Luckily I can't remember any more to it than that one line so it is unlikely to get stuck.

I went to ride in today and my tire was flat. My second choice bike is in pieces waiting for a headset bearing. OK, I'll take the rain bike again but needed to raise the saddle. ping, the seat clamp bolt breaks. On to bike #4. It gave me an excuse to get my old steel bike out to play. I'm thinking I may ride it in the century this weekend. It's fun to bring out a classic 12 speed with downtube shifters in a sea of carbon bikes that some of these people only ride a few times a year.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Good thing you have so many bikes!

Nice commute this morning, clear mid-50's. No Wham! in my head today. I've got a big mountain bike ride planned for the weekend, so I pedaled slow today and rested my legs. Have a good weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The cross bike is back in commission. I spent 3 hours of searching on the internet to find the right bearings for a FSA headset that they don't have a record of. Trying to determine if something is 51.8mm or 52.0mm when it is rusted pitted is no easy task. And maybe people that sell bearings could just list ALL 5 critical dimensions. Once the bearings were in hand it took 3 minutes to install them. Crazy.

I fixed the flat on the road bike.

I got a replacement seat post clamp for the rain bike.

The whole fleet is operational again.

It was raining slightly for most of the way in but not enough to worry about. I've got the century ride coming up this weekend. Funny, I haven't ridden more than 70 yet this year.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride this morning. A bit wet, though. I got the rack switched over to the Pugsley and will start riding that for the commute now. I could probably eek out a few more weeks on the road bike, but the wet leaves are already slick enough and soon they will start hiding frosty patches as well. Most definitely slower, but also lots of fun.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Had an awesome fall ride over the weekend. The pain of the 3600 foot climb to the top has faded and all I can remember is the descent and scenes like this:









No commute for me today, I'll be back on the bike tomorrow. Weatherman says rain this week...


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Nice shot Wood. 

Had some great road rides this weekend myself. A 50K late Saturday evening after my son's XC meet was over and then a 40 miler yesterday afternoon. Good times. Legs a bit heavy this AM. Cold, too. The bike path bridges all have frost on them. Temps down to 33F in places. Beautiful northern lights this morning as well - bright enough to see in Anchorage, which is a rarity.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Caught up reading here and now I have a certain song in my head :-/

Last week I rode only monday. Businesstrip was horrible since the company booked early flights for me instead of evening flights as usual. So even longer days on site as usual. Took off friday but commuted with the kids to kindergarten/school and back. All in all the rides added up to almost the distance of a round trip commute to work. My son got his 3-weeks-in-a-row-to-school-by-bike-certificate. That way the school tries to encourage kids & parents to not bring the kids by car.

Back on the bike today. Light rain this morning, but nothing to worry about, clothes could handle it easily. 12C all day and the ride home was dry and sunny. Oh I saw a rat swimming in the ditch this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> My son got his 3-weeks-in-a-row-to-school-by-bike-certificate. That way the school tries to encourage kids & parents to not bring the kids by car.


That's cool that they have incentives. Good roll models don't hurt either.

First and probably last century this week complete: The Candid Cyclist: Dempsey Challenge 2018

My ride in was good. The legs were a little heavy but not bad at all. The weatherman said it was supposed to rain and he was right. I'm hoping it clears for the trip home, he said that too.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Somewhat soggy ride in, heavier rain at the end, and 45F, so I grabbed the warmer/drier rain jacket. Dry by the ride home. Tried out my new bar light, the Light & Motion Taz 2000, a self-contained 2000 lumen light. Stop reading if you don't care about lights. It wasn't full dark yet so I am withholding judgment, but it did seem like a super bright and wide beam and it did make it the 45 minutes home. Not sure if it will have the juice for battery sucking winter weather on high or not, but it is nice not to have to deal with cords. Francis's MTBR review Lights Shootout: How to buy a bike light - Mountain Bike Review- Mtbr.com did not have as detailed testing as some years, but he liked the beam. Biketiresdirect has it for $175 instead of $250 for gold members (not sure if that requires past purchases or just to "join"), plus I had some of their weird credits I applied to the purchase. I like the buttons, you can't put it into lock mode by mistake, and there is a battery life indicator light on the button. I don't think the sidelights are anything to write home about, but they don't hurt either. Like other rubber strap lights, it will rotate down if not tight enough on a smooth bar; they include an adhesive gripper strip for your bar to increase the friction, but enough for at least 2 bikes would be nicer. One plus of the mount is that you can aim the light, unlike say my Nightrider that points at an angle if the bars are angled; a minus is that the mount is permanently attached to the light, so you have to remove the whole light/mount it from the bars to charge it (that is, no slide on and click in like Nightider); I expect this will be a small extra chore in winter weather. The light case is pretty smooth, I would prefer something a bit grippier. For my not-brand-new-eyes I think it may be a good purchase, but I will report back on performance and durability.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got a boost of adrenaline this morning. I had merged into the left turning lane and was about 20 yards from the intersection when an SUV pulled up to the stop sign on my right. Instead of waiting a couple seconds, the driver decided to try to beat an oncoming car and cut the corner, which sent the vehicle right towards me. Luckily the SUV slammed on the brakes, sat their awkwardly for a half-second, then swerved around me on my right. Overall, it was a whole lot of impatient, poor, and probably distracted driving.


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## BillyBicycle (Jul 4, 2016)

Foggy and wet surfaces from lots of rain the last few days. Discovered I had a flat, and guessed it was a slow leaker. Both my rides have flats now (too lazy / too busy ). I decided to pump it up and ride in with extra CO2 as I was already running 15 min late. I got lucky as the tire didn't seat properly when I inflated it. I was loading the paniers and I looked down and thought my rim was mangilated/bent, but it was the tire coming off the rim. The seat stay was the only thing holding in 45psig ! haha. The wire bead area of the tire sort of got chewed up as the tire came off the rim, but I want new tires anyways, so no big deal.

Drivers were typical idiots, especially the one guy who saw me and continued pulling out of his circular drive then wanted to pass me exiting the sub even though I was clearly speeding towards the stop sign ahead of him. The next driver on the road crossed the right hand line by a foot as his hands turned the steering wheel in the direction he was looking, at me. I said eff that and rode the sidewalk in. No one in Detroit walks on the sidewalk, and the road was just too dangerous in the fog. I also got the bike sideways while braking, pulling into the post office. Did a five foot slide at speed on wet/slick asphalt, and added a little excitement.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman, that's really cool about the bike certificate for your son. I was thinking back to when I was a kid in elementary school (back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth ) and I used to ride my bike to school all the time. All the kids did, we never thought anything of it. (Of course we did not wear helmets back then either!). When my kids were in elementary school we used to walk them to school (we lived close) and other parents look at us like we were crazy. Riding to school seems like a lost art...

Nice write-up on the century bedwards. Looked like a great ride. But "Androscoggin River."? How do you keep those names straight?

Good light review MTBX. I don't need one right now, but always good to tuck this kind of information away for when I do.

Nothing more frustrating than needless driver stupidity putting you at risk, Sock. Glad it did not end any worse.

Light rain and upper 50's on an uneventful commute today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Nice write-up on the century bedwards. Looked like a great ride. But "Androscoggin River."? How do you keep those names straight?


Androscoggin, Mattawamkeag, Passadumkeag, Narraguagus, Piscataqua to name a few of the weird ones. And they are plenty. I can keep them straight but usually have to look up the spelling. The one we camp on is easy, the Saco (Pronounced Saw-co)

No ride for me today. "Luckily" I had a dentist appointment and didn't' have to ride in the steady rain both ways.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards I hope the dentist vist wasnt too bad?

Whoa S0ckeyous that sounds like a scary moment indeed.

Another fresh day today, 12C and windy and it rained a lot today, but I managed to ride between the rainshowers.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Wow sorry about the drivers out there folks. I'm glad there were no injuries. I suppose it is good to hear about some close calls to keep us sharp, but I wish it wasn't necessary.

My commute was an "active recovery" after being lucky enough to mtb 3 days in a row. Today was the first such recovery ride where I used a heart rate monitor, and it was my slowest and most relaxing ever! (While the heart rate monitor is lacking in accuracy compared to power meters, I already had one, so I am giving it a go to see how I do with some more variability in the pace of my rides)


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

Must be something in the air. I nearly hit a car today as well. 

Traveling in the bike lane, had the right of way crossing a protected intersection (cross traffic had a stop sign). Shiny happy person pulls up, stops, and waits until I’m IN the intersection to cut me off as he turns right. I swerved out of the way and wound up close enough to pound on the driver’s side window...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rainy. That Taz light is no joke though...


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Rainy. That Taz light is no joke though...


Very nice! Which one is the Taz?

I'm running a NiteRider 1400 Pro up front and a Bontrager Flare out back.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^The white one on front is the Light & Motion Taz 2000. My previous post had more info on it, in case you missed the "review".


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

A good ride in this AM. warmer than it has been, but it did try to start raining on me. Once I got a bit away from the inlet it stopped, though. So happy for that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Bedwards I hope the dentist vist wasnt too bad?


Routine.


mtbxplorer said:


> Rainy. That Taz light is no joke though...


I didn't get one of those but I did get a new NiteRider 550 for $25. One of my previous minis had taken too many trips to the pavement and now the little ears that keep it from hitting the pavement are broken off. It's a vicious cycle. Including the one with the busted case (which is now just a really good flashlight) there are now 7 Niterider headlights in our house.

And I needed one of them this morning. Since when it is totally dark at 6:00AM? It snuck up on my.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

Pretty routine this morning. Decided to go semi-fat as I will be driving tomorrow. It was fun, but I do forget how much slower it is. And the first ride switching between the road bike and the Pugs always feels a bit off. In the process right now of trying to decide if I can do the commute in the winter with bike packing bags instead of rack and panniers. I've a frame bag and a Revelate Designs Viscacha seat bag. The seat bag fits my clothes pretty okay. But doesn't account for coat or other items for layering at the bus stop, nor my laptop to journey from the office to client sites or office to home. Have to think on that a bit. And where does my lunch and coffee go? Most important items, right?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Blockphi, sounds like you need 2 panniers ;o))

Was off yesterday, Oct 3 is a public holiday here - reunion day of west and east Germany after the wall fell in '88..used the day to sort out the wintergear and adjusted my saddle according to the KOPS method. Also washed some jackets and gave it a new DWR treatment. Now waiting for rain to test the result  and put the helmet rain/wind cover back on. 

Cloudy and windy today. Starting every day in the (almost) dark by now - arriving in daylight. Rode home with a co-worker today.


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## blockphi (Mar 26, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Blockphi, sounds like you need 2 panniers ;o))


I know... in the past in the winter I've often had both 40L Ortlieb's packed full with the day's kit, lunch, safety gear, and coffee. I'm just the type of guy who can seem to bring myself to just leave the rack on when I'm not commuting so I was always taking it off and on on the old pugs. With the way the mounts work on the new pugs it means I have to take off the wheel to take off the rack and that just seems too much work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That seems like way too much work. 

Nothing much to report. I rode my bike to work today.


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## BillyBicycle (Jul 4, 2016)

my commute. 5 min of mechanical issues. a bit scatterbrained kept getting side tracked. cold ! numb hands. no buttheads on the road. A very fast ride in


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> used the day to sort out the wintergear and adjusted my saddle according to the KOPS method.


Dutchman, what is the KOPS method?

I also had a mechanical yesterday, my left (front) shifter broke. Something let go inside (cable seems fine) and it left me permanently in the big ring up front. Going home last night I was daydreaming and had forgotten about the broken shifter when I took a route home up a very steep hill - about 1/3 of the way up I went to drop into the small ring, and, oopps. Rode up the hill in the big ring - ouch.

Uneventful ride this morning. Local shop has a new shifter which I will install over the weekend.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Hey all! 

Kind of a mixed bag today. I just broke 4K Miles, 6.4K km for the year this morning. Almost didn't happen though. I'm lucky to be writing this. The bike trail is 8/10's of a mile from my house, straight down hill. As I approached the end of my street which ends in a "T" intersection, this car cuts the corner and is headed straight for me. I was braking to stop at the intersection and couldn't maneuver and the driver of the car couldn't be bothered. She didn't swerve or slow down, in fact, the only thing I saw her do was slightly turn her head and tuck her chin like she was bracing for impact. I must have done a bit of a stoppie as after I composed myself (stopped shaking) I realized my chain had come off. Way too much excitement for this old man!

To top it off, last night on my ride home from work, as I crossed the bridge in front of Mile High Stadium, I look to the right where the bridge intersects the trail and the police are removing a dead body. Ugh!

I really hope my ride home tonight is uneventful!


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

z1r said:


> Hey all!
> 
> Kind of a mixed bag today. I just broke 4K Miles, 6.4K km for the year this morning. Almost didn't happen though. I'm lucky to be writing this. The bike trail is 8/10's of a mile from my house, straight down hill. As I approached the end of my street which ends in a "T" intersection, this car cuts the corner and is headed straight for me. I was braking to stop at the intersection and couldn't maneuver and the driver of the car couldn't be bothered. She didn't swerve or slow down, in fact, the only thing I saw her do was slightly turn her head and tuck her chin like she was bracing for impact. I must have done a bit of a stoppie as after I composed myself (stopped shaking) I realized my chain had come off. Way too much excitement for this old man!
> 
> ...


Wow, I wish you better days.

I try to look in all the driveways on my commute, especially when I am headed downhill, and I finally spotted a truck coming down a steep driveway that I try to check but is usually vacant. They looked pretty out of control, so one more thing to keep me on my toes.

I'm finding my recovery commutes are a time where I can look forward to actually relaxing on the bike, now that I started using a heart rate monitor. (aside from crazy drivers, but that is less of an issue when I am going slow)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> Dutchman, what is the KOPS method?
> 
> I also had a mechanical yesterday, my left (front) shifter broke. Something let go inside (cable seems fine) and it left me permanently in the big ring up front.
> .......Local shop has a new shifter which I will install over the weekend.


Knee Over Pedal Spindle, like here:
https://www.precor.com/en-us/what-kops-learn-knee-over-pedal-spindle-biomechanics
and here:

__
https://flic.kr/p/2427106892
Some others don't believe it though, and Bontrager is someone who knows his sh!t I guess..: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/kops.html



z1r said:


> Hey all!
> 
> Kind of a mixed bag today. I just broke 4K Miles, 6.4K km for the year this morning. Almost didn't happen though. I'm lucky to be writing this. The bike trail is 8/10's of a mile from my house, straight down hill. As I approached the end of my street which ends in a "T" intersection, this car cuts the corner and is headed straight for me. I was braking to stop at the intersection and couldn't maneuver and the driver of the car couldn't be bothered. She didn't swerve or slow down, in fact, the only thing I saw her do was slightly turn her head and tuck her chin like she was bracing for impact. I must have done a bit of a stoppie as after I composed myself (stopped shaking) I realized my chain had come off. Way too much excitement for this old man!
> 
> ...


Boah that does really sound like a rough ride in. I too hope your ride home is uneventful.

My rides were uneventful but the weather was good. Nice sunrise this morning and we have another last gasp of summer the next week with max temps of around 22C. Made my Friday afternoon detour and really enjoyed it.

Have a nice weekend ya all!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Knee Over Pedal Spindle, like here:


But what is the acronym in German? Or Dutch?

No mechanicals or locking up brakes or dead bodies on my commute. I topped up the sealant last night so no flats either. I did have a nice mountain bike commute starting just before the crack of dawn. It was very nice. I told my wife I'd take the car home so she could get a ride in this week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I dont think there is an acronym in german or dutch for it. Over here we use the same terms and shops even advertise they offer professional "bike fitting". I think no german/dutch acronyms exist.

Glad you had a good ride this morning!


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Looking at this page of the thread it looks like there were some close calls this week. Be careful out there! I am generally scared to death of cars, but as most of my commute is not near cars, the thing I fear the most right now is deer. I try to give them good warning, but every time I see a doe my head is on a swivel wondering where the antlers are coming from as I desperately peer into the trees for bucks. Of course, there are also skunks in the area and I've come closer than I'd like on a couple of occasions to being sprayed. That'd make for an awful morning. ;-)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My turn to start the new week?

I had a good start. Started in the dark and was rewarded with a nice sunrise. It was cold though, 2C only and I have to say, without shoecovers this was bit chilly. For the rest it was ok with Buff and gloves. Ride home was ok, put the jacket in the pannier and rode in the longsleeve. It was only 15C and the sun was partly covered so it felt slightly chilly in combination with a light headwind.

Pics of this morning:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KPiEL1qeWAXB7L4t6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/d7SizZnVfe5EN3Ms8


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nice pics! 

It's getting chilly here too. I got a haircut yesterday and really noticed the lack of insulation this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:lol: Well put there bedwards!

Apparently an accident with a cyclist happened in the plant and in the intranet article there was said that a helmet duty would prevent a lot of injuries. After that a real sh!itstorm broke loose with all people complaining about the far from perfect roads and bad guidance for all traffic. I myself listed 5 places where cyclists are forced to cross roads on dangerous points and I think more than 30 spots were reported just today.

Actually most people that work there know it, but with increasing outsourcing we have increasing people unfamiliar with the situation. They drive around, looking where to go in busy traffic, simply no brain capacity left to watch for cyclists. 

Really looking forward to read the latest comments tomorrow morning.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great sunrise photos cyclingdutchman! Good of you to stop for them when it was so cold. Not bad here yesterday, mid 40sF, but a stiff headwind on the way home. Somehow our union negotiated a new contract a while back and we no longer have Columbus day - a terrible deal as who doesn't want a long weekend for fall foliage? I was reminded of it yesterday because I left work a little early to get to the post office, and found they were closed for the federal holiday, aarrgggh.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics Dutchman!

I tried to go to the bank yesterday, MTBX. Why is it closed? Oh, Columbus Day. Not a holiday for most businesses in the US.

52F and rain this morning. Just after I cleaned up my bike too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You're in good company MTXB we work Columbus day too. Although I think they use to say we traded it for the day after Thanksgiving which I prefer.

We've got some bonus summer days for the next 2. I opened all the windows when I left home because it is supposed to be about 20 degrees warmer outside than it is in our house right now.

The ride was nice, I pulled the TT bike out for a change. I've been more about hunting mushrooms on my commute than riding fast. I went all out trying to get a KOM and didn't even get in my top 3 times. 391W for 3 miles. I'm going back to hunting mushrooms after today.

I did find this beauty on the way home. Good eating size.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanx for the credits on the pics lady and gentlemen! It is the time of year for nice sunrise and sunsets and I always enjoy it after years of seeing it.

I was so busy today I did not have time to check what happened in the discussion in the intranet in the company today. 

Sunrise was nice but not like yesterday. It was warmer though, 6C and we have some nice days ahead, already 18C on the way home, over 20C is forecasted for the next days. Yay!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been unseasonably warm here. Low 70s in the AM. Low 90s in the PM. We're about to get a crude awakening though when our lows will plunge into the 40s and highs into the 60s. Even though I can do without the humidity that has accompanied this weather, I am not looking forward to the colder temps. I've only had a few commutes in the 50s in the past month or so and am still very much in summer mode.

My SS has developed an annoying creak. I've eliminated just about everything but the bottom bracket. I fixed up another bike I had sitting around in the garage to ride until I can get the SS back up and running and serve as a winter commuter. I used to commute on it at one point, but the chain rusted out, the cassette was old, and I never got around to fixing it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ I hate creaks. I put a little teflon tape on the threads of the bottom bracket which seems to help.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx, I thought a union was supposed to make things better ^^ or did they trade the day off for a raise?


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> You're in good company MTXB we work Columbus day too. Although I think they use to say we traded it for the day after Thanksgiving which I prefer.
> 
> We've got some bonus summer days for the next 2. I opened all the windows when I left home because it is supposed to be about 20 degrees warmer outside than it is in our house right now.
> 
> ...


What kind is that?

Today's commute was better than yesterday, when my chain and front derailleur cage broke. I didn't bother to shift off the small chainring by hand, so my tempo workout on the flat is a refreshing spin fest. Looking forward to the SRAM Force 22 Yaw derailleur coming in the mail... hoping the reports it works with 10 speed are true.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Colder today, 48F, but dry this morning. Nice ride. Weatherman is saying we could be in for almost two weeks of nice weather, lows in the 40's highs in the 60's, dry and sunny. I'll take it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards did you try from the mushroom yet?

Woodway congrats on your nice weather period, same here now. When does the rain season start in your place?

Cold and foggy this morning at 4C. Expecting some nice days from now on, at least in the afternoon with temps upto 26C on Saturday. Ride home today was 21C - I can live with that too


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## Sage of the Sage (Nov 10, 2011)

Yesterday evening was a rule 9 commute...

40F, pouring rain, and windy. Brrr...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway congrats on your nice weather period, same here now. When does the rain season start in your place?


A common joke in Seattle is that summer always falls on the last weekend of July and it rains all the other days.

Another common joke is that there were two tourists standing on a street corner in downtown Seattle in the middle of July and it is pouring rain. They stop a young boy and ask "does it always rain like this here?". The boy answers, "How should I know? I'm only eight".

In reality, rainy season starts in earnest towards the end of October, with November, December and January being the worst months. At least we rarely get snow...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:lol: overhere we always say "summer is the best week of the year" . however this summer was an exceptional good one.

Normally we have june, july and august being the months with the most rain. But you made me think about it thoroughly and I have come to the conclusion that we more have a lot of rainshowers but rarely occoasions where it rains more than an hour or so. So I am able to ride between the showers most of the time. Sounds different than you riding in rain eleven days in a row like you wrote last year :-/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Summer gave its one last attempt yesterday. It was a beautiful 80F with sun. Well, sun until it went down. I got in a 20+ mile ride home.







Well that's over. Cool and rainy today. I actually picked today to take a car and do an errand after work so let it rain.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Sweet ride/photo bedwards!

Sounds like we are reversed, Dutchman. Our summers are super dry. There was less than 2.5cm of rain here for all of July, August, September and the first part of October.

Mid-40's for the ride in this morning, but clear. Forecast is mid-60's and sunny for the ride home tonight. Planning to take the long way home again!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

sweet pic bedwards!

Nice rides today. 13C already this morning, so put on the sandals already. 21C and sunny on the way home, lovely day. Working from home tomorrow, so no riding planned. 2-3 more days of good weather are forecasted. 

Hope to get in some riding with the kids on Sunday afternoon, we'll see.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

b rock said:


> What kind is that?





cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards did you try from the mushroom yet?


Missed this last page when I posted...It is a "Hen of the Woods", Maitake, sheeps head or grifola frondosa. One of my favorite shrooms. It only comes out in the fall and we don't have many in my area. I've been watching this one grow for a week. I harvested it when it was about 5lbs. At that point you risk them going by. I made a Jägerschnitzel with some a few nights ago.:thumbsup:


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> Missed this last page when I posted...It is a "Hen of the Woods", Maitake, sheeps head or grifola frondosa. One of my favorite shrooms. It only comes out in the fall and we don't have many in my area. I've been watching this one grow for a week. I harvested it when it was about 5lbs. At that point you risk them going by. I made a Jägerschnitzel with some a few nights ago.:thumbsup:


Wow 5 lbs! So meaty and delicious.

It turns out what I thought was a pinky sprain is a fracture, so my commute is an interesting test of "light hands, heavy feet" when going over the rough spots. No more mtb for me for a few weeks , as I need my digits properly healed ASAP. I hope the hand specialist agrees with the general practitioner and gives the bike commute a :thumbsup:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ bummer about your finger b rock. Hope you get good news from the doc.

I've decided that it's not possible for me to judge my speed by how I feel. Tonight riding home I never really felt "in the groove". My legs felt heavy and I just felt like I was riding slow. I get home, sync my GPS with Strava and see that I set 6 new PR's for the ride home. Go figure.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> ^^ bummer about your finger b rock. Hope you get good news from the doc.
> 
> I've decided that it's not possible for me to judge my speed by how I feel. Tonight riding home I never really felt "in the groove". My legs felt heavy and I just felt like I was riding slow. I get home, sync my GPS with Strava and see that I set 6 new PR's for the ride home. Go figure.


Better than the opposite side of the coin, for sure--feeling like a god and tumbling back to earth when you discover you were actually slower than normal. I've had that a number of times. On the ride, I'm thinking about how many PRs I'm sure to set on the ride, only to find I didn't even crack my top 3 time on any of the segments.

Coolest morning of the season so far. It was around 43F. Two days ago, the low was 30 degrees warmer and the high was just under 50 degrees warmer. We're not getting any bad weather from the hurricane, but it seems to have sucked in the colder air in a hurry.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Better than the opposite side of the coin, for sure--feeling like a god and tumbling back to earth when you discover you were actually slower than normal. I've had that a number of times. On the ride, I'm thinking about how many PRs I'm sure to set on the ride, only to find I didn't even crack my top 3 time on any of the segments.


 Exactly, see my post from a few days ago, LOL.

We've been bottoming out right around 40F but it looks like next week we could hit freezing. It's approaching peak foliage season here. Some trees are still all green and some have fully turned. The ride was good and uneventful.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Thanks woodway.

I think an old man took a shot at me, or a squirrel, or something, with a pellet rifle from his porch on my ride home last night. I heard the whiz across the street in front of me of a projectile, and I look over and see him standing there with what looked like a rifle, upright, resting on the porch. I hope I'm wrong, but I called the cops later, just in case... b/c if I wasn't wrong, that is some nutty BS

True about not being able to tell when you are fast. I'm trying to shift my focus to technique and structured training, where I have some more immediate feedback, but PRs are nice too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Any feedback from reporting it to the cops? Not that I would necessarily expect it. Hopefully it was a squirrel.

I went on a MTB ride yesterday to the top of a local mountain. Beauty of a day out there.








As promised, we hit freezing here this week. The temps seemed to range from the high 20s to the mid 30s depending on which particular weather station was reporting but I'm pretty sure it was in the 20s where I was because it seemed markedly colder than last week.

This was from this mornings's ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

B rock that is almost to unbelievable to be true :yikes:

Nice pics there bedwards. And already freezing temps? Oooff luckily not in sight here.

Last day of summer. Another day with sun and 22C this afternoon, but tomorrow is supposed to rain and temps are going to drop. Really strange, rode in shorts, tshirt and sandals today while the trees are already throwing off leaves.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had the joy of jump starting my car this morning in the pouring down rain. Miserable weather.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...... but tomorrow is supposed to rain .....


Hardly posted and the weather forecast changes to sun in the afternoon. Well I'll take it but will also bring the extra pants for just in case.

Yesterday I gave the rest of my gear a new DWR treatment so rain should be no issue the rest of this winter


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Nothing from the cops. I hope it was a squirrel and a mix up on my part. I carefully scope that house on my approach during my commute now, but maybe I am paranoid.

Rides were so nice today, I am doing them twice (I went home due to miscommunication, lol). The weather is perfect mid to high 70s F and I can lay the power down again and use my big chainring since I installed a Force 22 front derailleur to replace my broken Apex front d. on my 2x10 speed commuter. I also adjusted my rear indexing, and lubed my chain.

Saw the hand surgeon and they upgraded my pinky fracture healing time to 3 months, but gave the OK for riding where I am sure I won't fall, unless I need pins in a week, then all bets are off.


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## MCHB (Jun 23, 2014)

Wicked! Warmed up to +16 C by the time I got off work (It was like +4 at 5:05 when I left the apartment for work).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Not a great ride in today. I rode this bike 20 miles on Sunday and had not one problem. Today, I started up when my traffic light turned green and slipped the chain about 10 feet into the intersection just when I started to lay the power down. I got a nice, hard gut full of handlebar and had to carry my bike to the side of the road. I'll have to check out my bike to see if I can find any issues with it.

Also, I must not have tightened my seat collar enough because my seatpost sunk down until it hit the light mount. I felt like a newb out there. Just one of those days, I guess..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^MMmm gut full of handlebar. Slipped like slipped a tooth? Front or back? It sounds like it is drivetrain upgrade time. My cross bike would sometimes throw the chain off the front under heavy power. I filed down the back side of each tooth on the front chainring where it had warn so it couldn't grab it and it has been good for 2 more years. I have a complete drive train for it ready to go, chain, rings, cassette and pulleys but it is working well right now so I'm going to ride it into the ground. The last time I did that I sold the bike with the new drivetrain on the side, LOL.

We had 20-40MPH winds overnight. I set my sites on grabbing a KOM on the way in but it had died down to 5-10 and I didn't have the power to make up the difference.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^MMmm gut full of handlebar. Slipped like slipped a tooth? Front or back? It sounds like it is drivetrain upgrade time. My cross bike would sometimes throw the chain off the front under heavy power. I filed down the back side of each tooth on the front chainring where it had warn so it couldn't grab it and it has been good for 2 more years. I have a complete drive train for it ready to go, chain, rings, cassette and pulleys but it is working well right now so I'm going to ride it into the ground. The last time I did that I sold the bike with the new drivetrain on the side, LOL.


Slipped up front. The chain came off. The chainring, cassette, and chain are all new. I'm going to have to inspect it later to see if I can identify any issues.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Damn, the other reason I'm not in a hurry to install the new bits. I hate those problems that only happen under load.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pic MCHB! 

Sock tomorrow will be better you'll see 

Funny you mention that drivetrain thing bedwards. I was talking bikestuff with a collegue during lunchbreak and he said he also always ride things until it is completely worn.

I thought there were alot of flies in the air this morning but it turned out to be light rain. Nothing worth mentioning actually. Nice ride home again, made a short route and hit a pothole hidden under leaves. Fall is here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I try to replace the chain before it is too worn out but even when I do, the cassette is almost always warn to the point where the new chain skips. I'm not sure why I am so hard on them. I replace my wife's chain at the same wear level and she never wears out a cassette. I've found that as long as the system wears as a system that it almost never causes problems. I've got about 7000 miles on this bike and it might have had 1000 on it when I got it and I am on the original chainrings. Unless I forgot to enter the last set, Strava says I have 3300 on the chain and cassette which is a lot for me.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sock tomorrow will be better you'll see


Tomorrow, I have to drive for some meetings off-site. Considering that I had to jump start my car twice yesterday, I don't quite know what to expect. I think a new battery is in order, but I won't be able to get that installed before the weekend. I'll just make sure to back in to my space in case I need to bum a jump from a co-worker.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi folks, some nice pics lately. I am on day 6 of no internet, thanks to ConsolidatedCommunicationsInc, so I have not been keeping up. No worries, they guarantee to have someone take a look by noon on Sunday! On the plus side I did not lose power like many last night in the bad winds, but the ride in was a little more work than usual due to the winds. Low 30sF this morning, now mid 40s for the ride home. The 13 year-old I loaned my Terra to came in 3rd in mens open in the Braintree3, that gravel enduro uphill race - awesome!

I did some leafblowing on the local trails Saturday, wearing my new trail crew beanie the Millstone Trail Association got us. We have a trail called Angry Gnome and the gnome is kind of the trails' mascot. We also get the T's.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice lid MTBX. And even though I don't ride your trails, thanks for the effort to blow them off. It's a highly under-appreciated endeavor.

Ouch s0ck. Usually a slipping chain is due to a worn chain, cogs or rings, but with a brand new system who knows? I have one of those Park tool $9 chain checkers that I use on a regular basis. As soon as the chain starts to show wear, off it comes and a new one goes on.

Today was my first commute of the week...I worked at home monday and went mountain biking. Tuesday and yesterday I did my civic duty and reported for Jury Duty (I even got picked to serve on a jury). Back to "normal" today...still nice weather here, about 45F and clear riding in this morning, supposed to be close to 70F for the ride home tonight.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I am getting a whole different impression of you guys overseas. I always thought they all have a "work or die" kind of attitude and never thought that there are people going into the woods to clean trails or take care of someone else or caring about the community. And congrats for the 13y old that got 3rd place on a bike that he's riding for the first time. He must have lots of talent! So well done and a big thumbs up for you MTBx and Woodway!

Today was a whole different day of riding. This morning it was 12C but dark and foggy. I made a detour on the way home and it was, well let me say, "almost epic". Windstill, almost clear sky, low sun combined with the colors and smell of fall. Really loved it   :arf:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice hat MTXB. 


cyclingdutchman said:


> I am getting a whole different impression of you guys overseas. I always thought they all have a "work or die" kind of attitude and never thought that there are people going into the woods to clean trails or take care of someone else or caring about the community. And congrats for the 13y old that got 3rd place on a bike that he's riding for the first time. He must have lots of talent! So well done and a big thumbs up for you MTBx and Woodway!


Amazing isn't it! I'm on the board that manages this trail system, all volunteers. https://libbyhill.org/trails/trail-maps/ :thumbsup:

I ended up riding in with my wife this mornings. Usually our schedules don't align. It was below freezing which was expected. But it started snowing on the way in. That wasn't expected. Luckily it didn't accumulate where we were because we were on road bikes. Just 10miles north it had covered the ground. 

Right now there is about a 20MPH headwind for my ride home. It's supposed to die down some. Hope so.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very good bedwards. Wish you calm weather on the ride home!

2 pics of the ride home:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5p4woVAyrg6jYLhN6
and
https://photos.app.goo.gl/okzqmfgEzFyPaoZc9

It was much better being there live...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

There's not much for passing room on that bike path but it looks like it would be fun to ride (alone).


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> I ended up riding in with my wife this mornings. Usually our schedules don't align. It was below freezing which was expected. But it started snowing on the way in. That wasn't expected. Luckily it didn't accumulate where we were because we were on road bikes. Just 10miles north it had covered the ground.
> 
> Right now there is about a 20MPH headwind for my ride home. It's supposed to die down some. Hope so.


Eek indeed. GL on the headwind.

Maybe when my kids can walk themselves to school my wife and I could share part of our bike commute. I love that idea.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nice hat MTXB.
> Amazing isn't it! I'm on the board that manages this trail system, all volunteers. https://libbyhill.org/trails/trail-maps/ :thumbsup:


I used to lead a group of locals that took care of a 14 miles trail system in a county park near where I lived. As a group we put in over 1000 hours of trail work in 2016 (my last full year of leading the group). I personally blew the leaves off those trails for over ten years which is why I am so appreciative of MTBX's efforts!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

First sticking snow this morning! 25F & crazy wind, but I had borrowed my friend's truck and drove it in to return it. Riding home, it should be around freezing and the winds have died down.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Coldest morning of the season so far. 35F and clear. Not a bad commute. My chain hiccuped out back when I was pedaling out of the saddle. Other than that, the drivetrain has been smooth. I guess that's possibly a clue as to why the chain might have derailed earlier in the week. The problem is super sporadic. I'll check the chain and verify the derailleur hanger isn't bent at all.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> First sticking snow this morning! 25F & crazy wind, but I had borrowed my friend's truck and drove it in to return it. Riding home, it should be around freezing and the winds have died down.


Snow! It's only mid-October. Be safe going home!



s0ckeyeus said:


> Coldest morning of the season so far. 35F and clear. Not a bad commute. My chain hiccuped out back when I was pedaling out of the saddle. Other than that, the drivetrain has been smooth. I guess that's possibly a clue as to why the chain might have derailed earlier in the week. The problem is super sporadic. I'll check the chain and verify the derailleur hanger isn't bent at all.


If it wasn't for your all new components I would say worn chain or sprockets for sure. Hiccup like it skipped or was trying to shift?

44F and clear this morning. No wind. Nice ride in. Hoping to get a good Mountain Bike ride in this weekend while the good weather holds. Have a good weekend everyone.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Skipping chain can be lots of things. Bent chain link, too loose axle or spoke tension too low. All of them could make the chain skip/jump when standing on the pedales. The wheel is bending and then the cassette is not aligned with the chain anymore. Just some ideas, good luck finding the real cause. 

2C this morning but fairly good weather today. 

The best is yet to come. My son noticed a big box delivered today but is visiting a friend now. He is about to come home to find out that the box contained a (used) 24" Cube MTB for him with a suspension fork, 2x10 drivetrain and tektro auriga hydro disc brakes. Just put it together and the bike is really in very good shape. I only tensioned the rear der cable a bit to adjust the shifting. 

Cant wait to see his face when he comes home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

picture of the new bike : https://photos.app.goo.gl/nDw2zEiM7E9niSKp7


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> If it wasn't for your all new components I would say worn chain or sprockets for sure. Hiccup like it skipped or was trying to shift?


It felt like the chain popped off a cog and popped back on, and I hadn't shifted in a while.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Skipping chain can be lots of things. Bent chain link, too loose axle or spoke tension too low. All of them could make the chain skip/jump when standing on the pedales. The wheel is bending and then the cassette is not aligned with the chain anymore. Just some ideas, good luck finding the real cause.


I don't think it's the axle or spoke tension. I haven't re-examined the chain to see if any of the links are stiff or anything like that. It's hard to work on it with it getting dark so early. I've just been taking accelerations a little easier, and it's been OK.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Cant wait to see his face when he comes home.


He should have an ear to ear smile when he sees that!



s0ckeyeus said:


> I've just been taking accelerations a little easier, and it's been OK.


What's the fun in that. Sometimes you can get a stiff link with a shimano chain when you push the master pin in if it squeezes the plates together. Otherwise I would doubt it with a new chain. If you are in the small ring torquing the crank may bend it enough so the chain may be trying to climb one of the shift ramps. Since they aren't worn down they may have more bite than the old drivetrain which would explain why it is a new problem. I don't envy you troubleshooting a drivetrain problem that only happens under load.

Good mountain bike commute today. It is amazingly dark at 6:00 these days.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards, yes he's home and asleep now. He came in, stopped in the middle of a sentence, jaw dropped, face brightened up: a neeeeww biiike!! We went for a short ride, mainly to get the saddle height right and to get used to the shifting. New bike got triggers instead of a twister shifter. And he almost went otb, so now he knows the power of hydro discs.

Sockeyeus good luck solving the issues with the bike. Try tomorrow during the day, is much easier.

Have nice weekend everyone!


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## MCHB (Jun 23, 2014)

Damp but not raining. A bear must have been out and about last night along my route because two garbage cans were knocked over and strewn about. On the way home I biked along the river bank on the sand and shmoo for a change in scenery!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

MCHB, that sound like a nice commute, have you seen any bears on it before?

Cyclingdutchman, that looks like a reallty fun ride for your son!

It warmed up here, a nice sunny fall day Friday, around 50F by the ride home. A state trooper totaled his cruiser a few towns away on a snowy icy road Thursday, so that was a legit first snow. Also, Killington ski area opened - of course they also make snow, getting ready for the World Cup https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Ski-season-underway-at-Killington--498023951.html.


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## MCHB (Jun 23, 2014)

mtbxplorer said:


> MCHB, that sound like a nice commute, have you seen any bears on it before? .


Nope (thankfully!) People have spotted them wandering around town a few times though!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, I was told not to ride back in July. (I kept reading here, though, Proxy riding!) Two hospital visits (August & Sept) and 4 stents later I got a week off anything but walking then two weeks of cardio therapy in, I decided it was nice enough to ride again and had a feel for my new limits. Got a slow leak so called it at 30 minutes. I sure am slow! (I have not checked in with the cardio nurses on this excursion. I will see what they say Monday!)

The weather channel still lies about windspeed: Nine to eleven miles per hour? Maybe in the calmer moments and funneled by trees and houses a consistent 20 mph with gusts to maybe 30! Pants on fire!

No deadline to get home (or to work), other than to arrive living and breathing so more like a lifeline? Anyway, not sure what my target pulse should be. At 64 I measured my max heart rate at 177 BPM a bit above the age estimate 0f (220-64=156), and my pre-rising pulse was at 50. I could roll all day at 135-140 and might hit 160 up steeper short climbs or longer smaller inclines into the wind with no recovery issues. It's a lot of hours on the bike to get close to that again. Looks like take it easy, push a little but not a lot, and let things return to a new norm.

As to cycling delaying or minimizing CHD, that is well demonstrated. BUT! It is not a free pass. My paying attention to chest pain (angina) after hills that went away in a minute or so then on the fourth hill the reading of 180 that soon climbed to 235 on my heart monitor was another clue. I did not have breathing issues, nor the other symptoms listed. Likely saved my life. The widow maker was blocked in the bottom 1/3 to 1% (it was single file for the RBC's!. (Well there's your problem!) So I expect to ride faster once things settle in. 

https://www.bicycling.com/training/...s-of-heart-trouble-every-cyclist-should-know/

My BIL was a third degree black belt, naturalist, woodsman, a trim 145, an expert in Japanese history, and professor of mathematics who died of a heart attack at age 42, so fit young men and women are struck down early in spite of being fit. Remember the 5 signs. I like reading of your cycling exploits!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Good to hear you have been able to get out, sorry to hear of the hospital time logged. I hope you enjoy many many more miles of pedaling, taking it easy feels great when it gets you back on the bike. We had some wicked winds here too this week, at the courthouse it looked like the POW flag was going to get ripped off the pole. Then 10 minutes later strangely calm.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Good I rode when I did 40-50 mph with 80 mph gusts hit just before sunset. Going to need to rake the yard tomorrow!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^Hey BrianMc, good to hear you are back on the bike!

I got out for a great gravel ride over the weekend. I'm really happy I opted for my mountain bike vs. my gravel bike - even through I was on a gravel "road", parts were so rough and chunky that there is no way I could have climbed it without being on a mountain bike.

No commute today, working from home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi BrianMC! Nice to hear from you. Apparently you had a rough time but good to hear you are doing better now. And dont overreact  now that you can ride again ok?

Nice Pics Woodway! From the pics it doesnt seem like such a rough ride as you describe...

Fall weather here. Windy today and light rain this morning, but the Windstopper stuff was sufficient.

Made the first MTB tour with my son and his new 24" bike on Saturday. It turned into a 18km/11m loop with ~300m/1000ft of climbing. On the steeper climbs we both had to walk the bike, on the less steep parts he was faster than me. He is 7 and the bike weighs about half of his body weight....I definitely am not the MTBiker I used to be. On some climbs I remember I rode them 10 years ago with ~15kph, now it was only 5kph until I had to get off the bike and walk.....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

About 28F for the ride in, not a bad ride, just rushed when I got to work as I had to change and grab stuff for a meeting and get downtown, where they have been busy putting a new layer of gold leaf on the capitol dome and also replacing the statue of Ceres (Agriculture goddess) from the top of the dome. She was wooden and had been carved by the statehouse janitor 80 years ago, so she had rotted out. Here's an AP story from a CA paper, with the new one being sculpted https://www.sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/celebrities/article220012905.html Has anyone tried the BIRD scooters? There were a bunch downtown, I guess you check them out with a phone app. I wonder if they would make the mile uphill back to work.


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## MCHB (Jun 23, 2014)

-2C this morning...I find it quietly amusing that everyone shows up to work all bundled up and warm and there I am sitting in a run of the mill carhartt shirt with a t shirt over-top and denim pants with sweat pouring down my face lol. Weather was gorgeous after work; came home, showered and soldier marched directly to the ICBC and hemorrhaged money. I can get my truck out of the impound lot later this week so I figured I'd better pay the first fine and get that over with (4 weeks after the fact!)... I can't get my license back for another two months but my winter work stuff is in my truck (along with my soft shell north face coat that I've used for biking in colder temperatures in the past!) I've had people ask me at work "Aren't you afraid of the cold?" , "Nope."


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice Pics Woodway! From the pics it doesnt seem like such a rough ride as you describe...


I was too busy trying to get through the rough spots to stop and take pics. At one point, I stopped at a narrow bit of road to let a truck crawl down...the gentleman rolled down his window and said "you'll probably have to walk your bike up ahead, the road is in really bad shape". I did not walk my bike, but I sure worked hard!



mtbxplorer said:


> Has anyone tried the BIRD scooters? There were a bunch downtown, I guess you check them out with a phone app. I wonder if they would make the mile uphill back to work.


They banned e-scoooters here. Too many issues with people riding them like idiots.

42F and foggy this morning. Uneventful commute.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hah woodway that sounds interesting.

eventful commutes today. Lots of wind, rain and leafs flying around everywhere. 10C all day but will have to get out the shoe covers tomorrow. Too much cold air blowing into my shoes and pants...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wet ride last night and this morning. Warmer this morning at 50F/10C. No wind for me, unlike you Dutchman.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Today was calmer and dry. Nevertheless I wore the shoecovers today and will do so from now on. Rain coming back tomorrow anyway apparently...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> .....
> 
> Rain coming back tomorrow anyway apparently...


......and it did. It started with drizzle at home but soon turned into real rain. Windstopper clothing started to leak at the end, had wet spots on my elbows and knees. Ride home was dry but windy. Rode the second half with a coworker this morning, he caught up with me at a traffic light and said he recognised me in the dark from far away, because "no one else has so much reflective stuff on his clothes and bike"


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The sky was awesome this morning. My commute is almost completely dark now, but there was a dark purple glow in the clouds. On mornings like this, I'm pretty happy to be traveling east.

My Radbot 1000 has started to turn off during my ride. It turned off twice this morning, which kind of sucks. Maybe I should have a second light on glow just in case. At least the Radbot has a reflector, which gives a better chance of being seen when the light is off, but that's not ideal.

I haven't had any drivetrain issues after making a couple small adjustments. I'm crossing my fingers I don't have any more issues.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A bit of a headwind on the way in, but I left early enough that it didn't matter. Amazingly, it was still blowing in the same direction on the way home for an unusual tailwind! Hovered around 29F both ways, so a bit brisk with the wind (>10mph with gusts over 20). A noisy sports car coming in from a parking lot on the right saw me at the last second and stopped halfway into the road; I pedaled around the nose and waved, and he might have apologized (not sure what he said).

Yesterday I skipped the commute to do a night trail ride before the trail system closes for hunting season (deer rifle season). It was fun, so different in the dark, even with a good light. We heard a barred owl call quite close, and then the lead rider was surprised by a big porcupine in the trail (it was also surprised and I got to see it run off). I had a couple step-offs and the wet snowy leaves were much harder to navigate on foot, super slickery. It had snowed an inch or so that morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, from the tenor of the posts you can tell winter is on the way!

Good to hear your drivetrain is OK s0ck. I really enjoy night riding as well MTBX. It's really a different and fun vibe.

This mornings ride was a real soaker, but warm at 55F. My normally quiet route was full of cars this morning! I could not figure out why until I got closer to my office and my route parallel's the interstate highway as it goes through downtown Bellevue. A semi had tangled with a car, hit a lightpole, jackknifed and caught fire. The semi was blocking the northbound lanes of the freeway and the lightpole was down across the southbound lanes. Flashing lights everywhere when I rode by. What a mess! These are the days when I am especially happy to be a bike commuter...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I always like riding in the dark too  .looks like we are all the same kind of people. 

It rained again this morning but this time I eas well prepared. Put on the rain jacket and stuffed the rainpants in the pannier just in case. Made my detour to the farmers market and it rained again, but not enough to justify puttingon the hardshellpants.

Wish you all a nice weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Rain all day today. I drove my car, even though I had to jump it this morning and will likely have to jump it again this afternoon. I need to get a new car battery this weekend. Next weekend, I'm going to a mountain bike festival.

I emailed PDW after getting fed up with my Radbot shutting down mid-commute. It looks like they'll be able to get a new one to me under warranty, which is awesome. I should be able to limp along until the new one arrives.


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## Fattycommuter (Dec 21, 2017)

41 degrees. Wore a new columbia fleece that offered no wind resiatance. Big mistake. I'll learn eventually. Great, pieceful night though. Looking forward to the morning home. Not a soul out at 7 am on a cold saturday in new england. Road to myself!! Hope I beat the rain. Tons of birds out. Normally the roads are littered with squirrels Lately. Wierd. Go south already!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Fattycommuter, windproof clothing is where it all starts....hope you didnt catch a cold or something?

Up to me to start the new week apparently. The time shift didnt get into my head yet so I got up early and still started in the dark. Had a long day at work so I rode home in the dark too. Cold and windy today. I put on the winter tires on Saturday and did not put enough air in, so the combination of soft tires and headwind made me slow. Aired up when I got home so tomorrow should be better.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey all, I'm checking in after vaca. I spent last week in Utah hiking and biking. I'll post some pics sometime. It is amazing out there.



Fattycommuter said:


> 41 degrees. Wore a new columbia fleece that offered no wind resiatance. Big mistake. I'll learn eventually. Great, pieceful night though. Looking forward to the morning home. Not a soul out at 7 am on a cold saturday in new england. Road to myself!! Hope I beat the rain. Tons of birds out. Normally the roads are littered with squirrels Lately. Wierd. Go south already!!


Another New England commuter to commiserate with! Welcome to the group. But squirrels going south? Have you been in the area long, they are around all winter.

I brought a cold back with me, crossed back and forth 3 time zones and took a red-eye flight so I wanted nothing more than sleep this morning. And it was raining... so I brought the car. Maybe tomorrow I'll get in the swing of things.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I felt kind of slow this morning, perhaps due to my second-place finish yesterday in the Barre Bombers 16" wheel downhill MTB race :lol: I'm in yellow.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Amazing, 80 degrees today and tomorrow snow is forecast. We already had one snow earlier this month, then temps climbed steadily until this weekend when they were back in the upper 70's.

After that first snow and some subsequent rain, I finally got around to installing some clip on fenders.

I haven't gotten around to trying the studded tires to see if they'll fit in this new frame. The last few winters I was spoiled, I had the Motobecane setup for studded tired and the old Red bike setup for good weather. Had to cannibalize the Motobecane when I built the Macho Man. If the tires won't fit, I'll just put them on my MTB. It's not like I can ride real fast in the snow and ice anyway.

I have been lucky in that with both my boys now in High School, I don't have to take turns driving them to school and can ride the bike to work 5 days a week if the legs are willing. 

Will let you know how it goes tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey all, I'm checking in after vaca. I spent last week in Utah hiking and biking. I'll post some pics sometime.


Welcome back! Do tell on the vacation! Where did you go? Awesome riding down there.



mtbxplorer said:


> I felt kind of slow this morning, perhaps due to my second-place finish yesterday in the Barre Bombers 16" wheel downhill MTB race :lol: I'm in yellow.


Hah, very cool MTBX, good job!



z1r said:


> I have been lucky in that with both my boys now in High School, I don't have to take turns driving them to school and can ride the bike to work 5 days a week if the legs are willing.
> 
> Will let you know how it goes tomorrow.


Good luck z1r!

48F, partly cloudy and dry today. Nice commute in. Uneventful, the best kind.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I felt kind of slow this morning, perhaps due to my second-place finish yesterday in the Barre Bombers 16" wheel downhill MTB race :lol: I'm in yellow.


Hey the guy on the end is cheating. Those aren't 16". Downhill race, it must be kind of like Red Bull Rampage but different. 2nd place...NICE!

We went to Zion National Park and the surrounding area. I did about 20 miles of hiking and a 20 mile ride one day. More details to follow, sometime. Here are a few teaser pics.







Observation Point







Desert Flow

I got up and didn't feel like going to work much less riding to work with my cold. But I put on my big boy panties and rode anyway. I guess I'm glad I did. The fresh (33 degree) air can't hurt, right?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Heya folks, some nice posts here.

MTBX: You got snow already?! That pink bike is a 12" right? Reminds me of the kids' first bike. The youngest now rides 16" too so we sold that one. How many participated btw?

Nice pics bedwards! Cant wait to see more!

Drizzle this morning. Forgot to put my gloves on the heating so they were still damp when I put them on for the ride home. Quite windy today, ~15kts, and will remain so for the rest of the week. 

No riding tomorrow, will work from home. But will check in here to read about all your adventures.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I found out that the other reason I felt slow is that air was leaking from the rear tire. Limped in by stopping to pump up a few times, and changed the tube after work, inside in the warmth and light. Miraculously I had the right tube, sometimes I space when I switch bikes. The cause was a tiny piece of wire that I had to pull out with pliers. 
Around freezing both ways and a bit windy.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I dedicate a small seat bag for each bike with the right tube for the bike. There is no way I am responsible enough to swap the tubes in my pack for the right one every day.

Last nights ride had a great sunset and this morning had a great sunrise. I'm still battling a cold or something but maybe it is a little better today. Or I am just getting use to it.
Around freezing both ways and a bit windy.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Morning all. Easy ride in this morning. Light rain but almost 60 degrees!??! On November 1! Supposed to be warm and rainy going home this afternoon. These warm temps and rain make layering selection difficult.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> ....These warm temps and rain make layering selection difficult.....


especially when you don't know whether it will rain or not.

First morning ride in daylight since some time. For that first ride home in complete darkness. Luckily the wind calmed down a bit, that was nice. Somehow on the first part of the route there was a lot of traffic jam which I can avoid since there is a MUP. Second half of the ride was unusually busy with people trying to avoid the traffic jam, thus causing a second one. Luckily there was some space for me to ride past traffic safely. Must have had a lot of jealous looks today


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Luckily there was some space for me to ride past traffic safely. Must have had a lot of jealous looks today


I always enjoy riding past long lines of stopped traffic too! 

We change over to standard time in most of the US this weekend. Mornings are already dark for me, so I'll be dark both ways starting next week...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I always enjoy riding past long lines of stopped traffic too!


I call that trafficsfaction.

No ride for me today and probably not tomorrow either. Still Sick.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

halloween eve commute home prob wasnt brightest idea. Wierd traffic jam patterns, ambulance going by, oncomming Leaf turning in front of me despite my blazing headlight, pickup truck cuttin in from side street on right close enough that i could have grabbed onto bed and get a tow. Weather was good but my time to get home was slower due to all the wierdness. Also hitting twilight now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This is a strange week. I only managed 1 commute. I was off Monday. Commuted Tuesday. Skipped Wednesday and Thursday because of rain (and I agreed to transport up my co-worker who's had a bad streak of luck lately). I drove again today because I'm going to a mountain bike event all weekend and want to get home ASAP to pack and hang out with my family a bit before leaving. How do people drive to work every day? My body is screaming.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I call that trafficsfaction.
> 
> No ride for me today and probably not tomorrow either. Still Sick.


trafficsfaction - I like that! Hope you feel better soon bedwards.



s0ckeyeus said:


> How do people drive to work every day? My body is screaming.


I'm with you s0ck. If I had to drive to work everyday...well life would just suck.

This morning's ride had the three W's: Warm, Wet and Windy. Happy Friday everyone. Have a good weekend.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards, get well soon. I think I am getting a cold too, my throat is sore and have to cough sometimes. I hope it wont get worse.

Trafficsfaction sounds good too and fits the description well 

Nice rides today. I rode in late and because of that I left early  so both rides were in daylight. The ride home was even sunny, a lovely day for this time of year. And I am growing a ringbeard because my coworkers and I are participating in "movember" and I notice already that it isolates pretty well...maybe something for the entire winter.

I am also on the edge of buying a new bike, found a good deal on this one:
https://www.merida-bikes.com/en_gb/bikes/road/cyclo-cross/2018/cyclo-cross-300-10627.html

It is in stock in a store in town and will check it out tomorrow. I found a good deal with 33% off somewhere online and since they offer a price guarantee, they already assured me the same price. It is pretty much exactly what I want in specs, it only doesnt have thru-axles but normal QR skewers. I like that because I probably want to mount my other front wheel with the dynamohub, so I can power my phone on longer rides. But we'll see when I get there tomorrow.

Wish you all a good weekend!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> .............I am also on the edge of buying a new bike, found a good deal on this one:
> https://www.merida-bikes.com/en_gb/bikes/road/cyclo-cross/2018/cyclo-cross-300-10627.html
> ...................


New Bike Day here!
So I went to the store, rode it a while around the shop and bought it. They gave me some nice pedals along with it as well, although it was on discount already. I was surprised to find Jagwire KEB-SL cables on the brakes, that's really good. I just got it home and swapped the saddle and adjusted the bar, now its good to go for a first ride. Brakes and gears were already adjusted and when turning over the stem I found all bolts greased very well. All in all I think I made good buy here. And it's a long time since I have bought a brand new bike....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Nice looking ride Dutchman! Congratulations. Pics and a commute report when you can!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thx woodway, I will. Unfortunately my slumbering cold beat my resistance today and hit me hard, will probably have to call in sick for a few days :-/ so the commute report will have to wait some. 

I already found out that the PM bb7 do not fit the flatmount fork  will try some more bedding in and I have a pair of unused b01s pads that I could try otherwise. 

I also ordered a pair of schwalbe hurricanes in 42-622 and a venturemax bar in 46cm, the same that I have on my other bike. The stock bar is horrible, narrow on the hoods and really hurts in the drops...the hurricanes will be a tight fit with little room to spare, but I would send them back in worst case.

Bedwards I hope you are better already?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards I hope you are better already?


 Not quite but I may be turning a corner. The symptoms changed from sore throat to sinus infection to fever and then exhaustion. The first week I hiked around 10 miles/day, last week I made 2 bike commutes to work (which is really low for me). And this weekend I barely had energy to sit on the couch. I took today off because I couldn't imagine it would be good for me to attempt it. I haven't been down for this long in years.

Anyway, nice looking new ride! I haven't had a new bike day in over a year(which is really low for me)  Too bad you are too sick to enjoy it.

S0ck, I'm beginning to understand driving to work all too well. I'll probably take another rest day tomorrow when it is supposed to pour and hopefully feel well enough on Wednesday.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good to hear your feeling a little better bedwards.

I had to go to an early meeting yesterday over in Seattle so I had to drive my car. I hated it.

Back on my bike today. 45F, wet roads, lot's of slipperly leaves on the ground this morning. All is right again with the world today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

"It's quiet...too quiet".

It was quite a soaker riding home last night. Reminded me that I need to Nikwax my jacket. 

This morning was dry and 43F and an uneventful ride.

The roads have really emptied of cyclists and the bike room at the office is back down to the winter hard-core's. Guess that means fall has officially arrived.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First day back in the saddle after a weekend full of riding and 2 days off work recuperating. I mountain biked over 43 miles of some pretty tough trail on Saturday (27.5 miles) and Sunday (16 miles). Either my tire pressure was a little low on the way to work this morning or I'm still more worn out than I thought.

I received a warranty replacement light from PDW. It sucks my previous light would turn off for no reason, but the response by PDW was more than satisfactory. They processed my warranty and shipped in the same day, and I received the light two days later. Can't complain with that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> "It's quiet...too quiet".


Do you feel like you are talking to yourself?

Sounds like some good riding last weekend S0ck!

I'm still only feeling about 68.2% normal but I got out on the bike anyway. Can you say slow! I'm glad I did though, it was a fantastic morning for a ride and probably the last one like that until spring. I also found a few pounds of oyster mushrooms just growing on a tree in the woods waiting to be picked. Fall mushrooms are the best because the bugs have started leaving them alone. So, I saved 4 bucks on gas today and found 12 bucks worth of food, pretty cool.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Do you feel like you are talking to yourself?


My best conversations 

Good to hear you are slowly on the mend bedwards.

Turned cold here all of a sudden with temps hovering near freezing and dense fog. Ice Patrol for sure. Supposed to be sunny and 50 for the ride home. I hope so!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It is quiet here. Hi Woodway!

I'm up to 75% capacity. I took the road bike in turned out a 19mph average on the way in but that was top speed. I know I need to take a car home so I didn't reserve anything. The day wasn't quite as nice as yesterday but more fall appropriate. Crisp cool blustery temperatures.

Not much else to report. Maybe I'll get to the pictures this weekend.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Hey All, just checking in. Been ridiculously busy lately.

Hope all of you get over your colds soon. Nothing worse.

I woke up dead tired today. I rode my gravel bike on the local MTB trails on Sunday which took a lot out of my legs. Rode to work every day but today. Still haven't adjusted to the stoopid time change. Forgot to wash my gear last night and being so tired was enough to convince me to drive today. Temps in the low 20's and when I got to work a few snowflakes started falling. Looks like I picked a good day to take the cage.

Lately it seems the drivers around here have gotten worse. With the time change in effect, I am getting home after sundown. With the cold front rolling in last night it was pretty dark when I got to my street. We have a "T" intersection midway up my block with a stop sign. I had my headlight on flash mode and it will light up reflective signs a couple hundred yards away. Idiot driver runs the stop sign and stops inches away from me, then hollers, "couldn't see you!" The only way you couldn't see the headlight is if your eyes are closed. Maybe he was napping in his self driving car? 

Down to 450 miles to go. Yay!

Stay warm and healthy!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Dutchman, congrats on the new ride! It looks fast. Which model# did you get? It's hard to believe but I have already put 2,000 miles on the Macho Man I built this summer.

I like the dynamo front hub idea. Is your's compatible with disc brakes?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi z1R and all,

Yes I am doing better by now. Because of the cold and coughing, I could not sleep very well the last 5 days so I got sleep deprivation on top of it :-/ But I have the feeling it is getting better today.

So I got the "basic" model cyclocross 300. It is spec'd quite ok, the only thing not on the "highest" standard is that is still has the old-school QR axles. But I wanted that actually to keep it simple in case I want to get a 2nd wheel set or a front wheel with dynohub - Shimano still doesnt have thru-axle models in their lineup. I want this bike to become my summer-weather-commuter and for some bikepacking experiments. I intend to sew some simpler bags myself and I am thinking about getting a seatpost mounted rack (like the Topeak MTX rack) to strap a drybag on it. Since I will be experimenting first, I dont want to invest in expensive bags from Apidura, Revelate & Co. I will probably start experimenting with some 90gr/sq.m tent floor that I still have around.

I already swapped the saddle because I had that one in the parts bin. Also the rest of the parts arrived the last days, it will get: 
-a new bar, Ritchey Venturemax Comp 46cm
-Cinelli cork gel bartape, wrapped double
-new tires: Schwalbe Hurricane 42-622 (I guesstimate they will fit)
-Spoke reflectors
-a bell
-SKS bottle holders Topcage (as on the other bike)
-Speedometer Sigma Alti 14.12 (as on the other bike)
-Saddle SQLab 602 Active (as on the other bike)
-Lezyne Pump and bottlecage mount (high pressure version)
-Bar Extender for phonemount, lights etc.

In the shop they already mounted flat pedals with antiskid surface. I wanted good hold but no pins.

Except for the tires and pedals, all parts are known to me since they are on the other bike as well.

Concerning a dynohub, I would like to get one but I think the wider flange will make it collide with the brake actuator arm. On my other bike I have a 203mm rotor on the front wheel, so no issues there but I am not sure if the fork would handle such a big rotor and it is also out of warranty. I dont want to end up with a screwed up fork someday.

I guess somewhere next week I will be done and will have some pics of the complete setup.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Missed a beautifully-blatant middle-of-the-light-cycle red-light-running-SUV... my gopro was on the other bike. 

Bummer. I would have loved to have him in my 2018 compilation.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Yes I am doing better by now. Because of the cold and coughing, I could not sleep very well the last 5 days so I got sleep deprivation on top of it :-/ But I have the feeling it is getting better today.
> ...
> I guess somewhere next week I will be done and will have some pics of the complete setup.


Good to hear that you are healing! Will look forward to pics of your new machine.

I have several routes I ride home depending on how far I want to go, how I feel, etc. Tonight I rode a route that took me past the Boeing Renton facility where they assemble the 737. On one side of the plant is a road that takes you past the flightline and you ride quite close to many completed 737's ready for their delivery test flights. On the other side of the plant you ride next to a rail line where you get to see the other side of the process:


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Cool pics woodway. Some of my family was from that area. My Grandfather who I never met, worked for Boeing.

Dutchman, yeah, that 300 model was nicely spec'd. It looks fast just sitting still. Looking forward to hearing some ride reports.


ghettocruiser, glad you missed the SUV or rather it missed you!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghettocruiser a shame you dont have the 4$$h01e on dashcam!

Z1r, Woodway, thanks for the credits and the pics. I remember a news flash that such a train derailed and some of the fuselages fell in a river - was that this or last year?

So I made a 2m/3km "ride" on the new bike after putting on another saddle and installing the speedometer.

I noticed the stock bar svcks big time and those skinny tires too, although they are maxxis mud wrestlers, which are getting good reviews everywhere. I am apparently a guy that needs comfort  For that I really really like the metallic paint on it - pic link at the bottom!

So I put the new venturemax bar on, wrapped with one layer of cork gel bartape. And I installed the schwalbe hurricanes in 42mm. On the rim they are 39mm wide measured, and they clear the chainstays with around 2mm to spare on each side. For me, that is sufficient. On the front of the rear tire there is around 10mm space, so plenty of space to install fenders if necessary. The fork also has plenty of clearance left for a fender.

I made a short shakedown ride with my son this afternoon, around 1h10m. I noticed the bike is much more nimble and I have proven an old wisdom again: Every gram counts when going uphill. So on the flat I dont think I will be much faster, but as soon as it is going up, I really feel a difference. For the rest I now know again why a hardtail or fully with 80-100mm suspension is the best way to go here. On the rooty trails I had my teeth rattling although I used to just surf down the trail on my hardtail in the good old days....

Unfortunately we started shortly before sunset and came back in almost dark, so no pics of that currently yet. It also rained so I did not want to get out my phone anyway.

First pics here, I will fill up the album later on:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=dVFLa0NFSF9fdGo5Q3VoOGVrOVRRZFU2NFlpRVZn

It is supposed to rain next week, so I will probably ride the other bike with fenders. But end of the week is supposed to be dry with some sun, I hope I will be out during daylight with the bike.

CU, CD


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Z1r, Woodway, thanks for the credits and the pics. I remember a news flash that such a train derailed and some of the fuselages fell in a river - was that this or last year?


It was 2014: https://www.usatoday.com/story/toda...lls-boeing-737-fueslages-into-river/12258639/

It's a nice looking bike, Dutchman! And you've already started the upgrade cycle 

You could try one of these suspension stems to smooth out your ride - a friend rides with one and really likes it:

https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good Monday Morning fellow bike commuters. Or at least woodway, dutchman and the few others that pop in every once and a while. 

I finally posted some pics of our MTB day in Utah. I'm planning on a different post for the hikes.
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2018/11/bike-zion.html

I'm finally starting to feel more myself. Good thing because winter is starting to put us to the test here. Seriously, it's only the beginning of November.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice report bedwards. Love that desert riding!

For a good trail app, checkout Trailforks (trailforks.com). I took a quick peek and the trails you were riding are all there. Nice app, similar functionality to what you described in MTB project. It's pretty much the standard app that everyone uses in my area.

Good to hear that you are feeling better.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I went to look for the trailforks app and found it already installed on my phone. I must have done it a while ago. I see that trailforks had the trails closest to me but the MTB project didn't. I'm not sure if it is the same but I liked the MTB project because it downloaded the whole area so you could see it offline since cell coverage is spotty in a lot of riding spots. We navigated to the trailhead on unmarked dirt roads by zooming in on our position on the map.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

With Trailforks you download regions (which are basically States/Providences) so that you don't need to be connected while using the app.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all,

bedwards you were there and couldnt watch it?! My #1 and me watched the finals series on youtube...nice report though, good you could ride at all but I think I would not recommend the bikeshop either....
For navigation, I am using the German App "komoot" available in english as well. It is not totally for free, I bought the entire world package of maps for 20€ / 25$. That allows you to use it on as many phones as you whish for the rest of your life. The best is, that it is covered by German Data Protection laws, so unlike Google, Facebook & Co they do not analyse, store and sell your data to anyone paying enough money. I know the people on GCN use it as well. I looked up Zion NP and there are not many tours stored in that area (not many users there apparently) but I did find the west rim trail. You can download a prerouted tour and map package so that you can use it offline on your phone too. https://www.komoot.com/

Woodway, 2014? I still have those pics in my head like yesterday - plane geeks know their stuff ;o))

So I made a short 17km/11m ride yesterday on the new bike, first ride with the new bar, new tires and the selfsewn half-frame bag. The bag basically works, but the material is pretty flimsy. I think in the long run the velcrotape will rip out, but it did hold my wallet, keys and repkit firmly without swinging. I added two pics from the ride, made them during a short stop to adjust the saddle and the bar. When I came home I decided the brifters are good where they are and wrapped a second layer of bartape.
album link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Xu5XHmd596QL6EBp6
I found a good deal on a Topeak seatpost rack with the corresponding click-on- trunkbag for 55€ incl shipping to my mom in the Netherlands. Will pick it up after Christmas while visiting, together with all other things I bought and sent there over the year :lol:

Oh yeah I almost forgot: I rode to work today on the other bike with fenders. Wet and some drizzle, 10C all day and the bike felt like a tank, but almost just as fast - as long as it is flat...and the unpaved part sucked today, literally. It has gotten soft and often it really feels like it sucks the wheels down. Not much longer and it will be so soft, that the mud clogs up the space between tire and wheel. I am taking the longer paved route now when it is wet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The new bike is looking nice dutchman, and so does your path! Looks like a nice trip and ride bedwards, once you had 2 wheels that rolled and all, :lol:.

Winter storm warning for today so I mounted the studded snow tires on the MTB, time for some resistance training. 3-5" is forecast.

I missed some bikecommuting while dogsitting an elderly belgian shepherd. Made up for it with some gravel/class 4 road rides on the weekends. Also did a short No Vet Alone Ride, I suggested it to the shop and they sponsored it, just rode to the diner for lunch and back https://novetalone.org/ For Halloween I added ET in a milk crate to the front of the BMX for the ride to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I didn't ride today for no other reason than I was being a little baby.  It was raining, my wife was driving in and we have an extra car at work that needs to get home so I whimped out and carpooled. Riding in 33F degree rain is about my least favorite. The rest of the week is colder but drier.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> Winter storm warning for today so I mounted the studded snow tires on the MTB, time for some resistance training. 3-5" is forecast.


No Vet Alone looks like a great organization MTBX. 3-5", ouch. Stay warm and safe.



bedwards1000 said:


> I didn't ride today for no other reason than I was being a little baby.


No Rule #9 for you.

39F and dry for me this morning. Supposed to rain the rest of the week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> No Rule #9 for you.


Nope, I need to re-visit #5 I guess.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow mtbx you have so much snow? We are still waiting for temps below freezing. Hasnt been below 2C yet.

Again wet and drizzle with around 10C all day. Prepared the new bike for the first commute tomorrow. I hope it wont rain tonight...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nope, I need to re-visit #5 I guess.


Probably Rule #6 as well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great ride in with the snow. Enough to make it challenging but not scarey or crazy hard. Got a bunch of bedwards' trafficsfaction passing cars that were backed up at the lights. Utilized the empty sidewalks where possible to stay out of the slush. As I approached a section with no sidewalk, a state plow did a u-turn in the laundramat just ahead, and amazingly, started clearing the bike lane of plowed snow that I was just about to enter - perfect timing, as otherwise I would have had to fight with the cars for the 1 cleared lane.
Tonight the power went out but came back on after I walked the dog - more good timing! About 6" at home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Everyone here has been talking about snow since before the weekend. We may have gotten a few flakes, but just about everything has been rain. I'd prefer snow, really. It's more enjoyable to ride in than cold rain. I opted for the car yesterday. Today's ride in was brisk (mid 20s), but nice. We have sleet and freezing rain in the forecast for tonight. Hopefully it doesn't amount to anything.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rule #9 applies to you mtbx! Well done!

Freezing rain is where I draw the line on riding too s0ck. I suppose if I had studded tires I might consider it.

44F and rain on my commute today. Pretty uneventful otherwise.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Probably Rule #6 as well.


Ha Ha, and probably others too. I did HTFU today.

Hey MTXB you are getting some early snow. We have mostly been just below the snow line but I think we are due for some on Friday.

Nothing too reportable here. I did break down and replace my tube on my road bike. I think I had used up it's useful life. :lol: I got a new hole too close to an old patch to patch. I think the value of the patches exceeded the value of the tube.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sock I am fully with you. Without any type of spike tires freezing rain / icy roads are simply dangerous. I wouldnt ride that either, but we seldomly have it - not even once every year. 

Bedwards that really looks like you patched it a lot. But there is still space between the patches, why replace it so soon? :lol:

First commute on the new bike. Roads were wet but nothing coming from the tires, so I stayed dry and clean. I got it pretty much dialed in by now, the bar is a bit lower as on the other bike, but saddle and bar position are pretty much the same by now. For the rest, not much to say. About 10minutes faster on the round trip, it took exactly 1hr today. AvSpeed was ~3.5kph/2mph faster as on the other bike. I have to admit, I had expected a tad more, that will probably need skinnier/faster tires and lycra kit. I also dont like the backpack, but I will have to deal with that for a while and I think I will survive it  Battery light was not the brightest either - on the way home it got better when I turned it on. The other bike has a dynamohub and therefore the light is always on without thinking about it. Luckily some guy flashed his carlights at me even before I left the plant.

Its getting colder with temps just above freezing in the morning, but also dry and sunny, so I will ride the new bike Thu and Fr as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> About 10minutes faster on the round trip, it took exactly 1hr today. AvSpeed was ~3.5kph/2mph faster as on the other bike. I have to admit, I had expected a tad more, that will probably need skinnier/faster tires and lycra kit.


My average speeds easily vary by that much day to day depending on the wind, air density, and fatigue level. All other things being equal if you are comparing this ride with with rides in warmer weather, you might be faster on this new bike than you think.  Higher air density, colder grease, tighter tolerances, stiffer tires, more restrictive clothing, heavier clothing. They all add up. Well that's at least what I tell myself.

It's warmed up to a balmy 25F here mid-day but the sun is going down soon so I thin we've seen the "heat" of the day. #earlywinter.


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## Fattycommuter (Dec 21, 2017)

Holy wind batman! It was freezing out today. I tried my lobster (lobstahhh here in N. England) gloves. My hands were sweating, so they have significant promise. Was 28, in the teens with wind chill. Its 9 right now. The new giant escape commuter hybrid did me well over a few ice. Patches. Not a fan of the seat though. I'm still sticking with it, but i need. More top Layers.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Good job Fattycommuter! Keep us posted on how it goes!

bedwards, that tube is impressive. I bow down to someone cheaper than myself 

Dutchman, I am with bedwards on your time expectations. I bet that next summer you'll be putting in even faster times. Different tires can help, although skinner tires are not always faster tires...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yes colder than a witches t*t in northern New England as the saying goes! 11F this morning, squally but only enough accumulation for a cloudlike ride, and 10F when I left work. 0F , yes zero, forecast overnight and until 7 a.m., yikes! Added the pogies today, almost too toasty on the lower arms. Slow though, the cold and a bit more wond slowed my trip down more than the snowier day yesterday. 5-8 more inches of snow Thursday night, topped by another 1-3 Friday. Old man winter is off and running! This morning my face was cold at first but either acclimated, warmed up, or froze.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> ^^^ Good job Fattycommuter! Keep us posted on how it goes!
> 
> bedwards, that tube is impressive. I bow down to someone cheaper than myself


I have to agree with both of these! I always feel like a patch will fail before I get another puncture, so I spring for a tube - apparently way to early.
Fattycommuter, if your top layers feel too bulky, it can help to make 1 or 2 sleeveless layers, like a cozy synthetic or wool undershirt layer or sweater vest from the thriftstore. They keep the core warmer without making you feel like the Michelin Man.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The freezing rain did materialize. Fall came late this year, and winter has apparently decided to show up early. Some trees have taken a beating, especially since the leaves haven't completely fallen on many of them. Temps never dropped below freezing, so the roads ended up being fine. I grabbed my bike with fenders and had a nice ride in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Fattycommuter said:


> Holy wind batman! It was freezing out today. I tried my lobster (lobstahhh here in N. England) gloves. My hands were sweating, so they have significant promise. Was 28, in the teens with wind chill. Its 9 right now. The new giant escape commuter hybrid did me well over a few ice. Patches. Not a fan of the seat though. I'm still sticking with it, but i need. More top Layers.


You ain't whistling Dixie Fattycommuter. That wind last night SUCKED. I'm assuming it was similar in ME, VT and NH. It was a headwind the whole way home. At one point it felt like I should be home and was barely half way.


woodway said:


> bedwards, that tube is impressive. I bow down to someone cheaper than myself


 You'll be wicked impressed that the "new" one I put in came out of the patched pile :lol: It is starting over with 2-3 patches already in place.


mtbxplorer said:


> I have to agree with both of these! I always feel like a patch will fail before I get another puncture, so I spring for a tube - apparently way to early.


I don't think I've ever had a glue type patch fail except for a few infant mortalities based on poor application. If they last 24 hours, they last forever. The stick on patches give out in the heat so I stopped using them.

This morning was forecast to be colder than last night's ride. Which seems impossible because last night's ride was really really really really really cold. So I bought the mountain bike and added a layer. It was very comfortable. Just like mid-January or February but comfortable. I have to (get to) shuttle a car home tonight and have tomorrow off.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

All you riding in the snow/teens/single digits get the badass award!

I have never had a glued patch fail either, except when I did a crummy application job. Usually that means I did not wait long enough between applying the cement to the tube and laying down the patch. I usually call a tube with three patches "used up" but need to re-think my criteria now...

This morning was mid-40's and light rain. Really not a bad morning for a ride, except I think I was sleeping through most of it because I literally cannot remember most of the ride. I do remember leaving my place but it's all blank until I was about a half mile from my office...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes sounds pretty rough for some people here already with freezing rain, cold, snow etc.

It is correct what you guys say about the low temps etc but that counts for the other bikes as well. Nevertheless I rode the bike again today and I am getting used to it and I am starting to like the bike pretty much by now.

It was "drizzly" this morning (drizzle / foggy), glasses fogged up within minutes and I had to wipe off the front light every 5 minutes to have some light. I had a shitty day at work but at least had the opportunity to leave early, so I didnt need the light and enjoyed the sunset on the way home.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

First snowy commute of the year this morning. Got my dynamo wheel and light wired up.

I like to read about early arctic expeditions this time of year...takes the sting out of winter conditions to realize what those guys went through! "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing is one of the best books I've ever read. Just starting "Farthest North" by Fridtjof Nansen.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ What those guys experienced is nothing short of amazing. And a "badass" award for squeakymcgillicuddy!

Good to hear the bike is working out for you Dutchman!

47 and light rain here today. I've got a big Mountain Bike ride planned for tomorrow so took it nice and slow this morning and probably won't take the long way home tonight. Have a good weekend all!


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## Fattycommuter (Dec 21, 2017)

6" snow yesterday with 33 degress and rain on top, now its a solid disaster. 45 today, hopefully it will clear the roads for. Monday's comutte. I had to skip thursday and friday due to weather. I need my commute fix... The NH roads are not set up for winter commuting (or summer for that matter) but ill figure it out. Narrow roads, zero shoulder. Fat bike time! Just bought a better rear rack so i can use my pannier. Thanks to everyone for the encouragements!!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Good call, I skipped the ride in Friday's snowstorm here in VT too. The roads were a mess and I was pretty beat from the cold and snowy commutes this week. Sometimes you just have to wait for better conditions and road cleanup. 

Squeaky, I like those kind of books too, try The Lure of the Labrador Wild if you have not read that one. I got it in an audiobook download from the library. I will check those titles, not sure if I have read both.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I skipped Fridays ride because I didn't go to work. But if I did I would have skipped the ride. Any storms where they plow the snow into the space I normally ride I skip. It just doesn't' work on rural roads. We were getting light snow this morning but it wasn't enough to plow so I went for it.


woodway said:


> All you riding in the snow/teens/single digits get the badass award!


Count me in this morning. Rule number 5 baby! Well, it was snowing anyway.



woodway said:


> I have never had a glued patch fail either, except when I did a crummy application job. *Usually that means I did not wait long enough between applying the cement to the tube and laying down the patch.* I usually call a tube with three patches "used up" but need to re-think my criteria now...


Almost every time. I have to make myslef do something else while the glue drys. 3 patches is just gettin' broken in.



woodway said:


> This morning was mid-40's and light rain. Really not a bad morning for a ride, except I think I was sleeping through most of it because I literally cannot remember most of the ride. I do remember leaving my place but it's all blank until I was about a half mile from my office...


Autopilot.

I pulled the winter commuter down from the hooks this morning and...Chains are supposed to bend, right? I must have put it away wet and salty and it was rusted solid. Emergency chain replacement and some air in my tires and I was on my way.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Nice recovery bedwards.

We have a few days of beautiful sunny fall weather going. Took advantage this weekend to get a 21 mile trail ride in. I'm still smiling thinking about it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh oh bedwards that doesnt sound good at all - how long did you need to replace the chain? And I know the problem of not letting the glue dry too....

Woodway those are nice pictures again! And I know that autopilot feeling too. In addition I always daydream of being in the middle of an adventure. For example, the treeline a little away is turns into the Himalaya while riding on the Karakorum Highway...etc 

Rode the touring bike again today. It is supposed to get wet so I carried the new bike in the basement. Some drizzle again this morning but nothing worth worrying about. The touring bike feels like a tank on a cushion by now. 

I found the suitcase scale and weighed all my bikes yesterday. The new bike weighs in at 12.2kg, the grey Dahon 26" is 17.2kg and the 28" main bike is 18.6kg .....so there's the difference.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh oh bedwards that doesnt sound good at all - how long did you need to replace the chain?


 How long? About 108 links.  Or did you want the answer in time. That was about 10 minutes that I knew about it. I must have ridden it in salty wet conditions on my last ride. It was fine when I hung it up for the season last spring. I have new chains "in stock" but I used on old one that I had lying around. I need to adjust the length I think. I just slapped it on with a quick link. I suspect it may drag on the ground using a small-small combination on the triple crank.



cyclingdutchman said:


> I found the suitcase scale and weighed all my bikes yesterday. The new bike weighs in at 12.2kg, the grey Dahon 26" is 17.2kg and the 28" main bike is 18.6kg .....so there's the difference.


 And the good news is that you can still drop 5.4KG and still meet the UCI weight limit. 12.2Kg is still on the heavy side in my book. And 18.6:yikes:. That must be loaded with fenders racks and panniers. Although the one I am on today must be in the 17 range.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

For a CX bike 12.2 is still not light at all indeed. Probably the price you pay for having the lowest/cheapest model of the range, although I already installed heavier tires, saddle and bar (the venturemax in 46cm is a pretty big one).
and the heaviest bike is indeed fully overequipped with a Rohloff, heavy rims/tires, front and rear rack, 5XL fenders, dynamohub+lights, .... even the saddle is probably heavy, its an SQLab 602 Active (the one that rocks side to side with your hip). Tires must be 850 each too and the tireliner also adds 200grams and and and....and I dont regret any of it. I seldomly have to even lube the chain, it just rides very plushy. Not too much of a difference because it is flat here. Climbing is a whole different story, as soon as you are going up it feels like you dropped an anchor.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I pulled the winter commuter down from the hooks this morning and...Chains are supposed to bend, right? I must have put it away wet and salty and it was rusted solid. Emergency chain replacement and some air in my tires and I was on my way.


Haha, I thought you meant the tire chains!

I intended to ride today, but it was way to nice. No actually, I got up early and went down to do some basement reorganizing so I could get the 5 bikes out of my kitchen/dining room before company comes. I got caught up in cleaning junk out and next thing you know it was too late to ride. On the plus side I dropped off a bunch of junk and scrap and old paint today with the car. Snow is forecast for tomorrow.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

I woke up to a beautiful morning and grabbed my 3 season CX commuter. I almost killed myself on ice on a hill by me (Edworthy Hill for any Calgarians). That's it. Kona hardtail winter commuter with studded tires from now until April regardless of how warm it is outside. And regardless of how much of a tank that bike is. I am very fortunate I didn't hurt myself really bad. I am going to have bad dreams about that whole **** show tonight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, glad you are OK Mike! Wipeouts and near wipeouts are super scarey, and more so with cars around. Safe travels.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Mike, I'm glad you are OK. That's why I pulled my tank off the hooks yesterday. I had one experience on my road bike where I realized that even though it hadn't rained at all the road got covered in dew and was all black ice. I was going about 35mph when I realized that. 

Today, I'm in the truck. There's too much snow on the road to be safe on my commute. Even if I took the whole lane the cars would have to cross the slush to go around me and that's not safe for them or me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mike that sounds scary indeed. Glad you made it out allright.

Windy today, 3C on the way in and 4C on the way home against a 15kt headwind. But as long as it is dry, I'll take it. Speaking of which, it is still exceptionally dry this fall so far. When it comes to temps and rain it is already an unbeatable year.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been so cloudy this fall. Rainy too. Kinda sucks. 

I drove yesterday. Today is gloomy and upper 30s...all day. Not bad riding weather.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Thanks guys. Took the Kona hardtail in today. It’s actually a rigid as the fork seized on me about 4 or 5 years ago. Had a blast. It’s heavy AF but still a whack of fun to ride. And the hill today was a piece of cake with the studded tires - both down and up. Lots and lots of fun. Best way to start and end a work day. 

Thanks again for your concern. Hope you guys are having as much fun as me (now that I have put my CX bike away until April).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey mike sounds much better like that!

Bedwards roads are now cleared or still dangerous? No other route available?

Again a windy day with temps of 2C and 15kt winds from the east. Good rides though. Tightened the clamp on my headlamp this morning so it didnt move down with every bump leaving me with a brightly lit fender and a black hole in front of me. Unpaved section is still rideable, normally it is already a big sticky muddy mess that is clogging up the space between tire and fenders. I enjoy it as long as I can.


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## kyle_vk (Jul 25, 2011)

Haven't touched a bike in two months (newborn at home) but decided I'd ride to work. 30 degrees was a little cold for the first mile or two but after that it was all good! Had tire rub the whole way home somehow but I managed to get home at a snail's pace









Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Which pogies do you have on those jones bars?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Quiet here - I guess because of Thanksgiving right?

No T-day here and commuted normally. Yesterday afternoon the wind calmed down so riding became instantly better on the way home and today. 2C was suddenly not cold anymore. Rode 5 of 5 days this week.

I wish all a nice Thanksgiving and weekend!


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## kyle_vk (Jul 25, 2011)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> Which pogies do you have on those jones bars?


Regular old Bar Mitts. They come off at a bit of an angle but it doesn't seem to bother me at all.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Thanks, good to know!

A driver veered out of their lane and slammed into a parked car right across from my apartment the other night, feeling paranoid now. Gotta believe in the power of the blinky light.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Quiet here - I guess because of Thanksgiving right?
> 
> I wish all a nice Thanksgiving and weekend!


Correct, 4 day weekend for the lucky ones here. I did a little bikejoring yesterday and joined the LBS in the holiday parade. Mine has the reflective rim tape.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx that is not an e-bike but a D-bike (dogbike) :lol:

Like those Kids too. Did they participate in the whole Ride?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I took a long ride on some country roads yesterday. It was sunny, clear, and around 60F. This morning, it was snowing, windy, and 34F. 

It wouldn't have been a bad commute if not for the two morons who seemed hellbent on killing someone. The first car was planning to cruise through the right turn without stopping. Unfortunately, I was already mostly through the intersection and was in front of the car as it started to turn. I hit the brakes and yelled loudly towards the driver's window. The car stopped. 

The second car wasn't about to wait for me to turn left. The driver was at a stop sign on my right and kept creeping out into the intersection awkwardly, while I was waiting for 3 oncoming cars to go by before I turned left. Whenever I enter an intersection, I always claim my spot to avoid awkward interactions with cars. Usually it works. This time, it didn't. Just before the last car, the driver to my right hit the gas, swerved around in front of me, and sped through the intersection in front of the oncoming car.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Love the pics MTBX!

Took last week off from work and aside from one Mountain Bike ride, mostly enjoyed some thanksgiving downtime.

Back to my routine today. Low 40's, rain and uneventful.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, T-day meant 4 days without commuting!!!!


cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards roads are now cleared or still dangerous? No other route available?


They were slushy last Wednesday and then I had 2 days off. They were okay this morning with some light snow coming down but not accumulating. It is supposed to snow more tonight, hopefully after I get home. I'm on the tank with the studded tires. I considered taking the fatbike and going through the woods but without the frozen lake it would take about an hour and fifteen minutes (or more with the snowy unpacked trails) each way and I wasn't up for that. 


squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> A driver veered out of their lane and slammed into a parked car right across from my apartment the other night, feeling paranoid now. Gotta believe in the power of the blinky light.


 I go with *2* blinky lights for more power.

I got out once over the weekend on the fatbike. The trails were mostly unpacked with about 4-6" of snow. We averaged about 3.9MPH.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

1 hour later and I am still shaking.

This is what happened. I have to cross a 4lane busy road for which I have my own bike/pedestrian light. When I arrived my light was red so I stopped. I figure I have somehow registered the green lights for the cars to be for me. So I start crossing the road and see a car slowly braking beside me. I slam my brakes, look again, and look angry at her like "wtf do you think you are doing". I want to continue and then I notice three trucks riding around max allowed speed on the other side over the intersection, crossing my way from right to left. That is where I realised that something went really terribly wrong. The lady on my left was still standing still so I could turn around and get back on the sidewalk. I really wonder what other people might have thought about the whole thing. 

I think all the reflective stuff has helped to prevent worse. Glad I have it, but a working brain is better.

Make sure you all stay safe, alert and not on autopilot.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Mtbx that is not an e-bike but a D-bike (dogbike) :lol:
> 
> Like those Kids too. Did they participate in the whole Ride?


Haha, yes D-bike! Those kids are great, they rode from the shop to the parade start and then the parade route, 1 on his balance bike. Maybe a mile RT through the downtown? And they were more patient than some of the adults waiting for the parade start.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> 1 hour later and I am still shaking.
> 
> This is what happened. I have to cross a 4lane busy road for which I have my own bike/pedestrian light. When I arrived my light was red so I stopped. I figure I have somehow registered the green lights for the cars to be for me. So I start crossing the road and see a car slowly braking beside me. I slam my brakes, look again, and look angry at her like "wtf do you think you are doing". I want to continue and then I notice three trucks riding around max allowed speed on the other side over the intersection, crossing my way from right to left. That is where I realised that something went really terribly wrong. The lady on my left was still standing still so I could turn around and get back on the sidewalk. I really wonder what other people might have thought about the whole thing.
> 
> ...


Super scary, glad you are OK. I think everyone can relate to that kind of space-out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow Dutchman, close call for sure. So easy to lose focus for just a minute...

A mile RT on a balance bike MTBX? That's awesome! That kid qualifies under rule #9 already!

Rain and more rain here. We are getting a pineapple express type storm right now - the moisture streaming in originates from the area around the Hawaiian Islands - so while it's really wet, it's a relatively warm wet


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey dutchman, I had one of those moments in a car years ago and I still remember it. I was turning left into my driveway. For some reason it didn't register that a car was coming and it turned directly in front of it. I still don't know why. Luckily he was paying a lot more attention than I was and missed me.

Surprise blizzard here. I was thinking we were going to get an inch or 2. It is more like 6"-12". I'm walking the fine like between crazy and stupid but I guess I get to claim rule #9. Pics and reflections here: https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2018/11/someday-i-will-realize.html


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No blizzard here. We barely got any snow, but the roads were still slick, since they have yet to apply any salt to the roads. Not a bad commute though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I much prefer untreated roads on the bike as long as they are somewhat plowed. Salted roads are grimy, dirty and gross. I also keep my snowy road travel limited to low traffic roads as much as possible so I don 't have to worry about cars trying to get around me. Today's commute was over 2 hours with 7 miles of road and I saw 5 cars.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

woodway: I miss a lot about Seattle, but not the Pineapple express commutes! Felt like I was peeling off a wet suit when I got to work. 

bedwards: Whoa - 2 hour snow commute? What's your footwear?

Yesterday was in the 20s, but dry and calm.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Lakes, either 303s. 1 size up for comfortable double socks. They are generally good to the single digits and I wear them below 0 with cold toes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Somehow supportive to read I am not alone. Well I was even scared today when I crossed the road at that point today. 

This month will be the 10th month in a row that is way too dry. I think I wore the raingear only twice from march to now. Of course that is nice but I wonder what the longterm effects of the drought will be. We'll see in the future I guess. Experts are saying that plants and trees might not get green next spring because the waterlevel in the ground has sunk so much.

On the ride home I had the first freezing temps this winter, -2C on the way home. But it was nice, clear starry sky and hardly wind. Hopefully the same tomorrow morning, after that temps will go up again. 

bedwards those are impressive snowpics. Would love to plow through that as well with a fatbike, but maybe not everyday.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics bedwards. badass for sure. It may have been a tough ride but a year from now it will still standout among all the rides you did in 2018. Well done!

Dutchman, that fear will keep you on your toes for a while!

squeaky - yesterday was definitely one of those "peel off the wetsuit" days. Rained this morning, but now the sun is out and it's in the low 50's. Not so bad! Where do you live now?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^I much prefer untreated roads on the bike as long as they are somewhat plowed. Salted roads are grimy, dirty and gross. I also keep my snowy road travel limited to low traffic roads as much as possible so I don 't have to worry about cars trying to get around me. Today's commute was over 2 hours with 7 miles of road and I saw 5 cars.


A plow wouldn't do anything on the roads today. We must have gotten some freezing rain during the night and a dusting of snow on top. It was so little snow, you wouldn't think it result in anything, but some roads were rather slick. Just about everyone coming in slid at least once on the way in, myself included.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ahh, the old light fluffy snow over ice thing. Yeah, that kinda needs salt even if it is gross. 



woodway said:


> Nice pics bedwards. badass for sure. It may have been a tough ride but a year from now it will still standout among all the rides you did in 2018. Well done!


 Funny you should say that. This popped up as a facebook memory from 4 years ago. The bike has changed but I haven't smartened up. There might even be a blog post about it, LOL.








I'm carpooling home. We got a few more inches of snow and then lots of rain to make it all good and heavy. I don't have another 2 hours of badass in me today.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

woodway said:


> Where do you live now?


Mid-Missouri...colder but drier winters here. Summers are humid and icky.

Had good clear skies tonight so I rode out into farmland to try some night sky photography. Turned into a popsicle out there! Frostnipped my pinkie toes and came down with the screaming barfies when I finally got home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

"screaming barfies", good description!

Well, I had quite an eventful ride last night. It started so innocently, just another ride home. It had been raining earlier but had stopped by the time I left the office. About a mile out, it started to sprinkle. At mile five it was raining harder, but really no problem. At mile ten, just as I started climbing a pretty steep hill, it started to downpour. I mean like you are standing in the shower downpour. 

Being a rule #9 badass, I smiled and kept pedaling. What a mistake. Never, ever smile in the face of the weather gods.

About halfway up the hill, I flatted. I got the wheel off and as I was running my hand around the tire (in the dark) trying to feel for what caused the flat, unbelievably it started raining even harder. And now the wind was blowing in great big gusts. And thunder. And lightening. It was dark and I was struggling to put a new tube in with water streaming off the visor of my helmet filling the tire. 

I wasn't smiling anymore.

The rain never let up for the rest of the ride home and by the time I arrived I was wet everywhere and cold.

Went to bed early and had an uneventful ride into work this morning in light rain. The weather gods put me in my place.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ It may have been a tough ride but a year from now it will still standout among all the rides you did in 2018. Well done! 

I took the truck today. I wasn't up for blazing trails again and the roads were slushy and icy.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> "screaming barfies", good description!
> 
> Well, I had quite an eventful ride last night. It started so innocently, just another ride home. It had been raining earlier but had stopped by the time I left the office. About a mile out, it started to sprinkle. At mile five it was raining harder, but really no problem. At mile ten, just as I started climbing a pretty steep hill, it started to downpour. I mean like you are standing in the shower downpour.
> 
> ...


Oof! That sounds rough.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^ It may have been a tough ride but a year from now it will still standout among all the rides you did in 2018. Well done!


Touche! Yes, I won't forget this one for a while.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ouch woodway you laughed at the wrone one apparently :-/ but I agree with bedwards: it was a memorable ride.

-4C this morning. Wore a thicker longsleeve and felt fine, but the windstopper pants were quite refreshing. Probably time to dig out the padded overpants. Ride home was just above freezing but with a nasty southeast wind that was a headwind most of the time...

But tomorrow morning it is forecasted to be +6C with rain.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dry ride this morning. First dry ride this week. Supposed to be dry tonight, I may take the long way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OK, all is right in the world. I'm back on the bike. Well...at least I am back on the bike. The world's a pretty F-ed up place lately. Anyway. 

The roads are pretty clear. I took the studded beast again in an abundance of caution. There is a lot of snowbank melting and re-freezing in streams across the side of the road. I don't need to find those icy patches in the dark. I am itching to take a faster drop bar bike. Maybe it is time for studded 700C tires. No major storms in sight on weekdays.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rain here most of the day. Rode both ways in the rain and had it covered pretty good clothing wise. Waterproof, right working temps.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow Woodway, sounds like you really got dumped on. Glad you made it home ok, if a bit more miserable than expected. I don't know that I could have fixed that flat in those conditions, well done!

Bedwards, love the orange bike pics from your epic snow trek. When I had the 6 mile trail commute I had some 2 hour winter rides home as well. When you can't even push the bike anymore because of the snow buildup, you do question your decision-making capacity.

It has been snowing here since Tuesday, woke up to 6-8", took the day off for a service appointment that never happened, had another 6" by afternoon, and 6 more by Wednesday a.m. Only a couple today, and I planned to ride, but used the time for snowshoeing with the dog before work instead of slush riding. A wierd thing on Tuesday; there was so much heavy snow built up on a a power line (it goes through the woods where I was skiing, a discontinued road/snowmo trail), that when it fell off, the wires bounced so much that the telephone pole bounced back and forth violently and with an unnatural creaking sound. The pole line zigs and zags along and over the trail on the way home, and I kept a close eye on them the rest of the way.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Really strange that much snow could build up on a power line...must have been really waterlogged heavy snow. I love snowshoeing!

Light rain here again this morning. 38F/3C. Uneventful.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow MTXB you are in the snow belt. We only got some of those storms. It's clear today and I brought "the fast bike" which at this time of year is the Cross Check. I don't think I have ever referred to it as fast. Which brings me to my next point.

Woodway, I know you like Habanero Cycles. I'm thinking of going that direction for a new commuter style bike. Would he remember you? I get the impression it is a small shop. If so, send me a PM with your name and I'll let him know you referred me. 

So, I pulled the CC out and swapped over to the wheels with the knobby tires for this time of year. So I had to adjust the brakes. I HATE the brakes on that bike. And I had to adjust the shifter. I HATE the rear shifter on that bike. Other bikes I can adjust with no problems but the cross check is never happy. At this point the brakes don't rub and if you fiddle with the shifter it changes what gear you are in eventually. 

The ride in was pretty good. About 28F but minimal ice on the roads.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> ^^ Really strange that much snow could build up on a power line...must have been really waterlogged heavy snow. I love snowshoeing!
> 
> Light rain here again this morning. 38F/3C. Uneventful.


Yes, I can attest that the snow is sticky and heavy !! Unlike a blizzard, it has not been windy so the snow kept building up; I have a very sad weighed down lilac tree (still) that, I don't know if it will come back to it's 7' high fullness. If I wasn't snowshoeing it would really be a chore just to take the dog out, at least I have some paths around the yard and I am trying to keep up with the feeder trail in the woods. Snowshoes are great, they let you go pretty much anywhere, unlike fatbikes or skis. I have been lucky, some people are still without power since Tuesday and ice is expected Saturday night. This was an elevation storm, folks below 1000' got a lot less, even a few miles away.

Oh I see it's a recordbreaker (from the year 1900!)https://vtdigger.org/2018/11/30/vermont-breaks-november-snowfall-record/


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx your dogs will need snowshoes as well in that deep snow! :lol:

Good rides today, it was warm, dry and calm. 7C on the way home, wednesdaymorning we had -4C. 

Lots of rain is forecasted for the weekend. Good for the earth, good for the kids. Puddlerace is in preparation!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics MTBX! Especially like that last one.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> Nice pics MTBX! Especially like that last one.


Thanks! It's a red pine plantation, all in neat rows, from back when they were trying to reforest VT. 
https://vtdigger.org/2012/12/09/in-this-state-in-red-pine-a-growing-piece-of-vermont-history/

https://www.uvm.edu/landscape/learn/Downloads/scrapbooks/forests2.pdf


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I enjoyed reading those articles. We see a landscape and it's easy to think it's always been that way. Same issues out here in Washington State - many of our forests are completely overgrown due to 100 years of fire suppression. I've found pictures taken in the late 1800's of the forests in the central part of the state that show a landscape that is much more open than what we see today.

No commute for me today, I'm working remote. The weatherman is predicting a cold but dry week ahead. I'll be on black ice patrol!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Rain jacket sale today https://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/showers-pass-mens-elite-21-jacket I think I have an earlier version; if so, it is a bit warm over 40F but it is what I choose if it's colder or I will be out for an extended ride.

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/showers-pass-mens-elite-21-jacket

Glad you liked the articles Woodway, no commute for me either, out sick today. Just a cold, but since I made someone go home recently for coughing on everyone in the open office, trying to set a good example. She said there was no bus home for a few hours; I said go cough on the people at the bus stop in the lobby.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx I had a tough cold too a while ago. Hope you get well soon!

So I did commute today.. this morning it rained the whole way and about 15 minutes was a heavy downpour that made me riding through 2cm of water or so. I had a headwind too so those thick heavy drops made a lot of noise on my clothes and helmet cover. But I stayed completely dry inside and actually had a big grin on my face when I arrived. Rule #9 applied on this ride :lol: Ride home was dry and the goretex gloves were too warm in the dry. Took them off halfway and was fine with that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Good job Dutchman!

I rode today. Uneventful other than it was 30F out which made my ears cold as I descended down a big hill. All of you who ride in single-digit temps in the winter are probably snickering right now. But 30F is cold for here.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway  so I have my ears covered at those temps too, in fact my entire face. I mostly wear a thin buff but it makes a big difference.

Nice uneventful dry rides today. Very dark on the way home, clear sky, no moon and lots of stars.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Snicker Snicker

It was about 24F here this morning and we are headed for a cold snap. Road biking much below freezing does get cold. Usually when we hit the single digits I've moved to mountain bikes and trails so the wind chill isn't as bad. 24 is borderline balaclava weather. 

Damn my lips are dry.

I'm thinking that maybe, maybe, next week is lake crossing week. I'll have to see. Overnight lows are going to be around 10-15 and daytime highs are supposed to stay below freezing. There will be some skating recon this weekend, I hope.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I got another lip balm recently as mine have been chapped too. I like an ear covering of some sort at 30F but my face is fine in the 20's - after that first bracing impact! I like the buffs too, even though they get soggy from my breath after a while; usually by then I am warmed up. Felt better today but took it easy and drove in, especially since the lower temps are coming in as bedwards said - already down to 10F at 7p.m. Also, got 2-3" of unforecasted snow this morning! Here is a pretty off-topic peaceful pic from my trailcam...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice pic. Lot's of snow already!

Colder here this morning - mid 20's. I put a cap on under my helmet and the cap covered my ears, so the ride in this morning was way more pleasant! I don't like buffs either for the same reason as MTBX - they get soggy after a while.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pic indeed MTBX, and glad you feel better too!

My Buff gets soggy too but apparently it doesnt bother me too much?

So "it" happened this morning. It rained a lot yesterday and some freezing was predicted, so I prepared already to take the bus this morning. But at home it was +1C and so I rode. Outside of town though it appeared to be frozen. Temps dropped to -2C and there were a lot of big black ice spots everywhere. I stopped to lower the pressure a bit to have a bigger contact surface, rode careful but just before work on the last right hand turn I slipped and fell on my right elbow and knee. Skidded for about 2meters and came to a stop on my belly. Rappled myself up quickly, got everything from the road and started to sort things out. Bike was ok, except for some scratched on both ends of both brake levers. Steering bar was straight, even the bartape hardly damaged and useable until end of winter. Brakes worked and everything was still tight. 

I myself was ok. My elbow hurt most but my jacket didnt have a scratch, just some dirt on it so I thought it would be ok. Windstopper pants has 2 slight tears in the top layer, I think I will glue a soft patch against it from the inside, will be hardly noticeable.

I continued into the plant and went straight to the medical center. I found 4 other cyclists in the waiting room already, all with bruised elbows and knees. When I undressed I noticed I did have a 2x1cm rash wound with some blood on it. Doc checked everything, gave me a patch on it and said I was good to go. When I left, there were 4 new cyclists in the waiting room. A collegue of mine also crashed but he had nothing, just broke his light.

Ride home was at +3C, and uneventful at least.... 

I still feel my right elbow, both knees and my left wrist. Furthermore I feel that my bones got shaken through. Time to look at myself as a grown-up instead of a young person I guess....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ice gets the best of us. I'm glad you are OK. I searched a long time for a video I've seen posted on this forum of dozens of cyclists loosing it on the same icy corner but I'm not sure where it is. 

I took the fatbike through the trails this morning and the ice was SO hard that the studs didn't bite at all. Flat was OK but anything off camber was a no-go. There were only a few spots. 

I just placed an order for a Ti frame (just like woodway's but not a disk) and all the bits and pieces to build it up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow Dutchman, that is a crazy amount of cyclists all going down the same morning. I hope the pains are improved today. 

Excited for you bedwards, Ti is awesome for an all weather commuter!

Yesterday's ride in was one of the chillier ones so far this winter, it had warmed up from 4 to 10F by the time I got on the bike. Uneventful until I got to the roundabout. I entered it easily, passed the first exit, and then saw a car coming a little to quick for comfort in the next entry. So even though I had the ROW and she was looking right at me, and I was <20' away, I decided to err on the side of caution and slowed up. Sure enough, she blew right through while looking right through me; I am quite sure she would have nailed me had I not taken evasive action.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ouch Dutchman! Hope you feel OK today. Pavement hurts!

Very cool bedwards. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with the result.

Good move MTBX. Long-time bike commuters develop a sixth sense about situations. 4F...10F...WOW!

It was colder here this morning - well, by our standards, it was balmy by MTBX standards  - in the low 20's when I left the house. I just felt like a slug this morning but made it to work without issues.

This cold weather seems to have chased all the cyclists away. When I went down to the bike room last night to head home, there were only two other bikes in the room! (the third bike in the picture, without any gear hanging from it is a perma-bike that has not moved since we moved into this building in August).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cool bike room. I've got away with leaving mine in the front hallway at work for the last 6-7 years. I think I have grandfathered myself. It also incentivizes me to keep it clean(ish) since it is in a customer area. 

I'm excited about the new bike! Now it's just the waiting game while everything ships. 

No ride for me today. My knees are achy. I'll push through being tired but mechanical issues that could get worse will force me to rest. I'm offsite tomorrow so I guess I'll have to save up my riding for the weekend.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks guys. Yes I'm ok. I still feel my right elbow, the rest is fine.

Woodway that is a bikeroom that can make one really jealous. Does the room have any additional features, bikestand, lockers, anything?

Bedwards cr4p I just bought the alu cx bike. Why do I never listen to myself and buy what I want, so that I dont have to be jealous on people who do buy what they want?? :madman:

Wet pavement but no rain this morning, drizzle on the way home. From tomorrow on, weatherforecast calls for non-stop rain for 3 days in a row. Seeing is believing, but bring it on :devil:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^HaHa, Dutchman, Maybe you will have a different answer when your kids finish college and it is paid for. Like mine!  

I don't have any problems when it comes to buying bikes I want. I realized that I don't really like riding the Cross Check and I like working on it less. My 2 maintenance gripes could probably be addressed with $40 in brakes and $50 for a road derailleur instead of the MTB on on there with road levers. But whatever, All the parts are ordered. 

The Cross Check doesn't owe me much. I paid $800 for it and have 5000-6000 miles on it. 

Besides, I haven't had a new bike in...Actually I don't remember. I guess it was the TT bike I bought off a friend. That was over a year ago and hardly counts.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman, the bike room has a tool stand mounted to the floor...one of those where you can set your bike on it to work on and all the tools are attached by cable to keep them from walking away. The building has a nice locker room with showers, and they even provide towels! Pretty sweet setup for bike commuters.

My Ti commuter has over 40K miles on it, so it does not owe me a cent! But I put three kids through college, so I don't have any cents left over fore new bikes. Actually it's because we spend all our money on my wife's horses, but that is a different story


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Here is my commuter bike leaning up against the tool stand in the bike room. Tools are attached to the cables hanging off the side and the floor pump handle is peeking out over the water bottle. Not a very good photo, but then I'm not a photo pro.

Another (relatively) cold morning. Warm up is supposed to happen tomorrow with a return of the rain. Then I'll be riding to work in the upper 30's/low 40's and riding home in the mid 40's.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

HEELLLLOOOOOO!! Is there anybody out there? This is turning into a 3men/1woman show here....

My kids are 3 and 7 - long time to go before they finish college :cryin: Funny what you mention about the Crosscheck, overhere Surly/Salsa bikes are rare and only people that consider themselves as the "real cyclists" know and ride those brands.

That bikeroom....:arf:

Drizzle this morning, drizzle on the way home. On the way to work I had to avoid a car swerving around a parked car on her side and I yelled at her. 5 minutes later I got righthooked by a bus into the plant. Slammed the brakes and I got him at the barrier before the plant. Yelled at the busdriver even more and pointed to my eyes with my pointing and middlefinger. I think he got the message. Needed an hour to cool down at work from that....

At least the ride home was good. I started of with drizzle so I opted for the windstopper pants. It turned into rain but the pants kept me dry.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm here but still just part of the 3/1 group. I was traveling on Friday. The Surly's are good solid bikes. I loved my CC when it was the first cross bike I had, but now it just feels heavy. Besides, I'm ready for something shiny!

OK, I'll start. The Lake Is Frozen! More here:
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-lake-is-frozen.html


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Cool pics bedwards! Especially the boulder under water...I liked that one.

No riding for me for a couple of days...working remote today, dr. appointment tomorrow that requires the car. Drat!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes nice pics from the lake. And how big is that chunk of ice actually? It looks pretty big but maybe you played smart with the dimensions and camera positioning?
Thanks for the tip with the boulder, I admit I didnt recognise it and thought it was trapped air or something. 
To me it looks also much better for iceskating than for cycling - maybe you better mount some spike tires bedwards?

I admit I am still careful going around corners although I know it can not be slippery. Very uneventful rides today. After last week's action, exactly what I need


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

My commutes have been pretty non-descript lately...just cold and dry. My "commute" to the grocery store is a lot longer than my commute to work but mostly on a bike path. 

I've got a taco tuesday ride with some buddies starting from work now, so my commute takes a long detour and involves a lot more salsa and alcohol


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> My commutes have been pretty non-descript lately...just cold and dry. My "commute" to the grocery store is a lot longer than my commute to work but mostly on a bike path.
> 
> I've got a taco tuesday ride with some buddies starting from work now, so my commute takes a long detour and involves a lot more salsa and alcohol


Sounds good. Uneventful rides here too, clear starry sky on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Dutchman, The piece of ice is probably 15cmx25cm. The boulders and sand and plants and fish under the ice are really cool to see skating by. The lake is pretty shallow so when the ice is like this you can see a lot. 

And you are right, the ice is much better for skating. It is a little terrifying on the bike. Not because you are going to go through but because the getting just a little off vertical means crashing. 

I managed today without incident. I also went a few more miles down the lake. I'm torn between wanting this pristine ice to stay and to have some ice with at least a little grip. i think I'll try the 26er with the ice spikers tomorrow to see if it does any better. I'm also planning an early morning skate with a friend. ! 

What ever happend to FattyCommuter. He popped in and was active here for a while and then poof, Gone.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Coldest ride of the season. 18F and clear. Not a bad ride in. I'm off the rest of the week into next week. Hopefully I can work in a mtb ride or two, if it's cold enough.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh, yeah. I forgot to report on the temp. It was 5F. The coldest so far this year and darn cold for "Fall".


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

5F. Damn. Well done bedwards.

Back on the bike tomorrow. It will probably be in the low 40's and raining...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Oh, yeah. I forgot to report on the temp. It was 5F. The coldest so far this year and darn cold for "Fall".


Here too, 0F when i got up but must have warmed up a few by the ride. It was slowwww. Facemask velcro on thing was annoying, seems to always hurt my neck but I haven't learned. Overall too warm and unzipped jacket and vest. The only other bike at work was a coworker who had trailered her boy to daycare first - wow! She said it is nor far but all uphill to drop him off.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wasn't this by you Bedwards? https://www-newscentermaine-com.cdn...errer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ 0F, oh man, good job MTBX!

44F here this morning. Wet roads but no rain.

bedwards, looks like you got your ice skate session in. Nice work!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey MTXB a friend reported seeing a dead deer frozen in the ice being eaten by some eagles over the weekend.

Yes, woodway, I did a ride-skate-ride to work. A friend met me for 12 miles of skating on pristine ice. 
https://www.relive.cc/view/2013460472





​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

12m on those icehockey skates? Wow....dont you use those skates they use for racing? Much faster I think and perfect for big open lakes where you go just straight ahead.

3C all day but calm and clear sky on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yes, hockey skates. I've thought about getting some nordic skates but I like the hockey ones just fine. I like skating in and out of rocks on the shore. And I don't think they other type is good on bad ice either. I've been wearing this same pair of skates for 25 years. If it aint' broke....


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ........ If it aint' broke....


....its probably better than new. And you are right hockey skates are much better for bad ice than nordic skates. That is why I used to have both when I was young. Nowadays, no skating possible in winter anymore overhere...:-/


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, that is a long skate Bedwards, and it does not even look iced over in the pic! A very unique commute accomplishment. No ride for me yesterday, I was supposed to go to court for work but then both trials got cancelled. All dressed up and nowhere to go.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

My dad used to skate 6 miles one way to high school (late 1930's). Horse and buggy was the mode of transportation when the ice was not good or out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Looked like a great skate session bedwards! I just watched the relive video and you covered a lot of ground.

BrianMc in the house! Have not heard from you in a while!

Last nights commute featured rain a gusty winds. One gust caught me when I was slightly off-balance dodging some bike lane crud and almost took me down!

This morning was 45F and rainy but otherwise uneventful.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Brian! Nice to hear from you! My parents also used to use skates as a primary means of transport back then....must have been good times.

Also watched the relive vid, I actually thought the bike was locked up somewhere and the remaining part was skated to work.

I checked a lot of times already if I could skate or paddle to work but although I get close, it is not very useful. Would have to get over a road and **** and it is difficult to get out/in the water at that spot. Furthermore I wouldnt be able to get closer than 3km/2m from work....

3C again all day. Said goodbye to the unpaved section this morning, the mud has gotten sticky and was clogging up my fenders this morning. Had to clean it tonight when I came home, otherwise its frozen solid tomorrowmorning and rubbing against the tire.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I just read in the news that there are a lot of meteors to be seen tonight, up to 80 per hour. For me it is early in the morning, for the east us coast later in the evening, for the west coast probably early evening. 

If you have a dark spot on your route it might be worth watching. But keep your eyes on the road while riding plz!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hello to BrianMc from me too!

Forgot to mention that Tuesday night while pedaling home a nice whitetail buck ran across the street right in front of me. Solid in body and at least a 4 pointer. This was a few minute coast downhill to downtown Montpelier (state capital), not out in the sticks where I live.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Tough to see meteors around here this time of year Dutchman...we don't even get to see the sun that much.

Warm this morning! 48F/9C. And finally a dry ride this week!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Forgot to mention that Tuesday night while pedaling home a nice whitetail buck ran across the street right in front of me.


The buck that's always loitering on the bike path on my ride home must be 250 lbs. If I hit him it's gonna hurt. But he's much easier to see in the darkness than the ninja pedestrians with black hoodies and headphones on.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey BrianMC, good to see you popping back in to say Hi.

The best time to see meteors in any part of the world is after midnight since the earth is crashing into them and they don't have to catch up to enter the atmosphere. I seem to remember that just before daybreak is the peak time. I tried that today but it was cloudy. I was going to watch them from the lake. 

I met a friend for another pre-work skate. The ice is so good that it is hard to pass up. We only did about 5 miles because.... I got flats in both fatbike tires simultaneous. The only thing I can think of is that I ran over something with a nail in it with both tires. Both had punctures in the center of the tire with nothing stuck in the tire, very weird. 2 patches and about 1000 pumps later and I was good to go.

Skating that far is pretty darn easy. We were going about walking effort. It is very flat after all.

Oh, and the frame and all the bike bits and pieces (that I didn't forget about) are at my house. The build starts tomorrow.!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cloudy here too this morning  Havent seen a single star, not to mention meteors...

and uneventful rides for the round trip.

Bedwards that sounds like good skating indeed. Wishing you good luck with the build this weekend!

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

ghettocruiser said:


> The buck that's always loitering on the bike path on my ride home must be 250 lbs. If I hit him it's gonna hurt. But he's much easier to see in the darkness than the ninja pedestrians with black hoodies and headphones on.


Yeah, that's a big one! Probably hurt more if he runs into you though!



bedwards1000 said:


> Hey BrianMC, good to see you popping back in to say Hi.
> 
> The best time to see meteors in any part of the world is after midnight since the earth is crashing into them and they don't have to catch up to enter the atmosphere. I seem to remember that just before daybreak is the peak time. I tried that today but it was cloudy. I was going to watch them from the lake.
> 
> ...


SO wait, you got a flat fatbiking to the skate and had to cut it short, or??? Have fun with the build - or visit the LBS, lol.

Early fieldwork today so no bikecommute  I did see 2 bikers (2 more than usual) on my earlier than usual travels.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> SO wait, you got a flat fatbiking to the skate and had to cut it short, or??? Have fun with the build - or visit the LBS, lol.


 Yes flat fabtiking to skate. No, I didn't cut it short I went to work 1/2 hour late.  Priorities.

I trust myself more than the LBS, LOL.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Good for you on both, well done!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No fatbiking or skating for me today. Just riding my bike through big, fat raindrops. 45F/7C so not too cold...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No bike commute for me today. We're getting a few inches of fluffy snow which would be fine...Except over the sections of glare ice. The lake might almost be passable but the now hidden icy spots on the trail are going to be treacherous. I'm not sure when I will trust it actually. I'll probably try the lake with a road option tomorrow and play it by ear. 

The bike is almost built except for a few nit-picky things like no adjustment for brakes and not enough headset spacers.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

2C and drizzle both ways...:-/

Exciting times bedwards. When do you get the missing parts? And when do we get first pics??

Mtbx: is this close to you maybe? Its even in the news overhere 
Vermont Man Puts Up Sculpture of Middle Finger in His Town | Time


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> 2C and drizzle both ways...:-/
> 
> Exciting times bedwards. When do you get the missing parts? And when do we get first pics??
> 
> ...


Haha, yes, but only because everywhere in VT is close to me, that is an hour's drive north. Chain saw art is also pretty popular, lol


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The ride home was nice and fluffy snowy (on the shoulders anyhow), the ride in was filthy and wet at around freezing - also, it was Monday. But 5 degrees colder is much nicer.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Big sloppy rain drops on the ride home last night. Lot's of em.

Big sloppy rain drops for my ride this morning. Lot's of em. It's the Dog Days of December.

Interested to hear how you like the new ride bedwards! Post some pics when it's done.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I had heard of that news story but hadn't seen the pictures. In other news, this crazy car chase crash happened about a mile from my house and the stopped car involved got it all on video.. (Twitter video, caution, bad language)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1074438089085468672
The spare parts for the bike don't show up until Monday but I can finish it up for a test ride without them. I probably won't get to work on it before the weekend anyway. Besides, it is dark and snowy. I can give you a teaser pic. It looks like a silver bike with black parts.  It's stealthiness is part of it's charm.








Back on the bike today. The lake could have been treacherous if the snow had stayed powdery over that glare ice but it got wet enough to bond to it. The trails weren't much fun. Bumpy, lumpy, spine jarring and slow with a side of hidden ice. I think I'll stick to the roads with a lake shortcut for the rest of the week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

A billiard table!!! You lucky man!!! :arf: oh yes nice bike too. Yes titanium is a stealthy material. Looks dull and grey but serves you well. Which fork is that? Looks like carbon? And rumours say that in the USA only bikes with disc brakes are sold? ^^ .


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh yes uhm 5C, cloudy and wet roads today. Clear starry sky and half moon with halo on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> A billiard table!!! You lucky man!!! :arf: oh yes nice bike too. Yes titanium is a stealthy material. Looks dull and grey but serves you well. Which fork is that? Looks like carbon? And rumours say that in the USA only bikes with disc brakes are sold? ^^ .


A billiard table is stretching it. A yard sale find that hasn't seen a game of pool in years. It is great for drying laundry and storing bike parts though. Ritchey Carbon Comp. fork. Meh, I've got a set of Ultegra non-disk wheels with less that 1000 miles on them.

It is windy as hell here


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I had heard of that news story but hadn't seen the pictures. In other news, this crazy car chase crash happened about a mile from my house and the stopped car involved got it all on video.. (Twitter video, caution, bad language)
> 
> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1074438089085468672
> The spare parts for the bike don't show up until Monday but I can finish it up for a test ride without them. I probably won't get to work on it before the weekend anyway. Besides, it is dark and snowy. I can give you a teaser pic. It looks like a silver bike with black parts.  It's stealthiness is part of it's charm.
> ...


Wow, that would suck for the bystander! The bike looks real nice!

No bikecommute today, it was 10F and 15-20mph headwind, so I bailed and skied with the dog instead. I got cold fingers and he got cold paws at about the same time, but we had fun in the fresh powdery 3-4" of snow. All my packed trails disappeared today in the snow and wind though, start over tomorrow. Yesterday was so messy I decided to get full fenders on the winter commuter instead of the clip-ons.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I missed the best sunrise pictures on the lake but I managed to get a few in some other spots.

*Good Morning Sunshine*​
It was only 17 degrees but it felt like a warm 17 degrees. Yesterday's brutal wind was gone


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx: Skiiing to work? 

Bedwards those are nice pics. What bike is that? Looks like an older 26er MTB with a 1" threaded headset and good old canti-brakes?

3C and foggy on the way in, clear sky on the way home. So far not much winter here, except for that one day on which I crashed instantly...Forecast calls for lots of rain so it will be a wet christmas overhere.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You could figure out what headset it had from those pictures?! You are correct on all points. Bridgestone MB-3. Circa 1993. That was my main mountain bike for years and has been my foulest weather commuter for the last 10. I must have posted pictures of it here before.

Actually, The Candid Cyclist: Bridgestone MB-3


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I admit I opened the picture in a new window in full size.

I used to have an old specialized rockhopper in pink with mint-green decals :yikes: with the similar specs. When trying the new bike of a friend back then, I remember him saying "those are the new v-brakes, be careful with those or you will go otb" :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The new bike is getting Mini-Vs. They are still in style, right? $15/set.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Totally right with mini-v's bedwards! Looking forward to your first ride and impressions from the bike. Titanium is said to be light as aluminium, comfy as steel, very steong and resistant to any corrosion.

I have an old link from bedwards revived now that we are approaching the shortest day on the northern hemispere: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/

My shortest day will be 7h27min. And what about you all?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh I almost forgot: how much tire clearence do those mini v's offer?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tomorrow will be 08:51:57 of daylight here! Nice sunrise pix bedwards! Dutchman, there is no good ski route to work, just a ski in the "back 40" through overgrown field and woods and then back home. No ride today, drove to an office holiday party - I mean annual meeting.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Tomorrow will be 8:25:29 here.

Nice sunrise pics bedwards.

Anyone else procrastinate on bike maintenance? I've been putting off changing out my rear pads, even though progressively scarier noises have been emanating from back there. Yesterday, I picked up a new set of pads of a local shop and decided to take advantage of the bike stand and tools in the office bike room to install the new pads before heading home.

The bike stand, while a good idea in principal, is executed poorly - it's a little low to work on your bike comfortably, and because the bike is not clamped down, the bike moves around as you try to apply pressure and torque to the various bits. The pads I was installing are the type you slide up into the caliper and they are captured by a keeper screw at the top that goes into the caliper, through a pad, through the spring, through a pad and out the caliper on the other side. I struggle a bit to get the pads in and the screw through all the holes in the pads and spring (I'm on my knees and the light is not great in there either), but finally I think I have the pads in and secure so I hop on my bike and head out.

I cut through the parking garage which let's out onto a busy two-lane-with-a-center-turn-lane road. I wait for a gap in traffic to turn left and as soon as my bike bumps down off the end of the driveway I hear "ching, ching, ching" and upon grabbing the rear brake, realize that at least one of the pads has fallen out and is now somewhere on the road.

As there is still a break in the traffic I dump my bike on the sidewalk and dart back out onto the road looking for my brake pad - except it's dark and the pad is almost the same color as the road and I cannot find it. Cars are coming so it's back onto the sidewalk until the next break in traffic. This time I have my phone ready with the flashlight on and I am hunting for the pad until oncoming cars again force me out of the road. As I am standing on the sidewalk scanning for my pad using the light from the cars - I finally see it! It's in the far lane! Now I had to hang out biding my time while car after car drives over my poor brake pad.

I was finally able to retrieve it and retreat to the bike room where I installed it properly on the 2nd try. This is procrastination karma.

BTW, here is one of the old pads I pulled out. I think even bedwards would call this "used up".


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh I almost forgot: how much tire clearence do those mini v's offer?


 36mm tires, I think.

8:53 daylight here. Surprisingly close to MTXB 

Woodway, I think if you flip those pads to the other side you can get a few more miles out of them. HaHa. Nah, actually your rotor might be close to used up too. I have ejected a pair of new pads on the trail. They worked for miles but then were gone. I must have forgot to put the cotter pin back in. How did yours get out if they had the screw installed?

I took the MTB turned road commuter (Bridgestone) again today. It's a petty heavy beast and I took a slightly different route that has a big hill with some 18% grades. ugh.

Tomorrow is supposed to have 2" of rain in it. I may drive. I'm getting soft.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> How did yours get out if they had the screw installed?


Only one got out - as I was struggling to get the screw through the tabs and springs, that pad slid down in the caliper so the screw went over the top. I did not notice it and the pad stayed in place until the first big BUMP.

18% grade on that beast? Nice work!

We have a high wind warning forecast for this afternoon - gusts of 50+ MPH. Of course I rode my bike because I am stupid.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I walk everything above 10% 

Managed to stay dry today but tomorrow will be raining.

I havent seen brakepads worn completely. Here is a guy who had holes in the pads but they still have some flesh on it:

https://www.cyclingabout.com/broken-gear-two-years-of-bike-travel/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> We have a high wind warning forecast for this afternoon - gusts of 50+ MPH. Of course I rode my bike because I am stupid.


If you see a tornado -> Go the other way!


cyclingdutchman said:


> I walk everything above 10%
> 
> Managed to stay dry today but tomorrow will be raining.
> 
> ...


I'm sure you can push up 12% with the new wheels!

Maybe I need to because a full time travel cyclist so my blog will be more interesting.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> We have a high wind warning forecast for this afternoon - gusts of 50+ MPH. Of course I rode my bike because I am stupid.


Hmm, no word yet on whether woodway blewaway.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I have it on good authority that he made it home. 

As promised, no ride for me. Not only is it raining and icy but I picked up another cold. I must be making up for last year.

I'm looking forward to some bike building this LONG weekend. 

Happy Yule all!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Yup, made it home. Dodged lot's of downed branches and had to pedal down most of the hills to maintain a decent speed. Climbing hills into a headwind is like being punished twice. Just read about 300,000 in the area lost power (on edit) and a trampoline in the power lines! 

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1075852475855327233
It was windy!

Dry ride this morning! Colder though in the mid-30's.

I ride home this afternoon and then will probably be off my bike until the New Year. A little break will be good.

Have a good weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa woodway I rode in those winds once and promised myself to not do it again.

Bedwards yes it would be more interesting but being a professional cyclist is not easy either. Think of all the times you have to go back to get the camera.....impossible to get into a flow. And constantly having to satisfy your sponsors and try to get some money somewhere....I admit I like riding to my 9-5 job with an occasional tour over the weekend or a week.
Wishing you good luck finishing the build this weekend!
6C and dry this morning, raining on the way home. Finally wearing the hardshells again.

2 weeks off now. Driving to the netherlands after christmas for a week. Weatherforecast looks horrible there so no riding there either I guess.

Nice weekend everyone and I hope you all have some time off too!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, doing anything for money tends to have it's drawbacks. 

Geeze, with you and woodway gone this place is going to be a ghost town. I'm only working 3 days next week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Dont worry I will hop in here to follow you. Maybe someone else is riding too?

I just purchased a used front wheel with a dynamohub for the summer commuter / bikepacking / light tourer so that I can charge my phone along the way. I think it will be delivered after xmas but that is no problem.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

I almost feel like I'm getting cheated out of winter here. It's been chilly but not truly cold, very little wind or precip. 

Put my 29+ wheelset back on for a trip to a new (to me) trail system and too lazy to swap back to the touring set.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Merry christmas fellow commuters! 

I got a new mobile phone that is much bigger so it will be better to use for navigation while riding 

And you?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> I almost feel like I'm getting cheated out of winter here. It's been chilly but not truly cold, very little wind or precip.


 A lot of years winter hasn't even stated by now!

I missed Christmas so Merry Boxing Day. I'm not going around delivering boxes, I'm at work.

The actual Christmas gifts were minimal this year. My new bike got finished close enough to Christmas that it might as well be a Christmas gift. Here is the build process in words and pictures. https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2018/12/some-like-it-hot.html. It's rideable now but I still have a few things to finish up.

Nice easy ride in this morning on roads, lakes and trails. I didn't' take the new bike because if is frickin' cold. Somewhere between 7F and 13F depending on which particular weather station you were looking at.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, and I took some pictures on the way in. They all kind of end up looking the same but it always amazes me how peaceful it is on the lake at daybreak. 
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2018/12/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration.html

dutchman, you can look at these on your nice new big screen!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Merry Christmas all! I was going to take the day off and go mountain biking, but the weather was not super conducive so I decided to save a vacation day and pedal to the office instead. It was about 38F, light rain and an easy ride.

Nice pics bedwards. Love that ice, it's glass smooth.

For Christmas, I got a set of airpods and my wife and I bought a new coffee machine for each other.

I'm heading to the SE US tomorrow morning for a family reunion. Will be back New Years eve.

Happy New Year everyone!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Ride in was good. I got to test out my new Knog Plus front light I got for Christmas. It's a pretty cool little flasher to complement my headlight. It's much more obvious than the other light I was using on flash mode.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> dutchman, you can look at these on your nice new big screen!


I just did :lol: and it looks good! Nice new bike, I like the stealthy look too. Riding a self-built bike makes for an even better feeling right? God speed and many miles! 
Is your bike leaning against a boey or something on the lake?
And 7F is effin cold btw. Overhere we have hardly had any temps below freezing and when it did I promptly crashed. And we havent had a single day yet on which the max temp was below freezing...for that I needed the raingear quite a lot the last weeks.

Woodway good thing to save your well-earned vacation for better times! Wishing you a nice trip!

My new phone might get first navduty in the Netherlands next week. Planned a trip from the vacation house to my sister - 40km/30m only, but as usual there for this time of year with a 30kt wind and I will be on my other sister's citybike :eekster: That's gonna be an adventure I guess....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold here too, the ride is was 7-9F, but it has warmed up to the mid 20's for the ride home. I will lose the long underwear layer and at least 1 toplayer. I wiped out on the ice while walking the dog on the snowmachine trail yesterday, (stupidly without grippers!), it was a little fresh snow over ice in spots and down I went on the way back home. A little sore lifting my arm and such but riding in was fine. Less traffic than usual due to Xmas. Sadly a local pizza place closed its doors today, it was a good place to pick up a slice or 2, or to grab a beer and slice at the bar on the way home. The new ride looks good Bedwards and the lake is gorgeous! My LBS, VT Bicycle Shop makes headset spacers on his 3D printer - call Darren if you need any more.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to see some old friends posting here while others are going to be off on vacation.

Dutchman, yes, it is a buoy. The lake is really shallow in spots so there are quite few around to mark them for boats. You can see the bottom around all those hazard buoys now.

mtxb, sorry to hear about your pizza joint. Powder over ice is the worst. Grippers might not have done anything other than give you too much confidence. Micro-spikes, that's what you need.

I rode and my wife met me for a pre-dawn skate. The lake was very talkative this morning with some cracks appearing under you as you skated. Play the video here with the volume up as loud as it will go. (Trust me it isnt' one of those startle scare things.  ) Some good pre-sunrise pictures too. 
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2018/12/we-caught-lake-monster-talking.html

I took the regular non-fat (Old School 26" even) mountain bike with ice spikers today. The trails have lots of sections with ice flows but otherwise they are mostly bare. Those are by far the best tires for today's conditions.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards I thought the ice would be really thick by now? I can hear it cracking its at 0:14 right?

What glasses do you have on? Looks like they have airtight padding?

Mtbx maybe someone else is going to reopen the pizzajoint?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It is thick but it still cracks. As it freezes it expands and there is no where for it to go. That big boom is the crack coming across the lake and the crunch is when it gets to me.

I know I have pimped my goofy lookng safety glasses out before. https://smile.amazon.com/Pyramex-I-...927873&sr=8-3&keywords=pyramex+safety+glasses


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Rainy and windy here...thankfully I've got the week off. Doing a gravel ride tonight. Not a fan of gravel honestly, just a way to keep riding with friends through winter. I'd rather be commuting!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A little warmer today, like 11F this morning and 20’s again for the ride home. Tomorrow (3 a.m. to 3 p.m.) looks nasty snow and sleet up to 2”, plus 1/10” ice, plus 35 mph gusts. Should be rain by the time I get out. Bedwards, I do have those microspikes, they are the bomb, but they work better when you actually put them on. Cool skating pix and video. It would be nice if another pizza place came in, but that spot is too big and rent too expensive I think. There is another place in town, but they don’t sell slices or beer. A good ride in today, other than an impatient honker at the roundabout while I waited for a safe spot to get in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I hate those impatient honkers. 

A quick check of Strava shows that I only have to ride 303 miles this weekend to hit 5000 for the year. That ain't happening. This will be my lowest mileage year in the last 5. Oh well, it isn't' a contest. 

I got a head start on not hitting 5000 miles this year by taking the truck today. The trails had a bunch of ice that was treacherous at best and impassible at worst. Today there is 2 inches of powered over that so we can add stealthy to the list. I'm endeavoring to get through 2018 without broken bones or teeth. So far, so good. 

Happy New Year All.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I am not keen of giving all my fitness data to anyone so I have oldfashioned computers on every bike. I havent calculated exactly but I made it beyond the 5000km/3600m marker this year and I feel fine with it. I have no goal for next year except to just commute by bike as much as possible, make some nice camping biketrips and to try to motivate the kids to ride their bikes as well.

Oh and I want to try some bikepacking with the cx bike next year. Even bought a bivy bag today...curious how that is going to work out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to hijack the workpacking thread Travis, I thought I was here in the free-for-all thread, :lol:



cyclingdutchman said:


> Happy new year every1!
> 
> :lol: see I told you so
> 
> Mtbx nice stem cap and I read between the lines that you have an adventure coming up? Whats planned?


The bike shop has a bike adventure club, usually we do local rides or bikepacking, but this time they organized a trip to Puerto Rico. We will stay at a big Air BnB in Rincon and explore by bike, do some beachbumming, etc. The club also has a loosely defined community service requirement, like being on the trail crew for example.

Happy New Year All!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from my east coast vacation/family reunion! It went well, good to see my parents and siblings, some of whom I have not seen in five years. We were on the coast of Southern Georgia, Just north of the Florida border and the weather was fine - partly cloudy and highs in the low 70's/21C.

I even managed to get a couple of Beach Cruiser rides in!

I finished 2018 right at 5700 miles and 383K feet of climbing. Not a bad year, better than my last two years when I was working from home and it was more difficult to keep conisstent miles, but still down from the years before that when I was routinely turning in 7000-8000 miles/year. 

For 2019 my goal will be to go over 6000 miles and 400K feet of climbing.

Right around freezing this morning, but no ice in sight. Supposed to rain for the ride home tonight.

Happy New Year everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Sorry to hijack the workpacking thread Travis, I thought I was here in the free-for-all thread, :lol:
> 
> The bike shop has a bike adventure club, usually we do local rides or bikepacking, but this time they organized a trip to Puerto Rico. We will stay at a big Air BnB in Rincon and explore by bike, do some beachbumming, etc. The club also has a loosely defined community service requirement, like being on the trail crew for example.
> 
> Happy New Year All!


Hardly a hijack. It was related to packing stuff on a bike. The trip sounds fun. Do they help arrange getting bikes there and back?

Woodway, I'm glad you had a good trip to the "Florida Georgia Line."

Here's my yearly summary.
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/01/2018-year-in-review.html

The ride in was pretty good. We had rain then a thaw and now a hard freeze. The lake was very good to ride. The camp road I take was a challenge. I was getting wheel slippage and thinking I needed some new studs. Then I spun out and had to put a foot down and realized that I couldn't stand on the hill. The trails had a crust of snow but were quite passable.

Oh, and I crashed at the bottom of my driveway with drivers observing the "Stupid cyclist on the ice" At least that is what I imagined they were thinking.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Happy new year fellow bike commuters!

Thats a nice way to start the new year bedwards :lol: glad nothing worse happened and that you are ok!

I did make my bikeride last sunday and it was good. In the ene I brought my own bike. Weather was dry and little wind, so much better than expected. I did navigate myself on a hiking trail that started good but I ended up crawling through wet soft grass for an hour and I had to climb over two fences with the bike on my back. After that the rest of the ride on pavement was good.l and I even saw a bunch of flamingos along the way. They seem to have escaped somewhere and are now surviving in the wild. 43km/29m in total in just over 2hrs. 

MTBX would be nice to know some more about your trip. Taking your own bike or renting one over there?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

So for the Puerto Rico trip we are all bringing our own bikes. Someone is loaning me a hardshell case, and the shop got a "sponsorship" from Shimano for a good price on cases for those wanting to buy one. He will also pack bikes in regular cardboard bike box for those on a tight budget. He has been beating the bushes for "team" sponsors, and we got a pile of Honey Stinger products and free top-of-the-line Kali helmets for everyone, all matchy matchy. With the big house rental and a bunch of people it will be economical, under $700 total for my airfare and lodging (luggage/bike extra) - my dog's digs for the same time period will be more expensive than my lodging. Our place is in Rincon, a surfing/beach town in the northwest of the island, so our rides will be out of there as we don't have bike transport on-island, other than 1 couple who I think is renting a car. I am contributing my friends' pickup truck and trailer to get us to the airport in Burlington VT so we don't have to pay for parking at the airport. I am learning all the important Spanish, like "Donde estan las mujeres del video?" (Where are the women from the music videos), lol. We are a varied group, from 20 something to seventysomething.

Congrats to the high milagers, very impressive! Also to bedwards for making it through 2108 with bones and teeth intact, and for not starting 2019 with a bang. Flamingos Dutchman, :crazy:

Good ride in this morning, although I was running late so I cut it short (parked closer to work). Since it was only 5F when I left home, it still felt like plenty to do 8 miles RT. Chose the MTB with studded tires for all the ice on the road shoulder, but mostly because the pogies are on it. The new full fenders on it are great, I keep forgetting to get an updated pic. Here's one from a little fatbike ride with the dog yesterday on my 2011 Fatback....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sounds like it's going to be a fun adventure, MTBX! Will look forward to a report and pics.

For me it would be an accomplishment to do 1 mile RT when it's 5F outside! Well done!

Much warmer here today at about 44F this morning. Of course it was also pouring rain  But the commute was easy and I am nice and warm at my desk as I type this.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> - my dog's digs for the same time period will be more expensive than my lodging...... I am learning all the important Spanish, like "Donde estan las mujeres del video?" (Where are the women from the music videos), lol.


I know the feeling. We travel to all inclusive hotels that provide a room and all the food and booze you can drink and they cost less than the doggy care while we are away. Don't forget "una cerveza más por favor"



mtbxplorer said:


> ...on my 2011 Fatback....


Upgrade time!

After my slippy slidey ride to work yesterday I measured some of the studs on my fatbike. The center rows only protrude 0.7-0.8mm and the outer rows 1.1-1.2mm. Although not a huge difference it is enough so they get pushed back into the tire and are a lot less effective. I've got a bag of replacements coming for the center rows.

No ride for me this morning. We had 3-4" of powdery snow. It would be deadly over all the ice around until it incorporates a little bit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Here's a pic from my commute home last night.







I'm a pretty tech savvy guy and I have no idea how to rotate that picture. It looks right on my computer.







Rotating it so it starts out sideways didn't work, LOL.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ I can just turn my head sideways. Cool pic!

Wind and rain this morning riding to work. Pretty warm though in the upper 40's. The wind was coming from behind for most of the ride which was nice. Otherwise another uneventful ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MTXB, when is your trip? 

Not much to report here. I took the roads and the lake. The trails have snow over ice so I'm giving them a few days to settle in. It's supposed to get pretty warm (around 40F) over the weekend so it should all consolidate before Monday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ The trip is still a few weeks out. Si, una cerveza es muy importante! No ride for me Friday or Monday due to conflicts, I hope to get out this weekend though. I am still attached to the Fatback, but I do think that will be the next one to be replaced. I am trying to avoid trying any new ones, lol. Bedwards, we got 3" of new powder too, an xc ski before work Friday was awesome, although the downhills exceeded my skilz and I bailed on purpose 2x. Have a good weekend all and safe travels!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

First ride of the new year. I was slow and legs felt heavy, no other reason than being too lazy over christmas period. Quite windy and drizzle too on both rides.

I did try to make a beachride last friday in the netherlands but I had misjudged/miscalculated the tide and I was at the beach 1 hr after high tide so it was too soft and I had to take the beautiful bikepaths. 

Bedwards that is a nice picture, all alone in the woods in the dark? 
Mtbx, that sounds like a really good trip and the people in the bikeshop must be really engaged to organise such a trip. 

Driving tomorrow because I have to shuttle the kids and bring a cake to work undamaged. So I am NOT driving because the wind and rain that is forecasted


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ The trip is still a few weeks out. Si, una cerveza es muy importante!


Estamos aprendiendo español para que podamos viajar a(o vivir en) las islas. (I had to look up the conjugation on some of those  )



cyclingdutchman said:


> I did try to make a beachride last friday in the netherlands but I had misjudged/miscalculated the tide and I was at the beach 1 hr after high tide so it was too soft and I had to take the beautiful bikepaths.
> 
> Bedwards that is a nice picture, all alone in the woods in the dark?


Sometimes miles from the nearest human soul!

It sounds like you needed a fatbike for the beach. Although I've never actually tried that.

It's supposed to be snowy here for the next 2 days so this may be the last bike commuting day for a while.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Beach fatbiking is fun! Although if the sand is too soft, even a fatbike won't help.

No commute for me today, working from home. I did strip and clean my commuter over the weekend - it really needed it. My drivetrain was packed with gunk, I installed a new chain, and I picked at least 15 small shards of glass or tiny rocks that were lodged in the tire rubber. It's nice and shiny now, almost too pretty to ride!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes a fatbike would have done the trick I guess. However, at low tide or between low and high tide, usually the sand is dry and hard enough to be able to ride it with regular 2-3" tires. In the Netherlands there are several beach races in winter and all of them are ridden at low tide and mostly with ~2,25" tires.

Here are 10 pics from my ride in the Netherlands. Not spectacular but it gives an impression:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xEYEkMqvYWbDc67DA

MTBX: You will have to zoom in but you can see the flamingos on one pic.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice looking bike woodway. Mine's still cleaner. I'm itching to ride it but it's really cold here for road rides. I did that kind of deep clean on 2 bikes last weekend and my hands are still stained black from the road grime. I got some Handsome Mud Butler fenders but I want a few rides on it before I mount them. 


cyclingdutchman said:


> MTBX: You will have to zoom in but you can see the flamingos on one pic.


Those flamingos are like WTF.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Oh man, I am digging those fenders bedwards.

I had the same reaction to the flamingos. Also cannot get over how flat it is. I can hardly ride a mile around here without having to climb something...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice dry morning for a ride today. About 38F, no winds. 

Commute went great except that the new chain I put onto my bike is skipping when I stand and crank hard in two the two specific cogs that I stand and crank hard in all the time. It's fine in all the others.

I need to check things over closely tonight but it's likely time for a new cassette. As of today this bike has 43,505 miles on it, and while I cannot remember 100%, I think that the cassette I am riding is only the second cassette I have ever put on the bike - I cannot be unhappy about putting 20K+ miles on a cassette.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy Moly! I'm lucky if I can get 1/10th that! I did sneak a new chain on my fatbike with about 2000 miles on the cassette and didn't get any skipping but that one doesn't see a lot of hard efforts in high gear. Chain Reaaction Cycles has had good cassette prices lately. 

No ride for me today. With back to back storms, an appointment on Thursday and maybe a rest day on Friday before a Saturday AM race, I'm not seeing a lot of riding in my week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I like those hammered fenders too. Looks way better than my plastic ones. Also the front one seems to be long enough and reaches almost to the ground. Do I see correctly that they have a rubberflap at the lower end?

I didnt ride today. Had to shuttle kids to school and a cake to work. But besides the rain, there was a steady 35kt wind with gusts up to 45kts. Too much for me to be comfortable anyway.

Where I come from all the land is at, or even below, sealevel. That is why it is so flat. Further east it gets, well lets say, a bit less flat. And as I said before, 10 kts of wind is minimum in winter, often easily 20 or more. As you can see I am also riding on a **** and the panoramapicture is on another dam. The area is known for the deltaworks, a series of dams and ***** to close river arms to prevent storm floods further inland. Construction started after a flood in 1953 in which 2000 people drowned, finished in 1985 or so. More about that here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works (sorry for the offtopic I guess some national pride is breaking out :lol: )

Still trying to find out the exact story on the flamingos. They escaped somewhere and are sitting out winter near the small harbour of the village battenoord/netherlands. I would never have expected that they can stand such low temps.....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Skipped the bikecommute in favor of a fatbike ride before work (and a couple hours off) and the forecast rains. Did not see a soul until I met up with the groomer/snowmachine as he was heading out to groom before the rain. It has not really materialized. Some freezing rain now,then 1-3" snow and ice tonight, then 3-5" tomorrow.

Great pix Dutchman, that is way more flamingos than I expected! What a terrible flood, 2000 drowned . Our "great flood" in1927 in Vermont killed 84, including the Lt. Gov, and took out over 1000 bridges.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It looks like you robbed a bank and the dye pack went off on your rear tire. 

Dutchman, there are no mudflaps on these fenders. I've always had them on on my other fendered bikes so I'm not sure how much they do or what I will be missing without them. 

As promised, no bike commute for me. Everything is sloppy. I did shuffle my appointment to today so I can ride tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman, I remember watching a program on the Delta Works - it's really quite an impressive bit of engineering. It may be flat there, but wind if "the hill that never ends". I enjoyed your pics, thanks for posting them!

Love that fatbike pic MTBX! Of course sand and sun for you soon!

Good luck with the race bedwards. I'm sure we will see a race report!

Well my clean bike is no longer clean. The ride home last night and the ride back into work this morning saw to that. Low 40's and rain. More of the same forecasted for the rest of the week.

Still need to order a new cassette...I'm making due with a chain that skips in a couple of the cogs. Just need to make sure I don't mash too hard...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'll give you a race report before it starts.: It was cold! Forecast to be -8F with 20MPH winds. I still haven't actually signed up yet but I'm pretty sure I will. 

If you procrastinate long enough on the cassette it might wear itself in. I go through cassettes so fast that I keep them "in stock". I probably have 8 total brand new cassettes with different speeds and gearing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Holy mother of god. I'd have so many layers on I would not be able to pedal. good luck...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway I lived in the middle of it the first 20 years of my life and as usual, you dont value it before you dont have it anymore ;o))

Bedwards brrr I think life would come to a total standstill here with those temps...coldest I have experienced was -12C/10F last year and for 30min it was ok but not much longer. Not to mention 10C less...good luck to you!! Looking forward to the race report and a clothing list.

Not much to say about today. Windy from northerly directions with 3C. But it was so dry by now, that I even could ride the unpaved section today without clogging up my fenders.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'll give you a race report before it starts.: It was cold! Forecast to be -8F with 20MPH winds. I still haven't actually signed up yet but I'm pretty sure I will.
> 
> If you procrastinate long enough on the cassette it might wear itself in. I go through cassettes so fast that I keep them "in stock". I probably have 8 total brand new cassettes with different speeds and gearing.


Is that the Moose Brook race? It was superfragilistic cold when I saw you there a few years ago. Stay warm, toe warmers for

The bank robbery dye pack was my rear light, proper ettiquette for some trails that coincide with snowmachine trail

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman, I grew up near Chicago, left when I was 19 and moved out to the western US, first Arizona in the south-western US then Washington state and ended up in the Seattle area. Whenever I go back to the Chicago area I value that I don't live there any more, haha 

Rain again today but warmer at 45F/7C. The chain skipping has become manageable, mainly because I subconsciously don't mash the pedals as hard as normal.

I checked out Chain Reaction Cycles bedwards...found mostly Campy cassettes and a few Suntour cassettes (which I won't ever buy again after a bad experience with one a few years back). Found a good 11-spd Shimano cassette on Amazon for $55, so I should be able to get fixed up this weekend. And I'll clean up my bike again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That's just weird. They had tons of Shimano cassettes last month. I got a 11 seed 105 cassette for $35 for the new bike and then another order for a 10 speed for $24. 


mtbxplorer said:


> Is that the Moose Brook race? It was superfragilistic cold when I saw you there a few years ago. Stay warm, toe warmers for
> 
> The bank robbery dye pack was my rear light, proper ettiquette for some trails that coincide with snowmachine trail


Funny, it looked like stained snow. I run the lights on the sled trails too.

Yes, Moose Brook. And yes it looks like it is going to be a repeat of the stupid cold. The feels like temp for 8:00 is -24F. Are you signing up?  I finally pulled the trigger and signed up today. I really hope the UPS driver can make it up my driveway with my repaired lake boot. I've been riding with some not so warm footwear for the last month.

The ride in was fair. The lake was a layer of slush between ice and a crust OR really bumpy ice where snowmobiles had gone, which was the better choice. I didn't try the trails both because I was late and I suspect they were really soft.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Woodway, Here's why. https://cyclingindustry.news/chain-reaction-cycles-pull-plug-selling-shimano-us/ I told you they were a good deal.  Too good apparently. I bought my new Ultegra groupset there last month.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Shimano has stopped Wiggle/CRC from shipping to NA. 

Ribble cycles appears to still be taking orders... and are having a sale on Shimano today it seems.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rides were ok today. Dry, calm and 1C.

Bedwards sounds like the ice on the lake is not smooth anymore? And good luck with your race!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yes, Moose Brook. And yes it looks like it is going to be a repeat of the stupid cold. The feels like temp for 8:00 is -24F. Are you signing up?  I finally pulled the trigger and signed up today. I really hope the UPS driver can make it up my driveway with my repaired lake boot. I've been riding with some not so warm footwear for the last month.
> 
> The ride in was fair. The lake was a layer of slush between ice and a crust OR really bumpy ice where snowmobiles had gone, which was the better choice. I didn't try the trails both because I was late and I suspect they were really soft.


Yikes, you are brave (I'll call it) to sign up with that forecast! It looks like a nice route they have though. I'm not going, unless I want to sell a ton of hand and toe warmers, lol. I hope those shoes arrive, here Fedex is terrible, always a weather exception (and then packages sit for weeks), but UPS is pretty good. The fatbike has Coast Guard approved reflective tape for rim liners, so it is amplifying the tailight reflection - I really like that stuff.

It snowed the last 2 days here, about 12" total with lots of drifting and messy roads, so I have not been bikecommuting. 2F this morning, but picking up my friend while his truck is in the shop and he doesn't want to ride on the handlebars, so another driving day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards sounds like the ice on the lake is not smooth anymore? And good luck with your race!


Snowmobiles got out while it was slushy and made it all chunky. Now it is frozen chunks.

The boot is Here! (el bota está aquí) in case you need to say that in Puerto Rico

I did take a car today to get a rest day before the race. If I keep making up these excuses I'm going to have to turn in my bike commuter card.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Damn Shimano, conspiring against us little people to extract more money out of our wallets.  Well my new cassette will arrive today which gives me the weekend to install it. I won't miss the chain skipping.

Good luck with the race bedwards. MTBX says you are brave - with a -24F "real feel" temperature predicted, I could think of a couple more accurate adjectives. 

Dry ride this morning! First dry ride this week and with temps in the low 40's it almost felt like summer. OK, maybe not but compared to some of the temps that a few of you are riding in, it may as well be...


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

It's been sunny and nice for the last week. Today's forecast is for 7" of snow. I'm gonna ride to work but I won't be riding home...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

8C!! On the way home but also windy. 20kts steady with gusts over 30kts but it was a tailwind mostly so no complains.

Bedwards, Amazing how different winter can be although you are further south. I remember you were experimenting with special bearing grease for such cold temps last winter? I forgot, did it work?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nothing definitive on the grease. I do think it helped but I also think it is an accumulation of things that sap power in the cold. Tire pressure and flexibility are another big one. More clothes, higher air density, changing tolerances and winter fitness and fatigue are all in the mix. 

The grease was definitely part of it. The old stuff got firm and stiff in the cold. I should probably pull it apart and grease it again. But I'm closer to installing the bar mitts and loading it into the car point.


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

More fuel efficient than a prius, cheaper than a gym membership, faster than public transportation


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^:thumbsup:^^

Good Monday everybody!

The race wen't pretty good. I was a little slower than I had hoped but that's alright. It was a good time. My wife took second! We won't talk about my place. Read all about it here: https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/01/moose-brook-fatbike-race-2019.html

This morning I proved that tire pressure is the biggest contributor to being slow in winter. We have some snow that is not quite hard enough to be supportive so I dropped my fatbike pressure to what seemed like a reasonable to spread the load. Just barely bulgy. OMG! I wanted to shoot myself by the time I got to the lake. I was peddling hard and going nowhere slow. I stopped mid lake to overcompensate and the rest of the ride was much better.

0F temps are starting to feel OK if there isn't any wind.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Took the advice from last year and drove my bicycle to a 1/2 way point. It's a well lit parking lot with immediate access to the bike lane/sidewalk. It cuts the 14 mile commute to 6.7 miles. I did the 6.7 miles in 0:50:38; avg heart rate 144; average speed 7.9 mph with a high of 23.5 (it was nice little down hill thrill). I read the comments about you guys riding in the snow and the temps...but for Florida, and someone who lives in Florida, it was "chilly" and a steady breeze made it "not completely comfortable" to start, but once I was into the ride and the first elevation that wasn't an issue. Now I"m cycling in bib shorts, so my legs were exposed...again....I 'm in shorts and you guys are in ice, so I'll try not to "cry" too much about how "cold" it was. ;-)

I'm glad I got to post today, the first time in a long time. I hope to be able to make more commute posts as I finally caved to my ego and drove my bike to the 1/2 way point.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Jelako! Welcome back! I remember you posting last year. I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress. Maybe you can scope out lots that are a little further from work and work up to 8 mile, 10 mile, 12 mile and 14 mile commutes. 

You didn't mention what "chilly" was. If I remember right you were in the vicinity of Ocala so that would be about 55 this morning. Yeah, chilly is relative. I'd for sure be in shorts and a windbreaker in those temps.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards I read the report sundayevening already  no matter the ranking riding a race in those temps is definitely badass even when you are last by far.

Jelako welcome back and nice to hear from you. Dont care about other peoples equipment, just find out what you need and use it. I myself see sometimes see people ride in shorts when I already wear windstopper pants, gloves and buff. I always think that they ruin their joints on the long run.

I cleaned the drivetrain yesterday and noticed that the left bb bracket bearing is running quite heavy and raw. It states do not disassemble so I opened it. Cleaned and regreased it. There was brown soup in it, probably water damage. Shouldnt have left the bike outside for 2 weeks without riding it. Also since christmas the rear wheel seems to have a lot more drag than normal and I have no clue why. I thought first I was out of training but after a week of riding it was worse today, not better. Its not the temps, it is not colder than last year and we are talking above freezing, not like bedwards.

Windy today, will remain so the whole week. And rain the next days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> It states do not disassemble so I opened it.


:thumbsup:
But did it help?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:lol: now that I read it it would make a nice signature quote...well after cleaning and regreasing it was still running raw, but smoother as before. I already decided to order new bearings, those are not expensive and it is easy to do myself. I have the correct wrench, it the same one as for the lockring on the front rotor.

When opening I also damaged the top plastic sealcap a bit. My logic is that it was broken anyway so I might as well open it up anyway to see what I could do. Besides that I have read several reports of people that did just that. 

I think following happened: bike was outside leaning to the right. Rainwater collected on the bottom of the bearing and slowly made its way in, causing the bearing to rust. Well at laet now I know how it works. Once I have new ones in, I will destroy the bearing completely by taking out the bearings and look at each ball separately and the surfaces. Just to see how it works


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Jelako - welcome back! Good on you for driving to the halfway point. You have to start someplace, and the more you do it the easier it gets. Keep us posted on progress!

bedwards, I always enjoy your write-ups. You win the badass award for sure even going out there in those temps! And congrats to your wife for the podium! I've mis-routed the chain on my rear derailleur before, but never ridden on it for 100 miles!

Dutchman, I have popped open "do not disassemble" bottom bracket bearings, cleaned/repacked them and put them back together. I've had mixed results - cleaning and re-greasing extends the life a bit, but there is a reason all that gunk got in there in the first place. As you say they are relatively inexpensive to replace.

I got my new rear cassette installed over the weekend. Working remote today so no commute for me. Will try it out tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I listen to music on the commute so I never heard it ticking. I don't think it added that much drag. The bike was much much slower this morning with a correctly routed chain and slightly low tire pressure.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well done Jelako! Usually I ride 8 of the 12 miles to work, but once in a while if I am running late I only ride 4 miles, and am always glad I did instead of driving that last 4 miles.

Dutchman, I know how that BB resistance can sneak up on you. Once I thought I was out of shape, or maybe the V-brakes were dragging, but until I smelled a burning metal smell and the pedals stopped turning at all, I had no idea the BB bearinga were toast! Luckily, I was abte to coast back downhill on the trail without pedaling most of the way back.

Congrats rollingrunner (aka Mrs bedwards) on your podium, you are tough! Love the frozen solid jacket bedwards, lol! It does seem like they have always had extreme conditions for that race. Congrats on your placement, I am sure 3/4 of the pack did not show, so you were really in the top 10%!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Over a foot of snow this weekend...roads were plowed/salted so I wasn't riding on top of snow at all, but I went slow and payed a little extra attention.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Nice work with the snow commute mcgillicuddy!

Rode on the new cassette this morning and it's butter. Shifting performance markedly improved and no chain skipping. 45F when I left the house, 30F at the bottom of the hill only 4 miles away. Dry and saw plenty of ice but stayed upright.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Congrats on your placement, I am sure 3/4 of the pack did not show, so you were really in the top 10%!


 Or something like that. Did not show, didn't even register. In the general population I'm probably in the top 0.01% on something like this. In this group of animals I'm in the bottom third. The range of human ability and skill has always intrigued me.

That said, I'm tired!  Round trips commutes with the slow snow conditions we have now are taking it out of me. I wish I had the energy to match my desire to ride both ways every day. I'm driving home and trading tomorrow morning's bike commute for a skate on Sebago lake which just froze with pristine new ice. Gotta get it before it snows on Friday!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice to see all the people and stories here! 

Windy and rain on both ride. Not sure whether I pedaled or paddled today. I think I pedaled since paddling would be slower. I hope everything is dry tomorrowmorning since it is expected to rain again...

bb bearing held up today. Somehow there is a lot of drag and it is driving the cog, because the cranks turn when I take my feet off the pedals. I now fear there is something wrong with the rohloff, maybe water ingestion like the BB...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Disassemble it!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

but first, put it in a ziploc with rice


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:cornut: :devil: good advice bedwards and squeak. But somebody was faster :madman:  :madmax:
https://forums.mtbr.com/internal-gear-hubs/rohloff-strip-axle-rebuild-videos-english-659526.html

I couldnt get it out of my mind so I put the bike in the hallway and it turned out that the brakepads were totally offset. The outer pad was too far away and the inner pad was rubbing as hell - there you have it. Adjusted the pads and now the rear wheel is turning much better already. Will see tomorrow on the commute how it works out. I admit I was maybe a bit too worried :blush: but I am a bit skeptical since the broken flange.....at least nothing between me and the rain tomorrow :yesnod:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

HaHa hallway brake adjustment beats a complete hub overhaul any day. My fatty was still feeling draggy and sounding squeaky with no brake applied on the trip home last night so I put it in the stand and reset the pistons. No squeaking this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I skipped the bike commute for a skate. 
Some pictures here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/2082509104
And some videos here:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice bedwards!

Well, I scared the cr*p out of myself last night.

Broke my mirror (bar end mirror) on Monday. Bought a new one at lunch yesterday, installed it in the bike room after work before throwing my pannier on the bike and heading home.

Immediately I was unhappy with the mirror - it seems that manufacturer has reduced the field of view compared to the old one and I was having trouble seeing around my pannier. Plus I was grinding on a work problem so I was overall out of sorts.

About 8-9 miles from the office a little voice tells me to check on my pannier. I reach back with my right hand to check, and, NO PANNIER. Damn. I turn around and start riding backwards, against traffic on the shoulder of a busy road looking for my pannier. Where did it come off? I started to have visions of cancelling credit cards, getting a new drivers license, having locks changed, etc. After pedaling/cussing for a while, the little voice comes back into my head and tells me: "you could see the pannier in your mirror on the LEFT side of the bike". I reach back with my LEFT hand, and, my pannier is safely attached to the bike. I put it on the wrong side.

What a dope I am. How did I make it to 58? The rest of the ride went fine.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Wow, I've never skated on natural ice before...that looks incredible! I don't know if I'm hard enough to live where the temps are consistently that cold.

woodway - that sounds like something I would do.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^They're not consistently that cold, only in the winter.  

Woodway, I'm guessing the visibility improved when you put the pannier on the correct side.

Videos should be working now. I forgot to hit publish when I posted them. I guess we can all be dopes sometimes.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway I think you would notice if the weight of the pannier is missing? At least I do when I take my bike without the pannier during the weekend or so. And which mirror do you use? I am thinking of getting one too.

Bedwards your vids look cool. That second one along the shore is really nice. I also see that the ice is directly up to the shore. I remember that when I went skating, the ice at the shores was always broken up because the water level was moving up and down a bit over time, always cracking up the ice. So you can go onto the lake on any spot you want?

No rain, only drizzle and only 14 kts of wind today. Way better than expected, and the average speed for the round trip was 3kph more now that I have my brakes correctly adjusted...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Rides are always better without dragging brakes. 

This ice has only been on the lake since Saturday and there hasn't been any participation so it hasn't changed. Most lakes have public boat launches with parking. That is usually the best way to get on them. Crossing peoples property is discouraged. The water itself is public property unless somebody owns all the land around the body of water. So you can go right up to the shore.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Enjoyed your pannier story Woodway :lol: Amazing skating vids bedwards! Yesterday I skipped the bikecommute to lead a group fatbike ride on the local trails and then go into work late. It was great conditions, packed snow but no ice. There is about 18" on the ground now, and a storm coming this weekend, could be 2 feet of new snow and a high Monday of -4F, yikes! The winter storm warning also says * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible. So I better stock up with a few provisions (beer and coffee at least).

Weather history for today: Just over 200 years ago on this date, in 1817, snow with thunder fell, the static electricity creating a most unusual effect. In Williamstown, VT St. Elmo's fire (a glowing discharge of static electricity) was seen extending from horses, bushes, fences, logs, and a company of 14 people returning from a religious meeting. Snowfall was up to 6 inches per hour. In Andover, VT this luminous snow featured light extending from most objects outside, and emitted a hissing sound.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Counting down the days till Puerto Rico Mtbx? 

Dutchman, I ride with a Third Eye bar end mirror: https://www.amazon.com/Third-Eye-Bar-Bicycle-Mirror/dp/B001600YZ4. My commutes are mostly on surface streets with traffic. A good mirror helps a lot.

Dry ride home last night and I managed to put my pannier on the correct side of the bike. Rain was back this morning, 45F, a pretty decent commute.

Stay safe Mtbx and bedwards in the coming storm!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I'm settling into a pretty consistent routine of having regular tires for the days I have snow-covered roads on the way home, and having big noisy studded tires on for the days I'm riding home on dry pavement.

It would be easy to blame the weatherman for this, and that's exactly what I'm going to do.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey ghettocruiser nice to hear from you!

Thanks woodway will look for something similar here. 

Windy and drizzle again today. Bad memories of the current weatherforecast. Rain today and freezing overnight. Last we had that I crashed and I am keeping the option open to take the bus tomorrowmorning if it is icy again. For the rest temps are going down to -6C in the morning the coming week. Looks like winter is finally arriving ....


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Weather history for today: Just over 200 years ago on this date, in 1817, snow with thunder fell, the static electricity creating a most unusual effect. In Williamstown, VT St. Elmo's fire (a glowing discharge of static electricity) was seen extending from horses, bushes, fences, logs, and a company of 14 people returning from a religious meeting.


I've always been fascinated by this, given that in the 18th century it seems like they saw this all the time, whereas in the 21st century with 3X as many people standing around with cameras, there are... maybe three good pictures of it on Google.

Is it a rarer phenomena see these days or are we just not paying attention?


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## tom-dave (Dec 28, 2012)

Binned it on the ice half a mile into the commute home. Very slow careful ride after that. Bit chilly but made it back in one piece and the bike was unharmed so can't complain


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Good question...I wonder if all the metal and electric infrastructure we have now has any effect.


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## jack9266 (Jan 18, 2019)

My commute, is a nice quite road commute! lucky me!, how ever when i get to work because office space is tight and nothing really to hand a helmet on, was wondering if there is such thing as a folding helmet which i can put in my bag?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ You need a Hovding: https://hovding.com/ (but holy smokes, 299 euros! You really have to want it.)

Nice to see some action in this forum!

Wet, warm and windy for me this morning. But uneventful.


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## jack9266 (Jan 18, 2019)

woodway said:


> ^^^ You need a Hovding: https://hovding.com/ (but holy smokes, 299 euros! You really have to want it.)
> 
> Nice to see some action in this forum!
> 
> Wet, warm and windy for me this morning. But uneventful.


haha abit pricey! i see we have some folding helmets in the UK which look good! doing more research since last post and a company called hedkayse look good you heard of these?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm traveling for work 1 day and everybody posts!


tom-dave said:


> Binned it on the ice half a mile into the commute home. Very slow careful ride after that. Bit chilly but made it back in one piece and the bike was unharmed so can't complain


"Binned it", never heard that one before. I've done it but never heard it. 



mtbxplorer said:


> Weather history for today: Just over 200 years ago on this date, in 1817, snow with thunder fell, the static electricity creating a most unusual effect. In Williamstown, VT St. Elmo's fire (a glowing discharge of static electricity) was seen extending from horses, bushes, fences, logs, and a company of 14 people returning from a religious meeting. Snowfall was up to 6 inches per hour. In Andover, VT this luminous snow featured light extending from most objects outside, and emitted a hissing sound.


That is pretty cool. Maybe we can hope for that on Sunday.

I took the exact same route (give or take my wandering on the lake) yesterday and today but on different bikes. Studded fatbike and studded 26er. The fatbike was a little faster by a hair. It was also generally more comfortable over hard frozen globs of ice.

The snow missed us so we get one more day of awesome skating. Somebody took a video the same day I posted mine but during daylight hours. You can really appreciate how clear the ice is. 




MTXB, I'll be going out in the morning. It's almost worth the trip if the snow holds off. Only 3 hours on Rt302 away from you.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I did a quick google scan out of curiosity and found some foldable helmets myself. 

I didnt ride today, many black ice spots this morning and I took the bus to prevent binning it again  

have a great weekend everyone!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Ya know, I was just thinking yesterday that 2019 had a pretty quiet start on the motorist mis-behavior front.

Last Night





This morning:





Yeah.... so much for that.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Last night was bad enough, this morning with no oncoming traffic, was inexcusable.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Last night was bad enough, this morning with no oncoming traffic, was inexcusable.


+1

Nice to hear from you MC!


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

ghettocruiser said:


> Ya know, I was just thinking yesterday that 2019 had a pretty quiet start on the motorist mis-behavior front.
> 
> Last Night
> 
> ...


I need to start doing what your doing and ride with a video recorder, the other evening had someone rush a pass and then cut a right in front of me into driveway. Had to swerve left into the traffic lane to miss the rear trunk of their pretty RX8. No excuse for that, i was fully visible.
Couple weeks ago i had the other direction where someone turned left across "protected" bike lane into supermarket parking, i saw that one fairly early as im super vigilant in that lane because of its hazardous conditions and detected the minivan as it came along side to my right. Swerved left onto sidewalk.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Anyone leaving in the dark tomorrowmorning and has a chance to get a glimpse of the lunar eclipse ?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Anyone leaving in the dark tomorrowmorning and has a chance to get a glimpse of the lunar eclipse ?


The full eclipse begine here is 11:41 PM tonight and peaks at 12:12 AM tomorrow. Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies forecast. Not most people's commute time.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ ok...maybe for someone coming home from the late shift. That also explains why it is early in the morning here in europe, I forgot the time difference. I hope that I can see some of it before or during the ride. That said, its not that spectcular. Moon is orange instead of white. Photoshop can do more 

Edit: full eclipse is 6.15 am here - bingo for me. Will also kick the kids out of bed just as I did once at 4am to watch a meteorshower :d


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## DaveRider (Jul 14, 2014)

Dutchman, I know how that BB resistance can sneak up on you. Once I thought I was out of shape, or maybe the V-brakes were dragging, but until I smelled a burning metal smell and the pedals stopped turning at all, I had no idea the BB bearinga were toast! Luckily, I was abte to coast back downhill on the trail without pedaling most of the way back.

^^^^^LOL...yeah. I had a square taper cartridge BB go out last year. For a week, I was like "damn, I suck lately."


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

7F this morning and icy. Like a lot of places in the Midwest, we had a ton of rain on Saturday followed by a flash freeze and snow. We only got a few inches of snow, but the short section of MUP I have to take was more or less a skating rink. I had to walk a section and had to be careful even doing that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I watched the lunar eclipse last night...it peaked at 8:41 pm in the Seattle area. Here is a crappy photo taken just before the peak:









Wish I would have been over at my place in central Washington...I have a small telescope and it's so much darker.

Easy ride this morning. 35F and light rain.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

No eclipse viewing possible here - snowstorm.

We don't need a lunar eclipse because we have our own natural phenomenon that looks like the moon. Has anybody heard of the ice disk? It's quite the rage. We were driving right by so we stopped to look on Saturday. This link has both a video and a time lapse video that is pretty cool.

https://triblive.com/usworld/world/14506745-74/giant-spinning-ice-disk-on-maine-river-goes-viral

No bike to work either - snowstorm cleanup. Windchills of -25F didn't make me eager to get out there either. I'm very hopeful that people got out on their snowmobiles and packed the trails down.

Oh, and I did get out to skate before the snow. 12+ miles. It was great.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Thought process on how to get to work this morning....



Environment Canada Toronto Weather Office said:


> *A period of severely cold wind chills is expected. Wind chill values of minus 30 to minus 38 continue this morning.
> 
> Risks are greater for people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter.
> 
> Frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin, especially with wind chill.*


...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards, too bad you can't skate on the disk.

Holy smokes ghettocruiser! I'd just stay in bed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, I'll be going out in the morning. It's almost worth the trip if the snow holds off. Only 3 hours on Rt302 away from you.


Your vids have me wanting to get some skates that fit, thanks for the invite!

I was really nice to have a snowstorm on a Sunday instead of a workday, there is a sh*t-ton of snow out there, and wind chill advisories today, which I have off for MLK day. -12F when I got up and -31 windchills forecast! It won't be bikeable for a while, but I got out snowshoeing with the dog yesterday...


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

woodway said:


> Holy smokes ghettocruiser! I'd just stay in bed.


Internet bravado aside, my first -20C ride in 2+ years was poorly executed.

I washed my bike Friday and forget to blast the water out of my rear shifter cable over the weekend, so I was a single-speed within 90 seconds of leaving the garage, although the speed it got stuck in was a pretty good choice.

I also had some ice-up on, of all things, my garmin start button, so I'm glad I was wearing my running watch for the stravas.

More critically, I just assumed that the 3" of snow from Saturday night would be well-packed on the bike path by weekend traffic, but since Sunday was just as cold as today, it wasn't. Thus, I had a 4km loose-snow-slog on the bike path section, with tire pressure way too high, which ended up overheating me by the time I got to work and narrowly avoided goggle fogging.

I also forgot the battery for my insole heaters for the longer ride home, but I seem to have an extra here at the office.

At some point this winter maybe I'll remember how to do a winter commute... sooner would be better


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Oh geez, glad you made it ghettocruiser! It is easy for things to go wrong in frigid temps!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hm you guys have quite some stories to tell and I missed both the eclipse and cycling - had to drive. Back on the bike tomorrow. Here is a 1 minute video of me shot by nr2 from the back seat last week. I learned that helmet blinkie is ok, bike rear light is very bright and that for goor visibilty I should still wear a hi-viz vest over my altura night vision evo. It is missing sufficient eflectors on the back. Its made for roadies with a backpack, I guess thats why.

Vid:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

ghettocruiser said:


> I washed my bike Friday and forget to blast the water out of my rear shifter cable over the weekend, so I was a single-speed within 90 seconds of leaving the garage, although the speed it got stuck in was a pretty good choice.


 I've considered dumping hot coffee over it to get it into the right gear when that happens.



ghettocruiser said:


> and narrowly avoided goggle fogging.


I read "Google Frogging" and thought "what the hell is that?". I hate it when my googles frog up.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

39F and dry this morning!

Last night was a nice evening - upper-40's and the sun was still up when I left the office. It's the first evening since the winter solstice where I really noticed that the amount of daylight is growing each day.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Much, much, better on the way home. 

About -16C, smooth shifting, and the winter tires at about 15PSI were butter smooth on the snowpacked trail. I also had the insole heaters at full power, and hit the sweet spot of warm extremities without overheating of the core.

I sudddenly remembered why I like winter riding to the tune of an extra 10km


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

dry and temps around freezing today, but with a 15kt headwind all the way back. Temps are going down to -7C the next days and wind is going to calm down - cant wait 

Ghettocruiser no continuous housing on your bike? I consider that a must on winterbikes...


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Warm (comparatively) and rainy today...haven't ridden in the rain for a while, actually enjoyed it just for a change of pace.

I've never blasted water out of my housing...how do you even do that?


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> no continuous housing on your bike? I consider that a must on winterbikes...


No, mostly because winterbike and summerbike are the same bike. The cable is uniquely ill-located too, exposed on the bottom of the downtube in a near-constant stream of slush and icewater. I did consider drilling out the cable stops for full housing when I switched the front to 1X, but never took the plunge. It's kind of amazing that it only freezes up a few times a winter.

Cable housings are cleared with an air compressor in the garage at about 120PSI. When I remember to do it.

Steady rain here today is supposed to be followed by an abrupt temperature drop tomorrow. I just replaced (at great expense) my studded tires, so I'm hoping things get icy enough to clear the off-lease dogs and rift-raft off the trails for a few days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My fatbike has a continuous internal housing. The loop to the rear derailleur is broken so I need to replace it. The trouble is that it is so tight that I can barely pull it through. I just ordered an extra long inner cable so I can pull the existing inner and thread the long one through both housings to pull the new housing into place. I think that will work. I'll pull the long inner cable back out and keep it as a tool.

Ride home last night: The trails were squishy so I took the road. I got to the lake to find *zero tracks*. I had to walk it until I found something semi rideable.

Ride in this morning: I decided to try the trails. After the slog and walk across the lake with some roads the trails were plenty passable just about to the point where I turned back last night.

Got up late, slow lake crossing, slow trail ride. I was tardy at work.. I have to decide if I want to bust my hump riding home across the soul sucking lake or shuttle the car home today. Hmmm


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ IMHO riding, even soul-sucking riding, is always better than driving.

Compared to some of you all, I have it easy. It was nearly 50F this morning, some really light rain, a little windy but that was mostly at my back.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ghettocruiser, I can image you dont want to drill on the bike. But maybe you could a ziptie to mount the cables to the bike on certain spots? I have done that on one of my bikes too and when youtake zipties that have roughly the same color it even looks pretty neat.

Bedwards my CX bike is the first one with internal cabling too and I dont like it either. I have decided to leave it as it is since I intend to ride it in dry weather only and on pavement, so it wont get too dirty anyway I guess. 

Overhere winter is becoming winter by now. -6C this morning, -5C on the way home and the next days are supposed to be a bit colder. We will even have 3 days in a row with continuous frost, even during the day. This is very rare here so far, usually temps jump above freezing during the day. Roads are clear, there are some black ice spots but they are clearly visible so I can avoid them.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, I think you need to come experience the soul suckingness.  But yeah, I'm leaning toward riding. It reminds me of a cycling event going on nearby. The D&T 100. Short for Dumb and Tough. Because if you are going to be dumb you better be tough. It is a 100 mile self supported overnight ride through the mountains in the winter. I'm going to pass.

I can ride home and carpool in tomorrow to pick up my truck. This morning was in the single digits and this afternoon it could possibly get too warm. Tomorrow is supposed to be very warm and rain. Fickle weather.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We can agree to disagree on that one bedwards. I have ridden in some nasty stupid conditions and I still think it's better than driving. But I am crazy that way 

44F and light rain this morning. Not nasty stupid at all, actually pretty pleasant.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Haha, might I remind you, I'm not always that bright: The Candid Cyclist: Someday I Will Realize.... But I'm trying to not just be dumb. Next time you're in Maine in the winter we can go for a walk with our bikes through the woods. :lol: Of course that offer extends to good riding conditions too.

But yeah, I started on the ride home and retreated after about 1/2 mile of mostly pushing my bike through soft snow. I had a truck I had to return home anyway.

It's raining today and I'm sure I could have ridden but I didn't. I'd like to think I am being smart but it is probalbly just soft.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Again -5C today but the wind calmed down so it was nice overall.

I worked in another building and found a dark corner behind a pretty nice meeting room, in which apparently was a meeting with important people, because there was guard at the door. When I came back all dressed up he stopped me and said "wait that bag belongs to somebody else, I just saw him walking by. Had to explain that guy and me were actually the same person :lol: 

Bedwards I remember that blogpost. It might have been tough to ride but the pics are nice for sure! And I thought that is exactly where fatbikes are made for?


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Hovering at about 0C all day, just enough that the 3" of slush on the trails isn't quite freezing up yet. 

Fingers crossed it's solid by the way home. My alternate road route blows.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Again -5C today but the wind calmed down so it was nice overall.
> 
> I worked in another building and found a dark corner behind a pretty nice meeting room, in which apparently was a meeting with important people, because there was guard at the door. When I came back all dressed up he stopped me and said "wait that bag belongs to somebody else, I just saw him walking by. Had to explain that guy and me were actually the same person :lol:
> 
> Bedwards I remember that blogpost. It might have been tough to ride but the pics are nice for sure! And I thought that is exactly where fatbikes are made for?


Did you compliment the guard? I know a lot of "security" guards ive seen are just there for presence, he actually was observant enough to notice and also spoke up about it, good job!
My commute this morning was smooth, majority of lights timed out in my favor, that always feels nice.
Opposed to yesterday where dude in his silver Tacoma pickup waiting at light in right turn lane to the right of me. Light Turns green and we enter intersection and he attempts to move left into me in the intersection to go straight instead of the right turn only lane he was in. I yelled and he had to go behind me, where he proceeded to honk his horn, swictch one more lane left and stomp on his gas and swerve through traffic in a huff. I really need to start running video.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Miserable day here. 1-2" of rain on top of the 31-33" of snow on the ground at my house. I did not bikecommute, but I had a good excuse, a service guy to hook up my new heating oil tank this a.m.; if I had rode, I might have drowned from the passing cars/puddles. Here's some of the snow I shoveled after it slid off the roof, and here's some icy-ness someone else shared. Some places are also flooded from ice jams in the rivers. Nice vid here if it works:



__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=387620155139787


Black ice warning tonight/tomorrow as it is dropping back down to 15F from 40F earlier today. Also it snowed on the way home...

My bike is now packed for Puerto Rico! It was overweight with the hard case someone loaned me, so another participant will be carrying my front wheel. I'm like, don't forget my wheel, man!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Been cold and dry the last couple of days, supposed to be a lot colder next week. Winter can't last forever, right? 

Wish I was going to Puerto Rico!


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

In Calgary, it's been the warmest winter I can remember in 25 years. Incredible year for commuting. I am hoping for a February start in the mountains.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Crazy pics, mtbxplorer.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, that's a lot of snow MTBX! Have a great time in Puerto Rico!

Another mellow commute here - 45F and no rain. Looking forward to the weekend.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

MTBX how much more can the roof take?? Have fun in Puerto Rico, please send lots of pics ok?

root: Yes I did mention that he was clearly paying attention which is highly appreciated.

-5C this morning and -3C on the way home. I made my first detour to the farmers market this year to get my favorite cheese  and to pick up my son shortly before home, so that we rode the last 3km/2m together. The ride home took an hour in total - a good ending of this week.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Miserable day here. 1-2" of rain on top of the 31-33" of snow on the ground at my house. I did not bikecommute, but I had a good excuse, a service guy to hook up my new heating oil tank this a.m.; if I had rode, I might have drowned from the passing cars/puddles. Here's some of the snow I shoveled after it slid off the roof, and here's some icy-ness someone else shared. Some places are also flooded from ice jams in the rivers. Nice vid here if it works:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 I saw a lot of very sloped driveways that looked like that on my way in today. It would have been interesting to see people attempt to drive down them. 


mtbxplorer said:


> My bike is now packed for Puerto Rico!


 You say that like you only have one! Have a great time. I'm looking forward to your blog post when you get back. 

Due to all the rain I actually had to ride AROUND the lake today. It is perfectly safe but would have been really slushy and not fun. The roads were super icy from the heavy thaw and then hard freeze overnight. Other than being careful I had no problems with studs. More than I can say for some drivers around here. https://wgme.com/news/local/2-injured-after-violent-casco-crash


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> MTBX how much more can the roof take?? Have fun in Puerto Rico, please send lots of pics ok?


I think the roof is OK, but my back had about enough of shoveling all the stuff that slid off here and at the front door (pro tip - in a snowy climate, avoid a design where the snow slides down off the roof onto all your entryways!). 
I will definitely take PR pix, and we have 2 people going who are into video.


bedwards1000 said:


> I saw a lot of very sloped driveways that looked like that on my way in today. It would have been interesting to see people attempt to drive down them.
> You say that like you only have one! Have a great time. I'm looking forward to your blog post when you get back.
> 
> Due to all the rain I actually had to ride AROUND the lake today. It is perfectly safe but would have been really slushy and not fun. The roads were super icy from the heavy thaw and then hard freeze overnight. Other than being careful I had no problems with studs. More than I can say for some drivers around here. https://wgme.com/news/local/2-injured-after-violent-casco-crash


Thanks! Yes, the other bikes will be jealous! Blog, lol, you will get some pix though! Yikes, not much left after that crash.

Thank you for the well wishes all, I don't leave until Tuesday but took Monday off not to be scrambling!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather roller coaster continues. Temps were just below freezing on the way in, but the high today is in the low 50s. We'll get rain that will turn to snow before bottoming out in the low single digits in a couple days, then back warmer for the weekend with more rain. Yaaaay, rain... :nonod:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Eventful rides today. Ride in was ok, where I cross the bridge I could see some blue flashing lights in the harbour area ahead. There is a gas/oil station for boats, so I thought they have a leak or accident or something. Turns out, they found an old WW2 bomb and cleared the entire area in a 500meter radius around it, thus blocking the bridge on my way home. Luckily I was informed at work so I took another route. During that route I spontaneously took a road I never rode before, I passed both entries to it a few times but it turned out to be sandy, muddy and soft. you might call it "soul-sucking" - I was going in lowest possible gear at times. The last bit turned out to be teeth-rattling cobblestones. Normal road riding felt like flying after that.

proof pic: https://photos.app.goo.gl/igeFZzYkjYXK6RcC7

MTBX I looked up Rincon in Puerto Rico. Looks neat and cosy there and probably no problems with snow there  I wish you a good journey and rides!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I promise not to make fun of you for wearing a face mask when it is warm enough for the road to be muddy and soft, not frozen.  Mud can be soul sucking for sure.

Speaking of the SS lake. I was crossing a pressure ridge and went OTB in slow motion when the front wheel disappeared between 2 ice plates into the soft snow. Otherwise the snow is very hard so it was a bit of a surprise. Banged my leg but walked it off and finished the ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well at least someone looked at the pic :lol: it was quite warm though and I actually had the buff below my face when riding. But it was darn cold in the wind during the short break.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

HaHa, speaking of pictures and nothing to do with commuting. We went on an awesome skate this weekend on Sebago Lake. We didn't' really plan on it but ended up doing 20 miles. We went until we hit open water. This video gives you an idea of the scale of the lake. We did 20 but barely scratched the surface so to speak. Someday I hope to be able to skate the whole lake. 
https://www.relive.cc/view/2105096444


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

wow 20m on hockey skates?! I probably wouldnt even make that on nordic skates...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, epic skate bedwards!

I could have used a buff this morning too. It was COLD! I mean it was almost FREEZING! How am I supposed to ride in these temperatures 

Two dry, uneventful days. Rain is coming back tomorrow, or so the weatherman says. All of you in the central and eastern US, stay warm and safe.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

About a foot of snow last night. The ride home was early enough in the storm that I could ride the valley bike path with moderate difficulty, but when I climbed back up to street level, traffic was at a standstill on pretty much every major road and side-street shortcut, and visibility was down to about a couple hundred feet at best.

Impressed: On a few sidestreets where traffic was sort-of moving, I found that the Garmin Varia radar could see cars before I could see the headlights emerge though the snow. And this is a town where 10-20% of people drive with their headlights off. 

My Varia has lost some major points lately with false positives and the "demented fire alarm" warning tone that the last update to the Edge520+ introduced, so it was good to see some upside so I don't whip it into a snowbank.

I came in early enough this morning to beat rush hour so I could take the curb lane on major roads that had been plowed already. I had a decent tail wind, so I was almost keeping up with traffic anyways.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Lots of black ice this morning, partly covered with a thin layer of snow. Shortly before work, people warned me that the "curve ahead is slippery" . I made it in one piece. The way home was uneventful.

Cant stop thinking about MTBX - she must be on her way to PR now.

Woodway, sounds even milder than my climate - at least, we regularly have temps of just below freezing in the morning and above freezing in the afternoon.

Ghettocruiser, that sounds like you have a nice toy there. Will have a closer look now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not much to report here. I've been 2 rides in a row without crashing.  It was right about 0F here this morning. It looks like we aren't going to get the stupid cold they are having in the midwest this week and that is fine. We are supposed to get 8" of snow overnight so I'll be driving tomorrow. The trails have too much ice on them to ride them with any amount of snow cover right now. it needs to get packed in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It was nice riding in shorts and short-sleeves last night. This morning, although 17F, felt extra cold. Tomorrow's high is like 13F.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

From short sleeves to 17F! Damn, how warm was it last night? I can do shorts down to freezing but I don't break out the short sleeves until it is about 60F or higher.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> From short sleeves to 17F! Damn, how warm was it last night? I can do shorts down to freezing but I don't break out the short sleeves until it is about 60F or higher.


It was 52F on the ride home. Not bad, even with spitting rain. I'm usually good for short sleeves anywhere above 50.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Windy with flurries, temps dropping fast


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

It was -24F in Minneapolis when I rode in to work tonight which broke my record by 2 degrees. I still had to unzip my jacket because I hadn't tested it out in these temps and overdressed.

Going to hit -28 at 0300 tomorrow so I may do some laps for lunch. It took me 5 years to break the -22 mark just because Minneapolis isn't all that cold. Gotta get it while the getting's good.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A little drama this morning, but fortunately it all happened before leaving my driveway. My chain must have popped off a bit while I was wrangling my bike out of the garage. I didn't realize it, so when I went to pedal, I heard a big clunk and the chain got trapped in between the frame and the granny gear chainring bolts (only running 1 ring). It wasn't nearly as cold here as many places, but it was still like 7F. After a few minutes of frustration and almost giving up, I finally got the chain back on the chainring and rode off.

We received some snow last night. The MUP was covered, but the snow was powdery and provided good grip. I had to run a red light though because I couldn't find the sensor in the road to trip the light. No biggie.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

ghettocruiser said:


> Impressed: On a few sidestreets where traffic was sort-of moving, I found that the Garmin Varia radar could see cars before I could see the headlights emerge though the snow.


Cool little toy. What's the battery life like?



cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway, sounds even milder than my climate - at least, we regularly have temps of just below freezing in the morning and above freezing in the afternoon.


Hardly ever goes below freezing here. Glad you made it OK with the black ice around...



bedwards1000 said:


> Not much to report here. I've been 2 rides in a row without crashing.


Looks like maybe that streak ended? Hope you and your bike are OK.



Volsung said:


> Going to hit -28 at 0300 tomorrow so I may do some laps for lunch. It took me 5 years to break the -22 mark just because Minneapolis isn't all that cold. Gotta get it while the getting's good.


That. Is. Cold. Your crazy 

Easy ride for me today, dry and around 35F. Rain will be back eventually...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Volsung said:


> It was -24F in Minneapolis when I rode in to work tonight which broke my record by 2 degrees. I still had to unzip my jacket because I hadn't tested it out in these temps and overdressed.
> 
> Going to hit -28 at 0300 tomorrow so I may do some laps for lunch. It took me 5 years to break the -22 mark just because Minneapolis isn't all that cold. Gotta get it while the getting's good.


I wondered if we had anybody from that area on the board. -24F is around my record. I'm not sure I ever want to break it or repeat it. I can't imagine getting a flat mid ride once you are already started to sweat.



woodway said:


> Looks like maybe that streak ended? Hope you and your bike are OK.


Yeah, it was terrifying. I've never ridden on anything as slippery and you wouldn't notice until you were already in the sh-t. I turned around and headed for the road and crashed 2 more times. I didn't realize that I had bent my hanger until I went to pull up my driveway and threw the chain into the spokes and wedged it so hard I couldn't get it out without removing the cassette. Blah! I'm hoping I can bend the hanger back since I have a potential race on Saturday.

I'm not seeing any bike commutes in my immediate future.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

woodway said:


> Cool little toy. What's the battery life like?


I have the old one, the RTL500, which was on closeout last summer. The new 510 is supposed to include longer battery life, but I consider it more than enough already. At summer temperatures I had 48% battery left after a 5+ hour ride. It's never complained at winter temperatures, unlike every other battery-powered thing I have this week.

Despite -18C and snowpack on most roads, a smooth commute this morning, now that I fixed all my random issues last week. The new tire is holding air tubeless with no sealant, which is good because I really doubt it would seal much at this week's temperatures. I even kept the gopros warm enough to last all the way to work... and even better, there was no real motorist misbehavior to document.

That said, sharing the narrowed roads with these erratic characters is getting old already, and it looks like the bike path is almost packed enough to give it a shot on the way home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

H0ly cr4p you guys are really tough! How long did you ride in those temps volsung?

Woodway for those mild temps you have to take more rain right? Big price to pay....

Same old story here. Below freezing in the morning, making the unpaved part icy and slippery. Above freezing in the afternoon, making the unpaved part soft and muddy, thus unrideable.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx' weather https://en.allmetsat.com/metar-taf/puerto-rico-lesser-antilles.php?icao=TJSJ


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

Around half an hour or so. I'm recovering from knee surgery and a vasectomy so riding a fat bike isn't super easy.

It was -28 on the ride home from work so I don't need to go out mid-shift tonight unless it gets even colder.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Damn Volsung! 

Icy on the way in this morning. Got a few inches of super dry, crunchy powder before the commute back. Temps were supposedly hovering around zero but it didn't feel especially cold to me, besides my breath freezing in my beard. Went back out for a couple hrs with my camera to get some sub-par night shots.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Volsung said:


> Around half an hour or so. I'm recovering from knee surgery and a vasectomy so riding a fat bike isn't super easy.
> 
> It was -28 on the ride home from work so I don't need to go out mid-shift tonight unless it gets even colder.


Sheesh. Was your ride uphill both ways?

No records set here. The ride in this morning was 5F. I've gotten close, but I still have yet to ride below 0.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway for those mild temps you have to take more rain right? Big price to pay....


Rain is a big price to pay? After reading all the posts here in the last few days? I'll take my mild temperatures and rain, thank you. 

Watched a cyclist come close to getting crunched by a car last night. It was as much his fault as the drivers.

I was riding behind him in a bike lane and we were approaching an intersection with six cars lined up. As we approached the light turned green. My right hook radar immediately went on high and I started slowing so I could go through the intersection with a car in front of me (in case he turned right I could get on the brakes) and a car behind me (so he could see me).

The cyclist in front of me, he just blasted along, like the cars were not even there. He was about even with the back wheel of a SUV when the SUV's brakes and turn signal went on simultaneously and the driver started to turn right on top of the cyclist. At the last second the driver saw the cyclist and slammed on the brakes. The guy on the bike was just oblivious, never even flinched.

I caught up with the guy at the next intersection and said "wow, that was a close one". He looked at me like I was babbling nonsense. It was clear he never sensed the danger.

Easy ride this morning. Dry, 40F. Hope you all back East are staying safe.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

IDK, rain is pretty wet. As long as the killer ice stays away I'd rather ride in the snow. 


Volsung said:


> Around half an hour or so. I'm recovering from knee surgery and a vasectomy so riding a fat bike isn't super easy.
> 
> It was -28 on the ride home from work so I don't need to go out mid-shift tonight unless it gets even colder.


I think riding on a bike seat at -28F is close to a bag of frozen peas. :yikes: Yikes on those temps!

I'll say that I do believe that climate change is real and needs to be dealt with BUT. The news would have you think it is directly responsible for these temps in the midwest with the whole "Polar Vortex" thing. Um, guys, this has been happening for the last 130 recorded years. https://www.currentresults.com/Year...xtreme-annual-minneapolis-low-temperature.php January 24, 1904 -> -30F. That must have been the start of global warming.

Well, I was up before 6:00 with no fatbike to ride so instead of riding in I took 2 hours and fixed my bike. Straightened the derailleur hanger, replaced the broken internally routed cable and cleaned up the drivetrain since everything was off the bike anyway. I think it is good to go! The hanger is starting to show stress cracks since this isn't the first time I have straightened it. I found this site with cheap hangers. Specialized Replacement Derailleur Hanger CNC Machined S162600002.

The method of putting and extra long internal cable through the new and old housing and pulling it through worked with a LOT of tugging. I'm not sure how it would be possible to get the housing through the chainstays any other way.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'll say that I do believe that climate change is real and needs to be dealt with BUT. The news would have you think it is directly responsible for these temps in the midwest with the whole "Polar Vortex" thing. Um, guys, this has been happening for the last 130 recorded years. https://www.currentresults.com/Year...xtreme-annual-minneapolis-low-temperature.php January 24, 1904 -> -30F. That must have been the start of global warming.


As I understand it, the frequency of the displacement of the polar vortex is where climate change might be having an influence. A list of coldest temps each year wouldn't necessarily indicate more frequent displacement. But your point is valid that the displacement isn't new and the narrative starts taking on a life of its own, even if it's not entirely in line with climate science.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Professor of Meteorology at the University of Washington writes a weather blog that I find really interesting. He usually deals with Pacific Northwest Weather, but recently talked about this very topic:

https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2019/01/are-cold-waves-increasing-under-global_30.html


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm glad my armchair scientist analysis of the news came to the same conclusion as a meteorologist. Here is that temperature data in a graph. I'd say generally warming. And from this data, the rate of warming doesn't seem to be accelerating much either.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> ^^^ Professor of Meteorology at the University of Washington writes a weather blog that I find really interesting. He usually deals with Pacific Northwest Weather, but recently talked about this very topic:
> 
> https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2019/01/are-cold-waves-increasing-under-global_30.html


Good data. It looks like recently we've seen an uptick in the number of colder days, which might be contributing to all our hysteria. We might also remember the cold snaps more and forget when the temps are above average. Whatever the case, cold snaps like this don't disprove climate change. I'll let the climate scientists sort out the details.

Temps next week are going to rise into the 60s here. I'm sure the president will retract his statements about global warming. :skep:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice discussions going on here. Actually I do not notice so much difference over 40 years, i just have the impression that the seasons are moving backwards a bit, but also that is a feeling so far. Also nice to see that more people are taking it seriously. A similar topic would be multiresistant bacteria. Nowadays meat is full of antibiotics, its a matter of time since we get another thing like a plague or something...well, life is dangerous and at the end you die anyway.

Ride in was sketchy. Had some snow overnight that was packed to ice on the streets by cars, especially it was very slippery on the spot where I crashed 2 months ago but I made it this time. At the moment I get to ride in both sunrise and sunset, and sunset today was pretty nice in particular.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice discussions going on here. Actually I do not notice so much difference over 40 years, i just have the impression that the seasons are moving backwards a bit, but also that is a feeling so far. Also nice to see that more people are taking it seriously. A similar topic would be multiresistant bacteria. Nowadays meat is full of antibiotics, its a matter of time since we get another thing like a plague or something...well, life is dangerous and at the end you die anyway.


That is why I don't get the flu shot. Yes, it can keep you from getting the flu and very rarely possibly dying. On the other hand, I'd rather have my own immunity working for me from years of exposure the day it mutates in a way that makes the medical industry go whoops.....All those people that have been vaccinated every year are dead. Or I might die of the flu. On the bacteria side this is a scary video showing how antibiotic resistance works.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

They haven't released the January global temperature map yet, but last time I remember people on the East Coast yelling about cold air vs. global warming, it looked something like this:










(So, the world "global" is in there for a reason)

Commute:

Put the tire pressure up to 20PSI last night and was emphatically defeated on my attempt to ride the same snowpack trail I made last night at 10PSI.

Lesson learned. And no, I'm not riding a fatbike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I dont take a flu shot either, but more because I have noticed that I get just as much sick as without it. Cyclists live healthier that is a proven fact. I personally think it is not bcause I ride a bike, but more because I am NOT sitting in a bus/subway breathing everyones bacteria and viruses


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## Volsung (Nov 24, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Sheesh. Was your ride uphill both ways?
> 
> No records set here. The ride in this morning was 5F. I've gotten close, but I still have yet to ride below 0.


Nope, less than 100 feet of climbing! There was like 20 mph winds though. It made for a -50 wind chill, but without exposed skin that number is meaningless. It just makes for really slow riding, even for a 30 lb fat bike with studded tires.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Volsung said:


> Nope, less than 100 feet of climbing! There was like 20 mph winds though. It made for a -50 wind chill, but without exposed skin that number is meaningless. It just makes for really slow riding, even for a 30 lb fat bike with studded tires.


I think the answer was supposed to be "Yes, and I was barefoot to boot."


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

45F and rain this morning. This is what happened today:

- I got wet
- I had to hang my jacket and tights to dry once I got to work

These are the things that did not happen today:

- I did not go down on black ice.
- I did not crash 4 times in 1000 feet
- I did not bend my derailleur hanger
- I did not go over the bars because I could not see the holes due to snow
- I did not encounter any soul-sucking snow conditions
- I did not have to share a narrow snow-packed road with cars
- I did not have to put studded tires on my bike
- I did not have to worry about dying of hypothermia if I had to stop and change a flat tire

Now that I look at these two lists side-by-side, I think I am finally understanding why many of you would hate to ride in mild temps and rain


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OK, I'll play
0F and clear this morning. This is what happened today:
- Everything was slow because of the cold. 
- I had wear tights, wind pants, merino wool base,technical sweatshirt, soft shell jacket, 2 pairs of socks, gloves, bar mitts, balaclava, face mask and hat. I had to to hang all of it to dry when I got to work.
- I still got cold but manageable toes.
- I saw a few deer out on the middle of the woods but no cars.
- I had a successful equipment check on my bike - Race Ready
- I had to consider dying of hypothermia if I had to stop and change a flat tire
- I DID NOT GET RAINED ON
- I was a little tardy to work because I was slow.

These are the things that did not happen today:
- I did not go down on black ice.
- I did not crash 4 times in 1000 feet
- I did not bend my derailleur hanger
- I did not go over the bars because I could not see the holes due to snow
- I did not encounter any soul-sucking snow conditions (there was one packed path across the lake, good enough)
- I did not have to share a narrow snow-packed road with cars (I did pull over for the 1 car I saw because it was a narrow camp road)
- I did not have to put studded tires on my bike (they were already on)

Darn fine snow riding day though. I got in and signed up for the race tomorrow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> OK, I'll play


OK. Me too! Finally I'm through the cardio rehab with heart monitoring and then had a lady sneeze full in my face as she turned into the grocery aisle I was just coming out of and inhaling. Too much inoculum for me to hold off the nasty cold that took me two weeks to clear. So on the road again! Had to deal with the terrible wind chill! 

Super Roll ???? + LIII!

60F and clear this early afternoon. Almost no wind! Almost unheard of This is what happened today:
- Everything was slow because I'm old and still unfit.
- I had wear tights, and my brand new (Christmas) soft shell jacket, and too much clothing but was not too hot until I stopped. I had to hang all of it to dry when I got home and had soaked a towel from the sweat I had after I entered the house and got stuff put away.
- I still got happy toes.
- I saw a few cars. No issues.
- I had a to adjust the cadence transducer Ride Ready (Race Ready is past).
- I had to consider dying of electrolyte loss in sweat if I had to stop and change a flat tire
- I DID NOT GET RAINED ON, SNOWED ON, SPIT ON, YELLED AT
- I was not tardy to work because I say when I work in this job!

These are the things that did not happen today:
- I did not go down on black ice.
- I did not crash 4 times in 1000 feet
- I did not bend my derailleur hanger
- I did not go over the bars because I could not see the holes due to snow
- I did not encounter any soul-sucking wind conditions.
- I did not have to share a narrow road with more than 2 cars.
- I did not have to put studded tires on my bike. They wait in the garage.
- I did not ride for more than 30 minutes as per orders.

Darn fine riding day though. More cardio tomorrow morning. I want to get fit enough to ride round trip to the hospital for the class.

Still not quite dead yet!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey BrianMc, glad to see you back on the bike. My heart (I think) has been nagging me for about a year and keeps getting worse. I had an EKG and a stress test back in the summer where they deemed me one of the fittest people to be tested this year and "It's not your heart". Well 6 months later it is still nagging so I've got to get it checkered out some more. If any other part of me had a nagging ache I'd just ignore it since that's the norm but I can't do that for chest pain.

It the meantime, whatever it is doensn't seem to get aggravated during exercise so I'm still riding and racing. https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/02/snowmaggedon-2019.html

In commuter news, the trails were slower than expected today. We're going to have a 2 day winter thaw here. If the temps stay above freezing overnight I might dare to ride the new steed. But probably not. We will get a lot of snowbank melting into the road so if those freeze they are deadly.

Happy Monday.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

After last week's polar vortex it's been unseasonably warm. I did a 25mi road ride before breakfast this morning in shorts and SS jersey.

A little over halfway through my ride I noticed my chain ring was wobbling. I pulled over to tighten the chain ring bolt but found I was straight up missing two bolts, and the other 3 were really loose. I torqued them down as best I could and finished the ride. Should've done a more thorough pre-ride check after not being on that bike for a couple months!

Here are some pics from last week at cyclingdutchman's request:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Do you have squirrels that sneak around and loosen your chainring bolts when you aren't riding the bike? Other than tire pressure I always figure if a bike was in good working condition when I hung it up for the winter, it should be pretty much the same when i take it back out. I am sometimes wrong about that, like when I went to get the winter bike out and the chain was rusted solid.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Replaced those chainring bolts and gave my road bike some needed TLC. 100ft into my commute home I busted a spoke. Those squirrels have been busy!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey BrianMc, glad to see you back on the bike. My heart (I think) has been nagging me for about a year and keeps getting worse. I had an EKG and a stress test back in the summer where they deemed me one of the fittest people to be tested this year and "It's not your heart". Well 6 months later it is still nagging so I've got to get it checkered out some more. If any other part of me had a nagging ache I'd just ignore it since that's the norm but I can't do that for chest pain.


Not sure I want to bore you like Gramps reciting all his health issues. My first angina was right after I had 13 amalgam fillings replaced with the old drilling method (I was 35 yo). That is a lot of mercury vapor to inhale. High heart mercury is associated with young athlete's heart attacks (Italian study). I just finished fixing the mercury but not before I plugged the heart arteries which is a common mercury symptom. Fixed all the pre MS and pre-Alzheimer's symptoms, so maybe the stents are a decent trade.  It's nice to have both legs work and continue to do so. One or other would suddenly become like an artificial leg (throw ahead and lock the knee). Can't ride well when a leg is like that. I am grateful to be able to ride again.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Snow from the last storm with appreciable snow for here (5-6 " melted to 3-4") For Cycling Dutchman

https://imageshack.com/a/img922/6797/odRRdg.jpg


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, we got us a nice little winter storm going here in Seattle. Happens maybe once a year and unlike areas back east, the Seattle area is not setup for ice and snow. It's a mess. All my commuting routes are also a mess, so it looks like I won't be able to ride this week until things warm back up. Sigh.

Reinforces for me why I like 40's and rain


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey woodway, we got your warm weather. It's supposed to hit the 50s today!


squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> Replaced those chainring bolts and gave my road bike some needed TLC. 100ft into my commute home I busted a spoke. Those squirrels have been busy!


 


BrianMc said:


> Not sure I want to bore you like Gramps reciting all his health issues. My first angina was right after I had 13 amalgam fillings replaced with the old drilling method (I was 35 yo). That is a lot of mercury vapor to inhale. High heart mercury is associated with young athlete's heart attacks (Italian study). I just finished fixing the mercury but not before I plugged the heart arteries which is a common mercury symptom. Fixed all the pre MS and pre-Alzheimer's symptoms, so maybe the stents are a decent trade.  It's nice to have both legs work and continue to do so. One or other would suddenly become like an artificial leg (throw ahead and lock the knee). Can't ride well when a leg is like that. I am grateful to be able to ride again.


Not a bore. I'm trying not to diagnose myself via the internet to much but it is good to gather information. Yeah, hard to ride with a locked leg. That would be one good excuse for riding with a saddle that is a little low.

Good commutes. Last night was pretty warm. The roads were good and the lake diden't even suck souls like it could have. This morning was just below freezing and the trails were pretty darn good. I'm hoping for a repeat of last nights ride tonight in the springlike temps. Then back below freezing for some nice trail riding in the morning. Woot!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Did I ask for pictures? I thought I just posted one myself - but not much snow on mine...and no snow in sight either, rain only.

Brianmc alwwys good to hear from you and nothing is boring! Take care and stay healthy.

No riding for me this week for several reasons  , but I will read here everyday. Hope to hear from mtbx soon.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

40s and drizzling...I like it! 

Replaced my busted spoke but it won't true up to my liking, looks like I'll be rebuilding the wheel before my road riding season begins.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I've now joined the pile-up of mtbr/commuting crashes.

Smooth, off-angle ice on the paved path, from overflow of a neighbourhood ice rink (that I help maintain!!) combined with a quarter inch of ball-bearing sleet to lift up the studs.

I rode across the same patch last night when it was bare ice and made a (totally ineffective) mental note. So yeah, I deserve it. No damage other than ego.

Threat of freezing rain means there's no one at the office anyways. Last time this warning was posted, bad things happened. Hopefully different this time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Welcome to the club. I bought replacement studs for the center rows on my tire because they were worn down to nubs and as useless as tits on a bull. So far I just installed them on the back tire. I've got to get them on the front too because it is pretty ineffective.

After 2 days of warm weather the trails are still in pretty good shape. Some ice here and there but no "issues" today.

We haven't had enough pictures here lately.





​


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I have yet to commute by bike this week. I was off Monday. It's super warm here for February, but unfortunately it's also super rainy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back from our bike trip to Puerto Rico, pix to come. Thankful we beat the freezing rain back into Burlington VT because there were tons of cars off the road and big delays last night. Very icy on the dog walk this morning, not sure if it is safer to drive or ride today, I may drive due to the risk of sliding cars.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I was not totally with it for the first bikecommute after vacation...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We had a near 50 degree temperature swing in less than 24 hours. I did, however, manage my first commute of the week after days and days of rain. We set both the record for high temp (70F) and rainfall yesterday. 21F and windy on the way in this morning. I was happy to have the wind at my back. A bit of black ice on the roads, but not bad.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> I was not totally with it for the first bikecommute after vacation...


It looks like you gloved for the polar vortex but we're in the global warming period.

We got rain overnight. I took the winter beater across the lake since I knew the trails would be too soft. The road was a ship-show but the old mount and ground tires handled it surprisingly well. The rain had covered all the sanding that had been done and froze in a nice layer of ice. A runner sled would have been a blast to take down the road.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> It looks like you gloved for the polar vortex but we're in the global warming period.


Oh, so that's the problem? Here I thought it was that the gloves are both for the right hand. Silly me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ha, I didn't even notice. I just looked at the top glove and it looked like overkill.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Finally had a freeze after the overnight rain to solidify the 3" sleet layer. I wasn't leaving tracks this morning.

After three days of riding in stuff that felt like sand mixed with mollasses, we are back in business.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

MTBX I feel the same way after vacation  I didnt notice they were both for the right hand, I just noticed they are different ones. 

Bedwards also a nice pic there on the ice!

I took a nice pic last week and forgot to post it :-/ will catch up soon. Maybe I have some "paddling to work" pictures next week.

Couldnt ride the whole week for several reasons and I feel horrible. Looking forward to riding again on Monday. 

Have a nice wekend ya all!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

ghettocruiser said:


> Finally had a freeze after the overnight rain to solidify the 3" sleet layer. I wasn't leaving tracks this morning.
> 
> After three days of riding in stuff that felt like sand mixed with mollasses, we are back in business.


May I ask what type of tires you use for that? I need to get kitted up to get back out there but the rain keeps freezing and my Vee Rubber speedsters don't do ice at all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards also a nice pic there on the ice!


That is actually in the middle of a corn field. We've had some freeze thaw cycles. Ice is everywhere.

If you have studs to cross the icy patches, conditions around here are great. Here are some highlights from a group ride we did yesterday. https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/02/norway-maine-trail-perfection.html

This morning's commute was super, hard frozen trails. It was necessary to slow down for the icy spots but the trade off was worth it.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Early meeting and drove today, but had a nice fatbike ride with my "sled dog" bikjoring yesterday 



 Looks like a great rdie over there bedwards!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

jeremy_burke said:


> May I ask what type of tires you use for that? I need to get kitted up to get back out there but the rain keeps freezing and my Vee Rubber speedsters don't do ice at all.


Schwalbe IS Pros 379s, tubeless at stupidly low pressures, 8-12 PSI... and these are 2.4s. They have so much rolling resistance on pavement I might as well drag a brick, but once I'm on the chewed up icepack they flow.

Another foot of snow in the forecast tomorrow, so the ride-anywhere icepack will be buried deep after just three days.

And yes, the plan is to ride my bike to work.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

ghettocruiser said:


> Schwalbe IS Pros 379s, tubeless at stupidly low pressures, 8-12 PSI... and these are 2.4s. They have so much rolling resistance on pavement I might as well drag a brick, but once I'm on the chewed up icepack they flow.
> 
> Another foot of snow in the forecast tomorrow, so the ride-anywhere icepack will be buried deep after just three days.
> 
> And yes, the plan is to ride my bike to work.


Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't think that is an option for me. I have 35km each way with about 60% tarmac and 40% gravel (my favorite part). I think that is too much of a time hit added to my already 1:20 commute. I like my wife and kids too much to be gone that long. I think sadly I'm just gonna have to get ice spikes for next winter. For this week I will just have to wait it out a few more weeks I hope.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Yep, that's way too far for studded tires, IMO. My longest one-way commute back in the day was about 20 km, and that was pretty agonizing into a winter wind even though I was way younger back then.

I sometimes add mileage to my commutes to push them past 60-70 km when I have the time and energy, but as a daily grind I couldn't do it in snow conditions.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway! Have you bought a fatbike yet?



ghettocruiser said:


> Schwalbe IS Pros 379s, tubeless at stupidly low pressures, 8-12 PSI... and these are 2.4s. They have so much rolling resistance on pavement I might as well drag a brick, but once I'm on the chewed up icepack they flow.
> 
> Another foot of snow in the forecast tomorrow, so the ride-anywhere icepack will be buried deep after just three days.
> 
> And yes, the plan is to ride my bike to work.


The low pressure with the studs really sucks up the watts. I was running high(ish) pressure on the fatbike, 4/8 PSI F/R it rolled like a dream but bounced off lumpy ice. I dropped the pressure to 3.5/7 and I swear it took twice the power on the road to move. We have had super ice pack conditions that are going to get buried in snow tonight too. I plan to take my truck. 


jeremy_burke said:


> Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't think that is an option for me. I have 35km each way with about 60% tarmac and 40% (my favorite part). I think that is too much of a time hit added to my already 1:20minute commute. I like my wife and kids too much to be gone that long. I think sadly I'm just gonna have to get ice spikes for next winter. For this week I will just have to wait it out a few more weeks I hope.


 For a somewhat fast rolling studded mountain bike tire I really like the Nokian Mount and Ground. Air them up and they roll well. It it gets really icy dicy drop them down in pressure. https://www.amazon.com/Nokian-Mount-Ground-Studded-1-9-Inch/dp/B000WJ7XRW I rode up this icy sheet of death last week. It doesn't look like it but it >10% grade in places. I'm not sure what size you need. They are also too thin for most unplowed trail riding.








Speaking of icy sheets of death. The trails have been so fun lately. That's all going to change with today's snow but I could use a break anyway. I've fatbiked 7 days in a row.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway! Have you bought a fatbike yet?


Not yet, but have been looking at them. Off the bike for over a week now and it's killing me. The heavy snow in Seattle is finally coming to an end and it's starting to get above freezing. I've been working from my place in Central Washington to stay away from the madness of Seattle streets with snow on them. I'm going to head over this afternoon (if they get Snoqualmie Pass back open) and make an attempt to ride my mountain bike to the office tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow pretty icy there Bedwards!

I didnt ride for over a week too and it felt so good today to be back on the bike. Wind calmed down and the weather is going to be pretty nice the next days, sunny and max temps of over 10C in the afternoon!

Here is finally my sunset pic of 2 weeks ago....taken on the same spot as my sunrise pic a while ago, just looking in the other direction 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iYeZBkhf9TLqBSKU8

As of beginning of this year, I was lucky to be able to reduce my working hrs from 40 to 35 a week. By now I am riding mostly in daylight already on both rides, unless I start early or leave late.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Uneventful today. Drizzle during both rides and 8C on the way home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After 2 more days of miserable drenching rain, finally a break today. I skipped the bike commute Monday and Tuesday. This is probably my least favorite winter in recent memory.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

There was enough freezing rain in last nights dump of snow that I could ride on the ice-crust on a short section of un-maintained trail by my house, so I overly-enthusiastically chose the usual route to work, which features a 4km stretch of rail trail. When I got to said trail, I sank into the snow five inches.

Local variations in precipitation, apparently.

A backtrack, followed by much churning through car tracks on unplowed residential roads ensued, in order to get to work. 

It's snowed most of the day, so the ride home may also be a "workout", even without the ill-advised rail-trail attempt.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well sounds like I have good company in the "impacted by weather" category. I came over here to my place in Central Washington last Friday, expecting to go back to Seattle on Monday.

Interstate 90 goes over the mountain pass that separates Central Washington from Seattle. It started snowing up there early Monday morning and by the time it stopped Tuesday evening, 53 inches/1.4 meters of snow fell. The pass/I-90 has been closed since Monday and it's not a sure thing it will even open tomorrow. I-90 is the major east-west route in the state. What a mess.

So I am just hunkered down here wishing I was bike commuting.

Stay warm and safe everyone!


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

tough


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

My first day back in nearly 2 months due to persistent freezing rain or widespread ice. Someday I'll get some fast rolling studs but for now I have to hope for less slick stuff. Today was beautiful.









I hope the return trip which is mostly uphill tonight goes well.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ha noch ein deutscher  I am in hamburg in the north. 33km oneway? Wow thats 3x my distance...

I have to go up a short but steep **** everymorning and usually when riding up, I pull the bar and make a wheelie while riding upwards. This morning a lady walking the dog saw me do it and she laughed about that little boy playing with his bike. I am 44/6ft btw :lol:

For the rest it was a nice and sunny day. 12C forecasted for tomorrow. Birds were singing too this morning. Spring seems to be early this year, but no complaints about that


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice Dutchman!

Welcome back to commuting jeremy_burke

I got in my first commute since two weeks ago today. Snoqualmie Pass opened this morning @ 5:20am and I woke up my wife and said "let's go before they change their minds". I just saw on the weather service website that they broke the single day snow record up there with 31.5 inches/0.8 meters on February 12th well as 80 inches/2 meters in the 5 days leading up to February 12th. That's a lot of snow.

Rode my mountain bike to work today. Went down once on a sketchy section of MUP, but it was a slow-motion fall so nothing damaged. It's raining now which is melting the snow. Yay!


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## demondan (Jul 25, 2008)

5” powder in the dark on the way in. then wind drifts on the bike path on my way home had me pushing my Big Fat Dummy. Montana commuting is fun!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rode the mountain bike again this morning. Enough of the snow has melted that I can probably switch back to my regular commuter next week. Made a blunder on route choice home last night and ended up pushing my bike for about a half mile in snow that was just too soft to ride. Still better than driving!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ha noch ein deutscher  I am in hamburg in the north. 33km oneway? Wow thats 3x my distance...
> 
> I have to go up a short but steep **** everymorning and usually when riding up, I pull the bar and make a wheelie while riding upwards. This morning a lady walking the dog saw me do it and she laughed about that little boy playing with his bike. I am 44/6ft btw :lol:


Ja ich lebe im Deutschland aber ich bin kein deutscher sein. Ein deutscher, deutsch sprechen kann, aber ich kann nur ein paar würter sprachen.

However it is very pretty here and the people are great and the bike routes are a dream.

As it turns out not commuting my usual route of 33 km each way for the past two months and then starting back up has not agreed with my legs. I think they are now made of jello. But as stated it is better than driving.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^You don't say. Jumping back in to a 66KM daily ride makes you tired.  My legs felt jello like and I only had 2 days off. 


woodway said:


> Rode my mountain bike to work today. Went down once on a sketchy section of MUP, but it was a slow-motion fall so nothing damaged. It's raining now which is melting the snow. Yay!


You're going to have to re-visit your list.

I'm back on the bike after a few days off due to show. The lake had some soul sucking qualities. There were tracks to ride but they didn't end up where I wanted to go. I ended up with a 1/2 mile 2MPH push. Once I got the the trails they were pretty good.

We're entered into a 10K fatbike race this weekend. There's almost nobody else signed up for it yet. Only 6 people in the long course. I hope at least a few more hop in.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy keine sorgen das wird schon  

Good luck with your race bedwards!

Woodway glad you went down im slowmotion only  I understand you couldnt go to work because of the snow on the pass?

Today was a real spring day. -3C this morning, 15C when I started at 4pm in beautiful sunny weather. Made a detour and when I came home at 6pm in the dark the temp had dropped to 7C only. Good rides and a good way into the weekend.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Snow again! I love the snow, but I was gonna go riding tomorrow and now it's gonna be slop :madman:


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Grocery run today. Still a few inches on the bike path, kept things interesting.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I will start this week. Another day of spring weather here. -1C this morning and incredible sunny 14C on the way home. My pannier was stuffed to the top with my regular office clothing and the 2nd layer that I didnt need.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ sounds nice Dutchman! Yes, I was stuck for three days last week because the pass was closed due to snow.

After a long weekend, I commuted on my regular bike this morning. 37F/3C and light rain. I'll take it over the snow!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^How much of the snow is gone? Just off the streets or does it all disappear quickly?

It was a great long weekend. Ice fishing on Saturday, race on Sunday and some chores and a ride on Monday. 
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/02/so-close-so-far-so-what.html

MOON! Who got to see the moon on their commute? It was huge this morning before it set. I hear this "Spring" word being thrown around. It was 7F this morning and tomorrow is going to get cold.  The trails are riding great! I'm hoping for another moon viewing on the commute home tonight. It is supposed to be clear. Moonrise is at 5:30 so I should be just about at the lake.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodways weather here too. 4C and drizzle on both rides, dry in between :-/

Bedwards nice race report, thanks! And congrats for you and the missus on the podium places.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh totally overread this. Well the moon was there this morning but hidden behind clouds here. I looked yesterday evening but it wasnt as spectacular yet as I expected.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Moon!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The Candid Cyclist: Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Wow, those are some great pics bedwards. And congrats to you and your wife on the finishes!

There is still quite a bit of snow around - it's melting slowly because our high temps are only reaching around 40F/4.5C. Shaded areas are still holding a lot of snow which is a pain when you are riding along on a shoulder and suddenly you have to make room for yourself in the lane due to snow.

Bigger problem (for me) is the mess left behind on the shoulders and bike lanes when the snow melts. Tons of sand, branches and other debris are everywhere. I flatted .25M/.4K from home last night in a pouring 35 degree rain due to a sharp little stone embedding itself in my tire. Change or push? I pushed.

Got smart and changed out my lightweight Conti GP4000II tires for Conti Gatorskins last night. The added flat protection is great, but MAN do those Gatorskins roll slow...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Shaded areas are still holding a lot of snow which is a pain when you are riding along on a shoulder and suddenly you have to make room for yourself in the lane due to snow.


Hmmm, you don't say.  What I like less is when the sun melts it across the road and then it drops below freezing leaving a nice flow of unsanded ice.

1/4 mile in cold rain is walking distance for sure. You'd be home before the tire was fixed.

I forgot to mention, it was COLD this morning. 2F when I left but the lake seemed colder. Local weather stations confirmed -8F. The biggest problem other than chilly toes is that my goggles start to ice up at those temps.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards you should start to create and sell bike calenders. Those pics are so cool! I have set the sunrise pic as my desktop wallpaper is that ok?

Bad luck for you Woodway but at least it was not too far from home.

Dry and 5C here today. Not good for pics but good for commuting.

We have a new collegue in the office for 2 weeks now. Yesterday afternoon it rained before I went home and he asked if I would ride in that weather. Before I could say something my other collegues echoed "yes he would, because with the correct clothing and fenders, rain riding is fun. You turn into a little boy that races through every puddle on your way" . Nuff said :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Dutchman. Of course you can use it as a desktop. Heck, if you want you can pick 12 out of the blog and publish a bike calendar. If you make more than $100 I'll take 50% of the profit.  

We're got an extra car at work that needs to be shuttled home. I'm thinking that's tonight. My legs are tired. As fun as the trails are right now, my commutes have been running about 1 1/4 hour each way of fairly hard riding. I can make it both directions in that time in the summer.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I hit the pavement this morning after hitting a patch of black ice. Temps were hovering just above freezing. The roads were damp because of rain yesterday and fog this morning. I was cautious in the spots that typically get icy, but the ice I hit caught me offguard. The pavement appeared to be in good shape. I got away with a few minor bumps and a small handlebar scrape on my stomach. Not bad, as far as crashes go.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry S0ck, I've got to the point where I won't ride a bike without studs if there is a possibility of black ice. I've taken "the tank" a few times when I really wanted to ride a faster bike.

No ride for me today. We ended up only getting 1-2" of snow so the trails would have been fine but mostly, I'm tired.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> We have a new collegue in the office for 2 weeks now. Yesterday afternoon it rained before I went home and he asked if I would ride in that weather. Before I could say something my other collegues echoed "yes he would, because with the correct clothing and fenders, rain riding is fun. You turn into a little boy that races through every puddle on your way" . Nuff said :lol:


This cracked me up Dutchman, because I can hear my colleagues saying the same thing about me...



s0ckeyeus said:


> I hit the pavement this morning after hitting a patch of black ice.


Ouch. Glad you got away with only minor bumps, s0ck.

Similar situation here, 28F/-2C this morning, clear skies but fog forming near the ground. Coupled with snow melt running across the pavement in places, I was also on the lookout for ice. Fortunately I was able to stay upright.

I've got to ditch these Gatorskin tires I put onto my bike. The extra rolling resistance is just killing me...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ouch s0ck glad u r ok! 

Bedwards, taking a rest is not bad but a sign of being able to listen to your body.

9C today and rain on the way home....and I liked it


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

35F/1.5F this morning, dry ride.

I unmounted the Gatorskins I had put on the bike a couple of days ago. Those tires were wearing me out. Went back to my GP4000SII and I could feel the different this morning after about three pedal strokes. I'll risk flats over exhaustion.

Using the tools on bicyclerollingresistance.com, I ordered from ProBikeKit a pair of Michelin Pro 4 Endurance v2 which look like they have a nice balance between puncture resistance and rolling resistance. They should be here next week and I look forward to giving them a try.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow woodway, I've never really noticed a huge difference with the gatorskins. I run those on my cross bike as the "fast" tires. For my road bike I also ended up with the Michelin Pro 4 Endurance as the best all around tires. I've got some Gatorskins mounted up on "Titan" right now. I've still only got a total of 10 miles on the new bike. It really just hasn't been road bike season. 

And speaking of rolling resistance. The trails were kind of slow this morning. We're above freezing now so I think I'll take mostly roads home.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

The 10km of gravel is the best part of the 33.33km i bike each way. I wish it could all be gravel even if it's slower.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I can see why. it looks nice. Any part of the commute with minimal cars is preferred.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Hey can you more experienced commuters offer some help. In about a month I am going to be getting a new wheel set for my 2018 Fargo. I am planning to get 29”xi30mm rims to replace the 27.5 phatties that came on it. I am also planning on getting a Rohloff (I figure it is required here in Germany) but i still haven’t decided on the new tires. Anyone got suggestions. I was thinking Rene Herse (Compass) antelope hill. But that might just be because I like skin walls. So I am open to suggestions in the 50-65mm range. Maybe Schwalbe G-one all rounds are better. Or perhaps Soma Cazedero. They all seem like good tires for my mix of gravel and tarmac but I’m hoping your guys can help too. 

The current 78mm are just to dang much tire to drag along for my 67km commute and I want something faster. But I also like some volume for the cobble stone and gravel sections I traverse as well. Thanks in advance for any help.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Schwalbe Big Apples are a good mix of fast rolling, grip cushion and puncture protection. They are a little heavier than the ones you posted but also cheaper. Maybe you get better puncture protection for that weight. 

Well, we got some snow and then a lot of rain yesterday. The temps didn't quite get down low enough to lock everything up so I stayed on the roads this morning so I didn't rut up the trails. Hopefully everybody else has the sense to stay off them until they firm up because the rest of the week is a hard freeze. If they do get rutted or post-holed they are going to stay like that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

28F and mostly clear this morning. Rode over some black ice but stayed upright.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Jeremy,

in addition to the Big Apples the Almotion and G One in the widest Version might do the trick. The Supreme is also a good tire but I think it is 50mm max which might look quite skinny on a Fargo. I believe all 3 can be set up tubeless too so that would make it quite puncture proof too. I think there are also some alternatives from Continental, but they are usually a tad heavier. For that they usually last longer. I just dont know if they have a touring tire that can be run tubeless.

A Rohloff is quite common for cyclists here but you won't be faster. The hub is relatively heavy and is located in the backwheel, which makes it sometimes difficult to carry the bike. On the other side it takes very little maintenance, when you have a setup that keeps muck off the chain. My first Rohloff bike needed a chain tensioner and therefore I could not use a chaingcase of some sort. I found myself cleaning the drivetrain every weekend just as much as on a chaingearing.

My current setup consists of a Hebie Chainglider and an extra long front fender, the SKS rubber flap ends only 3cm above the ground. This makes everything virtually maintenance free, I lubed my chain mid January and didnt touch anything after that until now, and it doesnt make the impression I will have to do something soon. So the few minutes a day that you ride extra will be made up by saving time before/after the ride.

If you plan on buying one, I think you can justify a new one when you really plan to ride that distance every day. It is exactly what it is made for. If you buy one used you can get it for less than half the price and it won't matter much. Just make sure you get one that is registered with Rohloff, otherwise you wont get any service if necessary. Chances are very low, but I broke a flange once and badly needed a new housing. Read my thread about that in the internal gearhub subforum here.

If you want to know more send me a PM.

Phew what a novel ;o))

Typical spring weather here. -3C this morning with two layers on, 14C on the way home with only 1 layer on. Probably the same for the rest of the week here.

I made some nice pics on the way home last Friday:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YZUFhm35eyadkvH2A
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hKrGBETRp8BcReMw9


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Dutchman, that first picture is bedwards-esque! Nicely done.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Wow Dutchman thanks for all the advice. Yes the Rohloff would be more about reducing maintenance than speed. I am also strongly considering a gates belt for the same reason. I'll pm you for more details at a later date.

My commute got cancelled this week. Nasty stomach virus at our house. I think we are through the worst of it.

Here is a picture from the weekend fun ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

51 mph gust and blowing snow at the closest weather station yesterday:eekster::nonod: A tad too windy for me to ride. 3F this morning, and 20-30mph wind with higher gusts, so gonna drive again.  Nice fatbike bikejor Sunday a.m. with a couple inches of new snow over the hardpack, making it fun in the corners and steeper downhills. I felt a little bad when I had to brake going uphill because my "sled dog" was catching up with other riders.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Hard grey ice on most of the paths, since the windstorm blew away all the loose snow. Meaning the fastest rail-trail split in a month, despite being about -12C this morning.

Calling for 6-8 inches of snow tomorrow, so that may slow me down more than a little.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Sounds like winter is still going strong for most of you!

Cold (relatively) here this morning at 28F/-2C. The roads were dry - even though the city treated them for ice there was none to be found. Looks like we might be headed for the coldest February on record...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> ^^ Dutchman, that first picture is bedwards-esque! Nicely done.


I don't usually get the full silhouette. Very nice dutchman. Of course I like the look of the gravel forest that Jeremy posted too.

Yes, yesterday's wind was fierce! The top of Washington had sustained 100MPH wind ALL DAY. with the highest gust at 171. Around here riding through the open areas like the corn field and the lake was enough for me.

Winter is still in full swing. Temps between 0F and 32F are forecast for the next few weeks. That's OK though because the trails are in great shape and should stay that way.

The wind was actually pretty calm this morning. Maybe it was just relatively calm but I liked it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow you guys really have a tough time with such temps and winds...

MTBX when do we see some pics of your PR trip? Or did I miss something?

Jeremy nice pic there too! Looks like a typical German forest road that we have here in Hamburg too.
Concerning Rohloff, just send me a PM if you wish to know more. If you have time to read about the Rohloff pros and cons, you find it here
https://www.cyclingabout.com/?s=rohloff
and in the internal gear hub forum.

Bedwards, to get the full silhouette I had to lie down onto the ground....the other people were like :skep:

-2C this morning and 14C on the way home. Incredible difference in temp for the bike. I averaged 18.5kph this morning with a tailwind, 23kph on the way home despite a light headwind and baggy clothing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards, to get the full silhouette I had to lie down onto the ground....the other people were like :skep:


Weirdo! That reminds me, I wonder what ever happened to rodar y rodar. It has been too cold to take pictures.

Not much to report except it has been cold, cold and cold. Last night was the worst. Even thought the temp was around 12F the windchill was like minus a hundred. This morning was around 0F with no wind and it felt pretty good. The trails sure are nice an firm.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I exchanged emails with rodar a year or so ago (maybe longer). He was no longer commuting to work and drifted away from the forum. At the time he said he lurked now and then. Maybe he will see this and post up a hello...

Way to go the extra mile for the photo Dutchman. 

Cold here today too, but it's all relative...cold to me is when the temps get into the low 30's. Not even in the same league as what you are dealing with bedwards - and from the articles I read it looks like you'll be dealing with it for a while longer.

I'm off tomorrow for a few days of ski/snowshoe down in Central Oregon. They just got a big snow dump so conditions should be good!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy, thanks for your PM, I just replied.

I wonder what happened to a lot of people that used to be here regularly like CB, Jeffscott, Blockphi, Rodar, Newf, .... 

refreshing here in the morning too...-2C and real 17C on the way home, makes a 19C temp difference! I made a detour on the way home, needless to say...but it will be the last day of spring. From tomorrow on, max temp will be 8C, windy, cloudy etc...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well I've been back at commuting. I've finally got a knack for which roads are safe to bike on. Fortunately my neighborhood seems pretty safe and is full of hills to climb. Rode about 11.5 miles into work (would be 1.5 if I went straight to it) and did about 900 ft of climbing, mostly going up and down the same hills using valley roads as a spline to access different side streets that lead upwards.

I hope y'all have been well and it feels good to be back in the bike more than once or twice a month. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi NDD, nice to hear from you again. 

Summer weather ended here today. 6C and windy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi NDD, nice to hear from you again.
> 
> Summer weather ended here today. 6C and windy.


Yep, I'm glad to be back at it. And 6 C seems pretty nice compared to here, today so I'd be happy with that. It was about 0 C with freezing rain today. I walked.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi NDD, glad you found some better routes, good to hear from you. That's a lot of climbing! 

0F yesterday morning, but the goggles worked perfectly. I realy dislike wearing them but I have to admit they can work really well. I got a Giro Timberwolf winter bike helmet a while back and it works reall well with goggles. It has vents you can close with a slide switch, which is nice for big downhills/uphills or other changes in your temp. Since it has a liner and earflaps you don't need much of a hat (if any). It was sunny and at least 20F by lunch, which was a little tough to look at from work, having ridden at 0F.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've had some stellar commutes this week. Rides in have been in the upper 20s/low 30s (F) and rides home have ranged from 40s to 60s. I questioned my decision to drive in yesterday when it was dry in the morning, but the forecast held true and we 30s and rain most of the day. Back on track again today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Friday morning was single digits again, but by the last uphill mile I was able to remove the goggles and balaclava. Found a shovel at lunchtime to shovel out the bikeparking. Pretty nuts how our landlord will plow acres or parking but refuses to shove out a couple of bike spots. I had stopped using them because you risked getting snow in your shoes just before a ride. Instead I was just putting it in a snowbank adjacent to the cleared walkway. I thought this random bike parking, which also interfered with a handrail might encourage them to shovel, but no. I also thought seeing a tenant shoveling might shame them into it, but that seems doubtful - they just say, there's that crazy biker.

Stopped at the LBS and they had these awesome fenders in radioactive yellow. Only in 700's though, and not sure I can put that color on my red and blue bike.
Bontrager Fender Mudguard Set 700c NCS Yellow


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yup, single digits, like "1" of them. I'm pretty used to it by now. 

In other news I sold my Surly Cross Check. I know you guys think I only buy bikes but I actually sold one. 

The trails were great again. We're supposed to get some snow over the weekend but I think it will be good once it gets packed again. I'm planning on leading a group ride Sunday morning.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang I'm jealous of your guys' low temps. We got two or three inches of powdery snow today and pretty much as it stopped snowing I went riding. Did about 7 miles through the neighborhood, but it was so slushy already that I made my way back. Looked at my bike when I got home and everything was coated in brown slush and ice. But that's what happens when you've got a good heat island effect and it's right around 30 F (-1 C) for the air temp. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD, we're hanging on to our low temps for another week but spring is coming. 

We're mid storm so I have no commute to report on. But the group ride this weekend was really fun. There were only 4 of us but the conditions were perfect. The trails were hard packed with an inch of powder on top. We were making fresh prints for half the ride and the temperature was just above freezing. Perfect day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards that sounds really good :thumbsup:

I am off this week and starting a new job within the company next week. I will start with a 3day training so no riding this week and those 3 days next week :-/ For that I am rearranging the garden which involves downing 2 trees and digging out the roots. Just finished one and can hardly walk - riding to work is easier 

I did take the opportunity to stitch a lot of short movies together which show my commute to work. It didnt work out as nice as I hoped but apparently MovieMaker and me are no perfect match. I made about 20 vids last August and made na 8 minute vid out of it:





I will read here once and a while this week - keep riding and stay safe


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Bedwards it wouldn't feel so bad if it stayed as powdery as when it fell. But we never get a really nice textured snow here. It's always slop. As predicted most side streets I take in half melted and froze again overnight as it dropped to 7 F. The walk in was slippery!

Dutchman, it looks like you have a very relaxing commute. Admittedly I'm jealous of the infrastructure you guys have. I live right next to a busy road with a bike lane. I minimize use of said road because people drive in the bike lane all the time. This stems from a hatred of how the city made a relatively busy four lane road (two lanes each direction) into a now congested two lane road with a turn lane and a bike lane. Most drivers take that out on the people who use it. I think it would be better as a four lane road with the right lane in each direction designated as a shared bike lane. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from my snow vacation in Oregon. Got to downhill ski, snowshoe and XC ski. Here are a couple of photos I took of a friend on the XC ski day - it was a nice day!















Dutchman - that looks like a great commute (although I think I got a little seasick from the camera motion :thumbsup.

Cold but dry here today. Maybe getting a little more snow this week, but nothing like the snowmagedden we had in February.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That day looks okay.  

I took yesterday off because of snow. Today the trails were soft and slow but 99% ride-able. They should get better with age. Not much more to report.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Low teens this morning. High in the upper 20s. It's hard to go back to winter weather when Spring has been feeling right around the corner. Daffodils are blooming. Some plants are starting to grow leaves. It's kind of early for all that, but I can't blame the plants. I'm ready for winter to be over too.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi woodway, yes I thought the same thing when I watched the movie. Even thought of not posting the link...I recorded everything with a compact camera held in 1 hand. Most smartphones have better stabilising programs nowadays...or maybe I should really get a gopro or something.
Nice pics from you there! And I didnt get seasick watching them :lol:

Sockeyeus yes spring is starting here too. I dont complain but I do hope that this summer will not be such a drought as last year (never thought I would ever say that).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sockeyeus yes spring is starting here too. I dont complain but I do hope that this summer will not be such a drought as last year (never thought I would ever say that).


Last year was the wettest year on record for us, and this year seems to be heading that way. A little drought almost sounds good to me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Last year was the wettest year on record for us, and this year seems to be heading that way. A little drought almost sounds good to me.


Apparently it was very unevenly distributed last year...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi woodway, yes I thought the same thing when I watched the movie. Even thought of not posting the link...I recorded everything with a compact camera held in 1 hand. Most smartphones have better stabilising programs nowadays...or maybe I should really get a gopro or something.
> Nice pics from you there! And I didnt get seasick watching them :lol:


I could see in one of the shadows that you were holding the camera in one hand while you rode. Thanks for the effort, it looks like you have a great commute!

My commute this morning was a struggle: to get out of bed, to get out the door and then to get my legs moving. I just felt like a slug today. The morning itself was fine: dry with temps just above freezing. Hopefully I'll have more energy this afternoon for the ride home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Man, I hit some cold wind on the way home. I felt like I was climbing a one-mile stretch of gradual downhill that had me riding directly into the wind.

I keep encountering nervous drivers who don't appear to feel comfortable making a right turn and not crossing over into the wrong lane. I have a particular corner this happens on where I'm often standing in the center of my own lane at a stop sign and these people act all awkward as they navigate the intersection. Either that, or I have to brake to avoid a car swerving into my lane as I approach. I don't get it. There's 6ft in between me and the center line. If you can't execute a turn into the proper lane, plus a 6 ft. buffer, maybe you should take a driving class.

P.S. Use a turn signal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You're asking a lot s0ck.

dutchman, nice little tuft of hair coming out of your helmet or is that a feather. 

The trails are very passable and very slow. I'm trading with my wife for the bike commute home. The deer really seem to like them though. There must have been 100 of them in one section I went through last night.





​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice picture bedwards! And very well spotted in that movie both of you  I call it the "just took off my helmet look" when I have two horns on my head that make me look develish :lol: 

There are two other things you could spot in the movie. Go find the mistakes


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rode home last night and it was snowing. Rode to work this morning and it was snowing. Welcome to Marchuary. If it was actually January the snow would have been sticking.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

.....they say that like it's a bad thing.

Big melt expected to start on the weekend after weeks of steady -10C rides. Not a fan of liquid water, so I've been really savouring the last few days of winter.



















Last Week:










Week Before:










Been riding all snow for months. So... dirt?.. springtime?... meh.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice views of your route, ghettocruiser, it looks interesting! Nice deer pic bedwards, 100 is a lot of deer! Still cold here, -3F this morning, but teens for the way home, so I am ditching the goggles, facemask, and a layer. The roads are still messy too, so still riding the studded MTB - slow going, especially on the cold days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I hear you ghettocruiser. I always like to hang onto these last few days of winter. But damn, it was -6F again this morning. Like MTBX said, that is slow!

The deer were there this morning again. I'm sticking with the 100 number. I stopped to take a picture of one that was standing much closer than last time but neither camera would focus in the cold. 

There is another big group fatbike ride this weekend I think I'll jump into.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics ghettocruiser!

Here I am complaining about riding in temps around freezing. -3F and -6F, now that's just crazy.

Dry and 30F for me this morning.

The front pocket on my Showers Pass jacket gave out yesterday morning. I love that jacket, have worn it daily (except in summer) in all manner of weather for five years - well over 1000 hours (edit: did some lookup of my actual hours). I took some snaps of the pocket and the general jacket condition, contacted Showers Pass to see if it could be repaired. They called me back and said my jacket was telling me that it's at the end of it's life and maybe I should consider a new one. They offered a nice discount towards a new jacket, which is on it's way. Great company and I love their products.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Memes like this have no place on the mtbr forums


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## fokof (Apr 24, 2006)

Brutal ....


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Back to the dark ages! I had gotten used to riding in daylight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm kinda looking forward to the pre-dawn commutes again. I like them on the trails in the morning. I skipped today due to storm cleanup. i didn't want a "brutal" commute. Mostly I didn't want to walk across the lake in the snow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm kinda looking forward to the pre-dawn commutes again. I like them on the trails in the morning. I skipped today due to storm cleanup. i didn't want a "brutal" commute. Mostly I didn't want to walk across the lake in the snow.


Whatever works for you. The pre dawn commute for me means just as many people are on the road paying just as little attention, but it's also dark.

Also why I tend to cop out often by walking. Still beats driving.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> The pre dawn commute for me means just as many people are on the road paying just as little attention, but it's also dark.


Yeah, pre-dawn means a little more on edge. It'd be great if I didn't have to deal with drivers.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Last week was warm, wet and windy. Today was sunny and calm. Feels like spring!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yeah, pre-dawn means a little more on edge. It'd be great if I didn't have to deal with drivers.


Wouldn't be so bad if not in the city, but at least it's still pretty convenient. I almost exclusively take lesser traveled roads anyway.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

The dark mornings make it tough for me to get out the doot, because I like to wait until it's light to walk the dog off leash in the woods. Also, it got above freezing yesterday and I had cleaned my bikes over the weekend and wanted them to stay clean another day, :lol:, worst excuse ever.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My morning rides are in the dark most of the year anyway, so I don't really notice any difference. I sure enjoy the extra light in the evening. The Washington State legislature just voted to make daylight savings time permanent year-round (still needs approval by the feds). Apparently California and Oregon are working on similar measures. I'm all for it...this moving the clocks back and forth stuff is stupid.

We are finally seeing some warm up here...temps are only running 3-5 degrees below normal now, rather than 10-15. Rode home in low 50's temps and sunshine last night! Rode to work in a 40 degree soaking rain this morning.

I did get to test my new Showers Pass jacket in the rain today, and it's a keeper!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I stayed in bed a little late this morning and left at 6:30. It was still pretty light for most of my commute. Clock change? What clock change? 

Winter is slamming shut as usual. We're got 20s in the mornings and 30s, 40s or 50s in the afternoons for the next 10 days. Good trails in the morning and too soft to ride in the afternoons. 

The commute closer to sunrise was good for deer sighting. There must have been over 100 of them around today again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OK, I hauled my arse out of bed on time this morning to catch the sunrise and the deer herd.

Pics...
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/03/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration.html


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics (as usual) bedwards!

I also hauled my ass out of bed and rode to work. Did not see the sunrise or any deer (saw a coyote though). 37F, wet pavement but no moisture coming from the sky. Weather people say gradual warming over the next week and are promising my some mid-60 degree commutes next week. Yay!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

bedwards1000 said:


> Pics...
> https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/03/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration.html


Nice, I like the silhouette shot!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Pretty much perfect weather today, minus the clouds. 46F on the way in, climbing into the 70s for the ride home. I'm hoping to hit the trails tonight before rain returns.

I "had to" shout at a driver this morning. The turkey pulled out in front of me while poorly executing a left turn from a stop sign. I hit the brakes and yelled something friendly as the driver-side window passed about 5 feet in front of me. The person was so antsy to pull out before the car coming up behind me that he apparently didn't see me in the turning lane...or he just didn't care.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great photos bedwards.

15F this morning. Road find I dug out of the snowbank.









Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^
So you broke a buck at a snow bank?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Hahah, yes. The first half came out pretty easy, a few kicks with my 5.10's. I debated whether to pedal on or get a screwdriver out of my pack... Since I wasn't raised to leave a dollar behind, and since I told myself there could be more than 1 bill in there, i chiselled it out with the scewdriver. Just the one though.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Might be hard to convince anyone to take that dollar. I guess it's a souvenir now!

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

NDD said:


> Might be hard to convince anyone to take that dollar. I guess it's a souvenir now!
> 
> Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


You might be surprised. I hit a $20 bill with my lawnmower awhile back, and found enough pieces to tape it together and trade it for a fresh one at a bank.

Pretty sure that one is complete enough.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ I was thinking I would try just that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Just use it in a vending machine. They accept most bills. :lol:

We had some light snow last night and the temp was just below freezing. It made for a really nice trail ride.













​
I actually threw my new commuter bike in the car to swap out for the ride home. It will be the second ride on it.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Harold said:


> You might be surprised. I hit a $20 bill with my lawnmower awhile back, and found enough pieces to tape it together and trade it for a fresh one at a bank.
> 
> Pretty sure that one is complete enough.
> 
> Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk


Thought there had to be a complete serial number. Good luck mtbx!

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

The US Treasury will accept any bill with more than 50% if the note identifiable without question. If less than 50% it requires special examination:

https://www.frbservices.org/resourc...ption-processing/mutilated-currency-coin.html

Of course for a dollar bill, you have to ask yourself if it's worth the effort 

Easy ride this morning, dry, 37F. Supposed to be getting up into the low 70's next week. Can't wait!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> ..... Of course for a dollar bill, you have to ask yourself if it's worth the effort  .....


My grandma used to say "if you dont honour something small you are not worth anything big" 

Nice pics bedwards! I know the issue of pics not expressing the truth - usually a matter of not showing the intensity of the colors...

Fokof, that kind of conditions are the one why you invest in a Rohloff. Why do you not install a chaincase of some sort? It keeps everything much cleaner and it will last even longer.

First ride in almost 2 weeks. It rained both ways and I enjoyed it anyway. I just should have worn the rainpants since the windstopper pants leaked a bit in the end. Another wet day tomorrow, next week temps are expected to rise to be more spring-like. Yay!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A warm day yesterday, about 35F when I rode in. Grabbed the gravel bike and it did fine as long as I steered clear of the snowbanks. A couple non-driving dopes buzzed me in the approach to the last light where it goes from 1 lane to 3. I'd had enough after the second one and took the lane, which resulted in some pissy people and poor passes considering the oncoming traffic so that they could race up to the light. Oh well. 

That snowy trail looks great bedwards!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dutchman! Where have you been. It's not like you not to post for so long. I was worried.  Grandma was right. There's also that penny wise and pound foolish saying that might come into play here.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was fresh snow and a trail ride. Today is pouring rain and the trails are impassibly soft. Sooooo

I rode the new bike home last night. I'd been avoiding putting the fenders on because I wanted to try it "naked". It felt great but, the roads are really disgusting and always wet this time of year with melting snow and sand and salt and all. So I got up early to put the fenders on. I knew it was a 10 minute job that would take just about 1 and a half hours. I was pretty much right on. I'll spare you the details. 15 minutes late to work but much cleaner. 





​It looks like a bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ I looks like a pretty sweet bike bedwards!

I was wondering about you as well Dutchman. Good to see you back.

Good move MTBX. Sometimes you just need to claim your space.

I had a little cat6 fun going home last night. I got passed on a long straight section of road with a few good hills. Younger kid who pulled away but could not sustain the passing pace, especially up the hills (always the teller of truths). He was REALLY working hard to stay in front of me and he kept looking back to see where I was. Rather than pass him, I stayed behind him and just pushed him along, helping him to be the best he could be. It was childish fun, but broke up the monotony of another commute.

Speaking of another commute - warmer this morning in the low 40's and dry. Weatherman is still predicting temps to touch 70 next week! I'm going to break out my shorts and blind the drivers with my legs...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was running late this morning and had to drive. I drove yesterday too, due to severe weather rolling through. The ride home would have been alright, despite the wind. The airport measured a 67mph gust.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey guys thanks for the nice words  I think I mentioned that I was off last week and started my new job with a 3day training in another town, so no riding for that long period. At least last week I did a lot of "exercise" in the garden. Today it was dry on both rides, but there was a steady 25kt wind from the west with gusts upto 45kts. My new office is on the groundfloor facing east, so I didnt really notice until I rode towards the corner of the building and could hear the wind howl around the corner. So at least I was prepared. It worked out fine except for one stretch where I was really leaning into the wind and slowed down to 12kmh/7mph.....

Bedwards that bike looks -really- good, even with the fenders on. They look quite sleek and I didnt notice them on first glance. Bad weather riders are recognised by the long front fenders ;o)) and nice pictures too....

In general I have had a really bad start of the year. By the distance I have ridden so far, I must have ridden only half of my working days somehow. Doesnt really fit, even when I count in the days off/sick.

At least I finished the full-frame bag for my CX bike. When I strap another drybag onto the seatpost rack it should be good to go for my first bikepacking experience. Cant wait for better weather...it is supposed to be here end of next week, but in March, seeing is believing.

Have a nice weekend you all!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh yeah, I remember about you saying something about a few weeks off but not in your most recent posts. Can't remember everything. Heck, I can't even remember much.

It's about 60F here which is probably the warmest it has been in 3-4 months. I do believe I will go for a ride...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Back to 15F here this morning, which I am fine with. I'm happy to squeeze the last few days of fatbiking out of the season. The snow was solid enough to go free range this morning. I tried to get a video to do it justice but I had to hold the camera and ride with one hand so it just looked lame.

For those of you who haven't seen my bike and a sunrise enough. Here ya go: https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/03/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration_18.html


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice pics bedwards.

42F and dry this morning. I broke out shorts for this first time this year because the weatherman says 70F+ for the ride home tonight. And tomorrow. And the day after that. I'm going to take full advantage.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My weatherman said it is going to be 12F tomorrow morning. I'm going to hold off on the shorts for at least 1 more day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Killer weather here. Low 30s in the morning. 50s on the way home. It's supposed to be like this all week. The sunrise and my morning commute are just about aligned now, which I always enjoy.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards you finally got a pic with the whole silhouette of your bike! Is the lake still frozen?

Woodway that sounds like summer instead of early spring....I hope to get around 15C end of the week but that is already the most optimistic forecast..

I am already riding in daylight both rides but the time shift in 2 weeks will probably bring me close to sunrise again. 

Windy again today on the way home, gusts upto 30 kts but during the ride apparently the wind calmed down a bit so no worries about that today. Still a steady strong headwind which made feel 9C pretty cold :-/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey bedwards you finally got a pic with the whole silhouette of your bike! Is the lake still frozen?


You must have missed this one. The lake hasn't even considered melting. I'm guessing there is still close to a meter of ice on it.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The icepack coverage on the rail trail has now dropped below 20%, but it's going to take at least another week to melt out completely, so it starts me on this internal cost-benefit analysis about when to switch from studded to regular tires.

i.e. how many extra kph is worth a crash.

The answer isn't straightforward.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That melt/thaw ice can be the sneakiest. Runs across the path at a slight angle during the day and freezes nice and black (and sneaky) at night.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Saw a lot of that kind of ice today on the gravel bike, but I think all of the dirt (winter sand/salt/mud) in the air from traffic on rtes 302/2 helps by coating those ice patches little bit.I worked late which resulted in more obnoxious cars today rather than less; gunning engine, honking horn, yelling unintelligible stuff. The worst was actually this morning - a dump truck with a raised wing plow that "had to pass" on a narrow street with oncoming traffic - probably wasn't that close, but it felt like it just about took my head off.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

55F/13C coming to work this morning! Supposed to be 75F/24C on the way home tonight. Shirtsleeves and shorts and I am enjoying every minute of it!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^ Saw a lot of that kind of ice today on the gravel bike, but I think all of the dirt (winter sand/salt/mud) in the air from traffic on rtes 302/2 helps by coating those ice patches little bit.


Pro tip: if you have to ride across ice like that, try to ride through a patch of sand first to coat your tire.

Nice Woodway. It was 12F here but that was great because the snow is so firm I can ride free range. For half my ride I just abandon the trails and rode through the woods. There is a video and my little blurb about it here. It also made for some spectacular sunrise pictures. You know when the picture never looks as good as the real sky. I got these pictures to look like the real sky.
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/03/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration_19.html

And if that weren't enough excitement for a days worth of commuting. I fell through some ice yesterday on the way home. Not the lake just a silly little marshy area that was getting runoff from the field. I was riding across the ice and saw it darken out because water was running under it. I hit the breaks and slid right onto the weak spot and crashed through. I almost aborted the ride but dammit the trails were riding good and a wet foot fatbiking is better than a crappy day at work, which I was leaving.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Chilly this morning at -1C but still a good ride. It was gorgeous on the way home. But with the knobbies on and the many many missed days this winter I'm slower than I would like. But it still better than any other mode of commuting.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow Woodway I hope that that is not going to be your summer with autumn lasting 6+ months after that....13C is what I am hoping for on the way home.

Bedwards wow those are nice pics. But that rope in the vid at 1:58 :yikes: who thinks of that?? And really a pro tip with that sand coating on the tire. Now that I think of it, that might be the reason why I can ride the unpaved section below freezing temps. I get a sand coating on my tire and therefore can ride over the frozen puddles without too much risk. Never thought of that....
And I do know that one pic, just did not count it as "full silhouette since it ends basically just below the axles 

Jeremy, what is that iron wingding in the background? 

MTBX sounds like that was too close for comfort indeed...did you yell at him?

3C on the way in this morning, 9C on the way home. It was sunny too but the 15kt wind made it still feel quite cold, although after the last days that almost felt like no wind at all. Headwind makes good training


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> 
> Jeremy, what is that iron wingding in the background?
> 
> ....


That is an steel statue of a dragon fly. Most of my trip to and from work follows the Museum Radweg in Baden-Würtemberg to the south of Stuttgart. This follows the Aich river and later the Neckar. Marking the trail along the way are several pieces of art in various forms. This piece is just on the eastern edge of my little town of Holzgerlingen. Some of the pieces are pretty cool some are just weird but they are there marking the trail the whole way. Here is a link to a map of the trail. I wish more of it were gravel but it is still nice to have a mostly protected path to and from work.

http://www.fahrrad-tour.de/Museumsradweg/Museumsradweg.htm

Here is a mobile made of bikes also along the trail. This one is in the gravel section.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Just a bit of ice remaining, which has been eaten enough by the sun that it's crunchy, not slippery.

No studded tires for the first time in 2019 = I forgot how quiet my bike is.

A pleasant surprise, given the lack of maintenance.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Yeah, bedwards - what was up with the rope that you ducked under?

jeremy_burke that bike mobile picture threw me for a loop until I read your description that it was there on purpose. Looks like a cool commute.

55F/13C for the ride in again this morning. Shorts and just a light jersey! Feels like summer! Supposed to be 75F/24C again for the ride home tonight. But rain and normal March weather return tomorrow.

Riding home last night it hit me how e-bikes have become mainstream when I stopped at a traffic light behind a millennial-something couple and realized that they were riding an e-tandem...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The rope was no big deal. It just blocks off the new septic system for our building campus so nobody drives over it.

Happy first day of spring! It sounds like a lot of you are starting to get some spring weather. We're not quite on board with that yet. This morning was about 12F. But that made for another fantastic day of free range riding. I posted 2 videos here. I tried not to make them too long. It's really hard to capture how much fun riding over rolling lumps and bumps is. This is probably the last day of it this year.
The Candid Cyclist: We Don't Need No Stinking Trails​I threw the road bike in the car to swap out for the trip home since it is supposed to get up to 45F. It is spring after all.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanx jeremy I see it now. 

Bedwards nice movies again. Who was with you? 

Woodway you are right with the ebikes. I also notice it more and more. And I see them in all sorts: eMTBs, e-citybikes, e-road bikes, e-fatbikes, .....

Nice and sunny this morning, cloudy but noticeably warmer this afternoon. Temps are slowly rising now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I convinced a friend that just got a fatbike that it would be worth it to get up at 5:30 @ 12F in the dark and join me for a ride because free range conditions are so fleeting. She had a blast!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Nice free range riding bedwards. Looks like tons of fun. I've been considering getting a fatbike to keep at my place in Central Washington. Your videos are pushing me over the line.

Had one more shorts/shirtsleeves commute last night - 77F/25C. A bit windy but that's a small price to pay for a warm/sunny ride. Noticeably colder this morning and the rain is coming.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'm glad to help. This might be a great time of year to look for one. I took one more video. I wasn't going to bother posting it since it is a little more of the same but if it helps to push you over the line...



 I caught a little bit of the sunrise in the beginning. The uphill parts are a little slow, sorry, tired. From 1:20 on is pretty fun. All the things I'm crossing that look like trails are animal paths.

77F!!! I was dreaming of that on my ride home yesterday. I traded to the road bike again but damn, it was 38F and windy and it didn't feel like spring.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I found myself staring into a driver's window again today at the same intersection I mentioned last week. I could have reached out and tapped his vehicle, if I wanted to, as he awkwardly cut me off at slow speed. I turned my bar and shined my light directly into his face. I'm glad he didn't gun it and cut the turn (he went slow and swerved wide), but he could have waited 1 second and turned behind me no problem. No need to be a jerk.

Yesterday I was coming up on an intersection that has a long red light. The light turned green and there were only two cars in line, so I gunned it in hopes of making the light. The second car sat and sat and sat. I slowed a bit and came up near the back of the car and watched as the light turned yellow then red. Right at that point, the car finally decided to make the turn. I got skunked.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sockeyous you seem to have some bad luck with the drivers these days?

Bedwards you make me looking at fatbikes too. I would love to make a fatbike ride on the beaches in the netherlands when I visit my relatives there. Last time I tried 26x2" tires with low pressure and that didnt work at all :-/ But I just got a cx bike because you have one too. Just to make sure what I am doing: How many bikes do you own?

Today was nice. 11C, cloudy, dry and hardly any wind. I did take the unpaved section again against knowing better and again my rear wheel clogged up with mud. This is a picture from last year, but it looks exactly the same (the bike is upside down, looking back of the bottom bracket): https://photos.app.goo.gl/3PFQ43Y43wkenpfQ9


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> But I just got a cx bike because you have one too. Just to make sure what I am doing: How many bikes do you own?


I should know that without looking it up, right. I'm holding at 10. I just bought one and actually sold the one it replaced. I kind of abandon that last step when I replaced the 29er with the 27.5" Whoops.

I think the optimum number is 5:

Road - Light fast fun
Commuter - Fenders Rolohf utility
Gravel/Cross - Gravel, bad roads, (maybe superfluous) 
MTB - FS, rough trails, exciting
Fat - Snow, sand, trails, smiles


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Here is a good opportunity for a poll - how many bikes do you own?

bedwards kicked it off, I'll add mine: I own four:

- My Titanium Habanero CX bike which is my daily commuter plus the closest thing I have to a road bike.
- An old steel CX bike that I use for riding gravel.
- My really nice 27.5" carbon FS mountain bike that I ride on the trails. ALso my back-up commuter for the rare times that it snows around here.
- An old 26" FS mountain bike that I don't ride anymore because those small wheels feel unsafe now...

I'm thinking I'll get rid of the old 26"er and replace it with a fatbike...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well I didn't actually list my current bikes. I posted this in 2013. I should updated it for 2019 since I've replaced some of them. The Candid Cyclist: How Many Bikes Is Enough Bikes. But not now.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I only have one. A 2016 Trek 920. Drop bar mountain bike. Can do many things, but nothing spectacularly. Reminds me of me. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I just have two 

2015 salsa el mariachi SS I bought it used. 

2018 Salsa Fargo That i plan to customize into the perfect adventure/gravel touring/ everything bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> I only have one. A 2016 Trek 920. Drop bar mountain bike. Can do many things, but nothing spectacularly. Reminds me of me.


Ha Ha, me too. Jack of all trades master of none.

If I had to pick just one bike it would be a fat bike and a cross bike.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Ha Ha, me too. Jack of all trades master of none.
> 
> If I had to pick just one bike it would be a fat bike and a cross bike.


You might be able to get away without cheating if you had a bike with clearance for chubby 3 ish inch tires, but got a second wheelset to throw on gravel tires. Anything less that 44 mm isn't worth it. Throw on one of those funky Jones bars where you can get all kinds of hand positions and I think you'd at least be comfortable on a wide array of terrain.

That said, I miss my single speed road bike conversion and regret selling it, but at the time I had no idea how long is have to travel from job to job every six months. Turned out to only be about a year. Kinda want a single speed mountain bike now...

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa I asked a question there....but good one bedwards. I have the commuter and gravelbike. Last one could do some roadstuff too with skinnier tires. And a krampug with two wheelsets could be the last 2 bikes I need. 1 extra bike might be possible. 7 extra and the missus is going to kill me.....and the kids would want 7 other bikes too ....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Decent commutes today on the Terra, it's nice to go a little faster with temps closer to freezing and non-studded tires. I like multiple bikes, not just for utility but to keep it interesting. Hence:
1 Orbea Terra gravel bike (I still have a backup CX Fort Race too)
1 old Litespeed 26" MTB now commuter/winter commuter (switch the tires)
1 GT BMX cruiser - for fun, high RPMs, and standing climbing - commute on it 1x/wk in nice weather
1 Santa Criuz 5010 FS for summer trailriding
1 fatbike for winter trailriding and occasional beachriding

Earlier this week another garbage truck did an unsafe pass, too close, and the rear wheels tracked particularly close, tsk tsk. The company has since disciplined the driver, who reportedly did not deny some kind of negligence, and even the regional manager was"not happy". Making the roads safer, 1 garbage truck at a time.

Not sure about tomorrow. Changing over to snow now and 6" +/- 6" forecast, so it may not be a bike day.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Finally trying tubeless tires. First commute consensus: I like it. Really smooths out the crappy streets in my neighborhood and the massive potholes left by the street department and gas company. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> (I still have a backup CX Fort Race too)


Are you trying to sneak an extra bike in there without really accounting for it? That doesn't pass the audit. :lol:

No ride for me today. I used the snowy morning and rainy afternoon as an excuse to take a needed rest day.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

So, I am seeing an average of about four bikes here. Although bedwards with 10 skews the average. But, four bikes must be the perfect number. Dutchman, you are cleared to get two more 

Uneventful ride last night and this morning. Happy Friday everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

RollingRunner has 6. 

A friend of ours just added a fabike (as seen in one of my recent videos) bringing her total to 5-6

Our household has my 10, wife's 6, one antique, 1 semi-rideable classic project bike, my daughters bike (that I am storing) and a unicycle. Bringing the total bikes under our roof to 19.5. 

But let us all remember Robin Williams estate auctioned off 87.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I took a lot of grief from the kids a few years ago for having Road, CX, XC, and DH bikes hidden at various locations on our premises, some of which had been mothballed for years.

Now, somehow, the kids each have a road bike and mountain bike, along with another MTB stashed at grandpa's house.

Criticisms of my reserve fleet have thus fallen silent.

*On the commute today.

Bikes with non-studded tires are apparently really, really fast.*


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Today was beautiful cold this morning but clear and pretty and beyond gorgeous this afternoon.










It's nice to have the sun back.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

woodway said:


> So, I am seeing an average of about four bikes here. Although bedwards with 10 skews the average. But, four bikes must be the perfect number. Dutchman, you are cleared to get two more
> 
> Uneventful ride last night and this morning. Happy Friday everyone!


Oh I would like written permission to get two more as well. Please provide this at your earliest convenience.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

What a day! 10C on the way in, and sunny 17C on the way home!! Stuffed buff, jacket and gloves in the pannier. Met my wife and kids on the playground shortly before home. 

No rest there though....Wrenched on 6 bikes from the other kids or mommies, most people dont care so much and so I always have to adjust brakes, gearing, saddle height, put air in the tires, adjust helmet straps and a lot of explaining why oil on a chain will make you happier on the bike. I know that not everyone can afford an expensive bike, but even the cheapes can be lubed and adjusted correctly. For kid that is important because a bike is mostly their best way to get around in the neighbourhood. And with that I make my little contribution to the local community here. I also always explain basic bike fitting and how a barrel adjuster works so people can do it themselves next time. Just my 2 cent contribution to make the world better for little kids on bikes...

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Absolutely Jeremy! You are hereby granted permission to get two more bikes. Nice picture too.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards your posting is below mine but posted earlier??

Yes nice picture jeremy, but there is no bike on it? And cleared to get 2 bikes extra. 

All in all we have over 10 bikes in the household but only 5 are rideable, plus other kiddy vehicles like bobbycar, balancebike, ....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Are you trying to sneak an extra bike in there without really accounting for it? That doesn't pass the audit. :lol:
> 
> No ride for me today. I used the snowy morning and rainy afternoon as an excuse to take a needed rest day.


Well, it's not actually at my house, does that clear me? I left it at a trainer party before Puerto Rico; I had to ask if it is still there, as I was not sure if I had picked it up - possible sign of too many bikes??. Terrible heavy wet snow today, left the house with bike and dressed to ride from my parknpedal, hoping it was only at elevation, but it was terrible everywhere all day. Crashes, roads closed,etc. I kept driving and then had to take a work car for a new windshield, and pick it up in the afternoon, ugh!

Check out the whiteout on the interstate (closest pic to my location is Brookfield).


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ha Ha. What's a trainer party.

Woodway, here is your daily dose of motivation to get a fab bike.
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/03/ive-heard-that-fatbiking-season-is-over.html

The commute was good. There are still a few cold mornings in the forecast to keep the snow firm. It was pretty close to freezing this morning and not quite cold enough for free range. It seemed cold enough until my front wheel broke through 2' of snow and I was ass over handlebars.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeremy_burke official permission given to add two more bikes to your fleet. The only requirement is that you post photos here. Nice sunrise pic!

bedwards, I've started browsing the local lists. Also a shop near my central washington place rents fatbikes during the winter and he may give me a deal on a used one. Your ride looks sweet! Although I am disappointed that there was not a photo of you riding over the top of that boat 

Dutchman - you post about wrenching on all the bikes but then post that only half the bikes in your household are rideable? Huh? "Die Kinder des Schusters haben die schlechtesten Schuhe" ? 

Went down into the mid-30's this morning, I actually had to put my jacket back on and get my heavy gloves back out!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> ... Dutchman - you post about wrenching on all the bikes but then post that only half the bikes in your household are rideable? Huh? "Die Kinder des Schusters haben die schlechtesten Schuhe" ?  ......


Got me there :blush:
There is one more rideable bike now since I aired up the tires. The rest are bikes that we never use but that we dont want to get rid of either, since we got memories with them.

Bedwards, that first pic is again calenderworthy - I didnt know you can fly too  I have also seen your new freerange fatbiking vids on youtube - I allowed myself to subscribe to your channel.

It rained a bit this morning but nothing big. It rained during the night too and there were tons of puddles on the road. I rode through most of them to get the inside of my fenders clean. During the first 2 minutes brown water was dripping out, after that it started to brighten up, after 5 minutes the water was clear. Mission accomplished. Who cleans a bike when you get rain for free :lol: ? Sunny and a nice tailwind on the ride home.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool fatbike pix and vids, bedwards! No crust here .

A trainer party was where we got 6 or 8 trainers into a basement and watched a movie, with instructions to sprint, ride no hands, go 2 gears harder, etc. when you witnessed certain movie-specific events, such as someone talking on a radio, getting shot, or falling (Diehard the xmas one).

Yesterday I found another dollar, in one piece this time. Doesn't anyone lose $20 bills??






I was riding back home from helping the LBS move 2 doors down to a bigger space.

Yesterday's ride was on the studded tire bike, and I still held my breath in a few spots in the a.m. Later it hit like 45F, which created a lot of ice overnight, as it was back down in the teens. A little nervous in spots on the gravel bike this morning, but made it in OK.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Had a great ride in today. I can really feel myself getting back in shape. Hopefully soon I can get back to 3-4 times a week again. It's was 0C this morning and not expected to get past 8C all day but it's dry and not much wind so I won't complain. This picture isn't from today but from my weekend fun ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Where are you Jeremy?

Too bad on no crust MTXB. I've been having a blast riding anywhere I want. I have 2 more mornings of it and then it is over. My wife joined me for this morning's ride in. Temps were in the teens (F). We saw a lot of deer but that's hardly newsworthy lately.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Where are you Jeremy?
> ....


I live in southern Germany near Stuttgart. A few posts ago I posted a link to a bike path I use for my commute that will give you a better idea.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Did you pass? How do you pass without scaring the heck out of the horses (or yourself)?

MTBX, I would ride that route more often since you seem to have a knack for finding money...

Rain last night and wet roads this morning. Otherwise uneventful.

Ordered new wheels for my commuter. My current wheels have just about 50,000 miles on them and they are showing their wear. Decided it was time to treat myself to new ones...


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

woodway said:


> Did you pass? How do you pass without scaring the heck out of the horses (or yourself)?
> 
> ...


I did pass. I was very nervous but the driver/rider was cool as a cucumber and so were his dog and horses. So all went well. The horses were wearing blinders


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Cool fatbike pix and vids, bedwards! No crust here .
> 
> A trainer party was where we got 6 or 8 trainers into a basement and watched a movie, with instructions to sprint, ride no hands, go 2 gears harder, etc. when you witnessed certain movie-specific events, such as someone talking on a radio, getting shot, or falling (Diehard the xmas one).
> 
> ...


At this rate you'll make a living just bike commuting.

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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A unique and cool scene Jeremy! 50K woodway, yes I think you deserve new wheels! Bedwards, not too many deer sightings here, I think they are still yarded up from the deep snow, the annoying kind the dog can walk on for a ways and then falls through. No roadside ATM today, but I only rode in as I need a work car for early a.m. fieldwork. Yesterday I biked downtown (4mi/1000 feet) and back, to find a towtruck in my driveway. Someone visiting a neighbor took the wrong drive and got totally stuck and off the driveway into the deep stuff. There is still so much snow that it looked like he did not even damage the underlying grass/dirt as he and the towtruck struggled to get out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I didn't rind any money on my commute either. i did find a fair amount of fun.








The free ranging continues. It was nice and cold again overnight and the free-ranging was fine. The afternoon commutes have been a little soft but the trails are surprisingly passable. We're supposed to get into the 40s today so I had my bike butler (wife) bring a road bike in the car to swap out for the ride home.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

First Road bike commute. 

I still have about 4 yards of icepack to traverse, but it's only on the route home, so..... I'll figure something out.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow another calender pic there bedwards!

Mtbx wasnt there a thread here lately about everything happening twice?

Dry ride this morning. Typical northern-german rain on the way home. You dont see it but you're soaked after 10 minutes. At last I was prepared so it was fine.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wow another calender pic there bedwards!
> 
> Mtbx wasnt there a thread here lately about everything happening twice?
> 
> Dry ride this morning. Typical northern-german rain on the way home. You dont see it but you're soaked after 10 minutes. At last I was prepared so it was fine.


I curious what prepared means for you.

Back in Oregon I just got wet in the rain. It was better than steaming in my own sweat. But my commute was 20km total a day. Here it's 64km so getting wet is more terrible especially in December when it's 5C.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride today but very slow. Weather finally cooperated when I could spend the time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Glad you were able to get out Brian! A spring ride is great at any speed!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, what did you get for wheels? Anything exciting? 50,000 miles is a LOT of miles to put on a set of wheels. 

It was the last fatbike commute (on snow) for this winter I fear. I'm about ready to let it go because my legs are tired. The lake has at least another week of good commutes in it but I'm on vacation next week. I expect it will be getting pretty near the end when i get back.

I took the road home yesterday. I didn't love it. It just seems cold and windy all the time right now. I'd much rather ride trails at 15F than roads at 35F. It's supposed to hit the mid 40s this afternoon so that should be good.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeremy_burke said:


> I curious what prepared means for you.


For me prepared means keeping my feet warn and dry (booties), keeping my hands warm (good gloves) and keeping my core warm and dry (good jacket). Head and legs get wet.



BrianMc said:


> Nice ride today but very slow. Weather finally cooperated when I could spend the time.


Nice Brian! Glad you got out.



bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, what did you get for wheels? Anything exciting? 50,000 miles is a LOT of miles to put on a set of wheels.


Nothing crazy exciting. My current wheels have DT Swiss hubs and spokes, Mavic Open Pro rims. I really wanted DT Swiss hubs and spokes again because of the great experience I have had with those parts on my current wheels, so I ended up buying DT Swiss ER1600 wheels. They should arrive in a couple of weeks, I'll post a pic.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Brian!! It doesnt matter how fast you are. Good to hear from you again!

Jeremy, ok my commute is 35min max. so it is easy to be prepared: I am wearing windstopper/softshell clothing with a good packing of durable water repellant. That makes me waterproof for anything except swimming. On your 64km commute I actually have no clue if it would hold up and hardshells would boil me too. In addition I have waterproof gloves, shoecovers and a helmet cover. 

Bedwards, are you going on vacation somewhere? Its gonna be empty here without your calender pics I guess....

10C and dry today. I noticed that spring is in the air. I wore the same stuff as with 10C in december but today I was totally soaked in sweat, and the sun wasnt even out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I nominate jeremy for calendar pictures in my absence. He's had some good ones. My sunrise pictures are about over anyway since I'll be back on the road. I find I'm much less likely to stop with cars around than I am in the middle of the woods or lake. 

I'm going to the Dominican Republic. I'll post some pictures (right MTXB) when I get back. I might do an ebike tour but haven't found anything else that is reasonable. Otherwise sitting on the beach with a drink in my hand. It's going to be rough!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Wow bedwards, that is a big responsibility I will endeavor to live up to it.










The ride in today was nearly perfect calm and beautiful with a sunny temperature of 5C. Kept an average speed of 24.2 km/h which ain't bad for a 42 year old over 33.333km on 27.5"x3" WTB rangers. I think when I get my 29" wheelset I'm gonna get a little bit faster tire. Maybe a Mezcal 2.6" I would go for a slick but I love gravel too much and I can't take that away from my Fargo. When I had Vee Rubber Speedsters on last fall I had a ton of issues with spin outs up hills in gravel so I need more tread than that to muscle up the steep stuff of the fun weekend rides.










Have a great weekend all. I'll see if I can post a few more pretty ones from the return trip tonight.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> Wow bedwards, that is a big responsibility I will endeavor to live up to it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Man, I love that bike. Drop bar mountain bike thing is fun.









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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeremy_burke said:


> Wow bedwards, that is a big responsibility I will endeavor to live up to it.


That's a good start. I think I've seen that tree before. I've always thought Big Apples did pretty well on gravel.

I'm back on roads even though they are rougher than the trails by far. It was my first time on my regular road route and I had a "hold on and pray the wheels don't come off" moment at about 35MPH where the pavement has just turned to shrapnel. I'm liking the new Ti commuter bike though. It got me through with no problems.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Headed home.










If every road was gravel there would be more smiles.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

One ice patch left. 

I'm just holding speed on my road bike and straight-lining across it.

I mean, what could go wrong?


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

NDD said:


> Man, I love that bike. Drop bar mountain bike thing is fun...[/IMG]
> 
> Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


It does look cool but in reality I don't use the drops that much. If i actually buy the Rohloff i want to get I'll switch to flat bars. Like the Jones h bar or maybe the Velo crazy bar.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> It does look cool but in reality I don't use the drops that much. If i actually buy the Rohloff i want to get I'll switch to flat bars. Like the Jones h bar or maybe the Velo crazy bar.


Right on. I kinda feel the same way about mine, and was actually considering getting Salsa Woodchipper bars to go on there. But maybe I won't. I feel like I'm mostly on the hoods, not in the drops, which is basically just like having bar ends... Sounds silly but I actually appreciate the bar ends shifters on my bike.

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pics there jeremy!

Ah bedwards you were there last year too right? I only remember you were ridng in some tropical place while I was setting a new low temp record.

NDD I have an eye on that bike already for a long time. How do you like it?

Spring arrived. 16C and sunny on the way home and tomorrow will be the same. Planning the first family ride tomorrow!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> NDD I have an eye on that bike already for a long time. How do you like it?


I enjoy it a lot, but it's a bit of an oddball. You can put a lot of weight on it and it's super stable. It is capable on a wide variety of terrain. It's actually easy to ride and comfortable. I could ride it all day.

But there are a few things. I ride singletrack with it, but wouldn't totally recommend it. It takes getting used to (it does help to have wider tires and tubless setup). It's also a slow bike in a lot of ways. I don't know how to explain it, but it just feels slow. And it's kind of a pig climbing hills. That could be my fault though. That said, I've never had to walk it to a hill. Where this bike would shine is beat up roads, gravel, and carrying large amounts of weight. You could probably haul groceries for the entire family, but maybe even then a cargo bike is better.

I think it'd be best going on a long touring adventure with the possibility to drop in to hit some light single track or gravel routes. I also like it as a commuter.

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh you are quick NDD! Thanks actually that sounds pretty well for the bike. 

I now realise I wanted to take pictures on the way home too but totally forgot. Will have to do it next week when bedwards is away. 

Have a nice vacation bedwards, and a nice weekend you all!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh you are quick NDD! Thanks actually that sounds pretty well for the bike.
> 
> I now realise I wanted to take pictures on the way home too but totally forgot. Will have to do it next week when bedwards is away.
> 
> Have a nice vacation bedwards, and a nice weekend you all!


If you can find a used one, I think it would be a great deal. I got mine for half of retail value because I bought it from a guy who is a certified Trek mechanic and he loved the bike, but did almost only rode on pavement and used his road bike, so he barely racked up any miles on it in the two years he had it.

Very versatile, except maybe for options to upgrade parts and this is critical. The wheels are 100 x 15 and 142 x 12 thru-axle, which apparently are quickly being replaced with wheels that have boost spacing. That's kinda lame. Also aftermarket forks are difficult for the same reason. Many are 9mm QR or boost wheels, which means you'd end up having to at least replace the front wheel. I think with non-aluminum drop bars and fork, this bike would benefit immensely. But that may not be a concern.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Got some friendly honks from a motorist going the other way - I have no idea if it was someone I know or a bike-happy person. Due to a confusing schedule with mixed car/bike commutes this week, I ended up on the ride home without my headlight. Fortunately I did have blinkers front and rear, and enough light at twilight to complete my ride safely. Still plenty of snow here, but at least the snowbanks are receding from the roadsides. Really annoying walking though, both the dog and I will break through and sink into the snow suddenly - I am ready to walk on solid ground again. I think I have had to use snowshoes on more dog walks than ever this winter.

Nice pix jeremy!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great ride in today. We are now on daylight savings here in Central Europe so the sun didn't make an appearance until I was 2/3 the way into work but it did it well when it joined.



















I don't know how many times I'll be able to commute this week with training at work busy home schedule as well. But I'll do what I can.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pix Jeremy!

Made a nice familytour on Saturday, 15km and it was real 19°C!! Visited the viewpoints at the containershipterminal and trainstation:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KV4RadWTc9ApwiY96
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5zLcBESY6RZuj4VG7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GEmy4SDBcb5puL9U8

Now I know why the new CX bike is so heavy: It has a sturdy and heavy frame that easily deals with the forces induced by towing the trailer 

Got some commute pix myself too  today:
with German accent: Zmoke onn ze wodder 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7hPRXCKZ4NiHCfgY6
and ice on ze trees
https://photos.app.goo.gl/V4DzEfMDEGaPY8EZ8

The fruit farmers were spraying the appletrees again because of freezing temps. it was -2C this morning and it harms the trees. Therefore they spray them with water. It builds ice around the trees and keeps them at zero Celsius exactly, which does not harm them.

The ride home was 12C but with a cold strong headwind.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

My ride home was 16C with the usual headwind. Tomorrow I will have to take the train as I have training at work and tired legs from too much fun riding on the weekend and today's commute.



















Over the bars once I was finally home. 0.1km to go.


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## jbadger1977 (Jan 17, 2015)

My commute today was awesome. Finally did something I had been thinking about doing for a while but finally had the opportunity to do: Sold my road bike and bought a barely used Scott Scale hardtail to commute on. Over the last year I have had sooooo many close calls with idiot drivers that I was really getting fed up with riding on the roads for my commute. I live right near a nice gravel trail systems and my road bike would have gotten the snot kicked out of it if I continued to ride that. So bought this little beauty and I can say now that I am going to enjoy my bike commutes again!!!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Way to go jbadger. Gravel roads are the best roads. Welcome to the cult. I intentionally add length to my commute so I can ride more gravel every time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, it was way worse conditions than expected this morning, the drivers were caught out too, it looks like a few had close encounters with the ledge on the side of the highway: https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Police-warn-of-icy-conditions-on-I-89-507936561.html

My ride in was windy, most headwinds but gusty from any direction, makking control an issue, particularly with the icy, snow-packed surfaces. At times the shoulder was better than the lane of travel, and other times it was just a dusting of snow over ice. Managed to stay upright and get to work. The temp was around 20F, after some rain yesterday. The way home was easier, less windy, warmer, and less sketchy.

Thanks for the photos everyone!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Dandelions along my route are ready to pop.

I've been really grateful for the sunny skies and mild temps lately.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, suddenly the forum is full of activity!

Some nice pics - thanks jeremy and dutchman.

Nice looking ride jbadger. Looks perfect for a gravel commute.

Still dealing with snowy roads mtbx? Seems late int he season for that?

Rode home in sunshine last night, nearly 70F/21C. It was right around 50F/10C this morning and should be warm again tonight although rain will be back for the rest of the week starting tomorrow. Otherwise uneventful commutes for me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Jeremy, is that your house with the slide on it? Reminds me of this guy's commute:





Good choice badger!

MTBX you still seem to have quite cold weather right?

Squaky, nature is ready to pop here too. We have had some sunshine, expecting 2 days with rain now, then again sunshine. So next weekend everything is going.

Uneventful ride in this morning, like yesterday, cold and sunny.
I got a flat on the rear tire halfway on the way home....and again it was NOT a classical puncture. I could hear it hiss and found a hole in the sidewall just above the rim, directly next to the stem valve. I took off the tire and found the tube folded double in that spot. Dont know if it has been in there like that since autumn when I put on the winter tires, or if it happened just before somehow. Anyway, I patched it and could ride home. But the sidewall of the tire has a cut of about 7mm and it has a buckle now, so it it is scrapped. Damn shame, I paid 50€ for it, it has 12t km on it and looked like it would make 20t km.....

I also made some statistics and I am pleased with the results:
During the repair
11 cyclists passed me
8 asked if I needed help 
3 were collegues that I know from work, 1 stopped and chatted a while, the other 2 were in a roadie group for an evening ride so they continued after making sure I was ok.
1 unknown cyclist gave me a rubber glove in case I needed to change the tube, so that I wouldnt have to make my hands dirty.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sorry about the flat Dutchman. But, it gave you a chance to remove the winter air in your tire and replace it with spring air!

8 out of 11 stopping to ask if you need help is a pretty good ratio. My experience around here is closer to 50%.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> .... But, it gave you a chance to remove the winter air in your tire and replace it with spring air! ......
> 
> 8 out of 11 stopping to ask if you need help is a pretty good ratio. My experience around here is closer to 50%.


:lol: spring air rides much better  No I took the spare bike today. 50% is still very good I think.

Good rides today, although the spare bike is not as comfy as I am used to, but it does the job without complains. Put some spring air in there too last night.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Weather is perfect today, but I had to drive. The morning got off to a rocky start. By the time I got suited up to ride, there was only 5 minutes until I had to be at work. I was still late, even after taking the car. Kind of a bummer.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

I "commuted" out to a friend's property last night to help rake trails and play on some dirt jumps. Took a rail trail halfway there...the adjacent river is flooding and parts of the ride felt like I was rolling through a swamp (path was dry and firm tho). Climbed up into the hills as the sun was setting with some nice views. Trails were wetter than expected, got a few runs in then chilled around a fire as the stars came out. 

Wednesday night roadie ride has started up so extra miles tonight


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Carcommute for me today due to a midday eye doctor appointment. No cataract surgery yet, but wear your sunglasses people, as they protect your eyes from cataracts! Terrible windy anyhow, 20-30mph. Unfortunately they continue tomorrow. The gusts were tossing my car around on the interstate, and a friend got blown across a gravel road on his bike. 20's F overnight, high in the 30's tomorrow. Snowing now, but it doesn't look like any accumulation is forecast.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Had to use a translator about cataracts MTBx, but it seems you make a good point there - sunglasses are one of the trigger factors and it is also one that is easy to do. 

I am free!! The spare bike does not have a speedometer so when I arrive I have no clue how fast I was. I now I notice I can live with that very well. I now enjoy my commute without worrying if I can keep my average speed after making the turn into the headwind on the second half....

I found out I can park my bike next to the building where I work now. I always thought the bikerack would be full already, but ít is the closest one to the ferry and later in the morning when everyone has arrived and taken their bike, there are enough places available so that I can park almost right next to the door. And the bikerack even has a roof so it will remain dry in the rain. Yay!


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## mjagr (Mar 28, 2019)

*Riding across the Bay of Quinte from Prince Edward County to Belleville, Ontario*

My morning commute crosses the Bay of Quinte from Prince Edward County to Belleville, Ontario. Awesome sunrises! I ride a Raleigh Amelia 1, and love it!


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

You winter commuters are unreal! I have no grounds for complaint. Inaugural commute on new bike.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Damn that bike looks good! More pics?

Rainy and warm today.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I had a great ride in today. Little slower than normal. There are several new construction projects underway and i have been altering the route so I can take more gravel and dedicated trails. Sorry no pretty pictures it was overcast and grey today hopefully on the return trip.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics mjagr and Taroroot! Taroroot, yes, more pics of your bike!

Winter commuting is an addiction.

Rain for me today too.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pics here gents! More pics and some info about the bikes would be great!

I rode the spare bike again. Commuted with my son to school this morning. Not so warm as expected today. Brought the windvest for the afternoon but put on the jacket again and just opened up the pit zips. Made my usual Friday detour to get some cheese from the farmer's market.

Some pics:
The cheese:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kBoAh3dHu4w9GwPV6
view in my pannier:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pnoVow2qZhjVUooC7
potholed road on the way home (at least there were no pools)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cQeNn5Z9CQvUjzuKA

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Home again. It was cool all day max 10C but it was great riding.



















And rewards.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey jeremy that looks good. And that hefe weizen shows that you are already assimilated ;-) and when it is alcoholfree, it is actually the perfect sports drink.

Ive been looking and those bike pics from you and I have some detailquestions
Why you have a strap on your pannier? No hook that fits around a tube somewhere?
What is that black disc on your bar?
Can you reach the bottle while riding?


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey jeremy that looks good. And that hefe weizen shows that you are already assimilated ;-) and when it is alcoholfree, it is actually the perfect sports drink.
> 
> Ive been looking and those bike pics from you and I have some detailquestions
> Why you have a strap on your pannier? No hook that fits around a tube somewhere?
> ...


Hey Dutchman, I wish I was strong enough to go alcohol free but alas as a foreigner that is in the early stages of learning the language the alcohol is a welcome brain relief at the end of the week. As to your questions.

1) there are several hooks over the tubes however I like gravel and jumping curbs and the lower hook has bounced off several times during my commutes so I added the strap to keep it from popping off and flapping the sound bugs me.

2) the black disc is a UE roll 2 Bluetooth speaker. 3 hour hours a day on the bike calls for some music or podcasts. I would wear earphones but I believe it to be illegal here and I am very cautious of breaking the rules here as they love them and don't speak much German yet.

3) yes I can reach the bottle quiet easily during rides. I wish I had placed the bottle cages here ages ago I love it.

Also to your earlier question. I wish I lived in a house with a slide but alas no. It's one of the local parks my kids love. I live a few "blocks" (an American measuring device) away.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

woodway said:


> Nice pics mjagr and Taroroot! Taroroot, yes, more pics of your bike!
> 
> Winter commuting is an addiction.
> 
> Rain for me today too.


Im still tweaking the bike, adjusting saddle and bars, etc., but its a sweet ride. Ill elavorate more when i get nicer pics, i might try hit some singletrack with it this weekend. 
A few weeks ago we had a cold spell, it almost dipped into the 50's, i shivered a little and pedaled harder.
Ah, a nice heffe! None of this trendy IPA stuff!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Anyone have experience with Bridgestone mountain bikes. Newfangled had an extraordinary specimen, but he doesn't really post anymore in here maybe? Thinking about getting one to convert to single speed trail bike and occasional commuter. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

NDD said:


> Anyone have experience with Bridgestone mountain bikes. Newfangled had an extraordinary specimen, but he doesn't really post anymore in here maybe? Thinking about getting one to convert to single speed trail bike and occasional commuter.
> 
> Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


They are great bikes and have something of a following. Their top end bikes were quite nice, mb zips and mb-1s were very nice steel frames.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in as the wind finally let up, but the snow/"wintry mix" on the way home is no longer welcome.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

root said:


> They are great bikes and have something of a following. Their top end bikes were quite nice, mb zips and mb-1s were very nice steel frames.


Now I can get a less renowned model for cheap but I figure it'd change wheels and drive train. It's still cheaper than buying a frameset.

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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

It was a great ride in today. I had maintenance day yesterday cleaned lubed and adjusted both my bikes, my wife's all three of the kids bikes and 3 neighbor's bikes. Bike rode great this morning. Hoping I miss the predicted thunderstorms this afternoon.










This is after the maintenance on the single speed yesterday.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

Alright, got a chance to hit some trails with the bike.
It's a new Fat Chance Chris Cross, mix of Reynold and Columbus tubing. Astral 700c carbon disc wheelset, Ultegra RX drive train, 46/36 front, 11-32 rear, hydro brakes, Whisky components stem & handlebar, KS Lev 60mm dropper, Fabric carbon rail & shell saddle, Ingelheart Yo CX fork. Yes, its a sweet ride, kinda crazy for a commuter. Still tweaking adjustments. Not jazzed on the Wolftooth dropper remote on the flat section, too difficult to reach. Waiting to see if the Shimano one comes out. I think I want ti King cage. Might change stem for slightly longer, maybe carbon bars. Toying with idea of going 1x, been trying out riding only in one chainring to see. 36 is a touch small for road, bit high for trail when I hit the really steep climbs.
It was pretty fun on the trail, it wakes you up and your line picking skill have to be in top form. This trail I was on is one of the smoother intermediate trails around, and I still managed to detect a few rim bottom outs, no flat tho. I'd prob want to go bigger tires than the 700x38's if I were to hit serious trail.
Oh, and I know black spokes are in vogue now, my FS trail bike has them too, but I honestly like natural SS spokes. Yes these Sapim XRays are the bees knees and all stealth black, but there's something about the glint of spinning silver spokes.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good commute today, but I wish it was cooler. We went from 30 degree mornings to 60 degree mornings in about a week. Right around the sweet spot. 

"New'" bike commute for me also. Picked up a 1991 bridgestone mb-5 for cheap. Nothing to write home about as far as components go, but it rides nicely, and I do like the frame a lot. Tange champion #2 double butted chromolly frame feels nice. Hoping to make it a single speed bike by the end of the year. Not sure if I should keep the wheels and replace rear hub with a single speed hub or build new wheels outright and go tubeless. It makes for a fun commute for now though. 

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Dang  NDD that bike looks good. Those old gearings are usually almost indestructable, why change it? 

Jeremy you wrenched on 9!! bikes yesterday? And nice pix there again.

Taroroot how big are the tires that you can fit?

Still on the spare bike - I didnt manage to change the tires on the main bike this weekend. Too busy around the house Saturday, and the weather was so good yesterday that we decided to go paddling and BBQ-ing at the kayaking club. 

Nice ride this morning, slightly foggy with the sun rising just above. Had 3 strange situations on the way home - a swerving opposite eBiker that made me brake and ring the bell until he finally went back in his lane. Then a car overtaking closely while opposite traffic was coming, finally an old smombi in the middle of the path. What was wrong with mankind today?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dutchman, it's mostly to have a project. In my mind I'll be motivated to be as good a rider as I used to be, too. The single speed thing then becomes a sort of chest-puffing activity.

Might change the paint scheme. It's almost too retro.










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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

The MB-5 is a great workhorse bike, man that one looks barely ridden!

The CC is stated to take up to 700x40mm but prob can get bigger, if you go 640b can go up to 2.1. I was going to try putting my MTB wheels with 26x2.35's in there, but realized the front thru axle for road bikes are different.
Its funny, I think this new bike is heavier than the converted MTB I was using. Granted though, that bike is pretty special.

Yeah, sometimes you get one of those weird days when you seem to encounter all the nuts. Full moon Fridays are what I call them.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Taroroot said:


> The MB-5 is a great workhorse bike, man that one looks barely ridden!


It is barely ridden. Belonged the guy's father in law and sat around mostly. He got it out, had a shop tune it up, replaced grips, tires, tubes, and a broken shifter. His wife just said they had too many bikes.

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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Dang  ...
> 
> Jeremy you wrenched on 9!! bikes yesterday? And nice pix there again.
> 
> ...


Yeah I sure did. It's was fun had the neighbors and my kids all roaming around. Most the derailleur tweaks were to the kids bikes. As well as the usual adding air to tires and tweaking out of adjustment rim brakes on the kids and wife's bikes. My two bikes are a single speed Salsa El mariachi and a 1x11 Salsa Fargo so the geo on my two bikes is very much the same but the experience is very much different. The single speed is all Shimano components and the 1x11 is all sram. It is funny how similar the experience is to what it was like between my wife's Honda CRV and my BMW 330ci. Both of these cars are the ones we had in the US before moving here. My wife's car never needed work was dependable and worked every time. My BMW always needed a tweak but I loved it. Now this may not be fair as single speeds are always going to be easy but even the brakes never cause issues while the SRAM brakes on my Fargo always need tweaking and squeak like maniacs from time to time. The Shimano on my single speed are always perfect. I love both bikes but the dependability of the Shimano single speed is hard to beat. When/if I get my Rohloff for the Fargo I'm adding Shimano brakes to the new flat bars because SRAMs just haven't proven as good to me. I know a long answer to a simple question.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yeah I know how that goes jeremy. I already worked on some bikes of the neighbours too, once they notice you can do it, they all come and ask. Especially on kids bikes I never say no, because for a kid it is their fastest and best way of moving around the neighbourhood.

NDD that bike looks almost to good to touch it.....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I enjoyed the morning ride, despite the rain and 35F. Rain gear works best at just above freezing, as you do not overheat. By 12:30 it was sleeting/freezing rain, and 3 tractor trailers crashed. At home, I both lost snow today from the rain/above freezing time, and gained a small amount of new snow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> I enjoyed the morning ride, despite the rain and 35F. Rain gear works best at just above freezing, as you do not overheat. By 12:30 it was sleeting/freezing rain, and 3 tractor trailers crashed. At home, I both lost snow today from the rain/above freezing time, and gained a small amount of new snow.


At least you have a nearly net neutral snow balance?

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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Ride in this morning was perfect rain held off until the second I walked into the building at work. Couldn’t have been better timed. Bike is sleeping here tonight. But we will make the return trip tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow mtbx you are really still having tough weather. I hope spring crashes at your place soon too!

Jeremy, do you have other options to go home? Since you are replacing bedwards, maybe your wife works in the same place too? 

Nice rides again today, sunny and a refreshing wind. I am starting to get used to the spare bike.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wow mtbx you are really still having tough weather. I hope spring crashes at your place soon too!
> 
> Jeremy, do you have other options to go home? Since you are replacing bedwards, maybe your wife works in the same place too?
> 
> Nice rides again today, sunny and a refreshing wind. I am starting to get used to the spare bike.


Dutchman as I am sure you know living here as well the German train system is very good so I can just take it home instead. I have plans in the morning that prevent a ride in but this way I can still ride home and got to skip some rough weather like a coward. But more importantly it really takes it out of me to ride multiple days in a row as I'm still building up and a full day for me is 70km in addition to work and german studies. I'll get there just not yet. My goal is to be up to four full round trips a week by the summer.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well be assured that I am not judging you for skipping a ride jeremy! Your oneway commute is already 3 oneway trips for me so I can fully understand that you need a rest someday :thumbsup:

I just wondered if you could take a train, bus or whatever. I also have the option of taking the bus, which I sometimes do when the weather turns too bad: too much wind or icy. I have the luck to work inside a secure plant area where my bike is relatively safe overnight.


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## Stack n Reach (Feb 13, 2019)

Day two of snowy commuting here, tough after trading the studded tires for 29x2 slicks. Actually fun to spin out (a little). I had the trail portion of my ride all to myself though. 

Jeremy 70 is a solid commute, even half that is a win!

NDD, that Brigdestone is great. Have fun with the project. 

I'm ready to take on a project too. I've been contemplating a "one bike" CX style but I like the versatility of the MTB with swapping wheel sets (commuting and trail). I have 3x9 now and I am ready for 1x or a new build. After riding SS the last few months, the 3x9 seems like too much time shifting so I just stay in a narrow range at the higher range of the second chain ring.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Dutchman no worries I too have a good covered and fenced storage place at work to park my bike. It isn’t indoors but I’m happy we have it. That and a locker in the shower room is a big nice blessing for a bike commuter.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeremy_burke said:


> ... But more importantly it really takes it out of me to ride multiple days in a row as I'm still building up and a full day for me is 70km in addition to work and german studies. I'll get there just not yet. My goal is to be up to four full round trips a week by the summer.


:shocked::shocked::yikes::yikes::rockon::rockon::thumbsup::thumbsup::crazy::crazy:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Dare I say it was hot today? I don't know what the exact temp was, but it was in the 70s on the way home. Nice weather though.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

A little more snow today, but i keep telling myself more snow is melting/sublimating than is coming down. Studs are off the Litespeed commuter, so spring must be here.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Apparently spring brings out the idiot drivers and cyclists. 

Today some guy in a work van went around me in the right turn lane to cut me off. Also countless people who basically don't know how to drive when a cyclist stops at the intersection so they just sit there, despite having right of way, until you wave them on (at which point the guy behind them goes too, because darn it they don't want to wait). 

The other day I saw a cyclist who would not give up his track stand. Even had to ride out of his lane into the opposing traffic lane and circle back to his lane to keep it up. Then he ran the red light anyway...

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I feel you ndd, had the same issue yesterday. 

Luckily no idiots on my way today. The ride in was lovely. Dry, calm wind, sunny and slightly below freezing but the sun was warming already. Temps climbed to about 10C on the way home but with a cold wind from the northeast. 

Hold on tight mtbx. Spring will come.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hi All! I'm back but not on the bike yet. There is all this damn snow around.  I haven't been around to monitor the lake so I have no idea how safe it is. So now the snow is just a pain. Also I got in a midnight and need to be at work at 8 after 14 hours of planes and airport delays. Blah.

NDD, welcome to the Bridgestone club. I've been riding mine for 25 years now.
The Candid Cyclist: Bridgestone MB-3



cyclingdutchman said:


> Ah bedwards you were there last year too right? I only remember you were ridng in some tropical place while I was setting a new low temp record.


Same country, different beach. We couldn't find riding as good here but we got by. These were actually E-bikes but the E part wasn't working for this biggest climb so I was grinding this 25kg bike that was too small for me up the biggest hill. It's all good. 








And good job jeremy taking over the picture taking.

Hopefully I'll get to ride tomorrow afternoon or Friday.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

The commute was slow today. Wind and spitting rain but I got a compliment about my bike from a guy that was obviously riding a self made E-Bike that I wish I had gotten a picture of it. I think fat wheel Fargo’s are not super common this side of the pond.

Thanks bedward welcome back. Hope you had fun.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards welcome back. Better take it easy, when I come back from a warm place to cold winter I often get a severe cold so I am careful with big temperature drops. Hope you are handling it better. And nice pic there, I see big smiles!

Jeremy you are right, I am looking for a fargo to testride for ages, but all shops here only sell them on order, mostly as a complete and custom build.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Dutchman you are welcome to ride mine if you ever come to Stuttgart.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks jeremy for the offer 

Apparently I got a cold yesterday. Sore throat and felt tired today, so took it easy. Luckily I was on a training today outside the plant which shortened the ride around 8 minutes each way, and it was nice to ride another route too. Probably taking the bus tomorrow...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

A screw mysteriously popped out of my bar end shifter last night while riding the Trek around town... So it was a commute on the BStone. A lot slower, but it's a solid ride and the cro-mo frame is so forgiving on the road chatter. Now I'm hoping I can get a spare screw set for my shifter. It is a 2016 sram 500 something or another so I'm guessing they want me to just buy a new one. 

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

NDD is that such a special screw? Otherwise you may find a used/broken shifter that you can use to cannibilise the screw?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> NDD is that such a special screw? Otherwise you may find a used/broken shifter that you can use to cannibilise the screw?


Probably not but I don't know a ton of people rocking bar end shifters right now. I'll talk to my buddy who has a bike shop. I was just surprised it happened at all.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> A screw mysteriously popped out of my bar end shifter last night while riding the Trek around town... So it was a commute on the BStone. A lot slower, but it's a solid ride and the cro-mo frame is so forgiving on the road chatter. Now I'm hoping I can get a spare screw set for my shifter. It is a 2016 sram 500 something or another so I'm guessing they want me to just buy a new one.


Like the flat head screw that holds it all together? I'd guess that the bike shop won't have it but you can probably (might be able to) get one a a hardware store or home improvement store. Take the one out of the other side and bring it with you.
Certainly here if you knew the thread. https://www.mcmaster.com/standard-flat-head-screws (Navigate to: Metric 18-8 Stainless Steel Hex Drive Flat Head Screws )

I brought the bike to ride home today. It feels like forever since I was on a real bike. I'll have to shuttle the car back home tomorrow but I'm jonesin for a ride.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

It's actually a 4mm hex head. But yes, the screw that holds it together.









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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Just great, chilly 0C, but clear crisp and I got to see this lovely sight.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> Just great, chilly 0C, but clear crisp and I got to see this lovely sight.


Awesome, Jeremy.

Went to the hardware store before work. Found a similar screw. Could you believe all the different classifications for screws? It's officialy an internal hex flat-head cap screw. Can't wait to get home.

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes nice pic Jeremy!

Well done NDD! Good luck fixing your bike.

My cold is getting better already, took the bus nevertheless today. And I came home 30 min later because of traffic jam => Cycling is better.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> It's officialy an internal hex flat-head cap screw.


... M6, 22mm, 18-8 stainless... Hopefully you found it in stainless.

I had a good ride in but am in disbelief at how bad the road I use is. It's the worst I have ever seen it with potholes through, I don't know, 8 layers of pavement. The shoulders are impassable but once they get cleared they should be better than the road.

Another good picture jeremy! About 0C here too but I think that may be the last of it. The next 10 days don't have any freezing temps and then we are solidly into spring. By the looks of that picture you are much further along to spring than we are. Green grass!? We haven't even seen ground yet. And the trees haven't though of budding.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I found 6 new kilometers of gravel to replace tarmac on my usual route and believe it or not I was a little faster that way. It did require me to climb a nasty steep hill but for 6 more km of gravel I'll take it.


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## UEDan (Apr 11, 2010)

Commuted on my new Chromag Wideangle with slicks... damn this thing is heavy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My bike was hospitalized Saturday after Firday's commute. It felt like the freehub was slipping, kind of a klunk under load, but not changing gears ot anything. On the plus side, my Litespeed MTB commuter was ready to pick up, it has brandy new chainrings from Blackspire, the original XTRs compatible with that 20 year old crank could not be found anywhere anymore, but for some reason Blackspire
started making compatible rings. Awesome as the alternative was a whole new drivetrain! It looks nifty, but haven't ridden it yet.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Winter is trying not to go quietly. Yesterday it snowed hard but didn’t stick and this morning it was -3C when I left home. But I made it in and can’t wait to wife home in the 17c it is predicted to be.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow jeremy, you have some nice looking spots on your commute.

MTXB, I wish your bike a speedy recovery! I bought a whole new drivetrain for my cross bike last season but still haven't put it on since everything is working fine.

Here are some pictures from my hiking and biking in Punta Cana. Not a lot, but more than we got out of MTXB's Puerto Rico trip. (or maybe I missed that post)  
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.c...r7KGeEUBT_-EDDDDyOP7xRwL0hRhNQLK_vxX4IZIi1Yr8

This morning was a cold spring rain. Not my fave.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Official Xtreme Spring commute. Just over right about 32 F (0 C) when I left, probably warmed up to 38 F (3 C) in 50 min. When I leave work it'll be 67 F (20 C). It's good to have layers. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, I'm thinking I'll have to slip the rain pants into a pocket for the ride home or it will be a sauna. I was pretty steamy in the 30s with tights underneath. It's supposed to hit 60 this afternoon.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I had a great return ride today. I packed shorts in the bag for the return trip and I’m glad I did. It was gorgeous and with the warmer temps I felt fresh, I made the return trip only 0:01:20sec slower than going in. Which is pretty good when you factored in going in is mostly down hill and return trip has 400m of elevation gain in the 34km. No pretty pictures as I was hustling but still two good rides today.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cold rain here too. One pic from the way in, a little stream by a car dealership was ripping. Flooding in the area today, but it doesn't look like my ride home is affected. https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Vermont-roads-are-flooded-and-closed-508582851.html

The other pix are older, do you like my new yellow bottle cages? I had white with black, which looked good with the white lettering, but I think I will keep these. The shot from the car is going down Hill St. from my house, it is easier than taking a pic while riding down.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The ride home was pretty warm! I left the rain pants at work and put the gloves in my pockets 1/3 into the ride. Still fleece tights and a rain coat over a long sleeved base was STEAMY.

So, today I went with shorts! It was only 38F but free legs feel good! I also rode in a little early so I could ride with my wife. It is supposed to be windy this afternoon!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rode my cx bike to work today and decided I dont like the seatpost rack with the trunkbag. Didnt fit everything so had to carry a backpack nevertheless. Wasnt much faster either, but I guess the difference with the touring bike will be bigger once climbing needs to be done. Well for the rest it was a great day. Sunny and 2C cold this morning, sunny windy and 16C on the way home. Didnt go for shorts yet but I had the thinnest windjacket on. 

And suddenly NBD today. Found a nice and cheap dahon cadenza folder in toen, went to pick it up immediately. It will need some work and probably new cables but frame and wheels are in good condition. That will be a new summerproject later.

Bedwards, nice trip report. Looks like lots of fun and sun for you and RR!

Jeremy, this is typical spring weather in germany. Winter in the morning, summer in the afternoon. The alternative would be 12C, windy and rainy all day. What is your preference  ?

Mtbx tos botzleholders are a nice touch and match well with the yellow accents on the front fork! Keep it!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Great commute yesterday. Had to meet at my bosses house to go do field work, so had a 7.5 mile ride each way. Got to see some new side streets and hills to climb. All in all, a pretty good ride. Although after having hiked and installed t-posts all day, I was feeling it in the way back. Having a predominantly office job has not been good to me. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been enjoying some nice weather here. I had to slam on the brakes again today for an SUV that was looking to pull out from a parking lot on me. Nothing like starting the day with a shot of adrenaline. Fortunately, the guy did stop. I was cruising downhill and had quite a bit of speed. The guy stopped at the end of the parking lot, but then started pulling out just as I was approaching him. He looked kind of distracted.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ditched the seatpost rack and trunkbag today and stuffed everything in my backpack. I found it much better although I actually dont really like backpacks, but I can live with it. Again sunny but with the wind it remains cold. Even 17C on the way home did not really feel like summer yet and I kept the windjacket on.

Public bank holiday season is here now - starting with Friday and Monday off for Eastern. Packing now, driving to the Netherlands tomorrow evening to visit relatives. We are taking the bikes and hoping to make some nice rides there.

Jeremy, I guess you will have a long weekend too?

Where is Woodway?


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ... actually dont really like backpacks,...
> 
> Jeremy, I guess you will have a long weekend too?


I didn't get to ride today but tomorrow I will. I totally agree about backpacks. I love them for life and hikes but I don't like riding in one. Tomorrow I get to try out my new Revelate Salty Roll on the ride. And yes my weekend starts tomorrow evening and stretches over a week. My parents are in town for a few and we are all headed to Ireland for the week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Where is Woodway?


Good question.

I guess it's about to get quiet around here. No holidays for me. I'm not s huge fan of riding with anything. 
- Since it is so infrequent I use a backpack when I need to haul stuff. 
- For daily use I use a fanny pack both for function and so people can make fun of me. Wallet, keys bike tools, pump, patch, phone etc.
- Each bike gets the smallest seat bag required to carry a bike specific tube because there is no way I am responsible enough to remember to put the right tube in my pack.

Rides have been good. Super windy last night. Near 0F this morning. This afternoon looks to be very nice. I may throw in some extra miles.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Where is Woodway?


Hey All - still alive. Crazy busy at work - my company makes computer vision software and we are testing it in conjunction with a US airline...so last week I was at the airport into the wee hours of the morning installing equipment. Slowly getting back onto a routine schedule!

Read your ride report bedwards, thanks for posting. Even if things were a bit run down, as you say it's still better to get out there and be active as opposed to sitting on a tour bus...

Dutchman, a folder! Cool. I would love to have a folder, just cannot justify it.

The yellow bottle cages match the yellow on the tips of the fork, MTBX. Always important to be color coordinated. It makes the bike go faster.

Great ride home for me last night. Light rain this morning. Weathermen says it's going to be a super juicy ride home tonight...


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I had some great rides today. It is definitely spring everything is really turning green. I am not sure if this makes me a horrible person but since this is my first spring in Germany all I can think as I hear the birds chirping is the lyrics to Mel Brooks "Spring time for Germany" from "the Producers" musical and movie. I'm not sure my host country would find it funny but in my head it sure is.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Just finished "Schindler's List". The musical "Sping Time for Germany" within the musical "The Producers" is a celebration of survivors of the holocaust. Even a beautiful country can be lead astray. What the Allies were forced to do to Germany to put a stop to the war, was another tragedy. So celebrating spring in Germany has a cathartic aspect. I think Mel would be happy.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

After 50K+ miles of reliable service I retired my old wheels for a new set of DT Swiss ER1600 Spline wheels. I've got a few rides on them now, and they feel really good. It makes me realize just how wobbly my old wheels had become. Here is my commuter with the new wheels installed:









I went with the 32mm deep rims for some extra beef. If these last me another 50K miles, I'll be happy.

55F/13C and light rain this morning on an uneventful ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

50K is just amazing on the wheels, the bike and the person! Nice looking bike, BTW.  Mine has about 250 on it now. 

I was just looking at my totals and I've clocked in about 50,000 miles since I got back into biking in 2009. 20K miles before Strava and then 30K logged there. But those miles are spread across about 18 bikes.

This afternoon is supposed to be pretty warm compared to what we have been getting. Oh, and I have to run a 5K tomorrow. So far I have run a total of 5K since last October.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Hey bedwards, how was the 5K? 
(talking to myself here) 
Great, thanks for asking. My legs are really sore today because I didn't train at all but I came in about 75th out of about 500. Even with my sore legs the commute wasn't too bad. The weather is finally springlike here with low 40Fs in the morning and high 50Fs the the afternoon. But it is supposed to rain this evening. I'm hoping I can get a 22 mile ride in and get home before it starts.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

No commutes for me. I have the week off and am enjoying Ireland. Here are some of the highlights.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards, well done on the run AND commuting on the day afterwards. 

Jeremy, nice pics. I know that first place too with the hexagon rocks. Its the Giant's Causeway right?

Just got back from a long weekend off. My mom had knee surgery and is in hospital, so we lived in her apartment for a few days. We made some nice rides to/along the beach and the dunes and enjoyed the perfect bikeroutes in the Netherlands. Will show some pics later this week, have to sort out my stuff for tomorrow now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm not sure what this bright, shiny thing is in the sky on my rides into work, but it's so bright I had to change to sunglasses this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm not sure what this bright, shiny thing is in the sky on my rides into work, but it's so bright I had to change to sunglasses this morning.


Can you describe it? I think I saw what you are talking about 2 weeks ago in Punta Cana but haven't seen it much since. Which brings us to my commute.

Yesterday evening, light rain. My "longest" ride of the year so far. 24 whole miles.

This morning, light rain. Rode in with my wife.

I hear there is a chance we may see that bright thing sometime in the next few days.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

After my long weekend I can say that that big yellow shiny thing in the sky makes life better. I have seen it 2 weeks in a row now already and it is so warm you need less clothes.

Nice commute today. Rode with sandals for the first time, bit chilly in the morning but still ok. The ride home wsa sunny but it was very windy, 20kt wind with gusts upto 30kt, so no handsfree riding this time. It was 20C on the way home, but the wind made it fresh enough for me to put on the windvest.

As promised, some pics of last weekend#s rides here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UYSU8GGgadEvmp8XA

The dunes and beaches are actually a nature reservate owned by a private nature reservation foundation and it was closed except for members of the foundation. A few years ago they changed their policy, widened the trails to gravelroads and opened them for everyone, so now you can make nice biketrips there.

My father was the local ranger and I spent a lot of time during my childhood there, so I could see how the landscape was changing over the years.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards you rode 12+24=36m after your run? I guess I would have difficulties walking after a 5k run...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The 5K was Saturday but 2 days after is always the worst for me. The riding muscles have so much conditioning that they usually function fine after runs. Who said I could walk? Morning and evening rides are 2 different rides, LOL.

Those do indeed look like some great areas to bike. 

So you use knots to measure wind over there and not kpm? That's not even remotely metric.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards, yes 2 days but still....

Actually it is worse for wind. Here it is expressed in beaufort scale 1-12. For comparison, 12 ist the same wind as an F1 tornado.

I work in the aero industry where everything is expressed in knots, as in the naval industry. And in addition it is quite universal: for mph add 10%, for kph it is double. I always read the airport weather reports which are quite accurate. Those weather reports look quite cryptic but here is a site with a decoded version:
https://en.allmetsat.com/metar-taf/new-england.php?icao=KPWM


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Of all things. I was biking to the auto repair shop to pick up the car after its 4-wheel alignment and new tires, and I got honked and and sped around by a friggin Red Cross blood donation van. There was no traffic, and the lane was wide enough they didn't actually have to change lanes. My thing is, I get it, I'm a miserable bastard, but you can't act like it on work time...GEEZ


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I've been so busy I forgot to report the guy who passed me 2 days ago on the curvy downhill from work (25mph zone too) and nearly hit the city bus head on. I know those buses have dashcams from filing a complaint with them before. It must be spring, almost all the snow is gone and this weekend is the first trailwork day. Have been able to bike in shorts for a few days now, sometimes knickers in the a.m.


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## Koin (Mar 7, 2012)

My commute was great! A little sprinkle, but overall it's getting warmer.

















The last cherry blossoms are finishing their bloom now. Just got my new juice built up and I'm very happy with the ride. Before I was commuting on a faux fixie, cheap steel frame with a shimano nexus 7, and a carbon Trek Domane. The juice is far nicer to commute on.

I really wish there was some dirt along the way, but Tokyo is just a huge concrete jungle. My juice seems a bit out of place compared to all of the fendered city bikes, but whatever, I'm having fun.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Koin nice pics. I ride along apple trees and they are blooming now too. Smells sweet!

Warm again today. Tomorrow will be the last day, 25C is forecasted and then it will drop to 16C on Friday...enjoyed the ride today but still no shorts. Going to pack them in my bag now right away!

I have had several similar situations the last time. Within the plant apparently an accident happened with a cyclist suddenly taking a pedestrian crossing and got hit by a car. They installed a fence immediately to prevent this. Now I have to get off the bike, walk, then get on and accelerate. Lots of drivers are too impatient and now the last weeks I regularly get overtaken too close, or even overtaken then they hit the brakes to take the next right turn...life didnt get easier on that spot.


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## Koin (Mar 7, 2012)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey Koin nice pics. I ride along apple trees and they are blooming now too. Smells sweet!
> 
> Warm again today. Tomorrow will be the last day, 25C is forecasted and then it will drop to 16C on Friday...enjoyed the ride today but still no shorts. Going to pack them in my bag now right away!
> 
> I have had several similar situations the last time. Within the plant apparently an accident happened with a cyclist suddenly taking a pedestrian crossing and got hit by a car. They installed a fence immediately to prevent this. Now I have to get off the bike, walk, then get on and accelerate. Lots of drivers are too impatient and now the last weeks I regularly get overtaken too close, or even overtaken then they hit the brakes to take the next right turn...life didnt get easier on that spot.


Thanks cycling dutch. Any pics of the apple trees? Now I want apple pie, lol.

That sucks about the fence. I've always dreamed of having a pellet gun or something attached to my bike to snipe the tires of people who drive like jerks. Of course that'd just end up being a really dangerous situation for everyone, but in my fantasy head, we're all invincible like cartoon characters, lol.


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## Koin (Mar 7, 2012)

jeremy_burke said:


> I found 6 new kilometers of gravel to replace tarmac on my usual route and believe it or not I was a little faster that way. It did require me to climb a nasty steep hill but for 6 more km of gravel I'll take it.


That looks like such a nice route to take daily. Sounds like that section's a keeper!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice bike Koin! Pretty photos too.

Hey Dutchman, I like your photos. Especially the one of your son giving the thumbs up. Looks like some great riding.

Congrats on the run bedwards.

Nothing exciting to report for me. Typical spring commuting weather...sometimes sunny, sometimes raining and slowly warming up. I am seeing more and more bike on the road every day.

Bike to work month starts next week and then the bike activity will really pick up.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

No commutes the last couple of days, as I've taken two days off to leisurely do bathroom renovation, which is gonna be ongoing....

Anywho, another inexpensive bike in the stable: Redline Monocog Flight. Unfortunately these were aluminum, but this is a pretty darn fun bike, and will assuredly prevent me from turning the Bridgestone into a single speed convert. Bummer because I wanted to build the wheels, but also a heck of a lot cheaper. Rode around the park this morning, and I'm pretty sure this is the bike that is going to help me get back into good biking shape faster. It'll be perfect for my 1.5 mile commutes to work on days when I can't find time to put in more than an extra mile or two. 

Stay safe, y'all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^How many bikes does that bring the total up to NDD? 

Nice pictures Koin. I have a hard time wrapping my head around climate in Japan. 

Grass is begrudgingly staring to turn green here. Today was just around freezing but undeniably one of the nicest days we've had for commuting lately. No wind, bright sun and clear blue skies. 

I tried to do a very short run after my commute to attempt to train for the next 5K. My legs told me to go F myself. I guess they need more rest.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

That would be three. May let go of the bridgestone, but don't yet know

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides again today. Rode with my wife n kids to school and to work after that. Varied the route home and finally rode in shorts and sandals. After all it was 23C and sunny. 

Nice find NDD. You now have your ss bike so the bridgestone can stay original. Safe rides!

Bedwards still so cold at your place??


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

So if you build a mixed use trail and a dedicated walking-only trail, 50' apart, starting and ending at the same location, approximately 95% of pedestrians will walk on the MUP.

About 25% of that subset of pedestrians will yell at passing cyclists to slow down.

Yeah, I already miss winter.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

ghettocruiser said:


> So if you build a mixed use trail and a dedicated walking-only trail, 50' apart, starting and ending at the same location, approximately 95% of pedestrians will walk on the MUP.
> 
> About 25% of that subset of pedestrians will yell at passing cyclists to slow down.
> 
> Yeah, I already miss winter.


This is exactly how it is going through the park near my house. They built separate MUP and walking trails that are mostly next to each other. The walking only trail is distinguished by being mostly fine gravel. You can guess which trail sees more feet...

I bet you're pretty relieved at the idea of the Bridgestone staying original, huh Dutchman? No more bad dreams about hipsters modifying perfectly fine vintage bicycles!

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> I bet you're pretty relieved at the idea of the Bridgestone staying original, huh Dutchman? No more bad dreams about hipsters modifying perfectly fine vintage bicycles!


LOL, I didn't know you were a hipster.

Dutchman, yeah it was 34F yesterday and around 40F today. It won't be long now before it warms up.

Not much to report. I did 10 out of 10 legs of my commute last week and it will be 9 of 10 this week. I'm bringing a car home this afternoon but it's supposed to be pouring so that's fine with me.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL, I didn't know you were a hipster.
> 
> I don't think I am, but that's not for me to decide. Today I commuted to work on a single speed mountain bike wearing a backpack instead of panniers and jeans with a rubber band on my right ankle. I bunny hopped all of the potholes. You see, now.
> 
> ...


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## Koin (Mar 7, 2012)

Thanks guys. 

The climate in Japan is really nice most of the year so far. It's got way more seasons than I'm used to coming from Abu Dhabi as well as my home in North Texas. The summers are brutally humid in Tokyo (exacerbated by the fact that we have to walk everywhere and take public transportation, which works very efficiently but it doesn't replace sitting in a car with A/C blasting, lol.)

My commute today was a bit foggy and cloudy with some light mist. However, today I realized that my SLX M7000 brakes lack the free stroke adjustment that I used to have on my old XT M785 (which I gave the whole bike to my niece for commuting to school).

That sucks about the pedestrians ghettocruiser. Everyone just needs to ride bikes everywhere and the whole world will be a happier place, lol.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

NDD I was not saying you are a hipster. Hipsters are supposed to ride roadbikes btw, at least, that is what the google image search showed me. So no worries for you on the vintage MTB.

So for the Bridgestone, it was not about changing the original state, more about keeping that good old gearing. I still like those good old 3x7 gearings that still last and last and last....

Changed bike in the last minute this morning. Wanted to ride the CX bike but it rained just before I left, so switched to the fendered touring bike in the last minutes. In the end it seems I am about 3-4 minutes slower on my 7m commute with the heavier bike. Made my usual detour and made 30km today and rode all working days this week.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dutchman, I'm just giving you a hard time. I have no tattoos and don't have a well groomed beard (mine is very unkempt), so I can't really be a hipster. 

Good job on racking up the miles!

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^so you do have a beard? So you are only missing the tattoo :lol: 

I only have a moustache during movember.....


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I don't want to dump too much on pedestrians, as the're the only road user group that gets run over more than cyclists in this town. 

But these guys...headphones, off-leash dogs, eyes never leaving the phone screen... and then a big "no-look" when stepping off the curb... self-preservation instincts are MIA. 

At least it's finally daylight in the evenings, so their all-black-clothing camouflage has ceased to work until the fall.

It was bucketing rain today, so there was no one on foot anywhere anyway.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^so you do have a beard? So you are only missing the tattoo
> 
> I only have a moustache during movember.....


Yes, for now. I actually have considered getting one tattoo, a botanical illustration of a tomato plant with the old name "Lycopersicon esculentum" below. This has to do with family history.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Soggy and 40F this morning, not the best. I did get a new Showers Pass Rogue Hoody softshell off steepandcheap which is really nice for this type of weather. I thought I would not use it until fall, but I have already worn it on 2 rides with the cold rains. More breatheable than most raingear. A bikepath project across the river in Montpelier is creating a lot of un-fun traffic, speeding dumptrucks full of dirt, this morning one ran a red light way after it had changed. Yesterday was ice-out on Joe's Pond, I did not win the contest. https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Ice-out-at-Joes-Pond-509072121.html


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

NBD - I pulled the trigger after 2 years. Out the door at 0530. Nice and cool, there was even "fog"/"mist". The supernova headlight is every bit of 1100 lumen...holy cow. I'm still feel very cautious about bike lanes. The route I take has both dedicated bike lanes and extra wide sidewalks. They are repaving the long stretch on the busiest road, but where they have already repaved, the bike lane is VERY wide with a double line, it's super nice. However, just a few feet over is brand new 4 ft wide sidewalk. I'm wearing appropriate clothing, I have rear lights, and I stay center/right in the bike lane...but I still don't like traffic passing me at 55 mph.

I went with a brooks B17 saddle. Not too sore, but I'm sure the ride home will be a little more sensitive than the ride in. I'll be curious about my leg and saddle fatigue tomorrow. 

This was the first commute to work where I had a smile on my face riding in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> Dutchman, I'm just giving you a hard time. I have no tattoos and don't have a well groomed beard (mine is very unkempt), so I can't really be a hipster.


 Oh, so these are the criteria? I may be falling into hipster territory. I'm growing out a tuft of hair on my chin and have 2 calf tattoos. But I never could figure out why people like singlespeeds so maybe not.

I took a moderate 40 mile ride around Sebago Lake yesterday. The commute was uneventful, cold but dry.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

No commute for me today. It would have been same-o-same-o boring anyway  I'll be back at it tomorrow.

I did get a great MTB ride in yesterday with friends in over the weekend - need to do more of that!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have been riding in the same gear a while a few days, just to see how it would be to be on a ss. But I guess I am not falling in the hipster category at all: No tattoos, beard, or SS....

Bedwards that 40m ride sounds like "I was bored and had nothing better to do" 

Woodway can you not vary the route a bit to make it less "same-o-same-o" ? 

It finally rained this morning. I put on the hardshellpants and the windstopper jacket and was fine with both. 8C was the right temp to not freeze or boil. Still I liked the way home way more, 16C and sunny.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards that 40m ride sounds like "I was bored and had nothing better to do"


Au contraire! I was out on a beautiful day with 2 beautiful women. I had plenty I should have been doing. But I guess you are right, nothing better. 

"It finally rained ", damn, it finally stopped here. But only for a day and a half.

Woodway, that doesn't sound like you.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Really it hadnt rained for 3 weeks here at least. I have sowed new grass in the garden and it is now finally starting to grow.

Well you are right with 2 ladies on your side it cant be boring :thumbsup:


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode my old Cannondale as a single speed commuter for 4 months before I sold it and bought my El Mariachi SS. But for my 68km commute I ride with gears but my weekend rides are almost all SS. No tattoos though. No fixie, freewheeled single speed.

Today's rides were slow but pretty. A week off and wind really did me in.










Saw pretty old town Tübingen this weekend.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, so these are the criteria? I may be falling into hipster territory. I'm growing out a tuft of hair on my chin and have 2 calf tattoos. But I never could figure out why people like singlespeeds so maybe not.
> 
> I took a moderate 40 mile ride around Sebago Lake yesterday. The commute was uneventful, cold but dry.


Single speeds are fun for a lot of reasons. I like the simplicity, I like that nothing is easy for the rider, and I like that I can do 12 miles and feel totally zonked.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, I've heard the arguments and never tried it (since I was 15) so I can't judge. I just know that I use one end of my gear range to the other on almost every ride. I certainly don't need a reason to buy another bike either. 

The ride in was pretty good, still chilly but the rain held off and there was no wind for a change. I was taking it easy today.








The Lake Was Like Glass​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Dry this morning, if you dont count in the fog. 6C felt pretty cold this morning. Temperature in the afternoon got stuck at 16C, where 21C were predicted. With the sun out it was good nevertheless 

No commute tomorrow, 1st of May is Labour Day which is a public holiday here. Not a day to go into town though, traditionally riots in town on this day, so I am planning a family ride outside of town if weather permits....


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

If every morning was this temperature, it would be easy to be a bike commuter in Florida. Zero humidity coming in and it was a great ride. I've never had full fenders before, so I was a little startled when I picked up a few "pebbles". My lord that can make quite a racket bouncing around. I mentioned on Monday that I'm still a bit nervous in the bike lane but it's also a bit disturbing just how much debris stacks up in the bike lane. The last thing I want is a paint chip from any of these pebbles.

I'm pretty excited that I have pulled off two days of commuting and anticipate commuting on Friday. Trying to give myself rest (every other day). My legs are fine, I did quite a bit of stretching on Monday. My knees are sore and between my shoulder blades. I was aching a little bit at the end of the ride this morning. 

My plan is every other day this week and next, but I'm really going to make an effort to ride every day for National Bike to work week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That's awesome Jelako! Keep the buildup slow and you should be in good shape. Are you on the e-bike? When is bike to work week anyway? The pebbles do make a racket especially with aluminum fenders. 

I'm ready for a morning commute where the temperature doesn't start with a "3". Maybe I'm just being impatient. I went a little long this morning and got in 20 miles.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> When is bike to work week anyway?


May 13 - May 19....National Bike to Work Day is May 17 (Friday)

Yes - I pulled the trigger on the eBike. I absolutely love it. I went with a leather Brooks Saddle (B17) and Crank Brother Double Shot 3 pedals.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Nice! Which bike? My first e-bike experience was on vacation. You do still get some good exercise especially if you keep the assist at a low setting. 

It seems like for whatever reason I end up not biking to work on national bike to work day even though I do almost every day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good luck jelako! Hope it is going to work out for you!

Bedwards 20m BEFORE work? Are you on late shift, getting up very early, or superfast?

I didnt commute today but spontaneously went for an overnighter 2m from my house with my 4year old son. Strapped his sleepingbag on the back of his bike, had 2 panniers and a rollclosure bag on my own bike. Left at 7pm, were back 9 am this morning. It was 8C overnight and we slept good. My son just fell asleep later as usual because it was not dark outside until 9.30 pm. We saw some goose and 3 roe deers, of which one was pretty curious and kept looking what was going on in that strange little green hill that wasnt there before. He already said he wants to do it more often but "with cooking a meal next time". Because of the short time we had I didnt bring a stove....so plans need to be made soon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards 20m BEFORE work? Are you on late shift, getting up very early, or superfast?


Yes. No, 8:00, A little early, 5:30 but I didn't get out of the house until an hour later. Occasionally fast, occasionally slow. Today 17.4MPH

I like the spontaneous bike-packing adventure. Very cool.

Can it please be 5:00!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Rode in with bare knees today. First time this year in shorts on the trip in. Maybe it was too cold for that at 6C but I wanted to and it turned out ok. I’m still a little slower than I want to be, I just gotta keep cranking. I’m pretty sure my speed drop lines up with the route change that added about 5-6 more km of gravel to my 34km route. But the extra smiles are worth the 6-10 more minutes the new route takes. Ride safe today all. And remember when you are out on your bike do wear white.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

White? I'll go down to about 2C in shorts as long as my core is warm but not every day. Like today. It was about 6C but rainy and damp. I had tights and some rain pants on. So far our spring has been a lot colder than normal. 

So, dutchman, Jeremy is doing 20 miles before work and after work every day.  

I only had to do 7 because I dropped my truck off to get the winter tires removed.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

You guys make my 7m commute look like kindergarten.

I wonder if shorts at low temps can harm your joints, especially knees, on the long term?

Windy today. 13C on the way home but windchill made it feel much colder.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Yeah today the wind was really ripping on the way home. It added a good 15 minutes to my route, 20 if you look at my fastest day. Few drops of rain here and there. It was pretty though.









There is a lot of art along my usual path. Some of it I don't understand.

There are also fields of blooming mustard? I think.










Also I think my Bottom bracket is going out and maybe my chain. Guess I have a project this weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> You guys make my 7m commute look like kindergarten.
> 
> I wonder if shorts at low temps can harm your joints, especially knees, on the long term?
> 
> Windy today. 13C on the way home but windchill made it feel much colder.


I'm sure Pearl Izumi (or some other cycling clothing manufacturer) has done a study on it.:skep:. But when you hurt a joint what do you do...you ice it. I'm just saving a step.

The ride home looks like cold drizzle. Spring please.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Only three days in and had my first ride in the rain. Can you rainex your glasses?

Are you guys sitting down for this bit of wisdom from the new guy?



> "Motivational" music...motivates"


Turns out...if one listens to music with 90-120 bpm one tends to pick up the cadence a tad more than listening to podcasts.

As a 40-something...Sirius XM streaming app has the Lithium Workout channel. 90s "grunge" and alternative. Foo Fighters on a straight away:



> All my life I've been search for something...


I had a really good first week of commuting. I did mon/wed/fri giving myself rest on Tue/Thr. Legs feel fine. Knees are "achy" and between the shoulder blades is tender after about 45 min. I might tweak my saddle a tad this weekend. I caught myself this morning a little forward. Slid my butt back and sat my hips down. The one area I thought I would be the most sore was saddle sore, and I'm not at all.

The weather is supposed to be scattered showers all afternoon, so it might be a fun ride home.

I plan on doing the same 3 days next week, but the full week the following week for bike week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako, I listen to music for most of my rides. I leave it at home when riding with others or if I am away from traffic. Some people will tell you it is dangerous but I've got 50,000 miles of paying attention to my surroundings with earbuds in. Actually, just yesterday I was riding without it and some asshat in a pickup screamed at me trying to startle me. In those cases not hearing is safer. Nice job on the commutes!

My commute was pretty good for March 62nd. Next week is forecast to be a lot warmer like it should be.

Here's my review on the new commuter bike. I just topped 500 miles on it this spring. https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/04/bring-on-heat.html


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Some people will tell you it is dangerous...


https://aftershokz.com/collections/homepage-collection/products/trekz-air

Aftershokz bone conduction headset--I'm never fully tuned out.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Meh, I own a pair. It reminds me of listening to a $5 AM radio.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Meh, I own a pair. It reminds me of listening to a $5 AM radio.


They are not the same as my BOSE, for sure, but I was counseled last fall that my co-workers were complaining that I was walking around with earbuds. So for "optics", I wear the bone conduction and no one complains.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jelako rain and glasses are a problem that science could not solve yet. And when do we see a pic of the new eBike?

I dont listen to music. I tend to align my cadence with the rythm so its distracting me and annoying. 

Windy and around 10C today. Got in something urgent just as I was about to leave so couldnt make my usual detour anymore. At least I varied my route so the ride home was at last different, albeit not longer.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Hey all,

Just wanted to drop in and let you know I'm still upright, mostly. I finished last year very strong and logged over 5000 miles. This year has been slow as we had our last snow over the weekend. Lots of snow and ice this last Winter and Spring. Three weeks ago it hit 80 degrees and and of course the bike path was full of people out for their first ride. I had a pretty spectacular wreck and tacoed the front wheel. Just got my new wheelset delivered and hope to be riding my commuter next week. Still, I've been riding the Cosmic Stallion to work wishing it had fenders due to all the rain the last two weeks. 

Otherwise, no near misses or other deliberate attempts by drivers to shorten my life. Glad to see a lot of familiar names still posting. 

Have a fantastic weekend all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey z1r I'm glad to hear you are still upright. I always wonder about the frequent posters here that disappear without a trace. Sorry about the crash. Of course I'm now wondering about the cause. 

It's raining yet again but I have to shuttle a car home so I don't care today. It would be worse if it was a beautiful sunny afternoon.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Fell off the forum mostly because I was busy as heck at the end of last year. Too much work and no time to post.

I crashed because I was mostly being an idiot. I passed someone turning off of the path and onto a bridge by passing on their right in the gravel. The gravel was the same kitty litter color as the cement path. I couldn't see until it was too late that the lip of the path was much more pronounced that I thought. I was flying, had a good day, and pinch flatted the front tire when I hit the lip. I almost saved it but ultimately lost it and the front wheel ended up under the steel barrier leading to the bridge. The barrier did a number on the front wheel. I escaped relatively unscathed with just a raspberry on my right elbow. Scraped the levers on the brakes but otherwise, no other damage except to the wheel. It must have been a sight to behold because the homeless encampment gave me a standing ovation, lol! I repaired the tube and despite the dents and gouges in the rim, was able to ride the remaining 3 or 4 miles home.

Needless to say, I have been endeavoring to exercise a bit more common sense recognizing that the path isn't a racetrack!

I will try to do a better job of keeping in touch. Besides, I get a lot of inspiration reading about other's exploits!


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

Gotta remind myself, keep your mouth shut and just ride. Yelling at drivers does no good. Commute in to work approaching intersection im in bike lane keeping sharp eye on cars. Pickup truck takes the right turn in front of me without signaling, i was pretty much anticipating that. I let out a “nice signal” which the bruddah’s response was to flip me off. I yelled back “its the law”, but do you think hes going to change his behavior? No. 
Same commute yesterday morning, roll up behind lady in her Honda. I yell out “get off the phone” as she poked along as she was texting, totally oblivous that there was a cyclist behind her yelling.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Spring has been cold and rainy here too, it is becoming a bit tiresome. Today was less rain than forecast, mostly a mist, but around 40F. Due to the forecast I opted for the Litespeed MTB commuter that was already dirty, but when I went to aid a bit more air, the valve core shot across the room and was nowhere to be found. Rather than try to find one, I cut my losses and too the gravel bike. 

Last night I drove up to Burlington VT for the fun Queen City Bike CLub ride which tours around downtown and on the bikepath with a boombox in tow, endiing up at a local brewery. Took the BMX cruiser with its new carbon bars. Still fun, but still cold and wet.

I do earbuds on the solo non-woods rides too. I would not recommend them for a beginner commuter, or on a new route, but once you have done your route a bunch you know the danger spots, and also that if someone is going to run you over earbuds don't make a difference. Remember the 9 riders someone plowed into? They did not have a chance for evasive action, despite surely hearing the mayhem behind them. I also like that I am less easy to startle by rude behaviors like yelling, honking, revving,etc.

Today the drivers were pretty decent. The best part of the day was my dog ran up the trail before work as if shot from a cannon...I look up the trail and see a porcupine waddling across. Somehow the dog came back without quills.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

It was a lovely ride for the first 29km 0C and clear. However the rain started for the last 5km and rain at 1C is cold man. Still a good day though. I even got to see a fox scamper into the woods. Not my first but always pretty. No picture this morning but here is one of the lovely electric green from yesterday's ride with my son.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I'm glad your dog escaped unscathed, mtbx! 

Sounds like some of us are experiencing road sharing problems, that's a bummer. After an unfortunate week off of commuting due to a conference and then traveling through Indiana to see different folks I know, I'm ready to either walk or bike to work today. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I don't like wet roads.

Made really good timing. It is nice to finally have a ride with fenders. It is interesting to read commuting from other parts of the country. Most of you posting on how chilly it is. In Florida, rain and humidity are this seasons weather challenges. We had some VERY intense storms run through the state yesterday. The roads were still very wet and the humidity just added a layer of moisture to the roads. They are/have been repaving quite a bit in my area so the brand new asphalt with that moisture does make for a concerning, slick ride. I was mindful of my speed and tried to maintain a heightened awareness. This also tells me to continue drinking my water as the morning will start to heat up and it will be like riding inside a running dishwasher.

Question for the veterans, when weather conditions change; in this case wet, how much do you adjust your riding style? Florida is known for their afternoon showers. I don't mind riding in the rain, but we get some tropical storms. Water is fine. Lightning, not so much. I will probably hit the chain with a couple drops of lubricant and make sure the bike is fully wiped down.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

In wet weather, for the most part I just watch my speed, pay more attention to the road surface, and avoid having to grip the brakes too hard. For instance I've totally wiped out after a spring shower hitting my brakes while going over a crosswalk, because that paint gets super slick, that and making hard turns over road paint. 

I've always avoided riding of there are thunder storms, but have been caught in a couple if they were unpredicted and I didn't know to wait. If I can I'll find an underpass or something in those cases. One time there was lightning that sounded like it was within a dozen meters or so of me. I got off my bike and tried not to be the tallest thing around. Scared the bajeezus out of me. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Spring has been cold and rainy here too, it is becoming a bit tiresome.


 Amen. I think spring finally broke through today! Great news on the pup not being an idiot.



Jelako said:


> I don't like wet roads.


 If I remember right they call that "Florida Ice". Fresh rain on oily roads. I try not to head out into a thunder storm. I can usually time them pretty well on the radar and wait them out if they are scattered. If I do get caught, we have a lot of tall trees so I always feel like they will get hit first. But as NDD said, when lightning strikes close it is an awesome and terrifying thing! As far as wet goes, slow down for any turns and avoid anything metal or painted. If you are crossing RR tracks at an angle you might as well just get off your bike and slam your head into the ground. (I might be speaking from experience)

I had a good weekend. I did a 40 miler at a brisk pace and my legs felt good. I swapped out the gatorskins for some Michelin Pro4 Endurance tires and they roll a little better and are cushier. MAX pressure on the 28C is 87psi! Today my legs feel like they rode a brisk 40 miles yesterday. It's all good because the morning temperature didn't start with a 3 and the sun was out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ I've got one of those Michelin tires on the rear of my commuter bedwards and I have been impressed with it. Better rolling that a gatorskin and really good flat resistance too.

Rain rides are a part of life here in the Seattle area. Unless it's really, really heavy, I hardly even notice it's raining. I'll be careful cornering on the 1st rain ride after a dry spell (to let the oil wash off the road), otherwise I don't really ride any differently in the rain.

I have tried earbuds while riding..single bud, double buds, bone-conducting and could never find a satisfactory solution. It seemed that in order to really hear the music or whatever over the wind noise, I had to turn the volume up to the point that I was worried about damaging my hearing. So now I just listen to the voices in my head 

I'm off the bike for a few days due to my work schedule. I did get a great MTB ride over the weekend in the foothills above Wenatchee, WA. Beautiful day and a crazy wildflower bloom.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Jelako said:


> I don't like wet roads.
> 
> Made really good timing. It is nice to finally have a ride with fenders. It is interesting to read commuting from other parts of the country. Most of you posting on how chilly it is. In Florida, rain and humidity are this seasons weather challenges. We had some VERY intense storms run through the state yesterday. The roads were still very wet and the humidity just added a layer of moisture to the roads. They are/have been repaving quite a bit in my area so the brand new asphalt with that moisture does make for a concerning, slick ride. I was mindful of my speed and tried to maintain a heightened awareness. This also tells me to continue drinking my water as the morning will start to heat up and it will be like riding inside a running dishwasher.
> 
> Question for the veterans, when weather conditions change; in this case wet, how much do you adjust your riding style? Florida is known for their afternoon showers. I don't mind riding in the rain, but we get some tropical storms. Water is fine. Lightning, not so much. I will probably hit the chain with a couple drops of lubricant and make sure the bike is fully wiped down.


I ride in showers fairly frequently here in the Spring/Early Summer. In Spring it sux because the temps can hover around freezing or can be sub freezing in the morning and substantially warmer in the afternoon. I just layer and carry lots of HD Ziplock bags to protect my electronics, wallet, etc. As for riding style, on straights I ride about the same and even into sweeping turns but there are many tight turns and wooden bridges along the path, for these I slow way down. The wooden plank bridges are slippery when wet, to the extreme. I've seen several people loose it on them and it isn't pretty. I laid it down several years back on one section where a long slightly downhill straight dips and makes a tight "S" turn. I went down hard. Since then, I ride pretty much the same on straights but do bleed off speed prior to entering tighter turns.

I don't mind rain on the way home, not quite as fond of it on the way to work though.

It is supposed to rain the next two days then snow on Thursday, lol.

Do lube your chain more frequently when riding in the rain. As for lightning, I lie to myself and tell myself that the 700x35's I'm running are sufficient insulators. Lol. And yes, fenders are a must IMO.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

MTBX glad the dog got away unharmed  

Jelako if it is very warm I dont avoid rain and just ride like in dry weather, except on slippery roads. For the rest, I always recommend an extended front fender like on woodway's bike  , ideally combined with an internal gear hub and some sort of chain protection case (I have a hebie chainglider). 

Jeremy how old is your son and what bike does he ride?

Man woodway nice pic there!

We had 2 weeks of beautiful weather here and now we are down to normal temps with wind and rain....hard to accept at the moment but it is like it is. I was prepared for rain this morning but I beat the rain and got boiled for it. 9C on the way home and dressed better.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, those are some pretty rollers.


z1r said:


> ...As for lightning, I lie to myself and tell myself that the 700x35's I'm running are sufficient insulators...


LOL, that bolt of energy just arced across a mile of open air to get to the ground but it isn't going to conduct though your wet tires. You hang on to that life raft. Maybe you should switch over to 42s when there is a storm. Sorry if I just ruined your lie.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, those are some pretty rollers.
> 
> LOL, that bolt of energy just arced across a mile of open air to get to the ground but it isn't going to conduct though your wet tires. You hang on to that life raft. Maybe you should switch over to 42s when there is a storm. Sorry if I just ruined your lie.


Good Idea, except my bike will only fit 40's.  I'll just keep repeating my Mantra, "35's will insulate me!"


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, I didn't realize you were repeating it as a mantra. That should work. My rain bike only has 28s so I'm screwed.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> 
> Jeremy how old is your son and what bike does he ride?
> 
> ....


He is 12 and rides a Gary fisher steel frame 26" mountain bike. I am having him train up, his school is taking his class on 46km bike ride field trip so I'm trying to get him ready.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I think your son will be allright jeremy. Most important thing is that he is having fun, the rest will follow.

Lovely day today. 2C this morning, 9C on the way home. Sunny blue sky with some clouds on the way home and hardly any wind. 

Unfortunately my superquiet rural route is going to change. They are opening an construction site for a new highway that will cut perpendically through my route. I am sure there will be a bridge or something, but I am not sure about all the small rural gravel roads that I can use to vary my route. I was hoping german bureaucracy would efficently prevent it for another 15 years or so but today they were unloading excavators. So soon there will be no more roe deers, boars, bussards and such. I am sure they will find a new home somewhere and I know progress is important, but still....sigh...


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

CDM,

Sorry to hear about the progress. I envy some of the routes many of you use to commute. Mine is almost entirely urban but, it does run along a couple of rivers and I do see a surprising amount of wildlife. It's just not as scenic as many of your rides.

A little drizzle on the way in, rain expected on my way home. Possibility of snow tomorrow.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great rides today lovely weather and I got to laugh my way by a 5 km traffic jam. I don't know why I find them so funny but I always laugh as I ride by a traffic jam. I never laugh when I am in one. Commuting by car is awful.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

jeremy_burke said:


> Great rides today lovely weather and I got to laugh my way by a 5 km traffic jam. I don't know why I find them so funny but I always laugh as I ride by a traffic jam. I never laugh when I am in one. Commuting by car is awful.


There is a short section of my commute that runs parallel to the freeway separated by a concrete barrier and chain link fence. I get a huge kick out of flying by the cars creeping along at 5 to 10 mph, 7-16 kph.

Yours looks like a lovely commute!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beutiful scenery Woodway, Jeremy & ZLR! Commutes have been uneventful. I did have to swirch bikes one morning because when I went to add air to the Litespeed's tire, the valve core shot out and disappeared. Since I had to roll, I grabbed the Terra.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

No ride today. it was pouring this morning. I don't mind drizzle on the way in or rain on the way home but no rain in the morning. it's supposed to snow tomorrow! This year it has been real hard to get a full week's worth of commuting in due to weather.

MTBxpolrer, I wanted to ride my single speed in yesterday, so I inflated the tires to proper pressure the night before. I grab it yesterday mroning and the rear is completely flat. Had to ride the Cosmic Stallion instead. The spray coming off those 38's was impressive!!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey MTBX that is bad luck for you. Do you have a spare tube available? And what valve stem do you have? French, Car, Dunlop?

Jeremy that one pic with the traffic jam pretty much looks the same as over here at the moment. Seeing the pic makes me smile here too 

Nice rides again today. Some sprinkles on the way home but nothing special.

The construction site is going to cross my route exactly here perpendically to the road:
https://goo.gl/maps/Cfy8apsffpKAKGp97
:cryin: :madmax: :madman:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey MTBX that is bad luck for you. Do you have a spare tube available? And what valve stem do you have? French, Car, Dunlop?


Presta obviously. They are well known for blowing off and disappearing especially in the fluffy snow.



z1r said:


> The spray coming off those 38's was impressive!!!


But the lightning protection is superb.

No ride for me today either. Dentist appointment in the morning and CPR training in the evening.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I am about to make my way home for the day, but wanted to say my ride in this morning was pretty smooth on the back end but at the start I was very anxious. For some reason, when I woke up today I had a pretty nervous stomach. I had gotten dressed everything ready to go and then I had that "gut gurgle" that tells you "Get to a toilet now". So, I had to make a "move"--I wear bibs so this had to be a very efficient "move". I was able to handle my business with no issues. I got a little late start then my previous commute days. I was a tad nervous for the first mile but my stomach settled in. The rest of the ride was very nice. It was cool (for Florida). The Bosch eBike drive has 4 modes: off | eco | tour | sport | turbo. Turbo is fun, but (1) I'm nervous that I'll run out of battery (2) I still want to use my morning ride as a "work out". I try to be conscious of my heart rate zone. The ride home, I just want to get home. So i'll leave out of here on Eco/Touring on the sidewalk portion, but once I can get to the Bike Lane section(s)...I crank the assist up and pretend I can keep up with traffic. I had a good day at work, so I'm looking forward to a nice ride home---though the temperature has crept up to high 80s (currently 88) so on the new pavement it might feel over 90! I drank a lot of water today and will drink 16 oz before dinner. Time to head out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

z1r said:


> MTBxpolrer, I wanted to ride my single speed in yesterday, so I inflated the tires to proper pressure the night before. I grab it yesterday mroning and the rear is completely flat. Had to ride the Cosmic Stallion instead. The spray coming off those 38's was impressive!!!


Cosmic stallion = awesome!



cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey MTBX that is bad luck for you. Do you have a spare tube available? And what valve stem do you have? French, Car, Dunlop?


I did have a spare tube but not the spare time. The LBS gave me a couple valve cores, so when I went to fix it I did not have to cannibalize another tube, just threaded in the new core.



bedwards1000 said:


> Presta obviously. They are well known for blowing off and disappearing especially in the fluffy snow.


Correct, presta! And it turned out it was not the whole core, just the little piece you depress.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Every once in a while when I unscrew the plastic cap of a presta I'll accidentally unscrew the valve core with it. The tire deflates impressively fast (Aside: Yes, I know Lance Armstrong says throw the plastic cap away but I feel that it keeps grit from getting into valve. Lance would not know this because he has people who do this kind of stuff for him).

We are having a nice streak of weather - morning ride are in the low 50's evening rides in the upper 70's and plenty of sunshine. Nothing at all to complain about.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I listened to Lance and throw the caps away. I don't need to carry around all that extra weight. So I have to unscrew my valve cores by hand.:skep: I've never had a grit problem. 

Jelako, it sounds like turbo mode should be reserved for oppressively hot afternoons. Do you get to top off the charge at work?

We had a cold start to today for May, around 34F. But it was bright and sunny so I took a meandering route to work. This afternoon should be spectacular. It can't get here fast enough.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

It's Bike to Work Day in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I stopped to say hello to the volunteers handing out snacks and swag bags at a local train station. It leaves me with a good feeling to see so much goodwill around bike commuting on these days, the last few years.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ha! Concerning lance armstrong, I refer to rule #4  . I ride tubes with car valve stems because I can use the pump at every gas station when I need to. And I have orange handgranate caps on them so I am always safe. And yes, french valve stem is named presta. 

Jelako I dont wear bibs often but when, I have those without shoulder straps. It is simplier easier even when not in a hurry.

Bedwards that is an idea I never thought of, putting the ebike on highest power to not get boiled in the heat in summer. The idea of buying one is getting attractive I have to say....

Lovely day today. Temps went up to 17C on the way home and I made mental note to always wear a red or yellow shirt. I had a black one on today and that didnt really stand out in traffic, but I made it home without issues.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I had a great ride in, it was beautiful weather, threatening to rain but never did. I beat my Monday and Tuesday rides in by a full 10min. That translates to 25kph instead of the 22.3kph from those other days. I actually was over 26kph average for the first 1 hour but had multiple stops and starts in the last 6km. Given the number of stops and slow downs for traffic in towns I think that is a pretty acceptable average speed. Especially for my old legs and my gravel geared salsa Fargo with ranger 27.5x3” on. I hope to post a few pictures of the return trip this afternoon. Have a great and safe day all.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dutchman, don't give in to the ebike urge. It's a gateway drug. Before you know it you'll gain 10 kilos and end up riding a vespa.

Nice work jeremy!

80F going home yesterday. 55F into work this morning. Lovely weather for riding!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards that is an idea I never thought of, putting the ebike on highest power to not get boiled in the heat in summer. The idea of buying one is getting attractive I have to say....


I wasn't advocating it. 


woodway said:


> Dutchman, don't give in to the ebike urge. It's a gateway drug. Before you know it you'll gain 10 kilos and end up riding a vespa.


BUT...It could be a gateway in both directions. Jelako may build his strength up so much on the e-bike that he ditches it for a pedal power bike that he doesn't have charge anxiety about.

I did a "Time trial" commute last night on the "rain bike" last night on the way home and managed 21.9MPH. I'm not sure I ever broke 20MPH on the Cross Check. It has more to do with percentage of headwind vs tailwind than anything else but it keeps the commute interesting. So far I have ridden the rain bike exclusively since I put the fat bike away. My other 8 bikes are just looking at me with a puzzle look. 

I must say, my legs were pretty dead this morning. It was rainy and I averaged a whopping 14.6MPH. Happy Friday!


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## Jack Burns (Nov 18, 2005)

Where I live, yesterday was bike to work day 2019. 

As usual I left a few minutes early so I can stop at an "Energizer" station to pick up the free canvas shoulder bag with coupons, a freebie light sponsored by a law firm, and a few bike snacks. 

It's good.

Not many riders about at 7 in the morning. Seemed typical. 

Apparently they do a count of cyclists at these stations of all riders year over year. I wonder what the statistics are.

When I rode home from work, starting at 5:30 pm I began to see more cyclists, and when I hit downtown I decided this was the busiest cycling day I've seen all year.

Electric bikes are now a usual thing. I see one or a few each evening.

Bike to work day is nice. I don't think it gets much media attention.

Problem here is more people live too far from where they work to make cycling a realistic option for them. Even if it is convenient, they aren't riding.




Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Only commuted two days this week. I've been swamped at work and have needed to use my truck to haul containers of soil. Not the most fun, but I actually should make a point of driving it once a week to make sure nothing needs maintenance. Old boy has 313k miles on it (mostly put on before I had it, only put on about 400 since February). Does pretty well, considering. 

Great commute today. Kinda chilly and cloudy, but still a sweaty mess when I got to work. I think it's unavoidable on the single speed, especially considering most of my ride in is uphill. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Last two days were were pretty heavy rain with snow yesterday. Rode in today. I was hoping to ride the Macho Man but the tires I mounted on the new rims were all out of round. I have a similar but larger pair mounted on the Cosmic Stallion, Teravail cannonballs 700x38's, and they are the most concentric tires I've probably ever had mounted. These tires are the same but 35's instead, and are lumpy and wobble from side to side. Quite a surprise. I may try to unmount them the seat them again. my least favorite part of tubeless tires.

Otherwise, the ride in was nice but a little chilly. Temps were just above freezing but it is expected to be around 50F/10C on the way home with a chance of showers.

can't wait to get the Macho Man up and running again. The bigger tires on the Cosmic Stallion really do slow me down. My average commute for the 12.6 miles has been running between 44 and 45 minutes whereas on the Macho Man with the Donnelly X'Plor USH tires I was typically running around 41 minutes. 

If I can't get the wobbles sorted out on the new wheels I will probably go back to running tubes and the Donnelly tires.

Fingers crossed that I'll be able to sneak in a genuine road ride this weekend. Happy weekend to all!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

> Jelako, it sounds like turbo mode should be reserved for oppressively hot afternoons. Do you get to top off the charge at work?


Going full turbo would no doubt be fun. Easily attainable by bringing the charger to work, buying a second charger, or long term maybe another battery (but that's a distant...distant thought...they're very expensive). That said, Turbo on Bosch Performance motor is just an amazing feeling. The looks on "vespa"/moped riders is priceless as you're able to sustain with them. Runners on the sidewalk look bewildered as you truly fly by. Right now, I'm enjoying the bike in two mindsets: Go to work; Go home. Going to work, I'm incorporating it into a lifestyle change. Going to bed a little earlier, getting up earlier. I don't use strava as the forefront app...instead using my polar heart rate app in the forefont to keep my heart in fat burning range. The ride home is for my mental health. Enjoy the sunshine, get some vitamin "D", chase down other bikers...this is fantastic! Big Burly "IT" guy chasing down the lean spandex wearing guy is funny. Turbo has it's place for sure, but I can get the bike up to and sustained at 26-28 mph in Touring. As I said previously...I haven't even used "Sport" at all. The I75 overpass...yeah...i use Turbo so my heart doesn't explode through my shirt.



> The idea of buying one is getting attractive I have to say....


After 2 years of research, I'm completely biased by Trek & Bosch. Right now Trek is hosting eBike demo rides at all of their Trek Dealers: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/trek_test_rides/ They have scratch off tickets once you take a demo ride for prizes. I attended three different eBike demo/test ride events and I knew I wanted the Super Commuter. But, if you're looking for style points check out Electras brand new offering: https://www.electrabike.com/bikes/cafe-moto-go/cafe-moto-go Designed in the "cafe racer" mode. Same Bosch performance motor, comes standard with Brooks Saddle, Gates Drive System, Internal Geared hub. A little too hipster for me...I like my mid-life crisis "Viper Red" sportster.



> Dutchman, don't give in to the ebike urge. It's a gateway drug. Before you know it you'll gain 10 kilos and end up riding a vespa.


2 years ago, eBikes (in North America) were only seen online and at test ride/demo events. Now every bike shop in my local area has several models on the floor. I will own an "eBike" of some sort for the rest of my life. I'm enjoying mine now, but I already have visions of what upgrades I'd like to do down the road. Upgrade Display/Computer. Move to Internal Geared Hub.



> BUT...It could be a gateway in both directions. Jelako may build his strength up so much on the e-bike that he ditches it for a pedal power bike that he doesn't have charge anxiety about.


I have to pay for this one first. After this one paid for, my next purchase will be a Full Suspension Niner or Trek (I like the new Single speed in the front and huge cassette in the back). I still have the 2011 Trek/Fisher X-Cal hardtail. But I want the full suspension next time for the Blue trails in my area (no reds for this guy). Now down the road, I still may consider a SportBrand Acme/Ajax. I was very close to buying Wazee a few years ago but went to my first eBike demo event and that put it on pause. As I said above, I will own an "eBike" for the rest of my life...they're just that fun. I think if i can drop "50" lbs this year and get my fitness up, I can cut another 10-15 minutes off my ride. Additionally, right now they just started extending the road by my house. It will be a 3 phase project that will eventually connect into my main stretch to work. It will easily cut 15 min off my ride. Right now I have to ride "out" a mile, cut "up" another mile, then ride "back" that mile. When this road project is done i'll be able to just shoot straight "up". That will be amazing. I already have it confirmed that it will have the dedicated bike lane for the entire length.

I"m anxious for all these road projects to finish over the next 18 months because the brand new bike lane on the state highway is the new DOT standard of 7 feet wide with double solid line (yes, "on the phone" knucklheads can still wipe a biker out...but they have to cross over 7 feet to do it). The new pavement is so smooth and it's just fast. I can't wait to get on that road, full turbo, and break the KOMs. ;-)


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Awkward standoff in the streets this morning. I was approaching a left turn, and a white car at a stop sign to my left started looking antsy. It was looking to make a left turn into my lane. I stopped to wait for on-coming cars to pass in front of the car, and it started rolling out into the road. I thought it'd stop, since I was blocking it and cars were about to enter the intersection, but it just kept on rolling until it was completely blocking that lane of traffic. I couldn't really go anywhere. The white car didn't have room to execute the turn it was looking to make, so slowly looped right and around the back side of my bike. At least the SUV, which had to stop for the white car, was kind enough to wave me through to turn in front of him.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Awkward standoff in the streets this morning. I was approaching a left turn, and a white car at a stop sign to my left started looking antsy. It was looking to make a left turn into my lane. I stopped to wait for on-coming cars to pass in front of the car, and it started rolling out into the road. I thought it'd stop, since I was blocking it and cars were about to enter the intersection, but it just kept on rolling until it was completely blocking that lane of traffic. I couldn't really go anywhere. The white car didn't have room to execute the turn it was looking to make, so slowly looped right and around the back side of my bike. At least the SUV, which had to stop for the white car, was kind enough to wave me through to turn in front of him.


Makes me wonder WTH the driver was thinking? At least the SUV driver had both common sense and courtesy! Glad it ended well for you!!!!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Another pretty ride not as fast but always as fun.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Jelako said:


> 2 years ago, eBikes (in North America) were only seen online and at test ride/demo events. Now every bike shop in my local area has several models on the floor.


My LBS has an insane Orbea Gain, the lightest electric gravel bike on earth at 27 lbs. And it looks like a regular gravel bike https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/ebikes/road/gain-all-road


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Happy National Bike to Work Week

My goal, despite only riding 2 weeks is to ride all 5 days this week. Legs are fine. Saddle soreness is not even a factor. It's between the shoulder blades (left side) just below my neckline. It's not horrid; but very, very tender. Usually around the "30" minute mark.

The new "7 foot" wide bike lane is 90% complete for my ride in. They're wrapping up the east bound lanes. The west bound lane has one lane done but it's the inside lane. When this section is done, i'll bet I can cut 8-10 minutes off my ride. It will ride so fast.

Every week is "bike to work weeK" for you guys, but it is nice that there is a calendar week to bring more awareness.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako, if you make your strava private how do you expect people to stalk you?  That's OK, you got some kudos anyway. Happy bike to work week. 

I think we are going to jump right from late winter to early summer. Today wasn't too bad, around 40F but tomorrow actually has the word snow in the forecast. Supposed to rain all day and not get out of the 30s with a 20MPH breeze. Bike to work week. Hmmm. Considering the car,

I actually pulled out the TT bike. I'm loving the "rain bike" but this thing's a rocket.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Co-workers are starting to get cycling too now that the sun is out. Had company this morning, during the ride to lunch and back and on the way home 

The controlcenter granted me a week off in October to spend for myself. I have enough plans in the drawer but first have to decide whether to go seakayaking or cycling.

Concerning the cycling plans: Is it possible for someone who lives/rides/trains on sealevel to climb and ride to an elevation of ~7000ft? The climb would be stretched over ~100km/60m and I would make it in 1,5 days. Want to be on the foot of the mountain before noon, then take the cable car to the top at 12,000ft and back, then head downwards a bit for the night.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've seen this SUV with a big spoiler in the back pass people recklessly in the past, but today he did it right in the lane in front of me, which was a bit nerve-wracking since he was headed straight towards me for a couple seconds. Ironically, the car he was passing was wanting to pull into the left turn lane (the lane the SUV was occupying). I was approaching the intersection in the other left turning lane. Fortunately, the SUV sped around the car and swerved back into the correct lane before he reached me. Drivers are crazy.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

CDM,

Spread over 1.5 days, I'd say yes. The biggest hurdle will be climbing from 1500M to 2100M. The air being a little thinner will impact your performance some but I think you will be fine. You may have to spin a little more.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Concerning the cycling plans: Is it possible for someone who lives/rides/trains on sealevel to climb and ride to an elevation of ~7000ft? The climb would be stretched over ~100km/60m and I would make it in 1,5 days. Want to be on the foot of the mountain before noon, then take the cable car to the top at 12,000ft and back, then head downwards a bit for the night.


I wouldn't think it would be too bad. If you were riding to 12K yes but 7K I think is fine. I ride at sea level and when we did our trip to Utah we were hiking around 7000 ft. and I didn't notice any difference.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ You'll be fine Dutchman. Stretching that climb over 100m and 1 or more days will make it enjoyable


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Concerning the cycling plans: Is it possible for someone who lives/rides/trains on sealevel to climb and ride to an elevation of ~7000ft? The climb would be stretched over ~100km/60m and I would make it in 1,5 days. Want to be on the foot of the mountain before noon, then take the cable car to the top at 12,000ft and back, then head downwards a bit for the night.


Im pretty sure youll be fine. This past feb i did snowboard vac at Mammoth mt. The town is at 7800'. Daily activities dont feel it but def i felt when exerting. You just go a little slower. If t was another story altogether when i was with buddy snowboarding summit of Mauna Kea, which is 13,000+'. It was take four steps rest, take another for and rest again, and when finally got to top of run, collapse on ground and rest for what felt like half an hour. And then my friend developed altitude sickness, not fun!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Jelako, if you make your strava private how do you expect people to stalk you?  That's OK, you got some kudos anyway. Happy bike to work week. .


i was thinking it would encourage "follower" invites.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well, they changed tonight's forecast in VT from several inches of snow, but 1/4 " of cold rain at 37F is no fun either in mid-May. On the plus side, had a good ride yesrday on the local trails after some trail crew work on my adopted trails.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for your experiences guys. I read some scientific stuff about it too and it seems workable. Will have to sort out other bits like avoiding traffic. And I am now debating if I make the 11km hike to the top at 12,000 instead of taking the cable car, but I would make sure that I have a whole day for it and to leave very early. I also found out that there is a bus on that my route so I have a plan B if cycling doesnt work bcause of fitness, weather or traffic.

This is the route I want to go in 2 days: https://maps.app.goo.gl/UjnruQWdyWygY6FeA very scenic, but could also be busy....


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Ride your bike to work week, Day 2

Well, I got to ride in my first real rain storm. It wasn't too bad. I don't mind being rained on at all. Luckily the Bontrager "trunk" I use has a "rain jacket" for the bag. My wife didn't recognize my bag and thought I bought a new bag...we had a good laugh as I demonstrated that it had its own rain poncho.

The ride in this morning was very pleasant. Because of all the rain it was much cooler. Which got me thinking. Right now most of you guys are riding in "30"-"40" degree weather. I have to make it through the summer, but come next fall/winter there are mornings when it is "30"-"40". I'm sure once you ride every day, your body acclimatizes much better than being in an AC car on your commute and walk in to an AC building. That being said, what kind of "layers" do you guys look for? Where do you guys shop for cycling gear? All my bibs are "shorts" but it might be a good idea to have a pair of full length thermal bibs. I have a few long sleeve "base" layers by Nike/Under Armour but I don't have a "thermal" or "fleece" 2nd layer. I have a Columbia jacket for wind/rain but on my wish list (say when I lose 50 lbs.) is the Gortex "Shakeoff" jacket (that's a long term goal...they're quite expensive).

I have both a Nike and an Under Armour account but if you guys could recommend a cycling specific sites, i'm going to keep my eyes peeled for bargains/closeouts/discounts.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> i was thinking it would encourage "follower" invites.


Fine! 

Dutchman, that is going to be quite a trip! The views from the top of that island mountain must be spectacular. Hiking from 7000 to 12000 feet in 11Km sounds like it will be a bigger challenge than the biking. I can't offer any advice there. I don't think I have ever been over 10K ft.

Jelako, you riding in 30-40F may be different than us northerners. But yes, I think you will want some tights. Look for ones that say "thermal" or fleece lined. They have a very thin layer of fleece. Regular tights don't do much to keep your legs warm. I like a long sleeved 100% merino wool base layer under a windbreaker for those temps. You can up the base layer to a softshell for more warmth. I've been meaning to write a blog post about cold weather layering. Maybe I'll finish it before you have to even think about it again. Aerotech Designs has a good selection of cycling gear with a lot of sizing options.

Speaking of cold, man, it is in the 30s and raining. I brought the truck in so I can drop it at the shop tomorrow. I'll ride home. I think the furnace is going to run until July.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I think the ride will be fine Dutchman. As bedwards points out that hike at the end will be the most difficult part. My place in the Seattle area is at about 500 ft. and I ride/hike up to 6000 to 8000 ft. on a pretty regular basis and while I can tell I am at elevation, it's not a particular problem. I've been as high as 12,000 feet and yes up there you most definitely feel it!

bedwards is right on with the thermal fleece tights. I wear them in the winter for rain rides and find them very comfortable.

53F and dry on the ride in this morning. Supposed to be raining for the ride home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards, Woodway, thanks for your experiences, that helps a lot. I have been thinking of doing the hike "backwards". I found out there is a hostel near the top cable car station so I could take the cable car, sleep in the hostel and hike downwards. This should take the sharpest edges of the plan. Or I face reality and skip the hike. It is going to be quite a challenge already, but we all know, no pain no gain  will now have to see if I can get a relatively cheap flight.

For temps just around/above freezing, I do not wear so much, but I dress up extra from head to toe. I have some sort of merino longsleeve, a windstopper jacket with a thin fleece lining, a Buff covering ears, nose and closing the gap between collar and neck. On my head a helmet with helmet cover and glasses. Extra windstopper pants or pants with a fleeceliner in it, and the pant legs are folded into shoecovers to close the gap there.

In general, I prefer Merino over polyester clothing. I also prefer clothing with a windstopper instead of a membrane like GoreTex. I usually sweat to much for a membrane to breathe through and the rest of the sweat is dripping out of my sleeves....Windstopper can be waterproof for a while in drizzle or light rain, if you give it a treatment with DWR every year, like with NikWax or FiberTec.

Nice again over here. Sunny and little winds, I like it


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Merino wool all the way! My goal is to get all my shirts to be merino wool.

Jelako, you might not be thinking of wool shirts in Florida but it has magical anti stink power. You can get light weight tee shirts that are cool in the summer. the thin ones do tend to be more delicate than cotton. For a cool weather base layer I recommend this one. https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/656...r zip-SR0&csp=a&searchTerm=cresta quarter zip I have had one for 4-5 years and wear it 5 days a week sometimes. Polyester gets too gross to wear in less than 1 ride but merino gets you to work smelling fine. Look for 100% not blends.

Dutchman, the 1 way hike does sound like a decent compromise. But, you might run into problems going from sea level to 12,000 feet in 1.5 days and spending the night at that height. You're probably in for a decent headache if you do that. And don't forget to bring your merino wool!


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## jbadger1977 (Jan 17, 2015)

Commute to work this morning did not suck. Finally warm enough here to wear short sleeves in the morning. Gotta love Spring!!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I like a long sleeved 100% merino wool base layer under a windbreaker for those temps.





cyclingdutchman said:


> I have some sort of merino longsleeve...
> 
> In general, I prefer Merino over polyester clothing.





bedwards1000 said:


> Merino wool all the way! My goal is to get all my shirts to be merino wool.
> 
> Jelako, you might not be thinking of wool shirts in Florida but it has magical anti stink power. You can get light weight tee shirts that are cool in the summer. the thin ones do tend to be more delicate than cotton. For a cool weather base layer I recommend this one. https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/656...r zip-SR0&csp=a&searchTerm=cresta quarter zip I have had one for 4-5 years and wear it 5 days a week sometimes. Polyester gets too gross to wear in less than 1 ride but merino gets you to work smelling fine. Look for 100% not blends.


I have a birthday and father's day next month, so maybe a Merrino Shirt for the summer would be nice, but doing a Google search and getting up to speed on Merrino Wool (special sheep!), I will definitely have a long sleeve one this fall/winter:

https://www.amazon.com/SmartWool-Me...?ref_=w_bl_sl_ap_ap_web_2600777011&th=1&psc=1

SmartWool Merino 150 Base Layer was consistently a top rated shirt.

https://www.amazon.com/SmartWool-Me...557857576&s=apparel&sr=1-2-catcorr&th=1&psc=1

SmartWOol Merino 250 Base Layer was the most recommended shirt.

Now I get to research 150 vs. 250 Base Layer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Looks like the 150 isn't 100%.
I also have one of these. It is very similar to the LL bean one. Maybe slightly heavier. -33 is a good brand too. I also have some of their t-shirts.
https://www.amazon.com/Minus33-Meri...&s=apparel&sprefix=minus+,fashion,149&sr=1-12


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Funny, smartwool is the one that gets the best reviews and mine are getting small holes. I also have some from icebreaker and super.natural, those are better and also 100% merino. I wear them usually for a whole week (10 rides) and they dont stink. The first 2 washes are different though, in the beginning they do smell like a wet sheep. 

For winter, make sure to get some with a turtle neck and quarter zip. 

In my previous posting I forgot to mention that I have thin gloves that I tuck in my sleeve and tighten the sleeves with the velcro round them.

Make sure that all transitions between layers etc are windtight. Thickest jacket doe doesnt help when he air is blowing into your sleeves, collar, waist and when there is a gap between jacket and pants.

Actually from sealevel, I would have 2.5 days to get to the upper cable car station. I am rethinking and I will downscale the plan a bit....

Bedwards, thanks for your pm with the link. Will now go and read


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

PS you can see how it looks on the mountain when you turn on streetview. Its cluttered with 360degree pics.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> Merino wool all the way! My goal is to get all my shirts to be merino wool.
> 
> ...!


I completely agree with this. My skivies, socks, and most of my shirts are merino and I will never go back.

No commutes yet for me this week. My bike needs a new bottom bracket, ordered, but with life and work busyness I have had no time to install it. Hopefully tomorrow night I can do it and commute Friday.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Ride your bike to work week - Day 3

Legs not quite as lively. Huge plug for Brooks saddles: 3 straight days...no saddle soreness. I used my "tens" device on my shoulders. The left side is still very, very tender after about 30-40 minutes of riding. Everything I've read is that it's fatigue and will improve over time. I will shock it and ice it again tonight...i'm going all 5 days.

I departed a little later than usual and was taking it a little easier, so I got to see the sunrise during the ride instead of at the end. Which also put me at particular corner a little later where apparently the sprinklers are on a timer. With my back turned, waiting to cross the road--i got a full blast of a sprinkler against my back side and my entire right leg. I got drenched pretty well. The "broken" errant sprinkler head that was efficiently watering the sidewalk and not the grass. That'll teach me for riding easy.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

USA Today article on eBikes and commuting:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...ture-ebikes-poised-next-big-thing/1162050001/


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Double rainbow across the sky this morning.

"What does it all mean?" :cryin:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Um, it's raining, the sun is out and it is either morning or afternoon because rainbows can't happen at mid-day. Well maybe way up north. Fun fact, all rainbows are double but you usually can't see the outer one. And, the colors of the outer rainbow are reversed. 


Jelako said:


> ...i'm going all 5 days.


That's the spirit!

Despite the forecast to the contrary, the ride home last night was in some cold light rain. It would have been better if I hadn't sent the raincoat home and kept the windbreaker. It wasn't too bad. This morning was just cold and damp.

Tonight we're joining a "Ride of Silence". Is anybody else here riding in one? ::Ride of Silence:: Home - '0 words spoken - A million


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Funny, smartwool is the one that gets the best reviews and mine are getting small holes. I also have some from icebreaker and super.natural, those are better and also 100% merino. I wear them usually for a whole week (10 rides) and they dont stink. The first 2 washes are different though, in the beginning they do smell like a wet sheep.


My wife has mandated use of merino wool for all rides that end in her vicinity. And indeed, it's no where near as durable as a polyester jersey, probably only has a quarter of the lifespan. Which casts doubt on the economics of $$$ stuff like Icebreaker, which I was going through way too fast for the pricepoint. I ended up buying a case of the generic merino tops from costco where were less than half as much for commuting use.

And I have a wool top by Endura that for the first six weeks gave a horrid sheep-and-chemical smell when wet. It's since completely lost that and become one of my favorite tops.

On topic: The road was completed dry for the ride in this morning. I seriously cannot remember the last time that happened.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Um, it's raining, the sun is out and it is either morning or afternoon because rainbows can't happen at mid-day. Well maybe way up north. Fun fact, all rainbows are double but you usually can't see the outer one. And, the colors of the outer rainbow are reversed.


The crying part was a joke. In case anyone didn't see this back in the day: 



.

You can't tell by the pic, but the double part of the rainbow was so close to the other one it appeared like one monster rainbow. Pretty cool. It was a complete surprise, since there really wasn't rain in the area except for one tiny spot (apparently). Commute was pleasant and dry.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

HaHa, no, I missed that reference.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I can brag even better :lol: I was once in an aircraft on a window seat. The sun was shining on a rainshower and below to the left of the plane I could see a full circle rainbow. Unfortunately, that was in the pre-smartphone era so no camera at hand....

thanks Jelako for the remark, I indeed did not see the double rainbow at first.

My Merino longsleeves are holding up already for some years, maybe because I am not wearing a backpack or anything, so no stress on the fabric. 

Sunny rides again today. Probably raining tomorrow but I dont care - bring it on


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well yesterday was snowier than forecast:


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

How was my commute today. Let's see. I started out by having to squeeze by four douchebag road riders going 12 MPH spread completely across the 15 foot wide bike path who refused to acknowledge my bell and insistent "on your left" pleas. Boulder. You understand now, right? 

A few miles later, I had a dance with three people walking on the path in the opposite direction. Same deal, they were spread across the entire path, but in this case they could see me coming. I slowed to about 5 MPH and moved as far as I possibly could to the right, whereupon the person walking on the left going the opposite way started going back and forth, left-right-left-right and finally stepped off the path on the LEFT side (her direction). It ain't rocket science, or is it? 

A few miles later, on the four-lane, 30 MPH, median separated parkway, at a stop sign as I waited in the left lane, doing a trackstand with left arm out as a signal, a guy in a car going the other way waiting to turn right sat looking at me for 10 seconds, so I finally went, just as he punched it and came about a foot from taking me out. 

So yeah, pretty normal.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Bike to work week - Day 4

Really concentrated on my posture. My legs are fine. Zero saddle sorness. So, I think I'll just keep commuting on bike next week with the goal of going 5 days a week through June.

The morning rides are still cool, so I'm not showing up to work completely sweaty head to toe. The ride home, though, I'm showing up sweaty. I have the ability to shower at work, but I am trying something different. Walmart has these "freeosk" vending machines that let you try sample of various products. A few weeks back: "Dude Wipes" was the free item, and I got two "Dude Showers". It's basically "baby wipes for grown adults", but the "Dude Shower" was actually the size of a wash cloth and a little thicker. It cleaned up the "Dude Parts" quite effectively. Until mid/late June through July & August I should be able to get away with "Dude Wipes"/"Dude Shower". During the summer, I do use Body Powder simply because it's miserable in Florida humidity.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well yesterday was snowier than forecast:


No thanks! I'll keep upper 40s/low 50s in the mornings and 60s/70s in the afternoons.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well yesterday was snowier than forecast:


HaHa, have you planted the garden yet?



Jelako said:


> I have the ability to shower at work,... "Dude Parts" ...miserable in Florida humidity.


 Or you could just take advantage of that shower! 

honkinunit, sounds like the reason I hate bike paths.

We did the ride of silence last night. OMG that was slow, below coasting speed.

Nice ride in this morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

MTBX - wow, it's mid-May, right? Holy Smokes.

bedwards - what's the ride of silence?

honkinunit - yeah bikepaths. Pack your patience.

jelako - after a while you won't be counting the days in a row you rode, rather the days in a row you did not ride. Personally I'd just use the shower if it's available. So much more satisfying than a towel bath.

A couple of rainy days here. Not heavy, just your typical Seattle drizzle. No big.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

MTBxplorer,

Wow, that's what it looked like here last week. Amazing how it can snow one day and be 80 two days later!

On last nite's ride home I kept going and hit the single track trails. By the time I got to the trails the temps had finally dipped into the 70's making it a lot more enjoyable!

Today's ride in was great. Rode about half way in with a guy that always passes me then I end up catching him. I think we both enjoy the chase! Perfect weather, 59 degrees!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

honkinunit said:


> How was my commute today. Let's see. I started out by having to squeeze by four douchebag road riders going 12 MPH spread completely across the 15 foot wide bike path who refused to acknowledge my bell and insistent "on your left" pleas. Boulder. You understand now, right?
> 
> A few miles later, I had a dance with three people walking on the path in the opposite direction. Same deal, they were spread across the entire path, but in this case they could see me coming. I slowed to about 5 MPH and moved as far as I possibly could to the right, whereupon the person walking on the left going the opposite way started going back and forth, left-right-left-right and finally stepped off the path on the LEFT side (her direction). It ain't rocket science, or is it?
> 
> ...


I hate when the day goes like that. I consider myself very fortunate that almost all of my commute is on a bike path. The first .8 miles is on roads, and the last maybe half a mile is too. this time of year the paths are the worst in the afternoon when groups of people are getting together for their first group rides and, like you said, riding four abreast. Still beats driving!

Signed me and my son up for bike to work day on June 26 it'll be our fifth year running.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> bedwards - what's the ride of silence?


An excruciatingly slow ride: http://www.rideofsilence.org ...Pack your patience.  I don't think it was for me. Instead of thinking of those that passed, I was thinking that we could honor them just as much if we didn't drag the brakes to slow to 8MPH going down the hills.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

honkinunit said:


> .... It ain't rocket science, or is it? .....


 :lol:

MTBX that looks like a lot of snow, did you ride anyway?

Sounds good Jelako! Nice that you are going strong :thumbsup:

Beat the rain here today. It did rain during the day a lot, but apparently the rain did not want to fall on me. My co-worker was happy about it, he didnt bring any rainproof clothing.

Lots of animals today, in order of appearance: Geese, roe deers, a jumping 30cm carp, musk rat, 2 squirrels and as a bonus a seagull within the plant that made its nest on a 50cm wide grass strip between pedestrian way and road next to a big crossing. When I rode home security had made some poles with red/white "line" around the nest. (similar to your yellow "police do not cross" line). Cant wait for the eggs to hatch


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> jelako - after a while you won't be counting the days in a row you rode, rather the days in a row you did not ride. Personally I'd just use the shower if it's available. So much more satisfying than a towel bath.


The only reason I'm counting like this is that it's "National Bike to Work Week" with Friday being "National Bike to Work Day". After tomorrow, no more counting. I plan on just riding all 5 days next week too. I feel fine.



> Not heavy, just your typical Seattle drizzle. No big.


Are you close to "downtown" Seattle? Have you ever visited the Cannon Bar? My family is taking an Alaska cruise this summer (July) and have a zero-dark thirty flight out of Florida arriving in Seattle, where we have the whole day before boarding the cruise ship. I understand that the "Cannon Bar" is #6 in the top 50 whiskey bars of the world. Do you have any tips/feedback on Cannon Bar?


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

z1r said:


> this time of year the paths are the worst in the afternoon when groups of people are getting together for their first group rides and, like you said, riding four abreast.


Yep..... and then you add in this guy:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

First BMX cruiser bikecommute of the season, fun and surprisingly speedy. The extra-long seatpost on it is not stylish, but really helps with the high rpm pedaling on a BMX for 8 miles.

I did not ride in the the snowy day. The roads were better than the fields, but I had promised a ride to a coworker getting his truck inspected and he did not want to ride on the handlebars, lol. Favors to people with trucks nearly always pay off.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Jelako said:


> Are you close to "downtown" Seattle? Have you ever visited the Cannon Bar? My family is taking an Alaska cruise this summer (July) and have a zero-dark thirty flight out of Florida arriving in Seattle, where we have the whole day before boarding the cruise ship. I understand that the "Cannon Bar" is #6 in the top 50 whiskey bars of the world. Do you have any tips/feedback on Cannon Bar?


Around here things are generally divided into Seattle which is between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, and everything else. I live in everything else on the east side if Lake Washington. Downtown Seattle would be about a 10 or 12 mile ride.

I get into Downtown Seattle now and then, but your post if the first time I have ever heard of the Canon Bar...I had to look it up. I enjoy the occasional glass of wine but whiskey is lost on me, sorry. I can tell you it's in an area called Capitol Hill near the Seattle University campus. It would be about a mile walk from downtown Seattle. Have a good time on your cruise!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Happy National Bike to Work Day 2019

Today was the coolest morning of the week, but I was pretty pumped to have made all 5 straight days of National Bike to work week. After this week (for me), it will no longer be an "event" it will just "be".


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Here today is "Ride Everywhere Day" instead of "Bike to Work Day". I guess those semantics are important to someone. Of course it's raining today which is going to put a dent in the rider counts for the day. Since I fall under rule #9, I of course rode today


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We got a damp start to ride to work day. It wasn't raining when i started but it was when I finished. Almost not enough to claim rule #9. I'm hoping it lets up for the afternoon because I have to ride 20 miles to pick up my truck.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> Here today is "Ride Everywhere Day" instead of "Bike to Work Day". I guess those semantics are important to someone.


The League of American Bicyclists ;-)

https://bikeleague.org/bikemonth

https://bikeleague.org/content/bike-month-dates-events-0

After today, for me, it will just be the way I get to work. I just used this week as a goal to go all 5 days straight. Next week, it will be 5 days because, that's who I am now.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> Since I fall under rule #9, I of course rode today





bedwards1000 said:


> Almost not enough to claim rule #9.


(Sheepishly looks around...I don't know of these rules)


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great rides both ways today, both directions. I still need a new chain and bottom bracket hopefully I’ll have time this weekend to change them both out. Have a great weekend everyone.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> (Sheepishly looks around...I don't know of these rules)


There's a link at the bottom of cyclingdutchman's posts. They range from very practical to very tongue in cheek. The website is a little broken at the moment.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Jelako said:


> (Sheepishly looks around...I don't know of these rules)


It is quoted further up but here it is again just so people know. To be clear I am not saying my stance on these rules but these are the ones referred to.

http://www.velominati.com/

Cheers.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> There's a link at the bottom of cyclingdutchman's posts. They range from very practical to very tongue in cheek. The website is a little broken at the moment.





jeremy_burke said:


> It is quoted further up but here it is again just so people know. To be clear I am not saying my stance on these rules but these are the ones referred to.
> 
> Velominati ›
> 
> Cheers.


I'm a violator of many...MANY of these rules.

#SunsOutGunsOut


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

HaHa, Just this year I decided to try Rule #33. I will say, it is "different". Other than looking dead sexy (for a 50+ year old) it makes looking for ticks after mountain biking or hiking a lot easier. I think that is the biggest benefit.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> HaHa, Just this year I decided to try Rule #33. I will say, it is "different". Other than looking dead sexy (for a 50+ year old) it makes looking for ticks after mountain biking or hiking a lot easier. I think that is the biggest benefit.


Hmm, tried pouring some milk on my legs and letting the cat lick em, but it didn't work. Cat coughed up a huge hairball and my legs were chaffed for days!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hmmm, you must have got that idea from the same handbook you use for lightning protection.

Actually, mine started with 2 drunk women cyclists (one was my wife) and a pair of clippers. If you mention that you might be interested in trying that you better be ready to follow through.  They thought it sounded like a great idea.

Since I've been skimping on the pictures since the snow has been gone. I don't mean to make jeremy do all the work. I would have taken a sunnier one but the sun hasn't shined here much lately.


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> HaHa, Just this year I decided to try Rule #33. I will say, it is "different". Other than looking dead sexy (for a 50+ year old) it makes looking for ticks after mountain biking or hiking a lot easier. I think that is the biggest benefit.


Refer to rule #5


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards that is a really sleek good looking bike! 

I am now thinkng to change my signature to "there are no rules" :lol: the website somehow never works well and I dont know why. Maybe just with some browsers or systems.

Afaik the pros shave their legs to have less dirt in their wounds after a crash and to make the massage more enjoyable. But that one with the milk and cat sounds good to me too.

Went home early today and it was quite warm, 16C. No detour today but we went on a small family ride to the next icecream shop and adjacent playground, which added approx 8km/5m to todays commute. Rode all days this week. Bike2work day here is june 4, b2w week does not exist I believe. I did sign up to b2w month, from end of august to end september. 

Have a nice weekend every1!


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Jelako said:


> The League of American Bicyclists ;-)
> 
> https://bikeleague.org/bikemonth
> 
> ...


Ah, apparently it was national Bike to Work Day in the US today... weird that it was on a different day in May in the Bay Area.

I feel more alive on the days I bike commute. I'm looking forward to getting back to 5 days a week, after a couple of injuries and other life intrusions.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It rained pretty hard this morning but let up in time for bike to work day. I offered to lead a bikecommuter "train" from the LBS, and had 1 taker. She had a great time but was a bit chilly with temps in the mid 40's, the roads being so wet/no fenders, and only wearing bike shorts/jersey. She has set a goal of bikecommuting 2x a week and rec riding 2 days a week. 

I really like to be comfortable on my ride, not to hot, not too cold. I wore knickers and a jacket, and have full fenders. When I got to work there was only 1 bike in the rack, but it was not promoted at work and the weather discouraged some of the fair weather riders. One dope in a school bus honked at us, I think the driver thought they were being polite, not rude. 

Sunday is a Take a Kid Adventure Biking again. I was not able to Take a Kid but I am going to go help.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Well I was right my bottom bracket was bad. Got it out and it felt like gravel. That’s the good news. The bad news was I bought the wrong replacement and now have to wait for the right one before I can fix it.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

That sucks, same with me, i have a little play on my bb and recently bought a Phil Wood bb with bad bearings, replaced them and wanted to put the Phil Wood bb in, then i found out that Phil uses a different spline tool then Shimano :madman:
After a few strong thoughts towards Phil Wood i found out that their bb and spline version are longer excisting then Shimano’s :eekster:


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Flushing Shadow said:


> That sucks, same with me, i have a little play on my bb and recently bought a Phil Wood bb with bad bearings, replaced them and wanted to put the Phil Wood bb in, then i found out that Phil uses a different spline tool then Shimano :madman:
> After a few strong thoughts towards Phil Wood i found out that their bb and spline version are longer excisting then Shimano's :eekster:


Yeah I'm starting to think Shimano is actually the oddball. But I still love them.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I really love their derailleurs and XT flatpedals, oh and the 8 speed Nexus igh. For most of the rest there is a better choice


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Strange omens today. Just as I arrived at work a bird flew into a window above me and dropped dead practically at my feet. Shortly after I left work I saw a balloon floating away from a child.

Windy today...thunderstorms about to let loose but held off long enough for me to run some errands.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

As long as you don't understand the snakes talking and an old scar turns itchy, i would not be tó concerned...


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Took the weekend to recover. Felt fresh this morning. Temperature was perfect. I made really good time. Family and Friends are now starting to become aware of me committing to bicycle commuting, so now people are linking me articles.

This is my recent favorite, and why I'll be stopping at the Dollar Store soon:

https://qz.com/1620913/the-best-cycling-hack-is-a-pool-noodle/?utm_source=reddit.com


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove in this morning. Last night, I had chills and didn't sleep well. My muscles are a bit sore this morning. I might have been dehydrated, or maybe I overdid it over the weekend. I did a trail ride on Friday night, did trail work on Saturday (then later worked out), and ran 3.8 miles on Sunday. I hope I'm not getting sick. I haven't taken a sick day in years. Whatever the case, riding in didn't seem to be the best idea.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Strapped for time as I was procrastinating, so I did a short hill climbing route into workon the single speed. I don't know that I've ever sweat so much when it's under 65 degrees out. Broke my record up the big hill by about 20 ish seconds. It's not very steep but my single speed technique is getting better. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> This is my recent favorite, and why I'll be stopping at the Dollar Store soon:
> 
> https://qz.com/1620913/the-best-cycling-hack-is-a-pool-noodle/?utm_source=reddit.com


I read that article and my first thought was that some people (possibly the kind in pickup trucks that like to scream at you, not that I want to stereotype) would see that as a target and see if they could just tap the pool noodle as they pass. No thanks.

CAN'T WE JUST SETTLE ON ONE BOTTOM BRACKET TOOL!

I agree with flushing shadow, if you start understanding snakes that is bad. If you happen to see 13 black cats walking under a ladder...also bad.

The commute was fine. I'm hoping all the day's thunderstorms happen while I'm at work. Because I have to ride 20 miles away from home to go pick up my truck.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

No commute today, rain today and more forecast for tomorrow with the chance of snow. I have a board meeting to attend tomorrow after work so I wouldn't be riding anyway, but was really wanting to ride today.

Rode in all five days last week. Only the second or third time this year.

Didn't get a chance to ride this weekend. Had to play sprinkler repairman all weekend at my house and my mother's. Good new is, the systems are all repaired, the bad, it rained so we don't them them the next couple of days, lol.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Z1R, still well done on the sprinklers and I hope you can improve on your riding!

I hate Shimano: 
-I replaced the Deore BB with an XT one last Christmas and the Centerlock Ring tool fits the Deore one, but the XT one only with an adapter.
-The PD T420 Pedal can only be taken apart with an adapter.
-The brakelever part of the Tiagra brifters moves inwards and shifts when you grab it to brake => That can even be dangerous.

Needless to say, I have all thos parts on my bike, therefore I know.

Made 2 family rides on Saturday and Sunday, each ~16km/10m long. The combination of cycling, playground, icecream and nice weather makes the kids happy. And the parents are happy when the kids are happy.

This morning it was already 13C and the ride in was nice. Rode home with my co-worker again and we agreed to ride together tomorrow too. It is supposed to rain, so it is a good opportunity to see if he is the #9 type of rider 

For whatever reason my rear brake did not work anymore since Saturday, so tonight I inspected it closer and it seems I contaminated them with oil. A few weeks ago I oiled the chain with a non-stick type of oil like for sewing machines etc. Apparently it now worked its way along the QR axle to the other side of the wheel where the brakerotor is. Everything there was full with oil and dirt so I cleaned everything and put in some used pads that were in the parts bin. 

Note: It is always good to replace parts before they are worn and keep them for just in case. Ordering new pads would have taken a few more days and I prefer to have 2 working brakes.

And I met another co-worker today who is riding 38km/24m each way every day :crazy:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^You may be able to burn the oil off with a blow torch. Put them in a vise and heat them until they just smoke. Don't do it around a smoke detector. It is usually mineral oil that they are contaminated with but any oil should have a low smoke point. Don't forget how hot they are when you are done. That's an old JeffScott trick. I wonder where he went.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> For whatever reason my rear brake did not work anymore since Saturday, so tonight I inspected it closer and it seems I contaminated them with oil. A few weeks ago I oiled the chain with a non-stick type of oil like for sewing machines etc. Apparently it now worked its way along the QR axle to the other side of the wheel where the brakerotor is. Everything there was full with oil and dirt so I cleaned everything and put in some used pads that were in the parts bin.


Take out the pads, soak them in alcohol for a bit then torch them like bedwards recommended. I've had success with this method. I typically do a little sanding in between torch sessions to get the top layer off as well. Don't forget to clean the rotor with alcohol as well.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> I read that article and my first thought was that some people (possibly the kind in pickup trucks that like to scream at you, not that I want to stereotype) would see that as a target and see if they could just tap the pool noodle as they pass. No thanks.


Yeah, I'm going to stick to day running lights and fluorescent clothes.

Tightened up my disc brake calipers last night and replaced my worn/squared off rear tire, which I discovered had cracked to the casing.

I'm always surprised at how strong mechanical disc brakes can be once they are tightened up after some wear.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hot today, and severe thunderstorm warning, including 1" hail warning. Skated through without rain in both directions! The way in was wet due to numerous puddles from overnight/a.m. thunderstorms, full fenders rule!. I heard a nearby town got 3" of rain! 

Bedwards, yeah, I wonder what became of jeffscott.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey MTBX, how was your adventure ride with the kids?

I prepared for rain today but it was dry this morning, so I put the rainpants in my pannier for just in case. On the way home I started dry, but it slowly started raining. Since I am a very experienced bike commuter I had put on the thinnest windjacket I have this morning and once riding, I did not want to stop either to put on the rainpants. So I was totally soaked when I came home. I rode home with a collegue and it seems he is a rule #9 rider too, good news there.

I looked at jeffscott's profile and it looks like he was last active here 2 years ago. I hope he is doing well. I forgot about his trick and threw away the pads already :-/. I have another pair of old pads that are almost worn out, maybe I will just try it when I have time for an experiment.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> threw away the pads already :-/.


WHAT? you don't throw away bike parts even if they are useless! I must have 10 cassettes that all skip but I might need them some day.  FYI, I don't believe your oil migration theory. Even an Arctic tern doesn't migrate that far. 

Good commute today. It was finally a nice day so I did 27 miles in. Pretty breezy though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I did not think about the oil creeping through either until I wiped it off and noticed it wasnt as sticky as usually. That is when I remembered I put the stuff on a few weeks ago. In addition the bike is parking on the kickstand at home and leaning to the left a bit. If it isnt that it should happen again since I put the usual chain oil on it again now. The worst case would be the rohloff leaking oil on that side....in that case I will have to disassemble it  to, well, just because :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Tough gusty headwinds here this morning, do-able but an extra workout that my legs felt by the ride home. Saw a bad road find yesterday... you know those huge chains/bars used to tie down heavy equipment, etc. on big flatbed trucks? Well one fell off the first truck, and the following truck, which was carrying granite blocks, stopped... both drivers got out and driver #2 walked the chain to driver #1. Could have ended a lot worse. Luckily I was traveling the opposite direction. After work there was a rainbow outside the office, snapped a pic with my bike. Dutchman, the kids, big and small did great and had fun.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Double rainbow. I expected to see one yesterday too because the sun was out and it was raining pretty good. It's been really windy here too. Really nice when you are going with it. Not so much in the other direction.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

MTBxplorer,

Great pics with the kids. The local non-profit bike shop I've volunteered with in the past is needing a coordinator to lead the rides for kids. I'd be all over it if I didn't have a day job. It's a 30 hour commitment and I could only contribute on weekends.

Rain and cold temps Monday turned to snow that night and into Tuesday. No riding for me. Today it was 2C degrees but clear. Streets were still wet but thankfully it warmed up some and no ice. Supposed to shower again on my ride home but temps should be about 10C so I can deal. We set two new records Monday and Tuesday for lowest temps and most snow on these dates in May. It has been a slow start to the year due to weather and we're fast approaching the halfway point.

Loving the new wheelset on the MMD. I've logged a little over 3100 miles since I built it last summer. Loving it. My old bike was supposed to be repaired but I'm not sure if I want it back anymore. It did serve me well for 22 years but the MMD has filled the void nicely. I may have to give the builder a call just to see what's up. It would still be a great ride for single track.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow z1r that is some late season snow for sure. I think spring finally broke here in New England but it is pretty late here too. Without looking back for reference I'm attempting to remember what MMD stands for. I think one of the Ms might be for Monkey.  Don't tell me, it's a challenge now. I hear you on the new bike. I'd been riding my new Habanero exclusively for the whole spring. This week I pulled out the road bike. It turns out I still like that one too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, Macho Man. Not sure about the "D".


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Sometimes signalling turns is sketchy. I was in a bumper-to-bumper line of traffic. A car two cars in front of me hit the brakes to let a car turn in front of him, which in turn caused the car in front of me to hit the brakes abruptly. This happened right as I started to signal my turn. I hit the rear brake hard and almost slid off the saddle as I fumbled around to get my left hand back on the grips.

Later, a car pulled out beside me from a parking lot. It was one of those awkward pull-into-the-middle-turning-lane kind of deals. I wasn't exactly sure what the driver was going to do, so I just kept going. The car faded back a bit. I needed to turn left, so I signaled and eventually moved over into the turning lane. Then the dude pulled up alongside of me and said something like "Ride safe and have a good day." This was a bit surprising, but also a little confusing.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^You may be able to burn the oil off with a blow torch. Put them in a vise and heat them until they just smoke. Don't do it around a smoke detector. It is usually mineral oil that they are contaminated with but any oil should have a low smoke point. Don't forget how hot they are when you are done. That's an old JeffScott trick. I wonder where he went.


I used a camp stove burner, but this works so well I almost endoed on the first application of the newly oil-free brakes.


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## urbsuburb2017 (Sep 1, 2017)

Well, I came to the intersection where the local expressway off-ramp meets a four-lane surface street. Since the guys from the Thruway road repair had set up shop blocking the right hand lane of the perpendicular street, AND part of the sidewalk, I dismounted and walked the bike to the corner, where there is a traffic light. I waited until the light turned green for me as a pedestrian, and walked the bike across the street. 

A woman in a huge SUV had pulled slightly into the crosswalk, and as I walked in front of her, I saw her vehicle start to MOVE! I screamed HEY! WATCH OUT! and instinctively grabbed the bike as I tried to get away from her. Her SUV's high front end brushed the edge of my rear plastic mud guard and swiveled it out of the way. I yelled at her to pull over since I thought she might have damaged the bike. She slowly pulled around the corner - and then just sped off! 

I guess I wasn't "obvious" enough as a commuter, having only a flashing front light, a flashing rear light, a blinking side light and a screaming yellow windbreaker on at the time. Luckily as I started to cross in the crosswalk, I looked into her SUV and saw that she was not looking in my direction, but was looking down. I'm guessing that she was texting, and was completely unaware of her surroundings outside the vehicle. Not another routine morning!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Since I am a rule #9 badass


I know English is not your first language, Dutchman, so I fix it for ya! 

Another rain ride here this morning...in fact now thinking about it that's the 7th rain ride in a row...but dry coming home and supposed to be in the mid-70s for the ride home tomorrow!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, Macho Man. Not sure about the "D".


Mine is a 2014 Model. That year All City introduced the "Disc" version of their Macho Man while also making the cantilever version. To differentiate, they called it the Macho Man Disc, MMD. The next year they dropped the cantilever version so went back to calling it the Macho Man.

It rained on the way home, not bad but the temp dropped. Still better than 100 degrees though. Supposed to rain again tomorrow and start off at freezing with a high if only 50.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

urbsuburb2017 said:


> Well, I came to the intersection where the local expressway off-ramp meets a four-lane surface street. Since the guys from the Thruway road repair had set up shop blocking the right hand lane of the perpendicular street, AND part of the sidewalk, I dismounted and walked the bike to the corner, where there is a traffic light. I waited until the light turned green for me as a pedestrian, and walked the bike across the street.
> 
> A woman in a huge SUV had pulled slightly into the crosswalk, and as I walked in front of her, I saw her vehicle start to MOVE! I screamed HEY! WATCH OUT! and instinctively grabbed the bike as I tried to get away from her. Her SUV's high front end brushed the edge of my rear plastic mud guard and swiveled it out of the way. I yelled at her to pull over since I thought she might have damaged the bike. She slowly pulled around the corner - and then just sped off!
> 
> I guess I wasn't "obvious" enough as a commuter, having only a flashing front light, a flashing rear light, a blinking side light and a screaming yellow windbreaker on at the time. Luckily as I started to cross in the crosswalk, I looked into her SUV and saw that she was not looking in my direction, but was looking down. I'm guessing that she was texting, and was completely unaware of her surroundings outside the vehicle. Not another routine morning!


Wow, glad you are OK urbsuburb! The cellphone zombies are really getting out of control.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

urbsuburb2017 said:


> Well, I came to the intersection where the local expressway off-ramp meets a four-lane surface street. Since the guys from the Thruway road repair had set up shop blocking the right hand lane of the perpendicular street, AND part of the sidewalk, I dismounted and walked the bike to the corner, where there is a traffic light. I waited until the light turned green for me as a pedestrian, and walked the bike across the street.
> 
> A woman in a huge SUV had pulled slightly into the crosswalk, and as I walked in front of her, I saw her vehicle start to MOVE! I screamed HEY! WATCH OUT! and instinctively grabbed the bike as I tried to get away from her. Her SUV's high front end brushed the edge of my rear plastic mud guard and swiveled it out of the way. I yelled at her to pull over since I thought she might have damaged the bike. She slowly pulled around the corner - and then just sped off!
> 
> I guess I wasn't "obvious" enough as a commuter, having only a flashing front light, a flashing rear light, a blinking side light and a screaming yellow windbreaker on at the time. Luckily as I started to cross in the crosswalk, I looked into her SUV and saw that she was not looking in my direction, but was looking down. I'm guessing that she was texting, and was completely unaware of her surroundings outside the vehicle. Not another routine morning!


ug, sorry to hear it. glad you are ok. I wish I didn't need reminders like this, to not trust any car... I mean, she was stopped at a crosswalk. There has to be a point where you expect someone to not start moving their car without even looking. I guess I'll try to remember my parents' lesson of getting eye contact with drivers.

I spent some time with Komoot last night, looking for the path up the hill to where I live with the least steep gradients, since I suspect I caused my plantar fasciitis a few months ago when I started a new job, and changed my bike commute to take the steepest possible route 5 days a week. My old, less steep route is nice, but takes me out of the way. We'll see tonight if my new zig zag route looks as good as it did coming down it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sometimes even eye contact doesn't work with zombies...

Spring fever has struck. It was hard coming into work today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa ubsuburb! I now understand why some cyclist carry the big u-lock on their handlebar: so that they can grab it and smash a windshield or mirror to catch a drivers attention.

Mtbx big :thumbsup: for that ride with the kids, nice pics!

Thanks for the correction woodway 

Bedwards you seem to like the habanero ti bike? How does it ride compared to steel and aluminium?

I rode yesterday too but felt sick the entire day somehow. Went home early, slept a lot and today I was fresh again today and it was really nice. Sunny, no wind and nice temps. Came home and went paddling with #2 to finish the day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

urbsuburb2017 said:


> Well, I came to the intersection where the local expressway off-ramp meets a four-lane surface street. Since the guys from the Thruway road repair had set up shop blocking the right hand lane of the perpendicular street, AND part of the sidewalk, I dismounted and walked the bike to the corner, where there is a traffic light. I waited until the light turned green for me as a pedestrian, and walked the bike across the street.
> 
> A woman in a huge SUV had pulled slightly into the crosswalk, and as I walked in front of her, I saw her vehicle start to MOVE! I screamed HEY! WATCH OUT! and instinctively grabbed the bike as I tried to get away from her. Her SUV's high front end brushed the edge of my rear plastic mud guard and swiveled it out of the way. I yelled at her to pull over since I thought she might have damaged the bike. She slowly pulled around the corner - and then just sped off!
> 
> I guess I wasn't "obvious" enough as a commuter, having only a flashing front light, a flashing rear light, a blinking side light and a screaming yellow windbreaker on at the time. Luckily as I started to cross in the crosswalk, I looked into her SUV and saw that she was not looking in my direction, but was looking down. I'm guessing that she was texting, and was completely unaware of her surroundings outside the vehicle. Not another routine morning!


Always an adventure, right? Glad it wasn't more serious. I always hate it when people are on their phones at intersections because they tend to do stupid things and often creep into the intersection. There's not always a good way to predict their behavior either.

This one time, I was standing at a stop light on my way to work and my wife was going for a run. She got a crosswalk signal and started across the road. When she reached the far lane of traffic, an SUV came barreling in and slammed on the brakes, stopping only a couple feet away from hitting my wife. All I could do is stand there at my red light and hold my breath. The light had been red for several seconds, and there was no reason for the SUV to be approaching that fast. Lucky for everyone, it was just a scare.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

s0ckeyeus said:


> .......This one time, I was standing at a stop light on my way to work and my wife was going for a run. She got a crosswalk signal and started across the road. When she reached the far lane of traffic, an SUV came barreling in and slammed on the brakes, stopping only a couple feet away from hitting my wife. All I could do is stand there at my red light and hold my breath. The light had been red for several seconds, and there was no reason for the SUV to be approaching that fast. Lucky for everyone, it was just a scare.


Not too long ago something similar happened to me. The trail I take to work is on the other side of a "T" intersection with a three way stop. I came to the "T" and no cars were present but one car was coming from my right a good way down the road. Speed limit is only thirty so I should have had plenty of time to cross the intersection and enter the trail. Just as I enter the intersection I hear the sound of the car accelerating. By now I was in its path so all I could do is sprint like my life depended on it. Just as I clear the lane I see the car brake HARD. Even so, he stopped halfway in the intersection. No idea what he was thinking or doing. Luckily, I carry spare undies.

I make it a rule when cars are present never to cross in front unless I get acknowledgement from the driver. I hate winter because you can't see the driver when its dark and have no idea if they see you.

A reminder to all, don't take it for granted that a driver has seen you, and be extra vigilant. I don't what to be reading about any one of you being on the losing end of an encounter with a cage!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I don't usually post about my afternoon rides, but I'm pretty fired up right now...

I got passed. I don't mean, there was a struggle down the straight away battle of two titans and he passed me.

No, no sir, I was in full 90 RPM top gear 28 mph and I got flat out passed like I was standing still.

"ding, ding" - the sound of the bell.

wooooosh - flat out passed at 28 mph.

Not only did I get passed. I got passed, by a dude wearing blue jeans. No helmet. on a Woman's geometry mountain bike WITH KNOBBY TIRES.

Let that sink in. Woman's step through geometry, moutnain bike, with knobby tires passed me like I was stopped.

Needless to say, my ego would not let this go without effort. On the next down hill, I reached a top speed of 40 mph and started to catch him. This is when I noticed...he WASN'T EVEN PEDALING! On the next incline (I told you guys I wouldn't call them hills in Florida), I started to make up ground, but again he he zoomed away at the crest. Well, I kept within distance (not drafting distance) but kept it close. We both hit the light at a major intersection. I pulled up next to him and said:


> I'm not used to being the one passed"


 He laughed and in a STRONG New York accent:


> I just moved down for NEWYORK, my buddy hooked me up with his rig. I don't even own a car. For a BIG MAN you were ****in' moving! I don't usually have a hard time passing people but I had to kick it up to catch and pass you


 (insert new york laughter.

He zoomed off from the light, and again I did everything I could to keep pace. He turned off at the next shopping plaza.

I chuckled the whole rest of the way home, until I got home. Strava borked 1.7 miles into my ride and NONE of this was recorded.

I'm not sure if i'm more upset I got flat out passed by a dude on a "chick bike" with knobby tires without pedaling, or the fact that every personal record I had to have broken wasn't recorded.

See you boys in the morning.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Hmm, in true urban legend form you were recording your ride, but the gps malfunctioned. Hmm...

Epic. From now on the mysterious NYer should probably only be referred to as La Leyenda. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

#ebikewars 

Also Cat 6 ebike racing!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Experiencing some flooding here and the building I work at is in the danger zone. 

We had severe thunderstorms last night with a possibility of flash floods, so when there was a lull in the storm around midnight I rolled down to work to see if we were going under (my commute is very short). Everything looked good so I rolled back home. 

Woke up this morning to learn an F3 tornado had ripped through town just before that lull. No fatalities but some injuries and lots of damage. Fair amount of debris on the road...mainly branches and twigs broken into abnormally short pieces and bits of insulation from destroyed buildings. I haven't gone to gawk at the tornado path yet, emergency crews still trying to get stuff done up there.

Meanwhile the waters continue to rise. One of the building owners was getting sandbags into place as I left work today...probably going to have the day off tomorrow but our building should stay dry unless the latest predictions are off by a couple feet.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yo Squeak, I heard it was really bad Jeff City way, good to see you're minimally affected. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Thanks man. Yeah, we were stressing about flooding and having to evacuate a bunch of stuff over a couple inches of water...that's nothing compared to what some folks are dealing with now so feeling lucky.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Glad you avoided the worst of it. What area are you in? Flooding and tornadoes doesn't seem to limit it too much this last week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards you seem to like the habanero ti bike? How does it ride compared to steel and aluminium?


The full review is here. https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/04/bring-on-heat.html

The commute was good. No tornadoes, No flooding. I'm not going to complain.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice stories here except for yours Squeak! Hope you stay allright.

Well I had nice rides today but while stuffing everything in my panniers this afternoon I noticed that it was too full to get some stuff from the farmers market and then I dropped my phone which installed the spider app instantly. So I went straight home with a crappy mood. I hope your weekend will start better!

Bedwards thanks for the link, I knew that post already. I like what you write about the bike. I dont know why but somehow Ti bikes 
always look very unnoticeable and stealthy.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Spring is pretty. Bikes are fun. Have a great weekend all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards thanks for the link, I knew that post already. I like what you write about the bike. I dont know why but somehow Ti bikes
> always look very unnoticeable and stealthy.


 That's what I like about it. It looks a little plain but rides real nice!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

bedwards1000 said:


> What area are you in? Flooding and tornadoes doesn't seem to limit it too much this last week.


Jefferson City, MO.

The river has crested for us...some of our parking lot is underwater but the building's safe and dry and we're open for business.

I'll be keeping the "I rode through a tornado to check on the business" in my pocket if my boss ever needs a reminder


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> Jefferson City, MO.
> 
> The river has crested for us...some of our parking lot is underwater but the building's safe and dry and we're open for business.
> 
> I'll be keeping the "I rode through a tornado to check on the business" in my pocket if my boss ever needs a reminder


Do you ever do any gravel riding? If so I'd highly recommend trying the Cuba Gravel Crisis in Cuba, MO. It's a pretty stellar ride/race if you need 50 to 100 miles of gravel in your life. There's a route 66 fest in town usually with places selling beer and porksteak among other health defying food items. Also a great place to watch ******** be redneckin.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

No, the gravel crisis is always the same weekend as BT Epic and I try not to miss that one.

Death By Gravel is a good event down in Steelville in spring, 50 or 100mi options on that too. Lucked out on weather this year, awesome ride.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> No, the gravel crisis is always the same weekend as BT Epic and I try not to miss that one.
> 
> Death By Gravel is a good event down in Steelville in spring, 50 or 100mi options on that too. Lucked out on weather this year, awesome ride.


This year gravel crisis is the week before. Also never heard of BT epic...seems fun, but I avoid entering the Bass River Resort like the plague.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Oh cool, I'll probably make the cravel crisis then.

The epic is a blast...good course, huge party afterwards. Registration fills fast though, gotta sign up the first half hour to be on the safe side. Never been to Bass River when it wasn't full of MTBers but I can imagine!

As for my commute...river crested this morning and flood waters are within inches of covering Main St. It looks like heavy rain is forecast for the Missouri River basin upstream of us so it may get worse in a few days. Nice weather today though.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> Oh cool, I'll probably make the cravel crisis then.
> 
> The epic is a blast...good course, huge party afterwards. Registration fills fast though, gotta sign up the first half hour to be on the safe side. Never been to Bass River when it wasn't full of MTBers but I can imagine!
> 
> As for my commute...river crested this morning and flood waters are within inches of covering Main St. It looks like heavy rain is forecast for the Missouri River basin upstream of us so it may get worse in a few days. Nice weather today though.


Yes was there one time and it was like an all out bro party everywhere. We had a campsite tucked away, and thought it would be fine, until our neighbors showed up. They set up camp and then not a single word. Some time in right after dark, they just started having sex pretty loudly. For a while. I like more remote camping now.

My commute today, was, sadly, by truck. I had to give a tour of our lab an interview candidate and couldn't be all sweaty and gross in the morning. If this was a potential grad student, I could be sweaty and gross, but not somebody with a PhD. Was good about biking or walking all week, though. Now that it's switched to downright humid every morning, I'll probably walk more than bike, because it's not worth it to only bike 1.5 miles and get so sweaty. What I ought to do is use this as an excuse to put in extra miles every morning I can, which will only be Tuesday next week. Send encouragement my way, y'all.


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## Jack Burns (Nov 18, 2005)

Rode my old 29" steel rigid MTB with 45x15 single speed to work. Second time ever using this single speed bike.

I like it. Pretty flat 8 mile commute.

So nice not dealing with shifters.

Harder to track stand though.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I will open the week this time 

Good rides today. 14C already on the way in, 17 on the way home. There was a jogging lady in my way this morning who didnt want go aside for us, I guess he was the opinion she owns that part of the road. In that particular spot it is indeed not clear what it exactly is, a mup, sidewalk or bikepath. I usually ride there to avoid traffic and usually there is more than enough space to pass. 

It is a short week, thursday is a public holiday and the company decided everyone must take a vacation day friday to be able to closedown and not open for the few who do not take the vacation day anyway. Nice to have a long weekend but less nice to have 3 days of work next week monday....but I take it anyway


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I got my only commute in this week. Tomorrow I'm going to a trade show in Hannover and Wednesday I don't get to ride. And I like my fellow non-German German, Dutchman, have a long weekend this week. But today was beautiful and I love my bike and my ride.

This isn't my commuter but it got new tires setup tubeless this weekend and i wanted to show it off. My single speed is all smiles.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Geared up for Memorial Day on Friday's commute.









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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Back in saddle this morning after 2 week hiatus. I'm a more enjoyable co worker when I ride my bike lol


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

18th letter said:


> Back in saddle this morning after 2 week hiatus. I'm a more enjoyable co worker when I ride my bike lol


I had to count on my fingers to get to the 18th letter but I'm still not sure what it stands for. Welcome to the group.

MTXB, do you must happen to have a Captain America bike helmet or did you have to buy that special for Memorial Day?

I had some good rides over the long weekend including one through bear notch yesterday. https://www.relive.cc/view/2402085375

My legs were a little sleepy this morning but not too bad. Supposed to rain this afternoon.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

No commute for me today. I came down with a cold over the Holiday weekend but still went for two nice singletrack rides this weekend. Rode the Nature boy on Saturday for about 27 miles of Single Speed fun, then rode the Cosmic Stallion yesterday for 30 miles of singletrack. the trails were still wet from Saturday night's rain in a few places. The mud caused my front tire to washout on one very lowspeed turn. I was very graceful as I went down, lol.

We had some serious thunderstorms last night coupled with hail, needless to say, I did not sleep well. Actually overslept this morning so I had to drive. My head feels like its full of cotton. My wife would probably say that's an improvement as its usually empty! Hope to be back on the road tomorrow!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey mtbx that looks good! Got lots of good honks?

Nice ride bedwards. You really made 41 mph??

Rides were good, nothing special, just as it should be


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

bedwards1000 said:


> I had to count on my fingers to get to the 18th letter but I'm still not sure what it stands for. Welcome to the group.
> 
> MTXB, do you must happen to have a Captain America bike helmet or did you have to buy that special for Memorial Day?
> 
> ...


First initial is R of a semi difficult to pronounce name that gotten shortened to R amongst friends

ETA: ride home after 2 weeks was kinda rough. Arthur Itis wouldn't let me out of the saddle on my 1st of 3 steep inclines. My knee warmed up and I was able to get get out on the next two, albeit cautiously and didn't push as hard as I had been. Beat the rain home to boot.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Here's my much shorter ride: https://www.relive.cc/view/2402194570


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

z1r, singletrack counts at least double. The riding time was pretty similar.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice ride bedwards. You really made 41 mph??


Did you see the hill profile? I'm pretty surprised I didn't hit 50. I hit 40 most days on the one big downhill on my commute to work.


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

My car was stolen last night so I got to ride to work. Its only a 1.5 miles, but that's the most I've ridden since last Friday.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Train Wreck said:


> My car was stolen last night so I got to ride to work. Its only a 1.5 miles, but that's the most I've ridden since last Friday.


I guess that's about as good a reason as any. Sucks to hear that, though.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Train Wreck said:


> My car was stolen last night so I got to ride to work. Its only a 1.5 miles, but that's the most I've ridden since last Friday.


That's terrible. Sorry to hear. At least you didn't have to walk to work!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, do you must happen to have a Captain America bike helmet or did you have to buy that special for Memorial Day?


I got it special for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Veteran's Day, etc. Sierra Trading Post had it for $16 on clearance. It's a Lazer.

Dutchman, I don't think I got any honks, but I like to think it makes an occasional motorist smile.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Train Wreck said:


> My car was stolen last night so I got to ride to work. Its only a 1.5 miles, but that's the most I've ridden since last Friday.


Geez, that is no good. Hope it works out OK.


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## Jack Burns (Nov 18, 2005)

Stolen car, wow.

Well my commute today started with having to move my car before breakfast so that it didn't get a parking ticket. Then I decided to take the 45x15 29er.

On the way home, I met up with my wife, who also bike commuted today, and we rode to the grocery store.

I sat with the bikes while she shopped.

Then we went home, and I switched to a cargo bike because I needed more groceries the first place didn't have. And so rode a bit more.

In all just 24 miles of relaxed riding counting the morning commute.

When I'm by myself, I'll be hammering most of the ride, and come home all winded and sweaty.

This was much more pleasant. We even took some a breaks to enjoy the evening's sights, and stopped by the library to pick up some media on hold.

I'm pretty sure if we did all these things in a car it would not only have taken longer, but it would have been much less pleasant, and of course use expensive fuel.

Now I don't feel like I'm some sort of good example or anything. LOL. Just putting it out there.

What a nice way to finish the first day of the work week after a great weekend of mountain biking!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Not a dramatic or traumatic as a stolen car but my return flight from Hannover to Stuttgart was cancelled and it was the last of the day yesterday. So me, two coworkers, and a complete stranger from the airport rented a car and drove it all night, cannonball run style. I arrived at 4:15 this morning just over 24 hr day. So no bike commute yesterday and today I am staying home to recover. But we did get to see a real stunner of a sunset.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Dude, it's been hot. The low this morning was 74F. Highs have been consistent in the upper 80s and low 90s. We're getting hit with severe thunderstorms as I'm typing this. Hopefully everything will be cleared out for the ride home.

Sucks about the car being stolen, Train Wreck. The bright side is you get to ride your bike to work. :skep:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, on the stolen car. What kind of car was it? Joyride? Did it ever get recovered?

s0ckeyeus, HOT...NOT, not here anyway. Last night was 42 and raining, blah.

Nice sunset pic jeremy. The drive sounds like an adventure. The stranger wasn't Keanu Reeves was it? 

After a high intensity KOM snatching ride on Sat, a MTB ride on Sun, a mountain ride on Mon and a fast pace (to stay warm) rain ride yesterday my legs feel like wood today.

My head feels like wood too. I put on my rain helmet this morning and immediately grabbed my summer helmet and tried to put that on too. duh.


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, on the stolen car. What kind of car was it? Joyride? Did it ever get recovered?


Yep, joyride. I was able to recover the car last night. It was in the next town, abandoned at an apartment complex with a dead battery, still had gas, and nothing really stolen. '97 Honda Accord, easy to break into, easy to steal. I'll be adding a secret circuit to the ignition so this doesn't happen again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow on a 22 year old car running enough to be stolen.  Glad you got it back!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yeah good you got your car back train wreck.

Jeremy how fast have driven on the autobahn? Past 200 kph or slow only?

Nice weather again today. Took a detour home to add a few km, met wife n kids at the payground near home and rode the last 10min together. Long weekend off now, hope to get some time for bike building. I have 2 similar bikes on which I want to swap all components.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> Jeremy how fast have driven on the autobahn? Past 200 kph or slow only?
> 
> ...


Fastest I have driven to date is 240kph. With no one in the car but me. 180kph with my family along for the ride. Also the roads and the bike paths here are amazing. No place I have ever been has such nice well maintained infrastructure.


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Train Wreck said:


> Yep, joyride. I was able to recover the car last night. It was in the next town, abandoned at an apartment complex with a dead battery, still had gas, and nothing really stolen. '97 Honda Accord, easy to break into, easy to steal. I'll be adding a secret circuit to the ignition so this doesn't happen again.


Had a similar experience with a 96 accord. They took only the radio and cut the cat converter out. Oh an busted the passenger window to get in... glad you got it back.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Wow, so much drama.

I woke up Tuesday feeling poorly but drove to work anyway due to the pouring rain and hail. Ended up staying home in bed yesterday.

Woke up tired today but ready to ride. Still cool in the morning here, only 40F. But predicted to hit 70 this afternoon. Uneventful but nice ride in this a.m. Only real excitement was having to practically panic stop due to a pair of Mallard Ducks deciding they had to cross the path in front of me. Couldn't wait. I guess they know pedestrians have the right of way. When did ducks learn to read anyway?

My oldest boy will be taking a two week trip to Italy and Greece in just over two weeks. Found out last night night that he has a five hour layover in Munich. Too bad he can't hop a ride to the Hofbräuhaus for a Radler! Then maybe see the Glockenspiel.

train wreck, glad to hear they recovered your car.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Glad you got your car back TW!

Nice grocery haul Jack. 

The flood waters have continued to rise here. The street in front of work is now closed and half our parking lot is inundated. It's supposed to linger at this level for the next 4 or 5 days...we're closing up shop and heading to Bentonville.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Squeakymcgillicuddy,

Reminds me of a few years ago, we had a lot of snow melt and lotsa rain. Bike to work day started like this:










And at about 5:15 that evening it started raining. Around 6:15 the rains subsided leaving us with this:










Just behind where the two people in the background are walking is the street, they are in the parking lot. The rains came so fast that the water rose up out of nowhere. Even after teh rains stopped and the waters receeded some, the water was still over the top tube of my bike. I was riding and all you could see were my handle bars and seat. had to repack or replace all my bearings. I was never more glad that I sent my son home with his mom after we had a nice cup of coffee upon ariving at work that morning. He wanted to stay the day and ride home. I am so thankful he didn't get caught in those rising waters.

T


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Almost beat the monsoon home lol about a mile wet riding out of 6, coulda been worse. On a good note made the whole climb home in next to lowest gear. I've always called it second but my brother says it's ninth needless to say I think I'm right


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Cars go lowest to highest, easiest>hardest, so it seems to me bikes would do the same. I'd call it second too. Now, if you have multiple chain rings there is a ton of overlap.

Anyway, always nice when you climb a hill without having to resort to using your bailout gear! In a week or two you'll be doing it in third gear!


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

z1r said:


> Cars go lowest to highest, easiest>hardest, so it seems to me bikes would do the same. I'd call it second too. Now, if you have multiple chain rings there is a ton of overlap.
> 
> Anyway, always nice when you climb a hill without having to resort to using your bailout gear! In a week or two you'll be doing it in third gear!


My thought pattern is the more teeth in the rear sprocket the higher the gear. So 2nd gear has more teeth than 1st which has the least amount of teeth.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

18th letter said:


> My thought pattern is the more teeth in the rear sprocket the higher the gear. So 2nd gear has more teeth than 1st which has the least amount of teeth.


Nope. Your thought pattern does not match the rest of the bicycle industry.

Bigger cog=lower gear. It reverses for chainrings where smaller=lower. Lower gear=easier to pedal every time.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Harold said:


> Nope. Your thought pattern does not match the rest of the bicycle industry.
> 
> Bigger cog=lower gear. It reverses for chainrings where smaller=lower. Lower gear=easier to pedal every time.
> 
> Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk


Agreed, more teeth on the rear equals lower gear. The lower the gear, the easier to pedal.


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Harold said:


> Nope. Your thought pattern does not match the rest of the bicycle industry.
> 
> Bigger cog=lower gear. It reverses for chainrings where smaller=lower. Lower gear=easier to pedal every time.
> 
> Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk


I hate when my brother is right lol. I need to go single gear on my commuter. Once I can make the entire climb home in my highest gear I'll have to consider it.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

18th letter said:


> I hate when my brother is right lol. I need to go single gear on my commuter. Once I can make the entire climb home in my highest gear I'll have to consider it.


Hmm...you may want to consider keeping whatever gears you can, especially for commuting and considering that you're relatively new-ish to it. I forget, you have a relatively short commute?


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

NDD said:


> Hmm...you may want to consider keeping whatever gears you can, especially for commuting and considering that you're relatively new-ish to it. I forget, you have a relatively short commute?


I have to set goals for myself even early in the game. It is probably best to have gears and not use them than to need them and not have them. Yes, my commute is about 6 miles each way.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I didnt commute but participated in the critical mass in town today for the first time. The usual lots of people with bikes of all sorts from minimized fixie to big cargo bike with huge trailer. I corked some streets along the way, had one driver getting annoyed and he wanted to start yelling at me, but some big bad guys on a bike came to my help and just the sight of them calmed him down :lol: The subway line is obstructed and I have to take a train. I barely made it and didnt have the time to get a ticket so I hope no one asks for one during the 15min. ride. So I wanted an adventure and now I am in the middle of one :lol:

Will sort out some pics early next week, busy the next two days. Happy weekend every1!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Had to drop the car off to finally take the snow tires off, so I pedaled the BMX from there. I think we are finally safe from snow for a few months. Supposed to take a gravel ride in the Victory Basin Wildlife Management Area on Sunday, I hope the thunderstorms don't materialize. https://vtfishandwildlife.com/sites.../St. Johnsbury District/Victory Basin WMA.pdf


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^ no one here yet? 

It was a hot night and already 20C when I got on the bike this morning. Rode in just before some thunderstorms and rain. 23C on the way home and cloudy. One of the very few days in a year that I can ride in shorts, tshirt and sandals on both rides. More thunderstorms are expected so the weather radar is going to be my best friend during the next days.

Mtbx did you make it home without thunderstorms?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Not much to report. 

Not that warm here yet but getting better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Three sunny days with no rain! Metal fatigue claimed the chainstay rear fender mount last ride. Planning on riding to cardio rehab and back tomorrow morning. Will try locking the bike to the hospital sign near the main entrance as I found no bike racks and the foot traffic there is pretty high.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, that is amazing! Sun has been tough to find here. Ride in was dry and ride home wasn't. Lucked out yesterday on an adventure ride in the NorthEast Kingdom of VT, missed the scattered thunderstorms, rode dirt roads in the Sylvio Conte National Wildlife Refuge and only saw 1 vehicle and 1 person in about 20 miles. The black flies may have reduce the population, lol.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I know a lot of you guys are Strava users and had a couple of questions:

* For those that have upgraded to Summit - do you feel $60 is good value?*
* For those with a Heart Rate monitor - does Strava natively pick up your HRM?
* When on the bike, do you use the actual strava app or do you allow another app (Polar Flow) to "push"/"sync" the ride?**

* - With me Commuting 14 miles each way both my wife and mom like the idea of the "beacon" feature.

** - I was playing around with Polar Flow and saw that I could sync Flow > Strava. This morning's ride now has two entries. One from Strava; one from PowerFlow push.

I slept in an extra 1 hr 15 min this morning. Riding in today I broke 3 personal records. Riding under daylight as opposed to the cover of darkness apparently had an impact. The temps in the morning are getting warmer, but I'm still hitting pockets of "fog" and wow do they cool you off really, really quickly.

I was talking to my LBS, and there is apparently going to be a Trek/Strava Challenge in July based on Mileage. So be on the look out, you might win a new bike!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

MTXB, black flies have been horrid in spots. The good news is that you could probably use them for nourishment if you keep your mouth open when you ride.



Jelako said:


> I know a lot of you guys are Strava users and had a couple of questions:
> * For those that have upgraded to Summit - do you feel $60 is good value?*


Not really. I'm a big strava whore and I only did the free trial on summit. I didn't find much use. If I always rode with a power meter it seems like it would offer more. www.veloviewer.com is a data geek's paradise though and only about $20/year. It pulls your data from Strava.


Jelako said:


> * For those with a Heart Rate monitor - does Strava natively pick up your HRM?


 The phone app might if you have a bluetooth monitor but probably not. I don't think any phones pick up ANT+ but most bike computers do. Some straps have both. Some new watches (like my Fenix) have the GPS computer and wrist based heart rate but the accuracy is crap. The heartrate reported from my watch during activities is nearly useless. If you use a strap the watch will read the strap instead. (Edit: it also depends on your phone: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216917167-Pairing-Sensors-with-the-iPhone-app)


Jelako said:


> * When on the bike, do you use the actual strava app or do you allow another app (Polar Flow) to "push"/"sync" the ride?**


I use a garmin Fenix. Before that a Garmin Edge 500. Garmin Connect automatically pulls it from the watch and pushes it to Strava when I stop the ride. When I used the app I would constantly forget to start or stop the ride.



Jelako said:


> * - With me Commuting 14 miles each way both my wife and mom like the idea of the "beacon" feature.


My wife and I use google location sharing. It's free, always on and once let me find her phone that fell out of her pocket on a run.



Jelako said:


> ** - I was playing around with Polar Flow and saw that I could sync Flow > Strava. This morning's ride now has two entries. One from Strava; one from PowerFlow push.


 Sometimes it catches that it is the same activity but not always. Just pick one method or you will need to manually delete the other.

Speaking of Strava, I've been on a pretty good KOM streak for an old guy. I still have plenty of fun with it.

You know what will cool you off? 42F in June. Shorts, windbreaker and full gloves did the trick but damn, June should be warmer. I did get to ride in with my wife.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

The Black Flies here have been so thick I finally had to shave my beard so i could wear some type of gaiter to keep em out of my mouth. I used to spend ten minutes in the morning just shaking em out of my beard.

Ride in was great this a.m., 55F, perfect temp.

Could't ride in yesterday. Had to stop by the DMV first thing yesterday morning to get a replacement Driver's License. Lost my wallet Friday as I was changing into my cycling gear. Good news is, I got to work yesterday and checked with the lost and found and lo and behold, they had my wallet, with everything still inside!!!! What a great start to the day!

On the way to my truck I ran into a coworker who was getting ready to ride home. He stops me and tells me he just bought a new house and is now about two miles from my house. I got home, changed into my gear, grabbed the single speed and hit the trails and first person I see is my coworker so we ride over to his house for a tour before I hit the single track.

I was supposed to buy a used Single Speed MTB on Sunday on the way back from dropping my mom off at the airport. But, considering I didn't have a wallet and no way to get any cash from the bank, I had to cancel. Had money yesterday but the bike already sold. I'm taking it as an omen that I'm not supposed to buy any more bikes!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Im not on strava, I only have an old fashioned bikecomputer 

Nice pics mtbx! Looks like some fine gravelroads to ride.

Had to hurry again today before the rain started. It rained for 4hrs then the sun came out so it got very humid. Luckily it didnt get too hot so the ride home was nice.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Speaking of Strava, I've been on a pretty good KOM streak for an old guy. I still have plenty of fun with it.


Commuting is key. The repetition of the commute means I eventually hit the segment on the day with a tailwind, all green lights, no stopped cars, etc...and everything going right... even if it takes 50 tries.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^No doubt. If you do the same route 250 times a year. You are going to hit the right set of conditions on a day with fresh legs after you got a good night sleep...Not to mention that commuting every day keeps you stronger than the average rider. Segments with traffic lights suck. Especially if they are at the end and you were having a good run.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I've dropped 17 lbs in 6 weeks, hopefully with continued mileage (and not going crazy at the dining table) that will continue to be a trend...then maybe I can start chasing down some of these KOMs.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Jelako said:


> I've dropped 17 lbs in 3 weeks, hopefully with continued mileage (and not going crazy at the dining table) that will continue to be a trend...then maybe I can start chasing down some of these KOMs.


Wow, good for you. I dropped 5 lbs and that's it. Now that the days and weather are better I am seeing my speeds improve but getting a KOM on my route ain't gonna happen. Too many really strong riders. I am happy just getting PR's these days. Been hoping to shed 20 lbs but have only managed 5. I'll keep plugging away.

Keep it up!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> I've dropped 17 lbs in 3 weeks, hopefully with continued mileage (and not going crazy at the dining table) that will continue to be a trend...then maybe I can start chasing down some of these KOMs.


If you start showing up on the leaderboards riding an e-bike but posting as a regular ride you are going to find out how the flag feature on Strava works.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, black flies have been horrid in spots. The good news is that you could probably use them for nourishment if you keep your mouth open when you ride.


:yesnod: :lol: :nonod: :crazy:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I found a Toyota electronic key on Monday. Messaged the quilting store (yes, so Vermonty) it was in front of. Someone had called them Friday looking for it, but they did not find it in the store, and were not sure of their number. They tried one off the phone log, but they said no, not ours. Kind of disappointing when you are so close to doing a good deed. Left them my number and also bringing the key to the PD, I've heard those suckers are expensive.

Good rides today except challenging winds and 1 heavy equipment trailer driven by a dope!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^My wife lost one on a 5 mile trail run in the fall once. We did manage to find it with a metal detector and quite a few hours. I'll confirm they are expensive.

I skipped the ride today. I need to do things right after work and it was supposed to be raining this morning. It's actually just a little drippy and would have been a great ride in. Oh well, tomorrow.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> If you start showing up on the leaderboards riding an e-bike but posting as a regular ride you are going to find out how the flag feature on Strava works.


It's a fair point, it will be interesting to see how this is addressed. That said, there are some segments on my ride that show "45 mph" with times that would be impossible on anything short of an actual motor cycle. i'm not out to break some poor soul's heart, but there are MORE than enough entries that are beyond ridiculous.

I get your point though, if i was in in "TURBO" for my entire ride that's not really comparable to a cyclist not on eBIke, any more than a "runner" who was competing against someone on rollerblades.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

:thumbsup: I'm surprised that nobody has flagged those rides. I just did one of them for you.  I ain't proud. 

I'm not sure if you can create segments for every activity type. You might be able to create a segment on your e-bike activity that only applies to ebikes. If you haven't figured it out, Strava on the desktop has a lot more functionality than the app.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

First commute in way too long, was really relaxing once I got into the protected lanes. Our drivers are terrible (seriously, our province commonly wins Canada's Worst Driver), so even though they slow down my time I always take the cycle tracks.

Plus, mellow pedaling means enjoying the pathway along the river. Its nice. And honestly just as fast as driving.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

MTBX very well done with the carkey, probably the police will get it back to them sooner or later :thumbsup:

Jelako, well done on the weight loss. Unfortunately, I did not drop any weight since I started commuting. However I dont wanna know how I would look when wouldnt ride everyday....

Another hot day here, 20C this morning and 29C on the way home. The predicted thunderstorms passed east and west of town, lucky me. Same forecast for tomorrow, hope to be lucky again...but with those temps I just ride in the rain as long as lightning doesnt get too close.

I finally cleaned up my SD card. Some pics of last Friday's critical mass ride here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/y6CPBrWnTiy3XBYcA

Question to those who participated a critical mass before: You also have all sorts of bikes there like cargo bikes, trikes, etc?


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

I've had almost a week off work due to the flooding. Water level is at it's highest right now...it's forecast to start going down, but it's been forecast to start going down for days now and it's only gotten higher so we'll see. Another 6 inches and it'll be in our building, cutting it close!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sounds tough squeak! Hope things get better soon.


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## Rocky Mtn (Jan 19, 2014)

17k in 36 minutes today on the way home today. Had some favourable wind, but it was not gale force.

I am sure it was my best time ever


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Again a race against the rain this morning and this time it really almost got me. I was riding towards a dark sky and heard some thunder now and then. Parked my bike and by the time I walked into the building and sat down in my office, it started to rain and thunder. It was 20C this morning but afterwards it cooled down and it was cloudy and 16C on the way home. Never had that before.

RockyMTN: That is a respectable average, respect!!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

8 C this morning 28 C on the way home but despite the wardrobe issues. It was a lovely day of riding. I was pretty fast on the way in but slow home the heat the remnants of a head cold and allergies but I made it as that is what counts.

Also 17km in 36min respect.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

13C on the way in, 25C on the way home. It was a sunny day without any rain or thunderstorms. Made a nice detour on the way home and logged 30k today. Planning a family ride with another family tomorrow, 18k are planned. They have a 6y old but she is big and strong they said. We'll see


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

14C and 28 C today. Didn't ride, had a work party to attend.

Yesterday was great though. Slightly colder but very fast ride in to work. 14.4 miles at 46 minutes. Average speeds on most of my segments was above 20 mph. Still, I got passed by this gal who was hoofing it! Turns out she's sponsored SS MTB racer. Kudo's, I was very impressed, especially considering she'd ridden six more miles than I did. On the way home I headed out to the park for some single track fun. Got in a 27 mile ride in the evening much of it on some nice trails. Including the 14.4 miles on the way to work I logged a bit over 41 miles. Feeling good.

Have a super weekend all.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Blowout on the way home, a 3" nail nailed it! At least there was no mystery as to the cause. That is what I get for leaving work 1 hour early. It sounded like something spun around in the spokes and exploded. Fixed the flat, stoped at LBS for more air and a quickie brake adjustment (the old Vbrakes got messed uo somehow in the nail incident and needed to have the tension spring adjustment tweaked so as not to rub. A string of 3 nice days and 2 more this weekend!! Bike rack at work has been full the last couple days.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

my thursday morning commute in turned out good. We had lightning and thunder showers when i woke up, but it stopped before i left. Traffic was light since schools are out for summer so i took most direct route, and the majority of lights went in my favor. Winds were light, although prevailing winds usually are in my favor in this direction. I managed a personal best and covered my 10.24 miles (sorry im stuck in this archaic system) in :38. The clouds kept the temp down otherwise its mid 80’s F now. Only downside was more road crust on bike and me, i have yet to run full fenders.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Slow to get going.






The dog got quilled on our walk.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, I know that look of shame. At least it looks like your dog was smart enough to stop and there aren't too many.

My wildlife encounter over the weekend was riding the trails with the dogs off-leash to have a coyote start howling at us to get away. Of course the dogs were very interested in that. I saw her (I'm guessing) a few times but they didn't' notice until I got them on leash and away from the spot. I got down the trail 500' and let the dogs off so I could ride out faster and the coyote followed us for 1/2 mile almost to the road. At one point one of the dogs turned back but with enough screaming she decided to leave it. Adrenaline I didn't need. We found another trail with another offleash dog and that escalated from the normal sniffing to a minor dog fight. I think everyone was a little wound up. The whole riding with dogs thing is being re-evaluated.

In contrast, the commute in was wonderful. It was the first morning that shorts sleeves were enough.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Wow, I have seen a few coyotes but never howling at me or following! I really wanted a trail dog, but mine is 7 and not reliable enough with all the critters and other dogs out there. I may try some summer bikejoring which helps with critters but could make him more reactive to loose dogs. You're right, not too many quills but he screamed bloody murder so I took him to the vet. Some were deep in and bled some. Still groggy from the knockout drugs.

Had a couple bad drivers recently. A local cop stopped at the stop sign (I had the ROW) but then surged forward when I was right in front of him. I don't think he was being a jerk, I think he saw me just after he gunned it. Another driver pulled out from a gas station into traffic, but inexplicably put it in reverse just as I was about to pass behind. Still not sure what she was trying to do.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Did about 20 km in 50 minutes this morning on the Big Dummy, i ride in a 3/4 circle around the shore so i started with wind in the back, ended up with last 8 km headwind bleghh, but after a shower, a banana and a coco my day can begin!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That's truckin' on a Big Dummy!

I met up with a friend and did 47 miles after work last night. With the 10 in the morning it was my longest day so far since last fall. https://www.relive.cc/view/2440356370. It was pouring this morning and my wife was taking the car so I decided it would be smart to take it with her. I brought the bike and it is supposed to clear by afternoon.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back on the bike after an 8 day fishing trip in Ontario, Canada. Fish were caught, fish were eaten, wine and beer was consumed and a good time was had by all.

To celebrate my return, I stretched my RT commute to 44 miles yesterday. I just felt like riding.

Regarding Strava HRM, my youngest son works for Apple on the watch team. He gave me an Apple watch 4 for my birthday and I have been using the Strava app on it to track my rides and HR for the last six months. The GPS/barometric altimeter part is spot on with the Garmin device I used to use. HR seems pretty darn accurate, but I've never tested it against a Polar strap or anything like that. Bloody expensive device but quite well done and I am very happy with mine.

Warm here in Seattle this week, will likely be 85F/29.5C for the ride home today, but I don't mind.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Poor dog! Hope S/he learned something.

Finally back at work after a week and a half off. Couldn't ask for better weather.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another safe and pretty boring ride. The old Garmin 500 seems to be having terminal battery issues.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ouch MTBX I hope the dog learned something there?....

Hey BrianMC nice to hear from you!

FlushingShadow that is a repectable time on a big dummy! I think I would make that time on my CX bike but only when it is flat :blush:

It started to rain this morning when I left but it were just some sprinkles. I was lucky though, my wife left 5minutes later with the kids and she said it was pouring at that time. Ride home was sunny and nice.


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Been having pretty decent riding days in Northern NJ considering a lot of rain. Only left the bike home 1 time out of 5 rides and only got wet, I mean rained on, once. Gonna try a different route tomorrow for the hell of it. Muscle confusion I want to call it lol


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Short sleeves and shorts for the ride in this morning. It was 65F/18C! Ride was great except for the suicide rabbits and bugs in my teeth. Predicting 92F/33C for the ride home tonight. Whew.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Glad y'all appear to be doing mostly rad. Also I'm glad we don't have porcupines in my area, as my dogs would probably get into that situation every other week. What with the way they bark at rabbits and neighborhood children...

I've been commuting regularly, with nothing really to mention. Today I didn't as we have thunderstorms projected all afternoon. However, I did pass a guy commuting on his bike, and I couldn't help but want to get out of my truck and tell him he makes it harder for the rest of us. He ran every stop sign on the road, regardless of if a driver had approached first (clearly needs to work on acceleration skills/quads) and then at a stop light that crosses 5 lanes of traffic he got into ther empty right turn lane and used it to get into the crosswalk. Light was red, and he wasn't looking that hard. More of a miracle he didn't get hit, but people were honking. UGH.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I did the AM ride in short sleeves and shorts too but I think the starting temp was closer to 50F. Once the sun got up a little higher it warmed some. I extended the AM commute to 25 miles. This afternoon is supposed to be 75F and beautiful. I think I'll try to extend that one too to get in 50 today.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

ghettocruiser said:


> So if you build a mixed use trail and a dedicated walking-only trail, 50' apart, starting and ending at the same location, approximately 95% of pedestrians will walk on the MUP.


I'd like to provide a written apology to those pedestrians today:

This morning, as I was sailing down that empty bike path on my road bike at a pretty brisk speed, I heard a bell ringing furiously, not behind me, but beside me. It was coming from an E-bike on that adjacent walkway, barreling past the pedestrians and passing me at about 45kph.

I'm sorry. I see now why you won't walk on the walkway.

It's because of that guy.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice temps finally over there I see! 

We are hunted by thunderstorms all the time but so far I managed to stay out of harms way. Also because of the warm temps and regular rainshowers it is very humid and sticky here. Rode both ways in light rain today and my weather app sent two warnings for severe thunderstorms during the ride home. Luckily they passed just east of the city.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh I see we are now moving towards 200 posts per page. Man, gone are the days where it was only 25 per page and where we filled a page per day


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Just some beautiful weather and rides today. With the holidays and vacations I have been riding less and it shows in my speed. However I’m still riding and it’s still great. 

Does anyone have a hydration drink they would recommend? Now that it’s warmer I’m sweating more and absolutely salt covered when I get done.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same here, very nice weather. Holiday season is over.....went paddling tonight and we saved a duck that was wrapped in fishingrod wire. Took 15 minutes to cut him completely free and then he shitted on my deck when we let him go :lol: 

Jeremy, a very good sport drink is an alcoholfree white beer "weizen bier". Also I like to mix 3parts water with 1 part applejuice, put it in a thermal bottle with icecubes to keep it cold for a while. If you use mineral water its called " apfelschorle".


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Unless I'm doing over 25 miles I don't give much thought to hydration. I get so much salt in my diet that I'm glad to get rid of some. For longer rides I'll grind some Himalayan table salt into whatever I am drinking. For endurance events I use hammer nutrition endurolytes but I don't usually need those unless I'm doing 4+ hours. I also crush calcium, magnesium & zinc tablets and make them into power bars for longer events. In the summer I keep a plastic vial of Himalayan salt in my bike pack for those long rides that end up being longer and hotter than expected. (Probably a longer answer than you wanted)

Yesterday my wife nd I had somebody roll down their window and "inform" (yell at) us that we needed to get to the right. We were on a downhill section of a rural road with a 30MPH speed limit that drops to 25MPH at the bottom of the hill. We were doing 25 and the pavement on that road is almost non-existent especially to the right. (In fact, it is marked to be re-paved now). I gave chase to "inform" her that she was wrong but I couldn't catch her.  In our state bikes can take the full lane when they need to. We actually just had a good article printed about bike law in the local paper: https://www.pressherald.com/2019/06...cTRSyqlg6YaZkNX593UbmsokvbUkNrsXPJTMh0gc4gLwo

Otherwise commutes have been good. I've timed car use for the 2 rainy trips I would have had. I've had 2 50+ mile days this week. It's all good.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...... Took 15 minutes to cut him completely free and then he shitted on my deck when we let him go :lol:


That was his way of thanking you!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

bedwards1000 said:


> Unless I'm doing over 25 miles I don't give much thought to hydration. I get so much salt in my diet that I'm glad to get rid of some. For longer rides I'll grind some Himalayan table salt into whatever I am drinking. For endurance events I use hammer nutrition endurolytes but I don't usually need those unless I'm doing 4+ hours. I also crush calcium, magnesium & zinc tablets and make them into power bars for longer events. In the summer I keep a plastic vial of Himalayan salt in my bike pack for those long rides that end up being longer and hotter than expected. (Probably a longer answer than you wanted)
> 
> Yesterday my wife nd I had somebody roll down their window and "inform" (yell at) us that we needed to get to the right. We were on a downhill section of a rural road with a 30MPH speed limit that drops to 25MPH at the bottom of the hill. We were doing 25 and the pavement on that road is almost non-existent especially to the right. (In fact, it is marked to be re-paved now). I gave chase to "inform" her that she was wrong but I couldn't catch her.  In our state bikes can take the full lane when they need to. We actually just had a good article printed about bike law in the local paper: https://www.pressherald.com/2019/06...cTRSyqlg6YaZkNX593UbmsokvbUkNrsXPJTMh0gc4gLwo
> 
> Otherwise commutes have been good. I've timed car use for the 2 rainy trips I would have had. I've had 2 50+ mile days this week. It's all good.


Problem is, the law doesn't protect you from stupidity!

My ride last Saturday took me up into the mountains on a narrow two lane road. The descent is at speeds of around 30-35 mph and the speed limit is 35 with lots of "suggested" speeds of 25 in the curvy sections. There is very little shoulder in many sections so I too take the lane so as not to be edged off the road by someone. Luckily, most people here seem to be pretty informed and or considerate and don't try to squeeze by.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great commutes for me today. And I finally got a chance to take pictures of one of my favorite sections. Usually the people that live in these houses are out back gardening and I don't want to intrude on their lives taking pictures. But today only one was out and I felt ok taking pictures.



















Also that you all for the feedback on the sports drinks. I got my wife on it too so I'm sure I'll have a very healthy option soon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards 2 days with over 50miles? Kudos to you....!!

Nice pics jeremy! And I keep asking: what is that disc on your bar? GPS or something?

Hot here today. 28C on the way home and #1 and me were late for soccer training because of a thunderstorm passing through. When we left it was still raining but at 26C we didnt care much.

Sunday is official cycling demo where we get to ride on the autobahn. Kids are talking about it for weeks already. Will report afterwards. Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

jeremy_burke said:


> Also that you all for the feedback on the sports drinks. I got my wife on it too so I'm sure I'll have a very healthy option soon.


I remeber my friend telling me there was tales of a euro racer back in the 80-90's that was said on training rides he would go into the fields and milk a cow for on the spot refreshment.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> Nice pics jeremy! And I keep asking: what is that disc on your bar? GPS or something?
> 
> .....


Sorry thought I already answered that. It is a Bluetooth speaker. Specifically the UE Roll. It's waterproof and has pretty good sound.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix Jeremy, it looks like a nice place to ride.

By some miracle yesterday, all 8 lights on my 8 mile commute were green - I don't believe that has ever happened before! I had to slow for 2 to turn, but not stop. I believe that was my best time too, a great start to the day. A downpour midday and then dry for the ride home.

Bedwards, I had not heard of Himalayan salt, is it delivered by Sherpas or yak?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok jeremy , got it now. Thanks!


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sunday is official cycling demo where we get to ride on the autobahn. Kids are talking about it for weeks already. Will report afterwards. Have a nice weekend everyone!


 Sounds neat! For polymer juice i used to use Cytomax but for some reason its gotten hard to find and they cut their flavors down.
Lately ive been just riding with water and along with usual sport bars and gels, ive been carrying lightly salted almonds and pretzle sticks. Almonds are quite high in magnesium.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Root yes it was neat  everything went well and we had lots of fun. We made sure this time that we were close to the front and therefore had some breaks in between. At certain points we had to wait for other groups from other directions to join or to wait until the last ones had caught up. Especially on the bridge and on the autobahn some people take a lot of time for pics and selfies until the police tells them to move on. During a break an icecream truck drove by and stopped spontaneously, the guy had the best day of his life probably. My son did well, set a new personal distance record with 28km but he had a dip at the end. I think the pace was a bit too high for him in the long run. He got an extra big icecream afterwards. Will post some pics this evening.

Ride in was nice this morning, sunny and 17C already and I was really fast without kid on the back seat and panniers on the lowrider. The 18kg touring tank felt featherlight this morning :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, I had not heard of Himalayan salt, is it delivered by Sherpas or yak?


 UPS! https://www.seasalt.com/ancient-ocean-himalayan-pink-salt-coarse.html#192=85&203=493. You can buy really fancy BASE endurance salt for somewhere around $1000/lb https://www.baseperformance.com/blogs/base-performance/123004483-base-salt-is-better but I think the pink Himalayan is BASEicly the same thing.  It is pretty much salt. Grind up a 20 cent magnesium supplement and mix it with your salt and you are good.

This morning however, I extended my commute to 32 miles and hydrated with 20oz of coffee. It was pretty chilly to start so I didn't sweat much. That will be this afternoon when it is 77F

Riding on the autobahn sounds cool.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Had two great rides today. Even at the length of time it takes me I love my bike time. I think either all my riding or my shoes have led me to a case of plantar fasciitis. Fortunately for me it doesn't effect my riding at all, only walking after I sleep of sit still for too long. No great pictures today but yesterday my wife and I (of nearly 17 years) got to go for a walk at sunset so I'll include some of those for your viewing pleasure.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Pleasant rides on the BMX cruiser yesterday, with nice weather and pretty good drivers. A fair number of bikes at the rack, including our Deputy Commissioner. Still abysmal compared to the number of cars in the lot and parking garage. One way ride today and then a trailride at Millstone. 

Retrieved my trailcam from near the reservoir and got some nice shots, including this otter (a first), raccoon, and whitetail deer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Both sets of pictures are cool. I like the time lapse nature of the trail cam. Same 2 stones with lots of different lighting and activity.

I did a "Workday 100K" yesterday. Roughly 50K in the morning and 50K in the evening. I was thinking I'd try for 50 miles every day this week. I think that lasted 1 day since I wasn't feeling it this morning. I did pull out my old bike and ride in with my wife. I gave it it's thorough yearly servicing first (pumped up the tires).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Last year was the wettest year on record here. We're 3" ahead of that this year, with no reprieve in site.

I was able to thread the needle yesterday and only get a tiny bit wet on my ride home. I drove in today. In retrospect, I might have been fine riding, but it looked dicey at the time and more storms are on the way this afternoon. I'm off Thursday - Monday. We were supposed to be going to NC, but we had to cancel that trip (my Pisgah ride will have to wait until the Fall ). Our back-up plan is camping and fishing closer to home, but we'll need the weather to cooperate a bit. Fingers crossed...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pics jeremy and mtbx!

s0ck - rode in Psigah a few years ago. I had a really good time. Different riding than we get here in the PNW.

Good call bedwards. I'd take a nice ride with my wife anytime over blowing up a bunch of miles 

Rain here this morning. First rain ride in a good long time.

I've worn out the jockey wheels on my rear derailleur. I thought I would try some metal ones but can't seem to find any that fit. So, I guess I'll just order the plastic ones again...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy, Mtbx: Those are really nice pics! :thumbsup:

Sock that sounds -wet- ! You will become a rule #9 rider like Woodway! Next stop: wrecking a ti frame just by riding it 

hot again today. The main bike had a flat and couldnt fix it yet, so I rode the CX bike today and will so for the rest of the week. 18C in, realy 28C on the way home. Luckily it was a bit cloudy so the sun wasnt baking too much.

Some pics of the bikedemo including Autobahn here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mUUMryoxvY35Vi159


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, that was a popular event, pretty cool! When I was a kid,a truck fell thru the elevated part of the West Side Highway in NYC, so it was closed to traffic and opened to bikes, peds, dogwalkers, etc. I remember it fondly!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow dtuchman, that almost seems too crowded to be fun.

woodway, I've gone through a few sets of those myself. I've got a pair in queue to replace the ones on my cross bike but I'm waiting until everything is really good and warn out. At least make sure you get the ceramic ones.

I extended the morning ride in to 35 miles. It was wet and foggy and the bike got covered with a ridiculous amount of pollen.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> s0ck - rode in Psigah a few years ago. I had a really good time. Different riding than we get here in the PNW.


I was pretty excited for the trip. I had my route planned and everything. I've ridden a few places in NC but never made it to Pisgah proper. Oh well. We hope to make it down there in October.

Fog this morning on the way in. Rain is going to be scattered throughout the day. I'm hoping to get home before the next big system moves in. Fun times. I haven't been able to mtb in nearly 2 weeks now.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Great Pics everyone. CDM, that is almost what bike to work day will feel like next week. 30,000 riders expected and that really fills up the bike paths.

Today was an interesting ride to work. I was assaulted by another cyclist. The guy flew past me without any warning. So, I caught up and reminded him that it's required on the MUP to announce when passing. He was like, "huh?" I tried explaining that not only is it required, it is common courtesy. He got pretty steamed, we exchanged a few choice words, then, as I was starting to pedal off, he dropped his bike and shoved me from behind. I was already clipped in to my pedals. Ended up in a tangled mess one hand in a puddle of water. The Denver Park Department employee who just happened to be there asked if he should call the cops. The other guy jumped on his bike and headed back the way he came from and I just wanted to avoid any further conflict so high tailed it in the direction I was originally headed so as to put as much distance between us as possible. Bike Path rage, bummer!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa Z1R never heard of cyclists attacking each other. I can understand you though, I myself dont like it when people dont use a bell or shout. Here in Germany, even when they do, it is always when they are already next to you. I have learned to signal when I am far behind them so that they have time to notice, think, look and react.

MTBX and all, the bikedemo is organised once a year and is indeed a real big event. Mainly because of the Autobahn and because it crosses the bridge, which is normally only open for motorised traffic. I know that in the Netherlands it is common to open a new stretch of highway on the weekend for non-motorised traffic before opening regularly Sunday night.

Bedwards, that dirt was from 1 ride only? And since it was wet, did it leave a stripe on your back too??

Hot day today, 33C / 91F on the way home, yuck. Some thunderstorms passed through now and it is getting cooler now and the next days. I am getting used to the CX bike with backpack. I have a Deuter Airvent backpack, works well in summer. Looks like this:

https://www.wandersuechtig.de/image...r-rucksack-futura-pro-38/img_2041 450x600.jpg


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hot day today, 33C / 91F on the way home, yuck. Some thunderstorms passed through now and it is getting cooler now and the next days. I am getting used to the CX bike with backpack. I have a Deuter Airvent backpack, works well in summer. Looks like this:
> 
> https://www.wandersuechtig.de/image...r-rucksack-futura-pro-38/img_2041 450x600.jpg


Wow, thankfully it has been a cool year so far, today's high expected to be 28C/83F. that's fine with me.

I ride my CX bike almost daily and always with a backpack. I guess I still resist Panniers because of the racks. I like to ride this bike on gravel often enough that I want to avoid adding racks. I do love the fenders though, especially in this rainy season.

I think I will buy a bottle of bear repellent to carry in one of my water bottle holders just in case I encounter another angry cyclist. Sad, but what you say is too often the case here too. I try to ring my bell, which for some reason seems to upset pedestrians less than shouting, at least 10M away and not right next to them. It's a shame that so many people only think of themselves and think that as long as something is more convenient for them, its ok to do.

Oh, well. I hope to go for a ride on the MTB with my youngest son when I get home. A little dirt might make it all better.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang z1r, that's crazy. I'm glad things didn't escalate further. 

Extended my 1.5 mile commute to 14.5 today because I just learned my office has a shower for bike commuters. Wow. Nice to rinse off anyway. 

Common theme today, was going through the park and this woman in front of me on the path was running. She had headphones on and I called out but you no avail, so I went to pass, and right then she runs in front of me to get to a water fountain. Fortunately I halfway anticipated this and wasn't really booking it, so I was able to stop inches from hitting her. She did apologize, which was nice, and hopefully she didn't hear me grumbling "you wouldn't have to be sorry if you didn't have ear buds in and bothered to look around" (highly censored). 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

NDD said:


> Dang z1r, that's crazy. I'm glad things didn't escalate further.
> 
> Extended my 1.5 mile commute to 14.5 today because I just learned my office has a shower for bike commuters. Wow. Nice to rinse off anyway.
> 
> ...


I know lots of folks who say they don;t announce anymore because so many people are wearing earbuds. Ironically, the dude that passed me this morning was wearing them.

Glad you were able to stop. And, it was nice that she apologized.

That reminds me, we have a shower here too. Since I seem to be waking up earlier in the summer, I may start riding in sooner and taking the long route. At least now I know I can clean up before work.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

z1r said:


> I know lots of folks who say they don;t announce anymore because so many people are wearing earbuds. Ironically, the dude that passed me this morning was wearing them.
> 
> Glad you were able to stop. And, it was nice that she apologized.
> 
> That reminds me, we have a shower here too. Since I seem to be waking up earlier in the summer, I may start riding in sooner and taking the long route. At least now I know I can clean up before work.


I get feeling dismayed, but it's always worth a shot. I don't understand why she chose the mup, when there's a foot only lane five feet away.

And yeah, the work shower is an amazing thing I've found. I don't have to be sweaty for the first hour of work. I'm one of those folks that sweats like an absolute pig, though.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow z1r bike path rage isn't good. I usually avoid the MUPs as much as possible. Yesterday was an exception because somebody stole my KOM on our rail trail. The only way to get it back and not be "that" A-hole cyclist was to do it early 6:00AM. I only saw 2 people in 9 miles and got my KOM back.  I'm probably just encouraging somebody else to be "that" cyclist but, whatever. I didn't make the segments. 

dutchman, that wasn't dirt. It was all pollen that came out of the air and stuck to my damp bike in the fog. 

Rest day today. I carpooled in and need to shuttle a car back home. It's supposed to rain and my legs could use the break.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Man z1r that really sucks. I used to try "explaining" things to other cyclists, but it's hopeless. Kind of like this oldie but goodie:









Now I just keep my mouth shut and enjoy the ride. Glad that you are OK out of the encounter.

bedwards, that is crazy pollen. My allergies would be exploding...

Rain again this morning. Felt refreshing actually.

I'll cross over 3000 miles sometime next week so slightly ahead of my year mileage goal. I'd like to get over 400,000 feet climbed for the year and it looks like I'll end June just under 200,000 so slightly behind schedule. Need to find more hills...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, I saw somebody riding against traffic on our narrow country roads yesterday. I thought about explaining that if you ride against traffic that a car can't wait to go around you if there is oncoming traffic and that's the reason... Nevermind. 

Woodway, you have me beat on mileage and hills. And we have a lot of hills.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

That is a crazy amount of pollen! Allergies have been terrible here this year yet, the news reports all show the various allergen levels as being low. What gives?

I think I too will just keep my mouth shut. It galls me, but I alone can't change attitudes and certainly don't want someone to make good on their promise to knock my teeth out. Better to just enjoy the ride. Despite it all, I'm sticking to the MUP as it is loads better than the roads I'd have to take to work.

Dang, you guys are blowing me away mileage wise this year. We had too many days of ice earlier in the year. That's my excuse anyway. If I try real hard, I could break 2K by end of next week. Real Hard!


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

So, I was just thinking about yesterday and remembered that on Saturday, as we were driving home from getting my son a "new" bike, we passed by a baseball field with cop cars everywhere and an ambulance. Yeah, you guessed it, that parents brawl at the 7 year olds baseball game that has gone viral. Just two miles from my house.

WTF is wrong with people?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well z1r you really seem to have bad luck with your encounters these days..mmwhere is the thread where everything always happens twice? Well we all know you cant fix stupid. Woodways pic applies and the oldie is still valid 

Beat the rain today. At least it wasnt really hot, 23C is simply nice.

It looks like I am approx. 3 kph faster on the cx bike which is about 5 minutes on my route. I like it 

I just booked an mtb course for me and #1. 2hrs on sat and sun, looking forward to it already.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Sorry z1r, I hope that doesn't color the rest of your day, that guy was messed up. I am pissed for you, but glad you were able to ride away.

I love my bike commute, today was no exception. I am eager to make it regular again, after a string of health issues, including lingering plantar faciitis. I've got a more gradual route up the hill I am going to try out tonight, and am planning to take a break from riding every 3 days in a row or so, to avoid worsening the overuse injury.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forecast was for thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday but just scattered showeres today so I rode and had a nice cooling sprinkling/mist. Still pretty slow, but faster than most my age!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice riding BrianMc, good to hear! Amazing stats Woodway! 

I didn't ride yesterday and was not sad, as these were the conditions when it poured several inches in several hours. All kinds of flash flood warnings and road closures. After work a friend and I watched the Winooski river from the covered deck of a pub and it was mesmerizing seeing the debris come down the river and get caught at the base of the falls from an old dam. At one time there were 5 basketball/dodge balls, a pool noodle, and of course some logs caught there. Occasionally one would escape downstream and we would cheer - I guess we are easily entertained. I don't know what class of whitewater it was but you could see how easily a kayaker could get pinned underwater in that spot and never escape.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^We had the same rain. I was driving home in the truck and it was coming down so hard I had to slow to 25mph at times just for visibility. 

Jeeze z1r the Coloradans are an angry group! I saw that fight pop up on my news feed.

The ride in had wet roads but no rain. It was a nice easy ride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Can you believe parents fighting at a little league game? What the heck is the matter with people?

I saw a story in the local paper about the rain back east, crazy! Stay safe.

What kind of MTB course Dutchman?

Riding home last night I was on a MUP next to a freeway and someone threw a can of beer at me. The lane next to the MUP was headed in the opposite direction from me and my first clue was when the can hit the trail in front of me and exploded close enough that I got a little sprayed with beer (an aside, but it was Coors Light...come on, if you are going to huck a can of beer at me, at least throw a decent beer). Since traffic was moving at 65MPH that thing would have done some damage if it hit!


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## tubbnation (Jul 6, 2015)

woodway said:


> ...
> ... it was Coors Light...come on, if you are going to huck a can of beer at me, at least throw a decent beer.


He was just looking out for you ... - a Coors Light doesn't have the added calories that a decent beer has.

In all seriousness, glad he missed, and all's well!

Btw, hello to everyone, I'm hoping to become a part time commuter here very shortly. If I'm lucky, the weather will cooperate next week.

I'll be looking at 14mi (all roads, some shoulders/exposure) and 600-700ft elevation both ways. Did a dry run a week ago, 58min (Salsa Cutthroat). Easy to med pacing. Unfortunately, nothing scenic - just urban/industrial riding.

Fyi, I'm a mtbr that typically rides 100mi weekly (combination of roads, greenways, gravel and singletrack).


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

woodchips said:


> Coors Light doesn't have the added calories that beer has.


Fixed.

_Also from this morning: Is everyone on an e-bike now?

Are they all rated for 50kph?

Have I mentioned I miss winter?

I have, haven't I?

_


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Just saw the video about the colorado mass fight on youtube *shiver* 

Woodway it is just a beginner's MTB course / clinic with 2 hrs of practicing cornering, riding around pylons etc. I was at the soccerfield two 2 weekends ago and saw the clinic, then looked it up and booked it. No clue if it is going to help my son, but I also hope to meet some parents  

And I would have reported that can of beer flying to you to the police. If they know the car they might have identified it on a security camera in the neighbourhood or something. You seem to take it lightly though ^^ 

Nice rides today. Planning on fixing my flat on Sunday and will also put on a new drivetrain: Front chainring, chain and rear cog. Will also change the rear cog from 16 to 18 teeth to make the Rohloff a bit more suitable for climbing.

I was talking about a week of touring a while ago. I got inquiries in several forums including hikers and cyclists and they all said it will be doable, but the flights are already so expensive that I will shift it to next year. Will take care to book as soon as the flights are in the system.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Dutchman - I don't take it lightly at all, but I am a realist...I was next to a freeway and the car from which the beer originated was travelling in the opposite direction at over 100km/hour. My first clue was when the beer can hit the pavement in front of me. So what do I report to the police?

Have a good time with your son at the MTB class! I did this with my two youngest boys years ago and it helped them, although ultimately (and sadly) neither of them took to mountain biking the way I have...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

The other aspect is, would the police do anything if you could give them a license plate or security footage? Probably not most places in this country and I'd be darn surprised if they did where I live. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Monday! 

Not much to report here. The weather is good. Drivers have been civil.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Didnt ride today, felt bad today and decided to stay home. Planning to ride tomorrow, but the forecast says 36C (approx 92F I think) when I go home at 5pm....will take an extra bottle and ride slowly to not overheat. Where are the commuters from southern europe and usa?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Back to commuting on the geared drop bar mtb versus the single speed mtb. My buddy has a bike shop and he helped me set up my 43mm Panracer Gravel King tires tubeless. These tires really rip, and I think they may be my favorite commuting/multi-surface road tire I've ever mounted on a bike. Plus the brown sidewalls look great on the green bike. I'm slowly adding heavier bags to the racks to practice riding with weight for touring, too. Pretty fun.









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## tfinator (Apr 30, 2009)

NDD said:


> Back to commuting on the geared drop bar mtb versus the single speed mtb. My buddy has a bike shop and he helped me set up my 43mm Panracer Gravel King tires tubeless. These tires really rip, and I think they may be my favorite commuting/multi-surface road tire I've ever mounted on a bike. Plus the brown sidewalls look great on the green bike. I'm slowly adding heavier bags to the racks to practice riding with weight for touring, too. Pretty fun.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I saw one of those in the wild recently. Killer bike! It looks like it's got clearance for an xc 2.1" tire in the rear too!

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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode my bike the 69km roundtrip today. 15c in the morning perfect. 27c return trip with headwind and 360m of climb less than perfect. But I still love it and am smiling at the end so I will do it again as soon as life allows.

Full disclosure I include the length completely as a humble brag and I’m not even sorry about it. Also it isn’t really humble I’m legit proud I can do it. 2 years and 20 kilos ago I could not have done it and now I do it 2-3 times a week. Yay not being a fat slob anymore.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

tfinator said:


> I saw one of those in the wild recently. Killer bike! It looks like it's got clearance for an xc 2.1" tire in the rear too!
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


The tires I had on previously were 2.1 rear and 2.3 front, Specialized Ground Control. I bet it could go 2.2 or 2.3 in ther rear and maybe 2.5 up front. It's a fun ride.

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## tfinator (Apr 30, 2009)

NDD said:


> The tires I had on previously were 2.1 rear and 2.3 front, Specialized Ground Control. I bet it could go 2.2 or 2.3 in ther rear and maybe 2.5 up front. It's a fun ride.
> 
> Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


Rad... It's on my list!

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

tfinator said:


> Rad... It's on my list!
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


It's a fun bike. Wouldn't buy one new, got mine barely used (like a couple hundred miles on the road, tops) for a little less than half MSRP. Haven't really had any problems with it other than ones I've caused.

Here it is with the wide tires.










I eventually quit riding that trail before I moved from the area, because I would get small pinholes in my tubes every time I'd ride, due to the excessive amount of blackberry bushes around parts of the trail.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Cobwebs and Humidity

The Florida humidity is in full swing. Stepped out of the air conditioned house to what can only be described as a "dishwasher". Got started on the commute and was drenched in sweat before I even got out of the neighborhood--the crazy thing is about this high humidity is that your sweat doesn't really do anything but sit on your skin. It just resonates. I do my morning commutes under the cover of darkness (0530 this morning) and as if the resonating, humidity induced sweat wasn't enough--I rode through what can only be described as a Hollywood Movie-esque Spider Web. I'm a pretty good sized fella (6 ft 3 in) and i'm broad through the shoulder and chest (gut too). This web covered my entire face down into my sternum and completely covered both arms.

So for the next 11 miles, I got wonder if I was carrying an 8 legged passenger on my ride. I didn't get bit nor find any spider signs when I got work. But "Dude Wipes" were used for more than just "Dude Parts" this morning.

Today's work mission is water...lots and lots of water. It's supposed to hit 111°F (43.889°C) so hydration is the name of the game.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Phew! 111F with humidity is going to be "fun" I'm thinking that the e part of that bike will make it much more enjoyable. Letting you get enough speed to cool you off without creating too much extra sweat. Although at 111 in Florida you can't raise your arms over your head without breaking a sweat.

Nice looking bike NDD



jeremy_burke said:


> Full disclosure I include the length completely as a humble brag and I'm not even sorry about it. Also it isn't really humble I'm legit proud I can do it. 2 years and 20 kilos ago I could not have done it and now I do it 2-3 times a week. Yay not being a fat slob anymore.


Humble brag away! Nobody else is going to do it for you.  That's a decent commute to keep up with. Here I'll add mine...I extended my morning commute to 41.5K. I was up early and the weather was beautiful. Unfortunately the afternoon forecast is for rain so I'll be wetter than Jelako. Fortunately, I can head straight home and it is under 20K.







From the ride in​


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Jelako said:


> Cobwebs and Humidity
> 
> The Florida humidity is in full swing. Stepped out of the air conditioned house to what can only be described as a "dishwasher". Got started on the commute and was drenched in sweat before I even got out of the neighborhood--the crazy thing is about this high humidity is that your sweat doesn't really do anything but sit on your skin. It just resonates. I do my morning commutes under the cover of darkness (0530 this morning) and as if the resonating, humidity induced sweat wasn't enough--I rode through what can only be described as a Hollywood Movie-esque Spider Web. I'm a pretty good sized fella (6 ft 3 in) and i'm broad through the shoulder and chest (gut too). This web covered my entire face down into my sternum and completely covered both arms.
> 
> ...


Damn, I would not enjoy that combo of heat and humidity. People act like St.Louis is a sauna. I mean it'll be about 90%ish for the humidity in the morning, which is why I sweat like a pig on my 1.5 mile commute if it's over 55 degrees. But by the times it's 90 degrees out today, we'll be at about 50-60% humidity. Not too shabby.

Couldn't ride in today, though. We have a visitor at work and I have to drive them to an off-site location. I thought that by proclaiming my old truck as "the ******* mobile" this would never happen, but lo and behold...I'm glad he's from Georgia, because my AC is out.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pic bedwards!

NDDs bike is a trek 920 disc right? Been drooling at that one for a long time already. But I keep dreaming of a ti fargo too....

Florida commuters must be really tough, sounds horrible! I think the highest temp I have had was 38C and I should mention that the sun is lower because I am quite up north, so it isnt baking that much.

We had 34C on the way home, a bit less than expected and it was doable. Did not even drink the whole bottle on my way.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yes, Dutchman, you're right. But...umm...if it came down to it and you just had to spend double the money on a bike, I'd go with the ti Fargo. That is a sexy bike. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yikes that ti Fargo is an expensive beast. Take a look at the Habeneros before you do that. $1000 + a fork. I've already got about 1200 miles on my ti cross bike.
MTB Frames - Habanero Cycles - http://www.habcycles.com/


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

NDD said:


> Yes, Dutchman, you're right. But...umm...if it came down to it and you just had to spend double the money on a bike, I'd go with the ti Fargo. That is a sexy bike.
> 
> Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


I have the steel 2018 version and I love it. When it wears out In 25 years i might replace it with titanium or maybe I'll replace a hip with titanium instead.


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## jbadger1977 (Jan 17, 2015)

My commute did not suck today. 90 days on the new hardtail and still not missing the road bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good one this morning. Pulled up behind a Red Prius at a 4-way stop. The Prius was just sitting there and the other drivers using the intersection were waiting for it take it's turn. I watched a few cars roll to the stop line, wait and head through the intersection in frustration when the Prius did not move. I rolled up next to the passenger side to see what was up and the young lady inside was engrossed in writing a text on her phone. I gave her a "HEY!" to get her attention and she snapped to, as if she suddenly realized where she was and she shot through the intersection. Sheesh. Put it down already.

Otherwise uneventful commute.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

The ride home last night was 108°F (42.222°C) but because of the humidity it "felt" 114°F (45.556°C).

Still made great time. The eBike lets you make your own "AC" but I locked my bike and walked directly to my pool. That was a hot one.

Woke up this morning cramps in both legs and I can tell I have to get my fluids back up, so took today off because it's supposed to be equally as hot.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Today my youngest boy and I did our sixth annual Bike to Work day. We have a good time, stopping at all the food stations along the way for tasty burritos, etc. I ride the single speed so as to limit my speed. But he is getting strong, rode his 29'er and had no problem keeping up. The commute is normally 12.6 miles but we add on 3 miles of dirt to start off with. We end up drinking cappuccinos at the coffee shop to celebrate the completion of the ride. Always a good time.

I'll post a pic once he forwards it to me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cooling off here. After a warm night it was already 26C when I rode to work this morning. During the day, the wind picked up a bit and it was only 23C on the way home. The next days are supposed to be cooler, on the weekend we will be above 30C again but on the weekend, we'll just go to the campsite and jump in the river whenever we feel like it 

Jelako, did you undress before jumping in "your" pool? Sounds good to have your own one btw...!

Z1R, sounds good as well. But how long did you need with all those stops?

Jeremy / Bedwards, the Fargo Ti is the only one I know that is IGH/SS capable.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Cooling off here. After a warm night it was already 26C when I rode to work this morning. During the day, the wind picked up a bit and it was only 23C on the way home. The next days are supposed to be cooler, on the weekend we will be above 30C again but on the weekend, we'll just go to the campsite and jump in the river whenever we feel like it
> 
> Z1R, sounds good as well. But how long did you need with all those stops?


The rivers here are too cold and right now, running too fast.

It took us about an hour an 15 minutes to travel the 15 plus miles, eat a burrito and muffin, and get some free T-shirts. We always allow a little extra travel time so we can have some fun along the way.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> 
> Jeremy / Bedwards, the Fargo Ti is the only one I know that is IGH/SS capable.


That is why I own one. It was the the only bike that was not a custom that checked all the options for configurability I wanted. But I couldn't justify the tip when I got my complete steel frame for less money. I do love it. Even if I'm not convinced on the drop bars yet.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sounds good z1r!



z1r said:


> ....We always allow a little extra travel time so we can have some fun along the way.....


:lol: That's how I do it with my sons too  When I bring them to school we always leave early so we have time for a few rounds on the skateboard parcours and such. Just a few minutes brings so much extra fun, that is really worth it.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Jelako, did you undress before jumping in "your" pool? Sounds good to have your own one btw...!


Just my bike shoes. Jumped in socks, bike bibs, and heatgear shirt.

I don't know how people live in Florida without a pool. Though, with as warm as it has been...it was nearly bath water but still refreshing.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Yeah, you have to make the time to enjoy the little things.

Its amazing how fast they grow up.

Today:








Four years ago:


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Nice! I rode the Dummy to work today and it was nice! 42km total, hope the weather is good tomorrow for a second ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Jelako, wow that is hot! 

"Hot" here yesterday,low 80's and a thunderstorm after work. Lucky to beat it as the lightning hit just off my route, blowing up a good sized tree and sending the debris over 200'. Only a little 4' spike and stump was left. The closest house got a bit smoky and the electrical system was damaged, but nobody was hurt.

Decent rides, but the aggressive driving and distracted driving is ridiculously rampant. Also a mysterious squeak, perhaps just the saddle rails.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Great commute home yesterday. My wife and boys were swimming with friends, so I was able to take the long way home. The ride was great, until I hit 5:00 traffic when I hooked up with my normal commute (I get off work around 4pm and typically miss most of the traffic). That and a big pickup exiting a parking lot fired its train horn at me as I passed in front of him.

It's pretty warm here, but it's not raining, which is an improvement. I should actually be able to get in a mtb ride this week. It feels like it's been forever. We're more than 4" of rain ahead of last year, which was the wettest year on record.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I think I'm going to start walking to work again. I get so sweaty after 1.5 miles of riding that I should probably freshen up. Not worth the time, and I've been doing 30-ish mile rides in the evenings. Now, I could be an early bird and put in extra miles on the ride in, but considering I usually bike between 8:00 and 11:00 pm, I'm not banking on that. I'm an early riser, but a slow starter. Usually up by 5:45 and at work by 7:30. 

How quickly do y'all get ready in the mornings? I need a solid 45 minutes to drink coffee. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Today it was out of bed to out the door in 15 minutes. The coffee comes with me in the bottle cage. Normally it's about 1/2 hour.


cyclingdutchman said:


> Jeremy / Bedwards, the Fargo Ti is the only one I know that is IGH/SS capable.


Habenero has different dropout options and full custom frames for $1600.


mtbxplorer said:


> Decent rides, but the aggressive driving and distracted driving is ridiculously rampant. Also a mysterious squeak, perhaps just the saddle rails.





s0ckeyeus said:


> That and a big pickup exiting a parking lot fired its train horn at me as I passed in front of him.


Why do so many people have to be A-holes. It's baffling. This morning I was riding down a section of road with some of the worst pavement anywhere. I was in the center of the lane but exceeding the 30MPH speed limit which drops to 25. Some bag of dicks in a pickup truck decided he should punish pass me anyway. I guess anger begets anger because I wanted to bash his head in with a rock....He started it!

Otherwise people have been pretty decent. They do grow up fast z1r. My youngest is 23.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

It was so hot 24C (74F) this morning so I sweat through my shirt and for the first time all year it wasn’t dry by the ride home. And it was 35C (95f) on the return trip. Also I lost a water bottle. Best part was my young kids asking me where and having to explain I lost it so I don’t know, it’s lost.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

So it has not been an extremely busy day, and I went down the rabbit hole "bike browsing".

In my immediate area, they are underway of a project to widen the main road by my house to 4-lane (divided by median) with the dedicated "wide" bike lanes with an "all purpose paths" (wide sidwalks). In the next "year", I will have access to Grocery Store(s), 12 seat movie theater, and a new local 3 barrel brewery all under a few miles.

Now that I have my Super Commuter, I no longer have a "need" for my Schwalbe Big Apple set-up that I have been using on my X-cal. I thought it might be really cool to put together a "single speed"; Beer Run bicycle. Then I got on eBay and discovered the Trek "District" series of bikes (specifically the 2010 single speed Belt Drive), Then I spent some time on Surly's web page because I know they have a lot of offerings and sell Frames. The bike shop 45 minutes north of me in Gainesville sells Surly and I called up there for a recommendation of frames and the guy tells me: "We have a never sold "Sport Brand Champa" steel frame bicycle that we just want to get rid of". It's a 57" frame (I prefer 60) but an all steel frame/steel fork with Alfine 8 and Gates Drive...do I at least go test ride it? Can you build a single speed for $800? Can you find a steel frame for $800? That bike sold brand new for $1800. heck, i'll bet if i offered $700 they might just want to be rid of it. But then I'm in for $700 on a "beer bike"...is that insane?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Seems like too much dough to spend unless you habe another purpose for it. Just my opinion. 

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sounds your day was like tuesday here jeremy. It cooled down again luckily, today was only 17C all day. Sunday issupposed to be 37C again, we will see.

Jelako you are right that is much money but when you like the bike and have the money, why not?

Will check the habenero website bedwards.


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## DaveRider (Jul 14, 2014)

NDD said:


> Dang z1r, that's crazy. I'm glad things didn't escalate further.
> 
> Extended my 1.5 mile commute to 14.5 today because I just learned my office has a shower for bike commuters. Wow. Nice to rinse off anyway.
> 
> ...


Here in Buenos Aires, the bike paths are pretty dangerous...earbud zombie joggers/ walkers, offleash dogs, two-abreast riders/ walkers/ joggers. Yelling & bells get no response until you're right up on them. The only thing that gets their attention is a loud turkey gobble, Chewbakka growl, or a "MOVE!" in English.
I guess foreign sounds get attention somehow.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

NDD said:


> Seems like too much dough to spend unless you habe another purpose for it. Just my opinion.
> 
> Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


If u can afford it, why not? I think my "commuter" is somewhere around $5,000 now, pretty ludicrous when i think about it.

I wussed out on my commute this week, been having bouts of heavy rains and thunder. As i drove instead, it ends up i would have missed most of it. Ill just justify it to myslef by saying there were three lightning injuries due to the weather, which is exceptional here. I did try to atone for it and jumped on bike last night and rode for an hour and half.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

NDD said:


> How quickly do y'all get ready in the mornings? I need a solid 45 minutes to drink coffee.


Reallly slowly, but I enjoy it. I get up at 5- 5:15 and leave the house by 7:45-8. That's about an hour of coffee, news and surfing, 45 minutes of walking the dog in the woods, maybe some frisbee tosses for him, and also packing breakfast, more coffee, and any clothes for the day that are not already at the office. Finally, changing and getting out the door with the selected bicycle and my gear.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

root said:


> If u can afford it, why not? I think my "commuter" is somewhere around $5,000 now, pretty ludicrous when i think about it.
> 
> I wussed out on my commute this week, been having bouts of heavy rains and thunder. As i drove instead, it ends up i would have missed most of it. Ill just justify it to myslef by saying there were three lightning injuries due to the weather, which is exceptional here. I did try to atone for it and jumped on bike last night and rode for an hour and half.


Look, I'm not saying I wouldn't like to have more bikes, but could think of other things to do with the money if the bike doesn't meet an unfilled niche, even if the money is expendable.

Bedwards, that's crazy. 15 minutes. I'm guessing you do most of your prep the night before, but dang.

MTBX, that's more my style, but maybe even a bit too relaxed! I'd consider something likethat but somehow I always seem to be the first in the office and second or third last to leave.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I know there have been some Brooks saddle fans on here. Just saw that the Brooks B17 standard saddle (3 color choices) is the daily special over at BikeTires Direct, $85 from $135.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> Bedwards, that's crazy. 15 minutes. I'm guessing you do most of your prep the night before, but dang.


That's a minimum. My wife was heading out and I decided to ride with her. I also do all my showering at work. So home is get up, pour coffee, pull on bike clothes and leave.



mtbxplorer said:


> I know there have been some Brooks saddle fans on here. Just saw that the Brooks B17 standard saddle (3 color choices) is the daily special over at BikeTires Direct, $85 from $135.


I'm a big WTB saddle fan. $30 

Jelako, everybody knows my opinion on buying bikes.  Just ask yourself it would bring yourself more joy. If the answer is yes go give it a try. If the answer is meh, you know your answer. No idea about that brand.

I piloted the Habby ti cross bike home at an average of 22.8MPH on my 11 mile work to home segment. Something I never would have imagined possible when I started my daily commute 10 years ago. Also extremely unlikely on the Surly Cross Check it replaced.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

root said:


> ... my "commuter" is somewhere around $5,000 now, pretty ludicrous when i think about it.


This math doesn't check out. Divide by miles or km ridden, and then we'll see if it's ludicrous. 

Due to a recent wheel buying binge I'm still above 89 cents a kilometer, BTW, but that's in CAD.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Alone I would normally around 30minutes to get up and out the door. But usually I get up with my wife and kids and help them to get ready, then we leave at the same time. In tht case it is an hour, of which I have the first 15 minutes for myself. In that time I dress and eat something.

Busy today. Left work and thats where the pressure started: ride home, pack camping gear for the whole family, get the bikes on the car, drive 2 hrs to the coast, make camp, eat, get kids in bed, now 11pm and finally rest. The reward is 2 full days here, driving back sunday 6 pm.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

ghettocruiser said:


> This math doesn't check out. Divide by miles or km ridden, and then we'll see if it's ludicrous.
> 
> Due to a recent wheel buying binge I'm still above 89 cents a kilometer, BTW, but that's in CAD.


Yup. As i ride home i often calculate to myself as a Tesla goes by, i could buy a dozen or more of the bike i have. The amount of resources it takes to make just a door you could make who knows how many of my bike. And then the cost to operate and maintain?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey nobody here to open the week yet?

I calculated I am around 13€cent per kilometer now on the main bike. Total distance is currently ~22tkm/14tm. I wonder where you guys and gals all are? I have a Rohloff and by now it should have become cheaper than a chain gearing I guess ;o)) I did include a fair amount of money for replacements etc, but not the money I spent on experiments with brakes and bars.

Weather was nice today, quite windy on the way home. 

It might rain this night so maybe I will have to take the heavy fendered beast again tomorrow. I have gotten used to the CX bike and was thinking, maybe I will put some SKS longboards on for those wetter summer days....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^The opening is all yours! I was just waiting for you. 

Dutchman I use to have a heavy fendered beast until I bought that ti bike. Now I even take it when the sun is out. We wont consider the cost of ownership on it yet but it is already below $1/km with only 4 months of riding.

My cost of ownership is all over the map. Mountain bikes are way higher than road bikes because of the lower miles. My Cross Check I bought for $700 and sold for $425 and I put 4000km+ on it. Wear items might have been another $150. So somewhere around $0.10/km. My most expensive bike I bought for $3K but it has over 11,000km so that one keeps getting cheaper. My fatbike has about 5000km on it but I'm still in the $0.75/km range. Although if you base it on riding time it would come out a lot better.

I personally like to compare my bike collection cost to people that own pleasure boats. You can own a whole garage full of nice bikes and not come up to the price of a single decent boat which has no practical value.

Nice weather forecast for the foreseeable future! Currently 82F/28C.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey nobody here to open the week yet?
> 
> I calculated I am around 13€cent per kilometer now on the main bike. Total distance is currently ~22tkm/14tm. I wonder where you guys and gals all are? I have a Rohloff and by now it should have become cheaper than a chain gearing I guess ;o)) I did include a fair amount of money for replacements etc, but not the money I spent on experiments with brakes and bars.
> 
> ...


I encountered some good wind as well, had it in the back on my way to work so i knew i was in for a treat on the way back, had more then 15k of the 21k headwind on so i was pretty knackered but still managed 20km/h average wohaa!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice rides today, although my legs were more tired than expected due to trailwork and yardwork yesterday. We got a popular trail re-opened though, so that was great! Here's a riding vid from when it was first built 5 years ago, not easy!!. 



 You can see the stringers were just what was available in the forest, and they did not last.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Skinny bridges, no thank you. One tire slip away from another broken collar bone or worse. Do you ride those?

We did our Tuesday couples commute this morning. Is that bikepooling?


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I did my commute again on the Dummy, was hard on the way back, headwind giving me a good work out on my way home, on the map you can see why no direction is good for me, i allways have it in the front, side and back at a given moment.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I've never managed to get the price of a store-bought bike below about $0.25/km CAD.

Chain, cogs, brake pads, and tires etc take over as the cost drivers and it's hard to chip the capital cost much lower than that with the consumables price steady (or rising).

If I took the effort to buy more used stuff, sell stuff before I ride it into scrap, or use beaters in the winter it might be possible, but I don't see wide adoption of any of those options in my future.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I thought the same thing about the video, the rider is going pretty slow for such a narrow bridge.

Flush, I have the same thing, route is kinda U shape so always headwind in some direction.

Concerning the bike costs. no matter what, biking to work can not be expressed in money.

Windy again today, gusts up to around 30 knots, but still rideable.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Cost of operation/Tesla comparison: Car and Driver found a Lamborghini Aventador that was leased to a company that rented them to people interested in driving supercars to the track and the owner commuted with it About $330,000 new with 250,000 miles worth about $75,000, plus repair from a head on into a tree. Cost per mile: $2.50. Of course, left to sit at low miles in a heated garage it would have appreciated. I figure my 2013 Focus at about $.25 cents a mile, not sure about the bike, but as Cycling said, money is not the key factor.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I did not ride today because I had an issue with pulse going nuts on the way home last ride. Pulled over and let it drop before resuming several times on the way home. Hit 240 after stopping at the side of the road 3/4 the way up the first long grade. By my age I should be 154, but with the stents tehy say more like 120-144. So I guess I get to use the Granny. It is nearly pristine. At 60 I had a max heart rate of 175 (about that of a 45 year old). Hope I can work this back up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Hi BrianMc, hope that gets sorted, it must be tough after all your past bikecapades.



bedwards1000 said:


> Skinny bridges, no thank you. One tire slip away from another broken collar bone or worse. Do you ride those?


No, I'm not fond of the high consequence trails either! I wiped out on it in workboots during the original build, and that did not make me fall in love with it. That guy is riding it in the uphill direction, so thats why he's going slow. Not that you can bomb down it either, to tricky.

Annoying squeak for at least 5 miles today, only to disappear on the last mile uphile and not show up at all on the 8 mile return. It sounded exactly like one of those wheels that mice and gerbils run in, and continued whether in saddle or not, pedaling or not, etc.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Flush, I have the same thing, route is kinda U shape so always headwind in some direction.


where are you from then? coastal area?
Took the car today, give the legs a rest but they sensed on my work and are haunting me now with jobs to do


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

It was a great ride in today. The weather couldn't have been prettier and it's almost sunrise time again.



















I also got to see the fire crews responding to the local substation being on fire. Hope the power wasn't out for too long.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

No commute, day 2 -- yesterday was forecast for HUGE thunderstorms; today the heat index is at 112°F (44.444°C).

I'm gonna have a lot of miles to make up on the Trek/Strava challenge.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

The ride home was also great. Less about speed more about scenery. And I got to pass through a herd of sheep.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Brian, I agree with MTBX - take it easy if necessary!

Flush, I am about 100kilometers from the coast in both directions (to North Sea or Baltic Sea) but I have to go across an old riverarm to get to work. So I have to make a kind of U-shape route to the west or east - mostly east, it is the shortest way.

Took the longer way west on the way home today. Met my wife and kids along the way and rode home together. It was quite windy again with gusts up to 25kts but we were mostly sheltered and it was a tailwind on the way home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy, an irish traffic jam for you! :lol:

https://www.brianlukeseaward.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Irish_Traffic_Jam_18_x_12.jpg

^^but at what time do you leave?? Sunrise is ~5am here at the moment...


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I walk the dog at 5:30 and head out a close to 6:00 as I can. I like to be at work showered and ready to go by no later than 08:00. I’m old and slow and my ride takes me a bit. Most of spring and fall I get to see sunrise and I like it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I dont know about age but I would definitely not call you slow riding a 34km commutte with a 24kph average on a hilly gravel route!?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

jeremy_burke said:


> The ride home was also great. Less about speed more about scenery. And I got to pass through a herd of sheep.


Nice! They are using goats on a local bike path here to combat the poison ivy.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

jeremy_burke said:


> The ride home was also great. Less about speed more about scenery. And I got to pass through a herd of sheep.


An Irish traffic jam!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Quiet here today - everyone is off because of Independance Day I guess?

I drove yesterday. Rode again today and I made a detour despite an approaching shower. In the end I got some drizzle only, so it turned out better than expected.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I was lazy and took the car!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I rode in, it was nice and quiet on the roads and is nice and quiet in the open office. Of course that did not stop a jerk from passing super close. I think he was offended by my not riding on the shoulder when approaching the light where I needed to take a left turn (the intersection has a left-turn lane, go forward lane, and right-turn lane). I motioned the give me more space signal and he responded with the bird and who knows what else. I was just catching him at the light when he got a green to go straight, so clearly being courteous would not have slowed him down at all. Never a cop around when you need one, as the saying goes. It looks like a hot breeze for the way home, 91 F currently with winds 10-15mph. 

Have a good weekend, and go USA Women on Sunday in the World Cup soccer finals!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> .......Have a good weekend, and go USA Women on Sunday in the World Cup soccer finals!......


Objection :lol: gogogo orange lions!!!


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Lionesses yes!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> go USA Women on Sunday in the World Cup soccer finals!


...and congrats to USA women to win the world championships! USA was clearly better, like the statistics to shots on goal, accuracy and ball possession show as well. The lions gave a hell of a fight but more training will be necessary. The lion says "I'll be back" 

Nice rides today. It was supposed to rain this morning so I dressed up for it but in the end it was just a few drops and I got pretty steamy, although it was 11C only. The ride home was better with a nice tailwind on the first half and 17C. It is supposed to rain more so I will ride the fendered bike, parked the CX bike in the basement again.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great rides today even better weather. Just this one pretty picture.










I have two Salsa bikes and they both have the swing plate adjustment plates. Both of them have lost at least one of the main mounting bolts on the drive side. And today I caught my drive side bolt trying to do it again. Salsa needs to fix this problem. I don't mind keeping an eye on it but I hate that they are so prone to loosing themselves.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Objection :lol: gogogo orange lions!!!


:thumbsup::cornut:


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Beat the rain in the morning and all clear coming home. The tire liners seems to be helping, no flat in 3 weeks lol city commuting in a bike unfriendly area is rough on ya tires. I need a go pro to document some of the shennangins that occur on my ride


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, riding trying to keep pulse rate below 130 was weird. A lot of coasting to lower the pulse. A lot of spinning an easier ratio to keep the pulse from rising too high on grades. I am hoping that conditioning will give me back some of the freedom to ride harder. I suppose I could go electric but I am resistant.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> I suppose I could go electric but I am resistant.


How many ohms of resistance you putting up? Lol!

Hoping for the best for you. Could always get into the pun market.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

jeremy_burke said:


> Great rides today even better weather. Just this one pretty picture.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You can use locking nuts on the bolts Jeremy, i replaced the original ones direct because of that and i have not even finished the build


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Well, riding trying to keep pulse rate below 130 was weird. A lot of coasting to lower the pulse. A lot of spinning an easier ratio to keep the pulse from rising too high on grades. I am hoping that conditioning will give me back some of the freedom to ride harder. I suppose I could go electric but I am resistant.


I hope so too, glad you are getting out! Here's a cool bike my LBS carries in case you look into e-bike options - it looks amazing, and he has sold quite a few. https://www.orbea.com/us-en/ebikes/road/gain-all-road


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> I hope so too, glad you are getting out! Here's a cool bike my LBS carries in case you look into e-bike options - it looks amazing, and he has sold quite a few. https://www.orbea.com/us-en/ebikes/road/gain-all-road


No fair. That doesn't even look like an e-bike.

My commutes have been sticky and hot. I had to bum a ride home in a thunderstorm last week. I currently have 2 bikes at the office, and I'm not sure how I'll get the one home yet. The morning after the storm, I rode to work in my dress shoes, since I'd forgotten to change into my biking shoes before getting the ride home. That was an awkward look. The shoes weren't especially comfortable on the bike, but you do what you gotta do. I'm digging this week so far. No rain!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Brian, yes its hard to ride slower than you want. I often force myself into it to not sweat too much. Also do not look on the speedometer. In 99% of the rides, speed is not that important - at least, on my commute...

Rode in with a collegue again. We left at different times and will ride together again tomorrow. Again some drizzle and 11C only this morning. Dry, windy and 17C on the way home. Not much summer at the moment, but I take it as it comes.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

mtbxplorer said:


> I hope so too, glad you are getting out! Here's a cool bike my LBS carries in case you look into e-bike options - it looks amazing, and he has sold quite a few. https://www.orbea.com/us-en/ebikes/road/gain-all-road


I agree. It is a stealth electric bike. I assume a crank geared motor and battery in the downtube. Very incognito.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> No fair. That doesn't even look like an e-bike.


I know - and as light as 25 pounds!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Back to bikecommuting today. Yesterday I led a trailride and Monday I drove in after watching the soccer final before work. Amazingly, I was able to avoid hearing the score from Sunday's game by not touching a radio, phone or computer. A few pix from the ride around the old quarries...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looks nice mtbx. And 25pounds is pretty light for an ebike, my main commuter bike is much heavier...

Nice rides today. Dry and less windy, rode with my collegue both ways.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great rides today accidentally met a German neighbor so we rode together nearly the whole way it was great and he pushed me to within 15 seconds of my fastest time ever. No pictures just great rides.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

For the bike nerds here, more on the Orbea technology. There is a rear hub motor smaller than the usual. Meant more to support commutes and grades at 10 to 15 mph. It drops out with no drag if off.

https://www.ebikemotion.com/web/x35-light-smart-ebike-system/


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Seems like an extra push just when you need it, clever concept!

Where are Woodway and Bedwards?

Nice ride this morning. On the way home the rain got me. I was about halfway and riding on a **** with view in all directions. Quite nice, when it is not too windy. So I could see the curtain of rain approaching for about 10 minutes before I felt the first drops. Stopped, put on the raingear and continued until home. It was 19C so I got quite steamy in those 10 minutes.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Can't believe it but I never got rained on today. Probably on the way home though.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Can't believe it but I never got rained on today. Probably on the way home though.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Where are Woodway and Bedwards?


Still alive! (can't speak for bedwards, have not seen him on Strava since July 9th).

It's been a busy couple of weeks, my youngest son got married just before July 4th and we had family in from all over the US.

I've been back to my regular commute all week. Weather has been unusual - normally Seattle is reliably dry starting in July, but I've ridden in the rain three days this week.

My commuter is going to get a full tear-down and cleaning this weekend. I'm going to install new pedals (the old ones are just worn out and I have decided not to rebuild them for the 4th time), new brake rotors (existing rotors are deeply grooved - it's time for new ones) and a new chain. Have a good weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^you ride in the rain too Jeremy? 

Woodway nice to see you are still here. I thought you were on vacation, like Bedwards I guess. Congrats for your son getting married - kids already in the making? 

Nice ride in today. Ride home was also nice, but wet. Rode in the rain the first 15 minutes and made my usual Friday detour nonetheless. It was 20C so I did not bother putting on the rain gear, a 90€ pants and 50€ longsleeve have to show they are worth the money. and yes they are. I did get wet of course but it was almost dry 30 minutes after it stopped raining.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

As predicted I got caught in a thunderstorm “Gewitter” on the way home. But it was warmish and only hailed a little so honestly it was fun. Hope you all were safe and had good rides today.

Dutchman, I ride as much as I can no matter the weather (except ice). I don’t really do rain gear either. I rather be wet from rain than steam like a clam (which I’m allergic to anyway).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^You may be able to burn the oil off with a blow torch. Put them in a vise and heat them until they just smoke. Don't do it around a smoke detector. It is usually mineral oil that they are contaminated with but any oil should have a low smoke point. Don't forget how hot they are when you are done. That's an old JeffScott trick. I wonder where he went.


So after I oiled up my new pads as well a few days ago, I tried the trick and what can I say, it worked!

I held them with pliers and heated the backside (piston side) with a simple cigarette lighter until they smoked good. I think once they start smoking, 15-20 seconds of further heating is enough. The first one started making crackling noises after that so I put it down, I did not want to risk them cracking (exploding) them apart. After cooling down I thoroughly sanded the rotor side and wiped off the black sooth of the backing plate. After cleaning the rotor and caliper inside with break cleaner I put the pads back in and went for a ride to bed them in. It took quite a while and I already thought it hadnt worked, but then they started braking all of a sudden again. Saved me 20€ for new pads (although I think I sanded off 5€ at least...)

I sent a PM to Jeffscott just to thank him and to say we hope he is doing well.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy I hope you were not too close in the thunderstorm? There should be several seconds between lightning and thunder. 3 seconds is a kilometer, 5 is a mile away.

I myself once got caught in one in the dark and at some point the light from the lightning bolt was coming horizontally through between the trees. Since then I have become more careful with that...and I also had hail once on the way home, made a hell of a noise in my helmet :lol: I do wear raingear when it gets colder, lets say 12-13C or below. Overhere in winter it is often just 2-3C, combined with rain and wind its not funny anymore.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Dutchman I actually didn’t pay too much attention as I was only 6km from home when it hit in an area of mostly fields at that point I just wanted to be home so I laughed a little and pedaled harder. 

I should be honest too. In the winter here I do wear some rain gear because 2C and rain is the worst.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

The ride in was nearly perfect this morning. Started out with a light sprinkle ended up sunny and nice. Fastest time in ever today as well. Made the 33.54 KM in 79min 21sec. Not bad for plus tire off road bike on mixed surface. I’m not cross country racer but it felt great. Hope you all have great rides today as well.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The morning started off with me getting chased by not one but 2 chihuahuas down the street in my neighborhood. They would not stop following me. I eventually had to turn around and ride my bike straight back at them to get them to run back to their owners who were yelling for them to return, however unsuccessfully. I've had issues with these dogs before. The good news is that they're tiny and I could easily squash them. The bad news is that they're tiny and I could easily squash them. I don't know why the owners keep letting them into the front yard.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

s0ckeyeus said:


> The morning started off with me getting chased by not one but 2 chihuahuas down the street in my neighborhood. .... The good news is that they're tiny and I easily squashED them..


I fixed it for you.

I love dogs. I own a dog now that might be my favorite dependent most days. As I write this he is chasing flys around my house trying to bite them. That said Chihuahuas are the worst and have got to be the most kickable little dogs on earth.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yesterday was at least dry, and grey and windy with only 16C. This morning had 13C and drizzle which turned into light rain during the ride. Typical week of northern germany summer. At least it is turning better from today on.

Funny that dog issue, I had the same thing yesterday. The dog backed off when I stopped pedaling and lifted my leg out of reach and (as a last resort) ready to kick.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides on the BMX cruiser yesterday. Had a road find, a little scratched but perfectly serviceable. When I stopped to grab it from the Panera exit drive, a not-helpful motorist hit it (there was room to go around or of course simply over it), skittering it into route 302. The oncoming driver was nicer though, and stopped to let me retrieve it. Then a large piece of cardboard flew out of the top of a garbage truck ahead of me - not only littering but a road hazard. I reported it to the company and they spoke to the driver about the need to cycle (lol) the compactor after each stop, and sent someone out to retrieve the cardboard. They did not look very hard, as I found it on my way home between the guard rail and a chain link fence.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ck, if it was me I would have kept riding and let the dogs follow me to work. Maybe then the owners would act responsibly. Love dogs. Hate dog owners.

I got rained on this morning and then flatted about .5 miles from the office. Front tire. It did not go all the way flat so I pumped it up and made a run for the office. I got about 500 feet when I realized it was futile. Stopped and did the full tire change.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway good suggestion. And couldnt you have walked to the office and fix it there?

Nice ride home today, good weather setting in for the next days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Still alive! (can't speak for bedwards, have not seen him on Strava since July 9th).


Hey, I was missed. I dropped off the grid, literally. I was camping and didn't have enough service to post rides, check in or anything. The weather was great and I did get a few rides in that Strava now knows about. They were "hilly"







That Orbea looks pretty cool. I wonder if it had enough battery to get up that climb (I barely did).

And MTXB, you never told us what "it" was that you found in the road.

0.5 miles usually falls into the jog it in category but on a nice day it can be nice to be out of the office a little longer. And the tire has to be fixed at some point.

The commute in was pretty uneventful. Which is good!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Nice ride Bedwards and others. 

Yesterday I managed to double my commute in miles by forgetting my laptop at home and realizing it when I got to the office. In terms of time it probably quadrupled, because I got stopped by two trains. A whole whopping six miles of utilitarian joy. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I am slowly increasing my max heart rate with no sudden scary increases. I haven't got the word from the cardilogist if I will have to stcik at 143. I am hopeful that I can break through that limit. At 62 my max was that of a 45 year old. Building muscle and losing weight. They are rebuilding my usual road with nice new shoulders. I hope to be ready for 30 mile rides when they get it done.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> s0ck, if it was me I would have kept riding and let the dogs follow me to work. Maybe then the owners would act responsibly. Love dogs. Hate dog owners.


That thought crossed my mind, but ultimately I didn't feel comfortable leading dogs down a busy street.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Apologies! Not sure if that was a button-pushing error or my lousy internet connection at home. Here is the road find








Pretty sure the Orbea Gain would eat that climb for breakfast, bedwards!

Good rides today but hot n humid.

I think I fixed my annoying squeak - removed the front fender mounting bolts, added grease, and reinstalled on fork mounts.

Nice going BrianMc!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Another great ride today and again I managed it in under 80 minutes. Now if I could just consistently get the return trip in under 1:40.

As I was leaving this morning. Sorry no bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Apologies! Not sure if that was a button-pushing error or my lousy internet connection at home. Here is the road find.


Phew, I was thinking I was crazy because I read it a few times and couldn't figure out what you were talking about. I found a bungee cord today.



mtbxplorer said:


> Pretty sure the Orbea Gain would eat that climb for breakfast, bedwards!


I'm not sure. I think it would use it up. I averaged 300W. The little 250W motor would be running at nearly full capacity for the full climb depending on what the rider put in. Have you tried it, Hurricane Mountain Road from N. Conway? It's not something the casual cyclist would seek out. Up or down.

I got a head shake from a motorist that was the source of the problem on my way home last night.

Couples commute this morning. It looks like the steady rain will all fall while I'm working.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Way to go BrianMc!

Saw the rides you uploaded bedwards - looks like a good time.

Dutchman, bedwards, pushing the bike to work? Seriously? Where is your pride? 

Thankfully no flats today, just some light sprinkles.


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## jbadger1977 (Jan 17, 2015)

Commute was hot AF today. Rode in later than usual. Temp was already near 90 at 9:45am. Supposed to be at or near 100 for the next 3 days. Btw, I'm in Denver.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx is that an insulated one for coffee etc?

Bedwards nice to hear you had a good time! 

Woodway ROFL totally nailed it :lol:

Nice rides again today. Summer weather is back, it was only 20C this afternoon but sunny and no wind at all. Temps are going to rise to almost 30C next week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Brian you are really persistent on the bike thing. No matter what you keep coming back. You are a real bikewarrior! :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Brian you are really persistent on the bike thing. No matter what you keep coming back. You are a real bikewarrior! :thumbsup:


It's the smile it puts on my face as I roll out the drive on another adventure! I also apparently have a genotype that responds well to exercise. I suspect that if I had kept the riding miles higher, I'd not have had the blockage.

Live to ride, ride to live.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Phew, I was thinking I was crazy because I read it a few times and couldn't figure out what you were talking about. I found a bungee cord today.
> 
> I'm not sure. I think it would use it up. I averaged 300W. The little 250W motor would be running at nearly full capacity for the full climb depending on what the rider put in. Have you tried it, Hurricane Mountain Road from N. Conway? It's not something the casual cyclist would seek out. Up or down.


 OMG, I did not realize that was Hurricane Mtn Rd - when I first saw that road I was like how the heck did they pave this -sooooo steep . I rode up the Conway side years ago to ride back down the MTB trails, those were super-fun! You might be right! Last week someone here claimed that Lincoln Gap in VT is the steepest paved 1 mile in America (Real Misery In The Green Mountains | VT Gran Fondo), and I asked if they had been on Hurricane Mtn Rd in NH. You are good at Strava and data - who wins?



cyclingdutchman said:


> Mtbx is that an insulated one for coffee etc?
> 
> No, just a plastic water bottle. I already have 2 the same size, but this one does have a different top.


Caught in downpours on the way home, but I had to laugh when the vehicle that sent a wave of water my way in its wake was a big wide-load power boat.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice KOM bedwards. You deserve those cookies!

Rain for me again this morning. It's JULY for goodness sake. It's not supposed to rain here in July.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Live to Ride, Ride to Live!!



mtbxplorer said:


> OMG, I did not realize that was Hurricane Mtn Rd - when I first saw that road I was like how the heck did they pave this -sooooo steep . I rode up the Conway side years ago to ride back down the MTB trails, those were super-fun! You might be right! Last week someone here claimed that Lincoln Gap in VT is the steepest paved 1 mile in America (Real Misery In The Green Mountains | VT Gran Fondo), and I asked if they had been on Hurricane Mtn Rd in NH. You are good at Strava and data - who wins?


It looks like Lincoln gap wins with a mile with an average grade of 15%. Hurricane has almost 2 miles with an average of 11% but the bottom is steeper so it might be close. It is challenging for sure!


woodway said:


> Nice KOM bedwards. You deserve those cookies!


Actually, I used the KOM as an incentive not to eat the cookies when normally I would have. That KOM is on my regular route home and I've been trying for it for 2 years now. They guy I took it from and I have a battle going on. He took one of mine on Tuesday, I took one of his today, by 1 second. 27.6MPH for 3 miles of rolling hills, ouch. I'm planning on visiting a few more on the ride home. What can I say, it keeps me entertained and fit.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

No commute today after returning from my Alaskan cruise--on that subject, I broke 100 miles for the month of July on my Juneau "Bike and Brew" excursion and I qualified for the TREK free T-shirt! So that's good.

So why didn't I commute today? Funny you should ask, because during my email clean up I received an email from Trek:



> If the wrong bolt that holds the front fender to the fork crown is installed during assembly, the bolt can unthread and the fender can fall on the front wheel. If this happens, the bike can stop suddenly, and the rider could be involved in a serious accident.
> 
> Your safety is very important to us. Therefore, Trek will inspect your bicycle, and if the wrong bolt is installed, replace it free of charge. This letter contains important information regarding what to do next if you think you may have purchased one of these bicycles.


So yeah...I can be potentially hurled over my handle bars at 28 mph. So that's a thing. Now the upside to this news is:



> In addition, when you bring in your Super Commuter+ 8S for inspection, Trek will give you an in-store credit of $100 to use toward any Trek or Bontrager merchandise.


So the question now is, what is the best value for my "$100"?

In other news, I got to spend the day in Seattle before embarking on my cruise. I thought I was "excited" and "impressed" with the new bike lanes going up in my local area. After seeing downtown Seattle...I'm extremely disappointed. To see entire dedicated 2-way lanes, painted green, well marked, isolated by barriers...there were so many commuters even on a Sunday. I was also excited to see so many eBikes. I got to talk to a few people along the market & piers. Many of them who have moved to Seattle within the last "few" years. All of them with a similar story. Showed up with a car, but in the short stay they've all gone car free and commute 100% by bicycle. I'm not moving to Seattle, but it was very impressive and in my personal case envious of what "could" be if more cities embraced bicycling beyond niche'.

Final thought: I am still using a "mountain bike" helmet. It's comfortable. It's MIPS. It's "fine". But between Seattle and doing some research...there are some great "commuter" helmet options. Bontrager has their commuter helmet (wavecel)...that has the ability to rear mount the bontrager light. There is the Giro Bexley and Camden. Now I've been exposed to the Lumos helmet. The new Lumos Matrix has my attention. I actually saw several Lumos helmets (the Kickstarter edition) in just one day in Seattle. Any of you ride with Giro? Lumos?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> Final thought: I am still using a "mountain bike" helmet. It's comfortable. It's MIPS. It's "fine".


And I use mountain bike shoes on all my road bikes. I wouldn't want to combine my lights and helmet because lights have a tendency to die. I zip-tie a light holder to the back of my (mountain bike) helmet. Don't believe the hype.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Good commute today, got some extra miles by having to go to another location first for work. Some jerk tried to pass me in a roundabout, but they didn't commit, and instead of just speeding up ahead of me they kinda sped up and then started to take the right turn in front of me. I didn't let them.

Not looking forward to the ride home, it'll be 96 with 55% humidity and heat index of 104. It's hot over here for the next few days. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Tire pressure, forgot how important it is to check regularly and keep proper inflation. Last week my commutes seemed to take a bit more effort and I notice my tires looked a bit low as I tried to figure out what was going on. Topped off both tires on Monday and each were about 7-10 psi low lol. Commutes been much easier this week even with the humidity and heat.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Congrats on your KOM Bedwards. Strava is a good thing to stay competitive and fit indeed.

Good quote again Brian!

tough luck for you Woodway. Maybe it will be compensated by less rain in winter?

MTBX Bedwards be glad you are not in Europe. Steepest road here is 37%!! 




Steepest I have ridden is ~15% but that is just a few hundred meters, not an average over a longer stretch. And honestly, I find that enough 

Oh man (and woman) I dont know why but the ride in was so nice this morning. It was 12C, slight haze and sunny. Felt refreshing but not really cold and is was simply very enjoyable. 23C and sunny on the way home, went for shorts, Tshirt and sandals instead of lycra and stuff. (I permantly break the rule that says that kit and bike should have matching colors. Although today, bike and T-shirt were both orange...)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Jelako said:


> I'm not moving to Seattle, but it was very impressive and in my personal case envious of what "could" be if more cities embraced bicycling beyond niche'.


Seattle has made quite an investment in bike facilities, and that has spilled over into the surrounding cities. The city I work in, Bellevue - across Lake Washington from Seattle, has installed dedicated bike lanes downtown and is planning for more. This was a shock to many in the local bike community as Bellevue has always been viewed as a car city and a cycling wasteland. The increase in the number of bike commuters over the last 10 years is really noticeable, especially in the summer. And with e-bikes coming down in price, this trend will only accelerate.

The best benefit of all this, from my POV, is that drivers around here have become used to sharing the road with bikes. Ten years ago when I started bike commuting full-time it felt like I had regular run-ins with drivers doing stupid things. Now, it hardly ever happens. Bike are just accepted.



Jelako said:


> Final thought: I am still using a "mountain bike" helmet. It's comfortable. It's MIPS. It's "fine". But between Seattle and doing some research...there are some great "commuter" helmet options.


I just ride with my Fox Mountain Bike Helmet. I used to mount a light on the back of my helmet, but it was uncomfortable. I bought a Dinotte Quad Red Taillight and mounted it on the back of my rack. That thing is BRIGHT, even in broad daylight.



18th letter said:


> Tire pressure, forgot how important it is to check regularly and keep proper inflation.


I check/re-inflate my tires every other day.



cyclingdutchman said:


> tough luck for you Woodway. Maybe it will be compensated by less rain in winter?


I doubt it, winter is reliably rainy around here, just as summers are usually reliably dry (EXCEPT THIS SUMMER SO FAR). Got rained on again last night going home and this morning coming into work. But the weatherman says summer is finally coming next week! Have a good weekend all.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Didnt sleep well tonight and felt very tired. Maybe thats the reason I had a fast ride in. It was 17C already and 25C in the afternoon.

Will be on vacation for 2 weeks now. Planning to make some nice family rides. Will look in here very once and a while but probably not much to post the next time. Enjoy your weekend everyone!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

There was a burned American flag on a bridge I ride over this morning. That was certainly unexpected.

Other than that, it's pretty hot here. Temps are in the upper 70s in the mornings and mid-90s on the way home with high humidity (dew point today is 75F). Not the most pleasant conditions but still better than driving. I had to an all-day business meeting yesterday. The venue was within riding distance, but I elected to drive since the route was dicey.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We are going to get the heat tomorrow. 95F with a heat index of 102F. It doesn't happen too often but usually a few times a year. 

Have a good trip dutchman. And 37%??? We have a few in the US but I would think keeping traction would be tough. 

I went out chasing KOMs yesterday and my legs are dead tired today. It's all good though, I've got 7 in the last 3 days. All thanks to commuting legs. I brought out the old bike for a nice easy ride today.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great rides today. I’m still in search of the illusive 3 total hour day but it will come.


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Sobering ride today, with the recent fatal car + 2 bikes accident in San Jose, CA, USA on my mind. I've been bike commuting in a subburb an hour north of that location for a few years, on mostly quiet residential streets, but sometimes I forget to check every driveway if it has been a while since I read such a story. 

I tried riding on the sidewalk of the busiest street on my route, a few blocks of 30 MPH, with steep downhills. It kept me extra vigilant of the cars in driveways, and the surface isn't great, so it kept my speed down...

I am hoping that my last mtb crash just sprained my pinky again, and I didn't fracture it again... this is one of the reasons I've been off my bike commute for a few weeks. We'll see how a weekend mtb ride goes, I guess I should go have it x-ray'd again if it hurts a lot of rough downhills like last time.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Still fairly cool for this morning's ride but 87F now for the ride home. Gonna take it easy since I am an amateur at hot. Someone had a Dunkin' emergency this morning and had to pass me then immediately stop and put on the left blinker.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Jelako said:


> So the question now is, what is the best value for my "$100"?
> 
> Final thought: I am still using a "mountain bike" helmet. It's comfortable. It's MIPS. It's "fine".


So the replacement bolt came in and I got my bicycle serviced. I used my $100 on:

* Bontrager Rear Flare Light
* Elite bottle cage
* Kickstand (for my wife's bike)

One of the guys at the LBS brought it to my attention that the Trek Magnetic "snap in" piece can be reversed. It's not as optimal as the commuter/road helmets but I could mount another light to my helmet. So, I might just go that route.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako, I see you found me on Strava. Good choices on free stuff. 


b rock said:


> Sobering ride today, with the recent fatal car + 2 bikes accident in San Jose, CA, USA on my mind. I've been bike commuting in a subburb an hour north of that location for a few years, on mostly quiet residential streets, but sometimes I forget to check every driveway if it has been a while since I read such a story.
> 
> I tried riding on the sidewalk of the busiest street on my route, a few blocks of 30 MPH, with steep downhills. It kept me extra vigilant of the cars in driveways, and the surface isn't great, so it kept my speed down...
> 
> I am hoping that my last mtb crash just sprained my pinky again, and I didn't fracture it again... this is one of the reasons I've been off my bike commute for a few weeks. We'll see how a weekend mtb ride goes, I guess I should go have it x-ray'd again if it hurts a lot of rough downhills like last time.


Stories about fatal anything are sobering. Around here a very avid cyclist recently crashed at a very slow speed the didn't involve any cars. A crash that nobody here might have given a second though about. But he landed just wrong and broke his neck. He's probably parallelized for life. That was sobering!

If you DO get an x-ray what are they going to do for it? Tape it up. That's about it. As long as it is not all wonky I'd just let it heal and try not to break it more. But I'm not a doctor, I just hurt myslef a lot.

It commuting news: It was hot, it is rainy and I found some fun stuff on the side of the road. Found a Chromebook


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After having a stretch of weather where the heat indices exceeded 110F, we've cooled off a bit. This morning was a chilly 64F and highs are only expected to be in the 80s with low humidity. Riding in the elements every day pays its dividends on the weekends. I could ride in the middle of the day with temps in the 90s and dew points in the 70s without being super uncomfortable.

I've got a bit of a commuting break coming up. Child #3 is scheduled to land next Friday. Ready or not...


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## b rock (Jan 5, 2017)

Fine commute this morning, can't beat the weather.

Finger tip turns out to be fractured from a mtb crash a couple weeks ago, so getting into better cycling shape and some mtb turning drills on pavement will be the closest I get to mtb the rest of the summer (Dr's orders). I'm probably going to try Lee McCormack's off season training book, Pump up the Base, along with getting back to bike commuting most of the week.

I'm still trying to figure out the safest way to get down my hill to my new job that keeps me off a busy steep street. I don't think the sidewalks will be my long term solution, I will have to keep looking at alternate paths.



bedwards1000 said:


> ...
> 
> Stories about fatal anything are sobering. Around here a very avid cyclist recently crashed at a very slow speed the didn't involve any cars. A crash that nobody here might have given a second though about. But he landed just wrong and broke his neck. He's probably parallelized for life. That was sobering!
> 
> ...


Yikes, that slow speed crash sounds like a freak accident. Sobering indeed.

I lucked out with my second fracture of the same pinky in 9 months... I suppose... in that it is just the tip of the bone this time, and not the joint. So, I don't have to worry as much about tendon/ligament healing, so it should be a bit quicker. I considered not getting it x-rayed, but I don't like that kind of uncertainty.

Grats on the computer!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great rides today but it it’s just a little hotter in the afternoon than I would prefer. Hopefully not so hot tomorrow. Hope everyone is safe and stays upright.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Trip in felt a bit cool at 59 F after rides with Heat Indexes over 90. A little Brisk! 

I'm not the only aspect of my bike exhibiting less than full energy. Had to replace the cells in the battery pack for the main lights as they would quit on Day 2 with considerable charge left given the recharge voltage. At least one cell was triggering the pack off. 

Ordered a new battery for the old Garmin 500 as it will not last much over 30 minutes after a charge now. It was two years on the shelf before I bought it as NOS after I retired the old Sigma Heart monitor (five or six years ago?). Charging every day until the new battery arrives and is installed. 

The Drift camera battery also up and quit. No part number on it and it was a bear to track down. So all batteries were 5 or more years old, so not too surprising. Also ordered new cables for the headlights as I finally tracked erratic running to the wiring. 

Like we said on the farm: " it only breaks when you use it." or maybe more accurately, "It is discovered to be broken only when you use it."


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

^^^^ It recently occurred to me that I've run my GoPro Sessions (with built-in batteries) for 90 minutes almost every day for 2 years.

There's been no big decrease in battery life yet. But they can't last forever, and I have no coherent plan when the batteries eventually fail. Gopro has long since stopped making them, used/NOS electronics are a gamble, and nobody else makes decent cameras with that minimal a form factor. I could in theory run them off a separate battery pack, but waterproofing them while plugged in would be dubious.

In other bike electronics news, my Edge 520+ (via the Garmin RTL) told me a car with no headlights was ripping up on me the other night, which was important as I was riding no hands down the middle of what I thought was an empty road drinking from my bottle.

So I guess I'll refrain from throwing my 520+ in the river for now, despite the fact that its still screwing up the phone connectivity and often beeps for no reason.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Like we said on the farm: " it only breaks when you use it." or maybe more accurately, "It is discovered to be broken only when you use it."


I think in the case of batteries they break when you don't use them. My garmin 500 is about 5-6 years old and is still good for a 5 hour ride.

Nothing much to report. Today's ride was cool compared to recent ones but it is supposed to get hot again. I didn't find anything.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode today. It was lovely this morning and hot this afternoon. I’m closing in on the 2 year anniversary of starting to bike commute and was just talking to my wife about it. Before moving to Germany I lived 6km from my office for 8 years and never rode until the last year. We then moved to Germany where I live 35km from my office and I ride 2-3 times a week, and am now in good enough shape I could nearly everyday. When I think about moving back to Oregon and to nearly the same place I wonder if I will even buy a car. People can change. 

Happy rides all.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> I rode today. It was lovely this morning and hot this afternoon. I'm closing in on the 2 year anniversary of starting to bike commute and was just talking to my wife about it. Before moving to Germany I lived 6km from my office for 8 years and never rode until the last year. We then moved to Germany where I live 35km from my office and I ride 2-3 times a week, and am now in good enough shape I could nearly everyday. When I think about moving back to Oregon and to nearly the same place I wonder if I will even buy a car. People can change.
> 
> Happy rides all.


I think it may behoove you to have a car for certain things. But maybe just get a well worn car and barely drive it, maybe once or twice a week to prevent any lack of use problems. Then when it breaks down you always have an excuse to ride. I do this as much as possible.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

NDD said:


> I think it may behoove you to have a car for certain things. But maybe just get a well worn car and barely drive it, maybe once or twice a week to prevent any lack of use problems. Then when it breaks down you always have an excuse to ride. I do this as much as possible.
> 
> Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


Oh I'm sure I'll get something but it doesn't have to be practical so it can be fun. Maybe something old and cool.


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

The past couple mornings here in the DC area have been really nice - cool in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Then warming up to high 80s for the commute home. Much better than the oppressive heat wave of last week/weekend. I was suppose to pick up my car from the repair shop and turn in my rental but the weather is too nice not to bike today.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

b rock said:


> I'm probably going to try Lee McCormack's off season training book, Pump up the Base, along with getting back to bike commuting most of the week.


I've done that program. It's pretty good, and it keeps things interesting enough on the trainer. It's especially helpful if you have some way of getting a power readout and do the intervals inside the recommended power ranges. Doing it by feel is still fine, but it's harder to stay dialed into the right effort level.


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## z1r (Apr 17, 2014)

Hi All. Just checking in. Still riding but I've been so busy at work I just haven't posted. I tried running again like a fool. Just hurts my knees too much anymore. Had to go real easy for a week on the bike. The irony is that my times have been a good bit faster. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm doing well and hope you all are too. Will post more when things slow down.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

What's this "trainer" I keep hearing about? LOL. Nah, I know what it is. We have 2 collecting dust around our house. One that my wife has used 10 times or less and one that was given to us that we have used 0 times or less. 

Nothing to report but fabulous summer weather around here. Cool crisp mornings and warm sunny afternoons.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> What's this "trainer" I keep hearing about? LOL. Nah, I know what it is. We have 2 collecting dust around our house. One that my wife has used 10 times or less and one that was given to us that we have used 0 times or less.


Yeah, I kind of hate the trainer, but they do come in handy every once in a while, especially if you're doing this kind of interval training. It still sucks, but it's a controlled environment where you can crank out a consistent amount of power.

Speaking of Lee McCormack and training, I also have a RipRow, which gets a lot of flack online but is pretty awesome. I use that quite a bit. I pretty much only use the trainer when I'm desperate or in the winter when I'm trying to achieve a specific goal (like increase FTP).


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> Oh I'm sure I'll get something but it doesn't have to be practical so it can be fun. Maybe something old and cool.


Nice! I have something that is practical for what small use I have for it. An '97 F-150 with 314,000 miles on it. I got it with about 312,000, and I barely drive, so I've put on ~2,000 since January. As far as I'm concerned, as long as I can eek it out for a couple years it's a win-win with how little I paid for it. Engine is fine, but the power steering or transmission will probably go out first. But doing home remodeling and such, it comes in handy.

Wanted to commute today, since it was the only day I could, but I drove since I felt terrible. I've got a sinus infection or migraine right now. Not sure, as I've never had either, but dang, not feeling hot and loud sounds and bright lights are quite unpleasant.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode my bike today. This morning was cool
and my route as usual was beautiful. The return ride was hot and sweaty but I made it in a decent time.

The car I last had in the states was a 2001 BMW 330ci not very practical but super fun. Maybe something like that again.










Morning rides are always my favorite.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Cool and cloudy this morning on the ride in. So much nicer than last week. Only supposed to have a high of 24C no where near the 37-39C it was last week. 

This weekend I installed the new Jones H bat and grips, as well as the new Shimano SLX 7100 brakes and Matching SRAM Apex flat bar shifter. I still need to add some bar tape but other wise I like the new setup. Pictures to follow.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I took a new path home and got to do a little singletrack. Yay!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, I'll respond so you aren't just talking to yourself. That looks nice. I've got to dig out the mountain bike for a commute soon. Once the fatbike got put away I've been on roads only. Of course having the new road commuter didn't help that.

The summer weather has been exceptional. We could use a little rain but I'm not arguing.


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

Bought a new gravel frameset and wanted to transfer the drivetrain from the Wolverine to it to build it up on the cheap.

Ended up buying new brake levers and turning the Wolverine into a single speed. Been riding it into work the last couple of weeks and it's freaking sweet!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> I took a new path home and got to do a little singletrack. Yay!


Excellent! I miss being able to do that. Probably no commuting this week again, out for a couple days because I got shingles and since it's on my face I've got wicked headaches. Plus when I get back I have to drive to an off site location for a couple days. Maybe at the very end of the week...

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Same story here. Exceptional summer commute weather. Rides have been uneventful, but great.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^WOW, that could be the same forecast! 

joshhan, that bike almost makes me want a single speed. 

NDD, Shingles! That is something I hope to never experience. I hear it is miserable. 

Couples commute this morning.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

joshhan said:


> Ended up buying new brake levers and turning the Wolverine into a single speed. Been riding it into work the last couple of weeks and it's freaking sweet!
> 
> View attachment 1267955


Woah, that _is_ a sweet bike. I like it as a single speed. If the terrain is right, that's the right kinda bike to use for a commute. A few less things that can go wrong. Are you pushing some serious chainring up front? The single speed I commute on is actually set up for mountain biking, so basically I have to spin my legs off to get to 20 mph.



bedwards1000 said:


> NDD, Shingles! That is something I hope to never experience. I hear it is miserable.


Yeah, it's not been fun. I felt like I had some wicked migraines last week, but then my lower jaw broke out in a rash and lymph nodes got very swollen, so I went to the doc. They said I probably shouldn't be fatigued and were surprised at how swollen lymph nodes were and gave me antibiotics based on the fact that I've been bitten by lonestar ticks multiple times within the last month. So it could be shingles and the early stage of something tick borne.

I'm not convinced that a single speed is right for you. Of course the n+1 paradigm dictates that there's no harm in you having one, but there'll be times where the bike pushes you to get better. You'll probably like that. My off-road handling skills have improved since getting a single speed. There'll also be times where you just run out of gear inches and won't want to pedal fast enough to push the bike faster downhill or whatever. That's the part I think you'd tire of quickly from what your typical rides seem like to me.


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## joshhan (Apr 1, 2011)

NDD said:


> Woah, that _is_ a sweet bike. I like it as a single speed. If the terrain is right, that's the right kinda bike to use for a commute. A few less things that can go wrong. Are you pushing some serious chainring up front? The single speed I commute on is actually set up for mountain biking, so basically I have to spin my legs off to get to 20 mph.


Yeah, totally not interested in riding MTB SS gearing on the road. Done it a couple of times and I just don't like spinning that much. LOL. I was lazy and kept the compact crank on (you can see the little ring on it still) so it's 50/20 which isn't terrible. The fixie is running 42/16 so it's pretty close.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, this morning's ride varied in speed from 7MPH to 46MPH. It's hard to pick a single speed for that kind of range. I'd probably pick a gear combo to give me about 17MPH at 70RPM. Mostly I just want to borrow joshhan's bike to try it out.  

Lonestar ticks, I hope you don't get the meat allergy virus. That might be worst than shingles. We just had a confirmed case of Powassan in Maine. Ticks are evil.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

joshhan said:


> Yeah, totally not interested in riding MTB SS gearing on the road. Done it a couple of times and I just don't like spinning that much. LOL. I was lazy and kept the compact crank on (you can see the little ring on it still) so it's 50/20 which isn't terrible. The fixie is running 42/16 so it's pretty close.


Nice, at one point when I used to have a SS road bike, I had it geared at 52/16 (it was an old frame converted to single speed, I left the crankset and chainrings in tact). That was wild, but honestly a little too heavy, as my farm field ridden route was usually windy one way or another. My commute to work now is 1.5 miles each way, mostly on a slight incline and with numerous stop signs and lights. So I spend most of my time accelerating I think, anyway. It's about the only way to feel like I'm getting exercise in that amount of distance/time. It's pretty low, though, 34/19 with 26" wheels. Coincidentally this is also a nice setup for when my wife wants to ride around the park.

Really I use my drop bar/touring mtb to commute if I want to put in extra miles or have to carry anything in (clothes, extra supplies, etc).



bedwards1000 said:


> Lonestar ticks, I hope you don't get the meat allergy virus. That might be worst than shingles. We just had a confirmed case of Powassan in Maine. Ticks are evil.


The mammal meat allergy is one I could probably work around. I have a couple of colleagues with it. They get by. I'd still be able to eat fish and chicken, but no cheese or yogurt, so that's kinda bogus. I'd probably be a bit healthier if I was forced to stop eating pork, though. That's the one that would hurt me, since I never really eat beef, but boy do I have a weakness for porksteak. Lyme disease or ehrlichiosis would suck way more, but would be treatable early on.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

WHAT? The meat allergy is common enough that you know a few people that have it? I though it was pretty rare and mainly internet click bait. Yikes.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> WHAT? The meat allergy is common enough that you know a few people that have it? I though it was pretty rare and mainly internet click bait. Yikes.


I think it's a little more prevalent in Missouri and the Midwest than other places. Plus I'm a botanist by profession, so being in the field, we have a higher frequency of interaction with ticks because we have to rummage through the vegetation off trail.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

I recently did a round of antibiotics for tick related rash. I've gotten tons of bites this summer.

Hope you're riding again soon NDD!

I "commuted" out to trail building on Sunday, 36mi round trip. Helped build a gap jump. Went back last night and cleared it along with a few other gaps I've been rolling around for too long.

My work commute has been easy and uneventful. Feeling the heat on my grocery runs but not too bad.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

To continue on the singlespeed theme, I swapped my SS commuter this past weekend to a different frame I had. Both frames were similar, but I guess not as close as I thought. I didn't really give it a test ride, but decided to take it to work this morning. Everything was fine until near the end when my chain tensioner popped and stopped adding tension. I'll have to take it apart later to see what's going on with the spring, but I hope the tinkering I did at lunch was at least enough to get me home without incident. I might need double check to see if I can take out another link from the chain too.

The only ticks I've had this year were from my drivetrain...


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I have the same tick issue, just my drive train. Also have a pretty wicked creak from the back tire I pretty sure it's spoke rub and the drift in the rim convinces me I need to have it trued.

Also I rode today, very lovely. And the closest I have ever come to 1000km in a month before. Maybe one day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday afternoon's commute was a bit embarrassing. My Surly Singleator issues continued, and it sounded like I just really sucked at shifting. I had to stop a few times to put the chain back on the tensioner.

I took the Singleator apart last night and verified my chain length. The chain was fine, but somehow the tensioner spring popped out of its hole on the side closest to the bike and rotated a bit. I can't say I trust it 100% when I'm really putting the power down, but it held on the way to work this morning.

I still have a small creak in my BB region. It's minor enough, but still annoying. I guess I'll eventually have to take the cranks and BB off, grease everything, and hope that takes care of it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I think in the case of batteries they break when you don't use them. My garmin 500 is about 5-6 years old and is still good for a 5 hour ride.


Even after 3 full charge/discharges that original battery never had more than a couple of hours of run-time. It quit last ride at about 20 minutes. It distracted me I hit a stick wrong and have a bung knee. Replacement kit arrived and is now installed. I hope the knee is up to a ride tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^No you need a replacement kit for the knee. Where did you order the one for the garmin? That reminds me that I should pull my wife's 500 out and exercise it for a few charge/discharge cycles because it has been sitting since she got her watch.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I still have a small creak in my BB region. It's minor enough, but still annoying. I guess I'll eventually have to take the cranks and BB off, grease everything, and hope that takes care of it.


That is always the hope...But it could be a pedal or a chain-ring bolt or in the case of my fat bike a bad bearing in the rear wheel. I usually temporarily fix them with headphones.

I went out KOM chasing last night and my legs are appropriately dead today.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^No you need a replacement kit for the knee.


Maybe. Hoping not.



bedwards1000 said:


> Where did you order the one for the garmin?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeremy_burke said:


> I have the same tick issue, just my drive train. Also have a pretty wicked creak from the back tire I pretty sure it's spoke rub and the drift in the rim convinces me I need to have it trued.


My new DT-Swiss rear wheel has been ticking like crazy. I used my spoke tensionmeter and noticed that the rear non-drive side spoke tension looked crazy low. I talked to Dt-Swiss and they asked me to send the wheel in for a check. So it's back to my old wheel and a blissfully quiet ride.



s0ckeyeus said:


> I still have a small creak in my BB region. It's minor enough, but still annoying. I guess I'll eventually have to take the cranks and BB off, grease everything, and hope that takes care of it.


If your BB cups are threaded, wrap the threads in teflon tape and reinstall them. That should keep the squeeking at bay for a good long time.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yesterday afternoon's commute was a bit embarrassing. My Surly Singleator issues continued, and it sounded like I just really sucked at shifting. I had to stop a few times to put the chain back on the tensioner.
> 
> I took the Singleator apart last night and verified my chain length. The chain was fine, but somehow the tensioner spring popped out of its hole on the side closest to the bike and rotated a bit. I can't say I trust it 100% when I'm really putting the power down, but it held on the way to work this morning.
> 
> I still have a small creak in my BB region. It's minor enough, but still annoying. I guess I'll eventually have to take the cranks and BB off, grease everything, and hope that takes care of it.


Question, how many miles do you have on the BB and how old is it? I just replaced mine on my drop bar mtb, and I think it hadn't ever been done. The bike is three years old and hasn't seen the heaviest of riding, but it was ready for one. The bearings on the drive side were shot when I took the cranks off. And man I'll tell you I could feel the difference in power transfer through the pedals immediately. Considering other fixes it can be pretty cheap, so if it's an older part or it may be worth replacing or servicing with new bearings at least.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I posted a weather graphic for the Seattle area a few days ago and it showed "AM Showers" for today. Well, they got the AM part right, but not the showers part - it was a real soaker! If it hadn't been in the mid-60's I would have sworn that I was riding in January. Got to work and stripped off some really wet clothes.

Good news: Supposed to be sunny for the ride home and all next week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We haven't got any of the showers "promised". The garden is getting pretty dry, might have to actually water it.

I've had bottom brackets go 12,000 miles (my wife's current road bike). And I've had bottom brackets go < 1000 miles. (My wife's last MTB). I'm not sure I have ever replaced one on one of my own bikes which usually have 5000-8000 miles on them before I trade them out. 

This morning was a chilly 50F. Fall foreshadowing. I had to do a truck drop-off for service which gives me a 24ish mile ride each way on some different roads. 82F and sunny for the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I took a picture this morning, might as well post it.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I took this picture this morning as well. May as well post it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> Question, how many miles do you have on the BB and how old is it? I just replaced mine on my drop bar mtb, and I think it hadn't ever been done. The bike is three years old and hasn't seen the heaviest of riding, but it was ready for one. The bearings on the drive side were shot when I took the cranks off. And man I'll tell you I could feel the difference in power transfer through the pedals immediately. Considering other fixes it can be pretty cheap, so if it's an older part or it may be worth replacing or servicing with new bearings at least.


The bike still has the original square taper BB, and it's a rigid mtb from '96. Those bottom brackets last forever. The bottom bracket itself might not even be the problem.

For comparison, I just replaced the BB on my '16 trail bike. The bearings on the non-drive side were rough. That BB only had a couple thousand miles on it.

No commuting or bike rides for me. My wife gave birth to a daughter on Friday, and we just got out of the hospital. Some sleep would be nice...


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Woah! Congrats! Hoping you get a little rest.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> My wife gave birth to a daughter on Friday, and we just got out of the hospital. Some sleep would be nice...


Congrats! Sleep will be a pleasant memory for some time yet unless you get lucky. My son slept through his second night. It was the series of colds he got six months later that gave us the experience of the typical newborn.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Yay bikes I rode in today despite slicing a hunk of my left middle finger off this weekend. I got the front hoop of my jones bar wrapped this weekend. The new lizard skin 3.2mm and I love it. It way better than the native Jones foam grips which I find too hard and make my hands numb on longer rides. Pictures to follow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Congrats s0ck!

I did some hard rides on Friday and a long hilly ride on Saturday and my legs are still not rested. The trip in was at a pretty casual pace.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Congratulations s0ckeyeus!

Left early today to run some errands before work...nice to get some extra sun and exercise, humidity had me sweating though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice ride today. The Garmin heart strap with a new battery gave a false 240+ pulse rate hallway home instead of early in the ride home, so time for a new strap. I used the heart rate reader on the cell phone to confirm I was 97-107 NOT 243! The strap is about 6 years old and when I opened the battery compartment there was sweat inside so the seal is history. Apparently they have a limited lifespan. The old Garmin 500 does all I need it to do. I asked in the Computer HRM group about three strap options.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've had the older Garmin straps give unreasonably high heart rates too. My wife has a new one but it is expensive. It's also designed for swimming so probably a lot more waterproof. The Wahoo ticker has worked well for me but sweat (or some other water) has killed one of the 2 in our house. 

I forgot to mention that I found a Galaxy S9 smart phone in working condition on my ride home on Friday. It got returned to it's owner. 

KOM hunting on the ride home. My legs are feeling rested...I'll fix that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congratulations S0ck!

Nice series of KOM's bedwards. You are racking them up.

No KOM's for me. Just a stream of nice summer rides.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'm trying not to get too per-occupied with them. It does get me to ride different routes home than I normally might. My legs tend to be sore a lot.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Another boring commute. Clear and 60F this morning. Expect sunshine, 80F, light winds and low humidity for the ride home. Boring. Where's January?


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

It was great to be back on the bike for an actual commute. It has been nothing but non-stop Thunderstorms--I can ride in rain, but flashes of lightning = I'll be in the car.

81°F (27.222°C) feels like: 87°F (30.556°C). with 89% Humidity. It's going to hit 90s today, so I'll be drinking a lot of water.

I'm still undecided about do I "need" a new helmet. The Lumos Matrix is very "cool" and it does come in M.I.P.S. Bontrager's WaveCel "Charge" is also of interest. The Lumos has all the lights and fanciness and is pre-selling at "$200+". The "Charge" is $150 but when you add the additional rear light...now it's "$200". I know that the Lumos has a guaranteed return policy, but for $200+ I sure would like to try it on.

Speaking of the rear light, I fiddled with my current Bontrager "mountain bike" helmet. It has the magnetic adapter piece that faces forward and can mount a light/camera. I reversed the mount to make it point backwards. Both my wife and one of my co-workers commented that it definitely was working. 

My bike has 3 LED lights embedded into the rear fender. I then have a light mount on my seat post trunk rack. I want a third light for my helmet. I saw another commuter that had: High/Mid/Low and it was noticeable.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah but what was the $16 for? 

I tore out of here last night at 5:00 racing a thunderstorm home. It was coming from the opposite direction. I made it home in 30 minutes. It won. In the last 10 minutes of my commute I went from totally dry to wringing wet. 

I've got to shuttle an extra car home tonight. It will be my only car trip of the week.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Yeah but what was the $16 for?


I slept super hard last night, and kinda "over" slept...and so I got a later start this morning. As such, I was not commuting under the cover of darkness but more broad daylight. At the last major intersection, it's across from a "Race Trac" gas station and is a fairly busy intersection.

I got stopped by a Red Light, where I was approached by a woman who:



> "Can I ask you a question?"


Sure



> "I'm short $16, do you have $16 to spare?"


Mind you, I just got a brand new cycle "kit" (we're not calling it an outfit...it's a "kit"):

https://globalcyclinggear.com/products/u-s-marine-corps-v2?_pos=1009&_sid=1448b1d1b&_ss=r

Where on earth did she think I was keeping my wallet? ;-)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Back from vacation. It was good but due to a combination of health, weather and bad infrastructure we made only 2 nice bikerides. For the rest it was ok, I guess I could not have it all this time 

Lots of reading here to do but s0ckeyeus you beat them all!! A daughter, congrats!! Hope wife and girl are ok?! And I wish you good sleep too...;o))

Back on the bike today. Brought my kids to school and kindergarten, then rode to work and started to work down the pile that awaited me. Ride home was nice, I thought all showers had passed through but I got caught in a short but heavy one, with those thick heavy drops of which you feel every single one and that make loud noise on the helmet. Welcome back.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Did anyone follow the transcontinental race? First time a woman won the overall race!

https://www.bicycling.com/racing/a28627301/fiona-kolbinger-transcontinental-race/
And
Www.transcontinental.cc
And
Transcontinental No7 2019 live tracking app by trackleaders.com


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> Mind you, I just got a brand new cycle "kit" (we're not calling it an outfit...it's a "kit"):


That's a super cute outfit!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Jelako said:


> I My bike has 3 LED lights embedded into the rear fender. I then have a light mount on my seat post trunk rack. I want a third light for my helmet. I saw another commuter that had: High/Mid/Low and it was noticeable.


I and a few other cyclists have educated drivers over the last decade here, but in my more paranoid (justifiably so) early days I made a mount for a Turbo Superflash, have a Cygolyte Hotshot on the seat post, and twin DIY circa 300 lumen lights off the back of the rack. I have moved the Superflash twice (old helmet, crashed helmet). I still run this rear trio.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I think 2 rear lights are the minimum, one on the bike and one located as high as possible: Helmet, Collar etc. The lower the light the more chance of it being covered by something.

Nice ride in this morning, got caught again in rain on the way home. Although, it was 22C so I didnt care much. 

Happy weekend everyone!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I got the old strap to work both ways by removing it, and drying it off rather than sweating it up more in cardio rehab. New strap is on the way. So I suspect that the "water resistant" aspect is no longer the case with the old strap.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode my bike today. I like to ride my bicycle. I like to ride my bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I like to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like.

I didn't ride my bike over the weekend, too busy. But luckily I get to ride it back and forth to work. Not much else to report other than I found a nice shroom on my way to work. Good eatin' size.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy you like your new bar? Since the fargo is actually a dropbar bike, is the geometry not too short now? 

That mushroom looks like quite a meal bedwards. How do you eat those? Baked, cooked, fried?

I finally got to make a nice ride again yesterday, 40kms in 2 hrs on the cx bike. And I had a pretty good average on the round trip today too. The rest of the week is going to have some showers, lets see what they got


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice shroom bedwards!

Dutchman, welcome back.



jeremy_burke said:


> I rode my bike today. I like to ride my bicycle. I like to ride my bike.


I like your diddy jeremy_burke - to commemorate todays ride, I expanded on it a bit:

I like to ride my bicycle. Today I rode my bike. Not to work. Just for play. Today I rode my bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It's called "chicken of the woods" and it can be cooked just about any way chicken can. Tastes similar too. They are really good breaded and fried like chicken fingers. This one is probably close to 1/2 kg. They can get much much bigger but they are best when young.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^It's called "chicken of the woods" and it can be cooked just about any way chicken can. Tastes similar too. They are really good breaded and fried like chicken fingers. This one is probably close to 1/2 kg. They can get much much bigger but they are best when young.


In my experience those mushrooms are only as good as you season them, not much in the way of flavor otherwise. However, cooked with copious amounts of potatoes, onion, garlic, tomatoes, bell pepper, chili peppers, and curry paste they really hit the spot. Texture is awesome for a mushroom.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, these are pretty mild but great in a Pad Thai or something with soy sauce. But if you get a chance I highly recommend breading them and frying them. Pretty soon we will be getting into mushrooms that hold their own in flavor. Black trumpets and Maitakes, MMmm Bike commuting is an awesome way to spot them. I find most of my mushrooms on my rides to work. I'll look for some more tonight.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Jeremy you like your new bar? Since the fargo is actually a dropbar bike, is the geometry not too short now?
> ...


I won't deny it is shorter, but it doesn't feel too short. I have wrapped the center section of the front bar as well and spend a good deal of time in a bit of a tuck with my hands there. For climbs and hard sections I love the wide more upright grip. I do not like the Jones foam grips I got with them. They seem to give me dead hands a lot on my longer rides. I really really prefer my new SLX brakes and new mountain bike shifter to the SRAM double taps too. You are still welcome to come try it out anytime. I could even switch back to the old bars fairly quickly so you can try both.

Cheers all I'm gonna check out for a few days and go see Norway. Hope you all have good rides.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have a dropbar bike as well and like to ride with my hands on the tops too. Norway sounds good, where wre you going? Coastal fjord landscape or more inland?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides today. Lots of showers around on the weather radar, but they all passed by. Met my wife and kids before home and rode home together. Good times.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I started back up on my commutes this week. I only worked a half day yesterday and had a little extra time on my hands, so I extended my commute. I haven't been pedaling as much lately. It was nice to hammer up a few hills and get in some extra miles.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I have a dropbar bike as well and like to ride with my hands on the tops too. Norway sounds good, where wre you going? Coastal fjord landscape or more inland?


We are going to see as many Fjords as we can. Big mountains plunging into the ocean sounds perfect to me.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We've had some nice weather here and some crazy downpours too. Commutes mostly good with the usual sprinkling of bad drivers. The Point to Point ride for the foodbank was Saturday and the gravel route was great. I raised $862 for hungry people! Took a bunch of pix...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That looks like a really nice ride! A few of those "roads" look challenging.

The weather has just been just stinking perfect here. We had one short thunderstorm yesterday but it was while I was at work. Otherwise 60F in the morning and 80F in the afternoon. Give or take.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice pix mtbx! And is that a typical USA style bridge? A similar one is on the first page of this thread...

Jeremy make sure to visit sognefjord and prejkestolen. Or even make sure you are the first to ride your bike on the prejkestolen!l:
https://i2.wp.com/www.suitcaseandi....lton-e1546608392659.jpg?resize=1140,611&ssl=1
Even danny mcgaskill wasnt there yet!!

Nice rides again today. They keep shifting the predicted rain backwards. Summer is starting to retreat though, it was 11C this morning and it felt fresh on my hands and feet (no gloves and sandals only). Sunny though and I made a pretty good average for the whole round trip.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> That looks like a really nice ride! A few of those "roads" look challenging.


 Yeah, I actually backtracked at one point on the uphill MTB trail as I was not confident I was on the right route, but I was. The ledgy one is a class IV road, not maintained for vehicle traffic. Overall though, I loved the gravel course, traffic was almost non-existent too.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice pix mtbx! And is that a typical USA style bridge? A similar one is on the first page of this thread...
> 
> .


Not typical of one built today, but VT is pretty famous for its covered bridges and tries to keep them up. Unfortunately people keep damaging them with too-big trucks, and some have been swept away by floods.

A close call on this morning's ride. I may have relevant pic later.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Really nice pics MTBX. Thanks for sharing!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Thanks Woodway and al!

So here's my commute report from yesterday:
Close call on this morning's commute on the BMX cruiser. Going downhill into Barre at say 29.4 mph, I started to fly by the "gayly forward" middle lane which was backed up about 10 cars at a red light by the naked kneeling guy (a statue for those unfamiliar). I was in the middle of the right turn lane when a car to my left decided he wanted to be in my lane not the middle lane. I grabbed a handful of brake (BMX race type bikes have only a rear brake) hard while eyeballing a possible escape route to the sidewalk if the gap closed off. My bike fishtailed in a crazy skid but stayed upright and I avoided a crash. Whew! Enough excitement for today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Yikes, glad you were able to hold it together MTBX.

My commute report from yesterday: Nothing out of the ordinary. The sun was shining, the drivers were behaving and the temps were pleasant.

A couple weeks ago I sent my new rear wheel into DT-Swiss because the spokes were making a constant ticking sound as the wheel rotated. I put my spoke tensionmeter onto the spokes and the tensions were really low which made me suspect it was built incorrectly. Talking to the DT-Swiss service center, they asked me to send the wheel in for a look. The wheel was returned last friday with a note that they re-laced it at higher spoke tension, trued the rim and stress relieved the spokes. I mounted it up last night and rode it this morning. Still a bit of noise, but it's much, much better. And I thought that the noise was diminishing the more I rode the wheel. Maybe that last part is hopeful hearing on my part, we will see.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa mtbx that sounds scary, glad you managed to escape there!

Woodway how much is on the wheel now? You finished the build last year? That plinging sound is typical for too low spoke tension. The wheel might feel wobbly and spongy too, just like if you have an almost flat tire.

Ride in was nice this morning. Ride home was near perfect, it rained most of the way so I rode with my rainjacket, rain pants and barefeet in sandals :lol: shortly before home it was dry so I started to boil and strapped the rain gear on the rear rack for the last 5 minutes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> A couple weeks ago I sent my new rear wheel into DT-Swiss because the spokes were making a constant ticking sound as the wheel rotated. I put my spoke tensionmeter onto the spokes and the tensions were really low which made me suspect it was built incorrectly. Talking to the DT-Swiss service center, they asked me to send the wheel in for a look. The wheel was returned last friday with a note that they re-laced it at higher spoke tension, trued the rim and stress relieved the spokes. I mounted it up last night and rode it this morning. Still a bit of noise, but it's much, much better. And I thought that the noise was diminishing the more I rode the wheel. Maybe that last part is hopeful hearing on my part, we will see.


I can make most of my bike problems go away by wearing earbuds.

Today was maybe my first mountain bike commute since there was snow on the ground. Partly because spring is too muddy and my bike parking spot is in a carpeted lobby, so there's that. Partly because I have been enjoying the road bike.

I didn't wear earbuds today and the bike was clicking and creaking. I almost had a very unfortunate encounter with a bridge. Or an arrangement of wood that used to be a bridge. I was tearing down a downhill to said pile of wood and noticed that about 3 of the cross slats were missing. In a split second I decided I could probably clear the gap. Luckily I was right. It could have been messy.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice moves, MTBXplorer!

Did not need to stop and let my heart rate come down. Partly due to a higher cutoff, and partly due to climbing faster at lower pulse rates. The mangled fenders are replaced:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc - Those are some sweet looking fenders!

Dutchman, the wheel was purchase fully built from DT-Swiss about three months ago. I rode it for a month and could not take the noise anymore so I sent it back to them. They did not specify what tension they used. It's better now, but still not completely quiet.

bedwards, I dislike riding with earbuds for various reasons. Therefore I like my bike quiet!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> BrianMc - Those are some sweet looking fenders!


Not to mention the wheels!

This was the bridge that I jumped yesterday. 








We had some unexpected (to me) rain overnight and into the AM commute. I road without headphones on the back roads on my quiet bike to the sound of gently falling rain. Very peaceful.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Impressive feat bedwards! It looks like you would have gotten soggy if you did not make the jump.

Nice ride BrianMc! Glad you have been able to get out riding.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow bedwards looks like you need lots of speed to jump over that one.

BrianMC nice to hear from you and sweet looking bike. How did you attach the bottleholder on the lower downtube?

My Contigo West Loop thermal bottle fell apart this morning. Well I lost the ring around the push button and now the button constantly gets stuck. I used it about 4 years in a row on every commute so I think I have found out its lifespan. Just ordered the same one new. I had a shower along the way too, but the way home was good. 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Now does that Contigo fit in the bottle cage? Which size? 20oz or 24oz We have been using a different brand for years but they don't make them any more. I'd say about 4 years is what I get out of those but usually because the button in the top un-screws itself and disappears on the side of the road. FYI, it looks like you can get just the lid.



mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Impressive feat bedwards! It looks like you would have gotten soggy if you did not make the jump.


 I think I would have gotten as broken as the bridge.

Another beautiful day here. 2 hours until I get to ride my bike!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> BrianMc - Those are some sweet looking fenders!


Halfway down this page: Bicycle Mudguards and Chainguards at Yellow Jersey



bedwards1000 said:


> Not to mention the wheels!


Campagnolo Chorus 10 speed hubs, 13-29 cluster, Velocity deep Vee 36 spoke rims (I was over 250 lb) with reflective (green) and fluorescent (light green) rim tape. The spokes also have lightweights all from my paranoid exercising after sundown period.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/640x480q90/538/tZZHy0.jpg


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Today was a state holiday, we celebrated Bennington Battle Day, a Revolutionary War battle in 1777 that actually took place just over the NY border!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards, I have the 470milliliters version which is almost 16oz (according to google). I have an sks topcage which holds it perfectly. I think it should fit any standard bottlecage. I did not know there are bigger versions? Note I have a THERMAL bottle in which I have coffee in the morning and cold water in the afternoon. In winter warm tea of course. The exact model I have is called the contigo west loop. As I said I really like it and hope the new one will be the same quality. I have heard that the paint falls off quickly so I bought th silver one again, which is brushed only. It gets scratches but thats life in a bottlecage..

Mtbx you have along weekend, perfect!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have exactly this one : https://www.amazon.com/Contigo-AUTO...op&qid=1565988875&s=gateway&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1

and holy crab is that thing cheap! 14$ only. I paid 30€ for my new one which was the cheapest I found here in germany. The previous one was 20€ on sale 5 years ago...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> BrianMC nice to hear from you and sweet looking bike. How did you attach the bottleholder on the lower downtube?


In 2012, I sent the frame to have water bottle cage lugs, pump, and brake and shifter cable bosses, and had the old cable guides removed before I had it powder coated metallic emerald. The bottom was intended for a water bottle battery, but it works well for my toll kit and keeps the seat tube mounted taillight visible to drivers.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Brian, "emerald" is the color already in the pic above? Looks quite dark to me, almost black?

NBD here! At 7 am this morning, just after waking up, I got an alert from the bike ad market app. 30minutes away a Rohloff fatbike was for sale. I wrote the owner and agreed to meet this morning. When I got there it turned out to be an almost brandnew bike, only 200kms on it because of knee issues since. All including the Rohloff papers, warranty card and original bill. Considering he sold it for 1/3 of the original price, it was a real bargain. By the time I arrived he told me he had 23 inquiries about the bike already - but I apparently am the only one who activated an alert within the app. Lucky me!

Cant wait to hit the forest with it. Only downside is, my kids want one too now...

NBD album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NH9KNtfCuVrxqp6j9

CU, CD


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Wow, great find, congrats!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi Brian, "emerald" is the color already in the pic above? Looks quite dark to me, almost black?
> 
> NBD here! At 7 am this morning, ... I apparently am the only one who activated an alert within the app. Lucky me! Cant wait to hit the forest with it. Only downside is, my kids want one too now...


Better look at the dark green. Maybe more British Racing Green:









Congrats on the fat bike find!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Oh man, nice find Dutchman. You are going to have a ton of fun on that thing!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

*Finally a break in the rain*

There was finally a break in the rain. Current Situation:









Earlier this summer I had learned about Relive, and I finally got around to playing around with it. No video; No music but here was my commute:

https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10007581220

Start:









Finish:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Awesome find dutchman! I also bought a used (new to me) bike this weekend. My actual road bike is (was) a 2011 so I jumped to a 2016. I've been eyeing it in the classifieds for a few weeks. It is only a 56cm and I usually ride a 58-60 but I'm going to give it a shot. 

Thanks for the info on the mug. I think I'd try the 20oz. It looks like it might just be longer.

Jelako, I'm glad things finally dried out. On a positive note, look how green that grass is. 

Unfortunately it was raining this morning with a chance of showers this afternoon so I took my "rain bike". The new bike has carbon wheels and I wasn't ready to abuse them. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Dang CD. That's a great way to start the day. Only thing I found on the walk in today was a broken 15/16 inch socket. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the credits everyone! Bedwards are you going to show us the new bike?

For me it was a bad day today. I felt bad this morning and took the bus instead of the new fattie. First thing I heard at work was that a coworker from a neighbouring department was killed last saturday. He was riding his roadbike when a car hit him full frontal. The driver wasnt speeding, drunk, stoned, distracted or anything. Just came off the road to the right and when he oversteered back he drove over the opposite lane into some trees. He would have lived if he would have been 2 seconds later or earlier. As I said a crappy day....RIP michael.

At least by now in the evening I am feeling much better and I hope I can ride the new bike tomorrow. We have a week of nice summerweather coming up so it should work even though it doesnt have fenders. Will now see if I have an old speedometer somewhere to mount.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

In the netherlands the worlds biggest bikeparking has opened. The video is in dutch but I think it shows it all:

https://www.nu.nl/275587/video/grootste-fietsenstalling-ter-wereld-geopend-in-utrecht.html


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh! Sorry to hear about your co-worker! 

Are you riding the fatty on roads or trails? I picture your commute to be on mostly roads and bike paths. Not that you wouldn't want to try it out. Is this your first fatbike? Tire pressure is everything and there isn't one that works for everything. Smooth pavement: 20PSI, broken pavement/smooth trails: 15PSI, Soft trails, singletrack: 10 PSI, Soft Snow: 5 PSI. All +- 3PSI. Try riding a soft snow pressure on smooth pavement and you will wonder why anybody rides a fatbike. 

I'll post a pic when I ride it in tomorrow. All I have now is it on the back of my car and it isn't very flattering.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards, yes it is mostly paved or at least hardpacked. Just want to ride it to get to know it. First one I own and I rode a fatbike only once before on a specialized testival here in town. Will experiment with tire pressures and different trails etc.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry about the co-worker, cyclingdutchman. 

Just learned today of an acquaintance's father in law (76) who was recreational riding the Monon Trail in Indianapolis and was hit by an apparently speeding cyclist. Three broken ribs and a punctured lung. That's gotta suck.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

What jarring news, cyclingdutchman, it does not sound like the cyclist had any time to avoid it. 

Jelako, it looks like your bike is well outfitted with lights and reflectors for those rainy days. Maybe add a PFD or liferaft.

Good rides here yesterday, but muggy as can be in the morning. I still only see one or two bikes on my commute despite the nice summer. There was a new Spesh ebike at work, haven't seen whose it is yet.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Sorry to hear about your work mate Dutchman. A true shame. Stay safe out there, y'all. 

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Dutchman, I'm also sorry to here about your coworker. It is a shame when anyone is taken early.

I haven't been biking here in Norway at all but we did Canoe today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Condolences Dutchman.

Great pics jeremy_burke, what a beautiful place.

Nice new bike bedwards. I liked your wifes Strava post regarding the same 

I did not commute yesterday, rather I went on a backcountry ride with a friend. It was a spectacular ride, but it was rugged and I'm feeling a little beat up today. Much of the ride was on ridge trails, which makes for good views, but ridge trails around here are stingy sons-of-bitches and they give up their elevation grudgingly. I even managed crash on the final descent back to the car and I'm feeling the effects of that as well. All that whining aside, I'm already thinking about going back out to the same area next weekend for more


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Damn that is pretty country Jeremy!


woodway said:


> Nice new bike bedwards. I liked your wifes Strava post regarding the same


 I stopped and waited for her a few times.  Your ride sounds fun unless the ridges were too "ridgey". I don't mind a challenge but I don't like the idea of one minor crash ending my life.

As promised; The new bike is a 2016 Cannondale SuperSix Evo Team. I got it for about 1/4 its ridiculous retail price. It is definitely the highest end bike I have ever owned. And it is punchy, stiff as hell and when you put the power to it it goes!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow bedwards you beat me there! I paid 1/3 off the original price in 2015. Nice find! Is that SRAMs double tap as brifters? I like those or said the other way around, I dont like the Shimanos where you have to move the brake lever to shift. And are you going to raise the bar somehow^^? The difference between saddle and bar is very"obvious" 

Jeremy wow that is one of my dream places to go on vacation. Canoeing is fun too and I see that you had the typical Norway summer :lol:

First commute on the fattie today and guess what! I was almost just as fast as with my trekking/commuter bike. It does make a hell of a noise on pavement though, when I entered the tunnel everyone looked back to see what was coming that way. And when I passed by the school this morning, there was one kid like "Whoa mommy look there!" :lol:

Will ride it again tomorrow and hopefully I can then take a rougher road and play with the air pressure a bit.

btw, does anyone have a tip on a handpump that can fill that beast in a reasonable time?? I am slowly considering a CO2 pump - is one cartridge enough or is that a bad idea?


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

@bedards - gratz on the new bike, that looks fantastic!
@cyclingdutchman - that's horrible just horrible to hear. it's something we are all cognizant of, but even in 2019--people are to narcissist to allow themselves to think of others.

Here was my commute home last night: https://www.relive.cc/view/rt10007596484

I also follow Bike Commuting Reddit, and some posted a 2015 article about Steve Jobs and his Bicycle analogy to computers.

Humans are tool builders:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Your ride sounds fun unless the ridges were too "ridgey". I don't mind a challenge but I don't like the idea of one minor crash ending my life.


Lot's of stuff like this:









Some exposure in places - where I crashed would have been pretty interesting if I had gone over the edge, I would have gone down a ways. Hard to understand just how rugged and difficult these backcountry trails can be until you are pushing your bike up them on a hot day


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wow bedwards you beat me there! I paid 1/3 off the original price in 2015. Nice find! Is that SRAMs double tap as brifters? I like those or said the other way around, I dont like the Shimanos where you have to move the brake lever to shift. And are you going to raise the bar somehow^^? The difference between saddle and bar is very"obvious"


Looks about right.  




There is a little more steering tube available and I think the stem might be flipped down. So far it isn't uncomfortable. I'll ride it and then see if it needs adjustment.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Looks about right.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


6' 2" and purposely rides a 58 frame. I'm 6' 3" and and the idea of riding a 58 would seem VERY aggressive. Granted, I'm a 47 year old IT guy and he's a pro biker. I love those kind of breakdowns. Good video.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

He was on a 56! I'm 6'0" I normally ride a 58cm. Some of my bikes are 60cm and a little big. This bike is a 56cm and is the smallest frame I've ever tried. I almost didn't even go look at it because I thought it would be too small. SFSG. I'm a 52 year old engineer.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

*The DuoTek - The Ultralight Reflective & Reversible Jacket project launched*

I've been following DuoTek leading up to their Kickstarter launch today. I backed the project with the earlybird commitment. If you're interested in a reversible reflective jacket, check them out:

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...eversible-and-reflective-jacket?ref=user_menu


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jelako, here in Germany they are already selling reflective jackets, but it doesnt look like they are lightweight and reversible. I would definitely be in the market for a Windstopper version with a good water repellant to make it quite waterresistant. Hope they are available soon in Germany!

Bedwards that guy you linked on youtube is a *****. When he rides 50m he steps of the bike, just lets it go because some one will catch, repair and clean it. He himself gets a massage and some nice food. You on the other hand ride 50m, then go into the office, change and works for 8-10 hrs, then ride home. Now who's the tough guy here? Oh yeah to keep up with the rest he dopes, because they all do it. So far on the reputation of pro riders....

I made some pics of my Contigo Westloop in 2 bottleholders. It doesnt even fit as good as I thought, never had another look at it than from above while on the bike. But I never lost it on my commute or any ride *knockonwood*.

The pics are here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QjJsSMoqe17rRUip9


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hope they are available soon in Germany!


According to their Kickstarter they say "Free World Wide Delivery"--go pledge!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great photos from Norway, Jeremy and of the ridge trail, Woodway.

Handsome steed Bedwards, nice snag! I would feel like a pretzel after a ride on a setup like that, glad it is working for you.

Tamper Tantrum: We built a new trail on Sunday to get ride of a terrible short steep climb (aka push for most) up to the boiler (which used to power the steam-driven tools in the quarry). I named it Tamper Tantrum as a pun lover and because we used dirt tampers for the build. We'll see if the name sticks.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

2nd fattie commute today and again I had to show the bike to several coworkers during lunchbreak. And again kids pointing at me, and a lot of turned heads. Unfortunately no offroad experience yet. Hopefully tomorrow some bumpy forest road.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Car pick up yesterday went well and got the bike in and out of the car sans front wheel without damaging the new front fender. 

Nice, safe, boring ride today. Getting stronger and faster at the same heart rates. Soon I will shift onto the big front chainwheel for part of the ride. Cop waved at me as I rolled a downtown 4-way stop he was just approaching. They roll them all the time.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides today. Finally was able to take a rougher road home. Lowered the pressure a bit and disnt feel any gravel, just noticed roots and potholes. The gravel just made a lot of noise, it was getting annoying after 15 minutes. There was about 12 psi in there when I came home and pumped up to 15 - assumed the pressure gauge on the pump is correct. I got the feeling that pressure wouldnt increase although I kept pumping. Its enough I guess.

^^ still no suggestions on a carryon pump? I was thinking a lezyne micro floor drive. And any ideas how to find out whether the tires are tubeless/with tube? (Sorry fatbike noob here...)


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## jbadger1977 (Jan 17, 2015)

Came across these two on my commute today. Pretty cool. Got within 10 feet.


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## cachaulo (Sep 14, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice rides today. Finally was able to take a rougher road home. Lowered the pressure a bit and disnt feel any gravel, just noticed roots and potholes. The gravel just made a lot of noise, it was getting annoying after 15 minutes. There was about 12 psi in there when I came home and pumped up to 15 - assumed the pressure gauge on the pump is correct. I got the feeling that pressure wouldnt increase although I kept pumping. Its enough I guess.
> 
> ^^ still no suggestions on a carryon pump? I was thinking a lezyne micro floor drive. And any ideas how to find out whether the tires are tubeless/with tube? (Sorry fatbike noob here...)


You can often tell by looking at valve stem, if you can move it around freely it is likely connected to a tube inside.

That pump is pretty sweet, a friend of mine has it in his pack. I'm using the OneUp EDC pump (I also have the EDC tool stashed in it), it's been really useful and has a nice bottle cage mount so I don't need to carry it on my back.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

NHD - New Helmet Day

The Bontrager Charge WaveCel helmets Size Large came back in stock. I wanted/purchsed the Radioactive Yellow. I also picked up another Flare RT light for the rear mount on the helmet. I now have lights: Low(Fender), medium (trunk), and high (head).









This should be my last purchase for a while. .


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey cachaulo welcome here and thanks for the suggestions!

Jbadger nice pic. What birds are they? Look like eagles but smaller? 

BrianMC totally missed your post above at first. Good to hear about your progress, keep going without overreacting. 

Rode the same route as yesterday today and in addition added a small section through grass. Worked well but the grass was long and wet so I soaked my shoes and socks but they were dry again by the time I got to work. Took a gravelish road again on thebway home and I have to say that the grinding noise of those tires is getting annoying after 15 minutes :lol:

Hope to make a first ride on some trails this weekend.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

*It's not a commutah*


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Where is bedwards? Probably riding the new roadbike... so I noticed today that my new contigo mug has a minor dent already from the metal bottleholder on the fattie. I have to take everything back what I said about it fitting so nice in a standard bottle cage.

Apparently the sks topcage doesnt fit perfectly but at least it doesnt damage the bottle because it is plastic.

I hope I havent confused or misled anyone.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey BrianMc, well done, your persistence in pushing through the medical issues is impressive.

Jelako, how did you get that picture of Dutchman on his new bike? 

Also Jelako, that is one bright helmet. Very cool.

bedwards is recovering from conquering another KOM this morning 

We had a bit of rain this week, but weather is getting nice again. But it's starting to feel like fall. Looks like I'll cross 4000 miles for the year on the way home tonight. On track for my 6000 mile yearly goal.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Jelako said:


> View attachment 1273759


 :lol: :drumroll:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Ooh, I like the bright helmet and the raptors! Sluggish rides yesterday, due to windy weather and trying out the Happy Medium tires I put on the MTB commuter for bikepacking Labor Day weekend. Also maybe the rear V brake was dragging a bit, it is original (circa 1999) and the spring is finally getting tired.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey my bike has no engine except me 

Couldnt ride it today really but I changed the front pads and put 2 bottlecages on it. While looking after the kids on the playground I rode it in the sandpit :lol: some of the mommys I know probably wont talk to me anymore.

I checked the valvestem and its a bit loose. So I guess there is a tube in there. After watching some youtube videos I think I will go for a co2 pump with several 25gr cartridges. Just not really doable with a handpump. 

The rims have no sticker/name or anything on it. I wrote the shop to ask if they know if the rims are tubeless compatible. I have been thinking of going tubeless a while already, maybe now the time has come. While searching for pumps I came across a bontrager floor pump with a reservoir in which you can build up pressure, then release it all at once to push a tubeless tire onto the rim firmly. Clever idea but with a pricetag as usual...


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## 18th letter (May 23, 2019)

Commute tommorrow should be interesting, I have to ride through/around MTV vma ceremony. Better than anyone who has to drive in the area. My knees are definitely acclimating to the hills now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^ still no suggestions on a carryon pump? I was thinking a lezyne micro floor drive. And any ideas how to find out whether the tires are tubeless/with tube? (Sorry fatbike noob here...)


I use the LEZYNE Tech Drive HV Hand Pump in my pack for fatbiking. It gets the job done faster than most and the flex hose is nice for a hand pump because eventually you will break the valve stem off with so many strokes. I like the small size but if you have room for the floor drive that one might be better. I don't like CO2 as the only option since when they are gone, they are gone. I use the 16g cartridges and I think it would take 3 of them for the fatbike. After 3 tubeless fails with non-tubeless ready tires on the fatbike I gave up. It always worked great right up to the point where it didn't. I didn't buy the contigo mug yet.

Oh, and dutchman, you need to embrace the sound of the gravel under the fat tires! 



woodway said:


> bedwards is recovering from conquering another KOM this morning


And another one in the afternoon! But not on the new bike. I also got a KOM stolen from me by a professional cyclist. Maybe I can get that one back on the new bike.

I did take the new bike today and pushed hard trying to get my best home to work time. Nope, 4th best time. It seems like I should have got it. The bike feels really fast. Maybe it was the frigid air. Feels like fall indeed. I think it was 46F.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Sunrises are part of my rides again.










But that means someday soon sunsets will be too and I really don't like that but fortunately it's still a few months off.

Dutchman the pump I have with me is a crankbrothers kliq https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01M72JZVF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_oJbzDbCYG8QPD

I can't say too much about it though since I have only used it once to try it out and show my son how.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove in today. And I'm glad I did. It is absolutely pouring outside. 

The last few weeks have been super hot. Temps rose to 98 a couple times last week with dew points in the 70s. This weekend, however, was awesome, and it looks like we might be making a turn towards more moderate temps. It will be nice to not get to work drenched with sweat.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I drove in today. And I'm glad I did. It is absolutely pouring outside.
> 
> The last few weeks have been super hot. Temps rose to 98 a couple times last week with dew points in the 70s. This weekend, however, was awesome, and it looks like we might be making a turn towards more moderate temps. It will be nice to not get to work drenched with sweat.


Same here. Had the bike ready to go and as I was packing my lunch I kept looking out thinking "it's not gonna stop". It didn't. Not worth getting that wet for a 1.5 mile commute. Oh well.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the pump suggestions! I already have such a lezyne pump so I got it covered.

No shame to loose a kom on that guy bedwards. If you get it back, maybe they will offer you a pro contract?

Nice pic jeremy. My rides look the same in the morning, just the sun is a bit higher but with exactly the same slight haze. 

This morning it was 18C already and it turned to 33C/91F on the way home so I took it easy. I was pretty tired from the weekend too, went paddling and swimming in the river and its nice but when hauling the kayaks around it seems they get heavier over the years :-/

Chance of thunderstorms from tomorrow for the rest of the week so the rides home could become wet. At 30C or more it is welcome


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Well, he did not beat you by much Bedwards! Now you have bragging rights instead of a KOM.

Cool morning here to, which leads to my pro tip for commuters. Kneesocks, like ski or snowboard socks, can be pulled up in colder morning temps and pushed down for the afternoon or for the uphill. I wore these from Darn Tough today, nice for visibility too.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

He only beat you by three seconds bedwards. You can get it back!

I love Darn Tough socks mtbx. Good quality, super comfortable.

Not much to report here. We are having some darn nice weather. I'm taking the rest of the week off in advance of the long weekend and hope to get some good mountain bike rides in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> He only beat you by three seconds bedwards. You can get it back!


With careful planning, fresh legs, the right weather and tailwind I can get back the KOM he probably didn't realize he got on a routine ride, LOL.

I've got to get some Darn Tough. socks. I bought one pair once but it turned out not to be merino wool, oops. I thought they all were. I knew it after one wear when my feet stunk.

Good rides on the new steed. It's still creaking but I haven't got the supersix superspecial tools to take it apart yet. I claimed my first KOM with the new bike yesterday! This morning was a couples commute on another very chilly summer morning. It was the same 46F as yesterday but I was going my wife's pace and not full out so I was freezing.

The days are noticeably shorter.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey MTBX thanks for the tip on the socks, they look very good indeed and are available in Germany here as well. I think you like them because they are tough, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are from VT?  

Bedwards only a pro barely manages to take a KOM from you ?? Respect :thumbsup: 

My new bike started to creak too by now. I guess somewhere in the cranks/bearings and the seatpost. Last one is my own fault, I swapped the original one with offset for a straight one and did not grease everything before I put it in. So I will have to take it apart again and do that. It was again hot this morning and even hotter in the afternoon. Thunderstorms were already building up but only one passed over town when I was home already. 

My wife had to go to pick up son #1 at one of his friends and her bike has a flat rear tire. So I put the seatpost down and sent her on the fatty, and she liked it  Kids want one too now... I see expensive times in my future.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

mtbxplorer said:


> Well, he did not beat you by much Bedwards! Now you have bragging rights instead of a KOM.
> 
> Cool morning here to, which leads to my pro tip for commuters. Kneesocks, like ski or snowboard socks, can be pulled up in colder morning temps and pushed down for the afternoon or for the uphill. I wore these from Darn Tough today, nice for visibility too.


I wear darn toughs everyday. Sometimes long sometimes short but always darn tough. I love them. Awhile back there was discussion here about merino wool clothing. I wear merino socks and t-shirts to ride all year in the winter I add a layer or two of merino sweatshirt or long sleeve t (usually icebreaker brand) off the bike I wear icebreaker boxers, on the bike now I'm trying mons royal merino liner shorts. So far I like them a lot although I wish the back was a little higher.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey MTBX thanks for the tip on the socks, they look very good indeed and are available in Germany here as well. I think you like them because they are tough, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are from VT?


 Haha, yes, that helps too - and they actually make them here, just a couple towns over. Glad everybody likes them, another of my favorites is the Tactical version, but I like thick socks.

Good rides yesterday, nothiing exciting. I got an excellent report on a hose-end sprayer I found roadside. I gave it to a coworker as I had bought one recently; she says it is the best one she ever had.

Rain possible today, we are kind of overdue.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Ride in this morning was beautiful although slower than i would like at 1:22 for the 34km route. I am dealing with a lot of nagging pains right now. My left knee is a little tight near the patella tendon and my left heel is very very sore like plantar fasciitis. Hopefully the doctor visit in a few weeks will shed some light on things although my severe lack of German in this area could hinder that a little.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

ooooOOOOOOooooOHHHHH Sunrise. I think it might have looked similar here but I was still getting my coffee.

I had thoughts of getting my KOM back today. My legs said not today buddy! They were having noting to do with it. I road my old road bike in to show it to a few people at work that may be interested.

In case anybody is interested  :https://maine.craigslist.org/bik/d/raymond-scott-cr1-pro-cmxl-carbon-road/6966348172.html

I'm actually going to buy another new bike this evening. Actually I'm buying a used frame and a bunch of parts. I don't even know what it looks like yet. Just that it is a cannondale hard tail that has been lightly used and it is carbon fiber.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey MTBX I think it is even good to be proud of local businesses, especially when they are worldwide successful! I mean, I live in Hamburg and I am proud of the hamburgers too 

Curious to the new bike Bedwards! Hmm I dont have a carbon bike (yet)...good think I live so far away because that bike you're selling looks sweet.


Jeremy, that last pic has so powerful colors, unbelievable. Makes me look forward to fall now!


Another sweaty day here. Luckily the thunderstorms passed south of town so far and weather radar shows nothing coming in the next hours. I believe I am getting used to the temps again too. 30C is already uncommon here and this is the 3rd period where we have it multiple days in a row already this year.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Curious to the new bike Bedwards!


I think it looks just like this with a regular fork. https://www.pinkbike.com/photo/15783581/
I'm buying it for the adventure race I am doing in a few weeks.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

> Awhile back there was discussion here about merino wool clothing.


I was involved in that Merino wool discussion and as a result purchased a Minus33 long sleeve Merino Wool long sleeve crew shirt. I wore it every single day in Alaska and it was fantastic.

Just yesterday, I applied for and was accepted into Icebreakers "Pro" program (Miliatary/First Responder) program. I just ordered two Merino Wool undershirts. Even though I live in Florida, I have worn an "undershirt" (tshirt) my entire life. I don't like wearing polos/button shirts without an undershirt. My wife and co-workers think i'm nuts for spending THAT much more money for "just" an undershirt, but I had zero remorse for buying two yesterday.



> I've got to get some Darn Tough. socks.


I have bee partial to "Feetures" and have a few pairs of the Merino10 which are a Merino and Tencel blend. I will check out Darn Tough today.

EDIT: Look at that, they have a military/first responder discount...I might have found my new sock company.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Jelako said:


> I was involved in that Merino wool discussion and as a result purchased a Minus33 long sleeve Merino Wool long sleeve crew shirt. I wore it every single day in Alaska and it was fantastic.
> 
> Just yesterday, I applied for and was accepted into Icebreakers "Pro" program (Miliatary/First Responder) program. I just ordered two Merino Wool undershirts. Even though I live in Florida, I have worn an "undershirt" (tshirt) my entire life. I don't like wearing polos/button shirts without an undershirt. My wife and co-workers think i'm nuts for spending THAT much more money for "just" an undershirt, but I had zero remorse for buying two yesterday.
> 
> ...


I love love my icebreaker stuff and the darn toughs are guaranteed for life and made in Vermont so they are hard not to love.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Jelako said:


> I was involved in that Merino wool discussion and as a result purchased a Minus33 long sleeve Merino Wool long sleeve crew shirt. I wore it every single day in Alaska and it was fantastic.
> 
> Just yesterday, I applied for and was accepted into Icebreakers "Pro" program (Miliatary/First Responder) program. I just ordered two Merino Wool undershirts. Even though I live in Florida, I have worn an "undershirt" (tshirt) my entire life. I don't like wearing polos/button shirts without an undershirt. My wife and co-workers think i'm nuts for spending THAT much more money for "just" an undershirt, but I had zero remorse for buying two yesterday.
> 
> ...


Cool, I did not know about the discount!

Great photos Jeremy!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Commute home pissed me off :madmax:, my FB post summed it up:
WANTED: Large black truck rolling coal on Berlin St. Montpelier VT tonight as I biked uphill.
Other distinguishing features: REALLY SMALL D*CK AND LESS BRAINS.
PM me any info. Not the actual truck but you get the idea....
(I don't know how to make GIFs work herre, sorry)
https://images.app.goo.gl/XsWS1FVua88HnfoB8


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Commute home pissed me off :madmax:, my FB post summed it up:
> WANTED: Large black truck rolling coal on Berlin St. Montpelier VT tonight as I biked uphill.
> Other distinguishing features: REALLY SMALL D*CK AND LESS BRAINS.
> PM me any info. Not the actual truck but you get the idea....
> ...


You're killing me right now.

Sent from my LM-X212(G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Commute home pissed me off :madmax:, my FB post summed it up:
> WANTED: Large black truck rolling coal on Berlin St. Montpelier VT tonight as I biked uphill.
> Other distinguishing features: REALLY SMALL D*CK AND LESS BRAINS.
> PM me any info. Not the actual truck but you get the idea....
> ...


I think I know that truck. Sending positive thoughts your way that it will get wrapped around a tree and the minimally endowed owner will be put in a position where he cannot derive enjoyment at the expense of other people any more, amen.

I got my new bike last night. Actually a frame, fork and box of bike parts. Just add wheels. The frame is stupid light. The suspension fork definitely weighs more. I'll build it this weekend and take some pictures along the way.

No commute this morning. I left all my biking stuff at work because it was supposed to rain and I had the car. It turned out to be decent. Oh well, I used it as a chance to do a run that I hate in prep for my upcoming race.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I know you guys are not eBike riders, but there is some Trek eBike "news".

Yesterday, my LBS reached out to me to ask if I could write something up for Trek. Trek is soliciting bike shops that have sold eBikes to customers for "testimonials" or experiences. I wrote a review of the Trek SuperCommuter and wanted to use some of my verbiage in my testimonial. When I went to Trek's website...

The Trek Super Commuter 8s is gone!

It has been officially retired.

Trek is consolidating/re-branding their entire commuter/city bike category. Moving forward the city/commuter line will be called: Allant

They will have a: 7, 8, and 9 model and each level will have an "S" model too (7s, 8s, 9s) that will be the 28 mph version:

https://electricbikereview.com/foru...models-7-8-9-all-the-specs.29370/#post-213584

It's exciting to see new bikes come out and even more glad I bought my Super Commuter. I'll still go check out the new ones when they come out, but that 9 is full carbon and not the "S" edition and selling for $6000? The "S" edition will probably be over $7000? yikes!

In other news, today is pay day and I ordered two pair of socks from "Darn Tough".


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^If there is one thing the bike industry does well it is change. Even if it isn't necessary. Post us a link to your famous testimonial if it gets published. 

I had my fastest home to work commute today out of the 335 times I have taken that (my normal) hilly route, 24.0MPH. That was on the time trial bike. By comparison I had done a full speed effort on my new SuperSix SuperExpensive road bike and only averaged 22.5MPH. My typical speed is probably closer to 17.5.

I can't wait to get through this work day so I can get to the weekend to build my new bike. The frame weighs in at 2.9lbs and the fork is 3.8lbs.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yesterday was apparently randomly-stop-in-front-of-the-cyclist day. It started with a dog on a semi-closed street. The old, fat dog was just hanging around while the owner was inspecting some construction going on. I moved over into the other lane to get around everyone, and the dog sauntered out into the street and blocked my path and refused to budge. I came to a stop and carefully maneuvered around the dog. Luckily, the dog was friendly and nothing came of the situation but a slight chuckle.

When I was getting close to home, a driver at a stop sign rolled out into the road and was blocking my lane. I still don't know what that driver was thinking. I decided it'd be less awkward for me to swerve into the other lane and get around him that way rather than stop and wait to see what the driver was going to do. The driver eventually ended up turning around in the intersection, which is a bit of a headscratcher on that road, but whatever.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> Commute home pissed me off :madmax:, my FB post summed it up:
> WANTED: Large black truck rolling coal on Berlin St. Montpelier VT tonight as I biked uphill.
> Other distinguishing features: REALLY SMALL D*CK AND LESS BRAINS.
> PM me any info. Not the actual truck but you get the idea....
> ...


LOL. I think we all encounter "that guy" from time to time. Seems more frequent lately. Being a brainless douchebag is apparently a desirable trait these days.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I didn’t set any speed records today. That was Wednesday today the best I can say is that did it all 69 km. Now I can rest and hopefully Monday will be faster. Have a great weekend all.


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## jbadger1977 (Jan 17, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Jbadger nice pic. What birds are they? Look like eagles but smaller?


I believe they are Cooper's Hawks. Redtail Hawks are pretty common in my area, but knew these were definitely not Redtails.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:thumbsup: jeremy

Bedwards you can do voodoo to truckdrivers too? Gotta remember that 

By now I am getting interested those darn tough socks, I have plenty merino socks by now but none that are knee high, so I might give it a try.

Yesterday morning was the first time I rode in rain with just tshirt, shorts and sandals. Never done that in the morning so far. Afternoon ride was nice. Because it rained I took the main commuter bike because it has fenders. Felt really weird, especially those narrow drop bars...Today was dry and I rode the fattie again. Made my friday detour to start into the weekend.

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Took the morning off and then had a good ride in. At the last light,where I am in the Left Turn Only lane, 2 cops came up on my left (oncoming traffic lane) with lights and sirens on, and turned left in front of me towards downtown. Nobody could pull over out of his way so it was a good maneuver. It turned out they were responding to someone that thought they saw a guy with a long gun enter the Tax Dept building. The capitol was shut down for hours while they searched, but nothing was found. Our office was unaffected as we are on a hill outside of downtown. Lockdown on the 2nd day of school, but they got out on time at least.
https://www.wcax.com/content/news/M...r-reports-of-suspicious-person-558821291.html


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I had what can only be described as a terrible day at work. I got some awful and very expensive news, it was the worst on a personal level. However, I got to ride my bike and I was faster than ever in the combined times, for my two rides. For the first time I did my 69km total with 400m elevation gain in under 3 hours total. So today was bad, but my bike was great.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Jeremy, that doesnt sound good about work - hope you can work it out. Congrats on your round-trip-record though!

I rode the fatbike finally on some trails for 2 hrs last Saturday. It works well except on the bumpiest trails I found. On the last downhill I got it up to kph :lol: The fat tires bring a lot also while climbing, rear wheel never slipped on a climb when going over a wet root. 

Rode today and the first signs of fall are now really here. Had another last hot day with 32C last Saturday, this morning was sunny, 11C and damp air and it felt darn cold. 17C on the way home and I rode with two co-workers. First one caught up with his MTB, the second one caught up later on his carbon roadbike, so we were three in total. It is starting to turn into grouprides :lol:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Labour day in the usa leaves its trace, very quiet here. Good for you all!

It rained this morning. Expected some rain on the way home but I was lucky. It is supposed to remain wet so I will have to bring the fattie in the basement for a while...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Glad to see you are enjoying the fatbike. You got up to how many kph? I think the fastest I have ever been on mine is 48KPH and that was on snow and ice.:eekster: https://www.strava.com/activities/889303063



bedwards1000 said:


> I got my new bike last night. Actually a frame, fork and box of bike parts. Just add wheels. The frame is stupid light. The suspension fork definitely weighs more. I'll build it this weekend and take some pictures along the way.


As promised
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/09/frank.html

I had a nice easy ride in this morning. I'd pretty much taken 3 days off except for a test ride on the new bike.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Labour day in the usa leaves its trace, very quiet here. Good for you all!


I was informed yesterday that Labor Day was like Christmas. Sort of sacrosanct. Funny, I never worked a Christmas since I left the farm and chores. I worked a lot of Labor Days under salary so no double time, either!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

hahaaa bedwards if it doesnt fit you make it fit :lol: :thumbsup: Sweet bike btw and being dutch, I dig those colours :lol: Which RockShox is that fork exactly? And good luck with finishing the build!

BrianMC I really thought Labor Day is like Christmas or any Sunday - everything closed. 

My speed on the fatbike was 49.81 kph / 31mph (according to my speedometer that I adjusted with my GPS before) and I felt like I could ride it freehanded, it felt so secure. I just kept my hands on the bar so I could bend over as far as I could to minimize the wind resistance. I did almost learn the hard way 3 times that the brakes are set up moto style (front brake on right hand) but I managed and now I know.Quite good actually, considering I am coming from a bb7/203mm and now was suddenly riding an XT / icetec 200mm.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It is the RockShox Reba. Having never ridden a hard tail with a front shock I'm not sure what to expect from it. Hopefully I'll get to ride it to work tomorrow. We got a lot of rain last night so I didn't want to take the muddy trails in. I'm not sure how long I can wait.

Hey, you beat me on max speed I thought you were going to say something like 25kpm making fun of it's fatness. I may have been faster on mine but that trip down Mount Washington felt like the fastest. I definitely wouldn't have wanted the brakes to be reversed on that descent.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sorry to hear about the bad and expensive news Jeremy, glad the bike ride was better..

Bedwards, I think you will enjoy the race much more on the MTB, as long as the parts hold together, lol. Nice job making it work. 

I know the feeling. Last year I left the Panaracer commuter tires on the bike for the Labor Day bikecamping trip, and I made it OK, but it was much more enjoyable this year on the Kenda Happy Mediums, I really like them. Here are a few pics from the trip, for some reason I hardly pulled out the camera until the rainy Monday when we rode back.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well at least you got some pictures

I took the first test ride commute today on the new bike, "Frank"(enstine). I'm not worried about it holding together, it is a solid build. I did turn in one of my fastest MTB commutes on that route. My back is questioning the hardtail mountain bike but I think I need to adjust the fit more to get me less upright on the bike so I bend at the hips instead of compressing my spine over bumps.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Suspension seatpost, bedwards.

Looks like a good trip MTBX.

Took most of last week off in anticipation of the long weekend. Got in a couple great MTB rides and some nice hikes. Ate too much. Back into the regular commute today, 63F this morning, 80F going home tonight. About perfect as far as commute weather goes.

Ran across this today and thought I would post it here in case this has been bothering anyone:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> ^^ Suspension seatpost, bedwards.


 Too heavy this is meant to be a super light build. Thudbusters are too $$$

Pannier (Northeast pronunciation) = Pan-ya


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I like that Strava sends you end of the month stats, but because of the Florida weather, my stats were SIGNIFICANTLY down. Just motivation to get back into it this month.

I don't mind riding in rain, it's the lightning that keeps me from riding. This was a VERY wet August and now with the Hurricane moving by, my area will get some of the outer bands of storms. It really wasn't too bad. But we get these crazy, hardcore rains and then it completely is beautiful, and then another round of hard rain.

in other news, my darn tough sock order came in. I only ordered two pairs. It is my goal to go through my sock drawer this weekend and purge out my old socks.

I'm a huge fan of feetures and I have three pair of good brooks socks. I also have a BUNCH of legacy "dry fit" Nike and tech fabric Under Armor, but I really like the Merino much, much better. I'm in shoes/socks all day so it's nice to have socks that naturally keep foot odor down. 

Thanks for the tip on Darn Tough--if any of you are considering them, the standard shipping was very fast. Heck, i got them yesterday despite Labor Day weekend and Hurricane concerns.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We had a darn good August for riding.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> We had a darn good August for riding.
> View attachment 1276687


That is outstanding stats. Putting in WORK!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

*Back in the saddle*

We were very fortunate, Dorion never made land fall in Florida and scooted up the coast line. My Dark Sky app said that today (9/5) was a "0%" chance of rain for my commute.

Last week, I needed to drive to my Insurance Agents location and noticed that the bike lane I turn off of, extended and then would allow me to connect to another road that also had a bike lane. It extends the ride "longer", but would allow me to remain in a bike lane as opposed to a narrow OLD side walk that has TONS of debris and over growth and lots of "transitions". So I decided to explore. It did in fact add a little bit of distance and time but it allowed me to stay in a dedicated bike lane without scratching my arms up.

I made the ride with my new Darn Tough Cycling Socks. I'm a fan.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not Darn Tough but Darn Tall.




​ They are actually Le Bent, Merino and Bamboo. They showed up at a discount store (Mardens) for $6.99. Darn good price.

It was just a little below 50F but felt colder. I haven't mentally switched over to long sleeves but today was close.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> We had a darn good August for riding.
> View attachment 1276687


I've never seen that view in the app bedwards, where did you get it?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I clicked the download icon in the email titled: "Your August Stats".


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Today was some lovely riding weather 10C(50F) in the morning 18C (64.5F) on the return ride.

I can't say my August stats were as good as yours bedwards (too much vacation time off the bike), but I was only 25 miles short in July but you beat my climbing by over a mile.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yes a bit over 50 F here this morning, felt like less, but after my lower exertion warm-up to the main road and the long low grade climb I was warm enough.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I clicked the download icon in the email titled: "Your August Stats".


Ah, I never got an email. That explains it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice socks bedwards. I keep thinking about knee-high socks so could get some as well. And glad you like the build. The front fork is black and I thought the reba fork is more dark grey. Well i was wrong apparently.

Jelako glad you were not hit too hard by the storm.

Mtbx, looks like a nice trip anyway, would have loved too see more pics. Maybe next time?

Went into downtown hamburg yesterday for some hamburgers and was surprised to see so many hamburgers on surly bikes. They really seem to be popular overhere. In 10 minutes I saw a krampus in orange and three x-checks in different builds.

Rides today were good and I was lucky to make it home dry. Time to pack in the rainpants every day now.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ride home last night was tough, I had "Dead Legs Syndrome". I guess I got a little too perky on Wednesday when I extended my round trip commute to 50 miles. Felt a little better this morning. And the weather has been spectacular, but rain is on the way next week!

Surly makes nice bikes at a reasonable price, Dutchman. A little heavy for my tastes however.

bedwards, good time to start planning that trip out west.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Went into downtown hamburg yesterday for some hamburgers and was surprised to see so many hamburgers on surly bikes. They really seem to be popular overhere. In 10 minutes I saw a krampus in orange and three x-checks in different builds.


 I've always been just has happy to sell my Surlys as I have been to buy them. I'm almost certain I'll never buy another.


woodway said:


> Surly makes nice bikes at a reasonable price, Dutchman. A little heavy for my tastes however.


 Surly makes a reasonable bike at a slightly premium price.


woodway said:


> bedwards, good time to start planning that trip out west.


I think it will happen, just maybe not this year. We're got events 3 out of the next 4 weekends and I think I am going to be planned out. I wish it were simpler to travel with bikes.

I get the dead legs syndrome more than I'd like. I may have it tomorrow.  I made some adjustments to the new bike and took it on the home to work test ride time trial. I think I turned in my fastest time to date for the entire trip. It is broken up into a road/gravel section which my fastest time is on my cross bike. And a trail section which my fastest time is on my 27.5+FS. But for the fastest time on both parts combined I think I have found my bike. I'm going to mount up some Schwalbe Big One tires tubeless for the next test.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had an unplanned mixed commute yesterday. I rode in expecting a normal day, but my wife called in the afternoon in a bit of a panic. She had been driving and made a right turn on a blind corner only to find a fire engine speeding directly towards her in her lane. She did what most people would do and swerved to the side of the road. Unfortunately, there was a drainage ditch that butted up against the street, and it swallowed up the left wheel and our van bottomed out in the dirt.

Luckily, I have nice co-workers. I bummed a ride to where my wife was to try to get her out. I grabbed a bunch of rocks and wedged them just right so the van wouldn't slide further down into the ditch (there was a decent drop just to the left) and backed the van out. My 3 year old and 1 month old were in the car the whole time. The 1 month old didn't even wake up. I drove the family around the corner to our house, grabbed our other car, and drove back to work. It was nice to have my rock armoring experience actually come in handy for something other than trail work or landscaping.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have to correct myself first: The orange bike was a pugsley, I think I mixed that one up with the Krampug from one of the northern commuters here, I think it is Blockphi. I wonder where he went, just like rodar, Slipspace, Jeffscott, etc...

Well the CrossCheck is pretty much what I am looking for: Dropbar geo, rigid, all mounting points you ever need, massive tire clearance and IGH is possible without chain tensioner. If it just wasnt made out of heavy oldfashioned wobbly steel....in lighter and stiffer aluminium it would be even more popular I think.

Bedwards it seems the Schwalbe G One are currently among the fastest tires out there. Please report when you ride them!

Woodway take some rest over the weekend, you will return stronger 

Sockeyous glad no one got hurt there and good you got the car out yourself without damage! Well done!

Fresh this morning, 10C only and quite windy today. 17C with some headwinds on the way home. 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Well, it's been a while since I posted here, but I am commuting once a week to work. I find the 36 mile round trip too taxing most of the time to do it and get my homework done at night, so I have reserved it for Fridays.

Just got a new BB. The last one lasted about 5K miles, so I guess I shouldn't complain. Looking into new tires, though, because my rear is worn and a couple of the hills I have to climb have recently developed some serious ruts that are keeping me from making it to the top. I'm riding 29" 2.3 Fasttrak 2Bliss on the back and 2.3 Ground Control 2Bliss on the front.

Any suggestions for tires that will be a bit better on the trail and still work well on the pavement I spend a lot of my time on for fitness riding? It's my only bike. I've been looking at the Maxxis Ardent and the Maxxis Rekon, which my LBS has in stock. Are they good alternatives? Should I just stick with the Specialized pairing?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back 36 Miles. I'd browse through this site and see what tire has the best compromise for you. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews

I took the new road bike out on it's first big ride yesterday, 70 miles. I'm happy to report the the I fixed the creaky crank. That's also the longest I have been this year. Totally slacking. It was a destination ride to see my wife (rollingrunner, for those who remember her here) finish her half ironman. She rocked it with a total time of 5 hours and 22 minutes.

I was sleepy this morning so there wasn't enough time to take Frank out on the trails with the Schwalbe Big One tires.

Dutchman, it was "Fresh" here this morning too. About 42F fresh.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Temps and humidity on the rise...had to run an errand this morning that took me up a short but steep hill, pouring sweat by the time I got to work.

I took a different route home last night from from some local trails, taking the shoulder of a highway instead of backroads to rail trail. Ended up being maybe 10mins faster...nice wide shoulder almost the whole way so it was reasonably safe, but not enough advantage to be worth it.

My friend had a really lucky crash yesterday...clipped a pedal and went sliding off a wooden ramp that sends you across a 14ft gap over a ravine. He was able to bail off his bike and execute a clean tuck-and-roll and jogged out of it...and his bike landed upright leaning neatly against a tree! Wish we'd been recording.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

Days are getting shorter. I go early on Mondays, so putting a light on the bike seemed like a good idea.
Replaced the rear tyre on the bikepath bike, on Sunday. Much nicer now, when the inner isn't peeking through the sidewall....


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Apparently for my coworkers bike commuting is a fair weather sport. This bike garage was completely full last week when it was 21C (70F) and sunny. Today it was 8C (46F) and rainy and there were only 6 of us.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards congrats to RR! 

Jeremy that seems like a lot of luxury. Unfortunately the bikestands are even fuller now. I am working next to the main entrance of the plant and a lot of people park their bikes there. Now that the weather is getting worse, they leave the bike there and take the shuttlebus instead :-/

Squeak, that sounds scary but also like a total win :thumbsup:

We all know cycling is good for your health in the long run. I learned today, it works almost instantly. So I went paddling and camping this weekend. I was totally flattened this morning and also had quite a headache. I got up later than usual but in the end I rode to work and when I arrived I felt quite awake and the headache had disappeared and it didnt come back either. The ride home had 18C but it rained and I got a good soaking, since I had only a windvest. When I came home the water was dripping from my sleeves. I put the helmet cover on this morning and wore a merino longsleeve first time after summer....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, Bedwards tell rollingrunner congrats for me, that is awesome!!

Squeaky, that sounds like the best kind of crash.

Jeremy, yep, they are dropping like flies with the cooler weather.

On a staycation this week, doing house stuff and hope to get in some MTB rides. I will share 2 OT pics of my dog from a walk yesterday and a fawn from my trailcam. Both are at a reservoir nearby, a 2 hour round trip walk from my house if we do the shoreline trail. Sorry he is sideways.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

bedwards1000 said:


> Welcome back 36 Miles. I'd browse through this site and see what tire has the best compromise for you. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews


Yes, I've been looking at their site and it has me convinced to try Continental Race King Protection in the rear and Cross King Protection up front. Looks like Continental are rolling resistance and puncture champions. Of course, I'm also hoping for a little traction there, but I do so much riding on pavement that I'm willing to sacrifice getting up a sloppy, rutted hill here and there for the majority of my riding to be covered by a tire setup.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cute pup MTBX! Have a good staycation.

36Miles, I have done quite a bit of gravel riding on Specialized Trigger Pro 2Bliss Ready and I really like them. They roll pretty good on the road. But they only come in 700x38c so maybe not quite as wide as you are looking for?

Same thing here Jeremy, the bike room at the office was packed to the gills all summer, now when I go down there in the evening maybe a half dozen bikes are there.

Light rain this morning, 58F/15C so still not too cold.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards it seems the Schwalbe G One are currently among the fastest tires out there. Please report when you ride them!


I got the tires mounted up tubeless. They mounted great with a compressor and didn't leak even with no sealant for a few hours. Unfortunately, as soon as you let the pressure out they un-seat and need the compressor again to get them mounted. There will be no trail-side tubeless repairs I am afraid.

I took them on my final paved/gravel/trail time trial to dial in the bike for a race this weekend and they appear to be very quick. I was definitely pushing the whole way but damn. 







I was faster on the road/gravel part than i was on my cross bike. And I was faster on the rough trail portion than I was on my FS 27.5+. Winner Winner. I did have to slow down in the corners more than a tire with knobs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice to hear those tires work for you bedwards! 

Dry and windy today. Almost 20mph constant winds from behind so most of the ride was pretty quick.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I loaded my rides into VeloViewer today and I am within 1 mile of my distance in 2017 on this day. 3862 miles. The whole year seems to be tracking almost mile for mile.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Congrats to RR, bedwards.

Today I keep up with slow downtown traffic for a couple of blocks and shifted to the big ring on the way home for awhile. Getting stronger and faster for a particular pulse rate. So it seems to be working.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sound good bedwards! I am sure you will get some more KOMs in on those tires. My collegue is riding the 40-622 version of the g one allround, will ask him about mileage, flats and such.

Nice to see your progress brianmc! Keep going :thumbsup:

Nice ride in this morning. Left early, just after sunrise and the sun was shining big and orange through some light fog. I see 2 roe deers every morning on the same spot by now, they dont care much about me and I dont look directly at them so they dont see me as a threat either. Ride home was dry but quite cloudy. At some point underneath the trees I could see the lightbeam of my headlamp.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Well it was warm again today and so the racks were full at work but I don’t mind happy to have the company. 

While we are on the topic of tires. I’m looking st the Vittoria mezcal Graphene 4c 2.35” for my new set of 29er wheels. I have heard nothing but good things unless you guys say different. I ride mostly mixed surface, as much gravel as I can, some tarmac and a tiny bit of wet grassy single track on my commutes and only gravel on the weekends.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sorry Jeremy, I only know Schwalbe and Conti tires - no experience on the Vittoria's.

Nice rides again today, sunrise really makes nice mood lighting in the morning. Nice sunny 22C on the way home.

Decided this morning to spontaneously make a flash visit to my relatives in the Netherlands tomorrow. Leaving early tomorrow morning, coming back home early Sunday afternoon. Just packing my stuff, first thing I packed was the fatbike - hoping to make the beachride I dreamed of for 5 years is coming through


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Have a great trip and enjoy the beach ride - watch the tides and the winds so you can return easily!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Beautiful ride in this morning even though it was slow. Took me 7 minutes longer than what I consider a fast time. But I rode my bike and it was a pretty day. I have seen several foxes recently but unfortunately I'm too slow to take a picture. I also got a great Ledlenser 2000 lumen headlamp (iXEO 19R) as a gift yesterday so this weekend I'm going to try and mount it as a new handlebar light. Watch our oncoming traffic you will be blinded.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I didn't think about the fact that I'd be out after dark, so I didn't bring my headlamp. Found out the hard way that much of my ride has no street lights. It made for a long ride home. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pic jeremy_burke! 2000 lumen lamp, wow! I have a 1300 lumen lamp but run it at it's lowest setting (600 lumens) 99% of time because anything higher is too bright for me.

Have a good beach ride Dutchman. Post pics.

Nothing unusual to report for me. Weather has been OK, bike is running fine, drivers are behaving and the rides have been good.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've been hot. Super hot for September. Every day has been in the 90s, with the hottest being 99. Mornings aren't exactly cool either, typically in the low to mid 70s and muggy. It's not my favorite commuting weather, but I guess we just take whatever we're given.

I need to bleed my rear brake. I've been riding my old, 9-speed mountain bike I converted to be more road friendly with a rigid fork and slicks. The brake has needed bleeding for years, but I've put up with it, since it wasn't that bad. Now the lever is all floppy and the brake pad rubs most of the time. I guess it's time...


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Sun up to sun down today.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Nice pic @jeremy_burke. 

Just jumped on here to say that I commuted today and the 36 miles do not appear to have worn me out. Could it be that I am finally hitting the fitness point at which I can do it more often? Perhaps. Pretty exciting to arrive home with energy, though.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

36miles is that a round trip number or a one way number? Either way respect. 

You mention one of the main reasons I bike. Yes it requires energy and the fitness is great. However, for me I find it greatly improves my mood and I love that part of it too. Driving in traffic stresses me out, riding the train bores me. Riding my bike makes me happy. Have a great weekend all.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

36 miles is the round trip. I couldn't agree more about traffic being stressful. At some points in my commute, I can see traffic and I always smile and think - "suckers." I bike for fitness, too, but in May I hadn't ridden for months and my health was questionable at best, so I got back on the bike and have made a commitment to myself to stay on the bike all year this school year. Thankfully, I enjoy biking, and now it seems I am finally in the kind of shape that it may be possible to bike more than once a week. Stay tuned.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all,

hey Jeremy nice pics indeed!

So "it" finally happened: I made my beachride on the new fatty. The total trip was 45km/30m of which 30km/20m was on the beach. Tried to keep the bike clean at first but effed that pretty quick. The bike squeaked as soon as I left the beach, so cleaned it thoroughly immediately when I was home.

The pics are here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8eLHgWAhVUE9Pd4z8

And some wobbly handheld videos pasted together are here (unedited)


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi all,
> 
> hey Jeremy nice pics indeed!
> 
> ...


That looks like a great ride!

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks Jamespc! You are very fast answering here, note I added some pics, commented the pics and added a vid.

CU, CD


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

*Moving Yellow*

Tried my new high visibility bands: "Moving Yellow". Had a good ride in, with a bit later start than usual.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jelako those look good and with the reflective strips they are good for winter too.

Nice rides today. Rode the first half of my route with a buddy from the kayaking club. I rode with my wife and kids to school first and then he suddenly was next to me at a red light on a recumbent bike, a streetmachine GT. Looked sleek and it was fast too. Rode home all alone today


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I woke up and dressed to ride even though I felt weak and sick. Didn’t end up riding instead I took the train even though I should have stayed home. Might just plain stay home tomorrow.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Hope you feel better soon jeremy!

Dutchman, that looks like a great ride, and like you pretty much had the beach to yourself - nice!

Back to work and back on the bike yesterday after my week staycation. Rides were good, solid dark on the way home . One close pass by a bass boat, the car towing it was not as wide and the driver failed to account for that. Also one by a dump truck from a paving company, rudely close for such a behemoth especially. Meant to call them as the plates are easy to remember, this one was PAVE18; initially I could not recall what company had those plates, but another of their trucks passed -nicely - soon after (PAVE4) and I was able to see the Green Mountain Paving logo on that one. Work got hectic and I did not get around to calling. 43F and clear at my house this morning, but the fog down off the hill always makes it feel colder.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Hope to get in some commuting again soon, little surgery took me of the bike for some time now, meanwhile whe sold our second car and i ordered the rest of my parts for my Salsa build, can't wait to complete it and take it on the road!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The kids all slept in this morning, and the dog didn't want to go for much of a walk. I had a bit of extra time, so I went down in the basement and did a quick RipRow workout before heading out the door. That was pretty nice. I wish I could do it more, but I don't feel like waking up earlier than I already do.

Tonight the kids have a play date after my son gets out of school. That means, I get to extend my commute. I love my family and spending time with them, but I also appreciate these little opportunities to get a bit more riding and exercise. Having a baby in the family again tends to gobble up all the extra minutes of the day.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Commuting... company health screening today. Cholesterol down, BMI down, fat % down. Most expensive bike is definitely cheaper than the cheapest open heart surgery. Got to keep it going as the weather gets cold this year. 

Anyone have any good solutions for eyes when riding in sub 30 degree weather? I have everything else covered and am reluctant to bite the bullet on prescription goggles.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

mtbx - already dark on your evening ride? Darn. I'm ready for summer to be over but I don't even wanna think about winter.

I took yesterday and today off. I was trying to manual across a tabletop on Sunday but I popped off the back right at the end and tweaked my ankle/knee on the landing. Those joints are pretty stiff but if I take a little time to loosen them up my range of motion is still there...the knee feels a little unstable though hence the extra caution.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi mtbx, yes it is a lonely stretch of beach where I went and the fatbike was exactly right. Cant get there with a car and it is a pretty long walk. Besides that the sandbars can be dangerous. With rising water you may find a sandbar to be a dead end and when you turn back the bridge is flooded, you are on an island that is disappearing quickly. That is why I did not ride along the waterline everywhere. 

Mtbx you talk about close passes a lot. Cant you take another route? It sounds really dangerous to me by now...

Flushing, are you showing pics when the build is done?

I lost the race against the rain this morning and got wet the last 5 minutes of the ride. Winds picked up with gusts over 35knots and decided to leave the bike at work. A coworker drove me home. Will take the bus tomorrow morning, get off 2 stops before work and walk the last 10minutes to get some exercise that will get me awake.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rain this morning, heavy at times...but with temps still in the mid 50's (11-13C) it was not too bad. The hard part is making sure everything gets somewhat dry before the ride home.

Dutchman, your ride looked great and thanks for posting the pics.

Take it easy for a bit squeaky. I had a pretty spectacular crash/yard sale on a backcountry trail in August and man I was feeling that one for a couple of weeks.

36miles, I wear contacts and they seem to work fine in all weather. We don't go below freezing much here in the winter (Seattle area). I also dislike wearing glasses when I ride, except for sunglasses.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

*Road shoes are stiff like water is wet*

Got the new shoes: Bontrager Espresso. They are STIFF. They have exactly one week to break in, or they're going back.

Good ride this morning. I just found out that PolarFlow is partnered with Relive.cc but even cooler is that PolarFlow has their own custom Relive ride where the route is actually color coded to heart rate zone:

https://flow.polar.com/training/relive/3875619031

I think to view it, you have to have a Polar account but man is that cool.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the compliment woodway 

36m, the german brand abus has a helmet with a visor in front of your face and it allows you to wear regular glasses behind it. It is called the hyban+. Maybe it is something for you? 

So the wind calmed down a bit and although windy, I rode the bike home this afternoon. Winds were still at around a steady 15 knots so the last stretch against it wasnt easy, but it compensated the bus ride this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

36m the helmet is now called ace 2.0 and it is not listed on the usa part of the site. Here a link to the german site: https://mobil.abus.com/at/Unterwegs/Fahrradhelme/Urban/Hyban-2.0-ACE-titan-M?type=pdp


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hi all, I'm back from my race weekend and somewhat caught up at work.

Jelako, you are some color coordinated there!

I had a good race and took 2nd overall. Read all about it here:
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/09/metallak-race-2019.html

The weather continues to be darn pleasant if not a little chilly in the mornings. My legs are just about ready to start feeling normal after the race. The commutes have been good for collecting some fall mushrooms on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

And Jelako, I'm a strong advocate of MTB shoes for commuting, and pretty much everything else. In fact, I'm not quite sure why road shoes exist. To be fair, I have never given them a chance. But from what I have seen: You can't walk in them. The plastic cleats wear down quickly (I first heard of this when a friend said his cleats were worn after a year or 2, WHAT? I have cleats with 20,000 miles on them.) You risk slipping on a hardwood floor and busting your coccyx. They aren't good for running mounts/dismounts. And they make you look like a duck.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bedwards, great race report, that is a lot of time on the trails, even for you winners and those on the "short" course. Impressive results for you and rolling runner. Thanks for the Plugger review, looks like a worthwhile pack addition for the trails. 

Dutchman, VT's topography does not allow for a lot of alternate routes, given the steep hills with rivers flowing between, and a lot of the roads are narrow and windy. There are alternatives for some parts of my route, but not for the worst parts without adding hills and miles. But it is all relative, a close pass in VT is often rude level rather than life threatening, I just think drivers can do better. And you make a good point, I should revisit some alternatives, I usually just go for the most direct/flattest route.

Jelako, I tried to pos rep you for the colors but I was not allowed. I love bright stuff like that but had to laugh when a friend said it is said that now you have to ride in "heinous" colors to feels safe. I have to agree with bedwards on road shoes.

For cold weather eye protection another option is moto type glasses with clear lenses (important for good visibility on dark commutes) and foam lining that cuts down on the cold wind on your eyeballs. I imagine they come in prescription but I just have the plain ones. I find them much more comfy than goggles, and with better peripheral vision.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Thanks for the compliment woodway
> 
> 36m, the german brand abus has a helmet with a visor in front of your face and it allows you to wear regular glasses behind it. It is called the hyban+. Maybe it is something for you?
> 
> So the wind calmed down a bit and although windy, I rode the bike home this afternoon. Winds were still at around a steady 15 knots so the last stretch against it wasnt easy, but it compensated the bus ride this morning.


I saw the link. Thanks @cyclingdutchman. You're right, that helmet doesn't look like it's available for the US market. That said, it sent me to Amazon looking for a similar helmet, and I found a very cheap certified helmet with a visor I can use at night. As I only plan to use it when it is ridiculously cold, it may be worth the <$40 experiment.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, great race report, that is a lot of time on the trails, even for you winners and those on the "short" course. Impressive results for you and rolling runner. Thanks for the Plugger review, looks like a worthwhile pack addition for the trails.
> 
> Dutchman, VT's topography does not allow for a lot of alternate routes, given the steep hills with rivers flowing between, and a lot of the roads are narrow and windy...


Ayuh, can't get there from here.

The furnace kicked on this morning. I ran around and lowered the thermostats below 60F to fix that problem but damn it's cold early this year. The local weather map showed 29F in spots.

Since Jeremy Burke is under the weather I'll have to start doing my share on the sunrise pictures. I took a trail commute today and the mist in the woods was beautiful! The frost on the ferns didn't come out in pictures but it was cool.







A few more here:
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/09/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration.html


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Well my feet are hamburger. I am a mountain bike shoe guy...I love my SIDIs. Having read the article(s) about "moving yellow", I wanted to get the reflective bands, yellow socks, and in this case shoes.

Now these shoes are a new design by Bontrager. They're called "cafe" shoes (hence the name Espresso). They are a "road" shoe but have the cleat recessed with all solid rubber. These are supposed to be a road shoe that would allow you to hop off the bike and walk like a normal person to go into the cafe. Awesome in concept. I'm a size 13 shoe. I've been a size 13 shoe for...well, forever. My EU size (SIDI) is a 48. Now on Bontrager's website they list the shoes as "13(US)/46(EU)". It is my opinion that these shoes are EU sized and not US sized because my feet are destroyed today. The heel cup rubbed very harshly, my toes are sore and my mid foot actually hurts. So needless, to say these are going back. I "was" open to the idea of trying a "14"/"48", until I ran across:

https://www.jensonusa.com/Five-Ten-Hellcat-Pro-Shoes in "Solar Yellow"

I think might be the best of both worlds. I'll get a "yellow" shoe but in a style more suited for me. Also, the significant sale on these are about 40% less than the new "cafe" shoe.

I'll of course post a picture in the future.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

6 days after a vasectomy and where back on the Big Dummy!









Also got a major order in for my Salsa today, will be posting the result in the Fargo thread soon!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Flushing Shadow said:


> 6 days after a vasectomy...


I saw that there was an image attached from the email and was concerned.  Welcome back.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jelako choices choices... 

Bedwards, great pics as usual! Edit: when is your commuter calendar coming out? 

Flushing, youre not overreacting after your surgery I hope? And looking forward to your Salsa build!

Got an order in today too: Bought the lezyne micro floor drive pump and 2 brandnew conti top contact winter tires size 42-622 for the main bike. I did not find the items used which is the best sign of quality ever for me: Those who have it, dont sell it.

6C this morning, first time with the thin gloves on. 15C on the way home was better.


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It is getting cooler. No more riding to work in shorts and T-shirt. A jacket is needed. It was dry on the way to work, rained a bit in the afternoon, and "dry enough" on the way back after sunset.

The rack at work was getting empty at 18:25 hrs. That light blue bike is one of the abandoned looking bikes there.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Ayuh, can't get there from here.
> 
> The furnace kicked on this morning. I ran around and lowered the thermostats below 60F to fix that problem but damn it's cold early this year. The local weather map showed 29F in spots.
> 
> Since Jeremy Burke is under the weather I'll have to start doing my share on the sunrise pictures. I took a trail commute today and the mist in the woods was beautiful! The frost on the ferns didn't come out in pictures but it was cool.


First frost at my house made for a chilly ride too.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

It was 17 degr. Celcius this morning (74F if i am correct) so no complaints from the Netherlands


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dutchman, I told you you are more than welcome to grab the photos from my blog and create a commuting calendar, LOL.

You can add this one to it. Maybe photoshop out those electrical wires.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Left early today and got the purple sky surprise.









Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Nice pics guys. I rode in in the darkness this morning and was too busy cranking it out to photograph the purple sky. Sun still not up when I arrived. Hard to take morning pictures when all I see is the trees and trail in the light of my headlights. ;-)

It's a pretty darned peaceful ride, though. I only surprised one deer this morning. Very few other people out on the trail between 5 and 6:30AM.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I got the same view but i forgot to take a pic :madman:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards yes I know I know...but I have no clue on how to make a calendar...well maybe I give it a try some day.

And again yes nice pictures everyone. 

Flushing shadow, nice to see another dutchie here! Flushing is the english name for vlissingen, you live there?

Chilly but not yet frosty here, 8C and sunny. Saw 3 roe deers this morning and although they were quite close to the road they didnt even lift their heads when I passed. 17C on the way home today. It was cloudy and almost windstill. The kids are now talking about going bikecamping over the weekend and I told them we are going when they help me pack everything tomorrowmorning. Wife and I are curious to see if it will work.

I did not go to any climate demo today because I ride my bike instead of a car. Wife and kids often cycle too. We are the only family in our street that has only one car and especially in summer we need to refuel it only once in 5-6 weeks, in winter once in 2 weeks. On long drives we ride slowly and preferably in the slipstream of a van to save fuel. We spend only a few minutes in the shower. And and and. I think that even helps more than going on a demo, although the demo is good for the awareness and to show that its not just some green activists, but common sense. We're not perfect, but trying hard and improving in small steps whenever we can. Join us!

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Correctemundo!


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## H0WL (Jan 17, 2007)

Retired, so I commute 7 miles each way to the gym on a Fly Team 29 converted to a commuter with rigid fork, narrow tires, rear rack. 
Have to do it relatively early (leaving by 8 am or so) because Central TX temps have not let up, often still hitting over 100 degrees by late afternoon. Also discovered on Weather Underground that humidity peaks at around 90% at 7 am or so, which is why early morning rides, though slightly cooler (high 70s), tend to feel like a hog-in-a-sauna sweat fest.

I changed my route a few months ago, and the new route includes a mile or so in a rougher part of town. It seems that during a full moon, people drive around throwing beer bottles at curbs, so lots of broken glass; rear tire was flat when I came out of the gym.

Fortunately, there was a bike shop a block away to fix it, but might be time to add a Mr. Tuffy liner or similar. 
And yes, I can fix a flat, but 

bike shop close by
air conditioned
nice guys
lots of Pivot 429s to ogle while waiting
sweet shop cat (not included in the staff profiles on website, huge oversight)
Also (semi-relevant) -- have abandoned clipless pedals for flats on road, mtn and commuter bikes. Makes life so much easier. Sandals with velcro straps and (GET OFF MY LAWN!) socks work great for road and commute. Five Tens for mtn.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

18 mph headwind all the way home = a struggle. At least it makes it a good workout.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride in Friday, a little challenging to get my climate strike sign into the backpack without damage, but a collapsible walking stick makes a great sign post. I sent a calendar invite Thursday to +/- 300 people in my environmental agency to organize a 1 hour climate strike/walk. There was a bit of a brouhaha as the Department head replied that we had to take leave (I already had leave approval) and that our lease from National Life Insurance Co prohibits civil actions on their property. I think it impacted the attendance, but we still had a great walk and talk about the climate crisis. I am the one with the sign. On the ride home I stopped for a slice of pizza and a beer, yum.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

^^ Good on you, mtbxplorer!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> ^^ Good on you, mtbxplorer!


Thanks BrianMc!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well done mtbx! Positive rep given to you for showing that not everyone is ignoring facts. 

I went bikecamping this weekend with both kids. The usual ride to the usual campsite 17km/11m away. Kids were totally flattened on the way home: Nr1 slept on a blanket for 30minutes about halfway home, nr2 slept 2hrs in the trailer. Both went to bed an hour earlier as usual and without the usual 3hr negociations - mission accomplished


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I have open ear, bone conduction AfterShokz that I enjoy commuting with. SiriusXM just launched a new channel SoulCycle that is essentially the playlists of various SoulCycle instructors. In my opinion it's fantastic. 

I rode in listening to SoulCylce and had a great morning ride. Very cool to start, 66° F but it's refreshing not to show up to work completely drenched.

I've mentioned a few times about a lot of the road development in my immediate area. Well the Trail System has also seen a great deal of development and there is a lot of buzz in the area that the Paved Trail is being extended in both directions, as well as, connecting into other established trails. Well, someone "stole" my idea and even expanded on it. The local city approved a developer to build 13 "cabins" and a "convenience" store and granted them the license to sell beer/wine. This plot of land is right off the proposed trail and he will also develop a spur off the trail to connect the camp ground/cabins/store. 

It's pretty awesome that there will be a new ride destination to grab a beer, but mad at myself for not acting on my idea.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Today was the last day of really nice fall weather. Sun, light fog and 10C this morning. Sunny and 19C on the way home. Headwind on both rides, luckily we had only very light winds.

Jelako is there a prize on your idea? Maybe you can prove it is yours?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Today was the last day of really nice fall weather. Sun, light fog and 10C this morning. Sunny and 19C on the way home. Headwind on both rides, luckily we had only very light winds.
> 
> Jelako is there a prize on your idea? Maybe you can prove it is yours?


The last day? I was thinking today it felt like fall here with a balmy 25.5 C for the high! Last week was closer to 35 C with humidity above 50% mid day. It was so nice I walked in this morning to really take in the cooler temps.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I had 15°C this morning, all dark when i left at 5:50, in the afternoon it was like warm, but with a rainshower on the way back, luckily it lasted not long and the sun dryed us up.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Terribly hot and muggy here in VT this morning, got to work hot and sweaty despite shorts and tech-T. Thunderstorms threatened on the way home but did not start until I left my bike bike at the shop and walked to my park-n-pedal lot. Dropped the chain for the first time ever on the Orbea with 1x 11, came downhill at 35mph and then had a green at the light; leaned right and dropped the chain to the outside. Bummer, as I had nicely caught up with the car that passed me before the downhill. 

Had a road find, a chainsaw chain. Seems good but will have to bring it to trailwork this weekend for more expert eval/adoption.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been really warm here, but this morning was a brisk 57F. It felt nice not sweating as much in the morning.

I've been seeing some sketchy bike riders. This one dude threaded the needle across 2 lanes of traffic, hung out in the median, then snuck across the next 2 lanes. I was stopped at the stop light where the guy should have been. Then there was this young dude riding down the middle of the road and swerving all over the place.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Two great back2back commuting days. It was 65°F on the ride in, which for Florida is quite cool. Once I was into the ride, I was super comfortable. I started out earlier and actually saw other bike commuters and it was nice to see them out early with their lights.

Last night's commute home, was the highlight of my rides home. I've waited all summer for a local brewery to open. I told myself that when they opened, I wanted to stop at the brewery for a beer on my commute home. Well yesterday, I made that a reality!


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

It was great, half hour rain, half hour dry on the way back, just took a shower and preparing for dinner


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

It rained during the night so the streets were wet this morning. It was 15C and hunidity was high so I took off my jacket after 10 minutes. 20C on the way home. We had a thin overcast so the sun was visible but had little power, but it created nice yellow mood lighting.

Jelako: cheers!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I have been off the commute for over a week now with a horrible sinus infection. I’m hoping to ride tomorrow. Wish me luck and health i guess. 

Also today after waiting 2 months for an appointment to see and orthopedic doctor about my crazy soar heals every morning. He said stretch more. My wife told that already and I hate when she is right.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

jeremy_burke said:


> I have been off the commute for over a week now with a horrible sinus infection. I'm hoping to ride tomorrow. Wish me luck and health i guess.
> 
> Also today after waiting 2 months for an appointment to see and orthopedic doctor about my crazy soar heals every morning. He said stretch more. My wife told that already and I hate when she is right.


Luck. Sounds like my heals. I think it is related to planter fasciitis.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako, the only problem I see with that brewery visit was that you were alone. A beer out is so much better when enjoyed with friends. But you were working with what you had.  

Good rides lately. Yesterday I left 5 minutes behind my wife and pushed like hell to catch her. When I caught her half way I was way too juiced up to slow down to her pace so I went ahead only to stop 5 times for school buses but still averaged about 20MPH on the hilly route on the commuter bike. Not that it is a slouch.

This morning was pretty chilly for short sleeves. But I wore them anyway. Otherwise not much to report. This coming weekend is The Dempsey Challenge century. I haven't ridden 100 miles in a row yet this year.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Bedwards, that sounds nice. And good luck next weekend on your century!

Jeremy, luck and health sent your way yesterday already. Did it help? 

Finally a rain commute again this morning. Rode with the full hardshell gear on and it worked, although 12C and windstill is pretty much the limit when it comes to getting boiled. On the way home I had the rainpants strapped onto the rack to have it at hand immediately, but I only had some light drizzle for a few minutes.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Jelako, the only problem I see with that brewery visit was that you were alone. A beer out is so much better when enjoyed with friends. But you were working with what you had.


I have been waiting all summer for that place to open but so too has several of my buddies. We have a plan to meet for a beer "soon"™ where we all ride to the brewery.

I've had amazing rides all week. The temperatures in the morning are just so pleasant. My rides home have been even more fantastic. The large stretch home is freshly repaved and it rides so fast.

I'm also excited for my commute home. The TREK T-Shirts for the Strava Challenge from July are in at my LBS. I love a free t-shirt.

Made my first ride with my new FiveTen shoes:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Shrooms


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> I have been waiting all summer for that place to open but so too has several of my buddies. We have a plan to meet for a beer "soon"™ where we all ride to the brewery.


 That sounds more like it.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Perfect weather today!

My knee is still talking to me a week and a half later...I have a short commute so that's not an issue but fun rides are out for now.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jelako did you get the first beer already? tasty?

Nice shrooms there Bedwards. How many meals with those?

Squeaky, take care with your knee!

Nice ride in this morning. 10C and again light fog with the sun shining through the trees, lovely. Took some pics but my crappy phone camera is not even near catching the correct colors :-/ Ride home was 18C, cloudy and light drizzle. Enough to get a bit wet, not enough to put hardshell stuff on...


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

It was great but very wet today!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Rainy weather makes for pretty sunrises. I staid pretty dry in the way in but got drenched in the last 5km on the way home. Glad to be back on the bike after getting knocked off my bike by a sinus infection the last two weeks. I'm still recovering and am very slow but I like the ride.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Looking good Jeremy! Hope you regain your strength soon! 
I got the car keys from my misses today and got stuck in a traffic jam - and whe never have those in our county - so i almost ate my steering wheel for taking the car.
I got home and my order for a set of Gonso rain pants and Vaude shoe covers was in, so i can withstand the winter a bit better


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Jeremy, that looks good. Nice to see you are doing better. No worries about speed, that will come again. Health comes first, speed automatically after.

Shadow, I have Vaude shoecovers as well, the capital plus ones. Which ones do you have? And how is your Salsa build going?

Long day today. Brought my #1 to school this morning, wife and #2 stayed home today. #1 smiled all the way, because he finally could ride as fast as he wanted. Some drizzle on the way to work. Made a stop at a bakery to get some fresh bread for our department breakfast. Lunch was cancelled because of the breakfast so I was hungry by the time I rode home. Got a quick sandwich, rode again with the whole family to soccer training and back. And then #2 wanted to make a ride in the dark to test his new battery light. He likes it, phew. 

Planning some bikewrenching this weekend, maybe even some MTBiking - we'll see. Wish you all a nice weekend!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We're headed towards the driest month ever on record. Earlier in the year, we seemed destined to have a record-breaking wet year. Go figure.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Shadow, I have Vaude shoecovers as well, the capital plus ones. Which ones do you have? And how is your Salsa build going?


I have the Bike Gaiters short, size 47-49 
Salsa is almost done, waiting for the 'brifters' and then mounting cables, adjusting the shifters and brakes, wrapping the handlebar and ready to go! If you look in the Salsa Fargo thread, that's were i post my updates on that.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> We're headed towards the driest month ever on record. Earlier in the year, we seemed destined to have a record-breaking wet year. Go figure.


Same here.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode in today on my new wheels and tires. I went from the stock Duroc 50mm iW with 27.5"x3 WTB Rangers tires to DT Swiss 481 30mm iW with DT 240 hubs and Vittoria Mezcal 29"x2.35" tires. I need to play with the tire pressure I think I had them a bit high on the way in but man were they fast. I am still recovering from my sinus infection but I set me fastest time ever on the way in and I think I could cut another few minutes off that if I pushed. I'm no weight weenie but I think I'm over 700grams lighter per wheel setup and way way lower rolling resistance. Once I dial in the right tire pressure I'll report back.

Oh also I went tubeless.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Get yourself a bigger front chainring and you will be even faster (as bigger cogs and rings run lighter) or even a - good heavens! - front derailleur so you can shift up front to 

now for real - nice setup with the new wheels and tires!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes, I see Montana has feet of snow and temps in the teens F! Frost advisory here in VT but supposed to warm to low 60's. Have a good Monday.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Flushing Shadow said:


> Get yourself a bigger front chainring and you will be even faster (as bigger cogs and rings run lighter) or even a - good heavens! - front derailleur so you can shift up front to
> 
> now for real - nice setup with the new wheels and tires!


Actually I did. I switched that out last weekend from the stock 32 tooth SRAM apex to a Shimano SLX 34 tooth. The whole crank was swapped as well as a new BB obviously. I think I need to replace the derailleur rollers as well as these have about 12000km on them and are sounding a little bit not silent. But I have no plans to go 2X.

Also I went complete on the wheel set with a new cassette same as before and new brake discs so I have two complete wheel sets for my Fargo now and can switch between fast and traction at will in under 5 minutes.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Sweet new wheels!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good morning fellow bike commuters. I rode my bike to work every day in September, how about you?

I even rode it today after a blistering fast 100 mile ride yesterday. More details here: https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-dempsey-challenge-2019.html

This was the coldest commute of the season so far too. Mid 30s.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Good morning fellow bike commuters. I rode my bike to work every day in September, how about you?


I feel attacked.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow Jeremy never thought new wheels n tires could make such a difference. That said, your oneway commute is 3x the distance as mine, so differences add up in that case.

Congrats on your and RR's century rides Bedwards! I think I missed a day. Technically it were 2 half days, when I left the bike at work because of too much wind. 

So, the weather fooled me twice today. This morning I geared up for rain and it turned to drizzle after I left, so I changed in a bus stop. It was sunny when I left work, but I could see a big rainshower approaching so I changed again in a bus stop. Well, at least we did not get the 45kts gusts that were forecasted. 

I will be off for 2 weeks on Thursday and originally I had planned a week of touring. I had to shift that plan and it turned out right, since I would have been hit by the bankruptancy of the travelagency Thomas Cook. I just can not book a flight now for next year and also I still dont know where to go in 2 weeks... #firstworldproblems


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow dutchman, you dodged the bullet on that one. Lots of people got screwed when they went bankrupt. 2 weeks off with no plans. I'm sure you will find something to occupy your time.



NDD said:


> I feel attacked.


Sorry, maybe that came across wrong. I was really just trying to make some conversation. I saw somebody post on strava that they had perfect month and when I checked my log I had too. I usually miss some days.

So, NDD, I'm guessing you didn't quite get to ride every day, LOL


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Sorry, maybe that came across wrong. I was really just trying to make some conversation. I saw somebody post on strava that they had perfect month and when I checked my log I had too. I usually miss some days.
> 
> So, NDD, I'm guessing you didn't quite get to ride every day, LOL


You're good I'm just clowning! I've had a lot of off site work this month that required me to travel far away from the office and work 10 - 12 hour days outside in an unusually hot September. In general I haven't felt compelled to do extra exercise.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards, yes you are I really came out lucky there. There is a snowball effect going on here, the holding is bankrupt and now all the companies in the holding are falling over one by one. I didnt even know so many agencies belonged to one company....and the impact is big, at least 3 co workers are impacted and 2 more are fearing the same...I will see what I can do about it. Probably prices will go up too.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Got a strong tailwind this morning, i was in by 6:37 at work, were i am normal in at 6:50, backside is that in the afternoon on the way back...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Slowly getting faster. Used the big sprocket more instead of spinning fast on the 36 x 13. Exceeded 22 mph on a long shallow grade without pushing hard (the cheap pannier is not very Aero, and I am not tucked at all). Got new batteries for the old Stealth camera, and one is taking a number of charge cycles to sort out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Good to hear Brian, I never get faster, but I keep pedaling, lol.

Good ride in. The only challenge was I had to upgrade from super casual workwear for everyday to interviewing a person less casual workwear. The shirt I ironed survived the backpack and ride in quite well.

The new bikepath is nearly done. Not directly on my route (and only a couple miles max) but across the river and will avoid a particularly poor section that is narrow and has guardrails. https://www.timesargus.com/news/making-a-path/image_400b35fa-6628-5530-bb60-5523ab872d4b.html


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My commute was damp and muddy. Yesterday I decided to take the trails in today. It was supposed to rain this morning but not until after I got to work. Mother Nature had different plans. It looks like it rained a bit overnight. It's all good except that I had to wash my bike with the watering can at work and take my clothes off in the shower stall so I wouldn't get the locker room all muddy. Otherwise it was a really nice morning out there.




​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

brianmc is our hero! :thumbsup:

Nice pic bedwards! But it looks like you could use some clip-on fenders 

Third ride in the rain in a row this morning. No rain on the ride home but after 2 days of continuous rain, everything is totally soaked and the unpaved part on my route is a total mess, but I'll ride it until it gets sticky.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I got two wet rides today and my gear is hanging out to dry now, hope tomorrow is better!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode in and back today in a literal downpour each way. Not my favorite especially when I couldn’t see through my goggles anymore. But I have the next two days off and I am going to Switzerland so life is not all bad. Well that and I got to ride my bike today and that, even wet, makes for a good day.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

That's the spirit!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

97F yesterday. The hottest October day on record. Still no rain.

Cooler weather is on the way, but I'm cutting out for NC on Friday. I'm going to sneak in a Pisgah ride while down there and check out my first Velosolutions pump track. When my wife asks, "Can we visit my best friend in NC?," the answer is always "Yes!"


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy sounds like you have had the same weather as we had Sunday to Tuesday  and enjoy your long weekend!

97F / 35C is really hot Sockeyeus. For that September is much cooler than usual here, probably most of the warmth concentrates somewhere else at the moment.

Today I managed to ride between the showers, but it was literally between the showers. On both rides I could see them in a distance. Made a few pics, nicest one is here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KH81KMGi1qiHiAfw6 
As usual the pic doenst look even half as nice as it was in reality, but I think you "get the picture" 

Tomorrow is a public holiday in Germany, Reunion day where former east and west Germany re-united to one country again. Friday a lot of people have taken a day off to enjoy a long weekend. I have some vacation now too, we will visit Legoland in Denmark for 5 days and I plan a few days of touring after that, but no clue if or where. Will decide when the weather forecast is reliable, will probably end up riding a 3 day loop from home.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> 97F yesterday. The hottest October day on record. Still no rain.
> 
> Cooler weather is on the way, but I'm cutting out for NC on Friday. I'm going to sneak in a Pisgah ride while down there and check out my first Velosolutions pump track. When my wife asks, "Can we visit my best friend in NC?," the answer is always "Yes!"


Nice! I'm pretty sure that's the company that's going to make a pump track about 30 minutes drive North of me. Apparently it'll be on the order of the biggest in the country. There's supposed to be one in a neighboring suburb but I can't find the thing and it's small.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

NDD said:


> Nice! I'm pretty sure that's the company that's going to make a pump track about 30 minutes drive North of me. Apparently it'll be on the order of the biggest in the country. There's supposed to be one in a neighboring suburb but I can't find the thing and it's small.


Awesome. They are popping up all over the world. Apparently, we aren't cool enough in Louisville, KY to afford one.

The thing I hate about pump tracks is that even if they're built correctly--which they aren't always--they fall prey to erosion and don't get the amount of upkeep they need. The rollers on our local track are getting smaller and smaller and seemingly farther and farther apart as the dirt settles into the troughs, making it harder to ride. Asphalt seems like it'd be super fast. I'm kind of concerned I'll get cocky and try to gap something a little too ambitious, but we'll see what happens.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Awesome. They are popping up all over the world. Apparently, we aren't cool enough in Louisville, KY to afford one.
> 
> The thing I hate about pump tracks is that even if they're built correctly--which they aren't always--they fall prey to erosion and don't get the amount of upkeep they need. The rollers on our local track are getting smaller and smaller and seemingly farther and farther apart as the dirt settles into the troughs, making it harder to ride. Asphalt seems like it'd be super fast. I'm kind of concerned I'll get cocky and try to gap something a little too ambitious, but we'll see what happens.


I can feel that sense of worry. It'll be perfect to take my '02 Monocog out on whenever it gets finished. Hopefully y'all will get one sometime!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

First day of cool weather, actually feels like fall. My cheap blinky popped off the bracket when I hit a bump and scattered in pieces across the road...guess I didn't get it snapped on all the way. My nicer blinky has an elastic band instead of a bracket, I think I like that better now.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This morning, my saddle came loose. I don't know why, but it did. It was so bad, I had to hand tighten it at a stop light. Then the last 5 minutes of my ride were spent out of the saddle because the saddle was rattling around and pointing up as far as it could go.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I now understand why i have trouble reaching a service desk in Hamburg!

My ride was good, but this morning wet again, on the way back it was dry but big headwind...enjoyed it none the less!


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> First day of cool weather, actually feels like fall. My cheap blinky popped off the bracket when I hit a bump and scattered in pieces across the road...guess I didn't get it snapped on all the way. My nicer blinky has an elastic band instead of a bracket, I think I like that better now.


Ive never been a fan of rubber band mounts, but they work. My niterider hard clamp last night splayed open as i tightened and i had to cruiser over while holding it on to fix it. Had someone rush a pass tyen cut a right in front of me, sheesh.
Been hot and humid, this morning commute cooled of a little, because rains rolling in. I left early as i saw a opening in the weather radar, timed it pretty well and caught just a bit of it as i arrived, isnt technology amazing?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I accidentally rode the big ring all the way home. I was down to 48 x 29 on the half mile or so grade. Wondered why my quads were complaining a bit. Good work out. So I'll push the same on the way in on Monday. Improvement over wondering if I'd have to drop to the 24 granny when using the 36 x 29 on that same hill. Dropping 20 pounds helped too.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Flushing Shadow said:


> I now understand why i have trouble reaching a service desk in Hamburg!


Hey I'm here! :lol:


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey I'm here! :lol:


I needed somebody @ Mirion


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice rides today. Had an annual Department day with a.m. meetings and p.m. activities. Lucky for me it was at the granite museum about 6 miles from home. From there I got a lift to the MTB trail system nearby where I am on the trail crew, and led a ride around the old quarries, etc. There was a great turnout for the biking, but my group was only 4 which made it easy to regroup. After the ride I was able to ride home 8 miles past the reservoir and check on the loons (still there) and the beavers (their new dam has raised the water level in the adjacent wetland about 4'). Interestingly, and unusually, among the 4 of us nobody brought a cell that could take pix or a camera.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

root said:


> Had someone rush a pass tyen cut a right in front of me, sheesh.


I hate that!

The local Thursday night gravel group rides have started up so I got bonus miles in on the way home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had someone pass me dangerously to my left while I was in the process of switching lanes. I had I signaled my move into the turning lane, but apparently I don't count because I'm on a bike. Instead of having to deal with me sitting behind them at the red light, they decided to run the red. So basically, all around great driving...


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## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

It was dark going out - the sun peeked through the clouds coming back. It has been getting colder. I need to find warmer gloves.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The forum is getting s little more active. Winter must be coming. 

It is getting colder and darker by the day. I've finally committed to tights instead of shorts for the colder days. I got rained on a little this morning but it wasn't too bad. I can't think of any terribly bad drivers to report for the week. All and all they've been pretty decent. I'm tired and ready for the weekend.


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## 36Miles (Nov 6, 2016)

Wore bike pants this morning instead of shorts, my hat, and my winter gloves and shoes with toe warmers stuck to my socks. I didn't need it and was pretty sweaty when I got to work after 90+ minutes of riding, but I wasn't cold. ;-)

Winter is coming. It was mid 40s this morning. It is dark the whole way now as I ride in.

Oh, and on the way home I stopped for a yellow turning red light (I was turning left) and a truck behind me just decided to go on through the intersection. Stupid drivers. It's not like it's more than a one-two minute delay. Thankfully, he went around me instead of through me.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode the 48 front and used all 13-29 rear but did not need to shift to the center sprocket and only a little quad burn just before the crest of the long grade. So still improving. 

The battery in the HM strap got shorted by sweat and leaked. Lithium battery not mercury so that was not as bad as it might have been. Trying some waterproof Gorilla duct tape over the battery cover as grease did not help seal it.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Rode my bike today and the fall colors are really starting to come out.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I wore pants today for the first time this fall too, mostly because it was supposed to drop more than it has. Very foggy on my route, the glasses were misting over reducing visibility even more.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Thunder/Lightning storms have kept me off my bike. I received verification that my warranty replacement motor is in and the warranty work will be done on Monday. So, my goal is to ride in tomorrow and drop my bike off tomorrow. I should be able to pick up my bike on Monday. Bosch is actually doing the motor replacement.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Today was the family Commute. Haven't ridden the tandem yet this year and almost forgot how much we love. It's extra cool with the weehoo.









Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Had to put on my rainwear for the last 5k, wich sucks bigtime, but i poured. Did some work on my Salsa this evening and it’s nearly done!


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Had 2 dry trips this day - yay!


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## jbadger1977 (Jan 17, 2015)

Commute this morning was cold. Not ready for winter just yet.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I love fall it is very pretty and the temperatures are great for riding.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Looking good Jeremy! I have a week off from work next week so no commuting, but time for touring!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oooh Nooo Snooow!

I'm around, just wicked busy. I only got to ride 3 days this week. That's how busy. The weather has been nice and not too cold yet.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Yesterday was rain and thunder both ways, today was cool and breezy but pretty nice


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks for all the photos, it keeps it interesting here. The snow looks a little too interesting though! Uneventful BMX commute Friday, another nice day. Thursday I drove to an annual meeting/work party, and after painting some leantos for the state park some of us went on a MTB ride on some fun trails I had not tried before. A good day all around, with leaves falling as we rode.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Today was a beautiful day. I replaced my derailleur pulleys this weekend (bearings were shot) and got some great pictures also.

Moon set through the trees unfortunately the iPhone camera makes it look small.










Same spot opposite direction is the sunrise.










And then arrived home to a sunset.










Also got some great fall colors along the way.



















It's great since my path is so long that for most of the year it is very pretty.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey all,

just wanted to chime in during my time off. Returned from a short vacation last week and probably staying home this week, although I still hope to make short overnighter end of the week, depending of the weather forecast is correct.

I did make 2 fattie rides of ~3hrs, 30km/20m and 600hm/2000ft of climbing each, and a 85km/52m roadride today to visit a previous co-worker, so I am not completely off the bike this week.

Nice to read about your commutes and for sure some nice pics here too! Unfortunately I still didnt figure out how to upload pics directly from Google here, since they stopped with Picase and forced me to use Google Photos, direct links dont work anymore. Therefore a link to an album with today's pics:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CL3nRPx4V8TmwNVA7


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Welcome back, nice pix!

On Wednesday morning's ride I got a flat right in the driveway at work, which is pretty much the best place to get a flat. Unfortunately, as soon as I rolled it into the bike rack and locked it up I forgot about it until the end of the day. Already running late and only a patch kit and the wrong size tube (yes bedwards, you told me so), I left it there and walked down to the bus. I did not know the schedule so I could have had a half hour wait, but no, my bus was sitting right there. Flood and wind warnings today. I think I will drive.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I told you? I know I've said that I will always have the wrong size tube unless I attach it to the bike. 

I didn't ride today either because of the giant hype around this storm. Most of it happened overnight. By the time I was ready to leave for work in the car it was mostly over. Oh well. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

First ride since having the motor replaced, as I told my LBS...this "feels" like a totally different bike. There definitely was something wrong with the original motor.

I know you guys up north have already started to feel the temperature drop, well 68°F (20°C) feels pretty awesome.

Had a great ride in today: https://www.relive.cc/view/vdOR73XB4K6


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been chilly this week. Luckily the rain moved out before the commute yesterday.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Seems to be a flood of flats.

I got one riding home wednesday night, had to change it in the pouring rain. Did a crappy job because thursday morning I got another one, same wheel. Upon taking the tire off, I realized I had pinched the tube the night before while getting the tire back on. Grrr. Quick change and off I went, only to flat again about three miles from the office. Front tire this time.

Switched over to winter tires last night. Hope that makes a difference.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'll second that. Well, hopefully not a flood but I got one this morning as well. It is actually my first road flat in a long time. I spent most of my time "fixing it" trying to find what created it in the first place so I wouldn't flat again. Nothing. I had inflated the tire this morning so maybe it was just that the valve stem didn't get seated. It was a chilly 40F but no rain. I'll take that. Oh, and somebody came out of their house and offered that I could work on it in their garage if I wanted. I didn't because I was almost done but it was a nice offer. 

In brighter news, I got my KOM back from Hugo Houle. One small step for mankind...but I'm happy with it.

TGIF


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^hope that the bad luck stays on your side of the ocean.

Woodway nice to hear from you. Sorry to hear about your flats though. And Rain season has started again for you? I remember you telling once, that you rode 10-11 days in a row in the rain.

I made another "road"ride again today. Took the train for 30minutes, then made a 59km/40m tour home. Apparently I had planned it in MTB mode so I was offroad a lot of the time and the CX bike with 40mm slicks was not always the best choice. However the route overall was very mixed and interesting. I think this was a kind of ride that defines "adventure" biking  Pix here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8Nhq1aRcJZSSD4U76

Will be back to commuting on Monday. Will probably ride the spare bike. I had to sent in the Rohloff because of oil leakage last week :-/

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I don't know dutchman, I think it looks like the perfect bike for most of it. Maybe not the muddy spots.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards, thats quite right, german complaining attitude coming through here  some knobbier tires and it would have been perfect. Will probably put the schwalbe hurricanes back on or maybe even a schwalbe smart sam, I felt unsafe on the slicks in the turns today, even on the road. For the rest I really like the bike. With the seatpost rack it is versatile to take some stuff without a backpack and with the tubus airy it is good for light touring. I think I could rig a few anything cages on the fork too. In the pics I have installed both racks, I am currently trying around what works best.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, don't listen to me. I was feeling pretty confident on the Schwalbe G-One tires on the trail with no knobs until the front wheel slipped out without warning and I crashed a few weeks ago. 

I did locate the hole in my tube and patched it. Now I'm going to have to pull the tire off again to make sure there is noting in it.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Well the flat bug bit me too and I'm sorry to say Dutchman it crossed the pond, but maybe as an American living abroad I am missing the proper immunization. So you might still be safe.

It was a pretty morning ride.










The return trip I got heavily rained on and that is also when the flat bug bit. I wasn't paying enough attention and struck a sharp rock that pinched in a knob and punctured the tire. The hole was too big for my sealant to stop so I pulled over and put in the spare tube I always carry for this very reason. Fortunately it was after I cleared the 10 km of rain and was just muddy. I got a few pretty pictures of my path home after the rain as well.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy, nice pics as usual and I now fear the worst for my commutes coming week... :lol:

Bedwards, yes I do listen - G-One suddenly slipping? I recommended them I believe.. well, ooops...

And I decided to turn of complaining mode - will install the hurricanes tomorrow and buy some knobbies when I have to, and done, period


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, they are great tires if you don't ride them on mountain biking terrain. 

Jeremy, I'm going to plug the plugger again. No sticky sealant to mess with and super fast. There are a few different versions of them but I like the Blackburn one with its easy access bike mount. 

In my final update (hopefully) I found the hole in my tire but the sharp object was long gone.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

done  Hurricanes are now back on the CX bike - weather is going to be mostly dry next week, might even ride a commute on it.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...
> 
> Jeremy, I'm going to plug the plugger again. No sticky sealant to mess with and super fast. There are a few different versions of them but I like the Blackburn one with its easy access bike mount...


Thanks for the tip, guess I hadn't seen that before. One is on order from bike-components.de hopefully will be here soon.


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## Crazy 8s (Oct 12, 2019)

Been doing a 20 mile round trip commute 5/7 for months now. I hadn't been on a bike for a couple years, and it sure is nice to be riding again! I used to ride 200 miles a week on my road bike, years ago, but this new-to-me 29er has sure been fun and it is revitalizing my love for cycling!


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

i am not a religious man but i got baptised on my way to work this morning, if it wasn't for decent raingear i would have been soaked on arrival at work... hope it is better this afternoon...the Fargo is proving to be a very nice commuter though!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Well the flat bug struck again, the rip in my tire that caused my tubeless flat, pinched my tube and flatted the tube. I think I’m gonna have to replace the tire which sucks because it has less than 200 miles on it.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

The way back was better; not a drop and a very nice pace! Had the phone tucked away so no pics sadly...


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

jeremy_burke said:


> Well the flat bug struck again, the rip in my tire that caused my tubeless flat, pinched my tube and flatted the tube. I think I'm gonna have to replace the tire which sucks because it has less than 200 miles on it.


That sure sucks! What kind of tyres do you run Jeremy?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi shadow, with decent raingear I always like to ride in the rain  and did you go touring?

Welcome crazy 8s!

Edited: oh that sucks big time jeremy!

Vacation has come to an end today :-/ I cant complain, made 2 rides with the fatbike and 2 on the cx bike.

My rear wheel is not back yet from repair so I took the spare bike today. After discovering that it was still dark outside at 7 and after turning the basement upside down to find 2 suitable lights with charged batteries I was finally good to go. Weather was wet and grey with around 12C. On the way home it was wet, grey and around 12C. Not much of a choice....but it is supposed to stay dry the rest of the week!


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi shadow, with decent raingear I always like to ride in the rain  and did you go touring?
> 
> My rear wheel is not back yet from repair so I took the spare bike today. After discovering that it was still dark outside at 7 and after turning the basement upside down to find 2 suitable lights with charged batteries I was finally good to go. Weather was wet and grey with around 12C. On the way home it was wet, grey and around 12C. Not much of a choice....but it is supposed to stay dry the rest of the week!


I recently bought a new pair of rain trousers and shoe covers, i arrived a bit sweatty, but not soaked. And i allways shower before i change into my work clothes, so no problem there. I also had autumn holiday just like you, made a nice tour to test the Fargo and my wife's stamina  we did 60k and called in for a few cold ones at my moms house, was a succes so to say 

What's up with your Rohloff wheel then?


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Flushing Shadow said:


> That sure sucks! What kind of tyres do you run Jeremy?


I have been running Vittoria Mezcal 29x2.35 graphene i have really liked them. I'm willing to blame myself for this set pressure was too high and hit a really big sharp piece of gravel when I wasn't paying attention. Bashed them pretty good last Friday. Today I think that spot folded and pinched the tube and flatted me again. I'm gonna order a new tire hopefully this one last longer.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Are you running always tubeless? 
I remember Vittoria tyres as really light and supple, but not as leak proof 
Would rather look into Smart Sams or Soma Cazadero’s then...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> My rear wheel is not back yet from repair so I took the spare bike today...


 How many bikes are you up to now? Is it 3 or 4 or did you make it to 5. 

jeremy, it sounds like that hole might be a little large for a plug.

I did a Monday mountain bike commute today. It's nice to get back on the trails after mostly road riding this summer. I was missing my deer sightings. The weather has been lovely for October.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...jeremy, it sounds like that hole might be a little large for a plug...


Oh it is, I would guess it is 3/8" (10mm) long gash in my brand freaking new tire.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The rohloff hub was leaking oil and it contaminated the brakepads too. Normally there is 25ml of oil in the hub, to be changed very year. I chaned it last January and on oct. 4 there was no oil in the hub anymore....when I broke a flange it could have been my fault for putting too much tension on the spokes, but this time I really wonder what I could have done wrong. So much for the indestructable rohloff...

I now own 4 rideable bikes. The cx/road bike, my orange 28" main commuter/touring bike, the black 26" spare commuter touring folding bike and the fatbike. 

Jeremy what happened that you have such a long tear in your tire? I scrolled up but didnt find it. Hit a broken bottle somewhere? Germany is famous for its broken bottles, no wonder schwalbe invented the "unflattable" plus tire.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Rohloff has an issue with the flanges, that’s why they thought out the ‘flange rings’ to keep your broken piece of flange inside the wheel so that you can cycle to the next service point. I rode a Rohloff bike from a co worker a few months ago, was not impressed by the ‘feel’ of the transmission, shifting was good but i still prefer derailleurs if i am honest...


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> 
> Jeremy what happened that you have such a long tear in your tire? I scrolled up but didnt find it. Hit a broken bottle somewhere? Germany is famous for its broken bottles, no wonder schwalbe invented the "unflattable" plus tire.


I honestly don't know what I hit. It was big enough to feel, like a big rock, bottle, or chunk of a branch. But sharp enough to rip my tire. Whatever it was caught only the outer 1/8th of the tread of my tire and shot into the woods so I never found it.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

I just found out Nick Nolte and I both ride the same eBike, I'll try my best not to bring this up every other post.

















https://www.relive.cc/view/vDqgJ7jdmG6


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## Tristan Wolf (Oct 21, 2019)

Jelako said:


> I just found out Nick Nolte and I both ride the same eBike, I'll try my best not to bring this up every other post.
> 
> View attachment 1288095
> 
> ...


Wow that Nick Nolte? I thought some old alcoholic. Wait, where's the difference? Or was that Gary Busey?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Riding through leaves last night ran over something and cut my tire pretty badly:









I thought that I might be able to nurse the tire home but after swapping the tube and a few pumps, it was clear that the tire was too deeply cut to ride.

After some quick pondering of options, I opened my wallet, extracted a couple of dollar bills, and made myself an instant tire boot









I nursed the tire about 5.5 miles/9km home. Extracted the bills and they are ready to spend.









After my flat-fest last week, I had swapped my rear tire for a heavier winter tire. The plan had been to swap the front tire for something heavier this weekend. But now I don't need to


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi woodway, I have read about that trick and nice to see that it really works. Are you going to sew it with dental floss?

Jelako, it seems you made a good choice with that bike, you seem to be in good company.

I rode spare bike again today and again I had difficulties finding it back in the bikestands at work. Everybody seems to have a black bike. Black bikes svck big time. 

Rides were ok, dry and little wind.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Had a wet and dry commute today, the way back i got up to 28kph avg. Wich is not bad for a heavy giant on a Fargo...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I have used the dollar bill tire boot option before too. I just used a single bill and wrapped it the other way.

Tuesday couples commute with my wife today. It's supposed to rain pretty heavy in the morning and I need a car Thursday afternoon so I think I will do the drive in/ride home and then ride in/drive home trick.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove yesterday in anticipation of a big storm that was supposed to hit (downpours, 50+ mph wind, etc.). Big flop. We barely got anything remotely close to severe. The tiny amount of drizzle I drove through on the way home would have been perfectly pleasant to ride in. Oh well. Ride in this morning was nice.


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## Crazy 8s (Oct 12, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Welcome crazy 8s!


TY! Glad to be here!

I bought an Amazon cheapo air fork to replace the heavy as lead coil shock that came with the bike. SO MUCH AWESOME!!! It totally changed the bike for the better! I was warned that servicing it may be an issue, but atleast I know now why people will spend so much dough on a good fork...because they ride so nicely! When I blow this one up, I will get a better one.

Sure makes the commute much nicer on Phoenix's trashed roads, and when I get on some trails it will be that much better.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I did not think of waterproof Gorilla Duct Tape in time to save sweat shorting out the HRM battery which leaked into the circuitry and killed the unit. (Sigh). New strap worked well today once I got the Edge 500 linked to it.

No wind on the way to the hospital, and I hit 25 mph without pushing it too hard on about a 3-5% downhill grade. Reminded me or riding with traffic 37 years ago in pretty flat Champaign IL. Also rode two 3-5% slopes into the wind at about 12 mph @ 140-141 pulse (because of meds) close to my maximum doctor recommended pulse rate (143).

From the bottom of my street, riding on Monday:









Seems it's fall.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi woodway, I have read about that trick and nice to see that it really works. Are you going to sew it with dental floss?


The tire went to tire heaven, Dutchman.

Nice, uneventful ride this morning. Well except that I almost hit a deer. But no flats.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Last week on my commute home, my rear facing light AND mount that attach to my helmet were missing. I am of the opinion that the shear speeds at which I commute at caused a severe downwind causing the mount to detach. I sent a semi-sarcastic tweet to @Bontrager and they actually replied. They told me to put in a Warranty claim. I contacted my LBS, and they put in the warranty claim. Bontrager sent me a new mount and a new FlareRT light!

If you guys are in the market for a new helmet &/or lights, Bontrager stands by their products and they are active on social media.

At any rate my commute home involved a stop at the bike shop:

https://www.relive.cc/view/vRO7dVGXgK6


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Lead Coil Shock, LOL.

woodway are you sure it went to heaven? 

The ride home last night was uneventful. We got heavy rain as promised this morning and now the sun is out. I was pretty happy not to ride in it. I've got the bike for the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako said:


> If you guys are in the market for a new helmet &/or lights, Bontrager stands by their products and they are active on social media.


Niterider is also super customer friendly. They warranty most anything with no questions asked and out of warranty lights they fix (usually replace) for a flat fee including shipping.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> The tire went to tire heaven, Dutchman.
> 
> Nice, uneventful ride this morning. Well except that I almost hit a deer. But no flats.


May it Ride In Peace.

Oh and you just almost hit a deer. Well that happens from time to time. :eekster:

I had lunch with 3 other bikefreaks, uuuuh, normal people like me today and discussed also ripped tires. One said he had once glued one together. Made a tire boot out of a plastic PET bottle that he glued over the patch and he continued 500km/300m on it until the end of the tour.

I only lost the bolt of my front left fender strut. Did not look for it, it went over the curb into the grass. The fender was rubbing so I ziptied it and now it works again.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Got 20km done in 40 minutes today, wich is not spectacular, but half way i make a big turn and the wind went from back/sidewind to headwind, force 5 ... i followed a co-worker on a rowingbike (rowingbike.com) and he went like 45km/h with a tailwind and 35km/h in the headwind, that was a little to much for me, after a few km’s i dropped out and continued at around 24km/h...man but what a machine such a bike is...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, those rowingbikes are some odd looking things. I bet you could drop him on the trail.

Trail, that's what I did this morning. My speed was definitely not spectacular either but it was a nice morning to be in the woods alone.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, those rowingbikes are some odd looking things. I bet you could drop him on the trail.
> 
> Trail, that's what I did this morning. My speed was definitely not spectacular either but it was a nice morning to be in the woods alone.
> View attachment 1288605


Beautifull pic!

Yeah they are odd looking, but he can do 45km/h without sweating and he can gear up a little more...the cassette is replaced by a conical slotted disc in wich the pulling cable runs, by adjusting the length of the cable and changing the diameter of the disc where his pull starts, he can change 'gear' i can tell you that his biggest part of the disc is like a 50t cassette and the smallest looks like a 10t or smaller, bizarre amount of range.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh shadow, imho that is very spectacular!

Nice pic bedwards. As I know you, did you put the camera on the saddle?

I had a nice ride today and nothing fell apart.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I had a nice ride today and nothing fell apart.


Amen!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh shadow, imho that is very spectacular!
> 
> Nice pic bedwards. As I know you, did you put the camera on the saddle?
> 
> I had a nice ride today and nothing fell apart.


Somewhere near the saddle.

I had an OK ride today. Nothing fell apart except my legs. They haven't been too interested in riding much. Tired Tired Tired. At least it is Friday.

Next week isn't looking too promising for staying dry.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Rough commute in this morning. I had issues with not one but two drivers. The first was a pick-up with a trailer. The guy was at a stop sign about to turn left and sped out to try to sneak in front of me. I had to hit the brakes to avoid getting swiped by his trailer.

About 100 yards down the road I was getting ready to make my left turn, when an SUV rolled its stop sign and darted out into the road. I had to stop hard stop, yet again, in the middle of the intersection while letting out some of the loudest yells I think I've ever mustered. This time, the driver hit the brakes and stopped in the middle of the road. I executed my turn, and the driver accelerated hard around me and sped off.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

...embarrassed that he didn't see you, no doubt.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...embarrassed that he didn't see you, no doubt.


Judging by the way these people were driving, I'm pretty sure both drivers saw me. The SUV pretty much either had to stop or run me over. By the time I could stop, I was almost in front of him.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sometimes I think we need a special version of Still Not Dead Today.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Had 2 dry commutes and now it's weekend and time for a cold one


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> The first was a pick-up with a trailer.


When people ask me if I'm concerned riding in the bike lane with traffic, my reply is consistent: It's not the cars that concern me, it's the vehicles pulling trailers! I have only been commuting since May and I already have "too many to count" examples of being passed by a truck, but the trailer is OVER the line INTO the bike lane. It's so scary, I don't want to skin to be peeled back like a can opener! And of course the example you gave, the guy that has to speed by you; only to cut you off with his trailer always seems to cut into your lane a little too close for comfort.

My morning rides this week were just fantastic. I'm still commuting in shorts and short sleeve shirt. Today was 73° F and the humidity was non existent. It was fantastic.

On my ride home tonight, I'm stopping at my brewery again. I've been looking forward to this all week knowing I don't have to work my part time job on a Friday evening.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards, sorry maybe I wasnt clear enough. So with my remark about the camera I was actually referring to the height of the saddle above the handlebar - you can see the bar somewhere down below in the picture. I always wonder how you can sit on a bike like that, I have to have my bars and saddle level..

Sockyeus, sounds like a rough day for you. Glad you came out ok. 

My son had a flat rear today and I took the opportunity to teach him how to patch it. So he did everythng well until we put the glue on the tube. He squeezed the glue too much and got a lot of it on his shoes, so I told him to better go and clean it. Did the rest myself from there, but it looks like he would have made it. He deserved a nice cold one  

Nice rides and nothing fell apart again  Tomorrow we are expected to get 18C, next week temps are going to drop to around freezing. Time to sort out the winter gear this weekend.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Jelako said:


> When people ask me if I'm concerned riding in the bike lane with traffic, my reply is consistent: It's not the cars that concern me, it's the vehicles pulling trailers!


My first video camera was new (8-9 years ago) when I took this picture of a horse trailer that the driver forgot about or did not allow for me traveling at about 20 mph. There was no one oncoming so there was no need to come within 2 feet of me with that trailer. More bright clothing and lights has made this a lot rarer.


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## Crazy 8s (Oct 12, 2019)

Was an excellent ride to work and back today, aside from many cars of death that seem to aim for me and other cyclists. The wind was at my back the whole way there...and it flipped direction some time during the day and was again at my back on the ride home! That was a nice Friday gift!

Had the first puncture of this bike's lifetime yesterday, but got home before it totally flatted. Tubeless tires are something of a new concept to me, but I have heard such great rumors about how well they handle punctures so I will have been looking in to it.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

Crazy 8s said:


> Was an excellent ride to work and back today, aside from many cars of death that seem to aim for me and other cyclists. The wind was at my back the whole way there...and it flipped direction some time during the day and was again at my back on the ride home! That was a nice Friday gift!
> 
> Had the first puncture of this bike's lifetime yesterday, but got home before it totally flatted. Tubeless tires are something of a new concept to me, but I have heard such great rumors about how well they handle punctures so I will have been looking in to it.


Nice, have had those rare days too, but ive also had days when the wind flipped the other way and it was headwind going both ways!

There are some issues with tubeless to be aware of. If your doing it with high pressure road tires you need to be careful with selecting rim and tires designed for road tubeless, otherwise they can blow off rims.
They dont retain pressure as well as tubes, if you dont check often and/or store bike unridden for long time you could be caught with deflated tire. If u get a large failure that doesnt seal and plug doesnt fix, its a bit of a mess to put in tube.
For my commuter im running conti gatorback tires, tube with tubeless sealant in it in front to test out how it works out


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## Crazy 8s (Oct 12, 2019)

root said:


> Nice, have had those rare days too, but ive also had days when the wind flipped the other way and it was headwind going both ways!
> 
> There are some issues with tubeless to be aware of. If your doing it with high pressure road tires you need to be careful with selecting rim and tires designed for road tubeless, otherwise they can blow off rims.
> They dont retain pressure as well as tubes, if you dont check often and/or store bike unridden for long time you could be caught with deflated tire. If u get a large failure that doesnt seal and plug doesnt fix, its a bit of a mess to put in tube.
> For my commuter im running conti gatorback tires, tube with tubeless sealant in it in front to test out how it works out


That is what I have heard. Higher pressure doesn't work so well. I was thinking about using my 29er wheels with something like 38 to 42c 'gravel' tires and maybe use 50 to 60 psi. I might just get another wheelset for commuting and one for off-road stuff.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Weird box truck harassment last night while I was pulled over in the driveway of a closed business to check my phone. Drove up alongside me with driver yelling, mostly unintelligible but I think I heard Mattressland (the store) and P.D. and know you're here. Maybe thought I was going to steal a mattress or some furniture on my bike??? Would a thief really light themselves up with multiple blinkies while casing the joint? I quickly got away from the truck, thinking it would be OK to continue on as the truck had been going the other way. Nope, he came back by right next to me and this time the passenger leaned way out yelling but the truck was so loud I have no idea what he said. The P.D. did not come by and pull me over to pat me down for stolen mattresses.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

i forgot to post this a few weeks ago.







Left earlier than usual as i saw on radar approaching rain. Also gave me opportunity to take longer route.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx maybe they mixed you up with someone else or they were simply in the mood to annoy someone.

Root that is a nice picture. Looks like a shower behind you above the sea? Edit: ^^ nice and stealthy selfmade fenders


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Root that is a nice picture. Looks like a shower behind you above the sea? Edit: ^^ nice and stealthy selfmade fenders


Thx, yup, i almost beat the rain, caught some of it. The fenders dont beat full fenders, but i on occasion monster cross it and put 650b/27.5x2.1's on it, wouldnt fit with conventional full fender i think. Made from shelf liner from local hardwate store.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey bedwards, sorry maybe I wasnt clear enough. So with my remark about the camera I was actually referring to the height of the saddle above the handlebar - you can see the bar somewhere down below in the picture. I always wonder how you can sit on a bike like that, I have to have my bars and saddle level..


 Oh, that was what that comment was. Long legs and long arms. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

MTXB, Don't let me see you slinking around that mattress store with your Big Dummy or a trailer.

So, I was riding home on Friday and it was just after dark. I see our truck parked by a trailhead and I knew my wife was running with the dogs. I figured that she miscalculated the daylight and didn't have a light so I rode down to find her. I was right and I was able to guide her out. BUT, I was on my commuter bike with full fenders. 100 feet from the road the wheel caught a stick and I found out just how fast a stick between the tire and fender can stop a front tire. Actually it happens so fast that I didn't realize what happened until my face hit the ground. I broke my riding glasses and cracked my helmet. I came out in decent shape all things considered.

I could see this type of crash easily leaving someone paralyzed. I'm never riding a trail with fenders again and I bought some breakaway mounts this morning.

The ride in was good. No crashes but I kept an eagle eye out for sticks.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards you are doing things...:eekster: sounds rough when you manage to crack a helmet. But at least, it was just the helmet.

Well I managed to ride both ways during sunrise and sunset. It looks like tomorrow evening will be the first ride in complete darkness. At least I have pretty good battery lights. My rear wheel is expected to be back in the lbs end of the week, so next week I will finally have the bike with the dynamohub and good lights back.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

I leave at 5:45 every morning, been dark a few weeks at that time  this morning i saw some frost on the cycle bridge over the canal close to my house, no worries but temperature is dropping now.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...
> 
> MTXB, Don't let me see you slinking around that mattress store with your Big Dummy or a trailer.
> 
> ...


Hahaha, yes slinking is the word. Glad your stick crash was not wose, but had to be pretty bad!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Good rides today, but Saturday was rough on a local bikecommuter trying to do basically a reverse of my commute on her way to work at the LBS, but on a back road. She was hit by a truck and remembers flying through the air. When she came to she did not know what happened but figured it out because the woman above her was so upset. Having wilderness first aid training, the rider coached the person through first aid, preventing (unsuccesfully) hypothermia, checking for major bleeding etc. She has significant injuries, spinal, neck, side body, collapsed lung, TBI, etc., but amazingly no broken bones and after many scans and tests was released the same day. Hoping for 110% recovery! It was foggy that morning but otherwise I don't have any details of the crash, but assume rear-ended; I believe it is a 50mph zone on much of the road. Scary stuff. Working at the shop I know she has good lights.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I hate stories like that. I think a broken bone sounds preferable to some of the things on that list. Here's to a 110% recovery, physically and mentally.

Here's a better story. I rode through the woods today and didn't crash. It wasn't raining but it wasn't not raining. We've still got some pretty brilliant fall color.





​


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> So, I was riding home on Friday and it was just after dark. I see our truck parked by a trailhead and I knew my wife was running with the dogs. I figured that she miscalculated the daylight and didn't have a light so I rode down to find her. I was right and I was able to guide her out. BUT, I was on my commuter bike with full fenders. 100 feet from the road the wheel caught a stick and I found out just how fast a stick between the tire and fender can stop a front tire. Actually it happens so fast that I didn't realize what happened until my face hit the ground. I broke my riding glasses and cracked my helmet. I came out in decent shape all things considered.
> 
> I could see this type of crash easily leaving someone paralyzed. I'm never riding a trail with fenders again and I bought some breakaway mounts this morning.


Sheesh. That sucks. It always amazes me that we can successfully navigate jumps, drops, rock gardens, log crossings, etc. but the worst crashes are usually the stupidest things that catch us completely by surprise. That's been my experience, at least.



mtbxplorer said:


> Good rides today, but Saturday was rough on a local bikecommuter trying to do basically a reverse of my commute on her way to work at the LBS, but on a back road. She was hit by a truck and remembers flying through the air. When she came to she did not know what happened but figured it out because the woman above her was so upset. Having wilderness first aid training, the rider coached the person through first aid, preventing (unsuccesfully) hypothermia, checking for major bleeding etc. She has significant injuries, spinal, neck, side body, collapsed lung, TBI, etc., but amazingly no broken bones and after many scans and tests was released the same day. Hoping for 110% recovery! It was foggy that morning but otherwise I don't have any details of the crash, but assume rear-ended; I believe it is a 50mph zone on much of the road. Scary stuff. Working at the shop I know she has good lights.


That's intense. I've never experienced a rear collision, but they are scary, especially considering the number of drivers who don't stop.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good rides today, but Saturday was rough on a local bikecommuter trying to do basically a reverse of my commute on her way to work at the LBS, but on a back road. She was hit by a truck and remembers flying through the air. When she came to she did not know what happened but figured it out because the woman above her was so upset. Having wilderness first aid training, the rider coached the person through first aid, preventing (unsuccesfully) hypothermia, checking for major bleeding etc. She has significant injuries, spinal, neck, side body, collapsed lung, TBI, etc., but amazingly no broken bones and after many scans and tests was released the same day. Hoping for 110% recovery! It was foggy that morning but otherwise I don't have any details of the crash, but assume rear-ended; I believe it is a 50mph zone on much of the road. Scary stuff. Working at the shop I know she has good lights.


Wow that's horrible. And of course the POS didn't stop. Good outcome considering what happened.

Bedwards, I'm going to use this as my excuse for not having fenders from now on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Man bedwards when it comes to pics you always beats us all. I think mtbr will make a calendar for you. Does anyone know a software/online site where you can create calenders?

Mtbx I sent best wises to your coworker across the ocean. Hope she recovers soon!

I am not having my best days. Yesterday evening I forgot my lock at work which I discovered this morning when I arrived at the customer building. Rushed over and found it still lying where I put it down last night. Then I discovered that I forgot my battery lights but I was lucky, could leave early and made it home in daylight.

The rides made up for everything. Slightly freezing this morning, 8C on the way home. Sunny both ways, simply a lovely day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Safe ride in and back. No rain. Not too cold.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful photo Bedwards! Thanks everyone for the well wishes for my fellow bikecommuter. No word on what happened to the driver, if anything. I think I will call and at least be a squeaky wheel on the need to investigate and punish drivers who hit people on bikes. Nice ride yesterday, it has been relatively mild, not below freezing for a while. That last flat in the work driveway was from a brand new super sharp 1" nail - c'mon people keep the nails in your truck/work cart etc.!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Wow I had a lot of catching up to do! It's good (and motivating) to read through. My dog needed to have a cracked tooth removed yesterday, so no commute for me. Florida is in the swing of "unique" weather. In the morning it's nice and cool (about 73°) but so much so it's FOGGY. Yesterday by mid afternoon it was 91° F! 

I was trying to stay low on "upgrades" and "bike purchases". I'm failing miserably. My bike was featured with a mirror, but was only available in the European models. After some research, I learned it was the Ergotec M-99. I found one on eBay with free shipping.

I'm a "big" guy and I found I didn't like wearing "shorts" with a waistband because on a few rides, the waistband started to dig into me. So while i'm not crazy about looking like I'm stuffed in a sausage casing riding in bibs is more comfortable. I have a few pairs of cheap ones. I found a pair of Assos bibs being discounted for 40% off. This will be my most expensive piece of cycling equipment.

Now with the temperatures dipping into the 70s (and soon 50s/60s) on the ride in and knowing that daylight savings time ends this weekend, the commutes in are going to be much cooler. Bontrager, like many other manufacturers, makes "Arm Warmers", "Leg Warmers", and "Shoe Covers". Well yesterday Bontrager put all the previous model year gear on sale. I was thinking the leg warmers might be the way to go in Florida so that I can ride in with them on, but ride home in just bibs. I was completely undecided about the arm warmers, but they were "$19". 

So needless to say, I'll be packing my lunch for the month of November.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Man bedwards when it comes to pics you always beats us all. I think mtbr will make a calendar for you. Does anyone know a software/online site where you can create calenders?


Walmart



mtbxplorer said:


> That last flat in the work driveway was from a brand new super sharp 1" nail - c'mon people keep the nails in your truck/work cart etc.!


A local friend just posted a picture of a nail straight through his tire and coming out the other side of his carbon rim.

Yesterday's commute home included meeting my wife and her friend at some local trails. They were on fatties and I was on my 29er. We went back to our place for dinner and drinks. They I was up at 5:30 to ride in with my wife. Good times.

Oh and in other news, I stripped and replaced the whole drive-train on my cross bike over the weekend. I changed the gearing over from the stupid "cross specific" 46T/36T to 50T/34T to increase the range in both directions. The rings and jockey pulleys had somewhere around 9000 miles on them. Since I knew I was replaceing everything I wore it into the ground. I think the chain measured around 1.5  







Not calendar worthy.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Last night I was stopped by a dude on a Walmart bike asking if there was a bike shop around. I got off my bike and briefly took a look at his bike. His rear hub was loose, so the tire was wobbling around. I recommended a few things and went on my merry way. Sometimes I don't realize how big of a bike nerd I am. If I had been carrying wrenches, I probably would have tried to fix his wheel right then and there. My wife is probably glad I rode home instead.

Rain all day today. Probably tomorrow too. I'm driving. The weather is supposed to clear up for the weekend, which is nice since I am going to a mtb festival and plan on riding a lot. It'll be cold, but not too wet if the trails dry out a bit.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards I was more looking at something free that creates a pdf to share. 

Sockeyous I know that feeling. I always fix and adjust bikes in the neighbourhood, especially in spring when all the bikes are taken out again.

Rides were nice again today. First ride home in the dark this afternoon and noticed that my front battery light is not much of a help :-/ it is more to be seen rather then seeing something myself. 

Tomorrow is a holiday here and I took friday off, so I have plenty of time to watch the rain while curing my cold that came up today....


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, How about this.
http://www.calendarpedia.com/download/photo/photo-calendar-2020-standard.pdf
Photo calendar 2020 - free printable PDF templates


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards I was more looking at something free that creates a pdf to share.


 I see a 2020 MTBR Commuter calendar thread starting with submissions for each month. We can vote on them. Then somebody with too much time on their hands (cyclingdutchman) can format the pictures on one of those templates and distribute it.

(Edit) Nevermind, I figured I'd try it.
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-official-candid-cyclist-2020.html

I still think a collection of photos from all the commuters here would probably be more fun.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

mtbxplorer said:


> Good rides today, but Saturday was rough on a local bikecommuter trying to do basically a reverse of my commute on her way to work at the LBS, but on a back road. She was hit by a truck and remembers flying through the air. When she came to she did not know what happened but figured it out because the woman above her was so upset. Having wilderness first aid training, the rider coached the person through first aid, preventing (unsuccesfully) hypothermia, checking for major bleeding etc. She has significant injuries, spinal, neck, side body, collapsed lung, TBI, etc., but amazingly no broken bones and after many scans and tests was released the same day. Hoping for 110% recovery! It was foggy that morning but otherwise I don't have any details of the crash, but assume rear-ended; I believe it is a 50mph zone on much of the road. Scary stuff. Working at the shop I know she has good lights.


Man that is so scary! I feel blessed to be on a cycling path when the traffic exceeds 30mph/50kph here in the Netherlands...but today i had to brake hard 2 times for drivers not respecting right of way situations when i kinda expected them to respect the signs, well nothing compared to what you described!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I see a 2020 MTBR Commuter calendar thread starting with submissions for each month. We can vote on them. Then somebody with too much time on their hands (cyclingdutchman) can format the pictures on one of those templates and distribute it.
> 
> (Edit) Nevermind, I figured I'd try it.
> https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-official-candid-cyclist-2020.html
> ...


Lol! You had some time there, huh?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Really not into the task at hand at work. I didn't get real fancy with the formatting.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Really not into the task at hand at work. I didn't get real fancy with the formatting.


Yeah I understand that. I'm still always jealous you actually get snow.

I should post a really unappealing pic from my 1.5 mile commute . Should I go for historic brick houses, factory, or homeless folks under the interstate?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I see a 2020 MTBR Commuter calendar thread starting with submissions for each month. We can vote on them. Then somebody with too much time on their hands (cyclingdutchman) can format the pictures on one of those templates and distribute it.
> 
> (Edit) Nevermind, I figured I'd try it.
> https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-official-candid-cyclist-2020.html
> ...


Pirelli was yesterday!!

Will go through my pics to see if I actually find 12 nice enough pics ....

Who's next, Jeremy?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> Yeah I understand that. I'm still always jealous you actually get snow.
> 
> I should post a really unappealing pic from my 1.5 mile commute . Should I go for historic brick houses, factory, or homeless folks under the interstate?


I'd probably go with the houses.

Dutchman, you don't need 12 if we do a group effort.

I carpooled in today. Really rainy.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Broke two personal records this morning. It was a fast commute in. It was only 73 degrees, but 98% humidity. My glasses were fogged going into my Personal Record on "High School to 475". My new, local brewery is having an Halloween/Octoberfest special with two hotdogs and two brews. I'm thinking of a pit stop on the way home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Man, lot's of action here since I last looked in. Super, duper busy at work and have not had a lot of time. But I was able to scan the posts and get caught up. MTBX, sorry to hear about your friend. I hope the healing process goes well and she is not turned off on biking. GREAT photo bedwards!

Not much to report here. It's been really cold in the mornings (below freezing) but dry. 

Being that it's end of October, I was just reviewing my yearly goals of 6000 miles riding and 400,000 feet of climbing. I'm right on target for the 6000 mile goal as I am just over 5000 miles for the year. Woefully behind the 400,000 foot goal - I'm currently at 320,000 feet and am on pace to finish about 25,000 feet behind my goal. Given the limited number of days left in the year, I would need to climb approximately another 800 feet per day to reach the goal. Definitely don't have that in me


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I don't know if any of y'all have read about this guy who did the great divide race on a Monocog in 2005 (I'm sure it's old news to somebody). I thought it was a neat story. 2500 miles and 22 days is a big effort on a single speed. The guy is a madman.

http://www.carsstink.org/peterson/Turtle/MountainTurtle.html

One thing I'm wondering is how good of an idea it was for him to cold set his frame from the 110 mm bmx rear hub spacing to 135 mm mountain bike spacing. Doesn't that seem like a hell of a lot? From what I've read it does. If not, I'm thinking I'd actually be happy cold setting to 130 and replacing my hubs with my single speed Surly New hubs. They're NOS so still cup and cone, but that beats me trying to sell them. I like the Alex rims on it currently if only because they're very sturdy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Wow posted that in the wrong thread. I guess it's here to see


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NDD said:


> Wow posted that in the wrong thread. I guess it's here to see


Pretty funny that you posted this, I know Kent as he and I worked together many years ago. He's a super nice and really interesting guy, I believe he lives down in Eugene Oregon now and works for Bike Friday. He's written a cycling blog for many years that is fun to read:

https://kentsbike.blogspot.com/


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> Pretty funny that you posted this, I know Kent as he and I worked together many years ago. He's a super nice and really interesting guy, I believe he lives down in Eugene Oregon now and works for Bike Friday. He's written a cycling blog for many years that is fun to read:
> 
> https://kentsbike.blogspot.com/


Not surprised that someone on this site knows him. Actually specifically you, being up that way and all. I'm glad to hear he's actually as pretty cool cat. I got a lot of joy from this post and his blog leading up to it.

He seems to be one heck of a cyclist!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Pretty funny that you posted this, I know Kent as he and I worked together many years ago. He's a super nice and really interesting guy, I believe he lives down in Eugene Oregon now and works for Bike Friday. He's written a cycling blog for many years that is fun to read:
> 
> https://kentsbike.blogspot.com/


Comments on his blog have been left. Us bloggers have to stick together. There is an impressive list of bike blogs on the right margin of his page. Mine was notably absent.

Windy AF here today. It's all good though because I thought it was going to be rainy too. And it's Friday.


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## jupiter58 (Jan 13, 2016)

Easy ride in, good weather at 40 degrees. I work twelve hour shifts and head home at 0500. Security is an issue at that time as I do come across the occasional human threat. I have a 1200 lumen helmet light and two 700 lumen torches  on the bar. I have a semi auto knife on my pack sternum strap . I have managed not to get mugged yet after many years of commuting at night. Been bike commuting for 28 years. I have seriously considered packing my 38 Special revolver as a last resort.. never have resorted to this previously however there are some dodgy drug crazed folks out there lately.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ That's a pretty good run, hope it continues without any mugging, stabbing or sooting. Where are you riding Jupiter?

I used to read Kent's blog, I forgot all about it, I'll have to get back over there.

I drove on Friday, we got 3.75" of rain and winds gusting over 40mph. Lots of flooding, trees down and power outages, but I'm on top of a hill and my power was back on by 10 p.m. My route was OK but lots of photos of cars underwater and roads washed away all over Vermont. The first image here is the best one I have seen https://www.wcax.com/content/news/VIDEO-Viewers-share-images-of-storm-damage--564287641.html Bedwards, thanks for sending over those Maine utility crews, saw that on the news. Cold night, 23F this morning. Gonna help out at the LBS today as the woman that got hit by a car won't be back for a bit.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I road on the 31st to finish out October with over 200 miles of commuting. I'll see if I can do it again in November, but the weather is definitely turning. The 31st was raining and in the 30s. 

I like the calendar ideas being kicked around. I'll have to start keeping my camera more accessable. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

I feel like a real commuter again.

I finished my first week of commuting to a new job. Before I'd been coasting 2 blocks down hill leaving at 9:45am...now I'm out the door at 5am for a 5mi commute of rolling hills. Pretty easy but definitely an adjustment. Had hard rain Wednesday and falling snow on Thursday.

There's a YMCA a couple blocks from work so I got a membership there to shower, change and clean up a little. Hitting the sauna after work is a nice way to unwind.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Sorry guys I've been quiet recently. After my flats I was off the bike waiting for a new rear tire. Then on vacation a few days. I hope to get back into it when I'm back in town. But it's pretty here.


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## jupiter58 (Jan 13, 2016)

I live in Boise ID. low crime rates but we do have our share of miscreants. piece of cake after surviving Los Angeles.left there a long time ago.nice pic Jeremy, i remember that unique terrain


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

A very short portion of my commute is on a six-lane arterial road with a right-hand diamond lane for bus/taxis/bikes. Due to _very_ long-term construction, they've closed the left hand turn lane at one major intersection, causing congestion.

Their obvious solution to this congestion problem was to remove SOME BUT NOT ALL of the signs saying the right lane is reserved for bus/taxi/bikes, and provide no other related signage whatsoever.

So who's allowed to drive in the diamond lane now? Whoever is the angriest, apparently.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jupiter58 said:


> piece of cake after surviving Los Angeles.left there a long time ago.


Snake Plissken? Is that you?


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## Tristan Wolf (Oct 21, 2019)

Funny. Cause I have installed front XT brake, and in the back is still Shimano non-series, cause I cannot make the new hose go through the frame, and my favorite mechanic had day off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My repaired rear wheel came back saturday and I am now back on the main bike. Very good because it is the only one with both long fenders and dynamohub and lights. It rained this morning the whole way but it was still 11C so it was ok. Ride home was dry and it was cloudy, so really dark. But now I have my de"lighted" bike back :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Is it a de-lighted bike or a re-lighted bike? 


mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, thanks for sending over those Maine utility crews, saw that on the news.


No problem. I'm surprised they could spare them because a lot of Maine was missing power too. I didn't ride on Thursday because of the rain but I did ride in on Friday with the crazy wind. After I went through a huge oak came down across the main road I ride and took out power.

We did a 20+ MTB ride/brewery tour yesterday. Good stuff but I'm not sure about technical terrain after 3 breweries (out of the 5 we visited). The ABV was high but the pours were small.

Nobody's going to talk about the time change? OK, I will. This morning was the first time I left in the light in a while. But it should be totally dark for my commute home. There I got that out of the way.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Nobody's going to talk about the time change? OK, I will. This morning was the first time I left in the light in a while. But it should be totally dark for my commute home. There I got that out of the way.


I've been riding in the dark in the morning since the end of August/early September so no change for me.

Can't wait till we ditch time change around here. Outdated and useless concept.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, but you leave stupid early.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

jupiter58 said:


> .....nice pic Jeremy, i remember that unique terrain


I am curious where you remember it from, this was taken in Castillfollit de la Roca, Spain. Is there a another place that looks like this, or have you been to this one?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The time change was already a week ago here, so I wondered too why nobody said a thing. Now I know


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I wasn't sure you even did daylight savings time in Germany. I thought it was an American invention that other countries though was silly. I could take it or leave it. I kind of like the summer nights that stay light late but then appreciate the extra daylight in the mornings when the clocks change. But it is a hassle.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Here in Washington State a law was passed and signed to stay on Daylight Savings time year round. Since regulation of time in the US is delegated to the Federal Government, not the states, we now have to wait for US Congress to vote on the matter. Oregon has also passed a similar law, California is expected to in 2020 and the Canadian Province of British Columbia has said that if the three western US states change to permanent DST, they will too.

Hope it happens soon.

bedwards, you actually still go to a polling place to cast your vote? How quaint. 

Cold and fog this morning. Was on ice patrol all the way in. Rain coming towards the end of the week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Maine has a DST related bill pop up just about every year but they never go anywhere. I'm happy to be in the same time zone as the neighboring states.

What's the other voting option? Absentee ballot? You have to remember to request one in advance. But yeah, I did stop to vote. Twice actually. The first time the polls weren't open for another 20 minutes so I rode around and killed some time. I was there when the polls opened. There were 3 of us there. It was very quaint.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Florida also was going to stay on Daylights Savings Time, but we're on hold as well. I'm actually having mixed feelings on the "dawn" commute. Under darkness, i have a lot of lights and a lot of reflective gear. I illuminate. Now that I'm leaving with the sun coming up, there is a lot more "fog" and there several places on the ride where the sunrise can be almost blinding. It's much different.

Now that I am no longer leaving under the cover of darkness, I wanted to see what it would be like to do the morning commute completely in Turbo. I broke 4 personal records on the ride in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I like the pic of the fast bike next to the fast police interceptor. I think your bike got 4 PRs on the way in. How much was the battery down? Do you charge it at work?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> What's the other voting option? Absentee ballot? You have to remember to request one in advance. But yeah, I did stop to vote. Twice actually. The first time the polls weren't open for another 20 minutes so I rode around and killed some time. I was there when the polls opened. There were 3 of us there. It was very quaint.


We are completely vote by mail here. No polling places anymore.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You are totally missing out on the red white and blue curtains and special pens that don't really work!


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I like the pic of the fast bike next to the fast police interceptor. I think your bike got 4 PRs on the way in. How much was the battery down? Do you charge it at work?


Just less than 1/2 (9 miles):









I have not charged at work prior to today. Typically I use my ride into work as a "workout" where I use "Tour", then on my ride home I mix it up. I have a "unique" ride home. I'm originally from the Flint area of Michigan and grew up with "Koegel" hot dogs. You can only get them in Michigan. Well there is a company "Koegel's on the road" that travel to Florida twice a year and today is that day. My son needed the car today, so I had to plan out my commute home by way of the Hotel that is hosting Koegel's on the road. One of my panniers is lined with one of those "mylar" Hot/Cold bags so that I can get my hot dogs home. My return home is going to be close to 20 miles and I want to do it in Turbo to get home that much faster. So for the first time, I brought my charger with me to make sure my bike is fully charged. Typically, I do not charge.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Overhere in europe we had an online petition against the dst that got enough votes to put it on the agenda of the european union. To be successful it will need an agreement between most members of the eu, so in the light of the current political zeitgeist here, I see little chance at the moment that dst is going to be cancelled. In winter I dont care about it much but in spring its less convenient...

Nice rides today. Foggy this morning and lots of rain on the way home. In town some streets were flooded and from 3pm on, the clouds were so thick that it was almost dark already.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Jelako said:


> I have a "unique" ride home. I'm originally from the Flint area of Michigan and grew up with "Koegel" hot dogs. You can only get them in Michigan. Well there is a company "Koegel's on the road" that travel to Florida twice a year and today is that day. My son needed the car today, so I had to plan out my commute home by way of the Hotel that is hosting Koegel's on the road. One of my panniers is lined with one of those "mylar" Hot/Cold bags so that I can get my hot dogs home. My return home is going to be close to 20 miles and I want to do it in Turbo to get home that much faster. So for the first time, I brought my charger with me to make sure my bike is fully charged. Typically, I do not charge.


Wow I hope it worked out well. That's some serious hot dog devotion!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Had a half day training today and they said you must bring your laptop, we are wanting to save paper and be green. So I toted the extra weight of the largest laptop work will provide, plus clothes plus oatmeal plus coffee (good call, none provided until 10:30), plus 2 phones etc etc. I was feeling strong but a little disgruntled that I did not actually need the laptop for training. 

I did get to sample part of the not-quite -open bike path, and when I approached an excavator at the 1/2 mile mark (meaning a mile would be added to my trip if they sent me packing), I was relieved when my patient "walk the bike and wait for operator to acknowledge me" approach earned me a pass through the work area.

Later at work a clock that was still an hour ahead bugged me in a meeting room, so I got a tall guy to get it down, thinking it was an easy fix of spinning the adjusting dial on the back... Nope, this was a new animal, an analog atomic clock, and there was no dial. The settings were on Eastern time and yes for daylight savings time, but it had not adjusted. So a button was pressed and the hands started to advance forward, spinning automatically. I was like, is there a backward button? Nope, so we hung it back on the wall, still spinning forward in a time warp, as we did not want to wait for it to advance 11 more hours. I am curious if it is still spinning and what the next meeting group will think of that. Or will the "atomic" kick in and stop it at the correct time?


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

NDD said:


> Wow I hope it worked out well. That's some serious hot dog devotion!


It was fantastic: https://www.relive.cc/view/v1vjp79eNY6


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First ride in to work on my new SS mountain bike setup. I recently did a lot of basic maintenance, repacked hubs, replaced bottom bracket, replaced sticking freewheel. Now I also put a larger freewheel on it because I'd been having some trouble really getting it up hills and tackling certain rock features when going upslope. However, having fixed the drag in all of the spinny bits,I wish I'd have used the same size freewheel, because now it's like really only geared for going uphill in singletrack. Amazing how much easier it is to pedal when the bottom bracket doesn't feel like a coffee grinder!

So... How was it? It was a lot like running 1.5 miles to work. Actually a good way to get exercise in with such a short ride! Cool and cloudy. Very gray, very November.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice commute Jelako. If beer and brats is part of your daily commute, your doing it right!

NDD, the correct gearing is always the external struggle with single-speeds, right?

Coming to work this morning something felt off with my back brake. Examining the bike when I got to the office I saw that the whole caliper is loose and moving every time I pulled the brake lever! (these are disk brakes). Yikes, need to pay better attention to my bike maintenance!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> NDD, the correct gearing is always the external struggle with single-speeds, right?
> 
> Coming to work this morning something felt off with my back brake. Examining the bike when I got to the office I saw that the whole caliper is loose and moving every time I pulled the brake lever! (these are disk brakes). Yikes, need to pay better attention to my bike maintenance!


Yes it was easier when my single speed was a road bike. Oh well, I'll work on not mashing and slow down and work on mtb skills that I can do around my neighborhood/the park.

Good thing it wasn't your front brake!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jelako I thought kickstands are a european invention and hardly known in the americas, but you have one on your bike I see!

Woodway that reminded me of when I discovered that almost all of my rack and fendermount bolts were loose...dont worry it happens to the best of us 

In a german mtb forum, I am participating in the wintercup competition. You get 1 point for every 15minutes of cycling (or skiing in case you live in the mountains). So I am steadily gathering 5 points a day for the round trip. Jeremy you want to participate? The nr2 in the overall ranking is riding just over 40km a day so you should beat that easily.

Grey day again, but at least no rain. Luckily I could leave early today and rode in daylight both ways.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode my bike today. It was chilly but very pretty. I even did a little road riding as a stretch was closed to car traffic.










I'm not sure why it was closed though.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Jelako I thought kickstands are a european invention and hardly known in the americas, but you have one on your bike I see!


The Super Commuter is VERY European influenced! As I tell people all the time, the Super Commuter weighs over 50 lbs...so i REALLY don't want my bike to tip over, but just as important i REALLY don't want to pick up my bike if it fell.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The Super Commuter is VERY European influenced! As I tell people all the time, the Super Commuter weighs over 50 lbs...so i REALLY don't want my bike to tip over, but just as important i REALLY don't want to pick up my bike if it fell. [/QUOTE]

I can imagine that! My bike weighs 40lbs/18kg and it is not too bad, but not easy either. But I like the kickstand more because I can simply take it out of the rack from between the other bike, put it on the kickstand, then putting on bottle, pannier, close the pannier, put on gloves and helmet, and go. No leaning against anything, no tangling up, just parking in a free space.

I might think different on the whole thing when I had a lot of climbing or stop&go to do, because weight counts there. But on my flat easy commute, it takes a while to get to speed but once it rolls, it rolls good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I can't imagine having a bike so heavy that I had to consider that picking it up would be difficult if it tipped over. Of course, I don't use those heavy kickstands either. 

I took an extended route in with shorts. I thought it was 37F but I think it was closer to 30F. My nether regions were chilly. I did squeak in a late season KOM by 2 seconds.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Wind chill was close to 0C or 32F this morning and worse riding. I returned twice to upgrade things. The watch cap was not enough. Helmet is now taped. The YMCA has a flimsy bike rack sitting on grass and not anchored in any way. So I locked up to a gate to the after school programs play yard.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Half inch of slushy snow this morning.

I really should re-assemble my mountain bike.

Or at least take the deep carbon wheels off my road bike. They don't really look the part on a snow ride.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Maybe they were hoping everyone would have bikes on it so stealing it be a major pain in the butt.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The return trip home last night was just as freezing. It was supposed to hit near 50F yesterday but by the time I left it was closer to 30F. I put on long riding gear again this morning. (I wasn't chasing a KOM so I didn't need the extra 2% freedom of motion.  ) 

I did harvest about 4lbs of oyster mushrooms on the way in. Natures gifts. I'm planning on hitching a ride home with my wife this afternoon because it will at least be raining and at worst be snowing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Whew, people already getting snow...here comes winter.

Shorts are a bold move this time of year bedwards  Congrats on the KOM though!

Really foggy this morning, temps around 40F/4.5C.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> Maybe they were hoping everyone would have bikes on it so stealing it be a major pain in the butt.


I lifted it handily, and they move it to mow underneath. Two guys and a pickup truck and the rack with just my bike is gone! I'd love to donate the funds for something safer and covered, but not that flush!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> I lifted it handily, and they move it to mow underneath. Two guys and a pickup truck and the rack with just my bike is gone! I'd love to donate the funds for something safer and covered, but not that flush!


Ha, I wouldn't put my bike on that either!

Beautiful autumn day, if not a tad chilly. I got a few extra miles in because I went to a talk at a university, which means I got a little ride time in park while all of the trees are so pretty. No pics (I was running close to being only on time!).


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Snowy this morning, but only enough to make my bike a real mess. Beautiful ride home. I've gotta get my phone it and snap some shots. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Snowed here too! Mostly melted on the road. 19F this morning Weather service says ...Bursts Of Moderate To Heavy Snow Expected This Morning..and winds of 10-20 mph, so not too sad that I am driving my buddy while his power steering gets repaired. A couple pix from our walk....


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First commute of the week, and it's the first winter-ish ride of the season. No snow, but there was some ice where puddles had frozen over. Temps were in the low 20s.

I was off Monday, and it rained most of the other days. I chose to drive on one nice day, since my son hadn't been feeling well the night before and I needed to be available in case he got worse. It felt good to get back on the bike today, but my face is still not quite used to riding in these temps.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well look at that. The snow missed us but it was in the low 20s with patchy ice this morning. I took the mountain bike in case the ice got too bad and I needed to ride in the dirt. I was a few miles into my commute when I noticed a broken spoke. I almost turned back but decided to nurse it in. I couldn't have done that with rim brakes. I also grabbed the last bunch of oyster mushrooms off the tree I've been harvesting on. They were frozen.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I've got a good "small town" story.

A few days back I ran through broken glass in the bike lane. It was dark so I was on top of it before I saw it, and my back tire flatted. My city of about 11,000 east of Seattle uses a 3rd party service to log issues to the city and when I got to work I logged on and dutifully reported the glass and dropped a pin on the map. The next day I get a "Issue Resolved and Closed" notification, so yesterday when I rode to work I expected to find a nice clear bike lane. Nope.

After arriving at the office, I looked up the email address for the City Manager and sent him a polite note about the issue. Within the hour he responded that he had sent the road supervisor out to look at the location, and the road supervisor had verified that yes, the glass was still there even though the street sweeper crew had reported it cleaned up the day before. He apologized and said that they were calling the sweeper back to clean it up.

This morning, no glass. That's what I call responsive City Government.

Dry upper 30's here. Be careful in that snow everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow mtbx that cold with so much wind, brrrrr. Woodway you can call the city to have them clean up something? Overhere they clean most roads only once a month or so and no one to call in between. Not for nothing the germans invented those heavy plus tires.

Nice rides yesterday and today. Dry and just above freezing in the morning. This morning there was a dead roedeer lying next to the road, not that nice to see. Someone has a damaged car from that I guess..Today was sunny and I had a magnificant sunset, the most colourful part was exactly when I was riding in the open. Lucky me.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards I believe there are emergeny spokes out there, that are basically a hook, cable and barrel adjuster. You can mount them without removing the cassette!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I’m giving myself the hypothermia award today. I rode home at 3C in a windy driving rain. It sucked and I was very very cold. But I made it and I still like riding my bike.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Way to tough it out jeremy. Almost-freezing wind driven rain is pretty much the worst.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards I believe there are emergeny spokes out there, that are basically a hook, cable and barrel adjuster. You can mount them without removing the cassette!


I've never seen those. It was actually the nipple that broke off. The spoke was fine. This bike has wheels with VERY SENSITIVE NIPPLES. This is the second one that has broken off. Odd because they are Reynolds wheels so no slouch. It is fixed now but the wheel sounds like a maraca because it has 2 nipple parts floating around between the double walls.

Yesterday I helped a local snowmobile club repair a bridge that I use on the trails. They were very appreciative. A little good will goes a long way in trail sharing. 







Remember the beautiful leaves from 2 weeks ago? Of course you do.







This is what it looked like today. Leaf peeping season doesn't last long.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> I'm giving myself the hypothermia award today. I rode home at 3C in a windy driving rain. It sucked and I was very very cold. But I made it and I still like riding my bike.


Wow good on ya. Be careful with that! Though I'm guessing you had the right gear.

Today's commute in was 36F (2C) degrees. It's going to get colder and snow throughout the day so that's fun. In spite of the narrower tires, 43c, I took the geared bike. Those gears will come in handy I think! It'll be 25F (-4C) when I leave, so hopefully any precip will be crunchy, but it'll probably be a slush fest.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> Today's commute in was 36F (2C) degrees. It's going to get colder and snow throughout the day so that's fun. In spite of the narrower tires, 43c, I took the geared bike. Those gears will come in handy I think! It'll be 25F (-4C) when I leave, so hopefully any precip will be crunchy, but it'll probably be a slush fest.


I had to check where you were again because that is exactly the same forecast we are looking at in Maine. I went the other direction and took the fatbike in anticipation of the snow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> I had to check where you were again because that is exactly the same forecast we are looking at in Maine. I went the other direction and took the fatbike in anticipation of the snow.


Wise, but I hadn't thought to throw mtb tires on the drop bar bike. I mostly want gears and disc brakes. Current mountain bike setup is lacking both, though 2.4" wide tires would be nice and comfy.

Nice bridge, btw!


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Hovering around 30f today and a little snowy. Made for a great fat bike ride









Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards that indeed looks very different, even the bike looks different :lol: 

James that looks very tough! Nice sticker on your helmet too 

I started without my glasses today and regretted it when I came into the open and had a headwind combined with -2C. Further in I was almost hit by a car coming from the opposite direction that suddenly swerved my way around a dead rabbit. At least the sunrise was nice. The way home was uneventful. I will be on a businesstrip and off the bike until friday, bummer!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Today was cold -1C but dry so that was great. I did slip off the pedal in a wet spot and took a tumble. Nothing broke except a scrape on my elbow. Hope everyone had good safe rides today. 

As for my wet weather gear. I don’t do waterproof but I do wear almost exclusively wool so at least I stay warm while wet.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Pleasantly surprised that it was not a slush fest. The snow and whatever else under there had frozen pretty quickly. Now it's going to be about 13F (-10C) tomorrow morning, and there are a lot of spots with standing water on the road, too, so I'm guessing things'll get pretty icy...Might just walk tomorrow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

It was a fine bike ride at 12F (-11C). Roads were mostly ok. Someone thought I was my boss and saw him a few minutes after I got in. They called him crazy for biking in today. I'll let him take the heat.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Glad you are OK jeremy.

Ice is the worst NDD, unless you have studded tires...

Fairly warm today, 47F/8C but absolutely dumping rain. 

I focus on keeping three areas dry/warm when riding in the rain: core, hands and feet. I layer lightweight merino wool under a lightweight Showers Pass jacket. I wear merino wool socks and cover my shoes with Showers Pass shoe covers. For gloves, I bring one pair for the morning and another for the ride home since the morning gloves won't be dry in time. Fleece-lined tights get wet but my legs stay warm (and they dry fast). This combination has served me well and I'm pretty comfortable in the rain.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

About five or six inches of snow over night, but with so much heat still in the ground, at least half of it melted down into a slush layer underneath, even on unsalted surfaces, despite the -10C temperatures this morning.

This resulted in a weird-liquid-water-at-minus-8C trail condition this morning, although the powder snow on top prevented too much wheel spray from freezing on the bike.

I probably should have had my studded tires on for the ride home, but I do not.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I forgot what a slog the 12 mile fatbike ride on the trail/roads can be in a winter storm. It was sleeting pretty good for most of the ride home with plenty of dense accumulation. Everything is still a mess today and I'm avoiding the main roads on a bike so I took the truck. I guess I'm ready for the lake to freeze so I can cut that distance down to 8 miles. But it's still really early for that to happen. 

Sounds like a lot of people have the same weather. I'm still considering tomorrows commute.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

It was a very cool 60°F (15.6°C) this morning with some of the most intense fog. I actually received a weather alert, warning of the dense fog with severely impacted visibility. The air had so much moisture, my glasses were all beaded up and my helmet was actually dripping as if a slow rain. I did not like the intense fog. Luckily it was burning off the closer I got to work, but I had water beaded up on my glasses, my helmet, my bike and throughout my beard. 

Mad respect to you northern guys that does this in the colder temperatures where this level of moisture would have surely been ice.

I actually busted out the leg & arm warmers for the ride in. I won't need them for the ride home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy, glad you are ok!

I commuted on a business trip with an airbus A319 and a rental car and feel bad. I rather would have taken on your rain and slush. No clue on how I can bear his until friday morning...need some mental support here. At least, there is a bikeshop next to the hotel and I checked out the bikes in their showroom through the window.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Unfortunately, taking tomorrow off. 4° f scared me a little. I'm not sure I've got the gear for it. Hopefully, I'll get a swim in instead. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice job on the bridge bedwards! 

Had my mtb commuter studded up for yesterday's snow but the roads were too bad to try it, 5" of oatmeal everywhere, , plus an ice crust on the back roads. 70 car crashes (the reported ones). This morning it's 3F so we are off to quite a start here in VT.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jamespc said:


> Unfortunately, taking tomorrow off. 4° f scared me a little. I'm not sure I've got the gear for it. Hopefully, I'll get a swim in instead.


That beard must create some drag in the water.



mtbxplorer said:


> Nice job on the bridge bedwards!
> 
> Had my mtb commuter studded up for yesterday's snow but the roads were too bad to try it, 5" of oatmeal everywhere, , plus an ice crust on the back roads. 70 car crashes (the reported ones). This morning it's 3F so we are off to quite a start here in VT.


It was fun to get out and meet the snowmobile club members. There is another bridge that needs attention. I'm hoping I can get out and help with that one too.

We were just about 10F here this morning. I went with my full winter setup and was not cold. The ride seemed pretty exhausting though. I grabbed my 26" mountain bike that still had the studs installed from last season. Good thing too because the roads were really icy.







But I'm not complaining (much)​


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

This morning I found my studded tires, still mounted on the spare wheels, in a dark corner of the basement. Put only the front one on, as that cassette is questionable. I was impressed it held air and had minimal rotor drag. Timely as there was a lot of overnight refreezing of melting snow from yesterday. 

I'm gonna assume this will get me through until December when I can have a look at getting that rear wheel going.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, seems like an early winter for a bunch of you. Stay safe!

Dutchman, I feel for ya. Perhaps rent a bike at that shop and get a quick morning or evening ride in?

It was 50F/10C this morning (unseasonably warm) and dry. Supposed to be close to 60F/15.5C for the ride home tonight. But rain coming back tomorrow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I haven't been riding much lately. This morning was only my second commute in about the last two weeks. It was nice and cold though. Temps were somewhere between 13F and 16F and we still have a little snow on the ground from two nights ago. Winter seems to have arrived in a hurry. One day was 62, the next morning there was snow on the ground and temps struggled to get past the freezing mark. I'm not accustomed to the cold yet.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

3F and windy made for a chilly ride, but with extra layers, a thin balaclava, winter helmet and toe warmers in my 5.10s I was fine. Road crews got an F for not clearing the shoulders or bike lanes, they had just pushed the snow into them. With the cold now it is just frozen there. I should have gotten you some pix of the new bike path that just opened Friday, but it was too cold. It runs on the opposite side of the river from the road, so it was nice and quiet. However, it had not been plowed, so that made for slow going, especially since the pesky peds have to pockmark the entire path. I did not see a soul however - so it was good I did not wipe out as I probably would have frozen to death before anyone found me. A truck had been through, so in some places his tracks made good riding. I think it replaces about 1.5 miles of my 8 mile commute, with about a .3 mile detour to get on and off it. It warmed up to nearly 10F for the ride home. When I got to work and parked the bike, a stranger was coming out of the office and she said "You're badass" and I said thanks!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Badass kudos MTXB. I think our road crews get a similar "F". 

I took the trails home last night. It seemed like an enormous effort. So much so that I skipped the ride this morning and threw the bike in the car and rode with my wife. I didn't have the energy to ride in single digits. I didn't have the energy to put on all those damn layers. I've got the cross bike in the car for the ride home. I'm hoping the roads are clear enough to use it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rule #9 for sure MTBX. Good luck with the ride home tonight bedwards.

We get one more dry day today before the rain returns tomorrow. Temp was around 40F/4.5C this morning. Foggy, but dry. All in all, not a bad morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

well done MTBX and Bedwards. Overhere we are still above freezing, but it is cloudy and windy. Today it was so cloudy it was basically dark all day. It was good to be rolling again though and the rides were uneventful.



woodway said:


> Fairly warm today, 47F/8C but absolutely dumping rain.
> 
> I focus on keeping three areas dry/warm when riding in the rain: core, hands and feet. I layer lightweight merino wool under a lightweight Showers Pass jacket. I wear merino wool socks and cover my shoes with Showers Pass shoe covers. For gloves, I bring one pair for the morning and another for the ride home since the morning gloves won't be dry in time. Fleece-lined tights get wet but my legs stay warm (and they dry fast). This combination has served me well and I'm pretty comfortable in the rain.


How about giving your clothes a good DWR treatment?

Wish you all a nice weekend!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> How about giving your clothes a good DWR treatment?


Well, my clothes get washed quite often, and I don't think the treatment will last long. I do treat my jacket and shoe covers with tekwash/nikwax every few months.

A real soaker of a ride this morning. My jacket did a great job of keeping my core dry. My shoe covers did a resonable job, my shoes were a little damp, but not bad. Stuffed some newspaper in them and they will be good to go for the ride home. My gloves are soaked through, but I have a dry pair for the ride home.

Safe rides and good weekend to all.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

It was just lovely riding today. It's hard starting and ending in the dark. But it was very pretty today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm confirming the "F" rating for the road clearing. On my normal main road commute home I usually have a 4 foot shoulder to stay out of the way of cars. Last night it was periodically but often covered in lots of bumpy ice and totally unrideable. I had to get out in the middle of the lane of a major road with a 50MPH speed limit, in the dark, no less. I was not a fan. I'm sure the traffic wasn't either. I'm hoping it melts today. If not I'll take a slightly longer route on some side roads. 

This morning's commute was decent. I took the back way. There is no paved shoulder so I am always in the lane and the road is less busy. But it is still busy enough and fast enough that I don't like doing it in the dark. 

Enough about me, how was YOUR commute today.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm confirming the "F" rating for the road clearing. On my normal main road commute home I usually have a 4 foot shoulder to stay out of the way of cars. Last night it was periodically but often covered in lots of bumpy ice and totally unrideable. I had to get out in the middle of the lane of a major road with a 50MPH speed limit, in the dark, no less.


That sucks!

Cold, dry and sunny this morning. Pretty nice actually.


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Got called in for an irregular shift today. Got changed and left my cycling kit at the nearby YMCA as I've been doing the past couple weeks at my new job. 

Turns out the YMCA closes before I got off work. Had to ride home in my work clothes with no helmet or gloves! I honestly don't know why I brought my bike lights with me to work but I'm glad I did. Good thing it was fairly warm today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That sucks!  

I skipped today. The forecast calls for 32F and rain with 20-30MPH winds. No thanks. We did wake up early and get a little token ice skating in on a small pond. Most everything is still water but we found these ponds on a fatbike ride over the weekend. Skating in mid November is pretty rare.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I can understand that bedwards. At least you can go iceskating every year, overhere we seldomly have enough frost to have the ice become thick enough :-/

Rides were uneventful today, some light rain on the way home but nothing I couldnt handle.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Need to ride Wednesday. Life got in the way today. Have to figure out the layers again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Lucked out over here Monday and did not get the winds Bedwards did a few hours east, but a bit colder at 21F to start. Rode the gravel bike with the fuzzy winter Continentals, and the roads were OK for those - some ice but a bit more of the shoulders were reclaimed. Weather forecasters said freezing rain by the time I leave work, but they kept pushing it back and it didn't happen. I guess it happening today instead, 1-3" of snow after 1/10" ice. If I do ride it will be on the studded tire bike today. I went by a lake last Monday (Veterans Day) and it was 100% open; by Sunday it was 100% iced over.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I ordered a set of Dillinger 5, studded fat bike tires. I decided studs were a good idea to get me through the winter and decided the fat bike was the best choice. I might even get a chance to ride some groomed trails on it this year. 

That said, I hope I'm happy with these, because they are dang expressive! I have paid less for 4 car tires. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Saw your skating on Strava, bedwards...even on the satellite view those don't look like ponds!

Stay safe MTBX!

jamespc, I am always amazed at the prices for bike tires compared to car tires. But then I guess volume makes all the difference.

No snow or ice here, just heavy, heavy rain, last night and this morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Not on Strava's satellite images anyway. They are probably seasonal. But I assure you they are ponds. This was the smallest of 3 we got on.









jamespc said:


> I ordered a set of Dillinger 5, studded fat bike tires. I decided studs were a good idea to get me through the winter and decided the fat bike was the best choice. I might even get a chance to ride some groomed trails on it this year.
> 
> That said, I hope I'm happy with these, because they are dang expressive! I have paid less for 4 car tires.


No doubt. I think I paid less for a set of four 10 ply / E load rated / studded snow tires for my 1 ton pickup. You should be happy with them.

There was still some freezing rain around this morning so I threw the bike in the car and carpooled in. I'm really hoping the temps are as warm as they say tonight because I am studdless.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Today was my first day with sub-50°F temperature: 48°F (8.8°C). While not as extreme as some of you guys are experience, it's still pretty chilly on an eBike doing 28 mph...windchill is chilly! I've been collecting cool/cold weather gear since June:

Darn Tough Merino Wool socks - $20
High Visibility Leg Warmers - $40
Thermal "Knicker" Bibs - $70 (got them off eBay...NWT...org $160)
Under Armor ColdGear Base layer - $40 (Originally $100)
Merrino Wool long sleeve crew - $90 
Columbia windbreaker jacket - $30
GoreWear Windstopper gloves - $18 (clearance down from $60)

Making my first "cool" commute with zero comfort issues - Priceless

I do have a new appreciation for "Goretex" / membrane-esque jackets. I will be buying a new jacket on Black Friday; I have my eye on a "Showerspass" Transit jacket.

What's really odd about today is taht the ride home will be 72°F(22.2°). That's why I wore the "Knickers" and not the Thermal Pants. Too hot for that on the ride home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL, I wear less when it is 35F including shorts if it is dry. That's not a dig but it is interesting to see what people acclimatize too.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

Rabbit darted across my path, hit my front wheels, and almost took me down. Bastard. That's twice in about a month a rabbit has nearly taken me out.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^LOL, I wear less when it is 35F including shorts if it is dry. That's not a dig but it is interesting to see what people acclimatize too.


It'll be 72° on the ride home. I think if I had a better jacket, I could have done it without the merino crew. The wind was whipping pretty good.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I've left the front studded tire on as there is still a quarter mile of discontinuous icy chop in the woods on the rail trail. They other 95% of the ride it's just grinding away on bare pavement driving me nuts

I think tomorrow I'll go all-rubber and just go slow in the woods.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx if you have the wintercontact II like me be careful. On blank ice they reach their limits. I went down on ice last year with those. For the rest I am quite happy with m and I bought a second pair a few months ago which I am riding now. 100€ definitely the most I ever spent for biketires but they are worth it and they last long too so it pays off in the end anyway.

Jelako looks like you and me like the same clothing, I am also already dressed up pretty warm. I see people still riding in shorts too and I always wonder how they do it. For a rainjacket, ask woodway. It seems he has most rain of all of us here, so I think he will know what works.

Light rain again this morning but I was allright. Ride home was nice. Dry, calm and with a nice sunset. I made a detour that was 5 minutes longer but other scenery for half of the ride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Jelako, go with the ShowersPass jacket. So expensive but so worth it. I've go three:

- An Elite 2.1 that I wear when it gets below freezing (which is not often around here).
- A Double Century that I rode in nearly every spring/fall/winter day for about 8 years - I finally wore the lining off of that jacket. To put that in perspective, I wore that jacket for probably 40,000 miles of riding before it wore out...
- And my current "daily" jacket a Spring Classic which is an amazing jacket. When I wore out my Double Century, I sent a photo to the Showers Pass guys and they were so impressed that they gave me a nice discount on the Spring Classic and I love that jacket.

Good luck!


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## Crazy 8s (Oct 12, 2019)

My 10 mile ride to work today was very nice! Was cool and overcast and dry...great for riding! It started raining while at work and continued until I got off, so I bummed a ride from a friend. I feel kind of guilty that I didn't ride home in the rain...but not very guilty. There were wrecks everywhere. It rains so infrequently in Phoenix that people think it is the end of the world and they lose their freakin minds!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had to laugh at myself yesterday. It was 28-33 F with a mix of freezing rain and rain, a nice ice coating on my deck and car. After walking the dog and putting my summer car tires in the shed, my gloves were sopping. So I say self, grab some other gloves for riding from the park-n-pedal. I drive down the hill and about 10 minutes out I realize I did not grab any gloves...this is not going to be a fun ride...then it dawns on me that there might be a bigger problem, and I turn around and see that there is no bike in the back of my car! Too late to turn around, I kept driving and got to work early in all my bike gear. The studded tire bike bike was safe and cozy back on my repair stand. I missed a pretty miserable ride, tons of big cold puddles. 

Dutchman, thanks for the warning on the tires, I try to ride those only on the "nice" days, but conditions can be unpredictable. One thing that helps the traction somewhat on my route is all the dirt from sanding that gets kicked up by cars and lands on the fresh ice on the edge. Not great to breathe, but adds a little grip.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

That sounds like something I'd do. 

It dried up enough here that I'm switching back to my 29er today. I'm looking forward to a little less umph to get to work.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Crazy 8s said:


> My 10 mile ride to work today was very nice! Was cool and overcast and dry...great for riding! It started raining while at work and continued until I got off, so I bummed a ride from a friend. I feel kind of guilty that I didn't ride home in the rain...but not very guilty. There were wrecks everywhere. It rains so infrequently in Phoenix that people think it is the end of the world and they lose their freakin minds!


Lose the guilt!  I carpooled 3 out of 4 legs of my commute so far this week. The rain was supposed to stop last night so I rode...in the rain. Speaking of sand on the shoulders, my mouth was full of grit by the end of the ride. I had an un-fendered bike and it was messy. I was covered in spin-drift from head to toe and had to stand by the washing machine and change so it wouldn't flake off all over the house.

Oh, and I also tried out my new commuter brain bucket. I had cracked my old one in the OTB/stick in the fender incident. I got a Bontrager Solstice MIPS helmet. I like it. It was cheap (Under $50) and it fits better than my old Bell ever did right out of the box. The Niterider helmet mount worked with the vents and I was able to zip-tie a tail light to the back.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

MTBX, some days are just not for commuting.

Crazy 8s, I went to college at Arizona State and I remember those rare rainy days. Don't blame you for not riding!

Nice looking helmet bedwards. I'll have to check the brand out...I need a new helmet too.

Rode the long way home last night. It was a nice evening and I just felt like riding. My legs are a little tired today as a result, but it's another nice day, so I may feel the urge to extend my commute again tonight.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx apparently it was one of those days... I once noticed in the morning that I had a flat and I was kinda in a hurry. So I ran to the bus and rode on the bus to work in bikegear and with my pannier, changed just as I normally do at work. As you see, it can happen to everyone  :lol: and for the tires, they seem good to ride straight over frozen puddles but I slipped immediately that one time I made a turn on one. I think except spikes nothing would have done it there and no matter how good they are, they aint got spikes.

It looks like the trend is going towards new helmets. Actually I am looking for one too, but I think I will just take the same model in neon yellow instead of black. Bedwards, your new helmet looks good too though, very tempting. 

Foggy today. Couldnt wear my glasses and drizzle on the way home too, but I made a slightly longer route nevertheless.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I was tight on time so did not ride to and from the Y. Coming out of the Y I entered the left turn lane. We had the whole cascade of lights to wait through, then came the twin Green Left Turn arrows. The motorist ahead sat there. I waited 5 seconds and tapped the horn lightly. Nada. so in three more seconds I tapped the horn not so lightly. Nada. in three more seconds, I laid on the horn for 15 seconds before she entered the intersection then she all but stopped when the arrows went yellow. She then hung in the left lane of the divided road where you are to stay right unless passing or turning left at the next intersection at 10 mph under the speed limit. So I passed on the right (legal here), and then in a mile got into the left lane and all lights were red and she completely blew a long standing red light! Glad I was not near here on a bike! Wished I'd gotten her plate.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Wow, BrianMc, that is terrifying! These are the drivers I have nightmares about. It used to be they were quite old, I was nearly mowed down on my tandem by the little old lady coming out of church, or intoxicated. More and more, phones, smart phones are the cause. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow brian sounds bad. We can be as careful as we can be, but you cant fix stupid. Glad you came out unharmed with your car.

Another foggy and grey day here. Some rain on the way home. At least tomorrow it will be dry, and maybe saturdaymorning even some sun. I'll take it


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sorry to hear Brian!

Foggy here too, but now it's burned off and it's a beautiful sunny day. Was cold (near freezing) on the ride in, should warm up to close to 50F/10C for the ride home and I may need to take the long way home again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, I'd say this helmet is the best fitting helmet I have had in this price range. I've probably had 6-8 helmets in my life and this one is nice. They have $300 helmets on the same Bontrager site but I can't figure out how they could be better. 

You know, it wouldn't have been so bad that I got the flat on the way home if I hadn't been in the middle of the thought that I should change the tires to gatorskins and tubes with sealant in them. But screw it, I fixed the flat and got going again. Only to have a second flat 1/4 mile down the road. I think it was a new flat and not a re-flat from the same debris because the hole was much bigger and the casing was nicked. But I can't say for sure because it was dark and my hands were numb.

I swapped the back out for a gatorskin last night and will do the front tonight or over the weekend. That tire/rim combination is perhaps the tightest fit I have ever seen.

No flats this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards good to hear that you like the new helmet. Sorry for your flats, where was this thread saying that everything happens twice? 

Rides were good today. Grey and dull, but dry and light winds. Had the chance to leave work at 1pm and took the chance to go on a short overnighter. Packed up the fatty, rode it on a gravelroad along the river for 1hr37m and I am now in my tent at 9.30pm. It was a boring ride overhere, pitchblack and only the lightbeam ahead of me. Should have taken earbuds...never thought of it before. Will get visitors for brunch tomorrow and plan to head home around noon. Total riding time today almost 3 hrs. 

Wish you all a nice weekend!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm pretty sure they happen in 3s. Now I just have to wait for the third. 

No flat today, FAT today. I got to ride in the woods with my friends.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey to me the honour to open the new week?

Nice friend bedwards. I saw some roe deers on the way home of my fattie overnighter saturday, but not today. Grey and foggy today, at least I rode into the daylight on the way in. On the way home it was dark and foggy and I always wonder how still everything becomes. Almost hit a pedestrian, he was walking in dark clothes in the dark on an unlit path under trees. Didnt see him until he flew by in my lightbeam.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The honor is all yours! Good job on not hitting the ninja pedestrian. 

Not too much to report. The roads were a little shiny with black ice in spots. It rained all day yesterday and half the night. I was ready to take the studded bike but things had dried enough that I could do it on my road bike. 

3 day week for me, woo hoo!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yikes dutchman, glad there was no crash with the ped! 

We got 3-4" of mix and snow Sunday, but the temp was forecast to be around or over freezing, so I managed fine on the gravel bike with the winter Contis; some slush and a little ice, but the worst of it was avoidable. Messy though. About ready to go home, 32F but I export more melted off the road shoulders today.

I am off Thursday and Friday also! Two wild turkeys in the yard Saturday, enjoying the fallen birdseed.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I rode in today for the first time in a week. It was foggy grey and slow. It is hard to ride fast when you can't see well. I did get to ride in with my new Kitsbow jacket that came over with friends from the US. I need to adjust my layers with the new jacket, I sweated through my wool layers under. But that is a good problem to have. Also no wind rash on my stomach and chest so it did the job I bought it for. No pictures of the ride but here is one of a sunset I saw walking the dog Sunday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A little excitement on the way home. My wife suggested I take the long way home yesterday, since it's been so soggy out and we finally had a nice day. Of course, I took her up on that offer. 

I was pedaling along on a nice "country" road when some older dude pulls along side of me and yells a bunch of crap out his window. He continued to yell and flip me the bird as he pulled back into the lane in front of me. For better or worse, I gave him the double middle finger and yelled back like what the heck, dude. The dude then swerved into a driveway and stopped to wait for me. I wasn't really in the mood to escalate the situation any more, so I moved out of reach of his door and passed him. After calling me a pu$$y for not stopping, he continued to berate me until he passed me again, flipped me the bird, and drove out of site. What a douche.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I like your story S0ckeyeus. If he happens to turn up dead in a few days I'm sure it won't come back to you because somebody that douchey must have plenty of enemies. I love it when they pull over and yell "You want to start something!!". "Well, no sir, not really. You are obviously an enormous ass and I don't think anything good would come of it. "

I swear it takes 20% more effort when it gets cold. It seemed like I had to keep the power to the bike on the way home last night just to keep it rolling. I ended up with a 18.4MPH ride but that effort in the summer would have been over 20.

So I took to the trails this morning. There are so many other reasons I am slower on trails that the difference in temperature and clothing doesn't matter as much.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...
> 
> I swear it takes 20% more effort when it gets cold. It seemed like I had to keep the power to the bike on the way home last night just to keep it rolling. I ended up with a 18.4MPH ride but that effort in the summer would have been over 20.
> ...


This is 100% correct. I had the exact same experience today. But I rode my bike and that is worth something.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I agree too, I have the same average as bedwards at the moment and in summer it is usually 21.x , but in kph  with the cx bike on fast tires it is usually just 2kph more...

As usual, grey and dull here. On the way home there was a terrible oil/gasoline smell from the harbour. I know it happens sometimes when the wind is from the east, but today was really bad. Luckily I was through in 5 minutes so it was apparently a small blast from somewhere. And again I almost hit a pedestrian. I noticed two people in front of me with hi-viz vests on and wanted to overtake them.suddenly another one came into my lightbeam, wearing black only. I gently told them I saw only 2 and that it would be better if each one would wear a hiviz vest. They cost next to nothing and add so much.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You need a "cow catcher" on that bike. Either that or better lights. Niterider has their micro series up to 850 lumens. Higher than the original larger version that was only 600. $52 for a headlight and a taillight.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Almost hit a pedestrian, he was walking in dark clothes in the dark on an unlit path under trees. Didnt see him until he flew by in my lightbeam.


I get guys doing this who then make a show of covering there eyes and cursing at how bright my headlight is. I guess I'm supposed to watch out for them with....night vision goggles?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cow catcher haha I like that idea :lol: actually I just would need to turn the front light upwards a little. It is a 80lux light that has a very sharp beam cut off to avoid other being blinded by the light. But I could take a second light that I turn on only when I need it....and when it is a battery light with a quickmount I could use it on my other bikes too.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Just a little sloppy out today.



















Have a great weekend all. And happy thanksgiving to my American brothers. No holiday for me this year Germany doesn't celebrate that one.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I thought already that there was a holiday or something, since it was so quiet here.

So I rode yesterday and today, grey, windy and frequent drizzle. Yesterday morning I encountered a lady who was nordic walking with hiking poles and she had a headlamp on. So I did see her early enough and was able to slow down and to move out of te way. I greeted her but when I passed her I recognized it was the grumpy lady that never looks or greet, and I simply let her be on her own. I still like her for having the headlamp.

Jerem, that is quite like the way my bike looks too, but I have fenders 

I wish everyone a nice long weekend, happy thanksgiving and goodluck with black friday bargain hunting 

Question for next week: who got what?


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

It was chilly this morning when I left -2C unfortunately not cold enough yet for long enough to dry up the mud. So my freshly cleaned bike is caked in mud again. Plus I need to figure out how to replace the shift cable on my SRAM Brifters. Oh and by the way this weekend I switched back to the drop bars on the Fargo. I just could never get comfortable with the Jones bars. I put those and the new SLX brakes on my single speed el mariachi. Someday down the road I may switch to a GRX system on the Fargo because I’m really not a fan of the SRAM shifters, brakes, or hoods. So pretty much the whole thing.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

An ugly one. Two inches of snow over 3/4 inch of granular ice pellets from yesterday. 

A slog made more difficult by ham-fisted city road salting-without-plowing, and a freehub that didn't want to engage... a problem that seems totally unrelated to the weather.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm looking to get a solid week of bike commuting in. I don't know that I had a full week all November. It's possible I drove to work more in November than the rest of the year combined. I'm hoping to correct that for December, even though I'll miss a good chunk of it due to vacation time.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'm wondering when my next bike commute will be. It was supposed to snow a lot today but it didn't really snow at all...could have rode fine. But now it is supposed to snow a lot tomorrow. Wednesday probably. 

Yesterday was new bike day for RollingRunner. I got her a Scott Genius 920 "for Christmas". I wanted to get something to put under the tree but decided it would be better to get her input on the selection. Now she has a nicer mountain bike than me.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Zoinks. That bike is like ten Christmases! Hope y'all have fun shredding with it. 

No commute today. First day it hasn't rained in four days so I should've taken, but it's dark when I leave work now and walking draws out my commute. Of course I could always just take a longer route in...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, go big or go home. We don't waste time with all the little presents under the tree. I will say that I layered up a bunch of deals on a 2019 model and got it for about 1/2 retail which just made it an expensive bike and not a really expensive bike.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Well done Bedwards! About 3" of snow when I left this morning. Trouble getting out the door this morning with shoveling, feeding the birds (now that the bears are gone), snowshoeing with the dog, snowy roads etc. So I drove further and had a 4.3 mile bikecommute. Still a little late because the half of the new bike path was unplowed and icy underneath. Inexplicably, the second half was all plowed. Now if I can only remember on my ride home that I parked closer, not in my usual park-n-pedal.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hard to see the new bike in the pic your posted, bedwards, but it appears that RollingRunner is already enjoying the gift. Well done!

I took last week off, both from work and from riding. A much needed break and I feel really refreshed today. Managed to get a couple of good hikes in, otherwise friends, family and food.

Also, since it's now December, having a look at my yearly goal. I'm at 5539 miles as of this morning. Need to keep at it the rest of the month to make sure I hit my 6000 mile goal for the year.

Easy commute today, dry, mid 40's. Rain later this week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa bedwards that is a nice present for sure! A pic with the bike in the foreground would have been nice too you know 

Jeremy maybe the broomstick bar wasnt comfy because the fargo is made for dropbars? Do you know that those shimano brifters also have a movable brake lever to shift? On my tiagra ones I have to be careful, when I want to brake the lever sometimes moves inward because they slip away from my fingers. I actually decided that my next dropbar bike will have sram brifters....

Woodway what happens if you dont make your goal of 6tm ? :yikes:
Well you guys have snow already? Temps are still hovering above freezing here, as usual with grey and foggy or drizzle. This evening was a bit better so I took a longer way home and added 20 minutes extra to the ride home. I was rewarded with a nice sunset on the way home.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> 
> Jeremy maybe the broomstick bar wasnt comfy because the fargo is made for dropbars? Do you know that those shimano brifters also have a movable brake lever to shift? On my tiagra ones I have to be careful, when I want to brake the lever sometimes moves inward because they slip away from my fingers. I actually decided that my next dropbar bike will have sram brifters....


Yeah I am sure that is correct. I thought it would work because I had seen so many others to it. I had hoped it would help with the hand and wrist pain I was having with the drops. It did help with that but now I'm having rear end issues, because the flats shifted too much weight onto my butt I guess. So I'm looking for a good solution to make my hoods/drop bars more comfortable. I bought some good lizard skin bar tape but am open to suggestions to make this thing not give me dead hands on my 3 hour commute days. Thanks for any suggestions.

Bedward I don't know that bike so now I have bike research to do. Thank you for giving me that gift.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I know that hand issue very well. I have the same dropbar on my touring and cx bike, and still the cx bike is not as comfy. I can not ride it without padded gloves. 

On both touring and cx bike I have a double layer of cinelli gel tape, so that brings a lot already. You could try to put a gel pad underneath it in addition, or maybe try another bar. Or put a piece of bartape under the rubber hood to make it rounder and softer.

Me and the woodchipper never became friends either. I had tektro rl520 levers on them and never could align the brakehoods with the top of the bars. My hands were lying on the bar only on the sides and it caused pressure points. 

I dont know the sram brifters except for a short testride. They felt good but that doesnt say anything.

Maybe an mtb bar is the right thing for you, but a jones bar is very much bent backwards. Maybe a bar with less backsweep combined with a longer stem would be sufficient too?

In the end, it will come down to experimenting. Maybe another dropbar would help, but usually that turns ou costy..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeremy_burke said:


> Plus I need to figure out how to replace the shift cable on my SRAM Brifters.


 Undoubtedly under a small plastic cover with the smallest screw in the world holding it in place, which you will drop. At least that's the way I do it. :madman: Is it SRAM doubletap? I'm not a fan either. The doubletap is unforgiving if the drivetrain isn't perfect because you can't give it that extra little push to get it to a bigger gear.

Yeah, yeah yeah, we should have taken a better picture. Here is a head on picture of our "twin" bikes. Except my version of it is 3 years older, aluminum, has wider tires and has the old style suspension linkage. But it is still a great bike.






I'll work on a side view.

But maybe not soon. We re getting dumped on with snow. I totally could have rode yesterday but not today and probably not tomorrow. I'm not sure I have it in me to pack down 4-5 miles of fresh snow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway what happens if you dont make your goal of 6tm ? :yikes:


Not make my goal? How can you ask such a question? I mean life as we all know it will end horribly. This is serious stuff... 



bedwards1000 said:


> Undoubtedly under a small plastic cover with the smallest screw in the world holding it in place, which you will drop. At least that's the way I do it. :madman: Is it SRAM doubletap? I'm not a fan either. The doubletap is unforgiving if the drivetrain isn't perfect because you can't give it that extra little push to get it to a bigger gear.


I ride SRAM Doubletaps and have for years. Love em. I have Shimano Brifters on my gravel bike. Every time I ride that bike I am reminded of how much better I like the doubletap system. As far as changing the cables, pretty simple - the brake cable is exposed when you pull on the brake lever a bit. Shift cable comes in from the side, you need to pull the rubber hood back to get at it and you need to shift all the way out into the highest gear setting. Make sure your new cables (especially the shift cable) has brazed ends otherwise it can be a little tricky to feed through.

Light rain this morning but warm at 50F/10C. Something was up on my path to work. I crossed the freeway on a bridge and came upon all kinds of flashing lights when I came down the other side. A police officer stopped me and said "you cannot go that way". He declined to elaborate on what was happening down there. When I pointed out I was not going to ride down the road but was going to peel off to the right about a block down onto a paved trail that paralleled the freeway (and goes in a different direction), he let me go.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:lol: woodway that is a good summary.

Nice pic bedwards. Riding it is even better than photographing it 

I had a customer meetingg late in the afternoon and so I went later to work and rode the entire way in in daylight already. On the way home it was completely dark and about halfway a coworker caught up from behind and we rode the rest together. We compared lights along the way by turning them off one by one etc. All in all the usual stuff that normal people do.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Had a good ride today, weather was nice!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Met an "avid biker" on the way home at the pizza place. She said she would like to bike in winter but was concerned about being cold. I suggested going in 10 degree increments. Try it at 10 degrees colder than you normally ride; if al is good, try 10 degrees colder, adjusting clothing based on first try. If too cold, try again with another or warmer layer. Also, ears, toes, and fingers will need the most attention. And no, you do not need a fatbike to bike (on the road) in winter. A nice chat, I think she might actually try it. Rides were good, roads are clearing up after 2 days of snow. Teens this morning, closer to freezing this evening.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The slow+miserable slush trail from yesterday afternoon froze up hard overnight and was fast rolling this morning.

With the temp hovering around freezing, I'm just hoping the sun _doesn't_ come out today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice recruiting work MTBX. Very sensible advice.

Studded tired ghettocruiser?

Rained like mad here on the ride home last night, but dry this morning. Temps in mid 40's, around 7C. Uneventful ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Met an "avid biker" on the way home at the pizza place. She said she would like to bike in winter but was concerned about being cold. I suggested going in 10 degree increments. Try it at 10 degrees colder than you normally ride; if al is good, try 10 degrees colder, adjusting clothing based on first try. If too cold, try again with another or warmer layer. Also, ears, toes, and fingers will need the most attention. And no, you do not need a fatbike to bike (on the road) in winter. A nice chat, I think she might actually try it. Rides were good, roads are clearing up after 2 days of snow. Teens this morning, closer to freezing this evening.


I went in 10 degree increments this morning. "Alexa" said it was 24F when I left but it was about 14F when I got to work. Does that count? Of course that was 1 hour and 40 minutes later because I could only go 3MPH breaking the new trail for a lot of the trail portion of the ride.

Yeah, ghettocruiser, I'm not even sure what temps I am hoping for. We're officially between all good seasons here. Junky roads, unpacked snow covered trails, not enough snow to ski or snowshoe, too much snow to bike or skate. No clear ice to skate.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice work mtbx! Ghettocruiser that sounds pretty bad, wasnt it slippery? Bedwards the lake is freezing soon I guess? I remember you said it usually freezes around christmas?

Nice rides today. It was freezing this morning, just -2 C but enough to give everything a nice white twinkling coating and I rode in with a nice sunrise in my back. Ride home was uneventful and in the dark as usual. I just have to avoid the unpaved section for now unless it is frozen solid. The mud is getting too sticky and this morning I had to clean my rear fender again because it was clogged.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The lake freezes when it freezes. Sometimes it is in January. I thought it might freeze 2 weeks ago in November but it was too windy. I had my hopes that it would "catch" just after this last storm but the weather isn't cooperating. 

But I am ready. This commuting around the lake with studded tires is too exhausting.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well good luck for you then bedwards! 

I just see that it is supposed to rain 19hrs straight tomorrow. Game on


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I've committed to the studded tires insomuch as the non-studded wheelset has a busted freehub, and the only other option is my road bike, which is probably a really bad idea.

Since I'm dragging those tires around, I might as well have ice, or at least hard-packed snow. The last 5km of my ride last night was into the wind on completely dry pavement, and I had forgotten how mind-numbingly slow the low pressure studs seem under these conditions.

Fortunately (?), we're back to snow-covered roads this morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

ghettocruiser said:


> I had forgotten how mind-numbingly slow the low pressure studs seem under these conditions.


I've only ridden on studded tires once, a friend in central Washington let me try his bike out. All I can say is much respect for you, bedwards, mtbx and all others who ride on those things. I think I would seriously consider pedal-assist if I had to ride studded tires every day 

Good luck with the rain ride Dutchman! Rule #9 rules!

No rain here today, another low 40's/5C ride and dry roads. Pretty mellow stuff.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I hear you! I road the studded fatbike tires over 12 miles of road last night because the trails were so much of an effort. I didn't do the studs any favors. It was so much of a slog both ways that I skipped the bike commute today. This was one of the very few days that I have skipped commuting by bike essentially because I didn't' want to. I am ashamed. TGIF.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

ghettocruiser said:


> I've committed to the studded tires insomuch as the non-studded wheelset has a busted freehub, and the only other option is my road bike, which is probably a really bad idea.
> 
> Since I'm dragging those tires around, I might as well have ice, or at least hard-packed snow. The last 5km of my ride last night was into the wind on completely dry pavement, and I had forgotten how mind-numbingly slow the low pressure studs seem under these conditions.
> 
> Fortunately (?), we're back to snow-covered roads this morning.


I just finished mounting my studded tires on my fat bike and I'm pretty sure I've doomed SE Michigan to a winter of 35 degrees, lots of rain, and no snow.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway but anyone here deserves respect I have to say. Some riding in snow already, some long distances, some with lots of elevation. And I still think you beat me in riding in the rain :thumbsup:

That said, I did have rain or drizzle on both rides. And I did make my detour to the farmers market to get my favourite cheese, which was about 40 minutes against a 15kt headwind and rain. The last 30min. were with a tailwind so relatively nice. The worst was that the wind blew waterdrops in my eye that dripped off the visor of my helmet. Total riding time was 1h45m today, all in rain and wind. How good can a weekend start?!  :arf:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Here is a vid of this afternoon, with seasickness included. It is 1 minute long but when you look 2 seconds you have seen it all. As usual it does not really show drizzle and wind but I think you can imagine.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Very cold by our standards this morning -6C at the start dropping to -10C in The Valley a long the river. But it was clear and pretty. Only -2C on the return trip and very pretty with the frost on the ground. I hope you all have good rides home and a great weekend.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Some dude with a bike rack on the back of his vehicle gave me the "rock on" sign out the window after I hammered up one of the hills on my commute. It was nice to get a positive gesture instead of an obscene one, for once. Drivers were a bit jerky this week, but such is life in the suburbs.

I tried to drive yesterday morning. The radar looked bad, and the temps were in the miserable-in-the-rain range. When I went out to the car though it didn't seem as bad as the radar indicated. As fortune would have it, the battery was dead and the car wouldn't start. I quickly got changed and biked to work instead. I arrived a bit late, but at least I got the ride in.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey to me the honour to start this week? Not much to say actually, 5C and wet roads as usual but no rain during the rides. 

Cant ride tomorrow. I "have" to go to the christmas market in town with coworkers and drink glühwein. Yuck.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Started the week with a poopy diaper that leaked out...and kept coming. Suffice it to say, I was running a bit behind and had to drive. I guess it's OK though because it's raining now, and it doesn't look to be letting up in the next 3 hours. Glad I replaced my car battery over the weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The bike seat always makes my poopy diaper leak. But that wasn't the problem today. It was just raining and I'm not feeling that badass. Maybe tomorrow, the rain is supposed to let up and it is going to stay warm so it won't freeze. 

Last week was my worst week of the year. One riding day.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Hope things improve for you two! I worked 3/4 time from home today due to a cold, I didn't feel that bad but our open office makes me quicker to stay home on the rare occasion that I get sick. It was a good day to be home as the warm up and rain led to lots of snow sliding off the roof and I was able to shovel it off my deck. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer (40s F) but drier. Very sad as we had a good foot of dry snow in place until today. A short warm-up and re-freeze is good for fatbiking trails, but this may be too severe, we are losing a lot of snow. Not sure why I bothered to clean up 2 commuter bikes over the weekend, they are sure to get filthy if I ride in tomorrow. Oh well, clean and lube when you can! Back below freezing tomorrow night until Saturday when more rain is forecast. Studded up the fatbike over the weekend to prepare for the cra**y conditions also.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey MTXB, yup, our snow is pretty much gone. I busted out the shorts again it was so warm today. The temps were probably 48F at the top of hills and 35F in the cold fog at the bottoms where the snow was disappearing fast. We've got this one very warm day, then 3 cold days and then back to warm days. 52F today down to 16F Thursday morning.

Glad to be back on the bike.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> The bike seat always makes my poopy diaper leak. But that wasn't the problem today. It was just raining and I'm not feeling that badass. Maybe tomorrow, the rain is supposed to let up and it is going to stay warm so it won't freeze.
> 
> Last week was my worst week of the year. One riding day.


Last week I didn't ride at all. First week with more driving to work than riding to work since August. I was pretty sick with a cold and ended the week with the stomach flu.

Back to it this week. Drive Monday to bring home contaminated water bottle and coffee mugs, but rode today. It was in the 20s (f) burrrr.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Those 40'sF felt nice yesterday morning, but similar to bedwards' forecast it is back down to 16F this morning. Only 1 other bike at the rack yesterday, someone who lives in town. The ride was nice as the meltdown reclaimed some of the bike lanes and shoulders that had been snow/ice covered. Terry had some good sales over Thanksgiving; I had to exchange a pair of knickers and I have to say their customer service people are insanely upbeat, especially since I called 15 minutes before closing. Very good to deal with should anyone need advice on sizing etc. Mostly "womens" stuff although I think they have branched out at least in the saddle department.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I might have to look into either rejuvenating my current winter gear or replacing some of it. It feels like I've lost some wind resistance. Or maybe it's just because my weekend ride was in the upper 50s and now the temps are in the 20s. I think my gloves, in particular, have lost some of their effectiveness, which I guess is normal after years and years of use.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> The bike seat always makes my poopy diaper leak.


LOL. I guess I should have indicated that it was my 4 month old's diaper. I have been potty trained and without an accident for like 2 years.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I guessed immediately it was a kid's diaper 

Sockeyeus I am not sure if something can loose it windproofness? Maybe the lining got thinner over time, I have had the same thing with some fleecelined bibs that didnt keep me warm anymore after years.

Not much to report here, still the same weather. Around 5C, grey, cloudy, rainy, everything is soaked.

There is a lot of traffic on my route currently. There is a big construction site on a major road in the area and a lot of people make a detour along my route to avoid the traffic jam over there. At least I have a separated mup so it is annoying at times but at least I am still safe.

While stopping for to a red light I noticed another bike commuter whose bike looked interesting. I asked if it was titanium but it appeared to be brushed steel. I didnt get it at first but he told me it was a rennstahl with an 18 gear pinion gear hub, that is mounted in the frame instead of in the rear wheel. That bike costs almost 5k€!! So we rode together a few minutes and talked about it. It seemed to me that he liked it to have found another normal guy that understands him, instead of calling him a bikefreak. It was this bike but in brushed silver instead of black:
853 Reiserad Pinion â€" RENNSTAHL

:drool:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sockeyeus I am not sure if something can loose it windproofness? Maybe the lining got thinner over time, I have had the same thing with some fleecelined bibs that didnt keep me warm anymore after years.


My fleece gloves are the worst. I was thinking maybe they had some sort of coating to assist with wind and water resistance. Maybe not.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sockeyeus I am not sure if something can loose it windproofness? Maybe the lining got thinner over time, I have had the same thing with some fleecelined bibs that didnt keep me warm anymore after years.
> :drool:


 Of course it can. My pack looks normal but if you backlight it you can see that it is threadbare in a lot of spots. You would never see it if it was lined. Padding gets matted down and looses its loft too. Of course I also like sockeye's theory that 20F feels a lot colder after a few days in the 50s.














My drivetrain sounded like a cement mixer this morning after last nights drizzly ride home. I don't think I have ever seem my bike so caked in sand and salt. The forks and lower frame were entirely encrusted. At least the frame won't corrode.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> While stopping for to a red light I noticed another bike commuter whose bike looked interesting. I asked if it was titanium but it appeared to be brushed steel. I didnt get it at first but he told me it was a rennstahl with an 18 gear pinion gear hub, that is mounted in the frame instead of in the rear wheel. That bike costs almost 5k€!! So we rode together a few minutes and talked about it. It seemed to me that he liked it to have found another normal guy that understands him, instead of calling him a bikefreak. It was this bike but in brushed silver instead of black:
> 853 Reiserad Pinion â€" RENNSTAHL
> 
> :drool:


Wow, what a machine. Those drive trains have always fascinated me. I'd be totally interested in riding one.

No commuting really this week. My geared bike needs a new bottom bracket again and I just don't feel like taking the SS MTB on a commute, though I did almost 20 miles of trail riding last Saturday. That's where the bike shines. Almost wondering if it's too much of a unitasker now that I just wrote that out loud.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Never hear of a Rennstahl, looks very interesting but maybe a little complicated in that black box system.

Vermont is really prone to these nasty short whiteout snow squalls, but I think this is the first warning I have seen for a 45 minute snow event. Thankfully I am already home...
Barre, VT
29 Barre Station | Change
Current Station
Location: Barre, , VT
Nearby Weather Stations

Active Weather Alerts
Snow Squall Warning
Issued: 8:03 PM Dec. 11, 2019 – National Weather Service

...A SNOW SQUALL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 845 PM EST FOR EAST
CENTRAL ESSEX...LAMOILLE...CENTRAL ORLEANS...NORTHWESTERN ADDISON...
SOUTHERN CHITTENDEN AND NORTHWESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTIES...

At 802 PM EST, a dangerous snow squall was located along a line
extending from near South Newport to Underhill Center to near
Elizabethtown, moving southeast at 25 mph.

HAZARD...Visibility of less than one quarter mile in heavy snow and
blowing snow. Wind gusts in excess of 35 mph.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Dangerous life-threatening travel.

* This includes the following highways...
Interstate 89 between mile markers 64 and 81.
Interstate 91 between mile markers 157 and 172.

Locations impacted include...
Newport City, Vergennes, Morrisville, Westport, Orleans, Derby
Center, Johnson Village, Newport Town, Monkton Ridge, Monkton,
Albany, Monkton Boro, Hyde Park, Brownington Village, Irasburg,
Hinesburg, St. George, Morrisville Village, Newport Center and
Johnson.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Slow Down! Rapid changes in visibility and road conditions are
expected with this dangerous snow squall. Be alert for sudden
whiteout conditions.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

My commute home tonight was dark, cold, long and lonely. Perfect! My new Unit winter commuter with Nicotine studs powers through the winter **** like no bike I have ever owned. 

It takes me close to an hour to get home each night. I love grinding through the snow and thinking about whatever is on my mind. It's the most peaceful part of every day for me. Biking has saved me from almost certain insanity.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I guessed immediately it was a kid's diaper
> 
> Sockeyeus I am not sure if something can loose it windproofness? Maybe the lining got thinner over time, I have had the same thing with some fleecelined bibs that didnt keep me warm anymore after years.
> 
> ...


Here's one of their other bikes in Reynolds 953 stainless. Maybe the one you saw was a 953 version.









931 MTB Fat Pinion â€" RENNSTAHL

double drool!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The Rennstahl doesn't immediately make me drool. To me it looks a little clunky.

I left work last night and I though it was 33F. I got home and it said it was 22F. It felt like 11F.

I had to drive today because I needed a car even though I was hoping to get out on the newly bare and now frozen trails. Maybe tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa bedwards that backpack indeed looks perforated when you put a light in.

Thanks chazpat that is indeed the bike. Yes it might look clunky with the gearbox, barends and front light. It also has a usb charger in the steerer tube, that is why there is the little stub on the steerer topcap. 

Mtbmike, you bought a brandnew bike for winter commuting?

Mtbx I had to look up what a squall is, that indeed looks treacherous. Is it better now?

This morning was grey and cloudy, but it was calm and dry, so it was nice. Drizzle again on the way home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

RE: The Rennstahl - I can't say that I'm crazy about the overall bike, but the drivetrain is kinda cool. I'm always a sucker for different approaches to bicycle drivetrains.

Last night going home was kind of a rough one. Front tire flatted and I could not find what caused the flat. Finally, with my hands getting ever colder and a light rain falling from the sky, I gave up and put a new tube in. Made it about two miles and then felt the front tire getting soft. Knowing that I was not going to figure out what caused the flat, I opted not to put my 2nd spare tube in, pumped up the tire and rode like hell until the tire got too soft to ride again. Lather, rinse, repeat - two more times.

When I got home, I pulled the tire off the rim, turned it inside out and found a very, very small sliver of glass barely poking through the lining. From the outside I could hardly see where it went into the tire. Took a bit of doing to get the glass out of the tire!

Dry ride this morning - first one this week. Have a good weekend all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That pssssssssssssssssssssucks. Sounds like my ride a few weeks ago but I fixed my tire with a cell phone boot. It also prompted me to (re)fill my tubes with stans. Eventually there won't be any room left for air to leak out. I'd rather be slow than stranded.

But today I took the mountain bike. Last week we had too much snow for an enjoyable ride. Today nutin'. I didn't know what to expect so I rode the skinny studded bike. I think I tore 1/2 dozen studs out of it on rocks. Temps around 20 and a lovely morning.






​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hm doesnt sound nice about your flat woodway. Glad you made it without walking too far.

Bedwards working already on the new calender? 

Nice ride in this morning. Sunrise in the east, full moon in the west and a good tailwind. Headwind on the way home but didnt care. 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Bedwards, WTF is a cell phone boot, calling for help, lol? 
Woodway, that is a rough ride, a lot of my commute is on a bus line, albeit only 30 minute intervals, but if it is cold and I flat, I might just wait for the bus.
Good rides today despite the winter weather advisory for freezing rain 2pm on (that squall was short-lived Dutchman). There was snow and small hail and sleet but the road surface remained OK by the travel lane. I did decide I would rather get home sooner than later and opted for frozen flatbread instead of a real pizza slice downtown by work.
Yesterdau a.m. I had a meeting downtown and realized I had 1 bike lock a mile uphill at the office and the other conveniently a couple blocks away outside the pizza place where I had left it. The best laid plans...I could not get the key all the way into the lock, either a Kryptonite security SNAFU or maybe frozen from recent rain. Anyway I gave up and let the bike unlocked in a rack for almost 3 hours. It was fine! Most people don't give a bike a second look when it is 16F!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Bedwards, WTF is a cell phone boot, calling for help, lol?


Yup, you boot up the cell phone and make a call. 

You keep locks scattered about town? I guess that saves you from carrying them.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Lol, dang didn't catch that about the cell phone boot...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> You keep locks scattered about town? I guess that saves you from carrying them.


Doesn't everybody? I have a heavy one I usually leave at work but sometimes it ends up downtown when I stop for a slice and a beer. I have a light one I usually carry around for unanticipated stops, but I had left it at work that day. Yesterday it rained all day, so when going through Montpelier I stopped to try the lock. It was unfrozen and I brought it home to dry out and maybe lube.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I know at work there are some people that do that too but where I park it always so cramped full that I can not leave it there without 3 bikes being in the way the next morning. So I have to haul my 1kg u-lock in the pannier.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My driveway has been a bit icy....


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I leave my heavy U-Lock in the bike room at work and keep a lightweight cable lock in my pannier for the once-in-a-while emergency stop. The cable won't stop anyone who wants my bike, but is good for foiling the convenience grab...

Studs for sure on that driveway, MTBX.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

JANUARY 11 - when the sunrise finally starts getting earlier again here (sunrise will be at 7:24am). So dark so long! https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Dang you all are hardcore!

I just commuted to work last Friday for the first time in over a year, I think I'll get back into it again, starting with every Friday. I rode almost every day for a couple years and really got burned out on it. Happy to see a few KOMs I had are still there hehe! 

Safe riding y'all!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I've now got 9.5 km of dry pavement on the way in, and 500 m of grey ice, and the ice is at the one location with no decent detours.

That was a lot of grinding on the studded tires this morning for not a lot of use.

At this point I'm hoping for either a complete melt or more snow. Neither is in the forecast.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back Eugene!

Ghettocruiser, we have mostly the complete melt right now but that may change tomorrow. I'm waiting for the lake to freeze for the same reason. The trek to the trails is a grind.



mtbxplorer said:


> JANUARY 11 - when the sunrise finally starts getting earlier again here (sunrise will be at 7:24am). So dark so long! https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/


MTXB, you have to work on your positive attitude. Even though the shortest day of the year isn't here yet the sunset is already getting later!!! How was that? Did I sound convincing? It always seems like the shortest day of the year would be the day with the latest sunrise and earliest sunset but they are a little asymmetric. I much prefer dark mornings with increasing lightness.

Same spot, different morning, same time, different bike:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

mtbxplorer said:


> JANUARY 11 - when the sunrise finally starts getting earlier again here (sunrise will be at 7:24am). So dark so long! https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/


Our sunrise starts getting later after January 2 when the sun rises at 7:57am. Whew.

Welcome back Eugene!

Still a nice pic bedwards, even without the sun peeking out...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Eugene welcome back from me too!

Ghettocruiser, you could ride a roadbike, walk the icy bit and still be faster 

This morning a roe deer ran in front of me for 200meters. On the left were fences, on the right a wide ditch. The thing was, that deer was pretty close to the houses and the street I live in. We had lots of wind over the weekend so there were some branches on my way and even a fallen tree, that was moved off the road already. The ride home was uneventful. 

I dont know exactly about sunrise and sunset, must be quite similar to woodway, shortest day will be saturday with 7h27min, which is the same every year. Ive been looking at that site for years now  thanks bedwards for posting it!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ghettocruiser, you could ride a roadbike, walk the icy bit and still be faster


I could. But I wouldn't. Instead, I'd try to ride the ice on my road bike and crash.

_I've been doing this long enough to know how stupid I am._


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Ha Ha Ha, that response actually made me smile at work...on a Monday even! That's how I would do it too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, and on the sunrise/sunset thing, It was interesting to see that the sun's angle at NOON today is at 23 degrees. On June 21 it is at 23 degrees at 7:22AM


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I dont know exactly about sunrise and sunset, must be quite similar to woodway, shortest day will be saturday with 7h27min, which is the same every year. Ive been looking at that site for years now  thanks bedwards for posting it!


Your a little further North than me, Dutchman. Saturday's length here will be 8:25:29. The suns angle at noon Saturday will be all of 19 degrees. I keep looking at that site every year hoping the shortest day will be longer, but so far no such luck


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Thanks guys! I'll be sticking with Fridays only for a while, seems like a good day to do it! Mrs Jeep's pet sitting business has really taken off so I've had to take on a bigger role in getting things done on the way home from work that I can't do on the bike so I don't think I'll be able to ride so often as before.



ghettocruiser said:


> _I've been doing this long enough to know how stupid I am._


That's sig worthy right there! :thumbsup:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> MTXB, you have to work on your positive attitude. Even though the shortest day of the year isn't here yet the sunset is already getting later!!! How was that? Did I sound convincing?


:lol::lol:Very convincing, thanks for the pep talk:lol::skep:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nothing much to report. Picture #3 in my mini series. We've got snow coming in today so everything will change. The lake is freezing oddly this year. Most of it is skimmed but not all. With the snow and the high winds tomorrow I'm not sure it's going to happen this week even though it is supposed to get really cold.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey ghettocruiser, at least you are smart enough to recognize ist. Selfreflection is a good habit 

I didnt find the angle indication for hamburg but when I am further north its probably less. The ride in was ok, the ride home was at the limit. The upper limit I should say, it was 13C/55F!! I was sweating like mad in my winterjacket. I could open the zip just a bit because I had a nasty headwind.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool off-topic trailwork report: On Sunday I joined the Millstone winter trail crew (which grooms trail for fatbiking and skiing) and learned to split stone. The grooming sled snowmachine and the drag had problems last winter catching on this rock and then getting stuck on the corner. So we got rid of part of the rock, probably 300+ pounds. I was amazed at what you could do with the little feathers and wedges, which are only a few inches long. We drilled holes in the rock (using a battery powered hammer drill), placed the feathers and wedges in the holes, and then you tap each set in turn until a crack develops and part of the granite splits off.

View attachment 1299261


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I didnt find the angle indication for hamburg but when I am further north its probably less.


I got you, Dutchman. 13 degrees!



mtbxplorer said:


> Cool off-topic trailwork report: On Sunday I joined the Millstone winter trail crew (which grooms trail for fatbiking and skiing) and learned to split stone.


Nice MTBX!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, MTXB. I've always found splitting stone really satisfying. Except when it isn't and you drive the wedges deep into the rock never to come out again while the stone just sits there smugly unbroken. I've made a few mailbox posts.

No ride for me. We got some snow but it mostly came down to the fact that I was too tired.​


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dry ride this morning but that's about to change as rain, heavy soaking rain, is on the way. 115 miles to go for my year goal and it's gonna be a wet slog...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

13 degrees only? So its not the clouds that we never see the sun after lunch, its because it doesnt rise above the buildings. And good luck reaching your goal woodway, you will make it!


Icredible work mtbx! And always amazing what you are allowed to do to build trails etc. Here in the woods about everything is forbidden except walking on the forest roads :-/

Nice rides again, temps are normal again and it was a whole day without rain today.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I got to ride today for the first time In over a week, which made it hard but good. Just 2 more rigorous days of work for me before I get some time off. I am very excited, it has been a stressful season and I’m ready for the break. 

Yeah Dutchman I feel your pain. The sun does make it above the buildings on the outskirts of Stuttgart but not by much and it is usually down by the time I leave work. And it is fully dark when I get home 1:45 minutes later. But I got a new Outbound lighting hangover light to combat that today and am looking forward to using it soon.


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## Keski (Aug 23, 2004)

First -30c morning of the winter in the bag already.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Yikes!! Well done! Only -20C here in VT this morning, where are you? We also have a nice wind chill advisory; between that, taking the car to the shop, and an after work gathering, not gooing to ride today.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This week saw the first snow commute and coldest ride of the season so far. I got a pair of Five Ten Freerider EPS shoes for Christmas. So far, they've been pretty nice to have on colder commutes. In my 12+ years of using the bike as my primary commute vehicle, I've always worn my normal riding shoes. It's nice to have something keep the wind at bay. They should be perfect for my winter commutes and trail rides.

I got chased by a dog this morning. It wasn't ferocious or anything, but it wouldn't stop barking at me or following me, no matter how the owner pleaded with it. I finally had to walk the dog to the business it belonged to, and it finally went back inside.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That is probably the most fun that dog has had all day.

Awww man, I am such a slacker. It was only -14C here. But I did put my big boy pants on and ride. That wasn't a dig at you MTXB, it was about me taking yesterday off. I'm on a roll with these pictures.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeremy_burke said:


> Yeah Dutchman I feel your pain. The sun does make it above the buildings on the outskirts of Stuttgart but not by much and it is usually down by the time I leave work. And it is fully dark when I get home 1:45 minutes later. But I got a new Outbound lighting hangover light to combat that today and am looking forward to using it soon.


According to the sunrise/sunset site, Stuttgart is about the same as here in Seattle: 18 degrees.

Holy crap Keski, that is cold.

Shoulda just kept riding S0ck, either the dog will figure it out or the owner will get a clue. Or not.

Nice pic bedwards!

Feeling a little guilty this morning. I ran over a bunny last night. Not on purpose. It ran right underneath my wheel before I could even react. Ran over it square with both wheels at speed so I doubt the poor creature lived. I just hope it did not suffer too much.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> Shoulda just kept riding S0ck, either the dog will figure it out or the owner will get a clue. Or not.


The dog was following me into a busy-ish street. Stopping felt like the right thing to do in the moment.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sockeyeus the dog was not aggressive? Usually it helps to stop pedalling, mostly it is the spinning movement that is driving them nuts.

Keski nice pics and tough ride!! I am still waiting for freezing temps, havent had any except 2-3 dips just below 0C in the morning.

And today was quite warm again, 10C on the ride home. Made a detour that made the round trip 90 minutes instead of 70.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

It ended up snowing a bit more these last few days so there was no road-bike-ice-riding to be had.

Alas, switching completely to a studded tire MTB for the remainder of the year (combined with a recent 0 km workweek from a business trip) pushes my 10K goal for the year out of reach.

_I've been told I can add my running mileage to bring the target back in reach... a cheap, but necessary, fallback_


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Woodway, I think it is lucky to run over a rabbit. Maybe only if you chop off the feet and make a keychain. Superstitions are odd aren't they. 


ghettocruiser said:


> _I've been told I can add my running mileage to bring the target back in reach... a cheap, but necessary, fallback_


Well, i don't think my 40 total yearly running miles are going to do much for me. Luckily, I'm not that goal oriented. The 5300 miles I'm going to end up with this year is within about 100 miles of a few of my last years so I think that is my number.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Woodway, I think it is lucky to run over a rabbit. Maybe only if you chop off the feet and make a keychain. Superstitions are odd aren't they.
> 
> Well, i don't think my 40 total yearly running miles are going to do much for me. Luckily, I'm not that goal oriented. The 5300 miles I'm going to end up with this year is within about 100 miles of a few of my last years so I think that is my number.


5300? Surely that's just commuting miles for you, or have you cut back?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^If I uncheck the include commutes box it is 1200 miles. But my "commutes" are any rides that start or end at work so a lot of them are extended. Mrs. bedwards1000 didn't do any Ironman training this year so we weren't out on our epic weekend jaunts. But this coming year that will be different. She is signed up for another full Ironman.

Speaking of my wife. Yesterday she offered to fatbike home so I could take the car. 1 hour and 40 minutes later she got home and claimed it had a high suck factor. I can't argue that. Those trips around the lake at 10F are getting really old.

She did offer to hang around work so we could carpool home today which means I got to ride my bike! I took the skinny tired mountain bike this time which was quite a bit faster even if it didn't handle as well on the trails. 26er bikes are so out of style I'm not even sure they are legal anymore.  It was 7F and my full suspension bike seemed a bit rigid.

Without further ado, today's picture in the sequence.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ Nice pic again bedwards!

I still have a 26er in my stable, and whenever I get on it and ride any trail that is at all technical it feels kind of unsafe. Amazing what the larger wheels and better geometries has done for mountain biking.

The Seattle area has an atmospheric river rolling in off the Pacific right now. This mornings ride was right up there in ranking of the top wet rides I've ever experienced. Since the moisture originates near Hawaii, it's a warm wet (50F/10C) but holy smokes was it raining hard this morning. It's also very windy and I had to "bunny" hop two large branches that were down when they appeared in front of me out of the dark.

Only 40 miles to my yearly goal. You can all breathe easy, I'm gonna make it and the world won't end.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I feel the same way on my 26er. My 27.5+ bike glides over things even though the tires are only 0.6" wider. The only reason I keep the 26er is that I have ice spikers on it and the bike itself it probably worth less than the tires. I'm not terribly averse to spending money on bikes so it may be time to bite the bullet and trade it out for something I like to ride more.

Woodway, I didn't realize the tightness in my chest was my apprehension about you making your goals! If we can just keep you from getting tangled in wet sticks in the dark things will be alright. But a stick took me down hard this year when it got stuck in the fender so...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards when I read about your mileage I immediately thought it would be because you did not ride 10 centuries this year. And good luck with training for the Iron "Man" for RR! And I envy you really for so nice weather as on your picture, I have seen some sun for the first time today in several days..

Woodway how far/long is your one way commute currently? I have to say it seems really difficult to me to ride every day in so much rain as you have.

:') Last commute this year today. 2 weeks off now for Xmas break - January 6 I will take off in the new commuting year. This morning it was quite foggy and with a light headwind. My glasses fogged up and I had to take m off after 5 minutes. Made another detour on the way home and was confronted again with the new highway that is coming. About halfway on the most rural part, they cut out all the trees where the new highway will be. I know progress must be but still...well I extended again 20 minutes extra today. 

I dont know yet exactly about my mileage. I do it old-fashioned on the speedometers and have to add everything. And the most important: The year is not over yet  Planning a 2hr tour on the CX bike tomorrow. 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sockeyeus the dog was not aggressive? Usually it helps to stop pedalling, mostly it is the spinning movement that is driving them nuts.


Nope, not aggressive. I stopped completely and stood at the opening of a parking lot thinking the dog would lose interest and go back to its owner, but this didn't end up being the case. Maybe it didn't like my outfit or the flashing lights, but it wouldn't stop barking or running around me. It seemed like a nice dog, but I triggered it somehow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Today this pick-up truck with big rims and low-profile tires pulled out of a parking lot at a weird angle. I kind of slowed a bit because it just seemed like something wasn't quite right and didn't want to risk him pulling out onto me. Not long after he pulled in front of me, the truck started veering towards the edge of the road. Eventually the truck wandered off into the grass a bit, then the driver corrected. A little further down the road, the truck went about a foot or so off the edge of the road and drove that way for maybe 30 yards. Then the driver seemed to realize what was going on and corrected to get back on the road before possibly hitting a road sign. I heard a loud "Zzzzing" as the guy's rim struck the lip of the asphalt. A little ways down the driver pulled into a parking lot. His front tire was obviously flat. When I looked closer, I saw that his tire had actually separated from the rim. I don't know if he'd been drinking at a Christmas party or was just really distracted. I'm just glad he was in front of me rather than behind.


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Fridays commute complete, so nice riding home and popping open an ice cold beer to start the weekend! Getting back in the habit of looking at the road in front of my tires for hazards again, sometimes I just start to space out and just run over everything. :nono:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow s0ck, I'm thinking more than distracted leaving the road the second time after doing it once before. At least he disabled himself.

The lake is frozen! At least frozen enough. I did a skating recon over the weekend and most of it has plenty. I had to change my route slightly to avoid a section that just recently froze.

Different route, different pictures.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Distracted drivers are scary. Glad he was in front of you s0ck.

Nice pics as usual bedwards!

Rain for me this morning. Tomorrow will be the last commute of 2019 for me, I may get a couple of mountain bike rides in with friends over the holidays, otherwise staying off the bike until the new year...


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

mornin' guys, crashing your party here. been a "full" time commuter since june (life still happens with school-age kids and a busy, working wife), and despite hearing it would happen from friends who do as well, i've really been surprised how unfulfilled my day feels when i don't get to ride in to work.

anyways, last commute of 2019 for me today. leaving Michigan for a week to head to the inlaws' new winter digs in florida. not a bringing a bike.... i'm bringing two!  cheers.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sock, that sounds like he was drunk, stoned or both. Glad he was unable to ride on until something worse happened. 

Bedwards nice pics again. Man am I jealous, it rains here everyday an hour at least. 

Woodway finally I can sleep again, the world wont end. Good luck making the last 40m!

No commutes anymore but a nice tour on my cx bike last saturday, 2h30m and with some riding around with wife and kids I made over 3hrs on the bike. Since then only some short errand rides. I want to try to be on the bike everyday until next year.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Welcome bbender, looks like a great commuter!

Bedwards, awesome photos! Stay safe on that ice, glad you have the local knowledge. A little deer went through last weekend in Saranac Lake (she was saved with an airboat) which is always the coldest place around.

Soc, that is very scarey, glad he got a flat before causing any more mayhem.

A lot of snowmelt yesterday made for a messy ride on the way home. The morning was odd; it was close to 30F at my house, and 4 miles away and 1000' lower it had dropped to 13F, quite a difference! I was just barely warm enough, but it went quick on the unstudded bike.

Happy Holidays everyone! Here's a pic from last weekend, 2 guys I rode with holding up the forest. Millstone Trails, Barre Town Forest VT.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh mtbx are they still there or has the forest fallen over now 

Merry christmas everyone!

Is santa approaching you? Check here: www.noradsanta.org

CU, CD


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

MTBX, how kind of them to hold up the trees so you could ride through.

Welcome bbender, good looking bike!

Dutchman, I made my yearly goal, the world is saved and you can enjoy your Christmas now 









Todays ride home will be my last commute of 2019, heck last commute of the decade!

Merry Christmas to all!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway thats very good news to hear. It means I will be able to install and use what santa just brought me:
A t shirt for normal people: https://www.amazon.de/T-Shirt-Different-Geschenke-Radfahrer-Mountain-Bike/dp/B07B2Z1QCZ
A new abus aduro helmet (the same as I have but in yellow)
A triple blade tiagra crankset matching the old tiagra brifters on the cx bike, with a new cassette I will go from 34:34 to 30:36 in the lowest gear. (It has 50-39-30 chainrings).

Santa is always early in germany. Normally gifts are dropped on the evening of the 24th, but he always comes to us in the afternoon because he knows you can not give the kids anything and bring them to bed immediately after 

What did santa bring you?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh mtbx are they still there or has the forest fallen over now
> 
> Merry christmas everyone!





woodway said:


> MTBX, how kind of them to hold up the trees so you could ride through.


Thanks guys! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
I have not been back to the forest to see if it is still standing! Ironically, the other half of Millstone Trails on private land is closed due to the forest falling to loggers - emerald ash borer (invasive insect) was found and they are chopping stuff down to salvage the lumber.
After that pic, it was actually an xc skier friend who passed through the trees while they were held up, thank goodness he is OK.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hope you are having a wonderful, marvelous, magnificent, superb, glorious, sublime, lovely, delightful, first-class, first-rate · super, great, amazing, amazeballs, fantastic, terrific, tremendous, sensational, incredible, heavenly, gorgeous, dreamy, grand, fabulous, fab, fabby, fantabulous, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, awesome, ace, cool, mean, bad, wicked, mega, ultra, crucial, mind-blowing, far out, A1, sound, out of this world, marvy, spanking, dope, def, phat, brilliant, brill, smashing · peachy, dandy, jim-dandy, neat, badass, "bad", boss, radical, rad, boffo, bully, bitching, bodacious, beaut, bonzer, kif, lank, groovy, divine, capital · champion · wizard · corking · cracking · ripping · spiffing · top-hole, top-drawer, topping, beezer, swell, keen, wondrous, goodly, and groovy Christmas and New Year's Days, guys, if that is not too much to ask!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BrianMc said:


> Hope you are having a wonderful, marvelous, magnificent, superb, glorious, sublime, lovely, delightful, first-class, first-rate · super, great, amazing, amazeballs, fantastic, terrific, tremendous, sensational, incredible, heavenly, gorgeous, dreamy, grand, fabulous, fab, fabby, fantabulous, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, awesome, ace, cool, mean, bad, wicked, mega, ultra, crucial, mind-blowing, far out, A1, sound, out of this world, marvy, spanking, dope, def, phat, brilliant, brill, smashing · peachy, dandy, jim-dandy, neat, badass, "bad", boss, radical, rad, boffo, bully, bitching, bodacious, beaut, bonzer, kif, lank, groovy, divine, capital · champion · wizard · corking · cracking · ripping · spiffing · top-hole, top-drawer, topping, beezer, swell, keen, wondrous, goodly, and groovy Christmas and New Year's Days, guys, if that is not too much to ask!


Nice to hear from you BrianMC, wish you the same as well!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks Brian, groovy holidays to you too - and all here in the commuter forum!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Holidays all!

Christmas Eve commute was good. The moon over the sunrise was way more impressive than I could capture with 3 year old phone camera







I kept on with my winter series.








The trails are a little challenging these days. I kept crashing through the top layer of ice.















I also had some problems with clipping in.








Today's ride was stark in comparison.





​


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

I got pulled over today!

I was hauling groceries home and ran a left turn signal after stopping and waiting a couple minutes. I didn't see any nearby cars but I was still in the intersection when the lights started flashing.

The cop was friendly, just looked at my ID and gave me a brief warning.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> I got pulled over today!
> 
> I was hauling groceries home and ran a left turn signal after stopping and waiting a couple minutes. I didn't see any nearby cars but I was still in the intersection when the lights started flashing.
> 
> The cop was friendly, just looked at my ID and gave me a brief warning.


Well I'll be danged. It's not a horrible thing. I'd like to see some folks get a talking to, but something tells me the guys going 5mph down the main thoroughfare opposite traffic on a rusty bike don't have money to pay a ticket...

Still that's pretty good. I see "fellow" cyclists do all kinda stupid stuff on a daily basis.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

squeakymcgillicuddy said:


> I got pulled over today!
> 
> I was hauling groceries home and ran a left turn signal after stopping and waiting a couple minutes. I didn't see any nearby cars but I was still in the intersection when the lights started flashing.
> 
> The cop was friendly, just looked at my ID and gave me a brief warning.


Did you have to explain to him that the law states that you can proceed through a red light that is malfunctioning (not sensing a bike) after yielding to all other users? At least that is the law in most places.

Well, I guess I had my last ride of 2019 on Saturday. We were supposed to get 2" of snow yesterday and 3" to day. We got a foot. I've been in the truck for both. Hopefully there is enough snow to open the trails for Snowmobiling because we have too much for me to pack now. ... Recalculating...

Have a good new year all!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Did you have to explain to him that the law states that you can proceed through a red light that is malfunctioning (not sensing a bike) after yielding to all other users? At least that is the law in most places.


In Indiana they added a motorcycle and bicycle non-detection law over and above the malfunctioning light law. They defined 90 seconds as long enough to sit and determine non-detection which was the problem with the prior law (how long a wait is long enough?). Problem is that if an officer did not see you sit, you might still get a ticket. Another use for POV video.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

It looks like I ended up around 2441 miles for the year, although I don't know why these fancy computers can't tell you your total by year. I zero'd it out for 2020. When I hook it up to the laptop and look on the Garmin connect app, it is missing half the year - maybe that is when I signed up for the app?

I drove Thursday and Friday due to sleet/freezing rain/snow on Thursday and to enjoy the snow at home on Friday a.m. with a back 40 ski with the dog. Safe travels in 2020 everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Strava will break it down by year.








I finally got back on the bike today. The trails and lake were a mix of packed and nice to unpacked and impassible. Or worse, seemingly packed but still impassable.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Happy New Year everyone.

After my Christmas Eve commute, I put my bike away for the holidays and took a break from riding. Got some nice walks in with my wife but otherwise lazed around for the holidays.

Dutchman, my only bike - related gift was some new cycling socks from my wife and a new chain for my commuter from my youngest son (I told him which one to buy me but still acted surprised when I open the package).

Made the first ride of 2020 this morning and nothing unusual to report - it was dark, it was raining very lightly it was about 40 degrees and it was uneventful.

My only New Year Resolution is to try and get an extra 1000 miles in for 2020, it's going to be a challenge.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The sustained warm spell, that let me finish a "#Festive5000" for the first time ever, continues this week.

I'm kind of getting bored of this weather, to be honest. My studded tire bike, which I needed as early as Nov.13, has been on the garage wall for weeks now.


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

ghettocruiser said:


> The sustained warm spell, that let me finish a "#Festive5000" for the first time ever, continues this week.
> 
> I'm kind of getting bored of this weather, to be honest. My studded tire bike, which I needed as early as Nov.13, has been on the garage wall for weeks now.


It's been mild here too but I have been rocking my studs since October, to be able to safely negotiate an always icy, pretty steep, 3 minute hill section on the way in (I have paid the price in the past trying to use my CX during mild weather).

The studded 29er Nicotines absolutely rock. Even on pavement. Best winter tires I have used over the past 12 years of dedicated winter commuting. Can't say enough good about them (and enough bad about the Schwalbe Marathons I was previously riding).


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## Mojave G (Jan 30, 2015)

Another fun Friday commute, awesome weather!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all,

drove back from the netherlands today. So far I managed to make a nice ride everyday. one only 15 minutes, 2 rides of 2:30 each. Some in rain, some in sunny weather. 

One ride was good in particular: the elderly home in town bought an e-tricycle and needed someone to testride it. So I made a 2hr ride with my 84year old mom. So when everything is flat the e support is good but in the dunes where it was going up and down I had to pedal hard even with the motor on the highest level. It was sunny with around 8C and some wind but my mom wasnt even cold, although she couldnt pedal most of the time. Her crankset was not connected to the gearing I had so over 15kph she couldnt pedal along. Luckily her crankset also had its own freewheel. 
In my eyes this is a case where an e motor is really helpful. Without it, I never could have moved that big heavy beast on my own, not to mention the up and down in the dunes. We had a terrific time on the bike and hope to make 2 more rides in may, when we are in NL again for a week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ That's really cool Dutchman. So it was a tandem e-tricycle, yes? Good for your mom too. I hope I can still pedal when I am 84!

Nice pic Eugene!

Rain again this morning. Looks like it's going to be rain all week. Oh well, it's January and to be expected.

I'm kind of getting a new bike itch. I don't know why, my current bike is just fine. Just resisting the itch for now, it will probably pass.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^The Habenero? You just got new wheels. That's what you get for buying a frame that lasts forever. But adding a bike, say a nice light bike for good weather. That would be recommended. Or a fatbike? You don't have a fatbike yet, right? That would be recommended. OK, I'll stop enabling you.


woodway said:


> My only New Year Resolution is to try and get an extra 1000 miles in for 2020, it's going to be a challenge.


Give my condolences to your knees. . I'm not making any "Resolutions" but eating less sugar, drinking less booze and riding more miles are all good goals. 6 days in and results are mixed.

Sounds like a great ride dutchman. Is this a side-by-side trike with 2 sets of peddles? Did you tall mom to stop slacking on the hills? 

Good ride today. The snowy trails are all packed and firm at 9F. The lake was 90% good with 10% awful crust/slush below problems. I've got to pull together a blog series of these soon. They are all starting to look the same.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh! I apologise, I forgot something important in my first post of 2020:

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!

So, about the ebike ride with my mom, here is a pic:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EPzoTUTaSKSDf9wk8

First commute this year today was ok. It was a nice ride but I made a tough MTB ride yesterday of 3hrs and my legs were still tired. I made a detour nonetheless, but found out that that specific detour is no fun anymore. Along the road they prepare the field for the new highway and they are using the road with big machinery now, so it was totally muddy and broken up. At least, it was dry.

Bedwards, why not make a timelapse of those pictures?

Woodway I thought it is not long ago since you bought your current titanium bike and wheels? Where is the itch going, new MTB, CX, roadbike? And good luck with your rain riding, I bet the rule #9 award will go to you!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

finally back to the commuting grind today. took the holiday time off and visited the in-laws in florida. brought two bikes but only rode each once. winter here in michigan has been a joke this year, so the studded tires i got for the commuter have seen minimal use. fatbiking is my favorite, so i’m pouting pretty hard about this mild weather. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

the local obscenity-shouting driver was out today, i was lucky enough to hear from him twice on my ride in this morning. i always about-face and wait for him to come back and chat, but yet again i was left waiting both times. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bbender785 said:


> Well, your story might be the final encouragement I needed to get some pads. I have been deliberating it for almost a year, and have not needed them. That probably means I'm over due for a spectacular get-off.-F


I'm not saying to not get pads, but more perhaps more important is to constantly work on body positioning and skills work. A lot of washouts are caused by people being back too far on turns. This can be even more likely after rollers, drops, jumps, etc. where people tend to throw their weight back and end up with too little weight on the front end. Staying centered on the pedals at all times with all the weight in your feet really helps. Learning to pump turns effectively really helps maintain traction too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway I thought it is not long ago since you bought your current titanium bike and wheels? Where is the itch going, new MTB, CX, roadbike? And good luck with your rain riding, I bet the rule #9 award will go to you!


Are you kidding? The wheels are new but the bike has like 50,000 miles on it. Or maybe this is the replacement Ti bike and the wheels were the originals, can't remember.



bbender785 said:


> finally back to the commuting grind today. took the holiday time off and visited the in-laws in florida. brought two bikes but only rode each once. winter here in michigan has been a joke this year, so the studded tires i got for the commuter have seen minimal use. fatbiking is my favorite, so i'm pouting pretty hard about this mild weather.


Wow, did you fly the bikes out? Should have just taken one. So I'm guessing my pictures of snowy trails are making you pout harder. Well, pout on, the trails were mint today!!! Sorry.

Wish me happy birthday.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Wow, did you fly the bikes out? Should have just taken one.


nope, drove. what a haul.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

:yikes: Probably better than managing 2 bikes on 2 plane trips. I've driven Maine to south Florida and back alone once with only stops to sleep.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Weekend snowfall was meager, but it made the bike path icy enough to definitely rationalize the grinding of studded tires on dry pavement for the rest of the ride.

But not icy enough to clear out the dog walkers. Yet.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Taking bikes with you is always some work, no matter by plane or car. But usually it pays off - at least, that is how I justify it 

Bender, you really want to chat with an angry driver? I usually try to ignore them or even move away a bit when possible. 

So today I noticed the days are getting longer. Just before Xmas it used to be pitch dark already at 5pm but today there was still some light on the horizon. I just didnt notice because it was the first day this year with a clear sky.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

Was a really nice day today, i was flying today, my co-worker with the rowingbike had a good time to reel me in, i left a few minutes before him, and stayed with me till he left for his home in our city. That is really cool, because he usually says hi and flies past...happy!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was down in FL, as well, for about 2 weeks. I snuck my bike into our van and was able to get in 2 mtb rides at Santos, which was nice. This week is my first week back. The weather here is cooler, but not bad so far. Work is ramping up like crazy, since I'm in charge of our new ERP software implementation (yay me) and the kickoff was Monday...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Happy Birthday bedwards!



bedwards1000 said:


> Are you kidding? The wheels are new but the bike has like 50,000 miles on it. Or maybe this is the replacement Ti bike and the wheels were the originals, can't remember.


I've been riding "this bike" for well over 50,000 miles. I say "this bike" because there is not a lot left of the original: Seat, seat post, handlebars, rack, fork, front derailleur and front left brifter. Everything else has been replaced. The two big replacements were the frame, which I broke in an accident that's still too painful to recount, and the wheels. The new frame was a 1:1 replacement for the old one, so while the stickers are less scratched up, there was zero change to my ride experience. My old wheels were fantastic and I loved them, but I just wore them out and it was time for replacement.

I thought I was going to get a fatbike, but I talked myself out of it. Honestly I would only ride it in the winter (summer riding around here is just too fantastic not to ride the full squish mtn. bike) and I just have too many other winter activities that I enjoy to buy a fattie that will likely be a garage queen. If I had a winter snow commute like some of you, it would be different. bedwards, I'm along your lines of thinking of getting something racier to ride/commute on in the summer. But I am also considering a gravel bike. I have miles and miles of spectacular mountain gravel all around my house in central washington, and those roads are begging for a gravel bike.

For me, the "thinking about a new bike" part is just as enjoyable as "getting a new bike". So I am going to savor this phase for a while.

Love the pic Dutchman. Just awesome that she is out there at 84. And yes, rule #9 rules. Tonight was the fourth day in a row with rain in both directions and looking at the forecast I won't be surprised if this goes on for the rest of the week.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bbender785 said:


> finally back to the commuting grind today. took the holiday time off and visited the in-laws in florida. brought two bikes but only rode each once. winter here in michigan has been a joke this year, so the studded tires i got for the commuter have seen minimal use. fatbiking is my favorite, so i'm pouting pretty hard about this mild weather.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one to blame for the garbage weather here in Michigan since you also bought studded tires. It bums me out looking at my fat bike with its pretty, new, studded tires.

I also took bikes to Florida over the holidays. I only rode twice, but I enjoyed the warmth and the flat land. It's going to make today seem cold! Feels like 8°f, yikes!

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bbender785 said:


> the local obscenity-shouting driver was out today, i was lucky enough to hear from him twice on my ride in this morning. i always about-face and wait for him to come back and chat, but yet again i was left waiting both times.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The same guy on a regular basis? Wow this person needs real mental help.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

jamespc said:


> I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one to blame for the garbage weather here in Michigan since you also bought studded tires. It bums me out looking at my fat bike with its pretty, new, studded tires.
> 
> I also took bikes to Florida over the holidays. I only rode twice, but I enjoyed the warmth and the flat land. It's going to make today seem cold! Feels like 8°f, yikes!


it was a cold one today for sure, especially with a headwind the whole time! woof. what tires did you go with? i've been putting together a few different fatbike tire and wheel options myself.



NDD said:


> The same guy on a regular basis? Wow this person needs real mental help.





cyclingdutchman said:


> Bender, you really want to chat with an angry driver? I usually try to ignore them or even move away a bit when possible.


same guy on two different days now, yes. the first time he slowed way down and yelled out his window that "i'm going to cause an accident", then proceeded to drive off and pull into his driveway a few hundred feet away. so i turned around and went back to inquire more on that logic, making sure to stay on the road. he wouldn't get out of his car and just kept yelling at me to "get off his property" from inside the car. this last time he was hollering at me to "turn my f**ng light off" (despite it being a bar-mounted, non-flashing, single-LED unit that's properly aimed).

i'm a sensible person, i'd love to discuss like adults, yes. or be his huckleberry, that works too.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bbender785 said:


> i'm a sensible person, i'd love to discuss like adults, yes. or be his huckleberry, that works too.


I speak from years of experience bbender, just let it go and keep pedaling. Your life will be more enjoyable.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> bedwards, I'm along your lines of thinking of getting something racier to ride/commute on in the summer. But I am also considering a gravel bike. I have miles and miles of spectacular mountain gravel all around my house in central washington, and those roads are begging for a gravel bike.


It's settled then. You need 2 bikes. I think a Ti twin to yours with no fenders and gravel oriented tires would be fun. Race road bikes are always on craiglsist or facebook marketplace for good deals if you have the patience to wait for the price-point you want. I grabbed the Cannondale Super-Six EVO for less than the price of the wheels it came with.



bbender785 said:


> or be his huckleberry


Had to look that one up.  I've tried to "have a conversation" with screaming drivers. It never works. They are just too irrational.

The trails have been super firm lately so I decided to try the skinny bike today. Well, firm to a 4.8" tire is sketchy with a 2.1" tire. I've ordered some 2.35" ice spikers to replace the 2.10" ones. I'm hoping the extra 10" in width helps some. I'm sure I can move the old ones to a new home pretty easily.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Same ol' bike. Frame cold set, powder coated, only headset and frame remain from original 1982 build (2 x 5 then, now 3 x 10). Reminds me of the guy who really likes his old ax. Six handle replacements and after the head was ground a bit too much, 2 new heads, but it sure has been a great axe!


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bbender785 said:


> it was a cold one today for sure, especially with a headwind the whole time! woof. what tires did you go with? i've been putting together a few different fatbike tire and wheel options myself.
> 
> I went with Dillinger 5s (26"). So far, they stick like glue. Definitely more work turning the peddles, but I'll take the trade-off. I felt safer on the bike than in my car today. Lucky, most of my commute is neighborhood or bike path.
> 
> ...


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

nice, i have those without studs. i built a set of 50mm wide wheels this fall and mounted 4” jumbo jims for three-season and race conditions, and recently scored a set of 45N Flowbeist and Dunderbeist for if we ever get loose, deep snow, so i’m considering at least partially studding the D5’s. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I seem to remember woodway bought a new frame a while ago because on the old frame some rack/fender mount broke off? 

Havent met him here yet but usually every place has its own LL (Local Lunatic) In my hometown I know him and to how to avoid him.

Last sunday they forecasted 20hrs of rain for today. So I had some sprinkles this morning and a partly clear sky on the way home. It was very warm though, 10C on the way home. Still lots of rain forecasted for tomorrow but seeing is believing.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> It's settled then. You need 2 bikes. I think a Ti twin to yours with no fenders and gravel oriented tires would be fun.


I've had that exact same thought. I think these Habenaros are great frames, very versatile.



BrianMc said:


> Same ol' bike.


Nice, BrianMc.



cyclingdutchman said:


> I seem to remember woodway bought a new frame a while ago because on the old frame some rack/fender mount broke off?


Yes, one of the braze-ons had cracked but unfortunately I had a small accident that trashed the entire frame...

Dry ride this morning! First one since last Thursday.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bbender785 said:


> nice, i have those without studs. i built a set of 50mm wide wheels this fall and mounted 4" jumbo jims for three-season and race conditions, and recently scored a set of 45N Flowbeist and Dunderbeist for if we ever get loose, deep snow, so i'm considering at least partially studding the D5's.


 WWW.BIKESTUD.COM has high quality carbide/aluminum studs cheaper than most. If you have used the Dillies be prepared to dig grains of sand out of the pockets with a tiny screwdriver before you stud them. 


woodway said:


> Yes, one of the braze-ons had cracked but unfortunately I had a small accident that trashed the entire frame...


 And the owner of the company that makes the frames remembers him by name. Anther reason to go with the Habenero. We won't mention the accident.

Last nights ride was so peaceful! We had <1" of fresh snow over everything that makes the ride so quiet. The lake crossing was under the light of a nearly full moon.

I threw the bike in my wife's car and carpooled this morning because I am TIRED. 8 miles of chugging through snowy trails twice a day is exhausting! I'll ride tonight and again in the morning then I have to (get to) take a car home. So I'll have at least one ride every day this week. That will be enough for me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^I have been looking at Ti frames a while already the only one I found with a replaceable derailer hanger is the salsa fargo ti, where you can swap the swinger dropout. On the other side, if you can ride it without problems for 50t miles I guess I might be too picky.

Bedwards we dont have snow but I took a route the last 3 days that led on some unpaved roads and the soft mud feels like you are dragging an anchor behind you. So I can understand your carpooling. I took another route today that is completely paved.

So finally there was some rain today, drizzle on both rides. Ride home was sweaty in the raingear and 11C. No freezing temps in sight for the next weeks either.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

catching up after a little hiatus; good conversation about temperature/weather. Well, I'd like to throw my hat in the ring of "temperature"/"weather" conversation...

I live in Central Florida and we experiencing one of our "cold" stretches. Departing from the house has been 38°F (3.3°C). Now "38°" is not the temperatures you guys are experiencing, BUT...keep in mind: #1 Floridians don't really have "winter clothes". #2 we are a peninsula state and their is always moisture in the air...so our cold is a WET cold. #3 I'm on an eBike and sustain 24-28 mph...windchill is windchill.

OK - so 38°F(3.3°C) is still not shocking, so here's my fodder for conversation. My commute home will be 75°F(24°C).

That's almost a 40°F(21°C) temperature swing in under 8 hours.

In other comical news: I punched myself in my own lip putting on the insulated arm warmers...again (yes, i've punched myself once before...and did it again)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jelako, sounds like my weather. Just above freezing and rain/drizzle. Or in spring and fall, one of those days where I am riding in full winterclothing and riding home in shorts, with my pannier overflowing with clothes.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Jelako said:


> I live in Central Florida and we experiencing one of our "cold" stretches. Departing from the house has been 38°F (3.3°C). Now "38°" is not the temperatures you guys are experiencing, BUT...keep in mind: #1 Floridians don't really have "winter clothes". #2 we are a peninsula state and their is always moisture in the air...so our cold is a WET cold. #3 I'm on an eBike and sustain 24-28 mph...windchill is windchill.
> 
> OK - so 38°F(3.3°C) is still not shocking, so here's my fodder for conversation. My commute home will be 75°F(24°C).


I rode Santos over the holidays, and I saw people out in jackets and pants. At the trailhead, I overheard someone mentioning that they are fine if only they could keep their extremities warm. It was like 60F. I was in full summer gear and got fairly sweaty. It's wild how we all adapt.

31F for the ride in this morning here. 60s for the ride home. Temps have been pretty warm so far this January. We're gearing up for a pretty big rain event, which means this will likely be my last commute of the week.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I rode Santos over the holidays,


I live just down the road from the 49th Avenue trail head (Nayle's; Shang-ri-la).

I don't do "resolutions" per say but one of my "commitments" is to have my 2011 Gary Fisher/Trek Hard Tail completely tuned-up in May (I make my final eBike payment on April 8th.) And get back on Nayle's on Saturdays/Sundays.

At the trailhead, i'm a big fan of dog bone.


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## Flushing Shadow (Apr 11, 2019)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Jelako, sounds like my weather. Just above freezing and rain/drizzle. Or in spring and fall, one of those days where I am riding in full winterclothing and riding home in shorts, with my pannier overflowing with clothes.


It's 11°C here but wet and windy, just to warm for the time of the year...!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jelako, I can picture somebody punching themselves in the face putting on an arm warmer. LOL.



s0ckeyeus said:


> It's wild how we all adapt.


 Yup, I went out to replace the frozen chicken water and it was 14F and I was in a sweatshirt thinking that it didn't feel that cold.



s0ckeyeus said:


> 31F for the ride in this morning here. 60s for the ride home. Temps have been pretty warm so far this January. We're gearing up for a pretty big rain event, which means this will likely be my last commute of the week.


Yup again. We are forecast to get 50F temps tomorrow and lots of rain on Sunday. Very un-January like.

But today the snow was perfect. I took my non-studded plus bike. MY GOD THAT IS QUIET ON THE ROAD. It was a fun ride in for sure. But it has small block "Rocket Ron" tires on it that don't play will with snowy ruts. It kept me on my toes.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

had to skip the commute yesterday, truck got new tires during the lunch hour ($OUCH$). drove to work today too... beers tasted extra good last night, lol. 

huge winter storm coming in tonight. they’re talking half inch or more of ice, and up to 4” of rain, 10” of snow up north. serious mess. i'm thinking the studded tires will be going back on the commuter for monday.

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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Seems like a few of us are getting different parts of the same system. Luckily for me, the rain is forecast to stay just to the north of us all day and sweep through starting tonight and ending tomorrow. Being south and east of the front meant it a ride in around 60F this morning!

With those temps, I wasn't expecting slick roads, but my rear wheel slid out a bit when turning right and accelerating from a stop sign. My guess is that there was a water leak or something that covered the road in a thin layer of mud. It was still dark out, so I didn't really get a good look at what I'd hit. No harm done. I was just a little surprised.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bender that sounds really tough weather coming your way!

Bedwards I guess it was very fast too? 

Short commute today, took the shortest way on both rides since I have some other things to do. The ride home was windy, approx. 30kph/20mph and gusts upto the double. Had to be a bit careful on the part where it was a sidewind, but it turned out ok. 

Offtopic: my collegue spent a lot of time in the office in the evenings to get our new businesspartner in the usa going. He and his wife got a baby now and the usa collegues spontaneously sent me a paypal donation for a gift. #world 2.0 story 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards I guess it was very fast too?


 Yes, I had to check my AM commute times to see how much.
Monday, Fatbike: 1:10 (HH:MM)
Tuesday, Fatbike: 0:55
Wednesday, Skinnybike 1:02
Thrusday, GMC Silverado K3500: (about) 0:25 with school traffic
Friday, Plusbike: 0:50


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Heavy rain on the ride home, very satisfied with my rain kit!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

our big stormageddon didn't amount to much, still warranted the studded tires this morning. did get snow north of here so a few buddies and i made the 100 mile trip to chase some groomed fatbike trails over the weekend.










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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bbender785 said:


> our big stormageddon didn't amount to much, still warranted the studded tires this morning. did get snow north of here so a few buddies and i made the 100 mile trip to chase some groomed fatbike trails over the weekend.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sounds like a great way to spend the weekend. I've got a child with strep today, so I didn't even get to ride the studs to work on our ice and half inch of snow.

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looks like a commute I would wish for. I took the route through the construction site again today and had to clean the mud from my bike when I got home. Fenders were totally clogged up. For the rest the rides were good, it was dry and there was little wind. On the ride home, someone on an ebike caught up from behind and told me my taillight was not working. Will try to fix it tonight or put on a blinkie tomorrow morning until I have a new one. After 5+years and 23tkm/15tm I can live with it. 

Mid january and still no snow/freezing temps in sight....on the way home I was thinking about whether it makes sense to put on wintertires in winter. We'll see what feb/march have to offer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We had a crazy record setting January thaw over the weekend which included some rain that did a number on our snow pack. Most trails are still snow covered but some are barren. It was a good chance to use the non-fat bike.








I did get out on a short road ride in shorts on Saturday when the temperature hit almost 70F. And this Friday it is supposed to be -5F.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Crazy temp swings at your place bedwards.

What a day here. This morning it was windy and it rained enough to put on the raingear. The ride home was only windy, but shortly before home, without warning, my seatpost bolt snapped and my saddle tilted backwards all of a sudden. I remember just riding and suddenly hanging on the bar with my rear end on the rear rack. I stayed upright and just rolled to the next streetlight to look at the damage. Unfortunately a piece of the bolt is still in the threaded part with no chance to get it out with pliers or something.

I have to say I was lucky in the end. I didnt crash or get hurt, I was almost at home when it happened and it is not preventing me from riding tomorrow since I have the same seatpost and saddle on the fatbike that I can put in in a minute. But it will take a while until I get over the scare ...

I have this one or similar:
https://www.amazon.de/XtasY-Patent-Sattelstütze-Skalar-schwarz-sand-57313001/dp/B007QS8RPY
It has 2 bolts so that you can adjust the saddle angle very exactly. My saddle was shifted more backwards so the front bolt was under quite some stress. Will get one with an offset now so that the saddle is more forward in the clamp.

Hope you all had an uneventful commute today!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yup, that sounds too eventful. Now is the chance to upgrade to that carbon seatpost you have always wanted. Or just buy a new bolt. You can probably get it out with a screw extractor. 

My ride was pretty uneventful, which is good considering now icy the trails are. I took the fatbike over the skinny bike and it handles the icy ruts much more comfortably. If it only had some suspension.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow Dutchman, that could have been a disaster.

Crazy warm for January bedwards!

I've been grounded this week...snow in Seattle. Can I borrow your fatbike bedwards?  To get to work I have to navigate some pretty steep hills while sharing the road with cars. There is ice everywhere and still snow in the bike and travel lanes, so I have stayed off my bike so far this week. Temps are above freezing now and it's going to be warming up, so I am hoping to get back to commuting tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Can I borrow your fatbike bedwards?  To get to work I have to navigate some pretty steep hills while sharing the road with cars.


Certainly, but only if you come here to ride it. I saw 1 car on my entire ride home last night. Some trails were sketchy with light snow over icy ruts. The rest were great.

I have some customers coming today and some after work duties so I had to bring the truck. We've got more snow coming tomorrow so I'm not sure when I will get to ride again.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well yesterday evening I managed to get the piece of bolt out so I would be able to put a new one in. I noticed that my saddle was quite far back, so I made a detour to the big bikeshop today. They have a drawer full of more or less used seatposts and they had indeed 2 in the size I needed, which I got for less than half the normal price. Will swap them in later tonight.

It was warm here too, 12C when I left at 4pm. It was still bright outside, but I had a strong headwind of around 60kph/35mph for a big part of the ride. At some point in the open and on the muddy road, I was doing 16kph/10mph only. The whole round trip today took 10 minutes longer than the usual 90 minutes.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice solution Dutchman.

bedwards, let me get back to you on travelling to Maine to borrow your bike 

Enough of the snow melted off that I was able to ride to work this morning. Temps were in the mid-30's, (2-3C ) and of course it was raining. But the commute went well and I was happy to be riding, not driving, to the office.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

back at it myself today too after a couple days of dad taxi duty. came out to the garage to a flat tire, forgot to put my helmet on when i left, the quarter-mile-long wooden bridge on my route was solid sheet ice (i just took the studded tires back off), and fought a nasty headwind.. welcome back!



woodway said:


> ..I was happy to be riding, not driving, to the office.


but, this. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Snow Day! 
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2020/01/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration.html


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway good to hear you can ride again. Werent you thinking about a new bike? A fatbike might do it 


Bedwards those are very nice pics. Nice snow pile up on your helmet ^^ 

No snow in sight here yet, not even freezing temps. At least, calm weather and not too much rain. Today was quite nice, 5C and calm. I even got to see a very nice colourful sunset on the way home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Bit of a hairy ride in this morning - ice! 

It was raining on the ride home last night, temps in the upper 30's, 3-4C. Overnight it cleared out and temps dropped to freezing in cold spots. Had to get off an walk a couple of times and experienced a couple of sketchy moments when I suddenly found myself on ice at speed. Made it to work without going down but don't want to repeat that again...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway very good that you walked when necessary. We had a similar situation last winter and despite the conti wintercontacts I went down on the 3rd turn...

It was a beautiful day here. I made a nice sunrise pic this morning but during the best part of it I was riding away from the sun. Made my detour again and came well through the construction site. It didnt rain 2 days so there was a dry track in the mud and also it was still daylight. 

Happy weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

edit #1
double posting

edit #2:
I had a look at my numbers for last year. I rode approx 5000 kilometers / 3100 miles. That is about 500km more than usual for which I "blame" the new cx bike and the fattie that both moved in last year. I dont get to ride them much but love it everytime when I have the chance.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> Bit of a hairy ride in this morning - ice!
> 
> ..I suddenly found myself on ice at speed. Made it to work without going down but don't want to repeat that again.


my exact experience yesterday too. in the following pic i circled a wooden bridge above a wet area on my normal route that was a smooth sheet of bare ice (that as you can see i found a reroute on the ride home) :










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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My commute was in a truck. We ended up with about 12" of snow from our 4" storm. We've got another storm coming in tomorrow. The good news is that there is enough to get the snowmobiles out to pack the trails again. Monday will be a new ballgame. 

Have a good weekend all.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Hey all thought I would check in. I took a little time off over Christmas but I'm still here and still riding but only about 1/2 as much as I do when the weather is nicer. Actually it has less to do with the weather and more to do with the dark. Although my new Out Bound Lighting Hangover edition has really helped with that. It has been unusually warm the last few weeks so the rides have been muddy, sloppy, and kinda grey and dull. However, I like riding and look forward to the sun making and appearance during the rides again. Hope you all are well. I have very few good pictures to share as the light has been a little absent as discussed.










And one from Italy on our recent Christmas trip.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Pretty uneventful rides for me this week, but they claim snowmageddon is on the way tonight. I'll believe it when it see it. 

If it goes as predicted, it'll be a nasty storm: 5 to 8 inches of snow followed by rain followed by plummeting temperatures. Not good for anything but sitting in the house. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jamespc said:


> If it goes as predicted, it'll be a nasty storm: 5 to 8 inches of snow followed by rain followed by plummeting temperatures. Not good for anything but sitting in the house.


I don't want to hear about snowmageddon. I've got to travel from Maine to Detroit for work (Novi) in a few weeks and the chance of Travel changing weather in mid winter is always extremely possible.

We got 5-8" over the weekend too. The trails are pretty well packed. I didn't notice it when I left but my front tire has a slow leak and it was about 2PSI by the time I got to work. The trails were packed powder so it mostly worked other than me thinking I would have to stop and pump it up for the whole ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

James did you get the weather that was forecasted?

Bedards those leaks are the worst. You cant find and fix them that easily and you dont want to work on it long too in the snow. I guess you were on the fatbike? Is it set up tubeless?

We have the biggest high since decades I heard. Pressure is up to 1046mbar/hPa, my converter says 30,71 inHg. Consequently we have calm weather. Weather report said it should be freezing and foggy this morning but it was 5C when I left and there was no sign of freezing or fog whatsoever. Ride home was the same. Its just that daylight is mostly back on my rides, thats nice!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yes fatbike, no tubeless. I've learned through trial and failure that tubeless doesn't work with this rim/tire combination. Fatbike tires hold so much air that these slow leaks can be ignored in favor of working on them at home.  I pumped it up at lunch. If it is still mostly solid before I leave I'll top it off and fix it at home.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

We did get some pretty nasty weather. Surprisingly, the city did a reasonable job plowing. The ground is covered with snow and looks pretty, but it is all frozen solid. 

I had today off, so I didn't ride. Tomorrow is supposed to be 6°f. Not sure if I'll ride. 

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My fatbike has tubes too and I am not touching it until I have too and I have no clue whether the rims and tires are tubeless compatible either. Good luck for your ride home then! ^^Do you have some nice snow pics ?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Some people swear by tubeless fatbike. I've set up plenty of bikes tubeless with no problems. This fatbike mounts up fine and rides great until it burps out all the air and the tire falls off the rim. There is no recovery other than putting a tube in. It usually fails in the extreme cold so that is a NO.

No new pics but I put together my winter morning series. 
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2020/01/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration_20.html



jamespc said:


> I had today off, so I didn't ride. Tomorrow is supposed to be 6°f. Not sure if I'll ride.


I'm riding :


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Some people swear by tubeless fatbike. I've set up plenty of bikes tubeless with no problems. This fatbike mounts up fine and rides great until it burps out all the air and the tire falls off the rim. There is no recovery other than putting a tube in. It usually fails in the extreme cold so that is a NO.
> 
> No new pics but I put together my winter morning series.
> https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2020/01/early-morning-cyclist-inspiration_20.html
> ...


I see, throwing down the gauntlet are you? 

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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I'm also running my fat with tubes. My rims are technically not tubeless ready, but they were running jumbo Jim's tubeless. I couldn't get the dillengers to seat, so I went with tubes. For my riding I can't tell a difference. The studs make it a little like riding on Velcro though. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jamespc said:


> I see, throwing down the gauntlet are you?


Don't you know it! We got colder temps than promised. And look at that dew point. My lips are chapped just reading it. Well and just being out in it for 1-1/2 hours. 








I'm not sure why they haven't developed a solid tubeless standard for fatbikes. The Dillingers are horrid at tubeless. Mine are so loose I can drop them over the rims and they will fall off the other side. I ran the Ground Control tires tubeless over a whole summer with zero issues on the same rims. And the specilized rims are lousy for tubeless too. Straight walls, no hook at all.

The ride home last night was freshly groomed and a little soft. But oh boy -7F will freeze some things up. The trails were in great shape but things are really slow at those temps. My wheels still don't spin when it is cold and it is enough to notice.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I actually rode in today instead of walking. I've been avoiding doing most recreational riding because I somehow hurt my shoulder, I think from falling asleep in an unfortunate position, but it's been going on for over a week now. So I decided I would at least do 1.5 miles each way to work, because even though it hurts a fair bit to get in the drops, I can put my lunch in my panier bags and not have it over my shoulder.

Optimally I'll get back to doing 100+ miles a week, and I'm thinking about making commuting a part of that by figuring out a couple of routes that I'll ride religiously instead of straight to and from work, like 7 miles each way would be nice. That and I'm thinking about doing errands and grocery shopping by bike again (how far I have strayed!), but have gotten a lot of resistance from my wife on the grocery front. Not sure why she's just very against it. I think she thinks I expect her to carry the groceries, but I really don't. Like maybe a few things, but I could easily get all of our groceries in my two sets of bags. I also don't think she realizes I'll exercise a lot more if I have to do it for pragmatic and routine purposes rather than just cruising around. I swear I'm not really lazy, I just need an ulterior motive.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards wow, that is really cold overthere. Good luck riding in those temps. 

NDD, how about moving further away from work? 

Still no sign of winter here but it wasnt nice either out today. Temps were around 4C, it was foggy and winds around 12-15 kts, which made it feel quite like winter. The good side is that it didnt rain fo a while now and the unpaved part of my route is now pretty dry and rideable.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> NDD, how about moving further away from work?


LOL, Dutchman, I don't know if you've ever been to the US but there's a reason I'd choose to either live in the city or the middle of nowhere. In the city you have little true privacy but things are convenient. In the country you have privacy, but nothing is convenient. In the suburban areas you have neighbors in your business and nothing is really convenient. FWIW, despite my city having the highest per capita murder rate in the country for a few years running, I live and work in safe neighborhoods, and know how to get around. The fact that, if I need to, I can be at work in 6 minutes by car or 12 minutes by bike and not have to sit in start/stop traffic is invaluable to me. Going out of my way would be a small sacrifice, but I need to trick myself into believing the routine with extra miles, so I keep doing it.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Don't you know it! We got colder temps than promised. And look at that dew point. My lips are chapped just reading it. Well and just being out in it for 1-1/2 hours.
> View attachment 1306609
> 
> 
> ...


You won. I rode today, but was a little disappointed that the temp was 17° feels like 8° instead of actually being 8°. Wunderland got updated a while ago and kind of sucks now.

Ndd, sorry to hear about your shoulder, but it always makes me feel better to know that others get sleeping injuries too.

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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

We have winter finally set in for us this week. Temps down to -8C. After what feels like weeks of rain many places are sheets of ice so I have been off the bike mostly. I am hoping to ride later this week. Hope you all have good safe rides today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi jeremy thats incredible overhere we still have +6C. 

This morning had drizzle and a headwind so wasnt exactly a lovely ride but it was good rule #9 training. The way home was nice though, dry and calm, not much more to wish for in january.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jamespc said:


> You won. I rode today, but was a little disappointed that the temp was 17° feels like 8° instead of actually being 8°. Wunderland got updated a while ago and kind of sucks now.
> Ndd, sorry to hear about your shoulder, but it always makes me feel better to know that others get sleeping injuries too.


I think you won. You rode and it wasn't dangerously cold. :thumbsup: LOL, sleeping injuries: Welcome to old age.

Today was 8F and felt much nicer. The trails were fantastic. I offered to shuttle a friends car home so she could ride the trails home with my wife.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jamespc said:


> Ndd, sorry to hear about your shoulder, but it always makes me feel better to know that others get sleeping injuries too.
> 
> Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


LOL! But I bet you were over 30 before it happened! Been stretching it out, feeling better.

Extended my commute to 9 miles today. That's really like a sweet spot to get you nice and focused for work. Don't know about y'all but I've probably got the adult ADD and the exercise really helps to focus for longer stretches, especially if I get any cardio.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

NDD said:


> LOL! But I bet you were over 30 before it happened! Been stretching it out, feeling better.
> 
> Extended my commute to 9 miles today. That's really like a sweet spot to get you nice and focused for work. Don't know about y'all but I've probably got the adult ADD and the exercise really helps to focus for longer stretches, especially if I get any cardio.


Yup, I was over 30 before the sleep injuries started setting in. I always do better at work after riding. Definitely helps the focus.

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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NDD, I'm a commute-stretcher too. My direct route is only a little over 8 mile each way. Far too short for my tastes so I like stretch stretch things out both to and from work. It's become a habit and part of my day - I don't even think about it anymore. And, if I am really in a hurry, I can just take the direct route for a quick trip.

jamespc and bedwards, you both win in my book. I think I have commuted in single digits once and it was painful. Well done both.

Rain, rain and more rain for me. Pretty much every commute for the past two weeks has been in the rain at for at least one of the directions, if not both. And there is no letup in sight. At least I can notice (through the gloom) that the days are getting longer.

The spring in my right brifter broke. I've decided to replace that side with a full hydraulic system (I've got cable actuated hydraulic now). I'm sure that will eventually force an upgrade on the other side...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm known to take the long way too but the short option is 10 or 12 miles so over 20 miles/ day is a good base. My extended winter commutes go from 8 to a max of about 12 which at the speed of winter is plenty.

Woodway, you must have skied in single temps, it isn't much different. Road commuting at 0F is brutal with the wind. But with average speeds around 6-10MPH it isn't bad. Today was around 5F which felt pretty normal. 

I took the skinny tire bike because the trails seemed really firm and I just swapped over from a 2.1" to a 2.35". Nope. I let out a bunch of pressure so it wouldn't dig through the snow. The ride was OK but it felt like my tires and the snow were velcro. I got to the driveway at work and realized that the pressure was so low that it was just that I was riding on flat tires. Yesterday's ride on the fatbuke was < 1 hour. Today's ride with identical conditions took 1:20 and felt like a lot more work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm back on the fatbike today. After my flat tire experience on the skinny bike I decided to try the fatty with more pressure than I usually use, all the way up to 9PSI. Handling suffered and I spun out on the steepest (20%) hill but it was fast fast fast. My hour & 20 minute ride turned into 54 minutes. 

I was lubing my chain on the fatbike and decided to check it for wear. I almost didn't bother because the chain and cassette are under 1 year old and they don't get dirty. The chain is toast. So toast that I'm sure the cassette is toast too. WTF? 750 miles on a drivetrain that stays very clean seems really low even to my cassette mashing legs. Oh well, I ordered up a new chain and cassette. I'll stick this cassette on the shelf and run the whole thing into the ground the next time.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards I am running the fatbike tires also at a pretty high pressure so far. It is pretty fast and still grippy and floating on soft sand. It is only more difficult on bumpy downhills since it doesnt soak up the bumps. In general it is ok for beachriding and easier xc trails, that we have a lot here.

Woodway you are beating everyone when it comes to riding in the rain and the rule #9 award definitely goes to you. 

Well rides were good yesterday and wet today. It wasnt forecasted but it was colder than expected and additional drizzle both rides too. I didnt make my usual detour on the way home but I did vary the route on 2 parts which added about 15 minutes anyway on the way home. Planning a fattie ride tomorrow, cant wait.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Hey all, great ride for me today. 1C and finally the whole way in was dry. I gave my Fargo a really good cleaning this weekend and changed the shift cable out as well. I also adjusted the brifter position and added some gel pads and rewrapped the bars. Only problem was I ran out of wrap and so only the right side got done as I had to remove it to swap the cable. I tend to have worse issue with that hand going to sleep in me and today it totally didn’t. So I’m hopeful once both a fully updated with gel pads and new wrap those problems will be behind me. I also swapped my seat back the the stock Fargo WTB volt to try it as I have been having issues with the Brooks saddle. But after riding one way 35km on the WTB I will switch back as soon as I get home. It was way more uncomfortable. I may be in search of a true seat swap soon. Hope you all have good safe rides today. Cheers, Jeremy


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I picked up some Surly Extraterrestrial 29x2.5" tires over the weekend for my drop bar mtb. Not sure how well they mount since the wheels are 23 mm internal, I believe, but it was very easy. Good news is that there's still gobs of space in the frame, fairly certain I could fit 2.8" tires, though I think that I'd have to remove the rear rack, and a Trek 920 without racks is just silly. Either that or get a second wheelset for 27.5+. 

I'll say the tires are really low rolling resistance and also beefy enough to feel ok abusing. They smooth out the worst roads and once you get them rolling it feels like you'll never stop, but at 1070 grams (2.4 lbs) a pice, these tires are downright heavy and take some effort to get rolling. The amount of cut and flat protection these offer is probably worth the weight though, especially if touring or commuting.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> WTF? 750 miles on a drivetrain that stays very clean seems really low even to my cassette mashing legs.


went through literally the same thing last week. just over 700 miles on a chain and cassette and the chain would skip with any watts put to it in the 11, 13, and 15 tooth cogs. chain measured between .75 and 1.00 on the wear gauge, so tried a new chain, which made the skipping worse as expected. admittedly the drivetrain saw some slop like fatbikes do, but i always made sure to clean up and relube after nasty rides.

new chain and cassette and all is good. did a shakedown ride on our local gravel.










back on the commuter this morning after a week off of it due to other life. felt like a month. sketchy paths with black ice, frozen footprints, even virgin crunchy, crusty snow. still beats driving.

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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

NDD said:


> ..but at 1070 grams (2.4 lbs) a pice, these tires are downright heavy and take some effort to get rolling. The amount of cut and flat protection these offer is probably worth the weight though, especially if touring or commuting.


wow! i have a set of fat bike tires that weigh that! like you say though, given the trade offs and their intended vocation i'm sure it's worth it.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bbender785 said:


> went through literally the same thing last week. just over 700 miles on a chain and cassette and the chain would skip with any watts put to it in the 11, 13, and 15 tooth cogs. chain measured between .75 and 1.00 on the wear gauge, so tried a new chain, which made the skipping worse as expected. admittedly the drivetrain saw some slop like fatbikes do, but i always made sure to clean up and relube after nasty rides.


My wear gauge only measures 0.5 & 0.75 but it dropped right in on the 0.75 side. It wasn't skipping yet but it was getting noisy. I'm 100% sure a new chain would have skipped on the old cassette. Both should be here soon. I'm debating a new chainring because this one will undoubtedly wear out the new bits faster. On the other hand I think I'll swap these parts back and forth until things stop working the then do a full refresh next time. In 2 years it might be time for a bike up-grade.

No bike commute for me today. The trails & lake are too soft and I feel like crap, cold. Hopefully both will be better tomorrow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bbender785 said:


> wow! i have a set of fat bike tires that weigh that! like you say though, given the trade offs and their intended vocation i'm sure it's worth it.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, it's really hurting my wheelie game.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I replaced the right broken brifter this weekend and took the opportunity to deep clean my commuter. The snow that we had three weeks ago, followed by two weeks of rain really did a number on the moving bits. I have been riding though buckets and buckets of water filled with sand and grit.

First my headset started indexing and there was goo leaking out of the bottom onto the fork, so I pulled it apart to have a look and was greeted with this:









The headset was wrecked, full of grit that I could not flush out. Thankfully, I had a spare on hand to install.

Later, I pulled the chain to clean and lube it, and when I spun the cranks all I could hear was grinding. So I pulled the bottom bracket and got this:

















Did not even try to flush that one out, I also had a spare bottom bracket that I installed. Every other bit came off the bike was cleaned lubed and reinstalled. It all took a full day, but she is ready to ride now.

No ride for me today, but will be riding the rest of the week. Of course the forecast calls for...more rain.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> ..Every other bit came off the bike was cleaned lubed and reinstalled. It all took a full day, but she is ready to ride now.


a daunting undertaking, but there's a serious sense of accomplishment from doing this, at least for me. this kind of stuff is what i do to unwind though, so maybe i'm the exception, ha.

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway I dont wanna know how your frame would look like if it wasnt titanium. Looks like it would be just as much toast as the bearings that you pulled out. How much did those last, do you have an estimation?

NDD try the schwalbe marathon unflattable tires in the same size  those beat the ET by far I guess.

Bender nice pics. What brand is the black bike? 

Rain this morning and I had the full hardshell rain gear on. It was quite nice actually, it was 4C and I had the layers just right so that I felt warm, dry and cosy on the way. On the ride home I beat a guy who usually overtakes me on his ebike. We arrived at the same light from different directions and I let him go first because I expected him to speed away as usual. But he crept in front of me with a terrible crunchy noise, today he was on a normal bike with spiketires mounted on it. WTF it was 8C and no freezing temps in sight the next weeks. So after creeping behind him for 5 minutes I overtook him first opportunity and after 10 minutes I could not see him behind me anymore. I hope I havent hurt his ego too much :lol:


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bender nice pics. What brand is the black bike?


that's my Specialized Fatboy. started as an SE model, and i've chipped away at upgrades the last few years. i've cut almost 5lb off the bike with the snow wheels/tires, and over 8lb with the 4" tires on 50mm wheels.










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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bbender785 said:


> that's my Specialized Fatboy. started as an SE model, and i've chipped away at upgrades the last few years. i've cut almost 5lb off the bike with the snow wheels/tires, and over 8lb with the 4" tires on 50mm wheels.


Nice looking bike, bbender!



bbender785 said:


> a daunting undertaking, but there's a serious sense of accomplishment from doing this, at least for me. this kind of stuff is what i do to unwind though, so maybe i'm the exception, ha.


You are not alone - I also enjoy and get a lot of satisfaction from tinkering with my bikes.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway I dont wanna know how your frame would look like if it wasnt titanium. Looks like it would be just as much toast as the bearings that you pulled out. How much did those last, do you have an estimation?


That is the beauty of a Ti frame...it's pretty much impervious to all the crud on to road. I don't closely track parts replacements on my bike, but I'll guess I got about 12,000 miles/19km out of the headset and about half of that from the bottom bracket. I can usually get more but this winter has been really bad from a road grime perspective.

Here is a beauty shot of my commuter after the clean-up and re-assembly:


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> Here is a beauty shot of my commuter after the clean-up and re-assembly:
> 
> View attachment 1308049


that thing is sweeeet.

my hollering-out-the-window buddy and i crossed paths again this morning on the road. saw him go a ways down the road after he passed by (oncoming), turn around, and as he came up behind me (still a few hundred feet away) turned into another random driveway for a second... then backed out and followed again. by this time i was up on the raised multi-use path, and i saw him coming, so i stopped and waited for him. he just sped by quietly. i really don't know what this dude's thought process is, lmao.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bbender785 said:


> that thing is sweeeet.


Be careful or he will talk you into buying one.  Or maybe I'm the one that will talk you into buying one. 










bbender785 said:


> my hollering-out-the-window buddy and i crossed paths again this morning on the road. saw him go a ways down the road after he passed by (oncoming), turn around, and as he came up behind me (still a few hundred feet away) turned into another random driveway for a second... then backed out and followed again. by this time i was up on the raised multi-use path, and i saw him coming, so i stopped and waited for him. he just sped by quietly. i really don't know what this dude's thought process is, lmao.


I'm pretty sure people like that don't have a thought process.

We got a lot of rain and warm weather over the weekend but most of the snow on the trails survived just fine. The lake had an annoying layer of water under a top layer of ice. One more good cold night should fix that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Be careful or he will talk you into buying one.  Or maybe I'm the one that will talk you into buying one.


Every time I see a pic of your habenaro, bedwards, I remember how much I dig those fenders you put on. I just need to get off my duff and order some!

Well, my bike did not stay clean for long, more rain this morning. I just read that Seattle is expected to tie the record for the number of rainy day in January - 28. The normal is about 15...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

They are not expensive. 1 year in and they still look new dispite me trying to crumple them with a stick in the woods. I have since updated them with breakaway mounts in the front.

I'll make it easy on you. This was the cheapest place around when I bought them.
https://www.benscycle.com/handsome-...e_fender_handsomecycles_mudbutler_433/product


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I've been progressively adding more weight to my bike for kicks. I put the book equivalent of one and a half encyclopedias in some bags for the front today. I'll say I added that to hold me down on the surprise wintery mix I wasn't expecting today. 

But that made me wonder, how often do you northerners get a wintery mix and is that what you call sleet, rain, snow, and/or ice at the same time? Or is your wintery mix wet and powdery snow falling together?


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

NDD said:


> ..But that made me wonder, how often do you northerners get a wintery mix and is that what you call sleet, rain, snow, and/or ice at the same time? Or is your wintery mix wet and powdery snow falling together?


yes. lol.

all the above, in any combination at any given time, at least here in west michigan. it's been a mild winter, so we've seen a lot of what you describe.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> I've been progressively adding more weight to my bike for kicks. I put the book equivalent of one and a half encyclopedias in some bags for the front today. I'll say I added that to hold me down on the surprise wintery mix I wasn't expecting today.
> 
> But that made me wonder, how often do you northerners get a wintery mix and is that what you call sleet, rain, snow, and/or ice at the same time? Or is your wintery mix wet and powdery snow falling together?


You have a funny way of getting your kicks. That seems like a lot of trouble when you could just buy a Surly. 

Wintery Mix = They don't know exactly what is going to happen. Usually the former in your example, maybe with some graupel "for kicks". Powdery and wet snow almost never fall together.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> You have a funny way of getting your kicks. That seems like a lot of trouble when you could just buy a Surly.


LOLZ I was pretty darn close to buying an Ogre it a Big Dummy in recent history. I decided to drop a cash bomb on my student loans instead of having a heavy bike I load with heavy things. Although without bags, I'm fairly certain the Trek 920 comes in at 28 lbs stock. For an aluminum bike, that's hefty!

I'm glad y'all get the full winter experience, I feel like our main winter precipitation is sleet, but we've mostly been getting rain this year.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Objection ndd. Overhere we have had only rain so far. I had 2 mornings on which temps were just below freezing and just in this moment some sleet is falling, which is expected to turn into rain soon. So far no serious freezing or snow whatsoever. The 2week forecast doesnt show anything wintery either. It looks like this is going to be the mildest winter I have experienced and for sure the mildest since I started riding in 2013. 

By now I am also thinking of getting a habanero ti bike, although I have no complains about my 3 bikes with simple aluminium frames. Its just that I like the sleek and the very unremarkable look of it.

Rain on both rides today, and a nasty headwind on the way home too. Good times


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> It looks like this is going to be the mildest winter I have experienced and for sure the mildest since I started riding in 2013.


Well Duh, you bough a fatbike this year. That will change global weather patterns more than your carbon footprint.



cyclingdutchman said:


> By now I am also thinking of getting a habanero ti bike, although I have no complains about my 3 bikes with simple aluminium frames. Its just that I like the sleek and the very unremarkable look of it.


 Stealthy! I put 2200 miles on it in the first year and have no regrets about buying it at all.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

decided to skip my commute today and did a stake out in the truck where i always get hassled by the same driver. he came by right on time and i was able to get a good clear picture of the car and license plate at a stop light, and tailed him for a few turns until i felt like i was being obvious. might pick up again another time. i absolutely don't plan on initiating anything, just want my ducks in a row should anything escalate in the future.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bbender785 said:


> i absolutely don't plan on initiating anything, just want my ducks in a row should anything escalate in the future.


Maybe start riding with a camera on your helmet or bars?

Dutchman, just buy the Ti bike already. You know you want one 

Rain again yesterday and this morning. Sigh. My bike looks like I never cleaned it this past weekend. On a happier note, the rear hydraulic disc brake I installed is great. Very happy so far.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bbender, that is a special level of harassing driver. Good luck.

Update on my leaky front fatbike tire. It still leaks but so slowly that I haven't done anything about it. 

Trails are all good, lake is all good, all is all good.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Any of y'all ever transport a bag of dog food on your bike? Looking for suggestions. Was going to drive to work today, but got a flat tire (popping off the rim flat) and had to have it towed, because my spare tire was stuck under the truck, due to the bolt holding it being absolutely seized. Also I flatted in a no parking zone... The sad part is I could see my house from where I got stuck. 

After that I walked my happy ass to work, but thought if I were on a bike I'd have never had to deal with the trouble of what to do when your car is not drivable. You just pick up your bike. I'm talking like a 15-20 lb bag of dog food. That's what I want to move. Maybe I should just get a dog trailer for my girls and then I can use that for awkward things when I'm not carrying them around. Unfortunately the only bike trailer I can find won't hold two 50 lb dogs! However they would hold one dog and/or a bag of dog food.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards and woodway I will probably buy one some day. I withstood the temptation on a demo salsa fargo ti that they offered for just above the price of a frameset a few weeks ago. And of course I regret that now.

Rain here too, and it came with 20kts of wind so it was almost horizontal. My coworker even got a hailshower on the way in so apparently I was even lucky to have only rain. Probably the same tomorrow, #9 rulez


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

NDD :lol: should have bought the big dummy right?  you always talk about everything being close, can you carry it or take it in a hiking backpack?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> NDD  should have bought the big dummy right?  you always talk about everything being close, can you carry it or take it in a hiking backpack?


You're right, I should have! Yes things are close, but I do need just a few other groceries and some roads don't have a sidewalk. It's only like a 2 mile walk, really, but still... Hiking pack would maybe be feasible, but I actually don't think my 55 L pack would hold the bag of dog food. Maybe I should cruise the used market on cargo trailers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD. I just jury rigged a large $5 trashcan to my rear rack. Ghetto pannier. I have carried a large watermelon and other produce.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> NDD. I just jury rigged a large $5 trashcan to my rear rack. Ghetto pannier. I have carried a large watermelon and other produce.


Great! Have any pics of this setup?


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The last ice patch on the rail trail finally shrunk away enough that I switched from the studded tire MTB to the road bike this morning..... and saved a grand total of 30 seconds on the 10km ride.

Red lights suck.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL, smokin'! 

I shaved some time off my commute too but I was still running studs and really needed them. I did a little time trialing on my commute with the fatbike through the woods. At 47 minutes it is probably one of my faster winter commutes. I'm going to repeat it tomorrow with the skinny bike. 

The lake is all ice with some lumpy spots and the trails have their share of ice too so the studs are mandatory.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> Great! Have any pics of this setup?


Here is the Duchess with one on the rack:









I used a standard bungee cord to hold the bottom against the rear triangle and used hooks and aluminum carabiners to fasten to the side rail of the rack.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Here is the errand bike with home made porteur rack with side mounted smaller trash cans and the twin larger ones on the rear rack:


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Brian that's great. Very low tech. I've gotta ask, do they rattle like mad?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Brian, nice to hear from you. I like the second picture, those flowers in the front basket really nail it :thumbsup: 

Cruiser that doesnt sound very appealing. Sounds like you could really use a very nice light bike to acceler

Again a ride with rain and headwind today this morning. The wind picked up even more when I rode home but at least it was dry and a steamy 8C. Some windchill was nice ... 

But my co-worker really won the #9 cup this morning: She had a headwind all the way and had to wait 20 minutes at a closed barrier until 4 freighttrains had passed, while standing in a strong wind and sleet / rain shower. 

The kids dont have school tomorrow so I took a day off. Hope to do some wrenching in the afternoon and maybe make a testride too.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

quiet ride for me this morning too.. i’ve determined my stalker must work until 6:00 am locally, as so far we’ve crossed paths in the same spot between 6:14 and 6:22. i made it through there at 5:59 today.

took the day off myself tomorrow too, heading up north again to the same fatbike trail after numerous reports coming in of “epic” conditions. will still have more vacation days than i’m allowed to carry over come Feb 3rd, so figured why not. 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> I shaved some time off my commute too but I was still running studs and really needed them. I did a little time trialing on my commute with the fatbike through the woods. At 47 minutes it is probably one of my faster winter commutes. I'm going to repeat it tomorrow with the skinny bike.


Comparison complete and the fatbike clocked in about 2 minutes faster on the commute. Today ride was 48:44 vs yesterday's 46:49. BUT, I had another spirited ride home last night and my legs are feeling it today. Also, my carbon fatbike is in the 28lb-29 range and the 10 year old aluminum FS bike is more like 33 -34, could be 35lbs. I had the pressure on the fatty a little high which was fast but uncomfortable on the bumpy ice.

That was a long winded way of saying they were both good.

No commutes for me for a few days because I'm flying out to Detroit for some training. Looking at bbenders pic of "up north" made me think I should try to find a fatbike rental place for the downtime I will have on Sunday afternoon. But temps are going to be in the high 40s.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

A bit more time was saved on the way home. 

At -8C my hands keep getting cold in the road bike bar-mitts, although they usually overheat at similar temps with the mountain bike bar-mitts. I'm trying to figure out why. 

Obviously airspeed is one factor, but it seems like not enough by itself. Maybe having more weight on my hands?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> Brian that's great. Very low tech. I've gotta ask, do they rattle like mad?


No, plastic is sort of self damping. I have to use a small ball ended bungee cord to keep them back to prevent heel strikes. If I have loss stuff in them like a cable lock I can get some noise. Usually empty or packed full. I have less than $50 in the racks, paniers and the free cooler. I think I saved enough gas that they are free.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi commuters, I have not caught up on the forum but wanted to say hello. 2020 started poorly with a fever on 1/2/20 that morphed into a cold that I couldn't shake, taking me off the bike for most of January. I was also tryin to get healthy for our 2020 trip to Puerto Rico with the shop/bike adventure club. We just got back yesterday, as did our 9 bikes, yay! It was great! A few pix...


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ..Looking at bbenders pic of "up north" made me think I should try to find a fatbike rental place for the downtime I will have on Sunday afternoon. But temps are going to be in the high 40s.


you have to go to the north half of the lower peninsula to find any snow anyways, hours north of detroit.

fatbike ride friday was great. held a couple KOMs for a day... i came home and raved on our local trail conditions page about how good it was, then a friend of mine went up and crushed my times, haha.

back to commuting this morning. another crazy mild february day predicted today, almost 50 again.










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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Great commute this morning. Mid 40's and going to be mid 60's on the way home. Did 13 miles today. Yesterday was very warm and I think it brought some extra idiot drivers out. The kinda people who park along side you in the wrong lane at a stoplight.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

mtbxplorer said:


> Hi commuters, I have not caught up on the forum but wanted to say hello. 2020 started poorly with a fever on 1/2/20 that morphed into a cold that I couldn't shake, taking me off the bike for most of January. I was also tryin to get healthy for our 2020 trip to Puerto Rico with the shop/bike adventure club. We just got back yesterday, as did our 9 bikes, yay! It was great! A few pix...
> View attachment 1309211
> 
> 
> ...


Looks like a great trip. The flu season has been nasty to me this winter. I am currently fighting a fever, with a having cough. I went up north to do some cross country skiing with my family and spent most of the weekend laying in bed, wishing I was home. I get to go to the doctor this afternoon.

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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Finally got around to looking at your PR pics, MTBX. Looks like a blast!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

MTBX sorry to hear you've been under the weather. Your trip pics look great!


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Yesterdays meltwater on the path had a pretty hard freeze overnight, so for the first time in 2020 I skipped the railtrail and actually did about 3 km on an arterial road. 

Dry roads and a stiff tailwind couldn't take my mind off how bad everyone drives these days.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hi MTXB, I was going to ask where you had been. Now I know. 


bbender785 said:


> you have to go to the north half of the lower peninsula to find any snow anyways, hours north of detroit.
> 
> fatbike ride friday was great. held a couple KOMs for a day... i came home and raved on our local trail conditions page about how good it was, then a friend of mine went up and crushed my times, haha.


I used option B and took a nap, LOL. Right, no snow where I was. Congrats on the KOMs. It doesn't matter if you lose them, only that you get them.

We've still got some icy snow hanging on. With fresh legs from 3 days off I set out on my skinny studded bike to crush my time from last Friday. Well, I went from 48 minutes and 44 seconds to 48 minutes and 7 seconds. I attribute it to more iciness and a headwind on the lake.

We've got some kind of wintery mix coming in tomorrow. They can't decide it it is going to be more snow or more rain.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow MTBX that looks very nice. Exactly the right thing to do in winter 

Yesterday it rained the whole day and we had some frost overnight. I checked if I would ride because exactly those conditions caused my only crash in years when my front wheel slipped in a corner. This morning it turned out to be ok on the road and I took the unpaved section, since the mud was all frozen and finally rideable again. It turned into a lovely calm sunny day. For early February, couldnt be better.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

We were supposed to get snow today. So far we're on the line for temps, so it's pretty much all rain. I know it's only a mile and a half, but I'll claim rule #9 for doing it in freezing rain yesterday. Let's see what the ride home brings.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

finally starting to look like february around here today.










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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

While you all are dealing with snow, I'm getting rain, rain and more rain.

I finished January with a rain ride either to work, from work, or both ways, every single day I rode during the month. I thought February might be better, but it's been more of the same. And yesterday. Yesterday brought the concept of riding in the rain to a whole new level of wet. Sorry to be complaining...I have no problems riding in the rain...I even enjoy riding in the light mist we usually get around here...but a whole day with a dry commute would be a welcome change.

I've also had a spate of flat tires, and now that's gone to my head. Yesterday riding home I "imagined" that my rear tire was going flat two times - and both times I stopped to check the tire only to find out that, no, it's not going flat. I think I'm losing it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather's been mostly crappy here too. Monday was beautiful and 70s, but I had to drive to get to a dentist appointment. The other days have seen rain and colder temps. This morning was my first ride in this week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bender that loks sweet with all that snow. And what light is that? Looks bright.

Woodway it sounds like its really tough even for your standards. 

I heards today that january was 3C/6F warmer than the normal average. I bet february is going to be the same too. We have had lots of rain too but nothing compared to woodway. Today was another nice day with 4C in the morning and 7C on the way home. Nothing like winter at all.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

It was cold this morning at -6C(21F) but clear with a pretty best full moon when I left and sunrise during the ride. Hope you all have a great weekend. And safe rides out there.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Snow! Finally a taste of winter showed up last night. The ride in this morning was refreshing, although the roads could have been better. The temps are just in the upper 20s, and much of the 1-2" snow became a bit icy on the road. There is no salt down. 

The big challenge on the ride was finding traction at a stop sign to cross a busy-ish street. The stop sign is at the lowest point with a slope up to the other road. Maybe a singlespeed with slicks wasn't the best way to go (my inclement weather bike is missing a chain and derailleur cable), but it didn't help that cars were overly cautious. Just when I thought I would be able to cross, a car would turn and creep through the intersection and spoil my opportunity.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bender that loks sweet with all that snow. And what light is that? Looks bright.


it's a chinese clone of the magicshine 808, and i added the diffuser lens. my phone just takes really good low-light pictures.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I've also had a spate of flat tires, and now that's gone to my head. Yesterday riding home I "imagined" that my rear tire was going flat two times - and both times I stopped to check the tire only to find out that, no, it's not going flat. I think I'm losing it.


LOL, that is not uncommon. After the first flat you are always wondering it if is loosing pressure again.

Put me into the group of people getting snow. I skipped yesterday because it was snow over ice. I headed out the door on the bike and turned around. I wasn't in the mood for a broken collarbone. We got about 5" and I skipped today because the trails haven't been packed and we are getting freezing rain. Between my trip, some appointments, snow and car shuffling I've only got one ride this week. Hurrumff.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

We are all agreed that scotch is a good recovery drink, right?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'd lean toward bourbon but it is a matter of personal preference.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Jeremy thats spot on! 

Nice rides again today. I wonder about the temp difference at jeremy's and me, it was 5C all day, dry and calm.

A storm is coming in sunday and monday with winds upto 55 kts and lots of rain. Here in hamburg the river is most likely to overflow too. I brought my laptop and will work from home monday. Hope to have time for a fattie ride tomorrow.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'd lean toward bourbon but it is a matter of personal preference.


I was a bourbon man in the US but the selection here in the EU is limited and the scotch is varied, plentiful, and way cheaper than the US so Scotch and Irish whiskey/whisky win the day.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

You all seem to be good friends with my mortal enemies... Hard alcohol and my temperament just do not get along well. Decreasing impulse control meets loss of filter means I'm probably gonna not be my best me. I'll stick to a post ride beer or five for the weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Snow day!! I drove, but we got sent home at noon, it was pretty bad and the wind picked up when I got home. Two day storm, went from snow to ice to snow again now. Picked up the MTB at the shop, shox sent out for service and ready for summer, lol!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

we got probably 8” of snow from two events over the weekend at my house in west michigan. first one was spotty, a few miles down the road meant a difference of inches. in true Winter ‘19-20 fashion it rained a bit last night to follow it all up and turned all the snow to mashed potatoes. rode the studded tires this morning, glad i did. set a new high score for commute time, ha. studded fat tires would’ve been ideal. 


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We doubled our snow totals for the year last week. We went from like 1.5" to 3". My co-worker "worked from home" on Friday because of the snow. She apparently tried to come into work but drove off the road. It's awfully rough down here. If you ever want a taste of real winter, come to KY. LOL.

More rain today. Drove in. This weather sucks.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

About 8 cm of wet snow.

For the first time all year, a fatbike had gotten to the rail-trail before me, and I got to ride in his track for about 3km. 

I slipped out a few times.... either I need to work on my balance, or he should upgrade from 4" to 5" tires.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Snow Snow and more snow. Has not been good for my bike commuting lately. We were supposed to get a few inches overnight but it turned to about 5. It was fluffy and would have been fine to ride through BUT rain was forecast for today and then cold. I wanted to get the snow off the driveway before all that.

That was the long way to day I didn't ride today. Tomorrow for sure. Probably. Hopefully.

I did get out on a long ride yesterday with the girls. 17 miles of snow riding was plenty.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards that is a nice picture. Who are "the girls" ?

It seems we all have to deal with unbikeable weather of some sort. Still no snow here but rain, lots of it. Last night a storm with gusts of around 50kts passed through. We came out unharmed but we didnt sleep too much since the rain was hammering on the windows for 3 hrs after midnight. Worked from home today, was on the bike for 12minutes during lunchbreak and the wind was still very strong, gusts of around 35kts. Tonight the wind finally calmed down so I rode another 32 minutes around town to get some small things. 

Will ride tomorrow but might take the bus home, since again 40kt gusts are forecasted. Lets see.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow, wind is tough Dutchman! Bedwards, 17 miles certainly is more than enough on snow! I rode today but it wasn't pretty, had to take the lane the whole 8 miles as there was no plowed shoulder or bikepath. And even the lane had that nasty frozen snow/ice that feels like a rumble strip. Most cars were good, one Chevy pickup got a vague hand/arm gesture, like getouttahere, gimme more space; he must have been checking his morrors because I saw some not so vague gestures back. Also heard a state plow behind me (the big ones with wings) and dove into the next driveway to let him pass. Was not happy when I got to work and acres are plowed for cars plus the 5 story garage, but I have to wade through 16" or so to bike park. Forgot to borrow a shovel at lunch and was not happy to tiptoe back through after work trying to avoid snow down my high-top 5.10s. Still and all was happy to get 12 miles in (got a boost halfway home) on the furst day of the commuter challenge - perhaps my chances of prizes will go up in that ill-timed venture.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards that is a nice picture. Who are "the girls" ?


 My wife and a friend of ours. MTXB would have fit right in.

I find taking the lane for that long in a snow storm very stressful. Good job keeping your wits about you. Commuter challenge? Prizes? 

Who am I kidding? I hardly commute by bike anymore. At least that's what it feels like. But I did get out today. It was a hard ride. Nobody had been on the snowmobile trails since the last snow/rain so I was breaking through a slow crust for the whole trail part. It should get better from here.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

took a detour on my ride home yesterday, through a neighborhood to avoid the unplowed trail (6mph heading into work wasn’t enjoyable). worked great, but i didn’t air my tires back up from the morning commute, so i fell victim to a pinch flat bombing down a hill at 18mph when i hit a crack in the pavement. saw it coming too. damnit. lol. 

wife and kids drove by as i was trying to limp it home by adding air. i sent her on, then soon gave in and was in the middle of changing the tube when she showed back up with my truck/bike rack. ha. 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^She's a keeper. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. And dang, 6MPH. I managed 7.1 on my trail breaking adventure this morning and that felt slow.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

it was a slog!!










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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I had my ride stuff set out to brave the freezing fog on the studded tire bike, but the dog had other plans. He took off after 2 deer on our woods walk (just when I said out loud, looking at fresh hoofprints, "that's a big buck" - doh!) Retrieving him turned into a 90 minute snowshoe off-trail, just enough time to drive in, and at least I got my exercise.

I think the fine print in the winter bike/walk challenge says its for Vermonters, but there are Darn Tough socks and other randomly selected prizes. Plus you only need to record 2 commutes to qualify - done!

Since I drove in i grabbed my snow shovel to DIY my bike-parking spot....yep, acres are plowed for cars, plus a 5 story garage, but you have to wade through the deep snow (risking soggy sox!) to park your bike.

A happy ending to report - a friend's fatbike (Norco Bigfoot) was stolen 2 nights ago and last night it was returned to the scene of the crime! Not sure if it was just a joyride or all the social media sharing, but all's well that ends well!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Bike returned? That never happens. Good karma.

Among all your winter carnage, I FINALLY had a dry ride yesterday. Yes friends, after 19 consecutive riding days of being rained on riding to/from work (or both ways), I finally managed to ride TO work and home FROM from work without a drop of rain.

Of course this morning riding to work, it rained.

My bike is a mess again. Something was grinding in there this morning. I'll have to strip things down again this weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dogs are such a pain in the ass sometimes. Did he come back all wild-eyed and out of breath with a big smile on his face.

Last nights trip home was much better. It's amazing what one packed tire track will do for your speed. This morning was even faster. We've got a few inches of snow again for tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^Woodway congrats on the dry ride. I have to say, your conditions sound like you could use an internal gear hub combined with a chaincase of some sort. Ever considered that? I think a Shimano Alfine 11 sounds suitable but with your mileage even a Rohloff might be something to consider.

MTBX My dad had a dog like that too and at some point we didnt wait or look for him anymore, but simply went home and found him hours later on the spot where he left off. Since then he never took off again. I am not saying you should be that tough on him but you might hide somewhere and let him search for a while before you "accidently" show up again.

I took the bus again today. I also spoke to a collegue who lives close and rides the same route, and he said that riding was possible in general, but the gusts were dangerous and he was almost blown into the lane two times on the ride in. It looks like taking the bus was the right thing to do. Finally the wind is supposed to calm down enough to ride tomorrow and Friday. Sunday another storm is expected to pass through and the whole thing starts over again...but I will enjoy the next two days


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ever considered that?


Yup, until I look at the prices, and consider that I would also have to buy new wheels (or get my current wheels re-laced), and in the case of the Alfine hub, new rear brifter (not sure what pull ratio the Rholoff uses, might need a new brifter there too). Beautiful engineering, but I'll keep my money in my pocket and just clean my bike now and then


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I just saw WAY too many moving parts. Obviously it works, but to me it looks like it would strip itself to death with the torque of standing on the pedals. Yeah, that, and it cost more than most bikes I have bought.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Weather has been bad. Rainy and 30s or 40s. I've been driving. Tomorrow looks like it might be OK, then Friday is going to be cold. That's OK by me. Maybe the trails will freeze and will be rideable early Saturday.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Decent rides today though colder and windier than expected on the ride home.



bedwards1000 said:


> Dogs are such a pain in the ass sometimes. Did he come back all wild-eyed and out of breath with a big smile on his face.
> 
> Last nights trip home was much better. It's amazing what one packed tire track will do for your speed. This morning was even faster. We've got a few inches of snow again for tomorrow.


Sounds like a nice ride home! Snow overnight and tomorrow here too, with maybe some mixed stuff too. He was maybe breathing a bit but not panting despite the workout in 16" or so. On the trip home you would think he would be tired and stay in my snowshoe tracks, but whenever we crossed deer, coyote, rabbit tracks he had to follow them a bit.



cyclingdutchman said:


> MTBX My dad had a dog like that too and at some point we didnt wait or look for him anymore, but simply went home and found him hours later on the spot where he left off. Since then he never took off again. I am not saying you should be that tough on him but you might hide somewhere and let him search for a while before you "accidently" show up again.


This dog is a bit different than most, he has returned home ahead of me after taking off and was just calmly waiting under the apple tree. He also met me back at the car once when MTB'g, and from his tracker collar I could see he had taken trails he had never been on. He is very independent and unphased by traversing the woods alone. At least he has a good sense of direction, I think his record was 4 hours gone and found his way back. Given that, the 90 minute adventure on what is usually a 40 minute walk was not too bad. Don't want him to harass wildlife though - or get shot for it either.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

about an inch of fresh snow this morning, with temps in the upper 20's. arctic front coming through this morning, and they're saying temps will drop 10-15 degrees in a matter of an hour or two. should be slick on the ride home. glad to be studded today. mounted up the Moose Mitts for the first time this winter too.










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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

pretty neat ice formations on my tire when i got in this morning:










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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Weather has been bad. Rainy and 30s or 40s.


Bad?



bbender785 said:


> pretty neat ice formations on my tire when i got in this morning


Cool pic bbender.

40F and some light rain this morning. Just a normal winter morning for me


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> Bad?


Bad in my book. 36F and down-pouring isn't my idea of a good time. This has been a really gray, dreary, warm-ish, and wet winter. I hate it.

Just mist this morning. Dry enough to be pleasant, wet enough to wet the outside of my shoes, which was actually perfect since I could easily wipe the mud off from the weekend. One nice thing about 5-10 Freerider EPS is that they clean a lot easier than my standard Freeriders.

I have a new headlight coming on Monday. My current light only gets about 3 days before it needs to charge again. A replacement battery was more than a new light.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, those are some cool ice blobs. It's hard to believe they stayed on. Let us know how the arctic blast is. It is scheduled to hit us on Friday with a Saturday AM temp of about -10F



mtbxplorer said:


> I think his record was 4 hours gone and found his way back.


That translates to 10 minutes in dog time though.

Today's commute was great! I had packed a good tire track for the whole trail portion. We got 1-2" of fresh powder but as long as I stayed it my track I moved right along. We're getting another 1-2" during the day so I'll make another pass tonight. The woods are so quiet with fresh powder covering everything.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow bender, never seen such icedrops on a tire before!

Mtbx ok I agree, you dog is special. Well when he always finds his way home, its "less bad" that he takes off sometimes I guess.

Well, internal gear hubs are a world for itself and they have in common, that they usually dont pair well with dropbars. For bedwards, who changes bike just like a pen in the office, it would get expensive. For woodway I think a Rohloff could be justified, but in the rare case of a repair the wheel needs to get to/from germany and it would be expensive. An alfine wheelfrom the LBS would make things easier but I am not sure if the gear width would be sufficient. That and competitive prices for a simple chain gearing make it look like an expensive experiment.

Well so much for being finally on the bike. This morning it was very icy and I saw someone on a bike slip and fall ahead of me. She got up and walked away without limping so I figured she was alright. I lowered my airpressure quite a bit so it was a real drag but didnt loose my grip  on the way home it rained pretty hard but I was well prepared and it was not a problem at all.

Here is another one of my famous award winning most boring wobbly videos:


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

I actually took the studded tires off this week after we got a few inches of wet snow on the weekend, which was packed down nicely by Monday. So on the dry road sections my bike suddenly feels like a rocket.

However we've had a freeze-thaw cycle every day since, and the railtrail has been incrementally changing from hard snowpack to grey ice, with every commute a tiny bit sketchier than the one before it. 

Last night on the way home I stayed upright, but reached my limit. The pavement graters have returned.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Nice dusting of snow today. Made for a nice ride. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

"Pavement Graters" sound like the right solution for that trail. From sketchy to fun again.


cyclingdutchman said:


> For bedwards, who changes bike just like a pen in the office, it would get expensive.


Hey! I resemble that remark! I'll have you know that my bikes typically have a 3 to 30 year ownership period. Over which, they get a lot more ride time than most casual cyclists put on their primary bikes.  I have a lot of dried out pens too.

Nothing much to report. The ride home was good. Best where there hadn't been any traffic but me. The ride in was just about the same but in reverse but at 10F. Oh, and the lake sucked because the snow had drifted. I''m going to shuttle the car home so my wife can do the trail commute. She says "Hi" to any of you that remember rollingrunner, which isn't many at this point. Funny how people come and go.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

coldest morning of the season so far. my gps showed 1 degree (fahrenheit) at one point.



ghettocruiser said:


> ...However we've had a freeze-thaw cycle every day since, and the railtrail has been incrementally changing from hard snowpack to grey ice, with every commute a tiny bit sketchier than the one before it.
> 
> Last night on the way home I stayed upright, but reached my limit. The pavement graters have returned.


similar story here. the primary roads are clear and dry, but the trails and some of the sidestreets are packed snow/ice and still warrant spikey bits.

the reduced speed is tolerable, but the sound of sizzling bacon on dry tarmac just makes me hungry.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards I was just making fun dont worry  and I know and recognize that you ride about double the distance that I ride a year. Maybe I should just move further away from work :lol:

So nothing special here too. It rained during the night and it there was some fog. Everything was soaked but at least it stopped raining. The ride home was windstill which is apparently the quietness before the storm. Tomorrow evening another storm is coming in from the atlantic with gusts upto 50kts on sunday and monday, so today I already arranged carpooling to/from work on monday. No time tomorrow either, so again time off from cycling. Too bad my legs just felt normal again today.

Anyway, wish you all a good weekend!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

had to drive to work today, but did see the guy who yells out his window at me when i’m on the bike pulled over with his car hood open this morning. 

in hindsight i should have stopped to help. then asked him if he’s ready to have a conversation like an adult before i left. 


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Bad in my book. 36F and down-pouring isn't my idea of a good time. This has been a really gray, dreary, warm-ish, and wet winter. I hate it.


I call that normal winter riding  I actually don't mind it because while we do get a lot of gray wet days here, the wet part is usually quite light and intermittent. But this year January and the first half of February was about as wet as I can ever remember.



bedwards1000 said:


> She says "Hi" to any of you that remember rollingrunner, which isn't many at this point. Funny how people come and go.


I remember rollingrunner!



cyclingdutchman said:


> Anyway, wish you all a good weekend!


Hope you had a good one Dutchman!

I had a dry ride this morning, and it looks like it's going to be dry all week - whoohoo! The downside was that it was cold (well, cold for me) 32F/0C so I was on black ice patrol. Roads were all dry and it was a pretty pleasant ride.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bblender, that would have been perfect. Even better if you could have helped him.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey bedwards I was just making fun dont worry


 Yeah, me too. On that note, my fatbike will roll over the 3000 mile mark on my ride home. I just refreshed the drivetrain over the weekend. I also got in some super fun fatbike riding on 2 different groomed trail systems. One was purpose groomed for fatbikeing and was a perfect roller coaster of twists turns and rollers. Wicked Fun! The other has free groomed trails with Oxbow Brewing in the parking lot. Mmmm Biking & Beer.

Actually, somebody just produced a video for public television about fat biking there that really shows how nice the trails are. 
https://video.mainepublic.org/video...O3GgKa5BL8Qmj8CmTRwivVh4VdCePXm5j0mO7fNqbfVnE



woodway said:


> I remember rollingrunner!


Yeah, RollingRunner and I are still trying to figure out how to get out to you with our bikes to get a personal MTB tour of the Washington mountains.

For my commute in I didn't get any rollercoaster whoop-de-whoops but the snowmobile trails were running damn fine. We've got some snow happening today but I think the trails will survive.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hi back, RollingRunner!

Saw my first fatbike in town last night. No snow here.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bender you should have stopped and help, then see his face when he recognizes you as the guy he yelled at. Priceless!!!

I know RR only as the tough lady in bedwards blog :-/

Woodway congrats on the dry ride.

Its gonna stay rainy and windy here but at least the wind is to calm down enough to ride. Last week I skipped 3 days because of the wind, also yesterday. Today at least was dry, the next days will be wet, but thats life nowadays in "winter".


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, me too. On that note, my fatbike will roll over the 3000 mile mark on my ride home. I just refreshed the drivetrain over the weekend.


Nice! Fatbike miles are like dog years, so 3,000 fatbike miles is probably equivalent to something like 20,000 road miles 



bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, RollingRunner and I are still trying to figure out how to get out to you with our bikes to get a personal MTB tour of the Washington mountains.


Would love it. If the bike transport part is to much hassle, quite a few shops out here rent nice mountain bikes.

I had rodar come visit me some number of years back (remember him?) and I took him on a road ride out to the San Juan Islands. Despite the weather going to crap on us, we still managed to have a good time!


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

A little snow this morning, so I rode fat with studs. Had the dry, Velcro ride home. 

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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Slushy rail trail from yesterday froze solid overnight.

It would have been easy riding if some idiot commuter hadn't made deep tracks in the slush last night, right before it froze. 

I mean, his tracks showed even had the same tire combination as me.... ...what are the odds?


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

ghettocruiser said:


> I mean, his tracks showed even had the same tire combination as me.... ...what are the odds?


ha, i get that same thing on my route! 

0/3 days riding to work this week. life. did get a fatbike ride in on the local snowmobile trails last night. was surprised they (mostly) survived the rain we had monday night.










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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had to miss the commute Monday due to a parent/teacher conference. Rain Tuesday. Today was great. 29F and sunny. I ran my new headlight (Cygolite Metro 600), but it's bright enough in the morning now that I probably won't really need the light until daylight savings kick back in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So, we were supposed to get 1"-3", maybe up to 5" of snow and then turning to rain. I figured I'd make the first pass through the trail to pack it down. Riding through 3" of fluff isn't bad with a good base... I think there was closer to 8" Total slog. It never turned to rain so the lake and trails are currently buried. 

To make matters worse, the new chain did not agree with the worn out chainring at all. It sounded like a cotton gin or something else that goes clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack-clickity-clack-clickety-clack- The whole 90 minutes home. 

I ordered the new chainring and stripped all the new parts off this morning so I wouldn't wear them out before I got the chainring installed. I guess I know why the chain and cassette only lasted about 750 miles.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

taking delivery of a new chain ring for the fatbike myself today. as soon as the chain gets anything less than freshly lubed the narrow-wide teeth make quite a chattering, growling racket. flipped it at 400 miles due to the noise, now at 700 it’s doing it again, so it’s time. not too upset, been running $10 chinese units on that rig knowing the nature of the environment they’re subject to and that they’ll be disposable regardless of what brand they say on them and what i pay for them. 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So maybe the 3000 miles on the AL version was all I should expect, LOL! I went for the $23 steel (supposedly brand name) over the $65 (gulp) AL version. I figure something that wears that hard is not the place to save 0.1 lb for a cost difference of 42 bucks for softer metal. Do you have a source for the $10 ones for Race Face Cinch?


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> do you have a source for the $10 ones for Race Face Cinch?


my fatbike and commuter both have 104bcd cranks, so i haven't looked into sourcing a Cinch-style.

on that note, the aluminum chinese chainring on the commuter has about 1400 miles on it and is juuust starting to chatter if the chain gets really dry.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cool, $23 didn't seem bad for a proprietary mount chainring. As somebody on this forum pointed out, I may trade bikes before I need it again. 

I'm use to bigger rings that wear longer. I can burn up a cassette in 2000 miles but the larger chainrings have so many teeth to share the load that they will last for 5000mi+


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This is all no news to everybody here but a local bike shop did an interview with me about winter commuting. You probably need a Facebook account to read it.



__ https://www.facebook.com/RainbowBicycle/posts/3240262249335401


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards I could read the interview too although I dont use FB. Nicely done, especially your answer to the question about your winterbike :lol:

I used to habe steel chainrings too but it always made grinding noises as soon as they got dirty. Since I have the internal gearhub with a long front fender and a chaincase it is staying clean enough for aluminium. I can turn them around and also 90 degrees until completely worn and that is more than a year given I ride the bike almost every commute.

Another rain ride today but no video. The last one got 9 views already so I guess it wasnt that boring :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bbender, that's a really cool picture of your bike. Well done and thanks for sharing.

I don't have a FB account either bedwards but was able to read the interview no problem. Well done.

I watched your video Dutchman and enjoyed it!

I tend to run cassettes and rings for tens of thousands of miles before I change them out. And in the winter it's as dirty and gritty here as it is anywhere else. I do swap chains as soon as the chain shows wear on the checker. I'm running SRAM cassettes and rings.

Three dry days in a row! And the rest of today and tomorrow are supposed to be dry! Yesterday evening was so nice that I took the long, long way home...


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

finally got a ride in this week. love how quiet the roads are before 6:00 am. between that and remounting the non-studded tires it was a peaceful ride in, at a cool 16 degrees. 


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway I guess it wasnt anything new to you how it looks to ride in the rain?! And are you saying it is dry for the whole week? And long way home means 50m at least right?

Light rain again this morning, and dry on the way home. This week a group of 7 roe deers moved in apparently, since I see them every day now on both rides somewhere in the fields next to the road. I think by now they know me too but I didnt give them names yet.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I guess I'm just a cassette killer. My wife's bike has 12K miles on it with the original cassette. I try to change my chain when it first hits the 0.75 mark but invariably the new chain will skip on the 11t. The old chain and cassette were much quieter than the new ones.

The trails were lightly packed but in no way good. It was also -6F. To make matters worse I adjusted my pressure for the expected soft conditions but I did it INSIDE. I started at 3.5PSI in the front which is pretty normal. I know the pressure drops a few PSI in the cold but I didn't put together that a few PSI starting at 3.5 gets you near 1.0.
I found this chart once I got to work. 
https://bikerumor.com/2015/01/08/ti...ion-chart-will-keep-you-inflated-this-winter/
I had to stop and air up both the front and rear. Of course I over compensated. I found myself thinking I should have taken the car.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

yikes. i (purposely) ran my front tire at 0.5 psi once two winters ago in fresh, dry, grainy snow to stay upright. gotta love tubeless. 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bbender785 said:


> gotta love tubeless.


That hasn't been my experience at least on the fatty, LOL. I've done nothing but roll low pressure tubeless tires off rims. I've failed so many times I won't consider it in the winter. Other bikes and in the summer, no problem.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

that’s too bad. i can’t imagine running tubes in a fatty. well, i guess i can, i ran tubes for a couple months after i bought the bike, but vowed to never go back after the first ride without them. fattystrippers have been flawless for me on all 4 sets of tires i’ve set up. 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I haven't tried the fatty strippers with the winter tires. Is yours a fatboy with dillingers? Mine are super loose.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

yep. i’ve set up dillingers, jumbo jims, and the stock ground controls on the stock wheels. most recently i set up jumbo jims on surly rabbit holes for the bike as well. 


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

Lucked out and missed the rains, but fierce headwinds, they said gusts in excess of 55mph in areas. 
Did make the ride in this morning amazing though, felt like i was riding in a peloton, cruising at above 20mph and blasting by traffic held ip by a broken water main.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I skipped the ride this morning. 14 below, soft trails and a soul sucking lake, not thanks. I'll get out this weekend.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, I had no idea you would get that kind of pressure drop on fat tires. But thinking about it, with such low pressures, it makes sense.

The long, long way the other night was just about 50k Dutchman. It was a glorious evening with crazy beautiful alpenglow on Mt. Rainier and the Cascade Mountain Crest as I pedaled east over the I-90 floating bridge. Days like that always remind why I love living in Seattle and why I should put up with all the rain in the winter!

Today looks to be dry again. Looks like I'll get a full week of dry riding!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Great ride in this morning so pretty and cold.










The ride home had brutal headwinds but it's over now.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow bedwards at that pressure even the fatbike could get a snakebite? ^^

Jeremy, nice pic (as always)!

Both rides were dry today! And I made my usual Friday detour to the farmers market. The construction site along the way was cleaned up so didnt have to plow through the mud, just had to avoid the potholes with water. It was 8C but I was glad I had the windstopper pants on nevertheless, I had a strong headwind that made it feel really cold, it was ~20kts with gusts up to 30kts. I also had to swerve around a fallen tree, but it was a relatively small one, so no climbing over it. The rest of the ride was nice so it was a good start into the weekend.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

pleasant rides for me today too. 12 degrees this morning, 32 for the ride home. my normal railtrail route was fully footprinted, then slightly melted, now fully frozen in to bumpy ice, so i’ve spent the last couple days dialing in a route through suburbia to bypass it all. only added a quarter mile but shaved minutes off the time (and isn’t bone jarring!) sun is out, hitting the gym quick and then it’s time for a BEER. happy weekend, y’all. 


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

What a day! The ride in was with a strong headwind on the second half of the ride. The wind then turned so I again had a headwind on the way home. As forecasted it was raining and only 3C. About halfway the rain turned into sleet and the temperature dropped to only 0.5C, so just above freezing, within 10 minutes. Couldnt wear the glasses and sleet hurts when when you get it in your eye, so I tilted my down as far as I could. It was a memorable ride, at least for me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wow bedwards at that pressure even the fatbike could get a snakebite? ^^


Yes, and at that pressure it feels like you are rolling through sticky cold molasses and the urge to ride a bike starts to leave your body.

The trails are pretty firm and I aired my tires WAY up to 5.5PSI in the front and around 7 in the rear. I pushed hard all the way and averaged over 10MPH!!! Somehow that just doesn't sound that fast.

We're supposed to get an extraordinarily warm day so I'll take the roads home with a cut through the lake so I don't wreck the trails for the morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dutch, your message snuck in while I was typing. I know that weather. We may get some on Thursday. Miserable=memorable.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

looks like no commutes for me until until maybe friday at best. busy week.

got a fatbike ride in over the weekend, probably the best conditions and weather i've ridden in a couple years.










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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bender wow nice pics there!! ^^ bedwards already has its own calendar what about you?

Bedwards yes I was actually warm and dry in the raingear but sleet in the eyes is still miserable :lol:

You can not see it directly but you can see the snow on my sleeve. I also try to show my speedometer saying its 0.7 degrees celsius but well, as long as no one gets seasick its ok....






Phone is still working despite rain and sleet :lol:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey Dutchman, that kind of weather looks familiar to me!

I had visions of you crashing into the drainage ditch when you were trying to get the shot of the temperature...

Nice pics guys.

Another dry ride for me today. Whoot! Temps in the upper 30's, around 4C. Rain going home tonight however.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey woodway dont worry, I am not looking on the display while filming but on the road ahead. Thats why the vids are often so shaky and thats why I missed the speedometer at first. Had a quick glance then corrected again. Nice to hear you had another dry ride!

No ride for me today, took care of the kids that both are sick. It was again very windy too. Looks like I will be riding tomorrow, less wind and dry too!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ....Looks like I will be riding tomorrow, less wind and dry too!...


...and thats all I can say about that.

Had lunch with another normal co-worker and during our usual walk though the bikeracks he surprised me with his new bike. A tout terrain tanami with rohloff, belt drive and tout terrain's special thumb shifters for the rohloff. But hey it had an almost 20% discount on the price from 4800 down to 3999€. Lesson learned: do not go to the bikeshop across the road while the wife is shopping in the garden center.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is a "normal" co-worker? You could buy 2 complete Habereros for that price. Maybe not with the rohloff. :skep: I've never paid that much for a bike in my life. 

It has been warm here. I took an extended trail commute in yesterday even though things were a tad soft. All other trips have been across the lake but otherwise on the road. I'll take a car home tonight tomorrow is up in the air, as is the weather. (literally)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes he is a perfectly normal dude like the rest of us here. Not such a strange creature that rides around in a metal cage every day. 

I think I already drooled around that bike too years ago already in the same shop. Apparently that is why they reduced the price and gave him also a set of good spd pedals, bell and bottle cages. Even here such bike dont sell fast. Personally I think I would rather go for a ti bike for the money. But he looked happy and I was not going to spoil it for him


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^ I paid that much money for my mountain bike. But I then I tend to keep bikes for a long time so I wanted a really nice one.

Another dry ride this morning! Now I know for sure that spring is coming and I am through the worst of the winter


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My most expensive are: $3000 for my cross bike (MSRP$6000) was my most expensive and it has 7500 miles on it and is going strong. $2800 for the fatbike, similar story. Around $1800 for my most expensive (new) AL mountain bike and my most recent (used) road bike.

It has rained about 2" here since 6:00 and is still POURING I didn't ride in but I've got my Habenero to ride home. It is supposed to clear quick this afternoon and even turn sunny. The lake will be a sh-t-sh-w until things freeze back up so I'll do an unusual road ride.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

i haven’t crossed the $2k mark on a bike yet. that said, to pay retail for 3 out of 4 of mine how i have them spec’d would be over that mark for sure. i’ve been able to be pretty frugal so far, between team discounts on new stuff and buying used & new parts slowly and at severe discounts. 

day 4 this week not commuting. having withdrawals. have my sights set on tomorrow. 


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well bedwards I think my collegue has 3 bikes now. The main commuter was expensive too but has 40tkm on it now, and a roadbike for weekend rides, less expensive and less used. 

I had a good and dry ride in. I spontaneously made a detour to the lbs today and was glad to be on the bike since traffic was totally jamming. Apparently they found a ww2 500lbs bomb. Thats nothing unusual here but time it was in the middle of a shell oil refinery and the evacuation radius was much bigger than normal. Well I enjoyed riding along the traffic until I moved away from the main road. I got my smallnparts and noticed they were loading a cargobike with e-assist in a van, looked like they just sold it. The pricetag was still on it: 8149€ H0ly crab!! And then I had to make a 30minute sprint home to stay ahead of a rainshower. Oh and my collegue is trapped on teneriffa because some people in the village are infected with the chinese coronavirus. I hope I can be in homeoffice for a month when he returns.

What a day....


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The fresh-fallen snow on the way in yesterday was easy tail-wind cruising, the drifted snow on the way home was an ugly up-wind slog.

The problem with blowing snow is that rolling around seems to round out the flakes into grains.... so rather than sticking together, it ends up feeling almost like the same ball-bearing stuff that results from sleet.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I havent seen real snow at all this winter and it doesnt look like there will be some here anymore so I think you are lucky 

Good rides today. Took a longer way home and checked out the old rural road along the new highway. It has big potholes here and there bjt it looks like we will still be able to ride there this spring. 8C, sunny and a tailwind made it quite nice there. Longterm forecast is looking very warm too, spring seems to be early this year.

Ok it was quiet here since my last post but dont worry, you wont get corona from posting here :lol: wish you a pleasant weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^If I get the corona virus from posting I want the Lyme disease to go with it.



ghettocruiser said:


> The fresh-fallen snow on the way in yesterday was easy tail-wind cruising, the drifted snow on the way home was an ugly up-wind slog.
> 
> The problem with blowing snow is that rolling around seems to round out the flakes into grains.... so rather than sticking together, it ends up feeling almost like the same ball-bearing stuff that results from sleet.


Anything the word slog is used in a ride description it isn't good. The other problem with blowing snow it that it gets packed into an almost but not quite concrete like consistency. Soft enough to break through but firm enough to slow you down.

Speaking of slogs, the rain cleared and I took the road bike home. OMG, icy headwind. It was a slog. This morning, on the other hand, was on the trails which had been totally soaked with rain then flash frozen. Very fast. It did take a few minutes to get across a 8' wide river that is usually a stream.

Planning a group ride on the firm trails tomorrow.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Another dry ride for me, but it's coming to an end as the rain has started here and it looks like it will be raining for the ride home tonight.

I have a total of 3 bikes: My Ti Habanero daily commuter. An old Soma commuter that I turned into a gravel bike for riding the fire roads around my place in central Washington and my full-squish mountain bike. I thought about adding fatbike, but decided against it. In fact I've lost the new bike bug altogether.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

sounds like it’s been interesting weather for most. was quiet here all week, and i’m back on the commuter for the first time this week today. was welcomed back by a nice headwind putting the windchill in the single digits. glad to be back though. 


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bbender785 said:


> sounds like it's been interesting weather for most. was quiet here all week, and i'm back on the commuter for the first time this week today. was welcomed back by a nice headwind putting the windchill in the single digits. glad to be back though.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yup, had that headwind and wind-chill down in Ann Arbor too. Lots of crusty snow on my commute. I've got a 1.5 mile incline of unplowed sidewalks/multi use path that were no fun today.

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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

jamespc said:


> Yup, had that headwind and wind-chill down in Ann Arbor too. Lots of crusty snow on my commute. I've got a 1.5 mile incline of unplowed sidewalks/multi use path that were no fun today.


unplowed-but-heavily-foot-trafficked MUP's are the worst. you got all the snow we were supposed to this last storm. i was bummed, but after temps in the 40's all weekend my ride this morning was 99.5% bare pavement, and was able to flirt with spring/summer/fall commute times.

not ready for winter to be over just yet, but i do look forward to a deep clean on the commuter. it's looking pretty used with a full winter of dirt and road salt on it, ha.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well winter is pretty much over here. 3C with a nice sunrise this morning made a nice ride. My usual lunch buddies (mostly cyclists and bikecommuters) had another look at the expensive bike during lunchbreak. The ride home was nice and warm, 9C! Good start of the week!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Been off the bike for a week on vacation in Greece. It was amazing.



















But today I rode and in was great, the way home rained the whole way. I am slow, out of shape and tired but I rode it anyway. Hope you all are doing well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, that vacation in Greece looks Okay. :lol:

Woodway, what are things looking like in your area? I hear extreme concern/"panic" is starting to set in.

I think winter is winding down fast here but in the meantime it has been pretty awesome. Here is a sampling. 
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2020/03/fatbiking-fatbiking-fatbiking-and-more.html


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I saw a coyote running across the road this morning. That's the second coyote I've seen in the past few days in the industrial park. It's a bit surprising to see them in such a suburban setting.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

looks awesome jeremy. one of my cycling buddies is in california this week riding the mountains, another is on a ski trip in Austria.

meanwhile i'm over here getting excited about my tuesday night ride.  lol

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^whats supposed to be goin on in seattle?
Edit:googled it. Good luck all you guys there and stay healthy!

Bedwards I looked at your blog article, nice pics as always! Concerning your first pic, I think you took the pic to show the lower tube and bb were full of snow. Of course when you see the picture it looks much less than it actually was...

Jeremy I see you have taken the usual routes through greece  and it doesnt matter you were slow, main thing is: you rode.

BB I have seen a fox once in our neighbourhood with a chicken in its mouth, we sometimes have roe deer footprints in our garden when food is running out in the woods. Glad we dont have bears over here! :lol:

So this morning it rained the whole way. It was forecasted, I put on the rain gear and off I went. I even made a selfie along the way and apped it to my relatives with the comment "rain, bike, happy!" The ride home was nice, low sun, a shower passing further in front of me and almost windstill. It was only 5C but in the sun it felt warmer, good times are coming.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^whats supposed to be goin on in seattle?
> Edit:googled it. Good luck all you guys there and stay healthy!


No panic in the streets here. I took a bus down to Seattle this morning to get a haircut and the bus was packed with people going to work. As usual the mainstream media has blown it all out of proportion. According to the latest tracking stats, there are 18 confirmed cases in Western Washington, against a population of ~4.5 million. Somehow I don't feel unsafe.



cyclingdutchman said:


> So this morning it rained the whole way. It was forecasted, I put on the rsin gear and off I went. I even made a selfie along the way and apped it to my relatives with the comment "rain, bike, happy!" The ride home was nice, low sun, a shower passing further in front of me and almost windstill. It was only 5C but in the sun it felt warmer, good times are coming.


Nice Dutchman!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL, good to hear. It is hard to tell through the eye of the news.

In other news, we are at 60F here right now which is very very warm for this time of year. I was going to carpool home because my legs are toast but now I'm going to ride, because. Well, just because.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes woodway good to hear there is at least no panic. Overhere it looks normal but I do notice that everyone is washing their hands very carefully. There is not much more that you can do as far as I understood.

Another nice ride today. Dry and calm, around 8C on the way home. I was overtaken pretty close by another cyclist and I told him it would have been better to ring his bell before overtaking. He growled something back and I left it with that. Other good news is that they are finally starting to fix the mup that I use. Over the years sand and grass crept over the edges and it is not even half the width of what is used to be. So today I noticed that they had cleaned a short stretch, I hope they continue.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh I most forgot, I reached the metric milestone of 25,000 kilometers this morning. Of course I forgot to take a picture....when I noticed I was already at work with 25,009 kilometers :-/ but my orange bike is still going strong. Hope to do another 25tkm on it, after that it will probably time to switch to thruaxle standard :;


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Not a bad way to start the day.

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Looks like a good way to start the day to me.

Dutchman, you know my bikes always run out of ink before they hit 25K :lol:

IDK Woodway, I hear Seattle is a "Ghost Town".  You're sure you aren't missing something?

Yesterday's ride home was lovely but a little muddy. But most of that got washed off as I made a wake across the lake. This morning I switched to the "roads". Or those things that used to be roads before they were just stretches of frost heaves and potholes.

Our friend is meeting my wife at work to share a ride home and I'll take her car home. I'm up to riding 12 days in a row so I'll be fine with the afternoon off.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well it is difficult to say whether everything is normal or not overhere. By now a lot of big events are currently cancelled here and also the travel sector is heavily impacted because people postpone any travel that is not necessary. For the rest it doesnt look like people are avoiding public transport etc and as far as I know we have only a few cases in town. I think there is nothing much to so except staying calm, careful and just to carry on. 

I do wonder about china, on one side they are working on a manned moon mission on the other side every decade they produce some epidemic desease like a 4th world country 樂

So I carried on again today and rode. This morning was calm and nice with temps just above freezing. The weather looked nice from inside the office but there was a nasty cold wind that was a headwind almost the entire way, but for early march I happily take it


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Things are 100% normal around here except the hand sanitizer shelf at the store is empty. My take is it is about as bad as the flu but at this point they are just trying to keep it from becoming as widespread. But in doing so, they are may well cripple the world economy. If you catch COVID-19 and die you probably would have died of the flu. The mortality rate is higher than the flu because they are hyper focused on it. But hey, I'm no communicable disease specialist.

So I carried on again today and rode a road bike. This morning was calm and nice with temps just below freezing. The weather looks nice from inside the office but there is a nasty cold wind that will be a headwind almost the entire way home. For early march I'd rather be on the fatbike trails...tomorrow.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Things are 100% normal around here except the hand sanitizer shelf at the store is empty. My take is it is about as bad as the flu but at this point they are just trying to keep it from becoming as widespread. But in doing so, they are may well cripple the world economy. If you catch COVID-19 and die you probably would have died of the flu. The mortality rate is higher than the flu because they are hyper focused on it. But hey, I'm no communicable disease specialist.
> 
> So I carried on again today and rode a road bike. This morning was calm and nice with temps just below freezing. The weather looks nice from inside the office but there is a nasty cold wind that will be a headwind almost the entire way home. For early march I'd rather be on the fatbike trails...tomorrow.


The mortality rate is higher period. It had little to do with them being focused on collecting data on it. There's a crazy amount of data collected on the common flu every year, it's just got a lower mortality rate. However, bird flu had a much higher mortality rate and it never became the pandemic they thought it would. Hopefully we could be so lucky again, but maybe only if we are proactive.

No commuting at all for me this week, at a conference. Been walking about midtown Atlanta all week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> The mortality rate is higher period.


Maybe. Probably. It certainly makes people more conscious of transmitting viruses. Flu cases will probably drop too.

I took the fatbike in in hopes for some nice free range riding. The crust was hard enough but a lot of the snow is gone. I'm going to have to start embracing spring soon. I did take one more pass though the Heron Colony. At about the 1 minute mark I come to the edge of the beaver dam. 



.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well everyone may deal with it the way they think it is the best. For me I say "volunteers first". 

So it rained the whole day today and I rode both rides in the rain. I made my detour as usual to the market and made 30km as always, with wind rain and mud along the way. 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh bedwards our posts overlapped I see now. Nice video, just like the other ones. Those trees, are they on the land or in the lake?

What camera do you have and where is it mounted? Helmet I think?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

They are in a bog that has been flooded by beavers for a long time. When it flooded it killed all the trees which now host a heron colony in the summer. You can see the nests in the tops of the trees in some of the videos. There are dozens of them.

It is a Contour Roam camera. I think they went out of business in 2016. Decent cameras but lack the image stabilization and frame rate of modern cameras. The battery still holds a charge so it's good enough. Helmet mount.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I grabbed the brakes and failed to stop yesterday. Luckily I was just at a not very busy 3-way stop. I looked down at my brakes and the front brake pad had come loose somehow. I keep my bike in the warehouse at work. I'm half-wondering if it got knocked, or if it just came loose somehow.

This morning's ride was windy. Fortunately I had the wind at my back most of the time. The other day I extended my commute by 15 miles and had like 6 miles of fierce headwind on the second half of the ride. It felt like I was climbing, even when going downhill. Unfortunately, a good deal of that windy portion was also uphill. I was on the singlespeed, so that made it even worse. It's good training at least.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> This morning's ride was windy. Fortunately I had the wind at my back most of the time.


i rode head-on in to it this morning on the way to work. i'm about to head home and fortunately it hasn't died down or switched directions. hopefully cash in on my investment this morning, ha. those wide saddlebags act as a sail!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Spring is on its way here. Needed a layer less today and liked it. Calm day, lots of sun, some shower in the afternoon but I managed to ride between the rain, so no problem. 

This morning I was overtaken by a singlespeed e-bike. At first I found it weird but it actually makes sense. The motor is gives you the extra power to accelerate to 25kph and to keep that speed. If the gearing is giving you exactly your preferred cadence at that speed its all you need since the motor keeps your speed on a climb or in a headwind.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Where is everybody? In quarantine? (Oh, I see that dutchman snuck in a post. )

I'm glad to hear you didn't become a statistic s0ck. I try to make a habit of testing the brakes at the beginning of each ride but I probably don't. I started that habit when I headed down my very steep drive after my cross bike had been hanging upside-down and both sets of hydro brakes needed to be pumped (unknown to me at the time)to get the pressure back. 

I did a long fatbike ride this weekend that included 3 lakes and a mountain. That may be one of the last ones aside from a handful of commutes like this morning. But this week is going to be above freezing even overnight so the ice on the lake won't last long. I threw my road bike in my wife's car so I don't have to ride the studded beast home on the roads. The trails will be WAY too soft.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

i’m afraid fatbiking is done here. was sunny and mid 60’s yesterday, so i got a mixed-surface road ride in in short sleeves. 


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm glad to hear you didn't become a statistic s0ck. I try to make a habit of testing the brakes at the beginning of each ride but I probably don't. I started that habit when I headed down my very steep drive after my cross bike had been hanging upside-down and both sets of hydro brakes needed to be pumped (unknown to me at the time)to get the pressure back.


I did make one stop earlier. I guess the brake started to dangle in between somewhere. Checking the brakes isn't a bad idea, but they're usually fine. Usually... 

Daylight Savings means I finally got to run my new light. It's a lot floodier than I anticipated. My older light is less than half as bright but more spotty. The ride in was a pleasant 50F with a hint of copper sunrise on the horizon.

Spring is pretty much here. The trees are budding. Many daffodils have bloomed. It seems a little early. Overall, the winter here was mild. I would have actually preferred a colder winter, since that would mean more mountain biking opportunities instead of unrideable slop. Bring on the warm weather though. I'll take dry trails in March with temps in the 60s any day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

:lol: bedwards people are quarantined at home overhere so in that case I would probably post a lot more


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Instead of the sun rising, I caught the moon setting this morning.

A layer less and mid 50s ride home is awfully nice. The studs probably need to come off the fat bike.









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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Ha Ha, I saw the moon setting this morning too. It was beautiful. I didn't stop to take a picture because I expected that it would come out as un-exciting as the one you just posted. No offense, LOL. Good moon pics are so hard to capture without a good camera and a tripod. 

64F here and I'm off!!!


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Ya, crappy phone pictures. They still might be more exciting than my uneventful, but awesome commute ;-)

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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from a short vacation in Central Oregon. Good times were had on XC Skis, Snowshoes and even a Mtb ride.

Dry commute this morning, but cold...darn near freezing when I left the house!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I'm sorry your commute wasn't below freezing woodway. Oh, no, that is me that keeps wanting the sub freezing AM temps this time of year. Well, I almost got it. It was around 33F. I took the skinny bike through the trails. Anything with packed snow or ice was great. Anything with bare ground was soft mud and not so great. It didn't help that I left my fatbike at work so I was on the skinny sinking bike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey woodway nice to hear you had a good vacation. 

Wow bedwards there is even some snow in your picture 

Jamespc, I think you pics cant be worse than my videos :lol: I even showed the moon to my kids before they went to bed last night, but it wasnt that spectacular as we thought it would be. Didnt notice too much difference. It might have to do that the line of sight to the moon was next to a streetlight, when looking from the door of the house...bad luck this case. We went up onto the attic after that.

No moon at all this morning, grey clouds and rain. Quite warm though, 8C already in the morning. Spotted 12 roe deers, 2 groups of 6 each. This might be a new record, or at least be close to it. It was 10C on the way home and it rained again. I noticed 2 apple trees that were in full blossom already. Overhere, spring is early.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was kind of on the fence about driving yesterday. The rain seemed to be clearing out temporarily, but I was running late enough I decided to drive. Good call. It turns out my sister had to go to the ER, and I had to leave early to meet her there. It wasn't the way I anticipated spending the day, but I'm glad I could get to the hospital to be there for her.

Ride in this morning was a pleasant, semi-damp 45F. No complaints here.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I eventually used some common sense that people think I am lacking today. I'll start by saying that I'm pretty sure I would have been fine to cross the lake today. But when it comes to crossing frozen lakes I like to be really close to 100% sure and I wasn't. 

It's been above freezing even overnight. Typically ice warms up during the day and then hardens back up overnight so you get a hard shell over a frozen slush that supports weight. Well, that shell was mostly missing today! I jumped over the open water at the edge and went through to mid calf. Once I got out to the main ice sheet I could walk on it but... I decided to extend my ride by about 4 miles and went around. I think that may be it for the trail commutes.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

With the snow gone, there is now so much mud on sections of the path that no rational observer would suspect it's supposed to be paved.

Most of it seems to be a result of dig-and-dash utility construction over the winter, with companies that have close to zero accountability in repairing their excavations.

So I'm still kind of hoping for below-freezing weather as well.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey woodway nice to hear you had a good vacation.
> 
> Wow bedwards there is even some snow in your picture
> 
> ...


I love that you went in the attic to see the moon with your kids.

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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> But when it comes to crossing frozen lakes I like to be really close to 100% sure and I wasn't.


Good call bedwards. I'd like to be 200%.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I got back on the bike again this week after a stretch of nasty weather I'm not equipped for. It's still muddy out there but it's warming up and getting lohtet everyday. I am looking forward the a new beautiful spring and summer here in the Stuttgart area.









This bike was clean when I left home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Your bike is dirty!


woodway said:


> Good call bedwards. I'd like to be 200%.


I'm pretty good with 99.9%

That said, I went around today even though it was only about 25F. It's supposed to rain tomorrow. I'm on the fence about riding. I've got a streak going that I hate to break but my legs are pretty tired. The smart me would take a rest day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

You have my support bedwards - dont go on thin ice.

Jeremy a dirty day on the bike is better than a clean day in a car  Dont you have the opportunity to flush off most of the mud with a waterbottle or something? Should do the trick considerung the mud is not dried yet and should go off easily.

Change of plans here for this week. Wife got sick yesterday so I worked from home yesterday, today and will also do that tomorrow. No riding yesterday because it was raining all day but today I made some shorter rides and rode about the distance of a oneway commute so not too bad.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> The smart me would take a rest day.


I never let the smart me get in the way of doing stupid things 

Hope your wife feels better Dutchman.

It's been cold here all week, had a couple of wet rides (including this morning) but mostly dry. Looking forward to the weekend.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

no commute for me today. kids are off school until at least April 7 due to this whole corona thing, but wife still had to report to school. so working remote. 


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^This whole corona thing is going to put the world into another great depression. It's crazy! 


woodway said:


> I never let the smart me get in the way of doing stupid things


Have no worries, I rode today. It was "Raining". The kind of rain that is solid, stings your face and builds up on the ground. Luckily the roads were warm enough that it melted on contact because I was on a slick tired road bike.

I hope Mrs Dutchman has a speedy recovery. And you to CD when you eventually get it.

In other news I just bought a "new" set of used fatbike wheels for next winter. They should be an upgrade from the stock ones on my fatboy. I probably didn't need them. But some people horde toilet paper in times of crisis, me, I horde bike tires...My name is Brian and I have a problem... But sh1t, it included a new set of Dillinger 5s for $200. Err, My name is Brian and I have a problem...


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> In other news I just bought a "new" set of used fatbike wheels for next winter. They should be an upgrade from the stock ones on my fatboy. I probably didn't need them. But some people horde toilet paper in times of crisis, me, I horde bike tires...My name is Brian and I have a problem... But sh1t, it included a new set of Dillinger 5s for $200. Err, My name is Brian and I have a problem...


nice, what wheels? and are the D5's studded?

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^DT Swiss BR710 rims on DT Swiss hubs. Pretty identical to BR2250 wheels. Studded 120TPI D5s. My current set has 2500 ish miles and the sidewalls are so worn that sealant blows right through them. I'm thinking I am going to attempt winter tubeless again with this new combo.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

all that for $200?! did you feel bad leaving with them?? 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^$600 for all. ($200 was for the tires)


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

ah ok i misinterpreted. you must have a thru axle fatboy then eh. 


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wife is doing better and will probably be ok next week again. Corona is also the only topic here and they are now shutting down public life. Schools, Kindergarten and everything public is shut down for 2 weeks, maybe longer if necessary. My wife will have to work at school nevertheless to take care of the kids of people that work in critical areas to keep everything going. It sure is gonna be hard for everyone but I think it is necessary to "flatten the curve", otherwise everything would collapse completely. It might get to myself too, I work in aviation which will surely take a severe hit this year. 

OK Bedwards, I really dont want to get personal and please do not feel offended, it is just that I am trying you to imagine how it is when it is coming close: about the lake you said you are not taking any chances, but I am sure it is fine for 98%. ^^Did you ride it? Would you risk it to raise the profit of the company and of the shareholders?
>>Denying it wont make it better, remember the doc that found it first in China in December was arrested and forced to sign a paper stating he would not spread any more "fake news", and now we have it. Sounds familiar?

*sigh*

So I worked from home 3rd day in a row again today. I brought my son to Kindergarten this morning and got rained on. Normally on my commute I wouldnt mind since I can dress up for it, but this 1,6km/1m is not worth the effort, so I just gut nasty wet and cold. At least I managed to pick him up dry this afternoon. I explained rules #5 and #9 but I had the impression he did not really accept it ;o))

I hope that things are getting stable soon. I am afraid we will be forced into the homeoffice for 1-2 weeks. In that case I will really have to find an alternative to commuting^^ 

Have a good weekend everyone and stay upright and healthy.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> OK Bedwards, I really dont want to get personal and please do not feel offended, it is just that I am trying you to imagine how it is when it is coming close: about the lake you said you are not taking any chances, but I am sure it is fine for 98%. ^^Did you ride it? Would you risk it to raise the profit of the company and of the shareholders?
> >>Denying it wont make it better, remember the doc that found it first in China in December was arrested and forced to sign a paper stating he would not spread any more "fake news", and now we have it. Sounds familiar?


Not offended.  I'm not sure I followed your line of questioning. No, I didn't ride it and haven't since. But the only benefit to me was a slightly shorter commute. If I had the promise of fame and fortune on the other side I might have given it a shot.

I'm glad your wife is feeling better. Everything is getting canceled here at an amazing rate. I've never seen anything like it. With this event more any any it is hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when looking at the news.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Rough ride home today stiff headwind the whole way and I was hauling all my office items with me. They closed our office and all the schools as well. We are going to be attempting school and work from home for the foreseeable future. I hope all are well and stay healthy out there.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Things are getting cancelled left and right here, as I'm sure is happening all over. I am still on my normal schedule. I'll probably continue working in the office until it doesn't seem like a good idea any more. The spouse of one of my co-workers is a nurse and was apparently exposed to someone with the virus. I hope nothing develops there. Another co-worker called out sick today, but we're assuming she might have started the weekend a little early.

Drivers were a bit nuts this morning. A pick-up passed me in the center turning lane and got uncomfortably close to an oncoming car.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Not offended.  I'm not sure I followed your line of questioning. No, I didn't ride it and haven't since. But the only benefit to me was a slightly shorter commute. If I had the promise of fame and fortune on the other side I might have given it a shot.
> 
> I'm glad your wife is feeling better. Everything is getting canceled here at an amazing rate. I've never seen anything like it. With this event more any any it is hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when looking at the news.


Thanks  Different opinions does not mean someone is right or wrong. And I can follow your logic on the commute length vs fame and fortune.

I admit, at least over here, with all the countermeasures, things look worse than they actually are. It is mostly all done to prevent worse.

I found an article with a graph that explains that a bit more:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/taraha...its-called-flattening-the-curve/#4cada9306e2b

So to somehow get a link to biking: I think riding a bike decreases the risk of getting sick in general not because you are riding the bike, but because you are NOT sitting in a cramped public transport breathing the cocktail of 200 other people that are cramped in it with you. So to avoid corona, I would also advise everyone to start commuting by bicycle if there is any chance.


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## carthief (Aug 11, 2014)

Hi all, I haven't been in here in quite a while. Ride today was really nice. Right around 32F so the parts of the bike path that are dirt were frozen and not mud. It also looked as though the park district flattened out some of those sections. I saw the body of a skunk in the middle of the path that looked like something ripped it's throat out. Really gross. Saw at least three deer and chased a raccoon. The only car I saw was a police car. Granted it was around 6AM on a Saturday but the streets were very quiet.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

More on flattening the curve:

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I understand the whole flattening the curve thing. My only issue with the current approach is that it's such a broad brush. For healthy people getting corona virus is, as I read, about the same as getting the flu. For at-risk groups, corona virus is quite a problem. So rather than shutting down all of society , how about a focus on those most-at-risk and make sure that they don't get infected (and overwhelm the health care system). 

Last year in the US there were about 4 million flu cases, according to the centers for disease control. Yet we don't go into lockdown every flu season. I'll admit that I could be thinking about it simplistically.

Either way, my office is still open and there is hardly anyone there, so I feel just fine pedaling to work. I practice social distancing and wash my hands like crazy.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

You may be right that those over 60 or who have diabetes, lung or heart issues are the ones most in need of slowing the infection rate as they become the most severe cases. 

The lion's share of a tropical cruise complement that tested positive for the virus had NO symptoms. Lots of sun in tropical latitudes likely upped their Vitamin D. Getting out and cycling helps D levels some. I already take some D. 

China reported that severe cases receiving lots of Vitamin C recovered. Whereas all those severe cases that did not get any Vitamin C, died. I am upping my Vitamin C. As an antioxidant it counters the effects of most illnesses. Vitamin A & E, Zinc, selenium, and lysine all helps the immune system with viruses. 

Those on ACE inhibitors and ARB's appear to die quickly from heart issues. So I am looking to up my Beta Blocker and lower my ACE. I had lower BP taking lots of C, so it may play into the heart health issue. Also hoping to ride more which boost the immune system.

We don't want to lose our parents, grandparents, older friends, and neighbors this way. If we keep the severe case rate down maybe 0.5% won't survive. Versus 5-6% if we overload the system. 

My wife and I work from home anyway. Keep safe.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Some of the severe symptom COVID-19 patients are young. Two of five young skiers who went to the Italian Alps are in ICU. Young Doctors and Nurses have been hit hard. So youth is not a get out of severe symptom card.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Well today I began my commutes of walking down the stairs to my hastily arranged home office. We are a work from home company now. At least for the foreseeable future. I plan to still ride though as often as I can. The weather is getting really pretty.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Yup, my home commute of two flights of stairs officially starts today. 

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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

spring already popping there jeremy, nice. still have spots of ice on some of the lakes here. 

cold but quiet ride in this morning. not mad about it, ha. 


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

A little excitement on my way in this morning. First, I found my typical route blocked by cones and vehicles at an intersection. Luckily, I could turn left and ride on a generous shoulder to the next street down. It was too dark to see what was going on. Then the dog that chased me a few months ago was out and chased me again. The dog is not aggressive, per se, it's apparently old and can't see too well. Once again, I walked the dog back to its office.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I understand the whole flattening the curve thing. My only issue with the current approach is that it's such a broad brush. For healthy people getting corona virus is, as I read, about the same as getting the flu. For at-risk groups, corona virus is quite a problem. So rather than shutting down all of society , how about a focus on those most-at-risk and make sure that they don't get infected (and overwhelm the health care system).
> 
> Last year in the US there were about 4 million flu cases, according to the centers for disease control. Yet we don't go into lockdown every flu season. I'll admit that I could be thinking about it simplistically.
> 
> Either way, my office is still open and there is hardly anyone there, so I feel just fine pedaling to work. I practice social distancing and wash my hands like crazy.


I've been trying to read as many different viewpoints as possible. My net takeaway is that it is not always but can be much worse than the flu. It is impossible to tell for sure. If the government doesn't try to flatten the curve and healthcare gets overwhelmed it is too late. As much as it is going to crush the economy and change the world as we know it. It is probably the right thing to do and an incredibly hard decision.

The only hard decision I made today was to not ride my bike. I was on a streak kick but my body is tired. I might want my immune system to be more functional so I took a car. Oh, and it was also 15F and I'm not crossing the lake so it would have been a really cold road ride.

Stay away from people BrianMc!

This week should be a wild ride.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

The resident raccoons are now stumbling around in full daylight with canine distemper.

As if my commute didn't look enough like a low-budget apocalypse movie already.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, are they the raccoons from your avatar?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

*Spring*

Another spring pic:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I actually rode today. However in my office space of 18 desks there were only 3 coworkers and our teamleader who stayed in his own little single office with the door closed. We ended up not doing any work at all, just discussing on how to keep business going. And now in the evening news we heard that everything that is unnecessary is going to be closed. So far so understandable but it includes the p l a y g r o u n d s too:yikes: And what bothers me too, is that they already cancelled events that are more than 2 months ahead. So without saying, we know how long it is going to take.

The rides were terrific today. It was sunny and quite warm, 12C on the way home. I extended the ride a bit and on a long stretch home I was chasing someone on an MTB. When I finally overtook him I noticed he was an older man. I think if he would have had slicker tires instead of the studded ones, I wouldnt have gotten him. 

No clue if I will ride tomorrow or start homeoffice. Expecting the homeoffice order any minute now, will check the company email tomorrowmorning before I leave.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My ride home was pretty much the reverse of my ride in. I got chased by a dog, this time a big Doberman that chased me out into the road until its owner stopped him. I was prepared to keep riding with the dog behind me. The situation was nothing like the morning.

The road that was blocked this morning was still blocked. There seems to have been a water main break there. I thought the road would have some signs indicating it'd be closed, but there weren't any. I would have had to ride a couple miles back and around, but I remembered seeing a potential cut-through on Google maps behind one of the businesses. Sure enough, I was able to snake my way around and under the train tracks then up a small hill to connect with the MUP.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

always fun finding new shortcuts and optimizing routes.

i'm loving these quiet commutes this week.










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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> LOL, are they the raccoons from your avatar?


<---- IIRC, that guy died (also in my backyard) circa 2012.... I think there was no distemper that year, so it must have been from general obesity-related health issues.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Fat and happy, or at least fat. In any case good luck with your zombie racoon apocalypse.

I was tossing and turning at 4:45 so I got up and rode to work around 5:30 or so. It is my first all dark road commute of the year. I could see snow on the radar but even after it got here it isn't any more than very light flurries. 

Life is still generally normal around Maine but things are changing fast. Restaurants and bars are ordered to be closed today for St Patrick's day to discourage big crowds. I'm infatuated with watching how it unfolds in the news. Trying to get a balanced view of fact, fiction, hype, fear and politics is nearly impossible. One thing for certain, even if it was over tomorrow it will take years to recover.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BB nice picture. Is it more busy normally?

The ride in was nice this morning. 5C and sunny. I had the sunglasses on for the first time this year! The ride home was different than any other ride. Never in 7 years I have seen so many people out running, cycling, skating etc with their kids and dogs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^quiet today here...things are getting close I guess. I even seem to belong to a risk group... Just heard that schools etc will be closed until end of april and we are expecting the lock-in order every day now. For years the unions have been fighting for more homeoffice possibilities and shortly we will be fighting to go into the office, just to be able to get out of the house.

I rode to work again today and it was another nice day to ride. Again there were a lot of people out on bikes etc on the way home. It was 14C this afternoon and and nature is turning green. Spring is early this year but no wonder. Its warm and the ground is soaked, so we have ideal conditions. At home I quickly changed bikes and went for an mtb ride with my son, doubling my riding time today to 2,5hrs. Even in the woods there were families on citybikes around, looking jealous at our mtb's. I Made some videos, will see if I can make a compilation of ones you can watch without getting seasick  I hope so, mtb'ing with a camera in one hand is difficult. I was planning to buy an action cam this spring but I postponed it for now to see how things will develop.

Good luck all you out there, take care and stay healthy.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

There are a lot of interesting things happening around my area as people start to get stir crazy (after 2 days). The woods are all full of people walking, there are impromptu exercise classes in the park, and dogs are getting the walks they deserve. 

That said, the rain is starting and it's going to be a rough week for all of us with little ones. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Interesting times for sure. Our company is still operating with a lot of safeguards in place. We develop some medical equipment that may be needed during the outbreak. People that are not in manufacturing have the option to work from home if then can do it effectively. The idea being to minimize inter-office interaction. I might be able to do that once in a while. 

Commutes have been pretty lackluster. Cold March biking isn't ideal. Spring is coming...in about 15 hours.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

The office building holding my office is still open but the building might be 30-40% full? In my office itself most everyone is working from home but there is a group of us that need access to equipment we have at the office to work effectively, so we come to the office every day. We are spread out and follow all the guidelines of cleaning, social distance and handwashing. My hands are raw from how often I wash them.

The weather has been fine, sunny, cold in the morning (just above freezing), but warming to 55/60F, 12.5/15.5C in the afternoons. I'm also seeing many, many people out walking, jogging, biking which is great. The roads are very quiet which makes for nicer commuting as well.

Stay safe everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same story here with washing hands and homeoffice. Today we were 4 out of 18. From next week on, the company is divided in 2 groups which are not allowed to be in the plant at the same time. So my group will start with office week next week, homeoffice week in the week after, etc. Also the homeoffice limitation is cancelled, so 100% homeoffice is allowed now. I mostly miss lunch with the other bikefreaks and the usual walk along the bikeracks after lunch...

In Europe and Americas the spreading seems to start now. In these cases it is important to take the health advise seriously and to stay calm. From China there is good news coming, once the lockdown started, they managed to fight the virus down and the virus is loosing ground. So based on that it is my own guess that we will be through most of it in 2 months. I feel with everyone who has to fear for its job in those 2 months! And I clap my hands for everyone who needs to expose themselves to keep society going (police, medics, firebrigades, food distributors/retailers etc etc).

Oh yeah, the rides. Surprise this morning, light drizzle and I wasnt prepared, but I came through ok. I left very early, hopped on the bike at 6.15. Almost bumped into a roe deer this morning! Made a quick stop and turned myself away a bit. She noticed I was not dangerous so calmly walked away. On the way home I rode by a tree that is blossoming and for the first time I could smell spring in the air! Also had to make 2 quick stops to avoid a small kid on a bike, again a lot of kids were out there. The 3-5 year old generation will be one with above-average bike skills I guess ;o))

Will work from home Friday and Monday, dont know after that yet. We are still expecting a hard lockdown.


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## ranier (Sep 9, 2003)

I can't commute by bike. Work has closed the gym so now there's no way to take a shower. They'll probably shut down the building if this thing gets worse. Hoping for the best.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Snuck a ride in before another installment on the monsoon to boost the immune system.
Met only one pedestrian. Seems like they are all at the store. 

I am trying to be self quarantined. Had to get gas and picked up 5 items. The store was a mess. Hard to get 6 feet separation. I am over 60, have hypertension, coronary artery disease, and am on an ACE inhibitor (associated with rapid death from SARS-CoV-2), so I'd sooner not get this until they sort out treatments that ease it. Lots of Vitamin C helped some in China.

Currently throwing lots of vitamins at the problem.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Stay safe BrianMc.

My office closed the fitness center as well so it's been the old sink shower for me.

But, the CDC issued a special statement for the Seattle area asking everyone who can telework to telework. So today we are going to divvy up equipment for people to take home and we are going full virtual company for the next few weeks.

I'll need to poke my head into the office now and then to check on things, but otherwise I'm going to have to start getting my bike rides in elsewhere. At least it's almost April and not January!

And I saw this article in Outside that endorses cycling for social distancing!

https://www.outsideonline.com/2410530/bikes-social-distance-transportation

Stay safe everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I didn't ride. The weather is dank and the idea of riding didn't seem that appealing. Maybe the world is coming to an end.  On a positive note, they are planning on keeping our fitness area open as long as the company is open. The limited number of machines (that I don't use) can easily be wiped down so it is no riskier than any other part of the building.


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## carthief (Aug 11, 2014)

Saw lots of rabbits and robins during my predawn commute. Oddly there was MORE vehicle traffic on the surface streets I have to take. My wife and I will be working until one of us gets quarantined then I guess we take two weeks off??


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Forgot to mention I heard the call of a redwing blackbird on the last ride. A nice harbinger of spring.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I worked from home today and we made a nice family ride this afternoon. Unfortunately it was not as sunny as expected and colder than we hoped for, but it was nice anyway. We were on our way about one and a half hours and made a quick stop on the farmers market along the way. 

In some spots of town the streets are now so empty that it is kind of spooky, but it is apparently the only way now. We still have way too many young people gathering outside, so sunday latest the lock-in will be decided I guess. 

For years the unions battled for homeoffice rights and now employees are battling to go into the office, just to finally be able to get out of the house..... I am getting afraid that we can basically write off summer this year.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> For years the unions battled for homeoffice rights and now employees are battling to go into the office, just to finally be able to get out of the house..... I am getting afraid that we can basically write off summer this year.


Sounds like cats, in they want out, if out they want in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My post was so good, MTBR decided to post it twice! Deleting this one.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I rode Monday and Friday. Drove the other days because of storms and rain. This morning's ride was so warm, even in full summer gear, I had to remove even my light gloves. Unfortunately, the cold front moved through this evening. The weekend won't be warm, but at least it won't be rainy, not that we'll really be doing anything...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well my wife was one of the telecommute pioneers for her company in 2001. It is paying dividends now for that company. 

Heck of a North wind yesterday. Temps dropped like a stone on the ride.


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## root (Jan 24, 2006)

With all thats been going on its thrown my job situation in chaos and my schedule is uncertain, havent commuted in almost a month. In that period i went on vacation and we had a run of heavy rains.
This weekend the weather broke and has been nice. Riding yesterday i saw more riders on the road than ive ever seen!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well the company has ordered me into the homeoffice for the next 2 weeks :-/ so commuting is going to be less. I hope I will be able to get in some rides in between but I think it will be less than usual.

Well as long as I stay healthy I can live with it. And in 2 weeks things might get better already, at least I wish and hope so. 

Stay safe and healthy all you out there.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It's not pouring rain today. So I plan to ride. The Governor told all non-essential workersto stay home. They have not banned riding bikes or jogging yet.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Michigan is officially on lock down at midnight tonight. Biking and running are still allowed. 

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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jamespc said:


> Michigan is officially on lock down at midnight tonight. Biking and running are still allowed.
> 
> Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


I heard that here first. Interesting to look at the timeline about Michigan. 3 days ago the governor wasn't considering it. 1 day ago she was defending that decision. 6 hours ago she was expected to sign it and 2 hours ago it happened. At this point our governor is considering it. Hmmm.

Even if it goes into place our workplace is considered essential so unless we have an outbreak here I'll still get to ride my bike. Which I did today.

In other news, my wife and I practiced our social distancing by heading north in search of winter. We went from almost no snow at our house to about a 2 foot base in 2 hours. The riding was AMAZING! And we didn't touch anything but our bikes and our car. Pics here: https://www.strava.com/activities/3208130036


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## carthief (Aug 11, 2014)

Snowed last night but it didn't look like it stuck to anything but the grass so i took my usual bike (CAADX). Well the path had a couple inches of snow and the bridges over the river had several inches, I laid the bike down twice before just walking the bridges. Saw a fox and a rabbit. I'll be working through all this unless I get quarantined for exposure.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> I heard that here first. Interesting to look at the timeline about Michigan. 3 days ago the governor wasn't considering it. 1 day ago she was defending that decision. 6 hours ago she was expected to sign it and 2 hours ago it happened. At this point our governor is considering it. Hmmm.
> 
> Even if it goes into place our workplace is considered essential so unless we have an outbreak here I'll still get to ride my bike. Which I did today.
> 
> In other news, my wife and I practiced our social distancing by heading north in search of winter. We went from almost no snow at our house to about a 2 foot base in 2 hours. The riding was AMAZING! And we didn't touch anything but our bikes and our car. Pics here: https://www.strava.com/activities/3208130036


I am jealous of that snow! We had a pretty crappy winter, snow wise, here.

As a school teacher and father of a 7 year old, I'll still be working. My work will just be from the confines of home, with no commute. Luckily, my commute has been replaced with long walks in the woods, games of catch, and learning to skateboard.

Yes, the governor's timeline on this was odd. I've given up trying to figure out what any politician is thinking.

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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Governor wants election votes


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hello bikecommuter friends, hope all are well! I am fine, here in VT we got about 8" of snow last night. Good timing as today is my first telework day. It was optional before and I was in the office with 1 or 2 others in a space usually holding 60ish. Had some good bikecommutes with fewer folks on the roads, although you really notice the slugs of cars from light changes. Got a killer deal on some Rolf wheels for the gravel bike through the VT Bicycle Shop's adventure team, looking forward to trying those. They will be a summer set as the original wheels are getting corroded. I organized a RATride (Ride Alone Together) on the weekend, it was nice to get out and see some friends.#RATride!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We're full Spring here. Snow for the year has been almost non-existent. The rain is getting tiresome. 

I'm still commuting to work. I work in the safety supplies industry, so we're really busy trying to fulfill PPE and decontaminant orders. It's getting harder and harder to fulfill orders as the manufacturers struggle to keep up with demand. We're also in the process of switching ERP software, and I'm the lucky dog in charge of implementation. It's proving tricky to manage my team, transitioning most employees to work remotely, and still get everything else done that I need to. I'm thankful to not have to worry about job security right now. It's tough out there right now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> We're also in the process of switching ERP software, and I'm the lucky dog in charge of implementation.


 Ouch! That would be stressful even if everybody and his brother weren't transitioning to remote workstations.

Good to hear from you MTXB, it's been a while. Enjoy your RATPack rides.

We got 8" of snow overnight but it is 45F now. I'm expecting to ride the road bike home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Ouch! That would be stressful even if everybody and his brother weren't transitioning to remote workstations.


Tell me about it. Luckily, we're fairly small, but it's still a huge undertaking. Most of the data was uploaded just before COVID-19 started really picking up here in the US. I have never really suffered from insomnia, but I've spent many sleepless nights tossing and turning with spreadsheets flashing through my head non-stop.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

We are under a shelter in place order here in Washington State, but outdoor exercise is permitted as long as you stay the requisite 6' away from anyone. I'm teleworking from my place in Central Washington where it's very rural and, except for the deer, elk and turkeys that come wandering through, it's no problem to stay away.

My only commuting will be the local bike rides I undertake. Got a good one in yesterday. Stay safe everyone.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> We are under a shelter in place order here in Washington State, but outdoor exercise is permitted as long as you stay the requisite 6' away from anyone. I'm teleworking from my place in Central Washington where it's very rural and, except for the deer, elk and turkeys that come wandering through, it's no problem to stay away.
> 
> My only commuting will be the local bike rides I undertake. Got a good one in yesterday. Stay safe everyone.
> 
> View attachment 1319341


Same boat here, except I live in the city and it's like a ghost town. So many people keep acting like they can't go outside. No worries it's quite serene, actually. I will be going to the office and greenhouse once a week, but I have to take care of live material, so there's that.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I had a 21 mile commute through a ghost town today. Of course, I only commuted from my garage to my garage because we're in shelter in place here too. Wish we had those blue skies.

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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice you guys got out! Pic of last night's snow on our walk this morning. A few weeks ago the snow was soooo sticky it brought my mtb with studded tire and fenders to a complete halt on a downhill. The snow was all jammed up between the tire and fender. It only happened once, but the rest of the ride was a slog as the wheels were coated and heavy.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

NDD said:


> So many people keep acting like they can't go outside.


Well the pathways are jammed pack, thats the problem. Also the sidewalks are packed with walkers too.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

matt4x4 said:


> Well the pathways are jammed pack, thats the problem. Also the sidewalks are packed with walkers too.


Huh, have not experienced this problem on my walks.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

can see the MUP from my window here at home and it was jammin’ bust all day yesterday. 

i’m into week two working remote, so the commuter has been collecting dust. as said above we’re pretty locked down here in michigan. 


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

MTBX nice to hear from you! Snow?? We are close to shorts here. 

Woodway nice to see that you can keep riding too  

What are you all doing to compensate the cancelled commutes?

After 3 days of homeoffice I was climbing the walls so today I made a long break after lunchtime and hopped on the fatbike for a nice ride of 1h30m. I noticed that my legs wanted to ride so I had quite some speed on the climbs and hammered it on the short steep climbs that we have here, which I usually never do. I ended up with a higher average speed as usual - no wonder.

For the rest it is all quiet here. We are not really locked in, but it is more like a contact ban, noboday is allowed to be closer than 2meters to anyone not living in the same household. At least it is not forbidden to go outside, so there are a lot of people in some spots, all trying to stay out of each other's way. 

I liked the long break today, will try to do that more often.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Here's a pic I snapped in the parking lot yesterday afternoon. I ride by these vehicles every day, and it almost feels like a motivational message for me, although I don't really need motivation to ride on a day like this.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

i ended up riding the commuter in to the office yesterday for some mental sanity, but also to get some supplies to set up an actual office in my basement instead of working at the dining room table. crazy how empty the streets were. filled and took my thermos with me, and stopped in the courtyard at work to enjoy some coffee in the sunshine before the return trip. snapped a pic in front of the building since there's no one inside to judge me, lol.










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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Took me a second to figure out how you got that pic. Nice bbender!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

haha it’s an interesting piece for sure. 


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Cool pic bbender! I think I need to try to ride a bit midday while teleworking, as at the end of the day if I am already home I am ready to just wind down with a beer. Or maybe before work. LBS closed for COVID emergency, yours?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Caught a ride before it rained. A few people out on the multi use path. Couple of stir crazy parents with little ones.


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## bikeCOLORADO (Sep 4, 2003)

My bike made it onto BikeRumor.com

https://bikerumor.com/2020/03/26/bikerumor-pic-of-the-day-springfield-underground-missouri/

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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> My bike made it onto BikeRumor.com
> 
> https://bikerumor.com/2020/03/26/bikerumor-pic-of-the-day-springfield-underground-missouri/
> 
> Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk


Nice! Didn't realize you were a fellow Missourian. Wasn't there a bike race in some underground mine out that way a while back?

I did commute today, despite having worked from home all week. It was my one day to go to the lab and greenhouse. Not totally devoid of traffic, but pretty light. Narrowly missed a storm getting to the office and my work kept me there through it, so when I left for the greenhouse it was dry again. What good timing! With the wonderful spring temperature, I took a slightly longer way back home as a treat.

MTBX, I think that a morning ride would be a good option for you. When you work from home it's easy to conk out the same way you would as if you commuted. You're done with work, you're home, it's time for a beer. That's what I did today (ok I did yard work and tried to figure out why my brakes on my single speed started rubbing - seems to be a worn out spring on one side).


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Thanks NDD,< you might be right. I was thinking midday when its warmer, and also because I walk the dog in the morning, but it can be hard to break away. I guess I have a while to experiment . 

Cool pic Colorado and interesting workplace. I was like "Missouri has a subway?", but I see the Springfield Underground is something else. Safe travels.

BrianMc, nice to see you are getting out.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Thanks NDD,< you might be right. I was thinking midday when its warmer, and also because I walk the dog in the morning, but it can be hard to break away. I guess I have a while to experiment .


That's right I should've known that. We walk our pups at night. Also wasn't really thinking about it being cold anymore. Actually unless I'm commuting or it's a weekend, I usually wait to ride until after dark to avoid the most people if I cut through the park or have to interact with traffic.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bikeCOLORADO said:


> My bike made it onto BikeRumor.com
> 
> https://bikerumor.com/2020/03/26/bikerumor-pic-of-the-day-springfield-underground-missouri/


Very cool youtube video! Thanks for sharing it. How many miles of your commute is underground?

My wife has been needing to get up early (4:20 today) to manage COVID-19 stuff at work and once she gets up I can't get back to sleep. So this morning at 5:00 I was swapping brakes on my commuter. I changed the back Mini-V to a standard Cantilever. When the mini-v brakes are adjusted right they are great. But that only lasts a few days. And, then can't be released to get the wheel out. 1mm of pad wear seems to be 2cm of lever travel and they rubbed on my rear fender. So I put a $20 CR720 set on and they are better in every way. Well, except they stick out more.

The commute was good, about 32F. I'm ready for real spring. Everybody's been posting their pictures. I wanted to get into the action but didn't' feel like stopping.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Nice moving shot, sunset. 

I just switched the front breaks on my commuter. They were cantilever, but they chattered and bucked under hard breaking. I switched forks a few years back, so I switched to a disk. It still needs to be dialed in, but it's a huge improvement. 

Looks like I'll get a few more years out of my Poprad.

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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all,

I got the order to work from home until further notice so no commutes for me now. I hoped to be able to get in some rides durung lunchbreak or after work but it doesnt work that easy now that the kids are home. I only got in 2 mtb rides last week and a family ride during the weekend. Is no one doing any fake commutes as asked for in the other thread?

Anyway, stay safe and healthy!

Edit: some vids pasted together from last weeks ride with my son. As usual it involved some onehanded mtb'ing while holding the cam in the other hand, I call it suicide mtb'ing :lol: so the vid is wobbly in some spots.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

This ginormous dam in E Barre VT was built mostly by hand in the 1930's by several thousand CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) workers. This was after the 1927 flood killed 84 people in VT. I rode the fatbike because the dirt roads are a muddy mess right now. You can ride across the top as a shortcut between rte 302 and 110.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Damn that's cool mtxb. 

No mud here, just nice spring weather....


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Nice pic, I like the bike color too. 

I finally “commuted” to work (my house) by bike, as I was not going after work or at lunch. That was nice. At one house I slowed down as they have had a dog out in the past and with everyone home I was on alert for loose dogs. Sure enough, a giant rottweiler (with cropped ears) came running out and I had to put the bike in between us and yell NO!. GO HOME until the owner came out and put it in the house. Funny though, I heard the dog's name was Spock. :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

As much as I am committed to bike commuting "whenever possible" I found no urge to do so in the heavy, cold, wind driven rain we have had in the last few days.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards I can imagine that. Unbelievable that you still have some some snow too. 

We are supposed to get up to 18C from sunday on! And no commute possible. We are still ordered to work from home and they are now even thinking of a 2week company shutdown after eastern. We will see but its gonna be difficult to go.outside without getting close to too many people. We will see how everything works out. 

I enjoyed all the pics lately and I hope you are all ok and stay careful!

CU, CD


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Essential Commuter, checking in...

The rain has cleared and even though the temps haven't changed much it is still starting to feel a little more springy. Today's commute was just above freezing but I made the crossover to shorts over the weekend and I'm planning on keeping it that way for the most part from now on.

In other news (literally), if anybody happened to see the news blip about the 105 year old birthday party parade, that was my grandmother. Apparently it got some national and even international coverage. (Facebook link, second story on the first video.) And how does that relate to bike commuting? Not much, but we took a long ride to go stand on her porch to wish her a happy birthday over the weekend.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Oh I did see that story, awesome! And Happy Birthday to her. No ride tday but I got out yesterday when it got to around 50F I think. I was amazed how many motorcycles were out. Ambled through the Hope Cemetery which has a monument to all the Spanish Flu victims in 1918. Neither that pic nor the odd gravestone labeled "Instructions" came out, but here are a couple that did. Since I live in the granite capital of the world, there have always been amazing sculptors and monuments.

Laquerre raced at the local track, Thunder Rd.








Elia Corti, carved by his brother after Elia was shot and killed outside the Old Labor Hall in 1903 in a dispute between the socialists and anarchists. One article about it: https://vtdigger.org/2017/04/02/then-again-sculptors-death-stunned-barre-immigrant-community/


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

My commute today was that there are far too many casual recreationalists out as per usual. Atleast some are making way for 6' distance.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hi Everyone, just checking in. Still working from my place in Central Washington. Getting a steady diet of rides and walks in. Weather is getting nicer. 

Nice pics MTBX - I cannot remember seeing grave markers like that around here - quite a bit of work goes into them.

105 years old? Wow, that's cool bedwards.

The data looks like the peak infections may be passing here in Washington State. We are staying locked down for another month, but hopefully we can start to loosen up after that. Stay safe everyone!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

been working remote a few weeks now so no commutes. figured since i'm working remote, why constrain myself and the family to an inconsistent and generally cold michigan spring... so we've been holed up in a remote house as well.










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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We've had some absolutely fantastic weather ever since the restrictions on everything were put into effect. Commutes in have been in the 50s and home have been in the 70s (give or take 10 degrees either way). Most of the rain has been at night. I'm still riding into the office every day.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Been working remote for 3 weeks now here in Germany. Actually going into the office maybe this week. I still ride daily at least 12km. Way shorter than normal but hopeful with walks and rides to stay in some shape. As an American living abroad I feel both strange, apprehensive, and guiltily relieved to be where I am right now.

Above are a few things that recently made me smile on recent rides/walks. I hope you are are well and remain so.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice headstones, Mtbxplorer.

Started out at 75 F was over 80 F by the time I finished the ride. Felt a lot better than the last ride.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ Thanks! Wow, warm and nice weather there! Creeping up here, around 38F for the a.m. ride, 4 miles mostly downhill from my house and 4 miles mostly uphill (>1000') back before telework. Quite empty today, no runners or cyclists, and only a couple cars passed me. 

Hope everyone and their fam are doing OK.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Parking lots closed down for the parks, which kept the casuals away, which is grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

Been on furlough, no work, no commuting.
Do a longer ride occasionally. Rode through the tourist district, place I normally avoid. Interesting with it close to deserted.
And lacking anything else to do, ride up the street and sit on the rocks and watch the tropic birds fight the wind, being a cyclist you can sympathise.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards, nice story about your grandmother. It was even in the news here in germany! 

Mtbx and all, nice pictures.

After almost 3 weeks I had some things to do in the office so I rode to work. To make sure I would not meet too many people, I rode in after lunch and I was the only one in the office, quite spooky. Yesterday I heard that one co-worker has corona, lets hope for the best. Met my wife and kids on the way for a family ride home.

Last week sunday morning we had snow and I woke the kids early for to go sledding before it would melt. Last sunday it was so warm that we made a nice family biketour in shorts and t shirt. Really crazy how temps went up in a week, and the upcoming long weekend is supposed to be nice too.

I wish you all a happy eastern weekend, and stay safe and healthy!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Cool bird pix Taroroot, I don't recognize that one! On my ride this morning I had a cool sighting of 2 tom wild turkeys battling it out. At first I just saw a big cloud of dust at the roadside, and then feathers flapping. Both displayed their tailfeathers and raised a ruckus! I hoped to get pix or vid as I got closer, but one gave up and retreated into the woods, with the victor following behind. Too many trees for a good pic so I continued on and then I noticed on the other side of the road a bigger tom turkey idling along with about 12 hens. Apparently the 2 fighters were just young'uns feeling their oats and did not really have a chance with the ladies. I was glad to get in a ride as it soon started pouring, a miserable mid-30sF rain all day. Now this evening there is a dusting of snow so far and we'll see what tomorrow brings.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

mtbxplorer said:


> Cool bird pix Taroroot, I don't recognize that one!


Like i mentioned, they were batting strong headwinds so that allowed me to get a good pic, moving so slow!

Interesting, authorities are now saying they will pull you over if your riding a bicycle after curfew here


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Taroroot said:


> And lacking anything else to do, ride up the street and sit on the rocks and watch the tropic birds fight the wind, being a cyclist you can sympathise.


Cool pics but I think the birds get to use the winds to their advantage more than cyclists do. 


cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey bedwards, nice story about your grandmother. It was even in the news here in germany!


She'll be thrilled to hear that.

SNOW! Holy Moly! I had planned to take a car home last night but at 5:00 it was snowing many inches/hour of wet sticky snow. I carpooled with my wife in the 4WD (that is getting snow tires off tomorrow). It was some of the worst driving I have ever been in. We had to stop for a few slide-offs and were behind a UPS truck that couldn't start up the hill again. When we were moving it was 10-20MPH.

So when the world gives you lemons (or snow) you go fatbiking.  I was up early, luckily I realize now. I headed to work around the lake. Which is totally open water now. The snow depth ranged from near 0" under trees to 6"-8" in some spots. It took almost 2 hours to get to work! Shorts and snowy trails were a fun mix. It was very peaceful out in the woods without a trace of COVID-19.













​


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Taroroot, what's the red thing hanging off the end of the bird?

Love the glow in that bottom pic jerremy_burke.

Man, winter just won't give up for you bedwards.

Still working from home here, getting rides in when I can. It was in the low 70's here yesterday and zero wind so I did I ride over to an area called Table Mountain and climbed a paved one-lane road up to the snow line (right around 5000 feet for a south-facing exposure). Great ride, but a leg-burner.


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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

Florida commuter checking in - Let me get this right out of the gate: My bike is officially paid for and i ****OWN**** it! LoL! I used the Trek 12 months zero % interest, Trek Card. I had auto pay setup for the first Tuesday of every month, but I didn't want any chance for the banks to mess up and set my April bill to be paid last Tuesday.. WIth me making that 12th payment that means my bicycle is coming up on 1 year old. 
I can't believe it's been a full year of commuting. Many lessons learned. 

Recent temperatures couldn't be better but when I tell you guys that "WIND" is unlike anything I have ever seen. Every ride home for 3 weeks has been strong, gusting headwinds. My commutes are essentially leg strengthening exercises.

I mentioned last year that the "49th avenue" project was underway and would be life changing. Phase 1 of the of the project is finished and rideable. Man is it amazing! 4 lane road with dedicated/marked bike lanes with an "all purpose path" (in lieu of a sidewalk). It is very impressive! People are out walking their dogs and a lot of "family bike riders". I've been getting a lot of waves and thumbs up both on commutes in and home.

I"m authorized "Teleworker" but as an IT guy, some things need me to be in person to touch. I had two firsts: I made my first commute(s) carrying my laptop in the saddlebags. AND I had a trooper need assistance with his car/laptop and instead of waiting for him to drive clear cross town I told him I would meet him 1/2 way at WaWa. I performed tech support on my commute home in a WaWas parking lot and the trooper thought it so cool, he told his supervisor, which got back to my supervisor--I just didn't want to wait on him, but it worked out for some bonus kudos.

I hope you're all doing well. Cycling has continued to help with keeping my legs and mind busy during this weird time.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

woodway said:


> Taroroot, what's the red thing hanging off the end of the bird?


Red Tailed Tropic Bird, it's their tail streamer.
There were some of these guys too, sooty tern, I think:
https://forums.mtbr.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1323585&stc=1


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

There were a few Lycra casuals out today on my commute, one was riding behind me for 10 industrial zone blocks. I think its the damn casual I saw yesterday as well. Atleast he knows where to go where the other casuals dont congregate and congest together.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Great pix and interesting stories all. Here is the first covid bikecommuter cartoon I have seen.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

matt4x4 said:


> My commute today was that there are far too many *casual *recreationalists out as per usual. Atleast some are making way for 6' distance.





matt4x4 said:


> Parking lots closed down for the parks, which kept the *casuals *away, which is grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!





matt4x4 said:


> There were a few Lycra *casuals *out today on my commute, one was riding behind me for 10 industrial zone blocks. I think its the damn *casual *I saw yesterday as well. Atleast he knows where to go where the other *casuals *dont congregate and congest together.


OK, I'll bite. What is a casual? I went on a 40 mile road ride with my wife yesterday. Does that make me a casual? Are mountain bikers casual? Because they just ride in circles and it really doesn't have any purpose. I'm a little concerned I could catch this casual disease. 
 Or are you talking about the people that never ride until they were told they can't go to work and have to stay in the house?

Today's ride wasn't casual at all. It started with a little light rain and ended with a lot of rain. At least I was in my (Lycra) shorts. I'm planning to carpool home because the rain is supposed to get really heavy with wind gusts up to 50MPH. (Up to 100 just offshore)


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My guess would be a recreational rider but mostly they are not in lycra. Maybe a roadie on a scenic route?

Still no commutes for me. We did make 2 nice family rides last weekend to an icecreamshop that is still open and selling through the window. 

I am now on forced leave until end of next week and hope to get some family rides in, but we'll see.

Mtbx, the bikepacking bags are missing on the hometrainer  :lol:


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

Jelako said:


> Florida commuter checking in..


whereabouts? i've been hiding from snowy weather and covid back home in michigan here in Kissimmee for a few weeks now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

As of late, my commute consists of walking out the back door and digging fence post holes. We got a new puppy and she motivated a replacement fence. 

I'm finding some muscles that have been dormant for a while. The hamstring cramps a few mornings ago were quite special. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was "face to face" with a car this morning. The driver pulled out from a stop sign. I hit the brakes thinking the car would pull out in front of me, but the driver instead turned the car right at me. His tires screeched to a halt, while I was like WTF. Then he screeched off behind me once I started on my way again. That got the blood going a bit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Winter doesn't seem to want to let go. It was in the low 20s when I left this morning. I think we have been below the average daily lows and average daily highs almost every day for the last month. Snow in the forecast for tomorrow morning but then up to 60F on Sunday which will be one of the warmest days yet this year. 

I took the trail bike in today. The trails were a mix of good, wet, frozen and some barely ride-able ice crystal stuff that is like riding on marbles. 

That's all I have to report. I think it is Friday.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Winter is not letting go here. It's been snowing all morning in se Michigan. 

A cyclist was killed by a pickup in April, in Michigan. 

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## Jelako (Jan 14, 2015)

bbender785 said:


> whereabouts?


Ocala, FL (about an hour north)


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Mtbx, the bikepacking bags are missing on the hometrainer  :lol:


Excellent point cycllingdutchman! :lol:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

April 21
Average low temp: 34F
Record low temp: 27F (at the nearest airport)
Today's low temp: 24F (as reported by Alexa) 
Meh


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rule #9 bedwards.

I actually rode to the office today. Had to grab a few things.

Felt weird.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Another commute day for me. Beautiful, warm and sunny, but with a stiff breeze as rain rolls in. Haven't been riding as much at night because of working on the house (I hate putting up drywall) and gardening. Kept my ride shorter than intended today, because I've got what I'm guessing is a sciatica thing with shooting pain at the right side of my rumpus and all the way down my leg. However I still doubled the commute to make 11 miles instead of 5.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I don't mind putting up drywall, sanding it is another story. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> April 21
> Average low temp: 34F
> Record low temp: 27F (at the nearest airport)
> Today's low temp: 24F (as reported by Alexa)
> Meh


April 22 my home weather station
Low temp 18F
Wind: 22.4 mph max
Snow: yes, all day
April, I am leaving you for May!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^The weather has been somewhat disappointing so far. Hell, 2020 has been somewhat disappointing so far. I would think that the average temp would mean that some days would actually have to be warmer. 

Meh, today wasn't too bad. 28F. Saturday is actually supposed to be nice!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey fellow commuters, nice to read from you. Nice pics too. Bedwards I see you are trying to enforce spring by wearing shorts already despite the snow^^ 

We are having nice sunny spring weather already and in the last 4 weeks I made only 1 commute and worked from home otherwise. At least we can make some nice family rides later in the afternoon although it is difficult to find a suitable destination, the usual ones are all closed. 

Happy riding and stay safe and healthy!

CU, CD


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I noticed the shorts too, lol. Glad you are well, dutchman - can you find some special treats to bring on the rides for the kids?

Nice rail trail tide yesterday through Groton State Forest. Only saw 2 cyclists in 22 miles, plus a few dog walkers and strollers. Hoped for a bear or moose sighting, but no luck.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey mtbx, yes we bring some sweeties and biscuits for the kids along. And we found an icecreamshop that is still allowed to sell through the window, so we often plan the route along there.

Nice pictures from you, but I dont see a single green leaf yet. During the last week everything slowly turned green. It is supposed to rain the coming days, I guess it will go quickly then.

Stay safe and healthy!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Hahah too true, but hey the ice is out! There are some ferns that have turned green (even while still pinned down from the winter's snow), and I have seen a few dandelions and some buds on the trees. Someone swimming had to be rescued Friday from an island in the Winooski River; as the news story said, "No word on why he was swimming in the Winooski River in April."


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ The skunk cabbage is starting to pop out of the wet spots but otherwise spring is being pretty slow. My wife was itching to go swimming since the pools have been closed for a month. She got all suited up in a wet-suit, thermal cap, thermal booties....She made it 20 seconds and decided that was good. LOL. That was a few weeks ago. The water has actually cooled off in the last few days.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey fellow commuters, nice to read from you. Nice pics too. Bedwards I see you are trying to enforce spring by wearing shorts already despite the snow^^


I've been trying to enforce it for the last 3-4 weeks since I declared that shorts season was here. So far my enforcement has been ignored. It has been colder than usual the whole month. It was snowing this morning. Well, some snow was falling. Enough for me to ***** about it.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Ride out was directly into a 16-17 mph wind. Averaged about 11 mph. Down to 9.5 on the most level up tp 13.5 with the most downhill (low percent grade). On way back averaged about 26 mph, long stretch at 26.4 to 26.7 mph peak at 27.4 I had to slow because my pulse was higher than the doctor recommended. It was worth it for the joy.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> On way back averaged about 26 mph, long stretch at 26.4 to 26.7 mph peak at 27.4 I had to slow because my pulse was higher than the doctor recommended. It was worth it for the joy.


I'm sure if you asked your doctor he would recommend joy!

Maybe winter's back is finally broken here. The weekend was absolutely gorgeous with temps above normal and lots of sun. Today's ride in was sunny with maybe slightly above normal temps. A "cold front" is supposed to hit us this week but the morning temps are still 10-20F higher than then have been every morning!!!

My wife and I went out for a MTB ride over the weekend. Our state is supposed to be under a stay at home order other than "essential" trips and exercise. Well, there must have been plenty of both going on because traffic was as thick as mid summer.

How's everybody else holding up?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Still sheltering-in-place here in Washington where the stay home order has been extended through the end of the month. Still getting plenty of rides in...they are just longer and go around in big circles rather than to the office and back! Hope everyone is well.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Wow BrianMc, that is quite a ride, good to hear! We had a nice weekend in VT also, almost hot on Sunday, but another dusting of snow this morning is putting a damper on things. Snapped these sculpture pix while waiting for curbside service at the bike shop, I like how the closeup came out...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow, that is a lot or work. Granite is hard. 

Good but breezy rides so far. 

I'm getting pretty sick of it all.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey nice to see some are still riding. Mtbx I always like those granite pix of you, really impressive how detailed they make al those sculptures! Woodway I guess I have to get me a nice cabin in the mountains too ^^  

Bedwards dont you have some shelter in the woods? On your pictures there are always trees around so I thought you would have shelter from the wind most of the time.

Second commute in the last 5 weeks today. 4.5C and sunny this morning, just lovely. 13C and some wind on the way home. Made a longer loop on the way home and met my wife and kids along the way. We went for an icecream together and rode home after that. 

From tomorrow the lockdown orders are loosening up a bit. In our case, the very best is that the playgrounds are opening up. Finally the kids can get rid of their energy again, but cycling is working good too. We made so many bikerides the last weeks. My youngest son is now also fitting on the 20" mtb and he is going off like mad with it. Unfortunately it is not really thought through, the brakelevers are mounted switched an upside down and worse, the cranks are too long. 152mm is too long for a 20" bike. I have a 127mm on order and hope to mount it before the weekend. 

Keep riding everyone and stay healthy!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, my post did kind of make it sound like I was sick of the wind. Which I am. But also sick of the lockdowns and extreme politics surrounding them. Sick of the home-work-home routine. Sick of wearing masks , which I only do in stores once every 2 weeks. Sock of talking about the corona virus (which i am right now). Sick of the stock market going up and up when we are entering the most uncertain times in 90 years. Sick of not being able to visit with friends and family.

But the bike rides have been good. . 

The woods does give some shelter but we also have lots of lakes and fields. It's all good. I'm going to see if I can harness some of the wind's power and get a KOM back this afternoon on the way home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards I feel you. Everyone is slowly getting annoyed here and we are glad that the playgrounds are opening again. We are also expecting the schools to open up in small steps. The downside is that masks are still obligatory. A simple selfmade mask is ok here so my wife is sewing them for us and friends everyday. Its annoying and I get sweaty underneath them but I have to say I do understand the necessity. I kind of look at it like a bikehelmet. It was annoying when I started wearing one but now I feel umcomfortable without one. 

All in all its crazy how the world has turned within two months. At least we are slowly starting to crawl out of it I think, at least here in europe. Wish you guys all the best!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh and I just realised that my youngest son did his first urban assault mtb ride today. Its not much but danny mcgaskill started the same way I guess


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Ride out was directly into a 16-17 mph wind. Averaged about 11 mph. Down to 9.5 on the most level up tp 13.5 with the most downhill (low percent grade). On way back averaged about 26 mph, long stretch at 26.4 to 26.7 mph peak at 27.4 I had to slow because my pulse was higher than the doctor recommended. It was worth it for the joy.


The same slight downhill mostly section I averaged about 11 mph (above) I averaged about 20 mph yesterday. The 26.4+ uphill had a 24-25 mph lead in and I was about 14 mph, yesterday. Maybe about a 5 mph wind from the opposite direction. Averaged about 17 mph both days.

I also need to adjust my front derailleur. A couple of small but steep hills I wanted to try the granny to spin up but no shift so I climbed them with the 36 x 29 at a much reduced cadence. Maybe I don't need as low as a 24. A bit more conditioning and maybe I can reinstall the Campy 30-42-52 crankset.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards I feel you. Everyone is slowly getting annoyed here and we are glad that the playgrounds are opening again. We are also expecting the schools to open up in small steps. The downside is that masks are still obligatory. A simple selfmade mask is ok here so my wife is sewing them for us and friends everyday. Its annoying and I get sweaty underneath them but I have to say I do understand the necessity. I kind of look at it like a bikehelmet. It was annoying when I started wearing one but now I feel umcomfortable without one.
> 
> All in all its crazy how the world has turned within two months. At least we are slowly starting to crawl out of it I think, at least here in europe. Wish you guys all the best!


Couple years ago Having been at my dads bedside as he went from healthy active 80+ year old to battling And passing from pneumonia over course of a few weeks, i am a lot more tolerant of the restrictions. Its not a pretty way to go.
Our office got the loan so im back at work but i havent resumed commuting.


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## carthief (Aug 11, 2014)

Cold! Still, but I got a new bike specific jacket and it's really nice!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

carthief said:


> .... but I got a new bike specific jacket and it's really nice!


Hey mister you are not getting away with that here :lol:  Which one did you get?

Brian, nice to hear from you. And I see you are still pretty speedy too! Keep going and take care of yourself!


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## carthief (Aug 11, 2014)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hey mister you are not getting away with that here :lol:  Which one did you get?
> 
> since you asked
> 
> ...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dutchman, I like the urban assault ride. Make sure he knows that collar bones and teeth are fragile. Who am I kidding, he'll have to figure that out for himself like I have. Who am I kidding, I probably haven't figured it out yet either. 

This place is looking a little drab. I'll add some pictures. 








This was from today's ride in.








And this was from yesterday's​
I'm on a roll, I have ridden a different bike every day since Sunday. I'll see if I can complete the streak. A few of my bikes still have studs. I might have to do a token ride on the one that I don't usually bother to swap over.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanx for the link carthief but it redirects me to a german shop that they own with the remark that they sell in the US only .... But most important that you like it.

Thanks bedwards. #2 is already going down steeper stairs with 3-4 steps. He is always just following #1 and never thinks of any danger or that it might not be possible. And he made his first rounds on the skateboard ring here and did surprisingly well. When going over a short obstacle he always got the speed just right to get over it and always got into the right gear on time. And no collisions, oh wonder. We'll see how it goes from here. #1 is more into soccer these days, but we still ride a lot around town etc, we are just showing him that a bike is a good way of getting around and not just a toy.

Nice pics from you there too. That first bike is a real classic right? The front hub flange looks so big I thought it was a 140mm rotor until I noticed the classic bar on it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, that is my old bike. That is actually the pickup ring for the original Cateye Velo Bike computer on it. Looks like this:








I think it has a 4 bit processor in it. I could pull it off and save the equivalent of $500 in upgrades in weight, LOL.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I guess nobody is commuting but me.

I kept my streak going and road every one of my bikes: 10 bikes in 10 days.

Works sucks. Not much more to report.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards, you are right I am not commuting either. Yesterday I felt so miserable about it that I made a 30minute loop from home after work. Today I only rode 3km/1.4m to the skatepark with my sons. But it is energy draining to stand and watch those constant near-misses and crashes. They always look at me and yell I'm OK, get up and move on. 

Nice story on your blog too about the bikes. My fatbike is creaking like mad too, mostly in the lowest gears on short steep climbs. I am in the process of removing and greasing all bolts and joints. Cranks and BB bearings are next...

I am now in homeoffice for 6 weeks and the first numbers at work indicate that there is no difference in performance. For that the sickness rate is not even half of that of 4 months ago. 

Do you still have to wear a facemask at work?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

The last time my fatty was creaking it was the wheel bearings. I bought that extra set of wheels that I haven't even tried yet. I was going to put those on and see if it stopped. I think I actually have a spare set of bearings too.

Thankfully we haven't needed masks at work. I have my own desk and can generally keep a 6' distance. I couldn't work from home. Too much test equipment needed.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Impressive array of bikes utilized there, Bedwards! Went skiing yesterday, and more snow overnight, egad! May is out of control here in VT! These are from this morning, sorry for the sideways ones


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Even more off topic, but if anyone has a dollar or two to spare, it could put my trail dog over the top in the fundraising competition for the local animal shelter. We are currently tied with a dog in a tutu with a light-up unicorn horn, please don't let us get beat!

Vote here https://www.gogophotocontest.com/cvhsphotocontest/entries/211468

Keeper's U-turn entry for most humorous


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Holy Snow In May! It is getting old. At this rate summer will be about 2 months long. Can you see Mt Washington from Barre? It has been pretty impressively white this "spring".

I put Keeper in the lead for you! Good cause.

It was right around freezing and breezy again this morning but the sun was out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Holy smokes, look at that snow!

Nice work on ten bikes in ten days bedwards.

I actually bike commuted to the office yesterday for this first time in a while. I had to go in and grab some equipment. Just me and one other guy in the office, no problem keeping our distance.

Otherwise I continue regular riding in big circles from my place in Central Washington. Here are a few pics from recent rides.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Boah incredible all that snow. Doesnt even look like that here in real winter like january....probably skipping spring this year. Nice pic from the dog too :lol: are they taking paypal donations?

Woodway nice pics from you too. The notsonewanymore habanero is holding up?

For me just a short 25minute ride today but full of adrenalin: my 5yr old son disappeared from the playground with a girlfriend. They turned up at her grandma who was so smart to call her mom to ask if they knew where they went. So I went to pick them up and brough them back, one on the toptube and one on the rear rack. Phew...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Holy Snow In May! It is getting old. At this rate summer will be about 2 months long. Can you see Mt Washington from Barre? It has been pretty impressively white this "spring".
> 
> I put Keeper in the lead for you! Good cause.
> 
> It was right around freezing and breezy again this morning but the sun was out.


Thanks so much for the generous donation! Keeper, I and the homeless animals thank you!
Can't see Mt. Washington from here, but you don't have to go far for a view of the White Mtns.
Same weather here this a.m., got down to the reservoir before work and got to see an osprey (aka fish hawk) diving in for a fish. They really go for it, he/she was totally submerged. Something told me to take the old Litespeed MTB/commuter with the Happy Mediums which are wider than the gravel bike tires. That decision was rewarded because I met the road grader a few miles in and some parts were really torn up and soft.

















Woodway, I see our pix and bikes today were pretty similar! Dutchman, it looks like just credit/debit cards, but thank you! Nice recovery and return of the kids by bike too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh, that would have been miserable on skinny tires. 

Windy again last night, chilly again this morning. It looks like this pattern may finally break.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Spring is Here! SPRING IS HERE! Spring is Here!

Did you hear? Spring is here.

After what seemed like an eternity of cold, windy, miserable, freezing, windy, damp and windy weather that went on way way way too long after the lake thawed we have finally had a few nice days in a row. That is what we call spring in New England. I might seem pretty excited seeing that the temperature this morning was about 40F. But let me tell you, that is an improvement. 

In fact, the ride was quite nice. I took the trail route which was mostly dried out. In some spots where water was accumulating I stopped to dig some drainage trenches so it could finish drying out the muck holes. 

The weather for the rest of the week looks equally wonderful.

Spring is here!


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## ruinmaze (May 20, 2020)

It was fast. That's just my experience. It was fast since I just used my bike to deliver food to my neighbor. Covid just stopped me from biking


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Trust me, It wasn't fast. . And I spoke too soon. It was only 35F this morning. But the afternoon is supposed to be wonderful. It is up to 58 in 2 hours. 

I took the full squish mountain bike today. What a difference from the carbon hard tail. It was like riding a couch through the woods. Both the good and the bad. Plush but heavy.

COVID on.


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Advanced tools for the paranoid:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/05/varia-radar-maps-connect-app.html

TLDR: Uses your Garmin radar to add the overtaking speeds of cars as another metric in your gps tracklog.

I installed this immediately and it appears to be working. I have no idea what I will ever do with this data.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

greats pics everyone.

still working from home here, so the commuter’s been collecting dust aside from the occasional MUP ride with the kids. been thinking about riding my commute route just for old times sake. 


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

I'm still working from home, mostly, but they have asked us to start coming back with the provisional goal of being back 100% in June. Time will tell. I still ride a lot though. Here are some shots from what I dub my milk run rides. Some of which I pick up literal milk and eggs on.














































Hope you are well and enjoying what you can in these strange days.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

despite the commuter getting dusty, i have had some adventures myself




















































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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice pictures. This place went from dull to fun in a few posts. I can get behind that collection of bikes bbender.

I don't have any pictures that pretty but I can do a before and after. I've been doing trail rides every morning and noticed yesterday that I had bashed my pedal apart. It seems like it should have fallen apart on the trail but it held. Luckily being a bike part hoarder I had a brand new pair in stock.








I've got the TT bike for the trip home for something completely different.  And Friday and Monday OFF!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

I was told to get all of the field gear from the office, because we might be able to go do field work in TN next week (hoping). You know I made it a commute. No idea how much this setup weighed.










Damn, looking at that I need to get some chomky tires on the trailer...or maybe just throw the "skinny" 43 mm tires back on for commutes like this. I like the ETs, though.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey everyone, nice pictures and adventures there. I hope you are all well, safe and healthy.

I had vacation this week but the planned trip to the netherlands had to be shifted to october. I took the opportunity to go out camping with my sons. I went on a paddling overnighter with nr2 on an island in the river elbe. After a day at home I went on a 3day biketour with nr1 and he did great. We completed the tour as planned, no mechanicals or mishaps whatsoever. He did learn however on how to cope with unforesoon circumstances (bridge closed due to construction works), how to camp in a stealthy way and how to plan food/water supply along the route. We rode 40+40+23 kilometers and he did not make the impression to be exhausted. I planned the route along a railway line and with a tailwind all the time to have some backup, but it was not necessary. The rest of the week(end) will be a staycation, but I have stuff to do anyway, and the fatbike is still creaking so it needs more attention too. Unfortunately I still didnt figure out how to post pics here, but an album is here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SHg46CtVHBm43MH96

I wish you all a nice weekend. Bedwards, enjoy your extended weekend too!

CU, CD


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Well I finally had a real wreck this weekend. I was doing a milk run stretched to about 25km and 16km in I took a gravel corner too fast a bit it hard. My knee took the brunt of the fall followed by an elbow. I’ll be laid up a few weeks and have about a dozen stitches but outside a ruptured and removed Bursa sack no serious injuries. Hope to be back on the bike with regularity before we leave Germany in August. Time and healing will tell. But bending my knee more that 10-20 degrees is probably required before I can ride much. I would share pictures but it’s pretty ugly and no one wants that with their coffee. 

Hope you are all well and safe. 

Cheers,
Jeremy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

jeremy_burke said:


> Well I finally had a real wreck this weekend. I was doing a milk run stretched to about 25km and 16km in I took a gravel corner too fast a bit it hard. My knee took the brunt of the fall followed by an elbow. I'll be laid up a few weeks and have about a dozen stitches but outside a ruptured and removed Bursa sack no serious injuries. Hope to be back on the bike with regularity before we leave Germany in August. Time and healing will tell. But bending my knee more that 10-20 degrees is probably required before I can ride much. I would share pictures but it's pretty ugly and no one wants that with their coffee.
> 
> Hope you are all well and safe.
> 
> ...


Wow glad you're ok. This happened to someone else I'm the forums last year. I suppose it's an inherent risk of riding gravel that people don't consider often. This was on the Fargo? You must've been hammering it!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

No it was on my single speed el mariachi. At the end of a decent. It’s a longish hill followed by two turns a 70degree followed by a 120 degree. I have been working the speed up a little trying to improve my turning form. I had been upset with how much I slowed down and not carrying enough speed through the corner. I vividly remember thinking mid turn “this is the time I went too fast.” Hit my left knee hard on some big sharp gravel and rolled over with the bike then hit my right elbow and right shoulder. Elbow and back of my shoulder have varying degrees of road rash but my knee had a big gouge lots of road rash. I jumped up and road back home about 2.5-4km with blood running down my leg and then told my kids I was going to the hospital and to tell my wife as I thought she was napping. (I would live to regret that choice). 

I am living in Germany but got an a Russian ER doc that beat and ripped at my knee removing the gravel and Burst Bursa sack. Im told I’ll be nearly whole in a few weeks when the stitches are out but time will tell. Right now I have a lot of bruising around the knee and swelling but I am seeing major improvement each day. 

I only broke a brake lever on my bike so I need to get that ordered, but am considering an upgrade at the same time to 4 piston 180mm up front. Also will be buying knee and elbow pads for future gravel rides. I’m considering the 7iDP Sam Hill set but would take suggestions if people had them.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa jeremy that sound stough indeed. Hope you recover well! And doesnt sound well about that russian doctor either ?? 

I went for a short after work mtb ride while my son was at soccer training. The worst was a twig snapping back from my arm onto my leg  

Sad to hear you are leaving jeremy. My businesstrips in your direction are over because of the corona crisis so not much chance anymore of a meet n greet with gettoknow mtb ride :-/


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Yeah Dutchman, I’m bummed we never got to meet up. But if you ever make it to Oregon in the US I would be happy to take you out for a beer and a ride. Also my work says I will be back to Germany regularly so there is still a chance we could meet and ride here. Although not with my bikes. 

Just as a side not after 2 years on the Fargo which I love I have decided I will likely part with it when we return. If someone on this side of the pond had interest in taking it off my hands I would let it go with both sets of wheels and possibly even the Jones H bars I tried on it and never loved. Shoot me a PM if interested. It will come with the rear rack as well.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Jeremy, that sounds rough. I'm glad I read it after chasing that gravel KOM last night. It has a nice S-Turn in the middle of it  Which I took at about 20MPH.

Ducthman, your camping staycation sounds as good as any traveling vacation.

Well, we have gone from early spring temps to mid summer temps in about 1 week. There was NO in-between this year. We went from generally 10-20F below normal to 10-20F above normal. I'm happier with the latter. I've been mixing up the rides with trails quite a bit. I'm liking the light hard-tail I built up last year for my mixed road/trail commute. Today I'm on the road bike because it gets me from here to there with the least effort. It is supposed to hit 90F this afternoon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey bedwards that sounds like the start of the super summer we had in 2018. Back then we also went from winter to summer within 2-3 weeks, I remember riding in freezing temps and in shorts in the morning during the same month.

Jeremy are you selling the fargo because of the tiagra brifters? I remember you complained about them and that it was the reason to try the jones bar. I have those on my cx bike and they hurt on my hands too. It must be them because I have the same tape and bar as on my commuter, which has sram brakelevers on them and those feel much better. If you liked the rest of the fargo you could consider to rebuild the frame with sram gearing?

Again no commute this week but at least 2 after-work fatbike rides. This long weekend we are at the baltic coast for some family rides, sun and beach.

I wish you all a nice weekend, and stay safe and healthy!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We got a break from the monsoon and I got somewhat caught up with the house renovation and shifting things from the apartment. The few gaps of nice weather had higher demands than me riding, unfortunately. Lots more traffic than at the height of the restrictions on travel. 

Need a hair cut to reduce the sweat! Heading for my 1972 Captain Morgan look. Another couple of months and I'll have enough for a pony tail. Gimme down to there, hair, shoulder length or longer.... Wife is making reservations for us in the near future.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> 
> Jeremy are you selling the fargo because of the tiagra brifters? I remember you complained about them and that it was the reason to try the jones bar. I have those on my cx bike and they hurt on my hands too. It must be them because I have the same tape and bar as on my commuter, which has sram brakelevers on them and those feel much better. If you liked the rest of the fargo you could consider to rebuild the frame with sram gearing?
> 
> ....


It is actually geared up with SRAM Rival 1 brifters 1x11 with an Apex 1 rear derailleur. I like the gearing a lot and I grew to love the shifting of the SRAM double tap brifters. But I cannot say this loudly enough I hate the hoods. I have tried multiple positions and different bar tape and I keep having issues with my hands hurting and going numb. The Jones H bar also didn't work for me. It doesn't help that I am comparing the Fargo to my single speed El Mariachi that fits me perfectly and I could not love more. I even tried the Jones bar on my El Mariachi and didn't like that either. I think it just has too much back sweep for me.

So I fear that maybe drops just aren't for me and since the Fargo is designed around that type of bar it just isn't the right bike for me. No big loss it's in great shape and I'm sure will make someone very happy. Especially since it will come with 2 complete wheel sets (27.5+ and 29) with rotors, a Jones bar, Jones grips, and a flat bar shifter. I could possibly be convinced to include the Cane Creek Thud-Buster Seat Post for the right price. Hope that answers your question Dutchman.

Cheers and stay safe all.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Still not a fan of double tap. There just isn't an option if the hanger is a little off or the cable is a little sticky. With Shimano you can give it a little extra push to get the chain to a bigger cog but not with doubletap.

Commutes have been good. What day is it anyway? I found a hat this morning.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

It was going well until I died.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sorry to hear you died Buster. Hope things go better in the afterlife. 

The weather has continued its amazing stretch. I guess we pre-paid for it with the crappy spring we had. I've been trying to mix in more mountain biking with my commutes. My wife is working extended hours through this little COVID thing so she can't ride in to work. Well she could if she wanted to get up around 4AM and then work 11 hours but she hasn't been excited about that idea. So, I'm shuttling her car home a few times a week so she can have afternoon bike commutes for exercise. Mountain biking both ways can be a little much so it works out well.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

finally got a "commute" in yesterday. had to go to the office to get a loaner computer since mine has been having issues here at home. felt good to be on that route again. and, since the last time i rode in, they've added a stoplight and a crosswalk (and most notably a break in the curb to get up on the sidewalk/MUP) at a high-speed intersection on my route. so that's a plus, will help a lot during rush hour as well as no more curb hopping for me.









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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Still not a fan of double tap. There just isn't an option if the hanger is a little off or the cable is a little sticky. With Shimano you can give it a little extra push to get the chain to a bigger cog but not with doubletap.


Love me some doubletap! I have an old bike with Shimano brifters on it and everytime I ride it, I re-recall that for me, doubletap is just easier and more natural.

But Jeremy, I feel your pain on the hoods. It took a bit of tweaking for me to get them comfortable. What worked for me was to move the hoods a little higher than normal on the bars and then I added some padding on the top of the bars where the bars meet the brifter to make that transition a little less "abrupt" (if that makes sense).

And bedwards, FWIW, I have no problem giving the shifter a little push when the chain is being cranky to move it to the next gear.

I'm still at my place in Central Washington, getting plenty of rides in going around in big circles. Like bedwards, I am starting to mix in a few more MTB rides in, but I broke a spoke on my rear wheel over the weekend and decided to have the whole wheel re-laced (if one spoke breaks due to what looks like fatigue, the others cannot be far behind). Supposed to get it back tomorrow and will try to get some rides in over the weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I guess that's why they make both styles.

I broke a spoke, well actually, a spoke broke on my cross bike a few years ago. I didn't have anything to do with it. It happened on a stretch of smooth road for no apparent reason. Anyway, i replaced just the one spoke and it probably has 4000 miles on it with no other issues. Spokes can be weird.

I did another MTB commute to day. I've been shaving about 1 second off a segment I have been working on each time I do it. It is a pretty exciting, mostly downhill doubletrack with some challenging surfaces and banked corners. Fun stuff.

Last night I rode past a deer which seemed unfazed that I just rode by. I stopped, took out my camera and snapped a pic while it stood there and looked at me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Buster may you Ride In Peace.

Again no commute this week. I am planning to go at least one day into the office next week, probably tuesday. Now that normal life is slowly returning, the coronacrisis is now reaching work. We are on partial unemployment the next 7 fridays and I hope it wont get much worse, although they expect the lowest point to be in september. Rumours are also saying that layoffs are on the way. We'll see how it works out and hope for the best...

No mtb rides either but I do get some distance in by just shuttling the kids and making small rides with them in the afternoon. Today it added up to around 80% of a round trip commute.Yesterday and today we rode in the rain too, I acted like it was a surprise that it was going to rain. We got soaked and made the best of it, but I did not explain about rules 5 and 9, I just that we can change into dry clothes at home  and that being wet is nothing to worry about.

Woodway sounds really nice around your homeoffice! And for bedwards too but I am not sure i I would like such curious neighbours ^^

Please stay all safe and well and enjoy the weekend !


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Thanks for the well wishes. Oddly the afterlife has internet access. Pleasantly surprised.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I felt safer today now that I have an angel looking after me.

Woot woot! I commuted today. First time after 5 weeks. 15C this morning and 21C on the way home. Took the long 1.5hr way home so total riding time 2hrs today. We are also supposed to start returning to the office on a weekly alternating rythm so I think 2-3 commutes every 2nd week are going to be standard this summer.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice Dutchman!

I'll be going to the office two days a week starting next week.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Saw a guy wearing a maga hat. Almost crashed my bike.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I felt safer today now that I have an angel looking after me.





Buster Bluth said:


> Saw a guy wearing a maga hat. Almost crashed my bike.


Sorry Dutchman, apparently he went to hell, so no angel. Commuted to go get tubes yesterday, and since my touring/commuter bike had a flat I was on the single speed mtb with cruiser bars. Honestly a lot of fun, but it's geared for rocky climbs, so up or down is fine, but biking on flats pretty much sucks. Like spinning out at 14 mph. I'll probably change that, soon, as I'm hoping to get some 26" cyclocross (there's like one maybe two options) or gravel tires so I'll get a smaller freewheel at the same time. I chose a route with extra hills.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^LOL, Hell is filled with MAGA hats and 120RPM at 14MPH gearing. 

Man, it has been a week since my last post. Time Flies? I'm still commuting by bike every day and shuttling a car home for my wife a few times a week. But today I get to do a round trip and it is a beautiful day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute today again, but I compensated that with a 2hr fatbike ride yesterday and a 1hr gravelride on the cx bike today. 

Bedwards I was wondering already. Without you this thread turns silently instantly... Good to hear that you and RR are ok.

Woodway are you back in seattle I guess? I heard some things on the news about angry people there, not on your route I hope?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^LOL, Hell is filled with MAGA hats and 120RPM at 14MPH gearing.


That's probably a true statement. I was also wearing flip flops.

Today I was supposed to go to the DMV and saw online I had to make an appointment but it wouldn't let me, so I rode down there to check it out. They're booked through August. They can just put their registration fee where the sun don't shine, then. If I get pulled over I'll just tell them I tried and take the ticket. I've driven the truck only 3500 miles since getting it 18 months ago, so whatever.

Anyway, this encouraged me to ride more. Stopped at a walking/biking path at a seminary where people practice cx and had a lot of fun. All in all stretched my few miles of commuting to 22, and I'm ok with that.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway are you back in seattle I guess? I heard some things on the news about angry people there, not on your route I hope?


Back in Seattle two days a week. Over at my place in central Washington the rest of the time. The protests and CHAZ are over in downtown Seattle, and my office is east of Seattle in the suburbs. So I don't go anywhere near there.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> I've driven the truck only 3500 miles since getting it 18 months ago, so whatever.


My truck will be 3 years old this fall and has about 7500 miles on it. It might be the most expensive $/mile vehicle on the road. I did use it to get some lumber to build a picnic table this weekend. 

But this week I'll be on my bike as much as possible. We are in a stretch of beautiful weather. Although the mornings are still chilly. I switched between arm warmers and a windbreaker a few times before deciding on the windbreaker. Then I went outside with the windbreaker on and went back in for the arm warmers. Chilly to start but good once warmed up is better than good to start and sweaty at the end, I guess.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> My truck will be 3 years old this fall and has about 7500 miles on it. It might be the most expensive $/mile vehicle on the road. I did use it to get some lumber to build a picnic table this weekend.
> 
> But this week I'll be on my bike as much as possible. We are in a stretch of beautiful weather. Although the mornings are still chilly. I switched between arm warmers and a windbreaker a few times before deciding on the windbreaker. Then I went outside with the windbreaker on and went back in for the arm warmers. Chilly to start but good once warmed up is better than good to start and sweaty at the end, I guess.


Yes that's true about miles per $$$, but fortunately for me I've never bought a truck for more than $1500.

We're also having good weather. A balmy 84 F this afternoon. Unfortunately I had nowhere to go.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> Yes that's true about miles per $$$, but fortunately for me I've never bought a truck for more than $1500.


 The 1 Ton Denali that I bought new was a little more than that. But the payment is similar.:eekster:

I took the hardtail in on the roads this morning so I could get to an appointment. Damn, that bike is pretty quick on the road. I wanted it for a trail ride with the girls this afternoon. ("The Girls" are in their 50s like me but everybody is a kid on the trails)


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> The 1 Ton Denali that I bought new was a little more than that. But the payment is similar.:eekster:
> 
> I took the hardtail in on the roads this morning so I could get to an appointment. Damn, that bike is pretty quick on the road. I wanted it for a trail ride with the girls this afternoon. ("The Girls" are in their 50s like me but everybody is a kid on the trails)


Zoinks!!! I need to go to the grocery store later, so I'm going to try a new, very bike friendly route. Trying to convince my wife we can do all grocery shopping by bike. Also found an easy way to get to the hardware store. Now I need a cargo bike to haul lumber!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

dang bedwards, what do you tow?


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Yup, it was a good one, made me realize that I need new panniers, and also that I need to start getting groceries like this all the time. Alright I'll admit, my wife does most of the grocery shopping without me so that I can't ask her if we really need everything she picks up. I've had the panniers since 2015 only, but shortly after I got them I fell and ripped a hole in one and now the other is busting at a seam. Also my dogs tore one up, so yeah (you can see that because It's not closed all the way, as it only has one strap now). Anyway, a good grocery haul: 2 cans of black beans, 2 cans of diced tomato, 1 package of tortillas, 1 bag of tortilla chips (it's kinda my thing), 1 bag of Red Hot Riplets (a St. Louis special), a bag of apples, a bag of red onions, 12-pack of La Croix Hibiscus flavor, a bag of prunes, 3 bell peppers, a box of mushrooms, some roasted garlic hummus, a box of rigatoni, coffee filters, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, and a pizza/flatbread thing which was dinner tonight because I was lazy. If I was shopping for two people for 7+ days I'd need to bring the dog cart, but my wife will be working out of town, so it's just me and the dogs. Hon' had to inspect the goods as I arrived.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^That was a very detailed list NDD. Right down to the flavor of the sparkling water.



bbender785 said:


> dang bedwards, what do you tow?


Anything I want. But mostly nothing. My last truck was a Diesel and the added $$ to go to the diesel actually increased in value over the 12 years I owned that truck so I figured I'd try it again. Mostly when it was time to get a new truck the gas ones felt lifeless after driving the diesel.

Good rides. Our friend that I rode with last night was passing my house to go collect her car at our office so I rode in with her with a few added miles. I'm really going to need to water the garden but I'm not complaining about this weather.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

HELLO...Hello...hello...

Kind of empty in here. Happy almost first day of summer all. Commutes were good all week. I missed 2 out of the 10 possible trips but only because I was sharing with my wife. 

This weekend I'm hauling some kayaks with the truck. I hope it can handle the weight of 3 of them.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards, this week you are not alone!

I rode today and planning to ride at least up to Wednesday, maybe also Thursday. It felt good on the bike, weather is very nice and warm here and I made a nice detour on the way home.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That is sounding kind of normal dutchman. 

I have done zero cycling since Friday morning yet this morning my legs were tired. What the heck? I guess I'll shoot for an easy ride home. I really need to log some long miles to burn off this COVID belly I'm growing.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes we were told to start coming into the office again to get back to normal life. But today I was alone in our 18-desk office space  so there was no difference to homeoffice. The only reason why I go to the office is to ride my bike :lol:

And I managed to keep my belly as is. I think the occasional kid shuttle, fatbike rides, paddling and short overnighters have done the job well enough.

Bedwards, did you not have a chance for long rides yet? And an easy ride home is good, not bad I think ^^


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I rode to work wednesday and thursday last week. I took the day off on Friday and rode from my house near Seattle to my place in Central Washington. Just under 105 miles/169 kilometers. It was a great ride, maybe 50/50 gravel/road (I even rode on the Interstate for a few miles), and I got to ride through the Snoqualmie Tunnel at the top of the pass.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoqualmie_Tunnel

https://www.strava.com/activities/3640283921

I rode my TI commuter with the Conti 700x32c GP-5000 tires. Super impressed with these tires, they handled the gravel beautifully.

Planning to ride to work two days again this week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well today I was not alone in the office, there was one other collegue on the other end of the room....

but the commutes were good again. Another short detour on the way home. It was 11C this morning and it felt a bit chilly in the shadow, but out in the sun it was nice already. Very warm on the way home.

^^Woodway that looks like quite a ride and pretty quick average too! I dont even make that on my 22km round trip commute in the flat....~20 km/h average only. And that tunnel looks interesting too. Is it lighted? and open for cars? Looks too narrow for cars to pass each other right?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards, did you not have a chance for long rides yet? And an easy ride home is good, not bad I think ^^


I haven't wanted to give up 4-5 hours of the weekend to ride. The ride home was medium easy but I was feeling a little peppier.

Yeah woodway, that's the kind of ride I need. Cool tunnel. I'll have to put that on the list when we come out to ride with you.  That ride looks like it would be a lot easier in the other direction.

I took the hard tail in through the trails this morning and plan on an afternoon trail ride with the girls.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> Anything I want. But mostly nothing.


lol.. gotcha.

still working remote. took a pleasure ride last night on my commute route, and they repaved the one section of actual road i have to ride; not mad about that!

been getting less saddle time in since summer showed up, as cycling takes a back seat to boating.










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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow bender nice boat you have there.

Last commutes today, will work from home tomorrow and forced off on friday. Today was warm again, 17C this morning already and 27C on the way home. Made a nice detour which made for 2hrs of riding time today. I have to say, I do feel slightly sore, I notice now that I am not used to riding everyday anymore. Will try to keep up more on the weekends and on homeoffice days.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got passed by a neighbor almost at the top of a blind hill within 100 feet of the intersection at the top only 0.7 miles from home. He got stuck in the left lane but did not actually stop. No oncoming traffic. At least he did not just cut me off. It's been years since someone was that impatient. Two reckless driving charges and a stop sign all within 100 feet. Otherwise the ride was uneventful.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ^^Woodway that looks like quite a ride and pretty quick average too! I dont even make that on my 22km round trip commute in the flat....~20 km/h average only. And that tunnel looks interesting too. Is it lighted? and open for cars? Looks too narrow for cars to pass each other right?


Dutchman, it's a old railroad tunnel, part of an abandoned railroad line that crosses the state of Washington. When the railroad folded in 1980, the state took over the line, removed the rails and made it into a (gravel) multi-use trail.

No lights in the tunnel, and no cars. Here is a pic I took about halfway through.









ANd here is my bike at the east entrance.










bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah woodway, that's the kind of ride I need. Cool tunnel. I'll have to put that on the list when we come out to ride with you.  That ride looks like it would be a lot easier in the other direction.


There is nothing like having a day to yourself when the only goal is to turn the pedals over at whatever pace you see fit. I've not done the ride in the other direction, but yes it would be much easier.

Come on out bedwards. Plenty of great riding for us to enjoy.



bbender785 said:


> been getting less saddle time in since summer showed up, as cycling takes a back seat to boating.


Nice looking boat bbender.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway I thought the same thing bedwards, you had to do quite a lot of climbing when the strava profile is right. And no light in that tunnel sounds quite spooky :eekster: is it so straight you can see right through? 

No commute, but I rode to the kayaking club today and paddled 12km in 1h30m. The round trip was exactly the same length as a round trip commute. And all that in the blazing sun with 32C/91F. At least, while paddling I could dip my hat in the water and put it back on for some cooling. For me it beats motorboating


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> And no light in that tunnel sounds quite spooky :eekster: is it so straight you can see right through?


It's a little spooky at first, but the tunnel takes a little time to get through (2.4M/almost 4K) so you get used to it. Actually the worst part was that it was 86F/30C when I went into the tunnel but the temp in the tunnel is around 55F/13C and I was cold by the time I got to the other side!

What you see in the photo is the light of an oncoming cyclist (they are pretty far away). But you can see the other portal when you get about 200M into the tunnel and it's dark enough. It's just a tiny pinhole of light that keeps getting larger!


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

My commutes this week have been on the paddle board, not going anywhere. A three Mile paddle board works a whole different set of muscles!

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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Set new speed records! 44.6 mph up a slight grade with the wind behind and 64.6 on a downhill wind form the side. Then I stopped and found the sending magnet had rotated on the spoke for double readings. 22.3 and 32.3 fit with past numbers under similar conditions. Shifted into granny for a grade I should not have and spun the daylights out of it for a pulse of 158, a lot above the cardiologists suggestion. But maybe part of that was another illegal pass on the blind hill too close to the intersection. Adrenaline will do that.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Pretty impressive BrianMC.  

Well, we finally got some rain. We have been in the driest 30 day period on record. (Or something like that) I avoided it for the start of my commute but it caught me, or maybe I caught it, a few miles before work. It was my first time riding in the rain for months. I got wet.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Pretty impressive BrianMC.


+1



bedwards1000 said:


> ... I got wet.


And? 

No commutes this week but I rode to the kayaking club to do some little things and to have a goal and reason to ride. Took a lot of time on the way home to create new highlights with pictures in my outdoor app for other cyclists.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

And...I took the car the next day because it was pouring for most of the day. We got about 5" if rain for the whole month and ALL of it was in the last 2 days. It was drier today. Petty nice actually. Hot and muggy actually.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I'll try to bring back some life in this thread ....

Yes I commuted today and am planning to ride the next 3 days too. 

it rained during the night so the unpaved part was quite muddy with a lot of puddles that I tried to swerve around. For the rest it was ok, quite windy already but still ok. The ride home was exciting....the weather forecast was so good that I did not bring anything waterproof. So on the ride home I made 3 stops to wait under a tree until the shower had passed. 

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be good again but needless to say that I will take the water repellant jacket and pants anyway


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Well, good job trying. 

I'm still at it every day. I felt fast yesterday. I felt slow today. That about sums it up. We have finally got some rain so I've been more on the roads since the trails might be muddy.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I knew it would be difficult but at least there is one reliable factor in the equation here  good job at commuting everyday bedwards. I have calculated, when I start riding now like before corona I will probably end up with about 1/3 less than usual this year, but that is already optimistic. At least I started good early this year, that will help a bit. 

Today was better. It only rained the 30 minutes in which I rode home. At least I was prepared so no need to take shelter under dripping trees or crowded bus stops. And it is good to be back on the road, even when its wet.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok I'll just talk to myself then.

So today was completely dry and less wind too. Took another route on the way home. By now the new highway is spreading on about every route I take. No matter where I cross the planned route I see excavators and they built a gravelroad in order to move equipment around. For that I also saw a bussard, a roe deer and 2 storks.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I have had to ration my rides and keep my speed down to keep the heart happy. So trying to ride every other day. I am down 26 pounds from when the stents were placed, so riding is good in that regard. It has been in the 90's with 70+% humidity all week. Friday we may get a break. So the ride was before 9 AM when it was only 75 F but got to 79 F at the end and humidity was up there.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Nice work on the weight loss BrianMC.


cyclingdutchman said:


> Ok I'll just talk to myself then.


That's been a common problem here lately. I'll talk to you, well at least till next week and then I''ll be away.

Good rides lately. Today was foggy and humid. This afternoon is supposed to be hot and humid.

Last night my wife road home ahead of the storm and left me the car. It rained 2" in under 1/2 hour just about the time I was supposed to leave.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^brianmc, nice to hear from you and well done brianmc on the weight loss. 

Thanks bedwards. Going on a well-earned vacation I guess? And that is a lot of rain, no flooded roads I hope?

Today it rained all day and I had to put on the hardshells on both rides. At around 12C I was on the edge between "hot" and "boiling" . At least it didnt stop me from riding a nice detour on the way home  and I made a good average on the round trip too!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I got a taste of the pavement this morning. I was taking the turn I take every morning at the bottom of a hill. A car was sitting at a stop sign to my left, and the driver started moving when I was executing my turn. I swung wider than normal and the bike slid out from under me just as I was exiting the turn. I don't really know if there was some dirt or small gravel on the pavement or what. Regardless, my left side is pretty scraped up. I have a nice wound on my left palm, another on my elbow, and road rash in between. I have more road rash on my stomach and leg. I also tore my shorts. So...eventful morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I got a taste of the pavement this morning. ... I also tore my shorts. So...eventful morning.


I hate that when that happens! Many of us winch and get sympathy pain from our old wounds. Boring commutes are good. Eventful ones? Not so much. Blood, sweat, and tears (as in torn shorts).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ooff sockeyeus that sounds tough. Did the driver or anyone stop and help you?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ouch s0ckeyeus, hope you heal up soon.

And BrianMc, congrats on losing 26 pounds. That's a whole bike. Keep it up.

Dutchman, just don't talk to yourself in public. It might end badly for you.

I was on vacation last week fishing in Yellowstone National Park with my wife. It was fantastic. If you have never been to Yellowstone, it should be on your bucket list. It's a real treasure.

My pre-Covid goal for 2020 was 7000 miles. Half way through the year I am about 140 miles behind my goal. Not much commuting these days, but riding in big circles...

Stay safe everyone!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Ooff sockeyeus that sounds tough. Did the driver or anyone stop and help you?


Nope. I just got up as quickly as I could and rode off. I'm glad no one was coming up behind me. That could have been ugly.

I squeezed in a road ride over the weekend. I can't mountain bike until my palm heals up a bit. Right now, my whole arm hurts whenever I hit a bump, and the bar wants to sit right over my palm wound. I rode to work today. I'm not riding at 100% though and have to ride with a weird left hand position.

Since I couldn't ride much over the weekend, I was able to do some much needed maintenance to my commuter fleet. My singlespeed has been out of commission for a while. I bought a new chain and was getting some major skipping. It ended up being the worn rear cog causing the issue. I'm downsizing from an 18T cog to a 16T in the rear to get better chain tension. Since I swapped frames, the 18T has been a little looser than ideal, even with my chain tensioner. I either needed to get a half-link for my chain or change the rear cog so I could remove a link. 16T will be fine for my commute, but I'm a little nervous about some of the steep hills in our area. I guess I'll adjust.

I'm also retiring my old SS commuter to full-time trainer duty. I ordered a larger chainring for it and am installing an 8-speed drivetrain from the other bike I converted to SS.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi sockeyeus I hope everything heals up soon!

I made a nice roadride yesterday and since the weather was nice I took the fast bike again today. In the end I am just 3-4 minutes faster but it is a nice change and so far we did not have a lot of days where I could be sure that I would not need fenders. I had a good and bad experience within seconds today. First someone stopped to allow me taking my left turn without braking, although she had the right of way. Seconds later, I was still happy about it, somebody pulls out of a driveway ahead of me and I had to make a quick stop and wait behind a car. I think the old guy didnt look so far ahead or didnt look at all. In my bright red t-shirt should be easy to see me, but same old story there...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well I think I have the heart and cycling thing figured out: I am getting old and increasing fitness just takes more time. Max heart rate recommendations are 220 - age so 153 or 152 in October. My resting pulse rate is 55 so 152-55 =97. 70% exertion is 68 add 55 back equals 123. The 80% level above which you are not supposed to stay at long term is 133. So I should be aiming for 123-133 HR. However one of my meds lowers the heart rate, and so I should be in the 113-123 HR range most of the time. 

The real max rate can be increased with exercise and tested for. Mine when I rode 100 + miles a week was 177 when by age alone should have been about 158. I just need to watch the HR meter more and take breaks when needed.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was supposed to have a dentist appointment yesterday, but they re-scheduled. That means I could ride my revamped SS to work. I should have thought to pump up the tires though. I rode in on 20 some PSI. I knew the gearing would be harder, but the ride felt more bogged down than anticipated. 

Ride in today was much better.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow brian. To be honest, that sounds quite complicated. Just take it easy and kudos that you keep on riding :thumbsup:

Sockeyeus was the tire pressure comfy or already spongy?  And how is your road rash healing up?

Nice ride today, dry with lots of sun and light winds. I made a nice detour along a bad road, partly gravel, and I had forgotten that I was hauling my laptop in my pannier. I think it survived in the soft bag and pannier.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I had forgotten that I was hauling my laptop in my pannier. I think it survived in the soft bag and pannier.


Most had solid state memory and no hard drive now. So they can take more guff.


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## scottyb1708 (Mar 5, 2020)

*A bit scary...*

Got accosted by a gang of Canadians today.

Geese that is. Mean little buggers...they take up the whole bike path and hiss and beat their wings as you try to pass through.

Share the trail guys...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

scottyb1708 said:


> Got accosted by a gang of Canadians today.
> 
> Geese that is. Mean little buggers...they take up the whole bike path and hiss and beat their wings as you try to pass through.
> 
> Share the trail guys...


Progressive Insurance hires a lady with border collies to harrass the geese in nesting time to get them to move their nests further from the pedestrian bike paths for saftey of all concerned. Works well. I have ridden those paths about this time of year when they's be defending gosslings.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Two years ago someone metnioned that cycling was supposed to stave off CAD. Apparently genes trump that. Here is a story from that same time recounting a cyslist's return to his sport:

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a23321765/cycling-after-bypass-surgery/

Things are sorting. On the return I rode at about 85% max pulse 130-131 with the wind behind me up a slight grade at 20 mph because it just felt good. The stress test showed nothing amiss so just got to remember I am not 18 or 30 or 50 any more and these sorts of increases in fitness take more time than they used to. One source suggested 50% of max heart rate is a good place to start. By the cruder calculation would be 74 which is about 20 less than my rate standing by the bike getting ready to ride, or but the other way about the pulse I have standing by the bike. Not a great help that. 

It appears my actual maximum heart rate is above 150 ar this time as I hit 158 on a climb yesterday with no heart issues.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Progressive Insurance hires a lady with border collies to harrass the geese in nesting time to get them to move their nests further from the pedestrian bike paths for saftey of all concerned. Works well. I have ridden those paths about this time of year when they's be defending gosslings.


Is her name Flo?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well the laptop survived apparently, I worked from home yesterday without any problems. I really like the way how you keep on going. Stay strong my friend! 

Scotty here in europe the canadians have a good reputation as being friendly and patient so your post is a surprise for me :lol: 

I now have 2 weeks vacation and we booked a trip starting next monday but it is still unsure whether we will go or not. The covid cases are rapidly rising again in the area so there might be another travel restriction issued over the weekend which would automatically cancel the trip. I bear about that in more countries, so it looks like we have the second wave rising. I also heard yesterday that the company is closing the week after my return and I will have that week off too. No salary but partial unemployment money. I take anything as long as I can keep my job. However it does seem like this is going to be a long crisis in my company, at least a year or longer, so I will have to live with the risk for a long time. This covid thing is getting annoying. 

That said, I enjoyed my first day off. I rode with the kids to kindergarten and sportscamp, got some fresh things and rode home with a long loop. Picked up the kids later and that made already around 28k on the commuter bike. Later I brought #1 to soccer training and rode the fatbike on the trails while he was there, which brought another 15k. So as said, a really good day.

I will be posting less now but will definitely follow the thread here. Keep riding and stay safe!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Survived another ride. I think I am getting a handle on this. I must not exceed 120 HR in the warm up and its best to be 105-115. I tested my blood O2 after the bigger hills and the sprint off the light. 99, 100, 96, 99% saturation. No hint of chest pain this ride. So the heart is strengthening and I am not demasnding too much of it. Slower and more careful than I have ever had to go at this. The drop in BP after the ride says I am not unfit, just that I could be more fit. 

Exercise boosts the immune system, has taken me out of the obese more susceptible category, gets me a Vitamin D boost (seems to help in reducing COVID-19 symptoms), and is a great mental attitude adjustment. It just takes a bit more work to get fully fit.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Way to keep at it BrianMc! There was a time I weighed in at 245 lb/111 kg, back in my 40's. I took up exercise and got my weight down to around 210 lb/95 kg. Then I took up cycling and I worked my way down to my present weight of about 180 lb/81 kg. Saved my life for sure, because I was headed to a heart attack. Your story is inspiring, keep going.

Have a good time off Dutchman.

scottyb I used to have to ride through a flock of those things on a previous commute route. They can be downright dangerous. My strategy was to get up a head of steam and go for it. Dodging their poop on the MUP was even worse.

I took a vacation to Montana a couple weeks ago and am coming off my self-imposed 14-day quarantine, since I was in a new area where there were more people. Tomorrow I am going to commute to the office for two days in a row!

Hope everyone is having a good summer.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

What I learned riding:do not ride by how your legs feel. Do not "power up" any grade. Get in the Granny sooner and spin up easily. No getting out of the saddle, no sprints. Each ride Ihere's more power to ride more easily at lower heart rates. 

Apparently the pattern of angina I have suggests that the heart has bypassed some partially blocked artery(ies) and that alternate route(s) kicks in with a little help from the nitro glycerin. If it was blocked badly I would not get recovery but end up taking the third nitro pill headed to ER. So the cycling is helping the heart with the rerouting, it and new meds should help with blockage, and exercise drops weight and increases immune system funciton. So its a win-win. Just can't ride like I am racing. Yet.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Excellent BrianMc!

Hot, hot, hot here in Central Washington. 96F/35.5C today, supposed to be 101F/38C on Thursday! My strategy? Get up really early and ride so I don't die.

Looks like it's just us two Brian's (I'm a Brian too!). Maybe we can get bedwards to chime and and have a 3-Brian conversation


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, I guess I'll check in since this thread is running on fumes this summer. (Brian #3)

I've been off camping and then catching up. I had some good rides on the camping vacation. I hope to pull some pictures into my blog if I get a chance. 

Hot here too. We've been into the 90s and humid for the last few days. It looks like the pattern from here is in the mid 80s for the next 10 days. I've been entertaining myself on my commutes with some mushroom forging but we're going to need a little rain to sustain that.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all,

wow it's been a while since this thread was so quiet....and basically I have nothing to contribute either.

I was on vacation the last 2 Weeks on Mallorca. Mallorca is mostly known for its party and club scene. I have seen several Pornhub Casting cars, so that says enough about its reputation. If you look beyond that you see an outdoor paradise. In spring, pro Teams like Sky train there to get fit for the coming season. Diving, paddling, sailing, hiking, cycling (road and MTB), wildlife watching, climbing etc etc you name, Mallorca has it. Therefore the island is also totally overrun by tourists from spring to fall. But you know, Corona etc, everything different this year. A lot of hotels were completely closed, the clubs are all closed so it was nice and quiet there this time. I had planned to do some roadriding and a few guided MTB tours early in the morning but I hurt my little finger and I have to wear a tube around it for 8 weeks to get it straight again, so I limited my activities to hotelpool, beach, snorkling and short hikes of max 1hr one way to deserted bays/beaches. Temps went up to 35-40°C (90-100F) everyday so more was impossible to make sure I would be back before it was time for siesta.

this week I am on unemployment scheme and next week I will be in homeoffíce. But I am now going to combine other things: Shuttling the kids to school etc, and Friday I will ride to the Doc to have my finger checked and make a detour with a friend on the way back home. Today I made 10k/6m with the kids, so at least I will be on the bike every day again.

I will follow this thread and I hope that at least some posts will come :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode out on my first training route where the then new pavement was so smooth. It is beginning to crack at least on the county paved part. The part done as part of the new overpass was fine. 

Found a gravel entrance to the Honda plant and looped in and out to test it. Yes way more stable than the 100-28's. 

A dolt in a small pickup tried to pass me at the top of a blind hill. Fortunately he did not press it as there was a hidden oncoming car. By the time he passed me, I was down the drop and had 32 mph on the Garvin so he was also speeding. Then he is stopped at the stop sign. After my cool down laps he is across the intersection on a lawn with the hood up. Bad Karma?


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I've been doing a bunch of dog shuttling and rental repairs this summer. Neither of these lend themselves to bike commuting, but if this continues I'll have to get creative and make it work on a bike. 

I'm up north in Michigan this week. Days of riding, paddling, hiking, and learning to skateboard with my son await.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, the thread has a little life in it.

BrianMc, I had a full size pickup with a boat pass me in a blind spot in a 25MPH zone where I was going 25. He gave me plenty of room but was totally in the opposite lane. There could have been another full size pickup truck with a boat coming the other way and he wouldn't have seen it until just before their front bumpers met. Some people are really really stupid.

OK, I've done my due diligence and actually updated my blog with some of my vacation rides. https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2020/08/camping-groading.html

Commutes have been all good. Last week I had 5 full round trips. I did take a car home last night because of the tropical storm. It really didn't start until well after I got home but the plan had already been made. Tonight the roads were pretty covered with downed branches and quite a few tree frogs that must have blown out of the trees with the branches.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

My weekly commute yesterday was a good one. Usually I get about 8.5 miles in on days I commute to work, because I have to bike to the main campus to get my temp taken, bike to my office a few blocks away, bike to the plant nursery about 1.5 miles away, bike back to my office to return the key to the nursery. Yesterday I got in 22+ miles because I had to go to a doctor's appointment, too, and took the long way getting from there to the greenhouse. I'm guessing that there's not too many people that bike commute to the doctor's office, because there was no bike rack! I'm kinda stoked about it, because I haven't had a general practitioner for like 6-7 years.

Perfect riding weather, low 80's and sunny. Been nice not having the air on this week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've biked to a doctor's appointment. 

Not a lot to report from here. My commutes have mostly been short and sweet. I did some KOM chasing with mixed results. Today my legs are tired. I took the trail/mtb route in for a change. Oh, and it was actually a little chilly before the sun really got up. I'm not ready for that.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I've biked to doctor's appointments and the hospital. It makes for some creative lockups. I found 1 leg of the 2 legged signs handy. The big U lock just fits. I carry my Ghetto saddlebag with backpack to load all the removable bits. It looks less desirable with that re-purposed trash can on the back. The signs are right near the entrances with lots of traffic. Though a cordless grinder and a pickup truck could make fast work of taking it. 

Seem to be gaining in the strength and heart departments. A lot slower to improve than 10 years ago....


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Hi all,
> 
> wow it's been a while since this thread was so quiet....and basically I have nothing to contribute either.


same here; i dont mind working from home, but man i miss the commute.

built up a new rear wheel for the commuter, man the old one was a freakin tank. new one with the cassette, brake rotor, and tire mounted up is still lighter than the other wheel alone, ha.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I biked to the dentist once. Had to lock my bike to a tree because I could not find anything better.

I've been going to the office one day per week, and it looks like that will continue for the foreseeable future. I have been riding bunches from my house in central Washington, and as of this mornings ride I am still on pace to hit my 2020 goal of 7000 miles. Just need to keep pedaling.

I went Mountain Biking with a friend last weekend on a really rugged backcountry trail and I crashed really hard on while descending (too fast, I admit). Slammed my chest into a log so hard that initially I thought I was going to have to be carried or helicoptered out. I've never hit that hard before. But, after laying on the ground for a few minutes struggling to breath, I slowly realized that I was going to be OK and could ride out. A week later and my chest is still really sore where I hit the log (it especially hurts when I sneeze), but slowly the pain is subsiding.

Ride on, everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, there are some live people checking in here. 

Ouch on the chest Woodway! Way to leave nothing out on the trail!:cornut: Don't worry, bruised or cracked ribs only hurt for about 6 months and then you'll almost forget about them. 

I volunteered on the bike course at a local tri over the weekend. It was an actual race with actual people actually showing up. They did it in a time trial format so people would be spaced apart. It was good to see people doing normal things.

Commutes have been spectacular weather-wise. We could really use some rain.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Woodway, make sure you're breathing deeply. I once gave myself pneumonia because I wasn't breathing deeply or coughing after I cracked my ribs. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been commuting through this whole ordeal. Traffic was super light for a while, which was kind of nice. Still a few jerks out there. Business was absolutely insane in the 2nd quarter. My department posted better sales in that quarter alone than in some full years. I also was crazy busy being in charge of implementing our new ERP software. The first half of the year was stressful, to say the least. The good news is working for a safety equipment distributor is a pretty stable job during a pandemic.

I'm not going to log any bike commutes this week. I have off tomorrow through Friday. I have a dentist appointment today and have to leave early. I took the car yesterday and today so I can get more time in the office. Only being here 2 days and having to leave early the one day kind of makes it hard to get everything done.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> I went Mountain Biking with a friend last weekend on a really rugged backcountry trail and I crashed really hard on while descending (too fast, I admit). ... A week later and my chest is still really sore where I hit the log (it especially hurts when I sneeze), but slowly the pain is subsiding.
> 
> Ride on, everyone!


Yeah, ride on but try to stay in the saddle. Slam dancing tree trunks is not recommended. I heard that "What doesn't kill you... can make you hurt real bad." Or some such. Oh, laughing hurts too?

I was amazed that my pulse after airing the tires and getting all the lights on, was 80 down from low to mid nineties. So the whole warm up was done at 98 to 104 pulse. Climbs topped out at lower pulses too. So I assume that the new arterial paths are working better.

I am wimping out in the YMCA ride on Saturday with 16 miles. No Century in me just yet. In fact, I need my full 10% increases per ride the rest of this week to cover the ride to the registration and back and the 16 miles. Will have to dodge families.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh woodway man that hurts just by reading it. Get well soon! 

I am in homeoffice this week and I dont know if happy or not. Would love to ride but it is so hot that it is no heatwave anymore but more a tsuwarmy, that started last weekend and will last this whole week too..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good news BrianMc. I'm glad to see you can (are able to? or are allowed to?) get your pulse up higher these days. That must have been frustrating to need to keep it so low for so long. I looked at my ride from yesterday. Average HR was 143 for 30 min and Max was 173. I'm 54 so I think I exceeded my 80% a little. I was going pretty hard. 

I don't have much to report except that I did a couples commute in with my wife.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Good news BrianMc. I'm glad to see you can (are able to? or are allowed to?) get your pulse up higher these days.


Actually I had to cheat with care. I was supposed to warm up in the 95-105 range and found I was at 95 just before getting on the bike, and I was hard put to stay under 115 in warm up. I am now on slow release Nitro glycerin and that has helped me comply (80 HR before riding). Hope to be off it soon as the heart arteries open up. Doc likes the cycling for heart recovery/improvement. I just can't push it like I was used to doing.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Exactly! I'm in good shape, 55BPM resting but I can hit 100BPM just walking up some stairs.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Well. I got hit by a car. 4-way stop, as I'm stopping there are three cars to my right. First is pulling away. Come to a full stop as second car does so he goes since he has right of way. Then I go, as I'm going the third truck goes. I mostly turn and grey hit by his mirror. Got up immediately, threw my helmet off, and threw my glasses at my helmet while yelling "man, what the f***". So I may have broke those. Unmarked cop suv was actually right there so police report is quick, ambulance comes and I deny it. Bike wasn't rolling at first so I started walking it home, but realized only the rear rack was bent. Bent it back and rode home. Think the wheel and frame are ok. 

I'm not that mad at this dude. I'm more mad at his friend who stopped and when he learned he ha hit a cyclist looked at me and said 'good'. I smiled and shook my head. I am not going to jail for punching an old man. My brother keeps telling me he thinks I should escalate this. I rode my bike home, I have a cut on my chin, road rash on my bumpus, and a stiff middle finger and we all know the world is a better place if I refrain from using that. I am not vengeful but when does it become covering my ass? 

Sent from my LM-X320 using Tapatalk


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

NDD said:


> I'm not that mad at this dude. I'm more mad at his friend who stopped and when he learned he ha hit a cyclist looked at me and said 'good'.


This pisses me off. Glad you and the bike escaped major injury though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

NDD said:


> I'm more mad at his friend who stopped and when he learned he ha hit a cyclist looked at me and said 'good'. I smiled and shook my head. I am not going to jail for punching an old man. My brother keeps telling me he thinks I should escalate this.


Too bad, some old men deserve to get punched. Unfortunately a-holes will never realize that they are a-holes. It seems like you should escalate it to a point where they issue a ticket and you get your damages paid for. But it's always easier to suggest it than to actually do it. Glad you were able to walk/ride away.

Commutes have been good with no a-hole encounters.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Train Wreck said:


> This pisses me off. Glad you and the bike escaped major injury though.


Yes, glad to have left with my health, apparently, and been able to ride home. I'll never understand people like that who have such disdain for me as a law-abiding road user who affects his transportation in no meaningful way. People just need something to be mad about, I guess.

The guy who hit me seemed kinda upset about his mirror and fender, but I don't really care. Also he somehow banged his finger on his dash and it was bleeding, which seemed weird. The cop asked him "is that the other guy's blood" because I think he was confused.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh man NDD that whole story suxx big time. I think I would at least make sure you get your damage refunded. That would not be vengeful, its just the least they can do. And the whole story doesnt sound like they deserve any empathy either. But I can imagine that you didnt go after it. After such a story you just want to leave it behind you and tend go on as soon as you can. And then later you think wtf?? Do you have any details from them or does the police at least?

I wish you a quick recovery!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh man NDD that whole story suxx big time. I think I would at least make sure you get your damage refunded. That would not be vengeful, its just the least they can do. And the whole story doesnt sound like they deserve any empathy either. But I can imagine that you didnt go after it. After such a story you just want to leave it behind you and tend go on as soon as you can. And then later you think wtf?? Do you have any details from them or does the police at least?
> 
> I wish you a quick recovery!


There is a police report will probably be more stiff tomorrow! I'll check in.

Sent from my LM-X320 using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Sorry to hear NDD. Don't be too quick to write things off, sometime injuries take time to appear and you don't want to be covering them when it was someone else's fault. Did the other driver get issued a ticket? I'd probably call my insurance guy and ask for advice on what you should do to make sure you are covered.

As far as the dude who said "good" goes, he's not even worth talking about. Karma has a way of coming around.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> Sorry to hear NDD. Don't be too quick to write things off, sometime injuries take time to appear and you don't want to be covering them when it was someone else's fault. Did the other driver get issued a ticket? I'd probably call my insurance guy and ask for advice on what you should do to make sure you are covered.
> 
> As far as the dude who said "good" goes, he's not even worth talking about. Karma has a way of coming around.


I don't think they gave him a ticket. I'll assess how I feel in the morning and call doc of I see the need. Didn't realize it earlier but I actually have a pretty good gash in my backside, so as I was standing and turning away from the truck I'm pretty sure that's what broke his side mirror.

Sent from my LM-X320 using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry to hear this NDD. Sounds like it was a real pain in the backside. Tomorrow may hurt a lot more.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Sorry to hear this NDD. Sounds like it was a real pain in the backside. Tomorrow may hurt a lot more.


HA! I think today is actually somewhat better than when I went to bed last night. A little swelling, a little sore. I woke up and stretched out, which may help.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Dude. NDD. That sucks. Totally not surprised though at the reactions of the people in the car. I'm glad you're OK.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Dude. NDD. That sucks. Totally not surprised though at the reactions of the people in the car. I'm glad you're OK.


Yeah, I'm not surprised either. More surprised that my ribs hurt today more than they did before. Probably because I was working on house yesterday and fell asleep on my right side, but man did I sleep poorly last night. Counting down the time to the next dose of ibuprofen.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey NDD how are you doing? Getting better by now?

I commuted 3rd day this week today and forgot to check in here. Its too quiet, we're drifting apart honey we need to talk.... :lol:

I had a close encounter with a bussard (I think) yesterday on the way home. I was riding on a **** and suddenly the bussard flew by on my left from behind. When I saw him, he was already moving away from me, about 2 meters next to me. I never saw a bird that big so close before. I think his total wingspan was over 1 meter wide. I could see so many details on his feathers and body. He had his claws folded together and legs were up against his body, so I assume it was a flyby out of curiousity instead of an aborted attack. I turned back to the tree he came from and moved my arms a bit to scare him. I know it is usually advised to leave wildlife in peace but I wanted to make a clear statement to him that those big animals on 2 legs are big and not afraid to fight back. I hope he now will stay away from people, since that is my intention. There are people with kids riding on the **** and after an attack they might fall down several meters, worst case is that they fall on the road at the bottom of the ****. So when I moved on and looked back, I saw him leaving the top of the tree and flying into the small wood. So I hope he got the point. I had my camera ready this morning but I didnt see him, actually I also hope to never see him again so close. Luckily all other rides were uneventful. The weather is nice and peaceful, and yesterday there was a layer of fog out on the fields with trees sticking out of it. It feels good riding again.

Anyone else riding these days?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been buzzed twice this week. The first time was by a car. The second time was a semi, which was a bit unnerving considering I could have probably touched it with my elbow. I ride out in the road and don't get buzzed much. I'm not sure why this happened twice this week, but I suspect it's because I commented about NDD's situation. 

The weather is fantastic though. It was 59F this morning. Low humidity.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The weather is great here, too. Climbing the small hills with a lower pulse rate and not so out of breath so that's progress. Got the cadence on the Garmin to work again.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I've been buzzed twice this week. The first time was by a car. The second time was a semi, which was a bit unnerving considering I could have probably touched it with my elbow. I ride out in the road and don't get buzzed much. I'm not sure why this happened twice this week, but I suspect it's because I commented about NDD's situation.
> 
> The weather is fantastic though. It was 59F this morning. Low humidity.


A friend of mine lost his dad to a semi.

Around here, I usually get buzzed by large pickups going well over there does limit. It is quite unnerving and has made me limit some of my longer, rural rides. They don't seem to care that if they miss their mark by a couple inches they will kill someone.

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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hello commuters, good to see you again. I am back to the office Mondays and Fridays, and am psyched to be bikecommuting again. I am however, regretting having requested the biggest of 3 laptop sizes that were available, as my backpack is much heavier. On the plus side I can leave it there over the weekend, so only carry it on 2 of 4 commutes.

I did get caught in one downpour so far and got a nearly-flat at the same time. Yesterday when I stopped at the roundabout to yield to oncoming cars, the truck behind me honked and then gestured toward the sidewalk. That just slowed him down more as I just stared at him and held my ground. The sidewalk/"bikepath" crosses 2 roundabout exits before mine, and there is no way that cars are looking for bikes crossing them, so no thanks. Plus it is one of those mini roundabouts that really slows down cars, I can typically stay right on their tail.









NDD that is terrible, I am glad you were not hurt worse. Both guys were dopes!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Sorry for not checking in and thanks for the support, y'all. Doing fine. Haven't been on the bike since as I'm waiting for my bruised (probably) ribs to stop hurting when I do anything more than walk. May try to ride thia coming week. 

Funny thing the guy's insurance contacted me and I gave them my version of events. No idea why he filed a claim on a broken mirror and dented fender when I made it clear I wasn't going to the hospital and wanted nothing more than to be left alone. His money to waste I guess. 

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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

NDD said:


> Funny thing the guy's insurance contacted me and I gave them my version of events. No idea why he filed a claim on a broken mirror and dented fender when I made it clear I wasn't going to the hospital and wanted nothing more than to be left alone. His money to waste I guess.


Likely discovered that the mirror was $250-$500 and the dented fender and paint another $1000-3000. If he was a "safe" driver before this then his deductible may have dropped to $100 or less. So he would have eaten a grand or more. The front scrape of our fender by a hit and run was $1600 and that was only paint, no dent.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> Likely discovered that the mirror was $250-$500 and the dented fender and paint another $1000-3000. If he was a "safe" driver before this then his deductible may have dropped to $100 or less. So he would have eaten a grand or more. The front scrape of our fender by a hit and run was $1600 and that was only paint, no dent.


Considering he must've been driving a late 90's mid size ford or chevy that sounds like a lot still, haha.

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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NDD, they contacted you to see your intentions. If you would have made noise about how much pain you are in, etc., it likely would have drawn a proactive cash offer in return for a release.

Hope you heal up soon!


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## squeakymcgillicuddy (Jan 28, 2016)

Been a while since I checked in here, hope ya'll have been well. Had golden hour light on my commute home tonight...gotta stay until 8 tomorrow so that'll be my first dark commute in months. 

Glad things weren't worse NDD. In my mind I'd kick that friend's ass but yeah, nothing to gain there. A couple weeks back I got into it with a driver and he ended up pulling off into a parking lot and looping around to re-enter the road...I didn't trust letting him pull out behind me so I pulled into the lot too half expecting a fight but apparently he just missed his turn.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

^ Thursday I may commute again. My ribs are finally starting to hurt less when doing things so maybe it'll be ok. Been having a good deal of anxiety lately and usually bike or walk in those cases because driving stresses me out but I'll have to see how I feel about it. Pretty confident in my bike crashing skills. 

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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Darn, sorry to read you were hit, NDD! Never fun.

Commuting was great today, left extra early and the trail was nice and empty. I commute 5 days a week, almost all on an MUP. Normal times I see the same 5-7 people year round. Since covid, trail has been PACKED. Not fun. Schools are back (virtually) so things are quieting down.

I have my own office, only two other people in the whole building, so been working from my office as much as possible. At home, no matter how focused I promise I'll be...I think of something on a bike that needs fixing, or in the yard, etc. Next thing I know, my morning is gone. I prefer just to bike to my office.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

nayr497 said:


> ..At home, no matter how focused I promise I'll be...I think of something on a bike that needs fixing, or in the yard, etc. Next thing I know, my morning is gone.


relatable!!!

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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I can now detour a bit to a bike path along the river for a couple miles of my commute. It is pleasant and avoids several lights. But I need to put a bell back on. There are too many couples walking super safely in their masks but totally oblivious of their surroundings. I use "MORNING!" but it gets tiresome.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather was iffy this morning, but I found $5 on the road. That doesn't happen every day.


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## scottyb1708 (Mar 5, 2020)

First ride from the new house and first ride in about a month. Legs are a little stiff, but feel really good otherwise.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Mtbx I have bells on all my bikes. Its not cool but they always come in handy. I usually mount them upside down so they dont stand out too much. 

Scotty, how far is your commute?

Sockeyous, 5$ is a lot! Lucky you.

I finally commuted again. It was nice and refreshing this morning, 10C with light fog over the fields and the sun was peeking out over it, simply nice. Unfortunately and as always, the pics didn't turn out so well. No wonder with my crappy phone, but still... The ride home was nice, about 20C and sunny. I made a slight detour on a few gravelroads and ended up with 1h16m of riding today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey! I'm still here, I guess it has been a while. I did take a mini vacation and finally pulled together some pictures of it to share. 
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2020/08/baxter-state-park.html

I haven't found any cash on the road but I'll keep looking.

I'm back for about a week now still commuting every day. Yesterday was extended because I had to drop my truck off for service which gave me two 20+ mile rides to get it. And guess what, they didn't fix it. So tomorrow I get to do two 20+ mile rides again. The rides are decent but it is kind of a pain to get up at 4:30 to drive there and get back to work by 7:30. And then not get home till 7:30 at night.


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## scottyb1708 (Mar 5, 2020)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...
> 
> Scotty, how far is your commute?
> 
> ...


My commute is not too far, about 9.5 miles on paved trail one way. We only moved about a mile away from the old place, so most of it is the same as before. I really enjoy not having to ride on the road though, especially when seeing stories like NDD's.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi bedwards, great story and pics on your blog! And with that beard you look like james hetfield, really. And consider that a compliment please 

I had uneventful commutes today and made another nice ride through the woods while my son was at soccer training. Rode up a 5k gravelroad to the highest point of the state of hamburg at an elevation116m/350ft :lol: . I laid on my back on the picknicktable there to listen to the sound of the woods for 10 minutes, then went back to pick up my son and ride home. All in all I rode about 2.5hrs and approx. 43k/30m. It was a good day.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi scotty, sounds good. I have approx. 7m each way and wouldnt mind a little more, but I am happy with it as it is now. And a paved trail sound very nice too. I can at least ride separated from traffic on most of my ride, but I have 1-2 "oh sh!t" moments a year, so your route sounds appealing. Lots of climbing on your route? Mine is basically flat, but with 40ft of climbing to get over a few ***** and out of the tunnel before work :lol:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another uneventful ride.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

It was so foggy yesterday morning, that my pants were wet on my knees. Other than that it was a nice ride in the sunrise. It rained on the way home, so I skipped my detour. Working from home today so no commute, but I will probably ride the fatbike this afternoon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Whoa, quiet 'round here! 

We are getting a few last days of summer like weather. Yesterday I had to get to work early so I was out before the sun came up for the first time this season. It was an incredibly peaceful ride though the back roads. The other rides have been nice too. I'm not really looking forward to letting summer go even though I know that means fatbiking. I don't think I have been on my fatbike in 5 months.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Bedwards,

yes its quiet :-/ I dont if its because no one rides to the office due to covid, or people are afraid to post here...

I am in homeoffice this week but will probably ride a few days next week.

The first signs of fall are here, I had a few rides with fog in the morning. The best of 3 foggy days are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2C8qPDNzay5pVceo6

And it shows the new reality with the construction site for the new highway right in the middle of that nice stretch of road...

Keep riding and stay safe every1!

CU, CD


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Still not quite dead, yet.

Me or the forum.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I rode to the office earlier this week. I'm back over to my place in central Washington State, enjoying all the smoke from the wildfires. It was bad enough yesterday that I skipped riding. The air quality improved enough today that I went for a 24 mile ride that was enjoyable, aside from the fact that it was 88F/31C on the way home.

bedwards, last week I rode a couple days to the office and had to put my headlight on!

I like foggy mornings, Dutchman. We get plenty of them in the Seattle area. Not so much in central Washington.

Glad you are still riding BrianMc!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Do I see correctly, three posts from Brian in a row? Sorry to break the chain...

MC way to go! :thumbsup:

We have a second, smaller critical mass ride every 2nd friday of the month. Scaled down to the size of the suburb I expected a few 100 participants but we were a whopping 9 in the end :lol: we did have a fun ride though and I clocked 41k/25m .


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Checking in on our PNW and CA friends. Hope you and fam/friends are OK, stay safe! First frost here in VT this morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Gasp! Just choking under the worst smoke conditions ever here in the Pacific Northwest! Too smoky to ride or even leave the house for that matter. Supposed to be some relief starting tonight. It can't come fast enough.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

woodway said:


> Gasp! Just choking under the worst smoke conditions ever here in the Pacific Northwest! Too smoky to ride or even leave the house for that matter. Supposed to be some relief starting tonight. It can't come fast enough.


Yikes, hopefully you got or will get that relief soon. My wife was sent out west for wildfire duty about 10 days ago. Last year they sent her to Alaska, and this year they sent her to CO and WY. I think things have gotten pretty cold and wrapped up around there. Nothing like what y'all have got going over there.

Haven't really been on the bike. I've had some apprehensions about it that I'll probably just need a little time to get over. Physically I should be OK. My ribs no longer hurt when doing every little thing, bruising and swelling has subsided, etc. I rode to work about 2 weeks after the incident and was just a little too on edge the whole time.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yikes woodway I hope for rain for you soon!

Climate change is going into the next level here. We have had several years of much less rain as usual and by now the trees are getting so dry that thicker branches snap off like a match stick, even without wind. I rode the fatbike yesterday and in 2hrs I found the trail blocked by a branch 3 times. And those looked healthy from the outside, with green leaves on them. I hope we will catch up on rain soon, otherwise the next autumn storms are going to be devastating, not to mention the trees around the house, yikes. If the trend continues I dont want to know how it will look like here in 10 years.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Still no relief here. The hoped for weather system petered out in the Pacific, so we continue to suffer under the worst air quality I have ever seen. The air quality maps bounce between "Very Unhealthy" and "Hazardous". Now they are saying a weather front will come through on Friday to clean the air.

The worst part is not being able to get out and ride. I live for it 

NDD, understandable the way you are feeling. I've often wondered if I could just get right back in the saddle if I was hit. I'm hoping your confidence comes back soon.

Dutchman, sorry to hear about the drought in your area. Hope the fall rains arrive for you soon!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Oh, NDD, hope your wife is safe on fire duty...


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Hey all thought would check in as well. Sorry for the long absence but the move back from Germany to Oregon is underway. I am physically in the PNW now but my bikes are somewhere near the Panama Canal as we speak. However, as Woodway mentioned there would be no riding evening I had them. Hopefully relief will come soon for all affected by the fires. It's scary out there.









This picture was taken at 09:45 last Friday I believe notice the street lights were still on due to smoke induced darkness. The smoke layer is thinner now but more settled in and is very unhealthy.

Stay safe and get out the spiked armor we have definitely reached the post apocalyptic wasteland stage. I wanna see those Mad Max bikes out in force.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

That's quite a photo Jeremy. The conditions out there sound pretty dire even if you aren't near the front lines of the fire. Hopefully you get some relief on Friday. I'm pretty sure we have had the driest summer on record. If fact, the only times it has rained all summer are when I have a day off to be outside. Not complaining, nothing is on fire around here. I haven't been on the rain bike because of rain in months.



woodway said:


> bedwards, last week I rode a couple days to the office and had to put my headlight on!


You head to work so darn early I'm surprised you don't need it in the middle of the summer.

We haven't had a frost but it was a chilly 38F this morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Those fires have been intense and relentless this year. If only there were some sort of science that would explain the fires, climate events, polar ice melt, etc. we've been experiencing...

I'm still rolling. Not much to report here other than a colder than expected ride in this morning. I could have used some light gloves.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

"I don't think science knows, actually,"


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yikes jeremy! Man you guys in the PNW really take a beating at the moment. I really hope you get some relief soon.

NDD, be brave. Its worth it. And it sounds like your wife is one brave tough on too! Kudos to her and I hope she stays well and safe! 

We have some nice and warm days here. Temps went up to 29C this afternoon. Its gonna be similar tomorrow. I am leaving early tomorrow and I hope for a foggy sunrise. Will take pics when it works out.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Another nice ride but I held off until after lunch for it to warm up some.

Not dealing with fires or a spouse fire fighter. Keep safe everyone.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We were smoky all day yesterday. The sun was shining. There weren't many clouds in the sky, but it looked cloudy all day from the smoke. We've seen Saharan dust and PNW smoke this year. We haven't been nailed by the remnants of a hurricane yet. Laura pretty much crapped out before it got here. Wildfires, dust, and hurricanes aren't what you expect in KY.

Another cool ride in this morning. Great weather.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Those fires have been intense and relentless this year. If only there were some sort of science that would explain the fires, climate events, polar ice melt, etc. we've been experiencing...


I am not a fire expert, but I am a forest and outdoor enthusiast and I spend a lot of time in the forests here in the Pacific Northwest. I can tell you that 100 years of fire suppression in our forests has left them in very poor condition. I often ride and hike through a National Forest 20 minutes from my house and the number of standing dead trees, the amount of deadfall on the ground, the thickness of the forest, it's just not natural or healthy. When a fire does come through, these things burn hot as hell. I see a lot of headlines about Climate Change causing these big fires, and I don't doubt that climate change has a role, but my own feeling is that years and years of suppressing a natural phenomenon is the major cause. Just IMHO.

Welcome back to the PNW jeremy_burke - bummer you had to return to such brutal conditions, but hopefully by the time your bikes arrive the promised weather front will have come through and cleaned the air a bit!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> I am not a fire expert, but I am a forest and outdoor enthusiast and I spend a lot of time in the forests here in the Pacific Northwest. I can tell you that 100 years of fire suppression in our forests has left them in very poor condition. I often ride and hike through a National Forest 20 minutes from my house and the number of standing dead trees, the amount of deadfall on the ground, the thickness of the forest, it's just not natural or healthy. When a fire does come through, these things burn hot as hell. I see a lot of headlines about Climate Change causing these big fires, and I don't doubt that climate change has a role, but my own feeling is that years and years of suppressing a natural phenomenon is the major cause. Just IMHO.


Yeah, adding a warmer climate to the conditions you described is not good.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I did my get my share of fog this morning. So much that there wasnt anything to see, so in the end I did not take any pics. The ride home was nice, warm and light winds. Unfortunately it was the last day of commuting already this week :-/

I wish those who have issues with the forest fires all the best and hope you get a break soon!


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

have gotten two commutes in now, today and once two weeks ago. last time i’d ripped my desktop calendar was March 16th. nice to be riding in, actually being here i’m indifferent about, ha. they have the showers and locker rom shut down though, which is annoying. so i’ve been showering at home first then riding in very slowly to avoid a sweat... which is admittedly at least a little bit refreshing if i’m honest. 


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Smoke cleared up last weekend! I've gotten a couple of beautiful, clean air rides since then. I'm planning a couple of real office commutes this week!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Glad to hear you have clean air again woodway!

I rode today, it was a usual nice fall day. There was some fog again on the way in but I am getting used to it by now. Very nice 23C on the way home!!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Smoke cleared up last weekend! I've gotten a couple of beautiful, clean air rides since then. I'm planning a couple of real office commutes this week!


Great news. I think the east coast still has remnants of smoke from the west but for us it has never been any more than dramatic sunrises and nothing noticeable at ground level. We are at an elevated fire risk because it hasn't rained to speak of for at least a month and it is dry and windy.

We're had a few mornings around freezing but today is back to late summer temps. Otherwise, not much to report.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Got buzzed and honked at by some stupid f*ck with only half an expired temp plate from another state...only to be stuck directly behind them because a semi truck was blocking the road a couple hundred feet down. This is by a couple of factories right by a residential area. THEN we get to the red light another couple hundred feet away and this person makes a left turn on red. I AM STILL SO MAD. I feel like something that I enjoyed for more than a decade is being stripped from me if i want to have any sort of longevity and be there for my family. I don't even know if i enjoy it anymore. Commuting gives me so much anxiety now, even on a bicycle. Driving has given me anxiety for a while. Rail trails or bike paths feel so neutered and predictable. Mountain biking is fun, but I have no friends who do it and a bad habit of not doing things for myself so I've been neglecting that (also it takes a lot for me to want to drive to a trailhead). 

I dunno maybe I'm being a baby. The first two years I lived in the city it was easy to bike around. Easier than gravel roads in the country, where I had to worry about getting rocks purposefully kicked at me by trucks and trying to outrun everyone's unleashed and untrained dogs. After covid restrictions were lifted it just seems like people are absolutely nuts and totally rude. Very, very frustrated right now.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Sorry to hear that NDD. A-holes suck and it is definitely worse when they can unintentionally kill you. 

I had a construction flagger spin his sign to stop when he saw me coming on a bike and told me that I couldn't continue through in the travel lane do to state work zone law. Then he said I had to "cross over" and pointed to the opposite travel lane. I questioned him but that was the only thing he would allow. I assumed that they were going to stop traffic both ways and get me through. Nope. I crossed over and found cars coming directly at me. There was NO shoulders, just 2 lanes of traffic with a guard rail to a brook on one side and construction equipment on the other side. So I crossed back to the lane I should have been in. It was almost more comical than concerning. "You want me to go where? Yeah, sure. "

After that I stopped and knocked on somebodies door to ask if I could have the mushroom growing in their yard. They said sure. It was a little gritty but 5lbs of maitake is worth some cleaning. 

This coming weekend would normally be the 100 mile charity ride I do every year. This year it is virtual but we still plan on going out and riding 100 miles. I haven't ridden 100 miles since that ride last year. My miles are way down in general this year and I can't blame COVID, only being lazy. (Donation links in my blog \/, no pressure.  )


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I was about the only cyclist on roads and streets around here in 2008 when I resumed cycling. Dopes tailgating 2-3 feet off my back wheel passing 18" off my shoulder minus the big a$$ mirror. I just kept upping the ante with daytime visible lights (rare at that time), and bright clothing. Still get some who forget you are there after they pass and right hook a guy. They seem to get the message that I went the extra mile to be safe and maybe they should participate as well. More cyclists about has also helped. 

I have a virtual charity ride this weekend, too. Nowhere near ready for 100 miles. 25 is ample.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

NDD, feel for you man. But give it time.

Great news for Washington cyclists, the Idaho Stop is legal starting October 1. Whoo-hoo.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Great news on the Idaho Stop. You are pretty close to Idaho. 

The century ride went off without a hitch. The route I planned was good. My lower than normal miles this year was pretty evident. Last year I was trying for my fastest century. this year I was trying to finish. I was pretty tired after the ride but had no lasting effects on Monday.

Today's ride was pretty eventful. We had a pretty strong storm with 50MPH wind gusts happening during my ride. I would have made it in before the torrential rain (maybe not) but I passed some downed wires that had started an electrical fire and the wires were still live and kept the fire going. So I called 911 and waited for the first responders to show up. That's when the heavy rain started. Luckily is was unseasonably warm. The last few miles were directly into the wind which was almost strong enough to stop me at times. I hold the KOM on the strava segment at about 36MPH. Today's speed came in at 14.:eekster:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well done bedwards, a true local hero! Is there no newspaper article to post in the bike commuter hero thread?

Well I almost forgot, I rode monday and tuesday. Monday was grey and wet, tuesday was a fine day. I had a customer meeting in the afternoon. My slot was planned for 1-3pm but it went on until 7pm :yikes: and we only stopped because the customer wa hungry...so that day I got to ride in both sunrise and sunset.

Quiet here - nobody riding more than once a week?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm riding every day. Yesterday I left in the dark and did half the commute with my wife, me on my MTB and her on a cross bike. She has to get there earlier so we split 1/2 way and I headed for the trails. I worked a little late and got home after dark. Winter is coming.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I am riding 2-3 X a week. 14 mph is about my speed. 

Good job with the hot wires, bedwards.


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## Alan Bikes (Sep 25, 2020)

Well, I commuted yesterday and the weather was good. I did my best time ever and got a 27km/h average for 24 km. So happy with that


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was a beautiful fall morning to ride in with my wife.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm riding about 4 days/week.

I've been relishing my Idaho stops this week, although I still feel a little guilty about it...even though it's legal.

Did a big ride with a friend two days ago...54m/87km, ~5900ft/1800m. Rode to work yesterday and felt pretty good. Waiting for the sun to get up a bit and will try and get a 40 miler in today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I've been practicing my Idaho stops too. I still feel guilty because they are still illegal. I still roll through stop signs slower than most cars do so I really don't feel too bad about it. 

I just looked at my miles this year compared to others. I still haven't cracked 4000 for the year. I'm on track for my lowest mileage year since I started riding in earnest again 8 years ago. Good thing it isn't a competition. 

TGIF


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I just confuse local drivers who themselves rarely stop for stop signs, if I don't roll the stop. I yield to cars at or imminent to be at the intersection and usually get the wave to go.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Monday All

My commute was a solid average. No excitement, no drama, seasonable temps, didn't feel fast or slow...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sunday's ride went very well with no hint of angina. I usually got some coming off the light after a steep climb followed by a light grade. I also climbed a hill out of the saddle in a 2:1 ratio with a pulse of 135. So it looks like that heart blood flow is improving.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well today's ride ended early:









Did not dodge the thing that ripped the tire tube and took a piece out of the rim. I suspect it was a piece of gravel littering the shoulder from a vehicle with muddy tires picking up gravel off the new lane. I had dodged a lot but did not see this one at all. No spare tire with me. Got rescued by a guy in a off-roadable pickup. I guess all those 20's I gave to stranded motorists came full circle. Looks like I take the right lane by this spot until vehicles clear the shoulder.

Maybe 100 miles on that rim, tire.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Damn, that is a weak ass tire. The roads around here are littered with gravel and crushed rock all the time. I've never considered that it would tear a tire. That nick in the rim looks like it could be filed out. I would. 

I took the mountain bike today. I haven't been on the full suspension MTB in months. It was fun.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Damn, that is a weak ass tire. The roads around here are littered with gravel and crushed rock all the time. I've never considered that it would tear a tire. That nick in the rim looks like it could be filed out. I would.


The local crushed limestone has some flint in it. Darn sharp stuff. Not sure it was gravel as it shows up well against the asphalt even with mud about. I just did not see what caused it and walked back to see if I could.

The nick goes right through the rim flange and includes a burr in the bead area and stress risers can fan out from there. New rim and tires, are on their way.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi brianmc, that looks bad but not too nasty. You really do not want to try to re-use the rim? It looks rideable from here. 

I'll be quiet for the time being. I moved into another apartment the last days and will be off next week too. And after that I think we will be in homeoffice again since coronanumbers are about to cross the limits and we are heading into new limitations in social and office life with more social distancing. I did make a 37k ride just for the heck of it this afternoon. Cyclists gotta do what cyclists gotta do I guess ;-)

I will keep reading here, so keep riding and posting. Have a nice weekend!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Monday! Wow, this forum is deader than ever. The "RONA" is really taking it's toll. Not like the old days.

Things are cooling off here. This morning was below freezing. I took the mountain bike/trails.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Happy Wednesday. Commuted to the office today. Fall is here.

Had to really dial back my riding for a couple weeks. I was installing fence for the wifes horses and did something to my shoulder. Riding was painful. Tried a couple of rides and it sucked. But it seems to be healing now...Rode Sunday and again this morning into the office and it felt pretty good. Hoping to get back into the groove.

I think it's a good call on the rim Brian Mc. A rim failure at speed is a spectacularly bad thing...

Nice pics this morning bedwards.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Nice pics this morning bedwards.


Well, thank you! I'll share them here since this forum as been a little quiet. 


















​
I got an early start in total darkness this morning. There was a sliver of the moon with a planet beside it that was amazing but I could have never captured it with the phone. I got in 25 miles this morning which makes up for me skipping yesterday because it was freaking pouring.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> nI think it's a good call on the rim Brian Mc. A rim failure at speed is a spectacularly bad thing...


Already had a 19 mph front blow out leaned over for a corner in 2013. Some of you may remember that video. That is supposed to be one of the worst. Do not need to almost break a cheekbone and acquire more facial tar tattoos, and trash a helmet again. Also I wanted to re-spoke that wheel to get better clearance for the presta valve (the video I used set me on the wrong start for a 36 hole rim). I was going to put the effort in anyway, so why re-lace a wheel with the rim cut through the top bead part and into the brake area?

Think I saw the piece of dark steel that emulated a tar spot and which was very near where the tire flatted. It was almost in the grass verge now. makes me feel better about my eyesight.

Wheel is rebuilt and ridden. It needs more truing. Doing it Ghetto style in the stays using the brake pads as guides works but it is nowhere near as nice as a wheel truing stand. I find it hard to justify $150 to $400 for a stand.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'd believe a piece of steel cut through the tire. I take back my disparaging comments on your tire. 

I've never been able to justify a wheel truing stand either. I am updating my home bike shop with some new flooring instead of grease stained plywood and re-thinking my work space and toolboxes. All of this was precipitated by hauling everything out of my basement to replace a rotten sill.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I've never been able to justify a wheel truing stand either. I am updating my home bike shop with some new flooring instead of grease stained plywood and re-thinking my work space and toolboxes. All of this was precipitated by hauling everything out of my basement to replace a rotten sill.


Give a mouse a cookie... Or give a house a small repair....Our renovation of the house lead to all the kitchen cabinets being replaced. The subfloor needed another layer, the crawl space sealed and insulated....in for a penny in for a pound.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I don't remember where I found it, but I picked up an inexpensive truing stand about 7 years ago. I think it was around $50. I've used it maybe (MAYBE) once a year. I once took a wheel to a local bike shop and asked them to true it...the guy did it while I waited and did not charge me anything. Makes me wonder if the $50 I spent was even worth it.

No bike shop renovations for me. Just built my wife a barn for her horses. My priorities are straight.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The sunrises have been pretty cool the last week or so. The little sliver of a moon has been nice too. Drivers have mostly been OK.

This morning a rather large bug found its way into my mouth. It must have been a moth or something. It's hard to know in the dark.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> Give a mouse a cookie... Or give a house a small repair....Our renovation of the house lead to all the kitchen cabinets being replaced. The subfloor needed another layer, the crawl space sealed and insulated....in for a penny in for a pound.


Oh yeah! This started with some cracked marble floor tiles in the kitchen. The new flooring was the LEAST of the project.



woodway said:


> No bike shop renovations for me. Just built my wife a barn for her horses. My priorities are straight.


 I'm not sure about that.  Horses cost more than bikes, eat more than bikes and poop more than bikes. I think you need to encourage your wife to get a new hobby! 

Speaking of that, my wife and I rode in together (on bikes) today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm not sure about that.  Horses cost more than bikes, eat more than bikes and poop more than bikes. I think you need to encourage your wife to get a new hobby!


Yup, you get it. My priorities are absolutely correct.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Stopped and picked up the piece of steel to make sure a vehicle does not flick it back in the shoulder area.









Figure I flicked it up and rode it down lengthwise.

Nice ride but I will take both wheels for a final tweak at the bike shop. definitely a high spot in the rear and a slight side to side left in the front one from the first build. Close but not nearly perfect enough.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looks nasty brianmc.

Some nice pics here :thumbsup:

Due to rona&co. I am ordered to stay in homeoffice his week, so no commutes again. I am going on a ride during lunchtime though, cant stand it anymore to be off the bike.

How are things going in in the usa? Is the 2nd wave already coming up or is there a delay compared to europe like with the 1st wave? Imho things are already worse than with the 1st wave here but the authorities are a bit reluctant with another lockdown. I think society here cant take it again this time. Not only economically, but also psychologically.. I rather be on my bike outside than somewhere n a crowd though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey dutchman! Our second wave was really in June/July. We are working on our third wave and it is just a little behind Europe. My general sense is that even though there are more cases it isn't quite as bad as the first wave. It is really hard to tell. I didn't used to be one of the "don't trust the government or the news" types but the information you get lately seems to vary greatly by the source. Luckily, I'm in Maine which has one of the lowest number of cases per capita in the country. My wife and I don't go to public places except for groceries and when we do it is with masks. We stay sane by riding bikes and including a few close friends in our "bubble". So far, so good.

My wife and I rode in together this morning in the dark. Good stuff. We're lucky that we can take a route the has almost zero cars (or any people) for the first 5 miles.

The at-home time has been good for getting projects done. After doing the kitchen floor it was so easy and looked so good that I decided to re-do the floor in the basement that I was using for a bike shop. It was previously grease stained plywood. I was also suffering from a serious lack of bike tool storage and had a tool-bench that somebody gave me. That project was just completed this weekend. I present home bike shop 2.0. I should have taken a before picture. It's only that clean because it hasn't been used yet.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

The bike shop looks great bedwards!

For the first time ever, I am seriously giving thought to acquiring a trainer. Bike commuting in Seattle year-round is easy - you just need to get used to riding in the rain. But due to the virus, I am mostly working out of my place in Central Washington, were I need to get geared up for riding in ice and snow. I could do that, but the topography and road layout around my house makes ice/snow riding a bit dubious. So I am thinking about a trainer.

It would be a big step for me...I have always been an outdoors riding disciple.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's a beautiful day here but no bike commute for me. I forgot to set the alarm last night and awoke only 9 minutes before needing to be at work. Luckily I live close and only arrived only a little late, which isn't a big deal.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway, extreme conditions justify extreme measures


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Kind of dreary conditions this morning: 50F and drizzling. I had to yell at a driver who ran a red on a right turn without stopping or even slowing down. I was a bit on edge for the rest of the ride. Apparently drivers were sucking all over because there were 3 at least accidents around us within a 3 mile radius.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> For the first time ever, I am seriously giving thought to acquiring a trainer...


Winter Trainer








So, we took a mini vacation to Acadia National Park and didn't even bring bikes!!! We were only there for a few days and made up for it with some great hikes. I'll post a full report in the next few days.

Yesterday was raw rainy and cold (Seattle Weather). I dressed for biking but got into a project before I left the house and aborted the bike commute.

Back into it today after almost a week off the bike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I commuted yesterday and today, the first rides in a month and probably the last for the next month. We are going into another lockdown in november. At least, they were good.

I have to say that I agree with it and I understand it is necessary to get a grip on it again. Nevertheless aviation is going to take a big blow again and my job is at risk. In my department we normally have 12-15 projects a year, for next year we have only 3 confirmed so far. Currently 17% is planned to be layed off in spring, could easily increase to a point where it includes me. World wouldnt end, but it would be a d4mn shame after 16 years and having so many nice collegues and friends. I have started asking around to have a plan B.

The good thing is, cycling will be allowed during the lockdown, so I hope to be able to make at least some rides during lunchtime, or maybe even nightrides with lights on the mtb.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry to hear about the layoffs at your company dutchman. Similar things are going on in the US but somehow the economy hasn't really noticed yet. It is really hard to understand. Meanwhile, we can't hire enough people to keep up with demand. 

The weather here has been pretty lousy with rain and fog just above freezing. I rode this morning but jumped on the opportunity to shuttle a friends car home from when she came to do a trail commute home with my wife. They are still calling for some snow overnight.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, and I got my act together and published the pictures of our trip.
https://thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com/2020/10/acadia-and-schoodicand-we-didnt-even.html


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice write-up and photos bedwards! Thanks for sharing them.

Dutchman, hope your job is safe. It's good to get out and ride in these uncertain times. Good stress relief,

I have only gotten a couple of rides in this week - work and home commitments have taken up all my time. I did a commute to my office near Seattle yesterday and was rewarded with a ride in the rain, haha.

After much consideration, I purchased a trainer. It should arrive at the end of next week. I'll post some photos once I get it setup. I'm going to get a Zwift subscription to see if that keeps me entertained. bedwards, I keep thinking fatbike, and would love to get one, it's just that with the topography and the way the roads are setup around my central Washington house, I would need to put it onto a car and drive to good fatbike riding, and I just don't think I would do it enough to justify. We'll see how the trainer goes and then I will take stock and re-consider.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Winter made an appearance this morning. 27F and sunny. It didn't feel too bad, considering we haven't had this weather since March or April. I definitely noticed the increased gearing on my singlespeed though. I've gotten used to it during the warm months, but I'll have to adjust to it in the cold.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for your concern guys, I am sure it will help!

Bedwards, nice pics on your blog. I sure understand that you didnt miss the bikes.

We started with our lockdown for the entire month today. At least schools stay open. I will be in homeoffice the entire month and I also belong to a COVID risk group so I am limiting direct contact to my kids and getting groceries once a week. Contact with my friends and relatives in he netherlands is already online always so no difference there.

I went for a 45min fast walk during lunch and made a 40min bikeride in the rain after work. Woodway, I feel ya.

It seems that 65% in the usa made their cross already. I am afraid that this time it is not just a choice between left/right, social/liberal, red/blue or whatever. This time, its a choice between democracy or dictatorship. I sure hope those remaining 35% know what they're doing. Sorry for interfering.

I hope I can keep up with rides during lunchtime and in the weekends. I am probably going mtb'ing with 2 coworkers on sunday and try to fit in another longer ride on saturday.

Sockeyous, we had the last day of summer here today, 19C!!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> It seems that 65% in the usa made their cross already. I am afraid that this time it is not just a choice between left/right, social/liberal, red/blue or whatever. This time, its a choice between democracy or dictatorship. I sure hope those remaining 35% know what they're doing. Sorry for interfering.


I've never felt so unsettled about an election in the US before. It's not looking like it's going to be pretty. I've never seen a US president with so little respect for democracy and long tradition of peaceful transfer of power. Here's to hoping for an indisputable landslide victory or hoping all the rhetoric was just bluster.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Agreed. Either way it is going to be ugly. I'm glad I live in the sticks.

I've been really lazy/lax about riding this week. A combination of cold, raining, tired, time change, busy and going to vote. This is the second day I have taken a car...out of 2. I'll get back to it tomorrow. 

(I had to install an ad blocker to get to the site today. It kept getting hijacked by what looked like malware. )


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Run these four browser extensions and your browsing experience will be so much more pleasant:

- uBlock Origin
- Adblock Plus
- Disconnect
- https everywhere

Sometimes they will interfere with a site (especially ones that load content from other sites), but you can selectively disable them for sites you trust.

Glad the election will be over tomorrow. The mass media is hyperventilating. We have been voting by mail in Washington State for the last 10 years. I sent my ballot in two weeks ago and stopped paying attention. It's going to be fine.

I'll be in the office later this week and will get at least one office commute in. My new trainer has shipped! I'll report when it arrives and I get it setup.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^They have been runned. I'll have to remember to install them at home too.

I finally got back on the bike today. Close one, but it is still shorts season. Forecast was for 21F but it was more like 26F. My cutt-off is around 24F. I found a nice flush of oyster mushrooms that were so frozen that I could just barely cut them off the tree. I passed by the second cluster I saw. I'll go back for those on a day above freeing so I can just cut them easily.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I've never felt so unsettled about an election in the US before. It's not looking like it's going to be pretty. I've never seen a US president with so little respect for democracy and long tradition of peaceful transfer of power. Here's to hoping for an indisputable landslide victory or hoping all the rhetoric was just bluster.


As somebody who's been extremely high anxiety for the last few months (for many reasons, good and bad), I'll offer this advice. Do what you think is right, and don't expect the worst to happen, but don't think that it cannot happen. Preparedness is key.

Tomorrow might be the first commute for me in a long time. I'm looking forward to it, even if it's only 1.5 miles each way (3 miles each way if I go to the greenhouse)! We'll see how it goes, but hopefully the stress of interacting with traffic won't be too much. It's hard to bike when you're hyperventilating.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Surprised of the response here. Expected to be ignored, bashed or even banned. And now, it seems some others overthere have concerns too...and beforeyou say I better mind my own business. If the usa gets a prez for lifetime similar to.china and russia, we in europe are screwed. They will play all countries against each other and all they do here is debate in the eu parliament. And then it goes on in the national countries and then the french start all over again because they are the center of the universe. And once they are finished, they notice europe is sold around the world already.

Back to basic. I made a wonderful lunchride this afternoon of 45minutes. Nice through the woods, on the way back downhill I made 56kph/ 35mph. Good times !


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No real result in the presidential race, but my bike still worked.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got an after lunch ride in for a change. Had to catch my breath at the top of two grades. Need more miles.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Keep pushing BrianMc. Much respect for the way you keep after it.

Got a commute in to the office yesterday. Went fine, aside from riding in the rain. I'm back in Central Washington, going to try and get a 40 mile ride in this afternoon after I tick off a few work items.

Have a good weekend everyone.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yikes! 5 days with no posts. I guess I'm part of that problem. 

Well, the weather here has been exceptionally lovely for this time of year. The days are getting into the 70s. Last year at about this time I was skating!

Hmm, what else to report? I rode in with my wife both today and yesterday. Today on roads and yesterday on trails. I've found about 10 lbs of oyster mushrooms on my few commutes and need to start freezing them.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I took advantage of the warm weather, too. About 24 degrees cooler today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I am not commuting but might ride next friday. For the rest I am usually going for a walk or bikeride in lunchtime. Tuesday I rode 21k which is almost a round trip commute. Last week I made 3 trips of approx 13k, on one I reached 56kph downhill \,,/ today was 23 minutes only but I hammered it so it was a good workout. Oh and last sunday I rode the fatbike for 3h30m. So I do get some riding, just no real commutes.

Well done for everyone that keeps riding. I wonder about mtbx she wasnt here for a longer time.

Keep going and stay safe you all!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, i was wondering about MTXB too. She's been a fixture here for as long as I have. I've been mostly doing nothing but commutes. And direct ones at that, no wandering. We did get out on a fatbike ride with a friend last weekend. It was the first time I rolled the fatty since last winter. 

This will be a "perfect" commuting week. Both directions all 5 days. Not bad for November.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been riding throughout the pandemic, both commuting and mtb. It's good to keep at least that part of life consistent.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I finished work today around noon. Rode to the kayaking club, paddled 12k, rode back home. 1hr / 20k of riding and 2hrs of paddling in between. Lovely. Oh and the weather was good too, sunny, little wind, 12C....not like november at all.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I hope mtbx is allright. Is anyone maybe in touch with her on facebook or something?

Bedwards itnlooks like you are the most consistent commuter here. But why no detours at the moment? 

S0ckeyeus well.we all know its an addiction. When I am not outside for a few days my mood is really going below freezing and nothing goes anymore. Amazing what a difference an hour of cycling or walking makes.

So, keep going everyone! Go before or after work, during lunch like me, or whatever!


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I've been getting in some mountain bike rides, but exercise has been tough lately

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Got the trainer setup last week and suffered through enough rides to have solid impressions:









Positives:
- It's nice to have this option when there is snow and ice on the roads outside.
- The trainer setup was easy...I dropped my gravel bike onto it, tweaked the shifting, stuck a bleed block into the rear brake caliper (in case I grab the rear brake accidentally) and I was ready to roll.
- I signed up on Zwift which has a myriad of virtual routes, training plans, social ride options and racing options. Makes riding on a trainer more interesting/bearable.
- I've gotten some really good workouts in.

Negatives:
- It's inside.

We will see how it goes over the winter. Commuting to an office everyday was my way of staying in shape. Without that, I need other options to stay fit.

Washington State is going back into lockdown today, for 30 days. I have to go to the office tomorrow to pick up some equipment and will get a real road ride in...otherwise mostly trainer for me for the next few months.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh woodway! You broke so many rules there!!! A roadbike on a MTB forum.  A trainer on a commuting forum. :skep: LOL. It's all good. 
Maine isn't on lockdown but were pretty close. Masks are mandated outside anywhere you might encounter people like parks, parking lots and downtown streets. Technically I think it is anytime you are outside, period . But I'm not wearing them on my rides where I never encounter a soul.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards itnlooks like you are the most consistent commuter here. But why no detours at the moment?


Cold and dark mostly. My AM commutes are generally in the light but have been around 40F or below (Forecast for 17F in a few days). And the evenings are totally dark and I like to stick to roads I know. I'm still getting 75-100 miles a week in so I'm not too fat yet and haven't resorted to a.................trainer. :eekster:

We even got out for a bonus MTB ride over the weekend.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh woodway! You broke so many rules there!!! A roadbike on a MTB forum.  A trainer on a commuting forum. :skep: LOL. It's all good.


These are strange times for sure...



bedwards1000 said:


> I'm still getting 75-100 miles a week in so I'm not too fat yet and haven't resorted to a.................trainer. :eekster:


I'm jealous as hell, bedwards. I'm going to get outside when I can, but I miss the hell out of my daily commute and the trainer reflects my level of desperation. Good work on your part!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway you are amazing. That pic of the trainer in the middle of the livingroom in front of the TV  is worth a post in the "you know you are a bikecommuter when...." thread.

Bedwards nice comments too 

And I wonder how strict your mask rules are. Even here we dont have to wear a mask outside...

I admit I sent a PM to mtbx to ask how she is doing and no reply yet - I am slightly wondering...

I walked during lunchtime but yesterday I made a 62k ride on the gravelbike. I am hoping to get a 100k ride in the next weeks but I have to admit those 62k were hard already. Better leave out thos rooty trails I was rattling over for more than an hour.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

HaHa! Yeah, I'm lucky to be able to continue it. 

I think the days for the shorts are numbered, like 1 more.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> And I wonder how strict your mask rules are. Even here we dont have to wear a mask outside...


Pretty Strict:


> b.Outdoor spaces including but not limited to playgrounds, parking lots,sidewalks, athletic and sports venues, and other areas such as lines for take*out service where the public typically gathers in a smaller area;


But we haven't hit lockdown status. I'm personally of the mindset to avoid all of those places if possible anyway.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well no reply from mtbx yet and it seems she wasnt in the forum for the last 3 weeks. Just busy with other things I hope.

Bedwards I agree, currently its better to stay away from anyone except the ones who live with you. I hope things will turn and a cure will be found soon.

Woodway, I just thought, cant you connect zwift to virtual reality goggles so that you can look in every direction? That would be cool!

I made an 9k ride during lunchtime. Conditions were not ideal, drizzle and windy. Liked it


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Commuting has been GREAT! Weather is turning, so it's perfect for my liking...highs in the low 60s, lows in the low 40s. I grew up in a much colder place, so this is "chilly" for the locals...thus, I have the MUP mostly to myself in the mornings!

No rain for awhile either, so washed the bike last night after I pedaled home, lubed the chain this morning!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway you are amazing. That pic of the trainer in the middle of the livingroom in front of the TV  is worth a post in the "you know you are a bikecommuter when...." thread.


Desperate times call for desperate measures. We have a "mother-in-law" apartment at our house, and no mother-in-law living with us (thank goodness). I use the apartment living room as my office and pushed the couch aside to setup my trainer. So I can stand up from my desk, take a couple of steps and swing a leg over the trainer! My wife is tolerating the setup so far...

Virtual goggles are coming at some point Dutchman, although I am not sure how safe they would be in a situation like this, it would be too easy to try and lean into a turn and topple the trainer over!



cyclingdutchman said:


> And I wonder how strict your mask rules are. Even here we dont have to wear a mask outside...


Every state has their own rules, here in Washington State:

"An order from the secretary of health requires Washingtonians to wear face coverings in public spaces and shared spaces, both indoors and outdoors. Examples include hotel or apartment hallways, outdoors where many people are gathered such as parks, playgrounds or popular walking paths, and in a restaurant when not seated and eating."

I took the bus down to Seattle yesterday to get a haircut. I was a little nervous about it but the seats are blocked such that the bus can only be 25% full and everyone is spread out. Plus you cannot board without a wearing mask. In the end, there was no reason to be worried, going to Seattle there were only two others on the bus and coming back I had the bus to myself!

I see many people wearing masks outside, but I don't wear one when I ride. I would probably go into hypoxia 



cyclingdutchman said:


> Well no reply from mtbx yet and it seems she wasnt in the forum for the last 3 weeks. Just busy with other things I hope.


I hope she is OK as well.

And good job on the gravel rides Dutchman!

I did an actual commute to the office yesterday, got rained on, but I did not mind a bit.

*nayr497* Good job on the commute! Where are you located?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Virtual goggles are coming at some point Dutchman, although I am not sure how safe they would be in a situation like this, it would be too easy to try and lean into a turn and topple the trainer over!


 A guy here at work got out of the seat for a sprint on his zwift trainer and rode right into his coffee table. The struggle is real.

nayr497, yeah, lubing the chain is a good idea. I don't think I have done that on any of my bikes in a while.

I sent MTXB an email. We'll check in on her if she likes it or not. 

Besides, without her I have nobody to commiserate on this cold snap we are having. This morning's temps were in the teens (F). I took the mountain bike. The fast downhills on the road parts were pretty chilly. Once I got to the trails it was all good. My feet were a little chilly. I need a new pair of winter boots that are good for flat pedals.

Otherwise, the trails were totally peaceful this morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was thankful for the fenders this morning. I ran through some fluid that I'm pretty sure was sewage. Smelled great...


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I was thankful for the fenders this morning. I ran through some fluid that I'm pretty sure was sewage. Smelled great...


Yes, the livestock trucks leave road residue that make fenders desirable here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi Friends! I am good, but MTBR said I failed the human verification step to log in, lol.

I actually bikecommuted more this week than in months, due to a project that would not work from home. Heres the empty office yesterday:









In other news, I got a new fatbike, another Fatback, the Corvus. I will have to catch up on the news. Need fenders back on the winter commuter, removed them for a bikecamping trip in July.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

New fatbike! Nice!!! You were one of the first people I knew with a fatbike and I think you have had the same one since, maybe not. CORVUS sounds a little too much like CORonaVirUS to me.

After yesterday morning's shocking cold the evening and this morning's commute have seemed downright pleasant at about 35F. Both were very peaceful too. I took the trail home last night and I was probably the only person that had been out there all day. Today I was 5 miles into the commute and had only seen 2 cars.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi mtbx, thanks for checking in and glad you're ok. Congrats on the new fatbike! 

S0ckeyeus, sewage? Eeew....

Well I worked until noon today. This afternoon I rode my bike 1hr45m and walked 1h30m - enough exercise for today. Planning another longer ride with friends on sunday. The only thing that makes us notice corona and lockdown is that there are more people outside. 

Have a nice weekend everyone and stay healthy.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> New fatbike! Nice!!! You were one of the first people I knew with a fatbike and I think you have had the same one since, maybe not. CORVUS sounds a little too much like CORonaVirUS to me.


Yes, it's my second one, I got the first in 2011 after Irene's flooded us out of our office and I was able to ride snowmachine and Millstone trails to our temp office. Thanks for ruining the name, lol. It's supposed to put you in mind of ravens and crows.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I love my fatback Rhino. Carbon would be nice though. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good to see you back MTBX! Don't let bedwards ruin your new FatBike experience 

I did a single commute to the office this week and another really nice 40m/64km ride near my house. Hope to get out today for another 40m ride. Man I miss my daily commute.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I whimped out. It's absolutely pouring this morning with temps in the low 30s. The afternoon is likely just as wet. I barely had to think about the decision to bring the car.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I whimped out. It's absolutely pouring this morning with temps in the low 30s. The afternoon is likely just as wet. I barely had to think about the decision to bring the car.


Those are probably my least favorite conditions. I don't blame you one bit.

Commute in was pleasant here. I got a late start due to not being able to find my gear. While searching for a leg warmer, which ended up being at work, I misplaced my skullcap. Then I couldn't find one of my gloves. Then after I finally got out the door, I realized I'd left my rear light inside for charging and had to run back in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I used to just say I was hard core and just suffer through them but I'm slowly gaining wisdom in my old age. I think. 

I've definitely had mornings like you where I end up going back in for something 2-3 times. Those are invariably the days I forget my coffee too.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Tough way to start the day woodway. 

Bedwards you say you are old and wise? I prefer to stay young  

I did not commute today but rode a nice loop around town that ended up twice as long as planned. Yesterday I rode the fatbike digging through deep mud. And saturday I rode to the kayaking club just to bring some things there. I was honked at 3 times and I wonder why, I was on the MUP out of their way. Its germany, I cant imagine they were actually encouraging me for riding in cold, headwind, drizzle and darkness while being lit up like a christmas tree.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

An early Thanksgiving (US) post in case I forget later:


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

woodway - I'm in central NC but grew up in upstate NY. Lots of ice hockey, skiing and snowboarding as a kid, so the winters here are very mild for me. I commute year-round, probably 90% on an MUP. I'm very, very lucky about my home/office location, both not far from where I can jump on it.

I started bike commuting to work years ago while waiting for a bus and seeing someone ride by on a bicycle. "Hmm, I own a bike, I know how to ride it, I don't like standing around..."

That was the start of a pretty serious love affair with riding bikes Now I ride almost everywhere, both to get around and for fun/exercise. It would be cool to know how many miles I've pedaled vs. driven over the years.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Nayr, that sounds nice! Did you put your tag on the map already and post a pic of your bike in the threads that are pinned to the top of this forum?

No ride for me today but I am going later this evening for a short spin around the block in the dark.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I did an extended trail ride in this morning. It was only around 20F, maybe less and now it is snowing. I think I am carpooling home. Happy Thanksgiving all, or whatever limited, hunkered down, zoom meeting version of Thanksgiving you are celebrating.  Ours will be limited to 4 people this year down from a usual 12. 

While we are at it, I give thanks for the light casual bike commuting conversation with my friends here at the MTBR commuting forum.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh thanksgiving again already? Here in Germany they copied Xmas and Halloween already, I wonder when they will copy Thanksgiving here in Germany.

So from Germany as well: Happy Thanksgiving!

I made a short 30 minute ride this evening, just to be on the bike and to be outside.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Happy Thanksgiving bikecommuters! Especially thankful for a 4-day weekend and four-footed company.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I made a nice walk during lunchtime of 40 minutes and a 55 minute bikeride this evening. It was dark and foggy, a bit spooky on the unlit spots - I liked it


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

OK everyone is off for Thanksgiving except me ;o)) 

I made real commutes today! I met a co-worker directly in front of the house, so we rode together. Temps were around freezing with some fog and sunny, very pretty all together. Extended the ride home a bit, made for 1hr30min of riding for today.

Happy thanksgiving everyone!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice ride Dutchman and bedwards.

Nayr497 - central NC is a beautiful place. Glad to see have you here!

We had a good but quiet thanksgiving...just a neighborhood couple and my wife and myself.

I did get a good ride in Thanksgiving day...I pushed up above the snow line (maybe 500 feet above my house). The road was generally clear, but the bridges all had a thick layer of ice, so I had to get off and push my bike across them. Beyond that, it was a beautiful day to ride! I tried to upload a few pics, but the MTBR photo upload functionality seems to be pretty broken.

I expect at least one office commute this week. Enjoy the weekend everyone.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks Woodway. Your ride sounds good too. Clever idea to get above the snow line! How high was that?

Guess what. I had nothing better to do today so I planned a ride yesterday and rode a metric century today. My first in 30 years I guess ... I left at first light around 8am. and arrived 2pm already. Weather wasnt too pleasant, 2-4°C and fog in the morning so the views were not impressing. I filled up my thermal mug about halfway and forgot it there at McD :-/ so I had to drink water of 3C, yuck. I also got a coffee at a gas station. I was pretty nervous if I would make it, but I planned it as safe as possible including bailout options. It turned out much easier than I thought. 
In the end I rode 112km/69m in 5h06m, average 21kph/13mph. I admit it was flat and I had a tailwind all the way 

Still pretty happy. I am not even totally flattened, but I dont know if I could do it again the next day...

Happy weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Next fake commute today. Finished work early at 2pm and rode the fatbike for 30k/20m in 2h15min. Got back in the last daylight and I still have a whole evening in front of me...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good work Dutchman!

Snow line is currently about 2800ft./850 meters. But it's creeping lower every day.

Going to be a trainer day for me today...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sounds fast and fat Dutchman! My commutes today were just a bit above freezing, and raining on the way home. It was "supposed" to get up to 50F and raining after work, but it was 38F. Nice rides though, and I managed to avoid major puddle splashes by passing cars.

Yesterday I collected roadside trash with the "Silver Sweeper" (the Litespeed commuter and Wike utility trailer). It took 4 hours to cover 9 miles because of all the litter, including a scary three 1.75 liter bottles of LTD Canadian Whiskey.

















The LBS sponsors the Silver Sweeper by letting me use their dumpster for the trash collected :thumbsup:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The whisky was still sealed, MTBxplorer? Maybe someone left it on the roof of their vehicle. If that sort of find was common, you'd get a lot of volunteers!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Hahah, no, they were empty but resealed. I can only hope it was an underage party unloading the evidence rather than 1 person drinking that much. I have found a full Bud light on my last 2 excursions though; 1 still in the 12-pack and probably ditched by mistake, the other in a ditch yesterday and I had to break the ice to retrieve it.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Woah, was about to write that you sure need to slow down on the cheap booze, gonna hurt your cycling legs (and gut!). Glad you did a good dead and were trail sweeping for refuse


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dutchman: Congrats on the metric century plus+. You should try it on a nice day. 


mtbxplorer said:


> including a scary three 1.75 liter bottles of LTD Canadian Whiskey.


 But how many Fireball nips? I've found a full bud lite too. I'm not sure that falls into the treasure category.

We had quite a storm overnight. 100,000 homes without power (including ours) when I got up. My commute was through the dark to the sound of generators with blustery wind and light...heavier...heavy rain. But it was warm for this time of year. Luckily, because I was in a windbreaker and soaked by the time I got to work.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Got my first taste of winter weather today. It snowed yesterday and last night. We pretty much only got a dusting, but the roads had a little ice on them in spots and the bridges on the MUP were icy and covered in snow.

I've been bike commuting for over 13 years, but today I had a new experience. I pulled my bike out of the garage and started to hop on before I realized I didn't have any pedals. I just got a BMX race bike last week and robbed my 2nd best set of pedals for that bike and forgot to put any pedals onto my commuter. Luckily the pedals and wrench were close by, so it barely took any time to replace the pedals.

For anyone who's curious, the BMX is pretty sweet. I've never really ridden one, other than the BMX-ish bikes I had as a kid, but I've had a hankering for one the last couple years. I took my oldest son to the track this weekend, and we both had a blast. It's definitely a different experience than my trail bike, but I can't wait for some dryer weather so I can get back to the track.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Haha, that is pretty funny about the pedals s0ck! I have a lot of fun on my BMX cruiser, but I have not tried it on a track, sounds fun!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Dutchman: Congrats on the metric century plus+. You should try it on a nice day.
> But how many Fireball nips? I've found a full bud lite too. I'm not sure that falls into the treasure category.
> 
> We had quite a storm overnight. 100,000 homes without power (including ours) when I got up. My commute was through the dark to the sound of generators with blustery wind and light...heavier...heavy rain. But it was warm for this time of year. Luckily, because I was in a windbreaker and soaked by the time I got to work.


Glad your power is back, at least I hope it is! Warm here too today, but after telework today it rained and then hailed as I walked the dog. The only nip I found was upscale, a Sambuca, although I read last year that the Fireball whisky is one of the best-sellers here. I see it is 3x the price of the LTD though, which tells you how bad the LTD must be.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

We got enough snow to stay on grass, culverts, bridges, and places prone to drifting in. Tonight's low will be 21F. And so the winter of 2020-2021 begins here. Last year we had snow on Nov 29 with the Oak out front having 95% of its leaves. Drought got the leaves down this year. 

I can just see the look of chagrin and the mental dumb-slap when the pedal shortage made itself known! Chock it up as an early senior moment. 

Power outages suck. We had a squirrel short out a substation, with a shortage of large transformers, and were off grid for almost three days. Fortunately the freezer was only about 25% full. Barbequed the meat and used ice from stores to get by.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

mtbxplorer said:


> ^^Haha, that is pretty funny about the pedals s0ck! I have a lot of fun on my BMX cruiser, but I have not tried it on a track, sounds fun!


I recommend trying it sometime. We have a really good track here that I've only been to 3 times (twice on my mtb), but with my son being interested in riding the BMX track and not mtb trails, I hope to get out more. Having a BMX will be even more incentive to get out there. Maybe I'll even race a bit.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> We got enough snow to stay on grass, culverts, bridges, and places prone to drifting in. Tonight's low will be 21F. And so the winter of 2020-2021 begins here. Last year we had snow on Nov 29 with the Oak out front having 95% of its leaves. Drought got the leaves down this year.
> 
> I can just see the look of chagrin and the mental dumb-slap when the pedal shortage made itself known! Chock it up as an early senior moment.


Sounds similar to here. I think our biggest snow last year was at the end of November. We then proceeded to have next to nothing the rest of the winter.

It was 21F this morning. The grass still has some snow on it, and I encountered a pretty decent ice patch that I rode over very, very carefully. It looked super slick. I'm kind of wondering what I should do for the winter commuter situation. I typically ride a singlespeed with slicks, but the bike I used for snow and ice is now on the trainer permanently. I have another mtb with slicks that's pretty much a "dad bike" now. I have an extra front wheel with knobbies that I could install on my singlespeed, but the rear would still be slick. That might be my initial plan. If winter gets bad, I'll have to reassess.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

wow some of you guys have snow already? ^^ now that you mention it, I remember Bedwards' lake usually freezes around Christmas, do I recall that correctly Bedwards?

s0ck, just like BrianMC, I would have loved to see the look on your face  At least you had some pedals to put on so you could be on your way in a few minutes.

I rode a nice 45min loop of 14k/9m during lunchtime today. But I forgot that I had a videocall directly afterwards so my co-workers made fun of my "just-took-off-my-helmet" look :lol: at least I was at home so I could take care of it quickly.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

been working fully remote again a few weeks now, so no commutes. did ride the commuter on an annual two-centuries-in-two-days out&back tour a couple weeks back. tough conditions the second day coming home, with high cross and quartering winds, temps in the mid 30's, and pouring rain.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bbender, that ride doesn't sound all that fun. 


cyclingdutchman said:


> wow some of you guys have snow already? ^^ now that you mention it, I remember Bedwards' lake usually freezes around Christmas, do I recall that correctly Bedwards?


You recall it correctly but it varies greatly. Sometimes it isn't until mid January. We don't have any really low temps forecast in the near future so it will still be a few weeks minimum.

Not much to report here. Except there was a bright full moon for my commute in this morning.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> bbender, that ride doesn't sound all that fun.


it was certainly an exercise of mental fortitude.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bbender - way to tough that out.

s0ck - would have really been impressive if you rode to work without the pedals!

I got a 32m/52km ride in this afternoon, back up past the snowline. I am riding up into a WA State Community forest and to the edge of the Okanogan/Wenatchee National Forest. It's so fricking beautiful up there, I never get tired of the ride even though I have done it dozens of times.

An actual commute to the office coming up tomorrow.

Oh, and I hit 6000m/9600km for the year today. I was shooting for 7000m for the year but will probably finish about 500m short. Another COVID casualty...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> s0ck - would have really been impressive if you rode to work without the pedals!


Ha! That'd be super miserable, especially without gears.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Oh, and I hit 6000m/9600km for the year today. I was shooting for 7000m for the year but will probably finish about 500m short. Another COVID casualty...


I'm at 4500, lowest riding year in a while but I can't really blame COVID.

This morning was a commute through the trails with my wife and our friend. She wasn't commuting, just joining us for a ride at O-dark O-clock and riding to our office where she stashed her car yesterday.

We have had a lot of rain and the temp dropped below freezing quickly just before dawn so there was a lot of water and mud around that splashed onto the frame and froze solid like a shell. Otherwise the ride started with a beautiful bright moon and ended with a scarlet sunrise, not bad!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards and Woodway: you guys are still very good with your mileage. I am afraid I wont even make half of my usual distance of 4500k/3000m this year. 

Bender: Wow a double century in such bad weather, sounds tough!

I visited a friend tonight, at least the round trip made 10km on the bike today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I added 11.5 miles to my yearly total this morning and it took me 1:30!  We got our first real snow which was wet and heavy. Maine had 100,000 ish without power for a day and I still think 10s of 1000s still don't have it. We lost it for about 18 hours or so. We let the house go dark overnight and ran the generator during the day for heat and refridgeration. 

Now it is frozen crusty snow between 2"&5". This was the first fatbike in of the year and phew! There was very little coasting on the trails but I only had to walk up one hill. it can always be worse.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

i only got 2" but the fatbike yesterday still felt tough! Today's commute on the gravel bike with Winter Contis was mostly colder 18-25F with some ice and snow still on the backroads and shoulders/bike lanes of the main routes. Has anyone tried the studded Gravdals? Considering something less aggressive than the Ice Spikers for commuting, especially since I only commute now usually Mon & Friday and can telework then if desired.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Is that our first glimpse of the new steed? Yeah, fatbiking was rough if your snow type was like ours. Once there is a single track it should get better. That said, I bailed on the ride home and brought a car in today. I'll try another trail commute tomorrow, probably. We had a lot of trees down on the trails too. We are doing a trail work day on Saturday at the community forest, I'll bring a hand saw with me for the small ones further out and will have to rely on the snowmobile club to take care of the ones like in your picture. (Which reminds me that I should send my dues in)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was good.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Looking good Bedwards and Mtbx! Overhere just above freezing, cloudy, grey, foggy, yuck. At least, no rain.

I rode another metric century last Saturday. I planned a 70k ride but my friend was feeling good after 60k and wanted to go for it, so we rerouted and made it. His first century and also a good first big ride on his new Canyon carbon gravelbike.

I made a 12k ride Monday evening and I wanted to commute yesterday, but in the morning my front tire was flat and I took the bus. Fixed it yesterday evening and finally commuted again today! And will ride again tomorrow


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some good miles there Dutchman! Beautiful shot Bedwards. That tree is just off the snowmachine trail on a side trail to my house, so I plan to tackle it with an axe. just got a Snow & Nealley Hudson Bay one made in Maine.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice uneventful ride yesterday at about 50 F. Same indicated for today. No need for snow tires yet.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> Some good miles there Dutchman! Beautiful shot Bedwards. That tree is just off the snowmachine trail on a side trail to my house, so I plan to tackle it with an axe. just got a Snow & Nealley Hudson Bay one made in Maine.


That should be a workout! Looks more like a job for a Husqvarna. I cleared a bunch of trees in the trail on yesterday's commute. My tool of choice is a Silky Gomboy 240. Cuts trees under 4" like butta' 6" trees with some work. But that pine would be a struggle.

Today's trail commute was tree free. It was also back on my fatbike which was much better than that skinny tired bike I was on yesterday. I didn't have my studs mounted yesterday.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I commuted again today. It was again cloudy and foggy this morning, so it was really very dark. On the way home I took a route that I almost never take and I remember now why. It leads along the 8-lane highway that goes over a bridge in the swamp and they were working on the bridge today. Better, they were drilling or cutting the concrete. It made a hell of a noise and I rode through a cloud of concrete dust :skep::nono::madmax: First route where I vowed to ride never again  :lol:

Good work on the trails Bedwards and MTBX! I googled the saw and the axe, thats the real work compared to the swiss army knife that I sometimes use :lol:


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> That should be a workout! Looks more like a job for a Husqvarna. I cleared a bunch of trees in the trail on yesterday's commute. My tool of choice is a Silky Gomboy 240. Cuts trees under 4" like butta' 6" trees with some work. But that pine would be a struggle.


Yes, if I give up I will ask a trail crew member with a chainsaw. But I walk that way every morning with the dog so I am not in a hurry. I have a workable walk or ride-around but my limited xc skiing skills would prefer this path on the downhill. For a trailsaw, I like the Stihl and it comes with a cool scabbard. Pic was from the end of October when we helped out at a state park.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Today's commute was disappointing. I JUST put a new chain, cassette & Chainring on my fatbike. The chain had 1 commute on it before I took it off until I got the other new parts because the chainring was so worn that it was super noisy. I finally got my new wheels set up with the new cassette and all. Yesterday it was shifting great, all nice and quite. Well, when I got to work I noticed that one of the chain plates was broken in half. 





​Odd. I repaired it with the quicklink from the old chain and that lasted about 5 miles before it blew apart. 




​Since that was the backup link that I carry around I didn't have any more. So I snapped the pin back in place and very, very gingerly rode the rest of the way to work. It amazingly held but I had to skip the trail commute and ended up riding the studded fatbike 12 miles on the road. Not ideal.

*Anybody have any ideas on what makes a chain break in half? *Cassette, chainring and chain length were a 1:1 replacement of what has been on the bike. At this point I'm just going to put another brand new chain on hand hope for the best after running it through the gears.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> *Anybody have any ideas on what makes a chain break in half? *


Excessive power output, you beast! :skep:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I have my days but this was not one of them.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Looks like a stress failure. Probably manufacturing defect because the plate isn't bent in a way that would have indicated torque stress. I would discard the whole chain as you may have more than one plate with a defect.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Well look at this fancy new forum!



David C said:


> Looks like a stress failure. Probably manufacturing defect because the plate isn't bent in a way that would have indicated torque stress. I would discard the whole chain as you may have more than one plate with a defect.


 That's what I thought but my cheapness got the best of me. I looked at every link and didn't see any other cracks starting so I just put a nice shiny new master link in to give it a second chance. But I did Throw a spare chain in the pack until it is fully vetted.

Today was the coldest day of the season so far around 7F. There is between none and a crapton of snow forecast for tomorrow so I think I am in a truck. We'll see what happens after that.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> That's what I thought but my cheapness got the best of me. I looked at every link and didn't see any other cracks starting so I just put a nice shiny new master link in to give it a second chance. But I did Throw a spare chain in the pack until it is fully vetted.


Would have done the same.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Yesterday was our first 0F day of the season, but I was working from home. We got just a few inches of snow overnight so should be fun for fatbiking today. Monday's bikecommute was pleasant, in the 20'sF and not too windy.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

First commute by bike in quite a while. It was nice, but I was all different kinds of warm and cold at 24F (-4C). I wore my balaclava so that I didn't have to stop and put my mask on for my 3 second temperature scan. Head was all warm but eyes were stinging cold and glasses fogged up. The joys of figuring our how to ride in the cold again. Come to think of it I used to just ride without glasses but my eyes are worse now and none of my ride is on a rail trail so that's not ideal...

Took the single speed Karate Monkey (which I refer to as the Cruddy Monke). Considering how little I've ridden since August it's geared a little high. That's ok I'll just have to grow back into it. Might finally be getting over the post collision jitters. Felt comfortable in traffic today.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Sweet ride NDD. Good to hear you are feeling comfortable on the road again.

No office commute for me this week. I've done a couple of trainer grinds and a nice snow ride on my mountain bike. Had to be careful, don't have studded tires.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

Thanks, Woodway. Unfortunately while I get to bike through the historic Italian neighborhood, brick houses and small grocers/bakeries are less scenic than what you've got there!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I finally commuted again today. Started early at 6.15 in total darkness because of the small moon and clouds. For the rest the rides were nice. I parked my bike in the office today, I was the only one of 18 in the office today.

As usual on the shortest day of the year, check here how much daylight you have in your city: timeanddate.com

I believe Bedwards postet that link years ago 👍 and I still keep it in my favorites. In my town: 7h29m.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

9 hrs 5 mins of daylight here in southern Michigan. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> As usual on the shortest day of the year, check here how much daylight you have in your city: timeanddate.com
> 
> I believe Bedwards postet that link years ago 👍 and I still keep it in my favorites. In my town: 7h29m.


Nice work on the commute Dutchman! Just another trainer grind for me today.

You are further north than me - 8h24m here in the Pacific Northwest.

Merry Christmas everyone!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

8 hours and 12 minutes here in Nanaimo, BC.

We had our first snow of the winter overnight. In the morning, 3" of snow on top of the car and big cat footprints coming and going around my car and house, fist sized paws.

Icy highway on the drive home about 5 cars either in the ditch or on a flatbed, just as many fire trucks and police cars, even a tow truck that was moving back those huge concrete block on the divider. Don't know if they got crashed out of place, but I think the authorities moved them to clear a path to cross the divider for the emergency vehicles responding to the accident, as none of them where smashed.

People wondering why I was driving slow, till they hit their brakes and realize their car isn't slowing down. I could feel the road being icy from the steering wheel response, but I guess most drivers don't notice these things when they only have ice a few times a year.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

9 hours and 28 minutes for us. Doesn't seem so bad in relation to many of your guys' short days.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After seeing Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars last night, it was kind of cool to see Venus above the sunrise this morning on the way in. 

Weather is pleasant this week. I have been able to stick with knee warmers and arm warmers in the mornings and a short-sleeves in the afternoon. Temps are going to nose-dive on Thursday. I'm hoping to maybe squeeze in an early morning mtb ride after Christmas when things are frozen.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh, was that Venus this morning. I thought it must be the double planet. The clouds just broke here so we didn't get a chance to see it last night. I guess I'll have to wait another 800 years. 8h53m day length. I feel like I am getting away easy.

We are squarely in the shoulder season where the roads are too crappy to ride most days and the trails are too. I took the studded fatbike on a 12 mile road ride because I was worried that the trails might be impassable. The trail starts 3 miles down a dead end road so doing a down and back adds a lot of extra miles. I hooked back into the trails for the last 2 miles and they were a small notch above impassable. Pretty though.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Oh, was that Venus this morning. I thought it must be the double planet. The clouds just broke here so we didn't get a chance to see it last night. I guess I'll have to wait another 800 years. 8h53m day length. I feel like I am getting away easy.


Jupiter and Saturn set like an hour or so after sunset. If you can catch a glimpse of the sky tonight, you'll still see both of them but not as close as last night. Still cool.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice Pics again Bedwards! Is that the fatbike with the broken chain or did you fix it? I can not recall that you wrote anything about it after putting it back together.

Sock, all cloudy here, no planets, stars or moon anywhere...lucky you, you have seen it all!

No one here from Alaska (jeffscott or blockphi) or Scandinavia anymore to beat my daylight??

It rained pretty hard this morning when I woke up and was getting ready. So I was all dressed up in the hardshell raingear, when I came outside, it was just slightly dripping.....But I made it in without getting boiled. And the extra long fenders were worth gold this morning, I never had such big and deep puddles on the road as this morning. The ride home was ok, dry and still some daylight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice ride NDD, safe travels. Great pic Woodway! dutchman, I am feeling the dark here, not my favorite time, pedaling or not. On Monday I tried out the new Gravdals (26" with the aluminum/carbide studs). They ride much smoother than the ice spikers and so far work well on snow and slush. Snow here was xc ski-able last weekend but a warmup and rain coming Thursday and Friday.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A little more light today, the other side of the solstice. Cloudy last night. Caught this with the cell phone camera.


















Missed a ride today. In the 50's tomorrow with 18-22 mph S winds. it will be slow outbound.

Nice pics, Bedwards.

In case I don't post again before the 25th, Merry Christmas!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^And that's exactly why I didn't try to bother to capture it on my cell phone, LOL. Could be a double planet, could be an airplane, could be the top of a cell phone tower. I did get to see it last night.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Nice Pics again Bedwards! Is that the fatbike with the broken chain or did you fix it? I can not recall that you wrote anything about it after putting it back together.


Same bike. I put in a new (second) master link and threw a new chain in the saddle bag for good luck.

I took the tails in this morning. They were upgraded from somewhat passable to mostly passable. Tomorrow they might even hit "not too bad". And then we have a day of warm rain. Sigh. I've been riding in and carpooling home since the rides have been a little rugged. I'm about ready for my lake shortcut to become available but that is iffy. It got a skim of ice then some snow then more ice then more snow. I have no idea how much real ice there is. It will take some deep freezes after this rain before I even trust it enough to check.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Last commute of the year today and it will take a while, I need to stay in the homeoffice the first week of the next year. The rides were good, I enjoyed both. This morning it was very foggy and I was quite wet on the front. In such fog, it is always pitchblack dark and the lightbeam is nicely visible. On the ride home it rained but my raingear held up nicely. Dressed properly, I liked it  

I havent looked really at my total distance this year,

I wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a nice and happy new year with lots of luck and health.

CU, CD


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

*Merry Christmas All*


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Merry Christmas all, I just went out and rang my sleigh bells for the kids and the reindeer, neither of which were in sight. Remember the commuter who would pass reindeer on his commute? That was awesome! We are headed for a Wet Christmas here in VT, 1" of rain forecast and temps in the 50's. Sigh, there goes our snow. Short fatbike this morning before work with the dog while it was still firm. It was his first free run since chasing a coyote a couple weeks ago, and he was good.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Merry christmas everyone! I decided on short notice yesterday to make a christmas ride. I took the christmas cards for my friends and delivered them all personnally by bike yesterday evening. This year everything is different because of corona so I decided to do that differently instead of sending them by mail. All of them were at home and pleasantly surprised. After 3hrs and 58k, mission was accomplished


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

58K is longer than I have ridden in a while! I didn't do any bikeing over the weekend but I did go out and walk some local trails with a chainsaw and removed about 20 trees that were crossing them.

Well, Christmas is over and winter is on pause. We got the same rain that MTXB mentioned and ALL the snow is gone. The lakes haven't frozen solid either so I took the all road route for the first time in a few weeks. The roads are totally clear of snow but there were a few scary moments where a lot of water had flowed across the road and frozen into a sheet of ice. It was before sunrise and I didn't see them until I was in the middle of the. Don't steer, don't lean, don't shift your weight, don't pedal.

It's raining now and really hope it stops before I have to ride home!


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## OneTrustMan (Nov 11, 2017)

While passing by, I decided to gave the local MX trails a try on my commuter bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

OneTrustMan said:


> While passing by, I decided to gave the local MX trails a try on my commuter bike.


I will strongly warn you that if your fenders are not break away and you pick up a stick between the front tire and fender you will be dumped on your head before you even see the ground coming. Of course it was dark when it happend to me so I couldn't see the stick or the ground very well. But it happened fast, fast, fast!!! I have never, ever had such an unexpected crash. I have a pretty strong no trails with full fenders rule now.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I will strongly warn you that if your fenders are not break away and you pick up a stick between the front tire and fender you will be dumped on your head before you even see the ground coming. Of course it was dark when it happend to me so I couldn't see the stick or the ground very well. But it happened fast, fast, fast!!! I have never, ever had such an unexpected crash. I have a pretty strong no trails with full fenders rule now.


I double that. Mine was on my first ride into campus the day after picking up the Mercian, September 1982. Not a stick, instead, the front brake apparently had a finger tight nut (not into the locknut part) and the front brake fell into the spokes. You are trying to tuck and roll as you realize the ground is coming up fast. At 15 mph you hit with almost a ton of force and I mangled my shoulder pretty well. It took decades to get full rotation on that arm.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

BrianMc said:


> I double that. Mine was on my first ride into campus the day after picking up the Mercian, September 1982. Not a stick, instead, the front brake apparently had a finger tight nut (not into the locknut part) and the front brake fell into the spokes. You are trying to tuck and roll as you realize the ground is coming up fast. At 15 mph you hit with almost a ton of force and I mangled my shoulder pretty well. It took decades to get full rotation on that arm.


Front tire slams in the dark are pretty sudden. A few months ago on a night trail ride and unidentified creature ran into my front wheel. A yelp and it disappeared into the darknes but i was suddenly dumped into the dirt. I did react enough to get arm out to partially slide on. Years and years ago on evening commute home i remember taking a turn and hittingpatch of sand over asphalt with front tire. That slid out and dumped me so fast didnt have time to react. That one i ended up with road rash on my cheek.


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## OneTrustMan (Nov 11, 2017)

bedwards1000 said:


> I will strongly warn you that if your fenders are not break away and you pick up a stick between the front tire and fender you will be dumped on your head before you even see the ground coming. Of course it was dark when it happend to me so I couldn't see the stick or the ground very well. But it happened fast, fast, fast!!! I have never, ever had such an unexpected crash. I have a pretty strong no trails with full fenders rule now.


Yeah fenders and trails don't mix well. 
I was just riding a few laps to see what new stuff the locals have build. 
Other than that I ride mostly street and gravel on this bike.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

commute ? 

used to be 10 lazy road miles. got laid off Nov 27th 2020. 

got hired Dec 14th, 2020, commute is now 6.2 road miles, or 11 miles all dirt


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Taroroot said:


> Front tire slams in the dark are pretty sudden. A few months ago on a night trail ride and unidentified creature ran into my front wheel. A yelp and it disappeared into the darkness but I was suddenly dumped into the dirt. I did react enough to get arm out to partially slide on. Years and years ago on evening commute home i remember taking a turn and hitting a patch of sand over asphalt with front tire. That slid out and dumped me so fast didn't have time to react. That one i ended up with road rash on my cheek.


I was told that the worst mishap for a 'cyclist only' accident is the blowout of the front tire while leaning into a fast turn. I think they left out accidentally going off a cliff, so that was likely a road and not a mountain biker's take. I can confirm that a blowout in a corner is pretty bad. November, 2013 I had an instantaneous blow out at 19 mph leaning hard into the turn about 2 miles from home (speed taken from the Garmin). Your head is already closer to the ground and it takes time to process what is happening but there is not much time to fall that short distance. The helmet saved me being scalped, and I dodged a broken upper mandible by a hair, but I now have asphalt derived tattoos on the forehead, at the corner off my right eye, on the cheek and upper lip. I was unconscious for most of 2+ hours. Coming out only when jostled in and out of the ambulance. Youtube no longer has my video of that on my page. I suppose too few hits for too long.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

OneTrustMan said:


> While passing by, I decided to gave the local MX trails a try on my commuter bike.
> View attachment 1908908


Hey noch ein Deutscher hier? 

I agree with Bedwards. I have the SKS Bluemels fenders and their breakaway mount on the fork saved me 3 crashes or at least, broken fenders.

Do I spot a SQLab saddle on your bike? I am a fan of those, I have the 602 active on all 3 bikes.


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## OneTrustMan (Nov 11, 2017)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Do I spot a SQLab saddle on your bike? I am a fan of those, I have the 602 active on all 3 bikes.


That is a 604.
It's ok, but I also tested a 611 on this bike and found it actually better. 
Still I have this 604 now and will use it.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My last commute of 2020 was via car. The weather is fine right now, but it looks like heavy rain is moving in in the afternoon. I've gone soft when it comes to riding in the rain.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I've gone soft when it comes to riding in the rain.


 Also known as getting wiser. I'm good with warm rain or light rain but heavy cold rain just sucks.

I did a woodsy ride again this morning. I'm really ready for the lake to freeze. The trip around with studs is a long haul. The sunrise was impressive again.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a good holiday. No work commutes for me over the holiday, but I managed to get a few rides in outside and a couple trainer grinds. Strava just sent me a 2020 summary - I did not make my 7000 mile goal (thanks COVID), but still had a good year.










I'm expecting one to maybe two work commute days this week. Trying to start 2021 off right!.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Happy new year guys!
Hello from south Texas!

Ride today was a bit chilly (for me that is...54 °F) 
8.3ish miles is my new commute, I still need to decide some turns here an there, I though I was taking the safest route and was passed by an 18 wheeler on a no shoulder street.
coming back after 6-7 years? hehe
dead cat on the road...the dog that chased me on my test ride wasn't up for it today, so that is good.

Completely unprepared, no spare tube or tools (there are on its way) but I didn't want to miss the first day.

ohh and there was a weird sensation on the new Jamis..I think BB.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First commute of 2021 is in the books. 24F and pleasant. A little ice on the road.

Last night I had a tire explode on the trainer. I was on my 5th of 6 intervals. I've never had that happen before. This was my first off-season on a dedicated trainer tire. The 1.25" tire was a real bear to get on without destroying the tube beneath it but was pretty good for a few sessions. Apparently, the 4th session was too much for it. I had inflated the tire to 100 PSI (125 PSI was supposedly the max) and don't think I had overtightened the roller. The gash is a few inches long.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ 24F here too. That tire must have got your attention quick. But that's what you get for riding on a trainer. 

Welcome back martinsillo!

Woodway, that's a log of climbing! My year was a little light. Next year may be a little heavier because my wife will be in Ironman training.









My wife and I went out yesterday and parked at the trailhead for my commute and rode to work and back to pack it before we got more snow today. Well, we got a good ride but there was no fresh snow as forecast so I had a nicely packed trail.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> That tire must have got your attention quick. But that's what you get for riding on a trainer.


Yeah, there was quite a bang. My wife started running towards the basement, until I yelled up that I was OK. As far as the trainer goes, interval training on the trainer has tended to be more efficient for improving my FTP than outdoor rides. Plus, family life has me making some sacrifices. I hate the trainer, but I like the results.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Welcome back martinsillo!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi everyone, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I went camping on new years eve, some pics here: OverSilvester
The ride to the campsite was approx. 1 hr and I met 2 friends there, who already had the fire going and a hot pumpkin soup ready when I arrived. So we had a lovely evening. The ride home the next day was tough, 2C and much of a headwind, but at least no rain.

Sock that looks like it must have given quite a scare...

Woodway, well done on your total distance last year! I have not calculated mine but I think it will be only half of the usual, despite some longer rides on the CX roadbike.

Today I went back to work in homeoffice for the entire week. Went for the usual 40min walk during lunchtime and 1hr ride after work. I would love to commute next week but Corona arrived in my office space too, so I will have to withstand being bored alone at home for a while...


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

We are back in the snowzone here, got about 3" last night over 6+" previously. My car had to be inspected, so I rode the 4 miles/1200' back home from the shop for teleworking, then back down after work. The ascent was trickier as there was more snow still on the road and an aggressive dog loose in the last half mile. On the plus side I thought I got home just barely in time for a meeting, but realized I had an hour to spare. $550 for the car inspection/brake job hurt though. The studded Gravdals were decent but did pack in beyond the center line - was too stubborn to try lowering the tire pressure.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

8.32 mi back home last night
8.33 in today.

two dead bunnies on the road...now I'm worried about the dog for not chasing me 3 rides in row.
Magicshine "good" battery lasted until mid ride today in mid beam, swapped to the bad battery and that lasted 3 minutes, good thing was almost dawn already, going to ask the wife to bring me the charger at lunch.

pretty much decided to skip tomorrow and rainy days during our "cold" season...I'm always up for catching a cold these days and I'm not really up for catching anything how things are in the world right now.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey martinsillo, welcome back! I still remember your photos of adventures on La Pugsdozer. Glad to see you here again.

Good job getting out camping Dutchman. Hope you did not contract the virus.

MTBX - how do you like your Gravdals? I was thinking about picking up a pair.

I should get at least one commute into the office this week.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woodway said:


> Hey martinsillo, welcome back! I still remember your photos of adventures on La Pugsdozer. Glad to see you here again.


Thanks WW...already planning a comeback for the Pugs too!


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

martinsillo said:


> 8.32 mi back home last night
> 8.33 in today.
> 
> two dead bunnies on the road...now I'm worried about the dog for not chasing me 3 rides in row.
> ...


Is that normal battery battery life for those lights? That seems incredibly short.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

NDD said:


> Is that normal battery battery life for those lights? That seems incredibly short.


If my math is not wrong I think I should be getting around 2.2 hrs on a 4400mAH battery..I think I did 1.5 hrs of continuous on time on this 10 year old battery...so, not too bad I guess....I thinking on a 10200mAh battery pack from KD to replace the super bad one.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

8.35mi home last night..forgot to tell the wife about the charger so I ran home trying to beat dusk to no avail.

8.86mi in today..a little extra as I had to turn back for my towel, was changing it today and forgot it...yep I'm taking showers at work.
the little dog snuck up on me from behind only to bark when it was at my foot....that was his plan all along!!! I think I bunny-hopped like 10 ft!!

ohh 42.3 mi in for 2021... that is probably more than what I did in the last 5-6 years combined


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The company ordered that everyone to work from home as far as it is possible because Corona is spreading so much here at the moment. Lockdown is extended to the end of the month. All in all I doubt if I am going to make a real commute this month. Nevertheless I did go out tonight and made a nice 1 hr loop around town. It was dark, around freezing level and sleet falling all the time. I dressed up completely in my hardshell outfit and had tons of fun 😈


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yesterday my left knee was acting up a little bit so I went home at a pretty slow pace
this morning was a bit chilly but uneventful

last night f%&$/ng covid took an aunt


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@dutchman - good to hear it's just a precaution.

@martinsillo - sorry to hear about your aunt. Good call taking it easy on your knee. Sometimes the body just needs recovery time.

I got a work commute in this morning. I've got some mask-to-mask meetings in our office so I came over to Seattle yesterday and biked in to work this morning. Did a bit of a extended ride and got nearly 19 miles in. Intermittent light rain, around 40 degrees, it really was not a bad morning to ride at all. I'm hoping to get some extra miles in going home tonight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

woodway said:


> MTBX - how do you like your Gravdals? I was thinking about picking up a pair.


I like the Gradals a lot, I got the fancier ones with lighter aluminum/carbide studs and higher TPI. The LBS could not get them though, I think they discontinued or something, but bikeman.com over by bedwards had some. As expected, they pack in with some snow easier than Ice Spikers, but on the plus side they roll really smooth for a studded tire. I think the trade off is worth it for my situation. They still got me up the hill in the greasy snow until I had to hop off for an aggressive dog.

Martinsillo, very sorry to hear of your tia's passing.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

another slow return home last night 
decided to take a break today

@woodway @mtbxplorer thanks!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^Yes, sorry to hear about your aunt. 

I'm endeavoring to replace all my holey socks with Darn Tough (From the land of MTXB) replacements. I ordered 2 pair of their most expensive "Tactical" models. One fit great and the other seemed like it was a full size to large, sigh. I was really hoping for more in a $30 pair of socks. I've got 2 more pair of a different style on their way and the gargantuan (I have a size 12 (48 EURO) shoe and these were too big) pair is going back.

I've been managing commutes in 1 direction with car shuttles for the other for the week which is enough with the studded road riding. BUT, I'm hopeful that the lake passage is coming to fruition!!! I plan to go out with a buddy and check it out over the weekend on skates.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^ Thanks BW


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Martinsillo I am so sorry too...

I rode the fatbike 3 hrs Friday afternoon. Lots of mud and slushy snow. Also a lot of broken branches on the trails. I could move some out of the way, but too many still there. This afternoon I pedaled and paddled - rode to the kayaking club and back. Made a 15 minute detour on the way home and I had a beautiful sunset in sight the whole way 

I will be in homeoffice again this week. Maybe I will go to the office a few hrs on Friday morning, just to get out there and there is no one in that day anyway.

Have a good start in the week you all!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Welcome back Martinsillo and condolences on your Tia. 

Been using the exerciser but rode today. It was that 35-40 F range with high humidity that sucks the heat out of you. Used to get that in the last of the apple harvest when I was little. I suspect that we are in drier air behind a front when it is in the 20's and feeling warmer.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks CD and Brian!

wasn't feeling good and decided to work from home....although I may have not ridden to work anyways...below 40 this morning was a bit too much for me hehe


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It is lake crossing season!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Go bedwards go! I gave you a like. Hey dont we have reputation points anymore?? I worked so hard for those 😂

I made a substitute commute: 16k after work biking. I rode on gravel roads through the forest about half of the ride and man it was the darkest I have ever seen. Small moon, thick clouds, drizzle and low visibility swallowed all the light coming from not far away. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable alone in the dark, but I was mostly worrying my frontlight would break down just on the darkest point. After all, it is 7 years old and it has 28tkm on it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^There are still points but you have to look at your profile to see them. You have 48. Don't spend them all at once. 

That is why I always run 2 lights. The chances of both lights dying on the same ride are a lot smaller than having one light crap out mid ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I was feeling a bit uncomfortable alone in the dark, but I was mostly worrying my frontlight would break down just on the darkest point. After all, it is 7 years old and it has 28tkm on it.


I recently retired my 8 year old DIY external battery lights for more efficient, higher output, longer run time, all in one lights. I can run the three headlights (twins mounted below handlebars, third on the helmet) at lower output and longer run times, get more light than one on full, and have that anti-failure redundancy and they are lighter than my old battery packs. Using two taillights. Plus, I can get 2800 lumens should I ever need that much light. (On a heck of a fast descent?)

Mostly used as DRL's but summer rides after 10 PM are a lot cooler, and I plan on doing those again.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Beautiful photo bedwards, is the ice thick enough already for crossing? I have to agree with your 2-light plan, it is great to have a backup, even if it is a wimpy one. Important on the taillight end too, since you might not notice an outage right off. No bikecommute yesterday, in some pain from shingles and haven't managed more than snowshoeing with the dog. A shot is available if you are over 50; of course when I asked about it he cutoff was 60 and I did not qualify


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, shingles are nasty I hear. Hopefully you are on your way to recovery! 

Today has the most beautiful sunrise. The depth of the color put the last one I posted to shame. But I was already in the woods when it appeared and by the time I got a good vantage point for a picture it was almost entirely gone.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

eew my dad had that too - get well soon MTBX!

I made another substitute commute in the dark this evening. I rode almost an hour / 16k.

I forgot to mention that I had already ordered a battery light, the BM Ixon IQ premium with 80Lux. It arrived today but it didnt want to work immediately, I put the batteries in the charger to see if it would help. And the fixed light on my main bike is fed by the dynamohub in the front, so it wont die on me because of empty batteries. As soon as the wheel turns, there is enough power. I bought it mainly for the roadbike and the fattie, to be able to ride those in the dark as well. I will report after a testride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Damn, too bad MTBX. Hope you feel better soon.

Pretty slick ride, bewards. The cold, hard fact is that is a great photo. I bet it's frozen in your mind.

Dutchman, I run Dinotte lights. They are damn expensive. But in 12 years of running them day/night/year-round, they have never once let me down. DINOTTE LIGHTING | ULTIMATE TRAIL AND ROAD LIGHTS - I don't know if they ship your way.

A couple of trainer grinds for me so far this week. I'll get an actual bike commute to the office on Thursday!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

that looks fun BW!
hope you get better soon MTBX!

3rd day off the bike in a row...this morning was 34! no no for me...it was dry but my the budget for the new bike was spent with no room for winter clothes..hehe a bit of bad planning on my part if I wanted to start commuting in jan I know!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

LOL, this morning was 24F here and I considered that warm and skipped the extra layer. I am so enjoying the shortened, mostly trail version of my commute! No sumrise this morning to report. Nothing much to report at all but it was still a good commute.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards any co
mmute is good as long as it is on the bike!

I had a bad day here. My coworker is sick with Corona and I am his back-up so I have this huge project in addition to my own work on my hands now :-/

The battery light I bought must be broken. I charged the batteries over night and it still did not want to work.

I also bought an aqua2go battery-powered bikecleaner and tested it today. Well it did work but it has several items I dont like, a fine example of a good concept realised with bad design and quality.

Could not ride tonight. We had quite some sleet this afternoon and it is frozen everywhere now, so too many slippery spots. It is just one of those three days a year....

meh. The weather looks better for tomorrow, so I hope I can go biking again.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@bedwards1000 24°F is sure death where I come from!!

45°F in this morning, nice an cozy with 3 layers on top! 

a driver lowered his window to tell me I needed more lights/reflectors on my back, specially on my top section, I knew I needed more but now I fell I must pull the trigger on something quick....I guess it became more evident when I lowered the blinkies.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

20F, mid-weight merino base layer and a light softshell.  That is on trails so there definitely isn't as much windchill as the road. That sounds like a good driver/cyclist interaction. Get some more lights. I tie-wrap a light (mount) to my helmet. I've had a driver tell me that it is a great idea.

Good commute in through the trails with my wife this morning. I'll take the trails home but need the car tomorrow and the rain is going to wash away the snow on Saturday. Monday should be interesting.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeap, already thinking on adding a red flashlight in the back built with the E6 from KD...and maybe crazy DIY adding a couple of strip led lights to a vest in blinkie mode (I'm not convinced on any ready made lighted vest from amazon).... @BrianMc didn't you have something like that on your vest at some point in the past?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

39F, dry and partly cloudy for the commute this morning.

I run a Dinotte quad taillight. You can see that sucker in broad daylight. I turn it down a notch at night so it does not blind drivers.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

I skipped my commute yesterday because of wind. Usually I go no matter the weather but this wind was a bit too much. In town (Missoula MT) the wind was 60 mph and up a mountain on the eastern border of town it was recorded at 125MPH! trees were down on cars and houses. I started to ride from my house and was almost blown over so I turned around and parked the bike and rode the car instead. Rode today, not even a breeze this morning. Crazy the difference a day makes.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

73°F out last night...pretty much dropped all the layers hehe
forgot to hit record on strava..I manually entered the ride but I hate it.

46°F in this morning..nothing to report.
well... blame the operator on the supposedly bad battery light, I used it this morning and its still running.

WW that quad seems nice but If drop $200 on a light after all I have spent on the new bike the wife will ran me over herself.
ZG that looks fun! pretty good workout if you get some head winds hehe!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I rode today! Even made a detour on the way home, so that I increased the rides to 1h30m in total. Temps were around freezing. This morning the roads were frozen over but it was not slippery, thank goodness.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

mid 60s going out on friday...finally decided the grips on the new Jamis had to go...Large GA3s on its way.
mid 50s this morning, pretty foggy...to the point I wished had an amber light on me....oh and rode with a blinkie tie-wrapped to my helmet today 

spent most of my computer time this weekend researching on how to build/buy a custom front rack...around $250 in materials and consumables alone for chromoly...custom TI rack from china.. around $350


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> WW that quad seems nice but If drop $200 on a light after all I have spent on the new bike the wife will ran me over herself.


 LOL, I'm more of a $35 tail light kind of guy.

We got a ton of rain as promised. Most of the snow is gone. I took the roads to the lake to the roads because the trails are probably still muddy. It gave me a chance to bring the old Bridgestone out to make sure the pedals still turned. I did a road, lake, road commute. I'm always impressed at how well the lightly studded road tires handle the glare lake ice (using due caution). The trails should be firmed up enough to ride again by tomorrow even though I'm not sure what condition they will be in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We had snow on and off all day yesterday, but temps were too warm for much accumulation. Temps were around 30F this morning, and the roads were a bit icy. It doesn't seem like the road crews were very proactive. Conditions were worse than they really needed to be. I had a few rear wheel slips, but otherwise the ride in was OK.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

^^Bedwards no water standing on the ice?

I had the best fatbike ride ever last Saturday. Temps were slightly below freezing and I rode almost 4hrs. I know its not a commute but I had to talk about it 

No real commute either but I made a recon ride after work along one of my routes where the highway is being built. Well the route is closed. The new highway is crossing the road on some point and I had to push my bike ankle-deep through mud, puddles and loose sand, no fun anymore. I shared this information in a local popular outdoor app, so that other cyclists wont get stuck somewhere....but I was on the bike for an hour in the dark, light rain and 4C. Rule #5 and #9 are respected 😁


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

martinsillo said:


> spent most of my computer time this weekend researching on how to build/buy a custom front rack...around $250 in materials and consumables alone for chromoly...custom TI rack from china.. around $350


A source of front racks: Racks - Velo Orange (velo-orange.com)

My DIY aluminum channel Portage Rack. Not real pretty but cheap!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> ohh and there was a weird sensation on the new Jamis..I think BB.


last night the crackling at the BB got worse...today I brought the jamis on the truck to take it to the LBS at noon....if it is something like that I'm guessing is going to be warrantied.

@BrianMc ...I'm all about DIY but that is not "not real pretty", that is "really ugly" hehehe....now I got my mind set on a custom one, I'll let you guys know what I do..pretty much all the commercial ones that I could take are sold out...as pretty much everything in the bike industry right now....had to drive 5 hrs to get the jamis, and I was lucky I think.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Martinsillo subtle as always right ?😂

Cant you take a cheaper front rack and strap a basked on it?

No riding for me today at all - just a walk around the block during lunchtime 😌


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^hehe
the sequel is at the shop...should know tomorrow
parts for the rack on its way!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good luck martinsillo and show us your DIY rack when you're done!

We have increased coronameasures and the government made homeoffice mandatory for the next weeks for everyone who can, so no real commutes coming the next weeks.

I brought the car to the shop yesterday and took one of the shopbikes home. It rained yesterday and was not prepared so I took the subway home, but today I rode from home to the shop. The route is muddy with a lot of deep puddles so they were astonished how I got it so dirty. I apologised and offered to clean it, but they said they would take care of it. The ride was 8k and I needed 30min. The bike was a cheap and simple one, but it was in good shape and taken good care of, so it was a good ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Cycling.. story reminded me. I can get a bike in the back of either car, so I often drop a car off for service and ride home. One of these times, I came out the door as another customer arrived at the door. He asked "Do they service bikes, now?"

I said "Yes, but they could not fix my air conditioning that only seems to work on downhills!"


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^ that's a good one hehe

picked the bike a little while ago, they said it was just a bad assembly, which they re-did...let's see...although it might not be until friday..is raining and it seems is going to last until tomorrow.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Brianmc 😂 good one there!

I made my usual 40min. lunchwalk and a 15k/48min ride tonight. The highway construction site is getting annoying. It is cutting through the landscape east to west and all the smaller gravelroads that it crosses are now blocked. The highway is coming onto a 1m high bed of sand and they just put the sand over the road without a some sort of crossing. The first letter is apparently sent to the responsible senator already, when I am informed correctly. Let's hope for the best....the construction site is currently blocking all 3 of my favorite detours on the way home from work


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I hear you CD , constructions are bit annoying, I'm doing a small section on my commute that is under construction..I have to ride the sidewalk on the opposite direction an is dusty all the time!
no ride yesterday or today, cold and rainy, so that makes this a 1 day week.
not that I was going to ride today probably, its the wife's birthday and needed the truck to get to lunch with her and run a last minute errand at noon...ohh and I'm trying to get her a new bike


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Martinsillo, I wouldn't go for a new 26" bike unless it was a fatbike. I still own a 26" mountain bike and is just isn't as fun to ride as the mountain bikes with bigger hoops. I also expect that tire/wheel options will be reduced in the future.

Speaking of fatbikes, I rode mine in this morning and my wife joined me. Unfortunately we got about 1/2 inch of snow overnight which made all the ice on the trails that we couldn't see very sketchy. I was riding my bike sideways for a while. Luckily we got to work without major incident. Hopefully the snow melts into the surface of the ice today.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^^^yeap...I'm still searching... there are more options on the 650b/27.5 area that's for sure


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

My "after-work-commute" led me to the construction site, I wanted to have a look for myself. Well today the ground was dry since we had no rain for 2 days. But a few days ago when I went there in the dark I found myself ankle deep in the sand. I made some pics: WeDigHamburg
The round trip was about the same as a round trip commute, it was a good day.

Nice idea to build your wife a bike Martinsillo. I did the same for my Ex a few years ago, she still enjoys it apparently. She is 162cm tall and I got her a 28" citybike with a lady's frame, with a lowered toptube. This way it is easier to get on/off the bike when the kid is in the rear seat. Nevertheless, a 26" bike would fit too and usually, a 26er fits wider tires so it would give some more comfort. But you know that 26 is getting rare and it will become more and more difficult to get spare parts and good tires. I would at least go for disc brakes so that you could upgrade to 28" wheels if necessary, given you have enough space in the frame. I bookmarked the thread, lets see how it goes.

Bedwards, nice that you could ride with your wife and good that you made it to work, even partly sideways🚴‍♀️ (Man I love those smileys...)

Have a nice weekend!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

took the sequel for a test ride on Saturday and the crackling noise was worse..took it back to the shop...was the mechanic day off so lets see what he says today.

73°F in this morning, pretty windy, mostly head on or crossed winds of course....rode the baroneSS, faster by 2 minutes...let's see how I feel later, last time I rode it (my test commute ride was on it back in Dec) I ended up with a lower back pain that lasted a week...not fun.










the baroneSS paint got pretty bad during these past 10 years...you can see a glimpse of what it was where the speed sensor was..was thinking on a DIY can paint job for it.









pretty much decided on not a build but buying a complete for the wife..let's see


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

38F and absolutely pouring down rain. Needless to say, I drove the car. This week isn't looking great overall and I destroyed my trainer tire a few weeks back, but hopefully I'll catch a break and get some riding in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

This morning was in the single digits (F) and I may have broken my 3rd collar bone. The ice was really hard and my studs are worn to nubs. Riding as cautious as I could my tire hit a ridge that just pushed it out from under me. I should have reduced the pressure before I crashed, and I knew it. The other (90%) of the ride across the lake went without incident.

When I first crashed I thought it was broken but I still rode the trails in and it didn't seem too bad. But looking in the mirror while I moved my arms seemed like the left might move a little differently. At this point I'm not sure. My shoulder and ribs hurt but it doesn't feel like a broken level of hurt. I may have to go for an X-Ray to re-calibrate my pain scale and to see how easy (or not) I should take it for the next 6 weeks.

Ironically...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards 😱 I hope its not too bad!

No after work ride for me today - lots of sleet and then temps dipped below freezing. I went for a walk and could have iceskated at some spots.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@bedwards1000 ouch! hope there is nothing broken!

mids 70s last night, went out pretty late and found a lowrider who bugle horned me and a large group of roadies....no wind. managed to do a sub 40 min commute home.
mids 60s this morning 
rode by a pack of street dogs maybe 4-5?, thankfully only one chased and not for long.
road in construction is now 90% paved
back is not hurting much, legs are a bit sore, took it easy today but no wind meant I did almost 3 min better today.
rode with one layer and my cheap rain/windbreaker that pretty much works as a sweat jacket...I guess is good since my mechanic pretty much said I was just too fat for the sequel 
I just checked the jamis manual and I'm under their weight limit for any category...hehe just in case!..the mechanic is still checking, he is pretty light and the bike still does the sound for him.

finally...the wife "surprised" herself with a new non-necessary gadget mad...there is not going to be a build or bike for her this year...unless some sort of miracle happens.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@bedwards1000 - man that sucks, hope it's not broken!

@martinsillo - I remember the baroneSS, awesome rig! Hope the Jamis is something simple.

@dutchman - I feel your pain on the weather. It's snowing and icy here in Central Washington. I've been doing some trainer grinds. While the trainer is better than nothing, I would still rather be riding outside. I'll be headed over the mountains to Seattle tomorrow and should get 1 or 2 days of office commuting in.

Following bedwards lead, I put new studded tires onto my mountain bike. Took the bike out last weekend for a test ride and it went well. Good ice grip, but definitely loud for the short pavement sections that I rode!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The weather cleared up yesterday. The roads were wet but I didn't have to deal with any rain. Snow in the forecast for this afternoon. I hope we do actually get some snow, but I hope the roads are fine until after I get home. It's really hard to say what will happen though. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

In other cycling news, I have a new trainer tire coming in. I guess that means I'll have to start using it again. Wait. I should rephrase that. I am looking forward to getting into better shape for the Spring so I can shred even harder (even though it still sucks a bit).


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

fast commute again back home yesterday
resting legs today
luckily the jamis is supposed to be ready, so picking it up at lunch hoping for a supple and confy ride tomorrow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Our forecast was spot on. We got about 3 inches of snow last night. I attempted to ride in, but I swapped my front wheel for a knobbier tire, thinking that would help. Unfortunately by doing so, I lost all of my front braking. Apparently that rim is narrower than the one I usually run, and I'd have to tighten the cable at the brake to get enough stopping power. After riding and fiddling with the lever barrel adjuster for almost a block, I decided I was being an idiot and turned around.

I'll probably ride the trainer tonight. My new trainer tire showed up last night, and I installed it without a hitch. My previous trainer tire was a nightmare to get on and off (not to mention it blew up after maybe 5 rides). Good riddance to that piece of crap.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^^ good choice s0, riding with no brakes is a no no!

46°F out this morning
sequel worked just fine!
ergons grips were a huge difference but I still need to play with their angle.
almost ran over a bunny trying yo cross the road, luckily it backed down on time..it was me and a suv coming behind me...also, rode past one who didn't make it.

so, over the last 4 years I kind of got obsessed with my yard, grass cut at the perfect height, fert, everything.......basically....... I'm getting old hehehe...anyways, I just come to the realization that its being neglected!...so... most likely I'll do only 4 days a week of bike commute on its growing season...taking Wednesdays (most likely) to drive back in time to cut the yard....yes, I'm one of those who does his yard twice a week! mid week and weekends!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards how are U doing??

S0ck - r u riding rim brakes^^?

I made my usual after work commute yesterday and today. Yesterday 1h10m but it was 1C and Today only 45 minutes, but on the CX bike. I kept it short because it doesnt have any lights so I had to get back before dark. Thank goodness we have an extra hour of daylight again already.

We are supposed to get a real snow layer tomorrow. I took the day off and probably will go sledding with the kids.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> S0ck - r u riding rim brakes^^?


Yep. My every day commuter is a vintage Cannondale.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

last night on my way home saw a roadie wearing one of these vests, or a version of it...It looked good, will try to get a cheaper version hehe

48° in this morning
the sequel still working fine after 3 rides

ohh everything for the front rack is here...no longer a full DIY project as a friend´s brother is doing the fab portion of it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Still no sign of Bedwards... :-/

I had the day off but we had the rare occasion of having real snow here, 5cm /2" so far! And the forecast states double that until tomorrow. Needless to say the kids and I went sledbiking. I tied the sled to my rear rack and pulled them around for about an hour. We made a big loop and we got a lot of attention. People honked, waved, made pics and videos, got nice remarks and I always explained "we dont have a car, that's why". That is actually not correct, but a good joke in carland Germany. I swerved around a parked car and the sled bumped into it and the hook broke off. I quickly drilled a new hole, tied the rope onto there and off we went again. Oh and somehow they cleared the footpaths but not the streets, and the hardpacked snow was perfect for sled pulling.

And the kids were singing all the time:

Jingle bells, jingle bells,
jingles all the way,
oh what fun it is to ride
in a 1-DAD open slay, HEY!
(repeat for 1hr...)

Good times. Have a nice weekend every1!

(Movie will follow)

Edit: Wacky wobbly dizzy movie followed:


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Yep. My every day commuter is a vintage Cannondale.


Damn, got pics ? I thought y'all be on modern disc brake equipped rigs by now. I myself gave up up rim brakes halfway through college.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice video Dutchman!

I got an office commute in on Thursday. The commute in was Seattle winter classic - 39F/4C and pouring rain. The ride home was better. I'm back over in central washington and got out on my studded tire mountain bike yesterday and slogged through the snow.

Saw bedwards on Strava last Thursday, still riding across the frozen lake.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I brought the car to the shop yesterday and took one of the shopbikes home. It rained yesterday and was not prepared so I took the subway home, but today I rode from home to the shop. The route is muddy with a lot of deep puddles so they were astonished how I got it so dirty. I apologised and offered to clean it, but they said they would take care of it. The ride was 8k and I needed 30min. The bike was a cheap and simple one, but it was in good shape and taken good care of, so it was a good ride.


Late to this party, but your car repair place has bikes to borrow? How great! I think we have one in Montpelier that tried it for in-town customers. I usually either bring my own bike in the car, take the bus, or get a lift. Once a coworker spotted me at the bus stop and gave me a ride, that was nice.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Hey Martinsillo, I wouldn't go for a new 26" bike unless it was a fatbike. I still own a 26" mountain bike and is just isn't as fun to ride as the mountain bikes with bigger hoops. I also expect that tire/wheel options will be reduced in the future.
> 
> Speaking of fatbikes, I rode mine in this morning and my wife joined me. Unfortunately we got about 1/2 inch of snow overnight which made all the ice on the trails that we couldn't see very sketchy. I was riding my bike sideways for a while. Luckily we got to work without major incident. Hopefully the snow melts into the surface of the ice today.


Yikes on the snow over ice!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Nice fatbike today, will probably not bikecommute tomorrow with the snow coming in.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

David C said:


> Damn, got pics ? I thought y'all be on modern disc brake equipped rigs by now. I myself gave up up rim brakes halfway through college.


I wouldn't want rim brakes for my trail bike, but they aren't bad for commuting. Super low maintenance, like the rest of this bike.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I wouldn't want rim brakes for my trail bike, but they aren't bad for commuting. Super low maintenance, like the rest of this bike.
> 
> View attachment 1914093


Nice bike, old yellow vintage color too.

But really ? I find myself with a lot less maintenance and worries using mechanical disc brakes vs v-brakes on my 4 seasons city bike, especially in the winter with the snow and slush.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@bedwards1000 any update with the bone?

52° in this morning, sequel working great so far.
relaxed weekend, didn't exercise much, other than I sharpened the blades and mowed my yard


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Still no sign of Bedwards... :-/


Oops, I didn't realize I was being missed. I got X-rays to make sure I wasn't going to damage myself more by riding. Clavicle is good! One of my ribs in the area looked like it could be cracked. I do know that sneezing is not fun at all! I rode a few times last week. It was a little unpleasant. I did a lot of chain-sawing over the weekend and between the rib and just being worn out, I took today off. We are expecting a storm with over a foot of snow tonight through the next 2 days so I'm not sure when I will get to ride again but I know that it will have totally changed from everything so far this year.

@woodway I'm glad you got into the out of doors and off that trainer!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^good to hear you are not completely down BD

mid 60s yesterday on my way home 
got into a 1 lane section that becomes 2 lanes that then becomes 1 lane again...somehow I got distracted and ended up merging to the lane in the opposite direction! the suv behind me flashed me and quickly realized my mistake.

45° in this morning, uneventful and always on my lane


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I drove yesterday. It snowed again, but the main reason I drove was the appointment my wife had on Friday was rescheduled for Monday and I had to be home early.

This morning, I passed by an area that always appeared to just be woods, but crews had cleared the brush out since I passed by last. I was surprised to see two small houses there in the process of being demolished. I guess they were abandoned at some point and were totally enveloped in honeysuckle.

I used to have a nice stretch of road that felt like riding by a forest. I used to see deer in the mornings. Now the land is almost all cleared and industrial buildings have either been constructed or will soon be constructed. Kind of sucks for my commute, but we'll be switching offices in like a month anyway.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

David C said:


> Nice bike, old yellow vintage color too.
> 
> But really ? I find myself with a lot less maintenance and worries using mechanical disc brakes vs v-brakes on my 4 seasons city bike, especially in the winter with the snow and slush.


I mean, I just install new brake pads every few years and cinch up the cable every now and again. No real maintenance other than that. We don't get a ton of snow, so that's not really much of an issue. The tires on this bike are terrible in the snow anyway, but I make do. I think we've already had more snow this year than last, and that number is likely under 6". 😆


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: Not only missed, but also worried about! Well I hope your rib is getting well soon too...

MTBX, nice to hear from you! Yes they have. Simple bikes, but in good condition, they work flawlessly. Probably not meant to ride 7k/4m each way through mud and puddles, but I made it. Nice fatbike picture from you there too! And those are big gloves you have on the bar => Called pogies, right?

For technical debates: The best bike is the one that you like to ride. I still smile when I think of my old 90'ies Specialized Rockhopper rigid bike with cantis and the 26" hardtail with V-brakes I used to have, because I rode them so much. Those good old XT V-brakes with the parallellogram construction threw me otb 3 times, so no more power needed. 

We had snow here too and as usual it is quite a mess now, because during the day it is slightly thawing and the hardpacked snow is getting into ice. I rode the fatbike 3hrs on Saturday and even managed to slip but I did not crash. I rode the main commuter bike on Sunday for 25km to get to the kayaking club and back. Yesterday I made a detour getting groceries and I am getting really good now in estimating how much I can carry in the panniers, they are always optimally filled without overflowing. Only one time I had to stuff 2 baguettes in my bottle holders :lol: Today I did not want to ride, but this evening it started snowing again so I got out and rode 35 minutes carefully around the neighbourhood. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do I say... 

Keep riding every one and be careful!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oops, I didn't realize I was being missed. I got X-rays to make sure I wasn't going to damage myself more by riding. Clavicle is good! One of my ribs in the area looked like it could be cracked. I do know that sneezing is not fun at all! I rode a few times last week. It was a little unpleasant. I did a lot of chain-sawing over the weekend and between the rib and just being worn out, I took today off. We are expecting a storm with over a foot of snow tonight through the next 2 days so I'm not sure when I will get to ride again but I know that it will have totally changed from everything so far this year.
> 
> @woodway I'm glad you got into the out of doors and off that trainer!


Ouch!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards: Not only missed, but also worried about! Well I hope your rib is getting well soon too...
> 
> MTBX, nice to hear from you! Yes they have. Simple bikes, but in good condition, they work flawlessly. Probably not meant to ride 7k/4m each way through mud and puddles, but I made it. Nice fatbike picture from you there too! And those are big gloves you have on the bar => Called pogies, right?
> 
> ...


Yes, those are pogies on the bars, it was -10F in the a.m.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> For technical debates: The best bike is the one that you like to ride. I still smile when I think of my old 90'ies Specialized Rockhopper rigid bike with cantis and the 26" hardtail with V-brakes I used to have, because I rode them so much. Those good old XT V-brakes with the parallellogram construction threw me otb 3 times, so no more power needed.


for me is the one you mod/build to your liking hehe now that I'm back riding I really miss la trurly, a trek mtb that I converted to my commutter/tourer bike back in Mexico.

good rides both yesterday and this morning...found that my layers for mid 40s are a bit to much for mid 50s.
this morning I rode with this, let's see how it holds up...it says it will loose it's properties after the 15th machine wash.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> For technical debates: The best bike is the one that you like to ride. I still smile when I think of my old 90'ies Specialized Rockhopper rigid bike with cantis and the 26" hardtail with V-brakes I used to have, because I rode them so much. Those good old XT V-brakes with the parallellogram construction threw me otb 3 times, so no more power needed.


If you want some nostalgia, check out Hardtail Party's $300 bike challenge series. A couple of them put those parallelogram brakes on their builds. A couple of the dudes in the challenge do some fascinating mods on old frames.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

martinsillo said:


> .........for me is the one you mod/build to your liking hehe.......


Full ack - built my main bike (the orange one) myself ?

S0ckeyeus, will head over there. But I thought those V breaks are not made for a long time anymore, since they apparently tended to squeal a lot - mine didn't and I liked them.

Mtbx, that sounds pretty cold. My record is -12C/10F... and we are getting a cold weekend with a lot of snow it seems. I looking forward to plow through on my fatbike.

Just a small ride today, I rode to the doc for an extensive check-up. Only 6.5k/4m round trip, but still...and it rained on top of the snow, yuck.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> S0ckeyeus, will head over there. But I thought those V breaks are not made for a long time anymore, since they apparently tended to squeal a lot - mine didn't and I liked them.


Yeah, they found them on old frames. Link to first episode here:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I did my first ride in after about a week or so because of the snow. I was hopeful that the trails would be packed. My hopes were left unfulfilled. The lake was mostly a walk and the trails were less than rewarding until they became unpassable. I bailed out to the roads. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. 

The rib and shoulder have settled to just being sore which is a pretty quick turn around considering what I might have done to myself. Sneezing isn't even that scary.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Glad to hear it is not that bad bedwards!

I stopped working early today and went for a short fatbike ride. Everything was under a layer of wet slushy slippery snow. I slipped in a track an fell on my left side after 24 minutes. I almost crashed another 24 minutes later and 10 minutes later I slipped down a steep section with a locked up rear wheel and no means of stopping. I managed to stay upright but I called it quits for riding in the woods. I went to the main road, then found a grassy flat road and made a nice loop. In the end I still rode 24k/15m in just under 2 hrs.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I slipped in a track an fell on my left side after 24 minutes.


 And that's the way we get broken ribs. The only difference is the unpredictability of the landing. Glad you made it through intact.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes that is true Bedwards. I was already careful and riding slowly. I hopped on my left leg 4 times before I finally fell over. I lowered the tire pressure a few times but that slush turns to ice when you compress it under the tire so that did not help so much. The next weekend is going to be cold and there will be a lot of snow, but I think there will be so many people around that everything will be hardpacked and icy. I am afraid the weekend is going to be boring - no paddling, no cycling, everything closed. I got the old playstation back out and started Duke Nukem again - "BOOM! Rest in Pieces..." 😂


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> "BOOM! Rest in Pieces..." 😂


"Gonna rip 'em a new one!"


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

I bought a used Prius V wagon for my commutes, it's slow as molasses, but it drive nice and it's quite plush. Leather, seat heater, good sound system. I'm practicing driving in the slow lane, it's actually growing on me


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Nurse Ben said:


> I bought a used Prius V wagon for my commutes, it's slow as molasses, but it drive nice and it's quite plush. Leather, seat heater, good sound system. I'm practicing driving in the slow lane, it's actually growing on me


There's one coming at the auction with weekend with 999 999km on the odometer. 2009 Prius taxi, no reserve. Curious to see how much it will fetch lol.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

David C said:


> There's one coming at the auction with weekend with 999 999km on the odometer. 2009 Prius taxi, no reserve. Curious to see how much it will fetch lol.


A million miles? Damn!

Well, mine has 85k and I expect it'll go for a while, they are amazingly good cars, reliable and not that expensive to fix. I thought the battery was a big deal, but apparently a decent mechanic can replace cells for not much, even replacing the entire battery is not that expensive.

Of course I'd prefer to bike commute, but I'm not gonna do that on teh freeway.

Today's my Friday, I'm planning to ride the next three days, one day I'll probe the snowed in trails with studs!


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

My 20+ year old Litespeed Unicoi commuter still has the original v-brakes on the back. They work, but having disc brakes on the replacement fork helps a lot. Today is supposed to get above freezing (36F) for the first time in a while. There is about 2' of snow on the ground so it won't really put a dent in that.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

oh my, you guys... I had a 64°F ride in this morning...the wife really want us to move up north (close to some family) one day but man, every time I think of the snow and the temps you are dealing with I just can't make my mind around it...at least not yet.

rest day yesterday...the night before was a super slow ride home...legs are not ready for a full week of commute yet.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Nurse Ben said:


> A million miles? Damn!
> 
> Well, mine has 85k and I expect it'll go for a while, they are amazingly good cars, reliable and not that expensive to fix. I thought the battery was a big deal, but apparently a decent mechanic can replace cells for not much, even replacing the entire battery is not that expensive.
> 
> ...


Well I'm not sure what happens when the odo hits 999 999 but I'm pretty sure it won't reset so who knows how many more clicks that car got after it maxed out the meter. My own car is a 2007 Toyota Yaris hatchback, so very similar car in term of engine mechanical. About a month ago I reached 250 000 km on it.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

My commute to work was snowy and 9 degrees and now I’m about to leave to go home and it is 21 degrees and snowing at a light medium rate, maybe a 1/2” per hour.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rest day yesterday that I now kind of regret, a rainy cold front is coming so not sure how much I'll ride this week

this morning a Mastiff sort of dog got too close with heavy traffic on a no shoulder road I ended up veering into him at some point an that scared him off a little, glad he didn't chased for long


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Cars, I have 2013 chevy sonic with about 30K miles on it and a 2017 GMC 1-ton diesel with < 10K miles on it. Biking to work most days really keeps the miles low. But today I took the truck. I tried the trails yesterday and it left me with no desire to ride today. The lake was a slog and the trails were impassable. It is also snowing again and I needed to plow the driveway.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Same here as Bedwards. Yes we have a car but we only drive it when really necessary. Like in summer a full tank (600k/400m) lasts sometimes 2 months. 

Things are getting sketchy for biking here. We have had snow and by now most roads are clear but where the snow is still there, it is hardpacked, hard as a rock and slippery - basically, it has turned to blank ice. I made a ride on Sunday afternoon at -5C and 30kph/20mph winds and had to bail out after 2 hrs, the last stretch on gravel would have been too dangerous. 

We have new snow today and during the night. This night at around 8pm I went out with my son in the dark for a short ride, maybe 30 minutes only, but it was fun through the fresh snow and it was still snowing. I also went out to the playground at night in the dark with a headlamp with the kids so they are used to it. A nice side effect is, that they are not afraid in the dark at all anymore. I am planning to visit friends on Thursday night and want to ride over there but I think it might get too dangerous. We'll see Thursday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's been in the 20s and raining all day. Needless to say, I drove.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I got a 130km commute on all highway so obviously I drive everyday, but in a few months I'll be moving to a farm and I'm looking forward using the bike everyday to go about places on the two 8 acres lots as we built up the land. Maybe even get a fat bike for that purpose.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^that sounds fun David! retirement already? I dream of something like that but maybe something smaller...well even 4-5 at this point seems a bit much to me...maintaining a big land (not paying someone) working 8-12 hrs a day and come home and waking up super early to big homestead chores..not sure if I'll have it in me at this point

short week of bike commute this one..cold rainy front got here..peak will be on Monday in the mid 20s so I may be back next Tuesday if the forecast is correct.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Another car commute for me. Everything is covered in ice. The roads weren't too bad this morning, but not something I'd want to bike in with any traffic.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

got a text saying the rack is done!....now I'm ordering the bag!... won't get my hands on the rack until Monday probably.

shown as you will see it from the rider's pov


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> ^that sounds fun David! retirement already? I dream of something like that but maybe something smaller...well even 4-5 at this point seems a bit much to me...maintaining a big land (not paying someone) working 8-12 hrs a day and come home and waking up super early to big homestead chores..not sure if I'll have it in me at this point
> 
> short week of bike commute this one..cold rainy front got here..peak will be on Monday in the mid 20s so I may be back next Tuesday if the forecast is correct.


Ah. Well at least you can scratch out the part about leaving home to go to work, work will be home. It's not about making it pretty and fancy, it's about making it profitable as quick as possible. I don't plan on retiring there, I have much more grandiose plans for retirement, which mostly involve me being somewhere warm and exotic on my yacht.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Martinsillo that rack looks sweet. Are you going to put a basket on it?

David C both thoughts of farm and yacht sound good  No clue for my retirement yet, will take 20 more years probably and who knows how the world looks like by that time.

Finally another after work ride today but I had to take a route along the main roads. Everywhere else is not cleared and has sheets of blank ice on it :-/ It looks like temps are going to rise slowly next week, the big meltdown is coming the week after.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Aaaahhh retirement. We are slowly moving in that direction but it will be at least 8 more years before we make it there. We bought a piece of land on 11 acres and a clean pond. The plan is to build a house that can be self sustaining enough that we can leave it for extended periods in the winter and go spend time on @David C 's yacht  or some other warm exotic place.

In the meantime, it was 0F here this morning but the trails were groomed for the first time. They went from unpassable earlier in the week to super fun today. More snow is forecast next week and no temps above freezing are in the forecastable future. Winter has finally arrived.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Martinsillo that rack looks sweet. Are you going to put a basket on it?


nope....for now, one of these bags



cyclingdutchman said:


> ...No clue for my retirement yet, will take 20 more years probably...


I think I'm there too...although wishing for something earlier! hehe


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Aaaahhh retirement. We are slowly moving in that direction but it will be at least 8 more years before we make it there. We bought a piece of land on 11 acres and a clean pond. The plan is to build a house that can be self sustaining enough that we can leave it for extended periods in the winter and go spend time on @David C 's yacht  or some other warm exotic place.
> 
> In the meantime, it was 0F here this morning but the trails were groomed for the first time. They went from unpassable earlier in the week to super fun today. More snow is forecast next week and no temps above freezing are in the forecastable future. Winter has finally arrived.


Y'all invited of course. Just don't get sea sick, coz I love to rock the boat !


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

David C: I am also a seakayaker and even used to capsizing and rolling in the surf. Dont worry I wont mess up your boat 

I made 2 shorter rides today. I wanted to make a longer ride and just as I left, my son called me to ask if he could come over a while later on and of course I did not say no. So I went for 1.5 hrs / 22k while it was sunny, clear and -8C. Basically, a nice morning ride. Later in the afternoon I spontaneously took the fatbike for a short tour to watch the sunset. Needless to say, the sunset wasnt very spectacular. I then made a big loop home to test my new battery light and it worked so well my planned 9k became 26 in the end. It was slippery but the fatbike did the job this time, I only slipped around a bit on a parking lot where the snow had turned into black ice.

We got the big meltdown coming here. Last night we had -13C, next sunday +13C is forecasted. Tomorrow we could have freezing rain, but from Tuesday everything is turning grey and dull again. I have to say, I liked that real crisp winter weather and will miss it...

Have a good start in the week everyone!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> David C: I am also a seakayaker and even used to capsizing and rolling in the surf. Dont worry I wont mess up your boat


Says the guy walking in the living room with a 8ft paddle and wet bodysuit.



But in more seriousness, this weekend we had about a foot of snow and it's not melting for a while, so lots of people are getting bit in the butt about cheaping out on decent 4 seasons or winter tires around here. No ice yet and shouldn't be a problem as the temp will stay slightly above freezing. I kinda wish I had a fat bike too so I could go ride in the snow. I usually do with my MTB, but I don't have my snow tires with me and I don't really have the tools and facilities to care for it with me at the moment. As for my city bike, a Surly Troll, I was thinking I could put on 3" tires, but if I do I'm gonna have to take off the full fenders, and also not sure yet how good it will perform given than I don't have very wide rims, I think they are about 20-25mm wide, city stuff. No rim brakes so no problem there for brake clearance. May be challenging to find the tires tho. Who makes snow tires in 26x3" ?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

below freezing here in Texas...chaos....power outages, water lines breaking...we are just not ready for it.
looks like no bike for me this week.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Drove again. We had some snow last night and more is on the way. It looks like this will be the biggest snow we've had in years.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I didnt plan an after-work ride but winter made a last gasp and it snowed for 3 hrs. So I grabbed my bike and rode around for 15k/1hr in driving snow. 

After that I sacrificed an old, ripped and worn-out wetsuit. I cut off the lower legs, cut it in shape and sewn it together to make toe-warmers. They worked out well and I do fit in my shoes with them, but will have to see if the stitches are not annoying after a while. Might have the opportunity to make a testride tomorrow.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> below freezing here in Texas...chaos....power outages, water lines breaking...we are just not ready for it.
> looks like no bike for me this week.


Ah ! It's always something when you get ice storms in those southern states.

Got pics ?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nothing crazy where I'm at...we got a bit of snow on Sunday night but with not enough accumulation.

just dealing with no water and power is a mess...I'm going to try to get a good sized generator between now and the next hurricane season.

I think this would be the craziest and mostly because a farmer forgot to shut down his irrigation on my way to work:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

David C said:


> Y'all invited of course. Just don't get sea sick, coz I love to rock the boat !


Mighty nice of you, Pick me up in Punta Cana in late April if that works out for ya. I'll flag you down from the beach. 

I feel for you guys down in Texas. Dealing with single digit F temps whey you aren't prepared can't be fun. On the flip side, 15F is starting to feel pretty comfortable around here.

We got some snow and freezing rain yesterday which paved the trails to work pretty well. Unfortunately a snowmobile had already gone through. Normally I rely on them to pack the trail but in this case, had they not, the trails would have been amazingly smooth. I took a detour to the local trail system before getting to work which has some of those amazingly smooth trails.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Man, talk about snow. Just yesterday I was down at the marina in a glorious 8° C sunny day clearing the last of the snow off my yacht. Got a few people coming to visit the boat today so hopefully by the time I get there in an hour, it's already gonna be all dry on deck.

I was gonna suggest you to get a genset Martinsillo. Even a small one like a 3000 running watts so you can keep the lights on along with fridge, Internet, tv and hot water/microwave. Ideally get a 7500w in 240v so you can run all your appliances and loads on both phases of the 120v in your panel. Electrician here.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^^ 7K!? I was thinking I needed like a 16Kw to run the entire house..including a 5 ton AC
I'm thinking on a complete gas setup with transfer switch


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Maybe save $10K and skip the AC for the few times every few years that the power is out more than a day. We can run the whole house including well pump, furnace, Fridge, 2 freezers, oven igniter a few lights, TV, etc on a 5000W/6500W peak. It was about $400 10 years ago and gets us through a few days without power without freezing the pipes and the all important flush toilets. Don't be planning on the electric water heater working though.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> ^^ 7K!? I was thinking I needed like a 16Kw to run the entire house..including a 5 ton AC
> I'm thinking on a complete gas setup with transfer switch


Hahaha, yeah you'll need a lot of AC when the power is down during an ice storm.

A dedicated standby generator with auto transfer and start up is not a bad idea. Definitively add value to the house. They are available in propane as well, safer to store longer than a tank of old gas sitting for months.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

David C said:


> Hahaha, yeah you'll need a lot of AC when the power is down during an ice storm.
> 
> A dedicated standby generator with auto transfer and start up is not a bad idea. Definitively add value to the house. They are available in propane as well, safer to store longer than a tank of old gas sitting for months.


Hehe in my defense, the AC/ Heat pump is my source of heat in winter!

We have a gas line that is only used by a tankless water heater right now.

I was thinking on the standby mostly for convenience and as a value adder to the house but then again I was telling the wife I didn't want to spend more money in the house for a while hehe

Now, checking what @bedwards1000 is saying maybe a 6-8k gen with a generlink could be the way to go...I'm mostly looking for a "quick" no running extensions kind of setup...I can do connecting the generator to the generlink and turn a couple of breakers off at the panel no problem!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Yep, get one on wheels and remember to start it once a month to keep everything lubricated and prevent the fuel from varnishing the carb. After you loose power, Ajust roll it from the garage out in the car port and plug it in your new 50a 125/250 wall receptacle, then switch off your main, start the gen, let it warm up, and flip on the double 50a receptacle breaker and voila. No need for a transfer switch. That's a safe way to do it, however it's not sanctioned by the law to do so, because there's no mechanical way to prevent the main breaker and the genset breaker to both be on at the same time, hence the use of a transfer switch.

It really comes down to how you and your wife are comfortable handling the process (don't assume you're always gonna be physically able to do it yourself, always have the other house members trained for it too) and how much money you have on hand at the moment. I would recommend the use of a transfer switch at the very least, to minimize human error, which can be frequent under panic during a sudden power outage. Also you may want to look into a genset big enough to keep your house warm indeed, as candles won't do you much, and that's a home standby generator right there, not a potable one.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yeah...I'm pretty sure the wife will be able to handle the Generlink, see below, it allows you to hook up your gen to the house protecting the grid. I'll just need to mark the breakers that need to stay on and that's it....it is legal as long as my power company allows it, I need to check, if not, you are right, a transfer switch will be needed, but all in I should stay below 2K on this setup I think.










anyways, we'll see...last night we had our first normal night power and water wise...let's see how it goes today.

we are supposed to start Monday on mid 40s..hopefully I'll be able to start commuting again then.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well the weather is really turning here. Last saturday night we had -13C here, next Sunday we are expecting +16C. I am planning a long ride.

I made a short but quick ride during lunchbreak, 40minutes. It was getting warm, I had no gloves on but on the long gravel climb there were still soft ice patches and it was very wet, so I sprinkeled my pants with mud. With the 40mm slick tires I had to be careful and I went onto the road as quick as I could. The long downhill stretch that followed was fun. I had no time to change, made my first videocall with the mud sprinkeled pants still on 😁


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

You still wear pants on video calls ? Who does that nowadays ?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

David C said:


> You still wear pants on video calls ? Who does that nowadays ?


😂 only because I did not have the time to take them off....

(made a nice 1hr sunset ride this afternoon).


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

63°F out this morning!...no extra layers needed! Crazy weather!

Left super late and forgot the laptop ..the wife is bringing it for me 

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I only was able to get 1 day of bike commuting in last week. I rode in on Friday but had to walk a decent amount of the MUP I have to take due to about 6 inches of snow and with base layer of ice.

It rained over night and this morning was a balmy 39F. I was able to ride most of the MUP, but had some issues on the bridges, which were still icy but were now wet from the rain and melt. After nearly eating it in dramatic fashion on the train overpass (I managed to get a foot down and slide sideways to a stop), it was obvious walking was a much better solution. The rest of the commute was a breeze after that. I had a nice tailwind for about a mile or so. Hopefully the bridges melt by the time I head back home.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

forced rest day today..had the amazing idea of doing some burpees after my ride home and messed up my bad knee a little.
I hate it, specially because my front rack/bag setup was ready for its first trip.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> After nearly eating it in dramatic fashion


If only you had a video.

On a related note, we are in a warm spell so I took the roads but decded to be smart and take the bike with the studded tires. I was thinking a "real" road ride on a real road bike would be fun but I'm not sure it would have been a good idea. Maybe tomorrow.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> If only you had a video.


For real. It's not exactly something I'd want to re-creat, but I'm sure my facial expressions would have been entertaining.

Commutes were perfect yesterday. I rode home in shorts and short sleeves. The sun was out, and it was like 60F. Today is also warm but not quite as sunny. An entire stretch of woods has pretty much been decimated along my route. The workers have an enormous pile of mulch that's spilling out onto the road now. Kind of sad.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

back in saddle after a long week
73° out this morning
rode with a knee support, all good.
happy with the new setup...not sure if its me but with the loaded bike on front It kind of felt a bit more stable when riding....today I was carrying: pants, polo, underwear, light sweater, rain jacket, tupperware with lunch, laptop and an external hard drive, (these two normally stays here in the office all week, unless there is something special going on)
it looks like is going to rain this afternoon.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rode with no helmet this morning
55°F'ish
a puppy that usually chases for a little bit this time didn't measure my speed right and ended up in front of me instead...I had to lock my rear wheel to not run it over.

yesterday the rain brought a mini cold front and as per my rules that's a no no, hehe, the wife picked me up and I forgot the helmet at the office.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've had a string of bad luck recently. On Friday, I got a flat on my way back home and had to walk. Fortunately I wasn't too far away. Upon inspection, my rear tire is largely threadbare down the center of the tire, which partly explains the flat. I've been riding my geared bike the past couple days. 

This morning, I lost my rear shifting after riding less than a mile down the road. I thought the cable might have snapped, but it turns out it's just not moving easily near the derailleur and won't shift at all unless I physically move the derailleur. I suspect maybe there's some water in the housing that froze on the hill I ride down in the mornings. I rode the bike on wet roads over the weekend. I imagine it's possible there's still some lingering moisture in there, but I'll have to see if I'll be able to shift on my way home.

Lastly, as I was getting ready to turn this douchebag in the other lane turns on his left turn signal. When I saw his turn signal turn on, I started drifting forwards a tiny bit in preparation my turn (assuming we'd both turn left at the same time). But instead of actually turning like a normal person, he kept going through the intersection. When I saw that he hadn't slowed down much, I assumed he was turning further down the street, so I went back to a track stand. Just then, he cut hard and turned right in front of me. This type of person drives me crazy. In this situation, there really isn't much of an explanation other than this person was being an a-hole. It's a wide intersection. There's plenty of room, and I wasn't even fully out into it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Wow s0ck I hope your luck returns soon. 

Very little riding here the last days. Too busy over the weekend, 100% homeoffice as per management order after a collegue got severely sick with Corona.

I only managed to make a nice 40minute ride yesterday evening in near freezing temps, clear sky with a full moon and fog on most of the way. It looked pretty spooky, so I felt pretty much "at home"
😁


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I've had a string of bad luck recently.



I get bored with tires before they have a chance to go threadbare.
I've never (maybe once) had a derailleur freeze up, weird.
Definitely seen some douchbags. But I think you might be showing your age using that term. Or is it coming back in style? 

Dutchman, Sorry to hear about the coworker. We have had maybe 10 cases at work over the last year and I don't think any have been severe.

Yesterday was raining and around 32F, decided to pass. Today was much better. 7F with a 20-40MPH "Breeze". Much better. The trails were good enough that I even extended my commute a little. The weather report that shows up on Strava said it felt like -14F. Sounds about right. Air that cold has some pretty good lip chapping power.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I had my shifting cables frozen up once. I blew some air through the outer cables later that night and there were some waterdrops coming out of them. After that I had no issue anymore. I think some water might get into the cables when it is always standing outside, especially in wet conditions.

Well my co-worker at least lived, his grandma did not. They had an outbreak within the family after they gathered from all over europe and celebrated christmas together....


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

I always try to route the housings in a way that will either prevent water from getting into a full housing or from not draining properly in interrupted housing.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Definitely seen some douchbags. But I think you might be showing your age using that term. Or is it coming back in style?


I don't know. Did "douchebag" ever fully go out? I'm 38. Maybe I am showing my age, but I guess that's better than denying it. 🤷‍♂️



cyclingdutchman said:


> I had my shifting cables frozen up once. I blew some air through the outer cables later that night and there were some waterdrops coming out of them. After that I had no issue anymore. I think some water might get into the cables when it is always standing outside, especially in wet conditions.


I'm pretty sure that's what I've got going on. Shifting was fine on the way home. Froze up again on my way down the same hill this morning. My bike is in a garage, but it kind of flooded in there over the weekend, so there's a decent amount of moisture lingering. I'll probably need to actually do something to get the water out. It looks like we'll be in the upper 20s as a low all week.



David C said:


> I always try to route the housings in a way that will either prevent water from getting into a full housing or from not draining properly in interrupted housing.


I run full length housing on my trail bike, but this one is kind of particular. I've never had an issue before, but I don't typically ride through a lot of water either. My normal commuter is a singlespeed with fenders. I'll be back on it as soon as my tires arrive.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh, I have had cables freeze up. I was thinking that the lever wouldn't move but I guess if it froze in a high gear it would appear like a broken cable. 

No ride for me to day, I had to drop off my truck for service (again).


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, I have had cables freeze up. I was thinking that the lever wouldn't move but I guess if it froze in a high gear it would appear like a broken cable.


The derailleur on this bike is Rapid Rise. When I'm down around the 11T cog and try to shift to an easier gear, the cable gets slacker and really looks like it might be broken. The cure is to stick my foot back and gently step on the top of the derailleur to extend it to the easier gear. 😆


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

uneventful rides yesterday and this morning...I guess that is good hehe

hope it gets better for you @s0ckeyeus


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

301 mi on the sequel today.
yesterday had a rest day as I needed to go to the doctor to get my blood taken for the annual check up


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

It was great this morning. The sun was rising and the sky was brilliant, the ice on the trail network was minimal, I didn’t crash this morning and the mountain lion that has been stalking my neighborhood hasn’t eaten me yet! I’m carrying bear spray for the commute. I saw the lion on Saturday morning at 4:30 am when I was driving into work, it ran across the road about 50 yard in front of my car then was gone, this was about 1.5 miles from my house. The next morning it was spotted by a neighbor about 1/4 mile from my house. I’m not too worried about it, most likely if I have an animal issue it will be riding into a deer that runs in front of me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Not getting eaten by a lion is definitely a goal for the morning commute!

I saw 1 fox, many deer and one eagle on my commute. None of them seemed remotely interested in eating me. Well, maybe the eagle. It flew in for a pretty close look. 

The trails are darn fine today. We're planning on a recreational ride this weekend and then it is supposed to warm up. Winter could be coming to an end.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

bedwards1000 said:


> Not getting eaten by a lion is definitely a goal for the morning commute!
> 
> I saw 1 fox, many deer and one eagle on my commute. None of them seemed remotely interested in eating me. Well, maybe the eagle. It flew in for a pretty close look.
> 
> The trails are darn fine today. We're planning on a recreational ride this weekend and then it is supposed to warm up. Winter could be coming to an end.


Hehe, maybe you'll need to borrow my chest rig. That's what I wear when going out in the Wild West outdoors, large can of bear spray and 13" double edged knife, mounted on the chest for access/draw from both hands in any position, in case you get assaulted by wildlife.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> The derailleur on this bike is Rapid Rise. When I'm down around the 11T cog and try to shift to an easier gear, the cable gets slacker and really looks like it might be broken. The cure is to stick my foot back and gently step on the top of the derailleur to extend it to the easier gear. 😆


I had it once too. The cable slacked but the derailleur took 3 seconds to get into the new position. I didnt fix it but sold the bike with it. Spraying some WD40 on the mech did not work, I think it would have needed a more thorough cleaning, like bathing it in WD40 or white gas or something to flush out all of the dirt.

Anyone has an idea? I have a derailleur on my gravel bike so might need some tips for it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

David C I have seen boars on my commute and they once had dug up the trail too so I might run into them. But I am sure I will get arrested with a chest rig like yours....just hoping for the best since then.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I had it once too. The cable slacked but the derailleur took 3 seconds to get into the new position. I didnt fix it but sold the bike with it. Spraying some WD40 on the mech did not work, I think it would have needed a more thorough cleaning, like bathing it in WD40 or white gas or something to flush out all of the dirt.


I poured some alcohol on the opening to my cable housing and didn't have issues on the other mornings. Pretty sure my issue was frozen moisture.

My new tires arrived the other day. I haven't had a chance to install them yet. I have some patches on their way I'll need to use to patch up my tube.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> David C I have seen boars on my commute and they once had dug up the trail too so I might run into them. But I am sure I will get arrested with a chest rig like yours....just hoping for the best since then.


Not legal in Germany to carry bear spray or a knife for an outdoor recreational purpose ? It's legal in Canada so I though it must have been legal pretty much anywhere else.

A flare gun also works good as a deterrent, but it comes with possible fire hazards from the bush around where you might fire. Also not very accurate so it's kinda of a hit or miss unless you're less than 10ft away.

Boars are definitively not something you want to charge at you.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

For bear spray I know you need to be at least 18yrs old but afaik they are only selling way smaller containers here. Of course knives are allowed, but again I have never seen anyone carrying a knife of that size. That said, we dont have bears or anything similar either.

The days are getting longer and I went out for a nice 1h30m ride on the fatbike after work this afternoon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'd be scared to crash with that chest rig, dislodge the knife and plunge it into my stomach. Is it held in by friction or a latch? It's not quite as cool as the samurai rig that Michonne wears on The Walking Dead but close. 

The evenings are about to get a lot longer. Daylight saving time starts (or ends, I can never remember which) next weekend here.

The trails are in absolutely mint condition right now but that is all about to change. The forecast is for two 60F days this week with no freezing overnight temps. That with the full sun will melt things fast. The lake probably isn't as thick as it usually is either so that will melt faster than usual. Maybe 2 more weeks.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

The knife is a Cold Steel OSS double edge AUS8 stainless steel full tang with a Secure-Ex sheath. The sheath can accept the knife in both directions and use a snap on friction system for retention, but also comes with an additional belt loot that has a snap to go around the handle for extra retention. However the friction snap has two knobs and there's a pretty good amount of friction involved in order to lift the knobs that it's not gonna come loose unless you properly pull on it. It's been engineered to be carried safely upside down in heavy action. The idea of the knife for this application is to stab as deep as possible and wiggle it so the double edged do as much bleeding damage as possible in a short time to starve the brain from oxygen, thus having the animal collapse and the attack ends asap. That's why the long blade. Same principle as a sticking knife for those hardcore wild boar hunters. The sub-hilt helps with not letting go of the knife. Blade is milled out of a 1/4" thick block of steel to help with snapping issues when the knife gets stuck inside the animal. I was heisting between this one and the Condor Boar Dagger, but the sheath on the Cold Steel was better suited for chest carry. It is a little long to bike with, you kinda have to switch it more to the side so the handle doesn't poke your belly, but for hiking and climbing it's perfect.

And is it really time to change our clocks again this weekend already ? Yay, more daylight ! Screw you winter !


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

uneventful rides yesterday.
leaving on Friday I dropped the bike and one eyelet on the new rack broke...my friend is taking it to fix it.
I can ride no hands with the front load on the bike but dealing with it standing or leaning it towards something is now super awkward.

today I overslept  so taking a rest day hehe


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We had a nice string of weather here. It's been pretty warm all week. A few mornings were cool, but not bad. It's 64F now, and I just saw a guy ride by in pants and a jacket. I would be sweating like a pig wearing that in this weather. As it was, I felt warm in shorts and short-sleeves this morning.

I patched my tubes installed new tires on my singlespeed last night. Next will have to be the brake pads. The chain got rusty sitting in my garage the past couple weeks. It looked bad, but I think I was able to revive it before it was too late. I rode it in this morning despite the brakes, but it's a bit sketchy. I probably should have ridden my geared bike. Oh well.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The pic is of your new tires I assume? 

I only rode to the doc and to get some groceries, 10k in total.

We have windy and wet weather here but I managed to avoid the showers.


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## eshew (Jan 30, 2004)

I did 30 miles & stopped for beer. 1st decent day, had to dust off the exercise machine.


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## MCHB (Jun 23, 2014)

It wasn't today but a few months ago a young Pupper was walking his Hoomin off leash (It happens) while I was biking to work on my fatbike for afternoon shift.

Anyway the pupper started barking at me and ran after me for a bit (As a Hoomin I'm very familiar with this scenario!) 

I stopped and pointed and said "Go!" 

There was a bit of a language barrier and some confusion until I pointed again while saying "Go!" and then said Pupper looked back and located his Hoomin who was Kermit flailing!


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## MCHB (Jun 23, 2014)

Like two years ago (winter again) I was biking home from work on days and an older doggo came ripping down the trail I take home being all dramatic and I simply said to him "Hey buddy!" He mellowed out and ran up to my leg and...booped my leg with his nose. 

Moral of the story: never screw with someone that has a doggo niece because we can tell when you're full of bull vs when you're not!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

crazy week the last one...just had the Monday ride...went for the annual bloodwork exam...high bad cholesterol and borderline diabetic 

good 63°F ride coming in today...went out pretty early and was dark pretty much all the way...edit: daylight saving  .


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

With the change to DLS my work hours go back to 7am from 7:30. So now with the sun up one hour later and my 30 minute ride starting earlier I’m back to riding in when it is night time. I was enjoying the daylight ride into work. I love DLS though and in a month the morning sun will be lighting my way again. Soon we will have almost 16 hour days and my riding will be limited by my physical ability to pedal and not the weather and lighting situation. I’m very happy about that.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

yesterday on my way home I got behind a group of roadies, got the itch and stayed behind them for a little while....got home with my bad knee and my ankle hurting...I'm hating my almost 40 year old body hehe, well mostly me for not taking care of it.  

super slow ride in this morning...72°F going out....starting with a little shower that required the rain jacket that I needed to take out later when it was over...too hot.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hoomin, Took me a while to figure out what the heck you were talking about. Woof.


martinsillo said:


> ...I'm hating my almost 40 year old body hehe, well mostly me for not taking care of it.


Fear not martinsillo, in 10 or so more years you will hate it even more BUT you will just blame old age. 
I'm still holding on to my trail commute. Monday Strava told me it felt like -7F but that was being optimistic. Since then it has got up into the 50s. The snow is going fast. Tomorrow could me one of my last trail commutes. I'm going to miss them.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

A little late to this party.

After 30+ years of biking to work, in Boston, SLC, and New Mexico, I'm done. I figure I've banked enough carbon credits to get that coal-fired 4WD Sprinter I've been lusting after.

Ironically, commuting to work on my bike kept me out of the mountains. Now that's over and I can finally ride for fun in the hills (along with the other 8,329 riders on my locals trails).

Who else is too tired by the weekend to ride "for fun"?


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

D. Inoobinati said:


> A little late to this party.
> 
> After 30+ years of biking to work, in Boston, SLC, and New Mexico, I'm done. I figure I've banked enough carbon credits to get that coal-fired 4WD Sprinter I've been lusting after.
> 
> ...


Yeah sometimes I'm too tired but I started to slow down the commute and give myself an extra 10 minutes to conserve my body for the weekend. I was using the commute to ride hard and exercise but backing off a little hasn't really affected my body as far as weight or heart rate and the extra weekend riding is great.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

martinsillo said:


> .....
> got home with my bad knee and my ankle hurting...I'm hating my almost 40 year old body hehe, well mostly me for not taking care of it.
> ......


Wait until you are my age! LOL. I'm 55, and feel every ride in my old bones. Take better care of yourself.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

Its been exactly one year since my last bike commute. When covid hit, the company I work for sent all workers home to work, and for the most part its been that way for the entire year. My commute now consists of walking out of bed, past the coffee pot and to my computer. I miss riding into work.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

I thought I missed it too, but the occasional joy and surprise was countered far too often by the interminable uphill grind home, in opressive heat, past the stinking traffic.


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## p08757 (Mar 15, 2012)

D. Inoobinati said:


> I thought I missed it too, but the occasional joy and surprise was countered far too often by the interminable uphill grind home, in opressive heat, past the stinking traffic.


My commute to the office is actually very nice. (When I was going to the office) It's about 7 miles each way on a MUP lined by trees, parks, and a creek. This is the route I use to workout with now.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

took a break on Wednesday to rest the foot, rode yesterday again but it wasn't fun, took a rest again today, pain is mostly on bridge now.



bedwards1000 said:


> Fear not martinsillo, in 10 or so more years you will hate it even more BUT you will just blame old age.





p08757 said:


> Wait until you are my age! LOL. I'm 55, and feel every ride in my old bones. Take better care of yourself.


hehe, yeah, I had my first appointment with a nutritionist on Wednesday, I'm getting serious with this..if I keep going like this when I get to 50 is going to be pretty bad.



D. Inoobinati said:


> A little late to this party.
> After 30+ years of biking to work, in Boston, SLC, and New Mexico, I'm done. I figure I've banked enough carbon credits to get that coal-fired 4WD Sprinter I've been lusting after.
> Ironically, commuting to work on my bike kept me out of the mountains. Now that's over and I can finally ride for fun in the hills (along with the other 8,329 riders on my locals trails).
> Who else is too tired by the weekend to ride "for fun"?


Welcome!
ey after 30+ years you deserve a break!

when I was at my peak (ironically, back then I was still pretty bad hehe) 10-12 years ago, I was commuting 4-5 days a week ( between 8 to 10 miles I think total per day) and still had energy for a weekend ride, I even got into a couple of weekend races with the pugs.

these days, I'm doing 16 miles total per day, struggling to make it to 4 days....here in the texas valley there is not much to look for in terms of trails or mountains so I'm not really missing anything hehe...now, physically, I do hope to get to the point I could go out for a fun ride again besides commuting...I loved the couple of 3 day bike tours I did back in the day (also in between my commutes), so I hope to do some of that at one point.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

My morning commute was excellent today. I thought I missed the morning sun from a week ago but the night riding on the dirt trail sections of my ride are more fun with the limited visibility, the curves and short climbs and downhills are more thrilling for sure.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Did my first bike commute to the new location today. I didn't even bother changing. I was at work in like 5 minutes.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

First bikecommute in a while, weather is getting nice, by which I mean 32F this a.m and around 50F after work. I found it a lot harder to motivate for the single digit commutes when I was not riding everyday. But now I am a bit saddlesore from riding 2 days in a row and need to keep it up! Terrible car crash on the way home by a tight low speed roundabout, 3 cops, 2 ambulances, and I don't know how the car ended up all smushed and on the wrong side of the tracks and facing the wrong way.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back MTXB, long time no see.

Well, I thought I was done with the lake crossings for the year, mostly because the trails are too soft with the warm temps. But this morning was below freezing so everything was frozen up, so what the heck. The lake was good this morning but I'm not sure how much more I would trust it on sunny afternoons. The trails are mostly bare with lots and lots of icy patches and occasional snow.

I did have a low fly over by an eagle on the lake and got to see dozens of deer in the trails. The sun was pretty through a light fog over the corn field. It was a good morning commute!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all, I thought I'd just drop in ... I made only 1 commute so far this year :-/ I am trying to ride during lunchbreak or after work. Does not happen everyday, but 3-4 days a week is manageable and I ride the fatbike and/or CX bike often during the weekends, so I am not sitting still. Nice to read here every day, unfortunately I dont have any stories to tell. Found a party tie this afternoon but it was torn apart, so I put it in the bin at home - still better than lying at the side of the road.

Keep riding and stay safe Y'all ! CU, CD


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Found a party tie this afternoon...


Oh, that reminds me, I found a Niterider Solas 250 tail light on the side of the road. It was cleaner, in better shape, and with more charge than the Niterider Solas 250 tail light attached to the back of my bike. Between my wife and I we have 5-6 of them so it may even be one we lost but we haven't taken that road route yet this year.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh, that reminds me, I found a Niterider Solas 250 tail light on the side of the road. It was cleaner, in better shape, and with more charge than the Niterider Solas 250 tail light attached to the back of my bike. Between my wife and I we have 5-6 of them so it may even be one we lost but we haven't taken that road route yet this year.


You should have "upgraded". Thats what we call when people here at the beach swipe your slippers (flip flops) and leave you their ragged ones.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

been resting the foot until yesterday, went out to mow the lawn after work and the pain came back very close to the first day...who knows when I'll be back
scale is starting to show some progress!!

good to hear you are riding @mtbxplorer and @cyclingdutchman

what kind of crops are those @bedwards1000 ?...on my last couple of rides the Cilantro in front of my neighborhood was giving a nice scent, I hope I can take a picture with the bike when I come back but I'm afraid they will pull it out soon.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Those are the stalks from last years corn.

Today's commute was 2/3 bike, 1/3 car drop off. I'm fine with that because 32F on the road isn't my favorite riding temperature. In fact it is probably my least favorite.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I don't think I've checked in since January...I see the regulars here and a few new faces.

Went on an actual business trip in early February and had to quarantine for a couple weeks when I got back, so did not commute a lot in February. But I got tired of the trainer and installed a set of studded tires on my gravel bike and got several nice road rides in without having to worry (too much) about going down on the ice.



















I've been commuting to work a couple days/week regularly in March, including back-to-back 43F/6C pouring rain rides last night and this morning 😀 Been getting a few other longer rides in between commutes.

Nice pic this morning bedwards. Your photos never disappoint.

WA State has opened up vaccine access to old guys like me, so I am signed up for the 1st shot next week. Stay safe everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Look at all that snow. Is that recent? We haven't had any snowfall for what seems like a month. It is officially mud season. I have my first vaccine scheduled for tomorrow. We are in the 50+ age range but it opens to everybody in a few weeks. 

I traded the ride in this morning for a carpool (raining) and have my cross bike for the ride home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Snow pic is from a couple weeks ago, but there is still plenty of snow up where I took that picture. My house is at 2250ft/686m and the snow is pretty much gone. This photo was taken at about 3000ft/915m and there is still 12in/30cm of snow on the ground. Up at Snoqualmie Pass on the Cascade Mountain crest, 30miles/48km west of where I took this photo, but at the same elevation as this photo, they are still reporting 122in/310cm of snow on the ground as of this morning and the snowpack is still building up there.

Rain stopped here, looks like a dry ride home tonight!


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

I'd sell a kidney for the chance to commute through snow. Instead, we got this:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> I have my first vaccine scheduled for tomorrow. We are in the 50+ age range but it opens to everybody in a few weeks.


My wife and I think we had COVID-19 in February last year when our county was a hotspot just behind New York and new Jersey. I already had lost most of my sense of taste to prostate medication. But it seemed to drop to almost nothing then took months to return to the prior not too good level caused by the meds. Anyway, fast forward a year and my second shot was 2 weeks ago. I have a malaise and a lack of energy or gumption to do much of anything which eased up today 2 weeks post second shot. CBD Oil fixed the aches. Reactions are stronger in people who had COVID-19 before, so I think that's the cause. So rode today for the first time in months. It was 70 F on the way out the door and 72 F when I got back. Not having to layer up helped get me in the mood. Ignoring the yard work helped too! Was really happy zipping up a 50 foot hill topping in the third gear from the top with good heartrate then remembered I had a 15 mph tailwind. Oh well, I am over 50 years past my 18th birthday, so just riding a few miles is more than most my age do. Back in the saddle, again!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Glad to hear that you are back in the saddle BrianMC. It does sound like you might have had it. You should be pretty well protected now. Today was not one of those 70F days. More like 40F with a stiff breeze.

Inoobinati, our snow is all gone. Your bike looks like it is going to pounce out on something from the bushes. I'm mentally starting to switch over to summer riding. It's all I've got until the trails dry out. The saturated soils just as the frost leaves make trail riding impossible. 

Here's a picture of the ice going bye-bye.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

D. Inoobinati said:


> View attachment 1922968


These are tumbleweeds choking the exit of an underground drainage ditch. Springtime winds break tumbleweeds from their anchors and roll them into low points and against fences. Fall tumbleweed blooms also mean large gatherings of these spiny nuisances under bridges and along fences.

Since I used to avoid roads like the plague, I sometimes had to plow through chest deep tumbleweeds to get to work...and 15 minutes pulling spines out of my clothes. Snow? I could only dream!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pic bedwards. Over the weekend, I rode the same route I posted the snow pic above. Here is the snow melting on that route:










Good to hear from you BrianMc. Us Brian's have to stick together!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

foot still the same...went to the Dr yesterday..he believes is a tendon...still resting..ice..getting blood work done to check uric acid, etc, etc..no signs of getting to ride anytime soon.

@BrianMc good to hear you are riding AND that you survived the virus!


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

Spring is coming here. We had two beautiful warm sunny days in a row. Today I packed my 40ft Motorhome with the little car in tow and drove an hour south to a new RV pad where I should spend the next year till I get to move to the farms in NB. Soon I'll be able to put air in the tires and go ride my bikes on the local trails. For now everything is still too busy to even think about taking a bike off the rack and gearing up for a ride. My car commute is now 15 minutes rather than 45, so that's gonna give me more time to enjoy at home rather than driving.


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## David C (May 25, 2011)




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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

David C said:


> My car commute is now 15 minutes rather than 45.


Car commute?  🤷‍♂️🤔


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## David C (May 25, 2011)

woodway said:


> Car commute?


Working on getting back on the bike after living on the water for almost 3 years. Baby steps.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey every1 nice to see some stories here. For me still no commutes but I rode the fatbike a few hours last weekend and today I made a nice biathlon: Cycling-paddling-cycling. The weather was more like summer the last 3 days but it is cooling down for the long weekend we have coming up, but it wont stop me


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

David C said:


> Working on getting back on the bike after living on the water for almost 3 years. Baby steps.


Good luck with your new spot and return to cycling!

Nice to hear from you Dutchman.

Got my first VAX shot today. Felt a little under the weather afterward so I missed what would have been a beautiful ride. Tomorrow for sure.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Wow, my reply last week was the last one!

Well, I did an actual office commute today. Cold this morning (36F/2C), but dry. I can see the sky getting light now when I do my weekly morning ride.

Hope you are all well and getting rides in...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, it has been quiet. I've been commuting daily with temps between 30F & 50F. But the WINDS! I left the office yesterday and wondered what the roaring sound was. Spoiler, it was the wind. There is a approx 1 mile Strava segment that headed into the wind. My best average speed on it is 29.4MPH. Yesterday: 12.7MPH. Windy I tell ya!

I had my first VAX (pfizer) about 10 days ago. I didn't' feel the needle and I didn't have any side effects other than as slightly sore arm for a few days.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a week and a half off work. This is my first week back. I was in a stupid wreck over the weekend. I hit a jump/drop thing and underestimated the amount of speed the feature would zap. I hit the edge of the sketchy landing and ate it. I'm lucky not to have damaged anything but my right knee. I rode to work Monday and Tuesday, but I probably should have just driven. I barely had enough mobility to pedal. I drove today in hopes of reducing the swelling. I don't know if pedaling hurt it, but it felt kind of ridiculous being on a bike. Luckily (for this situation) my work is only about a mile from home now.

On my ride home last night, I found one of the cell phones FedEx drivers use to manage their deliveries sitting in the middle of the road. They're supposed to swing by and pick it up today. I guess that's one piece of "excitement" from my commutes, other than me looking like an idiot trying to get my right knee to bend at the top of the pedal stroke. 😆

Here's a pic of me mid-crash:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Here's a pic of me mid-crash:
> View attachment 1924823


You've looked better! Not your most photogenic angle.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I think that angle is very photogenic. 🤣 Hope your knee heals up Sock. If that pic is from a video you could send the video to PinkBike for the Friday Fails feature...

I swore off having my wheels leave the ground on purpose about five years ago. Just don't heal the way I used to.

Got another work commute in this morning. Supposed to rain on the way home today. It's Seattle in the spring after all...


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

My commute was stellar. I leave my house at 6:25 am and there is now just enough light I can use my small front light and by the time I get to work at 6:55 the sun is just about up. Soon the sun rise one hour before I leave and summer will be here.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> I think that angle is very photogenic. 🤣 Hope your knee heals up Sock. If that pic is from a video you could send the video to PinkBike for the Friday Fails feature...
> 
> I swore off having my wheels leave the ground on purpose about five years ago. Just don't heal the way I used to.
> 
> Got another work commute in this morning. Supposed to rain on the way home today. It's Seattle in the spring after all...


I like leaving the ground in moderation, but I'm usually pretty smart about it. I should have been able to hit this, but I just didn't realize how much speed it'd rob. The trees to either side make it tricky to bail at the last second (plus the fact it's like 4 feet up). A few test run ups would have been a good idea. I didn't feel any anxiousness or worry I wouldn't hit the landing, but I underestimated the sketch of the feature. Oh well.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa sock that looks really mean. Is that your rear wheel up in the air? 😱

I am riding less and less lately. I dont know why, but somehow I have more and more other things to do during lunch or after work. Will have to think of a remedy.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I am riding less and less lately. I dont know why, but somehow I have more and more other things to do during lunch or after work. Will have to think of a remedy.


Perhaps if we start heckling you about not riding, that will provide some motivation? 🤣

I got rained on pretty good last night. No ride for me today, I am working remote. I'm going to try and get a nice 40 mile road ride in tomorrow or saturday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Whoa sock that looks really mean. Is that your rear wheel up in the air? 😱


Yes! I didn't have enough speed going off the end (the feature sucked out way more speed than anticipated), couldn't keep my front up enough, and hit the sharp lip of the transition with my front tire. I may have still crashed, but I think it would have been a lot better if I could have hit the right side of the landing. The video is at the end of this post if you must see me looking like an idiot:

__
http://instagr.am/p/CNQf8xahXrn/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh snap, that video looks rough! That is the thing that broken collar bones are made of. I'm too old to heal well too so I try to keep my wheels on the ground. And my body reacts like a dropped cat with anything other than a few inches of air.

Dutchman, get out and ride your bike!!!

I'm still here! We are experiencing some pretty typical spring weather, which means it could be anything. My wife started her Ironman trainig so I've been doing the long rides on the weekends with her as well as my commutes. So far we are just in the 50 mile range. 

With luck, the trails will be dry enough for some trail commutes soon.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh snap, that video looks rough! That is the thing that broken collar bones are made of. I'm too old to heal well too so I try to keep my wheels on the ground. And my body reacts like a dropped cat with anything other than a few inches of air.


It does. Luckily, I must have landed correctly. I had a small scrape on my shoulder, but other than that, no damage to my shoulders or collar bones. Yay for landing correctly.

My knee is getting better. I had a setback last week when I hit it on a table and the knee swelled up considerably. I was unable to ride a bike after that (coudn't bend it enough), but I took it easy, iced, and went back to riding this week. I even did a full trainer workout last night and didn't have to hold back at all. I'm glad I didn't lose a lot of fitness between going on vacation for 1.5 weeks, being sick with a stomach virus (on the way home from vacation), and this injury.

Oh, and I got my first Pfizer shot on Sunday. I'm glad to be finally getting the vaccine. Hopefully it protects me from my co-workers, many of whom seem to be skipping it.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Mine was nice today. Cold in the morning with clear skies, of course it’s always cold in the morning in Montana though. I just got a Garmin 530 so I played with that today. Averaged 17 mph, 26 mph top speed and rode 6.16 miles.


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## urbsuburb2017 (Sep 1, 2017)

After a bunch of rainy days, today seemed just beautiful. Hopped on the Pugs for my commute, thinking that it was about time to swap on my non-winter tires. I got about 1/8 mile down the road from my street and heard a strange clicking noise. Turns out my rear tire - a 3.8" Nate, had ingested a huge 3" common nail. Turned around and walked home. Can't for the life of me figure out how such a long nail managed to stick itself into my tire perpendicularly! I wasn't going very fast, just pedaling up to the next traffic light. I guess I'll consider myself lucky to having procrastinated about mounting my other tires: it took me 2 months of searching to find a pair of 26" x 3.8 120 tpi Knards - from 2 different sources. I would have been REALLY peeved if I had run the nail through one of those! And tomorrow of course --- rain.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> Perhaps if we start heckling you about not riding, that will provide some motivation? 🤣
> ..........





bedwards1000 said:


> ......
> Dutchman, get out and ride your bike!!!
> .......


Thanks for the peptalk gentlemen! I did make 2 rides the last few days, including a duathlon yesterday (biking/paddling/biking). It was good to be on the bike again. Meanwhile I am still here reading and hoping that Corona will disappear someday, so that I can start commuting again. Until then, I am making the best of it, just as we all are.

Sockeyeus how are you doing? I hope you are ok! I watched the vid and it looks quite ugly from here...

Bedwards: Good luck to your wife for the ironman training! 💪 she must be really tough!

@all: Keep riding, keep posting and stay safe! 

CU, CD😃


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Good Job!  
Yeah, my wife's got some commitment! The biggest question is if we can cross into Canada in August to do the race. 

Speaking of my wife, we did a 1/2 couples commute today. At about halfway I split off and did the first trail commute since the thaw. Things are dried out pretty well. We DO have snow forecast for tomorrow but I don't expect much out of it.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Nope! No commute today. I got the second shot of Moderna yesterday evening. Today I’m achy, food taste slightly different, I have chills and a very low fever. It’s all welcome though and worth the immunity!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sockeyeus how are you doing? I hope you are ok! I watched the vid and it looks quite ugly from here...


Still healing up. I'm back on the bike but not the mountain bike yet. My dropper is out of commission and it's been rainy, so I guess I'm not missing out too much.



Zguitar71 said:


> Nope! No commute today. I got the second shot of Moderna yesterday evening. Today I'm achy, food taste slightly different, I have chills and a very low fever. It's all welcome though and worth the immunity!


I get my 2nd Pfizer at the beginning of May. I'm hoping for a minimal reaction. My sisters both felt sick after their 2nd Moderna vaccines. The youngest one especially. A small price to pay though.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@cyclingdutchman - Good job, keep it up. Yeah, ready to be done with the Rona...

@bedwards1000 - Looked like a good trail ride. Hope the snow really is nothing.

I got two work commutes in this week. Weather: fantastic. Upper 60's (20C), sunny, beautiful. I am back to central Washington and the good weather continues. Hoping to get out for a nice 40 miler tomorrow.

My 2nd shot is next week. I felt crappy for about 12 hours after the 1st one. Hope the 2nd is not worse...


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

In order to liven up my super-short 1 mile commute, I rode in my BMX race bike today. That was a bit of a different experience. If I make a habit of this, I might want to swap the seatpost (if I have one long enough) so I can sit every now and again. People seemed pushier too. Maybe they don't respect and adult on a small looking bike.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> @bedwards1000 - Looked like a good trail ride. Hope the snow really is nothing.
> 
> I got two work commutes in this week. Weather: fantastic. Upper 60's (20C), sunny, beautiful. I am back to central Washington and the good weather continues. Hoping to get out for a nice 40 miler tomorrow.
> 
> My 2nd shot is next week. I felt crappy for about 12 hours after the 1st one. Hope the 2nd is not worse...


It was good to get back out on the trails. I found a connector trail that lets me cut out some of the road portions too.

The snow was really nothing. Like not even snow. Today it is back into the 60s!

I had no reaction to my first Pfizer shot other than a sore arm. After the second the afternoon was OK but I didn't sleep hardly at all and was pretty lethargic the next day. 2 days later I am fine. My wife's reaction to the second one was worse, she was napping on the couch for most of the day yesterday but back at work today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I just read that by now half of the adults in the usa have had their first shot and I am glad to see that so many are taking it. Here in germany the bureaucracy is efficiently slowing down everything. I have now reached my target weight of 85kg (was 105 kg last summer) and my astma is gone, so I dont belong to a risk group anymore. Because of that I will probably have to wait until summer until I get my first shot. Well, what the heck.

I just came back from a magnificent sunsetride, 1hr/17k . It was a nice day.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My BMX experiment was tiring. The way home is short (1.5 miles) but I spent the whole time either sprinting or climbing. I rode one of my usual bikes this morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Snow! Temps were around 70 yesterday but a front moved in and sent temps plummeting in just a matter of hours. We had about a 1/2 inch on the ground when I woke up. People more in the Midwest probably got even more. It's super weird to get accumulating snow in April here.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Send it @bedwards1000, he likes that snow stuff.

Nice pic @cyclingdutchman, and congrats on the new, slim, you!

Commuted to work twice last week. On the way home the 2nd night I noticed a sign on a paved trail that I use that the trail was going to be closed 3 weeks for nearby construction and there was no detour provided.

Grrr.

The trail squeezes between an Interstate Highway and Lake Washington. There really is no other way through that section. I complained to the parks department that owns the trail that there are a lot of bike commuters that use the trail and we consider it "critical infrastructure". Not sure if my complaint did it, but a couple of days later the plan changed and they are going to construct a temporary trail through the construction and the whole trail will only close for a total of two days. Sometimes you just have to make some noise.

Got my second COVID shot today. So far, I feel fine.

Happy cycling everyone.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Today I visited a friend after work, which made 10k on the round trip and we walked 1,5hrs on hikingtrails so that was another duathlon: biking, hiking, biking. 

Woodway stay healthy! Do you get any advantages now that you have your anti-covid shots?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway stay healthy! Do you get any advantages now that you have your anti-covid shots?


Well peace of mind I suppose. Also, when indoors with others who are fully vaccinated, no masks required. But outside of that, even fully vaccinated are supposed to still mask/distance when indoors and social distance when outdoors.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> Well peace of mind I suppose. Also, when indoors with others who are fully vaccinated, no masks required. But outside of that, even fully vaccinated are supposed to still mask/distance when indoors and social distance when outdoors.


No one wears masks at my work, except maybe when dealing with a customer. I'm not sure how many people here will get the vaccine either. Hopefully more than half will, but it seems like there are a lot of skeptics about the vaccine here (they aren't skeptical about ghosts or pseudo-science, go figure).

I'm almost 2 weeks out from my first shot. I can't get that second one fast enough. We've only had 2 out of 20 something people come down with Covid so far and fortunately neither had much opportunity to spread it at work.

On the commuting front, allergies continue to kick my butt. They're really bad this year. Even on my tiny commute, I've frequently had to take a puff of my inhaler. With any luck, we'll be abandoning these particular allergens soon.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

glad to see you guys riding! (less crashing is recommended hehe)
my foot is still the same..when I went to the doctor I took it not so seriously (and I felt he did too) so I was hoping for a quick recovery with a little rest, I was wrong...I'll be there next week again to try to get it fixed for real.

on commuting news..I got news yesterday that the office is moving about 1.3 miles farther from home.
Pros:

will have a private office with pretty much a private full bathroom (will be shared with the next-door office guy)
longer commute?
I may have to do a little dirt road

Cons:

longer commute? hehe
its located in a feeder for our largest highway
access trough paved roads will be complicated due to its location (and I wouldn't want to be riding on a feeder shoulder)
the route avoiding the feeders involves a dirt road section that is closed with a small pipe gate that blocks cars. On my little exploration with the truck I saw people walks around it for some reason as there was a little path made in the grass due to the constant use. will I need to get permission to pass?
Here what google maps is telling me to do...in the circle (left corner) you have the gate and the red line represents the path to go to the next paved road that will eventually takes me behind the office not touching the feeder ever:









on shot news I got my second shot about 3 weeks ago, pretty uneventful..sore arm and a little fever in the afternoon. As far as mask goes I don't take it off ever, even around my coworkers that are pretty much all vaccinated. I'm pretty nuts about it..Although last weekend I sat down in a restaurant for the first time in more than a year!! had to do it for my cheat day!

weight wise..20 pounds down now..getting farther from extreme obesity hehe just obese now...excited to keep going down.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

doctor appointment confirmed for monday am
this afternoon I went and checked the route in the opposite direction and I was able to pass over the blue line with the truck no problem, red google's recommendation is actually not doable....I'll ask the neighbors on both sides of the path what they think about asking permission...and to who if needed...I would like them (the neighbors) to know I would be doing that anyways...specially when riding at night....I think.

I later drove all the way to the office and was pretty nice until the final corner when a spoiled schnauzer got to bark at the truck and I think was even trying to bite the tires...fun times ahead hehehe


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the compliment Woodway, and good that you are now pretty safe against COVID.

Of course no commute today, but another Biking/Kayaking duathlon. And the round trip to the kayaking club is the same length as the commute.

For the weather, it is dry and nice, the sun is warm, but basically it is only 12-13C and quite some wind that makes it feel quite cold. Last year during the first lockdown in March, it was already better weather than we have now... but summer must come sometime!

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@s0ckeyeus - good luck with that 2nd shot. Allergies kick my butt every spring too - for me, my eyes will start to itch so badly I want to gouge them out!

@martinsillo - 1.5 miles further and you get to ride dirt? I'd say your new commute is an improvement! 👍👍

@cyclingdutchman - yeah, it's just nice to know to have the whole vaccination thing behind. Hope you can get yours soon.

One commute last week, got a nice 40 miles ride in over the weekend. Looks like I'll get two office commutes in this week. Ride safe everyone.


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## kyle_vk (Jul 25, 2011)

No major commutes for me as i've been working from my basement since March of '20, but i did build up this all-arounder over the last couple months and finally got to take it for its maiden voyage after going 10spd and jones bars. Did a full 2 1/2 miles (round trip) to the grocery store . Felt good to ride though!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good looking bike @kyle_vk! Can't quite tell which drivetrain you have installed there?

Two good commutes for me this week. Decent weather, nice riding. Will be working from home the rest of the week.


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## kyle_vk (Jul 25, 2011)

woodway said:


> Good looking bike @kyle_vk! Can't quite tell which drivetrain you have installed there?


Thanks @woodway! Its a parts bin X0 10spd setup with a 10-40 cassette on the back. It barely works with the 40t (made for 36t) but i wanted the extra range as this is a regular burly puller. I was sick of pulling/riding distances on my fat bike and my other option was a dirt jumper, so when this bike popped up for a steal I got it and through some spare parts on to make it work for me, so far i love it! Just needs to be powder coated. Yellow is my least favorite color but it was relatively new paint so its hard to justify the cost when it doesn't need it. For now it will stay taxi yellow which is really quite appropriate.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@kyle_vk - Nice! I love parts bin bikes. I hope it gives you years of service!

Well, I see no activity in here for a week, so I assume everyone is out riding or on faceholebook.

I had a little light rain on the commute to the office, but sunny and 65F/18C on the way home. Tomorrow looks to be 75F/24C, which is about perfect riding weather.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm back. I've been on a real vacation! I was back in the saddle on Monday & Tuesday. I'm taking today off because it is a cool rainy day. 75F sounds nice. We have come close a few times but haven't got that warm. Now I am used to 85 and sunny every day, Punta Cana weather.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've been driving this week. It's been really rainy. I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and have been experiencing achy joints today. My muscles are also a bit achy. I did an interval workout on the trainer last night, so I'm sure that's not helping me feel less achy but I imagine the vaccine is the primary culprit. If this is as bad as it gets though, I won't mind at all.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Could have been worse, could have been better. 52*F and a light rain. At least it wasn't raining harder, wasn't colder.

The nice thing about rainy days is that the MUP I ride is _mostly_ empty. Today encountered a larger jogging gaggle taking up the entire path and oblivious to all other users. They were _shocked_ when I used the shoulder to pass them.

Find it a bit self-centered when you take up the entire path and don't allow anyone else a chance to pass. If you're going to do this, you at the very least need to check behind you from time to time to let other users pass. If not, get used to people passing you on the shoulder. There is a center line for a reason. A young family with kids learning to ride (or walk!) is one thing, but just a group of joggers plodding along four-wide ain't cool. It's the same thing with group dog walkers blocking the entire trail. Not cool...and I have two dogs! I just wouldn't think my need to block the trail is more important than the free movement of other users.

It's kind of like driving in the left lane of a two lane road at 35 mph below the speed limit. Don't get annoyed if people pass you on the right. It's your actions that are forcing others to react.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Agree on all points. I'll usually pick a busy street over a busy MUP.

Where did that weekend go?

I did something that I don't usually do this morning. I pulled into a driveway to let a line of cars pass. I hate to "teach" drivers that this is what cyclists should do but the car immediately behind me was being *VERY* cautious. Given their level of caution there isn't a place to pass on the 3 mile winding road that would have met their criteria. He had built up a line of 20 cars behind him. Comments?

The rest of the week looks to be good commuting weather.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> He had built up a line of 20 cars behind him. Comments?


I have done much the same. In Indiana, 4 following cars are supposed to elicit a pullover to let them pass even if the driver is above the speed limit. Most roads do not have a shoulder or parking lot, or other safe place to do that. Someone will get antsy and pass where they should not, and the cyclist stands a good chance of getting hit.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow 4 cars is pretty few. I'm not aware of any laws like that here. I was being hyperbolic when I said 20, it was probably no more than 12.  More than the usual and it felt like a lot.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@bedwards1000 - I'd say you made a good call. Even if the cautious driver never passed, someone behind him/her could have made an impatient/bonehead move and wrecked everything. It's five cars here in WA state.

I really dislike the overly cautious drivers who refuse to pass when it's perfectly safe to do so, and the overly friendly drivers who wave you through when it's not your turn to go at an intersection. They both create potential conflict with other drivers (in different ways).

We have a really nice weather week coming up here as well. Looks like I will get 2, maybe 3 days of office commuting this week. I need the exercise, because my non-commuting riding motivation has been waning these last couple months. Maybe I am just burned out and need to take a break for a little while. Or, maybe I need a new bike.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I had a driver wave me past this morning. Such a friendly gesture. The only problem was she was going the wrong way in _my _lane. I have no idea why the driver decided to veer awkwardly toward the curb, but after I went around her she bumbled back into the right lane and kept driving. It was a strange way to start the morning, but at least I'm not dead.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I really dislike the overly cautious drivers who refuse to pass when it's perfectly safe to do so,


Do you urge them on in your head like I do. "Come on, you can do it..."


woodway said:


> Or, maybe I need a new *FAT* bike.




No bad encounters this morning except for my legs which wanted little to do with riding in.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good one of the FAT bike bedwards. I'm considering something else however. I'll probably talk myself out of it though.



bedwards1000 said:


> Do you urge them on in your head like I do. "Come on, you can do it..."


Yes, but there are typically some f-bombs in my thoughts..."Come on, f-bomb-ing get on with it!" 😁

Good thing your driver was only half-crazy s0ck.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Mountain Bike Commute!!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

hi all,

nice to read about all your stories. Unfortunately I still don't get to riding my bike more often lately. I did make a few short nice sunset rides last week and a nice 28k ride last Sunday with a friend. She is riding an e-bike because her knee is mashed up and it worked very well, I could ride in my own pace and she held up simply by adjusting the power on her bike. It worked well and we want to go on more rides, so that is settled.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> he had built up a line of 20 cars behind him. Comments?


not sure about the law here in TX actually, but yes, I've noticed that some people need the entire opposite lane to pass me or else they won't do it. Now, traffic on my route is not so bad to have ever jammed more than 2 cars for a little while.

rode to work today, super chill slow ride adding 15 min at a touring pace hehe....foot still not good but I figure after all this resting I don't think it will damage more than whatever it is I have, insurance rejected the MRI, requesting I do therapy first...so I take this ride as therapy.

got to test the Jamis with all the bags! hehe...I think I'm seen









this field was empty on my last ride back when I got injured...most of the large fields have corn now..one had onions.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Martinsillo that bike looks sweet and the bags make sure you are seen 

I finally had the opportunity to go for another ride last night, I made a nice 45min/13k sunsetride. 

By now homeoffice is getting really annoying, I am missing my commutes. C Shots are taking up pace here in Germany, cant wait to get mine.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

"Please don't run over my dog," says the little girl whose chihuahua is always on the loose and chases me at least a few days a week.

"Don't let him out on the street then," I yell back.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Irresponsible dog owners are the worst. I won't blame a little girl, but will blame her parents.

Rain commute last night and this morning. Temps had been hovering around 75F/24C last week, dropped down to 55F/13C this week with rain. Come on Summer! Otherwise, pretty nominal commutes.

Good luck getting your shots @cyclingdutchman


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> Irresponsible dog owners are the worst. I won't blame a little girl, but will blame her parents.


Whether it's by me or a car or school bus, that dog is probably going to get killed on the road. The blame will totally be with the adults. I've seen the mom out on the front deck a number of times, and she never seems to do anything but call after the dog. It's kind of frustrating. I've considered calling animal control, but they live in my neighborhood and doing so might cause more drama than it's worth.

In other commuting news, my geared bike is sounding terrible. It's making a creaking/popping noise when the wheel is spinning. I suspect something is up with the rear hub. I'll have to take it apart to see what's going on. In the meantime, it's not a good idea to ride it.

My singlespeed has been sidelined because it needed new brake pads, cables, housing, etc. I had the stuff in my garage, but I just never got around to it. I finally fixed the rear brake last night, so it was at least rideable. I'll knock out the front over the weekend, but that one isn't terrible like the rear was.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Howdy all! Sorry about the lack of commutes for you home office folks. I've been managing every day lately. I pulled the fenders off my commuter and change the brakes so I could put 38c gravel tires on it for something different.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

One sweet looking ride bedwards!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

S0keyeus you could stop and just friendly explain them that the dog's behaviour will get the dog and them into trouble sooner or later, and that they better go to a training to get it under control.

Bedwards, that is the Habanaro Ti bike? Looks really sweet (and oldschool with rim brakes). 

I made a real commute yesterday and it was lovely. Dry, sunny, nice temps, just gorgeous. I was the only one in the office, so I just parked in the office at the next desk instead of locking it outside. Finally a nice co-worker here


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No bike commutes for me this week. I was in a bad crash during a BMX race and re-injured my left knee and bruised my left hip pretty substantially. The guy next to me in a race slipped a pedal and must have knocked my bike because it went flying out from under me as I was pumping the 2nd jump. I held onto the handlebars and tried to run it out, but I didn't have enough room before hitting the back side of the jump. My helmet hit pretty hard. After a few moments of the world wobbling around me, I was helped off the track. In addition to the bodily injuries, I'm still recovering from the concussion.

It sucks. This was my second crash in 3 races, and I feel like my part in both was small, especially this last one where I had no control over what went down. I'm going to be out of the country for a few weeks in June. I'm going to stop racing until then.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@s0ckeyeus - well that sucks heal fast and well.

@cyclingdutchman - glad to hear you were able to make a real commute!

I commuted this morning (rain of course) and will commute again tomorrow. In June I think I will go 3 days per week. More people starting to appear in the office, and now if we are fully vaccinated we do not need to wear masks in the office. Slowly returning to something like normal.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards, that is the Habanaro Ti bike? Looks really sweet (and oldschool with rim brakes).


Yes it is. I bought it with rim brakes because I had a nice set of wheels for the build at the time. Most of the road/cross bikes in the family fleet still have rim brakes. It turns out that they still work just like they always have.

Wow s0ckeyeus that sounds like a bad one. It sounds like you are due for some healing time with no races.

No rain here. No rain in the forecast here. Everything is as dry as late summer. Luckily, because I don't have a rain bike for the summer now.

Commutes are good. I'm still doing every day. In COVID news our company is now mask free!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yes it is. I bought it with rim brakes because I had a nice set of wheels for the build at the time. Most of the road/cross bikes in the family fleet still have rim brakes. It turns out that they still work just like they always have.


Wait, what? I thought rim brakes were outlawed years ago? 😂

I got two good work commutes in this week. I was going to do a 3rd but thought better of it since it would have involved riding my bike to the dentist. I like my dentist/hygienist and thought better of subjecting them to a sweaty me in the chair.

We are mask free in our office, as long as you can show you are two weeks past your final vaccination shot. Everyone in our office is fully vaccinated, so we can all dispense with the masks. It feels so good!

Have a good holiday weekend for those in the US!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh boy, we have almost gone a full week without any activity! 

Or holiday weekend had crap weather (50F & Rain despite my last post that said no rain in the forecast) but we are in the 80s & 90s for the next week with some scattered T-storms (if you can trust it). 

Commutes are all good.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I was going to post yesterday, but then it would have been two in a row from me and I did not want everyone to think I was dominating the conversation 

We had HOT weather over memorial day, I got a couple good road rides in. Very nice commute to work today, including being one of the first riders on a brand new section of rail-trail that just opened this morning. It was nice.

Commuting again tomorrow, weather looks great.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've still been driving. It took over a week for my concussion symptoms to pass, and I could pedal a bike on the trainer for the first time yesterday. I'm probably not going to ride in at all this week. Starting next week, I'm supposed to be off work for 3 weeks. We are supposed to be flying out to Africa on Sunday, but we still don't have the necessary visa paperwork we need. That whole thing is stressful, in addition to the whole Covid element. Fun times.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Phew s0ck, sorry to hear about the long recovery and the COVID travel complications too. It sounds like a big trip to have hanging in the balance!

COVID seems to be slowly, sort of, fading away around here. Grocery store trips with only a few people here and there with masks.

I've been slowly getting back into the Strava KOM hunting game after winter hibernation. I've found a few new ones to claim. But older ones that I have lost, well, no. I'm slower this year than I have been in the past. I can't even beat my own times. It is good motivation.

In other bike news, we are mostly committed to doing this 3 day gravel brewery ride with friends this summer. They have planned it to have a minimum of bike packing with a hotel, RVBO and car camping at the end. So we don't need to carry any camping gear. 








Green Mountain Gravel Growler, Vermont


This extraordinary loop weaves a selection of storybook-farm dirt roads, singletrack, and woodland paths to connect of some of the world’s best craft beers.




bikepacking.com


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey @s0ckeyeus - hope your feeling better these days.

@bedwards1000 - that ride looks great! Be sure to post a "report"! No Strava KOM hunting for me...as strong of a ride that I am, there are too many riders around here that are way, way, way out of my league!

Good commute this morning, but COLD for this time of year with temps hovering right around 40F. But should be closer to 70F for the ride home.

Man, this forum is dying a slow death, it seems. Maybe it will come back as more people get to the office?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^It must be the lack of actual commuting that is killing the forum. I'm still here. Despite traveling to work every day I realized that I have only been in a car once/weekend for errands for a few weeks. 

My bike was clicking something terrible this morning. I think it is the bearings in the BB. Other than the click they seem fine but I can reproduce the click by grabbing the cranks and torquing them to each side. I already pulled the cranks off and re-torqued them. I guess 10,000 miles is all those bearings are good for. I think I already bought a backup set that is sitting in the shop waiting to be installed. 

Not COLD here, nope! We are running about 95F which is unusually hot for this time of year. Should be around 70F.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Looks like it's just you, me and S0ck then. Dutchman last posted 18 days ago.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

@s0ckeyeus hope you get better soon.
I'm still down..I went to the beach for a 4 mile walk on Sunday and my foot just doesn't want to work right...missed re-hab therapy yesterday.
33 pounds down so far just with a diet...I can only wonder how many would have been If I would have been riding as well


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Still reading. Not getting much riding in.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@martinsillo - Good to see you here and nice work on the diet. More riding will help a lot, hope you can get you foot issues worked out.

@BrianMc - Good to see you still around.

I got a couple good office commutes in. Pretty uneventful, had one driver get mad at me for rolling a stop sign, but it's completely legal to do that here and I did it safely. Oh well.

Hopefully as things open back up, we will get more traffic here.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> ......Dutchman last posted 18 days ago......


Hey guys don't worry I am still here and reading along. But just no commutes yet.... So I am not riding much lately. My ex-wife is working more and the kids are often here during the afternoon and early evening, so not much after-work rides either. I did go riding with my youngest son last weekend, we camped at the baltic sea and made 2 rides of about 20k each. I also rode a nice 50k loop with a co-worker on Sunday 2 weeks ago, and I am attending the bikedemo again on June 20. I think that is all for the last weeks...

The company is now offering Biontech/pfizer vax's but they have like 500 doses per week, for an industrial area with 13,000 that takes a while before it is my turn. I admit I do not feel 100% with taking a vax that was developed in 5 months instead of the usual 5 years, but I'll take it.

The company is expecting that we will start to return in the office in september, so I think I will be back to more regular commuting then. But we will still be allowed to work in the homeoffice two days a week and I think I will take it, I have gotten used to it. Incredible how much time commuting takes per day...and at least I LIKE my commutes by bike, can not imagine driving every day.

So keep going everyone, stay safe, and have a nice weekend!

CU, CD

PS below a pic of my (edited) youngest son and me at a memorial stone at the previous border between east and west Germany:








New item by zeeschepper







photos.app.goo.gl


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey so quiet here all of a sudden ^^

I did not commute but made 2 nice rides with my gf over the weekend. We ended up getting stuck on a steep sandy road (I planned the route) or in chest-high grass (she planned the route) ... Well we had tons of fun.

CU, CD









New item by zeeschepper







photos.app.goo.gl


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## yetilicious (Dec 27, 2011)

Hello all! 

Long time lurker first time poster here. How many here have had to change their route because of the sprawling homeless camps? Here in San Jose, CA I used to be able to hop onto a section of Guadalupe bike trail and take that for a couple of miles. But over the years the "unhoused" as we call them have spread like weeds along and onto the path with their junk. I ended up getting more flats in that section than anywhere else. 

I got fed up, broke out a map and traced a route down and around that area that drops me off close to where that section ends. No more flats or rising blood pressure from looking at the camps and my 12 mile commute is enjoyable again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Dutchman, I like the adventure ride pictures. I didn't realize you were still waiting on the vaccines. At this point they are begging people to take them over here. We are (mostly) all mask free and the rates in vaccinated areas are dropping like a rock. 

Welcome yetilicious. No homeless camps around me but I live way out of the city. The camps are all closer to downtown. I'm glad you found a good re-route.

Commutes are all good. I had a fun mixed surface commute last week where I managed a KOM on a fast road section (28.7 MPH) and then on a steep, knarly trail section, the same trail I posted a pic of a few weeks ago (8.4MPH). Cross bikes are cool. I've worn my tires down to a smooth center strip which rolls fast on the road but it still has knobs on the edges which adds grip on the trail.

In other news, Mrs bedwards and I were on a ride over the weekend and got into an altercation with a car. We were zipping down the road at almost 30MPH and the car rolls out across the white line before looking. I swerved to avoid and tagged my wife's front wheel and she went down. I looked over my shoulder and saw her go down and forgot to keep riding and I flipped into a ditch. The driver stopped, we got insurance info even though I don't think we will bother. My wife got a good deal of road rash but is otherwise fine. I seemed to escape virtually unscathed. I did pop a spoke on a high end carbon wheel but I think I can replace it. 

How's that for an update.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Gradually building up miles and time on the bike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards, we are getting a good quote of vax'd people by now and the rates are dropping fast now too.

BrianMC: Keep going!

The yearly bikedemo took place again today. It was so nice. I rode with 2 friends and my youngest son in the back seat. I also had an interesting conversation with an older man who played mouth harmonica during the breaks we had along the way.
Pics:








Sternfahrt_Hamburg_2021


75 new items added to shared album




photos.app.goo.gl




Video:




After the ride we even went into a restaurant with a nice terrace with harbour view. It was a long time ago I was in a restaurant and will probably not go too soon again (I can survive without) but it was also nice to see, that we are finally going back to something that we used to call "normal" .

Have a nice week everyone!

CU, CD


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Wow, lots of pics. Looks like a good ride. I'm glad things are starting to get back to normal. 

Happy first day of summer! 

Commutes are all good. I'm still managing every day.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It's nice to have pretty things to come home to, or feed on...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Still Here...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Damn, @bedwards1000 - crazy crash! After effects? Mrs. bedwards1000 OK? Been watching your rides on Strava. Regular and consistent. Good for you and ride on!

@BrianMc - Good to hear from you. Keep rolling.

@yetilicious - no homeless encampments on my commute, but for a while there was a short section of rail-trail that I rode and I would see a homeless dude camped out near the trail. Back in March, I was rolling a section of this trail that curves underneath a bridge (blind curve) at 5:30am, and the homeless guy is in his sleeping bag right on the center stripe of the trail! Yikes. Quick didge to miss him and he never moved. Weird.

@cyclingdutchman - nice pics and video. When I saw the pics, my first thought was "the helmet police are going to be out in force!". Then I remembered this ride did not take place in Seattle, where people will chastise you for not wearing a helmet. As if you'll die on a nice short, slow bike cruise.

I've been getting 3-4 rides in / week. Usually two office commutes and two rides on my own. This weekend and early next week the Pacific Northwest is expecting an extreme heat event...temps could be as high as 110F/43C. Temps here rarely go beyond 90F/32C, so this is a big increase. And it's supposed to be with us for a week. So, any riding I do, I need to do very early in the morning.

Have a good weekend everyone.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Damn, @bedwards1000 - crazy crash! After effects? Mrs. bedwards1000 OK? Been watching your rides on Strava. Regular and consistent. Good for you and ride on!
> .
> .
> .
> ...


There haven't been any long term effects from the crash. Her road rash is mostly healed up. I found the spoke I needed, bought the special inside-out spoke wrench I needed and replaced it. It's all good and I'm on that bike today.

I saw that news about the heatwave and meant to comment on it here. Those are desert level numbers. I don't mind some heat but I don't think I've tested much above 100F. It's not too bad until you stop at a light and burst into sweat.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Oh cr4p Bedwards I totally forgot to ask after you posted about both of you crashing 🥵 Glad to hear that both of you are ok. Are you going to contact his insurance or are you letting it rest?
Concerning sweating - it is even worse when you get home and just can't stop sweating...I am glad we do not have so many of those days overhere.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

first fully-normal commute in over a year today. our locker rooms and showers are open again, towel service and all. did a drop bar conversion, different tires, and different drivetrain since then. i've sure missed that 30 minutes every morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

In the process of joining a Cardiac Athletes group because I want better recommendations on mild exercise induced angina and being out of breath after short steep climbs. So far, from what I have read as part of the on-boarding of new members, I have done well in handling these issues. My GP and cardiologist are a bit clueless about this. I have to push the boundaries but not too hard.


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## yetilicious (Dec 27, 2011)

Yestday afternoon I was almost hit head on by an "unhoused" woman hauling ass down the bike trail in her car. She swirved around and I braked hard. She could've put my into the concrete rail. She didn't even look back as I cussed and hurled insults. That's the second time in this area too. I already had to change my route to avoid a settlement, now I'll need to reroute way out of my way to get around this mess.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey bbender, good to see you back here. You have been one of the COVID commuting casualties. 

BrianMc, it will be good to get some advice from people that have that condition. Hopefully you can piece together the collective knowledge from all of their cardiologists.

woodway, hows the temperature? We did a 60 mile part gravel ride yesterday and the temps were in the 90s. That was really warm enough for me. Today is forecast to be the same. 

My commute in was slow! But I found a Buck model 119 hunting knife on the side of the road.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BBender: did you say "towel service" ??

Nice to hear from all of you! It sounds like we will be ordered back into the office sooner than expected, they are now talking end of july already..we'll see.

I made a duathlon today: riding10k-swimming in the river-riding home, and yesterday I made a nice sightseeing tour with the gf around town, 36k in total.

And: NBD for #1 today! I found a giant espoire tcx 26" cx bike with a 2nd pair of wheels in good condition for half the price of a new one. My son is totally happy! Some quotes:
Its so fast!
Looks sooo cool!!
It accelerates like mad!!
When I stop pedalling it just keeps going!!
Etc etc.

I liked the drive too. First time ever the autobahn was empty enough to floor it the whole time. Turns out my toyota doesnt even hit 200kph... So I couldnt race it, on the flat 192kph was the max. and it costed me half a tank of gas, that usually brings me the double distance, but I wanted to be back before the boy goes to sleep...

Pics:


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I finally got La Pugsdozer up and running...took a 4 mile beach ride with it yesterday...still fun!
foot still pretty much the same, I decided that since is not getting worst or better I'll start commuting again and see what happens...now, the forecast for this week shows a lot of rain..let's see how it goes.

good to see you guys riding
^that looks like a great find for your son CD!!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@bbender785 - Good to see you back, like what you did to the bike. Looks like you went to 1x, how you liking it?

@bedwards1000 - Hit 106F/41C yesterday. The forecast for today is 110F/43C. Brutal. Our normal high for today would be around 78F/25C. I've gotten out early in the AM for rides, then just hunker down inside. I saw the photo of the knife. Looks sharp 

@cyclingdutchman - That photo of your son with the new bike is priceless. I did 220kph on the autobahn once. Scared the hell out of me...

@martinsillo - I like you thinking. Commuting makes things better!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dutchman, your son is going to love it! I see lots of long rides in your future. Nice work. I've gone that fast a few times but not lately. It was sure fun in the RX-8. But cars that aren't made for that speed really shouldn't be going that speed. Tires tend to start flying apart and things.

We hit 95F yesterday and today is supposed to be the same or hotter. I find it tolerable with plenty of water until you stop at a light.

I pulled the old steed out of the garage for the first time this year. I don't know why I haven't yet. That bike is still a pleasure to ride. I did find one casualty of age though. The 35 year old Rhode Gear Flickstand is cracked and falling apart. The saddle bag of the same brand and vintage isn't doing much better.

















Yesterday's Knife Find​


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks for the credits every1. We went for another 1hr ride, after he went home I made another 1h30m ride on the CX bike. 
For the rest, it is true that cars are not made to go that fast. Mine felt like it was "swimming" a bit and I knew that an emergency brake or swirve would not have done much good. Well, it wont happen again too soon I guess.

BBender: I ask again: TOWEL SERVICE??!! 

Bedwards: pretty impressive knife! When I saw only the top while scrolling down, I thought it was a seatpost... And how are you both recovering from the crash?

BrianMC: Impressive how you stick to keep on cycling. Keep going, but please dont push it!


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## kyle_vk (Jul 25, 2011)

bbender785 said:


> first fully-normal commute in over a year today. our locker rooms and showers are open again, towel service and all. did a drop bar conversion, different tires, and different drivetrain since then. i've sure missed that 30 minutes every morning.
> 
> View attachment 1936780


Steelcase? Nice setup!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

uneventful first ride today squished between the rain...the usual dog chasing (getting tiresome btw, thinking on trying a parallel street and see how it goes)..cicadas are out..ohh and a once fenceless house on my usual turn put on a fence and almost made me to go straight...that's it


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

woodway said:


> @bbender785 - Good to see you back, like what you did to the bike. Looks like you went to 1x, how you liking it?


i built this one up 1x9 from the start. never more than a couple hundred feet total climbing for any given ride on this rig, so it's been fine. i run oval chainrings on all of my offroad bikes, might do the same on the commuter, but will at least go to a 40t from the current 38 since i now have a 40t granny gear out back with the 10 speed upgrade.



cyclingdutchman said:


> BBender: I ask again: TOWEL SERVICE??!!


just their fancy way of saying they supply clean towels and a hamper to put them in when you're done. Not the heated towel handed to you by a butler as you step out of the shower that you were probably imagining..


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

bbender785 said:


> just their fancy way of saying they supply clean towels and a hamper to put them in when you're done. Not the heated towel handed to you by a butler as you step out of the shower that you were probably imagining..


But still, My towel at work could really stand a wash but remembering to bring the fresh one in seems to be a problem, LOL.

I meant to take the trails this morning but ended up actually sleeping a little late which is pretty rare and welcome for me. The road it is. It's Friday for me. I'm taking a long, long weekend. Happy 4th everybody.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> But still, My towel at work could really stand a wash but remembering to bring the fresh one in seems to be a problem, LOL.


I have the same issue. My building used to provide a locker room with showers and fresh towels, but COVID killed that off. Now it's a sponge bath for me, and like bedwards, infrequent towel changes. Long weekend for me too, happy 4th for you US folks.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I was in West Africa for 3 weeks. Today is my 2nd day back at work (I worked a total of 5 days in June). I was unable to ride the bike in yesterday due to an all-day offsite meeting. Today is rainy. I'm off again tomorrow but will hopefully get some commutes in next week. Between all the traveling and the injuries I was facing before, I haven't been on a bike much. I went for a trail ride on Tuesday, and it sucked.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Happy Canada Day to Canadian members, and Happy Independence Day Sunday to American members here. 

Making gains. Climbed grades with a heart rate 10 to15 beats lower and less out of breath. Part from being more patient with warm-up, part from deploying my energy more moderately, and part improved fitness.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Youngest son turned two yesterday, wife has her birthday on Sunday...pretty easy to plan a party (as an American)  Euro Cup is on, long weekend, fireworks...

Rained all morning, but commute was mostly dry. Looks to have blown over as well, so ride home should be fine. We needed the rain though, so it was welcomed. I don't mind riding in the rain either, the trail is almost totally empty!!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

First day back commuting by bike. I finally got around to taking the back wheel apart on my geared commuter. It had been making a bunch of noise that was super annoying. It turns out one of the pawls on the freehub had somehow flipped around backwards and the spring was sticking out. Fortunately, this was an easy fix. Bike was pretty quiet this morning.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> First day back commuting by bike. I finally got around to taking the back wheel apart on my geared commuter. It had been making a bunch of noise that was super annoying. It turns out one of the pawls on the freehub had somehow flipped around backwards and the spring was sticking out. Fortunately, this was an easy fix. Bike was pretty quiet this morning.


I'd guess it was making an a-pawl-ing noise, then!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi everyone, keep posting, I am still reading along. I was away for the weekend and made 2 nice bikerides of 40k each along the baltic sea. That is worth about 4 days of commuting  The GF and me ended up having scratches on our arms because we rode some very narrow roads with some twigs hanging over it, some of the twigs turned out to have some thorns on them, She didnt care though 

Stay safe everyone!

CU, CD


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

last week did just the one ride...I used my long weekend to fix the flower beds at home and I still needed the truck yesterday and today...we'll have rain again all week but I'll try to clock at least one ride this week 🤞.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> It turns out one of the pawls on the freehub had somehow flipped around backwards and the spring was sticking out.


How the heck does that happen? I actually replaced the freehub and both wheel bearings on my cross bike over the weekend. The bearings in the freehub were shot with no obvious way to replace them. The body was pretty chewed up too. The wheel bearings felt smooth but the wheel had some play. This was my first attempt at replacing sealed bearings and even with drifts and a press they did not want to go in straight. I ended up tapping them in with a punch a little at a time. But all's well that ends well. The bike rode fine today. The bearings made it about 10K miles.

I wish I could say the same for my knee. After 4 days off the bike it had a sharp pain for the whole ride even though it is fine off the bike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I was in West Africa for 3 weeks.......


I am working in a big company with offices worldwide but I never had the chance to go to West Africa .... how was it? Did you ride a bike there??

I went for a short after work ride yesterday evening and ended up riding 1 hr/20k, sheltering for a shower and swirving between trucks and excavators (operators went home already) on the highway construction site - nice unexpected little adventure


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I am working in a big company with offices worldwide but I never had the chance to go to West Africa .... how was it? Did you ride a bike there??


A little rocky start (initially got denied entry due to our visa paperwork and sent back to Paris, then had to fly back the next day), but the trip was good after that. I spent a decent amount of my childhood in Africa and visited in 2007, so it was nice to get back again to see how things have changed.

I did not have the opportunity to ride a bike there. It's too bad because we were in the mountains, and while there weren't any mountain bike trails, I could have found a lot of fun places to ride.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I did not have the opportunity to ride a bike there. It's too bad because we were in the mountains, and while there weren't any mountain bike trails, I could have found a lot of fun places to ride.


Too bad - some of my most memorable bikes rides happened on visits to other countries. Maybe next time?



bedwards1000 said:


> How the heck does that happen? I actually replaced the freehub and both wheel bearings on my cross bike over the weekend. The bearings in the freehub were shot with no obvious way to replace them. The body was pretty chewed up too. The wheel bearings felt smooth but the wheel had some play. This was my first attempt at replacing sealed bearings and even with drifts and a press they did not want to go in straight. I ended up tapping them in with a punch a little at a time. But all's well that ends well. The bike rode fine today. The bearings made it about 10K miles.


A number of years ago I had a set of wheels built on Mavic OpenPro Rims and DT Swiss Hubs. I put over 50,000 miles on those wheels and only got new ones because I started to worry about rim failure due to fatigue. From this experience I became a huge fan of DT Swiss Hubs. So simple in operation and so easy to service.

Had to drop my car at the glass place today to have the windshield replaced. Rode my bike the the office, and then walked back this afternoon to fetch the car. Will get a both-ways office commute tomorrow.

How is the knee feeling @bedwards1000 ?


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> Too bad - some of my most memorable bikes rides happened on visits to other countries. Maybe next time?


If there is a next time, that'd be awesome.

I've been dodging thunderstorms all week. Haven't gotten hit yet...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> A number of years ago I had a set of wheels built on Mavic OpenPro Rims and DT Swiss Hubs. I put over 50,000 miles on those wheels and only got new ones because I started to worry about rim failure due to fatigue. From this experience I became a huge fan of DT Swiss Hubs. So simple in operation and so easy to service.
> 
> Had to drop my car at the glass place today to have the windshield replaced. Rode my bike the the office, and then walked back this afternoon to fetch the car. Will get a both-ways office commute tomorrow.
> 
> How is the knee feeling @bedwards1000 ?


How did you know that they were DT Swiss hubs? 

The knee pain faded away over a few days. I'm trying not to stress it too much. Our big trip with 200+ miles and 23,000 of climbing is coming up in less than 2 weeks.

My commutes have been good. I skipped last Friday when Elsa blew through and managed to avoid the rain today.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Left my office at 15:00 on Friday to pedal home. Not supposed to rain until 16:00. Was about five minutes from home...and the skies open up. Not a big deal, just a pain to dry everything out, wash my bike, etc. And it makes it worse when you are so close to your dry front porch...and get blasted.

Oh well, I'd still rather be on a bike than driving a car in that rain. Blows my mind how many people either don't know, or ignore, that it is state law to put on your headlights when you have your wipers on. AND common sense. And I can't believe how many people drive normally, which is to say recklessly, even when roads are flooded, trees are coming down, etc.

I wish we'd have higher barriers to driving cars here in the U.S.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Fit a ride in between downpours yesterday. Had issues with 2 tubes on the Duchess so rode the winter bike. Decided it was about to pour again so hooked up to the bit of MUP that was built last year. Took a photo of the old Schwinn on the MUP with threatening clouds:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, that is a big bike! Are you 6'4?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I was 6' 0" but have compressed discs so am now 5' 10.5" Still have the same leg inseam though. I can stand over it without pinching anything. It was free. So I had to put on a low reach stem and set the seat pretty low. It is now my winter bike. It was my errand bike but I have a Peugeot Mixte ($50) now a 1 x 9 that I finally got a key missing part for that will ease the leg over issue of paniers of fresh produce.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm 6'0" (at least I started that way) with a 34" inseam and ride anywhere between a 57-61cm. 61 is definitely pushing too big for me. And that bike makes all of mine look small. 

Good rides. As much as it might be rubbing it in for all you guys out west, it has been kind of cool here.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

no ride last week...
rode in today...went all the way thru the parallel street and it was ok...couple of barking dogs behind some fences, which, you know it, I'll eventually find them outside 🤦‍♂️
doctor called yesterday...insurance finally approved my MRI...next Wednesday.
40 pounds down.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, you have been dealing with this foot thing a long time. Good luck with the MRI and whatever treatment that brings.


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## digitalayon (Jul 31, 2007)

Commute sucked.....glue on the tubular didn't take. Tire started coming off. I think I am too big.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The Duchess is 60 cm, the Schwinn World Tour is 63 cm, the biggest they made. I can stand in my shoes and am not binding anything, but I had to shrink the cockpit a lot.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

digitalayon said:


> Commute sucked.....glue on the tubular didn't take. Tire started coming off. I think I am too big.


Haven't ridden tubulars in years. But yes coming unglued sucks.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks @bedwards1000 🤞
rode in helmetless today 🤦‍♂️
last night it was pouring and the boss insisted on taking me home, bike included, forgot the helmet.
I'm pretty sure I could have waited a little bit and ride home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My commute yesterday was aborted...The bike was shifting so crappy, I had to turn around and go home to check it out. It had been getting progressively worse for a few weeks and it finally got unbearable.

I wonder if this was the cause? 😆










I cut the cable to remove it - it was frayed where it came out of the housing and wrapped around the shift ramp on the rear derailleur. There was a single strand left holding it together. Amazing it shifted at all...

Drove to the office (yuck) and walked to the local bike shop to pick up a new shift cable. All well on the ride this morning.

@bedwards1000 - I got excited when I saw your "Portland" ride, thought you might be out West, until I remember there is "another" Portland. Looked like a good ride.
@BrianMc - That's a sweet looking bike

I come unglued about once a day and it does suck


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode an old route yesterday morning. Sign shows the age of the "new" interchange and the low traffic road north of the Interstate (good riding).


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

This afternoon, I went a bit farther and took this pic:










I assume the I 74 signage is in for a repaint, but either they indicate the way to Toronto (TO = Toronto Ontario) or the way to nowhere or everywhere?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rode home yesterday and immediately knew I was going to take a break for my foot
pulled the trigger on an all road cromo state bike for the wife last night...its backordered for early august, but she is exited...went the 650b option and ordered a pair wtb byways 47s for the road


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Yesterday afternoon, I rode outbound mostly slightly downhill and mostly into a 15 mph wind, holding about 13 mph at 120-125 pulse. After turning, I was doing mostly slightly up hill with a slight wind in my face at 25 mph with the wind behind me. Had to slow as I was approaching 140 pulse and I am not quite ready to explore that. At 18 mph I had little detectable wind in my face. Two medications drop my heart rate, so I am not sure where my actual MHR lies. Four years ago it was 177, and 20 more than 220 - age. So I think with quiet diligence I will drop my Resting Heart rate lower (about 48 now) and ditch one or both meds in time.

According to this video I am just lucky to have the cholesterol issues I have from genetics and likely not cycling enough was contributing. Anyway this morning on the first mild climb the legs complained and I had to go back years to a 500 mile charity ride to remember the last time that happened so I just warmed up and cooled down and made sue the new Garmin sensors were working as advertised. A large dark storm cloud and the promise of potentially severe thunderstorms sealed the deal.

(56) Essential Information For Cyclists | How Safe Is Your Heart? - YouTube


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey everyone, 

nice stories and pictures here. 

Still no commutes for me but I made some nice evening rides and I spent 2 days at my GFs place and rode the 45k stretch to her Wednesday afternoon and back yesterday morning. It was quite an adventure diagonally through town Wednesday afternoon in the evening traffic and after that I found myself doing 10k on a rooty muddy hiking trail that was hardly rideable on the touring bike with 2 loaded panniers. The ride home was much better, better roads and less traffic.

I have 2 weeks of vacation now, no clue if I can ride or not, I have to take care of the kids and we might go on a short camping trip if the Corona restrictions allow it - Currently the country is moving into the 4th wave, that we call the "Deltalirium".

Keep riding and posting and take care!

CU, CD


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm back on the singlespeed. My knee is mostly healed up, but my hip is still feeling bruisy in one spot. It's been over a two months since my BMX crash. It's crazy how long everything is taking to heal. My mind isn't 100% either, but it's getting there.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^mine wasn't a crash but fell you on not riding at 100%
first ride in this week today
had my MRI yesterday, evaluation/diagnosis in a week...let's see.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Swerve into bike lane ends tragically:

Jets assistant coach Greg Knapp, 58, dead following tragic bicycling accident | Fox News


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

BrianMc said:


> Swerve into bike lane ends tragically:
> 
> Jets assistant coach Greg Knapp, 58, dead following tragic bicycling accident | Fox News


That's terrible. Accidents like that could happen to any of us, no matter how safe we try to be.

My new commute has one major danger spot. Our road out is at the bottom of a hill with a light at the top of it to the right. The problem is that the view to the left is partially blocked by bushes then the hill is blocked by trees. It's hard to see if any cars are coming, and drivers are frequently going too fast. The other part of this equation, is that the left turn lane going the way I need to head out backs up. So I'm either darting out into the street using my best judgment or having to deal with a line of cars.

There is an alternate route through the back of an industrial facility if I can turn left instead of right towards the light. The issue here is that I have to thread through the line of stopped cars and avoid getting hit by people coming down the street in the other lane (visibility is often limited here too). Yesterday, I ended up turning towards the light but turning right instead of left. The issue here is that I still have to get over to make a left turn eventually on a busy street and again on another busy-ish street to eventually wind back through a park and towards my house. I'm not really sure which is the best way to go at this point.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@s0ckeyeus - I'd wait in the line of cars.
@BrianMc - Tough article to read. That could be any one of us getting smashed by an un-attentive driver. I still think that bike commuting is very safe if done properly, but still...

Got two office commutes in this week. The weather is fine and the rides were great. @s0ckeyeus, good to hear that you are recovering.

@cyclingdutchman - enjoy your two weeks off!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> @s0ckeyeus - I'd wait in the line of cars.


Totally. That's what I do when I can (still sketchy getting over there), but the line of cars often stretches far beyond our road, and it's a challenge to get in there. The light is too short, so once the light turns green, the (ever-growing) line of cars is still backed up and people don't seem inclined to let anyone in.

I hit this same spot on my previous commute and just waited it out in the line, but it was a lot easier to get into the line since I'd already been on the road for about a half mile or so.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

"Oh, that's what they've been talking about!

Exercise with heart disease is sometimes accompanied by difficult to implement instructions. Such as: 

"Aim to warm up for 15 minutes starting out and you can slowly decrease that to 10 minutes once you are fit. Try to stay under 100 heart rate."

When you go from a resting rate of 60 or a bit less to 92 standing over the bike after filling tires, mounting the mirror, donning the helmet, turning on lights, and the Garmin without a single crank of the pedals, you know that 100 pulse is going to be elusive. I was hitting 96 coming out my drive and the last half of that is downhill! My the time I coasted down to the stop and rolled back up the hill to my right, I was over 100 (often over 105) and trying to ride and coast the neighborhood mildly rolling topography was hard if trying to keep the heart rate down. 

Supposed to start with 20 to 30 minutes. But that's the warmup and the cool down!? Yep. Add 5-10 % in time or distance whichever is less each week. 3-5 times a week.

I used to warm up at under 120 and my max was 177. So this was a new mindset completely. Keeping regular pulse rate in the low 120's was a challenge. 

Late this morning I rolled out the drive at 75 pulse. Was able to ride faster in warm up to hit 100. Hills that took me to 136 and out of wind requiring a stop to recover were defeated at 120-125 and I could roll the downhill after to recover. So it is working, just slow and with modest gains, but they add up. 

Hoping to drop a couple of meds as my resting heart rate continues to drop towards 40.

The Cycling over 60 and the Cardiac Athlete FB groups were good resources, as I did not trust my doctors to know much about how to strengthen the heart with exercise. They were closer than I thought, but with no examples as guides.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Swerve into bike lane ends tragically:
> 
> Jets assistant coach Greg Knapp, 58, dead following tragic bicycling accident | Fox News


awful indeed

no rides yet this week.
doctor appointment tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Totally. That's what I do when I can (still sketchy getting over there), but the line of cars often stretches far beyond our road, and it's a challenge to get in there. The light is too short, so once the light turns green, the (ever-growing) line of cars is still backed up and people don't seem inclined to let anyone in.
> 
> I hit this same spot on my previous commute and just waited it out in the line, but it was a lot easier to get into the line since I'd already been on the road for about a half mile or so.


Exactly. I'm always up for getting in a line of cars. But sometimes that isn't possible. I have a left turn at a light where the traffic is going 35-40. If there is a steady stream there just isn't a way to get into the line. Same idea if there are 2-3 lanes in the same direction that are all full.

The GMGG is complete. It was a great time. The route was amazing. The Lincoln gap was brutal. It has the distinction of being the steepest paved mile in America with grades up to 24%. I had to walk a bit of it at the top which is a first for me. I wasn't wearing a (real) heartrate monitor but I was definitely above my max. I probably could have held on if I wasn't hauling some extra clothes and tools for the 3 day trip. I'll pull together a blog post sometime soon.

The weather here has been nice for commuting even if it has a little wildfire smoke from the west.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Exactly. I'm always up for getting in a line of cars. But sometimes that isn't possible. I have a left turn at a light where the traffic is going 35-40. If there is a steady stream there just isn't a way to get into the line. Same idea if there are 2-3 lanes in the same direction that are all full.


This section wasn't an issue when Covid restrictions were in full effect. We moved here in March, and it wasn't until recently that it's started being bad. It's a tricky spot. Even in the mornings, I have to be careful not to pull over into the center turning lane too early because a lot of cars oncoming cars pull into the same lane early to turn at the light.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rode in today...dog left outside chasing..the never-ending story.
doctor said they found nothing on the MRI but an old ligament scar...they send me home with no more follow ups...it will heal by itself he said, be patient he said...so I guess my commutes will be random depending how I feel


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Two office commutes this week and a few other rides. Taking a couple of days off work to wrap the weekend and try to get some outdoor adventures in.

@bedwards1000, we have fires north, south and east of us leaving the air over us remarkably clear.

@s0ckeyeus - that's a tough one. My old commute had a turn like that -- busy road to get across in order to get into a line of cars. I hated it. Good luck navigating and stay safe.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Today was a quiet one. Yesterday I saw a three car, double-rear end accident right at the MUP crossing. A woman on a recumbent was pacing around, looking upset. I think the lead driver likely saw the recumbent late, stopped late...and the two guys following her were following too closely. Both were work trucks, probably trying to get to their first job of the day. Neither looked happy, both pacing and on their phones. "Hey boss. I can't make it to that first site..."

Yikes, not a good way to begin your work day!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Got a ride in. I am slowly increasing the heart rate and speed in warm up. Had a decent varying wind on the homeward leg of the ride and for a time was rolling at 87 cadence in top gear. Hit 29.6 on a short downhill. Slowly getting stronger. Tomorrow I get some surgery that leads to radiation therapy for the prostate. Hope to be back on hte bike in 4 days but the urologist has the last say.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Off the bike for a month, doctor's orders.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Off the bike for a month, doctor's orders.


wish you a faster recovery Brian!


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

back on the bike since forever--previous health issues, then my last commuter was stolen early in the pandemic, back when we didn't know wth was going on. Then work from home...and a sedentary lifestyle caught up with me and I need to get active again! Now that we are slowly opening up I picked up a used Spec Cross Trail Pro disc that was already set with SPD pedals and a pannier rack, got a couple Ortlieb bags, and have been riding in to work a couple of days a week. The Cross Trail is a huge step up from my former commuter, a Kona Lana'i, I really love the 700c wheels a ton. I needed to clean the rear rotor which greatly improved the rear brake from when I got it, but its a little soft in the lever so its probably due a bleed.

Today though, on the ride home I had my first ever commuting flat. Fortunately I had a spare tube but next time I'm packing some rubber gloves because of course it was the rear tire. Fun times. Fortunately I ride prepared and was back on the cycle path after a few minutes of fuss. Then a lady decided to turn left across the isolated bike lane forcing a hard brake to avoid a collision and didn't even look back when I yelled at her.


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## Bilirubin (Mar 6, 2010)

BrianMc said:


> Off the bike for a month, doctor's orders.


Here's wishing you the best. Docs are keeping an eye on mine as well, and have already floated the idea of biopsy


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^welcome @Bilirubin 
I'm managing to commute what it seems only on Thursdays....here hoping for life letting me ride tomorrow hehe...but ey...no dogs today!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@BrianMc - Man that is a bummer! Really sorry to hear after all the work and progress you made.

@martinsillo - Thursday is better than no day!

@Bilirubin - welcome back to commuting! Bummer about the flat, but that is part of the game.

I got a couple of commutes in this past week, and a couple of personal rides. All the public lands near my house in central washington are closed due to fire danger, so mountain biking is out. But I am still getting some good road rides in!

Be safe everyone.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woodway said:


> @martinsillo - Thursday is better than no day!


yep..another week hehe....I'll try a monday or tuesday next week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

After 26855 posts this forum is fading away! Or maybe it is just a dry spell.

I'm still here, I'm still commuting nearly every day.

In non-commuting news, I finished up a blog post about our 3 day Green Mountain Gravel Growler. 








GMGG is Fine with Me


A blog about all things biking. Road, Mountain, MTB, Winter, Commuting, Cyclocross, Fatbike, triathlon, ...I've tried them all.




thecandidcyclist.blogspot.com


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ I'm still here too!

Nice Blog post @bedwards1000. Liked the pics, gave a good feel for that route. I'll take some of that Vermont gravel. Looks damn nice compared to Washington gravel 

I'll get two commutes in this week, and then some local rides. Getting my wife back onto her bike as we are going to a 3 days biking trip on the Allegany trail with my oldest brother in early September.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> In non-commuting news, I finished up a blog post about our 3 day Green Mountain Gravel Growler.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice ride!

in new bike news:
1. the wife's all road shows expected delivery this friday! here hoping for a lot more riding!
2. I decided to build my 2011 Pacer!! reliable and semi-light that's the intent









for the DT swiss guys...I'm planning on this for the wheels: DT350s laced to DT 460 rims (28 back, 24 front)
*Question: is there an actual benefit on straight pull vs classic J spokes?..I don't remember this was an option 10 years ago!*

In commuting news...first non-Thursday ride today!..going for more this week! ?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> for the DT swiss guys...I'm planning on this for the wheels: DT350s laced to DT 460 rims (28 back, 24 front)
> *Question: is there an actual benefit on straight pull vs classic J spokes?..I don't remember this was an option 10 years ago!*


I don't know if I am a DT Swiss guy but I do own a few bikes with DT swiss hubs. I don't think it matters. Straight pull supposedly reduce one stress point at the bend but I have had straight pull spokes break. In one case I was just "riding along" on a pretty smooth road, PING, broken spoke. Those DT swiss wheels have about 10K miles on them now and that is the only spoke that ever broke in the 5000 mile range. Whatever you do, buy a few extra spokes because they can be hard to find down the road as wheel sizes keep changing.

My commute was good.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> ...but I do own a few bikes with DT swiss hubs....


I think that does it....hehe...Thanks for the info!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I own two bikes with DT Swiss hubs, and I am a fan. As far as spokes go, what bedwards said. My last set of wheels were Mavic open pro rims laced with DT-Swiss classic J Spokes and DT-Swiss 240 hubs. I rode those wheels over 50,000 miles and only ever had one broken spoke, in the rear. My current wheels are full DT-Swiss (350 hub, spokes, rim) with straight pull spokes. I have something like ~11K miles on them and no broken spokes so far.

My current wheels are blade spokes and I will never do them again. They make a continual ticking noise where the spokes intersect. I sent the wheels back to DT Swiss and they re-tensioned them tighter, which helped, but the spokes are still noisy. I've learned to ignore it.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

thanks for the input @woodway 
I'll probably just stick to their double butted competition spokes

no commute tomorrow...the city just cut the office water... they found a leak near the meter, and it won't be fixed until mid morning tomorrow.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Well I finally have to admit it. My ass does not agree with the Brooks B17. Too wide for my sitbones and the comfy hamocky part doesn't cover enough of the saddle area.

I'm enjoying the simplicity of single speed. 38x16 is a grind on some of the hills but I enjoy the challenge and I enjoy smelling when I get to work because I work with a bunch of fudging B Holes.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Buster Bluth is back in the house! 

I've been pre-occupoed on my commutes looking for wild mushrooms. It is a little more of an obsession than a hobby right now. Buy my wife and I collected about 1 lb of black trumpets on the way to work. It's not going to feed us through the winter but they are fantastic sauteed with steak.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Man. It's hot here. Upper 90s for highs and high humidity. Super soupy. I drove in Monday due to having to be at my son's school for a little bit, but I should be on the bike the rest of the week. The mornings aren't too bad, but I'm a sweat bucket on the way home, despite the short commute.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

1.5 commutes in the book. It was 90F/32C on the ride home last night, it actually was not too bad (unlike you s0ck, humidity is pretty low here). Expecting 95F/35C on the way home tonight. That's pretty much at the edge of where I will ride.

Welcome back Buster Bluth!

We have not seen @cyclingdutchman or @mtbxplorer for a while...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well, quite an event on the ride today...this poor guy followed me for at least 3-4 miles to work today








he is not leaving...let's see what happens.

I order a Soma Dream Riser for the jamis last night, wanted to try a more relaxed position for a while....also the wife hinted she might want a flat bar on her bike.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

he left


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> well, quite an event on the ride today...this poor guy follow me for at least 3-4 miles to work today
> View attachment 1943289
> 
> he is not leaving...let's see what happens.
> ...


I have the Soma Dream Riser on my commuter and I like it. Pretty wide (I might trim it a bit) and the sweep angle is comfortable. Not great for getting aero though obviously. I might put bar tape on it for some alternative hand positions near the middle just for shiz and gigz.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Buster Bluth said:


> I have the Soma Dream Riser on my commuter and I like it. Pretty wide (I might trim it a bit) and the sweep angle is comfortable. Not great for getting aero though obviously. I might put bar tape on it for some alternative hand positions near the middle just for shiz and gigz.


yeap thats the plan..current stock HB is about 700mm so I'll be checking on the need to cut it as I see fit...not worrying too much about being aero on my 8 mile commute hehe...good tip on the bar tape..yes...more orange!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> .......We have not seen @cyclingdutchman or @mtbxplorer for a while...


Well I have hardly been on the bike. On the 2nd day of my vacation, now 4 weeks ago, I overstrained my neck and I had serious issues with it for 3 weeks. Riding a bike was not possible :-/ I am now back at work but I do not have much time lately to ride. The next time is looking better though - I rode 1hr yesterday afternoon after work and I am going on the usual bike-kayak duathlon after noon today. For next week I hope to have some more time to ride as well, but we'll see.

Anyway, thanks for missing me. And yes I wonder where MTBXplorer is, too. Does no one have any other infos like from FB, IG, etc ?

CU, CD


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Buster Bluth said:


> I have the Soma Dream Riser on my commuter and I like it. Pretty wide (I might trim it a bit) and the sweep angle is comfortable. Not great for getting aero though obviously. I might put bar tape on it for some alternative hand positions near the middle just for shiz and gigz.


googling for reviews I found this guy




I'm copying the innerbarends setup!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> googling for reviews I found this guy
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Interesting. Noted. Thanks!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

SQLab is a German Brand I believe. 
(edit: yes it is from Germany).
By now I have all my bikes set up with their 602 active saddle in 15cm width. Fits me best of all I tried, including Brooks.

I am already looking forward to my first commute in weeks (or months?) next Friday. At least today I was able to make a nice ride after work - 15k/50min. The weather was better than expected - the real rain set in just 5 minutes before I was home, so no worries there. And I made my bike/kayak duathlon last Saturday.

For those who know: I am riding with extended fenders on my bike but I broke the rear one. It is now definitely too short - the spray is going up vertically and then into the vortexes behind my back, meaning I have it all on my back. That is not how a fender is used to be :-/
You can see very well here how long it used to be:








New item by zeeschepper







photos.app.goo.gl




will see if I can glue the old piece back on or if I can buy a new rear fender only.

Stay safe and keep riding out there!

CU, CD


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Did not want to put it in the other post, this one worth a dedicated posting!

===welcome back Buster Bluth=== 

Please do not throw any bikes in the river anymore ;-). A bad day on the bike is still better than a good day at work


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

martinsillo said:


> for the DT swiss guys...I'm planning on this for the wheels: DT350s laced to DT 460 rims (28 back, 24 front)
> *Question: is there an actual benefit on straight pull vs classic J spokes?..I don't remember this was an option 10 years *


 You might be able to replace a drive side or brake rotor side spoke without removing parts. Might. Depends on design of hub.
Other than that, its kinda annoying to figure a way to keep spoke from spinning when tensioning up.
Dt hubs are solid. Have a set of DT Hugis that still going strong and outlasted Chris Kings.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Taroroot said:


> You might be able to replace a drive side or brake rotor side spoke without removing parts. Might. Depends on design of hub.
> Other than that, its kinda annoying to figure a way to keep spoke from spinning when tensioning up.
> Dt hubs are solid. Have a set of DT Hugis that still going strong and outlasted Chris Kings.


Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Did not want to put it in the other post, this one worth a dedicated posting!
> 
> ===welcome back Buster Bluth===
> 
> Please do not throw any bikes in the river anymore ;-). A bad day on the bike is still better than a good day at work


Great memory! That was years ago.

back on the brooks. Adjusted the position by quite a bit. And I'm appreciating the hammock like comfort again. It seems the key with the b17 is to make sure you don't have it too high. Also don't ride it with a chamois as I think that was part of the problem. Don't need one with this saddle.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Two rides in a row! For a third tomorrow! It's been a while.

Dream risers need some angle work or maybe a saddle re-fit or maybe I just need to get used to it...it was confy but weird on its first commute

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

three days in a row! woop woop!
2 of 3 chased by dogs.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

A real commute for me today and it was a good one!! Started earlier than ever, I was on the bike at 05:30 this morning. There was some light drizzle and it was still mostly dark. It was about 14C, no wind. The ride home was quite warm, 20C and the sun came out after 20 minutes. Picked up my son at school and ride the last stretch home together. 

I also finally got my 2nd covid shot today, so 2 more weeks and I am good to go. No side effects so far, but we'll see over the weekend. I did not make any plans so I can lay down if necessary, therefore I think I won't have to 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ok it is not a commute but I made another kayak/bike duathlon this afternoon, 20k of cycling and kayaking each, all of it in rain and I loved every minute of it.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@cyclingdutchman - Good to hear from you. Congrats on an actual commute and COVID shot.

Got a couple of commutes in myself last week. Have a couple planned this week if I make it through Jury duty without being chosen for a Jury...


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Not so fun. A Catholic school is located at the end of my block and the entitled parents make my neighborhood dangerous chaos when dropping their kids off because they're impatient and...entitled. As a confirmed Catholic, nothing makes me angrier than hypocritical Christians. One parent nearly ran me over on my bike as they sped to cut through my block and avoid traffic. The administration refuses to do ANYTHING to be more neighborly OR address the behavior of the parents.

It's a dangerous, frustrating situation.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^not fun @nayr497 , I pass in front a couple of schools on my commute, luckily one too early (I think just teachers getting in by the time I get there) and the second one just about they are opening I guess, not much traffic and the entry is at an intersection with stop signs, so no much room for them to make crazy driving.

first ride today after a re-fit and handlebar cut at the LBS, funny the shoe that was changed the most was my injured foot. much better ride today, although.... I was felling to confident after 3 days in a row and not much pain that I decided to take the baroneSS for a short hard ride on a windy Saturday to burn the calories of a fried chicken diet cheat and I'm regretting it...foot is not felling good at all.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Yeah, the local bike/ped advocacy group has tried to hold meetings with the administration, but they refuse. Nothing says "transparency" like refusing to meet. They proclaim to have mitigation plans, but refuse to share them.

Like I wrote, all the more frustrating when the school vans have a checklist of their values painted on the side...but the parents act like anyone walking or riding a bike in the neighborhood deserves to be run over. Go figure...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey, Don't put me in the missing persons list. I've been on vacation for a little over a week. I actually had almost a full week off the bike too. Now I'm back at work and trying to catch up...(After I caught up on all the goings on here. Dogs & handlebars and entitled Catholics & 2nd covid shots and all. LOL)

I have an email for MTXB. Sometimes people just drift away from here.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute but a nice after-work ride of 17k. Picked up my son at a friend's house on the way home and we rode home along the construction site of the new highway. 20C, blue sky and calm - a perfect day for riding.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: welcome back. I did not miss you yet, but it is sure quiet here without you and your pics....say hi to mtbx from me when you send her an email.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm a recovered Catholic and I am pissed off for you too @nayr497 ! 🤣

Welcome back @bedwards1000, @cyclingdutchman may not have missed you, but I did...

Close call on Jury duty...I was juror #27 and the last juror chosen was #25, whew just squeaked out of have to sit through a trial.

Beautiful weather here but you can feel fall coming. Looks like I will be commuting to the office tomorrow and thursday, then off to a wedding in New York and then a four day bike trip on the 
*Great Allegheny Passage*.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards: welcome back. I did not miss you yet, but it is sure quiet here without you and your pics....say hi to mtbx from me when you send her an email.


 Of course you did.

@woodway Is that a 150 mile car free rail trail! That looks like a great trip! One way or out and back? Are you bringing your own bike? Alone or in a group? Will there be a blog?  You are practically in town.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Whatever happened to "radaryrodar" or something like that? He was a regular here a couple years back and I don't see anything from him now. I'm not sure if I have his name right.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Buster Bluth said:


> Whatever happened to "radaryrodar" or something like that? He was a regular here a couple years back and I don't see anything from him now. I'm not sure if I have his name right.


@rodar y rodar
I haven't asked but I don't think he'll mind I tell you he is alive hehe


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I went for an in-person ride with rodar y rodar and mtxbexplorer and now they are both gone, my bad I guess.  Last I heard rodar got tired of biking. Interests come and go. I didn't straddle a bike for about 10 years. Good to know that rodar is still alive.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hehe if you want to keep riding, just don't do it with @bedwards1000 😋

everything lined up yesterday for my fastest commute home on the jamis...red lights, turn at the stop sign, wind...full 8 seconds faster than my fastest with the baroneSS.
this morning was pretty average but felt like super slow hehe. might rain later today


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

woodway - Oh yeah, I have long ago left the Catholic church, really only was in it because my mother wanted us to get confirmed. I feel a _bit_ bad for her, as none of my siblings attend church either...all three of us have left the flock! In her defense, she doesn't actually by a lot of the hardline garbage, mostly a "golden rule" type Christian.

Commute was great! I decided to avoid the dual school-area chaos and use a different route out of my neighborhood. A bit of going in the wrong direction, but 1000x less chaos!!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards you got me there. OK I'll admit it. I missed you even more than I missed myself here. 
No riding at all today, hoping for better times tomorrow...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

nayr497 said:


> Commute was great! I decided to avoid the dual school-area chaos and use a different route out of my neighborhood. A bit of going in the wrong direction, but 1000x less chaos!!


Good strategy!



bedwards1000 said:


> @woodway Is that a 150 mile car free rail trail! That looks like a great trip! One way or out and back? Are you bringing your own bike? Alone or in a group? Will there be a blog?  You are practically in town.


Yep, that is the one. My wife and I are going with my brother and his wife. We are riding one-way and have hired a service to shuttle our stuff between lodgings. We are renting some hybrid-thingie bikes. This is a total, mellow, glamping type of trip. No blog, but I will post some pics here!



martinsillo said:


> @rodar y rodar
> I haven't asked but I don't think he'll mind I tell you he is alive hehe


Excellent! Rodar came to WA State a few years back and he and I spent a cycling day together on Orcas Island. Good dude. @martinsillo if you talk to him, tell him that @woodway also said hello!


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

> How was your commute today?


Wonderful! Rode over he landing strip of the old military Airbase Soesterberg.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Yep, that is the one. My wife and I are going with my brother and his wife. We are riding one-way and have hired a service to shuttle our stuff between lodgings. We are renting some hybrid-thingie bikes. This is a total, mellow, glamping type of trip. No blog, but I will post some pics here!


@woodway I met some people vacationing here through Strava and they rode with me this morning. Coincidentally they had just done the GAP ride earlier this year. They said it was a great ride and is pretty flat. I asked for any advice and they said to know where the stops are on some of the route because they can be 20 miles apart.

So my commute was great, I met some new friends and showed them the local gravel roads.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

asphaltdude said:


> Wonderful! Rode over he landing strip of the old military Airbase Soesterberg.


sounds fun...how was the take off? 😄

had everything prepared, lights recharged and everything...then decided to rest the foot this morning...I'll try tomorrow.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

@martinsillo if you talk to rodar y rodar, tell him that @BrianMc also said hello!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

BrianMc said:


> @martinsillo if you talk to rodar y rodar, tell him that @BrianMc also said hello!


Yeah, tell him all the "Brians" say hi. I think half the people that post here share the same name.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

will do


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woodway said:


> Excellent! Rodar came to WA State a few years back and he and I spent a cycling day together on Orcas Island. Good dude. @martinsillo if you talk to him, tell him that @woodway also said hello!


now I'm kind of sad...😢 he got his riding with the forum members while I was not riding at all


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Pretty good! After the first few days of school, things have calmed down. Much less gridlock during the commute this morning


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> @woodway I met some people vacationing here through Strava and they rode with me this morning. Coincidentally they had just done the GAP ride earlier this year. They said it was a great ride and is pretty flat. I asked for any advice and they said to know where the stops are on some of the route because they can be 20 miles apart.
> 
> So my commute was great, I met some new friends and showed them the local gravel roads.


Thanks bedwards. My brother has done this ride before, I am just going to follow him.

Always fun to show people the local goods! When you coming West bedwards?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

asphaltdude said:


> Wonderful! Rode over he landing strip of the old military Airbase Soesterberg.
> 
> View attachment 1945454


Wtf you can ride a bike there? Gotta do it next time I'm "home" . Good chances are early October.

I made another kayak/bike duathlon yesterday. 20k on the bike, 14k in the seakayak.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

The Friday ride home was rough. Soon after turning onto the MUP I stood up to take a couple hard pedal strokes. On the first one there was a loud pop, and I went down hard. I caught the handlebar in the middle of my thigh, gouged my elbow, and scraped up my arm a bit. I fell onto my left side, which is still not 100% from my BMX accident a few months ago. Thankfully, I didn't hit the part of my hip that I injured in that wreck.

The accident kind of came out of nowhere. I took a look at my bike over the weekend, and it appears as though the spring in my Surly Singleator had loosened up to where it wasn't providing much tension. My suspicion is that the frame flexed in the turn and the hard pedal soon after was enough to pop the chain off. I tightened everything back up, and I'll have to keep an eye on it and see how things go. I had an issue with this tensioner before where the spring actually popped out of its retaining hole, but I was able to fix that. If the spring keeps loosening though, I'll have to get a different tensioner.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I went down hard. I caught the handlebar in the middle of my thigh, gouged my elbow, and scraped up my arm a bit. I fell onto my left side, which is still not 100% from my BMX accident a few months ago. Thankfully, I didn't hit the part of my hip that I injured in that wreck.


Ouch! Wishing you speedy healing!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Get well soon S0ck. 


woodway said:


> Always fun to show people the local goods! When you coming West bedwards?


That is still on the idea list. When I do, you will be one of the first to know because you will need to schedule time off from work to be our personal tour guide to the MTB trails out there.  Although it may not be too soon. My wife got 1st in her age group in her 1/2 Iroonman last weekend which should (might) give her the option of competing in the world championships in St George Utah. If she gets asked then that will be our biking trip next year.

No guests on my commute today. I have been having a little Strava KOM battle to keep me entertained. I took it on Friday. The orignial owner claimed it back on Saturday. I was within 1 second of getting it back today. We are bantering back and forth the whole time. Keeping it interesting.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Wtf you can ride a bike there? Gotta do it next time I'm "home" . Good chances are early October.


Yep you can. Cold War vibes!
Just remember the landing strip is closed between march 15th and august 15th because of breeding birds.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Whoa S0ck that sounds bad. Heal up soon!

Thanks Asphaltdude. October should be ok. As it looks now I am driving to Ouddorp on October 2nd and stay there for at least a week, probably heading back on the 13th. That is the current planning, I hope the "deltalirium" is not ruining it :-/

I made a nice after work ride of 30k last Tuesday and I am going on another bike/kayak duathlon this afternoon, will now pack up my gear and leave in an hour - good times are coming.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I took a couple days off due to rain. I rode in yesterday and today. I've ridden my singlespeed in both days, despite my mind not having 100% confidence in it yet. So far, no issues. I'm going to reverify the derailleur hanger and chainline for a bit more peace of mind, even though both visually look fine. The tensioner seems fixed. The chain isn't showing enough stretch to replace, the rear cog is fairly new, and the chainring isn't much older.

There's no lasting damage to my body, which is great. These accidents that come from nowhere are not fun though, and they take a mental toll.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Great ride to my office this morning! It was in the 80s, almost felt "chilly," which is what my wife might call it. We've been in the mid-90s with blazing sun for weeks on end, if not months, at this point.

It's nice to ride in just shorts and a t-shirt, but I can't wait for some 60s and 70s* days.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> The Friday ride home was rough.


Ouch. That sucks. I hope you heal up soon. I use a DMR chain tensioner when I want to run singlespeed and I think it might be a little more "robust" than a surly singulator. That said with my bike and the 38x16 I was running on it I couldn't get a particulalry long wrap around the cog to work out and when really grinding up a hill I always feared slippage at a bad time (never happened though.) I've gone back to running 1x9 as it's simple and effective and wheel removal is easier than with the DMR tensioner.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

More Cold War scenery on today's way home.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

del


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

dundundata said:


> Great
> View attachment 1946756


That's some serious metal fatigue! How did you fare?


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

del


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wow, that kinda looks and sounds like the opposite of great. I hope you heal up well and find a nice replacement bike. 

My commutes have been standard fall in Maine commutes. The mornings are starting to get chilly.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

^I put on a jacket the other morning to walk my dogs. First time in probably 5 months I've had to do that!

Caught a motorist trying to blast through the MUP crossing during my commute this morning. Pointed out the multiple signs, the painted crossing, the flashing crossing lane indicator. They actually seemed apologetic, usually a middle finger and lots of cusses are offered.

Older gent on a bike coming the other way thanked me for sticking up for the non-motorists of the world, which made my day.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

del


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

first commute in two weeks
72°F felt pretty chilly this morning
had to take some emergency days on PTO...all I can say about that now is: F&ck Cancer, also pacer build is on an indefinite pause.

^I read a couple of injuries above...hope you guys get better soon


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Morning everyone. Back from my trip to the eastern US, and riding the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). It's a converted rail-trail through the Allegheny Mountains. Pretty nice trail. Really good surface, gentle grades good scenery and the little towns along the trail really cater to cyclists with services. Except for the remnants of Hurricane Ida coming through one day, we had a great time.

Here are a few pictures along various segments of trail.




















































I worked last week at home, expect three commutes to the office this week. It's going to be wet!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Hoping the doctor eases the cycling restrictions on Friday that I have had since July 29.

Almost home pic:


https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img62/2407/file0685.jpg


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey everyone, I rode 2 days in a row!! Well it was great, until almost home today. I picked up my son shortly before home at his friend's place. While leaving the exit and making the right turn onto the street, he swerved out too much. Our handlebars got hooked up and we ended as one big tangled mess of body parts, bikes and bags. At least, there was no traffic so we could sort everything in ease. None of us and the bikes even had a scratch, we just had quite a scare... by now we can laugh about it. I am really glad we came out unharmed. Unfortunately, no more commuting this week. Probably next Monday again.

Woodway, do I see a flatbar bike on your pic??


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Guilty @cyclingdutchman. It was a rental bike, and all they had. It did not suck as bad as I expected. It helped that the rail-trail was smooth and very gentle grades.

Those slow-motion crashes can be the worst! Glad you and mini-dutchman are OK.

Commuted again today. Rain this morning. Here comes fall!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

That GAP trail looks quite enticing, Woodway. How is the locking up the bike situation if one took your own bike?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Dutchman, I'm glad you are un-scratched. It doesn't take much of a handlebar bump to end up in a mess.

Commutes are all good. I skipped yesterday due to sleeping in and a chance of severe T-storms. Just about the time I was driving home we got some severe T-storms.

My wife and I rode to a friends house and then continued up to his camp where we had dinner, lots of drinks and a fire. The next day we rode back home. 145 miles in all with some hills. It was a great time but consumed the entire weekend.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> That GAP trail looks quite enticing, Woodway. How is the locking up the bike situation if one took your own bike?


@BrianMc - In the little towns all the restaurants had places to lock the bikes, but honestly we did not bother...we just parked the bikes and went inside. We stayed in a different B&B each night, and every one of them had a dedicated place to keep your bike at night that they would lock up. They cater to the cyclists and it showed.

Awesome pics @bedwards1000! I saw the rides on Strava and it looked great.

Three commutes this week!


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

3 days of commuting by car, and 2 days by bike this week. Got an ice cream on the way home today.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

asphaltdude said:


> View attachment 1948729
> 
> 
> 3 days of commuting by car, and 2 days by bike this week. Got an ice cream on the way home today.


Stop bragging.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well I got in a brief first ride after the surgery. Man the fitness dropped a lot! I joyfully rode out the drive up a maybe 3% grade down a 20%? one up a 20 percent one covering about 1/10 of a mile and my pulse was 115. Felt no strain at all. I was warming up at 100 max before. It took me the whole 1/2 hour to get down to 101 coasting all downhills (maximum 16.8) and climbing the grades at a bit more than 6 mph. Felt like crawling. I called it quits for an appointment I had to make on time. So joy to be riding. Taking care not to overtax the heart.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Encountered a lovely "trail champion" this morning. I slowed to be cautious around a cluster of dogs, mothers, young children on balance bikes, senior citizens...and a dude who had been lagging well behind me for awhile saw this as his opportunity to overtake me, as if I was slowing because I was tired and this was his chance to win the "race."

Good lord. I expect most motorists not to give a hoot about bikes/peds, but it's really damn frustrating when _other_ people on bikes act like fools and put people in danger. Unnecessarily as well, this guy wasn't training for the Olympics (and MUPs aren't training trails anyway.)

Other than that, a great commute! Cool, overcast, my kind of weather. And we're getting rain this afternoon so I'll likely get wet, but we're badly in need of it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^ Hey, you got to make the guy feel good about his CAT5 racing skills!

It was a darn fine morning for a trail commute. A little chilly, fall is starting for sure.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

nayr497 said:


> Encountered a lovely "trail champion" this morning. I slowed to be cautious around a cluster of dogs, mothers, young children on balance bikes, senior citizens...and a dude who had been lagging well behind me for awhile saw this as his opportunity to overtake me, as if I was slowing because I was tired and this was his chance to win the "race."
> 
> Good lord. I expect most motorists not to give a hoot about bikes/peds, but it's really damn frustrating when _other_ people on bikes act like fools and put people in danger. Unnecessarily as well, this guy wasn't training for the Olympics (and MUPs aren't training trails anyway.)
> 
> Other than that, a great commute! Cool, overcast, my kind of weather. And we're getting rain this afternoon so I'll likely get wet, but we're badly in need of it.


Yeah, just because you ride a bike doesnt make you a good person or my friend, is a saying i need to remind myself. I almost got taken out a few days ago by a dude on lowrider bicycle that cut across the bike lane without looking. Im used to cars doing that. Had to slam on brakes and skid my brand new Pirelli tires.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nothing like a encountering a CAT6 racer who does something stupid.

Nice pics bedwards. This is a lovely time of year.

Got a nice commute in this morning, was looking at my ride on Strava when I noticed that I just topped 70K total miles since I joined Strava (cannot remember when that was):


All-TimeDistance70,170.1 miRides2955Longest Ride202.8 miBiggest Climb3,720 ft


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Got a nice commute in this morning, was looking at my ride on Strava when I noticed that I just topped 70K total miles since I joined Strava (cannot remember when that was)


July 8, 2006.  70K is a lot of miles. I like "Just topped" Well, 170 miles ago which might be somebodies yearly riding goal. I'm "only" at 43,588.6 mi. But I've only been on strava since 2013. Not that it is a race. 

Speaking of mileage, on 9/4/2020 I posed that it might be time for a new tire on my cross bike because the lugs were worn off. A full year and thousands of miles later it is just starting to show some cords. That tire is tough! Vittoria Cross

I did a couples commute in with my wife this morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

LOL bedwards. Strava has only been around since about 2009. I uploaded a few old rides that predated my join date which is why my history goes back that far. I'm thinking I joined and started tracking my rides in earnest in 2011.

I had some of the Vittoria tires once. They are tough. But I also remember they had high rolling resistance?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Oh. I always thought the RR was pretty good on these tires especially since they are a cross tire. Most of their life has been on the road. I plugged in 9/4/2020 into Strava and I have 2000 miles on these since I deemed them worn out. They must have over 4000-5000 miles in all. I actually kind of liked the slick center for roads with knobs on the edges for cornering on gravel. I think I will put some road tires on to do the Dempsey Challenge century this week end. I haven't ridden 100 in 1 day yet this year.

My commute was good.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

^^^ Looks like a great route - and 5300 ft. of climbing! My kind of ride. Threw a little in the kitty to help you along 

Another good commute for me this morning. Had a little Cat6 fun on the way home last night...rode past the intersection with a local MUP and after I went by I saw another rider swing off the MUP and onto the road about 50 yards behind me. I could see in the mirror he was working hard to catch up to me. I decided I was not going to let him. We rode that way for about three miles before he veered off, still about 50 yards behind me. The stupid things we do to entertain ourselves on our commutes.

A couple years ago I started listening to audiobooks while I ride using AfterShokz bone-conducting headphones. The local library system has a great audiobook collection and I never run out of things to read. It's been transforming for my commutes and rides. Anyone else do this?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hi Woodway, thanks for the donation. I've been doing this ride for as long as it has been around. The Dempsey center that it supports really does make a difference in peoples lives. 

I used to listen to music during my commutes but I haven't lately. I'm not even sure why. I got tired of it I guess.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Oh, this guy was going fast enough to have seriously injured the senior citizens or three year olds if he crashed into them. I don't want to have him crash into me, but I was really angry he saw the need to weave through 8-10 people at high speed, all for the sake of getting to a crossing just up ahead and having to stop...and nearly fall over because he wasn't good at clipless pedal usage.

It is just beyond my comprehension that someone would think this was okay. Or neighborly.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

nayr497 said:


> Oh, this guy was going fast enough to have seriously injured the senior citizens or three year olds if he crashed into them. I don't want to have him crash into me, but I was really angry he saw the need to weave through 8-10 people at high speed, all for the sake of getting to a crossing just up ahead and having to stop...and nearly fall over because he wasn't good at clipless pedal usage.
> 
> It is just beyond my comprehension that someone would think this was okay. Or neighborly.


It would be funny if the guy was a member here.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

I like audio books. Maybe they'd work on MUP's and other routes without vehicular traffic. I need all my attention on my riding and drivers.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Better second ride. Considering 40 of 65 minutes were warm-up and cool down, 11 mph average is not too bad after 2 months off the bikes.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Congrats @BrianMc on getting back on the bike!

@bedwards1000 - Nice century, ride report?

Stripped and cleaned my drivetrain this past weekend. Was looking at my cassette, wondering when I put it on the bike. A little Amazon searching says Jan of 2019, which means that the cassette has between 15K and 16K miles on it. It looks good and shifts good, so I'm going to leave it on.

Looks like two commutes this coming week and they are sure to be wet...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^The centruy was good, Seattle Style, AKA, it was pouring for the first half. But it wasn't cold so once we committed that we were going to get soaked to the bone it was kind of fun. I rode the whole thing with my wife. Normally the course is packed but this is the first ride post COVID and with the rain attendance was really low. We didn't ride in a group more than 2 miles out of he 100. About 1/2 way through the sun came out. It took 6-1/2 hours which seems really long to me even though we weren't doddling. 

15K on a cassette!!! ??? !!! ??? I can't get over 3-4K. By the time I replace the chain the new chain won't run on the 11T cog. I've tried being good about lubing it, checking the chain often. I'm just an 11T cog killer.

The commute was actually pretty good today considering yesterday's miles. I wasn't at my freshest but I wasn't dead.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Most of us are familiar with the perception experiment where people were asked to count the white jackets or dresses in a well populated hotel lobby with all the comings and goings. They did not recall the guy in the Gorilla-suit who sauntered through the midst of the people. hard to see cyclists if you are not looing for them. I had that problem early in cycling here as cyclists were quite rare.

Here is another post the author said to share around and it may make better drivers and cyclists of us. If it was shared before, it is worth a repeat and repetition helps adult learners a lot. 

What an RAF pilot can teach us about being safe on the road (londoncyclist.co.uk)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Not sure why this cassette is so long-lived @bedwards1000? Guess I just lucked out with this one. 🤷‍♀️

Speaking of Seattle-Style...today was a Seattle Style commute, aka, wet, wet, wet. At least the temps were in the upper 50's and not the upper 30's.

I remember reading that post before @BrianMc - I think you or someone else posted it a few years back?

Things have really quieted back down here in this forum. I guess the delta variant has chased everyone back home. I know in our office building we started to see a pickup in the number of people coming to the office earlier this summer...but that seems to have reversed in the last two months.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My bike doesn't have 15K on it and I've replaced everything that spins at least once with at least 3-4 cassettes. And I just ordered a new Di2 FD. It has never been great at keeping the chain from jumping off the top. Once when it happened it broke the cage. I repaired it with a SS screw and just replaced the screw when it stopped shifting correctly. It is still throwing the chain and I noticed that the cage is cracked in a second spot. I think it is done. $239. At least it isn't that silly new 12 Dura Ace 12 speed Di2 where the group-set is $6200 and the FD is $450.

My ride in was a little longer because I was dropping my crappy (really expensive, bought new, low miles) truck off for service. And it was raining.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Holy smokes, that is a lot of cassettes! My bottom bracket was also replaced in 2019, so it has similar miles to the cassette.

I've been tempted by e-shifting, but could never get over the price.

Sucks about your truck. We bought a new F150 gasser last year. So far so good.

Had a dry commute last night which was welcome after the soaking I received in the morning. Gonna knock off work early today and get a MTB ride in. Have a good weekend all.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

A dry run test of the "cargo bike" (49 pounds without the locks). Some minor adjustments and a new quick link needed. Photo includes our famous Courthouse Tower tree (Greensburg, IN).


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hey Brian, really nice to see you keep on going!

On vacation in the Netherlands now. Started with a short but nice sunset bike ride on the beach yesterday evening here and planning some other small trips with the kids as well. I am also hoping to make it to the deserted airforcebase that asphaltdude posted a while ago - will keep you guys posted 

CU, CD


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Pics of yesterday evening:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Back at work today after a few days down in NC. I actually saw another cyclist today. It always feels a bit awkward, to be honest. If I'm on the road, I typically pass the person, but on the MUP it's a little weird. So today, I chilled out and waited for the other guy to turn off into the park before speeding on to my office.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, rain today. Supposed to rain tomorrow too. Switched to tights for the ride to work this morning. Guessing that shorts are done for the year.

@BrianMc - Great photo both of the tower and the bike. Read about the tree at the top in wikipedia. Cool!

@cyclingdutchman - Have a good vacation!

@s0ckeyeus - Feels awkward to see another cyclist? Because you rarely see them? Except for rainy days where I am sometimes the only crazy person out there, I may see a couple dozen cyclists on a nice day...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

non riding report..I've had some complicated days


martinsillo said:


> F&ck Cancer


Dad passed away on 09/15 and it has been a roller coaster of everything since a couple of weeks before, it was pretty aggressive and all we have as comfort is that he didn't suffer.
in the middle of it the Wife got a skin cancer diagnosis, the spot was removed this past Monday and we are waiting for the new biopsy results to confirm they took it all.
I also got a cold coming back from Maryland so no riding at all until a couple of days ago when I manage to put 30 min on the stationary bike, hopefully next week or probably the next when the wife can do more things on her own I'll be back on the road. Driving at the moment so I can come and give her lunch and check on her.

trying to keep my mind busy at work and out...and on that end I decided to use what it was left on the emergency fund on this:










2011 T900 pretty much stock and in good ridable conditions..so the plan is to change the basics, saddles, pedals, grips and ride it like that for a while...although, front handlebar is super narrow, so that will probably be swapped sooner than later...obviously, once the wife is also up and running. hehe

good to see you guys out and riding!



martinsillo said:


> F&ck Cancer


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

woodway said:


> @s0ckeyeus - Feels awkward to see another cyclist? Because you rarely see them? Except for rainy days where I am sometimes the only crazy person out there, I may see a couple dozen cyclists on a nice day...


Yeah, it's really rare for me. It's especially rare to see them going the same direction.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> Dad passed away on 09/15 and it has been a roller coaster of everything since a couple of weeks before, it was pretty aggressive and all we have as comfort is that he didn't suffer.
> in the middle of it the Wife got a skin cancer diagnosis, the spot was removed this past Monday and we are waiting for the new biopsy results to confirm they took it all.
> I also got a cold coming back from Maryland so no riding at all until a couple of days ago when I manage to put 30 min on the stationary bike, hopefully next week or probably the next when the wife can do more things on her own I'll be back on the road. Driving at the moment so I can come and give her lunch and check on her.


Ugh. That sucks.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

What was that finely crafted piece of word-smithing from Martinsillo? Oh yeah! F&ck Cancer!

Met with my oncologist. The biopsy was re-evaluated as 6 of 10 Prostate cores positive (3,3) for 6 and 2 not just one (3,4) for 7. So I am in the Intermediate risk for metastatic cancer group. Dry run next Thursday for 28 radiation treatments. Heard someone ring the bell, while there (done). Looking forward to doing the same. 5.6 weeks of 5 days a week treatments start just before my birthday.

Sorry to hear about your Father, Martinsillo. Hope the biopsy is good for "The Wife".

Nice tandem. I'm working the idea for my wife and I, but we may need to go to the Tandem Trike route as we hit 70 next year.

Got better warm-up and cool down and boosted speed over 2 mph average. So making fitness, heart, and strength gains. Radiation drops weight and I can eat ice cream, so that promises some speed gains if I don't get too tired. Trying out front and rear facing Drift Ghost X cameras to cover my riding. The pair cost less than I spent on each prior camera and have 5 hour runtime.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Sorry to hear about your dad martinsillo! I'm a member of the lost dad to cancer club. 


woodway said:


> Well, rain today. Supposed to rain tomorrow too. Switched to tights for the ride to work this morning. Guessing that shorts are done for the year.


Nonsense, shorts are good until freezing.  

Still quite around here, I figured I would check in. I'm still riding every day I can. Have a good weekend all.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Ugh. That sucks.


yes it does.



BrianMc said:


> Hope the biopsy is good for "The Wife".


just came back from the doctor...biopsy looked good, and she now goes to an oncologist for a check up.
I'm sorry you are going thru this Brian..not sure what all the numbers you posted mean (I've been always on denial about learn it) but I know going metastatic is not good, dad was invaded (brain, lung, spine and the adrenal gland)..the doctors took samples from the brain and lung and couldn't determine where it all originated.



bedwards1000 said:


> Sorry to hear about your dad martinsillo! I'm a member of the lost dad to cancer club.


it sucks...Dad is/was the first on that side of the family. On my mom's side it has been terrible, she actually had breast cancer and is currently on remission with constants check ups.

I ordered the orange bar tape for the dream riser and the first set of grips for the tandem.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> it sucks...Dad is/was the first on that side of the family. On my mom's side it has been terrible, she actually had breast cancer and is currently on remission with constants check ups.


 I'm in that club too. But mom's been in remission so long that it feels like she might be through it. Having it on both sides of the family doesn't make one feel like they will be cancer free for all of their life. 

I had some orange bar take (for some reason) and I used it on a friends bike when she asked me to change a cassette for her as a joke. Her tape was in tatters. It came out looking sharp.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm in that club too. But mom's been in remission so long that it feels like she might be through it. Having it on both sides of the family doesn't make one feel like they will be cancer free for all of their life.


it's been a handful of years for mom, wishing it stays away for good...and you are right...don't want to be overly dramatic but I sure feel my days are counted.



bedwards1000 said:


> I had some orange bar take (for some reason) and I used it on a friends bike when she asked me to change a cassette for her as a joke. Her tape was in tatters. It came out looking sharp.


hehe it all started as "to be seen" on the commuter for me, but I ended up liking it a lot...doing orange/purple on the tandem now


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Breaking the silence from the last few days...

Had a nice vacation in the Sun Valley/Ketchum area of Idaho, got in some riding, hiking and fishing. What could be better? When we left our friends house in Ketchum Monday morning, it was snowing hard...winter comes early at 6000 feet in the Rockies!

Couple of commutes this week...rain. Pretty heavy this morning. @bedwards1000 - shorts are definitely not a good choice when it's 40 degrees and raining hard...

Hope you all are getting some riding in!


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Oh man, I just gotta say a big loud

*PHUCK CANCER*


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Friday to all that still check in here. A shrinking list for sure.

Fall weather had a relapse and we are enjoying temps right around 70F. At least mid-day. It is cooler around commuting time but still warm. Next week is cooling down but still nice. 

My commute today was good. I have to shuttle a car home so I tacked on some extra miles this morning and found another 2 Matake mushrooms. I thought I had collected my last one yesterday.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Speaking of mushrooms, a neighbor had a nice white puffball mushroom in his side lawn so I informed his house keeper and it was harvested later that day. Hate to see one go to waste. 

I am a bit dismayed. I hoped to ride 69 miles on my 69th birthday, but I am not building strength and endurance fast enough. Last Saturday, after 2 weeks on the bike, I got back to where I had just got to before the urethra surgery July 29. I was not back on the bike until Sept 18 then had a trip to Canada. So, I increased 10% from 19 to 22 miles and the leg muscles and perineal region (in spite of chamois creme) complained enough that I took 2 days off. At my current average speed after warm up of a bit less than 15 mph, it would take about 5 hours so maybe I see if I can do my age by Thanksgiving. However, the radiation can cause fatigue, so I may need to make that Christmas! So my stamina is coming along, but so is Christmas!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

You have to grab those pufballs when they are fresh. Good luck on the 69 mile goal. Urethra surgery and bike seats are not all that compatible.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> You have to grab those pufballs when they are fresh. Good luck on the 69 mile goal. Urethra surgery and bike seats are not all that compatible.


Urethra Surgery is not compatible with sufficient control to allow much distance to restrooms or corn fields for the first month and likely pretty uncomfortable for the next few weeks given my experience once I could ride again..


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BrianMC big kudos for you how a keep trying and going. Please take care of yourself, dont overreact it ok?! For the rest, big thumbs up for you!

I check in here regularly but can not contribute much, but today I can! I rode today and left early, at 06:20am and arrived at 7am. 1st commute this fall that I rode completely in darkness. Felt good at work today. Picked up my son on the way home. The weather wasn't that good on the last stretch, a slight haze and some drizzle, but my son apparently wasnt bothered much and rain doesnt bother me at all so all good  The best thing is, my laptop told me at work it needs a 3hr update so I left it there to have it installed over night. That means I get to ride again tomorrow! Yeeeehaw!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

is taking me 27 min to get to work by car on what it should take me 10-12 min..traffic is horrible...I'm certainly missing the bike...probably getting back next week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@BrianMc - also want to give you big kudos for the way you stick to your riding through the challenges. It's inspiring.

@dutchman sighting!

@martinsillo - I just cannot stand driving my car to work anymore. Bike commuting is so liberating that way.

Looks like three commutes for me this week. Yesterday's was pretty darn good, but I got poured on this morning. Had to peel my clothes off once I got to work. I stashed them in our IT closet to dry cause it's warm in there  Just have to make sure they don't drip on the company firewall...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

...and I did it again! I rode today. It was about 14C but somehow it felt pretty warm. It was quite windy so I was glad I had the jacket on. Just a lovely ride all in all. Tomorrow we have a small storm front passing through with gusts up to 80 kph, so I am glad I can stay home tomorrow. Pretty curious how all the trees will do. Most trees are so dried out that they dont have the strength they used to have. We'll see.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

Who's commute is so long (or dangerous) that they drive with their bike part of the way?

Where do you park your car?

At one point I was considering a job that put me over an hour away, on crappy roads, by bike. Google Earth helped me plot a route that had me park my car in strip mall, at the start of a nice ride to work. Thankfully, I ended up finding work much closer, but I wonder if anyone has a commute includes a part-distance drive.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Didn't commute this week at all but yesterday whilst installing some Gravel King SK tires on my commooter I swore and cursed so much that I'm pretty sure the old lady next door fainted.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Well then. That was an interesting encounter just a few minutes ago. I pulled up to the one stop light on my commute and was the only one there. I tripped the sensor, started across, when I hear a pick-up barreling down the road. My internal warning alarms went off. He pulled into the right turn lane, but I slowed down just in case the guy did anything stupid. Sure enough, the guy hits the turn in front of me, tires squealing and everything. What a douche.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Well then. That was an interesting encounter just a few minutes ago. I pulled up to the one stop light on my commute and was the only one there. I tripped the sensor, started across, when I hear a pick-up barreling down the road. My internal warning alarms went off. He pulled into the right turn lane, but I slowed down just in case the guy did anything stupid. Sure enough, the guy hits the turn in front of me, tires squealing and everything. What a douche.


Glad you are able to relate this experience. Hope the adrenalin hit was not too bad. I hate those. Right turns on red lights or at stop signs with little slowing down are pretty common here. Chances are very good he never saw you. Which of course doesn't make you feel any better.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

First commute in ages!!
Wife is now fending for herself for the basics!
Actually she is bringing my laptop to work  I guess I was too excited I forgot that I actually needed to work today hehe

Usual dog chasing and legs a bit out of shape. All good.

Glad you had your spidey senses on point @s0ckeyeus 

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Slowly I am getting back to commuting. I rode again today. It was quite refreshing this morning, 2C only with a clear starry sky and a three-quarter moon - simply nice. 13C and cloudy on the way home, but ok. My rear fender startet rattling, turns out one of the mounting struts had become loose, fixed it directly when I came home. I installed new fenders a few weeks ago and glued on the extra extensions I had on the old ones for better coverage.

My bike hit a major milestone today: 30,000km since Summer 2014. I celebrated moment with a few pictures of the number and the whole bike, then went on my way....


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Today’s commute was soaking wet, the rains in California have made it to Montana.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

2 in a row!
tomorrow is an off day as I'm out of town for most of the day.
yesterday on my way home the car that gave the less space passing by was a constable suv..go figure.

as of yesterday I'm bringing my own coffee to work!..sadly the cheap costco gifted insulated cup is not making the cut..by the time I sit down to drink it is barely warm...so I'm waiting for this 🤞


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hello Hello! Good to see some people are getting back at it. I skipped the first 3 days this week due to a Nor'easter with heavy rain and wind. Hopefully I am back on the bike tomorrow. I did get out for a 100K+ ride with a group this weekend and some mountainbiking.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Still raining in Western Montana, still getting wet on the way into work. The sky’s clear for the ride home, not bad really.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Should get two, maybe three commutes this week. A little rain this morning, but the worst part was the spring in my rear derailleur broke about four miles from the office. This made the derailleur "climb the cogs" to the largest ring. It was too dark to stop and pull my tools out and set the limit screws to hold the derailleur into one gear. So I spun my way to the office - it was maddening.

On the bright side, the local bike shop actually had a replacement derailleur in stock! So I was able to wrench my bike back into shape over lunch.

That rear derailleur had been on my bike a long, long time. 30K, 40K miles? Serves me right for being so cheap 

@Zguitar71 - you probably got the rains that came through Seattle over the weekend!


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

Regular 95 octane gasoline does € 1.95 *per liter *over here.

Yup, that's US $ 8.57 per gallon.....

So my bike commute saved me substantial amount of money today😀

I should commute by bike more often. Current commute is 25km one way, but will move in December, and new home will only be 13 km from work.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

asphaltdude said:


> View attachment 1954342
> 
> 
> Regular 95 octane gasoline does € 1.95 *per liter *over here.
> ...


Geez Louise! And people in my area flip their lid when fuel gets to be near $3.00 per gallon. Good thing I mostly walk to work.

Haven't really been biking at all this year. Have considered changing that a few times, but end up waffling until I have wasted too much time to even walk to work. Hopefully some day soon. Not today, though, as it's raining and I'm sure the library would like their books to be returned dry. 

Hopefully y'all have been well.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Gas around here is something like $3.40/gallon currently. $8.57, wow.

@NDD - Nice to see you back here. Hope you can get the biking spark back again. A little time away is not a bad thing.

Got wet last night riding home and this morning was a real soaker. Winter in the Pacific Northwest...

My new derailleur worked great. I got the indexing just right and have not had to tweak it a bit.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Two words:

BOMB CYCLONE.

Glad I had the new Gravel King SK's on for traction on all of the downed branches/leaves/trees.
Next purchases...neoprene gloves and more water repellant shoes.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

3/5 for me this week...feeling good.
it was 57 °F this morning...almost went back for my south TX winter gear hehe
first run of the thermos today..fingers crossed..I'll edit and update on how hot/cold it was in a min Edit: Nice!! perfect temp!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I also commuted again today! It was the old-fashioned Friday routing with detour along the farmer's market to get my favorite cheese. The round trip made 30k/20m in total. 

The ride in was in the dark without any wind, 5C and a lot of stars in the sky. The ride home was sunny, blue sky and 16C - rode in the long sleeve only. Simply a lovely day in fall, probably one of the last this year. 

We are getting more and more back to normal. The government is starting to talk about cancelling the homeoffice recommendation and the company management already indicated that they expect everyone back into the office as soon as it happens. I think it is going to be before the end of the year. We'll see.

Oh and I forgot my lock this morning, so I parked my bike directly in the office - speaking of riding "into" the office 

Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> with detour along the farmer's market to get my favorite cheese.


good cheese for the weekend...add some good bread.....would love to be able to take a detour like that!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

unfortunately, no commuting for me this week :-/

@martinsillo No pics from last Friday, but here are a few pics from April 2019, same spot, same salesman


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

first of the week today...I got a back pain on Sunday that felt to weird so I let it rest yesterday, I still have some but felt that I could ride today.
I felt I needed an extra ride after my 3 days last week so I found an excuse to go on a 12 mile ride to lowes and back on Saturday. black electrical tape hehe
today I opened my third bar soap of the year at the office and got over 700 miles on the jamis. I'll try to get over 1K between all the bikes this year at least. (ohh, I have the baroness in line for a paint job, I can't stand how bad the paint faded, I'll be sure to put an UV resistant powder coat and a clear coat this time, similar red, nothing crazy, also new shorter stem coming in for it)

@cyclingdutchman nice!
I thought my detour was going to be too bad to even consider it, I would need to go from 8.3 to 20.8 miles on my way home to get some decent cheese and bread, nothing super fancy, a semi good selection of cheese at one HEB and bread from the breadsmith but I could do an extra 12.5 miles for it for sure!
Edit..having Panettone with my vanilla latte (which I almost forgot today btw) for breakfast hehe


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@cyclingdutchman - love cheese, wish I had a good cheese shop on my commute!

@martinsillo - you painting yourself? Post some pics!

Only one commute this week. My wife is going to s horse show in Idaho with her girlfriend, and I have to stay in Central Washington this week and take care of her fat horses. Double-flatted going into the office this morning. First flat was a piece of glass, 2nd was a wire, probably from a car tire. Rained like crazy going home. Hope to get a few rec. rides in this week while I am here.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woodway said:


> @martinsillo - you painting yourself? Post some pics!


nope, a local PC shop...yep, taking some before an after for sure, but again, nothing crazy, I'm mostly replicating the red it had.....now these guys look like have some skills..thinking something special for the pacer already.

hit a PR on my way home last night
nice and slow coming in this morning


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

@woodway How do you really feel about the horses?  

Commutes are mostly dark and cold. The thermometer was reading somewhere around 26F when I left this morning. That's a little low for an average this time of year but certainly not unusual.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> @woodway How do you really feel about the horses?


Well, OK I was being a little harsh. I am actually pretty attached to my wife's horses, even if they are a little fat and spoiled. Here is a pic that I just took from my home office. They are living the life...










Rain is supposed to move back in and it's supposed to get windy. May not be able to get a ride in today. No more commutes till next week for me...I am actually considering pulling out the trainer...

@martinsillo - Nice PR! and send along pics after the paint job.

@bedwards1000 - Looks like I finally need to change out the cassette on my bike...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

weeks of beating records!
another PR coming home on Wednesday..there was high chances of rain and I needed to mow the lawn at arrival..so I pushed hard..cut my previous PR by 3 min....avg 40-45min..best 33.5 min
yesterday I took a break...it was supposed to rain all day....it didn't 
today I left pretty late so I pushed a bit harder coming to the office, first under 40 min commute to work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Congrats on the new PR, always exciting. I remember when I first started commuting My work to home route was in the 40 minute range. I would have sworn that sub 30 minutes was impossible because it is almost 12 miles which would mean about 24MPH average. My best time is 27:11 @ 24.6MPH. That was 4 years ago on a TT bike and I'll probably never beat it. 

The temperature this morning was a brisk 28F or so. I think I may really have to ditch the shorts if this keeps up. I'm usually good down to these temps but this morning felt really cold. 

Speaking of this morning, I almost crashed into a deer at full speed. It was about 5:00 and pitch black. I heard a rustling in somebodies yard and a stupid deer jumps directly into my path. It was a full brake lockup kind of deal and I probably missed him by a foot.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Speaking of this morning, I almost crashed into a deer at full speed. It was about 5:00 and pitch black. I heard a rustling in somebodies yard and a stupid deer jumps directly into my path. It was a full brake lockup kind of deal and I probably missed him by a foot.


Missed a beautiful big buck by about a foot in the Focus Wednesday night. He aborted a launch in front of me just as I saw him. Caught an 8 point buck which was 295 pound dressed in 1995 with a Honda Civic with $3500 in damage. Happy not to repeat that.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

Wow, what a view!










I finally snapped a picture of these ice speed skater sculptures I pass on my commute.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^^nice shot @asphaltdude 
truck day today....taking the baroness for her new paint job later today!



bedwards1000 said:


> Congrats on the new PR, always exciting. I remember when I first started commuting My work to home route was in the 40 minute range. I would have sworn that sub 30 minutes was impossible because it is almost 12 miles which would mean about 24MPH average. My best time is 27:11 @ 24.6MPH. That was 4 years ago on a TT bike and I'll probably never beat it.


yep, even though I'm not going out to break records everyday, its exciting indeed.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@asphaltdude Who are they? I guess nobody knows Evert van Benthem or Henk Angenent around here 

I commuted yesterday and today and it was pretty different. Yesterday and this morning was quite wet, drizzle last night and this morning. Today turned into a beautiful day and I made a nice detour on the way home in the low sun, making almost 30k in total today. And now I am sitting behind the window watching a flaming sunset  

The best is, I will ride again tomorrow. I am making the best of it this week ;-)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@cyclingdutchman sighting - woot! Good to hear you are getting commutes in!

Cool sculpture @asphaltdude - where is it located?

Today was wet and wild. 30-40MPH wind gusts going into work this morning and dumping rain coming home. Hoping that tomorrow is mellower!


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

Hey all it’s been too long since I posted. We moved back to the US after our German adventure (we may always miss huge chunks of life there). Especially the amazing bike paths trails and lanes. And after a year and a few month trying to make my square personality fit into the new round hole job I’m changing jobs. This will mean a much shorter 1km commute down from the current 16km. All that to say I did my last bike commute to the old job today 26 of the 32 km in a driving cold rain. Still wouldn’t trade it. Hope you all are well and able to live a life you love even in these strange days.

I don’t have a picture of the commute but I can share one around home and of my new bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@jeremy_burke - Nice to hear from you! Where in the US did you move back to? I'm digging your singlespeed. Looks like some pretty tall gearing? Good luck with your new job.

Hey, I just realized my post from a few days ago was post #27,000 in this forum. I'm sure I must be in line for a prize?


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

woodway said:


> Cool sculpture @asphaltdude - where is it located?


Here: 52°08'43.3"N 5°17'54.7"E · De Beaufortlaan 1, 3768 MJ Soest, Netherlands

Edit: lol, I noticed they aren't there yet on the street view images from 2016.
The building is a former railroad station, currently an Italian restaurant, but I don't know the story behind the sculptures.


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## jeremy_burke (Jan 28, 2018)

woodway said:


> @jeremy_burke - Nice to hear from you! Where in the US did you move back to? I'm digging your singlespeed. Looks like some pretty tall gearing? Good luck with your new job.
> 
> Hey, I just realized my post from a few days ago was post #27,000 in this forum. I'm sure I must be in line for a prize?


We are Oregonians, some of us native near Portland. The gearing is 32x17 most of the time. 32x20 when we head up into the mountains.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

glad to see you guys having fun!
today I had a not so pleasant encounter with a runner, I think I'm not in the wrong here at least...she was running on the bike lane in the opposite direction...I was looking down for a millisecond when I hear someone yelling what I now think it was " look up"...I looked up, saw the figure and steered..didn´t even had the time to yell anything back...also this was pretty early, still dark and I'm pretty sure she didn't have anything reflective or a blinky on her....I don't know, I'm mad.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Welcome back @jeremy_burke. We'll be expecting some more photos. 

Speaking of photos, I didn't get on of the moon lined up with the 3 planets last night because I knew it wouldn't do it justice but did anybody else catch that? Venus was super bright over the horizon just after sunset.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

jeremy_burke said:


> We are Oregonians, some of us native near Portland. The gearing is 32x17 most of the time. 32x20 when we head up into the mountains.


Another PNW'er! I'm North of you in the Seattle Area.



martinsillo said:


> I don't know, I'm mad.


You were in the right. Runners and walkers don't belong in the Bike Lane.



bedwards1000 said:


> I didn't get on of the moon lined up with the 3 planets last night because I knew it wouldn't do it justice but did anybody else catch that? Venus was super bright over the horizon just after sunset.


Fat chance of me getting so see that this time of year  Would have been super cool to see though...

Dry day today, pretty decent commute. Received "the bird" from a driver who was pissed that I rolled a stop sign. He did realize that it's legal here. Or maybe just did not care.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Fat chance of me getting so see that this time of year  Would have been super cool to see though...


I'm on the mountain bike today. Maybe I can stop in the peace, quiet and dark of the woods and get a decent shot.

I did a couples commute in with my wife. Only 30F but a beautiful morning. We came across one hunter but it was before sunrise. All the trails we are on after sunrise are in a game preserve. The fact that I have a flashing red light on my head also makes me think I am unlikely to be mistaken for a deer.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woodway said:


> You were in the right. Runners and walkers don't belong in the Bike Lane.


the law here:
_A pedestrian may not walk along or on a roadway if an adjacent sidewalk is provided and is accessible.
If a sidewalk is not provided, a pedestrian walking along and on a highway shall if possible walk on: (1) the left side of the roadway; or (2) the shoulder of the highway facing oncoming traffic. Tex. Transp. Code § 552.006._

there are sidewalks on both sides of the road where this happened so yeah, I was right...got into a semi heated argument on the neighborhood FB group about this hehe....anyways...good ride in today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I rode again yesterday and today. Drizzle on the way home today and I was happy. I am riding tomorrow too, so I don't know why but it's gonna be 5 out 5 this week!! And I feel so good again, that I already decided to ride in a few days next week too. Covid numbers are going up again but why not ride in the office, when there is no one there anyway. 

Jeremy it is nice to hear from you. A 1k commute means you get to do a lot of detours ;-)

Bedwards, nice pic as always. And I hope the hunters are smart enough to see the light...!! I didnt know about the sky...the moon though was very low and I dont know if the other planets could be seen above the horizon at all. But it would have been worth a glance through the window, definitely!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

And today I made the 5th commute this week. It was a dull and grey day, light winds and 9C the whole day. I have started to avoid the unpaved section close to home, it is now very muddy and the mud is getting sticky. Somehow that always starts in November, just like Bedwards' lake is always freezing up around Christmas...I wonder though how it works exactly, the mud remains the same, so no clue why it starts clogging up the fenders later in fall. But since I am faster on the road, the small detour is not taking extra time so no complains.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

CU, CD


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

It was 6C today with light winds from the east and it felt quite cold. Time to get warmer gloves and the toe warmers out. Will ride again tomorrow, not sure yet for the rest of the week. Last week I rode 5 days and I am slowly getting back in commuting-mode.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

did 4/5 last week!
off today and tomorrow!
here hoping for a 3/5 this week!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Good job guys! I seem to be going in the opposite direction. For various reasons I have been working remotely more the last few weeks and commuting less. It's making me unhappy...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rode again today. Uneventful rides, except that it was colder on the way home than in the morning. Can not recall having that already.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Good job guys! I seem to be going in the opposite direction. For various reasons I have been working remotely more the last few weeks and commuting less. It's making me unhappy...


Turn that frown upside-down! 🙃

I left the house early. It was the first day I committed to wearing long pants instead of my shorts. It was cold, it was dark, it was windy. Despite that, it was all going pretty well until...









The new tube held until work even though it was leaking out through the sidewall. I put some fiber tape in the tire and I think it is salvageable. It would be a waste to trash an almost new gravel tire.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> nope, a local PC shop...yep, taking some before an after for sure, but again, nothing crazy, I'm mostly replicating the red it had.....now these guys look like have some skills..thinking something special for the pacer already.


They turned out not very skillful 
The job on the baroness needs to be re-done.. fearing for her now.
Most likely not the shop I'll trust what I have in mind for the pacer

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

ooh that's not fair @bedwards1000 you really nailed it didn't you (hehe couldn't not do it)
pretty headwindy today.
left my laptop at home and noticed it almost a mile down the road, went back for it adding an extra 2 miles (almost) to the commute to work today....not bad


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Nice weather, fun ride. Dry, mid 40s, sunny.

Did have to deal with an a-hole parked directly in the freshly painted crossing at a big ol' major intersection. Waved at him to back the heck up and he rolled down his window to yell, "Do you own this road?" Boy, I friggin' LOVE adults with the mindset of 5 year olds. Dummy says this as his car stradles the dead center of the bright white crossing...

No acceptance of his failure to obey the crossing and stop at the stop line. Just a juvenile defense of his poor behavior.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> ooh that's not fair @bedwards1000 you really nailed it didn't you (hehe couldn't not do it)


No worries, that's what I named my Strava ride. "Nailed It"

I pulled another bike out of the quiver this morning because I couldn't get the bead to seat on the damaged tire. 50PSI max and as 75PSI there was no seating going on. I have to take it off and soap it up, I guess. 

Coldest ride of the season so far @ about 24F


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards that looks really bad! Good that you could fix it, and good you were wearing long pants or maybe you wouldnt have flatted wearing shorts, who knows? 😂

Today was ok but at 6C it felt pretty cold, it was windy and some drizzle now and then. I left work early today, somehow I felt dead tired and even strong coffee did not help. I guess my sudden return to commuting is taking its toll, so I decided to work from home the rest of the week. (Sorry I would like to have better news, but it is what it is)


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Winter is starting, 20f this morning with snowy spots on the trail but mostly icy on the entire commute. I have the studs for winter on now , slower rolling but I stay upright.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

perfect timing today...left home before the rain started and arrived at the office after it had already rained.
I just bought some powder to let these guys do a test before committing on something for the pacer 🤞 non of the PC shops nearby (or cities nearby) want to even try what I want...let's see

also..I've lost 57 lbs so far ...starting the gym tomorrow with a personal trainer..3 days a week...let's see...I mostly want to tone a bit, I'm 5'-9" 208 lbs now...If I get to 200 healthy I think I'll be ok.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@martinsillo: Whoa 57 lbs less and 8 to go? Man that is more than I lost in over a year. How long did you need? I lost 20kg/40lbs in over a year, but the first 15kg went quickly, the other 5kg took 9 months.

I worked from home today, but went to pick up my son at his friend's house. Made a detour first so the ride was in total 45min / 9km. It was dark and windy with some drizzle, but quite warm with 9C so all good.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I just read that there will be a moon eclipse this night for 6 hrs. Apparently it is mostly visible from the american continents. When the eclipse starts, the moon is already below the horizon here in Europe 

Might be interesting for anyone west of the Atlantic who is riding in the dark Thursday evening or through the night.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

cyclingdutchman said:


> @martinsillo: Whoa 57 lbs less and 8 to go? Man that is more than I lost in over a year. How long did you need? I lost 20kg/40lbs in over a year, but the first 15kg went quickly, the other 5kg took 9 months.


I went back to cycling in Jan and started dieting in March...so almost a year, yeap...and yes, first 20-30 pounds went down pretty fast.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

last night as I was preparing to go home realized the wind had taken my shorts into the rain water that normally gets into the warehouse, had to commute on chinos and I felt pretty commuty hehe and quite nice actually since we were in the low 60 last night.

same temps this morning....figure the jamis needs some chain cleaning, pretty squeaky today.

forgot to mention that the day before I had to practice my finger flipping abilities to a driver for the first time since back to commuting, a [email protected] on a pickup truck air horned me as I was getting into my neighborhood.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Rode the car in today, walked outside to get my bike out and could hear the unmistakable sound of sleet. I had a hard time walking on the ice and everything was encased like a glazed doughnut. I have studs on the bike right now and have been riding through ice and snow but this was too much. I would really love to get my hands on a tilting 3 wheel bike for conditions like this or really any slick stuff. A cargo version would be killer, pricey though.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Yay! I'm getting notifications for this thread again. I've been driving the past few days. First because of rain and today because I need to drive back to work from home after lunch. One perk of riding a bike to work is that you don't have to scrape a windshield.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Ended up getting two days commuting in this week. Both in the rain, but oh well, it's Seattle in the winter.

@martinsillo - Wow, good for you man, keep it up!

@bedwards1000 - Bad luck. I bet you could run that nail over 100 times and not have it go through the tire like that again.

@Zguitar71 - At some point you just have to call it. Studded tires are great but sometimes the ice is just too much.

@cyclingdutchman - I rode in the dark last night, but unfortunately it was raining...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

truck day today...too much rain...hoping for another 4/5 week starting tomorrow!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice 54°F ride in this morning..yesterday was upper body at the gym...I can barely feel my arms.

I think I did my "help a fellow rider" deed of the month yesterday....I've been looking for an old bike to restore as a second go around bike and I came across this guy selling what I though was an underpriced made in the USA true temper cromoly bike mtb...long story short I convinced him to keep the bike hehe.... well, this happened just after I realized it was too large for me of course 😋 
he deleted the post and should be taking the bike to a LBS for an estimate to get it running.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@martinsillo - Too much rain? Is that possible? 🤣

Speaking of too much rain, I got the full wash and rinse cycle riding into the office this morning. Everything should be dry before I head home tonight...


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

The weather report this morning was 23f so I dressed for that. That is at the airport though and it is always warmer there. The temp was 16f when I got to work. I was cold! My bar mitts get here today so that should help. Mostly it was my hands. I wear a pair of wool thinsulate gloves to the low 20s, after that I put an over mitt on. So…evidently I really don’t need them until 15f.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

last night I pushed hard for no reason
this morning, I'm pretty sure a pig barked at me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well we're back to nothing here. Because of the rising corona numbers we are ordered to work from home as much as we can, which is 100% in my case :-/ and I guess it will be at least for the rest of the year :-(

I brought my son to soccer training today and made a nice 1hr ride while he was there. 
When I started, I noticed that I did not have my shades on. I remembered that I hung them on a brake cable when we left and I figured I lost them on the way. So I rode back to the house, back to the arena but I did not find them so I accepted that I had lost them. Later when I wanted to drink something I noticed that they were dangling from the bottle holder. So I did loose them but one leg got jammed between the bottle and the downtube!! Lucky me, phew. Not sure now if I have to post this in the "found treasures" thread too...

Anyway, I wont have much to contribute the next time. I will be reading here for sure and try to get on the bike as much as possible between work and taking care of the kids. 

So good luck everyone who can keep on going this winter, stay safe!

CU, CD


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Bummer Dutchman, just when you were getting back in the groove. You can still post even if you are not commuting temporarily!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

I'm relatively new to proper commuting as our former house used to be 1.5km from work. Now it's 8km, more if I run any errants, which is often the case. 

The morning ride to work is great as it's mostly downhill. I literally get on the bike and off it goes! The gradient gets milder about 1 km later but still it's enough to get ot work without heavy sweating, provided I don't get carried away and push hard. At 7.00 in the morning the streets are not that bad, but a major part of my route is though bikelanes and parks. 

This morning's ride was great because there was heavy rain in the forecast and it didn't happen. I was prepared, but the first drops of rain fell just as I was arriving at work. Let's see If I'm lucky in the afternoon. 

As a newbie commuter I'm also impressed by the difference a good set of fenders makes. I've been riding wet roads all week and my clothes and face have stayed clean, not what I was used to when I was rding my hardtail to work. 

Panniers have proved to be an excellent investment as well, so easy to pack a change of clothes, lunch and pick up groceries on the way home. Plus my lock and pump/tools are always there. The downside is the weight of all of the above, which is not that obvious while riding, but is clearly felt when carrying the bike up stairs. 

Between home and work there's a hill with a fun XC trail network, I will probably take advantage of that at some point and take my hardtail to work a couple of times a week.

Curious to see how the daily commute affects my weekend rides. Riding to/from work adds up to 320km/a month which used to be a month's worth of mountain biking previously.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> hoping for another 4/5 week starting tomorrow!


Don't know what I was thinking...2/3 days this week hehe...not working Thursday and Friday

On Wednesday I managed to get the baroness frame brought to me so this is how I went home










Happy Thanksgiving!

Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

justwan naride said:


> Curious to see how the daily commute affects my weekend rides. Riding to/from work adds up to 320km/a month which used to be a month's worth of mountain biking previously.


10-11 year ago when I first did this I was riding 6k each way 5/5 days and was consistent at least putting one ride during weekends

granted I was in my late 20s and wasn't doing anything crazy in the mountains hehe
This maybe?





I'm finishing the rebuild of my SS roadie and already set my mind on finishing a pacer...let's see how my weekend rides look after that, right now are pretty much none

Oh and I just got this too!










Keep up pedaling!



Sent from my SM-G991U1 using Tapatalk


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

justwan naride said:


> I'm relatively new to proper commuting as our former house used to be 1.5km from work. Now it's 8km, more if I run any errants, which is often the case.
> 
> The morning ride to work is great as it's mostly downhill. I literally get on the bike and off it goes! The gradient gets milder about 1 km later but still it's enough to get ot work without heavy sweating, provided I don't get carried away and push hard. At 7.00 in the morning the streets are not that bad, but a major part of my route is though bikelanes and parks.
> 
> ...


I commute 4 days a week in the summer (4 10 hour days) and will ride one or two days on the weekend. My commute is a total of 12 miles (19k) and I will ride either a couple of shorter mountain rides (15 miles 24k) or one long ride (30 miles 50k). Now I’m working five days a week so I’ll ride one weekend day. The weather does make mountain riding impossible sometimes so having a weekend off can be nice. It might take a little while until you can ride all the time but it is totally possible. The trick is to ride at about 50-60% of your strength or less. Take your time and save your legs for the fun rides. I will also hit the mountains after work in the summer sometimes too. Keep riding the fun rides and if you are tired take a day or two off from commuting. If you don’t it can take the joy of riding away.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I unexpectedly commuted again today to borrow a truing stand from a collegue, since my son got his rear wheel wrecked in school and I have some hope to get it fixed again.

This morning it was almost freezing, windy and with drizzle and I didnt care at all, happy to ride anyway. The way home was at least without any rain, the truing stand was sticking out of the pannier.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

CU, CD


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Zguitar71 said:


> The trick is to ride at about 50-60% of your strength or less. Take your time and save your legs for the fun rides...If you don’t it can take the joy of riding away.


This is what I think as well. I'm no stranger to epic days on the mountain but I've never spent time riding every single day. Riding on the road is also different to mtb as you are mostly sitting and pedalling, so it's always the same set of muscles working. I'm definitely starting to take it easier now. 

This morning there's a very strong southerly wind, made my ride to work a bit harder and unusually warm for the time of the year. It will provide some assistance in the afternoon if it's still strong by then.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

truck day yesterday! 
50°F and foggy this morning! put on some pants today.
was waiting with a foot on the curb on a traffic light and as soon as it turn green and I started to push an SUV came from behind and cut me off to turn right.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

After the unnaturally hot southerly, the weather turned back to normal. 6.4°C this morning (43.5°f ), I was fine with my winter baselayer and a wind jacket in the mostly dh way to work. The morning walk with the dog before commuting removes the "how warm should I dress" guesswork. Brilliant sunny day, I wanted to keep riding when I arrived at work. 

November was my first proper commuting month. I rode 315km without ever scoring a 5/5 week (had to use the car to carry stuff at least once a week) and without any mountain biking at all (due to a family situation).


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

51f for my ride in this morning! Sweating like crazy. Way too hot for December 1 in Missoula MT, I just bought a pair of Bar Mitts too. I rode in with short sleeves on, it was actually Very nice.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> granted I was in my late 20s and wasn't doing anything crazy in the mountains hehe
> This maybe?


Was that your video? I kept feeling bad that after each shot the guy had to go back and collect the camera. 

Minimal riding for me. I was off Th-Tues. I'm not into these 28F road rides lately. And this morning it was sleeting. Luckily we had some car swapping to do and I carpooled with my wife.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

57f this morning in the Montana Rockies! What is going on? Setting all time records here for heat. Wore jeans (work pants) on the commute and I’m soaked with sweat. It should be in the upper teens right now at this time of the morning.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> Was that your video? I kept feeling bad that after each shot the guy had to go back and collect the camera.


yep...probably why it took me so long to get to the dam hehe

no ride today, was just tired and wanted to sleep in...hoping for tomorrow for a 3/5 week.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Cool video @martinsillo! Yeah, what @bedwards1000 said about collecting the camera after every shot. Good work.

It's been warm and wet here in Seattle are too. Was rained on yesterday and today. But, it's cooling off tomorrow, low in the mid-30's high in the mid-40's. More typical for this time of year. Commute tomorrow is supposed to be dry...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

upper 60s again today..back to shorts!


martinsillo said:


> 50°F and foggy this morning! put on some pants today.


that day a trucker bringing a load from Canada was making fun of what I though was pretty cold hehe 😋 

today I forgot a new bar soap, took a shower with dishwasher 🤷‍♂️


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice Vid Martinsillo!

I rode again today, I needed to return the truing stand to my collegue. Unfortunately I couldnt fix the rear wheel but an insurance took care of a new rear wheel so all is good. I had my usual panniers with my clothes and laptop and I put the rear wheel on top of it, looked a bit awkward to others maybe but that's life for a cyclist.

We had freezing temps overnight and some snow, so the roads were covered with thin sheets of ice. I managed to get to work without crashing, but I did ride very slow and careful. My average went down to about 10mph. On accelerating at the two traffic lights on my route, I felt my rear wheel slip a bit. On the way home things were a bit better and I made a detour just for the heck of it .


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

I guess we are a bit spoiled..72°F this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

At least you got to ride. I was in the boring homeoffice again. At least I can sit next to the christmas tree the next 3 weeks  

I rode to the ATM today, 6k/4m round trip and it felt like nothing :-/


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Still checking in. The bladder and GI issues are not compatible with bike riding even on the stand is a problem. Last treatment (hopefully) is behind me now. So, I am awaiting less frequency and less urgency before resuming riding. We had a day of 68 F (uncommon for December) that I had to forgo and that was hard to take.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'll get 2-3 commutes in this week. Got 3 in last week. Good to see everyone checking in now and then.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

got the booster shot mid afternoon yesterday....was determined to take a chill ride on my way home...not....crazy head/cross windy ride, I think the worst this year...decided to take the truck today.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

I missed riding for no reason yesterday. Woke up, had breakfast, walked the dog in the rain. Decided it was too heavy to ride in and got dressed in normal clothes to drive to work. As soon as I started the engine the rain stopped, but it was too late to get back in and change clothes etc. Afternoon was dry too despite the forecast.

Today the ride was nice though.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

pretty shivering night last night...another rest day today


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

back today...73°F


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dry commute this morning, always a bonus this time of year to have a dry commute. About 40F, all in all a decent morning. Supposed to rain on the way home tonight...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Wet, dry, warm, cold. Good job on the booster @martinsillo I think I am all caught up. 
I skipped Monday due to freezing rain. Road the road on Tuesday. Took the dirt trail on Wednesday and got a fat flat. Carpooled home last night and took the same trail this morning but today it was a snow trail. And it was a toasty 12° F (Feels like 5° F). If feels like winter, that's what it feels like. Now I am ready for the lake to freeze because my 13 mile commute (with an added single track loop) took 1:40 on the fatty. 








Fresh tracks and long shadows​


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Nothing but respect for people who often commute with rain.

November and so far December the weather in Greece has been unusual with lots of southerlies and plenty of heavy rainfall. Unfortunately it's the kind of rain that has you soaked in 30 seconds max. Temps are high for the time of year as well (not complaining about that).

I've so far avoided getting too wet by sheer luck, but I'd appreciate some tips from those of you you know you're gonna get wet on the way to work. Fully waterproof gear, a spare change of clothes or both?


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

^oohh the rain..I try to avoid it pretty much always hehe specially on cold days...I'll catch a cold just by the morning dew and a little breeze!!

76°F today!..just realized I'm going to fall 4 miles short to 1K miles on the jamis on my way home later today..guess it will be monday then 🤞


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I made a "small" ride while my son was at soccer training last Wednesday and ended up with a ride the same distance as my regular commute ;-)

Today I rode and made a detour on the way home, alltogether 28km. It was cold, 2C only and I had my extra windstopper pants on and was thinking of Bedwards, who rides in shorts as long as it is above freezing...


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

justwan naride said:


> I've so far avoided getting too wet by sheer luck, but I'd appreciate some tips from those of you you know you're gonna get wet on the way to work. Fully waterproof gear, a spare change of clothes or both?


I've commuted year-round since 2008 in rainy Seattle, so I have had to come to terms with riding in the rain. My strategy is to accept that I'm going to get wet and focus on keeping my core warm.

1. A good rain jacket (Showers Pass) with appropriate layering is important to keeping your core warm.
2. I tried all manner of rain pants, hated them all...too warm or too restrictive or both. Now I ride with fleece tights (Pearl Izumi). They get wet but my legs stay relatively warm, and they will dry fast if you hang them.
3. Get good shoe covers (Showers Pass) to try and keep your shoes/socks as dry as possible.
4. Carry a second pair of gloves and socks for the ride home in case the stuff you rode in with does not dry during the day.
5. Keep some newspaper at your office to stuff in your shoes. It's sucks up the moisture and your shoes will dry out faster (it works! It really does!). Change the newspaper out once or twice during the day.

I never put anything on my head/helmet because it makes me overheat. My head gets wet. Big deal, I am not made of sugar.

If find that the worst part of a rain ride is the first two minutes as I transition from a dry to wet environment. Once I am out there and moving, I tend not to think about the rain too much. Good luck!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

woodway said:


> I've commuted year-round since 2008 in rainy Seattle..


Thanks for the tips, I guess Seattle is both cold and rainy, a challenging combo. Kudos for keeping it up for so long!

This week the persistent Southern winds change to N-NE but there's still rain in the forecast, only this time the temps are going to be colder. Snowfall is also expected on the mountains.

Today rode my hardtail to work, I will pass through a local hill on the way home to do a few XC laps. Assegai/HR2 combo feels unbearable on tarmac when you're used to slicks.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> ^oohh the rain..I try to avoid it pretty much always hehe specially on cold days...I'll catch a cold just by the morning dew and a little breeze!!


had to break my own rules today.
got up pretty late but determined that I was going to hit my 1K miles ...rushed everything and even got the wife to help me with my lunch bag...was all ready to go and when I opened the garage door....boom.. it was raining...pretty light shower, so I went for it...before leaving the neighborhood I stopped and put on a light jacket...glad I did..the rain then turn into a light shower, then into a real shower and thankfully it just stopped later on.
63°F this morning...got a semi long hot shower and done.

1000 miles commemorative photo!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Yesterday I made a small detour on the way home to ride a few trails.
























View attachment 1961138


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

69°F pretty foggy morning


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

I'm wet


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

I got wet today too on the way home. Fortunately not a complete wet out, fenders kept my butt dry. Wet rear is the most miserable feeling in my book.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

Been awhile since I have commuted to work, 22 months actually. Last week I commuted 3 times, 66% of the commute in I forgot something. The first day I forgot one of my bags, the one with the my change of clothes in it, got a mile away and remembered and rode home to get the missing bag. The second day I got it sorted but the third day I did it again forgetting my bag and getting 3 miles away, only to have to go home and pick up my bag then head back in. 

My commute is 12+ miles so I added in a few extra miles on a couple of days.

Then this morning I felt like I got everything sorted and then I forgot my mask at home, so I still got to ride some extra mileage, at least I remember a couple of blocks from my house and not miles. 

It feels like I haven't been on my bike in years, which I guess is the case. 

At least it has been generally dry and warmish for Seattle.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

rockcrusher said:


> 66% of the commute in I forgot something


I started this year after 10+ of a break...almost a year later and I'm still forgetting things, especially when running late....sometimes the laptop I work with 🤷‍♂️ 

took a break yesterday
74°F in today!
that would be all this week 3/5, tomorrow I have a doctors appointment.
next week I'm off for vacation.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

I've been doing this non stop since 2014. Only time I drive is when I bring my MTB to work so I can hit trails after (usually once a week). 34* this morning going to work here in SoCal, but at least it was dry!

I prep everything before going to bed. Everything is either in my backpack, or the food is all put together and ready to go in the fridge. I get up last minute and hit the road. I'm out of bed about 5:10, on the road about 5:20.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

Sidewalk said:


> I've been doing this non stop since 2014. Only time I drive is when I bring my MTB to work so I can hit trails after (usually once a week). 34* this morning going to work here in SoCal, but at least it was dry!
> 
> I prep everything before going to bed. Everything is either in my backpack, or the food is all put together and ready to go in the fridge. I get up last minute and hit the road. I'm out of bed about 5:10, on the road about 5:20.


2 years ago this was me too. I would get everything ready, wake up, make the kids lunches and then hit the road. It was years of doing this and then stopping commuting for 2 years and it is like I can barely remember my bike much less anything else critical. I still have to do the helmet check each leg of my commute, just to be sure I didn't leave it somewhere because when I put my under cap on my brain is like "headgear: Check".


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

37 degrees and a really light mist this morning. Not a bad morning for a ride at all. Made a detour to the bank, needed some cash for a haircut today, and when I got into the ATM lobby I realized I had lost my ATM card. Grrr.

I'm a prep the night before guy as well. Clothes are rolled in a bag, lunch is in the fridge, batteries are charged and my biking clothes are ready to go. I'm out the door between 4 and 5am. I like how quiet it is - can really enjoy the time.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Cold today (15 degrees) relative to the above average temps we have been having. It was very icy and of course the plows covered the bike lanes so in some spots, I used the sidewalk. I live in the county and commute into the city and there is a line where the bike trail stops being plowed, the county is doing a horrible job this year and the city is doing a great job. I deflate my studs to 12 psi and the chunky rutted ice is manageable but when I hit the plowed part the low inflation takes a toll on the legs. I inflate for the ride home and deflate for the last 1.5 miles of unplowed section, unfortunately I have to start with the low psi in the morning and just power through the other 4.5 miles to work. It’s still better than driving.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sidewalk that looks -really- wet. Do you have any fenders or rain clothing?

I rode today, might have been the last commute this year. It was an easy ride, no wind or rain, so what else could I want in this time of year. It was even well above freezing, so despite everything being in 50 shades of grey everything was fine.

We are approaching the shortest day of the year on the northern half of the hemisphere. Time to check your daylength on one of my favorite links that Bedwards posted a long time ago:








Sunrise and Sunset Calculator


Calculate local times for sunrises, sunsets, meridian passing, Sun distance, altitude and twilight, dusk and dawn times.




www.timeanddate.com




For me it is 7hrs27 minutes on the 21st of December.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

A break from the liquid sunshine with some real sunshine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> We are approaching the shortest day of the year on the northern half of the hemisphere. Time to check your daylength on one of my favorite links that Bedwards posted a long time ago:


If you like that link, try this one. It is a little mind boggling.








Online Planetarium - Interactive Sky Chart


Interactive sky chart showing planets, asteroids, comets and interplanetary probes and how to find them from your location.




theskylive.com




It gives the exact view of the sky from anywhere on earth at any moment in time. 

My bike commuting is slacking. I'm working on a house project and running myself out of time mornings before work. My excuse in the afternoons is it is cold and dark and my wife has been available to bring me home. I've only done 3 one way trips this week, I think I have put on 5 lbs.

But this morning was nice and very unseasonably warm around 45F...Snow forecast for tomorrow and below freezing thereafter.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I've been getting in 3 to 5 days of commuting since September. 10 mile round trip helps keep me sane. It's been pretty pleasant weather here in southeast Michigan. 

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

8:25:38 for me @cyclingdutchman 

Elliot Bay Trail @rockcrusher? I have not ridden down there for a number of years, and I remember it being pretty scenic!

@bedwards1000 - Hopefully the lake will freeze over for you soon and we can get some of those sweet Lake pics!

Only two commutes for me this week. Getting plenty of snow now at my place in Central Wshington. I setup my trainer but am struggling to get on it. I hate it. This weekend I'm going to put the studded tires back onto my bikes and get some outdoor rides in.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

woodway said:


> 8:25:38 for me @cyclingdutchman
> 
> @bedwards1000 - Hopefully the lake will freeze over for you soon and we can get some of those sweet Lake pics!


Ow yeah the lake!! Shortly before Christmas he always said. Cant wait for those sunrise pics on the blank ice!!


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

New Bike! Had my first commute on my new Trek District 4. Picked the bike up yesterday, fit my studs on last night, went out today. We had freezing rain and the world was an ice skating rink today. The District handles it very well. I’ve been on a ‘21 Epic Evo for the last year for my commutes and changing to a more upright position is very nice and works much better for the ice, at least with peace of mind. The EE always felt sketchy on the ice but this bike doesn’t. I also got some Ortlieb bags and filled them with 40 lbs of groceries today. 
it takes a minute to get used to the geared hub and the lowest gear isn’t that low when the bike is weighted down and you start up a hill. I may get a smaller sprocket to get a little better gearing. 




  








19A5C0B3-8815-4C2C-9803-D0B078F54637.jpeg




__
Zguitar71


__
Dec 19, 2021


__
1



Trek District 4


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

That's a proper commuter! Enjoy it, for me the full mudguards and large capacity panniers were the most notable improvements between using my mtb to commute vs an actual commuter bike.

Chilly morning ride today for our standards but beautiful weather with brilliant sunshine. Got to try my new 100% Brisker gloves, big improvement compared to my normal (read summer) gloves. Not for deep winter in really cold climates but for my use quite effective at keeping my fingers warm.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

I bailed this morning as it is supposed to be icy and potentially snowy today. The old panaracer gravelking slicks are not up to that job for sure.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commutes anymore this year but Monday and yesterday evening I made a nice ride of 1hr. Yesterday turned out quite refreshing, because the temps unexpectedly dipped to -6C at some point. it was quite nice, no wind, full moon and a light white twinkling powder over everything. Over Christmas temps seem to go down to -9C so I definitely have to make a ride somewhere to make sure I have some fun of it


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

not sure If I'll ride more this year...missed yesterday and today out of lazyness.
did manage to ride a quick one on Christmas Day with the now rebuilt BaroneSS...took the opportunity to swap to a shorter stem...more comfy ride.

Not sure what happened with the before pics..so this will do:
before:









After:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Snappy looking Surly.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Ow yeah the lake!! Shortly before Christmas he always said. Cant wait for those sunrise pics on the blank ice!!


Unfortunately the chance for clear ice is gone and I didn't get out on the lake to measure the thickness before it got a layer of snow on it. So now I don't trust it until we have a longer term cold spell. I "think" if I had got out on Christmas eve, before the snow, I would have found it to be safe. We have been getting a few inches of snow each day so the trails are too deep to pack with a bike and the roads are sketchy too. SO, I haven't been on a bike in a while.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> .......... SO, I haven't been on a bike in a while.


😱 Are you OK?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> 😱 Are you OK?


To be determined!  I am definitely feeling bulkier!!!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It hit 68 F here yesterday, so I got a 45-minute ride in after a long break. Had to start slow, but it was still a bit faster than I expected. Today is all day rain in the bone chilling 40's so I'll wait. The 100% humidity and higher water holding capacity in the forties feels colder than a crisp 20 F.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

68F, WOW! 

OK, I am back on the bike. The trails were as tough as I expected. It took me an hour and 40 minutes to get to work breaking fresh trails. I'll try again tomorrow, it should only take 1 hour and 30 minutes, LOL.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I took two weeks off for this. The warm runs have been great. I'm kinda dreading the Monday, 20° commute.









Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Cold, dark, snowy and over dressed. I dressed for a -10 windchill but the wind wasn’t there. My 6 mile commute takes me from my house that is almost never windy to the mouth of a super windy canyon. The temp was 10 and the wind was supposed to be blowing hard, didn’t happen. By the time I got to work my jacket was unzipped as well as my base layers. I rather have the gear than not though.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Intended an hour ride and maybe 15 miles, but the bike slid out from under me on wet pavement and some loose gravel at the 4.5-mile mark. Helmet is toast. Hematomas on right arm at elbow and right hip thanks to anti-clotting meds (arm was almost the size of my normal thigh. More-or-less did the splits trying to save it. The tendons did not like that. Spent from 3 PM to 3:30 AM in Immediate Care, then the ER. Then at 9 AM the power went out, so the CPAP shut off, and I guess my day started on 5 hours of fitful sleep, interrupted by ice pack applications. 

I figure that the New Year promises better and that I will be ready to ride when the new helmet arrives.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

BrianMc said:


> Intended an hour ride and maybe 15 miles, but the bike slid out from under me on wet pavement and some loose gravel at the 4.5-mile mark. Helmet is toast. Hematomas on right arm at elbow and right hip thanks to anti-clotting meds (arm was almost the size of my normal thigh. More-or-less did the splits trying to save it. The tendons did not like that. Spent from 3 PM to 3:30 AM in Immediate Care, then the ER. Then at 9 AM the power went out, so the CPAP shut off, and I guess my day started on 5 hours of fitful sleep, interrupted by ice pack applications.
> 
> I figure that the New Year promises better and that I will be ready to ride when the new helmet arrives.


not fun..specially when you are trying to get back on the road....hope you get a much better 2022!

Happy New Year everyone!
will try to get at least one day of riding this weekend and get back to commuting next week!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

In another forum, the mounting of lights on a helmet was called into question as affecting helmet function and our safety during a crash. I know that I am but a single case, but the Ravemen helmet mount did its duty and sheared off preventing excessive torque to my head and neck. I even felt it break and release the light and adapter. Thought that might be of interest in the group.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Ouch Brian, that doesnt sound that nice. Glad to hear the good news about the helmet mount. 

Also from me: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I WISH YOU A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR WITH LOTS OF ADVENTURES ON AND OFF THE BIKE!

and remember to stay negative! (Negative is the new positive  )


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

My first check in of 2022, hope everyone had a good new year holiday!

No commutes for me in the last two weeks - plenty of snow both in the Seattle area and the mountain pass that separates my Central Washington house from Seattle, so I've just stayed remote for a couple of weeks. My only "riding" has been on the trainer, but I have been outside showshoeing and Nordic Skiing. It's been nice to be off the bike for a while. I should be able to get over to Seattle this week and get a couple of proper commutes in. Staying negative Dutchman...


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

First commute of ‘22 was a cold one, about 12 degrees. I went to the grocery store, 14 miles round trip. Somehow I managed to not have two frozen tomatoes when I got home. The snow on the trails and roads is perfect and sticky right now but it is going to warm up into the low 30s soon and then the ice will start to build. While cold temps have their own hurtles the way the snow grips is very nice and over time the trails clear from sublimation which is an interesting process.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

34°F this morning..nope..looks like tomorrow's lower will be 50°F so first commute should be tomorrow.
Did a quick New Year's ride with the wife on Saturday..about 6 mi...nothing big..just glad she is getting to the point of going out and do more after the surgery.


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

First commute ride since 12/29. Freezing rain and some snow yesterday, so took the day off. A NICE way to ease back into office life for 2022.

Was 28*F this morning when I left. Dressed just right, which is always nice. Trail was empty because folks around here think 28 is the apocalypse. Trail was mostly dry, wooded bridges a bit icy but nothing terrible. Can't complain, a decent first commute of 2022!

On another note, my commuter soft shell jacket is slowly dying. I'm fearing the search for a replacement. Dear manufacturers -- I don't want a race-fit jacket for commuting. I do want plenty of pockets, I'm commuting, not racing. I don't want forest colors, I want something bright. I DON'T want waterproof. We all know in something like cycling, you're going to get wetter insider with a taped seams fully waterproof jacket. Give me a reasonably cut, bright, water resistant soft shell, oh, and with a double zipper. All active jackets should have a two-way zipper. Thank you!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

nayr497 said:


> On another note, my commuter soft shell jacket is slowly dying. I'm fearing the search for a replacement.


I understand your struggle. Dressing to commute is trickier than dressing for trails and the suitable options are not as many.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nayr497 said:


> ...folks around here think 28 is the apocalypse....


my people haha anything below 50 is the apocalypse here!! bailed at 34 and 42 this week for reference 😋 
I'm just a bit lazy and the thought of prepping more gear and actually dealing with the cold is not in me now, might change later, who knows, we are just a bit spoiled over here in "almost Mexico".

first commute for 2022 today...52°F 
uneventful 
just a bit foggy


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

martinsillo said:


> my people haha anything below 50 is the apocalypse here!! bailed at 34 and 42 this week for reference 😋
> I'm just a bit lazy and the thought of prepping more gear and actually dealing with the cold is not in me now, might change later, who knows, we are just a bit spoiled over here in "almost Mexico".
> 
> first commute for 2022 today...52°F
> ...


Im in shorts and a short sleeve at 52! At least in the spring, once I’ve gone through our week and a half of summer I’ll through on a super light long sleeve at 52.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Zguitar71 said:


> Im in shorts and a short sleeve at 52! At least in the spring, once I’ve gone through our week and a half of summer I’ll through on a super light long sleeve at 52.


shorts, short sleeves and a pretty light jacket for me ...droping the jacket this afternoon as weatherman says I should be going home at 78°F 🥵 haha
it looks like is going to get a bit colder the rest of the week but I'll try to do my 3 days this week anyways...need to steer the boat in the right direction again and drop the couple of pounds I got back on Christmas


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

martinsillo said:


> it looks like is going to get a bit colder the rest of the week


...at least not today hehe 61°F
worst fog today
new dog, probably a german sheppard chased today...fog was so closed I can't confirm, thankfully it didn't get close enough


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

49°F and windy, no fog today
added an extra layer and a neck gaiter on top...good, but I think I should have used warmer gloves....still shorts.
uneventful ride...well no...what's up with the upcoming traffic flashing high beams at you?
looks like I'm getting home at about the same temps today.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

No commutes for the last two days. 15 inches of snow just wasn’t doable then it warmed to 40 and rained then turned the roads and trails to skating rinks. I can barely standup in my driveway. I’m going on vacation soon then it will be back to the bike everyday until the next big snow/ice day. Usually snow doesn’t stop me but this time it was falling too fast and the plows couldn’t keep up.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

no commute today, working from home
the wife has been feeling weird and the Dr told her it might be omicron, so she picked me up early on Friday for a test.... I left the jamis at the office...knowing I wasn't going to commute today I decided to go and pick up my bike yesterday via a reverse duathlon  ...I walked the 8.3 miles to work and cycle back after a small water break...fun.
One thing I can tell about walking in the streets, cars will give you less space and odors will be stronger and last longer than when you are riding.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Still sidelined from the commute from the city being an ice skating rink. My 700cx50 studs are no savior when it comes to lumpy transparent ice.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Since I started commuting I generally manage 4-5 days/week. A big storm is forecasted for today and tomorrow though so I combined this with an errant I have to run and drove to work today. The problem is that it's 8.50 in the morning and the rain still hasn't started, so it feels like I wasted a riding opportunity. That said, peak of the storm is predicted for the afternoon and if it comes true I really wouldn't want to ride in these conditions (cold, wet and windy).

Not getting much mountain biking these days due to family commitments, so riding to work is my current fix.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm not getting notifications for this thread again. I had my first snow commute of the season last week. I ended up having to take the long way home because I couldn't trip a stop light. I would normally just run it if I had no other option, but there was a huge line of traffic on the road I was trying to cross. It ended up being a pleasant ride, since traffic was super light going the direction I had to go. The conditions weren't ideal for slicks, but it wasn't too bad. I did have one close call on my street. With the snow, I forgot that there was construction on my street. I hit something in the road and ended up doing a 180. I got my foot down though so no biggie.

Other than that, my commutes have been pretty boring.


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

Weird weather here in SoCal. Forecast said 50*, so I dressed a little light. But half way in I hit some light Santa Ana winds. So I went from 46* to 60* instantly with a headwind the rest of the way. And I was baking. Oh well, two days in a row.

Then I get to work and the back gate to the factory doesn't have a security guard to let me in. Had to ride my bike around to the other side of the factory to get to the main gate then walk back to the back gate area where I work 

I try very hard to find a way to complain


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm here. I don't seem to be getting notifications here either.


martinsillo said:


> no commute today, working from home
> the wife has been feeling weird and the Dr told her it might be omicron, so she picked me up early on Friday for a test.... I left the jamis at the office...knowing I wasn't going to commute today I decided to go and pick up my bike yesterday via a reverse duathlon  ...I walked the 8.3 miles to work and cycle back after a small water break...fun.
> One thing I can tell about walking in the streets, cars will give you less space and odors will be stronger and last longer than when you are riding.


And? Was it Omicron? Did you end up with it? If you can smell things in the streets, maybe not. 8 miles is a long walk!

I've been spending a lot of time on projects. Between that and trails that aren't packed and 0F days I've been passing on the bike commute. I did get a few trail commutes in this week. The first one is the hardest, packing the trail. I'm planning on a mostly road trip home on the fatbike with a lake crossing shortcut. 

We're supposed to get 8" of snow on Monday which should be enough to open the trails up to snowmobiles so I will have help packing them. Happy Friday!


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## yetilicious (Dec 27, 2011)

I usually commute on my Giant Revolt but this weekend I was able to demo a 2019 Trek Supercommuter 8s. This made my usual 10ish mile route through San Jose pretty fun. Instead of cruising at 16mph I was doing 23-24mph. Commute time went from around 45mins down to the 30s depending on traffic lights. I'm still debating if I'll actually buy it after tax season.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all, just wanted to say hi here. I am bound home. Company ordered home office 100% and my ex has Covid. She was pretty sick and getting better now. Hence I have my sons here for 2 weeks. The first week they were quarantained here and now they can at least go to school again. It’s busy but they are doing great 👍🏻.
Needless to say I can’t go for a ride. I can feel my fitness is going down and it’s annoying to be locked in the apartment so much, but the end is in sight. No more than a week and I will have some time again and I am sure that going for a bike ride will be the very first thing I’ll do as soon as I can.

stay careful and look after yourself and others.

CU, CD


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

bedwards1000 said:


> I'm here. I don't seem to be getting notifications here either.
> 
> And? Was it Omicron? Did you end up with it? If you can smell things in the streets, maybe not. 8 miles is a long walk!


I still get notifications on tapatalk but not normal mtbr emails.

labs are so behind I still haven't received my pcr results from a week ago..wife got better pretty fast from whatever she had...at the office they booked me an appointment tomorrow for an antigen test on a private lab and told me I could go back to the office if results came negative.

didn't do any exercise after the duathlon just in case, although I never felt bad...should be back to commuting on Tuesday if everything goes well.
from my walk last week hehe









glad things are looking better @cyclingdutchman


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

negative on the antigen test


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Needless to say, I can’t go for a ride. I can feel my fitness is going down and it’s annoying to be locked in the apartment so much, but the end is in sight.


I still have a swollen elbow and knee. Can't risk insult to injury. Got the studded tires on the winter bike. So, I can ride the appropriately tired bike when the time comes to ride again.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

51°F this morning...uneventful..I did push a bit harder than usual for my morning rides as I was running a bit late.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I might not get much commuting in this week. We had snow Sunday night. Temps were on the warmer side, so it came down a bit more icy. The roads were a mess yesterday morning. The MUP was likely a disaster until today as it's warmed up a bit. I decided to drive instead of walking that section, since it's pretty difficult to navigate that section when icy. Rain is moving in tomorrow and then maybe snow after that. We'll see how everything goes down.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm still here. It's been an eventful couple of weeks. Week before last we got 32"/81cm of snow in 24 hours at my house in Central Washington. Needless to say, it was rather difficult to do anything. It took a few days to dig out. All the major east-west passes in the state were closed for almost a week, so I could not travel over to Seattle and go to the office. I rode the trainer, which I despise.

I hope to get a couple of commutes in this week, but it's likely I'll be leaving my job in the next few weeks (my choice), so my commuting future is up in the air.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

odd mid 60s this morning..forgot my working socks 
looks like we are getting some rain and lower temps (mid 30s) in the next couple of days.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Morning commute was cold at 0.3 °C but dry. It's now snowing and some roads are getting covered. This happened a couple of days last year too, but generally it's uncommon for Athens. HR told us we are free to go home if we fear it's going to be problematic later. I'll take some pics from the way home later.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)




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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

We had some serious snowfall on Monday which is fairly uncommon here and caused much trouble. Both public an private sectors were letting employees leave early which caused serious traffic jams that ony got worse with the snow, lack of winter tyres and infrastracture. Many people were stranded in their own cars for multiple hours. Almost all businesses remained closed on Thesday and Wednesday.

Today I rode to work again. Temps were crispy, 1.5 degrees Celsius, but luckily there were very few icy patches. My winter gloves were not warm enough. Temps are expected to rise the next couple of days though.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

last week was cut off short due to rain
this week had a business trip to Houston, came back for the same...weatherman says next week is going to be good. 🤞


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

had to bring the car yesterday to pick up the wife at the airport in the afternoon
finally on the bike today..56°F and foggy..wondering if at this point I should invest on some amber lights hehe


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

67° this morning! crazy..tomorrow low 30s and rainy so most likely this week is over for me.
shared the road with another commuter for a little while this morning! first one after a year of commuting..he was probably late, said hi and boom he went


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@martinsillo - Looks like you have been holding down the fort! Good to hear you are getting regular rides in.

I've been office commuting a couple of days per week. Had a flat-fest last week (front tire and then rear tire a couple of days later), otherwise nothing out of the ordinary to report.

My commuting will be coming to an end in 6-8 weeks. I quit my job (just burned out) and I am planning to take some time off and decide if this is just going to be a sabbatical, or maybe something more permanent, or? Planning to take the summer off for sure. Will still be hanging around here until then.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Summer off sounds awesome!! Congrats on escaping the burn out. Hopefully we still see you hanging out here occasionally after then. You'll have to do some kind of work again, eventually. 

Yes, I am still here. Between some days off, a project at home, appointments and weather I've only got a few rides in this year. Monday was -15F in the morning (I thought it was closer to 0 when I left). I'm always amazed at how slow the bike feels at those temps. I would have ridden the trails today but I had the opposite problem, it is about 40F and everything is too soft. And tomorrow is supposed to be another blizzard type event.

It's good to check back in with everybody's commutes. Nice pics Mr Wannaride. SO different than my commutes.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Pretty sunrise pic @bedwards1000 ! Good to see that you are able to cross the lake.



bedwards1000 said:


> You'll have to do some kind of work again, eventually.


Maybe. I've been working since I was 21 for various tech companies. I'm 61 now. It's been a great run but thinking I want to focus a little more on my QTR (Quality Time Remaining) and maybe try something else. Not sure what that something else is though. Going to take the summer off and not think about it. 😆

In the meantime I did commute to the office this morning. Cold (well not compared to your level of cold @bedwards1000) and raining. Pretty typical for this time of year.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Maybe. I've been working since I was 21 for various tech companies. I'm 61 now. It's been a great run but thinking I want to focus a little more on my QTR (Quality Time Remaining) and maybe try something else. Not sure what that something else is though. Going to take the summer off and not think about it. 😆


61, No sh1t! I would have pegged you for 10 years younger based on the pics I have seen. I've got 6 years until 61 but will probably try to keep at it until 62. Although a shift to something entirely different is always enticing. Enjoy it!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hehe am I the youngest here now? 40.
after 40 years of working, a break (indefinite or not) sounds pretty well deserved @woodway


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Can beards get frostbite? That's some hardcore commute!

I took the car twice this week, combined the rainy days with errands I had to run. Rode my bike to work the rest, twice on Monday as a small family emergency meant I had to return home halfway through the workday and back to the office again.

Current average is 4 commutes a week and a proper Sunday mtb ride. Saturdays I take the dog to canicross class, but we're still beginners, so not running any serious distances.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> 61, No sh1t! I would have pegged you for 10 years younger based on the pics I have seen. I've got 6 years until 61 but will probably try to keep at it until 62. Although a shift to something entirely different is always enticing. Enjoy it!


Made my day. Thanks for that.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

I was out of town for two weeks so no commuting though I did mostly walk to destinations while on vaca. I was on the island of Kauai. I guess the walking to various beaches could be called commuting, my wife and I averaged 8.5 miles of foot time every day there. 
I got back to Missoula, MT and made one commute last week then a large ice build up on some of the surrounding roads and paved trails kept me in the car the next four days. Yesterday the temp shot up to 45 and the sun came out and I rode an 11.5 mile round trip to the grocery store for 50lbs of groceries that cost way too much. The ice was gone or super soft and slushy. Most of the trails are now bare once I get about a mile from my house and the closer trails have a center stripe open but the road crossings are super icy but that is why I have studs so the daily commute is back on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi all, at least I managed to ride my bike 5k/3m today. That is a lot for me the last weeks.....by now I am walking a lot, like Zguitar wrote. I am glad that some lucky people can still ride.

Woodway, if you have nothing better to do, head over here and ride your bike across Europe  

CU, CD


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I got a proper commute in to the office today. Temp was around 40 and it was dry.

Depending on how often I go to the office and how many days/week I commute I have somwhere in the neighborhood of 12-20 commute days left before I leave my gig.

@cyclingdutchman , I would love to come ride across Europe. But I'll need someone who lives there to be my guide 😉


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## Stewiewin (Dec 17, 2020)

ph4tcharlie said:


> Well how was it?
> 
> Mine was good... hadn't been able to ride at all for the 10 days leading up to today, so it was a bit harder to get into the groove.
> 
> ...


trip to can then to kitchen 😋😀😎


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

had commutes Tuesday and yesterday...both low 40s in the morning and low 60s in the afternoon...a coworker came out positive yesterday so we all went for tests this morning...everyone negative on the antigen...should ride again tomorrow for a 3/5 week 🤞


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## Stewiewin (Dec 17, 2020)

ph4tcharlie said:


> Well how was it?
> 
> Mine was good... hadn't been able to ride at all for the 10 days leading up to today, so it was a bit harder to get into the groove.
> 
> ...


3m to trail, 1.2m none stop clim,b


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Record warmth in Western Montana today. Our lows were above freezing for two nights in a row and today’s high was 57. The ice on the trails is gone! It’s good and of course bad at the same time but the commute today was glorious.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

3/5!
low 50s this morning.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

Finally, my first bike commute since moving houses!

13.5 km one way.









2022muter - Martijn D.'s 13.6 km bike ride


Martijn D. rode 13.6 km on Feb 11, 2022.




www.strava.com


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

another late start this week
48°F uneventful morning.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@asphaltdude - Congratuations! I checked out your strava page, you have some amazing rides on there!

Easy commute this morning, 43F/6C, some very light rain, no wind. Easy as can be.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

truck ride yesterday  
65°F on my morning commute today! a bit windy.
still struggling to get rid of those 2 pounds I wanted gone.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Windy and about 56 F. Test rode the three bikes. Hematoma not quite gone. Doctor OK'd riding again. Caught a bug (not COVID) so had to delay a restart. A lot of conditioning to recover.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Covid finally hit our house. My wife caught it, but none of the rest of us ever tested positive. I had to work from home for a bit. Other than that and a few bad weather days, I've been consistent on my pathetically short commute. I was losing too much fitness, so I've decided to actually have a mileage goal of 1,500 miles this year. That's about half of what I'd like to do, but I need to focus on other stuff more than cycling. I got a Fitbit watch at our company Christmas party that has Strava integration, which makes logging miles a bit easier. Before I didn't count commutes, but these days I need all the help I can get.

In other news, this thread refuses to consistently give me alerts. Oh, and I'm younger than @martinsillo, but only by a year.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Too cold, -30 windchill, just couldn’t commit to the pedals.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

justwan naride said:


> Current average is 4 commutes a week and a proper Sunday mtb ride. Saturdays I take the dog to canicross class, but we're still beginners, so not running any serious distances.


with this schedule, odds are younger than both of us @s0ckeyeus hehe

last week ended up short at 2/5
This week I just started today
72°F this morning!
cross/head winds 99% of the ride


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Too warm, just right, too cold, just right, to snowy, absolutely perfect, too rainy, pretty good, shouldn't have tried, very good, too warm, should have tried, all ice, too muddy. Welcome to winter trail commuting in Maine. Today is very very warm for February, 60F. I considered taking the road bike but I drove. Tomorrow morning is going to be 14F.

Overall, the commutes have been pretty good. We don't have a lot of snow for this time of year but as long as I am running studs, the trails are good when it is cold enough. 

I had to check back in so I don't miss the going away party for @woodway


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

The worst of the winter is probably behind us here in Athens, Greece. Weather turned a bit windy and chilly with a bit of a drizzle yesterday afternoon, but overall it's been getting warmer, and the days longer.

I rode to work on the ht with a backpack and trail gear (instead of commuter bike with panniers and casual clothes). On the way back I did a few fun XC laps on a hill that's halfway between work and home. The undulating nature of the trails make riding there a bit like interval training, esp. if you push a bit hard and don't take any breaks. The plan is to do this every Wednesday to increase time on dirt, as one mtb ride on Sundays is not enough.



martinsillo said:


> with this schedule, odds are younger than both of us @s0ckeyeus hehe


Just turned 42, fitness is not very good at the moment. I've noticed a steady decline the last few years. Worst part is what happens when I don't get enough sleep, which is often the case. I've also managed to gain weight since I started commuting everyday. Need to get my eating (and drinking) habbits in order.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^42, you have a few more good years left, LOL! 

The freeze thaw has been turning the trails to concrete snow, ice and frozen dirt. I've traded the fat bike for something spikier.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

justwan naride said:


> Need to get my eating (and drinking) habbits in order.


yep, that was key on getting rid of the pounds I lost..fitness still not good..with 2-3 commutes per week at best and nothing else (I bailed on the gym) I'm still struggling...trying to get hooked with some calisthenics now.



bedwards1000 said:


> The freeze thaw has been turning the trails to concrete snow, ice and frozen dirt. I've traded the fat bike for something spikier.


as much as I hate the cold now, I got to admit, that looks fun!



martinsillo said:


> 72°F this morning!


I went home at 52°F with showers, not fun, specially as it was still pretty windy with the cold front still coming in.
bailed this morning at 38°F also raining.
looks like I'm done for the week, weatherman says is going to be like this until Sunday.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^42, you have a few more good years left, LOL!
> 
> The freeze thaw has been turning the trails to concrete snow, ice and frozen dirt. I've traded the fat bike for something spikier.
> View attachment 1971830


That looks fun AF. 

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

WHALENARD said:


> That looks fun AF.


I did climb one icy flow and realized halfway up that it was more like ****'s creek if I slipped out.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Not quite done yet @bedwards! Another 5 weeks of work. 

Love the studded tires!



justwan naride said:


> Just turned 42, fitness is not very good at the moment. I've noticed a steady decline the last few years. Worst part is what happens when I don't get enough sleep, which is often the case. I've also managed to gain weight since I started commuting everyday. Need to get my eating (and drinking) habbits in order.


It was right around age 42 that the 245 pound me decided he better get is eating/drinking/sleeping/exercise under control because he was heading for an early termination. I started exercising and eating better and cut 240 to 210. Then, in 2008, I started fulltime bike commuting and the 210 pound me became the current 180 pound me. Saved my life and I'll never go back.

Only got one commute in the week. Will try to do better next week!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

woodway said:


> ... became the current 180 pound me. Saved my life and I'll never go back.


man, I want to be there.... 202 at the moment and the scale doesn't want to move

only one commute last week for me.
This week...just rode again today...48°F, dry, uneventfull.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Oh what a difference a week makes. The trails are all covered with soft snow. Even so, this trail still had an icy river emerging. (Same spot as last week's pic)









I've got 3 rides in this week. They've been taking over 1 hour so I don't feel like I am slacking.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Soaking wet, misjudged the amount of rain and wore the wrong clothes. Live and learn.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Oh what a difference a week makes. The trails are all covered with soft snow. Even so, this trail still had an icy river emerging. (Same spot as last week's pic)
> 
> I've got 3 rides in this week. They've been taking over 1 hour so I don't feel like I am slacking.


Man, I never get tired of looking at that bike bedwards.

I have exactly zero commutes or bike rides of any kind this week. Headed to Bend, Oregon tomorrow for some outdoor recreation. I'll try to make up for my slackness!


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

2 in a row!
63°F this am
got distracted too close to the edge of the road, body/bike was too far right to correct...went down a ditch up to a driveway, down to the ditch and up again to the road...just some old light mtbiking hehe


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Already close to 1.000km and 14.500m elevation for '22. Most of the distance is commuting, and most of the elevatiοn is from the few mtb rides I've managed to do (it's usually around 1000m every Sunday ride, around 400m on weekdays).

Most weeks I'm commuting 4 or 5 days. Legs not feeling so fresh these days though. Still haven't managed to follow a good sleep schedule.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

last week ended up in 2/5
my body is just not cooperating...now it is a leg...not sure what I pulled but its a pain near the groin...let's see how it goes this week


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

A bit chilly (-6 celcius) in the morning, but sunny and beautiful!

I've been slacking a bit lately, but the weather forecast is excellent, so I'm planning to ride 5/5 this week.

And since gas prices are skyrocketing I'm saving lots of money. 😁
1 liter currently does € 2.30 over here..........


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

asphaltdude said:


> And since gas prices are skyrocketing I'm saving lots of money. 😁
> 1 liter currently does € 2.30 over here..........


with gas running at 4 USD/gal here in Texas...and probably rising...I decided to power my pain....first ride of the weeek today.
50°F dry...perfect hehe


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've had to ride down a closed street this week. They are doing some construction on the road, but it's usually wrapped up by the time I ride home, so I go that way and bunny hop the obstacles in my way rather than take the bumper to bumper way up the hill.

Today I had to leave early and work from home, and the road workers were actively working. I had not choice but to take the busier road up the hill. Thankfully traffic was lighter than normal, but some dude decided to pass me with 3-4 oncoming cars in the other lane. I'm glad he moved over to not hit me, but he was solidly across the center line. The other cars had to move to the outside of their lane just to avoid him. I don't know what people are thinking sometimes. At least nothing additional happened.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

3/3 and counting. Sunny.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Ι posted earlier that the cold days are behind us here in Greece... I was wrong! Major drop in temp over the last couple of days with snowfall on the mountains around Athens and even more snow on the northern part of the country, even in low altitude.

Somehow I came to love the cold morning commute, maybe because I know that the summer heat will be worse.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

48°F this morning...0 $ spent on gas , hope it stays that way for a while🤞


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> Man, I never get tired of looking at that bike bedwards.


4322 miles on it and counting. That's about 20,000 in fatbike miles. (Like dog years) I see you got in a commute today.

I've been slacking on my bike commutes lately but the price of gas has me re-motivated. I carpooled in with my wife and have my gravel bike for the ride home on the roads. First road bike ride in I-don't-know-how-long.

The lake is still viable for a few more weeks but it's days are numbered. 47F here right now.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

well, it didn't 🤷‍♂️


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I think the titles say it all.
*Spiky Tire Heaven
40% Ice + 30% Snow + 20% Road + 10% Dirt = 100% Fun.*


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Yep, just one commute last week. I'm in full wind-down mode and as the weather gets better will be in full ramp-up mode on outside cycling. Maybe two commutes this week.

Nice commute @bedwards1000 ! Enjoy the lake while you can.

@justwan naride - Greece! Post some pics of your commute! I have a picture in my mind and want to see if it matches with reality...


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

woodway said:


> @justwan naride - Greece! Post some pics of your commute! I have a picture in my mind and want to see if it matches with reality...


Nothing spectacular, Athens can be very nice but very ugly as well. I'm lucky in the sense that my route is reasonably safe, I don't need to use busy roads during peak hours. Part of it is bikepath which also helps. Greek drivers are still not used (or fond of) sharing the road and the bikelane infrastructure is limited and not very well designed. 

Last week I heard they're started to work on a bikepath that will run along the coast, connecting the city of Athens to the Sounio Cape. This will be great when it's finished, as it's a very scenic route, popular for Sunday road rides, but not very safe to do using the road.


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## bbender785 (Sep 14, 2015)

starting to find some commuting regularity again here in michigan. seems like its been one thing or another every day this winter preventing me from riding to work. believe i only rode once in january and once in february, but march has been off to a good start. think i can hang the studded tires up for the year, but still running the winter compounds. that might change sooner than later with temps forecasted in the 50's all week.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

I was almost certain commuting every day takes a toll on my weekend mtb rides, but after last Sunday's ride I'm not so sure anymore. 

I hadn't done a proper long ride with good amounts of elevation in a while. This one was 43km with 1550m vertical, including around 45 mins of carrying our bikes down a very steep and loose hiking "trail". I commuted 4/5 days the week before and rested on Saturday.

Some of the fireroads were of the very steep kind, the one where you don't dare look further than your own front wheel as it would kill morale. I was really surprized to realise my legs were feeling fresh the whole time, including the aforementioned fireroads and some punchy tech climbs that I went into not really believing I'd make it. The pace was very casual on everything apart from the trails we found along the way. 

This contrasts my experience with shorter but faster mtb rides where I feel slow and heavy.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

still not riding ..got a bug and I'm fighting it


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Mornings are getting warmer! It was 32 this morning which was not bad at all. There are still a couple of icy spots on the commute but 99% of the ride is dry. I’ll probably change back to road tires from studs in a couple of weeks and around April take the Bar Mitts off. I’m ready for the summer!


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

30°f here in Michigan. Beautiful fireball sunrise, but my fingers got pretty chilly. I'm glad to be off the side fat tires.









Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi Gents, thanks for all the stories and pics.
Just out of the blue I commuted 3 days this week! First rides of the year and it was great.

Great rides with Nice sunrises, rain, colder and warmer temps and the first blossoming trees, loved it. Today I was lucky enough to have a tailwind on both rides.
Pics at more than words, so here we go.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey dutchman, good to see you back. This place is a little lively in the past few weeks. I wonder if that has anything to do with the price of gas. 

Well, I think my snow commutes are over. It seems early this year but we haven't been below freezing for a while so the trails are mud and the lake won't be safe for long. I crossed on Wednesday morning. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to become open water. 

@woodway Is tomorrow the last one? !!!!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

@cyclingdutchman Great pics! It looks like you have plenty of open space there, I imagine winds are often a problem?

5/5 commutes this week but after 2-3 days of Spring weather the NE winds have returned with a vengeance and will likely persist untill next Wednesday. They bring cold temps, some rain and snow on higher altitudes. Ski resorts are enjoying a very good last leg of the season. It's nowhere near the frozen lakes etc you guys post, but definitely cold for our standards for the time of year.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

So I took the trails to avoid the mud. 








This is what the road looked like. Mud season is real! 

I avoided this road this morning and stuck to pavement. It was also the first day in shorts. It was only 38F but why not. It is supposed to get near 70F this afternoon but my wife "offered" to ride home if I wanted to take the car home.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

It's good to be back on the bike. Slow progress at getting fit again. Progress is good. Slowly building speed and distance. Yesterday we approached 70 F so very comfortable. I managed to be laid up for most of the winter, so I guess that is sort of a bright side!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Oh man, I am behind on posts. And I even missed a @cyclingdutchman sighting!

@bedwards1000 - that is real life, honest mud. Damn.

@justwan naride - hey thanks for the pics! Your commute looked about what I expected except for the snow part! Somehow I never thought about snow in Athens.

@cyclingdutchman - Nice pics! Good that you are back commutting.

@BrianMc - way to keep fighting the good fight.

@martinsillo - hope you are feeling better

Nice to see activity from other forum friends: @jamespc @Zguitar71 @bbender785 

As for me, only one commute this week. Next week will probably be my last commute. Then it's the start of my sabbatical! I've got plenty planned - riding, hiking, fishing, travelling.


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

It's spring.

2 week streak commuting by bike.









10/10 streak - Martijn D.'s 14.1 km bike ride


Martijn D. rode 14.1 km on Mar 18, 2022.




www.strava.com


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Yes there is lots of open space and wind is often there, that’s the way it is. It’s not that bad, it is often half tailwind and half headwind each way.

bedwards I will never complain about mud again, promised!

Apparently some have missed me, I feel honored. Anyone knows if MTBXplorer is all right?

now that I see asphaltdude’s tree, here is the first blossoming tree over here:


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Nice pic @asphaltdude!

@cyclingdutchman - looking at her profile, last time she was logged in was about a year ago. Hope she is doing OK.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Apparently some have missed me, I feel honored. Anyone knows if MTBXplorer is all right?


I checked in a quite a while back and she said she was overzealous deleting passwords. I tried again more recently and didn't get a response so I don't know. We're had a few regulars drift away over the years.

Edit: I just searched on Facebook she seems to be commuting daily. I just tried to nudge her back here.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Hi all, good to see you! Telecommuting had me not bikecommuting much but I am back at it M-F and loving it.
Recent pic with rain and 35 F.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

My wife is pretty tolerant of one bike in the Florida Room, but 3... So I made a movable shelf for the garage so the cars done't get bakedin the summer or iced over in the winter:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Typical March weather here today. Just above freezing in the morning, 15C on the way home. The strange thing is, that the 15C felt so cold that I put my jacket on after 10 minutes ^^

Brian, neat solution in your garage.

MTBXplorer: good to see you back here!! 💪🏻👍🏻


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I fingered a Russian today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

You mean your finger got stuck in the saddle tube of a russian bike while trying to get the spare spoke out that you keep in there? 

Put some chain oil on it, that will help you out


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Heavy rain all night yesterday, clear skies in the morning. Now I'm sitting at work, the wind is howling and it's about to rain again. Fingers crossed for the afternoon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

And the next rides are in today. Just above freezing this morning and 18C in the afternoon. I am back on my usual pace now, slowly getting back in the groove 😃


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Glorious weather today, Spring is back with a vengeance after a long cold streak, very unusual this time of the year. 

My first thought early in the morning while walking the dog "I should skip work".

I didn't


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

Took a scenic detour this morning 😎


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

Added 5 miles to my commute to go to the dermatologist today. Gotta make sure this paleness is ready for another summer.









Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Windy day about 20 F colder than last outing. T watch cap under the helmet, zipped up Hi-Vis jacket were just adequate. The wind dropped me about 1 mph, average. Which seems pretty good it was not more, to me.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

asphaltdude said:


> Took a scenic detour this morning 😎


That looks like a pretty fine road to ride!

Where's @woodway ? Is he still here or did he slip out the back into retirement?

Today's weather is back to winter. 21F this morning with a mid-day high not above freezing and colder temps forecast for tomorrow morning. Not impressed. If this had happened last week I could have been on the trails but the ice is all but gone from the lake.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Where's @woodway ? Is he still here or did he slip out the back into retirement?


@woodway here. My sabbatical starts on Friday. No opportunity to commute this week, so my commuting days are on hold for now. Only recreational rides for the next few months! I'll check in now and then to see how the commutes are going.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

We are officially in full Spring weather. Pollen and caterpillars are in abundance, plus my allergies of course. A mtb hoody with a baselayer is plenty for the early morning ride to work which is mostly downhill and just a short sleeve on the way home. I will have to change to shorts for the way back soon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Our streak of nice weather is over and we are back to wind and rain. The ride in this morning was ok, the ride home was in rain and a 25kt steady headwind with gusts up to 35kts. At some points I was struggling to keep it above 10kph. I didn’t bring rain clothing either so I was pretty wet when I got home but nothing a warm shower can’t fix fast 

Next commute is presumably Thursday.

see for yourself:


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Our streak of nice weather is over and we are back to wind and rain.


Since I have no job to ride to, I just worked the treadmill or did yard work if dry and windy. Got a ride in yesterday as the temp peaked at 55 F with mild winds.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...the ride home was in rain and a 25kt steady headwind with gusts up to 35kts. At some points I was struggling to keep it above 10kph.


Windy commutes make me twice as miserable, as 1) pedalling into a headwind is no fun at all and 2) I wish I was windsurfing instead of working. Combine it with rain and it sucks even more. 

Although I have to admit that after I'm home it gives me a somewhat satisfactory sense of having "battled the elements".


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

let's go!
first commute in weeks!
75° this morning
saw the other commuter on my route, he said hi passing by and smoked me.
wheatherman says we are peaking at 103° today!


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I've been commuting since late November after a car accident left me without a vehicle. At first the ride in was enjoyable/liberating... now it's starting to feel like a grind. I've noticed my commute times slowly go up and becoming increasingly annoyed with minor things. Everyone expects me to stop riding in once the summer heat hits but the stubborn part of me wants to do it in spite of them, lol. We will see. I really need to figure out a way to clean myself up once I get into work. Thought about bringing in some wash cloths and basically taking a whore's bath once I get in. I'm also getting tired of changing in bathroom stall's and having to bring a change of clothes.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Swolie74 said:


> I've been commuting since late November...now it's starting to feel like a grind.


Bummer. Can you point out what is it that makes it unpleasant? Is it the route (too long, too steep uphill), the traffic or something else? Is the bike up to the task or is it making life harder for you? Having to bring clothes to work and change everyday gets me too sometimes, so I understand where you're coming from.

I'm too waiting for summer to come to see how I deal with the heat and resulting sweat. My main motivation is that I really hate using the car in the city (plus fue cost) and public transport isn't convinient.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

Swolie74 said:


> ...I really need to figure out a way to clean myself up once I get into work. Thought about bringing in some wash cloths and basically taking a whore's bath once I get in. I'm also getting tired of changing in bathroom stall's and having to bring a change of clothes.


I've been lucky to have an available shower in the workplaces I've used the bike to go to work, but I did try the wash cloths route once on my shorter commute when it wasn't super hot, it wasn't terrible but then again I wasn't sweeting that much on those rides.
Actually, at the first place I commutted to the shower wasn't availble until later so when I started I found a spa/sauna nearby that let me use their showers for a small fee, I think they even get me a locker....anyways, I went there took a shower and then rode in my work clothes for a couple of blocks. Just an idea.
Motivation is key, focus on the good things.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cold and Windy again today. But at least, no Rain. I got caught in a shower with a mix of rain and hail. After the ahower the sun came out and the dark sky was pretty impressive.
Have a nice weekend every1!

(the bike is hidden in the shadow of the tree)


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Beautiful sky indeed! 

I'm down with covid since Friday, so no commuting for me untill the end of the week. Mild symptoms so far luckily. The weather is absolutlely glorious right now, it's the best time of the year for riding bikes. Sunny, long days, not too hot temps. Caterpillars are the only thing to watch out for in the woods and city parks.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Last week started out rough but legs were actually feeling pretty good by wednesday (usually when they start feeling heavy).. did a 40 mile ride yesterday so taking today off and will pick back up on my commute tomorrow...


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

looks like I'm only commuting on Wednesdays now...mostly due to being lazy...I found a place to play table tennis on Thursdays nights and I need the truck to make it on time, last Friday was too tired to ride...lets se how it goes this Friday.
75°F and extremely headwindy today.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Just when I started to get used to the warm (relative term) temps winter comes back hard. This morning the wind chill was 6 degrees F. The real temp was 18 and when I left my house the wind was calm but as I ride East the wind intensity increases as I get closer to a canyon that funnels the air into the valley. The official windchill is taken to the west of the canyon so the chill closer to it is more like 0. The last mile was brutal. Of course this was predicted and I didn’t dress for it but tomorrow I’ll be ready for the onslaught!


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Swolie74 said:


> I've been commuting since late November after a car accident left me without a vehicle. At first the ride in was enjoyable/liberating... now it's starting to feel like a grind. I've noticed my commute times slowly go up and becoming increasingly annoyed with minor things. Everyone expects me to stop riding in once the summer heat hits but the stubborn part of me wants to do it in spite of them, lol. We will see. I really need to figure out a way to clean myself up once I get into work. Thought about bringing in some wash cloths and basically taking a whore's bath once I get in. I'm also getting tired of changing in bathroom stall's and having to bring a change of clothes.


My best advice is to give yourself an extra 10 minutes and ride just a little slower. I completely understand the feeling of it being a grind, I get that too sometimes. For me having an easier pedal goes a long way to feeling less beat and less sweaty. Sometimes I can’t stand the slower pace and I just let it rip. So, I guess a variation is good too. Also if you can take a different route from time to time and have different scenery that can help.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Got two commutes in this week. Monday was ok and today was perfect! Real 21C on the way home and I made a detour so the total was 32km.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Recovered from covid and back on daily commuting. Beautiful weather for now but next week starts with winds and rain.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

7/10


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I haven't been commuting by bike much in the past couple weeks. We were out of town a few days, then we got sick with a stomach bug, and we had a bunch of rain. I only got one commute in last week. I'm hoping for a better streak this week.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Not a commute but last Thursday I rode to the kayaking club and back, which is about the same as a round trip ride to work. Easter Monday is a public holiday and I am going on a camping/bike trip with my gf and I am really looking forward to that. Weather will be sunny but not too warm, max 15C, but for cycling it’s gonna be good.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

justwan naride said:


> Recovered from covid and back on daily commuting. Beautiful weather for now but next week starts with winds and rain.


You're lucky, that was quick! My wife and I both tested positive on 4/11 (vaxed & boosted) and we still have lingering fatigue & headache. We worked from home last week. Today was the first day I even considered swinging my leg over a bike even though I'm normally an every day kinda guy. 

The week before we were away on vacation so this is the longest I have been off a bike in years. I'm keeping the rides gentle this week.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Light snow this morning but the pavement stayed clear. Lots of puddles but the fenders work great on my bike.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

After a dreary start on Monday, the weather is looking pretty good for the rest of the week with temps in the 80s by Friday. It's a nice change of pace. April has been relatively rainy up until this point.

Traffic has been consistently backed up exiting our parking lot. I have a hard enough time getting out in the car, but no one ever lets me in front of them when I ride my bike. Luckily there is a longer alternate route that seems like it should be tricky, but traffic is only ever busy in the opposite direction, so I've never had any issues.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards you better keep it calm a few weeks. Usually it takes about 4-5 weeks after healing up to completely recover and there is an increased risk of heart problems when you do any kind of intensive sport. I felt tired for long too, I think I am getting over it now.

Nice rides today. Pretty nice sunrise again and the ride home was about 15C and a tailwind.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> I felt tired for long too, I think I am getting over it now.


Did we know you had the big C? Yeah, I am taking it easy. The thing I have noticed is that the hours in the office seem to stretch into days! LOL.
Not a bad sunrise pic. I'll counter with one (sunset actually) from The Dominican Republic from vacation. Same sun on the other side of the world. But you can see the resemblance.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> You're lucky, that was quick! My wife and I both tested positive on 4/11 (vaxed & boosted) and we still have lingering fatigue & headache.


The weird thing is I'm not vaxed. I commuted again after testing negative for two days in a row. I took it easy but didn't notice any issues apart from the remains of a cough that tapered off during the week. I continued commuting and even went for a short mtb ride on the weekend (23km/700m). Currently my mother in law has covid, she's 83, vaxed and boosted. Her case is pretty mild as well, no fever, just aches and a cough that seem to be tapering off as well. She has a series of other health problems but seems to be holding up fine. My understanding is that the omicron variations have mild symptoms for most people, vaxed or not. At least that's what I gather from friends, family and colleagues.

Anyway, weather is back to warm temps and sunshine, but still not too hot to ride around town. Probably the best time of the year for cycling.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Not sure if I checked in here when I had Corona. I wasn’t much sick, worked most days from home. But afterwards I noticed that I was still tired etc so I took it easy for a few weeks.

from next week on we have to be in the office at least 3 days a week. Back to commuting.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

@justwan naride & @cyclingdutchman Yeah, everybody I have known that has had COVID lately has had it pretty mild. The restrictions are worse than the illness. I'm on my last day of being required to wear a mask at work. I've had other colds that have been much worse. 

That said, I'm still pretty low on the energy scale, maybe 25%, but have resumed the 10 mile commute each way. This morning was below freezing, blah, I thought we were over this.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

not a bad morning for me... for whatever reason the rides aren't getting "easier" or faster, but I think that's because I've realized no matter what, certain parts are going to suck so I usually just gear down and bear it. Today I decided to "Push" it and shaved a few minutes off my usual time. Felt really good to really get after it however I'm sure my ride home will feel it, lol. also there's a bit of uncertainty trying to push it hard in the early hours (4am), a lot of road debris I couldn't see/avoid because I was focused on pushing it.... hopefully no punctures and I come back this afternoon to usable tires.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

I had an interesting moment with a guy in a car today. I was commuting back from an MTB ride. I have about 2 miles of twisty two lane through a canyon. Most drivers are polite and know that there are bikers on the this stretch of road. I was going along as usual, blinking light on the back and front and some high vis and I hear a car going slowly behind me. Then instead of moving over and passing the jackass honks at me. There is zero traffic coming and we are on a straight before more corners. I’m over on the side of the road, I turn around and the guy is gesturing with his hands that I should get off the road. So I point for him to go around. He pulls to the left and straddles the yellow line. I start to drift a bit to the left as well just to push him over a bit. He drives up next to me and he is saying something, not sure what, but I can tell he just cannot handle passing a bike on the road in a 35 mph zone. He looked about 35 years old and a bit scared. I of course was pissed he honked at me while creeping in a car from behind. So I let loose a “go **** yourself” and a middle finger which I should not have but……I did.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Zguitar71 said:


> So I let loose a “go **** yourself” and a middle finger which I should not have but……I did.


I've had similar things happen. Most times I'm able to keep my $*** together, but there are times when I can't, esp. when my life has just been threatened (by a stupid bus driver in my case).

It was Orthodox Easter here so a looong weekend. Managed a couple of fun MTB rides and today I was back to work on the commuter. Only I forgot that we were going to start working one hour later than normal. I remembered while I was on the way so I lost the extra sleep opportunity. I rode to the seafront though, it's very peaceful in the morning and the extra km don't hurt.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Rode my MTB in today (figured I would give my gravel bike a break), focused on keeping a steady/higher than normal cadence and was pleasantly surprised that my ride in only took 36 minutes (usual time on mountain bike is +45, gravel is usally 32-35ish)... I know if I want to have any kind of success I really need to start stressing consistent pedaling/cadence and not enjoying the coasting. Legs feel pretty good for having done 60 miles on Sunday. I'm kind of shocked though, seem to have a lot more hand discomfort despite the much more relaxed/upright body positioning, I adjusted my seat once I got into work as I wasn't even close to my full leg stroke. At some point I may drop the money for a bike fit.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Had 2 nice rides today and yesterday. Close to freezing in the morning and warm and sunny in the afternoon. Some nice views in the morning with the low sun in the fog etc.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It has been pretty close to freezing here in the mornings too. And not that much warmer in the afternoons! I rode Mon, Tues & Today. Skipped Wednesday because it was both cold and raining.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sounds still very cold bedwards! Did you have any warmer days already? At least we have like 15C in the afternoons.
Today’s rides were similar to the last days, which means nice.

I have to admit that I am not as fast anymore as before COVID conquered the planet. I know it is not a race but it’s also not so nice to be reminded that I am becoming an adult ….


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sounds still very cold bedwards! Did you have any warmer days already? At least we have like 15C in the afternoons.
> Today’s rides were similar to the last days, which means nice.
> 
> I have to admit that I am not as fast anymore as before COVID conquered the planet. I know it is not a race but it’s also not so nice to be reminded that I am becoming an adult ….


We have had some days near 15C but lately the highs have been closer to 10C. But this Sunday is forecast to be 17C.

_I have to admit that I am hot as fast anymore as before COVID_ too. Yesterday was very breezy. I did a death march into a headwind with the idea of a nice tailwind assist for a KOM that seemed within my reach. LOL, Nope, I didn't even beat my old time. In my defense, I was still wearing more cold weather gear than summer. I think it is a reminder not to have that 3rd drink and a bowl of ice cream before bed. 

I did get about 22 miles before and after work yesterday which is one of my longest days yet. That might be why I am slow too. My legs were tired this morning. My wife wanted to get in a ride this afternoon so I get to give my legs a break and shuttle the car home.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Well, I go away for a month and while I am gone, everyone gets COVID?

@bedwards1000 @dutchman @justwan naride - hope you are all feeling better.

I see some nice commute pics.

As for me, I'm getting some rides in, taking care of some projects and taking some online classes. I do miss bike commuting however (but not working). Stay safe everyone!


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## firebanex (Jan 29, 2021)

I finally got to bust out the bike to commute last week. The road shoulders and paths have finally melted enough that I can actually get from my home to work and not have to ride in the middle of a lane of a 50mph highway. It was wonderful and I missed it.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I always love Tuesdays.. legs are still full of glycogen after having carbs during the weekend, lol. All my best times are on tuesdays, then it degrades pretty quickly from there.

*edit for clarification* - Tuesdays are usually the first day I ride into work. I do long rides on Sundays, so Monday I recover and drive into work.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

IDK, my legs were tired this Tuesday. Maybe because I pushed too hard on the way home on Monday. Or maybe because I have ridden the least miles to date in the last 10 years. I've got to step up my game. I also need to take some more pictures. Dutchman is holding down the fort on that one.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

A biker was killed in my city yesterday. I don’t know all the details but it was near an intersection which is always a dangerous spot. The road, Orange Street, is four lanes with a center turn. In the infinite wisdom of the City of Missoula planners the curb lane is painted with “sharrows” so the bikes are sent in to compete in the lane with 30 mph traffic. The wreck happened right in front of a local bike shop too. I hope this can bring some real infrastructure for bikes to commute in, Missoula has the best options in the state of Montana but it still sucks and at time feels like it is mostly in place to be able to advertise it on a web site.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Sorry to hear about fellow cyclist's death in Missoula.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

May the 4th be with you and the wind at your back!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I feel with you Zguitar!

another nice day today. They found an old WWII bomb near the exit of the plant so I was forced to stay 2hrs longer and then had to take the other gate, which meant an unexpected but welcome 7k extra.
The apple trees are blossoming and there is this sweet smell in the air the whole time….lovely.

this morning:


















On the way home:


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

man... making me sad that I live in the desert :/ lol


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

We haven't quite got apple blossoms but forsythia are blooming and the spring peepers are out. 

I've been at my company for 30+ years and for the first time ever there is another cyclist and bike commuter working here. He lives in the opposite direction from me but I joined him for part of a few rides which made for 24mi and 30 mile commutes. Damn, I'm out of shape.

Today is a 1-way commute so I took the MTB. It turns out I still like trail riding. 

















​


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

between my laziness, table tennis and a week off, I haven't used my bike in a while.
glad to see you guys riding and surviving covid!

I'll be trying for 3/5 days a week since now I'm playing TT Tusdays and Thurdays.
Today was rough, 79°F and pretty headwindy, its like a theme around here. Dry.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Very nice day today. 7C this morning and real 22C on the way home. And the best is: tomorrow will be the same 

bedwards: 30 years?? That is very long, even for European standards. And nice pics too!

made a short break today:


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> bedwards: 30 years?? That is very long, even for European standards. And nice pics too!


Coming up on 33 years but who's counting? 

I hadn't straddled a bike since Friday but the commuting weather this week is looking beautiful! Well, today started off near 0C but they are forecasting 30C for the end of the week. Bring on the summer riding!


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

The all time highest levels of CO2 were recorded in Hawaii in April, 420PPM. I say Bravo and congratulations to all of us that commute. We are actively combating the issue. Keep up the good work everyone. Now, how to convince the gas guzzlers to throw a leg over a bike?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Zguitar thanks for the credits. We are all Heroes!


Bedwards I am impressed. Are you going to make fourty yrs out of it?

very warm this morning already. First rides in sandals today. Cloudy and a few raindrops on the way home and I liked it, first rain in three weeks.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

good TT session yesterday
°78 coming in today....good ride...here hoping to make Friday....today I almost stayed in bed.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Cold these last few mornings, 27 this morning, 26 yesterday and 24 on Monday. I’m ready to get back to thin gloves or no gloves at all. The season will change soon and suddenly and I’ll be riding in shorts and short sleeves in the morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Zguitar71, Yup, that was us. It was dipping below freezing some mornings but right now it is 72 and will be warmer tomorrow. Spring sprung fast.



cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards I am impressed. Are you going to make fourty yrs out of it?


Well, I'm not planning on working anywhere else and I'm probably 10 years out from retiring.

I'm trying to ramp my miles up. So far this year I have about 1/2 the miles I usually do at this time. We have health screenings at work (they give us money to stay healthy) and not surprisingly my low miles correlate to my heaviest weight, highest cholesterol and highest blood pressure in the last 10 years. Hmmm.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

2/5 TT
3/5 Bike Commutes!
all according to plan this week!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

What's TT? Table Tennis? 

5/5 days commuted for me. First time in a long time. And I am appropriately tired.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

First snow (didn’t stick to the ground) then switched to rain. A wet ride! Our spring is moving slowly this year.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I made the ride 5 times this week... next week I'll be back to 4 but I think I'm going to start adding Saturday hill repeats before my long ride on Sundays.... however, I kinda liked taking the bike in 5x a week...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I thought tt was for time trial bike, but you would have known bedwards. Now I am wondering too ^^


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hehe yes...TT is for Table Tennis @bedwards1000 and @cyclingdutchman 
starting strong today with a little detour to get a taco at a local store.
71° sleeveless shirt today..low 90s on my way home later today most likely

👇


martinsillo said:


> between my laziness, table tennis and a week off, I haven't used my bike in a while.
> glad to see you guys riding and surviving covid!
> 
> I'll be trying for 3/5 days a week since now I'm playing TT Tusdays and Thurdays.
> Today was rough, 79°F and pretty headwindy, its like a theme around here. Dry.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The suppression of androgens as part of radiation therapy for Prostate Cancer, wreaks havoc on muscle mass, while the associated surgeries reduce time on the bike. The result is a gain in weight. Finally had a ride today that fell like more and I was able to hit 135 heartrates on the last part of the last climb before the cool-down (with no angina). Faster drop to low heart rate in cool down. The recent yard work seems to be a good cross training. The legs are getting stronger, and the heart is responding to the exercise.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

It's flat out summer here. We've had a bunch of highs in the 80s and some afternoons as high as 87F. It's predicted to get up to 89F later this week. I've been pretty lucky with my commutes. I can't remember the last day I've missed. The rain has been spotty enough that I've avoided it. I've been taking a slightly longer way home recently due to the fact that there's a bit of a traffic jam right outside our office. I take a route that adds 2 miles but spits me up out on the opposite side of the street light. By the time I pedal to the intersection, the traffic has usually dissipated. I don't know if everyone's just getting off at 4 when I do or what.

I thought I'd post here and get commuting updates rolling again, since the site likes to not alert me to this thread after a while.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I've been getting a really tingly numb penis on recent rides after long gravel grinds uphill. Very annoying. Tickles like hell but not in a good way.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Buster Bluth said:


> I've been getting a really tingly numb penis on recent rides after long gravel grinds uphill. Very annoying. Tickles like hell but not in a good way.


Maybe get Lucille 2 to massage it for you.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> Maybe get Lucille 2 to massage it for you.


Better her than Pop Pop or Gob.

Anyway, I tilted the nose down ever so slightly and so far it seems to have worked but will know better next time I do a long gravel climb.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Buster Bluth said:


> Anyway, I tilted the nose down ever so slightly and so far it seems to have worked but will know better next time I do a long gravel climb.


I'm a big fan of SQLabs saddles. The way they are constructed, there's almost no pressure from anywhere other than directly under the sit bones. If you continue to have that kind of discomfort, you might want to check one out. I know saddles are largely a personal preference, but the way SQLabs constructs theirs seems like it would serve a wider percentage of riders than most saddles.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I must have jinxed myself posting about my commutes. Yesterday a thunderstorm blew in just as I was about to leave. I heard the thunder and decided to try to beat it home. Of course, it started raining before I got out of the building. Luckily, I did beat the worst of it and temps were warm enough that the rain wasn't unpleasant.


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## bitflogger (Jan 12, 2004)

My commute is ahead yet. Sadly I can't commute as often as I'd like.

This past weekend the beloved family Fargo got a much needed cleaning and I tweaked the panniers to mount lower. Since a new briefcase, I'm putting it in once side, lock, tools 'n other stuff on other side. I don't like the carrying two bags into the buildings but it's faster to load up and easier to carry other stuff or do errands.

For the next month I'll be doing a lot of work only a few mi from home so I look forward to being able to bike to work more.

The post-cleanup photo doesn't show how much love (use and abuse) the bike's really had.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

nice bike! @bitflogger 

this week got hectic..the wife came back Tuesday afternoon from a short trip to Indiana... quick test yesterday says she is positive with Covid, PCR results today or tomorrow...she already had symptoms on her way here so we have been careful so I don't get it...let's see.

might bike commute tomorrow..I got a new helmet for the commuter..guess the color hehe.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I'm a big fan of SQLabs saddles. The way they are constructed, there's almost no pressure from anywhere other than directly under the sit bones. If you continue to have that kind of discomfort, you might want to check one out. I know saddles are largely a personal preference, but the way SQLabs constructs theirs seems like it would serve a wider percentage of riders than most saddles.


Thanks for the advice. I'm considering the SQ Labs 30x 12 degree backsweep bar for my hardtail mtb. I've been getting hand/wrist pain on recent mtb adventrues and think the extra backsweep over my 8-degree chromag osx would be cozy while still being good in technical stuff. I tried my Soma Dream Bar (which is great on my commuter) on the mtb and the 25 degree backsweep scared me a bit on some of the technical stuff.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Buster Bluth said:


> Thanks for the advice. I'm considering the SQ Labs 30x 12 degree backsweep bar for my hardtail mtb. I've been getting hand/wrist pain on recent mtb adventrues and think the extra backsweep over my 8-degree chromag osx would be cozy while still being good in technical stuff. I tried my Soma Dream Bar (which is great on my commuter) on the mtb and the 25 degree backsweep scared me a bit on some of the technical stuff.


I've heard a lot of good things about the SQLabs bars but have never used one myself. I typically just stick to the stock bar, since the backsweep tends to work OK for my wrists. If money weren't an object, or if I had wrist pain, I'd be looking into SQLabs for sure.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^I've always liked the WTB, used to be "Pure V" but now it is just "Pure" as a saddle with an ergonomic cutout. I was going to recommend it as a cheaper choice but, damn. $42 for the steel one and $95 for the Cro-Mo and $143 for the titanium. I guess the days of getting them on Nashbar for $25 are over.

Hey, happy bike to work day! I didn't even realize it was until after I biked to work. 

I biked 8 out of 10 legs into work and carpooled the other 2. Take that gas prices.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I have my saddle tilted slightly nose down too and it works fine for me. It feels a Bit sketchy when rising free handed, feels like I am sliding off to the front any second.

I was very busy this week with work and kids but used a streak of good weather and rode all 3 days that I worked in the office. It was quite warm in the afternoons with temps over 20C and also already 12-13C in the morning.

I have a week off now and am going camping with my kids in the Netherlands. Good to see some life coming back here and that everyone is all right. Will make sure to keep following here 😉

CU, CD


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Last Monday morning it rained enough to gear up in the rain clothing. Long time ago I needed those. I enjoyed that ride the most 😎 this week.










I also said goodbye to a friend who is leaving on a 2month bike trip along the German, dutch and British coast. It’s his way of starting retirement.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

back today
still covid negative 
with gas prices as they are, riding today was a must.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Monday, Y'all. How was your commute today? 

Mine was good. A crisp 58F was just warm enough for short sleeves but cold enough that I was working hard to stay warm. I also had a decent tailwind for parts of it. Subsequently I had one of my fastest times on that route. 19.3MPH vs my 14.9MPH all time average on that route. Strava says I have ridden that way to work 180 times.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

not today








New video by Martín Robles







photos.app.goo.gl


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^The rain won't melt you but the lightening might! 

My wife and I did a couples commute in this morning. I was thinking the weather similar to yesterday (58F) so I just wore a t-shirt with some pull on sleeves. Um, it was 44F, a little chilly.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

same today...hopefully tomorrow....1/4 of a tank down....$$$


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

woo hoo.. rode in today. Usually Mondays I drive as recovery from my Sunday long rides, but on Sunday I broke a spoke and rear wheel was way out of true, I was able to limp home and immediately took the wheel to a bike shop who assured me it would be done Monday...well Monday came and went with no call so I was forced to drive in Tuesday as well. Left me a bit neurotic about missing two of my "workouts". I'm debating if I should try and tack on a few extra miles after work but usually by that time I'm exhausted and the idea of "extra" miles seems foolish. I was going to workout at the gym yesterday but Sundays ride left my hamstrings on fire still so I foam rolled instead. siiigh, lol


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Decided to skip yesterday due to rain. This morning, I decided to ignore the radar and ride in. There was a chance if get soaked, but I made it fine. 

I'll have just a couple commutes next week before my family leaves for vacation in France. I should be able to at least get some riding in there, especially since there's a paved pump track a couple miles from where we'll be staying most of the time.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

2/5 with today's ride
other than a bit humid after getting 2-3 months of rain in 2-3 days, pretty uneventful..well, I take that back..I ran out of milk and couldn't make my coffee this morning!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I’m back from a week on vacation. I went camping with my sons in the Netherlands. We had a nice week including an day’s visit to the Formula 1 circuit in the Netherlands.

unfortunately we could not take the bikes. Today’s rides felt slow and sluggish, but I rode, that’s what counts. It rained a bit this morning, the ride home was dry. At least the winds had calmed down after 2 weeks.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

1/3 so far...I'm taking it as it goes I guess..If I feel like it, I ride...If not, not...wish it was different these days..with the whole situation with covid at home I haven't done much exercise other than mow the lawn a couple of times and the 1 to 2 commutes per week for the last 3 weeks (almost)..I haven't officialy got covid!!...no table tennis either, didn't want to take the covid to the tables..just in case


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Rode yesterday and today. Today was sketchy with rain approaching this morning and riding along a thunderstorm front this afternoon with thunder and lightning on my right and sunshine on my left. Made it both rides without getting wet ;-)

No more rides this week, and it might even turn out no commutes at all next week :-/


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> I ran out of milk and couldn't make my coffee this morning!


Tragedy Strikes! I hope your wire is on the mend from her COVID. 

Wind yes! Rain, not so much and we are in need of some. It has been forecast a few times but then doesn't amount to much more than getting the ground a little damp. There is another chance for it tonight and luckily it is just after commuting time. I'm in 3 for 3 commutes this week including a couples commute this morning.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

We could use some rain these days, the trails are bone dry this time of the year. The temps are a bit higher than normal too, which isn't much of a problem early in the morning but requires being cautious at 16:00 when I finish work. I try to keep an easy pace despite the incline getting steeper as I approach home. My trick is to only breathe through the nose while pedalling. This forces me to stay in zones 2-3, and keep sweating reasonable. The reduced effort means I have more left in the tank for riding trails after work, which, with a new bike last month happens more often. Record mileage for me in May with 608km/45hrs of commuting and riding mtb. I also managed my sleeping habbits better lately and this was a huge improvement overall. 5/5 days riding to work for months, can't remember the last time I took the car on a weekday. Despite the insane fuel prices traffic has increased a lot lately too, so it's a double win.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

had an absolutely amazing ride this morning. I was running about 10 minutes late, usually I just accept I'll be clocking in late and go at my normal easy pace. Decided I would push it today just to see how I feel, knocked over 5 minutes off my previous best time which was quite surprising especially since it's the end of the week and I'm pretty carb depleted. Only issue is I know I'll want to keep pushing that pace and trying to beat my time again, lol.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Strava will keep track of your times for all of your matched rides. You can keep your data private if you aren't into the whole Strava thing. Although that might be a premium feature. My ride in was 18.8MPH which is 1.6MPH faster than my all-time average of 17.3MPH but way slower than my fastest 23.6MPH ride. I've had 200 rides on that route.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

yeah I track it all on Strava. Usually Tuesday is my fastest and it gets progressively slower throughout the week (nature of carb cycling).. but I felt really fresh and strong today.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Swolie74 said:


> yeah I track it all on Strava. Usually Tuesday is my fastest and it gets progressively slower throughout the week (nature of carb cycling).. but I felt really fresh and strong today.


My fastest days are the ones I have a good tailwind and not a headwind. And my fastest time was on a TT bike.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Rough morning.. left early so I could try and make up some time I lost yesterday (had to leave work early) got about a mile and half away from home before I realized I didn't pack my change of clothes... so turn around and hustle home to grab.... get my stuff and head back out get about a mile away and couldn't remember if I locked my front door, so again turn around and head back. At this point I was hoping to at least be "on time" but now I'm really pushing my pace about 3 miles from home I hit something hard (too dark to see) and instantly rear tire goes flat.. so now I had to change a tube and I'm impatient so I don't even bother to get my tire up to my usual riding PSI and limp the rest of the way to work and end up 20 min late.... le sigh, lol


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Next rides will be better swolie!

some sprinkles in the morning but nothing to be afraid of. Nice and easy ride home. Unfortunately the only commute this week, but hoping to make a nice ridenext weekend.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

definitely not your day yesterday @Swolie74 
got one in today..uneventful..well, I think I'm now making getting a taco nearby as part of my routine.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Swolie74 said:


> ... get my stuff and head back out get about a mile away and couldn't remember if I locked my front door, so again turn around and head back.


 LOL, don't you hate that? What about the coffee pot? (I actually set up a routine to turn the coffee pot off at 9:00 AM every day in case I forget)

Speaking of coffee...I found a sealed Amazon box with 80 French Vanilla (Blech) Keurig cups and 3 lbs of pistachios (Yum) on the side of the road. Not near any houses and addressed to somebody in Florida, I am in Maine. Sorry buddy, your not getting your mediocre coffee and delicious nuts back. Ironically I forgot my coffee today. I tried the coffee, not a fan.

The weather here is pretty darn nice right now. Cool 50F mornings and pleasant 75F afternoons. We got a little rain the last 2 days between my morning and afternoon commute to water the garden.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

This morning was my first commute in shorts and short sleeves! It was great, 61 degrees and very humid and light rain. 61 is super warm for the morning here, it is usually in the upper 40s to low 50s right now. It has rained all day and now the streets have some large puddles in some areas so the ride home could be interesting with cars splashing. Mostly I’m separated from the cars on a trail but there are spots where the trail parallels the road, I have a deep knowledge of the areas that water accumulates. I’ll be timing the ride through those spots strategically for sure. The rain is going to pickup over night and start to flood parts of Missoula and coupled with rapid snow melt in the mountains cause some big flooding on the rivers. Spring is in full effect.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Yup, completely drenched when I got home. Not cold though so it was quite nice. It doesn’t rain like this very often here so bring in it is kinda neat.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Usually mondays are my "rest day" since I do my long training ride on Sundays.. but yesterday made a quitter out of me, only got 40ish miles into a 60 mile ride, ran out of water and called it a day. So decided I would bike into work today to "make up"... that was a bad idea because my sit bones were NOT ready for it, lol. Oh, well just gotta suffer home and hope the rest of the week turns out fine. I've also come to the conclusion that I need an indoor trainer.. riding in 115* heat was much harder than anticipated.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

These days riding pace on commutes is dictated by temperature and fatique. So it varies from easy to super easy. Luckily we had stretch of cooler then normal weather so at least the mornings are very pleasant with minimal sweating. 

Mondays can be hard as lately my Sunday rides are long, and sometimes include travelling to explore new trails. Arguably my favoutire thing in mtb, but it almost always includes carrying our bikes for parts of the ride and going home absolutely knackered and off schedule. The next morning my legs complain a lot, but I still ride to work. I just hate driving in traffic more than sore legs.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I've hit staples every day this week.... and at different sections of road. I'm starting to think there's some ******y going on


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

not riding for a while most likely...I've been having a weird pain for a couple of weeks now that just got a bit worst recently...doctor think is a hernia...having more checks and a visit with a surgeon soon...let's see.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

martinsillo said:


> not riding for a while most likely...I've been having a weird pain for a couple of weeks now that just got a bit worst recently...doctor think is a hernia...having more checks and a visit with a surgeon soon...let's see.


eek... good luck


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Started up my commutes again yesterday after being in France for a couple weeks. I would say it feels good to be back, but I can't say I wouldn't mind still being on vacation. I wish the US would adopt a more European stance towards cycling. The cycling infrastructure and attitude towards cyclists was so much better in France. 

I didn't ride a lot, but I did ride to a pump track a couple times on a borrowed bike. The bike wasn't ideal, but it did the trick once I removed the saddle and lowered the handlebars. I'm definitely glad to have access to my own bikes again.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice to read some stories here. It was a crazy week for me but it worked out well in the end and I got 3 commutes this week, including the first ride in shorts, tshirt and sandals. Summer finally arrived.

Just wanna ride: how are the temps in Greece? Must be close to boiling. Do you use any sun protection? Creme or thin long clothes?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

martinsillo said:


> not riding for a while most likely...I've been having a weird pain for a couple of weeks now that just got a bit worst recently...doctor think is a hernia...having more checks and a visit with a surgeon soon...let's see.


I had a inguinal hernia repaired with mesh, IDK, 15 or so years ago. It has been good ever since. 

I just mounted my first GP5000 tire this morning (with a tube). The reviews said it was hard to mount. It was hard to mount. If my rims were tubeless ready I would probably try a tubeless road setup but they aren't. I'm hoping for no flats because I would hate to mount one of those roadside. 

I had a perfect 10 our of 10 legs of the commute on the bike last week. This week I am at 1 out of 1 so far.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I was able to commute 4 days last week, missed Friday because I was traveling home to visit family immediately after a half day (trying to beat traffic).. then did a 30 mile ride with my brother Saturday. All in all it was a pretty good week to give my legs a rest however significantly more frustrating week of commuting than I've seen thus far. Picked up road debris in my tires every single day then popped a spoke Thursday on my way home. I know the tread is getting low on my rear tire and thinking about going tubless soon. I'm so conflicted, I was so frustrated last week that I damn near bought those Tannus airless tires. Everyone says it's a harsh ride but because of my size and weight I already run my tires around 60-70 psi.. not sure if those will feel any different. If I go tubless I plan on jamming the largest tire I can fit into that frame so I can drop the psi and get a smoother ride... either way it will be committing a few hundred dollars..


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sunny and windy today, overall very nice. The next days are going to be sunny and warm.

congrats on your perfect week bedwards!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey all you working people, thought I would check in. Been popping in once and a while to catch on posts. Good to see new activity and new faces as office commutting picks back up around the world.

My sabbatical has been going well, outside the weather in the Northwest US which has generally sucked. I've been getting regular rides in, visited my parents who live on Jekyll Island off the Southern coast of Georgia and went on a week long fishing trip in Northern Ontario, Canada. I'll probably start looking for something to work on where I can earn actual money sometime in July. I'm hoping it includes commuting 2-3 days/week. I miss it!

Here are a few pics for some of my riding. The red bike cruiser pics are from my visit to see my parents. I was deperate for a ride and found an old single-speed, coaster brake cruiser in my parents garage and took it out for a ride around Jekyll Island. I included a couple Canada pics at the end for you @bedwards1000!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Any border crossing issues into Canada?


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I included a couple Canada pics at the end for you @bedwards1000!
> View attachment 1988359


Is this one the island in the middle of absolutely nowhere? I had to zoom out about 20 times to figure out where in the world you were. Pretty cool spot.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

BrianMc said:


> Any border crossing issues into Canada?


Exccept for the two hour line-up, the crossing into Canada was easy. Canada asks you to setup an "ArriveCan" account (web page or phone app) beforehand. You you upload your vax info and where/date/time you plan to cross. They validate your information and you are given a QR code to show at the border crossing. If you are not vaxxed, you can still cross but you'll be detained to take a COVID test and then you need to quarentine someplace they can get hold of you while you wait for the test result. Crossing back into the US (we crossed at Fort Francis/International Falls in Minnesota we only waited about two minutes, the CBP officer checked our passports, asked us what we were bringing back and we were on our way.



bedwards1000 said:


> Is this one the island in the middle of absolutely nowhere? I had to zoom out about 20 times to figure out where in the world you were. Pretty cool spot.


Yep. The last picture is off the dock on the island taken at 10:30 pm our last night there.

A little more n the canoe pics - he Lake we were on (Minnitaki) has an incoming river called the Grassy River. My friend wanted to see how high up the river we could get so we strapped a canoe onto a boat and drove the boat up the river as far as we could. When we could go no further we tied up the boat and launched the canoe. We then paddled the canoe until the brush got so dense that we could paddle no more (the last pic is as far as we got).

Due to the brush and topography, we could not actually launch the canoe from shore but had to wrestle it on and off the boat on the water. It was really quite a clown show (including my friend going into the water twice). We had a ton of fun.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Looks fun. Dig the old cruiser.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Just wanna ride: how are the temps in Greece? Must be close to boiling. Do you use any sun protection? Creme or thin long clothes?


Apart from a period in May that was unusually hot it's been fine so far, most days around 27-31 Celsius. But starting from today and for about a week we are expecting a mini heatwave with 36-40 max temps. 

I just hope last summer's weather patterns don't repeat, it was too hot for too long. I actually stopped riding for a while as it was 42 celsious even at 6:30 in the morning. The concrete in the buildings and asphalt on the roads didn't have time to cool off during the night. That's not normal though, I remember some summers on the 80's and 90's being like this but it's not typical for heatwaves to last as long as they did last year.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I thought it was going to be a worthless day without cycling but then suddenly my son wanted to go on a bike ride. So we made a nice trip of 18,5km through the forest and some gravel roads.
I am getting grown-up. For the first time, he was saying I was slow and even called me a “snail with corona”.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

What a day! Sunny, calm and 23C on the way home. This morning there was some slight fog which showed the single sunbeams coming through the treetops.
Made a nice detour on the way home but dang the construction site for the new highway is really cutting off all nice small gravel roads that I usually take. By now no chance of crossing the construction site anywhere except on the normal bigger roads


sunbeams on my bike:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Hot and humid here. Temps should be around 95F or so with a dewpoint around 70F. The rest of the week is going to be pretty muggy. Not much else to report.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

27C today and another day of riding in sandals, shorts and t-Shirt ☀

adding some kayaking the next four days, starting this evening ✊🏻


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

So Bird electric scooters are apparently a new potential hazard for me on my commute. Someone dumped one on the MUP bridge a few weeks back. This morning it had moved to the other side of the bridge right after a curve and was laying on its side. I don't necessarily want to have to bunny hop one of those in a panic, so I moved it to the ditch.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I had to look up the Bird scooter. Holy hell, they have a 350W motor. That is a lot of power in a tiny little scooter. 

I took an extended comMOOOOOute yesterday.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I had to look up the Bird scooter. Holy hell, they have a 350W motor. That is a lot of power in a tiny little scooter.


The company upgraded all their scooters downtown and apparently shipped the older ones out to the suburbs. I guess they're probably fun to ride, but I don't see the ones near us get ridden much. They get dumped then just sit around.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Man those E-scooters have been banned and reallowed more times than I can count out here... someone must be swinging some big money. However on a different note... currently working overtime waiting for a monsoon to pass.... cross your fingers its not too long, I'm tired and want today over with already, don't want to deal with 10 miles in a monsoon


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

ended up saying "screw it, a little water never hurt anybody" and rode home in the rain... was actually one of the more enjoyable rides of my commute


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## eshew (Jan 30, 2004)

I commuted to get some beer... took a 30 mile detour, A perfect ride.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Came across 2 of the Ride Across America entries Thursday about 5:30 and a third on Friday about 5:00 PM. Can't be cheap to have all that equipment and the van following you the whole ride.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Nothing to report here. My commutes have been pleasantly uneventful. The afternoon ride home is quite hot, but it's not too bad if I take it easy. Being sweaty and feeling the wind is a very effective cooling mechanism. It's like humans where meant to ride bikes!

Riding up steep fireroads on the mtb is far worse as the avg speed is so low, the aforementioned mechanism is not very effective.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Happy Monday All


BrianMc said:


> Came across 2 of the Ride Across America entries Thursday about 5:30 and a third on Friday about 5:00 PM. Can't be cheap to have all that equipment and the van following you the whole ride.


Like, the actual riders? Did you ride along with them? They must be almost done if they are in your area.

Swolie, Some of those downpour rides can be pretty fun, especially if it is a hot day. I used to have a bike (maybe I still do) that would collect so much water in the frame that I had to take the seat post out and dump it after one of those rides. 

Not much to report here. I did a short MTB ride over the weekend and I'm back to commuting today. We are supposed to get some decent rain but all during working hours.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Yeah it was 105 prior to the downpour... once it started raining it dropped into the mid 90's... figured it would be the coolest ride I'll get for the rest of the summer, lol.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

bedwards1000 said:


> Like, the actual riders? Did you ride along with them? They must be almost done if they are in your area.


About 80% of the way to Annapolis. First was getting some sort of service, I think wheel swap for a flat and bottle top off as I drove by, maybe a team member swap? The second about a mile further on was riding and I had a left to make a bit further on, so I passed in the oncoming lane and could not afford much attention to the cyclist. The third was the next day about 15 miles west of the others about 30 minutes earlier than the day before. Took the left lane of the divided highway. Got a minimal look at the cyclist. 

I have been fighting shingles on my face which has given me vertigo and spikes of headache pain, so have been off the bike.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

BrianMC that sounds exciting. Did you talk to anyone of the riders? 

bedwards: did you never find outhow that water got into the frame? ^^

had pretty much rain this morning, at least the thunderstorms had passed through already. Dressed up in hard shells combined with sandals. Looked interesting and it worked well. The ride home was dry und uneventful.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Quiet here 

another day of rain here today. Rode with full rain gear on this morning. This afternoon the jacket was sufficient and as always I was almost boiling.

have a nice weekend everyone.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Quiet here


I guess so! 

That ride looks like the type of ride where you just commit to getting wet. 

Commutes are all good. Not a lot to report.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

10 out of 10 the last two weeks... will be woefully short this week given I had 1 day off work for holiday, and won't be working Friday since I'll be out of town on vacation. Finally setup my smart trainer at home (had to machine an adapter for 141qr mount) and did a 70 mile ride on Sunday. I'll be adding in a few hours each week on top of my commutes. 17 weeks till my race and I think I've noticed my endurance adaptations from commuting alone have basically maxed out.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Hot here. The humidity is the killer. It's pretty much instant swamp butt as soon as you walk out the door. 😂


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

5/5 every single week since January. Recently changed my return route a bit to avoid traffic. Still happy to get on the bike each morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good stats everybody, good stats! 

So @s0ckeyeus if I told you the temp here was 75F and it feels like 75F you might be jealous? The weather here is pretty close to perfect right now. 38% humidity doesn't seem like it would be that swampy but feels like 110F is pretty hot.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Good stats everybody, good stats!
> 
> So @s0ckeyeus if I told you the temp here was 75F and it feels like 75F you might be jealous? The weather here is pretty close to perfect right now. 38% humidity doesn't seem like it would be that swampy but feels like 110F is pretty hot.


Enjoy it! 38% seems like a low number, but relative humidity is pretty useless. Dew point is a better gauge of how humid it feels. A dew point of higher than 70F is often thought of as oppressive.

Right now, the dew point is 75. At 88F, relative humidity is sitting at 65%. As the day goes on the relative humidity will fall, but the dew point will stay about the same. If we hit a high of 99F, RH would be 47%. It'll feel great on the way home...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I always figured when the dew-point approaches the actual temp it gets sticky but I believe you! 

This mornings ride felt like the air density was pretty low too with almost no wind. It seemed like I wasn't working too hard on the hilly route in and we averaged 19.2MPH. Strava says my average on that route is 17.3MPH. My wife was drafting me and clocked her fastest time. Of course, it looks like I'll have a 16MPH headwind but it is better than 110F!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> I always figured when the dew-point approaches the actual temp it gets sticky but I believe you!


RH goes up as dewpoint approaches the air temp. It definitely feels sticky, but a high RH usually implies lower temps. This morning, for example, the temp was 78F with a dew point of 75F, so it was nice and soupy with a RH of 89%. 

Random fact, the highest dewpoint ever recorded was 95F in Saudi Arabia. Air temp was 108F with a heat index of 178F! I wouldn't want to feel that. RH was only 67.7% at those temps.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Took my fenders off of my rigid mtb commuter this weekend because it's summer time and I think the tanwall gravel kings look hot. Anyway sure enough I angered the rain gods and paid for it dearly.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm still off work and enjoying the summer. Went to Whistler with my youngest son and rode the bike park for a day. Wow. Put it on your bucket list if you have never been.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

back at it today... Spent the last 4 days beach side in central california where it was a high of mid 70's... as I was driving back into town yesterday I was rudely reminded where I live and welcomed home with a 117* temp and a morning commute in the 90's....le sigh


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Had 2 nice days of commuting. Nice and warm, perfect days to be on the bike. Unfortunately I have something with my left shoulder, riding hurts a bit after a while, so no detour despite the beautiful weather. Maybe next week


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

First day in months that I drove to work instead f riding. The reason is that the car has to go in for service and the garage is at walking distance from my workplace. At least morning traffic was ok.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good to see a little life back here. @Swolie74 , 117F Yikes! I can't remember, are you in Arizona or on the sun. Either way, that is hot!

I extended my morning commute a little. The morning temps were super here, mid 60s. Thunder storms and heavier rain are forecast for the afternoon. I'm not sure if I will get wet or see if my wife will stick around work late to get me home. That might depend on how much lightening there is.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

No commuting for me. I caught Covid over the weekend. I'm not super sick, but I'll be working from home for a bit.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

bedwards1000 said:


> @Swolie74 , 117F Yikes! I can't remember, are you in Arizona or on the sun.


Yes... lol

Rode in today, heard a lot of thunder while I was getting ready but looked outside my windows and saw dry roads so figured I would ride in to work. That didn't last long, arrived at work a bit soggy today. Y'all think 117* is bad... this morning at +90* and raining was much worse, lol. with the rain (monsoon season) comes two things... bugs and weeds. Not looking forward to either


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Warm today, 27C on the way Home. Nice and fast rides for a Monday. No ride tomorrow and Wednesday is going to be close to 40C/100F, will ride anyway. Should just bring something to drink on the way home


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Well I was Lucky today. It was already 22C this morning and temps climbed to 39C today. But then, 1 hour before I left the temp dropped within an hour to 30C and the ride home turned out pleasant.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It is hot here too but not as bad as some. The afternoon temps are right around 90F/32C. I should bring something to drink on the way home. 

I wouldn't want to be racing in the TDF in this heat. Or even watching it for that matter.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Glad to see someone’s here Watching the TDF is better at home on the TV. In real life they just rush by with 30mph and they’re gone.

both rides were the same today LOL! Rain was coming and I made it with just a few sprinkles on me  unfortunately I am already done with riding this week but maybe some extra rides on the weekend.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

TDF is better watching the recaps on youtube. And I haven't even done that yet. 

I took an extended commute this morning to a local land preserve known as "Big Falls Preserve". They weren't that big today considering we are near drought conditions. There's a video of the "raging falls" on my strava post.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I just notice, I have a pic similar to the one from bedwards, just less sun:










the blue sticker on my top tube says “you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a bike and that’s pretty close”

have a nice weekend everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Another warm day here. 22C this morning, 30C during the day and a drop in temp in the late afternoon to 24C. And again thunderstorms were coming, today I just made it. I got some sprinkles just in front of the door, but when I was up in my apartment 2 minutes later it rained horribly.
I would have made it home dry but tempted faith a bit, I still made a short break to take these pictures:


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Back to the office this week after being out last week with Covid (not too bad of a case). So far, I've driven both days, but I hope to get back to riding in soon. Trying not to rush things. I went for a chill road ride the other night and had a HR spike that was slightly concerning. Unless I can't stand it any more, I might take this week off the bike and see how things go next week.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Thanks for chiming in s0ck, Dutchman and I are holding down the fort lately. 

Couples commute this morning. The heatwave has broken, it was close to 60F/15C this morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Tuesdaymorning the rain finally got me on the last half of the ride. I was prepared and put on the rainpants under a tree, with 4 people looking jealously at me. Apparently they did not look at the weather radar before the went out with the dog. For the rest of the week the rides were uneventful. Will also ride to the kayaking club today. I will be off for 3 weeks now so no riding planned, but I am sure I will make some nice rides when I have some time and/or a reason for it. Saturday my youngest son is going to try the 24" mtb that is waiting for him in the basement. If that works I am sure both will want to go for a few rides too.

Bedwards: Couple Commute sounds cool  I did not have that pleasure yet, but things are looking good there


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I rode in today. The traffic backing up the light is pretty bad when driving a car. No one would let me in. Not only that, people seemed hellbent on keeping me from getting out. After 3 cycles at the traffic light down the way, I had to force my way in. On my bike, I just turn the other way and cut through a back entrance to the MUP in the park.

My head still isn't quite right after Covid. I feel sleepy and not quite as sharp as normal. Hopefully that goes away soon.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Have been taking my MTB in for the last couple days.. Monday I got a gnarly thorn that went through my tire in a couple places and had to walk the last 3 miles home... by the time I got home I was too irritated to fix it so I just swapped bikes. This weekend I'll switch over to tubeless and give my commuter/gravel bike a full service..... It desperately needs it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

s0ckeyeus said:


> My head still isn't quite right after Covid. I feel sleepy and not quite as sharp as normal. Hopefully that goes away soon.


That was about week 2-3. One more week of not quite as much energy as usual and they you should be back. 

I took an extended commute today. Actually I carpooled with my wife toward work so I could wander out of my usual zone but still make it to work on time. It was a really pretty morning.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> That was about week 2-3. One more week of not quite as much energy as usual and they you should be back.


I guess it's not a bad time for my main trail bike to be in the shop then. My bike frame got screwed up (threads for shock), my suspension is in for warranty replacement (the reason I was taking off the shock to begin with), and then I got Covid (tested positive the day after dropping off my frame at the LBS). Things all seemed to start sucking at once. My bike (Ripmo AF) suddenly going on sale for 25% off rubbed a bit of salt in the wounds too.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

No commute today  .... opened my front door to head out and literally right as I did it started pouring rain.... decided to take the car today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute but a nice lovely evening ride on gravel and forest roads. it was a very nice beautiful evening with a nice sunset. The whole ride was about 28 km. I even saw 3 roe deers on the way home.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

My brain cleared up on Friday. Other than losing a little fitness, Covid seems to be almost completely in the rear view mirror. Had a weekend of hiking, now back to work. I managed to avoid the rain today. Not sure what the rest of the week looks like though.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Made it in on my mountain bike today.... feelin a bit tender, between my race last week and my long ride yesterday my comfort on my mtb seems to be getting progressively worse. Planning on getting a fit as soon as I can get an appt somewhere.... and I need to stop being lazy and fix my gravel bike (commuter), lol.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

good to see you guys out and riding!
turned out I had 2 hernias...1st surgery done a week ago....2nd in about 6-8 weeks.
it seems there is something else going on on my right side...probably a vesicle issue...still checking.
everything moves super slow here
anyways..keep riding..I'm lurking every other day.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Heal up @martinsillo ! It sounds like you will be off the bike for a while until that second one is repaired and healed. 

@Swolie74 My "comfort" hasn't been very good this year either. I remember my ass getting sore after centuries, not 30 mile rides.

@s0ckeyeus Glad to hear it is behind you. I'm probably ready to catch my second round, LOL. Holding on the second booster until closer to fall because we have a few events so we will want max protection going into them.

Couples commute in today. But I'll share pics from yesterday. Another day, another farm. Foggy too.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Finally stopped being lazy and cleaned/maintained my gravel bike and changed out the tires (and converted to tubeless)over the weekend, went to 50mm width and boooooooooy did it feel good on yesterdays ride. Front tire seems to have a slow leak but hopefully that will work itself out. And then sadly woke up to massive thunder/lightning/downpour.... so drove in today.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

My commutes for the last 40 days have been both cold and hot. The morning temp a couple of days ago was 47f and the high was 102f. Those were the temps when I left my house and returned to my house 11 hours later. We are having extremely dry air right now and a non stop ridge of high pressure. I think the 55 degree variation was the biggest I’ve every seen in Missoula, MT.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

that kind of temp swing is bonkers...


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## nayr497 (Nov 9, 2011)

Glorious! After 3+ months of mid and upper 90s F* with blazing direct sun and zero clouds...I returned from a long weekend at the beach to low 60s overnight and mid 80s during the day, which seems like a dream temp!

Better yet, I finally went ahead and grabbed some Rx sporty shades, had been doing Rudys with an insert. Oh man, two lenses to one is wonderful!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

We were really hot and humid for a while, but now we've been having afternoon temps in the mid 80s with lower humidity. I'm definitely not complaining about that. Morning temps have been great too. 

I've experimented with a couple different commuting routes the past few weeks. It's nice to mix things up a bit when I have the chance.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Im going to have to get back into regular riding to work . I sprained my wrist and dislocated my thumb mtbing recently and still am in a lot of pain trying to hold the bars in my mtb. My commuter has fairly swept bars and along with the fat gravel king tires I’m finding streets and gravel paths reasonably pain free. As long as I’m not putting too much weight on my wrist it’s doable. I’ll miss the trails but damnndid I superman hard into a rock garden. Lost a tooth too. Lots of blood.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

This morning was probably the coolest it has been in the last few months. Had a crazy storm roll through last night but just barely cleared up this morning and had a nice breeze. If I had to guess it might have even been in the low 70's if not the high 60's....t'was glorious.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Vacation started bad 3 weeks ago with the funeral of a coworker with whom I often rode to work before CoViD. He was sick with lung cancer for over a year before he passed away :-/ RIP Jörg, may you ride in peace.

Started commuting again last week, rode Thursday and Friday. It is pretty warm around here, like 25-30C in the afternoon. It is very dry here, for commuting it is good but not good for the land around here. I am doing what I can for the climate, but me alone wont help much as long as the Chinese are planning to build even 300 coal power plants more 🖕.

The best was, I made a nice 10k sunset ride yesterday evening with my son and he said he wants to go biketouring again. We'll see....

Buster: Wish you good healing.

@all: Keep riding, keep posting and stay safe


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## asphaltdude (Sep 17, 2008)

The landing strip is open to the public again!









52°07'38.7"N 5°15'52.6"E · Utrecht, Netherlands


Utrecht, Netherlands




goo.gl


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Vacation started bad 3 weeks ago with the funeral of a coworker with whom I often rode to work before CoViD. He was sick with lung cancer for over a year before he passed away :-/ RIP Jörg, may you ride in peace.
> 
> Started commuting again last week, rode Thursday and Friday. It is pretty warm around here, like 25-30C in the afternoon. It is very dry here, for commuting it is good but not good for the land around here. I am doing what I can for the climate, but me alone wont help much as long as the Chinese are planning to build even 300 coal power plants more 🖕.
> 
> ...


We are having a very hot dry summer here too. It is always dry in the summer here (Missoula MT) but this year we are getting single digit humidity levels and multiple days over 100. We should be in the upper 80s and 20% humidity. I ride everyday for work or groceries or whatever I’m doing and all around are people in giant trucks. I wonder how we will ever get out of this climate issue without more people at least upsizing their fuel economy but really biking is one great way to solve the problem or at least slow it. Currently we are drinking fuel like it’s the 50s.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I've had to forego the bike commute so far this week. I had a mtb crash over the weekend (front tire was losing air and folded in a high speed turn), and my knee got banged up. I hope to ride in tomorrow once I move to a smaller bandage and hopefully get more range of motion.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

s0ckeyeus said:


> I've had to forego the bike commute so far this week. I had a mtb crash over the weekend (front tire was losing air and folded in a high speed turn), and my knee got banged up. I hope to ride in tomorrow once I move to a smaller bandage and hopefully get more range of motion.


I know where you're coming from. Heal up brother.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

Zguitar71 said:


> We are having a very hot dry summer here too. It is always dry in the summer here (Missoula MT) but this year we are getting single digit humidity levels and multiple days over 100. We should be in the upper 80s and 20% humidity. I ride everyday for work or groceries or whatever I’m doing and all around are people in giant trucks. I wonder how we will ever get out of this climate issue without more people at least upsizing their fuel economy but really biking is one great way to solve the problem or at least slow it. Currently we are drinking fuel like it’s the 50s.


Say hi to Russ and Laura for me.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

had another 2 days of warm temps. This morning I started early and rode in a beautiful sunrise. It seems the weather is going to cool down the next days, actually cant wait for it...

Riding is to be continued next week. Homeoffice tomorrow and then 3 days of seakayaking over the weekend


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

And nice to see some life here, but where is bedwards?

asphaltdude: that is not the same spot as you posted earlier this year, right?


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, I was off the bike working on the house and lot between bouts of high 90's temps but using the physical labor as cross training. Got on the bike today and was rolling much faster at lower heart rates. Climbed a hill I usually had to hit 135+ to climb then had to rest after and I did it at 115. Meh. Hill? What hill. I did not realize that I rode in my big sprocket all through the 10-minute warm-up until I went to downshift for that hill. Rolled along nicely and was looking forward to the return leg when I found some metal:










The site was easy to find on the tube, but I broke the valve pumping the double patched tube back up. Somehow, I had the wrong tube with me, so I called in the wife for retrieval. Still, I think the new med for clearing heart arteries appears to be working wonders. Might be able to do 70 miles on my 70th!


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

I commuted by bike yesterday. My knee was workable, but still a little stiff. I had two little run ins with vehicles in less than a quarter mile. The first one was at the top of a hill at a 4 way stop where some guy saw me about to go and decided to gun it early to make a left turn instead stopping like a normal person (it's not running the stop sign if you cut diagonally before hitting the stop bar, right?). 

Then at the bottom of the hill, another guy cut me off at the last second just so he could be first at the red light. I'm glad my brakes work because he really didn't have enough room to pull off the maneuver. I couldn't resist making a few sarcastic remarks about his "driving prowess."


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Geeze guys, stop crashing! (says the guy who has broken both collar bones at least once on bikes) I hear you Buster, shifting a MTB with any thumb injury sucks. My right thumb is permanently sore from crashes, arthritis.



cyclingdutchman said:


> And nice to see some life here, but where is bedwards?


Where is that guy, anyway?!?...Camping last week. No excuse for not popping in this week but I *have *been riding. Maybe a picture of a rainbow will help. This is from yesterday. We had a pretty intense storm pass over. When I left the office I was riding under bright sunlight, blue skies and moderate rain.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

5 out of 5 this week... have been adding in extra workouts after the commute and legs feel like lead weights.... that means it's working right? Had a VERY close call with a Lexus Suv this morning.... Person aggressively changed lanes to get around another vehicle and didn't see that I was in the other lane despite my obnoxiously bright flashing lights. Debated smashing their side mirror as we met up at a red light about 100yrds ahead of us...... cooler heads prevailed.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Good job keeping your cool. You can always hope that he has a sudden encounter with a telephone pole because of his selfish driving skills. 

I've had 8 out of 10 legs on the bike this week. I got a ride on a rainy Monday afternoon and this afternoon I am shuttling a car home.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

"I hope you have the day you deserve" is usually the saying that I mumble everytime some bullshit happens, lol.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Often I don’t even have to try to make some drivers mad as hell, just being on a bike is all it takes to elicit rage. I never go out of my way to make anyone mad really, they do weigh about 5000 pounds more than I do so being careful about picking a fight is important. We are so dry right now that much of the food bears eat has disappeared and they are starting to hang out in town. Now I always have my bear spray with me but is a little peace of mind for that occasional dude in a jacked up truck that sees me and wants to be crazy. But my first line of defense is to take the first turn off the road and change routes and act like they don’t exist.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey guys - popping my head in to see what's happening. Have not ridden too much in August. My big news is that I have accepted a new job so my summer sabbatical will end mid-September. I'll be commuting 3 days/week. Stay safe.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Good news on the new job, congrats! Same here on riding. August is typically vacation time here in Greece, so I was off work for a little more than 2 weeks. Almost no riding during this time apart from a very scenic trail that I've wanted to ride for a really long time.

Currently back to work, started again last week. We had a few extremely wet days (complete with thunderstorms) but by sheer luck I never got wet. The following days were sunny but it's hot and humid now which doesn't feel all that great for riding any kind of bicycle.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards, nice to hear from you. I already figured you might be on vacation. Btw, I was camping too for 3 days over the weekend, pretty basic, directly on the beach.

Today I worked from home but brought my car to the shop and took one of the free bikes instead of a rental car. The shop is 7km away so at least I got 14k in instead of the usual 22.

looks like I am riding the next 3 days since have an on site training, so biking is secured this week 

Last week:









my “commuter” today :


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The Training Building is 1km less and I had a pleasant ride in. We had some rain overnight so everything was wet and there was the lovely smell of wet grass in the air. The ride home was perfect  22C, sunny and a light cool breeze.

shortly before home:


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

It’s about time I start chiming in on this thread. Been gone from MTBR for a loooong time. Started a new job about six months ago that allows for a pleasant 3.9 mile (one way) bike commute, mostly on bike paths. I generally ride in 3 days per week and work from home the other two. Pretty this morning, gonna be hot this afternoon.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Just as good as yesterday  

unfortunately I am forced to drive tomorrow due to an appointment after work, but I am planning extra biking this weekend.

keep going guys, and stay safe.

CU, CD


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Camping directly on the beach sounds pretty cool. We were on some land that we bought on a pond with my whole family, 11 of us from 3 generations. Good stuff.










@woodway Welcome back. Are you returning to the same field or doing something more fun? 

I rode Monday & Tuesday, carpooled today because of rain but will ride home.


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## Rails2trails (4 mo ago)

I got a flat after 6 miles.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Narrowly escaped the rain yesterday. It stopped a few minutes before I left work. Beautiful weather afterwards, altough still a bit hot and humid. Mornings are cooler now though which makes the ride to work much more pleasant


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Nice and cool this morning. NWS station says 64 degrees, but it felt cooler along my route. Will need to add a headlight in a few weeks.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

My rides are getting the usual early fall/late summer treatment. There is a bear hanging around my hood and leaving large poops in my yard so I’m riding with my bear spray now. The temps are almost cold in the mornings and hot hot hot in the afternoon. Yesterday it was 44 when I rode away and 98 when I got home. Both are very classic season ending events. Not really looking forward to the cold temp around the corner.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Made it 4 out of 5 days this week, took yesterday off as my leg's were super tight and exhausted... Usually when my legs start feeling tight is when something in my back goes pop and I'm floored, so I figured the loss of mileage was worth it. Rode in today and will do a 2-3 hour endurance ride when I get home.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Finally this week brings more bike-friendly temps...23*°*C this morning, cloudy and windy. The wind isn't going to be fun on the way home, but given how it cools down the air I don't mind it at all. 

Everybody seems to have returned from vacations as well, traffic is back to 100%. I never imagined I'd miss August in the city!


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## RLTW (5 mo ago)

Pretty easy, my office is one door away from my bedroom. Some days my dog sleeps in front of my office door, and I have to step over him to get in


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I don't know if it was delusion, hope or something else but I THINK I detected a little chill in the air on this mornings commute... *crossing fingers*


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Nice morning. Pretty cool, but that blazing sun was rising. Supposed to be close to 100 degrees this afternoon with poor air quality. Meh.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Nice rides the last days. It seems I am riding all 5 days this week!
For tomorrow rain is forecasted, let’s go


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Took the Privateer 141 to work yesterday with the intention of making a detour on the way back to hit some trails. Magic Mary and Big Betty suck the soul out of you on the road but overall it was a nice ride in perfect biking weather. Some trails have been too dry for too long but Autumn should change that. Last trail and the road back home I had to use the lights.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Swolie74 said:


> I don't know if it was delusion, hope or something else but I THINK I detected a little chill in the air on this mornings commute... *crossing fingers*


Right about 50F here in the mornings. Daylight is also noticeably retreating on both ends of the day. Not a problem yet but it will be soon. My shoulder season full finger gloves are now only full fingered on four fingers so I just ordered some new ones. 

Not much else to report.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

As expected lots of rain today. Jacket and pants held up against the rain, but my shoes are not waterproof anymore, the water seeped in between the leather and the sole so my feet were completely soaked when I got home. Nevertheless I enjoyed the ride a lot!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Rode to drop car off for body repair (dolt tried to turn left onto main road as I was completing my left off the main road onto his side street: wait time for repair was 6 weeks). I then rode enough for a total of 15 miles. Building up mileage slowly (again). My right shoe cleat dropped a bolt, so had to take shoe off to dismount. I think I have a spare for that, if not I'll buy a new set of cleats.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Sweaty ride in this morning. 15C and slightly foggy, sweated horribly and it took a while at work to cool down.
Found my bike with a flat tire this afternoon. Pumped it up and it held up until home ^^Riddle of the day…..

anyway, I rode 5 out of 5 days this week!

have a nice weekend everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Sweaty ride in this morning. 15C and slightly foggy, sweated horribly and it took a while at work to cool down.
> Found my bike with a flat tire this afternoon. Pumped it up and it held up until home ^^Riddle of the day…..


Either a pinhole leak or you didn't screw the valve stem in tight are my guesses. Or somebody is messing with you...

Good rides all around. Tomorrow is supposed to rain so I may skip it. I'm becoming a more fair weather commuter as I get older and smarter.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

@Bedwards: you nailed it. I had a very small puncture on the outer surface of the tube. It was so small I had to pump up the tube and dip it into the sink. It is the first puncture on the outside in 15 years, since I started using an tire liner. I did not find anything on the liner and the tire so I guess that maybe something small was trapped in there when I mounted the tire and it rubbed through now. The tube is pretty new so that wasn’t the cause. Anyway, I Labeled the case as “unexplainable”. I patched the tube and aired up again, if it is ok tomorrow, I guess it is good to go for the next two months until the winter tires come back on.

it rained a bit so I put on the hard shells this morning. It stopped after a while so I was pretty muchboiling when I arrived at work. The ride home was good, sunny and a nice tailwind.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)




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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute today, but I made a nice 16k ride during lunch break. It took a bit longer than expected so I was looking sweaty in the next videoconference


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey Dutchman, I'll jump in so you aren't talking to yourself. 

Today's commute felt very much like fall. The temps were a lot cooler than they have been and there was a blustery breeze. Mushroom season is also kicking in after a really disappointing summer.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Been under 80* in the mornings all this week, has felt absolutely wonderful but my legs have felt like lead weights all week... can't shake whatever fatigue has been setting in for the last week or two, increased calorie consumption and carb uptake hoping that would help me feel better but no change as of yet. Even took a few days off from my commute hoping to get a little more rest/recovery in.

I also need to remember to buy some windproof gloves and maybe joggers for the winter, and ideal some kind of rack that will fit on my bike so I can ditch the backpack


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks Bedwards!

No ride for me today, but I rode to the supermarket during lunchtime. It is only 5 minutes away, but I rode home with 2 loaded panniers AND I got pretty much rained on. Maybe that counts?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm back!

My sabbatical is over and I started my new job yesterday. Got all the building amenities scoped out yesterday and made my first commute today. It went well, but I need to play around with routes. At over 20 miles each each way, it will be the longest commute I have ever done (by about a mile each way). Felt great!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Rode again today. Found a little more direct/less hilly route and shaved over a mile and about ten minutes off the ride. It's definitly a varied commute from suburban roads to sections of bike path to really crappy urban streets. But it feels good to be commuting again.

A supermarket trip on your bike in the rain is rule #9 for sure Dutchman.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^And you are probably the only one here that commutes over a floating bridge. It looks like you are till on the early shift.

I took the trails again today. My trail riding has been down and I'm not sure why. I've probably collected 5lbs of mushrooms this week. Mostly Honey Fungus which is edible but not a favorite. But available! Fall temps are here with morning temps dipping into the 40s.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

absolutely loving the cooler weather... I almost want to add miles to my morning commute so I can enjoy it and get a better workout in.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Swolie74 said:


> absolutely loving the cooler weather... I almost want to add miles to my morning commute so I can enjoy it and get a better workout in.


If you are looking to add miles the fatigue must be a little better!


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

bedwards1000 said:


> If you are looking to add miles the fatigue must be a little better!


my body in general feels great, energy is high but legs constantly feel heavy/lethargic. Last night I really hammered them on the foam roller/massage tools after an interval session. I got some Voodoo silicone floss bands to try and work through some of the more tender areas in my quads.
Also the longer rides is from the excitement that I can spent time outside again... I love being outdoors and being stuck indoors on a trainer all summer was a bummer. I'm sure thats how most people feel in the winter with snow... necessary evil


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Having done (and currently doing) some long commutes, I can state that energy management is something you need to pay attention to if you plan to do the long commutes on a regular basis. Good sleep and good eating are crucial.

Yes @bedwards1000, I get to ride over a floating bridge! The worlds longest and widest floating bridge (Evergreen Point Floating Bridge - Wikipedia). The bridge has a great bike path, smooth and wide. I'll try to capture some photos next week before we descend into "the big dark".


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway nice to see you here! And getting in lots of mileage as before, kudos to you sir!!

fall is here now. 7C only this morning. I wore the thin gloves and a buff . I was lucky this afternoon, all showers passed through already when I left. The ride home was quite nice: 17C, tailwind and sunny with the dark thunderstorm clouds ahead of me on the horizon.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Decided to make Mondays a recovery day and not commute until after my race. Weather said 100% chance of rain this morning so drove in.... surprise, surprise, not a drop as of yet :/ .


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

7C only this morning and I had a beautiful sunrise. The ride home was quiet and sunny.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway nice to see you here! And getting in lots of mileage as before, kudos to you sir!!


Thanks Dutchman! It's good to be back. Happy to see you are riding again too.

Two days of commute for me this week, tuesday and today. We've got some lingering smoke from wildfires that is a bit annoying to ride in, but nothing crazy bad. Otherwise commute weather has been great...just waiting for the Seattle rain to return.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Speaking of rain... got caught in it on the ride home yesterday and the ride into work today. I was worried about my drivetrain being a gritty nasty mess after riding canal paths in the rain, but it was mostly silent. My poor bike needs a thorough tear down and service tho... poor thing is just abused.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

3C only and fog in the morning, made the start for a perfect day 😎




















[


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Fall is here. 10C all day, a strong wind from the south and rain on the way home. At home I have sorted out the winter gear and I plan to refresh the water repellant to be able to use the soft shell gear as much as possible instead of the hardshells which always makes me boil over ….


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I'll be down for a little bit... finally went to service my commuter, there are plastic sleeves that the bottom bracket spindle rides on between it and the bearings... well one side had completely disintegrated and was causing off axis rotation (wobble) and excessive front derailleur wear.... whoopsie. I plan on machining new sleeves to hopefully get me by while I wait on a new bottom bracket, or I just may take this as a message to take some time off. Why Shimano chose this design I have no freakin clue..... and even worse why create such a consumable part but not make that part available for purchase. A new bottom bracket is cheap ($35-ish)...but damn, all over a five cent part. At some point I need to check my chain for wear. I planned on switching over to waxing my chains now.... hopefully better with this abrasive dust I'm surrounded by.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@Swolie74 - Good for you for not giving into extortion. I just pay the $35.

Well, just when I was getting back into the swing of commuting. Just when I settled on a route to/from work that I liked. I tested positive for Covid today. So looks like I'll be working from home for a while. So far I feel like I have a very, very mild cold. I may even try to go for a ride tomorrow...


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> @Swolie74 - Good for you for not giving into extortion. I just pay the $35.
> 
> Well, just when I was getting back into the swing of commuting. Just when I settled on a route to/from work that I liked. I tested positive for Covid today. So looks like I'll be working from home for a while. So far I feel like I have a very, very mild cold. I may even try to go for a ride tomorrow...


Yeah, the $35 is cheap compared to the worry and time consumed trying to work around the problem. But it sounds like the part is on order and just not in yet. Sorry about the COVID. At this point it is mostly a bother for most people. We are going for our second booster next week because we have travel plans in late October and don't want them fouled by a positive test. 

@Swolie74 Aren't you doing a race soon?

@cyclingdutchman Wow, 3C mornings, you have me beat. This morning was about 10C but I thought it was warmer and didn't dress for it so it felt colder.

My wife and I did our annual charity century this weekend. Even though we held a 18MPH moving pace and that was my longest ride this year by 40 miles, my legs still felt pretty good Monday and today.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

bedwards1000 said:


> Yeah, the $35 is cheap compared to the worry and time consumed trying to work around the problem. But it sounds like the part is on order and just not in yet.
> 
> @Swolie74 Aren't you doing a race soon?



Yep, 6 weeks out...I ordered a Wheels MFG bottom bracket which will rid the need of those damn plastic sleeves and is easily rebuildable, it should be in by Wednesday/Thursday. In the mean time I will be relegated to putting in time on my trainer. I also learned that it is common to swap out the 25mm ID bearings in Shimano bottom brackets for 24mm bearing... eliminating the need for the plastic sleeves, coincidentally the bearing set also cost about $35, lol but solves the problem in the future. My local shop tried to sell me the higher end Shimano bottom bracket.....which still uses sleeves smh.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I have 10 bikes and I'm pretty sure they all use a different BB standard, LOL. I still have some "NEW" square taper BB spindles and bearings for my 2 old bikes. But I think those are even different lengths.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Oh man. That would drive me bonkers. The good news is after I get this new BB, all my bikes will have Wheels MFG bb’s and the same bearings. So if it makes sense to order extra’s to keep on hand and incorporate a regular service routine. Just need to get an ultrasonic cleaner.

all The different standards drive me bat **** crazy!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards1000 said:


> @cyclingdutchman Wow, 3C mornings, you have me beat. This morning was about 10C but I thought it was warmer and didn't dress for it so it felt colder.


I am pretty sure that you will beat me big time later this winter. And I never ride in shorts at those temps so the kudos are going back to you ;-)

yesterday again 3C and fog in the morning, light rain in the afternoon but nothing bad. Nice light again in the morning.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)




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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

It was unexpectedly around 0C this morning. I was dressed for more like 3-4 and was pretty chilly by the time I got to work. I should have gone a level up on the gloves and maybe even a hat. Shorts of course.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Woodway I Hope you have a mild Covid. At least the risk is very low nowadays, I hope you can get back in the bike soon!

bedwards, now that you mentioned it: when I was taking pictures I heard someone behind me scratching his windshield so there must have been some freezing earlier that morning.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> bedwards, now that you mentioned it: when I was taking pictures I heard someone behind me scratching his windshield so there must have been some freezing earlier that morning.


But are you still in shorts?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Definitely not!! _shiver_ I already have scarf, hat and gloves und and it won’t take long until I add the wind stopper pants too. If it is too warm in the afternoon I stuff everything that I don’t need in my pannier.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Woodway I Hope you have a mild Covid. At least the risk is very low nowadays, I hope you can get back in the bike soon!


Thanks Dutchman! It's felt like I had a mild cold. I'm still testing positive as of this morning, but hope to get a negative test soon so I can re-start my office commute.


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## firebanex (Jan 29, 2021)

I'm almost at the end of the reasonable season for commuting by bike from my house. It's been wonderful throughout this fall despite the falling temps. Couple mornings now I've found ice on the puddles in town.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute yesterday and today. Yesterday I rode a stretch of unfinished highway and we even made a Picknick in the middle of it


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Replaced the chain on my MTB, stripped and waxed it.. hopefully upkeep will be significantly easier but it was damn near silent and smooth on this mornings ride. New bottom bracket finally came in for my gravel/commuter bike, and figured I would pick up a new chain for that as well given the mileage it has seen. Still need to install the bottom bracket and strip/wax that chain. Putting it off until the weekend, then I can also drop most my drivetrain in a sonic bath.

Had a crazy wind storm roll through last night and with it came a distinct chill in the air... this morning the temp was in the mid 70's and felt like a bit of heaven.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back in the saddle today! After staying home last week and the first part of this week with a very, very mild case of Covid, I rode to the office this morning. Considering that I have only been on a bike once in the past 1.5 weeks (and that was a mellow cruise with my wife), I felt surprisingly good and strong on the ride. No Covid hangover at all. We are having extended summer here, daytime highs are still in the mid-70s (24C) - the only issue is there is still smoke from wildfires in the mountains settling into the Seattle area at night. It's was kinda yucky riding in this morning.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

three days so far this week, planning on riding in tomorrow as well. I keep trying to set a personal best on this 1/2 mile stretch just before work.. I've tried every day this week so far and only able to get my second best time. My personal best was set on a gravel bike, my mountain bike hasn't been able to bridge the gap... by next week my gravel bike will be fixed and I can see if it was the bike, or I'm just in worse shape than when I set it.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I'm not surprised that you can't beat your gravel bike time on the MTB. Pump those gravel tires up to max pressure and pick a day with a tailwind (or at least no wind) and you will crush your times.

I've been pretty consistant with my commutes but haven't done much extra biking. We are definitely crossing into more cool days than warm ones. I have been able to ride without a jacket for the last 2 days and these might be the last 2 days before late spring. 

Is there anybody here that lives near St George Utah that might loan/rent me a road/gravel bike for a few days at the end of October? (Long shot but I figured I would ask)


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Had a crash on the mtb three of weeks ago and as I landed my right hand hit on a rock that somehow pulled my wedding ring hard and the finger with it. Hurt quite a bit at the time and even more the next day, so I went to the doc and had an X ray as well. Three days off work and a week off the bike, some physio as well. I'm now commuting again and have been on a couple of mtb rides. Physio helped loosen up the joint (I couldn't make a fist before and pulling the handlebar was painful). It still hurts on long and/or bumpy trails but is manageable. On the commuter it's fine despite the rigid fork (apart from a short cobblestone section). 

Moral of the story: don't get married, or if you do, don't wear your ring while riding!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Or wear gloves?


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Is there anybody here that lives near St George Utah that might loan/rent me a road/gravel bike for a few days at the end of October? (Long shot but I figured I would ask)


Sounds like a vacation adventure @bedwards1000? Cannot help with a bike, unfortunately.

Had a good ride again this morning. The air quality was MUICH better today. Felt good the whole ride. Part of my commute takes me over the State Route 520 Floating Bridge. On the west side of the bridge, near the University of Washington is an interesting counter. I was rider #10 today. You can see it's a busy route!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Or wear gloves?


Ι was wearing gloves, they didn't seem to help. Just avoid the marriage thing to be 100% safe


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Fall is now visibly here. The trees are turning yellow and red, but the temps are up to around 10C in the morning. In the afternoon the temps are around 17C. Anyway, with a blue sky and sun it is quite a sight 

no commute yesterday, but I rode to the
kayaking club, which makes approx 60% of a usual round trip.

Oh and I think nobody saw my pics on the autobahn? (Last post on the previous page)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Oh and I think nobody saw my pics on the autobahn? (Last post on the previous page)


Beautiful pic Dutchman. I missed your autobahn pics, but just looked at them. Very cool, not often you can sit in the middle of an autobahn.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway! And good that you are back on the bike 💪


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

This morning. Not very clear in the pic, but the moon was still out and it was a pretty one. You can (barely) see it between the two trees in the middle of the pic. Temps are high for the time of the year, it was 07:20 in the morning when I stopped to take the photo and I'm was comfortable with a short sleeve and baggies. Normally I'd needed long sleeves in the morning and short ones for the way home.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Glorious sky this morning.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Had a gnarly crash Sunday on my training ride... drove to work yesterday and hobbled around. By today I had some ROM back so I figured I would ride into work. Worst thing you can do for injuries (as long as they aren't structural i.e. broken bone, severed ligaments) is become sedentary. Could only soft pedal my way in, took an extra 10 minutes but I did it. Everytime I look at my knee I think of Pocahontas, "can you paint with all the colors of the wiiiiiiind". Because it's a lovely mix of black, purple, yellow...


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## Dan Zulu (Jul 5, 2008)

justwan naride said:


> Ι was wearing gloves, they didn't seem to help. Just avoid the marriage thing to be 100% safe


Or wear your wedding ring on the left hand like the rest of us!


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## Dan Zulu (Jul 5, 2008)

Beautiful commuting weather here in the Puget Sound.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Dan Zulu said:


> Beautiful commuting weather here in the Puget Sound.


Is my vision ok? I read "Donutslayer" on your downtube! If so, coolest name ever


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## Dan Zulu (Jul 5, 2008)

justwan naride said:


> Is my vision ok? I read "Donutslayer" on your downtube! If so, coolest name ever


Yep, I had to invent a name worthy of the cool donut bar tape.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Suddenly some activity around here.


justwan naride said:


> This morning. Not very clear in the pic, but the moon was still out and it was a pretty one. You can (barely) see it between the two trees in the middle of the pic.


And I am sure it was much more spectacular than that picture could ever show. We had a nice full moon rise over here on the other side of the pond too. 
@Swolie74 Hoping for a speedy recovery so it doesn't effect your race too much!

Not a lot to report here. Cold mornings and cool afternoons. I'm still rockin' the shorts but I think I need to go a level up on the gloves. A long sleeve wool base layer and a heavy wind breaker are still doing the trick on top. We are pretty close to peak leaf peeping season here.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I am staying at my gf’s place this week and it is only half the distance to work, but I need much more time. Much more traffic and no decent mup’s or bike paths around here, too cramped. Nevertheless I enjoyed the rides. Still glad that I will ride home tomorrow afternoon.

here is a pic from a short but busy mup that I can follow. The boulder is a leftover from the Stone Age, and in the background is the river with the Harbour cranes on the south shore.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Aren't all boulders left over from the stone age? It looks like a glacial erratic 

70F here right now!!! Although it will probably be 55F by the time I get home. It cools off fast these days. This morning was 35F. (2C, 22C & 13C for everyplace but USA)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey look at all the posts!

@justwan naride - nice photos!

@Swolie74 - Sorry about your crash. Hope you are feeling better.

@Dan Zulu - which station is that? I'm trying to place it. Love the Donut Slayer graphic.

@cyclingdutchman - Love me some glacial erratic's. Looks like a great MUP to ride!

3rd day of commuting for me this week. I've pretty much settled on a route that ends up being 38.5 miles round trip with ~2500 feet of climbing. Not crazy hard but not a flat sail either. My legs are a little tired this morning but I'll work my way back into shape. Extended summer here in the Seattle area. Mornings have been around 50F and afternoons in the low 70's F. No complaints from me.


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## Dan Zulu (Jul 5, 2008)

Puyallup


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards you are Right, the boulder is a leftover from the ice age. It was left here when the ice retreated. It is called “the old swede “ here:








Der Alte Schwede · Övelgönne, 22605 Hamburg


★★★★★ · Historische Sehenswürdigkeit




maps.app.goo.gl





I am off next week so no commutes but hopefully time for some nice rides.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Do I know my rocks? or do I know my rocks?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute today but I rode with my 7y-old son to a nearby campsite for 2 days. The ride was 16k/10m and for him it was the longest ride so far, and with some gear.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

That is just excellent, @cyclingdutchman. So great that you get to experience that with your son.

Nice shrooms, @bedwards1000 !

Another week of commuting started today. This morning at ~5:30am, I completely blew by a turn because I was on auto-pilot to the office from my last job 🤣 I woke up a little less than a half mile past the turn off, not too bad...

Smokey ride home. We still have wildfire smoke. Big weather change coming this weekend and I'll be riding in the rain next week for sure.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> No commute today but I rode with my 7y-old son to a nearby campsite for 2 days. The ride was 16k/10m and for him it was the longest ride so far, and with some gear.


He's so cool!


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

made it in two days this week.. put my race wheels on my bike and nearly hit a personal best. I would need to double check but less than a minute off my best time, certainly my best time on a mountain bike. Knee felt good the entire way in, but once I got to work and got changed I could feel it swelling up. I'm really torn what to do about the race but I guess I got time to figure it out, still two and half weeks out and I've got till Oct 31st to drop out and get 70% of my money back... not that entry fee's were that much.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Glacial Erratic - could describe my riding speed and frequency!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Swolie74 said:


> made it in two days this week.. put my race wheels on my bike and nearly hit a personal best. I would need to double check but less than a minute off my best time, certainly my best time on a mountain bike. Knee felt good the entire way in, but once I got to work and got changed I could feel it swelling up. I'm really torn what to do about the race but I guess I got time to figure it out, still two and half weeks out and I've got till Oct 31st to drop out and get 70% of my money back... not that entry fee's were that much.


If you have made this much improvement in a week it seems like you should be feeling pretty good by race day. If you have never done it before you are guaranteed a PR. Then if you do it next year you have an easy PR to beat!  Austin Rattler, right? Just aim not to do more damage and have fun with it.

Commutes are all good. I had some rainy rides I had some sunny rides. Mornings are cold. I'm finding lots of fall mushrooms. Winter is coming. But mostly, it's quitting time and I have to go ride my bike.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

bedwards1000 said:


> If you have made this much improvement in a week it seems like you should be feeling pretty good by race day. If you have never done it before you are guaranteed a PR. Then if you do it next year you have an easy PR to beat!  Austin Rattler, right? Just aim not to do more damage and have fun with it.


Yup, Austin Rattler. Doing more damage is my biggest concern. I won't be riding tomorrow at all, I was debating a leisurely ride with my brother Friday, then most likely off the bike all weekend. No matter what I'll be going to Texas, only question is if I'll be racing or not. The thought of downgrading the distance is tempting. Hopefully I don't lose too much fitness in the mean time. 

Mornings are dropping into the 60's here and I have to say after suffering all summer with 90-115* rides, the cool air is glorious.


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## Dan Zulu (Jul 5, 2008)

Seattle had the worst air quality in the world today. Literally. Wildfire smoke. I did not ride my bike.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Dan Zulu said:


> Seattle had the worst air quality in the world today. Literally. Wildfire smoke. I did not ride my bike.


Well sometimes I am more stubborn than smart - I got three commutes in this week. Yeah, the air quality was not good, but it was not as bad as I expected. Rain is coming to the Seattle area next week, and I am ready!

Early morning crossing of the State Route 520 floating bridge, looking West towards Seattle. It's got a nice bike path!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Are you riding a bike-share bike or is that one abandon? Is that 3/3 or 3/5? I know it's not like you to drive.

This morning was definitely below freezing. I got in a perfect week of commuting, 10/10 legs. It seems like I have taken at least 1 leg in a car for a long time.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Are you riding a bike-share bike or is that one abandon? Is that 3/3 or 3/5? I know it's not like you to drive.


That's a bike share - it's been there for a week. Eventually the company will come and fetch it. On the other side of the bridge is the University of Washington. The closer you get to the University, the more the paths/sidewalks are littered with those things, along with Scooter Shares. I have to keep my eyes open, especially for the scooters, because in dark areas they are hard to see and I have had a couple of near-misses.

3/3, I have been working remote the other two days.

10/10 - awesome, well done!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Monday morning commute and my legs were unwilling to co-operate. Yesterday me and two mates visited a nearby mountain and shuttled all day long. 50km and 5.031m of descend in total (31 miles and 16.500ft) left us knackered, but it was a great time!

Not looking forward to the uphill on the way home in the afternoon.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

Long time, no post. It's just been a long string of the same stuff every day. We have had no measurable rain in weeks. We kind of could use some moisture at this point, but I hope any big rain systems hold off until after the first week in November, since I have a mtb festival then. It's much better riding and camping when it's nice out.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Took a solid 5 days off the bike (longest break since Feb of last year I think) and really got aggressive with trying to get swelling out of my knee. I know swelling is a protective mechanism BUT if you don't force that fluid out and allow your body to replace it i.e. swell up again, then nutrients that allow the joint to heal won't get to it. It's painful/uncomfortable but maaaaaaan does it produce results. Knee is only slightly larger than my unharmed one, and most the fluid behind my kneecap is gone, relieving quite a bit of pressure. Rode my bike in today and I think I set my best time yet but I forgot to start Strava so who really knows, lol. However I did get to work over 15 min early (usually aim for 5-10 early). Also it quickly went from comfortable (high 60's, low 70's), to downright cold (high 40's) in just a couple days. Looks like I need to start choosing new apparel choices.


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## s0ckeyeus (Jun 20, 2008)

This thread is bad luck. I've had weird incidents on both of my commutes since posting here.  

Yesterday afternoon, I thought I might get right hooked while in the bike lane, but the driver passed me then stopped completely and waited for me to go. I guess that's OK, but I'm not sure why the driver didn't just stop behind me, since I was pretty much at the intersection when they pulled up.

This morning, a truck wanted to sneak through a right turn on red while I was coming across the intersection. I don't know if my lights spooked them or what, because the driver stopped awkwardly halfway through the turn. I was pretty much stopped just behind the driver side door at that point. The truck waited for me to go, then off we all went. People are weird.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

nothing to do with this thread... more to do with the general impatience and self centeredness the world is increasingly gravitating towards. I genuinely don't know if I would commute if I didn't have a protected gravel path to ride home on. Luckily my ride into work is early enough that most people are still asleep so there isn't much vehicle traffic.... if there was, both commutes would take place on gravel, I don't trust people. My nephew got hit by a car riding his bike to school 3 weeks ago, he was lucky to escape with minor cuts and bruises, so far this month there have been at least 2 fatalities of cyclists being hit by cars and killed in my area. I don't know if it has always been this bad, or things have gotten/are getting worse.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

It's part infrastructure (lack of) and the fact that people's attention is not actually on the road when they're driving.

Around 70% of my commute is on bikepaths, away from traffic. The rest is fine in the morning as I go to work early, but can get intense on the way back in the afternoon. 

This might get worse in the future as our company's HQ will move, and there is no bike friendly way to get to the area we are moving to.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Somehow my commutes are getting less and less….turns out that today is the only day to ride. Now the rides were perfect. Fresh and slight fog on the ground but a clear starry sky overhead. And the ride home was very warm, we are still having temps close to 20C in the afternoon. I am probably going camping again next weekend.

and the usual sunrise pics are getting darker and darker:


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

First hint of snow on a commute so far this year. Mostly it was just spitting rain and temps were above freezing, but there were a few flakes flying around (and I don’t mean the flakey drivers!). Chilly but not too bad.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@Swolie74 - I don't remember where you live, but around here (Seattle) drivers are pretty good around bikes. My commute has some pretty dense urban riding (especially around the University of Washington) and a bunch of suburban riding. Lot's of bike lanes, some protected, some not. I have to pay attention and not get myself into bad situations but there are lot's of cyclists on the roads around here and drivers have pretty much accepted them. Making smart choices about where to ride and where to position your bike relative to cars is key.

@cyclingdutchman - Nice sunrise photo!

@llama - where are you located?

2.5 commutes in to book for me this week. Tuesday was my first real rain ride of the season and it was a soaker! Dry yesterday and today, but breezey. The trip across the floating bridge this morning was rough with a steady 20mph cross-wind.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

llama said:


> First hint of snow on a commute so far this year. Mostly it was just spitting rain and temps were above freezing, but there were a few flakes flying around (and I don’t mean the flakey drivers!). Chilly but not too bad.
> View attachment 2006542


and now it’s snowing quite a bit! Glad I beat it in.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

woodway said:


> @llama - where are you located?


 Broomfield, Colorado


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

After last nights commute, I decided that the most dangerous section of my afternoon commute is a ~0.5 mile stretch of paved path through the University of Washington campus, and the danger is "oblivious students walking while staring at their smartphones".


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, got 2 rides in since turning 70. The heavy yardwork was good cross training, but the aches were not conducive to riding. Heading into colder weather but we will see over 70 F at least one more time before Thanksgiving.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

brianmc: well done and keep going! 

Finally some rides again here. Yesterday was a holiday here and I rode to the kayaking club for a bike-paddle-bike duathlon.

Today was good. It is still very warm, 13C this morning already and 17C on the ride home. Very strange to see the sun that low at 4pm on the way home, but I will have to get used to riding
in darkness now.


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## jamespc (Oct 3, 2015)

I managed a no drive (to work anyway) October. I only drove once in September. Well see how November goes.









Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

First time this year finishing the ride into work before sunrise. Pretty sky. Not too cold (low 40s). Rain and snow is forecast for tomorrow, but I’m betting it won’t stick much so I may still ride. We’ll see.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@cyclingdutchman - good you are getting rides in. Dark here in the morning, still able to ride in late afternoon daylight.
@BrianMc - Nice work BrianMc, keep it up!
@jamespc - nice looking bike! Congrats on a perfect October!
@llama - I like riding really early in the morning in the dark. Few cars around, something very calming about it.

I've got 1.5 commutes in this week. Riding home last night I got caught in an intense cloudburst that turned into a hail storm! Good thing I was wearing a helmet! This morning was light rain, about 40 degrees (4.5C). Good commute, except I found a bike wheel in the bike lane! It was a rear 26" MTB wheel, nice Mavic rim, had a cassette mounted but no tire. Must have fallen off a car? I moved it off the road in a visible place, I hope the owner finds it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Thanks woodway.
By now I am riding in dawn AND dusk when I am lucky. If work asks for it I am in the dark at least one ride, but it’s ok, it’s that time of year.

temps dropped here. 5C in the morning , 10C on the way Home. And again, a very nice low sun today:


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Not bad this morning. Supposed to rain and snow later, but it seems like it should mostly hold off till after my ride home. I might get a little wet. No pics this morning, but I’ll probably get one or two during the wet ride home. 👍


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

73 F at the end of today's ride. What a glorious day for early November!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Temps are abnormally high here for the season. Early morning around 13-14C and upwards of 24C by lunchtime. I use a light long sleeve layer and shorts in the morning, short sleeve top in the afternoon. Also we haven't seen any rain in ages, but this weekend there's plenty of it in the forecast.

Our mtb trails are in desperate need of some moisture, but as it happens lately, when rain finally falls it's pretty intense and does more damage than good. The lasti time it rained in mid October the dirt was nice for a couple of days and then it blew strong northerlies for a straight week and dried everything up like it was mid-summer. Getting sick of dust.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

The Midwest has been very dry. The Ohio and Mississippi Rivers are barely navigable with dredging. We went a month without rain here and then we got an inch on my birthday. We were about 4 inches short in June and lower than average for July and August.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Storm Eva was supposed to hit Greece hard the last couple of days. We had a big thunderstorm in Athens that lasted most of Saturday night, but apart from a few areas it didn't cause much trouble.

The rain caught me on my mtb yesterday and made for great conditions. I didn't mind getting wet to the bone, but cleaning the gear afterwards is a chore.

Rain was forecasted for today's commute as well, but the storm has blown out, sunshine and some nice fluffy clouds instead. Felt good on my tech hoodie on the way to work, which means temp is at last normal for the time of year. Forecast for the week looks uneventful.








Right before I got soaking wet









A few hours later. This morning conditions looked very similar as well.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

good to see you guys are riding!
me? nothing...long story short: after the hernia surgery (which I now strongly believe was unnecessary) the pain came back worst, even had a visit to the ER..they found nothing...had 3 MRIs done, Spine, Pelvis and Abdomen...still nothing critical found apparently...there is some damage in the lower spine but doctor said that the pain I have shouldn't be a symptom of that. I have a follow up this week about the Pelvis and Abdomen MRIs but I think nothing will come of that (I already got the reports and had a couple of doctors read it).

Anyways, I have access to a pool and had my first visit yesterday..it is 25m and did 5 laps...regular body sore after so much inactivity....I think I'll do this for a while and see how the pain behaves..so far nothing out of the ordinary.

I have been able to stay within +/-2 pounds of from this whole thing started, that alone is a big win hehe.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

martinsillo said:


> good to see you guys are riding...


Sorry to hear about this, hope you soon find a way to get rid of the pain. Swimming in the pool has helped me with knee issues in the past and is overall a great activity. Personally I find it relaxes me mentally as well, which is quite the benefit!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@martinsillo - Nice to see you back here, but sorry to hear about the issues you are going through. Hope you find your way through!

2.5 commutes in the books for this week. Last week I got rained on every commute, plus wind and hail! This week it's been clear and cold with mornings at or just above freezing and afternoons in the mid-40'sF, 7-8C. Still a little bit of light when I start my afternoon ride, but soon will be commuting in the dark both ways.

Safe rides everyone!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Aloha All! I'm back. I was on vacation for a little over a week then "catching up". My wife got invited to the 1/2 Ironman world championship so we went to St George Utah for the race then hit some national parks. I'm not going to lie, it was beautiful. I didn't get on a bike the whole time I was there but we got in a lot of hikes. Grand scenery, dinosaur prints, petroglyphs, slot canyons and a volcano were on the list.
















Since I have been home I have been commuting most of the time in temps ranging from 24F to 70F. My ride in is now light again but the ride home is in full darkness.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> Aloha All! I'm back. I was on vacation for a little over a week then "catching up".


Sweet pics @bedwards1000! Enjoyed your Strava pics too!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

bedwards1000 said:


> Aloha All! I'm back.


Τhe first picture is breathtaking and given how photos never do justice to the real thing it must have been absolutely stunning to be there!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

justwan naride said:


> Τhe first picture is breathtaking and given how photos never do justice to the real thing it must have been absolutely stunning to be there!


Yup, just like pictures of the moon, they are never as magical as they look in person. I'll refrain from spamming the commuter forum with all the pics. If I get my act together I'll post them to my blog so they are publicly available. There are some on Strava too.

Well, it had to happen. I ditched the shorts today. I could have held out because it was only around 28F but the weather is headed into the low 20s this week and I figured now as as good as any. Although I should have held out because I checked my Strava record and it has been 11/17 the last 2 years. I have also been committed to them since 3/18 and that would have made an even 8 months.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: nice pics! I can imagine how it looked, I know it is always much more impressive in real. 
and ditched the shorts? I had the wind stopper over pants on for the first time today with 7C…..

Woodway:at least you still have rain. So far it is so dry here that I sometimes think that I will never need the rain gear again. And the wind is relatively quiet too, normally winds of 15-20 knots would be normal by now. 

for the rest, the rides were good. Quite windy (finally) and on the ride home I enjoyed a nice sunset.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Tough days yesterday and today. 4C only, strong winds of 16 knots and today also with rain and some hail. It’s an incredible change compared to last week, fall is now turning nasty and the winter is usually the same. So I say bring it on and let’s go


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Same here. We went from unseasonably warm to mid 24F(-4C) in the morning to about 40F(+4C) in the heat of the day. It has usually cooled to around freezing by the time I leave. I skipped yesterday due to freezing rain and snow. I might have done it if I could have taken the trails but didn't want to share the roads with those conditions.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Made it three days out of my 4 day work week. Now off till after Thanksgiving. Decided to start trying riding without a chamois and slowly getting my body used to it.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

No commute today But I rode home from my gf‘s Place. 18km through the harbor area in 1 hr.
Temps now dropped even further, only 1C left and it will be -5C this night. We went from +15C to -5C within one week. It felt cold today, I even had cold feet. I hope I will adapt soon to the new normal.
Have a nice weekend everyone!


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Three commute days for me this week. Weather was clear (unusual for this time of year) and temps were around freezing in the morning and in the low 40's F ((5-6C) in the evening. Other than being on the lookout for black ice in the mornings, pretty good commute conditions. Supposed to be rain back in the forecast next week. Ride safe everyone!


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

I really need to do some research on cold weather gear.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

-3.5C this morning. Otherwise quiet and a clear sky. Temp dropped below 0C during the way home, it looks like it is going to be just as nice tomorrow.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> -3.5C this morning. Otherwise quiet and a clear sky. Temp dropped below 0C during the way home, it looks like it is going to be just as nice tomorrow.


-9.5C (15F) here. It has warmed almost up to freezing for the ride home!!! I took it as a sign to bring the trail bike for the first time in a while. I gave the old back tire the thumb test this morning but it was too slack and kept bottoming out on rocks. Other than that it was good. I'm excited to take the trails back home with a little more air. Only 30 days until the days start getting longer.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

We broke the record for the warmest November since records are kept. Many days around 23-24C, even in parts of the country that should have seen the first snowfall this time of the year. This is financially convenient, but quite worrying too as it's far from normal.

Yesterday was one of the rare days when it was warm enough to wear a short sleeve jersey in the morning, but called for a jacket in the afternoon. I didn't bring any extra layers, so I pedalled harder. Headwind both ways too.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

In the upper 20s today but enough of last week’s snow had melted that I was comfortable getting back on the bike for my commute today. Had to ride around some ice patches but nothing too serious.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Heavy rain was forecasted for early morning today, fortunately it had been reduced to a drizzle when I left home.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards: that is already very cold _shiver_ 

I skipped yesterday because of freezing rain in the morning. While I was in the bus my coworker apped me that he couldn’t make it too, so it was the right decision. 

This morning was the most miserable weather has in stock here. 1C, windy and drizzle. Rode anyway. The way home was warm, up to 9C again and I was pretty sweaty in the winter jacket.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Zero commutes for me this week and will be zero again next week. @cyclingdutchman, I'm coming your way next week will be working near Brussels all week. Going to try and get some rides in over the next few days before I go. For US folks, have a good thanksgiving.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Uneventful rides today. Rode into town after work and every time I do, I think I wouldn’t want to do that everyday.

woodway: sounds nice! I am still waiting for an opportunity for a business trip to Seattle. Unfortunately I can’t make it to Brussels next week, any chance you might be there another time?


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Good Ride Home from town today. I took the shorter route which included a hop across the river with the ferry, since it was raining and didn’t have the rain gear. I made it home with cold/wet feet.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

We finally have normal temperatures for the season and Northerly winds. Temp dipped just below +10C yesterday but felt colder due to the strong winds and the fact that the day before was much warmer. 

Today was chilly in the morning but I was very comfortable with a merino base layer, a windproof shell + Endura Humvee pants + winter gloves.

Good news is that I will get my Lezyne Macro Duo helmet light back from repair today. The battery reached the end of it's life and although officially it's not replaceable, I took it to a battery specialist and they managed to get the old one out and install a bigger capacity one. I use it both for commuting in the dark and night mtb rides, and esp. for commuting the extra visibility is very nice to have.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Woohoo back on the bike after a week and half offf (forced vacation). Decided to use a chamois for now since I’m on the gravel bike again. Super smooth and mostly quiet after a full strip, clean, rebuild. And will be starting back up training for BWR in March.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Slept late today and had a panic start. From waking up to hopping on the bike in 15 minutes, including making hot tea in my thermal mug for along the way. At least it was already quite bright outside and I had a nice tailwind.

on my way home it was cold, windy and it rained. With all these extras I felt pretty tough 😎.

I will be on a business trip the next days, so no commuting anymore this week.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Beautiful ride today. Just below freezing so not too bad, but the next storm was starting to show in the western sky, creating a gorgeous sunrise against the mountains. Looks like we might get a decent amount of snow so I don’t think I’ll ride again this week, but hoping I can bust out my nordic skis and hit the local open space.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

This week‘s forecast looks promising for some bike commutes. Working from home today but hoping I can ride in a couple days this week.


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## Swolie74 (11 mo ago)

Made it everyday last week.. absolutely shocking to me how quickly I fell out of shape.. I felt beat up and exhausted by Friday last week lol


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Back on the bike After a week without cycling and the bike felt sluggish this morning. I rode with my son to school first and then to work, which made a 4km detour this morning. On the way to work there was a lot of traffic. No clue why but I have never seen so much traffic there in 8 years on that route. About halfway a fox ran across the road just in front of me and gave me a big scare.
It was a typical winter day here, 2C, light winds and some drizzle all day. Still it felt good to be on the bike again.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> ...About halfway a fox ran across the road just in front of me and gave me a big scare....


I took the trails in this morning and had a coyote run across the trail just in front of me. It actually didn't startle me and he kept going. It was fun to see something other than deer and turkeys. 

My miles are definitely winding down for the year. I've been doing a lot of 1-way commutes. There is a section of road that I Don't love in the dark with all the traffic. (narrow, poor sight lines, did I mention lots of traffic). I should hit 4000 miles this year on my next ride.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

bedwards1000 said:


> ..I should hit 4000 miles this year on my next ride.


Nice! How much of that is commuting?


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Rode in today after skipping a few days due to snow/ice on the ground. Most of the ice is gone. But it was chilly (~ 25 F). Nice sunrise though.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Probably 80% or so. Commutes and extended commutes in the summer. This time of year I do it mainly for exercise but never extend it. Maybe once the lake freezes and fatbiking season opens up. Although that doesn't seem like it will happen any time soon. Global warming or seasonal variability? These are the first dates I have crossed for the last 5 years.

1/4/22
1/11/21
12/23/19
12/10/18
12/21/17
With above freezing daytime temps for the forecast-able future I'm thinking it will be in January.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Again a grey and wet day with light rain.

I am also down to a very low mileage this year. More Homeoffice, less mtbiking and less touring doesn’t help. But I dont consider it a competing here


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

I’m only 1382 miles this year. A little low for me. I did very few big rides this year.


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

I skipped riding to work twice during the last two weeks. In one case I had to run some errants that required a car (combined with a forecast for heavy rainfall) and the other was when we had friends visiting, so I took a day off and we went hiking with the dogs. That was a good one.

Other than that I have been riding every day to work, plus a mtb ride in the weekend, two if I'm lucky. In total I have 5270km (3275 miles) and 83.000m elevation this year which is a record for me (not the elevation part). Around 3500km (2170 miles) of these is riding to work and back. My commuter is in need of a new chain and rear brake pads. The 7sp. chain has lasted 3750km and just now shows 0.75 on the chain measurement tool. I have done as little as possible in terms of maintenance, only the occasional lube. Impressive given that my 11sp. chains last half of that even when I baby them.

We've had some rainy days lately but I was mostly lucky with timing. Temps are still high for the time of the year but with current energy costs I'm not complaining.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Back from Belgium and 1.5 commutes in the books this week. Typical Seattle winter commuting - spotty rain and upper 30's to mid-40's (3-7C). I was off my bike for two weeks so I'm feeling a little sluggish so far.

I should get over 4000 miles before the end of the year, which is down 1000 miles from 2021 (and over 2000 miles from 2020). I've climbed over 250,000 feet this year and my new commute is pretty hilly - I may get closer to 400,000 next year if I can stay consistent.


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## jmitchelltfo (5 mo ago)

I had 502 miles commuting for November. Ended up with 574 total after adding in a couple gravel rides. Started commuting on my Bombtrack Beyond+ back in September and have consistently increased my days in the saddle vs my car. Battled covid (for the third time) and now I'm hoping to get my December started sometime this week, if my lungs cooperate. 

I'm shooting for 8000 miles in 2023 and will hopefully have the confidence/endurance to complete my first 50+ mile ride. The Ozarks might not be that tall........but we sure don't lack for steep gravel.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Another cold but clear and pretty morning. Temps low to mid 20s. The moon was setting in my neighborhood (seemingly, see pic) about 15 minutes before I left. Windy on the ride home yesterday, mostly a head wind. I was planning to take a scenic route to add a few miles but the wind discouraged me. Maybe today.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

this morning wasn’t good for cycling. My colleague
slipped and fractured his hip. And halfway in another cyclist also slipped in front of me. I checked on him and he was ok, just the chain was stuck between frame and sprocket. He was good to go again in 3 minutes.

the way home was ok, 3C and calm.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Gorgeous morning. Moon was setting over a storm brewing the mountains, while the sun was lighting up clouds in the east. But I didn’t stop for any pics. It’s windy and supposed to be very windy this afternoon. Oh well.

three for three this week (I work from home on Mondays and Fridays, despite my very short commute)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@jmitchelltfo - 8000 miles would be awesome. Good luck and keep us posted.
@llama - Cool photo!
@cyclingdutchman - be careful on that black ice. You can go from upright to horizontal so quickly...

Riding home last night was just awful. It felt so hard. I had to stop a couple of times and rest, which I never do. I thought it was because of my Belgium travel last week but when I got home I realized that through my lack of maintenance diligence, my rear brake had been dragging the whole time. Dragging to the point that if I spun the cranks by hand when I stopped spinning the wheel immediately stopped. The strange part was that there was not a dragging sound coming from the rear caliper to alert me...

So - the ride this morning felt "normal". Poured rain the whole way, but that's expected this time of year.


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

"My rear brake had been dragging the whole time."

Had my rear wheel pull into the left stay on a climb and heard nothing. Kept shifting down and thought, no way this is a low granny gear hill. The tire had rubbed through my new (then) Powdercoat paint job, but the tire was still OK. So, I can sympathize.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> I should get over 4000 miles before the end of the year, which is down 1000 miles from 2021 (and over 2000 miles from 2020). I've climbed over 250,000 feet this year and my new commute is pretty hilly - I may get closer to 400,000 next year if I can stay consistent.


 Similar miles and I am only around 200,000 feet. and I consider it hilly around here.


jmitchelltfo said:


> I'm shooting for 8000 miles in 2023 and will hopefully have the confidence/endurance to complete my first 50+ mile ride. The Ozarks might not be that tall........but we sure don't lack for steep gravel.


Phew the year I rode > 6000 miles I was doing weekly centuries. I can't imagine that kind of mileage without a few long ones in there. 

Last night on the ride home in the dark I was in peloton formation. There was a fox slightly ahead to my right on the gravel shoulder and a car slightly behind on my left. The fox held it's line better than me. I made sure not to overlap it's tail. The whole event happened at 25MPH. It was a very long 5-10 seconds before the fox broke for the woods.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

bedwards1000 said:


> There was a fox slightly ahead to my right on the gravel shoulder and a car slightly behind on my left. The fox held it's line better than me. I made sure not to overlap it's tail.


But, did you ask the Fox permission to hop on? Or were you "tail sucking"?


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## jmitchelltfo (5 mo ago)

bedwards1000 said:


> Similar miles and I am only around 200,000 feet. and I consider it hilly around here.
> 
> Phew the year I rode > 6000 miles I was doing weekly centuries. I can't imagine that kind of mileage without a few long ones in there.
> 
> Last night on the ride home in the dark I was in peloton formation. There was a fox slightly ahead to my right on the gravel shoulder and a car slightly behind on my left. The fox held it's line better than me. I made sure not to overlap it's tail. The whole event happened at 25MPH. It was a very long 5-10 seconds before the fox broke for the woods.


If I take the long way home on half my commutes, I would be around 7000 miles for the year if I ride four days of every work week. 1000 miles of weekend rides shouldn't be too hard for me if I stay healthy.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

@jmitchelltfo If you are doing that kind of miles with that regularity then I would expect you could hop on the bike and crank out a 50 miler just about any time. 

Not much to report except cold. It was about 18F this morning. I felt extra chilly and realized almost when i got to work that I had a zipper failure and I had a giant cold air intake in the front of my jacket. I hate to toss the jacket but the zipper is getting more and more unreliable.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Cold here too, -6C / 22F this morning and almost just as cold on the way home. My legs were pretty red when I got to work. Other than that it was nice out there, calm and crisp just as I like it.

Bedwards, can you have the jacket repaired? Usually a tailor can swap the zip, I had it done with 2 other nice jackets too.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards, can you have the jacket repaired? Usually a tailor can swap the zip, I had it done with 2 other nice jackets too.


I'm not sure. It looks like they would have to take apart the whole front of the jacket to do it. If tailors were common I could swing in and ask but I'd have to get into the city at a time they are open. I'm not sure it would be worth the work and the cost. I'm not sure it wouldn't.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

I rode > 8000 miles a few years ago when I had a 20 mile each-way commute that I was riding 5 days/week. Two things I remember: I was really fit, and I never wanted to ride on weekends - I didn't even want to look at my bike.

I caught up on bike maintenance this weekend. I had let my rear brake pads wear down to metal through inattention - now replaced. Replaced the front pads too, just because. Also found that my rear tire had a big slash across the tread - it was only a matter of time before it let go - replaced. Replaced the chain. Pulled the rear hub apart, cleaned and lubed it, Scrubbed the cassette. Pulled the jockey wheels and cleaned them. Cleaned the bike, it was filthy, really bad. Tightened all the bolts. Replaced the chain. It's like having a new bike.

Looking for three commutes this week. Weather looks dry but cold (cold for Seattle, not @bedwards1000 cold)


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

I did some unexpected bike maintainence myself. (See my Strava post) Long story short, I planned to ride my mountain bike. I didn't.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Just a nice winter day today. Cold, low sun and calm.

It looks I have only 3 days of commuting left this year. I don’t know my mileage but it is definitely less than before Covid, and more than the last 2 years.


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## llama (Dec 15, 2006)

Snowstorm was a bust here, but over a foot in some mountain areas of Northern Colorado and apparently a blizzard out in the eastern plains of CO. Weird. We got a teeny dusting here. I could have ridden in but have to leave early and run an errand that requires the car. Maybe tomorrow.


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## jmitchelltfo (5 mo ago)

bedwards1000 said:


> @jmitchelltfo If you are doing that kind of miles with that regularity then I would expect you could hop on the bike and crank out a 50 miler just about any time.



I guess I just need to get out there and do it. I might just pick a decently warm day to run a gravel loop that I’ve had my eye on.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

bedwards I don’t have strava, what happened?

Finally some serious winter temps here, -9C/16F this morning. I overdressed and arrived kind of sweaty at work. And then those faces of my coworkers when I told them it was “too warm” outside 

I scared a heron this morning. It flew up but couldn’t go anywhere because of the trees and so it was just flapping on the spot a few seconds until it noticed it could make a 90 degree turn to get away.

rode home in the low sun and a slight haze, that made everything glow in orange light


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

@cyclingdutchman - looking at @bedwards1000 strava it looks like he went to replace his chain and ended up taking his whole bike apart. The video also looks like an ad for the Park Tool comany. 🤣

I got three rides in this week. Cold and dry. I may work from home next week and I'm off the week after for X-mas. I need 26.7 miles to crest 4000 miles for the year, will have to do some local rides. Time to put the studded tires back on my bike!


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

Still up to 21C here with very high humidity. Crazy weather. I returned home in shorts and short sleeve jersey 2 days this week. Monday brings northerlies and a ~10 degree drop.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Skipped yesterday’s commute by bike and took the bus to work because of freezing rain. The 5 minute walk to the bus stop already took 10 minutes.
Today felt warm. Temps went from -9C to +8C in 48 hrs. We are back to wind and rain. The unpaved section got soft and literally sucked, felt like I was dragging an anchor behind me.
The way home was exactly the same. Wind, rain, dark.

Tomorrow will be the Last commute of the year For me. Christmas break starts Friday for 2 whole weeks🥳


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Tomorrow will be the Last commute of the year For me. Christmas break starts Friday for 2 whole weeks🥳


Friday is the last day for me. Going to hang my commuter on the wall (where my mtb usually hangs on weekdays) and decorate it with christmas lights. Two weeks off as well.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

The last commutes this year were good for this time of the year. No rain or wind and 7C, legs felt good, all good.

at timeanddate.com (thanks to bedwards for the link) you can check for the amount of daylight today. Today is the shortest day on the northern hemisphere, at my place it is 7h27min.
Who offers less?


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## justwan naride (Oct 13, 2008)

We're at 9hrs,32mins so not that bad, although I look forward to longer days. 

4.5C this morning, didn't realize it because I was pedalling hard, but by the time I reached my workplace my ears had frozen. The next few days will get warmer.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

woodway said:


> @cyclingdutchman - looking at @bedwards1000 strava it looks like he went to replace his chain and ended up taking his whole bike apart. The video also looks like an ad for the Park Tool comany. 🤣


Pretty much. And I still didn't have the right park tool, a chainring nut wrench. And when it came in it didn't fit.  I had to grind it down to fit over the center chainring bolt. In all I replaced the chain, cassette, chainring and a rear bearing. 

In other bike repair news, my primary bike is now a single speed. The DI2 is totally dead and doesn't recognize the charger. I'm back on old technology. It is actually my titanium bike that is a twin to @woodway 's so I'm not slumming. (that slang can't possibly be politically correct but I'm old) 

I've had some illness (?) that has sucked the energy out of me. I don't feel sick but I feel pretty lifeless. I pushed myself to do a few 1-way commutes this week and that is it. It was only 20F here and it seemed like a pretty cold 20F at that on the road bike. Tomorrow is the big "Bomb Cyclone" storm so I'll be in a car. 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Yule, Happy Kwanzaa or whatever floats your boat!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Bedwards I can read between the lines that it Must have been an „exciting“ time in the shed  
But don’t tell me you are leaving the house with that storm coming?!

@Everyone keep posting if you’re riding. I will be reading this for sure.

merry christmas
Prettige kerstdagen (Dutch)
Schöne Weihnachten (German)

Who adds another language to the list? 😉


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

cyclingdutchman said:


> Bedwards I can read between the lines that it Must have been an „exciting“ time in the shed
> But don’t tell me you are leaving the house with that storm coming?!
> merry christmas
> Prettige kerstdagen (Dutch)
> ...


Yes it was a frustrating time in the basement. I think the storm is rain and some somewhat strong winds. Like a hurricane but less. 

Feliz Navidad (Spanish)


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey everyone - no rides for me this week. My son and his wife were up visiting from California, so we wenr downhill skiing, XC skiing and snowshoeing. Really fun. I'm 23 miles short of 4000 so I'll probably sling a leg over a bike at some point this upcoming week. Otherwise, it's cold and snwy here in central washington state. Merry Christmas to you all!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Merry Christmas Chanukah, Kwanza, Winter Solstice, or whatever to all. 

It was -8 F here when I woke and -5 now headed to a high of +1 about 3 PM. Winds set the wind chill in the mid 30's +/-. 45 mph gusts mean it is lucky we got only a couple of inches of snow here or the drifts would be at record depths. I rode Christmas day 2008 colder than that but without the wind. I was also almost 15 years younger! The bike is on the trainer and the treadmill is beside it. The cars and the lawn tractor with blade are all tucked away in the garage thanks to some clever rearranging. Fridge is full, the trees threatening the power lines were trimmed 15 feet back from the power lines in August so we should maintain power. So, we should be good. Mid to high 50's in a week.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Defiantly not commuting weather! MT is upholding its reputation right now and this is in the “Banana Belt” of Missoula. Much of the state was between -40 to -60 without the wind!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

^^Yeah, that is pretty darn cold. -30F is about the coldest I have seen. -60F Wow! We are actually in a warm spell for December. We have been in a 20-30F range but are headed towards 50F tomorrow. 

Even at 20F my desire to ride the road bike, especially after dark at night, has been pretty low. I rode in this morning which will probably be my last ride of the year. 









Happy New Deer!​


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

bedwards1000 said:


> ^^Yeah, that is pretty darn cold. -30F is about the coldest I have seen. -60F Wow! We are actually in a warm spell for December. We have been in a 20-30F range but are headed towards 50F tomorrow.
> 
> Even at 20F my desire to ride the road bike, especially after dark at night, has been pretty low. I rode in this morning which will probably be my last ride of the year.
> 
> ...


I can make it down to about -10 as long as there isn’t wind or if that is the wind chill. It strictly business though, getting from a to b. All those insane temps on the east side of the Rockies in Montana blows me away. -40 is pretty common for some areas over there. Missoula is the coldest place I ever want to live.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Happy New Year everyone. Had a great break, got in some skiing, snowshoe hikes and family time. Everything but cycling. I'm back in the saddle this week, 1.5 full commutes in. My legs feel the time off otherwise the rides have been good.

Beautiful morning crossing the floating bridge. Supposed to be pretty windy this afternoon. Crossing this bridge in the wind is a chore.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

As expected the bridge crossing last night was brutal. Straight into a 25-30mph wind. It's seemed like I would never get across. Still windy this morning but with the wind at my back I managed several PR's (including going across the bridge) even though my legs are still tired from yesterday. Hope the wind dies down before the ride home tonight...

Where is everyone? Still on holiday? Out sick? Seems like everyone I know is out sick these days...


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

On leave this week. In Europe, 23 days of leave are minimum. I am a Lucky one, got 37 days for 2023 🥳. I have the kids this week. World peace is easier, but one thing at a time please 

Woodway: sounds like you were still lucky that the wind was not coming sideways ^^


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

Planning to ride tomorrow. First time this year. Sunny and maybe mid 50's by early afternoon.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

After 14 years of fulltime bike commuting, I've finally joined the "been hit by a car while bike commuting" club. I got left hooked in an intersection on my ride home last night. Looking at my strava it looks like I was going about 20mph when the car turned in front of me. I hit the brakes and locked up both wheels so the impact velocity was lower. I hit at the right front corner of the car, knocked the passenger side mirror off the car and ended up on the pavement next to the rear passenger side door.

I picked myself off the pavement grabbed my bike and got out of the intersection and sat down on the grass to take inventory. My shoulder took the brunt of the impact and hurt like crazy, but I had full range of motion. The driver stopped and we exchanged information. She was quite upset and apologetic. My bike was in suprisingly good shape - the handlebars were turned backwards and one of the shifters was spun around, but I was able to straighten things out and ride it the rest of the way home. Another cyclist stopped and it turns out she was an EMT. She kinda checked me over and I appreciated that she stopped. 

My shoulder is really swollen and sore today and the rest of my body is pretty beat up. I've not given my bike a detailed once-over yet.

Retrospectivly, while the driver was clearly in the wrong, I probably should have seen the possibility of a left-hook coming and slowed down before the intersection. Still kind of processing this part to think about what I can do differently in the future. One thing for sure is that I am going to figure out a route that does not include the road that I was on. While this road has a full bike lane, it's just busy with lot's of intersections, driveways, businesses, lights, signs, distractions, etc. I've never been 100% comfortable in the three months I've been taking this road.

Stay safe everyone!


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Wow, I’m glad you are ok woodway. Getting hit is a very serious situation no mater how light the outcome is. It will set in your mind for a long time if not forever. I was hit 22 years ago and it defiantly made my approach to commuting different as well as life in general. Times are not getting better for commuters at all even though there is more and more infrastructure dedicated to it. Traffic is bigger and heavier and more powerful than ever which is very unfortunate for those of us on foot or bikes. I ride over a mile out of my way in both directions to avoid a road that is too scary. Like the one you were on it has a bike lane but it’s more of a death lane and something for my city to boast about and add to the miles of bike lanes. Well, hang in there my friend and I hope your injuries heal quickly.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

WHOA!! Glad that you are kind of alright and that people took care of you.

Heal up soon and everybody take care please!!


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## jmitchelltfo (5 mo ago)

Hopefully the sore shoulder heals quickly. I noticed that you didn't mention any law enforcement being notified, was there an accident report filed? I'm just asking since some states and insurance companies make it tough to cover medical or repair bills without an official report.

I was a little apprehensive after getting my left bar end clipped by an inattentive driver during my first month of commuting. I was riding on the shoulder before dawn with a flashing tail light, but I assume they were texting since they never made an attempt to turn around or slow down. I stayed on the bike, but it did kick me down into the ditch for a little off-road excitement. I installed a bar end mirror to keep tabs on their lane position as vehicles pass me.


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## martinsillo (Jul 31, 2009)

hope you get better soon @woodway 
Happy new year everyone!
I've been slowly getting back to do some exercise and hope to get to my bike soon...will be reporting for sure!


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Hey @woodway what is the prognosis after a weekend of healing? Actually, things usually are worse on about the second day. Did you contact their insurance? When my wife and I had an altercation with a car (there was actually not even any bike-car contact but they were the cause of the accident) we got paid for any damages to our bikes and after a few months they offered up a bodily injury settlement of $2500. We weren't really pushing for it but exploring what they would offer. They basically offered up $2500 to close the case. The driver was insured through Allstate. The whole process happened over email. We did not wait around for the police after the accident. 

I have been doing some minimal, one way commuting. Today I drove in, will (fat) bike home, will (road) bike in and will drive home. My wife is going to ride home tomorrow too which will leave a spare car at work for one more one way commnte. This is my least favorite time of year for being on the bike (in the dark and cold). We have been abnormally warm and the lake has skimmed but I don't trust that it is safe enough to even try.


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

I am wondering how Woodway is doing too. Usually everything is kind of numb at first and pain sets in 1-2 days later. I hope everything is all right.

Back on the bike this morning. Dry and calm, so all ok. The full moon gave some light so it wasn’t that dark. I am also feeling pretty tired lately, probably time for some extra vitamin D.

Except for one cold week before Christmas, the weather is warm for this time of the year. For Bike commuting not bad but it makes me think about climate change and how fast things have changed compared to 10 years ago.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

My legs felt like concrete blocks this morning!


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## BrianMc (Jan 5, 2010)

woodway said:


> After 14 years of fulltime bike commuting, I've finally joined the "been hit by a car while bike commuting" club. ....
> 
> Stay safe everyone!


Sorry to hear this. Glad the impact was less than 20 mph. The force is the square of the speed. I found 19 mph into the pavement headfirst was not good. That impact broke part of one shifter hidden by the hood, and which came apart 6 months later. Hoping the driver covers any expenses related to the collision.


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## woodway (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey all - still alive and kicking!

First, thanks for the good Karma - appreciate the supportive community here!

I'm doing fine. Turns out I have a slightly separated Acromioclavicular joint. Not much to be done but let it heal. I'm getting a brace to wear to support the bone while it heals. Swelling of my shoulder is pretty much gone, and I almost have full range of motion back. It's turned all colors of the rainbow (which freaks my wife out). Still some soreness there, but Aleve helps.

I've done a full checkout of my bike and cannot find any damage. I pulled the front fork and inspected it and it looks good. The wheels are true and round. Deraileur hanger was slightly bent but I was able to straighten it.

Regarding the question on calling the police - I did not. I've gone back and forth on this in my head - and maybe I should have - but it all has worked out so far. I've been in touch with the driver and she has agreed to pay any out of pocket costs. A man who saw the whole thing came over to check on me and gave me his contact information in case I need a witness. Three things really influenced my decision at the time: (1) the driver stopped, was very upset and worried about me (not herself or her car) and was very cooperative and shared all her relevant information with me immediately, (2) I had a witness and (3) It was dark, relatively cold and it was raining. I felt like I was going to be OK, my bike seemed OK, and I did not really want to wait an hour in the rain for the police to show up. I'll also admit that in the heat of the moment, I was perhaps not thinking straight. As I said, I've been debating this in my mind and I'm leaning towards saying I did the right thing, but I don't know. Maybe I should have. Either way, it all seems to be working out.

I'm not planning to bike this week, just to give my shoulder a chance to heal up a bit. Will make a short, local ride next weekend to see how things feel, and then hopefully be back on my bike.

I've scouted a new route using the Strava Global Heatmap and Google Maps Street view. The new route avoids the road where I was hit. I'm going to drive it this week and see what it looks like. It will add about half a mile to my evening commute but will be worth it.

Stay safe everyone!


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Glad to Hear that you’re kind of OK woodway! You seem to have had an angel looking after you there, I really thought you and the bike might be worse…..

nice ride home today. I was thinking about all the nice pics I posted here. Currently it looks less nice and will remain so for the next weeks I guess. This is the boring view:


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## cyclingdutchman (Mar 18, 2015)

Today the weather was miserable with lots of wind and rain. So I rode the bike, and went kayaking for 2 hrs after work too.


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